Saving 7 Arrival of Shadows and the Past
Kairi was beginning to trust Riku, which made Sora very happy. She had always been someone whom he could confide in. Yet, he still couldn't tell her the truth about Riku.
He felt as if he was bound not to tell her.
After school, in the late afternoon, they went to the play-island to pay Riku a visit. The first place they searched was the tree house. When Riku wasn't there, they wondered off separate ways to look for him.
Upon seeing Kairi slip into the shack, Sora drew himself closer to the cave, and poked his head inside the cavern entrance. He called for his friend, "Riku?"
Tch.
Sora heard a sound. Assuming that it was Riku since the vampire claimed that he would be the only one there, Sora brought himself inside the cave.
The tittering sounds became clearer. Sora figured it was a mouse or something; and he didn't put a thought into it. So he was caught off guard when something ran over his feet and he fell to the ground with a "whoa!"
He got back up and looked around; it was too dim for him to be able to see all that well. Sora narrowed his eyes and made out something small and black at his feet.
It seemed to have a head, two feet, two clawed hands with only three fingers, and two antennas sticking out of its head. It was clumsily rubbing its own face. 'Is my mind playing tricks with me?' Sora wondered if it hit him by accident. Sora kept his eyes on the strange creature until it lifted its head up.
Sora gasped as the two bright yellow eyes gazed up at him.
"What the-?" He let out.
The creature suddenly jumped on his chest. In the cramped space, Sora couldn't move much. Sora didn't see how the creature would pose as any danger, with its size so small and looking so much like a little lost boy. So he waited and watched as the yellow-eyed creature stared at him in the face. His assumption was proven wrong when he felt a sharp pain over his cheek.
The creature had scratched him.
"Ouch!" Sora gasped and threw the creature off of him as he clutched his left cheek where trail of blood began to ooze out. It was only then that Sora came to realization that the creature wasn't harmless. He pulled himself out of a daze, and scurried out the exit. Once he got himself out, he pushed the thicket together at best to close the opening.
"Kairi!"
Shortly after, the redhead girl appeared from the shack's door. "Sora, what happened to your face!" She asked in concern and started to hurry to the brunet, but was stopped by him.
"Stay back, Kairi!" Sora shouted back.
"What's wrong?" Kairi frowned.
Sora wasn't sure what to do. For one thing, the creature was dangerous. But curiosity nagged at him; he wanted to see the creature in the clear light. He asked for a wooden sword from Kairi and told her to stay away.
A minute later, a tittering noise found its way to their ears. Kairi watched anxiously when the thicket of the cave entrance moved and Sora tightened his grip on the wooden sword.
And out…came a small dark creature.
Kairi's fear dissipated, and she almost laughed. She let herself relax and hopped over to where Sora was, then finally laughed. "Sora, it's just a little…." She paused, looking at the creature, "what is it?"
"I don't know." Sora took a step toward the creature, to block the way between the creature and his friend just for precaution. With the tip of his wooden sword, he poked the small creature gently. "But don't think it's harmless; look what it did to me." He referred to his left cheek.
The little dark creature only kept jerking its head left then right.
Kairi glared at it for a moment before she brushed passed Sora and grabbed the small creatures by its two small hands and raised it up to her eye level. "Hey, you! Why did you hurt Sora like that! And what are you exactly?"
Sora could only watch in surprise, and then he had his laugh as well. "Kairi, sometimes, you're really bold."
Giving a soft chuckle in return, Kairi whirled the creature which was still left dangling helplessly and said, "Let's forget about this. I think it's a kind of a mouse or something. Let's take a look at your wound first."
"It's okay, Kairi." Sora said, smiling. "Hand it to me; we don't know what it will do. I think it does attack, so we can't take it lightly."
Sora got the creature from Kairi, and not really knowing what to do, he just threw it back into the cave and pushed the huge rock to block the cavern entrance. When they were about to walk away, the creature appeared yet again. The brunet and the redhead exchanged glances and both shrugged.
