… I really don't have anything to say right now.
Axel: That's a first.
Shut up!
Roxas: She's tired, don't piss her off. Animesaki owns nothing.
The sound of waves was clear in his ears, he felt wet from midway up his thighs down, the cold air was welcomed as he breathed in, and the sand felt cool against his skin. His eyes fluttered open and he saw a beach blanketed in darkness, a familiar sight, he was here before he finally went back home after defeating Xemnas. He was here with Riku… Riku! He sat up immediately and looked around until he saw the silverette lying further down the shoreline as far in the water as Sora was.
Getting up he ran to the older boy and pulled him further onto the sand. Kneeling beside him he shook his bare shoulder "Riku wake up. Wake up! Riku! Please, wake up!" he cried.
"Sora, don't get too rough with him!" Axel exclaimed appearing on Riku's other side.
"What's wrong with him Axel?" Sora asked.
Axel looked the unconscious teen over before answering, "He used the darkness in his body to bring us here; the darkness didn't bring us here on its own."
Sora looked at the redhead with a questioning look, "You mean you knew this was his plan? He told you he would do this?"
The other shrugged, "Sorry. But hey, I was the one going with him in the first place whether I wanted to or not."
"Sora, Axel! Are you guys alright?" they looked to see Roxas running to them.
"Wait a minute where were you?" Sora asked.
Roxas shook his head, "I don't know how I ended up separated from you guys, but it's a good thing I was, I found Riku's clothes so he won't freeze too much."
That's when Sora noticed, this world was colder than the last time he was here and now that he knew it he was starting to shiver "Axel do you think you can hold him up while I get this stuff on him?" he asked trying not to let his teeth chatter.
Axel nodded and helped Sora to sit Riku up and the brunette saw the words still on his friend's pale back.
"Is there any way to get rid of that?" Roxas asked in concern.
"I honestly don't know Roxy, I don't." Axel murmured.
Riku started to stir and Sora held his breath. When the aquamarine orbs finally opened he let his breath out lowly waiting for the silverette to focus and notice him.
When the older boy's sight finally rested on the brunette his eyes widened "Sora why did you come after me?" he demanded.
"I wasn't letting you go through this alone!" Sora snapped back.
"You saw my back Sora! I'm a threat to you now!" Riku shouted.
"Are you really? Are you trying to kill me right now? I don't see you doing anything to me right now. You're not a threat, you're scared." Sora said.
Riku scoffed, "Please, what could I be afraid of?"
Sora touched his friend's hand, "Me." Silence was his response "You wondered what I would have thought if I found out the darkness was taking you over again and you became afraid." Riku turned his gaze away to look out at the dark water "I don't blame you; it's nothing you expected yourself." Sora dug through his pocket pulling out the message from King Mickey and he held it out for the silverette to see "Maybe I could have helped you sooner if I found this a few weeks ago." He said.
Riku took the message and read it over before handing it back to Sora "Let me guess, it was buried under stuff and Roxas was the one to finally find since you never thought to clean up your room properly." He smirked.
Sora couldn't help but smile no matter how much he wanted to scowl at his friend; it relieved him to see him relax a little. But the words were still there written in darkness, though they looked a little faded; maybe from being in that world. When he saw Riku shiver he remembered that he was shirtless (though it wasn't a bad sight) and held out his vest and jacket, "Here, Roxas found these for you."
Riku took the vest first and zipped it up his usual way, leaving the bottom zipper just above his belly button then he put the jacket on. He wrapped his arms around himself as he shivered again "It's gotten colder since our last visit." He commented.
"Darkness gets colder." Axel said.
Sora picked up the black coat and held it out to his friend, "Here, you'll be warmer."
Riku hesitated before taking the coat. He looked at Sora seeing him shiver more than Riku was and decided to throw it around the other boy "You need it more than I do." He said when the brunette looked at him in curiosity.
Axel stood and walked around to Roxas signaling to the blonde that they needed to leave them alone. Nodding Roxas stood up and walked further up the beach with the redhead, their arms around each other.
Sora and Riku sat in silence for a few minutes before the silverette finally broke it, "So is that message the reason you decided to come after me?"
The brunette shook his head, "It's only part of the reason. Kairi told you wanted to leave, that's a part too. But the main reason I wanted to come after you was because I was worried, and I still am." Riku stared at him while he stared out at the water "I saw that moment from over a year ago, when the Heartless first came to the island and the darkness was surrounding you. I remember how I was struggling just to get to you but I couldn't reach you no matter how hard I pushed. I didn't want to see you taken away like that again so I threw myself at you, and once I was latched on I wouldn't let myself let go, I couldn't let myself. I didn't want to lose you again."
