Vesper's Heroes

More angsty goodness between Riku and Hosep but they are figuring things out finally. Riku is a tease. Also some ass kicking will ensue and hopefully we’ll get to some action, if you know what I mean.

Love yet again to Jediempress and to AkuRokulove.

This was an interesting chapter to work on since I was working on the smut chapter at the same time. So if things heat up, that’s why. There is some heavy kissing in this chapter so be warned.

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Hosep rolled over to look at the other bed nest, feeling his heart sink to see it empty. A quick touch revealed it to be cold as well, evidence that Riku had been gone for some time. Taking stock of the room showed that he had taken his gear as well, leaving Hosep alone in more ways that just physically. The book was still there, leaned against of his packs with a scrap of leather between the pages.

Hosep didn’t use a bookmark though.

Did he leave me a note? It took some time to summon up the nerve to reach for it, letting it fall open in his lap. It was at his last entry with an arrow pointing to the next page. He turned it, seeing a short note scratched hastily on a slant over the paper.


Find me.


That was all that was written, just those two simple words. Find me. The blonde felt his mouth stretching in a smile as he hunted up clean clothes for the day. He always followed the orders he was given without question. This time wouldn’t be any different.

‘Find me’ turned out to be far more difficult than he realized. The camp was abuzz with activity as people were rushing everywhere with various tasks. For a moment he lingered in front of his tent just watching the chaos. It was late morning, meaning he had missed breakfast and would have to wait until lunchtime for something to quiet his belly. That made him frown, wondering if this day could get off to any more of a ‘hit the ground running’ kind of start.

“Hosep!” He knew that voice and honed in on the speaker, seeing Jamel come thundering up. “Tik’va wants to see you. Says she has a plan and needs you to know your part in it.” Of course the fates want to add to my morning. The scout nodded and dashed off at a lope to find his captain and learn what was going down.

It didn’t take long in the end, her own bellowing allowing for a clear heading as he slowed. Tik’va was standing on a tree stump, her elevation adding to her volume as she directed traffic with shouted words and flailing arms.

“Hosep! Get up here!” she snapped, a flash of glee in her eyes. “I said FULL charge, not three quarters!” Her latter statement was not direct at him but at a small group that was working with their armor. It was glowing but in a different way than he had ever seen before. It almost pulsed until the glow settled and faded away. He passed them up to stand at attention, actually saluting as he waited for an explanation. “Have you seen Riku yet?” He shook his head as she couched to be at eye level. “Well whatever you did, he is off his rocker,” she snarled as one hand fisted in his jacket, ocean orbs showing warring rage but also amusement. “He came up with inside information about what we are up against and ideas to prepare. Find him and he’ll tell you what to do.” With that she shoved him away, turning to shout orders at someone else.

Hosep didn’t dare to ask where he was while she was in a mood and settled for searching the camp himself. He started with the mess tent and worked his way from here. It was empty along with the officer tents. He wasn’t with the horses either, nor by the outhouses. Scratching at his head in confusion, he was running out of options as to where Riku was hiding.

The sudden cheer gave him a new idea though.

He found their entire squad converging around where Tik’va had been trumpeting in the first place as a flag was being raised over the camp. A small sanguine bird of prey was overlapping a lemon colored sun in glory on a white background. It was far different from their former flag of a black hawk above crossed swords. Riku was the one raising it to tower over everyone’s heads, a huge grin on his face as he cupped both hands around his mouth to explain.

“Kestrel Dawn!” he shouted. The answering cheers made Hosep wince as he threaded through the crowd toward Riku. The youth was soon waving his hands for silence, which was granted. “We are now known as Kestrel Dawn. Like kestrels themselves, we are small but able hunters. And unlike the Vesper Hawks, we have no fear of the light that we need to fight in to claim victory.” Another cheer shook the camp. “I need all of you to finish your assigned tasks as quickly as possible. When you have, report to Jamel who will put you into small teams of three or four and he’ll tell you what to do next. That’s all for now so back to work everyone.”

People dispersed in a fast and orderly fashion as the lieutenant got within arm’s reach of the keyblader. Soon it was only the two of them with out anyone in sight. He wavered though. He wanted to pick up Riku and do some very naughty and private things to him but after last night he wasn’t sure. So in defense he waited with a blank expression.

