Spirited, a kingdom hearts fanfic

AU RikuSora As a senior, Riku doesn't know where he's headed in life or where he's been. The yearbook staff isn't gonna let him go on forgetting. "For Riku." "He'll even be on the dedication page!"

Spirited - Kingdom Hearts (Originally titled Spirit, but we already have a story titled that, so it had to change.)

"I love you."

"Goodbye."

"Wait!"

A horn went off and wheels screeched. Something made impact.

"No!"

"Riku!"

Riku Masashi nodded to his friend Tidus as the blonde boy ran up. A red head, Wakka, also came to walk with him.

"Morning guys." he smiled.

"Half of senior year is gone already!" Tidus cheered. "Soon we'll be on our own in the world." he stretched his early morning yawns away.

"Ya. Me and Tidus gonna get an apartment together. Split the rent." Wakka chimed in with his strange accent-like voice. "We gonna play blitzball for a livin after this." he motioned to the school surroundings.

"I bet you are. But, wearing those school uniforms, you don't seem like athletes to me. Except for your muscles Wakka." a female voice giggled, and they all turned to see Kairi in the doorway of the yearbook room. A blonde girl was behind her sitting at a desk and looking a pages given to them to put in the yearbook.

"That yearbook's not done yet Kai? I thought you two were 'experts.'" Riku joked. Kairi frowned.

"Well, when we asked for things to put in the yearbook. More people sent in then we thought would. It's taking a bit longer. And we have the dedication page to think about to!" Kairi explained.

"Kairi. You asked for pictures of people and their pets, baby pictures, homecoming shots, 'club memories' group photos, copies of acceptance letters to all collages, and the superlatives. Not to mention the twins page, the dedication page, the actual student pictures page, the senior send off, the ads of 'we're hiring' for jobs, and the teachers page. Oh! And the teacher of the year page!" Tidus took a few deep breaths after that. Kairi giggled.

"So I suppose we went a little over board." she shrugged. The blonde girl walked up and stared straight at Riku with her big blue eyes. It always creeped him out when she did that.

"Hi Namine." he smiled with a wave, hiding his obvious discomfort. Her gaze moved slightly to stare him in the eyes and he blinked when she smiled before walking back into the room.

'What was she staring at?' he turned to look over his shoulder, but saw the hallway wall.

Riku was walking down the side of the street with a boy named Roxas. Roxas had once tried to kill himself, about at the beginning of senior year. Riku had managed to stop him, but Roxas seemed angry at him for some reason that Riku couldn't understand. Still, they were great friends now and currently walking to grab something to eat after school.

Roxas didn't talk much. He had a boyfriend, one he got after escaping from his depression. Riku had only met Axel once, but he...kinda approved.

Roxas blinked and looked up and to the street. They were at a crosswalk. Roxas's eyes became sad and Riku went to comfort him. Before he had even moved, tires screeching caught their attention and they turned.

A car was headed for a little boy. Riku took a step towards the boy down the street before his body froze. Roxas ran off towards the boy. The car's driver spun the wheel as far as he could and the car swerved, missing the scared boy by inches and running into an old and now closed shop.

Roxas sighed.

"He's...alright." he whispered to himself with a smile. "Riku."

Roxas turned around and blinked, people were just walking by without looking down. But on the ground, unconscious, was Riku Masashi.

"Riku!" Roxas ran over and shook his friend. "Riku, what happened?"

"What happened? Riku! What happened dammit!?"

"He's dead...He died..."

"What?"

"I killed him...I...I..."

Riku's eyes shot open and he sat up in his bed. Wait, bed?

'When did I get home?' he looked around and took in his room. It was dark outside the window, so it was late. 'How long was I out?'

"Good. You're awake." a female voice greeted with a sad smile in it.

Riku looked to his door and saw his mom.

"Ah. Mother." he nodded. "What happened?"

"Roxas carried you here. He said you'd passed out after a car nearly hit a little boy." she explained, seeming to get even more sad at the mention of a car crash near miss.

"Oh." Riku winced as his head hurt. "I think I hit my head."

"Let me have a look." his mom smiled and walked over, sitting on the bed near him and pulling him close to look at his head.

"Thanks mom." he smiled, hugging her as she worked.

'Why am I sad? The car missed!'

"Ta da!"

A bell rang as a bag of chocolate was placed on Riku's desk in his Pre Calculus class the next day.

"What's this Selphie?" he asked, picked it up and poking the bell attached to the top of the bag.

"I heard that you were feeling down today. So I brought you some chocolates." she winked. "Chocolate makes you feel like you're in love. Did you know that? It's soooo romantic!" she giggled.

"Thanks Selph. But I don't think that'll work on me. It's just chocolate." he laughed once before looking over his shoulder.

