Sometimes, Being Your Friend Hurts -- Traverse Town 2nd District [Open/COMPLETE]

[noster_nostri]

Traverse Town had changed a lot since he was fourteen. It had lost much of its innocence. The whole world seems to be geared towards fighting the war and defending the people who appeared everyday. It was supposed to only be a way-station, a place for people to learn about the different worlds and then travel to them, but more and more of the

Comments

[noster_nostri]

Sora's eyes narrowed again as he looked at the stranger with a completely curious expression. Six... copies?

"Wait..." he said carefully, thinking this over in his head. It turned into strange ideas. "Are you saying that it's possible there are copies of me running around out there somewhere?" Of course, by 'out there' he meant space and his eyes looked upwards at the stars, exposing his neck with the movement. "Are they just like me? Is it possible there are other Keyblades at other corners of space or whatever is out there? It's really big so maybe there are other people who have to save it right? But we're so far away we haven't heard about each other." The idea was way more appealing than Sora was willing to admit, even to himself. "And would they look exactly like me or would they be just a little different? Or is it like one has brown eyes and another blond hair."

This whole concept seemed to have him enthralled, or maybe it was just the stars, as his eyes didn't leave them. His neck stayed arched back so his gaze could watch on the pinpricks of light in the sky.

[crimson_apathy]

Axel watched Sora's youthful movements from the corner of his eye, mainly because he was also busy looking up at the stairs with fascination. He listened to the brunet babble out his own thoughts and questions, having to chuckle near the end and finally let his green eyes linger back down to him.

"It's a theory, of course. But a popular one, in fact." The red haired nobody used his free hand to trace small circles on the edge of the fountain. "And maybe in your case... it could very well be true."

But by then his voice became detached, almost as if something that Sora said caused him fall into deep thought as well.

Or maybe he was just biding his time? It wasn't really clear.

[noster_nostri]

Sora nodded vaguely and continued to look upwards for a moment longer. Sometimes he forgot just how big the universe was, and sometimes he felt almost swallowed up by it. He shook his head, riding himself of all the strange thoughts and looked at the stranger again.

Suddenly he realized that he had been acting very rude. This man had saved him a lot of trouble and he hadn't even asked his name.

"Say," he started out, sounding curious. "What's your name anyway? It's kind of weird for you to know who I am and I don't even know your name, don't you think?"

[crimson_apathy]

Most would've found the quiet unsettling, but Axel felt as peaceful as he possibly could, finally removing his hand from the frigid water of the fountain and set the soaking object on his lap. Sora's question did manage to coax a reaction out of him, even though it was sort of hard to catch in the first place.

"My name...?" Axel's look was quizzical, almost like he didn't even know his own name. But it was the exact opposite, and not long after he caught his voice he let it escape from his lips once again.

" My name is... Lea." He smiled. "And even though I know yours, I'd enjoy it if you introduced yourself to me 'personally'. If you don't mind, of course."

[noster_nostri]

Sora nodded with the stranger said his name. Lea. It sounded like a nice game, simple. Something felt odd about it, but Sora shoved those thoughts aside.

"Sounds fair!" he said with a grin. After all, despite all his fame he shouldn't forget manners... or something equally corny sounding. "I'm Sora. It's nice to meet you Lea." He smiled so widely that his eyes closed.

His expression and his voice were both completely genuine. It was as if four years of war had left Sora untouched, at least for the moment. He really did seem happy to have met someone new, and while they were talking the red-head had Sora's complete attention.

[crimson_apathy]

Trying to hide himself from the Keyblade Master with just a silly name change? Not in the slightest. What could've meant something was, quite simply, something very different indeed. And yet 'Lea' didn't find it necessary to ponder about actions that were already executed long into the past.

"Sora... it's nice to meet you too." In a way, the nobody's expressions were just as genuine as well; looking almost human despite what he held underneath that mask.

... Or was it that he was wearing the mask the entire time, and reuniting with Sora tore down the layers that had built up the past several years? Lea didn't know, but it was a nice thought to linger on.

"The smile from the Keyblade Master really is contagious." Already his own lips twitched upwards, giving almost an effervescent feeling at the sight. But after a few moments that smile saddened.

"Sometimes people are envious... even jealous of that smile."

[noster_nostri]

"Jealous?" Sora asked, grinning as if he thought that was a rather amusing joke. "Of my smile?" He chuckled a little and shook his head. "Why would anyone be jealous of my smile? It's not like it takes a whole lot to smile. It even takes less muscles to do that then it does to frown!" Sora had heard that from somewhere, but he couldn't remember where exactly.

It was with these sentences and his jovial way of saying them that Sora showed his simplistic nature. He could be very prideful at times (mostly when he was fighting or someone was ogling the Keyblade) but that didn't stop his heart from being pure. He felt his emotions with such strength that he was swept away by them. When he was angry or frustrated with someone, he showed it. When he was happy his smile was wide and brilliant. He never regretted what he felt, because that was how his heart worked.

There were times when he felt overwhelmed, overpowered, and overworked, but he never regretted having the Keyblade. It fortified the pureness of his heart and gave him a reason to remain the way that he was.

He was Sora, the Keyblade Master, and he knew it didn't take a lot of work to smile, even during the hardest or darkest of times.