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Kairi looked up from the math homework sitting on her desk and sighed. She
was supposed to meet Riku and Sora on the island after school and already
the sun was plummeting towards the horizon. Her eyes turned towards to the
window, from which she could see their island in the distance. She loved the
island. Even though the three of them spent significantly less time there
now than they had as children, it was still a place that filled her with a
sense of peace. She could relax there. She could be herself there. The place
held many good memories for her, with the exception of the year that Destiny
Isles had vanished off the map.

Kairi pushed a strand of her auburn hair behind her ear and turned her
attention back towards the math homework. She'd been working diligently for
the last hour and she only had a few problems left. Her pencil scratched
against the paper as she scribbled out the work for the last problem.
"Finished!" she announced to herself as she pushed her chair back from her
desk and stood.

Still decked out in her blue and white school uniform, she decided she
didn't want to waste the time to change into something else. The blue plaid
skirt and white blouse would have to do for today. She grabbed her bag and
headed for the docks. A smile touched her lips as her eyes fell on the small
wooden row boat that had been hers since she'd arrived on Destiny Isles as a
child. Setting her bag in the back, she grasped the oars on each side and
began to row out towards the island.

The trip didn't take long, and a few minutes later she was tying her boat to
the dock on the Island. She could see Riku and Sora were already out on the
little stub of an island looking out onto the horizon. She pulled herself
out of the boat, grabbed her bag, and took off running. Her shoes clamped
against the wooden plank of the bridge between the two islands, announcing
her arrival - although she was sure the pair had probably seen her rowing in
from the distance.

"Riku! Sora!" Kairi called out, huffing a bit as her feet hit the soft soil
of the little island. "Sorry I'm late!"

Simply standing on the shore, looking out to sea, Riku felt a surge of
memories hit him. The thoughts of class and homework long gone to the ocean
that consumed his mind and distracted his attention. He remembered that
here, some years ago now, he stood wondering what lay beyond the horizon,
beyond the ocean.

Now though, he wished he hadn't found out.

His first desire upon the darkness befalling the island was escape. If
something new could make it's way in, then he decided there must be a way
out too. It had led him into the clutches of Maleficant, whom had turned him
on his friends. Eventually, he had been consumed by someone known as Ansem,
his heart and body no longer his own. But Sora had changed that.

Since then, and things inbetween then and now, he had walked hand in hand
with the darkness that resided within him. It was as much a part of him as
the light was a part of Sora. But it seemed that Kairi and Sora would
forgive him that much. Because of that, he owed them so much. Still, most of
his work had always been alone. Never wanting the ties he shared to be
risked. Never wanting to hold others back. Never wanting to -be- held back.

This place held many reminders of the darkness that lingered within him. It
held reminders of the light that saved him from falling too far, also. So it
seemed to make him look inside himself a lot of the time. Idly, without
really thinking, he walked to the small area of land where he had practiced
fighting Sora, before the Keyblade had found them. Leaning against the
crooked tree, as he had always preferred, it was not long before he was
joined by Sora and then, eventually, Kairi too.

Dressed in his casual clothes, a yellow and white jacket along with blue
jeans, the teen threw a teasing smile over his shoulder to Kairi. "We were
wondering when you were going to turn up, Kairi! You had Sora worried
whether you were going to turn up at all!" Reaching over, he mussed the
younger boy's hair as he had done many times before. Before the troubles.

Yes, life was much better now he could just let the darkness go.

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed as he tried to put his hair back in, well, reasonable
order. He pushed Riku, not really intent on doing anything other than
showing his feigned annoyance.

At the sound of Kairi's voice, he had grinned broadly, and hugged her. It
was great to be back on the islands. The sun, the beaches, the old friends
and the old places, it was like all of the chaos hadn't
happened at all. Of course, there were times when Sora missed all of his
friends, but the resounding peace and quiet was a nice break.

He always had the thought in his head that the quiet would never last
too long anymore, anyway. So, he had made it a vow to enjoy it while
it lasted. Keeping an arm slipped around Kairi's waist, he
turned back to Riku, studying him briefly. He had always been quieter and
more mature than Sora, but he couldn't help but wonder what his friend had
been contemplating lately.

