Ikurx - Ch 35 Part 2 of 2

Ikurx
By Kitteh and NeoFox
Rating: PG - 13
Warnings: Language, violence, romance
Pairings: Riku x Sora, Axel x Roxas
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and characters belong to Square Enix and Disney
Summary: After the defeat of Organization XIII, Sora and Riku find happiness in the simplicity of a normal life. A year later King Mickey sends a summons that the fight with the Organization isn't truly done yet. Light. Dark. As long as either exists the battle is never over.
Beta: NeoFox and Kitteh

Chapter 35
Part 2 of 2

Riku didn't watch as either disappeared into the portal. He stood there as he was, long after the portal shut after Ikurx and Demyx. "So this is it," the words were quiet, as if he hadn't used his voice in days. Some how he managed to turn around in Sora's clinging embrace, and without much delay he captured Sora's dark form in his arms. Riku quickly crumbled, sinking down to the floor to his knees, keeping Sora close. He held Sora tightly; fingers clung to Sora's clothing pulling him closest as possible. He had destroyed what little of Sora he had left, bending what will and fight Sora had left until it almost snapped truly giving him to the Darkness. Riku couldn't have loathed and feared himself more.

Riku squeezed his eyes shut forcing more tears to fall, this time on Sora. He pressed his head closer to Sora's, rubbing against it, nuzzling Sora's spiky hair just to see if anything felt the same as it had once ever been. Riku choked on a sob, his entire body shaking as it gave into the action. There was no fixing this. There was no right, only wrong. There would be no more of Sora's silly faces to cheer up his heart, no more of Sora's giggles, no more blushing kisses and endearing touch, no more soft smiles that were meant just for Sora and Sora alone, Sora wouldn't dance and twirl light heartedly anymore, no dance at the school, no more Destiny Island, no more home. It was as if Sora died and left him forever, when he was still there in his arms alive; a piece of him. The tears wouldn't stop, the sobs muffled against Sora's hair. "…I do forgive you."

Sora had kept completely still the entire time Riku had collapsed and started to cling to him just as tightly as he had done before. Only the usual small twitches came from his body, but they weren't enough to disturb either teen. It was only Riku's words that caused Sora to finally let out a small sound that was meant as some form of acknowledgment. He could feel Riku's distress mixed with his own and he wanted to help stop it. Even if he couldn't say those three words.

"Riku, please don't cry..." Sora spoke the words softly as he finally moved to pull back. He didn't pull away completely, finding comfort in the fact Riku finally wanted him close once again. He only lifted his head away so he could stare at Riku's face and frowned more at the tears he saw on such pale skin. "I'm sorry, Riku. I didn't mean to make you cry." He reached up with one hand to wipe the dark streaks away, but stopped as his hands touched the other's cheek, frowning when he looked at his own claws. He quickly pulled his hand back and glanced back at Riku once more. "Sorry..." He felt the need to keep apologizing even though Riku said he forgave him.

Riku weakly shook his head. He took up Sora's hand that pulled away and lifted it to rest back against his cheek. He didn't care about the claws as he nuzzled the palm, wiping the clear tears unintentionally there. "...I... you didn't make me. I'm- I'm crying for you, Sora." His voice cracked and he swallowed thickly as he swallowed a sob. It was hard to stop now that he'd started, when his entire world had ended and he had nothing but husks of what mattered most. "I miss you," Riku choked on a sob between his words, "Sora." His light, oh god how he missed it. "I miss you so- so much." He clutched Sora's hand in his as his head lowered in defeat to another distraught sob.

Sora gave his own pathetic whine at hearing such sadness come from Riku. He wished he could feel everything he once felt again. He wished that he didn't feel so empty inside where every good feeling had once been. Watching Riku only made him want to try harder to at least do something to help.

With another small noise Sora used his free hand to lift Riku's chin up with a few fingers. He stared into the other's eyes before he leaned forward to press their lips together. It was a small kiss and much like the gesture Riku had done in such a mocking way much earlier, it was cold and nothing like shy kisses in a school bathroom. It was the only thing Sora had. Without words he had nothing else and he only hoped that Riku could understand that as much as he did.

