[014//Audio & Commentlog; closed] BACKDATED to December 18th

[oathbreakers]

[It's about midmorning, and Riku... well, Riku has gotten a bit of a nasty surprise. His room? Well. His room seems to be missing. Or, to be more precise, about half of it is. There's no longer a far wall, there's just a void of nothing in its place, nothing to look into and nothing to see, completely nondescript.

It's -unnerving,- is what it is.

Riku tries not to look at it as he scrambles to get the things he doesn't want to lose to the void--and about five minutes later, he's out the door, still in one piece, Kairi's charm safely tucked into his pocket, his comm and Soul Eater in hand.]



AUDIO

Hey, Kairi. Where are you?

[For somebody whose room just disappeared, he sounds pretty composed. This ship is getting to him.]

Comments

[Audio]

[lightwithin]

[She'd heard alarm-calls over the network. They'd paradoxically lured her out of her room, and nothing so far seemed to be too out of place, so she had not gone rushing head-long to find her friends. No, instead she'd been distracted.

She does, however, glance down at her communicator at the sound of her name.]

Hmm?

Oh. I'm at the weapons lockers. At the end of the hall, on deck seven.

[Not far from her room, as luck would have it.]

Riku... Come and see what I've found!

[Commentlog!]

[oathbreakers]

[Out of her room is good--at least that way he doesn't have to worry about whether her room is the same or not. Riku turns in the direction of the weapons locker and starts down the hall, not bothering with the comm as he approaches the weapons locker. He can't help but be a bit amused as he approaches; although he knows and has said on multiple occasions that it would be a good idea for Kairi to arm herself, it's still funny to think of her with actual weaponry.

So he'll be walking up to Kairi in just a couple minutes, half-smile on his face.]

What is it?

[Commentlog!]

[lightwithin]

[He wasn't long. She didn't think he would be. The two of them had been keeping a closer eye on one another since...

But in the intervening time, she had realized that he had asked for her specifically, rather than just going to her room; had something happened?

So she ignores his first question and rather looks him up and down before answering with a question of her own.]

Are you okay?

[Commentlog!]

[oathbreakers]

[For a moment, the question takes him by surprise. But he should have expected Kairi to pick up on his tone; after all, she knows him better than anybody else on this boat does, and that's only become more true since the cardinal fiasco. Riku shrugs in response to her question, trying to keep that nonchalant tone to his voice.]

Yeah, of course.

[Pause. Okay, he can't hide it.]

Have you heard anything about rooms disappearing? On the comms?

[Commentlog!]

[lightwithin]

[She shrugs, but she can't avoid the issue any more than he can, and she isn't half as good at bluffing.]

I heard some things. Why?

[He's okay. It can't be too bad, right?]

[Commentlog!]

[oathbreakers]

[Why is it so odd to just put it out there? Riku runs a hand through his hair, then gives Kairi a wry smile.]

Well, looks like the problem's spread down to our deck. If there's anything left in your room that you don't want to lose, we should go there and get it now--no sense in trying our luck, right?

[He casts another look around the hallway. He doesn't see any hint of that strange void out here...]

It looks like the halls are safe for the time being.

[Commentlog!]

[lightwithin]

[Kairi opens her mouth, and then shuts it again. There is something in her room that she doesn't want to lose, but she has more tact than to tell Riku about it. And if she leaves the weapons racks... What if what she's found isn't here when she gets back?]

Okay. But first...

[She turns and pulls something down. It's long, with teeth ornately shaped into flowers and a handle of gold with cresting wave adornments: A keyblade. She smiles softly.]

I found this.

[Commentlog!]

[oathbreakers]

[A Keyblade. The Keyblade. For just the briefest moment, a combination of disappointment and jealousy flickers in his eyes, but it's gone within another second and Riku's faking cheer again. There's no reason that Kairi should know that he's found this Keyblade once already. That he took it out and gave it a few practice swings--that it felt inexplicably wrong in his hands, that he'd put it back into the locker with one final glare at the weapon he was never meant to have.

The weapon he apparently wasn't -good- enough to wield with any effectiveness.

Yeah, no. There's no way he can tell Kairi about all of that, so it's faking the happiness he knows she expects him to have.]

