After The Rain [KH1]

[!BRITTANY]

This is my first time putting fanfiction on here, eheh. I have a fanfiction.net account, but thought I might as well put something here. <_< This story has my OC Ame in it :3 First time using an OC. The chapters are kind of short, but they get longer. I'll post a chapter every now and then. (:
Right, onwards.

Chapter 1
The Calm Before The Storm

~

“Donald, look!”
“Ehh?!”
“A star’s goin’ out!”

“Another one..” Ame sighed, rolling over. All the stars seemed to be going out lately - almost every night. Every night a star would disappear, and the morning right after people would turn up, confused and afraid.
I wonder what it’s like..
She blew a few stray strands of blonde hair off her face, they kept tickling her nose. Resting her arm against her forehead, once again Ame tried to sleep.

“Do you know where we are?”

...

Descending the ladder down to the shop took more concentration than usual. Ame felt herself swaying as she came down each rung. When she felt her boots hit secure ground, she held her hand to her head, trying to balance herself. Maybe she didn’t sleep as long as she’d thought..
“I swear, if one more person strides in here and sets the place on fire, I’ll whack something.” Cid grumbled.

“Calm yourself, Dad.” Stretching her arms above her head, Ame looked up to see Cid walking through the door, scowling and grumbling as usual. “I have to listen to those synthesizing Moogles going ‘Kupo!’ all night. These walls are pretty thin for brick ones.” She rapped her knuckles against the wall.

“Aye,”
Ame sighed, leaning against the counter. It wasn’t exactly easy when your only living space is the bottom floor of a cramped shop and the top floor of a makeshift Moogle workshop. Traverse Town was small, but still..
Then again, all the good houses were in the further districts .. and she didn’t really want to live there.

“You right there?”
Snapping out of her dreamy state, Ame smiled back at Cid.
“Just thinking. I’m gonna go for a walk, ‘kay?”
“Sure thing.”

Ame made her way to the door, tracing the PUSH engraving before exiting. She nodded in acknowledgement to a bewildered-looking brunette boy her age who was entering.
“Don’t be thinking too much, or else your brain’ll turn to - GET OFF MY COUNTERS! Can I help you?”
A giggle that couldn’t help itself escaped her lips, and Ame began her walk.

There wasn’t far to walk in such a small town.. she practically knew every empty space in the Town, except the rooms past the doors that refused to open. Ame stared at the dark ebony door that stood across from the Accessory Shop wistfully before continuing on. She waved hello to a Moogle as she passed them - the Moogle floated about in front of the door to the synthesizing area, which was currently blocked off to civilians.

From what Ame could deduce, they were still in a testing process. She figured this from the various explosions that rocketed through her walls and made her bed rumble. Living above the Shop was helpful.. but.. annoying.

“Hmm,” she glanced at the blue safe she saw across from her. The powder blue object had sat there for as long as Ame could remember. Over the years, a few curious people had jumped over the small barrier and smacked at it, but to no effect. She herself had never tried it.. She glanced around.
Well, nothing else to do..

She strode forward, planting her hand on the hard surface, and swung herself over, eyes only on the safe.
“Oof!” Once more holding her hand to her head, Ame brushed a few blonde strands out of her face, and stared down the safe. Who put it here anyway? What was in it?
“Hmm..” she walked over and - not expecting much of a result - poked at it.

“Nnrgh..”
“Oh! Er. Um. Sorry..” Blinking, she backed away from the talking safe, and barely avoided tripping over something behind her which caught her foot - oh! A person!

Feeling fairly awkward, Ame took a step back, observing the resting boy. His head was cast downward, chin on chest. Silvery blue hair with a soft kind of spike to it barely brushed his shoulders, and he wore distinctive clothes - it looked like a kind of yellow tank top? His pants were baggy in places and tight in others, a deep shade of blue. Comparing this to her simple blue shirt and cargo shorts, Ame felt rather unfashionable.
“Hey.. you okay?”

[TwilightRiku_13]

Oh, I am really liking this story. I really like your OC Ame; I take it her name is pronounced "A-Me". Anyway, I really would like to see what happens next.

[cloudwolf124]

This story is good...Whens the next chapter going to be posted?

