Yay! My first fic for Kingdom Hearts. This is actually a new and improved version of my first idea, which I posted up a while back...'Break for freedom.' I didn't like what I did before and deleted it from the site so I could change a few things…this is the result and it is much better…believe me!
Sadly I do not own any of the characters apart from Chika…yeah, I shoved my own character in to screw things up a bit more, wonder if it will work! Oh and uh, just as a pre-warning, there is going to be RikuxSora fun, so if you don't like, don't even bother to start reading. I just love those boys…the cutest couple!
Well, I'll stop rambling on and let you read…
Enjoy everyone!
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Chapter 1
The handsome youth threw his long, black coat into a squalid corner of the library and slid soundlessly into the leather armchair he had temporarily possessed as his own. Eyes straining against the black-abyss, he peered through the thick blanket of velvety darkness, to see his friends who had just appeared around the door. His heart continued to pound and his head swam with exhaustion from so many battles he had fought that night. The evil side was so close but so far from capturing him once again, he needed to be cautious. A slight relieved sigh escaped partially open lips, as the familiar silhouettes of two muscular warriors took form, quickly followed by three shorter human figures. He closed his weary eyes and leant his heavy head against the soft cushioned back of the armchair. His whole body ached, all he wanted to do was rest, but he knew this was not meant to be, not yet anyway. How he despised Hollow Bastion, but had been forced to remain here, just until it was time.
"Mmmm…Is Riku tired?" A sweet female voice purred.
The silver haired boy threw open his eyes and snatched away the hand, which had come to rest upon his pale cheek. "What do you want Chika?" He snarled, fixating his bright green eyes upon the newest member of the group. His hand tightened grip on her thin wrist from pure envy, as she smiled back at him with malice.
The girl didn't even try to pull away, but still winced slightly at the tight, vice-like grip the boy had upon her. She leant closer, until their faces were only inches apart, her blood red oculars staring back at his joyfully. Biting her bottom lip the girl glanced down, as if trying to figure out what to say next, allowing long, ebony hair to tumble over her black, clad shoulders. "You know what I want, Riku." Her eyes rose to meet his again, while a smirk tugged the corners of her mouth. Using his grip on her wrist, she pulled herself closer and slid onto his lap with ease. "The darkness in your heart is still strong…it calls to me." Her voice was now a mere whisper as she pressed her forehead against his. "You call you me." Feeling his hand let go, she grinned slightly and closed her eyes, brushing her nose across the soft skin of his cheek.
Riku growled and snapped back his head, before pushing at her shoulders to get her off. "If you think I am going to fall to your feet and join forces with the darkness again, you are wrong." A wave of relief passed rapidly through his body as her weight was lifted. "If you really believe that, you are more stupid than I first thought!"
The girl laughed, folding her arms across her chest. "I admit, the light is the stronger force now, because of your little friend. Your poor little friend who used to compete for that red-headed girl…Kairi was it?" Without receiving a reply, she continued, an expression of triumph flickered momentarily across her fine facial features as Riku's hardened. "…You were the one left out were you not? Kairi and Sora make quite a couple I think."
'Sora.'
Riku felt a tremendous surge of guilt stab roughly from within his chest. "The darkness is fading quickly, and I will not fade with it." He replied, gritting his teeth with such force that his jaw ached. "You know nothing of Sora or Kairi anyway. Nothing!" Eyes narrowing dangerously, Riku rose to his feet and grabbed her shoulders, before wrenching her forward so forcefully, that a small gasp of pain slipped from her lips. "Stop trying to warp my mind and leave me alone!" Riku raised his gaze, but his head remained motionless, gloved fingers still digging into the girl's shoulder blades to keep her from moving. Riku stared out over the mass of friends, huddled around a circular oak table, then to the figure ahead of him. Only one person had left the group, and now stood, eyes peering out over the top of the long crimson cloak, which was wrapped loosely around his strong neck and hung torn and tattered about him.
