YET ANOTHER CASE OF SOMEONE NOT BEING SOMEONE HE KNEW. it’s easier to ignore the more he grows accustomed to no longer seeing the two more familiar faces that graced the end of axel’s days, but lea isn’t known for being lea. riku is, depressingly, riku. he can almost hear larxene’s high-pitched laughter in his ear as he can scarcely remember the castle and the fear-laced expression of a replica he now felt sorry for. memories were damnable, especially when they reminded him of what he’d done in days past. was that really him? he often finds himself wishing he wasn’t.
❝ yo. fancy seeing you here. ❞
HE CAN FEEL THE HEAT OF EMBARRASSMENT PRICK AT THE BACK OF HIS NECK; a soft cough escaping his lips to make up for what didn’t follow after. he’s at a loss for words. apologies were owed and overdue, but the biggest one he has yet to give must come before them: his conscience refuses to be clear until then. axel sure did complain a lot for someone that left the dirtier, and painful, work behind.
❝ uh, if you happened to miss him… i ran into sora a little bit ago. ❞
THE CLASSIC SUBJECT CHANGE, absolving him of any potential relapse over guilt for something lea didn’t truly do. but his body, his problems; if only he could change his face. as if; who would isa admire then? he laughs now, though it’s unwarranted and eerie in its wake.
❝ sorry. thinking and all that good stuff. didn’t get to do a lot of that in the past. ❞
HE HARDLY REMEMBERS IT; if it didn’t involve some form of scheming and backstabbing, his head was barely in it. maybe it’d be a good thing to forget.
❝ if you’re looking for better company, though, i won’t object to you tagging along. ❞
“ axel —— i mean ... lea. ”
it is a name his tongue has yet to know, unfamiliar and foreign as the sound of it leaves his throat. it will take some getting used to, certainly, as will the effort to dissociate the person before him from the one he used to know.
is this right? he wonders. to dismiss the vices of the past with the flip of a nominal switch seems much too simple. has he the right to flee from his actions in such a way? axel had brought many hearts to harm, and to simply ignore his transgressions would be the peak of injustice.
—— but that was axel, and this is lea. while axel may have once committed such misdeeds, lea has done more than enough to make up for it, and riku may in fact be the one who really owes him his thanks ... and so, he chooses to accept the new other with pleasure —— for he, too, knows the significance of change, of transformation and growth, of departure from a past rife with guilt and regret that cannot be erased. he, too, understands —— better than anyone else.
“ you saw sora? where did you —— ”
worry nearly overtakes him, but he cuts himself short, and only a smile is left to grow upon his features. if he’s the same sora he’s always known, then he can take care of himself just fine.
“ on second thought ... it’s all right. i think i’ll join you for a little while. ”
he’s unsure as to whether he should mention his recent encounter with a certain blue-haired acquaintance. surely, the memory will only bring discomfort, as they’ve nothing to do with one another now ( oh, if only! ). however, he dares to approach the subject, albeit with care:
“ i ... saw some of the organization’s members around. they don’t seem to have changed much, though. ”
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