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Sora was snickering, sitting around a round table in the library celler with those he called family. It was a vampire hang out for sure but Tifa ran it like a business. Squall might have owned the library above but the multipurpose cellar below was all Tifa's. There a top notch bar that served both alcohol and blood for a start and that had been her idea.
It had started off as a place for just their friends but it had grown into a safe, unknown spot for all the vampires and their bonded in the area. It grew a little more every year. Music, lights, games. Vanitas and Terra played pool off to the side while Sora was playing poker with Roxas, Cloud, Squall, and Aqua.
“Who even invited you two fucks to play.” Roxas grumbled. Cloud and Squall merely blinked, their poker faces second to none.
“They’re too good at this.” Aqua agreed.
“It’s not even fair either.” Roxas was pouting. “One of them would totally blow it if it meant the other won.”
Sora bit his lip, trying not to smile. He was...tired. “Their winnings go to the same bank account.”
Tifa appeared, tall shot glasses filled with blood to go around for the table. “Told you. These two will take you for everything you own.”
“If we were stupid enough to put everything we own in the pot.” Aqua laughed, taking her shot and immediately downing it. “Lucky Ven isn’t here today. Poor dear is too trusting.”
“There’s his mistake. I trust Squall and Cloud with my life, not my money.” Roxas growled when Squall laid down the winning hand that round. “Damn it!”
“Thank you for your donations to our way of life.” Squall smiled serenely, tipping his head back to catch Cloud in a toothy kiss.
Aqua threw her own cards down in disgust. “Maybe i’ll go take Terra’s place at the pool table.”
“May as well, Vanitas is crushing him.” Cloud chuckled, nipping at Squall's bottom lip.
They all looked up when glass shattered. Irvine had started taking shots at glasses around the bar and Tifa slammed her trey against their table with a huff.
“Kinneas!” Tifa shouted, threat in her voice. “I will stake you!” She jumped over the table to race after him as he fled with peels of laughter.
“Idiot.” Roxas muttered, finally reaching for his own shot.
Aqua hummed her agreement and glanced at Sora. “You’ve been strangely quiet, Sora. You alright? Quiet isn't generally a word i'd use to describe you.”
“Yeah.” Sora was going to nod but it somehow turned into a shrug. “Just a little..something. Light headed maybe. Not sure.
“Blood?” Cloud offered, handing Sora his blood shot.
Sora hummed slowly and took his shot and then the one Cloud offered him. “Strange. Can’t say i’m hungry but i’m… something.”
“Horny?” Roxas offered.
That made Sora laugh too. “No, that’s not it either. Something feels… I dunno, like my heart is beating…” An ache to his chest. A pounding he couldn't explain.
“That is serious.” Squall muttered and all the vampires at the table smirked, Sora included.
A hand dropped down on Sora’s spikes to ruffle them. “What’s the matter, baby brother? I didn’t hear you laughing like a hyena and now you have a case of the 'somethings?'.”
“Dunno. Tired maybe.” Sora muttered. It was day time after all and they ran more sluggishly when the sun was up but the blood shots should have woken him up.
“Hey man, you’re looking chalky.” Roxas muttered, peering at him through the dim light. “Maybe you should lay down.”
Vanitas frowned, pulling Sora’s head back to look at him. “He’s right. What’s the matter with you?”
Sora swallowed and Squall handed him another blood shot. “Take this.”
“Thanks.” Sora muttered, tossing it back easily. He felt his cheeks warm and it was always a nice feeling. It was like taking a warm shower and sliding into warm sheets. Blood drinking was euphoric and the shots were tasty. It wasn’t the same as coming from a live source but it was still good.
Aqua snapped her fingers by his face and he only just barely winced. “Take him to lay down.” she said. “He’s out of it.”
“Yeah but why?” Vanitas asked.
Sora could feel his heart thudding a little faster, a little faster, and faster. There was a slight ringing in his ears and the dull pain in his head grew. He’d never felt like this before. It was almost like the pain didn’t belong there.
