All right, here we go. –Sigh- I will try to explain this to you guys, but you all will probably still hate me forever more. Anyway, here goes…
Shortly after I posted the eighth chapter on here, I had the ninth all typed up, and was prepared to post it when…suddenly…I lost interest in yaoi and fanfiction. Well, I still liked it, but it didn't have the same hold for me as it did before. And I almost had no free time in my life—what with skating and all, so I just decided to quit fanfiction.
I deleted the next chapter of this, and the next ones for "An Unexpected Gift" as well. Plus I deleted all the stories I had yet to post on here. Stupid, aren't I? Well, in April of last year, I got into fanfiction again, and re-wrote the next chapter of AUG, and this one—but then after posting the third chappy of AUG, I decided I didn't want to do fanfiction…AGAIN. And thus I deleted this chapter yet again.
Now here me out, I am here to stay, I swear it. I've already posted two more chapters of "An Unexpected Gift" and also posted two more one-shots, "Mistletoe" and "We're All Pixies Deep Down, Aren't We?" in case you want to check them out. Plus I am co-writing a fic with biach-goddess-leah, titled, "Strawberries and Cream", and it is posted on her account.
So as I said, this chapter was re-written from it's original form—and is vastly different than it was originally, so just bear with me, okay? Also, I could not remember several things that happened in this chapter, so I did other things instead. For instance how Sonja wakes Sora up. I thought up something really hilarious, but I could not remember it. So the one I stuck in here is really stupid. Please forgive me, okay?
Anyway…enough talking! If you remember this fic at all—please come back and read and review it! I would be oh so happy if you did—and surely it would keep me from quitting fanfiction yet again. XD And believe me, I'm serious about this again. Before I started the ninth chappy, I went back and edited all the previous eight chapters. Yup, I AM serious here. XD
Summary: Sora Hikari is a normal 16-year-old trying to survive through school, friends, crazed ex-girlfriends (or they think they were his girlfriend) and stalkers. Or at least he thinks he is normal…
Disclaimer: All right, people—we are at an understanding now, yes? I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Tis a pity, I know—but we must learn to accept this horrid fact already. –Weeps despite herself-
Warning: This fic will contain yaoi (boyxboy love). If you do not care for boyxboy love, I suggest you leave. This fic will also contain language.
Reviews: I cannot believe how many reviews I got for the last chapter! Over twenty… Wow. So fantastic! I know it's been over a year and all, but I have to tell you all that those reviews made me so happy—especially since I was so sad about Sugar Daddy. I thank you all profoundly for your kind words and condolences.
A/N:Well, folks, I know it's been a long haul, but if you stick with me through this chapter, I can assure you I will stick through this to the end. ;) The chapter title for this comes from my favorite song by my favorite band, U2. "With or Without You" is such a beautiful song. ;) And it TOTALLY fit with this chapter and this fic in general. Trust me. xD I highly reccomend you give the song a listen while you read this. Just go on Youtube or something and check it out. (But make sure it's an '80's version of it—it's the best!) Also...the quote for this chapter...I've never watched that show, but I liked the quote--it fit. ;) Well, hope you read this and enjoy it. :)
I'll Be There for You - Chapter 9. With or Without You
-o-
"It seems to me that the best relationships, the ones that last, are frequently the ones rooted in friendship. You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than the night before, like a switch has been flicked somewhere, and the person who was just a friend is suddenly the only person you can ever imagine yourself with." --The X-Files (the character Dana Katherine Scully)
It was now very late in the night, and it was dark outside when Sonja Hikari returned with her two sons and Leon. All three of the boys were thoroughly exhausted, and they trudged up the stairs to their beds. While Sonja decided to head off to the kitchen for a little midnight snake, as she came back out of the kitchen, and was preparing to sit on the couch, she suddenly stopped. There asleep on the couch was Riku, and he looked exactly like when she had seen him on the stairs.
