.tainted.hearts.

.s u m m a r y

the keyblade master's heart has turned to darkness...chaos consumes all the worlds he touches…what is the cause of this tragedy?…who can save us all?…a silver-haired boy on destiny islands knows what he has to do…as the true keyblade master, riku is given the kingdom keyblade once again….bringing kairi along on the journey as well…can they save their best friend…?riari/kaiku aka rikuxkairi

.p.a.i.r.i.n.g

.riari.

aka riku.kairi

.d.i.s.c.l.a.i.m.e.r

I do not in any shape or form own kingdom hearts, sora, riku or kairi…I sure as heck wish I did though, doesn't everyone?

-x-x-x-- + -x-x-x

.c h a p t e r o n e

.d e p a r t e d h e a r t.

The sky was painted a pitch black, so dark that it'd make a person with perfect vision feel like they were going blind. A few orbs of light twinkled on the black canvas, giving hope to any who trudged around in this madness called "night". Clear island water hardly moved, as if it knew what was going to happen to night. The water, I daresay, was petrified. Maybe if everyone else knew what Riku, aged sixteen, was going to find on the beaches tonight, they'd be scared too.

Light gray sneakers slowly kicked at the sand as the silver-haired teenager trudged slowly across the sands. Jade eyes blinked, but Riku saw nothing, he was walking in total darkness. He was used to it, since on this very same island, the darkness and the Heartless had engulfed and destroyed his home. However, this still didn't mean he could see through this thick coat of black called night.

The boy wished he had worn more clothing. Clad in his baggy blue jeans, black sleeveless top and yellow & grey vest, also sleeveless, Riku was freezing cold. He showed no signs of weakness by huddling himself together to stay warm, oh no. For everyone on the island's sake, he must stay calm and cool. He was their leader now.

Sora was gone, for about a week and a half now. The spiky-haired brunette had departed when the first Heartless appeared on their islands ever since they'd returned home, beady yellow eyes piercing through Sora's soul with just it's stare. He had promised to be back, reassuring that this was probably just one Heartless, that the worlds weren't in trouble again. No, they couldn't be in trouble. Sora was just doing a quick "check-up" as he called it. He said he'd be back in two weeks, tops.

Riku now shook his head, blinking verdant eyes in sadness. It had been a week and a half, almost breaking the time limit Sora had put on himself. Everyone was worried about their friend. Tidus wouldn't skirmish with him or Wakka anymore, he'd just sit down at the pier, sharpening his sword. Wakka wouldn't play, or smile, or laugh. He'd be up in the tree houses, looking out at sea. Selphie continued her studies at the island's school along with Kairi, but her heart wasn't into the work. Straight A Selphie was now getting C's, sometimes even D's.

But worst off was Kairi. She hardly spoke nowadays, sometimes giving Riku a sad stare, and on good days, cracking a weak smile. Something was terribly wrong with everyone, and Riku felt horrible that all he could do was standby and watch.

Tonight, he couldn't sleep. Dreams of Sora in terrible danger haunted him, not allowing him to rest when his best friend was out in the worlds somewhere, traveling, battling, possibly loosing. Waking up at four 'o clock in the morning, Riku figured a walk along the beach would clear his head.

He hadn't expected it to be so dark, that was for sure. The boy blinked again, trying to make his way through the pitch black surroundings. Maybe he should turn back, this clearly wasn't helping anyway. He could hardly see, for one, and two, this walk just reminded him of Sora even more, and how horrible of a leader he was. Riku was about to turn back towards his bed, when he heard a muffled voice.

At first, he thought he was hearing things, but once he turned around and backtracked a few steps, he could hear the voice clearer.

"R-Riku…" the voice said softly, sounding tired and almost worn. Riku scanned the beach, but it was of no use. He couldn't see a thing. Oh why had he picked the darkest time of the hour to go for a stroll along the beach?

The boy cupped his sturdy hands together in an attempt to project his voice to wherever the mysterious speaker was. "Where are you?" Riku echoed, hoping this would work.

"Riku…" the voice stammered again. The jade-eyed teenager took this time to study where the voice was and what it sounded like. It was a feminine voice that sounded very familiar to his ears. Who could it be? It was when Riku followed the voice and bent down to see who it was did he gasp.

"Kairi?" he asked in an aghast tone

He squinted his eyes, surprised that he could see a vague outline of her. Maybe the sun was coming up? The red-head smiled slightly when he came to his side, but she was in no condition to smile or even be talking, the way she looked.

