Chapter 18: Thoughtful Thoughts
Kingdom Hearts: Friendship’s Turmoil
Chapter 18: Thoughtful Thoughts
Sitting on the roof ledge of the school, with his legs dangling, Sora gazed out of the town, feeling very relaxed. The sun was just about to set, giving the world an orange tinge that made the day feel complete. After what happened at the club, Sora was glad he could just sit down and enjoy himself.
All the explaining and such to the girls was tiring. It probably didn’t help that Sora had left a few things out when he had first told the girls about what was going on. Sora still didn’t really understand what had happened back in the Dream Worlds, and he was willing to bet neither did the girls. At least telling Lea and Riku about what had happened so far in this world had been easier. The events were much more recent, and important for the time being. At the moment, everyone was up to date and ready for whatever the Organization would throw at them.
Hopefully, they would just leave and lose interest, but that was wishful thinking.
“Hey,” Lea said behind him, causing Sora to twist his head around to see Lea and Roxas. “Mind if we join?”
“Yeah, of course,” Sora answered with a nod, eliciting a smile from both of them. Roxas took a seat to Sora’s right, and Lea on Roxas’ right. All of their eyes were focused on the sun setting behind the horizon. The sight made Lea chuckle, making Sora and Roxas look to him.
“This place doesn’t really remind me of Twilight Town,” Lea said, his gaze firmly set on the sun, “But the sunset sure does like to try.”
Roxas raised a brow, glancing to Sora before facing Lea again. “Are you getting sappy on me?” he asked with a smirk, and Lea burst out laughing.
“You need to learn the definition of sappy,” Lea said, pointing a finger at Roxas before nudging him with an elbow. Roxas laughed before giving a content sigh, leaning back against his hands.
“You know what would make this perfect?” Roxas asked, as Sora and Lea looked to him expectantly. “Sea Salt Ice cream.”
“Yeah,” Lea agreed with a nod, resting his elbows on his lap, “But I doubt they’d have them here.”
Roxas nodded slowly, his happiness dampening slightly before he perked up, a smile erupting as he turned to Lea. “Pinkie Pie might have some,” he said enthusiastically, “And if she doesn’t, she could make a few. She’s great at making sweets, and I’m sure she could whip something up.”
Lea looked at Roxas with interest, “You really think so?”
“Definitely,” Roxas nodded, “I’ll talk with her tomorrow. She’s bound to be working over at Sugarcube Cafe.”
It was moments like this that Sora felt happy for Lea and Roxas. They were the best of friends, and to see them together again gave a warm radiance in his heart. Sora had some experience being separated from his friends Riku and Kairi, but for Roxas, and especially for Lea, they thought they’d never see each other again. If his adventures taught him anything, it was that friends were important. Of course, it didn’t take a journey for Sora to know that.
Something was shuffling at Sora’s left, and a look over showed Riku sitting beside him. He looked a bit troubled, but when he looked to Sora, he hid it with a smile. “So you two are heading for Sugarcube Cafe tomorrow?” Riku repeated, gesturing to Roxas and Lea.
“Yep!” Roxas said with an enthusiastic nod.
“Eh, probably,” Lea said, resting his head in his hand, “I mean, Roxas is going there, so might as well tag along. Something’ll happen eventually, right?”
Roxas looked at Lea funny, and Sora had to guess that Roxas had no idea what Lea meant by what he said. Truth be told, neither did Sora. He didn’t expect a lot would happen at a sweetshop.
“What about you, Riku?” Sora said, looking to him, “Got any plans?”
The smile that Riku had mustered faltered as he faced the ground below. Sora had to wonder why Riku always looked so grave when he was in thought. It wasn’t exactly annoying, but it did worry Sora considerably.
“Check up on Applejack,” Riku settled on with a nod, as if confirming it for himself.
“Applejack?” Lea repeated in disbelief, “No offense to her, but she doesn’t seem to have a very exciting lifestyle.”
“Neither did we before all this started to happen,” Sora explained with a shrug.
Lea pointed to Sora, his mouth open a moment before he grunted, lowering his arm. “Good point,” he agreed, scratching the back of his head, “Even still, why visit her?”
Riku shook his head, “She just… has this thing about her, you know? Sora said she was the Element of Honesty, and I think her hard work reflects that.”
“So, what?” Lea asked with a tinge of boredom, “You like that in a girl or something?”
Riku scoffed as he turned away, “I just want to see what she does for a living.”
