"Nnn…"

Ritsuka couldn't help but to let out a small whine as Soubi broke their kiss to look down at the small red faced boy cradled in his arms, both of them panting slightly for air. They remained silent in that position for a short moment before the gravity of the situation finally sunk in for Ritsuka and he quickly became very flustered, embarrassed and slightly afraid at the idea that he, well more accurately Riku, had finally brought his feelings into the light. The bright faced boy then promptly averted his gaze away from the blonde's and shifted his weight out of his arms and onto his own knees as he propped himself up on the floor of the bedroom. This awkward shift caused a very curious and slightly hurt expression to cross Soubi's face.

"Umm…Soubi, I uhh…" Ritsuka groped desperately around in his brains for any words to fill the silence but could only manage to stammer helplessly.

"Are you sure you're ok Ritsuka?"

"I-I don't know…" Ritsuka then turned his gaze back to the blonde just in time to see an extremely pained blank expression sweep across his face.

"It's alright." Soubi then slowly extended a hand and placed it gently on Ritsuka's forehead. "It feels like you have a fever….you are probably just getting sick." Ritsuka then picked up on the slight hint of sorrow in the blonde's voice that almost broke his heart and he knew then that he had accidentally hurt his feelings.

"No it's not that…I…." Ritsuka then paused for a short moment to try and find the words to say but was interrupted by his unwanted counterpart.

"Oh come on Ritsuka! I already told him for you, why can't you just say it?! I mean for goodness sake, look at that face, he is hurting….or do I have to do everything for you?" This threat was finally enough to give Ritsuka the courage he needed.

"I…I really love you Soubi." Much to Ritsuka's relief this brought a smile back to the blonde's face. "I just…have a lot going on right now and I…just haven't really felt like myself lately." Ritsuka was then taken slightly by surprise when Soubi swiftly wrapped his long arms gently around him, cuddling his face sweetly against his own.

"I love you too Ritsuka; and no matter what you are going through, I'm here for you." This sentiment brought a bright blush to Ritsuka's face and for a brief fleeting moment, he actually thought about just letting everything out about what was going on in his life; but the thought only remained for that short moment before fear pushed it far aside. Ritsuka did however, let himself truly enjoy the tender moment of being in Soubi's arms until a large yawn snuck out of his mouth, causing Soubi to pull away from him slightly.

"I'm sorry, it is really late, and you must be tired. You have had a long day as well; you should try and get some sleep." Ritsuka was indeed exhausted after his emotionally draining day and he yawned once more while rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Yeah…I am really tired." Soubi then gave the boy a warm smile before suddenly scooping him up in his arms, taking him very much by surprise and causing him to gasp slightly. Soubi then walked over to the large fluffy king sized bed and laid the boy gently into it before pulling the covers up over him.

"T-thank you Soubi…"

"Of course." The blonde then leaned down and captured the boy's lips in a quick kiss before he even had a chance to protest or pull away in embarrassment. "Goodnight Ritsuka."

"G-goodnight."

Ritsuka then watched as the tall elegant blonde gently closed the door behind him as he left the room. He then let out a long sigh as he snuggled into the large downy comforter and did his best to try and relax after his exhausting day. As he lay in the calm quiet darkness of Soubi's bedroom, Ritsuka couldn't help but to let his mind linger on his new found situation and all the events caused by it. These thoughts quickly became troubling as he thought about all the horrible things that his alter ego may try to get away with, and he then tried to push all of these thoughts from his mind. After clearing his mind, it was then only a short time before Ritsuka was finally able to drift away into a deep sleep.

It seemed like it had only been a few short moments since he had closed his eyes to welcome sleep, when Ritsuka's eyes were fluttering open. He was slightly confused at this seemingly short passing of time and slowly sat up while rubbing his eyes until his vision came into focus. Once it did however, he was quickly confused when he found himself no longer in Soubi's bedroom, but in a vast empty blackness. This odd surrounding caused him to leap to his feet and look all around him in search for any signs of where he might be. After a short moment of looking all over in the darkness, Ritsuka suddenly realized that this was the same place that he had been finding himself in his odd dreams, except this time he was fully aware, not like a normal dream at all. A slight panic then set in as Ritsuka thought that maybe his alter ego had taken control of his body again; but this thought was quickly forgotten upon hearing a voice call to him.

"Ritsuka…" The voice seemed distant and faint like a whisper and all Ritsuka could do was turn toward its direction in the pitch black.

"Hello?! Is that you?!"

"Well who else would it be?"

"What's going on? Did you take my body again?!"

"Oh just calm down Ritsuka. You are sleeping soundly."

"Then this is just another dream?"

"Not exactly…."

There was then a short tense silence before Ritsuka could begin to make out a blurry figure approaching him from the darkness. He squinted his eyes in attempt to make out the figure but it was to no avail. It was only a short moment however before the figure became clear as day and Ritsuka wasn't sure at all how to handle what he was seeing. He now found himself face to face with himself, well it seemed like it was himself. The boy in front of him had his face, his body and even his clothes; but this boy looked older somehow. He also noticed that the boy had four small silver rings running along his right ear and a slightly shorter shaggier haircut.

"R-Riku….?" The boy before him then cracked a wide wicked grin before replying.

