@auroraiter rise up 'sweet lord what happened here' gang
The pain was like a bolt of lightning that flashed straight through his chest, rippling through his ribcage and spreading out in distorted bursts of jagged static down through his arms and to the tips of his fingers. It was brutally swift and sudden and had him on his knees, one hand pressed uselesly up against his sternum while his other was flat on the ground, fingers splayed against the rough surface of the sidewalk as Riku struggled with the simple task of just breathing.
The attacks, ones that he always sarcastically referred to as his mini heart attacks despite there never being a medical link between them and any actual cardiac episode, were not rare for Riku. They weren't even uncommon. But they were normally... something he could almost anticipate. There would be a tightness first, a strange breathlessness combined with a growing dizzying sensation. He would be able to pick up on the warning signs which meant he could adjust for them. Stay at home or head back there. Take his medication.
There was nothing that any doctor could find when it came to the cause of the attacks, but the medication his father's doctor prescribed for him always seemed to make the pain go away.
It wasn't like that this time. It had hit far too fast, slamming into him like a frieght train, and it felt like his head was trying to rip itself in two. The hand over his chest moved up to clutch at his hair, tugging as he clenched his teeth together with enough force that Riku was certain he was going to cause something to snap.
Footsteps, Riku was keenly aware of the sound of footsteps approaching him, but in this moment he was certain that if he even tried to lift his head his skull would shatter to pieces just from that simple movement.
This Light-- these memories-- they aren't supposed to be here anymore.