[053.] Goodnight
Title: Goodnight
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Claim: Cloud/Riku
Theme: [053.] Returning
Word Count: 3,204
Rating: R
Summary: Sometimes you find a friend in the most unexpected place. Sometimes you find more than one.
Disclaimer: Square Enix, Disney, and a bunch of other cool people own Kingdom Hearts. I’m sure that one day I will become affiliated with one of these companies, but as I am still a measly little peasant, I own no rights to the franchise. Let’s face it: I don’t even really own this plot. I just like to pretend things happened in canon that there’s no proof of, because I’m deluded like that.
The basement was empty. Riku eyed the staircase long after Cloud disappeared, long after his footsteps no longer sounded through the mansion. He looked around the computer room, eyeing the monitors and the series of zeros and ones across the screen. His gaze lingered on the strange machine built into the wall.
Riku shook his head. He needed to focus. He had to stop lingering on Cloud’s departure and how much it was tearing him apart. There wasn’t time for that. DiZ was waiting.
Riku followed the stairs up to a library-type room, found the door, and exited onto a balcony. He peered over the banister. It was a spacious area, lacking warmth reminiscent of the castle in Hollow Bastion. Everything was somewhat ornate and arranged, the place was clean, but it could have been abandoned for how cold it felt.
He followed the balcony toward the stairs and paused. Voices resonated through the room below, and Riku walked to the sound. He pushed the door open. DiZ looked up and a blonde girl peeked around from behind an armchair. Naminé, Riku thought, putting a face to the name for the first time since Castle Oblivion. That was Naminé. On the floor between them lay Roxas, still unconscious.
“You made it,” said DiZ. “Took your time, didn’t you?”
“Riku, I presume,” said Naminé. “It’s been a while.”
“No,” said Riku.
“No?” said Naminé.
Riku steeled his nerves.
“No. I’m not Riku.”
DiZ laughed.
“Then who are you, mystery guest?”
Riku shook his head.
“That isn’t important.”
“Then what shall we call you?”
“Whatever you like.”
Naminé turned back to DiZ, frowning.
“I thought Riku was supposed to bring Roxas. Didn’t you say you saw him in the World That Never Was?”
“I was the one he saw,” said Riku. “Riku tried to obtain Roxas, but he failed, so I stepped in.”
Naminé opened her mouth as if to further question, but DiZ cut her off.
“You understand the situation, then.”
“I understand you’re trying to restore the Keyblade master and that this boy has something to do with it, but what I don’t understand is why. Why are you doing this? If I am to help you, I think I’m entitled to know that much.”
“I have my reasons. Be patient. Until I’m ready to reveal them, you’ll just have to trust me.”
These were the kinds of things DiZ said that tended to raise anger in Riku. The man spoke in riddles, would never reveal more than he felt like, and he raised matters of trust into the equation without providing any reasoning behind his actions or why Riku should bother trusting him at all. He was entitled to know who DiZ was and why he would want to help Sora, but apparently DiZ didn’t agree.
“So what are you plans?” said Riku after a long silence. “I’ve obtained Roxas. What next?”
“You continue to offer your services without getting the explanation you seek?”
Riku shrugged.
“I want to help, and if you won’t tell me, I don’t have a choice but wait until you will.”
“Why do you want to help?”
From the corner of his eye, Riku saw Naminé’s expression change. Her mouth opened, eyebrows raised, and she inched forward in her seat. Her eyes were focused and intense. Riku swallowed.
“I must atone for my sins. That’s as much of an answer as I can give.”
DiZ stared at him for a few seconds. Riku shifted and readjusted the hood farther over his face.
“The Organization will be looking for Roxas . . .”
“I don’t know about that,” said Riku. “I spoke to one of their members. He told me to do what I will with Roxas. Said he betrayed them.”
“If that is the case, they’ll want to punish him.”
“I don’t know. I kind of thought they might want Sora to reawaken. For what purpose, I don’t know, but . . .”
“Maybe that’s what they want you to believe to throw you off. We need a place to hide him and a way to keep him in check once he wakes up. He was uncooperative in coming along, I imagine, considering the state of him.”
