A/N: You will come across a character whose speech is written with misspellings, there is a reason for that. Please see my note at the end of the chapter.

Vanilla Reaper

Chapter 1

-Ritual-

Sora had been standing by the front door, face touched with a look of frustration as he tapped his wrist watch with an unsteady finger. He inhaled deeply, adjusted the collar of his light pink shirt and released that unsatisfied breath.

"Riku," he rang out, hand synched at his waist. "We're going to be late for our reservation, get a move on!"

As if on cue, the silver haired man came stumbling down the hall of the two bedroom apartment, his hands busily working a purple colored tie into a haphazard knot.

"I know, I know. Did you get us a taxi?"

Sora closed the gap between them and took over Riku's pathetic attempt to fix his tie.

"He's been waiting twenty minutes already. And he's charging us for it."

"Then what are we standing around for?"

Sora rolled his eyes, smirking at the same time and clasping a hand on the back of Riku's neck. He kissed his lips briefly.

"Let's go you idiot."

They rode in moderate silence, their target being that of the bustling downtown section of the capital island. It was such a contrast to their little village off in the edges of Destiny Islands, a place where there was nothing but paopu fruit plantations and fishing boats lining the coasts. They had grown up in such a place, Riku and Sora, best friends and eventual lovers that decided they had had enough of country living. The City, as the capital was oh so casually called, was a bustling metropolis amongst the seas. This was where they had formed their own home one year ago, a life away from the small, close minded folks of the country.

The world was a progressive place, yet there were still those that lived in the past. For Riku and Sora, their families formed part of those holding onto such outdated beliefs. But to Riku's parents, saving face was worth more than the relationship they held with their son. In their eyes, Riku and Sora's relationship was a blasphemy against the gods. They could never accept them.

"Are you sure about this Riku?"

"What? I can't take my boyfriend out for a nice dinner?"

Sora was biting his lower lip. "But it's so expensive! I don't feel comfortable going to a place where the bread basket alone costs an arm and a leg."

They were 20 and 21 years old, no longer children, but at the same time not financially secure. It was a year into living in The City, and their checkbook was always bordering on the red. While Sora was more careful and looked at everything twice before buying, Riku was less prone to such a thing and more often than not, overspent. Had it not been for Sora's scrutinizing tallying of accounts, they would have never made it past their first month.

"Can you for once just forget about that? We haven't been out in a long time and we've been killing ourselves working, we deserve a nice night."

Riku slid his arm over Sora, his hand gripping his shoulder and pulling him close. He touched their foreheads together, Riku's alluring smile finding itself being mimicked by Sora's lips.

"Damn it Riku, fine, I'll shut up."

The pay was terrible, but not having to be far from home made the job bearable. Riku found work in a health club, which at the same time proved to be a perpetual annoyance. The looks he would get from the clients, particularly the women when he handed them a towel or bottle of water, ravaged him with their gaze. Riku tried his hardest to simply ignore them, but on more than one occasion he'd have to play the villain and say those two magical words.

"I'm taken."

Sora would hear the stories from Riku as they unwound at home, the spiky haired brunet done with his secretarial duties at a nearby clinic and the television flicked to some random channel. A bottle of wine would be set out on the table, Sora chuckling into his glass, eyeing Riku and raising a brow when he knew the older man was getting more and more creative with his tales. Was Sora ever jealous? Not in the slightest.

"Hey," Riku began, sea-foam green eyes cast out the taxi window, "we're almost there."

It was interesting watching his boyfriend, a year older than him, but far from mature. Riku had always been outgoing, carefree, and touched by a good sense of humor. He was easily amused, found just about anything interesting no matter how slight and insignificant. Sora always tried to understand how Riku could have turned out so loving and upbeat when his family life was scarred by less than ideal situations.

His father was a useless drunk, flinging curses and punches at him and his mother for whatever he felt they had done wrong. In turn, the abuse further spurred on his mother into berating Riku, finding every fault and then some to shove in his face. They would justify their insults, their taunts, and the physical abuse in the name of their gods. When they found out about Riku's relationship with Sora, it was just about the end of the world. Riku's reasoning for turning out the way he did:

"It was you Sora, you were there."

