Kingdom Hearts: (Organization XIII/Riku)
Nov. 11th, 2007 10:24 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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kinkfestTitle: Omission (Part Three)
Author/Artist:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
syvia
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Adult language and sex of dubious consent.
Word Count: 8567 and counting
Summary: They think he's the Replica. The longer Riku is stranded in The World that Never Was, the harder it becomes to play along.
Notes: We're still going... believe me, I'll be happy to tell you that the end chapter... whenever it finally happens, is the end. ^^ For those who're wondering- yes, those 'pages' of the Supar Sekret Ansem Report are taken directly from the game text... with one or two slight edits to the apprentices' names. :)
I'd like to thank my lovely betaosmandias for her continuing aid and encouragement, and the lovely crimsoncookie for her beta-to-the-head. :D
Prompt: - Kingdom Hearts, OrganizationXIII/Riku: D/S - They thought he was the Replica.
Part One Part Two
The next morning he bathed, dressed, and found the kitchen with no interference. Luxord was there, shuffling his ever-present cards and drinking something from a teacup. It didn’t look like tea. It didn’t look like coffee either, although it smelled good.
He didn’t ask- simply pulled the bits of a meal together and ate as quickly as he could without doing something his stomach would regret.
When he had nearly finished, he took a deep breath and tried to look reluctant. It wasn’t hard.
“Luxord?”
“Hmm?”
He didn’t look up from his plate, fiddling with a crust of bread.
“Axel mentioned something called the ‘Proof’? He said that Vexen had a grave there, and I was wondering... if I could see it.”
The Nobody was looking at him. He could feel it. The slight flutter of thin, heavy rectangles of paper ceased, tapped on the table. Riku lifted his head and held Luxord’s gaze- looked down when the gambler fanned his cards out across the surface of the table, all while staring at him, then placed his hands on either side of the fan.
“Choose a card.”
Riku glanced at him, then reached out, without hesitation, and shifted one out of the deck. He lifted it face-down from the table, but Luxord reached out casually, took it from him, and flipped it towards himself. Only then did he look at the card itself.
“Very well then.”
He snapped his fingers and the cards disappeared. Luxord extended the arm he’d already raised and opened a portal. When the Nobody made no move to rise, Riku blinked.
“You’re not coming?”
“I imagine you’ll want some privacy,” the blond murmured, resting his chin in his hand.
He did, actually, and had no problems showing the gratitude on his face. He nodded, got up from the chair and approached the portal. Riku played up the reluctance, moving forward nervously, sinking his fingertips into the darkness and feeling into it as he stepped through.
Riku paused on the other side, trailed fingers through the portal as it slipped closed. He could... he thought he could... change the location of a portal. Maybe he couldn’t open one for himself, but he just might be able to manipulate someone else’s into taking him where he wanted to go.
Last night had struck a nerve. Several, actually. Approaching a dozen.
His heart- the parasite that still remained within him, knew its other half was close. The Organization’s Superior hadn’t come looking for him, but Riku wasn’t going to smile and not worry and assume that Xemnas couldn’t feel his own heart when it was beating under his roof. He had to get out- had to get out, talk to the King about everything he’d seen, go see Naminé and hear what she had to say. He could guess now- knew- that his forgotten friend had been Naminé’s victim, and she was trying to atone for what she’d done. He had to see her- he wanted to remember, at least for a little while, what he’d lost.
He was getting the fuck out of here.
Maybe Axel was right. Maybe the Organization would hunt him down.
Maybe he couldn’t win.
But maybe he didn’t have to.
Maybe he just had to keep the game going... for someone else.
One thing was for sure. He wouldn’t be on the opposing team this time.
Riku took a deep breath and stepped forward.
It did resemble a graveyard... and perhaps it was- for the people who’d died when the Organization became Nobodies. There were five crumbled doorways- five crimson placards sunk into the floor which bled upward into the base of a few of the archways, but even the blue ones- for those still in existence, resembled headstones.
A path lay up the middle- the floor on which he stood continued unimpeded up the center of the room, to an archway in the back wall. The room almost seemed to funnel into it. There were twelve archways all told- crumbling and whole. Six lay to his right, and six to his left. As Riku moved further in there were three to his left, all blue, and three to his right, two red, and the farthest blue. The next row moving forward had two on either side. The left were red, the first on the right was red, and the one beside it, blue. At the top of the room lay one on either side of the path, both of them blue.
Riku looked at the center row, recalled bits of the litany Demyx had recited days ago and reasoned the most likely placard for him to kneel over. Morbid curiosity drew him to the closest of the red panels. There was a black silhouette in the center of each tile, he realized. The shape of a weapon- and a title.
Marluxia carried a scythe.
‘The Graceful Assassin’
He glanced at the one beside it- identified the black shape as knives. ‘The Savage Nymph’
Riku stepped up to the farthest on the right- knelt to get a better look at the shapes set in a field of blue. Two Keyblades- not identical. The shapes- the impressive detail for all that they were done in solid black- were familiar.
‘The Key of Destiny’
That wasn’t ominous at all.
Riku got to his feet- identified the tiles belonging to Saix and Luxord, and Demyx, when he glanced again, by their weapons. He almost didn’t look long enough to read the titles- then reminded himself that a lack of information had hurt him- was hurting him. He walked methodically over to each placard, reading, mentally fixing the weapon with the title and, when he could, putting a face to them. Most of the titles made sense in context. He snorted at Axel’s and paused at Saix’.
‘The Luna Diviner’
Luna was a word that some worlds used for ‘moon’, but Riku wasn’t sure what Saix could ‘divine’. It was something to think about.
Finally moving past Lexaeus’ placard to stand before Vexen’s, he knelt, closed his eyes and bowed his head.
He sank into his Darkness.
He found the King’s thread- pulled it taut and searched- found.
Mickey urged him not to speak- sent his understanding of the situation and assurance that he was close by, hadn’t found a way into that world just yet. But- he was working on it.
Riku sent a short burst of information- his thanks, the knowledge that he’d try to make it easier by getting partway out.
He released the connection, let it fall to its usual place. He pulled himself back into the center of his heart, the comfortable Dark, and drifted.
Then he realized something was looking back from the depths. Lazy- small, but aware, and pleased.
Ansem.
Riku.
He flung himself out of the Darkness so quickly that he threw his body backwards- almost crashed into the archway of Demyx’ Proof. He swore softly and picked himself up.
Found he was still being watched.
Riku scrambled to his feet, staring at the Nobody at the end of the row. This wasn’t the one Axel called ‘Xemnas’. He didn’t feel the pull or euphoria of his passenger- and something in him said this was not the Keyblade Master.
Xaldin.
"You appear to have recovered," he said while Riku was still trying to choose how to react.
"Thanks," he blurted out. "There were more Heartless than I could handle."
"What purpose drove you to wander in Darkness?"
Riku knew his answer as well as he'd known it when Axel questioned him- which was to say not at all. It was far easier to think about the Replica, put himself in that mindset, and speak.
"I was looking for a purpose." He glanced at the tiles by his feet, focusing on Vexen's- black shield over a bloody plane. "Everyone was dead or missing, I was the only Riku left and I could be... a person. I wanted to find somewhere to be."
"You left the site of the castle too quickly," Xaldin murmured. "Had you remained, we would have collected you."
That didn't sound creepy at all. Besides- they had 'collected' him eventually. His voice tightened.
"Yeah, well, I thought I'd try things solo." Hadn't lasted very long. He was pissed about the intrusion- his Replica probably would have been too. Axel had said the Replica had had his memory wiped- but he'd seemed the same to Riku during that confrontation in the sunset world. Had he gotten it back- enough to be himself again? Riku didn't know.
"Why?"
He didn't want to sympathize with the Replica. Riku found, faced with what he'd learned and forced to think about how his double would feel... he couldn't help it.
"Because," he said, letting some of his anger escape through the words, "as soon as Vexen thought he could get more use out of me by fucking with my memories, he did. I thought I could do better on my own than trying to find the rest of the Organization." He stared at the placard and clenched his fists. "I could find people who wouldn't know what I was- who'd just accept me and let me stick around without asking me to change or changing me without asking."
"You did not want to be found?"
"No," he bit out- and that was the most truthful answer he'd given this whole time.
"It was... somewhat unwise to dress in the style of a group you were attempting to avoid," the Nobody pointed out.
"It fooled the Heartless," he said grudgingly. That was also true.
"Riku-"
He looked up, eyes narrowed and enraged.
"No, I'm not Riku."
Xaldin's hand stayed where it was- beckoning, and he smiled. It was a bloodthirsty thing, sharp as Axel's, sharp as Xigbar's, but the knife wasn't held back. Unsheathed, it pierced flesh and cut without hesitation.
"But you are the only one left, are you not? You destroyed him, did you not? To the victor go the spoils."
Riku approached him warily, distrusting the sudden camaraderie. The lancer put a hand on his shoulder. Darkness stole upward and enveloped them.
When Riku could see again, they were standing in what appeared to be a small library. There was a round table with six chairs, a couch and arm chairs on the other side of the room. Bookshelves lined the walls.
"We must speak of that which transpired in Castle Oblivion." The hand left his shoulder and Xaldin turned. He walked over to the couch area and took a seat in one of the armchairs. Riku followed, slowly, and took the opposite seat. "If you would begin..."
He hoped he'd studied enough for this test.
"I woke up in Vexen's lab and he had an assignment for me," Riku murmured, speaking slowly, as if trying to recall as many details as possible. "He wanted me to fight Riku- see how capable I was," he said flatly. "Riku won, and Vexen tried me against the other Keyblade Master- wanted me to confuse him."
"Yes... and what did you think of Sora?"
Riku managed to turn the wince into short laugh. "Forgettable."
Xaldin smiled again, as if sharing a joke.
"They were trying to turn him to our side- make him want to protect Naminé. Vexen decided I'd be more useful if I knew everything the real Riku did- so I could use those memories to confuse Sora," he gritted his teeth, and was thinking about Naminé having done the same to Sora- causing this gap in his heart, "and I don't remember much about that. When I got my own past back, Marluxia was dead and I wanted to be the only Riku. So I went looking for him."
"And this meeting ended in triumph."
"Yes."
"You were lucky to escape at all," Xaldin murmured. "The Elders among Castle Oblivion's Organization contingent went to study the Heart. Marluxia was given care of the Castle itself because he was," Xaldin leaned back in his chair, but his eyes seemed to sharpen, "believed to be a traitor."
Riku listened silently but his interest grew- Axel had never mentioned this.
"We had reason to believe he would attempt to overthrow the Superior. Larxene was close in his confidence and also suspected.
"Axel was given the task of accompanying them- gaining Marluxia's trust, and uncovering the truth of our suspicions. If Marluxia was indeed a traitor, Axel's task was to dispose of him."
