"Okay." Riku paused a moment to consider. "You make it work by using darkness for the right reasons. Doing the right thing. That's light." He lowered his head. As he mused, a sly smirk crossed his lips. Now that's a thrilling way to look at it. His face was still quite visible, but darkness fell across his features. Riku's hair seemed to glow, backlit from the light outdoors.

"Use the light, and you control how the shadows fall."

"Hmph. Sounds like politics." He was curious about the loopholes, but he wasn't about to ask if he didn't understand the basics. "So. To you a title is status, but it can also give you power. Physical power. That right?"

Riku smiled a little. "Wish I could tell my mom that. My room's a mess, so what?" he shrugged. "Don't make me clean it."

"So. She's evil. But thinks heroes are cool?" He gave Mao yet another odd look. "Am I missing something?"