The Four Corners

Disclaimer: I do not own the Kingdom Hearts characters or any of the Final Fantasy characters. I'm just using them temporarily, and maybe throwing in a few OCs of my own!

Warnings: Yaoi, language, OOCness, violence, death

Spoilers: If you have not played the KH or FF games then some of the characters may be spoilers.

Pairings: I'm not quite sure yet, I'll post them as I go!

Plot: Riku eyed the red-headed boy warily, searching the stranger's acid-green eyes. How did he know his older brother? "What do you know about Sephiroth?" Riku asked quietly. The other boy's eyes were piercing as he replied, "They've killed him, and now they're coming after you."

Chapter One: Storm

The bell signifying the end of school had rung moments before. Students were chirping happily to one another, gathering books, bags, and coats before running out of the room to enjoy the start of their weekend. Listlessly, snow-white hair falling down his shoulders like silk, Riku sat and stared out the second-story windows, watching his fellow classmates spill out onto the school yard with boredom. He made no effort to move, chin planted firmly in his open palm, blue-green eyes watching the other teens gossiping and walking together with slight distaste. The same old sights and sounds accompanying the same beginning to every weekend, the same idiotic routine… Riku wondered vaguely, as he sighed and made himself get to his feet, if life was even worth waking up for anymore. Not that he questioned if it was worth living mind you, he liked being alive, he just didn't see the point in getting out of bed anymore. There was nothing new, nothing exciting, nothing worth going to school for, no reason to make friends. It was all for show; the grin he so effortlessly slapped across his face when someone talked to him, the fake interest when the teacher lectured in class. He didn't know why he bothered pretending to be pleasant when all he wanted to do was fade away inside. Grabbing his books and backpack he slung the satchel over his shoulder, walking towards the door as he pulled his eyes away from the window. There was no point, none at all. If only suicide sounded interesting, but then again, there was the whole liking to live thing. It's not like killing himself would solve anything either, he'd be just as bored floating around haunting people he supposed.

He brushed against someone's shoulder as he entered the hallway, looking over to see a red-headed boy with striking acid-green eyes who seemed to be watching him closely. Riku muttered a soft "excuse me" and walked on, counting the lines in the lockers he passed, the tiles on the floor, listening to meaningless banter frothing out of the mouths of the people he passed. Drama, problems, weekend plans; it was common and dull. He tuned out their whiny voices and pressed through the double doors leading out of the school, padding down stone steps leading past the flagpole and towards the parking lot before veering to the left and heading towards the soccer field. He had the fleeting sense of being followed but pushed it to the back of his mind. Who would bother following him? It's not like he was anyone worth stalking. The grass beneath his sneakers squished from the rain earlier that afternoon, small puddles formed around the soccer goals on either end of the field. He kicked a stray ball towards one absently, walking on, books held in one hand as the other held onto the strap of his backpack. He looked upwards, taking in the newly forming rain-clouds. With his luck it would start pouring before he got home.

As he reached the far side of the school's property and started walking through the woods, Riku glanced over his shoulder, slightly surprised to see the red-headed boy near the middle of the soccer field, playing with the errant ball he had kicked a few minutes before. He was dressed like an ordinary student, jeans and a black hoodie, and didn't even look up to see where Riku was going. Shrugging and turning to continue his coarse home the white-haired boy dismissed the other boy's presence. Riku wasn't being followed; he was merely being paranoid. Stepping over a fallen log and side-stepping several large, muddy puddles the boy continued through the small span of woods until he reached the park on the other side, feet taking their familiar path across the large expanse of grass and flora before reaching a tall gate on one side.

Squeezing through a small gap in the wrought-iron fence, the boy stealthily crossed through stranger's back-yards to reach the main road, watching for traffic before jogging across and making his way through several alleys. At one time, as he turned the corner between two tall brick buildings, he thought he heard footsteps behind him. When he turned to look no one was there. Shaking his head he crossed another smaller road and reached his apartment complex. Riku wondered as he pulled down the fire escape and climbed the wet, cold bars one-handed if his older brother was home.

