Chapter 5 Truth of Nobody-Vampire and Roxas's case
Sora wasn't really afraid of the dark, at least not as much in comparison with any others. Though, he didn't recall that someone he trusted, was from the darkness itself.
He was aware that people around him labeled him as one of those happy-go lucky boys. He liked to keep it that way. Therefore he never told anyone that he had felt a hole form inside his heart at some point in his childhood. As if he had forgotten something important, but figuring that he couldn't do anything about it, he learned not to let it be a bother.
But when he met Riku, something was beginning to resurface. Whatever it was, it filled that void and the emptiness he always had. He wanted to find out what exactly was it, and would hate to see Riku off somewhere else before he could get the answer.
As he rowed the boat, he glanced back at the main island worriedly. Was he doing the right thing? Would Riku be angry at him? Would the three fairies…no…the Vampire Hunters, force Riku back to where they said he belonged?
When he neared the island, his mind was back to a current situation. "The hidden cave, isn't it?"
'It's our secret place! Somewhere only we know, Sora.'
Sora's eyes widened and he looked around widely, searching for the source of the voice. When he found none, he brought his hand up to his head. "Was that in my head? No way, I've never heard voices in my head before. What's wrong with me?" Trying to get rid of the thought, he returned to his quest for the Nobody-Vampire.
He came to a halt at the cave entrance, looking into the darkness behind the thicket of plants. With the sight he was taking in, words formed on his lips. "Se…secret…place…our secret place? Ours? Mine…and…who else's…?"
"Sora?"
Said boy turned to his left, looking up a bit. At the wooden bridge where it led to the tree house, stood Riku in the dark. He eyed down at the boy in surprised. "I thought you went home. Why are you still here?" He asked. With one swift motion, he slipped off the bridge and landed down next to Sora.
"Well, I…uh…" The boy found himself unable to give him an explanation.
"Hmm? And who were you talking to just now?" Riku leaned in closer, curious.
The brunet took one nervous step backward and waved it off. "No one! I was just talking to myself. I don't even know what I'm talking about!" He paused, and realized. That was right; he didn't know what he was talking about.
Upon seeing Sora's wild features turn droopy, Riku retreated slightly, giving the boy some space. "So? I thought your brother was pretty strict on the time you should be home. Before sunset, if I'm not mistaken?"
"Right." Sora looked away. "Truth is I had to come back. There're these three people, uh…no, they're fairies…well, to be exact, they called themselves the Vampire…." He paused for a long while, swallowing the lump in his throat until Riku tilted his head inquisitively. "…Hunters," he finished. "They told me about having to find you and settle things right; about how you shouldn't be here or it could pose a threat to the human race. They knew you were here on this island, but I volunteered to come get you instead of them coming here."
There was a long moment in which the crashing of the ocean waves onto rocks was the only sound audible.
Sora tentatively glanced back at Riku, half afraid, half curious to see the Nobody-Vampire's response. But all he got was a blank expression.
"Okay? So where are they?"
Sora blinked. "You're not angry?"
"Why should I be? They're right. I shouldn't be here," Riku said, void of sentiment.
The brunet looked at him uncertainly and his eyes cast to the ground. "Riku. Even if that's the case, it doesn't mean that you have to go away, right?"
Riku glanced over to the brunet, who was drowned in sullen features, and he let out a laugh.
Sora's head snapped up immediately at the laughter ringing in his ears, his sullen expression turned into one of confusion. Riku's hand reached to mess with Sora's hair. "You're worried about me leaving?"
Sora turned red, but he didn't know why he was feeling embarrassed. Somehow, Riku's lught made Sora feel a little lighter. The laugh lasted for a few brief seconds and Riku turned sideways. When Sora stole a glance to Riku's expression, it was every emotion but happiness. "Well…about that…now that you brought it up, I've just realized…"
The tone Riku used dispelled Sora's earlier relief. "Realized? Realized what?"
Shaking his head dismissively, Riku concluded, "You can take me to them and we'll settle this; then you can go home and let your brother scold you already."
The brunet dumbly nodded and hoped that Riku would have avoided that latter subject just because it wasn't important.
