Within Radiant Garden

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Mon Dec 01, 2008 2:59 pm

"Is this the place?" Roxas said, stepping inside the house. Riku chuckled, knowing that Roxas hadn't meant anything by the comment. He was probably just surprised that it existed at all. "It's not much, but it's nice. You get used to it," Riku replied, taking his shoes off and leaving them by the door. The living room, the dining room, and the entry way seemed completely empty, though there was a couple of chairs in the living room space and a small table in the dining room space. Roxas recognized the table as a traditional Japanese table that people sat on the floor to use. The walls were painted warm, pale colors to make the house a bit more relaxing, and Roxas walked over to the backdoor to see a garden growing in the backyard. The kitchen only had a small refrigerator and a small stove top. Curious, Roxas opened the refrigerator to see what was inside.

Inside, there was some fresh fish that Riku had caught earlier that day, a couple crabs, some coconuts, and six jars of fresh water to drink.

"Are you hungry?" Riku asked, as Roxas shut the refrigerator. "Uh... well, are you sure? You kinda need it more than I do..." Suddenly Riku began to laugh, taking Roxas by surprise. "Roxas, c'mon now. I know I'm not too well off, but I can afford to give my guest a decent meal when they come over. I'm supposed to be a good host, after all," Riku replied with a bit of hospitality in his voice. "Most of the food I eat I grow and catch, so I don't spend too much of the money I make eating." Riku grabbed a wood log from the wood pile in the corner and placed in inside the stove top and used a match to make a fire. Taking out a jar of water and a pot, he began to boil the water to make noodles. It felt uncomfortable for Roxas to stand there and watch so he silently walked away to look at the rest of the house.

The entire house felt slightly aged but Roxas could tell that Riku took very good care of the house. The emptiness made the place seem lonely, but the place was spotless clean. Roxas ran his finger tips along the wall as he walked down the hallway, feeling on occasion the paint chip from the wall since it had not been painted recently and badly needed a new coat of paint. He opened the door at the end of the hallway and looked inside, guessing it was Riku's room.

Instead of a bed Riku had a large cot placed by the window which had new sheets, a new thick warm blanket, and a new pillow that Sora gave him for his birthday not too long ago. Riku didn't have any dressers but he had a huge closet which was more than big enough to fit all of Riku's clothes, shoes, and other things like his spear and fishing net. Roxas looked at the corner and smiled; there was the computer and printer that everyone had pitched it to buy for Riku. That same year, for Christmas everyone pitched in to buy Riku a camera, which was definitely been using. The walls were covered in photographs. In a picture of everyone at the beach, everyone had been making a silly face or had been caught mid-laugh, but Riku wasn't staring into the camera. His head was shifted to the side and his gazed looked far-out to the ocean. Apparently he hadn't even noticed that everyone was taking a picture. Roxas laughed to himself as he looked at all the pictures, a lot of them of their friends but there was some pictures of the ocean and of places Riku had been since he got the camera. Among Roxas' favorites were the ones of Twilight Town, especially of the pictures taken from on top of the clock tower.

"What do you think?" Roxas jumped, moving around to see Riku stand there though he hadn't heard Riku's footsteps at all. "You take really good care of the place," Roxas noted, making Riku's eyebrows arch a bit. "You think so? I do my best. I don't really think I could live in a place that's too unorganized," Riku replied, which Roxas had already guessed. Riku's bed had been made and his clothes were all color-coordinated. Riku had carried Roxas' things to his room, and he politely placed them beside the bed for Roxas. "The food is done, so let's go before it gets cold." Roxas nodded, taking one last look at the wall before following Riku out to the dining room, where the table was set with huge bowls of ramen noodles, a pair of chopsticks, and cups of water to drink. Roxas picked up his chopsticks and hungrily began to eat.

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Mon Dec 01, 2008 10:46 pm

Riku chuckled lightly as he watched Roxas hungrily eat away at the noodles. He'd thought Roxas would be rather hungry and was glad to see he'd been right. Who wouldn't after what they'd been through all day with the shopping and hanging out with friends. Not to mention Roxas's constant skateboarding. That required quite a bit of energy to do. Riku pulled apart his own chop sticks as he began to eat his noodles trying not to slurp to much which was hard especially because what he was eating was noodles. Noodles where the kind of food that you just naturally slurp when eating whether consciously or not. He chewed the noodles in his mouth swallowing them as he rested his chopsticks against the bowl for a moment

"Is it good?" He asked wanting to be sure Roxas actually liked what he was eating. Riku would never admit it but one of the few things he enjoyed beside taking pictures and hanging out with his friends was cooking. Living alone, he'd took extra care to teach himself to cook so he wouldn't have to constantly rely on take out. Also he didn't much care for take out so learning to cook wasn't much of a problem. He'd actually gotten rather good at it over the course of time he'd been practicing and liked to demonstrate it whenever one of his friends came over. Riku had also occasionally gone to Sora's house when his mom was out of town and prepared food for the younger boy so he wouldn't starve while his mom was away.

As he waited for Roxas answer a vibration in his pocket caught his attention. He pulled his phone out flipping it open to read the one text message that was there "See you soon - Sora" It read catching his surprise. 'See you soon?' did that mean Sora was coming over at the moment or tomorrow? Riku didn't know but didn't put it past Sora to show up this late at night. He'd done it before and Riku was sure he'd do it again and then some

[-there lol hope that was okay. its not as long as it could be. sorry-]

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Tue Dec 02, 2008 7:48 am

[-sweet! I have an opening! lol ill respond at lunch ;D-]

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Tue Dec 02, 2008 2:23 pm

Sora smiled flipping his phone shut after he had sent the text message. He knew maybe going over to Rikus house right now, was probably not the best time. But he was too curious to just let this "Roxas staying at Rikus house" slide. He wanted to know if his plan was working but he decided once he got there that he would try to not take so much of thier attention and just let Roxas and Riku do most of the time spent together. Just the two of them. He packed his clothes and tooth brush since he knew he was staying the night and then told his mom he was leaving to Rikus.

