Twilight Town

Tsuki sat on a chair with her head in her hands, elbows on her knees as she rocked slowly backwards and forwards. Yori had been staring at her in silence for some time now and it was starting to tick her off a little. She did her best to hide it and continued to sit there, tapping her feet on the floor.

It was hard to know what to think of Yori's story. He had told them all about how he had found out that Ikari had been responsible for Arleen's death. How he had left her and ran off by himself, travelling in Dark Corridors to worlds far from his home. Doing everything he could to avoid and hide from her whenever he happened to find her again.

"But I made a mistake," he had said. "Ikari's my sister. The only family I have. I was just so angry at her for leaving me alone for so long, and the way I chose to deal with that was to go off...alone. It doesn't even make any sense. It took me a while to realise that.
"I'm weak. I would have tried to earn munny myself, but there isn't a job I'm really cut out for. But I still want to help her. I want to help her find a way to make a good life for herself without...well, without hurting people. I need to find her."

No one had much to say after that.

It was hard for Tsuki. Ikari had done horrible things to her and it was hard to look past that and see that this boy had been living on his own for so long and just wanted to find his sister. She didn't even know what to say to him.

"So...will you help me?" Yori finally spoke up.

Tsuki couldn't reply.

"I think we should," Laeta quietly voiced her opinion.

"You're kidding right?" Kira looked at her.

"You do know what that witch did to Tsuki, right?" Tristis spoke in a dark tone.

Laeta tried to say something to back up her statement, but when she opened her mouth, only a small squeak came out.

"No, you don't understand," Yori's voice broke a little. "You have no idea how much she regrets what she did to you. It was hard to see at the time, but looking back on it now...not only was she in tears over it, but she just...she just had this look of genuine remorse in her eyes."

Tsuki shook her head. "I won't believe it until I hear it from her. But that won't be happening any time soon since I'm going to do everything I can to stay away from her."

She looked up slowly, her eyes burning with buried anger. "I've never hated anyone in this whole world more than I hate Ikari."

Laeta suddenly slammed her hand down hard onto the arm of the sofa which she was sitting on. Everyone turned their gazes up to her in surprise.

"How is this fair?" the light-ginger-haired girl stared into the floor with a dead serious expression. "Everything that happened to you...to us...that was Ikari's fault. Yori's done nothing wrong. So why can't we help him?"

"Why don't you go back home? Ikari might go back there eventually?" Kira hesitantly suggested to Yori.

He shook his head. "I can't go back there. Being stuck in that house for so long I just...I just want to make a new start. A new home for myself. With Ikari."

"He could live with me?"

Their eyes slowly turned to stare in surprise as Roka spoke up.

"Well, why not? There's plenty of room in my house for one more. It doesn't have to be forever, just a temporary sort of thing. And my step-mom can take care of you, at least until you find Ikari," Roka started to sound a little nervous, worried that no one would think that his idea was a good one.

Yori thought about it for a while before his turquoise eyes lit up and a smile appeared on his face. "Yeah. Okay. That's really nice of you to offer."

Roka sighed a little in relief and laughed. "No problem."

The door opened suddenly and Riku stepped through it. He had just been to see Sora again and was still wearing his black coat. He tiredly ran a hand over his silver hair.

"You ready, Tsu? DiZ managed to track down the last 'lost heart.'"

Tsuki looked up and blinked a couple of times. "Wait, what?"

Kira laughed awkwardly. "Um, but I only sealed three Keyholes. There shouldn't be-"

"Well there is. I don't know, it must've had something to do with the fact that you spent so much time in Traverse Town and the darkness in your heart had some kind of affect on the world even though you didn't go anywhere near it's Keyhole," Riku made a pretty accurate guess.

Kira shook her head slowly. "I'm causing trouble left and right."

Tsuki made a determined fist. "Don't worry, we'll go help them." She seemed to be in a much happier mood all of a sudden.

I'm so relieved. I won't have to say goodbye to Riku just yet, she smiled to herself.

"Alright, where's the 'lost heart'?" Tristis walked forwards from the wall she had been leaning against.

"Destiny Islands. The dark side. I think I'll keep my coat on just to be safe," Riku replied.

Tsuki gasped as she got up from her chair. "That means you'll finally get to see where we live!"

