XO'MagickMoon'OX
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.506 AD.
"Mother, what is it?" Sora asked, finally finding the room from where his mother's voice had come. He saw his mother, father, and cousin, as well as various nursemaids and attendants, surrounding his uncle's bed. A strained coughing reverberated throughout the chamber.
Sora's heart picked up a nervous pace. "U-Uncle?"
His mother ushered him to her side, motioning for him to be quiet. "It's gotten worse," she whispered.
Sora looked down to see his cousin kneeling at the bedside. The blonde boy was trembling.
There was more coughing, succeeded by a dribble of blood as the hacking forced the sick man to sit upright in bed.
"How much worse?" Sora whispered to his mother.
"They don't think…he'll live out the night," his mother replied.
There was a choked sob from the boy at the bedside, his trembling increasing. Sora put a hand on his cousin's shoulder, but his hand was shaken off. Sora murmured, "Roxas…"
The blonde shook his head.
"Let's leave them be," said Sora's father. He motioned for his wife and son to follow him, and the three departed, leaving Roxas alone with his father and the doctor in the swiftly darkening chamber, the fiery light of sunset casting shadows across the room.
Sora sighed, leaving his parents' sides and going down to the courtyard, one of his favorite haunts. Everything was generally peaceful there, and there was the most glorious view of the sky. At night, the stars shown clearly, spectacularly. Now, the sky was painted with vivid pinks and oranges and violets. Sora rummaged around in the open hallway that circled the courtyard, finding his sword where he always kept it stowed safely away. The blade was dull, but it was great for practicing swordsmanship, something his father stressed. "You're going to grow up and be a knight," his father would say, "just like your brother."
Sora held it out in front of him and began to go through the familiar motions that he'd long since learned.
"What do you know of evil and suffering?"
Sora laughed dryly, recalling Riku's words. Was Riku really that ignorant? Did he not know of the demons that plagued their land? It seemed rather ironic that a demon would not be aware of the other demons that prowled the earth. Yes, demons by many names. Disease, starvation, superstition…
"Having fun?"
Sora whirled, the point of his blade meeting Riku's breastbone squarely, nearly brushing the fabric of his black tunic. Anger flared in Sora's gut, and he briefly flashed on the idea of running Riku through with his sword, however dull the blade was.
Riku picked up on this thought, frowning. "Now that's a little harsh, no?"
Sora scowled. "What do you want?"
Riku shrugged, stepping wisely away from the point of Sora's sword. "To see you." Oh, how the tables had turned.
"Why? I'm just an naïve, too-quick-to-trust human, aren't I?"
Riku was taken aback at Sora's brusque tone. His eyes narrowed on the boy. "Is something…the matter?"
"As a matter of fact…" Sora lowered his sword, holding it to his side.
When Sora didn't say anything else, Riku skirted the issue and gestured to Sora's weapon. "Are you any good with that?" he asked.
Sora blushed, looking away. "I suppose."
Riku chuckled. "Well, get me one and we can have a duel."
The brunette's gaze snapped back to meet the other's. "What?"
"You heard me."
Sora nodded tentatively. "A-All right…uh, wait here."
The boy disappeared. Riku watched him go, murmuring, "So cute," with a fond smile.
Sora returned moments later with another sword in hand. "Here." He tossed the weapon to Riku, who deftly caught it. They took their positions across from each other underneath a nearby maple tree.
"Don't go easy on me," Sora said, smirking.
"Likewise," Riku returned. Then, as an afterthought, he added, "Just so long as you don't hit here." He patted his chest, feeling the faint heartbeat beneath his palm.
Sora nodded. "Right. Let's go."
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The two collapsed in a fit of laughter, leaning against each other and the trunk of the maple tree. The swords were tossed to the side, the hilt of Sora's slick with sweat, and the boys continued to laugh breathlessly. Finally, Sora forced himself to stop in order to control his panting, which was rather ragged after nearly an hour of swordplay with Riku. The silver-haired boy, however, was just as calm and collected as ever, not even breaking a sweat, his breathing perfectly regular, save for the dying spasm of giggles. Sora wondered if it was due to the fact that he was a vampire. He frowned curiously, turning suddenly in the grass so he was face-to-face with Riku, and placing his hand on the boy's chest.
Riku bristled. "S-Sora…?"
Sora cocked his head inquisitively, much like the way a wondering dog would. He could feel Riku's heart beating. If Riku had a heart, then why did his body not seem to need to bend to the whims of other imperative functions? Shouldn't Riku be out of breath, sweat matting his brow? Shouldn't his heart be pounding furiously, like Sora's was?
…Whoa, when did Riku get so close? Was that his breath ghosting over Sora's lips?
"R-Riku?"