By now Sora was in tears. He hiccupped as he tried to get his breath under control, he sniffled and choked on his tears, he just couldn't seem to stop no matter how much he wanted to.
Hating to see the younger teen so broken up with emotions Riku put an arm around his shoulders and brought them closer to each other so that Sora's head was on his shoulder. Sora gripped the material of the jacket tightly, desperately, thinking that if his grip let up even the slightest Riku would disappear and he would be alone again.
They sat like that for a while in a comfortable silence. Every once in a while Sora would cuddle more against his friend for more warmth; it seemed to be getting colder with each passing moment. Sora looked at the message still held in his hand and he noticed something about it, the message had changed.
Sora, I'm sure you're wondering as to how you can help Riku with his darkness, well it's very simple really. But first I must explain something to you, you see while you were sleeping in that pod under the Twilight Town mansion Riku dedicated himself to making sure you would wake up. The Organization didn't want you to wake, they had other plans, plans that required your Nobody, Roxas and another Nobody that has been completely wiped from existence. Unfortunately I'm unable to recall if they even had a name, sorry. But he did all in his power to foil each of their plots to protect you.
If you could have seen Riku during that year, I'm sure your heart would have been as torn as mine was because it was so painful to see. Riku told me a deep secret, I myself urged him to tell you as well because it was about you. I won't go into detail because it is for him to tell, not me. But I will tell you this, every free moment he had he would be found sitting in front of the pod in which you slept. Naminé offered her company when she felt it was needed; and Ansem the Wise felt quite guilty that he had to convinced him to endure that suffering, even if Riku made the choice himself.
Riku wouldn't eat or sleep when he was watching you, it even got him ill a few times. But still he watched over you, whispering apologies as he cried. He whispered his secret to you too, even though you were asleep and couldn't hear. Though he thought you did because every so often you would smile. When he had to find Roxas to help you, he finally turned to the darkness for help, that's why he looked the way he did when you were reunited. If you want to help Riku, use your light at its purest state. How? Your heart will tell you, answers sometimes come forth in the most unexpected ways.
Reading and rereading the new message Sora began to cry again, his sobs not going unnoticed by Riku.
"Sora? Hey, what's wrong this time?" he asked.
Sora threw himself onto Riku again knocking them to the ground and he cried into his chest, "I-I-I'm s-so sorry! I didn't know. I didn't know!"
Riku blinked in confusion at the boy on top of him "What are you talking about?" he asked.
Sora showed Riku the new message as he continued to sob and he spoke as the older read it, "I-I-I put you th-through so much… I d-didn't know something as-as simple as going to sleep would do some much to you. Riku I'm so sorry! Please, please forgive me!"
Riku looked from the message to his sobbing friend and his heart clenched. All that he'd done, and Sora was asking him for forgiveness? That was wrong in his mind considering he was the one who put Sora in that pod in the first place, well the reason why really because Sora was looking for him. But still, the point was Sora should be asking for something Riku should.
He pushed them up so that they were sitting down again, Sora still crying into his chest "Sora. Sora look at me." The brunette looked up at him, tears still streaming down his face in torrents and he was sniffling "You have to stop crying or you're gonna put yourself to sleep again." Riku said wiping the salt water away.
"But knowing the pain I caused you, it's hard to not cry about it." Sora sobbed looking down in shame.
Riku put a finger under Sora's chin and lifted his face wiping the other's eyes again, "You did nothing wrong. I chose to do it on my own for your sake. You are my best friend after all, and you're worth so much to me. I don't care that I had to suffer so much if it meant I could be with you again and not see you cut off from everything by one simple barrier."
Sora couldn't help but blush at his friend's words, his heart felt warm and fluttered pleasantly. But there was the matter of how to help him that still tickled at the back of his mind. Mickey's message had said for him to use his light at its purest state; clearly that wasn't true friendship because the darkness still got to him. Maybe it was more, at the same level Riku felt for him. If he could just build the courage to open his mouth and voice what he had come to realize…
"Isn't this sentimental!" Sora and Riku jumped at the new voice breaking the silence and they looked around frantically for its owner.
Axel and Roxas were looking around too, Axel had his chakrams already spinning in his hands and Roxas had Oathkeeper and Oblivion ready to fight.
"I know that bitch's voice anywhere. Show yourself Maleficent!" Riku called.
A cackle was his answer, "Really boy, how foolish can you be? You are both in a world of darkness; you're light can do nothing for you here, especially you Chosen One of the Keyblade! And it will be here you both will perish!"
