Chapter 123: Competition for a Heart

Sora was roaming around the ship with Donald and Goofy. Checking out everything that he could because it was super cool.

So Ramiel saw an opportunity and called out to Riku. It was rare that they were separate when the two were in the same vicinity after all.

"So, did you like it?" Ramiel smirked at him and Riku raised a brow. "Like what?" He stared at Ramiel and was thinking of what he did.

"Sora's nice and tight hug?" He laughed and Riku went wide eyed. "You... The heartless hitting me was your doing?" Riku was speechless.

He thought that it just targeted him because he was close, but he never imagined that Ramiel was the instigator of it.

"Pretty neat right? Sora went in and hugged his little friend tightly in worry." Ramiel teased him and Riku frowned with a blush.

"That's none of your business." He was secretly happy about that. And because in his mind, Kairi knew of his feelings, he didn't feel guilty about it now.

"But it's not enough right? You can feel it, love is like that. You want them to dote on you, tell you sweet nothings, show more affection." Ramiel whispered at him.

Riku looked at the ground in shame and thought he was right. After Ramiel's machinations, Riku's greed towards Sora increased.

Back then, it was fine that Sora was his best friend. But now, things are starting to change.

"What should I do then?" Riku looked up at him and was looking desperate. Ramiel smiled, patting him on the back. 'Gotcha.'

"You can't push him, Sora is an idiot. He doesn't know romantic love like normal people do." Ramiel explained to him and Riku snorted.

"Yeah, that guy's stupid." He smiled, looking like a maiden in love. "Awww, you really like him do you?" Rapunzel smiled softly and Riku got embarrassed.

'Nice assist Rapunzel.' Ramiel smiled at her and Aqua went up to Riku. "Don't worry, Riku. Being Terra's successor, I'll help you out too." Aqua patted him on the shoulder and he looked down in embarrassment.

"Ooh, how about we make situations where they're alone? Also, we can just tell Riku what to do with telepathy." Rapunzel suggested.

"That's a great idea Rapunzel, how about this." Ramiel started explaining their first scenario and Riku thought that it was nice of them to help him.

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While they were travelling to find the new princess of heart, Ramiel and the gang already manipulated their every move. The scenes they would be seeing, the path they would walk, even some subconscious manipulations.

"So, Sora. How'd you like the ship?" Ramiel asked and he had a large goofy smile on his face. "This place is awesome, only a little bit better than my gummi ship though." He tried to protect his dignity.

"Is that so? Then you haven't seen our pleasure quarters here, have you?" Ramiel intertwined his hands and grinned behind them.

"Pleasure quarters? What's that?" Sora raised a brow. "It means that it's a place to have fun Sora." Riku explained and rolled his eyes.

"Ahhh, really? There's something here like that? Then let's go check it out Riku!" Sora stood up immediately and pulled on him.

Donald and Goofy were already in their room too, with Ramiel absorbing their mana to the maximum after a little contact.

"Be my guest, I think you'll like it there." Ramiel smiled at them, already changing the place to something similar for Sora and Riku in order for them to be more comfortable.

Sora pulled Riku with him and they immediately ran away. "Bismarck, tactically put the posters in the hallway where Sora will see it with his peripheral vision. He has ADHD, he'll notice it." Ramiel ordered and she nodded.

"This is ridiculous, why go the extra mile for those kids? Just tell them to kiss or something." Esdeath rolled her eyes.

"My dear Esdeath, you don't quite understand how normal love works." Ramiel gave a wry smile. Both Aqua and Rapunzel are nodding at him in agreement.

"It's a tedious process, baring feelings, showing affection. You're just built different, if I wasn't the way that I was. You'll kidnap me immediately and just ride me. Things aren't that simple." Ramiel explained to her and she sulked.

"Yeah, you're too strong. Or I would've been pregnant by now." She whined and Aqua squinted her eyes at her.

"That's not how things work Esdeath, at least not here." Aqua chided her, but she got ignored.

"Let's see what they'll do." Rapunzel excitedly looked at the display in front of them as the two ran to the dubbed pleasure quarters.

