Chapter 9- Encounter
After returning to his friends, Sairu went into the full story of his adventure through time, reiterating as much as he could recall, which took both Riku and Naminé by surprise, explaining how his mother died on the night he was born, how a trusted subordinate was secretly plotting to overrule his father, and how he came to arrive in the Radiant Garden. Naminé was deeply saddened by her friend's tragic infancy, whilst Riku hid his own sadness with the blindfold he now wore. After, he explained his training to them, and how he encountered his reptilian teacher, the three months of arduous training he endured, and even demonstrated a number of his abilities to his friends. During this time, he also reunited with DiZ, the figure in red he encountered in Castle Oblivion, where he explained all that has transpired concerning Sora's memory restoration.
After hearing all of this, twenty days later, Sairu found himself unable to sleep, questioning what was to happen to Sora, fearing the impossible likelihood: What if Sora's memories are not restored, and what would happen when he wakes up without his memories? Even though he attempted to dismiss such thoughts, his efforts ended in vain until he came to an idea: maybe there was something in Castle Oblivion that could aid in their attempts to return Sora's memories to him. Though if such a thing were true, then DiZ and Naminé would have brought it with them when they moved Sora, Donald and Goofy here. In the end, Sairu concluded he wasn't going to get any sleep, so he simply stood up, summoned a dark corridor and departed, emerging at the entrance to Castle Oblivion. Gazing up at the castle, Sairu was reminded of all that transpired within its confines, but he knew, it never hurt to look, so he carefully entered the castle, and as soon as the door closed behind him, he then reached for the hood on his cloak and pressed on.
After traversing the castle floors for what seemed hours, Sairu was beginning to question why he came here, until it occurred to him that he wasn't tired in the least and simply needed something to distract him. He wondered to himself why he didn't return home to Leon and the others instead, but knew he couldn't return until what they set out to do was accomplished. Yet he still missed them dearly, and longed to see them again, even though he felt ashamed he couldn't go home with a certain friend he longed to see. As he reminisced about his family, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end, as a presence suddenly rushed up to him, intending to cut him down. Owing to his training, Sairu's reflexes were sharper now, able to disappear in a flash and now stood at the far end of the room, by the door to the next level. As he turned to face his assailant, he was greeted with a nostalgic sight: a silver and golden key held in the hand of a seemingly hooded individual dressed in the same cloak as him, though the lower half of their face was visible, and appeared to be female. The structure of their body seemed to confirm it was a girl, so Sairu rested on that assumption.
"I don't know who you are, but I'm not going back. I am me, not a puppet!" they spoke in a female voice, as she brought her Keyblade to her side, ready to fight. "I believe you are mistaken. I am simply having a gentle stroll through this castle, and I have no affiliation with your supposed captors" Sairu responded in an uncharacteristically silky voice, feeling the need to remain obscure as best he could. At this, the hooded girl's posture relaxed, and then she asked "You're not with the Organization? Then... who are you?" "Simply a traveller, nothing more" Sairu said in his uncharacteristic voice again. "You think I'm stupid? You're dressed in the same cloak as me, which is not simply a coincidence. You must be another impostor, so I'll have to finish you off" she said, as she renewed her battle stance. "Stay your weapon. I'm not interested in battling you" Sairu attempted to explain, but his words were simply ignored as the robed Keyblade wielder lunged at him, yet he saw it coming and had prepared beforehand: her attack had struck down a robed figure, but to her surprise, the figure disappeared in a rippling fashion followed by a flash of light, and instantly, the Keyblade wielder had a white blade to her neck, her adversary standing behind him.
"How did-" she said, until Sairu explained "What you saw was my Water Moon technique where I create an illusion of myself, reminiscent of a reflection of the moon in a pool of water" He then dispelled his blade and lowered his hand, at which his hooded adversary turned around in a split second, yet dispelled her Keyblade, until, to Sairu's eyes, her hooded face was replaced by the face of a girl with jet black hair, parting to the right, with deep blue eyes. "Why didn't you do it when you had the chance?" Xion enquired in confusion. "I refuse to eliminate people with a conscience or free will, people like you. Creatures like Heartless are what I rid the world of, never to kill until I have personal reason to. At the same time, maybe I should have fought you... for what happened to him" Xion's confusion still dwindled upon her features, but she nodded before gazing upon the floor.
