WARNING: THIS FIC CONTAINS YAOI, MEANING GUY+GUY LOVE. If you don't like this stuff, or aren't comfortable with it, click on that nice little "Back" button and DON'T flame me. Got it? Good.
A/N: I'm sort of treading on thin ice here, because I've never written anything besides C009, and certainly not angst-y stuff like this. Also, the whole yaoi concept is new to me too… Sora/Riku is just so cute; I just HAD to write something about them! I love Kingdom Hearts to death! Oh, and I don't have a beta, so there might be some errors in the writing. Sorry!
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. So don't sue me. You won't get much out of it, anyway. Plus, if I did own it, you would be able to have a special section where you could skip to all the cut scenes and drool, I mean listen to Riku's hot voice!
Dedication: This goes to my friend Alix (is that how you spell that?) who's ff penname is emeraldLINX, who introduced me to the cutey couple themselves! Thank you SO much, even if you neglect to remind me, your numero UNO fan of updates!
Title: Hikari
Alone. All alone.
A black-robed figure sat, huddled in a corner of infinite darkness. His head was buried in his knees, drawn up to his chest in a desperate attempt to protect himself, but the strange thing was, there was nothing that posed as a danger around him. There was not another soul in sight, not a single movement or sound to be heard. It was just, darkness. The darkness stretched for miles, providing a never-ending path that almost always led to…
Nothing.
There were no beginnings, or endings in this vast land, if you could even call it a land. It had no purpose, no reason for existing, yet it was just…there. It had snuck up behind the rest of the worlds, inconspicuously eating away at their substance, the others not realizing until it was too late. Even when they did, it was a surprise, completely unexpected to just find something intruding on their perfect lives.
It had been nothing, just like it is now, a huge mass of darkness and emptiness. They had never expected the darkness to come alive and start to devour them all. Completely off-guard, the worlds crumbled one by one, all succumbing to the ultimate force. It would just keep coming, waves and waves of it, not stopping until it ruled. It would keep coming, until someone sealed it. That person was the Keyblade wielder, the boy from one of the smaller worlds, the daring, but somewhat naïve, hero.
Sora.
The one who's fault it was that he had become stuck here in the first place.
The one who had promised to let him out of this miserable, lonely, hellhole.
The one who was supposed to save him.
The figure smirked bitterly, shaking his head slightly so that his hood dropped down, letting his shining silver hair out of its confinements. His intense aqua green eyes had dulled considerably since he had first gotten into this place, losing the vibrant life that they had once possessed, the life that had drawn all the girls and even some guys on Destiny Islands to him like moths to a flame. He hated himself for sounding so weak, but it wasn't like he had much of a choice, being stuck in a one-way world with only Sora with the ability to save him. There was once a time when he would be the one saving Sora, but times had changed, and definitely not to his favor.
He was so lonely in Kingdom Hearts, ever since King Mickey…
Riku bit his lower lip, struggling to prevent another onslaught of tears threatening to spill from his watery eyes. King Mickey was his only companion, the one who he'd been able to confide in, the one who kept his hopes up every time things looked down. Before, that was Sora's job, back on Destiny Islands. Now, he didn't have either of them, one of them to preoccupied with saving the world, the other…gone.
Unbidden, small rivulets of tears made their way down pale cheeks, dripping down onto his lap. Aqua green eyes squeezed shut, trying to cut off the streams, but only succeeding in letting more tears come through and drop onto his already soaked clothes. He had long since convinced himself that not thinking about his problems didn't make them go away, but it was hard to get rid of old habits. He had let so many people down, and the only way to repent for that was to help Sora lock the door to Kingdom Hearts, no matter the consequences.
Sometimes he wondered if things would be different if he hadn't offered to lock himself in this empty hell.
Sometimes he regretted being selfless, encouraging King Mickey to leave Kingdom Hearts, and to leave him, through the only portal available.
Sometimes he wanted to beat himself to a pulp for just thinking those traitorous thoughts.
It wasn't Sora's fault that he was here, it was all his. He was the one who was blinded by pride and was too weak to notice Ansem creeping up on him. He was the one who sabotaged Sora's plans to save the world. He was the reason he was stuck in this loathsome hell.
It was all HIS fault.
