Of Promises and Paopu
By The Ambitious Blank

Disclaimer- KH isn't mine. Blah, blah, blah.. it's Disney and Square's..
Comments- Wow, lots of reviews for the first night this chapter was up.. o.O; I feel the impulsive need to continue~~ ^^ (See, people, this is how you get me to update fast.. you review. XP) More angst this chapter as the storyline continues..

~*~

Clunk.

"C'mon, Sora, faster!"

[ A/N: Whoa. Stop right there and turn back, you dirty-minded hentais.. ]

Sora parried Riku's blow with a block from his own wooden sword, and the two engaged into a quick, fast-footed battle. The clunking of wood was like the ticking of a clock.. something so completely natural and normal to both boys.. something they could always remember and recognize. The sound of scuffling shoes in the warm beach sand, the ocean roaring in the background, the gulls calling loudly to each other overhead, the rush of adrenaline to the soul everytime you made a rush, or made a hit.

There was nothing like it.

This was Sora and Riku's pleasure. This was how they became satisfied with themselves.. this was their daily ritual of growing up.. of learning how to fight. Two boys, locked in utter competition, fighting for the title of strongest. Even now, after they had discovered love and true emotion, they still derived their rush from their spars. This was where they felt most alive.

"I'll show you how it's done!" Riku shouted, leaping up and kicking off from the Paopu tree in a seemingly impossibly high jump. Sora's eyes flew upward, and he leapt back as Riku struck into the sand. It blew everywhere, and Sora shielded his eyes, feeling Riku's sword connect with his side. He yelped and skidded backwards, dropping into a fighting stance and making a blind rush into the whirling sand. He heard movement and shut his eyes, focusing.. Riku was to his left. So he attacked, and felt wood connect with a muscled stomach.

"Gotcha!" He yelled. As the sand cleared, Riku was lying on his back, grinning. Sora let out a whoop of victory and danced around, while the silver-haired boy chuckled.

"Don't get too confident.. this time was only a fluke.. and I don't make the same mistake twice." He said, grinning and patting Sora on the shoulder, then smirking and swinging a leg, tripping the boy down into the sand. Getting a pouty look from Sora, he laughed and turned to leave, gasping as he felt a hand grasp his ankle and yank him down.

"No ya don't." Sora growled playfully, grinning triumphantly at Riku's surprised expression. He crawled over to him, putting a hand on either side of Riku's shoulders and leaning over him, amusing himself with the wide and confused aqua gaze that met his. He grinned impishly and leaned down, capturing Riku's lips. Riku moved his arm and knocked Sora off-balance, making the spiky-haired boy fall down on top of him. They meshed together, a perfect image of harmony and love.

That is, until..

"Sora, Riku. C'mon, you two.. get a room or somethin', ya?"

"Yeah, seriously."

Two pairs of eyes looked up and met two more. Tidus and Wakka stood there, feigning annoyance.

"You two are takin' up all da space for fightin', so go do your thing in da secret place or somethin'." Wakka said, trying to keep his fake scowl and failing horribly, his face breaking into a smile as he began nudging Tidus in the ribs. Tidus laughed.

"What he said." The blonde said, jutting his thumb back across the bridge and towards the main part of the island. Both boys on the ground rolled their eyes and parted reluctantly, heading back across the bridge. Sora was trying to rub sand out of his hair, and Riku was trying to smooth down his. Wakka called after them.

"Hey! And keep it rated PG, ya?"

~*~

"Nn.."

Sora tossed and turned in his bed, strange dreams and nightmares plaguing his sleep. Something was chasing him, something he couldn't recognize.. until he turned around, and there was Riku. His eyes were soulless.. they held no emotion in their once bright aqua depths.. and there was barely any recognition.

"Riku! Riku, it's me!!" Sora cried, waving a hand in front of the boy's face. The blank gaze followed it boredly.. and suddenly, a sword shaped like a demon's wing was raised above Sora's head. Sora yelped and fell back as Riku's steadily-blackening stare turned down upon him. He could hear something.. a harsh thumping in the distance, as though his heartbeat were being projected over miles and miles. Riku's voice hissed through the darkness, and Sora looked up into his face again.

"..die."

"NO! Riku!" Sora sat bolt upright in bed, blue gaze flying to his window as a flash of bright white illuminated his room.

"..huh? A storm..?" Sora murmurted to himself, shaking his head, feeling somewhat ashamed of himself. He was so stupid.. that was a dumb dream, nothing like that would ever happen, right? Riku was still Riku.. and in the morning, everything would be okay again. He flopped back into bed, staring at his ceiling, when he suddenly remembered.

"Oh no! The raft!" Leaping out of bed and throwing his clothes on, he shoved his feet into his shoes and ran out his bedroom door.

~*~

Darkness was everywhere. Not just in the sky, where a swirling ball of some black mass seemed to absorb all chance of happiness, but everyone could feel something tugging at the back of their hearts, urging them to surrender, because it was hopeless. Riku felt this strongest of all.. and he, unlike Sora and Kairi, who arrived soon after him.. let himself fall into it. Sora found him quickly enough.

"Riku!" He cried. Riku turned, and Sora gasped.. he could see those eyes fading, just like in his nightmare.

"I'm not afraid of the darkness." Riku whispered, holding a hand out towards him. "It's time for your choice.. will you join me..?" He asked. Sora hesitated.

"I.. I.."

"Are you afraid?" Riku asked, his tone so cold and chilling that Sora shivered.