"What troubles you?" Sairu asked. After a moment of silence, Xion rose her head and responded "Then why won't you fight me? Did the Organization do something?" Xion asked in an interrogative manner. "Believe it or not, one of your former members was, at one time, my closest friend, and after ten years, I finally found him again, only for some doppelganger to slay him for his power. He gave his life to save me, and I was powerless to save him" At this, Xion's expression changed into an alarmed one and responded "A 'doppelganger'? Another one like me?" she said, more to herself. In the shadows, Sairu's expression was set like stone, and inquired in his composure "Yes, the term was "Replica", a replica of the one known as Riku. It suffered from an identity crisis, and was driven by a powerful wish to remove his original self so that he could justify his existence. Yet, at the very end, after being defeated by the real Riku, it died accepting itself as just a replica. It was only in death it realised what it really was, and because of that, I came to realize... fighting to avenge my fallen friends, or needing to kill to justify one's existence, would only keep that animosity circulating throughout our lives. My goal... is to protect all those who cannot defend themselves. That is why I refuse to fight you. The fact you are here alone does lead me to suspect you are not currently with the Organization; as such, I hold no animosity towards you. I suppose if anything, I pity you"
"You pity me?" Xion said as her expression began to contort into anger, but Sairu raised a hand to silence her "Know that I do not regard you as an enemy. As such, if you are here alone, why have you come here, of all places?" Hearing this, Xion lowered her head and after some time, rose her head again and responded, as Sairu noted the fire in her blue eyes "Like that Replica you spoke of... I want to know who I am, from before I joined the Organization. I felt since this was where I came from, there had to be answers here. Yet, I haven't found a single thing here. Some boy in red, that's all I know. Was I him? Or is he me? I'm... so confused. I don't know what to think anymore" the fire in her eyes faded as she lowered her head, a mixture of sadness and frustration written into her expression. Seeing this, Sairu stood silent for a moment, unsure what to do and, although unsure of what to say, responded, "If you are confused, perhaps the aroma of ocean air will dispel the fog your mind is mired in" At this, he began to take his leave, walking away to the entrance, only for a hand to suddenly clasp his arm as he walked. "Why?" Xion simply said in confusion, at which Sairu turned to face her again. "Why did I help you? It is because... despite your nature as a Replica, you are unique in your own right. We all yearn to learn of our origins in this world, but they are merely the beginning of our lives. You do not need to know the beginning of your story when you come to know the end. How you live your life is up to you, who you wish to be is your decision, because there is nothing that dictates your life, except yourself" Seeing this, Xion's confused expression was replaced by a serene smile as she let his arm go and simply nodded.
"Thank you" she said with a grateful nod of your head. Sairu nodded in return and summoned a corridor of darkness. "Tell me. Do you have people you would fight for?" Sairu asked in curiosity, at which Xion answered "Yes. My best friends. If I didn't have them, I don't think I would have been able to come this far" Xion said in her continued serenity. Hearing her answer, Sairu smiled to himself, satisfied, responding "Then... just remember: whatever comes your way, never face it alone. If there is anything that asserts our existence otherwise, it is the people we associate with, those we call our friends. If you ever question your identity, your friends can always reassure you" Xion nodded and then asked "Wait. Can you tell me your name?" As Sairu stood there, contemplating, he soon responded "My name is... Getsuryu" and walked into the dark corridor with a wave of his hand, before disappearing from view.
The dark corridor emerged in the room that Sairu was given to sleep in, and Sairu emerged from its passageway, removing his hood in the process. Only, he wasn't the only one in the room: Riku leant against the wall by the door to Sairu's left with his arms folded. "Riku. Why are you-" Sairu asked, but Riku interrupted him, saying in a scathing tone "Where did you go off to? DiZ warned us to not go off into other worlds at present. Our presence in other worlds will alert the Organization to our movements. The more obscure our movements are, the better" Hearing Riku scolding him, Sairu turned away from his friend and responded "I know that. Sorry, I've been in this mansion for three weeks, and I was getting rather claustrophobic. I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk" "Sairu, that's not good enough. Where did you go?" Riku continued in his scathing tone. "I felt I could find something of value to help us in restoring Sora's memory, so I went to the one place I was sure there would be something of help: Castle Oblivion"
At this, Riku's posture stiffened as he gasped. "Sairu, it was foolish to go back there! The Organization still have ties to that place. If you had been caught by them, what then?!" Riku exclaimed angrily, at which Sairu turned to face him, a vacant expression upon his face. "I did encounter someone, but she was there on her own. She must have been that Xion we've been speaking about" "Sairu, she's with the Organization" Riku retaliated, but Sairu raised his hand to silence Riku, and explained "She isn't serving the Organization now. She went there for her own sake, trying to learn about herself, so I cryptically hinted where she could find her answer" "What do you mean?" Riku asked in confusion. "As it stands, Xion is currently acting entirely of her own accord, having abandoned the Organization. And because we need her to restore Sora's trapped memories. If we offer her our trust, it is possible in time that she will conform to our intentions if she realises our goals. I felt that the best move was to offer her assistance in her quest for answers, so I guided her to the only other place that was likely to provide an answer of sorts to her identity crisis... the Destiny Islands"
Hearing his explanation, Riku's demeanour became more composed and his posture relaxed accordingly, as he stood straight. "I see... Although you were hasty, perhaps this will work in our favour after all. I suppose... perhaps lending her assistance will work in our favour in the long run" he said with realization, as he then turned, opening the door and left. After he was gone, Sairu stood there before he allowed himself to fall onto the bed in the room, a wave of fatigue that crashed upon him like a tsunami arriving on the shore, and, within a matter of minutes, he fell into a dreamless, mellifluous sleep.