"Sora, calm down. It's not gonna run away or anything." Riku sighed and Sora stopped. "But it's a place for fun, don't you want to come there quickly?" Sora asked and Riku's eyebrows twitched.

'But I gotta stick to the plan you see.' He gave a wry smile. "Don't be too excited, let's just go there normally." Riku calmed him down and they started to walk at a leisurely pace.

And while they were travelling, Riku sighed wistfully at their machinations.

The two went past the cinema-like place where trailers of movies were being shown. At Sora's side, romantic posters and trailers with kissing scenes were shown.

While at Riku's side, action movies were there. But they were mere posters, not having any trailers.

So Sora's ADHD focused on the myriad of videos on his side. And even though he's not interested in them at all, it was lingering in his brain.

"Remember to bring it up later Riku, you'll be surprised by the results." Ramiel gave him a message and he nodded seriously.

"This place is huge, but we still haven't made it there yet." Sora was getting impatient, the cinemas were of course a prop. They weren't for viewing right now.

"I think it's just around the corner, Sora." Riku pointed at directions and they saw that they were near a place called tropical paradise.

"Come on, let's go and check it out." Sora excitedly pulled on him and they arrived at a door. "Well, this doesn't look exciting at all." Sora commented and Riku smirked.

"Just check it out, who knows what's inside." Riku opened it and he went wide eyed at the scene. "D-destiny island? Is this destiny island?" Sora walked in and was in awe at the beautiful sunset.

"Kinda looks like it." Riku walked around and Sora reminisced about their memories.

"Go in for the kill Riku, you can't pussy out now!" Rapunzel reminded him and he got afraid, but Ramiel trusted in Sora's talk no jutsu.

"I remember it just like yesterday, Riku. When we played at the shores, thinking of leaving the island." Sora smiled at him.

"Yeah... Those were the good days. Kind of amazing, what we went through." Riku added and Sora nodded.

"How about we spar again Riku? I never beat you back then, but I'm much stronger now." Sora took out his keyblade and gave a smirk at him.

"Hmph, that's what you think. Come on, let's go." Riku prepared himself and they sparred a bit.

The two agreed on a draw and Riku forgot his mission. Instead they were laughing while lying down on the sand.

"Riku, initiate contact. Remember that, it gives people a subconscious message that you like them." Ramiel contacted him and Riku sobered up.

He sat up and Sora followed suit. Riku then put an arm around him. "So it's a draw, that means I'm still up a point." Riku smiled at him.

"Not for long, you are!" Sora retorted and they laughed. The two then roamed around the island and Sora pointed out at a familiar tree.

"A paopu fruit! Wow, they even managed to raise one here?" Sora was amazed and Riku squinted his eyes. Getting more nervous by the second.

"Calm down, finish your mission. This is a turning point, go in for the kill soldier." Ramiel hyped him up and Riku breathed in deeply.

He ran to the tree and picked one of the star shaped fruits. The trunk of the tree went to the side and could be sat on. Riku patted the side as he sat down.

Sora followed and the two just looked at the eternal sunset. Enjoying the atmosphere and beautiful scenery.

"Hey Sora, remember what the paopu fruit's legend?" Riku looked at Sora, his heart beating like a drum.

"Yeah, that's when two people share a paopu fruit. Their destiny will be intertwined forever." Sora nodded at him with a smile.

Riku's hands trembled while he split the fruit, handing over the other half to Sora.

Sora accepted it gingerly. "Hmm, how about that Riku? You'll never be separated from me again." Sora smiled at him and Riku received a critical hit.

"Yeah, we won't. Forever and ever." Riku was in a daze as they ate the sweet fruit.

"This is the final push, concentrate and attack." Ramiel gave him the last order.

"Hey Sora... Isn't it funny? This kind of like those trailers we saw earlier." Riku probed and Sora tilted his head, but he remembered.

"Ahhh, those films earlier? Too bad we couldn't watch them. Now that I remember, a lot of them were kissing. Have you ever kissed someone Riku? I wonder how it feels." Sora mused and Riku twitched.

"No, you haven't? I heard from Ramiel that it feels really nice." Riku pressed the attack and Sora got curious, being a teen and all.

Riku then gave the signal and Ramiel controlled his body through telepathy. Ramiel put a finger on his lips and acted seductively, but with an innocence that captivated Sora.