He sat up a little straighter, his mind taking hold of that thought and running away with it. The blood in his mouth suddenly tasted better, it tasted like…
“Riku!” Sora gasped, already on his feet before he realized it. He’d tried to head for the door and was caught in a vise grip a second later. “Let me go!” His bond. It was his bond!
“The sun’s up Sora!” Vanitas hissed, holding onto him. “You can’t just go running out there!”
“I don’t care! Riku!” Sora struggled, everyone in the cellar pausing what they were doing to look at him, clear understanding in most of their eyes. When a bonded was in trouble, they could tell. Most of the blood Sora lived off of was Riku’s and he could tell when great changes were made in his human, including severe injuries that would lead to his death.
“Let go!” he had to get to Riku before it was too late. He could taste his blood, and the very second he’d made the connection he could feel and onslaught of other warnings. The dull pain in his head was Riku’s. He was wounded, possibly even bludgeoned.
Sora might have been doing shots but Riku was the one losing blood.
Roxas jumped on Sora’s other side, helping Vanitas hold him in place but his thrashing was throwing them off balance.
“Coats.” Cloud said, appearing by their side and holding up a floor length black coat. It would block out most of the sun’s effects and was how they traveled during the day.
“No time!” Sora screamed.
“Shut up, Sora.” Squall snapped, the two of them manhandling the coat onto him and pulling the hood up. They were grabbing their own coats too. “You won’t be any use to him if you’re all burned up.”
Sora really was lightheaded and now knew why. Riku was hurt. Riku hardly ever got hurt. He was a hunter, specially trained and gifted by the stupid moon with all kinds of neat abilities. He was a power house of moves and magic and Sora had never seen him more than bruised.
“Let’s go.” Cloud muttered. “Let him go.”
Vanitas and Roxas both let go, the two of them jumping back so they wouldn’t get knocked down when Sora sprung away from them. He took off through the cellar, past the security and into the light.
He hissed at the brightness but got over it quickly. It wasn’t the first time he’d endured the light and he’d ignore it for Riku. Riku was worth it.
Sora could hone in on Riku and track him down. It was an ability he’d rarely ever had to use. Vampires could track down their human’s when courting and once bonded there was always a subtle buzzing in the back of their heads. Still, it was usually Riku that came to him.
He paused for only a moment, taking off a second later once he was better locked on. Sora could track Riku’s beating heart and did it at will. He veered left, taking off through the city and moving too fast for any human with normal sight to notice.
Frankly, he didn’t care if the whole city saw him. At this moment, nothing mattered but Riku.
In only minutes he was across town, leaving the city proper and heading for the Hundred Acre Woods. He didn’t know why Riku was there, only that he was. His heart ached and he only half noticed a few of the others had followed him. Cloud, Squall, Vanitas, and Roxas. Had they not, they would have just been worried and pissed at the wait.
“Hunters.” Squall grunted, fairly annoyed but they could already feel the flux of power. Hunters didn’t usually come out during the day for the same reason other creatures didn’t. They tended to be nocturnal. There was little to hunt in the daylight and they were moon blessed not sun blessed. They took to the tree tops, jumping from branch to branch for an aerial view.
Still, Sora’s adrenaline jumped. There were hunters about and Riku was hurt. Were they after something? Had something actually dealt Riku damage or had they been found out?
The trees were thick and Roxas grabbed Sora by the back of his coat to keep him from jumping down into the clearing once finally finding Riku.
Hunters...a lot of them. Sora counted seven, all of them standing in a jagged circle. In the center was Riku on his hands and knees, bleeding and panting. He’d been putting up a fight but was so outnumbered. His silver hair stained red.
“You aren’t even trying to deny it. No denial, not claiming we got it all wrong.” Kadaj was circling Riku as he spoke. He was entertained to have Riku beneath him. “I call you a traitor and you shrug. I call you a vampire’s whore and you smile. One must really have their claws in you.”
Sora bared his fangs but Roxas’ grip on him remained. It was just lucky that hunters never thought to keep a lookout for vampires during the day.
