Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy
Dark: It took forever to write this. Okay, actually it only took like three days, but I spent 36 hours on this. I'm...pretty happy about how it turned out. True, I think I could have made it better, but I wanted to post it up so I could start working on the first chapter. And don't expect it immediatly. Truthfully, I need to figure out the plot, which I forget to make while I was writing this prologue (cough cough). Alright, well this is the Prologue to The Prince and The Bandit. Read and Review!
I don't remember how it started, but a rumor began getting passed around the kingdom. It was a rumor about seven bandits who had the power to make entire kingdoms vanish in under three days. At first, I thought it was a lie. No army, let alone seven people, had that sort of power. But then I began to notice something; nearby kingdoms were all being overthrown by an unknown source, the kings and princes of these kingdoms killed in their own rooms. That was around the time I began to believe these rumors; but what really made it clear was when one of these bandits fell in love with me. And that would be when everything…started to become horribly wrong.
Prologue
"Riku…you're supposed to be keeping watch."
"What are you bitching about? I am keeping watch."
"No, you're not. You're staring at the prince's window…"
A cold glare was sent to the blonde sitting not a few feet away, that in turn raised an eyebrow at the gaze currently being given to him. It had been like this for the last three days. Every sense they arrived and Riku had seen the prince at his window, all the boy could do was stare up longingly at the glass panels, hoping to see the princes smiling face again. In truth, it was rather pathetic. One of the feared Seven Bandits acting like a love struck wench who was on the verge of loosing her innocence.
As Riku turned back to stare at the scenery around them, it was all too obvious that his gaze would soon fall upon the window high above on the castle wall, for the blonde had seen it happen many times. The rustling sound of leaves were heard and the blonde tensed, glancing towards the one who approached before sighing. "Tifa…? Why are you out here? It isn't time to switch look outs…"
The brunette known as Tifa smiled, a hand going up to push the strands of hair from her face as a wind swept past, blowing the leaves in small spirals around where they sat. "No. The others are all preparing for the 'big day' I guess you could say. But Cloud…how about you and I take over for Riku?"
The blonde finally identified as Cloud frowned, the odd glow of his eyes seeming to only intensify as they glanced towards Riku. It surprised him how well Tifa had gotten at giving the aqua eyed boy opportunities to see the prince. But he didn't bother asking her about why she always gave him the chance. She could just deny it and say that she wanted to be alone with him, all to herself for once instead of him being with Leon or Sephiroth, but he knew that would be a lie. Tifa and he were too good as friends to do more then get close and watch the stars. Or rather, watch Riku try to scale the castle wall sense they would have a perfect view of it.
Cloud gave a deep sigh as if he were forced into this decision, making a shooing motion towards the aqua eyed lad currently watching him hopefully. Riku grinned and ran off in the direction of the castle walls, Cloud standing up and putting his hands around his mouth. "Riku! Be back at dawn! And be careful!"
A hand only waved back to them, before the boy disappeared into the cover of the trees, leaving the blonde to lower his arms and place a hand on a hip. "Reckless…"
A pair of arms wrapped around one of his, hugging his bicep into the space between Tifa's breasts, the woman giving a small laugh. "I remember you used to be like that. Only…the window you were looking though didn't have a prince. And the first person you thought you loved wasn't a man while the second one is."
Cloud glanced over to the smiling brunette, wondering how she could look so happy, especially when the first person she was talking about was herself. He opened his mouth to ask her if she regretted his decision before she shook her head to stop him from saying anything. "Cloud…I'm just happy to be with you, okay? As long as I can be by your side, lover or not, I'll be happy."
He shared with her one of those rare smiles before staring off into the shadows of the woods, silently praying that this ominous feeling would soon pass.
"Why do they have to make these damn castles so fucking high? It's not like you'd be anymore safe up here, you stupid rich snobs." Riku glanced down the way he had come, feeling a small wave of fear at the pain of falling from all the way up here. It had taken only a few minutes to get to the wall and scale it, proving that either he was highly skilled or drunk with longing more then even Cloud had originally thought.
