In the clearing there was nothing to obscure the bright light of the moon and stars. It seemed almost as bright as morning. When Sora looked up at Riku, he could clearly see his friend's face and stare into his eyes

He did not like what he saw there.

Riku's eyes seemed cold and determined as the naga leaned closer to him, and opened his mouth. For the third time that night Sora felt a warm soft tongue pass over his face to taste him. He flinched and tried to turn his face away, but couldn't move much.

"He's delicious." said Riku, looking at Sephiroth, as though Sora wasn't there, as though he were nothing, as though he were just a piece of food.

"What's he taste like? You need to savor this. Humans are a real treat, Riku." Sephiroth advised.

Once again Sora was licked. He watched as the person he thought was his best friend closed his eyes and savored his taste.

"He tastes like sea salt, and sunshine, and sweetness."

Sora heard Riku's stomach audibly growl, and began to struggle. Even though he knew there was no point to trying to escape. Riku's coils were inhumanly strong, and even if there was a chance he could get away from Riku, Sephiroth was right there. There was no way he'd be able to escape them both.

"You're not going anywhere, little morsel." said Sephiroth, before looking to Riku, "I'd suggest eating him feet first, from behind. He's going to put up a fight, but you'll be able to handle him."

Riku nodded, and repositioned Sora. The boy gave no resistance yet, it was useless. There was no way out, and no way to escape. Maybe it was better this way, better to be in Riku's coils than Sephiroth's. Still, part of Sora wanted to believe this wasn't happening, wanted to believe that Riku wouldn't hurt him.

Blue eyes met with sea green one's, as Sora murmured, "Please, I don't want to die, don't do this." Part of him understood his pleas were useless, because Riku had no choice. Sephiroth was right there, practically ordering the naga to eat him, and Sora knew there was little Riku could do against the much older and more powerful naga.

Yet, he also understood, that Riku didn't want to do anything against Sephiroth. He was loyal to him, more loyal to him than Sora. As if their friendship didn't matter, their love didn't matter, and it was easy to take his life. Sora wished then that Riku would defend him, declare he wouldn't hurt Sora, and if Sephiroth wanted to, he'd have to go through him. He wanted Riku to throw himself in front of him, and shield him with his own body. He wanted Riku to protect him, even die for him, because that's what Sora would have done for Riku.

"Food shouldn't complain so much," said Riku. "You're going down now, just accept it. It's one of those circle of life things, we have our place, and parts to play. This is mine, I'm sorry." He didn't sound sorry at all.

Riku lifted Sora upwards in his coils until his feet were above his mouth. Unhinging his jaws, he took these feet into his mouth, and ran his tongue over them, suckling before swallowing. The process was noisy, the sounds of sucking and gulping, and the slosh of saliva and skin against tongue, throat, and then stomach. These sounds were mingled with Sora's angry protests as he renewed his struggling.

It was a strange feeling, having his feet taken into Riku's mouth. He was sucked all over, and coated in saliva. It actually almost tickled as he was licked, though the feeling as the naga swallowed was simply strange. A sucking all around that he couldn't escape. The naga swallowed again, and he was pulled deeper. Deeper into a hot slick space that closed tightly around him stopping him from really kicking.

Riku did not take his time eating, but swallowed continuously, so the boy slid down in short order. Sora watched in horror as his body disappeared deeper into the naga's mouth. He felt his feet and legs slide down into the squishy sack that he knew must Riku's stomach.

The very thought of that sickened Sora, as did the whole situation. He was being eaten alive, and there was not a thing he could do to save himself. Another gulp and he was in past his hips, his middle section resting on Riku's tongue, his hips somewhere in the naga's gullet. Riku ran his tongue over Sora, and then tilted his head further back, preparing to swallow again.

"Spit him out, snake!" Came a voice. It was like the roar of father lion seeing his cub threatened.

Sephiroth's head jerked up to look. The elder naga whirled, sword in hand as the newcomer, an almost petite blond man, stepped into view.

"Cloud!" Sora cried eyes wide and scared. "Help!" He scrambled against Riku, feeling his feet and legs squish in the action. Riku choked, body rejecting the large, kicking form down his throat. Sora landed on the dirt, covered in bile and saliva, Riku coughing and choking as he rubbed his throat.

