Destinies Intertwined (a Kingdom Hearts Riku X Oc fanfic)

Chapter twenty-one: A Desperate Plea

Sora poked his head in the bedroom the next day.

"Hey, Riku."

"Morning." Riku replied, not really listening as he stared out his bedroom window. He was growing increasingly concerned. "Where are they? Rachel and the others should be back by now!"

"This again?"

"What if something happened? What if..."

Sora turned away.

"Is... something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, no, uh, just, um--"

"What did you hear!?" Riku demanded. "You have to tell me. Did something happen? Are they okay?"

Sora looked at him again, "I... may have heard from Master Yen Sid that they might not be coming back anytime soon."

Riku's eyes widened, and his face went pale. "Wh-what...? No. That's a joke. You're lying... right?"

"No, I'm sorry, it's not a joke."

Suddenly, something felt off. His face was wet, and he didn't know why.

Was something wrong with him?

Something more reasonable came to mind, something that had never happened to him. 

Was he... crying?

Riku wiped his eyes and Sora panicked, not sure what to do. Kairi stepped inside.

"Is this a bad time?"

"N-no, you're-- you're fine..." Riku mumbled, wiping the tears off of his face. "I just... need a minute."

"Okay."

They both tried to comfort him.

"I just... I d-don't know what to do. Besides you guys, two of my closest friends are in the realm of darkness. They could be in trouble, and..." He sighed, and another tear slid down his face. 

"First of all," Sora replied, sitting down in front of his friend on the bed. "pull yourself together. Stop crying, you're making me feel bad."

"Right. S-sorry..."

"Second, Aqua says there's no time in the realm of darkness, so it might not have been that long for them."

"That's good. I should try having a little more faith, shouldn't I?" 

Sora nodded.

"You're right." He pulled out the seashell.

They'll be fine, he thought.

"Thanks." Sora grinned, and Riku smiled.

"See? There's the Riku I know."

"Seriously, it's hard not to smile around you."

Sora blinked. "Really?"

"Really. Especially when you do things like that."

"Thanks. You're... pretty cool, too."

Rachel, Ryan, Mickey, and Axel wandered through the realm of darkness with Janette and Damon, Rachel and Ryan's parents. They were also Mickey's old friends.

Suddenly, the Heartless appeared, and they battled.

"Riku... give me strength." She blocked with her Keyblade, fighting valiantly until it charged at her, throwing her off guard and causing the fight to spin out of control.