A Keyblade, here?

[He gives a low whistle as he examines the blade in her hands--he doesn't touch it.]

I guess you really can find anything in these lockers, can't you?

[Commentlog!]

[lightwithin]

[Oblivious, Kairi grins.]

I guess you can.

[She hesitates. Where practise swords, staves or golf clubs felt wrong to her, this weapon feels balanced in her palm, as though it had always been there, or was always meant to be. But that's silly. She's never even held a keyblade before.

Instead, she holds it out, hilt first, to Riku.]

Here.

[Commentlog!]

[oathbreakers]

[But Riku shakes his head. He doesn't want it--no, that's a lie. He wants it, he wants to take that Keyblade more than anything... but he can't. And he knows that. So with a slightly bitter smile, reaches out, taking the underside of the hilt to support it as he reaches for Kairi's hand with his free. Should she allow him to, he places her hand on the hilt instead, then lets go altogether, taking a step away.]

I think this one is meant for you.

Besides--

[He summons Soul Eater with a flash of light, giving it one quick, controlled slash before holding it out for her to see.]

--I have this with me already.

[Commentlog!]

[lightwithin]

But-...

[That can't be right. It feels right, but it can't be. There wouldn't be a keyblade here for her and not Riku. That's just silly.

Unless it's meant for neither of them.

Kairi drops the blade to her side and stares down at it. That doesn't feel right either. Why would it even appear here, when Sora was-...n't here, if not for one of them? And if it is for her, then why isn't there one for Riku? He has more right than she does, and is a better fighter besides.

A small frown creasing her face, Kairi turns aside to examine the weapons racks again.]

[Commentlog!]

[oathbreakers]

Just give it a shot. If you decide it's not yours in a couple hours...

[He trails off, watching Kairi go back to looking through the locker again.]

Kairi?

[What's she looking for in there? Surely not another Keyblade...? He already knows she won't find another one in there--and why should she?]

[Commentlog!]

[lightwithin]

[She doesn't look around at her name. Instead she stares intently at the top of the locker for a moment before reaching - reaching and failing. She frowns. Then she glances at Riku.]

Hey, give me a boost?

[Commentlog!]

[oathbreakers]

[Riku really has no idea what she's so determined to get in there, but he can tell she's -determined,- and there's no talking her out of something once she's made up her mind.

So he gives her a long-suffering sigh, dismissing Soul Eater with a smirk, and then nods.]

All right. Here, step in my hands.

[Once he would have been able to just pick her up around the waist to boost her up, but that method isn't viable any more, what with her newfound height and his... well, anyways, it wouldn't work. So Riku laces his fingers together for a stirrup, offering it to her for the boost up.]

[Commentlog!]

[lightwithin]

[She steps onto his hands and hoists herself up without hesitation. Riku wouldn't drop her, and if he did she would be too busy laughing at him to feel it. She's pretty sure he knows that too, so he won't drop her. And in moments she's nudged aside clips of ammunition and pulled down the item she saw hanging from a peg in the locker.

She holds it gingerly as she jumps down, gripped between thumb and forefinger. For a moment, she can only stare at the design; it's a keychain, and on the end is a black heart with stylized tail, the whole thing rimmed in red.

Mute, she holds it out to Riku. This? This is decidedly not hers.]

[Commentlog!]

[oathbreakers]

[Riku stares at the keychain Kairi holds out to him, reaching out to take it. He stares at it wordlessly, turning it over in his hands. It's... the Heartless crest. And it's his. It's his, and he feels the power of it in his chest--in his heart. He summons Soul Eater back to him with a flash of light, for the first time reversing it to look at the pommel of the blade. There's a small loop there, one he's never noticed before... Riku clips the keychain to his weapon.

There's a flash of light as the weapon transforms, changed by the power of the keychain. Now a light blue wing hooks around from the tip of the bat's wing, giving it the appearance of the bit of a key. Two wings encircle the hilt now, one a dark blue bat's wing and the other softer, like the one on the end of his sword. It's...

It's like a Keyblade.

Riku stares at the blade with mixed expressions--part of him is in awe at the transformation, but the other part can't accept what he is seeing. Finally, he glances up to Kairi, looking thoroughly stymied.]