The orange light highlighted his features as Sora looked towards him, blushing a bit from his actions.

"Do you wanna know how it feels Sora?" Ramiel looked towards him with half lidded eyes. Surprising the teen.

"Well, I would be lying if I said no." Sora got flustered and Ramiel smiled, scooting over a bit towards him.

"Then... How about we try it?" Ramiel put his hand over Sora's and Riku screamed inside of his mind.

Sora got shocked, but Ramiel calmed him down by squeezing his hand a bit. "Silence means yes, Sora. Don't you want to know?" He brushed his finger on Sora's lip and Ramiel peaced out. Opting to control Riku out of his body for the next step.

"I guess." Sora gulped. "Close your eyes Sora, I heard it would be better that way." Riku ordered and Sora followed with a bit of nervousness.

Ramiel then manipulated Riku like a master puppeteer and gave him some mad skills. Making Sora's eyes pop wide open from the unfamiliar sensations.

Aqua and Rapunzel then squealed, unleashing their inner fujoshi. Seeing some BL action.

"Kukuku~ Did you record that properly, Bismarck?" Ramiel made it a bit spicier now and the blonde was recording it all in hd.

"Yes fuhrer, Kairi will definitely like this." Bismarck saluted and Ramiel nodded in satisfaction. "You're on your own now kid, this is more than a monumental help." Ramiel left them alone and they arrived at a new universe.

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"Oriental? This place looks quite pleasant." Esdeath commented and Ramiel knew they were in Mulan, he then remembered the bullshit that is Disney's live action agenda crap.

He immediately scanned the whole world himself and sighed in relief, not sensing any of the corrupted Hollywood crap in the world. It was the animated world of Mulan.

"Wait, ancient china? Are we visiting Mulan?" Sora was quite excited to see a friend.

"Yup, this is ancient China. But I'm afraid that Mulan might not remember you Sora." Ramiel noticed one thing, Mulan was still in her village.

"It seems that we've travelled to the past fuhrer." Bismarck explained and Ramiel shook his head. "No, Sora and the others aren't here. This place is another world entirely." Ramiel informed them.

Riku then winced, remembering their time in the land of dragons. They went to the palace straight up and Ramiel casted a spell on it. Brainwashing them that he was a monarch that visited China.

They entered the palace and met up with the emperor. "This man is the emperor? He has a pretty nice beard." Rapunzel looked at him with interest.

"Emperor Ramiel, it is terrible. Strange beings are attacking the country. You must leave post haste, it is currently dangerous here." The emperor didn't want an international issue.

"This is no problem, I would even like to give you assistance." Ramiel waved the danger off. "This is unusual, the enemies do not disappear even when defeated. I believe this is heaven's wrath." The emperor massaged his temples.

"Worry not, I would like to introduce to you my general. She has led several men to win against innumerable odds. Even winning a war by herself." Ramiel introduced Esdeath.

"This is easy, these things are heartless. We've encountered them before." Esdeath convinced the emperor and tapped her foot on the ground. Creating pillars of ice that shocked him.

"A... A general of heaven?" The emperor was stupefied and thought that Esdeath is a mystical general from the Jade palace.

He then bowed to them and thought that China will be saved by their power. "I humbly ask for your assistance. This must be heaven's grace."

"This is kinda exhausting." Aqua whispered to Ramiel and he smiled wryly. "You should see the politics of the imperial harem. Kids getting killed, schemes 24/7, power struggles everywhere. It's a goddamned mess." Ramiel poked her forehead and showed her what real politics is.

She paled immediately and frowned at what humanity is capable of.

"Are we going to fight the heartless? Fine by me." Sora flexed and Riku snorted. "What are you flexing? There's nothing there."

The two started arguing and Ramiel thought it was good that they were close as ever.

While they were horsing around, the emperor gave them the coordinates of the military's camp. Accompanied with an imperial decree that they will be the commanders of the army.

They began to travel to the camp and a certain lady was in for a surprise.

"Esdeath, remember. This is ancient china, people will obviously ridicule you for being a woman. Don't kill them, alright?" Ramiel immediately warned her because they would be slaughtered.

