Part 2: remember »
Home > Categories > Kingdom Hearts > Gaia Enola

Rating: R - angst - Posted: 01/10/2002 - Updated: 14/1/2005

Disclaimers: Characters portrayed, unless otherwise noted, are property and copyright of Square and Disney. The author does not imply to own anything save the story itself. This is a non-profit piece of fanwork.
Warnings: My angst muse is tickling me. Also, it's post game, so expect spoilers.
Notes: Work in progress. Also, this was moreso inspired by the very ambiguous trailer of (hopefully) Kingdom Hearts 2. Note this takes place four years after the end of Kingdom Hearts, so Riku should be 19 and Sora, 18. And since I started this before CoM came out, consider it AU.

Summary: (Sora/Riku) Post KH. After the events in the game, Sora finally finds Riku again. But after living so long in the darkness of Kingdom Hearts, will anyone be able to get through to him? (AU)


Part 1: found

"We found him. But..."

There were always buts to everything. Sora figured out a long time ago that said buts would always stink. He was certain this would be no exception, but he didn't care. What had it been... three, four years? More? It didn't matter. Nothing did.

He was finally going to see Riku again.

"Sora!"

"Sora, wait!"

No way. All he'd been doing was waiting, searching, and hoping. This time, it paid off. This time he wouldn't get disappointed. This time, he'd found what he'd been looking for.

"He's not the way you remember!"

As though Sora expected him to be? Hell, they'd all changed. How could they not? You didn't go through saving the known universe and still stay the same. You certainly didn't get possessed by Ansem and not change. It was inevitable. And it just didn't matter to Sora. Nothing was going to stop him, not after so long...

"You're going the wrong way."

Okay, maybe that would.

Sora pulled up short, turning to glare at the three. King, Captain, Wizard... they didn't understand. They had found each other. Sora was still looking for his best friend.

"So where is he?"

"Sora..."

"Don't 'Sora' me, just tell me where he is!" Looking at the trio hesitate, Sora tried a different approach. "...please..."

"He's... this way." The king took lead, Sora falling in step while the captain and wizard followed behind. Sora could almost feel their sadness, but he didn't, wouldn't let it deter him. No matter how much the other might have changed, it was still Riku.

It had to be.

The group walked down the hall, passing several doors and heading deeper into the castle. A sense of unease prickled Sora's flesh; he couldn't remember any part of this place being dark and foreboding, but he couldn't deny a feeling of intrusion, unwelcome.

"Here." The three stopped in front of a door, each looking everywhere but at Sora. After a few moments of this, the teen huffed and nearly stamped his foot.

"So open it!"

"We can't!" wailed the duck.

"Can't?"

"After we... after we found him and brought him here, well..." Goofy ducked his head. He couldn't say it...

"Sora..."

Their apprehension was getting more than annoying, as well as very unnerving. Sora's fist curled at his side, barely containing his irritation.

"Would someone please tell me what the heck is going on before I scream?"

Goofy looked at Donald, who looked at Mickey. The king sighed. Why did he have to get the truly tough jobs? Must be the drawback to being "king."

Nothing to do now. He couldn't leave Sora waiting, and the teen would find out soon enough. It would be easier for him to go in knowing, at least. Well, that's what Mickey hoped, in any case.

"Sora? Riku's changed--"

"You said that already!"

"Let me finish. He's been through a terrible time in Kingdom Hearts. I wasn't there as long, something I owe him for, but even that small amount of time was awful. At least we had each other to talk to. When he helped me escape, he was left alone--"

Sora wasn't one for beating around the bush. He didn't want or need anything sugarcoated. This was his friend, damnit!

"Out with it! What's happened to him, and what is it you're not telling me?"

Another sigh. No, it wouldn't be easy by any stretch of the imagination. "Maybe it'd be better to just spill it," Mickey thought.

