I feel like it always winds up being a Riku chapter I end up writing when I'm having one of my bad mental health times. It's just a coincidence, but his self-reflective chapters kind of end up helping me out of my funk ironically enough. Thank you all for your patience in between, and never be worried about taking time for yourself!

Chapter 14: Rising Tide

"For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)

it's always ourselves we find in the sea."

—E. E. Cummings

It wasn't real.

Riku knew that. And yet, as the sea spray hit his skin, and the warmth of the setting sun painted the sands in fading shades of red, he still struggled against the emotions surging in his heart. He hadn't realized how much he missed this sight until his visceral reaction allowed him a glimpse into what a homecoming might look like.

He didn't have to guess at which island he'd been dropped in front of. The curving shore of their play island was instantly recognizable. He swam towards it, the tide pulling at him aiding his progress.

As his feet touched the sand and he plodded onto the shore proper, he took a moment to let himself take it all in silently. The bent paopu tree where they used to sit was lit up against the sunset, its leaves swaying lazily in the breeze. The rickety wooden bridge leading to the small islet it was on remained sturdy and untouched. It all looked just as it had before the storm had torn it all apart.

Was this what it looked like now? Was it any different when its heart was returned, allowing it to reform?

His fingers curled at his sides as his thoughts inevitably drifted to the only one of them who had made it home. The only one who had the answers to these questions.

Kairi.

Was it different there, without them by her side? He wasn't overly worried about her—Kairi was always strong, it was something Riku admired about her. She always managed to keep herself together, even if it felt like the world was fraying at the seams. Had that changed at all when the world actually did?

… Has she changed?

A hand slipped into his pocket, feeling for the charm kept securely within. Then he exhaled slowly, pushing the thoughts away for now. He wasn't here to reminisce—he had a mission. Akira was somewhere deeper within, lost in these shifting dreams. He couldn't afford to get lost in them too.

Riku took his first steps inland, head swiveling to look for any signs of her presence breaking the peaceful silence.

It didn't take very long before he heard it—voices rising above the sound of the tides. Then, just ahead of him, two familiar figures came into view.

A younger version of himself and Sora rounded the corner of the nearby seaside shack, scrambling for better purchase against the sand.

"Slow down! C'mon, wouldja just wait for me?!" Sora cried, his voice high-pitched with childish frustration.

"C'mon yourself," Riku heard himself shoot back with a breathless laugh, "You can't give up just cos you're not winning!"

"That's it, I can't run anymore!" Sora wheezed, leaning over his knees before collapsing dramatically into the sand.

The younger version of himself skidded to a halt, instantly back beside Sora to check him over. Upon realizing he wasn't actually hurt in any kind of way, he straightened with a roll of his eyes. "If you give up, that means I get to be captain for the rest of the week."

"The rest of the week?" Sora cried, abandoning his attempts to act like he fainted. "I thought it was only gonna be for today! Nuh-uh, no way!"

With a flurry of movement, they were off once again, their laughter loud and light. It made something in Riku's chest tighten to watch this—their picturesque days of innocence. Long before any outside influence dictated the course of their future. Although…

Riku turned to look down the stretch of beach. This day in particular, if he was correct, would be the start of all that.

And sure enough, he saw the figure the same time his younger self did. A stranger, dressed in black and brown, the metal of his pauldron glinting in the sunlight. He was watching the sunset, deep in contemplation.

Terra.

It was the day he had set everything in motion. The day he had passed down the Keyblade to Riku. Of course diving through the Darkness had brought him here. Like he needed another reminder of the promises he failed to uphold.

Sora gave the man no more than a passing glance, too absorbed in his own task of becoming captain of their row boat for the week. But his younger self slowed to a stop, taking a moment to catch his breath as he stared at Terra. Even back then he had felt it—that call to something greater.

"Hey," he called out, standing tall without a hint of fear. "Where'd you come from?"

Terra startled out of his own thoughts, looking over his shoulder towards Riku. When there wasn't an immediate answer, his younger self continued.

"You're from the outside, aren't you? From another world."

Terra arched a brow, trying and failing to hide his surprise at the astute guess. "What makes you say that?"

"Because nobody lives out here," he said, crossing his arms. "And I know everybody on the main island. You're not from here."

Terra hummed, offering up a small smile. "Smart kid." He then paused, pocketing something. Riku only caught a glint of orange-tinged glass before it was out of sight. "Then what're you doing out here? Since nobody lives here and all."

"My friend's dad took us out on the boat."

They all turned to look at Sora, who by now had made it to the small dock at the end of the shoreline. He was panting heavily, but straightened and made an attempt at seeming unaffected when he saw them both staring.

"We come here to play all the time. But the grown-ups won't let us row out here by ourselves until we get older." His younger self scoffed, eyes downcast. "Even though we're strong enough to do it now."

Terra placed a hand on his hip, nodding sagely. "Hard, isn't it? Being stuck in one place because someone tells you that's how it has to be."