"Do you think it's angry?" Kairi asked with slightest hint of worry.
"I don't think it looks angry." The boy shrugged again, wondering how it could have come out again after its way was blocked.
Before they both could decide what to do with the little black one, they started to hear more titters from the cave.
"Do you think there is more of it, Sora?" Kairi asked, more agitated this time. She wasn't afraid of one little creature, but more of them could make a difference. Sora's wound wasn't just a small scratch after all.
"I hope not," Sora responded.
As if on cue, something dark began leaking out of the huge rock that covered the cave entrance. Then there appeared to be one more, two more, three more, then many more.
"Wha-!" Sora and Kairi shouted in unison.
It could have been only an annoying fuss at first, when the creatures ran around, grabbing their hands and feet. Sora kicked most of them away from Kairi while the girl herself managed to ward them off, not being totally helpless.
"It doesn't stop, Sora!" Kairi cried, feeling the threat by now.
This wasn't normal anymore. Each and every creature was able to sink themselves into the ground and reappear a few feet away.
With a heavy whirl of his wooden sword, Sora sent the creatures flying away to open some means of escape. He grabbed Kairi's hand and rushed out of the circle that the creatures created. They had only made it few paces before Sora's feet were brought out from under him and he fell. Kairi who hadn't fallen with him, whirled back and tried to help the boy up.
That was when she realized something.
The little dark creatures no longer tried to get to her. They were only clawing at Sora's feet as they started climbing up his legs and his back. Her eyes wondered, searching for the reason. The difference she and Sora had was…her presence under the sunlight, while Sora was in still the shadow.
"Sora! They are afraid of light." Kairi tried to pull her friend, but could only move Sora's arms.
The little creatures held fast and started packing themselves up in a small tower over Sora. "Arg! Get off!" He hissed an irritating groan, but it didn't help, the creatures stayed stubbornly on his back, weighing him down.
"You leave Sora alone!" Kairi also yelled as she grabbed the nearby makeshift weapon and swung it at the creatures. Her attack was in vain since the creatures were becoming more insistent. Still, she kept hitting until a creature dug its claw into her arm, deep.
Drops of blood splattered on Sora's face when he looked up. "That's enough, Kairi! Go get help!"
Turning deaf ears to him, Kairi pulled Sora's hand once more. The result wasn't any different. It wasn't long until Sora's entire body was covered with the creatures, making Kairi shriek, "Somebody, help us!"
Pang!
There was a sound of gunshot, and the creatures above Sora were neutralized, vanishing into thin air.
Kairi blinked at that, whipping her head to the side. She saw the gunman in a red cloak. Coming after him, another man in a dark blue cloak appeared. With the gigantic sword he carried, he decapitated all the creatures that had been bothering them. As soon as Sora's head came into view, Kairi hurriedly groped for his hands. "Sora!"
Feeling the weight on his back decrease, the boy looked up dazedly as he pushed himself up with Kairi's help. By that time, all the creatures were gone. Sora observed that his savior was a strange blue-eyed man with blond, spiky hair, a lot like Sora's himself, only spikier. There was another man with a gun, but he'd already disappeared into the cave.
Once the commotion ended, the blond man stared down at them, particularly Sora.
"Thanks…er…" Sora uttered.
"Stay away from the cave. You don't want to fall into darkness," the man said.
While Sora was puzzled by that, another man reappeared and called to his companion. "Time to leave, they're coming."
Before Sora could ask anything, they were gone as fast as they had come. Shortly after, the YRP arrived.
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A trivial introduction was made between Kairi and the three little fairies. And thankfully, questions weren't thrown at him as much as he'd expected. Kairi was fast on the uptake and accepted that what she saw was real: there were fairies who were also the vampire hunters, and there were vampires. She was a little shaken though.