“Took you long enough to find me. I was starting to think you didn’t care,” Riku taunted, taking a seat on the tree stump. He looked like a cat that not only got the cream, but also got the canary, took out the dog, and was proclaimed king. One leg was pulled up so both hands could lace together on his knee as he stared at the blonde. His cat eyes held him frozen and only when they looked elsewhere did he allow himself to breathe.

“I do care but you aren’t that easy to find,” he retorted as he shifted his weight. What kind of game is Riku playing? And why can’t I know the rules?

“That’s because I didn’t want you to find me,” he replied flippantly. “Not at first anyway. That’s why I’ve been following you all day.” He bared his teeth in a scimitar smile, eyes narrowing as they flitted over the scout’s body before returning to his hands as if they held the answers to the universe.

“All day? How is it I couldn’t sense you?” This was unbelievable. Hosep had a reputation for it being impossible to sneak up on him. It was actually kind of a game with the greenhorns where they would dare each other to try.

Riku’s laughter brought him back as the keyblader raised one hand and snapped.

And vanished.

He was gone. There was no shadow, no displacement of air or energy. He was just gone. Hosep twisted and turned but couldn’t find any trace of Riku at all until a finger was dragged up his spine. He whirled to see who was responsible but was met by only empty air and a ghost of a laugh.

“I think I finally have the upper hand for once,” came his disembodied tenor lilt. Another hand trailed down his arm, causing him to jump before it faded away.

“Where are you Riku?” he demanded, feeling very out of sorts since he couldn’t see where the voice was coming from. Invisible hands suddenly grabbed at his wrists and pulled him forward to thump against a warm body that his eyes declared to be absent.

“Right here.” He could feel his breath wash over his face as Riku came back into view with a shimmer of magic. His face was unreadable as he gazed up through hooded lashes while still holding on to the taller man’s wrists. “That is how you couldn’t find me Hosep. Of course, it was also kind of a test to see if you would even look.”

“Of course I would look,” he snapped as his patience wore thin.

“I know.” Those hands came up to cup his face. “And I’m glad you did. But no more secrets. I’ll tell you mine if you want.” The last was almost a question in and of itself but also an unspoken question of trust. Could Riku trust him?

“If you are willing to tell me,” he replied. The resulting smile could have melted ice as again Riku took the initiative and kissed him. Hosep dropped his jaw in invitation, which was accepted, as this time Riku explored his mouth. The taller of the two let his hands drop to Riku’s hips, pulling him closer as fingers fisted in his hair, all while they kissed the other breathless. It was a perfect moment but like all perfect things, they simply aren’t meant to be.

“Get a room!” They broke apart to glare at Tik’va as she smirked at them. “That’s an order!” Riku rolled his eyes but Hosep decided that two could play that game.

“Yes ma’am!” With a sharp salute he threw Riku over his shoulder and took off at a run back to their tent, ignoring the pounding fists on his back and the voiced protest from his cargo. Only when they had arrived in their tent, but not before a number of strange glances and muffled giggles from their fellow soldiers, did he put Riku down. Both their faces were flushed: Hosep from running and Riku from being upside down. It only took one look before both of them dissolved into laughter. It bordered on hysteria at some times but never crossed that.

After several minutes they finally found the will power to stop, faces and stomachs aching from it all. They both slumped on the ground but somehow Riku ended up in Hosep’s lap, the older man’s arms looped around his waist.

“I don’t think we’ll ever live that one down,” Riku chided. Hosep nodded but couldn’t erase the grin from his features. The silence stretched out between them but it was weightless and comfortable. The silver haired one waved a blue glowing hand in a vague circle before letting it drop back to his lap. “That will ensure some privacy. Still want to hear my secrets?” Another nod was gifted to him so with a stabilizing breath, Riku started his tale.

Riku spoke of his home called Destiny Island. He told of his friends that he lived with. He told of how there was a mysterious door that had no handle and could never be opened. When it was, his world was plunged into the same darkness they were fighting. But he admitted to calling that darkness and to siding with it in the beginning. He told of how he aided in the capture of the seven princesses of heart and how he fell to a Heartless named Ansem that took over his body.

He had managed to fight back when his friends were in danger though and helped to seal away the darkness by closing the door to Kingdom Hearts. His price though was to be sealed with it, along with someone called King Mickey. They had to remain in the World of Darkness while his friend Sora was on the other side looking for them.

