Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories The Novel (light novel) Page 21

  “I don’t have anyone.”

  No one at all.

  “Oh. So you’re all alone… Whoa!” Pinocchio’s nose grew longer again. “Hey, no fair! Don’t trick me into telling lies!”

  Laughing, Pinocchio held his nose, trying to push it back down.

  “You’re not alone.” It felt like Riku could hear King Mickey’s voice again.

  But no one ever stays with me. I’m always alone. I believe in him…but I’m still so alone.

  “So you’re not alone, either!” Finally, Pinocchio’s nose shrank back down to its normal size. He rubbed it, giggled—and then disappeared.

  “…I am too alone,” Riku mumbled and kept walking.

  Why am I alone? he wondered. Is it because I lost my heart to the darkness? But I fought it back once. That isn’t good enough? That’s not enough for me to see Kairi and Sora?

  What do I have to do to see them again? What do I have to do so the three of us can be laughing together again?

  He didn’t know.

  All he knew was that he just had to keep moving forward. He had to find out what the truth was. And then, he’d understand what he had to do.

  “…So what if I’m alone.” He kicked at a weird, flabby lump on the wall.

  The lump split open and Heartless poured out.

  “Oh, so you guys are still with me, huh?” Riku stood ready with Soul Eater. They attacked him from every which way, and he jumped up high and brought the sword down on a Heartless.

  A heart floated up from it as it turned to light and disappeared. The Heartless he’d once commanded.

  If it wasn’t for the Heartless—and all these people trying to use them—maybe we could have made it to the outside world on that tiny little raft.

  He recalled the night of the storm…

  When the storm came, I went out to the little islet, to make sure the raft didn’t float away.

  I was running through the driving rain, trying to get to the inlet, and then I noticed that a great big door had appeared in front of our secret spot. What’s a door doing there…? I thought, and just then, someone whispered to me—

  “You want to see other worlds, don’t you?”

  I turned and a man in a black cloak was standing there.

  “The door will soon open. You have nothing to fear. There is no need to fear the darkness. Now, go… Riku.”

  I never hesitated. Nothing could hold back my longing to see the outside world.

  “Riku!”

  Kairi must have come to the islet with the raft in mind, too. She came running up to me.

  “…cess……art.”

  “…What?”

  The man in the cloak said something, but I couldn’t hear it over the pounding waves. He was looking at Kairi, though, and now I know what it was he said.

  A Princess of Heart.

  “Riku! The raft’ll get washed away!”

  “Never mind the raft, Kairi! There’s another way to go to the outside world!”

  “Huh?” She stared at me, looking confused. “What about Sora?”

  Right. Because Kairi would only think of Sora.

  But I was the same way. When Sora and I were together, we could go anywhere. I really believed that. And then, with Kairi, who had to know something about the outside world…together, there was nowhere we couldn’t go.

  “Sora and Kairi can come, too, can’t they?” I said to the man in the black cloak. He nodded silently—then, he seemed to vanish into the door.

  “Hey, Riku… What was that about…?”

  It was raining so hard by then that I could hardly make out Kairi’s expression.

  “Kairi, you wait here by the door. I’ll go get Sora!”

  “Riku! Wait!”

  I ignored her protest and started to run.

  To get Sora. That’s where I was going.

  Sora! Sora! Hey, Sora! We can leave this world right now!

  He came worrying about the raft, too. I found him soon.

  “Where’s Kairi? I thought she was with you!”

  The first thing he said to me was about her.

  “The door has opened,” I told him.

  “Riku?” He stopped in his tracks. He was looking at me strangely, too.

  “The door is open, Sora. Now we can go to the outside world!”

  Sora was only ever thinking about Kairi. And Kairi was only ever thinking about Sora. But now that would change.

  “Kairi’s coming with us!” I shouted. “Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. But this might be our only chance. We can’t let fear stop us! I’m not afraid of the darkness!”

  I reached out my hand for him.

  Come on, Sora—let’s go!

