A/N: Thanks for reviewing/subscribing minna! To be honest, I was a little worried about publishing this story on . I wasn't sure how people were going to react to it (considering there is an OC and all). I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and sorry for the wait. I'm going to try to update every two weeks or so.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Riku, Sora, Kairi, and other Kingdom Hearts characters. They belong to Square Enix. I do own Riku's mother, my other OC, and the plot! If you want to use my idea please ask me first.


I turned around and walked right back through the dining room and into the foyer. I turned to my right grabbing onto the cherry colored wooden banister, and quickly made my way up the stairs, skipping steps. Reaching the landing at the top of the staircase, I stopped.

"Riku..."

I heard a voice. I turned around and looked at the base of the stairs. Nothing was there. "Mom?" I called down the stairs.

"Yes?"

I turned around. My aquamarine eyes met the loving, hazel eyes of my mother. She smiled gently down at me. Unlike most of the women on Destiny Islands, my mother is rather tall. The average height is about five-foot six-five feet seven inches. However, my mom is a good six feet. Looking up at her, I said, "we're you calling me?"

She shook her head. "No."

I gave her a weird look. Something in her voice didn't seem right. "Are you okay?" I lifted my hand and touched her forehead. It wasn't like her to be so soft spoken. She was always happy, so full of energy, and rarely seen without a smile plastered on her face. On the other hand, when she was upset everyone knew about it. She was very vocal and rarely kept things to herself.

"I'm fine, dear." She chuckled. It sounded off. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something was definitely missing. She removed my hand from her forehead and put her hands on either of my cheeks. She slightly leaned over, closing her eyes, lightly kissing my forehead. Something was definitely wrong. My mother was a very affectionate person. The day I came home from my long journey, I clearly remember her reaction.


Flash back

I walked up my front steps extremely nervous. What was my mom going to say? My dad? A million questions flew through my head as my hand hesitantly reached for the doorknob. I wondered whether or not the door was open. There was only one way to find out. I turned the knob and to my surprise it was open. I could have sworn my parents would have given up on me after two years. Smiling to myself, I was extremely relieved. I opened the door and stepped inside. " I'm home!" The sound of a pot falling to the ground came as a reply. I walked into the dining room and was immediately tackled to the ground by my mother.

"Riku!" She sobbed. I felt her warm tears on my neck and shoulder. "You're home! Oh, Riku! You're home!" She cried loudly. She wrapped her arms around me, squeezing me tight. It became harder and harder the breathe for she was tightening her grip on me every time I exhaled like a constricting snake.

"Maria, release the boy. You don't want to kill him. The poor thing is suffocating." I heard my father say. I looked up at him with pleading eyes. He and I both knew that my mom wasn't going to release me, given her emotional state. Telling her to let go of me, at that moment, was like telling your heart to stop beating. And everyone knows that won't happen unless something or, in this case, someone intervenes. I laid on the floor for what seemed like hours with my mother on top of me crying her eyes out.

Flash back over


She remained like that for months, tearing up every time I can came down for breakfast or came home from school. When she stopped, she always gave me one of her famous loving smiles that had enough energy to come alive and live on its own and six kisses at one shot. Her chuckle, her smile, her kiss, they were all empty. My eyes widened in horror as I grabbed her wrists. "Is dad okay?"

Two months after returning home, my dad suffered from a heart attack. After that one, his first one, his heart didn't heal like the doctors said it would, and became very weak. Due to that, my dad was constantly in and out of the hospital. Because the frequency of his trips to the emergency room increased dramatically within a short time span, the cardiologists thought it would be best if he stayed there under constant surveillance.

"Yes, he's fine Riku. The doctor said he's making very good progress." She kissed my forehead again, this time multiple times. Sometimes, I couldn't help but feel guilty. I noticed the typical signs of a heart attack: loss of appetite, nausea...denial that something was extremely wrong. I noticed all of these symptoms, but I ignored them. "He'll be home soon, don't worry, hon. It's not your fault." Am I that easy for her to read? She's my mom after all, what can I expect? I let go of her wrists and her hands dropped from my face. "Excuse me, please."

I moved away from the stairs and let my mom pass. I took notice of her lightly curly, chestnut brown hair in a messy, low bun, a clear sign that she was stressed. "Love you," I said as I watched her gracefully glide down the stairs.

She stopped and looked up at me with a brilliant smile. The life was back. Not all of it, but pretty damn close. "Love you too, Romeo." A giggle.

I groaned. She knew I hated that nickname ever since I played Romeo in my seventh grade play I was forced to partake in. At least my mom was feeling better. When was the last time I told her I loved her? I'd have to tell her that more often. I smiled to myself.

I walked to my bedroom door, grabbed the knob firmly, and opened it.

-Flash-

I shielded my eyes with my left arm.

A faded giggle.

"What in the world?" I slowly lowered my arm, squinting my eyes to compensate. I looked out my window and saw the setting sun. If the sun isn't blaring into my eyes, what is? I looked in the direction of the irritating light and found the cause. A shiny object on my night table reflected the light from the sun. I walked over to the table and picked up my CD. I flipped it over.

Linkin Park is trying to blind me... I see how it is.

I opened the first drawer and dropped it in. Collapsing onto my bed, I looked at the ceiling with my hands behind my head. Today was such a weird day. I went through so many emotions: frustration, confusion, doubt, anger, worry, fear, guilt, relief. That's too much for a guy like me to handle. I soon closed my eyes and allowed my mind wander.

I wonder what we're having for dinner.

