[023.] Memories
Title: Memories
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Claim: Cloud/Riku
Theme: [023.] Sunset
Word Count: 6,372
Rating: PG-13
Summary: “Your heart only knows how to throw things away.” Cloud once said that Riku reminded him of the stars.
Disclaimer: I still don’t own any of this Kingdom Hearts stuff. It would be a nice gift, sure, but no one seems to want to shell out the money it would take for me to own this stuff. So, sorry, I made up all of this (except for the parts I stole from the games, but hey, I’m staying true to the original masterpiece). So I guess I should also say all this dialogue isn’t mine, either. Neither is some of the plot. Blagh.
Author’s Note: Okay, so I got to this prompt and wondered for a few days how I was to use the prompt “sunset” in the Chain of Memories/Castle Oblivion setting, so I used a metaphor. This is my feeble attempt. I hope you all enjoy. It is rather long, though. I’m not sure how that happened.
Riku leaned forward and stared at his father with wide, aqua eyes. He slashed through the air, the long sword mastered by large, calloused hands. Riku looked down at his own, stubby little fingers, and then to his mother.
“Momma, do you think I’ll ever fight as good as Daddy?”
“No one can fight as good as Daddy,” said the little girl sitting on Riku’s other side. She tucked long, silver stands behind her ear.
“Ayumi,” said Mrs. Asaki, “Riku can do whatever he wants to do.”
Riku stuck his tongue out at Ayumi. She rolled her eyes.
“Really, Momma?”
“We’ll talk to Daddy tomorrow about teaching you to fight.”
Riku nodded and returned his attention to the competition.
~*~
Riku was bored. It was a hot day on the Islands, and Riku was disappointed. What started off as a grand adventure into the spooky cave by the waterfall turned out to be nothing. None of other kids dared to venture in this darkened area, but now that he and Sora were here, it wasn’t creepy at all. In fact, it was nice and cool, probably the best place on the Islands to beat the excruciating heat. The walls, Riku observed, might be good for chalk drawings, too. Still, he expected more than a little path and an open room containing a door that wouldn’t open.
Everything was like that on the islands, and even the eight-year old boy felt stifled. Adventures just weren’t as exciting as they used to be. He and Sora explored everything they could now-this cave was the last. There was nothing left but boredom.
“Hey, Sora?” said Riku.
“Hm?”
“When we grow up, let’s get off this island. We’ll go on real adventures, not this kid stuff!”
Sora nodded.
“Sure. But isn’t there anything fun to do now?”
They walked toward the hole that would lead back to the beach.
“Hey,” said Sora, “you know the new girl at the mayor’s house? She arrived on the night of the meteor shower!”
Riku paused; a sense of loss overwhelmed him. He turned to look at the door in the wall. Doors didn’t belong in stone. One day, Riku would find a way to open it, but for now, he turned back to Sora.
“Yeah,” he said. “She’s in your year at school, right? What’s her name? Kairi?”
Sora nodded.
~*~
Riku listened as Sora asked Kairi for the thousandth time where she moved to Destiny Islands from, but Kairi’s answer was always the same. She didn’t remember. Riku wondered how that could happen. At seven years old upon moving, she should remember something. Instead, she had no recollection. Sure, Riku was only twelve, but he wasn’t an idiot.
The ocean waves ebbed in, covered Riku’s feet, and splashed his exposed legs. As the water rushed out, sand rushed with it, swirling in the water and collecting between Riku’s toes. The hot sunlight beat down upon his naked shoulders, but Riku didn’t close his eyes and turn his face to the light as he so often used to do. He stared, his eyes fixated at the endless expanse of ocean.
“I bet her home is somewhere out there,” said Riku.
“Where?” said Sora.
“Past the ocean. Someone off these Islands.”
Sora’s eyes brightened, and he, too, looked across the waters.
“Really? You think?”
“Gotta be.”
“Wish I could see it.”
“You will.”
“How do you know?”
“Cause I’m not staying on this rock forever, and I won’t just leave you behind. We’ll all go together.”
“And see the world?” said Sora. “All three of us?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“You really think there’s other worlds out there?” said Kairi. She looked past Sora to Riku.
Riku nodded.
~*~
Riku leaned into the touch of small, slender fingers as they raked through his hair, rubbing at his scalp. He looked out the window at the night sky and smiled at the stars. The window was cracked open, allowing a light ocean breeze to filter in, carrying the light, salty air of the sea.
“I hate this place.”
“What’s so bad about it?”
Riku looked up, catching aqua eyes so much like his own. He smiled as she tucked a strand of silver hair behind her ear.
“Come on, Ayumi. Do I really need to answer that?”
Ayumi brushed her fingers through her brother’s hair, and he shifted his head in her lap, allowing her to reach the other side.
“It’s not you or anything. I just . . . I’ve seen everything. I’ve been everywhere.”
“Everyone knows you.”
Riku sighed.
“Yeah.”
“It’s a small town.”
“It’s a small island.”
“Same thing.”
“No, it’s not. I mean, at least in a small town you can, I don’t know, leave it? Meet different people. Go shopping in the bigger cities. Here . . . everyone knows everyone, and . . .”
“And all we have are our ocean friends to keep us company otherwise?”
“Exactly. I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.”
“You’re fourteen, sweetie. Hold out a few more years, and then you’ll be done with school and can go to college wherever you want. Off the Islands.”
“I think Sora likes Kairi.”
Ayumi frowned.
“Four more years.”
“I don’t want to go to school tomorrow.”
“High school isn’t like junior high, you know?”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
“Riku . . .”
“What am I supposed to do without Sora and Kairi?”
“I’ll be there.”
“No offense, Ayumi, but hanging out with your big sister isn’t exactly cool.”
“And neither are you, so it works.”
Riku rolled his eyes and grunted.
“Did you hear what I said about Sora liking Kairi?”
“I’m not deaf.”
“Well?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“I don’t know . . .”
“You’ll find someone. Just because Sora’s straight doesn’t mean that there isn’t a perfectly nice, fun, sexy ass queer boy out there for you somewhere.”
Riku laughed.
“Yeah, and I bet he isn’t on the Islands.”
Ayumi, too, laughed.
“Right, because that’s why you’re so compelled to leave. Deep down inside, you know your one true love is someone far away from the Islands, and you’re honing in on that in a desperate attempt to get laid before you die.”
“It would be sad to die a virgin.”
Ayumi rolled her eyes.
“Riku, you’re smart, funny, great company, a good conversationalist, and hot. What makes you think you’ll die a virgin?”
“I love how you said I’m hot considering everyone says we look alike.”
“I’m hot. What can I say?”
Riku laughed.
“You forgot to mention I’m gay. If I wanted a girl, this would be easier.”
“So you got blessed in every other aspect. You’ve never had a real challenge in your life. You had to have something that would make things harder on you. Otherwise, you’d be insufferable and arrogant.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
~*~
Riku stood in front of his favorite paopu tree, watching the sunset.
“So, Kairi’s home is out there somewhere, right?” said Sora.
“Could be,” said Riku. “We’ll never know by staying here.”
“But how far could a raft take us?”
“Who knows? If we have to, we’ll think of something else.”
“So, suppose you get to another world,” said Kairi. She giggled. “What would you do there?”
Riku paused, considering his answer.
“Well, I haven’t really thought about it. It’s just . . . I’ve always wondered why we’re here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds . . . Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?”
“I don’t know,” said Sora.
“Exactly. That’s why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won’t change a thing. It’s the same old stuff. So let’s go.”
“You’ve been thinking a lot lately, haven’t you?”
“Thanks to you. If you hadn’t come here, I probably would’ve never thought of any of this. Kairi, thanks.”
“Heh. You’re welcome.”
~*~
“Mom,” said Ayumi, standing from the kitchen table. “You aren’t actually going to let him try to sail across the ocean on that stupid raft!”
“You should know your brother as well as I do,” said Mrs. Asaki. “When Riku has his mind made up, there’s no stopping him.”
Riku smirked at Ayumi.
“A raft, Mom. It isn’t going to work. He’s going to get hurt, or drowned, or shipwrecked. Not that it’s really a ship. Raftwrecked. That’s what’s going to happen.” She laughed and turned toward Riku. “I mean, really. A raft?”
