"Say it again." I demanded. Riku had just poured out his heart and soul to me, told me everything I had wanted to hear, and I didn't want it to be over. I wanted him to talk to me forever and tell me all those beautiful things again so that I could etch them in my memory and never forget them. I would settle for him telling me those three words once more, though.
"What?" Riku asked me, perplexed.
"Say it again!" I prodded the Silverette with urgency. There was excitement in my voice so Riku could share my elation.
"I love you, Sora." He fulfilled my request and I kissed him with all the passion I could throw into one simple action. I let every moment that had touched my heart or gave me butterflies or made me smile pour from my body to his, so he could feel exactly how I felt. I would say it back, sure, but I wanted him to know. I didn't have words that could describe just what Riku meant to me, not like he had moments before. No, I'd show him just how much I loved him.
"You don't know how long I've been waiting to hear that." I let out a breathless laugh after pulling away from our kiss. Riku placed his lips on my nose, then my forehead, then my lips once more for only a second.
"I could see it in your eyes every time you looked at me. I've never been so sure of anything in my life," Riku confessed, rubbing his hand up and down my back. I smiled to myself, happier than I had ever been before. It was so strange to think that all I could ever want in life came to me in the form of my greatest enemy.
"And to think we used to hate each other…" I kissed him on the cheek and motioned for him to lie down. Slowly he lowered his body on the bed and then settled with my face nuzzled into his shoulder.
"Who says I don't still hate you?" Riku joked with me. I snorted.
"Well, I suppose I do hate you sometimes." I replied. Riku stiffened in protest.
"What? Sora, I was joking! Why do you hate me?" Riku asked with a twinge of pain in his voice.
"I hate you when you get up and leave me alone at night. I hate you when you're rubbing my back but it tickles a bit so I have to struggle with myself to not laugh. I hate you when you kiss me and tease me and then roll over and go to sleep." I traced circles on his pale chest as I told him all the things I "hated".
"Hah-Hah, very funny. I'm guessing that was payback for my amnesia prank, huh?" Riku's body relaxed after I finished talking and he used his left arm to squish me closer to himself. I chuckled and nodded in response. "Yeah, well, my prank was better, thank you very much." He stated matter-of-factly.
"I could have punched you; I was so upset." I smiled to myself now that I knew Riku was fine, but at the time he scared the hell out of me.
"I could never forget you, Sora. You're part of me." Riku kissed my temple just as the door to the bedroom burst open.
"Riku!" Larxene was panting as she ran to the closet and threw the doors open, digging for the weapons.
"What's going on?" Riku tried to swing himself out of bed but grabbed his head in agony before he could make it. I helped him to his feet, worried.
"Someone's outside the fence." Larxene choked out before running back out of the room with the long distance hunting rifle. Riku and I hobbled our way after her, clumsily crashing into things since the hallway leading to the attic wasn't large enough for the both of us.
"Someone, or something?" Riku stressed.
"Someone. They're alive." Larxene confirmed.
The stairs were torture for Riku. He clutched his head and his face turned whiter than the snow outside as he struggled with the pain of moving around before he was healed. I wanted to tell him to rest, to go back to bed and stay there, but I knew better. Riku was our leader, and if someone was scoping out the cabin, for whatever reason, we needed him to make a decision. He made it to the top of the stairs and clutched the railing for support while he vomited over the top step.
"Riku!" I reached for him but he shook me away, shaking his head. I backed away while biting my lip. I didn't want to make him feel helpless, but he needed my help. He was too stubborn.
"I'm fine, Pepper." Riku smiled at me weakly after wiping his mouth off. Larxene, Axel, and Hayner were all surrounding the window that faced eastward in the attic. The south-facing window, from which you could see the gate to the cabin, was empty.
"Riku, get over here!" Axel called to his friend in a panic. I grabbed the Silveret's hand and practically dragged him to the glass that everyone crowded around. I peered through.
Outside the fence, nearly twenty feet from the spiked trench we had built, was a man with long blonde hair. He wasn't wearing a winter coat; he only had on two sweatshirts and some jeans. I scowled, remembering how cool it was outside. He must have been freezing.
"How long has he been there?" Riku inquired. When he was in authority he never asked questions, he demanded information.
"About half an hour or so. He's been trying to see over and through the fence, but he can't get close enough. He hasn't made it to the gate yet. We didn't know what to do…" Hayner explained.