The elder warrior heaved his long, bandage clad sword over his right shoulder, emitting a dull 'clank', as the heavy metal blade came in contact with his shoulder-plate. This caused Yuffie, Leon, Aries and King Mickey to face him, watching eagerly to see what the girl had coming for her this time around. With his free hand, Cloud roughly seized the top half of Chika's thin arm and dragged her away from the other. "Leave him." He growled fiercely, leading her away, towards a long crème sofa, placed against the wall to the left. With a forceful shove, he threw the girl away from him in disgust. "You need to learn when to open that mouth of yours…it could land you in a lot of trouble you know."
Chika snorted and shook her head. "You know what…you don't scare me Cloud. Ansem used to treat me with much less respect."
Riku stared out into the center of the room, his mind elsewhere. That girl always managed to hit a sensitive spot. Riku knew he was growing weaker yet stronger each day, his heart still struggled to remain positive. If he wasn't careful, he knew the darkness would consume him once more, maybe for eternity this time…He couldn't risk it for another Master of the Darkness was sure to be created considering he had been the Keyblade wielder for the side of the darkness. All his thoughts shifted rapidly to Sora. He had betrayed him; he had betrayed their friendship by allowing his heart to be over-ruled by the worst evil created, by joining forces with Ansem, with Maleficent. A cold disturbing shudder danced over his spine as his mind spoke those words, those names…everything. He could not fail this time…he was stronger than this. Sora had pulled through, so why couldn't he. With a grunt, he fell back into the sofa, oblivious to Yuffie's presence, the girl eyeing him cautiously as she cocked her head curiously to one side. In an attempt to get his attention, she bent over slightly so she was on his level.
"Riku?" In one swift movement Yuffie dropped to her knees and slipped an envelope upon his lap. "Pluto just returned."
The boy snapped from his daydreaming, taking a large step back into reality and nodded silent thanks. With a weary sigh he picked up the letter and peeled open the back, feeling all eyes now upon him. "We can only hope." He said bleakly, slipping the folded letter soundlessly from its paper haven.
Aries sat herself quietly into the sofa beside Chika, awaiting the report from the new letter. A slight frown of concern passing across her brow as she slipped into silent thought. There was something wrong, something had been bothering the boy every since these letters had been arriving three months ago…usually Riku was so powerful, like a true leader, however of late he had been handing over that job to Leon and Cloud, refusing to give any suggestions in their next plan of action. Never loosing a fight though, he was always keen to bring the enemy down, but with fierce anger, his face contorting with misery and frustration, slaying any form of Heartless that crossed his path. For the two years, Aries had spent watching Riku, in a way secretly knowing what he felt, although she never uttered a single word, for she feared she might regret it. She wished she could help in some way, just to see his face brighten, if only a little.
Riku glanced up, his mouth partially open, but definitely happier, although it wasn't entirely obvious. "Tomorrow." He smirked rising to his feet.
Mickey smiled sliding his hands into the depths of his black trench coat. "Hopefully the suffering will end sooner than we had last expected."
Leon studied Riku's face carefully through his brown bangs. "Don't get your hopes up too soon, the darkness still thrives in all worlds." He reminded them all. "The heartless infest the roads…Sora's journey could be slower and far more dangerous than any other journey he had had to make so far."
Riku shot the elder warrior a cold stare, purely for those words he had spoken. The silver-haired boy usually regarded Leon as an elder brother, respecting his every word and agreeing with everything. This time he didn't want to know what could happen to the young brunette. "He can warp here." Riku argued back rather too calm for his liking.
With a shake of his head, Leon pushed himself off of the wall and sighed, reaching up to massage the bridge of his nose. "The Heartless although weak, have managed to evolve slightly. They are quick learners." Dropping his hand, the man folded both arms over his broad chest. "They have managed to block the warp-gates, so it's either the long way or no way…we can only hope Sora will make it with the King's lackeys."
Riku growled, clenching his hands within the pockets of his trousers, before snatching up his coat from the floor. He just didn't want to hear this…it was too close to reality that Sora's life was in so much danger. "Sora will get here." He reassured himself, slipping both arms into the sleeves and shrugging it over his shoulders. "He's strong, Leon…He'll make it."
The room slipped into complete silence. Mutterings from Yuffie and Cloud had ceased and Aries was now paying full attention.
"I'm not saying he wont."
