paixaorpg | An Old Friend (Closed, Finished, backdated)

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An Old Friend (Closed, Finished, backdated)

Character(s): Kairi, Riku
Content: Friends meet again after months apart
Setting: Near Sora's place in the Townhomes.
Time: Early afternoon
Warnings: Some potential angst on Riku's part.

Riku's breath pumped in and out with each quick footfall. His thoughts weren't on the thudding of his heart or the fact he'd twisted his ankle a bit on the way.

His thoughts were on his childhood friend, his relief over the chance to see her again and the concern that she was in harm's way just by being here.

But still, she was here, and she was safe. And he and Sora would make sure she was. Simply having her around was a source of comfort. A small smile spread on his face as he neared where'd they'd meet, and even he couldn't deny his heart pounded with a little excitement and not just from running.

She didn't remember what happened, but really, those weren't happy memories.

...At least she wouldn't remember him oversleeping on her couch that one time before meeting with Timon.

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Kairi set down her journal shortly after hearing from Riku, a wide smile spreading across her face. Even though several people had told her he was here, it was still worrisome that she hadn't heard from him for so long. Of course, he had told her why, but it didn't mean she hadn't worried to begin with. Now she just had to wait a little longer to see him, she had gotten plenty of practice doing that before, hadn't she?

He had told her to give him about an hour. So for a little while she busied herself with whatever she could find, glancing at the clock from time to time to make sure she didn't lose track. As the minutes passed and it came close to an hour, she went to the door to try and see if she could spot that familiar head of silvery hair.

Riku trotted up, breathing in deeply to try to curb his lungs' desire to pant. He'd spent most of the trek running, and regardless of how good a runner he was, it was still a decent distance. Still, when he saw the door ahead crack open, he felt an extra little trickle of adrenaline kick in, seeing him to the door. As he came up, he smiled down at her, giving her a gesture that barely passed for a wave.

"Hey."

There he was. She grins as he gets closer, leaning on the door frame until he gets to her. "Hey? Is that it?" Kairi now gives Riku a mock pout, pushing the door open the rest of the way and going over to him. She holds her arms out for a hug, looking at him expectantly. "You don't keep me waiting all this time and just say 'hey', you know."

"Come here."

With a blink, Riku simply paused as he looked at her. He never was particularly the hug-type of guy, and she was Sora's girl, not his. Kairi always was one to keep the boys on their toes. Still, he'd be lying to himself if he said he wasn't happy to see her again. A slight, typical smirk appeared. He holstered a thumb and held out his right hand to her, gently giving her a half-hug.

"I can't even start to tell you how much we missed you."

The half hug was all she expected, and really, that was plenty from Riku. Kairi knew him well enough for it to matter. She put her arms around his neck gently, holding on for a bit. For her, this wasn't awkward, Riku was one of her best friends, she was allowed to give him hugs of this nature. Her cheek touched his chest for a few moments before she stepped back, looking up at him with a bright smile.

"Sorry that I disappeared on you guys... not that I remember doing it." She plays with her hair a bit, pushing pieces of it behind her ear as she gazes up at him. "But I'm back now, and we can be together again. Even if it's not home."

She knew this place was dangerous, but she could handle herself. Especially if Riku and Sora were with her.

The arms around his neck combined with her cheek on his chest shouldn't have taken Riku aback as much as it did. His heart picked up the tempo again, and he hoped Kairi couldn't feel it through his shirt. Still, he dared indulge himself in a brief but loving grin with how good it felt. The expression faded into a more typical one as he felt her begin to pull away.

Riku shook his head ever so slightly when she apologized, indicating it wasn't necessary. "They say home is where the heart is." He smirked. "With all three of us here, I'm sure we'll manage."

Still, inside he promised that the next time they were separated like that, it would be because he and Sora had personally seen her safely home.

For the briefest moment she had heard his heart, but she attributed it to him most likely running here than anything else. "Yeah, you're right." Now she just had to manage to get all three of them together in the same room at the same time and they would be golden. She seemed to always be able to pin down one or the other of her two guys.

"But tell me, where were you? Been getting into any trouble without me?" It was meant as a joke, really.

Riku glanced away when she talked about trouble. She'd learn about the fog soon enough. ...Unless she'd heard from Sora. What a mess that was...

"I was on another floor..." He looked back to her. "Wait... You don't remember about Castle Oblivion, do you?"

Sora hadn't mentioned anything to Kairi about the fog, so she was still in the dark about it. Honestly, if she knew, she'd have worried incessantly about her boys. Or scolded them for getting into a fight, even though it really wasn't their fault to begin with.

"No, should I?" The name sounded vaguely familiar in some way, but not to a point that she really knew what it meant.

"Yeah, you should. We're both standing in it." Riku's hands lazily stuffed themselves into his pockets. He didn't quite feel comfortable standing this near outside Sora's place. "Want to walk while I explain?"

"We are? But I thought this place was called Paixao." Did this place have two names?

"Sure, let's go," Kairi answered to the second question, making sure her shoes were tied and closing the door behind her. Okay good, she wouldn't get locked out. Stepping up next to him, she laced her fingers behind her back and waited for him to lead the way.

"It is," he said simply. Riku waited as Kairi checked everything. As soon as she was ready, he gave her the slightest nod and began to walk off, on his way to nowhere in particular. They would pass by the fake silk trees and numerous building facades. Riku wouldn't give them the honor of a glance. He never cared for fakes.

