Vesper's Heroes

I’ve written and posted 7 chapters in 14 days. That’s insane. I’ve never written something so quickly. Sad to say though after the next few I’m afraid that things will slow down a bit. I still don’t have an ending but I have several things in mind that I want to happen for sure. And not this one but chapter 9 or 11 might be my try at writing smut. If I can without either getting a nosebleed or just giving up altogether. That is going to be so interesting. And challenging too. If anyone has advice on writing smutty lemons please let me know.

Love to AkuRokulove and Jediempress again for reviewing.

I’ve got some falconry references in this chapter. I refer to some of the equipment and to saker falcon. A quick google search will give you answers for both. A great picture of saker faclons is found at http://www. shortwingfalconry .co.uk/ images/ saker1.jpg for those that are curious

Final thing. The word Hosep uses, diji’ri, is a word I made up that is part of his native tongue. It translates to ‘beloved’ or ‘dearheart’. Also, there is some stronger language in this chapter toward the end.

Back to Riku with more angsty thoughts.

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Riku shifted with care for his ribs and broken arm. Whoever was curled against his back did the same, arms wrapped around the youth’s shoulders and waist loosening to allow his movements. He felt warm breath tickle the nape of his neck as his companion sighed in his sleep. It was a perfect moment: Riku snuggled in Hosep’s arms after a night of heavy kissing, a blanket over them both and a night of sleep without nightmares behind him.

So why did he feel so guilty?

I thought I loved Kairi and Sora. Was I wrong? Was it just because I was homesick? Even though his body was totally comfortable, his mind and emotions were a train wreck. He was falling for Hosep, hard. He wouldn’t be so stupid to deny that fact. It didn’t help matters that Hosep was falling for him either. But when Riku finished here and wanted to go home, then what? Would he just leave Hosep behind? Would he stay? Could he stay? Was it even allowed?

Do I still want to go? That made his freeze. Did Riku actually want to go back to Destiny Island? A few months back his answer would have been ‘Of course! Am I crazy?’. But now he wasn’t so sure. He would miss Sora and Kairi dearly, not to mention Tidus, Wakka, Selphie and all the others.

So where I do stand? Do I love them or not? Or is it just a different kind of love? Could all of this just be from extreme circumstances? Riku snorted lightly. That had to be it. He had had his fill of ‘extreme circumstances’. Peace and quite, while a bit cliché, was looking mighty tempting.

But it does make sense. After fighting for so long, too many close calls, too many dances with death, it could be that Riku wanted to protect them from new threats so badly he thought it was true love. He shifted again, feeling those arms tighten this time as if the owner never wanted to let him go. Without even realizing Riku began to rub his thumb on the back of one of Hosep’s hands, relaxing him so the keyblade wielder could continue thinking. So if I use that perspective now in relation to how I feel about them, it is still love but not that kind of love. Siblings really. I was wrong then.

He smiled, enjoying the mental peace that he had achieved. As for staying to going home . . . That can wait until the war here is over. Kingdom Hearts hasn’t told me how to work light portals anyway. Content with his decisions, the silver haired boy snuggled back into the blankets, dozing off in absolute comfort.

When he had stilled and his breathing settled Hosep sat up. He watched the boy sleep with his curious crimson eyes. Something about the off-worlder was so unavoidably attractive. From the platinum hair to the ocean eyes to that tainted soul that still fought on, Hosep was drawn to him like a magnet to steel. But then he too was not of this world. His own had been destroyed years ago, landing him with the Vesper Hawks when he was only 15. Now at 22 though he looked to be older, scarred from countless skirmishes and Heartless ambushes, he was torn.

Part of him wanted nothing more than to take Riku and fuck him senseless. Part of him wanted to do nothing and let Riku make the first move. For fear of hurting the boy he opted for the latter, to remain cautious and let fate decide. He knew the keyblade wielder was torn between his friends back at his original home and the friends he had here. As much as he wanted Riku to stay with him, Hosep promised himself that he would let him go if he wanted to leave.

“Do not fear for me or my emotions,” he whispered to the sleeper in his arms. “If your heart tells you to stay then stay. But if you, my lovely saker falcon, wish to fly, then break your leash and do so. I will wait to see if you come back to my call.” Riku murmured something in his sleep with a ghost of a smile. It made the scout chuckle lightly, planting a kiss on his temple before letting himself sink back into bed and slumber.