The silver-haired boy grunted and stalked towards tattered remains of what was once an exquisite cardinal curtain. Throwing it open with such force that even Riku was surprised it wasn't torn completely from the golden rail above. Once drawn, they revealed two large glassed doors; the frame heavily decorated with unusual carvings and painted a deep green. He gripped the cold brass handles within his warm palms and opened them, before stepping out onto the narrow terrace.
The moon was wonderfully brilliant that night, lighting up the entire place with a calm silvery blue glow as it fell upon the castle. It was amazing how any place so cold, so desolate could look so beautiful at the same time, forcing Riku to gaze out in awe. He stepped over to the railing and leant against it, feeling the icy breeze lift his silver bangs and whip at the heavy leather fabric surrounding him, causing it to ripple and sway. He sighed, lowering his head towards the floor, wishing with all his heart that Sora would be here by tomorrow. The brunette used to love watching the moon, especially when they spent the night camping out on the beach. This was back on Destiny Island though, when they were oblivious to the existence other worlds, when they would just dream. Riku blamed himself, he was the one who wanted to explore. Perhaps if he never even thought about it in the first place, none of this would have ever happened. Day after day he wished that he would just wake up one morning and discover it was all a nightmare…but that morning never came. Secretly he wished it would.
He sighed and stepped back, a frown creasing his brow slightly as he wondered. With a quick glance back to make sure no one was watching, he raised his leather clad hands and stared intently upon the gray, cracked tiles he stood upon. Gradually a black liquid-like substance seemed to seep its way through a dark crack, pooling into an inky puddle as if the ground beneath him was bleeding ebony blood. Concentrating harder, his body shivered from the coldness that seemed to have suddenly surrounded his entire body. Shaking from within as the substance rose into the air, steadily taking on a familiar form, from head to foot. He opened his eyes and smiled, satisfied with his well-known creation…Anti-Sora, although now Riku had suspended the form in mid-air. He knew this was not 'his' Sora, but it satisfied him slightly to know that something reminded him of his best friend. The real Sora used to be so happy, eager for adventure and something new; however, this Anti-creation only beheld the basic form, normally darting around, hungry for a fresh heart to consume. Greedy yellow eyes embedded into the ebony skull, full of hate but then again so empty, instead of the cheery cerulean eyes he had not seen for some two years now…ever since they had closed the door to Kingdom hearts. The tears stung his eyes as his blade materialized in his hand. His chest heaved, blinking a few times to rid them from the tears, knowing he didn't cry. He never cried, especially when his friends were in the room behind him.
"Riku?"
He turned his head ever so slightly to look over his shoulder at Aries, now closing the double doors behind her. Raising his arms, the handle gripped tightly in his fingers, he contorted his face with anger and growled, bringing the silver blade down upon the head of anti-Sora. A sharp crack resonated through the night air causing birds to flee wildly from their positions within the trees and upon the roof above him, before the mass of black was sucked back into the ground, disappearing from view completely. Feeling his aggravation subdue he threw down his sword and dropped helplessly to his knees, feeling weakened due to the energy used in creating and destroying the Anti-Sora. In a way it was a good thing. It meant that the darkness was slowly releasing grip on his heart, giving a strong possibility that he could return as he once was.
"Riku." Aries stepped towards the boy and placed a reassuring hand upon his shoulder. "You don't have to suffer alone you know."
The silver-haired teen found himself fighting back the tears once again. "I'm not suffering." He replied forcefully, accepting the hand held out to him.
Aries forced herself not to shake her head, but smiled as an alternative, heaving him up slightly. "If you ever want to talk…"
"Aries." Riku was quick to cut her short, turning his head away. With a deep breath he lowered his head and allowed silver tendrils of hair to fall in front of his face. "I don't want people to feel what I suffer, okay." His voice was calmer and his sea-green eyes came to rest upon hers, slightly curtained by his silver locks. "I hope you understand."
She decided to confess, biting her lip slightly, not truly knowing of what his reaction would be. "I have been watching you." She clasped her hands tightly in front of her and lowered her gaze to avoid his bitter glare. "You miss your Island, don't you?" Receiving no reply, she continued, stepping towards the rails. "You miss Sora the most, do you not?" This time she dare to look at the boy, who had just rested his elbows on the bar and his head in his hands, hiding his face completely from view, but a slight nod could be detected. Aries placed a comforting arm around his shoulder and closed her eyes. "You like him more than Kairi, I know."
