F R A G M E N T S. chapter six: masquerade
He had taken a few moments to compose himself again, getting adjusted to the new situation arrayed before him. For some reason or other, Sora had not returned. Kairi had been alone for four years. Fine. But at least she was nearby, and safe. He would see her soon. Things were brightening up.
After pulling himself together, Riku matter-of-factly asked the girl for the details of the carnival. Even before she finished speaking, a plan had grown half-formed in his mind. He had leapt up and went running for the rowboat, leaving her to scuttle after. He had just enough time to catch the late ferry to the mainland, and would have plenty of time before the carnival officially started.
Half an hour later, he was firmly planted on the deck of the ferry, leaving Selphie puzzled and alone on the Destiny Island pier. His morale was slowly climbing up again, and he even had the nerve to give her a cheeky wave goodbye as the boat pulled away from the dock. Some remnant of the old Riku seemed to be returning.
It took a while, but he could eventually see the great mass of the mainland approaching. It was a monster of a continent, and most of the islanders were intimidated by the place. The towns were too big and noisy, and the people too coarse and unfriendly. The little port-town clinging to the coast, however, was a bit more tolerable. It was within view from the Destiny Islands on a clear day, and islanders were comfortable with popping over there once a month or so.
The moment he arrived, Riku set a course down the nearest street. Carnival masks were on display everywhere, hanging from awnings and crammed in store windows. He fumbled in one pocket of his coat, feeling the left-over money from his boat fares. He couldn't afford an intricate costume - and didn't want one, either - but a mask would do well.
Riku roamed the street, peering into the stores he passed and waiting for something to catch his eye. The aimless search wore on, and he eventually considered just picking up one of the generic jester masks. As the thought crossed his mind, he ducked into the next store found, deciding to buy the first reasonably-priced thing he saw...
And there was the perfect mask. It was simply that: perfect. His chest heaved and he laughed out loud, instantly - struck by his sheer, dumb luck. The cashier shot him a sideways glance, but Riku stepped forward and carefully lifted the mask off its cradle. It was a pale cream-white, slashed with spiky threads of black across the face, forming a diagonal cross. Red framed the black, and curled in under the eyes. The forehead reached high and wide, bending into two flawless curves, forming the top half of a heart.
It was perfect. It was perfectly ironic. He had found a mask inspired by the Heartless symbol.
"How much for this?" Riku asked flatly, lifting the mask slightly. As he paid for it with the rest of his munny, he wondered if the craftsman truly knew what he had depicted.
Riku stepped out onto the cobbled street, and was surprised to find that night had truly fallen. Storm clouds were gathering, and the heavy scent of impending rain was lingering in the air. Pulling his hood up behind the mask, he quickly set off for heart of the festivities, following the general flow of direction. Everyone was gravitating towards the town square.
As he turned the corner, the flow suddenly coalesced into a thick mass of people. An entire crowd of brightly-coloured outfits swayed to the music, jostling each other, every person pressed tight in the cramped town square. Darkness had fallen, wrapping itself around the dancers.
The carnival began with sunset, with eating and drinking and dancing and yet more dancing. Masks hid the faces of most of the revellers, revealing only a glimpse of bright eyes, or the curve of a bare jaw.
As time went on, he found himself slipping into the music, losing himself in the rhythm as the others had. Girls would constantly whirl up out of the chaos, grab his hands and pull him into a dance - he would always scan their faces, searching for a glimpse of recognition, but they were always strangers. For a fleeting moment, he knew what it was like to dance amongst unknowns, and to leave all other worries behind. As long as you kept dancing, the brewing storm was not a concern, and would never be a concern.
But then the novelty wore off.
The endless crush of bodies against him became suffocating, reminding him far too much of years in darkness, fighting off bodies that he could barely see, that seemed to exist only to smother him. But the difference between then and now was that now, he could not slaughter his way through.
Floundering in the sea of people, Riku struggled past wave after wave of faces. He needed to leave the packed streets. He needed fresh air, and someplace high, a vantage point - they always made him feel at ease. Elevation, that was it.
Eventually, he emerged at the edge of the crowd, where there were less people, and the going was a lot simpler. Easing his way past the occasional straggler, he instantly made for where the sea was visible in a break between buildings. As he passed the houses, the outskirts of the town, his footsteps carried him to the small outcrop he had in mind. It was a place that overlooked the ocean, swelling up into a small hill at the very edge, granting you the most perfect view imaginable.
Even as Riku cleared the apex of the hill, hoping he would be alone, he found himself side-by-side with another masked figure. He waited for it to speak, to complain at his intrusion, but it frankly didn't seem to care. Content with this silence, he settled himself with watching the brewing horizon, a comfortable distance away from the other.
The clouds had been gathering all day, and before either had spoken, the sky broke. Heaven let loose a torrent of water, bucketing vicious rain down upon the festivities. Dismayed cries rose from the crowd in the distance, and the revellers were sent scattering, seeking shelter.
The figure beside him, however, laughed, and spread its arms wide. "I love rain," an exultant, feminine voice declared. "It makes the islands seem so... alive. The trees, the rivers, you can almost hear them celebrating. Listen..."
One pale hand and one pale finger was raised, motioning for yet more silence. Riku paused to listen to the drumming on the ground and on the slated roofs of the town, to feel the water trickling down his neck. He smiled wryly.
"It's funny how memories resurface sometimes," the figure remarked softly, now looking to her feet and the pools growing around them. "I love stormy weather. And I had a friend once... he liked warm summer days, when everything was still and quiet. When everything was so peaceful, all you wanted to do was just crawl under a tree and sleep."
His eyes widened slightly at that, and he looked at his companion more closely, straining to see through the pelting rain.
"I can't believe I still remember this," she continued with a laugh. "There was this other one, and he liked clear, windless skies. Bright dawns and beautiful dusks and dizzying heights... when you could look out over the sea, and see straight across the horizon. Sometimes it felt like you could see right to the end of the world." A heartbeat, as she shot a quick glance at him, hidden beneath his hood. But then she averted her face, and apologies spilled from her lips, for wasting his time.
"... I still do," he interrupted, his voice carefully neutral.
"What?"
"Clear, windless skies. I still-"
With unexpected speed, the girl had swivelled around and stepped close to him. He found large, aquamarine eyes staring into his own - just as he had suspected. Her hands shot to his face, and she tore off the Heartless mask, fingers dragging slowly against his cheek. Recognition finally lit in those beautiful, ocean-blue eyes, and were those tears streaking her face, or rain? She said something, but th estorm blocked it out - regardless, she leapt into his arms with a sob, drowning herself against him.
Kairi.
Four years aged, but definitely her. He remembered red hair - the colour of deep autumn on the main island, of blood-red sunsets, of fresh roses. Drenched red hair against his cheek, a crying girl on his shoulder.
Kairi.