School is terrible. It should die in a fire for making all the updates super late. Don't you guys agree?


November 18, 2011

Riku hadn't had a decent night's sleep in a long time.

He had been picking up some of Leon's rounds while the brunette dealt with his injuries. He insisted that he was fine, and that he could fight, but Riku did not want to risk Leon getting hurt worse because he didn't give himself enough time to recuperate.

A large chunk of his time was spent training Axel and Roxas. Although Leon was injured, he tried to pitch in some, giving suggestions and working a little with Roxas. Riku refused to let him do anything physical, though. Sora agreed to help, which was a huge relief to Riku. It took a little bit of the pressure off him.

The blonde girl that Leon had rescued proved alarmingly determined. One time, Riku was going over to Axel and Roxas' apartment to visit, and she ran up to him. Apparently, although she was not a student in the college, she was staying with a friend in one of the apartments. She tried to corner Riku and convince him to train her. Riku refused at first, but when she would not give up harassing him, Riku finally gave up. He brought her to train with Axel and Roxas. Although she was abrasive and obnoxious, she was determined. She worked hard, picking up the style of fighting quickly. She was nowhere near caught up to Axel and Roxas, but Riku knew it would only be a matter of time before she was deadly.

The fact of the matter, though, was that Riku was taking in far more work than he should have been. He was working himself harder than he usually did, and he knew it wouldn't be long until he hit his breaking point.

There wasn't really anything he could do, though. He was going to wait another two weeks before letting Leon help again. He knew Axel and Roxas did not have the time. They were busy college students stuck in the middle of exams, and even finding enough time to meet with them to train was getting difficult. Larxene was not ready.

Trying to squeeze a relationship into his already busy schedule was starting to become more difficult.

Riku was over at Sora's house, talking with the boy. He was in the middle of a sentence when he saw the vampire's eyes narrow.

"You okay?" Riku asked.

"Are you?" Sora shot back.

Riku blinked, caught off-guard by the question. "Yeah. Why?"

"You look tired."

"If I had a dime for every time someone told me that..."

Sora rolled his eyes. "It wouldn't be that many dimes. You're only 20. Besides, I meant more than usual."

"I would be richer than I am," Riku finished.

"Well, yes, but still."

Waving his hand as if batting the thought aside, Riku said, "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"I'll worry anyway. You're working yourself crazy."

Riku shrugged. "I like to keep busy."

"It's getting ridiculous."

"I'm doing okay."

Sora just looked at him. Riku rolled his eyes. He hadn't collapsed yet. Sora was making a bigger deal of it than he needed to.

"Seriously?" Sora asked.

Riku nodded. "And if I weren't, it is not like I would really have much of a choice in the matter."

"I can help. More than I already am."

"You don't need to. You're already doing more than enough..."

"I'm barely doing anything. I don't need sleep, you do," Sora pointed out.

"I'm sleeping," Riku said, his tone coming off as slightly more defensive than he intended.

"Not as much as you should."

Riku shrugged. "Who my age does?"

Sora was not amused. "Riku," he said seriously.

"Yes, Sora?" Riku asked, trying not to sound as annoyed as he felt.

"Sleep."

"But... I have to go out for rounds in fifteen minutes."

The brunette vampire shook his head. "Nope."

"What do you mean, nope?"

"You are staying here."

Riku shook his head emphatically. "What if someone gets hurt, Sor, all because I took the night off?"

"I'll go. The two biggest threats to the city are Vanitas and Isa. I have power over Isa. I can handle Vanitas. You can sleep."

"I don't want you to have to fight your brother."

"I've done it before."

"Still..." Riku looked Sora in the eyes. "I can go."

"I will tie you to your bed," Sora threatened.

Riku's eyes narrowed. "You will not."

"Try me."

"I am going."

"You are not."

Riku stood up. "Yes, I am."

Sora stood in front of him. "No."

"Let me through," Riku ordered.

"No."

Riku tried to move forward. Sora blocked him. Riku tried to push past him. Sighing, Sora just blocked him again.

Deciding this was starting to get ridiculous, Riku said, "Sora."