“Nothing to say for yourself?” Kadaj kicked Riku in his ribs and Sora nearly screamed in outrage. Riku! His Riku!
Riku coughed and Sora could smell his blood. “You’re a sheep. A puppet.” he coughed again. “Never ask questions. Just do as you're told like a good little clone.”
Yazoo rolled his eyes. “Let’s just get rid of him. Xemnas will understand.”
Loz actually laughed. “Wonder, if we leave him here how long do you think it’ll take for his vampire pimp to find him?”
Kill them, kill them, kill all of them.
Riku puffed out a painful sounding laugh. “Time won’t matter. Not just my blood on me. That’s all he’ll need to find you.”
“Not if we dump you in the river.” Yazoo said pleasantly. “Maybe even in pieces.”
“Not afraid of you.” Riku laughed quietly. “Some bougie little sheep isn’t going to be what kills me.”
“No. Seven hunters will be what kills you.” Kadaj said, patting Riku’s face condescendingly and punching him right after. The crack to Riku’s nose had him grunting in pain.
“Six.” Riku muttered dryly, once he'd caught his breath enough to speak.
Kadaj frowned. “What?”
“Five.” Riku mumbled, head hanging low. Even wounded his senses were good.
Sora grit his teeth as Cloud and Squall struck first. Each quietly grabbing and killing one of the hunters surrounding Riku.
“The fuck is he babbling about?” Yazoo muttered.
“You three just can’t count.” Riku muttered, hissing when he was back handed.
Sora nodded to Vanitas and his brother smirked, diving down silently and taking out a third hunter.
“Don’t do anything stupid.” Roxas whispered against Sora’s ear. “That’s your human in the firing lanes down there.”
Sora grunted and Roxas released him, jumping down to take the forth hunter out.
“Three.” Riku whispered.
“Hey...guys.” Loz muttered, looking around and finally noting their comrades were gone, leaving just the three of them and Riku in the clearing.
“What?” Kadaj snapped, looking up and frowning. “What’s going on?”
Sora jumped from his hiding spot, landing on Loz with a snarl and slamming the tall hunter face first into the ground. “Bastards! Touching what’s mine!”
Yazoo and Kadaj cursed, surprise coloring their pale features. Both of them trying to pull their weapons while Sora hissed, both took too long. Sora stared at them, eyes swirling with hypnosis to cloud their minds and take control of them. A strong mind might have faired better, Riku had said they were sheep. They would obey. The fact that it shouldn’t have worked on a hunter was discarded when Vanitas and Roxas were behind him, their lips covered in blood. It was harder to resist hypnosis when it came from multiple sources. It was over kill, but Sora was on a rescue mission.
Loz tried to jerk Sora off his back but Sora just slammed his face into the dirt a second time. "Stay. Down."
“What should we do?” Cloud asked, coming up behind Kadaj and Yazoo, both frozen in place by vampire tricks.
“We could dismember them and drop them in the river.” Squall muttered, not pleased over the hunters plans. A bond was honored among vampires. Riku was Sora’s and killing him for it wasn’t wise.
Sora leapt off Loz and skidding into a stop in front of Riku now that the immediate threats were gone. Riku was bleeding and was still using what strength he had left to remain upright. “Riku!” Sora moved Riku to lean against him and licked at the blood on his face. His nose looked mushed and would likely be painful to correct.
Riku blinked up at him. “Hey sunshine. Sorry i made you worry…”
Sora made a sympathetic noise, gently pulling Riku into a more comfortable position. His poor knees! His head! Sora hesitated to touch that particular wound. Riku had a concussion for sure. “What happened? How did they find out? You’ve been so careful!”
No vampire would have turned Riku in to the hunters. He’d been undercover for months, feeding them information from the hunters and passing along warnings when he could.
Riku coughed and Sora was immediately licking the blood off his lips. “The library. They got a tip on the library. They were going to storm it in daylight. Had to get them off the scent and pushed too hard.”
