[closed] enter a noisy street, and put on the mask of destiny

[dreamprotector]

WHO: Kairi (heartslight), Riku (dreamprotector), Roxas (pullsheavendown) and Sora (happylocksmith)
WHERE: Heropa possibly, and Maurtia Falls
WHEN: January, 2nd or 3rd I guess
WHAT: Catch-all for reunion shenanigans between all those key kids. Some go better, some go worse?
WARNINGS: key violence? possibly? it depends on how the angry noboy is not!feeling!

Comments

Roxas + Riku + maybe Roxas' stabby children

[pullsheavendown]

[Roxas doesn't know where he wants to go after making a rapid exit from Sora's presence via dark corridor. Not back 'home,' for sure, but that's the only thing he's sure of, because everything he thought he knew is wrong. His other half seems to know things he doesn't, expects him to remember things he can't, again, and his last desperate fight for his own existence seems not to have been lost so much as it's become irrelevant. He'd lost so much for so long but even now that he has his own body again, it doesn't feel like he's gained anything.

None of this makes sense.

He keeps his hood up as he leaves the more crowded part of downtown, moving at a brisk clip towards the canal that bisects the city. It's chilly enough that he doesn't look out of place, but mostly he just doesn't want to have to look any passersby in the face. His eyes burn treacherously as he makes his way...away, is all that really matters.]

this can only end well

[dreamprotector]

[Riku is still finding his feet under himself – there's been a lot of information thrown at him at arrival, so he takes time for a little walk in the streets to clear his head.

Or he would, if not for the hooded figure in a particular black coat that suddenly rushes past him in the crowded street. Riku would know that black coat anywhere.

He stands stunned for a second, alarmed by the appearance of– Who is it even? The figure disappears too quickly into the crowd for him to judge their identity just by size and build… he can exclude most of the taller members… but there is one Xehanort that he can't exclude right away.

A Xehanort that is not above baiting him, like this, even if he had lost the last time he and Riku had faced off.

Riku shakes his head sharply before he follows the hooded figure… if it is indeed Xehanort, he'll find out soon enough.

He rushes after the figure, only slowing his steps once the other is back in sight. He follows them out of downtown and towards the clips. There are less and less people around.]

Now, that's convenient.

[Though Riku can't say he minds if there is no-one around to witness this encounter. Especially if this really is the person he suspects it to be.]

[pullsheavendown]

[There's a small, vaguely woodsy area bordering a section of the canal and Roxas finds himself automatically angling towards it. It's not much of a park, but it looks like it might have been an attempt to add some green to the more industrial surroundings. The result is kind of pathetic, just a copse of straggly trees that would block some of the wind of they had leaves and some dead, wintertime grass. Maybe it looks better in the summer.

Overall, there's a certain lonely quality to it, which suits his needs fine. Iron fenceposts connected by a bar on top prevent anyone from continuing on into the canal itself, but there's space for him to sit and let his legs dangle over the side. So he does, and pretends he doesn't wish he were facing west right now.

What is he even doing here?

It's a question those people back in the Cape Canaveral place had tried to answer. The Porter, they said. No one knew exactly how it worked, but this sort of thing had been happening for a while, and they had plenty to share about what Roxas could expect. They hadn't been able to tell him anything about why he was here, just him and not the person he'd been forced to go back to; the blank stares had caused any other questions he had to wither away. And then it turned out that he hadn't come alone after all. But they weren't stuck with each other anymore, and that's what should be important. So why does he still hurt so much?

Lost in thought, he doesn't pay much mind to anyone else who might wander in this direction. He shook Sora off easily; who else is there who would even know him?]

[dreamprotector]

[Their surroundings are pretty sad as far as green areas might go, but Riku is barely paying attention to that anyway. What matters is that there are no more people around now, that there is no-one here that might interfere with his confrontation with might-be-Xehanort.

He stops a few steps off the hooded figure, keeps himself loose and ready for the fight that's probably coming.]

So… how goes the search for Number Thirteen?

[He sounds a lot more confident in the words than he feels – if the Organization is still after Sora, then they'll have to be even more careful in this world, than Riku had already assumed they had to be. Still… it seems the easiest way to bait Xehanort.]

[pullsheavendown]

[It happens fast. Roxas is startled out out of his reverie and his body reacts to the fact that the fact that the voice is familiar before his mind can consciously recognize it. He sits bold upright before springing up to his feet and spinning around, knees crouched in a ready stance.

