Kingdom Hearts 3 Countdown Challenge Ficlets

by PhoenixDowner

Series of ficlets for the KH3 Countdown Challenge. Focuses mainly on the friendships in the series but will contain some shiptease here and there (especially for Sora/Kairi). Contains spoilers for promotional material up through November 2018. Longer fics will be posted separately; fics from 100-1000 words will be posted here. Fics for Day 28 onwards are under Line The Pieces Up.

6. Chapter 6 - Alone

For Day 7 of the Kingdom Hearts 3 Countdown Challenge - Those Without Trios (in this case the Riku Replica and Naminé)

---

"Who is that? Who's there?" the Riku Replica called. He sensed a presence here in the darkness when before he'd been alone.

"Riku, it's me," came a gentle voice.

He whirled around and saw a girl glowing with a soft light. Her hair was blond and her eyes blue, and she wore a white dress and blue shoes.

"Naminé. I thought—"

She gave him a sad smile. "Seems like we both still exist, despite everything."

"But how? I thought my heart was just a fake."

She tucked her hands behind her back. "Maybe it was, but it doesn't seem that way anymore."

"You mean… I do have a heart? I'm real after all?"

He'd hoped this hadn't all been an illusion, that the things he'd felt had been real. Hearing they just might have been, when before he'd thought his entire existence was built on a lie, well—

"I suppose… the lie became real, yes," Naminé said. "We were never meant to have hearts of our own, and yet— you're as real as I am now."

He glanced at her and had to laugh at that. "Look at you. You still look like you might fade away at any moment."

She put her hand over her mouth as she let out an airy laugh. "I suppose I might. But Sora and Kairi are looking for a way to save me, and Roxas, too." Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment, then flew back open. "And I think Riku… the original Riku… is looking for a way to save you, too."

"He is? But why—"

"They care a lot about us, you know. We were never meant to exist, but… I'm glad we do, and I think they're glad, too."

"I guess in a way they are our creators."

She gave him a gentle smile. "I guess so."

She was already looking less real than she had a few moments ago, her body slowly dissolving into motes of light.

"You can't stay," he said, his heart sinking.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. Kairi's heart is calling me back. But when we meet again, Riku, may we see each other with our own eyes."

As she disappeared, Riku nodded. "It's a promise."

He pulled out her lucky charm and looked at it. Sure, it was a fake originally, but right now?

It seemed pretty real.