Day 4

Memories From the Past

When Sora opened his eyes, he stared into two bright green eyes.

He jumped and blinked rapidly. His vision was still a little blurry from his slumber and he wondered if his eyes were deceiving him. He could hear a noise and immediately recognized it as footsteps. He could tell that they were running away. Sora sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked around and saw a figure disappear off into the forest. Standing up, Sora called, "Hey, wait! Who are you? Wait!" He glanced down at Riku who was still sound asleep and quickly ran off after whoever it was.

He could hear the crunching of the earth beneath his feet as well as the strangers. "Wait!" Sora shouted. "Wait! I'm not gonna hurt you! I just want to know who you are!"

Sora stopped when everything around him fell silent. He thought about whoever he had been chasing. I'm almost positive that that was the same person that was following Riku and I before. It's a man for sure. . . But who is it. . ?

A loud, shrilling scream filled the air. Sora's gasped and spun around from where he had come. "Riku!" he shouted. He wanted to run off, but he still wanted to know who had been following him. He looked back and forth, decided whether to search for the man a while longer or to run back to Riku's aid.

"You'd better go back and check on your friend. If Lamont was the one who put him into that lifeless sleep, then he must be going through something like a living Hell."

Sora blinked and looked around. He didn't see anyone, but he knew for a fact that the mysterious man had to have said it.

"Wait. . . Who are you?" Sora asked. "Where are you? Show yourself!" He tried to sound as threatening as Riku but he knew that he was failing miserably.

Riku's tortured scream filled the creepy forest again. Sora bit his lip. He had to help his dear friend. He took a few steps back just before he ran off to where he had once been. That man. . . Who was he? Why is he here? Why is following us? I want to know. . . But I have to help Riku first! What could possibly be happening to him!?

Sora raced up to Riku who was on the ground, curled up in a ball. His hands were clutching his head and all the while, he was screaming. His cheeks and eyes were wet with tears.

Sora slid onto his knees. "Riku! Riku!"

Riku's sad, fearful eyes slid onto Sora and widened. He gave Sora shove away and sat up quickly, getting onto his feet. His Keyblade materialized into his hand.

"Riku!" Sora cried, jumping up. "What are you doing? Stop!"

"You bastard. . . I'll kill you! Stop changing!" Riku charged at him. Sora summoned and held up his Keyblade protectively. The two Keyblades clashed against each others.

"Riku! Snap out of it! What's the matter with you!?" Riku answered with another swipe of his Keyblade. Damn. . . Something must have happened to him in his dream! What could it have been. . ?

Riku slashed at him again and Sora quickly grabbed his arm when he stepped out of the way. He yanked Riku's Keyblade out of his friends grasp and then shoved him to the ground. Riku tried desperately to get away but Sora kept him secure with everything he had.

"Riku! Stop struggling! It's me! Sora! I'm not going to hurt you! Just calm down!" His voice softened. "It was just a dream. It's all fake. Snap out of it Riku. You'll be fine. I'm here. . . I'm real and I'm not about to let anything hurt you. You hear me?"

Riku stared into Sora's eyes deeply and then asked in a low voice, "Sora. . ? Is. . . Is it really you?"

Sora nodded. "I'm the real one. Don't worry." He stopped pushing against his silver-haired friend and sat up as did Riku.

Riku looked around. "This is real. . . Right. . ?"

Sora nodded. "I promise it is. Trust me."

Riku smiled and wiped the tears from his eyes. To Sora's surprise, he pulled him into a hug. "Thank you Sora. . . Thank you. . ."

Wrapping his arms around his best friend, Sora smiled back. "It was nothing. . . But please. . . Can you tell me what happened? What caused you to lash out like that?"

Riku pulled away. He couldn't look Sora in the eye. He was silent.

Sora sighed. "Maybe if I go first it will help you figure out how to tell me. Well. . . How can I put this. . . You see, my dream was based on what's happening to me now, in reality. I was back home. . . with Anastasia."

Riku cringed; he had never been a fan of Sora's guardian.

"Well," Sora continued, "she did the usual. Insulted and yelled at me. . . But then I told her off and left. I went to the beach after that. I ran into Kiari. . . And then you came. . . You weren't yourself. You were aggressive and mean to me. . . And you wanted Kiari for yourself."

Riku raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it was strange," Sora commented. "But after that, you started saying awful things to me. But then I realized that you'd never say those types of things to be because you're my best friend and then that's when I realized that it was all just a dream. I told you that it was all fake, and then you transformed into Lamont. You know, that kid that forced us to dream in the first place. He put me back to sleep and then I woke up back here. . ." Sora decided to leave out the part about talking to the man that had been following him. He didn't want Riku to have to worry.

Riku blinked. "You figured that out on your own?"

Sora nodded. "I bet you thought that I wasn't that smart!"

