Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Remorse ❯ Save Me from the Darkness ( Chapter 2 )

Days had passed before Riku woke up once again, this time much more rested. His fever had disappeared while he slept, and he had awoke with no signs left over from the virus he had caught.

He sat up to find himself in the same room he had been in only days before. That had all been something of a dream now, and he couldn’t remember exactly what happened. First he had been fighting Darksides, and then all he saw was a white light. Suddenly he was here, being taken care of by an old women.

The box in the corner had moving pictures that intrigued Riku to no extent. He focused his eyes on it as a couple of men joked around while playing some strange game. He understood it was a game of some sort, but he had no idea how they were able to fit people in a box like that, along with so many different backgrounds and accessories that changed in an instant.

He looked around the room once more and back at the large, though short, table that was in the middle of the room. Beside the pitcher of water that had first been there, scrolls were set up around it, and the pillows were all in place as if people had either sat there previously or were going to sit there shortly. There seemed to be three pillows on all four sides, but the ones facing him were placed in the middle on top of the other two pillows.

Along with seeing the two things that made him wonder, Riku also discovered he was wearing something else then his usual attire. It was like a robe, only more lose and less revealing. He wore long lose pants with it and socks that had a gap between his big toe and the other four. He wondered of his, and his thoughts turned to the hazy image he sported of the old women who he had seen before. He looked around the room to see his clothes clean and folded in a small pile in the corner.

A door opened, and Riku tensed. “Ah! You’re awake!” the voice of a young girl came into his ears, and Riku turned his head sharply as he noticed that a blue haired girl was now crouching by his futon. “You’ve been sleeping for days, you know! I’ve done all I could to heal you, but my magic doesn’t work on you at all!” she explained, speaking quickly but in a shy manner.

Riku could only blink before he frowned, looking away. This girl reminded him of Kairi, and Riku wanted almost nothing to do with her. But…that was a lie, he told himself. He wanted Kairi as much as possible. He wanted Kairi and Sora, and for everything to be how it was.

“Um…” the girl said, obviously embarrassed that she couldn’t hold his attention. “I’m sorry.” she smiled in a shy manner, bowing from her position on the floor. “I’m Yukina.”

“…Riku.” he answered slowly, not knowing what else to do. Bowing wasn’t something he did, especially to those he didn’t know. Yukina giggled, reminded of Hiei briefly before she stood. “I’m going to get Master Genkai. Please wait here.”

Riku nodded as she walked quickly from the room, closing the screen door behind her. He made a slow dash for his clean clothes and went through the pockets. He sighed in relief as he pulled out a Keychain which had a black crown on it. He let his fingers roam over the texture before clutching the Keychain in his hand. He placed the chain, which was like a bracelet, around his wrist for quick access.

With nothing else to do, Riku crawled over to the Television, watching it. He found no humor in the game show, despite the fact it was categorized under comedy, and only interest in how the thing worked. He poked the screen first and was interested to see that only a static noise came from it, along with a slight shock that made him only blink. He couldn’t help but lean over the box and try to find another point of entry, and instead could only find a plug connected to an outlet. He cocked his head, curious but heard footsteps approaching, ceasing his play.

He stood up and walked back to his futon. As soon as his foot landed on it, the screen door slid open quickly and an old lady walked in, followed by Yukina. The old lady simply glared at Riku. “You’re awake, huh?” she asked with some feigned annoyance.

Riku said nothing and continued looking straight at her. Despite her mean appearance, Riku saw light in her heart, as well as Yukina’s. These people were trust worthy, but he didn’t know if he was worthy to gain the trust of someone with so much light.

“You saved me from the darkness.” Riku explained after a hesitant moment. “…Thank you.”

“You seem to be used to being in that darkness.” Genkai replied. The silver haired teen froze, not seeing that reply. Genkai simply smiled in some amusement. “Don’t worry. I won’t throw you out into it anymore. That would be unfair. However, I can through you back out on the streets…”

Riku seemed a bit confused as he relaxed his muscles. “‘Back out’?” he asked. Genkai shrugged. “You climbed up my steps in a drunken slur before passing out right at the shrine’s entrance. I didn’t think a kid like you would get so drunk, but I don’t judge a book by it’s cover.”

Riku looked down. ‘Drunk with power, maybe…’ he thought. ‘But this lady is speaking in riddles…’

“Where am I?” Riku asked. The older lady rolled her eyes. “Pay attention, dimwit. You’re at a shrine in central Tokyo.” the teen raised an eyebrow. “Tokyo? But I can’t get anywhere without the use of a Gummi Ship. How’d I end up on this world…?” he mumbled to himself, his arms crossed.

Yukina paused in her outlook on his situation. “Um…Master Genkai, I don’t think he was ever drunk in the first place…” the older lady frowned. “I’m beginning to think that, too. I’ll go check with the toddler if he has anything on this kid, so greet the others when they get here.”