"hey mom! I'm staying over at Rikus tonight! So ill be back tomorrow!" He shouted to her as he stepped out the door.
"Alright sweety! Be careful!" She shouted back as she continued to cook dinner.

Sora shut the door behind him as he started for the side walk in Rikus direction, swinging his backpack over his shoulder as he started to whistle while he walked. Rikus house wasnt very far away from Sora's which was nice, making it easier for him to come over so often.

Finally he made it to Rikus home as he walked up to his front door, knocking on it lightly. Now. I. Wait. For. Riku. To. Answer..... he thought. Hopfully they we'rent doing anything important. He didnt want to inturupt.

[-sorrry its short Dx-]

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Tue Dec 02, 2008 3:37 pm

Roxas nodded, slurping the noddles and getting a bit of the water on himself. He hoped Riku hadn't seen that. "I didn't know you liked to cook," he replied, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Though I did always wonder how Sora managed to survive while his mom was out of town."

Riku laughed, shaking his head. "Sora would've starved if I hadn't been there," Riku said, knocking his chopstickes against the side of the bowl. "Sora's mom left him with a ton of food but Sora wasn't capable of making anything to eat. When I came over he was eating a frozen fish for lunch." Both of them began to laugh, knowing full well that Sora was indeed a very smart person in school but lacked the knowledge of how to really take care of himself. Roxas felt better after laughing, and for the first time Roxas felt really comfortable sitting in the room with Riku. Suddenly, Riku reached into his pocket and looked at something that was on his cell phone. Riku nodded, then placed his cell phone back into his pocket.

"Sora's coming over, I hope you don't mind." Roxas smiled inside; of course if Sora had known that they were hanging out, he would want in the fun. Though Roxas knew that he wouldn't be upset because Sora was the sort of person who brought people together, and he could make even the gloomiest person smile with ease. At the same time, Roxas felt nervous about Sora coming over. He didn't want Sora to ask him a bunch of questions about why he ran off earlier that day.

"Roxas," Riku said simply, making Roxas confused as to if it was a question or a statement. "You have a noddle stuck to your left cheek." Roxas felt his cheek, found the elusively and clever noddle and placed it on the napkin. When he looked up, Riku was nodding to himself. "You placed it back on the napkin," Riku noted. "Uh, yeah I guess so," Roxas replied, taking another look back at the napkin to make sure it was still there. "Sora would've drop in back into the bowl," Riku recalled, stirring his noddles around a bit. "I dunno, it was just an interesting thought I had."

There came a knock on the door.

[Say, just to let you guys know, if you want to make your post more interesting I can let you manipulate Roxas' actions/speech in your post. I don't mind if you do that. It just might make things a little bit easier for you guys.]

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Wed Dec 10, 2008 3:47 pm

[-sorry for the late response guys and the shortness >_< I've been busy. Hopefully with break starting this weekend I can be more and more active =3 thanks for being patient with me-]

Riku turned his attention towards the door upon hearing the knock. Of course he wasn't surprised by it knowing that Sora was on his way. Also the Burnett wasn't exactly the silent type when it came to walking so Riku had heard him coming up the the house even before he had reached the door to knock. He smiled lightly setting his napkin down as he stood smoothly from his seat. He glanced at Roxas

"Excuse me." he said before going over to the door. He reached for the handle but before he could grab it the door swung open revealing Sora was bent over slightly panting yet not the less had a huge grin plastered across his features. One silver brow shot up in question as Riku shook his head lightly, the signs of a smile touching the corners of his lips. "You ran all the way here didn't you?" he asked looking down at his friends as he rested his hands within the depths of his pockets.

Sora didn't answer right away as he greedily sucked in air while laughing at the same time."Yeah..it..was faster!" He got out as he straightened up. He went to walk inside the house but Riku putting his hand palm forward stopped Sora. The younger boy blinked slightly in confusion.

"wha?" escaped him before he saw the smirk form and the amusement sparkle in Riku's aquamarine eyes."You're forgetting something?" Riku stated the stopping hand turning into a pointing one as he indicated behind Sora at something on the ground. Sora turned to look his gaze following the direction of Riku's finger till he too saw what Riku was pointing it. Sora's bags for the sleep over sat in a messy pile beside the door.

"oh oh! Right." Sora said rubbing the back of his head with a grin as he went to grab them. Riku shouldered past his friend picking the bags up himself as he held one over his shoulder "well go inside." he said with a laugh seeing Sora's puzzled look. It quickly melted away into an appreciative smile "Okay. Thanks Riku!" Sora answered before heading inside. Riku chuckled softly to himself following after the energetic Burnett. He closed the door behind him before turning to his guests "Make yourself at home. I'm going to place Sora's things in my room." He told them shifting one bag in his grip to get a better hold of it.

He turned on his heel heading down the hall towards his room leaving the two momentarily alone.

