OMG I finally did it! I finally got chapter 3 of this finished! I am so so sorry for the long wait on this. Not only did I get serious writers block on this, but also school and other stories. But school is over now so more time to think so I finally sat my butt down and just did it! Thank you all for your patience on this and let's get to it!


Ch.3

Riku and Ryuu stood outside the house, neither of them speaking a word. Riku stood there though, contemplating what he was going to do or say next. He had been gone quite a long time from home, and he knew he mother already worried the first time he had vanished. He remembered after well over a year when he returned and how much his parents scolded him and yet were relieved to see him at the same time.

Now he had gone off again without a word for a long period of time and only returned briefly for that one day before the final battle had taken place. But now he was back home, and this time with Ryuu. He still had not thought of how he was going to explain him to his parents. He wasn't even sure what they were going to say. But he knew at least he had to give it a try.

"So are you going to just keep standing here?" Ryuu asked, sounding a bit impatient.

"Sorry, just was thinking. I know mom is going to give me an ear full once I open that door though. Guess I just wanna take in this list moment of silence," Riku replied as he flashed a quick smile.

"Well you shouldn't keep her waiting. I'll just be off to the side here… until you figure out how to explain me," Ryuu said as he walked slightly to the side, out of range from the door.

Riku nodded before taking in a deep breath. He stepped forward closer to the front door and knocked slowly. Only a few seconds passed before the door swung open and Riku's mother stood directly in the center.

"Riku! Where have you been?! I thought you finally would stop going off and disappearance, but again today I come to find you not anywhere in the house and no where around town. You can't just keep leaving without saying a word!"

Riku stood firmly as he let his mother yell at him. He could only lower his head slightly and give a slight nod as she talked. Once she finished though he lifted his head to speak. "I know, and I'm sorry… for disappearing so much."

"Why though? Why do you just keep disappearing like that? Is there something you are hiding?" Riku's mother asked him as she crossed her arms.

"No nothing like that," Riku replied as he shook his head. "It's just… I can't really explain the reason." He paused for a moment before he quickly added to his words. "But don't worry! It's nothing serious that you need to worry about."

Riku's mother stated long and hard, analyzing everything he had said. She still did not seem convinced yet. "So you can't tell me anything?"

Riku lowered his head. "No. Though today at least I was actually on the small island with some friends."

"Hmm…" His mother hummed as she took a step closer to Riku. She looked deeply into his eyes before finally sighing. "Well… if you say so. I guess I cannot press you any further. But I would like it if you could tell me at least one day. Come on in now, I'll heat up your supper."

She turned around to walk inside when Riku spoke up again. "Oh mom, there is one other thing though."

She turned back around. "What is it?"

Riku looked over at Ryuu and motioned for him to come over. Slowly he took a few steps closer as he came into the line of sight of Riku's mother. As soon as she saw him her eyes widened with deep levels of confusion. She glanced between the two to them as she waited for answers.

"This is Ryuu… and he's… well…" Riku tried to say but he couldn't find the right words. He didn't want to have to explain the entire replica situation to his mother nor did he want to. As he didn't know exactly how Ryuu would feel about it.

"Let me guess, it has to do with when you went away and you can't explain it right?"

"Uh. Yeah… like that," Riku replied, thankful his mother caught on. "So I was wondering, since he needs a place to stay…"

He didn't finish as he watched his mother take a few steps closer to Ryuu. She leaned over slightly and met his eye level. Ryuu stared back though, unable to say anything. He wasn't sure what he could even say. To him, she was technically his mother from his fake memories, but in reality he didn't know her at all. He wanted to though, but at the same time he felt afraid.

While he didn't mind too much being the brother of Riku, it was his parents that worried him. He wasn't sure what they would think of him or even if they would accept him. He didn't want to be treated just like Riku though… that was the other half of the fear. His whole goal in all of this was to be his own person, but he was afraid of how Riku's parents might see him.

"So, you're Ryuu?" Riku's mother finally asked, with a softness to her voice.

Ryuu took in a deep breath and finally tried to answer. "Yeah. I am."

Without another word Riku's mother wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in close. She started to gently run her hand through his hair. She hummed softly before speaking again. "It's nice to meet you Ryuu. Of course you can stay here, I won't mind at all."

Ryuu stiffened slightly. He didn't expect her to be so open, yet at the same time he did. He knew that she was a kindhearted woman, but it was still coming as a surprise. The way she was just easily accepting him though made him worry slightly more. Was she just accepting him because he looked just like Riku? Did she just see him as Riku from the time that the real Riku was away? Was he just going to be a replacement for that time that had been lost? Ryuu frowned slightly as he let these thoughts invade his mind. The cold and negative thoughts were taking root again as they wouldn't stop.

Without even thinking he asked one of his thoughts aloud. "A-Are you sure? I mean… i-it's not just because I-"

"Shh," she hushed him, cutting him off from finishing. "You told me you were Ryuu. That's who you are. I'm just happy, because I now have a second son."