“You fucking traitor!” Loz growled, trying to get up and yelped when Vanitas kicked him so hard he flew several feet away in a rough roll.
There was a fury among the vampires. Riku getting hurt was annoying and they felt badly for Sora and his bonded. Riku getting hurt because he was protecting them and whoever happened to be at the library at the time enraged them. Riku was one of them.
“Sora, take Riku somewhere safe. We’ll deal with this.” Roxas said, arms crossed and holding Kadaj and Yazoo prisoner with his gaze.
“Oh, i think you can do one better.” Through the trees, long silver hair glittered as Sephiroth approached. “Just a mess you’ve caused.”
Sephiroth wasn’t just a hunter, he was the hunter. Yazoo and Kadaj couldn’t turn enough to look at him but they were begging him for help if their trembling was anything to go by.
“Sephiroth.” Cloud greeted easily. “Things sliding through the cracks?”
Sephiroth shrugged. “These things happen. Despite what you think, i don’t control everything.” He moved into the clearing, heading for Sora who was tending to Riku’s more obvious injuries. His head wound had stopped bleeding at least. A little time and a little magic would speed his healing along. He would not be out of Sora’s sight for more than a few seconds until he was back to one hundred percent.
“I must apologize, Riku. You took a gamble and lost.”
Riku couldn’t tilt his head back enough to look at him and his eyes could only reach Sephiroth’s chest. “Protecting Sora is always first.”
“Riku…” Sora exhaled heavily, pressing kisses to his face. “I will take you home with me. We’ll sort this out.”
“Your cover’s likely blown.” Vanitas nodded. “You’ll need to lay low.”
Squall looked at Sephiroth. “That how you knew about this?”
Sephiroth nodded. “Oh yes. Xehanort and Xemnas are beside themselves that their prodigy turned into a sympathizer. Still, there might be other ways for us to have a little fun.”
“Oh dear.” Cloud heaved a sigh. “That doesn't sound pleasant for someone.”
“No.” Sephiroth said, smirking slowly and showing off his large fangs.
“You…” Loz looked on, gaze alarmed. “You’re one of them..General…”
Sephiroth turned to him, his own stare pinning the younger hunter in place. “Don’t worry about it. Soon you will be too.”
The two frozen hunters looked on in horror as Sephiroth approached their brother. He crouched beside him and tugged his head to the side by his hair before burying his fangs into his neck.
“Does he have to turn them?” Roxas complained. “They hurt Riku.”
“There are few worse punishments than belonging to Seph.” Cloud snorted. “Sora. Go. I'm sure Seph has a plan to keep the library safe. Don't worry about that.”
“Right.” Sora muttered, scooping Riku into his arms. It was only a little awkward since Riku was taller than him but he made it work. He had to, he really didn’t want to see the process of Sephiroth turning those three idiots into vampires.
"Have care, Sora." Vanitas muttered, the most brotherly way he knew to show his concern. Sora nodded and carried Riku into the trees back the way he'd come.
“I’ll get you to Aerith.” Sora muttered. “She’ll know what to do.”
Riku breathed out a shaky sigh, his entire body no doubt aching. “Sorry i fucked up.”
Sora hissed. “Not you. Them.” He’d have liked to rip them apart but Cloud was right. Fresh baby vampires would have to listen to their maker. They were Sephiroth’s puppets now.
Riku rested his head on Sora’s shoulder, exhausted. “At least some good has come of this.”
“You don’t have to go back to that stupid tower.” Sora grumbled, feeling his skin heat up through his jacket that protected him. He’d been ignoring the sun until now. He wanted to sprint home but Riku just couldn’t handle the speed at the moment.
“Yeah, but i meant getting to see you more, sunshine.” Riku muttered, consciousness trying to faded away.
Sora preened, his first smile since he realized Riku was in danger. “Don’t worry Riku. I’ll take care of you. You’re my blood bonded.”
Riku huffed quietly. “Love you, sunshine.”
“Love you, Riku.”