The taxi came to a stop, a gleaming building off to the side with expansive crystal clear windows. They stretched their legs out onto the bustling street, other citizens of the city meandering through. Sora reached for his back pocket to get his wallet, but Riku had already taken the liberty to pay the driver before the brunet had a chance.

"I could have gotten that, you're already paying for dinner," Sora chimed in, his fingers lacing with Riku's as the car sped off.

"Didn't you tell me you'd 'shut up'?" Riku teased leaning in to kiss Sora on the cheek, but was woefully denied by a swerve of his head.

"Come on, they've probably given our table to someone else already."

It was their first time in such a restaurant, crisp white linens covering a large round table, a single white rose decorating the center and a plethora of silverware Sora was finding issues figuring out which was used for what.

"I guess this one is used for the salad, and that one is for-"

"The main course," Riku finished, "the largest fork is for the actual dinner."

Sora couldn't help but look at him with a smug expression. "Aren't you all fancy?"

Riku tossed his hair back. "What can I say? By the way, am I the only one that smells vanilla?"

"Maybe it's because that rose is scented with it?"

"They're even scenting the flowers?" Riku said more to himself than in the form of a response.

Their waiter, a twenty-something or other blonde with blue eyes on par with Sora's came by with sparkling water and to offer up their specials for the night.

"35 munny pieces for a piece of fish?" Sora fumed looking at the menu. "We could have-"

When he met Riku's glare, Sora quickly pursed his lips and didn't bother finishing his sentence. He took a hold of the wine that had been poured out for them and raised his glass.

"To us, Riku."

The look on the silver haired man's face softened, his lips pulling into a smile and his own glass being raised.

"To us."

The rose in the center of the table seemed to have withered slightly as the night came to an end. Taking a look over his shoulder as they got to their feet, Riku took a hold of the stem and plucked it from the small vase it was being held in. He placed a hand behind Sora's waist as they walked towards the exit, their waiter nodding at them with a silent mouthing of a "thank you". Once out in the cool night air Riku held the white rose in front of Sora, the younger of the two men smiling.

"So, still worried that we went out?"

Words weren't needed to respond. Sora intertwined his fingers through Riku's hair, kissing him against the back wall of the restaurant. All they could taste from one another was the lingering traces of wine.

"Let's go home," Sora quietly said, leaning against the strong, tall frame of his boyfriend.

It was at that moment that a figure came barreling down the street and roughly brushed against Sora's back. The impact forced him against Riku, the taller man losing his balance and tumbling slightly over before using a hand to catch himself against the wall.

"Watch where you're going!" the stranger said in a brutish, deep voice. "Fucking fags."

Riku made to turn, but Sora held onto him. "Don't Riku, let it go."

"He should have apologized! Thick headed asshole…"

"Stop it Riku, let's go home."

Sora had gone but one step when he felt his back pocket, his eyes narrowing. "Shit."

"What?" Riku asked hovering over him.

"That guy stole my wallet."

"The fuck?"

"He must have taken it when he bumped into me."

"Oh man, that's the last thing we needed," Riku bellowed out, "Where did he go?"

Riku scanned the street, which had thinned down considerably, and saw the lumbering figured off in the distance. He balled up his hand, flared his nostrils and began walking in his direction.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sora asked, already knowing full well what Riku was going to try.

"I'm going to get your wallet back."

"Let's just call the police, they'll find him and I'll get it back."

"He'll be long gone before then, I'm not going to let him get away."

Sora heaved a sigh when Riku escaped his hold, nothing more he could say would stop Riku from doing as he pleased. It was one quality that was a contrast to all his positives. Riku was a stubborn brat. He sped up his pace, his steps becoming more of a light run. Sora ran across a nearby street, Riku's form becoming smaller and smaller.

