Title: With Open Arms
Summary: He is the second half of the whole. He is what is left to bring the world to its original order. But he needs his other half.
Rating: PG-13 with R tendencies
Pairing: RikuSora, AkuRoku (implied), AkuRiku (comfort, implied)
A/N: Uhh, this idea came out of nowhere. XD I have no clue where I'm going with this. Enjoy!
.oQOQo.
Chapter One: Need
.oQOQo.
"Welcome back, Ryan." The woman smiled; forced, annoyed. Her smiles were always that way ever since the first time they met. Ryan liked to call her The Liar, though only in his head. Her smile twitched as the silence between them grew. People always told him his intent gaze was unnerving -- it was fun to do it to The Liar and watch her squirm. For a shrink, she sure was agitated easily.
He shifted in his seat, pulling his legs to his chest and resting his head on his knees though never looking away from her. He wondered how long he could sit there, how long he could stare before she would give up and break the silence herself. That, or freak out on him. "Good morning." Those two words released the tension in the room as the shrink visibly relaxed, shoulders going slack as she sighed. It was a fun game he played, staying silent until he thought she would go over the edge. She had, once. Only once, though. It would be unprofessional for it to happen more than once.
"Your mother says that you've been acting strange." Thin glasses, those weird kind that had no frame but were held together with screws and small strips of metal, slipped down her nose as she peered over them.
Ryan shrugged. "She says that a lot." It was true. Five years of seeing The Liar and nothing had changed. Of course, he didn't know what was wrong, but everyone kept saying there was something wrong.
The problem: He was beginning to feel it, too. It was as if he wasn't a complete person. Something vital was missing, something that ached with his very being. He would cry for no reason and within the same breath be completely pleasant. That was usually diagnosed as manic depression but none of the medications worked. And it wasn't as if he were sad or anything; something was just missing.
Though, it started to feel like what was missing was coming to find him.
"Are you sure nothing has changed? Perhaps a different routine at home, stress from school?"
It started a few weeks ago. There was something in him that began to strain, like a thread pulled taunt. For at least six days he sat waiting for something to happen; something would happen, he was sure of it. That sort of apprehension doesn't just come from nothing. The days moved at a snails pace, the minutes stretched for what seemed like years. The thread was pulled further and further, fibers shredding and tearing.
Then the thread snapped.
The Liar took his vacant stare as permission to question him further. "Did you perhaps get into an argument with a friend? Anything at all?"
Something was coming for him.
He was falling asleep when the thread snapped. It was as if time had stopped as a sensation washed over him, like the waves of the ocean trying to carry him away.
Something big.
A hand beckoned, a voice called his name. Sora.
Something monumental.
No matter what he did, he couldn't reach that hand. He stretched with all his might and yet still fell short. Please. Sora. I need you.
Something heavenly.
.oQOQo.
"Goddammit, stop trying to comfort me!"
"What do you want me to do then?"
"Stop pretending you know what it's like."
"Oh quit acting like your pain is so horrible! 'Oh no, I just lost my Other! Everyone, be sure to pity me while I pretend nothing will ever be the same again!' Tch!"
"Would you shut the fuck up already?"
"No, why don't you. You've been blessed, you selfish bastard."
"How, pray tell, am I blessed by losing my Other?"
"Not by losing him, by meeting him. We both know mine is on the other plane. I may never meet him."
"..."
"No, you don't know what it's like to feel like you're never truly whole, do you? When you were created, your Other was already there waiting for you. You grew up together. What do I get? Half a fucking soul."
"You were born with half a soul; I had half of my soul ripped out of me."
Pause. Silence.
Sigh. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said all of that."
"Its... its okay. We only have each other, after all."
"Heh, that's true."
.oQOQo.
