Another chapter so soon? What can I say, I was really looking forward to this one! So I won't keep you for too much longer. Let's get started!

Chapter 12: Once Upon a Summertime

Can this be the evening?
Can this be the place?
Am I only dreaming looking at her face?
Everything I've wanted, suddenly so clear,
My past and my future so near!

It was truly amazing how something that took so much time and work to build could fall apart in a matter of minutes.

Riku was still reeling from how fast everything had fallen apart for him as he stood alone outside of the theater. The play had ended a while ago, and after hearing what had happened, Donald and Goofy had rushed back to the hotel in the hopes of catching up with Skye. Riku knew it wouldn't do any good though. Any trust they might've built with him over the past few days had been completely and irreparably broken; not a single thing any of them could say or do would be enough to change his mind now.

He should have known this was never going to work. His plan had seemed so simple, so straightforward when he'd first devised it. But everything had changed when Skye, when the real Sora showed up like the answer to a question he'd stopped asking years ago. Suddenly, it was no longer about him and his selfish longing to see Kairi again. It was about giving Sora back everything he deserved to have, his past, his crown, his kingdom, and all of the things that came along with them.

But in the end, he couldn't even do that right. In the end, he'd left Sora with the same thing he had: nothing.

As despondent and directionless as he felt, Riku was content to stay where he was and sulk until someone came along and shooed him away. At least until he spotted a certain royal entourage emerging from the playhouse to catch their ride back to the palace.

After how badly things had gone before, Riku knew he shouldn't press his luck any further. But as soon as he saw Kairi, he couldn't stop himself. He had to speak to her, not for himself, but for Skye. He had to convince her to see him, no matter how impossible it might seem.

"Princess!" he called as he began to hurry over. Kairi, Naminé, and Aqua were flanked by a group of guards, and as soon as they spotted someone running toward their princesses, they were on high alert. Even the sight of their emerging swords and spears weren't enough to stop Riku now though, nothing was. "Princess Kairi, please, wait!"

"You again?" Aqua shot a harsh glare his way. Naminé stiffened, her eyes wide as she issued him a silent warning, one Riku didn't heed. "How many times do you have to be turned away? Guards! Escort him off of the premises, immediately!"

The guards pressed in, ready to do exactly that. Riku was ready for them, slipping through their ranks as he cried out to the princess once more, desperate for her to see him, for her to listen. "Kairi!"

The commotion was finally enough to force her attention toward him. Her sea-blue eyes were set in a hateful scowl at first, though the second they landed on Riku, her entire expression shifted. She drew in a gasp, shock swelling across her face as she stared at him in disbelief. That alone was enough to tell Riku that she recognized him, but when she said his name for the first time in such a long time, it was like music to his ears.

"...Riku?"

By now, the guards had caught up to him, grabbing him by the arms as they began to drag him away. He began struggling against them, but he didn't have to for very long as Kairi stepped forward to call them off. "Let him go!" she commanded, and they were quick to obey. She approached him slowly, ignoring her governess's disapproving frown and her sister's confused stare. Silence reigned as he let her take in the sight of him, trying to figure out if he was really who she thought or not. He couldn't help but smile at her, his heart ringing with so much love and longing that it was hard to keep it all contained.

"...It's been a while, hasn't it?" he said, even though he wanted to say so much more.

She laughed as tears began to brim in the corners of her eyes. "It has." Her smile shifted into something else as a sob slipped out. Without warning, she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around him as she cried into his shoulder. "I-I thought I'd never see you again," she whispered, her voice thick. "How is this possible? How did you get here? The islands… I thought–no one could-"

"It's… a long story," he slowly, gently returned her hug. "You wouldn't believe what we went through just to get here to you."

"...We?" Kairi pulled back, confused.

"Princess," Aqua finally spoke up. "Do you… know this young man?"

"Yes," Kairi smiled, taking Riku's hand as she turned back to the governess. "Riku is an old friend from the Destiny Islands." Her smile grew as she looked up at him, her eyes bright and warm, just like he remembered them from when they were young. "You really must have missed me if you somehow found a way to escape when no one else has been able to for years now."

"Well… there's a bit more to it than that," Riku admitted, taking both of her hands in his. "Kairi, I… I found him. I found Sora-"

"No," she quickly pulled away. In an instant, her smile vanished, replaced with a flash of anger, a flash of grief. He should have guessed that even his word wouldn't be enough to convince her after how badly she'd probably been burned. "You haven't. He's… he's gone."

