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---you kill me with your touch; riku
Topic Started: May 17 2012, 08:26 AM (550 Views)
Aqua
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Aqua was tired.

Not just physically, mind you. Sure, her limbs were sore and every movement felt strained and forced, but the true disturbance in a lonely but peaceful prison were those creatures. Her Master’s Keyblade was gripped in her sweaty, gloved hand, her breath escaping in ragged gasps as those yellow-eyed beasts stared her down mercilessly. They surged from the ground in waves, every moment she sat down for a rest one where she feared for her life.

In this endless cycle of fighting, the different physiques and sizes of the monsters blurred into just ‘those beasts’. Today she faced one of the large ones, with the peculiar gap in their chests where their heart should have been. It glared maliciously down at the slender Keyblade wielder, lifting a fist to crush her single-handedly.

But Aqua was quick. She gracefully dodged with a smooth back handspring, her sashes swinging about her long stocking-clad legs. It snarled in frustration, and continued to pound blindly on the ground in which she stood. But she flipped and twisted out of the way, taking the time to slash at its gargantuan hand. As it took just the slightest moment to catch its breath, the young woman blasted a Thundaga Shot right into its grotesque and ungainly face.

With a snarl it recoiled and aimed a clumsy fist towards her. She somersaulted into a safe area, but a pool of darkness erupted from below its massive clawed hand. Quickly she bolted forwards, destroying one of the much smaller creatures that appeared from the inky violet smudge on the ground with a single, precisely aimed slash.

Two blunt attacks and a Firaga Burst later, the little monsters were gone, leaving only the looming behemoth above her. She frowned and drove her Keyblade brutally into its exposed palm, flashing a baleful smirk as it reared back in pain. Not too long later she activated Ghost Drive, cartwheeling and twisting around the great leviathan at blinding speed, leaving twirling and frozen afterimages in her wake.

The giant desperately flung its fists at the illusions, never coming any close to the real enemy. With a burst of speed, she leaped into the air, using Doubleflight to give her a boost, and sent a Triple Blizzaga right into the top of its chest.

With a roar of defeat, she watched blankly as the great monster melted into a dark purplish liquid, disappearing completely immediately after. Aqua sighed deeply and ran the back of her hand across her sweating brow. Instinctively she cast Cura, instantly feeling her various nicks and scratches seal up with only the slightest sting and then nothingness. With a look of disgust, she let Master Keeper disappear in a flurry of white light and petals.

The battle was over. For now.



ew, god. this post makes me want to go lick a wolverine's nipple.
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Riku
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[let's go back to the beginning]

Riku had been here for awhile. Not long enough to know the true weariness of this world, but long enough to know how draining this was. The constant darkness, the lack of warm sunlight.

Everything was cold - but he was getting used to it. The darkness was slow and it sunk into him. He knew he could never stop moving, he had to keep going, even if it hurt to do so. His legs ached.

Mickey had vanished shortly after Riku had closed the door. He remembered how it felt to close it, the light from behind it, Sora's trusting face. He remembered how he felt when the door sealed, the last bits of light disappearing, the cold began to set in. Riku couldn't do anything. Mickey stayed with him for awhile, and when he left he offered Riku the chance to leave too. But.. for some reason, he had refused.

After all he had done, he wanted to be here. He deserved it, he had made his mistakes, he had let the darkness take him over. His friends would probably be better off without him anyways. So he had begun walking on his long and lonely journey. Destroying Heartless listlessly, mechanically. He was almost looking for something - he didn't know what it was. But once he find it, maybe he could find a way to get out.

Riku never stopped, he didn't feel safe to stop and sit down for too long, the Heartless were everywhere.

He couldn't say how long it had been, he knew that time had been passing even if he had no real idea of how long. But.. he began to sense something in the air, something he remembered. In a realm of darkness something like this was noticeable. It was light. He could feel it, there was someone who still held light in their heart. It was there, he knew it. His own light had faded to a dull kind of shadow. Funny that a small bulb of light could feel more like a shadow.

But he felt that light, so for the first time in what seemed like years, he began to make his way towards the source. Trying not to be too hopeful, but.. what if this was what he was looking for? What if whatever this source of light was became his reason to find a way to leave this place?

