view old/stories/prismhearts-05.txt @ 4:69f0191c9016 moonlitnights tip

added error.log and access.log
author Robert McIntyre <rlm@mit.edu>
date Tue, 22 Jun 2010 13:42:35 -0400
parents fc00894c1d4a
children
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3 Author’s Notes: I’d like to thank Laine for her help in writing
4 this. ^-^ And I’d like to thank my brother, Cloud, for a lot of the
5 ideas that show up in Prism Hearts. Without his Kingdom Hearts RPG,
6 Kairi’s travels through Prism Hearts would be completely different.
8 Prism Hearts
9 Chapter 5
10 Time’s Scar
11 by Amazoness Duo
12 amazonessduo@hotmail.com
15 ‘What was the start of all this?
16 When did the cogs of Fate begin to turn?
18 Perhaps it is impossible to grasp that answer now,
19 From deep within the flow of time...
21 But, for a certainty, back then,
22 We loved so many, yet hated so much.
23 We hurt others and were hurt ourselves.
25 Yet even then, we ran like the wind,
26 Whilst our laughter echoed,
27 Under cerulean skies.’
29 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
31 Kairi struggled through a fitful sleep. Something felt terribly
32 wrong, but she couldn’t make out what. But that feeling that things
33 weren’t right pervaded her sleeping form as she tossed and turned.
34 She tried to push through the thick fog that clouded her mind, to
35 force herself to wake up. The harder she tried, the more confused she
36 became. She could feel herself in bed, the blankets wrapped around
37 her. But she could also feel herself somewhere else, waves lapping
38 somewhere nearby. She rolled onto her side. The bed shifted under
39 her. Her hands opened and closed slowly, damp sand pressing against
40 them. It felt like she was in two places at once. Water slowly rose
41 and fell against Kairi’s hand. It must be the waves she had heard.
42 Was she back home? But which home? The Destiny Islands or the room
43 she so often found herself in? Or both?
45 Footsteps slowly approached her, but Kairi couldn’t tell if it was
46 from the beach or the room. Her eyes struggled to open, but they felt
47 so heavy. Her whole body felt weak and exhausted. She just wanted to
48 sleep, even though she felt that someone was watching her.
50 The footsteps grew closer, finally stopping next to her. ‘Get up!’
51 she told herself. Now wasn’t the time to be lying there. She needed
52 to see whoever it was. But despite her concerns, she just couldn’t
53 work up the will to get up, let alone to open her eyes.
55 The footsteps finally stopped abruptly next to her. The person or
56 creature that had made them seemed to be studying her for a long
57 moment. She strained to get up, but the most she could manage was to
58 clench her fists, one in cool water and the other in bed sheets.
60 The person watching her tsked, looking down at her. “Zere will be
61 great enemity between you and ze worlds. Tis not speculation. Tis
62 histoire. You are ze key to opening it all up or shattering it all
63 completely. Which will you decide?” the voice finally said in a
64 feminine French accent. A soft sigh escaped the girl above Kairi
65 before she turned to leave. “But first you must decide where you are,
66 no?”
68 Kairi wanted to respond, to ask the person what she meant, but all
69 she could get out was a weak, sleepy grumble. What did she mean that
70 she could destroy everything? She was only one of the seven
71 princesses. And the doorway the princesses could open was already
72 sealed, so her importance was over. Now she was only a girl searching
73 for her friends. She tried one last time to get to her feet, pushing
74 off from the bed.
76 And she was up. She blinked wearily, a hand going to her eyes to
77 shield them from the sunset that greeted her. It stretched out lazily
78 along the horizon before her, beautiful swirls of pink and orange
79 marking the sky above. The sun glinted from both above and below, as
80 if it were in two places at once. It took her a moment to understand
81 why. It was reflecting off of the water she had been feeling later.
82 But she was not on a beach somewhere. She was in the middle of a vast
83 ocean, no land in sight. Her feet were resting on the water. The
84 water shifted under her, almost throwing her off balance. It still
85 felt like water, but she was somehow walking on it, the liquid
86 holding her up. She shot her gaze about quickly, trying to spot the
87 girl who had been speaking earlier, but she was all alone on the
88 ocean.
90 “Why don’t things ever make sense!?” She called out in anger and
91 frustration.
93 ‘Because it’s not real,’ a voice whispered in her ear.
95 Kairi jerked around, trying to spot the voice. She sighed when she
96 realized it was the one that always seemed to appear in her head.
97 “Why won’t you leave me alone? If you aren’t going to help me find
98 Riku and Sora then you could at least stop bothering me all the time.”
100 ‘Maybe you’re looking in the wrong places. I know where Riku and
101 Sora are,’ the voice taunted.
103 “Where? Where are they? I need to find them!” Kairi said
104 desperately. This trip had already been so long and grueling. She
105 longed to see her friends again, to laugh and cry with the two of
106 them by her side. She just wanted it to be over.
