Dark Empathy
A Kingdom Hearts Fan-Fiction

Average Read Time: 21 mins

Chapter Three

The sleep had locked Ryne into utter bliss, and serenity. It would have seemed that he wouldn't have gotten any, due to the horrific nightmares that usually had followed once he drifted off. Yet this time was different. Everything was blissful. He hadn't a care in the world. It was wonderful, but it was also a little awkward.

Riku had taken Ryne home that day. After Merlin had prescribed some medication for Ryne, the two moved off and towards his blue and white Corvette. Riku had practically had to carry his brother the whole way to the parking lot. He had felt so faint, and weak after being immobile for nearly an entire month. But Ryne didn't argue. He let Riku take him to the car. Even though it might have seemed a tad embarrassing to be carried like a baby. It didn't matter however. No one had seen them. At least he had hoped not. His dignity had fallen quite enough as it was.

Once in the car with Riku, Ryne had started to feel sleep come over again. It was probably the kodine in the medication. He feared falling asleep, but somehow having Riku beside him in the car made things better.

The ride home had been short, or so Ryne had thought. He guessed that Riku had taken him out of the car as well, and carried him to his room, because when he awoke he was in his bed.

Ryne stared up at the ceiling for a long while. He let his vision adjust to the darkness of the room, before he sat up. He yawned a bit and looked to the blinds on the window. His brow furrowed some in thought. It must have been a cloudy morning, because there was no sunlight streaming through the cracks of the blinds. He moved his gaze away from it, and moved to get out of bed.

He padded across the floor, stifling another yawn as he made his way down the stairs. He moved into the kitchen and stopped. Riku wasn't here making breakfast. Which was quite odd. Plus... why was it so dark? He looked toward the kitchen window, and made his way toward it. He opened the blinds and looked out and up into the sky. The moon was full, and bright. Stars twinkled outside, covering the sky in a blanket of shiny white dots. It wasn't morning.

Ryne turned away from the window, and he looked to the clock on the stove. It read 12:41. Ryne frowned and moved his way to the kitchen table, and sat down. Great. He must have slept through the whole day, and now he was wide-awake. He placed his head in his hands, and placed his elbows atop the table. He blinked some. Well... maybe he wasn't entirely awake. Maybe a few more kodine pills. Then he would be able to fall asleep.

He had shifted to stand, but he never got to his feet. His eyes had closed before he could move, and soon he was drifting off into a restless sleep.

Laughter echoed throughout the area. It was a low rumbling chuckle that had started to evolve into high-pitched cackling. Ryne shuddered, as he backed up and looked about the area. It was the familiar place. Same dreary buildings. Same darkened skies. Same empty street. But the man was nowhere to be found.

Ryne swallowed and started to back up a bit more. He could feel the coldness wrap around his body. He could feel the light drizzle that had poured down from the skies. It was surreal but... he felt like it was actually happening. Like this wasn't a dream. The laughter had soon stopped abruptly, which caused Ryne to stop in his tracks as well. He rubbed an arm, and looked around cautiously. Where was he...?

"Behind you." A voice whispered harshly at his ear. It was a voice that could strangle you with one word.

Ryne's eyes widened and he spun around to face the man dead on. But just as he stared at him, eye to eye, his body wrenched awake.

Ryne sat upright in the chair gasping. He could hear the blood pounding in his head, while his heart raced. He took a swallow of air, and breathed out shakily, trying to calm himself. He glanced down at his hands. His nails dug deeply into the oak wood of the table, but... there was moisture on them. Not just his fingers, but his whole body. He took his hands away from the table to inspect them. They had dew on them, like there was a mist of some sort that had fell on him. He started to wipe them off on his boxers, despite the fact they were wet as well.

He twitched at the surprise of coldness he felt when one of the fingers brushed his leg. It was icy cold. He paused a moment to stare at his hands once again. In experiment, he moved them together, clasping the hands with one another. He shivered some. They were freezing cold. This didn't make sense. How was he wet and cold, when it was hot and humid in the house?

The dream...

He stood up quickly, nearly knocking the chair back over in the process. He cringed, and held his hands at the side of his head. His fingers clutched at his moist hair as he backed up. "Oh God... Oh God it was real." He whispered softly to himself. No, that wasn't possible. It couldn't be. He shook his head, and quickly made his way up the stairs. He turned quickly around the corner to the bathroom. He shut it behind him, before quickly locking it. He wasn't quite sure why he had locked it. He just felt safer. In his own house? Jesus. He was starting to lose his head over this.

