A Change of View
You are nineteen when you are asked to crown your best friend king.
Of course, you are shocked when King Mickey and Sora ask you, of all people but you're even more shocked about the notion of your best friend being king.
Sora is the last person who should be king and you're the last person who should ever crown a king given your track record. You might be redeemed now but it doesn't change the fact that you made those mistakes and did those wrong things.
Worried looks sweep across their faces as you stare at them blankly while you try to comprehend the situation you're in.
"Riku?" Sora trails off uncertainly.
Right…. they need an answer, don't they?
You look at King Mickey with confusion and disbelief.
"Why does Sora need to be king? Aren't you good enough anymore?" You ask and try not to shout at them both for being so stupid.
Sora can't be king. Sora is Sora. He's only 18 years old for goodness sake!
"I am getting old and the worlds need someone who can protect them. I believe with all my heart that Sora is the best choice." King Mickey trails off and stares off into the distance.
Bullshit.
You glance over at Sora who smiles proudly at the compliment.
You're racking your brains frantically for a good reason why Sora shouldn't be king or a reason that would make Sora decide to think about it a bit longer.
"And what does Kairi think of this?" You ask him and watch with silent relief as he visibly deflates.
"She's not too pleased with the idea for some reason…" He mutters and then pouts as you smile.
It seems that you weren't the only one with some sanity left.
"..but it's going to be fine because you and Kairi are going to be my advisors!" He says with a delighted smile.
You would probably laugh at Sora for being a goofball about this if it wasn't such a bad situation.
"Sora.., taking on the duty of king ……it's….won't be good for you." You weakly try to explain but already he's beginning to frown.
"Riku, I think that I'm old enough to decide that on my own!" He exclaims sulkily and you're already angry at him for jumping to conclusions like that.
"Sora! I'm saying this because I'm conc--."
Sora's eyes flash with anger and he interrupts you, "You're saying this because you're jealous! Why can't you for once, do something that I want?"
That despair in his voice made you pause and consider.
You know it's a bad idea but Sora is so set on it and you have a feeling he might never forgive you if you don't do this one thing for him.
"Fine. You want me to crown you king? I'll do it." You replied.
Sora looks stunned but then delighted as he hugs you with a "Thank you, Riku! You're the best!"
You smirk weakly at him in response.
If you're the best then why can't you stop that awful gut-wrenching feeling in the pit of your stomach?
So here you are.
A lot of people have gathered for this wonderful event and it seems that Sora managed to convince Kairi to come but she looks just about as pleased as you do about this.
King Mickey hands you the crown and you turn to Sora who's looking up expectantly at you.
You smile weakly at him and get a better grip of the crown before murmuring, "I can still toss it, you know…"
Sora rolls his eyes in amusement and is about to scold you for being so silly. You don't want to hear it. So you finally cut to the chase and put the damn thing on his head.
Oh god.
Maybe if he was older.. maybe if he had at least done a few years of living freely without responsibilities….maybe then you wouldn't have a problem with the crown looking so right on top of Sora's head.
The people are beginning to clap but Sora's not looking at them, he's staring up at you in slight confusion as your fingers slowly move away and are occasionally twitching.
You're trying your damn hardest not to grab the accursed thing and throw it off his head.
"…..It looks heavy." You murmur to him as you realise that your best friend is now king and there's nothing you can do to stop it.
He doesn't get a chance to respond as people are coming forward to congratulate him and now there are so many things that he needs to do..