Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Prince's Hope ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

A/N: Ah! Finally, Chapter 7 is up! Yay! You have no idea how long it's taken me to do this—seriously. I've literally ripped this chapter APART. Only the first half with Roxas and the others was part of the original, and even that was changed so many times. I doubt there's even a whole sentence in here that was in the original. And then Sora and Riku's part—OMG. I had a totally different scene there, but it was completely irrelevant to the story—then I had another scene there, and that was just… it just didn't make sense! But finally there's this scene… Lots of stuff changed, but I like balcony scene between them.

 

…To be honest, this has got to be my least favorite chapter because of all the corrections and drafts and ripping up I did. I'm not sure I'm even satisfied with this final draft with it. At least I've gotten rid of all the blue notes I had written/typed to myself in different sectionsand I've said all I need to say. XP

 

Actually, this is a good chapter to read (in my opinion, lol). Although, I'm wondering if it would be more of a filler chapter or not… Well, it's necessary, I think. It introduces some things before Roxas and the group reach the Dark Kingdom… Oh my, this story keeps getting bigger and bigger! XD!

 

I hope you like this, though. There is one particular scene here that I like and thoroughly enjoyed writing. Can you figure out which one?

 

Well, I think that's all I should say for now. Here is Chapter 7. Enjoy!

 

 

Down Below…

 

It had been a few days since the group escaped and started their journey to the Dark Kingdom. In those few days, they got through a lot of land. They were going the quickest way to the kingdom, which was not on the map. They skipped most towns along the way and tried to take as little breaks as possible. The only time they every stopped was to enter one of the towns supplies. Other than that, they would just ride for hours until rest was needed. Doing that led them being in the forest they were now trotting towards. It would take them only a few more days to reach their destination.

 

Everyone was feeling confident now that they were so close to the goal—everyone, that is, except Zexion. He was moping around a lot, being even quieter than he usually was. The others could see shame and regret passing through his eyes when he was deep in thought. They knew he still wasn't over his mistake with Sora, but seeing the bluenet in that depressed state was unnerving to them.

 

That was why Axel decided to ride next to him. The redhead tried to get him to loosen up by chatting about the weather, pointing at the scenery, or cracking jokes, but that did nothing to change Zexion's mood. In fact, he just looked more annoyed by the chatter than anything else.

 

“Hey, you know something?” Axel rattled on. “This is like a vacation, you know? I mean, since we're not doing our daily routines and stuff. We're just riding on and on and getting to enjoy the outdoors. Even my AkuRoku here is more relaxed.” Axel stroked his black horse's mane happily and smiled brightly at the other knight. [1] “This is the life, eh, Zex?”

 

Zexion only sighed and stared ahead as they trotted on. Roxas shook his head in irritation before making his chocobo trot up until he blocked Zexion's way. Axel and Kairi stopped their own rides, wondering what the prince might do. Lexaeus stopped for only a second before he continued riding at a much slower pace.

 

“Look, Zexion,” the prince began, “you should stop feeling bad about what happened to Sora and focus on our journey. We need your insight and your skills as a hunter, so snap out of it!”

 

“Yes, no one blames you,” Kairi piped, coming closer to the knight and placing a comforting hand on his back.

 

Zexion sighed and hung his head low.

 

“It is not a mistake that anyone can make,” he stated after a while. “If it were just a mistake of the eye, I wouldn't be as upset—but his highness didn't smell like himself!” He looked up at the sky and frowned, his silvery-blue brows drawn together in confusion. “I'm not sure how to explain it. I have known the prince for years, have known his scent for years, but on that day… his scent was not the one I was familiar with. It was as though his usual scent was fading away and a new one was taking over.”

 

“Maybe you were a little under the weather that day. It happens.” Axel offered with a shrug.

 

Zexion scoffed indignantly and shook his head. “Nonsense! For generations, my family has taken pride in our strong sense of smell; it is our inheritance from our godly ancestor, Ienzo. Not once has it ever led us wrong, even during sickness.”

 

“Then how do you explain what happened?”

 

“I don't know!” the bluenet snapped. “I can only speculate that coming in contact with the god Riku somehow changed his scent! But even if that were the case, it still stands that Prince Sora was subjected to torture because of me. It's all my fault!”

 

“That's enough!” boomed a loud voice from a distance. Everyone turned in surprise at the stoic knight as he got off his horse. Crossing his arms, he stated in a slightly annoyed tone, “We're going to stop here to eat and rest for a bit. Hopefully by then, we'll stop worrying about what happened and get on with everything.”