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Wed Dec 10, 2008 6:32 pm

[-yays! my turn ;D ill respond sooon =D-]

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:33 pm

[-oh and btw im not very good at playing two different ppl but ill try it next time i respond but not now. XP im making it short cause i hafta goes!-]

Sora watched Riku as he walked up the stairs before he turned seeing Roxas before him. He placed a smile on his face as he sat down next to him. He noticed that they obviously had ramen for dinner which sounded tasty at the moment. "Hey Roxas!" He finally greeted. Roxas smiled as he placed the chop sticks in his hand down on the table. "Hey Sora." He greeted back. Sora wanted to ask why he ran off like that earlier but not at the moment since it was way too soon to do so.

[-its crap Dx-]

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:47 am

[-waits for Roxas...................................................................................... Neutral

-]

[-So umm......whats up Riku?........... Surprised

-]

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Mon Dec 22, 2008 2:52 pm

Roxas cleared his throat. "So..." Roxas began, hating the lame ice-breaker. Sora sat beside Roxas and pulled Roxas' ramen bowl towards him. "Hey, you can't eat my ramen!" Roxas barked as Sora began to hungrily slurp it down.

"Why not?" Sora whined after slurping down the noddles. "I'm just as hungry as you are!"

"YOU PIG! YOU EAT ALL THE TIME!"

"WELL, SO DO YOU, ROXAS!"

"Children, stop fighting," Riku replied sarcastically as he came back into the room, taking a seat on the floor opposite of the two cousins. "If you guys are still hungry, then I can get you something else to eat."

"YES!" Sora yelled at the same time that Roxas hollered "NO!" Both exchanged glances at each other in confusion. "We have one 'yes' and one 'no', then," Riku concluded, feeling slightly amused.

"Hey Riku! Why don't I just eat the rest of your ramen noddles??" Sora asked excitedly, looking at Riku's bowl. Riku opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything his stomach began to rumble hungrily, and everyone remained silent for a second. Sora looked down at the almost empty bowl of noddles Roxas had been eating earlier, then at Riku. "Aren't you hungrier than we are, Riku?" Riku chuckled, running his fingers through his hair. "I guess so. Maybe noddles isn't enough for a meal. I can always order take-out if you two would like."

"Take-out?" Sora asked, picking a noddle he found placed on a napkin back into the bowl, stirring it around. Roxas laughed to himself, and looked at Riku who gave him a "told-ya-so" stare.

"Roxas," Riku said simply, making Roxas confused as to if it was a question or a statement. "You have a noddle stuck to your left cheek." Roxas felt his cheek, found the elusive and clever noddle and placed it on the napkin. When he looked up, Riku was nodding to himself. "You placed it back on the napkin," Riku noted. "Uh, yeah I guess so," Roxas replied, taking another look back at the napkin to make sure it was still there. "Sora would've drop in back into the bowl," Riku recalled, stirring his noddles around a bit.

Sora looked at Riku and Roxas as both of them stopped chuckling. "What? What's so funny?" Sora asked quizzical. "Inside joke," Roxas replied. "So how about that take-out?!" Roxas stood up, looking around. "I can order! Where's the phone?"

"I don't have a phone," Riku replied sheepishly. "Oh, right. Well then, hang on," Roxas said as he pulled out his cellphone and pressed a few buttons. "I want pizza!" Sora tugged on Roxas' shirt. "No, we're getting Chinese."

"PIZZA. I don't WANT Chinese!"

"Well, I want Chinese food! No pizza!"

Riku shook his head and laughed as Sora stood up. "PIZZA."

"Hello?" Replied someone on the other head. "May I help you?"

"NO THANKS!" Sora yelled, swifting yanking Roxas' cell phone away and hanging up on the person. "SORA! I can't believe you just DID that!" Roxas growled as Sora dialed the number for pizza.

"Hello?" came a familiar voice on the other end. Sora twitched his eyebrow. "Olette?"

"NEVERMIND!!" Roxas yelled as he stole the cell phone back and hung up. Sora stared at Roxas in a daze before he erupted into laughter.

"YOU DIDN'T WANT TO GET PIZZA BECAUSE OLETTE WORKS AT THE PIZZERIA!!" Sora cried, wrapping his arms around his stomach as he fell to the floor laughing. Forming a fist with his hand, Roxas stood over Sora and growled. "AND WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?!" Thinking to himself, Riku rubbed his thumb against his chin. "Olette works at a pizzeria? That's news to me," Riku said thoughtfully. "So we can't order anything at all?" Sora and Roxas stopped what they were doing and looked at Riku. "Huh?"

"Both of you hung up as the person was asking what you wanted..." Riku mumbled, rolling his eyes. "Now what do you suggest? Roxas, since you're the one who normally comes up with ideas?"

"Yeah, you dummy!" Sora said, and Roxas placed his foot over his mouth. "I say we make Sora cook for us," he suggested, smearing his foot all over Sora's face. Sora audibly squealed and cried. When Roxas moved his foot away, Sora stood up and punched him in the stomach. "YOU KNOW I CAN'T COOK!!"

"I don't see why you can't try, Sora. You weren't originally invited to be over; don't you think it was nice of Roxas to allow you to come anyways?" Riku asked him, resting his arms on the table. Sora looked at Roxas, then back at Riku, then back at Roxas with a sigh. "FINE. I'll cook. And I'll make Roxas eat it, even if it's burnt!" Sora stormed to the kitchen, wondering what to do. Determined, Sora looked around the kitchen at everything there was in stock. In seconds, he changed his mind.

"What if I burn something?!"

"If you really need help, I'll help you." Riku didn't look at Sora as he said this. Instead, he laid his head down on the table and closed his eyes.

"CURSES!" Sora called, scratching his hair. "What to do... what to do..."

"Aren't you hungry, though?" Roxas asked Riku, who grumbled out a 'meh'. "This should be interesting," Riku yawned, smiling to himself.

