Author name: Ruaki []
Author email: ruakichan@aol.com
Category: Drama/Romance?, Kingd*m Hearts
Keywords: Riku, Sora, post-KH
Spoilers: Anything and everything from the beginning to the end--including the secret trailer--of KH.
Disclaimer: Riku didn't end up confessing undying love to Sora in the game, so I'm pretty sure I don't own them. Disney, with their mighty battalion of LAWYORDs, actually owns the full copyright. Square's just a conspiracy! @.@
Author's Note: I would definitely like to thank my beta, Aachan, for countlessly reading this thing over and over and her helpful suggestions. x.x ... so if there's a mistake, it's her fault! ::big grin:: Otherwise, uh, yah. RikuSora.
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'All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.' ~ Edgar Allen Poe
===
~You.~
~No, I.~
~You and I?~
~I and You?~
~Me and Him.~
~Him and Me.~
~We?~
~We're...~
Drowning.
Sinking into the liquid, cut off from precious air, I struggled sluggishly, desperate to escape from this watery prison. Far below--or above?--a soft violet light illuminated the murky waters, sending dancing shards of amethyst glittering around me. Lungs burning, mind searing with irrational thoughts of dreams and imaginings, eyes straining to see something not there... what a miserable way to die.
[I've been having these weird thoughts lately... ]
An undertow snagged my limbs, dragging me closer to the unknown light. Unable to bear it any longer, I released the breath I was holding, watching air bubbles float away from my streaking body with the certainty that death was near.
[What lies beyond the door?]
Water rushed into my nostrils and gulping mouth; my hand reached for the faraway surface as I cried out soundlessly. Purple light engulfed me, blinded me, consumed me.
No, I couldn't die yet! Sora!
The sky glittered clear and blue.
Clouds floated lazily by, big puffy clouds that children loved to shape into recognizable forms in their minds. An albatross coasted an air current, seemingly hanging motionless in the air, sleek body tilting only slightly left and right. The raucuous calls of seagulls weren't as harsh as usual, and the crash of waves was soft, if not still.
The sky was so brilliantly blue.
I stood on a jeweled beach, dry and alive. Uncut emeralds cracked under my heavy boots, spreading as far as the eye can see. The stones kissed the sky at the flat horizon in the distance behind me, a soft gradient of green to azure. I gazed curiously down at them; they lacked the sharp gleam associated with the gem, their dull luster a barrier to the treasure they could be molded into.
Surf washed over the rocks and the tips of my boots, frothy seafoam bubbling among the gems. The hairs along my neck pricked, and I glanced sharply up, toward the ocean.
Someone was standing on the water, facing away from the emerald beach.
White hair caught in the gentle sea breeze.
Black leather encased a broad, tall form.
White sheathed hands spread wide as if to embrace the empty ocean before him.
I half-stepped forward, throat working. He was.. dead, wasn't he? The light destroyed him. Yes, I saw it. From behind the door.
Or had I been dreaming? Trapped in the darkness, had I simply dreamt that Sora won just to keep the hope alive?
My mouth formed the name. Ansem. And as if the sound had been uttered, the stranger turned, feet barely rippling the surface of the water.
He smiled, a grin I was all too familiar with, a smile that spoke everything openly and without deceit. It made those glowing blue eyes crinkle, made teeth flash in the sun with boyish charm that would never be lost to maturity. It was the smile used when he desired something that I didn't want to give.
Sora held out his hand to me, beckoning.
Not Ansem. I rubbed an eye with the palm of a hand. But it was Ansem. I blinked. No, it wasn't Ansem. Sora. Sora. Sora with his wild untamed dark hair and easy manner, the swagger of a boy that wanted to prove himself, with all the naive charm and moral sense of a storybook hero. He was a hero. A great hero. Yes. A hero. And I was the villain.
Do you forgive me?
My feet moved of their own accord, splashing into the brine. My arms lifted of their own volition, reaching out desperately toward this boy as I stumbled further out into the ocean, water swishing around my knees and rising ever higher. It was hard to move quickly, but I stubbornly waded forward, eyes focused on the boy waiting for me atop the water's surface, fingers outstretched to clasp mine.
Sora, Sora, Sora, the sky is so blue. Are you happy now? With her? Do you forgive me?
With cool water up to my neck now, I began to paddle, one arm held out for him. Yet, the distance remained the same between us. He was just as far away as ever, still smiling at me and waiting patiently. Sora? Sora, I can't reach you. Water closed over my head, and I gasped, thrusting my body upward to stay above water, fingers clenching over the figure of Sora in my vision. Sora, tell me, do you forgive me?
Suddenly I was dragged under, dipping beneath the water again, a weight leeching onto my leg. Frantic at the loss of visual contact with Sora more than the fear of drowning, I whipped my head downward.
The giant key glittered in the sunbeams streaming through the sea, the keychain at its end wrapped tightly around my ankle. The tiny crown dangling freely from the chain reminded me of Sora's pendant, the necklace he loved dearly.
His keyblade. It was weighing me down, pulling me deeper into the unknown. It was killing me.
I'm sorry. Do you forgive me? I can't forgive myself until you do. Did you believe in me? Did you follow me to the darkness because I was your friend? Or because I was your enemy?
Lifting my eyes, I watched the surface of the water spiral away, saw myself look down through the water from where Sora once stood. He watched me without emotion, arm extended... And then closed his eyes, outstretched hand clamping shut and pulling away. The other me turned, and as light clouded my vision, his back became the last thing I saw.
Somewhere, far away, a door locked as another opened.
[Don't be afraid of the darkness.]
[You are the one who will open the door.]
[E ancora una volta]
[Apriranno le porte]
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BGM-00: Destati, Kingdom Hearts
translation:
And once again
They will open the doors