Ryuu felt the tension from his body loosen as new feelings filled inside of him. Fake memories of being around a mother and father was one thing. Having fake memories of being loved by them was just that… fake. But to be in the moment right then and there. To truly be embraced and loved for who he was... to have the real feeling of being held by a mother… that was totally different.

His eyes slowly started to blur as he raised his arms to wrap around Riku's mother. Though really, she was also his mother now. He wanted to try and contain his emotions, but they continued to swell up. It was still hard for him to believe how so much could have happened all just in one day. All in one day he had gotten his own body, reunited with Namine, started to make friends with the others, and now had a mother who was going to love him for who he was.

He didn't want to let go, but he felt his mother pull back from their embrace and stood back up. She smiled largely as she looked from Ryuu to Riku. "Now come on boys, let's head inside."


The remainder of the evening went as Ryuu thought it was going to go. Ryuu got to meet Riku's…or their father, and he just as their mother did and accepted him. He openly accepted him for who he was, embracing him and telling welcoming him home. It felt all too surreal for Ryuu. Having these moments with people who were really his parents. Being loved by them and for being himself and not Riku. It was almost unbelievable at first, but he was slowly adjusting to it.

Though both his parents did not expect someone like him to ever show up at their doorstep, they easily did what they could to adjust to that fact as well. There was thankfully a guest bedroom across from Riku's room that they said would be Ryuu's now. Once they figured that out, they both started to think more technically on the matter. Ryuu had just shown up, he had no documentation on who he was or anything else. Though it seemed to worry them at first, Riku said that he knew someone who could probably help them. Ryuu could only assume it was most likely Even.

But before long his mother came and presented him and Riku with supper. It was tomato basil soup with some garlic bread on the side. Just a simple dinner. But… it wasn't to Ryuu. He had never eaten a actual meal before. He figured the reason for that was in his original replica body, it was not suited for something like that. He only could assume that since during his time in his original replica body he never ate once. But now in this newer replica body… he actually was feeling hungry. The longer he stared at the wonderful smelling soup, he could feel the hungry within him.

Slowly Ryuu took the soup spoon and dipped it gently into the bowl. Once it had soup on it he brought it just before his lips and blew on it to cool it down. With a deep breath he then placed the tip of the spoon in his mouth. As soon as he felt the warm and tasty soup in his mouth, his eyes began to water. Never before had he tasted such things.

"Ryuu?" his mother asked as she walked over to him. "Is something wrong?"

Ryuu placed down the spoon before trying to wipe away his tears. He wasn't particularly fond of showing such emotions to others, but he knew between Riku and their parents it would be fine. But even with that he tried to calm himself down a little before shaking his head.

"N-No. Nothing's wrong. It's just…" He looked up to meet his mother's eyes. He put forth the best smile he could as he wanted to show how honest his answer was. "It's really delicious. Thank you."


Once dinner for the boys had finished, both Riku and Ryuu washed their own dishes as their parents went off to set up the guest room for Ryuu. At first Ryuu had offered to wash all of the dished, but Riku said that he needed to help making it up to their mother by also helping out. So they worked together, Riku would wash and Ryuu would dry and then place them back in their proper places.

"This all still feels so weird," Ryuuu commented as he dried the next plate before placing back in the shelf.

"How so?" Riku asked.

"I still never thought I would be here. I was ready to have it be over back then. Doing everything I could to help you so we could save Naminé. I didn't care what happened to me, just as long as I knew Naminé could have a chance. But now… seeing how accepting everyone was to me… I still am having a hard time taking it all in. Especially about… mom and dad."

"But you should know right? I mean…" Riku hesitated slightly as he thought over his next words. He knew that neither he or Ryuu wanted to keep thinking on the fact that he was originally a replica. But he was trying to find a way to say what he was thinking without even directly saying it.

Thankfully Ryuu seemed to pick up on it and gave a shrug. "I know. But even with those false memories, it still doesn't mean that I expected it to be like this. It's just a bit weird is what I mean. To be… you know not you… but me and to have everyone see it as that. I think it is just going to take me a little bit longer to get use to it."

"You can take all the time you need then," Riku said before handing over a glass to Ryuu.

After that they fell silent again as they concentrated on washing and drying the rest of the dishes. Once they had finished Riku and Ryuu walked down the hall to where Ryuu's room would be. It was just of course a plain guestroom, with a few shelves with books, but other than that there wasn't a whole lot to it. Ryuu stepped inside and started to walk around.

Though his interests were similar to Riku's he was already thinking of ways to change up the plain room to better fit his style. He knew his parents wouldn't mind as they were given the room to him to have after all. As Ryuu started to get lost in thought, Riku leaned against the doorway and smiled.

"So you're glad then?" Riku finally asked after a few minutes.

"Glad? For… what exactly?" Ryuu asked as he stopped to look at Riku.

"Glad you listened to me and came back," Riku stated.

"What's this now? You trying to get a 'thank you' out of me?" Ryuu asked as he crossed his arms.