108 ‘Going to give up already? Riku wouldn’t give up so easily. He’d
109 keep going until he found you. No matter how far. And Sora never
110 returned to the island because he’s still looking for Riku. So they
111 can both come back to you on the island. Only you won’t be there.
112 Because you gave up in the middle of nowhe.’
114 “I’m not giving up! I won’t give up until I see them again! No
115 matter how long it takes!” Kairi cried out, her fists clenched
116 angrily as she scanned the horizon for any sign of the voice. “I… I
117 love them! Nothing will keep me away from them! No matter how many
118 worlds I have to travel across!”
120 A chuckle filled Kairi’s mind. Slow at first, but increasing in
121 volume. It seemed to come from deep within herself. It took Kairi by
122 surprise when she found herself to be chuckling as well. She stopped
123 immediately, disturbed by the source of that eerie feeling. ‘Very
124 well, Princess. Keep up your search. But remember, the door is
125 waiting for you as soon as you’re willing to accept reality. Come
126 back to me. I’m waiting.’
128 Trying to ignore the voice, the brunette kept travelling forward,
129 trying to focus on getting away, far away from the voice at the
130 ‘reality’ that it claimed to be from. The voice, the feelings, they
131 all seemed to swirl about inside of her. Like a thought she couldn’t
132 get rid of, neither willfully thought up or willingly kept. She
133 hugged herself, trying to force away the confusion. She had to
134 concentrate.
136 Onward and onward she traveled, the only sight the shifting water
137 beneath her feet. The sunset was slowly disappearing, the sky
138 becoming a deep purple. Stars began to hint at their existence in the
139 skies above. And still she was no closer to finding out where she was
140 or where she was going. Kairi sighed, collapsing. Hunched over, her
141 hands rested on her thighs as she tried to think. This wasn’t getting
142 her anywhere. There had to be some way to...
144 She blinked. That reflection in the water, it wasn’t her own. She
145 stood up again, looking down below her. The reflection in the water
146 was someone else as if she were standing on someone’s feet. With a
147 flash of recognition, her eyes went wide. “Riku!” she called out.
148 “Riku!!” She blinked back tears. He couldn’t hear her. “Riku!!!” He
149 blinked beneath her, starting to look around. It looked like he had
150 faintly heard something. A surge of hope welled up within Kairi, her
151 hands held tightly to her chest. “Riku! I’m right here!” He kept
152 scanning around, looking about him. “Look up! Please look up, Riku!”
153 she pleaded. If he saw her, then maybe they could find a way to be
154 together again. She wouldn’t be on this quest alone.
156 She needed him, needed someone to help her forget the cold reality
157 that kept being forced upon her. She needed to get to him. Kneeling
158 down, she tried to claw at the water, trying to reach him. “Riku!”
159 Her fingers broke through the water, hands plunging into the waves
160 beneath. And suddenly, so did she. As if the ground had been dropped
161 out from under her, the princess dropped into the depths. As water
162 surrounded her, she could see him up above, on the surface. But she
163 couldn’t swim up to him. It felt like her body was a lead weight. No
164 matter how hard she struggled, she kept sinking lower into inky
165 darkness. He grew further and further away, disappearing as the
166 darkness overcame her. She reached out, remembering his words from so
167 long ago. ‘Take my hand, Kairi. Take my hand and everything will be
168 all right.’ Her arm ached against the water as she struggled to reach
169 him, plunging ever deeper. She could see him, reaching for her. But
170 even that dissipated into nothingness as she sank.
172 And she landed heavily onto something soft. For a moment, she could
173 only lie there. “Riku...” she said mournfully. So close... If only
174 she could have reached out faster, then maybe...
176 “Told you that you were looking in the wrong places,” the voice
177 chided from the other side of the door.
179 Kairi sat up immediately, her eyes wide. Not here. Anywhere but
180 here. Sure enough, she could see her room once again, pictures of the
181 Destiny Islands, Riku and Sora on the walls. Figurines from a dozen
182 Squaresoft games littered her desk. Dolls she had made lay all over
183 her bed. This was the last place she wanted to be. She couldn’t deal
184 with it at the moment. “No...” She sighed, picking up the Riku and
185 Sora dolls and hugging them as tightly as she could.
187 “I already knew you didn’t like it here, Kairi. Why else would you
188 spend all of your time escaping into fantasy? Playing games and
189 watching fairy tales and pretending you were this pretty girl on an
190 island where you two best friends were boys who were in love with
191 you. Oh, and your whole suicide stunt. I think you’ve made it
192 blatantly obvious you don’t like it here, Kairi. I think everyone
193 knows that but you. Because you’re so obsessed with your fantasy
194 world that you can’t step back for a second and remember the sad
195 lonely girl you really are,” the voice said, sounding frustrated.
197 “This can’t be real,” Kairi whispered, getting off the bed. She
198 slowly walked to the locked door to her bedroom, squeezing the dolls
199 in her arms. They were the boys she loved, yet here they were only
200 fluff and cloth.
