tampered | log; in progress

log; in progress

When; after this thread and before the curse
Rating; PG for language
Characters; Riku and Sora
Summary; Riku needs cheering up and a place to stay. Sora solves both problems!
Log;

It was disturbing how different this newly arrived Riku was from the past Riku. When Sora took into consideration their differing timelines, he knew precisely why Riku was so different. This Riku hadn't seen Destiny Islands in almost two years unlike the Riku he fell into the industrial wonderland with. But as stated, Riku was Riku no matter what and Sora would back him up.

Mind cleared of all the dramatics (at least for the moment), the younger of the two stood in the room surveying his work. He, using his imagination very literally, had designed a very simple, bare room. White walls, white carpet, normal bed, dresser; overall very boring and very un-Riku-like. This was a problem. So he snatched up King, his orange roommate, left the room and stood outside the door.

When he opened the door again, he felt inclined to slap his hand over his face.

Subconsciously Kairi had come to mind while he was trying to think up a room for Riku again. These thoughts turned the pale, boring room into a preppy girl's pink paradise.

"I think I should leave this up to Riku."

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A dream... Perhaps a nightmare. The urge to pinch himself was always extremely potent, yet he couldn't deny the fact that he was indeed more than awake.

Riku hadn't had the time to adjust to anything: he had barely talked to anyone during his long journey in the dark realm, and after briefly facing Sora again, facing his fears and the shame that had haunted him for so long, he now found himself in a world he didn't know, a world different from all the others, an alternate universe entirely. Had he done everything in vain? Was Xemnas still out there, hiding, scheming in the dark, waiting for them to be completely vulnerable before striking once more? He wasn't sure what he was able to do in this City. He wasn't sure of his place at all, and what's more, he couldn't help but think that he was completely useless.

And this wasn't particularly a good thing.

"Another me," he mused bitterly as he walked down the hall, on his way to meet his best friend.

His best friend... Sora had been clear: there had been another Riku before him, a Riku from his future. He knew it probably shouldn't bother him so much for he was there with him now, and there was no sign of any threat, but when he tried to picture Sora with the other one, himself yet not quite at the same time, playing best friends while he had been unable to see him... he felt his heart sink painfully in his chest.

Could he be replaced so easily? Would Sora tire of him? Would he... prefer the other one?

Riku winced at the thought, clearing his mind at once: if he didn't think about it, perhaps the pain would go away... away...

I think I should leave this up to Riku.

Sora was in the door frame, apparently looking at the job he'd done. When Riku arrived behind him, he took a quick look over his shoulder: everything was white, so peaceful, so pure, clashing with the state of his soul.

Well, perhaps that would do him some good.

"Not very creative, are you," he said behind him, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Sora jumped, his hand still on the doorknob. The door swung back and took Sora with it, pulling him further into the room and almost knocking him off his feet. "Sneaking up on people is going out of style!" he admonished, lips caught between a frown and a smile. He collected himself and checked out the room again.

"I was thinking about your hair." Sora didn't give Riku a chance to say something smart about his thoughts. "It's really light, almost white. But," he went on, "Now that I think about it, you want a room that's blue and green, right? And some red? Yeah..."

Suddenly Sora was an interior designer, one hand on his chin and the other supporting the chin-holding hand's elbow. He could have given the professionals a run for their money. "Yeah, blues, greens and reds. Those are your colors. They're really ocean-ish, like you." He dropped his hands to his sides and turned back to Riku. "What do you think?"

Riku's grin grew a little wider as Sora jumped and scowled him, and he simply lifted his hands up and shrugged in response, seemingly innocent. Sora hadn't changed at all, he realized, and perhaps their dynamic was still the same as well.

Or so it seemed... or so he hoped.

"You forgot black," he pointed out, giving him a sidelong glance as he entered the room, a soft smile on his lips. "This will do. Don't wanna get too comfy, I'm not planning on staying here forever."

He knew as he said it that he didn't have much choice in the matter, but it felt reassuring to hear it. With some effort, he had always got everything he'd wanted. Maybe, eventually, it would work out here as well.

"Is there even a beach here?" he asked, turning around to face him as he put his hands in his pockets. "What have you been doing?"

Sora instantly frowned when he heard Riku say he wasn't going to stay. They didn't live together on the islands and they were always separated, but they were in the City now. They could at least stick together now! He covered up his frown as quickly as he could before responding.

"I've had a couple of jobs," he informed while scratching the back of his neck. "I used to clean this girl's giant robot, and I was friends with a group that had another giant robot." Sora had grown to love machines, giant machines in particular, robots included. "I made friends, I got an apartment... And a cat."

