poly_chromatic | 1 [video]

Entry tags:

kingdom hearts - riku

1 [video]

[All that's visible for the moment is a belly button and an unbuttoned shirt and the top of a pair of jeans; the video feed starts rather abruptly as he's clearly set it off accidentally because no one in their right mind would want to make a first impression with their navel. He's talking to himself though, thinking out loud more than anything.]

-where do I even start to look? I don't even know what kind of world this place is.

[The stomach moves in time to the sound of a resigned sigh, before the world shifts. Or rather the camera does, as the device moves and the owner of the voice and the midriff comes into focus; it's a boy, around sixteen or seventeen, with bright aquamarine eyes and silver hair framing his face. He's frowning as he concentrates on the device.]

How does this thing wor-

[And then he appears to realise that it is apparently working extremely well, and without his knowledge, as his eyes widen and he looks momentarily surprised before he schools his expression back into something a little more calm, but with perhaps an air of sheepishness.]

I guess it works better than I though. Uh... hi.

[He pauses, as though put on the spot suddenly having to address a strange device with no forethought.]

I don't really know what this thing is, but it looks like it's recording. Maybe it's a video diary or something? I don't get it.

[He looks up and around, looking for someone in the area who could maybe explain better but seems to be dissatisfied as he looks back at the camera a few seconds later.]

If anyone's watching this, I'm by a carousel. My name's Riku, and I could really use a clue about where I am right now. I guess that's all, thanks.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Okay. Composure]

Hi yourself. So this is where you went running off to, huh?

[ SOUND OF FEET POUNDING IN A DEAD ALIVE RUN :3 and then not exactly a screech but a halting drag just the same... ]

--run off to? What? No way. You were...oh.

[ of course; it's been ages. Sora doesn't even think it makes sense himself to have expected him to remember. there's a pause as he catches his breath then starts running again. sometimes he thinks he's stuck at one speed when he walks or runs. honestly. ]

I mean. I didn't come here on purpose. But...

But seriously, what's with the hair?

[ Smooth Sora, really smooth... ]

Are you kidding? Pretending you don't remember what happened doesn't mean I'm taking back what I said about not letting you near my hair with a pair of scissors again. Nice try, but no.

[ Another pause but just as Sora's going to reply he notices Riku as reported: near the carousel and decides instead to... ]

[ ATTACK.

Which is to say Riku may find himself bowled over by his spiky haired best friend, well 1/2 anyway. Not that Kairi's hair is spiky. ]

RIKU!

[ He could be saying 'WAFFLES' for all anyone else cares, but to Sora, it's significant. He hasn't seen him in forever and just the other day when peoples' hearts had manifested, he'd more keenly felt that absence. Vacancies so singular no one else could fill them. If he's enthusiastic, well that's Sora down to the bone, and if he's OVER enthusiastic well...

...so is that actually. ]

Whoa!

[Well clearly Riku's early warning radar could do with some more work because Sora not only manages to get the drop on him, but send him staggering back a couple of steps in surprise. He'd tease him about being unnecessarily huggy- it's only been a few hours man, come on- but the ferocity of the hug takes him aback for a moment.]

[So Sora gets a hug back, because it's only been a few hours of course but it's always good to see this dork alive and well, especially considering what's just happened.

He claps a hand on his shoulder and gives him a good natured shove away, sighing in resignation.]

You really are a sap. Come on, it's not been that long, you don't have to crush me like that again so soon.

[ Sora has to back off not only because otherwise they really will end up on the ground but also to stare. He realized before that Riku didn't remember this place; and he does look different, not relegated solely to the new do. His eyes narrow as he scrutinizes the other boy, rubbing his chin. This goes on for only a few seconds though, before he has his hands on his hips and is angling into Riku's personal space. Again. ]

Maybe it hasn't been that long for you. [ Kinda a relief though, that. ] But it's been forever for me! [ Not finite in the least, but years can seem like forever. They both already know that; and sometimes only the faith you'll succeed -- the will and knowledge that you must -- support your heart throughout. ]

Last time I saw you? Your hair was like... [ he holds his hand somewhere below Riku's shoulders, vaguely... ] here...ish...y'know. After we went through the door of light together.

[ 8( FOREVER. AGO. Seriously. ]

[Okay this warrants some serious attention because all things considered that is not forever ago and the very notion that it might be for Sora is ringing alarm bells. First a weird new world, and then an apparently amnesiac Sora who can't remember almost doing a terrible job on cutting his hair (thank goodness for Kairi, seriously). Something is very wrong and considering what he's just learned about time warping possibilities...]

