Disclaimer: It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn.

Author's notes: Chapter 7 already! And so many reviews! *_* ...anywayz, this chapter has almost no fluff. Riku's not at Sora'a house yet. He has yet to face his parents about this, right? So we get a whole lot of family discussion....and I tell you, Riku's mother is evil. Because I felt like making her evil. *nods*
read it to see what happens to our sweet silver bishie...

=========

Riku braced himself as he walked away from Sora's house. The day had passed far too quickly but luckily there hadn't been any more incidents, which would send his reputation flying out of the window.

Now he was on his way home, into the lion's cave, because he had to somehow tell his parents about his plans. He couldn't wait to be in the same house as Sora, even if it was just for an afternoon. Sora had invited him and he felt his heart flutter in his chest as he thought about it. How he wished he could have just walked in when they were saying their awkward goodbye. He was so tempted to hug him again but somehow he couldn't so they just shook hands.

Sora did look a little disappointed but it could have been Riku's imagination. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. For now he would walk home, back into the world he had been living before this boy had entered his life. It seemed another lifetime when he had spent every day just wasting away with the things his parents made him do. He never thought of anything, never did anything that he liked.

But things had changed. Now he felt like he was seeing so much more and he felt so much more. He was thinking so much more. Mostly of Sora, of course. He wanted to see him as soon as possible but that meant talking to his parents.

'Oh joy…' he sourly thought to himself, remembering other times he had tried to discuss something. The dressing-himself-in-the-morning-thing had been a spectacle he didn't want to remember. And now it was something even worse. How would his parents react? Especially his mother…

***

"Why is it I can't have friends?"

Riku stared at the swirls he was making with his spoon as he stirred the soup. He had decided that it was time. They were having dinner and Riku had thought enough about how to tell them. He just couldn't. So he tried something else…just ask.

His mother barely looked up. She never paid much attention to him unless she was the one asking something. His father, however, turned to him with a slightly pained look. It was a very delicate matter, this thing about friends, and they had gone through it so often now.

"Now, Riku…" he began in a very gentle and reasonable voice.

Riku just continued to stare. He didn't want to hear his father explain to him, no, he wanted his mother to talk to him. Ever since he could remember, all his problems were solved by his father. He would explain in a rational voice and tell him about things he had to know. His mother only told him what to do and how to do it. She never bothered to explain.

So Riku asked. And he was asking her.

"Why do you keep me caged like I'm some kind of animal?"

This time, the woman at the end of the table did look up and she wasn't very pleased. Her lips were drawn to a fine line and her eyes were like slits. They've always been rather narrow so she wore some make up to make them look bigger. Her features were square but beautiful. She was, no doubt, a very beautiful woman with pale skin and fine black hair, which was obviously dyed but no one noticed. She looked natural and still so perfect. Just like Riku.

"I do not want to talk about this while having dinner," she announced in her high-frequency voice. It wasn't a loud voice but it had a deafening frequency. Especially when she wanted to talk like that.

Riku snorted and stopped stirring, pushing his food away. He crossed his arms like a stubborn child; he did that very often when talking to his mother.

"Well, when do you want to talk about it? You never even listen to me. Now's the best time for it."

He managed to keep his voice calm despite his inner tumult. He hated talking to his mother. It was like talking to a brick wall. Well, obviously, talking to a wall would have been easier because it wouldn't look at you with those painted eyes and fine lips that gave such a cold expression. Riku always shuddered at the thought of looking directly at his mother. It had become a custom to keep his head bowed whenever he was around his parents. Mostly out of respect, which he had been taught, but also because he feared to look at his mother.

The woman ignored him and continued eating.

Riku's father looked back and forth between the two and gave Riku a sympathetic look. As the silver haired boy caught it, he immediately lowered his head and thought of dropping the subject. His father didn't deserve hearing this. His father was a nice and hard-working man. Despite all the money, he was still down to earth. He was generous and understanding and also a very good businessman who could negotiate like no one else. If there had ever been a person Riku was able to admire, it would be his father.

"What if I suddenly decided to go somewhere, like to a friend's place or something. What if I just went?"

Riku cursed himself as soon as the words left his mouth. He shouldn't have done that. So many years of struggling and fighting and he still hadn't learned to keep his big mouth shut. But then again, sooner or later it would have happened. Maybe he even did it on purpose, who knew? Riku was always more the rebellious type even though he seemed completely submissive at times.

"Say something to him," the cold woman demanded, throwing a quick glare at her husband before turning back to her task – ignoring her son.

