Part. three / three
Part title.  I will not follow...
Authour. ~sushisama~ (sushivice@netscape.net)
Warnings. Little bit of the angst stuffs.  Some cheesy scenes.  And rushed beyond belief.  I may go back and rewrite some.  If I wasn't so lazy.  Hieh.
Notes. I apologize greatly for this not coming out sooner.  School sucks muchly so.  Anyway, last part of the 'Glossed Over' fic.  Finally.  I stopped being lazy.  That's what the holidays will do for you...  augh.  Read and review and all that nice jazz.  I'd write more, but I'm about to fall asleep...

/ / = thoughts     [ ] = dreams     ( ) = flashbacks
::*~~*::

            / Can you keep your promise to me? /
            It sounded so bitter in his head.
            / And if you can't... if you do just go away... /
            Sora opened his eyes; everything was black.  He felt as if he wore floating.  Where was he going?  He wasn't certain, but it seemed like it was getting darker, as impossible as it seemed in the already lightless space...
            "...what's the point?"
            Sora's heart felt hollow and weighted at the same time.  He had freed the princesses' hearts, but for what price?  His heart, when he drove Riku's keyblade into his chest?
            / Riku... /
            No, he had felt heartless before that.  Once the last bit of Riku had faded from his arms, he felt worthless.  All he had strove for, all he waited for, was gone, and by his own hand.  It was only he that had struck Riku in a fight he could've done more to prevent.  Couldn't he have?
            / It was Ansem...  Not my Riku... / Sora weakly defended himself.  Ansem had taken his love from him and turned him into something so evil.  / So, it's justified for fighting... right?  He was trying to hurt Kairi, anyway... /
            He wasn't convincing himself very well.  He fell(or was it rose?) further into the darkness, putting up no resistance.  There was a pain that began to spread through his chest, dull at first, but growing sharper by the moment.
            And then the pain stopped.  There was no weight left in his heart, as now there was no light or dark.  There was only... nothing.  And he was fine with that. 
            / Nothing left for me, anyway...  Except, maybe... /
            His mind went blank.

            Many Shadow Heartless began to manifest as they approached the threesome that was Kairi, Goofy, and Donald.  Ansem stood behind them, ready to make his path for the princess Kairi.  As he stepped forward, though, something seemed to be holding him back.
            One little Shadow approached the red-haired teen, more than ready to protect her.  It was his last chance to cling to his heart.  If he could not save the one he loved the most, than he was going to at least save his best friend.
            Ansem stared at the little Shadow in front of him, his actions restrained by some inner conflict.  "Impossible..." the seeker of darkness muttered hatefully.
            The image of Riku appeared then, just as beautiful as always.  He looked at Kairi, true concern showing in his eyes, before eyeing the Shadow curiously.  A hint of recognition suddenly showed, and Riku took on an even more determined look.  His eyes turned hatefully to Ansem as he hissed, "No.  You won't use me for this!"
            "Riku!" Kairi shouted, reaching for him.
            "You've got to run!  The Heartless will get you if you don't!"
            Kairi hesitantly  nodded before running away from the Shadows that were appearing more rapidly, followed closely by Donald and Goofy.
            After all the Shadows had left to chase the three, the only ones left were the small Shadow and Ansem, who was still fighting the spirit of Riku, the silver-haired beauty's image still standing in front of the fallen ruler.
            "You are mine, Riku," Ansem bluntly stated.  "You gave into the darkness of your heart.  You gave into me.  Do not disobey."
            "I wanted to save her," Riku quickly replied.  "I did not want to turn her into an instrument for your uses!"
            "But you knew what was coming...  You were told, after all..."  Ansem grinned.  "Maybe you were too distracted, though...?  Maybe, in your search to end this all sooner, you did not realize the full impact of your actions?  Maybe you were too busy chasing dreams...?"
            "...it wasn't a dream."  Riku glared at the older man.  "There was a way to end it faster!  There was a way to return to where I came from!"
            "To return you to who you wanted to be with?"
            Riku simply looked down, not replying.
            "I don't care what happened between you two then."  Ansem approached the image, reaching a hand to lay on his shoulder.  "What matters is you are mine now.  Forget that child.  There is no way for you to return to the light.  Only a way for you to go further into the darkness."
            The boy pulled away from him violently, turning his back on the man.  "I may be claimed by the darkness..."  His eyes stayed to the ground to hide his shame from both the man and the little Shadow.  "But my heart will never fully be yours.  For I am bound," here he looked up, staring into the Shadow's eyes, "forever to someone else."  A small smile stretched on his lips.
            "Would he still want to keep you?  After all you've done?"
            Riku did not answer at first.  He continued to stare at the unmoving Shadow, pausing as if thinking.  "Go find her, Sora...  Go protect her...  Forget me."
            Ansem rose an eyebrow.  "Sora...?  The boy is a Heartless now, you saw it yourself..."
            Riku continued his intense stare at the Heartless.  "Go.  Now."
            After a moment, the Shadow finally left, traveling to find his way after his other friends.
            Ansem turned to watch the Shadow run away.  It took a moment, but it finally clicked in the former ruler's mind who Riku had just been talking to.  "That boy...  he's that Heartless.  Does he think he will stop me from finding Kingdom Hearts?  We shall see about that..." 
            Before Riku could say another word on the subject, Ansem engulfed the boy back to his subconscious, which took an incredible amount of will on his part.  Feeling drained for his battle with the Keyblade master, as well as power it was taking even now to keep the silver-haired teen's mind safely within his own.
            "For now, little Shadow," Ansem sneered, "you may run to your friends."  He crossed his arms, his body slowly fading. 
            "But I will never allow you to run to your love every again..."