Rubbing his chin, Sora remembered how prominent Applejack was with apples. It was on her clothing and even in her name. “Maybe she has something to do with apples,” Sora guessed.
“Maybe,” Riku shrugged, looking out into the distance. Everyone else did the same, letting the quiet atmosphere dominate the conversation. The sun had sunk below the horizon, officially ending the day. Blinking lights of various worlds began to appear in the sky, one by one. Turning his eyes upward, Sora was glad to see the worlds shine in the night sky. It showed that they hadn’t fallen to darkness, and the tasks Sora had done to save the worlds were successful.
Even still, they were at risk of crumbling if Sora and his friends failed to protect the magic of friendship. It was imperative that they all stay on track. Glancing back to Riku, Sora noticed that he still had something heavy on his mind. Perhaps it had something to do with their mission.
Sora put a hand on his shoulder, making Riku jerk from the contact, swiftly looking to Sora. “Riku,” Sora said, pausing to find for the right words, “Are you worried about the girls?”
Riku stared at Sora a moment before releasing a sigh, giving a small smile afterwards as he closed his eyes. “Am I that easy to read?” he asked, pushing himself up to a stand. He crossed his arms as Sora waited for some sort of response. It wasn’t until Riku looked down to Sora did he speak up.
“They could be attacked at any time,” Riku said, clenching up his hands, “The Organization or Maleficent could get a hold on them, and we wouldn’t be there to defend them. Doesn’t that bother you at all?”
Sora couldn’t meet Riku’s gaze, nor that of Lea or Roxas. Riku was correct in that their mission was to protect the girls, and Sora had done just that. However, as Sora stood to his feet, he placed a hand on his chest, staring straight ahead.
“I have a feeling we’d know if they were in trouble,” Sora said, facing Riku with determination, “When Roxas was fighting with the two giant Nobodies, someone warned me about it.”
Roxas tilted his head to the side, “Really?”
Sora turned his head before nodding, making Roxas look up at him in confusion. “Who was it?” he asked, getting to his feet as well.
Sora thought for a moment, scratching his cheek. The voice itself was unfamiliar, but it did remind him of someone. “It sounded kind of like Kairi,” he explained before closing his eyes, “But she’s with the King, so I don’t really know who it could have been.”
There was a momentary silence before Riku spoke up, “But how will this voice tell you when they’re in trouble? For all you know, it could have been because Roxas was in trouble, not the girls.”
Contemplating that theory, Sora hummed to himself before giving a grand smile, bumping a fist to his chest as he turned to Riku. “I’ll know in my heart,” he said as he put both hands on his hips, “After all, they are related to the magic of friendship. So if you start being mean, then we’ll know for sure.”
Roxas and Lea burst out laughing, and though Riku was a bit grim on Sora’s explanation, he did give a small smile of his own. It was a pleasant sight to see, especially after everything Riku’s been through. Both of them had never really had a chance to just hang out for once. In a way, their mission had given them that chance.
“Alright,” Lea said, standing up himself as he stretched his arms, “You guys can stand around all you want. I’m going to bed.”
With a yawn, Lea left the three as he made his way to the Gummi Ship, rubbing the back of his head. Roxas turned to watch him leave, and was about to take a step to follow him before a thought struck him.
“Oh, Sora,” he said as Sora looked to him with curiosity, “You didn’t say what you were going to do tomorrow.”
Sora blinked, not realizing his own agenda hadn’t been settled yet. Lea even stopped in his tracks, glancing back to know himself. It didn’t take long for Sora to know who he wanted to visit, and it made him sad knowing that he did.
“I’ll…” he started, giving a sigh, “talk to Fluttershy.”
Roxas gave a look of surprise before his expression turned sorrowful as well. He didn’t say another word, simply giving a small nod before walking for the Gummi Ship. Lea was a bit interested in Sora’s reason for checking on Fluttershy, but he didn’t bother to go into it. As Roxas and Lea entered the Gummi Ship via the platform, Riku looked hard at Sora in his own contemplations.
“Riku,” Sora said, his voice full of sadness. Riku rarely saw Sora sad, and when he was, it was for good reason. It was times like those it was imperative Riku paid attention. After all, Sora made everyone else happy, so it was only right to return the favor. “I need some help.”