The man sighed and turned to Riku, opened his mouth but stopped as he noted that Riku wasn't looking at him. The silver haired boy kept staring at his mother. He was scanning her for any kind of emotion other than annoyance for his existence. It seemed she wished he wasn't there. Or maybe he wasn't there for her. She sure managed to ignore him most of the times.

"Riku, we've told you so many times before…the reason we don't want you to go out like that is…"

Riku turned his head to his father, scowling at him for beginning with that again. Oh yes, he knew exactly what he was going to say.

"Blah blah blah, the world's dangerous, I'm your precious son, you don't want anything happening to me. Hell, I'm fifteen and I'm sure as hell stronger than most people my age. Even the little kids get to run around on their own for at least an hour so why do you all have to act like I'm some kind of stupid princess that might break her precious legs once she takes a step?"

Too late. It had started and he was sure he wouldn't stop. Not for his father's sake. Not for his own sake, though he should have better if he wanted to live a little longer. Because it was in that moment that his mother finally looked up, looked at him. And she wasn't smiling at him. She wasn't giving any kind of motherly affection or understanding.

Nope, that was not what his mother looked like. Riku inwardly cringed. She was out on war and he knew that he'd just started the first attack.

"Watch your tone, mister," she warned him, in that edgy voice he hated so much.

But Riku wouldn't back down. In fact, he did quite the opposite. Because it felt like a challenge.

"So you've decided to stop ignoring me? Finally! Well, now, mother, would you please be so kind and explain to me why you don't want me to meet anyone? It's not like you care about me! It's not like you see me except when I'm doing something you demand of me!" He stopped himself as he noticed that his voice had gotten louder. He didn't mean to shout at her.

Meanwhile, the servants took away the dishes and served the next course. Their dinner consisted of seven or eight courses and they were currently at the third one. Riku's mother gave a short laugh and she shook her head.

"Oh, my Riku, you're still such a child. When will you finally learn? You are not one of them. We don't want you to interact with such low people. They are blind and stupid. They wouldn't appreciate you. Those people are simple-minded and ignorant fools. You are too good for them."

It hurt Riku to hear these words because he felt like his mother had just insulted Sora. Simple-minded and ignorant fool? Blind and stupid? Sora was nothing like that!

But his mother wasn't finished. In fact, she had just started.

"You wouldn't find satisfaction with them!" She gave another short laugh, though it sounded bitter.

"They only see your money, your glorious life style and that's it. They wouldn't ever like you. Not because you aren't a good person, no, you're perfect, Riku. You're like a gemstone among those dirty pebbles. But they can't see it, and that's why you will only be disappointed…" She suddenly stopped, her expression changing slightly into a more thoughtful look. She actually seemed to have emotions for a moment and Riku frowned.

"…they will only break your heart. You will just get hurt if you get too close to those idiots."

Their eyes met for a second but the magic was gone immediately, for the woman's eyes turned cold in an instant.

"I forbid you to get involved with anyone other than the people we tell you to meet! These low-class fools have no right to meet you and you will continue to go to your lessons and learn everything you can. When I was your age I didn't have the chance! Now look at you, you have everything, and you can study all you want! You live in paradise!"

She didn't seem to lose her temper. She was just using her deafening frequency now that Riku cringed, shrinking into his chair. There she was saying it again and for a second the thought of strangling her came to his mind but he quickly banished it. No, he would never think of anything like that. It wasn't right. He knew she loved him, at least somehow and that in some weird and twisted kind of way she was convinced that her idea was correct. It was all a matter of discussion…but discussions with that woman? Riku should have never started…

"I live in paradise, you say?" he quietly asked. He saw his father turning to him with a cautious look, telling him to stop now because enough was enough. Once his mother had an outburst, she wouldn't let him off that easily anymore.

But Riku refused to give in now. Not after that remark, not after that challenging remark about paradise.

"You know what, mother?" he angrily bit out, clenching his teeth at the thought of telling her what he was thinking.

"You think this is paradise, you really do? Well, I tell you something. After all these years I've figured out something. If this is really paradise, if this is really what people think of when they say 'paradise'….then I'd rather go to hell!"

With that, he pushed out of his chair, got up and turned. Only then, it occurred to him that he had never acted like that before. He had never actually shouted or been this aggressive. And his mother hadn't been crying.

'Crying…?'

His eyes widened at the unfamiliar sound and he spun around to see his mother's face buried in her hands while his father had a mortified look on his face. Riku felt a pang in his chest and his mouth opened in some vain attempt to say something, to apologize maybe. Never had his mother cried. Never had he seen her like this, all emotional and distressed. Had he really hurt her?

He clenched his fists.

"If…if you would excuse me now…I wish to go to my room…"

He forced the words out, trying to apologize through them. Maybe she would stop crying then. And indeed, she did. She stopped her sobbing and looked up.

