ready set dive

"Watch it!" Teasing, any remnants of former stress fade from tan skin. However subconscious the feelings might be, concern for himself needn’t exist in the other’s presence. Perhaps all the time spent consoling each other inadvertently has paid off (as despite how little they like to say it, history will be history and ignoring it is almost as counterproductive as his habits). 

Arms crossed, he stifles a huff. "Wasn’t like I meant to surprise you. We’re in the middle of nowhere and you were talking to yourself, what did you think was gonna happen?” As if on cue, he’s interrupted mid-pout by the latter comment. 

"Yeah… There’s too many pieces to line up. I don’t even really know where to start." Sword? That doesn’t sound terribly familiar - though he does recall an (albeit brief) appearance of something like that in the palm of his hand during the misguided reverie from a week prior to this conversation. "What’re you talkin’ about?"

Demeanor shifting from playfully irate to genuinely confused, his mouth comes to form an ‘o’ shape before he knows it - only aware when it clamps shut at Riku’s dull barb. He’s not hurt; it’s said too matter-of-factly for it to be a slight of any kind. 

Fully recognizing that something is wrong with him is the last thing he’s capable of doing. 

"Oh, come on. I was not.. talking to myself..." Riku looked away. He had been very lost in thought. Maybe he was mumbling under his breath or something along those lines. That was a little embarrassing. So much for looking like The Cool Guy in front of Sora.

He shook off those thoughts, knowing there were more pressing matters at hand. Sora had not seen what had transpired. Perhaps Riku had imagined it, but he had this feeling he didn't. The piece of metal that appeared in his hand felt very, very real. It almost felt natural and that is what concerned him the most.

Riku was unsure of what to do. He wanted to hide this from Sora and pretend like it never happened. Riku spent a year of drug and alcohol abuse and kept it from most of the people that knew him well. Putting on a performance was something of a skill of his. But with Sora, he had always found it difficult to hide his true feelings. Sora saw through it and it was frustrating. BUt this time, perhaps he could get away with it. Sora never has to know about the weird ability(?) that Riku had just obtained. And what if he was dangerous? What if he accidentally hurt Sora, or worse?

He bit his lip a little. He trusted Sora. And he was done hurting people he loved. He would not lie.

But all of that aside, he’s even come across someone that looks far too much like himself without the slightest idea as to how that is. If this place couldn’t possibly get any more disorienting, the edge of Paralia seems to have undergone some ridiculous industrializing - or at least, to an extent - because he’s fairly sure this wasn’t here when he last checked. 

Whether it’s good fortune or spontaneity that this is significantly more comfortable than the slow-paced area is a whole, he’s not sure. All he is aware of is the familiar frame and silken, silver hair that’s no less than a few meters away. Not thinking twice (just in case his eyes deceive him, or some other poetic novelty) before closing the distance between them, he takes the other’s shoulder in one hand. 

Apparently nothing within the course of this week can transpire naturally, because while (luckily enougH) yes, it is who he’s looking for, something currently has Riku’s attention that he can’t see. Not that he would dare hold as much against the taller, as all things considered, he can still hazily recall a dream of inky shadows snaking around his ankles and wrists. 

Even if that’s one fact he doesn’t plan on sharing. "Yeah, better be sorry!" A jab of his elbow to the other’s side is supposed to be more reassuring than anything else, but how it comes off is subjective. Up to interpretation.

Sora was Riku's best friend. Though he was away for so long due to his shitty behavior, Sora was one of the few people he never fet like he lost because of it. He felt safe around Sora, though he would never voice any of this aloud. Riku always had to play it cool, and he knew Sora would make fun of him if he found out what a secret sap Riku is.

"Aw, man. If I knew you were the runt sneaking up behind me, I would have made sure to actually hit you." A laugh, as he ruffled up Sora's mess of hair "I went to Paralia thinking I could get away from you, but nope. Here you are. Just follow me everywhere, why don't you?"

"It's been one unpleasant week, Sora. I'll say that much. And I really am sorry about the sword(?)." Weird dreams, waking up in a completely different town, and now a weird metal weapon appearing out of nowhere. He just wanted to go back home and deal with the annoyances of that place rather than these unsolveable mysteries.

He allowed his emotions to show on his face for once. He knew he could be himself around Sora. Riku had an easier time being himself around Sora than he did being himself around... himself. Sora always accepted him where he could not.

He smiled again, trying not to bring down the entire conversation with his melancholy and confusion.

"And, damn, Sora. You look like you've seen better days." The comment might have come rude to onlookers. This was how Riku expressed his concern and Sora understood it.

An ‘Oh,’ is gasped under her breath as she’s caught off guard. Reeling, she rethinks her plan of action and takes a few steps back before inspecting the person she had, moments ago, thought it was a perfectly fine idea to approach.

