Okay so I didn't expect to add a second chapter to this, but I just kept thinking about that beach party scene. And I thought it could be expanded on. So here it is!
Ryuu smiled back as he reached out to hold Naminé's other hand. "You're welcome Naminé."
Naminé leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Ryuu, giving him a gentle hug. Ryuu tensed up ever so slightly as he had not expected it. But within the next few seconds a strong feeling of happiness filled up inside of him and he relaxed. He returned the hug to Naminé as he still kept smiling. He wasn't sure when the last time was when he felt this happy… but the more he thought about it… he wasn't sure he had ever felt his happy.
But that didn't matter to him anymore. He was happy now and that was what mattered most. He pulled back from the hug and looked at Namine again. He started to think of what he could say. He tried to think, but was drawing a blank. He was feeling a bit helpless as he couldn't think what to do or say. He never expected to actually be here… with everyone else… with Namine. He thought that he would accept his fate to fade away and that would be it, but now that wasn't the case.
Ryuu felt Naminé grab hold of one of his hands again. "Come on," she said as she gave a slight pull, indicating she wanting him to follow.
"What are we going to do?" Ryuu asked as he followed her to towards the shoreline.
"Anything really. That's what everyone else is doing. I wanted to look by the shore though for shells with Xion," Naminé replied. "Do you want to look for shells with us?"
"Sure," Ryuu said as he followed her down to the shoreline.
Xion was already there, running her hands through the sand, looking for shells. As Ryuu got closer he couldn't help but look at her with a bit of curiosity. "So she's the other replica…" he muttered to himself in his thoughts. The more he looked at her the more he could that she had similarities to both Kairi and Namine, but yet she also looked completely different. She really did look like her own person compared to him.
Xion looked up at Ryuu and smiled at him. "Hi Ryuu."
"Uh hi," Ryuu said a bit quietly, feeling a bit shy or awkward much to his surprise. In his short lifetime he never had really interacted with many people before. At least not really many friendly people. Thinking back to his time in Castle Oblivion, he never thought of any of the Organization members as friendly or anything else like that.
He stared at Xion for a bit more, and she looked back. Without words they both were thinking the same thing; they were both replicas. That's how they both started at least. But now they were their own person.
Naminé knelled down next to Xion. "So what shells have you found now?"
"I found a few more flat ones with a blue and a purple shade, as well as a few round ones," Xion replied as she gestured to a small pile of shells.
"How pretty," Naminé said.
"So, what are you two planning to do with all of the shells then?" Ryuu asked, not exactly knowing what to do. He didn't think much about looking at shells and collecting them, but he was near Naminé, so he didn't mind as much.
"Right now we are just trying to find as many ones as we can," Naminé explained. "But we are thinking of maybe making something with them. Like necklaces… or maybe little charms."
"Charms… like the one…" Ryuu started to say, but then he faltered and stopped himself.
A memory had come to his mind, but he did his best to shut it out. The memory… it was one of the fake ones Naminé had been forced to make for him back at Castle Oblivion. The memory of when they were young and she had given her lucky charm. It was all fake. None of the supposed past he remembered was real.
Ryuu's fist tightened as he closed his eyes. He thought that he had moved past those thoughts. He thought he had moved on from thinking about how he wasn't real. How he never had a life or anything else. He thought he was over that… but now it had resurfaced. His feelings and thoughts… were they truly his own? Or were they just how he thought he should feel based on his fake past.
"Are my… feelings for Naminé... are they even…" Ryuu trailed off with his thoughts, not wanting to complete them. It was only making him feel even more irritated.
"Ryuu?" Naminé asked as she looked over to see Ryuu, and saw that his face ran deep with concern and frustration. "Are you all right?"
Ryuu opened his eyes again and looked at Naminé. He wanted to smile at her and tell her that everything was all right. That there wasn't anything that was bothering him. But when he looked at her face, he knew he couldn't lie to her. He wanted to keep things nice and peaceful between the two of them, but he never wanted to hide anything from her. He care for her, whether he knew it was legitimate feelings or not, he wanted to tell her the truth.
"I don't really know…" he started off with a sigh. "I was only thinking about things and it lead to me thinking… well about my…memories."
Naminé glanced away, looking down at the shore. She seemed to pick up on what Ryuu was talking about. "Oh… I see."