His younger self glanced back at Terra, silently appraising. "There's a story that all the kids tell. Grown-ups too, when they think we aren't listening. That a kid from our islands found a way off 'em, for good." Strolling closer, he let his skepticism show. "Is that you?"

Riku turned to watch Terra's expression in the following silence. Terra was watching his younger self closely, evaluating in his own right. "Afraid not," he eventually answered, "This is the first time I've visited this place. Though—can I ask why you're interested in the outside world? Not a lot of people know it exists."

His younger self nodded, not needing a single second to think more on his wants. "I wanna be strong one day—but nothing ever happens here. I'll never get strong like I need to—like that kid must be now."

Terra tilted his head. "And why do you need that strength? What would you use it for?"

Riku inhaled slowly, answering at the same time as his younger self.

"To protect the things that matter to me."

Terra's eyes widened in brief surprise before his expression softened all together.

"Y'know, like my friends," his younger self continued in the silence that followed.

"Well… you're right," Terra eventually said with a nod. "The strength to protect the things that matter is out there. You've just got to take it first."

He held out his hand, a spark of light flashing within it. When the light faded away, his Keyblade was in his palm, brass edges catching the light of the setting sun. Terra then kneeled before his wide-eyed younger self, offering the hilt for him to take.

"In your hand, take this key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be." He smiled at the glint in Riku's eyes—excitement, yes, but something else that was beyond his years too. "And you will find me, friend. No ocean will contain you then. No more borders around, or below, or above—so long as you promise to champion the ones you love."

Young Riku reached out, no hesitation as he firmly grasped the Keyblade's grip. Had there been a tingle? A shock of some foreign sensation? Riku struggled to remember—but if there was, his younger self made no motions to react.

Riku glanced past the quiet oath taking place, to Sora in the distance, oblivious to the significance of this exchange as he mulled about on the docks. He'd been left out of the inheritance, stumbling into his own destiny as a Wielder by accident. And yet in the end, he'd been the one chosen by the Keyblade.

Something ugly curled in Riku's gut, but he was quick to dismiss it. The Kingdom Key was right to abandon him—Sora was a much more worthy candidate. His ability to follow his own heart was a testament to that.

Riku turned away, gripping his arm. He'd come to terms with his mistake—or at least, he was in the process of it. And it had thoroughly humbled him. Before this whole affair, he had to admit, he thought he was much better than Sora at… well, everything.

A small smile twitched at his lips to picture Sora's expression if he ever admitted that. Maybe he'd just keep that part out of his apology.

With one last look at the figures on the shore, Riku continued onwards. The day Terra bequeathed the Keyblade was before they'd met Akira. Which means his dive overshot him—though not by much. It couldn't have been more than a couple of weeks, if that.

He hummed as he thought back on the circumstances of them meeting, and the events beforehand. Terra's showed up first, then it was Aqua, and finally Akira arrived on the shores of their play island, confused and crying. He should've known it was all connected—though everything is more clear in hindsight.

As he walked and thought to himself, the world around him shifted. The sunset faded entirely into night, then dawn broke into day in rapid succession as time passed him by. He was getting better at traversing the Realm of Sleep—though it was admittedly easier to do when he realized it responded to his own memories.

The sun steadily slowed its track until it was high in the sky—a sweltering afternoon with the clouds nowhere to be seen. There was no reprieve unless you were under the shade—which, if he recalled correctly, they were on this particular day.

Beneath the wooden bridge, his younger self and Sora sat with their legs stretched out in the sand, catching their breath from whatever game they'd been playing moments before.

Sora tilted his head back, groaning dramatically. "It's too hot! Why didn't we just stay inside?"

"Weren't you the one who pulled me out to come play?" Riku retorted, his cheeks flushed from the heat.

Riku chuckled softly under his breath. Some things never changed.

Before the argument could be taken any further, the two paused at the sound of footsteps overhead. Someone was making their way across the bridge from the islet—someone who most certainly was not there just a few moments ago. They exchanged glances—Riku's expression determined, Sora's wide-eyed in fear—before scrambling out from under the bridge to see who was coming across.

A woman in blue looked down at them curiously as they emerged from underneath. As soon as he'd seen her, Riku knew. Wherever she came from, it was where that man was from too. Had she come here looking for him?

She smiled down at them, then jumped down to land beside them silently. Sora flailed back with a surprised yell, both of them at a loss for words to see she was no worse for wear from the fall. Wakka broke an ankle attempting the same stunt not too long before.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," she said with a stifled laugh.

Sora straightened, his cheeks red from more than just the sun. "You didn't! I was just—I like to yell sometimes!" He then let out another exaggerated yelp, making Riku's younger self groan and cover his face in embarrassment.

Fortunately for Sora, his antics caused another bout of laughter from Aqua. Even Riku couldn't stop a small snort of amusement at the memory.

"Might I ask your names?" she asked as the laughter died down.

