Chapter 7 into the Ocean

Heading to school, Sora kept his thoughts positive. It turned out that Riku didn't show up at school, causing his mood to plummet.

Frowning and shoulders sagging dejectedly, Sora mumbled to his redhead friend, "Why, why isn't Riku here, when I'm so…ready to set things right?"

"He's probably sick or something, Sora. After school, you can go to his house," Kairi consoled.

"Hmm." Sora's eyes started to dim as his thoughts slowly turned negative. "Kairi, do you think he's avoiding me?"

"Don't let it bother you. Riku is probably sick," Kairi repeated.

The boy rolled his eyes. "With what? Riku survived a whole year in darkness, now he's getting sick all of the sudden on account of nothing?"

"He's probably still drained after living in the darkness for so long." The girl brought a hand to her chin, speculating. "After all, I really wonder if he ate or even slept well that whole year."

Kairi certainly had a point. What if Riku had just happened to fall victim to fatigue and exhaustion? But, crap, why now? Sora tried to shut out the negative thoughts that didn't paint him in the most positive light, but he couldn't contain himself any longer. Therefore, he promptly forgot about the classes he was supposed to attend, and went directly to Riku's.

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Sora gulped a little in front of Riku's house. He took determined, but nervous steps up the lawn and tapped the bell. He waited, and it seemed forever while no one come to open the door.

He decided quickly that he could make use of the Keyblade. When nobody was around, he summoned the shining key and tapped its end to the door.

Click.

He let the Keyblade disappear and turned the door knob, all the while feeling like an intruder. He had never intended to use the Keyblade in such a manner, but this had felt like neccessity.

Taking a deep breath, he called out loud into the residence, "Riku?" He walked in and looked up the stairs leading to Riku's room. "Riku! I'm coming up!" he announced and proceeded up the stairs, advancing to the door he knew so well. "Riku, I'm coming in."

Opening the door, he found that the room was empty. Stepping in, he noticed that Riku's belongings were a little untidy. Being a friend with the owner of the room for ten years, Sora knew that something wasn't right. He couldn't remember the last time that Riku's room was a mess. There were only a few reasons for this, and one of them was because Riku was upset, badly.

The boy searched the house once more and found that Riku's school bag and shoes weren't anywhere to be seen. So, Riku should supposedly be at school, but he was not.

'Riku's not here,' Sora thought bitterly as he shut his eyes tight. 'Where could he be?'

He had a bad feeling about this. Something told him that Riku might not come back if Sora didn't look for him. Suddenly, he was fully aware of the effect his behavior had on Riku..

There was no question as to where Riku's destination of choice would be.

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He stood in front of the door in the island cave; the very door that he had opened a year ago and let the darkness consume the island, everything and everyone…gone. Back then, he had no power to control the darkness, but this time was different. He knew the process that could be done without danger coming to his island home.

Home…the place didn't feel completely wrong, but he felt himself alien in it.

His oceanic eyes shifted momentarily from the door to his left hand. His arm band didn't do much for cover anymore. The dark marks of tendrils had carved themselves over his arm, exceeding the lengths they normally stayed at. He pulled the arm band off and wasn't surprised to find his wrist completely black. The sinister marks had spread convex like dark blood vessels.

Riku almost felt himself smile…bitterly, as he smelled the darkness emanating from his own body. It resonated his dark thoughts; the convex started to crawl out of his skin, like branching veins, sliding up above his wrist. He knew he didn't have much time.

'This is it…' was the last real thought that crossed his mind, but an afterthought also occurred to him, 'I'm sorry, Sora…You and Kairi will be better off without me…'

Riku reached for the door.

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As he neared the dock of the island, Sora's heart sank when he saw no other boat was around. Not Riku's boat.

'No, no, no!' his mind shouted while he jumped out of his own boat and rushed onto the sand. A wave of panic hit him. Sora knew that something bad was about to happen.