Riku clutched at his hair, fiercely ordering himself to not wallow in self-pity. He had already wasted enough time with that. Releasing his hair, he looked up at the darkness around him. It looked so menacing, but it was completely empty. He should know. He'd been wandering around Kingdom Hearts for what seemed like forever, and ever since King Mickey had left him he hadn't spotted a single Heartless, or any other living being for that matter. But no matter how empty it was, Riku just couldn't shake off that foreboding feeling that seeped through him whenever he looked at that darkness. Or maybe it was because of the emptiness, that made him suspicious, and however he hated to admit it, scared.
He had never experienced something like this before; he was always accompanied by something or another, and always had some kind of goal to keep him company. But now, there was no one in this bleak landscape, and he couldn't do anything. He was completely helpless, and had to wait for Sora to unlock the doors to Kingdom Hearts in order to set him free. He hated waiting.
Even so, it was hard to be mad at the adorable hero. Sora just had a strange magnetism that attracted people to him, it was pointless to resist. So why bother?
Well, that answer was easy.
Why bother? Because Riku loved him. And that in itself, was committing an ultimate sin.
He had loved him since they were little, ever since Kairi came. Since she had come, Sora spent more time with her. It got worse when they grew up; Kairi was constantly bugging Sora about something or another and Sora, being the perfect little gentleman, went along with her. Riku was left out more and more, and he couldn't take it. He started forming a little plan of his own. He figured, if he could pretend to like Kairi, he could get Sora jealous, and then Sora might stop liking Kairi. Plus, he might even get Kairi to like him, thus stopping her affection for Sora. Luckily, it had worked, or almost. Riku had competed in everything with Sora, for Kairi, and he could tell Sora was feeling the effects of losing all the time.
But that had all been in vain, owing to the destruction of Destiny Islands. Words couldn't describe the pain that lanced through his heart when Sora was reaching for him. Outwardly, he seemed to be trying with all his might to reach Riku, but his eyes told it differently. Sora was scared of him, and of the Darkness.
Standing up, Riku shivered, and shook himself off. Thinking back to that time would only bring back horrible memories, memories that would, eventually drive him insane. He let out a deep, frustrated growl from the base of his throat, desperately needing something to tear apart. He wasn't going to sulk anymore; his days of curling up in a corner and thinking about how he'd been mistreated were over.
He wasn't some weakling that needed to be protected in order to be happy, he could, and would fight for his own happiness. There was one portal away from Kingdom Hearts, there had to be another. Now, he looked across the barren landscape in a totally different point of view, seeing the nothingness to be something containing hope, knowing that there would be a way out. Checking himself, he was reminded of the way he felt when he had first gotten into this godforsaken place. He was so optimistic, so filled with hope, only to be deeply disappointed.
Shaking his head to clear up any unnecessary thoughts, he placed only one thing in his head—the need to find a way out. Thinking about it would just make things worse, and he had spent far too long thinking. Well, at least thinking about his miserable position was forbidden. He needed to put some time into his appearance! What would people think of him, coming out of Kingdom Hearts all disheveled and messy? That wouldn't be a very fitting "hero" image at all!
"I see you've recovered quite well…"
The sound reverberated throughout the entire… whatever Kingdom Hearts was. Riku reeled back in shock—he hadn't heard a voice in a lo-ong time. He looked back and forth wildly, but only darkness greeted him.
"What, cat's gotcha tongue?"
Opening his mouth, Riku forced his lazy, rarely-used tongue to work.
"Who are you?" Pretty good for a first sentence.
"Pretty cocky already, I see." One silvery eyebrow arched, his face already settling in his trademark, "I'm-too-cool-to-be-surprised" look. His body followed, putting his weight on his right leg while his left stretched out a bit, bent at the knee. His arms crossed automatically, and his chin tilted upwards slightly.
"I repeat, who are you? And why are you here?" he said, in a cool and composed tone, completely different from his clumsy sentence before.
"Dude, one look at you, no one would think you've just spent five months in living hell!"
"…I'll take that as a compliment" the eyebrow fell, before wrinkling in thought.
"You should, if you know what's good for you, buddy."
"What are you?" he said in an incredulous voice.
"Now don't get insulting! What happened to "who"? That was perfectly respectable, I'm not just a thing you know!"
"I only respect people who earn it, and I have to be able to see you to even consider giving it to you." He was getting frustrated now.
"Touchy touchy! I'm the only… how can I put this? Oh, fine," Riku could see the being throw up its hands (if it had any) in exasperation, "thing that you've seen in a while, and if you disrespect me, then I'm gonna be the only thing you'll be seeing for a long time!"
