So here's my first fanfic for KHInsider. It's a response to Mikoto-Cat's one-word plot bunny: "snow". I hope you like it, and I'm sorry that it's so long!
Pairing: Riku/Xion; but it's mostly friendship
Type: One-Shot
Summary: Xion meets Riku in Twilight Town and discovers that he has no idea what snow is...
With a flash of light, the last of the Heartless disappeared and Xion slumped over, panting heavily. She knew she shouldn’t be pushing herself like this, but she wanted to finish her missions as quickly as possible. The sooner she was done, the more time she had left to do other things before she met her friends, Roxas and Axel, for ice cream in Twilight Town.
There was certainly plenty to do in the world she was currently visiting. Her map had labeled it “Halloween Town”, but as she had soon learned, Halloween Town was only one section in the entire place. Each town was dedicated to a specific holiday, and the one she had entered was all about Christmas. Elves, reindeer, and snowmen were everywhere, getting ready for their biggest night of the year.
As a Nobody who had lost her memories along with her heart, Xion couldn’t remember too much about Christmas, nor could she really feel excited about it. This wouldn’t have bothered her so much if she hadn’t been caught smack in the middle of the festivities, watching joyful villagers running around with ecstatic looks on their faces. I wish I could be like them, she thought sadly.
After a few minutes of wandering around the village, Xion decided that she just wasn’t in the right mood for this sort of thing. So where could she go next? Not Hollow Bastion; Saix was on a mission there. Xigbar was in Port Royal, Luxord had a job in Agrabah, and Xaldin was still at the Beast’s castle, not that she would have ever considered going there. She also knew that Roxas and Axel were at the Olympic Coliseum, and Demyx was probably visiting Destiny Islands again. So those worlds were out of the question.
I suppose I could always go to Twilight Town early, she thought to herself. She had never really explored the town properly, always heading straight for the top of the clock tower, where she usually watched the sunset with her friends. It would be nice to see more of the world that was infamously trapped in a perpetual sundown.
With a wave of her arm, Xion formed a portal of darkness and made her way over to Twilight Town. She smiled as she felt the warm, familiar air and heard the sound of laughing children nearby. This was a quiet little world; where exciting things didn’t happen often, but that was just the way she liked it. Now she could do a little window-shopping without getting caught up in the holiday frenzy that was Christmas Town.
“Xion?!”
Xion turned, shocked but pleased to hear the sound of Riku’s voice coming from behind her. “Riku!” she cried, “What are you doing here?”
“I was about to ask you the same question,” he replied, as he walked over to her. “Isn’t it a little early to be meeting them?” He jerked his head toward the clock tower.
“Yeah. I felt like coming early. So, what are you doing here?”
Riku showed her his hands, which were carrying a brand-new sketchbook and colored pencils. “These are for Naminé,” he explained, “She’s running out of art supplies, so I thought I’d get her some.”
“That’s nice of you.”
“Thanks.”
Silence fell as they both struggled to find something to talk about. “So, where did you have to go today?” asked Riku.
“I told you, I’m not supposed to talk about it,” she replied.
“It’s ok, I’m not asking about the missions. Just the name of the world.”
Xion bit her lip anxiously. “Well…I guess there’s nothing wrong with that…I had to go to Christmas Town.”
“There’s a world that’s nothing but Christmas?!” said Riku, “Now I’ve heard everything!”
Xion giggled. “It’s not all Christmas, just that town. They all make up different holidays.”
“Which one do you like best?”
“I don’t know,” she replied with a shrug, “I’m a Nobody, remember? I can’t feel enough to like the holidays anymore. But Christmas Town was nice. I liked seeing all the colored lights and the snow.”
“…the what?”
“The colored lights and the snow. What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing. But…what the heck is snow?”
Xion’s mouth dropped open. “You…you don’t know what snow is?!”
“No. Should I?”
Xion smirked. “Very funny. You’re just teasing me again, aren’t you?”
For the first time since she had met him, Riku looked really confused...well, as confused as he could look when he was wearing that blindfold. “No, I’m not. What’s snow?”