[!BRITTANY]

I fail at life xD Sorry that I forgot to update x] Spot the obvious Crisis Core reference and you win.
err.
A cookie~ :3

--

Concerned, Ame kicked at the boy’s ankle lightly.
“Hello.. ?” No response.
Ame leaned down, propping her hands on her knees. “Hellooo~ .. Geez.”
She knew people came from other .. places nowadays, Cid had told her a lot of things were happening outside the Town, and people might be a bit disoriented. She also knew of the strange creatures lurking in the last two districts - but she doubted that’s what this person was.

“Ehn..”
“Hooray!” Ame leaned back, clasping her hands behind her. The boy began to lift himself from the ground, and looked up at her.
Her deep eyes absorbed his stare, and she swayed slightly, smiling at him. “I almost thought I lost you there.”

“Kairi.. ?” His ruffled fringe covered his eyes now, before he could straighten himself he groaned and fell back on his knees.
“No, I’m Ame. Look.. You’re in Traverse Town, a lot of people turn up here after their homes get destroyed.. do you know if that happened to you?”
Silence. She ran her eyes over him quickly, he seemed to be thinking.

“Riku.”
“I don’t know any Rikus or Kairis, I’m sorry - ”
“It’s my name.”
“Oh! Nice to meet you, Riku.” She extended a hand, both to greet and to aid. He looked up at her with a cold gaze, instead pushing himself from his knees to his feet.

Getting up from his knees, Ame realised he must have been a bit older than her, as he stood a bit higher than herself. He brushed his hair out of his eyes, and Ame saw now that he had perfectly clear eyes, a shade of blue she never saw in this dull part of town. Suddenly she felt far more self-conscious than usual, and while she was far from blushing, her eyes didn’t really know where to place themselves. She rested them just below his eyes, and smiled awkwardly.

“I can’t help you find that Kairi person, not really, but if you come with me my dad knows loads of people like you.”
“Like me?” He didn’t seem to be looking straight at her, instead roaming his eyes. When he did look up at her, she cast her own eyes downwards. Not out of embarrassment .. fear, maybe.
“People who are lost. You are lost, right?”
“I’ll find my way. I’m not afraid.” He turned away from her.

She blinked. “Um. Okay, but don’t go past that big door in the square, either of them. There’s dark stuff back there, people disappear.” Even if the boy was awfully ungrateful, she didn’t want someone who just got torn away from their life to get lost once again. What about his parents.. ?

“Darkness?”
“Y-Yeah.”
Ame shrunk back, her thighs grazing the safe. Riku’s hands clenched, the muscles showing in his arms. He turned towards her, his clear eyes darker now.
“Thank you for your help.”

“.. H-Hey. Where’d you go?!”

--

“You know past the Second District is where people disappear! You know it!”
“I’ll have you know, a few friends of mine live way back through the Districts in some of them old hotel rooms. I’m sure that boy’ll meet them and be fine, don’t you worry your little head about it. Then again, to up and leave you like that,” Cid’s toothpick swayed a little as he flexed his jaw, wiping at the counter. “Aargh, if people didn’t keep setting that fireplace alight it might stay below burnin’ temperature more often.”

Ame ran her fingers through her dark blonde hair, her eyes fixated on the counter which seemed to become dirtier with every swipe from Cid’s old dishcloth. She sat on the couch across from the counter, but still could make out the smears of grime. He didn’t leave her, he just kinda.. vanished.
“Maybe.. maybe he's strong enough. Maybe his heart's strong enough.”
“From what you’ve told me, if it measures up to his ego he’ll be just fine and dandy.” Cid met Ame’s eyes as they strayed, and he sighed. “You don’t know the boy. He’s a stranger, Ame. For all we know he could be working with those black things since he’s not so afraid of ‘em.”

“He was a person, Dad. Not some weird cloaked guy.”
“Okay, okay. I see how you feel about it. You’re a good kid, you know that?”
“Please don’t ruffle my hair,” she grumbled, walking over the counter and flashing him a weak smile. Cid smirked and lightly nicked his daughter over the bridge of her nose with his knuckle.

As Ame slid under her sheets that night, she pulled them a tad further over her neck and past her nose, till she could barely see through the window on the wall across from her bed. Dark shadows made shapes across her ceiling, and she couldn’t help but imagine them creeping down towards her, their fingers scratching through her blankets..
She squeezed her eyes shut, biting her bottom lip.