It was after a few quick seconds Sora pulled back and blinked dulled, blue eyes up at Riku. His hand stayed near the other's chin, but twitched in nervous reaction. "I'm still here, Riku. I'll always be with you. I'll never leave you no matter what." He finally dropped his hand and looked away to their hands that were clasped. "Even through the worst..."

Riku couldn't help but feel cheated; the kiss was as cold and dead as everything else felt. True, the attempt in the meaning was there, but it left nothing but guilty disappointment in Riku. "...I know you will." Even though it seemed like a mocking memory of Sora that stayed with him; like some kind of dark twitching ghost, haunting him. It was something. A little something that kept Riku rooted, at least for the moment.

"...I don't know what to do anymore." Riku stared at Sora with a desperate look. His throat danced with an uneasy swallow. "...It can't be over." He hesitated like a small child, worry furrowing his brow. "C-can it?" He grasped the front of Sora's shirt. "...We've lost... haven't we?" He searched Sora's face for anything, answers that he both needed and didn't want to hear.

Sora turned his gaze back on Riku and kept their eyes locked before he slowly shook his head. "No, we haven't." He spoke the words softly. His free hand moved in a playful way up and down the other teen's front, moving from his chest to his throat, using only one claw at a time. "As long as we have each other then it's never over. We haven't lost." They were the most optimistic words Sora had spoken in a long time, but it was easy to tell he meant them by how easily the sad look had slipped off his face for just that moment. He looked back up into Riku's eyes as his free hand finally slipped around the other's neck. "Okay?" He tilted his head to the side as he watched Riku with a curious look.

Riku gave a tired blink. In a strange way Sora almost sounded like his old self, even if there was no positive smile behind his words. "...It feels like we've lost." The tears had stopped but he felt no better. There was nothing left to fill what he'd sobbed out, nothing but empty optimism and Sora's companionship. "We've lost too much... and gained nothing. I- I can't go on like this." He shook his head before pressing the heel of his palm into his eye, fingers dragging through drying hair. "...We don't know who to fight anymore. You let Ro-- him go. I let mine go too." He dragged his fingers over his face. "We've lost, Sora. We've..." he shook his head letting his hand fall, "lost."

Sora only shook his head, refusing to believe such words. He wanted to try so hard to bring Riku out of his despair even if, inside, he couldn't feel anything but that same sadness. "No, that's not true." He pulled his hand free and placed both on Riku's cheeks, forcing the other boy to look at him. "We can find a way." He leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together while he shut his eyes halfway. "Please don't give up on us, Riku. Please don't give up on me." His body gave a quick spasm and he shut his eyes tightly as his next words shook. "Don't give up on Roxas..."

Riku gave a small start at Sora's last words. Roxas. He'd nearly destroyed that part of Sora for good. Had Roxas been lost to the Darkness, who knew what permanent damage might have been done to that part of Sora's heart. Sora could have been lost to him forever.
It wasn't fair being able to hate that part of Sora so easily.

All the same Riku gave in, letting his head lean heavily on Sora's, enjoying the touch on his face; the little tenderness given after his demented rage. A small sound left Riku as a few tears slipped down his cheeks. "Okay," he ever so quietly answered. Riku gave a shaking breath. "I'll try... for you, Sora. I'll try." He had no clue about the method; there was no convincing Roxas after what he tried to do to him. But he'd try anyway. Beg, plead or beat him into submission forcing him back like before. There had to be some way-- something. Anything.

Sora let out a relieved noise and for a moment every single tremor that went through his body seemed to stop. He opened his eyes to stare at Riku before he leaned a little closer to give the other teen a small nuzzle for his words. It was the most and least he could do. His hands fell away from Riku's face to wrap around the other's neck as he went back to clinging as tight as he could.

Riku was eager to hold Sora again, though it was as comforting as hugging a cold lifeless body, Riku's off kilter mind welcomed it all the same. He tried to remember what holding Sora before was like, fitting that perfect image to what he hugged now; some how it held Riku together. "...I don't know how I'll get Roxas back. Not after what happened here. It'll be near impossible." His voice petered away as he buried his face against Sora's shoulder.

"I let him go." Sora spoke up just as quietly as before as he kept himself close against Riku as the other held him. "I'm sorry, Riku. It was the wrong thing to do, to let Axel go after him, but I was scared of what was happening." He shook his head a little to clear the sudden remembrance and tried to continue on. "We'll find him. If you try then he'll understand what's right." Sora clung tighter before his next words. "You did say he was me after all, right?"