"Everything's come full circle, eh?" He grinned. "Back on the Island, the
three of us, kinda like old times!"

Kairi smiled at the sight of Sora and returned his hug with no less
enthusiam than the goofy smile on his face betrayed. She leaned against him
slightly as he slipped an arm around her waist. She felt a shiver of
excitement rush through her at the flash of thoughts that crossed her mind.
She pushed them aside for now - they could wait until she and Sora were
alone.

Instead, she turned her attention back to Riku and grinned, "Sorry I'm late.
Ms. Hikiro decided at the last minute to give us extra math homework. I
suppose I could have blown it off, but you now how obssesive my father has
gotten lately about my grades." Kairi had opted not to tell her father that
she and Sora had gotten serious. While her father liked Sora, and Riku as
well for that matter, she knew he'd never let her spend the amount of time
with them that she did if he thought anything beyond friendship was going
on. She was sure he was using her grades as an excuse to limit the amount of
time she did have to spend with her friends. Even so, she'd managed to sneak
out to the island numerous times to be with Sora. What her father didn't
know wouldn't hurt him. "I'm just glad I was able to get it all done before
the sun set."

Sora made a little pouty face at the mention of Kairi's dad. He liked the
guy, but, well, any boy was supposed to be freaked out by his girlfriend's
dad, right? It held true even for keybladers. He grinned widely at Kairi
again.

"Hey, it's okay if you're a little late. Not like we're gonna leave you
behind, right?" He laughed and nudged Riku.
Keeping his face completely neutral, almost emotionless, Riku set his voice
to a deadpan tone. "I dunno, if you'd have been a little longer, I couldn't
have guaranteed anything. Sure glad I only have one more year to put up with
all this homework though. I can't wait until it's all over."

Hopefully, they would know as well as he did that he was only joking. The
relationship of the three of them had been a little sketchy after his
constant reliance on the darkness to find and protect them. Or at least, it
appeared to be. Maybe it was just because they were now a couple and he was
on the outside. Either way, he viewed both of them as his little brother and
sister. It was why he had helped Sora fight in Monstro, despite being on
opposite sides. It was why he had helped close Kingdom Hearts from the
inside. It was why he had assumed the form he had to, to be one with the
darkness, and helped Kairi fend off the heartless. He knew his place. It was
to protect the two of them, but that didn't stop him feeling that since they
could look after themselves, he wasn't needed...or wanted. Not that he'd
voice such paranoid thoughts, however, as he wasn't sure if so long in the
darkness had instilled him with a bleak outlook. "So, you guys got anything
you want to do, besides the obvious?" Turning his head slightly and winking,
Riku then turned back to staring into the distance.

Kairi shot Riku a mock callus look, "Like you have anything better to do
than wait for me." Her tone was joking, but the moment she said it she
wished she hadn't. Despite the fact that the three of them had always been
best friends, Kairi was not blind to the nuance of tension that ran just
under of the surface of their relationship. Ever since they had returned
from the World that Never Was, Kairi and Sora had grown closer, and Kairi
could feel the gap between themselves and Riku, even if none of them
acknowledged it. She often wondered if Sora truly didn't notice or if he
didn't want to believe it and therefore chose not to acknowledge it.

Scrambling to change the subject, Kairi broke free of Sora's grasp and, with
a smile plastered on her face, slapped Riku lightly on the side of his arm,
"At least I can say I'm jealous of the immense amount of freetime you'll
have when this year is up." She turned, her eyes tracing the orange line of
the sun reflecting off the ocean that marked the horizon. The past year,
Kairi had immersed herself in school, in Sora, in her friendships. The
memories of the past carried painful overtones, even if everything had
turned out for the positive in the end. But everytime she stood here staring
at the horizon it reminded her of the desolate days on Destiny Isles when
she wondered if Sora and Riku would ever find their way home.

She tilted her head back towards Riku, "Whatever will you do with yourself
while Sora and I are busy slaving away in class?"

Sora could feel himself start to blush, but quickly downplayed it. "Hey!" He
protested, shaking his head at Riku as he felt Kairi leave his side.
Shooting her a lopsided grin, he shrugged and continued walking, clasping
his hands behind his head to cradle it as he looked up at the sun.