"He's alive," Riku countered, resting a hand on her shoulder. "And he's here, in Radiant Garden. If you'd just go see him, if you'd just look at him, you'd see-"

"I have seen so many 'Soras'," Kairi spun around, her frustration steadily rising. "And every last one of them has been nothing more than a lie. What makes you think this boy you've found is any different? How do you know he's not trying to deceive you along with me?"

"Well, for one thing, he didn't know about the reward," Riku pointed out. "He doesn't remember anything before the islands fell-"

"Or so that's what he's telling you," Kairi crossed her arms, still clearly suspicious.

Riku shook his head. He understood well where she was coming from, he knew the pain she was feeling from experience. Sometimes, it was easier to hold onto that hurt than trying to see past it. But he wouldn't stop until she did.

He opened his mouth to make his case, but to his surprise, Naminé beat him to it. "I've met the boy he's talking about, Kairi," she skimmed her sister's arm. "I believe he really is Sora, more than I've ever believed any of the others. Please… just give him a chance."

Kairi's scowl softened, but she said nothing. Riku took her hand again, his voice soft and sincere as he pleaded with her one final time. "I know you've been hurt. But… there's a chance he's been as lost and alone as you are."

"...You'll stop at nothing, won't you?" Kairi said with the faintest ghost of a smile.

Riku couldn't help but slide into a smirk of his own. "I'm probably about as stubborn as you are, 'princess'."

She sighed, her grip on his tightening as she stared deep into his eyes, finding not a trace of dishonesty in their bright teal hue. She continued to stare into those eyes for a long, silent moment; after eight years without them in her life, she couldn't help herself. "I've found it so hard to trust anyone lately…" she sighed, her voice barely above a whisper. "But… I trust you. So," she drew in a deep breath, preparing herself for yet another disappointment. After so many others, she couldn't possibly expect anything more. "Let's go."

Tears were still in Skye's eyes as he hastily packed his few possessions. He didn't know where he was going to go, but he was determined to get as far away from Riku as possible. He'd made that much more than clear when Donald and Goofy had shown up, banging on the door of his hotel room and begging to talk to him. He had no doubt that they were in on the scheme to get the princess' munny, and as far as Skye was concerned, they were just as greedy and guilty as Riku was. They'd made a fool of him, put his life in danger by making him a target for the Organization all while they took advantage of a poor, memoryless orphan for their own selfish gain. And the worst part of it all… was that he stupidly played right along with their twisted game.

As he continued throwing things into his suitcase, his seashell charm slipped out of his suit pocket, landing on the bed. A rush of anger swept through him at the sight of it, and when he reached out to grab it, his grip was so tightly he nearly snapped the fragile shells apart. But then he saw it, the very message that had led him here: "Together in R.G." And instead of breaking it, he held it close to his heart, sobbing as he sunk onto the bed.

He'd come so far to get here, and gave up so much. He'd all but forced himself to become someone else entirely, someone who likely doesn't even exist anymore. And for what? He still didn't have answers to any of his questions, he still didn't have a clue about his past or his true identity. He still didn't have anyone to stand by his side and show him who he used to be. After everything he'd been through, after all of his hoping and dreaming and wishing… he was still nothing more than a sad, sorry little orphan, a nameless waste of space, a nobody in every sense there was.

And now, he knew… that was all he'd ever be.

He wasn't surprised when there was yet another knock on his door. "Go away!" he shouted, assuming it was Donald and Goofy, or even worse yet, Riku. Exactly all of the people he didn't want to see right now, or ever again, for that matter. He quickly wiped his eyes as he hung the charm back around his neck and went back to packing, picking up the pace so he could leave even sooner. What he wasn't expecting was for any of them to be bold enough to open the door and enter anyway.

"I told you, I don't want to-" Skye froze the second he turned to see who was standing in the doorway. The princess of Radiant Garden herself. "Oh, I-I… I'm sorry," he inclined his head in respect for the royal. "I thought you were-"

"I know very well who you thought I was," Kairi properly stepped into the room. Her manner was cold, her deep blue gaze piercing as she looked him up and down. If any part of her believed him to be her prince, she certainly didn't show it. "My question is, who exactly are you?"