Cloud…Tifa had once told him a story about Cloud. About how when they were younger, they lived in the same town and every night for half a year, Cloud had watched her window in hopes of seeing her. But once they had become friends, Tifa had noticed he acted very odd whenever they were together. So one night she kissed him and neither of them felt anything other then the touch of lips. When Cloud asked why she'd done that, Tifa had only said for him to find the person he was really hoping to see. And that she would always be there if he needed her. So when Cloud finally found the person, she wasn't surprised. She'd even joined the group of bandits when he asked her to join with him.
With a glance back to where the two of them were sitting, Riku frowned. "In my opinion, Cloud's a hypocrite. But Tifa isn't a bad person so there must be something good about that blonde bastard. Don't know what it is, but it's something."
It was very silent on the balcony outside the prince's window. Quiet enough to even make the gods themselves wary of an approaching attack. But Riku ignored the feelings of dread, opening the window with a small push and slowly entering the room. He glanced around carefully and took a step forward, pausing as he heard the silent scrape of clothing being pressed against the wall. A smirk lighted his face and he reached behind him, fingers gently brushing the glass planes as he closed the window. Riku ducked as the object the figure that had been hiding behind the window held, turning quickly while they were off guard to push them against the wall.
The prince gasped as the pan he'd snuck into the room fell to the floor, a ding echoing before silence met the room. Riku glanced to the door, the princes' wrists held above his head in a strong hand while the other was clamped over his mouth, muffling the shouts currently being made. Sure that no one was coming, aqua green eyes turned to stare into the angry sapphires glaring up at him, small tears beginning to gather at the corner. "Hmm…so the mighty prince of Destiny Castle is afraid? And here I thought you weren't afraid of anything."
The prince yanked his head to the side, released from the bandits grip before turning back to glare up at him. "Afraid? Oh who, a petty bandit? I fear nothing, especially not you!"
Riku laughed, leaning down and licking the small tear that had begun to slide down the princes' cheek. "Oh, but you should. For all you know, I could rape you, molest you and do plenty of naughty, horrible things to you. But then again, you might like those sort of things, huh princess?"
The prince blinked up at him, a small tint of red lighting his face before he glared at Riku, trying to get his hands free from the bandits grip. But realizing it hopeless to escape from the strong grasp, he settled with just staring up at him angrily. "Don't call me princess! I am not a female and no, I don't like that sort of thing."
Riku tilted his head and examined him, leaning in close enough to where the prince turned his head to the side and watched him from the corners of his eyes. "But you're so pretty. What's your name…?"
He mumbled something, glancing away and Riku turned his head a little, trying to fight the smirk his lips were currently making. "I beg your pardon?"
"…Sora."
"Sora? Isn't that a girl's name?"
"No, it isn't!"
"Yeah, I think it is. Mean's songbird if I'm not mistaken."
The prince who had been announced as Sora just glared up at him, glancing towards the door as a noise was made outside its wooden barrier. Riku also turned towards the door, Sora taking this distraction to break free from the bandits hands and punch him, making a run for the door. But as his hand grasped the handle of the door, a hand slammed down on the wooden panels, a body pressing against his back as a warm breath fell upon his cheek. "That. Was rude."
Sora gasped as he was turned around, slammed against the door as Riku pressed himself closer. He clenched his eyes shut, opening his mouth to scream before his cry was cut off, lips being smashed by the bandits own before him. The fabric of Riku's shirt was gripped in Sora's hands, pushing at the bandits chest in a poor attempt to get him away. But his efforts were in vain as the insides of his mouth were ravished, only being released when both needed to breathe, Riku staring down at him as Sora panted and small flecks of tears skid down his cheeks.
He leaned down slowly, Sora wincing before blinking his eyes open as Riku licked the tears from his face, the bandit staring down into the confused sapphire orbs before pulling the prince into a hug. "Sorry...but you see what happens when you hit an outlaw?"
And eyebrow rose in confusion, glancing to the bandit holding him close before his own hands wrapped around his shoulders, eyes closing with a sigh. There was silence between them for a few moments, neither making a sound; both thought that it either of them spoke, the time that had seemed to freeze would began again. But finally the prince broke the silence. "Why…have you been watching me?"
"Ah…so you noticed that, huh?"
"It was obvious. You and that blonde guy."
"Well…I know this sounds farfetched, but I think I fell in love with you."
