FicWad

Disclaimer: Me no ownie Disclaimer: Me no ownie.

AJ: Kairi's in trouble!
Tenoko: I'd be mad at her too if she told on me to a nun.
AJ: True, but still! Kairi really stepped all up in it this time!
Tenoko: She's just trying to protect Sora.
AJ: From what?
Tenoko: Okay, she's trying to protect herself by insuring she doesn't lose Sora to someone else.

Cursed

"Kairi!!" Yelled Sora, throwing open the wooden doors to the church, causing them to slam against the stonewalls with a crash that echoed through the empty corridors and hallways. He began stalking up the stairway, looking everywhere for the girl, "Kairi, come out this second or so help me God I will never speak to you again!"
He waited for a moment certain that would bring her out. She was mad at him, but not that mad at him. Sure enough, a red head peeked around the corner and he stormed over to her, grabbing her hand and yanking her out into plain view, causing her to cry out in surprise and pain at the sudden movement. He crossed his arms over his chest glaring angrily at her, "What is the matter with you, Kairi?! Huh? Did you have to go tell Sister Helen? My God, if you're mad at me, come talk to me, don't go tattle to other people!"
Defensively, she wrapped her arms around her body, head lowered, but she glared at him all the same,
"What else was I suppose to do? How did I know you'd talk to me when you been keeping things from us!? The fact that your dating some guy is something you should have told me for yourself as opposed to me finding out by walking up on the two of you making out!"
"Kairi, you didn't even give me a decent chance to explain!" he argued back, throwing his arm out, "You ran before I ever got the chance! And it's your own fault for finding out that way because you were spying! I told you I needed time to myself; I didn't know what was going to happen when I got to him. All I knew was I saw a look on his face and new something bad had happened, I ran off because I was worried about him! We weren't dating, thanks to you, we are now though." He sighed running a hand through his hair as he turned away, "After you left, I went over there to talk to Riku, to find out where he and I stood. How was I suppose to explain things to you, when I wasn't even sure about them? We agreed to start dating and I left and went over to Rikku and Yuna's to spend the night. I was there all night." He turned back around to face her, and she observed him quietly, biting on her bottom lip anxiously. "Kairi, I'm not sleeping with Riku, I never have. But even if I were, that doesn't excuse what you did! What is Sister Helen going to do now, Kairi? She worries about us enough as it is! Now what is she going to do when she thinks we're being tainted more and more by this lifestyle when we should live normal lives with families?! I wouldn't be surprised if she tells the orphanage where we are! Or the cops! We're just a bunch of juvenile delinquent runaways, there's nothing stopping her from going to the authorities."
The blood drained from the redhead's face, obviously she hadn't considered that Sister Helen might turn them into the orphanage for something like this. She shook her head furiously, her voice suddenly sounding choked,
"I can't go back there! I can't, Sora, I can't!"
Seeing she was on the verge of a panic, Sora quickly enveloped her in his embrace,
"Whoa! Sshh! No one's going anywhere. None of us are going back to the orphanage, Sister Helen wouldn't do that to us, she knows we're better off here. It's okay, just calm down." Her frantic gasping for air calmed and became mild hiccups as she buried herself deeper in his embrace. He stroked her hair soothingly, while continuing to talk to her. "Kairi, even if I am involved with someone, that doesn't mean I'm just going to abandon you or Yuffie." She remained silent, merely hiccupping in response, and he continued, "I promised I would always look after you, and you know I keep my promises."
"You're gonna leave me, too..." She whimpered.
"I am not." He argued, causing her to lift her head to look at him,
"Yes you are. That's how it always happens. Someone else comes along and you'll forget about me."
He quirked an eyebrow,
"Kairi, you know how stubborn we both are, so if you want to argue about this, then I suggest you give up now, because we'll be here all day." She forced a laugh, and he frowned, "And we aren't just fuck buddies. After I met him, I stopped coming to you, I wouldn't degrade you like that by making you a whore and seeing you both. I may be a delinquent, but I do have my morals." He stated proudly, jutting his chin into the air. She laid her head back on his shoulder,
"I know... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that to you."
