Title: Hello

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts

Pairing: Sora/Kairi, Sora/Riku

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Shounen-ai, violence, language

Summary: Sora remnisces after finding Kairi and Riku not themselves.

Copyright: Characters and places belong to Sqaure Enix/Disney Interactive. Lyrics belong to Evanescence.

Playground school bell rings again

Rain clouds come to play again

Has no one told you she's not breathing?

Hello, I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to

Hello

If I smile and don't believe

Soon I know I'll wake from this dream

Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken

Hello, I'm the lie living for you so you can hide

Don't cry

Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping

Hello, I'm still here

All that's left of yesterday


The cabin was silent, an eerie stillness set over like a stench. And the magician didn't quite like it, despite the calmness, and for once the peace, he had a splitting headache. Goofy sat over by the table, staring at his gloved hands while Sora sat on the floor in the corner, his knees pulled to his chest, silent. His eyes were distant. Donald didn't like it. He opened his beak to break the silence, when the usual stoic brunette broke it for him. "So you found them after all."

Sora glanced up, nodded, and rested his head again. Leon shifted, his many belts clanging together loudly in the room. "I'm going to go tell Cid. Yuffie, Aerith, want to come?" he turned to the women, who nodded and quickly followed. They liked the stillness of the tiny Keyblade master about as much as Donald did.

Goofy stood and walked to the door, and Donald bristled. "Where do you think you're going?" he snapped, tapping his webbed foot against the wooden floor irritably.

"Out. Maybe to fight some o' them Heartless," Goofy said simply, he gave Donald a look and the duck nodded and quickly followed him.

Leaving Sora to himself.

It wasn't like he wasn't expecting something like this; he had seen Riku in league with the Heartless when he was in Neverland and Monstro, but this...to steal the Keyblade, to fight him, to try and kill him...it was too much. At first, it had been an adventure, much like the ones he and Riku had dreamt and talked about as children. Riku and Kairi were just playing hide-and-go- seek, is all.

But it wasn't a game anymore.

He had prayed it was a dream at first, seeing Riku standing there with another Keyblade, his eyes glowing, smirking. But it wasn't his smirk, not the one he always flashed at Sora when he had won a spar or beat him in a race, had gotten a better grade on a test or had gotten a question right that Sora hadn't. It had been cold, ruthless.

As if he wasn't even himself anymore.

And Kairi...she had been cold, lifeless. Not breathing or moving, her skin pale and slightly gray, her lips blue.

Lips he had kissed, just before the sun fell on the paopu island. On Riku's island. It had been rather ironic really, being on Riku's island without his best friend. It's not like Riku actually owned the island, but all of the children had viewed it as his. He was always on it, sitting upon the bent palm and staring out at the ocean, or practicing with his sword.

Her lips had been soft, shy, and she had pulled away before Sora could react. And they kissed again, their tongues moving together in a soft caress. Kairi had giggled afterwards and said he tasted like coconuts and sunshine. She tasted like pineapples and orange soda.

Sora lifted his gloved hand to his face, slowly pulling off the white cloth and revealing two faint scars, criss-crossing each other.

One he traced with his finger and smiled softly. Riku shared the same scar on his opposite hand, when they had made a pact. A pact to remain together forever. They had sworn in blood, carving the pact on the wall of the Secret Place and signing their names in their own blood. Riku had kissed him then, in the shadows, his bloody hands caressing Sora's face. It had been both the boys' first kiss.

Sora traced the other, his lips starting to tremble. Kairi bore the same scar as well, another pact made by just the two of them. To fall in love someday, to follow their hearts.

Sora stood, walking to the window in the front of the small cabin and stared out. Donald and Goofy were fighting Heartless in the square, just some Shadows that they were handling easily. It had been their fault Riku had gone away, had turned to Darkness. It was his fault for putting Donald and Goofy ahead of his best friend at that point. It was Riku's fault for leaving.

He couldn't take anymore. He just wanted to take Kairi and Riku back to Destiny Islands where everything would be simple again. But a part of him knew, knew that if Riku did come back, if Kairi did get her heart back, nothing would be the same. Nothing. Never.

And he hated it.

The sound of the bell ringing resounded around the playground, the shrill cry making Sora's ears hurt. But he didn't stop. He ran across the sandbox, littered with cigarette butts and trash and made his way towards the swings where he saw his best friend sitting, alone. He didn't like it when Riku was alone.

He drew nearer and grinned, hopping onto the older boy's lap and making himself comfortable. Riku blinked at him, and then smirked. "Comfy?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sora grinned, and nodded. "I am now! Whatcha doing all alone?"

"Don't you have class?"

"Maybe, but I wanted to see you more. 'Sides, it's only PE, I'm so passing that class." Sora grinned and Riku chuckled, wrapping an arm loosely around his friend's waist to keep him-or both-from tumbling to the ground. "So...what are ya thinkin' 'bout?"

