Now now, folks, don't get excited. Or, do, if you want. I don't really mind.

What was I saying? Oh yeah. I was reading over this and getting mighty twitchy at how bad some of it is. So I'm re-writing it. Hopefully you'll all agree that it's better this time around.

It was all his fault. Again. Riku knew this. Accepted it. And now he was going to have to fix it. Somehow. He'd been shooting his stupid mouth off about his inner demons again, knowing how it upset Sora, and carrying on anyway because he always got too damned close for his own good.

It was because of his own jealousy, of course. He'd just happened to look up when Kairi leaned across to kiss the brunet on the cheek, and something had twisted sharply in his gut. When Sora had turned that hundred-watt smile on him, barely minutes later, he had wanted to hurt him, say something to obliterate that blissfully happy look that always seemed to mock him. He couldn't even remember what he'd said, now, it was all just another meaningless blur, until that sound had cut through his self-righteous ranting.

That sound. Low and guttural, it had rumbled from deep within that small body, a sound that should never spill from human lips. Eyes snapping to the brunet, Riku realised he'd fallen to his knees, smoky blackness creeping its way over his hands and legs. It had taken a moment for the full impact to hit him, but when it had, he'd stood numb for a moment, mouth hanging slightly open.

Oh. Shit.

"Sora?"

The smaller boy looked up, eyes already fading from blue to lamplike yellow as the tendrils of blackness crept up over his collarbone. There was no recognition, no warmth, just a cold curiosity.

"Sora," he kept his voice low and steady, a voice for talking to small children or wild animals. "Snap out of it."

Black lips curled back into a feral expression that seemed somehow mocking. As if. Fluidly, with a grace that was almost unnerving, the creature that was his best friend shifted into a fighting stance.

Right. Riku brought his fists up and lowered his center of gravity. All I have to do is knock him out. I can manage that. He knew that his added height and muscle tone would work in his favour here, he was just grateful the thing didn't have access to a keyblade.

In response to his motions, the creature's sneer turned to a grin, white teeth flashing against black lips. It brought its hands up in a mimicry of Riku's boxing stance, but left the fingers uncurled, rather than balling them into fists.

For a brief moment, they regarded each other without moving, then Antiform lashed out. Riku blocked it easily, but white-hot pain blossomed over his knuckes, where it had struck them. It withdrew, and as it held up its hand, he saw a bright drop of his blood staining the tips of the wickedest-looking claws he'd ever seen. Its smile widened.

Angry, Riku struck. The creature dropped easily beneath his outstretched fist, and came up practically pressed against him, administering an almost lazy open-handed swipe across his right cheek. Riku used the impetum of the strike to grab the thing's wrist and pull it into a spin, pinning it against his chest. Letting out a feral hiss, it dropped its right arm and sank its claws into his thigh, dragging upwards until he let go, screaming in pain. Without even pausing, it flipped forwards onto one hand and spun, then shot its legs out to wrap around his waist. Its free hand touched the floor for a second, then it pushed off and brought both of them crashing down, Riku pinned between its legs. Its hands yanked his wrists up above him, claws making a cage around them. Then, as it bent over him, face inches from his, it began to purr.

This was sweet, Anti thought. Live prey, something that would bleed and scream, and all his. Wriggling in sheer delight at the thought, he slipped his hand into one of the silver haired boy's, almost tenderly, and dug in a claw, pushing until he felt that slight pop of skin giving way and the boy groaned in pain. That was good. He would enjoy this one's screams. The first, when he had so neatly tore up his thigh, that had been like music. He would have enjoyed it more, but he had been angry at him for daring to try and trap him. Oh, he would suffer for that.

In one swift move, Anti switched from holding a wrist in each hand to caging them both with his left, his finger still impaling the boy's palm. Then, pulling back a little, he ran a teasing nail down his victim's shirt. The fabric parted easily as he sliced through it, and he flipped both sides back, revealing pale skin stretching taut over well-toned muscles. Pale, creamy skin that was virtually begging to be marked, stained with trails of red. His hand moved to the boy's throat, and then he leaned closer. Turning his head, Anti nipped almost playfully at his prey's earlobe, then bit down, hard enough to draw blood. Then, a little noise slipping out from between clenched teeth, he tore.

