kingdomdressing | (no subject)

[There is now a Namine peering down at him curiously.]

Riku?

[She hopes he at least wore sunscreen!]

[Lol, nope. He forgot to bring any.

He's a fairly light sleeper, and he startles when he hears her voice, eyes snapping open. He sits up, propping himself up on one elbow while he rubs the sleep out of his eyes.]

...Namine? How long have I been asleep?

[ even this Riku doesn't wear his black leather cloak when it's this hot out, and instead he's dressed simply and practically in a baggy blue pair of shorts, no shoes, his black zip-up tank-top, and his ever present dark blindfold, secured with a knot at the back of his head, hiding the sharp golden eyes behind the soft fabric.

his footsteps are soft on the white sand, before he crouches down next to the snoozing, pale-skinned boy, curiosity evident in his face as he looks down at the younger version of him. ]

Oi.

[Riku jerks awake, looking slightly confused as he tries to figure out when and why exactly he fell asleep in the first place.]

I'm awake. I--

[And then he notices the other Riku and freezes. He doesn't remember Riku ever wearing a blindfold, so it might be someone else. Either way, he's not sure if he should stay where he is or get as far away as possible.]

R-Riku?

[ maybe it was the warmth of the sunlight on the quiet beach making you drowsy. heat does that sometimes. there's a flicker of confusion in the older counterpart's hidden eyes but it's gone as quickly as it appeared, concealed behind walls.

eyebrow raise. strange, none of his other alternate versions reacted like this when they met up with him.

why would this one freeze up upon spotting him? ]

Yeah?

[He still hasn't managed to convince himself he is Riku and also the person he knows as Riku is a jerk. Namine needs to work on him still.

He sits up, moving to the side a couple inches as well, putting a little bit more space between him and his older self.]

What's up with the blindfold? You didn't have one last time I saw you.

[ the blindfolded silver-haired teen remains where he is, crouched next to his alternate self, bare feet sank comfortably into the warm sands.

under his blindfold, amber eyes snap shut and he sniffs a little at his other self. what do you smell like, Riku? and at Riku's question, a wry smile twists across his mouth. ]

It helps me lie to myself. You probably met a different us.

[ and it makes him feel safe. but the older version doesn't mention that. ]

[He gives the other Riku a perplexed look in response to the sniffing. He smells mostly like Light with a tiny bit of Darkness, very odd for a Riku, especially of his age.]

Can you see through it?

...A different 'us'?

[He's still unaware of alternate universes. But this Riku doesn't seem as hostile as the last one he met, and that makes him relax slightly.]

Nope.

[ he sounds oddly nonchalant about walking around blindfolded.

and what, you never used this wonderful sense of smell of ours? shame. you're missing out, it's very useful though Riku could do without having to deal with the downsides of having a very powerful sense of smell. he breaths in the smell of Light and Darkness, vanilla and oil, heat and cold, water and blood, and and finds it strange that the sense of Twilight, cool, soothing and grey, he grown to associate with himself, was absent in this one. ]

Yeah. You're one of the Rikus, right?

[He did get to use that sense of smell a little, consciously. And he still can, but he has a very difficult time picking out individual scents, so usually he doesn't even try or ignores the ability.]

Namine said I am, but...I don't know if I can trust her.

[Not that he doesn't want to.]

[ would you accept lessons?

Riku frowns, the corners of his mouth turning down. w-what? Namine had something to do with this? things tended to get complicated when the delicate blonde memory weaver got involved. the silver-haired dawntreader moved a little closer. Riku is rather relaxed around the other alternate versions of whose who carry the same name. after all, he can usually understand himself and his own reasoning even when no one else gets him. ]

Who would you be but Riku?

[He would! Teach him your secrets, olderself. Or just how to smell people, that works too.

This Riku has no idea what role Namine plays in anything, really. As far as he knows, he's just met her, and knows that she's told him that she has the ability to mess with people's memories.

He reaches over to grab his shirt and slip it on--it's one of those sleeveless zip-up deals all Rikus seem to possess at some point, but he doesn't bother to actually zip it up--since he feels slightly awkward being half-naked during conversation time.]

A replica of him?

[ bring up the subject at some point, younger self, and we'll get on that at some point. you could use the training. honestly, when I was seven years old, I was wading knee-deep in Darkness. kids these days.

the older counterpart is perfectly fine with switching out his Darkness-proofed leather coat for his current wear of baggy, blue shorts and bare feet and blindfold. honestly, Riku doesn't trust his own Namine that much--while all the blonde-haired, blue-eyed witches he'd met in the dressing room, seemed to have nothing but good intentions--his Namine was very bit as unstable as her darkened Other.

at the alternate's words, he tilts his head to the side in surprise and confusion. ]

A replica of Riku. Fake... ? [ behind the strip of clothe covering his sight, amber-orange eyes narrow. ] Think you could hold still for a moment?