She smiled softly as she looked down at him. She then set down her glass of milk and plate of cookies on the coffee table, and went off to get something for him. She returned, and draped the blanket over him, tucking him in gingerly. She sat in a chair as she watched him sleep, that same soft and gentle smile on her face. "Oh, Riku, why have you returned to this Earth?" she quietly whispered, clasping her hands together. She glanced out the window, mesmerized by the brilliant stars in the dark sky.
Sonja finished eating her cookies and put the dishes away. As she passed the couch to go back up the stairs, preparing to go to bed, she stopped. She bent down and kissed Riku on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, my darling Riku," she whispered so quietly it was barely even audible. She then went up the stairs and went to bed.
Sonja decided that day, that she wanted to have some fun with waking Sora up. Honestly, she had been gone the past few days, and she really missed waking her darling little Sora up. Yes, she has complained that he is a pain to wake up before, but all in all, she has fun doing it, and she loves it. So…she knew she had to wake him up in a new wonderful way. But what on earth would that be? She paced around the kitchen as she thought over this. It was all rather troubling, you see.
How about plan Firebird? No, no…that was not original; she used it all the time. She needed something different. Plan Deathroad? No, she always used that one on Roxas—so she most certainly could not use it for Sora. No, she kept them separate. Plan Blizzard was a no as well. And she did not really feel like using plan Rock 'em Sock 'em, either. It was not even that good, anyway.
Suddenly, Sonja felt as if a light bulb had lit above her head. It was…it was perfect! And she had never even gotten around to using it yet! She had thought it up about a month ago or so, so this would be absolutely perfect now. Sonja was beaming with happiness. Yes, that would fit quite nicely, indeed. She went off to get all that she would need. On her way to the kitchen, she saw Riku still there, sleeping peacefully on the couch. She smiled softly.
Sora was still asleep on the floor. After all, he and Riku had fallen asleep there last night, after eating a HUGE amount of candy with Selphie. And she had seen Riku. Oh, brother. Sora was in a bind now. Why, oh why were even more people able to see Riku now? It was rather puzzling. After all, Riku had told Sora that only he would be able to see Riku, and no one else could…for whatever reason, Sora did not know.
Sora rolled over onto his right side, slightly curled up into a ball-shape. In the distance, soft footfalls were being made, but Sora paid them no mind. No, he was too lost in dreamland to be paying attention to anything else. He was rather enjoying his sleep, too, and he most certainly did not want to be woken from it. But did Sonja ever think of that? Yes, of course she did…she simply did not care.
Now what happened to poor, innocent little Sora, you ask? Why, he was covered in whipped cream from head to toe. Why? Only Sonja knew that. You could no longer even see the brunet any more; all you saw was a big pile of white fluff. Sonja smirked as she counted to five. Any second now…
"WHAT IN THE HELL?!"
And there ya go…
Sonja simply rolled on the floor laughing, pointing at Sora like he was some space alien, or something that strange, anyway. She hit the floor with her fist several times, still laughing hysterically.
Sora found it hard to move, for he was covered in whipped cream, after all. How did it wake him up? He could not breath any longer for there was so much on him, and he felt quite moist and itchy as well.
"Sora!" Sonja scolded. "You're ruining the carpet, you ninny!" She then burst out laughing again.
"And whose fault is that?!" Sora screamed, going a bit too much over the edge. Oh, my…
"Why, yours, of course, sweetie," Sonja answered innocently.
Sora groaned and attempted to get some of the whipped cream off of him, but it was futile, really—for it—was—everwhere!!Sora groaned again, feeling like killing his mother once and for all.
This was when Sora realized Riku was not in the room. All right, where had he wandered off to now? Sora was getting rather tired of it, honestly. Riku left without even telling him he was leaving. He could at least leave him a note or something like that.
Deciding that it was the only way to get rid of all the fucking whipped cream; Sora trudged off to take a shower, a white trail behind him. Besides, he would be rather sticky, too. Sora sighed. Why, oh why did he have to have a mother like Sonja?
She snorted with laughter when she saw him slam the bathroom door shut. She sighed dreamily as she leaned back on the floor, crossing her arms behind her head. "Ah, I love my life." After lying there a moment, she stood up to go get a few wet towels. After all, she had a lot of whipped cream to clean up.