Ryne knelt down to the bottom cupboard underneath the sink, and pulled out one of the fluffy white towels. He moved towards the bathtub and sat at the edge. He clutched the towel to him a moment like it was some sort of security blanket. This was ridiculous. There had to be some sort of explanation for all of this. He swallowed a lump in his throat, and started to wipe himself off with the towel. Maybe the air conditioning was on the fritz or something. Or he could have had a cold sweat while he was dreaming. That was probably it. He sighed some, and stopped himself once he felt dry again. He clutched the towel to him again, and breathed in the scent of fresh laundry. It was clean. So pure... It was almost comforting. His closed his eyes again, and breathed in the scent once more. It seemed to relax his entire body this time. He opened his eyes again only to stare at into the darkness of the world.

He twitched and looked around frantically. Oh God. No. He was in the city again. He was dreaming. He looked down at his hands to stare at the towel. The soothing scent must have calmed him so much, that he fell asleep again. He dropped the towel to the ground immediately at that point. Ryne tightly wrapped his arms around himself as he began to back up now. He made his way into a corner of a building and an alley near him. "Stop dreaming... stop dreaming..." He whispered to himself quietly.

The laughing had started up once again, like it had before. That laugh made Ryne nervous. Especially since it echoed everywhere, so it was hard to pinpoint where the source was coming from. The laughing had soon enough subsided, and a voice had cut through the silence that had followed after the laugh.

"You honestly think you can try and convince yourself that this a dream?" The voice of a man sounded. It seemed to be coming closer to Ryne with each passing second.

Ryne pressed his back against the wall, and sunk down to the ground trying to make himself as less noticeable as possible. Little good that probably would do.

"I certainly can't blame you." The voice continued. "I would be afraid too, if I were you." He hissed. It seemed the man was only a few feet away from him now. But Ryne couldn't see anything.

He slowly started to stand again, back continuing to press against the cold brick. His fingertips were placed behind him as well, shaking from the fear and cold. His head turned in every direction, trying to figure out where he was.

"Found you." His voice came at an undertone to Ryne's ear again.

Ryne wasn't quick enough to move this time. Long elegant fingers, encased in black leather gloves came forth from the solid wall. One grasped around Ryne's wrist, while the other moved to cover Ryne's mouth tightly. The black portal swirled menacingly behind him. He could almost feel the darkness pouring from behind him, as the figure of the tall body stepped into the light a bit. "It's time Ryne. I've been waiting far too long for you for this to be a dream any longer." The other said as he pulled the other into the darkness.

Ryne thrashed, trying to scream, but the hand over his mouth kept him from doing so. He shut his eyes tightly as he felt the light starting to fade. All around him he could only feel the darkness. It was so cold... So empty... He felt a drip on his forehead. It was cold as well. What was it? It didn't make any sense. He opened his eyes to see what had dripped onto his forehead.

He opened his eyes to stare at the faucet of the bathtub. The tiny droplet of water threatened to drip down, as it tried to collect enough water to fall from the metal opening. After a while it fell from the tap, and dripped onto Ryne's forehead. He blinked at the tiny splash it made between his eyes. He brought up a hand to brush away the water that had landed on his forehead. He paused to look at the red marks around his wrist. It was from the man. But he wasn't there anymore.

He wasn't dreaming. He was awake. He was back home. It only took another few seconds before another droplet fell onto his forehead. This time he sat up in the tub after it had dripped onto his head. He brushed the water off again, and he looked around the bathroom. His eyes fell upon his legs hanging over the edge of the tub. He must have fallen backwards and into the tub.

Ryne breathed out carefully, and slowly made his way out of the tub. He rubbed his back some, and looked around the floor for his towel. He was wet again, and needed to dry off. He frowned, unable to find it. He wondered for a few minutes trying to figure out where it had gone, when it hit him. His towel. He had dropped it in the dream. His face fell now as he moved across the bathroom to the sink. He placed his palms on the edge, hands grasping the ceramic tightly. That wasn't possible. That towel... it couldn't still be in the dream. It couldn't. But then again... that man had said it wasn't a dream to begin with. His body stiffened and he shook his head. "This is insane." He muttered to himself, as he knelt down to the cupboard to grab another towel. He wiped himself dry for a second time, before shutting the cupboard again.

