Stranger Than Fiction

Chapter One:

Silver Demon

Author's Note:

This fic differs completely to it's cousin, Heartagram. Although there is still the same underlying fluff I always write, now there's more of a… real life?… take on love. There are no fantastical magick or wondrous miracles…

Riku is portrayed as a little mean, cold, willing to go for a ride, whereas before I've always played him as a misunderstood hero who's lost in a hell he has accidentally created for himself.

Sora has a slightly… Darker side. He's vulnerable, he's just a kid who's trying to protect those he loves. Sora is no longer the almighty hero, which is another character he seems destined to play.

I played about with the characters a little. I gave them brothers, sisters, obscure links to each other, and created friendships that perhaps haven't been created before.

I also wondered why it's always Riku's parents who are evil… I have decided, that in order to flesh Sora out a little, it will in fact be poor ickle Sora with the evil parents, and Riku's mom will be as loving as hell.

Warning:

In case you haven't noticed, this is a shounen-ai/yaoi pairing. Those are nice Japanese words used to describe homosexual relationships, which are male/male.

There will be no lemon. I don't believe a story like Kingdom Hearts, needs it. Also I don't like to think that if ever my computer needed repairing, that the men in the repair shop were reading a lot of erotic literature.

Disclaimer:

I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor do I own very much. In fact, if you added up my net value it would come to the cost of selling all my internal organs. Like I said, not that much…

Sora turned to his alarm clock, taking in the time and groaning. He hit the button on the top, accidentally knocking it on the floor. Glad that the noise had stopped, Sora turned over, happy to go back to sleep.

"Sora! Sora! Sora! Wake up! Wake up! First day of the school year! Wake up! Wake up!" Sora's hyperactive sister yelled, jumping on his bed and sitting on his legs. She grinned down at him, no doubt she'd already had at least twenty sugar cubes that morning.

"Okay, Selph, okay! I'm up! I'm up!" Sora laughed helplessly, as his sister got off him, standing beside his bed, rocking on her heels.

"Aren't you excited? You'll get to see all your friends that you haven't seen through the holiday. I bet there's so much gossip! I heard Kairi got with another guy, can't remember his name though. I wonder who my teacher will be this year? I wonder what-" Selphie rambled. Sora switched off; he often did when his sister began to talk like that.

The first day of school… How could he have forgotten? The bane of his existence had to start again eventually. Not that Sora didn't like school; he loved it; he loved learning and hanging around with his friends... What Sora didn't like was the fact he was stalked. Yes, that's right, stalked. Many girls thought Sora was a hot catch. Between himself and his best friend Cloud, they had enough fan girls to fill up a basketball court.

The end of year dance last year had been quite awkward, so Sora had just refused to go with anyone except his sister. Not that Selphie had minded of course. It had been a little awkward though, when Cloud revealed he had been supposed to be going with Selphie as well.

"Sora? Are you listening to me?" Selphie demanded, drawing herself up and putting on a comical look of frustration. Sora chuckled, and ruffled her hair, making her pout and try to rearrange it into the cute 'flicky' style she so adored. Even though Selphie was only a year younger than him she was a good foot smaller, and that was the one thing that Sora loved to tease her about.

"Of course not. When have I ever listened to you?" Sora asked. Selphie grinned and pulled her big brother into a hug.

"Thanks for pretending to listen. I like talking to you Sora. I feel I can trust you, even if you are evil sometimes. Thanks for listening," She then skipped off to get ready. Sora smiled after her, glad that she thought so highly of him. Most people would find it strange for brother and sister to get on so well, but Sora and Selphie had learned from a very early age that it was better to be united against a common cause than to be alone.

That 'common cause' was their parents. Usually holidays and weekends were the high-points of a teenager's life. Well, Selphie got away with it sometimes but Sora… Sora was the heir to a fortune, and was more of an item than a person.He would have to be a good boy and listen to what his mother's friend's daughters had to say, and he'd have to spend hour after hour alone in his room. He wasn't allowed to leave the house or mix with those commoners. It was enough to make both Sora and Selphie hate them with a passion. There wasn't much that they could do about it, except occasionally plan to run away. Even then, they chickened out at the last minute and ended up running back inside.

"Sora! Get ready! You can't be late for school!" Selphie yelled from her room. Sora wandered into his bathroom, turning on the shower and getting in. He wasn't sure why his parents sent him to Ardara High. It was hardly as though they approved of it… Sora assumed it was because the only private school for miles around would have meant him flying to school on the mainland, which wasn't going to come cheap by anyone's standards.

