Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Kingdom Hearts: A New Threat ❯ Don't Deny Yourself Anything ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter 13:

Over the next week or so, Iona regained her strength by training with Yuffie, Tifa and Kairi. Well, it was more like Kairi and Iona were being trained by Yuffie and Tifa. It took Iona a while to be able to stay on her feet without having to take a long nap afterwards, but eventually she was back to full strength. Yuffie and Tifa were training the younger girls how to fight with their Keyblades (although they themselves did not have any), and Iona and Kairi were doing a great job. They were even able to spar against Riku, Sora, Cloud and Leon. They didn't win their first matches against them, but they were able to win once in a while after a few days. Donald and Merlin taught them to do some basic magic; the lowest level Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Cure, Magnet, and Reflect spells. Iona was a bit clumsy with her magic, but she made up for it with her amazing sword skills and newly-found gymnastic skills; she was able to do amazing flipping combinations while giving Cloud one hell of a fight! Even if she didn't have enough magic or energy to produce her Keyblade, she was great at hand to hand fighting. Kairi, on the other hand, had a better hold on her magic than her weapon skills; she could hit one specific target out of many set up by Donald dead on from fifty yards away! She even got to the point where she didn't need her Keyblade to do simple spells, like the basic Fire, Blizzard, and a new one called Hover, which worked like a reverse Magnet spell.

Iona was a bit shy around everyone at first; them being total strangers to her and all. But eventually, she learned that they could all be trusted and they were all very nice. She, Kairi, Yuffie, Tifa, and Aerith would spend time just talking as Tifa, Yuffie, and Kairi took turns braiding Iona and Aerith's long hair. But out of all the girls, Iona got along the best with Aerith; she, too, had perfect manners and was very smart, which was the kind of person Iona was used to spending time with. It wasn't that the others were too immature or she looked down upon them; it's just what she's used to. She had a strong feeling that she would soon get along just as well with the others.

The boys were all very polite to Iona, if they spoke to her at all, which was rare. They only spoke to her when training, and casual conversation other times, but that was about it.

Except Riku.

Iona and Riku would often meet at that balcony they spoke at the night she woke up; they wouldn't even talk about it during the day, or ask if they would meet again--they'd just show up. Sometimes they would talk, other times they would sit in silence, just enjoying each others company. They talked about their homes; explaining to each other what they looked like, what the people were like, how much they hated the schools they went to, what jobs they would do to make some pocket money. One night, Iona asked Riku about his family; a topic neither had brought up until then.

“What do you wanna know?” Riku asked from his seat on the cold stone floor, his back against the wall of the balcony, his Organization garb long gone.

“Just the basics, I guess,” Iona responded with a shrug from her seat beside Riku.

After a day of frantically searching the entire Castle, she finally came to terms with her new, more mature wardrobe, and was now playing with the buckles on her boots. Around her right wrist was tied a black piece of silk; Riku's blindfold. She told him one night that if he wanted it back at one point, she'd be glad to give it to him; but for the time being, she was holding onto it so he could learn to live without it.

Riku sighed as he shook his head to get his silver hair out of his brilliant blue eyes, “Well, I'm an only child. My folks still live on the Main Island of the Destiny Islands. My mom actually own and runs the Accessory shop there. My dad…well, he and I don't really get along; we never have. My mom says it's because we're the same stubborn person so we butt heads all the time. Anyway, he owns and runs the Weapons shop. He's an expert in hand-to-hand combat and with almost every weapon there is; I learned everything I know from him.”

“That's cool,” Iona said as she started toying with the strip of silk around her wrist. “Do you want to know about my family?”

Riku's eyes widened and he turned to her, only to find her staring up at the night sky, emotionless. He couldn't believe it; this was the first time she brought up her family at all without crying.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

She just nodded, her eyes still looking at the few stars sprinkled across the sky, “It might help, ya know?”

Riku sighed and nodded, “Ok, if you want to talk, I'll listen.”

Iona took a deep breath and began.