  “…Riku?” He looked just a little bit nervous as he tried to take my hand.

  I had no idea what was happening around me right then. I never even glanced at it. All I cared about was that Sora was right there, and I was reaching for him.

  Just a little bit more and he would make it. “…Sora…”

  The moment I called his name—that was when I noticed the darkness swirling around me. Darkness was covering my body…but there was no need to be afraid of it!

  And then…covered in darkness…everything went dark…and the next thing I knew, I was standing in Hollow Bastion.

  And ever since that moment, I’ve been alone, Riku thought. Why didn’t I notice that the darkness was taking hold of me? I couldn’t even see anything else.

  “Take that!” Riku swung Soul Eater and knocked back the Heartless in his way.

  What went wrong? How did I end up so alone?

  Riku took out the Heartless one after another, blocking out his own thoughts.

  On the first floor of Castle Oblivion…

  Sora stood in the white hall.

  “We gotta if we’re gonna find the king,” Donald Duck murmured.

  “The king’s here?” said Goofy. Sora turned back to them.

  “Well, I don’t know for sure,” Donald said stubbornly. “Something just told me he’d be here, okay?”

  “Aw, shucks…” Goofy’s shoulders drooped. “But now that ya mention it, I was kinda thinkin’ the same thing!”

  “You too, Goofy?” said Sora. “So was I!”

  The strange feeling he’d had before they walked into the castle…it was a hunch that he might meet someone here.

  “One look at this castle and I just knew. Our very best friends…they’re here.” Sora stared up at the door atop the stairs.

  Maybe—no, definitely. They’d find their friends. He was sure of it. Riku was somewhere in this castle…

  Vexen stayed in the gloomy chamber, carrying out some kind of work. A puppet came tumbling in front of him. It had no face and no clothes. Vexen smiled a twisted smile at it.

  “I have identified the scent,” said a voice from behind him. Vexen turned to see Zexion standing there. “It is Riku.”

  “The scent…? Oh, the other presence that appeared beside Maleficent.” Vexen considered this. “But Riku—he was stuck with the king behind the Door of Darkness. How could he have escaped?”

  Impossible. Riku must have vanished in there.

  “His being was once merged with the darkness,” Zexion replied, detached and clinical. “And he may be closer to the darkness now.”

  “Fascinating… So that’s why you mistook him for the Superior. The dark power given to Riku must have facilitated his escape from its realm. Quite a specimen—connected to both the Keyblade and the darkness. We’ll need more data.” Vexen turned back to the puppet.

  “What I would like to know is why he appeared here in Castle Oblivion,” said Zexion.

  Vexen laughed over his shoulder. “Oh, that’s really quite simple. His existence resonates with that of another hero.”

  “Sora, you mean?”

  “The very same. He arrived earlier. By now, that scoundrel Marluxia must have set his plan in motion—using Naminé’s powers to meddle with Sora’s heart.”
Vexen sounded glad about it, for some reason.

  Zexion listened quietly.

  “It seems he desperately wants the Keyblade master for himself. Well, he can have his silly plots. While he plays around with Sora, we’ll have Riku all to ourselves. The entity that holds real value is the one so much like our Superior—Riku, the hero of darkness!”

  With that, Vexen resumed his work, making an adjustment to the puppet in front of him. Zexion kept on watching.

  No matter how far he kept going, he only ran into more Heartless.

  “Why…” Riku kept swinging Soul Eater as if he could cut through the misgivings in his own heart.

  Maybe I’m only finding Heartless because nothing but darkness remains in my heart.

  I met Pinocchio, though. So there must be others around somewhere, too.

  But I’m supposed to find you here—Sora.

  Heartless after Heartless turned to light and disappeared. Where do they go when they disappear? he wondered. Do they go back to the realm of darkness? If I disappear, will the same thing happen to me?

  Riku eradicated the last of them and stood catching his breath.

  Just then, an enormous round mass fell down from the ceiling.