The silver-haired teen/hero thought about that for a moment, then his eyes widened and jaw dropped.
"Yeah, buddy. I'm guessing you figured out what yours truly can do. You don't look like the type of guy to look like an idiot for nothin'!"
"Are you serious? You can get me out of this place?" He could hardly contain his excitement, this… this thing was his key to getting out!
"Oh yeah!" It seemed very pleased with itself…
"But you still haven't answered my question—who are you?" The ever-curious Riku.
"Back to the nice, polite "who's" now are we? We-el, since you asked politely, I'll grant you your wish. I am," and here Riku could've sworn he heard a drum roll somewhere in the deep depths of Kingdom Hearts, "the great, the witty, and the handsome one and only, GENIE OF THE LAMP!"
Riku didn't think he'd ever be able to see again after that experience. Bright, dazzling lights came out of nowhere, momentarily blinding him. Just when he started to panic about losing his sight, bright colors invaded his mind, both garish and warmly welcomed. He hadn't seen color for what seemed like forever, and it slightly scared him. Tentatively lowering his hands from his face, he squinted out at the gleaming scene before him.
A bright, blue puffy, man-looking thing was standing in front of him; arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently. He was more than a little disgruntled.
"Wow, I feel so appreciated now; after all I go through to make it a nice performance, all you do is hide!" The genie pointed a finger accusingly at Riku, as if being trapped in a place where darkness reined supreme was his fault.
"Whatever, you're here, so let's get down to business. Wait, you look familiar…" his forehead creased in deep thought, trying to find something in the deep caverns of his mind. Suddenly, his face lit up in understanding.
"Ding!" The genie said sarcastically, making a light bulb appear over Riku's head. He impatiently flicked it away, and began,
"You look like the ugly thing Jafar turned into when Sora beat the hell outta him!"
"…very… nice…wording you have there… Well, I'll have you know that Jafar was an exception in the genie race. Horrible skin, you know what I mean?" He meaningfully picked at his own blue shade.
"Yeah, how'd you know about that?"
"Easy, I heard it from my mother's cousin's uncle's granddaughter's best friend's neighbor's sister's father-in-law's brother, who happened to be the one Jafar commanded to change him into the ugly thing you know him as!" he rambled off as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Ok, we need to get back on subject," Riku tutted, impatiently. Now that he was over his initial fear and surprise, he was eager to get back to Destiny Islands and to Sora.
"How do I get out?"
"Wai-it, hold on! Dontcha wanna know why I'm here in the first place? Kid, you're messing with the rules! You're supposed to be angry at me for not coming to your rescue sooner!"
"Well, I'm not, and you'd better be thankful for that. But I really don't care about you or how you got here, I just want to leave!"
"All in good time. It's not time for you to leave anyway. Even if I wanted you to leave, you couldn't." Cue the smug look.
"Why?" What? That genie better not be messing with him!
"I told you, all in good time! SO, I'm going to entertain you with the story of why I had to ignore you when you were all mopey and depressed." A pair of spectacles instantly appeared, as did a gigantic book, small stool and bed.
"Come on, it's time for your bedtime story!" The genie patted the bed, and sat himself down on the stool. Resigning himself to his fate, Riku climbed on the bed, and made himself comfortable.
"As I was saying, the reason why I couldn't come before was 'cause of you not finding your… help me with this word… hee—hee—hikari!"
"My light?"
"Yeah, the thing that sparkles and stuff, you know?"
"Yes, I know, I'm not stupid. But what's my light?"
"Uhh, who. I think you know."
"Oh… yeah…" Obviously! How could he not think of it? Figures, the he would appear everywhere.
"Mmm, Sora."
A/N: Soo? How'd you like it? I know it's a bit rusty, I haven't written anything on fanfiction for a long time, and this is my first Kingdom Hearts fanfic. Please review, I really want to know whether or not to continue this. My first thoughts were to make it a trilogy of songfics, but after Fanfiction banned them, that idea got squashed.
Please review! I need to know whether or not to continue this. And I hope my friends who don't exactly like yaoi aren't offended by this…
P.S.
I just finished the new Harry Potter book, and basically, I cried my eyes out. Whee, happy. Anyways, if you wanna talk to me about how miserable the death was, my AIM and YIM are on my site… But I'm going to China for the rest of the summer break soo… yeah.
Something weird happened in both these incidents, I finished writing the first draft of this fic and finished reading "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" both while listening to Utada Hikaru's "Hikari". Very weird…