Riku…please come back...
You can apologise all you want, but your friends will never ever hear you...!
To bring pain to others…you have to be hurting...
SHUT UP! You don't get to take pity on me...!
Kira will come for me! My best friend…will come for me...!
I SAID SHUT UP!
Tsuki gasped as she warped back into reality, shaking herself out of her lingering memories. That had been the first time since that day that she had thought about her death. As a Nobody, she never dreamed. Never thought about anything at all in her silent sleep. Even her subconscious mind in the form of a spirit had better things to worry about. So now, as the horrible memories were spiralling through her mind, she relived the terror and pain all over again. It was the worst feeling in the whole world. She wanted to erase those memories. She didn't want to remember Ikari's murderous smile. She didn't want to remember that Riku had once been her enemy. Tsuki was panting with fear as she wished so hard in her mind that all the bad thoughts would go away.
DiZ turned from his seat at the computer in his basement and gave Tsuki a look that asked 'Are you okay?' The ginger-haired girl swallowed hard, trying to pretend like nothing had happened, and smiled brightly at the man in red.
Almost simultaneously, the Corridors of Kira, Roka and Riku appeared and the three of them stepped into dark blue basement.
"Took you guys long enough," Tsuki greeted them with a laugh.
Kira and Roka made their way over to their friend to stand next to her on one side of DiZ's computer and Riku walked over to the other side to stand by himself.
"Alright, so what's the first world we need to go to?" Riku asked, obviously trying to get the journey over with as quickly as possible.
DiZ shifted in his seat to give everyone a view of the screen in front of him. "I can pick up readings of hearts that do not belong in a world using this computer. If you'll look here, you can see that I have located a "lost heart" in this world," he told them, bringing up a World Map on the monitor.
Tsuki looked in closely and saw a blinking heart-shaped icon on a picture of a world that looked very similar to her home world, Destiny Islands. She read its name that was written in a box in the corner of the screen out loud.
"Ohana Islands? Never heard of it."
"The world's that these people have been transported to are so far away that not even the Heartless have managed to reach them," DiZ explained.
"Is it really a good idea to travel to the worlds in Dark Portals, then?" Roka sounded concerned.
"It shouldn't do too much harm," Riku still sounded a like he was only half sure of himself.
"Hey, I remember being able to open Corridors of Light in my spirit form. Maybe Laeta can do the same?" Tsuki suggested.
"I would definitely advise you to use them whenever you can. Using the darkness as a method of travel too often can be dangerous for the person and the world they are travelling to," DiZ said.
Kira tilted her head at the picture on the screen, examining the new world intently. "So, do you know exactly who the lost people are?" she directed that question at the man in red.
DiZ shook his head slowly. "I do not. This monitor can only keep track of hearts. I have no way of telling which heart belongs to which person. I can only tell whether they belong in that world or not."
"Well, that will just make it an exciting surprise, then!" Tsuki giggled.
There was another box on the screen that had a description of the world; apparently written by DiZ himself. Tsuki leaned forward and lightly placed a fingertip on the blue glass and traced over the words as she read them, partly in her head and partly out loud. "Hm...beaches...big town area...ooh! Listen to this! 'Ohana Islands is popular for its warm beaches and a variety of shops that cannot be found in most other worlds'!"
"So?" Riku failed to see any importance in anything she had just said.
Tsuki grinned, an excited sparkle in her bright green eyes. She grabbed Riku by the arm and opened a Corridor of Darkness, pulling him in.
"Come on, Riku! We're going shopping!"
...
Ohana Islands
Her long ginger hair flipped from left to right as Tsuki spun quickly, hardly knowing which sight to marvel at. The golden beach seemed to stretch for miles and the ocean was deep blue with white, frothy waves crashing at the shore. Black mountains and an orange sky lined the backdrop behind a cute town.
Tsuki turned back to the beach again and happened to notice a particularly overweight man in swimming shorts attempting to eat a mint choc chip ice cream. She couldn't help but giggle as the light green frozen goodness slowly fell off the cone and dropped onto the sand. The man simply pouted a little, a look of confusion on his face as he stared at the inedible ice cream.
Tsuki turned happily on her heels as she started to walk away from the beach. "The town's this way. I'm taking you clothes shopping!" Tsuki smiled at Riku over her shoulder.
