Epilogue
Riku opened the door to the mansion and walked inside. He stopped as he saw the figure who was making her way down the stairs. Her blue eyes glanced up and she froze, mid-step. They stared at each other, both at a loss at what to say.
"Riku," she said, settling on his name, though he had insisted hundreds of times that he was now Ansem. She had imagined this moment for weeks now, since he had left her, and now that he was here, already it wasn't going at all like she had hoped. She pulled her charcoal-grey coat tighter around her body, not knowing what else to do.
"Hi," he said awkwardly, folding his arms, afraid to say her name. He hadn't wanted to see her. Even now, though they were several meters apart, all he wanted to do was rush over to her and feel the sensation of her lips on his, trail his fingers hungrily along her hips and back, and breathe in her natural scent; one that always reminded him of the Paopu fruit on Destiny Island.
"Are you going out?" he asked instead, wishing his feelings away.
"I thought I'd go into the town for a bit," she replied. "Pick up something for dinner, you know. The usual."
"Yeah."
Silence reigned. Naminé wanted him to address what she knew was going to be left unsaid. Standing here was so painful. He was so close to her, and all those over-powering emotions were rushing back to her with his presence. All he had to do was apologise. No, all he had to do was say her name and she would forgive him for everything. The last month had been punishment enough for her.
"You look thin," he commented. "Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm a nobody, Riku. It's not that important to eat."
"Just because you're a nobody doesn't mean you should abstain..."
"Stop it."
Her angry glare shut him up immediately. He bowed his head and nodded solemnly. He didn't have the right to say those sort of things to her. Not anymore. After what he had done, he was surprised she could stand to be in the same room as him.
"You're right. It's not my place."
Naminé clenched her fist and finished walking down the steps. Riku didn't move, but his body was telling him to run a thousand miles before he hurt her again.
"I finally captured Roxas," he said, in a vain attempt to change the subject. "It took me a long time to track him down."
"I know," she replied, leaning against the banister at the bottom of the stairway. "Mickey told me you deposited him in one of the pods when we were all asleep. Just two more days and I should have Sora back to normal."
"That's a relief."
"Are you going to stay around until he wakes up?" she asked.
Riku shook his head slowly. Naminé looked at him questioningly.
"I'll be leaving Twilight Town for good soon."
"You're leaving again?" she said in surprise. "Aren't you even going to look for..." Naminé realised what she was saying and stopped.
"A cure," he finished. "No. I've accepted what I've become. I think it's time you did too."
"You know what I think," Naminé said bluntly. "So there's no point in me repeating myself."
"I guess not."
Naminé straightened herself up and made for the door.
"So, why the hell have you come back?" she muttered angrily. "Rubbing salt in an old wound?" She stormed forward, hitting him forcefully as she passed him.
"Wait!" he exclaimed, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back. They stopped within inches of each other, and Naminé looked into his eyes dumbfounded, her anger gone. Riku's head was swimming with her so close. All he could think was Naminé. It was like she had crawled into his head and removed every other thought besides her name, her touch, her beauty...
"I-" The words couldn't come. Her eyes, pools of endless blue, stared into him, not looking for anything, not wanting anything. If only he could drown in her eyes, he would die a happy man. He loosened his grip on her wrist and let his hand slide under hers, distractedly playing with her palm by squeezing it ever so gently. He was surprised that she let him.
"You know as well as I do that I can't have Sora see me like this," he sighed. His grip on her hand became tighter, almost as if he were holding onto the last thing that had kept him earthed. "The King has some things for me to do, so..."
His hand broke free from hers and he moved it forward, reaching for her cheek. Naminé stood deathly still, fearing that if she moved, it would no longer be real. She feared that it would be another dream she would end up waking from. The dreams themselves weren't the problem, it was the reality that followed. It had been weeks since he had left, and though she was living and going about her almost tedious, diurnal requirements, her life wasn't quite the same. It was...emptier; something similar to her life before she had met him. It wasn't a bad life by any means, it was just a life without Riku.
Somehow, that was one of the saddest realisations she had ever made.
"Riku..." she whispered, closing her eyes, her voice begging for his touch, begging for the sense of relief and safety she always felt when in his arms. Naminé didn't know how, but whenever he was there, the big bad world always took a pleasant vacation, and though it still existed, while he was there, it never mattered. Riku was always the one she wanted to dwell on.
"I'd-" he stammered, his voice distant. Her eyes opened, and found that he had moved across the hall. Though he was only metres away, it might as well have been oceans. Naminé closed her eyes again, this time in dismay.