Esdeath huffed and thought it would be better to get rid of them now. But she had her orders and she can't refuse them. "But I can still beat them senseless right? Leave them half dead?" Esdeath asked and he nodded.

"Of course, who do you think I am? We can execute them actually, we have the emperor's imperial decree. But it's a waste, it would be better that they live in shame for their whole life." Ramiel smirked and Esdeath smiled.

"As expected of you, let them kill themselves from dishonor." She nodded sagely and the teens looked at their direction nervously.

"Are they really serious about this?" Sora whispered to Riku and he quickly redirected Sora's head to the side.

"They can hear you, you idiot." Riku glared at him and Sora had an oh face on.

Esdeath grinned at them and the two started sweating. Going to the corner of their carriage so they won't get noticed.

After speeding up the horse drawn carriage by buffing up the horses. They arrived at an encampment and they saw a lot of soldiers.

"Ahhh, I remember when I was a kid. Leading soldiers to war." Ramiel breathed in, reminiscing the war in Wutai.

"You went to a war when you were a kid?" Aqua gaped like a fish and Rapunzel gasped.

"Yeah... Good men and women were lost in that war. Anyways, what'd you think about the soldiers of the emperor?" Ramiel looked towards Esdeath and she sighed.

"The sun has already risen, but they aren't even doing basic PT. This is a lost cause, not to mention the heartless. An averagely trained army will trample them instantly." Esdeath gave her opinion and he nodded.

"Then let's beat them up into shape yeah?" Ramiel walked in with his entourage and they saw a soldier who looked like an official.

"Who are you?" The man squinted his eyes at them. "We have an imperial decree, soldier. Read it and inform everyone immediately." Esdeath gave him a scroll.

The man started reading it and went wide eyed. "A woman... As a general?" He looked at Esdeath incredulously and Esdeath smacked him on the face.

"I'm your general now, I would've executed you immediately because of insubordination, but thank the heavens that my master is a kind man." She wanted to stab him immediately, but she had her orders.

"Forgive me, general... I am Li Shang. I will report it to the soldiers immediately." He gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do. It was ordered by the emperor.

After gathering the troops, everyone was informed that a new general will be handling them. And when she was introduced, everybody froze at the sight of a beautiful woman leading them.

"I am Esdeath, the new general of the army of china. And you soldiers, have a lot to learn." She squinted her eyes.

But they all started to laugh, thinking it must be a joke or something. Except a certain small soldier who stared at her with sparkling eyes.

"A woman? As our general? This just made my day!" A stout man arrogantly laughed harder.

Esdeath raised her hand and the man was enclosed in ice. The soldiers went wide eyed and shut up immediately.

She walked up to him slowly, but surely. Making him more anxious by the second. "You, what's your name?" Esdeath asked him and he trembled. The coldness of her voice and the ice freezing his core.

"Y-Yao... Dear general." He uttered his name and Esdeath nodded. "From now on, your name will be dirt. Everybody will call you dirt. You will be sleeping on dirt, you will eat dirt, shit dirt, drink water from dirt. Become dirt itself, because that's all you're worth."

She called for Riku, because he not only owes them. He would be much more inclined to beat someone up.

"The only way you can redeem yourself is by fighting this teen, go." She snapped her fingers and the ice around him disappeared.

The whole camp stared at him and he could only gnash his teeth. Thinking that she was looking down on him.

He immediately started swinging at Riku, but the teen slugged him on the face. Taking out teeth as he dropped on the ground, eating dirt.

"That concludes it, dirt is to be trampled upon. Every soldier here, stomp on him. Dirt should be flat, isn't it?" Esdeath ordered the army and they all followed suit.

They stomped on the man until he was half dead. Fearing that they would be the next one if they disobeyed.

"Any more questions?" She panned through the crowd and nobody dared. "Then drop and give me a thousand push ups. One hour planks, and run for 10 miles while carrying your weight."

Esdeath then cooled down the whole camp to make it freezing. Putting them into a nice little training regimen that will transform them into elites.

"Isn't this a bit too much?" Rapunzel frowned at her and Esdeath snorted. "What do you want? Make them incompetent and die like dogs at the battlefield?"