'Maybe I should fade back into darkness.' Riku's words echoed back to him.

Sora felt it, Riku was slipping away. But still, he was near, Sora just knew it. He hurried to the cave, the one place he knew Riku would go.

The last time he had come here was his first time back on the island after his adventure; he had slipped in and found his and Kairi's drawing, which was inserted with a Paopu fruit. He had been smiling then, but he knew he wouldn't be smiling any longer if something happened to Riku.

When he reached the end of the tunnel, he straightened, blue eyes taking in the sight.

His insides twisted into tight knot. His sweat turned cold.

"RIKU!!!"

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Riku halted slightly.

'Sora…?' He shook his head, and smiled bitterly. 'That must have been my imagination. I also had that last time when Ansem took over me too.'

"Riku!!!"

'Why does it feel so real…?' A bitter chuckle escaped his throat, and he tilted his head up, closing his eyes. 'Maybe I just have a strong imagination…how terrible.'

He proceeded.

One foot had passed the gate, and the other one followed. Ahead of him, above and below, there was nothing but darkness. Something came under him, Riku felt it was that familiar tendrils of shadow snaking around him and welcoming him down into the abyss.

So far, he'd managed to keep the darkness at the door.

Having the dark ribbons pulling him down, particularly at his left wrist which seemed to be resonating with everything that was on this side of the door, Riku didn't mind one bit. He was going to let it drag him down freely, but not before he closed the door.

Without looking back, he reached to pull the door closed, but something suddenly pulled on his hand.

Riku craned his head back in astonishment. His eyes widened and his breath caught violently in his throat, but he managed to force something out.

"Sora…?"

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"What the hell are you doing, Riku!!!?" Sora growled as he latched his hands on to Riku's. His eyes darted about his friend, who was covered with sinister darkness. Though Riku had yet to answer him, Sora could venture a guess as to what was happening.

Riku had opened the door, and obviously was planning to go through it; moreover, he'd been meaning to close it in case Sora hadn't showed up and interrupted his plan. That only meant that Riku was attempting to leave…alone.

Pulling himself out of the thought, Sora felt his friend's hand was slipping. He gripped on to it and planted his feet firmly on the ground. Then, on a closer inspection, he realized that the darkness was pulling Riku away.

"Let go, Sora!"

…Riku was trying to bat his hand away from Sora's.

Sora swayed but kept one hand steady on the door frame, another still latching onto Riku's. Unbelieving and fuming beyond hell, Sora resumed the yelling, "Riku, you moron!! Come back here!!!" He gave a yank but it wasn't enough to draw Riku back. Receiving a pained smile from Riku, Sora was clearly infuriated. "Why are you doing this!?"

"The darkness has got to me, Sora," said Riku as he gave another attempt to jerk his hand from Sora, yet Sora refused to budge. "I can't stay here, Sora! See what's become of me!?" He said so as he shifted his left arm into Sora's line of vision, revealing the swirls of darkness dancing about it, black lines drawing from its end to the abyss below him.

With that, Sora's eyes went wide, his mouth parted in shock slightly. Then he jerked his head, facing directly to his friend, "You lied to me!! You told me it was nothing!"

Riku couldn't be too sure if Sora's reaction had been what he expected. The brunette seemed to be choosing the most inopportune moment to bring that up, about him being a liar. He would have laughed, had he not been feeling so hopeless. Sora's reactions always made him laugh.

He would miss that.

His green eyes took in the sight of Sora shifting further into the door of darkness in order to reach Riku's other wrist. At that, panic burned through him. He didn't want Sora anywhere near his darkness, let alone being in the boundary of darkness itself.

"Damn it, Sora, let GO!!!" he cursed while he tried to shove Sora back into the safe ground behind the open door. Yet still, Sora refused to budge, and Riku had to wonder where the boy had gotten the strength. "I CAN'T stay, Sora! LET GO!!"