"I know now of course that I never actually had a past… but those memories are still there. Every single one of them. And now, I guess I am feeling a bit unsure about it."
Naminé looked back at Ryuu, her eyes wide and filled with concern and perhaps a small bit of curiosity. "What do you mean by that?"
Ryuu now was the one to look away. He didn't want to see her face when he told her his next words. He didn't want to see her hurt expression. "It only reminded me of things. How most of my thoughts and feelings are because of those fake memories. Which made me start to wonder…" he took in a deep breath. "A-Are my feelings for you even… real."
He heard a faint gasp from Naminé, but he still refused to look at her. He wanted to get these thoughts off his chest, but he did it at the expense that he may have hurt Naminé's feelings. He then felt a gentle hand on top of his, causing him to look back slightly. Naminé looked at him, a small smile was on her face.
"Of course they are real," Naminé stated. "They are your feelings and yours alone."
"Well I know they are real… but I mean they were just… they were programed… or created. Manufactured memories are what make me feel the way I do," Ryuu said before biting his lip. The words were a lot harder to say than he thought, as they still hung heavily in his mind.
He knew what he was talking about was a sensitive subject, especially for Naminé. He knew how trapped and lonely she felt well being held prisoner at Castle Oblivion. Her time there was not something she probably wanted to think about or look back on. But that was still where everything had happened. The place where he was created and programmed as a replica of Riku. The place where Naminé had be forced to make a fake past for him in order to think he was the real Riku. He knew though he had to talk about it though. Otherwise it would have bottled up and he would only have felt worse later about it.
Naminé's grip tightened around Ryuu's hand. She pursed her lips together as she tried to figure out what to say to him. "The memories may be fake… but you have developed your own feelings. They may have been… influenced maybe by those memories, but you… you took things into your own hands. Once you knew you weren't… the real Riku, you choose your path and made your own choices."
Ryuu sighed again. He knew she was right, he wanted to believe that. But the doubts that everything was all caused by the fake memories still lingered in his mind. He didn't know what to answer back as he looked away again, deciding to stare out at the vast ocean.
Naminé kept looking at him, waiting for his answer. But she could see that he was still feeling conflicting. Finally, she had a single idea she thought she might as well ask. She wasn't sure if he would agree, but she saw no harm in asking. "Would you… want me to try to remove those memories then?"
"And have me be like an empty slate No… I wouldn't want that. It took me long enough to find my way, I wouldn't want to have to start that over again," Ryuu replied.
Someone else cleared their throat. Ryuu looked back to see it was Xion. She was still sitting right next to Naminé. Ryuu felt a little bad that he had forgotten about her being there. He had gotten so caught up in fixating about his fake memories that he forgot that Naminé and Xion were originally looking for shells.
"You know," Xion started. "I was only a replica originally created to copy Roxas. I never had, nor do, have any past memories. I did once, but they weren't even mine to begin with. Though of those memories… I was able to form an identity. Maybe it was because of those memories. Maybe they did influence me, or maybe they didn't, I don't know for sure. But I still am me. Everything I had done and said has always been my choice. And that's what matters."
Ryuu blinked a few times as he thought about what Xion had just said. He hadn't even thought about what her life must have been like. Though the words she said did give some relief to him. They made him feel a bit better about it all. She was able to live her life now even though she never had a past to start with. She was making her life as she went long.
"Even though our situations are different, if she can go through her life now like that, I can find my own way then," Ryuu thought before he turned his attention back to Naminé.
He placed his other hand over Naminé's and then took in a breath before he spoke. "I'm sorry if I upset either of you guys by this. I guess I got too lost in my doubts."
Naminé ended up smiling as she moved her hand to Riku's face. Her fingers gently pressed against his cheek. "It's all right Ryuu. At least you told me about it. I'm glad that you did."
Ryuu couldn't help but smile back at her. "I didn't want to keep it from you. But thank you, both of you."
"You're welcome," Xion said cheerful. "Never forget that you aren't alone if you need to talk about anything. You have all of us now."
"Yeah, that's right. I guess I am still getting use to all of it. Still never expected to be here," Ryuu commented though he gave a small chuckle.
A moment passed before he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Naminé. He leaned in close as he whispered into her ear. "No matter what then, I will always care for you and want to protect you. This is what I feel and I know that much is true."