 

No one objected. No one wanted to get Lexaeus even more upset than he already was. So with that, they all got off their rides. Lexaeus and Zexion each left to get wood and food, respectively, while Axel, Roxas, and Kairi relaxed and watched over their rides and supplies.

 

It wasn't long before Zexion came back with a lot berries and some dead animals. Lexaeus, however, took longer in coming back. The group wasn't too worried about him at first and waited for him while they munched some berries, but when nightfall quickly set in and the cold got to them, they couldn't help but wonder what was taking him.

 

“Damn it, how long does it take to get a little firewood?” Axel complained, his teeth chattering loudly.

 

“Should we look for him?” Kairi asked worriedly. “He might be hurt!”

 

“Lexy doesn't get hurt,” the knight said nonchalantly. “He's probably taking a nap or clearing his head or something.”

 

“But he wouldn't take so long…” the girl whispered.

 

“Then I'll look for him.”

 

Three pairs of eyes blinked in surprise as Zexion got his bow and quiver. [2] They could see how concerned he was about his comrade. It was expected; those two were always together, always so close. It was a wonder how things hadn't changed between them…

 

“Wait, Zexion, I'll go with you,” Kairi said as she stood and dusted off her clothes.

 

“No need to trouble yourself, Princess,” Zexion said.

 

The girl's midnight eyes glittered with determination. “Don't try to stop me. I want to know what's taking him so long, and I don't want to get bored by waiting around here.”

 

The knight stared at her silently before he finally gave a nod and walked towards the forest. Kairi giggled in triumph and followed him.

 

Roxas watched them go as he reached for some berries—but before his hand could reach the bunch, it was suddenly slapped away. He frowned at his lover and tried to get them again, only to be stopped by another sharp slap.

 

“Axel, let me eat.”

 

“No. You're gonna help them find Lexaeus,” Axel stated, his arms crossed.

 

“Do I have to go?” Roxas wrinkled his nose at the thought of being in the middle of a forest with Kairi. “Why won't you go? He's your comrade!”

 

At that response, Axel placed his hands on his hips, an expectant scowl on his lips. “You're still Kairi's little servant boy,” he explained as he went to AkuRoku and pulled out a thick blanket to throw over his shoulders. “'Sides, you know I don't function well in the cold, so go on. I'll watch over the camp.”

 

“I'm not going in there!”

 

“I don't want to hear any more about it,” the knight snapped. “You're going to search with them, and you're going to enjoy it or else you'll get a good spanking. Got it memorized?”

 

Roxas opened his mouth to argue again, but Axel held his hand up for silence. Realizing that he wasn't going to win, the prince growled and stomped into the forest, grumbling about his lover's sensitivity to the cold. He quickly met up with Zexion and Kairi, and together they all searched for the missing knight.

 

“Lexaeus!” Kairi called out. When she didn't get an answer, she pouted. “Oh, where can he be?”

 

Roxas was beginning to get worried, as well. It wasn't like Lexaeus to take his time in doing a job; it went beyond his nature. So maybe something bad did happen to him. Perhaps he was attacked by a wild animal. Maybe he injured himself.

 

The blond shook his head. Lexaeus was better than that. Maybe Lexaeus just lost track of the time or got a little lost. Any minute now, they would bump into him. Any minute….

 

The young prince sighed. “Shouldn't we have found him by now, Zexion?”

 

“I imagine we should have,” the bluenet answered as he pushed a low branch out of the way, “but there is a slight problem… Ever since we entered the forest, there has been a strange scent in the air, one that I didn't smell when I last came here.”

 

“A strange… scent?” Kairi repeated.

 

Zexion nodded and continued on. “It's a powerful stench—I've never encountered anything like it before. Just one whiff of it makes me slightly dizzy, and it is giving me a hard time tracking Lexaeus and—”

 

Suddenly, he froze in place. Roxas and Kairi stopped and looked around to see what could have made him pause so abruptly. Neither could see nor hear anything, but they could easily feel the goose bumps rise on their skin while they searched for any threat that may come.

 

“What's wrong?” the princess asked in a hushed voice.

 

“Quiet!” the knight hissed. His eyes searched the forest as he took a few sidesteps closer to the girl. “Prince Roxas… get ready,” Zexion warned as he reached back to pull out an arrow.