“Uncooperative isn’t really the word I would use, but yes. He was reluctant.”
“I’ve been developing a plan since Naminé was unable to raise a response in Sora. If you’d just grab Roxas and follow me . . .”
DiZ walked toward the door and motioned for Naminé and Riku to follow. Riku hesitated, watched Naminé pass, and then he lifted Roxas off the floor, swinging him over one shoulder. He followed them through the mansion, back into that strange library, and down into the computer room again.
“Place him there,” said DiZ, motioning to the strange machine Riku had seen earlier. “I want to show you something.”
The numbers rearranged themselves on the screen as DiZ typed into the system. Riku dropped Roxas where DiZ indicated under the machine and joined DiZ by the monitors. Naminé hung toward the doorway leading into the dark portal, head touching the wall, watching them.
“What am I looking at here?” said Riku.
“I’ve created an alternate version of Twilight Town and an identity for Roxas to keep him in check until Sora reawakens.” DiZ smiled and turned his head toward Riku. “Don’t worry. It’s a nice identity.”
Naminé giggled. Riku frowned.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
DiZ stood from the computer and walked over to the machine. He motioned for Riku to join, and played with the controls. His gaze drifted down to Roxas.
“He will have memories of a life he’s never known. Friends, interests, schoolwork. I’ve made it as normal as possible to keep his spirits up, especially if we want that piece of Sora’s heart to resonate.”
“So what’s the machine?”
“That machine is the transport between this world and the computer world. A more realistic virtual reality, if you will. With the right settings, the machine will transport anyone under its beam into data and through the program.”
“Will it work?”
“If we can maintain the simulated town until Naminé finishes chaining together Sora’s memories.”
“What will happen to Roxas?”
“He holds half of Sora’s power within him. In the end, he’ll have to give it back.” DiZ turned away and walked back to the monitors. “Until then, he’ll need another personality to throw off his pursuers.”
So he was going to die, or at least that’s what DiZ may as well have said. Riku looked at Roxas lying under the machine. For what a bastard he was, it was unfair. In all honesty, Riku doubted that if he were in Roxas’s situation he’d have come quietly, either. Riku shook his head.
“Poor thing.”
DiZ sat at the computer and punched a few keys.
“It’s the fate of a Nobody.”
The strange machine whirled to life. A sequence of numbers swirled around Roxas’s body, and then he disappeared into the program.
~*~
DiZ gave Riku a bedroom on the first floor. It felt a bit like working for Maleficent again. There was one large goal (restore Sora’s memories), a loose plan (maintain the simulated town until goal realized), and a place to store the assistant until he was needed. Everything else would be figured out as the holes started to show and problems interfered. He didn’t even know how to work the alternate town, but DiZ promised to show him tomorrow. It would be his duty to keep an eye on Roxas in the computer world while Naminé worked on the memories. DiZ would communicate between the two while overseeing their projects.
Riku shook his head, pulled his cell phone out, and lay in on a bedside table. He propped the Way to the Dawn against the wall by the bed and sank into the mattress.
Cloud was still on his mind, but more so was the exchange in that meeting room. He didn’t know why he hadn’t told DiZ what happened. Perhaps it was the trust issue. The words just spilled out of his mouth before he could stop them, and the next thing he knew he’d flat out said that Roxas killed him. Who was he supposed to be if not Riku? Riku was who he was even if he was gone in body.
A chill skirted through Riku’s spine; he shook. Ansem. That’s who he was now to everyone who’d known him. That’s who he’d be to Sora. In a way, that’s even who he was to Cloud. There was no hiding it. To fight in the darkness, he had to embrace darkness itself, and in doing so . . . His life and identity were all thrown away. He was Ansem now.
Riku’s breath caught. He hunched over and pressed his head between his knees. His eyelids squeezed shut; his fingers slipped into the hood. They scrunched and raked through hair that didn’t belong to him-hair that felt too long, too straight, and too coarse to be his own. A strangled sob left his throat.
