Riku's PoV
My alarm chirped, and I unplugged it, groaning at the pain that ran through my sore arms. I fell sleep again without bothering to open my eyes. When I woke again, the sun was high and the clock read noon. If I hurried, I could get to school in time to talk to Sora before fifth hour. I wasn't sure what I wanted to talk about, but something needed to be said.
I got ready quickly, grabbing the first clean clothes that came to hand. It wasn't until I was halfway to school that I realized I'd grabbed the clothes mother had insisted I buy, bright yellow and royal blue. I never wore the bright colors, preferring dark blues and blacks. I got to school with ten minutes left of lunch, and stopped, staring at the mess going on near the Art room. There was a fight in progress. Sora stood at the center of a ring of older boys, including Rigel. Sora moved in a blur, graceful as a cat, knocking down the older boys like so many bowling pins. Rigel's efforts weren't completely ineffective, though, and Sora took blow after blow, and blood dotted his forearms from Rigel's knife.
Before I could think better of it, I charged, with a war cry that drew all eyes to me. Rigel was so surprised that my fist took him square in the jaw, and I felt something break with a sickening crack. He fell without a sound while his lackeys stared at me in mute shock. Several of then glanced at Sora, who made an over-the-top bring-it-on gesture. They fled, with almost comical fear. I looked at Rigel. A bruise was already darkening on his jaw, and I couldn't see him breathing. I knelt, and lay two fingers on his neck, searching for a pulse. I smiled with relief when I felt a flutter beneath my fingers, then two. Sora looked at me oddly, then understandingly.
"Just unconscious." He informed me. "You can't kill someone with a punch to the jaw." He collected his bag from against the wall, glancing at his cuts. "I'm going to base to take care of these." He gestured at the wounds on his arms. "Wanna come?" I nodded, still a bit at a loss for words. What had I done? I'd never hit anyone like that before.
I followed Sora mutely, my attack still numbly replaying in my mind, along with that sickening crunch. I couldn't snap out of it. I barely noticed where we were going—a seedy area on the border of the Burnt Sector. I was starting to fell a little better, but I couldn't stop the tiny tremors that ran down my arms and hands. Sora led me through the back door of an empty shop. Looking out through the broken front window, all I saw was empty half-burned shops where the great fire had licked through. It was so quiet you could hear the wind whistling through the cracks. I followed Sora down a short flight of stairs into a small, dim basement room. The only light came from high, dirty windows and a single long-burning candle on a tiny wooden table. There was barely enough light to reveal plain, whitewashed walls, two old couches, a number of cheap plastic boxes, and a scrupulously clean wooden floor. Sora walked over to the candle and removed something from a drawer beneath it. A scrap of wood, I saw as he lit it at the candle, and then moved to light an oil lamp beside one of the couches. I felt the tremors in my hand take up residence in my chest, then spread to my knees, and I sat down quickly on a faded blue couch. Sora blew out the scrap of wood and looked at me, worry clear on his face.
"You alright?" he asked, grabbing a box off a stack in one corner. It took me several tries to get the words out, as the shivers were coursing through my whole body now and making my teeth chatter.
"I-m-m fi-ine." I choked out. He looked at me, skeptical expression more felt than seen in the half-darkness. "That was my first fight." I said slowly, stilling my teeth by sheer force of will. For a moment I saw him clearly, as he walked through a sunbeam, amusement warring with concern. Then he passed out of the sun and I heard his footsteps, lightly approaching. When he came into the circle of light from the lamp, concern clear on his face. He sat down beside me on the couch, and I gasped slightly as he wrapped his arms gently around my shoulders. I stiffened at his touch, unsure of how to react. My heart was beating very fast now, but fear was the least part of the reason.
"Calm down." He spoke softly, his voice gentle, and old with more than years. "My first fight, Alex had to carry me back. I couldn't walk; my knees were shaking so badly." I couldn't tell where this was going. "It's all right, Riku. You don't always have to be strong. Let it go." His voice was gentle and quiet, but as intense as though he had shouted. I relaxed, and let him hold me. I knew I wasn't strong, but it helped to know he didn't mind. It helped a lot.
"I'm not. Strong all the time." My own words surprised me, a harsh whisper with more pain in it than even I had realized. Sora chuckled softly.
"No one is, love." I tensed, not sure of what I had heard. It seemed impossible. Love? Maybe I had gotten knocked out by Rigel, and was dreaming this. I found my voice again.
"What?" I asked, strangely hoarse even to my own ears. I squirmed around to look at Sora, and repeated my question. "What did you call me?" He looked as though he were mentally replaying a conversation. Suddenly, understanding lit his face. If fear were to take physical form, it would surely have been the shadows in Sora's eyes. He began to curse, hopelessly, helplessly, first in English, then in French. The fear puzzled me—had I heard him right? Why did he fear that? He finished his string of curses, and looked at me, tense with sick fear, one shoulder hunched and his eyes closed as though waiting for a blow to fall.
A thought ran through my mind, swift and shocking as an icy stream, followed by an idea. Swiftly, before I could stop to think, I lifted my face to brush my lips lightly over his. Sapphire eyes flicked open in startled disbelief—then lit with joy as hot and molten as lava, as he returned my kiss, fiercely. A moment later, I pulled back to look at him. Ecstasy burned in his eyes, ran in molten streams over his skin, and he seemed to glow from within, like fire in a rice paper lantern. But best of all, the darkness was gone. The shadow that had always lurked in the bottom of his eyes, the old pain, only dulled, never forgotten. Had vanished like mist in the morning when I kissed him. I kissed him again, in joy and love, making it a promise. I would never let the shadow back. I would not share with a shadow. Sora was mine.
Not too long, but a bit better. This one and the last were really one chapter, but that would have had things happening far too fast, so I split them up. I'm not really sure if that was a good idea or not. Again, I can't seem to say it enough. I love the reviews, I love the reviewers, and you people who put this story on your favorites list really made my day. This story is for everyone who likes to read it; I write it for myself, but I would never find the time (or the courage) to post so much without your help. Seriously, I love you all. I give you my (inadequate) thanks, and this story. Thank you for your time.
Dyslexic Angel