He'd never heard any of this. The Replica wouldn't have known- Axel had no reason to tell him... why was Xaldin telling him? Maleficent never would have lain all the pieces down for him like this.
"You weren't trying to recruit the Keyblade Master?" Riku asked.
Xaldin bent his arm upward, rested his chin on one fist. "Sora's appearance was happenstance. A lucky chance that Marluxia made use of. He told the Superior that he could gain control of the boy and would hand him over- a willing servant."
"He would've kept Sora and used him against the Superior?" Riku guessed. It sounded obvious enough after everything he'd heard. The name was helping. He repeated it over to himself even as they spoke- trying to encourage his memories to come back with each repetition. He could see dark hair- almost make out a face.
"Most likely." Xaldin sat up, leaned forward slightly. "You were unaware of these things?"
Riku scoffed. "They told me what to do and when to do it- they didn't care if I knew why."
"Ah. Pity. I had thought, perhaps, you would shed more light upon what transpired in Castle Oblivion."
"Did Axel?"
"Dispose of the traitors? After a fashion. Axel reports that Sora killed Larxene and Marluxia. Unfortunately, he also dispatched Vexen. Lexaeus and Zexion fell prey to Riku... or so Axel has told us. Very unfortunate losses," Xaldin repeated. Riku felt the appraising look, once again, sweep over him.
"Analysis of the samples Xigbar took have told us that, with the sole exception of your heart's memories, you are a perfect copy of the first Riku. You could very well father children, if you chose."
He was not going to blush, damnit.
"So Xigbar did have a reason for taking... that sample?"
"Number II is quite thorough, despite behavior which suggests the contrary." Xaldin rose from his chair, waved Riku back down when he started to get up. "Stay, if you wish. This lounge was reserved for the first six of us. If you require solitude from the younger members of our Organization, you may find it here. However, so might Xigbar or the Superior."
"Where are you going?" he murmured.
"A report, and then a mission off-world," again that smile- and maybe it was supposed to look kind, and not like an indolent dragon that imagined how Riku would taste. "I would suggest you be cautious. Axel was given the task of gaining Marluxia's confidence with the intent to destroy him. We are unsure what feat would have gained him XI's trust, but it must have been momentous indeed. I know you have taken up with Axel... but it would be unwise of you to trust him." A portal billowed from the floor and he disappeared.
He wasn't going to wait around. Riku wanted to avoid talking to Xigbar almost as much as he wanted to avoid meeting Xemnas, but before he left, he scanned the books.
Some of the titles on their spines were familiar even though he couldn't read the foreign script. One looked like the scroll Jafar had always kept somewhere in his robes. Another looked like something he'd seen in that world with all the dragons. That one... he reached for a book slightly above his head. The spine was purple- Gummi Engineering Part II. He'd... seen Part I. Riku could remember it- remember noticing the second volume was missing out of a set of six. The library in Hollow Bastion. He reached for it- curiosity getting the better of him. When he pulled it out- something else fell to the floor, hitting him in the shoulder on the way down. A few sheets of slightly yellowed paper- torn at the side edge, like they'd been part of a book once. Riku absently shoved Gummi Engineering back where he'd found it and stooped down to grab the pages. He reached for the one on top and his gaze was caught by a passage halfway down the page.
Darkness in the midst of nothing.
"Darkness in Zero."
Thus, I shall be known as DiZ.
Discarding the stolen name "Ansem"...
He didn't even think about it as he snatched up the second page. Riku folded the paper into quarters and stuffed them down his shirt, then rose to his feet and very calmly left the room.
***
Chaos affects not only this world, but many other worlds besides.
In the "Ansem Reports" my apprentice Xehanort had written under my name, I found the records of his hideous experiments along with his hypothesis about the door that had appeared out of the darkness in my basement.
All living things have hearts, and all hearts hold darkness deep within.
Worlds are no exception. If a world is a being, the heart it holds must be colossal...
...and the darkness at its core must be monstrous indeed.
Did Xehanort pass through that door in an attempt to contact that dark realm?
No, not only Xehanort.
It appears my other five apprentices, believing it was for the sake of research, stared deep into the darkness and were pulled into it.
Even, Ienzo, Braig, Dilan, and Elaeus...
They have ceased to be human.
I, too, have had everything taken away from me, banished to a hollow realm of nothingness.
What is Xehanort hoping to gain with my pilfered existence?
Will my people cease to smile?
If the light of hope has been extinguished, I shall henceforth walk with darkness as a friend.
Here, in the realm of nothingness to which I have been relegated.
Darkness in the midst of nothing.
"Darkness in Zero."
Thus, I shall be known as DiZ.
Discarding the stolen name "Ansem"...
And going in search of revenge.
***
It was a set of anagrams. That was it. Seemed so... well, stupidly easy.
Riku got the attention of one of the pink-clad Dusks and, when it stopped doing circles around his room long enough for him to talk to it, asked for some paper and something to write with. He'd read the pages three times over by then and it was so obvious that he could have kicked himself.
Well excuse him for thinking the beginning 'x's were actually 'z's. The sound could have been caused by either letter.
Once the Dusk got back with sheets of construction paper and a handful of pencils, he thanked it- which seemed to confuse it- and sent it on its way.
Turning Vexen into Even and Xigbar into Braig gave him a bit of a guide for the rest, although Lexaeus had one more 'e' than he would have thought.
He decoded the Superior's name without any trouble- as if he hadn't already realized what his passenger was reaching out for.
Riku tapped the graphite once... twice... and scribbled the name.
Roxas.
He drew the tip of the pencil across the 'x' over and over again, until the letter was a dark grey spot in the center of the page.
"Sometimes it doesn't only create a Heartless. Sometimes there's a Nobody."
Roxas was....
Riku crumpled the page of anagrams and called fire, then dropped the page to burn red and orange on the floor. He left it there and held the handwritten sheets carefully, looking around the room before deciding to stuff them beneath the bed. It had wooden slats to support the mattress, just like any other- unlikely to draw anyone's notice and perfect for a spare bit of paper. He pinned the pages- the report- between a beam and the mattress and slid out from under the bed.
It was the lesser of two revelations.
DiZ was 'Ansem', and his passenger was 'Ansem'- but Riku knew that wasn't right because he'd met DiZ while Ansem was aware and trying to take him over in Castle Oblivion. DiZ had fooled him for a few floors, but in the end the smell... just hadn't been the same.
But DiZ, was Ansem?
Riku flopped back on his bed, arms outstretched. He understood the concept of the 'Ansem' inside him actually having been someone named Xehanort. It didn't really matter what any of them called themselves- he knew what Ansem was; something to fear. Something to fight and resist.
He didn't know who or what DiZ- the real Ansem? was.
One thing he did know- if DiZ had a hate-on for the Nobodies, Riku had furthered his revenge.
DiZ had used him.
***
Riku heard the door open but didn't bother to look. He knew who it was by the smell- he'd been detecting more nuance in the scents of Darkness lately, enough to identify different Nobodies.
It occurred to him that that might be a bad thing.
"They kinda frown on bonfires in the bedroom," Axel drawled.
"You'd know, right?"
A chuckle, and the red-haired Nobody was standing over him, then climbing onto the bed and laying himself over Riku’s chest. He did it slowly enough that Riku could have rolled away, made some room for him, or even attacked. He felt lazy and confused, and he didn’t want to fight. At least... he didn’t think it was worth the effort right now. It was funny how people could fall into patterns so quickly. He didn’t think he’d been here that long. The lack of windows was probably screwing with his sense of time, but Riku was fairly sure it had only been a few days.
Despite that, he’d already formed impressions of everyone here, and expected certain things when he saw one of the Nobodies walking down the hallway. Saix would either ignore him or expect to start training right then. Demyx would be playing music or want to chat. Xigbar- target practice or tests. He preferred target practice. Xaldin, he should probably be ready for a headache. Luxord couldn’t be seen without his ever-present cards. Axel would get close to him and stay- or start something physical.
"I've heard it's not a good idea to trust you,” Riku said.
Axel was just enough weight on his chest- how in the hell could someone so skinny be so heavy? Weight and heat, hands trailing down his sides and his arms, always stopping at a pulse point or near his heart. The Nobody smiled, lazy and satisfied when they hadn't actually done anything.
"You don't trust me."
"But you want me to." Riku didn't get an answer to that- only a steady gaze, and he'd never thought fire could be green before. It was too close. He didn't feel comfortable meeting anyone's gaze anymore and if you looked at someone's eyes for this long it usually meant something. "Why do you want me to stay? Give me a reason I haven't heard before."
"I like you."
Riku's laughter was utter derision. Axel's answering smirk looked the way Riku had sounded. "Okay. Fine," Riku said. "Tell me what happened in Castle Oblivion."
They lay there staring at one another. Riku shrugged- like that was just what he'd expected, and shifted his weight in preparation to sit up.
"I killed Vexen."
Riku stopped, let his weight fall back to the bed.
"I lied to the Elders. Said Sora had done it. Later, I had the Replica kill Zexion- absorb his power."
"Yeah, thanks for that," Riku muttered sarcastically.
"Please," Axel said, pushing himself up to sit near Riku's hip, "he wasn't strong enough to kill you."
That was true- but the fight hadn’t been any easier because of it.
"Why?"
"Why'd I kill them?" Axel's face was unconcerned- like Demyx had been as he went down the list of living and dead Organization members. "Vexen talked too much- said things Marluxia didn't want Sora to hear. Marluxia wanted him dead- I wanted to look trustworthy. Zexion was close to death- just needed a little push. Then I was the last one standing."
Axel could say whatever he wanted and there was no one to contradict him.
Until Xaldin had caught Riku. The lancer had asked him about Castle Oblivion not three hours ago. This sounded like the very thing he'd wanted to hear. Suddenly Axel's offer that first night made a lot more sense- if all Riku knew about the Replica was what Axel had told him, he couldn't refute anything Axel had already told the other Nobodies.
"Not anymore," Riku murmured- had to. They both knew it. It might as well be said.
"No. But you can't get what you want by turning me in."
He knew that. He knew they weren't going to let him leave unless they could be sure he'd come back... and maybe that was how they got members in the first place. You stuck around until they'd convinced you there was nowhere else to go. The more he learned about the Organization, the more it sounded like Maleficent’s operating procedures.
"Why'd you come back here?"
Axel smirked. "You seen the Proof of Existence yet?"
Blue and Red. "It only changes when you die."
"Bingo. So- you trust me yet?”
Riku laughed, sharp and sudden. He hadn’t meant to. “Yeah, sure,” he tossed out.
"Then close your eyes."
Close his... oh. Yeah. He knew that look. A smile of blades and bright, dead eyes trying to look at him as if... he were something good to eat.
