Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.
Summary: Riku and Kairi have a heart to heart on the beach. Occurs a day after Promises. There may be a pairing if you squint.
A myriad of feelings coursed through her at that moment, as she ran across the beach of the Destiny Islands. Sora hadn't gone to school today. That was really unlike him. He hadn't missed a single day since he'd come back, even when he'd broken his arm the morning prior. He'd just given her that cheery smile of his and healed it with magic.
So why? Why wasn't he there now? Why skip school when he'd been doing so well? The last year alone held a remarkable improvement of his academic skills, never mind his two year absence. He'd even managed to skip up into the grade just behind her. Why would he skip after doing so well?
Upset? Of course she was upset. If anything, Sora should have at least told someone he wasn't going to be there! Kairi shook her head to clear her thoughts away, her eyes catching sight of Riku. He hadn't been at school, either. Unlike Sora, though, he no longer needed to go to school. No, Riku was the founder of the Destiny Islands own defence force. Now that all the Worlds were permanently connected, they needed protection, lest the be attacked and destroyed. Riku himself served as quite the deterrent. After all, who wanted to fight with a Keybearer? That was awfully akin to shooting oneself in the foot.
"Riku!" Kairi called out, waving a hand as she ran. Riku turned to get a look at her, but the downcast look in his eyes told her that something had happened. Something horrible.
"Kairi?" It was a mock question, and both of them knew it. However, Kairi took a moment to catch her breath before answering what had been left unasked.
"Sora wasn't at school today. No one's seen him since yesterday, either." Kairi panted. Riku nodded, turning out and facing the sea, the sun setting in the distance.
Only twenty four hours ago he'd been in this exact same spot with Sora. Now it seemed that he would never do so again. The trio were broken, now, never to be whole again. Even if they did find Sora, who knew what he could have turned into. Maybe he would be one of the hundreds of faceless Heartless that would stand in Riku's way, or a particularly vicious one that had retained humanity. Either way, Riku would do as he must, regardless of how much his heart cried out in spite of it.
"Riku?" Kairi whispered, trying to get the silver haired teens attention. Riku shook his head.
"Sora is gone, Kairi." Riku replied. "He left to face the darkness again." Kairi's mouth fell open in shock.
"What? When? Why? How?" She asked, firing off questions faster then Riku could formulate answers.
"In order, the first you already know, yesterday afternoon, who knows, and again, who knows." Riku replied callously. "He's not coming back, Kairi."
"What do you mean he's not coming back. He has a family, friends here! He has us!" Kairi screamed, beating her fists into Riku's chest. Riku didn't say anything, just wrapping his arms around Kairi's shoulders to make sure she didn't fall. "He has us... Are we not good enough for him?"
"Sora is the only Keybearer who isn't tied down by obligations." Riku stated, utilising the carefully crafted response he'd spent the last twenty four hours preparing. "If I were to leave the Destiny Islands, it would serve as a beacon for anyone who wishes to invade us to attack. Mickey can't leave the castle, either. He does have a kingdom to run, and being absent for over two years can't have helped. All Sora has is his friends and family. He isn't obligated to remain at the Islands."
"That's bull and you know it, Riku!" Kairi screamed. "If that were true, he would have told somebody!"
"He did, just not in so many words." Riku's response shocked Kairi silent. Riku felt a pit open up in his stomach as Kairi's mouth opened again.
"He told you something, didn't he?" She whispered. Riku nodded, his resolve caving. Well, if Kairi knew he wasn't telling the truth, then he may as well come clean.
"Sora left to fight the darkness within himself." Riku admitted, his voice cracking. Kairi, on the other hand, saw straight through to the heart of the matter.
"He asked you to kill him if he fell, didn't he?" She replied. Riku nodded.
"Yeah. He's not coming back, Kairi. Even if he does beat the darkness, he isn't returning to the Islands." Kairi let out a choked sob, burying her head in Riku's chest, leaving the silver haired teen shocked silent.
Words couldn't describe the sudden feeling of loss within Riku. Even if they met Sora again, they would never be the trio again. They'd never be best friends, not in the way that they were. This new Sora that was emerging... wasn't the Sora Riku had grown up with. This Sora had taken self sacrifice to the extreme.
Then again, maybe it wasn't so out of character for Sora after all.
You better keep that promise, Sora. Even if we're always apart, our hearts will keep us linked. You'll always have a home here.
Thanks, Riku, but I'm not going to need it. Good bye, my friends.
Riku felt a tear fall from his cheek as Sora's voice whispered to him on the winds, before falling silent.
Then the sun finally set, spreading crimson across the sky. One day, Riku might be forced to spill Sora's blood in a similar way.
He was not going to sleep tonight.
And there you go, a follow up to Promises. I'm going to do one more, but that one is going to have a rather obvious pairing.
This can be taken as Riku/Kairi, although it wasn't intended as a romantic thing. It could be the foundation of it, though.