As for Riku...the younger teen didn't want to think much about any lingering
damage to their friendship. He wasn't bitter towards Riku, he didn't hold
any grudges, he was just very happy to have his friend back and in one
piece, even. Distance was accepted as, well, growing older, and he had been
spending a lot of time with Kairi lately.

But grudges? Sora couldn't stay angry at someone that he'd known his entire
life. Everything was understandable, so long as he looked at a big enough
picture.

"Who says we gotta do anything?" Sora grinned.

A little bothered that his seeming uncomfortable at being there may have
made Sora and Kairi get a shade of distance, Riku covered it by glancing off
into the setting sun with a smile. Leaping back onto the tree and half
laying down, resting his left hand on his left knee, while leaning forward
slightly. "Sora, it's a rare chance that all three of us get the chance to
meet up. We have to do something so that we remember it until next time.
Memories fade more quickly if there is not something happening to tie them
to."

Sparing a quick glance at Kairi, he kept a thank you smile off his face. For
while he did have guilt over feeling as if he forced them apart just now,
and was grateful that Kairi had been empathic enough to care that it
bothered him, he didn't want to make it seem as if he wanted to keep them
apart, even in passing. Because that was the last thing he needed to come
between the three's relationship as friends - Accusations that he wasn't
happy with Sora and Kairi's relationship. Not that he expected it to happen,
but best to cover all the bases. "As for what I'm going to be doing...I want
to head to Radiant Garden, and help in the restoration project. Being a good
friend of Sora should let them allow me to help. After all, I doubt there is
anyone out there who doesn't owe him one."

The darkness that lingered in his soul, while for the most part gone, still
nagged at him to press after the bad emotions he felt. Envy, guilt, anger,
pride and arrogance, to name a few. Now, however, was not the time. "So,
while I wouldn't be around, it would be easy to find me. I just don't buy
what the school is trying to press on us, with all of these extra years of
education being told to us as the best thing to do. I want to be out there,
making a difference." Just like Sora did. That was what had gone unsaid and
he hoped it would stay unnoticed. He never wanted to concede that Sora could
indeed be better at things than him, even if he realised the truth of it
now. But that struck Riku as odd, for that was a streak of arrogance.
Apparantly, the darkness was harder to banish than he thought.

Kairi frowned, "But Destiny Isles is your home, Riku. I know when we were
children we wanted to see all the other worlds out there, but we've done
that now. You've done that now. Radiant Garden doesn't need you." She
glanced at Sora for a moment and gave him a slight nod before meeting Riku's
eyes with her own. "We need you. Sora and I. You're a part of us, now. And
this place wouldn't be the same if you left us." No matter how she felt
for Sora, there was no doubt in Kairi's mind that she loved Riku too. Not in
the same way, but just as deeply. She felt she owed Riku her life - perhaps
he felt the same way about her. She was certain that she'd have been
destroyed in the World that Never Was if he hadn't fought by her side. In
the same way she was certain that neither of them would be standing on
Destiny Isles without Sora either.

Well, hey, from time to time, I kinda miss the other worlds, too."
Sora scratched his head. "But we can't go back, not now, the
connections between the worlds're closed off."

It made him a little sad to admit to it, but it was the truth. He
couldn't see some of his friends, but he could rest knowing that they
were at least safe. The trade off was enough to make him happy, and
besides, he had Kairi and Riku back in his life.

Looking to Sora, Riku allowed a rogueish grin to flash to his longtime
friend. Suggesting that he would try, even if that were the case. Sora was
right, in more ways than one, that things had come full circle. Riku still
wanted to get off the islands, even though he wanted to stay with Sora and
Kairi. Maybe people didn't change so easily. The thought drained the playful
expression from his face and caused him to look back out to the horizon.
"Well, they've been reopened twice before now. I'm not so sure they couldn't
be reopened, even temporarily."

Not to mention that there were ways around them. Sora had used one when he
hadn't even understood what it was. All it would take was for him to once
again use the darkness. Not embrace it, just use it, then he could push it
away once more. It was almost as though the universe were one giant body.
The worlds being the organs, with the gateways being the veins that connect
them. One precise cut could open the way to them, but a bad cut would just
cause damage and leave it still innaccessable. The cuts would heal over
time, but could easily be reopened if struck in the same place. Then, of
course, there was the choice of simply bypassing the gateway by using a more
direct route, like using a route that the the "organ" -needed- open to do
it's duty.