It looks ridiculous.

[Commentlog!]

[lightwithin]

[Kairi looks from Riku to the keychain, then Riku to the keyblade, and does her very best to keep her expression neutral. It's Soul Eater. It isn't Soul Eater. It's not a dark blade, whatever the keychain looks like. And most importantly, it's his.

And then he speaks.

Kairi bursts out laughing and hefts her own weapon, glancing at the floral blade and then grinning back at Riku.]

You should have seen some of Sora's.

[Commentlog!]

[oathbreakers]

[Riku thinks back on her words. He'd only seen Sora carrying two, but neither of them had looked as ridiculous as this one did.]

This one's worse.

[But he can feel the power in the blade, and he knows he can't deny that. More power might help him to better protect Kairi--he can't just give that up because his weapon looks silly. So Riku shakes his head, resigning himself to it.]

But I think you're right, too. Even if you didn't say it.

[Commentlog!]

[lightwithin]

Oh? Well, we can always trade.

[She holds out the floral blade again. She doesn't mind it. It has more than enough pointy edges and it suits her besides, but it definitely does not suit Riku.]

[Commentlog!]

[oathbreakers]

H-hey!

[What Riku is totally not backing up a couple steps to avoid that Keyblade what are you talking about. Except he is. Because he wants absolutely nothing to do with that flowery thing whatsoever! So he's retreating, trying to make it look like he's -not- retreating and he's -not- avoiding any contact with that Keyblade like the plague.

He's grinning as he speaks again, trying to play it off as teasing. It's probably not working very well.]

I never said that!

[Quick! Intervention techniques!]

Did you ever answer my earlier question?

[Commentlog!]

[lightwithin]

[Kairi advances, turning the blade to offer the hilt out again. She's grinning, that infectious grin usually reserved for someone else. But his question stops her.]

What question?

[Commentlog!]

[oathbreakers]

[Yessssssss it worked! But Kairi looks like she's amused, at least, and even though it's at his expense, that's okay.

That doesn't mean that Riku's not taking this out now, though.]

Whether or not you need to get anything from your room. Just in case the missing bits of the ship are spreading.

[Commentlog!]

[lightwithin]

Oh.

[She had almost forgotten.]

Yeah. Let's go.

[She doesn't dismiss the keyblade. She hasn't yet realized that she can, or know how it's done. She simply brushes past Riku and heads down the hall.]

[Commentlog!]

[oathbreakers]

[Riku doesn't question the fact that Kairi's holding onto the Keyblade as he dismisses his own, following her down the hall towards her room. Maybe it's reassuring to keep it in hand, is all.]

[Commentlog!]

[lightwithin]

[There is a moment of fumbling with her key before Kairi throws her door open, only to find her room completely in tact.

She wastes no time. Dropping to the floor by the bed, she pulls out a small cardboard box and clutches it to her stomach. But with box, key and keyblade now in hand, she's left juggling.]

Uh, Riku? How do I...?

[She hefts the keyblade.]

[Commentlog!] whyyyyyyyyy

[oathbreakers]

[Riku peers into the room behind Kairi--safe. He nods to himself, then waits as she fetches whatever it is she came back for.

Only then she's asking him how to dismiss the Keyblade.

Riku has to think about this for a long moment. It's always been a natural motion for him, something he's done without a thought. His explanation, when he speaks, is halting and disjointed.]

Well... I guess you just think about releasing it. Let go of it, and at the same time think about releasing it.

[He holds out his hand, summoning the changed Soul Eater back to it. This part is much easier, this part he knows how to explain.]

When you want it back, you just reach out and take it--you have to know and believe it'll be there for you to grasp.

[Fail explanation go!]

[Commentlog!] Is a crooked letter.

[lightwithin]

[Kairi smiles and nods once. It mightn't be the best explanation, but it's the sort she understands. Belief was never difficult for her, and in moments the keyblade is gone.

Kairi glances back into her whole-and-hearty room and bites her lip.]

Um. You can stay here, if you want.

It probably isn't safe any more but,

[She shrugs.]

Where else do we go?

[Of course, they could both always go and find other people to stay with. This possibility occurs to Kairi only when she has already begun to wonder what is really happened, and what they are supposed to do now.]