Chapter Thirty-Four

" Kid!? KID!!"

Riku bit his lip and pulled Tobi closer to him, cradling his head tightly,

" D%$$#t...."

Thunder rolled again and he whimpered, running his hand through the boy's soft hair. He then angrily raised his head to face the boy's killer, thoroughly shocked to see who was standing there,

" It...it can't be..."

Lightning flashed overhead, a white flash lighting the man's crimson silhouette. He recognized the figure perfectly, but he couldn't believe it,

" S-Sora?"

Sora remained silent, shooting him an unfriendly glare. Riku gritted his teeth, lowering his head,

" Why....WHY!? HE WAS JUST A BOY, D$$#!! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS!?"

Again, Sora was silent. Another rumble of thunder and he turned, walking away from the grieving man. Riku remained at Tobi's side, unable to move...hardly able to think,

" How could you do this.....? How could you...?"

A large mass of red appeared before Sora and the man disappeared through it, leaving him completely alone in the cold rain. Riku shut his eyes tightly, his soaking blindfold scrunching up as he lowered his head, sobbing. His grip tightened on the boy's lifeless body as he rocked back and forth, somehow trying to ease the pain. Blood streaked down his cloak, a puddle of the crimson liquid forming beneathe Tobi and running through the cracks in the sidewalk toward the waterway.

The doors to the Alleyway burst open quickly, Barret running toward them in quite a hurry,

" Kid, I heard screamin'. What the h$#'s goin'.......? Oh no..."

Riku continued to rock back and forth, sobbing uncontrollably as Barret placed his only hand on the man's shoulder,

" Riku... I--"

Riku pulled away from the man instantly, his head lowered in grief,

" DON'T TOUCH ME!!"

Barret shook his head, holding in his own tears as he stepped back. Riku gulped, pulling off his blindfold,

" Don't touch me..."

He then straightened himself up a bit and shakily ran his hand over Tobi's face. His hand soon reached Tobi's chest area and he felt around the wound, holding back another onslaught of tears as he laid his palm over it. Barret frowned, refusing to remain silent as an eerie green halo soon appeared around Riku,

" Kid, what're you..."

Riku tilted his head back so that the rain streaked down his face and he took in a deep breath, his eyes closed lightly in concentration. Darkness soon began to pour from his hand and into the wound, racing in circles throughout Tobi's body. It wasn't doing much at first, but slowly it began to form a sort of, plug, in Tobi's chest...a plug of dark energy. Riku grunted, his heart beginning to throb rapidly against his ribs. He didn't know how much more of this he could take, but he'd do anything he could to...

Barret clenched his fist tightly, stepping a bit closer,

" Riku...Riku, stop this right now, you hear me? You gonna get yo'self killed."

Riku remained silent, pouring even more energy into Tobi's body as a response to Barret's protests. Barret cursed, squinting a few tears from his eyes as he tried a bit harder to make Riku reconsider,

" Kid, this ain't no game!! Look, I know how you must be feelin' right now! I felt the same way when I lost Marlene... but Tifa, you remember her, right? She said that it was gon' be alright and it was, kid! It was! Killin' yo'self is NOT the answer okay? So, just stop this now..."

Again, Riku ignored him and winced in pain, the dark energy threatening to take him. He silently prayed that what he was trying to do was working and as if on cue, his prayers were answered. The hole in Tobi's chest sealed up, regenerating the boy's skin in a lighter colour. Riku laxed a bit, but continued to feed him energy, Barret now pleading with him to stop,

" Kid, c'mon now! That's enough... you gotta stop it, please..."

Riku felt the life beginning to drain from him, but he wouldn't quit. Not now, not when he was so close....

Barret glanced back and forth between him and Tobi's body, his eyes widening as the boy suddenly took in a breath. Riku grunted, completely exhausted as he collapsed on the boy's chest. Barret's eye widened and he rushed to the man's side, placing his only hand on his back,

" Riku!"

Riku panted strenuously, unable to lift his head,

" It's....alright, marshmallow.... I'm fine..."

Barret frowned nervously, deep concern shining his eyes,

" D%$##t, kid... you tryin' to give me a heartattack?"

Riku was silent, causing a lump to form in Barret's throat,

" Riku? Riku!?"

He then heard Riku chuckle softly,

" You worry too much...."

Riku slowly pushed himself up, turning to Barret with a weak smile. He then glanced back down at Tobi,

" Take him...get him back to the Hotel..."

Barret nodded, frowning,

" And just where do you think you're gonna go?"