(Haha, Sora!! I am evil, aren't I? XD)

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Mon Dec 22, 2008 5:53 pm

(O.o)

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Wed Dec 24, 2008 3:02 pm

[-there lol I hope this is okay. I had fun writing it. XP Sora's a horrible cook, Roxas laughs and Riku took a quick cat nap o.O lol-]

Riku hadn't ment to but as he lay there waiting for the food Sora was trying to prepare to be ready he'd dozed off. He didn't know how long he slept, only that it seemed brief like the blink of an eye. Yet when he opened his aquamarine eyes once more it was very clear time had passed by. He pushed himself up off the table sitting upright in the chair. A slight sense of embarrassment washed over him but only for a moment.
'I must have been more tired than I thought....' He rose from the chair running a hand through his silver hair as he yawned softly. He noticed immediately that Roxas was no longer in the room and neither was Sora.

A sudden noise from the kitchen brought memory back as he smiled lightly.

'Right...Sora's cooking..' He thought trying not to wince as his smile grew. from the sounds of it both boys were in the kitchen. Roxas was probably enjoying himself watching Sora's attempts to wipe together some food. Riku made his way over walking into the kitchen as both boys looked over to him. Sora had a pout on and....flour in his hair as well as all over his clothing. Riku blinked in surprise before he smiled. Seeing the smile only made Sora pout more and Roxas omit a chuckle

"Sora's doing.....an interesting job at cooking." Roxas informed Riku as the silver haired teen came over taking a seat beside him.

"Great now I have more of an audience!" Sora whined slightly seeing Riku and Roxas now both "watching" him.

Riku was actually looking at Roxas listening to the blond tell him about Sora's attempts to make random stuff....an well failing at it. Sora let out a soft sigh seeing that Riku for the most part wasn't paying attention. He tugged at one of his chocolate brown locks trying to get the sticky stuff out of it that he'd spilled earlier. He'd been arguing with Roxas who seemed to make fun of the whole situation and bumped into a cupboard which in turn knocked the small jar of honey over that was placed on a shelf and dumped it all over the burnett's head. Needless to say, Sora was sticky, dirty [with flour] and actually rather annoyed.

Annoyed at his failure to cook anything and at his cousin who couldn't seem to stop laughing or smiling at him. A sudden hand on his shoulder brought him out of his silent complaining as he turned inquiringly to the person. Riku smiled down at him giving his shoulder a friendly squeeze.

"Here I'll make us something and clean up." He told Sora instantly seeing the relief and gratefulness that spread across his face. Riku gave Sora's hair a ruffle only to stop, his smile wavering momentarily as he pulled his hand away revealing the sticky honey along the bottom of his palm with flecks of flour here and there.

"You...should go clean up too." He told Sora as he looked from his hand back to the shorter boy.

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Tue Dec 30, 2008 5:13 pm

Sora ran to the shower and took his time as he cleaned off the mess. "Sometimes I really hate Roxas!! He's so mean!!" Soon he was clean again so he put on his pajamas and came back out. Roxas was preoccupying himself with a photo album that Riku had put together. Well at least he won't mess with me anymore, Sora thought. "Sora, this is the picture where you threw up at the park!"

"NO IT'S NOT!" Sora rushed over there and looked. Sure enough....

"RIKU! Why is this in here?!"

"It wasn't. I put it in there," Roxas said. Sora punched Roxas in the arm. "Take it out! I hate that picture!!!"

"Let's settle down..." Riku called as he placed a couple of sandwiches on a plate. Sora and Roxas both sniffled the air hungrily then called out the name of the dish at the same time.

"GRILLED CHEESE!!!!"

"Yup. Your favorite," Riku replied. Both shoved the other out of the way to get to the kitchen and grab their own sandwich. "It comes with a condition," Riku warned. They looked at him in surprise. "You both have to apologize to the other."

"What do I have to apologize to him for?!" Sora yelled, pointing at Roxas. "HE'S the evil cousin!!"

"But if that's so, couldn't you be the nice one and not get angry whenever Roxas is mean to you?" Riku told Sora. Sora looked down. "Yeah...."

"AND Roxas wanted to spend time with me since we never get to see each other. Don't you get to spend a lot of time with me? Don't you think it's unfair?"

"Yeah...." Sora said glumly.

"Then there. Now say sorry to Roxas."

Sora sighed, then looked at Roxas. "I'm sorry, Roxas."

"There. Now apologize to Sora for being mean and making fun of him when he tried to cook."

"Gah, fine. I'm sorry Sora. Can we eat now?"

Sora grabbed a sandwich before Riku could say anything and began to scarf it down. Riku laughed. "Guess so. You two deserved it."

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Thu Feb 05, 2009 3:02 pm

[roxas go go go! XD]

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Fri Feb 06, 2009 2:09 pm

That night, as Riku and Sora slept, Roxas woke up in the middle of the night. He climbed out from under the covers and made his way to the window. Opening the blinds, his lungs filled with air and Roxas could feel a rush of excitement tingle in his skin. There was a full moon tonight. Roxas loved nothing more than to see a full moon, and without the lights of the city around the moon shone more brilliantly than ever. He dashed outside to run to the beach.

The sand tickled and itched his bare feet as he walked closer towards the water. The sand... the fresh air... the night sky... the moon... the warmth from the sun in the morning... Roxas had to admit, he loved being in Destiny Islands at night. Roxas used to hate sleeping in Sora's room, so whenever he had to stay with his cousin during the summer Roxas would slip outside and sleep somewhere else on the island. Because the island was generally peaceful and there wasn't much to be worried about, his parents didn't mind, though they were upset that Roxas refused to get along with Sora. As he sat down on the beach, gently moving his hands and feet around in the sand, Roxas remembered how happy he used to be as a child sneaking outside at night to sit here. He had done it to escape, but he had done it for one other reason.