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Riku was certain that she was a drill sergeant in a past life and took perverse pleasure in shouting loudly and scaring the pants off of them to wake them. Riku actually fell out of bed when she did with a yelp, much to his displeasure and everyone else’s humor. He attempted to look threatening from his crumbled position on the floor but failed miserably. Hosep let out a loud bark of open laughter, startling Layla’s giggles into silence.

“Come diji’ri. The floor is no place for you.” Callused hands hauled him to his feet as Layla moved to check them both. She was mortally afraid that falling out of bed had aggrivated his ribs and arm. But when he rose with a wince or a flinch, she instantly knew something was up.

“Stay perfectly still.” The boys obeyed, not moving except to blink, breath, and smirk. Riku knew she would find no trace of injury anywhere on him now. The second time he fell asleep he was talking to Kingdom Hearts again. This time he learned how to do any kind of healing, not just blight and made sure to use it to his advantage. When he finished with himself, the Champion moved on to Hosep, all without truly waking.

“All right Riku,” Layla relented, ignore the grin on his face. “You are clear for active duty. Hosep, that goes for you too though I’ll be damned if I know how you both got to be fully healed over night.” They obviously weren’t paying attention as the boy dove for clean clothes while Hosep only laughed at his antics. “You can both report to Tik’va when you’re ready.” Realizing it was futile to try to explain things further, the red head just huffed to herself and left them to it.

“Shouldn’t you tell her?” The blonde asked, tucking in his shirt. At the keyblade wielder’s confused look, he gestured to his left arm. Riku pretended to consider that for a moment before shaking his head, wearing a scimitar smile along with his black and blue uniform as he laced up his boots.

“She didn’t even notice that your blight was gone. To me, that says she isn’t worth her rank so there’s no reason to tell her anything.” The scout nodded and finished up himself, throwing a cloak over his shoulders to fight the chill in the air. Riku snatched one up as well, handing over a pair of extra gloves. They both tugged them on pulled up hoods and marched out into the camp.

Many called out friendly greetings to them as they walked. Some even stopped them for hugs or handshakes. It was a welcome feeling, to have so many people be happy to see you alive and well. Mud squished under their boots as they first hit up the mess tent. It was packed full of soldiers, scouts, healers, mages, and even messengers. All of them were from different squads, mixing together to chatter about both good news and bad.

Riku split off to get in line for a hot meal while the lieutenant headed off to find some seats. The line moved quickly due to the experience of the staff. Some had been part of the cooking crew for more than twenty years and they knew how to handle a crowd. Soon Riku was juggling two trays of food through cramped rows of tables and benches to where Hosep was waving to him.

No words were wasted as they both filled aching bellies with good hot mash. A few were offered to those that tried to get them to remain and chat, telling those present they had to report to their commanding officer. A second brisk walk followed lunch though more mud and more rows of encampment and soon they were at the 9th squad tent. One of the guards nodded for them to enter, holding back one flap.

It was cozy as Hosep and Riku ducked inside. Tik’va didn’t even see them enter as she hunched over a map with Jamel close to her side. Hosep nudged Riku in the side to get his attention.

‘Should I show them?’ he hand signaled, finishing with a gesture to his formerly blighted arm.

‘Yes. Make it dramatic.’ Riku replied, trying to stifle the bubble of laughter that threatened to give the whole game away. As quietly as they could, Hosep shrugged off his gloves, cloak, jerkin and long sleeved shirt, keeping only a sleeveless top for his torso. Riku held said items as the scout marched forward, adding himself to the conversation.

“Perhaps along here,” he suggested in counter to their plans for a new attack route. He traced the path he was presenting with his left hand, keeping his right behind his back to signal Riku forward.

That killed all conversation. Both superior officers just started, jaws dropped open in shock.

“Arm. Blight. Gone.” was all Tik’va could stammer as she fell back onto a stool. As least her response was not as childish as Jamel who was poking at Hosep as if this was all just a dream. After swallowing a few times she found her voice again, asking the inevitable “How?”

“My diji’ri did it last night.” That restored limb now sneaked around Riku’s waist to pull him close. A chaste kiss was rewarded to the one responsible, causing him to blush furiously. “How far does that blush go, hmmm?” Hosep whispered, causing the boy to blush all over again. Jamel cleared his throat loudly, drawing the conversation to the topic at hand.

