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Disclaimer: Me no ownie Disclaimer: Me no ownie.

AJ: You always have to leave a chapter in suspense, don't you?
Tenoko: How else am I going to get readers to come back?
AJ: A good storyline? Let's try that for starters.
Tenoko: I already have that. I just wish more people would review.
AJ: Go on strike. Stop writing fics until more people review.
Tenoko: But if I'm not writing fics, they won't have any to review, will they?
AJ: Good point...

Cursed

Sora crossed his arms over his chest as he watched the blond man,
"So start talking. What happened to Riku?"
Cloud narrowed his eyes at him,
"Don't be barking orders, kid. You forget who's human and who isn't."
"You can't hurt me." Sora stated boldly, shaking his head, "Riku wouldn't let you. He didn't let Squall, and he'd stop you if you tried."
"Riku couldn't stop me for another week."
Sora frowned,
"A week? Why a week?"
"He's on restriction."
Sora quirked an eyebrow,
"Like he got grounded or something?"
Cloud sighed, running a hand through his spiky hair,
"Have a seat, kid; this will take a little explaining."
Sora did as he was told, but shot the blond man a cross look,
"Quit calling me 'kid', my name is Sora."
Cloud only glanced at him out of the corner of his eye before beginning to explain,
"You see, you live in what we know as 'Aboveground', a realm of earth inhabited by mainly humans. We are from 'Underground', a realm parallel to this one but consist of vampires and humans. Technology there is equivalent to the medieval era Aboveground, and humans are ruled over by vampires."
"Say what?!"
Cloud gave him an annoyed look,
"I'm not finished." He cleared his throat and continued, "Humans can not cross over between realms, but the undead can and do. When a vampire is put on restriction, his ability to cross over between realms is blocked temporarily. Time in the two realms passes differently, take one and multiply times three in order to get the time equivalent to here."
"Huh?" Questioned Sora, making a face.
Cloud shot him a look,
"One day here, three days there. One month here, three months there. One year here... do you get it?"
Sora slowly nodded,
"So, I haven't seen Riku in almost a month, which means he hasn't seen me in almost three months. And you said he couldn't stop you for another week, which means he has almost a month left to go before he gets off restriction, is that right?" Cloud nodded, and Sora's frown deepened, "But why come all the way here just to tell me that?"
Cloud crossed his arms over his chest,
"Riku was worried you'd be worried about him. Squall told you the masters planned on dealing with both of you on the matter, and he knew how concerned you were then about him, so he wanted to ease your mind about his safety. It's like he said, the most we can do is make him miserable, we can't kill him."
Sora stood to his feet, pacing the broken pavement in the small courtyard.
"I still don't understand why they had to punish him. I mean, it's not like he's the first or the only one to have a relationship with a human. I mean, there's you, that guy Gippal, Squall, and Seymour. I'll bet there's more, so why are the masters so insistent on punishing Riku-"
"It's not just him they're punishing. They punish all of us. I'm threatened into submission or else Aeris will die. I have to do everything I'm told in order for her safety. If I don't make Sephiroth mad, I get to go see her every other week."
"Our time or your time?"
"Your time."
"So you only get to see her once a month in your time..." Cloud nodded. "What about the others? What do they do to them?"
"It's not really my place to tell..."
"You started this conversation." Sore told him pointedly, and Cloud sighed in submission,
"Squall was temporarily partnered up with another vampire named Seifer. They hate each other like nothing I've ever seen. Aside from that, he has to deal with the Inquisitor from time to time-"
"Who's the Inquisitor?"
"He's like a prison warden that tortures prisoners until they talk or die. In Squall's case, it's until he passes out."
"That's awful! Can they really make him have to go through with that?"
"If he wants to be able to continue going Aboveground to see Rinoa, yes." He turned and began walking through the tombstones, causing Sora to jump up and follow him, "Seymour wasn't really punished for his contact with Yuna, because he has more of an obsession than an actual relationship. Basically, all he got was a slap on the wrist."
"They won't make Riku have to put up with the Inquisitor, will they?"
Cloud shook his head,
"I doubt it. They mainly use it as a punishment for a vampire who takes a slayer as a lover."
"Yeah, but Riku and I are just friends, we've only known each other two days! Why not just warn him-"
"Because he already knew the rules. Others before him had been made examples of, he was suppose to learn from those examples, from other's 'mistakes'."
Stopping, Sora stared at the ground,
"Like you. Your mistakes..." He looked up as the blond man turned to him, "Do you consider it a mistake? Is the human you know, are they worth having to put up with what you do?"
Cloud smirked, his eyes closing shut,
"She's worth dying for." His blue eyes snapped open, "I also came to warn you, Sora. If you and Riku continue being friends, things will most likely only get worse for both of you."
Shaking his head, Sora stated,
"I don't want to cause Riku trouble."
"Then don't see him again." He told him shortly, turning away.
Sora grabbed the tail of his cloak, stopping him as he walked away,
"I don't want to cause him trouble," He repeated, "But I can't help but want to see him again."
Cloud smirked as though amused before reaching out and thumping Sora on the forehead,
"In that case, give it a week, kid. You'll see him."