Instinct is quicker than thought, but it only takes a second or two for his mind to catch up. The boy he faces looks different now than the last time they'd met, different even from his memory of memories—shorter hair, brighter clothes, no more hidden eyes. But he'd know Riku in a heartbeat.

Riku's actual words make no sense—Number Thirteen? He is Number Thirteen—but he can't think about what they mean in this moment. Roxas is more stunned than anything, but fear lances through him as he stares with wide eyes from beneath his hood. If he's here to take him back to Sora...]

kairi + roxas + his stabby children (screams)

[heartslight]

[ So Kairi hasn't had the time to find out about Roxas's being here yet, and instead she's taken some time to explore, and then some time to check out their home and what they've got going on with it.

So in the process of doing that, she decides to check out their balcony. It's kind of amazing, how big this house is — she's not used to living in such a large place, and it feels like there's so many little nooks and crannies to check out. The balcony seems like it'll be a nice place to relax, though. At least when the weather is warmer.

So upon taking a single step out, she peers up at the sky, and then to the side, and — are those feet? She notices a pair of shoes hanging over the edge, like someone's laying up on the roof of their neighbor's house. Apparently their neighbor is as into climbing things as her and her friends are.

Well, this is as good a time as any to introduce herself. Her friendliness knows no bounds, after all.

So she begins to speak, as she steps out further onto the balcony to hopefully get a better look, and give the figure a better look at her if he decides to sit up. ]

Hey, we just got here, and —

[ Okay, that intro is going to have to wait because once she's out far enough, she's able to see more of what's up on that roof, and spotting one of his Nobody friends sitting up there with him causes her to instantly switch gears with a surprised shout.

And then stumble backwards into the railing, gripping it. No way no way no way. They're here???? ]

stabby bodyguards ok /pointed look at certain people

[pullsheavendown]

[This has not been Roxas' best day ever. It also hasn't been his worst, or even his second worst, which is really depressing.

After the two surprise encounters earlier, he'd eventually realized that, like another day he could recall, one he couldn't be sure how long ago it had been, there was nowhere for him to go—except 'home,' if it could be called that. The place he was supposed to sleep.

He hadn't been tired when he got here, though. Mostly he'd wanted to sit and think some more and not be interrupted again. High places always felt like the best place for that sort of thing, so even though the roof wasn't all that high, he'd come up here, called a Samurai to watch out and keep him from being surprised again, and flopped onto his back, resting his head on his hands as he stared up at the sky. It was still kinda cold out, but the chilly breeze wasn't enough to drive him indoors.

Roxas barely registers the nearby, friendly voice when he hears it. It's the sudden shriek that gets his attention. Immediately he pops upright, glancing below him left and right to search for its source. What? What happened? Who's yelling and why?]

well he doesn't need them here so they're children!!

[heartslight]

[ Just him sitting up somehow makes this ten times worse for her. Even if he doesn't mean to. Definitely not his day.

He gets another shout out of her when he sits up — darkened face under hood and all. She can't quite make out who it is under there — but to her, it doesn't matter much. The Organization is full of too many dangerous people for her to risk this one being somehow kind.

She switches from shock to determination, as she stands back upright and quickly summons her Keyblade to her hands. She can't even hope to fight one of them, but it gives her a better chance than before — when she'd been too weak to do anything against Axel's strength. ]

Not you guys! I won't let you use me again!

[ No matter what! She is not letting that happen again! ]

idk about that....

[pullsheavendown]

[He recognizes her immediately, even though they've only spoken once, and never face to face. Kairi. That girl he likes. The one he's seen over and over in memories of Sora's life before he lost his heart...memories of his life, when he'd been Sora.

He can't even muster surprise that she's here. Not after seeing Sora and Riku. Confusion, though? That comes easy.]

What?!

[What is she even talking about? What does she mean, use her? Since when does she have a Keyblade???]

well i do ......

[heartslight]

[ His voice sounds ... weirdly familiar to her, but she can't place where exactly she's heard it. She's heard a few of their voices. But that slight familiarity isn't enough to take her off guard.

She's nervous, and she can only focus on protecting herself. Sora and Riku aren't here right now, but she can't lose. Still, it's a little strange that he sounds confused. ]

Don't play dumb!