"I'm Sora!"

"Riku."

"Sora. Riku. You have a very lovely home," Aqua said, repeating their names like she was committing them to memory. Her gaze swept across the endless ocean before trailing up to the seagulls wheeling above. "Do you like it here?"

Sora jumped in his eagerness to answer. "Yeah! It's the best, we get to play all the time, and I learned how to catch fish just the other day! Even if it is hot."

Aqua then turned to look at Riku's younger self, studying him carefully as he hesitated before answering.

"I do," he admitted, returning Aqua's scrutinizing stare only briefly. Testing the waters. "But I want to see more."

Aqua's lips pressed together in thought before she spoke again. "Your heart's strong. Maybe one day you'll get to." She then tilted her head, a spark of recognition lighting in her blue eyes. "You… remind me of someone I know. A close friend."

Riku's younger self swelled in pride. That was vindication enough as far as he was concerned. The woman saw the same spark in him that the strange man did. Presently, though, he saw something different. There was something hesitant now in her gaze.

"Really?"

She nodded, smiling softly. "Yes. He's a lot like you. Brave, determined… but he carried a great responsibility. Something he thought he had to shoulder on his own." She studied him a moment longer before something seemed to shift in her expression. Then, she turned her attention to Sora.

"And you," she continued, "you have a very kind heart." Sora beamed at the praise, but Aqua's gaze didn't lose its intensity. "Which is why I need to ask you a favor."

Sora blinked. "Huh?"

"If something ever happens," she said, her voice careful, "I need you to be there for Riku. To help him if he loses his way, and show him he doesn't need to be brave all on his own. Can you promise to do that?"

The weight of those words pressed against Riku, making his heart feel like a stone sinking in his chest. He'd forgotten she had said that. Had she seen what Terra couldn't? Or did she just have such little faith he'd be able to handle the challenges to come?

"She sensed the power within you. Just as Terra did," Ansem's voice made a return, whispering in his ear. "Unfortunately, Eraqus and his absolutes were impressed upon her in particular. Whereas Terra recognized your potential, she feared it."

Riku clenched his fist, forcefully tuning back into the memory.

Sora had promised, just as he always did. Just as he always would.

"Of course!" he declared, puffing out his chest. "Riku's my best friend! I'll always be there for him!"

Aqua smiled at that, but the light didn't quite reach her eyes. There was a sadness about her that his younger self didn't manage to pick up on—but it was clear as day on her face. "Good," she murmured, reaching out to ruffle Sora's hair.

The memory blurred at the edges then, the world starting to shift under Riku's feet. He let the heat and the ocean breeze fade, frozen in place himself.

She'd known. She saw something in him that day—and she chose to place her faith in Sora to correct it.

At least one of their promises managed to be upheld. Sora never lost faith in him—even when Riku fought to kill.

He grimaced, finally turning away from the memory entirely as the world darkened to night once more.

"How did she know?" he asked out loud, knowing his voice would be heard. "Did I have Darkness in my heart even then?"

"Did you not heed my words earlier?" Ansem replied, his voice tinged with annoyance. "Strength invites scrutiny. Power breeds fear. You had yet to give form to your potential—but it was palpable to anyone who knew how to look into a heart. She feared what you had the ability to become."

Riku gritted his teeth, his nails pressing into his palms. "She was right to."

"Don't place so much credence in her judgement," Ansem scoffed. "Her Master raised her to be a hesitant coward, just like him."

Riku felt a sudden rush of vitriol, building from the moment Ansem revealed he knew these people and their fates personally. "They weren't cowards," he snapped.

"What would you know of this woman and her beliefs?" Ansem scoffed. "You forgot about her very existence for years. You have no right to speak like you know her—or any of these doomed Wielders, for that matter."

"I've seen enough to know that much," Riku responded sharply. "They were all doing what they thought was best to protect the people they loved. How could you call that cowardly?"

Ansem chuckled, low and mirthless. "Perhaps I should offer you a bit of advice I gave the Pure Heart, not very long ago. It's a lesson you should have learned already, but perhaps you did not take it to heart. Devoting yourself to such meaningless attachments will always lead to ruin. The power drawn from love is so easily twisted and broken. It was Aqua's downfall, and very nearly yours."

"As if you didn't have a hand in both," Riku growled out, starting down the stretch of beach once again.

He shook his head, as if he could dislodge Ansem's words. He wouldn't let him twist this moment, to make it a wound. Aqua had seen something in him that scared her—fine. But he knew now that fear didn't mean rejection.

She was scared for him. Just trying to protect him. Save him the heartache he went on to cause himself, that rippled out to everyone around him.

But he couldn't help the little pinch of doubt that rose as a question in the back of his mind. If Aqua had phrased her words differently—had spoken to Riku instead of Sora and stressed the importance of staying away from the temptations Darkness had to offer… Would it have changed anything? Would placing her faith in him as Terra did have resulted in a different outcome?