Xion couldn’t believe her ears. “You really don’t know?”
“Stop messing with me and just tell me what it is.”
“It’s…well…it’s cold, white stuff that comes every winter…you know what, maybe I should just show you. Do you have time?”
Riku shrugged. “Sure, why not? DiZ can survive a few more minutes without me.”
“Great!” While feeling a little apprehensive about what she was doing, Xion formed a new portal back to Christmas Town, and her friend followed.
The world looked just the way she had left it, with the same twinkling lights, the same happy villagers, and of course, the same glistening snow. She turned around and was pleased to see that Riku’s jaw had dropped. “What is this stuff?” he asked in astonishment.
“That’s snow,” said Xion.
Riku walked over to one of the buildings, which had icicles hanging off the roof. Slowly, he stretched out his hand to touch one of them, and immediately jerked it back. “It’s cold!” he gasped.
Xion laughed. “Of course it’s cold, silly! It’s frozen water! It wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t cold!”
Riku’s childlike wonder vanished from his face and was replaced with a smirk. “Well, that would explain why I never saw it before. I live on a tropical island, Xion. You know, where everything’s hot.”
“Oh…that’s right,” she said, feeling a bit stupid now.
He chuckled. “That’s ok. Hey, wait a minute- you don’t have any memories of your human life. How did you know what snow was?”
Now Xion was blushing. “One of the older members, Xigbar, explained it to me when we went on a mission here,” she admitted.
Riku folded his arms. “And here you were, trying to make me look like the idiot. Nice job.”
“Shut up!”
He just laughed at her. “So, should we go back now?”
“Wait!” she cried. Now that she had a friend with her, she suddenly didn’t mind the idea of staying here, just for a little while. “Don’t you want to see more of this world? I heard that Santa Clause lives here!”
“Do you even know who Santa Clause is?” he asked, looking amused.
“Yes. Do you?”
“Of course I do. But I’m not really in the mood to visit him.” He suddenly looked uneasy, and Xion could’ve sworn she heard him mutter, “Oh man, Sora’s going to kill me if he’s real.”
“Well, we don’t have to do that. We could always do something else.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. But there’s got to be something we can do here. It is Christmas Town!”
Riku gazed thoughtfully at a little family that was hurrying out of a shop. Each of them had bags with presents in their hands. “You know…I actually need to buy something else. Let’s go in there.”
Xion wasn’t sure what he had in mind, and it didn’t look like he was going to tell her, so she wandered through the aisles of the store, a few paces behind him. It was a giant log cabin that had shelves filled with all sorts of accessories, but Riku didn’t seem to have a clear idea of what he wanted. He just meandered along, stopping every now and then to examine something before putting it back.
“What are you looking for?” she asked finally, “Can I help?”
“No, I’ve got it covered,” he replied. “Wait- on second thought, could you look over there and see if you can find some candy or cookies for Naminé? She’d probably like to try something like that.”
“Ok,” said Xion, and she left him to pick out some typical candy canes and gingerbread men. By the time she was done, she saw that Riku was finished too, and he beckoned her to follow him out of the store.
“Did you get what you needed?”
“Yeah,” he replied.
There was a pause. “Are you going to tell me what you needed?”
Riku’s mouth twitched into a small smile. “I just figured I’d get presents for Sora and Kairi, for when I see them again.” He chuckled. “Otherwise they’ll go on and on about me not getting them anything for Christmas.”
“That’s nice,” said Xion, yet she felt a strange sensation where her heart should have been. Riku had gotten presents for all his friends: Sora, Kairi, even Naminé. But there was nothing for her. Oh well, it’s not important. It’s not like I can even appreciate a present, right?
“Speaking of which,” he continued, as though he had read her mind, “I got you something too.”
Xion froze. “For…me?!”
“Of course. What, you thought I’d leave you out?”
Xion suddenly felt as light as the snowflakes falling everywhere. “What? What is it?” she cried, bouncing around like, well, like a little kid on Christmas morning. It wasn’t really the present that had her so excited though- the very fact that he wanted to get her something was good enough.