This was for Sora, Riku reminded himself. This was what he needed to do to help his very best friend in the whole world. He was selfish, wanting it to go away. It wasn’t like he hadn’t lived in darkness before. It was even as if he was actually losing Cloud for good, and even if he did, it was selfish to place his own happiness above Sora’s. Not when he was supposed to practically be Sora’s brother. Not when he could help and Sora was like this because Riku opened the door to the Heart of Destiny Islands.
Sora wasn’t even a memory to those he loved right now, because no one could remember his existence. When Sora was remembered and did awaken, he’d have another task to save the worlds at hand. Riku did this. He made it happen, and he owed it to Sora to help him awaken. So he looked like Ansem right now. He didn’t have right to be upset about it. He wouldn’t have looked like Ansem if he hadn’t let the bastard into his heart in the first place.
Riku pulled himself to his feet, yanking the hood as far over his face as he could manage. He turned the doorknob and wandered back to the balcony stairs. He was behaving like a selfish brat sitting around and brooding like that. He needed a distraction. DiZ was still in the computer room last Riku knew, so he walked the other way on the balcony and followed the path to a door. He knocked once and turned the knob.
The room was immaculate-pure white like the halls of Castle Oblivion. The tables and chairs were white, as were the flowers in the vase. Color splashed white paper on the many drawings hanging on the walls, laying on the floor, and scattered on the table. At a white chair by the door, Naminé looked up and smiled.
“Come in,” she said in a calm voice that instantly soothed Riku’s nerves. She pointed to a chair. “Have a seat. Close the door behind you.”
Riku did as instructed. His eyes searched the room. There was Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Sora and Kairi. Roxas and some Organization member with red, spiky hair more wild than Cloud’s or Sora’s. A paopu. Destiny Islands.
“Did you draw all these?”
“Yes. From Sora’s memories.”
“This is amazing.”
“Thank you. So tell me: what brings you to my room at this hour, Riku?”
He jerked.
“Excuse me?”
“What happened? Your voice is different.”
“How did you know?”
“Your heart. It resonates with Sora’s. You’re in so many of his memories . . .” Naminé trailed off. She smiled and placed her sketchbook on the table. “It was the darkness in your heart, wasn’t it? The piece of Ansem that I offered to seal away.”
Riku hung his head.
“Yeah. I couldn’t defeat Roxas any other way. It was my only choice.”
“You’ve changed since we last met. You aren’t the same boy you were.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“I think so.” Naminé paused for a good while. She brought a finger to her lips as if in thought, and then she smiled again. “There’s more light in your heart even if it is overshadowed by Ansem’s darkness. You’re more open.”
“You’re a little easier to talk to than DiZ. I don’t really trust him.”
“He can seem cold, but he means well.”
“Cold is right. Do you think he knows? About me, I mean.”
“He seems suspicious, but I don’t think he knows. You don’t have to hide it, you know. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“I just don’t want Sora to know. I want to be better off when I see him again, and with DiZ . . . you don’t really bother me. I don’t feel like I’m being judged, but with DiZ . . . He’s so callous. Like the way he acted about Roxas. I don’t really hate Roxas, you know. I had to bring him here for Sora’s sake, but I don’t think it’s fair that he has to just disappear as if he’s never existed at all. And DiZ says that Nobodies don’t even have a right to exist. It seems so wrong to me. I’m going to remember Roxas after this, so he did exist. It’s not right to treat him as if he’s nothing.”
“Nobodies like us are a tricky thing because while we seem to have hearts, we don’t. Roxas and I were never supposed to exist, but you can’t think so negatively about it. We won’t disappear because we’re going to be whole again.”
“Wait. You’re a Nobody, too?”
Naminé nodded.
“Why? Does that surprise you?”
“Yeah. I mean . . . kind of. I thought Nobodies were all . . . empty. But I feel light from you. I felt Sora within Roxas. This whole Nobody thing is really frustrating for me. I’m kind of used to understanding all sorts of strange concepts. Even the Heartless and Kingdom Hearts makes sense to me, but this Nobody business goes right over my head. I just don’t get it.”
“We aren’t empty, Riku. We’re just only half a person. Roxas is only part of Sora. I’m only part of a person. That’s why we don’t disappear. Sora won’t be whole until he unites with Roxas again, either.” Naminé paused and then jumped to her feet. She giggled a little, grabbed Riku’s hands, and tried to pull him up. “Come on. Come with me.”