How was he supposed to sleep? Now his nightmares were becoming more real than he had ever imagined. Would he never be able to rest again? He moved the towel away from his face, and he stared down at the tiled ground. There had been that sleep he had on his way home from the hospital with Riku. He frowned a little. He didn't understand why he hadn't had any nightmares then. He stood there in thought for a few minutes, until he had realized something. "Riku... It's Riku." He looked up again, and stared at the door. His gaze turned to look at the lock on it now. He was able to fall asleep when Riku was beside him. So maybe...

Ryne made his way to the door, after throwing the towel in the hamper. He unlocked the door, and peered around the corner of it, just to make sure no one was there. He couldn't help it. He was still in fear from those nightmares, or whatever they were. Slowly he made his way out of the bathroom and down the hall to Riku's door. He looked to the knob, and for a long time he just stood there, debating on whether to go in or not.

Did he really want to fall victim for another one of those nightmares? Did he really want to come face to face to that man again? No... He didn't.

Ryne let out a sigh, before he eventually turned the knob and peered inside of Riku's room. It was pitch black, and hard to see. But he was able to find the silhouette of Riku's body lying in his bed. Ryne opened his mouth, but then shut it again. Why was he so nervous about this? He gave himself a mental shake before he forced his name out. "Riku?" He called out softly to his brother, waiting to see his reaction.

Nothing. His body hadn't moved at all.

Ryne frowned a bit, and he stepped forwards into the room more. He cleared his throat a bit, before he called out again. "Riku?" He said a bit more loudly.

This time Riku's body shifted a bit. "Mm-hm..." The drowsy voice of Riku replied, indicating that he was half awake, yet half asleep still.

Ryne stood there temporarily before shutting the door and making his way over to Riku's bedside. "Can I... sleep with you...?" He asked. Well, he finally let it out. He wasn't quite sure if he regretted it or not though.

Riku was silent a moment before his body turned to the side to look at Ryne standing over him. "Huh?" He squinted through the darkness to look at him. He was trying to fight the sleep that still had a hold on him.

Ryne bit his lower lip a bit, before he spoke again. "Can I sleep with you?" He repeated the question a little more softly now.

Riku blinked sleepily, letting the question sink in before he answered. "Yeah." He said yawning a bit and started to shift over closer to the wall to let Ryne in beside him.

Ryne waited until there was enough room for him, before he moved into the bed next to Riku. He shifted his head onto the pillow, turning his back to Riku. It was big enough to at least fit two people, but it wasn't exactly a large bed. Because of this, their bodies touched each other a bit. Ryne tried to ignore it... but his thoughts swirled around Riku's body next to his. What was up with him lately around with Riku?

Riku shifted again, and sat up on his elbows looking at Ryne now. "Why are your boxers wet?"

Ryne's eyes opened, and he realized that he had forgot to change before he came into Riku's room. He turned his body a bit, so he could look over at Riku as he quickly tried to come up with something. "I... fell in the tub."

Riku stared at him, raising a brow in confusion. Not that Ryne would have been able to see the look of confusion on his face anyway. "The tub." He repeated, staring at him still.

Ryne cringed, his gaze moving away from Riku for a moment. What the hell else was he supposed to say? But Riku didn't give him a chance to answer anyway.

"Whatever." He sighed. "Just take them off, I don't want to sleep next to you when you're wet."

Ryne's whole body froze, and he looked back at Riku now. His eyes had widened a bit, and he was glad for the darkness. He didn't want the other to see the look of fear on his face. "Take them off...?"

"Yeah." Riku said, as he lowered himself back down onto the bed.

Ryne kept still for a while, not doing anything. Under normal circumstances, he would have just walked into his room to go and grab a pair of his own boxers. But with how tired he was he was afraid he might fall asleep again in the process of making his way into his room. And Riku's boxers didn't fit him, so he couldn't borrow a pair of his. Riku was a bit… large in areas.

Blushing a bit, he finally started to pull his boxers out from underneath the covers. He moved them out from underneath the blankets, and set them down on the floor carefully. He made sure he was as close to the edge of the bed as possible now, before he closed his eyes once more. He felt better lying next to Riku, but he still felt unsafe for some reason. He frowned to himself, hunching his shoulders up a bit.