Sora what are you talking about? It hasn't even been a month since then and you only left Master Yen Sid's a few hours ago. You're not making any sense.

[ As is sometimes ~~often~~ his habit, Sora in his excitement has failed to list some of the important factoids of arrival in the City - numero uno of which is that time works funny. Understatement. He rubs the back of his head and then gestures with both hands, uplifted then spread as if in half placation half explanation. ]

I know it's weird. Um. Truth is, time's...it...when people get to this world they can come from any point in time. I guess...you're from later. Which's good. [ He grins a little, though strangely mixed in with his happiness at reuniting with one of his friends, there is a weight too - a slow, quiet buildup over time of what it is just to miss someone and the ache of relief when suddenly they're there after all. ]

I dunno what's been happening with you other than the haircut...but I've been here for years.

[ Almost the strange sadness seeps in too much but then he brightens, ] Roxas's here too!

We've been living together.

And Ventus. [ Who though consciously not someone Sora 'remembers', his heart does and though it was best echoed in a wind-up curse some time ago, the resonance yet remains. A ripple effect sometimes in the undercurrent of proximity. ]

[There are so many things that sound weird with Sora's explanation that Riku's just going to take a moment to stare at him incredulously. The sheer fact that apparently the laws of time and space mean nothing take a bit of laughing off, and he's still trying to get his head around that- and that Sora's been here for years- when he mentions something that Riku knows should be impossible.]

Wait. You're saying that Roxas is here? How is that possible? He's-

['Apparently hanging out on a beach in your heart with his identical twin and a strange girl who's the spitting image of Kairi and what's left of Ansem the Wise' would not be the right answer to go with at this moment in time without Sora thinking that it's Riku who's being the weird one in this set up.

But then the answer to that might be in what he said earlier, about time not mattering here. That's the only explanation he can think of right now.]

So... if he's here then he arrived here from a time before he went back to you, is that it?

[He'll get to the other matter of the unfamiliar name in a second once this loose end gets tied up.]

Yeah. Exactly.

I know it's not...it shouldn't really. Well depending how long you're here, you'll see; lots of stuff doesn't make any sense. Even to us. It's really rough for people who've never been to other worlds though. A lot of them don't even believe in this place until they've been here for months.

[ He digresses. But not so very much that it's irrelevant. For once. Pausing, Sora tilts his head, just trying to measure the expression Riku wears - whether he believes him or is still deciding, which part wigs him out the most. Roxas obviously, but even so....

...he folds his arms across his chest, still peering. ]

We've been here a long time. We're friends. We even have a business kind of. Well not ...super official but...we...

[ There are more than a few very legitimate reasons to be apprehensive about the situation now that it's not just Roxas and Sora and Ventus, considering Riku's role in Roxas'...well. Again there's that ache, not nearly a pang of hunger but something quiet with distress where his heart resides. The day his heart was a light he'd even then had the impression he was trying to gather more than that once the cats moved out of the way and midnight came about. Sometimes it's like the whole thing is made of interlocking pieces, not one whole heart alone but many, one necessitating the next.

Not quite dodging around Riku's side, Sora just tilts to the side a little more, a comical sight that downplays other aspects. ]

He's from before. [ he repeats just to get back on track, as much for himself ] And I'm...well, like I said.

[ We were going home. Last time I was anywhere that isn't here. ]

[Riku's still quiet, letting his gaze drop to his feet for a second.]

I guess I owe him an apology, maybe even more than one.

[Although... the fact that Roxas hadn't tried to attack him in Sora's heart can be seen as an encouraging sign. Still, it doesn't excuse the things that happened in the past, the things that Riku played a part in. Knowing what he knows now, about Nobodies, about who and what they are, it just makes his past behaviour towards that missing part of his best friend that much crueller.

That's a bridge he's going to have to cross when he comes to it. He looks at Sora instead, at the ridiculous way he's leaning, and he shakes his head as though to relieve the melancholy and shoves the shorter boy lightly on the chest.]

We got home, you know. We landed in the ocean right off the coast of the play island. Kairi was waiting for us, so were Donald and Goofy and Mickey. They're fine, I just saw them all.

[Perhaps now isn't the best time to drop the rest of the news on him, in fact it would probably be best to wait a while.]

There's a lot of things I should probably tell you, and I guess maybe Roxas could do with hearing about them too. You say he's living with you?

