009

[justabignobody]

Characters: Riku (justabignobody), Various and Open
Setting: right after this, and the days following it
Format: Start off action, but I'll go for what's preferred.
Summary: [A] Escape =/= being safe. Clearly, the situation requires an adult, so Riku drags Xion to see the only person who probably fits all his requirements [B] Riku reports to the Higher Forces. [C] Paranoia is still a thing (or well... even more a thing than usual), but when has that ever stopped Riku from going through his day.
Warnings: None as of now? Will be updated as needed.

[A | Room 03-04 | Locked to Xion, Terra and the Anguished One, if they feel like being woken by exhausted Keybitties]

[If Riku were to think about it, he wouldn't be able to think of the last time he had been this exhausted; in this particular way at least - his left arm feels like on fire, the pain a constant throb on his mind and he is utterly burned out on both magic and Darkness. The only reason why Way to the Dawn is still in his hand is because he is clinging to it like a lifeline; as long as he is holding onto it he has at least something to defend himself with, even though he is not sure just how long he'd hold out, if he were to be attacked now.

Xion... doesn't really look much better - she isn't injured (not majorly at least), but the tiredness is written all over her face, and if one thing is clear, it's this. They need a safe place to stay for the rest of the night. Well... that as good as excludes both their rooms already, Xion's for obvious reasons and his just to be careful (even though he thinks/hopes he has not given himself away to Ganondorf) and leaves them... with very little.

They need someone trustworthy... someone stronger than either of them.

Someone who hopefully won't mind them knocking even though it's long past midnight.

There's... really only one person who fits that bill... and who Riku feels somewhat comfortable going to. And so he finds himself steering Xion towards the third dormitory floor, towards Terra's room.

He flinches just slightly when he lifts his left hand, pain racing across his skin, but he needs to knock and he can't let go of his Keyblade, not yet.

Not until they are safe.]


[B | Floor 29, 29th September | Locked to Zelda and Gandalf]

[It takes a while until Riku finds the strength to move and do what has to be done - his arm might still be hurting and the exhaustion drawn over his face, but his mind is clear and he is sitting on knowledge that needs to be passed on - starting with the attendance of that 'reunion' (or at least the names that he had been able to make out) as well as the plans he had come to overhear, ending with... whatever Reno had gotten himself into.

So he sneaks away to deliver some notes - neat, simple and to the point; a meeting spot, a time and a signature... he usually doesn't do things like this, but he hopes that Zelda and Gandalf will follow his invitation.

On the next day he finds himself sitting right in the middle of the garden in center of the maze on Floor 29, sorting through the information he had gathered, trying to figure how to best approach each topic. There isn't much else for him to do as he waits ...that doesn't involve scratching at the bandage on his left arm anyways.]


[C | all around, 29th-30th September | Open]

[Even though he is still kind of unable to let go of his tension and can't help but stop before he enters a floor and sense for certain people, he refuses to let himself be effected more than that - he's gotten away clean after all; and even if he hadn't... by now it's too late to do anything about it.

So he spends his day as he always would (except for that little tidbit of extra paranoia of course) - wandering the floors, lingering at the libraries to look for one book or another (or pretend to anyways).

And well... if that leads to his running certain other people... he certainly won't be complaining about it.

Catch him if you can?]

Comments

29th, Floor 3

[pitiedthefool]

[Funny, because Yu always hung out around the libraries more than the other floors when he could. Not because of the terminals, no... but because he was seriously a book worm when he wasn't practicing his own skills with a blade. Though lately, he's taken more to a certain bus stop sign that was leaning against the table beside him. Not like he was sitting down just yet, no... something didn't feel quite right. Not like he could place a finger on it, but...

Maybe it was lingering paranoia from the memory leaks, or maybe it was because he had subconsciously gotten used to listening for footfalls when he was otherwise preoccupied, but he couldn't help the feeling of being watched by someone other than Labrys (seriously girl, you can't shadow him that silently when he can hear the gears turning).

Not that he could complain when he caught a glimpse of who it was that just walked into this floor. Yet that one glance said more than what he probably thought.]

...Riku-san?

[Don't dare him to catch you, bro. He has Masukukaja kind of made a living out of it back home.]

Laaaaaaaaaaaaate, I'm sorry. orz

[justabignobody]

[...Bus stop sign. ...Right. You know what, he's not even going to ask.

Well, if somebody is watching him, it's not Riku. (Also, in Riku's book that'd not be paranoid, it's healthy precaution. He's been told the tower can be quite dangerous. I mean.)

Riku himself has just been restlessly walking along the shelves, the events from a few days ago still have him tightly wound. Hence he doesn't turn, but rather jerk around when Yu calls out for him, tension ebbing away a little when he catches sight of him.]

...Hey.

[Once upon a time he might have made that a challenge. Now... well, now his priorities are a little bit different.]

It's okay. /pats

[pitiedthefool]

[Probably a good idea, since he's killed with it once. Dammit, Jin.