"Sora! C'mon!" Selphie yelled, stepping out of her room fully dressed. Sora grinned, diving into his room to hide his hushed 'Aw!'. His sister was cute, and he thought that without incest. She was wearing a little yellow sundress and boots that made her look even smaller. She'd forced her hair into bunches that stuck out the sides of her head and had put little bows around them, made from yellow ribbon. The effect was a surprising, and wrong, impression of sweetness and innocence. Sure, Selphie was naïve, but innocent she was not. She knew as well as any other fifteen-year-old the ways of life. More than most probably.

Well, that's what happens when you learn the facts of life from an older brother, Sora supposed.

After getting over his little fuzzy fit over how adorable and wonderful his sister could be, Sora realised that it was ten to eight and he was still not ready. In five minutes, Cloud would be waiting for him, getting gradually more and more pissed off at the two of them for 'being late on the first day of school'. Sometimes Cloud could be a little bit parental...

Rushing around his room, Sora pulled on the first thing he found. It was a jump suit, red and white with silver lining on the sleeves. Biting his lip, he pulled it on. So what if it was a little weird to wear to school, he liked it… Pulling on his chain, a chunky silver chain with a crown on the end of it, Sora looked at himself in the mirror. He then ran into the bathroom to finish getting ready and try to get his hair to lie flat.

Cloud sat waiting for Sora. They met in the park everyday on the way to school, always on this bench, always at this time. And Sora was always late. Cloud wasn't sure if it was Sora's fault or Selphie's but the two would always work together to confuse Cloud so much that he didn't bother to even ask anymore.

"Cloud! Sorry we're late!" Sora yelled, waving and running over. Cloud raised a single eyebrow, as if to say 'you should be' but the look remained unnoticed by Sora and Selphie, who were slightly red in the face.

"What the hell took you so long?" Cloud asked the routine question.

"Sora's daydreaming!" Selphie chirped happily. Sora frowned at his little sister and then pouted.

"Yeah, whatever. I got ready faster than you did!" Sora protested. Cloud looked at Sora properly, the first time he had that morning. He then realised, with a little bit of a shock, that Sora was wearing his old jump suit. Sora had never worn that thing to school before, no matter how Cloud and Selphie had tried to get him to. He had always said it was too 'babyish' for school, but here he was, wearing it…

"See something you like?" Sora asked, chuckling at Cloud's slightly gormless stare. Cloud looked away, stony mask set in place.

"You're wearing your jump suit. You never wear that in public," The blonde said, changing the subject completely. Sora bit his lip.

"I had to get ready in a hurry this morning… I know that everyone thinks that you are what you wear but…" Sora trailed off. Cloud smirked.

"We already knew you were a big baby Sora..." He said, before running off, knowing that Sora would try to kick his ass.

Leon surveyed the corridor with distaste. He knew schools like this well. They were the schools that kids who just missed grammar schools went to. They were full of stuck up snobs.

He glanced at his little brother, who was also stood outside the Principal's office, leaning against the wall, his eyes closed and not caring about the looks he was getting.

Yeah, Riku looked the height of cool. His flowing silver hair held back in a ponytail down his back, little wisps of hair framing his face in a way that no professional hairdresser could ever hope to achieve. His pale face was the perfect expression of calm, it was probably more likely to be described as 'stony', as he didn't even flinch when someone ran past him, the draft as they went passed ruffling his hair.

Leon smirked, walked around his little brother, standing in the middle of the corridor, getting ready to scare him.

"I know you're there, Leon, don't even try," Riku said, without opening his eyes. Leon laughed and crossed his arms.

"How the hell do you do that?" He asked. Riku shrugged, finally opening his eyes and watching Leon with those strange aqua-green eyes.

"I just do," He replied and didn't say anything else. Leon smirked and tilted his head.

"Hey! Get out the way!" A voice yelled as a blonde haired boy crashed into him, sending them both hurtling to the floor, tangled together. The blonde boy, surprisingly fast, wormed weasel like to escape the inevitable fall, but ended up simply cushioning the Leon's fall for him.

"I can't believe you fell over!" A spiky haired brunet rounded the corner, then doubled up laughing. Leon stared down at the blonde, trapped underneath his weight.

The boy was perhaps a year younger than he was, but his eyes told him that this was no stupid little rich kid. His face held lines that couldn't possibly have been laughter lines. He looked vaguely dazed and a little annoyed at being on the floor, crushed under some random stranger who was gawking at him. Shaking himself, Leon got up, stepped away as the boy got to his feet. The brunet was now leaning against the wall, clutching his sides.

