Fabricated Affections {RepliRikuXVanitas/KH FanFiction}

Chapter 22: The Mask

Riku hunched over with his knees wobbling uncontrollably as he began puking all over the floor. He couldn't believe his eyes, he couldn't accept that reality. The sight before him had him so angry he felt disgusted and sick.

"V-Vanitas..."

The boy of darkness was strung up by his wrists, lacerations littering his body as he was displayed like a decoration. Blood oozed from the multitude of wounds, the liquid dripping down his body and creating a pool below him. His skin was stained crimson as if his skin color had always been scarlet. He was stripped down to only his pants and boots, his bare chest exposing old and new scarring which seemed like it touched every part of him.

Riku wiped his mouth with an arm, slowly lifting his head towards Vanitas again as he braced himself for the unkindly sight. Vanitas had been rendered unconscious as he hadn't moved even when Riku burst inside. Riku desperately wanted to run towards him and tear him down from that spot, but mere feet away stood someone blocking the path; someone holding a familiar mask in his arms.

"You didn't kill another vessel already, did you?" Xehanort questioned. It was one of the first times Riku heard the old man sound genuinely confused, a new emotion apart from amusement. "You got here rather quickly."

Riku couldn't contain his anger. He pushed down his ill feeling and pointed his blade towards the enemy as his jaw clenched and his eyes glared daggers. "Give. Him. Back." Riku growled.

Xehanorts eyes only momentarily lifted as he took a glance towards Vanitas. "Oh, you can have him. I will say however you won't enjoy him."

Riku's eyes darted towards the mask he held. He used that one clue to understand where Xehanort was going with his plan, and it was something he was not looking forward to. Riku burst into a run without any hesitation, preparing a sphere of darkness all the while. He couldn't allow Xehanort to think. He couldn't allow Xehanort to even breathe. He needed to stop his plan before he was able to enact it.

Xehanort had clever foresight, quickly jumping back and away from Riku's sphere of darkness. Xehanort effortlessly jumped over the pool of blood without even glancing behind him, gracefully landing on his feet as Riku's sphere began to burn at the floor below. Riku continued running without a second thought as his missed attack didn't deter him. Riku stretched an arm out as he grew closer towards Xehanort, his hand aiming for that mask.

Vanitas had destroyed it after they escaped, and now that Xehanort either replaced or fixed it was something he wanted to avoid. Riku knew Xehanort was going to use it for his own benefits in some sick way, and yet no matter how close he got Xehanort was always one step ahead. With a light gesture from his palm Riku found himself colliding with a hardened material and being forced back to the floor. Xehanort created a wall of darkness to keep him at bay, and he only needed a few seconds.

Riku scrambled to his feet as he noticed Xehanort manifested his very own stairs of hardened darkness and began to ascend. The top led straight to Vanitas, and with the mask held in both hands the closer Xehanort came the higher the mask was lifted in his arms. Riku flailed his own body, throwing several waves of darkness and spheres with the attempt to crack the mask or even injured Xehanort. The more desperate he became the more sloppy his attacks were. Riku's tears began to blur his vision and his breathing was ragged. He was having difficulty focusing due to his sheer despondence as Xehanort drew closer and closer. He was going to put that mask on his face, and whatever would happen next was a future Riku didn't want to see.

"Behold, your new lover!" Xehanort cried out once he reached the top.

Riku cried out, "No! Please!" His voice was so chocked up he could barely speak those words.