Blue-green irises surveyed the shadowed interior of his apartment from the common room window before he pushed the broken latch and let himself inside, Riku stooping low and crawling under the swinging window with a much-practiced ease. Plopping his books down on the couch and letting his backpack slide off of his shoulder to the floor, he walked across the common room and living room, turning down a hallway and walking through the dark to his brother's room. The door was closed. The reached out a hand silently, twisting the knob and letting the door squeak open a crack. Sephiroth liked his privacy, but it had been more than a week since Riku had seen him, so maybe it was alright to snoop…

Hinges grinding together painfully as Riku pressed the door inward, he scanned the empty room to find it unsurprisingly devoid of his benefactor. His older brother worked god knew how many jobs just to keep them in a safe, nice neighborhood (even if the people across the hall yelled at one another constantly and sometimes the nearby passing trains shook them awake at night). It wasn't a home, that was for sure, but ever since their parents had died they hadn't really had one. Sephiroth took care of Riku, gave his little brother as much money as he could spare, and then disappeared for days at a time. The white-headed boy was used to it by now; it had been almost three years. His parents had been in an accident just before his thirteenth birthday and he and Sephiroth had moved out shortly after to move into the city. Sephiroth had told Riku it was to get away from all the memories, but Riku knew it had more to do with the fact that they couldn't afford to stay there no matter how many jobs Sephiroth worked. Their parents hadn't exactly left them with enough money to live a comfortable, well-kept lifestyle.

Sighing he closed the door to Sephiroth's bedroom quietly, glancing around just to make sure he hadn't been caught peeking, and walked back to the beginning of the hallway to his room. Seph was probably just working, Riku summarized. Maybe he had picked up another job while Riku had been at school sometime during the previous week. Crossing the dirty laundry littered carpet to fall limply into his tussled sheets; Riku groaned and sunk his head into his pillow. Alone, again, and there was absolutely no food in the house. Riku knew this even without getting up and searching through their small fridge, there hadn't been any food for the past two days. Reaching a hand to open the bottom drawer of his dresser from where he lay sprawled across the bed, the boy pulled it open and dug inside a moment before retrieving a small tin box. Not bothering to shut the drawer back again he pulled the tin to lie beside his cheek, the metal cool against his skin. How much money did he have left…enough to buy some bread and lunch meat for sure, but he was so in the mood for something other than a bologna sandwich. He lived off of sandwiches: PB&J, bologna, egg salad, ham and cheese… What about some fucking pizza? "Too expensive…" he heard himself mutter even as his stomach growled in disagreement. "I have to ration what I have left until Seph gets back…" He said, reaching down and pinching his side to quiet his gurgling bowels. Rolling over on his back and holding the small silver tin above him at arms length he let out a long, heavy, loud sigh. What the hell, why not. Sephiroth would probably be back sometime soon, he never left Riku for this long. If he remembered he had about twenty-five dollars stashed in his little square box; that would be enough to order something as long as he went to go pick it up.

Getting up to return to the kitchen, money-tin in hand, Riku padded down the hallway softly. When he reached the kitchen he turned and grabbed the phone off the wall, searching for the number of the pizza place amongst the tiny scribbles covering the notepad lying nearby. He found the number after a moment, dialed the number, and held the corded phone in the crook of his neck as he pried open the tin to make sure he really did have that twenty-five dollars and hadn't spent it on something he'd forgotten. Pulling apart the two squares right as someone picked up on the other end of the phone, Riku's eyes widened in shock. He pulled the phone from his shoulder and clicked it back into the wall-dock much harder than he would have normally, setting the tin down on the counter and pulling out a wad of money folded up inside. "What…is this…?" He unfolded the bills, amazed as he fanned them out like cards in his hands. There were dozens of them, and they were all hundreds. "When did Seph…" The confusion racing in his mind was overpowered by the ferocity of his beating heart. Fear was beginning to pound in his veins, digging through the other folds of money to see they too were hundreds, along with fifties and twenties. He kept pulling out wads of cash until he reached the bottom of the small square box, looking for a note, a letter, any sort of explanation for all of…this. He found nothing, standing and staring for a long while and the money in his hands, shaking slightly as he tried to still his racing heart. Sephiroth wouldn't leave Riku this much money, why would he? It wasn't like he was never going to see him again or anything…