Kairi grabbed an apple off of a fruit stand as they passed it, offering a bite to Sora,
"Want some?"
He shook his head,
"No thanks, I'm not hungry."
She smiled, giving his hand a squeeze before biting into the apple herself.
"I was thinking about going shopping at the Salvation Army with Yuffie. It's getting colder and we all need coats, do you want to come?" She asked, and again he shook his head,
"No thanks, I'll pass." He smirked at her, "Shopping with you two is an experience I don't want to repeat."
She bumped him with her hip, laughing,
"It wasn't that bad."
Sora laughed,
"It's a day I'll never forget, either."
"Well, we'll have to get you a coat too, so, what's something you'd prefer should we happen across one."
"I'd prefer one that doesn't look like it was from the eighties or nineties. And I prefer that it fit. And no pink!" He added, glaring at her, remembering the pink coat and ear muffs she'd bought for him one year, needless to say, she wore them instead of him.
She laughed,
"I was thinking about going more along the lines of fuchsia this year."
He cut her a look,
"That isn't funny." He told her sourly, "Either get me a coat that looks like it's for a guy or let me go get it myself."
"Well... pick a color: black, red, or blue?"
"Black."
She nodded,
"'Kay." She looked at him, "Maybe we should all get black coats, that'll make us less visible when we go out at night."
"Which is great if you're trying to get hit by a car as you run across the street." A female laughed, and looking behind them they saw Rikku, who grinned and waved cheerfully in greeting. "'Sup?"
They stopped and turned to face her, Sora waving back,
"Hey Rikku. What are you doing today?"
She shrugged,
"Killing time. Window shopping." She turned her head towards Kairi, "Last time we didn't really get an introduction. I'm Rikku." She told her, holding out her right hand.
Kairi released Sora's hand to shake the blonde girl's,
"I'm Kairi." She told her before interlacing hers and Sora's fingers again. Rikku smiled at the action, motioning at the two,
"Are the two of you dating?"
Sora quickly shook his head,
"No, we're just friends. Speaking of dating, what happened to your boyfriend? Gippal, right?"
"Oh. He had to go back home, he comes and sees me every few weeks or so."
"Long distance relationship?" Questioned Kairi, "Do those really work?"
"If you make them." Rikku told her.
Kairi nodded then asked,
"Does he go to school out of town and that's why you are separated?"
Sora watched Rikku curiously, wondering how she handled situations such as these without giving Gippal away. She shook her head,
"Kinda, but it's more like training. He's being taught the tricks of the trade, ya know?"
"Oh, like VoTech?" She asked and Rikku merely smiled in response, which Kairi must have taken for a 'yes'. "Well, good luck then. What are you shopping for?"
Rikku shook her head,
"Nothing really. Just looking more then anything. You all are shopping for coats?"
Kairi blushed and ducked her head,
"Um, yeah..."
Rikku crossed her arms,
"Well, I know someone who's getting rid of some really nice coats, and if you want, I could get you some. How many do you need?"
