Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fan fiction.

…Okay, yeah I would. xD

A/N: I almost called this chapter "Dammit". xD Rated T for Riku's potty mouth.

Bon à lire!

-Slay

A Day of Mercy

Chapter 6

One Last Mistake

-o-o-o-

Dammit.

Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.

He was not doing this again. He was not doing this to himself. He was not doing this to Sora. He was leaving. Now. Screw supplies. Screw munny. Screw waiting until nightfall. Riku was getting the hell off this island before he could make one more terrible decision.

At least, that was the game plan. So far he was having a spectacular amount of trouble leaving.

He was still in the mansion, standing by the bedroom window and toying nervously with his amulet. The sun was still blaring, having snagged a few exiguous clouds has companions in the late afternoon sky. He felt the nip of natural light on his face and remembered how good it had felt earlier. So warm and welcoming and alive.

Like Sora.

Dammit.

He probably shouldn't have come back to the mansion. After fleeing Sunset Hill, he should have just up and left. He shouldn't have stopped to regroup. Stopping gave him time to think. Thinking made him feel. Feeling screwed him over.

Dammit.

It wouldn't have been so hard if Sora hadn't spouted all of that 'you can trust me' bullshit.

"I don't want you to go on thinking everyone's against you just because of how one person hurt you in the past."

How could he even say that? What the hell did he know? What did that little ball of sunshine know about being hurt so badly you couldn't bring yourself to trust anyone anymore? How could such a friendly, lovable guy possibly fathom the pain of being rejected—over and over? Detested? Feared? Abandoned? Alone?

The creature reared up inside him, charged anew by the onslaught of rough emotion. Misery boiled into rage; injury hardened into offense.

Sora didn't know what he was talking about. Sora had no right to talk at all.

Who the hell does he think he is? Patronizing me like that?!

"Agh!" Riku doubled over, fists in his hair, a dreadful tightness straining his chest. The creature had never been able to break out during the day, but now it seemed possible, and the thought of it was terrifying. The monster thrashed and roared dangerously close to the surface—his sight was blotching out—head spinning—skin blazing—

Riku.

The amulet hummed against his chest, a solid green light reaching through his failing vision. It skimmed the edges of his mind, seeping through his skin and smothering the burn, melting its way to the agonizing fury stirring inside.

Be still, love.

There was a buzz and a snap—and just like that the creature was silenced, banished back to the darkest crevice of his soul. The pain had vanished. The danger ebbed.

Riku slumped to the floor, breathing hard. The amulet was still glowing under his shirt. He fished it out and stared at it.

Being a magical shape-shifter of the night, Riku was hardly alarmed by a glowing amulet—it was the voice that got him. As stupid as he felt doing it, he murmured, "H-Hello?"

I know it's hard, love. Believe me, I do. But you're stronger than this. Nana korobi ya oki.

Nana-what now? "Who are you?"

I need to go now, love. But I'll be with you soon.

"No! Wait!" He clung to the amulet desperately, distressed by the way its light was beginning to fade. He turned it over and over, like he would somehow be able to reach the speaker on the other side. "Who are you?"

Do me a favor, darling? Don't lose hope. Please.

"Wait! Tell me who you are! Hey!"

Don't ever lose hope, Riku.

The light in the amulet died, its green corners lit only by the sun in the window. The voice was gone.

"Dammit." Riku let the amulet fall against his chest again, sitting back on his heels and boring frustrated holes into the floor. He kneaded his hands over his legs restlessly, trying to think.

Every fiber of his being was screaming run. Logic and instinct both agreed that no good could possibly come of this, and that he should just wash his hands of it while he had the chance—

"At least give me a chance? Please?"

"Sorry, Sora. I'm all out of chances."

He flinched. Sora hadn't deserved that.

Riku sighed to himself. It was easy to dump the blame on Sora and play victim, but it wasn't honest; and it wasn't fair. To him or Sora. "Ugh." He flopped onto his back in defeat, bringing a hand up to tap the gem of his amulet thoughtfully.

Don't ever lose hope, huh? Well, he supposed he had no choice.

Hope was all he had anymore.

Riku closed his eyes in resign. He'd been beaten down so many times already; he'd made so many mistakes…

What was one more really going to hurt?

-o-o-o-

He waited until the next day to swallow his pride and apologize to Sora.

Sauntering through the woods leading into town, Riku took comfort in the mild weather provided by a thin gable of clouds. Which was great, because inside he was a complete mess.