Sora groaned as he emerged from the bathroom squeaky clean. He had finally managed to get rid of all the whipped cream, though it was rather hard. It was coated on, I tell you, coated on! Yes…Sora now detested whipped cream. It would be forever ruined for him now. He shivered at the mere thought of it.
He began to whistle as he went down the stairs, only to suddenly hear someone scream, "YOU CAN'T KILL HIM, CLOUD!!" And then Roxas came running down the stairs, and inevitably ran into Sora, resulting in the two tumbling down and rolling down the stairs. They ended up in a heap against the wall.
"Oh, Sora, you friggin' idiot!" Roxas growled.
"Friggin' idiot? Who's a friggin' idiot?! If anyone's a friggin' idiot, it's you, for you came running down the stairs like a lunatic!" Sora shouted.
"Whatever!" Roxas shouted back. "Now is not the time! Cloud is going to KILL Axel!"
"But why?" Sora asked, cocking his head to the side.
"Because Cloud is an over-protective brother!" Roxas answered. "What other reason could there possibly be?"
Roxas and Sora suddenly heard a loud noise. Uh-oh. It sounded like something fragile had just broken.
"You stay out of this house and away from my brother, you…you sex-maniac!" Yup—that was definitely Cloud's voice.
"I didn't do anything with Roxas last night, I swear!" Axel protested.
Roxas went back up the stairs, Sora close behind him.
"Then why the hell were you in his bed?!" Cloud demanded.
"We were snuggling!" Axel elaborated. "Snuggling is innocent! Just ask Roxas!"
Roxas pushed Cloud away from Axel. "Cloud, I swear, it's true. For once we didn't do anything!"
Cloud's eye twitched. "F-for once?"
Roxas sighed. "Cloud, I know you may not approve of Axel, and I know you're my brother and everything—but you need to give him a break."
"Why should I?" asked Cloud, getting more annoyed by the second.
"Because I love him!" Roxas shouted.
This made Axel stop moving and Cloud move back. "W-what?" Axel stuttered.
"You heard me," was all Roxas said.
And then…
"Oh, Roxas, I love you too!" Axel ran over to the blond and hugged him for dear life.
Cloud watched the scene with slight scorn. Finally he cleared his throat and said, "You have my blessing." He then went off to find Leon.
Axel cheered. "Roxas, I can't believe you love me!"
"How could you not tell?" Roxas mumbled into Axel's shirt.
"I can't figure out everything for myself, Roxas," said Axel, smiling brightly.
Sora took this as his cue to head on out. He went back down the stairs, and wandered into the kitchen to get breakfast. He growled as he passed his mother and sat down. "Good morning, mother," he greeted coldly.
Sonja merely giggled, taking a long sip of her coffee. "Oh, good morning to you as well, my precious, precious son!"
Sora merely grunted before he began to eat his waffles; Sonja smiled.
Once Sora had finally finished his breakfast, he went back out to the living room, only to spot something on the couch that caused him to scream aloud and jump up. The thing is…Sora did not land on his feet gracefully, so he fell down on the floor, still screaming.
A melodic voice from the kitchen was heard. "Oh, Sora, honey, whatever happened to you, darling?" Sonja called.
"N-nothing!" Sora answered. "I-I just fell! I'm fine!"
"Whatever you say!" Sonja sang.
Sora growled as he stood back up. He glared at the couch that held a certain silver-haired occupant covered in a blanket, and half-hanging off the couch, to be precise. Sora stuck his tongue out Riku, even though he could not see him. Either way, he was angry with Riku. It was his fault that he had fallen over like a fool. Well, to be honest, it was not exactly Riku's fault. The silver-haired teen had merely taken Sora by surprise, and that was all. But the boy was evil deep down Sora swore it.
Sora glanced back at the kitchen to where his mom was currently grooving to, "Dude Looks Like a Lady" by Aerosmith. (1) If Riku had been on this couch for a long time, perhaps all night, surely his mother would have seen him on the couch… But she had not mentioned anything about him to Sora, which she most likely would have. So—could she no longer see him? Perhaps this meant Selphie could no longer see Riku either. Sora smiled in thought. Perhaps then…everything would be all right after all.