In the end, it didn't matter whether he trusted. He was an obedient little Replica, and he did what he was told. He trusted the Organization to keep him around until he wasn't useful anymore. He hoped their diminished numbers meant they'd only rid themselves of a legitimate threat.
He trusted Axel to play without breaking.
That... was about it. He'd trust that until he found reason not to.
He closed his eyes.
Bare hands again- hot skin, abnormally hot. They always were. Thin, dexterous and skillful, his fingers slipped beneath Riku's shirt.
"Things have to move," Axel said. "If they don't, how d'you know they aren't dead?"
Riku spread his fingers against the blanket, felt the smooth cloth, comfortable- not the softest coverlet he'd known, but he felt better with utilitarian things... when they weren't his. His hair tickled his neck and fanned out around his head. He tipped it back slightly, baring his neck, and felt Axel's face move close- the warmth of it, the almost furnace-like heat of his breath. His fingers moved away, then Riku felt his vest pull slightly against his sides, heard the zipper tread. Cloth was laid to rest against his sides, the straps fell lightly upon his arms.
"But you like the dark," Axel murmured. Palms skimmed up his arms, over his sleeves, then fingers closed over his biceps. "You like pressure." He bore steadily down- it almost hurt- and Riku felt his shoulders held immobile. He sucked in a breath through his nose and it shuddered as it left. Axel made a small, pleased sound. Fingers brushed against his neck when they left his arms. Riku knew his heart was beating faster.
"Maybe it's 'cause I like a fight," Axel leaned back- Riku felt his heat receding- threaded his fingers into the vest shoulders and tugged. Riku shifted his weight- staying as close to the bed as possible- until it came off his arms, out from underneath his back, and could be tossed to the floor. "Maybe it's 'cause someone taught you that you couldn't," he continued. Axel's fingers slid between his pants and his boxers. Riku felt the waistband loosen as the button was undone, heard another grind of zipper teeth.
"Whatever it is- we just haven't meshed yet," Axel trailed his fingers over his boxers, up, and pressed down on Riku's hips. Again, his pulse sped up in anticipation. Again Axel made that soft, pleased sound. He stroked a palm across Riku's groin as he let up on the pressure, then pulled his pants down one inch at a time.
Riku was breathing through his mouth now, lips only slightly parted. He tried to keep his breathing even. It was difficult- and his lips felt dry. When he licked them he felt Axel's warmth again, lips poised above his.
"You're fire," he muttered, "and everyone says I'm Darkness. I move away from you."
It wasn't difficult to keep his eyes closed. It wasn't even as if he couldn't sense the Nobody moving around- there was the smell, like slightly rotted wood, burning from far off. There was a little smoke and ash, and the press of heat near his body wherever Axel was. He could anticipate Axel's touch without seeing where his hands moved to. It was difficult to keep from moving, but Axel was right- that was part of what got him excited.
That was part of the problem. His past sexual experiences hadn't been completely good- completely what stories romanticized and parents fumbled while trying to explain and magazines hidden under the bed didn't even explain; just gave you something to look at. Something that would give you sensations you still didn't know what to do with and you'd better hope your first experience wasn't with some perverted bastard with control issues and no body.
Riku hadn't... been that lucky. It left him with preferences he knew might not have developed without Ansem's interference and a seething but infrequent sense of resentment. Sometimes he didn't think he was sick for wanting to be the submissive one.
He knew Ansem was, for forcing it on him and making it feel so. Damn. Good.
Even as it turned him on, he disliked it. The way it felt like the past here and now. Where the force of his struggling caused no change in the pressure holding him down. Laying on his back- helpless to do anything but watch, unable to close his eyes and surrender the last bit of choice he had. In the end, he did- he always did, when it no longer mattered. When he couldn't stand the gloating, triumphant look in those eyes which said they would devour him. Darkness would swallow him whole until nothing of the light remained.
Hadn't it?
Even as the Darkness in the back of his heart laughed and rose up and said yes- yes it had- Riku denied it. He didn't believe that. He trusted the King and the King had told him never to give up on the light. His own light- whether it belonged to him or not, he still had one.
He could borrow it from his friends.
"Not like this," he murmured to Ansem. "You don't get to keep me- not even like this."
There was breath on his neck that shuddered and spoke without words. Then a voice which said, "You don't know how you look right now..."
Riku nearly flinched when he realized the reverent tone was Axel.
"No matter how far you move away, you still get as close as you can." The Nobody trailed fingers across his ribs and they settled over his abdomen. "Close as you can and you don't burn... I want you as close as you can get."
He was aroused, a little scared, so hard and tense he felt like he might break. "Darkness doesn't burn, but I do," he breathed.
"You sure?"
The cloth between his cock and Axel's palm added texture as the Nobody stroked him. The finger sliding up the leg of his shorts to trace the skin below his balls made him twitch. Small, broken gasps and the slight hitch of his breath gave away his state. He dug his fingers into the bedclothes.
"You're fine," Axel purred. "Fine," he teased with those slow, feather-light touches. The suggestion that he might do something, and how it might feel. "You could run," he said, "or fight me. But you trust me, don't you?"
Did he?
As much as he dared to.
He could accept fire until he found the sun again.
"Yes," he breathed.
Hands dragged away his boxers, then they were on his cock. Something stroked against his foot- leather, the skirts of Axel's coat dragged across his shins and Riku felt him kneeling over one leg without resting any of his weight on it.
"Hard, bright Darkness- can't disappear into shadows 'cause the light bounces off and shows where you are- gets brighter," he muttered, thin, skilled hands working at his erection. He almost couldn't understand what Axel said- his breathing was louder than the sibilant voice, and blood pounded in his ears. The fire at his cheek stole away and the rustle of cloth was loud, but not distracting. There were hands on his cock- then wet heat swallowed him down, sucking, and the hands moved onto his hips, pushing down with a force that he thought- even through the world slipping away- might leave bruises. Axel had played, given him so much attention already- he didn't last long.
Riku thought he cried out, and then he couldn't think.
His mind came back and Riku opened his eyes to find Axel draped over top of him, head laying on his chest. Directly over his heart.
Without moving his head or body, Axel wormed his fingers beneath Riku's arm and raised it, propping his wrist against the valley between his thumb and forefinger. Fire crept from the center of his palm, red-orange and gold that faded into blue near his skin. It was hot- of course it was- but Riku didn't feel threatened. Black wafted from his skin to flicker with red, blue coupled with orange and the gold danced among them. Axel spread his fingers, stroked them around the edge of Riku's hand until they slid upward and lay flat- palm against palm.
He wasn't burning.
Riku made some acknowledging sound and sucked the fire back inside. Axel followed suit and let Riku's hand fall limply to the bed. He was so tired. What had he done? Laid there as Axel went down on him... why did it seem like more?
Axel lay there, head pillowed on his chest. He was still fully clothed. Riku noticed his hair tickled slightly- felt a little stiff... but not like he used gel. He just lay there.
Listening to his heartbeat?
"You don't want-" Riku began, and couldn't finish. Axel's groin lay over his leg- it didn't feel like he was hard, but...
"Go to sleep, Riku."
He didn't have the strength to resist that suggestion.
***
This time, Kairi was in his arms.
Riku still felt guilty about it- felt as if he didn't deserve it for what he'd done to her, much less what he was doing now. This time he was equally grateful. Grateful he didn't have to ask- she didn't blame him, and she wanted to be close. They lay on the beach in sand that had molded to their bodies- as if the tide had come in and left, tucking the land in around them. But the sand was dry...
She lay half on him- head tucked beneath his chin, hand over his heart. He held her tighter and ignored the inane comparisons his brain tried to make between her and Axel. He also ignored it when his brain tried to substitute Kairi for Axel in his memories- he'd made his own choices, he didn't deserve to make it easier on himself.
"I wish I were there with you," she murmured.
He couldn't help a rueful laugh.
"I'm glad you aren't." He couldn't express how glad.
Kairi sighed deeply. "You're hopeless without me, you know. Probably wouldn't be in this situation if I were there to help."
"I-" he shifted his hands on her back, hugging her closer, "Kairi- it makes me feel better to know you're safe at home. I don't have to worry that you're hurt somewhere, or kidnapped and-"
"But you are, Riku," and she propped herself up on one arm, glaring at him with tears in her eyes. "I should be there with you- I don't know why I'm not! I can't remember why. I have to stay at home and know you're in danger and not know if you'll get out of it. You get the comfort of knowing I'm safe, but I don't!"
He sat up as she began crying in earnest, hugging her, kissing her forehead and holding her tightly.
"I'm not sorry," he whispered. "I'm not. I don't know why you're not here either, but I'm glad you don't have to go through any of this. Whatever sent you home- I'm thankful for it."
She knelt in the circle of his arms, wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She cried into his neck, hot tears and little hiccupping breaths moving over his skin. Riku laid his mouth against her cheek, felt the warmth of her against him and wished he could have been home- wished the holes in his memory were filled, that he had no reason to be away from the Islands.
But Kairi was there- and as much as he missed her, he wasn't sorry about that.
***
Something cold fell onto his face.
Another.
Drops of water- ice-cold.
Then he heard a voice.
"This is the second time I've found you asleep and half-covered. Why is that?"
Riku tried to force his brain out of slumber. He felt so damn loose- lazy and content. Axel... had tucked him in? He opened his eyes and focused on Demyx' face peeping above the side of his bed. Riku pulled the covers over his naked body and turned onto his back.
"I usually wear pajamas," he muttered, "and kick the covers off."
"Decided not to?" Demyx straightened up, put his hands on his hips and looked curious.
"I don't have any," Riku answered, not knowing if it was a lie or not. It hadn't been relevant the past few nights, and he knew now what a luxury pajamas were. He pulled the covers up beneath his chin and closed his eyes, making obvious that he was planning to go back to sleep. Demyx didn't take the hint.
"You sure? The Dusks might've gotten you some."
"I don't know," he said into the pillow. "I'll look later." Or when it was less likely that he'd go to bed naked.
A finger touched his earlobe, flicked it gently back and forth. Riku reached out to slap it away.
"Don't go back to sleep," Demyx sing-songed. "We've got things to do."
"What time is it?" Riku griped. It couldn't be that late- he was too tired to have gotten a full night's rest.
"Only Luxord knows for sure- outta bed, sleepy head!"
Demyx grabbed the covers- Riku grabbed them back just before they could be thrown entirely off his body.
"I'm naked under here!" he cried indignantly.
"I know," Demyx smiled, and it was only slightly a leer. "I saw enough that I could tell."
Riku just stared at him. "Okay, I realize I... you... gave me a bath before, but I don't-" he couldn't think of a way to describe it. He didn't walk naked in front of people? He'd done that for at least four of the Nobodies here. He didn't do it on purpose? No, not really, but he was trying to make it seem like something he wasn't affected by. He didn't have semi-meaningless sexual encounters? Also not true.
