Author's Notes: Phew! This is the longest chapter I've written so far - Ironically, it is only as such by about a page and a paragraph. But it's still the longest!

Thanks everyone for your reviews while I worked. I'm sure you didn't have to wait to long for this. Now...my favorite part...the first bit from Riku's POV in this chapter. I am going to be expecting myself to write more of this. And the hard part about it is, I'm supposed to be writing stuff that really does sound this sick, and it makes ME feel sick to write it. So I hope the horrors of Riku's life with Ansem are made clearer the more we go along.

Anyway, enjoy the new chapter!

Chapter 8

"Crossed-Out Heart"

Monday.

One day...one glorious, sex-free day. Ruined. He fucking loved yesterday...except for running into that damned new kid, Sora. Riku hissed as he applied his black eyeliner. That little shit was the one who got me raped on Saturday, he snarled. And the fucking prick had the nerve to snap at me! If he transfers to my school...

Riku hissed again. Yes, if Sora transferred, he would do bad things to him, very bad things indeed. Riku clenched his fist and let it untense itself as the images ran through his mind, and helped him relax. With Metallica blaring out of the speakers in his "Good Boy Room," he took his time getting ready for the day. Ansem wouldn't care. He could take as long as he liked. Metallica was his "Boundary" music. As long as it kept playing, Ansem would leave him alone.

But he knew exactly where Ansem was, though. Right outside the threshold. Just beyond that door. Waiting for there not to be an umpteenth song. But this didn't bother Riku.

When he was finished, he was decked in all black, wearing tight jeans with a certain sheen to them, and a studded collar and belt, matching bracelets, as well as those rainbow ones. Most of them were black. Ansem most certainly believed in what those rainbow bracelets stood for; he was going to use them later tonight. Riku's shirt had a sketchy-looking skull on it, and he wore mesh sleeves underneath. His hair and skin were the only pale features about him, his hair loose, his eyes made bolder by the thick black eyeliner and mascara, his lips painted a deathly purple. His boots made him six feet tall, easily, with multiple buckles.

Ansem always picked his clothes. The clothes were important. Later Ansem would use them as a part of his theme. Today, apparently, it was Goth. Sometimes Ansem did something crazy with him, and sometimes he didn't. One time, when he was fourteen, he'd tried to get Riku to go to school dressed like a girl. Riku screamed, wailed, and fussed, and Ansem raped him until he bled, but the battle to not wear that horrible skimpy pink dress took up the entire school day. By the time 3:30 drew nigh, Ansem never made Riku wear girl's clothes again. He'd paid for that defiance in blood, bruises and tears, but he'd won. That was one of the few rare moments in his life with Ansem where Riku was actually proud of himself. He won that fight. And as an added bonus, Ansem had backed himself into a corner. Riku was practically showered in bruises and blood. Surely, he couldn't send his foster child to school looking like he actually had been raped. Riku missed two weeks for that; it was the longest break from sex he'd ever had. It was the only break from sex he'd ever had.

Sadly, for him, there was no winning now. Back then, Riku had hope. Now he had nothing.

Riku stared at himself in the bathroom mirror, looking himself up and down.

Tidus.

Fucking TIDUS.

Riku's fist became so tight that he snapped the eyeshadow compact in his hand in half.

You got me raped on Sunday, you fucker! My reprieval! My CHANCE!

You betrayed me!

His lips peeled back to bare white teeth and he snarled. He'd told him not to call! But NO, the little fucker had to go and get worried about him, had to pick up the phone, had to dial HIS number...

And Ansem just had to check the messages.

Finally, the last song on the CD came to an end. There was a ten second's pause, and then the doorknob turned slowly, and Ansem walked into the room, still wearing his scarlet bathrobe, encircling his arms around Riku's waist.

"Did you learn your lesson yesterday?" he purred.

Riku barely heard him. His mind wandered off—his eyes fixed on the scarlet robe behind him. Red.

"Mmm," he grunted. Ansem leaned down, rubbing Riku's stomach, and nibbled his ear.

"Speak up for these old ears," he whispered. Riku sighed pleasurably, just to make Ansem happy. His stomach was sensitive, anyway.

"Yes, sir."

"Good," Ansem praised. "We won't have a repeat of such an incident, will we?"