Riku kept going, making his way through the darkness, ignoring a few small shadows that were appearing next to him. Eventually, he could see a figure. Someone who stood there - the source of that light. Riku slowed his pace, hands at his sides, watching intently. Who was this? Why did this light suddenly seem so familiar? Like an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time. He was quiet as he walked, and eventually brought himself to speak. The first time he had spoken in a long, long time. "Hello?"


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Aqua
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A deep, trembling sigh escaped the young lady, flicking a chunk of her bangs in front of her eyes to the side. During every tougher battle, she was practically overflowing with energy. Afterwards, the adrenaline wore off abruptly and she just ended up feeling spent and exhausted. Aqua placed a hand on the back of her head and stretched her neck, patting down the unruly azure spikes tentatively.

The slightest crunch on the sand indicated footsteps, and instantly she summoned Master Keeper, whirling around looking for the source. “Who’s there?” She called out challengingly, awkwardly shifting her grip on the too-long Keyblade.

A single shaft of moonlight settled on a boy’s face, one probably not much younger than her. Just the tiniest spark of recognition ignited inside the female as she spotted the gleaming turquoise eyes, and then a memory she had thought she forgotten resurfaced as the silver strands of his hair were caught in the light.

A picturesque little beach at sunset, the sunset glowing brightly while the tiny outlines of two children played on the shore, shouting words along the lines of ‘Too slow!’ or ‘I think I’m winning!’ Aqua wandered closer, standing on a wooden platform not much of a ways above the little ones. Easily she leaped down to them, smirking as the brunette boy blushed and laughed nervously at the sight of her.

She conversed quickly with them, ruffling their hair affectionately before she departed. But the quieter, sincere one…oh no. This stranger…it couldn’t be…

The kid was barely five years old when she met him! Now he was a teenager, probably just a tad younger than she was! Aqua knew she had been down there a long time, but not ten years! That couldn’t be true. She would have aged, would have died of thirst, or hunger or…something. Ten years could not have passed. It was impossible.

But still…those brightly colored orbs the boy had…his silvery locks. Identical. Could he be a brother? A relative? Anything but…

“Riku?” She whispered, dropping the Keyblade and not even glancing at it as it disappeared from view. Sapphire eyes widened in shock and recognition, her mind frantically comparing images of this boy and the one she had met on that little dusky island. No. No. She flinched as thoughts of Terra and Ven set in. Oh, what had become of them? Was Ven still slumbering peacefully, or had he awoken and was wandering around the worlds looking for her? What about Terra? Had he returned to his former self?

These questions pulsated in her mind as she stared at the familiar-looking male, her eyebrows arched upwards and her heart fluttering frantically.


ugh. my posts should be stabbed in the jugular.
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Riku
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[let's go back to the beginning]

Ooc| Eeee are you going to leave me random comments like that? They're so great <3 Your posts are wonderful, by the way~

||




That voice.

Riku took a step backwards, his eyes widening, lips parted in slight shock. He knew that voice, he would never forget it. He couldn't forget it. Though he didn't know if he knew her name or remembered anything else. The memories were faded and dim, except for that voice. He had still heard it sometimes, someone speaking to him and Sora hopefully.

He couldn't believe it. This was a shock, how could, of all people he could have met down here, he wind up running into her?

She kept coming closer, he felt frozen to the spot. Unable to move, unable to think clearly. He felt like turning and running - this was someone (if he remembered that soothing voice) that he had not seen in so long. He had assaulted her memory, he had destroyed that faith. He had let himself give in to darkness. She had come from another world to see him. And he had messed it all up.

He bit his tongue hard, there was still a chance that this wasn't who he thought this was.

Until she came closer and her face came into view, and her soothing voice spoke his name. He could swear his heart almost stopped - the memory came back into perfect clarity and she looked like she hadn't aged a day since he had seen her.

His voice caught in his throat, he couldn't bring himself to speak, he tried to concentrate on breathing. His expression still shocked - before finally beginning to relax. "I-it's you" He said softly in reply, this was her. No question. What about the other one he had met? The one whose eyes he remembered still so clearly?

But it was just her. She too was trapped within the Realm of Darkness. Just like him, they had a common enemy and a common goal. He frowned, and took a few small steps forward. "W-why are you here?" He asked, his voice was shaky as he spoke, but he couldn't steady it. Not right now, he was still shellshocked and sideways.