The Nobody pouted. Pouted at him. "Aww."
Riku blinked.
Then Demyx smirked with no hint of petulance and turned to search through the wardrobe. Riku thought about using a blanket before the bathrobe- he'd lost track of that earlier- landed on his bed. He pulled it on and headed for the bathroom, turned around again, grabbed the first set of clothes he could lay hands on, then went into the bathroom. Demyx followed. Even if the door had had a lock, Riku didn't think it would have made a difference.
"I have a potion if you need it."
Riku tried to ignore his interested gaze and drew the bath. "Look, could you-"
"You'll take less time if I'm here."
Well, no, he wasn't going to contact the King with Demyx standing there.
"Besides," he said, pointing a finger briskly in Riku's direction, "I let you sleep in." The amused grin said plainly what a good guy Demyx wanted Riku to think he was. He put on a convincing display- it only made him seem more suspicious. No difference there than the rest of the Organization, but...
Riku muttered obscenities and shucked off the robe before climbing into the tub. He leaned back to wet his hair and reached for the shampoo bottle he'd left on the side of the tub- only to find Demyx had it. His sleeves were rolled up, gloves off, and he was squeezing the contents into his hand.
"You're finding excuses-"
"To touch you? Yep. Pretty much."
Riku was either horrified or amused that Demyx wouldn't even bother to deny it. He couldn't decide which. He sat there as the Nobody stepped up to the side of the tub and started to lather his hair.
"Why, exactly?"
"Because you're pretty."
What? Okay, Demyx' fingers on his scalp didn't feel too bad. Riku caught up the soap and began scrubbing. Just get it done, don't over-analyze, don't think about it.
"So, you want that potion?" the musician asked.
"I-" he wasn't hurt enough to use one... but maybe he could hide it, keep it for an emergency, "yes, please." Riku humbled his tone a little. "How did you know I'd need it?"
"I remember what Axel's like," Demyx murmured, "and I thought you might not have had much sex before you got here... or... ever. Even when you use enough lube, too much sex'll make your skin raw."
Well, that meant that Axel had slept with Demyx. It also meant that Axel was either, usually rougher with his partners than he'd been with Riku, or had sex with them more often. Whichever. Riku didn't mind being an exception in this case.
All of this was based on the assumption that Demyx was telling the truth.
"He sleep with a lot of people around here?" Wait... why had he asked that? Why did he care? Curiosity, maybe.
Demyx shrugged and carded his damp, sudsy hair back from his face. "It takes more for him to feel like he's got a heart, so he pushes for more... yanno- more sex, more talking, more doing things that make other people react. The more we can get caught up in remembering what emotions were like, the more we can pretend we feel them, instead of just remembering. You make it easier."
"What's that mean?"
"You have a heart. You react easy because of it. It's kind of a rush," there was a bit of giddiness in his voice, as if he felt what he was describing. "Axel, well- he's fire. He uses things up quicker- anything handy- and he moves on and keeps burning until he finds something that'll last for a long time. So I don't know if he's had sex with everyone, but I know he'll at least talk with anyone who comes around. The only one I know mostly steered clear of him was Vexen. Fire and Ice really don't work together. Fire can sometimes work around ice- but all ice can do is melt. Now Darkness and Water," and Demyx was abruptly closer to Riku's ear- hands on his shoulders.
"Yeah, okay, you're coming on to me," Riku said, jerking away and thinking- very abruptly- that this was a terrible place for him to be sitting just now, "and yeah, you get deep enough into Water and it's plenty dark. You also drown. Axel says he likes me, you say I'm pretty, I'm not going to let someone fuck me just because they'll give me a compliment or two!"
"Awww, you're monogamous?"
Riku turned his back resolutely and dunked his head backward again, rinsing out the suds. He finished and got out of the tub, stalking past Demyx and grabbing a towel.
"I don't get why I'm such a prize anyway- no one should have this many people after their ass-"
"Everything we do is either to remind us what having a heart felt like- or to work on getting our own hearts." His tone had gone a bit solemn, and the narrow expression on his face made Riku feel like a complete idiot- and that someone else had abruptly stepped into Demyx' shoes. "We're not like all the little white Dusks out there because we remember better than they do. It's not perfect," Demyx laid a hand over his chest, "but we remember being people. We remember- and we have to keep remembering. It's easier to do that with an example of what you want nearby."
Demyx pulled a small green bottle out of his pocket and tossed it at Riku. He caught it, closed his hand around the potion.
This... explained a few things. He'd forgotten what Xigbar had said- couldn't resist a pulse. He was a lure. He let Demyx walk up to him, and didn't protest when the Nobody leaned forward, put a hand on the side of his face and kissed him.
He was confused as hell, and said so.
Demyx looked at him without bothering to choose an expression. "If you wanted a comparison, or yanno, just sex because... sex, I'm offering."
Riku stood there, dripping wet in a towel, one hand holding it closed, the other hand grasping a potion, and stared. He was being propositioned. His mind was utterly blank.
"I..."
Demyx raised an eyebrow, lifted the corners of his mouth, smiling hopefully.
"No... thank you- I..."
Another brief pout, but before Riku could inexplicably start to feel guilty, Demyx pecked him on the cheek.
"Okay, think it over- maybe some other time, yeah?" He smiled and turned to leave.
Riku blinked, started to wonder what the hell had just happened. Then, suddenly there were hands cupping his cheeks and lips on his, firm pressure, wet and warm, massaging his, a tongue licking his mouth softly, kissing him until he lost his breath. Demyx pulled away, still holding his face in warm hands. Riku opened his eyes and wasn't sure when he'd closed them.
"You ever hear of 'the element of surprise'?"
"Yeah," Riku breathed.
"It's water." Demyx grinned, turned and left by the door.
Riku dried himself off and got dressed. Zipping up his vest, he headed out, glanced up and down the hallway. Riku chose a direction and started walking.
"That was an awful pun," he muttered.
***
"-yes."
Riku stood with his back against the wall, stood a few inches away from the corner, listening to the pair of voices in the hall. Xigbar and Xaldin, talking business.
He concentrated on the smells around him- watching for others to approach, the sound of footsteps or a portal opening- and barely heard the conversation. Then he heard his name and put a little more effort into multitasking.
"No," Xigbar said. "Am I the only one who thinks Saix is a bad sparring partner for the kid?"
"Going soft, are you?"
"As if. Someone has to be interested him improving- fuck, in what's going on with the group as a group. Xemnas does his thing, you're on missions. Who does that leave? Me... oh, and me.
"The big man stares at Kingdom Hearts- pretty much the only thing he's done since the others died."
"Your news about Ansem- perhaps, was an added cause," Xaldin murmured.
"Or DiZ," Xigbar agreed, "or whatever-the-fuck. Bastard looked right at me before dropping the book. It didn't look like him, obviously, but I remember that look in his eyes. What he gave Xehanort when he found out about the first Heartless."
"He looked at you-"
"-and dropped the damn book right in front of me. So I tore the thing up and scattered it through Darkness- kept a few pages for... shits and giggles. I dunno."
"Well," Xaldin said, "what pleasure is vengeance when the wronged party is not credited?" There was a moment of silence.
"Fuck, I don't remember."
"Nor do I."
Riku heard Xigbar laughing, then footsteps moving down the hall- but the accompanying smell grew more faint and the sound became softer and he knew one of them was moving further away from him. He smelled the abrupt 'burst' of Darkness that was a portal opening and edged closer to the corner, then looked around it. Xigbar's back was to him and he continued to walk. Xaldin was gone by way of a portal. Riku sidled quickly to the rip in space and plunged his fingers inside. It was empty- and malleable.
He wanted out of the castle. He told the portal this, bent it to the thought of Hollow Bastion- he knew that place well, could see it in his mind. It was too far. He tried another world he knew- Agrabah- he had no idea where this castle was, cycled through many worlds and places within them that might be within reach.
The Portal was starting to close.
Riku gritted his teeth and tore it wider, which hardly bought him any time. Finally he focused his will on somewhere with solid ground- somewhere that wasn't this castle- and plunged into the Darkness.
The Portal threw him back out instantly and Riku sprawled on cold, uneven stone. Black stone. He grinned to himself and got up, looked around.
It was a city- but it was wrong somehow. There were no people, no cars- all the lights in all the buildings were on- every window was lit, but they were empty as... as the eyes of the Nobodies he'd lived with these past few days. He took a few steps, cautiously, automatically glancing at the pavement for broken bottles, garbage, things he knew to be careful of from his experience in other worlds.
There was nothing. Nothing here. He appeared to be standing in an alleyway, so he walked, tried a few doors- knocking, then twisting the handles. He could probably unlock the door, but he wasn't going to begin his foray into a new world by breaking and entering. He still couldn't open portals by himself and he had no way of knowing how long he'd be here.
None of the doors were open, and no one came to his knocking- he even tried a few of the doorbells. Nothing worked.
He moved to the end of the alleyway and looked around- saw more of the same. The sky was blank- his view of the stars obscured by all the city lights. Still, he looked up, searching for... something familiar, maybe-
"...No. No," he ground out, clenching his hands in frustration. It wasn't as close- he couldn't feel it here as he had on the balcony, but there it was, hanging above him- above the black city and the spires of a white castle suspended impossibly over a vast chasm of nothing.
Kingdom Hearts.
***
Part Four
Author/Artist:
syviaRating: NC-17
Warnings: Adult language and sex of dubious consent.
Word Count: 8567 and counting
Summary: They think he's the Replica. The longer Riku is stranded in The World that Never Was, the harder it becomes to play along.
Notes: We're still going... believe me, I'll be happy to tell you that the end chapter... whenever it finally happens, is the end. ^^ For those who're wondering- yes, those 'pages' of the Supar Sekret Ansem Report are taken directly from the game text... with one or two slight edits to the apprentices' names. :)
I'd like to thank my lovely beta
osmandias for her continuing aid and encouragement, and the lovely crimsoncookie for her beta-to-the-head. :DPrompt: - Kingdom Hearts, OrganizationXIII/Riku: D/S - They thought he was the Replica.
Part One Part Two
The next morning he bathed, dressed, and found the kitchen with no interference. Luxord was there, shuffling his ever-present cards and drinking something from a teacup. It didn’t look like tea. It didn’t look like coffee either, although it smelled good.
He didn’t ask- simply pulled the bits of a meal together and ate as quickly as he could without doing something his stomach would regret.
When he had nearly finished, he took a deep breath and tried to look reluctant. It wasn’t hard.
“Luxord?”
“Hmm?”
He didn’t look up from his plate, fiddling with a crust of bread.
“Axel mentioned something called the ‘Proof’? He said that Vexen had a grave there, and I was wondering... if I could see it.”