Given the tone of finality from Riku, Sora was snapped out of his sole determination to pull Riku back. He regarded to Riku with studying gaze. Riku was serious about this; that much he knew.

"Okay, if you insist to leave that much…" Sora trailed off, his earlier anger faded into a faint unreadable expression.

Riku was only given a moment for relief before Sora looked up at him again and cut in.

"But I'm going with you," Sora finished.

Gaping at Sora's unwavering eyes, Riku's own eyes widened. Realization hit in when Sora was letting go of his other hand which he had been nailing to the doorframe. Both of them shifted slightly according to the darkness' flow when Sora's hand almost left the doorframe.

'No, no, no, Sora can't…!' "Damn!" Riku cursed again as he shoved his hand over Sora's own that could have left the door completely had he not pressed against it. He craned his head back to Sora who was now attaching himself to Riku. "Sora, you have to go back!!!"

"I'm not going back anywhere without you!!" Sora responded feverishly.

"Sora!"

"It's either you're going back with me, or I, going with you!!"

Taken aback, Riku was lost at what to do with the situation. Sora was as stubborn as…Sora. The brunette was clinging to him like a lifeline, and there seemed no way to detach. There was no way Sora would give in, and Riku couldn't bear having Sora anywhere near the darkness.

Speak of the devil, the darkness from below slowly crawled towards Sora. At the sight, Riku willed the crawling darkness away from his friend with his hands; he had the power. "Let go already, Sora! You're not going into the dark!"

"No," Sora enunciated clearly, with a hint of casuality. Riku gawked when the brunette's expression turned relaxed, and the younger one smiled. It dawned on Riku that Sora wasn't unaware that this could be a wrong decision for him. Sora was obviously so certain about this.

"Arg!" Riku vocalized. In final act of desperation, he questioned, "Are you sure about this!? Leaving your home and everything! Leaving Kairi!? This is your home!"

"If you're not there, nothing will ever feel like home anymore," with that, Sora smiled brightly.

Riku went mute, torn between dilemmas, but this brain mulled over Sora's words. Was he Sora's home? If that was the case, was Sora his home too? Riku hesitated.

"Make up your mind, Riku. You choose, I'll follow," Sora said with a grin, now he looked completely free of dilemma, much to Riku's chagrin.

"Sora…you…" Riku reprimanded…dejected at last.

That was enough for Sora.

Riku had given up.

Sora's hands left his shirt, only to come back to press against Riku's left wrist where the swirls of darkness danced about. Riku's eyebrows furrowed; he didn't know what Sora was doing. Yet, from the look on Sora's face, the boy might as well not know either, he just acted accordingly to his feelings. Sora turned to Riku with confidence in his eyes.

"Come on, Riku! Together we can do it!"

'Do…what exactly?' Riku's mind wondered. The darkness approaching from his wrist had dissipated slightly when Sora pressed against it. Riku could control this darkness, and with that in mind, he reacted.

Now he understood that Sora was helping him in enclosing the darkness by sharing the part of his light.

He could do this; he must do it, in order to save Sora.

He gave a nod before he focused on his force to will the darkness back, inside of him. They were working together, just like when they closed the door of Kingdom Hearts. But this time, they were on the same side of the door, which alone was most comforting.

When the darkness from Riku's arms cleared, the shadow below them seemed lessen its magnetism to them. They both used the opportunity to break free completely and Riku latched onto the door frame to shove himself along with Sora back through to the side of safety.

By the laws of gravity in the world of the light, he fell on top of Sora, who still kept a firm grip on him. The ordeal was yet to be over, the darkness lurked behind the door, seeming to anticipate crossing the boundary, sure that it eventually would. Both boys wouldn't allow that, for they kicked the door closed instantly from their lying position. A loud thud and a small click echoed in the cave, then a complete silence filled in, save for the sound of their labored breathing.