"Something the matter Riku?" she asked, not seeing anyone behind Riku of any interest.

"No. I just...I keep getting the feeling that someone's watching me." he shook his head.

"That's silly!" Selphie smiled, and it was contagious.

Across the room, a blonde girl looked up from her book and smiled sadly, looking over to Riku for a moment before going back to her book.

'You're finally coming to recognize it Riku.' she thought happily.

The figure spun around a teen with silver hair, smiling as he spun and orbited the teen walking down the street.

"Oh Riku! Is this great?" they asked, the smile in their voice was bright.

Riku didn't answer and kept walking, once in a while looking over his shoulder for a stalker he couldn't see.

(At this point, my friend Cortney was so confused she stopped reading. Please don't leave!)

Kairi blinked at Namine the next day. A juice box was in her hand, the straw to which was in her mouth. Namine had just made a suggestion that made her pause in drinking the juice. Namine was currently reviewing over all the pictures they had received.

They had files upon files in the office with them. The 'office' because currently they were at Kairi's house, it being a Saturday and all. They had holed up in the office her mother sometimes used for work. It had a great atmosphere that just made you wanna work!

"A theme?" the red head repeated, taking a slurp from her juice box. Namine nodded.

"That's right." her voice was soft, but comforting in a way. "I was thinking, after we saw Riku yesterday."

That was something that bugged Kairi to no end. She seemed to be the only one to pronounce Riku's name as one word. Everyone else said 'Ri-ku.' It was a broken sentence almost. Then again, the way Namine said it, it was actually kind of endearing.

"Riku?" she wondered aloud, loudly finishing off the juice and tossing it over her desk into the trash can. Again, Namine nodded.

"I think we should theme this year's yearbook. I want to call it...'Memories.'" she turned to Kairi and smiled. "He'll even be on the dedication page."

Kairi's face fell into a well worn frown. She looked away and leaned back in her chair to stare at the ceiling.

"Sora..."

"Right. We'll make it seem like any other yearbook, with memories of this year and last year all through it. The names of students who graduated and made it big, the victory photos of the teams after the big win. Records set by students, the big college acceptances." she smiled widely.

"Yea. We have all the stuff, well...almost all of it." she grinned. "I'll head to the store today, we can both go. We'll buy every newspaper and then we'll find copies of old ones. This is the Memorial Edition." she was actually getting kind of psyched.

Namine held up a fist and Kairi held up hers. As they tapped their fists together, Namine smiled.

"For Riku."

Kairi paused and held Namine's hand in both of hers.

"For Riku."

By the next Friday, Riku was almost certain that he was being followed, stalked. The presence was there no matter where he was, save for the bathroom. It was beginning to freak him out. Currently, it was the end of another school week and Tidus...

...ran right into him.

They both fell to the ground in a heap and Tidus laughed.

"Get off you idiot." Riku grumbled, pushing the laughing teen off of him. "What was that for anyway?" Tidus sobered a bit.

"The school's weekly Friday newspaper came out today!" he cheered.

"So? It comes out every Friday." Riku grumbled again as they stood up.

"Yea, but an announcement was made about the yearbook." Tidus shoved the paper under Riku's nose so that he would have to take it.

Riku took the paper from him and read aloud as they walked, Tidus grinning the whole way.

"We of the yearbook committee, Kairi and Namine, apologize for the delay in yearbooks. There were more send ins than we thought there would be. Congratulations students, this year book is themed. Check the following information." he looked down. "Theme, Memories. Price, approximately $60. Estimated release date...Whoa! Only two weeks from now!" he gasped.

"Yea. I think they have a mission here." Tidus quipped. "Usually yearbooks are put together by the committee and sent off to some big shot to copy. But I heard that Kai and Namine are doing everything themselves!"

"But why? Isn't that a lot more work?" Riku asked as they headed down the sidewalk away from school.

"I don't know." Tidus shrugged. "I'm thinking that they want this to be a total secret. Read the note there at the bottom." he motioned grandly to the paper again and Riku looked.

He scanned down the page, past the release date and read.

"The big hit is going to be the Dedication Page. The page dedicated to what we of the yearbook committee believe is the most important thing. In this case, 'What is the most important piece of our recent history to remember?' So don't miss checking it out. You won't regret it." he read it blandly, but the note was full of exclamation marks.

"I guessing that whatever that page is about has to be something spectacular, or they wouldn't be putting in so much effort." Just as Tidus finished his sentence, two blurs called girls ran past them. "Hey!" he called, narrowing his eyes.

"That was Kairi and Namine." Riku noted, watching them run off. "And they're about to enter...Have entered Kairi's house." he inclined his head in her house's direction.

"SEE?!" Tidus yelled. "Overtime! They're working on the yearbook!"