"Guess so," Riku said quietly, smiling a little.

Laeta jumped to her feet. "Yori, I can take you to Roka's house now if you want?"

"Yeah, that'll give you a chance to get settled before you go out looking for Ikari again. My step-mom's name is Haruki. Just explain everything to her and I'm sure she'll let you stay," Roka said.

Yori smiled and stood up, nodding in reply.

Laeta held her hand out and summoned a Dark Corridor. "This'll take you to the Main Island."

Yori looked a little hesitant at first, but eventually he stepped into the darkness with the confidence he had managed to build up, looking back over his shoulder and whispering a quiet "thanks".

Once the portal had disappeared after him, Laeta turned to the others. "Let's start looking on The Island for the 'lost heart' first. I've got a good feeling that we'll find them there."

...

Destiny Islands- Dark Side

Stepping out onto the sandy beach, Riku took a moment to stare up at the sky.

"Wow, those clouds are really dark," he murmured.

"A storm's probably coming," Tsuki looked up as well, following his gaze.

"Are the storm clouds here always this dark? They look almost pitch black."

"Yeah, they look pretty normal to me," Tsuki laughed quietly, not really seeing why Riku was making such a big deal about the clouds which were seen quite regularly on this side of Destiny Islands.

"Hey guys, there's something over here!" Laeta gestured for everyone to follow her as she ran off towards the bushes around the Secret Place.

Her bare feet kicked up sand as Laeta stepped lightly over it with Tsuki, Riku and Tristis jogging behind her. As they approached the bushes, it became more obvious that there was a small red ball sticking out of one of them, twitching slightly. Laeta crouched down in front of it and parted the leaves with her hands. The creature that the red pompom belonged to flew out with a startled "kupo!" and looked around at everyone in shock. Everyone stepped back, just as surprised.

"Please don't hurt me, I want to live kupo!" the little moogle squeaked, still hovering in mid-air.

Laeta raised her hands, trying to calm it down. "Easy, easy. We're not going to hurt you. What's your name?"

"M-Mortimer. But...call me Morty, kupo," Morty flew down a little.

Laeta took the moogle in her hands and held it to her chest, giving him a hug. "You're so cute~" she giggled.

Morty didn't seem to mind being held by the beautiful girl even a little bit let Laeta snuggle into him. Tristis frowned and looked away, obviously embarrassed at how she was acting. Tsuki and Riku just stood back and watched as Laeta obviously had everything under control.

"Do you think you could help me get home? I don't know how I got here," Morty whimpered sadly.

Laeta hugged him even tighter in her kneeling position on the ground. "Of course I can!"

She stood up holding Morty and let him go so that he could hover by himself. She lifted a hand and summoned a Corridor of Light. "Just fly through here and you'll be back in Traverse Town in no time," she said in a soft voice.

Morty spun a little flip in the air. "Thank you so much, nice lady!" he laughed cutely as he leaped into the light.

"Take care!" Laeta called after him.

She breathed a dreamy sigh and turned back to the others. "Well I guess that's than, then?"

Riku pursed his lips and looked away. "Why don't...why don't you and Tristis go back without us," he was referring to himself and Tsuki. "We'll catch up with you later."

Tsuki look at him, tilting her head in confusion. Tristis and Laeta exchanged similar looks with each other.

"Al...right? Guess we'll see you in a bit, then?" Laeta stood up slowly and summoned a Corridor of Darkness.

As she and Tristis disappeared, Riku and Tsuki stood there in silence for a few seconds before Riku started walking to the Secret Place.

"You coming?" he asked Tsuki without looking back.

Tsuki opened her mouth to reply, but she was so confused that she couldn't find any words to say. She walked briskly behind him and they entered the shack together. Tsuki closed the door behind them as Riku sat down on the floor.

"We have a place kind of like this back home," he said absent-mindedly.

Tsuki walked over and sat down beside her Reverse. Again, there was silence between them. Riku eventually leaned back and lay down, his arms up as he rested his head on his hands.

"This isn't how I really look, you know," he said.

Tsuki didn't like the fact that she was taller than Riku at that moment and decided to lie down next to him, keeping a small distance knowing how he liked his space.

