Rating: K+Pairings: if any Riku/Sora, Sora/Kairi, Riku/Sora/Kairi- but mainly it's about the friendship-or-what-it-is between the three of them.

Summary: we're everywhere. we are forever.

Notes: this one's sooo old, like my third KH fic. But I need to improve more with translation (I'm italian, geez) before try with something difficult so, here you are. And yes. RiSoKai is love.Many thanks to chibinekodoll for betaing and my friend Artemisio for helping X If you can find some errors, please feel free to tell 3

I WILL NEVER FORGET

Under the glass-stair, there it was the sea.

Slow waves, like in a quiet sunny morning.

After the last step, he put, without a doubt, both feet in the water, and looking around, he suddenly recognized everything-

The tree house, the shore, the star, the shack, the school, the secret hideout access and the drawings on the wall- at the same time.

Sora can see all.

Everything…all together.

He heard someone calling his name with a voiceless sound. He turned but everything around was blue; shining with the sun's reflection that hurt his eyes.

Eyes.

Kairi's eyes were the same color…

"…Kairi…?"

He takes another step and the sea becomes a blue field of little flowers moving like waves by a quiet wind; a swirl of petals. Sora called loud, "Kairi?!"

He felt her smell - a flower's smell.

He runs desperately, mowing the flowers down, runs in circle without an aim –only unlimited blue.

But then he reached the waterfall.

And there she was.

"Kairi!" he called with a happiness in his heart.

She hesitated, like she didn't recognize his voice. But then the hand she was caressing water with stopped, and she turned, smiling, brightly.

"Sora!"

Sora repeated her name louder, but he looked down when he heard the echoes of his steps.

On the stained glass window under his feet were their faces, stuck in a fragment of time:

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and then Kairi and Riku.

This was where his path took him? To be an image on glass?

He wanted to go home. He wanted to go home. He wanted to go home…

"What kind of place is this?"

Sora's heart stopped in his chest. He was almost afraid to turn.

"Riku…", he whispered.

"Riku?" asked Kairi, only an inch away.

"What an absurd place is this?" asked Riku.

Sora closed his eyes and then opened them. Riku and Kairi were here. Nothing else mattered.

"Riku!"

"Sora? Where's Riku?" asked Kairi, looking around desperately.

Riku took a step on the stained glass, "I think it's clear this place doesn't really exist."

"But here it is," was Sora's answer.

"What are you talking about?" asked Kairi.

"…this place."

She gently took his hand, squeezing just a little.

"…this is a dream, right…?"

"It is." answered Riku, looking around. Sora shook his head, "I think so."

"What do you think Sora? Are you talking with someone?"

Sora smiled at her, "Riku."

Kairi smiled happily, searching for something to talk about. But there wasn't anything but blue, so she peacefully closed her eyes, "Hi, Riku."

"Hi Kairi," he answered, standing still. Sora tried to be gentle: "Riku say hi."

Kairi nodded. "I miss you," she said, "When will you be back?"

"Soon, pretty soon."

"Pretty soon…" Riku repeated, gloomy, walking away from them. Sora followed him, lifting blue petals with every step.

"Where are you now? I'll come to you! I'll come and then we can go home. "

Riku turned and smiled at him. That wasn't a smile that believed in the word home anymore.

Sora watched Kairi: "Say something to him! He'll listen to you!"

Kairi shivered from the blowing wind and begged, looking around, "Riku…?"

"Kairi? Sora, Riku?"

The three of them looked in the same direction, wherein a small, blonde girl was looking at them, sad.

"Naminé!"

Sora ran to her, but he couldn't go over the stained glass.

"Naminé? We're still in Castle Oblivion?"

The girl nodded, then looked at Kairi and she said almost touched, "And so you're Kairi…"

"…who are you…?"

"She's Naminé!" Sora answered, pointing to her, "Naminé, Was it you who made us meet each other?" Naminé shook her head slowly, "You're going to fall asleep…maybe in this corner of unconsciousness, your hearts have met."

"Yeah, all right, that's wonderful and stuff but…can we go home now? Riku's here!" – and he said it like it was the most definite thing in the world.

Kairi came closer to him and stared at Namine with big blue eyes filled with hope, "Can you let us go home together?"

"She can't." Answered Riku coldly, "She's here to tell us something, isn't she?"

Naminé nodded weakly. "...people's memories about Sora... they'll fade away soon."

"What?!" Answered Sora and Kairi together, and she grabbed his jumper sleeve like she was afraid to lose him. "I remember Sora! I remember him very well!"

"It's a matter of time…this is going to happen now."

Sora felt Kairi's trembling grip.

"What…what do you mean?"

Sora couldn't see anything more in front of him. Just melancholy.

He mirrored himself in his friend's eyes. He was carved in their memories. The moments they'd lived together interwove what he was.

He wasn't Sora without the two he loved remembering him.

He felt useless. Already empty.

…just an image on stained-glass.

He wanted to go home.

He wanted to go home…

"Is it permanent?" Riku asked with such a coldness as if it didn't matter that much. That hurt Sora.

Naminé sighed, "No. Maybe. I don't think so. It's a matter of time I think, just to restore Sora's memories, but…I don't know how much it will take."

Riku chuckled sharply, "That's not a very useful answer."

"What's happening?" Questioned Kairi, voice shaking. "Is she talking with Riku? What are they saying? What does she mean with restore your memories? Sora, please!"

I want to go home.

I want to go home.

