Larxene folded her arms. “Now, what are you doing?” she asked as if it could hardly concern her.
“His memory is still in the process of being rewritten… And if the helix of his memories should break down in the midst of that process, the Replica himself will break down. Isn’t that so, Naminé?”
“Yes…,” Naminé’s tiny voice replied. She stared at the boy who was white as a sheet.
“So, all we have to do is complete his memories and send him to do battle with the hero,” said Vexen and left with Naminé in tow.
Make it stop…
Feeling as if she heard a feeble voice, Naminé turned.
“…Replica…?”
“What is it, Naminé?” Vexen asked.
She closed her eyes for a brief moment, then followed him.
CHAPTER 5
RIVAL
RIKU RAN. AND SOMEWHERE IN THE CITY STREETS he ran down, there was a place he knew.
He had come here once with Maleficent.
Traverse Town. A city of meetings…and he had crossed paths with Sora here.
It was always full of people, a bustling lively city.
Riku stopped and peered into a little window where warm light streamed out. That time…he’d seen Sora smiling. Sora laughing with his new friends… Riku didn’t really want to remember it.
All that filled his heart was regret. Why hadn’t he done something then…?
The boy stood beside the small brick house. Light spilled from the window into the dim streets.
Sora was inside. The boy stared intently at the scene.
“You see? It’s just as I told you. While you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with some new companions.”
A woman was speaking from behind him—Maleficent.
I just stood there, gazing into the window, and I couldn’t move. I could see Sora laughing with his friends. He hadn’t found Kairi yet, but he was smiling all the same.
Smiling with other people who weren’t us.
I was just so angry…and lonely…and sad…
“Evidently, he values them far more than he does you,” murmured Maleficent.
Is that true? Maybe it is.
Maybe Sora’s already forgotten about me.
About me…? Me? Who’s me?
“You’re better off without that wretched boy. Now, think no more of him, and come with me. I’ll help you find what you’re searching for…Riku.”
Right. I’m Riku.
I’m best friends with Sora and Kairi… Wait—we had one more friend.
Who was it? I can’t remember…
The gloom of the city street slowly grew, staining everything…and darkness enveloped the boy.
Naminé sat on the sandy beach, drawing pictures. Sora and himself and Kairi grinned up from her sketchbook.
“How come you’re not in the picture, Naminé?” said the boy, peering at the page.
“Because…I can’t see my own face.”
“Oh.” The boy thought that was kind of sad.
Of course Naminé can’t see herself when she’s together with us, laughing. That’s just the way it is, but…
“How about I draw you, then?”
“Huh?”
The boy picked up Naminé’s crayons and started drawing.
Himself and Naminé smiling. A great big shining sun over their heads.
We were always laughing together. The two of us… We were happy.
“How’s this?” The boy showed her the sketchbook page, where he’d drawn their laughing faces.
It wasn’t anywhere near as good as Naminé’s drawing, but she smiled sweetly. “Thanks, Riku.”
The sound of the waves on the shore was so nice… The moment he thought that, shouting rang out from somewhere.
“Wha…?”
The boy turned, and suddenly, beneath his feet, the scene changed from the sandy beach to a cliff…and an enormous beast was after him.
He desperately leaped out of the way and then slashed out at the beast with the sword in his hand. Growling, it fell.
“Riku! Stop!”
It was Sora shouting at him. Slowly he turned.
“So you finally made it. About time. I’ve been waiting for you, Sora.” The boy looked down at him, speaking calmly. “We’ve always been rivals, haven’t we? You’ve always pushed me, and I’ve always pushed you.”
That’s right…we were always fighting. Scrambling after everything, against one another.
“But it all ends here,” he went on. “There can’t be two chosen ones.”
“What are you talking about?”
He smiled faintly at Sora. I’m…strong, he told himself. I’m going to protect Naminé and Kairi. I’m going to protect this world.
“Let the Keyblade choose its true master!” the boy said and reached out his hand.
The Keyblade shook in Sora’s grasp, as if an implacable force tried to drag it away from him. With a flash of light, it disappeared.
And then, the boy’s fingers closed tight around the shining Keyblade.
“You don’t have what it takes to save Kairi. It’s up to me. Only the Keyblade master can open the secret door…and change the world.” He lifted the Keyblade high, pointing it skyward. And then, darkness spread out from it, and the world spun and tilted.
Gasping for breath as he ran, the boy asked himself why.
He’d made the Keyblade his. But it had returned to Sora.
Is Sora really stronger than me…? Or is it something else?
We were always rivals. And I always won.
Except when it was about that…about Kairi.
Maybe I’m really no match for him, after all…
“Know this.” The voice came from close behind him. “The heart that is strong and true shall win the Keyblade.”
“Who’s there?!” He whirled to see a man in a dark hooded cloak.
“The Keyblade chooses. And it will not choose one without a strong heart.”
“Are you saying my heart’s weaker than his?!”
“For that instant, it was.”
The boy looked down in frustration. The hooded man stepped closer.
