Reunion

Riku hadn't been planning on seeing Sora, not at all. In fact, he'd done a great job of avoiding him. Well, other than that dumb slip up in the Land of Dragons. He'd just wanted a quick glimpse. He had to make sure his friend was doing okay. Nothing wrong with that.

It wasn't his fault Sora was too perceptive for his own good.

Speaking of which, at least Sora was doing okay. Better than okay, in fact. He'd gotten stronger. The damage from losing his heart had been undone. All of Naminé's hard work had paid off. Seeing Sora awake again, strong and healthy and fully himself, made Riku's exile easier to bear.

Self-imposed exile, a nagging voice at the back of his mind whispered. Sora knows it's you. You can't fool him. All you have to do is fess up, and then you can be together again.

No, I can't. I can't let him see me like this. He's better off without me. So off Riku ran to the next world, providing assistance and support from the shadows where he belonged.

There was no need for Sora to know about what had happened to him. It would only make him feel worse.

Besides, this is my atonement for what I've done. How can I face him again? It was my fault Destiny Islands fell to the darkness. It was my fault Kairi lost her heart. And it was my fault he became a Heartless.

Riku would have been perfectly content – content, not happy – to remain in the shadows forever if it meant Sora got to live in the light. But then Kairi had gotten kidnapped, and he knew he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

There was no fooling her, either. Before he could stop her, she was standing on her tiptoes and reaching up to lift the hood off of his carefully hidden face. The face that wasn't really his face.

"Riku." Her voice was filled with pity, and her eyes probably were too. But he couldn't tell, because he couldn't quite bring himself to meet them.

But she didn't run away. She stayed by his side as if he was still himself and not the monster that had taken her home and heart from her. And then Sora finally arrived and got himself dogpiled by a group of Heartless, the idiot, distracted as he had been by seeing her.

Well, no matter how much time had passed, some things never changed.

Riku stayed long enough to give Kairi a Keyblade, to make sure she and Sora were both safe. But then they were reunited, and Riku knew there was no place for him anymore. It was time to go.

But Kairi had other ideas. In just a few seconds, she managed to blow his carefully maintained cover. But looking into her pleading eyes, feeling her hand tugging on his sleeve – he couldn't be angry. He couldn't say no. He couldn't run away anymore.

And then she called Sora over – Sora, completely blind to the truth that was staring him in the face. Sora, blissfully naïve and ignorant – no, not very blissful, and not at all naïve, not anymore – about what had happened. She brought their hands together, and Sora's eyes were opened. In that moment, he saw Riku, not as he was, but as he wanted to be. As he used to be. As he should be.

Well, Sora? Now you know. Now you know what happened to me.

He expected Sora to say something. He expected Sora to demand what had happened, to ask where he'd run off to, to chew him out for all the trouble he'd caused.

He didn't expect Sora to collapse at his feet. Not when he should be the one at Sora's feet, begging for his forgiveness for what he'd done.

This was all wrong. Sora had gotten it all mixed up. And now the idiot was crying and saying Riku's name over and over again – talk about an overreaction – and Riku had to tell him to pull it together because otherwise they were both going to fall apart.

I thought you were better off without me, but I guess I was wrong.

"I looked everywhere for you!" Sora wailed, just to really drive the point home. As if Riku hadn't gotten it loud and clear already.

"I didn't want you to find me." That was the simple truth. Riku had pretended it had been for Sora's good, but really, the only thing standing in the way of their reunion had been Riku's guilt and shame. He could see that much now, at least. He'd wanted to see Sora again, just not like this. He'd wanted to see him again as himself.

But Sora did see him as himself, saw through Ansem's face and right into his heart. He even said, "You're still Riku, no matter what!"

And just those simple words were all it took to make the last of Riku's shame melt away. It didn't matter what face he wore. He was, and always would be, Sora's friend.

A/N: The reunion between Sora and Riku is one of my favorite moments in KH2, so I'd been wanting to write a character study from Riku's perspective of it for a while now.

As always, thank you for reading!