“Why? Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
Riku let Naminé drag him back down the computer room and past the dark portal to the World That Never Was. She went through another door that Riku hadn’t noticed before, and they were in a hallway full of flower-shaped chambers. At the turn in the hallway, he caught sight of two figures occupying two of the pods.
“Donald and Goofy,” said Riku.
“Don’t sound so surprised,” said Naminé. She giggled again. “Where did you think we were keeping them?”
“I remember these chambers.”
“Some of your memories are starting to return. Sora’s progress should start to pick up now that we have Roxas. Soon enough you’ll remember everything about him.”
Naminé opened another door and Riku followed her inside. The room was so white it looked limitless. There was hardly any telling where the floor met the walls or the distance from Riku’s hands to any surface. There was a strange table of controls near the back, and in the center of the room was one of the same flower-shaped chambers only larger than before. Inside it was a boy that looked too tall for the clothes he wore. Chestnut brown spikes of hair drooped toward his face. His eyes were closed, and strapped by his side was the Kingdom Key. Riku stepped forward.
“Sora . . .”
“You’ve seen Roxas,” said Naminé. “You’ve sacrificed your light to help him awaken. Thought you’d like to see him again. Remember who you’re fighting for.”
Riku’s eyes narrowed. He walked closer until he stood just against the pod and placed his hands on the chamber. Hard, warm plastic pressed back against his palms.
“Sora . . . I’m sorry,” said Riku, staring at Sora’s face. “I’m so sorry, Sora. I’m going to make things right, okay? And then it’s going to be you and me again.”
“And Kairi,” said Naminé. She walked up beside him and then she, too, turned her face toward Sora’s. “Can’t forget Kairi.”
“Kairi . . . It’s been so long since I’ve thought about her.” Riku laughed. “Don’t worry, Sora. When this is all over and we go home, I’ll make sure you finally get to share that paopu with her.”
Naminé smiled. She turned her face from Sora and toward Riku.
“You loved him.”
“You seem to think you know an awful lot about me.”
“It’s all there in Sora’s memories. He just didn’t notice.”
“He was too preoccupied loving Kairi to know. It’s good, though. She loves him, too, and I . . . I think I’m okay being the third wheel now.”
“You have a love of your own, now. Someone who loves you back.”
“What would make you think that?”
“I’m a witch, remember? Or at least that’s what DiZ calls me. I have the power to affect Sora’s memories and those around him. Your heart is connected to Sora’s. It’s not hard to see you’re in love.”
Riku nodded.
“So I’m that obvious.”
“Not obvious. Just in real love.”
“His name’s Cloud.”
“I know,” said Naminé. “He’s in Sora’s memories, too, and though Sora missed the clues, I think it’s adorable.”
Naminé giggled in a way that reminded him of Kairi. Riku smiled. He hadn’t thought about Kairi in ages, but now that he had, and now that Naminé reminded him so much of her, it was nice to have this friendship again. Some of those worries dissipated, and for a second he could clearly picture that last night when all three were still together, sitting by the paopu, staring out at the ocean. The sound of the wind and the smell of the sea infiltrated Riku’s senses. He turned toward Naminé.
“We can be friends, right? I mean . . . That’s allowed for Nobodies, isn’t it? DiZ won’t be angry?”
“Of course we can be friends.” Naminé smiled. “I’d like that. I’ve never had a real friend before.”
“Then I’m honored to be your first.” Riku took one last glance at Sora. “I think I’m going to head to bed. Busy day tomorrow learning the system and everything.”
Naminé nodded.
“I think that’s a good idea. I have work to do myself.”
“Chaining together memories.”
“That’s right.”
“Thanks for this, Naminé. It really helped.”
“I’m glad.”
Riku turned to leave, but then hesitated. He pulled the hood down, placed his hand on Naminé’s arm, and kissed her cheek. A light blush crept into her cheeks and she dropped her face toward the floor.
“Goodnight, Riku.”
He pulled the hood back up and walked toward the door.
“Goodnight.”
( Prompt Table) for previous installments. 053/100 Complete.
