kaisou | 「All in the Golden Afternoon」

Entry tags:

riku,
roxas

「All in the Golden Afternoon」

WHO: Riku and Roxas
WHERE: Some random street in Kaisou and also Riku's swanky penthouse apartment
WHEN: February 13th-ish, sometime just before the therapy train gets a little grabby
WHAT: Roxas finds Riku stocking up for his menagerie and has some Questions. Riku would really rather he didn't have questions.
WARNINGS: Teenagers being stupid, Kingdom Hearts Things™

[Riku... had never expected life to turn out quite like this. He'd never considered himself an animal person, even though he liked them well enough. He'd always had his hands full with his Noibat, but even she wasn't an animal-- she was his partner, his best friend. Someone who had his back, no matter what, who had grown up with him since that day he found her in that cave, all the way back during one of his first hand held expeditions into the island's spirit realm. She was everything he felt he needed for so long....

And then, this city had given him a cat. And then a caterpillar, and now--

Well, there's a reason why Riku has spent almost all of his weekly budget in the past hour at the fancy little pet boutique just down the street from his apartment building. Why, at two in the afternoon, he's pushing a fabric cart fully loaded with boxes upon boxes of what, if the pictures on the side are anything to go by, seem to be hamster tubes.

With a quick look from left to right, Riku is hiking up the scarf wound around his neck almost like he's trying to hide in it, before very quickly going to make his way the few blocks to his apartment.

He has absolutely no idea that he's been spotted.]

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[It's... something they could find common ground on, honestly. If either of them ever actually talked about it. Sure, Riku had been a kid when the truth of the world was exposed to him and for Roxas it only happened recently, but... still. It's a shared experience, in a way. It's something they could bond over.

Or Roxas could keep saying just the right things at just the right interval in just the right way to make Riku want to just leave his cart in the middle of the sidewalk in order to shadow step into his bedroom and scream into a pillow.]

You clearly haven't been around more than two cats at a time.

[Stay calm, Riku. You can do this, Riku. Roxas is just being a brat on purpose, Riku.

At this point, they've turned the corner, and Riku can see the lobby of his building calling sweetly from the distance.]

I only have one cat-- [.....] One point one cats, Kory, and Komo. [He is not elaborating on those names, Roxas will figure all that out soon enough.] The issue is... the rest of them.

[Roxas might notice, if he takes a look around, that there do seem to be a good few stray cats walking along building edges and fence lines, now. Weird, when that wasn't exactly happening before they turned the corner.

It's almost as if something is drawing them in.]

[He sure is being a brat on purpose. He's enjoying himself.

[And he is noticing that there are suddenly cats, trying to call to them. But funnily enough, most of them are just kind of gravitating toward this building they're walking toward.]

The rest of them...? [He's asking almost absently as he starts... realizing. And then he points at the building.]

You live there, don't you? [Asked so flatly.]

[You know what, Riku isn't going to bother answering that question. Instead, he's just going to cross the street, walk up to the big glass doors at the base of the building, key in a code, and push it open.

Only then does he turn back towards Roxas, holding the door open for him with such a tired expression on his face.]

... yes. Come in before I lock you out.

[Yeah, Roxas is going to slip inside and start looking around so nosily. He's been to a few fancy places, but he's never lived in one like this. Time for him to be way too confident inspecting this ritzy building.]

Whoooaaa. You're annoyingly rich, huh?

[Maybe he should have just given in and teleported out of there. Maybe he should have called all of this a wash as soon as he was caught. It sure would be less of a headache right now.]

No, my parents are.

[Says the rich boy.]

Don't break anything, my salary won't cover replacements.

[He's going to just push his cart over to the elevator, fishing out his wallet to tap against the reader to call the car down.]

[Roxas does at least go back to him when he sees that he's calling the elevator.]

I'm not gonna break anything, I'm not some hooligan.

[Says the skateboarder.]

So your parents put you up in this place when you left the island?

[Riku fully snorts at that "not a hooligan" comment, but he is at least making room for Roxas to come wait for the elevator with him, scrolling through his phone while he has it out.]