"I turned into Ansem at one point. But Naminé managed to use her powers make me look like myself again."

Tsuki was even more confused. "Did you... bring me here so you could tell me that?" was the only response she could think of.

"No, that's not it...I just figured I should prepare you just in case the look that Naminé created for me suddenly wears off and I look like Ansem again," Riku spoke in a distant murmur.

"Then...why did we need to come here?"

"I don't know...it just seemed like a good place to talk to you."

"About what?"

Riku sighed. "Just, give me a second. I'm not good at this."

Tsuki lay there patiently for seemed like the longest wait of her life before Riku finally breathed out slowly and spoke to her.

"I need to thank you for something. But...you're not going to understand exactly what it is that I'm thanking you for before I tell you...my story," he said seriously.

"Your...story?"

"About when I was a kid. I promise I'll try and make it short."

"No, no, it's okay. Take all the time you want," Tsuki turned to lie on her shoulder, looking at Riku with her green eyes lit up with anticipation.

And so, as Riku stared up at the roof of the Secret Place, breathing a final sigh...

...he began.

...

Destiny Islands- Light Side (6 Years Ago)

Riku was 10-years-old. His mother, Carmen, was still as tired as ever, but today she seemed brighter and had more colour in her gentle face. She beckoned Riku to her bedside with outstretched arms. He eagerly got up from the floor, leaving his toy cars as he ran to her. As Carmen spent a lot of time in bed, she had it placed out in the living room where she could watch Riku play and enjoy the nice sun that beamed in through the windows of the lightest part of their house.

She welcomed her son with her usual warm smile, her blue eyes sparkling. "I'm feeling a little better today. Let's do something fun," she beamed.

Riku nodded, filled with excitement. "What should we do? Go out to The Island? Or maybe the shops or the park?"

Carmen took her hands out from beneath the bed sheets and held Riku's. "I'm only feeling a little better," she laughed. "We can have fun indoors instead."

She pushed the covers down to her knees and sat up against her pillows. She patted Riku's head gently as she smiled at him. "How about I teach you how to dance?"

Riku wrinkled his nose a little. "But mom…dancing's for girls!" he stuck his tongue a little way out of the side of his mouth.

Carmen giggled and Riku took a few steps backwards to give her room as she got out of the bed and stood up next to it. She was a little wobbly on her legs and so she held onto Riku's shoulders for a couple of seconds.

"You'll find it's quite fun for boys and girls," she promised after she had regained her balance, carefully pushing her black fringe out of her eyes.

Riku decided to give it a go. He didn't want to spoil the rare time he could spend with his mother when she was healthy. His father smiled at them from his usual place on the sofa, getting up and walking to the piano by the wall opposite him. Carmen and Riku stepped out to the middle of the living room and she took his hands.

"Now, you stand on my feet," she instructed.

Riku was scared that he might break the fragile woman if he did so, but he still did as he was asked. He carefully placed his sock-covered feet on top of hers. His father began to play a cheerful melody and his mother started to step backwards and forwards in time to the music. Riku laughed as she swayed his arms from side to side.

"This is fun!" he grinned, stepping off of his mother's feet to move them on his own.

Carmen wasn't very tall, but Riku still came up to about just over half her height. He looked down at her black socks and tried to mirror her actions. His mother laughed happily and spun him in a circle with one arm. Dancing with her was like a happy dream that Riku never wanted to wake from.

Fifteen minutes went by as easily as a second and the two of them were still stepping around the room. Riku had memorized the dance, but he still wasn't very good. By the time half an hour had been and gone, Carmen started to cough. Worry flushed over Riku's face and he let go of her hands as she stumbled backwards. Carmen tried to sit down on her bed, but she slipped off the edge of it and fell to the floor. Riku called out to her as he ran to help her up, but his father got there first and lifted her onto the bed.

Riku wanted to help and pulled the quilt over his mother's frail body and up to her heaving chest. She coughed again and looked up at him with sorry, watery eyes.

"That was fun," she said sincerely.

Carmen liked to get over the painful episodes the illness gave her as quickly as she could and pretended it wasn't there, even if she'd come close to meeting death.

"We'll have to do it again sometime," Riku said with obvious sadness dripping from his voice.

"I promise we will," his mother smiled.