"I…" he trailed off, sighing as he looked away. He suddenly felt quite small, standing before someone so important, so beautiful, so strangely imposing. And somehow… so hauntingly familiar. "I don't know," he decided to tell her the truth. He figured at least someone should be honest with her, if so many like Riku weren't. "I was… kind of hoping you could tell me."

The princess scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I'm not here to do that."

"Then… why are you here?" Skye couldn't help but ask.

"Because someone important to me is very convinced that you could be one of my dearest friends," Kairi crossed her arms. Her sparkling tiara and glittering pink gown seemed ill-suited against the exhausted, angry look on her otherwise lovely face. Skye couldn't shake how much he longed to see a smile resting upon her ruby lips instead. "So, I'm here to indulge him. Go on ahead with whatever ignorant spiel you have rehearsed. All I ask is that you make it brief. I've better things to do with my time than listen to someone who intends to do nothing than try and fail to trick me."

"I don't want to trick you," Skye insisted, and he meant it. As the victim of such cruel deception himself, the last thing he wanted was to put someone else through such a horrible feeling.

"And I suppose the munny doesn't interest you either?" Kairi asked, her eyebrow raised in suspicion.

Skye shook his head. "I just want to know who I am. That's all I ever wanted."

The princess finally smiled, but there was no kindness behind it. "Sure, you do," she mused almost mockingly. "Well, if history insists we play this game… then who was my favorite tutor as a child?"

"No one–you kept dismissing them because they were all so boring," Skye replied, even though he had no idea how he knew that. Somehow though, it appeared to be the right answer.

"Hmph, lucky guess," Kairi turned her nose up at him. "During our second summer together, where did we-"

"Why don't you want me to be him?"

"What?" Kairi looked back at him, surprised that he cut her off.

"You just… seem like you don't want me to be Sora," Skye rubbed his arm. "Did I… do something to offend you?"

"The very fact that you're standing here offends me," the princess scowled. "I've found solace in bitterness. It doesn't disappoint me like you 'Soras" always do."

"Well… maybe I won't?" Skye offered. He knew he was treading dangerous ground here; the princess was already upset with him, clearly. But some part of him still wanted to keep trying, to help her. To bring back the warmth and light he knew she had buried somewhere so deep within her.

"...I don't believe Sora exists anymore," she said flatly.

"You don't want to believe it," he returned just as sternly.

Kairi bristled a bit, but stayed the course, continuing her interrogation as if he hadn't said anything. "Which one of your siblings was the-"

"Do you even miss him?" Skye pressed, growing angry himself.

Once again, she ignored him as she switched to another question entirely. "What was your mother's full title as-"

"Do you still love him?"

"Of course I love him!" Kairi snapped, unable to overlook a question like that. "I loved him with all of my heart!" Tears filled her eyes as her face turned red, her hands curled in tight fists at her sides as she stormed toward him. "We were betrothed to be wed, and I thought I was the luckiest girl in all the worlds to be fortunate enough to someday marry my best friend. But then, Xehanort, that despicable man, he took the boy I loved more than anything away from me! Do you know what that means, to lose everything? Sora and his siblings, they were my closest friends! They were all lost in a single, terrible night and for what? For a madman and his followers to steal their kingdom and cause so much senseless suffering in both their world and this one?! It's all so… so unfair!"

She was practically shouting now, tears streaking down her face as she collapsed onto a bench on the far side of the room. Skye slowly moved to join her, and though he took a seat next to her, he didn't dare touch her. Despite how much he wanted to pull her into a kind, comforting embrace.

He allowed her a moment to collect herself, to dry her eyes and return to her former resentful demeanor. "I will ask you one more time and you'd better be very careful how you answer," she stared him straight in the eye. "Who. Are. You?"

Unfortunately, there was only one answer Skye could give, the same one he'd given her before. "I don't know," he echoed the question back at her. "I'm sorry…"

"Not as sorry as I am." the princess stood, sighing in defeat. "I have to hand it to you. You're a very good actor–best one yet, in fact. But I've had enough."

She stepped past him without another word, and for a moment, Skye thought that was it. Until he happened to catch a whiff of something sweet and faint, something that slowly began to awaken something that had been asleep. "Vanilla?"

"My perfume," the princess replied, barely glancing back over her shoulder at him.

"...Yes…" Skye walked over to the window. A faint ache began stirring in his head, but he ignored it as he closed his eyes—and began to remember.

