Destiny Ninja 2 - Shiroya Oneshots

The Other Way Around

A/N: I'm also a big Kingdom Hearts fan, and as Roxas has once said to Sora, "This could have been the other way around." More notes at the bottom.
~*~
"You never smile anymore."

The words were softly spoken. Hesitant. Shiroya turned around and glanced at the girl sitting on the ground behind him. Her eyes scrutinized his face in innocent concern. He almost laughed at the sight.

"There's no particular reason to smile," he replied, turning back to his supplies and checking to see that he had everything packed. They would be leaving the next day to begin Ayame's mission.

The aforementioned girl sighed, and he could picture her head tilting to the side, the way it always did when she was confused or thinking too hard about something trivial.

"Do you remember when we were younger?" she asked.

Shiroya put a quiver full of arrows to the side. "Yeah. What about it?"

"You were such a cheerful boy back then. Always laughing and shouting. You had the cheesiest grin, too."

"... That was a long time ago."

Ayame frowned as she stared at her friend's back. "I guess it was...."

He could hear the disappointment in her tone, and his heart clenched tightly. You're upsetting her, a voice in the back of his head scolded.

'I can't help it,' he thought back.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, turning around to face Ayame. "I know you picked me personally to support you on your mission, but we both know that I'm not the best person to talk to about this type of thing. I just hate thinking about the past, you know? It's better if you talk to Kaito, Mr. Rin, or even Kikyo for that."

The woman shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'm used to how you act now. Even if you're different from how you were when we were little, I'm just happy that you're back now."

Shiroya turned away, staring down at his hands. That's right. It had been eight years since he had returned from the hidden ninja village, but no one besides his parents knew about where he had gone during those years. Not even Kaito knew, and Shiroya had been living with the chieftain's family since his return. Of course, this meant that Ayame didn't know either, and it pained him to keep secrets from her, but it was for the better that she remained oblivious. She should only focus on her own duties for the time being.

You should learn to rely on her more, the voice told him, but he pushed it off to the side and ignored it.

"Enough about me. Are you all ready for the journey tomorrow?" he asked, shifting around so he could see Ayame clearly again.

"Of course. Father and Mother have warned me about this mission for the past couple of weeks, so I prepared in advance." She leaned back on her arms and gazed at the ceiling. "I'm really nervous about having to fulfill the prophecy. I haven't seen any of the ayakashi yet too. I hope I can face them."

"Don't worry about it," he reassured, doing his best to hide the small grin tugging at his lips. "You're a well trained ninja, and you'll have us four to support you through it as well."

"I know. I'm really glad that I don't have to go through this alone."

Ayame smiled at him, prompting a warm feeling to spread through his chest. He could hear something akin to a happy hum echoing in his mind, and he scowled slightly. That other guy was enjoying Ayame's attention a bit too much for his liking.

"Is something wrong? You look upset all of a sudden."

Ayame's voice pulled Shiroya out from his thoughts, but he was met with a surprise when he found her face so close to his, and he jumped backward quickly, heat beginning to spread in his cheeks.

The woman grinned sheepishly, not looking all that apologetic despite her next few words. "Sorry, did I startle you?"

"N-no!"

"..."

"... Yes." Shiroya shook his head, willing the foreign feeling stirring in his heart to go away. "I was just distracted. Don't do that again."

"Right, sorry again," she said with a giggle. "But you know... your expression was really cute just now."

"H-huh?"

"Yeah, you almost looked like the way you did before, when we were little and something as simple as a puppy scared you but you wanted to act brave in front of me!"

"I-is that how you remember me as a child? Only the embarrassing moments?"

Ayame continued laughing as she waved her hand. "Sorry, sorry. It just makes me happy when I remember those times."

Shiroya huffed and shook his head, leaning forward and placing a hand on her head. "Whatever."

"Oh."

Suddenly, she stopped and stared at him, blinking her eyes in wonderment. He was confused by her actions until she lifted her hand up and placed it over his. Her skin was cold compared to his, but it wasn't unpleasant. It had been so long since they had touched like this.... The last time had been when they were kids.

Shiroya gently pulled his hand away, his fingers slipping from beneath hers. "You should go to bed now. We have to get up early, and we have a long journey ahead of us."

Ayame frowned in disappointment, but nodded. "You're right. I'll see you tomorrow, Shiroya."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," he mumbled, turning back around to his supplies.

He heard her footsteps as he stepped out of the guest room, slid the door shut, and went back to her own room. His heart pounded hard in his chest even after she was long gone.

Why... did he feel this way?

A soft chuckle resounded in his head. You like her.

He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. "Shut up."
~*~
A/N: So basically, this was a random AU idea that popped into my head, and I wanted to jot it down really quickly. "What if Shiroya's other personality was the dominant one?" In other words, a kuudere/tsundere Shiroya! I might write some other scenarios with this AU, but this is all I have for now.

Some differences from the canon route that should be taken note of:

- Shiroya hasn't told anyone else about his experiences in the hidden ninja village, not even Kaito

- Shiroya is aware, and can even hear, his other personality (the one we're used to in-game)

- Shiroya isn't in love yet with MC the way that canon Shiroya was in-game, though he does care for her as a close friend at the moment