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Aqua
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She tentatively shuffled forward, peering to the side as if some flaw there could prove that this wasn’t little Riku. But the faces matched perfectly, the only difference was that he was much older and taller, and his cute little baby fat was completely gone. The thick metallic tufts of hair hung in his all-too familiar eyes, which had changed from wide doe-eyes to slimmer and more oval-like ones, proof that a very long time had passed since she had been in the Realm of Light.

The shock she felt was mirrored in his expression. Clearly he recognized her, but not as vividly as the blue-haired warrior did. He was barely more than a toddler when they had met; she wouldn’t be surprised if the memory had been buried beneath ones of his later childhood. Clear sapphires connected with incredibly livid sea-green gems, a color she had not seen many times before. Captivating. She mused to herself, lifting a hand thoughtfully to her chest, picking at the fabric just below her neck with a dainty hand, as was a common habit with Aqua.

Her hand fell once again as he spoke, while her gaze diverted to the distant boulders and pathways further down the shore. “Why am I here?” There was a hoarse, rugged tone to the words, but with an underlying layer of yearning and perhaps a bit of pensiveness. She made a half-hearted ‘hm’ noise under her breath, before looking back at the now confirmed Riku.

“I gave up my freedom for my friend to return to the Light. I had promised that I would never allow him to fall into darkness…and I didn’t fulfill it. Think of it like…atonement. I let him down.” Aqua clenched a fist at her side, looking sorrowfully at the ground. She let out a sigh and looked back at Riku. “What about you? What are you doing all alone here? I thought you and Sora were inseparable.” She smiled playfully, holding up two crossed fingers as if to prove her point.

Based on what she had seen, the boys were just as good friends as she and Terra had been, perhaps even closer, since they were near each other in age. Her pleasant smirk faded. What if the same had happened? Could Riku have sacrificed himself for a friend as well? He was a Keyblade wielder now; she could sense that. And his heart wasn’t soiled in darkness, from what she could tell. It was simply tainted; like Terra’s had been.

She chewed on her lip contemplatively, weighing out the possibilities in the organized, analytical way she functioned. Of her three friends, she had always been the meticulous, tactful one, but also mellow and amiable, always wanting to make everything perfect but never getting truly upset about it. In a way, she was a bit like her Master; despising the darkness but always giving second chances when one was overtaken by it. Aqua sighed; perhaps that was their flaw. It had gotten Eraqus killed and her trapped in this Realm of Darkness.

Or had that been her coherent choice, based not on her traits but on her own particularly chosen options?


eh, probably. i often do have a little commentary on my posts.
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Riku
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[let's go back to the beginning]

The memory was coming back now. Seeing this girl standing before him brought her face into clarity once more. He could remember everything she said, and her bright smile. She looked so weary. Though, he supposed he did too. When she spoke, telling him the ghost of her story, his eyes fell. He couldn't look at her. The reason he was here, yes, still held the purity and the desire to help a friend. But he only needed to trap himself here because it was his fault. His emotions churned uncomfortably in his stomach, his eyes directed at the ground a little ways to the left of him.

Suddenly, Riku wanted to be alone. He wanted to turn and run away from Aqua because he didn't think he could face her. But he wasn't going to run, not yet. No one ever told him he had to tell her everything. "We were closing the Door to Darkness" He said finally, his voice full of guilt as he raised his eyes to her once more. "I didn't have a choice, I had to help him close the door. He wouldn't have been able to do it on his own."

Maybe the worst part about the whole thing was that Sora never really blamed him. But how could he not? If Riku had been stronger then he wouldn't have let himself get to that. The two of them could have joined together to save Kairi, he could have been by their side. They'd still be together, he wouldn't have this darkness.

But he met Aqua down here. Maybe this was why he was down here.

"So. I guess I put myself down here." He concluded softly, his voice a bit more normal, a little less full of guilt. Hey, maybe she had made mistakes too. Though he could tell she had no dabled in darkness, she was still here. He didn't know her story, maybe he shouldn't continue making himself feel bad. He had to be stronger. He shifted his position slightly, his hands closed into loose fists at his sides.

How long had Aqua been down here? She didn't look any older than what he remembered.


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Aqua
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Aqua listened to him speak, gazing straight at his face with her usually mellow solemnity. Instantly she regretted asking the question. His voice was drenched with melancholy, though she couldn’t necessarily blame him. Any person who ended up here would have a rather dark story to tell, plus the fact that the shortest time in this realm could dampen even the liveliest spirits.