Sora shook his head,
"You don't have to do that. We can get our own. We don't need hand outs."
Rikku laughed,
"I'm not offering handouts. These coats are available, I'm offering you first choice not charity."
"We can pay you for them, if you want." Kairi offered shyly, rather embarrassed to have this girl know they were homeless and living in an old abandoned church, living off the streets and second hand clothes.
Shaking her head, causing her beaded braids to clink together, she assured them, "That's not necessary, they were simply going to be given away anyways, so payment isn't needed. I'm just the middleman. So do you want them or not, and how many do you need?"
Sora nodded to her, unashamed of the fact that they were making it on their own, despite how minimally. "Yes, we'll take them. We'll only need three."
Rikku frowned,
"I thought four of you were living together."
"Selphie was taken in by a catholic church." Kairi explained, "Rather then going back to the orphanage." She shook her head, "You don't have to worry about us. We can take care of ourselves, and we have people that help us out sometimes. The nuns at St. Mark's check in on us."
Rikku frowned, her eyebrows shooting up,
"And they don't report you to the authorities or the orphanage?"
Sora shook his head,
"They know that how we're living now is better then either of those. If the government finds out, it means we all get separated and bounced from foster home to foster home until we run away, and if the orphanage find out, we have to go back only to run away again."
Rikku began digging through the frayed leather purse hanging from her shoulder, pulling out a card and handing it to Sora,
"Since I know where to find you, this is where you can find me. If you ever need anything, call or come by, okay? One of the three of us is usually always home."
"So all three of you are roommates?" Questioned Kairi, and Rikku nodded,
"After that guy began stalking Yuna, me and Paine decided we should all live together."
"Who's Yuna?" Questioned Kairi.
"The brunette I was with the other day, she's my cousin. The other girl in Goth is Paine, she's a friend of ours." Explained the blonde and the candy-apple haired girl nodded in understanding.
"And there's some guy stalking your cousin?" She question, raising a brow in disbelief.
Rikku nodded, throwing up her hand,
"Yeah, the guy's a total creep and none of us have the slightest idea as to why he's obsessed with her. He wants to marry her. The guy's a psycho, says together they would rule the world or something."
Kairi snickered,
"So he thinks being married to your cousin will help him take over the world?"
"Go figure, right?"
Kairi laughed,
"I think they have place for people like him, it's got nice padded walls and everything."
Rikku laughed too,
"No, somewhere with iron bars would be better. Iron bars and lead paint, so hopefully he'd get lead poisoning while gnawing on the bars in an attempt to escape." Both Sora and Kairi cracked up at that, and Rikku grinned from ear to ear, giggling herself. "Anyways, I have to go, so I'll leave you two to your own devices and get back with you tomorrow about those coats."

