Oath

Riku sat upon the paopu fruit tree. The sun was about to rise from the horizon and paint the sky with various hues. It was beautiful.

Sora walked over and leaned against the tree. "Hey Riku," he said, smiling at the incoming sunrise.

"Hey…" Riku responded, lost in thought. He had no idea what he was gonna tell Sora. His heart grew heavy. "Remember when all this started?"

"Hmm?" Sora looked to his best friend. "Yeah?"

"I was younger and so…foolish. I wanted to leave the islands so desperately I put you and Kairi in danger. It's so small…I felt confined. And then, when we did come home the first time after a year, I wanted nothing more than to just be here forever, in the comforts of home," Riku held up the keychain to his keyblade. His new keyblade was vastly different from Way to Dawn, but it suited him. He was a changed man, for better or worse.

"Home is where the heart wishes to be after all," Sora mused. Riku shook his head, a smile growing on his lips. Sora, despite everything, would always be Sora; even after all he had been through. Home would always be Destiny Islands to him.

But no longer would Destiny Islands be home to Riku. "Sora…"

"Sora! Riku!" Kairi ran over to them, hopping onto the tree and sitting beside Riku. She nudged Sora in the shoulder, capturing his attention. She shot him a loving smile.

Riku chuckled. Young love.

He looked back to the crawling sunrise. How was he going to tell them? "Guys…"

"Hmm?" Kairi turned to Riku. "What is it Riku?"

"I…We've all changed," he began.

Sora nodded, rolling his eyes. "Yes Riku and I was never the chosen one of the keyblade, go on."

Riku stuck out his tongue at Sora. "Roxas rubbed off on you."

Sora smirked. "And you said I'm the sap."

Kairi shook her head. "You two…Still somehow remained the same yet different."

Riku had to laugh. "Yeah, I guess you can call it that."

The three sat in silence. The sun rose higher and higher off the horizon.

"Despite everything," Riku began. "I've changed. I've become someone different."

Kairi and Sora looked at each other, then to Riku. "What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"You know that home is where the heart yearns, yes?" Riku said, repeating Sora's words. "I used to yearn for a long time to come back here, once everything was all said and done. Now…Now that I'm back here…" He held up his keychain higher. "Going back to what was my sense of normal was as a child is impossible."

Kairi and Sora's hearts dropped at the implication.

Riku sighed. "My heart…I have a mission out there, it's not there. The balance of light and darkness cannot be maintained if I stay here. There are others out there, who were once like me, and you. I have to help them. It's who I've become."

"You're leaving us, aren't you?" Kairi asked, placing a hand on Riku's arm.

His smile was laced with sadness. "Yeah, I am." He hopped off the tree.

Sora nodded. He had a feeling that Riku would no longer be able to go back to what he used to be. He was a keyblade Master now. Even though Xehanort was stopped, the worlds were still changing, evolving. Keybladers were once thought to be extinct, and slowly they were returning.

"You're right, Riku," Sora said, feeling something sting his eyes. "There is something more out there now, for you."

Kairi hopped off the tree, grabbing both men's hands. Tears flooded her eyes. "Riku…I..." she sobbed, trying to maintain a smile. "Thank you."

Riku couldn't help but feel his throat tighten up. "I might be gone for a long time," he squeezed her hand tightly before letting go. "But I want you two to make a promise to me." He held out his hand to them, palm down. "No matter what, even if it's seconds or years, we'll see each other again. That's an oath I'm always intending to keep," he said, smiling as much as he could at the two.

Sora and Kairi put their hands on top of Riku's. "We promise, forever," Sora said.

Kairi reached into her pocket. It was the pieces of her lucky charm. It was split into three during the battle against Xehanort. She handed one piece to Riku, the other to Sora. "Be sure to bring it back to me, you hear?" she said, tears flowing freely.

Riku clasped the lucky charm tightly in his grip. "I promise."

Kairi shook her head and embraced him. "I promise too."

Sora joined the hug. "We'll always be a part of each other's lives, no matter what," he whispered.

When the hug ended too soon for any of them. Riku placed the charm in his pocket and nodded at them. A single tear slipped out and ran down his cheek. Summoning his keyblade, Braveheart, he pointed it across the way and shot out a beam of light, opening up the way to the outside world.

He stepped into the portal, looking back at his two friends one last time. "I'll see you again, one day."

Years and years passed. The islands remained the same as always.

A man in a black and white garb walked among the beaches of the play island. His face was obscured by his hood. In his grip was a piece of two broken sea shells, tied together by string. The sun was setting beyond the horizon, painting the sky in a red hue.

"What a small world," the man said, leaning down to sit upon the beach. The breeze fanned his face. He removed his hood, revealing long silver hair. He was still young, but he was wise beyond his years.

How long had it been since he made his oath? Five? It felt like ten to him.

A woman with her red hair up in a bun came by and sat down next to the man. "Well, you fulfilled your promise," she said, eyeing the two strung together thalassa shells in his hand.

Another man with spiked hair came over and sat down on the other side of the silver haired man. "Yeah. Who said promises are always broken?"

The three sat upon the beach, reassembling the thalassa charm together as the sun set.