"That'll teach you for calling me a baby! Klutzy Cloud strikes again!" The spiked hair boy tried to look imposing, but his face was far too round and good-natured for any such pose to have been effective.

"Shut up, Sora. You're the one in the jump suit remember," The boy, "Cloud" said. Leon looked at Riku, who was studying the brunet with distaste.

"Yeah, but I'm cute so I get away with it. You're just clumsy!" Sora jabbed his thumb into his chest. Cloud clenched his fists.

"Yeah, well you hadn't been late, you wouldn't be wearing a damn jump suit and wouldn't look like a baby, would you?" Cloud's eyes were burning with some kind of embarrassed rage. Leon looked between the two warring friends, before looking to Riku and a newcomer, a girl who was most definitely related to Sora.

"Hey! I'm not a baby!" Sora protested.

"Well, you both sound like children to me."

That stopped the argument there. The two rounded on Riku, who was still leaning against the wall, watching them both as though they were ugly mongrels. That look was well practised…

Leon cringed. If Riku was going to take an instant dislike to these two, then there was no hope already. His little brother was ruthless and was very good at holding grudges.

"Excuse me?" Sora stared at Riku with a little tinge of disbelief. Leon stepped back out of the limelight to assess the situation. They were outside the Principal's office. There was no way they'd get away with fighting here.

"You heard me," Riku replied, his voice even. Leon took a few steps forward.

"Leave it, Riku," He warned as the door of the office opened. He glanced over his shoulder and then at his brother. Riku shrugged and walked into the office.With an apologetic glance, Leon followed him into the office.

Riku followed the secretary into the classroom, immediately looking for a space at the back. His eyes searched until they met a pair of cerulean ones, the only one's viewing him without curiosity.

"Hello class, this is Riku Leonhart. He's a new student to our school. Riku, would you like to say hello and tell us all about yourself?" The teacher asked. She was nice, and looked sweet. Riku forced down the urge to say 'no'.

"Like she said, my name's Riku. I moved here from New York three weeks ago. My mom's… work… required us to move here, so we did. That's it really," Riku shrugged. The teacher beamed at him and then turned to the class.

"Now, who would like to be Riku's tour guide for the week?" She asked. Almost every hand went up. She turned to Riku.

"Would you like to decide dear?" She asked. Riku looked around, finally finding the blue eyed, spiky haired wonder, one of the only ones with his hands down.

"Well, I already know Sora, so I guess he should show me around," Riku's lips curled upwards in a malicious smirk. Sora looked outraged and seemed about to argue when an auburn haired girl beside him kicked him under the table.

"Then it's settled," The teacher said brightly. Riku walked to the back of the room and sat down in a newly vacated seat beside Sora. There was immediately an almost synchronised turn of heads to the back of the room.

Riku took in Sora, and his friends, with a quick glance. One was the dumb blonde who had run into Leon that morning… What had his name been again? Rainbow? Sunshine? Cloud, that was it. Then there was that girl with the auburn hair, who was staring at Riku, her expression a little strange. It was an admiring stare, Riku realised with a little amount of dread. How to turn the girl down?

The bell went, signalling the end of registration. Sora stood up, slinging his bag onto his shoulders and waiting for Riku to pick up his bag and follow the rest of the class. Riku inwardly smiled when he saw the brunet's murderous glance and impatient stance, taking as long as he possibly could before reaching where Sora was standing.

"Took your time…" Sora growled, before walking off into the corridor. Riku followed him, weaving in and out of the students, in silence. Neither of the two had anything to say to each other.

Riku briefly wondered why in hell's name he had bothered to pick Sora, when there had been far more sociable and willing volunteers available. Perhaps it was because he wanted to piss the boy off, or perhaps it was for another reason that Riku wasn't quite willing to even think yet.

"So, where is your lesson?" Sora asked. Riku pulled out his timetable, looking down at it.

"I have English Literature, with a Mr. Kikuta," Riku told him. Sora bit his bottom lip.

"Ah, I'll be late for my English class. C'mon, I'll show you where you are," Although Sora said it icily and with a trace of bitterness, Riku was slightly surprised that Sora would go out of his way for someone who had obviously proved to him within an hour of their first meeting, that he was going to make his life a living hell.

"The last room on the left. Mr. Kikuta is a hard teacher to please. You better get in there, he gets annoyed with late comers," With that departing sentence, Sora disappeared into the crowded hallway.

"Have a nice day," Riku called after him. There was no reply, and a few people gave Riku strange looks, but true to his nature, Riku ignored them, heading for his English class.