"Well, well, well." Sephiroth's voice was almost warm and welcoming, taunting the blond man as he turned. He had stepped into a fighting stance, staring at Cloud with a look of pure hatred. "It's you, I am so glad you're here. I thought Riku would be the only one to get a meal tonight, but it seems I'm in for a treat. You have no idea how long I've waited for this."

"Sora run!" called Cloud, ignoring the naga's threats. He brandished his weapon, and ran to cross blades with Sephiroth.

Riku looked at Sora, "Get out of here." He hissed, before returning his full attention to the fight which raged before them.

Sephiroth quickly parried the attack from his foe. "You're making this too easy." He taunted as he swung his blade back around to strike the other across the chest. Cloud predicted the strike and backed out of the way, the blade simply grazing through his clothing, cutting it clean. With Sephiroth's blade out of his way, Cloud charged in with a strike that would have cleaved the other clean in two if Sephiroth hadn't seen it coming and used his tail as a spring to bounce out of the way of the blow.

Sora watched awestruck as the battle raged. He gasped as Sephiroth dodged the blow by bouncing to the side. This caused Cloud to turn for a second. Seeing the opening, Sephiroth slashed his opponent across the chest. Cloud cried out in pain as he fell on knee.

"Oh look, marinade." The naga taunted as he watched the other writhe in agony.

Cloud had told Sora to run, but he couldn't move. Sora couldn't tear his gaze from Cloud. This was bad. "Cloud!" He ran, grabbing a piece of his shattered blade, before running at Sephiroth. He moved blindly, nothing mattered but helping Cloud, taking the broken sword he moved forward. The naga was so focused on his opponent that he didn't see Sora coming.

The small brunette leaped with the severed blade in hand, burying it into Sephiroth's back.

The silver naga grunted as the spot beneath his left shoulder blade was pierced, a line of red falling from the slice. Sephiorth's left wrist went slack and he cursed, spinning harshly both to fling Sora away, and grabbed his Masamune with his right hand, just in time to meet Cloud's strike. The naga snarled a curse at Cloud as he moved to strike, completely unaware of the crumbling rocks beneath his tail.

The heavy rains of the spring had loosened the rock face that the four were fighting on. Even though Sephiroth thought he had a good five feet of room to maneuver, he hadn't taken into consideration the wet earth and loose stone. The look on his face as the ground beneath him crumbled and he fell back was one of almost comical shock.

Riku cried out his name, and then looked at Sora. The look of hurt and betrayal shifted until his eyes seemed to hold as much hatred at Sephiroth's. "I'll get you for this!" He swore in a low hiss, before he turned, and without hesitation dove over the edge of the cliff for the water below.

Sora went to the edge to look. He saw Riku splash into the water in a graceful dive and surface moments later. Riku swam to the floundering Sephiroth's side, and helped support him as they both headed for a cove a little ways down.

"Sora."

At the sound of his name Sora turned, and moved away from the cliff. He looked at the Cloud who was staggered against a tree, waiting for him. Sora's eyes went to the wound on Cloud's chest. "Are you—?"

"Fine, let's go home." Cloud moved forward, and Sora moved to meet him. Cloud removed his cape, and handed it to Sora. "Cover yourself up."

Sora nodded, and took the garment, wrapping it around himself. He looked at Cloud and saw the disappointment in his eyes, but the older man did not meet his gaze for long. Instead he looked away, and began walking off towards home.
Sora followed behind in silence. The quiet seemed heavy in the air. Sora knew he was in trouble. The forest where he had gone was forbidden, Cloud had told him this himself, more than once. He'd nearly gotten himself killed, and worse gotten Cloud wounded.

When they reached the edge of the forest, coming into the open fields within sight of the village, Sora broke the silence. "Cloud?"

The blond stopped, and turned to regard him. "You knew better than to go out there Sora. You deliberately disobeyed me!" He said staring down the younger boy before looking away again.

"I'm sorry." Sora managed to say. "I just… I thought Riku was my friend."

"Riku?" Cloud asked, confused.

"He's a…naga." Sora admitted, though part of him knew the truth would only get him into more trouble.

"The naga who had you halfway down his throat when I showed up?" asked Cloud, looking more flabbergasted than angry now.

Sora nodded, yeah, that naga. Except it wasn't that simple. Things had happened, Sephiroth had made…no Sephiroth had asked, and Riku had gone along with it. Riku had been willing to kill him, and would have if it wasn't for Cloud. "We've been friends for years."

