A Break Between the Waves
Riku and Naminé take a break
A/N: Originally written for the The Ties That Bind Kingdom Hearts fanzine A huge thank you to novallion and destiny-islanders on tumblr for organizing the zine. All of the posts about it were seriously inspiring and I'm so happy I was able to participate!
They were at a standstill. Days blurred all together, and images that were once so clear to her faded into shadows. With a soft sigh, Naminé set down her sketchbook, a half-finished black cloak on the page. Every day, the same images. The same sense of unease about what had to be done and who would have to do it.
If she understood earlier, could things have been different?
"Naminé." Someone suddenly called, startling her. It was rare for her to have a visitor, and rarer still for the visitor to use the door. But the door indeed swung open and a blindfolded figure in a black Organization coat stepped inside.
"Hello, Riku," Naminé said politely as he sat down. "How are you today?"
"Nothing new on my end," Riku said, missing, or ignoring, her real question entirely. "You?"
"The same, I'm afraid," Naminé said softly, eyes falling to her sketchbook. "I'm sorry."
Sometimes Riku came to her for information. Today however, he just sat quietly and stared at the walls. He loosened his blindfold so he could see the pictures, though Naminé knew that he what every piece was even with it. She'd once caught him rearranging her collection – likely trying to piece his own chain of memories together, and since then, she took care to leave them in place.
Naminé was used to silence. Many of her days were filled with nothing but the scratching of a pastel against cardstock. But with Riku sitting right in front of her, she suddenly found it deafening.
"Is there something on your mind?" she asked at last. Her voice seemed to break whatever trance Riku had fallen into.
"Sorry. I was just thinking," he said and shielded his eyes once more. "About the islands."
"I see."
"There's still a thick haze over everything. But I'm thinking more about Kairi these days," Riku admitted. It wasn't surprising. He been in contact with her after all.
"Anything in particular?" Naminé asked. Instead of an answer though, he suddenly turned to stare at her. Despite the blindfold, Riku could easily visualize every inch of her painfully familiar face.
"I wanted to ask you," he began, but quickly trailed into a long pause. "Actually, forget it. I have a different question," he said despite never having vocalized the first one. "What have you been up to lately?"
"Me?" Naminé couldn't hide her surprise at the question. This was the first time Riku had ever asked her such a thing. Was he asking about her progress? How could she even answer? Her powers had been blocked completely.
"I've been…drawing?" she tried anyway. "I'm trying to follow the memories wherever they lead. Maybe I can still find another thread. Safely take them back and have that be the end of it."
"Oh? How's that going?"
"It's not…" she admitted bitterly. All she had was a sketchbook full of Nobodies to show for it. If she had another year, maybe she could dive further in, unravel each link one by one, pull out just the trapped memories and reconstruct the rest. But she didn't. All she could do was draw what she saw and wait for someone else to step in. "I'm sorry."
It seemed that Riku expected that answer though.
"In that case," he stood up, "let's go somewhere."
"What? But—
"We need a break," he continued over her objection. "Especially you. You've been at this without rest for months now. It's no wonder you have artist's block."
"No, but…I can't leave the mansion."
"Why not?"
"DiZ will never allow it," she said. DiZ made no secret of his dislike of her, and especially how frustrated he was with her dallying.
"You'll be back before he notices." Somehow she doubted that.
"But it's dangerous out there."
"Don't worry. I know some places they won't go," Riku assured her. "You have to go outside once in a while."
"I go outside," Naminé muttered. Even she knew an open window wasn't a substitute for fresh air. But she couldn't fight or open Dark Corridors reliably, so she never went further than the mansion gates.
Riku walked over to her side of the table and held out his hand. "Just come with me for a bit. I'll bring you back right after."
She wanted to shake her head. She didn't need a break. Her days were already nothing but breaks lately. Her powers weren't such that a change of scenery could magically jump start them again. Riku knew that.
The "No" was already on her lips. She just had to say it. She doubted Riku would push her any further if she did. But when he came close, it looked like he appeared to be on the verge of an important realization…something that, if Naminé pulled away now, he could lose for good.
I've caused him enough grief, Naminé told herself firmly, and took his hand. Riku's expression softened.
A Dark Corridor opened up behind him.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"The beach."
Naminé had never been to a beach. At least, not a real one. She'd visited the illusory Destiny Islands back in Castle Oblivion, and her trips through Sora's memories left her with enough knowledge about how it was.