[cloudwolf124]

Awesome i like it. You are a most excellent writer

[TwilightRiku_13]

Awesome update, !BRITTANY. The way you portrayed Riku in that chapter was freaky, but I really liked seeing him in that kind of light. I didn't get the Crisis Core reference, probably because I never played the game. What was it? I'm really curious now. Anyway, great job, and I look forward to more.

[!BRITTANY]

AHOY! For those of you still following this; I had some computer complications. But I'm baaack~
The reference was Ame's "Hello? Hooray!". Aerith says that to Zack when he wakes up in her church x]
Ame seems idiotic in this chapter to me. -facewall-

-&&-

“You sleep good?” Again, Cid was scrubbing at the counter, looking up to greet Ame as she descended from the upper floors. She shook her head, and he furrowed his brow before looking down back at the cloth. He twisted it in his hands, the grime off his workman’s hands rubbing off. “You wanna talk ‘bout it?”
As the shop’s door swung closed, Cid didn’t even need to lift his gaze to tell she was gone.

Ame’s hair felt scratchy against her chin, which was shining with a light slick of sweat to match her palms, which were pressed against the hard wood of the door to the next district.
Cid has friends there.. If they’d find Riku they’d find me..
She knew this was stupid - going after a pain of a guy who had rejected her help, but she’d feel bad if she didn’t at least try. The watchful eyes of the other citizens lay upon her back, but she simply pulled her shoulders closer to her chest and shoved the door forward.

It followed her will easier than she’d thought, and she stumbled slightly, looking through what was shown from a single push.
Small dark puddles appeared on the gravelly ground, too close to the entry than was comfortable. They seemed to throb, as if they were indecisive over whether to reveal what lay within themselves or not. She caught a glimpse of two glowing orbs within the puddles, and before she could change her mind she pushed the door open; slamming it closed as she ran as fast as she could away from the puddles.

Lights flashed past her eyes, and while she wasn’t about to trip she wasn’t exactly perfectly balanced either. She tried to make sense of the scene, but the sight of puddles constantly forming about her feet frightened her, giving her a feeling of bewildered euphoria as she ran.
When she came to be out of breath, she realised she had met another door. This seemed more forboding than the last, despite flashy lights gleaming around it cheerfully. Her pained eyes strained to reach the top of the doorframe.

“Ugh..” She bent over, leaning against the door. A rattling noise came from behind her, and Ame twirled to find a strange.. creature.. what was that?!
“Leave me alone already!” She screeched - the monster simply rattled in response. It seemed mainly composed on pure.. darkness. It was that or the creature’s armour cast shadows upon its face. Crude curves made up a kind of helmet for it, and below was navy fabric imprinted with a strange logo that seemed to be something with barbed wire covering it.

“I don’t have.. anything!” Her cries seemed meaningless as it danced towards her, and she lunged at it. It was barely half her height, just because she couldn’t see its face shouldn’t indimi - ow.
Ame collided with the ground, pain clawing up her face. It took her a moment to realise she had dived through the creature. Perhaps it was made of darkness..

“What do you think you’re doin'?! Be careful!” A young voice rang through her ears, and she lifted her head to see a flash of green and black cut through the monster with some kind of blade. How strange she had never been to these districts yet..
“Get up!” The voice cut off her thoughts, and she crumpled her face, the pain shooting up her cheek again. “Come on!”

Pulling herself up, Ame looked behind her to see her rescuer.
“The Great Ninja Yuffie, at your service!” The girl extended a hand, and Ame blinked lazily. The ‘Great Ninja’ had clothes similar to her own, but more intricate .. and revealing. Her long white socks were torn slightly, and as she panted the light bruise on her left cheek seemed to deepen. She flicked her dark hair out of her eyes and grabbed Ame by the hand.
“Come on, let’s get you somewhere safe, eh?”

Being dragged along by some girl - who had a rather large, threatening-looking shuriken glinting in the other hand - through a horde of strange darkness blobs wasn’t how Ame had planned it. Wait, Cid said he had friends through the district ..