"Riku."

"Don't make me hurt you."

"You wouldn't."

Riku's expression was deadly serious. "Let me through."

"No."

Riku glared. "You are going to have to let me out eventually."

"I will, once you sleep properly."

"I am getting plenty of sleep."

Sora's eyes narrowed. "I can see the bags getting darker under your eyes. Don't you try to lie to me."

"I am FINE."

"You are pushing my limits."

"You're pushing mine," Riku growled.

"If I didn't care about making you angry, you would have stopped fighting this a long time ago," Sora said seriously.

It took a second or two for Sora's meaning to sink in, but when it did, Riku's expression turned dangerous. "It's a good thing you have some survival instincts. If you so much as TRIED to compel me, I'd be out of here for good."

"I know."

"Sora, let me through."

"No, Riku."

Riku reached for Sora's stomach, one of the vampire's known ticklish spots, poking him and moving past him through the doorway as Sora collapsed into a fit of giggles.

However, Sora recovered quickly and was back in front of Riku again. Riku tried tickling Sora again, but Sora dodged, grabbing Riku around the middle and picking him up to carry back to his bed.

"Let me go," Riku said, uselessly swatting at Sora's back.

"Nope. You're going to bed."

"...You were serious."

"Completely."

"Fucking hell," Riku said, trying to wriggle out of Sora's grip. "You are not going to fucking tie me to the bed."

"Then go the fuck to sleep," Sora said. "You know as well as I do that you need more. The longer you fight this, the longer it's taking me to get out there."

"I don't need the fucking sleep," Riku insisted.

"Ri, please?"

Sora's tone of voice made Riku feel slightly guilty. "Set me down," he said more gently.

They reached the room and Sora put Riku on the bed.

"I'll lay here in bed, to make you happy. I don't need the sleep, though, and I'm only playing along because there might be people in danger."

"Sleep."

Riku made a show of taking his shoes off and getting under the covers.

Sora watched him as he did so. "Not changing?"

Shaking his head, Riku said, "Don't need to. I can sleep in anything."

Sora shrugged. "Might as well be comfortable, though."

"I won't be able to sleep either way."

Sora looked sad.

Riku sighed. "Just go, Sora. I'll be fine."

"I just don't want you to get sick from overworking yourself..."

"I'm made of tougher stuff than that."

"You can still only take so much. I know you want to protect people, I get it, but you can't do that at the risk of hurting yourself," Sora said, trying his best to sound reasonable.

"My job has always come first," Riku reminded him.

"I don't care."

"Look, just go. I already said I would try to sleep."

"Do you promise?" Sora asked.

"I promise," Riku said.

"I don't have to get Leon to watch you?"

"No. Leon needs to sleep himself."

Sora nodded. "Okay."

With that settled, Riku asked, "Do you plan on doing my normal rounds?"

"Yeah. And some other stuff."

"You know the route, right?"

"Yes, Riku," Sora said.

"Will you be back soon?"

"Yeah."

"Be safe."

Smiling slightly, Sora said, "I will."

Riku held his arms out, and Sora hugged Riku.

"Go," Riku said. "Protect the poor, innocent humans. Call me if something goes wrong."

"I'll be fine," Sora assured him.

"My statement stands," Riku said. He had a bad feeling, though he attributed it to just not liking the fact that he was stuck in the bed while Sora was out. "Call if there's trouble. I'm on call, sleeping or not."

"Alright."

"See you later." Riku snuggled down under the covers.

"See you." Sora kissed Riku's forehead.

Riku watched as Sora left. He laid in bed with his eyes closed for about ten minutes before getting up.

"Tried to sleep," he muttered to himself. "Time to go."

Riku put his shoes on, grabbed his weapons, and headed out the door, starting his rounds going the opposite direction from usual. He did not want to run into Sora. Sora would kill him for being out.

About an hour into his rounds, he decided he should turn back around soon. Sora would be able to move through things much more quickly than he would, so if he wanted to avoid getting caught, he would need to head back to the house.

He decided to walk for five more minutes before making his way back home.