Yeah. Believe it or not, it was the smallest place I could get them to settle on.

[It's not a brag, amazingly enough. There's a lot of annoyance in his tone. Riku would be fine in a one room apartment, so long as he had room enough for his bats and cats.

It doesn't take long for the elevator to come down, and Riku's shoving his cart in before gesturing at Roxas to take up the rest of the space.]

The floor's already called, I'll let you in when you get up there.

[After all, there's barely enough room in there for that cart of hamster tubes and a full person, let alone two. So have fun with the ride, Roxas! Riku's going to wait for the doors to close before stepping to the side, sinking into the shadows of the lobby and stepping out in his apartment, making a face as he rolls out his now slightly sore shoulders and moves to scoop up his giant, fluffy princess of a cat, holding her in one arm as he lets the door swing open, waiting for the elevator just down the hall to get there.]

[It's okay, Roxas is small enough to practically disappear into the wall of this elevator.

[But then Riku doesn't...get in. And then he's already there when they get out! Fuckin' cheater. Never racing this guy.]

Did you just use your powers to ditch me? [That's the first thing he says as he starts pushing that cart out of the elevator to look around.]

[He can't help it. As much as he knows better, as much as he's trying to be better, he can't help the way that the corner of his lips lift into a smug little smirk as Roxas complains at him.]

Yep.

[Simple as that, really.

Kairi shifts in Riku's arms, curious about this newcomer, but not quite curious enough to abandon her perch just yet. But the movement gets Riku's attention, and he opens his mouth to introduce her before... pausing.

Because, well. He did name his cats after his past life's friends. He named them after people that were important to Roxas in that other world, that other lifetime, as well.]

... right. [He bends over to let Kairi hop down and walk over to Roxas, hopping up in that cart and taking a seat amongst the boxes as if they were put there just for her.] So. Before you come in, some of the next few minutes might not be... pleasant.

[Roxas is sure to let Kairi sniff his hand as thoroughly as she wants before he starts to pet her very gently around the face, looking up at Riku and tilting his head a bit.]

Why's that? [He's blissfully unaware of what the problem might be.]

[For a moment, Riku really thinks about it. He thinks about what he might say to ease Roxas into this, to get him prepared for the headache that might hit him.

For a moment, he remembers the pain and rage of a boy in the basement of a mansion, smashing a computer to pieces and breathing hard and desperate through it.

...... but then he remembers how much of a brat Roxas has been since ambushing him on the street and he decides screw it (7).]

That's Kairi and the caterpillar on her head is Sora.

[As if on cue, a small brown tabby just a few inches long pops up out of the fluff on Kairi's head, letting out a cute little mew! as he waves his many, many legs at Roxas.]

[Roxas might be having some weird dreams later, but you know what? He's fine right now. Those names wash through him, and there's a moment where he looks a little troubled, like he might be remembering something, but... it fades. No pain.]

Kairi... and Sora. [He leans in a bit, reaching his finger out so that Sora can grab onto him with some of those little legs.] God, this little guy is cute.

[He looks up at Riku.]

They're your friends' names, right? [Leave it to Roxas to fucking no-sell it (20).]

[YOU KNOW WHAT-- Sure, fine, that makes sense. Not like remembering Sora didn't have Riku bedridden when it happened to him. But for Roxas.... fine!!! Whatever! It's not a competition or anything!!!!]

.... yeah, they are. [He's just. Going to look at that caterpillar for a moment like he just committed the ultimate betrayal before sighing and turning to walk back inside.] Close the door behind you. Kairi and Kory I trust, but not the other two.

[He's going to lead Roxas into the living room area, gesturing for him to park the cart in the middle of the room as he goes to hunt down wherever his bats have wandered off to.

Not... that that's going to take very long, because once Roxas is inside there's the flutter of wings as Riku's Noibat comes over to investigate the visitor while... there's some muffled complaining, crashing, and stumbling from the direction of the bedroom before Riku comes back to the living room with a giant rainbow puffball of a creature attached to the back of his head and shoulder.]