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
It was dark when they finally reached the main Island. Under the shadowy trees located near the dock, Sora led Riku to a certain palm tree where the three Hunters awaited them.
As three pairs of the Hunters' eyes fell onto the approaching figures, they dropped into a defensive stance. Riku paused in his strides, his brows arched.
"Vampire Hunters? This small?" The silver-haired vampire trailed off lazily. The three Hunters ignored his comment.
"So you're Riku?" Yuna said, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.
Sora saw Yuna pull out a pair of her weapons. He would have found it hilarious hadn't the situation been edgy. Yuna's guns were so small he couldn't help but think they were just toys. But then again, he was right about their skills, he couldn't think of them as lightly as they looked. Sora suddenly was obliged to step in between them and Riku, with one hand outstretched.
"No fighting here!" Sora declared.
"So you want it somewhere else?" Paine countered.
"Sora! Step away!" Yuna demanded.
"Not anywhere! And no! I'm not stepping away!" Sora announced, already frustrated. "Didn't you girls say you were going to talk to him and settle things! Riku didn't even do anything!"
"Scratch what you told him earlier, Yuna. I think this stubborn one needs the truth." Paine stated to her comrade in flat tone.
The boy fidgeted a little at the accusation, but he was more interested in: "The truth?" He asked.
Yuna went silent for a while after looking at Riku, and nodded to Paine. "All right, Sora. You already know that he's a Nobody-Vampire. What else do you know?" She interrogated.
Sora nodded without glancing at Riku for any approval. He was going to tell them the truth, Riku's approval wasn't needed. He crossed his arms over his chest, tilting his head up slightly. "Let's see. The Nobody-Vampires are different from normal vampires in the way that they don't need blood to sustain their beings. So they don't hurt anyone for blood. They are able to stand under the sun, but not morning rays." He tilted his head downward and uncrossed his arms, nodding to himself. "I think that's it?"
"That was it? Figures." Paine bit out.
"What you know are only half the facts. Let me supply you some background." Yuna eyed Riku cautiously. Riku regarded them, aware of the truth they were about to speak, but showed no attempt to stop them. Yuna continued. "Nobody-Vampires aren't the vampires that have lived in the human world for thousands of years. They come from another realm: the Realm of Darkness. They are born out of pure Darkness, with the abilities to control the darkness in which they live as well. There are only a pint amount of them, wishing to not be known by anyone that is not of their own kind. Their leader came up with one simple, universal rule: 'One must not meddle in the affairs of other worlds'. Just to make it figurative, the leader also named them 'Nobodies'. That way, they don't exist in the others' eyes."
"Okay? But I don't see any jeopardy in it. So Riku is a Nobody, so what?" Sora asked plainly. "Like I said, he hurts no one. Right Riku?"
Riku hesitated. When Sora frowned at him, he looked away.
"Yuna, tell him the whole story, I think this boy really needs it." Paine's head dropped into her hand.
"What more do I need to know?" Sora extended his hand, looking interested.
"Normal vampires are dangerous because they drain humans and kill them, but the danger of Nobody-Vampires work the other way." Yuna stated and she caught a glimpse of change in Riku's expression. Although there was still no sign that he would stop them, there certainly was a worried glance that was thrown in Sora's direction. The Hunter continued anyway. "Nobody-Vampires carry large amounts of darkness with them. Whether they have good or bad intentions, they can't always control it.
In most cases, the darkness gets out of hand and swallows everything up.
Upon seeing Sora tilt his head to the side, Rikku helped with the explanation on that bit. "It's pretty much like the normal darkness at night in this world. It's just the shapeless black color. But upon a will by any Nobody-Vampires or the frequent use of dark power, that darkness can be shaped into something dangerous, like a monster or what not." Rikku didn't like the look on Sora's face when she explained that; she decided to cheer him up, if only a little. "As of yet, Riku's darkness hasn't take shape."
"But that could all change. One slip up and this world is in trouble." Pained attached that at the end. So much for Rikku's attempt to make Sora feels better.
"Still we cannot risk any Nobody-Vampires staying anywhere except at the Realm of Darkness, where they rightfully belong. Only there a Nobody-Vampire's darkness won't take any affect in harming anyone." Yuna clarified, siding with both parties, although Paine gave her a warning look as if she was already inclined to the other side.