The moon was bright and the stars were out, but Xemnas did notice. He was out looking for vampires. Kairi and Namine were back at home; it was his turn to go around searching for the bloodsuckers. He had just arrived in the area, and he was eager to buckle down and take care of business, since there were reports of attacks and missing people in the area. Kairi had been there for a while, so she had done some scouting out. She had compiled intel reports of all the major vampires in the area.

Xemnas kept one hand on the stake in his pocket and scanned through the empty streets. He was looking in particular for one vampire, Vanitas, who apparently had been causing most of the trouble. However, killing any of the vamps in the area was fine by him. The bloodsuckers could all die, for all he was concerned.

There was no such thing as a good vampire. They were evil just by existing and drinking human blood.

As he was walking, he saw a short boy with dark, spiky hair. Immediately, his eyes narrowed. He looked just like the boy in the intel report that Kairi had compiled.

Xemnas walked up to him, trying to move stealthily so as not to draw attention to himself. He moved his stake up to attack.

At the last second, Sora moved out of the way.

Xemnas' eyes narrowed, and he tried again.

Spinning around, Sora moved back. "What the hell?"

"You are a vampire, and you must die for your crimes against humanity." Xemnas moved quickly, not letting Sora process the information. He dug a stake into the boy's arm.

Hissing and pulling the stake out, Sora just created more distance between the two of them. "I haven't done anything!"

"Neither you nor I believe in your ridiculous statements," Xemnas said, rolling his eyes. He walked forward, trying to close the gap between him and the vampire.

"If I really hurt people, do you think I'd be backing away right now?"

"I do not know, Vanitas."

"Van..." Sora's eyes narrowed as the statement sunk all the way in. "Goddammit, I'm going to kick his ass. I'm not Vanitas."

"I do not believe you. Regardless, though, you are still a vampire," Xemnas noted. "So you still deserve to die."

"No, I don't. What the fuck is your problem?"

"You consume the blood of man." Xemnas stabbed with the stake, largely missing as Sora dodged, managing only to rip through the clothing of Sora's shirt.

Looking only slightly worried, Sora kept moving away. "Honestly, if I was so bad, you'd already be dead."

"I am trained better than that. You cannot kill me. I am the offspring of a fruitful line of hunters!" Xemnas pulled out a lighter.

"You are fucking weird, man."

"Do not blaspheme! My reputation as an honest, upstanding gentleman ridding the world of your evil species withstands your petty slander. Now, fight me like a proper man, or I will light you on fire."

"Like you were ever not planning that," Sora said sarcastically. "I don't want to fight. I don't hurt people. I've never hurt people."

"You hurt people by merely existing. That is why it is my responsibility to eliminate you and your kind; it is my responsibility to the world to make our universe a place of clean, beating hearts and to eliminate your filth." Xemnas flicked the lighter, moving closer to Sora.

Continuously backing away, Sora looked directly at Xemnas. "Stop."

Xemnas looked at the brunette, pausing for a second. Although he did not move forward, he looked more amused than scared. "Your compulsion is weak."

Sora tried not to falter. "You are going to stand there until I say otherwise."

Although he appeared to be struggling, Xemnas did not move from the spot. He did, however, close his eyes. "What do you intend to do to me?"

"...Nothing," Sora said quietly. "I told you, I don't hurt people."

"Come closer. I want to look you in the eyes before you murder any more of me and my people."

"I've never murdered anyone!"

Xemnas opened his eyes. "Prove it."

"How? You haven't believed it the first three times, already."

"I want to see your eyes."

Sora crossed his arms, not moving from where he stood. "You can see them from where you are."

"I cannot make out the color in this oppressive darkness," Xemnas said. "I intend to see if you are being honest primarily about whether you are in fact the vampire named Vanitas. I was informed that there are two of you that look similar. The snake has golden eyes, and, while the blue-eyed devil is monstrous, his crimes against humanity have been much less grave."

"My eyes are blue."

"You could easily be lying to me."

"It's too bad that you think that, really, because I'm not getting any closer to you."

