"Once Upon a Paopu Fruit"
by The Carpet Shampoo
Disclaimer: …Whatever…
Author's Commentary: Yes, I had a name change! Pixie goes back to like…a Monster Rancher reference. So, I decided it was time for something new. Blank and I decided I should be…The Carpet Shampoo. ((Also, late last night while she was over at my house, we decided to co-write a fic! Look for it real soon…Promise you'll read it?))
BTW, thanks to a reviewer by the name of CLOud, I was inspired to think up an ending to this story and where I'm going to take it, based off the question, does Riku really love Sora, or is it just the fruit at work? Thanks Reviewer CLOud!!!!!!
Chapter 9: Concerning Kairi
Riku swept up the last of Selphie's floor and sighed. Finally he could go and relax, change out of this dumb outfit. It had seemed so long ago since dinner, when Sora had walked in with Kairi. Such sudden and strange events had occurred.
Upon seeing Kairi, Riku found himself nervous. She was casually leaning on Sora's shoulder, and he could see that despite having cleaned herself up, she had been crying. Riku excused himself into the kitchen, but he could feel the eyes staring at him as he left the room. Everyone it seemed, was expecting him to snap. But Riku was an expert at the art of not caring. He simply made his face a mask and walked off. Even Tidus had backed off, thinking Riku was about to blow. Everyone on the island was asleep now.
Riku changed back into his normal clothes, feeling much relieved. He walked out to go retrieve his boat and returned home, when he noticed something.
A lone figure stood out on the dock, skipping stones in the water. Riku studied the profile, and saw a moonlight reflection on slightly tanned skin, and a soft spiked hair style blowing in the wind. It was that face that always made his heart pound, Sora, with long soft lashes and cerulean eyes.
Despite the warm feeling he always felt near Sora, and that little shiver that ran up his spine, Riku couldn't ignore the anger that was seething inside of him. He'd never been jealous before. Sora and Kairi had always been close, and even when Riku was dating Kairi, he had never been jealous to find Kairi running to Sora with problems, sobbing her heart out on Sora's shoulder, letting Sora hold her, caress her. She'd never gone to Riku that way and it had never bothered him. She'd needed Sora, there was no more to it than that.
But tonight, to see Kairi and Sora together, seeing Sora's arm, no matter how casually draped around her, Riku had felt incredibly jealous. He knew he should trust Sora, he knew it was wrong to feel angry like that. Kairi and Sora just were affectionate; they would hold each other like that. Riku knew Sora would stop if he told him too, but what would that accomplish? So Riku did the only thing he knew how to do – he bottled his emotions, locking them up, his rage and his jealousy, and laughed with the rest of them – just wore his Riku shaped mask.
Riku watched as the Sora figure on the dock slipped off his shoes and settled himself on the edge of the dock, his toes dangling down into the crashing waves, caressing him gently. Riku found himself moving towards Sora, almost unconsciously, slipping off his own shoes, guided by a fate he couldn't control. He settled himself next to Sora, expertly skipping a flat stone about five times before losing it to the waves.
"Darn…I only got mine to skip three times…" Sora looked over at Riku and smiled. Riku felt the anger that gripped his heart melting at the sight of Sora's smile…
…That same smile he had given to Kairi.
The anger boiled up again. Riku wanted to be the only one who got to see Sora smile…Sora leaned up against Riku's shoulder, His bare foot lightly brushing up against the other boys, though it was unclear whether that was an accident or on purpose. Sora nudged against Riku's shoulder and glanced up, tilting his head up to brush his lips up against the side of Riku's face, then lowering to plant a soft kiss on his friend's neck.
"Riku…?" Riku could be cold towards Sora at times, but he was acting more so than usual. "What's wrong Riku?"
"I don't want you to spend time with Kairi." Sora jerked back away from his friend, azure eyes wide with disbelief. He looked like he had just been slapped in the face.
"Riku…That's what this is about? You're jealous?! That's stupid!" Sora shook his head, completely shocked by his friend's words.
"I don't care. I know its stupid. But Sora I…I can't stand to see you close to her!" Riku looked up at Sora, his eyes glittered with a new type of pain and rage. He couldn't stop himself now. The bottle he'd used for his emotions had been shattered and he couldn't stop.