The moon.

There had been a day in the summer where all the other kids had rushed inside near the mid-afternoon to get something to eat and to get ready for the sun to set for the day, but Roxas didn't. He sat down on the dock, watching the sun. Slowly, the sun began to sink into the sky and pretty soon, the sky began to change. The sunset. Never had Roxas seen anything more beautiful... he stayed on the dock, feeling a little bit tired but too happy to care. When he woke up a few hours later, he sat up to see the moon casting its light over the water. Ever since then, Roxas loved the sunrise and sunset of everyday, and he made sure to wake up early in the mornings to catch the sunrise and stayed outside to see the sunset. It was Roxas' secret, and Roxas never shared it with anyone. It was something Roxas could do without the worry.

His ears perked. Behind him, he could hear the sand shift under the footsteps of someone coming towards him. Startled, Roxas quickly moved his head around to see who would it was.

"Hey Roxas," Riku called to him, smiling tenderly and siting down beside the boy. What's he doing out here, thought Roxas. I kinda want to be alone. But I can't tell him to go away.

Riku had to be honest with himself and admit that he felt uncomfortable slightly about following Roxas out of his house to see where he was going, though it had made Riku feel happy at the same time. Riku had always thought that he was the only one who got up this late to go see the sky. "It's magnificent, isn't it?" Riku sighed, breathing in the air around him. Roxas nodded. "Yeah, it is nice. When you live in Twilight Town, you forget what it's like to smell salt all the time."

Riku snorted. "Not if you're friends with Sora. Sora for some reason always smells like salt."

Roxas nodded. "And sweat. Like you."

Riku furrowed his eyebrows at him. "You... think about the way I smell?"

"It's not really something you can help. I notice it every time I see you." Riku nodded. "True."

For a while, there was silence. Roxas didn't mind it. The peacefulness of the night was nice.

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Fri Feb 06, 2009 4:08 pm

[-heh so I smell like sweat and salt to you Roxas? XP-]

Riku let the silence linger for as long as it could as he stared contently up at the night sky. He had in part followed Roxas out there to see where he was going but also he was going out there to enjoy the night air and get away. It was a routine he had adapted and never gotten over. He found that he felt stuffy and cramped if he didn't get out during these hours for some fresh air and....alone time. Though this time was different. Roxas was here also. Even though the other boy was quiet, Riku couldn't ignore his presence. It was constantly there at the back of his mind, like something that could never be forgotten.

A flicker caught his attention as he glanced side long at Roxas, seeing that the other boy had shifted his weight to a more comfortable position on the sad. He seemed relaxed, and at ease. At least on the surface. Riku was usually good at sensing and detecting what other people were feeling but he found it somewhat harder with Roxas.

Finally Riku decided that he couldn't stand the silence any longer as he stood to his feet, using the back of his hands to brush the grains of sand off his pants. He stood there for a moment, head tilted up towards the sky as he took in a deep breath, closing his eyes momentarily. As he did this his hands instinctively slipped into the depths of his pockets, another habit he was more than used to.

What to say? he wondered silently, staring at the sky for a moment. He didnt want to just walk away and leave Roxas without a word but he found that he couldn't bring himself to say anything.

He decided at last on placing his hand lightly on Roxas's shoulder for a moment, a feathers touch before turning and walking silently away. He'd leave the blond to his own thoughts for the moment. He had a more pressing desire to visit the secret place for the moment.

He'd found that he enjoyed the feel of the cold cave at night, and the tricks the moonlight played across the rocks smooth surfaces. A few quick strides carried him away from where Roxas was seated and within moments he'd reached the entrance of the secret place. He stood outside of it for a moment, admiring the way the leaves had grown over the entrance, a delicate frame of green against the harshness of the stone. He hand his hand over the smooth rock before stooping and going in. That was one thing he'd noticed since Sora and he had begun to grow was that he had to stoop even more now to enter their special place than he remembered.

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Sat Feb 07, 2009 6:24 pm

"So... I guess even after all that," Roxas said aloud to himself, "Riku really does care about me." He couldn't even believe it. It was pretty hard to grasp, even if it was simple enough. When you assume that everyone dislikes you for so long, it's refreshing to know that even your former enemy -- as Roxas saw it -- cared about you. Satisfied, Roxas got up and went back to Riku's house, smiling and feeling a whole lot happier than he had felt in a while.

When he got inside, Sora was mumbling in his sleep. "Hey Sora..." he whispered, half-knowing that Sora didn't really hear him. It was sort of a habit Roxas had. Even though he had hated the boy when he was younger, Roxas had a knack for whispering in Sora's ear when he was asleep. Roxas learned to love the boy when he wasn't awake. "Roxas..." Sora mumbled in reply, rolling over to face Roxas. For a second, he was scared that he woke up Sora, but he continued to snore. Ha, he thought. It figured anyway.

"You shouldn't be... so afraid anymore," was Sora's sleepy reply. Huh? Roxas gently began to massage Sora's back as he lowered his voice more. "What did you say... Sora?"

"Stop... pushing everyone away...Rock...sus." So even Sora had noticed. Roxas felt ashamed of himself for a second... had he let his guard down? No, no way. No one could know that. "What do you mean, Sora?"

"You're always by yourself... you push Riku away a lot... you even... pretend to be happy..."

He bit his tongue. He was getting worse at concealing things, then.