For a minute, all she really does is stare at him, blinking slowly as her gaze flickers from the hand which only moments ago held a weapon. Her brows are drawn together apprehensively while she takes in the scene before him and, luckily for her, it seems like he really doesn’t mean to do anything weird with that… whatever it was. A laugh (however awkward) is all she needs to calm her nerves, even if her speech is still a bit cautious.

"It doesn’t happen often," She repeats after him. "So, you mean, it happens sometimes.”

Because that’s totally normal, right? It’s just weird and surprising and kind of off-putting when it happens from only a few feet away from herself! She can’t help but tilt her head as her brain tries to tick through logical explanations for something like that appearing so suddenly and disappearing in the same instance. It’s with a look of delight that she finally claps her hands together as though she’s reached a conclusion.

Riku couldn't help but feel a wave of nerves crash on him when he realized the person he had almost struck was a female. This would definitely look bad to any onlookers. But the girl before him seemed perfectly calm and collected which helped him to feel more at ease, though he couldn't help but feel like more apologies were needed.

He was about to apologize again when she had spoken up. He took in what she had said. This key materializing did not happen often, but, now that he really thought about it... It didn't feel too unfamiliar. The sensation of it appearing and his hand around it did not feel irregular at all and that scared him. Just what the hell was he? What was that? But, for the sake of answering her question, he decided to tell her the facts. This was the first time he was aware of it happening.

"I didn't mean it like that. I was just trying to make it seem more, er, casual." Another awkward laugh and he scratched the back of his head.

A trick... He was no magician, but now she had him wondering. Would it work if he tried it again? He wasn't sure. Being labeled as a street performer by this girl would be better than being labeled a weirdo or dangerous.

He held out his hand again, focused on the weapon, and sure enough it appeared. Much to Riku's dismay, it seemed this was a regular thing now. To appease the girl and maybe make it a little less awkward, he twirled it around and smiled a smile way more casual than what he felt.

Why had she agreed to this? Why, why, why had she come here? There were a thousand other places she could be. Home, sleeping. The mall. The beach. Hell, summer school would be preferable to standing on her ex-boyfriend’s porch, preparing to give him some dumb cake. It felt like she was bribing a 5 year old.

Her heart jumped into her throat when she heard the footsteps. And then it promptly dropped into her stomach when the door opened, and there he was. Riku Bennett.

The first thing she noticed was his hair. It was a lot shorter than it had been freshman year. Unlike his teammates, he hadn’t been forced to cut his hair for football, so he was able to keep it about shoulder length. The perks of being rich and famous in Kairos, of course. Now, though, it was above his shoulders, like it had been when they were kids.

It made her feel nostalgic. She wanted to laugh at how childlike he looked, so different from how he had been last time she saw him, but she didn’t dare crack a smile.

God. She couldn’t believe she’d ever stood on the sidelines, waving her pom poms for him, cheering him on.

He stood there, so much taller than her, calm, nonchalant, as if seeing his ex-girlfriend for the first time after God knows how long didn’t affect him at all. And then eventually - and she would never get over this - he took the cake from her and smiled.

Had he forgotten how he’d treated her? Had he forgotten how many times he’d yelled at her, taunted her until she was reduced to tears, humiliated her?

Who the hell did he think he was?

Kairi narrowed her blue eyes in the glare that she’d mastered when she was only a toddler, and balled her hands into fists, her french manicured nails digging into her palms.

"You asshole!”

He was stupid to think that this could have been a civil affair. Though Kairi would never admit it, Riku knew her well, and also knew she was not over what had happened. Not over at all. There was a lot of hurt and bitter sealed up in that tiny redhead's body. Was it even possible to make this right, Riku wondered? No, probably not. But was he going to try? One thing he had learned in recent times is to own up to his mistakes. He had to try and bring himself to be honest with Kairi, and apologize at the very least, though it did sting at his pride.

What would he say to her? Would it be a half-assed apology? As much as he wanted to just blurt out "sorry" and rush upstairs to his room, he did not think that would be the best way to go about this. Especially not if he wanted to earn her forgiveness. They were close, once upon a time. Before things went bad, she had built him up and encouraged him. She was alwawys there, cheering him on from the sidelines quite literally. He wanted to make this right.

"I deserve worse than being called an asshole, you know." The way he said it wasn't demeaning. He said it like it was a valid truth, and she knew it was. "I wronged you so much, Kairi. And I know I have. And it's one of my bigger regrets."

Of course, upon making it, he found himself captivated by the sights. As if someone had taken a district from each city and conveniently placed them together. A down-scaled variation. Though that didn’t offer any answers; if such a place existed, then why wasn’t there a way to reunite the two cities, rather than replicate a miniature? He trod carefully into the plaza, still in awe at the creation of such a place, but intending to remain cautious.