Riku smirked at her. “I think I’ll wait ‘til we get back to Twilight Town,” he said, “It’s fun to watch you go nuts waiting.”
“C’mon Riku!” she pleaded, as she swiped at the bag playfully, “Please???”
“Nope, sorry. You’ll just have to learn to be patient.” Then he laughed as Xion chased him through the portal back to Twilight Town, keeping the bag out of her reach the whole time. “Ok, ok,” he said, when they finally reached a warm alleyway near the clock tower, “Let me get it out!”
Xion quieted down and stood waiting with an eager expression on her face. “Ok, I hope you like it,” said Riku, withdrawing a box and handing it to her. She opened it and found...
“…a camera?”
“Yeah, a camera. I know you don’t have any memories from your past, so I figured you might like to create some new memories now. You can use the camera to make sure you won’t forget anything again.” He was about to say more, but he was interrupted when Xion crushed him in a hug.
“I love it! Thank you so much!” Then she quickly withdrew from her embrace to hold up the new camera. “You’ll have to show me how this works, so I can take a picture of you!”
“Oh. Um…I’d rather not…”
“Huh? Why not?”
Riku looked a little embarrassed. “I hate when people take pictures of me.”
“Oh come on, don’t give me that! I want a way to remember you!”
“I’ll pass, thanks,” said Riku, who was now smirking again, “Have your other friends show you and take pictures of them. I’ll see you around.”
“Oh no you don’t!” she shouted, chasing him down the street, “You can’t just give me this and then tell me you’re camera-shy! Get back here right now!”
She might have caught him if she hadn’t slammed into Roxas. “Xion!” he said happily, “You came early!”
“What’s that you’ve got there?” asked Axel.
Xion groaned inwardly; there was no way she would catch up with him now. “A camera.”
“Hey, that’s neat!” said Roxas.
“Want to show me how to use it?”
Axel shrugged. “Sure, it’s not hard…”
But Xion was only half-listening, as she glared at the spot where Riku had vanished. Next time, you won’t get away so easily, she thought. Just wait and see.
I'd appreciate reviews and/or constructive criticism! Thanks for reading!
Pairing: Riku/Xion; but it's mostly friendship
Type: One-Shot
Summary: Xion meets Riku in Twilight Town and discovers that he has no idea what snow is...
"A Visit to Christmas Town"
With a flash of light, the last of the Heartless disappeared and Xion slumped over, panting heavily. She knew she shouldn’t be pushing herself like this, but she wanted to finish her missions as quickly as possible. The sooner she was done, the more time she had left to do other things before she met her friends, Roxas and Axel, for ice cream in Twilight Town.
There was certainly plenty to do in the world she was currently visiting. Her map had labeled it “Halloween Town”, but as she had soon learned, Halloween Town was only one section in the entire place. Each town was dedicated to a specific holiday, and the one she had entered was all about Christmas. Elves, reindeer, and snowmen were everywhere, getting ready for their biggest night of the year.
As a Nobody who had lost her memories along with her heart, Xion couldn’t remember too much about Christmas, nor could she really feel excited about it. This wouldn’t have bothered her so much if she hadn’t been caught smack in the middle of the festivities, watching joyful villagers running around with ecstatic looks on their faces. I wish I could be like them, she thought sadly.
After a few minutes of wandering around the village, Xion decided that she just wasn’t in the right mood for this sort of thing. So where could she go next? Not Hollow Bastion; Saix was on a mission there. Xigbar was in Port Royal, Luxord had a job in Agrabah, and Xaldin was still at the Beast’s castle, not that she would have ever considered going there. She also knew that Roxas and Axel were at the Olympic Coliseum, and Demyx was probably visiting Destiny Islands again. So those worlds were out of the question.
I suppose I could always go to Twilight Town early, she thought to herself. She had never really explored the town properly, always heading straight for the top of the clock tower, where she usually watched the sunset with her friends. It would be nice to see more of the world that was infamously trapped in a perpetual sundown.