Riku's eyes were still fixed on his foster father's robe. No, he thought, we won't. Riku grit his teeth. Tidus Heartilly, you are going to regret you ever met me. As Riku's mind wandered, thoughts of pain filling his senses, the face behind him grew cuts and bruises, and Riku could imagine the reddest, deepest slash across Ansem's throat that the world ever did see. He could picture it cutting right through that sickening flesh to the bone, and then he would snap them in half, and he'd throw Ansem's head in the trash, his body covered in red like it was now. Wearing his own blood like a robe. It was a perfect death for him. Like all the others, it was only in his darkest fantasies, and it sent a chilling thrill down his spine.

"You're thinking about me already," Ansem purred, patting Riku's groin. Riku grit his teeth. Ansem had trained him far too well. Anything about him translated into arousal, just for the sake of survival. This house, this man, had cursed him.

"Do you not want me to?" Riku asked, not caring whether or not the answer was a no.

"You know I'm flattered," Ansem said in his ear, "But I would be much happier if you saved it for dinner."

Riku shuddered, but still he whispered, "Yes sir."

Ansem smiled wickedly and stared at the image of them in the mirror. He felt sick. Ansem was already thinking about him, too.

"What are you, Riku?"

Riku's voice choked in his throat. He knew that question.

"I can't hear you…"

He closed his eyes, so he wouldn't see himself say it; and he numbed his ears in his brain, so he wouldn't hear himself say it. Then he opened his mouth to speak.

"I'm a bad boy."

The routine was set. Today, he would be a "Bad Boy."

Sora was waiting with Tidus at the bus stop, even though he wasn't ready to transfer to Besaid High just yet. He was just keeping the blond some company, since the bus appeared to be a little late.

"So, what's the school like here?" he asked. His face was still a little black and blue on one side from Riku's slap, but it wasn't swollen. Tidus and Sora both took the liberty to ignore it.

"Most of the kids are friendly. Some of the teachers are pricks, but it's an all-around generous and nice school. You get settled in pretty quick there. There's this one teacher of mine, my English teacher, and I think he's the coolest one I've ever had."

"It sounds like fun," Sora commented. Tidus nodded, a smile on his face. His eyes were a little red from crying last night and this morning, but earlier during breakfast, he'd walked up to Edea, and they kissed each other on the cheek and made up. He was thoroughly sorry for the temper tantrum he'd thrown. He knew Edea meant well. She was a very good mother.

"It's very comfortable. This town is that nice little medium between being way too ghetto and way too rich. Everybody's homey and the community's great."

Sora laughed. "You make it sound so perfect," he teased, nudging Tidus in the shoulder. Tidus blushed a little.

"Well, to me, maybe it is." He said. "I've lived in a lot of different neighborhoods, but this is the best one I've had. I really do love it here." He shaded his eyes from the sun, wearing a white t-shirt under a sunny yellow vest to match his hair and blue cargo jeans that cut off at the knees. Plain sandals with blue straps were on his feet. Sora, in comparison, was still only wearing his red cotton pajamas.

"Sora, why do you have to stand with me in your jammies? You look like a dork."

"I like my jammies!" Sora groaned. "And I'm lazy. I'll go back inside in a few minutes, anyway. My house is like, right there." He gestured to it a few houses behind them on the left. Tidus snickered and shook his head.

"I guess so."

The sound of wheels on concrete approached them, and soon a very familiar sunny-haired blond was skateboarding up to the bus stop, wearing a black shirt under a white jacket with a checkered stripe across the chest and sleeves. His pants looked like they had come as black, but that he'd bulleted an overlapping white layer to them. Sora looked Roxas up and down and bit his tongue in his mouth, to keep himself from saying something embarrassing like he'd done with Riku.

"Roxas, look at you!" Tidus snickered. "It's so retro."

"It is not. You're a loser in fashion, Tidus." Roxas stopped his skateboard, and then he laughed. "And Sora's still in his paja…mas…whoa, what happened to your face?"

Sora covered up the bruise with his hand, groaning.

"Riku slapped him." Tidus filled in. Roxas stared at Sora in bewilderment.

"Slapped? He looks like he tried to feed you a knuckle sandwich!"