If he were writing a resume, Sora would see that he had accomplished very little. He had accomplished the basics: food, water and shelter. Nothing about his time spent in the City stood out to him. "I guess that's it. I don't do a lot."

"Giant robot?" Riku's eyebrows raised at the mention of such thing, wondering why his friend would be interested in cleaning machines.

He was such a lazy bum, after all.

"Friends," he said as he looked out the window, his gaze nostalgic. "I've missed out on a lot of stuff, haven't I. Think I forgot what it was like to just... live."

Images of his home flashed in his mind, bright and clear and so very vivid. He could see himself on the beach, racing against Sora. He could see him and Kairi in the water, waiting for him to join them. He could see the palm trees, the gold, warm sand, and he could remember the soft breeze on his skin... He closed his eyes for a moment, taking in the lost memory.

Would he ever go back at all?

"What about the Nobodies? Is there only Roxas?"

He wanted to cringe at the mention of his name, but he stopped himself in time: it wasn't really that he didn't like Roxas. Oh, he was quite annoying, but he couldn't bring himself to dislike him, and if he wanted away from him, it was only to prevent it to happen: Roxas was a part of Sora, and he would hate himself forever if his feelings towards the Nobody darkened.

Better let him think that he despised him.

"They come and go," Sora answered a little too quickly. He stuttered, trying to recover from an answer that Riku probably wouldn't like. "What I mean is, Axel's been here a couple of times. He's not bad once you get to know him. He's always been nice to me."

Sora paused here to watch Riku. He tilted his head in curiosity; Riku was still distant. And he seemed almost disturbed. It made him wonder about and worry for his friend.

"But the only Nobody still here is Roxas. We were all alone until you came along." He smiled a smile so genuinely happy that he appeared to be a boy that had never experienced sadness. "I'm glad you're here, Riku. It was really lonely without you, even with Roxas and everyone else!"

"Axel," he acknowledged as he nodded slightly. "Well, I guess he proved to be more helpful than I thought he'd be."

He, just like Riku, had only tried to save the one that mattered the most to him. He couldn't really blame him, or anyone for that matter, considering his own mistakes.

We were all alone until you came along.

Me, or the other one? he almost asked, but the words died in his throat as he saw Sora's smile: it was contagious, bright and warm, powerful enough to soothe any kind of worries. Sora was light where he was dark, and he was thankful for that complementarity.

"Guess I'll stay for a while then," he grinned slightly as he raked his hand through his hair, his eyes fixed on his friend. "It's weird, being in a place where there's nothing to fight, nothing to save. Don't you feel like all we've done was all in vain?"

He blanked out completely at the idea of every action and reaction being in vain. His thoughts came back one by one: losing the islands, fighting the Heartless, saving the Princesses and Kairi, looking for Riku... Add up all the lost memories from Castle Oblivion and Sora really had acted in vain.

"Well..." He cleared his throat. "... Sometimes. I try not to think about it." Roxas wasn't the Roxas he met and Riku was obviously not the Riku. "Sometimes I get annoyed. And there's no one to blame so I get more frustrated. I think I would stomp my feet a lot if I were still a little kid."

{ ooc; can do, can do. and fufufu fairy Riku and lion Sora. Sora is now a loyal stead. }

"There's definitely something to blame," he said fiercely, somehow taking in Sora's trouble. "We ended up here for a reason. It almost looks like this City... is alive."

He'd noticed how everyone was calling it The City, talking about it as though it was some kind of being of its own. Well, as it stood, nothing could possibly ever surprise him anymore.

"It's annoying to go against something you can't even see," he muttered, sitting on the bed as he suddenly felt a tingly sensation in his legs. "I feel weird."

Frowning, he looked down and could almost swear that his lower half was sparkling, even so slightly. What was this? His whole body was feeling numb all of a sudden, his back aching from a pain unknown. He shot Sora a quick glance, confused and somewhat alarmed, fighting against something he couldn't quite pinpoint.

"Wha-?"

And the unbelievable happened, right there, in the middle of nowhere.

He was shrinking.

"You feel weird? What--"

Oh... Oh wow.

Was he in Wonderland all over again?!

Sora couldn't believe his eyes. He didn't believe his eyes! Riku wouldn't shrink like that without something having to do with bottles and giant fruit from trees and crazy striped cats leading Heartless. He had no idea what to do in situations like these!

"Uh, King, out! Get out!" he shouted, chasing out the cat. Once King escaped, Sora slammed the door closed and ran to Riku's side. "What's going on? What's wrong? Riku!" the boy freaked, unaware of his own slow transformation. His skin looked darker than it had before...

