Hard blue eyes stared off into the distance. The everlasting dusk calmed most people, especially with his view, perched upon the balcony of the clock tower. But he was not here for the breathtaking view. He barely noticed it. Being away from that Light-damned Organization allowed him to think clearly. For once.
Fragments of a torn memory fell, piece by piece, before his mind's eye.
Laughter rang out from the sea as Riku ran headlong into the water. "What's wrong? Chicken?" he called to his closest friend.
Sora was suddenly indignant. "Am not!" He followed after Riku, determined to prove himself this time, swimming into deeper water.
Meanwhile, a little girl sat alone on the sand. Riku couldn't take it. "Hey! Come on in!"
"I'm fine! You two have fun!" This girl was unbelievable. Two whole weeks on Destiny Islands and she refused to step into the water.
"Aw, come on," Sora said. He and Riku swam back to shore, walking up to the tiny girl. If she wouldn't come to them, they would simply have to go to her.
How true that had been, came a present-day thought. We were always drawn to her, weren't we, Sora?
"Whatcha up to, Namine?" Riku asked. Once again, he beat Sora to the question. Not that Sora seemed to notice.
"Hm?" The blonde looked up. "Oh. Just this." With that, she showed them her sketchbook. A stunning sketch of he and Sora in the water. Beautiful, lifelike. Happy.
The boy atop the tower smiled. Even now, he could recall how beautiful it was. He chuckled bitterly. The irony almost outweighed the bright "memory." Almost. But friendship quickly bloomed into intense rivalry. The smile dimmed.
"I'm the one who's meant to protect Namine, not you," Riku seethed, "but you and your damn 'memories' keep getting in my way!" The Soul Eater appeared in a flare of dark energy, beckoned by sheer rage, as the predator closed in on his prey.
The dark beings hands clenched into fists as he looked into the sunset, silver hair swaying in the breeze. Foolishness.
Now was the time. Sora lay at his feet, defenseless. Namine stood a short distance away, looking frightened. Riku sympathized. How Namine must loathe this confused Keyblade wielder, clinging to promises which never existed. Didn't he understand? It was Riku who had sworn to protect Namine long ago. It was Riku who still held her original good luck charm. And it was Riku who remained by her side when she was taken hostage. Where was Sora when Marluxia threatened to beat the poor girl into oblivion? Where was Sora when she cried. Nowhere. Yet, here he was, the Keyblade Master himself, finally choosing to help the girl he abandoned so long ago.
Riku could never stand idly watching Namine suffer. This madness would end here!
But, even as the swordsman moved in for the kill, the unthinkable happened. Namine's voice pierced through him. "NO!"
Life as he knew it crumbled within that tiny moment. His knees buckled. He sunk into darkness as shards of a broken memory echoed off of the white marble floor.
Lies. His body, his memories, his existence, his name. His frail angel had proved herself to be a competent witch, able to switch and duplicate memories at a whim. Marluxia had used her to place false memories in his and Sora's mind. Sora, Namine and "Riku" became puppets in Marluxia's game. Where was the point in this "Riku's" worthless existence?
"Wait!" Unbidden, the memories continued to flow, unwanted and despised, through "Riku's" mind.
Marluxia was dead, Namine was safe. And he was very much aware he had been a pawn. Yet in spite of his rage, his stride ground to a halt as Sora continued."Who cares if you're a copy? I know, those memories aren't yours, but those feelings are yours and yours alone. They're special!" A hollow laugh escaped "Riku's" lips. Right, dream on, he thought.
Perched upon the clock tower, "Riku" thought. Sora had always been kind but he was too naive for his own good. As if he understood. A clone could never grasp his existence, unless…
Suddenly, "Riku" sighted his latest prey: an adolescent boy with shoulder-length silver hair and sky blue eyes. The real Riku wandered through Twilight Town's plaza, looking as though he was searching for something important or nothing in particular all at once. "Riku" kept his target in view, wondering. He couldn't help himself. Who was this guy? Had he managed to tame and wield the darkness, or was he still trying to escape from its deadly grip? The elegant Soul Eater appeared in "Riku's" hand as he stood, staring down at the real thing.
At last, he understood Sora's words. "Riku" was himself, but he would always exist in Riku's shadow. He would never have a single skill to call his own, or even his own name. Without any sense of individuality, this life was meaningless. His grip on the blade tightened until he was sure his knuckles turned white.
In order to truly live, only one option was available.
The shadow tracked Riku's movements for a minute longer, then leapt off of the tower, landing catlike on the cobblestone path below. Locked onto his prey, he wove his way through the evening crowd toward the old mansion, sky blue eyes shining with determination. He would overcome this futile existence or die trying. The Soul Eater glowed an eerie midnight blue, filled with bloodlust for its next victim.