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Claim: Cloud/Riku
Theme: [053.] Returning
Word Count: 3,204
Rating: R
Summary: Sometimes you find a friend in the most unexpected place. Sometimes you find more than one.
Disclaimer: Square Enix, Disney, and a bunch of other cool people own Kingdom Hearts. I’m sure that one day I will become affiliated with one of these companies, but as I am still a measly little peasant, I own no rights to the franchise. Let’s face it: I don’t even really own this plot. I just like to pretend things happened in canon that there’s no proof of, because I’m deluded like that.
The basement was empty. Riku eyed the staircase long after Cloud disappeared, long after his footsteps no longer sounded through the mansion. He looked around the computer room, eyeing the monitors and the series of zeros and ones across the screen. His gaze lingered on the strange machine built into the wall.
Riku shook his head. He needed to focus. He had to stop lingering on Cloud’s departure and how much it was tearing him apart. There wasn’t time for that. DiZ was waiting.
Riku followed the stairs up to a library-type room, found the door, and exited onto a balcony. He peered over the banister. It was a spacious area, lacking warmth reminiscent of the castle in Hollow Bastion. Everything was somewhat ornate and arranged, the place was clean, but it could have been abandoned for how cold it felt.
He followed the balcony toward the stairs and paused. Voices resonated through the room below, and Riku walked to the sound. He pushed the door open. DiZ looked up and a blonde girl peeked around from behind an armchair. Naminé, Riku thought, putting a face to the name for the first time since Castle Oblivion. That was Naminé. On the floor between them lay Roxas, still unconscious.
“You made it,” said DiZ. “Took your time, didn’t you?”
“Riku, I presume,” said Naminé. “It’s been a while.”
“No,” said Riku.
“No?” said Naminé.
Riku steeled his nerves.
“No. I’m not Riku.”
DiZ laughed.
“Then who are you, mystery guest?”
Riku shook his head.
“That isn’t important.”
“Then what shall we call you?”
“Whatever you like.”
Naminé turned back to DiZ, frowning.
“I thought Riku was supposed to bring Roxas. Didn’t you say you saw him in the World That Never Was?”
“I was the one he saw,” said Riku. “Riku tried to obtain Roxas, but he failed, so I stepped in.”
Naminé opened her mouth as if to further question, but DiZ cut her off.
“You understand the situation, then.”
“I understand you’re trying to restore the Keyblade master and that this boy has something to do with it, but what I don’t understand is why. Why are you doing this? If I am to help you, I think I’m entitled to know that much.”
“I have my reasons. Be patient. Until I’m ready to reveal them, you’ll just have to trust me.”
These were the kinds of things DiZ said that tended to raise anger in Riku. The man spoke in riddles, would never reveal more than he felt like, and he raised matters of trust into the equation without providing any reasoning behind his actions or why Riku should bother trusting him at all. He was entitled to know who DiZ was and why he would want to help Sora, but apparently DiZ didn’t agree.
“So what are you plans?” said Riku after a long silence. “I’ve obtained Roxas. What next?”
“You continue to offer your services without getting the explanation you seek?”
Riku shrugged.
“I want to help, and if you won’t tell me, I don’t have a choice but wait until you will.”
“Why do you want to help?”
From the corner of his eye, Riku saw Naminé’s expression change. Her mouth opened, eyebrows raised, and she inched forward in her seat. Her eyes were focused and intense. Riku swallowed.
“I must atone for my sins. That’s as much of an answer as I can give.”
DiZ stared at him for a few seconds. Riku shifted and readjusted the hood farther over his face.
“The Organization will be looking for Roxas . . .”
“I don’t know about that,” said Riku. “I spoke to one of their members. He told me to do what I will with Roxas. Said he betrayed them.”
“If that is the case, they’ll want to punish him.”
“I don’t know. I kind of thought they might want Sora to reawaken. For what purpose, I don’t know, but . . .”
“Maybe that’s what they want you to believe to throw you off. We need a place to hide him and a way to keep him in check once he wakes up. He was uncooperative in coming along, I imagine, considering the state of him.”
