#when I was at Deep Jungle some months ago and Sora sees the slide of the castle I immediately sketched Kairi looking at it

[brighterthanghosts]

By Your Side

Word count: 3,474

Pairing: Taishiro

Read below the cut or here on ao3.

Summary: “Taichi-san, you spent years telling me to believe in myself. Either you would beat a dead horse or I’d finally conquer my insecurities. Personally, I’m glad it was the latter.”

Five times Koushiro and Taichi were being good to each other from childhood to adulthood. Rated T for zombie gorillas and Taichi's foul mouth.

5&6

“Taichi, be careful!” his mom called out. But Taichi had already taken off toward the monkey bars, leaving a trail through the pebbles that separated the swings from the jungle gym. The jungle gym was attached to a large fort-style playground set that was often the backdrop for Taichi’s adventures — today, he needed to escape a rampage of zombie gorillas, and the only way was to make it through the forest Tarzan-style.

He wasn’t tall enough to reach the monkey bars on his own, but he had learned that the big dome on the opening of the slide was the perfect height. He stuck his shoe between the slide and plastic log fort, balancing on the large bolt that held the slide in place. Hoisting himself up and over the edge of the dome. The monkey bars were about two feet away to the right, and all he’d need to do was jump. He better get going, too, because the zombie gorillas were headed this way.

Taking one look behind him, Taichi stood, like a hero in his own movie, and prepared himself. He only had one chance to do this. If he didn’t make it, the zombies would eat his brain and spread the zombie virus to the human race. Taichi couldn’t let that happen. With one breath and a battle cry, Taichi lept from the top of the slide, arm fully extended out to grasp at the monkey bars. He was going to make it. He knew it. Almost there.

His fingertips brushed the underside of one bar, and he recognized his mistake. The zombies won.

Crashing to the ground snapped Taichi from his fantasy. He’d landed on his hands and knees, now bruised and scraped, and he could feel tears prickling at the corners of his eyes as he sat on his butt and assessed the damage.

“Are you okay?”

Taichi looked up into deep, dark eyes that were filled with concern and a tinge of something else.

“Y-yeah. I just —” Taichi said, turning his palms outward and gesturing to the little red-haired boy, who was kneeling beside him.

“That looks like it hurts,” the boy said, reaching out to hold Taichi’s left wrist, turning his hand this way and that. “But you looked so cool! Like Super Sentai!” The boy looked up at him, then, wide-eyed and a smile full of admiration.

“Oh!” he said, like he’d forgotten something. He looked back to Taichi’s palm and pressed a small kiss right in the center. “My okaa-san said it helps the healing.”

“Th-thanks,” Taichi said, feeling his face heat up.

“Koushiro! It’s time to go home!” a woman yelled somewhere off to the left of where the two boys sat.

“Ah, that’s my okaa-san!” the boy said, scrambling to his feet. He bowed, then smiled and with a wave said, “I have to go now! I hope you feel better soon!”

Taichi sat there, watching the boy’s back become smaller as he ran toward his mom.

“Taichi?” his own mother called.

He looked back over his right shoulder.

“Oh, Taichi! Are you okay? Are you hurt?” his mother asked.

Taichi shook his head, looking back at his hand. “No, mom, I’m okay. I’ll be better in no time.”

9&10

“Koushiro! Pass!” He heard someone yell, but he was too overwhelmed by the two bodies blocking him. Koushiro was running toward the soccer net as quickly as his little legs would carry him. The two children to his right and left stood a whole head taller than him. He could hardly see as it was; his hair was sticking flat to his forehead, sweat beading down in tiny rivers that pooled in his eyes.

“Pass it!”

He saw a mass of hair whirlwind behind the kid to his right, and Koushiro prayed it was his teammate. He quickly stepped to the left, pulled his right leg back, and kicked the ball. He made contact, he was sure, but his feet got tangled somewhere along the way and he planted face-first into the pitch.

“Go, go, go, go!”

Koushiro lifted himself up just in time to see Taichi straight-kick the ball right past the goalie and into the net. He looked like a pro, with the sunset as his backdrop. Koushiro would bet his life that Taichi would one day be the best soccer player in Japan — better than even Kamamoto Kunishige. With a little more than 30 seconds to go before half time, Koushiro got to his feet and started trekking back to the bench. His chin hurt, and he could use a towel and some water.

“Oi, Koushiro!” Taichi was jogging his way, dimples framing his warm smile. “Hey man, great pass!”

“Ah, n-no, it was all you,” Koushiro said, looking at the ground. Peeking up at his teammate, he added, “You were amazing out there, Taichi-san.”

“No way! We never would have scored had you not ran the ball down the pitch,” Taichi said, reaching a hand out to ruffle Koushiro’s hair. “Honestly, you were awesome!”

Koushiro looked down again, his face suddenly warm. “Th-thank you, Taichi-san. That makes me very happy.”