Riku power-walked after her, his arms swinging at his sides. "I don't think so. We need-"
"Ah! I know what you're going to say!" Tsuki started to imitate Riku's low voice. "We need to look for the missing person, bleh bleh bleh."
Riku folded his arms, obviously not amused. "Good. I'm glad you understand that. So let's go search the town and-"
"Look, if I'm going to be saving anyone, I'm not going to be doing it in this outfit. Neither are you. You look like some creepy guy who follows little girls into dark alleys," Tsuki smirked.
"This coat is necessary for travelling in Dark Corridors. There's nothing creepy about it. And would you stop interrupting-!"
"Trust me, if you don't want people to run away screaming when they see you, you'll let me find you some new clothes."
Riku sighed, deciding to pick his battles and give in for now. This girl is hopeless. I can't even believe my heart is connected to hers.
...
Tsuki pushed open the glass sliding door to the nearest clothing store she found and hopped onto it's blue carpet. Riku trudged in after her.
"Aloha! How can I help you today?" a tan-skinned woman at the counter greeted them with a welcoming smile.
"We'll be alright, thanks," Tsuki smiled back politely.
She and Riku were the only other people in shop, so Riku leaned in a little closer and talked in a quiet murmur so that the shop owner didn't hear him. "Tsuki, I really don't need any new clothes."
"Oh, don't be silly. You've grown heaps since I last saw you! The clothes you're wearing must be so uncomfortable!" Tsuki hissed back in a louder whisper. "I think I'll get some clothes for Kira, too."
She walked over to the section of the shop where the shirts were kept, hanging from bars along the walls on coat-hangers. She flicked her hands over each one, looking for a shirt that was to her liking. Riku looked away in embarrassment as Tsuki let out an exaggerated gasp as she pulled out a long dark blue singlet-style top with black ruffles at the bottom.
"Perfect! Hold this for me," she swung it over Riku's arm. He stood there with a tired look on his face.
She then stepped lightly across the shop, a simple pair of black tights catching her eye. She threw those over Riku's arm as well.
By the time she had found a complete outfit, she took the clothes from Riku, piled them into her own arms, and shuffled into the changing rooms at the back of the shop. Riku found a clear space on the wall to lean against while he waited.
It only took about five minutes before Tsuki came out again. She was dressed in the long blue top and tights, as well as a white hoodie with 3/4 length sleeves and a pair of short dark grey boots. The ruffles on the top were long and it made it look more like a short dress than a shirt.
Riku was a little confused as to why Tsuki looked so sad all of a sudden.
"I don't have any munny," she said in a depressed tone.
Riku pursed his lips in frustration, but managed to calm himself by breathing out slowly. "Dammit. Fine, I'll pay."
Tsuki blinked her wide eyes a couple of times. "Y-you will?"
"Yeah, whatever. If it'll make you happy," his words made it seem like he was trying to be nice, but he had an annoyed tone in his voice.
Tsuki gasped loudly, a big smile appearing on her face. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're amazing, Riku!"
She stepped forward to give him a hug, but he quickly extended a hand, placing it firmly on her shoulder to stop her. "I really don't do hugs," he said curtly.
Tsuki just gave him a cute 'hmph' and turned to start rummaging through the clothes again. She found a full outfit for Kira; a light green and blue t-shirt with a black and white vest, black shorts and black sneakers.
Riku paid for the clothes and they received a bag to put Kira's new outfit in. The kind shop owner offered to take Tsuki's old clothes and give them to a second-hand shop for her. She was a little sad to get rid of them like that, but she knew that she didn't have any use for them anymore and gladly accepted her offer.
"Alright, now we need to look for your clothes!"
"There probably won't be anything I'll like," Riku mumbled.
Tsuki ignored him and walked over to the shirt section of the shop. She pulled out the first one she saw; a yellow t-shirt with a picture of a rainbow on it. Obviously made for a girl. "How about this? You'll look so cute!"
"No."
Tsuki laughed in amusement and put the shirt back. She went to the other side of the store where the pants were kept and flicked through them until she found a nice pair of blue jeans that looked about Riku's size. She pulled them off the bar they were hanging from and held them out for him to see. She gave him a questioning look, waiting to hear his opinion on them.
Riku folded his arms and walked closer to her to get a better look. He took them from her and looked them over. "These are actually kinda nice," he said, placing them over his arm.