“Uncooperative isn’t really the word I would use, but yes. He was reluctant.”
“I’ve been developing a plan since Naminé was unable to raise a response in Sora. If you’d just grab Roxas and follow me . . .”
DiZ walked toward the door and motioned for Naminé and Riku to follow. Riku hesitated, watched Naminé pass, and then he lifted Roxas off the floor, swinging him over one shoulder. He followed them through the mansion, back into that strange library, and down into the computer room again.
“Place him there,” said DiZ, motioning to the strange machine Riku had seen earlier. “I want to show you something.”
The numbers rearranged themselves on the screen as DiZ typed into the system. Riku dropped Roxas where DiZ indicated under the machine and joined DiZ by the monitors. Naminé hung toward the doorway leading into the dark portal, head touching the wall, watching them.
“What am I looking at here?” said Riku.
“I’ve created an alternate version of Twilight Town and an identity for Roxas to keep him in check until Sora reawakens.” DiZ smiled and turned his head toward Riku. “Don’t worry. It’s a nice identity.”
Naminé giggled. Riku frowned.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
DiZ stood from the computer and walked over to the machine. He motioned for Riku to join, and played with the controls. His gaze drifted down to Roxas.
“He will have memories of a life he’s never known. Friends, interests, schoolwork. I’ve made it as normal as possible to keep his spirits up, especially if we want that piece of Sora’s heart to resonate.”
“So what’s the machine?”
“That machine is the transport between this world and the computer world. A more realistic virtual reality, if you will. With the right settings, the machine will transport anyone under its beam into data and through the program.”
“Will it work?”
“If we can maintain the simulated town until Naminé finishes chaining together Sora’s memories.”
“What will happen to Roxas?”
“He holds half of Sora’s power within him. In the end, he’ll have to give it back.” DiZ turned away and walked back to the monitors. “Until then, he’ll need another personality to throw off his pursuers.”
So he was going to die, or at least that’s what DiZ may as well have said. Riku looked at Roxas lying under the machine. For what a bastard he was, it was unfair. In all honesty, Riku doubted that if he were in Roxas’s situation he’d have come quietly, either. Riku shook his head.
“Poor thing.”
DiZ sat at the computer and punched a few keys.
“It’s the fate of a Nobody.”
The strange machine whirled to life. A sequence of numbers swirled around Roxas’s body, and then he disappeared into the program.
~*~
DiZ gave Riku a bedroom on the first floor. It felt a bit like working for Maleficent again. There was one large goal (restore Sora’s memories), a loose plan (maintain the simulated town until goal realized), and a place to store the assistant until he was needed. Everything else would be figured out as the holes started to show and problems interfered. He didn’t even know how to work the alternate town, but DiZ promised to show him tomorrow. It would be his duty to keep an eye on Roxas in the computer world while Naminé worked on the memories. DiZ would communicate between the two while overseeing their projects.
Riku shook his head, pulled his cell phone out, and lay in on a bedside table. He propped the Way to the Dawn against the wall by the bed and sank into the mattress.
Cloud was still on his mind, but more so was the exchange in that meeting room. He didn’t know why he hadn’t told DiZ what happened. Perhaps it was the trust issue. The words just spilled out of his mouth before he could stop them, and the next thing he knew he’d flat out said that Roxas killed him. Who was he supposed to be if not Riku? Riku was who he was even if he was gone in body.
A chill skirted through Riku’s spine; he shook. Ansem. That’s who he was now to everyone who’d known him. That’s who he’d be to Sora. In a way, that’s even who he was to Cloud. There was no hiding it. To fight in the darkness, he had to embrace darkness itself, and in doing so . . . His life and identity were all thrown away. He was Ansem now.
Riku’s breath caught. He hunched over and pressed his head between his knees. His eyelids squeezed shut; his fingers slipped into the hood. They scrunched and raked through hair that didn’t belong to him-hair that felt too long, too straight, and too coarse to be his own. A strangled sob left his throat.