Naminé returned the hug as she felt a happy feeling fill inside of her. She knew that Ryuu truly meant those words from the bottom of his heart. Those were his true feelings about her."Thank you Ryuu. That means so much to me."
The world around them seemed to fade away as they held each other in their arms. Though soon enough a small happy sigh was heard from next to them. Xion was still there of course. The two of them let of of one another and looked away, their cheeks slightly red now.
"Aw I didn't mean to interrupt. You guys looked so cute though," Xion replied.
"L-Let's just go back to looking for shells. I'll help you guys look for them," Ryuu said quickly.
Naminé and Xion exchanged glances for a moment before they giggled at one another. Ryuu had a feel why they may have been doing that, but knew not to ask. He just started to run his sands through the sand as he began to look for shells.
A few minutes passed as Ryuu, Namine, and Xion started to look for and gather shells of all different types. Though footsteps were soon hear and Ryuu looked up to see Lea… or Axel… he wasn't exactly sure at this point what name the redhead wanted to be called. He just decided to go with Axel, since that is how he knew him. Besides Naminé and Riku, Axel was the only other one at the beach party who knew him. Well… who remembered him at least.
"Hey Ryuu, wanna play a game of team frisbee with me, Ventus and Isa?" he asked.
"Huh? Why would you want me?"
"Cause we need a fourth person, and why not you? Are you saying you don't think you could play a game of frisbee?" Axel asked with a rather smug expression.
Ryuu stood up as he kept looking at Axel. "No I bet I could. I just…" he looked over to Naminé and Xion. "Uh is it all right if-"
Both of the girls giggled again, making Ryuu feel a slight bit embarrassed. Naminé was then the one to speak. "You can go. We'll just be right here."
Axel patted Ryuu on the shoulder. "Come on then, let's go."
Ryuu nodded and followed behind Axel over to where Isa and Ventus where waiting. Once they were there, Axel spoke up again. "We'll we got a fourth player. Now to split up the teams. I say the adults verse the children." Axel laughed after he gave his idea on the teams.
"Hey! We aren't children," Ventus retorted with a chuckle.
"Says the one who slept for over a decade and still doesn't look any older fifteen," Axel replied jokeily.
Ryuu chuckled a little at the small banter, but then decided to say something else. "Ventus, you don't have to worry. Even if he thinks we are 'children' doesn't mean we can't beat him and Isa."
"Now that sounds like a fun challenge," Isa added as he gave a small smile.
"Let's do it then!" Ventus said enthusiastically as he pumped a fist into the air. He then turned to look at Ryuu. "And Ryuu, just call me Ven."
Ryuu nodded back in acknowledgement before the four of them got set up to play against each other. Axel quickly explained the rules of team frisbee, but it sounded like Axel was just making it up as he went. Now that Ryuu thought about it, he had never heard of a 2vs2 game of team frisbee before. But it wasn't long until all four of them had really gotten into the swing of it..
Even though it just ended up them, passing the frisbee around as fast as they could, they were still all having fun with it. Ryuu actually never expected to to enjoy it that much. At first he was still subconsciously wondering what the others were thinking of him, since out of the three, Axel was the only one to know him. Even then, they didn't really know each other too well. Axel had used him when he was at his lowest moment bac at Castle Oblivion. But again, that was all in the past. Ryuu knew for sure now he was finally passed all of that and wasn't planning on dwelling on it ever again.
Though the game shorted ended once Ventus missed a pass and the frisbee collided right into a rather impressive sand sculpture that Donald had been building. Donald was about to yell angrily at them when his attention was brought elsewhere. Ryuu looked around and saw that everyone was slowly looking in the same direction.
Over on the smaller island that had the paopu fruit, Ryuu saw that Kairi and Sora were sitting on the large base of the tree. It only just occurred to Ryuu that he hadn't seen either of them when he arrived at the party.
"Have they just been there the entire time? Or… is there something I am missing?" Ryuu thought to himself. He had yet to ask Riku what had happened during the battle against the Real Organization, so he had no idea if something had happened or not. Though from the way everyone looked towards the two on the tree, Ryuu felt there was something else going on. He figured though he would find out soon enough though what had happened.
"So why don't you say anything to her?" Ryuu asked Riku.
The party had ended shortly after everyone saw Sora just disappear. It had not made any sense to Ryuu at that current time, but Riku explained once everyone else left to head back home. It was just the two of them now on the main island, sitting down on the sand as they looked at the now early night sky.