[ there's something he'd like to check. ]

[Silly Riku.

Smiles.]

I don't know. I just found you here just now.

[Way to sound like an old man. There's not a huge difference in age between them.

This Riku can only recall meeting one Namine ever, so he has no opinions on any other Namines...or anyone else but Sora, really.]

Of course. [He looks irritated, and then confused.] Hold still? Why?

[He'll sit still, yes, but he's going to watch Riku suspiciously.]

[No u.]

Oh. Were you looking for me or did you just happen to be down here?

[ a few mouths is totally a long time, okay. /shakes cane threateningly.

he scooted a little closer to his alternate self and lifting his hand, carefully pressed it onto the younger self's chest, right over Riku's Heart. ]

So I can test something. [ his eyes closed, and he reached out with his other senses to check Riku's Heart. while he could probably not move so close to do so, making physical contact made the process a whole lot easier in the long run.

there was something he'd noticed about the replica when he'd encountered it. Fake's Heart was a little thinner and more fragile then the Orginal's Heart. maybe it was because Hojo had made him. their Hearts had felt just like his own Heart, nearly impossible to tell the difference.

but then Namine had broken his Replica's heart.

and somehow, the thing had forced the fragments back together instead of dying. but the Replica had done a poor job of fusing his fragile Heart back together. there were cracks and shattered chains. no longer a prefect mirror.

if this Riku was a replica like he claimed, he should be able to feel those cracks of a broken Heart. ]

[Since Riku's Heart never really got broken and his memories were just heavily modified and rearranged, the only 'cracks' that would be evident (if the other Riku could even tell) would be the ones where Riku's real memories have barely started to bleed into the false ones that his world's Namine gave him. That, and he's not what he claims anyway, due to the false memories.

He looks more than a little apprehensive at the hand over his heart, unsure exactly what is being tested but staying mostly still like Riku had asked. He lifts one hand up to Riku's, resting his fingertips on Riku's wrist, ready to push or hit that hand away if he needs to.]

[ he couldn't tell. he guess at the state of the chains of memories, but his ability to feel the Heart lies solely in his sense of smell and power to feel the level of Light and Darkness in another person, not in memories and their bindings like Namine. every Heart differs from the next, like a fingerprint. even if it's the same fingerprint, smear it with ink and scars and it changes.

Riku frowned, his golden eyes crinkling and scowling a little behind the blindfold as he sat back, dropping his hand away from the other him's chest. ]

You can't be Fake. [ words spoken with a firm, convinced air. he elaborated with his frown turning up a little at the corners, his index finger coming up and poking his alternate self in the ribs. ] The replica's Heart felt like someone smashed it into itty bitty pieces; and then someone had used duct tape to put it back together.

[ a pause then the poking fingertip retreats. ]

Your Heart... It's... Whole. No cracks. Just like mine.

[He scowls at the poke to his ribs. He's not ticklish, but he feels vaguely like he's being made fun of. He leans away from Riku's finger until he moves it.]

...I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse.

[If anything, it makes him hate himself for finally achieving his goal of becoming someone...only to find out that he had been someone all along and is currently just messed up in the head.]

[ he allows the other him space and politely scoots back a little. the scowl doesn't bother, he's knows if he got poked in the ribs, he'd be scowling too.

For a moment he considers asking;

"Why did you think you were Fake in the first place?"

he doesn't ask. ]

... Finding out the truth tends to work like that.

[ truth hurts but not as much as lies do. lies are comforting, you can shield yourself with them but once the protective shield's torn away, it's like someone ripped your skin off sometimes and left you to bleed. ]

[U.]

Just happened to be here. Though I'm glad I found you.

[Oh yeah, that's a pretty good description of how he feels. Not when he talked to Namine when he first arrived, but now. He combs a couple fingers through his hair.]

I would never have expected to find out the 'truth' from another...me...on a world I've never been to before.

[Not that it's necessarily bad, just...unusual.]

Did you need me for something?

[He's going to grab his shirt and put it back on while he waits for her response. After shaking the sand out of it.]

Not if you're busy or something. I mostly just wanted someone to hang out with, if that's okay with you?

Heh. If you can't trust yourself, who can you trust?

[ his short bout of dry mirth dies quickly and he shrugs, a soft breezy sigh bowing out of his lips. a gentle, seawater flick of wind from the shoreline kisses smooth, locks of silver hair before it too dies down. ]

Truth shows up in the weirdest places, doesn't it?

I'm not. I'd be happy to hang out with you.

[Smiles at that and sits down next to him.]