There had been an uproar when the Keyholder died. The entire world mourned his life, mourned what his death meant. It wasn't until days later that it was known that he did not carry the Key. The real Keyholder was hidden away from the world for safekeeping. It was a good idea to do so; if the real Keyholder had died, the worlds would have been doomed to eternal darkness. Everyone knows angels can't live in the darkness. But as long as the Keyholder was still alive, there was still hope. As long as it was him that died, it didn't matter.
After that, nobody could give a damn.
The white roses were soaked from the constant rain as he stood above the fresh grave. A smile curled his thin lips. Even the sky seemed to be mourning, even though everyone else had stopped long ago. Bending down, he placed the bouquet beside the plain headstone alongside the other offerings he'd left days before. He pressed his forehead against the headstone, placing a kiss above the name engraved into the stone. Roxas Okiayu. He stayed that way for some time, ignoring the rain as water soaked his black coat and dripped from long spikes of fire red hair. He felt so empty.
He started as he felt a hand rest against his shoulder. Looking up, he relaxed as his sharp green eyes met eyes of cerulean. A weak smile curled his lips upward as he stood, nodding down to the shorter male. "I'm ready to go." The other male smiled up at him taking his hand in a gesture of comfort and leading him away to his home.
Gods, that hand. 'His hand feels just like Roxas''
.oQOQo.
"We need to find a way to keep him safe."
"Aye. The connection with the Fake Keyholder was broken when he died. Now his soul is going to seek out the Key, because that is his purpose."
"Yes, I know this. What is the boy's name?"
"On Earth, his name is Ryan Locklear."
"I see."
"Perhaps we should send his Other to keep him safe until the time comes to reveal the Key?"
"That would be the logical solution, yes."
.oQOQo.
He woke in a strange place. The bed beneath him was soft, covered in silk covers, quite unlike his stiff mattress with a few sheets that he shared with Axel. He opened his eyes, finding everything blurry. Fear rushed through him. He wasn't going blind, was he? Ah, no. There were glasses on the nightstand to his left. Rolling onto his side, he took the stylish glasses and slid them onto his face, finding everything crystal clear.
He sat up, looking down at his naked form. 'Heh, just like me. Sleeps naked.' He couldn't help but smile – the feeling was foreign with this strange face – the system was good to him, apparently. That is if his new situation was due to being relocated rather than being dismissed. If here were dismissed, he would simply die. He'd never be able to meet his Other, left to wander the Earth as a halfling, always searching for his soul. This worried him. He had been with Axel after Roxas had died; perhaps that was enough to cast him down?
No, that wouldn't be right. Why would the system give him such a nice setting, from what he could tell from the lavish bedding, if he were dismissed? They wanted him to do something. But what? They couldn't even leave a note!
"That's gods for you," he muttered, surprising himself when he heard the rich baritone of his new voice. Not quite like his normal voice, but it was close enough.
He swung himself out of bed, starting when his bare feet touched the cold wooden floor. Carpet definitely sounded like a good idea; he added that to the list of things he needed to do. Included on that list was tapping into his host's memories so he didn't make an ass of himself and finding out just what the gods wanted him to accomplish.
There was a knock on the door – double mahogany doors gilded with what looked like good with matching doorknobs – and a young female voice called, "Master Matthew! Breakfast is ready!"
'Matthew, hm? Quite a change from Riku.' He chuckled.
Matthew looked around the room quickly, barely glancing at the extravagant decorations as he searched for some sort of clothes to wear. "I'll be down in a moment." He found what he was looking for inside one of the large wardrobes, choosing a black sweater and dark gray slacks. Also inside the wardrobe was a mirror.
His reflection greeted him with sharp gray eyes, dirty brown hair, sharp chin, defined jawline. Overall, a nice package. He smirked at his reflection and was pleased with the results. Even in a different body, he could still look gorgeous when he smirked. Closing the wardrobe, he went for the door. Now, to figure out who exactly he was and what his purpose was.
Maybe if he had the time, he could find his Other.
Now wouldn't that be something?
.oQOQo.
Chapter One: Need – End.
Please R&R.