…

A few months later

The night outside their windows was a beautiful view as the flames from the candles inside the house gave it a flickering border. Each window was a dancing dark-blue picture frame. But Riku barely noticed it. He was too worried to care.

His father was sitting on his chair by the end of Carmen's bed and Riku was kneeling beside her on the floor. His mother gazed at the yellow flame on her bedside table. There was a light smell of smoke in the air but it hardly bothered anyone.

Riku couldn't understand why the atmosphere was so grim. No one had told him what was going on. His parents didn't speak a word for a long time until Carmen finally removed her gaze from the candle and placed it on Riku.

"Do you remember that special place I told you about?" she whispered in a broken voice.

Riku nodded, recalling the conversation he'd had with her many times. "The one you go to when you fall asleep and never wake up?" he asked although he already knew he was right.

"I think I might go to that place tonight," Carmen told him, her pale lips forming a sad smile.

Both of their eyes became glassy at that moment and Riku looked over at his father to study his reaction. It was nothing more than a sad lowering of his head as if he couldn't bear to look at them. Riku quickly looked down at his mother again.

"Why would you want to leave us?" he asked, raising his voice that was stricken with shock.

His mother's breaths were shaky and deep from exhaustion as if she'd fighting for a long very time. She held onto the bed sheet and closed her eyes as she smiled calmly.

"It's getting hard for me… lying in bed all day, trying to deal with this illness. All I want is to be able to run… and jump…and dance…"

Riku cut her off with a frantic outburst. "But you promised! That we'd dance together again! You promised…" he could barely speak with the lump in his throat that made him choke on his words.

Riku wiped away the first tear that fell, but by the time he lifted his hand away, they were streaming down in floods and he couldn't stop them even if he'd tried. He closed his eyes, sobbing quietly with clenched teeth. He couldn't even look up when a gentle hand met his cheek, but he blinked his eyes open as his mother lifted his head.

"I'll keep my promise. We'll dance together again…someday," she whispered, her voice still filled with warmth.

"But how..? I don't under-"Riku let out a gasp. "No! I can't wait that long!" he cried as he realised what she meant.

His mother slowly ruffled his silver hair. "You don't have to worry about that right now. You're going to grow up and be a big strong man. You'll be strong…and brave…and I'll always be watching over you. I know you'll make me proud…" Carmen took her hand away from Riku's face and placed it on the bed.

He knew that she was slipping away, slowly drifting into the endless sleep that he'd feared for so long. He could feel the piece of his heart that she filled breaking apart as her chest rose and fell more slowly with each passing second. Riku forced himself to stop sobbing so that he could tell her what he knew could be the last thing he ever said to her.

"I don't want to have to say goodbye," he whimpered as he placed his hand on hers.

Carmen looked up at him with loving eyes and held onto his hand with the little amount of strength she had left.

Then she whispered to her son in her final breaths, "Then I'll just say…I love you so very much…my darling Riku."

"I love you too, Mom," was his shaky reply.

And just like that, Carmen's eyes began to close. The grip she had on Riku's hand loosened and she let him go completely. Her face seemed paler than before, but she didn't lose her sweet smile.

Before Riku knew it, his mother's body was glowing and it began to disappear into sparkling globes of yellow light. As the last tiny sphere faded away, the only light left in the room was from the candles on the bedside table and on the window sill.

Riku stared blankly at the wall in front of him as tears dripped from his chin. He could feel the hole in his heart consume him and he felt sadness like he had never felt before. Laying his head on the bed, he sobbed loudly.

His father got up from his chair and Riku heard him grab his coat and leave through the front door. The air that was let in from outside extinguished the candles on the windowsill as the door slammed shut.

Riku was left all alone in his dark little house with nothing but the candle on his mother's small table and her sweet scent that still lingered on the bed sheets.

…

The gravestone was simple and all Riku kept thinking was that she deserved something prettier.
In loving memory of Carmen
Thanks for being the best mom ever.
Riku had chosen what was written on the stone himself.

It wasn't long before the other people on the island realised that Carmen was gone. Sora's mother came over to Riku's house as soon as she heard, bringing baskets of groceries and baking. She told him in secret that if he ever needed a place to stay, he could always live with her and her family for a while. He was a little upset at the suggestion of leaving his home, but he quickly realised that she'd seen how sad Riku's father was and that she only wanted him to be in a happy environment so he could cope with the situation.