Disclosures were made since the YRP had no intention on hiding their identities from Kairi. They had showed up because they sensed the danger. Sora had the feeling that he shouldn't tell them about the two mysterious saviors, so he didn't. On the part of their identities, it must be put aside.
They were in Kairi's room at her house. The house was enormous, considering that it was the mayor's house. Her parents weren't home.
"You're the mayor's daughter?" Rikku asked what was obvious to her.
"In law, yes." Kairi corrected, as she trained her eyes on Sora's wounds, nursing them carefully.
"Kairi was found washed ashore on the night of the Meteor Rain, seven years ago." Sora added a little history. "I believed that she must have come from the other world." Sora looked at Kairi. "If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this. Kairi, thanks."
The three fairies exchanged a silent message among themselves as how Kairi wasn't upset at all by the fact that she didn't know about her past. But there seemed to be something that affected her, something from Sora's words.
"Right," Kairi said, her eyes whisked away but Sora hadn't noticed. "I would have said you're welcome, Sora. But you've always believed about the other worlds even before I came."
The boy blinked a few times and grinned sheepishly. "Oh? Right, heh heh."
Rikku looked between the two; there was something odd about it. Sora spaced off a bit and Kairi looked somewhat sad. The blonde girl cocked her head, wondering why until Kairi announced, "I'll go get Sora some clothes." Only then that Rikku was able to pick it up: Kairi couldn't take it. Rikku shot up and flew after her, volunteering to accompany her which made the redhead smile in return. Then they left the room.
"So, what are those things that attacked us?" Sora decided it was time for questions.
"Those things that attacked you and Kairi are 'Shadows,' they are the creatures of darkness." Yuna's eyes darkened. "A Nobody-Vampire's darkness."
"A Nobody's?" Sora echoed, and his eyes widened in realization.
Yuna nodded, "They came from Riku. Although we don't know if he's letting go of his control over the darkness or if he uses the dark power-"
"Riku wouldn't turn back on his words," Sora interjected.
"We knew you'd say that. However, like we told you, wherever he goes, the darkness follows. Riku cannot stay here."
The revelation hit Sora. Hard. He looked down, trying to form words. "But…aren't there ways to stop those Shadow things?"
"NO, unless their host is dead," The black fairy crossed her chest again, looking moody.
"No way," Sora's face contorted into anger.
Paine's dark eyes narrowed. "Shadows are the lowest form of the Darkness' creatures. Think of level one to one hundred: Shadows are at the one. There is more to what you've seen, and there will certainly be something worst to come than you'll ever imagine if Riku continues to stay. You're lucky that Shadows have no intelligence, else, they would have aimed for your throat rather than wasting time scratching you up other places."
The brunet shuddered, and that just wasn't all to it.
"Sora, there's one more thing." Yuna almost sympathized with the boy, but she had to let him know. "The Shadows attack randomly since they know nothing. However, they could attack a certain human who had the smell of darkness with him. Last time at Twilight Town, the boy named Roxas was attacked by 'Neoshadows.' They are a higher level of creatures of Darkness, next to the common Shadow-"
"What! Roxas was attacked?"
"Yes, because he became a friend to Axel, one of the Nobody-Vampires. That guy, unlike Riku, didn't bother to keep watch of his darkness and freely used his dark powers. You see…that made them stronger, like Neoshadows, instead of common Shadow. Axel declined to leave Twilight Town at first, but eventually gave in for some reason which we believe involved Roxas."
Sora found himself unable to say anything. Things were starting to fall into place. So that was the reason why Roxas was always sad when he came back from Twilight Town.
"Sora, keep in mind that your case is the same as your brother's. Shadows attacked you on purpose, because you're a human that is particularly close to Riku."
XxxxxxxxxxxxX
"Does something bother you about the way Sora talked about the other worlds?" Rikku asked, floating beside Kairi as they made their way to her father's room.