On the surface, Sora looked lost and was quiet until everyone thought that he couldn't understand what they were saying. Apparently, his further question told them otherwise. "So what happens if the darkness swallows everything up?"
"The world will disappear, and so is everyone on it. You probably don't know what it's like. There is a record of the worlds that disappeared due to the Nobody-Vampires' darkness in the past. You see just how some people would cross the border without caring what would happen to the other worlds." Paine said, rolling her eyes at Riku.
Riku didn't hold up her gaze. He turned and met Sora's eyes. There was no hint of doubt in the boy's blue eyes, but only his intense stare alone made Riku cringe inside. Maybe agreeing to talk with these Hunters was a wrong decision.
"The leader of Nobody-Vampires' race is a good person or so we've heard. But there are still those who are curious, wanting out; wanting to explore. The leader can't control all of them since they're all wild. That's why we have to look over that problem." Yuna added.
"So you see how they are more disastrous than normal vampires who kill one or two or dozens of people grotesquely at night?" Pained concluded.
The brunet's carefree features dropped instantly. His eyes turned to Riku and they all knew the silent question he was asking.
Riku uncrossed his arms and closed his eyes, seemingly uncaring and disinterested, although there was a hint of dismay. "It's true. But I have no will to shape my darkness in anyway, nor the intention to use my dark power."
"Then what is your purpose here?" Yuna started, shifting the guns in her hands slightly. If Sora wasn't in the way she would have angled them directly at the vampire already.
Riku put his hand on Sora's shoulder reassuringly. When the brunet had stepped away, he shrugged to the girls. "To die."
The three hunters' expression jumped.
"Riku." Sora inched closer to Riku, a worried expression on his face. Riku only brushed him off.
"Look, I'm telling you the truth. I came here to die," he pressed the last word. "But Sora saved me from it, and I was convinced to stay, so I stayed. Does that answer your question?"
Rikku's fighting stance dropped entirely while Yuna and Pained still have their firm grips on their weapons. "From what we've heard from Sora, I assume you haven't hurt anyone here intentionally?" Yuna interrogated.
"Not a single soul." Riku answered.
"Can't rely on his words alone." Paine shot up.
Riku's head tilted lazily to the side, oceanic eyes slid half closed in annoyance.
Upon seeing the tension between all of them, Rikku pointed out, "Hey, but at least Riku hadn't used his dark power. Maybe he could be the first one to learn-"
Paine sent a disapproving glance at her companion as she reached out and clasped Rikku's mouth. "Don't give them any false hope. You remember what happened to the last one we told that to, don't you?"
Rikku struggled at first but gave in at Paine's last word.
"Riku," Yuna started once more. "Are you aware of the possibility that you could lose your control of darkness and hurt Sora? Every Nobody-Vampire claims they can control the darkness, but they can't."
For the first time since their meeting, Riku faltered, which was obvious to the other three this time. He eyed at Sora, unnerved.
Rikku knew now she wasn't the only one that bothered to see something in Riku's eyes when they were on Sora; Yuna knew it too.
Tension lasted for a minute before Sora spoke up, "That's all right." He crossed his arms over his chest, smiling confidently. "If that time comes around, I'll make Riku regain his senses. So everything should turn out all right." His confident smile surprised Riku.
"Easier said than done," Paine stated the fact. "No human could stand a vampires' strength, let alone a Nobody-Vampire's."
Rikku looked around for a while before breaking out of Paine's arms, and puffed out, "Oh, foofie, this is getting nowhere. I say we hang around for a while; we should be able to stop it from happening if it's only starting. If not, then we can fight or whatever."
Sora nodded and tried to reason. "Right. I'm sure Riku won't harm anyone."
Yuna seemed to be lost in thought for the decision.
"Come on, Yunie, trust your instinct for once. You know Riku isn't really that bad; he seems to have control over his darkness." Rikku pleaded.
"But look at what happened with the last one we trusted based on your instinct." Paine reminded.
"Aww! That redhead was unstable when he lost his mind over a boy! But nothing bad happened, right? He left just in time. Riku's more stable compared to that pyro." The blonde fended off and turned to her cousin.
