¤ Tainted Games ¤

A Story By Shift Hyde

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts II, its characters, or locations. They are sadly not my property, but that of Disney and Square Enix, respectively.

Warning - Rated M: Invoking themes of violence, possibly mild cursing, and shounen-ai/yaoi.

Summary: The story begins in the Destiny Islands. It's been a year since Riku and Sora's return to the islands. Having aged they are 17 and 16, respectively. Changes? -- No letter sent to them by the king, and peace is a steady thing amongst the islands. But a confused Riku battles inner demons when a close friend blossoms in his heart as something more.

Any questions?

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CHAPTER 3
From Fall To Rise

"...Wh-what? Why are you?..."
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Sora! One part of him cursed the boy for the cheap shot. Meanwhile, the other half made short work of cursing him for taking his Plan B.

Growling irritably through the waters, Riku swam after him with whatever leftover strength he had. He had only gained maybe a second though before his legs' threatening cramps made themselves fully known. Gasping in a mouthful of seawater, he found that swimming was no longer something he would be doing as his muscles twisted and knotted. Shit! Stopping all movement in his lower half, he concentrated on moving his arms so he could re surface... and let Sora know he had forfeit due to reasons beyond his control.

Yeah, that sounded good...

"Sora!" his voice cracked through a breathless cough, water spurting from his lips. "Stop! You win!" Ouch...! He could feel his ego burning... Oh, wait, that would be his legs still, attempting to sink him while his arms fought to keep him otherwise.

A perpetual grin adorned Sora's features, his head had expanded despite himself and his child-like humming was testament to the fact that he was really pleased. Savoring the little lead he had gained on his now losing rival.

Tee hee, can't believe that brought him down. Sora swam on despite the light burning in his arms' and legs' muscles that were slowly wearing him down with each stroke further out to sea.

His streak was short lived as a cry that was undoubtedly from Riku reached his ears. He didn't question what was happening, or what had made Riku call for him. The tone of Riku's voice was enough to instill alarm in Sora's eyes. He swam back a little faster than he had previously.

"I'm coming!" Spotting the silver covered head, Sora used it as a focal point and swam towards it. Fear dawned over him seeing the other's movements to stay afloat, eyes widening at the scene. "Riku!" Sora's own voice cracked, and he was glad to see the other teen was still afloat when he reached him.

Riku's actions to stay afloat might have been amusing if it had been under any other circumstances but right now they just Sora to the very bone. Moving to float right behind his silver-haired friend, Sora reached out to grab the teen in front of him not questioning whether or not Riku would welcome the rash action. Snaking his tan arms under Riku's, he circled his arms across Riku's chest. He held the other close, worryingly and also quite possesively pressing his chest against the other's back.

"Are you alright?" His voice was hushed, something a little over a whisper. His heart rate had raised significally and it was probably quite noticeable to Riku who he held so close, but Sora wasn't aware of it. All he knew is that seeing a nearly drowning Riku had shaked him scared and his azure eyes were still widened.

Riku hacked up the salty water as air once again made home in his abused lungs. He opened his eyes and closed them several times, taking in his surroundings. He was a good distance out from the shore because he could hardly hear the waves hit the shoreline... He was still ready to have a heart attack beacuse his heart was working overtime... Oh yeah, and he still could hardly move because his entire body was one giant knot. But then... how was he floating?

Groaing, he lolled his head backwards, resting it on... Something. Something warm, and strong. Suddenly... it heart seemed to pulse loudly, sending blood rushing hastily to his palish cheeks.

Sea green eyes slid far far to the left in an almost painful attempt to center his periphial vision. And who should he see, but...

"Sora...!" the silver haired teen physically flinched to see Sora so worried. And it was over... him? He immediately clenched his eyes closed and ground his teeth for two reasons: one, he had just made his bady react suddenly, which, by the way, hurt like a bitch. And two... he had just realized Sora SAVED him. That was a direct blow to his pride, though in the end, he was grateful, he supposed...

Oh yeah... Then there was that little matter of he was being pressed to his crush's golden, muscular, warm chest...

"Wh-What..? Why are you...?" Stammering clumsily over his thoughts, Riku was beginning to confuse himself. What he really wanted to know was probably... "What happened?" Which, of course, did not mean he wanted to know how he had almost drowned in the first place, but why Sora had taken the position he had... and actually saved him.

Smiling brightly as the older teen jerked his head back to look at him, the brunette was happy with the knowledge that his friends looked all right now. At least he was afloat. That was a big scare he gave him back there. Now Sora stilled them both afloat his legs mantain a fair rhythm without hitting Riku's.

Sora's lips settled back into an impassive line at the boy's reaction, a feature uncommon upon his usually cheerful face. What was he doing? Had he crushed the silver boy? He didn't think he was holding on too tight to cause any damage, but his hold on the boy immediately softened without letting him go. Arms still wrapped around the body in front of him, his hands twined together palms resting against his friend's chest. Now Riku could move freely in his grasp. His lips took a pout and bowed shaped.