"Hello?" A male voice called, causing the two to break apart, frowning in confusion before looking over the banister at a man dressed in black and red with long inky black hair pulled back into a ponytail.
"Um, hi." Sora called down, causing the man to look up at them. "Are you looking for something?"
"Yeah. A kid named Sora and a girl named Yuffie."
"Vincent!" Squealed the 'so-called' ninja, as she ran out of the west hall towards him, stopping directly in front of him with a ridiculous grin on her face. "You're back. I wasn't expecting you so soon!"
He smirked at her in amusement, running a hand through her hair to tuck a stray lock behind her ear,
"I'm simply in town for a short while, and thought I'd see you for a moment before I had to leave again."
She frowned,
"How'd you find this place?"
He pointed up at Sora,
"I was looking for him actually, he's the reason I'm here."
Sora frowned down at him.
"How do you know me? I don't remember us ever meeting."
Vincent turned inhuman colored eyes on him, smirking ever so slightly,
"I'm a relative of Riku's."
Sora faltered, the information not completely registering. Vincent, Yuffie's out of town boyfriend was here to see /him/. Vincent was a relative of Riku's, which meant he was a vampire as well. Which meant Yuffie was dating a vampire...
"Holy shit!" He exclaimed, causing Yuffie and Kairi to turn to him in puzzlement,
"What's the matter, Sora?" Questioned Kairi, titling her head to the side. He shook his head furiously, eyes locked on the undead man at the bottom of the stairs,
"No, nothing, um, Kairi, you and Yuffie stay inside and me and Vincent will go talk."
"But-" Kairi began, ready to argue, and he turned to her, placing his hands on her shoulders,
"Trust me on this. Stay inside, we're just going to go talk, I'll be back soon."
Probably despite her better judgment, she nodded in consent,
"Okay. C'mon Yuffie, we need to clean out the fireplace and start a new fire." The brunette nodded to her, casting a wink at Vincent before bounding up the stone steps two at a time, while Sora slowly made his way down them.
When they were outside, Sora turned expectantly to Vincent,
"You're dating Yuffie, aren't you?"
Vincent shrugged carelessly,
"If you want to call it that. When I'm Aboveground, I come and see her, we go places, and we talk..."
"Does she know what you are?"
The dark man chuckled, nodding,
"Yes. She saved me from a slayer." He glanced at him, "But I take it you didn't know about that." Sora shook his head, and Vincent's smirk turned into a grin, "Then I guess you didn't know she's one of us, too, did you?"
"The fuck?! Say what?!" Demanded Sora, causing Vincent to openly laugh, revealing sharp fangs.
"Not completely, but in part. Her mother was a human, and her father a vampire."
Glaring angrily, Sora threatened,
"You better not be messing with me. I know Yuffie, and never in all the years have I known her have I ever seen her drink blood, have sharp fangs, or have to fight slayers."
Vincent shook his head,
"Of course not, she's half human, she doesn't need blood to survive, and her fang teeth are there they just aren't as long, but they are as sharp, and the slayers don't mess with her because she doesn't drink blood; she lives like a human so why would they bother with her?"
Incredulous, Sora crossed his arms over his chest,
"And she knows all about you, the Underground, everything?"
Vincent gave a nod,
"Of course. We're obligated through certain rules to offer her the chance to come and live in the Underground, to become a full-fledged vampire, but she turned us down. Apparently she likes living as a human," He glanced around, "Can't say that I blame her."
Sora raised an eyebrow,
"Then what do you want with me?"
Vincent's smile turned frightening as her shot out and grabbed Sora firmly by the wrist,
"Someone wants to meet you." He told him, the world around them fading...

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Riku groggily opened his eyes as someone continuously beat on the door to his apartment.
"Riku! Open the door! It's an emergency!!"
It was Rikku.
With a groan, he threw his legs over the side of the couch, clicking off the television as he stood to his feet and made his way to the door in a lazy shuffle of his bare feet against the carpet. He probably wasn't the best thing to see right then, wearing baggy pajama bottoms and no shirt, and undoubtedly he had bed head. He opened the door and Rikku nearly barreled him over as she came in, dancing excitedly from foot to foot. He pushed the door closed, turning to her with a raised brow,
"To what do I owe the great pleasure of your company?"