Taking a seat on the edge again, Sora leaned his arms against his legs, his eyes trained on his hands. Riku followed suit, taking a seat beside Sora. He didn’t speak, letting Sora think over what to say. It didn’t take long before Sora faced Riku, wishing he didn’t have to say what was plaguing his mind.
“There’s a darkness in me,” Sora said, but Riku remained stoic, letting Sora finish, “When I was fighting you, I tried to turn into Valor Form. But it backfired, and I turned into… a Heartless.”
That time, Riku reacted, his eyes growing wide ever so slightly. Sora shook his head, his gaze falling back down, “I still looked like me, but I was covered in darkness. I was able to defeat you with it and turn back to normal, but the girls… they saw the whole thing.”
“Has this happened before?” Riku asked, trying to recall the times Sora had gone into a Drive Form when they were in the World That Never Was.
Sora had to think about it for a while, desperately attempting to remember one time that it had happened, but came up blank. “I don’t know,” Sora answered, sounding worse by the minute. “But if it did, why didn’t I feel it before? I just have these blank points when I change into a form, times I can’t remember fighting anything. This time, when I left my Heartless form, I could feel my heart full of darkness before it disappeared. Rainbow and Applejack were scared from having to go through it, and the rest of the girls were no better. Riku…” He jerked his head over to Riku, clenching his teeth. “I don’t want to change into it again.”
Nodding, Riku looked up to the night sky, seeing how dark it was. How cruelly ironic that their discussion was held when the light was gone. However, it did give Riku a way to help Sora. “You can’t fight your own darkness, Sora,” Riku said as gently as possible, “It’s a part of you, and if you don’t accept that, it’ll only make matters worse.” He bowed his head. “Trust me, I’ve had experience.”
Sora gave a long sigh, slowly nodding his head as he gave a weak smile. “Thanks, Riku,” he said, who gave a smile of his own.
The two stared up at the stars, admiring the light that shined through the darkness like so many times before. Riku had always liked the night, having the feeling that you’re alone, but at the same time, around so many people. The quiet atmosphere it would bring was also welcoming. However, as great as the night was, it was nothing compared to dawn. A true combination of darkness and light, working together for a breathtaking view. Though, that might have just been Riku’s past experiences talking.
“There’s something else,” Sora said before hastily adding, “But not as serious as the whole darkness thing.”
“Spit it out then,” Riku said teasingly, causing Sora to cheer up a little bit. But the topic he had was still hard to talk about.
“It’s about Fluttershy,” Sora explained, subconsciously putting his hand over his chest. “Ever since I arrived, I had this feeling in my heart. She’s very kind, pretty, and a great person. And I…”
“You like her, huh?” Riku guessed, a sly smile on his face.
Sora blushed slightly, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, “Y-Yeah.”
“Alright,” Riku said, pulling a leg up to rest on the ledge itself, “So what’s the problem?”
“When I turned into the Heartless, “Sora said with a sigh, “Fluttershy saw the whole thing.”
Riku face lit up in understanding, “Ah.”
Sora clenched his chest, feeling the pain of what he had done. If Riku couldn’t help him, then he wasn’t sure what he would do. After everything he and Fluttershy had been through, Sora couldn’t deny it; he liked Fluttershy, truly liked her. He wasn’t sure when these feelings were starting to sprout up, but he had to accept that he had them.
In an after thought, he wondered what Kairi would think about Sora’s feelings. Sora and Kairi had history together, but there was something about Fluttershy, something that made Sora feel like he could pull off the impossible if it meant keeping her safe and happy.
Riku chuckled a little bit, knocking Sora out of his revery as he stared at him in disbelief. “Hey!” Sora exclaimed, his blush intensifying. “What’s so funny?”
Riku grunted in amusement, “I don’t know why you’re asking for my help on that. You already know what you’re going to do.”
“What do you mean?” Sora asked with a tilt of his head, honestly confused.
Riku chuckled again and pointed to Sora’s chest. “You’re going to apologize to her, for scaring her,” Riku said softly, “That’s why you’re visiting her tomorrow, right?”
“Well, yeah,” Sora said before pounding a fist against the ground, “But I can’t just do that! I mean, I scared her once before and apologized, but this is different!”
“How?” Riku retorted.
Sora froze on the spot, unsure how to respond to that. Riku gave a small smirk, glad he had stumped Sora. As naive as Sora was, Riku knew that Sora just had to be himself, and do what he did best; make others smile. Just like he had done with Riku.
