Well, this is it people. Hope you guys enjoyed this trip as much as I have.
-Antex - The Legendary Zoroark: Yep, those powers are something that will come into play way later but like Xehanort said, nothing's ever left to coincidence.
For now let's get to the chapter c:
Epilogue: The Last Mask
Welcome Home
I never thought I would enjoy the sound of waves so much. As I sat near the shore, my feet almost touching the waves as they came, I watch as the sun begins to set around the tiny island.
It had been a few minutes since we arrived at Destiny Islands, their home, and Kairi had been having a conniption about Riku and Sora. Of course, I was worried too but one look at my bracelet somehow gave me hope. If Sora and Riku were together, there was nothing they could not do. When I told her that, she calmed down and agreed with me. Afterwards I told her to go talk with Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Haruka who'd been having the discussion about what had happened at the space. She agreed and left me alone to myself and the waves.
I like the beach.
I'm sure they would've liked it too.
Not wanting to dwell too much in the hurtful past, I gain my footing and raise as my vision lingers on the small islet. Without thinking, my feet take me there. Once there, I softly press my hand across the bark of the start-shaped fruit tree from before. In two different occasions I had seen this tree before. Once with Riku, and the other with Axel from afar.
This tree at this very island was were most of problems came to be resolved. After lingering here to think, things would always end one way or another. It helped me think.
Walking up to the edge of the islet, I sit down and let my feet dangle over the edge as I watch the sky, the sea, and the earth commute in this gorgeous sunset.
I love sunsets; they make me recall as much sorrow as they do joy.
"Reminds me of the sunsets at Twilight Town." Not needing to turn around, I feel Haruka behind me not many feet away. He comes and sit down beside me, one leg dangling from the edge while the other he hugs to his chest while resting his chin on his knee. After that one-liner we continue to sit with the sounds of the waves and the warmth of the sunset.
How mellow it felt to be at a beach. Specially with friends...
"You know, my friends and I were planning to come to the beach on our next day off." My eyes never leave the distant sunset that lingers across the sky. "It was a promise we had made, but we never got around to fulfill it."
"Don't sweat it." His words surprise me, specially because of the way he simply brushes it off. "Once those two come back and we're all together, we'll come to the beach again. We'll spend a whole day and just have fun!"
The thought brings a giddiness to my being. It's like a promise of future days where everything would be okay. Where...neither him nor I would be dying. No, where I wouldn't be dying. Haruka can still be saved. I...well, I destroyed Hotaru. She had the intent of letting herself disappear without us joining, that was why she kept Mickey at bay. The only Keyblade wielder that was there who could join us together again.
Not wanting to think about such a bleak future, I go back to stare at the sunset and at the moving waves. At that, another thought hit me. "Haruka..." There a pause where he mumbles his 'mm?' and let's me continue. "Guess what? I finally figured out who the girl from your memories was."
He gives off a slight chuckle that surprises me a bit. Then he goes on to tell me, "I figured it out, too, you know."
"Yeah?" I chastise with a sarcastic chuckle myself before asking him the rest of my question. "Who is it then?"
"You."
That single syllable makes me turn away from the sunset to gander at him and my scarlet eyes lock with his emerald ones. This time though, the small smile that he flashes at me reaches his eyes. It's so warm and loving.
My masks may have failed this time with him because he scoffs a bit, amused at the shocked expression he must've seen on my face. When he finishes, he turns away from me towards the sunset as he speaks. "I figured it out while I was locked up with Kairi. Pluto had one of my memories with him. It was the one where I tried to run away from home, like you did. I remembered that my parents had gone out the night before my birthday because they went to get my present. They passed away in an accident and it was a week after that that Miss Thea came to get me, along with Kairi and Ienzo, my other adopted siblings. We came to live with Ansem the Wise, his wife, Miss Thea, and their daughter, Ayano."
He's seen part of the same memory I had, of them three meeting Ayano and of Thea telling them that they would be siblings.
