Fan Fiction ❯ Trials and Tribulations ❯ T&T (14) ( Chapter 14 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: MercuryGoddess 
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 08.19.2004 | Pages: 6 | Words: 7.0K | Visits: 328 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 08.19.2004 | Pages: 6 | Words: 7.0K | Visits: 328 | Status: Completed
Author Notes: I know a trilogy will be slightly difficult, but since this is my main project I'm going to go through with it. I'm glad most of you are excited about it.
Special Thanks To: Lightdemondarkangel, AkaiUsagi, Ayekami, Kairi099, Oceaneyed Songstress, camigirl4k3,
Ariana, Uzumaki-sama, Draconis-Donavan, myredraincoat, Junsui-san, Twinstar1, ChibiCatDemon, Van de Fanelia, Illorion, Joonie, chibi chidori16, fxxtidus899, TinyClownBean1, inumoon3, BloodMistress, addmoose2004, Discordia-Erebus, Lana, Tachi, diamond-princess2006, Katca Mcadar, crowvii, Ickis Krumm, Rock-Howard-17, Tofuu, takuya89, jessi, NiGhTrIkKu, MissHieibadboy, IchigoPocky, and my Mediaminer reviewers Echan2, Sakayume, Alliejo, and shadygurl!
Special Thanks To Crystalline Tears For Her Excellent Beta Work!
Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts, I would be filthy rich right now!! So, get off my back!!
Warnings: This is a yaoi, or to plainly put it male x male relationships! If you don't like it, don't read it!! I don't want to see flames on this subject because I plainly put my warning here!
Rating: I have boosted the rating on this story for future chapters...
Reminder:
"..............." Means talking
(...............) Means author notes
*..............* Means an action
~..............~ Means thinking
'...............' Means past sayings
>.............< Means a place
Added Note: I do have an update list. People who review are automatically added, but if it is an anoynomous review or your email is not available for public access, then just leave in it the review or send me an email at MercuryGoddess2001@yahoo.com saying you would like to join. Thanks!
Trials and Tribulations
Chapter Fourteen
It had always been a habit; to wake up alert and aware in unfamiliar surroundings. It was something he learned back in his bleak childhood and was a habit he didn't bother trying to break. At times like this, he was grateful that he didn't break the habit, for as soon as he opened his eyes, he surveyed the area and knew he was currently in the hospital.
Riku didn't even need reminding as to why he was here. The intense, almost overwhelming, emotions he felt were still there, lurking behind the perfect calm countenance he erected for himself. While sitting up, Riku did two things simultaneously: he adjusted the paper thin cotton pajama shirt and spotted three figures in his room, one of them actually within arms length. Taiyou lay on the bed - upper torso and head on the bed while the rest of his body was in a chair - and one of his hands was entwined with Riku's. Sora and Kairi were curled up together in a large armchair in the far right corner. Both figures were snoring softly.
It might have been a pleasant, even adorable sight if a sharp pang of jealously hadn't coursed through Riku's body.
"Thank goodness you're awake."
Taiyou brought Riku into a bone-crushing embrace and stroked the nape of his boyfriend's neck. Pang forgotten, Riku melted into the embrace and placed a chaste kiss on Taiyou's cheek. "I need to breathe, Taiyou."
Albeit loosening his grip, Taiyou still didn't let go. "Do you know how long it's been?"
Riku cocked his head to the side as an answer to the question. "Three days. It's been three days since they found you on the beach and brought you here. They said you would wake up, but..."
He trailed off, unable to voice his thoughts but somehow knowing that Riku would understand. He did, and tightened his arms around Taiyou's neck as a nonverbal thank you.
"I guess I'll tell the others that he's up."
Riku picked up the phrase just as he saw Sora plant a small kiss on Kairi's forehead and ease her back on the armchair. The younger boy crossed the room and only once did they make eye contact. Despite the awkwardness he felt, Riku locked eyes with Sora and mentally fumed at the guarded expression he saw.
It was the look reserved for associates, the newly acquainted, or people he didn't know at all.
And it hurt.
It hurt to be on the receiving end of that expression.
"I'll go, Sora."
The reaction was immediate: Sora stopped in his tracks and looked at Taiyou with an air of indifference, and Riku broke out of the comfortable, much-needed embrace to silently demand what was going on. Taiyou ignored the questioning look and slide out of the chair, beckoning Sora to sit in his place.
Sora sat with a frown on his face.
"I'll go with you, Taiyou," Kairi spoke up for the first time. She made her way over to the brunette. "I need to get used to walking again anyways."
Making sure Taiyou was not helping her, Kairi walked out the room, Taiyou in tow, and left the two boys alone. As soon as the door 'clicked' shut, Sora turned to Riku, the frown on his face transforming to an angry sneer. "How old are you?!"
Sora stood up abruptly, too angry, too furious, to notice the startled look on Riku's face. He continued to rant. "Is this what you do when you don't get your way?! Oh poor woeful me, I just found out that life isn't fair so I'm going to starve and exhaust myself to the point of collapse! Oh poor me!"
He gesticulated wildly to emphasize his point, unaware of the smile growing on Riku's face.
"Three days you lay on that bed with a tube stuck in your arm! 'Sleeping like the dead' my mom would say on a daily basis and you were! Jeez, you were like a corpse, and Garnet was crying, Nami was picking on me like I took a chair and knocked you out, Sakura bit down all of her nails..."
"Sora..."
"Jiro was keeping Taiyou from falling into the same state and don't get me started on Leon and Cloud. When they weren't in here, they were at it like rabbits in an empty hospital room!"
"Sora!"
The rant immediately stopped, leaving Sora and Riku to just watch each other in silence. Sora was breathing hard, face flushed, and his eyes were shining brightly with worry and concern. Riku had to laugh at the sight.
So he did.
He threw his head back and howled with laughter, laughing even harder at the look of incredulity on Sora's face. He couldn't help it though. Sora babbling was one of the most adorable things he had ever seen.
Grabbing the bewildered boy, Riku pulled him into an embrace. "All you had to say was that you were worried."
"I know," Sora confessed as he blushed deeply. "I babbled, didn't I?"
Riku laughed once more, this time from the blush that was rapidly spreading across Sora's face. "In the most delightful way."
The blush increased, but Sora responded to the embrace by settling on Riku's right side so that Riku's right arm lay across his shoulders. Riku, still laughing, wiped the tears of mirth from his eyes. "Were you really that worried?"
Sora shrugged, trying in vain to not let the concern he felt build up over these past days slip into his voice. "72 hours is a long time to be out, if it was supposedly not that serious, don't you think?"
Watching Sora, Riku felt as if a large burden had been lifted off of his shoulders. He was so relieved that Sora still cared about him that he almost laughed out loud once more. He said some horrible things to Sora, and ultimately, ended their friendship. Amid the fact that he was starving, he was fully rested and almost stress free, causing him to reevaluate the accusations and proclamations made.
"So...since when are you an anorexic insomniac and how did you hide it so well?"
"It sounds really awful when you put it that way," Riku observed as he felt his good mood dampen at the question. "And it hasn't been happening for that long. These last few weeks have just been kinda stressful, that's all."
"Riku, you passed out and stayed out for three days. How has it not been happening for a long time?"
"Oi, Riku!"
Thanking whatever deity decided to help out, Riku turned to the hospital door to see Jiro, Sakura, and Nami rushing over to the bed. Jiro clapped a hand on his back. "Oh thank the heavens you're up!! These womenfolk were absolutely driving me nuts!"
"You were with Taiyou all the time!" Nami huffed.
"Exactly."