"Sora's gone!" She exclaimed, and his smile faded, a glare replacing it.
"What do you mean he's /gone/?"
Exasperatedly, she ran and hand through her hair, pacing the length of his living room,
"Yuffie and Kairi came over wondering if we had seen him. They said Vincent came over a few hours ago and wanted to talk with Sora. They went outside and neither one ever came back in! They were only suppose to go out to the courtyard and talk for a minute!"
"Where's Vincent?" he demanded angrily, grabbing her by the shoulders and forcing her to face him. She shook her head frantically,
"I don't know! Yuffie said he told her he wasn't staying in town long, that after he left the Church he had to go back home-" Riku disappeared right before her eyes, and she dropped to her knees, holding her head in her hands. "This is bad! This is really bad! Poor Sora!"
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Trying not to tremble in fear, Sora hastily glanced at his bleak surroundings as the three men before him talked in hushed tones so Sora couldn't understand them. One of them was Vincent, and he appeared to be taking orders from one of the men, bowing slightly at the waist before backing out of the room and leaving him alone with the two men Sora could only assume were Elders. One of them was older looking, with gray hair to his waist and gold colored eyes. The other looked to be not much older then Cloud and greatly resembled what Sora could only guess Riku would look like in about ten years.
One of the men was obviously very put out with the other for something they had done, though Sora couldn't exactly tell which one was which. Most likely they were arguing over the fact that Sora had been brought to the Underground. Though naïve, Sora wasn't stupid enough not to realize where he was, the thing that bothered him was why was he there? Surely they didn't plan to kill him did they? Riku had promised to always protect him for anyone, were they willing to risk fighting to boy in order to get to Sora?
Disgusted, the older man turned to leave, his cape flowing behind him as he briskly exited the room with long strides, his heeled boots clicking against the stone floor and echoing off the walls.
"So..." Began the younger of the two elders, causing Sora to jump at the sound of being spoken to directly, "We meet at last." Sora didn't answer, instead watching warily as the man stepped down off of the platform he'd been occupying, bowing slightly at the waist, "I am Sephiroth, one of the elders of the Hollow Bastion league of vampires."
"Why have you brought me to the Underground?" Sora demanded, furious to hear the tremor in his voice.
Sephiroth straightened, smirking in amusement at the boy.
"You've caused quite the stir in our branch of the Underground, I felt I should met the human whelp that could cause such a fuss." He frowned in disapproval at the small human, "I must say, you aren't at all what I expected, though it should be anticipated, I suppose, that Riku would take a weak human such as yourself to dominate." He cast him a sideways glance as he slowly walked in circles around him, "It's part of the male instinct to find a female to dominate." He chuckled, "But I suppose if you can't find a female, the next best thing is a male that probably should have been born as one." He paused when Sora glared angrily at him, leaning forward and smiling almost pleasantly, he asked, "Oh? Have I offended the little human child?" Straightening, he let out a bark of laughter, before titling his head to the side and observing Sora with a delicate frown. "What is it about you boy? What is it about your kind that those of mine can't seem to stay away? For me, there is little difference in this life and the one I had, so I have no desire to go back." He spread out his arms, "At least here, I live forever. Far longer than your pathetic life." He spat, then began pacing around Sora again, "I propose we play a game, child." He told him, causing Sora to frown, somehow the way he said the word 'game' made Sora uneasy. "It'll be your chance to prove yourself, and perhaps get me to lay off of Riku for a while. What do you say? Sounds like something you'd be interested in, hm?"
Frowning, Sora contemplated the offer he'd been given, take a chance and help out Riku, or refuse, possibly get killed and make it harder for Riku anyways. Not a lot to sway a person's decision, was there? He threw the man a leery glare,
"What kind of game?"
The man's smile turned feral, as he moved so that he stood in front of Sora,
"Just a simple little game. You stay in the Underground for three days," he explained, holding up three fingers, "At the end of the three days, if you are still alive, you get to go home free and clear. I'll allow for you to keep your memories and to even keep seeing Riku if you still want to."
