Run Away

Author’s Note: I was in my bed about to go to bed when this song came on on my Ipod. I sleep with it playing - I like music when I sleep - blocks out next door snoring xD. ANYWAYS, so this song came on and I was like “OH MY GOD.” and it clicked.

And once again, I found a way to tie this into the game so it’s NON-AU. I was thinking, “If Sora was, more or less, ASLEEP, and Namine was re-writing his memories, and Riku was trying to wake him up…” So…just think about that when you’re reading…

IT’LL MAKE MORE SENSE.

:D

Sora shuffled through the light blanket of snow that layered the ground. His blue eyes scanned his surroundings. Bare trees lined the path he was on; not dead, just leafless. Snow was on the ground, on the trees, and maybe even his hair. But no one else was around. He had to wonder briefly how he got here, but found he couldn’t remember.

So with a perplexed look, Sora kept walking down the snow covered path. Everything glistened, sparkled and reflected the sun’s light. It was almost like a winter wonderland, but there wasn’t anything wonderful about being here. -Well…it IS pretty…but…sort of unnerving…being here alone and not remembering why…- Sora thought as he once again scanned his surroundings for any life form. None was found.

Sora sighed and rubbed his hands together, not because he was cold, but because he simply didn’t know what to do with himself. Of course it was cold, but not so much as he thought it would be. The snow crunched beneath his feet, the only sound he was able to hear. Sora really did wonder where in the world he was. He had a voice in the back of his head saying he was forgetting something, but what?

He didn’t know.

So after about a few lost minutes of walking, Sora didn’t know how long nor did he know how to keep track of how long, he finally came to a four way crossroad. The brunet looked at all four ways, trying to figure out where he would go now. Did one path lead to a dead end? The other to where he was supposed to go? Why couldn’t he remember?

“Are you lost?” came a voice.

Jumping, Sora turned around half way and saw another person he hadn’t noticed before. The person had long silver hair, a smile on his lips and was sitting comfortably under the sign post. “I…I think so.” Sora answered.

“I’m lost too.” the other person said. “I don’t know what path to take.” the older looking male said.

“So you sat there?” the brunet asked. He wasn’t sure if that sounded rude, but it was an honest question with honest intentions. The other male chuckled though, so Sora’s worry vanished.

“More or less. I was just seeing if maybe I would remember which road I was supposed to take.” he said to Sora. “I’m Riku, by the way.”

“Sora.”

Riku smiled and stood up, walking towards Sora to shake hands. The younger of the two looked at the rough hand that was offered to him and grasped it. “Nice to meet you, Sora.”

“You too.” Sora smiled, “So…you don’t know why you’re here?” he asked. Riku shook his head.

“Not a clue.”

“That’s weird…” Sora murmured.

“How so?” Riku asked, a playful smirk on the corners of his lips.

“Well, because, I don’t know why I’m here either. Or which road to take.” Sora said, looking at the three remaining paths to choose from.

“The sign doesn’t quite help either.” Riku said.

“What does it say?” Sora asked.

The silver haired teen turned around to face the sign and squinted his eyes, “To Dawn. To Night. To Light. To Darkness.” he read.

“Oh…” Sora blinked then made a face, “That doesn’t make much sense.”

“I know, right?” Riku laughed. “But I don’t think I want to take a path to darkness.” he said, “I’m afraid of the dark…I just came from there.”

“Haha, that’s ok.” Sora shrugged, “Then I guess to darkness is out and light. Since I came from there.” Sora pointed behind him.

“Yeah.” Riku nodded, turning around to face the roads. “I have an idea.” he said.

“What?” Sora inquired.

The older teen smiled, “Let’s go on a journey together.” he said.

“A journey?” Sora echoed.

“Yeah…the two of us. Maybe together, we can figure out what it is we’re supposed to be doing.” Riku said. Sora blinked, thinking it over and then smiled.

“Sounds good.” he agreed, “Plus, we won’t get lonely.”

Riku laughed, “Exactly. It’s pretty depressing being on your own.”

“Yeah it is.” the brunet agreed. “So which path?” he asked. Riku blinked and looked at the two offered paths. There was a road that lead to dawn, so the sign said, and one that lead to night.

“Let’s go to night.” Riku said.

“Why night? I thought you hate the dark.” Sora asked.

“Yeah, but if it’s night, then the sun must rise at some point. I think the promise of light being there is more comforting.” Riku said. He smiled lopsidedly and looked at Sora, “Don’t you think?”

Sora tilted his head at those words and a slow smile broke across his face, “Yeah, that makes sense.” he concurred, “Ok, let’s go towards night.” he said.

“And a sunrise.” Riku added. Sora laughed, nodding at that add in.

So then the two boys walked down the path towards night, a small distance between their hands. Sora felt at ease now, his racing heart settled by the presence of the other teen. He wondered who he was though, and why he was here. The voice in the back of his head started talking to him again; nagging and trying to say something but Sora couldn’t hear.