202 “It is, Kairi. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you can open
203 the door and step out into reality. Reality is darkness. But it’s
204 also Truth. So the Truth is darkness.”
206 Kairi shook her head, kneeling in front of the door. “No, it can’t
207 be like that. Even in the darkness, there will always be light.
208 Grandma told me that. Back.. Back at the palace. I can remember
209 that.” A smile of satisfaction lit up her face. She could remember
210 bits and pieces of her life back at the palace as a princess. That
211 gave her some hope. She didn’t just have memories from this place.
213 “That’s only because we can dream. Dreams are the light. But hopes
214 and dreams are lies. Only there to delude ourselves with visions of
215 what we wish would happen,” the voice argued.
217 “It’s not like that. It’s not,” Kairi replied softly, resting her
218 head against the door. “It can’t be. I have to find Riku and Sora. I
219 need to be with them again. And we’ll travel to all sorts of
220 beautiful places.”
222 “I know you’re lonely. I know you miss them,” the voice whispered,
223 pressing it’s own head against the door. “I just wish you could
224 accept things, Kairi. You’re so far away because of this. And no
225 matter how hard I try, I can’t get you back. Because you keep running
226 away. Come home, Kairi. Please,” the voice pleaded.
228 Fingers slid under the door, lying there. The princess slowly
229 reached out, taking them. They curled over her own, trying to hold
230 onto her. They felt warm and soft against her hand. And it felt so
231 nice to be near someone in this creepy room. Even if it was some
232 faceless person behind a door. But she felt like she could almost
233 remember who it was. Almost...
235 The hand held onto her tighter, starting to squeeze her hand
236 painfully as it gripped her own. Kairi felt a pit of anxiety in her
237 stomach. She tried to pull away, but the grip was too tight. “Hey...
238 Let go. That hurts.” She yanked back, but still with no results.
239 “Oww...” A shattering sound got her attention, her heart pounding.
240 Her window had burst. She could see water gushing in as if the house
241 were underwater. She tried harder to pull her hand away to no avail.
242 Water was quickly filling the room. It was already up to her thighs
243 and she couldn’t stand up to get away from it because of the hand.
244 “Let go!” she cried. She was cut short by the rising water. She was
245 quickly submerged in her bedroom. Books and figurines floated past
246 her in the churning waters. She was going to drown. That thought
247 horrified her. She was going to drown in that lonely, evil room.
249 The hand holding hers tightened further and yanked her forward. The
250 door was no longer there. Neither was the rest of her room. She moved
251 swiftly through the water, finally breaking above the surface of the
252 water. Her lungs burned painfully, her body weak. Her knees gave out,
253 her body slumping back into the water. But arms were quickly around
254 her, pulling her out of the water. “It will be all right, Kairi. I
255 have you.” She looked up weakly to see the cloaked boy she had met
256 some time ago. Her head collapsing against his chest, she passed out.
258 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
260 Sephiroth watched a small floating image before him. There were
261 several keyholes in front of a larger keyhole. One of the keyholes
262 had lit up. “Kefka,” the soldier murmured to himself. That was one
263 down. There were only so many left. It was only a matter of time.
264 Kefka hadn’t understood that he was serious when he had said that
265 Kairi was the key to all of this. She was the important thing, not
266 her keyblade or her friends. But now was not the time to act. All he
267 could do was sit and watch and wait.
269 “So she’s opened one of the Keyholes already? She may be more
270 trouble than we had thought,” a woman said, crossing her arms.
272 “One little girl is not going to be a problem. Kefka was a fool. As
273 long as she can’t get close enough to use her Keyblade, she isn’t a
274 problem. I’d simply wipe her out with an Eidolon, but I’ve been
275 forbidden from doing so,” the bishounen said, pouting.
277 “Destroying her would only be problematic. Why kill that which we
278 can use? She is the key to obtaining all of our goals, after all.
279 With her, we can unleash the Heartless entirely. And then we can do
280 what we will in our own worlds. I already have such plans for mine,”
281 a soft voice said, slowly smiling. “We never would have been able to
282 accomplish our goals before, but we have banded together to make our
283 dreams come true. Let’s not forget what is important. Realizing our
284 dreams, no matter how we must go about it.”
286 “Yes. Kefka forgot about that. But his dream was one of madness. He
287 couldn’t fight off the Princess. She was too strong for his madness
288 shrouded heart. Just be careful none of you make the same mistake,”
289 Sephiroth said. Closing his hand, he dispersed the image. “I have
290 work to do. I’ll leave the rest up to you for now. Don’t make the
291 same mistakes Kefka did. And remember, I want her alive.” Turning, he
292 exited the dark room.
294 The pretty boy grinned. “I guess that means it’s my turn. I better
295 hurry home to make sure everything’s going according to plan.” With
296 that, the white haired boy disappeared in a flash of light.
