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[tabitha-dornoc.livejournal.com]

Challenge: [091] Invincible
Title: Stronger
Word Count: 278
Notes: *sneaks in* KHII, during. Riku-centric.



It's just Riku. And he's not invincible.

Closing his eyes behind a width of cloth, his blink lasts weeks and weeks and maybe forever. Maybe he can see an after-image against the black of his eyelids; a bright inverted shadow of his half-Kairi witch. But maybe he can't.

Not invincible.

Then Twilight Town no longer lies abandoned and dusty and an untested electronic playground. Half-Sora smiles quiet and strained as if he's never smiled before in his half-life. But Riku's new face feels just as stiff and unsure when he tries to smile himself. So he stops trying.

Not invincible.

Sora leaves footprints on every world he visits. Most people leave fingerprints, but Sora never could just look. He had to touch and push and leave heavy marks of I Am Sora. Riku jumps from print to print, tailing Sora in clumsy half-strides because his feet just don't fit in Sora’s shoes.

Not invincible.

But then it’s not just Riku.

It’s Kairi too. Kairi. Touching his arm and pressing forgiveness into his skin. Seeing him when she should be blind to his face. Holding her own blade out and pulling him along and along and

Still not invincible.

Sora holds him tight and cries tears that Riku can’t find the strength to release because he's afraid he might not be able to. Pulls at his long coat and shakes with a desperation and happy-sadness that Riku has breathed as oxygen for the past year.

And it's not just Riku at all anymore. It’s the three of them. No, it’s the six of them. Three companions from one world, three from another.

Not invincible. Not invincible. Not invincible.

Stronger.

Comments

[lazzchan.livejournal.com]

Yay!

You snuck in~ Great job on this one, it's so ... it flows so neatly, with this odd .... I can't be eloquent this morning; let's just see I really did like how you did this. XD

[tabitha-dornoc.livejournal.com]

It flows neatly with the odd! Sweet. XD Hee, thanks hun.

[jaesprite.livejournal.com]

Ooh, nice. Riku love. ♥ The repitition is lovely, of course, and I like "a bright inverted shadow" and "pressing forgiveness into his skin." Ending on the one word has a nice impact too.

Minor grammar nitpick; that'd be "Twilight Town no longer lies abandoned". "Lay" is transitive. :P

Also, I'm having a dumb moment. *counts on fingers* Sora, Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Namine... ... ..? I hate when I miss important concepts in fics like this. XD;

[tabitha-dornoc.livejournal.com]

*facepalm* I can't even tell you how long I stared at that sentence trying to figure out why it sounded off. I hate when mistakes are right in front of you and you still can't see them. So thank you!

Ah, in that bit it's actually Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald and Goofy. I almost went on about Roxas and Namine too, but it got complicated. Prose wise. Sometimes I sacrifice content to make the writing flow, but I guess that maybe backfired here. Sorry for the confusion. :)

[jaesprite.livejournal.com]

Heheh, glad to be of help. And... oh. *facepalm* Don't worry, that should have been completely obvious, especially with how you threw in the thing about being from different worlds. I was just having a dumb night. :D;

[masakomoonshade.livejournal.com]

I...you..but...

Thank you. Thank you for reading my mind and for recognizing that this...was by far my favorite scene. I was actually just about to request that you write something about this very scene--when Sora and Kairi finally reunite with Riku and...

And you already saw the beauty in it and captured it in that way that only you can and I'm so grateful for it.

Thank you for writing this.


(And as far as the count goes, you could easily have said Sora, Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Namine, Ansem/Dark!Riku)

[tabitha-dornoc.livejournal.com]

Heee, icon love!

My mind reading skills are to be appreciated, clearly. No, I agree, the moment the three finally finally all meet up again is pure love. I got so frustrated playing KHII cause Sora always just missed either Riku or Kairi on a world. Argh.

(Hmm, that coooould work, but I'm not sure whether Riku considers the Ansem in him to be positive asset. He uses it as a last resort it seems. But I see where you're coming from.)

[oni-gil.livejournal.com]

I love Riku. He was the first KH character I liked, even before I was really into it. I had a friend who played ENDLESSLY, and the only bit that really interested me back then was Riku. He's so cool... He really grows up... how could he not? After all that happened to him, all that he did... really. Wow. I still love Riku to bits, even though I've discovered the Organization. Riku counts. Totally. He counts.