"And I also recalled that that night I ran away from home. It was raining in the middle of the night and I hid near the outskirts of town. I'm not quite sure how but she found me, their daughter. This memory I saw was the same as the first one we recovered. She had found me and tried convincing me to go back home with her. But I was stubborn and wouldn't budge. That's when she told me that I didn't need to be alone anymore."
From underneath his shirt, he pulls out the red teardrop pendant and holds it in his hand, making it visible to me. "She took this off and gave it to me and placed a special charm on it. She said that no matter what, she would never let me be alone again. That no matter how far apart we happened to be, or if I got so lost I couldn't find my way back home, she would find a way to find me. Always."
That's...the same promise I made to him.
Haruka lets go of the pendant and turns his gaze up to the sky with a grand smile. "When Pops apologized saying he didn't want to lose you again, it made me understand something. You and my older sister are somehow the same person."
If he felt that way, it was great but...I don't want to be her. I want to be me.
"But—" his interlocution makes me face him again and that's when our eyes meet once more. "You're still different. Although that Ayano was kind, she also felt cold and far away, like a very distant memory of the past. And even though you may be old, snarky, and short-tempered..." his eyes suddenly started glistening under the shine of the sunset. "You're here...with me. And that's worth so much more than any distant or comforting memory of what was."
Out of the blue, he throws himself at me and I catch him before he falls. It isn't until he wraps his arms around my back that I realize he's hugging me. He's doing it so tightly that I can't help but think his arms could snap at any second. Even so, he embraces me tightly, like he's afraid to let go of me. Afraid that if he does, he'll never see me again. It was then that I hear the quiet sobs coming from him. Mustering what he could, he spoke light words in between his cries.
"This is much more than I could ever have wished for...getting to see you again, Aya-nee."
That he called me something so endearing wrenched my heart. Those memories of that Ayano, his sister, may be theirs of a past that doesn't involve the me now, but even so I know now like I knew then that this emotion isn't hers or anybody else's.
This love belongs to me. He was the most important to me, more than anyone in all the worlds. And this love that I felt for this little kid was the one thing I knew was true and that it wasn't a lie I fabricated. A feeling this strong and this pure...it belonged to me.
His quiet sobs escalate into a full on cry but I don't hear or feel any sadness from him. This tears were of happiness.
"I love you, Aya-nee."
He meant that from his heart and it made tears come falling down my cheeks. Now I knew that from the bottom of mine this was the only truth I needed to say as I embrace him as tightly as I can.
"I love you, too, Haruka."
"Finally...it is done."
We both must've heard Rinto's joyful exclaim because we instantly separated. Feeling her moving across my chest towards my right arm, I extend my hand, palm out and see the ink pool on my palm. This time instead of letting the drop surface and fall again, it becomes a light mist of black with small flecks of light. It removes itself from my arm and floats in front of us both before forming Rinto's figure.
My gasp escapes me before I have a chance to keep myself quiet at the drastic change in Rinto's appearance. Her skin wasn't pale anymore and instead was a nice healthy color. Her eyes although still red were more full of life and seemed more gleeful.
Lifting her chin from under her coat, for the first time I see a small smile curving on her lips. She raises a tiny hand and motions it towards Haruka. This makes something in his chest light up which surprises us both. From that light, a tiny piece of it comes off and floats towards her while the one on his chest dims back to normal.
Once she has it in her hand, she motions with the other towards an empty space and conjures a mask like mine but one that I had never seen before. This one, unlike the others, isn't black and white. Instead, it's like a mosaic of a countless amount of tinier pieces, each a different array of colors that conform to make a beautiful display. Closing the distance between her hands, Rinto joins the two parts together and makes the mask whole, leaving it with no more crevasses or as a mosaic. With that one piece it seems to have become complete and now changes in unison to every and any color.
"What...is that?"
"Something that took eleven years in the making: a replica of that which you lost, Master."
