Hi guys! I'm back with chapter two! Thanx for the reviews!
Mujyakina-Hitokoroshiya: Thanx! Glad you liked it! Don't worry, when I really like something, I usually update a lot! Have you read my other KH fic, Painful Salvation?
Thundersisiter: Thanx! Love what you said about the whole poetic touch thing! I try to do that to the entries of all my stories!
Kuramasgirl13: Thank you! Your attention is very valuable! Hope you like this chapter!
Animefreak14: Grrr… I'm jealous! I want a motorcycle! Thanx for the review!
Lordkagome: No! Please not the bunny! Anything else, but just let's all ave the bunnies! Actually, after reading Watership Down, you can kill it…
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Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, and I'm not making any money off of the publication of this fanfic.
Riku
"Die," I whisper. The woman screams until her head leaves her body, now a lifeless lump lying over the ground. I turn to face my next opponent, a bristling man with blonde hair. He lunges at me, but I expertly dodge and run the sword through his gut, almost cringing at the sickening sound of metal being forced through the human's body.
"Bastard," the man growls, before he dies as well, joining his comrades in their sleep.
"I'll only stop if you give her back!" I yell. Even though the man is dead, he seems to grin at me from his sleep. He knows that I'll never get her back, never. If only I had done something sooner.
I awaken with a gasp, wiping the sweat from my brow. It's always the nightmares, always. As if they don't torment me enough by keeping me alive, they have to make me suffer in my subconscious as well.
Knowing the answer to that particular question, I lie back and fall asleep.
Another day, another day stuck on this awful earth. People say that as you get older, the days grow shorter, but for me it's exactly the opposite. I can remember everyday more clearly than the last. I stretch lazily, like a cat, as I get up.
Slowly I walk towards my wardrobe, and lazily I wonder what I'm going to wear today. Usually I only wear simple clothes as I have no will to dress in anything fancier, but with those peasants here, I might as well make an impression, especially with the boy named sky. After all, they might stick around for seventy years or so, so I might want to show them who's boss. Instead of my regular loose fitting black tunic, I decide to wear a tighter fitting one, with braies over hose. I keep the boots, and I grab my sword, soul eater, from its place and strap it to my waist. I have no use for armor, of course, because I cannot be harmed.
I stroll out of my room, my footsteps echoing in the empty halls. I listen to the cruelty in every step, a reminder of why I am here, of why I am caged. Other footsteps join mine, and I listen to them. They are light and airy, though weighed down with sickness. They radiate childhood innocence and naivete, though Sora's not a child by regular human means.
"Tell me boy, do you have any knowledge of how to defend yourself?" I ask. It's been a long time since I've sparred anybody. Not that I care, or even want human companionship. No, that isn't the reason I brought them here. It was just because they are all very interesting. I could crush them in a second if I really wanted to.
"Some," is his answer. I didn't realize the peasants had any training.
"My parents died when I was six, so someone had to take care of them." He probably means his sisters and that nurse of his.
"After all, the king never saw fit to see to his people." For some reason that angers me. In a second the boy is pinned to the wall, innocent eyes staring at me with fear. He thinks I'm going to kill him. Some part of me weeps for that, but I ignore it. He's only a mortal boy. He's just a simple mortal boy who will eventually die.
I glare at him, but suddenly part of me freezes. The clothes I gave him, they suit him. The blue of the shirt makes his eyes even brighter, and without all the dirt on him, he's quite pretty with plump pink lips and tan skin. I keep my composure. Just because the boy is more attractive than most doesn't excuse his rude behavior.
"Listen here boy. I asked you a question, and I did not need the reason behind why you learned to fight. I don't care about your parents, or the rest of you pitiful people. It would make no difference to me if you lived or died. So if you don't want to die, hold your tongue." I drop him to the ground and walk away.
A soft sniffling stops me. He's crying. "How dare you say that! Just because you're a noble, that doesn't mean you're better than us! Anyone can be born into royalty and live an easy life!" He thinks my life has been easy. My life has contained pain beyond anything he could ever compare to. I remember when my heart was still soft. They all died, from old age, disease, murder, and I couldn't follow them. I didn't even have the choice.
