Author's Notes: Well, these next two chapters are short ones as well, hence why they're up in the same day.

My God, I'm finishing this thing at lightning speed. I think I might need a slight bit of a break during the next chapter to actually think of what I can do.

Happy reading, folks...Hope the suspense isn't killing you too much!

Chapter 6

"He Who Wears A Mask"

"Sora?" Lisa's eyes widened and her teacup clattered to the counter. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph! What happened to your face!"

Sora again regretted Riku's show of strength. Not only was his lip busted open, but his face had a nice little bruise right at the corner of his mouth, and his cheek was red.

"I'm fine, Mom," he said reassuringly. "One of the neighbor kids decided they didn't like me very much."

Lisa scowled. "And they have the nerve to lay a hand on MY Sora?" she demanded. "What else did he do to you? What's his name? I have a phone book!"

"No, Mom!" Selphie cried it before Sora did. She kicked her flip-flops off at the door, looking up guiltily.

"And why in the good Lord's name not!" Lisa whirled around. "John? JOHN! Find my First Aid Kit—please!"

Within minutes, Sora's mother was treating his face with medicine and gauze, giving it a cold pack to help with the swelling when she was done with that. Sora sat down on the couch with here in their new living room, applying a plastic bag of ice wrapped in paper towels to his bruised cheek.

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry." Lisa cooed. She grit her teeth. "I swear, if he hurts you again...!"

"Mom, it's not a lawsuit issue. Really. I think maybe he's just the kind that forgot to take their load of meds in the morning." Sora took a deep breath and sighed. Well, for now, that did seem to be the case. He wondered why Riku had acted so angrily towards him? He lashed out—and Sora couldn't understand why. He suddenly remembered what Tidus had said: "He's like that with all the new neighbors."

Sora shuddered. Boy, did he feel sorry for them.

His mother sighed, also. "Selphie wasn't hurt, was she?"

"No, Mom. Selphie was on the sidelines with her friend."

"Well, that's good, at least." Lisa suddenly stopped, then leered at Sora. "Wait, but did you say anything...?"

Sora rolled his eyes. "If I did, she didn't hear it. I promise." A little white lie to squeak the story by. It wouldn't hurt this time. Whatever would put his mother at ease—he didn't want this turning into some freakshow court case.

Earlier, when Sora and Tidus were walking home, Tidus tried to make up for Riku's behavior without sounding like he was apologizing. Sora didn't appreciate it, but he did listen to what Tidus had to say. Especially at a few key points that just made him more confused—or was intrigued a better word?

"Look, Sora," Tidus explained, "Riku's...a little...off, sometimes. Edea adopted me when I was twelve years old, and that's when I moved in here. I remember I only ever saw his face once or twice. And I hung out with him once during the summer I moved in. After that, he practically vanished until school started. He always looked really desperate for something. If anything, I think all he's ever wanted is a little attention."

Sora had coiled back and given Tidus an off-handed glance. "Does my face look like a cry for attention to you?" he growled.

"Th...That's different..." Tidus fell silent before rephrasing his words. "What I'm trying to say is, he's obviously got something going on in his life that's making him this way, but I've seen another side of him before. I only ever saw it a few times, but I know it's there...it's just...buried, I guess."

At that point in the conversation, Tidus got a sudden flash of deep, genuine concern on his face, and it was at that very moment that Sora changed the subject.

Another side of Riku, huh?

"Hey, Mom?"

"Yeah, honey?"

Sora pressed the cold pack less severely to his cheek as he spoke. "What's the worst thing that's ever happened to you in your entire life? I mean, like, the worst thing ever. So bad it made you cry. A lot."

Lisa paused for a long while. That was certainly some food for thought.

"Hmmmm..." she locked eyes with her son, brushing bouncy brown curls behind her shoulder. "Well, sweetie, when I was a little girl, a bit younger than you, a mean young man tried to hurt me."

Sora had never heard this before. Naturally, he was curious. "Hurt you how?" he asked.

Lisa considered how she should word this. But after a moment, she remembered that her son wasn't eight years old anymore.

"Well, he...tried to rape me."

"That's terrible!" Sora cried. "Who would do that to you, Mom?"

"His name was Jason." His mother answered. "He wasn't a very pleasant boy in school. He always started fights and played lots of mean pranks. He asked me out on a date once, and, well...I refused. He didn't take it very lightly."

Sora frowned. "I'm sorry, Mom." he said quietly. Lisa hugged her son, and Sora hugged her back.

"It's okay, sweetie. It was almost thirty years ago. I'm long since over it."

Inside his head, Sora tried to think about that possibility. Hmmm. ...No, scratch that theory, he thought. There was no way...not once had he ever heard about a boy being raped. He knew plenty about girls being violated—Kairi told him stories from her hometown about how dangerous it was in her neighborhood—but a boy? Never. He doubted it was even possible.

Well, if Riku wasn't raped, then what? Tidus said something had happened to make him nasty...maybe he'd lost his mother, or something. Oh well; Sora shook it from his thoughts. It wasn't his business, and it wouldn't do him nor Riku any good to dwell on it.