[ If he really doesn't know about that, then she'll be sorry, but for right now, she can't afford to miss a beat. Being at a clear disadvantage isn't enough to stop her from trying. ]

I ... I won't back down!

[ But she's also not taking any moves to attack first ... She doesn't actually want to fight and that might be clear. ]

kairi + riku + sora + their cool new house

[heartslight]

[ So Kairi's ended up escorted to their new home, in Maurtia Falls — she's got plenty more on her mind, like where her friends are and what she should be doing here, but it's probably a good idea to go along with things for now anyway, considering she needs to know where she's living ...

So once she's finally on her own, she's immediately taken aback by the size of the house. There's no way she could be living here alone ... no person needs this much room, right? It's huge ... And this is just from the outside.

Therefore, it's kind of exciting to her to see the inside, so she quickly moves to open the door, her eyes lighting up a bit when she does. ]

Wow ... [ Wait, since this is definitely too big for one person, she should probably check: ] Oh — um, hello? Is anyone here?

[dreamprotector]

[Having lived in abandoned castles and mansions for a while, Riku isn't nearly as taken by the size or the idea that he might have to live here all by himself… and he thinks he might even prefer that to having random strangers assigned to live with him.

He's in the middle of checking out the upper floor of the town house when he hears someone call from the entrance. …Wait, that voice is way too familiar. It can't be… or can it?]

…Kairi? Is that you?

[Brb racing downstairs to see her! (Is he abusing flowmotion to slide along the banister like all the cool kids? Maaaybe!)]

[happylocksmith]

[It sure is a different kind of neighborhood to what he's used to that the car winds up taking Sora to. He's so busy taking in the scenery that he hardly notices that the car's come to a complete stop outside a brick two-storey house. It sure is big.

He hops out of the car, thanks the driver and takes a moment to take in his new street and the houses on either side of his. He looks at the paper in his hand - #007 (and isn't that fitting?) is right ahead. For a moment, he feels a tiny bit of trepidation, wondering about who he's going to wind up living with, and hopes the people he's living with are nice. It feels strange, being all alone out here in a new world without a single familiar face to keep him company.]

Okay, here we go.

[He psychs himself up and heads up the stairs, turning his new key in the lock and pushing the door open.]

Hello? I'm - hey!

[His eyes widen and a huge smile splits his face as he suddenly recognises who else is in the house.]

What are you guys doing here?!

[heartslight]

[ She can hear someone coming down the stairs when she calls out — she knew someone else had to be here. She's incredibly curious to see who it is — what they're like, and all that — when it ends up being ... a more than familiar face. Her face lights up with a smile immediately upon seeing him. ]

Riku! You're here?

[ There's a great deal of relief and happiness in her voice, and she begins to step forward toward him when she hears the door behind her open, and yet another familiar face comes through it. She doesn't even have to see his face to recognize who he is, though — she'd know his voice anywhere. ]

And — Sora?!

[ Okay, cue laughter, as she stands between the two of them, looking between them both, her smile bright as can be. ]

Don't tell me the two of you are living here, too.

[ Actually, yes, please tell her that. She'd hug them but she can't decide who to hug first. She's just so happy to see them. ]

[dreamprotector]

[Riku flips off the banister to take the last few steps by foot when Sora pushes open the door – and Riku really can't help a double-take.]

Wha- Sora?!

[He can't help but join into Kairi's laughter, relieved and happy. He isn't here on his own.]

Looks that way.

[And then he steps forward to pull both of his friends into that bear hug he's feeling right now. Follow your heart and all that jazz, right?]

Riku + Kairi discussing Roxas (and maybe also his stabby children)

[dreamprotector]

[After the encounter with Roxas, Riku aborts his walk around the city. He's got enough fresh air for now… and a lot to think about too. He's still frowning to himself when he returns to the town house that he now shares with Sora and Kairi.

Roxas' presence here… does it have any consequences for Sora, he can't help but wonder. Does Sora know? He might, considering that Roxas had asked if he had sent Riku… he'll have to ask him later.

He sighs as he sits down in the den, rubbing at his forehead with a sigh.]

…This is going to get complicated.

[One way or another… Because if Roxas can appear here… then just who else can the Porter call here?]

[heartslight]

[ Kairi had heard someone get home — after having spoken to Roxas, she has quite a bit on her mind, and she's spent her time between then and now sitting in her room mulling it over. But she doesn't show it much. For the moment, it gets overridden by being excited to see one of her friends again.

