Hi guys! Thanx for the reviews!

Mysleevesr2long: Thanx! I'm trying to make this story sweeter than my other one, which is really antsy.

DancingMistress: Thanx so much! I think I have an idea for the sequel, so you so totally have to read that too!

Kmsweetness: Thank you! I'm glad you like my writing style since I work very hard on it!

Kuramasgurl13: Don't worry, you're supposed to be extremely confused over 'heaven'. You probably won't get it until the end of the story when everything comes together. Namine is one of my favorite characters, and after S/R my favorite Riku anybody pairing has to be Riku/Namine, but I still really think Sora and Riku are made for each other.

Praetor: I'm trying to make it cute. Cute is hard for me cause I always want action and all that crap/

ShadowedDarkness: Thanks for the compliment! Namine is very mysterious, isn't she? That's what makes her so completely awesome!

Disclaimer: I don't own KH or FF.

Caged By Hate

Riku

He's not getting better. It's been three days since he got sick, and his fever hasn't broken even once. That's not very good. Sighing, I replace the wash cloth on Sora's head. I had to force Namine, Kairi, and Selphie not to look after Sora. They'll just get sick as well. I guess one good thing about being me is my immune system. I can't get sick, and Haven't gotten sick for two-hundred years.

God, he's so innocent. Why does he have to be sick. It's supposed to be that the bad people suffer while the good people are left alone in a world of happiness, but it's never that way. It's always the innocents that suffer, and the bad guys always get away. Just like Sora, and just like her…

He reminds me so much of her sometimes, maybe that's why we're such good friends. She was everything to me, though I was too proud to admit it. She held my heart in her hands, and when she left me she took it with her. But somehow, Sora, a nobody, is slowly bringing my heart back to me. I was too proud back then. Too proud to believe her, too proud to save her, and now, this is my redemption. I did nothing, a sin worse than murder, ad her blood stains my hands up to this very day.

"Ri-ku," Sora asks, voice hoarse. "Can we learn the next letter of the alphabet?" His eagerness breaks my heart. At first it was only curiosity, but now it's something more. It's like he's trying to keep his mind away from the sickness, this horrible sickness that refuses to leave him alone.

"The next letter is the last one, Z. It's written like this…" I write out a z on the paper and hand the feathered pen and paper to Sora. We don't have any ink fights anymore. He's too weak to fight back. We don't tickle each other any more, every one of his laughs turns into a cough.

He grips the pen unsteadily and writes a shaky z. His handwriting has improved a little, but it still looks like a little kid wrote it. Z, the last letter of the alphabet, I hope this isn't some unusually cruel way of foreshadowing something.

"How are you feeling?" I ask, allowing just a tiny bit of concern to be heard through my voice. I don't want him to know how worried I really am. His blue eyes stare up at me, and I feel like I'm looking into two exquisite sapphires. The light is still there, but it's dimmed by horrible sickness.

"I'm doing fine, felling loads better actually." He's lying, I know he is. Ever since the day we became friends I decided that maybe I care just a little, not too much, but enough to the point where I wouldn't be happy if he died. I don't think I'd be happy if any of them died. Kairi and Selphie are constant reminders of life inside this dead space, and Namine is just Namine. It would be hard not to miss the mysterious little girl.

Speak of the devil and he shall come. Namine's at the door again, the same expression on her face as always. That look of knowledgeable hopelessness, like nothing can be done and everyone is doomed and she knows it all. I hate that look. I lock eyes with her, and for a moment Aquamarine meets green, and I can see. I know, and I don't like what I know. But then the moment passes, and I am as ignorant as ever, to an extent. I remember the feeling of that knowledge, and the dread. I'm not going to let that happen.

"Hey Riku, what are you looking at?" Sora asks again, completely bewildered. For some reason, he can't see Namine, no one else can, I think. She only comes to me.

"Nothing," I reply. We sit there in silence for awhile, comfortable silence, before Sora's stomach growls. I chuckle a bit and ruffle his hair, making it even messier tan usual.

"I'll go get us some lunch," Sora tries to glare at me, but as usual, it comes out looking funnier than it is frightening.

"Thanks Riku," he tells me. I walk downstairs to the dining room and grab some of the soup. Soup is the only thing Sora's stomach can handle, it's been rejecting everything else lately.

I walk back upstairs to the East Wing, and I can hear the giggling of three girls up to no good. Didn't I tell them not to bother Sora? If they get sick I'm not taking care of them. I'm about to burst through the door when I hear Sora laugh. It's a weak, mousy laugh, but it's a laugh none the less. I peak in through the crack in the door and see the four of them conversing excitedly. I'll give them five minutes that's all.

Not that it matters or anything, it's not like I'm going soft or kind. I'm just not up to trying to break up that close knit family. They'll whine and complain and scratch and stuff like that. Selphie imitates me, eyes going cold and chest puffed out, and instead of feeling angry I smile. It's only the barest turning up of the lips, because it's not funny. I should have her beheaded for giving such a lousy impression of her king.