Sora then decided that he would at least have to wake the silver-haired angel up. It was the only merciful thing to do, after all—otherwise Riku would miss out on the entire day.
So Sora whispered to Riku quietly—after all, he did not want his mother to hear—or else she really would believe Riku had come back, as a ghost or whatever she thought he was.
"Riku! Wake up!" Sora whispered.
"W-what?" Riku mumbled sleepily.
"Time to wake up, sleepyhead!" Sora whispered slightly louder, sneaking a glance back at the kitchen.
"Idon'wanna!" Riku mumbled his words together.
Sora frowned, placing his hands on his hips. All right, he had an idea on how to wake up Riku, and he could do it without Sonja being the least suspicious. He kicked his leg forward and screamed, "ARGH!!! THAT HURT LIKE HELL!!!" right near Riku's ear. The angel snapped up immediately, looking scared out of his wits.
Sonja called out, "Are you okay, Sora?"
"I stubbed my toe!" Sora informed her.
"Oh, well, you're right. It does hurt like hell!" she called out.
Sora grinned. His plan had worked perfectly after all. He grinned to himself. Meanwhile, Riku was giving him the death glare. He pointed to the door, standing up and walking to it. Sora chuckled and followed him. Before they were gone, he yelled out to his mom that they were leaving.
As soon as they were gone, Sonja said to herself, "Have fun with Riku, dear."
While outside, Riku was thoroughly infuriated.
"You little weasel!" he yelled, looking Sora directly in the eye.
Sora, feigning innocent, said, "But Riku, dearest, you would not wake up. I had to do what I had to do."
"You could have done it a little bit quieter!" Riku persisted.
"Believe me, I tried," Sora said flatly.
Riku slumped his shoulders. "Oh, well. Whatever, Sora, sorry I'm in a bit of a bad mood. I couldn't sleep well last night."
"I noticed," Sora said with a sigh. "But at least you didn't get woken up by finding you were covered in whipped cream."
Riku stopped walking; Sora turned around to see what halted the other teen. Riku was silent for a long time, and then finally...
"Bwahaha! Did Sonja really do that? Oh my gosh, that is fuckin' hilarious! I cannot believe that! So…damn…funny!" Riku held his side, gasping for breath.
"It's not funny," said Sora, deeply upset by Riku's behavior.
But Riku paid him no mind, and just continued to laugh and laugh. Finally, he was able to control himself and caught up to where Sora was. "Hey, Sora, wait up!" he called.
"I do not wait for hyennas," said Sora.
"I'm not a hyenna!" Riku objected.
"Well, you sure as hell were acting like one back there…you big oaf."
"I am not a big oaf!"
"Sure you aren't," said Sora, rolling his eyes.
Riku sighed. "I apologize, okay? Now can we go back to being friends?"
Sora hesitated for a moment. He then answered, "Of course."
Riku smiled and ruffled the brunet's hair. "So, Sora, what do you want to do today?" he asked. "We've done basically everything since I've come back. Gone to a movie, ate breakfast at IHOP, roller skated, ice skated, gone to the island, played Candy Land, went to the carnival, eaten a—should be illegal amount—of candy." Sora laughed at this. "So is there really that much left we haven't done yet?"
Sora smiled. "Well, you know, Riku, we sure have done a lot since you've come back—and I'm so thankful for that. But I have a special idea." And Sora then quickly ran back inside to get something. Riku waited for a few minutes, rocking back and forth on his heals, whistling. Sora finally returned.
"What took you so long, Sora?" Riku asked, putting his hands in his pockets.
Sora held up a basket. "Let's have a picnic today, Riku! I bet it'll be a lot of fun!"
"That sounds fantastic, Sora. But didn't you just eat breakfast?"
"Well, I thought we could just go to the park first, and then we could eat. Besides, I have plenty more room left in my stomach for food," said Sora, patting his stomach.
Riku chuckled. "That's right. I forgot that you're the bottomless pit."
"I am not!" Sora objected indignantly.