"Don't talk about things you don't understand," I tell him coldly. He just stares at me. Then he smiles, a breathtaking sight. His smile lights up a room.
"So are we still going to spar?" He asks. I grin, but only slightly.
"Only if you are prepared to lose." Some of my old arrogance is coming back as I lead him to the courtyards. I told him a sword from the small armory, and he catches it expertly. By now, his sisters and the nurse have come to watch.
"Kick his ass Sora!" Selphie laughs, jumping up and down. Foolish woman, I should behead her, but somehow I know there isn't any real fire behind that mental threat. Sora and I face each other, and he has a large grin on his face. I'll wipe that grin off his face.
He attacks first, sword held in sloppy hands. I easily dodge his first hit, and block the second one. His face is scrunched in concentration while I remain perfectly calm. "Is that it? I thought you said you could fight."
He glares at me, lunging straight at me with the sword held out. The move is horribly obvious, but he has potential, given time and proper training. I knock the sword out of his hand, and watch it fling through the air before it lands with a solid thump on the ground. I move my sword to Sora's neck, and he stops.
"You're pathetic," I tell him, grinning. He glares at me, but it comes out as more as a pout, about as dangerous as a squirrel. Then again, those things are evil buggers.
"Let's try this again. This time I'll even change weapons." I throw Soul Eater to the ground and walk towards the armory. I look around and decide on my two favorite weapons. They're the ones she used. Despite being over two hundred years old, they gleam as if they're newly forged. After all, they belonged to her, and I still respect her. The swords are elegantly crafted, clearly fit better for a woman's hand, but I use them perfectly. Unlike Soul Eater, a bulky weapon, these are slim and light, more like an extension of my arm.
I walk back out to see Sora waiting for me. Without warning he lunges at me, but I easily dodge it, flipping backwards ad rushing forwards to attack him before he can move. Once again his sword is sent flying, and once again my sword is at his throat.
"Lesson one. Wait for your opponent. Analyze their moves and use their weaknesses against them." Sora nods, panting, but I'm not even phased. He doesn't seem sick anymore. All he needed was a warm bed and a good wash.
Next battle, he waits, and I take the chance to show off, spinning my swords tauntingly. He finally loses patience and lunges, but this time it's not blind. I block with one arm, swinging the other up to knock his sword away, but he expects the move and leaps away. He lunges again, and I duck under his swing, dropping one of my swords in order to punch him in the gut. If I wasn't feeling merciful I could've just impaled him. He falls to the ground, and before he can leap to his feet, a sword is at his throat.
"Rule two. Don't over extend your attacks. It gives your opponent an advantage." He nods, and stands up, brushing my hand away when I offer to help him up. His outfit is stained with dirt, but it's relatively cheap anyway, so it doesn't matter much.
This time I attack first. He manages to block my first and second hit, and he dodges my third hit. He swings the sword at me again, much more controlled than the first time. I leap up, flipping over his head to land behind him. A sword goes to his back, and once again I've defeated him.
"Rule number three. Never underestimate your opponent." I smile, and he grins, a cheesy grin but his eyes radiate with innocence.
"I'll do that, as long as you promise not to underestimate me." I smirk. This Sora, maybe he isn't as dense as I thought he was.
"Can do."
Sora
I can't believe this! He beat me fifteen times in two hours! I was champion of the village contests, but I'm no match for him! He's fast, graceful, and strong. My stomach still aches from his punch, and he only hit me once! This guy is amazing! No wonder he never wears any armor!
Plus the clothes he was wearing. They were much more elegant the ones he was wearing yesterday. Ths cloak billowed around him, giving a mysterious look. The tunic under it was still loose on him, but when he sweat it clung to him like a second skin, showing off his curves and his fantastic muscle definition. The only disappointment had to be the pants. They were much too baggy. I liked the tight ones he wore yesterday, they really showed off his ass.