Shoving the money back in the tin and clasping it shut he walked back to his room, going back to the drawer and digging through it just in case there had been a note on top of the box Riku had pushed aside before. Still he found nothing. Running a hand through his long white hair as he stared at the tin in his other hand, he closed his eyes and took in a few long, deep breaths. He had to find his brother. Something was definitely happening he didn't know about, something bad. He tossed the tin onto his bed, turning and diving into his closet, pulling out a big, empty black backpack from the back wall. It was older than the one he used for school but it was bigger, and Riku was planning on not returning until he found Sephiroth. Quickly putting himself to work packing clothes, bathroom necessities, a few books, his CD player and favorite CD's; Riku pushed the square tin to rest hidden within the middle of all his belongings. Satisfied with his packing job the boy grabbed a white and blue striped hoodie from the floor and took off back towards the common room. He slung his backpack down on the couch long enough to shrug into his hoodie, then grabbed the bag up again as he pulled up his hood and squeezed out the window onto the fire escape.

The clouds above him were rumbling forebodingly as he made his way down the ladders, water splashing up his jeans when landed in a puddle before starting to walk. He didn't know what was happening, but he had to find Sephiroth. Growling softly in frustration, he realized that if he had looked at the tin much sooner his chances of finding Seph would have been greater. With the older boy already missing for a week there were so many places he could be; somewhere in town or somewhere outside of the city's walls, into the mountains, forest, or towards the sea. Riku knew despite all the places Sephiroth could be he had to start with the basics and began walking towards downtown. He needed to check the jobs he was aware Sephiroth held just to make sure his brother wasn't there before heading out on a wild goose chase. Of course, he knew there must be more that just the jobs he knew about for Seph to have been able to leave Riku that much money. How long must he have been working to save that much? The white-haired boy hadn't counted, but it had to have been thousands of dollars. Fleeting thoughts of Sephiroth being a drug-dealer and running from the cops flitting through his mind were quickly disrupted when a flash of red caught his eye, turning to look down an alleyway he was passing questioningly. He could have sworn he saw that boy from earlier at school again, black hoodie accenting his bright hair and acid eyes. Riku continued on, scowling. There was no one there, again, nor should there be. It wasn't like Riku was in any sort of trouble or under any kind of suspicion. Then again, if Sephiroth was, maybe there really were people following after him…

Increasing his pace to a brisk walk Riku cut through several back-alleys, cutting around the corners of buildings ready for a fight, not sure if he really should be worried or not. He supposed it was better to be prepared than surprised and continued on warily, hands fisted tightly around the two straps across his shoulders. He walked for a while, making his way from the school-side of town to the busier, more upbeat downtown of the city, clouds finally clashing together as the rain started to fall and darken the skies. Hands in the pockets of his hoodie Riku wandered the sidewalks, looking for the factory he knew his brother worked at somewhere nearby. Where was it again? It should have been just around that last corner, but Riku had only been with Sephiroth once to this part of town. This part of the city was meaner, wilder, and much more dangerous. Someone brushing their hand across his shoulder caused Riku to turn around quickly, throwing up his arm in self-defense, only to have it caught in a strong hand. Blue-green irises widening in realization as they met burning acid-green, Riku pulled back his arm, saying defensively, "Why are you following me?"

The stranger searched Riku's eyes, the younger boy self-consciously shifting the weight of the backpack on his shoulders. This boy had neither admitted to following him nor denied it, but the way he was looking at Riku… "Your Sephiroth's little brother, aren't you." It was more of a statement than a question.

Riku eyed the red-headed boy warily, searching the stranger's acid-green eyes. How did he know his older brother? "What do you know about Sephiroth?" Riku asked quietly.

The other boy's eyes were piercing as he replied, "They've killed him, and now they're coming after you."

Blinking, mouth parting to say something but no words coming out, Riku stared at the other boy. Killed Sephiroth? Someone had killed his older brother, the only family he had left, the only thing that mattered to him at all anymore? Anger swelling up inside of him, the white-haired boy grabbed the taller, older boy's hoodie and pulled him in close, fists ripping the fabric slightly. "What the hell do you know about my brother? Why have you been following me?"

The boy just watched him, eyes flickering slightly with amusement at Riku's outburst. "I swore I'd follow our leader's orders, and his orders were to find you and keep you alive long enough to bring you back to him. We need to leave soon, they're getting closer. We don't have much time."

