I don't own rights to any of these characters; they all belong to Square Enix. Some of the settings also come from the makers of Kingdom Hearts. Many of the characters, however, are not exactly the same as their video game counterparts. It's my first fanfic so please just read and let me know what you think:) Enjoy!

Destiny City. A bustling locale, home to 3.5 million souls. The man, the woman, the child; they each play their part here. They all breathe life into this otherwise dull, unpleasant place. Their thrumming footsteps provide the beat that this city lives off. The tempo of their pulses sets the time. The sights, the sounds; they meld into a stumbling symphony called life. And the complexity of the tune; indescribable, yet familiar.

oooooooooooo

A man waits at a filthy street corner, for...death?

A woman stares out her office window, hoping this mess will be...fixable.

A child bleeds out somewhere (the price of one mistake)

oooooooooooo

The detective remains oblivious (at the moment).

The criminal, less so.

oooooooooooo

The man. The woman. The child.

The detective.

The criminal.

The light, that shines too bright. And the shadows it casts.

They all play their part; here, in Destiny City...

May 3rd, 2012-Sora

The white walls and floors of the hospital made Sora sick. He hated everything about this place; the sterile smell, the sterile color. Even the faint sense of sterility he got from the nurses. The receptionist had told him to wait until the doctors cleared Riku for visitors, but if he had to wait more than a few minutes he would puke.

"Grandt? Mister Grandt?" The receptionist called as she signaled for him to come to the front desk.

"The doctors said you can go see him now. Room 502."

oooooooooooo

When Sora got off the elevator on the fifth floor, he saw a doctor waiting for him by Riku's room. He tried to stay calm, but something seemed..off. Maybe it was the somber look on the doctor's face. Or the fact that the nurses had drawn the curtains around room 502 so he couldn't see into it.

He stepped in front of the doctor, and she looked up at him from her clipboard.

"Mister Grandt?" Sora nodded. "...Your friend-he's not doing very well."

He stared back at her. "Whaddoyou mean? Like he's really sick? He have pneumonia again or something?"

The lady shook her head. "No." She looked into Sora's face, then looked down at her clipboard again and remained quiet.

"Did he OD?"

"No-no. He came in here with a gunshot wound."

"What? What did you say to me?"

"When he came in...he had already bled quite a bit. He had been shot and.."

Sora shook his head, as if to shake off what he had just learned. "No way; why would he have a gunshot wound? Why would anyone shoot Riku? He never-"

"Mister Grandt," the doctor cut him off, then awkwardly cleared her throat. "He lost quite a bit of blood and...I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but...All we could do was ease his pain." Sora breathed heavily, started holding his head. He tried to understand what she was saying. He tried to accept what he was understanding. Then, he braced himself for the inevitable.

"Right now, you're the only person he wants to see." Sora held up his hand, asked her to stop speaking. She nodded somberly as he took a breath and opened the door to room 502.

oooooooooooo

It was a strange sight to say the least. To see his friend lying there, peaceful, yet defenseless. Riku had been the strong one, the hard worker, the watchful eye over Sora and Kairi all these years. But at this particular moment he seemed so vulnerable. Purple veins dyed the rims of his eyelids. One of his arms hung loosely off the right side of the bed, and a bloody square of gauze covered the wound in his chest. An IV dripped into him. A smell like old sweat mixed with rubbing alcohol permeated the room, and Sora thought he really would vomit this time.

"So-ra."

"Ya? Riku?" He stepped towards his friend, trying to think of something to say.

"So-ra. Where'd it go?"

"Where'd what go, Riku?"

"Heaven-Where'd it go?"

Sora grabbed Riku's hand. He could recall all the memories he had of his friend; the two of them sword fighting on the island, his seventh birthday party when Riku got him that game he wanted so bad..

"Where'd heaven go?"

"Don't talk like that! Riku, the doctors are working hard, and-they told me you're gonna be fine." ...Riku telling him about paopu fruit...the first day of high school when they got into a fight with some sophomores... Sora started to tear up. "They said you'll be fine, Riku!"...The road trip they took with Kairi to Traverse Town... "Didya hear me?"

With a remarkable surge of strength, Riku lunged forward and grabbed Sora's arms. "Where'd you put it?" He started shaking Sora. Anger replaced the weakness in his voice. "Where'd you hide it? Where'd you hide the heaven?"...High school graduation...College graduation...

Sora pushed him off. Riku fell back onto his bed. Sora stumbled backward and plastered himself against the wall. He couldn't process...Riku helping him start his detective service...what was happening...Riku, the best man at he and Kairi's wedding...

Riku started crying now, too. "So-ra...W-Where-Where did you...?" His voice trailed off...Riku, helping Sora get through the divorce...His eyes closed.

"Riku? Riku?" Sora jumped back over to where his friend lay. He held him, tried to shake him...Riku..dying...But Riku didn't respond.

And thus ends chapter one of Standoff. What did you guys think? And just so you know THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF A MUCH LARGER STORY. Btw: As the chapters progress, it may seem at times that you're just getting a bunch of disjointed information. Trust me, you're not. Little details are important! (Hehe) Hope you guys liked it! Tune in for the next chapter!