Kairi was quiet for a while, and then she looked ahead. "It's just that…I've always wondered why Sora, of all people, would want to go on adventures to other worlds. He has his family and friends; he's happy. Most people just don't talk about going to somewhere else if their life is perfect where they are." Here, Kairi paused, her gaze dropped. "Well, not that Sora is like most people. I've known from Roxas, his twin brother-"
'Oh, that overprotective brother,' Rikku thought while maintaining her attention on the redhead.
"Sora never ever thought of going anywhere far from home. It was only when Roxas went to Twilight Town; leaving Sora alone here that he began to have the thought of leaving. At first, we thought it was Sora just going through a rebellious phase, but Sora isn't that kind."
"You've always been with him, haven't you? Did you notice any changes in any time of his life?" Rikku pointed out.
Spending time in thought for a while, Kairi nodded. "There was one riddle that no one could solve till now. It was about half a year since Sora and I became friends. One day, on the play island, he showed up, crying. I asked him what was wrong, and he said he didn't know. That time, I could do nothing except console him in anyway I could. But when I thought back about it, a six year old kid just doesn't cry without reason. It was only after that that Sora began spacing out occasionally."
"I see, so that was 8 years ago."
XxxxxxxxxxxxX
When Kairi got back with a large shirt for Sora, there were two things that Sora did. One was disclosing to Kairi, and two was convincing the YRP that he'd take the matter into his own hands, regarding Riku.
Riku must leave Destiny Islands before something worse came, that is.
It was also known to Sora that Darkness only appeared in one certain area in each world. For Destiny Islands, it was the cave itself. Worlds were connected, and if the darkness followed a Nobody who was in a certain world, it would only enter through only one threshold.
What Roxas had always said was right. Something would come after Sora. He had witnessed with his own eyes today. The darkness had injured Kairi and he wouldn't want it to happen ever again. Not to his best friend, not to anyone.
So he was now strolling down the walkway, not really knowing where to go. "Riku, where could you be?" Sora trailed off with a sigh, not really expecting his question to be answered. So he was pretty caught off guard when out of nowhere, a figure clad in black landed in front of him.
The figure stood up and turned to face Sora.
"Riku, I…was looking for you."
"Same here, Sora."
Both didn't seem happy, and both wondered why. Sora didn't chide Riku for jumping right in front of him. On the other hand, when the brunet stepped backward out of alarm, Riku didn't smirk.
"Why are you in those huge clothes?" The huge patch on Sora's cheek caught Riku's attention, making him reach out. But Sora recoiled away; his behavior was more than enough to send Riku backing away as well.
Sora's head ran with too many things. His initial plan was to see Riku and just tell him to leave since Riku's presence would only bring chaos. Seemed easy enough. Riku gave me his word that he wouldn't kill himself; he would be fine by himself, wouldn't he? However, Sora doubted that was the only reason that they were drawn to each other. Sora wasn't a psychiatrist, nor was Riku a suicidal patient.
"Not happy to see me?"
Sora glanced sideways, suddenly becoming interested with sidewalk while saying. "We need to talk; you have a moment?"
"The thing is…a Nobody, who supposedly is the one responsible for the darkness that leaks out of him and causes trouble, doesn't come with the connection of their creatures of darkness. So he's unaware of the trouble that he's causing." The YRP noted him with that disturbing fact.
"I have something I need to tell you too."
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They brought themselves to Sora's house. Climbing the stairs, they settled in Sora's room.
"You go first, Sora," Riku said as he leaned against the wall.
Sora, after setting himself on the chair, only went quiet. Riku, acting a bit distant already created the air of awkwardness.
'Go on, tell him to go away. He is destroying your world. Everyone will be harmed by the darkness if he stays.' Simple sentences were ready to slip off of his tongue so everything would be over with.
"Riku…"
"…Yeah?"
"…"
Sora was unable to say it.
A hand reached out, and tugged one of his long sleeves up, revealing bandages and a few small scratches. Sora's head shot up at the sudden contact from the other.