"Riku…"

He shuddered. There was the voice again. That cold, high-frequency voice.

"If you ever…ever talk to me like that again…" she threatened, slowly gaining her usual calmness.

"One more time, and I'll throw you out of this house, with my own hands! And you'll never be able to come back here, do you understand? I will throw you out and see you roll to the other side of the town if you ever, I mean ever, in my and your whole life, talk like that to me again."

She paused, letting the words sink in before she gave one final "Did I make myself clear?"

And it sounded so hostile, so hurtful that Riku couldn't help feeling tears springing into his eyes. He hated her. He absolutely hated her. And he had felt sorry just a second ago. Rubbing his nose with the back of his hand he dipped his head, keeping it bowed, as he was used to.

"Yes…ma'am…" he hissed, biting his lip so hard it almost drew blood.

And then he left. He calmly walked into his room, shut the door and locked it. There he was again. The huge room. And it seemed so cold. So empty.

He went to the phone. Luckily his phone saved the numbers of those who called. Wiping once more at his nose and eyes, he took a deep breath and relaxed. Eventually, a small smile came to his lips and he dialled a certain number.

***

Sora was sitting in the living room with nothing to do. It was after nine and his mother wouldn't be back until midnight so he was bored. He could have gone to sleep but he didn't feel like lying in that bed right now. Then he remembered he was supposed to do the laundry, which meant washing the clothes with his hands because they had no machine. His mother had told him to do so two days ago and he still hadn't done it.

"Aw man…nothing saves me from this…" he muttered to himself.

But as if on cue, the phone suddenly rang, and Sora's heart leapt into his throat since he knew it could only be one person. No one had his number and only one person would call him at this time.

He spurted over to the phone and picked up.

"Hello, Sora speaking!"

He heard a chuckle on the other side of the line and smiled.

"Riku!" he cheerfully called, already knowing it was him the moment he picked up.

The boy on the other side heaved a sigh.

"Hey, Sora…"

The brunet frowned at the tone in his voice. Riku sounded strange.

"Hey what's wrong? You sound kinda strange…"

There was no answer to that but eventually Riku heaved another sigh. Sora could hear some rustling through the phone and then there was another heavy sigh.

Riku had sat down on the carpeted floor of his room, leaning his head against the wall as he held the phone.

"Would you mind talking to me for a while?" he then asked, quietly and timidly so that Sora felt his mood rise. It was the shy Riku, all right! He grinned happily at having that boy back, the one who wouldn't be so cocky and superior. Riku even sounded needy right now. Which caused Sora to frown again.

"Nah, we can talk all you want. I've got loads of time," he answered, sitting down on the kitchen counter, which gave a creaking sound in protest. He winced and hoped it wouldn't break.

There was silence for a while and Sora wondered what exactly he was supposed to do. Was Riku expecting him to say something? He thought of asking Riku about the whole coming over to his place thing but he wasn't sure whether it was good idea. Riku had told him he had to take care of a few things first…

"So, what's up?" he lamely asked, not knowing what else to say.

To his surprise Riku blew out his breath into the receiver. "Pffft…it's nothing. Just trouble with my stupid mother…I thought I might tell you…" he stopped again and it seemed he was thinking it through.

Sora smiled. "Tell me everything. I'd be glad to listen."

It didn't matter to him that he had school on the next day. It didn't matter to him that the kitchen counter was certainly not liking his weight. And it didn't matter to him that he was supposed to do the laundry.

'Two days, three days, what's the difference?'

If it was about Riku, nothing else mattered. He would spend the whole night talking to him if necessary. And it probably was, because Riku began to tell him about the dinner and what had taken place and what he felt. It wasn't before 1 a.m when Sora's mother finally came home, blinking in surprise as she saw the boy curled up on the floor with the receiver pressed to his ear while he slept.

On the other side of the line, Riku was equally curled up on the floor, in the same position with the receiver at his ear, sleeping peacefully.

The sound of each other's breathing had lulled them into sleep after everything had been told. And so they fell asleep on the phone, probably causing one hell of a phone bill but who cared?

The boys, obviously not.

– To be continued –

=========

Ending notes: sorry about this chapter being so lame. But I needed this part so you get the idea of what's going on in Riku's family life... and the ending was ok, wasn't it? I mean despite all the things the evil mother said, Riku still kind of trusts Sora. Enough to call him and tell him everything... I think that needs some amount of trust.
Also...For all the fluff lovers (which is probably most of you ^^) I promise the next chapter will be full of fluff! It will come out as soon as possible and as fluffy as possible so don't be too disappointed with this chapter right now. It was necessary.
Review if you like.