 

In response, Roxas summoned the Keyblade. They all became incredibly quiet, waiting… And then—

 

“What is it?!” Kairi screamed.

 

Roxas turned just in time to see a dark mass rising from the forest floor. It grew and shape-shifted until it looked like… a tiny person. But what was so odd about this creature-person was that it was black—even blacker than black. It stood with its back hunched, and it fidgeted and bounced all around as though it couldn't stop moving. It had shoe-like feet and three-fingered claws. A pair of antennae on its head twitched about and bulging yellow eyes stared at the group eerily, almost hungrily.

 

The little thing hopped toward them, but as soon as it was just a few feet away from them, Zexion quickly fired an arrow at it. Just when the arrow was going to hit, the little creature escaped by sinking back into the ground and becoming a dark mass that moved, almost swam, across the ground. Then it raised itself up and became the same little creature, fidgeting and staring at them with those yellow eyes.

 

After a few more fidgety hops, the dark creature turned into the sunken mass and came even closer to them. Kairi gasped and got behind Zexion as the knight drew another arrow. As soon as the creature began to rise back up, the bluenet fired, and the arrow hit its mark right between the bulging eyes. The thing didn't even have time to scream in agony. Its body just disappeared into a black cloud, and a small, glowing pink heart came out of it and floated into the sky.

 

“A heart…” Zexion mused out loud. His eyes grew wide with realization. “I think I know what that thing was.”

 

“What? What was it?” Kairi squeaked, her body wracked with shivers.

 

Zexion opened his mouth to speak, but then he suddenly drew an arrow and yelled, “We're surrounded!”

 

No sooner had he said that, several black masses grew from the ground into several little creatures like the one before. Along with those, blackish-purple masses appeared in the air and evolved into large dark ball creatures with three branch-like appendages on their bodies. These new things had mouths similar to those seen on jack o' lanterns and the same eerie golden eyes as their smaller counterparts. [3] One look at them had Kairi give out a shrill scream before she fainted on the forest floor.

 

“Damn!” Zexion cursed. He could only pray that she would be all right…

 

One of the balls charged at Zexion, chomping its teeth as it sped up. Though the thing was fast, its attack was easily dodged. It continued its chomping charge for a few more feet before it stopped and turned around. By then, it was already too late; Zexion fired his arrow, and it hit the thing at its center. It gave a screeching sort of cry as it disappeared in a cloud, leaving behind only a heart to float to the stars.

 

Roxas wasn't so lucky when he began his fight. He had been distracted by Zexion's battle, and that was the opportunity a few other balls were looking for. Three of them surrounded the prince and took deep breaths, causing their bodies to expand. When they exhaled, their bodies violently rocketed around and bounced off each other and off the prince, shaking the boy up.

 

The blond swung at them with his Keyblade, but their attack had left him slightly disoriented and vulnerable. He didn't even see the fourth ball chomping at him until he felt the pain in his left arm. The thing had managed to sink its teeth into the arm while its momentum continued to make it go forward, so it was also dragging the prince with it. Roxas let out a cry and tried to keep his ground so that he wouldn't be carried off—however, that was not a good idea, for its teeth cut across his arm before it finally let go. The creature turned around and was joined by the three other balls in forming a circle around him.

 

Roxas, ignoring the pain, glared at the evil balls and quickly struck with his Keyblade. His weapon went through one ball's mouth and exited out its backside. He didn't even hesitate to watch it die as he swung his blade through its evaporating body to hit one of the other giant balls and send it flying through the night sky. It became a cloud in midair. The two balls that were left moved back, surprised that their prey was attacking, but they shook it off and mounted for another attack. This time, Roxas was ready.

 

Zexion and Roxas continued to fight off the dark creatures. Despite being injured, Roxas seemed to have an easier time killing them off with his Keyblade whereas Zexion had to use several arrows to bring most of his enemy creatures down. The creatures didn't really have a strategy against the two; the balls were attacking from above and the shadows were attacking from below and underneath, but they were just acting out on instinct, which made them fairly predictable to the combatants.

 

As the two battled on, a few of the little ones shied away from the fight and rose from the ground around the still-unconscious princess. They twitched around her, studying her and poking her body with their antennae. When they saw that she really was motionless, they each grabbed one of her limbs. One little shadow went to her head and grabbed her red hair harshly with its claws, which was enough to wake the girl up with a cry.