298 ~~~~~~~~~~~~
300 Kairi awake with a start, glancing around a dimly lit room. The
301 kitten that she had rescued was rubbing it’s head into her chin,
302 purring softly. She smiled softly at it, scratching its chin. It
303 looked up at her with its odd green eyes, questioningly. The ocean
304 was gently washing up on shore somewhere not far from where she was.
305 She sat up slowly, looking about the room. This didn’t seem familiar.
306 At least it wasn’t her bedroom. She sighed in relief.
308 “You’re up,” a voice said.
310 Swallowing, the princess tried to pinpoint the voice. She finally
311 found it on the bed rather than in her head. Another good sign. It
312 was the silver haired cloaked boy. He was sitting on the edge of the
313 bed, watching her. Well, as best as one can watch someone while
314 wearing a blindfold. She reached out slowly for it, but he moved
315 away. “Why do you wear that?” she inquired, watching him as he stood
316 up.
318 “To blind myself from the darkness. So I won’t see it anymore. I’ve
319 already looked too deeply into it. This way I can keep from staring
320 at it again. If you look too deeply into the darkness, it stares back
321 at you,” He explained.
323 Kairi nodded simply. She didn’t exactly understand, but that seemed
324 to be the best explanation she could get. “Who are you?” she asked at
325 last.
327 “A friend,” was his only reply.
329 Sighing, the brunette slowly got to her bare feet. Looking around,
330 she finally spotted her shoes. She stared at them for a long moment,
331 thinking. “You saved me. What you said about their being light even
332 in the darkest heart. If it weren’t for you...” She shuddered at the
333 thought of being possessed by the Slave Crown. What horrible things
334 would Kefka be making her do?
336 The boy said nothing for a long moment. He undid the blinds, letting
337 them raise up and let light into the room. It was small and messy, a
338 room in some small village. The ocean rolled nearby. “You’re looking
339 for your friends, aren’t you?”
341 Nodding emphatically, Kairi stood up. “With all my heart. I have to
342 find them. They need me. I know it.”
344 “One of them is searching for the other. You’ll find him by
345 searching for the one he is looking for. Your paths will eventually
346 cross if you seek the same thing,” he said, turning back to Kairi.
348 “Riku...” Kairi nodded. “If I look for Riku, I’ll run into Sora.”
349 That made sense. Then they could find Riku together. And they could
350 all be together again. She smiled. That sounded so perfect. She
351 looked down at the kitten. Having hopped off the bed, it was now
352 rubbing against her ankles, meowing. It almost sounded like it was
353 trying to say something. She reached down, picking it up. Petting the
354 kitten, she looked up thoughtfully at the cloaked boy. “But where do
355 I look for Riku?”
357 “You can’t reach him yet. He was locked away when Sora locked the
358 Doorway to the Darkness.”
360 Kairi’s shoulders slumped. “But.. There has to be some way to reach
361 him, right? He can’t be locked away forever.” Her heart skipped a
362 beat. All that Sora had done to save everyone couldn’t have doomed
363 Riku. It didn’t seem fair that Riku would have to suffer so that
364 everyone else would be safe. Damn it, she wanted to Riku to be there,
365 to smile at her. He couldn’t be lost forever.
367 “There is always a Doorway to the Light. That is the door he is
368 behind now that the darkness is banished. If you can unlock the
369 Doorway to the Light, you can reach him,” the boy explained.
371 “Great! Now where’s the Doorway to the Light? If I can find that, I
372 can meet up with Sora and we can open it up and see Riku again.” She
373 felt almost giddy again. She finally had some inkling of what was
374 going on, of how to find her friends. She was anxious to be underway.
376 “It isn’t that simple,” the silver haired boy warned. “The Doorway
377 to the Light has several locks on it. These locks are Keyholes that
378 reside within the hearts of several people. You must unlock all of
379 them in order to unlock the Doorway to the Light.” He watched her
380 disappointment for a moment before continuing. “You have already
381 unlocked one of the Keyholes. The Keyhole of Madness lay within
382 Kefka’s heart. You must unlock the rest before the Doorway to the
383 Light will open.”
385 Kairi nodded thoughtfully. It had been hard enough to unlock Kefka’s
386 heart. But if that was the only way to save Riku, she had to do it.
387 He would do no less for her. “Whatever it takes,” she said at last.
389 “Good. I was hoping you would say that. He needs you. You’re the
390 only one who can save him. Go and find the Keyholes. Unlock them.
391 Then you will find the Doorway. Behind it lies your friend. And the
392 Light. It is the only way to stop the Heartless. When the Doorway to
393 the Darkness was closed, they were cut off. They are limited in
394 numbers now. By opening up the light, you can vanquish them forever.”
396 “No more Heartless,” the princess repeated. ‘And no more of that
397 messed up reality. That’s tied into the Heartless, that voice said.
398 So if I can stop the Heartless, I won’t ever have to go back. We can
399 go back to our islands,’ she thought to herself.