"Castle Oblivion's rooms and floors change to look like a place from someone's memories. Paixao is just a floor of the castle. Who knows who remembers this place." He looked right back to Kairi. "There's Halloween Town and a new floor of someplace called 'Spira.' I was checking that out." There was a slight pause. "Next floor up was one of our memories. ...It's our Island."

As they walked, Kairi did look around a bit at their surroundings. She much preferred the palm trees and homes from their island to anything here, but she couldn't say the view wasn't pretty. But more than anything, she focused her attention on what Riku was saying to her, in order to better understand where she was.

"It's so big for just one floor..." But Riku wouldn't lie to her, so she wasn't going to disregard what he was saying. Her eyes brightened a bit at Halloween Town. Sora had been there, and told her about it, so she had always wanted to see it. Maybe now she'd get a chance. While she'd never heard of Spira, it sounded interesting too. "Our island? But it's not real, right?" Getting home wouldn't be that easy.

"Faker than Xemnas pretending he has a heart. But a lot more convincing." A hint of a sigh escaped his nose as his hands, save for his left thumb, reemerged from his pockets. He continued to look mostly straight ahead, giving only Kairi brief moments of eye contact. "You can even meet people you know on the floors. They haven't got a clue what's going on. Everything's just like you remember it. Usually. Doesn't matter how big or how small." Riku paused thoughtfully. "They say the 'Spira' floor is bigger than some worlds. Bigger than ours, at least."

Well that was depressing. They could see their home and the people from there, but it they weren't real. Selphie, Tidus... all the kids they'd gone to school with. Kairi could safely say she missed them already. She meets Riku's eyes every time he glances at her, but quickly loses the gaze when he looks away.

"Spira?" Such a big world sounded fascinating. She couldn't help but be interested, Riku and Sora had made her want to see other worlds over a year ago. "I'd like to see it."

Riku caught that. Still, he wasn't going to encourage it.

"Maybe later. After we clear the floor." He kept his eyes locked on her, his voice a little firm. "It's got more than Heartless to worry about. It's not safe." Still, there was a sincere tone of concern in his voice, too. He didn't want her wandering into a world potentially that dangerous.

Aww, come on Riku.

Kairi folds her arms, blowing a piece of her hair out of her face. "Okay, I understand." She didn't like running into danger any more than he wanted her getting into it. But she still wanted to see the place. "But if it becomes safe, take me there." She looked up, smiling in a way that said 'pleeeaaase.'

He looked at her a moment longer before looking back forward, still striding forward at the same casual pace. "If it becomes safe," he agreed. "Or if we find the way out of the castle. Here's hoping the second one isn't too far."

For his stride, Kairi had to double time it just a bit, but she could handle that. "Mm, I do want to get home soon. But if we end up leaving I might not get to see that Spira place." She tapped her chin as she walked. "You know, you could just take me now and I'll be really careful. As long as you're with me, I'm sure it'll be fine."

There it is, I knew it. ...Though with warp points, she's got a point about not seeing Spira. Doesn't matter. Riku looked back at her seriously, not even bothering to apologize to someone when he bumped into them gently. "Kairi. It's too dangerous. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you." Neither would Sora, but whatever.

Darn, it was the serious look. It usually meant business. "Nothing's going to happen to me," which of course, wasn't a certainty, but she was a big girl and she could take care of herself. Even if her own keyblade was elusive at best. "Come on. I don't want to get left behind again."

Sure, being home on the Islands had always meant safety, but it also meant a certain level of loneliness that she had never really liked. "I won't get in your way."

Riku's expression was stern as he listened. He opened his mouth to say she might get in their way, since no one planned for her, but she beat him to the punch. Riku stopped in his tracks and crossed his arms. "...You're not going to let me say 'no,' are you?"

Guess she has to get experience sometime... We're going to need more supplies.

"Fine. You still got your Keyblade?" After unfolding his arms, he motioned with his fingers, indicating he wanted to see it to make sure.

"I really wasn't planning on giving you the option, no." Kairi gave a small smile, glad that he seemed more inclined to work with her on this now. At least it meant he had enough faith in her that he was willing to give her a chance and take her along.

At his question though, she hesitated. Honestly, she'd only used her keyblade the one time, and since then had had no reason to summon it. Holding out her hand, she closed her eyes and concentrated. Several seconds passed where nothing happened at all, and for a second she thought nothing would at all. Could you get rusty at summoning a keyblade? But then there was a flash of light, one that started out small and quickly grew brighter.

When it faded, her fingers curled around the hilt of Destiny's Embrace, her look indicating that she was pretty proud of herself. "There."

As Kairi held out her hand, Riku watched intently, eyebrows slowly going up as nothing happened. If she can't summon it, there's no way she's coming. Just as he began to cross his arms, a familiar type of light appeared, and with it, a smile on his face. "Good." There was a slight nod before he started walking again, this time in a slightly different direction. "This is a long trip. We need to get you supplies."

Seeing that Riku was satisfied with her performance, Kairi grinned and the keyblade disappeared from view. Now that she knew she could call it back again, she wasn't as worried about letting it go. She jogged along behind him to keep up, and fell into step beside him again. "What kind of supplies?"

"Food, potions, maybe an ether, a canteen." He began to snatch gold silk leaves off the trees he passed. "We should be good on tents if we need them. We're going to hit the armory, too, though." Riku looked back to Kairi. "We need to get you something to protect yourself until you get better with the Keyblade."

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An Old Friend (Closed, Finished, backdated)

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