Yukina nodded. “His name is Riku.” she explained. “Um…I don’t think he has a last name.” she glanced back at the boy, who just seemed to be in his own world.

“Well,” Genkai replied, shutting her eyes as she placed her hands behind her back, “whatever the case, I’ll go talk to the toddler.” she watched Riku a litle bit more before she turned around.

The silver haired boy decided to ignore the people and study more on his surroundings. He had seen a lot of things that had interested him when he was in different worlds, but he never had time to examine them. He decided to check the box with moving people later and move to the other things, absorbing them.

“You’re free to walk around the premises, but please remain out of the surrounding forest.” Yukina said with a smile. “It’s dangerous out there…wild beast on the loose.”

‘Heartless?’ Riku thought in some shock. Yukina smiled again, “I’ll leave you alone to change into your clothes.”

Riku nodded as the blue-haired girl left the room. He got his clothes and his eyes darted the room to make sure that no cameras or other recording devices were there. He then rolled his eyes, scolding himself for being so stupid. These people had seen him before when they changed him into his current outfit. Besides, he reasoned, in a life or death situation, being self-conscious was idiotic. He changed his clothes quickly.

Slipping on his gloves, Riku opened the screen door and was greeted with a large area. The building was surrounded by a wooden deck that has some pillars around it to support the roofing. The outside area was mostly sand and dirt, and then a small barrier before the damp forest that stretched on.

The air was clam, but a small breeze appeared every few seconds, causing Riku’s hair to sweep up in the wind. He looked around the premises, finding everything incredibly foreign. Even the trees and smell were different from any other worlds he had been to.

He let his feet guide him around the property, and as he did so he thought of many things. One such thing was about Sora, and the other about the King. More thoughts came to him that were random, but he made sure to clear his head of any of the Heartless. He didn’t want to think of them until he had to.

And hour passed and Riku continued fiddling with his Keychain, his thoughts traveling off. He looked into the dense forest and then sighed, remembered Yukina’s warning.

Something flashed, and Riku stood in surprise. He quickly turned to the right, expecting Yukina or Genkai. Instead, he saw one of the things he now feared, and he froze.

Maleficent stood there, in all her “glory” and superiority. She watched the him, a sickening smile on her face. “Darkness…is a wonderful thing, hmm, deary?” she cooed. Riku tensed, clenching his Keychain. “You’re dead.” he reasoned uselessly.

“Yes…but dead means dark, and dark…” she gave an evil chuckle. “Well, that means me.” was the reply. The old witch began to sweep over to Riku, who only let his feet guide him a few steps backwards. “I’m n-not…a-afraid of y-you.” he lied.

The witch chuckled darkly again. “Stop fooling yourself, son.” something in her change, and Maleficent was suddenly Ansem.

Riku backed up again, more desperately this time. He had wanted revenge on this guy, but all he held for him was fear. His feet stumbled and he tripped over himself. He gasped as Ansem advanced towards him. He slammed the palm of his hand on Riku’s forehead.

A gasp erupted from the teen’s mouth, and images flashed through his mind: Sora, Kairi, Maleficent, the King, Ansem, Hook, Peter Pan, Oogie Boogie, Pinocchio, his mother, his father, his home, Destiny Island, the Darksides, Jack the Skellington, Jafar--everyone and everything from his adventure.

Heartless after Heartless stacked themselves into his mind, and he moaned and gasped in pain. And suddenly it was him that he saw, dressed in the Heartless garments he wore when he was overcome with indescribable power. His Heartless self smirked.

Riku suddenly came back to the world, gasping as he jumped up. He felt disgusted at all the Heartless that had latched themselves onto him. He quickly brushed himself off, feeling their dirty hands touching him. He glared at his arms and body in disgust.

He finally came back to his senses and noticed he was back at the shrine in the world he had currently landed on. He was greeted, however, with three people hovering around him. They all shared shocked looks.

“Damn, man! What’s your problem!?” the one with the greased back hair exclaimed. “Nearly made me jump outta my skins!”

“Yuusuke,” the red-haired pretty boy warned. “Calm down. He probably had a bad dream.” he looked at Riku. “Please excuse him.” he requested. He finally smiled. “You must be Master Genkai’s guest. I’m Shuichi Minamino.” he bowed politely. “This is Yuusuke Urameshi. And this is Kazuma Kuwabara.”

Riku stared at them, trying to see the light in their hearts. ‘All of them are pure…though Shuichi does have his moments of darkness…’ he thought. He sighed. ‘I was strong-hearted…by what happened to me…?’ he decided against trying to think more on the subject and looked up at them. “R…Riku.”

“Riku, eh? How old are ya? Eleven? You shouldn’t have been drinking!” the one named Kuwabara scolded.

The silence that greeted him was obviously uncomfortable. Shuichi smiled. “So…? Shall we all go inside? I’m sure Yukina must have prepared a wonderful meal and we really shouldn’t wait for it to get cold!” he chuckled in a somewhat nervous manner as he began walking towards the dojo.