Riku grinned. "Well. . . You can be a bit slow at times. . ."

"Riku!"

"I'm just kidding. . . Sorry," Riku apologized.

"Some kind of friend you are. . . But I guess I'll forgive you. I mean, why wouldn't I?" Sora's smile turned into a more serious expression. "But Riku. . . Aside from that. . . Will you please tell me what your dream was about?"

Riku was silent.

"Please?"

Riku sighed sadly. "Okay. . . Someone should know. . . Someone other than myself. . . But please, promise me that we'll still be best friends when I'm finished. . . Promise me."

Sora smiled and placed his hand on Riku's shoulder. "I promise. Now tell me. . . It's. . ." Sora hesitated before he said, "It's better to let things out."

"All right. . . I'll tell you. . ." Taking a deep breath, Riku began. "Well, my dream was the opposite of yours partially. It took place during my past. I was younger. Around the age when I met you. I was in my house and then I started pacing down the hallway. It's hard to describe. . . But I had my mind, but I couldn't control my body and I couldn't speak. Well, when I caught sight of myself in the mirror, I had no expression. . . My whole being was dark and unresponsive. . . It was dark. I entered the kitchen. . . And saw my Dad."

Sora blinked. "Your dad? I didn't know you had a dad. . . I've never seen him~" He silenced himself, wanting to know what would happen next.

"Anyway," Riku continued, "he was there. . . And then, without warning. . . I attacked him."

Sora couldn't stop his expression from changing.

"His blood was everywhere. . . I just wouldn't stop attacking him with my Keyblade. . . I finally stopped, I found myself on the kitchen floor, kneeling in his blood. He. . . He was dead. . ."

Sora's eyes widened. He could see Riku's eyes filling with tears when he went on, "My butler found me and tried to help. . . But it was already to late. . . My father was long gone. . ." Riku rubbed his eyes. "It didn't take me long to realize that I was the one responsible for my father's death."

Sora stayed quiet. He didn't dare to interrupt now.

"After that, everything just seemed to melt away and then I was myself again, standing in my bedroom. I ran to the beach knowing that you'd be there. I found you, and you were yourself. But then you changed into someone else. . ." Riku's voice trailed off and he placed a hand over his face.

"Who was it?" Sora pressed. "Please Riku, tell me. . ."

Riku took a deep breath and revealed, "It was my brother, Eric."

"You. . . You have a brother?" Sora asked. How could Riku have someone close to him like a brother and not know about him?

"He was trying to kill me. . . He wanted to take me down with him. . . I wanted him to kill me, to end my suffering. . . But then. . ." Riku managed a weak smile. "I thought about you and decided that I had to live. Who else would look after you if I wasn't around, right? Well, I stabbed Eric and then I started to freak out. . . But it was just a dream I now realize. . . I didn't really kill my older brother. . ." Riku finished, turning to Sora.

Sora stared at Riku in shock. "Did. . . Did all of that happen in your past. . ?"

Riku nodded and buried his face in his hands. Tears streamed down his cheeks. "I wanted to forget. . . I never wanted to remember. . . I cast those bad memories aside and now they're back. . . That damn Lamont. . . Damn him. . . Damn him for making me remember. . . Damn him back to the Hell he belongs in. . ."

"Riku. . ." The spiky-haired boy leaned over and wrapped his arms around his friend. "I'm so sorry that I made you tell me. . . It's my fault if telling someone was causing you pain and grief. . ."

Riku shook his head. "No. . . Like I said, someone besides me should know. . . I feel a little better now. . . What you said, about letting it out, it does help. . . Thanks. . ."

Sora couldn't even smile. "I don't know why I said that. . . I've never shared my past with anyone either. . . Do. . . Do you want to know about my past? About my mother and. . ." Sora choked on his words. "And my f-father. . ?"

Riku nodded. "If you'd like to tell me. . . Then yes. Go on."

Sora took a deep breath and explained the story about his loving mother and abandoning father.

Riku was silent. It was hard to accept that you'd killed your father, but knowing that truthful fact that your father abandoned you and didn't want you was painful too.

"Riku. . . I wanted to forget too. . . But I'm reminded of it every single day. . . I can't forget. . . I can't!" He pulled his friend into an embrace and Riku hugged him back.

Once the two boys finally pulled their emotions together, they stood up on there own two feet. "We have to move on," Riku finally decided. "We can't just sit and mope around forever. We have to find Kiari."

Sora nodded, his mood brightening. "Yeah! But, where do you suppose she is?"

"I have no idea. . ."

"Well, right before I fell asleep again in my dream, Lamont said something about him stalling for enough time. . ."

"Stalling?" Riku narrowed his eyes in thought. "Well, looks like they needed more time for something. That means that they have something in store for us."

"Like what?"

"Knowing the Darkness, something bad."

Sora nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right."

"We should head out."

"I agree."