The three of them stood awkwardly in Rikku and the other girls' living room, glancing around at their surroundings as Rikku came back in holding a large box.
"Okay, here ya go." She stated, setting the box down and opening it up. She pulled out a coat and tossed it one the couch before pulling out another and handing it to Kairi, "I thought this one looked like you," She tossed a few more on the couch before handing one to Yuffie, "Just from meeting you, I thought this one suited you..." She continued to dig around in the box, tossing some jackets on the couch or to the side, "Ah ha!" She exclaimed, straightening and holding a black jacket out in front of her, "And this one looks like Sora." It was a black leather trench coat with a hood that zipped all the way up the front.
Sora raised an eyebrow at it,
"I dunno..."
She shoved it at his chest,
"Just try it on."
He frowned at it,
"It just seems kinda dark for me..."
She pressed it further into his chest,
"Just try it on." She reiterated, emphasizing the 'try it on' part. He frowned at her and she winked at him, as though she knew some great secret she was refusing to tell. He nodded once,
"Okay."
He slipped his arms in the sleeves, wrapping the fabric around his body and pulling up the zipper.
Rikku squealed in delight, walking around him in a circle,
"I knew it would look good on you." In her excitement, she hugged him suddenly, speaking in a barely audible whisper in his ear, "Check your pocket later on when you're alone." She pulled away, giving him another wink, before turning to Yuffie who was checking out her new coat in the mirror. It was blue jean on the outside, but the collar, cuffs, and inside was covered in what was most likely rabbit fur or faux fur. Yuffie laughed happily,
"Check it out! It's soft and warm! It's totally cute!"
Kairi's reaction was much the same as she wrapped her coat around her, modeling in front of the mirror. A cream colored mix between a raincoat and a trench coat, it buttoned and tied at the waist and ended at mid-thigh.
"It's so pretty."
Rikku placed a hand on her hip,
"Kairi, I know yours looks kinda thin, but it's lined with a thermal fabric that holds in body heat, so it's totally warm."
Sora slid his hands down his sides, pausing when they covered his pockets. Yes, there was definitely something in his pocket. But what? Curiosity made him anxious to leave, to be alone. He bowed slightly to Rikku,
"You'll have to thank whoever gave away these coats on our behalf, and thank you as well for thinking of us."
She laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head,
"Don't mention it."
Sora turned to Yuffie and Kairi who were still admiring their new coats,
"We'd better get going. It's already dark outside and we have work to do."
Paine turned to them frowning,
"What kind of work?"
Yuffie laughed, scratching the back of her head,
"We had to go shopping for some winter clothes, so we're out of money..."
Yuna laughed from where she sat in an overstuffed chair flipping through a magazine,
"Just don't get into any trouble."
All three of the teenagers grinned,
"You're only in trouble if you get caught."
They left the slayers' home, thanking them a final time for their new coats before standing in a circle,
"Okay, lets not go back to the corner of Elm and 3rd since that's where that cop usually hangs around." Sora told them and they nodded in agreement. "Yuffie, you work the east, Kairi, you take the north, and I'll head south. Work a corner then move over a block in the general direction of the church, when you're about two blocks from the church, quit and come home, understood?" They nodded, and he nodded to them, "Be careful, and don't get caught. Prison is a lot harder to break out of then an orphanage."
The girls took off running down the street, disappearing around the corner, and Sora began making his way down the paved streets to his station. Stopping on a deserted street to reach into his pocket and pull whatever was in it out. It was an envelope and a silver necklace with a medallion like the one Sora had seen Riku and the other wearing. He tore into the letter, noting from the signature at the bottom that it was indeed from Riku.