“Yes. I’m leaving here and going to see other worlds. And Kairi and Sora are coming with me.”
“If you die, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Better than being here.”
“Riku,” said Mrs. Asaki.
She turned from the kitchen counter, leaving the breakfast preparations. Riku paused in the doorway and allowed his eyes to close as his mother wrapped her arms around him. She placed a kiss to his cheekbone, stepped back, and smoothed his hair.
“Be careful, baby. Make sure you visit your dear, old mother.”
“He’s going to get himself killed,” said Ayumi.
“Ayumi . . .” Mrs. Asaki turned to Ayumi and shook her head. “He needs to do this for him.”
Ayumi sighed.
“You said that when he started hanging out with those high school boys, too, and look how that turned out.”
“I’m a high school boy,” said Riku.
“And a smoker,” said Ayumi. “And drunk for half the weekend. It isn’t you.”
“I don’t appreciate you telling me who I am. I like smoking.”
“You’re better than that.”
“Better than smoking?” said Riku. He laughed.
“No. Better than staying out all hours of the night getting toasted so you can forget who you really are.”
“Then maybe it’s better I leave.”
“Maybe it is.”
~*~
“You know, Riku’s changed,” said Kairi.
Riku took a step away from the dock. Sora and Kairi obviously didn’t know he was still on the island, or within earshot.
“What do you mean?” said Sora.
“Well . . . Hmm . . .”
“You okay?”
“Sora, let’s take the raft and go-just the two of us!”
“Huh?”
Kairi giggled.
“Just kidding.”
“What’s gotten into you? You’re the one that’s changed, Kairi.”
“Maybe . . . You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I’m ready. No matter where I go or what I see, I know I can always come back here, right?”
Riku took another step back, slipped off his shoes, and walked soundlessly to the secret place. He slumped against the wall. He sat there for hours, long after it grew dark and his mother would start to worry. Kairi’s and Sora’s words replayed in his mind.
“It isn’t fair, is it?”
Riku turned.
“Who’s there?”
“After everything you’ve done for all the people you love, after all their promises to love you and support you no matter what, they fail to support you in your decision to leave. Even your friends have turned their backs on you.”
“Kairi was just kidding.”
“There is another way to travel to other worlds-one that is guaranteed to work.”
“Who are you?”
A figure, hazy and transparent, appeared, dressed in a plain, brown robe.
“A research scientist from another world. I cannot completely travel to yours. The door is still shut.”
“The door,” said Riku. His eyes fell on the door in the back of the secret place. “That door . . .”
“Leads to other worlds, yes.”
“But it won’t open.”
“Opening the door takes a special key. Will you bear it?”
“Wait, let me get this straight . . . you’re a scientist, and if I open the door, I can go see other worlds?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I don’t get it.”
“I study the other worlds and pathways between them. Every world has a door like this one, sealed, preventing the paths to open. Only a special person with a very strong heart can open the door, but even then he needs a special key. Will you bear it?”
Something about this conversation seemed off, but anger and desperation built within him. Sora didn’t believe the raft would work. Kairi looked at him as if he would explode any second if she mentioned what she really thought about going to see other worlds; she was content on the Islands. His mother didn’t ever bother to try and keep him here. Ayumi knew how important leaving the Islands was to him, and all she did was insult him, and laugh in his face.
Riku nodded.
“Can Kairi and Sora come?”
“Of course.”
“Tell me how to open the door.”
A large sword-like key appeared in Riku’s hands. He directed it toward the door. It swung open, and with it, a sense of triumph rang through Riku. Then the storm came, and thousands of black creatures spread across the secret place. The triumph faded. The key disappeared from his hands.
Riku ran from the secret place out onto the island. There was no rain, but the wind was fierce and howling. Riku grew up on the Islands, was here his entire life, and had never seen a storm such as this. His heart ached.
What had he just done?
Riku took a deep breath. What did it matter? So the Islands would be ravaged. All he had to do was get Sora and Kairi, and they could all leave for the other worlds. These other people-who would judge and look down upon him if they really knew him-didn’t matter. The anger spread again. It served them right if their precious little island with all its bigotry was destroyed.
Riku passed through the shack and across the bridge. He sat on the paopu tree and looked at everything that surrounded him. The electricity in the air made his skin prickle. Out in the distance, Riku saw a small boat rowing toward the dock, and in it sat Sora. Riku had a feeling he’d come, worried about the raft in the storm. Riku smiled. Everyone was right; the raft was useless, but he found another way, and whatever happened to the Islands was no longer his concern.
~*~
Riku woke to cold stone beneath his face and gloved hands. Waterfalls rushed in cascades around him. He pushed his body up and stood. Riku swayed; his head felt dizzy as he looked around, his vision blurred.
“Where am I?”
As his vision cleared, he turned and looked around, eyes widening. Was this . . . another world? Platforms of ice rose to a large castle in the distance, and as he took this all in, he realized he was alone. What last happened? There was a door, and a man . . . who said Kairi and Sora would leave with him. There was a storm . . .
“Sora! Kairi!”
Riku hung his head. The Islands, his friends . . . what happened? Was everyone okay? As Riku pondered, fear settling in his heart, a figure came up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder. Riku turned to face a tall woman in black with horns upon her head and green skin.
Was this what people looked like in other worlds?
“Are you lost?” said the woman.
“My friends . . . I don’t know where they are. There was a storm, and these black creatures.”
“Heartless,” she said. “Your home must have fallen to the darkness.”
“The darkness?”
“Why don’t you come inside? Surely you don’t want to stay out here.”
“Can you help me?”
“I don’t know yet, but maybe.”
“I’m Riku.”
“Maleficent.”
~*~
“High on the food chain, aren’t you?”
Riku spun around, looking back to the spiky-haired blond man that exited the room.
“Name’s Cloud. You?”
“I’m sorry,” said Riku. “Riku.”
“So what are you doing here?”
“Maleficent . . . she’s supposed to help me find someone. If I get the princesses . . .”
“What’s this princess business about, anyway?”
“I honestly don’t know.” Riku paused, watching Cloud as he leaned against the wall. “What are you doing here?”
“Hades. I’m supposed to take out Hercules.”
“Who’s that?”
“Don’t know. All I gather from Hades is that he’s bothersome.”
Riku nodded.
“Why are you working for him?”
“I’m looking for someone, too.” Cloud brought a hand to his neck, slowly rubbing at his collarbone. Eyes shut, his head fell back against the wall. Riku stared. “This falling into darkness isn’t all it’s made out to be, is it?”
Riku stared at Cloud, watching his fingers move across his skin. He licked his lips and stared at the ground.
“I just want to find my friend.”
Cloud nodded.
“Be careful. The darkness is a nasty business. Don’t lose sight of the light.”
There was no time to respond. The door down the hall flung open and Hades stormed out.
“Cloud,” he snapped. “We’re leaving.”
Cloud nodded to Hades and used one foot to push away from the wall. He turned to Riku and smiled.
“Nice talking to you, Riku.”
~*~
Sora stood before him flanked by what looked like an oversized duck and what was possibly an oversized dog walking on its hind legs. They were both clothed.
“There you are,” said Riku, smiling. “What’s going on?”
“Riku!” Sora said. He ran up to Riku and pinched his cheeks.
“Hey, hey, cut it out!” He pushed Sora away.
“I’m not dreaming this time, right?”
“I hope not. Took forever to find you.”
“Riku!” said Sora, laughing. “Wait a second, where’s Kairi?”
Riku frowned.
“Isn’t she with you?” said Riku. “Well, don’t worry. I’m sure she made if off the island, too. We’re finally free. Hey, she might even be looking for us now. We’ll all be together again soon. Don’t worry. Just leave everything to me. I know this-“
The sound of a defeated Heartless cut through his ears and Riku turned to see Sora, Keyblade drawn. Sora smirked and stood.
“Leave it to who?”
“Sora, what did you-“
“I’ve been looking for you and Kairi, too, with their help.”
Sora motioned to the duck and dog-thing. They nodded.
“But who are they?” said Riku.
“Ahem,” said the duck-thing. “My name is-“
“We’ve visited so many places and worlds looking for you.”
“Really?” said Riku. “Well, what do you know? I never would have guessed.”