Again, jade eyes squinted to make out how Kairi looked. Blood slowly spilled out of a wound from her head, which the girl tried to cover up with her slender hands. Her pink dress had been torn, and by the looks of it, by a creature with claws. Blood stained the cuts in her dress, showing off obvious wounds that needed to be taken care of quickly. Riku noted that her shoes were cast astray to the side of her, delicate feet covered in blisters.

Anger boiled inside Riku with an unstoppable force. "Who did this?" he asked, now carefully picking up the fifteen year old carefully in a bridal-style fashion. He'd have to take her back to his house and clean up her wounds, this was clear, but it would help if he knew who her attacker was.

Her sea blue eyes blinked, sadness returning in her them. She closed them carefully, before uttering the word that would send the two into mental chaos.

"Sora…"

-x-x-x-- + -x-x-x

Riku spent the rest of the night catering to Kairi's wounds and making sure she made it through alright. The girl didn't speak again, which put Riku into more anxiety. It couldn't have been Sora, it just couldn't have! Why would Sora attack his love, it hadn't made sense at all…

Right when the trio had returned to Destiny Islands after defeating Xemnas & friends, Sora and Kairi became an official couple. Riku had seen it coming and supported his friend through the whole thing, making sure not to interfere. The two of them bonded closer than ever, hearts becoming more connected than ever before. So then why, after all of this, would he go an attack Kairi? Wasn't it clear that the girl would do anything for him?

It could only mean one thing…Riku thought to himself while cleaning Kairi's last wound on her left shoulder. Sora's being controlled.

Riku thought to himself while cleaning Kairi's last wound on her left shoulder.

Sora would never go to the darkness willingly, after all, he was brimming with light. He was much too childish and goody-two-shoed to even think about joining them himself. And wasn't all the darkness sealed away? Wasn't the Organization put away for good? Who else would take Sora and make him commit such heinous acts? Who would want to?

The girl was now clean, the bleeding had stopped and the wounds had been cleansed. Kairi had fallen asleep now, breathing slightly heavy, sleep obviously troubled. Riku sighed and removed her hand away from her head, inspecting the wound he had already cleaned. It looked like someone had struck her in the head with a huge weapon…a Keyblade…? And the rest of her wounds looked like claws had seeped into her flesh… Did Sora now have claws? Was he a Heartless? Was he controlling Heartless?

Riku could only push these thoughts aside for now. The jade-eyed boy took his light blue covers and gently tucked the girl to sleep. He dared not kiss her on the forehead. She was Sora's, no matter what or how he acted.

Riku settled down on the floor for tonight, seeing as Kairi had taken his bed. He had no covers, no sheets, no pillows. Just another example of how he would always sacrifice everything for her.

In the morning, everything will be settled, he thought to himself, looking up at his pale blue ceiling with worry. This all just has to be some misunderstanding…

he thought to himself, looking up at his pale blue ceiling with worry.

-x-x-x- + -x-x-x-

Kairi awoke first, a long yawn emitting from her lips that sounded like she had never been attacked. With a joyous jump, she sprang out of bed, not seeing Riku on the floor. The girl accidentally stepped on Riku's stomach, making him lurch to the side.

Riku groaned, holding his stomach in pain while slightly twitching. "You've gained some weight, Kairi…" he said quietly with a slight laugh. The boy forced himself to stand up, hands still covered around his abdomen as if taking his hands away would kill him.

The blue-eyed girl turned her head towards him, giggling. "Sorry Riku!" she said sincerely. "I didn't see you down there!" It was now the girl noticed her surroundings. This wasn't her house, was it? No, this was Riku's room. She could tell from the obsessive blue furniture and sheets. She squinted her own blue eyes in confusion. "Hey, this isn't my house…what happened last night?"

The memories of what had happened returned to haunt him in a merciless wave. He shuddered slightly, half hoping that the girl had forgotten she had been so gruesomely attacked, half hoping she would remember so that together they could solve this mystery. In the end, the boy decided to try and jog her memory.

"Last night…" he started in a serious tone. "I found you….on the beaches…you were attacked."

The memories returned to Kairi in the same fashion, Riku could tell. One minute the red-head's eyes showed confusion and the next they were blinking back tears. They streamed slowly down her gentle face, no matter how hard she tried to hold them back. The girl shook her head, as if to try and forget what had happened, but the memories were too strong. She rushed into Riku's arms, holding him as if he were going to disappear any moment now off the face of the earth. "Sora…he's…" she started off between sobs, trying to get the words out.