I run over to my sisters and Selphie. They're in new clothes, long, rich dresses in bright colors. Selphie's is yellow, and she trimmed it to be shorter than it was meant to be. Figures. Selphie's always acted like a guy, she even fights! Kairi's dress is lavender and Namine's is pure white. They don't look like my sisters anymore they look like rich nobles. On queue my stomach growls.
"I wonder what's for lunch?" I ask. Kairi shrugs.
"Who knows. I haven't seen anyone besides the five of us around since we got here. This place is weird." I agree, but there have to be other people here. Otherwise why would Riku have so much space?
"Well let's go look!" I exclaim excitedly. I always love to explore, and in a huge castle like this, who knows what we'll find.
"Sure!" Selphie shouts, hopping up and down. I swear that girl is more hyper than I am, and that's serious.
"I guess I'm in." Kairi says, smiling. We all turn to Namine. She's so silent. She hasn't said much since mother and father died. She was there, and she saw it happen. I don't even want to know what happened, because finding them their was enough to make me sick. But I don't want to think about it. Why dwell on the past when the future can be so much more promising?
We run back to the castle, tripping over the fancy shoes we have yet to get used to and giggling all the way. This place is so beautiful, yet so desolate. I wonder, what could be here that we don't know about? What secrets could this mysterious place hide, and what could Riku be hiding?
Even as a child, I could always tell the difference between good and evil, and somehow, I don't think Riku is evil.
Riku
How unusual, they're laughing. What do they have to laugh about? At any second they could die, and at any second anything could happen. They've been starved, deserted, and sick, so how can they smile? These people are unusual. I'll keep them around for awhile more.
Turning, I look to the meal I've had prepared. I haven't had to eat for quite sometime, but in order for my guests fragile health they must eat. I had to go to the storage area to find food. It's simple really. Bread, aged wine, cheese, and some sort of meat make up the meal. It's not much, but we all die sometime anyway, so why eat anything extravagant? It won't matter in the afterlife.
The misfits rush in and eye the food with hungry eyes. They lunge in, attacking it as if they've never seen food before. It's pathetic, how they act, but yet somehow it's endearing, having people sit at this lonely table again. It brings back memories, memories I'd rather not bring back. In less than five minutes the food is gone, and there are four very satisfied peasants sitting at my table. Namine walks up to me and bows.
"Thank you," is all she says before she walks out of the room. What a weird girl.
"She watched mom and dad die," Sora explains. Maybe she knows more about pain and death than I thought she did, but still, she's just a human who will die one day. There's no point in getting attached.
"Did I ask you to say anything?" I question.
"No," he answers, "but I could see it in your eyes." So he thinks he knows me huh?
"So, you want to spar?" Maybe he does know me, just a little.
That night is weird. My body feels weary, but I can't fall asleep. Every time I close my eyes I see his face, those eyes, that body. He's so innocent, so beautiful, so untainted. There's something about these peasants, they're changing me, and yet somehow I don't mind. Two hundred years is a long time to be alone.
I can still see him struggling to defeat me, sweat pouring down his face and his tunic, ruined. His right hand clenching his sword as if his life depended on it, and the determined look on his face. Over the day he got better, in an impressive amount of time.
Maybe one day, he'll be a good fighter, but he still needs much more training. Finally, sleep finds me as I gaze up at the midnight blue sky. For once, my last vision before sleep wasn't the massacred bodies of the past. For some reason I can see Sora's face.
This boy named sky, he must be putting me under some sort of spell because I can't get him off my mind. Though somehow I don't mind. These four, that boy, somehow they're different.
Heaven
"So, do you think we'll still have to consider the second option now?" Sephiroth grins.
"Maybe," Leon replies. "It'll all depend on what happens next." The four gods are sitting in a circle, around the mirror that allows them to see down onto the mortal plain.
"Do you think we should warn them?" Yuffie asks, sounding concerned. Cloud looks at her before speaking.
"What would they say?" He asks. Sephiroth grins. He shifts slightly, still as bored as ever.
'Who cares what they say. We're supposed to do anything possible to get the boy on our side." Leon glares at him.
"It might not matter if they decide to kill us all," he replies. Yuffie looks very nervous.