His father had barely said a word to anyone since that night. Riku wished he could just beg him to show him some comfort; to tell him that it was going to be alright. But he didn't speak. Even as they stood there side by side staring at the small gravestone, he didn't make a sound.

Without thinking, Riku lifted his hand to his father's, wrapping his mitten around the man's bare fingers. The cold autumn air made his teeth chatter as he looked up at his father. Cringing as he met Riku's sad blue eyes, his father tore his hand away, walking briskly back down the hill where they had placed Carmen's gravestone. Riku wanted to call after him. He wanted to turn and run with him. But he was too broken.

His knees gave way and he dropped to the ground. Tears fell onto the grey stone and then disappeared into the careful engraving.

"Please come back. I still need you. I'm so lost…I don't know what to do," Riku whispered, leaning forward and placing his forehead on the gravestone.

It was then that he felt the raindrops fall onto the back of his neck. They soaked his hair and made the back of his neck feel damp and cold. Everything seemed darker. The darkness closed in around him and he could barely breathe, almost choking on it. Even though his eyes were open, he couldn't escape the dark.

Riku's screams were masked by the thunder. As if in a dream, he felt someone place a hand on his shoulder. Spinning around, half expecting a glowing figure of his mother to be standing there, he saw the kind face of a 9-year-old Kairi. Riku brushed his hand over his eyes to wipe away the tears and a sympathetic-looking Sora came into view. He was immediately filled with embarrassment, so he turned away quickly and stared at the ground. Out if the corner of his eye, he saw Kairi kneel down beside him. She didn't seem to mind that her legs were now covered with mud. Kairi shifted herself closer to Riku's side and took his hand in hers. Sora sat down on the other side of him, keeping a little distance as he obviously didn't know what to do for his unusually tough and composed friend. Sora eventually touched the arm of Riku's coat which was dripping with water.

Riku felt so safe with his two most cherished friends by his side. They didn't care that he had broken down in front of him; they didn't think badly of him. He bit down on his lip as his tears started to flow faster. His knees were tucked up to his chest and he buried his face into them. Sora pulled him into a hug almost spontaneously and Kairi wrapped her arms around him from behind, laying her head on his back. Riku sobbed into Sora's chest and let all the sadness he had inside leave his heart one tear at a time.

…

Sora and Kairi sat there in silence just holding Riku through the whole storm until evening had come. When the rain finally stopped, Kairi let go off him and sat up.

"I should probably go now. Luceo will be expecting me," she said quietly, referring to her foster father, the mayor of Destiny Islands.

Sora got up as well. "Yeah, it's nearly dinner time for me, so…"

Riku nodded understandingly and looked up at them with a grateful smile. His mouth opened to utter a small "thank you" but he couldn't quite find the strength to make the sound.

Sora and Kairi returned his smile as if they knew what he was trying to say. Sora began to walk down the hill with Kairi skipping behind him to catch up. Riku smiled to himself as he watched them disappear into the town's murmuring streets. He suddenly realised how tired he was as he lowered his head to the ground right next to the gravestone. The dirt was drier now, including the dirt splattered on his hands and pants. Tucking his legs into his chest, he made himself into a secure ball. He closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep, feeling safe and warm.

Consciousness drifted into dream, he felt his mother wrap her arms around her. He was too scared to look behind him in case she disappeared along with the glowing hands which were now wrapped around his upper arms. He felt a cheek upon his head as his mother held him tightly. Her hand rubbed his shoulder affectionately and he dared to reach up so he could touch it. Riku was so happy when he felt her soft hand and he held it tightly, crying tears of joy.

In the world out of sleep, Riku's father was walking back up the hill, looking for his son after he hadn't come home for so long. He stopped short and gasped when he saw Riku lying on the ground, covered and mud and completely still. He ran to him and dropped to his knees, carefully turning the 10-year-old's head around to face him.

"No, please…please, don't be de-" he tried to murmur, but he just couldn't bring himself to say that horrible word.

