alrighty.

you know what? kingdom hearts 2 is being released in japan on the 22 of december, and i've just recently finished kh: chain of memories. this has inspired me to restart like spinning plates again. i have several new ideas for the lovely little fic, a whole new musical taste, and advanced writing skills. after all, i was only 12 when i started writing it originally.

wtf. it's been over 1 year since i actually started the fic. wow. that's amazing.

but, i've gained my likingness back for this fic after reading it and thinking it over. eventually, i'm going to go back and edit previous chapters. i don't like some of the wording in them.

also, my co-writer seth has decided he won't be taking part in the rest of the fanfiction, and thus some of the writing style will change. just a little bit.

another note, i have another fanfiction account (archy the cockroach), that i've been working on. that is my solo effort, so this fic may be moved to that account. (as snuck is my collaborations with seth.) i've taken to the fruits basket fandom, and that is where my attention had been moved. but with my nearing the end of the fiction 'cheerio my deario', my interest is starting to leave that fandom, and return to kingdom hearts.

well, we'll just have to see where this goes.

and we've returned.

welcome back.

disclaimer: I own the Kingdom Hearts manga. That's about it.

warnings: PORN. No, just some plot revelation. :D

chapter eight: just a little obsession

Okay, so, now I'm staring down Sora's front door, wondering exactly what the hell to do. I'm sort of pissed at him for hanging out with Maleficent rather than me, but I'm kind of happy that I'm the only one that knows that he's a taboo child. Well, I would guess that Lulu and that Pam Anderson look alike that he lived with knew, but that was beside the point. But, I think the real reason I'm here is to ask if he really wanted to kill himself. I mean, those arm warmers and long sleeves were finally making sense.

I go to knock on the door, but draw my fist back. Fuck, I'm scared that he'll answer the door and look at me like I'm crazy, or something. Truth is, I do feel a little crazy right now. I stop momentarily to look around. There's a car in the driveway. Silver, really expensive. Wait, that wasn't there before… could that have something to do with Sora's stepfa-

"Hello, can I help you with something?" says a man who looks eerily like me. I didn't even knock on the god damn door! What the hell? Has he been watching me?

"Uh, I'm looking for Sora," I manage to squeak out. I sound like a damn pre-pubescent girl. "Is he in?" The man in the doorway arches his white eyebrow. He looks way too young to be with white hair, but whatever. I have fuckin' silver hair, and I'm under the age of 20.

"Well, he is in, but I do not know if he would like to see you at this time." We stand there and stare at each other for a few minutes. He speaks like a freaking robot. It's seriously scaring me.

"Ansem, what the fuck are you doing? Who is it?"

My next sight is Sora. Ah, my savior from this awkwardness. He looks just as depressed as usual, nestled in between the scary man's side and the doorway. "Riku, what are you doing here?" He just sounds tired, and I am, again, tempted to hug him.

"I-I just came to see you," I mumble out, feeling like a complete loser. Never, ever, have I felt like such an idiot as I have right now. "I mean, cause you're my friend, and you know, that's what friends do… they visit… each other…"

I'm getting a really evil look from this white-haired man in the doorway. His amber eyes are just GLARING at me. Ahhh, stop looking at me crazy man.

"Move, move, moooove," urges Sora, pushing Ansem away from the doorway. It takes his full body weight to even budge the older male. "Man, you're such a home wrecker. Why did you even have to show up at all?" For a few moments, I think he's directing that at me but I realize that he's saying it to this man, apparently named 'Ansem'. Who is this Ansem character, anyway? I really don't get it.

"Okay, come in," he mumbles, getting out of the doorway himself and allowing me to enter. "This fucker here, he's my step-dad, if you could even call him that. Don't pay attention to him, he's an asshole and I hate him." I was rather shocked at this. I mean, my mother would kick me out of the house if I even suggested that she was a fucker. Sora grabs me by the forearm and takes me up the stairs as fast as possible. He obviously doesn't want to be around his stepfather.

Said stepfather crosses his arms downstairs, sighs, and goes back into the living room, to continue with whatever else he was doing. However, I am thrown back into Sora's fluffy little room. It's as eerily un-bothered as ever. He lives in a goddamn fairy-tale.

