Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Trouble ❯ Kindred Hearts ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter One: Kindred Hearts
By: Asura Mori

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, and I doubt that they would have Ansem raping any of their characters, so I don't own the characters either. Heh, but I do own my plot-device!

/Riku's Pov/

How many days had it been since I'd seen the light of my own world? How long had it been since I'd seen the faces of those friends who I had left behind? I didn't know. Minutes seemed like hours here. Hours like days. Days like years. I had lost track of time long ago. My thoughts were what kept me company these days, since Ansem was almost never around.

It was painful thinking about Sora and Kairi, especially since the last time I'd seen them, they were locking lips. I had known for a long time how they felt about each other... but still it was painful, feeling the emptiness that image had brought upon me. I had always known that I would be alone after they admitted their feelings to each other, known that I would be left behind while they were happy and together. Alone and suffering, not from the loss of my friends, but from the nightmare called Ansem. But I'm even more alone now.

I stopped my pacing and sat down with a sigh. Ansem wouldn't be back until later, though how much later I didn't know. There really was nothing to do here in the Realm of Darkness, which was where I had gone with Ansem after our little bedroom scene. I couldn't help but wonder if Sora and Kairi were even worried about me. Did they even notice that I was gone? I started to summon the little orb that would show me my friends, but stopped, feeling the emptiness that always accompanied this action. No, I wouldn't look in on them, but... "Sora... Kairi..." I whispered, knowing there was no way they could ever hear me, "... Be happy."

/Sora's Pov/

I looked up, swearing that I had heard Riku's voice just now. But there was nothing, only the setting sun. I watched from the shore, the sun's wavering rays reflecting like a thousand stars upon the ocean. Riku had been missing for over a week now and nobody knew what had happened to him. I had gone over to his house the day after he'd left Kairi and me on the beach. His mother said he was upstairs, asleep, and that she'd go and wake him up. She came back down, sobbing that Riku was gone.

I looked up at the sky, wondering if they could possibly know the answer to this mystery. "Riku... where are you...?" I asked, watching the clouds as they sailed by. Everything was quiet as I watched the clouds, but I received no answer to the question I so badly wanted answered. I needed to tell Riku something, something important, but now...

I turned my gaze to the sea, watching as it receded in and out of the shore. Something winked at me from the sea, blinding me for an instant. I squinted and shielded my eyes, trying to see what had blinded me. There, sailing slowly towards me, was a bottle. A bottle with a note inside.

Excitement racked my body and I ran out into the sea, not caring what the consequences could be. I scooped up the bottle, tearing off the cap, and reached inside to retract a letter. King Mickey's stamp caught my eye and I felt my heart stop. I opened it, then and there, and started to read. All it said was "Come to the castle. Riku's been taken."

I blinked, then ran over to the little boat that was tied to the dock. I had to go and get Kairi. It was time for us both to save Riku... but from what?

/Riku's Pov/

What was this feeling? ... Excitement? Why would I be excited, especially at this time? Ansem would be back soon, I knew that, but that was no reason to get excited. I looked around, wondering if this was just some joke of his, when something caught my eye. A golden... light... My heart stopped, but my feet kept going. I was finally going to escape from this prison created by Ansem. I was finally going home... through the Door to Light...

A hand clamped down on my shoulder, stopping my sprint towards the light. Only a few feet stood in the way of home and me. What had stopped me. I turned to look into golden-eyes. Of course, I thought, feeling the excitement ebbing away, he would catch me. Ansem glared at me and hissed, "Where do you think you're going, slave? You think you have a chance at redemption after you've accepted the darkness again? Don't kid yourself. There is no redemption for the likes of you and me." I could feel his nails digging into my shoulders, but I said nothing. How could I have been so stupid? Of course Ansem would be here, keeping me here, away from the world of the light. I had no chance at redemption, not with this soiled body. There was no hope for me, even when I was born. "Sora..." I whispered, gazing at the fading Doorway to Light, "...I'm sorry."

/Sora's Pov/

"What do you mean, 'Riku's been taken by Ansem'?! I thought we kicked that guy's sorry ass!!!" Kairi could be aggressive when she wanted to and I was glad that I wasn't the one on the receiving end, though I did feel bad for King Mickey, who was flinching every time she jabbed a finger at him. "Kairi..." she glared at me, daring me to tell her to calm down, "...Just hear him out."

"Thank you, Sora." The King looked at me gratefully, then sighed heavily, "It's true. Riku has gone into darkness again, and I believe that Ansem may have had a hand in this." "But how?" Kairi asked, tears welling up in her eyes, "How could this have happened? And right under our noses? Riku doesn't deserve this, not again." I went over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked at me thankfully, then back at the King. "So, how do we save him?" she asked, clenching her fists. "I've tried. I opened a Doorway to Darkness where Riku could find it, but I believe Ansem stopped him from coming home." the King scowled, "The only way I can think of helping him, is to draw Ansem out and defeat him once and for all, or go to Riku's aid."

I nodded, but something bothered me. The King seemed really depressed and I knew that Riku was a dear friend to him, but something just didn't click together. This whole thing seemed wrong for some reason... "Let's go kick Ansem's ass!!!!!" I heard Kairi whoop. "Again." I whispered, aware of the King watching me, "But... will Riku want to come back?"

To be continued...