How long has it been? Waves lapped gently at his feet and legs. The night wind wove itself between the strands of his hair, dragging the ends through the sand.

When was the last time things were truly normal? The stars shone brightly, peeking around the sparse clouds. The stars… each one was a world all its own, with people and problems and all manner of traditions and music and cultures. Each one was unique. Most were ignorant of other worlds. And there were thousands. Millions even.

He sighed, his thoughts proving his point. Nothing was the same. It never would be. They had all changed. And would stay changed. A sad smile played on his features. Sora. He said it was over. Ansem was defeated, as well as Organization XIII, so all was well. That's what he said to Kairi, at least. He didn't bother to saying it to Riku. They both knew better.

Light and Darkness were Eternal, and people were imperfect. It would happen again. Sora was the Keyblade Master, and would be until the day he died. Sora knew it. It weighed heavily on his shoulders, and it showed.

Kairi knew it too. She always smiled and played along with Sora's optimistic words. Being the strength he desperately needed. But Riku saw the fear. The fear of Sora leaving and not coming back.

He clenched his fists in the sand. The disturbed particles sparking in the starlight. The moon was blissfully absent tonight. He'd rather not see every detail of his home right now. It didn't matter anyway. He knew it all without having to look. It was still… still the same. The same as it had been when he'd opened the door over three years ago. When he'd left, and taken his friends with him.

They were happy here. He hadn't been. So, he selfishly just took everything away. Kairi lost her heart. And Sora got forcibly thrust into a 'Save the Worlds' campaign. Couldn't he have just become an angsty teenager and just dealt with his problems like everyone else?

He looked at the stars again. Even now, he wanted to leave. To go somewhere else. There was nothing for him here. Short of Sora, Kairi, and himself, no one knew what had happened. But he had changed. Sora was still fundamentally Sora, if a little more matured. And Kairi was still herself. He had withdrawn into himself. Every time he looked at anyone, he could see all the trouble and pain he had caused. They avoided him. And he avoided them.

The wind changed, pulling his hair across his bare chest and into his face. He didn't belong here. He had changed, but the people hadn't. He and his father still didn't agree. After being gone so long, all he'd gotten from his father was a, "Where the hell have you been?" yelled angrily at his face. Well, nothing was right in that portion of his life.

He needed to bow off some energy. He stood; brushing sand off the shorts he used as pajamas, and waded into the water up to his waist. At that he dove into the ocean, swimming swiftly for the small island that stood away from the main ones.

Normally people used boats. The island was a little far away to swim. That never stopped Riku. Getting his boat meant his father, who never seemed to sleep.

He let the water calm him. Losing himself in physical exertion, simply existing in the rhythm of movement. The water sliding, flowing past easily. He coasted to a stop, twisting so he faced the sky. He floated on his back watching the stars. The familiar desire to find a way to leave stirred in his mind.

No.

Never again. He would not ever take that risk again. Sora was taking a well-deserved break. He smirked; if you could call term finals a break.

His fingertips dragged against sand at the bottom of the now shallow water. Riku had drifted to the small island that had served as their playground as children. He sat down, the water lapping smoothly around his torso, looking about at the place that held so many bittersweet memories.

Destiny Islands

He stood, his hair plastered to his back. Hair he had never bothered to cut. He pulled it forward, twisting it to squeeze most of the water from it. Now that he looked at it, it really was very long. It hung down past his waist, the ends brushed his upper thigh as he tossed it back over his shoulder.

Riku waded to shore. Taking in the simplicity of this place. He pushed his long bangs from his eyes, letting the sea wind caress his face. He'd always come here to get away. Away form homework, school, chores, his father, or whatever. A place to exist without the influence of the adults on the main islands.

So many memories. So many things. Riku walked slowly, in a daze of remembrance, toward a hole in a stone cliff face partially covered by vines. The sand, still warm from the sun, wrapped around his bare feet.

He ducked inside, hair dragging on the ground as the low, narrow passage forced him to crouch. The passage opened up into a small cavern, a place he had not visited in years.

His heart twisted at the pictures scratched onto the wall. He and Sora had put them there. Playing make believe adventures that took them far from home.