So she comes down the stairs not long after he gets in, and as she's moving toward him to say something, she hears him mention things are going to get complicated. And notices his ... less than happy air about him. Huh. ]

Hey, Riku. [ She's going to greet him anyway! But also she can't help but ask. ] Something wrong?

[dreamprotector]

[Riku looks up when she comes to join him, his frown softening into a faint smile. No matter what's troubling him… Kairi is here, and so is Sora. As long as the three of them are together, they'll figure things out, he's sure.]

…Hey.

[The smile fades again when she pokes at his unease… and much as he would love to say that it's nothing…]

I wouldn't say wrong…

[There is nothing wrong with Roxas being here in itself, after all, but… well, he should tell her about his presence anyway. There is no point in not telling Kairi, really.]

…I just found out that Roxas is here.

[heartslight]

[ ........ Oh. Oh boy, it's time to hold up that promise she made to him. Pretty soon after it was made, too. But she can do this. (Not that she's much better at lying than Sora is, but she has to try!)

She looks shocked at first — and the shock is genuine, but not for the reason he might think. It's because he's already brought up Roxas to her and it caught her a little off guard, though it seems like she's just shocked to hear that he's here. ]

He ... He is? How? [ A pause. ] What happened?

[ She's genuinely curious about those latter two questions, actually. Maybe Riku might know what's up, and it's less awkward to ask Riku how Roxas exists here on his own than to ask Roxas himself, she thinks. But she also really wants to know what happened — since Roxas is clearly upset about something. ]

[dreamprotector]

[It's probably a good thing that Riku is expecting that reaction anyway, that he isn't expecting Kairi to keep any secrets from him, like for example Roxas' presence in the house next to them.

He shrugs at the question; because honestly? He's not all that sure himself.]

The porter, I would assume. It must have separated Roxas from Sora somehow… I guess, we'll know for sure, if i does that as rule or if this is just coincidence, if Naminé shows up.

[…Which Riku would kind of welcome, actually. He misses talking with her, sometimes.]

I'm worried that it might affect Sora somehow… but I'll ask him about that when he comes home.

[And if it does… well, then they'll have to figure out something… something that doesn't involve kidnapping and memory manipulation.]

kairi + sora + hearts going in the wrong places

[heartslight]

[ So Kairi's confused on what's said about her in this little bio paper she's got. Specifically, her powers here. She knows about the first ones, but then the one titled "Heart Displacement" catches her off guard. She's done it before — ended up with her heart in Sora — but that was through ... special circumstances. It's never been something she can just willingly do for no reason. There isn't much info on it here, though. Something about it lasting a minute, and her heart going in someone else during that time.

It's ... strange. A little unnerving? But mostly hard to believe.

So she sits there, on her bed, the door to her room wide open, as she stares at the paper for a few moments, and then closes her eyes. Maybe she could test it out. See if it's true. How it works. She's a curious person, and this is going to bother her if she doesn't figure out what's going on with it.

Thus ... she concentrates, and with the worst possible timing, her heart leaves her body just as Sora's approaching her room. Whenever he ends up looking in, he'll be able to see her suddenly gasp softly — the feeling of her heart leaving is strange — and suddenly fall over on her bed like she's just passed out.

And her heart? Going right into Sora. ]

[happylocksmith]

[Sora's been distracted by trying to build a bridge between himself and Roxas after their tentative and really rather terrible start. It hadn't gone well at all, and Kairi's suggestion that he should reach out and try to text him had seemed like such a good idea at first but then... nada. It had ground to a very unsatisfying halt and instead of feeling better about it, Sora now feels worse].

Kairi? I did what you said, I don't think it went very-

[As he's making his way out of his room to tap on the door to hers, he hears a sudden gasp and he opens the door just in time to see Kairi slump over onto her bed.]

Kairi!

[All thoughts of Roxas are immediately forgotten as he tears into her room and onto the bed. He reaches for her, desperate to fix this, fix her, but for a second his hands hover uselessly over her as he doesn't know what to do or if he might make it worse.]

Kairi, Kairi wake up!

[Is she breathing? He leans over, tries to hear for her breath but all he can hear is his own heartbeat thundering in his ears as he scoops her into his arms.]

Open your eyes, please open your eyes!

[He's begging with her now, and he doesn't know what's happened or how to help and what should he do?]