"What? All you did was see me. That's impossible."
Sora pushed him away, staring up at the aqua glow of his eyes. "You're a bandit. In fact, you're one of the Seven Bandits because there are seven of you down in those trees. And for all I know, you could be using me to lure my father and I out into the forest to die."
The prince blinked as Riku's hands cupped his face, a small smile appearing on the bandit's face. "Sora…why would I lie? If I was here to kill you, this kingdom would be overthrown by now. You've heard the rumors and the stories of us. If I was here to kill you, I still wouldn't be here and I wouldn't have come to see you alone."
Both stared at each other in silence, Riku leaning down slowly, his lips hovering inches away from the prince's. Sora studied the bandit in front of him carefully, trying to find any secrets he might be hiding before his own hands folded over the ones on his cheeks, closing the distance between them. The kiss had started chaste, just a simple kiss. But it didn't take long before Sora was on his back on the bed, one hand gripping the sheets while the other pressed down against the pale skin of Riku's back. His breath was leaving him is quick gasps at the power of the bandits lust, lips pressed against the princes' neck as moans filled the room.
Both were hidden by the covers when the sun peaked over the horizon and that's how they were found. Cloud sighed as he watched them sleep, glowing eyes sweeping over their frames outlined under the sheets. The one he assumed was the prince was cuddled against Riku's chest, hidden from view, though even from here Cloud could tell he was pretty. Wasn't a surprise Riku had fallen for him so quickly. A hand clapped down on his shoulder, causing him to glance to the blonde at his side, a girl who by far was trying very hard not to squeal in delight at the romantic mood that had been set. "Aw! Cloud, can we please let them sleep for just a little bit longer? I mean…look at them!"
A hand went to his temple, sighing in irritation. "Rikku, you should know very well we can't let Riku stay here. After close inspection of this castle, it turns out that the king isn't even here. We have to move on before they find where we are camped out; meaning Riku has to come with us. So shut up and wake him up."
The blonde named Rikku gave Cloud a pout before walking towards the sleeping pair and gently shaking the silver haired bandit. In truth, Cloud really didn't want to disturb them either. But they needed to go before they endangered themselves and the prince, who could be called a traitor for falling prey to Riku's charm. He doubted the kid had become prey to anything but his own feelings; but no one else would see it like that. Only they would understand and they were evil in the monarchy eyes.
Riku opened his aqua green eyes slowly, glancing back to Rikku before jumping up suddenly at seeing the sun already up. But he relaxed as Cloud shook his head, turning back to look at Sora who had opened his eyes half way at the sudden lack of warmth beside him. His sapphire orbs watched Riku before turning towards the smiling blonde beside the bed, gasping and wrapping the covers around him. "Um…?"
"Oh! I'm so sorry, did I startle you? My name is Rikku, one of the seven. And that grumpy, has-a-stick-up-his-ass guy over there is Cloud," she pointed towards the male, only to get the finger before turning back towards Sora who had rose an eyebrow. Rikku studied him for a moment, reaching a hand out to gently tuck a strand of hair behind his ear. "You know…Riku had said you were cute. But I didn't believe him. Now I do."
Sora stared at her before smiling, glancing towards Riku as he began gathering his clothes and getting dressed. "Funny. I don't remember anything about the rumors saying you guys were nice."
Riku and the girl now seated on the bed next to Sora laughed, Cloud leaning against the wall as he spoke. "Only a few of us are. Tifa, one of the seven, thought it would be better if someone nice had came with me to wake Riku up and bring him back. Granted, I'm not a very friendly face to see when you wake up, so Rikku got the honors of it. Anyone besides her and you would have probably jumped out of you skin."
A frown settled on Sora's face and he turned towards Riku as he pulled his shoes on. "You're all…leaving?"
"Yeah. We were here for the night to see if the king was here, but he isn't so we're leaving for another kingdom. No point in staying anywhere if we can't do our job, even if it's to be with you. I'm sorry Sora. But I have to go."
As he stood, a hand gripped his wrist, earning a blink as Riku turned to stare at Sora. The prince stared at him, his grasp tight. "Can I go with you?"