The Nobody was looking at him. He could feel it. The slight flutter of thin, heavy rectangles of paper ceased, tapped on the table. Riku lifted his head and held Luxord’s gaze- looked down when the gambler fanned his cards out across the surface of the table, all while staring at him, then placed his hands on either side of the fan.
“Choose a card.”
Riku glanced at him, then reached out, without hesitation, and shifted one out of the deck. He lifted it face-down from the table, but Luxord reached out casually, took it from him, and flipped it towards himself. Only then did he look at the card itself.
“Very well then.”
He snapped his fingers and the cards disappeared. Luxord extended the arm he’d already raised and opened a portal. When the Nobody made no move to rise, Riku blinked.
“You’re not coming?”
“I imagine you’ll want some privacy,” the blond murmured, resting his chin in his hand.
He did, actually, and had no problems showing the gratitude on his face. He nodded, got up from the chair and approached the portal. Riku played up the reluctance, moving forward nervously, sinking his fingertips into the darkness and feeling into it as he stepped through.
Riku paused on the other side, trailed fingers through the portal as it slipped closed. He could... he thought he could... change the location of a portal. Maybe he couldn’t open one for himself, but he just might be able to manipulate someone else’s into taking him where he wanted to go.
Last night had struck a nerve. Several, actually. Approaching a dozen.
His heart- the parasite that still remained within him, knew its other half was close. The Organization’s Superior hadn’t come looking for him, but Riku wasn’t going to smile and not worry and assume that Xemnas couldn’t feel his own heart when it was beating under his roof. He had to get out- had to get out, talk to the King about everything he’d seen, go see Naminé and hear what she had to say. He could guess now- knew- that his forgotten friend had been Naminé’s victim, and she was trying to atone for what she’d done. He had to see her- he wanted to remember, at least for a little while, what he’d lost.
He was getting the fuck out of here.
Maybe Axel was right. Maybe the Organization would hunt him down.
Maybe he couldn’t win.
But maybe he didn’t have to.
Maybe he just had to keep the game going... for someone else.
One thing was for sure. He wouldn’t be on the opposing team this time.
Riku took a deep breath and stepped forward.
It did resemble a graveyard... and perhaps it was- for the people who’d died when the Organization became Nobodies. There were five crumbled doorways- five crimson placards sunk into the floor which bled upward into the base of a few of the archways, but even the blue ones- for those still in existence, resembled headstones.
A path lay up the middle- the floor on which he stood continued unimpeded up the center of the room, to an archway in the back wall. The room almost seemed to funnel into it. There were twelve archways all told- crumbling and whole. Six lay to his right, and six to his left. As Riku moved further in there were three to his left, all blue, and three to his right, two red, and the farthest blue. The next row moving forward had two on either side. The left were red, the first on the right was red, and the one beside it, blue. At the top of the room lay one on either side of the path, both of them blue.
Riku looked at the center row, recalled bits of the litany Demyx had recited days ago and reasoned the most likely placard for him to kneel over. Morbid curiosity drew him to the closest of the red panels. There was a black silhouette in the center of each tile, he realized. The shape of a weapon- and a title.
Marluxia carried a scythe.
‘The Graceful Assassin’
He glanced at the one beside it- identified the black shape as knives. ‘The Savage Nymph’
Riku stepped up to the farthest on the right- knelt to get a better look at the shapes set in a field of blue. Two Keyblades- not identical. The shapes- the impressive detail for all that they were done in solid black- were familiar.
‘The Key of Destiny’
That wasn’t ominous at all.
Riku got to his feet- identified the tiles belonging to Saix and Luxord, and Demyx, when he glanced again, by their weapons. He almost didn’t look long enough to read the titles- then reminded himself that a lack of information had hurt him- was hurting him. He walked methodically over to each placard, reading, mentally fixing the weapon with the title and, when he could, putting a face to them. Most of the titles made sense in context. He snorted at Axel’s and paused at Saix’.
‘The Luna Diviner’
Luna was a word that some worlds used for ‘moon’, but Riku wasn’t sure what Saix could ‘divine’. It was something to think about.
Finally moving past Lexaeus’ placard to stand before Vexen’s, he knelt, closed his eyes and bowed his head.
He sank into his Darkness.
He found the King’s thread- pulled it taut and searched- found.
Mickey urged him not to speak- sent his understanding of the situation and assurance that he was close by, hadn’t found a way into that world just yet. But- he was working on it.
Riku sent a short burst of information- his thanks, the knowledge that he’d try to make it easier by getting partway out.
He released the connection, let it fall to its usual place. He pulled himself back into the center of his heart, the comfortable Dark, and drifted.
Then he realized something was looking back from the depths. Lazy- small, but aware, and pleased.
Ansem.
Riku.
He flung himself out of the Darkness so quickly that he threw his body backwards- almost crashed into the archway of Demyx’ Proof. He swore softly and picked himself up.
Found he was still being watched.
Riku scrambled to his feet, staring at the Nobody at the end of the row. This wasn’t the one Axel called ‘Xemnas’. He didn’t feel the pull or euphoria of his passenger- and something in him said this was not the Keyblade Master.
Xaldin.
"You appear to have recovered," he said while Riku was still trying to choose how to react.
"Thanks," he blurted out. "There were more Heartless than I could handle."
"What purpose drove you to wander in Darkness?"
Riku knew his answer as well as he'd known it when Axel questioned him- which was to say not at all. It was far easier to think about the Replica, put himself in that mindset, and speak.
"I was looking for a purpose." He glanced at the tiles by his feet, focusing on Vexen's- black shield over a bloody plane. "Everyone was dead or missing, I was the only Riku left and I could be... a person. I wanted to find somewhere to be."
"You left the site of the castle too quickly," Xaldin murmured. "Had you remained, we would have collected you."
That didn't sound creepy at all. Besides- they had 'collected' him eventually. His voice tightened.
"Yeah, well, I thought I'd try things solo." Hadn't lasted very long. He was pissed about the intrusion- his Replica probably would have been too. Axel had said the Replica had had his memory wiped- but he'd seemed the same to Riku during that confrontation in the sunset world. Had he gotten it back- enough to be himself again? Riku didn't know.
"Why?"
He didn't want to sympathize with the Replica. Riku found, faced with what he'd learned and forced to think about how his double would feel... he couldn't help it.
"Because," he said, letting some of his anger escape through the words, "as soon as Vexen thought he could get more use out of me by fucking with my memories, he did. I thought I could do better on my own than trying to find the rest of the Organization." He stared at the placard and clenched his fists. "I could find people who wouldn't know what I was- who'd just accept me and let me stick around without asking me to change or changing me without asking."
"You did not want to be found?"
"No," he bit out- and that was the most truthful answer he'd given this whole time.
"It was... somewhat unwise to dress in the style of a group you were attempting to avoid," the Nobody pointed out.
"It fooled the Heartless," he said grudgingly. That was also true.
"Riku-"
He looked up, eyes narrowed and enraged.
"No, I'm not Riku."
Xaldin's hand stayed where it was- beckoning, and he smiled. It was a bloodthirsty thing, sharp as Axel's, sharp as Xigbar's, but the knife wasn't held back. Unsheathed, it pierced flesh and cut without hesitation.
"But you are the only one left, are you not? You destroyed him, did you not? To the victor go the spoils."
Riku approached him warily, distrusting the sudden camaraderie. The lancer put a hand on his shoulder. Darkness stole upward and enveloped them.
When Riku could see again, they were standing in what appeared to be a small library. There was a round table with six chairs, a couch and arm chairs on the other side of the room. Bookshelves lined the walls.
"We must speak of that which transpired in Castle Oblivion." The hand left his shoulder and Xaldin turned. He walked over to the couch area and took a seat in one of the armchairs. Riku followed, slowly, and took the opposite seat. "If you would begin..."
He hoped he'd studied enough for this test.
"I woke up in Vexen's lab and he had an assignment for me," Riku murmured, speaking slowly, as if trying to recall as many details as possible. "He wanted me to fight Riku- see how capable I was," he said flatly. "Riku won, and Vexen tried me against the other Keyblade Master- wanted me to confuse him."
"Yes... and what did you think of Sora?"
Riku managed to turn the wince into short laugh. "Forgettable."
Xaldin smiled again, as if sharing a joke.
"They were trying to turn him to our side- make him want to protect Naminé. Vexen decided I'd be more useful if I knew everything the real Riku did- so I could use those memories to confuse Sora," he gritted his teeth, and was thinking about Naminé having done the same to Sora- causing this gap in his heart, "and I don't remember much about that. When I got my own past back, Marluxia was dead and I wanted to be the only Riku. So I went looking for him."
"And this meeting ended in triumph."
"Yes."
"You were lucky to escape at all," Xaldin murmured. "The Elders among Castle Oblivion's Organization contingent went to study the Heart. Marluxia was given care of the Castle itself because he was," Xaldin leaned back in his chair, but his eyes seemed to sharpen, "believed to be a traitor."
Riku listened silently but his interest grew- Axel had never mentioned this.
"We had reason to believe he would attempt to overthrow the Superior. Larxene was close in his confidence and also suspected.
"Axel was given the task of accompanying them- gaining Marluxia's trust, and uncovering the truth of our suspicions. If Marluxia was indeed a traitor, Axel's task was to dispose of him."
He'd never heard any of this. The Replica wouldn't have known- Axel had no reason to tell him... why was Xaldin telling him? Maleficent never would have lain all the pieces down for him like this.
"You weren't trying to recruit the Keyblade Master?" Riku asked.
Xaldin bent his arm upward, rested his chin on one fist. "Sora's appearance was happenstance. A lucky chance that Marluxia made use of. He told the Superior that he could gain control of the boy and would hand him over- a willing servant."
"He would've kept Sora and used him against the Superior?" Riku guessed. It sounded obvious enough after everything he'd heard. The name was helping. He repeated it over to himself even as they spoke- trying to encourage his memories to come back with each repetition. He could see dark hair- almost make out a face.
"Most likely." Xaldin sat up, leaned forward slightly. "You were unaware of these things?"
Riku scoffed. "They told me what to do and when to do it- they didn't care if I knew why."
"Ah. Pity. I had thought, perhaps, you would shed more light upon what transpired in Castle Oblivion."
"Did Axel?"
"Dispose of the traitors? After a fashion. Axel reports that Sora killed Larxene and Marluxia. Unfortunately, he also dispatched Vexen. Lexaeus and Zexion fell prey to Riku... or so Axel has told us. Very unfortunate losses," Xaldin repeated. Riku felt the appraising look, once again, sweep over him.
"Analysis of the samples Xigbar took have told us that, with the sole exception of your heart's memories, you are a perfect copy of the first Riku. You could very well father children, if you chose."
He was not going to blush, damnit.
"So Xigbar did have a reason for taking... that sample?"
