And here's a new chapter. I think I'll go and hide and hope people aren't too mad at me for the ending of this…

Chapter Ten: Why'd it have to be us?

"Set sails and prepare to leave," Leon ordered, retuning with Cloud to their ship. "Cast off as soon as we're ready."

"Aye, aye, Captain!" Yuffie saluted and hopped off to get things done.

"Did we find what we were looking for?" Cid asked.

"No, they beat us to it," Cloud informed him. Cid let loose a long stream of swear words.

Just as Cid was walking away, Aerith came running up the docks, calling for Cloud loudly. He stepped to the ship railing and looked down at the out of breath woman.

"What is it?" He asked quietly. "We're almost ready to leave."

"It's Sephiroth," she gasped out.

Cloud froze as he felt Leon walk up behind him. Their eyes met for a long minute and it was Cloud who looked away first.

"You've got ten minutes," Leon said simply, turning and leaving. Cloud wasted no time and jumped onto the deck, singling Aerith to lead the way.

"Thank you," he whispered, knowing that Leon would somehow hear him.

Riku turned to face the pirate captain fully, a frown marring his face. He took one look at the man and knew there was no way he could win a fight against him. Sephiroth was much stronger and had been in far more fights then Riku. He held himself confidently, wielding his large sword with grace.

"You will fight an unarmed opponent?" He questioned, stalling for time as he thought of a plan. It didn't matter how much stronger Sephiroth was; Riku was fighting for Sora.

"You should have procured a weapon before challenging me," the pirate shrugged and was suddenly charging towards him.

Riku let his instincts take control as he shoved Sora away from him and dived the opposite way. He didn't waste anytime before getting up and moving to put distance between the pirate and himself. Across from him, Sora landed with a hard "umph" on the ground and his blue eyes widened in horror as he watched Sephiroth's sword come unnervingly close to cutting Riku's face. Sora tried to run to his friend's aid, but strong arms grasped his waist, pulling him away. Sora looked up to see Vincent moving him away from the fight.

"Vincent…" Sora whispered.

"…"

Sora turned his frightened eyes back to the fight just in time to see the sword slice Riku's arm.

Riku yelled in pain as the cold metal cut open his flesh, letting the blood run freely down his arm. He was having trouble staying out of the pirate's reach because of how long his sword and arm length was. And with no weapon of his own, Riku was having an even harder time defending himself.

Sephiroth raised his weapon again, his eyes shining cruelly in the dim light of the town. He brought it down and Riku did a summersault to the left. It was one of Sora's favorite moves; he had even given it the name "dodge roll." Again Sephiroth swung at him, but Riku had enough time to see it and move out of the way without a problem. It was then he noticed Sephiroth's weakness.

The man was fast and had a long reach, but he couldn't use his sword in close quarters without risking cutting himself in the process. If Riku could just find a weapon and get inside the pirate's guard he might just have a chance. Riku dodge rolled again, straitening and casting his eyes around desperately for some sort of sword.

What he found was a piece of wood. It was about ten feet from Sora and Vincent and right behind Sephiroth. Riku blinked once and moved forward. Suddenly everything seemed as though it was going in slow motion as he charged straight at Sephiroth. He registered the surprise on the pirate's face for a brief moment before Sephiroth raised his sword above his head. Right before the weapon hit him, Riku dove to the ground and slid forward a few feet, grasping the piece of wood. He twisted his body around and threw the object as hard as he could at the pirate captain.

It cut his hand, making him drop his sword. The world sped up again.

Riku was lying on the ground, battered and bruised and breathing heavily. Sephiroth stood, glaring down at his fallen sword and bloody hand. For a moment there was nothing but silence.

"…It has been awhile since I have last bled," Sephiroth said casually, as if he was only commenting on the weather. "Most would be surprised to see that my blood truly is red and not black, as they say my heart is."

No one answered and Riku slowly climbed to his feet, ignoring the pain searing through his body.

Sephiroth picked up his sword and turned to face Riku. "You are impressive, especially for one so young." He glanced at Vincent and a knowing look was passed between the two as Vincent nodded mutely. "A shame such potential has to be destroyed. But no one makes me bleed and lives to tell the tale."

He brought his sword up high and Sora screamed, begging Riku to run away. But Riku could barely move, it was taking all his effort just to remain standing. He had never used his "slow-motion" trick against such a fast enemy before; it had left him exhausted. But even so, he couldn't give up! He couldn't just stand here and die. This was for Sora. His Sora. He would not loose!