'Redheaded pyro?' Riku mused at the familiarity of it, but his thought was cut short when Yuna clasped her hand together, causing a sound.
The brunette nodded finally. "Okay, we'll trust you for once."
Pained sighed and commented, "Two emotional girls."
Sora smiled brightly at them and up at Riku who only closed his eyes, tiring.
"All right! So that's settled for today!" Rikku cheered up, fisting one hand up in the air
Sora bent down a little at the smaller blonde. "Thanks."
As soon as things were solved for the day, Sora realized, "Oh no! What time is it!"
Riku looked up at the moon for a while and calmly equated. "Seven-thirty-six."
"Ah! I have to get home fast; Roxas's going to strangle me for sure!" Sora's hands dug into his head. He was busying himself frantically that he didn't notice the three fairies suddenly flew out of his sight, and Riku looking behind his back.
"Looks like you even don't have to get home to get strangled by your brother." Riku suddenly said.
"Huh?" The brunet looked questioningly at him before he heard a loud, fierce, familiar voice from behind him.
"SOORAAA!" Came a mad growl that made Sora recoiled in automatic.
The nervous brunet slowly turned at the direction of the voice. As expected, he saw his twin brother standing there, clearly boiling his rage off. Sora jumped slightly backward as Roxas stomped over.
Upon nearing Sora, Roxas could make out his brother's companion clearer, which he had been ignoring earlier. He frowned.
"Roxas, I-" Sora started, but was cut off by his twin.
"Shut up, Sora." Roxas hissed as his eyes studied Riku.
Riku only stood in silence at his spot, expressionless.
"Uh…Roxas, this is Riku," Sora motioned to Riku. "Riku, this is Roxas, my twin brother." Sora motioned to Roxas.
Riku had nothing particular against Roxas. He found it wouldn't be so hard to manage a polite smile at Sora's twin brother. But the look on Roxas's face kept him from doing so, and he ended up wording, "Hey." He could already tell by the anger radiating off of him that the blond didn't like him.
Instantly, though, he also felt another something being emitted from Roxas; something that was unknown to human and only recognized by Nobody-vampires such as Riku himself. Last time, he had been too far and too preoccupied that he missed something about Roxas. Now he was sure.
Roxas was taken...by another Nobody-vampire.
"So you're Riku."
Roxas's eyes studied Riku, particularly at his attire. His eyes flashed a dangerous glint. He said with tone of distaste, "I wouldn't have held anything against a Riku that Sora had come to trust, but now I have witnessed that you're not just a normal vampire."
All of a sudden, Sora was yanked by his hand and he was behind Roxas. The blond stepped back, forcing Sora to do as well. The brunet glanced up at his brother. "Roxas?"
"You're one of them." Roxas said through gritted teeth.
Sora couldn't recall the last time he saw his brother this angry. "Roxas?"
"He said only his kind comes with that attire. You're with him!" The older twin raised his voice in anger.
"Who?" Riku challenged, and in all honesty, he had no idea who Roxas was referring to.
"AXEL!" Roxas shouted, heaving a heavy breath.
Sora was confused. Out of nowhere, Roxas had just gone mad with something Sora couldn't follow. He had to grab his brother's shoulder and shook it. "Roxas, calm down!"
Roxas whipped his head to Sora, "And you didn't tell me that he's a Nobody-Vampire!"
"Er, well…what differences does it make?" Sora blurted, trying to sidetrack his brother even though he actually knew what the differences were, but what did Roxas know?
"A lot." Roxas bit out.
"Axel?" Riku looked lost in thought for a few seconds, then nodded. "He's a friend of mine. What about him?"
"Huh! Friend of yours? That gives me a reason as to why I shouldn't trust you with Sora!" Roxas fumed.
"Roxas!" Sora forced his hands on his brother's shoulder. "What's gotten into you! What's with this Axel guy? Does he have anything to do with Riku?"
Another moment of silence.
"Roxas. You are taken by Axel, aren't you?" Riku said with straight face.
"Was that…" Anger was fueled into a fiery rage. "Was that supposed to be a joke? 'Cause I'm not laughing!" With that, the blond shoved Sora aside and launched himself to Riku, aiming to hurt the Nobody-Vampire.