[ Sora and Roxas have not really talked about Riku. For better or for worse. They'll have to now, maybe even later tonight, and then he'll have more than a nod's worth of response for 'owe him an apology', but for now Sora simply stays silent, watches him - a rarity of sorts for Sora who likes to act and look later more often than not. But time here changes most people in smaller or greater ways; in Sora's case, it has given him more perspective on the quiet edge of things and while he will never quite teeter into brooding nor contemplative, there is a thin extra dimension now where there wasn't so much before.

He rocks back on his heels, still watching, but then he's leaning forward again, rapt with attention for the names of other old friends. Sora's parents never went in much for prayer of any kind but Sora's mom would tell him that it never hurt to think about the people one loved before sleep, in particular when apart. He's made a habit of it, and it's interesting to hear some of those names from a voice that isn't his own. His voice is a little softer than the norm when he says, ] I'm glad.

I know it's no good to worry and stuff, but...well I'm glad you're all okay.

[ No good to worry - no point when you're stuck. He'd done so anyway, but Sora has always been fortunate - vastly so - that he is largely a creature of immediacy. What must be done, he'll do and what can't be done he tries to figure out a way or, option withdrawn, do the next best thing, which in this case was to make the best of his time here. For him, Roxas has been the focal point of this intention.

If Sora was to know the bulk of the other reality relative to Riku's pull-point, suffice to say it would be a lot to digest. Not unbelievable. Not in the least. But it's a good call on Riku's part to wait.

Except Sora of course has no idea that's the case, so his brow raises a little, squinting again almost comically with one of his eyes more than the others. ]

Yeah, me, him, and Ventus. And the cats.

We're pretty close by.

Of course we're all okay. You didn't think we'd let anything bad happen to any of our friends, did you?

[There's that unfamiliar name again. Ventus. Riku doesn't recognise it any more than he did the first time, but it's apparent that it belongs to someone he's going to have to become familiar with soon, if he's living with Sora.

Funny how not so very long ago that sort of information might have tied a knot in his guts and made him overreact like a jealous little snot.

Sora's looking at him strangely, and Riku peers back, head tilted to one side as he folds his arms over his chest. Perhaps now's the right time to ask about this other person whose name keeps cropping up.]

That's the second time you've talked about this Ventus person and I have no idea who you're talking about. Why don't you start with him [he assumes they're talking about a him here] and then tell me where the cats came from and how you wound up running a business.

No. [ He shakes his head but even Sora these days thinks: but bad things did happen.

So many bad things.

It's unsettling beyond reason to examine the fact that he still hardly knows the half of it. ]

Still. That's good to hear.

[ This time he smiles wider again, and it's the last bit specifically that has Sora snorting indignantly, both arms going behind his head as is one of his default tendencies (despite how strange that is in and of itself), walking them farther from the carousel and closer to what has become home. ]

You'll meet him when we get back. I actually don't know...a bunch about him but he's nice and...well... he looks like Roxas. And...

[ And it feels like I know him. Not just 'know' in a passing way either. It's like... like there's something somehow synced between them. But Sora hasn't got the exact words for that, so he shrugs, smiling a little still. ]

He's nice. You'll see. But what was that about ~how I wound up with a business~? You make it sound ridiculous!

[ But Sora knows it's true. He's hard pressed - or was - to do homework much less work work. Raft work. Yard work. Anything ___work. But then that was a while ago too. Between the first time they left the island and now it feels like it's been even longer than it really has. Sora doesn't think about it very deeply but sometimes he has dreams visceral with a cold, quiet kind of depth, a sense of distance and question underneath that. He never remembers these dreams when he wakes, which is another easy way to avoid thinking of them.

In a way that can be applied to most things with Sora though. He'll handle what's in front of him as best he can, and everything else is kind of a well-meaning shot in the dark by comparison.

As they turn a corner, Sora slows a little, scuffing some snow off the massive toe of his shoe. ]

Anyway. We just wanted something to do - me and Roxas. So ...well Roxas...he used to...

[ He trails off again, starts a different sentence entirely, ] Dunno if he's even home yet. He might be on an errand.

City's full of reasons to stay inside, so it's a pretty useful service, it turns out.

[ Especially on days where there's a curse...assuming they're not cursed themselves... ]

[Riku follows, mentally noting the places and landmarks they pass on the way. It's so nostalgic, trailing a chatty Sora with his arms tucked behind his head when he brings up a particularly interesting nugget of information pitched into the sea of new explanations he's getting.

