Falling Short of Cloud Nine

Warning! RikuxSora pairing! (unrequited) SoraxKairi pairing (requited)
I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts!

Summary: A sappy soriku. Get used to it! Okay, so Sora gets into an accident and Riku… well, you can guess… Lots of sap and lots of italics with the stupid flashbacks… Don't get mad at me if you don't like the sappiness, or the soriku. (Psst, it isn't a songfic anymore!) (Here, I'll bribe you with a cookie! gives cookie All right, now read!)

Sora: Why is it always me who ends up getting hurt? scratches head, confused

Me: 'Cuz you're my favorite!

Riku: Hey!

Me: whispers Hey, don't complain! You don't die!

Sora: overhears I die? Again? And, if I'm your favorite, why do I die?

Me: shrugsIdunno… Kairi's dead too…

Riku: Is this like Survivor or something? If it is, I want my money!

Me: Oh shut up and let the patient people read. Sorry 'bout that folks. slaps Sora and Riku

Sora and Riku: Oww!

(how to start this thing…) Takes place in some random town/city (like Brockton or Boston…)

Riku had just gotten out of the shower when the telephone rang from the other room. He had his pants half pulled up, so he had some problems getting downstairs. As he ran down, he had been trying to zip and button his jeans and had stumbled about halfway to the bottom. He yelped in surprise and went tumbling down the flight of stairs.

"Ow…" He groaned, getting up from the bottom of the stairway. "Note to self: No more trying to put on pants and run down the stairs at the same time..."

The telephone had stopped ringing, but no message had been left. He quickly checked the missed call screen. It read: Sora: Home. He smiled. Of course it was Sora. Who else ever called? Ever since… He stopped himself. No need to bring up the past. Regardless, just barely thinking about it had brought up some of the old pain, from almost a year ago…

There was a knock at the front door.

"That must be Kairi." Sora said, slightly redundantly.

"Really?" Riku teased. "Better go let her in. She's missed most of card night…"

Sora put down his hand and went to go open the door. What he didn't expect was Kairi's mother, disheveled and sobbing.

"Mrs. Soule (not her last real name, but who knows their last names?), what happened?" He asked. Riku got up and joined him at the door.

Between her sobs, Mrs. Soule was able to explain to them, " Kairi…was coming over here, I guess like she always does… and on the way…there was a shooting… and she was caught in the crossfire…"

Neither Sora nor Riku could believe what the woman was telling them. Especially Sora.

"This is a joke, right?" he asked, completely in denial. "Just some messed up trick Kairi set up, isn't it?"

"Sora…" Riku tried to calm him down a bit. Placing a hand on the younger boy's shoulder, he told him, "Just let Mrs. Soule explain…"

Sora shrugged the hand from his shoulder and ran ,weeping, up the stairs to his bedroom without another word. They heard a loud bang as he slammed his door, refusing to listen to anything more about the situation.

Riku turned to Kairi's mother. "Where is Kairi now?" he asked.

The woman shook her head. "She was shot right in the head. It was instantaneous… At least she didn't feel any pain…"

Riku bit his lip, trying to hide his own tears. He nodded slowly and finally said, "Okay. I'll try to calm Sora down. Thanks for telling us…"

Mrs. Soule quietly answered, but Riku wasn't listening. The woman turned away to walk back to her house, a few blocks down. Riku closed the door behind her and proceeded directly upstairs to his friend's bedroom.

Riku placed an ear up to Sora's door. He heard uncontrollable sobs from the other side.

"Sora?" he tried to ask. "Sora, can you hear me?"

The crying quieted down a little as Sora grumbled, "I don't want to talk to anyone…Just leave me alone, Riku…" The sobs intensified again.

"Hey, I was her friend too. And what about her mom? You don't have any right being mad at me, or anyone…" Riku told him, not really sure if that was exactly the best thing to say…

"Sure, you were her friend. But were you her boyfriend? I loved her, Riku…"

Riku hadn't thought of that. The way Sora and Kairi acted, you really couldn't tell they were dating. He had actually forgotten…

"Okay. You've got a point…But it still doesn't give you the right to just shut us all out…Let me help…"

"Can you bring her back? NO. You can't help…" Sora's sobs had died down a bit due to his rising anger.