"We care... Rock...sus..."

"Don't be silly," he lied to Sora, giving him a kiss on the head. "If something bothered me, I would tell you."

That seemed to satisfy Sora. He stopped talking, and his breathing became quiet and even once again. Roxas laid down beside Sora and smiled before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Just before he did, however, a tear slid down his face.
-----
Not too long after Roxas fell asleep, Sora woke up with a start, feeling a heavy weight in his chest. It wasn't a nightmare...but the dream he had about Roxas felt real, and it left Sora waking with a lump in his throat.

"You shouldn't be so afraid anymore," Sora told Roxas in his dream. Roxas blinked. "Huh?" Sora took a breath and began to start over. "Stop... pushing everyone away, Rock-sus." He pronounced his name, spelling out the syllables in his name. With a skeptical look, Roxas replied, "What do you say... Sora?" This wasn't easy for Sora. "You're always by yourself... you push Riku away a lot... you even... pretend to be happy..." He folded his arms across his chest and sighed again. "We care, Roxas..."

He laughed. "Don't be silly," he told Sora, putting on his best smile. "If something bothered me, I would tell you."

What worried Sora was how real the dream had felt. Often Sora had dreams that -- well... I guess my dreams always were real because they felt real, he thought. But this was different. This wasn't dream-like or that unusual. It was Roxas. And Roxas... was unhappy for some reason. Even though he pretended to be okay I could tell he was upset.

"Sora?" He looked up to see Riku walking into the room. "How come you're awake so late? Bad dream?" Sora swallowed the lump in his throat and looked down. "Riku...?" Deciding to get up, Sora crawling out from under the covers and walked over to Riku, looking up at him with a serious face but a hint of sadness in his eyes. Riku felt a wave of uneasiness. Sora normally acted happy-go-lucky, and when he was sad he exaggerated all that too. He didn't know what to think of this.

"What's wrong with Roxas?" he asked him directly. Riku raised his eyebrows. "What, did something happen to make you think he's upset?"

Sora tried again. "Is there... something about Roxas you haven't been telling me?"

[Sora, you go next. If you're lost for what to do, just have Sora interrogating Riku but don't make Sora get upset. Just keep him solemn but obviously upset at the same time. For instance:
Riku - Roxas is depressed.
Instead of ... "Sora - NO WAY! BOO HOO, ROXAS!!!" or "Sora - WHY! WHY IS HE UPSET?!" go for more like "Sora - Why... is he depressed?"

Alright Sora. TAG! Post next!]

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:40 pm

Sora waited patiently, which was unusual for him, for Riku to respond as he looked up at his silver haired friend. He noticed several emotions filter through his aquamarine eyes, worry, surprise, and finally....confusion.

Riku pondered what Sora could mean and why he was in the mood that was totally unlike himself. The fact that he wasn't cheerful and somewhat hyper seriously worried him. He racked his brain for a response, but he couldn't find or think of anything he'd kept secret from Sora about Roxas. Sure he did keep several secrets from his spiky haired friend but this wasn't one of them that he could recall.

"No..." He said at last, the word coming out slowly as if he was unsure of his response. This only seemed to spark Sora's determination to know further. He was really worried about his cousin especially since he seemed to be more distant and quiet than usual. He jumped on Riku's response, taking it as if he was lying, holding back something that he needed to know. Wanted to know,

"Don't lie to me Riku. I can tell something isn't right with Roxas." Sora stated firmly, his tone solemn. He sounded irritated now as well as concerned. Why did Riku always have to keep things from him. And it wasn't only him either. Roxas did also on a regular basis and it was starting to really get on Sora's nerves. He hated being left out, that his friend and cousin felt the need to hide things from him.

"He hasn't been himself for a while I've noticed. Whats wrong?" Sora tried again, hoping to coax the information out of Riku. He noticed Riku's hesitation as the other paused for a moment, his mouth open slightly to answer. But Sora didn't let him.

He sighed in frustration, looking down at the floor as he gripped his hands into fists. "He's my cousin Riku. I deserve to know." He told him, his voice talking on a creepy calm that made Riku even more uncomfortable. "And.....the fact that neither of you will tell me whats going on...o-or at least explain anything to me is really annoying." He stated, his hands gripping even tighter against his side as if he was trying to contain himself.

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Tue Feb 10, 2009 5:12 pm

"Roxas?" he repeated it out loud. Riku could hardly believe it. So then something was going on. Sora detected it too. But if he told Sora, he'd worry the boy, and Riku couldn't handle that. "Look, I'm sure Roxas is fine -- "

"STOP THAT!" Sora hollered. His breathing began to become more rapid. "STOP PRETENDING! WHY?! WHY'S ROXAS UPSET!!" Riku could see it. Sora was diving off the edge, and he had to know that Roxas was either okay or that Roxas needed him. Riku couldn't decide what to do. Sora could feel his heart breaking as Riku paused and remained mute. Tears streamed down Sora's cheek. "What's wrong, Riku?" he asked again, practically begging. "Why won't you tell me? Why? Why??"

Oddly, as much as Riku knew about anger, he knew just as much about peace. He put his hands on Sora's shoulders and gave him a tight squeeze. "Sora..." he said, his voice soothing and calm. Already Sora was begging to relax again. "We're going to take care of Roxas together. I'm not sure... what's going on with Roxas right now. But he may need us. And he needs you and me to be strong, agreed?" Sora nodded, looking a little dismayed but understanding. "We need to make sure, no matter what, that Roxas does not feel unloved. That's all we can really do for now. Unless he comes to us... we can't chase after him. He'll buckle down, and then he'll shut us out." It felt so uneasy and yet so liberating for Riku to tell Sora this. He never told anyone any of this... it was exactly how Riku used to be. Riku had long ago lost those memories, but he didn't mind bringing back some of the more painful ones. If it meant that it would help Roxas.