“Oh, and guess what?” said the dog-thing. “Sora’s the Keyblade master.”
“Who would’ve thought it?” said the duck-thing.
“What’s that mean?” snapped Sora, practically lunging at his new friend.
Riku picked up the weapon.
“So, this is called a Keyblade?” said Riku, holding it up and turning it over.
“Huh? Hey, give it back,” Sora snapped. Riku blinked.
He backed away, eyeing it for a moment.
“Catch,” he said, and tossed it back to Sora.
“Whoa.”
Sora caught it in his clumsy hands, almost dropping it. Riku smirked.
“Okay,” said Sora, “so you’re coming with us, right? We’ve got this awesome rocket. Wait ‘til you see it.”
Riku opened his mouth to say he hadn’t decided what he’d be doing yet, but the duck-thing cut him off.
“No, he can’t come.”
“What?” said Sora.
“Forget it!”
“Oh, come on! He’s my friend!”
“I don’t care.”
Riku walked to the back of the Third District, sat, and pressed his back against the wall there.
“Huh? He’s gone,” Riku heard the dog-thing say over the bickering.
“Riku?” said Sora. “Nice going. Oh well, at least he’s okay. And who knows? Maybe we’ll run into Kairi soon, too.”
He heard their footsteps fade away and Riku dropped his head into his lap.
~*~
“You okay?”
Cloud looked up and burst into laughter.
“Take that stupid thing off.”
Riku pulled off the cape, dropped it to the side, and kneeled in front of Cloud.
“He beat the crap out of you.”
“It’s not that bad.”
“You weren’t even walking right.”
“Guess I lost, huh? I never even got to take on Hercules. Leon and Yuffie made it to the end, you know? Should’ve known. Sora beat them, too.”
“Who cares about that? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. You should head back to the hotel, though. Tournament’ll be over soon, and I’m gonna have to talk to Sora or it’ll look suspicious. You don’t want him to see you here.”
Riku glanced through the open doorway at the path leading back into Thebes and the hotel.
“Not yet. I want to make sure you’re okay.”
“What if Sora sees you?”
“Who cares?”
Cloud looked up at Riku and smiled. It felt as if Riku’s heart had jumped to his throat.
“I’m going to be okay. The potion will take care of the bad wounds. I’ll be fine in a half hour, limp gone and everything. Don’t worry. I’ll be well enough to not go easy on you tonight.”
Riku twisted his lips into a half-smile, his eyes narrowed, and he tapped Cloud’s arm with his fist.
“Ouch,” said Cloud.
“Sorry,” said Riku, laughing.
“Bastard. You’re worried about me being okay and then you hit me?”
“I was playing.”
“You play mean. Way to kick a guy when he’s down. Literally.”
“I didn’t kick you, you melodramatic crybaby.”
“Fuck off. I am not a crybaby.”
“You looked hot out there.”
“Nah. Pretty comfortable, actually. I mean, I worked up a bit of a sweat fighting, but you know how it goes . . .”
“Not like that, you jackass. You looked sexy.”
“I knew what you meant. I just wanted you to say it again.”
“Fucker.”
“You really thought I looked hot?”
“Yeah.”
“Glad you thought so. Now go back to the hotel like a good boy before Sora sees you and all hell breaks loose.”
“Okay.”
Cloud leaned forward and pressed his lips to Riku’s. Riku didn’t know if it was normal or not, but he never thought Cloud’s kisses would stop making his heart pull tight. Cloud brushed his fingertips behind Riku’s ear and trailed them down along his neck.
“Was that my preview for tonight?”
“No. That was just because I love you.”
~*~
The door shifted under the weight and started to close. Through the crack, Riku caught Sora’s eyes one last time.
“Take care of her,” said Riku.
Sora nodded, and then the door shut. Riku leaned against it and watched as King Mickey lifted the Keyblade. He pointed it to the doors. They locked and disappeared. Riku fell to his knees, hung his head, and looked across the darkness, but he could no longer see King Mickey. The light was gone.
Sora was gone.
King Mickey said there was always a door to the light, but what if-
He may never see Sora again.
Cloud.
Kairi.
His family.
Would any of them ever know what had really happened? What it had been like? Sora knew where Riku went, but would he ever really know how he got here, or what it was like behind those doors? Would Cloud ever know what happened to him? Would he be missed? The desperation returned, but at least everyone would be safe now, and Riku had helped for a change.
“Don’t worry,” said King Mickey. “Your heart overcame the darkness. You can overcome this dark time, too.”
Riku nodded and stared into black.
~*~
Riku spent a lot of time on Destiny Islands watching the sunset, whether it was from his favorite paopu tree or from the large window in the kitchen at the Asaki house that overlooked the beach. As a sunset fades from light to darkness, Riku faded from a bright-eyed, curious child into the darkened black where his heart remained hidden from the world.
When he opened his eyes again, there was nothing but haze. A chill ran down his back, and Riku held a hand to his head. The fog clouded his eyes-made his head swim. Riku groaned and sat up.
“Where am I?”
“Sleep.”
Riku stood up at the voice and glared. It wasn’t Ansem’s voice, but Riku had enough of mysterious voices to last him a lifetime.
“Who’s there?”
“Sleep. Here between light and dark.”
“Between . . . what?” Riku’s eyes widened. “The king! Where’s the king? Together we closed the door to darkness, and after that . . .” Riku’s groan was almost a scream. “Why can’t I remember?”
“Your king is far away. Sleep, and leave the war with darkness in his hands. The thorny light of awakening will bring only anguish to one in your state. Turn from the light. Shut your eyes.”
Arrogance swelled in Riku’s heart like he hadn’t felt since before he opened the door to Destiny Islands.
“You talk like I’m some kind of demon of the dark.”
“Can you face the truth?”
Riku frowned. He knew the truth. As he opened his mouth to snap a retort, a glowing purple orb descended before him. Within the orb was something Riku couldn’t quite make out before it started to circle him. Riku trailed it with his eyes.
“Here,” the voice continued, “blanketed by the darkness, sleep is safety. Sleep is eternal.”
“Is this . . . a card?”
“It is a door to the truth. Take it, and your sleep ends. Take it, and take the first step toward the truth. But know this: The truth will bring you pain. Will you still go?”
The orb stopped circling. Riku stepped toward it.
“There can be no returning to the sweet security of sleep,” said the voice.
Riku took another step. The card dropped from the orb into his hand.
“Yeah, well . . . Seems like a boring place to take a nap anyway,” said Riku. He smirked.
“Well said, Riku.”
There was a burst of light, and as the haze cleared, Riku’s surroundings came into sight. He was in a hallway with white marble walls, a while marble floor . . . everything was white. There was not a trace of color in this place save for the two wooden doors ahead, flanked by white pillars. A short, white staircase led to the doors. On either side of the hallway, white roses in white flower pots decorated the walls and smaller, white pillars.
Riku smirked.
“A door to the truth, huh . . .”
Riku rolled his eyes and walked forward, up the stairs, and through the doors. What lay on the other side was more familiar than he would have liked. His heart tugged..
“This is Maleficent’s castle! How’d I end up here? Someone must have brought me here while I was sleeping. But who?”
“What you see is not real,” said the voice. Riku frowned. “It’s the world of your memory.”
“My memory?”
“The things you remember of Maleficent’s castle from your time there. Those memories became a card, and that card made this world. The things you see-you’ve seen them all before, haven’t you?”
“Yeah . . .” Riku looked around. “So what now? Am I supposed to learn something while I’m here? Maybe run into someone I know?”
Riku wasn’t stupid. His mother read him A Christmas Carol every year since he was four years old. He didn’t think he was so troubled, though, that the ghost of Christmas past would show up, or that so many months had passed since leaving Destiny Islands that it was Christmastime. He must have been wrong.
“Ordinarily . . . yes,” said the voice. Riku frowned. “You would meet the people in your memories.”
“Ordinarily? Hey, I’m asking you a question!” There was no answer. “Fine. But it’d better be you I run across next, Voice. I’m sick of talking to thin air.”
A card bearing a key symbol appeared in his hand, and Riku ran off down the hallway until he came to a door.