"It was backhanded." Tidus said with a shrug, "Besides, you know Riku. Any sort of physical contact, and you usually go home with a bruise somewhere on your body."

Roxas wondered, "Sora tried to touch him? What, did you try to grab his thingie?"

Sora growled. "I'm straight, Roxas!"

The blond laughed. "After seeing Riku, are you really so sure?"

"Roxas! Don't do that!" Tidus scolded him.

"Let's put it this way," interjected Sora, putting his hand down to reveal the bruise on his face, "I don't appreciate people who just walk up to me and smack me out of the middle of nowhere!"

Roxas held his skateboard in front of him, frowning. "Hmmm, good point." He agreed. "Tch. Damn…not even here a week, and Riku's already got a beef with you. You'd better watch your back, man. He's not the kinda guy you wanna piss off."

"Gee, thanks for not telling me sooner," Sora grumbled.

Roxas suddenly got a very big grin on his face. "Well, I'm sorry—I didn't know Riku was going to slap you around!"

Tidus and Sora groaned in unison.

"Oh God…bad pun…it burns!" Tidus pretended to tear out his hair and be in agony, writhing where he stood.

"Get it? Slap? Right? Riiight?"

"Where did you get that one, a cereal box?" laughed Sora.

"Oh, God, no, he makes these up on his own. It's even scarier than cereal boxes!" Roxas was laughing now, truly amused at the reaction he'd mustered out of Tidus and his new friend.

"Where's the bus, though?" he wondered. "It's kinda late today."

"It's a Monday," Tidus dismissed. "Maybe the driver slept in or something."

Sora clasped his hands together in mock prayer. " 'Please, please let it be a holiday!' " He moaned, mimicking a supposedly tired and desperate bus driver. A red family-sized Sedan came driving up past them at a reasonable neighborhood speed limit, and Sora froze when he saw who was in the car. Riku was in the back seat.

"Hey, look who it is." Roxas mumbled. "Boy, look at that get-up! He looks like a frickin' Emo from those teen horror movies."

Tidus said nothing. He swallowed a lump in his throat when Riku locked eyes with him. Riku looked like he could peel paint from a thousand yards with that glare. Was he mad at him?

"Where's your bus, boys?" asked the driver, rolling down the passenger window. Tidus broke stares with Riku and smiled at his foster father.

"It's a little late today."

"Do you want a ride? There's plenty of room for you three." The dark-skinned man's hazel eyes glanced Sora up and down. Sora shifted; there was something invasive about that stare. He didn't like it.

"Is it Pajama Day already?"

"Sora's not transferred yet," Roxas replied. "Careful, he'll fall asleep where he stands!"

"I will not!" Sora groaned. He leaned over to Roxas discreetly as the man talked to them. "Who's that?" he whispered.

"That's Ansem Atercor, Riku's foster dad." Murmured Roxas. "He's a big recluse, just like Riku. He writes books for a hobby, but his job is being an editor for the paper."

Sora frowned as he looked at Ansem, then at Riku. Riku caught him and fixed him there, giving him a look like he was going to claw his way into Sora's soul, then rip it out and eat it. Sora frantically jerked his eyes back to Ansem again.

"Why is Riku in the back seat?"

"He's just weird." Roxas shrugged. "He doesn't get along with Ansem very well. I think he tolerates him, but that's pretty much the extent of their relationship." Roxas dropped his voice lower. "Maybe Riku never got over losing his real family."

"Young man—Sora, isn't it?"

"Uh…" Sora blinked, looking at Ansem. "Y-Yes sir?"

"What happened to your face? That's a pretty bad bruise you've got."

Tidus happened to be looking in the back seat, and he saw a flash of sudden fear in Riku's face, before the teen's heavily-shadowed carribean eyes snapped forward to attention, still the size of saucer cups. He frowned; Riku seemed like the type that wasn't scared of anything. So why was he acting like he'd been caught eating from the cookie jar?

"I got in a fight," Sora said passively. "It's no big deal."

"Who hit you?" asked Ansem.

Sora's lips creased down. He felt Riku giving him that soul-eating glare again, saying he'd damn well better not rat him out, and Roxas' words replayed in his mind.

"It was during a Blitzball game," Sora lied. "I, uh…I wasn't paying attention, and I got a spike in the face."