Taichi slung an arm over Koushiro’s shoulders, pulling him into Taichi’s side. “C’mon, let’s get a bandaid for your chin. You’re going to look so cool. Coach said girls like battle scars.”

Koushiro heard what Taichi said, but his brain stopped working sometime around the word cool. Taichi thought he would look cool. And suddenly, Koushiro wanted nothing more.

11&12

It had been one year exactly since their adventure to the digital world, and Taichi was feeling a little nostalgic. School had been well enough, and Taichi kept himself busy with soccer and video games for most of the summer. Had it been a Saturday, Taichi wouldn’t have felt bad about spending the morning in bed. But it wasn’t Saturday, it was Tuesday, and his mom was expecting him to be alive by the time she got home.

Taichi rolled himself toward the edge of his bed, slowly extending a leg and an arm so he could lower himself to the floor. He lay like that for a while. He’s not really sure how long, but he heard footsteps in the hall and gentle knocking on the door — he must have dozed off again. At least he was out of bed.

“Onii-chan? I’m heading out now.” A pause, then, “Onii-chan?”

“Have fun,” Taichi called out to his sister. Hikari had adjusted to life without their digimon much better than he had, and he didn’t want to bring her mood down like that.

“Okay. Why don’t you invite someone over? Have some fun yourself!” Hikari was trying to encourage him, and honestly, Taichi doesn’t think it’s a bad idea.

“Yeah, maybe.”

“I’ll see you later, okay?” He can hear her footsteps retreating. Shortly after, he hears the door open and close. Taichi is officially alone.

Taichi stared at the ceiling, tracing patterns in the popcorn texture and thinking about the first time he met Koromon. The first time he evolved. The first time he understood the power of his courage. “Hey, that kind of looks like Ikakumon,” Taichi chuckles to himself. He’s probably imagining it. He could almost hear Koushiro telling him about how our brains are formidable and capable of filling in the gaps and playing tricks on us. He smiled and rolled onto his stomach, let out a groan, and picked himself off the ground.

***

Koushiro answered the phone after three rings. Taichi wasn’t sure why he suddenly felt nervous, like he was troubling the other boy or something. It was Koushiro. Koushiro, who showed up randomly at Taichi’s home just a couple months ago and helped his mom bake a cake. This is fine.

“Uh, Taichi-san?”

“Come over.” Taichi said, mentally smacking himself for being so blunt. “Please?” He adds before Koushiro can respond.

“Okay, Taichi-san. I’ll be there shortly.” And it sounded like Koushiro was smiling.

When he said shortly, he wasn’t kidding. It was maybe 25 minutes later when Taichi heard knocking at the door. They’d spent the last hour eating snacks and playing Mortal Kombat, and Taichi was becoming increasingly more irritated for the following two reasons: 1) Koushiro had gone through six glasses of Oolong tea and had already taken two bathroom breaks and 2) despite this, Koushiro was still kicking his ass. They were 12-3 with Koushiro in the lead, and Taichi had already decided that Koushiro was clearly cheating. To prove his point, Taichi had the boy pinned to the floor in a bout of tickle tortue.

“I’m not cheating, Taichi-san!” Koushiro said through giggles, accidentally kneeing Taichi in the stomach.

“Well, if you’re not a cheater, then you’re a magician, and that’s still cheating!” Taichi replied, poking his fingers into Koushiro’s sides.  

“Me cheating is about as possible as Agumon being a real dinosaur!” Koushiro laughed. And suddenly, he wasn’t laughing.

“Taichi-san?”

Taichi’s face felt hot and wet, but he doesn’t remember how it got that way. Koushiro was looking up at him, concerned and a little scared. He didn’t want to look weak in front of his friend. He felt so weak.

“Taichi-san,” Koushiro said, softer, and Taichi lowered his head to rest on the boy’s shoulder, hiding his hurt in this pocket of trust. He felt a hand on his back as a sob wracked up his spine and out his throat. “It’s okay, Taichi-san. I miss them, too.”

17&18

“Who does Yamato think he is? Saying that kind of thing all cool and nonchalant. He should have known that Sora wouldn’t take it well. Oi, Koushiro, are you listening to me?”

He wasn’t. His heart was in his ears as he stared at his phone.

“Yo.”

He’d never felt so many emotions at once. But this really shouldn’t have surprised him.

“Koushiro. What’s so damn interesting that you can’t put your phone down?”

His phone was pulled right from his hands, and he did nothing to stop it.

“Oh.”

He’d laugh, but he wasn’t sure it would sound much like a laugh at all.

“Oh, Koushiro. Hey, man. That —”

“N-no, it’s fine,” Koushiro mumbles out. His voice is low, breathy, almost inaudible, and it sounds foreign to his own ears.

“No, it’s not. Dude, like, she could have at least said something.”

Except, she didn’t need to. Mimi returned to America shortly after Christmas, following their final battle with Ordinemon. Koushiro had never worked up the courage to properly confess his feelings, and Mimi didn’t owe him any kind of explanation for the photo she uploaded to her social media, captioned “So thankful to be in love with this guy.” She was kissing him on the cheek. They looked happy.