Riku didn't bother to ponder the question for long. No use dwelling on things he could have done—but even more than that: he already knew the answer to that question. He would have heard her words, but he wouldn't have listened. His mind was already made up, even then. The promise Terra had made to him, the ambition simmering in his chest, the feeling that he was meant for something greater than his home had to offer—it all added up to his eventual fall from grace.

Riku exhaled through his nose slowly, reigning in his emotions. He hadn't been expecting diving through Akira's memories would place such a spotlight on his own.

The world around him started to shift. The warm glow of the sun dimmed as sunset approached once again, but it wasn't the peaceful kind as it had been when he met Terra. Dark clouds rolled over the blurred reds and oranges of the setting sun, blotting it out almost entirely. A storm was building over the ocean, soon to make landfall.

Riku's heart thumped painfully in his chest at the sight, a reflex from the sight of storm clouds over raging waves—but it wasn't that day. Those clouds were nowhere as vicious as they were the night the islands had been destroyed.

So then when—?

A pool of Darkness erupted upwards, stopping Riku in his tracks. He was forced to jump back as two bodies were flung from it, tumbling onto the sand. Ventus and Akira—still bearing the wounds from Eraqus's attack—shakily raised themselves to their feet.

"W-Wait, Terra—!" Ventus raced towards the portal, slipping in the sand in his desperation. It didn't matter though—the portal collapsed before he even had a chance to reach it. He fell to his knees, panting heavily, his eyes wide.

Akira simply watched him. Her arms were wrapped around herself as she stood on the shoreline, her shoes sinking into the wet sand. She trembled like a leaf, her breathing rapid and shallow. It wasn't until she called out to Ventus hesitantly that he even seemed to remember she was there.

He got up and rushed over to her, looking over her injuries with a crestfallen expression. "Akira, I'm… I'm so sorry, I didn't know he would—I didn't think Master Eraqus would ever…"

Akira simply shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "Why did he try to hurt us, Ven?"

Ventus flinched, biting his answer back. As he took a deep breath in preparation for an explanation, a whistle echoed across the empty beach. Both of them snapped their heads towards the source, Ventus visibly tensing at the sight that awaited them.

A boy stood just a few measured paces away from the huddled duo—not even Riku had seen him arrive. But it didn't take long for the stench of overwhelming Darkness to hit him, making him cringe back.

A black bodysuit morphed to the boy's form, red lines tracing through it like veins. A silver helmet with obscuring black glass hid his face from view, but it didn't muffle his mocking laughter in the slightest.

"Well, well," he drawled, tilting his head. "Wouldya look at this. What a sad little sight."

Ventus instinctively stepped in front of Akira, his arm outstretched to shield her. "Vanitas," he spat, the venomous tone sounding wrong coming from his mouth, "what do you want?"

"That is the question, isn't it? What do I want?" Vanitas gave a mock sigh, shaking his head—before he snapped his fingers as if he just remembered. "Oh, right. You."

Ventus gritted his teeth, his fists tightening. "Well I'm through with you. I know becoming the χ-Blade means we have to fight. So I'm not going to fight. I'm done with it all."

"You're done, huh?" Vanitas scoffed. "You always make things so difficult. Guess I'll just have to give you a little incentive."

He was a blur of black and red, faster than Riku could track. One moment he was taunting Ventus, the next he was in front of Akira. Ventus hardly had a chance to realize he was beside him before he was sent flying back with a muffled shout.

Riku's heart was in his throat as Vanitas gripped Akira by the front of her jacket and hauled her into the air. She snarled, hands flying up to claw and pull at his wrist, but his grip was ironclad.

"It might take a bit longer, but Master Xehanort has contingencies," Vanitas spoke casually, despite the way Akira struggled in his grasp, "If you won't fulfill your purpose, maybe I'll just take her instead."

Ventus scrambled to his feet, light flickering in his hand as he struggled against the urge to summon his Keyblade. "Vanitas, let her go!"

Vanitas hummed. "Careful with your wording."

And then he threw her.

She hit the ground hard, her breath coming out in a harsh gasp. Riku couldn't help the snarl that curled his lips at the sound, his hands tightening into fists at his side. Ventus's Keyblade entered into his hand as he started to charge forward—but he skidded to a halt as Vanitas summoned his own in a burst of purple flame.

"Still playing the pacifist?" Vanitas growled. He lifted his Keyblade, the same dark coloration of his suit, then drove it downwards.

Ventus and Riku both lurched forward with a desperate cry.

With a heavy thunk, Vanitas buried the tip of the Keyblade into the sand beside Akira's head. The air was thick with tension, the only sound that broke it the distant rumble of thunder.

"You're going to come find me at the one and only place to spawn the χ-Blade," Vanitas spoke as he pulled his Keyblade from the ground, finally turning away from Akira to face Ventus fully. "The Keyblade Graveyard awaits us."