Sora,
I asked Cloud to check on you the other day, since I figured you were worrying because you hadn't seen me in over a month. As I'm sure he told you, I'm fine, so don't worry. I'm on restriction, which I'm sure Cloud also had to explain to you. lol I'm not able to cross over to the Aboveground, but that doesn't mean all my ties with it are severed. This guy named Gippal came up to me and told me he'd met you, come to find out, he dated Rikku when he was alive; so I asked him to give this letter to her and for her to give it to you. Along with the necklace. Put it on and don't take it off for any reason. I have a promise to keep, and this will help me keep it. The medallion is recognized by everyone in the Underground, and for a human to wear one means they are off limits.
Other than that, not much to say. I know my having contact with you has caused you more trouble than I ever intended, and I apologize, but...I would like to come see you again after I get off restriction, if you don't want me to, tell Rikku and I'll get the message. But either way, let Rikku know, and I'll get the message, and depending on your answer will depend on if you see me again. I understand if you'd rather spit on my grave or something, I get that a lot. But don't worry about me anymore, you'll put yourself in an early grave if you keep worrying like you do.
No pun intended on that last remark.
Later days.

Riku

Sora carefully refolded the letter and placed it back in his pocket before putting the medallion on as instructed. He looked at the engraved image in silver, a snarling beast that almost appeared to be howling out in grief. He was finding more and more that vampire were much the same: harsh in appearance, but on the inside, all most of them really wanted was redemption of their sins.
He'd write Riku his own letter and let him know he did, in fact, want to see him again. He wanted to see him so bad it nearly hurt; he wouldn't tell Riku that, but it was true all the same. What Sora couldn't figure out was why he wanted to see him so badly? Sora had made new friends before lots of times, and when he went a period of time without seeing them, sure he missed them, but not like he'd found himself missing Riku.
He was rather embarrassed by the fact that he realized he'd acquired a crush for the silver-headed male. Which was both ridiculous and nearly impossible. Sora liked girls. Sora had always like girls. Heck, he still liked girls, but for some reason, he liked Riku, too.
He sighed and stumbled against some man, appearing to trip over a crack in the sidewalk, and removing the man's wallet from his pocket with nimble fingers.
Whether or not he liked Riku, he couldn't let on to anyone; that would bring up a lot of questions he wouldn't be sure how to answer... He certainly wouldn't let Riku know, god, that would be embarrassing. Suddenly, he felt as though he were first grade again. You know, where you either 'like' someone or you 'like-like' someone, and if you 'like-like'd someone and they found out, they never played with you again because crushes were for girls only and even then it was how you got cooties. Thinking back on it now, the rules of the playground were rather ridiculous. Not like first grade theology was going to help him any now, anyways.
He snatched a wallet out of some lady's purse that she'd set down on a bench. Like taking candy from a baby. His mother would be horrified to know he was getting by only because he was pick pocketing. Course, his mother would have been horrified too if he were still living in the orphanage, a place were the weak get passed around until someone makes them their permanent bitch. Luckily, Sora didn't put up with any of that, and though it got him into several fights, he never ended up as some bully's whore.
He swiped a few more wallets before heading back to the church and dropping them off; turning around and leaving again. This time for St. Mark's church. The sisters there and the priest had always been kind to Sora and the others, offering to take them in and help them finish getting their education, or find them foster homes, whatever they could in order to improve the young orphans ways of life. Selphie was the only one who had taken them up on their offer, Sora and the others were continuing to hold out for as long as possible. Though they didn't want to live on the streets anymore, they certainly didn't want to know they made it because they'd been made a charity case of. You might think being homeless would strip you of your pride, but it doesn't.
Sora slipped in the side door of the church, entering the kitchen. Sister Margaret looked up in surprise,
"Wh-? Why Sora! What brings you here so late?" She stood and moved towards the refrigerator, "Can I fix you something to eat?"
He shook his head,
"No, thank you. I was wondering if you had any paper I could borrow? And a pen?"
She nodded, frowning at what must have seemed like an odd request from a homeless child.
"Certainly, but whatever for?"
"I need to send a letter to someone." He explained, and she smiled, hobbling over to a desk that sat in the corner,
"A relative, perhaps?" She asked, gathering up a legal pad and ink pen before turning back to him. He shook his head,
"No. Just a friend."
Her smile was sad, one of the reasons Sora hated coming to the church, he could feel the pity the nuns felt towards them. He hated being pitied. She handed him the pad and pen,
"Just keep them, incase you decide to write another letter later."
He nodded to her before turning to the door,
"Tell Selphie we said 'hello', okay?" He called over his shoulder, before disappearing into the night once more.

TBC

Tenoko: Thank you everyone who has reviewed, especially those of you who reviewed for every chapter that you read.
AJ: Those are really nice people, aren't they?
Tenoko: Most likely they're fellow writers. When you're a writer yourself, you realize just how much a review means.
AJ: Hey, I always tell you what I think about your stories.
Tenoko: But not in a review.