Everyone laughed at the perfectly executed joke, even Sora chuckling at the silly antics of his friend. The atmosphere was a bit more at ease now that the three friends were in the room, but as Riku turned to look at Sora, he knew that would have to have that important talk that would decide the fate of their friendship and relationships with Kairi and Taiyou. But for now he had time to just relax, be calm, and celebrate the fact that Riku had woken up and was looking much healthier than when he first came in.
Nami fussed, Sakura observed, and Jiro joked, making the visiting hours marginally more pleasant for Riku. Not that Sora couldn't do that alone; it was, in fact, one of the reasons why they became best friends in the first place, but as of now, their friendship was straddling the barrier between existent and nonexistent.
However, there would be a time to talk about that.
It wasn't until hours later that Nami stood up and announced the ending of visiting hours. Judging from Jiro's story, Nami didn't quite get along with the nurse in charge of Riku, therefore by avoiding her at all costs she could be able to ignore the urge to hit the lady. Nami walked to the door, blew a kiss to Riku, glared at Sora, and left the room, followed by a laughing Jiro. Sora followed them and left Riku alone with Sakura.
Playing with a strand of her purple hair, Sakura walked to the edge of the bed and grabbed Riku's hand. He watched her with mild curiosity - seeing as though she was usually attached to Nami - and squeezed her hand in what he hoped to be reassuring. "Anything wrong, Sakura?"
She watched him for a few more moments before she spoke. "Sora was the most worried out of all of us, you know," she informed him timidly. "He was more worried than Taiyou and that's saying a lot."
Riku opened his mouth to make a comment, but Sakura gently placed a finger on his lips. "I saw him last night, here, alone. I was on my way home from work and got you some flowers, and I saw him here, holding your hand as if it was going to suddenly disappear... and he was apologizing."
"Apologizing?"
"'I'm so sorry for putting down your relationship with Taiyou,' he had said. 'Please forgive me! I don't want to lose you as a best friend!'"
Tugging Sakura into an embrace, Riku let out a sigh of a relief before he said, "Thank you for telling me."
She hugged back enthusiastically and smiled when she pulled out of his embrace. "I don't know what happened to make Sora apologize like that, but he genuinely seemed sorry. Just keep that in mind! Nami will kill him if this happens again."
They both laughed as Sakura made her way to the door. She stopped when she spotted Sora at the door, and smiled at him when he smiled at her. She turned back to Riku and waved goodbye as she left the room. The two boys were once again left alone.
Sora quietly shut the door behind him before he situated himself back on Riku's right side. The two sat in a companionable silence before Riku sighed and started to speak. "We need to talk."
Letting out a dry laugh, Sora tore his gaze from the numerous flowers in the room to Riku. "I know. There's no escaping it, is there?"
A shake of the head was the only response.
Silence reigned over the two once more, this time being awkward and very uncomfortable. Each were gathering their thoughts; formulating it into something the other person may be able to understand. Riku finished first and began to speak.
"I didn't hit you because you insulted my relationship with Taiyou, Sora. I hit you because you were right about most of the things you said; and of course, denial, thy name is Riku."
Sora kept his eyes trained on Riku.
"Taiyou shouldn't be jealous of a best friend, and that fact hit me like a ton of bricks when you said it out loud. For the last two weeks, there has been this voice nagging me in the back of my head. It kept telling me how Taiyou shouldn't be acting this way; but of course, I ignored it simply because it's the easiest thing to do. The coward's way of handling things that need to be dealt with was the way I dealt with it, and when you made that clear, I got so pissed because I believed - no, knew - that I wasn't a coward.
"I've never been the type of person to run away when the going gets tough. It was one of the qualities that I actually liked about myself and was prided in. In fact, courage is something I hold in the highest regard. But you started pointing out all of the truths that had been buried away in the back of my mind, and it reminded me of the cowardly act of not acting upon them right away. I got so pissed when you did that, Sora, not to mention the fact that I was still in denial about the whole thing even though the truths were pointed out and brought up.
"I don't want to lose you, Sora, but please don't make me choose between you and Taiyou because in the end, I will choose my boyfriend for the sake of the right thing. Both of you need to know that."
Riku fell silent and broke eye contact between Sora and himself. He was no longer able to look in Sora's eyes after his last declaration. "Who do you want to choose, Riku?"
Looking back up, Riku watched Sora stare at a solitary point on the wall in front of him. "It doesn't matter."
"It does matter! This is not about what I want, Taiyou wants, or the strangers you are so intent pleasing want! This is about you; it's your decision and your decision alone!"
Riku smiled sadly as he looked forward. "It's not that simple, Sora, and you know it. Someone will get hurt in the end; it's a lose-lose situation."
"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Sora shifted his gaze to Riku as he asked with a calm expression on his face.
"Well," Riku was slightly started at the abrupt change in conversation, "I would like to be a psychiatrist."
"Jeez, no wonder you were so good at helping me with my issues! [Riku laughed at this.] Anyways, is your father ok with this?"
A pause. "He wanted me to be a judge actually."
"And he will be hurt at the fact that you don't want to be a judge. Does that mean you should give up your dream of becoming a psychiatrist because of what he wants?"
"Well, no, but--"
"No buts! It's the same concept. You should do what you want to do, not for the 'sake of what's right.' So what if it seems a bit shady that you picked your best friend over your boyfriend. If it will make you happy, that is all that matters. But don't ever say you will do something just for the sake of what's right, Riku. That is a very black and white statement; have you forgotten the areas of gray?"
They fell into silence once more.
"I want to choose you."
Riku laughed a broken laugh, one filled with deep anguish and vitriol. "That's what I want, but life is never that simple. When I was a freshman and with Taiyou, I didn't care about anyone's opinion, because to me it felt so right and it made me so happy when I was in hard times. But now...many thoughts come up like 'what would my mother say if I picked my best friend over my boyfriend?' or 'how would my older brother react to the fact that I left my boyfriend on the sole reason of liking another?' Even if my mother is deceased, I still think of how she would react to the decisions I made. I feel...guilty."
Riku scooted even closer to Sora and wrapped his right arm around the other boy's waist. "But I don't truly want to stop doing this. I like the way you make me feel - you have the ability to make me lose my control and feel...I don't know...passionate? Jeez, now I sound like a lovesick girl mooning over a celebrity!"
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, distancing himself from Sora, and stood up, looking down at the pajamas in disgust. He purposely avoiding the piercing gaze of Sora and headed to the small bathroom. "I'm not good with discussing feelings, but if you sit down I will try."
Riku mentally cursed himself. He was doing it again; running away from his problems before he had a chance to look them over. In actuality, he was terrified of what Sora's reaction might be. He just poured his heart out more than he has ever done to Taiyou, but what was Sora going to do? Accept his feelings? Say that you are disgusting and shouldn't be feeling this way when you have a boyfriend? Try to explain to him that this was abnormal behavior? He didn't know, nor did he care to find out, but he was not going to be a coward. He was going to sit down, look Sora in the eye, and let him speak, just like Sora did for him!
Albeit stiffly, Riku sat down on the armchair in the corner and watched Sora through thick bangs. His head was bowed so that Sora could not see his reaction, yet he was able to see Sora's reaction.
A two way mirror so to speak.
"No."
Riku looked up to see Sora smiling brightly while patting the empty space beside him. "Come on! I'm getting cold."
Feeling new confidence thanks to Sora's smile, Riku strutted over to the hospital bed and plopped down, smiling as well, as he felt Sora snuggle against his side and lay his head on his chest. "I was so scared of you, did you know that? Back when we first met on the first day of school? I don't know why, but you made me want to run away from you and to you at the same time, which in itself, is confusing.