"Number II is quite thorough, despite behavior which suggests the contrary." Xaldin rose from his chair, waved Riku back down when he started to get up. "Stay, if you wish. This lounge was reserved for the first six of us. If you require solitude from the younger members of our Organization, you may find it here. However, so might Xigbar or the Superior."
"Where are you going?" he murmured.
"A report, and then a mission off-world," again that smile- and maybe it was supposed to look kind, and not like an indolent dragon that imagined how Riku would taste. "I would suggest you be cautious. Axel was given the task of gaining Marluxia's confidence with the intent to destroy him. We are unsure what feat would have gained him XI's trust, but it must have been momentous indeed. I know you have taken up with Axel... but it would be unwise of you to trust him." A portal billowed from the floor and he disappeared.
He wasn't going to wait around. Riku wanted to avoid talking to Xigbar almost as much as he wanted to avoid meeting Xemnas, but before he left, he scanned the books.
Some of the titles on their spines were familiar even though he couldn't read the foreign script. One looked like the scroll Jafar had always kept somewhere in his robes. Another looked like something he'd seen in that world with all the dragons. That one... he reached for a book slightly above his head. The spine was purple- Gummi Engineering Part II. He'd... seen Part I. Riku could remember it- remember noticing the second volume was missing out of a set of six. The library in Hollow Bastion. He reached for it- curiosity getting the better of him. When he pulled it out- something else fell to the floor, hitting him in the shoulder on the way down. A few sheets of slightly yellowed paper- torn at the side edge, like they'd been part of a book once. Riku absently shoved Gummi Engineering back where he'd found it and stooped down to grab the pages. He reached for the one on top and his gaze was caught by a passage halfway down the page.
Darkness in the midst of nothing.
"Darkness in Zero."
Thus, I shall be known as DiZ.
Discarding the stolen name "Ansem"...
He didn't even think about it as he snatched up the second page. Riku folded the paper into quarters and stuffed them down his shirt, then rose to his feet and very calmly left the room.
***
Chaos affects not only this world, but many other worlds besides.
In the "Ansem Reports" my apprentice Xehanort had written under my name, I found the records of his hideous experiments along with his hypothesis about the door that had appeared out of the darkness in my basement.
All living things have hearts, and all hearts hold darkness deep within.
Worlds are no exception. If a world is a being, the heart it holds must be colossal...
...and the darkness at its core must be monstrous indeed.
Did Xehanort pass through that door in an attempt to contact that dark realm?
No, not only Xehanort.
It appears my other five apprentices, believing it was for the sake of research, stared deep into the darkness and were pulled into it.
Even, Ienzo, Braig, Dilan, and Elaeus...
They have ceased to be human.
I, too, have had everything taken away from me, banished to a hollow realm of nothingness.
What is Xehanort hoping to gain with my pilfered existence?
Will my people cease to smile?
If the light of hope has been extinguished, I shall henceforth walk with darkness as a friend.
Here, in the realm of nothingness to which I have been relegated.
Darkness in the midst of nothing.
"Darkness in Zero."
Thus, I shall be known as DiZ.
Discarding the stolen name "Ansem"...
And going in search of revenge.
***
It was a set of anagrams. That was it. Seemed so... well, stupidly easy.
Riku got the attention of one of the pink-clad Dusks and, when it stopped doing circles around his room long enough for him to talk to it, asked for some paper and something to write with. He'd read the pages three times over by then and it was so obvious that he could have kicked himself.
Well excuse him for thinking the beginning 'x's were actually 'z's. The sound could have been caused by either letter.
Once the Dusk got back with sheets of construction paper and a handful of pencils, he thanked it- which seemed to confuse it- and sent it on its way.
Turning Vexen into Even and Xigbar into Braig gave him a bit of a guide for the rest, although Lexaeus had one more 'e' than he would have thought.
He decoded the Superior's name without any trouble- as if he hadn't already realized what his passenger was reaching out for.
Riku tapped the graphite once... twice... and scribbled the name.
Roxas.
He drew the tip of the pencil across the 'x' over and over again, until the letter was a dark grey spot in the center of the page.
"Sometimes it doesn't only create a Heartless. Sometimes there's a Nobody."
Roxas was....
Riku crumpled the page of anagrams and called fire, then dropped the page to burn red and orange on the floor. He left it there and held the handwritten sheets carefully, looking around the room before deciding to stuff them beneath the bed. It had wooden slats to support the mattress, just like any other- unlikely to draw anyone's notice and perfect for a spare bit of paper. He pinned the pages- the report- between a beam and the mattress and slid out from under the bed.
It was the lesser of two revelations.
DiZ was 'Ansem', and his passenger was 'Ansem'- but Riku knew that wasn't right because he'd met DiZ while Ansem was aware and trying to take him over in Castle Oblivion. DiZ had fooled him for a few floors, but in the end the smell... just hadn't been the same.
But DiZ, was Ansem?
Riku flopped back on his bed, arms outstretched. He understood the concept of the 'Ansem' inside him actually having been someone named Xehanort. It didn't really matter what any of them called themselves- he knew what Ansem was; something to fear. Something to fight and resist.
He didn't know who or what DiZ- the real Ansem? was.
One thing he did know- if DiZ had a hate-on for the Nobodies, Riku had furthered his revenge.
DiZ had used him.
***
Riku heard the door open but didn't bother to look. He knew who it was by the smell- he'd been detecting more nuance in the scents of Darkness lately, enough to identify different Nobodies.
It occurred to him that that might be a bad thing.
"They kinda frown on bonfires in the bedroom," Axel drawled.
"You'd know, right?"
A chuckle, and the red-haired Nobody was standing over him, then climbing onto the bed and laying himself over Riku’s chest. He did it slowly enough that Riku could have rolled away, made some room for him, or even attacked. He felt lazy and confused, and he didn’t want to fight. At least... he didn’t think it was worth the effort right now. It was funny how people could fall into patterns so quickly. He didn’t think he’d been here that long. The lack of windows was probably screwing with his sense of time, but Riku was fairly sure it had only been a few days.
Despite that, he’d already formed impressions of everyone here, and expected certain things when he saw one of the Nobodies walking down the hallway. Saix would either ignore him or expect to start training right then. Demyx would be playing music or want to chat. Xigbar- target practice or tests. He preferred target practice. Xaldin, he should probably be ready for a headache. Luxord couldn’t be seen without his ever-present cards. Axel would get close to him and stay- or start something physical.
"I've heard it's not a good idea to trust you,” Riku said.
Axel was just enough weight on his chest- how in the hell could someone so skinny be so heavy? Weight and heat, hands trailing down his sides and his arms, always stopping at a pulse point or near his heart. The Nobody smiled, lazy and satisfied when they hadn't actually done anything.
"You don't trust me."
"But you want me to." Riku didn't get an answer to that- only a steady gaze, and he'd never thought fire could be green before. It was too close. He didn't feel comfortable meeting anyone's gaze anymore and if you looked at someone's eyes for this long it usually meant something. "Why do you want me to stay? Give me a reason I haven't heard before."
"I like you."
Riku's laughter was utter derision. Axel's answering smirk looked the way Riku had sounded. "Okay. Fine," Riku said. "Tell me what happened in Castle Oblivion."
They lay there staring at one another. Riku shrugged- like that was just what he'd expected, and shifted his weight in preparation to sit up.
"I killed Vexen."
Riku stopped, let his weight fall back to the bed.
"I lied to the Elders. Said Sora had done it. Later, I had the Replica kill Zexion- absorb his power."
"Yeah, thanks for that," Riku muttered sarcastically.
"Please," Axel said, pushing himself up to sit near Riku's hip, "he wasn't strong enough to kill you."
That was true- but the fight hadn’t been any easier because of it.
"Why?"
"Why'd I kill them?" Axel's face was unconcerned- like Demyx had been as he went down the list of living and dead Organization members. "Vexen talked too much- said things Marluxia didn't want Sora to hear. Marluxia wanted him dead- I wanted to look trustworthy. Zexion was close to death- just needed a little push. Then I was the last one standing."
Axel could say whatever he wanted and there was no one to contradict him.
Until Xaldin had caught Riku. The lancer had asked him about Castle Oblivion not three hours ago. This sounded like the very thing he'd wanted to hear. Suddenly Axel's offer that first night made a lot more sense- if all Riku knew about the Replica was what Axel had told him, he couldn't refute anything Axel had already told the other Nobodies.
"Not anymore," Riku murmured- had to. They both knew it. It might as well be said.
"No. But you can't get what you want by turning me in."
He knew that. He knew they weren't going to let him leave unless they could be sure he'd come back... and maybe that was how they got members in the first place. You stuck around until they'd convinced you there was nowhere else to go. The more he learned about the Organization, the more it sounded like Maleficent’s operating procedures.
"Why'd you come back here?"
Axel smirked. "You seen the Proof of Existence yet?"
Blue and Red. "It only changes when you die."
"Bingo. So- you trust me yet?”
Riku laughed, sharp and sudden. He hadn’t meant to. “Yeah, sure,” he tossed out.
"Then close your eyes."
Close his... oh. Yeah. He knew that look. A smile of blades and bright, dead eyes trying to look at him as if... he were something good to eat.
In the end, it didn't matter whether he trusted. He was an obedient little Replica, and he did what he was told. He trusted the Organization to keep him around until he wasn't useful anymore. He hoped their diminished numbers meant they'd only rid themselves of a legitimate threat.
He trusted Axel to play without breaking.
That... was about it. He'd trust that until he found reason not to.
He closed his eyes.
Bare hands again- hot skin, abnormally hot. They always were. Thin, dexterous and skillful, his fingers slipped beneath Riku's shirt.
"Things have to move," Axel said. "If they don't, how d'you know they aren't dead?"
Riku spread his fingers against the blanket, felt the smooth cloth, comfortable- not the softest coverlet he'd known, but he felt better with utilitarian things... when they weren't his. His hair tickled his neck and fanned out around his head. He tipped it back slightly, baring his neck, and felt Axel's face move close- the warmth of it, the almost furnace-like heat of his breath. His fingers moved away, then Riku felt his vest pull slightly against his sides, heard the zipper tread. Cloth was laid to rest against his sides, the straps fell lightly upon his arms.
"But you like the dark," Axel murmured. Palms skimmed up his arms, over his sleeves, then fingers closed over his biceps. "You like pressure." He bore steadily down- it almost hurt- and Riku felt his shoulders held immobile. He sucked in a breath through his nose and it shuddered as it left. Axel made a small, pleased sound. Fingers brushed against his neck when they left his arms. Riku knew his heart was beating faster.
"Maybe it's 'cause I like a fight," Axel leaned back- Riku felt his heat receding- threaded his fingers into the vest shoulders and tugged. Riku shifted his weight- staying as close to the bed as possible- until it came off his arms, out from underneath his back, and could be tossed to the floor. "Maybe it's 'cause someone taught you that you couldn't," he continued. Axel's fingers slid between his pants and his boxers. Riku felt the waistband loosen as the button was undone, heard another grind of zipper teeth.