"AGH, I hate him so much. I wish he would just die or something!" yells Sora, as soon as he pulls me into the room. He slams the door after his rather loud exclamation is made and immediately calms himself down, back into that odd, little, hateful, silent boy-skin.

"Why do you hate him? Besides being like a robot, he doesn't seem too bad," I mutter, sitting myself down on Sora's worn-out bed. Sora stands, eyes to the floor, looking a little more timid than I'd ever seen him. He wraps his arms around himself and just… stands there.

"Because, he's a horrible reminder of something I've wanted to forget for a long time." Again, I'm tempted to dash over to him and give him a big hug. "And… um, can I, can I… tell you something, Riku?" I give him a slightly confused look, but nonetheless beckon him over to sit on the bed. He staggers over and nearly collapses. He must be really tired. From his awkward sitting position on the bed, I can barely see his eyes as they are still directed at the floor.

"H… how much did you hear, yesterday, I mean?" he mumbles out. I blink at him. What didn't I hear? We sit in silence for a moment, before a formidable sentence forms in my head.

"Um, enough. But, Sora, you didn't seriously think of killing yourself… did you?" I'm hoping my assumptions are dreadfully wrong. I have enough to worry about besides a suicidal friend. Well, at least I think I'm his friend. Maybe his acquaintance?

Another silence. It's so hard to wait for him to answer.

"I didn't think about it."

A sigh of relief, from me, of course.

i didn't just think about it

"You know, Sora," I say, kicking my legs off of the side of the bed, slightly. The rest of the frame reverberates with the pressure I've applied, and Sora's form does a sort of a jelly dance. "if anything is ever bothering you… you can tell me, you know."

In return for that comment, I get one of his rare, real smiles.

"I know, Riku. Thanks."

And then he hugs me. I don't know what else to do, so I just hug him back.

And for once, we both have a real friend.

We spend the rest of the afternoon, just talking, laying on Sora's bed like a couple of sloths. We discuss what anyone else would; school, people we like and dislike, the future, money, girlfriends, who's dating who… that sort of thing. And then the topic of Maleficent comes up, and that immediately quiets me.

"You don't like her, do you?" asks Sora, giving his all-knowing laugh. He's so damn cocky sometimes, that I just want to punch him in the face. Sometimes he's worse than Kairi, and that is an achievement.

"Well, she's kind of a loser."

Sora frowns and moves to lay on his side. He props his spikey haired little head up with his hand, leaning on his elbow. "Why would you say that? Have you ever actually talked to her? Do you even know anything about her?"

I know that she's attempting to steal you away from me.

Akk.

Shaking that thought out of my head, I roll my eyes at Sora. For the first time today, I notice that his eyes aren't framed in black, as per usual. His eyes gleam, looking extremely noticeable on his small, pale face. Really, everything about Sora is small. Well, not small, just… contained.

Sora's emotions are just sitting inside of a little box, desperately trying to escape. He's hiding something. I can feel it in the way that he moves, talks, looks at me, looks at Maleficent. There's something so buried inside of him, he's afraid to tell even his closest of friends.

But really, am I a close friend to Sora? No, I'm merely a new-found friend, attempting to gain access to the recesses of Sora's heart and find out what exactly is going on in his tormented soul. I don't think I deserve to know anything.

I'm torn away from my musing by Sora nudging my shoulder. "So, have you ever even said anything to her?"

"N-no. But she's a slob, she's boring, and she's a nerd. All she ever does is read!" Now, I have nothing against reading, but when it's your entire life, it's a little over the top, don't you think? Sora scoffed.

"Riku, you're so naïve!" And with this, my chestnut haired companion turns on his side of the bed, crosses his arms and makes a point that he doesn't want to look at me right now.

"What the fuck, Sora? Fine, I'll talk to her if it'll make you feel better, but I can't say I'll like her."

"No! It's not… that," mutters Sora, letting himself go limp again. He sighs into his pillow. "It's just like what happens with me. People judge you before they even know you. Most people think I'm just out for attention. People look at my appearance and immediately call me a 'poser goth', and think I'm stupid because of it. Really, what do they know about me? It's exactly what you're doing with Maleficent right now."