This was for Sora, Riku reminded himself. This was what he needed to do to help his very best friend in the whole world. He was selfish, wanting it to go away. It wasn’t like he hadn’t lived in darkness before. It was even as if he was actually losing Cloud for good, and even if he did, it was selfish to place his own happiness above Sora’s. Not when he was supposed to practically be Sora’s brother. Not when he could help and Sora was like this because Riku opened the door to the Heart of Destiny Islands.
Sora wasn’t even a memory to those he loved right now, because no one could remember his existence. When Sora was remembered and did awaken, he’d have another task to save the worlds at hand. Riku did this. He made it happen, and he owed it to Sora to help him awaken. So he looked like Ansem right now. He didn’t have right to be upset about it. He wouldn’t have looked like Ansem if he hadn’t let the bastard into his heart in the first place.
Riku pulled himself to his feet, yanking the hood as far over his face as he could manage. He turned the doorknob and wandered back to the balcony stairs. He was behaving like a selfish brat sitting around and brooding like that. He needed a distraction. DiZ was still in the computer room last Riku knew, so he walked the other way on the balcony and followed the path to a door. He knocked once and turned the knob.
The room was immaculate-pure white like the halls of Castle Oblivion. The tables and chairs were white, as were the flowers in the vase. Color splashed white paper on the many drawings hanging on the walls, laying on the floor, and scattered on the table. At a white chair by the door, Naminé looked up and smiled.
“Come in,” she said in a calm voice that instantly soothed Riku’s nerves. She pointed to a chair. “Have a seat. Close the door behind you.”
Riku did as instructed. His eyes searched the room. There was Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Sora and Kairi. Roxas and some Organization member with red, spiky hair more wild than Cloud’s or Sora’s. A paopu. Destiny Islands.
“Did you draw all these?”
“Yes. From Sora’s memories.”
“This is amazing.”
“Thank you. So tell me: what brings you to my room at this hour, Riku?”
He jerked.
“Excuse me?”
“What happened? Your voice is different.”
“How did you know?”
“Your heart. It resonates with Sora’s. You’re in so many of his memories . . .” Naminé trailed off. She smiled and placed her sketchbook on the table. “It was the darkness in your heart, wasn’t it? The piece of Ansem that I offered to seal away.”
Riku hung his head.
“Yeah. I couldn’t defeat Roxas any other way. It was my only choice.”
“You’ve changed since we last met. You aren’t the same boy you were.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“I think so.” Naminé paused for a good while. She brought a finger to her lips as if in thought, and then she smiled again. “There’s more light in your heart even if it is overshadowed by Ansem’s darkness. You’re more open.”
“You’re a little easier to talk to than DiZ. I don’t really trust him.”
“He can seem cold, but he means well.”
“Cold is right. Do you think he knows? About me, I mean.”
“He seems suspicious, but I don’t think he knows. You don’t have to hide it, you know. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“I just don’t want Sora to know. I want to be better off when I see him again, and with DiZ . . . you don’t really bother me. I don’t feel like I’m being judged, but with DiZ . . . He’s so callous. Like the way he acted about Roxas. I don’t really hate Roxas, you know. I had to bring him here for Sora’s sake, but I don’t think it’s fair that he has to just disappear as if he’s never existed at all. And DiZ says that Nobodies don’t even have a right to exist. It seems so wrong to me. I’m going to remember Roxas after this, so he did exist. It’s not right to treat him as if he’s nothing.”
“Nobodies like us are a tricky thing because while we seem to have hearts, we don’t. Roxas and I were never supposed to exist, but you can’t think so negatively about it. We won’t disappear because we’re going to be whole again.”
“Wait. You’re a Nobody, too?”
Naminé nodded.
“Why? Does that surprise you?”
“Yeah. I mean . . . kind of. I thought Nobodies were all . . . empty. But I feel light from you. I felt Sora within Roxas. This whole Nobody thing is really frustrating for me. I’m kind of used to understanding all sorts of strange concepts. Even the Heartless and Kingdom Hearts makes sense to me, but this Nobody business goes right over my head. I just don’t get it.”
“We aren’t empty, Riku. We’re just only half a person. Roxas is only part of Sora. I’m only part of a person. That’s why we don’t disappear. Sora won’t be whole until he unites with Roxas again, either.” Naminé paused and then jumped to her feet. She giggled a little, grabbed Riku’s hands, and tried to pull him up. “Come on. Come with me.”