 

Kairi, confused at what happened, tried to get up, but the little creature yanked her hair again and forced her head down. Instantly after that, she was alert and struggling against the creatures. She screamed when she saw a ball manifesting above her.

 

At the second scream he heard from the princess, Zexion looked back and cursed loudly at her situation. The knight wanted to come to her aid, but he was already in his own trouble as several balls and shadows were swarming around him, and he was running low on arrows. By the time he killed them all, it would be too late. The knight looked over to see how Roxas was faring and saw the prince finish off most of the creatures around him. He had a better chance at saving the girl.

 

“Your majesty! The princess!” Zexion cried as he pulled out his lexicon from his robes.

 

Roxas had just finished off the last of the dark balls that was around him when he heard the knight. He turned and saw Kairi in distress. For a split second, he seriously considered letting them kill the girl, but he knew it probably wouldn't look good to Axel, who would probably withhold their lovemaking for a long while and make him suffer other terrible punishments. With that in mind, he ran as fast as he could to save the girl—but he wasn't sure he would make it on time due to how sluggish he was beginning to feel from all his blood loss.

 

He saw the ball turn its body down towards her and begin its charge. He knew he was too late.

 

Just then, the ball uttered a deafening cry as a giant tomahawk shot out and came between the monster's eyes and caused it to flip backwards a few times. As the creature disappeared and the weapon fell near Kairi's body, Lexaeus appeared from the forest and went to the girl's side. He grabbed his mighty weapon and swung it down one of the little shadow creatures.

 

Seeing their fellow monster die, three of the others let go of Kairi in favor of fighting this new opponent—though it would be in vain.

 

The last of the shadows was thrown off when Kairi frantically flailed her arms at it in fear. It hopped around and looked at her angrily as she tried to crawl away. It sank into the ground, swam toward her, and rose into its evil form. Just as it finished shifting, it was struck dead by the Keyblade. Lexaeus finished off the little creatures around him, and a loud cry in an ancient tongue followed by the last few balls expanding so large that they exploded into clouds with flying hearts signified the end of Zexion's battle.

 

With all of the creatures finally gone, Roxas dismissed the Keyblade and allowed himself to relax and fall to his knees, his bloodied left arm dangling at his side. Lexaeus was at his side in an instant to check out the wound.

 

“Are you all right, Prince Roxas?” he asked, ripping his sleeves to make pseudo bandages for the young royal.

 

“Yes,” Roxas answered. “It's nothing serious; just a scratch.”

 

The stoic knight let out a rare chuckle. “That's not what Axel is going to say when he sees this… You know how he gets whenever you get hurt.”

 

“He goes into mother hen mode…” the prince smirked.

 

As the two laughed together, a small smile appeared on Zexion's face. He was relieved his partner was all right.

 

He looked to where Kairi was standing and looking all around her in a paranoid way. He stood next to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, and she nearly yelled in fright.

 

“Are you all right, Princess?” Zexion asked in concern.

 

“Yes, I'm fine,” the girl answered, though she seemed slightly shaken. She stopped looking around, in favor of staying close to the knight.

 

“I'm sorry for my delay, everyone,” Lexaeus apologized while he finished bandaging Roxas's arm. “Like you, I was ambushed by creatures like the ones you just fought. They came at me in great numbers.”

 

“Do you know what they were?” Roxas asked.

 

Lexaeus shook his head and stood up. “Sadly, I do not, sire.”

 

“I do,” Zexion announced, “but we should get back to the camp first so we can properly treat the prince's wound.”

 

Lexaeus nodded and knelt with his back turned to Roxas, offering to carry him. The prince gratefully climbed on. Zexion picked up the wood that Lexaeus had brought, and Kairi was already rushing back to camp.

 

When they returned, they found that everything was normal. There was no foul scent, the horses were calm, the chocobos were curled up on themselves and fast asleep, and Axel was sitting by a fire made out of twigs and grass, their small dead animals being cooked by it on sticks. The only thing that was in any way wrong with the scene was Axel's fire, which seemed to be a bit bigger than it should be, considering the amount of grass and twigs that were being used. There was no sign of an attack of any sort by the dark creatures.

 

As soon as Axel spotted them, he got up to make a joke about how long it took them to come back, but when he saw Lexaeus carrying Roxas and how disheveled they all were, he quickly ran to the group.

 

“What the hell happened to you guys?” he demanded once he saw his lover's bandaged arm.

 

“We were attacked,” Lexaeus answered.