"Hmm..." Riku and Tidus kept walking the next few houses and then said goodbye as they split. The two boys lived right across the street from each other.

A teenage boy, probably a junior in high school, stood where the other two had been moments before. He was staring into the window of the office of Kairi's house, where blinds and curtains obscured everything. His eyes looked sad.

"Memories." he whispered, and the emotion in that word was so powerful. They were so sad that you may have drown in the tears if he were crying.

The curtain moved in the window and he looked up in hope. A girl with blonde hair, Namine, peeked out and smiled. She waved a little, shy wave to him with an equally shy smile on her pale face. He waved back until Namine was pulled back into the room moments later by Kairi, and the curtain fell over the window again. Then his smile dropped, as did his hand, and he frowned.

"You're the only one..." he whispered.

Riku laughed and put his arm around the boy next to him. On this island, no one would bother them for hours. The other boy had brown hair and both of them seemed to be only about 6 or 7 years old. Still, they had made it to this remote island to play for the day. They'd just recently become friends, and already they were inseparable.

Riku's laugh continued as he was suddenly 13 years old and then died off. The brunette was crying into his shoulder. His father had just died. Riku had never known his father, but to lose someone that close to your heart, anyone would cry. The boy cried into his shoulder for forever it seemed, soaking the yellow fabric completely through. But Riku knew that he would never push this boy away.

And suddenly they were 16, in highschool, and Riku was staring at the brunette in shock threw the rain that was pouring down around them. Riku's brain seemed to have shut down, and he couldn't think for the longest time. It was as if he couldn't believe his ears. But what had been said? The teen turned and ran off, and Riku moved as if to go after him. But the other teen was already across the busy highway and watching the ground.

Riku grimaced the next day in class. His head hurt, and had ever since he'd woken up. He didn't know why, but right now...all that mattered was that he wanted the pain to go away.

"But if you forget, who will remember, Riku?"

Riku blinked and looked around. That voice sounded familiar, but not familiar enough for him to place it. And no one seemed to be near him that had said anything to him. His head hurt again with the confusion.

"I can't make the pain go away, but I can make you forget you ever had any." a cheerful voice chipped from next to him, and Riku jumped in his seat.

"Oh...Selphie." he calmed down. "Don't do that when I have a headache, ok? You know I get jumpy." Selphie smiled, and the smile became an almost evil smirk.

"So do you wanna get rid of the headache, or not feel your head?"

"No Selphie remedies...please." he joked, half serious about it. Selphie had the weirdest ways to get rid of headaches, make you get better faster, and more. Heck! She knew what to eat in what order to make your eyes turn purple!

"Meh, suit yourself." she shrugged. "But did you turn anything in?"

"Turn in?" Riku thought for a moment. He didn't think they'd had homework.

"Not for class silly." Selphie giggled, seeing his eyes dark around the room real fast. "Did you give Kairi and Namine anything for the yearbook?" Riku made an 'oh!' face.

"Yea. Kairi asked me to get my oldest photo albums, the ones I never look at anymore. I think she just wanted to show Namine my baby pictures." he shook his head with a laugh that Selphie joined in on.

"It's only a week away Riku." the voice from earlier said, and Riku darted his eyes around real fast again.

"Did you say something Selph?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"You must be hallucinating now." she summarized. "You know, I have a remedy for that too. My grandfather started seeing rabbits everywhere and after he had this stuff, he never saw a rabbit again. Well, except for Marty, our pet rabbit. And every time he sees Marty, I'm forced to make more-"

"Selphie!" Riku interrupted. "You're rambling, and the bell just rang."

"Oh!" She quickly sat down in her seat, as she'd been sitting on the desk, and got ready for class.

Namine looked around her work place in Kairi's father's office. Kairi was on the other side of the room, put together the rest of the pages. School had only let out a few minutes ago, but they were already hard at work.

"Namine." Kairi called, making the blonde turned around. "I'm done with the rest of the yearbook. I'll be ready to make copies as soon as I buy the paper. Is the Dedication page ready yet?" she asked.

Namine shook her head lightly.

"Almost. I'll be done when you come back with the paper." she assured brown/red head.

Kairi smiled and stood up.

"Just stick it under the rest of the pages when you're done and I'll make sure that it gets copied with the rest of the pages." she waved goodbye and left quickly.

Namine nodded to her and then turned back to her work. All these pictures, so few that she could use. She reread what she had written up in her best, prettiest handwriting.

"This is a one year dedication to the death of one of our most important and most loved children of Destiny. We sometimes wish that we could erase our memories if only to be relieved of the pain of knowing and losing this one. But those memories have made us stronger and we can keep him alive and among us just by believing in who he was and remembering."