401 “You’re the only one who can open the door, Kairi.” The boy turned
402 from her, heading out the door. His work here was done. For now.
404 Kairi could only watch him go. He seemed so familiar. But she didn’t
405 know what to say. “Thank you,” she said as he reached the doorway. He
406 paused for a moment but said nothing before disappearing through the
407 doorway. Kairi sighed, clutching a hand to her heart. She knew what
408 she had to do. Even if it did feel a little overwhelming. But she’d
409 already unlocked one of the Keyholes. What were a few more?
411 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
413 ‘Dear Diary,
414 Hi again! Well, we’re working on the Island Festival after all. The
415 adults cancelled it because of all the weird stuff going on lately,
416 so we’re gonna throw one ourselves. I’ve been so busy making
417 decorations for it that my hands hurt! But as long as we can have our
418 festival, it doesn’t matter. Besides, Quisty has been rubbing my
419 hands when I complain about it. *blush* So I’m happy about that. I
420 was complaining about it earlier while she was studying on the beach.
421 At least I got her out of the house, even if she insisted on bringing
422 her book with her. And she just nodded, looking at me with those
423 pretty blue eyes of hers looking at me through her cute glasses and
424 then she reached out and took my hands, rubbing them. And it felt a
425 lot better because of that. We talked a bit while she did that, even
426 though my mind was elsewhere. I hope it wasn’t too obvious.
428 That hole’s still there on the island. It’s looking bigger now. It’s
429 really spooky. There’s just nothing there. Wakka said someone should
430 take a look. Then he asked Tidus to go do it. Tidus shook his head,
431 saying he wasn’t gonna do it and that Wakka should because Wakka’s
432 older. I’m starting to wonder if Kairi fell down that hole. I sure
433 hope not. I’d hate to think she was swallowed up by that big scary
434 nothingness. It almost made me want to go in to look for her, but I
435 just stood closer to Quisty as we all stared at it. We finally left,
436 trying to think of something to play to get our minds off of it. But
437 I don’t think the hole’s gonna go away. And what happens if it keeps
438 getting bigger? We can’t ignore it forever.
440 But that’s what we have the festival for! To forget about things
441 now. We’ll deal with things later on. Right now we have that to worry
442 about. I’m in charge of the Destiny Island Festival Committee! It was
443 Quisty’s idea to give it an official sounding name. So we put it all
444 together and since it was my idea, I get to be in charge. We’ve been
445 drawing up plans of all the stuff we wanna do for it. The boys
446 weren’t too thrilled about the whole dance on the beach under the
447 stars, but I told them that we’re doing it anyway. I’m dancing with
448 Quisty at the festival whether they like it or not! Tidus is just too
449 shy to ask Yuna to dance with him. If he doesn’t ask soon, Lulu’s
450 going to and he’s gonna lose his chance. Seems like everyone like’s
451 Yuna. I can kinda understand. She’s a bit like Quisty. They’re both
452 really thoughtful and quiet sometimes and get depressed over little
453 things because they’re worried about disappointing everyone. If only
454 they’d realize we love them anyway! They don’t have to be perfect.
455 But I’d be better off telling Quisty that than my diary. I’ll
456 remember to do that later when she’s being quiet again.
458 Tidus and Wakka are putting up some decorations right now. I can
459 hear them hammering away. It’s hard to think. But I’m still exhausted
460 from running around all day collecting stuff for the decorations, so
461 that’s probably part of the reason. Lulu’s using her magic to light
462 some fires so we can see. It’s not too late, but some really dark
463 clouds have rolled in and it’s hard to see. Yuna’s giving moral
464 support and carrying some of the decorations from place to place. Now
465 that I think about it, I’ll probably ask her to teach me how to dance
466 before the festival. I know Quisty’s a great dancer because she’s a
467 scholar-type and she learned that sorta thing for some reason. Yuna’s
468 a great dancer, too. Sometimes she’ll dance out in the waves and it’s
469 really, really good. I wanna be good, too, when I dance with Quisty
470 during the festival, but I can’t ask her because then it won’t be a
471 special when we do. So I’ll get Yuna to teach me. I’m so excited! I
472 can just imagine twirling about with Quisty under the stars! If these
473 dark clouds ever go away. Grrr... Go away! I want my starry nights!
475 The seas have been getting angrier, too. It’s like they’re restless.
476 I was collecting shells on the beach for the decorations and the
477 waves just pulled back for a moment. Then this big, dark wave came
478 crashing into me. I was so surprised that I let go of everything I’d
479 collected. I tumbled around until I was completely dizzy and then the
480 water rolled right back out. When I finally got back to my feet, I
481 realized one of my sandals was missing. The wave stole it! Anyway, I
482 ran off after that, deciding to look a little further inland on the
483 island for things to make decorations. I don’t like how angry the
484 ocean looks. It’s not that beautiful aquamarine it used to be. It’s
485 all jagged and very dark. I hope it’s not a bad sign.