"What do you want?" To Riku, it seemed like years had been put on her in mere seconds. She sounded so tired...
"I guess, I wanted to say a few goodbyes," he admitted. Naminé nodded, finally understanding.
"Well, you know where to find him," she said, turning for the front door. She placed her hand on the marble handle of the door and stopped, turning back to look at him. He had remained where he was, silently watching her leave. It was, like him to do that.
"Riku?" she called.
"Yeah?"
"Wherever you're going, just, take care, okay? Be careful you don't get hurt."
Riku laughed, despite himself. "I'll do my best, Naminé."
She smiled. Though his voice was different, the inflection was still the same. Ansem could never take Riku away from her.
"Hey," she said softly. "When...when everything is sorted out, and we've had a few months to...adjust, promise me something, okay?"
"What's that?" he asked.
"Ansem or no Ansem, will you take a walk with me?"
Riku's eyes softened, and just for a second, it seemed like he was that insecure, misunderstood, sixteen year old boy again.
"I'd like that," he said.
Naminé nodded in thanks, and opened the door. She slipped through the small gap and was gone into the twilight.
"Goodbye, Naminé," he whispered. With that he made his way up the staircase before disappearing into the lab where Sora awaited.
I may be a nobody
These feelings may not even be real.
But, you were able to bring some meaning to my faulty, damaged existence.
That's got to mean something, right?
And, even though you hurt me, I can't help it.
I love you.
I love you forever.
Take a Walk with Me, End.
To be continued in Kingdom Hearts 2.
Wow. Two years and eight months later, it's over. That's still a lot to try and get my head around. This fic has been such a constant in my life for as good as three years now, and I have to admit, I'm pretty bummed it's finished. When I first started this fic I thought it was going to end round chapter seven, pretty much straight after the walk to twilight town was done, but it just seemed to really expand from there. I suppose I could have left some things out, but overall, I'm glad it was allowed run wild a bit. I really had fun writing about Riku and Naminé, and it was pure pleasure/fandom to develop a romantic link between them that fit in somewhat with the gap between CoM and KH2. I use somewhat pretty loosely there. While I have done my best to keep things as accurate as possible, I did abuse my privileges with the Naminé back story and Riku's transformation. Hopefully I didn't annoy too many people with those two things. Because of the slight constraint that is was a gap between games, I guess people saw the split between them happening. I didn't want to leave things absolutely rotten to the core between them though, and that was what the epilogue was for.
As for the future of my writing about Naminé and Riku, I feel I have a one-shot left in me. I want to write about Riku at the end of KH2 when Naminé returns to Kairi. It might be a while before that gets churned out though, and to be honest, I'm in no hurry to get it done. I might let it stew for a few months before putting pen to paper.
To everyone who reviewed, what can I say? Words just simply aren't enough to tell you how much every single review has made my day. From your constructive criticisms, to the squeals of joy, to the pleas for an update, for the compliments, the ego-boosts and the kind words to get me through my tough time between chapters ten and eleven, thank you. I am so, so privileged to be part of a writing community that genuinely cares for the people in it. You guys are my solid rock of support, and I can never explain adequately how much you all truly mean to me. So, can I give a big thank you right now to the following:
SecretAgent99, SoulEaterDark, LarkaSpirit, glos, Lena, Naminé, Agatsuma Ritsuka, IrisMidnight, TheMagicalTapeworm, Violet Young, nequam-tenshi, Happibuni, Coastie Boi, xXTwilight-KunoichiXx, Mauve Rune, uniFsky, Yami no Kokoro, andpaopucheesecakes, SoraxKairi7, Emerald Moonrose, Amu123, Pan, xMemoirx, Shibara1310, Riku no Kage, Hanakitsunechan7, What Sarah Said, Dragonlover149, I am a ninjaa :], deadly-bliss, Roxas4ever, Foo-Foo, LunaLocket, hyuuga sayumari, hello cake, Selunchen123, Katchi, StrangerInMoscow, LetMeLive, The Hollow Fairy Wolf, xoRaining Diamondsox, and last but not least, blazer227.
In addition, I'd like to give a special mention to my friend Pan, who somehow became my beta reader along the way. For all the texts/Ims/Conversations that went along the lines of: "do you honestly think s/he'd do/say that?" or "look at your expression here and afterwards get your head examined for missing a mistake like that", I give you my thanks. It wouldn't be half the story it is now without you.
Well, that's about all I have to say. To all those that stuck with me chapter by chapter, I really enjoyed walking alongside you on this journey. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading. I am eternally grateful.
LastCetra.