She smiled and picked up some of the photos, suddenly knowing just which ones to use. The three teens in the picture smiled back at her. One with brown hair, another with blonde hair, and a third with silver hair. They looked so happy that it made her sad, and a tear dripped down her face.

Namine finished putting the page together and made it copy-presentable. She set it under all the other papers, just as Kairi had told her, and then she wrote a note.

'Kairi,

The page is done, and it's under the others just like you told me to do. I'm paying a visit to someone special. I'll see you tomorrow, ok?

Namine'

Namine was sitting in a graveyard. She was sitting on the neatly cut grass in front of a headstone, on which was the name of someone she wanted to meet once again.

Her eyes were closed, as she was concentrating very hard. But a smile graced her lips as she felt it coming. Namine opened her eyes as the form of a brunette boy appeared before her. He looked around and then to her.

Namine waved a small wave, and he smiled and waved back.

"How are things going?" she asked. "It's not often we get to talk like this."

He nodded solemnly.

"He's coming around...I think." he whispered with a blush. Namine smiled widely.

"That's wonderful! I've noticed it too." she nodded happily. "And your brother's gotten a lot better too."

"Thanks Namine...for watching them for me." he frowned and looked away. "I can't...I can't do that anymore...Not really."

"I've made a present for you." Namine announced in her soft voice.

"What? Really?" he seemed surprised. "But what kind of gift could you give me?"

"Well, it's going to be released to the public in a little less than half a week." she hinted, winking at him when he seemed confused.

The teen gasped.

"I know what you're talking about!" he said in realization. "The highschool yearbook comes out in half a week!" he gave her a curious look. "What are you planning, Mrs. Witch?"

"I'll attach a spell to one of the books, and it'll be given out the morning the yearbooks go out on sale. The person I'll give this book to is..."

"Just don't hurt him, ok?" the Junior said hastily, sadly. "I don't want him to hurt anymore."

"He'll hurt eventually. But you will only suffer more if this goes on..." she tried placing a hand on his shoulder but met air as he moved away. "Sora..."

"I can't stay forever...And I know that Namine." he seemed incredibly sad. "But...I can't leave him alone like that...Because...Because I'm the one who broke him."

"Your brother fixed himself." Namine reasoned.

"But he can't." Angry blue eyes turned on her, but the anger was partially cut out by the sadness. "You believe that too, or else you wouldn't have come up with this elaborate plan."

"You're right." she giggled, then frowned. "Just make sure you're nearby him that day, ok?"

"Alright." he nodded, accepting the task. He then looked confused. "Why that day Namine?"

Namine grinned.

"What better day to reveal our Memories yearbook, then on a day that captured the entire city in one moment. A day full of so many memories, for everyone."

He nodded, and as she walked away, he vanished.

I held him in my arms that night. The night his brother got sick. I still don't know what he had, but it was so rough on him that he was transported to the hospital. And we laid together that night, enjoying the comfort the other had to offer.

It was hurting him, and I knew it. His brother and him were twins, and even though they weren't identical, the bond between them was amazing. He could feel his brother's pain, his sickness. His skin was pale and he felt so cold in my arms that all I could do was try to keep him warm.

A body covered in thick red wine, being washed away by the sky's tears.

The last day of our Junior year, he came to me. He called me on the phone and told me to meet him. He sounded so scared, what could I do besides show up? His eyes were covered in water from the rain, but also from his own tears. I couldn't begin to imagine what could've happened. His endless blue eyes were trying to tell me what he couldn't yet say with words.

Two faded blue crystals stared forward as if meant to be eyes.

"What are you doing!? Stop!"

He'd been trying to kill himself. I don't know why, and I'll probably never know. He won't tell me anything! But when I tried to stop him, he came at me instead.

"Roxas stop! Stop it! You'll kill him!" a female voice called. I later learned that it was Kairi.

"Why shouldn't he die!?" Kairi ripped him off of me somehow, but he continued to scream and cry into her arms as I caught my breath. He'd almost suffocated me! "Why shouldn't I kill him!? He killed him Kairi! He killed him..."

I still don't know who he thought I'd killed. Maybe I'll never know.

A kiss saved, treasured. A kiss that never made it to the intended target. A kiss that will be forever locked away within the heart. Just for you...

I'm standing on a sidewalk, and the rain is coming down. That day, that day was so sad. He was moving. That's why he'd been crying. His mom had decided that they were moving!

"Mom said that...we can't afford our house anymore Riku." he said. His voice is so familiar to me, but also so fuzzy - airy. "We're moving."

I didn't want to believe that, and I wanted to hold him again. To hold him until all his sorrows blew away with the rain. But my body refused to move, and silver strands of hair hung in my eyes.

"I may never see you again."