~*~
Riku was disappointed to find he still had the Soul Eater, but it was necessary. He made his way through doors, rooms, and corridors. He used cards to advance into adjacent rooms. Heartless spawned across this place. Something was very wrong here
He came upon a door bearing the same key symbol on the gold card he received earlier and passed into the next room. Riku’s breath caught in his throat.
“It’s like he said-everything’s the same just how I remember it. Even this room . . .”
“It must be nice being back in your old bedroom. Think of all the memories . . .”
Cloud came to mind, but where was he? If these worlds were made of his memories, where was Cloud? Where was Sora? Kairi? Maleficent and Ansem?
“You again,” said Riku. “Sorry, but these memories I could do without. Maleficent gave me this room.”
“So she did. And you lived here, tempted by the darkness she offered. You cast away your home, you friends, everything . . . But at least they gave you a nice room.”
“Shut up.”
Riku ran out of the room and his bedroom door disappeared. Another card appeared in his hand, this time bearing a simple heart.
Where was he? What kind of place took all your horrible memories and recreated them? Riku didn’t want anything to do with the darkness anymore, and he wasn’t tempted by it in the first place! He didn’t want to cast away his friends or his family. It was all an accident-a horrible accident that he didn’t realize was happening until it was too late.
Riku set off back down the hallway, looking for Cloud, Sora, Kairi . . . even Donald or Goofy would be a sight for sore eyes right now.
~*~
“No one here, either,” said Riku, walking into a room after using the second gold card with the heart. “There’s nothing but Heartless in this castle. Voice! I know you’re watching-so explain this. Where are the people from my memories? Tell me!”
“Are you sure you want to see them?”
“Of course I do.”
“But you cast them aside. To reach the outside world, you passed through the door to darkness. Behind you, you left family, friends, home-everything-all in pursuit of darkness.”
“But I cast that aside, too!”
“Then what do you have to show for it? First your home, then the dark. Your heart only knows how to throw things away. It’s empty, like that room. Like your memories. That’s why no one is in the castle with you. Your heart is hollow except for the darkness you couldn’t quite shake off.”
“You’re full of it! I rejected the darkness!”
The voice laughed.
“Did you really, now?”
A third gold card appeared in his hands. Riku huffed and ran from the room.
~*~
As Riku wandered Hollow Bastion, hacking Heartless, his thoughts wandered to the voice.
“Your heart only knows how to throw things away,” said Riku.
King Mickey said his heart overcame the darkness. That’s why he was behind the door, and helped close it to save the worlds. Was this his punishment? Was he still behind the door? Was he doomed to wander the halls of Hollow Bastion forever with no one but the Heartless for company?
Riku hung his head.
Was his heart really empty?
“Your heart only knows how to throw things away,” said Riku.
~*~
He wasn’t alone in the castle. There was the voice, for one, and then there was Maleficent.
“I knew you’d return, Riku,” she said.
“Maleficent! You’re alive?”
He thought Sora finished her off . . .
“You haven’t been paying attention. I am but a figment of your memory.”
Riku smirked. His memory was trying to school him. How quaint.
“Of all the people I could run into, it had to be you . . .”
“Who else? Your heart is steeped in darkness. You can only see people who exist in that same darkness-people like me.”
“No . . .”
“Be grateful you have someone to keep you company. Your heart is empty. Were it not for the darkness in your heart . . . you would be completely alone.”
“That’s sounding pretty good right about now.”
“Come, now. You once clung to me to sate your hunger for darkness. You want me here. Who else but I can give you the darkness you long for?”
“There was a time I did want you around. I surrendered my heart to the dark. But never again. You and your darkness have nothing to offer. All I did was lose myself . . . empty myself. I’m finished with all that. If I’m stuck seeing people like you, people of the dark . . . I’ll take you out one by one.”
“Then don’t forget to take yourself out last. Because you, like me, are one of the dark.”
“That fine with me. I turned to darkness because my heart was weak. I hate that weakness. It’s like I’m my own enemy. And seeing people like you embrace the darkness just makes it worse!” Riku drew the Soul Eater. “Enough talk, Maleficent.”
“So you hate the darkness enough to fight it. Oh, the agony you must feel! Let me end your pain, Riku-end it forever with the wondrous power of the darkness.”
Maleficent burst into her dragon form, and Riku didn’t hesitate to attack.
~*~
Riku moved farther along Hollow Bastion corridors, his breath still heavy from defeating Maleficent’s copy. His mind raced. He couldn’t see Sora or Kairi, but where was Cloud? He and Cloud were alike, both fallen from grace. Could he get to Olympus Coliseum from here? Maybe Cloud was there. Even if it was a copy, at least it was something.
Riku stumbled and held his side. Through his fringed bangs, he looked up and saw a door-a door that radiated light. Riku stumbled toward it and walked through. Everything was white. He was back in the white marble hallway. Had he gone backwards?
“Why do you shun the dark?”
“Oh, come on. I know you heard every word I said to Maleficent.”
“Darkness is your weapon. I need you to accept it.”
Riku paused. The voice . . . he did know that voice.
“What do you care?”
“Stop resisting and accept the darkness. You must . . . if you are to serve me again!”
Ansem appeared before him. Riku resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
“Ansem . . . just as I thought.”
“You don’t seem surprised.”
“You always were chatty when it came to darkness. So let me guess . . . You want to pull me back into the darkness and play puppet master again . . . right?”
“Clever boy. You’ll make a fine host. Now, surrender to me again and-”
Riku almost laughed at the combination of the word ‘host’ and Ansem’s conversational tone.
“You’re insane! There won’t be an ‘again’!”
Riku rushed toward Ansem, Soul Eater drawn, but hit a barrier. He fell back, smacking his head on the white marble floor. Riku tried to sit up and groaned.
“Did you really think you could harm me? A weakling like you couldn’t even defeat Sora-and you had darkness on your side.”
“Excuse me for . . . being weak . . .”
“You need the darkness. Submit! Bow to the darkness, and bow to me.”
“Not a chance . . .”
“Only darkness can help you now.”
“You’re wrong!” said a third voice.
Riku perked up. He knew that voice, too. A white orb of light descended and circled over Riku’s head.
“That voice . . .!” Riku pulled his body up to his knees. “Your Majesty, is that you?”
“You betcha! Riku, you’re not alone. Listen careful now, Riku. The light’ll never give up on you. You’ll always find it, even in the deepest darkness! But you have to believe!”
Cloud had once told him that within darkness there was always a little light. Riku smiled.
“I will.” Riku stood and faced Ansem. “Hear that? I’m not losing to the darkness today, Ansem.”
Riku drew the Soul Eater.
“You think some feeble light can save you from the darkness I command? Fool!”
Ansem rushed at him and the battle began.
It was strange, fighting Ansem. For all the hatred Riku held for the man, they never engaged in battle before. Still, Riku almost felt Ansem’s next move before it happened, and though Riku ached, Ansem ended the battle, stepped back, cast his weapon aside, and held something out to Riku.
“What are those?”
“They are cards crafted from your memory. Advance through the worlds they beget, and you will come to understand . . . Chasing the light will not distance you from the dark. You cannot run.”
“Who’s running? Give me the cards. I’ll enter those worlds. And in the end, if I haven’t given up . . . I win.”
Ansem threw the cards to Riku. He caught them.
“I have one more gift for you.”
Riku narrowed his eyes, and if he could, he would have liked to spit fire as he felt the darkness surround his heart. This was a too-familiar feeling.
“What did you do?”
“I tempered the darkness that remains in your heart.”
Riku couldn’t help but think that maybe there wouldn’t be so much darkness left in his heart if people didn’t keep messing with it.
“What, you still think that I’d rely on darkness?”
“Whether or not you use it is your choice.” Ansem disappeared, but his voice continued. “I’ll be waiting, Riku . . . for you to come to your senses and yield to the darkness!”
Riku looked from the cards in his hand to the doors.
“Not a chance,” he said, and walked up the stairs, holding out the first card.
Like a sun sets to leave nothing but the dark, empty night, the light faded in Riku’s heart, leaving nothing but a dark, empty shell. Still-even in the night-pinpricks of light shone from the stars. Riku smiled as he entered Agrabah. Cloud once said that Riku reminded him of the stars.
( Prompt Table) for previous installments. 023/100 Complete.