Then the tale shifted to the pair of them allying with a man named DiZ who helped them to escape without opening the door. Between the three of them, Riku finally defeated the Heartless Lord that was still in his heart and gained control of his powers of darkness. He carried on of how they fought to undermine something called Organization 13. It was a group of people that were the opposite of Heartless; the shells left behind after their hearts were lost.

Organization 13 wanted to take Kingdom Hearts for their own so they could be restored but had to unleash Heartless to do so. Between Riku, DiZ, Mickey, and Sora, they again saved Kingdom Hearts from certain doom again as is required of any hero. But this time Riku and Sora were sealed in the darkness, happy to stay there if that was what was needed to protect everyone.

A dark portal stole Sora away though, while a light portal kidnapped Riku and tossed him here.

Now the boy was crying in his lap over his missing friend. Between broken sobs, Hosep was able to make out phrases such as ‘Why can’t I find him?’ and ‘This is all my fault’. The rest was lost to his muffled wailing as he turned the boy so he could burrow into his chest, letting him vent out emotions that had been held back for months. He rocked him gently, making soothing noises as he rubbed his back.

“Listen to me Riku. You have done everything humanly possible. All will be right in the end.” He would have continued but Riku cut him off, having restored control over himself.

“There’s more,” he said, not meeting his gaze. Instead he found focus on the middle of his chest as he finished his story. “The thing in, since I got here I’ve been able to talk to Kingdom Hearts in my head. It only works when I’m sleeping but its been teaching me things. It taught me how to use magic and cure blight and has more but we haven’t gotten there yet.” He wiped at his nose with his sleeve before plowing on. “It was talking to me last night too when I woke up and you gave me that journal to read. It was saying how, even when I leave here I can take you with me. It said to tell you so.”

Now Hosep considered himself to be a sensible person. Granted he did not live a sensible life but really, who did? He had seen some strange stuff in his time. He’d fought off creatures that fed on people’s hearts but not in reference to the organ. He had said creatures infect his body in an attempt to kill him. He’d seen people vanish before his eyes. He’d seen magic become real.

Is Riku’s story really that far-fetched?

He let a smile light his eyes, pulling up the chin of his diji’ri so it could be seen.

“Then be sure to let me know when we leave so I can pack.”

That earned him a weak chuckled, showing that the boy was on the mend.

“We should get to talking about the ‘master plan’, as it were,” the keyblade wielder informed him. He shifted around a bit until his back was against the scout’s chest again before progressing. “Really Tik’va took it over but the general idea is mine. Basically, there are ten people that are willingly merged with Heartless that are between us and where we need to be. They do have normal Heartless with them but they are all pretty small and are relying on mass numbers rather than brute strength. What we are doing is preparing in every way possible to clash with them in the next few days.”

A pause was granted between the pair as Hosep brought his arms to hug the thin waist in front of him once more, resting his chin in those silver locks as he spoke. “Is that what I saw earlier with the armor then? Part of your preparations?” The head under his own nodded, shifting slightly again.

“That was something Kingdom Hearts showed me last night. It was a way to alter the armor so it would last longer but also work better.” The scout could almost hear the smile he couldn’t see in the next few sentences. “Thankfully I was able to teach other people how to do it. I’m still not up for a lot of magic. It’s really all too new to me.”

“So when we attack, what then?” he prompted, getting the topic back on track.
“Well, Jamel and Tik’va are dividing people into teams like I said before. Each group will take out one of the . . .” A look of confusion was aimed at him. “What are they called anyway? They aren’t fully human and they aren’t fully Heartless.”

“They were never given a name. Halflings would seem best.”

“Fine. Each team will kill a halfling and then help the others. You and me are going for the real prize.”

“Prize?” The only prize he wanted was a willing Riku in his bed but he squashed that thought and the bodily response before it became obvious. One would think I was a teenager all over again without any control.

“Yeah. The heart of this world. Once I lock that this should all be over,” Riku murmured. From his tone though and physical state, the boy was fighting to stay awake despite the early hour. A careful nudge on his shoulder helped to stall the drowsiness but it was pointless. Within seconds the youth was out like a light.

With care to his long limbs, Hosep tucked him in for however long he would sleep. He didn’t even consider leaving for food or duties. Instead, he found his book again and set about writing down all he had learned and all that he wanted to know while his diji’ri slept on.