Riku looked up from his book. They were supposed to be reading chapter one of Lord of The Flies, but he'd already read the entire book, and re-reading it was boring. Staring around, he finally noticed a girl trying to get his attention. She was the same girl as earlier, the one with auburn hair. She was friends with Sora, no doubt his girlfriend or such like. Riku seized another opportunity to make Sora mad.

He ripped a page out of his notebook, coughing as he did so to hide the noise of ripping paper, and laid it out on the desk, scribbling down a note quickly.

Hey. I've noticed you're looking at me, what's the matter? I got something on my face?

Riku grinned and folded it up, waiting until the teacher was absorbed in marking test papers to throw the note across the classroom. It landed squarely on the girl's desk, where she blinked at it for a second, before looking up to see who'd thrown it. Riku smirked at her.

She blushed and opened the note, turning an even deeper shade of scarlet. She grabbed her pen, which looked suspiciously like it was pink inked, and began to write a reply. Riku looked like he was reading, trying hard not to give away anything when the teacher looked up.

Mr. Kikuta looked around for a moment, decided that the class was indeed reading, and returned to writing 'F' and adding lots of red pen to student's work. Riku chuckled slightly, wondering how such an old codger became a teacher.

He felt a light thud against his head, and stared down at a note that now lay in his lap. The auburn haired girl was giggling silently, looking slightly guilty. Riku smiled at her, a smile that was fake but could melt the heart of anyone.

Hey. No, you don't have anything on your face. If you haven't noticed, you're quite attractive. My name's Kairi by the way. You're Riku right? You didn't hit it off quite so well with Sora and Cloud…

Riku frowned, why did she bring those two clowns into it? He was flattered she found him attractive, but at the same time, she mentioned Sora and Cloud, two people who she knew Riku had fallen out with on the first day of school. She was either incredibly clever and up to something, or incredibly stupid and putting her foot in it. Either way, whatever Riku replied would be analysed, no doubt.

So, you and Sora an item? Or you and Cloud? You said I was attractive, but that doesn't mean shit if you're with someone else.

Riku was quite proud with his answer. He didn't sound uncertain, more assertive than he would have liked, but if he managed to get Kairi, presumably one of Sora's best friends, then the boy would surely be riled.

Kairi felt the note hit her head, and looked up from her book, her expression puzzled until she saw the scrap of paper. She mock-scowled at Riku, before unfolding it and reading it.To Riku's surprise she giggled and began to scribble a reply immediately.

No, I'm single. I'm sure that even if Sora did like me in that way, he wouldn't go out with me. Let's say that I'm not Cloud's type and leave it there. I'm what people would call, a 'man-eater'. I just split with my boyfriend about… Forty-two hours ago and I really don't think I should be looking for another one just yet.

Riku stared at the note. Then he grinned, thinking of the perfect reply.

I have first dibs on you then, when you're ready of course.

She looked up after reading the note and nodded slowly. Mission completed, Riku got back to reading. When the bell went, he waited for Kairi outside the room, grabbing her wrist as she entered the corridor.

"You wouldn't have been looking for me, would you?" He asked. She pulled her hand out of his grasp, not angrily, and walked down the corridor, matching Riku's long strides with a little difficulty.

"So, you're Sora's best friend?" Riku asked. Kairi folded her arms around the folders she was carrying.

"Um… Well… Actually I'm his ex-girlfriend too. We've been best friends since we were little. Last year we went out for about six months, but there was no spark, so we both ended it on Valentines Day. We're better as friends than as lovers," Kairi said, his eyes slightly sad, as though she was looking back on happier times.

"Oh, I didn't mean to drag up the past," Riku apologised, inwardly cursing. So she and Sora would never be an item again? That would mean he'd just have to get Sora's back up by being there and having Kairi stick up for him.

It then came to Riku, why the hell was he trying to annoy this boy anyway? So what, Sora's best friend had run into Leon? Was that any excuse? Perhaps it was because Riku felt that he could truly like Sora, that he could become close friends with him, that made him push him away?

Whatever it was, Riku wasn't going to stop his little vendetta against the brunet until he'd won.

"It's okay. Most boys you look at have a history with me. I'm a bit of a hussy," Kairi laughed. Riku raised his eyebrows. What was this girl, some kind of siren?

Riku took her in for the first time. She was wearing trousers of a deep blue that hugged her hips and thighs until the knee, where they flared out. Her top was of the same royal blue, but was made from velvet, with flared sleeves. Black designs ran up the sleeves, snaking then around her back and torso to create an illusion that plants were growing around her.