Sora mentions his new friend, and for just a second Riku stops in his tracks. Someone who looks like Roxas? If he hadn't just dived to Sora's heart and met someone answering that exact description, he'd be more openly stunned by this piece of information. He stands still, watching as Sora's carries on obliviously to him, and then follows. After all, the sooner he meets this Ventus guy the sooner he can see if it's the same person.

And if he is, what exactly this might mean.

Instead he pays attention to what Sora's trying to say about his new found business venture with Roxas, and laughs to himself when he realises that even after all of that, he's still none the wiser to what it is his best friend actually does to earn a living. Buuuuuut that's Sora, impossible to pin down when there's something he's excited about.]

How can you say so much and still not give me any idea what you do for a job? You guys aren't doing anything illegal are you?

[But then he suddenly hones in on the 'full of reasons to stay inside' part.]

Or is it to do with keeping people safe from these reasons to stay inside. Is it the Heartless?

Edited 2013-02-11 08:53 (UTC)

[ Sora rolls his eyes at Riku, as if to say Seriously? He thinks he's been giving Riku all kinds of descriptions, but really that's Sora too - majority percentage feeling or enthusiasm, and minority percent concrete response. He nods toward the apartment building and of all places one might expect better security or worse but there isn't any really to speak of, heading in through the front without so much as seeing any of the building's other dwellers. ]

It's just kinda…getting things for people. Groceries usually. Or books. People get annoyed by the library, 'cause it's always changing; I've had a lot of errands for that actually.

[ His arms drop only to cross as he shakes his head. ]

No…I mean…at first I wondered a little. [ Not a lot though, if he's honest. From the very beginning it just didn't feel like that kind of angle, and while Sora has never been and never will be known for being particularly sharp, fresh from the showdown he'd been somewhat more attuned. Nowadays he might be too soft. That aside, he keeps talking as they continue through the building to the flat he's come to think of -- not as weirdly as one might expect -- as a home. Unlike some, Sora believes in the capacity for more than one home, more than one way and place of belonging. He thinks of them as friends in and of themselves, greatly, and if he believes in the potential and reality for multiple friends as he does, it is only the natural thing that it carries over to the keystone of a home.

Living with Roxas is more normal these days than it would be to suddenly return and find him gone, and Sora feels already -- has from the beginning, though he can't explain it -- felt almost interlocked with Ventus. Out the corner of his eye, Sora watches Riku with the same warmth but perhaps another dimension, one he didn't even have the last time they parted. ]

But it's not. Not as far as I know. The reasons for staying indoors, they call them curses and supposedly these guys called 'deities' cause them.

Heartless or not though, they can be really dangerous. They can be good too though. I dunno; it's weird. I still don't really get why they happen.

Lots of times people don't want to go outside though, those days. 'specially if they can't defend themselves. So we can go for them.

[ As he comes to a pause outside the apartment door, he digs around in his pocket -- well one of the many -- for the key, picking out an array of not-keys as he does so: some lint obviously, a pen, another pen, a pencil with the eraser chewed off, his device, some shreds of paper with various lists from old errands, one piece of paper that just says CAT LITTER, oh and look finally, the key!

As he unlocks it, he adds over his shoulder. ]

Oh -- we have a puppy too! Her name is Axel.

[ Sora's not sure there's a word for toddler-dog which is closer maybe, but 'puppy' seems to work. Axel. Riku. Kairi. The apartment's filled with the names of friends. Kind of like they wanted to keep them near in whatever way they could.

Er. Never mind the fact that this Axel is a girl...cough. ]

Edited 2013-02-15 02:05 (UTC)

[Such is life with Sora that whenever he feels like he's got too little information about something he'll suddenly be hit with a deluge of stuff which leaves him wondering what to cover first.]

I guess running an errand business is a pretty good way to make ends meet. It figures you'd wind up doing something like that to help people out.

[And then all the rest of it starts to sink in. Curses? Caused by dangerous deities? He waits as Sora digs through his pockets to try and find his keys- honestly bro could you not just use your keyblade? Come on. Ingenuity. Perhaps it's time to address this deity issue.]

Wait a sec, what kind of deity are-

[Oh hang on, deities can wait for a second as the newest nugget of information sinks in.]

...did you just say that your girl dog is named Axel?

