Riku let out a scream and sat up. His eyes flew open and were greeted by the darkness behind his blindfold. The image of Sora slowly faded from his memory, but he struggled hard to keep it. Sweat trickled down the sides of his face as he sat in the island's hidden sanctuary. A chill ran down his spine as he tried to remember what had happened in the dream. All that came to mind was Sora and the smile on his face, but then it all disappeared.

With a sigh Riku tore the blindfold from his face and forced his eyes open. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he stared angrily at the ground. There was no light to harm him but something was causing him grief. What ever it was he couldn't figure it out. The answer was in his dream, somewhere.

**********

Hours had passed and Riku drifted in and out of sleep; seeing nothing. Kairi came to him when she arrived, bringing some food from her house. She explained to him that his parents never returned after the islands came back. They seemed to disappear; whether it was from the Heartless or the shock of Riku being gone, no one knew. Riku didn't mind, he was used to being on his own.

Riku ate in silence and listened to Kairi as she sat in silence. A few times she had the urge to speak, Riku hearing her breath in but nothing came out. He continued to eat, slowly devouring the fruit and bread that Kairi's mother had baked. It was the first meal the Riku truly enjoyed. He thanked her but said nothing else.

"Are you okay?" Kairi asked, staring at Riku. She tilted her head to one side. "You haven't said a word since you finished your breakfast."

"That's because there isn't a thing to talk about." Riku replied coldly.

Without another word Riku stood and walked away. He let one hand graze across the slippery stone walls, his fingers touching the roots and leaves of the flourishing tree above him. He could hear Kairi walking after him but Riku didn't stop to wait. He continued to walk until he felt the sunlight wash over his hands and soon caress his face.

Riku continued to wander farther away from his temporary home, using his memory as a map. He listened to the world around him, avoiding things that had never changed and hitting things that weren't there before. Kairi seemed to disappear, though, but all Riku wanted was to be left alone. He had to think.

A soft wind rustled by Riku as he slowly walked down the edge of the water. He could hear whispers on the wind; faint whispers of long ago. He could hear Sora's voice calling to him and the sound of laughter and the clashing of wooden swords. The memories of his childhood gave little comfort as thoughts of his strange dream returned.

Sora's voice echoed in Riku's mind and he paused. He was calling for him; something was wrong. Riku turned every which way, looking in the darkness he saw for his friend's form. There was nothing; only whispers and the sound of the ocean. Sora's voice grew louder for a moment and then trailed away into the slow splashing of the sea's constant waves.

'What's happening to me?' Riku thought. Slowly he sat; feeling the water of the sea hit his boots. He ran a hand through his hair and heaved a heavy sigh. 'Am I going insane? God.'

With a cry of anger Riku ripped the blindfold from his eyes, keeping them shut tightly. A wave of pain washed over him, his head pounding with every breath and movement. Forcing his hands to raise Riku placed the heel of his hands to his closed eyes. Gritting his teeth Riku felt a familiar warmth rising from his palms.

"Curaga." Riku yelled. The warmth from his hand suddenly shot through his eyes and filled his head. He winced in pain and felt his eyes begin to hurt. Riku yelled the word once more and the pain continued. With tears streaming down his face Riku began to yell the spell over and over, feeling his body scream with pain with every spell cast.

Suddenly Riku collapsed. He withered in pain, screaming and pools of tears and blood formed in his hands. His body shook and Riku shuddered. Through clenched teeth Riku continued to cast the spell. He wanted to see, to see everything he had nearly lost. He didn't want to be different from his friends. Riku wanted them to look at him as they did before, but that wasn't possible.

"Riku!"

"Stop it! You're gonna kill yourself."

An array of hands suddenly grabbed hold of Riku, pulling his hands away from his eyes. Riku screamed viciously, pulling away from the unknown hands. He kept his eyes closed, feeling the tears and possible blood trickle down his face. He listened to them all, speaking to him at once and trying to take hold of him. Riku dodged their grasps angrily and slapped them away, trying to fend them off.

"Leave me alone." Riku growled.

"You need our help." Kairi's voice said.

"You're bleeding." Selphie's voice rang free.

"Hold still." Tidus cried as he lunged for Riku.

Riku cried out in anger and threw out his hand. He felt the Keyblade form in his grasp and took hold of it. Riku lashed out with a cry of anger, feeling the blade strike something. He continued to fight against whom ever stood before him, growling like an animal with every slash.