  “What is that?!” Riku jumped back and held Soul Eater ready again.

  It was a huge Heartless—the Parasite Cage. Long arms flailed out from its squat round body, and its teeth gnashing together looked like prison bars over the gaping mouth.

  “Perfect. I’m in the mood to hit something!” Riku ran straight at it. But as he did, black mist rose up around him. “Huh…?”

  He stopped and saw that his hands were swathed in darkness—and his whole body.

  “What’s happening to me?” he muttered, and the Parasite Cage swiped at him with its arm. “Ngh—!”

  But it didn’t knock him over. It was like he simply absorbed the attack—he was still standing. And now there was a black cloak covering him.

  “What…?”

  The Parasite Cage lashed at him again, trying to push him over, and Riku brought Soul Eater down on its arm. He could feel the terrible power in that strike. And this cloak—it was the same as when Ansem had taken hold of him. So this darkness was…

  “I simply tempered the darkness that yet remains in your heart.” That was what Ansem had told him.

  “The darkness in my heart is making me stronger?” Staring at his hand, Riku bit his lip. The Parasite Cage attacked again. But it didn’t even scratch him. He leaped up and brought Soul Eater down on its head.

  The Parasite Cage let out a terrible shriek and dissolved into sparks of light. Darkness swirled around Riku, the same as before he found himself wearing the ink-black cloak, and then his outfit returned to normal.

  “The power of…darkness…”

  That strength, that speed—everything was much more than he knew he usually had in him. A shiver ran up his spine. Am I going to be swallowed up by the darkness…?

  He felt like the stench of darkness that clung to him had gotten stronger, too.

  A door appeared where the Parasite Cage had vanished. His fists clenched hard, Riku walked through it.

  He emerged into another hall of marble.

  But unlike before, a man was standing there waiting for him. “You must be Riku.”

  “Are you with Ansem?” Riku didn’t take a fighting stance with Soul Eater, but only stared hard at the man.

  He was sickly pale, with long hair, and wore some kind of black cloak, which looked familiar to Riku. And one thing was certain—the man stank of darkness, too.

  “Well… You are half correct. But let us say he is not the Ansem with whom you are familiar. He is Ansem and he is not Ansem. Perhaps the best way to say it is…Nobody.”

  The man stepped slowly toward him.

  “Nobody? Hmph,” Riku snorted. “I’m not in the mood for riddles. Try again.”

  “He belongs to neither the light nor the dark, but walks the twilight between. How is that?”

  Belonging to neither—he can’t belong. Riku thought that sounded like…himself.

  “Heh-heh… Catching on now? Oh yes—you also stand between the light and the darkness. As well as myself. It seems we have some things in common.”

  “Maybe.” Riku raised Soul Eater, then. “So what? Are you going to tell me to join you? Like you said, there really is darkness still inside me. But it’s my enemy! And so are you for reeking of that awful smell!”

  “Oh, so it’s a fight you want? Very well! I’ll oblige!” A huge blue shield appeared in the man’s hand.

  “Fine with me.” Riku rushed at him—but the man vanished right in front of his face. “What?!”

  “Over here.”

  The spikes on the edge of the shield raked Riku’s back. He winced.

  “Not that I needed to tell you. Ha! Now freeze!”

  Huge crystals of ice flew at Riku, one after another. He couldn’t evade all of them.

  “So this is all you’ve got without the power of darkness?” the man taunted.

  “No!” Riku shouted, hunched over.

  “Go ahead, use the darkness—you have what it takes, after all.”

  “I hate the darkness! And I won’t use it!”

  “Ha-ha… Well, that works, too.” The man laughed louder and lunged at Riku.

  With a short cry of rage, Riku lifted Soul Eater and barely managed to ward off the blow.

  “Yes, feel your anger—show me the darkness inside you!”

  “I—won’t…!” he ground out, and dark mist began to close around him. “No…”

  Chuckling, the man smoothly backed away.