With that, he'd run across the street and headed for his house. No, for his old house. Soon, he wouldn't live there anymore.

At the time, I hadn't been able to think of anything to say to him. But afterwards, something clicked within me, or broke is more like it. And I knew...I couldn't let him leave. Two days after he told me they were moving, I called him...and I wanted him to meet me once more. Just one more time.

Riku decided to stay home from school the next day. He felt so horrid.

'What a nightmare. It gave me an illness!' he thought angrily, but the anger soon dissolved into nothingness. 'But...it was such a nice dream. Like sad memories, and I enjoyed them.'

Riku's head 'pulsated' and he rolled over on to his side, clutching it tightly.

'So why do I feel like I want to die!?'

"Riku's not here today." Namine said with a pout.

"Look, he can just buy his tomorrow like everyone else." Kairi smiled at the boy who'd just bought their yearbook and took his money.

"No Kairi, I want to just give him his. He shouldn't have to pay for this." she explained.

Kairi sighed as the last person who had the money to pay for the yearbook that day walked away.

"I supposed you're right. He does kinda deserve this." Kairi looked at the book Namine was holding in her lap and smiled. "Why don't you deliver it to his house? I'm going to go visit Sora."

She stood and took one of the left over yearbooks with her as she walked away.

"He won't be happy about ignoring you." Namine muttered to herself before standing up and heading for the school exit. She was so glad that school was over already.

Riku's mom answered the door when the doorbell rang, and for that, Riku was glad. His headache had gone away, mostly, and he wanted to be alone with his thoughts.

He'd been replaying the dreams he'd had lately. People said it was supposed to be hard to do that, but it was so easy for him. Maybe it was because they seemed so much like memories to him. Oh well, that wasn't what he was thinking about.

The boy in the dreams, the one he could almost clearly see. His voice seemed so clear, yet hazy-like and far away. It was strange and captivating all at once. Riku wasn't sure why his heart beat so fast every time he had a memory of those dreams. Maybe he was falling for the boy in them?

"Don't be ridiculous Riku." he shook his head as gently as he could, without stirring up a headache. "It's just dreams. You shouldn't be thinking that way."

"But I'm not a dream Riku. I'm real..."

Riku sat up abruptly, and then held his head in pain. The headache was back. But he didn't care. That voice! It was the voice he kept hearing during his classes, the voice he kept hearing...in his dreams. But it was slightly different. Sadder, guilt-ridden, more airy, farther away yet close at hand.

"Riku! You awake?" his mother asked kindly, peeking into his room and smiling at the grim look on his face. "A friend of yours from school dropped this off."

"Huh?" he asked, not seeing what was so great about a book.

"It's your yearbook. And she insisted that you not pay for it." Riku's mom seemed most happy about that particular detail.

"Was it Kairi?" he asked as she handed the book to him.

"No. They do look similar though. This girl had blonde hair." she explained. "Oh! I left the stove on. Enjoy your yearbook!"

Riku scoffed. How could you enjoy a yearbook? He looked down at the cover and remembered that it was a special edition.

Destiny Isles High School

2005-2006

Precious Memories Edition

It was written in gold lettering and Riku grinned at the blue cover before opening it. It was beautifully made, even though it was handcrafted and self-copied. He grimaced at his own picture, but then again, he never thought his school pictures were good (though the female populous would greatly like to mug each other for them.)

The last page in the yearbook, every year, was a dedication page. So after reading up on all the things that had happened in the past, Riku slowly flipped the last page. It was adjacent to the back cover of the book, seeing as all the 'sign here' pages had been put in the front.

"I love you."

Riku felt a shock go through him as soon as his eyes landed on the page. This boy...who was he? His hair stuck up at odd angles and it looked like melted chocolate. The centerpiece of the page showed just how crystal his eyes were, crystal blue like the ocean waters or maybe the sky. Yea, like the sky. Riku felt his chest hurt just a little bit.

The background of the page, behind the center picture, was a collage of the boy presented. But Riku just skipped right to the paragraph about him, trying to figure out who this boy was.

Sora Tanaka

1989-2005

"A little over a year ago, Sora Tanaka died when he was hit by a car. This is only a small dedication to one who did so much for us in only 16 years of life. Sora was an avid protester against animal cruelty and deforestation. Every year he helped out at Thanksgiving and Christmas, giving out food to the poor and homeless. He was in the Habitat For Humanity group, helping raise money to build a house for homeless people.

This is a one year dedication to the death of one of our most important and most loved children of Destiny. We sometimes wish that we could erase our memories if only to be relieved of the pain of knowing and losing this one. But those memories have made us stronger and we can keep him alive and among us just by believing in who he was and remembering."

The farther Riku read, the more his chest and head hurt. The more he felt a foreboding air take him over.