"What!"

Sora's look on his face was nothing reassuring and only contributed to freak him out a little more. He was more and more aware of the pain on his upper back, suddenly very potent and dangerously alarming. It felt as though something was literally clawing at his skin from the inside, pushing and scratching frenetically...

"Sora?"

His hands went immediately to his throat as he heard his own voice, unrecognizable: it was high-pitched, softer than it should be, a singing melody. And finally the pain on his back exploded as everything around him seemed to grow bigger and bigger.

From above, he could look at his clothes on the bed, a giant pile of garments. From above? When he looked down, it wasn't his nudity that shocked him, no.

It was the fact that he was flying. With wings.

"Sora!" he shrieked, wincing at the sound of his voice, a finger targetting his friend in utter stupor.

Sora had fur all over his features suddenly, and somehow he seemed to be shrinking as well, his face cat-like...

What the hell was going on?

He was trying to cover the tiny Riku when he noticed there were some changes with his appearance too. His fingers were shorter than he remembered and his nails were suddenly long and sharp. "Riku!" he carried on, cutting his tongue on a strangely sharp tooth.

Sora's world grew while his body shortened, shrank and contorted; evolving from a human to a lion without the aid of Donald's magic was not a painless change. He tucked his head between his newly formed paws as the rest of his body switched from human to animal in a matter of seconds. When it was all over and the transformation was complete, Sora picked his head up.

Boy, was he small now. And furry. And sort of dirty. He would have begun the long cleaning process cats are so famous for had he not a crisis on his hands.

"Riku, are you okay? You're... Uh..." Sora had the decency to look away. "Yeah."

"Don't you DARE say any more," Riku warned with his new voice, which of course would keep anyone from taking him seriously.

He sounded like a kid. Worse yet, he sounded like a female kid. And he was no bigger than an apple. Oh, the urge of finding the nearest wall in order to repeatedly bang his head against it was strong within him, but he diligently guarded himself against the tempting idea. Instead he simply glared at everything his eyes met, trying to find his balance in the air as he got more accustomed to his new appendices.

"Cause I totally needed this," he groaned, flying down to meet Sora and stopping right in front of his nose. "Do I look okay to you?"

With no warnings, he grabbed a handful of Sora's fur and pulled as hard as he could, snatching the hair from his head. Well, he needed something to cover himself, didn't he?

"You laugh and you're dead," he poked his nose as he warned him, hiding his private parts with the fur he'd stolen.

Because of course, he was in the best position ever to threaten anyone.

"Ow!" the little lion hissed after losing some hairs. He soothed away the pain with a rub of his paw. "Warn a cub next time! I'm gonna have a bald patch there now..."

Getting a good look at his friend's new form, Sora couldn't stop or even slow down his grin. Riku was so tiny; tiny and winged and Sora wished he still had some pixie dust from Tinkerbell to join him, but sadly he was without.

"Maybe we can make you a diaper with a pin and some torn fabric," he teased. First he had to shake off the shirt, the jacket and the shorts that he'd have to remember to take to his own room before the curse ended. Once they were shed Sora was free to pounce on the bed and bite at the sheets. With a piece of fabric in his mouth from the snow white bed, he was now free to find a pin.

"Look around for something sharp, like a needle!"

Riku stared as Sora jumped on the bed, obviously determined to go forth with his plan. A diaper...

And he was actually serious.

"Something sharp," he muttered, his mood dark, and as he thought of summoning his weapon, exasperation washed over his features.

His keyblade hadn't shrunk, and it was at least 10 times bigger than he was. It landed on the floor before he could do anything, and he could only gaze at it in complete desperation.

"This gotta be my punishment," he muttered again as he flew around, noticing for the first time the golden trail he left behind.

Fairy dust. He was sparkling. Shaking his head, he frowned as he searched for what Sora was looking for, grumbling and mumbling until he found it: a needle, oddly big enough to serve as a weapon.

"At least YOU still look decent," he said as he landed on top of his head, snatching the fabric from his mouth. "How long is this supposed to last?"

He managed to wrap it around his hips and kept it in place with the needle. This feeling... it had to be the epitome of shame.

Edited 2008-10-15 21:46 (UTC)

"Sometimes it's only for a day and sometimes it's for a couple of days. Let's try to make the most of it!"

Aware that sharp movements might throw Riku off and cease with the new fairy on the floor, Sora took care to turn his body slowly toward the door. He forgot he closed it during their strange transformation and sat beneath the knob, eyes glued to it.