Ventus swallowed hard, his gaze darting between Akira laying deathly still on the ground and Vanitas standing with his Keyblade drawn.

"And let me assure you, brother," Vanitas spat the word mockingly, "if you don't fulfill your purpose, I'll choke the life out of Terra and Aqua, then come back here to finish the job with this brat. You will forge the χ-Blade. Your only choice is how many people I have to tear through before you come to your senses."

Ventus's grip tightened on his Keyblade, a fire lighting in his green eyes. With his threats being delivered, Vanitas stepped back into a corridor, disappearing into the thin wisps of darkness. There were a few more seconds of tension as Ventus trembled, visibly struggling to rein in his rage, before he burst into movement.

He slid to his hands and knees beside of Akira. "Akira! Are you okay?"

Akira let herself be sat up, her eyes still wide with panic as she reached up to touch the side of her face that brushed against the Keyblade. "I-I think so…"

Ventus hugged her to him in relief, his breath hitching as she instantly returned it. Riku watched on with a writhing in his stomach, the unease sitting heavily. Maybe he didn't know how this story ended, but he was starting to put the pieces together.

Akira looked just like she had on the day he and Sora had found her wandering the shores, lost and confused.

Thus reassured Akira wasn't about to keel over into the surf, Ventus withdrew. Akira watched him do so, her brows furrowing together, fear still clear in her posture.

"I've gotta go," Ventus murmured, his expression now one of pure determination.

"W-What?" Akira gasped, scrambling to her feet. "Go where?"

"You heard him, Akira. He's going to hurt Terra and Aqua," Ventus held up his Keyblade, the sand before them swirling at the motion. "I'm done with letting him hurt my friends. I'm putting an end to this."

Akira's eyes were stricken with panic, and she rushed forward to grab onto his empty hand. "Then I'm coming too!"

Ventus looked down at her, offering up a small smile. "Not this time. It's too dangerous."

"But I—"

"No, Akira."

Ventus's tone was firm, and it left no room for debate.

Akira stepped back, her eyes beginning to shine with unshed tears. "Don't leave me, please, Ven. I'm scared."

Ven let out a shaky exhale before giving his best reassuring grin. "It's okay to be scared. But once I finish things, I'll come back for you, okay? I promise. Then you won't have to be scared ever again."

Akira blinked up at him, sniffing and wiping at her face with the palm of her hand. "P-Pinky promise?"

Ventus held out his hand, pinky extended. Akira wrapped hers around his, and they both shook on it. "Pinky promise," he repeated softly.

Seeming to sense that was the best she was going to get, Akira backed away, giving Ventus room. He gave her another determined nod, before proceeding to reach up and tap the pauldron on his shoulder. A bright light enveloped him before fading away, revealing interlocking metal plates of armor now covered his entire body. Riku watched as Ventus opened a swirling portal with his Keyblade, then ran and jumped into it as his Keyblade began to shift into some sort of glider.

Then with a gust of wind that kicked up a small swirling sandstorm, the portal closed. Akira was left standing on the beach, alone.

How long had she waited before realizing he wasn't coming back? Riku didn't know the answer to that. He wasn't sure Akira did either.

But eventually, as the storm continued to encroach closer to the shoreline, Akira's head shot up with a strangled gasp. Riku startled as she swayed slightly, her hands clutching at the fabric over her heart as her expression twisted in pain. The air seemed to hum for a brief moment, and then—

She collapsed.

The scenery around him blurred, the sands beneath his feet shifting, as if escorting him along.

And suddenly, Riku was small again.

The tide lapped gently against the shore as the sky glowed with the soft hues of dusk. The ocean waves were choppy after the storm that had just rolled through, rushing over his bare feet as the tides rose, but he paid them no mind.

His focus was locked on the girl stumbling through the shallows, her sandy-blonde hair damp from the ocean spray. She moved without direction, her legs unsteady, her expression dazed.

I haven't seen her before.

Sora was the first to break the shocked silence.

"Whoa, hey!" he ran forward, arms waving above his head to get her attention. "Are you okay? You look hurt!"

The girl stopped. She turned towards them, blinking slowly.

Sora slowed to a stop in front of her as Riku finally approached, appraising her cautiously. Her lips parted like she wanted to answer, but no words came out.

"Huh…? Do you not talk?" Sora asked, his brow furrowed. "Guess you wouldn't be able to answer that."

Riku lightly hit him upside the head. Sora yelped, rubbing the spot as he glared at Riku. "What was that for?"

"Give her some space," he huffed. Sora backed up with a grumble, eyes still narrowed.

Both their attentions returned to the girl as she murmured something stolen by the ocean winds.

"What was that?" Sora asked.

"...I can talk," she repeated louder.

"You okay?" Riku asked gently, watching as her green eyes darted over to him. He could see the side of her face was scuffed up and her skin was splotched in bruises, like she'd been in a fight. Not only that, but her red-rimmed eyes were a clear indication she'd been crying not that long ago.