"Damn it Riku…"

When Sora was running at full speed, he knew things had catapulted into a bad state. Somewhere amidst the other moving bodies in the streets, Sora had lost track of Riku and now he was standing beneath the night skies on his own. He was breathing heavily, sweat building on his forehead. Everywhere he turned he saw nothing, no trace of silver hair or sea foam green eyes. Sora was beginning to panic, the fuzzy warm feeling of the wine long gone and in its place was an escalating sensation of dread. He reached for his phone, hitting Riku's quick dial and pressing the device to his ear as he continued down a dimly lit street further away from the crowds. Riku wasn't picking up.

He stood hunched over, pink shirt dampened in perspiration and his lungs gasping for air. Sora wiped at his forehead, eyes still scanning his surroundings. Sora didn't know how far he had gone, but he wasn't liking where he was standing. Off in the distance he could see the glow of main street and the towering buildings. The occasional car passed by, a person here or there heading up a series of stairs into seedy looking apartment complexes.

"Riku, where are you?"

The high beams of a swerving car came into his line of vision. The hulking, barreling mass of iron parts would be the last thing he'd see.

Riku stood nursing a split lip, the only casualty he suffered when the ogre-like thief decided to start throwing punches. A life in an abusive home had taught him a thing or two and he wasn't about to back down without getting a punch in himself. He licked at the open wound, hand clutched tightly around Sora's leather wallet. Riku turned it over, admiring the stitching and how it shaped a three pronged crown.

"You dumbass," he said, thinking back to Sora's birthday when he had given him that very wallet. "As if I would let some asshole take this."

Riku had lost track of Sora along the way, that was a painfully noticeable observation on his part. He began tracing his steps, wandering towards the glow of main street in hopes of finding his boyfriend along the way. Riku glanced over his cell phone, a few missed calls staring back at him and using that opportunity to call Sora. He wasn't picking up.

It wasn't a strange sight when he found a gathering of people a couple streets further into his hurried journey. It was a large city and pan handling artists would line the corners performing for a scattered audience. Even the sounds of blaring sirens and crimson flashing lights wasn't a surprise to the silver haired man. However, what did come as a cruel surprise was seeing the fallen form of someone he knew so very well. Riku felt his mouth drying and chest tightening. His eyes were deceiving him.

Sora wasn't getting up. He wasn't lying in their bed, head turning towards the early morning light seeping through the cracks in the blinds. Sora wasn't looking at Riku with those loving blue eyes, never speaking a word and simply soaking in that warm, comforting feeling. The spiky haired brunet wasn't reaching a hand out to him, his fingers tracing imaginary lines down Riku's pearly white skin. There were no loud groans of disappointment when the alarm clock would scream out it was time to get ready for work. Sora wasn't standing before him, hand stretched out asking Riku to join him in the shower. There was nothing.

Ambulance and police officials were cornering off the scene, yellow tape finding its way in the form of some strange symmetrical design. Riku was desperately pushing his way through, shoving and throwing everyone he came into contact with aside. He didn't care that they were hurling insults, calling him whatever nasty name they wanted. Riku didn't care about anything other than reaching the unmoving body on the ground. A police officer threw his arms out wide in an attempt to stop Riku from looming closer, but the silver haired man simply took him by the shoulder and moved him aside. His mouth was opening and closing, but there was nothing coming out. Riku fell to his knees, the blood coiling around Sora soaking through the fabric of his jeans. There was so much blood.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but you can't be here."

He wasn't listening. Riku was reaching out to Sora, his hand resting on his back. He was hoping to feel a sensation of movement, an intake of air that would tell him Sora was breathing. But there was no such intake of air. His hand was lying on a lifeless form.

"Sir! Sir! Please, I will arrest you if you don't do as you're told."

Sea-foam green eyes glanced over Sora's body, his face hidden by his drooping chocolate spikes. There he found it, the scattered petals of that vanilla scented rose soaked a deep red. He touched Sora's hand, still holding onto the now broken flower. Riku could feel it swelling in his breast, the stinging sensation in his eyes, this was the birthing of a sensation he had never experienced before. This was devastation and Riku let out a scream.