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Claim: Cloud/Riku
Theme: [023.] Sunset
Word Count: 6,372
Rating: PG-13
Summary: “Your heart only knows how to throw things away.” Cloud once said that Riku reminded him of the stars.
Disclaimer: I still don’t own any of this Kingdom Hearts stuff. It would be a nice gift, sure, but no one seems to want to shell out the money it would take for me to own this stuff. So, sorry, I made up all of this (except for the parts I stole from the games, but hey, I’m staying true to the original masterpiece). So I guess I should also say all this dialogue isn’t mine, either. Neither is some of the plot. Blagh.
Author’s Note: Okay, so I got to this prompt and wondered for a few days how I was to use the prompt “sunset” in the Chain of Memories/Castle Oblivion setting, so I used a metaphor. This is my feeble attempt. I hope you all enjoy. It is rather long, though. I’m not sure how that happened.
Riku leaned forward and stared at his father with wide, aqua eyes. He slashed through the air, the long sword mastered by large, calloused hands. Riku looked down at his own, stubby little fingers, and then to his mother.
“Momma, do you think I’ll ever fight as good as Daddy?”
“No one can fight as good as Daddy,” said the little girl sitting on Riku’s other side. She tucked long, silver stands behind her ear.
“Ayumi,” said Mrs. Asaki, “Riku can do whatever he wants to do.”
Riku stuck his tongue out at Ayumi. She rolled her eyes.
“Really, Momma?”
“We’ll talk to Daddy tomorrow about teaching you to fight.”
Riku nodded and returned his attention to the competition.
~*~
Riku was bored. It was a hot day on the Islands, and Riku was disappointed. What started off as a grand adventure into the spooky cave by the waterfall turned out to be nothing. None of other kids dared to venture in this darkened area, but now that he and Sora were here, it wasn’t creepy at all. In fact, it was nice and cool, probably the best place on the Islands to beat the excruciating heat. The walls, Riku observed, might be good for chalk drawings, too. Still, he expected more than a little path and an open room containing a door that wouldn’t open.
Everything was like that on the islands, and even the eight-year old boy felt stifled. Adventures just weren’t as exciting as they used to be. He and Sora explored everything they could now-this cave was the last. There was nothing left but boredom.
“Hey, Sora?” said Riku.
“Hm?”
“When we grow up, let’s get off this island. We’ll go on real adventures, not this kid stuff!”
Sora nodded.
“Sure. But isn’t there anything fun to do now?”
They walked toward the hole that would lead back to the beach.
“Hey,” said Sora, “you know the new girl at the mayor’s house? She arrived on the night of the meteor shower!”
Riku paused; a sense of loss overwhelmed him. He turned to look at the door in the wall. Doors didn’t belong in stone. One day, Riku would find a way to open it, but for now, he turned back to Sora.
“Yeah,” he said. “She’s in your year at school, right? What’s her name? Kairi?”
Sora nodded.
~*~
Riku listened as Sora asked Kairi for the thousandth time where she moved to Destiny Islands from, but Kairi’s answer was always the same. She didn’t remember. Riku wondered how that could happen. At seven years old upon moving, she should remember something. Instead, she had no recollection. Sure, Riku was only twelve, but he wasn’t an idiot.
The ocean waves ebbed in, covered Riku’s feet, and splashed his exposed legs. As the water rushed out, sand rushed with it, swirling in the water and collecting between Riku’s toes. The hot sunlight beat down upon his naked shoulders, but Riku didn’t close his eyes and turn his face to the light as he so often used to do. He stared, his eyes fixated at the endless expanse of ocean.
“I bet her home is somewhere out there,” said Riku.
“Where?” said Sora.
“Past the ocean. Someone off these Islands.”
Sora’s eyes brightened, and he, too, looked across the waters.
“Really? You think?”
“Gotta be.”
“Wish I could see it.”
“You will.”
“How do you know?”
“Cause I’m not staying on this rock forever, and I won’t just leave you behind. We’ll all go together.”
“And see the world?” said Sora. “All three of us?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“You really think there’s other worlds out there?” said Kairi. She looked past Sora to Riku.
Riku nodded.
~*~
Riku leaned into the touch of small, slender fingers as they raked through his hair, rubbing at his scalp. He looked out the window at the night sky and smiled at the stars. The window was cracked open, allowing a light ocean breeze to filter in, carrying the light, salty air of the sea.
“I hate this place.”
“What’s so bad about it?”
Riku looked up, catching aqua eyes so much like his own. He smiled as she tucked a strand of silver hair behind her ear.
“Come on, Ayumi. Do I really need to answer that?”
Ayumi brushed her fingers through her brother’s hair, and he shifted his head in her lap, allowing her to reach the other side.
“It’s not you or anything. I just . . . I’ve seen everything. I’ve been everywhere.”
“Everyone knows you.”
Riku sighed.
“Yeah.”
“It’s a small town.”
“It’s a small island.”
“Same thing.”
“No, it’s not. I mean, at least in a small town you can, I don’t know, leave it? Meet different people. Go shopping in the bigger cities. Here . . . everyone knows everyone, and . . .”
“And all we have are our ocean friends to keep us company otherwise?”
“Exactly. I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.”
“You’re fourteen, sweetie. Hold out a few more years, and then you’ll be done with school and can go to college wherever you want. Off the Islands.”
“I think Sora likes Kairi.”
Ayumi frowned.
“Four more years.”
“I don’t want to go to school tomorrow.”
“High school isn’t like junior high, you know?”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
“Riku . . .”
“What am I supposed to do without Sora and Kairi?”
“I’ll be there.”
“No offense, Ayumi, but hanging out with your big sister isn’t exactly cool.”
“And neither are you, so it works.”
Riku rolled his eyes and grunted.
“Did you hear what I said about Sora liking Kairi?”
“I’m not deaf.”
“Well?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“I don’t know . . .”
“You’ll find someone. Just because Sora’s straight doesn’t mean that there isn’t a perfectly nice, fun, sexy ass queer boy out there for you somewhere.”
Riku laughed.
“Yeah, and I bet he isn’t on the Islands.”
Ayumi, too, laughed.
“Right, because that’s why you’re so compelled to leave. Deep down inside, you know your one true love is someone far away from the Islands, and you’re honing in on that in a desperate attempt to get laid before you die.”
“It would be sad to die a virgin.”
Ayumi rolled her eyes.
“Riku, you’re smart, funny, great company, a good conversationalist, and hot. What makes you think you’ll die a virgin?”
“I love how you said I’m hot considering everyone says we look alike.”
“I’m hot. What can I say?”
Riku laughed.
“You forgot to mention I’m gay. If I wanted a girl, this would be easier.”
“So you got blessed in every other aspect. You’ve never had a real challenge in your life. You had to have something that would make things harder on you. Otherwise, you’d be insufferable and arrogant.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
~*~
Riku stood in front of his favorite paopu tree, watching the sunset.
“So, Kairi’s home is out there somewhere, right?” said Sora.
“Could be,” said Riku. “We’ll never know by staying here.”
“But how far could a raft take us?”
“Who knows? If we have to, we’ll think of something else.”
“So, suppose you get to another world,” said Kairi. She giggled. “What would you do there?”
Riku paused, considering his answer.
“Well, I haven’t really thought about it. It’s just . . . I’ve always wondered why we’re here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds . . . Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?”
“I don’t know,” said Sora.
“Exactly. That’s why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won’t change a thing. It’s the same old stuff. So let’s go.”
“You’ve been thinking a lot lately, haven’t you?”
“Thanks to you. If you hadn’t come here, I probably would’ve never thought of any of this. Kairi, thanks.”
“Heh. You’re welcome.”
~*~
“Mom,” said Ayumi, standing from the kitchen table. “You aren’t actually going to let him try to sail across the ocean on that stupid raft!”
“You should know your brother as well as I do,” said Mrs. Asaki. “When Riku has his mind made up, there’s no stopping him.”
Riku smirked at Ayumi.
“A raft, Mom. It isn’t going to work. He’s going to get hurt, or drowned, or shipwrecked. Not that it’s really a ship. Raftwrecked. That’s what’s going to happen.” She laughed and turned toward Riku. “I mean, really. A raft?”