Riku opened his mouth, only to close it again and sigh as he looked away. The prince moved closer, sheets around him as he now gripped the wrist with both hands. "Please? Don't leave me here, Riku! I want to be with you…and I don't care where we go or what you do, just as long as I'm with you!"
Cloud stared at the boy, the words ringing in his head as he remembered the previous night that he shared on watch with Tifa. The prince…was one of those rare people who everyone grew to love. It was obvious just by the way he returned Riku's feelings by meeting him for one night. He glanced to Rikku as she frowned and looked towards Cloud, blinking as the blonde approached the couple.
Just as Riku opened his mouth, a hand gently landed on the boys shoulder, causing him to turn towards the blonde suddenly standing beside him. The glowing orbs that all the rumors said he possessed bored deep into Sora's eyes, freezing him in place as the blonde leaned closer, lips beside his ear and breath warm on his neck. "If we allow you to come, you will be an outlaw. A criminal to the monarchy power. And you are willing to accept this, ready to throw away the cushioned life you were given at birth?"
The trance he seemed to be in was broken as Sora glared into Cloud's eyes, fighting the shiver that tried to work it's way up his back at the chill expression on his face. "I'm not a wimp! If being with Riku mean's I'll be throwing my life away, then so be it! I'm…I'm prepared for whatever awaits me."
Silence was greeted to the room as Cloud and Sora stared at each other, both trying to understand what the other was thinking. But moments later and Cloud closed his eyes, smiling and giving a low laugh, something that earned wide eyes from both Riku and Rikku. He stood up, turning towards Riku and giving a nod as he walked towards the window, Rikku following with a quiet yip of joy. Riku just stared after Cloud before smiling and holding his hand out towards Sora. "Alright, brat. Get dressed and I'll help you down the wall."
Sora stared at the hand before taking it slowly, looking up to Riku. "And you'll protect me, right? You promise?"
"I promise. I'll protect you from everything. Even if it means giving up my own life."
It took all of five minutes for Sora to get dressed, wearing a baggy shirt and pants that hide his royal self nicely as the three bandits helped him down the castle walls. Though he did get a few scrapes here and there, it was nice to see that he made no complaints about having to climb downwards and that even earned him some respect from the three accompanying him. If someone raised in royalty who had probably never gotten hurt before doesn't complain at a small scratch, they were welcome to join them.
Riku watched as Sora looked around where they were camped out, hidden by the trees. A rather large caravan like vehicle was seen from where they stood, partially blocked from view by the oak tree beside it, three horses sleeping comfortably under the long limbs that provided them shade. One of the horses though was currently eating an apple from the hand of who appeared to be a young girl, a gauntlet made of what seemed to be a rough fabric around her arm. The other hand was patting the neck of the beast in front of her, her brown eyes only glancing towards them once the apple in her hand had been fully consumed.
She appeared to be an innocent girl, which was completely proved otherwise once she opened her mouth. "Riku, you little bastard! Where the hell were you? Because of your lazy ass, I had to take watch for you this morning and feed the horses! Son of a bitch, if you weren't one of us, you're ass would be so buried right now!"
Rikku quickly walked towards the fuming brunette, explaining what had happened before she killed something. Cloud just rolled his eyes and walked past them towards the caravan, muttering something about how she was the one who woke them up to make sure nothing bad had happened to him. Riku just sighed and put an arm around Sora's shoulder, walking him towards the horses now waking up thanks to the girl's shouting. "Don't mind that snobbish bitch; she's just a little cranky. Yuffie will calm down later on, when she's understood everything. But let me introduce you to the hardest workers we have. The horses."
Sora laughed as the creatures sniffed at his clothes, one of them sticking it's snout down his shirt curiously while another ruffled his hair, leaving him alone only once he proved to have no food on him and allowing him to pass with the bandit. Riku patted one gently on the backside before walking towards the caravan, pausing as he rounded the corner where a silver haired male was currently leaning against the side of the wooden vehicle, probably waiting for them. His pale green eyes glanced towards them, studying Sora for a few moments before turning towards Riku. When he spoke, it held a deep resonance that had the prince fighting back a shiver at the power seeming to be restrained. "I heard the story from Cloud. He's coming with us?"
"Yeah. You aren't going to throw a fit are you?"
