~Black Rain~
By: Orlys Elf
Riku's heart skipped a beat. It had been another dream of the past. Or more of
a nightmare. He had not a solid night sleep, let alone a solid hour since he left
the world behind the door. Riku held his chest, his heart, no, there was nothing
left. A darkness that consumed him now was his only internal structure. Though
it still pained him when memories of his past rushed forth.
Destiny Islands.
The blue sea.
Wakka, Tidus, and Selphie.
Sora....
...Kairi......
Riku stopped the wave of memories at that thought. He knew she wasn't his to think
of. Sora and her were meant to be, even though it was a drawing, they had shared
the star-shaped fruit together. The very fruit he had hope to share with someone.
Then he awoke from his thoughts.
He squinted, the light that was piercing through the shutters in his room was
just enough to make him reach for the small table next to the bed. His hands grasped
the black cloth. Riku quickly tied it around his head.
His eyes were not sightless. In fact, his vision hadn't changed at all. But after
he had escaped the dark prison, Riku's eyes didn't look the same. The Heartless
had his eyes, or he had their's. The golden glow was something he left behind.
Him.
That name.
Ansem.....
Riku was sort of a Heartless now himself. The more he thought of it the more he
hated himself. Riku clenched his fist. He was just a shell, without a heart, without
a past, without a future. Without anyone to feel sorry for him.
He was used to that.
Riku stood up, but his legs felt weak. It was only the exhaustion. He still wondered
why an empty container like himself needed sleep, he didn't have a soul to feed.
That was still trapped behind the door.
He thought that he had deserved this punishment. As he was slipping into his black
robe, he delved deeper into his memories unable to stop the need for them.
Stop.
He remembered the rivalry that had kept Sora's and his friendship alive. Neither
on of them could stand to be bested. Though Riku had always won Sora in their
sparring matches, but he always came back for more. So, really Riku was the weaker
one.
Stop.
That night, after they built the raft, that's when the first storm came. It rained,
not a normal rain, but there was no other word to describe it. Darkness consumed
his home, everyone was consumed by it. That's the night Sora saw him, saw him
give up his heart. He was so weak.
Stop it.
Traverse Town was where he ambushed Sora. Riku took the keyblade as a joke, but
was surprised how easy it was to hold. It was like the hilt was made to fit his
hand, the keyblade was meant for him. Even with that strange feeling, he gave
it back to Sora. He wanted so much to accept the offer to travel with his blue-eyed
friend, but something held him back, another feeling. He wasn't strong enough.
Stop it.
Riku remembered the time he spent in that whale, Monstro. He had kid-napped that
little puppet boy. He never meant for him to get hurt, never, but it happened.
That creature held him captive, while he fought. While he fought alongside him.
The feeling he had knowing Sora, his friend, was there to back him up while fighting
in the intestines of a very overgrown fish. Riku left again after that, left his
friend and returned to the darkness. It was the only place he was welcome anymore.
He couldn't face his friend, he couldn't face Sora, he was so weak.
Stop it, now.
Neverland was the hardest for Riku to understand. Why had he turned on his friend,
his only friend. The shadow he called forth could have destroyed him, but with
a heartless Kairi in hands, nothing else seemed to matter. But Sora survived because
he was strong, Riku was the one who was weak.
Stop it, please.
Hollow Bastian would have been a wonderful place, if it wasn't swallowed by the
Heartless. Riku had always wanted to travel to other worlds, he never understood
why he had ended up on Destiny Islands. He was almost completely controlled by
Ansem then. That's when he knew why the keyblade had fit him so well, he was the
rightful wielder. Sora's sad and worrisome eyes at that moment didn't suit him.
Riku fought him in the Grand Hall, that was when his weakness really shown. Sora's
strength of heart couldn't be beaten for one whose heart was within walls of darkness.
He lost the keyblade, Riku couldn't hold onto it, even though it was supposed
to be his, he was too weak to keep strong.
Stop, please....
Back on the black beach, it rained again. A dark rain. He saw Sora come, but Riku
wasn't himself, not entirely. In that instant, he knew Sora would somehow find
a way to save him, he would. But when he tried to speak, his voice wasn't the
one he heard. When he moved he wasn't in control. He could see, but it was like
looking at a screen, without control. Someone else's eyes. His eyes. Ansem. Riku
could feel every time Sora struck him, it hurt. He could also see the pain in
his friend's blue crystal eyes when he drew the keyblade. Sora knew he was still
in there. Riku could have killed Sora, and he would have had no control, because
Ansem had already won. It was Riku's fault that Sora was there in the first place.
Everything was his fault. Everything was always his fault. He was too weak.
Everything was his fault.
Always his fault.
His fault...
"Stop!"
Riku had to yell to stop them that time. Memories of his past never pained him
as much as they just had. He had already given up on himself, but maybe all he
needed was to know they were safe. Not to see them again, just a sign, to know
somewhere, they were alive. They didn't need him, he was the one who needed their
help.
Sora...
Kairi...
Be safe.
Pulling his black hood over his head, Riku walked to the door. He walked passed
the innkeeper who eyed him warily. "Son, you need some help out?"
Riku was sick of having people comment on his eyesight, he wasn't blind.
"No."
This city was getting to him. He needed to leave. The countless stares he received
not only for his eyes, but for his clothes. Riku's black robe was rather eye-catching,
so he pulled the hood over his face hide the stares. A strange feeling shot through
him. That same feeling he had become so used to. They were coming, the Heartless.
The barrier must have been broken in this world. It was going to rain.
"The black rain is back."
~End~