"…I would like to answer you more clearly…", Naminé said.

Sora gritted his teeth. Not really any clear answers, of course.

He was just the one who risked his life everyday holding the Keyblade, after all.

He didn't deserve any answers or lies.

Naminé smiled at him, compassionate.

"Maybe it's better you say goodbye to each other."

"No…" Whispered Kairi before grabbing his shirt again to force him to look at her, "No!"

Sora didn't know what to say. He was helpless.

…I just want to go back home…

"…will I forget my friends…?"

"No!" Answered Kairi, punching his shoulder.

"No…" answered Naminé too. "…but you've chosen yourself to forget once, do you remember? It's been to save me."

"…yeah. I remember."

He remembered.

He remembered the secret place. He remembered the Paopu fruit legend.

I remember. I remember.

"And what about me?! Can't I choose too?!" Kairi cried out.

Sora looked at Riku. Riku looked away.

"…will you forget everything too…?"

Naminé smiled gently, "Riku refused a…useful offer."

"What offer? Riku, what offer? Riku! Will you forget us?"

Riku looked at Naminé. She smiled.

Sora thought his body felt weightless for a moment. There was a frightened look on Kairi's face.

"Sora?!"

Naminé explained softly, "He's going to fall asleep."

"Don't! Sora, please, don't!"

Riku said, "It's unavoidable."

Sora was glad Kairi could not hear.

"I wouldn't."

She pretended to believe in it, but she started to cry mutely.

Sora had never seen Kairi crying before.

She was always so lively, brave, just like a boy.

Right now she seemed so vulnerable that Sora didn't know what to say.

Wind caressing her short and flowing hair, and Riku's far image looking exactly the same as when they closed the door.

Isolated…and lonely.

Naminé started, "Kairi…" -- but the redhead interrupted.

"Shut up! You won't take my memories away from me! I'll never let them go!"

Naminé smiled and Sora did the same. Then Kairi hugged him.

"I will never forget," she whispered. "I will never forget."

Sora held his breath and hugged her too. She smelled of blue flowers.

Naminé vanished. He began to do the same, but Kairi's grip made him turn back to flesh for a moment.

"I will never forget!"

"I know…"

"I will never forget you! I just can't!" Now tears ran down her cheeks, making her wonderful eyes red, then she murmured with the worst shaky voice, "…you've taken my heart with yours…"

Sora held her tighter and looked at Riku behind her shoulders.

Riku came closer, but not close enough.

"I will never forget you…" Kairi sobbed. "…I will never forget you…"

She hugged him tighter when he started to disappear again. Sora was close to fainting. He stared at Riku's aqua eyes, cold like diamonds.

"Tell me where you are."

"I can't."

"Tell me!"

"It's better for you to not look for me."

"Why?!"

"…whatever I'm becoming…I don't want you to see it."

"…I will never forget…I will never forget…"

"But Riku! We have to go back home together!"

"I don't know if that's my home anymore…"

"…I will never forget…I will never forget…"

"Stop being such a jerk! Riku! You have to tell me where you are!"

"It'd be useless. You'll forget it."

"But I'll know it!"

Riku smiled fondly at him.

Sora's body felt insubstantial, like it was unreal, and heard Kairi crying more.

He extended a hand and Riku took it. He held it tight and said, "I will never forget you too."

"…I will never forget, I will never forget, I will never forget…"

"Kairi," Sora finally managed to say. "I'll find Riku and we'll come back to you! We'll be back together, it's a promise."

"…I will never forget…I will never forget…"

Sora couldn't see Riku anymore. He tried to keep Kairi with him but he couldn't feel her warmth.

"Kairi, can you hear me?! We'll be back! We'll be back together! I promise, wait for us, Kairi! Wait for us!"

"…I will never forget…"

A flock of doves flew off, taking the flowers and Kairi's scent away.

The ocean's water was the warmth, now.

Sora closed his eyes.

Every step, even the smaller one…

Kairi felt a deep void in her heart, like someone had stolen something precious from her.

"Do you remember those boys who used to hang out with us…?"

Even when I'm not aware of it,, my thoughts fly up to you…

Darkness, darkness only from time immemorial.

DiZ told him that finding Roxas would help Sora wake up.

Riku put on the hood of his coat, and he didn't ask any questions.

Even if the wounds are torn open like these endless gaps, I won't run away…

Blue eyes, long races on the beach, a bad-looking sketch on the wall, hours spent watching the sunset dreaming about new words… blue eyes.

"I'm not going to the island until I remember everything about him."

All words aren't wide enough, nor is the time long enough to stop us from coming back home together.

"He didn't offer his name. He was rather rude."

It was like a spark in the dark, and Sora smiled openly.

"Rude? Than it WAS Riku!"

We're closer and closer…

She couldn't stand sitting and wait anymore, so she tore a paper from her notebook.

She felt like crying, but it wasn't time to cry anymore. Her journey was starting again.

She took a pen and started to write.

Distances are just numbers.

Time's just moments.

Memories only dreams.

Riku had lost his body, and once he lost that, he was losing himself once and for all too. He didn't care anymore. But what's left, until it left, he had to use it for one last thing…

We're stronger than this.

We're stronger than everything.

Sora stared for the last time at the Heartless pouring like black lava down to Hollow Bastion. He gritted his teeth.

"Riku, Kairi…give me a little time, ok…?"

We're everywhere.

We're forever.

Kairi closed the letter in the bottle and trustfully gave it to the sea.

I will never forget.