Log: Sora/Rika (COMPLETE)

[twirlingwings.livejournal.com]

When; (backdated, slightly) Saturday the 8th.
Rating; PG, I suppose, for slight innuendo.
Characters; Rika (soniaroad) and Sora (twirlingwings)
Summary; Sora is still reeling from the aftermath of chibi-day, and so is Rika, it seems. The two talk a bit, and Sora also tells her about the offer Ikki proposed to him.
A/N; What began as a script-style log, quickly went prose. :D;
Log;

Sora: ::Waits patiently for a website to load, his fingers idly drumming on the table-top, although the sound is easily drowned out by blaring tunes via earphones.::

Rika: ::Easily drowned out to Sora maybe, but not to Rika. She threw a lazy glance in his general direction over her coffee mug, heaving a sigh. He was never one to sit often, especially after -- No. The thought was cut off abruptly as she set her mug down and rose from her seat to slide both arms around his neck from behind, but no words followed. He wouldn't have heard them anyway.::

Sora: ::His leg would be fidgeting as well, if it was able to properly move. Sore made a fist and finally clicked out of the site- apparently the repairs to it weren't complete yet.:: ... ::Without turning back, Sora stops drumming, removes the headset, and places his hand on Rika's arm silently.::

The look she gave him was soft, concerned even, but it was quickly adverted. She knew exactly why he was on edge, why he was so quiet, why Stone, Cold and Stunner were particularly affectionate towards him today. After pressing a quick kiss to his temple she retracted her arms and turned so her back was against the chair. "You've tried that same site seven times within the last ten minutes."

The same images continued to cycle through Sora's mind. The other day was like a dream; so tangible, Sora could still feel the breeze whipping through his hair as he flew. The memories, however, were rapidly fading- one of the City's ways of doing things, he assumed. "It's been down for da past week. I read it was gonna be back up within a few days, but 'parently not." He shrugged a little, glancing back to her.

She didn't exactly pick the most appropriate time to laugh, but she did just that. Laughed. It might have been pleasant any other time, but this time it was almost bitter-sounding as she brought a hand up and covered half of her face with it. "This city, I don't know whether it's a curse or a blessing." Rather than look at him, she opted to stare at the ceiling. She didn't want to see it; the hope slowly dying behind those eyes.

"..." The sound was a double-edged sword, in Sora's opinion; Rika laughing was pleasing and musical. Yet this was harsh, sharp. Sora furrowed his brows and moved his chair to face her. "It's...here." It was all he could come up with. Glancing towards the window, his eyes focused briefly upon the sky. "Least we have others we love, here. I guess."

"I couldn't.." She began, removing the hand from her face before she crouched next to his chair and laid her head against its arm. "I couldn't stop you, Sora. I just couldn't stop you from doing something you love, even just for a day." But it was cruel to give him his wings and then take them and the memory away with it. The city was both a blessing and a curse. Because, she thought, I'd give you my wings if I thought they could carry you into the sky again. Her fingers found his hand, then proceeded to lace with his own. She couldn't tell him it was impossible, nothing was impossible here, and she couldn't tell him that the entire time he was flying that day, she saw his wings falling apart feather by delicate feather until only the broken shell remained.

"I know ya couldn't," he replied almost silently. He gave her hand a light squeeze and brought his gaze back to hers. A faint smile managed to find its way upon his lips; a reflection, one might say, of tattered nerves and restless needs. "I don't think I woulda let you, either." That day... the hours and minutes; each breath went by in a moment's time. Sora vaguely recalled his ability to even realize that it was the City's doing: he wouldn't have his wings for longer. He simply believed the illusion.

Another event came to Sora's mind, then, and he brought Rika's hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of it. "I almost had them back, ya know..." Sora held her gaze for only so long, before he needed to look elsewhere.

Maybe it wasn't mean to be a reassurance, but it did seem to calm her down a little. He was right; he wouldn't have let her stop him because you couldn't take something born with wings and deny them the sky. "Then you should apologize for making worry," Rika began, looking almost stern, at least until she leaned in, then caught him by the chin and turned his face back towards her, smiled. "But, maybe, I'll just take this instead."

And she closed the distance, to kiss him.

"Ah~ Sorry, sorry..." Sora chuckled, his voice a whisper against Rika's lips before he returned the kiss. She was always so sweet; tough on the outside, but genuine within.

When the kiss ended, a quirky grin came over his expression. "So. Am I still only worth 120 yen?"

Despite the fun of the happier side of nostalgia, Sora mulled over telling Rika about the offer Ikki proposed. The only thing was: how to bring it up, exactly?

"That depends," she mused, leaning head her back a bit to shoot him a sly sort of smile, then waved the question off as if she were bored. "On whether you want an honest answer or not." There was a lot you could buy with 120 yen, she found. For 120 yen, she had unintentionally gotten herself an eternal companion, one that stuck around through the thick and thin times, one who listened and kept her sane when it came to Ikki being his typical stupid self. She'd have gone completely gray by now if it wasn't for Sora.

"Honesty is always da best, yeah?" Sora gave her a wink. "Y'always told me about bein' so, after all. Same with your sisters, an' Ikki-kun."

Which meant, obviously, that Sora knew what he should do. He took Rika's hand again, lacing their fingers. "I gotta tell you somethin', Rika." He spoke suddenly, seriously, his eyes on her. "It's about Ikki, too, but ya gotta promise not t'be upset with him, alright?"

"You're still worth 120 yen," Rika couldn't hold back her smile, at least until he spoke up a second time. This, undoubtedly, was both doing to be a mood ruined and it would give her a reason to want to kick Ikki in the nuts. Again. At the same time, if it was something that Sora was willing to tell her, then she had not choice but to comply for the time being. There wasn't much she could deny him anymore.

