KH: Ficlet: Part 7

[size=1][center][justify]Riku walked quickly away from the bench and Sora. Anger and hurt boiled through him. If he stayed, he knew he wouldn’t be able to control his outburst. He tried to take deep breaths and calm himself, but it didn’t work. He knew something was off from the beginning, but he pretended like it wasn’t a big deal. It had been years, after all.

“Didn’t I tell you?” Maleficent asked, appearing before him. Riku stopped and glared at the teacher. He had never liked Maleficent, but she didn’t seem to give up easily. “Even after all that he said, he still doesn’t remember you, his best friend.”

“You can’t win me over like that,” Riku growled. He was angry that Sora forgot him but somehow still remembered the necklace and their promise. Why did his parents have to take him away from their island home? Sora would remember him if they had stayed. But he wouldn’t let that pain be Maleficent’s why of getting him. He was no puppet for her to control.

“There is darkness in your heart.” Maleficent grabbed Riku’s arm as he tried to pass her. “I can help you learn to use that darkness.”

“No thanks.” Riku tore his arm free then continued walking at a faster pace. He knew she was right about the darkness. If he let it continue to grow, it would eventually be beyond his control. He needed help. He wasn’t stupid enough to believe that he could handle this alone. Riku pulled out his cell phone and dialed a familiar number. “You were right.” He flipped the phone shut and continued walking with one destination in mind.

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Sora wandered around the campus. A week had passed since his last conversation with Riku. He started to worry that he said something wrong. Or had he done something wrong? He replayed their conversation over and over again in his head, but he couldn’t think of anything that might have offended Riku. He asked Kairi, but even she hadn’t seen him since that day. It was like Riku had completely vanished from the True Heart Academy.

“Next time, I will turn you over to the Disciplinary Committee,” a man said, sounding none too happy. He had strange blue hair and an X shaped scar between his eyes.

“It wasn’t my fault,” Axel argued. His attention strayed from the argument when he spotted Sora walking past where they stood. “Sora,” he called out, waving an arm as he grinned widely.

Sora hesitated then turned to walk over to where the two men stood. “Axel,” he greeted with a forced smile.

“See?” Axel said, grinning as he sent a glance toward the other man, who snorted and looked bored. Axel slapped a hand on Sora’s shoulder, nearly making him stumble. “What has you so glum?” He shot another glance to the man. “Doesn’t he remind you of-” The man elbowed him hard in the ribs and glared at Axel. “Hey!” Axel argued, rubbing his side. Then he realized what had the man annoyed. “Sorry, sorry. This is Saix,” Axel explained to Sora.

Sora nodded to the man, and Saix merely grunted an acknowledgment of their introduction. He glanced between the two of them, wondering just how they ended being friends, assuming they were. Axel and Saix seemed like two complete opposites. Axel was loud and cheeky while Saix was quiet and serious.

“Saix and I have been friends since we were kids,” Axel explained like he somehow had picked up on what Sora was thinking. Then he poked Sora in the forehead. “Seriously, the gloomy act gets annoying.”

“I’m not gloomy,” Sora grumbled as he frowned at Axel. Was it really that obvious? He hadn’t even known Riku for that long, but somehow he just felt alone with Riku gone. He resisted the urge to wrap his hand around the crown charm on his necklace. This feeling he remembered all too well. He hadn’t felt this kind of loneliness since he got out of the hospital all those years ago.

Axel’s frown deepened, and he looked like he was about to say something until a voice stopped him.

“Axel,” the girl cried out as she ran up to them. She was out of breath by the time she reached them. When she looked up, Sora almost gasped. She was the girl that he remembered seeing in the cafeteria on the day of his arrival. But up close, he saw that her face resembled Kairi’s face almost exactly. If not for the blonde hair, Sora might have thought they were identical twins.

“Not again,” Axel grumbled then raced off without waiting to hear what the girl came to tell him.

“Ah, Axel! Wait for me!” the girl shouted, but Axel had already vanished into the distance.

Saix sighed. “He’s going to do something stupid.” He crouched down in front of the girl. “Get on.” The girl wouldn’t be fast enough to catch up to Axel, but he could manage it even with her weight. The girl climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms securely around his neck. Saix stood up and glanced at Sora. “See you around, Sora.”

“Ah!” the girl gasped but Saix already started to chase after Axel.

Sora stood dumbly, waving at their retreating forms. Life at True Heart Academy certainly wasn’t dull.[/justify][/center][/size]