“She looks happy. I’m happy for her.”

And he was. Truly.

“That doesn’t mean your feelings don’t matter!”

“Taichi-san, really. It’s fine.”

“Clearly it isn’t.”

A hand cupped his cheek, thumb swiping just under his eye. Taichi is looking at him like he’s proving a point.

“We wouldn’t have worked out anyway.”

“Why not?”

He could hear tints of frustration in Taichi’s voice. He flinched a little at the words; that tone was usually reserved for Yamato. Koushiro decided to choose his words carefully. The last thing he wanted was to lose Mimi and Taichi in one sitting.

“Ah, I, um — I don’t think I’m bold enough to stand at Mimi-san’s side.”

“That’s bullshit.”

He flinched again.

“Do you ever say nice things about yourself? Don’t you see how amazing you already are?”

Koushiro looked up, meeting Taichi’s eyes for the first time since he’d unlocked his phone.

“Amazing?”

“Duh. Koushiro, you’re like the most incredible person I know.”

But Koushiro didn’t really believe him. Taichi was being nice because Taichi was a good person. Taichi was a good friend. Taichi was the amazing one. Tall and strong. Fearless. A natural leader — our leader.

“Don’t look at me like that. Like you think I’m being ‘illogical.’ I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. You’re amazing. You are literally the reason we weren’t all killed in the digital world. You have your own office. You were the one who figured out that Meicoomon had backups of our digimon’s memories. You’re creating portals for us to travel between worlds. Portals, Kou. You’re so fucking smart, I don’t even know where you come up with all your ideas. And you turn every idea into a reality. You might think that isn’t significant, but I do. Mimi is missing out. Everyone is missing out on—”

Kou. Koushiro has never been particularly spontaneous. He was usually calculated and found reasons to justify his actions. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. Taichi and his kind words had pushed Koushiro to some kind of breaking point. The trust. The safety. The idea that someone thought so highly of him and this sudden need to protect it all. You’re amazing. He had subconsciously leaned forward toward his friend, as if their physical proximity could solidify this moment, like maybe Koushiro could really become one with all the lovely things Taichi was saying. He felt drunk on his heartbreak and sudden excitement. So fucking smart. Taichi’s words itched their way under his nails and made his fingers twitch. His blood was made of fire, his heart a bass drum, his brain alphabet soup — the letters spelling out ‘significant.’ This whole situation was illogical. Maybe Koushiro, too, was illogical.

Taichi didn’t move, didn’t push him away. Five seconds, their meeting lasted. Koushiro pulled away, the world crashing down on him as he realized what he’d done. He braved a peek at Taichi’s face — he looked different. Eyes glazed, looking past Koushiro. Mouth slightly open, jaw slacked. Koushiro took this moment to panic.

“T- ah, Taichi-san?”

“Huh?”

“Um.”

“Oh. Hey. I’m hungry. Want to grab a bite?”

“Uh?”

“I’ll treat today, so don’t worry.”

Taichi stood, grabbing his duffle bag and his wallet, looking back toward Koushiro, past him, again. His face said I need to get out of this room. Koushiro stood slowly, not making eye contact. He packed his laptop in his bag and decidedly ignored his phone, still unlocked and glowing with Mimi and her new boyfriend.

“I know I said I’ll treat, but I don’t have a lot of money. Are burgers okay?”

“Yes, that’s okay.”

“Cool.”

23&24

Taichi let out a yawn and scratched the back of head. He was thankful for this Friday evening, much welcomed after the long week. Taichi had been meeting regularly with Koushiro and his team to finalize their presentation on the digital world. They were finally making headway with the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly to get safety regulations passed to ensure secure travel to and from the digital world, which meant a foot in the door to (hopefully) his future boss and a potential research grant for Koushiro’s team.

Koushiro had texted him earlier in the day, suggesting dinner to celebrate their hard work. Taichi suggested pizza, Koushiro suggested Odaiba beach. Taichi was a bit surprised — it would be about an hour to get there from the city — but Odaiba did hold nearly all of their memories.

He smelled him before he saw him. Well, he smelled the pizza. Taichi turned to find Koushiro approaching his makeshift picnic space in the sand.

“Taichi-san!” Koushiro said, picking up speed.

“Hey,” Taichi responded smoothly. “You seem awfully excited. You didn’t miss me, did you?”

Koushiro let out a huff, but smiled anyway. “We worked hard this week! I added some finishing touches this afternoon and sent it to Nishi-san for proofreading. It should be ready to go early next week!”

Taichi wanted to say how appreciative he was, but his stomach rudely interrupted. Koushiro let out a laugh and handed over the pizza box.

They sat in silence for a while, making their way through their food and enjoying the breeze coming off the ocean. At some point, Koushiro had removed his socks and shoes and buried his feet in the sand. It had been a long time since either of them had been to the beach.