Rapunzel couldn't retort to that. "Also, I need your help later. Turn the place into a blistering dessert for their next training session. They must be used to every terrain and environment." Esdeath requested.

"Don't worry Rapunzel, none of them will die. I think." Aqua was doubtful and it didn't give the blonde with blue highlights any confidence.

"Should we train too Riku?" Sora looked at Riku and he nodded. So he went up to Ramiel. "Can you train us? The keyblade war is just around the corner... I think they're just waiting for Aqua now."

"Hmm, that's certainly a good point. Aqua, Esdeath, how about a little 2v2? Train them while we're burning time? The princess of heart is here anyways, she won't be running away anytime soon." Ramiel suggested to the two and they shrugged.

"Might as well, we aren't doing anything anyways." Aqua agreed, it would be better for them to be stronger too. She might not have any opinions on them, but Riku is Terra's successor and Sora is someone she knew from the past.

"For real? Come on Riku, let's go!" Sora pulled on him again excitedly. But after a little match to ascertain their level. They were groaning on the ground. Rapunzel healing them up.

"Yup, they're weak alright." Esdeath commented and the two snarled. "You guys are just strong, what the hell? I already knew that Aqua is stronger than us, but we didn't expect the disconnect to be that much!" Riku complained.

He remembered Aqua beating him up and Mickey. Two keyblade masters, with ease at that. But he didn't quite expect Esdeath to bludgeon then with a pole of ice, not even using her keyblade.

"Warriors of heaven?" A soldier who finished their training through sheer force of will was spying on them. Interested on how a woman became their general.

Esdeath immediately fired icicles at the area and the soldier screamed. But before it hit, they stopped in midair.

"Who are you?" Esdeath walked up to the soldier menacingly. "I-I'm Ping! Forgive me general! I was just really curious how strong you are."

She raised a brow and sniffed her. "Hoh? A girl huh? How'd a little dainty thing like you arrive here?"

Outed, the soldier went wide eyed and prostrated herself immediately. "Please! Don't deport me back. My father would inevitably be conscripted into the army if I didn't take his place! He is already old, I beg of you!" She put her forehead on the ground.

"Stand up." Ramiel ordered her and she looked at him nervously. "So, what's your real name?" He smiled, knowing it already. But he gotta act to make it interesting.

"M-Mulan... Your majesty." She didn't dare say anything else. "Okay, your conviction is appreciated. You'll be trained alongside them." Ramiel pointed at Sora and Riku.

"R-really? I mean... Thank you for your grace for this lowly one." She bowed down deeply and has practiced the art of bootlicking well.

"Oooh, is she the one?" Rapunzel looked at her and thought she was a bit plain.

"Don't look at her like that, of course she looks plain. She's disguising herself as a male soldier." Aqua saw the look on her face and smacked her lightly on the back.

"Was it that obvious? Well, Ramiel. We got to give her a makeover! Look at the poor thing, she looks like she's a corpse!" Rapunzel shouted out.

Mulan's face was pale, her lips were chapped from the cold, and she had dirt all over her from the training regime from earlier.

"Well, sure. But she needs to train herself well without our help like regeneration. It's not like we're trying to make her into a supersoldier." Ramiel drew the line at that.

Mulan tilted her head in confusion and thought about the help he talked about, but nevertheless, she promised to herself that she will work hard regardless.

"Drink this, girl." Esdeath received a bottle from Ramiel and it was the super packed baby formula he used when he was a baby.

"Is this... Milk?" Mulan stared at it and it was heavier than she thought. "It'll help you heal and create more muscles." Esdeath explained and Mulan drank it in one gulp.

"T-this is actually delicious?" She was surprised and thought it would be plain milk or something.

"What'd you expect? Of course it would be good, that was my meal back when I was a baby. It had to taste nice." Ramiel snorted and she was given to Aqua for some basics in fighting.

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Meanwhile, at Merlin's hyperbolic time chamber. Kairi received a notification on her phone. "A message from Riku?" She checked it out and was surprised that it was a video.

She sat down on a trunk of a tree and started playing it. "Destiny islands? They went there without me!?" Kairi got a bit irritated and thought that she'll surely give them a piece of her mind.