Slowly the bluenette advanced towards Riku, her armored boots scuffing in the rough black sand. With a surprised blink, she realized that he had now outgrown her. Just how long had it been? He appeared not much younger than her, probably around sixteen or seventeen. And if she had met him when he was four…

“Twelve years…” She murmured, her sapphire orbs widening considerably, her heartbeat fluttering in her chest. That meant Ven had been in that castle for twelve years as well, if he was still sleeping, which she was almost positive about. Terra had been gone for twelve years, since now she had fully accepted the fact that her best friend had not existed in that silver-haired, ochre-eyed thing that she had battled. But there was the slightest hope, that there was some remnant of him left that would somehow return to life. That little shred tied her to salvation, and she clung to it.

But more than a decade had passed. If there were any plans to rescue her, why hadn’t they already been done by now?

She shook her head, clearing those thoughts with a long breath and a recurring glance up to Riku. “But he knows you’re down here.” Her voice held a speck of cheer, not exactly to the extent that she used to have but it was enough to prove her point. “And, if you’re as close as you were when I met you two, then I’m sure he’ll be searching for a way to come back and find you.” With a gentle smile, she rested a gloved hand on his shoulder comfortingly. “You have to believe in your friends, Riku. I trust mine with everything I have, and I’m certain that one day they’ll find me. We’ll both escape. Promise.”

The look in her eyes was firmly determined, like nothing in the world could convince her otherwise of the words she had just said. And it was true. The three of them had an unbreakable connection, and even though Ventus was sleeping, even though she was trapped in the Realm of Darkness, and even though Terra no longer existed in the form she knew him in, not a tear had formed in the bond they had forged between one another. Their fates were intertwined, and that could not be argued with.

DEAR GOD I HAD GREAT MUSE YESTERDAY AND THEN TODAY IT’S JUST LIKE ‘lolno’
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[let's go back to the beginning]

Riku watched her expression. The way she seemed to piece together just how long it had been. It had been years since he had last seen her, and she looked exactly the same. It was frightening that someone could stay down here for so long. That they could still.. smile. Riku knew that he had not been here for a long time yet, but it had taken a lot out of him. There were things down here that weren't exactly puppies and butterflies. Heartless attacking each other, ganging up on each other, all of them trying to survive by taking out their own kind. Maybe they were just bored. He didn't know, he didn't know what the heartless were thinking when they sank their claws into the backs of another creature.

Her hand was warm on his shoulder, the first warm thing he had felt in so long. He had almost forgotten what it felt like. Riku nearly staggered, hanging his head as she spoke. Once she had finished her soft words, he turned away. "He shouldn't find me" His voice was bitter and a lot more harsh than it had been. The wounds were still raw and he knew he needed to make amends for what he had done before he could go back. He couldn't just be friends with someone he had betrayed, could he? He had stolen his Keyblade, stolen his friends. Left him to fend for himself in a place crawling with Heartless with only a wooden sword in his grasp.

Sure, the darkness had been what drove him into his harshness, but he couldn't let that be an excuse. There were no excuses.

He sighed, Aqua was more confident than he was. A hell of a lot stronger too. He knew she wouldn't accept his answer, and straightened slightly. "He can't find me until my mistakes can be forgiven." It was a simple conclusion, one that wasn't so much 'I'm a bad person' as it was 'I'm trying'.

This place was sucking the life out of him. "Why don't we try to get out together?" He asked gently.


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Aqua
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”He shouldn’t find me.”

The words stunned Aqua into silence, to say the least. What had happened to this boy, to make him think he didn’t deserve to escape? She gasped slightly, retracting her hand and holding it close to her heart. Her blue gaze was shocked, sympathetic, but also incredulous, as if she didn’t believe that the sweet little boy she had met on Destiny Islands had managed to do anything wrong. But people changed; of that she was well aware.

She couldn’t help but compare him to Terra. Darkness had tainted his heart; no doubt that was what had driven him to commit whatever evils he had committed. She found it impossible to wrap her mind around the assumption that Riku had done anything sinister on his own accord. There was no way.

And even though darkness had taken her best friend, and even though he had performed such dark acts throughout the worlds, and even though there was so little left of his true self when she found him, she still sacrificed herself to save him from this hellish world. If Riku and Sora’s friendship had been anywhere near strong as hers and Terra’s had been, she knew that Sora would be doing all he possibly could to bring his friend back, despite his mistakes.

