stilldontgotit | 46

[Well, there's no point in dodging this now. Especially after that entry Ling made. Despite his reservations, Riku opens the journal and begins with a short, sweet message.]

Kairi's gone.

[There's a drawn out pause. After all, Kairi'd been there since he first showed up in Luceti, and she'd always been with him and Sora before. And Sora hasn't even shown himself in months. Xion moved. Besides Roxas, everyone else from their universe is off living with Ven.

Sigh.]

It's kind of crazy. People come and go all the time, but Kairi was here longer than me. At least three years. Just goes to show how unpredictable this place is. Some people leave in a week. Others years. Some people come back again and again. It's like a constant guessing game.

[...Man, maybe he's thinking too hard on it. Either way, he needs a distraction. Badly. Much as Kairi's departure's upset him, he doesn't wanna make it too obvious. What good would that do?]

But enough about that. No point in crying over spilled milk, right? At least she's not wrapped up in the experiments. That last one was bad enough, and don't even get me started on that 'Count' guy. If he ever met Mickey, I bet he'd rethink his insults a little.

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[Keyblade... Keyblade... Oswald's sure he's heard that word before, but he can't remember what a Keyblade is. Didn't it have something to do with hearts?]

So the Mouse has a Keyblade, huh? What's he use it for?

Fighting Heartless, protecting the worlds... Standard Keybearer duties.

[Fighting Heartless- Oh no, no no. The Heartless was what becomes of the heart, and the Nobodies were actually the heartless ones. This concept is still so hard to get the hang of...]

Duties, huh? Well, as long as he's not flaking off.

Mickey's not the type to bail on everybody. He helped me when I had nobody else to turn to.

[Heh.]

I'd say that speaks volumes.

Yeah... That's Mickey Mouse, for ya. A real hero.

Still got a grudge against him?

No way! I mean... It's not a grudge. I just... [Hnnn...!]

He's not a bad guy. I know that.

Tough standing in his shadow while he takes all the limelight?

[Riku kind of gets that. Sorta.]

Kinda... But I've got my own limelight, ya know! It ain't his limelight, but it's more than most people would wish for. I got no right to complain.

Well, you've got a pretty huge head start here. Even if he does pop up again, I doubt you'll get thrown aside.

[What is this sudden cascade of warmth and gratitude and emotions? Could it be... true fandom?]

Thanks, pal! I never really doubted that to begin with, seeing as I'm better than the Mouse anyway and everyone here is captivated by my presence, but... That's good to hear. Yeah! So thanks.

[Better? That's up for debate, but... heh. If that's what makes Oswald happy, Riku won't object.]

Hey, no problem. Besides, you are pretty cool.

Aren't I, though? [Fu fu, fu fu fu...]

[All right, enough gloating.] I'm sorry about your friend bein' sent home, by the way.

Hey, don't sweat it. Stuff like that happens all the time.

[Not that he's happy about it, but he doesn't want to weigh down the conversation.]

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