"Something...I lost?" Rinto nods and holds the completed mask in her hands while still having that smile on her face.
"You and Haruka both have misunderstood my brethren and I, and what we stand for," she begins with a serious tone that brings her back to her usual demeanor. "We are not bestowed to create anguish and undeserved suffering; we were created and given to save and protect people from the unknown darkness. And we did this, first and foremost, by saving our masters, those whom we were bestowed to." The small pause comes before she turns to me with those eyes. "Master, when you awakened after that deep sleep eleven years ago, I noticed that you were missing something. The mask that made you unique—your own 'self'—was missing. When my attempts to retrieve it failed, I made it my priority to recreate it. But I knew that doing so based of a heart that was as empty of any memory or emotion as a blank slate would be impossible. So, in the end, I decided to use our powers to collect pieces of heart that resembled the ones that I knew as 'Ayano'. But the pieces I needed were many; it is just as complicated to build a 'self' as it is to create a heart. What I needed to do was to take heart pieces of everybody Master met to see if they matched."
"Then...the reason why you told me to keep lying was—"
"To find those matching pieces. But the more I searched the more I began to realize that the 'self' I was building wasn't 'Ayano's' anymore. The mold had began to change and recreate itself to your experiences as you grew. The more I continued building it the more noticeable it was. But even though Master isn't exactly 'Ayano', there is still a faint connection to her person which is how I managed to find the last piece I needed inside of Haruka."
"The last piece?" Haruka inquired, a bit lost but trying to keep up.
"Yes, the last piece I needed had to come from someone who could duplicate that same emotion. That 'unconditional love' she felt I found in you, Haruka. Now that all the pieces are together, the mask is complete. And although I didn't create a replica of the archived one, I believe that this is what Ayano's self needed to end like."
"So...now that it's finished, what does it mean for Aya-nee?" Haruka asked the question I was dying to know but was too shocked to ask.
"Now that she has it, she will regain the lost control. It will allow her to control her eye ability, and in turn, it will let her shut it off and show the true heart that lies underneath."
The tears that escaped me were inevitable.
I will finally be able to tell the truth.
With my trembling voice as it was, it took me a second to breathe in some air and ask my question. "M-May I...put it on?"
Rinto doesn't seem serious nor shocked but simply smiles and turns the mask over in her hands before handing it to me. It felt odd in my hands, very light, but I ignored this and simply slipped it on like all my others.
The instant I did something washed over me that took a huge load off my shoulders. The air my lungs breath in is much lighter and doesn't hurt to breath in. And what appalls me most are my eyes.
After ten years of living with it...the burning that forever plagued my eyes...vanishes.
Wanting to see the world anew, I open my eyes back up and hear Haruka gasp. When I turn to face him, he seems to have a hard time finding his words as he stares in utter bafflement at me. Grimacing I turn towards Rinto, who on the other hand, is smiling warmly. To ease my confusion, she conjures a reflective surface much like a mirror and tilts it my way. The gasp comes from my lips the instant I lay eyes on myself.
My eyes...they're a bluish-green, just like Thea's and Ayano's. Yet I could tell these were my own because among the bluish-green hue I could see the brilliant specks of gold that danced around in my pupils.
"As long as you wear this mask, you will always tell what is truly in your heart." Rinto makes the mirror disappear before smiling again. "Because it's complete now, I have also become my fully functional self, complete with sentience. And because it tied into your not having a definitive 'self' to latch onto, the Coin Principle has been nulled with its completion."
At that instant, I can't help but cry out of utter happiness. What she has given me, what she has worked her whole existence for in these eleven years, has made me happier than I have ever been in my life. And I know, this time for sure, that it is I who's happy. Embracing Haruka tighter than ever before, he hugs me back and celebrates with me.
With the tears still streaking down my face, I give her my first sincere smile. "Thank you... From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Rinto."