"Do you think you can open this?" he asked with a bump of his head to get Riku's attention. He didn't need to do it but he figured Riku ought to taste some of his own medicine from when they were younger. "If anyone can, you can! I believe in you!"

"The most of... Are you kidding me?"

Sora definitely seemed to enjoy himself: that was one of the things Riku liked most about his friend. No matter the situation, he always remained positive, following his heart and taking advantage of everything he had to face, no matter what. It always seemed so easy for him... and he envied him to be able to live in such a way.

Perhaps he could learn from him.

"Easy," Riku shrugged as he aimed the knob, feeling unsure but refusing to show it.

It had always been that way. Cocky, confident Riku actually hid a pool of insecurities inside him. Hadn't he always been great at fooling himself?

The doorknob proved to be a strong opponent. He couldn't get a good grip, and his arms kept sliding off the surface. It took him all his strength to get it to turn, and when the door finally opened, he let himself fall on Sora's head once more, exhausted.

How ironic.

"Where d'you think you're going?" he asked, wary. "You realize what's gonna happen if we change back outside."

He highly doubted that his handcrafted diaper would make it, were he to get back his true form, and he couldn't help the little laugh that bloomed in his throat.

But he stopped right as he heard the sound of it.

"Y'know, I'm getting real' sick of changing bodies."

Sora checked the hallway first for the wandering-prone cat and padded out of the room once the coast is clear. He strolled along, shoulder blades shifting with each step. He's mastered this form before; walking around on four feet is as easy as walking on two, maybe even easier, and the tail keeps lions balanced.

"You don't look that different," he replied, eyes raised. "You're just smaller. But you know..." He looked ahead again and pulled his bottom "lip" under the upper in confused thought. "You don't jingle when you talk. I think you did it wrong."

"I'm not just smaller. I'm sparkling!" he hissed as he clutched Sora's fur to avoid falling down. "It's a damn good thing I don't jingle when I talk. It's the only thing I'm thankful for."

Everything was rather intimidating when you were so small. Riku had always felt somewhat vulnerable after his messing up with Maleficent, but it was the first time he actually felt weak physically. Hell, Sora could pretty much rid of him in one simple bite!

"It should have been the other way around," he pointed out as they passed by some sort of mirror in the hall, and with a miserable look on his face he added: "Man, don't we look ridiculous."

"Huh?" Sora backtracked with a little bit of trouble back to the passed mirror and looked at himself before he even thought of looking at Riku again. He growled at his reflection and inspected his teeth, then snorted and pressed his nose against the mirror.

"I think I look fine," he said, turning his head to the side to check out his neck. He was looking for muscles, either developing or existing, and tried to look something fierce. "My fur's clean, my teeth are white and I'm still pretty big!"

"Yeah, except you aren't supposed to have fur," Riku pointed out as he studied Sora while he watched himself. "What're you trying to do? You're still gonna look like an idiot no matter the angles you try out."

He stood up slowly, leaning against one of Sora's ears. He had to admit, his friend still looked quite decent: lions were fierce beasts, and he looked somewhat dangerous as he pulled on many different faces. Riku, on the other hand, simply looked... well, small and ridiculous, no matter the poses he took.

"So what's your plan?" he asked, pulling at his hair, and couldn't resist adding: "Big boy."

And on that note, he patted the back of his ear.

Sora was getting sick of that high and mighty attitude. He was a lion and Riku was a... a bug! Where did he get off thinking he can still act like the boss? Just because Sora was a nice boy-- cub and didn't make decisions for others didn't mean he wasn't in control!

"I'm...!" He was so determined to show Riku up that he hadn't bothered to think of what to do. "I'm... I guess I'll go outside to look for something to eat!"

Riku could feel Sora's agitation, and as he took in his frustrated expression he simply sat back on top of his head.

"Alright," he sighed, somewhat annoyed but mostly... mostly what? He couldn't exactly pinpoint the feeling that was stuck in his chest, heavy and dark.

Was it shock? Confusion? He hadn't really had enough time to familiarize with his new situation: whenever he felt like he was somewhat getting used to it, something else worsened everything. It was shock after shock: landing in an unknown world, meeting his best friend who wasn't from his own timeline, leaving his job behind, getting back his true form only to lose it again for something ridiculous... and not knowing whether he'd ever see his home again, all in so little time. It was much more than everything he'd dealt with in the dark realm.

Much more, and much worse. Because although he was reunited with Sora, he felt alone. Would it ever be the same? Would he like the other one better? Would Riku ever find himself again?

"You lead," he finally said, his gaze fixed right ahead of him.

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