Short & sweet one-shot. It was interesting writing Riku so I might try to write his character more often. He's one of the ones I've been so scared to touch because I don't want to "ruin" him so to say lol. Anyways, here you go.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or its characters, etc. And I don't own the song "Darkside" by Kelly Clarkson which this fic was inspired by.
xOx
Darkside
xOx
If I show it to you now,
will it make you run away?
Or will you stay,
even if it hurts?
Even if I try to push you out,
will you return
and remind me of who I really am?
Please remind me of who I really am.
"So, you wanted to talk?" Riku lifted himself up from the palm tree he had been leaning against as the red haired girl approached him. Kairi had asked him to wait for her after school and though he wasn't exactly sure why she asked, he had a suspicion she was going to ask for advice about what to do with Sora. He wasn't exactly happy about it, if that was going to be the case, but his friends had had obvious crushes on each other for a long time and he knew they were right for each other. He had feelings for Kairi too, but he tried to suppress them as much as possible as he knew he wasn't right for her anymore.
Before they left their island, the story was much different. He competed constantly with Sora for Kairi's attention. He steeped himself deeper and deeper into darkness trying to save her. But in the end, that's exactly why Sora deserved her and he didn't. He did everything wrong and Sora did everything right, and that was it. Riku was coming to terms with his darkness, but he still wished things could have been different.
"Yeah." She gave a soft smile and ran a hand through her hair before looking down, "Hmm… where do I start…"
He crossed his arms, guessing, "Is it about Sora?"
Kairi looked up, squinting her eyes and shaking her head, "No. Why?"
"No reason. What is it then?" Riku held back a sigh, somewhat relieved.
She looked down at her feet again, suddenly seeming nervous, "Actually, it's about you."
"Me?" He gave a confused look, his arms falling back to his side, "What about me?"
Kairi's cheeks were tinted red when she stood up straight, making Riku even more confused. She bit her lip and held her hands together behind her back as she let out, "I really like you, Riku."
'Am I dreaming right now?' The silver haired boy asked himself in disbelief. He took a step backward, replying, "No, you don't."
Frustrated, she frowned and questioned back, "Why would you say that?"
"You like Sora. He's the one that's right for you, not me." Riku replied, anger clear in his voice. But he wasn't angry at her, he was angry at himself. 'I like her too, but I can't. I've already messed everything up in the past and all I'll do is hurt her.'
"I think I can decide for myself who's right for me." She snapped back, whirling around so that her back was facing him. He heard her let out a heavy sigh before she continued quietly, "I did like Sora… but that was more like a childhood crush. Now he's just my friend and that's all I feel about him. What I feel about you is different than anything I ever felt for him…"
He was speechless, his mouth hanging agape at her confession for a few moments. After regaining his composure, he managed to reply, "Either way, whether you like Sora or not, I'm not good for you. I've hurt you and Sora both in the past. I still feel a lot of guilt for that and I just can't do that to you again. I'm still fighting the darkness within myself and I'm not entirely sure if I'll ever win."
"You will win." Kairi spun back around, confidence shining in her eyes.
Riku had to roll his eyes, "Easy for you to say. You don't know what it's like. Kairi, you're a princess of heart; you have a heart of pure light. And I have one tainted with darkness. That in itself is a reason why we'd never be able to work out."
She walked towards him, reaching out to lightly touch his shoulder and stared into his eyes, "No, that's exactly why we're good for each other. Riku, light and darkness can't exist without each other. They exist in a perfect balance."
He looked into her eyes, still in shock that she was still standing there and only inches away from his own face. He looked away, "Kairi, I just…can't. Okay? If I ever lose control… if I hurt you, physically or emotionally, I won't be able to live with myself."
Kairi reached up and turned his head, forcing him to look at her, "Riku, you're worrying about something that might not even happen. And if it does, we'll work through it. Together." She leaned forward and brushed her lips against Riku's for a brief moment before retreating and whispering, "You can try to push me away all you want, but I'm not going anywhere."
"Kairi… you're so stubborn." Riku let out a laugh and placed a hand against Kairi's cheek, causing her to grin widely, "But I guess that's one of the things I've always liked about you."
"You're stubborn too." She replied back, playfully poking his chest, "So are you done fighting with me now?"
He shrugged, truthfully answering, "For now. I can't promise that I won't keep feeling this way."
"That's okay, because now I have a way of shutting you up." She reached up and pulled his head down to hers, pressing against him as she kissed him again. Riku tensed up at first, still unfamiliar with this feeling. Just as Kairi started to pull away, worried, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, softly caressing her lips with his own.