I…wanted to apologize for my…behavior yesterday…

Ew. No. That didn't sound sincere at all.

Hey, Sora! Sorry for being a douchebag yesterday! See, I don't have any social skills, so…

…That wasn't better.

I'm a vicious, man-eating dragon! Wanna be my friend?

"Dammit."

What the hell was he going to say? He'd shut Sora down with such conviction, such finality… "Ugh. I'm gonna look like an ass no matter what I say..."

Riku kept his eyes up as he navigated Market Street, not spying the brunette and deciding that he would have to take the course of action he was dreading most.

He ducked into the crooked alley at the end of the thoroughfare. For a few seconds the alley bent through light shadows, before opening up onto a narrow, residential street crowded by rows of bright, multi-level houses.

"Blue door, blue door, blue door…" It had to be nearby if Sora considered it a shortcut…

There! A couple of houses down he noticed a distinctive sky-blue door leaning ajar, letting fresh summer air in through a screen. Sidling up to the door—and praying to high heaven that it was the right house—Riku hesitantly pushed the screen door open and poked his head inside. "Uh…hello?"

"RIKU!"

"Gah!" The next thing he knew, he was being suffocated by a pair of arms around his neck, an explosion of spiky brown hair tickling his face. "S-Sora?"

"Riku! I looked absolutely everywhere, but I couldn't find you! I was so worried! Are you okay?"

"Uh…"

"Hey, listen I'm really sorry if I crossed a line yesterday. It wasn't my place to say anything."

"Uh…"

"So where'd you run off to, anyway?" Sora leaned back and looked him in the eye, still holding on to Riku's shoulders. "I swear I checked every inch of town."

"Uh…"

Riku's eloquence was interrupted by the jarring ring of a phone in another room. Sora's head snapped around. "Oh, wait right here—I gotta get that." He dashed out of sight, leaving Riku alone and confused in the foyer.

He…wasn't mad?

"Yes, Roxas! I'm fine! Quit asking. Yeah. ... So? … I think I'm old enough to be home alone, Roxas. … No, I haven't seen anything suspicious. What is with you lately?"

He'd been…worried? After the way Riku treated him?

"Sorry about that," Sora said, returning to the foyer and hitching a thumb over his shoulder. "I don't know what's gotten into him, but my brother's been checking up on me like crazy all day."

From somewhere underneath his stupor, Riku managed to ask, "Is…everything okay?"

"I think so. Rox can be weird like that sometimes." Sora shrugged. "So how about you? Are you okay? I really am sorry about yesterday."

That snapped Riku out of his daze completely. "No! You didn't—that is, I mean… I'm the one who should be apologizing…You were just trying to help."

"Well, yeah, but—"

"But nothing, Sora. It's fine."

Sora stood quietly for a moment, absorbing, watching Riku with keen and careful eyes. "Okay," he allowed. "If that's the way you really feel about it."

"Yes."

"Then we're cool?"

Riku hesitated, only because the thought of being cool with anyone—especially Sora—infected him with a fluttery warmth he wasn't even remotely used to. "Y…Yeah," he nodded. "We're cool."

Unbridled delight poured across the brunette's face, his eyes shining like sapphires. "Awesome! Hey, you wanna hang out for a while? We could play videogames, or we could go see another Struggle match, or—oh…or are you busy again today?"

Well, here it was. His last chance to turn tail and run back to the shadows; the ones that promised to hide him for the rest of his miserable life. It would be a simple enough thing to do—say he had plans and then fill the rest of his day with busywork, clear his mind of Sora, and hope, and Twilight Town in general, then steal away in the night and never return.

But that wasn't what he wanted.

He wanted to stay.

God, he wanted to stay. He wanted to stay here, with the clingy people and the sunny days, with the bright buildings and the warm ocean air… He wanted to stay here with Sora.

…So he would.

If he was going to give happiness one more shot, he may as well do it here. Who knows? It might actually work this time.

With that ludicrous, yet reassuring sentiment on his mind, Riku pulled a grin that felt foreign and fantastic on his face.

"Nope. I'm all yours."

A/N: Dialogue overdose? Yes please. And whaddaya know? I actually managed to end the chapter on a happy note! :D That took a lot of effort on my part, and I hope you people appreciate it.

Nana korobi ya oki – literally "fall down seven, get up eight". A Japanese proverb about perseverance.

Chapter 7 is underway!

Thanks for reading, guys!

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TTFN, ta ta for now!

-Slay