Author's Comments: Yup, you're reading right. Taka is actually writing a fic. Hopefully this one will actually go somewhere, considering that I have the entire thing planned out for once.

This is actually a test-run of sorts for an original storyline that I'm working on. I figure that the best way to test it is to modify it for use in in fanfiction, right? I mean...built in immediate readers. XD Anyway, please do forgive me if the story is a bit vague at first. I promise, it IS going somewhere and I DO know what I'm doing, here! ...I hope.

....so anyway, I'm still contemplating whether to put downright shounen-ai in this fic. There's really not much room in here for much of anything couple-oriented, but if there is it will probably be shounen-ai. I will give a warning first, though. There's none in here so far!

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all it's characters and various significances are the property of it's respective owners and not of myself. However...the storyline does belong to me.

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Opaque

Prologue

"You are to leave with us first thing in the morning."

It wasn't like I hadn't been expecting it.

"W-wait.....tomorrow? B-but that's so soon! Can't he--"

And it wasn't as though I was getting away from it.

"First. Thing. Tomorrow."

In my thoughts, there had never been a 'yes' or 'no' about it.

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The entire house resounded with the slam of a door that had been shut gently, and his mother seemed to be melting away. Now was when he was supposed to embrace her, wasn't it? Right. Arms thicker than hers and thinner than death wrapped themselves around her trembling figure and immediately were dripping in warm liquid. He wondered if maybe she really was melting, after all.

And suddenly there was noise.

Suddenly there was screaming.

Suddenly there were fingernails and broken Christmas ornaments and words not suited to the tone and volume with which they were used.

"Riku!"

Suddenly it was his fault? Oh well. In a matter of hours, where his mother placed her blames wouldn't really matter.

"Why didn't you stop them?!!" Another ornament shattered. Not on him, no never, but joining the rest at the hysterical woman's feet.

"Why should I have?" The exact implications of this question couldn't quite be determined, his empty cerulean eyes denying any form of emotional expression entrance. "I have to go no matter what, right? There's no point in fighting that."

"....."

The last ornament fell with so little force that it did not shatter, but the sound that it made as it joined the festive -looking mess on the floor crashed against his eardrums like a bolt of lightning had stricken him right in the middle of the living room.

Or maybe it was the audible break of his mother's heart.

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Destiny.

Fate.

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He had to talk to her. He had to. Nothing would ever be solved if Riku left his own mother kneeling on the floor, picking up the shattered remains of her heart, sanity, and Christmas decorations. Now was the time to confront her.

And so, Riku excused himself to his room without a word. Solving things would do nothing.

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I've never believed in destiny.

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He wouldn't look back at her. He would not look back at her. Not now, not ever. The door clicked shut.

And Riku looked back.

Thankfully, the wood of the door was feeling less than transparent on that winter night. The silver-haired boy kept his eyes locked on the two-dimensional loops and rivers patterned into the wooden door as his left hand fumbled blindly against the wall, searching for the doorknob of his closet. After accidentally knocking off the lights and getting the tape from a poster stuck to his hand, he finally reached his destination and turned to the door as he pulled it open. The teen would've sworn he felt a gust a cold wind hit him square in the face if it wasn't for the fact that he knew just how utterly ridiculous the thought was.

Books went in one direction, mismatching socks in another as the closet's contents were sifted around. It was in there somewhere.....

Aha.

Moving aside a cardboard box reading 'Bosco's Pizza-stix'(Riku was 98% positive that it actually contained some old elementary text-books), he tugged out his maroon and silver suitcase and began looking around for the proper ingredients to add to it so that he could be considered 'packed'.

Shirts...pants...a jacket? Would it be cold? Yes, probably. So a jacket...maybe two just in case he lost one. Socks...did it matter if they matched? Because that could be a problem. A book to read on the train...maybe a few more... half a shelf of books wouldn't hurt. Underwear.....

...

How much underwear was one supposed to bring on a life-long trip, anyway?

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Fate, however, is an entirely different story.

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Decisions.

Riku hated making decisions. And what do you know, here was one right here. His mother. He could go out to the living room, hoping that she'd recovered from her emotional upheaval and spend his last night at home reminiscing and planning and trying to make light of the situation. Or he could go to bed, wake up at 5 AM, leave, and never see his beloved mother and only family ever again (only mentally stable family, anyway).

The choice was obvious.

I've already resigned myself to this. Riku thought, snuggling down under his pitiful excuse for a comforter (he thought the word 'napkin' suited the thing more). She'll just set me back. It'll be harder to cope.

With that thought, the cruelty of which he chose to not recognize, Riku's teal eyes fluttered shut and he allowed himself to drift into...no sleep at all.

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We were outside, I think, although the specific reason for it now eludes me. Raking leaves, maybe? It smelled moldy but looked pretty.

"Hey dad?"

"Yeah?"

Such eloquence. Must be hereditary.

"When you leaving again?"

Even back then, it was always "when". The question "if" had been ruled out long before.

"Mm...Tuesday."

I crinkled my nose, and he laughed at me. Maybe I don't remember his face, but that laugh has stuck with me my entire life. Both pleasantly, and hauntingly.

"Where do you go?"

"To work."

A threw a leaf at him, and yet for some reason he seem pretty unfazed. "You know what I meant!"

That laugh again. And then he was leaning forward, gesturing me closer. And then he was telling me a secret. And even now, I have no idea what on earth possessed him to tell a 7-year old what he did.

"It's not where I'm going. It's when. I'm going back in time!" He seemed giddy, and I couldn't help but share in his sentiment.

"I wanna go too!"

I don't wanna go.

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Good evening, Mrs. McLachlan. We at the Thirteenth St. Organization regret to inform you that Xehanort McLachlan has gone MIA and, owing to circumstance, is assumed dead. As your family is still significantly indebted to us, we must insist that a replacement for him is sent to us as soon as possible. An agent will be sent to your home tomorrow, that is December 23rd, to escort the chosen replacement to our New York City headquarters.

Thank you for your cooperation, and have a nice day and Happy Holidays.

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I don't want to go.

Opaque Prologue: End.

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Author's Comments: Ohmigosh! I actually completed a whole chapter! Getting through the prologue is probably going to have been the hardest part. It's always hardest to get started. ; And this is unbeta'd...so sorry for any dumb mistakes. I need a beta, but I'm just too impatient to wait. XD

Please, constructive criticism is YAY. I want to improve my writing and story-development skills as much as possible. But flaming and criticism without suggestions for improvement do very little for me and even less for you. So please just don't do it.

That being said, please review!