 

Axel helped Roxas to the ground and led him to the fire and asked while fussing over the bandages, “Attacked by what, a rabid squirrel, a bear?! What did this to my Roxy?”

 

“It's all right. We were attacked by monsters, but we killed them,” the blond prince assured his lover. “Don't worry so much; the wound is not as bad as it looks.”

 

“Is not as bad, my ass! What sort of monsters did this?” He was trying to clean Roxas's wound.

 

“Heartless,” Zexion answered from where he was placing some wood on the fire.

 

“Heartless?” Kairi repeated from next to him. Her body shivered slightly.

 

“Yes, those are what the creatures we encountered are called. They have that name because they attack people and steal their hearts.” The bluenet finished with the wood and dusted the dirt off his hands “Some of these creatures live around the kingdoms, but they usually go by unnoticed because there are so few. However, it is here, around the Dark Kingdom, where they thrive.”

 

Kairi looked at the deep part of the forest uneasily before turning back to Zexion. “I never knew creatures like the Heartless existed. Where did they even come from?”

 

Zexion took the time to eat some of the leftover berries before he continuing, “They are the Dark Kingdom's punishment, courtesy of the god, Xemnas.”

 

“Punishment?” the girl asked.

 

The knight nodded. “Long ago, the people angered their god. He sent many of the Heartless, creatures that are supposedly formed by peoples' inner darkness, after them. They had no way of appeasing him for a long time until they gave up a human sacrifice. After that, Xemnas didn't bring any more Heartless—but he didn't take them away, either. They are here to stay, forever trying to consume the hearts of any weak people they come across.”

 

“That's so frightening,” Kairi commented. “What could the Dark people have done to deserve such punishment?”

 

Zexion shook his head. “No one knows—not even the Dark people themselves know. Some think that the tribute they made during one of their worshipping ceremonies didn't please him. Others say the people were bad. Whatever the case may be, the Dark Kingdom was forever changed because of these terrible creatures.”

 

The group stayed quiet for a bit to let this information set in, the sounds of the fire crackling and of a chocobo snoring the only things to be heard.

 

“So… the Heartless…” Axel began slowly as he finished rewrapping Roxas's arm. “Well, they're not something we were expected to face. Pretty dangerous things, by the looks of things. So, Kairi…” He turned to the princess and stared right into her midnight eyes. “Do you want to continue with your quest after seeing those Heartless things? We could try another kingdom.”

 

Everyone waited patiently for her answer. She twiddled her fingers nervously for a while as she thought. It was a few more minutes before she decided.

 

“We're going to continue the Dark Kingdom,” the girl stated slowly. “We've come this far, so we shouldn't back out. We did just fine with monsters we were with, and we'll continue to do fine if we continue on.” She looked up and smiled brightly at each of the knights. “You aren't the best knights of the Earth Kingdom for nothing.”

 

“Then it's settled,” Lexaeus announced. “We'll continue in the morning and rest tonight. In the meantime, Zexion, Axel, and I shall keep a lookout for more Heartless.”

 

“I will keep watch first,” Zexion stated softly.

 

“Sounds good to me,” Axel smirked. He looked at Roxas with some worry, though, and asked, “Will you be all right with your arm like that?”

 

“You know I will be,” Roxas answered, flexing his arm.

 

The redheaded knight smiled in satisfaction before getting one of the animals off the fire to eat. The prince rolled his eyes at his lover before doing the same.

 

But while he ate, he couldn't help thinking that it was crazy for them to continue with their journey. Why were they even doing this? Surely they could go to another god for help without running the risk of being killed. Roxas had a bad feeling about this…

 

In the God World…

 

Standing on the balcony overlooking his garden, Riku was at peace. He liked looking down on his garden from this particular balcony. It soothed him to see all the plants he was taking care of looking so lovely and vibrant and well-kept—even the river added to its beauty, the rushing water shimmering in the moon's light. Riku doted on every one lovingly like a protective father watching over his children. He and Marluxia were evenly matched when it came to loving their plants—although, Riku didn't show it around the other gods as much. Yes, this garden of his always helped him keep his mind off his worries.

 

Like Sora.

 

Riku had been worried about how he would adapt to living with the gods, but the boy seemed to be doing well. He got along well with most of the gods and demigods. Sora got along with the moogles, too—except for one, but that was only because the temptation to touch its pom-pom was simply too great for the poor boy. It was almost cute to see Sora fussing over and apologizing to the little cat-like creature after it got angry with him and had a little tantrum.

