He hadn't heard that, he simply hadn't. Xemnas couldn't be here -
- don't you want him to be? -
he couldn't have possibly followed Roxas to this world (and he still had no idea what world it was, or why he was here, or how he'd even gotten here, or how he could have possibly been here before and never recognized anything, or why the Keyblade was only half-working and he couldn't touch his element at all and -
it was way too much for one Nobody to deal with, especially one who had never lived his own life before. Decisions were always his to make now, and sometimes he didn't know what to do... or even what his options were. Living off of his orders had been easy only in the way that Roxas had always known what to do; when he'd left, it had been similar: find Sora and destroy Xemnas. And don't let anything get in the way.
Well, he'd failed one of those and succeeded in the other, and he still wasn't any closer to knowing what he should do.
The movie - whatever that was - would be a nice distraction, he decided, because whatever it was, the nurses seemed rather excited to have one. The Sun Room was surprisingly dark when he entered, a large white square had been set up in the middle. On the square was... a moving picture.
Huh.
"Just remember to be quiet, Keanu," his nurse reminded him gently, leading him to a seat and abandoning him next to -
Great. Of all the people in the building...
Suddenly, the movie seemed the most interesting thing in the world.
Way to state the obvious, Riku. He hadn't seen the Nobody for a while, the blond head of hair popping in and out, but he was too caught up in other things, trying to memorize the setting, and keeping track of his friends, to truly know what the Nobody was up to. Truthfully, sitting next to him like this made Riku feel uneasy; Roxas wasn't supposed to be separate from Sora. The very fact of his existence made it apparent that Landel could do some damage.
What would happen if the same thing happened before, and Sora's memories came unchained? What would happen if Landel decided to change Naminé and use her to his advantage?
Too many possibilities. They weren't ones he liked, and the very presence of Roxas made him uneasy. Somehow, it was different with Naminé. Perhaps it was because there was a level of existing comfort there, or perhaps-
Perhaps it was because she didn't make him feel as guilty. Riku didn't strip her of her life. He didn't come up in arms against her, as she was fighting for her last semblance of free will, all to strip it away from her because she wasn't meant to exist. He wanted to believe Roxas would be happier with Sora, but he remembered the Nobody's words about his friend, about wanting to go back to him and change everything. Those weren't just in place because of Sora. Roxas had his own life, and he didn't have it anymore because of Riku.
Uneasiness and guilt couldn't overcome him now. He needed to keep it together, act like this was nothing. No matter what fate lied for Roxas outside of this place, he was stuck here, and Riku felt some responsibility for him. Of course, he doubted the Nobody would like that-oh, well. It wasn't like he had to know anything.
"The movie's boring," he added, casually. That was a start. It seemed like Roxas was watching it anyway, wasn't he?
"Yeah," came back his clipped answer as he leaned over to put his elbows on his knees, propping his head up and staring straight ahead to the screen. He must have come into the room a little late, because Roxas had no idea what was supposed to be happening in this movie. Jungle and... a blonde woman. Not a lot to go on.
There was a lot of talking, too, but he was going to concentrate on it. Anything was better to talking to this guy. Roxas was pretty easy going for the most part, but he hadn't exactly gotten on the Nobody's good side, stopping him from finding Xemnas and Sora.
He'd found the latter and nothing had even happened. Now, for Number I.
Though Roxas didn't know why the other was trying to talk to him (and despite the fact that he agreed with the comment), he grumbled, "I like it."
It was as if DiZ's familiar words and thoughts crept up into his mind all over again, preaching about how the Nobodies have no feelings, and seeming to enforce the cruel words and harsh behavior within Riku. He remembered how forcefully he grabbed Naminé from time to time, and the feeling of the Darkness swallowing him whole so he could win his fight with Roxas. What right did they have to live? They were merely pawns to DiZ. Every time, he felt out of place, as if he was playing a part, and it wasn't one he chose for himself. Then again, hadn't that been his entire life? Hadn't he just been a tool, when all he wanted was freedom and to see the outside world with his friends? He knew it was there and clung to it, and its ends always led to mistakes.