With a wave of her arm, Xion formed a portal of darkness and made her way over to Twilight Town. She smiled as she felt the warm, familiar air and heard the sound of laughing children nearby. This was a quiet little world; where exciting things didn’t happen often, but that was just the way she liked it. Now she could do a little window-shopping without getting caught up in the holiday frenzy that was Christmas Town.
“Xion?!”
Xion turned, shocked but pleased to hear the sound of Riku’s voice coming from behind her. “Riku!” she cried, “What are you doing here?”
“I was about to ask you the same question,” he replied, as he walked over to her. “Isn’t it a little early to be meeting them?” He jerked his head toward the clock tower.
“Yeah. I felt like coming early. So, what are you doing here?”
Riku showed her his hands, which were carrying a brand-new sketchbook and colored pencils. “These are for Naminé,” he explained, “She’s running out of art supplies, so I thought I’d get her some.”
“That’s nice of you.”
“Thanks.”
Silence fell as they both struggled to find something to talk about. “So, where did you have to go today?” asked Riku.
“I told you, I’m not supposed to talk about it,” she replied.
“It’s ok, I’m not asking about the missions. Just the name of the world.”
Xion bit her lip anxiously. “Well…I guess there’s nothing wrong with that…I had to go to Christmas Town.”
“There’s a world that’s nothing but Christmas?!” said Riku, “Now I’ve heard everything!”
Xion giggled. “It’s not all Christmas, just that town. They all make up different holidays.”
“Which one do you like best?”
“I don’t know,” she replied with a shrug, “I’m a Nobody, remember? I can’t feel enough to like the holidays anymore. But Christmas Town was nice. I liked seeing all the colored lights and the snow.”
“…the what?”
“The colored lights and the snow. What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing. But…what the heck is snow?”
Xion’s mouth dropped open. “You…you don’t know what snow is?!”
“No. Should I?”
Xion smirked. “Very funny. You’re just teasing me again, aren’t you?”
For the first time since she had met him, Riku looked really confused...well, as confused as he could look when he was wearing that blindfold. “No, I’m not. What’s snow?”
Xion couldn’t believe her ears. “You really don’t know?”
“Stop messing with me and just tell me what it is.”
“It’s…well…it’s cold, white stuff that comes every winter…you know what, maybe I should just show you. Do you have time?”
Riku shrugged. “Sure, why not? DiZ can survive a few more minutes without me.”
“Great!” While feeling a little apprehensive about what she was doing, Xion formed a new portal back to Christmas Town, and her friend followed.
The world looked just the way she had left it, with the same twinkling lights, the same happy villagers, and of course, the same glistening snow. She turned around and was pleased to see that Riku’s jaw had dropped. “What is this stuff?” he asked in astonishment.
“That’s snow,” said Xion.
Riku walked over to one of the buildings, which had icicles hanging off the roof. Slowly, he stretched out his hand to touch one of them, and immediately jerked it back. “It’s cold!” he gasped.
Xion laughed. “Of course it’s cold, silly! It’s frozen water! It wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t cold!”
Riku’s childlike wonder vanished from his face and was replaced with a smirk. “Well, that would explain why I never saw it before. I live on a tropical island, Xion. You know, where everything’s hot.”
“Oh…that’s right,” she said, feeling a bit stupid now.
He chuckled. “That’s ok. Hey, wait a minute- you don’t have any memories of your human life. How did you know what snow was?”
Now Xion was blushing. “One of the older members, Xigbar, explained it to me when we went on a mission here,” she admitted.
Riku folded his arms. “And here you were, trying to make me look like the idiot. Nice job.”
“Shut up!”
He just laughed at her. “So, should we go back now?”
“Wait!” she cried. Now that she had a friend with her, she suddenly didn’t mind the idea of staying here, just for a little while. “Don’t you want to see more of this world? I heard that Santa Clause lives here!”
“Do you even know who Santa Clause is?” he asked, looking amused.
“Yes. Do you?”
“Of course I do. But I’m not really in the mood to visit him.” He suddenly looked uneasy, and Xion could’ve sworn she heard him mutter, “Oh man, Sora’s going to kill me if he’s real.”