"Fine," Xemnas said. "I will have to take matters into my own hands." With that, he sprung into action, moving forward, intending to bury a stake in Sora's chest. Sora moved at the last moment, and his abdomen was impaled, instead. He cried out in pain as the wood buried itself in his skin.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" a voice rang out. A boy with long, silver hair ran towards Xemnas. He pulled out a stake. "Leave the kid alone. He's mine."

Xemnas looked at the boy. "You are one of my fellow hunters, are you not?"

"I am."

Looking confused, Xemnas asked, "Then why are you protecting this abominable creature?"

Riku narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell said I was protecting him? I've got a bone to pick with this one. My partner and I have a particular vendetta against this one and his brother. I intend to kill him myself."

Xemnas sighed. "I do not usually allow my fellow humans to carry on with revenge missions. Our job as hunters is to cleanse the world of the atrocities that are these vampires. Your purpose should be completely altruistic."

"I don't usually deal with revenge missions," Riku said bluntly. "This kid and Vanitas are a special case. This has been our territory for almost two years. We have a plan."

"You will kill this filth?"

"Yes," Riku said firmly.

"Then I shall release him to you. Ensure that he dies."

As soon as Xemnas was out of sight, Riku ran over to Sora. "I told you to be fucking careful," he said, quickly assessing the damage.

"I tried," Sora said quietly. "He wouldn't go away."

Riku hissed when he saw Sora's injuries. "Your arm should be okay, but the other wound is a problem. I'm calling Aqua." As the phone rang, Riku asked, "How long has it been since you last fed?"

"Couple days."

"Fuck." The phone rang a few times and went to voicemail. Riku ended the call.

"Aqua's not in. Who should I call?"

"Get my phone and call Van. He almost always answers my calls."

Riku hated the idea, but he didn't know what else to do. He grabbed the phone from Sora's pocket and dialed Vanitas. "Can you talk or should I?"

"I can. Just hold it." Sora had his hands otherwise occupied with covering his wounds.

"Okay." Riku held out the phone, turning it on speaker.

"Sora?" Vanitas' voice came from the phone. "What is it?"

"I need help," Sora replied, hating how weak he sounded.

"Talk," Vanitas said. "Where are you? Car or running?"

"I'm, uh," Sora looked around. "By the l-library."

"I'm running. I'll be there shortly."

"O-okay."

Vanitas hung up, and Riku tucked Sora's phone back into his pocket.

"How can I help? I've never treated vampire wounds before, but it can't be all that different, can it?"

"Just... you need to go," Sora said.

"I don't like leaving you," Riku said uneasily.

"Van will be here soon. I... I don't think it's safe for you to be around w-when he arrives."

Riku looked at Sora. "What direction is he coming from?"

Sora nodded his head to the right.

Nodding, Riku pressed a kiss against Sora's forehead. "I'll leave. Call me when it's safe to come visit."

"Mhmm."

Riku took off running. Within three minutes, Vanitas showed up. His eyes immediately widened.

The first words out of his mouth were, "We're getting you home. Zexion will treat you."

Sora just nodded.

Vanitas picked up his brother and sprinted at full speed back to Sora's home. He called Zexion, who arrived within five minutes.

Zexion treated Sora, and after a few hours, he left. He assured Vanitas that Sora would be okay, although he said that Sora was to consume blood daily for the next week.

"So," Vanitas said, looking at Sora. "What the fuck just happened, Sora?"

"Some stupid fucking hunter thought I was you."

"What were you even doing out? That area is not part of your late night walks."

Sora half-shrugged, wincing only slightly as the action pulled on his wounds. "I wanted a change of scenery."

"The hunter should not have been able to wound you," Vanitas said quietly.

"My compulsion didn't work."

"Why not?"

"I was panicked. He had a lit lighter out."

Vanitas narrowed his eyes. "He should never have had time to get the lighter out."

"Would you stop trying to make this my fault?" Sora asked exasperatedly.

"You coddle the humans," Vanitas claimed. "Your compulsion is weak, you are easily frightened... you did not even manage to defend yourself against them physically, when you have all the advantages. I fail to see how this is anyone's fault but your own... and the hunter's. He must be taken care of."