"Sora left behind his mother, Aurora Tanaka, and his twin brother, Roxas Tanaka."

Riku gasped. One year ago. That was it. A little over a year ago, Roxas had tried to commit suicide. He'd also tried to kill Riku. Roxas must have blamed Sora's death on Riku! But why? Riku was confused.

'I didn't even know his brother. So how could I have killed him?'

"Read these words and remember. See these sights and remember. Feel this pain and remember. Riku Masashi, remember!"

Riku gasped and looked up. That had been Namine's voice! But what was she doing in his room?

Wait, she wasn't in his room.

Riku shook his head, sure that he was going insane now, and looked back to the page, intent on figuring out this puzzle. His eyes were drawn over to the background pictures, and he was sure that he'd stopped breathing.

All these photos...of fund-raises, school events, sports...Sora was in all of them...but so was Riku. In every single picture, Sora was standing directly next to Riku...

A body covered in thick red wine, being washed away by the sky's tears. Two faded blue crystals stared forward as if meant to be eyes. A kiss saved, treasured. A kiss that never made it to the intended target. A kiss that will be forever locked away within the heart. Just for you...

"No..." Riku breathed out.

His body covered in thick blood, being washed away in the pouring rain as the brunette looked at me with dulled blue eyes. He spoke with those lips, the ones I've learned only recently that I've always wanted to kiss...A kiss that will be forever locked away within my heart, just for you Sora.

"No!" Riku held his head.

"Sora?" I asked when I heard the other line pick up.

"Riku?" he sounded sad just to hear my voice. "What is it?"

"I know you're moving, so...can we meet one more time. I need to tell you something in person. It's important." I'm whispering, and I know it's because I'm scared. Sora seems to be able to understand though, and I can almost see him nod.

"Of course. At the bus stop, like last time." he then hung up, probably to rush over there. I went slowly, but still made it before he did. "What is it Riku?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but thunder shook the sky and suddenly it was pouring. So I shut my mouth, trying to gather my courage. He was moving, so even if he didn't feel the same...I wouldn't have to ever face him again. So I should be able to tell him.

"Riku?" he asked, concerned. I look up at him with sad eyes.

"Sora..." I start. Why is it that the more real the feelings are, the harder it is to express them? "I...I love you."

He just stared at me in shock after that, and I plunged forward.

"I have for a long time, the longest time. But I haven't been able to tell you." Still he didn't move. Was he even hearing me anymore? "Since you're moving, I figured that you deserved to know. At least before you leave. And then you can forget all about me if you don't feel the same. So it's ok that I feel this way, right?" Nothing. "Sora?"

Sora blinked, but other than that, he just stared at me. It was harsh, this kind of silent rejection. Sora then lowered his head and looked at the ground. His face is turning a mean shade of red. I probably embarrassed him, he's so shy and sensitive. Or he might be mad, but I can't tell. But I just can't take the silence anymore!

"Goodbye." I whisper, before turning and walking across the street and ready to head home to mope. Because I'm like that. I mope around until I get over what I'm moping about. So I'll be moping forever this time I guess.

"Wait!" Sora's voice chased after me and I stopped walking, now on the other side of the street. "Riku!" Sora, I could hear his footsteps because of the rain...even though he's on the other side of the street, running towards me even though the light is green.

What? Oh no!

"Sora, you idiot! Don't run into the road!"

But my warning came to late and then he was flying through the air. He didn't fly far, mind you, but still...he'd been hit by a car! I couldn't move until I saw the blood billowing out from his wounds.

"No!" I yell, running across the street and pushing past the forming crowd.

I'm the first to his side and then I'm down on my knees, getting them soaked in his blood. Already his skin is paling, and I wonder how one person can lose so much blood in such a short time. So I hold him up a bit as he lifts a hand to touch my shirt, my chest.

I see extra water falling on to his face and I realize that I'm crying.

"Sora..." I whisper, my voice choked from the tears. "Sora..."

"Riku..." he whispered, his eyes beginning to lose their shine. "Riku I..."

"No Sora...Don't." I ordered, shaking my head. "Don't talk, please. I don't want you to die. You can't because-"

"I love you too." Sora was smiling at me. I could only stare at him as he started coughing, unable to breath properly and probably choking on something.

"Oh no, Sora..." I clenched my hands around his left arm and shoulder, where my hands are laying as I hold him. "Sora no...Not now. We could get together now...And I'll make sure you don't have to move...Right Sora?" I ask when he's stopped coughing. But I don't get an answer. "R-right? Sora?"

Riku's mom looked up from her cooking, which she had just finished, because she thought she'd heard something. Then she heard it again. And she panicked. Riku was screaming!