"I see." Ansem glanced over his seat. "Well, Riku here plays Blitzball…"

Sora didn't miss that look. It was the third one Riku gave to him. The difference this time was that Riku wasn't just going to eat his soul, he was going to slit his throat, mince him, and turn him into a plate of Sloppy Joes. What have I done to you, Riku! He cried in his mind. I hardly even know you!

"Well, I hope your face heals up." Ansem said. "I'm sorry you got into a fight when you just moved here. Maybe you'll make some better friends next time."

"Oh, I already have." Sora smiled and hung his arms on Tidus and Roxas' shoulders. "These guys have been really nice to me!"

Ansem laughed. "Splendid, I hope you enjoy your move in. You have a nice day, you three."

"Bye, Mr. A!" Roxas waved. The back window rolled down—the one on Riku's side, closest to them. Tidus gulped when Riku shot him a look of death again. He was really sour today. Worse than yesterday. Not good.

"See you at school, Tidus." Riku didn't even look at him as he said it. Instead, he leered at Tidus from the corners of his black-shadowed eyes, his teeth clenched tight behind pursed Elvyra lips. Tidus withered inside when he heard that tone—Riku sounded really mad at him! In hindsight, he was very glad now that Edea had told him not to phone back. Something told him he would have gotten a bucket of hot air and one deaf ear over the phone.

But…all I did was call!

As Ansem drove Riku away to the school, Sora shuddered and rubbed the goosebumps out of his arms. Roxas sighed and sulked his shoulders.

"Gaaaaawwwwd!" He exclaimed. "He is just one big bucket of flowers and sunshine today!"

"He's weirder than usual…" said Tidus. Roxas glanced at him and snorted.

" 'Usual'? Since when has Riku ever been 'usual'?"

"No, I mean…" Tidus shook his head, glancing at Roxas. "Didn't you see him when they mentioned Sora's bruise? It's like he was praying for Sora to lie."

"I would too," Sora said matter-of-factly. "If my dad found out I'd hit someone that hard, I'd be grounded for a whole month!"

Tidus still didn't appear satisfied with that answer. "I guess so," was his noncommittal response.

Roxas patted Tidus' shoulder. "Don't worry so much. When you get old, it'll give you wrinkles, and then you won't get all the ladies."

12:10 P.M. was third-period English for Tidus. He twisted and weaved his way through the bustling halls, various Blitzball posters tacked to the bulletin boards as he passed them. At the moment, they only seemed to serve as reminders of the incident yesterday afternoon, which he tried to forget about by concentrating in class. It wouldn't be so difficult to do that in English. His teacher was, after all, the super-awesomest teacher in the school, Axel Slyver.

As Tidus sat down in his seat, having arrived early, he dropped his backpack by his desk and crossed his arms, staring ahead of him. For some reason, Riku was really bugging him! He'd tried to talk to him in first period several times, but Riku's only response was to just glare at him and then turn away. What was wrong with him? Things had never been this bad between them—sure, they had arguments, but they always blew over, and they always defended each other. They were close. Or, at least, Tidus thought that's how they were.

He felt a piece of chalk hit him in the head. Snapped out of his reverie, Tidus glanced up to see his teacher leaning on his desk.

"What's wrong, kid?"

"Ugh…nothing."

"That sure didn't sound like a nothing." Axel cast him a sideways glance. "You planning to skip my class?"

Tidus laughed. "Nobody skips your class, Mr. Slyver. I think you're too cool for that."

"Oh, that's right, my Popularity Factor." Axel grinned. "And I thought I was the only one who thought I was cool."

Tidus shook his head. Axel was a little big-headed, but he was still a fun teacher. Everyone thought so. He always had stories to share—like how he'd taken classes in martial arts, and still did. One time he even brought in a pair of weapons (he was lucky he didn't get caught with them and fired) that he called "Chakra Wheels," and the whole class had ooh'd and ahh'd over them for a half an hour.

"Seriously, though, you look like you're worried about something. You want to talk about it before the crowd thickens in here?"

Tidus shook his head. "No…thanks, though. It's a friend thing…"

Axel pursed his lips. "Hmm. Is it that Riku kid?"

