Title: Let It Go
Disclaimer: I do not own, or claim to own, any of the characters mentioned below or the series from which they originated.
Dedication: To Nozomi for her 20th birthday
Riku had done horrible things as Maleficent's puppet, horrible, stupid things when he had arrogantly assumed that the darkness could never touch him.
The result of one such act stood in front of him now in the form of a petite blonde-haired girl. Sora's most recent traveling companion, she waited eagerly, and perhaps a touch impatiently, for Mickey to take her back to her reformed world, a place she hadn't seen since its destruction over a year ago.
Riku remembered carrying out the act, and the memory made him sick to his stomach.
While the girl herself wasn't familiar, the clothes she wore matched those of the citizens who had fled in a panic at the arrival of the Heartless. The scene flashed before his eyes – chaos, fire and carnage – and he wondered how she had managed to escape.
Since the moment he saw her at Sora's side after escaping the darkness, guilt had been eating away at him. He knew without a doubt that if it hadn't been for him, she wouldn't be traveling between worlds, and if he didn't admit to the fact before she left, he'd never be able to forgive himself.
He walked up to her, and she gave him a curious glance, filled with nervous energy and poised on the balls of her feet.
"About the Heartless that attacked your world," he began, and she set herself back down, giving him her full attention. He made himself look her straight in the eye. "I…was there when it happened."
Her eyes went wide and her mouth formed an O of shock.
"I was leading them," he admitted, searching her face for anything other than surprise. "I was the one who destroyed your world, Usagi, and I regret every second of it. I know it's not much, but I'm sorry."
For a long while she simply looked at him, biting her lip and searching his face much in the same way he had been doing to her moments ago. Finally, slowly, she said, "You know, it's funny. If they hadn't come, I would have never met you all. I can't imagine that."
"But if they hadn't come," he countered, "your world wouldn't have been destroyed."
She glanced away and took a deep breath. "It's back now, though."
"Usagi—"
"It's back now," she repeated, voice a little strained, "and we can't do anything about what's already happened. Riku, I know you feel bad about what happened, but…don't worry about it, yeah?"
He frowned, trying to think of something that would convince her just how serious his actions could be. Shouldn't she show some kind of anger, yell at him, walk away, something? Instead, though, she simply gazed back at him expectantly.
Finally, he let out a dry chuckle. What was it with people like her, like Sora, who could look at people like him and forgive so easily? "As long as you're fine with everything."
"I am," she assured him.
Despite his own doubts and self-loathing, the heavy ball of guilt in his chest lessened a little at her words and the honest look in her eyes. He made himself give her a small smile, the last expression she would see on his face before she departed for her own world. "Thank you, Usagi. Have a safe trip back."
"I will, and Riku," she added, "congratulations on making it home."
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