The lights were annoyingly bright, Riku immediately summoned a hand over his eyes in an attempt to block out the offensive glow. He propped himself up, his surroundings unfamiliar at first. It didn't take but a minute to realize he was laying in a hospital room bed. Riku clutched his head, a piercing pain overwhelming him as he sat there, silver hair cascading around him. He looked at his knees, the fabric still stained dark red. His face abruptly shot up, scanning the small room. Riku got up from the bed, his body feeling slightly wobbly as he got to his feet. He held a palm to his temple, vision blurry by the sudden action. The door creaked open.

"Please, I must advise you to stay in bed. You were given a sedative, you shouldn't be walking around."

The nurse in white walked over to him and Riku begrudgingly sat back down. "Where am I?"

"You are being treated at Main Street General Hospital. You suffered a blackout and were taken here by ambulance."

Riku didn't care about himself, his mind was elsewhere. "Where's Sora? Where did you guys take him?"

The saddened expression on the nurse's face told him everything. Riku looked down at his hands, his fingers shaking.

"No…"

"I'm so sorry, but he didn't make it."

It was a cruel lie. It had to be. Riku attempted to dismiss the sickening thought, but the images conjuring up in his mind, the blood, Sora's unmoving body, they were speaking otherwise.

"We tried contacting your respective family members, but unfortunately we were not able to get through to anyone. Is there anybody else we can get a hold of in regards to the deceased?"

Riku's eyes narrowed themselves into dangerous angles. He stood up, body towering over the petite frame of the nurse.

"Sora. His name is Sora," he growled, voice laced with disgust. "Get the fuck out."

"I'm sorry, but I need-"

"GET THE FUCK OUT!"

She couldn't have left any faster. Riku was left alone in the room, his thoughts swirling, almost manifesting themselves before him. He could see flashing lights, images of events past. Riku was drumming it up to whatever drug they had given him, the effects were making him see whatever was in front of him. A nauseating wave coursed in his stomach and was threatening its way upwards. He hunched over the trash bin in the corner, emptying the contents of his system. His mouth tasted sour, bitter, and his lip stung. Without realizing it, tears were streaming down his face and his tongue was lapping them up.

"How pathetic, he appeared to be a strong man and look what he's been reduced to."

The voice was feminine and caressed with a trace of sarcasm. Riku looked up, his vision picking out a warped form in front of him. Not only was he seeing things, he was beginning to hear disembodied voices as well. What exactly had they given him?

"Please, he's just experienced the most traumatic event in his life. The fact he can still speak coherently shows how strong his will is."

A second, billowing form appeared, forcing Riku to take a step back. He placed a hand on the bed's surface, trying to steady himself.

"What's going on?"

"Enough, the both of you. You've gone and konfused the poor child."

A third voice made its presence known, the hard emphasis in one of her words cutting into Riku's ear.

"I'm going crazy," he said to himself, head throbbing.

"Oh no dear child, you are still quite sane. So sorry for the intrusion, but you see…"

The space around him was distorted, warping in a manner that brought a second wave of nausea and forcing Riku to his knees. It felt like tiny fingers were pinching every inch of skin on his body. He cast his eyes over a sea of stars, the heavens glowing in all shades of colors. There was no visible ground beneath him, yet he was kneeling on a solid surface.

"We are here bekause of you."

Riku was clutching onto his stomach when he looked up. They were dressed in lavish fabrics, billowing gowns, intricate make-up, and accessories he had never seen before. Three women were standing neatly in a row, their eyes peering down at him in curiosity. Riku looked from one to another, his mouth quivering with unformulated questions. The woman standing in the center held up a hand, her fingers elongated into a claw-like appearance.

"I am Ultimecia."

Her silver hair curved into horns, hip-length bangs adorning a plunging neckline red dress. She flashed Riku her golden-yellow eyes, slanted and surrounded by a series of purple markings.

