Second arc of Unavoidable Truth.
I only own the story itself (and Riku's mom).
REWRITTEN Aug 16
Changes
Riku threw himself into the leather chair opposite his two best friends. He sighed loudly, blowing his long bangs up. "Is it over yet?"
"You've got another week till break." Kairi informed him happily.
"Thanks, Kairi. Really appreciate hearing that."
"You're welcome." She giggled, sipping on her mint mochaccino.
"This sucks, guys. It's like they decided they forgot to teach us a bunch of stuff so they're going to start piling it on us now. And don't we dare forget all those semester papers due by the end of the year." He groaned. "I'm already spending a good four to six hours a night on homework; I am dreading what they dump on us after break."
"And how much of the rest of the night is spent talking to Cloud?"
"About an hour." Riku drank his coffee. "He knows I'm swamped."
"Well, it doesn't help that you're in all the accelerated and honors classes."
"Nope. Thank the stars I finished with Sephiroth when I did."
"I still can't believe he traveled all the way here, not to mention how fast he came." The auburn haired girl shook her head. "I mean, it's a really good thing he did because I really thought you were gonna lose it."
It had been an incredibly good thing Sephiroth had shown up when he had. Riku's mother had been yelling at him, screaming what a failure he had turned out to be. This was nothing new; Sumire often told him what a mistake it had been for him to have been born.
However, this time he had his other mother chanting in his mind to simply kill the bitch and be done with her. He almost had. He had gone so far as to step toward her with hand upraised, ready to blast her into oblivion.
Then Sephiroth calmly strode through the front door. Without a word, he clipped Sumire at the back of the neck and she dropped. She never saw him. Riku had stared at her fallen form, trembling, hand still stretched out.
…And then that damned voice switched targets, demanding he destroy Sephiroth. Jenova calmly but insistently ranted into his brain that his brother was nothing but a traitor and would one day betray him as he did everyone in his life. He tried to shut her out, tried not to listen… even as his hand switched targets and he began calling upon the darkness.
Riku still did not know what Sephiroth had done but he woke up a short time later in Sora's bed. When he came downstairs, Sephiroth, Sora's mom and Sora were all sitting in the living room. Upon his entrance Seiya had stood, coming over to hug him tightly. Sephiroth simply informed him he would not be returning to that house.
Riku had not seen or heard from his birth mother since. For all he knew, Sephiroth had killed her that day. Not that he really cared.
"Well Sora had a lot to do with that." Riku tossed a wadded up napkin at the spiky brunette who was asleep sitting up.
"Wha-" Sora snapped awake. "It wasn't me!"
Riku and Kairi rolled their eyes. Kairi slapped her companion's leg. "Actually, this time it was you."
"Huh?" Sora looked at her blankly. "What are you talking about?"
"Sephiroth."
"What about him?"
"How fast he got here when I was having trouble." Riku explained.
"Oh, well." Sora rubbed his neck. "Actually that wasn't so much me as it was Cloud."
Now Riku looked surprised. "How's that?"
"Yeah, see. I was getting really worried cause you were getting really depressed again and acting kinda off so I told Leon about it and he said-"
"Wait." Riku interrupted. "How'd you tell Leon?"
"Uh…" Sora bit his lip before reaching into his backpack and taking out a shut off phone.
"Leon gave you a phone?" Riku's jaw dropped. Even Kairi was surprised.
"Yeah. It's just so I could reach him if there was a problem, that's all." Sora rushed out.
Kairi narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She knew a little about Leon's… educating, of Sora; mostly from Riku. While she was grateful for it because it was what finally gave Sora the courage to ask her out, she knew Sora himself had some lingering things to work out because of it. The fact that she and he had not done anything more than heavy kissing in the month they had been together told her that.
She had not brought herself to ask Sora just how far things with the man had gone.