"...The worst of you." Riku found the words falling from his mouth before they could be stopped, but after he shook his head, rubbing his aching brow against Sora's shoulder. "He has everything he ever wanted; the 'right choice' isn't what's on his mind... like Axel said: our wrong is his right. He wants what we want. We both can't have it. One of us has to lose." A shudder wracked through Riku. "...And he-he doesn't lo--...care about me. There's nothing that we can offer that would change his mind. He'll never give up his heart... now that he has one. A meaningless existence as someone else." Riku let out a sarcastic noise. "Who would want that? No one." Even with good sense seeping back in Riku could see the hopelessness of their situation.

Sora had flinched at the first few words Riku had spoken. It was a continuous reminder of how much Riku and his other half just couldn't get along and how there would always be a part of him that Riku couldn't stand. After the other teen was finished speaking Sora pulled back a bit, obvious hurt played across his features, but it was nothing unusual anymore. "He had a life away from me..." Sora started out quietly. "Can you blame him for wanting that back? Axel was his friend and all he could do was watch him die." He couldn't help defending Roxas. He supposed it was the cause of being one with the other half for so long.

"I'm not saying what he's doing is right, but he just needs to understand that there are so many other people that care about him." Sora lifted his eyes again to stare back at Riku. "Even if he doesn't want to listen the first time it doesn't mean you have to give up on trying to make him understand." He dropped his eyes again to fall between them. "Especially if we mean so much to you, Riku..."

Riku kept silent after Sora spoke. It was silly to think that Roxas would buckle to anything said, even if he was a part of Sora, a strong and stubborn half at that. But Riku didn't want to crush what little spirit he and Sora had gained just now. Any little grain of doubt would be the last crushing weight to break them. And they were hanging from such a tenuous thread.

"You do." It was hard to admit if Roxas was in that agreement. Roxas was always considered a separate identity than Sora, yet when it boiled down to it Roxas was Sora. By any other name; a rose is a rose, and thorns were thorns.
But anymore of this and Riku was sure they'd find their end, and the Darkness would truly have what it fought so hard to attain. There had to be a way to fix this without trying the impossible and breaking themselves.

Riku raised his hand to brush it along Sora's cheek; a cheek that was always warm and soft, now it was lukewarm. He looked at Sora's dull blue eyes missing the vibrant blue that always smiled behind girly lashes. Riku's hand fell down to Sora's chest, and he fingered the clothing before his hand stilled. He could feel what was left of Sora's heart beneath his palm; straining to keep under the tyranny of dark despair inside.

"Sora," Riku started very quietly, "what if I give you half of my heart?"

Sora's eyes narrowed at the question. It was the last thing he had expected and he was almost afraid of what Riku was getting at. "No, Riku... that sounds dangerous." He shook his head a little before he placed his hand on top of the one that was still on his chest. "Besides, you can't do something like that. There's no way..." Sora himself didn't sound so sure, but Riku had already been through enough. They both had.

"I can control the darkness, Sora. At it's very core. At its heart. ...That's what I was attempting to do to Demyx." Riku splayed his hand on Sora's chest so he could link fingers with Sora's hand on his. "And I am darkness, Sora. If I can control other's, I can definitely control my own. I could take a piece of mine and give you what you're missing. It- it would help you... at least until we can get Roxas back." Riku's fingers squeezed Sora's. "My heart has always been yours, Sora, always. Now, a part of it really will." Riku's other hand brushed back Sora's dark bangs so he could rest his forehead against Sora's unrestricted. "Please, Sora. Let my darkness bring your light back."

Sora thought of protesting again, but the desperate words stopped him as he stared back into Riku's eyes. He squeezed Riku's hand much the same as a sign that he was slowly giving into the small plea. It was the only other choice they had left until they could make things right again. "Okay..." It was his turn to finally speak the small quiet word back to Riku.