“So, you don’t remember anything before I came along?” Sora asked as he looked up at Riku.

Smiling, he shrugged, “I think I was looking for someone.” he said.

“Oh…? You don’t know who?” Sora asked, pursuing the topic. Maybe it would jog his own memory.

“I…can’t remember. A friend, I think.” Riku said, glancing at Sora with a small smile, “Someone important to me.”

“Oh…I hope you find this person then.” Sora said.

“What about you?” Riku asked.

“I…don’t know.” Sora said with a frown. “I just…woke up here.” Sora said, kicking the snow around with his feet. “I…I have a feeling though that I’m looking for something too. No…” he shook his head, “Someone.”

“Who?” Riku murmured.

“…someone…very important.” Sora nodded. Riku smiled.

“I guess we’re both looking for that important person of ours.” the older teen said. He brushed some loose bangs away from his eyes, a sigh escaping his lips. He could see his breath as he breathed in and out. The gray sky above them not seeming to move started to let snow fall down. A down upon the pair of boys. Sora held out a hand and smiled.

“It’s snowing.”

“I hope it doesn’t blizzard.” Riku said. He too held out a hand, catching a few flakes as they instantly melted in his palm.

“I don’t think it will.” Sora murmured. They continued walking down the path, the snow setting the mood, but it still wasn’t cold. Sora began to wonder what it was that he was looking for. He began to feel like he wasn’t alone in his search. Did he have help from others? But were these other friends? They were his friends, right?

And who was this person that he was looking for? Was this person important enough to forget? That seemed a bit contradictory; to forget an important person. What was this person like? Why was he looking for this person? Was this person in danger? “I hope not…” he murmured.

“What was that?” Riku asked.

“Oh…well…I was just thinking about the person I’m looking for.” he answered.

“Oh…? Come up with anything?” Riku asked.

“Just…who is this person? Why am I looking for them…are they in trouble?” Sora frowned, a crease forming between his brow, “And…if they are so important…why did I forget them?” he asked.

Staying silent, Riku just kept walking, thinking about what to say, “Maybe…they were so important…you had to forget.”

“That makes no sense.” Sora said.

“I mean…they must be important if you’re trying so hard to remember them.” Riku said, “other wise…why are you here?”

“I don’t know why I’m here.” Sora said in a childish manner. He pouted a bit, frustrated that he couldn’t remember a thing. Everything was black in the back of his mind; black and blank. In fact, maybe it was white instead of black. It made Sora a bit angry that he wasn’t able to remember before waking up here in this snow filled land.

“Does it bother you?” Riku murmured.

“Yes.” Sora nodded, “Doesn’t it bother you that you can’t remember?”

“…I suppose yes, but maybe I never did remember.” Riku said. “I just forgot that I never knew.”

“Now you’re not making sense.” Sora said, a small smile creeping up on his face.

“Haha, maybe I never made sense and I forgot!’ Riku teased. Sora just laughed, his mood lightening a bit. “I’m sure you’ll remember, Sora. I don’t think we’re here for no reason.” he said. The younger teen just looked up at Riku.

“Yeah, maybe we’re here on this road for a reason.”

“Then I’m glad you came along. It’s really less lonely.”

“That’s good.” Sora smiled. Riku then ran ahead, leaning down to scoop up a handful of snow. Sora blinked and before he could ask what in the world Riku was doing, a snowball came hurling at his face. Hitting him square in the face, Sora fell back, a cold shock spreading through his body.

“I thought you would dodge that!” Riku laughed. Sora sat up, a completely shocked look on his face.

“I…what was that for!?” Sora asked.

“To cheer you up.” Riku shrugged. Sora just gave him a pointed look. Scooping up a handful of snow himself, Sora stood up and ran after Riku. The older teen ran down the road and laughed as snow came hailing down on him.

Sora just laughed in joy as it was Riku who was now chasing him with two handfuls of snow. Sora yelled out and tripped here and there on the snow as Riku came up behind the brunet and shoved the snow down the back of Sora’s shirt. Yelping at the sudden onslaught of coldness, Sora fell back and the two boys tumbled down into the snow. “Riku!” Sora yelled, doing a funky dance as he tried to dig the snow out of his back.

Frowning, Sora lamely threw a snow ball at Riku, completely missing.

“Haha, c’mon Sora, I thought you could do better than that!” he taunted.

Riku laughed, falling back on his backside, pointing and laughing at how silly Sora looked. Not at all amused, Sora took some snow and shoved it on Riku’s head, ruffling the silver hair so it was damp with water. The younger teen laughed in delight as Riku yelled in surprise. “There, now we’re even!” Sora smiled.