"Whatever it is- we just haven't meshed yet," Axel trailed his fingers over his boxers, up, and pressed down on Riku's hips. Again, his pulse sped up in anticipation. Again Axel made that soft, pleased sound. He stroked a palm across Riku's groin as he let up on the pressure, then pulled his pants down one inch at a time.
Riku was breathing through his mouth now, lips only slightly parted. He tried to keep his breathing even. It was difficult- and his lips felt dry. When he licked them he felt Axel's warmth again, lips poised above his.
"You're fire," he muttered, "and everyone says I'm Darkness. I move away from you."
It wasn't difficult to keep his eyes closed. It wasn't even as if he couldn't sense the Nobody moving around- there was the smell, like slightly rotted wood, burning from far off. There was a little smoke and ash, and the press of heat near his body wherever Axel was. He could anticipate Axel's touch without seeing where his hands moved to. It was difficult to keep from moving, but Axel was right- that was part of what got him excited.
That was part of the problem. His past sexual experiences hadn't been completely good- completely what stories romanticized and parents fumbled while trying to explain and magazines hidden under the bed didn't even explain; just gave you something to look at. Something that would give you sensations you still didn't know what to do with and you'd better hope your first experience wasn't with some perverted bastard with control issues and no body.
Riku hadn't... been that lucky. It left him with preferences he knew might not have developed without Ansem's interference and a seething but infrequent sense of resentment. Sometimes he didn't think he was sick for wanting to be the submissive one.
He knew Ansem was, for forcing it on him and making it feel so. Damn. Good.
Even as it turned him on, he disliked it. The way it felt like the past here and now. Where the force of his struggling caused no change in the pressure holding him down. Laying on his back- helpless to do anything but watch, unable to close his eyes and surrender the last bit of choice he had. In the end, he did- he always did, when it no longer mattered. When he couldn't stand the gloating, triumphant look in those eyes which said they would devour him. Darkness would swallow him whole until nothing of the light remained.
Hadn't it?
Even as the Darkness in the back of his heart laughed and rose up and said yes- yes it had- Riku denied it. He didn't believe that. He trusted the King and the King had told him never to give up on the light. His own light- whether it belonged to him or not, he still had one.
He could borrow it from his friends.
"Not like this," he murmured to Ansem. "You don't get to keep me- not even like this."
There was breath on his neck that shuddered and spoke without words. Then a voice which said, "You don't know how you look right now..."
Riku nearly flinched when he realized the reverent tone was Axel.
"No matter how far you move away, you still get as close as you can." The Nobody trailed fingers across his ribs and they settled over his abdomen. "Close as you can and you don't burn... I want you as close as you can get."
He was aroused, a little scared, so hard and tense he felt like he might break. "Darkness doesn't burn, but I do," he breathed.
"You sure?"
The cloth between his cock and Axel's palm added texture as the Nobody stroked him. The finger sliding up the leg of his shorts to trace the skin below his balls made him twitch. Small, broken gasps and the slight hitch of his breath gave away his state. He dug his fingers into the bedclothes.
"You're fine," Axel purred. "Fine," he teased with those slow, feather-light touches. The suggestion that he might do something, and how it might feel. "You could run," he said, "or fight me. But you trust me, don't you?"
Did he?
As much as he dared to.
He could accept fire until he found the sun again.
"Yes," he breathed.
Hands dragged away his boxers, then they were on his cock. Something stroked against his foot- leather, the skirts of Axel's coat dragged across his shins and Riku felt him kneeling over one leg without resting any of his weight on it.
"Hard, bright Darkness- can't disappear into shadows 'cause the light bounces off and shows where you are- gets brighter," he muttered, thin, skilled hands working at his erection. He almost couldn't understand what Axel said- his breathing was louder than the sibilant voice, and blood pounded in his ears. The fire at his cheek stole away and the rustle of cloth was loud, but not distracting. There were hands on his cock- then wet heat swallowed him down, sucking, and the hands moved onto his hips, pushing down with a force that he thought- even through the world slipping away- might leave bruises. Axel had played, given him so much attention already- he didn't last long.
Riku thought he cried out, and then he couldn't think.
His mind came back and Riku opened his eyes to find Axel draped over top of him, head laying on his chest. Directly over his heart.
Without moving his head or body, Axel wormed his fingers beneath Riku's arm and raised it, propping his wrist against the valley between his thumb and forefinger. Fire crept from the center of his palm, red-orange and gold that faded into blue near his skin. It was hot- of course it was- but Riku didn't feel threatened. Black wafted from his skin to flicker with red, blue coupled with orange and the gold danced among them. Axel spread his fingers, stroked them around the edge of Riku's hand until they slid upward and lay flat- palm against palm.
He wasn't burning.
Riku made some acknowledging sound and sucked the fire back inside. Axel followed suit and let Riku's hand fall limply to the bed. He was so tired. What had he done? Laid there as Axel went down on him... why did it seem like more?
Axel lay there, head pillowed on his chest. He was still fully clothed. Riku noticed his hair tickled slightly- felt a little stiff... but not like he used gel. He just lay there.
Listening to his heartbeat?
"You don't want-" Riku began, and couldn't finish. Axel's groin lay over his leg- it didn't feel like he was hard, but...
"Go to sleep, Riku."
He didn't have the strength to resist that suggestion.
***
This time, Kairi was in his arms.
Riku still felt guilty about it- felt as if he didn't deserve it for what he'd done to her, much less what he was doing now. This time he was equally grateful. Grateful he didn't have to ask- she didn't blame him, and she wanted to be close. They lay on the beach in sand that had molded to their bodies- as if the tide had come in and left, tucking the land in around them. But the sand was dry...
She lay half on him- head tucked beneath his chin, hand over his heart. He held her tighter and ignored the inane comparisons his brain tried to make between her and Axel. He also ignored it when his brain tried to substitute Kairi for Axel in his memories- he'd made his own choices, he didn't deserve to make it easier on himself.
"I wish I were there with you," she murmured.
He couldn't help a rueful laugh.
"I'm glad you aren't." He couldn't express how glad.
Kairi sighed deeply. "You're hopeless without me, you know. Probably wouldn't be in this situation if I were there to help."
"I-" he shifted his hands on her back, hugging her closer, "Kairi- it makes me feel better to know you're safe at home. I don't have to worry that you're hurt somewhere, or kidnapped and-"
"But you are, Riku," and she propped herself up on one arm, glaring at him with tears in her eyes. "I should be there with you- I don't know why I'm not! I can't remember why. I have to stay at home and know you're in danger and not know if you'll get out of it. You get the comfort of knowing I'm safe, but I don't!"
He sat up as she began crying in earnest, hugging her, kissing her forehead and holding her tightly.
"I'm not sorry," he whispered. "I'm not. I don't know why you're not here either, but I'm glad you don't have to go through any of this. Whatever sent you home- I'm thankful for it."
She knelt in the circle of his arms, wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She cried into his neck, hot tears and little hiccupping breaths moving over his skin. Riku laid his mouth against her cheek, felt the warmth of her against him and wished he could have been home- wished the holes in his memory were filled, that he had no reason to be away from the Islands.
But Kairi was there- and as much as he missed her, he wasn't sorry about that.
***
Something cold fell onto his face.
Another.
Drops of water- ice-cold.
Then he heard a voice.
"This is the second time I've found you asleep and half-covered. Why is that?"
Riku tried to force his brain out of slumber. He felt so damn loose- lazy and content. Axel... had tucked him in? He opened his eyes and focused on Demyx' face peeping above the side of his bed. Riku pulled the covers over his naked body and turned onto his back.
"I usually wear pajamas," he muttered, "and kick the covers off."
"Decided not to?" Demyx straightened up, put his hands on his hips and looked curious.
"I don't have any," Riku answered, not knowing if it was a lie or not. It hadn't been relevant the past few nights, and he knew now what a luxury pajamas were. He pulled the covers up beneath his chin and closed his eyes, making obvious that he was planning to go back to sleep. Demyx didn't take the hint.
"You sure? The Dusks might've gotten you some."
"I don't know," he said into the pillow. "I'll look later." Or when it was less likely that he'd go to bed naked.
A finger touched his earlobe, flicked it gently back and forth. Riku reached out to slap it away.
"Don't go back to sleep," Demyx sing-songed. "We've got things to do."
"What time is it?" Riku griped. It couldn't be that late- he was too tired to have gotten a full night's rest.
"Only Luxord knows for sure- outta bed, sleepy head!"
Demyx grabbed the covers- Riku grabbed them back just before they could be thrown entirely off his body.
"I'm naked under here!" he cried indignantly.
"I know," Demyx smiled, and it was only slightly a leer. "I saw enough that I could tell."
Riku just stared at him. "Okay, I realize I... you... gave me a bath before, but I don't-" he couldn't think of a way to describe it. He didn't walk naked in front of people? He'd done that for at least four of the Nobodies here. He didn't do it on purpose? No, not really, but he was trying to make it seem like something he wasn't affected by. He didn't have semi-meaningless sexual encounters? Also not true.
The Nobody pouted. Pouted at him. "Aww."
Riku blinked.
Then Demyx smirked with no hint of petulance and turned to search through the wardrobe. Riku thought about using a blanket before the bathrobe- he'd lost track of that earlier- landed on his bed. He pulled it on and headed for the bathroom, turned around again, grabbed the first set of clothes he could lay hands on, then went into the bathroom. Demyx followed. Even if the door had had a lock, Riku didn't think it would have made a difference.
"I have a potion if you need it."
Riku tried to ignore his interested gaze and drew the bath. "Look, could you-"
"You'll take less time if I'm here."
Well, no, he wasn't going to contact the King with Demyx standing there.
"Besides," he said, pointing a finger briskly in Riku's direction, "I let you sleep in." The amused grin said plainly what a good guy Demyx wanted Riku to think he was. He put on a convincing display- it only made him seem more suspicious. No difference there than the rest of the Organization, but...
Riku muttered obscenities and shucked off the robe before climbing into the tub. He leaned back to wet his hair and reached for the shampoo bottle he'd left on the side of the tub- only to find Demyx had it. His sleeves were rolled up, gloves off, and he was squeezing the contents into his hand.
"You're finding excuses-"
"To touch you? Yep. Pretty much."
Riku was either horrified or amused that Demyx wouldn't even bother to deny it. He couldn't decide which. He sat there as the Nobody stepped up to the side of the tub and started to lather his hair.
"Why, exactly?"
"Because you're pretty."
What? Okay, Demyx' fingers on his scalp didn't feel too bad. Riku caught up the soap and began scrubbing. Just get it done, don't over-analyze, don't think about it.
