six.

[dawn_is_coming]

[he hasn't slept since the night Riku got him to, and that stress---coupled with the voice's constant, painful jabs, has taken their toll. Stripped down, his nerves and worries close to the surface of his skin, Sora is a timebomb visibly on the edge of exploding or burning out

Comments

[dawnward]

...Sora? Hey, is that--[guess who was sleeping with his Sphere on? jerks up in bed, bleary eyed and confused, and gropes for his glasses on the nightstand. as soon as he jams them on his face his eyes go wide and he lurches out of bed]

Sora? What's wrong? Hold on, I'm coming over there right now.

[dawn_is_coming]

[Sora is going to beat the crap out of the bars until he literally passes out. He is too angry and too tired to not lash out. He's never been a patient kid, and this? This situation was the last straw]

You can't help---I can't help! It---[the keyblade rebounds with sparks, his arm jerking back with the movement]---doesn't matter!

[dawnward]

[Riku's already running through the halls, in just his pajama bottoms and his glasses. he'll care about being properly dressed later. he's at the transports a second later and, a second after that, on Level 11]

You know they're just voices, Sora! Don't listen to them!

[dawn_is_coming]

[Sora is still ripping into the bars mercilessly, striking with a strength someone as wrung out as he is shouldn't even have. His anger and insecurities lie deep, and the voice has preyed on that]

You don't get it!

[dawnward]

[the outer door of the cell slams open, banging into the wall, and Riku nearly stumbles in, breathing hard]

Sora!

[dawn_is_coming]

[he makes a strange sound at the sight of Riku, all tight and choked off. He pounds the flat of one palm into the bars, his explosion of rage almost covering up for the slick tear-tracks down his dirty face]

[dawnward]

[he only hesitates a second, long enough to catch his balance. then he's at the bars, a hand on Sora's shoulder, holding tight enough to bruise. the other goes to his cheek, wiping the tears away.

he doesn't know why]

Hey, come on, get a hold of yourself. They're not real, remember?

[dawn_is_coming]

[his vision swims. He's so tired he can barely see straight, and the warmth and contact and surety of his old friend is almost enough to undo him. He swallows with difficulty]

Riku---

[when his voice finally does come again, it's gravelly, thick]

Promise me, Riku. Promise me you won't give it up.

[dawnward]

[the question startles him. on some basic level, it jars his thoughts and makes the steady motions of his hands falter.

why that? why now?]

I'm not going to give up, Sora. I haven't so far.

[but he's not promising, is he? promises don't come easy to Riku]

[dawn_is_coming]

[Sora's demand is almost a growl, fierce with inherent desperation. He's shaking, dropping his keyblades and grabbing onto Riku. His skin his warm, but his hands run over beveled scars down his back. If possible, it makes his heart ache even more]

Promise. You've gotta promise. Please.

[dawnward]

...

[it's strained. if asked, he couldn't really say why]

I promise.

[dawn_is_coming]

I'll hold you to that. Forever, if I have to. I'm not going to lose you like that.

[dawnward]

...lose me like what?

[you gave some of it away, Sora]

[dawn_is_coming]

[Sora swallows visibly]

Your heart. I---I won't let you turn into one of them. I won't.

[twilightfell]

[Ceiling Roxas is watching you, and his expression at this is just priceless.]

One of them.

[dawn_is_coming]

[this is definitely not a conversation Sora wants to have right now]

You aren't one of them. You weren't made like they were, and you're different.

When I say them, I don't mean you. I never have.