AN: Yes, it is the long-awaited sequel to my other KH story, "Father"! ... Okay, I'm probably just flattering myself. Oh well. Inspiration struck me this morning, and I've spent all my free time since then writing.

EDIT: This used to be called "Fallen Angel", but that really had nothing to do with the story. The only reason I decided to call it "The Ancient Willow" was because of how many times it's mentioned in this story. It's like every other line practically says, "Oh, and don't forget that good ol' ancient willow is there!" So, yeah. Okay, that's most likely an exaggeration, but I never said I wasn't guilty of exaggerating a little bit every now and then.

Anyway, none of the characters belong to me. Trust me, you'd know if they did. But, sadly, I am not Square-Whatever (Square, Squaresoft, Square Enix...)...

The Ancient Willow

"You know you won't be able to hide from them forever." My father said to me. I nodded, somewhat reluctantly.

It had been three days since my mother had told me that Sephiroth was my father; three days since I'd sprouted two midnight-blue wings; three days since I hid in the clearing with the ancient willow. And I still hadn't left.

I was afraid, I'll admit it. I didn't want Sora and Kairi to see me like this; I coudn't bear to let them, or anyone else for that matter, see the two dark wings protruding from my back.

I heard Sephiroth shift slightly next to me. I turned so I faced my right, looking at him curiously. He was looking at me with something like grim determination in his cold sea-green eyes.

"I would like for you to show yourself to them today, before they begin searching every world for you." He said. I sighed.

"I guess you're right..." I murmured, turning away from him in favour of staring at my shoes. I heard my father sigh and stand up.

"I will go and get them. I will lead them to this clearing, and you had better be here when I get back." He told me sternly. My only response was to wrap my wings protectively around myself.

I heard him sigh again, unfurl his single wing, and leave, to bring back my friends, sealing my fate for sure.

They'll hate me now; I just know it.

¸'¸'¸'

Some time later, I heard voices approaching my hiding place. I tensed, recognizing the voices as belonging to Sephiroth, Sora, Kairi and... Cloud? What was he doing here?

"I can't believe I actually let you lead us into a forest..." I heard Cloud mumbling. There was a deep chuckle that I immediately recognized, having heard it countless times these last few days.

"I already told you, I'm not here to fight." The One-winged Angel replied calmly.

There was a moment's silence, and I waited tensely, wrapping my wings even tighter around myself.

"Ah, here we are." Sephiroth said, walking out of the trees and into the clearing. The other three soon followed.

Thankfully, I was hiding on the other side of the ancient willow, so they didn't notice me right away.

"I thought you said Riku would be here." Sora's voice said suspiciously.

Sephiroth made a "hmm" sound and began walking around the willow tree. I tensed when I heard him stop right beside me, to my left. He let out a deep chuckle, likely for my reaction.

"He is hiding over here." He said to the others, clearly amused.

Sora, Kairi and Cloud came over to my side of the willow, and I curled further in on myself.

I don't really know why I was trying so hard to hide from them. I knew it was inevitable they'd see me; my midnight-blue wings stood out so blatantly against the deep purple-brown of the willow's trunk.

I heard Kairi gasp and take a step towards me.

"Riku?" The redheaded girl asked uncertainly. I only shifted slightly, not willing to give any other indication that I'd heard or even recognized her.

I felt a delicate, uncertain hand come to rest on my wing, making the muscles twitch, unused to being touched.

"Riku," Sora, this time, "what happened to you?" My brunet friend asked, his voice incredulous.

I bit my lip and shifted my wings so my eyes were visible through the mass of dark blue feathers. I could now see the other four people in the clearing. They were all staring at me.

"Long story..." I replied quietly. As a form of response, Cloud sat down, scowling slightly.

"We have all the time in the world." He said. Sora and Kairi nodded and also sat down, Kairi still with her hand buried in my feathers. I sighed, looking hopefully at my father, who wasn't any help at all, just shrugging with a somewhat amused look in his eyes and sitting down.

Everyone was looking at me expectantly, and so I told them the whole story, from the beginning. (AN: See my other KH story "Father" for details, if you haven't already read it.)

¸'¸'¸'

It took about an hour, but I finally managed to finish telling them the reason behind my suddenly having wings, with some input from Sephiroth and plenty of interruptions to spare (Sora: "Okay, I get THAT, but why do you have two wings and Sephiroth has one?").

"Ooh, that sounds painful." Sora winced at the thought of the agony I went through while sprouting wings. I chuckled slightly (I think Sephiroth might be rubbing off on me...).

"You have no idea." I replied sardonically. Kairi made a slight face at my tone, laced a bit with remembered pain.

She began stroking my feathers in a somewhat motherly manner. Said feathers shuddered at her gentle touch. I still sometimes had a hard time controlling my new appendages' actions, and so it was easier to make my facial expression nuetral, but I couldn't stop my wings from reacting to the tingling sensations that this motion provoked.

"Well, now that I know the reasoning behind your change," Cloud began talking as he stood up, turning towards the trees, "I guess I have no other business here. Bye." With that, the blonde man left, making me wonder if that had been the only reason he was even here. I guess I'll never find out. Oh well.

"So," I turned to look at Sora curiously, as did Kairi and Sephiroth. "What now?" He asked. I frowned.

"What do you mean?" Kairi asked before I had a chance to so much as open my mouth. The brunet rubbed the back of his neck, a somewhat nervous gesture.

"Well, Riku's mom kicked him out, right?" He asked, not really needing the confirmation but asking anyway. I nodded.

"Yeah, that's right." I replied. He looked directly at my face (I'd removed my wings from their protective wall while I was telling them about how I'd come to get them), a worried frown making him look older somehow.

"Where will you go?" He asked. I shrugged.

"I guess I can't very well live in this clearing, and you guys live in a one-bedroom apartment..." Sora and Kairi nodded. (AN: It's not what you're thinking. Sora and Kairi pooled their money to get somewhere to live, and Sora sleeps on the couch, which pulls out into a bed.)

"You can stay with me." A deep voice interrupted, making the three of us turn to look at Sephiroth. "There's a decent-sized house available on the other side of this island." He shrugged slightly. "I was considering buying it."

"I can stay with you? Really?" I asked carefully. He smirked.

"You expected me to turn away my only child?" The One-winged Angel asked amusedly. I shook my head slightly.

"Well, no, I-" I sighed, before smiling gratefully up at the tall silver-haired man. "Thanks."

Sephiroth's smirk melted into a smile. "You're welcome."

AN: O.O Why does it keep ending up like-like... this?

R&R please! -/puppy-eyes/-