This only resorted in Riku laughing even more. "Hahaha! Sora, you are just too funny!"
Sora still looked very indignant.
They reached the park, and decided to walk around a bit. There was a small lake here, and Sora spotted several swans.
"Look, Riku, look at them! Aren't they beautiful?" Sora asked, smiling brightly.
"They sure are," Riku said. He added in thought, But not as beautiful as you.
Sora then poked Riku on the shoulder. Riku turned around to face the brunet, whom had a wide grin on his face. "What is it, Sora?"
"TAG! You're it!" Sora suddenly exclaimed, running away from Riku quickly.
It took Riku a moment to realize what this situation meant. --Oh,-- he thought. --He wants to play Tag.-- Oh, it would seem that Riku finally grasped what Sora meant. Hm…he isn't the brightest bulb in the box, now is he?
He quickly ran after Sora. He would surely make him it instead! How dare he do something like this unexpectedly?! But by the time Riku began to run after Sora, the brunet was so far ahead that Riku no longer even saw him. Finally, he spotted a spike of brown hair. Riku grinned as he pressed on running. Soon he caught up enough with Sora and lunged forward towards the boy. Sora yelped in surprise.
"Gotcha!" Riku exclaimed as he latched his arms around the brunet. The two tumbled down to the ground, Riku grinning triumphantly.
"You big meanie!" Sora accused, punching Riku in the chest.
"Wow, I totally felt that, Sora," said Riku, yawning slightly.
Sora was now infuriated. He punched him again. Riku noticed the difference this time; it actually hurt. "You're always so damn mean, Riku! Give me a break!"
Riku smiled. "All right, Sora, I'll try and be nicer—'kay?"
Sora blushed at Riku's expression and looked down at the ground. "O-okay."
Riku looked over at a beautiful cherry tree. "Hey, Sora, that's a nice place. Why don't we have our picnic there, okay?"
"It's perfect!" Sora exclaimed, standing up quickly. It was, indeed, most beautiful. The cherry tree was stunning, and the spot was shaded by it. Sora ran over to it and sat down, smiling brightly. He called for Riku to come over; he complied.
"So, Sora, did you actually make the stuff in there?" Riku asked, crossing his legs when he sat down.
"U-uh, yeah, I did."
Riku frowned. "Well, let's just hope it's not poisonous then."
"Riku!" Sora hit his shoulder, but in a somewhat playful manner.
Riku smirked as he pulled out one of the sandwiches and began to eat it. "Heh. I'm not poisoned yet." He finished one half of the sandwich. "Hmm…it's actually not that bad." The sandwich was now completely gone. "Hey, Sora, that was actually pretty good."
"Really?" said Sora, wide-eyed. He had been so worried! After all, one cannot forget the horrid tragedy that occurred when Sora attempted to make soup when he was seven. No, no, you could not. Set the whole house on fire, he did.
"Sure it is," said Riku, ruffling Sora's hair. "Go ahead and eat, too, Sora, I bet you're plum starvin' by now. We all know what a glutton you are."
Sora chuckled and picked up a sandwich. "We have lemonade, too—and chips and watermelon, Riku. Everything you need for a picnic."
"That's perfect, Sora, just perfect."
And so then…they had the perfect picnic.
They were nearly done eating now, and Sora's back was turned to Riku for the moment. Riku smiled softly as he glanced at the brunet. His heartbeat began to quicken, and he swallowed down the lump in his throat.
All right, Riku decided in thought, I'm just going to get it over with already. I'm going to tell Sora, and that's that.
Riku reached out a hand to touch Sora, but just then, his head began to scream again, and he felt undeniable pain surge throughout his entire body. His hand was left in mid-air.
Suddenly, a person ran up to Sora. It was that…other Rikku or whatever. Riku's hand fell down to his side limply. That high-pitched voice was still screaming inside his head, and he felt like it would deafen him.
"Sora!" Rikku shouted as she ran up to the brunet, and slid down onto his picnic blanket.
"Hey there, Rikku!" Sora greeted cheerfully.