She burst into his bedroom, ready to fight off an attacker, but just saw her son on the floor...holding himself, sobbing, and screaming. She went to hold him and paused for a moment as she saw the open yearbook. Then she understood and held him tightly.

"Riku, Riku it's ok." she cooed, holding him tighter when he shuddered and screamed in sorrow again. "Riku..."

It wasn't helping. Riku just couldn't make the tears stop. This is what had happened the last time too. In the hospital. He'd cried like this until he'd fallen asleep, and after that he'd forgotten everything. But this time, this time he wouldn't forget. And he'd cry everyday if he couldn't stop the tears.

Right now though, he didn't want to. Sora was gone! Sora had been gone, and everyone knew it but Riku himself. The man who'd been there when it had happened!

And Roxas. Roxas had been the first person Riku recognized to come find him that day. And all Riku had said was 'He's dead, I killed him.' So Roxas had naturally blamed Riku. Roxas had been mad at Riku for forgetting his brother, for forgetting the man he'd killed.

So Riku was crying. He was crying so loudly, and so painfully, that nothing his mother did could make him stop.

"Riku...It's ok. Really. You can stop crying now." a voice said. They were trying to be calm, but it sounded strained. "I-I'm here now. I've always been here."

Riku's mom blinked in confusion when her son suddenly stopped crying. She pulled away slightly and looked into his eyes. But they were looking somewhere else, somewhere far away. She pulled away completely and he just sat there, staring as if he'd just suddenly died right there. For a moment, she feared that he was, and then he spoke.

"S-sora..."

Riku's eyes closed and he fell forward. Sora reached out to grab him and...did. But then Riku kept going and hit the ground, but Sora was holding Riku...Wait a minute.

"Oh my god I just stole your soul!" he cried, dropping Riku, who pushed himself up and looked around.

"Did I just die?" he looked at his own mother, who was shaking him and calling his name, before she ran out to call 911. He looked away from his own body when he felt someone hug him. Then he looked down at Sora's hair.

"I'm sorry! That's my fault! I-I didn't know that would happen. Please don't hate me..." Sora started out loud, and got softer as he spoke until it was merely a whisper.

"Hate you?" Riku blinked in surprise. "Sora, why don't you hate me!? I...I killed you!"

"No. That driver killed me." Sora glared up at him. "You tried to save me."

"Tried to save you?" Riku only remembered sitting there stupidly as Roxas tried to make him stop talking nonsense, and then crying in the hospital after Sora had been pronounced dead.

"Riku, you loved me. You still love me. I was just so stupid, that I couldn't answer you in time and I tried to race over to you even though the light was green. You told me not to but...I did." Sora pulled away and looked to the ground as if embarrassed. "I followed you after I died, I wasn't aware that I was dead yet."

"Weren't aware?" Riku didn't believe this.

"Yea...Anyway, I knew I was dead because they told you I was. Before that, I was so confused. Why were you ignoring me? Why did you look so sad? Why was Roxas so mad? But then I knew...and then you broke."

Sora and Riku paused their talk as an ambulance came and took Riku's body away. Riku felt fear. He didn't want to die...

"I didn't want you to be broken, and I knew I'd been the cause. So I stuck around and tried to fix you. I didn't do a very good job though. Namine's done more to help than I have." Sora was talking fast, as if trying to hurry up.

"Namine?" Riku was confused.

"Did someone say my name?" the blonde girl was suddenly in the room and Riku jumped back, which sent him floating away until Sora grabbed him and pulled him back down. "That's cute. But Riku, you shouldn't have done that."

"Done what?" he asked stupidly. He hadn't done anything.

"You stopped wanting to live. You were supposed to come to peace, knowing that Sora didn't hate you. Maybe have a little living-to-dead talk. But no, you see Sora and go 'I want to die.' Riku, your spirit went to Sora because you willed it to." she gave him a little glare, which Riku returned times 2.

"Like I meant to!" he growled, and Sora grabbed his arm. Not that Riku could have hurt Namine even if he'd tried, but still.

"I need to work fast if I'm going to save you though." she suddenly brought a little white bag from behind her.

Riku watched as she set something up and then turned a questioning look on Sora.

"She's going to put you back in your body." he explained simply, and Riku's eyes widened.

"What? But...What about you?"

"I'm dead Riku. I've been dead. My body is decomposing in the city graveyard. No witchcraft Namine knows will undo that." he dead-panned. "But I don't want you to die just because of me. So she's going to send you back. Then I'll leave and-"

"You're going to leave? Go away? Disappear?" Riku asked, his eyes desperate. Sora nodded and Riku hugged him tightly. "No! Sora we just met again. I won't let you go." he whispered the last part into Sora's hair.