Riku smiled, his laughter calming as Sora knelt in between his legs. The two boys laughed quietly as they sat on the snow. “Are you happy now?” Riku asked.

“Yes.” Sora nodded.

“That’s good.” Riku said. Standing up, Riku brushed off the snow that clung to his clothes and pulled Sora up to his feet. “I like it when you smile.” he said. Feeling some heat rise to his cheek at that comment, the brunet looked away.

“I…heh…thanks.” Sora murmured. Riku grinned, motioning for Sora to follow. They continued down the path, idle chatter coming between them. The once gray sky now started to clear and a hint of dark blue started to color the sky. Stars started to peek out, greeting the two boys.

“Night.” Riku commented.

“I guess we really did take the path to night.” Sora said, looking upwards. “Hey Riku.”

“Hm?”

“Do you think…we’ll really see a sunrise at the end?” Sora asked.

Riku shrugged, “Won’t know till we get there.”

“What if there is no end?” Sora asked, worst case scenarios running through his mind. He frowned, not sure if he wanted to go through with this anymore. Riku saw this and grabbed Sora’s hand.

“Instead of thinking that, why not think that at the end, we’ll find who we’re looking for?” he said. “They’ll be waiting for us, and we’ll know why we forgot.” Riku said.

Sora blinked and smiled. “You know…I’m glad.”

“Huh?” Riku blinked.

“I’m glad that…I got to start this journey with you.” Sora said softly. Riku stared at Sora, unsure of what to say.

“Thanks…?” he asked. Not sure if it was a compliment he was receiving.

“No, really.” Sora said, looking up. “I mean…it’s like you said…it would have been really lonely if you were on this journey by yourself, but…” Sora smiled, “I’m glad we started this together at the beginning.”

Riku felt his face warm up a bit, but he smiled, “Thanks then. I’m glad we started this journey together too.”

Sora was sort of embarrassed now, making a confession so personally like that, so Riku smiled, “We’ll go together.” he said to the brunet and began to run down the snow covered path; hands still linked.. Sora blinked, unsure at why Riku was so intent all of a sudden, but a few minutes later, Sora nodded and ran as well.

With their hands linked, Sora curled his fingers around Riku’s pale hand, running as they tried to escape the night and maybe into dawn. Riku wouldn’t let go of Sora’s hand, wouldn’t let him fall or stop. He pushed Sora forward, urged him to not give up; that there is something waiting for them somewhere.

Their breathe was the only thing either could hear, the frost making their breathes visible. Sora tripped, but Riku held him up, not allowing Sora to fail nor fall. “C’mon, Sora.” Riku said over his shoulder.

Sora nodded, not slowing down. Neither of them stopped, not even for a break. They ran and ran, hand in hand.

Sora’s blue yes looked up, the sky starting to lighten as the night began to fade away. “Look, Riku!” he said breathlessly. The older teen looked up, his silver hair running all over his face.

“Dawn.” he said and smiled at Sora. They still ran, ran towards the sun they hoped was there and to friends they were looking for.

However, as they reached what they hoped was dawn, they came to instead, the four way cross roads. Riku and Sora both skidded to a halt, their faces and hope falling as realization hit them. “What?” Sora gasped, trying to catch his breath, “But…but!” Sora shook his head. He was so sure, so sure that his answer would be here.

Riku was too crestfallen to say anything. He looked at Sora and saw the boy’s disappointed face and swallowed thickly. Maybe this was just the beginning of a journey far beyond their own imaginations. Re-grasping Sora’s hand, Riku held up their linked hands and looked firmly at the brunet, “You said you were glad to be on this journey with me, right?” he asked.

Sora made a face, confused at why Riku wasn’t upset like he was. Didn’t he see that they were at the beginning again? “What?”

Riku turned fully towards Sora, holding their hands to their faces, “You said, back there, you were happy. Happy to not be alone, happy to have started on this road with me, right?” he asked, his breath short.

Sora nodded, “Yes, yes, but why aren’t you-”

“Then c’mon Sora.” Riku said. “Let’s start this journey again, not as strangers, but as friends.” Riku said. Sora blinked, not entirely sure of what Riku was saying.

“As…friends?” Sora echoed.

Riku smiled, “Yeah. Besides…I couldn’t imagine who else I would want to start this journey on, besides you.”

Sora blinked and smiled. “All right…let’s go.” Sora said with renewed confidence.

Riku nodded and once again, the two boys whose hands were linked ran down a path. Sora still didn’t know who he was looking for, but when he looked up at Riku, he suddenly knew.

“I was looking for you. All along.”

And they ran, and ran, and ran; ran right down the path to Twilight.

-end-

So there we go. I imagine Riku going into Sora’s mind to help him and guide him as Namine repaired his memories. But yeah. I liked it. It’s a sweet fic, no? Anyways…yeah. Haha. Thanks for reading! Leave a review if you can, advice and input are always lovely.