"I've already died once, I don't want to die again." Leon looks at her, keeping his silence. For once, everything is silent in the white abyss, until Sephiroth's voice breaks that silence.
"It doesn't matter. We've found the light of the darkness and the darkness of the light, so they can't touch us now." The other three nod in agreement. It seems a decision has been made.
"So, what do we do?" Yuffie asks. Cloud glances at her, then to the mirror which holds a window to the sleeping Riku.
"What do you think we do? We must summon our medium." The picture changes to Namine, staring straight up into the window. It's almost as if she's aware of the situation, but then again, perhaps she is. Namine has always been a mysterious child.
"So, how do we tell her?" Cloud asks. Once again, Sephiroth grins.
"Let me do it." He leans over the mirror, whispering words in a language none of them have ever heard before. Namine nods slightly and falls asleep.
"What did you tell her?" Leon asks.
"Only what needs to be said."
Sora
It's been one week since we got here. One week of sparring, eating good meals, and exploring. Today, Riku's taking his ritual morning bath, and we're not to disturb him. I wait impatiently outside his personal bathing area, the sword he gave me in hand. I tap it against my thigh, eager for Riku to get out so we can start our training.
Silently, he heads my way, and my jaw drops to the floor. I had always thought Riku dressed before he came out of his private bathing area. Right now he's wearing only a cloth around his waste, and it doesn't leave mush to imagination.
Droplets of water cascade down his bare chest, traveling over his muscles and sown into the cloth bellow, going even further where I have only my imagination to guide me. He's very skinny, and without his loose baggy clothing, I can see his slim waist line. It has to be a sin to look that good.
"Sora?" He asks. His voice has gotten slightly less cold, but it's still frigid enough to freeze a fire. I draw my eyes away from his pale pink lips, trying to clear my thoughts.
"Yes, Riku," I answer, my voice sounding innocent and masking all of the very naughty thoughts I'm having. He turns slightly, and I can see hi very nice ass. If only the towel would slip just a little.
'Are you going to leave me alone so I can get dressed, or would you prefer to watch?" He grins when he says this, an eyebrow raised slightly in amusement. As much as I would love to watch him, he's probably kill me if I said I'd like to watch. I walk out through the door and into the hallway.
"Oh, and Sora, wipe the drool off your face." I blush angrily. That jerk, having the nerve to insult me like that. He may have the greatest body I've ever seen, but he's a total prick. Soon he joins me in the hall, properly dressed, though he's wearing tights again so I get a spectacular view of his ass.
He beckons for me to follow him, and I do, though I stay behind him so I can watch his ass. Is it just me, or is he purposely swinging his hips like that.
Soon we get to the training field, and as usual, Riku grabs the two slim swords, staring at tem affectionately for a second before he steps onto the field. We face each other, and I lunge. I always attack first. As usual, he dodges my swing, but when he tries to counter it I bring my sword up to defend against him. Riku pushes against me and I'm forced back, taking steps backwards as he takes his forwards, until I trip over a log behind me. How embarrassing!
I fall to the ground, landing on my back with a "Hmm," and a second later, someone else drops on top of me. Riku? He must have been putting his entire weight against mine, and when I fell over, so did he. He pushes himself up, looking down at me with amusement in his eyes. Our position is very…awkward. Riku's straddling me, arms on either side of my head, and I'm lying bellow him, blushing. I know because of the warmth on my cheeks. Riku's also blushing, just the slightest bit so that I can barely tell, but the sight of him like that is making me very uncomfortable. If Riku were to look down, he'd find something I doubt he'd appreciate. Then again, he has one too.
Our little moment is broken when Selphie tackles Riku and starts tickling him. She runs her hands up his sides, and for a moment I think he's going to kill her, but then the weirdest thing happens. He laughs. He's laughing so hard tears are flowing from his eyes and he's shaking. Grinning, I jump on him too, tickling him in the same place as Selphie. I'm so engrossed in seeing Riku's laughing face that I barely notice Selphie leaving. However, Riku certainly does.