Just as the sword came striking down, Riku allowed his legs to collapse under him. He fell to the dirt and the weapon sailed through the air right where his head had been. Riku kicked out with a leg, hoping to knock Sephiroth off balance. The pirate saw the sluggish move and jumped up, avoiding the kick. He then landed on the outstretched leg, making Riku cry out.

Pressing harder on the teen's leg so he could not get away, Sephiroth raised his sword again. Riku stared up at him and realized he was out of tricks. His body was in too much pain, the slightest movement made his muscles scream in protest, he couldn't use his best skills because of how tired he was and he couldn't run away with Sephiroth standing on his leg and because that would mean leaving Sora.

Riku stared up at the man who looked too much like himself for comfort. He watched as the sword came closer to his face. Riku's eyes narrowed and he stared at the pirate defiantly. He may be about to die, but he would not cower and he would not beg. He would look his straight in the eye and accept his fate bravely and without hesitation.

Please forgive me, my Sora.

Sora watched in horror as the sword swung at Riku's face. He could see the cold acceptance in his friend's eyes and knew that Riku was steeling himself for death. But he could not let that happen. Riku had come all this way for him, had risked his life for Sora. He couldn't just stand here and watch his best friend die. What would Sora be without Riku?

With strength born from adrenaline and fear, Sora forced his way out of Vincent's hold. The man, who had not been expecting the move, was too slow to grab Sora back as the brunette charged towards the fighting. He ignored Sephiroth completely, only seeing Riku and how close the sword was to him. With a scream, Sora dove into Riku, covering him with his own body as they skidded a few feet across the ground.

Riku was trembling as he stared at Sora's prone form on top of him. He tentatively reached out a shaking hand to the younger boy and placed it on his back.

"Sora?" Riku gasped. He pulled his hand away to find it covered in sticky blood.

Sora just smiled up at him. "Don't scare me like that," he teased weakly. His blue eyes went dull and the smile faded as Sora's body seemed to collapse on itself. He didn't wake up again.

"Sora? SORA!" Riku screamed, shaking the younger. "Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!" But no matter how hard he tried, the brunette just wouldn't open his eyes.

Heavy footsteps walked up to where they lay, but Riku couldn't tear his eyes away from Sora. He clutched at his friend in growing horror as the blood continued to poor from his back. Riku didn't notice he was crying.

The footsteps stopped right next to them for a moment before the person then took a protective stance in front of the boys. They drew no weapon, only turned to face Sephiroth head on.

"Cloud." The pirate captain stated. Vincent moved to stand behind him and Aerith quickly hurried to Sora and Riku's side.

"Sephiroth." Cloud answered back, staring the man he hated and loved in the eye.

"You stand in my way, remove yourself," he ordered.

"No."

Cloud raised a hand and whispered something under his breath. Sephiroth felt a warm, tingling sensation on his hand and looked down just as his cut healed. He turned back to Cloud.

"I'm taking these two back to my ship," Cloud said firmly.

Sephiroth spat. "To your precious Leon? I will not allow it. One is my slave and the other I have marked for death."

Cloud showed no emotion on his face. "…As a favor to me, I ask that you allow me to take both these boys."

Sephiroth's eyes darkened. "You dare ask favors after abandoning me?"

"…You know the reasons behind that as well as I," Cloud replied, struggling not to get emotional.

"Yes," the pirate sneered. "You were afraid. Too soft-hearted to do what needed to be done. You could not face your crimes so you ran away from them."

Cloud's fists clenched. "You still owe a favor," he pressed on. "For telling you of the Islands and where to get a map to them."

Behind Sephiroth, Vincent's body tensed ever-so-slightly. No one noticed.

The pirate sneered. It was true; he did owe Cloud a favor. But he didn't have to pay him back now; he could always wait till later. Sephiroth swung his sword once and sheathed it.

"I will let them go for now," he said clearly. "But only for now. No one escapes my reach and I will have both their heads decorate my walls." Still, even after all that had happened, Sephiroth could not bring himself to say no to those eyes. It angered him beyond belief.

Without another word, Sephiroth turned on his heal and gracefully walked away, his hair flowing behind him like a cape.

The minute he was out of sight, Cloud swung around and kneeled next to Riku and Sora. He looked to Aerith and she shook her head.

"I don't know if I can help him," she admitted. "But I will try. We need to get him back to the ship."

Cloud nodded and turned to Riku. "Toruko? Toruko!" He shook him and Riku jumped, staring at Cloud with dazed eyes. "Listen to me, Toruko. We're taking you both back to the ship. You have to get up."