“However, you can become stronger. You showed no fear in stepping through the Door of Darkness. It held no terror for you. Plunge deeper into the darkness…and your heart will grow even stronger.”
The boy shook his head. “What should I do…?”
“It’s really quite simple. Open yourself to the darkness—that is all.” The man slowly raised a hand toward him, and a dark glow surrounded his body. “Let your heart itself become all-encompassing darkness…”
And as the man spoke, the boy felt the power within him.
Power to defeat anyone. The power of darkness.
With darkness on my side…I’ll never lose.
And then the boy kept running.
He was in the darkness again.
Nothing but pitch-black darkness. He had no idea which way to go.
His existence, his voice, his heart…it felt like everything would be swallowed up by the darkness.
Had he been here before…? The boy cocked his head.
The boy heard a voice call out. “Riku!”
Right… My name is Riku…
“Riku!”
He listened for the voice in the darkness. Who was it…?
He weakly opened his eyes, and sunlight streamed in. Too bright…
“Riku!”
“Whoa!”
Naminé’s face suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. He sat bolt upright.
“Don’t scare me like that, Naminé.”
“Aw, you’re the one who got scared, Riku,” said Naminé, but she looked a little sad. “You seemed kind of upset, that’s all.”
“I was dreaming… Some kind of dark thing was giving me this power…”
“Well, I bet you’ll get stronger on your own.” But even as she said that, there was still a trace of sorrow in her face
.
“Sora will, too,” the boy replied.
Naminé shook her head. “No… You’re going to be the stronger one. Besides, Sora is… Hey, Riku?”
“What?”
The boy stood up, brushing sand from his pants.
“What if I tell him…? What if I tell Sora it’s his fault I’m leaving the islands…?”
“What’re you talking about, Naminé? You’re not going anywhere,” the boy laughed.
She won’t go anywhere. We’re all going to stay on the islands and keep playing together.
“Actually, I…”
Bit by bit, Naminé seemed to fade in front of him.
“Hey—Naminé?!”
“…I’m sorry, Riku… I mean… Rep…li……”
“Naminé?!” he cried. But then, he fell once more into darkness.
Naminé stood in front of the machinery.
There wasn’t very much left. Only a little more tweaking to do with his memory… But…
The moment she reached out to touch the panel, someone spoke from behind her. Naminé’s shoulders jumped.
“What are you doing, Naminé? You weren’t about to mess with that fake’s memories on your own time, were you?”
Slowly Naminé turned around to see who addressed her.
It was Larxene, standing there with a little smirk. “Cat got your tongue again?”
Naminé turned away again and looked at the boy’s face displayed on the monitor.
Conversion – 87 percent complete
“Go, guys!” Kairi shouted.
The clack of wooden swords meeting echoed down the beach.
The boy blocked Sora’s attack with a cocky smile. “Gotcha!” he cried and flung Sora back.
Sora went sprawling onto the sand and then found the end of the other boy’s wooden sword at his throat.
“Aw, man…” Sora sighed and raised his hands in surrender.
“You’ve still got a ways to go, huh, Sora?” said the boy, grinning, and grasped Sora’s hand to help him up.
Sora grinned back and let the boy pull him to his feet. “Watch out! I’ll beat you next time!”
“Yeah, you think so?” the boy replied with a smirk and threw his wooden sword on the beach.
They always had sword fights, but actually, the swords were just pieces of driftwood that had washed ashore. Neither of them had ever touched a real blade.
Selphie had been watching their battle, too. She ran over to them. “Gee, Riku, you’re really good!”
“My turn next!” Tidus picked up the piece of driftwood from the sand.
“All right! I got you this time!” Still clutching the stick in his hand, Sora raised it at Tidus.
The boy watched them, his spirits high.
The boy stood in the unending darkness.
“Again…?”
He didn’t know how many times he’d been standing here like this.
What made the deepest impression in his uncertain memory was only this inky expanse of darkness.
Amid that, Sora and Kairi and Naminé would float up and vanish.
“You’ll wake up soon,” someone said.
The boy looked around.
“What is your name?” asked the voice out of the darkness.
“My name is…Riku.” As he answered, he could see a light up ahead of him.
“Then, close the door, and come forward.”
“How? What’s happening?”
“Go and you will understand.”
The boy obeyed and began to run toward the light.
The source of the glow was an enormous door, from where light shone out. He stood in front of it and tried with all his might to pull it closed.
“This is like…”
The moment he said that, his vision warped and swam.
“Huh…?”
When he came to, he was pushing with all his might on an enormous door.
We changed places…? No, that’s not right… This is me.
“Take care of her, Sora,” the boy told the one on the other side of the door.
He couldn’t really see, but it felt like Sora nodded.
I can leave Kairi to Sora… And I’ll protect Naminé.
Just as the door inched closed, a terrible roaring sound rose up. The ground beneath their feet began to crumble… And then a rain of light was falling. Shooting stars blazed across the sky. The boy looked up at them in a daze.
