At The End of The Day
Present Day
Sora stands in Selphie's room, watching his sleeping sister. He frowns, "She's getting worse. How is that possible?"
"Sora, someone's at the door for you!" his mother calls out.
"Coming!" Sora calls back, heading downstairs. He goes to the front door and opens it, finding Namine there. He blinks, then smiles, "Hey, what's up?"
"Do you want to come to the lake with me today?" she asks, smiling.
Sora looks thoughtful, "Well.. Uh.. My sister's kind of sick, so.. I think I'll have to pass. Maybe next time."
Namine's smile falls and she sighs, smiling slightly now, "Okay, I understand. See you around."
She waves and leaves and Sora waves back. Once she's gone, he sighs and closes the door. He turns around to find his Mom staring at him. He frowns, "What?"
"You should have went with her. I don't like that you hardly leave for anything but school." she replies.
Sora sighs, "Mom, I'm staying to help you look after Selphie, like I told Namine."
"You don't have to. You should go have fun with your friends." she says.
Sora's frown deepens, "My friends are back on the Islands."
His Mom crosses her arms, "Don't try that with me, Sora. Just.. Go.. Get out of the house for awhile."
Sora groans, "Fine." and walks out the front door. He walks along the path, his hands in his pockets. He stops and looks up at the afternoon sky as it slowly turns to evening. He sighs and continues walking. After awhile of walking back and forth along the path, not really wanting to go anywhere, he goes down to the family graveyard. He walks along the rows, and stops in front of Sora Valdez's grave. He looks beside it and Vanitas Valdez's grave lies there. He looks back at his namesake's grave and tilts his head. He just stands there, staring at the stone until the sun gives way to night.
He slides his hand along the top of the grave, and smiles, glad that one thing of that Sora's didn't send him to the path through unwanted memories. He sighs and sticks his hands in his pockets. His eyes narrow slightly, "Was it really a fire that killed you?"
He sighs and closes his eyes. The wind blows, swirling his hair around. Suddenly the warmth in the air changes and Sora opens his eyes and looks at the reason, "What do you want, Riku?"
Riku looks at Sora and sighs, looking back at the grave of his dead lover, "I just came to see him."
"Do you do that often?" Sora asks, "Come to his grave?"
"As often as I can without getting caught." he replies.
"Why did you say those things to him in that letter?" Sora asks, staring Riku down, "I found the letter, it was in a silver box in my room."
Riku's expression turns pained, "That's none of your business."
"I think it kind of is." Sora crosses his arms, "For the same reason I know who you are. For whatever reason, I'm getting bits and pieces of his memories of you, and I want to know why. That makes it my business."
"You're his reincarnation, that's why you're getting the memories." Riku replies.
"Then why am I only getting memories of you? Tell me that makes sense." Sora glares at Riku, "He chased after you, didn't he? After he got the letter, he went looking for you, didn't he? Is that why he died?"
"That's part of it." Riku closes his eyes.
Sora continues glaring at Riku, "What are you, Riku? A vampire or something?"
Riku opens his eyes and looks at Sora with a sad expression, "That's exactly what I am."
Sora looks somewhat surprised, then tilts his head, "That's what I suspected.. In the memories, Sora never came out and said what you were, but there were always little hints."
"I see.." Riku frowns, "Aren't you afraid of me?"
Sora shrugs, "Kind of, but I've seen you a lot in the memories. You don't seem like something dangerous, at least, not to me."
Riku runs a hand through his hair, "Well, I am something dangerous. Very dangerous."
Sora's eyes widen lightly, "Did you tell me to lock my window the other night?"
"No." Riku's frown deepens, "Why?"
"I heard your voice, or maybe.. It was a memory.." Sora looks confused, "But then.. My sister got sick.. Her neck was bleeding, and now she won't wake up."
Riku's eyes gasp, "What? Your sister?"
Sora nods, "Do you know something?"
"A memory of me telling you to lock the window.." Riku seems to be thinking aloud, "Your sister.."
The vampire's eyes widen, "Sora was warning you.."
Sora looks more confused than before, "What? How? Why?"
"For the same reason I warned him that night." Riku clenches his fists.
"What do you mean?" Sora looks confused.
"Vampires; We feed on blood to survive, and human blood is the favorite or most. Vampires can only enter a home through pathways." Riku explains.
"Pathways?" Sora frowns.
"Doors and windowsills. Betweens; where something ends and something else begins simultaneously. Like a door to another room, or a window to outside. All supernatural creatures are bound to pathway entries. But, if the pathway is locked or simply closed, they can't get through. Someone else has to let them in." Riku replies.
Sora's frown deepens, "Selphie.. You stupid child.."
He looks like he's going to cry and Riku feels conflicted, wanting to comfort him, like he did his Sora, but he knows he can't. This isn't his Sora, this isn't the same. This Sora can never walk where his Sora did. They must never walk the same path, it will only end in another needless death. Sora closes his eyes and clenches his fists. In the next second, he glares at Riku, "One of you attacked my little sister?!"
Riku looks down at Sora's grave, "Probably. Though I don't know who, I wasn't around here recently."
Sora looks away, angry, "Right.. 'Cause I totally believe that."
Riku closes his eyes, This Sora is so different, yet exactly the same from his Sora. But he can't afford to let this Sora into his heart as he did the other. The past cannot be allowed to repeat itself. Too much lies at stake, far too much is at risk. After the death of Sora Valdez, Riku promised himself he'd never let himself fall in love again, especially not with a human. Opening his eyes, looking at Sora, he knows that could come crashing down at a moment's notice.