"No. If he was granted Cloud's approval after they just met, then I won't complain."
Riku nodded, watching as the tall male ducked his head as he entered the side door on the caravan, clapping Sora on the back. "Wow. Even Sephiroth isn't going to just kill you off. That's a surprise."
Sora gave him wide eyes and Riku laughed, guiding him towards the caravan entrance. The next hour had passed surprisingly fast as everyone got ready for departure. So far, he had only been introduced to five of the seven bandits and though the five were working on leaving outside the caravan, he hadn't even seen hide nor hair of the other two. Riku had gone outside to held Cloud and Yuffie with the horses, Rikku putting out any remains of fire the that had been burning the night before; so that left Sora to explore the inner build of the transport, studying everything around him.
It was built strong and obviously a group of traveling bards were their cover as he saw the musical items in one of the side closets. Sora smiled as he saw the instruments, examining them closely, running his hands down the smooth flute case before him. Who would've have guessed? Not only were they bandits, but talented musicians. He gave a small chuckle, but froze as he heard a sigh behind him. "So…you're this 'prince' Riku has been so enchanted by?"
He turned around quickly, eyes meeting the blue orbs of the man behind him. The bandit was leaning against the doorway, staring down at Sora with eyes that could have frozen fire. He was currently wearing leather pants and an open white dress shirt, his brown hair messy and his bangs covering the left side of his face. But what drew most of the prince's attention was the slanted scar between his eyes. "Leon, leave the poor boy alone. You're probably scaring him."
The man known as Leon glanced towards the woman behind him before he shrugged and walked away, the click of his boots fading into nothing as he stepped outside. She turned towards Sora, leaning over a little and giving him a bright smile. "I'm sorry about him. Leon can be…a bit forward. My name is Tifa. You must be the prince, right?"
"Um, yeah. My name is Sora…"
"Oh, I know. Sephiroth told us when we were sleeping."
"Sleeping…? Oh, you and that Leon guy are lovers?"
She blinked before laughing, a hand going to her stomach after a few moments to keep from falling over. Sora stared at her with wide eyes, trying to ignore the fact that all she was wearing besides her black shorts was a loose white shirt. A red tint went to his cheeks and he glanced away, looking back once she stopped laughing to see that she had tied her shirt into a knot. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you. But…lovers? Leon and I? No way, but that was a good laugh."
At his confused look, she smiled, taking his hand and pulling him towards the two open doorways in the back. Both rooms were small and each had two mattress' on the floor, blankets and sheets messily assembled over them. "This is how it works; we try to keep a maximum of four people a room. And Sephiroth, Yuffie, Cloud and Rikku were all sleeping in a room already. So I just fell asleep with Leon. Understand?"
"Oh. Wait, you guys don't worry about any of the men making moves on you while you sleep?"
Tifa blinked at him before frowning and tapping her lips with a nailed finger, sitting on the mattress'. Sora sat down next to her, tilting his head as she mumbled the answer to his question. "Hmm…I thought it was so obvious."
"What?"
"You see…the women aren't the one who need to worry about getting felt up."
"Why is that…? Wait…oh! All the men are…gay?"
"No, I'm pretty sure Leon and Sephiroth are bisexual. But Cloud and Riku are."
Sora stared at her in wide eyed wonder, before looking towards the door way as Cloud walked through, pausing almost immediately at the look of surprise Sora was giving him and the laughing Tifa sitting next to him. It only took the blonde a few moments before he sighed in irritation, glaring half-heartedly at Tifa. "Do you tell everyone about me?"
"Oh Cloud, don't be ridiculous. This is only the tenth person I've told."
"Tenth? Who the hell are the other nine?"
She counted off the people on her hand, a thoughtful look gracing her face. "Those three women who were hitting on you, that bar tender, the guard at the gate, the people who were wondering how you played the flute so well and now Sora!"
Cloud just stared at her before sighing and flicking her forehead, earning him a pout as he turned his back to her, removing the shirt he was wearing. Sora blinked, a red tint gracing his cheeks as he stared at the smooth skin of Cloud's back, only slightly marred by what must be battle scars. Tifa glanced to Sora, giggling at the look on his face, Cloud glancing back to him before smirking. "Ah. Does your highness like the view?"