One of the pictures caught his eye. He recognized it, but it had been changed since he had last seen it. And how long ago was that?, a sneering voice reminded him. Riku ignored the voice and knelt down by the picture. The picture, when he had last seen it, had shown Kairi and Sora. He remembered Sora's pride when he had dragged Riku to the secret place to show him what he and Kairi had done. Riku recalled commenting on how good Kairi's was, and how Sora needed art lessons. Bad. Riku smiled at the memory. Neither of them could draw well, but he and Sora were always doing things like that. Making little pointless jabs at each other.

The picture, however, had been added to. Judging by the artwork, both Sora and Kairi had done it. The Sora and Kairi on the wall now were depicted feeding Paopu fruit to each other. He ran his fingers over the drawing.

"When two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They become a part of each other's lives. No matter what." Riku quoted. He smiled, hoping the drawing would come true.

He looked up from the cave wall, to the very back of the cave. There, placed into the wall, was a wooden door. A door without a knob or a handle, and it didn't open inward.

The door.

He sat there, going over memories in his head, trying to find the answers he was looking for. He didn't know when. When the memories became dreams, but he slept. Curled into a ball on the dirt floor of the cave, hair fanned out behind him, face contorted in sorrow and fear.

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Her hand slammed down on her alarm clock, cutting off the harsh sound.

She sat up, red hair ratted and messy from sleep. Kairi blinked a couple of times, yawned, and dragged herself out of bed.

After stumbling into her bathroom and after fumbling for the light, she faced herself in the mirror. She'd cut her hair recently, so she still wasn't quite used to her new look just yet. Not to mention the fact that the shorter layers were making a wonderful impersonation of Sora.

She fixed her hair and got dressed and ready for the day. Sora used to ask her why she got up so early. She just smiled and kept it to herself. Her mother always said, a girl's got to have her secrets.

If she didn't get up early, she wouldn't finish before school started. That was all she told him. He instantly asked, "Finish what?" But that, she had never said.

Kairi walked quietly down the street in the dark. It was only 5:00 so the sun wasn't quite up yet. She reached the dock where her boat was silently getting in and untying it.

She had begun this morning ritual after Sora and Riku had returned over a year ago. As a reminder of all that had happened to them. She didn't want to forget. It seemed wrong to her. All the friends they might never see again, the people who had died. It would be too easy to just… move on. But just because you couldn't see them everyday, didn't mean they stopped existing.

So everyday, before school, she rowed out to Destiny Islands, where all of this started.

It was a place to be alone, to think. No one was there this early, and she used the time to sort problems out. Everything from school to what she was going to do if Sora left again.

She tied off her boat at the dock, fixing her skirt, and headed off in the secret place.

Kairi took off her sandal and wiggled her toes in the sand, pleasantly cool. She ducked into the passage, brushing the dirt off her clothes as she entered the main cavern. She noticed something different, she wasn't alone this morning.

"Riku?" Upon closer inspection, she found him to be asleep. Curled into a tight ball, whimpering softly, and shivering a little with cold.

Kairi sat next to her friend. She wished she'd brought her coat or something to cover him with. He had no shirt and no shoes. And the shorts he was wearing were slightly damp, as was his hair. It was winter. Despite the fact that the days were warm, the nights could get kinda cold. Riku whimpered in his sleep, twisting Kairi's heart a little in her chest.

"You still haven't forgiven yourself, have you?" She said softly. She had thought he'd moved on. Gotten over it, or something, but he looked scared.

"Riku." She shook him lightly, "Riku." Kairi crooned. "Riku, come on, wake up." His dreams became more troubled, his whimpers became moans, his face contorted in fear and pain.

"No…" he muttered under his breath. Kairi shook him harder, hoping to wake him. "Stop…p-pleased."

"Riku!" Kairi shouted, concern lacing her voice.

"STOP!" Riku screamed lashing out at Kairi. He grabbed her arm forcing her to the ground, pressing his forearm aggressively to her throat, cutting off airflow in one smooth motion. His eyes were wide but unseeing, still wrapped in the tendril of his nightmare.

"Ri…ku…!" She gasped. Wake up! Wake up! She struggled against him but he was stronger and heavier than her. "Riku…"

Realization dawned in his green eyes, "Kairi?" He whispered slowly. She nodded quickly. Riku became aware of his Kairi-life-endangering position and leapt off her, landing on the other side of the cave. "Oh God. Are you okay?" His heavy pants echoed about the small space.