"…Sora," Riku whispered as he studied Sora who was underneath him. The smaller boy's expression only read weariness, his eyes closed. From Sora's uneven breath, and the coldness emanating from him, Riku wasn't sure if everything was going to be okay. His darkness had been contained with Sora's help. He'd never did that before and feared if it had affected Sora in some way.

Sora, sharing his light to chase away the darkness? Could that be possible? The thing he feared most and the last thing he wanted was Sora, taking in his darkness into himself. Trying to shake the thought off, he pulled himself back, and tugged Sora along, so they were sitting up a bit properly. "Sora, you okay?"

Sora finally let his tired eyes slid open. They regarded Riku's with a wary expression at first, but instantly twisted into fury, to Riku's astonishment. Sora's hands flew across Riku's collar in a firm grip, and he was yanked so hard that he fell backwards with Sora hovering above him.

"What do you think you were doing, Riku!?" Sora yelled, looking beyond anger.

"I-"

"You were going back to the darkness! You were going to leave without me, again!? You were going to leave me behind! You made a promise…a promise, Riku!" Sora cut Riku off when he opened his mouth, not giving the older boy a chance to defend himself. Sora knew he was right; he didn't need Riku's answer.

Taken off guard, Riku was at a loss for words. Still, he managed to say something, "My darkness-" but he was cut off again by his fuming friend.

"You could control your darkness! Together, we could! You should have come to me if you were dealing with that in mind! Why don't you ever come to me!? Why?" With that said, Sora slowly sank to Riku's level, his head pressing to Riku's broad shoulder, his hand started to beat a fist against Riku's chest out of frustration. "I can't believe this." His voice cracked.

Riku let Sora punch his chest for a while until the boy's energy seemed to run out. Only then did Riku noticed something: his shirt was soaking. "Sora?" The smaller boy refused to look up, and it didn't take any longer to figure things out.

His assumption was proven right when the small shoulders of his friend began to shake, along with the audible sobs. Riku grabbed the boy by the shoulders, pulling him back so his could see his face.

The sight sent needles at his chest, hurting far more than when Sora had delivered the countless punches.

Sora was crying, really crying.

And his tears weren't the product of his joy like last time. Riku didn't know what to do.

With uncertainty, he wrapped his arms around the smaller boy. "I'm sorry." He thought no apologies could make up for what he'd done to Sora, both in the pages of history and now.

Unfortunately, his apologies only provoked Sora. It seemed like they had yet to reach the end of their heated argument.

"Stop it! Stop saying you're sorry! You don't feel sorry, Riku! You wouldn't leave me if you did!" Sora shook his head madly, his hands grabbing onto Riku's collar. "I…I thought you cared, I really thought you did. For both Kairi and I. But you don't, you just obviously don't."

Sora's words made Riku's eyebrows twitch. "I do care, Sora! That's why I have to go away. Don't you think this is hard for me too!? You just don't get it. My darkness-"

"Your darkness doesn't mean a frigging thing here! You'll be fine!" Sora cut him off again.

This time, Riku lifted one hand to cover Sora's mouth. His touch that felt Sora's face damp with tears felt so wrong to him, but he had to talk, "Now shut up and listen to me so you can get this through that thick, stubborn skull of yours! I won't be fine! I can't control this whole darkness inside of me by myself, Sora! Even if we could control it together, I can't guarantee that we could always work it out. And these feelings I'm harboring for you don't help! If something happens, it's going to be directed at you of all people! I can't take that risk! Damn it! Why can't you just get it!?-" Riku hadn't finished, but Sora was clawing at his hand now. It was only then that Riku realized the boy looked suffocating. He quickly let go.

After a relatively short period, Sora recovered, he quickly summed up, "Does that mean…no one else is affected, only me, if something happens?"

"Yes, you!" Riku pressed.

"Then you have no reason to leave!" Sora exclaimed, to Riku's astonishment, with a grin. Then he proceeded to clumsily wipe off his tears stains with the back of his hands.