[ Sora likes the novelty of the normal key here. Silly maybe, but he does. Though truth be told half the time he forgets to lock the apartment at all. Somehow they never come back to a burgled apartment. Or at least they haven't so far. He laughs a little and half shrugs, half nods though he thinks less of it figuring because of helping people but because it's a rather active undertaking. One of the things that has always been a bit of a silly contradiction is how lazy Sora could and still can be, somehow housed in the same entity as a boy who also hates to sit still.

Entering the apartment, he calls out curiously, ]

Guys? You here? Roxas?...Ventus?

[ Nothing. Hum. Well. He waves for Riku to follow in, unworried of the front door. Riku's question makes him snort. ]

Yeah. I know. But I think it's ...nice. And, well, technically it's Roxas' dog. But kinda like the cats, they're all ours.

[ His smile fades off and he glances away. Axel is someone he didn't know well at all yet he felt like he should and as seems to happen, it was abruptly too late. One thing he thinks he does understand - to an extent - is the degree of friendship between Axel and Roxas. An extreme of sorts but never without reason. If Roxas decides to name a girl dog Axel, well, Sora really does think it's nice. Sweet might be the more accurate word.

He shakes his head, moving farther into the apartment making 'here Axel...hey girl...' utterances off to the side, walking through the apartment and poking his head into the rooms. The cats are likely sleeping. No surprise there. Axel, based on no response, must be out with Roxas. Pausing in his perusal of the rooms, Sora turns back to face his friend and just stares a moment.

Then he pinches himself. Ow.

Well that's good. Not dreaming. Right?

Look don't laugh too much. He can't help missing people with his whole heart. To his credit, he rocks back on his heels, arms behind his head again rather than initiating tackle hug number two. ]

You started to ask about the deities before…

[ He points out. See? He can pay attention…more or less. Ahem. ]

[This isn't a particular great day, but it isn't a particular bad one, either. It's a normal day, which lately means a pretty good one, and non-cursed at that. (Curse days should theoretically be bad days, but after a couple of years in this weird City, Roxas can't really say that that's true. Some are okay. A lot are just weird.)

But it should be notable, he'll think later. Because even if it's a normal day to everyone else, and has been for him so far, it's also a day when everything changes.

None of this is on his mind when he jogs down the hall, flings open their front door (looks like someone's home, or maybe Sora forgot to lock it again), and trots inside, Axel by his side on her leash. He doesn't even notice the visitor at first, instead shrugging off his jacket and flinging it onto the counter.]

Hey, did you want to get some pizza tonight? Because I just finished a ton of deliveries and I don't really—

[This is when he looks up and sees and stops dead.]

[As Sora calls around the apartment for his housemates and the dog (and if he ever gets the chance to, Riku's going to have to find a way to bring that up to Lea as he's certain it'll make for great ammunition in his future dealings with the redhead), Riku looks around at the place, taking in the comfortable surroundings and the well worn domicile. It certainly feels homey- strange as it's not his home, at least not yet- and he wonders if its just seeing Sora so relaxed and 'at home'. It strikes him with a pang that he can't actually remember the last time he just hung out at Sora's place.]

Yeah, I guess I have a few questions about-

[Riku's about to elaborate when the crash of an opening door, the sound of a happy dog panting, and then the follow up of a familiar voice heard not so very long ago once again interrupts his train of thought about Deities and he turns his head to look over at that face he knows so well, even if he never gave the boy who owned it the chance to become as familiar in his own right. He steels himself, braces for whatever impact might follow- a barbed word, a pointed glance, even a fist he wouldn't rule out entirely- and turns fully to face the other boy.]

Hey Roxas. It's good to see you.

[It's the strangest thing to hear, not at all what he would have expected the last time he saw Riku—back home or in the City. The funny thing is he can tell the sentiments are sincere.

He's able to register that Riku looks different. The lack of blindfold is the obvious thing, but the hair's been cut too, and there's just enough of a difference in his face to make Roxas sure that time has passed outside of this world.

It's passing inside it, too, as he continues to stare, not replying to the greeting. He's not sure if a lot of seconds are passing or if it just feels like they're stretching longer than they really are, but then time seems to snap back into place.

Without saying anything, he turns on his heel and heads for the door, a light tug at Axel's leash getting the Irish setter to come along with him. The dog gives her empty food bowl in the corner a glance, but she is a good girl and will do as her master asks.]

And we're done

1/3 COMBOS FOREVER or at least sort of...

no subject

:>

no subject

1/2

no subject

1/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

Re: [Video]

[Video]

[Video]

no subject

no subject

no subject