"For now, you should sleep." He ruffled Sora's hair around playfully. "We'll pretend Roxas is okay and just be his two wonderful best friends who love him to no end, right? He'll appreciate that." Sora forgot all his anger and smiled. "Okay..." Sora breathed in. "I can do that." With that, Sora laid back down and fell asleep next to Roxas.

The silver haired young man would not sleep tonight. He sat down in his chair and gazed as his two friends lovingly. You're hurting yourself, he told Roxas. And now even Sora knows. We got to help you somehow, Roxas... With a sigh, Riku rubbed his hands down his bitterly scarred-wrist. Roxas... don't make the same mistakes I made. Please.

[Riku can post next. Either time-lapse to the next day, or have Riku ponder a bit more. Maybe even incorperate some of Riku's flashbacks of when he was in Roxas' place...]

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:42 pm

[-k so this is kinda a go on what you suggested Roxas. I didn't explain what happened to make Riku feel the way he did in the flash back because I didn't feel the need to. I'll leave that up to you guys to ponder over. I hope this is okay and meets your expectations. Be warned it is rather emo....but it has a happy tint to it at the end-]

Riku rubbed his wrist lightly a few more times as he stared down at it.

It has almost been a year and a half now...he thought with a solemn expression as he rolled the wrist band that he always wore on his wrist up revealing his flesh. The skin was pale due to lack of exposure to the sunlight except for the long, dark scars that ran across his skin. They told a story in themselves of Riku's struggled with his darkness and guilt.

Riku ran his fingers over the old wounds lightly, a filling of remorse, and light guilt rising up within him. It's a reminder.....of my sin. Who I was, 'what' I had become.. He thought closing his aquamarine eyes for a moment as he reflected back on those days. The painful memories began to surface, causing his expression to become one of solemn remembrance.

------

Riku sat outside the old, seemingly desolate mansion that was on the outskirts of twilight town. His gaze was lifted skyward as he watched the clouds go by, tinted orange and pink by the ever present twilight of the sky. The colors made the clouds look soft and comforting but Riku couldn't bring himself to fully enjoy them as his mouth settled into a line, lips spread thin in a faint frown.

Sora....

He thought closing his eyes briefly as he conjured up the image of his closest friends face. Those deep understanding crystal eyes in that smooth tanned face with the never tamed brown spikes instantly came to mind, his friend possessing that goofy naive smile of his as his eyes closed happily. With the image however came memories, unwanted memories of what 'he' had done to Sora.

Sora's face shifted blurring than re-focused containing a look of pure disbelief, and hurt something that cut Riku to the heart.

'Why.....Riku..Why.' Sora's words echoed in his mind causing him to hold his head, hands clutching fiercely into his silver hair as he hid his face. The guilt was there, the sorrow, the regret that no matter how hard he tried wouldn't go away. A chocked gasp escaped him as the memories ran wild within his mind, playing repeatedly before his eyes.

Soft footsteps behind him sounded as someone light approached.

"Riku....." A feminine voice, soft and concerned sounded right as a soft touch, light as a feathers brushed his arm.

'Namine...' Riku thought the sound of her voice drawing him away from the ghost of his past that haunted him, back into reality. He loosened his grip on his hair, though he looked at her briefly as his hands fall away. He didn't need to see Namine at first to know she was concerned. Namine always was kind and carrying, worrying much more about others than herself. The look of worry that sparkled in her blue eyes made him wince and quickly turn his gaze away.

"A-are you alright?" She ventured bringing her free hand up as she reached towards the older male, sad that he'd turned away from her.

Riku felt touched that she was concerned about his well being but it was only a slight touch on the troubles that ran ramped in his mind at the moment. He was currently staying at her place, Namine being a close friend that he could go to when he needed to clear his head. Now was such a time but he couldn't bring himself to accept the comfort that Namine had to offer him.

A few weeks ago, Riku had done something, made some choices that ultimately hurt one of the people he cared about the most. He'd had to endure the consequences of those actions, and they weren't light. He couldn't face Sora, the guilt of what he'd done being too great.
Namine knew a little of what Riku and Sora was going through, Riku usually confiding his problems in her but this time he seemed to draw in to himself, locking all others out. When Riku didn't answer her, she sighed softly, letting her hand fall back to its position at her side where she played nervously with the bottom of her dress.

"I'm always here for you...Riku." She said so quietly that Riku almost didn't hear her. But the sadness in her voice, the hurt didn't go unnoticed.

Riku grit his teeth together with an frustrated tsk [-not at her but himself-] before he pushed off the wall, taking off at a quick pace. Namine's eyes widened in alarm and surprise.

"Riku!" She called after him but was only met with the sound of his footsteps echoing back and his retreating form before he was lost from her view.

The silver haired teen ran, and ran till his feet had carried him to the isolated forest between twilight town and the old mansion. He stopped bellow one of the great tree's resting his forehead against it as he panted, taking in large intakes of air. His lungs felt like they were about to burst and his mind spun, the pain in his chest unbearable. Something close to a sob escaped his lips as he allowed himself to fall to his knees bellow the tree. He clutched at his chest, hands on either side of himself as he tried to get rid of the growing pain within his chest. It felt like a beast that was trying to break free, to tear its way out and take his heart with it.

Sora...

Namine...

Kairi...

He pushed them all away not wanting to let them in.