"My leg."

"Your leg?"

"It's falling asleep."

"Oh!" Sora wiggled his rear, grinning, and Riku raised his eyebrow higer.

"Don't make me hurt you."

"Oooh, terrified." Sora threw his hands in the air and shook, laughing. Riku grinned and shoved his friend off of his lap. Unfortunately, Sora grabbed a hold of Riku's shirt to try and keep from falling, and sent Riku tumbling as well. They rolled in a ball of limbs, laughing, before they stopped with Riku on all fours over the brunette.

They laughed at each other before Riku dipped his head and brushed his lips against Sora's. "You planned this, you little shit."

"Oh you bet. Too bad there are people out here though, ne? My whole plan won't be acted out." He jutted out his bottom lip in a pout, and Riku gently nipped it. "Hm, but there are bathrooms..."

"That's revolting. I'd rather out here in front of the entire student body then do it in those filthy bathrooms."

"Hee, yay."

"I didn't say I would."

"Aw, you're a party pooper."

Riku smiled and stood, walking over to the swings and sitting down again. Sora stood and sat in the one next to him, trying to think up another plan to get his friend's clothes off.

"Are you scared?"

Sora blinked, looking up at the older boy in confusion. "Of what?"

"Leaving."

The raft. The trio had gotten it all done, but were waiting for school to be out before setting off. He thought for a minute, before shrugging. "I don't know, are you?"

"No."

"Liar." Sora smiled softly and reached over, taking Riku's hand in his own. "It's okay, you know. To be scared. I kind of am. Kairi is too."

"I'm not."

"I've known you since I was three, you've become a horrible liar, Riku."

He chuckled and lifted Sora's hand to his lips, gently kissing each of the knuckles. "Did I?" he asked softly, looking up at the steely sky. Sora remained silent, watching the silver-haired boy.

They had been friends since they were three, only starting to get more...physical with their friendship recently. Of course, no one but the two of them knew about it. Kairi would blow, and the other kids would think it was gross. Sora already knew one thing though; he loved Riku, with all his heart. As well as Kairi. He flinched as Riku's nail skirted over the deep cut in his palm, the both of them watching the blood bead and then slowly make their way down his hand to drip to the ground. Riku did the same with his own, and held their palms together, watching their blood drip from in between their hands.

Sora was scared to go, he could admit that. But at the same time, he was excited. Maybe they would find new worlds. Maybe they would leave this place. He couldn't wait, really.

"We'll be together always, right Sora?"

"Yeah, of course!"

Riku looked at him, and Sora felt his heart skip into his throat. Riku was crying, the tears catching on his long lashes and slowly dripping down his cheeks. Sora swallowed and reached up, brushing the crystalline beads away with his fingers. "Riku...?"

"Whatever happens, you and me, right?"

"Riku, of course."

He had known, he had known that day that something would happen. And in a sense, so had Sora. Riku had known they would be torn apart, the three of them. He had asked Sora to choose him over Kairi. But if that decision had to be made...Sora didn't know what the hell he was going to do.

Riku was his best friend, his other half. Whenever you saw one, you knew the other was somewhere around. They finished each other's sentences, had the same likes and dislikes, met each other's weaknesses with strengths. Without Riku, Sora felt like half of him had been ripped away and was lost.

Kairi was his light, his love. Always there for each other, ready to cheer each other up with a kiss or a hand squeeze, a nice word or two, a joke. Without Kairi, it felt as if his heart had been taken away by the Heartless.

He was a walking corpse without the two.

Sora reached out to the table, picking up a small shuriken of Yuffie's and stared at it. Slowly, he slid the edges across the scars, opening them and letting the blood flow. Tears pricked at his eyes, but he blinked them away. He hesitated, and then carved the same criss-cross pattern into his other hand. On the back of his hand, he carved the Heartless symbol. On the opposite hand, he carved the crown that was on his necklace. Riku had given it to him as a birthday present, Kairi had given him the hooded sweatshirt he wore today.

He swallowed, watching the blood waterfall from his hands, and down his arms. He looked up slowly as the door opened and Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith came in. Yuffie screamed, and Aerith quickly shut her eyes, turning away.

Leon came up in just a few strides, and tried to take the shuriken away from the small Keyblade master. And then Sora lashed out, screaming and crying, blood and tears splattering the walls and the older brunette.

Leon didn't hit him back as Sora dropped the shuriken to the floor and pounded against Leon's chest, clinging to him. Leon wrapped his arms around the small boy, hugging him to him, the two slowly sinking to the floor as Sora sobbed and hiccupped, his bloody hands twisted in Leon's shirt, his face buried in the man's shoulder.

Sora cried himself to sleep in Leon's embrace, and that night he dreamt of beautiful things.

Of Riku and Kairi.