You don't need to bother [Open]

[boundbynaught]

Characters: Riku Replica and anyone he bumps into
Location: Around; starting near the fountain
Time: April 18th, morning
Style: Prose or Action; my main entry is in prose
Status: OPEN

Comments

[wayward_faith]

Ven was just passing by, looking to head to a nearby store so he could get a few things to decorate his new apartment. After all, he didn't want to intrude on his friends while he was still getting used to... well, getting used to being able to exist again. After all, he... kind of disappeared, himself. But unlike the replication sitting against the fountain he was just about to pass by, he was trying to take it in stride.

It was only a look that someone who'd been erased from existence could understand that caught his eye, but the similarities of that outfit to the one who'd taken over his body before he destroyed them both in a last ditch effort sent a shock of fear. It isn't Vanitas, he had to repeat in his head, and he knew that look; better than most ever could

[boundbynaught]

Everyone else who'd passed by Rep that morning were all various shades of grey - common enough that they all blurred together in a muddy haze around him, not helped at all by his exhausted stupor.

Before Ventus even got close to the boy, Rep was looking straight at him. Sora, Naminé, even those other three Sora hung around with - they all shone with light in their hearts, but they did have some darkness there. Faint, yet still present; that much Rep knew through firsthand experience. All of the Princesses of Heart, on the other hand, were filled with pure light - Rep knew that through his planted memories.

So it was almost like a train approaching through that dense fog, lights on full blast and cutting through it all. When he could finally see the blond boy, the ice-cream and towel in his hands were the last thing on Rep's mind.

What's with this guy? No darkness in him at all? Rep suspected that he was probably a lot like Sora, or maybe Kairi if she'd been born male, and that made Rep initially want the other boy to just go away

[wayward_faith]

Oh, he saw the scowl and could almost feel that darkness after one of it in its purest form had once been so close to him not even forty-eight hours ago, but like that was much to deter him right now from someone who looked like he could use a friend who understood well enough. This ball of sunshine was still radiating the warmth, but it was much more subdued and humbled than it would have been if he were pulled here a few days before he had been.

Though, he probably should have expected that with all his light, the other would be stunned at least momentarily. "Ven; guessing you haven't been here long, either."

He didn't have to mention being here before though, did he? Ventus would wait a bit longer for the other to dry off a bit more before offering the other ice cream. For some reason the frozen treat always seemed to be a bit of an ice breaker of sorts between those from their worlds, so might as well try it. He was going to be so fat after all this if he doesn't Fever Pitch all the calories ooooff--

"Who're you?"

[boundbynaught]

Ven. The name and face don't ring any bells for Rep, so he just files it away.

Rep doesn't really respond to the first comment, looking down at his clothing as he dried himself off. The question, however, causes Rep to tense up and stop his effort entirely.

"I don't know anymore." It's half sullen complaint, half wry statement. He thought he knew up until a week or so ago, and now everything's a wreck in his head. The fact that he's even talking to Ven right now baffles him.

[wayward_faith]

The first one really didn't warrant one; it was just an observation. But Ven does, however note the tensing at the question. ...Didn't know? How could someone not- But wait, wasn't he?

He holds out the second ice cream, giving Rep a faint smile. "Well, this city's good for giving second chances. Maybe we can both use it to just be ourselves." He would get a little mini camp fire started in front of them--what better way to warm up?--but he kind of needed both hands.

[boundbynaught]

For a moment, Rep just stared at the offered ice cream. He knew it was a gesture of friendship, and it came along with the sympathy as Ven tried to imply he understood Rep's feelings on some level.

It bothered him, and he glowered to the side for a moment. "What could you possibly need a second chance for?" He made a 'tch' noise, then looked up at Ven again, suddenly remembering the look in Ven's eyes when he'd approached. His expression softened, but not much, to confusion. "And why would you think I deserve one?"

[wayward_faith]

Well, to be perfectly honest he only had a brief idea. It takes a hurting person to know another, and all he wanted to do was help cheer up one other person. But the distancing... Ven's gaze fell, biting himself on his lower lip. "...This." All of those images came right back to his mind as he took to biting the exposed part of the ice cream stick and lifted his jacket to reveal the bandages wrapped around his torso before taking the ice cream back into his hand. He shouldn't have been walking about, but just lying there was driving him insane.

"...Part of it, anyway," he muttered as he sat down next to him with a faint wince. The fun part of being a Keyblade wielder was that Cure magic at least closed up open wounds. "You can't judge a book by it's cover, but I guess... Mine should never have been touched." He gives Rep a tired, weary smile. "If a failure like me got one for 'being an idiot,' you deserve one, too."

[boundbynaught]

Whether Ven had been injured in battle as a combatant or a bystander, it impressed ever so slightly that Ven had survived it. Or at least, he was pushing on without complaint. Somehow that translated to a failure or idiocy for him. Maybe a lost battle, then? It toned Rep's mood down again, at least.

So Rep reached out to take the ice cream. He was now very curious about what Ven meant by his 'cover' being touched, or whatever cryptic thing that was. It sounded like something one of the Organization members would say, really. And if it meant talking about Ven instead of himself, then that was good enough for now.

"What's that supposed to mean - about your cover or whatever?"

[wayward_faith]

Combatant. It was always as a combatant. He had never been able to run from a fight in a long time, and apparently the worlds were against him being erased to avoid it, too. Though, at least the other took the ice cream and began to tone down the attitude problem.