"What happens to Riku?"
He shrugged,
"You'll have proved yourself in my eyes so I'll allow for him to continue having a relationship with you, no interference from an of our kind. I won't even have Cloud and Squall tail him anymore. What do you say?"
"If I refuse?" Challenged Sora, and again the man shrugged elegantly,
"I kill you here. And when I say kill, I mean kill, not just make you one of us. You would be dead forever."
Setting his jaw, Sora narrowed his gaze,
"Persuasive, aren't you?"
The silver haired man laughed, tossing his hair over his shoulder,
"What can I say? It's a gift."
Sighing, Sora cocked his head to one side,
"Three days according to which time flow? Mine or yours?"
Sephiroth blinked in surprise at the question, obviously not expecting for the human to know about the differences in time between the two realms.
"Which would you prefer?" he asked pleasantly, causing Sora to only glare at him more,
"Three days your time, which is equal to one day my time."
Sephiroth chuckled, holding out his hand,
"Deal."
With a sigh and a silent prayer, Sora shook the hand, causing the world around them to fade into a dark corridor. Sephiroth released his hand, stepping back and crossing his arms over his chest,
"Let's go over the rules of this game, shall we? There's only one, so it should be easy to remember and if you break the rule, you lose the game, understood?"
Sora nodded,
"What's the rule?"
An evil grin stretched out across his face.
"Survive."
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Riku furiously came up behind Vincent, grabbing him by the shoulder and turning him before landing a solid punch to the side of his face. Having been caught unprepared for the blow, Vincent stumbled to the ground, holding his jaw and shaking his head in surprise before turning cold eyes on a seething Riku.
"Where is he?" He demanded in a low growl.
Unconcerned with the enraged vampire, Vincent worked his jaw for a moment before stand back to his feet,
"Quite the cheap shot, Riku. I didn't think that was your style."
Riku grabbed him up by his shirt, glaring at the taller man,
"Where. Is. He?!"
Appearing confused, Vincent tilted his head to the side,
"Where's who? Oh! Do you mean your little human lover?" He questioned, raising a brow, "Sephiroth wanted to see him. I suggest you go see him if you've misplaced your pet."
Harshly releasing him, Riku shoved him to the side,
"Don't think this is over, Vincent. I will be back to kick your ass." He threatened over his shoulder, causing the dark man to laugh,
"I would love to see you even try, boy."
Disappearing, Riku reappeared in front of the main hall, entering it quickly, which was against the rules. No vampire was allowed to enter the main hall unless summoned by an elder. But by taking Sora, they'd indirectly summoned him, whether they realized it or not. Sephiroth looked up when Riku entered, a cocky smirk gracing his features,
"You're late." He told him, "The game has already started."
Riku glared at him,
"What game? And where's Sora?!"
Sephiroth chuckled, taking a seat in one of the elaborate chairs on the stone platform,
"Playing the game, of course."
Perhaps he was overstepping his boundaries, hell, of course he was, but he took a threatening step closer to the platform.
"What game?" he demanded through his teeth, a cold chill running down his spine.
Sephiroth placed his chin in his hand, watching Riku in amusement,
"I don't know why you seem so upset, he did agree to playing after all."
"I'm sure I'd love to hear the details of his agreement."
A shrug.
"Of course. If he wins, he goes home free and clear without any trouble from any of us again, and he gets to continue having his relationship with you without any repercussions." Riku's jaw nearly hit the ground at hearing this. Sephiroth must have completely gone insane this time. "You're displeased?" He questioned, and Riku shook his head,
"No, just confused. What's the point? And what all does this game entail?"
"The point is that I wish to know what your fascination with these humans is, what hold they have on you that you would jeopardize your chance at immortality." An elegant gesture, "And as far as what all the game entails?" He shrugged, "He stays here a total of three days, our time, and has to merely survive."
Riku narrowed his gaze at him,
"Why do I get the feeling it isn't as easy as you make it sound? Aside from the fact that he's in a castle with nothing but vampires?"
Sephiroth smiled pleasantly, making Riku slightly nauseous,
"Honestly Riku, do you think me so foul?"