  “…Why you…”

  So the darkness would just leak out of his heart, he thought, as if it took a cue from the anger he showed on his face…

  In despair, Riku saw himself change again.

  “There, now we’re equal—well, that is, we will be if you can learn to use the dark power the way it’s meant to be used. Shall we?”

  The man closed in and struck with his shield—but this time Riku swung Soul Eater to meet it and the shield went flying from his hand.

  “Splendid!” The shield vanished before it hit the floor. “The darkness coursing through you is growing in its formidable power—well worth the trouble of aggravating you.”

  Riku glared back at the man, motionless. “So it was a trick all along.”

  “All the excitement has provided me with invaluable data. I should thank you, Riku!” And then, with a high cruel laugh, the man disappeared.

  “Ugh…” The strength left him and Riku collapsed to his knees. “Why…?”

  This black cloak, as if he was clothed in darkness—and Soul Eater charged with a dark glow.

  Do I really have nothing but the darkness to give me strength…?

  “I remember!” Sora blurted.

  Donald turned to look at him. “Remember what?”

  “There was another girl!” said Sora as if to convince himself.

  “What? A girl? Where?” Goofy looked around for her.

  “No, no, I mean on the islands, where I used to live.” Sora ran back to Donald and Goofy.

  Goofy realized that Sora was talking about the place where he’d grown up with his friends. “Oh, you mean, uh… Des… Dusty… What was it again?”

  “Destiny Islands! Besides Kairi and Riku, there was one other girl I was friends with. The four of us played together all the time.” And Sora began to tell them what he remembered…

  CHAPTER 3

  RIKU

  ZEXION STOOD PERFECTLY STILL, ARMS FOLDED, IN the middle of the dim chamber.

  Lexaeus appeared with a frown and scanned the room, then whirled to face Zexion and stepped closer. “Where’s Vexen?”

  “He is finishing the replica, based on the data from Riku,” Zexion replied with the briefest of glances.

  When the replica was complete, then they would have a chance of victory.

  “And what’s happening to Sora?” Lexae
us demanded, not wasting a moment.

  “Naminé’s powers are being used to shuffle his memories. Marluxia may well succeed in creating his puppet. We can’t trust Larxene, either.”

  They knew that Marluxia and Larxene were up to something. And there was one other man who had control of the topside of Castle Oblivion…

  “Or Axel,” Lexaeus said as if the name was distasteful. “Who knows what that one’s thinking?”

  “We should stay out of it for now, and then speak of this to Vexen,” Zexion said in a tone meant to be calming and finally looked at Lexaeus.

  Vexen had a higher-ranking number in the organization than either of them. The numbers did not directly correspond to strength or position, but ever since they first met, Vexen had been more or less a senior member to them.

  That was from when they still had been themselves—when they were people called Even, Aeleus, and Ienzo. And it just didn’t make sense to let that fall apart. So long as that man is the first in the organization, we will remain bound to that world, Lexaeus thought.

  “But Vexen despises Marluxia,” he said, averting his gaze from Zexion’s. “Think of the mess that would make.”

  “So we must tell him. Isn’t it better for Vexen to clean up the mess rather than leave it to us?” Smiling faintly, Zexion looked down.

  The world through the door was one Riku knew. He walked onto the swaying deck, placing each step firmly. At some point the darkness enveloping him had receded, and he had changed back to normal again.

  “The power of darkness…,” Riku mumbled and looked up to where the moon hung in the sky. He could hear the sound of the waves against the ship—Captain Hook’s ship.

  Here, in a little cabin, he had watched Kairi in her unmoving, sleeplike state.

  Riku’s hair gleamed silver in the moonlight, ruffled by the sea breezes. He climbed the stairs up to the quarterdeck. From there he could see out over the whole ship.

  “Sora…” He murmured the name of his friend, who couldn’t possibly be here.

  There was no one to be seen at all. Riku clenched his fists and closed his eyes. Behind them, what came up was the image of Sora, calling to him as he stood there on the quarterdeck.