"I-I'm sorry, Riku... " The younger boy said apologetically his cobalt eyes dropping a little. By the way the silver haired teen's body had tensed he figured he must have made the boy uncomfortable with his bold movements.

In truth he only wanted to make sure his friend was alright, his heart having grown terribly cold at the sight of Riku struggling against the tides. "You scared me there," He said with a quick quirk of the lips. "I'm taking us back to shore."

His head bobbed up a little searching for the small speck of shore to guide him but he could barely see it. However, the sound was unmistakable and he figured he take a gander and go that way. Pretty soon though, the shore would begin to show.

Watching Sora's expressions fall and rise, Riku realized just how obvious it was that he was uncomfortable. The brunette had even gone through the trouble to shift himself so Riku could move a little more freely. Not that he needed. If he tried to, he's probably almost drown himself again.

Self control... this is Sora, my... friend... He inwardly frowned, his mood sinking several levels below what it had already gone down to. But he coulnd't change things with the snap of his fingers like he secretly always hoped. So for the sake of that bond he shared... Act normal. Or... something.

Calming himself witha few deep breaths as he listened to Sora's voice, so unneedingly apologetic and caring. The silvery teen had a feeling he was going to hate himself later for acting like such an ass in front of Sora... Well. The boy was probably used to it, but still... He felt guilty. Really guilty.

"Sora," he started as they began to slowly move through the wavy waters, "I'm sorry," he said solemnly... then upturned his lips into a small smile. "You startled me is all. I though I was..." He stopped there. Sora could fill in the blank. "I guess I'm just gettin' too damn old for this or something," he smirked knowing very well that he and Sora would view that as a complete and total lie. But hey, he had to cover his ass somehow.

The way Riku seemed to react to all this showed Sora a side of the boy he hadn't seen before. Was he... guilty? Nah, not Riku. He's probably just startled. Sora tried to look reassuring as the silver-haired teen in his arms apologized. There was really no need to. Blinking, as he heard the lame ass excuse the older boy blurted out. There's really no need to lie, either.

Shaking his head a little, Sora fell awkwardly silent. There was not much more he could say at the moment. His head still spun a little recalling the picture of his friend fighting to stay afloat and he was glad he reached him in time. Sighing a little, in time with his breathing rhythm he hid carefully from the other.

"We're almost there." He stated several minutes later, even though the shore was plainly visible to Riku. Putting being blunt past him, Sora was glad he could carry the other easily since they were in water. Had this happened in another situation he might have not been able to carry the other. With the atmosphere being as serious as it was, the brunette didn't dare crack a joke over it. Not now, probably not ever.

The rest of the way was an easy track, the ocean pulled them easily and since the tide wasn't too strong it pretty much took care of the movement forward. Even though Sora could take foot in the sand a while ago he prefered to remain kneeled, dragging Riku along. Once they reached the shore though, he let go of his friend pulling him up alone by the hands. The sun was sinking in the horizon quickly, and he was glad they weren't caught out at sea in the dark.

Moving over to stand just over Riku, Sora smiled brightly, hiding his worry. "We're made it! ... Soooo, how are you feeling?"

The trip to shore was so awkward. Perhaps he should have just thank his friend for saving him and called it a day as opposed to exposing his guilt and making lame excuses. I'm so stupid. If he weren't so selfish, only thinking of his one sided feelings for the other, none of this would have happened. He wouldn't have cramped up and nearly drowned. And, though Sora hid it well, he had worried the brunette severely.

Riku looked in any direction buit Sora's, unable to meet his gaze, worried more stupid feelings might shine through. Some feelings, he thought, should be locked away and never exposed. He was in this whole mess alone; Sora liked Kairi, most likely. Not Riku. Riku was a male. He was Sora's rival, friend, and partner in everything. He couldn't let some stupid man-crush get the better of him.

About half way through his thoughts, he felt his knees begin to skim sand, thick and wet beneathe the water. Sora hadn't stood, so he felt no need to. He wanted to savor the contact that he could never have. Savor how close they were... and yet, how so very far away the two were at the same time. The silvery teen looked up seeing Sora extend his hand to him...

Riku had done that once, a long time ago. Sora did not take his hand. But he would. He needed to in more sense than one. He needed his rival to be there and would not push him away.

"I'm fine now," he confirmed with a forced smile, bittersweet with bustling unsorted emotions. "Thanks, Sora. Really, you saved me back there. Don't know what happened... I just cramped up," he shrugged, his expression nonchalant and carefree as though nothing serious had just happened. "Want to grab something to eat or something? I'm famished."

To Be Continued.

Be kind. Please unwind.

A quick update there for you.