“You know, I thought about bringing Tentomon here to say goodbye.”

“Really?”

“Mhm. I was trying to think of something special to do. But I was too busy with work to get down here in time.”

“I took Agumon to watch the ocean. What did you end up doing?”

“I locked my office door and hugged him as tightly as I could.”

“How did he take it?”

“He knew what was happening. It didn’t matter where we were as long as we could properly say goodbye. I think he was happy with that.”

“Do you think we could ever, you know, regain our bonds?”

“I’m not sure. But I hope that, if we obtain this grant, we can proceed to research the digital world for traces of their data. If I’m being honest, I’m not convinced that our digimon are gone.”

“Hearing that from you gives me a lot of hope.”

Koushiro doesn’t respond. Taichi looks at him then, and he looks serene. Relaxed. Hopeful. It’s rare for Koushiro to display his quiet confidence. But if anyone can figure it out, Taichi trusts that his friend will.

“Taichi-san?”

“Hm?”

“You’re staring.”

“Ah, sorry! It’s just. You look confident.”

“Oh,” Koushiro said, high-pitched in surprise. “Hm. I suppose I can thank you for that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Taichi-san, you spent years telling me to believe in myself. Either you would beat a dead horse or I’d finally conquer my insecurities. Personally, I’m glad it was the latter.”

Koushiro looked back to the water, the air between them filled with something strange and familiar.

“Hey, Kou?”

“Hm?”

“Remember that time in high school when you kissed me?”

Koushiro sputters, face reddened like a radish bathed in sunset. “Why on Earth—”

“Why did you do it?”

“Um,” Koushiro drawls like he’s not sure how to answer. “Well.”

Taichi waits patiently, but he’s never been a particularly patient person.

“I don’t quite know, if I’m honest. I didn’t realize it was happening until it happened.”

“Hm.”

“Uhh. I remember being upset. And you made me feel better. My thoughts were blurry at that time. Ehh. I, um. I think I, maybe, I wanted to be the words you were saying?”

“What do you mean?”

“Mmm. You said I should see myself through your eyes. You ambushed me with compliment after compliment. And it took me by surprise because you were always someone I admired. I wanted to believe I was all the words you used to describe me. I wanted to believe I was worthy.”

“You are, though. I hope you believe that now.”

Koushiro isn’t looking at him, and Taichi doesn’t think he’s going to say anything else, so he continues.

“It’s the same, you know. For me.”

This caught the other boy’s attention, but Taichi cut off whatever Koushiro was going to say.

“I wanted to believe I was as cool as you thought I was,” Taichi said, huffing out a chuckle. “I wanted to stand by your side and be someone you could count on. I also wanted to believe I was worthy.”

“Do you? Believe, I mean.”

“Yeah, I do.”

Silence lies between them, but it’s no longer heavy. Koushiro’s twitching slightly, gazing out toward the water, but Taichi can tell his mind is somewhere distant. He hopes Koushiro is thinking the same thing.

“Hey, Kou?”

“Yeah?” Koushiro breathes back at him.

“Can I kiss you?”

***************************************************

A/N

And that’s it. That’s the end.

This was a wild ride that all started with the concept of kisses to fix booboos — a trope I need.

Some minor notes:

-This is loosely based around Adventure, 02 and tri., but I chose to ignore the movies (ie: Children’s War Game).

-Super Sentai is what the US’ “Power Rangers” is based on.

-Kamamoto Kunishige is one of the most prolific soccer players from Japan and is the all-time goal scorer in his country. He played for Japan’s national team throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s, and it’s my headcanon that Koushiro only knows his name because Taichi doesn’t shut up about him.

-I know Taichi works with the UN in the epilogue, but I wanted him to be just a couple years out of college here, so I filled in the gaps. Because Koushiro has already made a name for himself in the tech world (and with the knowledge that his work involves researching the digital world later), I thought it would be interesting for them to work together with common goals. That said, I have no idea what Taichi’s career path would look like, so bear with me.

#taishirou #taishiro #taichi x koushiro #taikou #honestly just taichi and koushiro being really good to each other #Odd references bc digimon takes place in the 90s and 00s #I'm assuming they have myspace accounts lol #digimon #fanfiction

[chibi-mushroom]

Can you do #10 for the ask meme :D

Hey, thanks for the ask! I had a lot of fun writing this, I hope it carries the emotion I had in mind! (to see the full list, go here)

Kiss #10; desperately

    The night was warm and clear, with stars dancing in the sky and waves rhythmically beating upon the sandy shore. Alone in the sky hung the moon, a mere sliver of what it had been just a few nights ago. The air was laden with a salty breeze and from somewhere off in the distance, Riku could see a light house’s beacon shining into the dark.

It had been a while since Riku had been home to the Destiny Islands. Usually the sight of the shore and the paopu tree where he was leaning now would have been a welcome sight. But since Sora had disappeared and Kairi had gone to sleep, he didn't like to come back. Whereas it had been tiny and confining when he was younger, it was now vast and empty. Even his heart felt hollow when he looked out into the ocean.