Don't mind him then, being worried about Death entities watching him again. Seriously, why does he keep attracting them? (Wait you mean they weren't the same thing in the first place? Everywhere could be dangerous, even a TV store. I mean, uh... you heard nothing.)

That's when he noticed how Riku reacted... well, he couldn't quite ignore that of a stranger (even without that geass), much less a friend he trusted. One split decision later, and he has the stop sign on his back again, not hindered in the slightest before approaching. ...Something had to be up, and "detective's intuition" was making him both curious and concerned.]

Are you alright?

[What happened, bro. You look as badly shaken up as he did when he saw a family member on a certain channel.]

[justabignobody]

[...Yeeaaaahh. Let's steer clear of that.

Death entities, oh my. At least they are not out to possess him? Hopefully? (True enough, at very least here they are. TV store, what TV store?)

He shoves one of his hands into his jeans, trying to mask his tension some at least, even though he is pretty sure it's not enough to fool Yu. That's not really what he is after anyways... he just needs to get out of that 'can-be-attacked-any-second'-mindset.]

Sure. Just fine.

[It's not that bad, really.]

[pitiedthefool]

[Yep. Not...really. One possesses another friend sometimes and the other is kind of the sister of the one who says hello in my head every now and then. It's Complicated. (Hooray, one little bit of commonality. You don't want to know.)

He sighs. Riku, nephew of a detective and kind of empathic, here (even though he is still getting used to the whole 'express thyself' thing and 'how does I word this?'). It isn't enough to fool him, because the initial behavior was enough to tell him that something was wrong. Riku had been shaken up by something.]

Hm. [He won't say it outright, because knowing this tower... well, he calls forth Alice in silence, and in an instant, she's dancing around the library. She's unfortunately the one Persona he has right now who would stand out the least.

All the while, he's giving Riku a look; what happened, bro. Did one of the Soras or Xion...?]

Room 3-04/ Tired Keybitties are always welcome, guys

[earthshards]

[At first, Terra isn't sure he actually heard anything, his sleep-fogged mind half-caught between a state of alertness and lucid dreaming.

Then the knock comes again, and he's sure he actually heard it instead of dreamed it. That snaps him awake, if not completely alert. Who could be visiting his room at this hour?

Well, whoever it was, it was probably important. A few seconds after the second knock, and he's climbed out of bed and opened the door.

A couple more seconds, and the sight of a clearly tired and injured Riku and Xion in front of him has (for the most part) woken him up entirely. Asking what happened can come later; he moves aside without hesitation.

This? Is officially an emergency.]

Yaaay Tired keybitty is tired and grateful

[attheclocktower]

[Xion takes one long look at the person who opened the door - finally understanding who it was Riku had brought them to - before returning her gaze to the floor, and walking inside without a word.

For a little while she stands there, in this room that is unfamiliar and not hers nor Reno's or Axel's any she's really been to or stayed at before. She may be safe(r) here, but she doesn't feel safer here. And as is her wont when she's scared and uncomfortable and upset, she reaches back and pulls her hood up.

She just. Wants to hide.

She's not sure if she should sit, but the slight quivering of her legs is a clear indicator that she needs to, and probably won't be able to remain standing much longer.]

Yeeeeeeep

[justabignobody]

[Riku doesn't even know where to begin expressing just how grateful he is beyond a rather quiet (and tired) murmur of a "Thank you." as he follows Xion into the room.

It's about that moment that his fingers give out and Way to the Dawn slips from his grip, bursting into a swirl of light-dark, but right now he couldn't quite care less about that, it won't be needed anymore tonight and he has reached the point where he can admit to himself that he doesn't quite have the strength to lift it anymore anyways.

He blinks and stops right behind Xion, then sighs quietly before nudging her over to one of the beds that he remembers to be unoccupied.

Sitting down sounds like a good idea for the start.]

Just relax/rest up, there are two empty beds and a Master standing guard.

[earthshards]

[Terra just nods briefly and shuts the door behind Riku without another word, watching as the more-injured Riku guides Xion over to one of the empty beds in the room.

The injuries, the fatigue, the way Way to the Dawn had just fallen out of Riku's grip -- who had they been forced to flee from?

And more importantly, how strong was this person, if they had managed to get Riku to run?

... no wonder they ran to him.

It took two or three seconds to reach the end of that train of thought and come to a conclusion about what he should do next. Which was call his Keyblade, put a barrier on the door, turn to look at the two injured parties, and then concentrate on a spell he hadn't cast in a while.

It takes a few more seconds, but the green leaves and glow that mark Curaga can't be mistaken for anything else. Now how did he cast it on Xion and Riku at the same time?

He won't be dismissing Ends of the Earth yet; call it a precautionary measure, in case whoever they were running from can actually get past that lock on the door.] What happened?

[midgarhorizon]

[Reno was going about his normal, daily routine, hanging out at the gym floor after class.

He seemed... intact. It was almost eerie after the other night.]