Baffled and still completely confused, Riku stepped back, releasing the boy and turning away dismissively. "I don't have time for this bullshit."

A strong grip clasping around his wrist and pulling him backwards made Riku yelp slightly and turn to face the stranger. "No, I don't have time for this bullshit." The red-head said softly. "Either you come with us or you die, and since I've been instructed to keep you alive you really don't have a choice on the matter."

"Fuck you!" Riku shouted, rearing back his free hand to wipe that indignant look right off of the other boy's face.

Suddenly a blonde-haired girl landed next to Riku from somewhere above them, standing up from her crouch quickly and saying, "Axel, they're here, we have to move, now!"

The acid-eyed boy grit his teeth, Riku noticing his canines were much longer than any he'd ever seen before, the boy looking down at him determinedly. "We can talk about this later. Come with me."

Riku, fighting back slightly as the boy began to pull him along, exclaimed, "Who the hell's coming? What's going on?"

Thunder crashed above them as the rain started coming down harder, shouting echoing from the rooftops accompanied by the sound of metal clashing against metal. "They're here, Marluxia won't be able to fight all of them alone for long," the blonde girl said worriedly to Axel, her slate eyes glinting, "Gippal is with them."

Hissing lightly, Axel pulled Riku to where the boy was standing behind him, reaching into his dark hoodie and pulling out two small silver objects resembling saw-blades. "You can't be serious," Riku scoffed, the older boy looking over his shoulder at him, "Is this some kind of game you're all playing?"

"This is no game." The girl said icily, narrowing her eyes at him. "If you were anything like Sephiroth you would know we're putting our lives in danger to protect you and you'd show a little respect, brat."

"Larxene…" Axel said softly, almost as if in warning, the blonde baring her teeth and turning away, Riku catching another flash of fang-like canines before he gathered enough anger to shout back. Instead he bit his tongue, fists squeezed tightly around the straps of his backpack, listening to the thunder and the fighting taking place on the roofs above them. Axel, after a moment, whispered, "They must not know we're on the streets." The blonde turned to him, listening intently. "Larxene, go help Marluxia, I'm going to try to get him back to Haven without making too much of a scene." He glanced at a passing car, and then across the street to where a mother and her children were huddled beneath a large umbrella waiting for a taxi-cab. "We cannot be seen."

The blonde girl nodded, jumping up into the darkness above them, Riku thinking to himself that under other circumstances she might have reminded him of a bunny-rabbit with those two stray strands of hair sticking up on either side of her head like that. She was in no way a bunny, not with those ice-cold eyes and spiteful words. How dare she talk to him about his brother like that? How the hell did she know anything about Sephiroth in the first place? "Axel," Riku said, the red-headed boy looking over at him, "How do you two know my brother?"

"This is taking too long!" Someone cursed from above them, calling out over the rooftops, "Squall, go look for the boy!"

"Axel, move!" Another male called over the thunder, "There's too many!"

The red-headed boy squeezed his fists tighter around the blades in his hands, the rings growing and seeming to glow an eerie red color, the boy calling back up into the rain, "I'm not leaving without you!"

Cursing, metal screeching as the melee continued, the other boy called back, "Go!"

Growling, the boy took a step away from Riku, drawing back his arm until it looked almost painful. Riku, looking on with a mix of amazement and horror, watched the steadily growing chakram levitate from Axel's fingertips and burst into flame before the older boy hurled it up towards the rooftops. The ring soared above them, the flames erupting into a flash of fiery light, illuminating the people sparring on the tops of the nearby buildings as sparks showered down upon them. Riku, blue-green eyes jumping from one figure to the next, spotted Larxene fighting another girl on the rooftops, jumping across the alley to another building as her wavy read-headed pursuer gave chase. Another boy was fighting two people at once, Riku figuring he must be Marluxia, his long russet hair whipping back and forth in the rain. The boy he was fending off had longish dark-blonde spikes; the girl with him had short light-brown hair with a long, thick hair-wrap in the back that almost reached her knees. She was fighting with a gun in either hand, he had a long-sword, and Marluxia had a long pole with a blade on the end resembling a scythe. Eyes flitting back to Larxene he noticed she was releasing a barrage of small throwing-daggers from her flailing fists, the red-head she was dueling holding a large cross-type shuriken. This is like something out of a movie… Riku thought to himself, backing away slightly as Axel reached up and caught the flaming chakram boomeranging back towards them. The fire danced along his fingertips, the white-headed boy waiting for the other to make an exclamation about the heat or blow out the flames. Nothing happened. The taller boy simply watched the fighters above them until he realized something, whispered under his breath, "Where are Squall and Gippal…"