Tsuki felt very proud of herself and hid a smirk. Riku walked over to the shirts and had a good look through them. He eventually pulled out a short white vest with a yellow collar. "There. This'll do."
Tsuki's eyes widened. "Y-you can't just wear that and nothing else! It's too short, it'll show off your midriff and everything..." She could feel herself blushing as that image clouded her mind. She shook it out of head as fast as she could.
Riku stared at the vest for a while. "You think so? Alright, I'll wear this underneath, then." He pulled out a black singlet-style top that had a two zips down the front; one at the bottom and one at the top.
Tsuki nodded. "Yep, that's better. Oh, and these shoes will look good, too," she found some grey sneakers and handed them over to Riku as well.
He silently walked into the nearest changing room and Tsuki awkwardly placed her hands behind her back, rocking back and forth on her heels as she waited for him. Riku only took about a minute before he came back out again, holding his coat in one arm and his old yellow shirt, blue pants and sneakers in the other. He paid for his new outfit and handed over his old one to the shop owner, getting a bag to put his black coat in. Then he left the store as fast as he could with Tsuki jogging behind him.
"There, don't you feel so much better?" Tsuki giggled once they were outside.
Riku looked away, smiling a little. "I guess. So, now can we go look for-"
"Nope! I'm not quite done yet!" Tsuki started following the footpath on the side of the quiet street, looking for her next destination.
"What do you want, now?" Riku sighed.
Tsuki pushed open the door to a shop a ran inside. Riku decided not to go in this time and waited for her on the sidewalk with his arms folded. The ginger-haired girl ran out again quickly, holding a small bag hand in her hand.
"What's in there?" Riku asked curiously, leaning over to try and look inside it.
"Scissors," Tsuki declared happily.
Riku paused for a second, staring at her. "Scissors...?"
"Scissors. And a camera."
"What...what do you need-?"
"To cut my hair, silly! My fringe has grown so much, it's getting really annoying!" she brushed her long hair out of her face, only to have most of it fall back down again.
Riku nodded. "Fair enough. Just keep those things away from me," he took a step back.
"Why? You could do with a haircut too, you know," she grinned devilishly.
Riku took two steps back this time, holding his hands up in front of him. "No, no, I really don't."
Tsuki stuck her tongue out at him. "Well, if you won't let me cut your hair, then you have to at least let me take a picture of you," she swung her arm over his shoulder before he could protest, taking the camera out of the bag. "Say cheese!" she grinned, holding it out in front of them and snapping a photo.
A glossy piece of paper slid out the bottom of it, revealing a picture of Tsuki's smiling face and Riku looking particularly annoyed.
She giggled, putting the camera and the photo back into the bag as she started to walk down the footpath again. Riku followed after her quickly.
"Where are you going now?" he sounded like he didn't really want to hear the answer.
"To find the 'lost heart', of course!" she said, keeping her eyes on the road ahead of her.
"Ugh," was the only reply that Riku could think of.
...
Riku phased out most of the conversation Tsuki tried to have with them as the walked past each shop on the quiet street, finding every word she said to be painfully annoying. Seriously, do I even have anything in common with this girl? There's no way our hearts can be connected... Tsuki continued to talk happily, mostly to herself as Riku would only reply with the same monotone 'mmhmm' sound.
It didn't take long before they spotted a little girl in a long red dress walking a little further ahead of them, dragging a cat-carrier along with her. As the barred entrance to the container was facing them, Tsuki and Riku could see a strange yellow light shining from inside it.
"What the heck is that...?" Tsuki started to walk faster to catch up with the girl. "Excuse me? Hey!"
The tan-skinned girl stopped and looked over her shoulder to see who was calling her.
"Hi! I'm Tsuki and this is Riku," Tsuki gestured to her silver-haired companion. "What's your name?"
"Um...Lilo?" the short Hawaiian girl sounded very suspicious.
"Nice to meet you, Lilo! Uh, say, what have you got in there?" Tsuki pointed at the cat carrier in the Lilo's right hand.
Lilo shifted her eyes left and right, as if she was looking to see if anyone else was around. She stood on her tiptoes, trying to get closer to Tsuki who was a lot taller than her. "I think I can trust you. Can I tell you a secret?" she whispered.
Tsuki smiled and nodded, leaning down so that her face was closer to Lilo's. Riku listened in hard as well as Lilo spoke quietly into Tsuki's ear.
"There's an angel in there," the little girl said, very seriously.