"I'm sorry." Sora's voice was tiny.

Vanitas shook his head, dismissing the apology. "I will be training you in compulsion. Our parents never forced you to learn to utilize it properly. Because of this, it is erratic, weak, and influenced by your emotions," Vanitas said with finality. "Now, describe the human. The stake was given to Isa, but he was not able to get much of a scent from it due to it being covered in your blood. He needs a physical description."

"Tall, tanned skin, white hair that was long and styled strangely. It flipped up at the sides like wings, almost. His eyes were the same color as yours," Sora said without hesitation. While he didn't like hurting people, there were sometimes exceptions.

Vanitas called Isa and reported the information. "Thank you. Now, your compulsion training will begin tomorrow. I am aware that you are recovering-that is why it will be the perfect time to train. I will bring you a human that I have already begun to subdue. You will need to compel the human according to your whims."

"I can do it just fine when I'm not scared."

"I will test that tomorrow," Vanitas said firmly.

"...Fine."

"If you pass tomorrow, we shall wait until you are fully recovered to continue."

"Okay."

Vanitas nodded pleased with Sora's lack of argument. "Also, once you have completely recovered, I will begin sparring sessions with you."

"I know how to fight, Van," Sora said with a frown.

"Clearly not."

"I chose to act on the defense."

"And you were seriously injured. Would you prefer I force humans to attack?"

"No," Sora said.

However, Vanitas seemed to be seriously considering it, regardless. "Actually, that might be a way to improve both your fighting ability and your compulsion skills under pressure..."

Sora rolled his eyes. "Can you stop plotting for one second and answer me something?"

"What?"

The brunette was quiet for a moment before speaking. "Would you have even cared if I'd died?"

"Of course I would have," Vanitas responded immediately.

"See, I'm not getting that impression very much."

"Because you aren't dead. Zexion said you would be fine. So, instead of focusing on that, I am trying to help so that it does not happen in the future. I do not want my only brother to die."

"It'd make your life easier."

Vanitas stared blankly at Sora. "Do you wish me dead?"

Sora shook his head.

"But that would make your life much easier," Vanitas countered.

"I'd be bored all the time. Our fights keep me entertained."

Vanitas was quiet for a moment or two. "I would have to find a new second who is experienced and trustworthy."

Sora shrugged. "Dem would work."

Making a face, Vanitas responded, "He annoys me more than you do."

"Who would you pick then? Isa's not born. That'd send bad signals."

"It would be an enormous hassle that I would prefer to avoid. I could try to import from a previous location, but many of the older, born vampires are being killed."

"Guess it's good that I don't plan to die anytime soon, then," Sora said plainly.

"It is reassuring, yes."

Biting his lip, Sora looked down at the covers on his bed. "Thanks for showing up so quickly. I was getting blurry eyed."

Vanitas nodded. "Something was obviously wrong. You do not call me for help unless it's serious."

"I'd say a hole in my torso is pretty serious."

"I would agree." Vanitas' phone rang, and he picked up. After talking a few minutes, he hung up angrily.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked.

"Your hunter got away."

"Oh. Well, fuck."

Vanitas' eyes were narrowed and his fists were clenched. "I have assigned the task of tracking him down to Isa. I trust he will carry it out properly."

"Yeah, he will."

"How did you stop him?" Vanitas asked.

"Played dead. It looked like I'd bled out completely."

"Ah, I see. That was actually rather intelligent."

Sora scoffed. "You make it sound like I'm not smart."

"You fold under pressure."

"I didn't want to die for real."

Vanitas sighed. "Well, I'll leave you to rest. I will visit you here at your home tomorrow at 6:00 PM to make sure you have fed and to test your compulsion skills. Take care of yourself."

Sora nodded. "See you then."

Vanitas left.

Sora waited a few minutes, giving Vanitas time to get far enough away, before he grabbed his phone and called Riku.

"Is everything okay?" Riku asked immediately.

"Yeah. Zex said I'll be okay."