Sora blinked before giving a small smirk and looking away. "What view? All I see is a pale man who needs less curve and more muscle."
The woman besides him burst out laughing, Cloud giving the boy a look. But the look suddenly faded away as he got an idea, a small smile lighting his face, one that Tifa shared after seeing it. The blonde casually walked over, sitting on the other side of Sora, the prince watching his warily. "Sora…are you ticklish?"
Before the prince could answer, hands were suddenly dancing up his sides, giggles escaping him loudly as Cloud helped Tifa tickle the boy. "S-stop! Pl-please, I can't breathe!"
Cloud and Tifa both laughed, continuing to tickle the boy and only stopping once Riku entered the room. He smirked at the view of a red face Sora, brown spiky hair mussed and shirt wrinkled with Tifa and Cloud looming over him on both sides. With a jerk, the caravan suddenly moved, Riku 'accidentally' straddling Sora as he fell on the mattress. "Sora, you look like someone just blew you off."
The prince blushed before pushing Riku off, glaring back at him. "It's not my fault! These two just tickled the crap out of me…"
Tifa giggled next to him and Cloud smiled, both trying to look completely innocent and failing horribly at it, Riku sitting up with a smile. "Oh, don't be a baby. Oh yeah. Cloud, you and Tifa don't drive until after Sora and I, so get some sleep. You'll probably need it."
The blonde nodded, watching as Riku stood up, pulling Sora with him as he left the room. Silence passed between them as they both just stared at the doorway, the only sound coming from the moving wheels on either side of the caravan and the laughing coming from up front where Yuffie and Rikku were controlling the horses. Finally, Tifa frowned as she hugged one of the pillows to her chest, glancing towards Cloud. "Hey…do you feel like this is a mistake? That taking Sora in with us was a bad decision?"
Cloud stared at the doorway for a moment before towards Tifa. "Not taking Sora in, but letting Riku get attached. If the king found out that his son had willingly come along us…we are all dead if the people he sends after us find us. I have a feeling…they might already be on there way."
The day passed and still the dread surrounding the bandits remained. The moon had cast its ivory shadow over the land, sending everything into a beautiful darkness that did nothing to ease the heavy burden resting atop their shoulders. Yuffie stared at the star's, watching their glow in the sky and frowning in silence as she glanced towards Rikku sitting only a few feet beside her. Neither had made a sound in the last hour, but even if they had, it would not lift the curtain of mute sound around them. "Hey…does it seem almost too quiet to you? I mean, it's always quiet, but how often are the crickets not chirping?"
Rikku nodded slowly, eyeing the forest carefully before tensing and turning towards where the caravan sat. "I heard something."
Yuffie frowned, taking a few steps towards the wooden vehicle, but paused as she heard a gasp and something hit the ground. She turned around, only to see Rikku on the ground, a dart in the back of her neck. "Rikku-!"
A choking sound was all that left her mouth, falling forward with a thud, a dart visible from her back. Figures shifted in the darkness, shadows appearing over the motionless figures of the two girls, a hand waving towards the caravan and leaving only one woman to stand guard over the unconscious bandits. "Pathetic. And here I thought they would be a little more…challenging."
"Really? You think I'll be enough fight for you," a voice was all that was heard before a sword cut through the air, forcing her to duck and spin around. The long blade seemed to absorb all the moonlight being shone down, the silver hair and pale green eyes glowing as the man identified as Sephiroth faced her. He kneeled down; sword pointed towards the side, he ran at her, blade beginning to slash towards her before the familiar thunk of a dart sinking into muscles was heard. The man stopped almost immediately, eyes wide as he glanced down at the dart in his arm before at the figure sitting in the tree tops. He cursed, falling to the side to lie unconscious along side with Yuffie and Rikku. The figure in the tree tops jumped down, walking closer and giving a bow to the woman. "Miss Scarlet, the operation is a success. All the bandits have been injected with the sleeping serum and the traitor to the monarchies has been captured. Shall we leave them here and take the bandits with us?"
"We'll take them with us, of course. After all, they are the infamous seven bandits."