No-one had any answers as to why they had all been uprooted and placed in Paralia, nor why it seemed the same was the case visa-versa. There was a sort of comfort though, in having somewhere that resembled home, but that also seemed to aggravate the homesickness bubbling at the pit of his stomach.

Maybe asking around might offer some help. And treading deeper into the site, he sought a candidate that may possess any knowledge. A silver-haired young man caught his eye before long, though he appeared distracted, and simply tearing into his thoughts would be rude. Apprehensive about disturbing him, Aichi crept forward at a gradual pace, somewhat hoping the other might notice him and they could speak without having to push himself to initiate the conversation.

The first happened, but—

“Uwah!”

Aichi flinched at the materialization of the enlarged key, almost completely leaping back out of shock and stood with his hands raised defensively as the alarms screaming danger quietened. Still, it had been rather sudden.

The better question was why he had this ability? He did not know where the thing came from. He hardly could figure out what it was, let alone why it was there and why he had this strange power inside of him. H wondered if he tried again, would the thing come back? And then he remembered that there was no time to test this He probably just scared the crap out of whoever just came up behind him.

He took a deep breath to talk to the stranger before him and hopefully clear his name a little bit. Didn't want to be labeled as crazy his first day in Kingdom Plaza.

The person who had approached him was obviously very timid. Riku gathered that much from the small voice and the body language. Great. He probably looked like a huge bully, swinging weird sword keys around at those shyer than him.

"Please, don't apology. I am so sorry that this happened." Would an apology cut it? Riku definitely looked like a freak. A very unapproachable freak. He sighed loudly.

Daddy had first brought up the idea a couple months ago, in the morning, hiding behind the safety of his coffee cup and his daughter’s drowsiness. 

He’d broken The News the same way a few weeks before. The coward.

But whatever. She’d known for a long time now that this was coming, and she had prepared accordingly. She was a big girl now! She could handle one insignificant ex-boyfriend.

…Right?

The redhead sighed, knowing she was being unfair. Insignificant wasn’t a word that could properly describe Riku. 16 years of friendship was proof of that. He’d been there with her through every single moment of her life.

Though, didn’t that give her every right to be upset? He’d been such a… such a jerk before he left! Just the thought of it made her angry, and she considered throwing this cake right in his face as soon as he opened the door. But she wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction. She wasn’t going to let him know he hurt her. Because if he knew that, then he’d know she’d valued his company. And if that was true, then it meant that she missed him.

Therefore, it wasn’t true. Because Kairi hadn’t missed him. Not at all.

She hadn’t missed the cocky asshole that thought he was cool because he was good at football. She hadn’t missed the idiot that could never be bothered to answer her texts or calls. And she definitely hadn’t missed the drunken douchebag that would only give her attention when he was disrespecting her in front of all of his friends.

This meeting wasn’t a symbol of forgiveness. It was a symbol of her willingness to tolerate his presence in the city.

‘Buck up, Lux,' the girl thought to herself as she unbuckled her seat belt and reached over to grab the white box. The cake inside was a peace offering of sorts. Who could say no to chocolate cake?

With a great sigh, Kairi stepped out of her car with her welcoming cake in tow. She walked right up to the door, took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and knocked.

And instantly regretted it.

Riku had little experience with relationships. But Kairi was his first and only. The two had been friends since childhood and people always joked about them being a couple. And eventually, the two did become a real couple. They were happy for a while. She was amazing and he didn't deserve it. He mistreated her. Riku let himself fall apart and take it out on her, and that would always be one of his regrets. And here was the personification of that regret at his door with what he assumed, knowing Kairi's family, was a cake.

Alright, Riku. You're gonna go down those stairs. You're gonna answer that door. And you're going to apologize. Play it cool.

He walked down the stairs and with each step the memories of how he treated Kairi assaulted him. Of course, he wasn't all at fault. She was no angel by any means, but he was definitely the one with more to atone for. See, the thing Kairi lacked while she was dating him was understanding and compassion. She prided herself on her ability to be there for people, but she refused to try with her own boyfriend Perhaps she was embarrassed of his behavior.

The bitterness and guitiness was eating at him relentlessly as he opened the door and took her in. Kairi Lux. Almost exactly as how he remembered her, except maybe even better. He really did miss her. Not even as a girlfriend, but as a friend. Did she feel the same way? And, oh no, he had cut his hair since she had last seen him. What if she hated it? Nerves.....

"Sorry your parents forced you to deliver this," he said, trying not to sound as miserable as he felt.

The words came out harsher than he wanted them to be. He took the cake out of her hands gently. He took a deep breath.

"It's... good to see you again, Kairi."