Title: Forgive me father for I have sinned
Rating: R for now.
Disclaimer: Not mine, at all. The idea for this story is mine and so was the one for Never Again but yeah.
Summary: Sequel to Never Again. The darkness speaks clearly to those who listen, filling the mind with cold hard truths. This is not the darkness of the evil but that of life. Riku's path was never destined to end; he continued on until he felt he was pure enough to return to Sora.
Warning: There MIGHT, might be slash. I'm not a big fan of planning things out so I'm not sure but there is a change. So let me repeat this one more time; There MIGHT be slash… or yaoi as I believe it's called in this fandom. If you don't know what that means you're fine here for a little whiles yet.
A/N : This is the sequel to Never Again; it is not necessary to read it because this takes place a rather large (a span of a couple of years) ahead of that and it will be mentioned but I will write it clear enough that it is explained so if you don't feel like going back and reading that just yet you don't have to… (but I hope that this story may intrigue enough to want to)
Chapter One
He stands in the Darkness, feeling it's cold hands searching his mind for any renewed hope that it could quickly extinguish with it's whispers of cold truth. He stands as still as the night's air, not a single breath of wind to rattle the dried leaves that thirst for rain, and he listens to the muffled words that are being whispered into the back of his mind at the edge of his soul. The Darkness has been silent as of late and he listens closely to what it has to say to find out what has made it speak once more. It had already told him of his weaknesses, some impossible to fix and now it whispers in a snake like voice that he is being sought after; that he is being searched for. It does not say whether it is Ansem who desires to hurt him, as the Darkness is very fond of telling him, or those he calls friends who he left without even a goodbye a little under two years ago.
He stands there for many moments later once it is silent once more, taking in all that was revealed to them before moving silently back towards his destination.
He had only seen the sun once in his time spent on this world. It had shined for two straight days before falling once more into it's deep slumber. Native tribes believed that their God slept because of the actions that other tribes committed; that the new comers committed. While they had been there long enough to establish their own religion it was more than common knowledge that no one had begun here. The environment was not suited to sustain life. Which led him on this path that he was on now. IT took him a while to learn the intricate details that actually kept this world afloat; that kept the inhabitants from starvation.
And so he was heading for the city of Sin. The one place he had attempted to stay away from for the mere fact of the stories that had been told to him by those who had taken in his spent form when they came across it. But it was the only way off of this dying planet. Sin was the only place that held gummi ships… the only things that left the planet. Some voice in the back of his mind, different from the Darkness' voice, told him that he would be better of using the powers of darkness one more time.
But he refused. No matter how desperately he wanted off of this rock he would not use those powers again. He had made a promise to himself that that had been the last time and so far he had kept to it. The main test of promises and vows were to see if they lasted through the hard times and he would make sure that he managed to at least keep a promise to himself.
He had learned quickly that your word was everything here and if you dared try and break it the consequences would not be as nice as the hospitality of the first people he had met here.
No where near as bad as Ansem though.
His fist slipped into the dark pockets of his dark coat, his eyes appearing to be focused on the ground below his feet but they were easily scanning the area around him for any signs of danger.
There were many criminals here.
An old, ruin of a building slowly came into his view, bringing his heart down slightly. Everything was destroyed here. He heard stories of people coming, trying to reform them, promising fake light and such things only to die out for their wild dreams, leaving their creations to rot because no one had any use for stained glass windows when there was no light to shine through them and lighten the inside of the building.
His feet stopped in front of the chipped stone steps, and he found himself knelt down beside his, letting his fingers feel the texture under them. He knew that this may be considered weird for some but he tested it still, to see if the Darkness would whisper some age old secret about it to him, allowing him to feel privileged if only for a moment.
He tested everything because without him knowing it could be vital to his escape from the eternal moonless nights he had spent here.
His body brought him through the doorway, eyes eying the beautifully carved doors that bung of the hinges, threatening to fall with even the briefest of winds. The inside seemed darker than any night he had spent with Ansem, empty of what use to make it life. Wooden benches lined the room in front of him and he could sense the haunting of joy and happiness that lingered in the air as if the building it's self were reminiscing of better times while lying on it's death bed.
His body shook as a burst of wind shot through a shattered window, causing the cloak to fly behind him in a vision of some devil coming to steal the dreams of small children. Yet he was only here for curiosity reasons, drawn to it by some ancient look of beauty.
He always loved looking at ruins… or rather destroyed buildings.
He left the cold stone building without uttering a single word; left it to finish taking it's dying breaths as the wind slowly blew it into dust. He then followed the small, almost invisible path he had been on, waiting for the signs that would surely show him a civilization that he hadn't seen since his journeys to many other worlds.
The first thing he saw was the light in the distance; an eerie replication on a sunrise that sent chills down his spine. And for the first few minutes that his feet had been frozen he believed that it was the sun, returning for a few more days only to leave everyone shrouded in darkness for however many more years it felt like sleeping. Of course, his mind slowly came back to him and he continued on, waiting for the sounds to begin to feel his sensitive eardrums.