It unnerved him greatly how moods could change so quickly.. how he and Riku had been so much like lovestruck puppies just earlier that day.. and now.. now, it was as though Riku barely knew him, let alone cared at all about him. Sora slowly, cautiously, reached towards Riku's hand.. perhaps, he thought, perhaps if he were to join Riku, the silver-haired boy would go back to normal.

The ground shuddered beneath them, and Sora looked down.. black tendrils of living impossibilities snaked from the ground, wrapping around Riku's ankles, seeming to pull him away.. Sora could feel something icy cold sliding up his legs, dragging him downward.

"N.. no! Riku!" Sora shouted.. there was a flash of light, and Riku was gone. The rest of the night was a blur of time, melded together through tears and sorrow of the loss of Riku.

~*~

Sora could barely see when he first woke up.. there was such bright light in his eyes, and at the same time, shadows around where the light was. He murmured something under his breath, feeling a warm breath and wet tongue laving over his face. His groggy mind barely registered what was going on.

"..nn.. knock it off, Riku. What are you doing? Hey!" Sora jumped up, staring down at his "assailant". A bright yellow dog sat there, staring up at him. Sora blinked.

"What the..? A dog?" He frowned. The dog gave a stupid grin up at him before dashing off.

"Hey! Waitasec! Have you seen.. my friends.." Sora trailed off as the dog rounded a corner. He looked around.. he was in an alley of some sort, one he definitely didn't recognize. Rather than sand under his feet, there was concrete and brick.. he scowled.

"Where.. am I?" He murmured, trying to recall what had happened. He remembered only a few things.. a Keyblade, which he noticed he was gripping in one hand, Kairi, something about a door, and..

"Riku." Sora murmured sadly to himself, spirits falling. Riku.. what had happened to his friend.. his boyfriend, even.. to make him change so much? Was he really that desperate to escape everything on the island? The empty green gaze haunted him.. the way he spoke.

I'm not afraid of the darkness.

But Sora was. He'd never admit it, but he was terrfied of the deep blackness of the unknown. He was afraid of not being able to see, not knowing what could happen.. he was terrfied of indecision and being alone. He was terrfied of losing his friends.. which he'd just done.

Are you afraid, Sora?

Clutching the Keyblade tightly in a hand, Sora set out into the unfamiliar town.

~*~

"What's this..? A boy?"

"Nn.." Riku stirred in his unconscious state, barely managing to crack his eyes open. Where was he..? It was so dark, he couldn't see very well.. except for a strange light coming from the middle of the circular room, he couldn't figure out where he was. He struggled to his feet, looking about, aqua eyes piercing through the shadows. A tall, robed woman stood in front of him, clutching a staff.

"..who are you, boy?" She asked, her tone icy cold. Riku flinched and saw more shadows moving behind her.

"He's obviously not a Princess of Heart.." Someone scoffed in a haughty tone, and the other shadows laughed.

"Of course he isn't, you idiot." A rather large shadow said, with the voice of an old witch. The others laughed again. Another large shadow spoke up, his voice sounding odd.

"I vote we eat him, then."

"Shut up, Boogey." The haughty voice said again. It wasn't long before they were all arguing amongst themselves. The tall woman sighed in exasperation and turned around.

"Be QUIET, all of you." She snapped. Everyone in the room, even Riku, jumped in surprise at the force of her command. The woman turned back to him, looking down at his face. She reached down, her fingers oddly reminding him of a spider crawling towards him. She ran her fingers over his cheek, making him shudder, and finally stopped under his chin, holding it. She looked directly into his eyes with her own, and Riku stared straight into her's. He wasn't afraid. He couldn't be.

"..you. What is your name, boy? Answer me truthfully.. or I'll let loose these hooligans upon you.." She turned back to the "hooligans", a few of them protesting faintly. Riku shifted.

"My name's Riku." He said, puffing out his chest slightly. I'm not afraid.. I'm not afraid.. I'm not like Sora..

A sharp ache struck him hard over the chest. He shut his eyes and turned away from the witch's face.

Sora.

She laughed at him.

"Tell me, boy. Who is it that you miss so much?" She asked, caressing his face again. He growled and knocked her hand away, earning a small murmur from the group of shadows behind her.

"None of your business." He snarled. She laughed again, making him angrier.

"Shut up!" He cried, dropping into a fighting stance.. he had no sword, but he didn't need one.. he could take these losers, right? One by one, they could go down.. and he could find Sora and Kairi.. and he could show them he wasn't afraid. He could prove it to them!

Smack.

The witch's hand fell harshly over his face.. she was much stronger physically than he'd anticipated, and he was knocked to the floor.

"Don't be a fool, boy. You cannot take on a witch and the six deadliest villians in all the worlds." She said, and Riku sighed, rubbing his cheek. He knew she was right.. but still, Sora's face haunted his mind. He wondered.. where the boy is.

"We've found the Keybearer, Maleficent.." One of the shadows said, pointing with a hooked hand toward the glowing dome in the middle of the room, raised atop a stone platform. Maleficent turned away from him and went over, and Riku cautiously stood and followed, staring at the image. It was a boy, carrying what looked like a key with him.. he couldn't make out who it was, and moved in for a closer look, aqua eyes widening.

Spiky brown hair.

Shocking blue eyes.

"..S.. Sora..?!"

~*~To Be Continued...

Eh.. heh.. this looks like it's going to be longer than I thought.. xD Oh well. Review and you'll get a nice, quick update again~~ ^^

~The Ambitious Blank