Riku chuckled softly. "Well you never really did, aside from thanking me for helping think of your name."

"What does it matter though?"

Riku stared a bit longer glancing to the side, a slight bit of sadness filing his eyes. "Well… I keep thinking back on it… If I hadn't come to find you… you would have just… disappeared. Gone forever… and I would have regretted that."

Ryuu at first felt like retorting something back to Riku, but he could see that Riku was having the sadness in his eyes still. The weight of the past few days was setting in again and it seemed to just needed to talk things out once again.

With a small sigh Ryuu walked over to Riku. He pressed his lips together for a moment before he smiled. "Thank you then. Thank you for your corny advice that actually managed to convince me."

Riku ended up laughing slightly. "That's good to know then what kind of advice you'll listen to then. I'll have to remember that for the future."

Riku then reached out to ruffle Ryuu's hair, but just as he started to do it Ryuu pushed his hand away. "Are you just going to start doing that now? Cause it's going to get annoying."

"Well since we are brothers, I thought why not start to act more brotherly. I am the older brother after all now," Riku said as the sadness seemed to leave him, now only a smirk across his face.

"And who said I agreed to having you be the older brother?"

"You can't be the older brother though. I'll taller, stronger, and actually older than you," Riku replied, keeping his smirk on his face.

"Hmph, maybe I'll ask Even then to make me a older looking replica body."

Riku laughed. "I don't think that's how it works. But too bad, you're stuck with me as the older one. So you gotta deal with it."

Ryuu rolled his eyes, as he tried not to let out a laugh, but for some reason he felt like laughing anyways. Maybe it was just because he was having a fun and friendly conversation with Riku. That was something that had never happened between them before. But now… it was something that would be happening much more often. "Whatever."

"Really though, it is really nice to have you back," Riku said, a deep and seriously honestly in his tone.

"Yeah, I know…" Ryuu said as he shifted his eyes off to the side.

"I'll be back, I'll grab some of my older clothes and sleepwear for you. If you want that is, otherwise we'll have to probably go out to buy some new stuff."

"Nah, it's fine for now. I kind of expected to get hand-me-downs from you. I don't wanna have mom and dad go out now and buy a bunch of new things just for me. I'll deal with what I got for now. Your fashion sense isn't the worst in all the world thankfully."

"Hey," Riku laughed, trying to sound offended.

"I said it isn't the worst. So you should take that as a compliment," Ryuu chuckled as he smirked back to him.

"Yeah I know. Oh also tomorrow I was thinking, if you wanted to come with, I was going to talk into town for a while. Meet up with old friends and see how everyone has been. Since you're sticking with me now, I thought I could introduce you to everyone else."

Ryuu thought about it for a moment. He knew Riku had a few other friends besides Sora and Kairi back home, they just were not as super close as those two were. Ryuu knew of them of course, but didn't know all too much about them. But there was a slight hesitation in his heart as he considered the option. He lowered his head and stared at the floor as he let the thoughts invade his mind, not caring to push them away.

Sure he had easily ended up making friends with everyone on the smaller island during the party. But that was because everyone knew about other worlds and everything that had happened. They knew about replicas and it made sense to them, and they still accepted Ryuu as his own person. But everyone else here, they didn't know any of them. And Ryuu wasn't too sure if they would be as accepting and nice about as his mom and dad were. He started to wonder if the others would question it more or just think of him as Riku… as that was his original fear in coming back.

He tried to tell himself that didn't matter anymore. He was his own person now. But for some reason he couldn't stop himself from thinking poorly on it. But thankfully he didn't have long to dwell on it as he felt Riku place his hands on his shoulders. Ryuu looked back up to meet Riku's eyes.

"Hey what's with that face? I thought you were over that stuff already," Riku said, speaking calm and softly.

"I know… I guess I am not as over it as I thought though. Still have to work through it a bit more…" Ryuu replied with a defeated sigh.

"Don't seem so down about it though. It's not like you can just flip on a dime how you feel about things like this. But you know you can do it, just take it easy. You don't have to join me tomorrow if you don't want to."

"No I'll come with. You'll be seeing Kairi anyways won't you? I should finally meet her, if she is wanting to talk that is," Ryuu said.

Riku nodded as he dropped his arms from Ryuu's shoulders. "Yeah, it would be good to have that at least. I do need to see Kairi though… better sooner than later…" Riku's eyes drifted to the side, the heavy sadness starting to seep in again.

Ryuu saw that expression and quickly tried to think of what he could do to cheer Riku up. He still hated to see him look so distraught over everything, but he wasn't sure what else he could say. So without a word he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Riku and held him tightly. Just as he expected, Riku was quickly snapped from his thoughts and instead stared at Ryuu with a perplexed look.

"Wh-What? Ryuu what are you doing?"

Ryuu looked up and chuckled. "Just trying to be a good younger brother."


This tried to be a bit more fluffy filled as you can see. I still have a bit more thought out for this. I just hope i can write it. But thank you all for reading!