While he was sure the darkness in him was making him look at the situation
in such an oddly...unnatural way, it did strike an odd sort of sense to him.
After all, if a keyblade dispels the heartless, then is that not simply the
same as a white blood cell fighting away the disease threatening to corrupt
and destroy the organs? And is not the act of sealing a world's "heart"
simply immunising it from the disease? The problem with that theory was that
he was hardly a traditional white blood cell, metaphorically speaking. He
fought the disease with the disease, or another disease. Did that make him
an infected cell, while Sora and Mickey were the true healing cells?

...Shaking his head quickly, Riku decided he was taking -far- too much in
from the biology lessons. A quirky smile placed itself on his face. At least
that meant he would pass the exams when they came! "Back two years ago, I
wanted to see what was out there. Now that I have seen what is out there, I
want to do what I can for the worlds that need it. Destiny Isles is calm,
peaceful and free of worry. There isn't a place for me here, guys. As much
as it would hurt me to leave you again, I don't feel I can stay for much
longer than I have to." It was almost a primal longing to escape, and it
haunted Riku constantly. Especially as he didn't know who was telling him to
do this - Himself, or the darkness "Ansem" had created in him. "You
guys...you feel your place is here, staying in Destiny Isles. I don't know
where mine is, as -something- is telling me it isn't here."

Kairi forced a smile, "I suppose you have to follow your heart, Riku," she
replied, turning her eyes away from him and back to the horizon. The sun
was about to drop below the ocean and the sky was a light pink color on the
edge of the horizon. The soft breeze blowing off the ocean rustled her hair
and she reached up to tuck the loose strands behind her ears. Thoughts of
her dream lingered on the edge of her mind and she wondered if somehow deep
down she'd known that Riku would finally tell them he wanted to leave.
Kairi had sensed that something was troubling him for some time, but she'd
never asked. "You know that Sora and I will always be here for you." The
words carried a reassuring overtone. Even though she didn't want Riku to
leave, she wanted him to know that she'd be behind any decision he made.

Thankfully, Sora hadn't really given the biology behind actual hearts
much thought.

However, Riku was making some sense. Sora, however, wasn't under the
impression that other worlds needed him until he was called.
That meant the keyblade coming back to him at will. Or Donald and
Goofy. Or a letter from the King. Hmm...

"I understand what you mean, Riku." Sora smiled.

Inwardly, Riku doubted Sora's sincerity in the statement. Not out of spite
or anger, but simply because Sora seemed to be the kind of person who made
the best of even bad situations, so even now he might simply be trying to
save Riku's feelings by making him feel as if he weren't just having
delusions. It brought a smile to his face though. Sora always had, and
always would. He was the light that fought the dark in Riku. "I'm honoured
that you would both support me in what I want to do, even though I know you
probably have reservations. Especially since we all know what happened last
time I wanted to escape the islands."

Kairi shook her head, "We all wanted to escape the island, Riku. The paths
we walked may have been different..." She trailed off. There wasn't much to
say about Riku's decision. He'd followed the darkness, but in the end, he'd
done so to save Sora. Instead, she reached over and took his hand. "We'll
always be friends, Riku. Ok?"

Her gaze drifted back to Sora; her expression shrouded in worry. Riku seemed
more fragile now than he'd ever been. Turning back to Riku, she let another
smile cloud her features, "Besides, Sora and I can always come visit you,
whereever you are."

The last of the sun's rays vanished beneath the dark, rolling waves and Kairi
sighed, "My dad's going to kill me if I stay out much later."

Sora scrunched up his nose. "Yeah...we should get back."

On some level, he could understand Riku's point of view. It seemed
like he had grown up past the point of curfews and school reports.
And he was here...finishing it up? He didn't want to sound arrogant,
but there were more important things than passing exams.

It was too bad that he couldn't just explain to everyone about the
worlds, the keyblades, the King. Sora sighed, resigned, but not
exactly depressed about it. "There's gonna be plenty of chances for
adventures soon, I'm sure." He bit his lip, not sure if he should
wish his statement into truth.