But I just figured out the reason why.
"For a good chuck of my life, I have been betrayed. By the people I loved...trusted. Fate has continuously screwed me over with the same method; betrayal. So I lost faith in people's ability to uphold trust and loyalty. I mean, they could just decide that on the day that they have gained my complete trust to just do something cruel to me to have a good laugh and that's that. But when I saw you, I saw a person I could completely trust or, at least, someone that would understand, because you looked like you had been through as many hardships as myself, and even though they may not have been the same as mine, it still would have separate us from everyone else.
"I had a first love as well, Riku, and he betrayed me. So no, denial, thy name is not Riku, but thy name is Sora. I went back to being 'straight' so to speak after the betrayal, but after I saw you, well...umm..." Sora rubbed the back of his neck purely out of embarrassment, thinking of the naughty images he had thought of Riku back when they first met. Riku let Sora wallow in embarrassment before he said, "I know."
Sighing in relief since he didn't have to explain, Sora continued. "My point is that I understand you in more ways than you realize so there is no need to keep it bottled up inside to the point where you can't take it anymore. I also would have to make a choice if Kairi was demanding me like Taiyou were you, and do you know who I would want to choose? You. I feel like I could really truly trust you and show you my real self."
"But you don't, do you?"
"Don't what?"
"Show me your real self."
Sora turned away from Riku. It was true; he doesn't show anyone his real self simply out of caution. It was the easiest way to get hurt, he learned a long time ago, and he vowed to himself that he wouldn't get into the same situation he was in back in middle school. But Riku was breaking down all of his defenses and as the days moved on he found it harder and harder to keep up the mask, even if it was up purely out of habit. That loneliness...that isolation he felt was starting to wane because of Riku, and the feeling he got from it was something he wanted to be permanent.
Looking back at Riku, he saw the older boy's gaze still on him. "I..."
"You don't." It was a statement rather than a question, for Riku already know the answer. Sora didn't show him his real self and that fact hurt as much as the guarded expression Sora threw his way mere hours before. "Why?"
"Because old habits die hard. Because I'm scared that history will repeat itself. Because I feel safe when I'm this way."
Riku leaned down until his mouth was level with Sora's left ear and kissed the outer shell of the ear. "Do you want to show me?"
Sora shivered involuntarily from the touch and Riku's breath that continuously caressed his ear. "Yes," he breathed out, his pulse quickening at Riku's closeness. "I do."
"Then show me."
The imperious tone was so tempting to listen to; he almost dropped years of practiced emotional guarding just to listen to the older boy. But he hesitated. "I...c-can't. I haven't even shown Kairi yet, and she's my girlfriend."
"Sure doesn't seem like it!"
Riku backed away at the sound of Kairi's voice and stared at her in muted horror. She crossed the room with several quick strides and stopped in front of Sora, her amethyst eyes flashing with ire. She raised her hand and slapped him clearly across the face. The sound resounded in the air, and the tension was heightened, not only by her appearance but by the appearance of Taiyou as well.
His face was unreadable.
The color from Sora's face literally drained as he fingered the throbbing area. "Kairi--"
"I heard everything! You are so stupid, don't you know that Sora?!"
Sora bowed his head in shame as Riku stood up to defend himself and Sora, but Taiyou stopped him with a stern glare. "I'm breaking it off with you, Sora."
---
"Hurry up, Leon! We need to get to the hospital to see Riku and the others!"
"I know that. Calm down."
"I'm just excited, ok? Justice will finally be served to that asshole Kado and I got the person who will do it right here and you are going extra slow! This is good news that needs to be shared!"
"And it will when I'm done."
"Am I bothering you guys? I am new to town and haven't been able to send a ferry to City Isle to get my car. This must be an problem for you."
"Oh not at all. Besides, I'd be happy to do something that would serve as a thank you for doing this for us."
"No problem, Mr...?"
"Just call me Cloud. And the idiot in the bathroom is Leon."
A grunt.
Laughter. "Well, you can call me Ryo. So what's the deal, Cloud?"
"Well, a friend of mine, Kairi Tatewaki, was raped by a classmate named Kado Yamahashi about two weeks ago. Afterwards, he packed his bags and moved to City Isle."
"Miss Tatewaki...is she ok?"
"Physically, she's getting better..."
Silence.
"It's scum like that...Well, I'll do everything in my power to get that sack of shit in prison! I'll get him in there before you can say 'kill him!'"
"...I like your enthusiasm."
"Let's go."
"About time you're ready! Remember: We talk to the doctor and Ms. Tatewaki first, ok?"
"Whatever."
---
"Breaking...it off?"
"Yes!"
Sora's head snapped up at the absolute tone in Kairi's voice, unshed tears of helplessness filling his eyes. His hands began to shake as he tried to give a decent explanation. "N-No...Kairi, please forgive me! I can't help feeling this way...I'm sorry if it made me lose your trust, but you have to believe me! I--"
"Are you always this self-consumed?"
Sora closed his mouth immediately at the insulting question and once again bowed his head to block his ex-girlfriend from sight. Why did this have to happen? Why did they come back now of all times? Just when Riku was beginning to understand just some of how he works?
"I mean, I'm not breaking up with you because you were emotionally cheating on me."
Sora froze. Why was there amusement in her voice?
"Jeez, you should be ashamed, though! Emotionally cheating on me with a wonderful, gorgeous, smart guy like Riku! You should have had more control considering the fact that you were with him like everyday, you tend to lean more towards liking guys than girls, AND he helped you with problems I couldn't possibly understand! What's wrong with you?"
Risking a glance, Sora saw Kairi smiling softly as she sat on the bed and pretended to scold him in mock anger. He looked into her eyes fully, utterly bewildered at the sarcastic tone, and cocked his head to the side in silent questioning. She smiled brighter. "I didn't hit you because of that; I hit you because you keep holding back from everyone and with that type of attitude, you'll never get anywhere. You shouldn't have to hide your real self, Sora, and you shouldn't hide it from such wonderful people such as ourselves either!"
She giggled and moved forward to cup Sora's face in her hands. "And I'm not breaking up with you because of him," she exclaimed while pointing at Riku, who just stared at her with newfound respect, "I'm breaking up with you because A) this...accident...with Kado has stirred me up and I need some time alone for a while to adjust to small things like hugs or sudden movements and B) I want you to be completely happy, and over the last few days, it became apparent that the silver-haired goof over there who exhausted himself makes you happy."
Riku glared at her for the 'goof' comment. She stuck her tongue out at him in return.
Turning back to Sora, Kairi brought him into a farewell hug, struggling to keep the smile on her face despite her recent loss. "Be happy, Sora. That's all I ask."
Sora was still in shock so he nodded once before looking over at Taiyou. His face remained unreadable, but the shifting of foot to foot, Sora could tell that he was having an inner battle. There was no tension as the four friends sat in silence, but Sora, Riku, and Kairi watched Taiyou with equal anticipation. He turned to them with a small smile on his face. "If you are expecting me to break up with Riku right now, that's not going to happen."
The group erupted into laughter.
"But." The change of seriousness in the tone was obvious. "We do need to talk, Riku."
Sighing, Riku nodded slowly, already dreading the serious conversation. He had just begun to straighten out some things with Sora, and they weren't even finished yet. But at least he was beginning to move forward instead of coming to a standstill.
"And so do we, Sora! I heard about the things you said to Taiyou!"
Riku looked over to see Sora wincing as Kairi continued to rant about the 'cruel and absolutely unnecessary' statements made about Taiyou. He laughed softly.