"Right here!" A voice shouted from behind Riku, the boy turning to see a blonde man running towards them, hair spiked up into a point and a patch over his right eye. Axel pushed Riku against the side of the building roughly, parrying the massive body-length gun the blonde was wielding with his two chakram, the older boy pushing the red-head back slightly.

Riku, panting and shaking, scrambled around the corner and into the alleyway, taking off at a run. He could immediately tell he was being followed, looking over his shoulder to see a boy following after him, carrying a long blade with a gun's cylinder-chamber mounted around the hilt. A gunblade? You've got to be kidding me… The younger boy darted ahead of him, the man's long chocolate-brown bangs waving past determined cobalt irises. As the boy turned a corner he heard a shot fire, the brick behind him shattering. Heart pounding as he continued to run, Riku wove his way through the city and back towards the park, cursing and hiding in a stretch of woods out of sight. Dropping his backpack off of his shoulders to slump against a tree, the boy cursed, "What the hell was that?" He was shaking, adrenaline pumping through every fiber of his being, trying to calm his ragged breath. "Seph, how were you involved with those people…"

A figure crashing through the trees and dropping down beside him had Riku on his feet again, an arm reaching out and wrapping around his shoulders. Riku struggled to break free for a moment, but the arm around him pulled him backwards and secured him against someone's chest as if the younger boy weren't struggling at all. "Quiet." The figure whispered, Riku recognizing Axel's voice, turning to look over his shoulder at the taller boy with a scowl.

"You scared me to death! What the hell was that all about?" The younger boy spat, glaring up at the red-head.

"Quiet!" The boy ordered again, squeezing Riku back against him tightly, piercing eyes watching the open field just outside of their hiding spot like a hawk. Turning to look where Axel was staring, Riku watched as the gunblade-wielder walked along the far-side of the park, looking around for any sign of the younger boy. "That's Squall." Axel whispered before Riku could ask. "That one there is their leader, Gippal." He motioned slightly, careful not to brush against a single leaf as he did so; pointing out the blonde he had been fighting just before Riku had fled.

"The girl Larxene was fighting?" Riku asked softly.

"Cissnei;" Axel replied, "The other two were Tidus and Yuna."

Riku, shaking slightly in Axel's grasp, whispered, "That Squall guy, he almost shot me."

Axel narrowed his eyes glaring at the said man before looking down at Riku and rubbing his arm, almost comfortingly, "Are you alright?"

"I don't know." Riku replied; his voice breathy, feeling tears sting the corners of his eyes. These strangers who had tried to kill him, had they been the ones to kill his brother? At first he hadn't believed it, Sephiroth dead? It was impossible…but now, after seeing all of that and almost getting killed himself… "You really knew my brother?"

"Yeah…" Axel confirmed softly, "We all did. He was one of us."

Furry bubbling up inside of him, Riku had to fight to keep his voice low. "What are you, how did you know Sephiroth. The fire in your hands…" He looked up at Axel, anger flickering in his irises. "What are you?"

Acid-eyes seemed to widen with surprise before softening, a coy smile revealing a flash of his fangs. "You really don't know anything, do you?"

"How would I know anything about what the hell's going on here!" Riku shouted, Axel hissing and slapping his hand over Riku's mouth.

Cat-like eyes searching through the bramble for any sign they'd been heard, Axel scowled at the younger boy and said in an angry whisper, "You want to get killed, don't you!"

Glaring at Axel, Riku turned to see Larxene as the girl said, "He's nothing more than a brat, Axel. I don't know why we're even wasting our time." She was standing just outside of the clearing; Marluxia at her side collapsed into a panting mass onto the cold, wet grass. Glancing around her, Riku realized there was no sign of their attackers in the clearing of the park. The rain was pouring down fiercely, the two who had been fighting on the roof visibly soaked to the bone. The red-headed boy stepped away from Riku, walked through the trees to Larxene, and slapped her soundly across the face.