A small kiss was pressed on the bridge of Sora's nose. "I love you." Despite the hurtful emotions in his heart Riku did, and it was that little piece inside that Riku knew they still had a little hope left. His free hand rested on his own chest where his own heart tangled deep with darkness lay. It wasn't hard to find the purest half of his heart, his love for Sora kept his heart still tangible, though his sincere conscious will was quickly fading. Riku willed the darkness around his heart, gathering the rawest of it to coil about it. His other hand around Sora's tightened, bracing for what was to come.

The raw darkness was focused, honed to a fine razor edge and he plunged it straight into his metaphorical heart. Riku grit his teeth to keep whatever tortured sound wanted to leave his throat. He could taste his own tainted blood, but he swallowed it along with the pain, his eyes blanking out.
Riku turned his own shadow against himself inside, digging its beastly hooks into the division made to rip the two crystalline halves apart. He slumped forward like a puppet with its strings cut. His hand pulled from his chest, fingers curled. Dark mist swirled from Riku's chest, curling with a frenzy at first before it settled to flow in circumference to let the severed half of his heart slip out between them.

The twisted darkness that surrounded Sora was the first thing to latch onto the bright crystal that hung between the two teenagers. It was the will and drive behind what had forced the bright half out which caused the swirling mist to force the heart towards Sora as blue eyes looked on in near fear. With a forceful push and an anguished cry of pain from the smaller teen, the severed half was given to its new owner. Inside the twitching Heartless two halves locked to become one as feelings lost were given back from such a selfless act.

The darkness began to retreat away from the sudden light that the Keyblade Master was starting to show once more. Sora's head fell down to rest on his chest after such a painful intrusion and color started to come back to him slowly. The dark mist that had surrounded him disconnected itself from the teenager and slowly disappeared amidst the darkness of the city. Spasms had stopped while the small body sat as he was on the floor and the hand that held Riku's own so tightly slowly lost its inhuman claws.

Riku's arms fell weakly and watched with dull eyes at Sora's transformation back. Even the darkest shadow could not exist without the brightest light. And in the numbed state of Riku's mind he knew that he'd done the impossible, and brought back what he'd missed so dearly. The pain and loss, it was all worth this.

His light was back.

Without hesitation Riku clasped his free arm around Sora, hugging him as tight and near as his waning energy would allow. It was beautiful, so beautiful, this warmth and this light. Sora was back. They were going to be alright. They really were going to be okay now.
Riku slumped, his eyes falling shut, stinging from both the light and new tears. The darkness about him misted and curled from his person at the loss to his heart, each flare fading before another trail curled from him. But even as Riku's consciousness was growing darker, he knew everything would be alright as long as Sora was near.

Sora's own eyes opened as Riku's slipped closed. The tug at his body had startled him and caused him to finally come to. He didn't struggle against the hold around him. He knew there was no reason to. All he did was cling right back, wrapping his own free arm around Riku's neck. "I'm back, Riku." He spoke the words quietly against the other's neck, voicing the exact words that ran through Riku's mind. "I'm okay now. You helped me. You really were there for me." After so long a smile finally found its way onto Sora's face and it was that which he moved to nuzzle against Riku's cheek. "We're okay, see?"

The smallest of smiles made its way on Riku's face at the nuzzle, he could feel Sora's smile, a real smile, on his cheek. Riku clumsily ran a few fingers through Sora's hair sightlessly. He leaned heavily on Sora but managed to weakly nuzzle him back. The sharp pain in his chest was dulling, the darkness licking about him slowly subsiding to the light he held and held him back. "... I missed you," the words barely left Riku.

"I know..." Sora kept his voice quiet. He was afraid to pull away. He never wanted to leave Riku after knowing what had happened to the other all because of what he had been forced to become. He reached up with his free hand to pet it through Riku's hair since it was still free of the hood after he had ripped it away, what seemed like forever ago. "Everything's okay, though. I'm alright." He finally pulled back, but kept his hand right where it was as bright blue eyes stared at Riku. "And I love you." He could feel it now where all of the hollow feelings had once been.

Riku pried his eyes open, blinking tired heavy eyelids to glance up at Sora. He wondered if he'd heard right, if what he saw was truly as real as it seemed. His throat tightened and he couldn't speak. He just sunk lower to submissively press his face against Sora's chest. Underneath his cheek he could feel the wonderful beat of his and Sora's heart as one. Riku couldn't stop the quiet sobs that left him. Sora was back; he was really and truly back. He wasn't going to be alone anymore, fighting alone. He had loved enough, for the both of them.