Riku clenched his fingers into a fist. With Naminé, his actions and choices with her made it easier to handle himself in her presence. She helped him. And she didn't just do it because of her link to Kairi, but because she wanted to, because there was that desire within her. He already atoned for his mistakes there, and did what he could. That didn't mean he would stop, of course. He would continue to help her, even here, when her separation from Kairi could mean something far worse.
But that didn't mean the same with Roxas. Roxas, who could like a film. Roxas, who could be so much like Sora, but Riku knew he wasn't. It would be stupid to lie to himself and say he was. All those rewrites for Twilight Town, all those actions to devise a way to make Roxas what they needed him to be to bring back Sora, would've been unnecessary if he was that closely tied to him.
Only his stubbornness made him stay here instead of trying to beg for an escape. He needed to get over this. He needed to deal with it, because in the end, Roxas was important. He needed to be safe. Everything proved as much.
But at what cost? Would it be the same cost again? Would freedom mean-
No, he stopped himself from that thought. "I bet you don't even know what's going on," he replied, adding "cocky" to his tone. Easy enough, he figured. At least if he saw Roxas riled up and feeling something, he could learn about him a little. See what was different from Sora.
Then again, wasn't it more like seeing that all again than anything else?
So, he wasn't working on getting on Roxas's good side, either. Well, that was just fine with him. He remembered the sour taste of defeat; it hadn't left his tongue since he'd lost the fight with this boy, who'd injected himself with darkness and leaked it out of his pores. It was his first true defeat, and it'd stopped him from getting to Xemnas - in fact, it'd been exactly what had led to him being here.
Did he have that sort of power? The surge of darkness hadn't been anything to shake a Keyblade at (well, it had, but that hadn't exactly worked completely(, but it didn't seem so powerful now.
"Whatever. Of course I know what's going on," he puffed up, sitting up straight in his seat. He didn't need to prove it. In fact, he wasn't going to... because he couldn't. But he wasn't letting this light-haired idiot get the one-up on him again. What was there to get, anyway? There was a giant monkey and he was in a jungle. And... some people were there. So maybe the monkey would eat them or something. How else could it end?
- don't you want him to be? -
he couldn't have possibly followed Roxas to this world (and he still had no idea what world it was, or why he was here, or how he'd even gotten here, or how he could have possibly been here before and never recognized anything, or why the Keyblade was only half-working and he couldn't touch his element at all and -
it was way too much for one Nobody to deal with, especially one who had never lived his own life before. Decisions were always his to make now, and sometimes he didn't know what to do... or even what his options were. Living off of his orders had been easy only in the way that Roxas had always known what to do; when he'd left, it had been similar: find Sora and destroy Xemnas. And don't let anything get in the way.
Well, he'd failed one of those and succeeded in the other, and he still wasn't any closer to knowing what he should do.
The movie - whatever that was - would be a nice distraction, he decided, because whatever it was, the nurses seemed rather excited to have one. The Sun Room was surprisingly dark when he entered, a large white square had been set up in the middle. On the square was... a moving picture.
Huh.
"Just remember to be quiet, Keanu," his nurse reminded him gently, leading him to a seat and abandoning him next to -
Great. Of all the people in the building...
Suddenly, the movie seemed the most interesting thing in the world.
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Way to state the obvious, Riku. He hadn't seen the Nobody for a while, the blond head of hair popping in and out, but he was too caught up in other things, trying to memorize the setting, and keeping track of his friends, to truly know what the Nobody was up to. Truthfully, sitting next to him like this made Riku feel uneasy; Roxas wasn't supposed to be separate from Sora. The very fact of his existence made it apparent that Landel could do some damage.
What would happen if the same thing happened before, and Sora's memories came unchained? What would happen if Landel decided to change Naminé and use her to his advantage?