You know, you probably should have brought some sunscreen.

[He nods, hunching his shoulders for a few moments. He does smile as well, even though that's a horrible pun.]

That's true. And yeah...it does.

...Hey, I was wondering. If you can't see through that thing, how do you get around? [Referring to the blindfold, of course.]

[He examines his arm briefly; nope, still as pale as ever. He is not lobsterku yet.]

Didn't think about it. I don't know if I have any...I'll have to look around when I go back to my apartment.

[ he tends to relax just a bit more then he normally would, around other versions of himself. mainly because he could understand himself. he could understand his own reasoning, could predict to a certain degree what he would do next and often alternates tended to have just as low self-esteem as himself.

misery loves company and all that. ]

Strange how it works out like that.

[ there's a moment of confusion at Riku's next question before he gets what he's asking about. Riku taps the soft fabric, eyes shut behind the black blindfold -- he couldn't see with his eyes this way, after all, and so had adapted to probing with the Darkness/Light, forming shapes in his mind to show him what things were what, albeit with very little detail, if any, in hues of stark black and white, in soothing shades of grey. ]

... Oh, this? I navigate using the Light and Darkness around me to guide me.

You can borrow some of mine? I burn easily and have to bring some with me whenever I spend the day outside.

[Pulls a bottle of sunscreen out of her bag and offers it to him.]

Oh. I suppose that makes sense. I thought maybe you used smell to get around or something.

[Or sound, like a bat. Though considering that Riku was smelling him earlier, that guess isn't too far off.]

Thanks.

[He takes the sunscreen and rubs a good amount on his arms, then hesitates and applies some to his face as well. His neck is mostly covered by his hair, and he's got a shirt and pants, so nothing else really needs sunscreen.]

This is the first time I've been to the beach on this world.

... No. I have an acute sense of smell, but not that good.

[ he's not a bat. he can smell people's Hearts. not 'see' them like he does Light and Darkness. and using his sense of smell to guide him is like using your ears to hear things. ]

Probably doesn't compare to a beach in your world, huh? But it's still nice to be able to visit it here.

The one in Twilight Town isn't bad...when I have munny.

If I've been to any other beaches, I can't remember what they're like.

[Aw, no Batku. Disappointment.]

You were sniffing at me a few minutes ago; that's why I thought what I did.

[ deal with it. /sunglasses ]

I was... smelling your Heart, actually. I didn't use my nose to pinpoint your location.

[So he hasn't been back to DI since his memory was altered. That's kind of sad :c]

I see.

I didn't know Hearts smelled like anything.

[He knew people had vaguely different smells, but then again, he had never actually tried to smell someone's Heart. Not like the other Riku did, anyway.

He leans over to sniff at the other Riku. Doesn't sound too hard to do, in theory.]

You don't smell like anything special to me.

Every Heart smells different, depending on how much and what kind of Darkness they have.

[ this Riku been introduced to the Darkness much, much sooner then your normal Riku, had swallowed enough to taste it at the back of his throat and honed his skills for quite longer.

the Darkness doesn't play nice usually, and a mere child had to use every trick he could to get by. ]

If you just decided to try right now, not surprised. Dummy. This kind of thing needs practice at first.

[And this Riku had all been all but stripped of any darkness he'd had, only a little bit remaining from his time spent with Maleficent.]

Maybe I did. Don't call me a dummy, it didn't look that hard to do. How do you even practice?

[Suuulk.]

[Nope! If he had, he might be better off, because he would've run into Kairi at some point.

Riku's quiet for a few moments, trying to think of something to say.]

So um...why'd you come to the beach? Were you going to swim or hang out on the sand?

[ smiiiirk. Riku is like the older brother who never stops mocking you but never does it with ~~much~~ ill-intent.

here's some advice ]

Well, if you're me, you should be able to.

It's a matter of excising the ability. One of my favorite methods of training is depriving myself of my other senses and focusing solely on my sense of smell.

Another is spending time around people who give off a strong scent, or who you're familiar with and teaching yourself to recognize their scent before moving on to harder smells.

[ not mentioning the fact that with a stronger smell, comes the inability to stand particularly horrid smells-- like a dumpster or the Sora's dirty socks. ]

[That could have helped.]

A bit of both. I like the beach. It's one of the places I like to come to to clear my head.

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Going to bed after this post

Well then, see you in the morning

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Bit later than morning, sorry. Yay work. ._.

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S'fine. I can wait. ^^

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Late reply is late >.<

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Better late then never~

Hates not having internet on the computer foreveeeeeer ;;

/pats

Re: Better late then never~

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I'm not getting notifs for this account for some reason

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Reposted because different icon

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Sorry for late reply. My brother's been in the hospital and I haven't been online much