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All was as it should be.
The Journal cycled endlessly through the events once written in it. Actors on a stage, always replaying events never experienced by the one forced to play in it.
Sometimes he reprised the role of Riku. It didn't feel right to leave Sora alone to dance to the tune of a story not his own. That never lasted long. His heart was never in it; how could the real Riku have ever stomached being so cruel to Sora?
Data-Sora's heart was never in it, either. He carried the real Sora's hurt because that was what he was built to do, but it was never his hurt. None of the hurt that was given to him was truly his own.
Data-Riku knew he couldn't be mad at Naminé or Roxas. They were just programs designed to carry out a function. And once they did, they were gone. Hard to be mad at that.
After all, he was also a program designed to carry out a function. He was the Journal, and his function was to continue on. To continue this endless retelling of the story written in the Journal.
...Despite it all, he had a heart. And that heart twisted and dropped into guilt every time he saw Sora pause where once lay system sectors he was made to debug, every time he saw his face screw up in confusion more than the recorded heartbreak when interacting with the empty bits and bytes of data wearing the face of the real Riku. Sora's memory might reset with every retelling, but somewhere in his heart, in that tangled thing that the Journal could never understand or read despite being the world that made him up... somewhere deep down, he still remembered.
Data-Riku knew he could reawaken those memories. All it would take was restoring Naminé's code... Which, while he might not be able to do himself, he could always get Sora to do it. He was good at fixing things. It was what he was made for, after all.
But it would be cruel to do so. To leave him with the memories of all his hardship while not letting him escape the endless replaying of the real Sora's journey...
No, it was better this way. The Journal had a function and he must complete it.
But sometimes, a minor bug would pop up and Sora would go to fix it, without even knowing that's what he was doing. And sometimes Data-Riku would linger, wanting desperately to say "thank you" and restart a friendship he was made to have.
He stayed away, in the end. If he was going to talk to Sora, it would be after that future he could never have where he brought back Sora's memories. And that wouldn't happen. He had to fulfill his task.
...Sometimes, he couldn't stand it anymore, and he let the Journal fall down into hibernation. It never lasted long enough, yet it always lasted too long. Despite it all, he still wanted to see Sora's face. It was illogical, but hearts are illogical like that. Sometimes he wished he didn't have one.
There was far too much time to think.
And sometimes his thoughts led him to examine Kairi's data. She never had a heart, was only allowed on the stage on the few and far between moments where the Journal mentioned her. Just a ghost of a puppet, entering the stage when needed and exiting without a fuss. She played her role as needed, for that was why she existed at all.
But sometimes he wondered what it would take to get her a heart, so that in the imagined dream where Sora had his memories back, they could be a trio. Just like the real thing.
He would never try that. There was nothing more cruel than to give someone a heart in an inescapable world that did not allow hearts to be free.
They were all too attached to the data of the Journal to be free of it. Especially Data-Riku, himself. He was the Journal. There was no future where he would be free of this world because he was the world. Maybe one day, Data-Sora would find a way to detach himself from the computer, but there wasn't even a hint of a possibility for him. If he detached from the computer that breathed life into the Journal, he would die. Plain and simple.
"Riku, stop! Just... stop."
Those weren't his lines. He managed to nail the heartbroken delivery, at least. Data-Riku let the body he was currently using continue to rattle off his lines like normal, hoisting a boy under his arms and posturing about puppets without hearts in the simulated belly of the beast.
"Riku, please! How many times has it been...?"
That... wasn't right at all. It almost sounded like... he had memories he shouldn't. He cut off his speech and stopped his body's animations. He waited.
"Riku... Why?" Sora's voice cracked. "Why do you keep... Aren't you tired?"
"All is as it should be," he stated.
"I'm right, aren't I?" Sora took a step towards him. "You're tired. This isn't... Riku, this might be the right way for the world to be but...but it's no way to live!" His voice rose in volume and passion as he spoke, culminating in a shout.
Data-Riku dissolved the simulated world around them, leaving things in a blank void. He discarded the dark suit he wore for the sake of the show, and instead wore his preferred outfit, the black coat. If they were going to stop the play... there was no point in a costume.
He opened up his combat data and summoned his sword.
"I don't want to fight, Riku..." Sora summoned his keyblade anyways. It was Zero/One.
Sora fought well, despite his reluctance. With his current combat data, Data-Riku stood no chance. Good.
"How much do you remember?" He asked, once all was said and done.
Sora's face fell. "Not much. It's... it's all cloudy." He gathered himself up to say with conviction, "But I know it's true! My heart tells it is!"
Riku sighs. He might not remember fully, but even in breaking away from his role, in remembering what little he did... Maybe it was foolish to keep him from his memory, if he was going to remember eventually anyways. Maybe this was better, in the end. It meant throwing away his purpose for... for something. But. If the only other option is to choke Sora's heart and reset his memories... That was a cruelty he would not stand.
"Come on," Riku said, turning away.
Sora followed, as he thought he would. "Where are we going?"
"...There's some code I need you to fix." He opened a doorway to the right system sector that would hopefully allow Sora to fix up Naminé's code. It would be a bit different from his usual - there were no bugs to kill, after all - but he was confident that Sora would figure it out.
Sora peered at the doorway. "You're not... going to reset my memory again, are you?"
"Not this time. If you fix this for me... Then you should get your memory back."
"Oh! Really? You'd... Thank you! I'll fix it up right away!" He hurried into the doorway.
"Wait."
Sora stopped at the entrance to the system sector. He turned around and tilted his head. "What?"
Riku opened his mouth, apologies forming on his lips. He closed his mouth and turned away instead. "Come back safe."
"No worries!" Sora hung his keyblade over a shoulder (having summoned it for the effect) and beamed at him.
He didn't deserve it.
He wondered if the real Riku felt the same.