She hesitated, then whispered, "I don't know…"

Riku's brows furrowed.

"What's your name?" Sora asked, ignoring Riku's instruction as he once again stepped into her space. "Wait—are you the new kid who moved in across the street from me?"

The girls' gaze flicked towards him.

"...Across the street?"

"Yeah! My mom said someone new was moving in!" Sora grinned. "Maybe that's you!"

"Maybe," she murmured, though she didn't sound convinced.

Riku crossed his arms. Something wasn't right.

Sora didn't seem to notice. "We should probably take you home, huh?"

"Home?" The girl perked up, a light flickering in her eyes for the first time.

Sora nodded eagerly. "Yeah! Your parents are probably worried about you!"

The girl stiffened. Something flashed across her face—fear, confusion, emotions he couldn't place—before it faded back into that empty, distant expression. She looked away.

"...Yeah," she said at last. "Probably."

Sora grabbed her hand without hesitation. "C'mon! I'll take you there!"

The girl followed without protest, letting Sora lead her across the beach, back towards the village. Riku followed behind, unease curling in his stomach. Their voices drifted back to him—Sora's loud and excited, the girl's hesitant and subdued, but gaining strength all the same.

"What'd you say your name was?"

"...I didn't."

"Oh, right… Well, I'm Sora! And that's my best friend, Riku."

"I'm Akira."

Riku nodded in greeting as Akira looked at him over her shoulder. Despite the situation she found herself in, she offered him a small grin in return. The unease dissipated slightly at the sight—but Riku wouldn't settle entirely until he confirmed she really did belong here. All these unknown visitors from outside worlds these past few weeks, and now a beat up kid just pops into existence? It couldn't be a coincidence.

But it seemed like Sora was right. They brought her to the house across the street, to two adults who were nothing but relieved to see Akira. And yet… there was something about her face as they expressed their frustration at her running off without them. To Riku, she still looked lost.

Despite that, time went on. Terra's oath and Aqua's promise faded as childhood memories are prone to doing, and their tentative friendship with Akira grew stronger every day.

It wasn't until Kairi washed up on their shores a year later that Riku began to feel it again—that nagging sense of something more.

Riku had always believed they were meant for something greater than Destiny Islands had to offer. He felt it in his bones, in the way he stared at the horizon line for hours, in the way his heart ached when he imagined being stuck here forever. The only times it felt right was when all of them were together. Like pieces of a puzzle slotting into place.

He looked at Sora, who lost himself in daydreams about their future adventures across the sea. He looked at Akira, who seemed content with what they had, but still carried something unspoken in her gaze when she looked out over the sunrise—like she was waiting for something that had yet to arrive. And then Kairi, who smiled so easily, but couldn't hide the forlorn expression on her face at the little reminders of her unknown history.

They were all drawn together by one simple fact. They didn't belong here. And maybe together, they were meant to leave.

It became his obsession. He was the first to push their play-fights into training. The first to talk about other worlds like they were real, not just bedtime stories. The first to start building the raft.

And when the Darkness finally came, when the storm ripped their world apart, he thought: this is it. This is what we were waiting for.

He knew deep down that for the others, leaving wasn't everything like it was for him.

He just didn't expect to be the only one to embrace it.

Riku blinked. And suddenly, he was in the Secret Place. The door with no handle stood before him, a keyhole outlined in gold glowing faintly at its center. And just beside that, a hooded figure draped in a heavy, brown cloak.

"This is where we first met," the voice emanated from the darkness under the cloak, where a face should have been. Fainter than it had been in his head, but recognizable nonetheless. "I had been waiting, watching—for longer than you were aware. Ready for the day you would finally be strong enough to will the pathway forward. Usher the Darkness forth."

"You tricked me," Riku spoke quietly, yet his voice still echoed in the empty cavern.

Ansem shifted, his head tilting. "Did I?"

Riku exhaled sharply, his fists tightening at his sides. The silence stretched between them, bringing with it the accusation settling heavily in Riku's chest.

Ansem turned back towards the door, gesturing to it with a hand hidden by the draping fabric. "I had nothing to do with your world's destruction, as much as you might wish it. I was merely drawn to your exuberant force of will. You wanted this. You chose it. Destiny Islands was taken by the Darkness because you wished for it to be so."

Riku squeezed his eyes shut, even as the memories came rushing back. He had stood here that night, just like this. The growing storm raged outside, the wind howling through cracks in the cave, but all he could hear was that voice—telling him what he already knew.

"This world is too small."

The door was his way out. A pathway to beyond the horizon. A chance to leave everything behind—his fears, his weaknesses, the feeling of always being a step behind no matter how hard he tried. He had been desperate to prove himself. To be more.

And so he had reached forward.

Riku watched his past self do it now—his fingers grazing the keyhole, the golden light swelling outwards in time with his heartbeat. And then, within his palm, a light sparked.