Rinto only gives me a curt nod before smiling and saying, "I'm glad that you've finally found 'yourself'." With that last reply, she turns back into the glittering mist and returns to my arm and nestles right above my heart. Right where she's suppose to be.
For one last time, I embrace Haruka tightly before turning up to the sky. At doing so, my eyes catch the glimpse of two shootings stars that fly across the sky before falling into the ocean not far from the island. Nudging Haru and telling him to hurry, we run towards were Kairi and the others are, having seen the same thing, and stand waiting to see what fell from the sky. It's seconds after that two familiar faces surface from the water.
"It's them..." Haruka says under his breath as a beaming smile spreads across his face.
"Sora! Riku!" Kairi's shout makes them turn towards her. Both beam a smiling, Sora's the brightest, as they start swimming to the shore.
"Yeah, kid," I agree with him with my first true smile for everybody to see. "They're back." Before Sora can get to Kairi, Goofy and Donald ambush him by surprise while Mickey goes to Riku. Haruka pulls me by the arm and takes us with Riku and Mickey as he celebrates whole-heartedly that they're back safe and sound.
Kairi comes to Sora and the latter from his pockets picks out a star-shaped charm and gazes down upon it before smiling up at her.
With a little boyish grin, he speaks first. "W-We're back."
Smiling as confidently as ever, Kairi reaches out her hand with an open palm. "You're home." And with that, Sora grins even wider before joining hands with her and returning the charm.
Crazy things can happen in the span of a year. And boy was whoever said that right.
A year ago I couldn't have imagined this occurring.
In the midst of an ancient sanctuary, were nothing but the sounds of natured echoed, a lone young man sat on an old, broken down pedestal. The pedestal itself had been down for a while since vines had grown on it. The man that sat there simply stared down through his dark red strands of hair at the unusual pendant that hung from his neck.
Unknowingly to him, a couple of sparrows swept down onto the other side of the pedestal and slowly neared the man. One got too close and a dark energy began to sweep into it. Feeling this, the man drew away as far from the bird as he could. Once he was far enough, the bird that had fallen to its side, after a few seconds began moving again. It shook itself and flew away along with its partner.
The man watched them fly away but when he felt a disturbance near him, he turned his head to find one of the archways that led out of the sanctuary beginning to glow. Standing up and walking to it, he only gazed at the portal that opened from nowhere.
Curiosity struck him and impatience drew him to walk through.
A year ago, I couldn't have imagined myself running away from home and meeting Riku and Sora.
Haruka runs through the streets of Radiant Garden, his messenger bag full with some of the items they had asked for, and headed towards Merlin's house.
He ran as fast as his legs and lungs would carry him until he reaches the Bailey. There a hoard of Soldiers appear and block his way. He only measures the situation before placing his hand upon the pouch that hangs to his side.
"As your Master I command you to open." The shine that the Dimensional Pouch emits shows him he's summoned it correctly. At seeing this, he continues the enchantment. "What I desire is Colt Pistols!" At his order the pouch opens the right dimension and gives him the pistols already loaded. With these in hand, he reaches out and shoots at the Soldiers, hitting them point blank and getting rid of them.
From behind him, another Soldier appears but he catches it swiftly by pointing behind his back once it was close enough.
"Nice shot!" Yuffie climbs down from the roofs of the nearby houses to compliment him.
"Thanks."
"You out on an errand again?"
"Yeah. Oh damn, I got to hurry! Cid wanted these ASAP! Bye Yuffie!" He waves at her before he goes off running.
Getting to Merlin's house, he comes up to Cid and passes him the contents. "Great job, bucko. You're as speedy as you are smart. Thanks again."
"Anytime." He goes off to rest and sits on the table. Out of the blue, Aerith gives him a tea.
"Good job, Haruka."
"Thank you," he answers and takes the tea.
"You've been working extra hard, haven't you?" she asked.
"Yeah, because Aya-nee promised she'd come by to visit! So I'm doing my best to get the town back to the way it was! I want her to see what our home was like. We need to put it back together!"