"I'm fine, Riku." She wheezed. When did he learn that? It was a reaction. It was practiced and smooth. When was he in a situation where those kinds of reflexes were necessary? He easily could have killed her. "I'm fine." She repeated her voice stronger. "Are you? You look cold."

He shrugged, "I've been worse." His long bangs hung in his face, concealing his expression from view. He was shivering and damp. Though she couldn't be sure the shivering was because of the cold.

"Did you sleep here?" The concern was evident in her voice.

He paused before nodding slowly. Riku's eyes were intent on watching the ground, the walls, the sky, anywhere but at Kairi.

"That bad, huh?" Kairi asked. Riku's family issues were well known between the three of them. Their severity hadn't been known until the time Riku had climbed into Sora's window, sporting a black eye, bloody lip, and tears. He had been twelve at the time.

"The usual." He sighed. A shiver ran down his spine. Damn, it was cold. His hair and shorts were still damp form his swim the night before and making it hard to get warm. "Nothing too bad. I left before it got too far." He rested his head in his hands, elbows on knees. His hair hung curtain-like around him, the early morning sun streaming through the hole in the roof, gilding it bright, liquid silver. Flowing from head to shoulders, rippling to puddle on the floor.

"Riku?"

"Hm?" He grunted, not moving.

"When was the last time you cut your hair?" She asked, walking over and lifting a section of hair away from his eyes.

"I haven't cut it since before we left." His eyes refused to meet hers. He shifted away a little.

"Well, you should."

"Huh?" He looked up at her standing figure, taken aback by her statement.

"The bangs at least," she continued, "You've got gorgeous eyes, why not show 'em off?" She sat next to him. "You know, it's funny, I didn't notice how long your hair was until just barely, but it's really long, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it is." His voice was dry with humor. Riku allowed himself to chuckle a little.

"Well," Kairi said glancing at her watch, "School starts in a bit and you have to go to work." She jokingly shook her finger at him. She looked him over, "And despite how sexy you look like that, you should probably change your clothes first."

"Yeah," he smiled, and then quickly looked embarrassed. "Uh… Kairi?"

"Hm?"

"Can I have a ride home?"

At that, all she could do was laugh.

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"Welcome to Island Burger, home of the Sunny Shake. May I take your order?" Riku intoned, forcing a smile. How could anyone smile working here? The little speech you had to make to EVERY customer was bad enough. Add the baseball cap, complete with palm tree protruding out the top, and it was simply humiliating.

The customer looked him over, trying to hold back laughter at his hairnet, and began to mutter out their order. Riku punched it in, mind elsewhere. He relayed the order to the kitchen and gave the customer their total. Once it arrived, he gave them their order. Mindless work. No thought required.

He was bored out of his mind.

It was Monday morning, there was next to nobody there, and he had not received a good sleep the night before.

After Kairi had helped him home (Riku was rowing) he'd quietly sneaked through his house trying to make as little noise as possible. His father had been found snoring heavily, passed out on the couch. Beer cans littered the floor and some woman Riku didn't recognize was straddling him, naked from the waist down.

Imagination not necessary.

Forcing the images and scenes into the back of his head, he tiptoed quickly upstairs to his room.

It was a mess. Nothing unexpected, especially considering he was hardly ever home long enough to clean it. Let's see now, where is that garish costume they dare call a 'uniform'?

Spotting it, he shoved it into his backpack, threw on a clean shirt (smelled clean anyway), slipped on his shoes, and headed out.

His mind was turned inward in an attempt to avoid looking at the couch scene again. In his avoidance, he crashed into a table, sending the plates precariously balanced on the edge to be shattered on the floor.

"Oh, shit." Riku froze. Sure enough his father woke at the crashing of glass on his floor. He turned, spotting Riku as he was edging toward the door.

"Riku!" His son stopped moving. "Finally decided to bring your sorry ass home, eh?" He stood, dumping the woman on the couch and zipping up his pants. His speech was horribly slurred.

"You're drunk. Go back to sleep." Riku said and moved to the door. Though outwardly calm, his heart beat hard and fast in his chest.

A knife lodged itself in the wall about an inch from Riku's nose. "You'll shtay dere until I shay oderwise, boy."

Riku stood still for a moment longer before bolting out the door, a second knife just missing the last of his hair as he rounded the corner.