Riku snorted his disbelief but did not push it. "Anyway, so…"
"He said that Cloud was getting worried, too, because his last few conversations with you were weird. He had Cloud call me and it was after that he talked to Sephiroth and Sephiroth came here." Sora finished.
Riku had not known about that. Cloud had asked Sephiroth for help? Maybe there was hope yet for his lover and his brother learning to get along. Of course, he knew better than to push that hope, however very little bit of progress between those two he would count as a phenomenal success.
"I really should be getting home." He threw his head back to study the ceiling for a moment. "I was bad and waited until now to write my sociology paper that's due tomorrow."
"Taking tips from Sora, huh?" Kairi laughed.
"Nope, just being lazy." Riku stood up, hoisting his satchel. "I'll see you two tomorrow."
"Tell Cloud we say hi." Kairi grinned as Sora waved, again slouching over to sleep.
"I will." He promised over his shoulder.
Leaving the now established hangout, Riku took his phone from his back pocket. Thank every higher power there was for that little device. And thank Cid for figuring out how to rig them so that inter-world communication was possible.
He did not even have to look at the display anymore. Two tones later and that perfect filled his hearing. "I thought today was supposed to be a no call day."
"It is. I'm just walking home all alone and realized now would be a perfect time to make sure Leon hadn't worked you to death today."
"Right." Cloud said dryly.
"Well, it's not like I can do anything else while I'm walking so I might as well do something I like while doing it."
Cloud laughed. "Is it really that hard for you to go a day without hearing my pathetic voice?"
"I love your voice." Riku protested. "It's so low but not deep with just a hint of a rasp and that faint accent. I can get off just thinking about it."
"You're strange, Riku. You're the one with the sexy voice."
"Well, I already knew that." Riku rolled his eyes. "I'm the dead sexy one in this relationship. You're just the pretty."
"I'm not pretty."
"Yes, you are." Riku knew Cloud could hear the smirk in his words. "Just like a girl."
"That's it. I'm done talking to you."
"I love you."
"Oh, you think that will make it all better, do you?" Cloud tried to sound indignant. "Not this time, buster."
Riku blinked. "Did you just call me buster?"
There was a pause. "Yeah, I did. Wow. I have been spending too much time around Yuffie."
"I'm coming up to the house now."
"So you gotta go." His tone took a decidedly depressed quality.
"Yeah." Riku began fishing out the key to the small two bedroom house Sephiroth had rented while here. He had left it to Riku, the rent paid up until the end of the school year. In fact, his brother had paid everything up through then. "Not that I want to but you already know that."
"Just another week."
"Yeah, and it's gonna be long." He finally found the little metal object and slid it into the lock. "I can't wait to be able to see and touch you again."
"Same here. There's only so much a fantasy can do."
Riku grinned into the phone. "I know."
He tossed his bag onto a chair, hitting the lights. "I love you."
"I love you, too." Cloud repeated. "Get your work done then get some sleep. You sound tired."
"Yeah." He agreed. "Oh, Sora and Kairi say hi."
"They still together?"
"Yeah. Well, they're still saying it but honestly, I'm not sensing any chemistry between them at all. They act just the same as before only now they kiss on occasion."
"Who knows."
Riku pulled his textbook out. "I'm staying out of it. I really don't think Sora wants to be with her but he's trying because it's what she wants."
"Sounds like him. I'm curious to see what happens with Leon when you two get here."
"Yeah. That's gonna be interesting." Riku sat on the sofa with book and notebook. "There is clearly something going on there."
"Yeah. Anyway, go get your work done. I'll call tomorrow night."
"Make it late. I've got Jacen in the evening."
"Gotcha. Love you."
"Love you." He closed the phone and leaned his head against the back of the sofa. He sighed heavily, fighting the wave of depression that always followed calls with Cloud. He hated be away from his blonde love.
'Only one more week' he spoke firmly to himself.
He raised his head and opened his sociology book. The only good thing about homework was it made a great distraction.