Various questions and topics floated in and out of my head. My eyes shot open. Crap, I had forgotten. I sat up and got off my bed. Kneeling down next to my desk, I went through my backpack and pulled out my binder. I flipped to the journalism section. Damn, English Regents. Ms. Rondina has been dumping tons of work on us recently. Not only do we have to write articles for our newspaper, Destiny's Insider, we have to prep for our regent in January which consists of 22 multiple choice and four essays. I took out the heavy packet of practice Regent questions and quickly scanned the front page.

Easy enough. I flipped to the back where it had sample essay topics.

She really expects us to write seven of these this weekend?

I groaned loudly. I now fully understood why people say that Journalism students have no life; we have no time for one! I got up off the floor, pulled out my rollie chair, and sat down.

Might as well start now...

I was writing for a couple of hours. I could feel the cramps in my hand slowly take over, but I couldn't stop. I knew that if I stopped there, I would have forgotten everything I was going to write. I hissed as the pain crept further up my hand and bit my lip.

Just let me finish this paragraph. Two more sentences, just two more.

I continued writing.

Yes!

I finally finished my second essay. I released my pen and let my right hand succumb to the imminent pain. I let out a string of curses as I massaged my hand for several minutes. I heard a knock on my door.

"Riku, dinner's ready." My mother said, as she opened my door and looked at my bed. A look of confusion swept her face, but disappeared just as quickly when she looked toward my desk. She looked relieved as she smiled at me. I returned a small smile.

"I'll be down in a minute."

"Alright."

I gathered up my essays and made sure they were in line before I stapled them. Reaching for my binder that was still on the floor, I gazed out my window. To my surprise, it was incredibly dark. I grabbed my binder and brought it to my desk. Opening it to my journalism section, I slid both essays and the packet into the folder. I closed my binder and stood up from my seat making my way to the door. As soon as I stepped out of my room, the delicious scent of dinner enveloped my entire being.

How did my door keep such a scent out of my room?

I walked to the staircase and quickly jogged down the stairs. Turning left, I entered the dining room, and saw the table set for two. I grabbed my plate from the table and walked into the kitchen. I instantly looked down at the floor when I stepped on the tile. It wasn't wet this time, but my thin cotton sock quickly absorbed the chilliness of the tile. I wiggled my toes.

"The floor still wet?"

I looked up at my mom. "No, it's just cold." I looked back at my feet.

"Is it really? I haven't noticed."

"You're wearing thicker socks than I am." I pointed out. I saw my mom wiggle her toes beneath her socks.

"I guess, I am!" She giggled. "C'mon, lets share out our food."

Strangely, my mom had made a lot of food. There was baked breaded chicken, stuffing, pasta Alfredo, elbow macaroni and cheese, and my favorite canned sweet corn. Unlike my mother who took a little bit of each, my plate was packed with food. I must have looked like a glutton in my mother eyes.

There was very little conversation between us. The silence was very comfortable, but slightly empty. My mom was never usually this quiet, but I decided not to pry. I continued to stare at my food as I ate it.

"My, my, Riku, you sure eat fast." I heard the smile in her voice. I heard a giggle, but it didn't belong to my mother. It wasn't foreign either. It sounded like the giggle from before, when I entered my room. Like the girl from the beach. I looked at the seat next to my mom and saw the girl. She was looking down, her bang concealed her face as her shoulders shook. She was laughing. My eyes widened. I blinked. She was gone. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding in. I stared at that spot, eyes widened, my breaths were long and uneven. "Riku?" My mom's voice was teeming with worry. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. Excuse me." I excused myself from the table and ran to the stairs. Skipping steps, I raced to the top and into my room closing the door behind me. I leaned on it. "What the hell was that?" I panted. I brought the palm of my right hand to my face. The tips of my fingers were touching my hairline while my palm covered my right eye and part of my cheek. I took deep breaths to regulate my breathing. After a few breaths, I ran my right hand through my bangs. "What was that?" I looked at my hands. They were shaking, subtly, but noticeable.

"Riku? Honey? Are you okay? What happened?" My mom asked from behind the door. Her voice. Something in her voice made it sound like she was on the verge of crying. I opened my mouth to speak. "What did you see?" I heard the stress she put on see.

"I'm fine, mom. I just," I paused to think, "I just forgot to do something, very important for Sora."

"Okay..." I'm pretty sure that my mom knew I was lying, but didn't want to pry. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Got it?"

I let out a dry chuckle. "Got it, mom." I heard her footsteps slowly fade away. She must have gone back down stairs to clean up dinner. I lifted myself off my door and flipped my lights on. I paced back and forth across my room. Where do I know her from? I stopped in front of my bookcase; something had caught my eye. I walked closer to it and tilted my head to see if I could get a better look at it from a different angle. It was something small and shiny. It laid in a little gap between a slightly tilted book and the end of the bookcase. I don't know how I saw it, I just did. That shelf was pretty packed, but unlike the shelves below there was probably enough room for one more small book. I straightened my book, The Outsiders, and grabbed the unknown object. After pulling it out, I examined it. It was a bracelet, a pretty big one at that. There were many charms hanging from it: a papou fruit, a doghouse, a dog, a key, and a heart. There were different colored beads in between each charm. Why would I have this? It looked like something Kairi would wear, and even more like something she would wear. My eyes widened, my jaw dropped. I dropped the bracelet. I backed up into a wall. I knew whom that bracelet, no, anklet, belonged to. All of my memories of her hit me like a train. I slid to the floor, my body involuntarily shaking.

Cassandra...the anklet belonged to Cassandra.


A/N: If you're confused, you're supposed to be. I'm planing to make everything unravel slowly throughout this fic. I forgot to mention before that this is my first time writing a fanfic with an OC being a main character that isn't a self-insert fic. So please comment/review! Flames are accepted, but don't be too harsh.