" No, I can't bring her back. Nobody can. But… we both miss her. A lot… Let's try to make each other feel better…"

Sora didn't answer. But after a few minutes of awkward quiet, the door swung open and Riku was given silent permission to enter. Sora swung around from behind the door and sat down again on his unmade bed, his back to Riku.

"Riku?" he asked softly. "Are you mad at me?"

It was an odd question. "No, why would I be?"

The younger boy shrugged. "I dunno… I just…"

Riku sat down on the bed, keeping his own back to the other boy. He wouldn't make Sora face him until he was ready. "I could never really be mad at you. Especially now. How could I be angry at you?"

"I know a few people who would be… If I shut them out like this…"

"Like who?"

"My mom. She would keep asking me questions until I finally told her everything. I hate that…"

"I do too. That's why I won't do that to you…"

Suddenly, Sora turned around and hugged the older boy. He sobbed into his shoulder, completely throwing Riku off.

"Wha…" Riku stammered. Sora just continued to cry, hugging him even closer. Riku decided to return the embrace; this was kind of a first for him…

"Riku…You won't go anywhere, right? Without Kairi and you… I don't know what I'd do… Kairi's gone…Kairi's gone…" he sobbed quietly.

Riku held onto the smaller boy, letting him cry. It was then when he realized just how much they really needed each other…

Riku pulled himself from the flashback, remembering he still had to call Sora back. He dialed the number and heard it ring. After three rings, somebody picked up.

"Hello?" It wasn't Sora. It was Mrs. Hart, his mom. She sounded a little shaky and there were other, indistinct voices coming from the background.

"Hi, it's Riku. Did Sora just call me?"

"No, dear. That was me. Listen, I…"

"Oh. Can I talk to him then?"

Static was sent rushing across as Mrs. Hart sighed into the other end. "I'm afraid not…" One of the voices from the background became clearer. It was a very deep male's voice; one Riku had never heard before. "Excuse me, is your son the one who is in room 113 right now?"

Mrs. Hart quickly told him yes and said over the phone, "Riku, we're at the hospital. Get over here as fast as you can. On your bike, or something… We'll tell you everything when you get here…"

Suddenly, Riku's mother, Mrs. Shader, overwhelmed Mrs. Hart's voice over the phone. "Riku? Sorry, I'm not home… Something's… uh, popped up, you see…" she laughed nervously. Clearing her throat, she quickly advised him, "Do as Mrs. Hart says and get over here as soon as possible. You may get your bike from the backyard, just be careful. It's raining out now and we don't need two casu…" Mrs. Hart cut her off. "Riku, we've got to go… We'll fill you in and when you get here…" And she hung up.

Riku dropped the phone, forgetting to turn it off. The buzzer began to go off on it, but he ignored it. His stomach dropped like a boulder… Something happened… It reminded him too much of Kairi's death… He pulled himself from the memories before another flashback could occur. He was too late… As he ran out the back door to grab his bike, pictures haunted his mind, due to yet another flashback…

Sora and Riku had stayed after school to help clean up the mess in the science room. They had done dissection that day, and they were eagerly waiting for day two of the class.

"You know," Sora recollected, leaning on the mop he was using. "Kairi would've hated this class…" The misty glaze of loneliness clouded his eyes, as it did whenever he thought of his sorely missed love interest.

Riku didn't like to talk about Kairi. He didn't like the effect it had on Sora. The younger boy would always end up closing himself away from the world when he thought too much of the girl. Riku had tried several times to get him to go to counseling, but he always aggressively refused. He always insisted he was absolutely fine.

"You're probably right… She would've been standing up for frog's rights, or something…"

Sora laughed weakly at his friend's slight attempt at a joke. He stopped and suddenly asked, "Riku, how can you be so… laid back about Kairi? Every time I think about her, I…" The boy quickly turned away, ashamed at the fact he had opened up a bit too far.

Riku cocked his head. "I'm not laid back about her. I miss her, just like you do. I just…can control my feelings a little better than you can, I guess." He really didn't know how to explain how he felt. No matter how collected he may have seemed on the outside, his emotions were in turmoil, ravaging his mind. He knew he had to help Sora through this, but he sometimes just wanted to join him when he cried. But, then he saw this as a perfect opportunity to get real help.