Riku stirred in his sleep and his father breathed a sigh of relief. A single tear ran down the boy's cheek and he smiled as he dreamed. It broke his father's heart to see that and he bit back tears of his own as he lifted Riku into his arms. The tall man stood up with his son's head resting on his shoulder and his legs tucked into his strong arms. As he began to carry Riku back down the hill, he stopped and looked over his shoulder at Carmen's plain gravestone. He stared at it for a while with a broken smile before he turned and continued walking.

Riku continued to dream of the sweet-smelling angel and the memory of her smile which he promised to hold onto forever.

…

Destiny Islands- Dark Side

"A few days after that, I went to the Secret Place one night so I could sit by myself and just think about stuff. I sat by the door and rested my head against it. And then…almost by coincidence…I heard someone singing. Their voice was so…angelic. I looked around but I was completely alone. The voice was coming from behind the door. As I listened to the song, I could have sworn that it was my mom singing to me. I memorized the words and it all made sense. Mom was singing to me to let me know that she was still with me.
"I came back a few nights later and listened at the door. And sure enough, I heard that song again. I sang it to myself whenever I was sad and I went on believing that if I ever wanted to hear Mom's voice, I'd just have to sit by the door in the Secret Place and there she'd be. In fact, I believed that until only just recently."

"What happened..?" Tsuki asked cautiously. She had been lying there listening to his story, nearly bursting into tears half way through it.

After a long pause, Riku lifted his eyes and looked at Tsuki, speaking with obvious pain in his voice.

"Do you know what the song was?"

Tsuki shook her head slowly. Riku sighed and stared up at the roof of Tsuki's Secret Place. He took a deep breath and began to sing the song in a low, soft voice.

"The rain outside…fills your heart tonight… Sky is dark…like your eyes, now… As you break down…like no one can see…I'll comfort you…"

Tsuki started to sing along quietly with a blank expression.

"There's no one that can hurt you now…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."

Tsuki raised her hands to her mouth and shook her head, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"No…I…I'm so sorry…" she whispered, her voice cracking. "I'm so sorry…"

Riku glanced at her and smiled sadly. "So I guess all this time, it was really you who kept the smile on my face. The little girl on the other side of the door," the small laugh he gave was obviously forced.

"Thank you, Tsuki. Thanks for being my guardian angel."

Tsuki bit back tears as best as she could. "I'm sorry…I am so sorry…"

"The reply for a 'thank you' is usually 'you're welcome'," Riku was obviously having trouble holding the smile on his face.

He looked up at the roof again before closing his eyes. Tsuki tried to stop feeling sad so that she could keep smiling for Riku. But it was incredibly difficult, especially when she heard small, shaky breathing sounds coming from Riku's direction. She looked over at him and saw that tears were running down his pale face. He just lay there, letting them fall down his neck and disappear into his coat. Tsuki stared at him wide-eyed, unable to think of anything to say to make him feel better even though she desperately wanted to. She decided to try a small, but meaningful gesture of affection.

Trying not to think about it too much, she moved her hand across the wooden floor until it found Riku's and she touched it lightly to make sure that he didn't reject it and pull away. Then she wrapped her fingers around his hand and held it tightly. But Riku only turned his head away, crying quietly.

There wasn't really anything in particular that had made Riku so upset all of a sudden. But he had dealt with a lot of pain by ignoring it and pushing it deep into the shadows of his heart where he thought he could hide it forever. The feelings that he had tried so hard to forget were all rising to the surface at once and it was almost too much for him to bear.

Tsuki bit her lip and stared at the back of Riku's head before taking her hand away from his and moving it to his upper arm, sliding herself closing and hugging it tightly.

"It's okay…it's going to be okay," she whispered gently.

When that still didn't work, she pushed herself up on her one of her hands and used the other to turn Riku's face towards her. He closed his eyes tightly and more tears streamed down his face. Tsuki started to wipe them all away as best she could, but they still fell just as fast.

"Please don't cry," she pleaded as she held his face tentatively, her voice breaking as she felt his sadness deep in her own heart.

Before she knew it, her face was only a short distance from his and she brushed his silver fringe one side. She leaned forward slightly and gave his forehead a soft kiss, lingering there for a while. Riku was sobbing; making sad cries and having gasping fits in between each one.