Riku looked up, eyes wide and almost frightened, like a small child, but shining with unshed tears. "What else do you know?" He muttered, never taking his eyes from the woman.
"You feel more than friendship, no?"
"I...I think so...but...I...I don't know." He suddenly felt oddly comfortable in her presence, like he used to in his mother's and allowed her arms wrap around his body. "I liked him as a friend…once. But now, I feel different. I haven't seen him for two years, and every day I feel more and more lonely. I just want him beside me, you know." Swallowing hard he pulled away and shook his head vigorously, remembering his position. "Why am I telling you this?"
"Because you can talk to me about anything, and I would try to help you." She ran a hand through his hair and bit her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Nothing you tell me would go any further than the two of us unless you want it to."
Riku nodded. "Okay." He felt like a child again, wanting his mother to be there, to help him up when he fell down. "For some reason, I don't feel the same way with Kairi. I feel guilty about that though, like I should be caring as much for her as I do with Sora…But I can't help it."
Aries smiled weakly. "Tomorrow, Sora will be here…just be positive and everything will pull through." Closing her eyes she encased him in a motherly hug and stroked his hair softly, feeling him relax beneath her. "Your heart is strong Riku. It is at it's strongest even now, because you are surviving aren't you…you have begun to overcome the darkness."
With a slight groan he nodded thankful for Aries' supporting arms around his body as he leant wearily against her warm shoulder.
Riku turned in his sleep, unknowingly allowing the covers to slip from his bed, before curling himself up into a tight protective ball of warmth. With a disturbing shudder, his eyes flickered open, slowly rolling over onto his back. He despised the cold, and loathed darkness; especially after all he had gone through. The only thing that comforted him was the silver streak of moonlight filtering in through the large window on the opposite side of the room, and lie across the foot of his bed in a long band. Quickly he reached towards the floor, retrieving his lost covers and pulled them tightly around himself, before stopping dead. The floorboards creaked and a dark silhouette slipped out from behind the half drawn curtain from which the moonlight shone. Someone had been sitting on the large window shelf in his room and was now approaching him. Usually Riku would have cried out and attempted to attack it, but this time he forced himself to wait.
"Chika?!"
The girl with ebony hair seated herself upon the edge of the bed, eyes glowing a fiery scarlet as she watched him through the darkness like some kind of fiend eyeing up it's prey. "Riku." She regarded him calmly, her voice barely a whisper.
The boy glanced around, feeling nervous about the sudden situation. He knew this girl too well, even though they had only picked her up a few weeks ago. "What do you want?" He growled leaning forwards slightly. Silently he pleaded that she wasn't here to latch herself onto him, verbally torturing him with stories of Ansem and how easily he could be dragged under, back into the depths of the dark side where he would live drowning in his own pity. She had attempted to do it once too often, but there wasn't Cloud there to stop her this time. If anything did happen, Riku would resist giving in, but most probably end up severely hurting the girl for trying to twist him back to evil.
"I haven't come to wrap you around my little finger and force you back into darkness." She said amusedly, as if reading his thoughts.
Riku sat back stunned at what she had just said. No, she couldn't read his mind; Chika was a lowly ex-servant of an ex-god of the dark side, right? He frowned at this himself and sighed, waiting for her to continue. "What are you here for then?" He spat venomously.
The girl merely blinked and brought her legs up to the bed so she could cross them in front of her before smiling, not evilly…almost…kindly. "I heard what you and Aries were talking about." She speculated, her eyes rising to stare at the dancing shadows upon the ceiling. "About that boy."
Riku's heart threatened to stop and his stomach lurched uneasily. "It has noting to do with you." He shook his head, whilst attempting to think back to what he had said to Aries. Okay, even he admitted he was starting to panic, sure that the girl had figured Sora was a weak spot in his heart. "What did you hear?" He demanded, feeling her gaze slowly drop down to rest upon him. Riku frowned as she smiled at him through the dark.
"You love him, don't you?"
A sharp pang shot through the silver-haired boy's chest although he tried his hardest to ignore it. Instead of uttering something he may regret, he kept quiet, waiting for her to speak again.
