Title: Hell

Author: SKF

Rating: PG

Word Count: (draaaaaaaabble!)

Summary: Some people spoke of Hell in a quiet, hushed tone of voice, as if they were afraid the devil would hear them, grin, and open a crevasse to the fire and brimstone.

Disclaimer: The boys aren't together right? Yeah. Means I don't own them.

A/N: Spoilers for KH2, in my opinion, but nothing really explicit. I just totally killed the whole Chain of Memories, KH2 plotline, I think. This was just my theory on why Riku is wearing the black ribbon around his eyes. There is another reason for it, that's explained in KH2, but there wouldn't be a fic if I followed that, now would there? (Oh, and if you couldn't tell, post Riku getting out from Kingdom Hearts. Yeah.)Enjoy!

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Some people spoke of Hell in a quiet, hushed tone of voice, as if they were afraid the devil would hear them, smirk, and open up a crevasse that they would fall into, with brimstone and fire crackling cheerfully. Others swore by Hell, others acted as if they couldn't care less and still others pretended that they knew what Hell was really like. Riku found the last group to be amusing in a depressing little way. They didn't know what Hell was until they had been trapped in suffocating, never-ending darkness where you wanted food and water, but all of the food and water in the world wouldn't cure the hunger or quench the thirst. They didn't know what it was like to look at your best friend and help him close The Door on you, feel those cool, slimy but not wet hands -were they even hands?- quest over your skin as if questioning why you were so warm and alive while they were cold and only animated. They, those outside The Door, had no idea and Riku found himself amused in a twisted way, every time someone tried to make it sound like they knew what true Hell was.

"Hey, kid," a low, rough voice spoke from above where Riku was crouched in the snow, sifting through his memories. He looked up through his tangled bangs to see some Good Samaritan, dangling a black ribbon in front of the younger boy's face- meant to be a hair tie, probably, to keep his hair from knotting and tangling any more than it had already. Lifting his head just a bit more, Riku caught the startled, choked gasp that escaped the man as he found himself staring into glowing yellow eyes. "What the Hell are you?" he managed, the cloth fluttering to the ground like a dead bird.

Riku opened his mouth to reply with something sharp and biting, something that fit his dark mood, but it was too late, the older man was backing up quickly and then stumbling off into the snow, leaving that black ribbon behind him with snowflakes slowly covering it. Idiot, he found himself thinking sourly, reaching out with numbing fingers to touch the cloth thoughtfully. It might have been meant as a hair tie, but there was a better use.

Moments later, men on the street raised eyebrows, the boy looked like Hell, women pulled their children away from that strange, foreign man, and Riku walked down the street, hands jammed in his pockets, the black ribbon tied around his eyes. It was time to find Sora.