"I wouldn't know what to say. Not right now at least. She just needs some more time to take things in. We all do…" Riku finally replied.
"I still can't believe you just let him go off on his own like that, despite knowing what he was doing could be dangerous," Ryuu replied with a huff of air.
Riku sighed. "I know. At first I was letting him go on his own because it was his choice. But if I had known… if I had known what he was trying to do. If I what knew was he was doing to bring her back. I would have… Maybe I could have done something then."
Ryuu looked over to see Riku staring out at the ocean, a heavy and hurt look painted his face. He knew that Riku was torn up about what had happened to Sora, but he wasn't showing much of that. He was trying to keep his calm composure about it all. Though Ryuu could still tell of course. Ryuu knew what Riku was really thinking on the inside.
"You can't keep thinking about what you could have done. That doesn't help do anything," Ryuu replied, hoping that he could say something to help Riku feel a bit better. He knew he wasn't the best at it, but he wanted to try. After all Riku had done to help him, he wanted to try and return the favor in some way or form.
"Yeah…" Riku sighed heavily. "It's just during our Mark of Mastery exam I had become a Dream Eater in order to protect Sora. I had subconsciously done that because I knew I needed to protect my friend. I don't even think he ever realized that I helped him back then. But now… I feel like I failed to do what I had promised to do; to protect what matters."
"Stop beating yourself up over it though," Ryuu said as he rolled his eyes slightly. "I know you are trying to mope, but I also know that you are probably thinking of a way to get Sora back."
Riku closed his eyes and smiled slightly. "Yeah, you're right about that. All of those things." Riku then opened his eyes and looked up at the star filled sky. "I'll find a way to bring Sora back."
"Do you even have a plan or any idea what could have happened to him?" Ryuu asked.
"No, nothing yet. But I'll figure out something soon. Just need a little more time is all," Riku replied. He then looked over at Ryuu. "Though if I do go out to find Sora, I have something to ask."
"You want me to stay with Kairi and everything right?" Ryuu asked before Riku could even be given a chance to say anything.
Without a word Riku nodded. Both of them knew that whatever Riku would end up doing, it would be risky. If Riku did something dangerous and ended not coming back, he wouldn't want Kairi to be all alone. That would only break her heart more.
Ryuu had yet to actually properly talk with Kairi, but he knew that time would come when they would talk. Today was not the day for it though, but eventually he would get around to talking with her. And with that he knew what he was going to have to do. "Don't worry, I'll stay by her side." He paused for a moment before be added one last thing. "But that doesn't mean you can be completely reckless."
Riku laughed slightly. "Thanks Ryuu. At least I have someone to talk to about this. You are really the only one who would understand."
Ryuu scoffed though a smile appeared on his face. "Well I wonder why that is."
Riku laughed again, though he didn't say any word. Silence then fell between the two silver-haired boys. They both sat there as they listened to the waves rolling in and out. Soon enough though Ryuu started to feel curious about things again.
"When do you plan to leave?"
"I don't know… Few days maybe. I don't want to keep waiting. It's just wasting more time."
"Ah okay… I hope you can find him."
"Me too."
There was another pause before either of them spoke again. Riku slowly stood up though before he started again. "Come on, let's head home. We still have to see what my… our parents say about seeing you. I can guess they are going to be pretty confused."
"Yeah, let's go," Ryuu said before standing up.
The two of them started to head to the boat that would lead them back to the mainland. As they walked Ryuu couldn't help but think things over again. It already felt like so long ago when he was ready to fade away after his sacrifice for Naminé. So much had happened and now it felt Ryuu wondering what could happen next. Time could only tell though, but now he at least had more reason to be there.
He knew his main reason to be there was to see Naminé again, but with everything that had happened, he knew there would be more he could do. With the future still a bit uncertain, he knew he had to do whatever he could. While he wasn't thinking of himself as Riku anymore, it didn't mean that they didn't still share some similar thoughts. Ryuu still had the thoughts of wanting to protect his friends, which he had a lot more of now, and it was a lot more than he ever could have expected.
I also thought it would be nice to have one last talk between them about what Riku plans to do, since we know he does do something probably. Maybe I'll write more if we ever get a KH4 haha.
Thank you all for reading.