At that moment the ground around them erupted in darkness and thousands of Heartless emerged dancing in place at first before they started moving towards them with their empty yellow glowing eyes trained on them. Sora and Riku summoned their Keyblades and adopted their battle stances waiting to see which side would make the first move. They stood back to back watching the black creatures move closer to them in their dance.
"Are you ready for this?" Riku asked.
"I'm behind you all the way." Sora answered.
"Me too."
When the first shadows jumped at them they swung their weapons destroying the creatures and the battle for their lives began. They were dodging and swinging at the same time but it didn't do much for them in avoiding the claws of the creatures of darkness.
Axel and Roxas could more or less be doing better as they fought too. Axel was throwing and swinging his chakrams all over the place watching to make sure they only hit the Heartless and not the others. A huge wave was coming at him and he smirked; calling fire to the blades of his weapons he threw them at the black wall screaming, "Burn baby!"
"You're having too much fun with this!" Roxas scolded as he swung his Keyblades in arcs killing more than one Heartless in each hit.
"Why not? How often do we have good fights like this?" Axel laughed.
"Riku!" Sora called and the silverette nodded.
They called upon their magic and used their Limit, Session to kill off an impressive majority of the Heartless.
Axel smirked when an idea struck him "Roxy, connect you Keyblades to my chakrams. Make sure they have light going through them like crazy." He said.
Roxas thought Axel was crazy but he did as he was told. Once the weapons were connected Axel summoned fire to them and threw them into the horde screaming, "Burn baby!" again. When his chakrams were back in his hands Roxas took his Keyblades back, they were cool to the touch.
"Great idea Axel." He said when he saw the damage done.
But they weren't done yet. The remaining Heartless clustered together making one huge Heartless with a giant hole in the shape of a heart in its chest, a Darkside.
"Aw dammit. I don't feel like dealing with this right now!" Sora cried.
"You forget, there're four of us against one Heartless." Riku noted.
Axel and Roxas came up beside them "Then let's take this thing down already!" Axel said with a cocky smirk.
Nodding they all jumped into action. Riku managed to get up onto the Darkside's shoulder to attack its head; Axel was throwing its chakrams at his arms. Sora and Roxas had to wait until the giant Heartless punched into the ground and attacked as a pool of darkness formed with shadows emerging from it. A loud cry of agony rang through the air and Sora looked up to see Riku hanging onto his Keyblade that was buried deep in the Heartless' head.
"Riku be careful!" he cried when the Darkside began to whip its head around in efforts to dislodge the weapon, Riku being tossed around in the process.
"Get down!" Axel shouted tackling Sora and Roxas to the ground as the giant fell forward.
At the last second before it hit the ground the Darkside pulled up, Riku losing his grip on his Keyblade and get thrown forward in the process. As he was falling a light purple light built up in its chest and fired out like a laser hitting the silverette and sending him further up the beach.
Sora stared shocked as Riku lay on the sand unmoving, he thought the worse. Picking up his Keyblade he ran full force at the Darkside and jumped, landing one powerful hit to its empty chest making it screech out in pain again. As it fell forward again it disintegrated back into darkness, the fight was over.
Breathing deeply Sora waited for a few moments before he turned back around to run to his friend. Dropping down at the silverette's side Sora looked over the wounds he sustained, on the left side of his head a startling amount of blood was soaking his hair, the crimson liquid of life completely covering the silver strands. Blood leaked out of his mouth and he was cut up all over, blood staining his hair and clothes.
"Riku. Riku! Come on! You can't be gone! Open your eyes! Please Riku!" the brunette cried.
A small groan emitted from Riku's throat and the pale eyelids lifted weakly, "Sora…?"
Sora smiled in relief, "You're okay. Don't worry Riku, I'll take care of you."
Riku shook his head, "Don't bother."
"Don't bother? Riku I'm not going to let you die! I can't-!"
"Sora, there's something… I have to tell you for myself." Riku said raising a hand to the boy's cheek. He held the other's gaze as best as he could but his sight was fading around the edges, he didn't have much time, "Sora, for the longest time I've been in love with you. I didn't want to say anything because you liked Kairi, and I didn't want to lose you as a friend. All those things I did while you were asleep, I did because I love you. With all that I am and more, I love you."
Sora didn't try to stop the tears that were falling from his eyes, all that he was hearing was hurting his heart because they were being spoken as if this was it for them, he didn't want that! "Riku, don't you dare try to leave me! Don't you dare! I went through too much to get you back. I don't care what you did, I can never turn my back on you! I care about you so much Riku!" he cried holding the other to him.
"Sora…" he pulled back enough to look at the silverette and saw he was crying, but smiling "Am I… forgiven?" he asked.