It never took any brains to figure that out. Tidus only had a few close friends, and Riku was one of them—he was always in his biggest slumps when Riku was upset with him. They were glued at the hip. Tidus nodded.

"Ah, well…I'll leave it alone, then. There's not much you can do with that one." Axel shook his head. "Do you know, Tidus, that you're probably the only friend he has in this whole school?"

Tidus nodded again.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure he'll get lonely, and sure enough, he'll make up with you. He doesn't seem like the type to stay mad for very long." Axel paused, tapping his chin. "Although he is rather hard to read. I could be wrong."

"Thank you," Tidus said, dropping the subject. He laid his head down on his desk to take a mental break as the other students filed in.

As usual, the class was fun and interactive, just like most of Axel's classes were. They were still reading Edgar Allen Poe's short stories. Today, they read The Tell-Tale Heart. Most of the students ended up commenting on how crazy the main character was or how disturbing Poe's fictions really were. All Tidus could think to say (to Alice on the Besaid Raiders, who sat next to him) was, "This sounds like the kind of stuff Riku might read."

"You've really got Riku on the brain today," Alice said. "Is something wrong? Did you guys have a tiff again?"

Tidus frowned. "I'm not sure. He's just been giving me dirty looks all day…"

Alice grinned. "Oooh, dirty…"

Tidus groaned. "Not that kind of dirty, Alice. I don't think Riku's ever had those kinds of thoughts about me."

"You don't know that. You can't read minds."

"I can read yours," Tidus retorted, smiling haughtily. Alice stood up straight.

"Fine, what am I thinking?"

Without missing a beat, Tidus replied: "You're thinking that Roxas is the sweetest, sexiest boyfriend you've ever had."

"He's the only boyfriend I've ever had," Alice giggled.

"And therefore I must be right!"

"Okay, fine. You were right. Roxas is very sweet, and he's veeery sexy."

"Hey, how was your movie date yesterday...?"

Nope. Despite all his troubles to let his mind rest, he couldn't stop thinking about Riku. After the bell rang for school to get out, Tidus packed up in Art class and got up to leave. As he walked, he stuck the earbuds of his iPod in his ears, and cranked up the volume to hear his music over the dull, rising roar of the students as they filed out into the halls and began to open and slam shut their lockers, chatting.

Riku stalked the sandy-haired blond from the shadows, leering with carribean eyes under shadows of silver, blue-green orbs shadowed heavily in black. He bit his darkened lip hard, just beyond the threshold of bleeding, and clenched his fists in the pockets of his tight black jeans. With nobody paying attention to him, he got up and followed Tidus from about eight feet away, tracing his footsteps to go outside. On the side of the school where the buses came to pick up the students, he grit his teeth behind pursed lips.

Scare him—that's what he'd do. Scare the shit out of him. After all, it's what Tidus deserved, for ruining his chance at the first break in three years, even if it was just for a day. Stupid Tidus. Stupid Ansem. Stupid phone.

I hate you, too, Tidus, he thought. I hate you for calling me...for ruining my hard work...I took a double-dose that night! I put up with that bastard's bullshit twice, and you destroyed it! I hate you so much I could just...!

Riku hissed, pulling out a white-knuckled fist. He knew what he could do, and he would. He stormed over to the blond now, who was talking with Wakka and some of the other Blitzball players. Wakka's eyes widened when they spotted him, and Riku didn't stop.

Get the fuck out of my way, Carrot-top. He snarled in his mind.

Wakka shouted something that was a blur in Riku's ears, and he drew back his fist. Tidus turned around and ran straight into its oncoming blow.

His iPod dropped from his hand, the earbuds torn out of his ears. Tidus' face suddenly stung from the impact, a deep, hard throbbing in his cheek. He looked at Riku in shock, his eyes twice their normal size. Everything inside him froze. Did Riku just punch him?

"What the hell just happened!" Wakka cried. "Riku, you jackass! What'd you punch Tidus for, ya!"

Wakka's response was a hard shove out of the teen's way, his chest jabbed by Riku's elbow. "Shut the fuck up, you dumbass islander!"

"HEY!"

Tidus recovered from the blow quickly. "Riku, what the hell is wrong with you!"