He bucks his hips into mine and I gasp, but Riku plays it off as an accident. He rolls us over, one arm pinning my arms above my head as he mercilessly tickles me with the other one. Up and down my sides, on my stomach, even a little lower, to the waistline of my pants. I gasp, arching my back into his hand when…
Splash! A huge wave of ice cold water is splattered over us, and I look up to see Selphie and Kairi, holding a giant bucket and looking immensely pleased with themselves. In their arms is a huge bucket that was most probably once filled with water. Riku gets off of me, and the laughter is gone from his eyes. The sparkle went out and now it's replaced with his regular cold look.
He walks inside indifferently, and I stare after him. What happened to the happy Riku who was just recently here. I glare at Selphie and Kairi who look completely confused, before I suddenly sneeze. The cold air outside isn't good for my drenched body. My sneeze is followed by a fit of coughing and more sneezing. I attempt to get up, only to fall back to the ground. I can see Riku running back out, and soon after, everything becomes swirly and I black out.
Riku
I calmly carry the unconscious boy back to his room and feel his forehead. He's burning up with fever. He tosses and turns in my arms, mumbling inarticulate ramblings. I set him on his bed and make sure he's comfortable. Not that I actually care if he's comfortable or not. Selphie comes into the room with another bucket of cool water and some wash cloths. I take them from her.
"Go make him some soup," I order, and she runs off. I glare at Kairi and Namine who are looking worriedly at Sora and say, "What are you waiting for? Go help her." They rush off, and I look to Sora.
He slowly opens his eyes and sees me. "Ri-ku?" He asks drearily. I nod. I take one of the wash clothes and put it on his head, waiting for the fever to break. Sora just stares at me, and we do this for about thirty minutes. There's no talking, just sitting, but somehow, looking into his eyes and seeing him is calming, and I know that I can't let him die. Not this way, not yet. I don't know why, but a small part of my heart doesn't ant him to die. It's the first part of my heart to work in years. Not that I care, I never actually care. I just don't want him to die because it would be a shame to have his talent with a sword wasted. It's not like I actually care for him, right?
Selphie nearly runs into me, carrying a huge jug of soup. "Master Riku, would you like to let me take care of Sora?" I shake me head and she leaves the room, followed by Kairi and Namine.
Slowly, I spoon feed Sora, and wipe of any soup when it drips down his chin. I don't care for him…It's become my mantra, a saying to keep me sane. I really don't care. I replace the cool wash cloth on his head and turn t leave, but a weak grasp on my arm stops me.
"I don't want to be alone," Sora tells me. I nod and pull up a chair to sit next to Sora. He staring longingly at the books that adorn his shelves. His eyes look so friendly, just like the sky of long ago. Not that I care.
"Do you want me to get you a book?" I ask. He shakes his head no.
"Can you read me a book?" He questions, hope in his eyes. I glare at him for no particular reason.
"Can't you read the book yourself?" It's seems like the most obvious question in the world, but Sora shakes his head.
"No, I can't read." That's a surprise, then again, most of the peasants have no need of the skill. Sighing as if in exasperation, I grab a book from one of the shelves. I look at the title. You got to be kidding me. King Arthur and The Knights of the Round Table? I didn't even know I owned this book. With a sigh I began to read.
Sora stared at me while I read, eyes filled with innocent wonder. Somehow while I was reading, Sora grabbed my hand. This made it very hard to turn pages, but somehow, the feel of his warm hand over mine was comforting. It makes me feel warm inside, something I haven't felt in a long time. When Sora falls asleep I gently slip his hand from mine and start to walk out of his room, but his voice stops me.
"Don't leave me alone," he whimpers. Is he up? I check, but he's asleep. I guess I can stay for a little longer… Taking his hand back into mine, I sit in the chair next to his bed. I'm not going to fall asleep here… My eyes close, and despite my internal protests, I'm out in about five seconds.
