Kingdom of Loss
Chapter 1, Therapy
A/N
Lady Rittaker: Wow…Okay, so this is my first fanfic ever, so don't attack me without mercy, but I'd like reviews if you have any for me
I don't own Kingdom Hearts, though I wish I did
As you can guess, I'm slightly sadistic when I write so don't forget that this is rated M for a reason! I love anyone who reads this, so I hope you enjoy. BTW! This takes place in an alternate universe…and I'm mad at myself for it, since I don't usually like ones that take place in a different setting, but for some reason I've always liked ones from kingdom hearts that do. So I did this…because I can.
Sora sat in Aeris Gainsborough's office, watching the floor. He hadn't been in that office for six years, though he had often seen the other boys who lived at Aeris' home come in and out.
Aeris owned a private foster care home for boys. More or less, boys who had lived with traumatic foster care families before came to her. She was a psychologist who took care of them and helped cure them. She still helped the boys, even when they moved out. She was one of the good foster care workers, which was rare…and Sora knew that for a fact.
Sora didn't know who his parents were. They had asked to remain anonymous. He had been exchanged at birth to a good family, who he lived with until he was five. They were good people who couldn't have children, unfortunately for him; they had died in a car crash when he was five. Eleven years before…how the time flew. Then he had gone to live with his adopted uncle. Ansem.
Ansem was part of the reason he was now sitting there in Aeris' office, again. But Ansem wasn't the real reason. The reason was Riku. The son Ansem had adopted a year before Sora arrived at his doorstep.
Riku was the one Sora had suffered with. For when the two boys arrived on Ansem's doorstep, they had learned what hell truly was supposed to be like. The child molester Ansem. The man who raped them…and the man who was missing to that day.
Riku had been Sora's only friend, and was his only friend for all the years he lived with Ansem, and the two boys were abused by their stepfather. What else did they have except each other? He was good at hiding them from the world, so they spent all the time they had with each other. They would comfort each other when the other had been used by Ansem, and they were left naked in the dark. Sora didn't know how he would have kept his sanity without Riku. The older boy had been all he cared about.
"Sora, it's been a while since you came into this room. Why the sudden need to talk to me again?" Aeris asked the boy sitting in the chair across from her.
"…You remember back then? When I first got here…seven years ago?" Sora asked her, looking up at his stepmother. "When every night I would have that dream?"
"Yes Sora, I remember. They went away after about a year if I am correct." Aeris mentioned. "And you've adjusted nicely with the other boys since then, and pulled your life together well enough."
Sora knew Aeris was right. Since he had finished his therapy, he had improved dramatically at school, and was looking at a good future with Aeris help. But to that day, there was always one thing that tugged at the back of his mind. Something that always bothered him to that day, and now had surfaced itself once again.
"I know that things have been good for me…but I have to talk to you again…because I've had the dream again. It's been so long I'd nearly forgotten it.
It's more of a memory of a dream really. I'm nine years old. And I'm listening at the wall into the room next to me, and I can hear Riku inside it with Ansem. He's ten years old. And he's crying…he usually doesn't…I mean, he usually didn't cry when Ansem took him into the room. That's just the way Riku was. But tonight he was crying…I think it was because Ansem was in a bad mood that night…and I could hear it when Ansem would hit Riku…he would never hit the face, because that made us 'less pretty' as he said. I was just waiting for it to be over so Riku could come back inside, and I could comfort him, and then we would sleep and the next day we would sleep. But it seemed to be taking so much longer than it usually did…and Riku was crying. I was worried about him.
Eventually it did end though, and Ansem walked into the room and tossed Riku on the floor and kissed my forehead and his goodnight. Riku was stripped from the waist down…and he wore this old blue t-shirt that probably hadn't been changed in months. I didn't keep a whole lot of track of our clothing. His legs were really bruised up…I felt bad. I wished it had been me Ansem had hurt instead of Riku. It scared me when Riku cried…because I felt like I couldn't protect myself if Riku couldn't protect himself…and Riku always protected himself." Sora paused for a moment, feeling unable to continue talking. Somehow, talking about it always made it feel worse at the time.
"Keep going Sora." Aeris said sweetly, trying to comfort him by taking his hand, but Sora drew away.
"…That was when Riku told me he had a plan. He looked at our door, which was always locked from the outside, Riku had stolen a paperclip from Ansem's desk when he wasn't looking, and put it under his tongue.
When Ansem went out for his nightly drink, which he always did after he was finished with one of us. Riku picked the lock, and then we were out into the house, which we only had ever seen before when Ansem was there with us and he let us out. The door was locked, and the latch was too high for us to reach. He had bulletproof glass…but Riku and I didn't give up when he found the window with the fire escape. We threw the chairs at it, and eventually we moved the sofa together so that we could smash it out. It must have taken us hours, but I remember every second of it.
We broke the window, and Ansem came to the door. He heard the window fall out, and Riku forced me out the window first, insisting that I keep running. Then he ran after me. Ansem was so close behind it I could hear him. We ran for as long as we could, but Ansem was faster, I fell behind Riku and he grabbed me, but Riku attacked him with a bottle that lay in the street…and then he kissed me. Riku that is. And he told me to run as fast as I could. And I did. And Ansem reached out and grabbed him, and Riku kept clubbing him with that bottle but he wasn't strong enough…and I just kept running like he kept telling me to do.
I found a police officer and begged him for help…and that's when I wake up. And all I remember is that they never found Riku or Ansem…and it's been seven years and there hasn't been one word about him." Sora felt a tear slide down his face. "Riku is seventeen now…and I don't know where he is. He was all I had and now I can't find him. I can't even thank him for saving my life…and getting me out of that place. He was the only person I cared about and I can't find him." Sora curled up and placed his head in his hands.
"…Sora, it's been seven years, why did you suddenly think about Riku again?" Aeris asked
"Because…well…you know Tidus and I have been dating for about a month now. And I was kissing him the other day, and we nearly well…did it…and I closed my eyes, totally ready for it…and when I opened them, all I saw was Riku where Tidus should have been. I had a panic attack and totally freaked him out. Then we broke up." Sora closed his eyes. "I know there's almost no chance its true…but I can't stop believing that Riku is still alive somewhere. And all I want is to know if he loved me when he kissed me then. If he still loves me. I want him to be safe."
Aeris sighed and knelt down next to Sora and put her hand on his head and softly spoke to him. "Sora…I don't know about you, but I'm positive that when Riku freed you from Ansem, he loved you, and I'm sure that wherever he is now, he still loves you." She looked at her clock.
1:00am. There was no way she would be able to help Sora any more that night. It was best to get him to sleep and let him stay home from school the next day.
"I feel like drinking gasoline." Sora muttered, clutching his stomach.
Aeris couldn't help but smile a little. Sora had a way with words no one could argue against.
"Come on Sora, let's get you to bed." Aeris said quietly. "You can stay home tomorrow and we can talk some more if you want."
"No Aeris…" Sora said with a small sigh. "I think I'll go in tomorrow…seeing everyone will help me feel better I think." He stood up and went to the door. "Night I guess…"
He walked out quietly. Aeris sighed. "Goodnight Sora. I hope that you sleep well."
FIN
A/N
Lady Rittaker: Well, that's how this starts…if I get some reviews, maybe I'll post the next one, so please review and I hope you enjoyed it!