"Yes."
The older man chuckled at his brash honesty.
"Well, I suppose I might have added a few obstacles to the game. I mean, I can't let him win that easily, now can I?"
"You could have, but you won't."
"Of course not. He's proving himself, something he can't do if I hand his victory over on a silver platter, now can he?"
"What did you do?"
Sephiroth shook his head,
"Nothing really. I locked a few of the others up for a few days before turning them loose in the castle. They've been informed of the free meal wandering around inside the castle walls, and now they're stalking him like a wounded deer. Adds a bit of suspense to the game, don't you think?"
"Where is he?"
"You can't interfere." Sephiroth told him sharply, causing him to falter, "If you interfere, he loses and dies, as per the agreement."
Riku narrowed his gaze at him,
"Define 'interfering'."
"Oh, the basics: removing him from the playing field, taking him to safety, those sorts of things. You can go to him, if you like, just make sure you don't help him too much."
"What happens if he dies?"
Sephiroth tilted his head to one side, regarding Riku with a pleased expression.
"I'll tell you what. If he wins, you'll have no interference from us. The two of you can go back to the Aboveground and play 'house' all you want. If he loses, however... he dies and I will set you free. Agreed? Or better yet, surrender him to me now, and I'll set you free. The choice is yours, you've got nothing to lose."
Riku frowned at him,
"So, if I betray him... I'm released from my curse, but he dies in my place?" Sephiroth nodded, "And if I let him play this 'game', but don't help him too much, there's the chance he'll survive and we get to go back and carry on without any interference from any of you, right?" Another nod, and Riku nodded as well. "Okay. Where is he?"
"What's your choice?" Questioned the man with the silver strands of hair, and Riku looked at him as though he thought he were completely stupid.
"I'm going to go help him. We're gonna win this game together."
Sephiroth chuckled,
"That's what I thought you'd say." He pointed to a door off to the left, "He's in the far end of the East Wing, or at least that's where I left him."
And Riku was gone.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Sora ran frantically down the endless passageway, stumbling as his feet caught the corner of uneven cobblestones. He ran past massive suits of armor and marble statues that loomed over him with dark glares and dangerous smiles. Ragged pants and heavy footsteps informed him that a half crazed man with wild eyes and a foaming mouth was still pursuing him. He reminded Sora of a rabid dog that needed to be shot. Too bad Sora didn't have a single weapon to his name. If he had a minute to at least stop and find something he could use... Glancing over his shoulder he snorted, no chance of that happening anytime soon. It didn't help that he wasn't even remotely familiar with the castle layout and had no idea if he was heading for safety or further into trouble.
The things he did for Riku... Sheesh.
Sora cried out in alarm as the trench coat clad man began running along the wall on all fours like some type of animal, easily passing up Sora and landing in front of him, pivoting around and cackling lowly, a strange and eerie sound that made Sora's blood run cold in his veins as it echoed all around him. He slid to a halt, turning and running back in the other direction, his sides burning and his lungs screaming for air. There was no way he could survive three days of this! No wonder Riku hated it here; everyone was insane!
Sora cautiously wandered through the dark halls of the castle, not sure where he was going or how to get to where he needed to be. Perhaps if he could just find some other humans, he'd be safer, but he doubted there were any other humans alive in the castle, and what was outside the castle, he didn't have a clue. Perhaps he was safer inside the stone structure...
"My, my, my... What have we here?" A voice oozed, a dark figure pooling out from the shadows, a demon dressed in black with gleaming fangs and burning eyes. His tattered black cape pillowed around him as a frigid breeze swept down the hall, causing Sora to recoil away from it. He took a step towards Sora and the brunette took three steps back, ready to run. "If it isn't a hot meal..." A malicious grin. "Fabulous. I haven't eaten all day."
And then again, maybe being stuck inside the castle was a bad idea, after all.
