Epilogue - Reconnect


Kairi and Sora and Riku were all sitting outside in the grass in front of Yen Sid's tower. They'd wanted privacy, and while there were plenty of spare rooms in the tower, Sora'd wanted some fresh air. Sora was sprawled on his back, while Riku sat cross-legged and picked idly at the grass beneath them. Kairi sat holding her feet, drumming her fingers on the ends of her shoes.

"How was that last dive into Sora's heart, anyway, Riku?" Kairi asked, with a playful nudge. She meant the question to be prying and probably embarrassing for Sora, but he shot upright, looking pretty eager to hear the answer as well.

"Yeah, what was it like?" he asked. "Was it boring? Or was it, I dunno, something really fancy?"

"What?" Riku looked between the two of them, as if having trouble processing what they'd asked. A weed snapped between his fingers. "Oh. Right." He shrugged. "It was alright. Wasn't dangerous or anything, really—I mean, I had to fight this possessed armor nightmare, but it didn't seem to be going too hard on me."

"Probably because Sora recognized you," Kairi said.

Sora nodded. "Yeah! I mean, nightmare or no, it was in my heart. And I wouldn't have tried to kill you, Riku. Nothing in my heart would, either!"

Riku laughed a little, shrugging and shaking his head. Kairi found herself smiling as well. Since she was sitting across from Sora and he was a little out of her reach, she patted Riku on the knee. She wanted to touch Sora as well, but, again, she couldn't do so without reaching and it looking a little weird, probably. She was just happy to have them back.

"Was that it?" Kairi pressed. For the most part, it was just out of disappointment that what was supposed to embarrass Sora ended up doing the opposite, and she was trying to dig for more. Though… Riku did look pretty deep in thought, and she doubted it was entirely aftershock from becoming a Keyblade Master.

"Hmm? No… I, uh, after I fought the nightmare, I was on Destiny Islands," Riku said. "You know how dreams are. And there I met… Roxas, actually."

"Roxas?" Sora asked. He seemed surprised, though Kairi was not. Her suspicions that it had been Namine speaking to her grew stronger.

Riku nodded. "Yeah. Roxas was there. And so was… some kid who looked exactly like Roxas, minus the clothes." His face scrunched up, and he broke another blade of grass.

"Do you think you were just seeing things?" Kairi said, slowly. "I mean, if it was kind of like a dream…"

Riku shrugged, but Sora shook his head pretty aggressively. "Nah, that can't be it! I mean, maybe it can be, but… Even if they were dreams, they were pretty real, and it was only when Xehanort was messing with me that I started seeing weird things." He paused, then. "Oh, except…" He reached up to rub his chin. "Hmm… wait… maybe that doesn't explain it…"

"Well, I'm definitely remembering it right," Riku said. "I can't say if I was seeing him right at the time, though."

"Whatever," Kairi said, before they could start breaking this down further and making her head hurt even worse. "If he saw someone who looked like Roxas, he saw someone who looked like Roxas. You see anyone else? Or just Roxas and the mystery kid?"

Riku thought about it for a long moment. "There was also a girl," he whispered. "I think. It's hard to remember, exactly, which is funny, because I remember everything else fine, but…" His fingers searched for another blade of grass to pick and break. "No, I'm sure she was there. She was, uh… She looked a little like you, Kairi."

"She did?"

Something in her chest tugged, though why, she wasn't sure.

Riku nodded, and his fingers left the grass alone. "Yeah. Back when your hair was still short. Though… she also kinda looked like Sora. Is that weird to say?" He looked first at her, then at Sora, waiting for an answer.

Sora shrugged. Kairi shrugged as well.

"I felt like I knew her, too," Riku continued. "I'm not sure where, or how… I just… I don't know. Something in me pulled at the sight of her. Like I knew her. Like I—" He broke off, face darkening, like the rest of that sentence was not a thought he wanted to dwell on.

"Hang on!" Sora lit up, putting his hands on his knees and pushing the rest of his body forward with his excitement. "Was she wearing an Organization cloak?"

Riku consider it a long second, then nodded. "Uh, yeah. I think."

"I met her too! I did!" He bobbed his head up and down. "I mean, I saw a lot of weird stuff at the end of the dream there, when Xehanort was meddling, like I said, but… I saw her. She was there, just for a second, and I…" His face darkened just like Riku's did, and he put a hand to his chest. "And I remember I got really, really sad, for some reason…"

Kairi licked her lips. She had nothing to say about this mystery girl, not even sure who she was, but now was as good as a time as any to bring up Namine. She cleared her throat.

"Okay, since we're talking about weird stuff, I'm just going to go ahead and say that I'm pretty sure Namine's talked to me. Or tried to. Or. Something." The words came out in a rush, before she could think they were crazy and take them back, though they were only about as crazy as everything else they'd been discussing.

Sora and Riku both looked at her, and neither of them really looked like they thought it strange at all.

"We didn't… have a distinct conversation," Kairi went on, seeing no point in stopping. "But I- I think she said a few things to me?" Even as she said it, she became less sure. Sora and Riku could be sure of what they'd seen because they'd seen it. But she'd only maybe heard Namine's voice. Maybe.

"I guess it's possible," Sora told her, sensing she wanted affirmation that she wasn't crazy, or something along those lines. "I mean, me and Roxas had talked—well, fought, really—once, ages ago, before this whole dream thing. And he talked to me in the dream, too! Maybe the circumstances aren't exactly the same, but…" He shrugged. "If Roxas is still chilling in my heart, maybe Namine's sitting around in yours."