Life was finally starting to look up.
---
The night passed with food fights, poker, and extensive tutoring. Kairi was still in need of another English lesson, and did much better than her study session almost three weeks ago. All of them had to catch up on their studies - Riku more so since he was out of school for the past three days - so the four friends brought in a table from the lounge and settled in to get some work done. No matter how much they had tried to concentrate, each of them couldn't stick with homework for long.
Kairi brought in her cards for poker.
The head nurse had given up on trying to keep Taiyou, Sora, and Kairi out of Riku's room since day one, and the doctors knew and loved Kairi so they allowed her to stay. Any friends of Kairi were friends of the doctors, not to mention Sora's father being one of the most respected and prominent doctors in the hospital. The four friends took advantage of that by packing extra clothes and storing them in Kairi or Riku's hospital room for an overnight stay.
It was now morning, and after a few tests and a promise to eat plenty during the next two weeks, Riku was released from the hospital. Kairi, Sora, Riku, and Taiyou were in Kairi's hospital room along with Dr. Miyazaki, Ms. Tatewaki, Aki, Jiro, Nami, and Sakura. The three adults appeared to be extremely happy, and claimed they had some good news for the kids. The friends waited in anticipation.
"Well, we have some great news and some excellent news," Dr. Miyazaki exclaimed cheerfully. "Which do you want to hear first?"
"Let's hear the great news first, pops," Sora said while doing a small victory dance. "Is that ok with you, Kai?"
"Mm, yea," Kairi answered while yawning. "Let's hurry up, I want to go back to sleep!"
Riku leaned in close to her and whispered to her in a conspiratorial voice, "It's noon, or have you not noticed?"
"So? A girl needs her beauty sleep." She sniffed and lifted her nose in the air aristocratically.
"Yea, you do, don't you?"
Kairi punched him in the arm.
"Alright, children, here's the great news: Miss Tatewaki will be released from the hospital tomorrow!"
The group erupted into cheers and catcalls; Kairi jumped up and threw her arms around her mother while leading her into a silly version of Sora's victory dance. The cheers turned to laughter at the sight, and Ms. Tatewaki shed tears of joy for her daughter. Sora plucked Kairi from her mother and showed her the correct way to do the victory dance - which she proceeded to mock and get scolded at for it - then showed his father.
Dr. Miyazaki imitating his son's victory dance was a sight to cause a new rupture of laughter.
Riku, Taiyou, Jiro and Nami joined in on the fun, and successfully managed to perfect Sora's trademark dance while Sakura and Aki leaned back in an armchair and watched. "Hey guys!" Aki called as everyone began to quiet down.
"We should have a huge party to really celebrate!"
"Speaking of parties, there should be two," Jiro while plopping into Nami's lap. She promptly pushed him off. "One with all the adults, you know, our parents, the doctors and nurses who helped, and relatives, and then another with just us kiddies!"
Ms. Tatewaki scoffed. "An unsupervised party with teenagers?"
Jiro smiled sheepishly. "Aki can supervise."
The group turned to Aki, who thrust his fist into the palm of his hand enthusiastically. "Of course!"
"Aki..."
"Mom, I'm how old?"
"20, but--"
"But?"
She sighed. "Fine. I don't mind as long as Aki is supervising."
The teenagers in the room grinned.
"All right, now for the excellent news: Riku's friends, Leon and Cloud, got us a lawyer at a very affordable rate to work on Miss Tatewaki's case and put the rapist in prison."
Kairi visibly stiffened, causing her mother to walk over to her and pull her into an embrace. The room went silent at the news and waited on Kairi's reaction before they made their own reactions known. "That means," she whispered. "I will have to...tell everyone what exactly happened...especially the lawyer."
"Well, yes, but rest assured, Miss Tatewaki, the lawyer is a very good friend of mine and Riku's father, Yuki. He is a very reliable and dependable man, and after he heard what happened, he is determined to put the man behind bars!"
Silence.
"When can I meet him?"
"Right now actually. He's waiting outside in the lounge. Would you like me to go get him?"
She nodded stiffly.
"All right."
Dr. Miyazaki left the room with an excited stride. Sora then stood up and embraced Kairi, whispering words of comfort in her ear as Nami and Sakura embraced her as well. The boys gathered around her close, also offering their support if she were to go through with the trial.
Riku broke through the circle that formed around Kairi and knelt directly in front of her. He grabbed her hands and looked her in the eye. "If you don't go through with the trial, Kairi, he wins. This will wind up happening again to another young girl in a different place because he will get the mind set that he can do this and not get caught and properly punished. If you aren't going to do this for yourself, do this for the countless girls who never got the opportunity to take their cases to court."
Kairi wiped the tears off her face and hugged Riku. "I will do this. I'm not going to let Kado get the best of me."
"That's the Kairi I know."
The two broke apart, and Sora mouthed 'thank you' to Riku when Kairi turned to Nami's embrace. He smiled in acknowledgement of the thank you and turned to the door. There stood a man about 6'1 with spiky dark chocolate hair pulled into a ponytail that reached the tips of his shoulder blades. Wearing a simple white button down shirt and blacks slacks, a laptop bag was thrown over his shoulders and a small briefcase dangled from his left hand.
His eyes were identical to Sora's.
They were sapphire with a twinkle of mischievousness despite the fact that he seemed to be in his thirties, and they were trained on Sora. The smile adorning his face appeared to be a sad as he gazed at Sora, but there also appeared to be some happiness as well. Sora had never met this man, right?
Sapphire eyes were suddenly locked with his, causing Riku to turn away with an embarrassed blush on his face for being caught staring. From what he could see out the corner of his eye, the doctor was talking to Leon and Cloud, and the man, who he assumed to be the lawyer, was walking towards him. Riku stood up and met the man halfway.
"Are you going to be Kairi's lawyer?"
He nodded. "That's me. Ryo Sekido's my name, putting sacks of shit like Kado in prison is my game. Oh, I shouldn't curse in front of you, should I?"
Ryo smiled sheepishly while laughing loudly. "Aw, you don't mind. You probably do it anyways."
Riku laughed as well, instantly liking the man before him. "You aren't going to lecture me, are you?"
"Actually I am. Here goes: don't say bitch, ass, shit, and fuck really loud in public; Especially not in one sentence!"
The two erupted into fits of laughter. "What is your name?"
"Riku. Riku Kumakura."
The two shook hands, drawing the attention of Dr. Miyazaki. "Everyone! This is Ryo Sekido, the lawyer wanting to get on this case."
Sakura, Jiro, Nami, and Aki greeted him politely while Taiyou and Kairi smiled as their greeting. Sora stared at the older man and tried to sort out why this man seemed so familiar. Even though he was a friend of the family, Sora had never really met this man, only heard his name on occasion at the house. But now seeing him up close, he looked awfully familiar.
Other than the eyes that were identical to his.
Ryo waved to everyone and set his briefcase down on the edge of Kairi's bed. He sat down and smiled warmly at Kairi before asking one question: "Kairi, is it ok with you if I take this to court?"
Kairi nodded. "Let's not rest until he is in prison."
Opening his briefcase, Ryo launched into the procedure of court proceedings and preliminary cautions that will have to be taken, aware of Sora's searching gaze and Riku's overly interested stare.
---
Finished! Here's what's in the next chapter:
-Riku and Taiyou have 'The Talk.'
-Details about what Ryo is planning on doing for the trial are
revealed.
-The new vice principal of the school is introduced and has a vital
role.
-Riku and Sora continue their talk.
-Kairi's officially released from the hospital and two parties
commence.