The other smirked. "You should know better than to put your face so near mine, Sora," he purred, finally closing the distance and bringing their lips together. Sora struggled for a brief moment until his control wavered, crumbling under Riku's seduction. Before he knew it, Sora's back was being pressed into the wiry grass, Riku's fingers threading through his cinnamon locks. Riku's ministrations were drawing the most beautiful sounds from Sora's mouth, many of which were swallowed by Riku's kiss, the rest received by Riku's appreciative ears.
Sora, being winded still from their prior dueling, quickly ran out of breath and forced Riku back. The vampire smirked down at the brunette's dumbstruck visage. Sora's mind ran to work his malfunctioning mouth as he stuttered, "Wh-Why…?"
Riku fondly tweaked Sora's nose. "Because you're deliciously adorable."
Sora frowned. Adorable? He was fifteen, dammit! And he was going to be a knight! Knight's were not adorable! They were formidable and strong, like his brother; Sora aspired more than anything to be like his brother. Their father was strong, too, and smart. Sora looked up to his father (wow Riku's lips were soft) just as much as his brother. Then there was Roxas, who, while not matching Sora's swordsmanship skills, was also (ooh that felt good) a talented warrior-to-be. Sora would have to (was that Riku's tongue?) challenge his cousin to a duel later—
"Riku!" Sora gasped. "Would you stop?" He wondered whether it had been Riku's freaky mind-powers that had sidetracked his train of thought, giving the other free range of his neck without interruption, or simply Sora's short attention span (or lack thereof).
"I'd say a bit of both," Riku responded to Sora's thoughts. "Those with short attention spans are easier to distract."
Sora whimpered as Riku continued to teasingly nip at his neck. "R-Riku, seriously. Stop," he forced himself to demand, albeit halfheartedly.
Riku ceased his ministrations and locked gazes with the brunette. "But I thought you trusted me."
"I-I do! But…how is that relevant?" Sora demanded. "Do you love me?"
Riku was taken aback and struck speechless. "Uh…"
"Because only people in love kiss," Sora explained, sounding as if Riku was touched in the head for not knowing that.
Riku, comprehension dawning on his features, smirked. "Or people in lust."
"L-Lust?" Sora stammered, a healthy blush staining his cheeks.
Riku flicked his hair over his shoulder to get it out of his way and nodded, still smirking. As he leaned down again, Sora caught sight of something that made him cup the sides of Riku's face and turn the vampire's head to the side.
"Sora?"
"What's this?" He traced his fingers over the alien markings behind Riku's left ear. The two characters were nearly three inches long together, running down the back of Riku's neck, usually hidden by his hair.
Riku shivered under Sora's touch. That was one of his seven most sensitive spots. "Envy," he replied. "It says 'envy'."
"The Deadly Sin?"
"You know them?" Riku asked, slightly surprised. Then, he remembered, laughing. "Right, you're all pious little Christians around here." He glanced up at the stained glass windows of the church across the courtyard and then down to the silver cross hanging around Sora's neck—case in point.
"Yes," Sora murmured. "The Seven Deadly Sins: Superbia, Avaritia, Luxuria, Invidia, Gula, Ira,and Acedia. Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Anger, and Sloth."
Riku nodded, grinning amusedly. "Then you must know of the Seven Holy Virtues, as well."
Sora felt like he was in class all over again, much to his irritation, but he recited them anyway. "Humilitas, Liberalis, Virtus, Humanitas, Frenum, Patientia, and Industria. Humility, Generosity, Chastity, Charity, Moderation, Meekness, and Zeal."
Riku nodded again. "Very good."
Sora thought for a moment, ignoring the amused look he was receiving. "Why do you have Envy on your neck?"
"I have all of them," Riku answered. "All vampires do. They're in a different place for everyone."
"Where are the others?"
Riku smirked. "As much as I'd love to show you, I'll salvage what little decency I have and show you only this one." He held out his right wrist, displaying two more characters branded into his skin beneath his palm. "Gluttony. The rest are hidden beneath my clothes." At the playful twinkle in his eyes, Sora suddenly remembered his compromising position and forced Riku up.
Sora brushed off his pants and straightened his clothing, bending to grab his and Riku's swords out of the grass. He glanced up at the sky, noticing how it had gotten distinctly darker. He turned to say his farewells to Riku, only to find the vampire gone. He looked this way and that, but the pale boy was no where to be seen. "Odd," Sora murmured. Shrugging, he headed inside.
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A/N: The names of the Sins in italics are in Latin, by the way. Oh, and I also wanted to point out a flaw in this chapter: erm, well, the Seven Deadly Sins technically weren't instituted until 604 AD, so my story is historically incorrect on that part, but ah well. And, if anyone wants to know what Riku's "tatoos" look like, you can check it out at this site: http/ japanese . about . com / bl50kanji sins . htm I know that there aren't really any references to Japan in this story, but I figured that since their names are Japanese (which is another flaw, since they live in Medieval Europe in these flashback-type chapters O.o;;) that Riku's "tattoos" should be in Kanji.
Anyway, enough rambling, review, onegai!
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