“I lived with my mom, dad, big brother, and little sister. My mom, Thina, taught at the school in town, and my father, Dax, was a fisherman.”

“You lived by water?”

“Yea; a big ocean. Anyway, my brother, Jiro, was three years older than me and worked at the Weapons shop in town. He wasn't a good fighter at all, but he was always fascinated with weapons and was really good at making them--especially custom swords; they were his specialty. My little sister, Kohana, was five and was so very smart and sweet; everyone in town loved her. And then there was my dog, Basil, who was by far the most perfect pet anyone could ever hope to have. When we went down to the beach, he'd run right into the water and try to catch fish for us; and when he did he'd be so proud that he'd strut around the house for days. I'm sure this'll sound really conceited but…I swear we had the best family in all of Amethyst Valley.”

“Hey, why do they call it Amethyst Valley?”

Iona smiled a little as she kept her eyes on the stars above, “It got its name from how it looks at sunset. Ya see, the town is in-between two mountains, and its right on the shoreline. When the sun sets at night, the reflection of light off the water hit's the surrounding mountains in such a way that it gives them a soft purple glow. Well, at least that's what used to happen.”

“Wow…that sounds really pretty,” Riku said.

`“Pretty”?' he berated himself. `I've never called anything “pretty“. What the hell is wrong with me?'

“It is--or was,” Iona said with a sad smile.

“It'll come back,” Riku assured her.

“I really hope you're right,” Iona said, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Without saying a word, Riku put his arm around Iona's shoulders and pulled her to him. She hugged him tightly as he embraced her and she cried silently. They did this a lot; Iona would cry for some reason or another, and Riku would comfort her until she either stopped and they resumed talking or she fell asleep. Five minutes later, Iona dried her tears and just laid her head on Riku's chest as her arms stayed around him. This was a new thing for the both of them, but Iona just didn't want to let go of him for some reason.

And although Riku would never admit it, he didn't want to let go either.

“Riku?”

“Yea?”

“What was it like in the Darkness?”

Riku hated talking about his time in the Darkness. Usually he'd stalk off if anyone mentioned it.

But with Iona, it was different.

He sighed, “It was like…it felt like I was trapped inside my own body sort of. When Xehanort took over me, it was like he and I were sharing my body. I could see what he was doing, I heard his thoughts, it was my voice that spoke, but I had no control. But before Xehanort took over, and it was just me…the Darkness totally warped my perception and common sense. I realized too late what was happening to me, and by the time I did, Xehanort had taken over me. I was so stupid to let that happen.”

Iona sat up, her arm right arm still casually draped across his abdomen, “Don't say that, Riku. It wasn't your fault. Maleficent and Xehanort tricked you!”

“But I should've known it was a trap from the beginning!”

“How could you have known? You were completely distraught and not thinking straight! I mean, you lost your World and your two best friends; you would've done anything to get them back.”

“But--”

“No buts!”

“But--”

“No buts!”

Riku sighed and paused before speaking again, “I still should've known--”

But he was cut off in the strangest, most unexpected way. Right in the middle of his sentence, Iona pressed her lips against his, her eyes closed. She didn't know what came over her. Mostly, she just wanted to shut him up…but there was something else there. Maybe it was the way he consoled her when she cried, or the way he listened to her when she talked about her family. Maybe it was the way the intense crystal blue color of his eyes made shivers run down her spine. All she knew, was that seconds before she did it, she heard a familiar voice whisper, “Don't deny yourself anything.”

Riku's eyes quickly drifted closed as he pulled her closer to him, pushing his lips against hers. Her kiss was so soft, and hesitant and…amazing. He had already admitted (to himself, anyway) that Iona had a very nice body and was beautiful, but not once did he think about kissing her. But now, the only thought on his mind was kissing Iona for as long as he could. The kiss was short, however, because after about ten seconds, she realized what she was doing, separated her lips from his, and ran all the way back to her room, tears of embarrassment silently falling down her cheeks.