The dark streets hold mercy for no one. Not even me.
He said these words over and over in his head. He knew they held some danger, but could not place what they meant. Yet here he stood. In the blackest moment of the night, right in the middle of the road. The only light was the stars and moon. The wind blew gently. It was chilling, but he did not feel cold. The light silver hair blew around ever so softly. Glowing blue-green eyes stared straight ahead, as if waiting for something that would never return.
He was seventeen now. How long had it been since he left that realm? He couldn't remember. Not a single memory since that night. He thought about the four people inside the house next to him. The young, reckless boy with the spiky brown hair. Sora. His blonde counterpart who was much calmer. Roxas. The girl with the deep red hair always comforting him. Kairi. Her other half who played with memories. Namine.
Every day, they told him things. He knew what they were saying was right. A part of him knew that for sure. However, every night, as he tossed and turned in his sleep, the memories were gone again. He wanted to remember. He wanted to know what was haunting his dreams. Why there seemed to be no way to hold onto the memories he once had.
A sharp pain jolted his chest and he dropped to his knees. He had felt this before, but that never made it easy to deal with. He bit his lip so hard he felt the blood run down his chin. He never allowed himself to scream. Didn't want other people to suffer from his problems. After a few moments, the pain stopped. There was a gust of wind and a swirling vortex of darkness opened before him. A portal.
He stood slowly. He knew this. Somewhere inside him, he knew where it would lead but he couldn't manage to pull the name from his mind. He needed to know. Riku took one last look at the house. Quickly, he turned around to face the portal again. He would find his answers. Then return to this place. He pulled out a notepad and scribbled something down quickly, sliding the page under the door. Then, reaching out slowly, he left to discover himself.
***
Sora bounded down the stairs the next morning to see a small piece of paper floating around the house. The windows were open and the page caught the breeze like a kite. He ran over and snatched it out of the air. Namine, Roxas and Kairi joined him to read the few words that had been scrawled down.
Sora. Kairi. Roxas. Namine. I'm sorry.