“Yes. I’m leaving here and going to see other worlds. And Kairi and Sora are coming with me.”
“If you die, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Better than being here.”
“Riku,” said Mrs. Asaki.
She turned from the kitchen counter, leaving the breakfast preparations. Riku paused in the doorway and allowed his eyes to close as his mother wrapped her arms around him. She placed a kiss to his cheekbone, stepped back, and smoothed his hair.
“Be careful, baby. Make sure you visit your dear, old mother.”
“He’s going to get himself killed,” said Ayumi.
“Ayumi . . .” Mrs. Asaki turned to Ayumi and shook her head. “He needs to do this for him.”
Ayumi sighed.
“You said that when he started hanging out with those high school boys, too, and look how that turned out.”
“I’m a high school boy,” said Riku.
“And a smoker,” said Ayumi. “And drunk for half the weekend. It isn’t you.”
“I don’t appreciate you telling me who I am. I like smoking.”
“You’re better than that.”
“Better than smoking?” said Riku. He laughed.
“No. Better than staying out all hours of the night getting toasted so you can forget who you really are.”
“Then maybe it’s better I leave.”
“Maybe it is.”
~*~
“You know, Riku’s changed,” said Kairi.
Riku took a step away from the dock. Sora and Kairi obviously didn’t know he was still on the island, or within earshot.
“What do you mean?” said Sora.
“Well . . . Hmm . . .”
“You okay?”
“Sora, let’s take the raft and go-just the two of us!”
“Huh?”
Kairi giggled.
“Just kidding.”
“What’s gotten into you? You’re the one that’s changed, Kairi.”
“Maybe . . . You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I’m ready. No matter where I go or what I see, I know I can always come back here, right?”
Riku took another step back, slipped off his shoes, and walked soundlessly to the secret place. He slumped against the wall. He sat there for hours, long after it grew dark and his mother would start to worry. Kairi’s and Sora’s words replayed in his mind.
“It isn’t fair, is it?”
Riku turned.
“Who’s there?”
“After everything you’ve done for all the people you love, after all their promises to love you and support you no matter what, they fail to support you in your decision to leave. Even your friends have turned their backs on you.”
“Kairi was just kidding.”
“There is another way to travel to other worlds-one that is guaranteed to work.”
“Who are you?”
A figure, hazy and transparent, appeared, dressed in a plain, brown robe.
“A research scientist from another world. I cannot completely travel to yours. The door is still shut.”
“The door,” said Riku. His eyes fell on the door in the back of the secret place. “That door . . .”
“Leads to other worlds, yes.”
“But it won’t open.”
“Opening the door takes a special key. Will you bear it?”
“Wait, let me get this straight . . . you’re a scientist, and if I open the door, I can go see other worlds?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I don’t get it.”
“I study the other worlds and pathways between them. Every world has a door like this one, sealed, preventing the paths to open. Only a special person with a very strong heart can open the door, but even then he needs a special key. Will you bear it?”
Something about this conversation seemed off, but anger and desperation built within him. Sora didn’t believe the raft would work. Kairi looked at him as if he would explode any second if she mentioned what she really thought about going to see other worlds; she was content on the Islands. His mother didn’t ever bother to try and keep him here. Ayumi knew how important leaving the Islands was to him, and all she did was insult him, and laugh in his face.
Riku nodded.
“Can Kairi and Sora come?”
“Of course.”
“Tell me how to open the door.”
A large sword-like key appeared in Riku’s hands. He directed it toward the door. It swung open, and with it, a sense of triumph rang through Riku. Then the storm came, and thousands of black creatures spread across the secret place. The triumph faded. The key disappeared from his hands.
Riku ran from the secret place out onto the island. There was no rain, but the wind was fierce and howling. Riku grew up on the Islands, was here his entire life, and had never seen a storm such as this. His heart ached.
What had he just done?
Riku took a deep breath. What did it matter? So the Islands would be ravaged. All he had to do was get Sora and Kairi, and they could all leave for the other worlds. These other people-who would judge and look down upon him if they really knew him-didn’t matter. The anger spread again. It served them right if their precious little island with all its bigotry was destroyed.
Riku passed through the shack and across the bridge. He sat on the paopu tree and looked at everything that surrounded him. The electricity in the air made his skin prickle. Out in the distance, Riku saw a small boat rowing toward the dock, and in it sat Sora. Riku had a feeling he’d come, worried about the raft in the storm. Riku smiled. Everyone was right; the raft was useless, but he found another way, and whatever happened to the Islands was no longer his concern.
~*~
Riku woke to cold stone beneath his face and gloved hands. Waterfalls rushed in cascades around him. He pushed his body up and stood. Riku swayed; his head felt dizzy as he looked around, his vision blurred.
“Where am I?”
As his vision cleared, he turned and looked around, eyes widening. Was this . . . another world? Platforms of ice rose to a large castle in the distance, and as he took this all in, he realized he was alone. What last happened? There was a door, and a man . . . who said Kairi and Sora would leave with him. There was a storm . . .
“Sora! Kairi!”
Riku hung his head. The Islands, his friends . . . what happened? Was everyone okay? As Riku pondered, fear settling in his heart, a figure came up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder. Riku turned to face a tall woman in black with horns upon her head and green skin.
Was this what people looked like in other worlds?
“Are you lost?” said the woman.
“My friends . . . I don’t know where they are. There was a storm, and these black creatures.”
“Heartless,” she said. “Your home must have fallen to the darkness.”
“The darkness?”
“Why don’t you come inside? Surely you don’t want to stay out here.”
“Can you help me?”
“I don’t know yet, but maybe.”
“I’m Riku.”
“Maleficent.”
~*~
“High on the food chain, aren’t you?”
Riku spun around, looking back to the spiky-haired blond man that exited the room.
“Name’s Cloud. You?”
“I’m sorry,” said Riku. “Riku.”
“So what are you doing here?”
“Maleficent . . . she’s supposed to help me find someone. If I get the princesses . . .”
“What’s this princess business about, anyway?”
“I honestly don’t know.” Riku paused, watching Cloud as he leaned against the wall. “What are you doing here?”
“Hades. I’m supposed to take out Hercules.”
“Who’s that?”
“Don’t know. All I gather from Hades is that he’s bothersome.”
Riku nodded.
“Why are you working for him?”
“I’m looking for someone, too.” Cloud brought a hand to his neck, slowly rubbing at his collarbone. Eyes shut, his head fell back against the wall. Riku stared. “This falling into darkness isn’t all it’s made out to be, is it?”
Riku stared at Cloud, watching his fingers move across his skin. He licked his lips and stared at the ground.
“I just want to find my friend.”
Cloud nodded.
“Be careful. The darkness is a nasty business. Don’t lose sight of the light.”
There was no time to respond. The door down the hall flung open and Hades stormed out.
“Cloud,” he snapped. “We’re leaving.”
Cloud nodded to Hades and used one foot to push away from the wall. He turned to Riku and smiled.
“Nice talking to you, Riku.”
~*~
Sora stood before him flanked by what looked like an oversized duck and what was possibly an oversized dog walking on its hind legs. They were both clothed.
“There you are,” said Riku, smiling. “What’s going on?”
“Riku!” Sora said. He ran up to Riku and pinched his cheeks.
“Hey, hey, cut it out!” He pushed Sora away.
“I’m not dreaming this time, right?”
“I hope not. Took forever to find you.”
“Riku!” said Sora, laughing. “Wait a second, where’s Kairi?”
Riku frowned.
“Isn’t she with you?” said Riku. “Well, don’t worry. I’m sure she made if off the island, too. We’re finally free. Hey, she might even be looking for us now. We’ll all be together again soon. Don’t worry. Just leave everything to me. I know this-“
The sound of a defeated Heartless cut through his ears and Riku turned to see Sora, Keyblade drawn. Sora smirked and stood.
“Leave it to who?”
“Sora, what did you-“
“I’ve been looking for you and Kairi, too, with their help.”
Sora motioned to the duck and dog-thing. They nodded.
“But who are they?” said Riku.
“Ahem,” said the duck-thing. “My name is-“
“We’ve visited so many places and worlds looking for you.”
“Really?” said Riku. “Well, what do you know? I never would have guessed.”