"I'd believe it," Riku added. "I mean, she isn't exactly the textbook definition of a Nobody. Neither is Roxas, if I understood DiZ right."

"Good to hear I'm not crazy," Kairi said. They both nodded reassuringly at her, and Sora gave her a thumbs up, along with a smile.

"Hey, speaking of Namine, what did she say?" Sora asked. "And, uh, chances of me talking to her? Because I keep forgetting to thank her. Not that I want to use you as a messenger or anything!" Sora waved his hands in front of him. "But geeze at least to say thank you."

"What do you need to thank her for?" Kairi asked, in reply.

"Uh…." Sora stopped grinning, brow furrowing hard as he thought about it. "To be… honest… I don't know!" He gave a large shrug and an apologetic smile. "But Jiminy's Journal had 'thank Namine' in it, and that was all that was in it, so it's gotta be important, right?"

Kairi started to say yeah, I guess so, when she realized Riku was very pointedly not looking at either of them. She frowned at him, then flashed a look at Sora, then back to Riku. Riku coughed and acted like he was very interested in the blade of grass he was toying with.

"What? You know why I was nappin' for a year?" Sora nudged Riku with his toes.

"Uh…"

"Riku." Kairi glared at him.

"Uh."

Sora rolled his eyes, and nudged Riku a little harder. "C'mon, Riku! Spill it!"

"I wonder if he's still ticklish…" Kairi said, drawing the words out and sending a look at Sora that all in one said I know he still is and you pin him I'll tickle. Sora was just about to do it, too, when Riku jolted and blurted:

"LOOK! Castle Oblivion- and- And she was being used by Organization 13 to rewrite Sora's memories so he'd work for them and then she felt bad and rebelled and tried to piece his memory back together but that took way longer than any of us expected it to because… things… happened… And… And to put his memories back she had to make him forget what happened in Castle Oblivion and so that's why you don't remember why you were sleeping." Riku directed this last bit at Sora, and let out a long breath. He sat as if he expected them to still tackle him.

Sora burst out laughing. "Oh, geeze, is that it? Why are you so nervous about it?"

"Wait, hang on," Kairi scowled harder. "Is that why I forgot about him for a full year?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, Kairi," Sora told her, with a dismissive flap of his hand. "The Hollow Bastion—or Radiant Garden, I guess—Restoration Committee forgot me, too, and I bet everyone else did, so there's no need to feel bad about it."

"I still would like to know," Kairi protested.

"I think it had something do with because he didn't have the memories no one else did and something to do with Sora's heart, you know how that is…" Riku explained.

Kairi raised her eyebrows and shot a glance at Sora. "I dunno, Sora, he still seems pretty shifty."

Riku jumped again. "Look! I only know this second hand from Namine! Maybe you should just ask her."

The words made Kairi's heart seize, and for a terrible few seconds, it felt like she could not breathe at all. She was moments away from shouting no! that's a bad idea! when she caught herself and forced air back into her lungs. If she had still had any doubts Namine was still in her, they were long gone now. There was no way those feelings could have been her own, especially considering she had no idea what had happened in Castle Oblivion or with Sora's memories, so she couldn't possibly be dreading having to explain it.

"Ask… her… what? About… Castle Oblivion? Or… Or Sora's memories?" The moment the words left Kairi's mouth her eyes went wide. She hadn't even thought of saying them. The slightly angry thought that Namine had just used her mouth made something inside of her—Namine—cringe.

Riku stared at her. For a fluttering moment she hoped he'd realize that those words had been Namine's. Whether the hope was her own or not, she couldn't say.

"I meant about Sora's memories," he answered, very slowly, continuing to regard her with a look that made her think he did know the words had been Namine's, but wasn't going to say. "I'm not sure if she'd want to talk about Castle Oblivion. It wasn't fun for… anyone. Me included. But, yeah, about Sora's memories, and why it took us so long to figure them out." Riku slowly reached up to massage his head. "I feel like… I feel like I know why, honestly, but I just can't… remember…"

Kairi—or Namine through Kairi—let out a sigh of relief. Kairi briefly thought that now she was really curious as to what had happened in Castle Oblivion, but then her heart seized, and wouldn't stop until she thought of something else.

"Well, we can ask her!" Sora said. "And not through Kairi, either, because I'm sure she wouldn't enjoy that." He beamed. "After all, we'll be seeing Namine again, and then we can ask, and I can thank her in person."

"We will?" Kairi asked. She wasn't sure if she was confused or startled at the suggestion, though she was probably both—or, Namine was one, and she was the other. Kairi knew for certain that she'd be relieved when Namine had her own body, so that she wouldn't have to be so confused her about her own emotions like this anymore. And also because Namine didn't really deserve to stay trapped in her mind—or heart, whatever—like this.

"Yeah!" Sora nodded. "I'm not sure how I'm gonna do it just yet, but I'm going to bring them back. Her and Roxas and… and that other girl. The one me and Riku saw. Oh! And I guess that boy Riku saw, too, and! I also saw another girl with blue hair during that dream and with her was a guy that kinda vaguely reminded me of Xemnas…?" He grimaced for a second, then grinned again. "I'm not exactly sure who they all are, or where they are, but I'm gonna make sure they all come back."

"If anyone can, it's you," Riku said.

"Yeah. It definitely is," Kairi agreed.


The End