 

Another time Sora happened to be cute was when they spent their first night together in bed. The first thing out of the boy's mouth was a long rant about being stripped of his clothing and not wanting his innocence taken away, whatever that meant. He threatened to find some place else to sleep if he was ever naked in bed again. Riku agreed to never again take off the boy's clothes after succumbing to the wide-eyed angry pout Sora unleashed on him.

 

One of the things Sora liked to do was ask about the different myths and legends he was so familiar with. It stroked a lot of gods' egos just to see those pretty blue eyes grow wide with wonder and amazement at them—there were a few stories which had been over-exaggerated just to bring out more of that look. Even the God of Earth was guilty of doing that a few times.

 

Riku frowned at a sudden thought. Sora didn't really do much other than observe and talk to everyone. Eventually, the novelty of being the first human in this world would wear off for him since there wasn't much for a human to do—and it's not as though he was a demigod who could help out… Would Sora even want to become a demi if given the chance?

 

Riku shook his head, trying to rid himself of all thought. This was exactly why he came to the balcony. His mind was always on Sora. Not only that, but he even dreamed about the boy—he never dreamed about anyone before. Everything that was going on… it was all so strange to the young god.

 

“Oh, Riku, there you are!” came the voice of a certain brunet boy, soon followed by the sound of the balcony door opening. “What are you doing out here so late?”

 

Riku turned to find the one who captured his thoughts approaching him with two cups in his hands. He smiled brightly at the god, and Riku's heart nearly fluttered as he replied, “I was just thinking.”

 

“Thinking about what?” Sora offered him a cup.

 

Riku took it and looked back to the garden. “I honestly don't really know what. It may be something. It may be nothing. But I'm actually trying not to think about it.”

 

Sora gave him a confused look and laughed. “You can be so odd sometimes, Riku,” he said as he came to stand by the god. When he looked at the scenery below, he gasped, “Is that the garden? It's so beautiful from up here!”

 

Riku smiled and nodded proudly. “It sure is…”

 

He took a sip of his drink. He drew his eyebrows together in confusion before he took another sip to confirm what he thought. “This tastes like the tea Marly makes,” he commented.

 

“That's because it is,” the other replied with a smirk. “I asked him to make it for us.”

 

The silveret quirked a brow. “I'm surprised you'd let him handle anything for you to ingest after what he did to you.”

 

Sora laughed. “You don't have to worry about that; I saw everything he did when he made it. Not only that, Selphie was with me, and she was watching him like a hawk.” A wry smile came on his face. “Have you noticed that the way she sometimes acts around me is almost like how an overprotective sister acts?”

 

“Actually, I have. She seems to have really taken a shine to you ever since I brought you here.” Silver brows were brought together in thought. “Now that I think about it, she's not the only one who has an unusual interest in you. My brother and his lovers seem to have something going on, as well.”

 

“I think you're right… Sephiroth is always giving me strange looks, and Cloud and Leon are always teasing me about something or other.”

 

“How strange…”

 

They stood together in silence, pondering over what was going on. Then Sora grinned and mused, “Maybe it's all connected somehow: Marluxia's slipping me those plants, Selphie's over-protectiveness, and whatever it is that's going on with your brother and the others.”

 

“And what sort of connection could there possibly be?”

 

Sora shrugged. “I don't know; it's only speculation. But wouldn't it be interesting if there was one?”

 

Riku snorted. A connection? Like some sort of scheme had been formed amongst them? That was a laughable idea. No, nothing like that was going on. It was a normal occurrence for the Love Goddess to attach herself to people for a while. As for his brother and lovers… actually, those three were a mystery. Best not to figure out what's going on in their minds. And Marluxia, well, he just enjoyed tormenting people and ticking Riku off. There was no way they would all get together for some strange and mysterious reason. No, they were all just acting on their strange tendencies because they were excited by all the changes that were happening. It's not as though they knew some mysterious secret about Sora. They knew nothing about him or what he wanted or what he needed. Nothing. Actually…

 

Neither did Riku.

 

He knew next to nothing about Sora; the ex-prince rarely spoke about his life, always wanting to know about everyone and everything else. All he knew was what learned from his stay at the palace, and even that wasn't a lot. So what exactly did Sora want?