“Oh, and guess what?” said the dog-thing. “Sora’s the Keyblade master.”
“Who would’ve thought it?” said the duck-thing.
“What’s that mean?” snapped Sora, practically lunging at his new friend.
Riku picked up the weapon.
“So, this is called a Keyblade?” said Riku, holding it up and turning it over.
“Huh? Hey, give it back,” Sora snapped. Riku blinked.
He backed away, eyeing it for a moment.
“Catch,” he said, and tossed it back to Sora.
“Whoa.”
Sora caught it in his clumsy hands, almost dropping it. Riku smirked.
“Okay,” said Sora, “so you’re coming with us, right? We’ve got this awesome rocket. Wait ‘til you see it.”
Riku opened his mouth to say he hadn’t decided what he’d be doing yet, but the duck-thing cut him off.
“No, he can’t come.”
“What?” said Sora.
“Forget it!”
“Oh, come on! He’s my friend!”
“I don’t care.”
Riku walked to the back of the Third District, sat, and pressed his back against the wall there.
“Huh? He’s gone,” Riku heard the dog-thing say over the bickering.
“Riku?” said Sora. “Nice going. Oh well, at least he’s okay. And who knows? Maybe we’ll run into Kairi soon, too.”
He heard their footsteps fade away and Riku dropped his head into his lap.
~*~
“You okay?”
Cloud looked up and burst into laughter.
“Take that stupid thing off.”
Riku pulled off the cape, dropped it to the side, and kneeled in front of Cloud.
“He beat the crap out of you.”
“It’s not that bad.”
“You weren’t even walking right.”
“Guess I lost, huh? I never even got to take on Hercules. Leon and Yuffie made it to the end, you know? Should’ve known. Sora beat them, too.”
“Who cares about that? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. You should head back to the hotel, though. Tournament’ll be over soon, and I’m gonna have to talk to Sora or it’ll look suspicious. You don’t want him to see you here.”
Riku glanced through the open doorway at the path leading back into Thebes and the hotel.
“Not yet. I want to make sure you’re okay.”
“What if Sora sees you?”
“Who cares?”
Cloud looked up at Riku and smiled. It felt as if Riku’s heart had jumped to his throat.
“I’m going to be okay. The potion will take care of the bad wounds. I’ll be fine in a half hour, limp gone and everything. Don’t worry. I’ll be well enough to not go easy on you tonight.”
Riku twisted his lips into a half-smile, his eyes narrowed, and he tapped Cloud’s arm with his fist.
“Ouch,” said Cloud.
“Sorry,” said Riku, laughing.
“Bastard. You’re worried about me being okay and then you hit me?”
“I was playing.”
“You play mean. Way to kick a guy when he’s down. Literally.”
“I didn’t kick you, you melodramatic crybaby.”
“Fuck off. I am not a crybaby.”
“You looked hot out there.”
“Nah. Pretty comfortable, actually. I mean, I worked up a bit of a sweat fighting, but you know how it goes . . .”
“Not like that, you jackass. You looked sexy.”
“I knew what you meant. I just wanted you to say it again.”
“Fucker.”
“You really thought I looked hot?”
“Yeah.”
“Glad you thought so. Now go back to the hotel like a good boy before Sora sees you and all hell breaks loose.”
“Okay.”
Cloud leaned forward and pressed his lips to Riku’s. Riku didn’t know if it was normal or not, but he never thought Cloud’s kisses would stop making his heart pull tight. Cloud brushed his fingertips behind Riku’s ear and trailed them down along his neck.
“Was that my preview for tonight?”
“No. That was just because I love you.”
~*~
The door shifted under the weight and started to close. Through the crack, Riku caught Sora’s eyes one last time.
“Take care of her,” said Riku.
Sora nodded, and then the door shut. Riku leaned against it and watched as King Mickey lifted the Keyblade. He pointed it to the doors. They locked and disappeared. Riku fell to his knees, hung his head, and looked across the darkness, but he could no longer see King Mickey. The light was gone.
Sora was gone.
King Mickey said there was always a door to the light, but what if-
He may never see Sora again.
Cloud.
Kairi.
His family.
Would any of them ever know what had really happened? What it had been like? Sora knew where Riku went, but would he ever really know how he got here, or what it was like behind those doors? Would Cloud ever know what happened to him? Would he be missed? The desperation returned, but at least everyone would be safe now, and Riku had helped for a change.
“Don’t worry,” said King Mickey. “Your heart overcame the darkness. You can overcome this dark time, too.”
Riku nodded and stared into black.
~*~
Riku spent a lot of time on Destiny Islands watching the sunset, whether it was from his favorite paopu tree or from the large window in the kitchen at the Asaki house that overlooked the beach. As a sunset fades from light to darkness, Riku faded from a bright-eyed, curious child into the darkened black where his heart remained hidden from the world.
When he opened his eyes again, there was nothing but haze. A chill ran down his back, and Riku held a hand to his head. The fog clouded his eyes-made his head swim. Riku groaned and sat up.
“Where am I?”
“Sleep.”
Riku stood up at the voice and glared. It wasn’t Ansem’s voice, but Riku had enough of mysterious voices to last him a lifetime.
“Who’s there?”
“Sleep. Here between light and dark.”
“Between . . . what?” Riku’s eyes widened. “The king! Where’s the king? Together we closed the door to darkness, and after that . . .” Riku’s groan was almost a scream. “Why can’t I remember?”
“Your king is far away. Sleep, and leave the war with darkness in his hands. The thorny light of awakening will bring only anguish to one in your state. Turn from the light. Shut your eyes.”
Arrogance swelled in Riku’s heart like he hadn’t felt since before he opened the door to Destiny Islands.
“You talk like I’m some kind of demon of the dark.”
“Can you face the truth?”
Riku frowned. He knew the truth. As he opened his mouth to snap a retort, a glowing purple orb descended before him. Within the orb was something Riku couldn’t quite make out before it started to circle him. Riku trailed it with his eyes.
“Here,” the voice continued, “blanketed by the darkness, sleep is safety. Sleep is eternal.”
“Is this . . . a card?”
“It is a door to the truth. Take it, and your sleep ends. Take it, and take the first step toward the truth. But know this: The truth will bring you pain. Will you still go?”
The orb stopped circling. Riku stepped toward it.
“There can be no returning to the sweet security of sleep,” said the voice.
Riku took another step. The card dropped from the orb into his hand.
“Yeah, well . . . Seems like a boring place to take a nap anyway,” said Riku. He smirked.
“Well said, Riku.”
There was a burst of light, and as the haze cleared, Riku’s surroundings came into sight. He was in a hallway with white marble walls, a while marble floor . . . everything was white. There was not a trace of color in this place save for the two wooden doors ahead, flanked by white pillars. A short, white staircase led to the doors. On either side of the hallway, white roses in white flower pots decorated the walls and smaller, white pillars.
Riku smirked.
“A door to the truth, huh . . .”
Riku rolled his eyes and walked forward, up the stairs, and through the doors. What lay on the other side was more familiar than he would have liked. His heart tugged..
“This is Maleficent’s castle! How’d I end up here? Someone must have brought me here while I was sleeping. But who?”
“What you see is not real,” said the voice. Riku frowned. “It’s the world of your memory.”
“My memory?”
“The things you remember of Maleficent’s castle from your time there. Those memories became a card, and that card made this world. The things you see-you’ve seen them all before, haven’t you?”
“Yeah . . .” Riku looked around. “So what now? Am I supposed to learn something while I’m here? Maybe run into someone I know?”
Riku wasn’t stupid. His mother read him A Christmas Carol every year since he was four years old. He didn’t think he was so troubled, though, that the ghost of Christmas past would show up, or that so many months had passed since leaving Destiny Islands that it was Christmastime. He must have been wrong.
“Ordinarily . . . yes,” said the voice. Riku frowned. “You would meet the people in your memories.”
“Ordinarily? Hey, I’m asking you a question!” There was no answer. “Fine. But it’d better be you I run across next, Voice. I’m sick of talking to thin air.”
A card bearing a key symbol appeared in his hand, and Riku ran off down the hallway until he came to a door.