Tsuki exhaled slowly, nearly giving up as she held her face close to his with one hand still on his wet cheek and the other supporting her weight on the ground. Wiping away a few more of his tears, she made a final attempt to stop his crying. She slowly pressed her lips over his and kissed him gently. Riku was shaking a little as the kiss stifled the short gasps he had been making. He suddenly forgot why he had been crying in the first place and his eyes slid open a little, staring up at Tsuki. Her face seemed to radiate with light like the guardian angel he used to believe she was.

As she ended the kiss, Tsuki opened her eyes, trying not to lock them onto Riku's as she lay back down beside him and looked up at the ceiling, a little embarrassed, but glad that he had calmed down. The two of them lay there, very still, neither knowing what knowing what to say. The heavy rain that was starting to beat the ground outside filled in the silence.

As thoughts that had been sleep-walking through Riku's mind awakened, he started to feel slightly melancholic again.

"Why are you always so nice to me?" even though his gaze was directed at the wood of the ceiling, the question was meant for Tsuki.

She turned her body and tucked her knees up to her chest as she looked up at Riku.
"I don't know. Because you're nice to me?"

Riku shook his head, still avoiding eye contact. "But I'm not. I've done plenty of things to hurt you."

"Like what?"

"What do you mean, 'like what'? I fought you without mercy and that's why you were too weak to fight Ikari. I'm the reason you were… I just…don't deserve any kindness from you."

"You're still worried about that? Don't forget, you're also the reason why I'm here right now. You came back and that's all that matters. Besides, I wouldn't have been strong enough to fight Ikari either way. I mean…she had control over my life."

Riku finally turned to lie facing Tsuki. "I still don't see how you're always so nice to me."

"Alright then, it's because I'm a really nice person?" Tsuki gave him a childish grin.

Riku sighed into a smile and shook his head.

"Still not happy? Well then I guess it's because…well, because…" Tsuki felt a deep blush appear on her cheeks and her eyes darted to an empty space.
"Because I care about you. I care about you very much. So much that I feel sad when you cry…I'm happy when you smile…and I want to stay by your side even if you want to keep pushing me away. I want… …w-what is it?"

She stopped when she saw tears begin to form in the corners of Riku's eyes again. Except, this time, he was smiling.

"I just…I've never been cared about like that by anyone before. It's…nice," Riku looked up at Tsuki, gazing into her bright green eyes.

He reached out and placed a hand on her face, sliding himself closer to her. Closing his eyes, he pulled her in and kissed her tenderly. Tsuki blinked with wide eyes as her sensible thoughts began to kick in.

No…The closer we get…the more feelings we have…the harder it'll be to say goodbye in the end.

"W-we shouldn't…" Tsuki stammered quietly as Riku pulled his lips away.

Missing Tsuki's sweet taste already, Riku leaned in for another kiss, holding it slightly longer this time. Tsuki tried to protest again, but her words became muffled under his mouth. Riku pulled back again, staring at her with half-closed eyes.

"What is it?" he murmured.

Tsuki pursed her lips, feeling a tightness in her throat and her cheeks begin to feel hot. She couldn't find her words as she could feel herself falling in love with Riku all over again. Nothing else mattered to them anymore. They didn't care what was going to happen tomorrow. They had each other and that was all that they needed.

Tsuki placed a hand on Riku's chest as she leaned in closer to him.

"Don't worry, it's nothing," she breathed the words into a sigh as she kissed him deeply.

Riku closed his eyes and pulled her close, kissing her back. He could feel all of the darkness in his heart fade away a little bit more with each time he moved his lips on hers to kiss her again and again. Tsuki was overwhelmed with happiness and a single tear travelled down her blushing cheek.

Riku kissed her slowly but passionately. He wanted to show her just how much she meant to him without using words. Even if he could express his feelings that way, no words could possibly show her what was in his heart.

When he started to lose track of time, he pulled his lips away slowly, taking a moment to catch his breath before giving Tsuki a final kiss on the forehead. As he pulled her in to embrace her, Tsuki leaned forward and hugged him first. She buried her face into the shoulder of his coat and gripped his back tightly. Riku ran his hand along her hair a few times before wrapping his arms around her waist. They both felt safer than they had ever felt before.