Thank you all so much for the reviews! Over 300...wow that's great. Also thank you for supporting the trilogy idea. That means a lot to me. Speaking of the trilogy, this part is coming to an end. A few more chapters to go...Stay tuned!
-MercuryGoddess-
Special Thanks To: Lightdemondarkangel, AkaiUsagi, Ayekami, Kairi099, Oceaneyed Songstress, camigirl4k3,
Ariana, Uzumaki-sama, Draconis-Donavan, myredraincoat, Junsui-san, Twinstar1, ChibiCatDemon, Van de Fanelia, Illorion, Joonie, chibi chidori16, fxxtidus899, TinyClownBean1, inumoon3, BloodMistress, addmoose2004, Discordia-Erebus, Lana, Tachi, diamond-princess2006, Katca Mcadar, crowvii, Ickis Krumm, Rock-Howard-17, Tofuu, takuya89, jessi, NiGhTrIkKu, MissHieibadboy, IchigoPocky, and my Mediaminer reviewers Echan2, Sakayume, Alliejo, and shadygurl!
Special Thanks To Crystalline Tears For Her Excellent Beta Work!
Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts, I would be filthy rich right now!! So, get off my back!!
Warnings: This is a yaoi, or to plainly put it male x male relationships! If you don't like it, don't read it!! I don't want to see flames on this subject because I plainly put my warning here!
Rating: I have boosted the rating on this story for future chapters...
Reminder:
"..............." Means talking
(...............) Means author notes
*..............* Means an action
~..............~ Means thinking
'...............' Means past sayings
>.............< Means a place
Added Note: I do have an update list. People who review are automatically added, but if it is an anoynomous review or your email is not available for public access, then just leave in it the review or send me an email at MercuryGoddess2001@yahoo.com saying you would like to join. Thanks!
Trials and Tribulations
Chapter Fourteen
It had always been a habit; to wake up alert and aware in unfamiliar surroundings. It was something he learned back in his bleak childhood and was a habit he didn't bother trying to break. At times like this, he was grateful that he didn't break the habit, for as soon as he opened his eyes, he surveyed the area and knew he was currently in the hospital.
Riku didn't even need reminding as to why he was here. The intense, almost overwhelming, emotions he felt were still there, lurking behind the perfect calm countenance he erected for himself. While sitting up, Riku did two things simultaneously: he adjusted the paper thin cotton pajama shirt and spotted three figures in his room, one of them actually within arms length. Taiyou lay on the bed - upper torso and head on the bed while the rest of his body was in a chair - and one of his hands was entwined with Riku's. Sora and Kairi were curled up together in a large armchair in the far right corner. Both figures were snoring softly.
It might have been a pleasant, even adorable sight if a sharp pang of jealously hadn't coursed through Riku's body.
"Thank goodness you're awake."
Taiyou brought Riku into a bone-crushing embrace and stroked the nape of his boyfriend's neck. Pang forgotten, Riku melted into the embrace and placed a chaste kiss on Taiyou's cheek. "I need to breathe, Taiyou."
Albeit loosening his grip, Taiyou still didn't let go. "Do you know how long it's been?"
Riku cocked his head to the side as an answer to the question. "Three days. It's been three days since they found you on the beach and brought you here. They said you would wake up, but..."
He trailed off, unable to voice his thoughts but somehow knowing that Riku would understand. He did, and tightened his arms around Taiyou's neck as a nonverbal thank you.
"I guess I'll tell the others that he's up."
Riku picked up the phrase just as he saw Sora plant a small kiss on Kairi's forehead and ease her back on the armchair. The younger boy crossed the room and only once did they make eye contact. Despite the awkwardness he felt, Riku locked eyes with Sora and mentally fumed at the guarded expression he saw.
It was the look reserved for associates, the newly acquainted, or people he didn't know at all.
And it hurt.
It hurt to be on the receiving end of that expression.
"I'll go, Sora."
The reaction was immediate: Sora stopped in his tracks and looked at Taiyou with an air of indifference, and Riku broke out of the comfortable, much-needed embrace to silently demand what was going on. Taiyou ignored the questioning look and slide out of the chair, beckoning Sora to sit in his place.
Sora sat with a frown on his face.
"I'll go with you, Taiyou," Kairi spoke up for the first time. She made her way over to the brunette. "I need to get used to walking again anyways."
Making sure Taiyou was not helping her, Kairi walked out the room, Taiyou in tow, and left the two boys alone. As soon as the door 'clicked' shut, Sora turned to Riku, the frown on his face transforming to an angry sneer. "How old are you?!"
Sora stood up abruptly, too angry, too furious, to notice the startled look on Riku's face. He continued to rant. "Is this what you do when you don't get your way?! Oh poor woeful me, I just found out that life isn't fair so I'm going to starve and exhaust myself to the point of collapse! Oh poor me!"
He gesticulated wildly to emphasize his point, unaware of the smile growing on Riku's face.
"Three days you lay on that bed with a tube stuck in your arm! 'Sleeping like the dead' my mom would say on a daily basis and you were! Jeez, you were like a corpse, and Garnet was crying, Nami was picking on me like I took a chair and knocked you out, Sakura bit down all of her nails..."
"Sora..."
"Jiro was keeping Taiyou from falling into the same state and don't get me started on Leon and Cloud. When they weren't in here, they were at it like rabbits in an empty hospital room!"
"Sora!"
The rant immediately stopped, leaving Sora and Riku to just watch each other in silence. Sora was breathing hard, face flushed, and his eyes were shining brightly with worry and concern. Riku had to laugh at the sight.
So he did.
He threw his head back and howled with laughter, laughing even harder at the look of incredulity on Sora's face. He couldn't help it though. Sora babbling was one of the most adorable things he had ever seen.
Grabbing the bewildered boy, Riku pulled him into an embrace. "All you had to say was that you were worried."
"I know," Sora confessed as he blushed deeply. "I babbled, didn't I?"
Riku laughed once more, this time from the blush that was rapidly spreading across Sora's face. "In the most delightful way."
The blush increased, but Sora responded to the embrace by settling on Riku's right side so that Riku's right arm lay across his shoulders. Riku, still laughing, wiped the tears of mirth from his eyes. "Were you really that worried?"
Sora shrugged, trying in vain to not let the concern he felt build up over these past days slip into his voice. "72 hours is a long time to be out, if it was supposedly not that serious, don't you think?"
Watching Sora, Riku felt as if a large burden had been lifted off of his shoulders. He was so relieved that Sora still cared about him that he almost laughed out loud once more. He said some horrible things to Sora, and ultimately, ended their friendship. Amid the fact that he was starving, he was fully rested and almost stress free, causing him to reevaluate the accusations and proclamations made.
"So...since when are you an anorexic insomniac and how did you hide it so well?"
"It sounds really awful when you put it that way," Riku observed as he felt his good mood dampen at the question. "And it hasn't been happening for that long. These last few weeks have just been kinda stressful, that's all."
"Riku, you passed out and stayed out for three days. How has it not been happening for a long time?"
"Oi, Riku!"
Thanking whatever deity decided to help out, Riku turned to the hospital door to see Jiro, Sakura, and Nami rushing over to the bed. Jiro clapped a hand on his back. "Oh thank the heavens you're up!! These womenfolk were absolutely driving me nuts!"
"You were with Taiyou all the time!" Nami huffed.
"Exactly."
Everyone laughed at the perfectly executed joke, even Sora chuckling at the silly antics of his friend. The atmosphere was a bit more at ease now that the three friends were in the room, but as Riku turned to look at Sora, he knew that would have to have that important talk that would decide the fate of their friendship and relationships with Kairi and Taiyou. But for now he had time to just relax, be calm, and celebrate the fact that Riku had woken up and was looking much healthier than when he first came in.