"Again- please say that again," Riku's whisper cracked.

Sora smiled once again, but it was much more genuine this time around. He continued to pet his hand through Riku's hair as the other teen rested against him. "I love you, Riku." He spoke the words without hesitation and without even a stutter much like so many times before as a Heartless. He could feel the small shakes that went through the other's body and he couldn't help the shaky laugh that escaped his own mouth. "Oh come on, Riku, don't cry. I'm okay now. Everything's okay now." He gave a gentle nudge to the older boy's shoulder, trying to rouse him. "You're not supposed to cry or else you'll make me cry."

Riku shook his head against Sora's words, burying it further against Sora's chest. He gave a weak noise both happy, amused and exhausted beyond all else. "You always cry." He was able to crack the smallest of smiles after the teasing words, the small sound of amusement something between a chuckle and a choked sob.

Sora pushed once more at Riku's shoulder at the teasing words. "I do not." Despite the smile on his face and his try at defending himself he could already feel the stinging behind his eyes and quickly tried to wipe at them before Riku could catch him. "You don't know what you're talking about." He gave another shaky laugh, being too much in a good mood at hearing Riku's own small bit of laughter and feeling so alive again.

Riku's arms slipped around Sora's middle, clinging to him as if his very existence depended on how near Sora stayed. "I do. I've known you since we were little, and you always cried at the littlest things. Like if you thought someone was mad at you, or in sappy movies." He gave a wet sniff as his fingers clung onto Sora's clothes.

Sora blinked his eyes not really caring any longer if the tears fell. At Riku's words he seemed to realize exactly how much they really did know about each other. It caused him to blush a little that Riku could point out the exact moments he let his guard down in such a way, but it was also flattering that the other teen loved him enough to notice the little things. "Maybe..." He quietly agreed.

With careful hands Sora reached down to pull Riku away from him so he could lift the other teen up to face him. As soon as they were face to face he gave Riku a shy smile before he leaned in to press their lips together in a quick kiss while his hands moved to take hold of Riku's own and squeeze. Everything about the small touches was warm and inviting unlike before.

Riku blinked causing more tears to fall. It was so startling to go from nothing to everything they used to have. It washed such relief over Riku, drowning out the guilt and despair he was suffocating earlier. It had more tears spilling down Riku's cheeks, but this time for happiness' sake.

Riku relinquished a hand; the darkness that made his glove misted back sifting back into his sleeve so his bare hand could feel Sora's blushing cheek. He gave a weak chuckle that was more of a relieved sound when he felt the soft warmth now, unlike before. "You're all here." His fingers moved to touch Sora's lips, drawing across them before falling to Sora's chin; black skin no more, just warm pinks and peaches on Sora's face. "...The Sora I remember. I never forgot. I tried. The Darkness was-without your light... I was lost." Riku brushed his fingers across Sora's cheek, as if he were foreign and fragile. "You have pretty eyes, Sora." Riku found himself giving a small soft smile, a little teasing but mostly sincere; awed by the sight of brilliant blue eyes again. "Prettier than the girls back home."

Those words only caused Sora to blush harder. He was used to small endearing words, but such bold statements still had him shying away every now and then. He just couldn't help it. "Riku..." He nearly whined the other teen's name in embarrassment as he tried to glance away. "There's nothing special about them. They're just blue." He tried to move the focus off his face with the words spoken, but he couldn't help glancing back at Riku and smiling once again. "Thanks, though..."

"... And lips," Riku quietly added, hoping to add to Sora's very cute embarrassment. "Now that they aren't black anymore, I can see... Prettier than a girls'." He couldn't help going on, his mind in a high elated state; happy for once. Something he'd nearly forgotten what it was like. "Actually, Sora, I think you're prettier than all of the girls back home." He paused a moment to give a very tired sly look. "Maybe even the Princesses of Heart." He thought about it a moment, glancing away. "Yeah, I think prettier than the princesses." He looked back at Sora with a weak teasing smile. "By far. I'm sure you could have been one...-if you were a girl."