Riku swallowed harshly, glancing in the direction Sora had gone,

" I'm going after him... I'm going after S--"

" THE H%$# YOU IS!! YOU COMIN' WITH ME!!"

" Is this her?"

Darien nodded, his master referring to the girl lying unconscious on the table,

" Yes, sir... she's the one."

" Ooh, you won't want to tango with her when she wakes up, mate."

Darien turned to see Jack standing in the doorway. Jack smirked, stepping inside behind him,

" She's a fiesty one, that girl. Bite your hand off soon as she'll get the chance."

Darien snorted, turning his gaze back on the sleeping girl,

" Please... I'm willing to lose a few fingers. And Jack? Weren't you the one who was supposed to nab her in the first place? That's why we sent you to Neverland, not so you could take a vacation."

Jack raised an eyebrow,

" Vacation? D'you hones'ly think that bein' held on some grimy, no-good, Captain's ship, who, by the way, blubbers and whines like a complete idiot, is what I like to call... a vacation? And, not to toot me own horn, but I believe it was me who brought your precious Keybearer back here.... which also reminds me. Weren't you supposed to be watching him at the time of his disappearence? So, how was it...that he managed to end up in the bowels of a f#$ing whale? Looks like you didn't live up to your promise either, mate."

Darien snarled. He opened his mouth to retort, but Ansem cut him off by a second,

" That's enough, both of you. We've got more important things to tend to. For instance.... have either of you decided who's going to nab the next ring for me?"

Darien smirked, glancing over at Jack,

" I think I should be the one to do it, Master. Afterall....we don't want this drunken Captain to botch up anymore of our plans, do we?"

Jack sneered at him, then turned to Ansem,

" Ah, but I think I should be the one to do it. We can't entrust this to a little boy, can we, Annsy?"

Ansem cringed, massaging his temples sorely,

" Never, call me that again, Jack. Or it'll be your head."

Jack gulped, nodding,

" Fair enough..."

" I'll do it."

The three glanced toward the doorway to see a raven-haired woman entering the room. She slowly batted her emerald eyes and smiled,

" After all....it'd be quite a shock for him to see me again, right?"

Ansem smirked as the woman came toward him and softly started to chuckle....

" Is he okay, Barret?"

Barret folded his arms and frowned, glaring at Riku instead of the boy,

" Sure, probably after what you did. The question I'm concerned with is: are you okay after that?"

Riku shrugged weakily,

" I guess...just a little drained, is all."

Barret snorted, glancing out the window,

" Who the h$# would've done this to a kid like him...?"

Clenching his fists tightly around his knees, Riku took in a deep breath,

" Barret... I think there's something you should know."

Barret frowned, focusing his gaze back on Riku,

" What is it, kid?"

Riku lowered his head, hesitant to tell him who did it,

" The one who did this..... I-I saw him--"

" Then who the h%$# was it!? If it was that guy that tried to slice you before, I swear I'm gonna--"

" It was Sora, Barret.... Sora's alive."

He stepped into the now-empty room, the unconscious Kae catching his eyes first. Slowly padding over to her, he knelt down and placed a hand on her cheek. A string of feelings arose in him, feeling that he couldn't explain. There was something about this girl that made him feel differently about things...like he had a responsibility to protect her at all cost. This confused him. Why would he feel this way about a girl he didn't even know?
" But...you told me as soon as ya'll got back... that both Sora and Kairi were killed a long time ago--"

Riku shook his head,

" I know, I did, Barret.... I don't get it, either. Ansem must've done something... just like what he did with Aladdin."

Barret raised an eyebrow,

" Aladdin?"

Nodding, Riku recounted what had happened back in Agrabah,

" Aladdin was at one time the sultan of a world called Agrabah, but he was killed 12 years ago by a pair of Unknowns. Both his children told us this after we ran into them. Then, out of the blue....Aladdin came strolling back into the picture one night. It turned out that Ansem had brought him back to life to capture the ring from his daughter's heart. I....I killed him after he'd taken it, but his partner still escaped with the ring."

Barret nodded,

" And you think Sora's got something to do with all this?"

Riku nodded,

" I'm sure of it... but... I don't know why--"

His eyes suddenly widened in realization and he grunted,

' " Have you brought the Heart of the Princess?"'

Riku quickly turned to Barret, frowning,

" Where's Kae?"

A/N: Hee hee hee! You thought I killed him, didn't you? Nope! I could never kill Tobi, he's my baby!! I won't kill him, I swear...( croses fingers behind back) Mwahahahahaha!!!