"You had another nightmare, didn't you." Riku's voice came softly.

Ryne flinched at the sudden statement Riku had made. He shifted his body fully around now to face Riku. He was staring dead at him. "How did you know...?"

"You called out in your sleep every night for about a week, before you ended up in the hospital." Riku replied, before he spoke again. "I heard you downstairs, and in the bathroom too. I was just about to go and check up on you again."

"Again?"

"Every time I heard you scream at night, I went into your room. Then the screaming stopped as soon as I came in. It's usually right before morning that I come in, before you wake up. But not tonight. Tonight was different, wasn't it?" Riku's eyes narrowed some as he questioned his brother.

Ryne just stared at him, unable to form words. Riku had done that for him? Was that why he always woke up before something worse had happened to him? But... the last few dreams Riku hadn't came to him. That was probably why everything had felt so much for real... because the dreams had lasted longer. Long enough to make things actually become real.

Ryne stared at Riku, before he shook his head. "I... can't tell you."

Riku sat up a bit again, using his elbows to hold him up. "Why not? I'm your brother, you should be able to tell me anything."

He frowned when Ryne didn't answer him. He moved near Ryne's body a bit more, as looked at him closely now. "Ryne... You can tell me. You know you can. You don't have to be afraid." He said softly. His voice held comfort, and reassurance. Those qualities were probably what made Ryne answer.

"Do you remember... back on the Island. When we were kids?"

Riku nodded slowly.

"Well... when I was pulled into the door. I landed in a world. A world that never existed. The World That Never Was."

Riku twitched a bit, recalling back to the memories of that world. The memories of being stuck inside Ansem's apprentice's body. It was the day that he was also re-united with Kairi and Sora. The day he and Sora fought side by side.

"The Organization there… it was the home of Nobodies." Ryne continued. "And I was in it, from the very beginning. They knew I was there, but. Getting Roxas back was their main focus." He paused for a moment, before he spoke again. "Do you remember when you and Sora fought together? Against Xemnas?"

Riku nodded his head again, listening intently to Ryne now.

"Well... near the end... when Sora was in his clutches. And you were trying to get him back... I was the one who was helping you. You're body at that time was still hallow. You were like a Nobody at that point. But not exactly... I was your other half. I helped you along the way. I didn't want you to lose. Even if you didn't remember me, I still wanted you to move on with your life, and live another day." Tears welled in his eyes, as he glanced down. "Together we got Sora back. And once he was free, I left your body. That was when the light entered your heart, and the two of you finished him off together." He smiled a bit sadly now. "It wasn't the first time I had helped you out. That little light inside your heart, that kept you at bay from complete darkness? That was me." He laughed a little now, and shook his head. "I guess Xemnas didn't like that much."

Riku frowned and stared him carefully now. "What do you mean?"

"I mean Xemnas isn't dead. I don't know how... I don't know why... But he's back, and he's in my dreams. And they're becoming more and more real every time I fall asleep." He said softly, the tears dripping down his face now. "So now you know." He muttered, turning away from Riku now.

Riku's face fell, compassion showing on his face now as he turned Ryne's body around to face him. "Ryne. You're not alone anymore. Remember that. I'm here now, so we can figure this out together, alright?"

Ryne's head nodded a bit, his gaze unable to meet Riku's.

Riku took a hand, and held Ryne's chin up so they could meet eye to eye. "You're not alone. I'm here now." He repeated, before moving his arms around his brother. He held his body close to him for a hug, obviously not caring if he was naked or not.

Ryne hesitated, before he wrapped his arms around Riku's back and returned the hug. He was so warm... and so comforting. It was only then, that he soon felt a shiver run through Riku's body.

"You're bloody cold." He whispered a little harshly, and pulled the blankets further over them. "Here, keep your hands in mine." He said softly, before taking Ryne's hands off of his back, and he held his hands in his own for a while so they could warm up. After he had held them there for a while, he noticed that Ryne had started to close his eyes a bit. Hesitating briefly, he moved his hands away from his, and turned his back to the other some. His gaze lingered behind him at Ryne until he saw that the other had finally started to sleep fully now. He watched him, gaze unwavering until he too turned around again and drifted off soon as well.

(Go to Chapter Four)

© Stravik, 2006