"I don't need your help." Riku yelled. He suddenly felt the blade of a sword cut through the side of his shoulder. "Bastard." Riku let out a scream quickly lashed out, feeling his weapon cut through something.

A rope suddenly came around Riku's neck and tightened. Riku let out a chocked scream and was suddenly pulled backwards. He fell with a cry of anger and silenced himself as he felt the tip of a sword against his throat. Riku breathed heavily, seething with the built up anger.

"Let me go." Riku snarled. "Let me go and I'll leave the island and leave you all alone. I don't need any of you; I'll find him myself."

"If you don't hold still you're going to kill yourself." Selphie's voice whispered in Riku's ear. She laughed softly. "We don't want that to happen, now do we?"

Riku let out a cry of anger and felt a heat rise within him. A sudden burst of light appeared from behind his eyes and pain surged through his body. He heard the others let out a cry and both the blade and rope disappeared from around his neck. Riku climbed to his feet and quickly bent himself into a fighting stance, waiting for an attack but there was nothing.

"Kairi?" Riku said, his voice shaking slightly. "Selphie? Tidus?" There was nothing but silence. He felt something suddenly tug at his eyes. Riku's eyes quickly flew open and for the first time in years he cried; not from pain or sorrow but from pure joy. His eyes stared past the bodies of his wounded friends and into the distance; he saw the sun in its glory and it didn't cause him pain.

**********

"They're all afraid of you." Kairi whispered as she slowly worked on Riku's wounds. She looked into his eyes and smiled softly. The spell Riku had cast upon himself had dulled the color of his eyes. "They're afraid of the powers you have and the Keyblade. I never told them what happened."

Riku stared past Kairi and into the ocean, watching as the sun disappeared into the water. The light still hurt him but not as much as it did before. He closed in his eyes and took in a slow, deep breath. The sea's breath carried on the soft breeze. "It doesn't matter." Riku replied softly. He opened his eyes and continued to watch the sunset. "They shouldn't have to face it."

Kairi shook her head and sighed. Her fingers tied the lose ends of the bandage into a knot. "They haven't seen anything like the Keyblade before and never even thought of the existence of magic. They don't know what to think." Kairi paused and stared at Riku for a moment, wishing he would look at her when they spoke. She frowned when he didn't turn to face her. "How did you learn magic anyway?"

"Ansem gave me the knowledge." Riku replied, lowering his eyes. He stared at his hands for a moment, closing them into a fist with anger. He hated the memories of Ansem but they never seemed to leave him. "When we became one our memories and thoughts were the same. I knew what he knew and he knew what I knew. I learned to become a better fighter and began to use magic. The magic that I had used was nothing more than a simple healing spell."

"Than how did it help your eyes?" Kairi ask, letting her hands fall into her lap.

Riku shrugged and turned his eyes to the ocean. "I don't know. Maybe it was my hope, my wish, the spell, the urge to go on, the rush and fear of the fight between us all, or even the thought of never seeing anyone again." He blinked and began to wonder himself. It didn't seem right but Riku didn't want to question the strange blessing. "What ever happened, I'm not going to question it. I'm happy I can see and now I am able to go on."

"You have strange powers, Riku." Kairi said. She raised her face and looked up into the colored sky. "You managed to push us away and cause us minor cuts just by a burst of energy. Its like you're not human."

"No." Riku replied bitterly. He looked at Kairi, quickly catching her eye with his cold stare. "I am human. The only thing different between us is that I've been through the darkness in our hearts and lived. I know things that people shouldn't and I've seen things that will never leave my mind. What ever power Ansem held, I now have. I'm only twenty-two and I've seen things that shouldn't be seen in one life time."

Kairi lowered her head. "I'm sorry. I. . . . I didn't know."

Riku frowned and continued his cold stare at Kairi. "I don't need your apologizes or for you to try and sympathize, Kairi." He stood abruptly, his eyes never leaving her. Riku turned sharply with a sigh. "I would've never come back if I knew I would cause so much pain and such a problem. You can tell the others I'm leaving within the week. I need to find Sora."

"What?" Kairi cried. She scrambled to her feet but Riku was walking away, his head bent in a sense of anger and sorrow. Kairi watched him in silence and felt a shudder run through her body. 'Sora. . . . I must help Riku. This time. . . .' Kairi thought turning to look at the blackening sky. 'This time, I'll fight.'