-&&-

-waves hands around dramatically-

[Barely Tolerated]

yoou are godlyyyyy1!!! this is excelleent writing, my friend.
(ignore my tytping, it's this awful computer ><)
pleeease write mmooore! ~~~

[!BRITTANY]

Ahoy hoy!
Wait, I said that last time. Thankyou for the comment, DJ! <33 You're too kind~
Long chapter this time; I joined two. @_@

--&&--

“Rain.. ?”
The waterfalls surrounding the castle flowed unerring. They had paused their current for a moment - only a moment - when the boy who lay in the courtyard had first arrived. The water curved over the basin with serene murmurs.

Ame looked down at the hardwood floors, tucking her hands between her knees while she sat on the bed. She felt a tear slip down her stinging cheek, and raised her hand to wipe it off.
“Hey! Why the sad face?!” The dark haired ninja leaned over, her dark eyes wide.
“I’m.. not sure. That’s weird.” Ame replied. She could still feel Yuffie’s eyes on her, and forced a smile. “Sorry, Yuffie. I think..”

“It might just be shock,” a kind voice said. “I guess you aren’t used to that kind of thing, hm?”

“No… I’ve never been in the other Districts…” Ame cringed slightly as she attempted a smile, the open cut protesting at the movement.
“Would you like me to fix that for you?” The girl with the kind voice asked, looking at Ame’s cheek with concern.

“I’ll be okay, thanks.” Ame said, smiling carefully without cringing this time. She looked around the small room, taking in the features. Nearly everything was bright red, or some shade of the color, from the bed to the walls to the door. She was sitting on a bed in the middle of the room, and Yuffie was leaning against the far wall. The other girl stood in front of her, looking at the cut on Ame’s check with worry. A small table stood in the corner with a vase of fake flowers on it.

“Hey… Cid know you’re here?” Yuffie asked, coming over and poking her finger out at Ame’s chest.
“Umm…” Ame reached up to pull her hair in front of her eyes, hoping to get out of answering. She inspected her hair closely, looking for any spots of blood or dirt. The blonde strands were clean, but appeared slightly crimped.

“We know you don’t want to worry him..” The girl in pink (who was still yet to introduce herself) sat on the bed beside Ame, touching her hand comfortingly.

“No.. and he doesn’t need to either.” Ame leaned back, away from Yuffie’s accusing finger, and rolled over to stand on the other side of the bed from the girl and Yuffie. “I should get home before he notices, too,” she muttered, biting her thumb.

“Well, let us take you home,” Yuffie said, rising from the side of the bed where she sat. “The last thing we want is more Heartless attacking you.”
“Heartless?”
“Heartless,” the other girl said, “are people who have lost their hearts to darkness. A lot of people who come through here turn into Heartless..”
“Riku..” Ame murmured. “Do you see people turn into Heartless? Because the reason I kinda came through here was to find this guy I met.”
“Your boooyfriend?” Yuffie winked.

“No, I don't know him at all." Ame said quietly. “Silvery hair, kinda muscled arms, blue eyes..?”
The two thought for a moment, and Ame twisted her hands together nervously. Her description had been frail, she had to admit. She brushed at her dark shorts for a few moments before Yuffie piped up.

“Nope, never seen him. Tell ya what though, we did see a kid with brown hair. Kinda cute, called me some weird name though.”
“That’s not what she was asking, Yuffie..” The other girl looked up at Yuffie with soft green eyes. “I’m sorry.. Aerith. I’m Aerith.”
“Oh, nice to meet you,” Ame smiled. “So.. can you take me home?”
“Sure thing!” Yuffie replied, seizing Ame’s hand and pulling her out the door. “Oh, by the way, that’s a really nice hairtie.”
“Really? Thanks, Cid - Hey, my munny!”

--


“So, you went to the Second District?” Cid rubbed his chin, leaning against the doorframe. His disapproving eyes followed her every moment closely. “Why?”
“..” Ame leaned back into the couch and swung her feet onto the coffee table. The force dislodged a few particles of dirt from the bottom of her boots, marking the fine glass. Cid grumbled, and drew his toothpick container from his back pocket.

“You’re like a beaver, you realise that?”
He merely grumbled in response, before lifting his head. “.. You’re not going to get away with it easily.”
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry.” She leaned over, resting her elbows on her knees. “I just.. ... I kinda wanted to help Riku.”
“Why? Y’think he’s cute?”
“Dad! Why does everyone think I must like a guy if I happen to know him?”
“Just sayin’.”
“.. I won’t leave and go that far again. I promise.”
“Eh, I’m sure of that. You’re minding the shop tomorrow."

