#Riku reacts by building a tough guy persona and escalating the competitions and very specifically putting Kairi in the middle of it

[cq-studios]

What's "There's an Empty Space Where He Once Sat?" The title has me curious!

(For this)

Post Re:mind/Pre-Limit Cut fic where Riku and Kairi talk at the Paupou tree.

I haven’t written a lot yet (and what I do have written I’m not super confident about the characterization in) so I’ll just explain it instead.

Basically Kairi has been back for a bit but Riku has kinda been avoiding her.

Kairi thinks it’s because Riku blames her for Sora’s disappearance (mostly projection because she blames herself), but really Riku just doesn’t know how to talk to her anymore (at least not without Sora to bridge the gap) and he still feels bad about stuff he did pre-KH1/KH1 (specifically putting her in the middle of his insecurity driven competition with Sora and, you know, the whole killing her with the fall of Destiny Islands lol). He figures that she wouldn’t really want to talk to him because of that.

One day, Riku’s leaning against the Paupou tree and Kairi sees him there. She joins him at the tree, muttering a quick greeting before sitting on it, just like old times. Except it’s not, not without Sora.

They kinda just exist in each other’s presence for a bit until Kairi cracks, and starts apologizing, and spouting if onlys. Riku’s a bit taken aback, and tries to counter her points and make it clear that he doesn’t blame her. That it’s not her fault.

He explains that Sora’s heart and mind was made up, and Kairi quips something along the lines of “there really was nothing we could do then”, with a bit of a halfhearted laugh. Riku nods his head and they sit with that.

After a moment Riku kinda pipes up again and says that he should really be the one apologizing. Kairi begins to say that Sora being missing isn’t his fault either but Riku cuts her off and clarifies that it’s not about that —he believes in Sora (but he wishes he didn’t have to. He’s wishes he was here and safe). He apologizes for all the stuff he did pre-KH1 and in KH1.

Kairi accepts his apology. Yeah, he was kinda a jerk back then, but he’s changed, and for the better this time.

They fall back to silence. It’s awkward and Sora’s absence is still heavy. They still have work to do to properly rebuild their friendship, but at least for now, for this, they know they have each other.

(You know until Kairi decides to sleep for a year lol)