 

A soul mate. That was the only thing he ever talked about. Riku didn't really understand the whole concept of the words even though there was a good example of it with his brother. And based on the brunet's description, he wondered if Sora was his soul mate.

 

The god felt an attraction to the boy, from the clear blue eyes to the wild chestnut brown hair to that nicely-shaped body. But it wasn't just a physical attraction, though. Riku always cared about Sora's thoughts and feelings, and he felt happy when Sora was happy. He was constantly worried about him and always got a pleasant tingly feeling inside whenever he thought about the boy—and when he looked into those eyes… wow…

 

But was that what it all meant? Riku was so confused. There were still a lot of feelings he just didn't understand yet. He just knew that Sora was the key to them all. Was there enough time to figure all this out, though? Humans had such short lifespans…

 

“You look like you have something on your mind,” the brunet's voice cut through his thoughts.

 

Riku nodded and gave Sora a sidelong glance as he tried to choose his next words carefully.

 

“So, Sora,” he began slowly, “are you enjoying yourself here in this world?”

 

Sora smiled brightly. “Yes, of course I am. It's like a dream that I've yet to wake up from.”

 

“Have you wondered what it would be like to continue that dream?”

 

The boy narrowed his eyes a bit and tilted his head suspiciously. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

 

“Would you ever consider becoming a demigod?”

 

There was a pause. “Hmm…”

 

Riku peered at the human from the corner of his eye again. The brunet was looking down with his hand at his chin. He seemed to really be mulling over the question.

 

“Well…” the boy began, “I'm not sure I would. It would be interesting to be able to bend an element to my will and to live for a long time, but I can't picture myself as one.” He thought a bit more. “No, I don't think I could. Maybe someday I'll think differently and change my mind, but for now, I'd like to stay the way I am.”

 

Riku raised his eyebrows. “I'm surprised, Sora. I've never seen anyone think so deeply about it and then say no. Most humans would jump at the chance.”

 

“Well, I'm not like most humans,” Sora smirked as he rested his arms on the banister. [4]

 

They were quiet once again, listening to the night air. Riku wasn't getting anywhere with the sort of questions he was asking. But there was one thing he still wanted to know. Perhaps it could help with his own muddled thoughts.

 

“Tell me more about why you're looking for your soul mate,” the young god said. “What is so important about having one?”

 

Sora rested his head on his shoulders and sighed. “It's because of my mother. Not only was she the one who put the idea in my head, but also…” Another sigh. “I don't think she had a chance to be with hers. I know she loved my father; she loved him with all her heart, but even I could see that there was something missing in their relationship. She was miserable at the same time as she wasn't. I'm not sure how to explain it, but I don't want to end up that way. I want to be completely happy with the one I spend my life with.

 

“And then… there's another reason…” Sora's face suddenly flushed.

 

Riku tilted his head to the side. “Sora, why are you blushing?”

 

Sora blushed even more and turned his face in the other direction. “Well…”

 

The silveret became more interested in Sora's reactions. “What is it? Is it something bad or embarrassing?”

 

“No, nothing like that. It's just that…” His cheeks flushed even more. “I prefer men over women… But I've never been able to act on it because of my betrothal, so I feel rather awkward about it. And I've never even admitted it to anyone before now—although, I'm sure my brother and his lover have suspected it. I just know that my ideal lover is a male.”

 

Riku almost couldn't believe his ears. It was too good to be true. He could actually feel his stomach flipping over that tiny fact. Perhaps if he got lucky and worked on this a bit more, then he and Sora could explore these feelings together. But was Sora even interested in him? There was one way to find out…

 

Riku smiled almost evilly and pursed his lips together in a thoughtful way. “Now that you no longer have any responsibilities as a prince, you can act all you want.”

 

Blue eyes glared warily into aquamarine. “What are you getting at?”

 

“Well… there are many demigods here. You do a little acting with them for a while until you find that person you're looking for.” He then smirked teasingly while his eyes narrowed almost evilly. “Or would you rather go a step further? Might you be interested in a god?”

 

“What?” Sora squawked.

 

“Oh, then you do fancy one of us,” the silveret chuckled as he moved very close to Sora. “So which one of us is it? Who is the god you have your eye on? You know, that should be reason enough to want to become a demigod…”

 

“What? Wait, stop!” Sora sputtered as he leaned back, that flush coming back as bright as ever. “Why don't we talk about something else?”