Too many possibilities. They weren't ones he liked, and the very presence of Roxas made him uneasy. Somehow, it was different with Naminé. Perhaps it was because there was a level of existing comfort there, or perhaps-
Perhaps it was because she didn't make him feel as guilty. Riku didn't strip her of her life. He didn't come up in arms against her, as she was fighting for her last semblance of free will, all to strip it away from her because she wasn't meant to exist. He wanted to believe Roxas would be happier with Sora, but he remembered the Nobody's words about his friend, about wanting to go back to him and change everything. Those weren't just in place because of Sora. Roxas had his own life, and he didn't have it anymore because of Riku.
Uneasiness and guilt couldn't overcome him now. He needed to keep it together, act like this was nothing. No matter what fate lied for Roxas outside of this place, he was stuck here, and Riku felt some responsibility for him. Of course, he doubted the Nobody would like that-oh, well. It wasn't like he had to know anything.
"The movie's boring," he added, casually. That was a start. It seemed like Roxas was watching it anyway, wasn't he?
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"Yeah," came back his clipped answer as he leaned over to put his elbows on his knees, propping his head up and staring straight ahead to the screen. He must have come into the room a little late, because Roxas had no idea what was supposed to be happening in this movie. Jungle and... a blonde woman. Not a lot to go on.
There was a lot of talking, too, but he was going to concentrate on it. Anything was better to talking to this guy. Roxas was pretty easy going for the most part, but he hadn't exactly gotten on the Nobody's good side, stopping him from finding Xemnas and Sora.
He'd found the latter and nothing had even happened. Now, for Number I.
Though Roxas didn't know why the other was trying to talk to him (and despite the fact that he agreed with the comment), he grumbled, "I like it."
Reply
It was as if DiZ's familiar words and thoughts crept up into his mind all over again, preaching about how the Nobodies have no feelings, and seeming to enforce the cruel words and harsh behavior within Riku. He remembered how forcefully he grabbed Naminé from time to time, and the feeling of the Darkness swallowing him whole so he could win his fight with Roxas. What right did they have to live? They were merely pawns to DiZ. Every time, he felt out of place, as if he was playing a part, and it wasn't one he chose for himself. Then again, hadn't that been his entire life? Hadn't he just been a tool, when all he wanted was freedom and to see the outside world with his friends? He knew it was there and clung to it, and its ends always led to mistakes.
Riku clenched his fingers into a fist. With Naminé, his actions and choices with her made it easier to handle himself in her presence. She helped him. And she didn't just do it because of her link to Kairi, but because she wanted to, because there was that desire within her. He already atoned for his mistakes there, and did what he could. That didn't mean he would stop, of course. He would continue to help her, even here, when her separation from Kairi could mean something far worse.
But that didn't mean the same with Roxas. Roxas, who could like a film. Roxas, who could be so much like Sora, but Riku knew he wasn't. It would be stupid to lie to himself and say he was. All those rewrites for Twilight Town, all those actions to devise a way to make Roxas what they needed him to be to bring back Sora, would've been unnecessary if he was that closely tied to him.
Only his stubbornness made him stay here instead of trying to beg for an escape. He needed to get over this. He needed to deal with it, because in the end, Roxas was important. He needed to be safe. Everything proved as much.
But at what cost? Would it be the same cost again? Would freedom mean-
No, he stopped himself from that thought. "I bet you don't even know what's going on," he replied, adding "cocky" to his tone. Easy enough, he figured. At least if he saw Roxas riled up and feeling something, he could learn about him a little. See what was different from Sora.
Then again, wasn't it more like seeing that all again than anything else?
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Did he have that sort of power? The surge of darkness hadn't been anything to shake a Keyblade at (well, it had, but that hadn't exactly worked completely(, but it didn't seem so powerful now.
"Whatever. Of course I know what's going on," he puffed up, sitting up straight in his seat. He didn't need to prove it. In fact, he wasn't going to... because he couldn't. But he wasn't letting this light-haired idiot get the one-up on him again. What was there to get, anyway? There was a giant monkey and he was in a jungle. And... some people were there. So maybe the monkey would eat them or something. How else could it end?
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