lightwithin | 4th ♥ Plantfection [Audio]

[Going to Riku's room means that he can have his key out by the time they reach his door, can prop the door open and step inside first, heading for the bed. His room is simple; aside from grabbing a couple extra blankets, everything is precisely as it was when he arrived.

Riku pulls the top blanket off the bed, leaving the rest of them lay. Then he steps back, waiting for Xanth to follow.]

Right in here.

O--Okay.

[At Riku's invitation, Xanth enters his room. It's much more orderly than Xanth's, and his extra blankets are blankets, rather than skirts or shirts or other items of clothing.

Xanth maneuvers over to Riku's bed, then slowly sits on the edge of it. He glances to Riku, a silent request for him to help detach the sleepy Kairi from Xanth's back.]

[Riku can understand that look. He nods once, stepping over to try and take hold of Kairi's hands, to try and lead her arms away from circling Xanth's neck and shoulders.]

Come on, Kairi, we're here. You need to let Xanth go now.

Mph

[Kairi reacts to the touch before she does the words, instinctively tightening her grip into an almost chokingly-tight hug about Xanth's neck.

Or as close as she can get with her current strength.

But Riku's there, and he's talking. In moments, she's nodding in agreement without really having listened to a word he's said.

Relaxing, she slumps sideways and gravity does the rest. In moments she's half-curled on the blankets, out like a light.]

[Xanth stands up, then sets his hands on his hips and stretches back. Crackle, goes his back, but he doesn't mind.

Then, he takes one of Riku's extra blankets and lays it over Kairi. Getting her under the one of the bed would be a nightmare; better to let her use it as a sheet.

When finished, Xanth looks down at Kairi and lets out a breath. Here, she'll be safe. She can sleep off whatever drug the doctor had given her. Xanth knows that.

But he still doesn't want to leave her with Riku.]

[Riku looks at Kairi for a long moment. Even now, after everything that's gone on... he doesn't want to leave her alone. He wants to be there for her, especially now, wants to be there to protect her from anything that might happen.

But he also wants to talk to Xanth.

So Riku moves to the door, looking back toward Xanth.]

We can talk out here. I'll leave the door open so that we can keep an eye on her.

[A knot of apprehension forms in Xanth's stomach. Riku never talked - Riku interrogated.

But no, Xanth thinks, that's wrong. Just minutes before, Riku made idle conversation. Perhaps he'd ask something simple, or maybe they would be questions about Kairi's surgery.

Xanth's rationalizations do nothing; the apprehension remains.]

O--Okay.

[And Xanth follows.]

[Yeah, well, that part hasn't exactly changed much. At least this time he's not -intending- on interrogating Xanth? Once they're both outside, Riku looks back to Xanth.]

You knew Kairi before coming here, too?

[It's not what he's wanting to ask. But he's trying to lead into it.]

[Xanth tries not to fidget. Instead, his apprehension expresses itself in a nervous scratching of his cheek.]

Y-Yeah. B-But I-- I-I never knew-- a-anyone else, f-from your w--world.

[Riku gives a short, noncommittal response, folding his arms and leaning against the wall as he looks into the room. He'd known both him and Kairi, then?]

But she thought you meant Naminé.

[He glances back to Xanth.]

I guess this is another example of that whole multiple-copies-of-people thing, isn't it?

Y-Yeah, [he says again, with a nod.] It's-- w-weird. You... y-you get used to it e--eventually.

[He looks down at the floor and leans against the wall as well. After a moment, he looks back up.]

Wh-- who is... N-Naminé?

[Riku shakes his head. He's used to this whole other worlds thing, has been for a long time, but the multiple copies of people thing? That's just strange.

At Xanth's question, though, his expression clouds slightly.]

If you knew the both of us before... what do you know about the Heartless?

N-Not a-- a whole l-lot. B-But... [And he holds up one hand to count off what he does now.]