"So, you want that potion?" the musician asked.
"I-" he wasn't hurt enough to use one... but maybe he could hide it, keep it for an emergency, "yes, please." Riku humbled his tone a little. "How did you know I'd need it?"
"I remember what Axel's like," Demyx murmured, "and I thought you might not have had much sex before you got here... or... ever. Even when you use enough lube, too much sex'll make your skin raw."
Well, that meant that Axel had slept with Demyx. It also meant that Axel was either, usually rougher with his partners than he'd been with Riku, or had sex with them more often. Whichever. Riku didn't mind being an exception in this case.
All of this was based on the assumption that Demyx was telling the truth.
"He sleep with a lot of people around here?" Wait... why had he asked that? Why did he care? Curiosity, maybe.
Demyx shrugged and carded his damp, sudsy hair back from his face. "It takes more for him to feel like he's got a heart, so he pushes for more... yanno- more sex, more talking, more doing things that make other people react. The more we can get caught up in remembering what emotions were like, the more we can pretend we feel them, instead of just remembering. You make it easier."
"What's that mean?"
"You have a heart. You react easy because of it. It's kind of a rush," there was a bit of giddiness in his voice, as if he felt what he was describing. "Axel, well- he's fire. He uses things up quicker- anything handy- and he moves on and keeps burning until he finds something that'll last for a long time. So I don't know if he's had sex with everyone, but I know he'll at least talk with anyone who comes around. The only one I know mostly steered clear of him was Vexen. Fire and Ice really don't work together. Fire can sometimes work around ice- but all ice can do is melt. Now Darkness and Water," and Demyx was abruptly closer to Riku's ear- hands on his shoulders.
"Yeah, okay, you're coming on to me," Riku said, jerking away and thinking- very abruptly- that this was a terrible place for him to be sitting just now, "and yeah, you get deep enough into Water and it's plenty dark. You also drown. Axel says he likes me, you say I'm pretty, I'm not going to let someone fuck me just because they'll give me a compliment or two!"
"Awww, you're monogamous?"
Riku turned his back resolutely and dunked his head backward again, rinsing out the suds. He finished and got out of the tub, stalking past Demyx and grabbing a towel.
"I don't get why I'm such a prize anyway- no one should have this many people after their ass-"
"Everything we do is either to remind us what having a heart felt like- or to work on getting our own hearts." His tone had gone a bit solemn, and the narrow expression on his face made Riku feel like a complete idiot- and that someone else had abruptly stepped into Demyx' shoes. "We're not like all the little white Dusks out there because we remember better than they do. It's not perfect," Demyx laid a hand over his chest, "but we remember being people. We remember- and we have to keep remembering. It's easier to do that with an example of what you want nearby."
Demyx pulled a small green bottle out of his pocket and tossed it at Riku. He caught it, closed his hand around the potion.
This... explained a few things. He'd forgotten what Xigbar had said- couldn't resist a pulse. He was a lure. He let Demyx walk up to him, and didn't protest when the Nobody leaned forward, put a hand on the side of his face and kissed him.
He was confused as hell, and said so.
Demyx looked at him without bothering to choose an expression. "If you wanted a comparison, or yanno, just sex because... sex, I'm offering."
Riku stood there, dripping wet in a towel, one hand holding it closed, the other hand grasping a potion, and stared. He was being propositioned. His mind was utterly blank.
"I..."
Demyx raised an eyebrow, lifted the corners of his mouth, smiling hopefully.
"No... thank you- I..."
Another brief pout, but before Riku could inexplicably start to feel guilty, Demyx pecked him on the cheek.
"Okay, think it over- maybe some other time, yeah?" He smiled and turned to leave.
Riku blinked, started to wonder what the hell had just happened. Then, suddenly there were hands cupping his cheeks and lips on his, firm pressure, wet and warm, massaging his, a tongue licking his mouth softly, kissing him until he lost his breath. Demyx pulled away, still holding his face in warm hands. Riku opened his eyes and wasn't sure when he'd closed them.
"You ever hear of 'the element of surprise'?"
"Yeah," Riku breathed.
"It's water." Demyx grinned, turned and left by the door.
Riku dried himself off and got dressed. Zipping up his vest, he headed out, glanced up and down the hallway. Riku chose a direction and started walking.
"That was an awful pun," he muttered.
***
"-yes."
Riku stood with his back against the wall, stood a few inches away from the corner, listening to the pair of voices in the hall. Xigbar and Xaldin, talking business.
He concentrated on the smells around him- watching for others to approach, the sound of footsteps or a portal opening- and barely heard the conversation. Then he heard his name and put a little more effort into multitasking.
"No," Xigbar said. "Am I the only one who thinks Saix is a bad sparring partner for the kid?"
"Going soft, are you?"
"As if. Someone has to be interested him improving- fuck, in what's going on with the group as a group. Xemnas does his thing, you're on missions. Who does that leave? Me... oh, and me.
"The big man stares at Kingdom Hearts- pretty much the only thing he's done since the others died."
"Your news about Ansem- perhaps, was an added cause," Xaldin murmured.
"Or DiZ," Xigbar agreed, "or whatever-the-fuck. Bastard looked right at me before dropping the book. It didn't look like him, obviously, but I remember that look in his eyes. What he gave Xehanort when he found out about the first Heartless."
"He looked at you-"
"-and dropped the damn book right in front of me. So I tore the thing up and scattered it through Darkness- kept a few pages for... shits and giggles. I dunno."
"Well," Xaldin said, "what pleasure is vengeance when the wronged party is not credited?" There was a moment of silence.
"Fuck, I don't remember."
"Nor do I."
Riku heard Xigbar laughing, then footsteps moving down the hall- but the accompanying smell grew more faint and the sound became softer and he knew one of them was moving further away from him. He smelled the abrupt 'burst' of Darkness that was a portal opening and edged closer to the corner, then looked around it. Xigbar's back was to him and he continued to walk. Xaldin was gone by way of a portal. Riku sidled quickly to the rip in space and plunged his fingers inside. It was empty- and malleable.
He wanted out of the castle. He told the portal this, bent it to the thought of Hollow Bastion- he knew that place well, could see it in his mind. It was too far. He tried another world he knew- Agrabah- he had no idea where this castle was, cycled through many worlds and places within them that might be within reach.
The Portal was starting to close.
Riku gritted his teeth and tore it wider, which hardly bought him any time. Finally he focused his will on somewhere with solid ground- somewhere that wasn't this castle- and plunged into the Darkness.
The Portal threw him back out instantly and Riku sprawled on cold, uneven stone. Black stone. He grinned to himself and got up, looked around.
It was a city- but it was wrong somehow. There were no people, no cars- all the lights in all the buildings were on- every window was lit, but they were empty as... as the eyes of the Nobodies he'd lived with these past few days. He took a few steps, cautiously, automatically glancing at the pavement for broken bottles, garbage, things he knew to be careful of from his experience in other worlds.
There was nothing. Nothing here. He appeared to be standing in an alleyway, so he walked, tried a few doors- knocking, then twisting the handles. He could probably unlock the door, but he wasn't going to begin his foray into a new world by breaking and entering. He still couldn't open portals by himself and he had no way of knowing how long he'd be here.
None of the doors were open, and no one came to his knocking- he even tried a few of the doorbells. Nothing worked.
He moved to the end of the alleyway and looked around- saw more of the same. The sky was blank- his view of the stars obscured by all the city lights. Still, he looked up, searching for... something familiar, maybe-
"...No. No," he ground out, clenching his hands in frustration. It wasn't as close- he couldn't feel it here as he had on the balcony, but there it was, hanging above him- above the black city and the spires of a white castle suspended impossibly over a vast chasm of nothing.
Kingdom Hearts.
***
Part Four
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Yay!
Date: 2007-11-12 05:03 am (UTC)Riku and Kairi in the dream. ♥ ;__; Wrenching, really, especially Riku being honest and glad that she was safe, and then Kairi throwing it back that she doesn't know how HE is.
Points for using the Ansem Reports. The characters in the game hardly react to those, and they're full of zomg information.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2007-11-12 05:26 am (UTC)From earlier in the scene it sounded like Demyx implied he'd do the water-trick thing from chapter 1 to dry Riku off ("take less time"), but then here he's drying himself off now.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2007-11-12 05:40 am (UTC)A pre-emptive thanks for that and for the first review~. More thanks tomorrow when I'm actually supposed to be awake. XD
Re: Yay!
Date: 2007-11-12 06:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-12 12:30 pm (UTC)Best lines of this had to be the one about fire would do until he had the sun again (ksdhkahk *keyboard smash of oh god wow*), and Demyx's element of surprise talk :D. 'Cause those were just... wow.
You are made of awesome my dearie ^^
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Date: 2007-11-12 08:24 pm (UTC)I love how Riku's having those dreams with Kairi- they're not just dreams though, are they? It sounds like they're having more of a connection than Riku and the King are, though Kairi can't really get there to help like Mickey... *cuts off tangent
YAY FOR MORE MEMBERS HITTING ON RIKU. XDDD Demyx is so win, especially with how much he confuses Riku. \o/
I can't wait to see how much trouble he's gotten himself into. >D
Re: Yay!
Date: 2007-11-13 08:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-03 04:17 pm (UTC)I can't wait for more!! :)
Re: Yay!
Date: 2007-12-04 02:27 pm (UTC)I'll probably wait until it's done (one more part I hope, I hope), but I will pimp this out once it's finished.
That said- here be part four. http://community.livejournal.com/springkink/435584.html
no subject
Date: 2007-12-04 02:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-04 02:46 pm (UTC)^^ Kairi helps however she can~ you'll see, but no, they're not just dreams. Riku needed someone, and Kairi does the support role very well for people she loves.
Hah! I enjoy Demyx. ^^ He's got a different approach than most, but he's still powerful in a way, which is fun to explore.
>D
no subject
Date: 2007-12-04 02:59 pm (UTC)Hope you enjoy that one as well!
Re: Yay!
Date: 2007-12-04 04:04 pm (UTC)*nods* He can certianly relate. Sympathy is a given if the character learns enough and is sympathetic in the first place, but poor kid just has to push through it. Working for the Organization is baaaaaaaaaad. :D Part four explains that to Riku, if the Replica's situation hadn't. :3
I love those two! It's interesting to see them interact without Sora's dynamic, but the fact that he isn't there but should be puts an entirely different spin on events. I like to think that Kairi was semi-aware of what was going on during KH1. I also like to think that, after seeing everything Riku had to face, she let go of whatever made her want leave only with Sora. :3
Hee! Thank you~! Another plot hole, alas. But good for us writers.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-04 05:33 pm (UTC)>D
no subject
Date: 2007-12-05 03:07 am (UTC)>D
no subject
Date: 2007-12-05 03:07 am (UTC)