487 Oh, good! There’s Yuna. I’m gonna go ask her to teach me how to
488 dance. We don’t have much time until the festival, so I’m gonna try
489 my hardest for it! Booyaka!
491 Selphie Tilmitt’
493 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
495 Relm sat on the edge of the dock, idly swinging her legs above the
496 quiet waves that rolled up to graze the shore as Yuffie paced
497 restlessly out of the corner of her eye. The ninja’s light footfalls
498 on the worn wooden planks were steady and rhythmic, lulling her into
499 a sense of peace that seemed so at odds to everything that had
500 happened. They had appeared in Arni out of nowhere, two days ago,
501 lying just out of the clutching grasp of the sea. The fishermen had
502 taken them in, thinking them victims of a rough sea.
504 But how could that have been? They had been in Kefka’s prison, and
505 then they were here. The only way it could dubiously be explained
506 was Kairi’s Keyblade, but the princess was still asleep.
508 “When did they say she was going to wake up?” Yuffie demanded for
509 the umpteenth time, scowling.
511 “They didn’t say, but they’re pretty sure she’ll be fine.” The
512 artist turned slightly to watch the water rise and fall as if it were
513 breathing, orange-gold sunlight edging the waves. ‘I’d love to paint
514 this…but all my paints are back in Narshe. Assuming Narshe stills
515 exists.’ She closed her eyes for a moment, marking the loss that
516 still seemed fuzzy and undefined. Had all that really happened?
517 Celes…and Kefka…and Interceptor? Or was everything, even her being
518 here, just a dream?
520 With a sigh, Yuffie sat down besides her, leaning back until the
521 ninja lay flat against the boards. “Well, at least we’re safe for
522 now.”
524 “Are we really?” Relm asked in a soft voice, remembering that her
525 grandfather had presumed the same thing.
527 “Huh?” Yuffie raised her head, surprised at Relm’s dampened
528 spirits. She’d thought that the other girl would have been perky and
529 optimistic till the sun fell out of the sky. It just goes to show you
530 how different people can be from what the seem.
532 She reached out and patted Relm’s shoulder, a bit awkwardly, but
533 sincere nonetheless. “Hey, it’s ok. No one would dare to cross the
534 world’s greatest ninja, after all! So you’re safe here with me.”
535 She grinned her trademark grin, hoping to rouse a bit of cheer.
537 Flushing, Relm smiled a little. “Thanks, Yuffie.” Lying back on the
538 planks, she rested her head on Yuffie’s bare stomach, curled beneath
539 the large sun in the sky above. She closed her eyes but they
540 fluttered open instantly, visions of Celes and Interceptor and the
541 burning buildings of Narshe invading her thoughts. Better to watch
542 the sea, she decided. With Yuffie. Yes, she could believe that things
543 would be all right as long as she had this ninja girl to protect her.
544 She scooted closer. Yuffie smelled so nice and felt so warm. She took
545 solace in those little things. They calmed her, soothing her spirits.
546 Yes, she’d be fine. ‘I’ll be all right, Interceptor. You just rest,
547 my friend. I know I’ll be safe. Yuffie can protect me for now.’
549 Yuffie lay there awkwardly, staring up at the brilliant blue sky.
550 She could feel Relm’s eyelashes tickling her stomach as they blinked.
551 This wasn’t quite the reaction she’d been expecting when she’d
552 attempted to raise the artist’s spirits. The back of the blonde
553 girl’s bandana swished in the wind, moving across her ribs. But then,
554 what could she do? Push her away? The girl had just lost her
555 surrogate family and her best friend. Even if it was just a dog. So
556 it made sense that she was feeling a bit clingy. It wasn’t like it
557 was that hard to suffer through. Though part of her wanted to explain
558 that she wasn’t something to cling onto. She was a ninja and a thief,
559 not something cute and cuddly to grapple onto. But she decided to let
560 it pass this once. The younger girl needed some comforting and it
561 looked like she’d have to try her best. Hesitantly, Yuffie reached
562 down, placing a hand on Relm’s head. ‘Now what?’ she thought.
563 Sighing, she let her hand drop. Maybe she wasn’t the best for this
564 anyway. After all, she’d spent her whole life looking out for
565 herself. She wasn’t used to trying to perk someone else up.
567 Relm looked up when she felt Yuffie’s hand pull away. Giggling
568 softly, she reached up, pulling her bandana away. Medium length
569 blonde hair fell about Yuffie’s stomach. Relm rested her head back on
570 the ninja’s stomach, looking up the small slope of Yuffie’s chest to
571 the short haired ninja, waiting.
573 Yuffie smiled nervously at the artist, looking at those deeply
574 intent blue eyes. It seemed fairly obvious why she had gotten rid of
575 the bandana. ‘I’m not good at this stuff! I’m not used to dealing
576 with kids! Well, except my little sister, but she’s not around right
577 now.’ Reaching down, Yuffie’s fingers brushed through Relm’s soft,
578 blonde hair. The artist smiled happily, still looking up at her.