"What are all of these?" Riku already lifted Sora's arm up, studying the bandages. "Sora, what happened?"
'Tell him, tell him it's because of him.' Sora knew he'd failed on that speaking part when Riku was just looking like that at him. He tried to pull his arm back, but Riku didn't allow him to. Sora said, "It's nothing that you should be concern about."
In response, Riku chuckled. "You were pretty consistent on the first time I yelled at you to get lost, so I could do the same. I'm concerned, Sora." He studied the wounds once more, then a deep frown set on his face. "Darn it. Is this from…a Shadow?"
"You knew?"
Riku's fear was confirmed. Sora was hurt…because of him.
Sora must have picked up on that for he brought one thing up, "But you have the control over your darkness."
There was only one way that darkness could take shape without involving him, that is…some other Nobody must have shaped it up into the creatures of Shadows. There was no one else…but Zexion. He must have looked shocked enough that Sora said, "I'm fine. Erm, there were these two men, one with a big sword and another one with a gun. They saved me and Kairi. Are they your friends?"
Pressing his hand against his forehead, Riku looked away. 'I asked Cloud and Vincent to keep an eye on Sora while I was gone. They didn't promise anything, still-'
"Riku?" The smaller boy called, trying to get a better look at his friend. "Really, I and Kairi are fine, okay?"
Riku looked back at Sora, knowing the other wouldn't blame him for anything. But that was the problem; he wouldn't know when Sora was in trouble. He didn't want Sora to get hurt. He traced his fingers along Sora's face. His fingers stumbled upon the scotch patch that covered the wounds. He pulled it off.
"Oww!" The smaller boy groaned at the sudden itch of pain. "Riku, what are you-"
"Shh-" The vampire cooed, taking Sora's jaws in both of his hands. Then he pressed his lips to where the gash had been.
"Nng…" Sora gasped.
"Shh-" Riku repeated. "Stay still."
Sora felt the warm wetness over his cheek. Was Riku running his tongue over his cheek? Sora's eyes squinted shut, his mind was screaming. It took Riku a while to pull away, and chuckled. Only then that Sora opened his eyes to glare at the one that dared laugh at him at the moment.
Once again, Riku trailed his thumb along Sora's cheek where the gash should have been, but Sora felt nothing. No sting, the gash was gone.
"Vampire's blood heals wound." Riku stated. From the corner of his mouth, spot of blood hung.
'Is that Riku's blood? He bit his own tongue!' Sora only gaped at him; he hadn't yet recovered well enough from what Riku had done. He could even barely stand. Oblivious to Sora's state of mind, Riku reached for Sora's arms. He pulled the sleeve up, and began to remove the bandages.
"Riku, what are you doing?"
"Taking responsibilities."
It took Sora a while to see the meaning behind those words. "What! You mean…you'll…er…you'll tend all of my wounds…by…er…?" Sora gaped, pulling his arm back, but Riku didn't let go. "You…don't have to…really."
"But your blood taste great, would have been lots better without the antiseptic you have on." Riku did smirk this time.
"Wha-!" Sora managed to yank his hand out of Riku's grip. His eyes analyzed Riku. "Was that the only reason you did that?"
"No. I did it because I wanted to." Riku said, his eyes as well, analyzed Sora. Once Riku was done with that line, he pressed his lips against Sora's own.
Sora's eyes widened and he swore his mind was shut down.
Meanwhile, Riku waited for Sora to either lean in for more or push him away. Sora didn't react in either way, so Riku took another step by pressing further. This time, he felt Sora melt into him. It brought back the feeling of something that he'd longed for. He couldn't quite put a finger on, but there was one thing he was sure of…he wanted more.
He pulled back, only to observe how Sora would react. Sora looked completely red, out of breath, but the boy was far from repulsed. It took a while before Sora lifted his eyes to face him, then he knew Sora returned his feelings.