A click rang through the cavern, the very ground shuddering from the force of it. Dust and dirt fell as the door creaked open, its hinges groaning as if they bore the weight of the world. A blinding light spilled out, but it was quickly swallowed by an inky blackness that seemed to pour out from the open gateway like a flood. The air grew thick, the bitter scent of Darkness oppressive even through the veil of a memory.

Riku watched, frozen, as his past self stepped back, his face a mixture of awe and terror. The light in his hand—the Keyblade he had summoned—flickered and faded away.

"Don't be afraid," Ansem's voice whispered, calm and smooth despite the chaos surging out around them. "This is what you wanted. A world beyond the horizon. A chance to prove your worth. And now, you have it."

Riku's stomach churned as the Darkness spilled out, the sounds of the storm outside intensifying. It wouldn't be long before the Heartless arrived, drawn to the beacon of an undefended Heart to devour. But he didn't know that then, of course. The only thing on his mind was ensuring all his friends gathered together, to watch their destiny taking shape before their very eyes.

His past self turned and ran from the Secret Place, excitement etched in every feature. Riku lingered, casting one last regretful look back at the door left wide open. The heavy winds pouring forth made him wince, and he had to shield his eyes from the faint glimmer beyond the encroaching Darkness. He wished he could simply step forward and close it, to undo what he had done—but he was powerless. Ansem was right. This was his choice. His mistake.

Outside, the storm grew. The wind howled, the sky darkened as the clouds began to swirl, centralized around the growing portal to the Realm of Darkness. The ocean churned violently, its waves crashing against the shore with unnatural force. And through the haze of pouring rain, he saw them. Sora dragged Akira by her wrist to the seaside shack, both of them wide-eyed and panicked.

Riku clenched his fist hard before rushing after them. This was the memory he was dreading the most—but it was looking more and more likely this was the memory he needed to dive deeper.

Riku hissed out a curse that was stolen by the winds. He felt like the storm currently raging around them mirrored the state his heart was in. Guilt tore through his stomach as his worst moment was replayed before his very eyes. He skidded to a halt at the foot of the wooden bridge, watching as Sora and Akira did the same. They drew in heavy breaths, their entire bodies drenched from the downpour of ice-cold rain.

"Riku!" Sora's voice cut through the din, sharp and desperate. "You okay?"

Sora approached him, hand reaching out to place on his shoulder in comfort. Akira, however, stayed back, her body tense.

"I said the door has opened, Sora!"

Riku winced at his own shout, Sora snatching his hand back like he'd been hit.

"Do you know why it happened this way?"

Riku blinked, taking a few seconds to realize he was being addressed—not the memory. His gaze snapped to Akira, flinching back slightly to see her staring directly at him, eyes hard and accusing.

"Because I can't tell you how many times I've gone over it in my head. Why did you open the door? Why did you leave us?" She looked away, clutching at her arms to hug them close to her chest. "I keep trying to pinpoint the moment you changed, and I can't find it. Was it before the Heartless even came?"

Riku's breath hitched. This wasn't part of the memory.

Akira stood silent before him, her posture tense, her gaze piercing even as her voice wavered. The way she hugged herself made her look small—but the weight of her words, the pain behind them, was anything but. The sounds of the storm filled in the following silence—she was waiting for him to respond.

"I—" He swallowed, his throat tight. How many times had he pictured this moment, what he would say to her, only for his words to fail him now? "Akira, I didn't—"

She laughed, but it was humorless—a short, bitter noise. "But you did, Riku. Hearts, do you even know why you did it? Have you ever actually asked yourself that?"

He clenched his fists, searching for an answer that he felt would satisfactorily meet her sharp demands, but the truth was… he didn't know. He had spent so long justifying it, burying it under bravado and excuses—that he had been trying to protect them, that he only wanted to grow stronger—to be more than the boy trapped on a tiny island with no future. But none of those reasons mattered in the end.

He sought power, and the Darkness answered. This was the price of his ambition.

"I thought—" He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "I thought I was doing what was best. I thought I had to be the one to take that step forward first. But I was wrong." His voice wavered, but he knew his words would still be heard over the raging winds. "And I can't change what I did, we both know that. I can only try to make it up to you. To you, to Sora, to Kairi—everyone I cared about that I ended up hurting. I'll make it up to you, I swear it."

Akira's expression flickered, something unreadable passing through her eyes before she let out a slow breath. "Guess we'll see, huh?"

He barely had time to process her words before the world around him began to shift. The memory was resuming, reality twisting to pull him back into the past.

Riku turned sharply, reaching out as if to stop it—stop her. "Akira, wait—!"

But she was already gone.

His hand closed around empty air. A bolt of frustration ran through him at the fact he realized too late that it hadn't been just a memory talking to him—and then he realized there was a small glow emanating from between his fingers. He turned his hand, his fingers unfurling to reveal a small thalassa shell sitting in his palm.