"Ok mister selfish. Whether you like it or not, you're leaving. And so is Sora. But he'll wait until you're all good again before he goes." Namine's voice washed over him and Riku tightened his hold on Sora.

But already he was feeling as if he weren't all there. Then he felt something. Sora.

Sora was kissing him. Riku reacted quickly and kissed back. Anything that Namine was doing, he didn't notice. Sora and him were the only ones that mattered now. This was paradise, a place he never wanted to leave. Just being with Sora was heaven to Riku.

Riku felt tears hit his hands, which were now on Sora's shoulders, and pulled away in surprise. He looked down and saw a tear. Looking up revealed that Sora was crying, and Riku found that he couldn't breathe, not that he needed to anyway but...

"I'll always love you Riku." Sora whispered, his voice cracking from the tears. "I love you." he was still whispering, and then Riku couldn't hear him. But Sora was still repeating the words 'I love you.'

Riku's eyes widened and he felt two tears, one from each eye, escape him as he yelled Sora's name silently and he was gone. Sora fell to his knees and Namine knelt next to him.

"He's going to be alright." she whispered. "He'll be alright."

"Come on kid!" a doctor called, his voice far away, and then Riku felt a jolt.

He coughed and then he could hear his own heart beating on the monitor he couldn't see.

"He's alive." the same doctor said, and then Riku could hear the other doctors talking.

'I'm alive.' he thought as if confused, but not questioning it. Then he let out a few tears, that the doctors failed to notice, and fell into unconsciousness.

(Time skip a few months and...)

"Riku!" Tidus ran up to the silver haired teen, both of them garbed in this year's Senior Color. Silver. Riku had felt that someone was making a joke about him when they chose it.

"Yea Tidus?" he asked, prying to other graduate off his arm.

"What are you doing after this? Me and Wakka are-"

"Renting an apartment and playing the blitzball little leagues." Riku joked, barely dodging the ball that was thrown at him by Wakka, who looked like the real joke in this outfit.

"We gonna be in the big leagues. The pros man." he grunted, not liking Riku's joke at all.

Riku laughed.

"So Riku, really. What are you planning to do after this?" Tidus asked, calmer...quieter this time. Riku closed his eyes for a minute.

"I think I'll go on to college."

"What? More school?" Tidus groaned. "Riku, you're crazy."

Riku just shook his head before opening his eyes to see their faces as he said his next line.

"No. Really. I've already been accepted to Destiny University." he turned and kept walking as Wakka and Tidus gasped and made funny noises of surprise. That was the best university in all the islands! Mind you, they only had 3, but people from around the world had to fight for Destiny University. It was really hard to get accepted.

"Oh look, the graduate is already college bound. Isn't he cute Kairi?" Selphie asked, looking too young to be wearing silver.

"Well, I did kind of think he would need to go on to college, if he's planning on being a Zoologist." Kairi said, sounding serious. Riku nodded a greeting to her and waved at Namine with a smile.

"Ooh, Riku's not aiming only for college, now is he?" Tidus joked. "What's with that smile?"

"Guys knock it off." Riku whacked Tidus in the head. "She helped me out, that's all. Got me back on track." Riku looked at the ground for a minute before he regained his usual fervor.

Before Tidus or anyone else could ask about the suddenly solemn mood, Riku took off walking.

"I have to go meet with Roxas anyway, so I'll talk to all of you later." he waved over his shoulder and hurried out of the school yard, not bothering to change clothes even as he met with Roxas and they began walking down the road. Everyone walked here. "Thanks for this by the way. I don't think I could go by myself."

It had been over half a year already and Riku still hadn't managed to go to Sora's grave. He hadn't been able to get the courage to do so. But Roxas, when Riku had mentioned it, had agreed to go (After crying in relief of course. He was so happy that Riku remembered.)

"Well, you should go see him. I'm sure he'd be really happy." Roxas shrugged, and then glared at his silver sleeve. He didn't like the graduation outfits either.

"Yea, I'm sure he would be." Riku smiled, and Roxas saw it so he smiled too.

"You're ok then, right?" Roxas asked when they stopped in front of the grave that belonged to his brother, and he knelt down.

"Yea. I'm ok now. I'll survive, and I'll keep on living." Riku smiled towards the sky, and Roxas stared at him in awe. What had caused Riku to have such a bright outlook on life? The blonde smiled sadly and looked back to his brother's grave.

"Then I guess Sora can rest in peace then." he whispered. "He can finally rest in peace."

Sora smiled at them both.

"Thank you."

Both Roxas and Riku started at the tears that were suddenly running down both their faces. They both quickly wiped them away, and then started to laugh a bit.

"He's gone." Riku said while he laughed. "He's gone."

And then he had to sit down because his legs wouldn't hold him. And Roxas held him as they both started to cry.

Fin