Sora only blushed even worse at each thing said. He was sure he was completely red by now, but Riku just wouldn't stop. "Come on, Riku. You're acting stupid." The insult was childish and stupid itself and it was obvious Sora had meant no harm by it since he still couldn't stop smiling even as he looked away. "You're making it sound like I'm just as girly as the girls back home." He raised a hand to push it weakly against Riku's chest as he tried not to laugh and look serious. "Stop trying to embarrass me."
Riku gave a weak shrug. "I like embarrassing you. You blush and then smile." He took up Sora's hand on his chest to place the other's hand on his shoulder so he'd have nothing obstructing him as he pulled Sora even closer in an embrace. "Besides, I can't help the truth. Though I said you were 'pretty' not 'girly'. There's a difference." Not really, but Riku wasn't all there to debate. He made a pleased noise when he gave Sora a hug, needing to know if this wonderful moment was still real. All of this, it felt so good, to talk as if nothing had changed; about silly, goofy little things. Riku could feel the tears start again, but he didn't care. "Of course... I know your secret. So, you may be just as girly as the girls back home."

"S-Secret?" Sora couldn't help stuttering the one word on impulse. He wasn't sure what secret Riku could have known that he hadn't already shared with the older boy. They knew mostly everything about each other. If one knew something then they told the other ever since they were small. Of course there were a few things Sora could guess he might have kept from his friend, but they were mostly stupid things that didn't matter much. "What secret?" He tried to read Riku's expression to figure it out, but came up with nothing.

Riku gathered up a lock of Sora's hair that rested at his temple. "That you know how to braid hair." He couldn't help but grin just a little at the confession of that knowledge.

Sora stuttered even worse then the first time. "I-I... that is... well... um..." He tried to get his thoughts in order so he could answer quickly, but he didn't exactly know how without admitting the truth. His eyes darted back and forth between Riku's fingers and the other's face before they fell away completely. "No I don't." He denied it completely.

Riku toyed with the lock of hair, tilting his own head as his grin spread just a little more, speaking matter factually, "Selphie taught you."

Sora snapped his head back up at those words. "How did you find that out?" His eyes widened at his own slip up. He quickly brought his hands up to slap them over his mouth as he looked at Riku with a horrified expression for a few seconds. As his hands slid down the blush returned to his face and he tried his best to look calm again. "I mean, no she didn't."

That had Riku actually letting out a laugh, a genuine laugh. The look on Sora's face and his actions were just too priceless. It was very Sora, the innocents and light hearted attitude Riku sorely missed. Riku let go of Sora's hair to stifle his laughter behind his hand, though it did little good. "Y-you told me." Riku tried to steady his voice and calm the laughter. "You also said I had 'pretty hair'." After he gave his head a shake to sway and toss back his long silver hair. Though the gesture made him dizzy, he still managed a sly grin.

Sora pouted as his face seemed to be caught in a permanent red state. "I've never said anything like that." Although he didn't deny any if it being true at that moment. He still couldn't remember saying it. The fact that Riku was teasing him didn't help and only made him more embarrassed. He looked away again and tried to hide his face by bowing his head. "When did I say all of that, anyway?"

"You were half asleep when you were talking to me. I guess... maybe you thought it was a dream, and that's why you don't remember." Riku gave a short chuckle. "I promised you could braid my hair anytime. You're the only one I would trust enough near my hair." He raised a hand to run it through his silver hair, fingers getting caught in a tangle from the black water. He grumbled at the matted hair before brushing it back over his shoulder. "I must admit I wish I'd caught you braiding hair with Selphie." He tried to keep his laughter in again. "That would have been something to see."

Sora watched Riku out the corner of his eye. He wanted to continue denying it, but it was obvious he was just caught and no amount of arguing was going to get him out of it. It was better for him to just give in. Instead of answering Riku's last few teasing words he reached a hand out to pull at the other teen's arm, giving him a stern look that looked more like a twisted form of a pout as he pulled away and forced Riku to turn around with his back to him. "You're lucky I love you so much." Those were the only words he spoke as he let go of Riku's arm and started running his fingers through long hair to try and sooth the tangles out.

Riku blinked but he gave in, giving a good natured chuckle. "I wouldn't have it any other way." He took that moment to relax, exhausted to do much else. It might not have been 'manly' to let Sora mess with his hair but it was nice to have someone get the knots out for him. It felt very calming, very nice to feel very gentle and tender fingers running through his hair, especially after all they'd been through. "And I wouldn't have you any other way," he quietly added, keeping still for Sora.