"Sora" he asked when the boy had returned to mopping the floor. "Would you please consider going to see the counselor? I think it would help to talk to someone…I would go with you, too…"

"Riku, I've told you a thousand times…"

"I know, but just listen. You want to be able to hide your feelings? Just go talk to her. Like I said, I'll go with you. We can both get this off her chests…"

Sora just stared at him hopelessly. He didn't respond, instead simply shaking his head and returning to the cleaning.

"Please, I'm just asking you as a friend. I won't make you go, but I know it will help…"

Sora sighed. "Okay. I'll go, but just because I don't want you to start begging, for heaven's sake." He laughed. "You sure you won't end up crying? I know I probably will."

"Me? Cry?" Riku shrugged. "Maybe."

They both laughed. "I'll bring my camera." Sora told him, elbowing him warm-heartedly.

Riku's laugh died away. Sora put the mop away and said, "Well, I'm done. You?"

The older boy seemed distracted. "Yeah. Just finished." Sora nodded and left the room, waiting outside for him to put away his equipment.

Riku bit his lip, thinking about the counseling. What if he did end up breaking down in front of Sora? He knew it was a possibility. A good one, too. He knew he really shouldn't worry about it; Sora was going to end up crying too. But, Riku never cried. Even at his father's funeral, he hadn't. But, Kairi was different. She had been part of his and Sora's lives forever, it seemed. He knew Sora was waiting for him. He shrugged away the issue. He'd just have to wait and see.

The rain poured down unmercifully as Riku furiously pedaled towards the hospital. He had already cut off three cars and nearly caused two accidents. He really didn't care to say the least.

After almost hitting his fourth car, he decided to calm down a little. It wouldn't do any good to have him get killed on the way…

He didn't know what was going on, but whatever it was, it wasn't good. Something had happened to Sora, by the sound of it. His mother had almost said 'casualties'; he knew that for sure. Mrs. Hart had stopped her, not wanting him to panic on the spot. He didn't know what he'd do when he got there. What would he see? He was afraid to think about it…

He remembered the last time he had been at the hospital. It had been when his father had been sick. He had been seven years old then. He remembered feeling absolutely powerless, unable to help in anyway. Everyone there would always push him out of the way, forcing him into a little corner of the room. One time, he bitterly recalled, he asked a nurse 'What was going on with his Daddy…' The nurse had simply shook her head and asked him to leave the room. He hated the hospital… Would he fell helpless again? Forced to just watch his only true friend die? He didn't know if he would be able to stand it…

The large white building finally came into view; it's flat roof jutting bluntly into the dark sky. He quickly checked his watch. It had been about 15 minutes since he had left his house. Could something happen in that time? What would he find out when he got there? Did he even want to know? Should he just turn back and have his mom tell what happened later? Would he be shoved aside, told to 'wait patiently while the adults sorted everything out'? His indecision was overwhelming. He just sped forward, as Mrs. Hart had advised.

Pulling up to the hospital, he found there was no bicycle rack. 'Of course not…' he thought with disdain. He leaned his bike against the wall of the building, not really caring what would happen to it. As he left it to enter the building, an old janitor shuffled up to it and yelled to him, "Hey, boy! You can't just leave this here!"

Riku scowled. "Hey, you can just take it and do what you want with it! I really don't have time for this!"

"Listen here, you little hooligan! I don't…"

"Excuse me?" A deep voice interrupted their quarrel.

Riku recognized this as the voice that had talked to Mrs. Hart over the phone. He turned to see a dark man, dressed in doctor's attire, looking at them both coldly.

"I believe the boy is friends with a patient of mine. It is imperative that he comes with me immediately…" the man told the janitor firmly. Riku didn't like the sound of that…

The janitor scoffed. "Fine, but don't have him complain to me if something happens to the stupid thing…" He glared at Riku and hobbled off.

He looked up at the very tall man in front of him. The man smiled slightly at him. "Please excuse Cregor. He can be a bit… troublesome…" The doctor cleared his throat. "I'm Doctor Adam (random name!), and I didn't say that just to make Cregor leave. You really need to come with me. Now."

Riku looked down. He quietly asked the man as he turned away, "Do I really want to know what's going on in there? Sora wouldn't be the first friend I've lost and if…"

My friends hated me for stopping there... Oh well...

Reviews will be VERY MUCH appreciated!