Riku returned her hug, trying to comfort her in any way he could. The truth was, inside he was crying as well. Sora had been missing for far too long, and now, he had came to the islands to attack Kairi. He had done nothing. He had stopped nothing. Riku was oblivious to all. And he hated it. But as much as he wanted information as to what had happened last night, Kairi came first. She always would. "You don't have to tell me now," he said softly.

"No," she choked out, stifling sniffles. "I…I have to tell you. If…we don't find Sora soon…it might be too late for him…"

-x-x-x- + -x-x-x-

They walked out on the beach, kicking sand into the air with their gray and purple shoes. Kairi had told him that she needed to talk, but she was waiting until they arrived at the spot where they she had been attacked. Riku's jade eyes kept to the sandy floor of the beach; he didn't know what to say, or how to comfort her tortured soul.

"It was here," she said softly , stopping abruptly. Riku scanned the area they were in. Granted it had been dark last night, Kairi had stopped at the right spot. Not too close to the pier, far away from the water, this was her attacking spot.

Riku nodded slightly, confirming that she could tell her story now. The girl took a deep breath and began.

"I was walking along," she began, closing her eyes as if that would erase the horrid memory. "I remember I was headed to the papou tree, those fruits always reminded me of Sora…"

Riku nodded again, it made sense she missed him. Their hearts shared an unbreakable bond after all, being apart must've ached Kairi's heart everyday.

The girl continued on. "I hadn't reached the tree yet when I heard this loud rumbling noise. I spun around and behind me, there was Sora! But…he looked so different…"

A stray tear slid down Kairi's check, making Riku want to cry as well. He had to stay strong for her though, what would she think if she knew he was just about as scared as she was?

"Sora looked determined and a little scared. Other than that, he was the same as always, same clothes, eyes…goofy hair-do…" Kairi laughed slightly, remembering the odd way Sora's hair stuck up in spikes. The moment of joy however turned to sadness as she continued her gruesome tale. "There was a man with him, in a cloak. But, it wasn't black, it was white. At first, I-I thought I shouldn't be afraid, because, white is supposed to symbolize good, purity, peace… His coat wasn't the same color as the Organization's, so I…I…"

Kairi shook her head, as if she couldn't believe she hadn't ran for her life. "The man didn't speak, and I couldn't make out any of his facial features, since his cloak was pulled over his head. He just pointed a finger at me, and Sora nodded. Those Heartless creatures arose out of the darkness, and Sora spoke to them, in some Heartless language."

Riku shuddered, now there was a way to communicate with the beings? And Sora could speak their language? What could be the meaning of this? He tried to push thoughts to the side as he waited for Kairi to continue on.

"I couldn't understand what he was saying. But, it couldn't have been anything good, because at the next moment, the Heartless were attacking me. I kicked off my shoes and tried to run, but it was no use. I was surprised, because afterwards, when I collapsed, they didn't steal my heart. Sora had said something to them when I fell, and they retreated."

The tears came now at full force as Kairi turned to the spot where Riku found her last night. "He threw my shoes over to the side of me, and when he saw that I was still breathing…he summoned the Keyblade." Her speech now became stifled with sobs, as Riku put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "H-He waved the K-Keyblade above my head…and…he…"

Kairi couldn't speak anymore. Just like this morning, she could only fall into Riku's arms and sob, helpless to do anything else. Sora may be gone, but she needed someone to be there for her, she could trust Riku to do that.

Riku nodded gravely, again returning the hug. "Sora couldn't have done this willingly." he said assuredly. "We're gonna find him and bring him back home, together."

Kairi tried to put a hold on her sobs and nodded, not wanting to release Riku. "I…just don't want to loose him…"

"Me nether," Riku said softly. "Me neither."

.a.u.t.h.o.r.s.n.o.t.e

alrighty, my first serious kingdom hearts fanfic, I really need reviews. I plan to continue on with this, but only if I know people care about it! I'll answer any questions you have in the reviews if you ask nicely and yes, this story is rikuxkairi, but when they run into sora on their travels they'll be some happy triangle madness. rated t for blood and violence, and I might add a lemon, but it really depends on you guys. when you're reviewing, tell me if you want a lemon or not, it'd be riku.kairi though, and I'd have to up the rating to m because I'll be glad to write one and if you guys don't want one it's all good nevertheless. so, review?