Suddenly, Namine sees me. She gives me that look. That girl, she's a mystery. I need to talk to her, now.

I open the door, and put the cold look back on my face. Selphie immediately stops her imitation and gulps. I set the food down and grab Namine by the wrist. She squeaks in pain and her face twists into a look of discomfort, but she makes no attempt to get away. "I need to talk to you, alone, now." I tell her.

Her eyes widen slightly, as if she wasn't expecting this, and I almost laugh at her. She should of thought of this before she did whatever she was doing. Kairi gasps, but Namine gives her a look that clearly says not to follow. I pull Namine out the door and into the hall.

"What the hell does that look mean?" I whisper viciously.

"What look?" She asks, almost emotionally, though her haze is settled on the floor in undeniable guilt. I'm running out of patience. This girl will not defy me.

"That look…What do you know?" T this Namine smiles, just slightly.

"It's not my job to tell you. The answer is worth much more than my pathetic life anyway. Just remember, not everything is black and white, not everything is plain and simple. You need Sora and Sora needs you. Two-hundred years haven't changed you Riku. You have the chance to change your fate. You weren't able to save her, but you can still save him." I think that's the most Namine's ever said, but it doesn't answer my question. How does she know? How does she know about my imprisonment? How the hell does she know anything at all?

"Terll me what you know!" I scream, so loudly Kairi and Selphie rush to the door.

"I wish I could, but I can't, sorry." She looks back down at the floor guiltily. I reach up a hand to smack some sense into her, but I hear a gasp behind me.

Sora…

He looks from my raised hand to his sister and back before he glares, and this time pure hatred rests in his features. "I thought we were friends Riku. I thought you might be a good person, but I was wrong. No person could raise a hand to an innocent child! I was wrong Riku! You and I could never be friends!" With that said he rushes forward, grabbing Namine. Kairi and Selphie glare at me also before they storm into Sora's room, followed by Sora and Namine. Namine looks back at me one last time before the door closes behind her and says one last thing.

"You can still save him." How can I save him when he hates me?

The walls seem to mock me, laughing at me, telling me how I have never done anything right. I need to think, but I can't stay here. I need to go outside, into the fresh air.

I go back to the beach beside the back of the castle. This castle was built on the shore, so it has a spectacular view of the ocean. It's always so calm here, silent in a relaxed way. There's this island in the middle of the lake with the oddest tree on it. Its fruit, the Paopu, are said to bind two people together forever, but it's not true. It's only a myth after all. The tree forms a perfect branch, and I walk across the bridge connecting the island to the rest of the castle grounds and plop down onto my favorite thinking place. The ocean is calm, and the sunset is happening right now. Most people consider the red color beautiful, but all I see is blood.

"Riku," her voice is like a million chimes, airy and fresh, yet innocent and full of life.

"What?" I ask rudely, though it's only to hide my insecurity. I'm always nervous around her. My heart beats at a mile a minute, and I think I love her, not that she can know that. No, as long as we have everything against us, she can never know.

"Do you know what this is?" She holds up a yellow fruit shaped like a star.

"No," I ask, feigning disinterest. She blushes a bit.

"It's a Paopu fruit. They say when two people share one, they're bound together for all of eternity." I can feel a blush come to my cheeks. Is she saying what I think she's saying?

"I was just wondering, would you like to share one with me?" Her green eyes look up at me in hopefulness. I've never been able to say no to her. It's like saying no to a puppy. I'd love to be bound to her for all of eternity. I love her more than anything, and eternity doesn't seem like long enough.

"Sure," I tell her. She rips the fruit in half and hands a piece to me. Before I can take a bite, a scream comes from the difference.

"I'll be right back," I tell her. "Wait for me." I run after the scream, hoping to see what was wrong. What if they had found us? What I didn't know was that by going to see what was wrong, I had left her in danger.

That was the last time I ever saw her alive. When I returned to our spot, I saw the Paopu fruit, crushed into the ground, trampled. That was the only day of my long life I wept, not the tantrum of a five- year-old, but the tears of someone truly in pain. I couldn't save her, and that's when I realized, everybody dies, so does it really matter how you live?

A scream awakes me from the spot I dozed off at. Kairi's scream. Without thought I run back in, grabbing Soul Eater on my way there.

I barge into Sora's room, finding him perfectly safe, along with Selphie, but neither Kairi nor Namine is there.

"What happened?" I ask calmly. I know I would have been much more frantic if Sora had been taken, yet I don't know why.

"These men came and took them!" Selphie bursts into hysterical sobs and breaks down on the floor.

"Who?" I ask, turning to Sora. He gets up and glares at me.

"It's none of your business. They're my sisters, and I'll get them back myself! I don't need your help." I'm getting angry now. I can feel my blood boiling as I try to contain it.