"You started wearing it because you wanted to act like you were 'all grown up'. I teased you and told you smelled like a skunk with all that on." He laughed fondly, not noticing as Kairi slowly turned back to him from her spot near the door. "But when you left a bottle behind one summer, I spilled it all over the carpet and it smelled like vanilla, like you," he sighed happily as he began fiddling with his charm, pulling it out from underneath the collar of his dress shirt. "I would lie there on that rug and, oh, I'd miss you so much when you went away." By now, his headache couldn't be ignored any longer. He pressed a hand against his forehead, suddenly feeling unsteady on his feet as he leaned against the nearest wall. "When you came back here–to Radiant Garden…"

Darkness crept in on the corners of his vision, but before he could faint entirely, the princess herself grabbed him by the arm. She led him over to the bench they'd been on before, inspecting him carefully as he steadied himself. He certainly looked like Sora, with his messy brown hair and sky blue eyes. He even carried himself like Sora, and while he spoke of memories anyone could have come up with, the details of what he'd just said had been so specific, so spot on, and yet…

She didn't dare believe him, not yet, not until she saw what was hanging around his neck.

"...What is that?" she asked when she noticed him twisting and turning it absently.

"This?" he settled the charm in his palm. "Well, I've always had it, ever since before I can remember."

"May I?" Kairi asked, wondering if it was too good to be true. But when he handed the necklace over to her, when she saw the telltale set of five Thalassa shells, when she saw the same short message she'd scribbled onto the back of it so long ago, she had no doubt. "Oh…" she nearly began crying again as she gently thumbled one of the shells. "It was our secret–Sora's and mine… It was a promise we made… that no matter how far apart we might be-"

"I'd always have a piece of you with me…" Skye finished softly. His head hurt so badly, but he couldn't be bothered to care. Not when he met the awestruck look the princess was sending his way. His heart felt like a dam, on the verge of overflowing. And when it did, he found he couldn't keep the memories it had been hiding from him held back any longer. "We made another promise too… that someday… we'd share paopu fruits by the shore. So that we'd always be a part of each other's lives-"

"No matter what," they finished together. Kairi drew in an unsteady, tearful breath, and he did the same as his head finally cleared. As he looked at the princess sitting before him… and at long, long last saw his childhood best friend.

"...K-Kairi?" he blinked, as if coming out of a daze. One that had he'd been stuck in for eight years straight.

"Sora," she whispered his name in a way that made his heart sing. Her smile shined like the sun as she rested a hand against the side of his face before catching him off guard with a kiss. He fell into it quickly, his arms draping over her shoulders as he savored every beautiful second of it. As he relished remembering, for the first time in far too long, exactly who he was.

They remained in each other's arms even after their kiss was over, both of them still crying joyously between their loving embrace. "See? I told you I'd come visit you in Radiant Garden," he joked, his voice tight as another sob slipped out.

"What took you so long?" Kairi asked, grief slipping into her happiness for all the years she'd been forced to spend without him.

"It doesn't matter," Sora said, and she supposed it didn't. How could anything matter more than the boy sitting right in front of her right now? "I'm here, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are," she laughed as she rested her hands against his face again. She thumbed a few of his tears away just shy of resting her forehead against his. "Sora… I love you…"

The way she said it, so confidently, so wholeheartedly, almost surprised him. Until he realized just how easy it was for him to tell her the same thing in turn. How easy it was now that he remembered just how he'd felt for her from the very moment they first met. "I love you too…"

The prince and princess kissed once more, content to live out the happily ever after that had been so long denied to them both. But as they celebrated their reunion, neither of them saw who was standing alone on the sidewalk just in front of the hotel.

Riku could tell from just how long Kairi had been inside that it had been a success, that she'd recognized Sora for who he really was. Despite everything, he didn't have to pretend to be happy for them. He was happy to see Sora reclaim his identity, to see Kairi to find the joy she'd been missing for so long, for both of them to be together where they belonged. He was happy that the two people he loved more than anything else in any world got what they both wanted.

Even though he never would.

Still, Riku smiled as he looked up to where the couple were warmly embracing. He blew a single kiss meant for them both, one that neither of them would even see. And then… he turned and walked alone into the night.

Next time... Next time... Prince Sora has been found. Where will Riku go from here? Don't forget to REVIEW please! Until next time!