Nami fussed, Sakura observed, and Jiro joked, making the visiting hours marginally more pleasant for Riku. Not that Sora couldn't do that alone; it was, in fact, one of the reasons why they became best friends in the first place, but as of now, their friendship was straddling the barrier between existent and nonexistent.
However, there would be a time to talk about that.
It wasn't until hours later that Nami stood up and announced the ending of visiting hours. Judging from Jiro's story, Nami didn't quite get along with the nurse in charge of Riku, therefore by avoiding her at all costs she could be able to ignore the urge to hit the lady. Nami walked to the door, blew a kiss to Riku, glared at Sora, and left the room, followed by a laughing Jiro. Sora followed them and left Riku alone with Sakura.
Playing with a strand of her purple hair, Sakura walked to the edge of the bed and grabbed Riku's hand. He watched her with mild curiosity - seeing as though she was usually attached to Nami - and squeezed her hand in what he hoped to be reassuring. "Anything wrong, Sakura?"
She watched him for a few more moments before she spoke. "Sora was the most worried out of all of us, you know," she informed him timidly. "He was more worried than Taiyou and that's saying a lot."
Riku opened his mouth to make a comment, but Sakura gently placed a finger on his lips. "I saw him last night, here, alone. I was on my way home from work and got you some flowers, and I saw him here, holding your hand as if it was going to suddenly disappear... and he was apologizing."
"Apologizing?"
"'I'm so sorry for putting down your relationship with Taiyou,' he had said. 'Please forgive me! I don't want to lose you as a best friend!'"
Tugging Sakura into an embrace, Riku let out a sigh of a relief before he said, "Thank you for telling me."
She hugged back enthusiastically and smiled when she pulled out of his embrace. "I don't know what happened to make Sora apologize like that, but he genuinely seemed sorry. Just keep that in mind! Nami will kill him if this happens again."
They both laughed as Sakura made her way to the door. She stopped when she spotted Sora at the door, and smiled at him when he smiled at her. She turned back to Riku and waved goodbye as she left the room. The two boys were once again left alone.
Sora quietly shut the door behind him before he situated himself back on Riku's right side. The two sat in a companionable silence before Riku sighed and started to speak. "We need to talk."
Letting out a dry laugh, Sora tore his gaze from the numerous flowers in the room to Riku. "I know. There's no escaping it, is there?"
A shake of the head was the only response.
Silence reigned over the two once more, this time being awkward and very uncomfortable. Each were gathering their thoughts; formulating it into something the other person may be able to understand. Riku finished first and began to speak.
"I didn't hit you because you insulted my relationship with Taiyou, Sora. I hit you because you were right about most of the things you said; and of course, denial, thy name is Riku."
Sora kept his eyes trained on Riku.
"Taiyou shouldn't be jealous of a best friend, and that fact hit me like a ton of bricks when you said it out loud. For the last two weeks, there has been this voice nagging me in the back of my head. It kept telling me how Taiyou shouldn't be acting this way; but of course, I ignored it simply because it's the easiest thing to do. The coward's way of handling things that need to be dealt with was the way I dealt with it, and when you made that clear, I got so pissed because I believed - no, knew - that I wasn't a coward.
"I've never been the type of person to run away when the going gets tough. It was one of the qualities that I actually liked about myself and was prided in. In fact, courage is something I hold in the highest regard. But you started pointing out all of the truths that had been buried away in the back of my mind, and it reminded me of the cowardly act of not acting upon them right away. I got so pissed when you did that, Sora, not to mention the fact that I was still in denial about the whole thing even though the truths were pointed out and brought up.
"I don't want to lose you, Sora, but please don't make me choose between you and Taiyou because in the end, I will choose my boyfriend for the sake of the right thing. Both of you need to know that."
Riku fell silent and broke eye contact between Sora and himself. He was no longer able to look in Sora's eyes after his last declaration. "Who do you want to choose, Riku?"
Looking back up, Riku watched Sora stare at a solitary point on the wall in front of him. "It doesn't matter."
"It does matter! This is not about what I want, Taiyou wants, or the strangers you are so intent pleasing want! This is about you; it's your decision and your decision alone!"
Riku smiled sadly as he looked forward. "It's not that simple, Sora, and you know it. Someone will get hurt in the end; it's a lose-lose situation."
"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Sora shifted his gaze to Riku as he asked with a calm expression on his face.
"Well," Riku was slightly started at the abrupt change in conversation, "I would like to be a psychiatrist."
"Jeez, no wonder you were so good at helping me with my issues! [Riku laughed at this.] Anyways, is your father ok with this?"
A pause. "He wanted me to be a judge actually."
"And he will be hurt at the fact that you don't want to be a judge. Does that mean you should give up your dream of becoming a psychiatrist because of what he wants?"
"Well, no, but--"
"No buts! It's the same concept. You should do what you want to do, not for the 'sake of what's right.' So what if it seems a bit shady that you picked your best friend over your boyfriend. If it will make you happy, that is all that matters. But don't ever say you will do something just for the sake of what's right, Riku. That is a very black and white statement; have you forgotten the areas of gray?"
They fell into silence once more.
"I want to choose you."
Riku laughed a broken laugh, one filled with deep anguish and vitriol. "That's what I want, but life is never that simple. When I was a freshman and with Taiyou, I didn't care about anyone's opinion, because to me it felt so right and it made me so happy when I was in hard times. But now...many thoughts come up like 'what would my mother say if I picked my best friend over my boyfriend?' or 'how would my older brother react to the fact that I left my boyfriend on the sole reason of liking another?' Even if my mother is deceased, I still think of how she would react to the decisions I made. I feel...guilty."
Riku scooted even closer to Sora and wrapped his right arm around the other boy's waist. "But I don't truly want to stop doing this. I like the way you make me feel - you have the ability to make me lose my control and feel...I don't know...passionate? Jeez, now I sound like a lovesick girl mooning over a celebrity!"
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, distancing himself from Sora, and stood up, looking down at the pajamas in disgust. He purposely avoiding the piercing gaze of Sora and headed to the small bathroom. "I'm not good with discussing feelings, but if you sit down I will try."
Riku mentally cursed himself. He was doing it again; running away from his problems before he had a chance to look them over. In actuality, he was terrified of what Sora's reaction might be. He just poured his heart out more than he has ever done to Taiyou, but what was Sora going to do? Accept his feelings? Say that you are disgusting and shouldn't be feeling this way when you have a boyfriend? Try to explain to him that this was abnormal behavior? He didn't know, nor did he care to find out, but he was not going to be a coward. He was going to sit down, look Sora in the eye, and let him speak, just like Sora did for him!
Albeit stiffly, Riku sat down on the armchair in the corner and watched Sora through thick bangs. His head was bowed so that Sora could not see his reaction, yet he was able to see Sora's reaction.
A two way mirror so to speak.
"No."
Riku looked up to see Sora smiling brightly while patting the empty space beside him. "Come on! I'm getting cold."
Feeling new confidence thanks to Sora's smile, Riku strutted over to the hospital bed and plopped down, smiling as well, as he felt Sora snuggle against his side and lay his head on his chest. "I was so scared of you, did you know that? Back when we first met on the first day of school? I don't know why, but you made me want to run away from you and to you at the same time, which in itself, is confusing.
But I just figured out the reason why.