Riku! Riku help!

[Is Riku even home right now?]

[heartslight]

[ Oh boy, she did not expect any part of this to happen. If the power actually worked, she'd just hoped to see what would happen quietly, and then return to her body like it said she would a minute later. But now she feels awful because hoo boy, that timing.

Kairi watches this unfold from Sora's perspective — reminiscent of how she'd seen his journey before. It takes her a few moments to adjust to the fact that she's seeing things how Sora is. And then it's another strange feeling to see her body just ... laying there. Like she's dead or something.

It gives her a terrible feeling — if she had a stomach to call her own right now, there'd be an awful knot in the pit of it. She sees herself there, passed out, and she hears Sora shouting for her to open her eyes, and she wants so desperately to actually do so, tell him she's fine, but she can't at the moment.

"Sora, I'm right here," is what she wishes she could say, but nothing comes out and nothing gets across. Just silence on her end.

It takes her a good 15 or so seconds before she composes herself enough to try and will herself out of his body. The paper said one minute was the maximum, so that implies that there can be less time spent doing this, right? Okay, keep calm, Kairi, it'll be fine.

She spends the next 10 or so seconds trying to ignore his panic in favor of concentrating on getting out of him. It's hard, of course, considering how much she cares about him and how much it hurts to hear him like that, but she's luckily good when it comes to doing things out of sheer willpower. So eventually, it works.

And a few seconds later she's gasping softly again and opening her eyes — like suddenly the wind came back into her. The jump back into her body is a little strange, too. She's only done this kind of thing once before, and without any control over it, so it's ... jarring. And feels a little different from before.

Of course, the first word out of her mouth is: ]

... Sora ...

[ Really just to tell him she's conscious again. Look she's right here, give her a moment to come back fully. This was a tiny mistake. ]

[happylocksmith]

Please wake up. Please...

[He doesn't know what to do.

She won't wake up.

Sora doesn't think he can breathe, his head's spinning and no matter how much he nudges and begs and shakes her Kairi's not waking up and he can't help. There's nothing he can do.

He's so, so scared that he's trembling as he scoops her into his arms and just holds her, rocking her as his eyes grow hot and prickle with the promise of tears that he's not even going to try to hold back. He doesn't understand, she was fine, he had just been talking to her before this happened and he doesn't know what's wrong.]

Kairi...

[His voice is little more than a whisper, strained and hoarse and then the tears come and he holds her close, burying his face into her hair as he feels the full brunt of his misery overcome him.

He's in a strange world, he's pretty sure now that whatever he had dreamed about his meeting Roxas had been nothing more than a trick of the Xehanorts to break down his defenses and leave him open to their meddling because he's certain Roxas hates him and wants nothing to do with him (he won't even stop to question how real those memories had felt) and he's too weak and useless and stupid and helpless to do anything to save Kairi. What good is he to anyone anyway? What's the point?

He sniffles and... could swear he hears Kairi speak his name. Dang it, now his mind's playing tricks on him.

He takes a deep, shaky breath and immediately regrets that decision as his face is pressed so close to her hair that he inhales a great mouthful of it and starts to splutter and cough.]

[heartslight]

[ Oh, Sora ...

His tears, and the way his voice sounds, only serve to make her feel worse once she's finally out of his body. She really, really didn't mean to cause any of this. Maybe she should've thought this through a little more.

She's not sure she's ever seen him like this. Sure, when they were younger, he might've gotten upset for childish reasons. But she's never seen him in this level of despair. She can't tell if there's something more causing him to be this upset, or if he's really this upset over her not waking up for a little bit. Granted, she ... would understand if he were this upset over her being this way. She can't imagine he enjoys reliving what already happened to her a while back. She's not sure how much she really likes this power for that reason, as well. But it pains her deep in the heart to hear him this way.

But now that she's conscious in her own body again, she can do something about it, and she wastes no time in doing so. ]

Sora ... [ She says his name again, still as soft as the first but a little more urgent. And then the third time she says his name, immediately after, she's finally fully back in herself and she nearly shouts it. ] Sora!

[ Please stop choking on her hair and listen to her.

And, quickly, she moves to wrap her arms around him in a hug — one that benefits her and hopefully him as well — because saying his name isn't enough for her. Hopefully this serves to get the hair out of his mouth, too — ]

I'm right here. I'm okay. See?

[ Please, please don't cry. ]