Here I am, buried in this thick sludge called embarrassment. Now I feel like a total loser, because Sora is absolutely right. "I'm sorry. I didn't think about it that way," I mumble, reluctantly placing my hand on his turned shoulder.

"Well, you should have."

"I'm sorry."

Sora grumbles something that I can't hear, and once again turns to face me. But, this time, he cuddles himself up to me, lays his head on my chest and closes his eyes. Can we say awkwardddd? Well, evidently, Sora doesn't know the meaning of 'personal space'. Ah, it doesn't matter. It's not so bad. But for some reason, I feel like I'm cheating on Kairi.

"Tell me about your family," Sora whispers into my chest. I can barely pick up what he's saying. And my arm is sprawled out at an odd angle, so in order to fix my discomfort, the only way I can remain in a normal position is to have my arm wrapped around poor little Sora.

"My family? Why? They're a little boring," I say, laughing in spite of myself.

"No, no. It's alright. Boring is… fine."

So, I begin to tell him about how my mother can't really cook, and works most of the day. I tell her how she's rarely ever home, but when she is, it's great to have her around. I tell him about my father, how he's a much better cook than anyone else in our family, and he's where I got most of my features from. He's home earlier than my mother, usually, so I see him a lot more than her. Sora hasn't met Yuffie, so I tell him about her. I say how that she's a brat, she's spoiled and a nuisance, and generally, just a great little sister. Really, my family isn't all that boring put in to words.

But when I finish my great long speech about them, he's fast asleep, curled up against me. It's sweet in a morbid sort of way. I'm lucky Sora's a deep sleeper. The next instance would have woken him up.

There's a sharp tap on the door, that makes me jump slightly. I look to Sora, but thankfully, he's still asleep. It's good to see him getting some rest. He looks so tired all of the time. I slowly pull myself out from under him, and tip-toe my way over to the door. Ansem. Greaaaat. I have to deal with the 'jackass' myself. "May I talk to you for a while," he says, ever the android. I nod in agreement, and slowly let myself through the door, closing it behind me.

Upon the weird look I get from Ansem, I whisper; "He's sleeping."

"What… activities were you doing with poor Sora all afternoon that would make him sleepy?" asks Ansem. I can feel my face going red, despite my innocence.

"Uh, sorry Mr. Ansem, sir. I, er, have a girlfriend. We didn't do anything. He was just really…" I get an even odder look from Ansem. "tired."

"Yes, I know. Sora does not sleep much," says Ansem, with a small look of distaste, like he had just eaten a burnt marshmallow. He leads me down the stairs, and takes me to the small living room that smells deeply of lavender. He wrinkles his nose. He mustn't like the smell. I don't mind it, really.

"What do you wanna talk to me about?" I ask, trying desperately not to make myself look like an idiot. I sat down on the sofa, sinking into the aged furniture. It was just like home.

"Well, Sora, really. How much has he told you about himself, thus far?"

"Um, just the basics, I guess. Why, what is there to tell?" I feel like a moron, I really do, staring down this high-class bastard. He must get his kicks out of intimidating people younger than him.

"Well, I do not want you interrogating Sora. He will tell you what he wants to. You are not allowed to put him under any stress whatsoever. If you ever do anything to hurt him, I will break every bone in your body and then I will feed you to my pit bull. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

I swallow hard. What the fuck does he think I'm going to do? Stick Sora under a light, torture him until he confesses and then molest him? What the hell is with these people?

But, I say; "Crystal."

Ansem gives me a creepy, forced smile. "Good. You may leave now."

And I do.

And Sora will later wake up alone, wondering where his teddy-bear went.

d'aww, fluffy ending. ansem is sure fun to write. xD i get such a kick out of that guy. anyway, i really REALLY want to write a leon/sora or an axel/sora. nngh. i love those pairings. i'm really happy to get this old clunker up and running though, and i think i'll finish this before i start any more projects. i know what's going to happen next, and the plot is fully formed in my head.

FEED THE REVIEW BUTTON, OR NO MORE CHAPTERS. LOLLER.

no, i'm kidding.

ansem's pit bull: NO SHE'S NOT