Riku's jaw dropped slightly. Hadn't Sora listened at all? "God, Sora, you can't expect me to live my life here without foreboding that I would someday put you in danger!"

"No, it won't happen!" Sora immediately said. When Riku looked far from convinced, Sora slapped his hands down to the ground and leaned towards Riku, glowering up at the taller boy. "Because I-" and then he couldn't bring himself to say it. Those words he'd been meaning to say. It would settle everything. All that Riku had been worried about and had feared of the future, would all go away if Riku only knew his feelings were returned.

Sora deadpanned, 'Why the heck can't I say it!?'

Riku sighed as he regarded Sora with dejected expression. "Could you live with it? With me…who could hurt you anytime. Could you, Sora?"

"That won't be the case-"

"Could you?" Riku reiterated forcefully.

"Yeah, I could," Sora gave answer at last, and added, "Still, that won't be the case."

"Hmm," Riku responded as his expression turned sullen. That kind of expression sent Sora's heart aching, yet he still couldn't bring himself to say those words.

The younger of the two could only fidget while Riku crossed his arms and backed away slightly. It took a moment before Sora realized that Riku was studying something that his eyes happened to land on while Sora's gaze was averted. Sora followed the direction and saw the drawing upon the wall.

The drawing of him and Kairi, handing each other Paopu fruits.

"It's just a drawing, Riku."

Riku arched an eyebrow, turning back to look at the small boy.

"That's just the drawing. But…this place…is our secret, remember? Just ours, you and me." Sora bit his lip, not really knowing where this was going, he was just saying things that came into his mind, while, in fact, he should be saying more important things.

"That…was six years ago," the silver-haired boy responded.

They both remembered. The two of them used to call this cave their secret place. Riku had found it, and Sora was the first and only friend that Riku revealed it to. Later, Sora had brought Kairi, of course with Riku's agreement. Then came Wakka, Tidus, and Selphie. This place wasn't somewhere for just the two of them anymore.

"Still it looks pretty much the same to me…means the same to me," Sora confirmed.

"Hmm? I thought-" Abruptly, Riku brought his hand up and covered his mouth then looked away.

It was obvious to Sora that Riku almost let something slipped, and this time he had guessed it. "Yeah, I know I brought Kairi in, but-" 'It had already changed…'

There was a long silence before Riku heaved a big sigh and patted on Sora's head, smiling finally. "Sora, you don't have to say anything. Don't take it that you have to always make me feel better."

Sora looked up at his friend then turned away; the pavement seemed suddenly interesting to look at. He tried again, "Look, about yesterday…" He started but couldn't bring himself to finish it. The brunet gulped and his hands fisted to the side of this body.

Riku must have noticed the nervousness in his friend. "Sora, I understand perfectly. It's not like I'm going to do anything. Just forget it." He said blandly, and not a hint of feeling could be detected in his expressionless voice. That scared Sora.

"No, no, no." Sora shut his eyes tight. "No, you don't."

"I don't what?"

'I want to tell you, Riku. Don't make me hesitate now.'

"Sora?"

The brunette had been glaring at the rocks in cave as if he could melt them, before he shut his eyes tight and began. "Riku. I looked for you and stopped you because…I need you to understand that…"

Riku waited for his friend to finish, but Sora never did. The boy only looked anywhere but at Riku.

With another groan, Riku started to head out of the cave. "I understand, Sora. I gave you a hard time doing what I did yesterday. But I won't do it again, nothing close to it. And I'll stay, as long as you want. So maybe we can just forget about it and-"

"No, no, no!" yelled Sora. "You always say things by yourself and walk off on me. You don't understand!"

The silver-haired boy started a bit at that, and he rested his hand on the cave wall. Now he was confused, what had gotten into Sora? Wasn't he satisfied that he had decided to stay? Then Sora brought that subject up and Riku didn't want to deal it, not when it could take its toll on his darkness…and Sora. He'd already been a walking zombie after what he'd done to Sora and what Sora had done to him yesterday. He didn't want to lose a screw again.

