Dcal's note: Finally got around to writing this out. I was drained of any inspiration to finish the scenario I put poor Riku and Sora in lately. Ideas only came when I reread the stories that sparked this fic off in the first place. I am getting too used to writing angst and drama. I should write something light hearted BUT that will not be happening in this chapter. I am afraid the misunderstanding between Riku and Sora is going to get worst here. I promise that things will get better after this part of the fic so bear with the angst for now. With that warning aside, I would like to dedicate this chapter to VampssAmby10210 because she reviewed every single chapter of this fic XD. Many thanks to Uzumaki-sama for her encouraging reviews too! Lastly, I would like to thank Princess Of Mirrors for her feedback on "Reversal" (and also for supporting me every step of the way when I was writing "Mr Destiny Islands".) Okay, 'nuff mush-talk.
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and the characters involved are not mine (unless my secret plot to take over Squaresoft and Disney actually succeeds in the future.)
Reversal: Hurt
After resetting his alarm clock twice then falling back to sleep each time, Sora was finally freed from the temptation of languishing in bed on a perfect morning by the third time the overworked alarm clock rang its heart out.
He stretched and yawned like a lazy kitten, just awaken from a satisfying nap, before sitting up drowsily from under a blanket of notepaper. Sleepily, Sora peeled off a scrap piece of paper, with sprawling words written on it with a bright blue marker, off his forehead. Sora sat up and shook his head to clear his clouded thoughts. He looked the mess around him blankly, his mind not yet able to comprehend why he was awake. However, his eyes sparkled to life when his gaze settled on half a torn page with Riku's name written boldly in brilliant blue. The pieces of paper that were torn roughly from the spiral spine of an innocent notebook were evidence of Sora's attempts at penning down his thoughts and emotions.
His conversation with Tidus and Wakka made him understand that he could no longer pretend that things would become better if he faked ignorance. He had to face up to the situation and take initiative to approach his skittish friend that kept pushing him away. Sora could only become stronger if he was able to put aside his fear and confront his emotions. Up till now Sora still harboured the notion that he would always be able to stay by Riku's side if he was strong enough to protect his best from all harm.
Sora arranged the scattered pages into an untidy pile and shoved it conveniently under his pillow. Then he got off his bed with a little hop and headed for a shower. After emerging from a hot bath, Sora hummed a happy tune as skipped to the kitchen to see his mother making his favourite breakfast.
Using a single hand to dry his wet hair with a stripped towel, Sora used his free hand to scoop spoonfuls of buttery eggs into his mouth. His mother smiled at the contented grin that curved Sora's lips when he had polished off the scrambled eggs together with bites of toast covered with a thick layer of blueberry jam. Sora threw his damp towel into the laundry basket and looked towards the wall clock to find out that he was late for morning blitz ball practice. He gave his mother a kiss on her cheek as he stole an apple from the bowl of fruits she was holding and shouted a brief good-bye while picking up his knapsack and ran out of the house. Sora's mother whispered a silent prayer to wish that her only son and kin would be able to have a happy day as she watched the bubbly boy disappear down the street.
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By the time he reached the blitz ball stadium, Sora's team mates had already completed warm up exercises and were about to split into teams to play a mock game of land blitz (blitz ball on land). He blushed sheepishly as his blitz ball friends teased him about being late on purpose to skip the gruelling exercises prior to actual blitz ball training. As 'punishment', Sora was not allowed to participate in the first half of land blitz.
Sora meekly took his place on the reserves bench next to Wakka who was sitting by the sidelines due to his status as the team's temporary coach. The blue-eyed boy sighed as he leaned back against the wall behind the wooden bench.
"He's not here again ya?"
"Oro?"
Wakka smiled weakly as he turned his attention from the game to the forlorn looking boy next to him. "Riku's missing."
Sora nodded, his eyes filled with disappointment. The first thing that Sora did when he had stepped into the stadium was to instinctively look out for a familiar face framed by shoulder length silver hair. However, the day was not different from the other blitz ball practice sessions lately with Riku's absence painfully obvious to Sora.
"Don't worry, Sora. You talked to him ya?" Wakka asked.
The brown haired boy looked up to see the redhead's concern expression and replied honestly, "No, I haven't got the chance to talk to Riku yet. Thanks for comforting me Wakka! The advice given to me by Tidus and you has been really helpful."
Wakka grinned as he slapped Sora's back playfully and said, "All Tidus-mon and I want is for you and Riku to be happy again."
Enthusiastically, Sora gave the chunky redhead an impromptu hug. The latter laughed, amused by the brunette's sudden act of gratitude. Wakka joked, "Tidus-mon will be jealous if he doesn't get a hug from you too."