He'd been late of course. After being shouted at and apologizing profusely he was set to cashier duty.

Hence how he was here in Fast Food Hell.

The door alert chimed as people entered the restaurant. Glancing up, he saw a familiar spiky brown head, and Kairi close behind. Oh, damn. You see, while he had told his friends he had a job, Riku had failed (intentionally) to mention where.

God, this was embarrassing.

"Hey, Rob, can I take a break?" He called back to the manager.

"After the lunch rush," was the reply.

In desperation Riku pulled his hat over his eyes and pitched his voice way higher than usual. "Welcome to Island Burger, home of the Sunny Shake. May I take your order?" Don't notice. Don't notice. Yeah, silver hair, oddly pale skin. Oh yeah, they're gonna look right past you. Yeah right.

"Riku?" Sora looked under Riku's hat to meet his eyes, mildly confused.

Riku let out a nervous laugh, "H-hey, Sora. What's up?"

"This is where you work?" He asked, folding his arms and pouting slightly. "Why didn't you tell—."

"Can we talk about this later?" Riku glanced over his shoulder at his manager. "I'm kinda being watched. May I take your order? He asked, quickly adopting his cheerful cashier persona.

"'Kay." Sora answered, stifling a chuckle, eyes locked on Riku's hat. Kairi was a little more composed, only once bursting into a fit of giggles while they ordered.

As she ate, Kairi watched Riku work. It was not the sort of job she would ever picture him having, but come to think of it, what could she see him doing? She went through a mental list of jobs that were available to post-high school kids. Over half were in restaurants or fast food joints, not good for Riku. He had a short temper and had no people skills. She glanced over at him politely taking someone's order, no active people skills, anyway.

The other jobs involved hard labor or phone surveys. Hard labor paid pretty well, and Riku was strong, but most of the people who worked there hated Riku. No, not a good choice. Other than his current job, that left phone surveys, which would bore Riku silly. Any other job required vocational training or a college education, neither of which Riku had the money for.

It seemed like Riku would be stuck here, in a job and life he hated forever. With the obvious exception of herself, most of the girl now avoided him. Unlike before, he was often moody and distant and despite his eye-catching good looks, was deemed 'not worth it' by most females. So he would also remain alone.

Thinking back, the occupation of 'Wandering Vagabond' had suited him nicely. Being able to go wherever he wished, helping where he saw fit, stayed where he wanted, and leaving when he felt like it. Not tied to any one place.

"…ri?"

"Huh?" Kairi snapped out of her reverie.

"Are you awake? You're kinda zoned out." Sora smiled.

"Yeah, just thinking."

"Well, lunch is gonna end soon so we should probably head back to class." Sora picked up their garbage and walked to the trash. Kairi watched him as he walked. He—of course—had grown. He was taller, though still shorter than Riku. His shoulders had broadened, and he no longer had the awkward look of a child. But the biggest change was his eyes. They were deep, mature, and held the glint of someone who had experienced pain and seen suffering. But he was still Sora. A complete goofball.

Much to her horror, the bell finalizing lunch rang in the distance.

"Sora! We're late!"

Riku watched his friends bolt out the door with a smile on his face. A smile which turned to restrained laughter when the swinging door Kairi had opened whipped back to whack Sora in the face.

"…ir? Excuse me, sir?"

He started at the customer trying to get his attention, he responded with an eloquent, "Huh? Oh. Welcome to Island Burger, home of the Sunny Shake. May I take your order?"

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"Hey, Sora?" Kairi asked as they sprinted toward school, "Wanna meet me after school? I've got something to talk to you about."

"Sure." He replied. While her voice had been slightly breathless, his was sure and steady. Obviously in better shape. "I'll meet you then by the flag pole!" Smiling brightly Sora turned on to a different path, running to his class on the other end of campus.

Kairi smiled back, waving as she tried to formulate an excuse to give her anal English teacher.

By the time Sora managed to leave the school house, Kairi was waiting for him. The bright afternoon sun accentuated the reds in her hair and the healthy glow of her skin. Beautiful. He dashed over to her, his heart nearly skipping a beat when she spotted him and smiled.

"Hey, Kairi." He said when he caught up to her and they started walking. "What's up? You wanted to talk to me, right?"