“Why? Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
Riku let Naminé drag him back down the computer room and past the dark portal to the World That Never Was. She went through another door that Riku hadn’t noticed before, and they were in a hallway full of flower-shaped chambers. At the turn in the hallway, he caught sight of two figures occupying two of the pods.
“Donald and Goofy,” said Riku.
“Don’t sound so surprised,” said Naminé. She giggled again. “Where did you think we were keeping them?”
“I remember these chambers.”
“Some of your memories are starting to return. Sora’s progress should start to pick up now that we have Roxas. Soon enough you’ll remember everything about him.”
Naminé opened another door and Riku followed her inside. The room was so white it looked limitless. There was hardly any telling where the floor met the walls or the distance from Riku’s hands to any surface. There was a strange table of controls near the back, and in the center of the room was one of the same flower-shaped chambers only larger than before. Inside it was a boy that looked too tall for the clothes he wore. Chestnut brown spikes of hair drooped toward his face. His eyes were closed, and strapped by his side was the Kingdom Key. Riku stepped forward.
“Sora . . .”
“You’ve seen Roxas,” said Naminé. “You’ve sacrificed your light to help him awaken. Thought you’d like to see him again. Remember who you’re fighting for.”
Riku’s eyes narrowed. He walked closer until he stood just against the pod and placed his hands on the chamber. Hard, warm plastic pressed back against his palms.
“Sora . . . I’m sorry,” said Riku, staring at Sora’s face. “I’m so sorry, Sora. I’m going to make things right, okay? And then it’s going to be you and me again.”
“And Kairi,” said Naminé. She walked up beside him and then she, too, turned her face toward Sora’s. “Can’t forget Kairi.”
“Kairi . . . It’s been so long since I’ve thought about her.” Riku laughed. “Don’t worry, Sora. When this is all over and we go home, I’ll make sure you finally get to share that paopu with her.”
Naminé smiled. She turned her face from Sora and toward Riku.
“You loved him.”
“You seem to think you know an awful lot about me.”
“It’s all there in Sora’s memories. He just didn’t notice.”
“He was too preoccupied loving Kairi to know. It’s good, though. She loves him, too, and I . . . I think I’m okay being the third wheel now.”
“You have a love of your own, now. Someone who loves you back.”
“What would make you think that?”
“I’m a witch, remember? Or at least that’s what DiZ calls me. I have the power to affect Sora’s memories and those around him. Your heart is connected to Sora’s. It’s not hard to see you’re in love.”
Riku nodded.
“So I’m that obvious.”
“Not obvious. Just in real love.”
“His name’s Cloud.”
“I know,” said Naminé. “He’s in Sora’s memories, too, and though Sora missed the clues, I think it’s adorable.”
Naminé giggled in a way that reminded him of Kairi. Riku smiled. He hadn’t thought about Kairi in ages, but now that he had, and now that Naminé reminded him so much of her, it was nice to have this friendship again. Some of those worries dissipated, and for a second he could clearly picture that last night when all three were still together, sitting by the paopu, staring out at the ocean. The sound of the wind and the smell of the sea infiltrated Riku’s senses. He turned toward Naminé.
“We can be friends, right? I mean . . . That’s allowed for Nobodies, isn’t it? DiZ won’t be angry?”
“Of course we can be friends.” Naminé smiled. “I’d like that. I’ve never had a real friend before.”
“Then I’m honored to be your first.” Riku took one last glance at Sora. “I think I’m going to head to bed. Busy day tomorrow learning the system and everything.”
Naminé nodded.
“I think that’s a good idea. I have work to do myself.”
“Chaining together memories.”
“That’s right.”
“Thanks for this, Naminé. It really helped.”
“I’m glad.”
Riku turned to leave, but then hesitated. He pulled the hood down, placed his hand on Naminé’s arm, and kissed her cheek. A light blush crept into her cheeks and she dropped her face toward the floor.
“Goodnight, Riku.”
He pulled the hood back up and walked toward the door.
“Goodnight.”
( Prompt Table) for previous installments. 053/100 Complete.