That was enough for Riku to crush his lips back onto Sora's again. This time, with Sora's wobbling feet, he fell back on the ground, with Riku on top of him. The pain from the wounds was forgotten when Riku's lips meshed with Sora's.
"Ri…Riku..wait…"
Riku's lips traveled down to Sora's jaw line and then down his neck. He nuzzled his chin against the crook of the boy's neck as his hands seized Sora's.
"Riku…what are you doing?" Sora started to push Riku back with his hands, but Riku didn't budge.
Riku noticed when the boy tensed, he assured. "Shh…I'm not going to bite you."
"That's not what I was thinking." Sora said, he wasn't even in the state of mind where he was aware that Riku was a vampire. He couldn't think of anything. He craned his head to the side, wondering why his hands were pinned. "But…what are we doing exactly?"
Riku paused, lifting his head up to take a good look at the boy beneath him. Once again, Riku found himself on the edge of laughter. Of all the people he'd met, Sora had been the most amusing. He loved how Sora could sometimes be totally clueless. He laughed at last, unable to hold it back. "God, Sora. You're so dense."
That did it, Sora was angry. He forced Riku's grip back and shoved the Nobody off of him, scrambling himself a few feet away. Riku only watched him in amusement as the boy turned back, huffing. "Does that mean you've done that with anyone?"
Riku's eyebrows arched. Is Sora jealous? He challenged back. "You really think that, Sora? That I'm that kind of person?"
The boy looked caught off guard, turning away. "Er…no?"
Riku smiled. "I've never wanted to get close to anyone that way. But with you, it's different." He closed his eyes, hand lingering above his chest. "I've never felt this way before, Sora."
"…Me…neither." The brunet confessed as he looked down, eyes glued to the floor. 'This isn't happening, this isn't happening!'
"So we're feeling the same way, but why do you look so sad?" Riku peered down at the brunet.
Sora shut his eyes tight, not daring to look in the other's eyes. He didn't want to say it, yet he had to. "…I…I was supposed to…tell you…" That didn't come out right; he'd planned to tell Riku to leave, right? He was supposed to say it firmly.
Despite how incoherent Sora was, Riku knew. "-that I should leave because of my darkness?" When Sora still said nothing, Riku sighed, his hand pressing against his forehead. "And what I was going to tell you is that…beside Zexion, there were these people who came to get me back too, to my world."
That day…Riku hadn't left yet, and Sora had the strangest dream ever.
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Memories are sleeping. When the right thing comes along and wakes the memory up, we can remember it.
The memories engraved in our hearts never go away.
X
He felt himself falling and drowning at the same time, yet it was, in a strange way.
Sora was beginning to learn and get accustom to this feelings. This was exactly where he would dream about the part of his life that he had forgotten.
His past with Riku.
Sora braced himself; he was eager to discover more.
Then he saw a much younger version of himself there…running around the island that he'd come to know, like the back of his hand. Roxas wasn't there at the time, but he wasn't lonely. He was with Riku.
It had been almost 6 months that they were together. Sora couldn't be happier; he had Riku, and his new friends: Kairi, and the others. His brother was coming back soon. Practically, he couldn't help but bounce around at the day…just to have his energy drained when he entered the secret place to meet up with Riku and learn that something was off.
He quirked an eyebrow when his eyes settled upon the figure in the dark corner. Riku was sitting, starring off into the space.
Riku's initial conversation shattered Sora's day.
"Sora, what if I'm gone?"
Young Sora looked up at the taller boy, his blue eyes written with questions. "What?" He asked as he brought himself closer to place his small hands on Riku's folded arms. "Are you going somewhere?"
Riku was regarded with worried expression. A small smile crossed his lips because little Sora was anxious about him leaving and a part of him feared that it would be hard for the both of them. He sighed and answered the boy's question "Yeah. I kind of…have to leave. My time here…is up."
"B…but I thought you'd stay. What do you mean your time is up?"