"Well, I'm not so sure myself. We've never had this happen before. For now, watch him." Riku commanded, turning away from the window. He stumbled toward the stairs.
"What do we do if he makes it to the gate?" Axel asked.
"If he tries to enter… shoot him." Riku furrowed his brows and rubbed his temples as he leaned against the wall.
"What?" I stood in front of him, astonished. "You can't just kill another person like that!"
"Shoot him. We can't risk it. He could be part of a larger group, a group that might have no problem with slaughtering us and taking what's ours." Riku looked me dead in the eye when he spoke. It seemed as if he were testing me. I couldn't figure out what he wanted from me. Did he want me to obey his command like everyone else? Was I going to let my morals suffer for the man I loved?
"He's heading toward the south side!" Larxene exclaimed while leaping toward the other window. Axel followed her with the rifle in his hands. Hayner lifted the heavy wood and glass open so that a cold wind rushed in. I shivered from the chill and anticipation.
"He's nearing the gate…" Hayner turned his head toward us; we were standing nearly ten feet away from the group. Riku's back was against the wall and he struggled to hold himself up. I stood with my feet apart and my fists clenched, unaware I had struck such an intense pose. I could feel the tension in the air as Riku and I locked eyes.
"He's at the latch…" Larxene moved out-of-the-way as Axel set the rifle in the sill and peered through the scope with one eye closed. His finger moved for the trigger, but hesitated.
"Don't you dare pull that trigger," I spoke, my voice low and menacing. Axel's eyes, wide with surprise, turned toward me.
"Axel, shoot!" Riku moved toward me to hold me back but couldn't stand away from the wall. He slid to his knees and clawed at his head, hissing in pain as I leaped for the gun. Axel pulled the trigger just as I shoved the gun to the edge of the window. The loud crack of the bullet leaving the barrel startled us all and had Riku crying out in pain, covering his ears. Axel and I struggled for the rifle as a commotion started outside.
"Guys, this is bad!" Larxene looked out of the window while Axel and I fought over possession of the gun. I yanked it away from the red-head, who wasn't too keen on having it back, and peered out the window.
Three other people joined the blonde outside. Thanks to my quick actions he hadn't been shot, but the rest of his group could hear the rifle's call and hurried to their friend's aid. He pointed to the house and frantically motioned his arms around trying to communicate something to his friends who were about fifty yards down Riku's dirt path to his cabin. The blonde was running toward them, pointing toward our window, and then motioning for them to get the hell away.
"See? They're leaving. Nobody had to get hur-" I screamed as shots fired at the attic window. Axel threw me to the ground as Larxene jumped out-of-the-way of the speeding ammunition. Hayner swore as pieces of glass and wood exploded around us.
"Sora!" Riku called for me and I flashed him a thumbs up to signal I was okay. Axel, mustering up as much courage as he could, tipped his head around the sill. The shots had stopped.
"They're reloading!" He exclaimed before ducking back down. I took the opportunity and peered out the empty sill myself.
They were coming closer to the cabin and I could make out their features better. Along with the blonde man there was a black haired woman, who was looking him over for injuries. The other two people in their group were both brunette, though one was female and the other male. One of them had hair that was tied behind their head, the girl, and the other had hair that went a little a little past his shoulders. The man faced away from me as he loaded the gun but the woman was looking down at the ground. She turned around and placed a hand on the man's shoulder.
I saw it when she faced away from us. The back of her hair, the pony tail, had a bow. It was tattered, and dirty, but it was her bow.
I sprang to my feet and let the rifle clatter to the ground. Hayner hissed and grabbed it, hoping it wouldn't go off. I wasn't concerned at the time.
"Sora?" Riku croaked out as I ran past him. He got to his feet shakily and called after me again. I ignored him as I bolted down the stairs and headed for the front door. "Sora!" Riku called one more time.
I practically flew through the door after I unlatched all the locks. I was bounding down the pathway to the gate faster than Riku, who had apparently made it down the stairs somehow, could chase after me. I was determined to reach them before more shots were fired. I needed to get their attention.
"Hey!" I shouted as I made it to the gate and struggled with the lock. It was freezing to the touch and I couldn't make my fingers move fast enough to open it. I swore and decided to stop wasting my time. With a heave and some struggling I managed to lob my way over the top of the gate. I crashed to the ground outside just as a shot fired through the air.
"Sora!" Two voices called out to me, one of them filled with disbelief and the other laced with horror.
I couldn't respond to either of them. All I could feel was searing pain.