Challenge post

[osmandias.livejournal.com]

Challenge: [100] One Hundred
Title: Ask Yourself
Word Count: 333
Spoilers: Only if you haven't played the game.



A hundred questions.

Those were the terms Mickey gave to Riku, once the boy had woken between Light and Darkness. He could question the small king but with all things, there was a limit. Riku thought it unusual what he was being asked, although he agreed to the conditions. He knew he was smart enough to figure things as they came; the questions would only be used when they were needed. Riku wouldn’t waste them like a fool.

Mickey expected the first queries. "Where am I? Where are my friends? Did we close the door?"

One, two, three.

Riku was careful. Although he tried to disguise his questions in the form of suggestions, they were clumsy. Mickey always pointed it out to him. Riku lost a few questions that way. He grew wiser in their application, only using them when he stumbled lost and confused. "Your Majesty, can we trust DiZ? This Organization -- what's their final goal? Can they be beaten?"

Forty-five, forty-six, forty-seven.

Sometimes personal reflections caused Riku to contemplate with the king. For all of his strength and will, Riku’s questions of the soul and hope often needed confirmation. Mickey always counted. "Sora's like this because of me, isn't it? Perhaps this is my punishment, losing a friend this way? When he wakes up, do you think he'll forgive me for what I did?"

Eighty-one, eighty-two, eighty-three.

The last ten were used sparingly; sometimes there were weeks between each matter asked. "Do you think this will ever end? That what's happened, and everything leading up to this point, will bring peace to the worlds? We can change ourselves if we try hard enough, can't we, Your Majesty?

Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred.

The most important question Riku asked came too late. "Will the Darkness ever leave me?"

Mickey regarded the young man and shook his head. "I can't answer that for you, Riku. You've used up all your questions. Though sometimes," a smile, “you need to learn to answer your own.”

Comments

[talim.livejournal.com]

D:

So sad, but perfect. I love it.

[osmandias.livejournal.com]

Thank you. There is a ray of hope at the end for Riku in all this. :)

[lorei.livejournal.com]

I really love this. Riku and Mickey interaction is always great, but you write it amazingly. All of Riku's questions are just right, and I love the bit in the beginning, with him trying to ask them as suggestions-- it's adorable and I can just see Mickey calling him out on it, LOL. The ending is lovely, too.

[osmandias.livejournal.com]

*points to icon* House! His sarcasm is love.

I was a little wary at first of writing Riku because I've never done anything with him before, not even a drabble. But I'm glad that he came out sounding convincing; I just wanted to write a bit of Mickey - beyond some fics he's never present.