I open my tired eyes and stretch. I'm all cramped up! I roll my neck and shoulders, hearing the bones crack. Last night I didn't have a nightmare last night, and that's always a good thing. Looking around, I notice I'm not in my room. This room is smaller, and it's messy. My room is never messy. Sighing, I remember why I'm here. Sora's lying there sleeping, with a fresh rag on his forehead. That's good. Selphie and the others must not trust my to take care of their little brother, so they're probably doing it themselves.
I sigh and stretch again. Note to self: never sleep on I straight back chair. I look over to Sora and feel a strange warmth in my heart. No, I can't feel this way because he doesn't love me. He is physically attracted to me, I know that from my experiments yesterday, but he doesn't love me, so there's no reason to love him. It'll only be unrequited.
Suddenly Namine walks in. Out of all of them, I know the least about her. Selphie's a hyperactive girl who loves the other three with all of her heart. She's sweet, caring, and the perfect friend, with a mischievous streak of course. Kairi's calmer then Selphie, with a girlish laugh. She seems weak, but she has a strong will. That was proven on the first day I met her and she talked back to me. She's also Sora's twin. I know nothing about Namine. She's just…quiet. I don't even know if she's older or younger than Sora and Namine. She's a mystery to me. I don't even think Sora and Kairi know her to well, though she follows Kairi everywhere.
"Yes," I address her. She looks at me with a strange glint in her sad eyes, like the gods have given her the knowledge of the future, yet she's unable to stop anything from happening.
"Riku, you must believe. Don't give up so easily. It'll all be worth it someday." Before I ask her what she means, she leaves. Damn mysterious girl… I go out into the hallway, but she's vanished. How can that be, she only left a second ago and I never heard any doors open or close, so where did she go?
"Riku?" Kairi asks. Namine is huddled behind her, silent as usual. Kairi's holding up some soup for Sora.
"How did you get there?" I ask Namine suspiciously. She just huddles father behind her sister who puts an arm in front of her and looks at me with confused eyes.
"What are you talking about? Namine has been downstairs with me for the last half hour." I glare at Namine, but she only gives me one of those looks.
"Whatever," I say, walking into my room. I smell of peasant, I smell of Sora. I need to get the scent off. Not that Sora smells bad, in fact, he smells like fresh bread just risen and he smells of home. I don't know exactly know what home smells like, but he smells comforting, like a place I don't want to leave. I guess that's why I associate him with home.
I slip my clothes off and lower myself into the steaming bath. Slowly, Sora's scent comes off, and I feel happy and sorrowful at the same time. Happy because I'm free of outside influence, and sad because… I just feel sad.
There is not sparring that day as I spend it pretending not to care that Sora's sick while checking in on him every minute. He's not getting better. His fever's become higher, the coughing sounds he makes in the back of his throat are now a constant melody through the halls.
I open his door and peek in.
"You now, you don't have to stay out all the time," Sora says. His voice is haggard and weak. I enter the room and sit down on a chair by his bed, or at least I try to. Selphie and Kairi are sleeping at the chair's foot, and they look exhausted.
"They were watching over me all day," he tells me. I nod. Slowly, I pick up Selphie, acting as if she were a china doll, even though I know she isn't. Somehow the cheery girl seems important, but I can't place why.
Soon both of them are in bed, and I go back to Sora's room. "I'm doing fine," he tells me, as if I asked something. I just nod, feigning boredom.
"So, what's up?" He asks.
"The sky," I answer. What else could he mean?
"How are you doing?" He tries again.
"Good," I reply. Maybe he'll get it through his thick skull that I don't want to talk.
"Oh," is all he says. He seems to be thinking, so I look over to the book. He doesn't know how to read. How is that possible? He seems to see what I'm looking at, and he blushes.
"Hey Riku, can you teach me?" He asks shyly. I stare at the book, and then to his hopeful face. With a sigh I give in.
"Sure," I tell him. I grab a piece of paper and a feathered pen off the desk by his bed and set it on the book. I write a symbol on the paper and show it to him.
"This is the letter A, and it's the first letter of the alphabet. It makes an ah sound or a 'a' sound." Sora nods and I hand him the paper and pen. He grips the pen like a dagger and stabs the paper, tearing it and smearing ink everywhere, including his cheek. I almost want to laugh at him. His eyes are wide and he's staring at the pen. Finally I let out my laugh and lean forward. I need to get the ink off his face.