Namine had suggested they come as a way of cheering him up, as they had just crossed off a very long list of worlds to visit, checking under every rock for Sora's location.

It was a nice sentiment to come here, but the longer they stayed, the more he ached to leave. Maybe they had missed something in Deep Jungle. San fransokyo was just one city. There had to be something more past those towering skyscrapers and floating turbines.

"This was a mistake, wasn't it?" Namine sighed, carefully touching his arm with her calloused hand. He was cold.

"Maybe. I'm sorry, Nam." Riku's face softened as he looked down at the girl.

She had a similar look on her face that she had carried all throughout her time in Castle Oblivion and Twilight Town. This wasn't easy on her, either. Maybe he was being selfish. He wasn't the only one who was hurting. In a way, they all were. Sora had been the one to connect them. When he disappeared, something of that connection darkened.

But the difference between them was that he couldn't let his insecurities show. Terra had called him a good leader. If Riku were honest, he hadn't thought as much; he was only doing what needed to be done. What Sora would have done. With the hole that was Sora's place, someone had to step in. But he knew those over-sized shoes couldn't be filled. Not by him.

There was another touch at his arm, but this time, it was more firm. He looked down to see Namine resting her forehead on him, her hand carefully brushing beside his. Her shoulders were slightly shaking. Was she chilled or was she crying the way Riku wished he could?

"I should have done something. I saw him on his station of awakening. Maybe I could have changed a memory or made a diversion." Namine's shoulders were shaking harder now.

She was the only one who had touched him recently. Riku always found some way to keep his distance from the others. He had been travelling to find Sora on his own, trying to cover as much ground as possible since Kairi had begged the scientists at Radiant Garden to put her to sleep and search her heart. As solitary as he usually was these days, he always came back to her whenever the road became too lonely.

Instinctively, he wrapped her up into an embrace. His heart was calling out for hers, yearning to connect and feel something real. As he pressed her into his chest, warmth spread throughout his body. She stilled and buried her face into his torso. Her breath began to slow, and Riku could feel relief wash over him. There was the connection, shining in the darkness that had threatened to consume him.

“No. His mind was made up. You did what you could.”

Even to himself, the words felt hollow. Both Riku and Namine knew asking “what if” was pointless. It didn’t stop them.

“Have those nightmares been bothering you still?” Namine asked softly, placing a hand to his cheek.

“Yeah. does it show that much?”

“Maybe not to anyone else, but I can see the weight on your back.” Namine let her hand slip to his shoulder. “I wish you would share it with us.”

‘Sorry. I guess I’ve never been very good at sharing.”

“Is there anything I can do? Please Riku. I want to share your world.”

He stopped for a moment, eyes holding hers. She still had that remorseful look on her face, but hidden in her eyes was a look of determination. Riku knew from their time together that she meant what she said, and she was determined to see it through, whatever he would ask of her. Seeing her iron will, the pain and the fear went away. The storm calmed, and he had a moment of clarity. She grounded him. She was his light in the darkness, and he needed her now more than ever. Although he had no idea how she would react, he knew he needed to show her how much she meant to him. It was a risky move, but now wasn’t the time to think. Maybe he had done enough of that as it was.

Riku softly cupped her face in his hand and let it slide behind to the back of her head, tangling his fingers in the strands of her hair. He pulled her form against his body with his free hand and pressed their lips together, moving his mouth quickly with more aggression than even he expected. Still, it felt right as he hungrily continued. It surprised him when she responded with just as much passion, turning her head slightly so that he could get a better angle.

She hummed into the kiss as they slowed, softly pulling apart. Without missing a beat, Riku took a breath and kissed at her lips again, swooping in once, twice, three more times. His hand returned to its place on her cheek, letting his thumb slide along the soft skin. Namine gave him a smile. She understood how he was feeling, and maybe she had felt it, too. Now that the feelings were out in the open, Riku chuckled a little. All of a sudden the weight on his back was gone, replaced by a joy that her smile brought.

The world would still be hard to live in because both of his best friends were gone. Times would be hard in the upcoming days, weeks and months. Their shared kisses hadn’t done anything to change that. But the desperation was replaced by satisfaction. The memory of this night could help tide him over a little longer.

“I’m with you, Riku. You don’t have to be alone anymore. Don’t you remember that?”

“I will from now on. As long as you don’t mind reminding me from time to time.”

Namine held out her hand to him. It was clenched into a fist, save it were her pinky finger which was extended to him. She continued to look at him, the remorse washed from her face. All that was left was that pure determination, which caused the edges of Riku’s mouth to turn up in a smirk. He wrapped his pinky around hers, nodding his head. They would find Sora. And they would do it by working together.

