I watched as Zexion’s body dissipated into black flecks, and they scattered through the open window…He was gone now. A harsh but quiet sound behind me made me whip around, magic at the ready. But it was Namine. I rushed over to her body to watch her take deep, rattling breaths. “I thought you were dead!” I cried. She shook her head slightly, and I called desperately for Sora. He burst through the door wielding his Keyblade, Riku close behind him, but when he saw Namine he dropped his blade. It hit the ground with a deafening clatter that echoed in my heart. I knew she didn’t have long. “Curaga!” I shouted, praying it would work. “Curaga,” I repeated hopelessly. Sora shoved me out of the way to pour an Elixir down her throat, and I knelt, helpless, nearby. “Cur-Curaga,” I whispered one last time.
“It won’t work,” Namine said and her voice was weak. I shook my head, and Sora burst out, “But it has to! I…I love you, Namine!” She smiled. “It’s okay. I…I didn’t deserve you anyway. But it can’t work. Cure magic only works on people who have hearts,” she said, and her smile grew more sadistic. “I…I love you too, Sora. So…so be happy,” she whispered, and a racking cough shook her whole body. Sora bowed his head, crying into her hand. “Don’t leave me,” he chanted continuously, still tipping the Elixir bottle into her mouth, the futility clear on his face.
As Naminé’s breathing slowed, a wave of guilt washed over me. It was all my fault; I had brought her and Sora here, and if I hadn’t…she would still be…My head fell, but the tears I had expected weren’t coming. Maybe I wasn’t human anymore…but then maybe I didn’t want to be. Why hadn’t Zexion just killed me, get it over with? Why did I love Riku enough to keep convincing myself that I had a reason to live? Why was I…so selfish?
Sora sobbed one last time, and I heard the empty Elixir bottle clang onto the floor and roll away from him. He buried his head into her ribs in despair. The world seemed silent. I looked up at Riku to see his empty face, and immediately wished I hadn’t. He seemed drawn, hollow…he looked as though he was in immense pain, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to help him. Even so, he took a few heavy steps forward, and fell to his knees in front of me. His arms wrapped around me, but I didn’t feel the usual warmth. “I’m…sorry,” I breathed into his shirt. He shook his head, and we knelt together in silence.
“Namine!” Sora cried, and Riku and I looked over. He was still holding her hand, but he had sat up, his face alight again. “Sora…” I didn’t know what to say. “No! Look, look!” he shouted. Riku walked over and his face took on the same shine as Sora’s did. “She’s okay!” he called, “she’s breathing and everything! She’s totally fine!” I jumped to my own feet. The incredulousness must have been clear on my face, because Sora spoke again. “Look, she’s okay! Can’t you see?” I walked over to Namine, very slowly, but when I saw her ribs rising and falling I collapsed into Riku’s hug again. When I pulled back, my face was wet with tears. Riku wiped them away gently, smiling softly at me.
We carried Namine downstairs and lay her in one of the beds. Sora refused to leave her alone, and stayed sat by her bedside, clutching her hand frantically. I felt like I was intruding on them, so I was glad when Riku motioned for us to leave silently.
I followed Riku down the beach in silence, him leading me by the hand and me trotting along behind him like an obedient puppy. Eventually we were on the other side of the island, and he turned to face me. I could see the repairs to Lindblum had already started behind him, but I turned my attention to his words. “What…what happened? No, that’s a stupid question, it’s kind of obvious…but why didn’t you tell me?” I shook my head. “I didn’t want you to be upset. You always try to protect me; I felt like it was my turn. I figured that if I broke your heart this way, it would mend. I didn’t want you to…to have to watch me die. You would have been happier if I had left by choice than if you ‘d known I died; you could move on without feeling guilty or disrespectful or anything.”
We sat down again, and it occurred to me that this was where it had all begun; in this very spot we had shared a Paopu fruit. I turned to Riku…there was something I had to say to him. “I’m…sorry. I want to break the mould, I want to break the stereotype…I want someone to remember me. It’s my life, and I won’t sit on the sidelines watching. I want someone to remember me; I’ve got to make my mark…I want nothing more than to leave my fingerprints on this world…” Riku nodded. “You have to go off and prove yourself now, don’t you?”
I looked at him, forcing down the tears that threatened to overspill. “…Now I’ve realised that I’m leaving my fingerprints on you. That means…everything to me. So know that these things…will never change for us at all.” Riku smiled gently, and kissed the back of my hand. “I have waited so long to hear you to say those words. So…leave your fingerprints on me, right now.” Now it was my turn to smile. “I already have.” Laughing quietly at Riku’s confused face I leaned over to whisper in his ear. “I’m…we’re having a baby, Riku.” His ecstatic expression meant more to me than anything else ever could. Except maybe the gentle kiss that followed…
This was my happy ending. And I think I deserved it…There really was a light at the end of the darkness. A wise friend once told me… “Never lose sight of it, your light. No matter how deep the darkness, there’s always a little light. That Light is you, Haru. Your light can survive any darkness… because your light is Golden.”
Gildas Magnus: Well, I really hope you guys enjoyed our series. I speak for both Haru and myself in saying that we both really enjoyed writing it, and it gave us a lot of stability through troubled times for both of us. We hope we haven't killed off one character too many, or missed out anyone's favourites, and we've tried our utmost to make the characters believable for you guys. Thank you guys so much, for giving us this opportunity, and many thanks to theOtaku for making this possible!
