A/N:
Disclaimer: I am not the rightful owner of KH.
Last two chapters are likely to be posted tomorrow or the next day.
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 31: Choices
(Sora's POV)
I stumble over to my friends, worn out from my battle. They rush to my side and reach out to balance me. I thank Riku for his help and Namine tells me that she can finally fix my memories. I glance over at the replica and immediately notice a pained expression mar his face. Something's wrong, I can tell. There's a crack in his barrier and I can see right through it.
He wants to be fixed. He wants to be real. I know that deep down it is bothering him. There has to be a way, I wonder to myself. I take a moment to collect my thoughts and then turn inquisitively to Namine.
"Can you fix his memories?"
"Well I-"
"Don't worry about it," the Replica interrupts, "I'll be fine."
"Riku!"
"I'm not Riku," he corrects, "I'm just a replaceable fake."
"I'm sorry," I apologize, "I didn't mean to offend you."
"You and Namine make me feel important," he explains, "that's more than enough for me."
"That's because you are important," I reply.
"You're a good guy," he whispers, "don't ever change."
"I won't," I hum, "take care of yourself."
"You too," he smiles, "Bye Sora."
He wanders out the door and Namine and I are all alone now.
"Are you ready?"
"I'm ready," I say.
"Okay," she mumbles.
I notice a misplaced frown on her face and I can tell she's not acting like herself.
"What's wrong?"
"N-nothing," she stutters.
It suddenly dawns on me. If she changes my memories back to how they used to be, I won't remember anything that happened in this castle. Even worse, the memories I have of her would cease to exist.
"I won't remember you," I utter, "will I?"
"No," she confirms, "you'll only remember what's real."
"So, I have to choose?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so."
I take hold of her hand as tears begin to fill my eyes.
"Please," I beg, "change me back to how I was."
She swiftly turns away from me. I can hear sniffling sounds and I know that she's crying too. I grab onto her and pull her in for a hug.
"I'm so sorry," I murmur, "I can't stay here."
"It's okay," she says unevenly, "I understand.
I hold her close to me for what seems like a couple of hours. Eventually, she takes me by the hand and directs me to the room that will make me forget everything that I would want to remember.