Riku released the breath he had been holding. "Thank fucking god."

"Can you come over? I've been ordered to rest and I'm bored as hell."

"Be right over."

"Awesome. See you soon," Sora said.

Riku hung up the phone and let himself in Sora's house.

"Hey."

"Hey." Sora smiled.

Riku walked closer, giving Sora a glance-over to check to see how he was doing. "You look awful. Did they force some blood in you yet?"

"Yeah. I have to keep it up all week, every day."

Because he knew Sora was probably not happy about that, Riku did not want to dwell on it. "But you'll be okay?"

"Yep. It just takes some time to heal from wood. Any other wound would already be closed."

"Sor, I'm a vampire hunter. I know that already." Riku moved closer. "Will it hurt if I hug you?"

"No, and I'd ask if you'd want to watch it heal but it's super slow."

"I think I'll pass," Riku said.

"Hugs?"

Riku wrapped his arms gently around Sora. Sora hugged back slowly, trying not to move his injured arm too much or too quickly.

Riku, of course, noticed. "Your arm okay?"

"Mhmm. It's not as deep as the other one."

Biting his lip, Riku said, "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault," Sora said immediately. "Hell, if not for you, I'd probably be dead right now."

"If you hadn't been trying to help me by going on my rounds, you wouldn't have been out there in the first place. I never should have agreed."

"If I didn't look so much like Vanitas, he probably would have looked right past me."

Riku still felt guilty, but he let Sora shift the blame. "Maybe you should invest in some hair dye."

"That really won't help the spikes..."

"Dye and gel?"

Sora looked at Riku. "No."

Riku shrugged. "Worth a try."

"I like my hair," was all Sora said.

"I do, too. Merely a suggestion."

It was quiet for a moment before Sora said, "You didn't sleep any."

Riku shrugged. "It's all good."

"Lay down with me?"

"Will that hurt you?" Riku asked.

"Would I have asked if it would hurt?"

Riku settled onto the bed next to Sora, and Sora shifted slightly to snuggle closer to him.

"I'm just glad you're safe," Riku said, gently pulling Sora close to him.

"I'm almost glad you don't listen to me."

"I am not an idiot," Riku said. "I knew it was not a good idea. I knew I needed to be out there tonight."

Quietly, Sora said, "Van sent Isa after him."

Riku shrugged, not seeing why it mattered either way. "He won't get him. At least, not right away. He was a grandiose bastard, but he is experienced. You can tell."

"Yeah, but Isa's our best tracker."

"Then we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

Things were quiet for a moment before Sora spoke again. His readiness to divulge information when asked about Xemnas was weighing on his mind. "Is it bad of me to tell them what he looks like?"

"He attacked you," Riku said, as calmly as he could. "I can hardly blame you."

"I don't like hurting humans, but... he'd hurt more of my people, even the ones like me. I can't let the innocent ones get killed because he has some sort of evil vision of us all."

Riku looked sadly at Sora. "Some hunter families believe all vampires are murderers. My father always discouraged that line of thought. Morally, he didn't agree with it. More pragmatically, he argued that some less evil vampires can be used as allies to get to the more dangerous, evil vampires."

"I'm not evil, am I?"

"Not at all," Riku promised.

"I've never even killed anyone..."

"Never?"

Sora shook his head. "Never. In all 214 years. The idea of it makes me sick, honestly. There are ways to live without killing. Humans and vampires could live together if it weren't for the vampires who stick to the old ways or the hunters like the guy from earlier. Everyone could live without fear..." he said, quietly. "I mean, most of us didn't even ask to be this way. It's not like I was all 'I want to be born as a vampire', and it's not like Aqua went up to one and asked to be changed or something. It just happened. How does chance make us all inherently evil?"

"I don't think you are all inherently evil," Riku said. "Life isn't about the cards you were dealt. It's about how you play them."

"I'm just trying to understand the people that do think that."

Riku shrugged. "A lot of hunting families believe that. They're so focused on the fact that vampires are 'other' that they forget that many of them were once human as well. They're so much more focused on what they have the potential to do than they are on what individual vampires have actually done."