The closer he walked to it the more aware he became that it was indeed a bustling city. The path he walked on slowly became wider before instant gravel came under his feet and he was left breathing in the smell of many people stuck in one place. He couldn't help the smile that fell on his lips; he had loved visiting the city off of Destiny Islands… it was a brand new adventure, a brand new place to search the nooks and crannies – even if it only lead to trouble since most of the small, hidden, spots were where he shouldn't be.
The smell, sound and plain life of the city brought him back to his childhood, only leaving him aching for it more than ever. Aching for the friends he had left behind, the ones who had followed him because he seemed to always find something to entertain them for the day.
He kept his head bowed like he had the whole way here, his shoulders slumped because he had learnt long ago, early in his childhood, that to go unnoticed all you had to do was make yourself look submissive, as if you were not worthy to look up, then no one paid attention to you as you made your way through their crowds. Even though his silver hair stood out among those of the working class, learning that it signified the aristocratic families here – the ones that ran the gummi ships and most of the big industries. No, no one paid him any mind because he made himself look as if he were no one to pay attention to.
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Sora's hands instantly went straight to his pockets as the cold wind hit his body, bowing his head down so that his body was a smaller form, trying to keep warm. A soft sigh left his lips as the bag that he had been carrying almost fell from his arm, not liking the fact that it wasn't being held by hands and just thrown carelessly on an arm. He had begun to despise the holidays, despise what they stood for and what people expected.
They said depression was more common in the winter months. They weren't joking, the soft pure snowdrops that slowly fell on hair he hadn't bothered to brush only made things worse.
Because he didn't want anything pure. He wanted Riku back.
It had been two years since he had woken up to find his friend missing once more. Two years of endless searches that came up with not even a single clue to lead him in even the right direction. Two years of missed birthdays and Christmases. Two years of gifts wrapped perfectly my the foot of Sora's bed, waiting patiently waiting for the intended owner to come and unwrap them with the thin, delicate fingers that never tore at wrapping. The presents that Sora had bought for Riku were the only ones he spent anytime wrapping; previously he would just throw any kind of paper on them and stick them under a tree or hand them to whoever they were for.
But Riku's gifts were special. They were for him even if he was not here to get them. The paper they were wrapped in various different shades of silver, wrapped in perfection to show that the gift inside would be just as meaningful as the thought put into what was covering it.
And each one held a gift that signified Sora giving a piece of himself to Riku.
His eyes filled with tears the same color as the snow that landed in his hair at the thought of Riku. He didn't know anything concerning what had happened. He didn't know if Ansem had gotten him in the middle of the night or if Riku had left to get he get everyone that Riku care about. He didn't know if one of Ansem's lackey's had gotten Riku. He didn't even know if he was still alive. The first place they had check was Hollow Bastion then End of The World but that would have been to easy. Neither Ansem or Riku were found there.
All that Sora knew was that he had woken up without Riku.
And his heart felt like shattering. He knew he couldn't' take this much more. The anxiety for his missing friend was wearing him down, the signs already showed on his once young face, now darkened with lines of worry. He had spent so long to find him only to lose him once more.
And all he wished to know was whether Riku was alive or not so he could chose his next plan of action. He felt as if he were wearing a blindfold, trapped in a dark box with no way out and no way in. He was stuck and there was only so many world he could search for his friend. And for all he knew he was either just missing his friend or a few steps ahead of him… or he was dead… or trapped somewhere with no sight of freedom in his future yet again.
Before Sora opened his door once more to escape the chilling wind he prayed for Riku, prayed to see him alive and safe.
Prayed to see him once more before either of them died.
TBC
First, and foremost – because it is very important. Thanks bunches to both Princessswifty and West-chan. Just yeah. They have no idea what their latest reviews did for me and are pretty much a big reason why this is out now and not the month or two that I had allowed myself. Inspiration to write this was like whoa and their words did it, this window has been open for the past few days and I've been writing to this when chances arise that I can.
Let's see what else…. So, since KH2 isn't due out in the states till March anyone mind linking me to good KH (Riku centric please) stories on here or anywhere else. Inspiration is the key to keep writing. I read Bind Thee in the middle of writing this and will start re-reading Innocence Corrupted soon to keep up a familiarity with the fandom but if any of you wouldn't mind sending me links (This isn't a con to get you to review, you can click on my profile and has this wonderful little tool thing to allow you to send messages to people that I just found and you can do it that way if you don't want to review). Or, interesting little fan art pictures would be nice as well because I love staring in jealousy.
Uhm, anything else? Oh, I don't know whether or not I'll keep having both Sora and Riku's point of view in each chapter… I'm not sure I like the style of cutting it in half like that but I promised some insight on Sora's feeling's on Riku leaving and I plan on going more in-depth with it.
I think that's it… Hmm, ahead of time. Thank you if you review.
P.S. Chapters will range from 1,500 word (3 pages typed if that) anywhere to 7 pages typed depending on the chapter. I try to at least get to 2,000 words a chapter but sometimes it can't be done (Filler chapters).