"Roxas!" Sora yelled after his brother.
It only took a small effort on Riku's part to step aside and avoid the hit that was intended for him. Roxas regained himself and aimed for another hit, but hands came circling around him from behind. Roxas realized it was Sora trying to stop him.
"Stop already, Roxas!"
"I…didn't know that would anger you. That…I must apologize." Riku said. "I'm just trying to piece things up since you didn't explain anything and was trying to…stop Sora from seeing me."
With Riku's gesture that seemed sincere and Sora's plea, the older twin seemed to calm down, if only slightly. Riku had looked startled by his attack and his expression was genuine when apologizing. Throwing the act of violence away, Roxas forced himself to compose.
Sora slowly removed himself from his brother and asked, "What are you guys talking about? Taken? What does that even mean?"
Roxas turned away moodily.
"Come on, Roxas! I have to know what happened to you! Is this the reason why you're always sad?" Roxas responded with silence and a sullen expression. Sora pressed, "You never tell me anything!"
Roxas sighed before pulled down his collar, revealing Sora the scar on his throat. It was two small, rounded scars that appeared to be a bite mark.
"What?" Sora gasped.
"Sora. When I was in Twilight Town last year, I met this guy Axel. We became friends. I didn't even mind when I discovered that he was a vampire, but after learning about his true identity of Nobody-Vampire, it made things completely different. And in the end, he bit me after loosing his senses." Roxas revealed, and there were an edge in his every word. "They can't be trusted, Sora. They will come to hurt you eventually."
"I will never hurt Sora." Riku told him, his tone clipped.
The blond looked at the vampire sharply. "Axel said the same thing to me…yeah, not on purpose." The last one came out in a mocking tone.
"You don't really know why he bit you," Riku countered. From hearing a bit of Roxas's story, Riku managed to piece things up little by little. He could probably clarify it to the twins. "There're three possible reasons why he bit you."
Sora looked at Riku, unspeakably interested.
"First is feeding. We do that sometimes for the purpose of using normal vampire abilities. Second, we turn humans into vampires, that is, we have to empty them first before letting them drink from us. Third, we mark them as the sign that a certain person belongs to a certain Nobody-vampire, and none of the other vampire can meddle with that certain human. It's pretty much like a fledging, but I don't think Axel likes to have one." Riku paused, studying the twins. At least one of them obviously wanted him to continue. "Since you're not dead, not turned, there's only one possibility left, that you're marked. Meaning the vampire keeps a person connected to him. As far as I know, Axel never created a connection with anyone so you must be the first, that means his intention is-"
So much for Riku's sorting; Roxas suddenly shut his eyes tight. He had his hands over his head, and shouted, "It doesn't matter! He hurt me!" And with that, he ran off and disappeared into the night.
Sora's mouth hung open, gaping in shock. He felt as if he was in some kind of dark parody. "That's…the first time he forgot about me in this kind of situation. This really must be on his nerves."
"He'll come back to get you." Riku predicted knowingly.
As if on cue, and true to Riku's words, Roxas was back; his face still red with a mix of anger and exhaustion. He ordered, "Sora! Come here!"
Riku almost laughed at the scene, had the situation not been so serious for at least one of them.
Sora looked between Riku and Roxas, overcame with uncertainty.
Riku let out a soft chuckle and said to the bewildered boy. "You should go." He knew Sora was about to say something on the lines of 'but,' so he added, "Go first. Let him calm down. We'll work this out later."
The brunet looked at him for a long while until Roxas called again. Only then did he run to catch up with Roxas. The elder twin snatched the younger's arms and dashed off into the night.
Watching them leave, Riku sighed. Shortly after, he felt a slight tap on his shoulder. It appeared to him that they were still there.
"Lonely?" A small squeaky voice asked, belonging to Rikku.
Riku's only response was shoving his gloved hands in his coat pocket and looking away dismissively. "I'll head back to my place."
"Good, we're not hoping to see you lurking around. The less time you spend with your eyes open, the less risk there is for something to go bad." Yuna said and pointed a finger to him. "We're only going easy on you because Rikku and Sora trust you. If something bad happens; we have to take you down."