"For a good chuck of my life, I have been betrayed. By the people I loved...trusted. Fate has continuously screwed me over with the same method; betrayal. So I lost faith in people's ability to uphold trust and loyalty. I mean, they could just decide that on the day that they have gained my complete trust to just do something cruel to me to have a good laugh and that's that. But when I saw you, I saw a person I could completely trust or, at least, someone that would understand, because you looked like you had been through as many hardships as myself, and even though they may not have been the same as mine, it still would have separate us from everyone else.
"I had a first love as well, Riku, and he betrayed me. So no, denial, thy name is not Riku, but thy name is Sora. I went back to being 'straight' so to speak after the betrayal, but after I saw you, well...umm..." Sora rubbed the back of his neck purely out of embarrassment, thinking of the naughty images he had thought of Riku back when they first met. Riku let Sora wallow in embarrassment before he said, "I know."
Sighing in relief since he didn't have to explain, Sora continued. "My point is that I understand you in more ways than you realize so there is no need to keep it bottled up inside to the point where you can't take it anymore. I also would have to make a choice if Kairi was demanding me like Taiyou were you, and do you know who I would want to choose? You. I feel like I could really truly trust you and show you my real self."
"But you don't, do you?"
"Don't what?"
"Show me your real self."
Sora turned away from Riku. It was true; he doesn't show anyone his real self simply out of caution. It was the easiest way to get hurt, he learned a long time ago, and he vowed to himself that he wouldn't get into the same situation he was in back in middle school. But Riku was breaking down all of his defenses and as the days moved on he found it harder and harder to keep up the mask, even if it was up purely out of habit. That loneliness...that isolation he felt was starting to wane because of Riku, and the feeling he got from it was something he wanted to be permanent.
Looking back at Riku, he saw the older boy's gaze still on him. "I..."
"You don't." It was a statement rather than a question, for Riku already know the answer. Sora didn't show him his real self and that fact hurt as much as the guarded expression Sora threw his way mere hours before. "Why?"
"Because old habits die hard. Because I'm scared that history will repeat itself. Because I feel safe when I'm this way."
Riku leaned down until his mouth was level with Sora's left ear and kissed the outer shell of the ear. "Do you want to show me?"
Sora shivered involuntarily from the touch and Riku's breath that continuously caressed his ear. "Yes," he breathed out, his pulse quickening at Riku's closeness. "I do."
"Then show me."
The imperious tone was so tempting to listen to; he almost dropped years of practiced emotional guarding just to listen to the older boy. But he hesitated. "I...c-can't. I haven't even shown Kairi yet, and she's my girlfriend."
"Sure doesn't seem like it!"
Riku backed away at the sound of Kairi's voice and stared at her in muted horror. She crossed the room with several quick strides and stopped in front of Sora, her amethyst eyes flashing with ire. She raised her hand and slapped him clearly across the face. The sound resounded in the air, and the tension was heightened, not only by her appearance but by the appearance of Taiyou as well.
His face was unreadable.
The color from Sora's face literally drained as he fingered the throbbing area. "Kairi--"
"I heard everything! You are so stupid, don't you know that Sora?!"
Sora bowed his head in shame as Riku stood up to defend himself and Sora, but Taiyou stopped him with a stern glare. "I'm breaking it off with you, Sora."
---
"Hurry up, Leon! We need to get to the hospital to see Riku and the others!"
"I know that. Calm down."
"I'm just excited, ok? Justice will finally be served to that asshole Kado and I got the person who will do it right here and you are going extra slow! This is good news that needs to be shared!"
"And it will when I'm done."
"Am I bothering you guys? I am new to town and haven't been able to send a ferry to City Isle to get my car. This must be an problem for you."
"Oh not at all. Besides, I'd be happy to do something that would serve as a thank you for doing this for us."
"No problem, Mr...?"
"Just call me Cloud. And the idiot in the bathroom is Leon."
A grunt.
Laughter. "Well, you can call me Ryo. So what's the deal, Cloud?"
"Well, a friend of mine, Kairi Tatewaki, was raped by a classmate named Kado Yamahashi about two weeks ago. Afterwards, he packed his bags and moved to City Isle."
"Miss Tatewaki...is she ok?"
"Physically, she's getting better..."
Silence.
"It's scum like that...Well, I'll do everything in my power to get that sack of shit in prison! I'll get him in there before you can say 'kill him!'"
"...I like your enthusiasm."
"Let's go."
"About time you're ready! Remember: We talk to the doctor and Ms. Tatewaki first, ok?"
"Whatever."
---
"Breaking...it off?"
"Yes!"
Sora's head snapped up at the absolute tone in Kairi's voice, unshed tears of helplessness filling his eyes. His hands began to shake as he tried to give a decent explanation. "N-No...Kairi, please forgive me! I can't help feeling this way...I'm sorry if it made me lose your trust, but you have to believe me! I--"
"Are you always this self-consumed?"
Sora closed his mouth immediately at the insulting question and once again bowed his head to block his ex-girlfriend from sight. Why did this have to happen? Why did they come back now of all times? Just when Riku was beginning to understand just some of how he works?
"I mean, I'm not breaking up with you because you were emotionally cheating on me."
Sora froze. Why was there amusement in her voice?
"Jeez, you should be ashamed, though! Emotionally cheating on me with a wonderful, gorgeous, smart guy like Riku! You should have had more control considering the fact that you were with him like everyday, you tend to lean more towards liking guys than girls, AND he helped you with problems I couldn't possibly understand! What's wrong with you?"
Risking a glance, Sora saw Kairi smiling softly as she sat on the bed and pretended to scold him in mock anger. He looked into her eyes fully, utterly bewildered at the sarcastic tone, and cocked his head to the side in silent questioning. She smiled brighter. "I didn't hit you because of that; I hit you because you keep holding back from everyone and with that type of attitude, you'll never get anywhere. You shouldn't have to hide your real self, Sora, and you shouldn't hide it from such wonderful people such as ourselves either!"
She giggled and moved forward to cup Sora's face in her hands. "And I'm not breaking up with you because of him," she exclaimed while pointing at Riku, who just stared at her with newfound respect, "I'm breaking up with you because A) this...accident...with Kado has stirred me up and I need some time alone for a while to adjust to small things like hugs or sudden movements and B) I want you to be completely happy, and over the last few days, it became apparent that the silver-haired goof over there who exhausted himself makes you happy."
Riku glared at her for the 'goof' comment. She stuck her tongue out at him in return.
Turning back to Sora, Kairi brought him into a farewell hug, struggling to keep the smile on her face despite her recent loss. "Be happy, Sora. That's all I ask."
Sora was still in shock so he nodded once before looking over at Taiyou. His face remained unreadable, but the shifting of foot to foot, Sora could tell that he was having an inner battle. There was no tension as the four friends sat in silence, but Sora, Riku, and Kairi watched Taiyou with equal anticipation. He turned to them with a small smile on his face. "If you are expecting me to break up with Riku right now, that's not going to happen."
The group erupted into laughter.
"But." The change of seriousness in the tone was obvious. "We do need to talk, Riku."
Sighing, Riku nodded slowly, already dreading the serious conversation. He had just begun to straighten out some things with Sora, and they weren't even finished yet. But at least he was beginning to move forward instead of coming to a standstill.
"And so do we, Sora! I heard about the things you said to Taiyou!"
Riku looked over to see Sora wincing as Kairi continued to rant about the 'cruel and absolutely unnecessary' statements made about Taiyou. He laughed softly.
Life was finally starting to look up.
---
The night passed with food fights, poker, and extensive tutoring. Kairi was still in need of another English lesson, and did much better than her study session almost three weeks ago. All of them had to catch up on their studies - Riku more so since he was out of school for the past three days - so the four friends brought in a table from the lounge and settled in to get some work done. No matter how much they had tried to concentrate, each of them couldn't stick with homework for long.