'I don't deserve her compassion....her smiles.....'his' forgiveness. N-not after what I did...' the thought ran through his head. As it did something within Riku's mind seemed to snap and he sat bolt upright, aquamarine eyes wide.

His body seemed to move on its own accord as he felt like he was watching himself through a glass window. he felt oddly detached yet there, the pain still blind fully obvious to him. His only thought was to get rid of it as he hunched over slightly, gripping his left arm tightly with his right. He began to tear at the smooth flesh of his wrist with his nails, over and over till the cool feeling of blood running over his skin began. Still he didn't stop, digging his nails into the skin, clawing as if he could make the pain go away through hurting himself. It didn't seem to make it lessen but the feeling of guilt he had seemed to lessen, the feelings of remorse and sorrow.

'This is what I deserve..' he thought as he continued, feeling as though once again he was not connected to himself. numb. Finally he stopped, panting as his silver hair feel in his face, sweat beading his forehead and running down his cheek. His arm felt as though it was on fire, blood running through his fingers and dripping onto his pants.

He stared at his self inflicted wound soberly, the skin red and raw from the abuse. It would scare he knew slowly rising to his feet. But he could care less. he wanted it to scare, wanted it to remain that way as a reminder of his sin.
He winced as he made his way back to the house, Namine's house, the wind jarring the torn flesh and making it sting. He felt like needles were running up and down his arm and the sensation of light headedness began to take hold of him. One thought occurred to him as he drew near to Namine's house. He couldn't let her see what he'd done, what his shame had brought about. She was too innocent and kind.

However he didn't count on the slight blond girl waiting for him. He hadn't counted on her staying up for him. A blur of white and blond rushed towards him from the door of the house and he was embraced tightly in a hug. The small girl shook as she held him, the warmness of tears soaking through his shirt.

"N-namine.." He said in surprise, shocked at his friends sudden appearance.

She held onto him tightly, her small form shaking as she sobbed.

"Riku....don't...don't make yourself suffer anymore." She said raising her head up at last as she looked into his face, eyes watery from crying. His mouth opened to speak but no words came out as he stared into her face wordlessly. "You have f-friends who love you. w-who care." She managed to get out before another sob claimed her voice. Riku flinched, her words along with the pain in his arm striking deep within him. She seemed to notice his slight wince though as she glanced down at his wrist, eyes widening in horror at the sight of his torn flesh.

The petite girl quickly dragged him inside to tend to his injury, Riku allowing her without a struggle, by this point to tired from blood-loss and his emotions to do anything else. The rest of the night was a blur to Riku as Namine faithfully tended to him and watched over him. He recalled just barely her sitting by his bed with her small hand on his head and tears still spilling from her caring eyes.

-----

That was the first time Riku had hurt himself. The memory of Namine's eyes, the evident question as to why, why he'd do such a thing, in them still haunted Riku. He recalled making the small blond promise to never tell Sora or the others and as it was she was the only one who knew about the ghastly wound or the incident that led up to it.

A slight sigh followed by the whispering of the sheets as they brushed against one another caught his attention, pulling him from the painfully clear memory. Riku opened his eyes slightly, turning his attention towards the bed where Sora and Roxas lay fast asleep. Both their faces seemed content and at peace as they slept.

Rays of sunlight peeked through the blinds of the window beside Riku, causing him to squint his eyes against the harsh and unexpected light.

'the sunrise....' he thought gaze momentarily focused on the window before lowering to his exposed wrist. He carefully rolled the wrist band back into place, hiding his scars from the world. He regretted having injured himself and how he was back then. He had been foolish and rash in that moment and that was a mistake he would carry with him for the rest of his life.

Standing quietly as not to disturb the two sleeping in the bed Riku exited his room. A few turns here and there led him to the roof where he hoisted himself up through the window, crawling till he reached the center of the roof, away from the edge. The silver haired teen shifted his position to a more comfortable one, scarred arm resting on one knee that remained upright as he watched the sun began to rise. It was breath taking as always and as the warm rays of the new day fell across Riku's skin he closed his eyes basking in it. With the new day came new warmth and with that warmth a hope.

'Roxas...there is always hope' he thought briefly before laying back. His mental pondering and reflecting had kept him up for the night and now he found that he was drained both emotionally and mentally. His eyes remained shut, silver hair splayed out everywhere and in his face but he didn't seem to mind. A light smile touched his lips as he thought of the burnett fast asleep bellow him in his room. If Sora knew that he'd been reflecting on such dark things from long ago...Riku would never hear the end of it. A sense of gratefulness welled up within Riku as he thought again how truly grateful he was to have the friends that he had. They were always there to pick him up when he stumbled and help him along. Sora with his always cheery smile and optimistic ways, Namine with her gentle smile and caring nature, Kairi with her encouraging words and dedication and Roxas with his quiet determination and silent encouragements.

They truly were a gift and his light. Riku only hoped that Roxas would come to realize how loved and needed he was by his friends and how blessed he was to have them.

[-dang I just thought of so many things to make this longer.....but I'm going to leave it as it is.-]

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Wed Feb 11, 2009 8:51 am

[ZOMGGGGGGGGGGGGGG THATS LONG o.o]

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Wed Feb 11, 2009 1:03 pm

[roxas do you go next? please say YES]

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Wed Feb 11, 2009 2:53 pm

[wow that was seriously amazing Riku. Really. I was shocked on how great it was. :shock: ]

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Wed Feb 11, 2009 6:25 pm

[->///< thanks Sorwa ^^-]

Subject: Re: Within Radiant Garden Wed Feb 11, 2009 10:06 pm

(Your very welcome Weeku ^///^)