579 Yuffie relaxed a bit as she kept stroking the younger girl’s hair.
580 ‘At least she seems to be feeling a little better. So I guess it’s
581 worth it. But she better not be expecting this all the time.’ And it
582 really wasn’t so bad, feeling the silken hair under her fingers, the
583 other girl's warm breath against her stomach. There was something odd
584 in those eyes, though. And Yuffie wasn’t a stranger to weird eyes.
585 Her little sister had strange, spiral eyes. And Cloud had shining
586 green eyes. But there was something more subtle about these. They
587 were normal eyes, she decided at last. It was the look she was
588 getting that was strange. So direct and intense and... something. She
589 felt a little embarrassed having that warm gaze directed at her.
590 ‘Great. She’s probably gonna think of me as a mother figure or
591 something. And I am not a mother figure.’
593 Relm, on the other hand, was thinking anything but motherly thoughts
594 about Yuffie. “Yuffie? Do you have a boyfriend?” she asked at last.
595 It seemed quiet, the sound of seagulls and the waves all a part of
596 the background.
598 Shaking her head, Yuffie looked back up at the clouds thoughtfully.
599 “No, I’m too busy. Not that I really want one anyway. I see all these
600 couples around me like Cloud and Aerith, Rinoa and Squall, and I just
601 can’t see myself like that. Nothing against Aerith or Rinoa. I just
602 can’t see myself like that with some boyfriend.”
604 Relm smiled, pleased with Yuffie’s response. “Good.”
606 “Good? Why good?” Yuffie asked, blinking, looking back down at the
607 artist. That was an odd line of questioning. And she didn’t see why
608 that would be a good answer anyway. She just didn’t care about
609 finding a boyfriend right now. There were too many other things to
610 worry about. It wasn’t anywhere on her list of priorities.
612 “No reason,” Relm said, smiling secretively, tracing images on
613 Yuffie’s stomach with her finger. The warm skin felt like a wonderful
614 background for her. She could imagine her brushes running over it,
615 drawing the images in bright colors on Yuffie’s skin. “You should
616 really let me paint you sometime,” she said absentmindedly.
618 “I’m not really sure I’d be a good model for a portrait,” Yuffie
619 replied, sweatdropping.
621 Relm giggled. “I was thinking about something else, but a portrait
622 would be nice, too. And you’d be a great model. Ninjas can be patient
623 and sit and wait for hours to ambush someone. So just use that deep
624 well of patience and it’ll be done quickly.”
626 Yuffie frowned. She was a great ninja, after all. She couldn’t argue
627 with that. She sighed in defeat. “Yeah, I guess you can. Sometime.
628 Maybe.” She could imagine Aerith having a picture painted of her.
629 That girl could be patient. But she just couldn’t see herself sitting
630 there, being sketched. But if it made the girl feel better, then she
631 guessed she could suffer through it. And it might make for a good
632 picture. Relm was obviously very good with art. It might be
633 interesting, she thought grudgingly.
635 “Great!” Relm squealed happily. It was nice to have other things to
636 think about. And right now she was happy just to be thinking about
637 Yuffie. And feeling her so close. She shifted a bit, resting her head
638 now on Yuffie’s chest. The ninja almost sat up, but Relm didn’t move.
639 Yuffie sighed and stayed where she was. The artist could feel the
640 small green top under her cheek, and the soft skin underneath. And
641 beneath all that, the gentle thump of Yuffie’s heart. It was the
642 heart of her princess, the ninja she had long awaited. She smiled at
643 the thought. “It must have been Fate,” she said softly.
645 “What must have been Fate?” Yuffie asked, watching the quirky
646 artist. She sure was acting strangely. But then, all artists were a
647 little strange, weren’t they? At least, Zidane had said so. But who
648 was he to talk? Yuffie tried to look up again, but her eyes kept
649 being drawn back to the head on her chest, to Relm’s bright blue
650 eyes. Her keen intuition was telling her to be on guard, but logic
651 told her there was nothing to fear from the younger girl. But still,
652 she couldn’t quell her growing unease.
654 “Meeting you. Finding myself lost somewhere far away with you. The
655 two of us sitting under the endless sky right now. It must have been
656 Fate. I don’t think this is all an accident. We were destined to
657 meet. I was destined to rescue you from a frosty death. We were
658 destined to travel together. Destined to fall madly and passionately
659 in love,” Relm said, her eyes sparkling. Yes, it was all Fate, a
660 guiding hand that had led her to this beautiful moment. Her budding
661 romance with her very own ninja. Just like her mother.