"Why were you even with her anyway?! I thought you and I were together now Sora! Why do you need her still? She's only in our way, my way! Leave her alone Sora!"
"Riku…I can't…Kairi's my friend!"
"But Sora…Sora…I want you Sora, I want you all to myself…" Riku closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around Sora, holding the boy close, murmuring into the soft spikes of his hair.
"Today you and Kairi looked so close…like you were some happy couple in love…I want to be the only one for you Sora, don't you see? I'm jealous, so horribly jealous of you and her…" Riku used one strong hand to draw Sora's face up to his. Their faces were so close…Riku could see the intense love in Sora's eyes, the need, the want….
…the fear…
Sora was afraid of Riku. Riku released him quickly, pulling away, his turquoise eyes still locked with Sora's sky blue ones. Sora's eyes reflected all the emotion of his heart, Riku knew that better than anyone else. He was afraid. Riku turned and ran, his feet pounding against the dock, landing in the soft sand, his feet not prepared to feel the sudden change of ground below him. He felt his ankle catch and he fell, crumbling in the ground below him. His ankle hurt like crazy, but it was nothing compared to the pain he felt scaring Sora like that.
He felt a cool hand rest against his shoulder.
"Riku…you don't have to be jealous of me and Kairi. I love you Riku…" Riku looked up and saw those blue eyes hovering above him, and he knew Sora was speaking the truth. But he couldn't yet believe it. He didn't believe in anything anymore. He had hurt Sora, he had known he had done it, but he couldn't stop himself.
"You don't love me Sora…" The Riku mask settled down over his face, as he stood up to his feet, ignoring the throbbing pain in his ankle.
"Its not like we ever fell in love anyway!" Riku shouted, staring at the boy still crouched in the sand, "It was all because of that dumb fruit and you know it Sora! Go to Kairi now, for all I care…I'm sorry I ate that fruit and disrupted you two's love…"
Sora could only watch as Riku walked away, slightly limping on the ankle he'd twisted. He could feel the tears sting his eyes, and felt them rolling down his face. He'd waited so long for Riku to look his way, waited so long to tell his friend he'd loved him, and now it ended like this.
"Don't leave me Riku…" But only the wind responded.
"Hey Riku! Wait up!" Riku turned, not in the mood for anyone as he stepped in his boat. Kairi's tiny little form, the last person he wanted to see next to Sora was running up towards him. She arrived slightly panting for breath and she grinned at Riku.
"I've been trying to talk to you for a while now…"
"Really?" Riku mumbled sarcastically, not caring. He was still in the mood to hurt someone and Kairi seemed as good as any.
"Riku, Sora and I were talking earlier…"
"You don't say?"
"And we decided you and I should break up. Its just not working out, you know, with you liking another guy and all." Now Riku felt like the one who had been slapped.
"You…You knew?"
"I saw you guys kissing yesterday…" Kairi blushed, wondering if she should have revealed that. "I got pretty upset and Sora comforted me…He really loves you Riku…I was upset yesterday and tried to get Sora to love me. But he wouldn't. I should have known that…Sora rejected me before I ever even asked you out…Nothing ever changes about him does it?" Kairi looked up at Riku and saw his pale face, mask shattered, staring out.
"Oh Riku…You and Sora didn't have some silly fight over me did you?" She could tell right away the two of them had had a fight and shook her head.
"You better go apologize right now Riku…" Kairi began pulling Riku out of his boat. Riku looked at her for a moment.
"Sora rejected you…twice?"
"Yes Riku, thank you for bringing that wonderful memory up again."
"Oh God…I've made such a bad mistake. Sora hates me now…" Kairi shook her head.
"No Riku, he can't hate you…he cares for you too much. You just need to find a way to make it up to him that's all. He'll take you back, no matter what he said." Kairi stepped back and stuck out her hand to Riku.
"Come on Riku! We'll think up the perfect plan!"
Author's Commentary: Next chapter is the last! I know, its sad, but Blank and I are going to start our co-written story (which can be viewed under this account) and I've been wanting to finish up this for a while now. Will Sora take Riku back? What is Kairi's plan? ^^ Round and round and round it goes, where the story stops, no one knows!