"Whatcha doin', Sora?" She furrowed her brows together, confused. "Are you having a picnic by yourself?"
Sora looked around. Riku…was gone. Sora's eyes widened slightly. He sighed exasperatedly. Why do you just wander off all the time, Riku? he asked in thought. He then turned back to Rikku and smiled. "No, of course not. I was supposed to meet up with a friend, but they still haven't come. Hey, do you want some, Rikku?"
Rikku smiled brightly. "Sure!"
Rikku's mother had called her to leave a few minutes ago, and then Sora was left there on his picnic blanket all alone.
To be honest, he was getting quite tired of Riku always taking off, not even telling him where he was going. He was being so secretive lately. Like what about the time they had gone to the island recently? Before that, Riku had just wandered off, and told Sora he could not tell him where he had been. Why would he not tell Sora? Why was he holding things back? What…was wrong with Riku?
And then something dawned on Sora. Maybe he's trying to figure out what he's supposed to do here on Earth? he thought. Maybe Riku's almost figured it out! Hope was in Sora's heart now, and he jumped up, adrenaline pumping through his veins. It would be so wonderful if that were true! And then—and then Riku would be able to stay here as a human again!
Hmm…though I would miss his angel wings, Sora thought. He then laughed aloud at the mere thought of it. He would not care if Riku no longer had his wings—he just wanted the silver-haired boy to walk the earth as an actual human again. Sora sighed dreamily.
But then again…perhaps Riku was not working on his "mission" at all. It could be something entirely different. Then what…is he keeping from me? thought Sora. Y-you have to stay here, Riku. But then Sora came to the horrifying truth. "I-I…I can't live, with or without you," he whispered quietly. (2)
Despite his thoughts, Sora gathered up the remains of the picnic and headed off to search for Riku. After all, he did need to find the boy, wherever he may be. He decided to head home first—because perhaps Riku had decided to go there and surprise Sora when he returned. Yeah…that must be it.
Sora quickly rushed home and the door flew open as he ran in. But too bad for poor little Sora, Marluxia was there and bombarded him with questions upon questions. "So what is your favorite flower? Do you like roses? Pansies? Hydrangeas? Lilies? Lilacs? Oh, there are so many to choose! What is your favorite rose color? Of course, red is an obvious pick—"
"Marluxia, shut up!" Sora shouted, trying to get away from the flower freak. He did manage to get away, but ran into Reno instead.
"Sora, whoa, whatcha rushing so much there for? One would think you'd seen a ghost or something," said Reno.
Not exactly, Sora thought with a hint of amusement. After all, Riku was not a ghost. "Eh?" Sora said, somewhat dumbstruck.
Reno laughed. "Sora, do you know what tomorrow is?"
"What?" said Sora, still somewhat dumbly.
He had not expected to run into Reno like this…he needed to find Riku. He needed to see the boy again; see his warm smile and his soft aquamarine eyes—he just wanted to see him again so badly.
He had missed him so badly for five years now…and finally he had him again. It was all too wonderful. But he felt like—every minute not spent with Riku was a wasted moment. After all, he did not know how much longer he left with Riku. True, the boy could perhaps end up staying here—but Sora did not know this for sure, so he needed to make sure that he spent as much time with Riku as possible.
So Sora felt desperate. Why was Reno talking to him? Why would he not stop? For some reason, Sora felt panicked—like he needed to find Riku right away—or else something terrible may happen. He was not sure why he felt this way—but he did, and he could not ignore it. Truthfully, it could be untrue, and that nothing was really wrong at all. But Sora could just not shake off this overwhelming feeling of dread.
"Tomorrow is the best day ever!" Reno announced, bringing Sora back down to Earth.
He looked up at the redhead bewildered, shaking his head back and forth. "W-why?" he asked, blinking several times.
"Oho, you shall have to wait and find out, my dearest Sora!" was all Reno said before he ran off to go torture Kadaj more.
Sora sighed, hanging his head slightly. No one told him anything. What on earth was Reno planning now? He knew it was not Reno's birthday tomorrow, so he could not be excited about that—but then what was it? But Sora shook his head, shaking away those thoughts. After all, he needed to find Riku—and immediately the sense of dread crashed down on him like a giant wave once more. He quickly ran up the stairs and into his room.