::*~~*::

            The Heartless had to be sealed away.  And after Sora, Goofy, and Donald closed and locked Kingdom Hearts, the evil shadows would be gone.
            But at what cost?
            Sora had already thought of the paradox that would occur once the two, white heavy doors were closed: if the dark was sealed away, how can you have light?  One could not exist without the other, right?  After all, the way to distinguish light from dark, and vice-versa, is by comparing one to the other.
            He had finally come to the conclusion that he would save the worlds from the Heartless.  If it created the paradox...  well, Sora had always been more of a one-moment-at-a-time person.  He'd think of something when he got to that bridge.
            Through all of his thoughts and ideas of what would happen after this was done, the Keyblade master never expected what he was faced with now.
            "Come on, Sora!  Together, we can do it!" Riku's rich voice shouted from beyond the doors of Kingdom Hearts.
            Sora was caught off guard for a moment, unmoving as his hands lay on the gate, no longer striving to close it.
            / How... can you be so calm?  Don't you want to come with me...? /
            Riku's eyes soften from the concentrated look they had.  As if reading the brunette's mind, he said, "I've lost my heart to them, Sora...  I have to stay here."
            "Can't... can't you gain your heart back?"  Sora's bright eyes began to tear up.
            "Would you be willing to give it back?" Riku said in jest, smirking.  "You are the one who stole it, after all..."
            "Riku!" Sora exclaimed, drops of salty liquid sliding down his cheeks.  "Be serious!"  He tried to hold back a sob that made his whole body shake.  "Your... your promise..."
            Riku grabbed the front of Sora's shirt and pulled him close, sealing his lips over the younger boy's.  When the kiss was over, he connected his forehead with Sora's.  He whispered, "I'm sorry...  I can't..."
            "There no one else in this world I want to take care of me..."  Sora's voice trailed off as his eyes closed, his mind willing the rest of the world to go away, so that all that was left was he, Riku, and the heat between them.
            "I can only watch you, now, Sora.  But."  He wiped away some of the tears on the brunette's face.  "Don't let it drag you down."  He kissed Sora's forehead and pushed him away, taking the position behind the door that he had had only a few moments ago.  "Don't follow me here."
            "Riku..."
            "I love you, Sora."  He took on a stern look then.  "Now, let's close these doors!"
            Sora was silent for a moment before he nodded, putting his hands back on the doors.
            The rest of the event seemed to pass in a haze.  Sora could not think of anything other than the fact that Riku was leaving him.  He didn't really notice when King Mickey helped seal the doors, nor when they were actually closed.  He was not really paying attention when he locked Kingdom Hearts, the action of sealing worlds a near habit by now.
            He stood silently moments after the doors had faded.  Goofy watched him sympathetically, while Donald tried not to, not wanting to give in to pity for the hurting teenager.  He pulled on Goofy's sleeve and gestured towards the way out(where he thought it was, anyway), and the dog followed, though hesitantly.  He wanted to help the human, but he knew there was nothing he could do.
            "Sora!"
            The teen looked up in shock to see Kairi.  He ran to her, reaching out for her hand.  She gladly accepted it, a grin on her face, Sora himself smiling a little.
            "We're finally going home, Sora!  Now we can live without anymore distractions..."
            Sora's smile faded.  / What about Riku...?  He's not with us...  Don't you even notice he's gone...? /
            "Sora?"
            A crack formed between the two of them, driving the land apart, tearing at their hold of one another.  Kairi struggled to pull her friend to her, but Sora... he made no further action to hold on.  He purposely let his grip loosen.
            Going back... to where he and Riku were raised...  That was too much of a reminder.  He felt so cold now, knowing that Riku would not be able to keep his promise.
            Kairi kept screaming for him, but he didn't pay attention.  He felt like he was sinking.
            "Don't follow me here."
            Sora winced, as though the fresh memory brought him as much physical pain as it did emotional.  He could not give in to his sadness, his loneliness.  Because he would become a Heartless...
            "I will not follow," Sora spoke to no one, now being surrounded by empty space, his voice hollow.  "I will not follow..."
            He started to chant the statement like a mantra, trying to convince himself that he, indeed, would not follow.  Around the seventh repeat, tears welled up in his eyes again and began to cry heavily.
            He sank down to the ground so that he was sitting, his arms hugging his legs tightly.
            The whole world began to fade away, and felt as if he were sinking, but he just kept repeating, "I will not follow...  I will not follow..."