“Come on,” Riku said, patting Sora’s shoulder for comfort, “You’re you. I’m sure it’ll work out.” Sora could only release a breath he didn’t know he was holding as Riku raised a brow. “Why did you want to ask me anyway? I don’t have a lot of experience with girls, you know.”
It was Sora’s turn to raise a brow, looking baffled at what he had heard. “You’re kidding, right?” Sora asked, leaning towards Riku who leaned away, “Who wouldn’t like you? All the girls back home talked about you all the time.”
“Well then, they were missing out,” Riku said, getting to his feet and walking towards the Gummi Ship. Sora shook his head, twisting around to face Riku.
“Missing out on what?” Sora asked, genuinely puzzled.
“On you,” Riku answered without stopping.
Staring at Riku a moment longer, Sora turned back to the ledge, his thoughts riddled with what Riku had meant. What exactly did Sora have that girls would like? Shrugging, Sora relaxed his posture, gazing out into the night sky again. Whatever the answer was to that question, he didn’t care. At the moment, there was only one girl that Sora had his eyes on. And just the thought of her made him smile.
***
The girls all headed home together, tired out of their wits. Their bodies felt cumbersome, the events of the day catching up with them. Most of them took it in stride, ignoring their exhaustion as best as they could. Except for Rarity, who sighed constantly as she looked herself over.
“This must have been the busiest week of my life,” she said, stretching her skirt out to find any dirt. “And I don’t believe we’re any closer to finishing these little incidents either.”
“I don’t mind,” Rainbow said dismissively, a confident smirk on her face, “We get to see a lot of action! And with Sora, Roxas and those other two around, it’ll definitely make things exciting!”
“Riku and Lea,” Applejack reminded, though Rainbow waved it off. Applejack didn’t mind that, but what did bother her made her sigh deeply, “And I can’t say the same for me, RD. All those Organization fellers messin’ with us all the time. And they ain’t gonna stop until they get a hold of this magic of friendship.”
“But that’s what’s exciting!” Rainbow said, brushing by Applejack as she threw her arms in the air. “Nothing is exciting unless there’s a little risk, and with Sora and the others defending us, we have nothing to worry about.”
“So, what exactly is the risk?” Pinkie asked, looking befuddled as she tapped her chin. “If Sora has never lost a fight, then he has a one hundred percent success rate. By those odds, we have absolutely no reason to get worked up! Now, I’m eighty six percent sure that Organization XIII has no chance!”
“Eighty six percent?” Twilight asked rather quietly, “What about the other fourteen percent?”
Pinkie shrugged, “I’ve never been good at math, unless it involves a party.”
Twilight sighed, accepting that explanation more than any other. Pinkie’s logic may have been confusing, but trying to make it understandable was just a waste of time. Besides, Twilight had a lot more on her mind at the moment. More so than the other girls. She had to get to the bottom of all this pony stuff that the younger Xehanort had showed her. And she couldn’t let her friends know about it as well. After all, they had called her a pony princess before, and if they were really hiding something from her, she couldn’t put her faith in them.
It saddened Twilight considerably to think like that, but she already felt betrayed by her friends. If she found out for herself, she thought that the feeling of being right wouldn’t be as severe if they had simply told her the truth. The real question was how she was going to find out for herself.
A nudge at her ankles broke her out of her thoughts as Twilight glanced down, seeing Spike face her worriedly. The sight made Twilight smile, knowing she didn’t have to leave out all of her friends. She also realized that Sora and the other boys probably didn’t know anything either, but she couldn’t risk taking the subject to them. They might bring it up to the other girls.
“Twilight?” Fluttershy questioned, putting a hand on Twilight’s shoulder. The act made Twilight knock the hand away, shifting her body away from Fluttershy as she scowled. No one had seen what she had done but Fluttershy herself, and it made her sad. It was already bad enough that Sora had been hiding something from her, but it seemed that Twilight was as well. Then again, the girls were doing the same with her. It was a bad cycle that they would need to break eventually.
Rarity noted Fluttershy’s mood, giving a sympathetic frown, “Fluttershy, is Sora still on your mind?”
Sighing, Fluttershy nodded, her eyes drifting down to her feet. Rarity patted her back, giving a small smile. “You mustn't blame Sora for what he became, darling,” she said quietly, leaning in to keep the conversation private. “After all, Sora has told us that it was an accident, and he has taken precautions so it wouldn’t happen again.”
