Chapter Text
She can hear noise and laughter trailing up the beach, can see teens and younger adults running and playing catch, but she pays them no attention. The sun was setting and she’d nearly missed it, for the first time in years. Every evening, just before sunset, she would make her way over to the play island and stand at the water’s edge, hoping and praying that he would return. Not once in the years he’d been gone had she missed a sunset. Not a single one.
And every night, she would make her way home, alone, to the empty house where her empty bed waited to comfort her once again. She’d pull his pillow close, imagining she could still smell his shampoo on the pillowcase, and she’d cry until she ran out of tears. But each morning would bring new resolve, more hope that today would be the day he would come home.
She’d been terrified at first, when he’d first gone missing. Her baby boy, her only child, gone without a trace. She couldn’t help but worry that he was out there somewhere, alone and scared and missing her. Oh, how she longed to find him, to wrap her arms around him and just hold on forever, to bring him home and never let him leave again. At least during the first year or so, she had her husband to comfort her and bear the burden along side her.
The fear transitioned into helplessness once her husband passed. She could do nothing but sit and watch as his condition deteriorated. She knew there would come a day when there was no one there to worry and wait with her. And it was a rough day. She had gone to bed a married woman with a missing son, and had woken up a lonely widow. Once the news got out, her home was full of people coming and going, making arrangements and sorting things out. It was all a blur to her now. She still made her way to the beach that evening, and she spent a long while standing on the shore trying to figure out what she was doing there.
That year, things got easier. The pain of her husband’s death was unbelievable at times, but they had spent a beautiful life together. Sure, they never had children, but that never bothered them. They had been deeply in love, right up to the very end, and she cherished the time they had together. She’d still spend every evening on the beach, talking to her late husband, searching for something she couldn’t put her finger on. And every night, she’d go home feeling sad and a little confused.
She eventually remembered though, the son she had forgotten. Her heart broke once more, knowing she had to be the worst mother to ever exist. How could she have forgotten her baby? The child she was blessed with after years and years of trying. He was her most treasured thing, the one thing she would have died for. She spent hours in his room, the room that seemed to have disappeared along with her memories of him, taking in every little detail, memorizing all the mess and chaos. That evening, she took one of his stuffed animals to the shoreline with her as physical proof he existed.
The laughter gets louder as she gets closer to the water, and she smiles at the group, hoping that when her son returns, he can find a group of friends like this. He had friends growing up, but he usually just spent his free time with Kairi and Riku. She liked his friends, truly. They were always welcome in her home, should they ever need a place to go. Even these days, she could almost hear the trio running down the hall, dropping school books carelessly on their way to his bedroom to play whatever game they saw fit. She missed those days, when she could sneak down the hall and peak in to see a tangled mess of limbs piled onto the small bed occupying the room.
She walks past a smaller group building a sand sculpture, and watches them for a moment. Her son loved playing in the sand as a toddler. She would almost always catch him trying to eat it, her husband laughing as he watched her fuss over their son. She shakes her head at the memory, and continues on, almost being ran into by a tall young man. She goes to apologize but her throat tightens as she catches a good look at him.
“Riku? Is that you?”
Her heart seems to know the answer before her brain does, because she finds herself wrapping her arms around his torso before she can even think about it. She sobs into his shirt, uncontrollable tears flowing down her cheeks. His arms tentatively wrap around her shoulders but he soon relaxes into the embrace and holds her closer.
“I can’t believe it’s you! I can’t believe you’re actually here!” She pulls back from him, taking his face in her hands. “It’s been so long! The last time I saw you, you barely reached my shoulders. Now look at you!” She smiles at him, tears still flowing. “When did you get back? Have you stopped by to see your parents?”
He gives her a small smile in return before answering her. He also introduces her to everyone along the beach, but as soon as he mentions who she is, the group shares a sad look. She looks to him, confusion etched into her features, and he sighs, excusing himself and her.
“Please come with me. There’s something I need to tell you.”
She doesn’t make him ask twice. She never has. Even when he was a young boy, and he was going through his arrogant stage, she never made him ask twice for anything. He offers her his arm, placing his hand over hers. They walk down the beach a good distance, but not too far out of earshot for the rest of the group.
Riku starts from the beginning, the night of the storm, his descent into darkness, her son’s journey through the light. He tells her about the missing memories and the sleeping pod. He tells her about Roxas and the other occupants of her son’s heart. He explains how Ventus plays a part in her son’s journey. They talk about Xehanort, about the Organization. They talk about dream worlds and keyblade graveyards. And he tells her about Kingdom Hearts. He tells her about the final showdown, and how her son defeated the greatest evil any of them have ever known. She cries through all of it, horrified that she had no idea what they were all going through. Riku looks sick, like he’s trying to convince himself not to throw up, and she realizes there’s more.
“Xehanort took Kairi. She was gone. We knew we had to get her back, but we wanted to step back and regroup. We wanted to make sure we had a game plan.”
“But he didn’t.”
Riku nods, his eyes closed and brows pinched. “He decided he couldn’t wait. Didn’t want to. He wanted to get her back, as soon as possible. And he wanted to go alone.”
Her breath catches in her throat. Her baby was out there, alone, fighting unknown evils. A sob wracks her body. Riku draws her close again, a surrogate son trying to comfort his surrogate mother. “Did he at least save her?” Her hands clench against his back, wrinkling his clothes but he doesn’t care.
Riku sighs and pulls away from her, pointing up to the curved paopu tree. Kairi is silhouetted against the setting sun, and she lets out a relieved breath. They watch Kairi for a moment before Riku speaks again.
“Would you like to meet the others? They all mean a great deal to Sora, and I’m sure they’d love to get to know you the way they know him.”
She tries not to flinch at the mention of her son’s name. Wiping her tears, she forces a smile, a look Riku has seen many times on a younger, more boyish face. “I think I’d like that.”