Okay. [Honestly, it's like Riku's sanity is hanging by a thread. And that thread is currently getting plucked like a guitar string by the very happy rainbow bat nuzzling against the side of his head.] These four are mine. The rest [He gestures to the patio where a few cats are lounging on beds and cat trees and playing with some toys.] are what I'm trying to protect against.

[Roxas will come back, about this. The memories will start to trickle in, and he'll have a million questions to ask Riku. But right now, he knows that Sora and Kairi and Riku are intrinsically linked. He knows Sora is extremely significant. But he doesn't...know more than that, right now.

[So instead of focusing on it, he's going to close the door as he's asked to and focus on greeting Kory, who he seems particularly delighted to see as Riku comes out of the bedroom covered in an extra bat.

[And then he's directed to look at the patio, and... He's going to the glass door to look at them all.]

... Is this the penthouse? How are they getting up here?

[He's... wary. Wary, if just because he's not sure how Roxas is going to react to all of this. He took hearing Sora and Kairi's names in stride, sure, but Komory Bat- the dream eater is different. It's a reminder of their past lives, something Riku was so, so happy to receive, but...

Well, he doesn't know how much Roxas would even remember from the Mark of Mastery Exam. He doesn't know how much he would have absorbed from that time, what with being trapped in Sora's heart.

Still, it's oddly nice to have a peaceful moment with Roxas. It sparks a memory, hazy and incomplete. Running on a beach at sunset, playing and racing-- a rare moment of peace at the end of a long journey, celebration and heartache twisting deep in Riku's chest in equal measure.]

... huh? [But that was another life, another time. And that's not a memory that Riku has time to try and slot into place with all the others he's acquired. At least not right now. He blinks, looking over to the patio Roxas is looking out to and... sighing.] Yeah, it is. I-- here.

[He shifts the dream eater to his back, letting it rest on the scarf still wrapped around his neck, and calls his Noibat over, asking her to start unloading the cart as much as she can, sneaking her a quick treat from a box on the kitchen counter, before gesturing for Roxas to follow him.]

I think it's just easier to see for yourself. [He leads Roxas back towards the entrance, turning towards a narrow set of stairs in a side hallway that lead up to a small storage room on the roof and... the truly ridiculous part of this penthouse apartment-- Riku's roof access. A mix of a patio and a built-up rooftop garden that is just infested with cats of all shapes and sizes.

Cats who very clearly have their own pathways to and from the roof in the form of nearby rooftops, trellises, signs, poles, sidewalk trees, and scaffolding.] ... at least someone is using the space now, I guess.

[Roxas is quick to follow after, curious as can be about how Riku's living in a space like this, and even more curious about how his Noibat seems to communicate so well with him. He feels worse and worse for using the pokeball.

[But for now, he's going to follow him upstairs, through that storage room, and into a cat lover's paradise. He's kind of stunned, looking at how beautiful it is up here.]

... How could you not use this space? Even with the cats everywhere? Some people think that's a bonus, you know--but look at this! The view, the air--is that a hot tub?

... yeah, it is. [Listen to him, he sounds so awkward about all of this. Enough so that he's just kind of reaching up to bury one hand in his dream eater's fluff as a kind of... emotional crutch.

This is his rainbow emotional support bat, clearly.] I dunno, it just-- I don't have people over.

[He doesn't have friends to invite over, really. Though Kory does bully him into doing some training exercises on the roof. And Kairi does love sunning up here with him.

But that does remind him-- ]

... what are you doing over here, anyway? You couldn't have just been taking pictures if you were this ready to follow me home.

[Ah, he's being questioned. Quickly, his ears are turning red, and he's fidgeting with something in his pocket.]

I mean--it's not weird for me to be taking pictures out in the city, and I do play it pretty loose with my schedule.

[He's not lying, he's just.... omitting something.

[Something that he's going to show Riku, finally, as they're standing there. He pulls his hand out, and holds up a pokeball, looking almost guilty.]

But I did... kind of wanna know a little more about what to do with this?