And that curiosity earned a faint shake of the head. "It's a figure of speech, or analogy. The cover is what someone appears to be- like what you first see when you look at a book. What's inside is what counts; the story." He took a quick bite of his own ice cream before it started to melt, but it's halfhearted though because he doesn't want to get all sticky again. His gaze is at his shoes. Ven could almost smell the freshly cast spells, feel the electricity in the air and see Terra falling- Falling...

He shook his head, snapping out of that train of thought. If Terra or Aqua were here, they would kill (ha ha) him for this train of thought. "The story of a tool like me isn't a fun one."

1/2

[boundbynaught]

Rep rolled his eyes a little as Ven explained what the metaphor/analogy was, clamping down on his ice-cream at the same time. I know that part.

2/2

[boundbynaught]

Finally Ven got to a part that actually matters to someone like the replica sitting next to him.

A tool? There are more people like the Organization, like Maleficent, that only care about using people? He took another lick of the ice-cream while he pondered the flavor and debated how exactly to get the information he wanted without getting into the awkward details of his own existence.

"Story of a tool, huh?" He repeated at first, clearly as bitter as Ven was at the thought of it. "Tell me anyway."

He wanted to compare notes, basically; he had not a clue what to do, or how to act, in the wake of all these "shouldn't-be's" in his life, though he wouldn't admit it. However, if Ven liked to talk so much, then Rep would listen. Axel's plan to help him become 'real' hadn't worked, but maybe something in Ven's story would give him a clue.

[wayward_faith]

There are plenty of people in the worlds that would use others. The way Rep said that left a bitter taste in his mouth. Whether it was a benign request or not, he'd just gotten out of a war the hard way and being talked down to again caused something to spark within him; something he really didn't know how to control: his temper.

It was the bitterness in the others' tone that kept him from lashing out, though. Did this guy know what it was like to be used and abused? Hopefully it wasn't in the same sense that he was, because that would be just plain awful. He closed his eyes for a moment, hoping the anger would vanish as he held out his right hand in front of him. Be glad he sat down to your right, because Wayward Wind suddenly appeared in his death grip. So... he could still summon it here. That was good to know.

"...Why?" he asked, resting the Keyblade in his lap. Its presence was almost... comforting. "I don't even know your name."

[boundbynaught]

All Rep could tell at first was that Ven was summoning a weapon, and it made Rep jerk away ever so slightly. Normally anyone doing that was out for a fight, where he came from anyway. However, his eyes widened as he realized it wasn't just any weapon - it was a keyblade. Focusing, Rep noticed that Ven didn't have the drive to fight in his eyes - Rep knew it well, thanks to his many clashes with Sora - and so he didn't retaliate.

Instead, Rep demanded in kind: "Where did you get that?" Sora was a keyblade wielder, and Riku too, but that was it ... wasn't it? He didn't count; the only reason he could wield one was because Riku could.

Supplying an incentive, Rep shifted up on one knee so that he was looking at Ven again, then held out his hand parallel with the ground. He summoned his own Soul Eater, rotating it so Ven could see the flat. "You were a tool? Hmph. I was a puppet - nothing about me is really mine. That's why you don't know my name," he practically seethed. "I don't have one."

[wayward_faith]

It was more of a sign that he was still alive and separate from someone he'd rather never see again, for both of their sakes as well as the worlds. Ven was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice the other gawking at the weapon in his lap. To think that... his dream had only to be a Keyblade Master...

That question made him snap out of it, though. What-? "...I don't remember. Anything before four years ago is... a blur for me." He blinked; that far too familiar mist coming off and forming Soul Eater- it made him jump just a bit and reopen a wound. Ouch-- Wait, they were from the same world?! Dark suit, dark shikai Keyblade... Holy crap.

He held up his Keyblade, casting Cure on himself to close the wound. Okay, he'd have to be a bit more careful. "Really?" He was just curious, not judging the boy at all even though the darkness made him a little uneasy. But Terra wielded it, too... so not everyone who could wield it could be evil like Xehanort and Vanitas, right? "Then we'll just have to think of one for you. Don't

[boundbynaught]

"You can think of one if you feel like it," he responded, standing up from the one knee and holding his keyblade in a resting position. "Doesn't mean I'll answer to it." In the back of his mind, Rep would have gladly been called anything but 'fake' and 'replica' and even 'Riku.' All the same, he wasn't about to let some guy he'd just met give him a name and expect him to like it. Still, if Ven actually came up with an idea Rep liked, then who knew?

He held out one hand to gesture as he spoke. "I knew there was something strange about you, Ven - not a drop of darkness in you? No wonder you've got a keyblade." From what he knew, keyblades were a rare thing, and the people who used them were special; summoning weapons was one thing, all of the Organization members could do it, but that was most definitely a keyblade that Ven was packing.

... So why isn't he attacking? That part didn't make sense to him. He'd jumped back, clearly agile and battle-ready, but he still didn't look like he wanted to fight. The idea that Ven might genuinely

[wayward_faith]

"Wouldn't expect anything less," he muttered under a faint laugh. After all, they'd just met. It would be kind of weird for someone like him to just give a complete stranger a name, too- Ugh, here came the headache...

'Empty creature from Ventus riven-'

No, that doesn't define my life anymore! It wasn't important, and- he looked away shaking his head. No... Keyblades weren't that rare way back. All of them in the Graveyard told him that much even without Xehanort's little speech or what Master taught back when his life was peaceful and full of fun. Ven sighed. "...I wasn't always pure light, and from what I've seen... I've had a keyblade since before I became like this."

He was broken in a way no one should have survived not once, but twice. Attacking simply out of anger wasn't something he was even capable of right now with these wounds, anyway.