The glow lingered, pulsing faintly yet steadily, like a heartbeat. Riku's eyes widened as a sudden realization hit him. He fished in his pocket, producing the yellow flower he'd been gifted by the previous memory in Hollow Bastion. It glowed with the same golden pulse, making Riku's breath hitch. It couldn't be… were these pieces of her heart?

He curled his fingers around them, gripping them tightly as he turned his gaze to the storm-ravaged landscape before him. What happened while he and Mickey were stuck in the Realm of Darkness?

"Still picking up their messes," Ansem whispered in the back of his mind, "I suppose that much remains unchanged."

Riku shook his head, forcefully dislodging the thought. The memory had resumed, pulling him back into its current. He could see himself standing in the open maw of Darkness, his hand outstretched, calling to Sora and Akira as the storm raged around them.

They both grabbed onto him, pulling with all their might to free him from the pool he was slowly sinking into. Riku watched on, doing his best to temper the ache in his heart at the sight. Despite everything, they never stopped trying to save him.

Now Sora and Akira were the ones in trouble. And Riku wouldn't stop either.

The three figures in the memory were swallowed by the corridor. The portal remained open, waiting. Riku's gaze hardened with determination. He placed the flower and the shell alongside Kairi's charm—no safer place for them to be—and walked into the dark.

KH

The sound of footsteps against the marble floor echoed softly as Zexion and Lexaeus walked in measured silence. Castle Oblivion's halls were currently quiet, a stark contrast to the brewing storm of deception that was starting to surround them. Zexion's fingers brushed against his lexicon, mind racing over calculations that were starting to feel more like wild guesses than rational theorizing.

"I think you've already surmised this—but she's gone," Zexion stated, breaking the silence. "Akira's presence has been completely swallowed by Oblivion. She's out of my reach."

Lexaeus hummed a flat note in response, his brow furrowing.

"It's entirely up to Riku, now," Zexion continued, "And it is also now imperative we keep tabs on our own memories. If she starts to disappear from even those, the odds of Riku returning with her diminish significantly."

"Perhaps it is time to reconsider the plan," Lexaeus suggested. "If Riku fails, we have no contingency. And the longer we leave him to act freely, the higher the risk of losing control of him." His tone was nothing but practical as he fixed his steady gaze on Zexion. "We should take his Darkness for ourselves."

Zexion shot him a sharp look. "That would be premature."

Lexaeus didn't flinch. "The top-floor traitors are already making their moves. They openly destroyed Vexen's replica. That alone should tell you how volatile this situation is becoming."

Zexion scoffed. "Marluxia fancies himself a mastermind, that much is certain, but his arrogance is blinding him into making mistakes. And his allies are hardly ones I'd consider to be dependable. Larxene follows only for her own amusement, I have no doubts she'd turn on him the moment it suits her. And Axel…" He paused, letting out a hum of distaste. "I question his motivations. I've never trusted him."

Lexaeus nodded. "Nor have I. He plays too many sides."

"He only plays for himself," Zexion corrected. "Which is why I don't think he'd suddenly buy whatever drivel Marluxia has been spouting about his own superiority." He crossed his arms with a shake of his head. "My point being—were they united, perhaps they'd be a threat I'd consider moving on with greater aggression. But as it stands, we stay the course. We've invested too much to deviate now."

Lexaeus remained silent for a moment. Then he glanced away, signaling his deference to Zexion's command.

"Come," Zexion gestured forward, continuing their pace towards the lab. Then, with a tinge of mock sincerity, he grinned at his companion. "Take heart, Lexaeus. Vexen is nearly finished with plan B. That should tip the scales back into our favor."

Lexaeus grunted at the turn of phrase. "I assume after this, you'll be contacting Riku again?"

Zexion nodded once again. "You made a good point. How he acts without our guidance is a variable I can't afford to ignore. I'll ensure he stays on course—while he remains within reach."

They passed through the doorway, silence once again falling between them.

Going back to rewatch some KH1 clips for this chapter definitely made me nostalgic. I've busted out my Final Mix copy to replay it for the umpteenth time.

Next up is Sora's chapter! Real talk returning, I'm still coming out of my funk, but I'm hoping enough of it has passed to allow me to publish on time lol. Planning for March 28th - which I really hope I make because that's Sora's canonical birthday and I'm just realizing that now as I'm typing LOL

For this week's questionnaire, I thought doing some self-reflection in honor of Riku would be pertinent

1. If you could go back in time and give your past self one piece of advice, what would it be?

2. Do you have any keepsakes that you keep close by to remind you of something important?

Xxser3ndipityxX: Taking the request into account, this is in response to your review for chapter 10! That should help with the numerous back and forths xD. Very glad to hear you're enjoying Akira's original story beats! And I always enjoy your reviews, so once again I appreciate all the time you put into them!

Also love the answers to the questionnaire that chapter, it's very helpful to see if my writing and the plot points are being followed as I expect them to be! So far, they are :3c