"Enlighten me then," Riku requested, putting in a hint of sarcasm on account of his slight annoyance.

There was another long silence during which neither boy moved.

Until Riku heard Sora muttered audibly, "It's dark and damp in here, let's get out first." Then Sora walked up to his friend and urged him out into the sun.

In the open space, Riku felt a cool breeze from the ocean sooth him. Sure, staying in the cave too long didn't do anyone any good.

"Where's your boat, Riku?" Sora asked airily. Riku didn't answer. From the look on Sora's face, he knew the brunette knew the explanation. Riku hadn't planned to come back again, so why should he care to tie up the boat?

"I'll give you a lift," Sora offered, and added, "Then you have to get a new boat."

"Fine, let's go back."

"Not yet." Sora said, "Let's stay here for a while. Can we?"

Riku could have been confused at Sora's unreasonable acts, but his heart felt at peace when he watched Sora start running down the beach and down to the water. The boy turned back and waved at him, calling for Riku to come too.

Sora's behavior took him back to where they were still much younger. No Heartless, no Nobodies, no Keyblade, no Kingdom Hearts, and no Kairi either. It had just been the two of them since what seemed like forever. Suddenly, everything felt right. His foul mood had already been forgotten.

Letting out a soft smile, which he never thought it would be there at a moment like this, he followed the boy. He came to a halt at the wet sand, not stepping into the water, and looked out to where the water leveled at Sora's thighs.

While wondering at Sora's weird behavior, Riku had been too obsessed at his own thoughts to notice the nervousness on Sora's face. The brunette was tensed all over with a desire to jump into the water. Cool water of the blue ocean always boosted his mood; he liked that.

Just as he liked Riku, but not nearly comparable.

His heart pounded within his chest and he felt his body weighing down on him. With a little push on one foot at the sandy ground below, he hauled to steady himself on the water's surface. His sky blue eyes mirrored the sky above him before he tipped them closed. "I like you, Riku," he recited to himself, feeling calm with the water that enveloped him.

"Sora! You're going to go too far!" Somewhere far, Riku's voice warned him. "You're not thinking of feeding yourself to the sharks, are you!?"

With a small spin, Sora flipped and got himself steadied in the water, finding his feet no longer touch the ground below as he was far off from the beach. He looked back at Riku.

"Riku!"

"What!?"

"I like you!"

There was a gasp which Sora couldn't possibly hear.

"It's…been a while, maybe it always has been, and I hadn't really realized it! But I do now!"

A long silence settled in, save for the sound of the waves.

"…wha?"

Sora watched as Riku's mouth dropped open slightly, oceanic eyes stared widely back at him. There…he had said it, finally.

Riku only stared at him and not saying anything or moving at all, but, Sora could see that Riku didn't look particularly convinced.

It made Sora afraid.

He knew water would make him feel better.

Sora slid under the surface.

It was only when the brunette was out of sight did Riku begin to move and voiced out, "Sora?" He waited for the brunette to appear again, but it didn't seem like that was going to happen soon. Riku sauntered closer, his feet dragging into the water.

A minute passed and anxiousness was welling up inside of Riku with every lapping wave. "Sora! This isn't funny!" With that said, Riku dove into the water.

Under the clear water, Riku swam until he could see the brunette there, shutting his eyes tight, and curling up into a ball to weigh himself in order to keep his body under the water. Riku reached his hands under Sora's arms and brought them both up.

They broke the surface. Sora filled his lungs with air, still supported by Riku's arms that held him firmly above the water. He shook his head swiftly, little droplets flinging every which way, and opened his eyes, seeing his friend that he had just confessed to. Riku looked just soaked as he was worried.

"What on earth were you doing!?" Riku shouted into his face.