"What happened?"

That was obviously her answer. Sora could've predicted that in his sleep.

Exhaling quietly, Sora began. He didn't want to coat any of the offer with fancy words, or promises that were never, in fact, spoken aloud. "Well, Ikki, as you may or may not know, seems ta be expandin' Kogarasumaru, especially while we're in da City. He already has a few decent participants, who're willin' to train and learn what they should know. Seein' that, I offered ta help out, if he needed any assistance, ya know? So, 'course he agreed to it. Spitfire an' Simca're helpin' too. ...anyways," Sora paused for a moment. "...anyways, he then suddenly says ta me that he has a way fer me ta get my legs back. To revert da time on my body." He looked away, then. "Ikki said he went ta Dorian about da whole thing..."

Rika's fingers twitched and, for a second or two, she almost looked as if she were numb. No smile, no apparent expression and no words. It hadn't all sunk in just yet, it seemed. Or, rather, it was taking her a bit longer to process what he was telling her. Ikki. Kogarasumaru. Training. Assistance. Legs back. She snapped out of her stupor and did little more than stare at Sora, who had already turned away. "Is it what you want, Sora?" Rika began, leaning over to brush a few stray strands of hair back behind his ear.

Sora took in her expression with keen eyes, her slight fidgeting and subtlety; he fixed his gaze on his lap, then, closing his eyes for a moment. The tremors in his chest felt like thunder. He already turned down Ikki, but the offer remained fresh, a raw, open wound that failed to grasp the concept of healing.

"I considered it," he finally replied after almost five minutes of silence stretched between them. "...after one of da City's curses, where a lot of us citizens spent a day in terrible nightmares, I did." His free hand made a fist. "After relivin' that day over an' over...I told Ikki that I'd take it. But...."

A tight, forced grin found its way to Sora's face, then, and he gave a short, strained laugh. Sudden, yet eerie; almost appropriate. He clenched his fist still, knuckles paling.

Rika stretched out her other hand and placed it over the fist, giving it a tiny squeeze. Anything to calm him, anything. It was strange, she was so used to it being her needing the advice, and now it was him. But she didn't have it, couldn't even, because this was too big a deal for her to manage alone. It had to be his decision and his alone, but either way she would support him. She had to.

"Sora," she breathed, untangling their fingers before she used those same fingers to gingerly caress the side of his face. "Think it through. If this is something you want, something you really, truly want, then I can't be angry with either of you." This city can be a blessing and a curse, she thought to herself, there was no way that Sora was going to get something like this for free.

Dorian, she would definitely have to find this person.

A sharp breath passed through Sora's lips, a breath that he never realized he was holding, until now. His head ached from grit teeth, and his skin likely feverish, or flushed. He trembled slightly with Rika's gentle touch, then leaned into it.

"The deal.." he began, calming himself. "Apparently it would be easier than I'd thought. Ikki an' his friends would do all da work. I'd still be da same as I am today, 'cept my legs would work." Sora's expression softened as he thought about the comments that he and Ikki passed between each other, regarding it all. They were bittersweet. "I wouldn't lose any'a my memories. They'd all be pictures." Sora continued to explain to Rika, albeit briefly, how Ikki planned to make a scrapbook of he and his friends, to give to Dorian. There seemed to be no strings attached, but one never knew with the City, of course.

"I ain't takin' it, though." The smile faded to a wistful one; barely there, yet so very clear within Sora's eyes. "I -..." He glanced out the window, the day melting into a clear, blue-black sky, soon to be filled with stars. "It's Ikki-kun's turn." The glint in Sora's dark gaze read of a melancholy downfall, but the determination and hope for his successor shone through.

"Da sky is all his."

It was the completely selfless act that caused her to smile again and, possibly, earned him a brownie point or two in her book. And Rika brownie points were a good thing to have, especially on a rainy day like this one. The deal, it still seemed too good to be true, taking little more than a scrapbook for a dream. The price on that dream, there was no amount you could pay for it. If there was, it was one that would have to be paid for forever.

Briefly, Rika inclined her face off to one side to admire the star-speckled sky. Da sky is all his. She smiled, Sora having stolen her attention again, and eyed him carefully. She could read him like a book now and, in a sense, it almost made her want to cry. It was a chance to relive his dream, one undoubtedly with risk, and he wouldn't take it. Because the sky belonged to Ikki now.

Without another word, at least for a time, she half-straddled Sora in his chair and leaned in, touching foreheads with him as she linked both of their hands together via their fingers. They shared it, these broken wings, and they had people to watch over, too. Ikki, Ringo, Mikan and Ume -- they were the successors, weren't they?Her words caught softly against the other's lips as she closed the distance for a second time that night, whispering.

"Sora, let's fly tonight."

A knowing grin broke out across Sora's face. Having told Rika had been the best idea, after all. It was painful while she'd been away. Why anyone in their right mind would return to the City after actually finding one of the exits, that was beyond Sora's logic. Then again, he understood completely why Rika wanted to come back. Sora already planned that if he ever found an exit, himself, he wouldn't leave unless he could take everyone from his world, too.

Rika's actions, and simply her way with words, and those taunting, ever-sweet kisses were always more than welcome. To have such a woman like her, well, Sora considered himself blessed. Often times like a man with a death-wish- but blessed, nonetheless.

"Your sky, or mine?" He grinned, whispering in return. With his hands laced with hers, they couldn't exactly be their bratty selves. But that was besides the point.

It was times like now that Sora was more than grateful for the fact that his legs weren't completely paralyzed.