"Fine, but nothing bad will happen. I won't hurt anyone anyway. I have hardly lost my nerves for 70 years, so I'm pretty confident about my behavior." Riku shrugged, nonchalant.
"Well, that's good to hear." Yuna smiled in her genuineness. "Guess we could do a little sightseeing around town." She addressed her two companions.
"Later, tater!" Cheered Rikku, grinning at Riku
Nodding to acknowledge them, Riku took off, leaving the three to their own conversation.
"What a coincidence," Yuna stated. "Sora happened to be Roxas's brother."
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Kairi had been friends with Sora since she was 7. They knew each other better than anyone else did. Most people regarded them as best friends. None really ever questioned about their closeness until they turned fourteen, when many started to misinterpret their relationship as being more then just best friends. Though Sora and Kairi had shown a good amount of their closeness, Sora still felt kind of weird when someone assumed that. He would brush them off and Kairi would back him up with the statement.
One thing Sora was totally unaware of was how he didn't know that his closest friend liked him. At some point, Kairi thought he shared the same feelings too. She came before anything in his life, if Roxas wasn't in the count. Kairi thought it was only because Sora was slow.
But being the one closest to him, she always felt that there was something inside Sora that even he himself couldn't understand. Every time they were close enough to share an interaction that would cross the border line of friendship, Sora's mind always went somewhere else.
Since Sora always told her everything and she was always with him, there couldn't be something that she missed. However, she knew that it happened. Maybe the reason of her missing something was because Sora himself had missed something too. Kairi believed that when Sora blanked off, his heart always shifted to that one particular missing thing.
Despite how lively Sora had always been, Kairi discovered that there was an empty void inside Sora's heart. She wanted to fill that void, and she tried. It didn't help, but she still had hoped. After all, she was the only friend who knew exactly what Sora was thinking, what he needed or wanted at the moment, most of the time that is. Basically, she knew what mood Sora was in, that also led her to know the amount of tension or lightness between him and his twin.
As of now, she could tell there was tension, a heavy one at that: between Roxas and Sora when the two came to school in utter silence.
Roxas acknowledged Kairi and walked off to his room without saying anything, leaving the other two in the crowded hallway.
"What's that about?" The girl asked her friend.
"Uh…nothing," Sora lied.
"Nothing?" Kairi sighed and looked out ahead. "You have to do better than that, Sora. Everyone knows that you're so incompetent when it comes to lying." She tilted her head back to her friend. "Is it about Riku?" When she saw the brunet look away, she stated "So it is about him."
Curiosity was getting the best of him. "How do you-"
"-know?" Kairi finished, bending forward to study the look on Sora's face. "When you got something stuck in your head, you barely lie to me that it's nothing, Sora. But when it comes to Riku, you just get all secretive. Did he force you to keep it that way?"
"No! Kairi, what is it that you have against him?" The boy defended. "Is it only your senses that told you not to trust him?"
The redhead sighed while running a hand through her hair. "It's not that…" She paused, not being able to look at her friend. "…I don't know…Sora, let me ask you this: why do you trust him anyway? I mean, everyone knows that you're buddy-buddy with anyone and at the same time everyone knows that you belong to Roxas, Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, and I. All of us are open to new people, yes, but even still it will always be the six of us in the same close-knitted group. Am I right?"
"Yeah, I know that." Sora nodded in confirmation but he arched his eyebrow soon after. "Why are you asking that? Does it have to do anything with-"
"It's obvious to all of us, or at least to me and Roxas, that you've grown attached to Riku more than anyone else." Kairi stretched, her tone somewhat clipped.
"What?" Sora's jaw dropped.
Kairi's face showed one of disbelief. "Sora! Don't tell me you didn't notice that! You've never looked so happy with stranger more than when you are with us!"
"Uh…" Sora's hand went to the back of his head. "Guess it's because…"
Kairi saw the look in Sora's face, that look she never saw before.
"...he's not a stranger."
"Uh-huh?"
"Kairi." The boy became calm and solemn. "I don't feel to Riku as a stranger or someone I've just met. I feel like…" Sora paused, bringing his hand up and clutched at his shirt. "…I've known him before. I never felt this way before. It's just so….nostalgic."
"Have you two met before?"
"I don't remember. Riku feels the same way."