Sora wiped his eyes with the hand he wasn't using to hold up his friend, "Of course you are. I couldn't hate you if I tried. Riku I… I love you Riku. And I'm so sorry it took so long for me to realize, I hope you forgive me."
Riku chuckled quietly, "Of course I do." He brought his hand up to the back of Sora's head and pulled him down, softly their lips met and a warmth spread through them, comforting and embracing.
They pressed closer together, Riku lifted his other arm to wrap around Sora's waste as his other arm did the same, Sora's hands holding his head to support him.
Axel and Roxas watched them smiling as they saw them glowing with a soft light "Hey Roxas, this warmth in my chest is kinda like what I feel around you."
Roxas giggled, "That's how it is when you have a heart."
"A heart huh? I guess I know why I never had one." Axel said.
The blonde blinked at him, "And why's that?"
The taller Nobody brought the other close to him, "Because you always had it."
Roxas smiled and nuzzled into his lover's chest, "Funny, you had mine too."
A light engulfed both pairs and the next thing they knew they were back on Destin Islands at the Paopu Island.
"We're back." Sora whispered once he broke away from the kiss and looked around. He looked back down at Riku and gasped "Your wounds! They're healed!"
Riku sat up into a sitting position and looked at himself, "How did that happen?" Instead of an answer he was tightly embraced by the brunette "Okay, so you're extremely happy." He laughed.
"Of course I am! I thought I was gonna loose you!" Sora cried.
"I'm not going anywhere, don't worry." Riku said lifting the brunette's head and pecking his lips.
"Well how do ya like that? Light in its purest form of love." They looked and saw Axel and Roxas standing not too far away, solid!
Sora stood up and ran to embrace his Nobody, "You have your own body now!"
Roxas embraced him back, "Yeah. Thanks Sora, Riku. If it hadn't been for you two we wouldn't be like this."
"Why's that?" Riku asked coming up to them.
"We don't know, really. It's unexplainable." Axel answered.
"Heads up!" Sora called and Axel caught a yellow star in his hand "Share it with Roxas!" the brunette said.
Riku looked at the other star Sora held, "When did you go and get those?"
Sora broke the star in half and gave one to Riku, "Does it matter? Eat!"
The teens ate their paopu in silence, the sound of their teeth breaking the skin of the fruit being the only sounds disrupting the night that had fallen. Riku decided to be slick and licked up the juice that dribbled down Sora's chin making the boy squeak.
From where they stood they saw the lights of the festival glowing brightly "We'd better get back." Riku said.
"Wait, what about your back? I want to make sure." Sora said undoing the zipper of the silverette's vest and pulling down to expose his back. He smiled at the sight, not a hint of darkness anywhere. Just pale skin "It's gone." He breathed.
Riku laughed and put his clothes back in place, "Glad to hear that. Now let's go before they send a search party."
X_X_X_X_X
Back at the festival Kairi was looking around and wringing her hands together. Sora and Riku had been gone too long, she and the others were doing all they could to keep everyone entertained by singing other songs they knew and just playing melodies. Tidus did a little stand-up comedy that was actually pretty funny, and he showed off some Blitz Ball tricks with Wakka. But there were the restless types, like the girls who were demanding Riku get back on stage and sing.
"Kairi calm down, they'll be back I know it." Naminé said beside her.
At some point during her worry earlier Kairi fainted and when she came to the platinum blonde was kneeling beside her trying to wake her up.
"I'm sorry Nami, but I wish I knew what happened to them."
Naminé smiled "Just look then." She said pointing out in the crowed.
There was a group of girl crowding around four boys that she knew well, Sora, Riku, Axel, and Roxas were coming towards they stage. Smiling she jumped down from the stage and ran up to them "You came back!" she cried hugging Riku.
"Well I just can't seem to stay away." He laughed hugging her back.
Kairi giggled and moved to hug Sora, "You did it."
"I realized how I felt." Sora said pulling back and taking Riku's hand in his.
The girl smiled and tried not to cry at the sigh, "Well let's get back, we still have a crowd to entertain."
"That's right. Hey Axel, Roxas. You guys are up." Riku said looking back at them.
Whoo! I'm on a roll! The story's almost done.
Sora: Looks like.
Okay so once again I used ideas from LovelessHyde, and the way Riku looked after the fight is an actual pic on DeviantArt called "Am I Forgiven?" by LordCavendish, look it up please~!
I'd also like to give a birthday shout out to my sister Aya in Texas, it's today the 24th so Happy B-day Aya~! Even though you won't see this.
A note about the last chapter, I mentioned Riku and Sora had to dance during Imitation Black, to see the dance simply go to YouTube and look up the Vocaloid video with Len and Kaito