But Riku was not there.
Sora began to feel panicked again. Where was Riku? Why was he not here? Why did he always leave Sora alone? And then a horrifying thought struck Sora. Perhaps…perhaps Riku had been sent back up to Heaven! Maybe that was what had happened. But it horrified Sora so much he could not bear to think of it.
"It can't be true," Sora told himself. "It's impossible!" And Sora fled from his room and went back outside. He had to find Riku! He was here somewhere—Sora knew it. He was not gone. He had not been sent back up to Heaven. It was not true. Sora knew it deep down in his heart.
But truthfully…there was doubt in Sora's heart as well, and he could not shrug off this horrid feeling.
He searched everywhere. He went back to the park they had been, to the movies, to the ice skating rink, to where they had roller skated—but Riku was nowhere to be found. Sora went everywhere he could possibly think of—he even went back to the island. But yet again, Riku was not there.
Sora was distraught now.
It was like it was repeating itself all over again—the time Riku had hidden from Sonja, but he was not where Sora had left him. Thankfully that time, Riku ended up back in Sora's house again. But this time Riku was not there. Sora even went back a second time to check and make sure he had not missed the silver-haired boy. But Sora had been right the first time.
Sora fell down to the ground, gripping his head. "Where are you, Riku?" he cried out. "Where did you go? You can't have left me here all alone again." Sora felt desperate now. It felt like he was running out of time. It felt like with each new hour that passed by, it was more and more likely that Riku could have really gone back to Heaven. And for good this time. After all, neither boy knew how long Riku was to stay here on Earth.
But then Sora suddenly remembered something—realizing where he was. He was very close to the graveyard where Riku had been buried. Gasping slightly, Sora stood back up and headed in the direction of the graveyard. He felt like he was being drawn to it by some unknown force.
In no time, he reached the graveyard. It was a vastly large graveyard, and Sora did not exactly remember where Riku's grave was. He could not even exactly remember the last time he had visited Riku's grave. It had…been a while. Sora had stopped going because every time he visited Riku's grave, it made him so sad he could not stand it.
Sora searched through the graveyard, whispering, "Riku, where could you be?"
After a while, Sora felt like he was in an endless maze—it seemed like every grave he looked at was not Riku's, and he did not see the silver-haired angel anywhere in sight. And then Sora turned to his left. There he saw Riku, down on his knees, his wings sprouting forth from his back which was bloody, and dozens of feathers were lying around him, being blown by the wind into the air and away.
He cried out, "Don't take me yet! It's too soon, damn it!"
Sora reeled back, surprised. He hid behind a tombstone, his sapphire eyes peering out from behind to stare at Riku. What was wrong with him? "R-Riku?" he whispered quietly.
1 - Bwahaha. That is one of the funniest songs ever. If you have not heard it already, give it a listen. Seriously. ;)
2 – Ooh! Ooh! This is one of the lyrics from the song "With or Without You"—and It fit perfectly with the situation. xD I adore that line. When Bono sings it so passionately, my heart swoons. LOL I love him so darn much. X-X/XP/XD (Ooh! Several emotions! How strange…)
Next chapter: Reno's party finally arrives! Well—I think it will, anyway—I don't have the next chapter written like I usually do. Not even a part of it. So I'm not really sure what will happen next chapter. But the cliffhanger shall be resolved, I'll tell you that. ;)
All right, you guys, that's it. I hope you enjoyed it. (And sorry it was shorter! The next chapter will be longer, I promise. :D) As I said before, it is extremely different than when I first wrote it. But to be honest, I quite like it this way. I like the whole picnic part—which wasn't in it first.
Also, I plan to update this every other week, alternating if with my other fic. Updates will usually be at like 2:00 in the morning on Saturday (eastern time). Because that is before I go to bed, and I tend to post a new chappy right before I go to bed. xD Strange, isn't it?
Well, see ya next time! And don't forget to review! Only two away from a hundred, people! –Cheers-
