Rebirth

They step through the door together, but Riku steps out of it alone. Sora and the rest are waiting for him, joy flashing across their faces when he sits up.

"Finally!" Sora shouts. "What took you?"

Riku smiles somewhat and stands up before he remembers that something—someone—is still missing.

She appears a moment later, in a flash of white light not unlike the light she had become in death.

Riku's eyes widen, and he rushes forward to catch her before she hits the ground.

He wasn't there for her when she died, but he's there for her rebirth.

Author: It seems fitting that if Roxas was there to catch and hold her when she died, Riku should be the one to do the same when she's reborn. Set right after "Gateway" if you remember it.

And this is why, in my head-canon, Riku celebrates Xion's "rebirthday" as well as her "birthday." Mainly 'cause Riku (being the closet sap we all know he is) feels bad that she was never really born and gives her an extra day of celebration to make up for it. Sorta. ^^

Also, I suppose this one chapter alludes to a scene that's actually in KH3D ever so slightly (without spoiling anything if you don't know what it is, so don't worry) but the people who have seen a certain cutscene will understand the appropriateness of the setting. ^^

To my reviewers:

Amatus: Y'know, I have to agree with you there. Lol. I read your drabble AFTER I'd written most of that drabble, and was pretty shocked by the similarity. I decided to go ahead and post it, though, 'cause I figured you'd think it was cool. It is kinda awesome when we do that, if a little strange. ;) Yeah, I figure Roxas will have to give in to Riku and Xion at some point, and seeing how hurt Riku is at that point (after the final fight against MX when Xion gets hurt) I think he'd have to admit Riku's worthy of her. And hey, don't worry about it. Stuff comes up. I know you're reading it, and an occasional review is fine. ^^

Espionage247: Yay, I'm glad! ^^ Thanks a lot, I'm still really happy about it. :)

Toaneo07 Ver2.0: Gracias! It's cool that you're reading this even though it's not your own language. ^^

vanitas1776: Well, yeah... Sorta half and half there. He's starting to accept it, but it's gonna take a little more to fully convince him. And yeah, he has Namine. It'll just take a while for him to get over Xion before he feels able to be with Namine. And I'll try to review those tonight if I can. :)

XIIIXV: Well, he hates to admit it, that's for sure. But even Roxas isn't that cruel. ^^ And that IS true, lol.

See ya next time! ^^