“It’s not just about Sora changing into a Heartless,” Fluttershy said, shaking her head as she shivered. Just the thought of the monster Sora had become made her frightened. “It’s also knowing that Sora has enough darkness in his heart to turn into it in the first place.”
Fluttershy lifted her head up, facing Rarity with tears brimming in her eyes. “W-What does that mean for Sora?” she asked, desperately hoping Rarity had the answer, “Could he be hiding something else from us?”
Rarity gasped at Fluttershy, “How can you ask something like that? After everything Sora’s been through, we should be supporting him, not doubting him.”
“I-I know,” Fluttershy whimpered, wishing the words she spoke were nothing but an afterthought, “But what if… what if he has been lying to us?”
Rarity wanted to debunk that claim immediately, and had ample proof for Fluttershy to take back what she said. However, Rarity knew that whatever she said would be countered by Fluttershy. It seemed she was in the type of mood where she was just so confused and frightened that all reasonable thought was ignored and was replaced with pure emotions. Rarity had gone through many similar instances, as much as she regretted to admit to herself, and knew that Fluttershy would come around in time. At least, she hoped she would. Fluttershy was far more fragile than Rarity, so it may not simply go away.
Rarity bowed her head, holding her hands together as she muttered, “What a mess we’ve gotten into.”
She could only hope things would get better by tomorrow. It was only the beginning of the weekend, and there was plenty of time for Sora to turn Fluttershy’s frown upside down. Giving a weak smile, Rarity felt reassurance that Sora would fix things. Even though all of this started when he arrived, she felt confident he would do his best to make things right.
As the six girls continued walking, Rainbow thought back to the events of the club, more specifically to the discovery of the Young Xehanort. If she hadn’t warned Sora about what was happening to Twilight, who knew what would have happened. Rainbow was very proud about that. However, how Rainbow got that knowledge made her anxious, her pride diminishing. A stranger had told her, one that wore a dark coat like the other Organization members. But he had helped her, so he couldn’t be a bad guy.
And his voice sounded exactly like the person Rainbow had met in the school hallway. If that was the case, why was he getting involved? Didn’t he explicitly say he was staying out of it? And why warn Rainbow specifically and not any one else? The last question Rainbow could answer on her own, with some added thought. She was the only one hidden in a large crowd. The stranger could easily hide himself from everyone else, including Rainbow.
It was clear this stranger’s motives weren’t evil, persay, but they were definitely suspicious nonetheless. With a smirk, Rainbow hoped she’d meet this guy again, just so she could get some answers out of him. It would almost be like a game.
“What are ya smilin’ ‘bout, Rainbow?” Applejack questioned, giving her a wary look. Rainbow gave a lighthearted chuckle, putting her focus back on the present as she pointed directly ahead.
“Just how much I’m going to beat you in a race to Sweet Apple Acres,” Rainbow declared, already sprinting ahead. Applejack stared at her in disbelief before a playful smile came on her lips as she rushed after her.
“That’s what you think!” Applejack called after, already catching up to her. The other four girls smiled warmly at their competitive natures. Despite all the bad things that were hanging over their heads, the girls could always appreciate the simple moments like this.
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I’ve never been good at math, unless it involves a party.
/\-- Really? Pinkie Pie is usually the expert at math in the show, more so than even Twilight. On numerous occasions.
Ahh... it's good to see Roxas and Lea back together. Glad to see that their close friendship is still intact. Makes me all warm inside.
Pretty sure that all those Riku/Applejack people out there are getting giddy over this.
Poor Fluttershy... so paranoid about Sora, wondering if he was lying to them. I am genuinely sad about this.
This chapter is very emotive. Keep up the good job.
Even still, they were at risk of crumbling if Sora and his friends failed to protect the magic of friendship. It was imperative that they all stay on track. Glancing back to Riku, Sora noticed that he still had something heavy on his mind. Perhaps it had something to do with their mission.
Roxas gave a look of surprise before his expression turned sorrowful as well. He didn’t say another word, simply giving a small nod before walking for the Gummi Ship. Lea was a bit interested in Sora’s reason for checking on Fluttershy, but he didn’t bother to go into it. As Roxas and Lea entered the Gummi Ship via the platform, Riku looked hard at Sora in his own contemplations.
That 86% comment just hurts if I get the reference right.
Wait.... why are they all staying in Sora's gummi ship? Shouldn't Riku have one, too? Otherwise how did he get there in the first place?