"You don't look like a hussy. You look a little too innocent to me," Riku replied. She turned her bright blue eyes, not quite as wonderful as Sora's, to Riku.

"Innocent? Yeah, probably. You might not think it by looking at me, but I believe in sex after marriage. That's why I don't have many boyfriends for long," Kairi said quietly. Riku blinked at her, not because of what she had just said, that was perfectly believable, but because of what he'd just thought.

Sora had wonderful eyes? Where had that come from?

"What's wrong? You put off?" She asked. Riku shook his head, roused from his stupor.

"Sorry, I wasn't that shocked. I just had a weird thought. I have many, don't worry about it," Riku replied. Kairi just nodded, then waved at Sora, who had just wandered out of his English class, talking to Cloud animatedly, a huge grin plastered to his face.

"What lesson do you have now?" Kairi asked, as they hurried to catch up with Sora, who hadn't noticed them yet. Riku looked at the timetable he had stuffed into his pocket.

"History, it's with someone called… Er… E. Krammer," Riku puzzled that they had put an initial in, rather than the teacher's title.

"Oooh! You have her! She's the coolest teacher in the school. Her name's Edea! I wish I was so lucky, I have geography from a stupid ogre of a teacher!" Kairi was positively green. Riku looked down at his timetable again before folding it and placing it back in his pocket.

"Where's her room?" Riku asked. Kairi smiled.

"You'll be with Sora and Cloud in that lesson, so I'll drop you off with them!" She then ran up behind Sora, poking his sides and making him jump. Riku watched as Sora turned with rapid reflexes and wrapped his hands around her waist, picking her up and slinging her over his shoulder in a fireman's lift.

"Sora! Put me down!" She protested, banging her fists against the spiky haired boy's back. He laughed and spun around, students scattering so as not to get hit by Kairi's flailing fists.

"Fun's over, Kikuta's coming," Cloud warned in an undertone. Sora placed Kairi on her feet and then noticed Riku was there, watching. Riku quickly got his expression in check, making sure he didn't show any positive emotion on his face as he walked forwards.

"Apparently, I have history with you two losers," Riku said coldly. Kairi frowned at him, her cheeks still flushed from her little encounter with Sora.

"Yeah, well, it takes one to know one," Sora replied lightly, before hugging Kairi and glaring at Riku. Kairi fell behind and disappeared into a classroom, leaving Riku, Sora and Cloud alone.

"You suck at come backs," Riku replied, barely a second after Sora had finished his sentence.

"Well, at least I don't suck dick like you," Sora retorted. Cloud watched, and Riku realised that the blonde's expression hadn't changed at all during this exchange.

"Yeah, so what?" Riku asked, folding his arms. Sora stopped, mouth wide open, not knowing what to reply. Riku knew he'd won this round, and smugly smirked.

"Did you just admit you were homo?" Sora demanded. Riku glanced over at the boy.

"Why? You got a problem?" He replied. Sora shook his head violently, but when Riku began to laugh, his head snapped up.

"You are too much, Sora. Not only are you a big baby and a loser, you're gullible and naïve to boot. What a retard…" Riku laughed, walking into their history class and getting a seat as far away from Sora as possible.

He had come too close to revealing his secrets then…

Cloud watched the scene silently. Riku stood, smiling arrogantly at Kairi, who was flirting outrageously. She kissed him on the cheek as a goodbye, and Riku and his brother, Leon was it, walked away.

Cloud glanced at Sora, whose head was tilted to one side in a puzzled way.

"What does he have that I don't?" Sora demanded. Cloud let his lips turn upwards slightly.

"One hot ass body, scrawny boy," Cloud replied. Sora glared at Cloud.

"Not you too! Traitor!" Sora yelled playfully, pretending to be upset. Cloud shrugged, what could he say, Riku was hot.

"I never swore allegiance to you, o scrawny one," Cloud pretended to worship Sora with over-the-top arm gestures. Sora pouted.

"It's not fair, he's here for a day and already both you and Kairi like him… All I need now is for Selphie to start crushing on him and I'll know I'm surrounded by traitors…" Sora whined. Selphie bounced around the corner, and as if on cue said:

"Who's the hot new kid? He is so S-E-X-Y!"

Ending Notes:

I know, there's a lot of weird connections to their names etc. in this chapter. Sorry. I also didn't expect Riku to be quite so evil, but he plays it so well! Kairi is played as a whore in this. Sorry if you like Kairi, not that I have a problem with her, but… Well, I don't bash her, but I don't like her either.

R&R

Beta'd: 19/09/05