#Pearl-nocturna #RIkunami #namiku #riku #namine #kiss meme #writing prompt #thanks for the idea

[p-artsypants]

Rage Awakened (4)

Ten years ago, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus lost their fellow apprentice, Sora, in Deep Jungle. Now, they are to return with two new students, Riku and Kairi, to lock the heart of the world. All the while, something watches from the trees. Feral!Sora AU

FF.net | Ao3

@chachacharlieco2 @violetstar-writes

—

They had been in Deep Jungle for days now. Nothing to see but plants and heartless. Even the gorillas had disappeared from the first time they saw them. They were no closer to finding the keyhole than they were on the first day when they hadn’t even started looking.

The sightings of the wild boy continued, though no one was ever able to get a clear look at him.

One morning, while breakfast was being prepared, everyone sat around in various degrees of wakefulness. Then, without warning, a wicker basket filled with fruit fell from the ceiling and landed next to Kairi with a ‘wham!’

Everyone jumped at the gift, startled, before Ventus called out, “thank you sentient tree house!”

Then, three days into the voyage, with no end in sight, they finally made some headway.

It came mid afternoon, on a day that was hot and humid, as most days were in the jungle. The bugs were out, and everyone was cranky from sleeping on the floor for so many nights.

Riku was heading the pack, his job was keeping everyone going in the same direction, north by northwest. All the while, Kairi brought up the rear, her eyes wandering the canopy, just as she had on the first day.

“Look!” She cried, seeing something through the trees. “A treehouse!”

“Ugh, we’re back at camp? We walked all the way around the world?” Asked Ventus with a groan.

Kairi was already pushing plants aside to make her way over. “No! It’s a different treehouse!”

And indeed it was. Smaller than the first one, but newer. A second even smaller treehouse sat in the adjacent tree, connected with a bridge. There was a rope ladder hanging down, and smoke coming from a little chimney.

“Hello!” Called Kairi. “Is someone there?”

Terra and the rest caught up with her. “Wait! What if they’re dangerous?”

Riku interjected. “This is the first lead we’ve had! We should take it!”

A brunette woman poked her head out the window of the treehouse. “My goodness! I’m not hearing things!” She called, with an English accent. “There’s people! I’ll be down in just a moment!”

“She looks nice,” Ventus commented.

The woman descended using a vine, sliding down and landing right in front of them. “Hello! My, it has been some time since I’ve seen other people! You must be from another world! Are you here to study the gorillas?” Then she grew less friendly, “or are you here to hurt them? Because if you are, I’ll—I’ll...well, I’m not sure what I’ll do, but I can assure you it won’t be pleasant!”

Ventus whispered to Riku. “I like her.”

“We’re not here to hurt the gorillas,” Terra said, raising his hands peacefully. “In fact, we’re here to help them, in a way, Miss uh...”

“Oh, where are my manners? My name is Jane, Jane Porter. It’s a pleasure.” She held her hand out.

He shook it. “I’m Terra, these are my friends, Aqua, Ventus, Riku, and Kairi.”

“So, what does bring you folks to our Jungle?”

“Well,” Terra explained, hesitating. “We’re looking for a keyhole.”

“And a wild man!” Ventus added.

“Preferably both,” said Aqua.

Jane smiled, “well, I know of no keyhole, but the wild man you’re looking for is probably my husband. He should be along here sometime. Won’t you all come up and have some tea?”

Kairi’s heart sank into her shoes. That boy had been someone’s husband? And he had kissed her? Oh this was not good.

“Tea sounds lovely, thank you.” Aqua agreed.

Jane led the way up to the treehouse, gesturing them inside. “Come in! Come in! Make yourselves at home. I know it must be exhausting hiking through the jungle. Sit wherever you’d like.”

Immediately Ventus and Riku plopped down on a couch that, despite its Victorian appearance, was quite comfortable.

Jane set on the kettle and then called out to the neighboring treehouse, “Daddy! Daddy wake up, we have company!” Then she looked at her guests. “My apologies, it’s been so long since we had visitors that spoke English! You see, we’re researchers. About three years ago, Daddy and I came here from a neighboring world called London to study the gorillas.”

“Oh!” Cried Ventus. “We’ve been to London!”

Riku nudged him, “hush.”

“You have?” Said Jane happily. “Sometimes I really miss those streets, but other times I remember all the smoke and noise, and I’m glad I stayed here.”

“Why did you stay?” Asked Terra politely. “Your husband?”

“Yes, precisely. Daddy and I came here with another man, Clayton, on a grant to stay for about a month. Nearly the first day we arrived, I met him. He saved me from an angry fleet of baboons. A flying man in a loin cloth…”

“What’s his name?” Asked Riku.

“Oh, it’s...it’s a little odd, it’s Tarzan.”

The group collectively deflated, now knowing that the wild man was not who they wanted him to be.

“He didn’t speak any English,” Jane continued. “So, we taught him. We taught him reading and writing, math and science, about all the other worlds and galaxies out there. When the ship came to take us back, we tried to get Tarzan to come along with us...but our guide Clayton betrayed us, caged all the gorillas, and killed the alpha.”