Riku began to awaken, eyes dazed. It felt as if he were drunk, face down buried against the dirt floor of the cell. He cursed as his hand went to his back, the joints protesting at the movement as he pulled the dart from his shoulder, glaring at the small item before hurling it across the room. "Fucking serum…damn that injection was strong."
"You're telling me. They had the nerve to attack while we were all sleeping and attacking from the distant like a bunch of cowards," said a voice from the corner, Riku turning to see Cloud leaning against the wall, studying the dart he'd pulled from his side. Leon was leaning against the wall next to him and Yuffie was currently picking the lock to the cell, humming to herself as she did so. She only glanced to him as he woke up, concentrating on the lock as she spoke. "They even split all of us up. I have no idea where the other three are, but one of the Destiny guys was gloating. Personally, I think he was drunk, but he kept saying how they were going to teach us all for messing with them. And how they were going to get back at us by killing our newest treasure. Don't know what the hell that meant…ah-ha! Opened! Riku what're you--?"
He ignored the girl, sprinting at full force from the cell and towards the dungeon door located at the top of the stone staircase, panic driving him onward as he threw open the door. The first thing his eyes saw was Sora, chained to the wall before he saw something else. Blood was on his clothing, coming from rips and tears in his clothing, scratching on his arms and face. He swallowed back the ball having formed in his throat, walking carefully towards the chained up boy and touching his cheek. "Sora…? Please, if you're alive, answer me. Sora!"
The boy tensed, head lifted slowly to stare at Riku with glazed over eyes, blinking a few times before he recognized the bandit. Sora cursed, looking around quickly before back towards Riku, fighting back the tears that were forming in the corners of his eyes. "You have to leave! Their coming to kill you and the others, you have to go now! Riku…?"
Sora glanced towards him as he gave a deep sigh, arms wrapping around him tightly and just holding him for now, despite the fact that he was still chained to the wall. "I thought you were dead, Sora. I thought…"
Riku fought the tears that were streaming down his face, just holding the boy close to him for now, ignoring Cloud and the others watching from the dungeon door. Yuffie watched with sad eyes, glancing towards Cloud and Leon who both were looking elsewhere, letting the two have their moment. And that was when everything seemed to begin passing in slow motion. The door behind Riku and Sora opened, the light coming through obstructed by the shadow of a man, a sword at his side. His boots were silent on the floor as he entered the room, sword stretched towards the pair in front of him. Just as he began to run towards the prince and the bandit, Yuffie turned back towards the couple, eyes growing wide. "Riku!"
Sora opened his eyes, staring at the approaching figure, Riku raising his head, but was unable to face the man as the sword entered through the bandits back and left out of the princes'. Riku stared wide eyed at the wall, a choking sound leaving him before the blade was removed, the bandit falling silently to the floor as Sora became limp in the chains that held him. Yuffie and Cloud ran towards the fallen bandit, Leon punching the guard in the face as he turned to face him. The man was left to fall against the hard floor of the dungeon, turning to stare at Leon as his own blade was stolen to end his life. It swung down, cutting through bone and muscle until it clashed against the hard stone floor.
It was said that the bandits died after that, either from old age or sickness, since it was an ancient time with little medicine. The world became older, the monarchies dying and technology advancing. But one thing remained and that was the legend of the seven bandits, made into a myth so strong that the God's themselves took note of it. They decided to resurrect the bandits and the prince, allowing them a second chance at life. And that was when the God of Love and the God of Chaos played a game.
The God of Love would win if the prince and the bandit fell in love yet again while the God of Chaos would win if they did not. The rules stated that neither of them was to interfere in anyway during this game, though the God of Chaos ignored them. To make it harder for them to fall in love, he placed the bandit in a group that all were identified as the jocks and he placed the prince in a group identified as the rebels.
And then…the game began.
Dark: I feel a little bad about killing them all off. Heh. Oh well, their being resurrected, so no worries.
Sora: You made two God's turn my life into a game! First I'm some sex slave to a dragon and now I'm a resurrected prince! What the hell's wrong with you?
Dark: Eh...yeah, whatever. Anyway, a review in A Dragon's Power said I needed to make my submissions longer. Well...this long enough for you, dearie? Hope so cause it's twelve pages long on Microsoft...