"Right you are, Haruka," Leon admitted while putting a hand on his shoulder. "Right you are."
A year ago, I couldn't have imagined myself infiltrating into Organization XIII and becoming friends with Axel and Roxas.
In an empty space of the in-between, a man stood not caring much for the world. His shoulder-length crimson short in the front with unruly wavy strands coming onto his face, the rest swept aside on his shoulder into a plait while he seemed to be dressed quite nicely for not being a normal denizen of the in-between.
Seemingly awaiting for something, he continued to hum a lone tune under his breath. From all around, black portals opened and through a nonexistent breeze, a hoard of poppy petals flew into the blank space. Putting his open palm out, the petals began to fall in his hand. The moment the last petal fell they began to glimmer and formed a crimson gem with rings of light around it of the same color.
At closing his fist, the light is snuffed out of it and it absorbs onto his whole body. The marble, now gone, leaves no remnants of its existence. With his intent done, the man only sneers before disappearing into a dark corridor.
A year ago I couldn't have imagined that I would meet and reunite with Haruka, help defeat Organization XIII, and obtain what I've been longing for most: a sense of self.
The first step that I take out of the Gummi Ship and onto Ostown terrifies me beyond measure. Sure, I was glad to be home and all but I'm also ashamed for having left the people who actually cared about me. All because I was just as scared of myself as they were.
A hand pushes me forth, encouraging me to go further into town. Turning back, I see Mickey's grand smile before he speaks, "It'll be okay. You've waited long enough too. Go tell them you're back."
With Mickey, Donald, and Goofy behind me, I muster up the courage to go on ahead and walk through town towards Oswald's house. On our way there, I notice that many of the citizens notice Mickey and I together and start talking. Even without my Stealing Eyes, I can bet that they're still talking crap about me but I try to push that out of my head.
Soon we arrive at his house but not without gathering a good crowd first. Yeah, I hate being in public. Before I could even reach the door, it was already open and the moment I saw the two at the threshold, it made me hold my breath.
Even though I could be truthful, I was having a hard time kicking my habit mostly because I was so nervous. Their looks were blank and I couldn't read them. That only made me that much more nervous, tying the knot in my stomach even tighter.
Ortensia's the first to break the ice. Her hands reach up to her mouth as if still in disbelief that I was there. She comes up close and touches me to reassure herself. Once she does, she sighs and begins crying out of happiness before embracing me. I can't help but feel happy and embrace her back. She pulls back and places a kiss on my forehead before stepping aside to thank Mickey for bringing me home.
And now, after going through all of this, I know one thing for sure...
Oswald still stands ahead in disbelief but he slowly walks up close to me. I take a knee before him when he reaches his hand out to touch my face. It's just as amazing feeling his paw again, just feeling them and knowing they're here. I'm here and he's here, too.
Trusting my voice after a little calming down, I gaze up at him with a smile. "It's me, you stupid bunny—" Just as I finish my sentence, he ambushes me with an embrace. He held me tightly as if still not believing that I was really here.
He begins crying out of sheer happiness and only says a simple phrase that means the world to me. "Welcome home, Aya."
This brings me to tears as well, and I embrace him with all I've got before replying to his welcome. "I'm home, Dad."
…I would never wish to have it any other way.
The End.
That's it, ladies and gentlemen. A nice end for the journey we've had these past three stories. But if you're one of the plenty that I'm sure have unanswered questions still, you'll be happy to know that this isn't the real end. No siree. I'm still planning for a next installment and though it will not come any time soon, I assure you it will come. Those little snippets between Ayano's dialogue were but small insights of what's up to come.
So for now, thank you for all that have stuck with me and this story for so long. After that hiatus specially and I thank everyone of you who's reading this right now.
Now I'll leave you with my usual farewell. Hoped you enjoyed this story and stayed tuned for the next installment! :D