"You're in no condition to leave, at least not alone. Besides, nobody takes anything from me. This a serious blow to my pride. What if one of my enemies figures out I can't even defend the people under my roof?" Actually, I care for Kairi and Namine. I don't know when it stared or why, but I want to get them back. I think that maybe it's because I don't want to see Sora if they die. I don't want to see him sad.

Sora glares at me angrily, but Selphie pulls me into an embrace. "Thank you so much! We're going to kill those jackasses, right Sora?" It's amazing, even at times like this, Selphie manages to stay optimistic.

Sora glares at me again. "I don't trust him Selph. We can do this alone." His eyes shine with doubt, but Selphie walks up to him and smacks him.

"Sora. Have you ever defeated him in battle? NO! So until you do, he's coming with us! We need all the help we can get if you want your sisters back!" At her words, Sora nods.

Neither Sora nor Selphie know my secret. Even though I didn't ask them to keep it, Kairi and Namine never told. They'll both probably freak out if they find out, therefor, I'm not telling.

"Sora, we go tomorrow. Selphie-" She cuts me off.

"I'm going too! I can fight as well as any man in the village, promise!" She's so fiery that even if I said no, she'd probably just follow us anyway.

"Fine, we leave tomorrow morning." Sora looks at me.

"Why can't we leave today?" Sora asks. He's leaning heavily on the bedpost, and he's clearly not well enough to go anywhere. I don't even answer his question.

"Selphie, why don't we find you a weapon?" She nods, and follows me out of Sora's room.

Sora glares at us on our way out, but he drops onto the bed, weak from sickness.

I head to my small armory and grab my mother's two swords. Just incase something happens to Soul Eater, I need a back up weapon. I might not die, but I still feel pain. Selphie immediately grabs a Nunchaku from the wall called Crescent Wish. A difficult weapon to use, and a strong one at that.

"Are you sure you know how to use that?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. She nods, practicing some of the moves on it with almost perfect accuracy.

Now, for Sora's weapon. I pick a slim sword with a dragon carved around the handle. The sword is light but powerful, and it's hers. I remember the day I got it for her.

She had been staring at it through the window for a long time now, admiring its sharp edge and exquisite designs. Of course, people like us would never be able to afford something like that. Little did she know, I had been saving up for a long time now. She deserved it, a special weapon for a special person.

Her face lit up when I handed it to her. She was always smiling, always so beautiful. It's always the innocents that suffer.

"I love it, thank you!" She had yelled, waving it around, the dragon's ruby eyes glinting in the bright sunlight. Everything had been bright back then, everything.

I slip the sword back into its shaft. Sora will love the sword. I smile at the thought of his eyes lightening as he pulls it from its sheath to see the beautiful patterns glinting off the metal. Somehow, I want to make him happy. I don't want to have him suffer, and I definitely don't want to be the cause of his suffering. Seeing him sick makes me hurt inside, seeing him angry makes me want to hurt something. He's the first person to extend his hand to me and ask to be friends. Even with her, it was given that we were friends.

I don't know if what I'm feeling is just friendship, or if it's something more, but I know that I want him to be happy.

Heaven

"Damn it!" Yuffie screamed, slamming her fist down on the table and shaking the looking glass.

"Don't worry Yuffie, these things work themselves out," Sephiroth replies. Neither Leon nor Cloud is present at the time being, and neither of them knows of the kidnapping.

"How can it be? Sora's sick, Kairi and Namine are out of our reach, and Sora's pissed at Riku!" Sephiroth just raises a hand to silence the younger god.

"The real question is, why did they kidnap Kairi and Namine? Sora and Riku are the important ones. So why did they kidnap the two sisters? Given, Namine has a variety of powers, but not compared to Sora or Riku. I think there's still hope." Yuffie glares at the stoic god.

"Not if Sora dies from illness there isn't!" She responds. Sephiroth smiles a little.

"We'll just have to get of that sickness then, won't we?" He puts his hands over the looking glass, but Yuffie grabs him.

"What about the rules?" She asks, clearly worried.

"Stiff and Stiffer aren't here right now, are they?" Yuffie nods, a grin on her face.

"We won't heal him enough to make it not look natural, just enough to insure survival. They'll never know." Yuffie let's go of the elder god's hands and allows him to heal the boy named sky.

"Why are you so interested in this Sephiroth? Usually you don't care what happens." Sephiroth stares at her for a second.

"Very observant Yuffie. Let's just say that the boy, Riku, reminds me of myself at a time long ago." Yuffie grins at him before she leans back in her chair, crossing her legs.

"Don't worry, I won't tell." She says, as if they're both children keeping a harmless secret.

Sephiroth just nods, the creepy smile still on his face.

Outside the conference room, a voice speaks up. "Well, well. It seems that we have a few traitors in our mist. This could get...interesting."