Riku found it in himself that it was a mistake to lead Sora on that he could stay forever. "I can't, Sora." Riku's face fell as he avoided the boy's eyes. "I can't…my darkness will destroy your world and everything you hold dear. I can't let that happen. I have to go away."
Sora settled himself right in front of sitting Riku, literally on the older one's lap. He searched for Riku's face. "What are you saying? I don't understand. You're not destroying anything, so why do you have to go?"
Of course, Sora wouldn't understand, he was only a 7 years old kid. Although he knew every tale of Riku's adventures, he had not a single idea about the darkness that the Nobody carried.
"So where will you be going? Can't I come too?" The little boy found himself asking.
Riku shook his head.
"Well…maybe we can meet up sometimes?"
Another shake of his head.
"But you promised that we'd go together!" Sora had lost his short patience.
"I'm…sorry." Riku closed his eyes and turned away.
Getting an apology from Riku wasn't a good sign to Sora. Riku always stood up with his cocky attitude and a smirk plastered on his face, not crouching like this, let alone apologize.
Silence surrounded them for a minute that felt like hours for both of them before Riku heard an initial sob.
Riku's instinct told him that he should just let the boy be. A 7 years old kid spending time with someone much older than him could have grown attached, but Sora would grow out of it. Someday he'd forget they ever met. Soon it'd become only a memory, like it did when everyone died away from Riku.
Sora had never cried in front of him, not even once; the sight and sound was twisting his insides. He couldn't take this, he was about to get up, but found it to be the hardest part to handle when Sora threw his small body over him. Small hands and arms latching to him while burying his face in the crook of his neck.
"But-" Sora croaked.
Riku could let Sora cry with his buts all day, but he couldn't afford that. Prying small hands off of him, he took Sora by the shoulders and forced a smile. "You got your friends, Sora. You got your family and a brother who'll be coming back soon." 'You don't need me.'
"But you're my best friend!"
Pain ran across Riku's heart. Part of him felt the funny feeling of it all to have a seven year old called him best friend. But Riku had to agree with that. Being around young Sora made him feel like he was a kid again, if he ever was once, that is.
He had allowed himself to forget everything when he was with Sora. He was too free…too careless.
"Yeah. As you are mine," Riku said, giving affectionate ruffle on Sora's hair. Shortly after, he dropped his hands and declared, "But it ends here."
Riku knew the boy wouldn't give up. He could make the boy believe that he would be coming back, so the little thing would stop clinging to him now. Still, he couldn't find a heart to lie. He had told 1000s of people 1000s of ugly lies, so why would only 1 white lie to a boy was so difficult?
Their bond was too strong to break in a moment. Riku didn't know what to do, and Sora's desperate cries was disturbing him to the core of his being, given that he'd never seen Sora cried before, let alone the fact that he was the cause. By desperate measure, he threw the boy down on his back.
Sora yelped, his crying went off momentarily as he stopped and stared with wide eyes at the Nobody-vampire hovering above him. Riku pressed his hands against Sora's small ones, preventing the boy from moving.
"Maybe it would be better if you forgot about me," the Nobody murmured.
Sora stared back in confusion.
"Wha…what?"
"You can forget about me, forget I ever came here. It should be better that way," Riku whispered.
Then it came to him as a surprise when the boy's sad eyes hardened. Sora looked very, very…so very angry.
"What are you saying? How can I ever forget you! You jerk!" Sora wailed, crying harder. No sooner than Riku looked as if he was about to break, Sora was not given any more room for argument when Riku's face came closer. Fear finally hit in when he felt a sharp pain in the crook of his neck.
Riku'd once told him about how he could erase people's memory by draining their blood.
"Riku!" Sora gasped as his feet started instinctive kicking, trying to stop Riku, to no avail. He couldn't fight Riku's strength." NO! Riku! Don't!" His words didn't affect Riku and he panic. "I don't want to forget…GAH! I don't want to forget about you!"