"Who are you?" Riku finally managed to say, the feeling in his body slowly returning.

The one calling herself Ultimecia kneeled, a finger finding itself jutting underneath Riku's jaw and pulling his face upwards. She was veering at him, thick lips pulling into a smile.

"Like I said, young man, we are here bekause of you. You see, we were summoned by a most pekuliar of rituals."

"But what are you?"

She removed her touch, allowing Riku's head to settle back down as she joined her other two companions. Ultimecia held a hand out to another silver haired woman, donning a long form fitting purple dress and embraced in a pastel-yellow floor length cloak. She nodded at Riku, slivers of hair falling out from beneath a matching yellow hood with dangling protrusions on each side of her head. She was almost jester-like.

"This is Fabula."

Ultimecia held out her other hand, the final woman in black deciding she'd introduce herself.

"I am Edea. We are sorceresses."

Her eyes were the same golden honey color as Ultimecia's, ebony hair slicked underneath an intricate head ornament Riku could not begin to fathom describing. She too was clad in a plunging neckline black dress, ruffled collar, and vein-like designs marking the left side of her face.

"Sorceresses?"

For whatever reason, and one that Riku did not find funny, Ultimecia let out a chuckle. He drew himself back, unsure of what exactly these people were capable of. Ultimecia pointed at something in his hand.

"Look at what it is you're grasping."

He followed her direction, gaze falling on what was left of the blood stained rose he had given Sora earlier in the evening. Suddenly, the reality of what had happened poured in all over again. Riku felt the stinging of fresh tears, his teeth digging into his split lip and his legs unable to sustain his weight.

"Such a waste," Edea muttered sending glares at Riku, "the thought of the effort I have to put in, for him. We should simply leave."

"Edea," Fabula retorted, "we have an obligation here…"

"Enough."

They fell into silence as Ultimecia flicker her wrist and the flower in Riku's hand vanished. It reappeared, hovering several feet above them encased in a glowing blue sphere. She held a palm up, the blue orb settling just an inch off her hand.

"Young man, Riku, as you are kalled. We were summoned to this world on akkount of this very delikate flower. A white rose, stained by the blood of someone who has recently died, that was the ritual I was referring to."

Riku felt a hot anger welling in his chest. "You mean to tell me you're here because Sora died?"

Ultimecia craned her neck, her tongue swirling around her talon-like finger. "It kould have been anybody, but it happened to be your little friend. You see, when you took that rose, it bekame yours. You initiated the ritual by gifting it to that young man, Sora. When he died, the blood spilled kalled us to you. As the initiator, you are the one that gets to decide what komes next."

"And what am I deciding?"

Ultimecia and Edea let out a laugh, unnerving the silver haired man. Fabula could only shake her head, arms crossed underneath her robes.

"What your wish will be."

Ultimecia blew a breath over the rose, the flower disintegrating into golden particles. Riku watched as they fluttered, slowly coming together to form a feathered quill. Edea held out her hands, the quill descending into her grasp as Fabula produced a rolled parchment from underneath her robes. She unfurled the scroll, Ultimecia following by biting into her wrist and a trickle of blood raining over the parchment. The droplets began coiling, snaking their way around the surface until every inch was covered by a language Riku had never seen before.

"This," Ultimecia began, "is your kontract. You are entitled to one wish, anything you desire having, it kan be granted by the immense power we three hold."

Riku felt his heart thumping. "Anything I desire?"

There was a ripple of black light, Edea smirking as she materialized but inches from Riku. "Well, almost anything."

Something dark flickered in those golden honey colored eyes, something that sent prickling slivers of ice up his spine. He clutched onto his knees, there was only one thing he wanted, he didn't need anything else but him.

"I want Sora back."

"Not possible."

"You said anything!" Riku yelled, his voice suddenly hoarse. "You said I was entitled to a wish. I wish for Sora's life. I want him back!"

A pillar of jagged ice errupted at his feet, the silver haired man falling back in shock. Edea was staring him down, her face not one of amusement.

"And I said, almost anything."