She smiled warmly at the silvernette, nodding firmly. “I’d like that.” She murmured, glancing down at her armored boots with something close to relief. Or was that reverence? Either way, she raised her gaze once again to look into the boy’s sea-green eyes. “Riku. You and Sora are best friends, correct? Then he would forgive all your wrongs in a heartbeat. You don’t have to worry about that.”

okay this post was terrible. i'll just go hide in the closet and gorge myself on nutella soaked with my tears.
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[let's go back to the beginning]

Briefly, he wondered if this was a good idea. Though he knew that if it came down to one of them or the other, he was going to make sure she got out of here okay. The idea that she had been here for so long was still a shudderingly scary thought. She deserved to get out of this awful place long before he did. If he had any say in the matter, she was getting out of here. And if they could both leave - then maybe that meant that he was getting better at this whole 'turning things around' thing.

That's the thing about Sora - Riku knew that he would be forgiven instantly. The thing that bothered him was that he didn't want to be forgiven, most of this mess had been his fault in the first place. He didn't want Sora to forgive him, he wanted Sora to understand that he did make a couple mistakes, he wanted to work for Sora's forgiveness, and for Kairi's.

Riku breathed, eyeing her as kindly as he could manage while he was still swallowing the guilt that came with knowing how long she had been here for. "Sora is too forgiving" He said gently. "I know he would forgive me in a second, but he shouldn't." Was it noble, maybe, to want to earn his friends' trust? Instead of it being given, he wanted to be worthy of it. Perhaps Kairi would be firm and fair, she might need reasons to forgive and that would be a breath of fresh air. Maybe she could convince the ever innocent Sora that fact.

But that wasn't going to happen yet, they were both stuck here and they didn't have any way to get back yet.

"I don't know where to start" He admitted. He was sure she had explored this world intently, he knew next to nothing. Maybe there wasn't even a way to get back, maybe he would spent eternity walking this dark landscape with her, until his lungs ceased to breathe. Her light was warming and soothing, though, he could feel it seep into him and chase away the unease he had felt upon arrival.


( My post is only sort of awful. But I haven't used Riku for awhile, and at least it's a post? :D? And yours are always wonderful )


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Aqua
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At first his response rendered her as confused as ever. Did he…not want his friend’s forgiveness? It was peculiar, but the more Aqua dwelled on it, the clearer his logic became. And the more she related it to herself. Until finally, she understood. At first she had blamed only herself for the demise of the three people that she loved so much. But gradually, inch by painful inch, that clinging remorse over what she thought was her own indiscretion…lifted. She realized that she was the spare player in Xehanort’s game, and however hard she tried to turn the tides, the old man was nothing if not clever. She didn’t stand a chance from the very beginning.

The shame had not completely dissipated; it merely thinned into a sort of sad acceptance.

She figured Riku was going through something similar to…all three of them. He had taken a veer towards the dark path, and was struggling to find his way back. And through it all, he was trying to protect the people he loved. This boy, though young, had a heavy burden to carry, and she could effortlessly sympathize.

But that wasn’t what he needed. He didn’t need pity, didn’t need the gentle condolences she was prone to give. What he really, truly needed was guidance. A hand to lead him back to where he belonged; beside his friends, in the Realm of Light. And Aqua was eager to lend her own.

“I can see where you’re coming from,” The bluenette turned towards the horizon, gazing out into the blackened sea. “But whatever it is you did, you are worthy of forgiveness. I can tell just by looking at you that you deeply regret your actions, and that’s hard enough to endure.”

“But,” She glanced back at him with a determined gleam to her eyes, “You can’t let that guilt drag you down. It will only drown you; trust me, I’ve seen it happen. No matter how horrible or drastic your mistakes were, there’s no need to drench yourself in all that shame. That’s where you should start, Riku. Putting the past behind you and moving on.”

She turned her head back towards the shore and closed her eyes. The breeze rustled her thick blue hair, and for the first time, it carried more than despair and yearning. Riding on the back of the wind that had buffeted her for so long, was the faintest trace of hope. Hope that didn’t stem from desperate wishing and the closing of saddened thoughts. It was raw and tangible, a promise that it would get better. That everything, even though it felt so dismal for her now, would be all right eventually.

And when her eyelids opened, she was at peace.
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