663 “Destined to.. What?!” Yuffie blinked, her mind whirling at the
664 artists words. That had certainly not been what she had been
665 expecting. Possibly a surrogate mother figure, but a lover? Where was
666 Relm coming up with all of this stuff? She tried to get up, but Relm
667 pinned her. She was stronger than the artist, but Relm had caught her
668 by surprise and Yuffie’s head was still spinning. The blonde had
669 straddled her, looking down into her eyes. Yuffie could easily push
670 the girl off, but she found herself paralyzed underneath the blonde
671 artist.
673 “Destined to fall in love and spend forever together. Don’t you
674 believe in Fate?” Relm asked curiously, looking down at the older
675 ninja girl. “I guess I’ll just have to prove it to you.” She
676 whispered. Leaning down, she could see Yuffie’s wild eyes as she got
677 closer. Her own heart pounded feverishly, a delicious thrill cycling
678 through her blood. Had this been what it was like for her mother
679 while falling in love with her father? It was definitely dizzying.
681 Yuffie felt Relm’s lips press against her own, soft delicate petals
682 that seemed to melt against her own, flowing into them. She could
683 only sit there, aghast at what was happening. This little artist girl
684 had just professed her love for her. And here they were on some other
685 planet. And she was pinned underneath her, being kissed. Not just
686 some stage kiss, but a true, warm kiss. ‘Stop her!’ part of Yuffie
687 cried out. ‘She can’t do that to you!’ But Yuffie’s body refused to
688 cooperate. She could only lie there, subject to Relm’s will. That
689 thought sent a shudder through Yuffie. No one could control her but
690 herself. So she needed to get up and prove it. But Relm kept kissing
691 her. And for some reason, Yuffie couldn’t get herself to push the
692 young artist away. Her hands had reached Relm’s stomach, but she
693 couldn’t call upon the strength to force her off.
695 “Now what the bloody ‘ell is this?” a bemused voice asked.
697 Yuffie shoved the artist off, standing up and whirling about. She
698 winced as she heard the splash behind her. Relm was not going to be
699 happy about that. Wait. Why did she care if Relm liked it or not?
700 Relm deserved to get dunked for trying to kiss her. Well, not exactly
701 trying. Damn technicalities. Yuffie tried to cover her embarrassment
702 with anger, glaring at the intruder. “Kid?! What are you doing here?”
704 The blonde thief laughed, her hands on her hips. “Didn’t know ya had
705 it in ya, Yuffie.” She winked, sending an angry flush across Yuffie’s
706 cheeks. “And here I always thought you’d be the one on top.”
708 Relm yanked herself back up onto the dock, soaking wet and
709 grumbling. “What was that for?! You could’ve asked me to stop!” She
710 hugged herself, shivering in the light breeze. Her hair hung wetly
711 across her face. She tried to blow some wet hair from in front of
712 her, but it stubbornly refused to move.
714 “Wouldja have stopped?” Kid asked, still grinning. She had been glad
715 to see her fellow Radical Dreamer, but she found the situation she
716 found Yuffie in the be endlessly amusing.
718 Relm crossed her arms, frowning. “No. But she could’ve tried, at
719 least, before throwing me into the water.”
721 “I didn’t through you, I just... Wait,” Yuffie shook her head,
722 trying to clear her thoughts. “Like this is my fault. You were the
723 one who started... Just don’t do that!”
725 “I can’t make any promises,” Relm said stubbornly.
727 “Kid! There you are!” A voice said behind them.
729 Kid had a caught look on her face, but it melted away as she turned
730 around, masking it. “And if it isn’t the light o’ my life right now!
731 How ya doin’ Leena?”
733 “I thought you were supposed to be getting my Komodo scale necklace
734 right now. If you’re still around here, there might not be any when
735 you get there. And then I’ll be the only girl in the village without
736 one. You don’t want that to happen, do you?” Leena asked. She seemed
737 to be taking this incredibly seriously. And why wouldn’t she? It was
738 a big deal in a world filled with fishing and the everyday facets of
739 life. This was something important, a gift that all boyfriends got
740 their loving girlfriends. And Kid was her boyfriend. Or something
741 like that. So Kid was going to get her one. Whether she liked it or
742 not.
744 “Just about on my way, darling,” Kid said, trying to appease the
745 redhead. “Just getting some help from a friend of mine. Isn’t that
746 right, Yuffie?”
748 “Who’s the one on top with you two?” Yuffie asked dryly, raising an
749 eyebrow.
751 Kid gave her a dirty look before grinning back at Leena. “Well, off
752 we go. We’ll be back with your necklace before you know it, love.”
753 She kissed Leena’s cheek as she walked by, dragging Yuffie behind her.
755 Leena sighed reluctantly. “All right. I’ll be waiting, Kid. Come
756 back, soon! I’ll be done babysitting by then!” She waved at the
757 departing thieves.
759 “Wait! I’m coming, too!” Relm said angrily. She wasn’t about to let
760 Yuffie leave her behind. She had to teach the ninja a thing or two
761 about Fate. Yuffie was hers, most definitely. She just didn’t know it
762 yet.