He blushes at our close proximity, and then I wipe the smudge of ink off his face. "You goon. You don't hold a pen like it's a dagger." He glares at me, lips coming out for a pout.
"Fine Mr. I-know-it-all, how do you do it?" I grab his hand and the pen and frown.
"You're left-handed, aren't you?" I ask.
"Yeah, so what?" She was left-handed…
"Nothing," I answer. No need in telling him that. I position his hand around the pen and dip it in ink. Then I bring our hands to the paper and trace an A. It comes out perfectly in my meticulous handwriting, though it has a slightly different curve than my usual letters do. Somehow, Sora gives his letters personality, instead of them being just letters on a paper.
"Like this?" he asks, dipping his pen in the ink. He turns it around and the ink flies everywhere, a huge blob of it landing on my face. Sora bursts out laughing. I grin evilly.
"You think that's funny do you?" I question, my eyes still glaring mischievously.
"Yeah," he laughs. Oh he does, doesn't he? I grab the inkbottle from him and pour it in his hair. A now black haired Sora glares at me, looking about as threatening as a bunny rabbit. He shakes his head, sending ink all over me. I grab every inkbottle from the table. This means war.
Soon both of us are completely covered in ink, and I sincerely doubt that my hair is silver anymore. When we run out of ink, Sora tackles me, pushing me to the bed and pinning my arms above my head. This is a rather compromising position, especially since he's over me.
"I like mine naughty, but I'm always on top," I inform him. He blushes for a second before he starts tickling me. His hands are running up my sides, and I have to force out a laugh. Whenever anyone else does this it tickles, but with Sora it turns me on, fast. His fingers, soft warm fingers, skimming over my skin feels so damn good.
I suddenly push him, flipping us over so that I'm on top. I attack his sides and stomach, and he laughs loudly. Then his stomach lurches and the laugh turns into a cough, and the cough turns into a series of coughs. I roll off him to give him some breathing room. Finally, the coughing stops, and Sora weakly drops onto the bed.
I reach a hand to his forehead and feel his fever. He's burning up. This is probably my fault. I shouldn't of allowed him to mess around so much. The sick need their rest, and what Sora and I were doing was definitely not resting. I replace the cold rag on his head and sigh.
"Thanks," Sora croaks out. He's breathing heavily, and it's almost like every breath's a struggle.
"You're welcome," I answer. Things are back to being odd between us again. Sora picks up an ink-splattered piece of paper and the feather pen. He also manages to grab a full inkbottle. I didn't think any were left. He holds the pen in his hand like I taught him and writes an A on the paper. It's sloppy and barely legible, but it's definitely an A.
"Like this," he asks weakly.
"Yeah." I answer, trying to pretend I'm not happy for him.
"So what's the next letter," he asks.
"B," I reply stoically.
"Like the bug," he asks, voice slightly stronger.
"Sometimes," I answer. "It depends on how it's used…" I begin to write one down, but I can feel someone's eyes on us. Turning, I see Namine with a smile on her face, though it's a sad smile. Like something bad is going to happen.
"Riku, what're you looking at?" I turn to Sora, and wonder why he doesn't seem to see her. I turn back and see that Namine has vanished. Somehow I'm not surprised.
"Nothing Sora," I answer. I need to have a long talk with Namine.
"So Riku," Sora asks me. "Are we friends now?" He sounds so innocent and so hopeful. I don't think we're friends. After all, I do not make friends. I look at his face and sigh. How can I possibly say no to those adorable blue puppy eyes?
"I don't know Sora. I haven't had any friends for a long time." He smiles brightly. A smile that can light up a room.
"Then I can be your first friend!" He sounds so happy about that. He holds out his hand for a friendly handshake and I take it.
So Sora, I guess you're now friends with a cruel, two-hundred-year-old murderer. That must be nice. Then again, I get to be friends with a sweet innocent boy with blue eyes and a bright bubbly personality. I wonder, who's the lucky one?