Kairi studied him for a long moment and posted, "When will you be seeing him next? You always go to him when we're hook up with our works and clubs."
"You mean you want to see him?" The boy asked, hopeful.
The girl looked away and crossed her arms over her chest, something she rarely did. "Yes, though Roxas and I have tried to stop you, it's no use. So I want to find out more about Riku, to see if I can trust him with you. I need to make sure."
Sora laughed in half amusedment. "Kairi, you sound like Roxas! And what? Shouldn't I be the one to look after you?"
Kairi smiled. Sure Sora was the one who looked after her all the time. Kairi was a pretty girl, and no doubt a good number of boys were after her. Sora was always there to fend them off for her if they failed to get the message that she wasn't interested. It was strange that they never were officially a couple as most of the others perceived them.
Sora's eyes were now different; Kairi knew the something that she had failed to fill up for the boy was now being filled by someone else. If Sora was happy, then so was she; and so was everyone else. Although she wasn't sure if she could take the fact that it wasn't her place to fill the void in his heart.
Sora had always been there for her.
"This time I'll protect you," She said, out of nowhere
"Thanks, Kairi." Sora said sheepishly. One moment he was thinking of adding 'thanks, but no thanks' but when he saw the determination in her eyes, he decided against it.
Sora beamed. "I'm sure you'll get along very well. You know, Riku loves children's books too." Then his eyes were cast downward, "And…about Roxas and I. Well, to tell you the truth, yesterday when Roxas met Riku, he was outraged." Sora thought fast, he opted not to tell the whole thing about the existence of Nobody-Vampires, but he had to tell the truth. "Riku seems to associate with some guy that Roxas doesn't trust, so he ends up distrusting Riku too."
"I see," Kairi nodded, looking thoughtful. "I don't know much, but we'll see."
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I'm not letting you see Riku again and that's final."
Sora found himself caught in the middle. One moment ago, he thought he'd been able to convince Kairi about Riku, and then the next, Roxas had come out and downright rejected him regarding the matter. He didn't plan to keep it secret with Kairi that they would go pay Riku a visit.
It had always been that way. There were many things that Roxas tried to keep his brother out of, and only few things that he had blatantly forbid them. Sora would know by the harsh tone that his elder twin was using.
Then again there were even only fewer things that Sora would still struggle for, even if his brother hindered it.
Roxas stood his ground. "Now, your friends are waiting, go have lunch with them." At that he turned to leave while saying, "I still have my work to-" He was stopped in the middle of his pace, feeling a hand pulled at the hem of his shirt.
The elder twin heaved big sigh, again. He looked up to the ceiling when he felt his brother's head thudded against his back. At least he was thankful that there was no one around to see them, most students having gone off for lunch. Roxas wasn't as keen as his brother in doing just anything he wanted in public.
"Roxas," The brunet started with a low voice. "You know, Riku tried to take his own life. He might do something bad if I'm not there."
"Sora, this conversation is long overdue. He certainly will do something bad even if you are there. They're unlike humans, they have no control. I don't want you to be there when it happens." Roxas often wondered if he should just drill a hole and force the words into Sora's stubborn head to make his brother understand.
The soft weight of a head left Roxas's back. Sora circled around to stand in front of him, grabbing Roxas's arms. "What did he exactly do to you, Roxas! That Axel guy, you said he hurt you; he bit you. But if that was all, why are you bothered by it this much? Was there anything more to it?"
The blond turned away, and it was so clear to Sora that Roxas was wounded by something.
"All I can say is…something will come after you." Roxas deadpanned and waited for Sora to fret. When the younger one, he resumed. "But that's not the major concern; those things that will come after you will not come, if you keep away from Riku."
Thinking back to the YRP's explanation about the Nobody, Sora was aware that Roxas was probably talking about the darkness. Yet, his concerns lie more on Roxas.
The boy shook his head. "Roxas, you're going in circles, all you said is for me to keep away from Riku. So WHAT exactly had happened to you?"
"Drop it already, Sora," Roxas ordered as he brushed his brother's hands off of him and started to make his way somewhere else. 'I don't want you to involve with that Riku guy, let alone you involve in my problems.'
"Roxas, I just want to help!" Sora said, raising his voice.