[Honestly, of all the answers Riku was expecting, Roxas to be pulling out a pokeball... was not one of them.]

Oh. [He's honestly taken aback, surprise obvious in his expression and his tone. It wasn't a complete surprise, seeing that Roxas had awakened to the supernatural in this life. But to have him involved in the same thing Riku is, even a little? He wasn't expecting it.] Oh, okay.

[He reaches up to his dream eater, nudging him towards the stairs with a quiet word to send his Noibat up instead.]

That's... a pokeball, in case no one told you. Do you know what kind of pokemon is in it?

[There's a flutter of wings getting closer, and Riku holds his arm out without looking away from Roxas, Kory the Noibat landing on it and leaning forward, curious to see what Roxas has.]

[Roxas is just shaking his head a little when Riku starts talking, but it turns into a bit of a shrug partway through.]

I found it at that weird store, so... no one's talked to me about it. I don't know what she's called, but...

[He's going to let out his little Hatenna. She only comes up to Roxas' knee.]

I've been feeding her and spending time with her, but now that I see that you let yours kind of... do whatever, I feel bad for keeping her in the ball.

[It's amazing, how immediately Riku's entire disposition changes. The way the wariness and awkwardness seems to melt away as that Hatenna comes out of the ball.

He's dropping into a crouch almost immediately, letting his Noibat down so she can hop on up to that sentient hat with feet, chattering softly but excitedly. Riku, meanwhile, isn't reaching out for her, instead opting to just smile softly at the little pokemon. He doesn't want to alarm her, but he does want to look her over, to just get a good idea of what they're working with, here.]

If she's not fighting to get out of the ball, I don't think she minds too much. Pokeballs are kind of like... a pokemon's own personal living space; a room. I keep Kory in hers when we go out unless there's an event happening.

[Riku pulls out his phone, then, pulling up some of his POKEGO files, scrolling through the recorded types of pokemon that they've done research on, until-- ]

I think she's a Hatenna-- it looks like she's the first of a three evolution line.

[Well, Roxas isn't going to be the only one standing, here, so. He's gonna crouch down with Riku, watching the two pokemon interacting. To him, he thinks this might be relief in her for getting to talk to someone like her.

[He just can't help but feel like he's been isolating her.]

Three evolution line? What does that mean? [He's leaning over, trying to look at Riku's phone.]

It means-- [He pauses, blinking and looking over at Roxas, as if he had completely forgotten the blond was even in the room with him anymore, let alone crouching down with him and trying to sneak a look at his phone.

For a moment, he thinks about just locking his phone screen and moving away. For a second he really is that petty. But... this isn't about them. This isn't about the fact that they seem to get along like oil and water, this isn't about past-life tensions and a fist fight when they were younger teenagers.

So, he tilts his screen, letting Roxas at least get a peek at the picture of scribbled notes from someone exploring the Alolan gate back during Riku's training days on the islands.]. ... it means that your Hatenna has the ability to change her form twice as she gets older and stronger. I'm not sure how-- some pokemon evolve after battling, some evolve through friendship, some just evolve over time or if you've groomed them enough.

[Roxas, Riku will find, absorbs information like a sponge. This is an entire world of info that he hasn't had access to before; his thoughts aren't on their rivalry at all right now, he is entirely focused on what they're talking about.]

... wait, battling? [Normally, Roxas loves a good fight. But making this precious little thing do it?!] People make these things fight?

[Riku grins at that reaction. It's not the first time he's heard it and he's sure it won't be the last-- he remembers how startled one of the people in his training group was at how bloodthirsty those tiny fairies on flowers were.]

You'd be surprised, most of them want to fight.

[His Noibat perks up at that statement, letting out a very proud Noinoi! as she spreads her wings and wiggles back and forth before pulling them back in as she clumsily mimes throwing a few punches like humans do.

She

She might be trying to make the Hatenna laugh.]

But it's really up to the pokemon. Some are companions, some like working, and others love battling. Maybe you and Hatenna can figure that out together?

Edited 2025-03-10 17:19 (UTC)

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