His visualization slowly faded as the strength in his body ran out. The last thing he felt was the weight on his throat left, and something warm dropped on his cheek. With one last bit of strength and curiosity, he forced his eyes open once more and saw someone he didn't know above him. The person, he remarked with blurry vision, silver-haired, oceanic green eyes.
That person was in tears.
Then everything turned black.
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Riku didn't move away after the whole ordeal was over. He remained half straddling the unconscious boy, wiping off the boy's tears stain. Then he noted the droplets on Sora's restless face. He blinked a few times and realized they were coming from his eyes.
Disconcerting, he moved his hand from Sora's small ones and felt his own cheeks. He leveled his hand to his vision and his eyes went wide. He backed off from the prone boy, his still eyes fixed on his glove hands.
'What the…'
One whimper from the unconscious boy brought Riku back from his contemplating world. His eyes darted to the boy, realizing what he'd intended to do was half failed since he was supposed to be gone before the boy came to his full conscious.
Riku hastened to his feet and slid into the shady corner of the cave. Waiting in the dark he did, watching as the boy moved groggily.
With a few moans emitting from the boy, Sora got himself up. His dazed blue eyes glanced around as his head bobbed from side to side. Confusion written all over his face and he said to himself. "How did…I end up here?"
Knowing Sora, he expected the boy to get up, rambling more questions to himself, and leave in no time. So he found it deeply perturbing when Sora didn't do any of those. Instead, there were tears that threatened to slip from the corner of his eyes.
Not before long that Sora wept.
Riku could only stare.
Soon Sora dragged himself off along the passage. His weeping never stopped.
Riku's eyes darted between the door in the cave and the exit of the cave. War went on in his mind whether he should leave this world through the door to end everything or follow Sora who had been acting the way he wasn't supposed to. Exhaling, he decided to go with the latter and granted himself an excuse to check on the boy's condition first before he left.
Why was the boy weeping anyway? He had forgotten about Riku, right? Even if he cried now for whatever the reason, he still had his friends waiting outside to console him. Sora would be okay, right?
Riku had no idea that he was wrong.
He made it out of the secret place and silhouetted himself from the island occupants' sights. Casting a quick glance for Sora, he found the boy had staggered to a redhead girl who was sitting on the beach. Riku didn't move any closer, not wanting to risk his chances of being seen. Besides Sora and the redhead girl, there were also other three kids in vicinity. So Riku only settled to watch Sora. Any conversation there, he could make out by his inhuman ears.
The girl, who Riku recalled Sora had referred to as 'Kairi' turned and saw an approaching friend. Her earlier cheerful demeanor slipped into worried expression.
"What happened, Sora? Why are you crying? Are you hurt?"
It was a while that the girl continued to regard her friend with concern and Sora looked lost for the answer. Then at last he could manage something.
"I…I don't know, Kairi. I…it just…I really…don't know." Sora's small form hunched. "I'm…sad…I don't know why."
Riku was certain that Sora's memory about him was cleaned but it didn't mean that it was flawless. Only a part of him was vampire, he couldn't use the ability to a full extent if he wasn't in control with unwavered concentration. When Riku drained Sora, his emotion was in turmoil. The process could have messed up and the consequence was projected on Sora himself.
He could drain Sora again to complete the process, but he chose not to. Sora was only a kid, draining twice in short period of time could terrorize the boy's body. Moreover, he couldn't stand himself doing that again. Riku forced himself to turn back. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the girl and the other kids rounded up to comfort Sora. 'He'll be fine.' With a fisted hand slackened to his side, he brought himself into the cave once more.
Being with Sora was one of the best things that had happened to him. They fought from time to time, but there was not a day that he regretted coming here and finding the boy. He wasn't too sure if that was still the case now when his heart ached like never before.
Riku opened the door and never looked back.
X
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Sora woke up with the wildest look on his face. 'I…I remember now…Riku and I…we've met before.'
Far away from Sora's house, the same thing dawned on Riku.