Sora finally smiled once again as his embarrassment slowly eased away. "Well, that's good to know. At least I don't have to be afraid that my knowledge of braiding hair will drive you off." He gave a quiet laugh as he continued to work out each small knot that he came across, making sure not to pull too hard whenever he found a particularly messy spot and smoothing it down gently with his fingers before he moved on.

Riku gave a soft sound of amusement as well. "Hmm... Maybe that's what you should do when we get back home; be a hair dresser." Despite the teasing the mention of home brought a small pang to Riku's chest. Though they were 'better' for the most part, nothing was completely fixed. It was just a make shift band-aid on an even bigger wound. But at least the idea of returning home wasn't as far fetched as it had felt just minutes ago.

"Very funny." Sora pulled a little on Riku's hair just to show the other teen just what he really thought of that idea before he went back to being gentle. "I'd like to keep some of my dignity in tact. Only Selphie was supposed to know I could do this in the first place and I wasn't even willing." The blush came back, but Riku couldn't see so he didn't care. "It didn't really bug me, though." Over the course of speaking he had removed all of the knots that had tangled up Riku's hair, but unconsciously he had begun twisting a few strands to attempt braiding it to keep his hands busy.

Fatigue had Riku's eyes slipping shut. He never realized that having someone tend to his hair felt so soothing. The last time he could remember someone messing with his hair was when he was little and his mother would always try to comb the mess of knots out of his hair and he would always fuss making it quite the painful experience. He hadn't let anyone touch his hair since then.

"When you have a gift you have a gift," Riku quietly teased.

"Hmm..." Sora smiled softly at Riku's quiet words. "I guess so." He shrugged a shoulder while he continued to twist the strands, suddenly aware of what he was doing and not really minding all that much. "As long as you don't mind it then I guess I don't mind it either." His fingers stopped at the end of the small braid he had made in the middle of Riku's hair, at a sudden loss. He didn't really have anything to keep it in place with, so he was forced to let it go to more then likely come undone later.

Riku made a quiet sound of acknowledgement, lulled by whatever Sora was doing. At the moment he didn't really mind all that much if Sora was doing something as horrific as braiding his hair, he was too content to have much of any worries. "We'll both need jobs when we go back. And if hair is your passion after wielding the keyblade, who am I to stop you." He gave a lazy chuckle.

"You would never." Sora continued to run his fingers through Riku's hair to try to braid more small pieces here and there. The fact he had nothing to hold it together didn't seem to detour him very much. "Because then you wouldn't get such special treatment such as you are right now." He gave another quiet giggle before he leaned down to kiss the top of Riku's head before he continued on with his work.

Riku's acknowledgement was delayed the second time but eventually he gave a small 'mhm' in response. "Although I fear your ability with the scissors. I'd just hope you don't wield them like you do the keyblade." He gave a soft snicker at the mental image of the disturbing damage that could be done. "...As you can tell, I don't trust anyone with scissors near my hair."

Sora huffed a little at Riku's inability to trust him. "I wield the keyblade just fine." He pulled on a strand of Riku's hair. "I've never tried to cut hair before, though. My mom always just trimmed mine here and there." He let go of the other's hair a moment so he could tug at his own bouncy spikes. "I could probably manage." He turned his attention back on Riku. "I like your hair the way it is, though. You don't really need to cut it." He finished off the last little braid he was playing with and finally moved away, walking over to kneel in front of the other teen. "All done!" He smiled.

Riku was resigned to open his eyes; he'd grown quite content just sitting there with Sora playing with his hair. But now Sora had moved. Riku wasn't sure if he should fear what Sora had done to his hair.
Slowly Riku blinked open his eyes, keeping them heavily lidded as he looked at Sora's cheery face. Sora looked as if he'd accomplished something as amazing as world hunger; it had the corner of Riku's lips perking. "So... how many braids did you put in my hair?", Riku tried to sound like his usual stand offish self, but he just felt too much for Sora there and then to feign anything.

