Kingdom of Loss
Chapter 4, Hospital
A/N
Lady Rittaker: Okay, first and foremost I would like to apologize to EVERYONE for having such a crappy and useless chapter last time. I am REALLY REALLY sorry about that! I've been super-uber busy lately and I'm really mad at myself for not getting around to this earlier! I meant to update at Christmas when I started writing this! I'm sorry! Thanks you all reviewers, I will attempt to make this chapter less of a 'nothing's happening' and more of a 'Yay!' thing. Whatever.
Anyway, I don't own kingdom hearts, even though, as always, I wish I did.
Hope you enjoy this part of Kingdom of Loss
Sora sat in silence, watching Riku as he slept silently. The doctor said he would be waking up any minute. They had to practically pump food into him so that he wouldn't die. His friend had been starving for weeks before they found him. Practically frozen to death on top of everything else.
"Come on Riku…wake up." He murmured. He wondered when Aeris would get there, it had been a little while since he had called.
Leon, or Squall, Sora could never keep track of what he liked to be called, would be there soon as well. He was young for a detective, but he was one of the best on the squad for the Special Victims Unit. He had agreed to take the case as a personal favor to Sora. Sora just hoped that Riku would talk to him when he woke up. It had been seven years…a long time.
Then Riku started to move.
"Riku!" Sora cried as his old friend opened his eyes. "Riku it's me! It's Sora! I thought you were dead! Are you alright?"
Riku stared for a moment as though he didn't know where he was. Then he said, "Where am I? What's going on?" And Sora was sure Riku had no idea where he was.
"You're at the hospital. Do you remember? You were on the street, and I found you…Riku I thought you were dead." Sora told him, taking his old friend's hand. "I recognize you even now!"
Riku winced slightly when Sora took his hand. "Let go of me…" he whispered.
Sora was so surprised that he almost did. "What…? But Riku, it's me-"
"I said let me go!" Riku screamed, yanking his hand away from Sora. "Don't touch me! No one touch me! No one touch me!"
"Riku! Riku stop it!" Sora quickly jabbed the nurse's button, then he tried to make Riku stop flailing his arms around. "Riku, its Sora! It's me! Stop this now!"
Then Riku reached up and grabbed Sora's arms, yanking him down on the bed, his eyes wild and confused. "Is this what you want? This is all anyone ever wants from me! Don't be like him! Don't be Ansem! Don't let him touch me!"
"Riku I don't want anything! Let me go! Please! You're scaring me!" Sora cried as several nurses ran in and tried to make Riku let go of Sora, but he had a surprisingly strong grip for someone who had been almost to the point of death only a few hours before.
"Is this what you want?" Riku suddenly thrust his hips forward, nearly knocking Sora off the bed. "Is it? It's all he ever wanted! It's all they ever wanted from me! You to? You too Sora?"
The nurses finally had to sedate Riku, which finally made him let go. Sora pulled back and fell against the wall breathing hard and trying not to panic. Was this what Ansem had driven Riku to be like? Was this what would have happened to him if he had not escaped? The fate that Sora had left Riku to…by not going back for him?
"Sora!" Aeris cried as she ran into the room, and the scene which had just occurred. "Are you alright? He didn't hurt you did he? My God Sora! I thought he was going to kill you!"
"No, I'm fine Aeris…just a little shaken up I guess. I didn't think he would freak out like that…" Sora said, staying seated which made Aeris kneel down next to him. "Aeris…I didn't think it would be like this. I thought that if I found Riku…everything would be alright. Nothing is though…"
"Sora…you have to understand that you have been in therapy for a long time now, but Riku was in the same position you were all those years ago. He hasn't had any therapy, and he's not used to having people who care about him. It must all be very strange for him." Aeris counseled the young boy.
"They had to sedate him Aeris…and that frightened me." Sora whispered. "I've…I've never been so scared in my life, and I was afraid of Riku. Not Ansem…Riku."
Aeris' eyes softened and she hugged Sora, and then helped him up. "Come on, let's go and sit down. Leon will be here soon with his partner; they'll probably be the ones working this case. They might want to ask you some questions about Riku."
"…I'll just talk with Squall." Sora told her. "I trust him…and I guess…If he's going to help me, I should tell him what happened."
"You've never told anyone except me and the original detectives have you?" Aeris asked kindly.
"No. No one…but I suppose Squall has always been there as a friend…or big brother or something like that. If he needs my help, then I'll help him. For Riku's sake…and for everyone who's ever been one of Ansem's victims. I don't want anyone else to end up like Riku." Sora sighed, sitting in the waiting room. "He'll be here soon right?"
"Yeah." Aeris nodded.
"Aeris…when he comes…can you…can you offer to take Riku with us? Back home? I don't want him to go somewhere that's not safe. People might think that's he's crazy and I don't want that. You can help him…you helped me." Sora nodded to himself. "Please…convince them that you should take him."
Aeris nodded. "Alright. I'll talk with Leon, but I'm not promising anything. The courts might not agree with you…but after that display, I think that they're more likely to. They know my success rate, and I think that I can help Riku. He's not much worse than Namine was when she came to us. I think he'll be alright."
Sora let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God…I don't know what I would do without you Aeris. You've helped me so much."
Aeris smiled at him. "Hey, I do what I can for you guys. You're my family. I suppose you've been a big help for me to. Without you, I would just be a lonely therapist."
Sora smiled. "So we're even then."
"You could say that. But for Riku…I will help him. I don't see any other way of doing this…it's not that I don't think he'll be safe anywhere else, but he does need help." Aeris sighed. "I wish that he wasn't in such bad shape. Don't mention the Ansem word anywhere around him. I think that might set off his anxiety attacks."
"But I didn't even say Ansem!" Sora cried. "I just held his hand and he went nuts!"
"Hum…I don't think Riku is the touchy-feely type just yet. It would be better if you didn't use any signs of affection like that. I think he might take them as signs that you are coming onto him sexually, which could also explain him losing it like that." Aeris told him thoughtfully. "Just back off for now…I don't think Riku is ready for a new relationship with you just yet."
"Aeris." Sora and Aeris turned to see the tall brown-haired Squall enter the room with his partner Auron, a stern old guy who always wore sunglasses and had a large scar over one eye. "Hey Sora."
Sora nodded to Squall, smiling, though it was forced. "Hey Squall. How are you?" He asked.
"I'll be better when I know what's going on. What has you two in this mood?" Leon asked them, his voice lightly irritated, as always.
"…Leon, Auron, can we talk?" Aeris asked, pulling the two detectives aside.
Sora sighed and looked in Riku's window at his sleeping friend. This would be a lot harder than he thought it would be.
FIN
A/N
Rittaker: AGAIN I'M SO SORRY! I'll go cry in a corner now and hope you guys like this chapter. Feedback is really, really important!
Riku: Yeah, maybe I'll be less of a whiney bitch if people keep sending us fan letters.
Sora: Hey! You are not a whiney bitch!
Rittaker: Well…yeah, he kinda is right now Sora.
Riku&Sora: …shut up Rittaker.
Rittaker: …fine, just kill me now.