Sora let go of Wakka and looked around to realise that Tidus missing. Before the question left Sora lips, Wakka pointed towards the stadium exit and answered, "He went that way."
Flashing the blitz ball captain a grateful smile, Sora ran out of the stadium. He did not notice that the sunlight was desperately trying to shine through ominous grey clouds. The wind was no longer a light breeze but had gather strength to whistle as it slipped through the intricate network of branches from trees lined along Sora's path.
Nothing could remain perfect for long as illustrated by the sudden reversal of nature.
Similarly, Sora was about to find out that his perfect plan to ensure that he could remain forever by Riku's side was not so perfect after all.
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Sora did not need to walk very far before he caught sight of the back of a person he had been looking for. He felt his heart skip a beat when he recognise the silver glint of his Riku's straight hair. Though he was initially looking for Tidus, Sora was deliriously happy to be able to find his best friend instead. He was about to call out to the silver-haired boy when he caught realised that Tidus was facing Riku and talking to the silver-haired boy. Sora had no qualms about interrupting their conversation and he picked up his pace as ran towards the two figures, determined to surprise them.
As he got closer, he waved towards the blond boy who had finally noticed his arrival. Sora was too excited to notice the alarmed expression on Tidus' face. The brunette wanted to shout out Riku's name immediately but he had to pause in order to catch his breath from running too fast. Just as Sora found his voice to air his euphoria at finding his elusive friend, he heard Riku's angry words...
"...I don't need some kid who follows me where I go! I can take care of myself. I don't need anyone to protect me. Sora has no right to protect me!"
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He could not remember how he ended up back in the comforting darkness of his room.
All this knew was that the moment Riku's words sank into his consciousness, Sora felt as if he heart had fallen into an endless abyss. His mind went blank except for what was said about him by his closest friend. He prayed that the words spoken by the older boy was pure falsehood but Sora faintly remembered the rapid change of emotions within Riku's aquamarine eyes. It was filled with anger (denial) then replaced by guilt (regret). However, the tears that fell instinctively from his eyes blurred his vision and he was not sure whether what he could trust what he sawl.
Sora shivered because of the chill from his clothes, wet from the rain that had fallen as he ran from Riku. Yet, Sora felt a deeper and numbing coldness fill his soul with a sudden emptiness and void that Riku's words had invoked within him. His brown hair lost its vibrant nature and fell lamely in wet locks plastered against his face and neck. His slender figure hunched into a foetus position, eyes shut to block the pain. His face was pale and blank of any emotion except for his trembling lips that betrayed his hurt emotions.
He did not hear the door open.
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Tidus had chased after Sora. While the brunette ran up to his room without a word, the blond boy felt that he should stop and explain briefly the situation to Sora's bewildered mother. She shook her head sadly as she took out dry towels and told Tidus to dry up first before bring another towel to her son's room. Her eyes sparkled with concern as she said, "It's Riku isn't it?"
The blond looked up into the middle-aged woman's liquid brown eyes and nodded. "They haven't been the same. I don't know what happened between Riku and Sora but it is saddening to see two such close friends turn out this way. Riku said some really hurtful things. I feel that he was behaving childishly, keeping his true feeling to himself. He's not been fair to Sora!"
"Tidus," she said gently, "You're still young. Maybe Riku has his own emotion to deal with and just doesn't know how to express himself. Don't judge the boy just yet. Now, take this towel up to Sora."
Tidus nodded, her delicate words gave the boy food for thought. It never occurred to him that maybe Riku was also confused and having problems dealing with the situation. His thoughts drifted back to the discussion he had with Kairi, Selphie and Wakka. He then realised that while they could sympathize with Sora's plight, they had been oblivious to the possibility that Riku might be equally vulnerable. To the group, Riku had always been the one who appeared stronger and in control, which contrasted Sora's naivety and blissful ignorance. But after talking to Sora that day on the tower, Tidus could not help but admit that he had misjudged Sora's perceptiveness and was surprised to discover Sora's sensitive nature. Perhaps, we have been wrong about Riku...
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Sora felt the softness of the thick and fluffy towel as Tidus pressed it into the brunette's arms. He looked up to see Tidus' warm smile and concern eyes.
"If you don't dry up soon, you are going to catch a cold. Wakka will have my head if you fall ill and miss next weeks big game."
A weak smile played upon Sora's lips before it crumbled into a sad pout. Tidus' words had only distracted Sora fleetingly before the brunette sank back into his overwhelming emotions. The blond boy released an exaggerated sigh.