Kairi brought in her cards for poker.
The head nurse had given up on trying to keep Taiyou, Sora, and Kairi out of Riku's room since day one, and the doctors knew and loved Kairi so they allowed her to stay. Any friends of Kairi were friends of the doctors, not to mention Sora's father being one of the most respected and prominent doctors in the hospital. The four friends took advantage of that by packing extra clothes and storing them in Kairi or Riku's hospital room for an overnight stay.
It was now morning, and after a few tests and a promise to eat plenty during the next two weeks, Riku was released from the hospital. Kairi, Sora, Riku, and Taiyou were in Kairi's hospital room along with Dr. Miyazaki, Ms. Tatewaki, Aki, Jiro, Nami, and Sakura. The three adults appeared to be extremely happy, and claimed they had some good news for the kids. The friends waited in anticipation.
"Well, we have some great news and some excellent news," Dr. Miyazaki exclaimed cheerfully. "Which do you want to hear first?"
"Let's hear the great news first, pops," Sora said while doing a small victory dance. "Is that ok with you, Kai?"
"Mm, yea," Kairi answered while yawning. "Let's hurry up, I want to go back to sleep!"
Riku leaned in close to her and whispered to her in a conspiratorial voice, "It's noon, or have you not noticed?"
"So? A girl needs her beauty sleep." She sniffed and lifted her nose in the air aristocratically.
"Yea, you do, don't you?"
Kairi punched him in the arm.
"Alright, children, here's the great news: Miss Tatewaki will be released from the hospital tomorrow!"
The group erupted into cheers and catcalls; Kairi jumped up and threw her arms around her mother while leading her into a silly version of Sora's victory dance. The cheers turned to laughter at the sight, and Ms. Tatewaki shed tears of joy for her daughter. Sora plucked Kairi from her mother and showed her the correct way to do the victory dance - which she proceeded to mock and get scolded at for it - then showed his father.
Dr. Miyazaki imitating his son's victory dance was a sight to cause a new rupture of laughter.
Riku, Taiyou, Jiro and Nami joined in on the fun, and successfully managed to perfect Sora's trademark dance while Sakura and Aki leaned back in an armchair and watched. "Hey guys!" Aki called as everyone began to quiet down.
"We should have a huge party to really celebrate!"
"Speaking of parties, there should be two," Jiro while plopping into Nami's lap. She promptly pushed him off. "One with all the adults, you know, our parents, the doctors and nurses who helped, and relatives, and then another with just us kiddies!"
Ms. Tatewaki scoffed. "An unsupervised party with teenagers?"
Jiro smiled sheepishly. "Aki can supervise."
The group turned to Aki, who thrust his fist into the palm of his hand enthusiastically. "Of course!"
"Aki..."
"Mom, I'm how old?"
"20, but--"
"But?"
She sighed. "Fine. I don't mind as long as Aki is supervising."
The teenagers in the room grinned.
"All right, now for the excellent news: Riku's friends, Leon and Cloud, got us a lawyer at a very affordable rate to work on Miss Tatewaki's case and put the rapist in prison."
Kairi visibly stiffened, causing her mother to walk over to her and pull her into an embrace. The room went silent at the news and waited on Kairi's reaction before they made their own reactions known. "That means," she whispered. "I will have to...tell everyone what exactly happened...especially the lawyer."
"Well, yes, but rest assured, Miss Tatewaki, the lawyer is a very good friend of mine and Riku's father, Yuki. He is a very reliable and dependable man, and after he heard what happened, he is determined to put the man behind bars!"
Silence.
"When can I meet him?"
"Right now actually. He's waiting outside in the lounge. Would you like me to go get him?"
She nodded stiffly.
"All right."
Dr. Miyazaki left the room with an excited stride. Sora then stood up and embraced Kairi, whispering words of comfort in her ear as Nami and Sakura embraced her as well. The boys gathered around her close, also offering their support if she were to go through with the trial.
Riku broke through the circle that formed around Kairi and knelt directly in front of her. He grabbed her hands and looked her in the eye. "If you don't go through with the trial, Kairi, he wins. This will wind up happening again to another young girl in a different place because he will get the mind set that he can do this and not get caught and properly punished. If you aren't going to do this for yourself, do this for the countless girls who never got the opportunity to take their cases to court."
Kairi wiped the tears off her face and hugged Riku. "I will do this. I'm not going to let Kado get the best of me."
"That's the Kairi I know."
The two broke apart, and Sora mouthed 'thank you' to Riku when Kairi turned to Nami's embrace. He smiled in acknowledgement of the thank you and turned to the door. There stood a man about 6'1 with spiky dark chocolate hair pulled into a ponytail that reached the tips of his shoulder blades. Wearing a simple white button down shirt and blacks slacks, a laptop bag was thrown over his shoulders and a small briefcase dangled from his left hand.
His eyes were identical to Sora's.
They were sapphire with a twinkle of mischievousness despite the fact that he seemed to be in his thirties, and they were trained on Sora. The smile adorning his face appeared to be a sad as he gazed at Sora, but there also appeared to be some happiness as well. Sora had never met this man, right?
Sapphire eyes were suddenly locked with his, causing Riku to turn away with an embarrassed blush on his face for being caught staring. From what he could see out the corner of his eye, the doctor was talking to Leon and Cloud, and the man, who he assumed to be the lawyer, was walking towards him. Riku stood up and met the man halfway.
"Are you going to be Kairi's lawyer?"
He nodded. "That's me. Ryo Sekido's my name, putting sacks of shit like Kado in prison is my game. Oh, I shouldn't curse in front of you, should I?"
Ryo smiled sheepishly while laughing loudly. "Aw, you don't mind. You probably do it anyways."
Riku laughed as well, instantly liking the man before him. "You aren't going to lecture me, are you?"
"Actually I am. Here goes: don't say bitch, ass, shit, and fuck really loud in public; Especially not in one sentence!"
The two erupted into fits of laughter. "What is your name?"
"Riku. Riku Kumakura."
The two shook hands, drawing the attention of Dr. Miyazaki. "Everyone! This is Ryo Sekido, the lawyer wanting to get on this case."
Sakura, Jiro, Nami, and Aki greeted him politely while Taiyou and Kairi smiled as their greeting. Sora stared at the older man and tried to sort out why this man seemed so familiar. Even though he was a friend of the family, Sora had never really met this man, only heard his name on occasion at the house. But now seeing him up close, he looked awfully familiar.
Other than the eyes that were identical to his.
Ryo waved to everyone and set his briefcase down on the edge of Kairi's bed. He sat down and smiled warmly at Kairi before asking one question: "Kairi, is it ok with you if I take this to court?"
Kairi nodded. "Let's not rest until he is in prison."
Opening his briefcase, Ryo launched into the procedure of court proceedings and preliminary cautions that will have to be taken, aware of Sora's searching gaze and Riku's overly interested stare.
---
Finished! Here's what's in the next chapter:
-Riku and Taiyou have 'The Talk.'
-Details about what Ryo is planning on doing for the trial are
revealed.
-The new vice principal of the school is introduced and has a vital
role.
-Riku and Sora continue their talk.
-Kairi's officially released from the hospital and two parties
commence.
Thank you all so much for the reviews! Over 300...wow that's great. Also thank you for supporting the trilogy idea. That means a lot to me. Speaking of the trilogy, this part is coming to an end. A few more chapters to go...Stay tuned!
-MercuryGoddess-