Chapter13—Off Once Again

The more he thought about it, the more his mind was made up. That shadow creature had to go; there was just nothing else to it. The guy—thing—was dangerous and like Mark had said, he was scaring away newcomers to the area; that had to be stopped. Riku knew first hand what harvest was like and he knew that Mark and Lucia needed all the help they could get around that time of year.

He, Sora and Kairi could take care of the thing.

Riku left his bedroom silently. It was still early and he didn't want to wake anyone. Sora's door was two down from his. Riku pressed his ear to it and heard two distinct voices.

He went in. Their conversation stopped and Kairi and Sora both looked up at him. They were sitting on the bed, facing each other.

"I've been thinking..." Riku said, closing the door back and sitting down next to them. "That shadow thing has to go."

Kairi nodded. "We were just talking about it."

"Yeah, so you up to it?" Sora asked, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back against the wall.

"Yeah," Riku nodded.

"What about Lucia?" Kairi asked.

"What about her?" Riku asked defensively.

"Are you sure you want to leave her?" Sora asked.

Riku stared at them both for a moment. "There's nothing between us," he said. But as soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them. There was something, not much, but something. He wouldn't have kissed her last night if there wasn't.

"Oh, okay," Kairi said.

"But that still leaves why you left home in the first place," Sora said.

"You of all people should understand that, Sora. Boredom..."

"Whatever," Sora said, closing his eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"If that's how you wanna fool yourself, that's fine,"

"Wait just one—"

"So we agree to get rid of the shadow guy?" Kairi jumped in.

"Yeah," Sora said.

Riku let the comment go, but he didn't forget it. He wasn't fooling himself. He just wasn't.

Sora, Kairi and Riku politely refused the breakfast Lucia and Mark had offered when they'd gotten up. Sora had declared that they were going to get rid of the shadow thing and Mark had whistled. Lucia had turned to Riku, a strange look in her eyes and asked if it was true. He'd nodded yes.

She'd masked her face with appreciation after a second, but that one second was all it took. Was he fooling himself? Her eyes had gleamed with emotion: longing, an already started loneliness, and pain. How could he do that to her?

No. He was helping her. He had to believe that.

Still, he couldn't quite find the strength to move to race with Sora and Kairi up the hill. He stood instead next to Lucia, looking at her blankly, thinking much too hard.

"Come on, Riku," Sora said, standing at the top of the hill, waving his arm. "We've got work to do."

Riku took a deep breath and forced himself out of his trance and smiled for Lucia. "I guess this is goodbye."

Lucia forced back tears and forced up a smile. "Goodbye, Riku," she said softly.

"Goodbye, Lucia," he mumbled back, taking slow steps away from her, letting his hand slid off of hers. Lucia reached her arm out so that she could hold his hand a second longer, then he was out of reach. He took four more steps back then stopped.

He stared at her for a moment, some strange feeling blooming inside him. Then he abruptly turned and ran to join Sora and Kairi, and the three ran back into the woods. Riku didn't look back, not out of fear or sadness, but simply because.

He and Lucia would meet again.

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This is the last chapter. I've left it vague and open in the case that I do decide on a squeal. If not, then, well, we're all left to wonder. Sad, but good in a way. Now, I'd like to thank all of my reviewers: CDCSkitzo, JOUNINBAKA, KingdomHeartsDayDreamer, Kawaii-Chibi-Naruto, Yumi Saruwatari, Timetraveler Janie, Angel Of Blacksouls, ScrewedupWriterGrl, Mizuki hikari, Black Shizuma, broken kunai, Angel-of-Twilight13, Kingdom hearts 1 and 2 luve..., DemonGal19, K.K. Tori or none, a random idiot, Twighlight-Teen, Cheekie Excel, Green-Day27, the-light-shines-within, Lucy, and Not aGeisha Gurl You all are the best; thank you so much for reviewing! I would also like to thank those of you who have only read the story.

NOW! For those of you who would like to see a sequel, here is an excerpt. Keep in mind that there might not be one, though. Please tell me if you want to see one.

Excerpt:

Riku stood on the hill that overlooked The Ranch, his heart sinking. He knew it had been too easy, not enough to it. The Ranch was burning. One of the barns was already to the ground, melted into blackish char. Flames licked at the others that still half stood.

The Ranch was vacant. Lucia was gone.

--DreamWeaver010

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