"Have you talked to Riku lately?" She asked her eyes unreadable.

"Not really. Between school and him working full time, he's kinda hard to get a hold of. But hey, at least now we know where he works!" He said cheerfully. Typical Sora. Definitely a glass-half-full kinda guy. "Why?"

"I'm worried about him. We never see him and he doesn't hang out with anyone else. I don't want him to be all alone." Kairi was thinking about something specific, and Sora wished he knew. What ever it was, it was troubling her.

Sora sighed. Granted, he hadn't seen Riku in a while, but he still knew Riku the best. He had problems letting go of past mistakes. Riku hadn't been happy on the island to start with, and now it was one constant reminder of all the mistakes he had made. And boy, had he made some mistakes.

"Kairi, did something happen?" Sora asked. "To Riku I mean." Kairi looked at him as if considering something.

"Sora, remember when you asked why I get up so early?"

"Yeah."

"Well," she looked slightly embarrassed. Their walk had taken them to the dock where they often left their boats. "Why don't I show you?" She took Sora to her boat and had him paddle out while she talked. "I go out to our island where we all used to play together. To the secret place." She fell silent for a moment staring out at the open water. "It's kinda like paying my respects. We've met so many people we may never see again. And we've been through so much, it just seems wrong to let it fade away."

Their boat had reached the dock on the smaller island, Sora tied it off and helped Kairi out. She smiled at him and took his hand in hers. She led him to the end of the dock and sat, pulling Sora down to sit next to her.

Sora had to admit, he missed this. The ocean wind tugging at his hair, sun warm on his face, and watching the world go by with someone you love.

"So, what happened?" Sora asked.

"When I went there this morning, I found Riku sleeping there. He was having a nightmare, and he looked like he was in pain." It wasn't all that happened, but she wasn't sure how Sora would take that.

"Whatever has happened to him, and he won't tell me all of it, still haunts him."

"What do we do?"

"Not much we can do. Riku will get over stuff in his own time. No one has ever gotten Riku to do anything he didn't want to do." Sora said, grinning broadly.

"That's true." Kairi admitted, smiling back. Sora could put her at ease so easily. One grin from him and for a moment, all her worries faded into the background.

"Hey, let's go for a walk. After Mrs. Hutchin's geography lesson, I need to stretch my legs!" Sora hopped up and extended his hand to Kairi, an inviting smile on his face. Kairi accepted his hand, allowing herself to be helped up.

They walked along the shore, talking about this or that, or just talking about nothing. Life, for the time being, was simple, and he never wanted to let go of her hand.

That's how the rest of the day went; just spending time with one another as if nothing was wrong. The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, casting a red-gold light over their world. Something glinted in the evening sun, washed up on the shore. Sora bent and picked it up examining it and feeling his heart sink low in his chest.

It was a bottled message.

A message stamped with the King's seal.

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Finally, it was closing time. It was too long in coming, and he was more than ready to get out of there. He was probably in desperate need of a mirror; he definitely had a bad case of hat/hairnet hair.

"Riku!" His head snapped up from the table he had been cleaning to meet the eyes of his boss. "Finish that and come talk to me."

"Yes, sir." Riku grimaced mentally. Shit. Now what did I do? He finished the tables, taking his time, postponing whatever was waiting for him, and walked into his boss's office, nervous as hell.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" He asked.

His boss sighed. "Riku, there have been some customer complaints regarding you. You are making customers nervous." He reached into a drawer, pulling out an envelope with Riku's name on it. His boss handed Riku the envelope, "Here, it's your paycheck."

"But I'm not supposed to be paid for another--."

"Riku," he interrupted, "you're fired. You're costing me business."

"But—."

"Return your uniform and get out of my office." Without looking at Riku, he gave a dismissive gesture and without another word, returned to his paperwork.

Riku slumped against a wall, allowing himself to sink to the ground. Now what was he going to do? He couldn't go home, had no job, and very, very little money. The wind picked up, whipping his hair wildly about him. The street lamp illuminated him, beset by this state of affairs. He sat with his arms wrapped tightly around his legs and his rested on his knees with fatigue. It barely registered when a shadow blocked his light. Sighing, he lifted his head to meet the eyes of a grinning Sora.

"Sora?" The Keyblade Master held up a bottle, complete with a message stamped by the King.

"You look like you could use a vacation."