I-I know they're-- h-heartless. [He gives a shrug at this, because it is so damn obvious.] They're... l-like shadows, s-sort of. A-And I... I know they're-- d-dangerous, b-but I'm not... r-really sure h--how.

[And Xanth is pretty damn sure Riku used something like them in a battle against him.]

[So... basically nothing.]

That's right. The shadow-like ones were the original Heartless--there are a lot of different types now, but most of those were created.

They're called Heartless because they don't have hearts of their own. They attack those that do have hearts and try to take those for themselves. Any time a Heartless is created, so is a Nobody--the husk of the person that lost their heart.

Naminé is Kairi's Nobody.

[Xanth frowns at the floor, nodding. Kairi said earlier that she'd lost her heart - this is what she must have meant.

He looks back up to Riku, still frowning, and bites his lip.]

B-But... she's got her h-heart-- now.

[The question, implied, is how did she get it back?]

[Riku nods.]

Normally you can't get someone's heart back once they've lost it. But Kairi's kind of a special case.

I'm not exactly sure how, but her heart wound up inside our other friend, Sora's. There was a Keyblade that could be used to unlock people's hearts... he used that to free Kairi's heart from his own.

[This is not a happy memory for him, and a hint of that may be showing on his face. After all, he'd tried to turn Sora into a Heartless using that exact same Keyblade.]

Kairi got her heart back then.

[None of that makes any sense. That is, however, par for the course these days, so he just accepts the information with a nod.]

Sh-she told me she'd-- l-lost it, b-before. I-I didn't-- really get it, b-but I... I-I guess I do n--now.

[But this means that the Kairi he knew lost her heart twice. Poor, poor girl.]

[Welp, that's that, then.

For a moment, Riku will let the silence hang. But then he has to ask.]

How long did you know Kairi? Before you came here.

E--Eight months? Um. M-Maybe nine.

[Almost as long as he'd been on the Elegante at all. In all the swirling chaos, Xanth put his anchors in people, and Kairi was one of them.]

Hmm.

[Let's have another pause! Because really, Riku can't just be blunt and forthright with things. It goes against his sudden need to be ~mysterious~.]

Ironhide said the two of you used to be close.

[His tone is not accusing like it might have been, had he been his younger self. Instead, this Riku remains neutral.]

[The neutrality is jarring. Xanth wonders if Riku is truly neutral, or if he's just become that much better at covering his feelings.

Xanth chooses his words carefully.]

W-We... we were. W-We were-- really, r-really good fr--friends. Sh-She... helped me g--get through a... a-a lot of-- of stuff.

[But though he's made no hint at romance, there's a thickness to his voice that speaks only of love.]

[It's a bit of both, really. Obvious emotion would have been a dead giveaway when he'd been trying to hide away from the Organization. It made things easier if he just. Didn't let them affect him.

There's also the little fact that he doesn't feel like he's got any right to pursue Kairi any more, as obviously she wouldn't want to be with him considering all his past mistakes, but. Yeah. Riku notices the way his voice changes--understands.]

And you loved her?

[It's only half a question.]

[Xanth looks to the wall, biting his lip, and then he looks to Riku. For a few seconds, he holds Riku's gaze, and then he says softly:]

Wh--what do you th-think?

[Half an answer for half a question.]

[But to Riku, that's a full answer, because he can't imagine anyone knowing Kairi and -not- coming to love her.]

You're right, that was a stupid question.

Of course you did.

Yeah. A-A-- a lot.

[But these three words, simple as they are, have a tint of bitterness. Talking to Riku of all people about this of all subjects is... wrong. But he's been so damn obvious about it - how could he not expect Riku to notice or wonder?]

4th ♥ Plantfection [Audio]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog] how dare you make him info-dump, Xanth. THESE ARE MORE WORDS THAN RIKU WANTS TO SAY.

[Commentlog] omg that subject is so long it made the notif go across more than half of my screen :D

[Commentlog] It's what I do |D

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]