The Light At The End Of The Tunnel
Prologue – 1990 (9 years old)
A/N: So, this is the prologue of my very first Kingdom Hearts/FFVII crossover story. I wrote the prototype for this as a submission for State Testing in Oregon. I didn't actually submit it, but I was thinking about it. I went back through this right before I finished it and decided that it was crap and didn't fit with the rest of the story, so I scrapped most of it and rewrote it. The only part that is original to the story is the first part in italics. I hope you all enjoy this story, because I worked really hard on this. The next few chapters will come when I get at least 10 reviews.
Disclaimer: I do not own either FVII or Kingdom Hearts, but I am writing this story for pleasure as opposed to profit. So, if you want to sue me, you will be paying more in legal fees than you will be getting out of me.
Warning: This story is a bit dark, and will probably be a bit angsty. I am hoping that some of the later chapters might make you cry, but I guess it depends on the person. There will be mentions of non-con, child molestation, murder, and verbal abuse. But, it will get better, because as the chapter states, there will be a "light at the end of the tunnel". And not the kind of light that means you're dead either.
Enjoy!
It started with an innocent touch. In moments, it became so much more. He used his strong, capable hands to shove the terrified little boy against the wall. Because He was his father, the little boy didn't fully realize that what was going on was terribly wrong. Even though he didn't understand, something told him to fight back. It didn't matter how hard he fought; nothing was working. By the time he got free, he was already broken and crying on the floor.
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Six years later, and Riku still suffered from his horrible memories. He remembered all of the horrible things that his father did to him. Riku was often plagued with fits of sadness and depression. That was why he was in "special care". That meant that he was sent to a home with a parent/parents that understood what he had been through and could help him cope.
Riku had been in this house with Sephiroth for a few months now. It was a pretty easy life, except when he was getting picked on by the kids at school for being such a crybaby. No one wanted to play with him. Riku was all alone, until he went home and Sephiroth was there, waiting for him. And Cloud. How Riku loved Cloud.
Cloud Strife was Sephiroth's boyfriend. Not many people knew that, which was a good thing for Riku. He didn't mind that Sephiroth liked other boys, but he didn't want the other kids in school to make fun of him for that too. Riku hated being picked on. But, more than that, he hated not being able to defend himself. He was weak, and he would always be weak…or at least, that was what he thought.
Sitting on the floor of his expansive closet, Riku rested his head on his knees and let go of the tears that were filling his eyes. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop crying. The tears always came. Slowly, Riku's head started to pound from all the crying he had been doing lately. It might have made his soul feel better to let out the tears, but it didn't do his head any good.
About fifteen minutes later, Sephiroth made his way upstairs to take a break from his depositions and rest in his own bed. Before he got to his room, he passed Riku's. Stopping, he decided that it might be a good idea to take a peek and see how Riku was doing. Slipping the door open quietly, so as to not wake the boy should he be sleeping, Sephiroth noticed that Riku wasn't in bed. It didn't really strike the man as odd—it was only two o'clock in the afternoon.
Sephiroth then walked around the room, looking for anything out-of-place, and noticed nothing. He stopped at the large, walk-in closet. He could hear muffled sounds of crying and the faint intake and exhalation of breathe coming from Riku. Smiling sadly to himself, Sephiroth opened the closet door and walked in. He found his young charge sitting on the floor in the corner of the closet.
It was actually a normal place to find Riku. The boy was mildly afraid of the dark when he was in a large, open space. But, something was different when he was in the closet. He felt safe. And Sephiroth accepted that. At first, he had made Riku stop going in the closet, but when the boy grew despondent and uncooperative, Sephiroth caved in and let the boy be.
He stooped down and picked up his young foster-son. He knew that the boy had probably been in the closet for a while, and needed his rest. During the first month that Riku was living with Sephiroth, he had been getting sick quite a bit from the strain of his depression. Now that Sephiroth let the boy be, Riku was doing a lot better. Sephiroth thought that perhaps Riku wouldn't have to leave this time. Maybe he could be comfortable enough in Sephiroth's house to stay.
F/A/N: So, this is the very first part of The Light At The End Of The Tunnel. I am going to, henceforth, be calling this TLATEOTT, because, oddly enough, it is shorter. I should have the first chapter, the second part, of this up as soon as I get at least 10 reviews for this story. So, if you liked it and want to read more, review this bad boy and I'll post more. If I don't get 10 reviews within about a month, maybe two, then I might just take this story off of and solely have it on See ya on the flip side!