The man was half crazed in his hunger, the craving driving him all but insane. Was this how all of them were? That the need for blood drove them to insanity? It almost sounded like on addict who had gone without his drug; never a pretty picture. Sora wasn't going to be a pretty picture himself if this foaming, flaming eyed man caught a hold of him. Which was starting to get pretty hard to avoid; Sora had been up for around fourteen hours when he'd been Aboveground, and he'd been here in the Underground for about twelve hours, which meant he'd been awake a total of twenty-six hours, longer then a full day, unfortunately it wasn't a full day Underground. Sora strength was waning, the body could only function so long and so well on no sleep. Surely there had to be a time when vampires had to sleep as well, maybe then he could find refuge and get a few hours of sleep. But then again... he cast another glance over his shoulder. If there were more people like this guy running around in the castle, out of their mind and raving, he doubted they got much sleep or that he would either.
A 'game' Sephiroth had called it.
Sora snorted. Yeah right. Some game. A whole lot of freaking fun he was having.
"Got ya!" The man shrieked, tackling Sora, where they both tumbled painfully to the ground. In the back of his mind, Sora was aware that he'd landed completely on his shoulder and that it had hurt like hell, the floor was, after all, a bunch of stones arranged together. But his main concern was the man on top of him, twisting him around as he cackled like a hyena, his shoulders shaking and eyes glowing brightly, fangs bared. Frantic, Sora fought him, railing against him with everything he had, but it was no use, his strength, even in a weakened state, was unearthly and he didn't budge, instead, reared back to sink his fangs into Sora's throat. Screwing his eyes shut, Sora prayed to anyone that could hear him for a miracle, he didn't want to die.
Someone heard him.
"Rargh!!" A voice cried out, as the weight on top of him was lifted, something slamming into the wall. Not even having fully opened his eyes, Sora was up and running again, not bothering to look behind him to see just why he'd been spared, he could find that out later, not that he really wanted to know, it was probably another vampire in the same state of mind as the other, now both fighting over him like two starved dogs over a scrap of meat. Lovely.
The sound of fighting followed Sora as he continued to flee down the hall, eyes searching for any where to hide, and weapons or armor he could use, but if he stopped, that would give either vampire the chance to catch up with him, not a chance he was willing to give them. They were insane, not him.
But God, he was tired...
The hallway behind him grew silent, as he assumed the fight had ended, but then footsteps began trailing after him again, causing him to pick up the pace. If only he could rest for a minute and catch his breath...
"Sora!"
He skidded to a halt, whirling around to see the cause of his misery running after him.
"Riku!"
The silver haired male enveloped him in his embrace, kissing the top of his head as he sighed in relief,
"God, I was almost too late!"
Sora pushed him away, eyes looking around frantically,
"Riku, you have to get me to where there are more people! I'm dinner if I stay in this castle!"
Sadly, Riku shook his head.
"I can't. You have to remain on the playing field or else you lose the game." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, "I really can't even help you that much. I can't take you to safety, or help you leave the castle, or even show you somewhere where you can hide. If I do, you lose." He snorted, shaking his head, "Sephiroth is trying to turn us against each other. He told me if I surrendered you to him, he'd restore my humanity, and if you lose, he'll restore my humanity."
Sora took a step away from him, suddenly frightened by what he was hearing,
"What did you tell him?"
"I wanted to tell him where he could go, but told him to keep his offer, we were going to win this game together."
Heaving a sigh, Sora dropped his head,
"How are we suppose to win when you can't even help me?"
Hooking his thumb over his shoulder, Riku asked,
"Remember BloodThirsty back there? I can help keep them off of you. Grated, I can't kill them, but I can injure them, which will slow them down or make it to where they can't come after you for at least a few days." He stepped towards Sora, cupping the side of his face and gently running his thumb along the skin beneath Sora's eyes, "There are bags under your eyes..."
Sora slumped against him, closing his eyes in exhaustion,
"I haven't slept in almost twenty-seven hours... Not to mention I've been running from Psycho Boy back there for almost two hours. I'm tired."
Riku gently cradled him to his body,
"I may not be able to take you somewhere to hide you, but I can take you somewhere so you can at least get some sleep. If you don't get any sleep, you won't survive the next two and a half days."
Sora snorted,
"If I go to sleep, I'm likely to get bitten. No thanks."