Fabula placed her hand over Edea's, closing her eyes momentarily. "You know it's against the rules, don't try that again."

The black-clad woman sneered, turning her back. "You tell him then."

The most humane of the sorceresses turned her attention to Riku. "Sora's life was the catalyst for this wish. It is impossible to bring him back."

Hearing it from Fabula made it perfectly clear. Sora was gone, and there was nothing Riku could do to change it.

"Fabula, Edea, now you know that's not entirely true," came Ultimecia's voice, "there is one way."

Riku's head shot up. There was no need for him to hesitate. "I'll do it. I'll do anything to have him back."

Fabula heaved a sigh as Edea let out a laugh. "Oh this is interesting. I may not be so irked to be here now."

"Tell me what I have to do," Riku firmly stated, determined and for once standing tall and hand tightly clenched.

The three sorceresses blew a breath over the contract still hovering in the air, the lettering still foreign to Riku, but clearly something had changed. Edea held out the feathered quill for Riku to take a hold of. He did so without a second thought.

"Pierce the end of your finger and dab the tip of the quill in the flowing blood," Ultimecia instructed, a devilish smile present. "You will use it to sign the kontract."

Riku did as he was told, using the sharp tip of the quill to jab at his pointer finger before it began to bleed. He winced slightly, dabbing it and holding the writing instrument just below all the heavy wordage.

"Don't you want to know what the cicumstances are?" Edea asked with brimming curiosity.

"No," Riku said, "I don't care."

His name seeped into the parchment with every passing stroke, his vision blurring and everything going black.

Bottles were knocked aside as he came staggering into the living room, the television remote in one hand and a freshly uncapped beer in the other. He could barely tell where he was going, his feet dragging along the carpet and bumping against the corners of the couch. With a heavy thud, he fell back, nearly missing the entire couch cushion. Instead, his precious beer spilled all over his shirt.

"God damn it!"

He threw the bottle towards the wall, shattering and cascading down in dozens of jagged pieces.

"Get me another beer!"

There wasn't a reply.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Can't hear?"

He was muttering drunken obscenities, trudging into the hallway and towards the kitchen.

"I said GET ME-"

There was a massive black lion in the kitchen, scaly wings protruding from its back. The man shook his head in disbelief, the sight of the monstrous creature gone the second time he peered into the room. In its place, stood Riku with his flowing silver hair.

"Ri-Riku?"

He bent down, dipping his finger into the pooling puddle of blood on the floor. Riku swirled it around, the ends of his hair falling over his head and creating ripples.

"Hi dad."

The man had found his voice and was less than pleased to see his son. "I told you, you're not welcome in this house!"

Riku lifted his finger and brought it up to his wounded lip. "Where's mom?"

"Did you hear what I said? I don't want any fag in my house! Get the fuck out!"

The silver haired man eyed his hand, a ripple of purple light warping the space. He turned towards his father, the drunken man still shouting all forms of words he was sure his gods considered heinous.

"I'm going to ask one more time," Riku half whispered, a winged sword materializing from the warped space. "Where's mom?"

"I don't fucking-"

His pupils dilated to mere pinpricks when he noticed the body on the kitchen floor, motionless behind Riku. There was blood, there was so much blood. He clutched the sides of his head, his mouth uttering a silent scream. In an instant, Riku was resting his chin on his father's shoulder, the hilt of his wing-like sword nestled comfortably in his abdomen.

"I'm doing it for Sora," he said to himself, "I paid them with half of my heart…I will bring him back…"

The middle age man fell with a sickening thud, Riku standing over him. "I became a reaper for those devils."

~00000~

A/N: Ultimecia is a character from Final Fantasy 8, and her manner of speaking emphasizes a very hard "C" sound, like a "K". As it is a very integral part to her character, I will continue writing her scenes using a "K" wherever it is needed. And if you aren't familiar with my writing, all characters mentioned by name are existing characters belonging in the Square-Enix/Disney Universe. Thank you for reading and please leave feedback when you are able to.