The Twilight Town beach was different from the one in his memories though. The blue skies were painted in orange hues, and the dark pristine sands gave it a decidedly melancholic feel. It was evening already so there were very few people around when they stepped out onto the boardwalk and breathed in the salty sea air.
It was the height of summer in Twilight Town, but the cool ocean breeze made her shiver slightly.
"Oh, are you cold?" Riku asked in sudden realization.
"No, I'm alright," Naminé assured him. "It just feels different here."
"Alright."
Riku led her around the boardwalk a bit, pointing out some sights, and asking her what she wanted to do, but there was a certain distance they kept from each other, and no conversations really began.
Truthfully, Naminé was at a loss. Even if she had a swimsuit, It was probably too cold to go swimming, and while the view was nice to look at, she didn't really draw the things in front of her. Maybe it would have been nice to walk on the sand? No…she was indifferent either way.
She was finally out of the mansion, at a beach, but she didn't feel anything towards it.
Is it because I don't have a Heart? She wondered. Sometimes she questioned it, but a normal person like Riku probably would have felt something about going to the beach.
They walked the distance of the boardwalk before settling by the railing, and watched the waves roll onto the sand. For a long time, silence reigned.
"So…" Riku finally said, awkwardly. "What do you think?"
"About?"
"The beach?"
"It's… nice, I think."
"You think?"
"It's nice," Naminé repeated a little more firmly. "Was there something here you wanted to show me?"
"Not really," Riku muttered. "I just…wanted to take you to the beach."
"Oh."
"For a break."
"Right."
"To see what you'd think."
"I see," Naminé frowned and willed herself to come up with an appropriate response. "I do appreciate you looking out for me, Riku. But I'm a Nobody. I can't feel."
"I really wonder about that," he said. "Both you and her. The way you react to things…"
"Nobodies use their memories to act out their feelings," Naminé recited automatically. "And she's… a special case…"
"But you don't have any memories of your previous life."
"No," Naminé admitted. "But DiZ says I'm special too. Perhaps…the memories I've tampered with left some sort of impression?"
"Hmm," Riku's frowned. "If you're influenced by Sora's memories, then you should have some reaction to a beach. Didn't he spend a lot of time there? Didn't he like the beach?"
"Yes, he did. You, Sora, and Kairi spent all of your free time on an island a short boat ride away from the mainland. You had races, swimming competitions, fishing contests. Those memories…are very precious to him."
"Yeah," Riku agreed softly. "I remember Kairi and me. I probably took it all for granted, but Kairi loved the beach. She would always complain about us dragging her out to the island every day, but then she never wanted to leave. She once suggested staying overnight, which I…no, we…ran wild with," Riku frowned suddenly. "Is that…right?"
Oh. Naminé realized. Of course.
"It's right," she whispered. She'd never heard Riku talk so much about himself before. Their interactions were always rare and brief and punctuated by her progress on Sora's memories. She didn't think she could consider Riku a friend—maybe a closer ally than DiZ, but she knew where she stood with him.
And yet, she realized she liked listening to Riku. If listening to him helped ease his anxieties even a little… If that was something she could do for him…
"I'm glad," Riku seemed relieved.
"I promise you'll remember everything soon," Naminé said. "I won't stop until every one of Sora's memories is back where it belongs. No matter…no matter what."
"I know," Riku told her. "Just…just don't you overdo it too. If DiZ starts pushing too hard, you can tell him off. No matter what he says, you do matter."
"I know," Naminé said. "Thank you, Riku. I really do appreciate you bringing me here."
"Yeah…" Riku looked away. "Things are going to get busy for us both after this. I don't think we'll have time for a break again."
"Yes," Naminé agreed solemnly.
She wasn't sure how much longer they watched the waves, when Riku said. "Are you ready to head back?"
The sea breeze really did feel nice.
"I think," Naminé said. "I should like to stay a little longer."
A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed :)
I was inspired by all of the posts about the Ties That Bind Zine, and also coincidentally reading through the KH2 Novels at the time, and so this fic was born. I really wish Naminé and Riku could have gotten more focus in that year between CoM & KH2 (Days or otherwise).
Also I just really love that image on the 1.5 Remix cover with Mickey, Riku, and Naminé. It's cute.
The final zine turned out amazing with so many great art pieces & fics. It's a free zine so I highly recommend looking up The Ties That Bind on Gumroad