Tsuki blinked, "An...angel?" she whispered back, standing up again.
Lilo nodded. "Yep. A tiny little angel. Well, at least I'm pretty sure that it is. Actually, I was just on my way to the pet store to get them to check it out for me."
"Oh, I see..." Tsuki was actually incredibly confused.
"What does this 'angel' look like?" Riku asked.
Lilo set the cat-carrier on the ground so that both her hands were free. "She's about this big," she made the size of about 5 inches with her hands. "She's got blonde hair and blue eyes. Oh yeah, and she's wearing a little green dress and her wings are really pretty."
Riku and Tsuki both looked at each other at the same time. "Can we see her?" Riku asked.
Lilo nodded and Tsuki knelt down on the concrete, peering through the bars of the cat carrier. She gasped when she saw a familiar fairy, Tinker Bell, sitting at the back of the large container, looking very depressed. Tsuki looked back up at Riku. "Found it," she confirmed.
"Great. Look, Lilo, I'm sorry to tell you, but that's actually not an angel," Riku said matter-of-factly.
Lilo gasped, "You're wrong! She is! I wished for her on a flying star and everything!"
Tsuki stood up again. "I'm sorry Lilo, but she has to go back to where she belongs now."
"No! You're not taking her away!" Lilo hugged the cat carrier on the ground, looking close to tears.
Tsuki bit her lip, not sure what to say. "She looks really sad. I mean, wouldn't you feel lost and afraid if you were in a place that wasn't your home?"
A tear ran down Lilo's cheek as she leaned it against the top of the container. She was silent for a long time and Tsuki and Riku waited anxiously for her to make a decision.
"Okay. I'll let her go," Lilo said finally.
She reached over and unlatched the door of the cat-carrier. Tinker Bell jingled loudly, smiling brightly at Tsuki and Riku as she flew out of it. Then she turned to wave goodbye to Lilo before shooting off into the sky.
"Thanks, Lilo. You did the right thing," Tsuki patted her head affectionately.
Lilo smiled sadly. "It's just...I get pretty lonely sometimes. I just wanted a friend. Someone who actually likes me and won't run away."
"You just have to open your heart."
Tsuki turned to look at Riku as he spoke up. Lilo stared up at him, blinking in confusion.
"All you have to do is open your heart to the people around you and believe in yourself. You'll find a friend someday," Riku did his best to smile reassuringly.
Lilo blinked a couple more times before returning his smile. "Okay. I'll try."
Tsuki stood there in silence, pleased with how everything had turned out. Lilo quickly filled the silence with a short gasp.
"Oh! I better go, or I'll be late for my hula lesson!" she picked up the cat-carrier and started jumping down the street with it as fast as she could.
"It was nice to meet you! See you later!" Lilo beamed as she quickly looked back over her shoulder.
Tsuki waved. "Bye, Lilo!"
Riku sighed as the little girl became smaller and smaller in his vision as she hopped down the footpath. "Come on, let's get back to the mansion."
Tsuki looked up at him as he opened a Corridor of Darkness. "You really helped her, you know. That was good advice," she complimented him genuinely.
Riku looked down at her and gave a satisfied 'hmph.'
And having nothing more to say on the matter, the two of them stepped into the portal to return to Twilight Town.
...
Twilight Town
"Is this a good spot?"
"Um, can you move it this way a little?"
"This way?"
"No, this way. A little more to the right."
"How's this?"
Tsuki and Riku arrived just in time to see the changes that were being made to the White Room. Kira was lying on a sofa which had been placed on one wall, holding her Keyblade in the air, swinging it slightly. There was a white piano against the wall that was adjacent to the door on the left side. Two girls were helping to push it to the right place as Roka told them where to move it. Laeta and Tristis leaned against the piano, breathing a little hard from all the exhausting work they had just done.
"Damn, that piano was heavy," Tristis gasped.
"You can say that again." Laeta looked up and smiled as she caught sight of Tsuki. "Welcome back! I love your new outfit!"
Tsuki just stood there for a few seconds, marvelling at the two beings in front of her. Tristis and Laeta. They looked like unique individuals now. Their hair colour, eye colour, height, nose shape, face shape...they were completely different from each other. It was easy to tell them apart, not just because Laeta's hair was a light pastel orange and Tristis had a dark reddish brown colour, or because Laeta had bright blue eyes and Tristis had a deep red. But it was their entire face, too. They were completely different. Their voices were, as well. Laeta's was soft and a little quiet, and Tristis had a low husky tone to hers.
