Riku (
tall_dark_and) wrote2006-12-30 08:54 am
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Entry tags:
eden's end ; in the castle that never was
Riku's been a very daring boy.
This isn't a surprise really - trying to test his limits is a common practice for him. He's been even more reckless lately, ever since he was locked into the Shadow Realms. It's anybody's best guess as to whether he's doing this as a way to punish himself, or a way to find Sora more quickly.
Probably a mix of both.
He's been in the Castle only a few times, but he hasn't met any danger yet. He's easily sneaked in and out, and taken more than a few books from the library as a trophy. It's enough to give someone who's a little less smart a sense of false safety.
Riku knows better. But he's still acting as if he doesn't, anyway.
Maybe he just wants to see what happens.
So. The scene is set, and the player is placed. Now all that is left is to see the unfolding of events...
In the halls of the Castle That Never Was.
This isn't a surprise really - trying to test his limits is a common practice for him. He's been even more reckless lately, ever since he was locked into the Shadow Realms. It's anybody's best guess as to whether he's doing this as a way to punish himself, or a way to find Sora more quickly.
Probably a mix of both.
He's been in the Castle only a few times, but he hasn't met any danger yet. He's easily sneaked in and out, and taken more than a few books from the library as a trophy. It's enough to give someone who's a little less smart a sense of false safety.
Riku knows better. But he's still acting as if he doesn't, anyway.
Maybe he just wants to see what happens.
So. The scene is set, and the player is placed. Now all that is left is to see the unfolding of events...
In the halls of the Castle That Never Was.
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Xemnas knows that Riku has been here more than once, in spite of the fact that the Castle is forbidden territory, strictly off limits under penalty of immediate execution. Ostensibly, at any rate; to watch the boy look around, even take little momentos with him, has given Xemnas a great deal of amusement. Were he so inclined he could ensure that Riku never left the Castle again, because it's not any skill on Riku's part that's letting him get in and out so easily. No, it's Xemnas' word and obedient followers.
Actors must be prepared to improvise, but direct observation is the job of the audience. Riku may think he knows better, but that may also be his weakness. Unpredictability is something that cannot be known save for the fact that it exists. What precisely he should be wary of, or when it will come, is not something that Riku can be know with absolute certainty.
Keeping one's guard up for a long time without cease can be tiring, and sooner or later Riku would have made a mistake all on his own that no one would be able to ignore, entertaining though his actions have been. But simply watching from afar can be tiring as well, tiring and boring. While Riku might expect one of the others to try to stop him, perhaps the Superior himself making an appearance will be at least a bit surprising.
"You are certainly one to push your luck. How many times has it been now?" he questions, emerging from the deep shadow he's been standing in. "Surely you've not run out of reading material already?"
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"It wasn't luck," he says. "It was stupidity on the part of your members."
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He grins then, a disconcerting little grin that's part disbelief and part vicious amusement.
"So young, Riku. So young. And so very, very naive. Did it truly not occur to you that perhaps I've known that you've been paying us little visits? That you've been 'borrowing' things from the library?"
The chuckle that he gives after that is darkly amused.
"Did it not occur to you, Riku, that it might not be stupidity so much as my explicit instructions that you were not to be hindered in any way?"
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He sees nothing to gain by not killing him.
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"As for why I would do it, simply because it entertains me to do so." He shrugs. "You are a novelty, and as such a fascination."
That being the entire reason, or even a significant fraction of it, is less probable than a snowball surviving in hell. Xemnas gestures toward Riku's weapon with his chin.
"You'd lose a lot by killing me. Most significantly, you'd lose your life. What sort of friend would you be then, Riku? Foolishly wasting your chance to escape this World and find Sora by giving in to your anger. So selfish, putting your desires before his well-being. And so arrogant, thinking that you could both defeat me and save him."
Twin blades of red energy extend from Xemnas' palms and are brought to a ready position.
"Of course," he says quietly, "if you insist upon it, I'd be a poor host not to indulge you."
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"I am not a novelty," he says, with a hint of a sneer.
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The weapons retreat and Xemnas folds his arms over his chest.
"Watching you skulk about has in its own way been interesting, as well. You certainly like to push your luck and take your chances, though this is hardly a place to be reckless. One might refer to you as a 'brave' individual, I believe."
Bravery is not a concept that Xemnas really understands, because it involves principles of sacrificing oneself, or risking doing so, for others based on emotional and moral principles and reasons. But foolishness... Ah, that he understands. He has seen many prime examples of it, and remembers many as well.
"One might also refer to you as... stupid? Foolish. Without due regard for self or surroundings. I could go on."
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"If you want to study me," he says, "You might as well capture me. Lock me like you do the witch, like an animal in a cage."
He wishes, sometimes, that he could get Namine out of their grasp.
Riku dreams about it, sometimes - she's got something about he that draws him closer, something that he would like to explore more fully. But it's hard for him to get to her, and hard for him to get her out - he hardly dares to try, not until he knows their defenses better.
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The mention of Namine elicits another response, namely a nod as if Xemnas has just had a theory confirmed.
"As for the witch, it would seem that you do have more than a passing concern. I was wondering if it was just a summer thing, or if you really did have some sort of interest, an attraction if you will. How very touching, Riku, very touching indeed. I wonder, is rescuing her from this terrible prison a part of what drives you?"
A knowing smirk creeps over Xemnas' face.
"I also wonder if perhaps there are some other related drives that you may think about acting upon before your sands have run, hm? How long are you willing to wait, Riku? How long can you hold out before you make another foolish, selfish decision?"
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He would have no right to think of Namine like that. She was beautiful, and far too untouchable.
"And you better stop 'watching me' all the time, bastard. I'm not here to give you your kicks."
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"Aren't you?" he questions, before placing a hand on Riku's right shoulder, thumb almost but not quite caressing the side of the boy's neck. Xemnas leans in close, lips brushing against Riku's left ear and voice a deliberately husky whisper when he speaks.
"Be careful about kicking me, little one. You never know, it may turn out that I like things rough."
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"Don't pull that crap on me," he says with a growl.
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Xemnas stands there and lets Riku tire himself a bit with the pushing, then steps back under his own power - out of keyblade range, but possibly still too close for comfort.
"Regardless of your pathetic attempt at retaliation, I believe I've made my point. Don't test me, Riku. I've been lenient thus far. The next time? You may cease to amuse me, and I may change my mind about that leniency."
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Even if all he does is leave information behind for Mickey to use. At least he's achieved something, in that case.
And nobody would ever miss him.
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It's probably not encouragement, at least not in the conventional sense. No doubt Xemnas has his own motives and reasons for saying the words, but what they are, he isn't letting on.
"At the very least think of these people you call friends. I expect that would be angry at you, rather than poised to applaud your martyrdom. And... what of the witch? Would you abandon her so easily? I do not think that you would."
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If that requires giving up his life, he does not consider that a stupid choice. It is the least he can do, after what he has pulled in the past.
But it seems that he'll have to make some alternate arrangements for Namine.
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"For instance, what if you had to choose between your friend Sora and the witch? One or the other, no chance to save both. Who would you murder with your decision? Which one's death would be 'necessary' to save the other?"
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He turns on his heel, ready to leave.
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"What would you do, if you were to lose them both because you hesitated? Two dead when one could have been spared? Two dead, while you still lived? What would that do to you, Riku? How would that make you feel?
"What happens, I wonder, when a heartless loses his drive, especially in this World? Perhaps before long we'll be treated to the answer."
Then there's a swirl of black mist and the only thing that Riku has his back to is air and the room behind him.
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Yeah. He's angry.