"My, my. I never knew you were such a crybaby Sora. I wonder what Selphie will say..." Tidus fluttered his lashes and continued in a high-pitched voice, mimicking the mentioned girl, "Ho ho ho! Sora cried? I though big boys don't cry? Isn't that what you said Sora? Ho ho ho!"
Sora's eyes widened in surprise at Tidus impromptu imitation of Selphie. The blond looked absolutely comically batting his eyelashes while wrapping his towel around his hips, creating a makeshift skirt. Despite his aching heart, Sora laughed.
"Ah! What will Kairi say?" Tidus asked Sora his imaginary audience, before launching into another Kairi imitation, "Tsk tsk, Sora why are you crying? You want some candy? Will that make you feel better? Has bad, bad Riku been bullying you again? Let me beat him up for you! No one hurts Kairi's little Sora-wora."
Fresh tears rose to his eyes but this time, it was because of the uncontrollable amusement that Tidus' outrageous performance invoked.
Seeing a faint smile return onto Sora's reddened face, Tidus rolled his eyes, relieved that his embarrassing performance was not wasted. The blond sat down next to Sora and waited patiently for the younger boy to calm down. '"Feeling better?"
The brown-haired boy nodded. "Thanks Tidus."
"No problem."
Silence descended upon the room. Both boys sat side by side, watching the rain dance upon the glass windows. Sora tentatively unfolded the towel and wrapped it around himself while Tidus lazily dried his hair with his own. Minutes past before Tidus spoke without looking at Sora. "Wanna talk?"
Sora took a deep breath, calming his thoughts, his emotions. "Am I... I really a burden?"
Tidus shook his head, as he answered, "Of course not. Riku said all those hurtful words in a fit of angry. I am sure he doesn't mean it."
"But... but... he had been avoiding me. He... doesn't want me anymore does he?"
The smile on Tidus' face faded. Sora's voice was filled with misery and insecurity. It made Tidus sad to see his friend in such a defeated state. As much as Tidus wanted to turn Riku's pretty face into pulp for the way he was treating Sora, he had to be objective about the situation.
"Despite his idiotic behaviour and mindless words, I have to say that Riku needs you. Without your strength Sora, Riku would just be that poor little rich boy, living in loneliness. Trust me when I say that Riku is merely very confused about what he is feeling right now and that the truth is you are more important than you think you are to him." Tidus explained confidently.
"Really?" Sora's was soft and filled with uncertainty. He did not want to keep his hopes up and risk getting hurt further.
Putting his arm around Sora's frail shoulders, Tidus gave Sora a brotherly hug.
"Have more faith in yourself. Remember what your goal is? By overcoming this, I am sure you will emerge stronger, Sora."
"Thanks Tidus."
"What are friends for ya? Damn, I am starting to sound more and more like Wakka. Oh no! I am becoming a redhead!! This cannot be happening! I like being blond!" whined Tidus.
Sora brushed the tears from his eyes, smiling at Tidus behaving like a ditz in an attempt to amuse him. With Tidus' encouragement, Sora felt better and was lifted from the melancholy that he had been trapped in since facing Riku's harsh words. It still hurt but Sora resolved to put aside the pain. He could not break down now. It would just mean he was too weak and that was the last thing he wanted to be.
When Tidus left his room for dinner at home, Sora sat alone in the darkness. His thoughts revolved around his memories with Riku and the myriad of emotions attached to every remembrance. The pale moon lit a silvery path of light that entered into the dark room, settling upon a neglected pile of crumple letters peeking out from under a pillow. Sora's eyes, puffy from crying too much, lit up at the sight of the familiar notepaper. Scrambling to his feet, Sora stumbled to his bed and pulled out the words he had penned down. Looking at each and every word he had written, Sora was inspired and formulated a new battle plan to confront his best friend. He would not give up.
Sora resolved to become stronger.
Dcal's unnecessary ending note:
Just wanted to say that Sora and Tidus' relationship is purely platonic. There was never the intention to hint at a possible Tidus/Sora pairing. I just realised that Sora gets most of the limelight in this fic. Poor Riku is getting sorely neglected. Next chapter will be interesting (I hope) and things will get even more complicated between Riku and Sora. The good news is that I finally know where this fic is going and it is just a matter of getting all the ideas written out. In other words, this piece of work is ending soon! Forgive any technical errors in the fic as I have not solicited any beta-reader for this. Ah... and yes, I shall pimp my Leon/Cloud fic. If you like something fluffy, check out my completed Kh fic about Leon and Cloud (with Riku and Sora side story) titled "All because of you".
I will appreciate reviews because it helps me know what people think about my writing. It also boosts my ego and motivates me to write.