"Sora…" Riku whispered.

"Is coming with us," Cloud responded firmly. "Now get up, Toruko."

Cloud reached out and took Sora into his arms, carrying him easily. Riku scrambled to his feet as well and the group ran as fast as they could back to Leon's ship.

Riku opened his eyes and groaned. The sun was shining right on his face and he wanted nothing more then to hide under his covers and make it go away. He tried to turn on his side but a searing pain in his ribs stopped him. Riku groaned and coughed before deciding that staying on his back was probably the best thing for now.

Hurried footsteps were heard and the door to the small room was flung open. Aerith walked in, looking worn out and in desperate need of sleep. She carried a bowl of water with a towel and some bandages. Riku watched through half open eyes as the brunette girl walked over to anther bed where someone slept.

"So…ra…" Riku gasped, his voice horse and ragged sounded. Aerith jumped nearly a foot in the air.

"My goodness," she breathed. "Toruko, do not scare me like that." She hurried over to him. "How do you feel?"

"That's a stupid question," Riku forced out. "Water?"

"Oh, of course." She picked up a pitcher of water sitting by them on a nightstand and filled a cup up before holding it to Riku's lips. "How's that?"

Riku took a shaky breath before nodding his thanks. "Sora?"

"Sleeping," Aerith answered.

"Is he ok?" Riku demanded. "He got hurt…all that blood."

Aerith bit her lip. "The wound was a deep one and he did loose a lot of blood…"

"Aerith." Riku fixed her with a piercing look. "Is Sora ok?"

"I've done everything I could for him," she burst out. "It's all up to him now."

A tear slipped down his cheek as Riku closed his eyes and passed into sweet oblivion again.

Riku's eyes slowly opened. It took him a moment to realize that he had opened them since the room was pitch black. He couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. Across the room he could hear labored breathing and the sound brought both comfort and fear to him. At least Sora was still alive, but for how long? The thought of loosing his best friend filled Riku with fear. Even when he had believed that Sephiroth was going to kill him, Riku had not been as terrified as now with the thought of loosing Sora.

Despite the pain in his ribs, Riku struggled to get up. An overwhelming desire to be with Sora drove him to ignore the pain and slowly make his way to the other's bed. Riku felt blindly for Sora, feeling his warm body before finding and grabbing his hand. Sora's skin was hot; he most likely had a fever. Riku felt his arms and could feel scrapes and cuts there.

They must have been trying to bleed the fever out of him, Riku thought.

A spasm went through the younger boy's body and Sora started coughing harshly. Riku reached out and ran his fingers through Sora's hair, whispering reassurances that he knew Sora couldn't hear. A tear slipped down his cheek and Riku took a shuddering breath, trying to hold back his sobs.

Why had this happened? Why had Sora gotten hurt? They had never done anything to deserve this. They…they were just orphan kids trying to make the best out of things. Everything had been so good, so happy back home. Living with Kairi and the others in a house they had built themselves, having dreams and getting into trouble. Just being teenagers.

So why did that all have to change? That bastard Sephiroth could have chosen anyone as his slave, why did he have to go and pick Sora? Why did he have to ruin their lives? Riku sniffed and carefully crawled into bed next to his friend and gently wrapped his arms around the brunette's waist.

"I should have protected you better," Riku whispered. "I'm so sorry, Sora, please, forgive me." He buried his face into the large mound of hair. "Please, please, Sora. Don't leave me…"

Riku quietly cried himself to sleep, holding Sora tightly in his arms.

…to bleed the fever out of him: In old days when medicine wasn't very advanced, people would cut themselves when they had a fever hoping that they could "bleed" the fever out of their bodies. It doesn't work. More often then not, that just made things worse.

A/N: All of my stories are in "angst-mode" now. Dying Happily Living Lonely is going to be a sad chapter as well. And in this one, Sora might die. What do you guys think? Will I kill him? I'll bet my friend Luthien can guess, she usually knows my style of writing pretty well.

I'm so hungry and my mom's making Tacos. I love tacos. I guess that's all, then.

REVIEWS

Question from Baka Shojo: Are they any blood relations between Sephiroth and Riku?

Answer: No. And there's a reason for that which will be explained hopefully in one or two chapters.

Question from Baka Shojo: Will Riku and Sephy join forces to take on Ansem?

Answer: Secret. Ansem's role has yet to be revealed.

Hmm…not many questions this time 'round. Good, that means I'm not being confusing.

Much love to the randomness!