~*~
Riku was disappointed to find he still had the Soul Eater, but it was necessary. He made his way through doors, rooms, and corridors. He used cards to advance into adjacent rooms. Heartless spawned across this place. Something was very wrong here
He came upon a door bearing the same key symbol on the gold card he received earlier and passed into the next room. Riku’s breath caught in his throat.
“It’s like he said-everything’s the same just how I remember it. Even this room . . .”
“It must be nice being back in your old bedroom. Think of all the memories . . .”
Cloud came to mind, but where was he? If these worlds were made of his memories, where was Cloud? Where was Sora? Kairi? Maleficent and Ansem?
“You again,” said Riku. “Sorry, but these memories I could do without. Maleficent gave me this room.”
“So she did. And you lived here, tempted by the darkness she offered. You cast away your home, you friends, everything . . . But at least they gave you a nice room.”
“Shut up.”
Riku ran out of the room and his bedroom door disappeared. Another card appeared in his hand, this time bearing a simple heart.
Where was he? What kind of place took all your horrible memories and recreated them? Riku didn’t want anything to do with the darkness anymore, and he wasn’t tempted by it in the first place! He didn’t want to cast away his friends or his family. It was all an accident-a horrible accident that he didn’t realize was happening until it was too late.
Riku set off back down the hallway, looking for Cloud, Sora, Kairi . . . even Donald or Goofy would be a sight for sore eyes right now.
~*~
“No one here, either,” said Riku, walking into a room after using the second gold card with the heart. “There’s nothing but Heartless in this castle. Voice! I know you’re watching-so explain this. Where are the people from my memories? Tell me!”
“Are you sure you want to see them?”
“Of course I do.”
“But you cast them aside. To reach the outside world, you passed through the door to darkness. Behind you, you left family, friends, home-everything-all in pursuit of darkness.”
“But I cast that aside, too!”
“Then what do you have to show for it? First your home, then the dark. Your heart only knows how to throw things away. It’s empty, like that room. Like your memories. That’s why no one is in the castle with you. Your heart is hollow except for the darkness you couldn’t quite shake off.”
“You’re full of it! I rejected the darkness!”
The voice laughed.
“Did you really, now?”
A third gold card appeared in his hands. Riku huffed and ran from the room.
~*~
As Riku wandered Hollow Bastion, hacking Heartless, his thoughts wandered to the voice.
“Your heart only knows how to throw things away,” said Riku.
King Mickey said his heart overcame the darkness. That’s why he was behind the door, and helped close it to save the worlds. Was this his punishment? Was he still behind the door? Was he doomed to wander the halls of Hollow Bastion forever with no one but the Heartless for company?
Riku hung his head.
Was his heart really empty?
“Your heart only knows how to throw things away,” said Riku.
~*~
He wasn’t alone in the castle. There was the voice, for one, and then there was Maleficent.
“I knew you’d return, Riku,” she said.
“Maleficent! You’re alive?”
He thought Sora finished her off . . .
“You haven’t been paying attention. I am but a figment of your memory.”
Riku smirked. His memory was trying to school him. How quaint.
“Of all the people I could run into, it had to be you . . .”
“Who else? Your heart is steeped in darkness. You can only see people who exist in that same darkness-people like me.”
“No . . .”
“Be grateful you have someone to keep you company. Your heart is empty. Were it not for the darkness in your heart . . . you would be completely alone.”
“That’s sounding pretty good right about now.”
“Come, now. You once clung to me to sate your hunger for darkness. You want me here. Who else but I can give you the darkness you long for?”
“There was a time I did want you around. I surrendered my heart to the dark. But never again. You and your darkness have nothing to offer. All I did was lose myself . . . empty myself. I’m finished with all that. If I’m stuck seeing people like you, people of the dark . . . I’ll take you out one by one.”
“Then don’t forget to take yourself out last. Because you, like me, are one of the dark.”
“That fine with me. I turned to darkness because my heart was weak. I hate that weakness. It’s like I’m my own enemy. And seeing people like you embrace the darkness just makes it worse!” Riku drew the Soul Eater. “Enough talk, Maleficent.”
“So you hate the darkness enough to fight it. Oh, the agony you must feel! Let me end your pain, Riku-end it forever with the wondrous power of the darkness.”
Maleficent burst into her dragon form, and Riku didn’t hesitate to attack.
~*~
Riku moved farther along Hollow Bastion corridors, his breath still heavy from defeating Maleficent’s copy. His mind raced. He couldn’t see Sora or Kairi, but where was Cloud? He and Cloud were alike, both fallen from grace. Could he get to Olympus Coliseum from here? Maybe Cloud was there. Even if it was a copy, at least it was something.
Riku stumbled and held his side. Through his fringed bangs, he looked up and saw a door-a door that radiated light. Riku stumbled toward it and walked through. Everything was white. He was back in the white marble hallway. Had he gone backwards?
“Why do you shun the dark?”
“Oh, come on. I know you heard every word I said to Maleficent.”
“Darkness is your weapon. I need you to accept it.”
Riku paused. The voice . . . he did know that voice.
“What do you care?”
“Stop resisting and accept the darkness. You must . . . if you are to serve me again!”
Ansem appeared before him. Riku resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
“Ansem . . . just as I thought.”
“You don’t seem surprised.”
“You always were chatty when it came to darkness. So let me guess . . . You want to pull me back into the darkness and play puppet master again . . . right?”
“Clever boy. You’ll make a fine host. Now, surrender to me again and-”
Riku almost laughed at the combination of the word ‘host’ and Ansem’s conversational tone.
“You’re insane! There won’t be an ‘again’!”
Riku rushed toward Ansem, Soul Eater drawn, but hit a barrier. He fell back, smacking his head on the white marble floor. Riku tried to sit up and groaned.
“Did you really think you could harm me? A weakling like you couldn’t even defeat Sora-and you had darkness on your side.”
“Excuse me for . . . being weak . . .”
“You need the darkness. Submit! Bow to the darkness, and bow to me.”
“Not a chance . . .”
“Only darkness can help you now.”
“You’re wrong!” said a third voice.
Riku perked up. He knew that voice, too. A white orb of light descended and circled over Riku’s head.
“That voice . . .!” Riku pulled his body up to his knees. “Your Majesty, is that you?”
“You betcha! Riku, you’re not alone. Listen careful now, Riku. The light’ll never give up on you. You’ll always find it, even in the deepest darkness! But you have to believe!”
Cloud had once told him that within darkness there was always a little light. Riku smiled.
“I will.” Riku stood and faced Ansem. “Hear that? I’m not losing to the darkness today, Ansem.”
Riku drew the Soul Eater.
“You think some feeble light can save you from the darkness I command? Fool!”
Ansem rushed at him and the battle began.
It was strange, fighting Ansem. For all the hatred Riku held for the man, they never engaged in battle before. Still, Riku almost felt Ansem’s next move before it happened, and though Riku ached, Ansem ended the battle, stepped back, cast his weapon aside, and held something out to Riku.
“What are those?”
“They are cards crafted from your memory. Advance through the worlds they beget, and you will come to understand . . . Chasing the light will not distance you from the dark. You cannot run.”
“Who’s running? Give me the cards. I’ll enter those worlds. And in the end, if I haven’t given up . . . I win.”
Ansem threw the cards to Riku. He caught them.
“I have one more gift for you.”
Riku narrowed his eyes, and if he could, he would have liked to spit fire as he felt the darkness surround his heart. This was a too-familiar feeling.
“What did you do?”
“I tempered the darkness that remains in your heart.”
Riku couldn’t help but think that maybe there wouldn’t be so much darkness left in his heart if people didn’t keep messing with it.
“What, you still think that I’d rely on darkness?”
“Whether or not you use it is your choice.” Ansem disappeared, but his voice continued. “I’ll be waiting, Riku . . . for you to come to your senses and yield to the darkness!”
Riku looked from the cards in his hand to the doors.
“Not a chance,” he said, and walked up the stairs, holding out the first card.
Like a sun sets to leave nothing but the dark, empty night, the light faded in Riku’s heart, leaving nothing but a dark, empty shell. Still-even in the night-pinpricks of light shone from the stars. Riku smiled as he entered Agrabah. Cloud once said that Riku reminded him of the stars.
( Prompt Table) for previous installments. 023/100 Complete.