These shooting stars are just like…
“Riku… I’m scared.”
They were standing on the island’s little dock—him and Naminé—looking up at the sky together.
That sky was full of shooting stars, far too many to count, falling like a deluge of light.
“Just now, were you…?”
“I’m scared…”
The boy tried to tell Naminé that something was strange, but seeing her so afraid, he clammed up. Was I only dreaming?
“It’s all right… I’ll protect you,” he said.
“Really? What if a falling star hits the island?”
“If any falling stars come this way, I’ll protect you!” He grinned at her.
“…Promise?” Naminé said in her tiny voice.
“I promise,” he told her steadily.
Then, at last, she smiled…and held out a star-shaped pendant for him. “Here… So you don’t forget our promise.”
It was a charm made out of a paopu fruit.
“They say that if you wear this kind of fruit, you’ll never ever be parted from the one you love,” she said.
“That’s just…,” the boy started but took the pendant and looped it around his neck.
“So, no matter what happens, we’ll always be able to find each other again.” Namine smiled…and her smile blurred again in his vision.
The sound of the waves rushed sweetly in his ears.
Watching the sunset from the islet, the boy let his thoughts wander. What was she doing these days, that girl whose name sounded soft like the waves?
The boy stared at the good luck charm she had given him.
“Hey, Riku, whatcha got?” Sora poked his head over and peered at the star-shaped thing in the palm of Riku’s hand. “Wow, it’s a paopu fruit!”
The boy tucked away the charm, trying to hide it from Sora, and stared out at the ocean again.
“C’mon, what’s the big deal? It is, isn’t it?”
“…None of your business.”
For some reason, Sora just didn’t remember Naminé at all.
Probably because he didn’t want to remember what a horrible thing he’d done, the boy thought. Because Naminé had left soon after that day…when Sora tore up her sketchbook.
And every time the boy thought of Naminé…he hated Sora’s cheerfulness just a little bit more.
“Lemme see!”
“No.”
Sora poked at him until he found the charm. “Huh? It’s a pendant?”
“Give it back!”
“Who gave it to you?” Sora taunted, running away with it clutched in his hand.
“Quit it!” he shouted, and just then Sora tripped. The charm fell to the ground. The boy picked it up and glared angrily. “You know, Sora, you’re out of line.”
“What? You’re the one trying to keep it a secret! You don’t wanna tell me because a girl gave it to you, huh?”
Sora always seemed to read his mind without even trying, barging in on his heart. The boy hated that about him.
It wasn’t that he really hated Sora… But he just couldn’t be that straightforward himself, and he envied that, so much it made him sick…
The boy gazed at the charm in the light of the setting sun.
Conversion – 100 percent complete
A yellow star-shaped charm made from a paopu fruit rested in the palm of his hand.
“Where am I…?”
The boy—the Replica—regained consciousness. He was standing in a room made all of marble. But he had the unnerving sense of something no
t quite right.
“What’s the matter, Naminé?”
Hearing that name, the Replica looked up.
Naminé… Right. Yes, that was it.
“Why so glum? Is there something troubling you?” Larxene teased. “You feel just awful about tinkering with Sora’s memory—is that it? Or maybe—”
The boy stepped right in front of her. “Cut it out, Larxene. Naminé doesn’t want to remember Sora.”
“Oh… I get it.” Larxene shrugged.
“Don’t worry,” he told Naminé. “Whatever’s hurting you, I’ll make it go away. I swear on the good luck charm you gave me.”
She only looked at the Replica with her eyes full of sorrow.
“See you,” he said and left the room.
Another marble hall—by now it was a familiar scene.
The Replica kept on waiting for Sora.
This time…he had to defeat Sora. That thought and nothing else filled up his mind.
At the slight sound of footsteps, he looked up and said, “Can’t you take a hint, Sora? I told you to go home.”
Sora stopped, smiling at him. “Not till I rescue you and Naminé!”
“I don’t remember ever asking you to rescue me.” The Replica raised his sword.
That’s right—we don’t need to be rescued! he thought. I’m going to stay here in Castle Oblivion, with Naminé…
“But Kairi’s waiting for you to come home!” That was one of the king’s retainers, from behind Sora—Goofy, that was it.
“Kairi…,” the Replica murmured. That girl was so faint in his memory.
But I have Naminé, he told himself.
“That’s right! Kairi’s waiting,” said Sora.
The Replica snorted. Riku snorted. “You’re the one who forgot. I told you, when we closed the door to Kingdom Hearts…‘Take care of Kairi.’ Give it up. I’m not going back to the islands. Not for anything.”
“It’s not just for Kairi!” said Sora, still trying desperately. “What about all our other friends?!”
All our other friends—maybe there had been some others, too. But, like Kairi, he could hardly remember them at all.
“You can have those losers,” the Replica shrugged. “I already forgot ’em.”
“Hey! That’s enough!” Sora shouted.
“What about you, Sora? Do you actually remember what they all look like? Their voices?”
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories The Novel (light novel) Page 24