--

“Hmm..” Ame tapped her foot, holding her palm to her cheek. Before her was the till, where Cid put what money they did receive. It was a dull bronze, with several buttons for numbers and others for .. well, she wasn’t sure. Cid hadn’t given her much instruction, just to ‘keep ‘em off my counters’ and ‘scrub’. She’d begun to notice a slight obsessive streak in her father nowadays.

He had left to go speak with Leon about ‘man business’, which didn’t make much sense since Ame knew Yuffie and that other girl would be there. Hmph.
And she was left to mind the shop.
Giving up on trying to decipher the shopkeeper contraption, she rested on the balls of her feet.
I wonder what happened to Riku..
“No, I’m sure we can do it this time!” Ame lifted her head - there appeared to be some kind of argument going on outside. Ame wasn’t very good at settling rows, but then again it was unlikely it was anything big .. was that a kid’s voice?
“Actually, you’re not strong enough for it yet,” a smaller voice said. So small it could have belonged to an ant, or a cricket. Ame caught herself mid-thought. Like crickets could talk.
“You heard him Sora. Let’s get back to the ship.”

And that was when Ame stopped listening - she had no idea what the heck that voice was. She timidly yanked at her sleeves, feeling cold despite all the windows being sealed. A few minutes later, a familiar looking boy pulled the door open and stuck his head inside. His large, deep blue eyes stared at her for a moment.

“Hey, where’s Cid?” He must be a regular, that’s how she knew his face. Ame sighed and scratched the back of her head with her short nails.
“He’s talking with some friends, but I can help if you need something.” They could have it free, she thought, pulling out the sheet of prices. Anything to keep her away from that till.
“Umm, actually - ” The boy grinned sheepishly at her.
“ - we were just leaving.” Through the door came a duck and what looked like a dog wearing clothes. .. And standing up.

“Gee Donald, be nice.” And talking.
“We kinda need help getting up there.” The boy - who she concluded to be the ‘Sora’ - pointed up at the trapdoor to the Moogle’s workshop. “We thought this green mark could help.” She followed his eyes down to the floor, where the bright, permanent mark - the bane of her father’s existence - smiled up at them from the dusty tiles.

The bearer of the cricket voice was nowhere to be seen. Ame rubbed her head. What a strange town she lived in.
“Well, I’m not sure about floor tattoos helping you, but I can.” Opening the small gate between the counter and the rest of the room, she strode over - taking note of the varying heights of the three - and knocked at the wall.

“Nono, Hurdy, lower the ladder please. You have customers,” Ame called. Sora leaned forward with a quizzical look on his face, likely questioning her sanity. It probably did look strange for her to be talking to a fairly unresponsive wall, but then again it looked strange for a tall dog and a duck to be following a young boy around. Ame’s mind wandered to the duck triplets who lived around here.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think they’re there right now.”
“Aw, that’s okay. Sorry ta’ cause you so much trouble.” The dog grinned goofily at her, and she smiled.
“It’s no trouble,” she looked into the young boy’s eyes. They were.. a warm kind of blue. Welcoming. “I’m Ame, by the way.”
“I’m Sora,” Sora pointed to himself proudly with his thumb, and then gestured at his companions. “And this is Donald and Goofy.”
“Sora, Donald, Goofy, it’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry I couldn’t get you up there, ask Cid another time.”

Sora grinned. Donald, who hadn’t really said much since they entered, grumbled and tapped his foot. Goofy scratched his head.
“Say, uh, Sora, how about you ask about those friends of yours?” It seemed whenever Goofy talked he needed to add a little giggle at the end. It was somewhat endearing, albeit the fact that it made him sound tipsy.

“Huh? Oh! Yeah! Have you seen Kairi and Riku? Kairi’s cute with short red hair ..” ...
“Riku’s not here.” Ame wasn’t really thinking, the words just came out. “I.. I think I met your friend Riku a while ago. He left for the other districts. .. I don’t think you’re going to see your friend again, Sora.” She looked down, twisting her fingers together. When she looked up, the three were gone, and the carpet in front of the door was scuffed, as if someone had very hastily run across it. She sighed, and rubbed her sweaty hands against her shorts. What a strange shift.