"You're what's wrong with me!" Riku snapped, advancing again. Tidus' eyes widened once more and he just barely ducked out of the way of another punch to his head, but he didn't see the second one going for his gut. He doubled over as a result. By this point, everyone present outside had turned to ice and was watching with horror, but a twisted sense of anticipation. Of course, nobody would do anything to stop him. Riku was the Juggernaut. Once he got started, he never stopped. And it was a real pain in the ass to take off his helmet.

"You little fucking prick! Didn't I tell you not to fucking call!"

"WHAT?" Tidus gasped, catching his breath and glancing up only to meet with another punch to his face. He stumbled backwards and landed on his butt, and dropped the weight of his backpack, hurriedly shrugging it off his shoulders as he dodged a heel-kick to his shoulder. He got back up again. He could already hear the crowd's demand rising like a chant: "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" It only served to fuel the one-time Gothic's rage.

But how the hell was he supposed to fight Riku? He didn't even know why he was being attacked! Why is he so pissed off about my phone call!

"Riku, stop! What's going on with you? For God's sake, just talk!"

Riku cracked the knuckles on his fists. "Too fucking late for that, assface. I worked my ass off to make it come through, and you had to fuck me over with your stupid concerns! I told you I can take care of myself!"

"Riku, stop!" Tidus pleaded. "You're not making any sense!"

Wakka stepped in front and blocked one of Riku's punches, and Riku snarled and grabbed the Blitzer's blocking hand, reeled him in, and smashed his forehead into Wakka's. Wakka was out in a daze on the ground, but Riku survived it, despite the ringing in his ears and the trickle of blood staining the perfect silvery color of his hair. Tidus gasped and backed away, his fists tightening as an instinctive defense.

"Riku...please! I thought I was your friend!"

"You were my friend," Riku hissed, grabbing Tidus' neck and cutting off his air supply. He actually managed to lift Tidus off the ground by a few spare inches, and he snarled with hateful eyes, "You stay the fuck away from me, if you know what's good for you."

By now the crowd actually started to get worried. Yes, now they got worried, good Heavens, now that Tidus' life was actually in danger—splendid! Tidus clawed and pried at Riku's grip, gasping for air. He was terrified. Riku had never attacked him, let alone tried to kill him!

Then, a blessing.

Riku's hand was torn away from Tidus' frail neck when someone charged him, someone taller than he, and he suddenly found himself being forced to run straight into the side of a bus. He connected with the yellow-painted steel with a BANG, his face pressed against it, and he ripped out of this person's grip, whirling around to punch him.

Axel caught that attack and sedated him with a knee to his balls. Riku inhaled sharply and doubled over, dropping to the ground with his hands covering his groin, which was throbbing in pain. He bit his lip, and the Juggernaut was silenced.

Fuck, he grumbled, Fuck, fuck, fuck! He looked up at the redheaded English teacher with a menacing glare, and Axel just cracked his knuckles and pointed at him.

"You stay right there, or I swear to God I'll shove you under that bus, and run you right over."

Riku just hissed and stayed put. He didn't have a choice—and frankly, he didn't feel like it. He was more concerned about covering the state of his hardening arousal. Pain. Pain meant sex. And sex would be coming very soon after.

He just wished that Axel hadn't chosen to hit him in the place where his pain was most susceptible.

He watched Axel pick Tidus and Wakka up on their feet, and demand to know "Why the fuck didn't you dumbass teachers do something to stop him!" And wave frantically in Riku's direction. He met eyes with Tidus' swelling face, which stared at him in absolute bewilderment. Riku just hung his head, the reality sinking in.

I got carried away, he thought. You dumbass, Riku! You're supposed to save that for HIM. Yes. Keep the killing in mind for HIM. You were only supposed to SCARE Tidus. Scare him...

Riku kept one hand shielding his groin, his legs tightly shut, and put one palm over the crossed-out heart on his chest, beneath his shirt. He grit his teeth angrily. One day, he would get that fucking curse removed. One day. Even if it took him until he was thirty.

Author's Notes: Well, as you can see, Axel will be carrying out his wicked-awesomeness from the shadows, just to make up for the fact that I've made him a freaking ENGLISH TEACHER. (sigh) It's not my fault, okay? I couldn't think of anything else. He so doesn't work as a gym teacher. I'll just make him a smartass cool guy and all will be well, in the end, I'm sure...