"Yup…in the flesh at last; well sort of. Well anyway…it's nice to finally meet you myself." Ritsuka was absolutely puzzled as to what was going on and maintained a shocked expression.

"I-I don't understand what's happening…am I dreaming?"

"Well technically yes. You are sleeping which allows your mind's subconscious to be free and it just so happens that I dwell mainly in your subconscious."

"But then why haven't I been able to see you before? In all my dreams I could only hear a voice and I could never really make out what it was saying."

"Well now that you have not only learned about my existence but fully recognized it, your mind is now able to fully process it. Thus, here I am." Ritsuka was then silent for a short moment as he allowed all this information set in.

"Ok…but if you are my alter ego, then shouldn't you be identical to me or something?" Riku gave a small laugh at this.

"Normally, yes; but in your case, I'm more than that. I'm the embodiment of not only your true desires and feelings but of your inner self-image. So basically, I look the way you want to look." Ritsuka didn't very much like being told by someone else what his self-image was, but he couldn't argue with the fact that the boy before him did indeed look much more like he wished he did.

"So then…why are you here now? You're not going to haunt my sleep every night are you?" This earned him a loud laugh from his counterpart.

"No, it would be troublesome for us both if I kept you up every night. I'm here now just because I wanted to meet you in person and have a little chat."

"Chat about what…?" Riku then put on an eerily serious expression.

"About exactly what we are going to do with the blonde." The indifferent tone in the boy's voice stirred an unexpected anger in Ritsuka's belly.

"First of all, his name is Soubi. Secondly, there is no we so we are not going to do anything. I am going to deal with the mess you have made."

"Mess?"

"Yes, the mess you made when you blurted out a confession to him."

"But is that really such a problem Ritsuka? You do love him don't you?"

"Of course I do! But I told you that I wanted to tell him on my own terms!" This again caused a smirk to cross his alter's face.

"Well it would seem that my plan worked though."

"What do you mean?"

"Well that was the first time that you admitted to yourself so adamantly about your feelings towards him." Ritsuka's cheeks then immediately went red as he realized that Riku was actually right about that fact.

"W-well that's beside the point. There is still no we and no plan for anything. My only plan is to keep you under control."

"Tsk tsk…haven't you learned by now? You can't fight me forever; it only makes me stronger as you now know. So instead of wasting all of your energy resisting, why can't we just work together toward a common goal?" The arrogant tone in Riku's voice angered Ritsuka further and he crossed his arms in an angry manner.

"I'm not so sure that we have a common goal."

"But of course we do! All I want is for you to have everything you have ever wanted."

"Well I can do that all on my own thank you very much!" Riku then let out a long sigh before taking a small step towards his host and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder before speaking in a very genuine tone that took Ritsuka very much by surprise.

"Ritsuka…look, we both know that if you could do it on your own, I wouldn't be here. I understand you more than anyone else could ever possibly hope to and believe me; I know that you have all the best intentions in mind. I know that you don't want to hurt the people around you and you try your best to shelter and support them, but it isn't healthy to suppress your feelings. I truly just want to help you to learn how to express yourself properly." Ritsuka couldn't believe that the person speaking to him so passionately now was the same person that only hours ago, forced his way into his body with sinister things in mind. This sudden shift left Ritsuka speechless for a moment as he searched for the words he really wanted to say. Finally after much thought, Ritsuka let out a long sigh and looked Riku directly in the eyes as he spoke.

"You're right…I just don't want to hurt people that I care about so I just find it easier to put my feelings aside for theirs."

"It isn't always easy to tell the truth Ritsuka but in the end, you have to think about yourself every once in a while."

"I know…I just don't know how." Riku then gained his all too familiar sinister smile.

"Well that's what I am here for."

"Right…" Ritsuka then paused for a moment and blushed slightly before averting his gaze. "…well what type of plan did you have in mind…?"

"That's more like it. Well, for starters, we need to pick up the pace of advancing your relationship with Soubi."

"What do you mean…?" Riku then grinned widely before extending a hand to tug gently on one of Ritsuka's ears.

"I mean these." This threw Ritsuka into another slight panic and he was quick to protest.

"No! Absolutely not! It's way too soon for…those kinds of things." Riku then let out a small laugh at this.

"Fine fine. Have it your way. We will wait a little while for that; but until then I plan on helping you build your relationship."

"How do you plan to do that…?" Ritsuka then watched on in confusion as Riku's figure began to quickly fade away accompanied by the sound of his eerie laughter.

"By any means necessary…"

"Wait! What does that mean?! Come back here damn it!" Ritsuka's plea had no effect however and he could only watch as Riku disappeared completely.

"Get some sleep Ritsuka…you'll be needing your rest."

With that final sentiment, Riku was gone and Ritsuka was quickly overcome by a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, like the feeling of being on a roller coaster. Then in a matter of seconds, his knees buckled, his eyes fluttered closed and he was finally able to slip into true restful sleep.

The next morning was a very unwelcome event to the still very exhausted Ritsuka and despite his best efforts, the morning sun flooding through the window forced him awake. He gave a small yawn before rubbing his eyes groggily. He then finally opened his eyes and was slightly taken aback to see that he was now face to face, almost literally, with the smiling shirtless blonde who now had him wrapped up in his strong arms.

"Good morning Ritsuka."

"G-good morning…"

"Mmmm good morning indeed."

TBC