“But how?” Tik’va demanded again, still gaping. “It is impossible to cure blight. Healers all over the world did research for years without any success!”

“I can’t really put it into words,” Riku began sheepishly. “But I just can. Someone I knew from before taught me how.” It was the truth. He did know Kingdom Hearts from before, if in a different sense of knowing. And he had been taught. Mentioning whom it was exactly though was something that needed to be omitted. Tik’va didn’t buy it in the least. She raised one silver brow in disbelief, as if asking ‘what kind of a fool do you take me for’.

“I can’t tell you more than that captain,” he said. “I can learn other things from this person as well but I won’t tell you how. Just know it isn’t a breach of security in anyway.” Her fingers drummed on the tabletop as she considered his words. Riku and Hosep didn’t move as she tried to stare them down.

“If I may captain?” Jamel finally joined in the discussion. “Perhaps it would be best if we did not mention this to the other squads?” Her fingers stopped dead as she turned her rather vehement gaze to her second.

“And why is that?”

“Let’s be honest: nothing like this has ever come up before.” He held up one hand to delay any replies before carrying on. “If we were to present this to the others, he would become nothing more than a lab rat for years instead of actually being on the field doing good.” Now he offered an apologetic look to Riku. “I do not mean to make you sound like a weapon. You are nothing of the sort. But you can do more for us here and now than carted off to the capital city for goddess only knows how long.”

Tik’va let out a snarl as she began to pace up and down the width of the tent. Her arms crossed over her torso as she did, scowling angrily at the floor as if it would somehow just giver her answers.

“Does anyone else know about this?” the captain asked. The pair of soldiers exchanged a glance at that.

“Possibly,” Hosep offered.

“Possibly? Either somebody knows or not. Now tell me which is it,” she ordered.

“Possibly,” Riku repeated. “Layla didn’t mention it at all when we were cleared just an hour ago. She made note of our healed bones and what not but nothing about Hosep’s blight. So either she just didn’t notice it at all, which we doubt, or she did and wasn’t sure what to make of it so she kept quiet.”

“Or she reported it to General Fallon,” Hosep suggested. Fallon was the commander of the Vesper Hawks as a whole. Riku had never met him during his time here but from what he heard, that was a good thing. He had met every squad captain and their seconds who all agreed that Fallon never should have come to power.

“Damn.” Tik’va continued swearing under her breath. “I hadn’t considered that. Do you think she would?” Riku and Jamel remained silent, eyes watching their captain and the lieutenant as both frowned. Hosep gave an uneasy look to those present before letting his head bow as he gave an answer.

“Yes.”

“DAMN IT!” the 9th squad captain slammed one fist into the table as her face contorted into a mask or rage. “Fine. You two, go pack now. Jamel, spread the word: we are moving in one hour. If Layla is reporting to Fallon, it will take her at least two hours just to get to his camp. She wouldn’t want to lose credit for this find by passing a message. I want to be out of here before she gets back, assuming she left.” Her second in command snapped off a salute and went outside, his baritone voice echoing as orders were passed on.

She paused, looking to the map again. “Hosep, we’re following your route through the valley pass. Take a scout team with you and wait for us here.” ‘Here’ was right where the pass started, a full eight miles from their current position. “Take some horses.” The pair of them just stood for a moment, not sure if she had anything else to say or not. “GO!” Apparently not. Hosep reacted like a well-trained pet and started dragging Riku towards the exit.

“Wait!” the keyblade wielder broke free to approach Tik’va again. “Why are you doing all this just for me?” She gave him a wiry look, as though he had missed the punch line of some camp sized joke.

“Why the hell not?” She retorted, crossing her arms again. “If Layla has betrayed us, as I believe she has, then by giving a marching order now, she’ll be left behind. When she shows up later and finds up gone, she’ll either return to Fallon or try to find us. If she does find us, I can punish her for abandoning her post as well as being absent without leave. She’ll either have to lie through her teeth or tell the truth. Either way, she’s fucked herself.” She grinned, a smile full of teeth and bloodlust. “And believe me, she has done so royally. Nobody, not even Fallon, fucks with my crew.”