II: The Metaphysics of Riku

Summary: Sora's thoughts when reunited with Riku.
Rated: K
Created: 9/10/06
Finished: 9/29/06 (After long hiatus)

I.

To be completely honest with myself I thought I'd never find Riku or Kairi. While I tired to keep my spirits up, somewhere in the back of my mind always doubted that I'd actually find them. Especially in the Organization XIII's HQ. Well, maybe Riku, but not Kairi. I was kinda hoping Axel had sent her back to Destiny Islands. Wishful thinking on my part. When I saw her standing next the impostor Ansem I acted on impulse instead of using my head. Not that I would've actually known who it really was under that hood, but now that I think about it I should've known then. Kairi's no idiot, she certainly wouldn't stand next to the heartless that tried to use her for his own gain.

"Get out of way Kairi!" I brandished the Keyblade ready to strike at a moments notice as soon as Kairi moved away. She didn't move an inch, not even when I told her to. She stepped forward with that look of determination on her face and blocked my path. "Sora wait!" She cried raising a hand. I skidded to a halt, bewilderment clearly showed on my face. As she moved away from the Ansem impostor she reached out and grabbed my free hand. Like I puppet on strings I allowed her to lead me over to the enemy. She moved my hand toward Ansem's and placed it ontop of his. "There's someone you need to see," Kairi's voice was firm, there was something about it that made me wary and excited at once. I continued to glare up at Ansem's brown face, the sullen expression never left his face. "Close your eyes." Kairi's voice filtered through my thoughts and I did as she told me to. I was greeted with the darkness, my brow furrowed as the dark began to lift like a fog and an image began to appear before me.

Once the picture became clear in my head, my knees gave out on me. Riku! I couldn't stop the my emotions from overwhelming me as I gazed upon the face of my friend. Riku's thin face was framed by the shaggy locks of hair that had grown longer since the last time I saw him. He wore the same expression as Ansem. Tears ran down my face as I tried to pull myself together; All the strength I had gained throughout the journey had left me, I had actually found Riku! All the hoping and praying actually paid off. Kairi wore a mixture of sorrow and joy on her face as she watched me. My pride chided me for showing so much emotion at once, but I didn't care.

"I searched all over for you! I couldn't find you," I blurted suddenly, sorrow and happiness tingeing my tone. Ansem's face melted away at the words revealing the hardened face of Riku. He looked ashamed to hear the words come out of my mouth, he looked away, his gaze narrow. "I didn't want to be found," Riku answered tersely looking back at me. I glared at him through my tears still running from my eyes. He had some nerve. "C'mon Sora, pull yourself together!" Riku grunted in response pulling me off my knees. I yanked my hand from his grasp and used it to dry my face. "Sora, you have to understand, I belong in the darkness. I don't deserve to return with the two of you," Riku uttered. I shot a look at Kairi who lowered her head in response, I began to wonder if she knew about this all along. I shook my head. Riku may have done things I didn't agree with in past, but he was still my friend. I wouldn't abandon him to the darkness. I was better than that.

II.

I'm still not quite comfortable with Riku's newfound ability to beat himself up over the things he'd done a year ago. I wanted to tell him there were no hard feelings between us (for me), and that all was forgiven. But I couldn't say I wasn't angry at him for accusing me of not caring about him or Kairi anymore because I had Donald and Goofy at my side. I still considered him a friend, I still cared about Kairi. Joining Donald and Goofy was the only I could hope to find them, eventually they became my friends too. His accusations of betrayal actually made me question our friendship at one point.

When he told me finally that he was just jealous, envious of how I managed to follow my heart, all my worries about our status melted away. We were okay, Riku and I; That was his way of telling me that he still considered us friends. Riku and I had defeated Xenmas and we had already accepted the fate that was given to us. We would wallow in the darkness if it meant the others would be safe in the light. However, I couldn't help but wonder if all our efforts were worth being stuck in this place. Riku sat next to me quiet in his reflection, his hair cascaded over his shoulders covering most of his face. As I watched him through the corner of my eye I wondered what I could say to break the uncomfortable silence between us.

Riku shifted a bit, his eyes opened a little more as he sat up a little straighter. "What is it?" I whispered. Leaning forward I peered into the reflecting waters below me to catch a glimpse of whatever had caught Riku's eye. Pushing up off his bottom Riku placed himself in a crouched position and reached into the water. I watched him lean back and resume his spot next to me. In his hand resided a bottle, inside there was a piece of paper rolled tightly so that it fit through the small hole. Tilting the bottle over Riku caught the paper as it fell through the mouth.

Riku unrolled the paper and began to read, I leaned in a little more to see what it was that he was reading. After a moment he handed the paper over to me. "Here. This is for you," He said shortly, his face never betraying any sort of emotion. Warily, I took the paper from his grasp, it felt old underneath my fingers. The brown spots covering most of the paper was a sure indication of its age. My eyes wandered the paper slowly making out the near blotched out words.

Thinking of you, wherever you are
we pray for our sorrows to end
in hope that our hearts will blend
now I step forward to realize this wish
and who knows?

Maybe starting a new journey may not be that hard.
Perhaps it's already begun.
There are many worlds but they share the same sky
one Sky, One Destiny

"Kairi," I mouthed.

No sooner had the words left my mouth the darkness was illuminated by white light. I raised a hand to shield my eyes from the intensity of the light the stronger it got. As soon as the light died down a bit I realized what it was I was looking at. The door Mickey had told me about. The door to the light. I climbed up from off the ground anxiously, I stepped forward, the thought of finally going home consuming my thoughts. A grunt brought me to a skidding halt, looking to my right I spotted Riku watching me with observant eyes. His eyes had been covered by a blindfold the entire time he was in realm of darkness, he told me he was hiding from himself. At first I wondered at what he meant by "hiding from himself." It didn't make sense to hide from yourself in the darkness of all places. I realize he meant he was trying to mask his own emotions from himself; He couldn't hide from his eyes, they were the one thing that would tell the truth no matter what.

Grinning I extended my hand out to him. Riku shifted in his place regarding my hand cautiously as if were some foreign object. I gave a nod my head and flexed my fingers. "We'll go together," I told him. Riku didn't move right away, he just stared at me. After a minute or so he grasped my hand and I hauled him up from the ground. I moved to drape his arm around my neck, he insisted that he could walk for himself so I backed off. We strode across the water, it went as high as our ankles. I shivered involuntarily at the cold wrapping itself around my skin. I watched Riku shoot me an amused look.

"Scared?" He inquired.

I scoffed at him, mock-bravado echoing in my wake. "Me? Never!" I retorted with a weak wave of my hand. Riku said nothing more but gave me occassional glances. As we were ensnared in the light I wondered if home would really be on the other side. Would Kairi actually be waiting for us at the end of the tunnel? It had been so long since either of us has seen the island, it seemed like another lifetime. A fantastic dream I visited only when I was awake. Even Riku standing beside me felt unreal. Finally being able to go home felt too easy all of a sudden.

So was I scared?

More than ever.

(FIN)