Sora actually held up a hand to begin counting his fingers as he tried to remember how many braids he had started to twist into Riku's hair. "Well... let's see." He looked up at nothing in particular. "Umm..." After a few seconds he seemed to realize what he was doing and a small blush crept over his face, knowing that he seemed much too excited over what he had just done. He quickly dropped his hand and looked back at Riku with lowered eyes. "J-Just a few I think..."

Riku gave a soft chuckle at Sora. He raised a hand to run through his hair to feel the damage done. It wasn't as bad as he thought, just a good few thin braids.  "Mmm, not so bad. I suppose I'll live." He lowered his hand, leaving the braids in.

Sora smiled once more and his embarrassment left him much like before. He leaned forward to press a quick kiss to the other's lips, laughing a little at the same time. When he pulled back he looked on into Riku's eyes and it was then that a sudden thought occurred to him. He just couldn't shake it off after seeing those same eyes not too long ago. "Hey, Riku..." He started out quietly since they were still so close. "What about Ikurx? You need him just as much as I need Roxas, don't you?" He reached a hand out to place it on top of Riku's own. "He's your Nobody." Those words spoken out loud seemed to make the situation a complete reality. "Why did you let him go?"

Riku blinked his eyes open a little wider at Sora's question. He opened his mouth and then closed it. He really hadn't expected Sora to ask such a deep question out of the blue. Especially when the whole intense moment they'd all been through felt like it had happened more than days ago rather than hours.

"... Same reason you let Roxas go," Riku's gaze fell to their hands as he finally quietly answered.

Sora kept quiet at those words while he looked down at their hands also. Slowly his grip tightened around Riku's fingers and after a while a silly smile spread across his face as he tried to make light of a sudden tense conversation. "It's kind of weird, don't you think? To know that you have one too. I know I used to think that about my own situation. It was hard to get used to it." He reached his free hand out to poke a finger against Riku's forehead. "It seems we'll always be a little unique don't you think so, Riku?"

Riku glanced up at the finger before looking back down again. "Kairi had one too. There was a whole organization of Nobodies, and lots of Dusks.  We're not all that unique," his voice petered off at that. "... My Nobody only exists for the Organizations' last resort. To bring them back. Just a tool. A thing." His eyes fell half shut. "What's so unique about that?"

"Stop it..." Sora poked at Riku's forehead once again and tried his best to scowl at the other teen, but it came off as just another pout. "There's no reason to be so down, Riku. I don't know about the rest of the Organization, but Roxas, Naminé and even Ikurx I suppose, they were all born differently, right? Our lives have been far from normal and that's what makes this unique." He dropped his hand and tried to smile once again. "Besides, we won't let them continue to use him like that. You need your half just as much as I need mine. We'll save him don't worry, Riku."

Riku blinked. He raised a hand to tap Sora's forehead back. "We may save him. But," Riku drew his finger down Sora's nose, "who will save him from us?" He tapped the end of Sora's nose. "What gives us the right to stop them from having what we have? ...What if a part of you doesn't want to be you anymore and wants to love someone else who isn't me? Can we really change it? And... what if a part of me wants to be... else where?" Riku slowly shook his head. "...I'm just not sure of anything anymore. What's right, what's wrong." His hand brushed against Sora's cheek.

Sora shook his head. "We've always done the right thing. The Organization, their Heartless, they're the ones who are doing everything and anything wrong. We're only trying to help Ikurx. It would be so much better then living a life being pulled around by so many people. What else is there for him?" He looked away after those words, but still kept his face near Riku's fingers. "We need to make Roxas understand it too. He needs to know that he doesn't have to fight to be happy or to feel. Nothing is as bad as it seems..."

Riku slowly shook his head. He doubted it would ever be as easy as 'talking' to Roxas. So instead of arguing it further Riku grabbed Sora's arm and suddenly pulled him off kilter to take into his arms once again. "I don't want to worry about that right now." He kept a tight hold on Sora despite any argument he made. He'd lost a lot but gained so much more, too much at once, he just wanted to enjoy what he'd thought he'd never gain again.

Sora had almost given a startled squeak at being tugged. He hadn't been expecting it, but was able to keep his mouth shut in time. He instinctively wrapped both of his arms around Riku to cling to the other's body as he nuzzled his head against Riku's chest much like he would usually do in such a situation. It was comforting and just like Riku he also missed these little moments. It felt good to have them back.