A new chapter. Um…yes. A new chapter…WHOOHOO! Okay. That's better. I'm hyper again. Well, yes, this is the third chapter. Fear it, for it is…holy? I dunno. Anyway, read and please tell me how it is. I'd really like to know. Thanks! PS this is still Chris. Mwahahhahahaha!
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Sora stood for a few minutes, completely baffled. What the hell had happened? He had been bouncing ahead of the other two, when he heard Kairi start to ask a question, then a yelp, and before he could even turn around, he heard a yell from Riku. When he was finally able to see what was going on, Riku had taken off, and Kairi had followed. Sora just watched them go in confusion.
After about ten minutes of wondering what was going on, Sora began to jog back towards Riku's house. Considering that it was Riku who had run first it seemed like the logical thing to check at his house.
It didn't take too long. The door was open, and Sora let himself in. Upstairs, he could hear muffled conversation. The words were too distorted to hear clearly what they were talking about, but it was obvious enough that it was Kairi and Riku talking.
Ascending the stairs quietly, he walked to the door. Through the small crack between the door and the frame, he caught sight of a scene that he had hoped and never expecting.
Kairi was standing there, and Riku's head was buried in her neck. He was moving continuously and rhythmically, a repeating action, and Sora became enraged.
He wasn't aware that he was moving until Oblivion slammed into Riku's side. The silverhair hit the wall hard, sliding down to his knees. His hand was clasped to his side where the sharp edges of the blade had gouged him.
"Riku!" yelled Kairi, taking a step towards him. But Sora grabbed her arm, puling her to face him roughly.
"What the hell are you doing?" he yelled in her face, shaking her. She cried out, "No, Sora! You don't understand!"
"What's there not to understand? You were just standing there…just letting him suck on your neck!"
"No, you don't—"
"Shut up!" he yelled, tears brimming in his eyes, raising a hand. But he never got to finish. Instead, he was sent flying as Riku barreled into him. The Keyblade Master landed on the floor, and Riku snarled, "She had nothing to do with this!"
Sora looked at his fiancée, who had started crying. He looked back at Riku. "Bullshit! She wasn't doing a fucking thing to stop you!"
"No!" Kairi yelled, "I didn't—"
"You didn't do a goddamn thing, you—"
"Because I threatened her."
Both Sora and Kairi looked over. Riku held up the gun. "I threatened to kill her if she screamed or said anything."
"No way…" Sora breathed, amazed, an emotion that quickly turned into fury. "You fucking bastard!" he yelled, and the Keyblade smashed into Riku's stomach hard. The gun skittered over the ground as Riku gasped, doubling over, and Sora swung again, connecting with the silverhair's face.
'When did he get that..?" Kairi thought as she cried out to Sora. "I didn't even see him move…" Rushing forward, she tried to get between them, but Riku pushed her aside. "I deserve this," he hissed.
"No!" Kairi whimpered as Riku hit the floor hard. "Why won't Sora see that Riku's hurt? Why can't he see what's happened? He nearly killed himself, and now he's doing this, just to save our relationship…" The answer hit her suddenly, like a blast of cold air.
"He's hiding it!" she realized, watching the silverhair closely. He was hiding it, tucking his arms into his body like he was hurting, but in reality was keeping his wounds from catching Sora's eye. And he was taking advantage of the dark room to hide both the blood and his new wings, which were nearly invisible against the jacket in the absence of light. And the dark streaks of blood against his light skin could be passed off, in the dark, at least, as the shredded jacket sleeves. Even she couldn't tell the difference.
Kairi ran to the door, searching desperately, and finally managing to flick on the lights. The dark room was suddenly turned bright, all of the black turning a vivid crimson, what could have passed for shadow before now was clearly revealed to be blood from cuts, slashes, and who knew what else.
Sora paused, looking at Kairi, scanning the room, then looking quickly back at Riku. The Keyblade thunked into the floor, and its master quickly following suit, sitting heavily, staring at the bloody heap that had been his best friend. Riku, breathing heavily, tried to sit up, gazing miserably at Sora, his back pressed firmly into the wall to hide the black wings flattened against his back.
"What happened to you?" Sora asked, staring at Riku's arms in horror.
"Wait till he sees the wings,' thought Kairi, while at the same time saying to Sora, "He did that to himself."
"Sora's eyes clouded over. "You idiot," he snapped. "Just because you're emo and suicidal doesn't mean you can slice yourself to pieces and threaten people."
"He didn't threaten me at all!" Kairi protested, and Riku winced at the bad way she had worded that sentence. Sora's gaze narrowed. "It's…well…it's a long story.," she finished lamely. Sora crossed his arms. "Try me."
"No," said Riku. Sora glared at him. "What the hell do you mean, no?"
"I mean no," said the older teen, staring at Sora with an empty expression. "Kairi knows the story already, she'll tell you after I leave."
"Aw, fuck that," Sora snapped. "I want to hear this from you, now."
"No," Riku repeated stubbornly, staggering to his feet. Blood snaked down his pale skin, the ripped jacket hanging off of his broken and torn body. "I don't want you to hate me before you have to. Before I go."
"Believe me, you asshole, I can't hate you any more than I do right now," Sora said darkly. Riku laughed dryly. "You really think so?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Well, you're in for a surprise."
"Bite me!"
Riku shuddered. "Don't tell me to do that. Please." He walked so that his back was to the wall the whole time, ignoring the fuming brunette, trying to hide the obsidian wings, but he didn't get very far.
"Oh, no you don't!" Sora yelled. Oblivion hit Riku's side again, making him stumble and turn away. Kairi diverted his attention. "No! Don't you—"
"Shut up!"