--&&--

Comments make me happeh C:

[kingdomkeylight]

really nice I liked the way you described Donald and Goofy.

[TwilightRiku_13]

Holy crap, I can't believe I missed this before. Sorry, but it's just been a while since you updated. So, Ame has now met Sora, and he now knows that she has had contact with Riku. Hm, I wonder how this will play out. Part of me wants to see Ame go with Sora and the others to help find Riku. It would also be funny to see Cid's reaction; he would probably blow a gasket. Anyway, great job, and I look forward to more.

[Barely Tolerated]

THAT WAS GREAT!
i'm SO happy sora and the other two came into the picture. they'll be sure to spice it up a bit ;)
can't wait for the next chapter!

[khfreak17]

omg! this is really good. i hope for more!!

[Reverie]

Your description is really good. It's vibrant and and pretty. :]

[!BRITTANY]

I'm so magical, what with my late updates and such.

--&&--

A few hours later - when Ame was leaning against the counter for support - Cid stormed through the door.
“Ugh, finally..” she groaned, straightening herself. Ame practically dove over the counter and threw herself onto the lounge. “What took you so long!?”
“Leon can be a fine idiot sometimes.” Cid growled in response.

The two stayed silent for a few moments - Ame slumped across the couch, Cid leaning by the fireplace. Ame looked at her hands. Cid was so stressed lately.. they were running out of munny..
Her mind strayed.
“Hey, Dad?”
“Eh?”
“I have something to show you~”

--

Ame had dragged Cid up to the empty Moogle workshop. She sat up here sometimes and drew, so her sketchpad and easel were already set up in the corner.

“Presenting.. Storm~!” Ame twirled, extending her arms and popping her foot behind her. “The latest in gummi ship innovation, invention and intervention!”
Cid raised an eyebrow at the last one, but grinned all the same. “Designed yourself a ride, have you?”
“Sure have! It’s pretty, too.” The first thing that came to Cid’s mind when Ame made something ‘pretty’ was the miniature ships she had made when she was little, out of plastic cubes and play paints. She would present them to him while he was cleaning, and he always turned to look and listen to her explain how it would work and be powered.

Of course, Ame was much older now, and knew better than to think that gummi ships could be powered by love and fairy dust.
“Okay, so. I know you’ve gotten an order, but you don’t have any time for it.”
“How the devil did you..”
“You shouldn’t leave your papers lying around, Dad. It’s like those chests. No matter how high you put them, someone’s going to open them and nick all our Elixirs.”
Cid sighed, crossing his arms. “You’ve designed.. ‘Storm’ for my client?”
“Aye, all we need is the parts.”

Ame proceeded to (very professionally) outline the purpose of each part, and its type. Her eyes were bright with enthusiasm, and her hands flew across the sketch board. Eventually, Cid leaned back and nodded, raising a hand for her to stop.
“So.. ?”
“It’s good.”
Ame leaned forward, staring into his roughened eyes. “Aaand?”
“You do know who this ‘client’ is, yes?”
“.. Noo.”
“Scrooge McDuck, some old miser. He’s the kind who won’t accept regular blocks, he prefers the kind which you get from.. them Heartless ships as loot. I was going to reject his request.”
“.. Well, you can’t! If we did this we’d have more money! Munny’s good. It.. buys stuff.”
“If you want me to pull out the Shera and fly around collecting blocks for some snooty duck, you’re dreamin’.”

Ame sighed, casting her head down. .. Hey, what if she did it? She knew how gummi ships worked, and the Shera was just past the town’s Exit.. she’s sat in it before when she was younger, making ‘brr’ noises with her lips and yanking at the various levers to no effect.
“Ehn.. Dad?”
“Aye?” By now, Cid had returned to his duties - making sure his toothpick container was always well stocked, desperately trying to scrub off that weird green heart mark on the floor, and scowling at random intervals.

“I want to get the parts. I can fly the ship, right?”
“Well, I suppose you could..” He crossed his arms once again and looked intently at her. “I don’t really want you caught up there with all those ships, mind..”
“I’ll avoid them.”
“Worlds are big things, Ame.” Ame blinked. Duh. “You get one trip. I’ll go with you, we’ll circle around. That’s it.”
“I love you too,” Ame squealed, wrapping her arms around him.

--&&--

Whee.