The group stayed quiet, letting her speak, since it seemed so long since she had had any company.  “Tarzan and Clayton fought, and in the end, Tarzan won. But the alpha, in his dying moments, chose Tarzan to be the next leader of the pack. So he couldn’t return with us.” A small smile came to her face. “So I decided to stay too, and so did daddy.”

At that moment, a small old man came in the door, “I say, we do have company! A mighty gay crew of young adventurers at that! How wonderful! Archimedes Q. Porter, at your service! Jane, you’ve got the kettle on?”

“Of course, Daddy. They’re here in search of a keyhole, and they were looking for Tarzan!”

“A keyhole? In the jungle? You might as well be looking for a needle in a haystack!”

Jane took pause. “Come to think of it, for what reason are you looking for Tarzan?”

Aqua answered. “Well, at first we wondered if he was someone we once knew. But, we also wondered if he would have any hints to finding the keyhole...”

“And what does this keyhole lock, or unlock, as the case may be?”

“Well...” Terra and Aqua shared a look, trying to decide what was appropriate to say.

Riku took the decision away from them. “Have you seen the strange creatures that look like monkeys, but definitely aren’t?”

“Oh! You mean those blue menaces?! Of course! They’re the reason we had to leave the old treehouse!” The professor exclaimed.

“You mean the two-story one? A bit south of here?”

“That’s the one!”

“That’s where we set up camp! The heartless were a big problem there?”

“Is that what they’re called?” Asked Jane. “And why yes, but...they’ve been a problem everywhere in the Jungle. Tarzan is nearly at his wits end trying to kill them all! But they just keep coming back! They breed like rabbits!”

“They don’t actually breed…” Terra began. “The heartless are born of the darkness in people’s hearts. They’ve been getting worse everywhere. The locking the keyhole will stop them from swallowing this world completely, and get them to stop re-spawning.”

Jane sighed in relief. “If that’s the case, I’m sure Tarzan will do what he can to help you.”

Then, the kettle screamed, and Jane began to serve the tea. “You know, you say those heartless are made from the darkness in people’s hearts. It makes quite a bit of sense then, really, since they came around the same time we did. Clayton, the man I spoke of before, was terribly evil. We hired him to keep us safe in the jungle, but he ended up being the biggest threat.” She put the tea on the tray and brought over for everyone to take a cup. “I still feel awful about it. This world would have been so much better off if we hadn’t come.”

“Would Tarzan?” Asked Aqua.

And just like that, a figure dropped into the room with a ‘whomp’, poised on the balls of his feet.

Jane collected herself quickly. “There you are, darling! We have guests!”

The man was already halfway across the room, giving each of the wielders a studious look. “Guests…”

“They said they’ve been looking for you.”

“For me?” He took a special interest in Terra, Aqua, and Ven. “Been to see my mother. Said she and others were rescued from the not-chimps by people. One that looked like me,” he pointed at Terra, “one with hair like water,” he pointed at Aqua, “and one with hair like bananas.” He pointed at Ventus.

“Hey!”

“Oh yes!” Said Aqua, “we saved some gorillas from the heartless. Are they your family?”

“Yes, my family. Thank you.”

Ven grinned. “No sweat, it’s our job.”

“Kairi, is this the man you saw?” Riku spoke up.

It was almost with relief that she said, “no, he’s not.”

“Not Tarzan? My, then I feel sorry for wasting your time while I just rambled…hold on, you mean to say you saw another wild man out in the Jungle?”

“Yes, a few days ago.”

“Other,” said Tarzan. “One other.”

“Other? Oh!” Jane gasped. “Goodness gracious, I had completely forgotten about him! There is another wild man out there, but I only saw him once…and he was not very friendly. He almost got violent actually, Tarzan had to wrestle him away.”

“Not like Tarzan,” Tarzan said, “not part of pack. Comes and goes.”

No one got their hopes up. That didn’t sound like Sora at all.

Still, Riku asked, “does he have a name?”

After a moment, Tarzan answered:

“Sora.”

Aqua’s teacup shattered on the floor, as she stared at the man in horror. “I...I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to...”

“Oh, it’s alright,” Jane pacified. “Not much use for china in the Jungle, right? Are...are you alright?”

Aqua rubbed the heel of her hand into her eye. “I...I’m fine...” though as she said it, more tears came until she was weeping openly.

Terra quickly rushed over, and embraced her, where she buried her head in his shoulder to cry.

“Said something wrong?” Asked Tarzan.

“No,” said Terra, his voice choked up. “You said the right thing.”

“You’re...his family, aren’t you?” Jane surmised.

“Yeah...we...we came here about ten years ago, for a training exercise. He was only six then, and we left him and Ven at camp. When we returned, the camp was destroyed, Ven was unconscious and bloody, and Sora was nowhere to be found.”

