Kingdom Hearts fic: Falling

[mistressofmuses]

Summary: You've always had the potential to fall. A warning and a threat, hanging over Riku's mission to play Guardian Angel to a man named Sora. He's not alone: fellow angel Kairi will be with him, and angel Naminé will be watching out for Sora's cousin Roxas. But while the two humans may have divine attention, they also have the attention of a demon on a far less holy mission.

Day 4 of AUgust: Angels & Demons AU
So I had the idea for this fic a bit over a year ago, probably (definitely) after the Good Omens miniseries came out and I was thinking a lot about angels and demons and such. I never wrote much, though it was intended to wind up with a SoRiKai endgame, and possibly even more into polyship hell with Axel/Roxas/Namine/Xion... I don't know that I have enough interest in the idea now to continue working on it, but it was fun to at least write an opening scene for it.
Today is day two of SoRiKai week! Sadly, while this story was intended to end with the three together, this particular piece doesn't contain much of the trio. Tomorrow's AU should, though!

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You’ve always had the potential to fall.

The warning—or threat—echoed through Riku’s head.

A gentle touch on the side of his hand pulled at least some of his attention back. He took Kairi’s hand gratefully, trying to give her a reassuring smile, though he knew it was weak.

Kairi didn’t have to worry about falling. She was one of the purest angels ever to exist. But Riku… he’d been tempted by darkness, even if he’d never given into it.

“Are you worried about our assignment?” she asked.

Showing his doubt would likely only make things worse. He couldn’t doubt himself; that would almost certainly lead him towards falling. “I’m sure it will be fine. How much trouble can guarding one human be?”

Kairi hummed to herself. “One and a half humans, maybe. Naminé is being assigned to the other, but as I understand it, the two humans are something of a package deal.”

Riku nodded. He had been paying attention while they were being given their assignment, it was just that that parting line had overwhelmed the rest of it.

“Any preparations you need to make?” she asked.

“No, I’m ready to go when you are.”

“Will you help me groom my wings before we go?” she asked. “I’ll return the favor. Who knows how long we’ll have to hide them, and I just know they’re going to be cramped.”

He smiled. “Of course.”

They found a secluded place in the infinite garden, and sat.

Kairi turned her back toward him, ruffling her wings. He gently ran his fingers up through the feathers, appreciating the way they caught the sourceless light all around them. They were almost white, but had a pearly pink sheen to them, darkening to a light purple next to the shaft of each feather. He continued brushing the feathers upward, making sure none were trapped under others, or laying wrong, and then methodically began smoothing them back down. Her wings were immaculately groomed, so it didn’t require any more effort. If it had been a while, sometimes it was more of a process, requiring specific tools and oils and the like, but this was almost more of a formality. It would still feel nice, and Riku was more than happy to do it.

When he’d finished smoothing the longest flight feathers, making sure there were no rough spots that would catch the air strangely, she stretched appreciatively. She rolled the base of the wings against her shoulders, flexing the muscles there. “Wonderful! Thank you.” She grinned and looked over her shoulder at him. “Your turn.”

“It’s fine,” he said, though he was already turning around. It did feel nice, and while he never wanted to impose, he also didn’t want to turn the offer down.

He ruffled his feathers to start the way she had, and tried not to purr as she ran her fingers through them. His feathers weren’t nearly as pretty as hers; just a silvery grey that matched his hair, with slightly darker bands of grey like those of a bird of prey. He let himself enjoy her grooming them, resolutely not thinking about anything else.

You’ve always had the potential to fall.

---

Riku and Kairi were given an apartment, and all the things that normal humans would need within it. Guardianship assignments were best accomplished by appearing and behaving as humans. Direct interference as angels tended to be too much and too messy. Humans worried about mental health, or tried to start cults. Even demons tended to obey the same rules when tempting. It only “counted” if the human soul in question still had free will, and too much obvious supernatural influence infringed on that.

So they acted like they were moving into the apartment at the same time as two human men, Sora and Roxas, moved into a rental house across the street.

Sora was the one they were there to guard, though if they helped to protect Roxas that was all to the good. Literally. Naminé was technically assigned to him, but the two men were cousins and roommates, and apparently something about their destinies were intertwined.

Naminé was not going to be sharing the apartment with Riku and Kairi, in case it seemed too unlikely to have them all in the same location. It also meant that they could present a slightly less concentrated target, if it came to that. Plus the two of them could keep a direct eye on Roxas for her, and let her know if anything happened she needed to be aware of.

For now, Sora and Roxas’ move seemed to be nearly complete, the last boxes unloaded from the borrowed truck. Soon, there’d be a good opportunity to introduce themselves, with the built-in commonality of being new to the area. It should provide plenty of plausibility for them to spend time together, assuming they hit it off reasonably well.

“Shall we?” Riku asked. “If we head down, we can offer to help them move some of their things inside. Start by doing them a favor?”

“Seems like the angelic thing to do,” Kairi agreed.

It wasn’t until they had crossed the street, and reached the sidewalk to approach Sora and Roxas’ new house, that they both detected a decidedly non-angelic presence.

The house next to the one the two humans had just moved into had previously had a “For Sale” sign on the lawn, with the word “SOLD!” affixed over it. That sign was now in the hands of a tall, thin man dressed all in black. His spiked red hair fell past his shoulders, and he had a pair of distinctive tattoos below his eyes.

Riku tried very hard not to take up a defensive posture. This was certainly not the time for an actual fight.

The demon had clearly noticed, and he smirked at them.

“Axel,” Kairi said coldly.

“Oh good!” He grinned, the expression failing to reach his eyes. “You’ve memorized my name.”

“What are you doing here?” Riku asked.

“Just moved in,” Axel answered. “Can you believe the luck?”

“Very… lucky,” said Kairi.

“What about the two of you?”

“Moved in across the street,” Riku answered. No point in hiding it. If Axel hadn’t already realized, he certainly would soon.

Axel widened his eyes. “What a coincidence.”

“Quite.” Riku’s voice was stiff.

“Could it be… you’re on a soul-saving mission at the same time I’m on a soul-tempting one?” He grinned slowly. “How awkward.”

“I suppose we’ll see,” Kairi answered.

Axel’s grin spread even wider. “May the best demon win.”