"... We can't open the door because he locked himself in with one of the keyblades. You'll have to use the other keyblade to open it--wait!" The king held up a hand, stopping Sora when he lunged for the door. "There are some things you should know. One, he's very sensitive to light now. We had to cover his eyes because he was in so much pain when we brought him here. Two, he hasn't spoken since we found him. We're hoping he might speak to you, but we really don't know. Three, well, beyond that you'll have to learn for yourself."

Sora let this sink in. If Kingdom Hearts was as dark as Mickey once told them, then he could understand the light hurting Riku. He probably wasn't used to it anymore. But not talking... That didn't sound like Riku at all.

"What's happened? What is it they're not telling me about you, Riku?"

"Now then, the keyblade is close enough for you to summon it to your hand. If you want to see him, then call it and... open the door. He's inside."

There was really nothing more they could do. What happened next would be between Sora and Riku. The three only prayed Sora's heart wouldn't break to much.

Sora nodded to himself, then held up his hand. It'd been so long since he last held the keyblade, yet it felt as natural as the very first time, as though he always had it. The moment it appeared, a keyhole shimmered into view on the door. The teen braced himself. Yes, it was Riku on the other side, but something told him it was more than that, though what, he didn't know. Still, it wouldn't stop him.

With a soft grunt, Sora plunged the keyblade in and quickly turned it. The faint click of the lock giving way echoed through the empty halls. To Sora, he hadn't just unlocked a door, he unlocked a part of himself, something he'd lost and desperately needed to get back.

If it was still there for him to get.

Trembling hands pulled the keyblade free before resting on the knob. Praying yet unsure for what, Sora pushed the door opened.

Sora's heart jumped to his throat as he stepped into almost complete darkness. Only a small light trickled in from a window too far to reach. The room itself was bare, save a bed in one corner. It was there Sora laid eyes on his missing companion.

"Riku?" Sora couldn't be sure he'd been heard. His ears hardly registered the choked whisper himself, but something felt wrong about raising his voice beyond even that much.

No response. Though the light afforded little for any clear sight, Sora could make out enough to tell that Riku hadn't moved. The pale-haired youth sat on the end of the bed, his head tilted down slightly. For a moment Sora thought something had happened to Riku's eyes, until he remembered what Mickey said about covering them. From what the brunette could see, Riku wore an ankle-length coat. Under it, Sora could tell his friend had lost weight; he didn't have the same build from when they were younger. That was as far as it went. The light and shadows wouldn't let Sora see more than that.

"It's Riku. I know it. It's him." Sora took a step closer, not sure if the gnawing fear in his gut came from walking into the darkness, or for Riku himself.

"... Riku?" Louder this time, as though defying the unease trying to settle in his heart. Yet when even that didn't get him a response, Sora swallowed down the lump in his throat and walked over.

The reaction he got was nothing like he imagined it would be.

Riku jumped off the bed and away from Sora. In a blink he had both keyblades in hand and held out in front of him. His chest heaved with the onrush of adrenaline from a possible fight, and fear of the very same. Though his grip remained firm and steady, Sora could sense more than see the tremors running through the silver-haired teen.

"Riku."

Seconds ticked by, each a heartwrenching eternity for Sora. It felt like forever before he saw Riku's lips move, forming the word even if he couldn't give any voice to it.

"... sora..."

Hope. It was the best thing Sora had right now. "Yes, it's me, Riku. It's Sora."

"sora..."

The keyblades fell to the stone floor. Sora yelped and ran forward, barely catching Riku before he suffered the same fate. The brunette wasn't prepared for the sudden weight and fell, though making sure Riku landed on top of him as much as possible.

"Riku!"

Sora couldn't tell if Riku had any sight from behind the blindfold, but he felt as though the older teen were looking up at him. Riku smiled, whispering something too soft for Sora to hear, then simply slipped into unconsciousness.

"I don't know what's happened, but I know it's you.

"Riku..."


Part 2: remember »