Riku let out a cry of pain, and he virtually felt the thing squirm with delight. A shudder ran up his spine as he felt a cool tongue lapping at his earlobe, the same earlobe that it had just torn a chunk out of. Snarling, he bucked upwards, trying to unbalance the creature, but it merely increased the pressure in the claw still firmly embedded in his palm. Gods, it felt like it had stabbed right through his hand. His snarl turned to what could almost be called a whimper, and he sank back, helpless fury burning his chest. It was purring again.

It had pulled back to look at him, the hand at his throat moving to cup his cheek, a sick little smile tugging at its lips as it saw the hatred written in every taut line of his face, and Riku was hit with a sudden realisation.

I'm going to die. It's going to make me suffer, and then it'll kill me.

This was it. After all the battles, all the monsters, worlds crumbling around his ears, he was going to die on the floor of the treehouse, pinned beneath the sneering, black image of his best friend. A laugh threatened to break from him, but it wasn't funny. He wanted to find it funny. He wanted to be angry, or scared, but he couldn't feel anything. Except the tender pain in the wounds caused by the creature that held him.

Almost gently, it stroked a single claw down his unmarked cheek, from under his eye down to the corner of his mouth. His skin stung, then began to tingle slightly. It hadn't cut deep enough to draw blood this time, just enough to make a mark. Riku looked up in confusion, then caught its smile as it repeated the movement, only harder. That had broken skin, and it hurt all the more for the scratch of seconds before.

The creature leaned close, so close that Riku could feel its breath whispering across his skin, then its tongue slipped out and slid over his aching skin, its coolness soothing the heat.

Riku drew in a sharp breath.

Shivers had erupted all over his spine, and not from disgust or pain.

He found himself shifting his hands, just slightly, just enough to make the creature, Antiform, flex his fingers until the white-hot pain in his palm went deeper.

It was strange, he'd felt distant for so long, like there was a pane of glass between him and the world, that when something pierced that bubble of apathy, it was almost a shock to the system. For the first time in what felt like years, he felt something.

It felt good.

Using the hand that had returned to lay almost posessively over his cheek, Antiform tilted Riku's head and began lapping at the three shallow cuts it had scored across his face earlier. It nipped lightly, pinching the skin between its teeth, making the blood flow again. Its hand slid back down to his neck, claws flexing lightly and leaving little pinprick wounds, its thumb dragging down his throat and tearing a moan from him. Despite how close to death he was, Riku still found it in himself to blush at the sound of his own voice. At the slow heat that was uncoiling itself at the base of his spine.

Antiform trailed its fingers from his throat, down over his chest. Slowly, agonisingly, it scored three parallel lines leading downwards. Riku found himself arching at that touch, welcoming the sharp sting in his chest, and heard a sound of yearning escape his lips. Biting down on his lower lip to keep from crying out again, Riku struggled to get his body under control.

His fingertips embedded in the flesh over his victim's pounding heart, Anti noticed a subtle difference in the way the body beneath him responded to his touch. Instead of leaning away, pressing himself into the floor, he was rising to meet the claws that dug into him, and the face that had been regarding him with the utmost hatred was now flushed, eyes wide and slightly unfocused instead of narrowed and glaring. Experimentally, he pushed a little harder into the pale flesh beneath his hand, producing a cry that was softer, more drawn-out than before, and causing the body beneath him to writhe, muscles tensing in a most intriguing way. He smiled, answering the boy's soft murmur with something like a croon, and brought his mouth to where the pulse beat so hot, so fast, in the curve of his neck. His claws resuming their descent over pale skin, he bit down where the beat felt strongest, harder and harder until a sound halfway between a moan and a scream tore free from a mouth bitten to holly-brightness. Anti looked at his prey, seeing the blood welling from the self-inflicted bite. His tongue flicked out to catch the drop, and their gazes met. Met and locked. Aquamarine met smouldering yellow, and a single coherent thought crossed his mind.

Riku...

Yellow flickered, became blue, then flickered back again. Anti virtually leapt off of Riku, uttering a sound like a scalded cat. For a second, he huddled in the corner of the room, pale flesh beginning to appear between wisps of inky black, then he was gone, leaving Riku feeling sullied and strangely empty. He brought a hand to his face, passing it over his eyes and then covering his mouth as he steadied his breathing, the movement leaving a sticky trail of blood in its wake.

Ok, you win, he thought, with an ironic little twist to the lips that expressed neither joy nor amusement, I guess we both have our demons.