But after a few moments, there was this odd tension between them. "No... There's no way." Kairi was glued onto her phone.

Riku and Sora shared a paopu fruit, something that Kairi wasn't able to do with Sora.

She then saw Riku act completely differently, having a certain seductiveness on him that put Sora on edge.

"What in the world am I watching?" She saw them kiss each other and Kairi was feeling complicated about the situation.

She was both feeling excited and jealous that the two were clearly swapping spit with each other.

"Hey Kairi, what's got you busy there? What the fuck!?" Axel went up to her and got a glimpse on Sora and Riku having some BL action.

"I know it's shocking, Lea. But language please." She chided him and Axel ran away, spooked by the ultra hd video.

Kairi then stared at it for a long time, unable to keep her eyes away from it. "Why am I getting excited when I watch it?"

Something awakened inside of her and she shook her head. She decided to give Riku a message, telling him to explain what was happening.

But of course, Bismarck already hacked Riku's phone and she was the one that sent messages to her at Ramiel's behest.

"Why am I jealous? This guy... Did he really just say that? I oughta... Wait a minute, I should ask help from Ramiel. He has a harem, right? Master Aqua told us about it. He knows what men want." Kairi called Aqua in order to talk with Ramiel.

Mickey also gave a gummi phone to Aqua that was made by Chip and Dale, the chipmunks. For a potential communication in case of emergency.

"Master Aqua, hello? Are you with Ramiel?" Kairi squinted her eyes and Aqua handed it to him.

"Why hello Kairi, what made you look for me?" Ramiel smirked, he was overseeing Mulan and the teens' training, swirling a glass of wine on his hand.

"I have a question for you, what do you think will change a guy's perception on a woman. I have a friend who's having a problem with a boy you see." Kairi blushed, but she endured the embarrassment.

"I see, your friend is named Kairi right? And the boy's Sora? Have no fear, I'll help you alright." Ramiel smiled and thought it was getting more interesting.

"R-really? I mean, no it's a friend of mine!" She tried to deflect it. "Now, now, no need to be worried. Everyone goes through this kind of thing. I'll keep it a secret, I promise."

'After all, it won't be fun if Riku knows about it now will it?' Ramiel grinned and was cooking up a plan in his head so they would be in a convoluted love triangle.

"Do you even talk to Sora?" Ramiel asked and Kairi gasped, not really having any conversations with the boy.

"I assume no from your reaction. You have no game, you suck at romance. Which is fine, you're teenagers. But let me tell you what's one of the strongest weapons of a woman Kairi." Ramiel controlled Aqua's body and made her do a pose.

He took a picture of Aqua's pose and sent it to Kairi. "Hey, it's not nice to control someone like that. I wasn't prepared at all!" Aqua whined, but he shushed her.

"Woah... Master Aqua looks... So sexy, yet pure and innocent." Kairi stared at the picture he sent her.

It was a picture of Aqua from above. She was lying down on some grass with flowers. Raising one of her arms and putting it above her head. While her lips were slightly apart, looking at the camera with half lidded eyes.

Ramiel made her emphasize her curves a bit which were covered, but it still looked erotic. While not having any outright sexual exposure except her armpits and arms.

"You know what to do right? Talk to Sora more, ask how is his day, tell him he's awesome. Fish for compliments, like I'm not as good as you, boohoo. He'll think of your positives and it'll linger in his mind. You stroke his ego while he puts an emphasis on yours." Ramiel instructed her and Kairi started writing it down.

"So that's what you're doing, you know... You're a menace to society." Aqua sighed at him, stirring up some drama against teenagers of all people.

"What? Sora and Riku aren't in a relationship. This is a dog eats dog world, no matter what you say. And I just want to see how they will compete with a bit of my help. A free for all if you'd say, equal opportunity for Sora." Ramiel laughed.

"It's not good to play with people's hearts Ramiel." Rapunzel chided him. "Oh, bite me. Besides, don't lie. You want to see what would happen right? How exciting it would be to see how Kairi and Riku compete for Sora's affection? And who he will pick?"

The two thought about it and realized it was kind of entertaining.

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Thanks for reading everyone, ciao.