"You're not helping me by being this way," the blond snapped. "Sora, trust me. You cannot trust Riku," he reversed the topic back to Sora.
"You don't even know him!"
Sometimes his brother could be such a pain beyond all hell. Beside another person that came into his life, Sora was the only other person that could kick on Roxas's nerve this much. Letting out an angry hiss, he grabbed Sora's arms and swung the boy back, shoving the smaller one against the wall.
Sora who was labeled un-scary, no matter how angry he'd gotten. He was only as scary as a cub. Roxas, however, was a different story.
"Have you forgotten what had happened to you three years ago, Sora? Where you put your trust in a complete stranger and he deceived you!" Roxas growled at the boy who went limp between his arms.
Sora went speechless in realization of Roxas's reminding and in fear of his brother. His eyes cast downwards in defeat, forgetting about the pain on his arms.
"You believe your sense of trusting people, fine! I know they mostly are right, a few of them are wrong. But anyone you trust can be that 'few' and I'm not willing to let you risk it. If such a thing happens again, no one can be sure that anyone would be there to help you out. On top of all, Riku's a vampire; you won't be able to fight him off." Roxas softened his grip on Sora's arms, seeing that his brother was registering his words, for real, this time.
When Sora's eyes became even sadder from the memento of unwanted past event, Roxas's own blue eyes mirrored the expression guiltily as he dipped his head and buried it against Sora's neck. He whispered in cracked voice. "I'm sorry to remind you of such a thing. But this much I can tell you, Sora. That…Nobody-Vampire tried to hurt me. I trusted him like you trust Riku. I don't want what happened to me happen to you. You understand, Sora?"
The older twin pulled back slightly enough to peer into Sora's eyes searching for answer.
Slowly, the brunet nodded.
Roxas managed to smile. His forehead touched his brother. "Okay?"
"…okay." Sora nodded again with a faintest whisper.
"Good." The elder one lifted his palm to ruffle the brunet's hair.
"Waaahhh!" came a girl's shriek from behind them.
Both boys turned, and saw Kairi standing there, hands covering her mouth. "What are you guys doing?"
Roxas retreated and skittered away from his brother. He knew Kairi only meant to tease them since it was rare of them to interact on the softer side.
They fell into a light-hearted bickering.
Unknown to them, outside the open window, Riku was there. He had been there the moment the object of his interest started a conversation about him with his twin brother.
Riku only meant to come and see Sora since the sun wasn't beating down that much, offering him a chance to do so.
Although he couldn't make out the whole conversation, he could tell by the look on their faces. How the people that surrounded Sora were so adamant about protecting him from strangers. Moreover, how Sora stood his ground. Deep down he could let himself be pleased with the way that Sora was. Then again, he couldn't feel his face smiling; it darkened with his dark thoughts instead.
'He has good friend ,a good family, and an overprotective twin brother. Why does he have to care about me? Why?'
Riku knew the answer to it. It was easy as that. Sora saw him as a frigging suicidal. Being the way Sora was, how could he not jump in and pull people out of their misery?
Sora would do that for anyone.
He was nothing of special to the boy.
"Riku," A calm voice came from behind him.
Riku's oceanic eyes narrowed as he swiftly looked over his shoulder. On the other trunk behind him silhouetted two figures in the shadow of the trees. One was a spiky, blond haired vampire with blue eyes in dark blue attire; the other was a long, raven-haired vampire with scarlet eyes in dark red cloak.
"So you really back from God knows where," The spiky-haired man began, studying Riku.
"Cloud and Vincent. Fancy meeting you guys here," Riku spoke with a monotone voice. He wasn't sure if he was happy or disappointed, maybe both, to see the two. "Yes, I've returned, as you can see."
The raven-haired man, Vincent, made a noise at that statement.
"I don't know about Vincent. But Cloud…are you still searching for your light? Here?" Riku believed that would begin their conversation, but he was cut short of that.
"We came to relay you a message from your kind," Cloud stated calmly.
Riku had a bad feeling about this, "…And that is?"
"Your kinds felt your connection return." Vincent spoke. "Therefore, Master Ansem requires your presence. You are to return to the Realm of Darkness."
To be continued…