Riku shook his head,
"No you won't, because I'll look after you. I'm not saying you'll be able to sleep long, because there are others just like him that are loose in the castle and searching for you, not to mention the ones that haven't been starved for days that would kill simply because you're a free meal and they hate me."
Lifting weary eyes to meet green ones, Sora murmured,
"You mentioned something about my being able to sleep."
Riku smirked at the exhausted boy, the world around them fading into his bedchambers. He pointed to the bed,
"Lay down, get some sleep. I'll be right here." With a weak nod, Sora crawled into the bed, collapsing against the warm sheets and thick blankets. God, Riku's bed was comfortable... Riku crawled up next to him, sitting against the headboard and gently stroking Sora's hair with his free hand; Sora noted the bloody weapon Riku firmly grasped in his right hand.
"Is that a stake?"
Riku gave an affirmative nod,
"I borrowed it from Rikku. I can't kill anyone with it, but it'll slow them up." Leaning over, he placed a chaste kiss on Sora's soft cheek, "Go to sleep."
And with a sigh, Sora obeyed.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Once again, Ansem stormed into the grand hall, glaring dangerously at the man lounging comfortably in one of the chairs on the platform.
"Sephiroth, you have really done it this time! I demand to know why you brought that human here when you know full well doing so broke rules! No human is to be brought to the Underground unless they are to be sentenced or there is a shortage of humans!"
Sephiroth gave him a casual glance, taking a sip of red liquid from a goblet,
"Some rules must be broken, old man, I would think you would have learned this by now."
Ansem stood over him, shaking in his barely contained fury.
"I demand an explanation."
"Riku told the truth." Sephiroth told him simply, shrugging, "He was double crossed which lead to the destruction of the entire village, and a vampire lied on him."
"What has that got to do with anything?" Demanded Ansem impatiently, and Sephiroth stared off into space, contemplating something not even Ansem could see.
"I... I'm not the most honorable of men, but you must admit there are times when even I must give in to chivalry." he turned his blue eyes to Ansem's gold ones, "I felt responsible for Riku's unwarranted punishment, and I'm attempting to fix it."
Ansem rolled his eyes,
"And just how is this suppose to fix it?"
Sephiroth smirked,
"Why, with Riku's lover endangered, the boy is bound to turn against us-"
"You want him to?" Demanded Ansem, incredulous.
"It's key to our straightening out this whole matter." Sephiroth informed him with a nod. "He turns against us, and I attack Sora as a warning to him, that if he continues, his one love dies. Of course, Riku will attack me, he has his promise to Sora to keep, to protect him from anything that would try to harm him. In attacking me, Riku would die in order to save Sora, and if the myth is correct, that should be enough to redeem his soul and restore his humanity."
Ansem crossed his arms over his chest,
"Sephiroth, this plan is bound to fail. We don't even know if one's humanity is restored when they are redeemed, they could merely finally be able to die. And what if Sora dies in this little Cat and Mouse game of yours? Hm? What then?"
Sephiroth shrugged,
"It's my guess that Riku would then commit suicide, and if he does- no harm no foul, am I right? I don't think Riku could live having lost the one he loves the most twice in his lifetime, that's enough to destroy any man."
Ansem placed a hand on his hip, raising an inquisitive eyebrow,
"Well, then, if Riku was lied on, who is responsible? That means we have another vampire to deal with at the moment."
Sephiroth's mouth quirked into an entertained smirk, as he lifted a finger to the older man,
"Ah, now there is the kicker! The name was conveniently missing from the report."
Ansem frowned,
"What do you mean 'missing'?"
Sephiroth smirk widened to a dangerous grin,
"Someone had it erased."

TBC

Tenoko: Dun, dun, DUUNNN!!!!!!!
AJ: You didn't have to end it there.
Tenoko: Why not? That was the perfect place to end it.
AJ: Maybe in your eyes. How is Sora going to survive in a castle full of vampires?! And what if Sephiroth kills Riku and he simply does die? What happens to Sora?
Tenoko: See the 'TBC' above? It means: To Be Continued, which means you'll find out later.
AJ: I don't want to find out later, I want to find out /now/!