“We searched for days!” Aqua sobbed. “But all we found was his bloody clothes. We didn’t think he could have—we thought he was dead! But all this time, he’s been here. Alone...”

“There there, don’t blame yourself.” Jane consoled, getting her a fresh cup of tea. “Given the evidence you found, it was a very natural conclusion you arrived at. You searched for days. And...he’s alive. You’ll be reunited!”

“But, I can’t help but be afraid, what if he thinks we abandoned him here?”

“If you explain it, he’ll understand.”

Terra asked Tarzan, “what can you tell us about him?”

The man scratched his head, trying to recall old memories. “Found him when he was small. Hurt. Scratched. Naked. Brought him home to family, for help. Kerchak didn’t want him to stay. Said he was marked as prey, being hunted. Mom begged him to stay until he was healed. Kerchak agreed. Thought he would die, but didn’t. He healed, and stayed with us for a while, and then left. Found him later, hurt again, brought him back again. Over and over, same thing. Kerchak was right, marked as prey, but predator doesn’t kill. Still hunting him.”

That was troubling. “He’s being hunted? By what?” Asked Aqua.

“Strange creature. Black, blue, and red.”

“That sounds like a heartless,” said Riku with mounting concern.

Tarzan further explained, “when first met Sora, he made weird sounds. I now know it was English. Then each time we found him, made less of those noises, more animal noises. More animal behavior. Now, he is  like something different. Not like Jane, not like Tarzan’s family. Not like Tarzan.”

“What kind of animal is he acting like?”

“One I have never seen before.”

Kairi still didn’t mention her other encounter with him at the treehouse, but she thought about it. He had parroted what she had said, and if this truly was Sora, shouldn’t he be able to recall at least a little bit? Had he lost himself that much?

Everyone else was considering Tarzan’s news of a heartless hunting Sora. What sort of Heartless plays with its victim for over ten years? It sounded like the intentional work of Maleficent.  

Jane broke the silence, “Tarzan, have you ever heard of a keyhole? Our friends are looking for one.”

He thought a moment. “I know of lots of holes. Explain more?”

Jane went over to her dresser, grabbed her jewelry box, and brought it over for him to see. “This little hole right here is a keyhole, if I put the key in it, it unlocks the box, and I can open the lid. In London, all the houses have keyholes on them so you can get inside.”

“And there’s one in the Jungle?” He asked the guests.

“There should be. We just…have no idea where to start,” Said Aqua. “Is there somewhere or something significant in the jungle? Something important?”

“There’s the waterfalls,” Jane mused. “It’s the main freshwater source, at the heart of the Jungle.”

“The heart of the Jungle!” The five exclaimed.

“We have to go to the waterfalls! Can you take us there, Tarzan?”

The man wandered over to the door, looking outside, thinking.

“He’s a very quiet man.” Jane whispered to her guests. “He’s basically the king of the Jungle, so he must consider the animal’s safety.”

He came back and declared, “not yet, but I will come for you soon. Where is your camp?”

“At the old treehouse, to the South.”

He nodded in understanding. “I will try to find Sora, tell him his family looks for him. Thank you for helping us.”

—

Later that night, Aqua boarded the gummi ship, as she had every night of their trip, and called Master Eraqus.

“It’s late, Aqua. Busy day?”

“Yes, Master. We finally found a lead. There were some researchers from another world here to study the gorillas, and the woman married a man raised by the apes.”

“A man raised by the apes? He was there last time too?”

“I guess? He looked about Riku’s age. They said the waterfalls are at the ‘heart’ of the world, and once the timing is right, he’s going to take us there.”

“The timing?”

“Yes…I’m not exactly sure what that means, but Tarzan has to protect the other animals, he’s like their king. So we have to abide by his rules.”

“Thus preserving the order of things, of course. Well, I hope it doesn’t take too long, for everyone’s sake. How are the rest? Is everyone alright?”

Aqua didn’t answer immediately, her glance away from the screen. “Master, we…I think we found him.”

“…you don’t mean…?”

“Kairi said she saw a wild man in the Jungle, who saved her from the heartless. When we met the researchers, they confirmed there was wild man, another besides the one we met today. They said his name is Sora.”

“Oh god…”

“Master, what are we going to do? We can’t just leave him here!”

“I know, I know…but we mustn’t be hasty. We need to treat him with care, find out what he would like to do. We can’t force him to do anything.”

“One other thing…Tarzan said he was marked as prey. Said he was being hunted by a strange black creature.”

Eraqus frowned hard. “That’s not good. The boy’s heart is strong, and doubtless a very powerful heartless has its eyes on him. No matter what Sora decides in the end, you will need to stop that heartless. We owe that much to him at least.”

Aqua nodded in agreement. “Yes master.”  

“And Aqua?”

“…yes?”

“It’ll all work out in the end.”

#kingdom hearts #kh #tarzan au #tarzan #jane porter #sora #Kairi #riku #aqua #terra #ventus #Birth By Sleep #feral!sora #rage awakened #fanfiction