Riku snarled, a raging, bestial growl that made the hairs on the back of their necks stand up. He turned slowly, eyes with dilated pupils, eyes that were more animal than human, eyes that had turned a bright metallic crimson, stared at Sora in fury. His wings flared, and his long ivory fangs glistened.
"Don't talk to her like that!" he hissed menacingly, voice layered with the same animal tones that had been in his roar, distorting his words harshly.
Sora's yell of panic flooded the room, and he scrambled back, utter horror plainly etched on his features. Riku's lips were drawn back, exposing the icy, azor0sharp teeth. Kairi sprinted across the room, snatching up the vermillion vial from the table. Sora's voice half-whispered, half-sobbed the words, breath shuddering in his throat behind her.
"K-Kairi…" he stuttered, frozen. "wh-what is…that?"
The girl saw the look of hurt flash across Riku's demonic features, and the immense pain she knew he must be feeling made her heart ache. But it didn't last long. As Riku's control on his mind slipped, the pain turned to anger.
"That?" he snapped. "You're referring to me as that?"
Sora's eyes, if possible, grew wider. Kairi held her breath, hoping that Sora had the sense not to even think about saying anything else.
"You've known me for what—seventeen years? We've been best friends for seventeen years, and now you're calling me that?"
Sora babbled, petrified with fury. "B-but you're n-not human…Y-you can't be…"
Riku fixed him with a piercing glare. "You shouldn't be either!" he shrieked, lunging forward. But he never reached Sora. Instead, Kairi was there, ramming the crystal beaker between his teeth. Riku bit down instinctively, and the glass shattered in his jaws. The blood that it held flew everywhere, and most of it managed to go down his throat. He coughed, gagging and sending glass pinging off the walls. He stared horrified at Kairi and Sora, then turned and bit into his arm as hard as he could.
Kairi held Sora, feeling the terror coming from him. She knew how he felt. She had felt the same way. But Riku hadn't attacked her…so for him, it had been worse.
Riku turned back to them after a while, blood trailing down his chin. He wiped it away, looking at them sadly with his seagreen eyes. "You see, Kairi?" he said. "This is why you should have just let me kill myself. To save you all from experiencing this pain."
"Yeah, blame her!" Sora said, voice trembling. "You attacked us, and it's not Kairi's damn fault that you did!"
"I know," Riku replied, hanging his head. "I understand."
"I don't believe this!" sputtered the Keyblade master, finding his courage now that his 'friend' wasn't trying to eat him. "You spent all this time around us as that…that thing, knowing that at any second you would just go crazy and rip our throats open!" He looked at Kairi as though suddenly remembering something. "You…you did go crazy, even before I got here! You took blood from her, didn't you!"
"Yes," Riku admitted. "I did."
"But I—" Kairi began, but Sora wouldn't let her finish. "And you just thought we'd forgive you if we ever found out?"
"No. I didn't. That's why I never told you." He sank to his knees, bowing his head. "But please, I don't want you to hate me. I'm still your friend, I'm still me. You don't need to be scared of me—"
"Like hell we don't!" said Sora, laughing bitterly. "You might go crazy and attack us again."
"Not if you don't attack me first."
"What?" asked Sora, puzzled. Riku sighed. "I was doing fine, just taking my own blood. And then you came and started draining me by making me bleed so heavily, meaning that I had to get more. That's when I lost control."
"Stop putting the blame on other people!" Sora snapped.
"I'm not!"
"Yes, you are! Just because you don't—you know what? Forget it. Just…leave. Go away. Don't ever come back."
"Sora!" Kairi blurted "Stop that! You're talking to him like he's some king of animal!"
"He is, Kairi!" Sora yelled. "He is an animal, a beast that could turn on us at any moment! We aren't safe with him, he's not safe to be around! We don't know what he's capable of! I don't even know who he is anymore!"
Kairi stepped back from him, a mixture of anger and fear on her face. She had never seen Sora so worked up, so cruel…she was about to give an argument, but a loud crack made them both look away from each other.
They turned in time to see Riku hurl himself at the glass window again, this time shattering it and launching him out. Kairi screamed, and they both ran to the broken window. Glass rained down on the ground like crystal rain, tinkling as it hit the ground below. As for Riku, he was about halfway down before his wings unfurled.
He beat them, struggling to rise into the air. Kairi called out his name, a plea for him to return, but he just turned with some difficulty towards them, rising and falling with each beat of the ebony wings.
"It's all right now, Sora," he called. "You won't see me again. I swear. But if you ever need me…just call. You'll know where I am."
"Go away!" Sora yelled, just as Kairi yelled, "Riku! Come back!"
But he just disappeared into the sky, slipping away, and they both watched the clouds, both anxious. One hoping to see, one wishing he was blind, so as to never see again what he dreaded the most.
His own best friend. Now who he considered his worst enemy.
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A.N Woot! That was emo. And I apologize for making Sora such an ass, but imagine if your best friend who you had known forever suddenly grew wings and tried to bite your head off. Still, I know he's not that mean...but it has been three years. And no, this is not a RikuXKairi fic. He just got defensive because Kairi gave him blood, and he knows that she and Sora love each other. He doesn't want them arguing because of him, which also explains why he said he threatened Kairi. Anyway, review, tell me if you think I should just give it up or not, and stick aound, there's going to be another chapter--one more, to be exact--until the end. It'll proably have to be after Thanksgiving, though, because I won't be here all day. 0 But anyway, that's that, so Review. This is Chris, signing off. XD