"Years?" asked Cloud. "You mean you've been sneaking off into that forest—Sora! You could have been killed! Every time, even if he wouldn't have hurt you before Sephiroth or another might have caught you and an adult naga wouldn't think twice about killing a child!" He glared down at him, eyes sharp, and then sighed heavily, shaking his head.

Sora looked away. "I know…I just, I wanted to see him. We were friends." Tears began to roll down his cheeks.

"He's a naga, you're a human. You can't be friends, it's just the way things are Sora." said Cloud, his tone still sharp. He then looked at the boy, and softened, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're growing up Sora, it isn't easy, but you learn, and this is just one of those things. I'm just glad you're all right. The whole village guard was out looking for you. You gave us all a scare today, Sora. I was o afraid." Cloud pulled Sora into a hug. "I nearly lost you. You know now, so promise me you won't ever do anything so stupid again." He stepped back, but help the hand on Sora's shoulder.

"I…I promise." Sora looked at the ground then, before closing his eyes as remorse washed over him. "I'm really sorry Cloud." His met the blonde's gaze then, searching his eyes for some sign that it was ok.

"It's all right." Cloud shook his head. "I'm just as much to blame. Sora, I've tried to be there for you, since you don't have parents, and just Aerith to look after you. I figured I could be the older male in your life. Teach you, guide you." He took his hand off Sora's shoulder, and slid it into his pocket as he turned away, staring off across the field, or perhaps at the twinkling stars above.

"But you have Cloud." Sora interjected, coming to stand at Cloud's side. He didn't know where Cloud was going with this, but he didn't like the sound of it.

Cloud actually smiled. "Thanks Sora, but there's so much I haven't told you, that I should have. I've warned you, but I never really explained why it was so important. Before I came here, to our village, I lived in a town not far from here. One day, the naga attacked us, because…well, that doesn't matter. It's a long story."

"No, what happened?"

"My home was destroyed, and almost everyone was killed. I lost my family… my little brother."

"You had a brother?" asked Sora. He'd never given much thought to Cloud's life before he came to live with Aerith.

"Yeah, Roxas." Cloud said saidly. "He'd be about your age now. You remind me of him. I guess I wanted to be the brother for you that I couldn't be for him. It's my fault he died; my fault the village was attacked."

A thousand questions burned in Sora's mind, and he wanted nothing more than to urge Cloud to continue, to tell him everything. Yet the look in his mentor's eyes made him hold his tongue. He didn't want to press him, but merely moved to hug the older man. "It's not your fault Cloud, and neither was today."

Cloud sighed. "I just want to keep you safe Sora." Walking a few paces away before coming to a stop and simply staring into the distance. Then at last he sighed, looking back at Sora. "I don't know if you will be safe Sora. Sephiroth is still alive, and I have a feeling this isn't over. He'll hunt you down. I can take care of myself if he comes after me, but I don't want you in danger."

"Cloud?" Sora stepped closer. "What do you mean? What do you want me to do? I can train with you, train harder! I'm not afraid of that overgrown garter snake, I can—"

"Sora," Cloud sighed, and then fell silent for a long time. Then, at last he spoke. "I'm going to have a conversation with Aerith. I think, and she might agree, it would be safer if we sent you away for a while."

Sora's eyes widened. "Away? But….I….Cloud, I swear I'll never disobey you again, I'll never get near the forest, I'll—"

"This isn't a punishment Sora," he told him, "but it may be what's for your own good."

Sora embraced him, and clung. "You can't! You can't send me away!"

"Hey," he ran a hand through the brunette's spiky hair. "I don't want to, kid, believe me. Don't cry, all right?"

Sora buried his face against Cloud's side. "All right." he managed a smile and looked up at the older man. "But Cloud, we're pals right?"

Cloud chuckled. "Right."

"So, we'll always be together, right? You're like a brother to me to, and the closest thing I've ever had to a dad, and…I love you. This is home. You and Aerith are my family. So how can you say it'd be for the best to send me away?"

"It would only be for a little while," said Cloud, "until it's safe. Come on kid, it's like an adventure."

"I'm not a little kid you know." Sora said wiping his tears away. "Even if I was acting like one a second ago. It's just… I don't want to leave, and you can't sugar coat it. I messed up, and now…now everything's going to change, isn't it?"

Cloud looked him straight in the eye. "Sora, nothing lasts forever, things do change, but there's one thing you can always count on. I'm going to be there for you, and look after you. Right now looking out for you might mean sending you away. You understand, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do." Said Sora. "I guess that's growing up."