"It's like a form of racism." Sora looked at Riku sadly. "I don't like being called names or attacked for no reason."

"Has it happened to you before?"

"Yeah."

Grimacing, Riku said, "I'm sorry. That's awful."

"This one isn't even the worst."

Riku frowned. "What happened?"

"The worst time?"

"Yeah."

Sora moved a hand up, resting it to the right of his heart. "Here. Off mark just enough that I didn't die immediately, plus an injury like the one I have right now. I was literally unconscious by the time they got me out of there."

"How long ago was that?"

"Hmm," Sora muttered, thinking. "Over a century."

"I can't even imagine how scary that must've been."

"I can't remember most of it."

"Was it another hunter?" Riku asked.

"Yeah. A group actually." Sora frowned. "You know... the person back then that caused the worst of my injuries looked a lot like the guy from today. That family..." He scoffed.

"I didn't recognize him," Riku commented. "He's either new to the area or very good at keeping his presence a secret."

"Yeah."

"Where were you when you were attacked?"

"Atlantica," Sora mumbled, closing his eyes. He just wanted to sleep this whole thing off.

Riku wanted to ask more questions, but when he saw how tired Sora looked, he decided against it. "Sleep," he said, kissing Sora's cheek.

"You, too."

Shaking his head, Riku said, "I should be getting home, really. Leon'll be worried if I don't show up back at home after rounds."

"Stay," Sora whined. "You were already home once."

"I guess I can just get up early..."

"We could just relocate..."

"Is that safe for you?" Riku asked hesitantly.

"Hm?" Sora opened his eyes again and looked at Riku.

"Relocating."

"I'll be fine. I just have to be home by six tomorrow afternoon."

"Why?"

"Vanitas is dropping in."

"Ah. I see," Riku replied blandly.

"Yeah..." Sora mumbled. "Speaking of, I probably won't be able to help with training much for a while, even after I'm healed."

"I kinda figured," Riku said. "Don't sweat it. I can handle things."

"Van's teaching me how to protect myself under pressure."

"That's... nice of him?" Riku blinked. "I mean, it seems like you probably need it."

"Yeah..." Sora said quietly. "He said he doesn't want his only brother to die. I guess it's been one too many close calls."

"How does he plan on working on it with you?"

Sora shrugged.

"Well," Riku said, "Let's get you back to my place, then, if you're sure. I really don't think we should be moving you, though."

"I just want to sleep with you there... But I don't want to worry Leon."

Riku thought for a second before finally coming up with a solution. "I can go back to the house and leave him a note, then, saying I'm safe and with you. That work?"

"Mhmm." Sora smiled.

"Okay. I'll be right back, then." Riku kissed Sora and moved off the bed, careful not to jostle Sora too much.

"Hurry?"

"I will."

Sora smiled and settled back to wait.

Riku returned five minutes later.

Grinning, Sora held out his arms. Riku carefully maneuvered himself between them, making sure not to press up against any of Sora's wounds.

"Hi," Sora said.

"Hi."

"I missed you."

"I wasn't gone long," Riku said, raising an eyebrow.

"So?" Sora asked.

"You're adorable."

Sora hid his face in Riku's shoulder. "No."

"Awe, are you blushing?"

"Shush, you."

Riku laughed. "Time for Sora to sleep."

"Sora doesn't actually need sleep. Sora's just bored with laying in bed and wants to pass the time. Riku should sleep for sure, though."

"Riku might be getting just a little tired."

"Sleep." Sora poked him.

"I can try."

"Mhmm!"

Riku repositioned himself so he was comfortable enough to sleep. "You'll be okay?"

"Mhmm. I'll probably sleep soon."

"Okay." Riku's eyes slipped closed. "Night, then, Sora."

"Night, Riku."

Riku quickly drifted off to sleep. Sora kissed his forehead before sleeping too.


I don't about you guys, but I love the way Kat made Xemnas talk. It gets me every time.

Let us know what you thought, and hopefully updating will return to normal soon.

[TBC]