[justabignobody]

[Eerie or not, Riku doesn't honestly care in what state he finds Reno in - though he certainly takes note of it.

He keeps himself deliberately relaxed, hands tugged away in his jeans, expression utterly neutral as he approaches. He stops a few steps before Reno, keeping his silence for now as he watches the other.

Time to see if Reno had an idea what this was about.]

[midgarhorizon]

[Considering he hadn't really seen who it was that had grabbed Xion- the most he knew was that it was one of her friends- having Riku stop that way grabbed his attention pretty quickly.

Wearing a neutral expression, he continued to put away his customized equipment where he usually kept it, waiting for Riku to say whatever he had come to say.

He had a few guesses, but after their last encounter, he was damned if he was going to start it.]

[justabignobody]

[...Coward.

Riku keeps standing at his spot, unblinking eyes fixated on him as he waits. And waits. And lets the minutes pass, irritation only showing as a flash in his eyes. Because, either Reno did not have a clue why he was here, or he possibly doesn't care... at least not about answering to those he's made promises to (admittedly by extension, but still).

Finally he just presses his lips together and speaks up, not because he is impatient, but rather because he has better things to do than to wait on people who don't seem to care about keeping to their promises.]

So. I do hope that wasn't what you consider 'taking care' of somebody.

[Let alone Xion.]

Time to get your spy badge, Riku!

[sageprincess]

[She's worried.

She knows Riku to be secretive, enigmatic, but to call her out like this with naught but a time and place? Something must have happened.

The Princess shows up on time (perhaps even a bit early, as her anxiety gets the better of her), her lips pursed into a concerned frown as she approaches Riku.]

Are you all right?

With a Golden Star

[the_white_rider]

[ Next to arrive is Gandalf. Oh he was not sure what to find upon arrival, after all they couldn't be sure that it was really Riku who wrote this message.

Upon arriving though, as he sees both Zelda and Riku. Ah well, if Riku judged he had to call the two of them, that probably won't be good news. terrible news expected.

He nods upon arrival. ]

Princess, Riku. I have to assume we are not here for particularly good news.

Whoohoo \o/

[justabignobody]

[He climbs to his feet when Zelda arrives, greeting her with a bit of a mix between a nod and a bow and a short:]

I'm fine.

[When Gandalf arrives, he nods back and crosses his arms, frowning lightly, because well... it is good news in the sense that non of what he knows is going to catch them off guard... but otherwise?]

Ganondorf held a meeting for the people with 'more flexible morals' last night. They discussed how to control or at least manipulate the alliance... among other things.

[sageprincess]

[The Princess blinks, the implication that Riku was there for this meeting not lost on her, but... hm.]

In and of itself, not surprising - Ganondorf desires power above all else, and will do anything to obtain it.

[Perhaps it's fortunate she likely knows the man better than anyone else in this wretched tower - her group won't be so easily beguiled into becoming his puppets as long as she has a say in the matter.

She eyes Riku's arm once more, and puts two and two together.]

... Did these 'other things' involve an altercation between yourself and his followers?

Library

[keybearer]

[Riku's double just so happens to be in the library as well, wandering aimlessly with Kairi's charm and Sora's necklace clutched tightly in hand. Once he spots his fellow Riku, however, he'll mosey on over.]

Looking for something?

[justabignobody]

[Oh hey, double! Riku straightens slightly when he sees him, nodding in greeting, a flash of a smile flickering over his face when he sees the items in his hands. So he's gotten them back whole. Good.

He gives a slight shake of his head that's not quite a 'yes' or a 'no'.]

More like someone, I suppose.

[keybearer]

Well, you need a hand tracking them down?

[Whether he does or not, he'll smirk back at his double before reattaching the items to his belt.]

[justabignobody]

Nah.

[He shakes his head, mirroring that smirk.]

I'll find him sooner or later.

[There is a flash of anger in his eyes at the thought, but it's gone with another shake of his head. He'll save that for when he's finally tracked down Reno.]

[notagiraffe]

[Taiki was in the meadow, he knew Haldir worried about him spending so much time in his room so he had come out with Sanshi and Gohran. He was still sad, he knew he would be sad whenever Gyousou wasn't here and he worried about him, not knowing if he would ever returned.

He was sat curled up in Sanshi's arms making a daisy chain when he looked up and saw Riku. He gave a nervous wave but didn't know if he would be remembered. "Hello..."

[justabignobody]

[Riku had hoped to encounter 'certain other people' on he meadow floor - it is a place he knows Reno to frequent after all. His expression tightens slightly when he notes that he is out of luck in that regard.

He blinks when he hears Taiki calling(/whispering?) out for him, smiling softly when he sees him and his companion.]

Hello Taiki.

wow I messed up the html there ;;

[notagiraffe]

[Taiki smiled to be remembered and sat up a bit though not leaving the protection of Sanshi's arms.] How are you Riku?

(cozy)

[justabignobody]

[He steps closer, relaxing as he buries his hands in his jeans pockets.]

I'm fine. And you?