Awaken
Chapter 5: Dreamscape
Sora and Riku stared at eachother in the dead light of an empty world. Sora could see, even from a distance, how empty Riku's eyes were. Riku could look at Sora, see how weak he was, how his body shivered.
"P-please..." Riku heard Sora whisper. "Come... come to me...." Sora held a hand out towards Riku.
".... I....." Riku's voice was dull and blank. He could muster no substance to whisper a response. All that sat in his head was blankness. Shaking, Riku lifted a hand. Sora beckoned him forth.
"Come here, Riku..." Sora's soft voice whispered in Riku's head, but his lips didn't move. Somehow, Riku couldn't connect these. He saw Sora, he heard Sora, all there was was Sora. Tiny black strings dangled around Sora's wrists and ankles, and one lifted to move his leg, and he took a step forward. "Take my hand. Take my hand, Riku..." Deliberate, Riku took a jerky step towards Sora. Another step. There was no thought to it. Sora, Sora, all there was in his mind was Sora, to him, all there ever was, Sora, all that would ever be, Sora. Each step was forgotten, and if Riku had to go back, he would have no idea where to go, because there was no Sora there. His feet misbalanced on themselves, and Riku hit a sense of vertigo as he fell. Something broke his fall, but Riku couldn't see anything other than the Sora in front of him, his hand still extended. Sora stepped towards him, still walked by the strings, and whispered in that ominous way, into a dead-eyed Riku's ear;
"Step four."
Sora shook Riku nervously. The tiny keychain was suspended in midair somehow , making a circle of light around them. All Sora knew was that he watched Riku fall to the ground, and suddenly was there, and caught him. He was completely confused, and wouldn't have been surprised if Riku was as well. But Riku wasn't anything; he was nothing other than asleep. Slowly, Sora stroked Riku's hair, pressing Riku's head into his lap. Riku's eyes were open; he looked like a porcelain doll, with his high cheekbones and delicate face, and those wide, electric blue eyes that stunned you when you looked into them. His hair was like a pile of the feathers of angels. Pressing his nose into Riku's chest, Sora smelled blood, sweat, and some eerie, lingering sweetness undertoned in his body, something Sora couldn't recognize. Riku's eyes suddenly closed. "Aah! Riku!" Sora began to throttle him, panicking.
"S... S... o.... r... a....?" Riku mumbled, slowly, detachedly, as though he'd been set in stone for years and his lips were still regaining their movement. He quickly plunged himself into Sora's arms. "Sora. Sora. Sora. Sora." He kept mumbling Sora's name over and over. Slowly, in complete confusion, Sora patted Riku on the head, ruffling his feathery silver hair.
"Yeah, I'm here," he chuckled lightly. "We're both here. It's going to be okay." He looked carefully into Riku's eyes, and noticed that his pupils were wide, and devoid of conciousness. "What...? What's wrong with you? Riku...?"
"He has no mind," whispered a voice behind them, cold and cruel; Eiya. "He's empty. He can't think of anything."
"Sora. Sora. Sora. Sora." Riku kept whispering, over and over. Sora blinked, then smirked in his mind, or he would if he could. He was far too nervous to do so, but a small smile crept across his face. Sora was a thought, wasn't it? Or was it onlya memory?Perhaps, if it set Eiya off enough...
"No way! He knows my name! He can say it!" Sora cried, jumping up.
"Huh?!" Eiya snarled, obviously surprised.
"Sora. Sora. Sora." Riku, devoid of a Sora to clutch onto desperately, began to hug himself, huddling in the stereotypical rocking motion.
"How...? Feh! A minor flaw! This perfect circle shall be completed! Look at your wrists! You're... you're a puppet!" Sora suddenly found himself lifted up into the air, and felt strings around his wrists, binding and tightening.
"What in the hell?!" Sora gasped, and screamed as the black thread constricted his wrists.
"Dance, little puppet, dance." Eiya hissed, and Sora's arms and legs began to move without Sora's say. Sora screamed, as dreadful pain shot throughout him. "Oh, you like the control hex? I thought it was a nice touch, myself. The longer my strings remain around you, my puppet, the further in my power you will be..." Sora froze, considering this notion.
"That... doesn't matter...." Sora growled. "As long as you don't have Riku!" He forced his mind through the strings, pushing at Eiya, trying to force it away from Riku. Riku suddenly jumped up, eyes in alacrity, ready to stand for his Sora.
"Nor does what you just did. I have what I want from you two!" Eiya growled. The strings around Sora's body vanished, and he dropped to the ground. Riku caught him effortlessly.
They froze for a second, for a butterfly's flittering wing to flap, for a raindrop to fall, simply staring at each other. Riku could see the shimmering azure sparkle of water in Sora's eyes. His hair was soft and smooth, like silk against Riku's hands. He felt warm, soft, and tender, the muscles tense. His body was awkward and oddly positioned as Riku held him, but as Riku stared at him, at his entire body, his slender legs, his tight waist, his girlish face, he felt an eerie sensation, a feeling that confused him yet aroused him. Sora stared back, at the soft, kind expression on Riku's face, his eyes half-closed, a small smile on his face. He looked more beautiful than when he was asleep, with a rose-red tinge to his ivory cheeks. His arms were so strong, so thick, his chest so hard and defined. Slicks of his hair fell across his eyes now, glittering in the light like silver under a full moon. His lips were still as soft and pink as the sky at sunset. Slowly, Sora leaned forward, resting his lips on Riku's for a soft kiss. He pulled his legs around Riku's hips, and Riku shifted his hands to hold him around the waist, returning Sora's affection. As they pressed lip to lip, Riku thrust his tongue into Sora's mouth. Sora tasted sweet, and it was a familiar flavor. It tasted like the strange, sweet fruit that had once grown on the island, every thought rushed back into Riku's mind. Riku pulled Sora from his lips, and onto his back.
"Riku, what're you-" Sora asked, but he was cut off by the sudden jolting of Riku breaking into a run.
"Sora, do you remember the Paopu fruit you chased me for?"
"Yeah?"
"I know where it is. I want to get it!"
"R-Riku!" Sora flushed.
"I've... I've always wanted to give it to you, Sora. You're my best friend. I don't ever want to lose you. The Paopu fruit binds the souls unbreakably, and the Fates themselves would bow at this bind. To live and die together, Sora, it's all I've ever wanted from you." Riku barely noticed the keychain floating over them, following them. He stopped as he reached a memorized place, where he knew he'd hidden it. Riku felt his entire heart drop deep into his stomach, and he fell to his knees. The rock he'd hidden it behind was gone, and the cave emptied out completely. Sora watched as Riku stared at it, eyes wide, paling each second.
"Riku.... it's okay...." Sora assured him, in an unsure voice. "We're.... we're together as it is."
"But.... b-but...." Riku began to stutter, and swayed from side to side as though tired. Suddenly, he fell flat onto the side of his face, eyes wide, pupils shrunken, entire body tense. "RIKU!" Sora screamed.
"I gave him, mind, body, and soul, your soul and mind.... I put you in my realm... I grabbed his mind.... I put your soul on strings.... and now.... I steal away his mind completely." Sora whirled around at the sound of Riku's voice, and saw a mirror of himself, colorless, but wearing an uncharacteristic smirk. "The only trick here is your soul, little Sora. The circle will complete. Initiate step six; your souls."
TO BE CONTINUED...