“Well, we don’t have to do that. We could always do something else.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. But there’s got to be something we can do here. It is Christmas Town!”
Riku gazed thoughtfully at a little family that was hurrying out of a shop. Each of them had bags with presents in their hands. “You know…I actually need to buy something else. Let’s go in there.”
Xion wasn’t sure what he had in mind, and it didn’t look like he was going to tell her, so she wandered through the aisles of the store, a few paces behind him. It was a giant log cabin that had shelves filled with all sorts of accessories, but Riku didn’t seem to have a clear idea of what he wanted. He just meandered along, stopping every now and then to examine something before putting it back.
“What are you looking for?” she asked finally, “Can I help?”
“No, I’ve got it covered,” he replied. “Wait- on second thought, could you look over there and see if you can find some candy or cookies for Naminé? She’d probably like to try something like that.”
“Ok,” said Xion, and she left him to pick out some typical candy canes and gingerbread men. By the time she was done, she saw that Riku was finished too, and he beckoned her to follow him out of the store.
“Did you get what you needed?”
“Yeah,” he replied.
There was a pause. “Are you going to tell me what you needed?”
Riku’s mouth twitched into a small smile. “I just figured I’d get presents for Sora and Kairi, for when I see them again.” He chuckled. “Otherwise they’ll go on and on about me not getting them anything for Christmas.”
“That’s nice,” said Xion, yet she felt a strange sensation where her heart should have been. Riku had gotten presents for all his friends: Sora, Kairi, even Naminé. But there was nothing for her. Oh well, it’s not important. It’s not like I can even appreciate a present, right?
“Speaking of which,” he continued, as though he had read her mind, “I got you something too.”
Xion froze. “For…me?!”
“Of course. What, you thought I’d leave you out?”
Xion suddenly felt as light as the snowflakes falling everywhere. “What? What is it?” she cried, bouncing around like, well, like a little kid on Christmas morning. It wasn’t really the present that had her so excited though- the very fact that he wanted to get her something was good enough.
Riku smirked at her. “I think I’ll wait ‘til we get back to Twilight Town,” he said, “It’s fun to watch you go nuts waiting.”
“C’mon Riku!” she pleaded, as she swiped at the bag playfully, “Please???”
“Nope, sorry. You’ll just have to learn to be patient.” Then he laughed as Xion chased him through the portal back to Twilight Town, keeping the bag out of her reach the whole time. “Ok, ok,” he said, when they finally reached a warm alleyway near the clock tower, “Let me get it out!”
Xion quieted down and stood waiting with an eager expression on her face. “Ok, I hope you like it,” said Riku, withdrawing a box and handing it to her. She opened it and found...
“…a camera?”
“Yeah, a camera. I know you don’t have any memories from your past, so I figured you might like to create some new memories now. You can use the camera to make sure you won’t forget anything again.” He was about to say more, but he was interrupted when Xion crushed him in a hug.
“I love it! Thank you so much!” Then she quickly withdrew from her embrace to hold up the new camera. “You’ll have to show me how this works, so I can take a picture of you!”
“Oh. Um…I’d rather not…”
“Huh? Why not?”
Riku looked a little embarrassed. “I hate when people take pictures of me.”
“Oh come on, don’t give me that! I want a way to remember you!”
“I’ll pass, thanks,” said Riku, who was now smirking again, “Have your other friends show you and take pictures of them. I’ll see you around.”
“Oh no you don’t!” she shouted, chasing him down the street, “You can’t just give me this and then tell me you’re camera-shy! Get back here right now!”
She might have caught him if she hadn’t slammed into Roxas. “Xion!” he said happily, “You came early!”
“What’s that you’ve got there?” asked Axel.
Xion groaned inwardly; there was no way she would catch up with him now. “A camera.”
“Hey, that’s neat!” said Roxas.
“Want to show me how to use it?”
Axel shrugged. “Sure, it’s not hard…”
But Xion was only half-listening, as she glared at the spot where Riku had vanished. Next time, you won’t get away so easily, she thought. Just wait and see.
The End
I'd appreciate reviews and/or constructive criticism! Thanks for reading!