"Getting into…the water?" the boy answered simply.

"That's not an answer!" The silver-haired boy retreated one of his hands from Sora's arm and hit him on his brunette head, spikes damp but still defying gravity, with a small force. "I'd thought you'd drowned!"

As if the force took effect, Sora dipped his face half into the water, eyes looking down. He said something, but his words only came out as bubbles on the water surface.

"You look like a dying fish and you look silly," Riku commented, unable to contain his somewhat relieved chuckle.

Blue eyes glowered up at him. Sora got his face out of the water, blurting, "I was afraid! You got that!? I never expected things would turn out this way. Not since…forever! And I'd just confessed to you, then you made that face, and hadn't expected that!"

Riku was taken aback. "You were serious?"

"Wha…" Sora worded, he looked unbelieving, and readied to yell. And yell he did, "Of course, I was serious! You thought I'd say that as a joke!? That was what I've been meaning to tell you since I dragged you back from that door! So you don't have to worry about your darkness anymore!" Then his voice dropped lower, audible between the two of them. "Since we…basically share the same feelings, right?" He looked up, and Riku's expression stung his heart. "Riku?"

"Are you sure, Sora?" Riku asked, his voice unusually calm, his eyes darkened a bit by the weight of importance around the subject.

"Wha-? Why are you asking if I'm sure…" Sora said, almost shakily. Did Riku doubt him?

Riku brought one hand up and tapped a finger at Sora's chest which was well under the water. "Are you sure that what you said is true…what you feel for me? What if you were just saying that to make me feel better? You, of all people, have no ability to lie, that I know, but what if you want to prevent me from being dragged back into the dark so badly that you lie to yourself too?"

Sora couldn't believe what he'd heard. Riku didn't believe him, did he? After all the courage he'd had to summon up. So this was how it felt when Sora himself said he didn't believe Riku earlier. Were his feelings artificial and crafted just to prevent Riku from going away?

"No." His answer came out firmly, straight from his heart. "I'm not lying to anyone, not you, not myself."

Riku observed his friend for a long while. He knew Sora, he knew when he was uncertain and when he was resolute. Still, he had to ask, "How do you know?"

That further question incited Sora. He grabbed a hold of Riku's soaked shirt by the collar. While Riku anticipated that Sora would yank it and yell into his face again, Sora had only pulled at it, bringing their faces close and their lips touched.

It had only been seconds when Sora pulled away and his head rested on Riku's shoulder. He entirely missed the expression on Riku's face that would have amused him with wide eyes and a bit of red over his cheekbones.

"I know it because I realized it before I found you at that door, you jerk," Sora muttered irritably.

"Oh…" Riku said as his mind processed an understanding. "Sorry then…for doubting you…"

"You better really be," Sora drawled. "Why do you have to have so much doubt, Riku? It doesn't suit you. Riku should only be packed with curiosity, not doubt."

"That's…" Riku began as he started to toy with Sora's damp spikes. "-because you pushed me away in the first place." He felt Sora shudder against him, and that raised his doubt again. "Why, Sora?"

Sora didn't answer. They just stayed there, Sora clinging to Riku, floating steadily in the water.

"…Sora."

"…"

"Sora." Riku grabbed Sora's small shoulder, intending to get the clingy little thing off him first. The said boy made a small sound of protest. As much as Riku wanted Sora close, he still needed an answer. With a little force, he finally got Sora off of him and understood why Sora refused to leave the earlier position.

It was a wonder that Sora hadn't burst his head off yet due to the amount of blood in his face. Riku gaped at him for a while, feeling that he liked the sight. He smirked, an expression which sent Sora to pulling away and swimming back to the beach. The silver-haired boy followed, still smirking.

It resembled the scene of them back on the Island after the final battle. The only difference was that now Kairi, Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey weren't here with them. Here and now was only the two of them, alone.