"I know you love him. Shall I tell you how I know?" She leant forwards now, the smile evolving into a grin that played upon her darkened lips as she awaited an answer, finally receiving one sharp nod. "Well…" She begun, linking her fingers together as if she was about to tell a fairytale to a small child. "I watch you like Aries watched you. I watch your reactions as I mention his name, as I mention Kairi. Tonight, when I heard you to speaking with Aries about this Sora, I knew…I know you love this boy. It finally dawned on me you know." Chika sighed lightly and rested her elbow on her knee, chin in palm. "When you are in love you speak different, react different, that's why you can't even trust yourself with giving simple instructions on what to do next for the group…you give Cloud and Leon the choice. I also noticed that too as the letters started coming through…all you began to worry about was Sora, knowing he was still alive and well and the fact that he might have been arriving here so you could get home together. You don't even give a second thought to where Kairi is and whether she's well or not."
Riku blinked, contemplating everything she had just said. "I knew he was alive all along." He just wanted to make that clear. Never would he think anything bad had happened to Sora.
"Of course." Chika agreed. "But you did become concerned for his safety, he could have ended his life through battle or…"
Riku was quick to cut her short. "I don't want to talk about it." He muttered, falling back down onto his pillow. Never did he think anything bad could happen to Sora, he almost made himself believe the boy was invincible, however deep down he knew that was not true.
"Okay." She shrugged it off, and placed a fingertip to her lips as if in thought.
The silver-haired boy shifted slightly in his bed, pulling the duvet over his shoulders as best as he could, while trying to figure out why she was being so nice.
"When I get you back, you will let me go won't you?" She asked meekly.
Riku closed his eyes and sighed wearily. "Yeah, that's what Cloud said, wasn't it. It's not like him to go back on his word."
"Hm." Chika repositioned herself on the end of his bed and eventually came to rest with her feet buried in the foot end of the duvet.
"You going to bed?" Riku asked, opening his eyes again to frown at the far wall. "You aren't sleeping in here…you are supposed to be sleeping in Cloud's room so he can keep watch on you."
The ebony-haired girl snorted disgustedly. "Seriously, you think he can keep an eye on me when he's staring at the back of his eyelids." She laughed and pulled her hair back into a thick ponytail with a black ribbon. "Okay, that's a new one." Heaving a deep sigh, she dropped her arms heavily on the bed covers and hummed lightly to herself.
Riku could feel the anger rising within him, boiling his blood and making his head pound with the fury. Was she just trying to keep him awake, talking about anything inane perhaps, before throwing herself about and constantly huffing? "Go to bed." He ordered.
"What?" She didn't seem to be listening.
"Go to bed, before Cloud realizes you are gone." His voice had now risen above a whisper and a hint of pure frustration was evident in his tone. "Now Chika."
The girl giggled and shrugged. "What if I don't want to…what if I don't want to sleep there tomorrow either?"
"Trust me…" Riku started, sitting up to remove her himself by grabbing for her wrist. "Go to bed now or there won't be a tomorrow for you!" Finally he managed to pull her from the end of his bed and shove her in the direction of the door. "Now Chika!"
Chika grinned again, although it wasn't exactly friendly. "See you in the morning Riku!" She dropped the smiling act and headed for the door, a scowl set deep into her facial features as she pulled it open and stepped back out into the corridor before closing it shut behind her.
For a while Riku just laid there, his head pounding from the blood rushing through his body frantically…wishing it would just stop doing that. He eventually shrugged it off, rubbed his eyes and yawned. Finally he settled deep into his bed sheets and allowed himself to gradually slip into an easy slumber, Sora drifting in and out of his thoughts.
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Okay…that was definitely better than before…if you thought that was bad, then I hope you didn't read my first attempt. Eeek!
Yea…I'm sorry if it seemed a bit slow, but things will get better, I promise…I just needed to get that bit over with, introducing characters and so forth as well as giving an idea of the story. You know how it goes…get the boring stuff over with first then get to the good stuff! Chika is there for a reason…I haven't just stuck her in for the fun of it and what she says is important…I'm going to go shut up before I start giving the story away! Heh heh!
So, tell me what you think…did you like it? Please review to let me know…thank you!!!!
