[004] In which Naminé finds Riku after his encounter with Larxene

[naminemory]

She can hear several knocks on the door of her room -- calm and indifferent -- before Saïx, the current member of the Organization set to guard her, gets up and paces towards the other end of the room with a smooth and confident stride. Quietly, she lets her pencil rest in her hand, frozen for the briefest moment, while she listens intently. She

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[tall_dark_and]

The room is a bit dusty, a bit old and abandoned. Even in a place like this, such a thing is possible - even in a place like this.

In a corner of the room, a cloak has been thrown. It may have existed once as a coat of the Organization - but it's been torn to bits and pieces, and it lies in tatters.

In another corner, there is a large pile of cloth. Old blankets, old pillows? Something like. In any case, it serves as a makeshift sort of bed, or at least it could.

The person who was going to sleep in it didn't quite make it there. The blood stains lead towards the center of the room, where a boy has collapsed. He's curled into a ball, and at the moment, has not been shaked from unconsciousness.

Even without seeing his face, the hair is an identifier as to who this is. It just doesn't explain why he's in such bad shape.

[naminemory]

When she steps into the room, it takes a moment for her eyes to adjust to the sudden change of illumination.

But when it does...her bright blue eyes widen upon recognizing someone on the ground in the centre of the space. Ignoring the blood and the tattered clothing she rushes to the figure's side, her hands hesitant at first to touch him. But then her fingers lightly brush the hair in his face, touching his cheek with a gentle tenderness.

Already her throat is tightening and she feels cold.

[tall_dark_and]

Riku's eyelashes flutter open and closed, as he pushes for something like consciousness. He's not aware of much, except a touch on his cheek - something that he can't really identify.

If he was able to fight a little closer, he'd know her. If he was able to know a little more, he'd be able to see her. But as it stands... all he can do is reflexively jerk away from her touch, and curl into a tighter ball.

He's too tired to put up with anything more.

[naminemory]

If she had a heart, it would break just to see such a thing. The instinctive jerking away...oh, who could have done this to him? The once confident, silly and heroic Riku seems to have been snuffed out like a short-lived flame, leaving so vulnerable a figure in his stead.

She doesn't shrink back from him as she might have before, but her fingers hover over his skin now, inspecting some of the wounds she can see from where she is. There's something silver glinting from his shoulder, but she is afraid to look at it for long. She can see several red welted lines cutting across his body, marring what used to be perfection.

"Riku," she says quietly, "what happened to you?"

[tall_dark_and]

Riku continues to sleep deeply for seven hours. Not one thing can shake him awake - no sounds, no pain, and no amount of jarring. He hasn't slept this deeply in a year; it's a luxury he could never afford.

He can't afford it now, either. But he has no choice in the matter.

- it is possible, however, that once he's awake, he'd rather be asleep again. His head is less fuzzy, but it's pounding; he's more aware of things, but he's also more aware of every wound, small or large.

He seems to have been bandaged, though, and taken care of down to the last detail. The reason isn't hard to figure out. Namine is asleep nearby, sprawled as if she hadn't really meant to fall asleep at all.

His body is stiff, protesting at every movement. But he's already adjusting to ignore the pain. He reachs out, laying a hand gently on her hair.

He doesn't dare to wake her.

[naminemory]

She shifts in her sleep a little, her fist tightening unbeknown to her while there's a dull hum of pain in the fingers of her right hand -- her drawing hand. She isn't aware of why, nor does she bother to awaken to find out.

She isn't really even aware of Riku's touch. The poor girl is exhausted after trying to stay awake to watch over Riku for a better part of his slumber, just to make sure he would be all right and that he didn't go into shock. She wanted to be there as soon as he called.

[tall_dark_and]

Riku shifts a little, keeping his hand on her hair only for a moment longer. He wants to try to get himself as healed as possible by the time she awakens, so that he can take care of her.

Moving quietly, he moves for the more critical wounds first, casting the dark cure spell. He's only got a limited amount of magic to work with, so he's not bothering with the smaller things.

When he's sure that a wound is completely healed, he pulls the bandage off. He doesn't like the look of some of them - exactly how close did he come to the edge last night?

He keeps an eye on her the entire time, watching for any shift or cue.

[naminemory]

It is only moments later when Naminé moves again, this time to turn in her sleep. However, during this moment, she begins to realize that the floor is cold and bare and she is uncomfortable.

She begins to remember what she had been doing before she closed her eyes, and that she should not have fallen asleep...she has something to do. Someone to watch over.

And then she is awake.

"Riku," she murmurs, shifting to sit up.