"Sora! Hey, Sora!" Riku called out, but the boy didn't turn. "I do believe you, but…why did you push me away?"

"….That! It already passed. Just drop it, Riku!" Sora yelled back, turning a little to the side while he still kept going ahead.

"Don't I have the right to know?" the older boy asked and his voice dropped a little lower. "Sora…it hurts…"

Sora already met the firm ground to stand on; he sloshed out of the water and spoke with a sulky voice. "It's nothing. I was just shocked…."

"You really are bad at lying, Sora. I always see through your lies, like I am right now."

"Then why don't you see it when I'm telling you the truth: that I…like you!"

"That's a different story; you didn't believe me earlier either."

"But you always get away with decorated lies, teases, and mocking! You're such a smart ass that a dumb person like me can't follow!"

"Keep on topic. Why did you push me away?"

Sora stood in silence on the shore, back turned to Riku, while Riku's feet were still in the water and he waited for the answer that seemed so difficult to deliver.

"Sora…"

"Fine! Fine! I'll tell you!" Sora whirled around, hands fisted into tight balls.

"Well?" Riku stepped out of the water, but decided not to advance any more; the boy needed some space and he understood that feeling perfectly. But why was Sora blushing like hell?

"I pushed you away because…I couldn't breathe!!" Shutting his eyes tight, Sora yelled at the top of his lungs. "You want to suffocate me or something!?"

Lips parted slightly, Riku stared wide-eyed once more at the reddened brunette who glowered.

"You…you couldn't breathe?" Riku uttered. "That's the reason you pushed me away? Am I…that rough?"

"Yeah!"

"But…it was only seconds…you held your breathe under the water for more than a minute."

"That's different!! I'm not a…frigging kisser like you! And I've never…!" Sora still kept his voice loud while blaming it all on his friend.

Then came a chuckle.

"Yeah! Laugh it off, will you!? I knew you'd laugh!" Sora threw his hands into the air in desperation, his earlier timid behavior now gone due to anger and embarrassment.

Finally, Riku stepped toward Sora, who still puffed with intense emotion. Riku had had his question answered, and it didn't come end up being as bad as he'd anticipated. In fact, it was quite amusing.

Things were suddenly brighter and lighter, a stark contrast to the start of the day.

But, there was no end to this, Riku still had to clarify.

"Sora, you know I'm not a big kisser. I've never…"

The younger one looked away. "Yeah, I know."

"So I guess I'm still good at everything?"

"…You're such an arrogant bastard," Sora commented.

In response to that, Riku advanced on Sora. He pulled Sora close by the waist and leered. "Let's see how arrogant I can be." He shifted closer, causing Sora to shut his eyes tight.

Then laughter filled the air, jerking Sora to his sense as what Riku was up to. He trembled with annoyance and growled between his gritted teeth. "It's not funny!"

Riku's laughter faded into a smile, a genuine one. The very one that Sora hadn't seen in years. Riku brought his hand to the nape of Sora's neck and drew him closer so their foreheads touched. He couldn't help it; teasing Sora was one of the most entertaining things in the worlds. Before Sora could react, he buried the boy's chin on his shoulder and rested his head on the crook of Sora's neck.

"I won't leave you," when it seemed tense to his tongue, Riku added, "I should have known that I might not survive a day without you entertaining me with your dim-witted-ness."

For the first time, Sora wasn't offended with such an accusation. Riku had promised that he'd stay, that was all that mattered.

"Am I holding you too tight? Are you suffocating again?"

"Hey!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

How's that? At first, I didn't think about Riku's leaving. I wrote that Sora arrived at the scene before Riku opened the door. But in that case, there'd be nothing much, so I made this instead.

I even thought about them being dragged down into Realm of Darkness, that would fit the title of this fic. But I planned for a good ending. So I'd probably do an alternate ending in separate fic, with the two unable to escape the dark.

Anyone knows a song 'into the ocean' by blue october? It's great! Try it out.