"Uh...I, uh, where did you get those from?" Tsuki stuttered, trying to find some way to fill the deafening silence she had created.
"These?" Laeta flicked a finger back and forth, gesturing to the piano and the sofa.
"Got them from the Dalmatian's House in Traverse Town," Tristis said, expression hardly changing.
"The dogs were nice enough to let us borrow them for a while," Laeta smiled with closed eyes.
Tsuki just nodded absent-mindedly, then shook her head hard and smiled, trying to keep her cool.
"DiZ thought it might be nice if Kira and I had something to do while you guys are off on your little adventure," Roka explained, laughing at Tsuki's reaction, "I wanted to play piano and Kira wanted to sleep. So he sent Tristis and Laeta to Traverse Town to get these for us and bring them back here in one of those Dark Portal things."
Tsuki walked closer to Laeta and stared at her, then placed her gaze on Tristis, giving her the same curious look. Wow, Naminé did a really good job...
"Alright, let me just figure all this out. Do you...have the same memories as me?" she asked seriously.
Tristis nodded once. "Yeah. We remember everything. Like when you first met Kira-"
"And when you fought Riku in Hollow Bastion," Laeta finished her sentence.
"This is just amazing..." Tsuki couldn't think of a better response.
Tristis gave a short 'hmph'. Laeta tilted her head a little and smiled, her face lighting up with radiance and warmth. "We'll help you on your journey in any way we can," she said softly.
Tsuki returned her smile with an excited grin, giggling as she jumped towards the girl in white, taking her hands and jumping up and down a few times. "I can't wait!" she cried.
Riku stood back from the girly spectacle as usual. As he was staring at nothing in particular, he suddenly got the feeling that someone was watching him and glanced over at the three girls. His eyes immediately locked onto Tristis', who was apparently the cause of the weird feeling that Riku had felt. The dark haired girl quickly blinked and jerked her head away, pretending that she hadn't been staring at him just a moment ago. Riku was a little confused, but decided not to read into it too much.
"Roka, play something!" Kira pushed herself up on the sofa and grinned eagerly.
Roka didn't need to be asked twice and pushed back the piano stool, sitting himself down in front of the beautiful white instrument. He placed his hands lightly on the keys, deciding on a song to play. As he finally made up his mind and started to play the pretty tune, Tsuki and Laeta gasped in unison as they recognised the song immediately. Tsuki started to sing along to the soft piano music.
"The rain outside/fills your heart tonight./Sky is dark/Like your eyes now."
Laeta smiled warmly as she started to sing along, adding a harmony. "As you break down/like no one can see./I'll comfort you/There's no one that can hurt you now."
Tristis quietly began to sing a lower version of the melody. "You can hold my hand./Silently, telling you that/I love you/And I always will."
"You're my angel/And I'll always be yours." Roka finished it off, smiling as he sang quietly, tapping out the complicated piano piece at the same time.
Tsuki giggled as Roka continued to play, hardly noticing Riku slowly walking towards her with his pupils dilated and his face deathly white.
"What is that song?"
"Hm?" Tsuki jerked her head up to look at Riku who was now standing right in front of her.
"What...what is that song? Where did you hear it?" he murmured in a low voice.
Tsuki tilted her head in confusion, then smiled a little. "Well, I wrote it, actually."
Riku swallowed hard."Oh. When did you write it?"
"Um...when I was ten-years-old, I think. Six years ago?"
"Six years ago..." Riku stared off into the distance, his face becoming more pale with each passing second. "Well, um, it's nice. I like it," he said, quickly covering up his initial reaction.
"Oh, well, thanks!" Tsuki beamed, more focused on the fact that Riku was complimenting her rather than how strange he had been acting.
Riku turned and headed for the door. "I'll go and see if DiZ has found the next 'lost heart'," he said, leaving before anyone could reply.
Tsuki smiled after him. She suddenly realised the shopping bag that she was holding and quickly turned to look at Kira on the sofa.
"Oh yeah, Kira, I got you some new clothes!"
Kira jumped up from the sofa. "Wow, really? That's so nice!"
"Let's go to the bathroom. I'll give your hair a trim as well!" Tsuki skipped towards the door, taking Kira by the hand and pulling her along excitedly.