 

Riku pulled away, shaking his head and laughing with delight at Sora's embarrassment. He loved Sora's face; it was so honest and expressive. The boy was not like that painting he saw in the castle. “Not like that painting at all,” he muttered.

 

“Did you say something?” Sora asked as he began to calm down just a little.

 

The Earth God smirked. “I was just thinking about how you're not like a certain painting of you I saw back in the palace. It was that terrible one of you holding that giant key. You looked so stiff in it, and the clothes were very unflattering. It didn't show who you really are. I think your family should fire its painter because the only thing I liked at all was that key. It looked familiar somehow. It made me feel nostalgic.”

 

Sora gave him a confused look before his eyes widened in understanding. “You must be referring to the Keyblade. Well, it should look familiar; it's similar to Hikaru's mighty weapon—In fact, he gave it to me when I was born.”

 

“You know Hikaru?” the god turned to him in awe. “That's amazing; he hasn't been around here for a long time—I was still very small when he left, so I barely remember him at all. How has he been?”

 

Sora's eyes suddenly grew in shock. “He hasn't been here in that long? But I was hoping to thank him for the gift.”

 

Riku could only shrug. “I'm sorry, but none of the gods have seen hide nor hair of him in centuries.” Riku looked over by Sora and tried to give him an encouraging smile. “But don't fret, Sora. At least we know he's still alive—or at least was not long ago. He may come back. His sister still believes that, at least.”

 

“But… how can this be? What about the Light Kingdom?” Sora asked.

 

“Oh, Selphie is watching over it and all of Hikaru's other domains,” the silveret replied. “She's only doing it until there is a new Light God to take over.” He frowned and shook his head in disappointment. “It's a shame, really. She has been doing two gods' worth of work without any help or any complaints ever since he left her as a young godling. I think Hikaru is a selfish bastard for not being here and doing his share, but as long as there isn't some other Light God to come and claim his place, his sister will continue to do his work. She will never give up on his return so long as that doesn't happen.”

 

Riku sighed before stretching his body out.

 

“Well, I should go check up on Marluxia before going to bed,” he yawned as he took his and Sora's cup. Then he offered his hand to the boy. “Care to join me?”

 

Sora shook his head dumbly, still in shock over the news he had just heard.

 

Riku left him, having many thoughts about the human. He was sure now that he wanted to be with Sora. Perhaps he could find a way gain Sora's affection…

 

Meanwhile, Sora was dumbfounded. Hikaru hadn't been in the God World for centuries? It didn't make sense. A thousand and more questions were popping into his head—

 

Where was Hikaru? Why did he give Sora the Keyblade? What the hell was going on?

 

[1]: Yes, I named the horse AkuRoku. I actually named him that while I was writing chapter 6, but I couldn't find a place to put it. But yes, that's what the horse's name is. Let's call it Axel's silly/cute way to show his love for Roxas. ^_^ Good AkuRoku.

 

[2]: I believe in Chapter 3, I made Zexion the descendant of hunters or something along the lines of that. So, I decided that along with the lexicon, he would be using arrows to make his kill—the lexicon would be more of a last resort type of thing, you know? So that's what's going on with that. Plus, I can totally see him with a bow and arrow. *drools*

 

[3]: You know, I was seriously freaking out over the fact that I mentioned jack o' lanterns here—like really stressing out over it. But then I remembered something: this is fanfiction! What's more, it's my fanfic! I can put a pink polka-dotted dragon that breathes flowers and pixie dust in here if I wanted to! So yeah. They have jack o' lanterns in this little world/universe thing. ^_^

 

[4]: What do you call the rail part of a balcony? Seriously, I've been sweating and going nuts over this. I asked Lady Tsukiyomi/Ice Demon Allysandra what it was, and she gave me that, which is what I originally guessed, but I second-guess myself so much. Is that what you would really call it?

 

A/N: And there it is! The chapter that's been driving me nuts for half a year!I hope it all makes sense and stuff…

 

To anyone who is wondering, it was the Heartless battle that I loved writing. Seriously, when that battle came into my mind, I couldn't stop writing until it was all done. I have no clue how that battle or the way that I wrote it measures up to the way others would write a battle scene, but I am proud of what I did there. And I have Lady Tsukiyomi/Ice Demon Allysandra to thank for it. If not for all the RP's we've been doing together these last six, seven months, I don't think that would have ever shown up. So thank you.

 

Ok. I'm just about done talking. Once again, I really hope you enjoyed this. Please review if you liked it! n_n