Kingdom Hearts {Reader Insert}

9. Dirty Laundry

The others had to carry you back to the ship. Leon stayed behind to talk with Phil and Hercules. Cloud had one of your arms slung over his shoulder and his arm tucked underneath your shoulders, supporting most of your weight. You were groggy now. It was difficult to look up from your feet in the grass. And the grass was so bright here, such a brilliant green, that you didn't mind. Your shoes, though, were covered in sand and dark ichor from that last battle. Apparently the boots were three-headed dog blood proof, because you saw no burnt holes. That's good, I like these boots.

Your footsteps became louder and you saw metal beneath your feet as you boarded the ship.

"Can you climb the ladder?" Cloud's voice was right by your ear.

You looked up and over at him and your brows furrowed. Everything was kind of blurry and glowy and his blond hair was making his blue eyes look darker than normal. You also saw blood splatter across one of his cheeks.

Cloud sighed and shook his head at you. "All right. Hold on."

You felt him pick you up and put you over his shoulder and your eyes widened with a gasp. He climbed the ladder easily and carried you into the first room. The white interior was almost too much for your eyes as you glanced around the room. It was neat, except for the duffel bag across the room that had clothes hanging out of it. Cloud set you down onto the bed, surprisingly gently. You looked up at the blank ceiling and blinked a couple of times.

"Tifa!" you heard Cloud call, his head turned toward the doorway. There was a shout of reply that you didn't understand before Cloud turned back to you, giving you a concerned look.

"I'm fine," you told him, eyebrows coming together in confusion. Why did he look so worried? "What's wrong?"

At that moment Tifa walked in and Cloud stepped back from the bed. She was holding something long and skinny, that looked like it was glowing white. The point of a needle flashed in the light and she brought it close to your injured arm.

"What's that?" you asked her.

"This is an elixir," she told you. "It should get you back to normal. It is pretty potent, though, so you may feel a little strange for a while, before you fall asleep."

You hummed in curiosity as the needle entered a vein in your arm and you felt warmth begin to flow through your body. Your eyes blinked open wider. "Oh."

Suddenly, the bright room wasn't painful anymore. You felt a burst of energy and began to giggle. "This is great."

Tifa laughed, "I'm sure it is."

"I'm going to go see if Leon has talked to Cid yet. He might need help explaining what happened." Tifa left the room and you watched before turning to Cloud.

One of the blond's eyebrows rose and you held back another giggle- Why is everything so funny!?- before asking, "So how do you know Hades so well?"

Cloud's eyes widened in shock for a moment before he frowned. You had wanted to ask that question for a while and you finally felt the courage and confidence to ask it, but he seemed upset now. Too late to turn back. His frazzled frown was kind of funny, though.

You laughed for a short moment and said, "It's just a question! No answer can be that bad."

He pursed his lips but begrudgingly answered. Rather than looking at you, he turned to the door, maybe to watch for others. "I used to work for him. At that time I had thought that darkness was the only way to achieve the power I needed, and I let it take over most of my heart. Eventually I saw what a big mistake I had made. Sure, I was strong, but the darkness was leading me away from my original goal, and distracting me by feeding me with more and more power. It was an endless cycle that I managed to break free from, after I realized the things that Hades was making me do- no, that I was willing to do- were what I was originally trying to work against. It took me a while to get back to where I am today. I still haven't fully recovered. I don't think I ever will. There will probably always be a little bit of darkness left in me. Maybe that makes me weak." He turned to look at you, his cheeks flushed from the personal story.