"You will not speak of or about the decisions our leader has made. You know better."

Holding her cheek as she glared at the boy before her, she hissed, "I don't care if he is Sephiroth's brother, he's nothing like him at all. What's Cloud expecting him to do, take over where Seph left off?"

A pang of loneliness shot through Riku when hearing the blonde girl referring to Sephiroth by the shorter derivation of his name. He had thought he was the only one Sephiroth had ever allowed to call him that. They do know him, and they were close… Riku couldn't believe Axel had just slapped her, the blonde girl holding her cheek as she looked over at the younger boy cattily before turning away. Frustrated and feeling lost, Riku reached down and slung his backpack back over his shoulder, trying to figure out what to do. Mixed thoughts of Sephiroth being alive or dead, whether or not he could trust these strangers, who the people were that had tried to kill him, and where exactly it was that Axel was bent on taking him were surging within him. His mind racing, pulse pounding, felling dizzy and sick and confused all at once; it was too much for him to take. The white-haired boy didn't hesitate before he turned and took off running.

He ran for everything he had; ran through the woods back towards his school, ran through the flooding soccer field, ran through the rain and thunder and lightning until he thought his lungs would burst. Screaming, his emotions finally finding a release, he collapsed against the flagpole, shaking fiercely. Why was this happening? Why was Sephiroth involved with those people, and what were they? The fighting, their speed, flames in Axel's hands… Covering his mouth to push back the bile rising in his throat he clung to the pole desperately, knuckles white from where he clutched the rope running up the metal. Let the lightning come and claim him, it would be better than having his mind ripped apart like this. Gritting his teeth he looked up at the sky, watching the clouds rolling together and the wind angling the rain into a hard slant. "Sephiroth!" Riku screamed, beating his fists on the flagpole desperately. Slumping to where he was crouched, forehead pressed to the cold, slick metal, Riku began to sob. Never the one to show his emotions, he couldn't bear the thought of being completely alone. Sephiroth had always been there for him, had taken care of him, put himself in danger to protect him, and now…

"Riku."

The voice was soft, comforting, but one the boy didn't recognize. Turning, Riku met eyes with a tall blonde boy who looked to be about Sephiroth's age, brilliant blue eyes watching the younger gently. His light blonde hair was spiked in perfect disarray, the wind blowing his bangs back and forth. "Who are you?" Riku asked coldly as he stood up, sliding the backpack off his shoulder, "Aren't you going to kill me?"

Blinking, the blonde boy narrowed his eyes, stepping towards him. "I'm here to protect you, not kill you. We need to get you back to Haven before Gippal and the others find you again."

"I'm not going anywhere!" Riku shouted, throwing his hand out in anger. "Tell me what the hell is going on right now or I'm not going anywhere with you freaks!"

"Freaks?" The boy scoffed, eyebrows arched in question. "Just because you don't understand what's happening or who the people are around you, do not presume you can talk to me in such a manner." His eyes seemed to glint red for a moment before returning to azure. "I told Sephiroth if anything happened to him I would find you and protect you. I keep my word."

"You're Cloud?" Riku asked, remembering Larxene's outburst. The older boy nodded, stepping closer again until he was standing right in front of Riku, the two searching one another's eyes. "Those people, the ones who are after me… Why are you fighting with them? Who are they?" He locked his gaze into the older boy's, unwavering. "Who are you?"

Cloud, eyes soft as he listened to the boy's words, replied, "They are an elite group of humans and witches who call themselves Hunters. They are slayers bent on killing us, or any other abnormality they deem a threat." At Riku's confused look Cloud hesitated, asking after a moment, "Sephiroth never told you anything about us?"

Riku shook his head, the chill of the rain soaking through his hoodie causing him to shiver from the cold. Watching Cloud, Riku realized the older boy was almost as wet as he was but wasn't shivering at all. His mind reeled, heart elevating slightly, looking up and catching the glint of red in his eyes again. Warily, Riku whispered, "What are you?"

Smiling sadly, as if telling a child the truth about a fairytale, Cloud replied, "We're vampires."

The next chapter will be up soon! Thanks for reading!