51 - voice/action;

[stilldontgotit]

[After two years, Riku thought that maybe things would turn out all right. Most people who disappear leave in a flash. A month, maybe three. When he woke up in the morning, he expected everything to fall back into its usual routine.

There's just one problem: his apartment's half-empty. At first he thought the absence of Ino was because she'd woken up earlier, maybe decided to do some training. She had a test coming up, after all, but as Riku zips through the apartment, he finds all her belongings have gone amiss.

Stunned silence overtakes him. It's about a half hour later that he addresses the journals.]

Ino's gone. I know she had a lot of friends from back home, so... just thought I'd let you know.

[His voice is strangely subdued, soft and weak. For a moment, he thinks about ending it there, but another thought creeps into his mind.]

How do you guys even handle it? I know some of you have gotten married here or plan to, but don't you realize it could end in a heartbeat? Luceti's just so unpredictable. When you're with someone it's bad enough, but to take the next big step in a place this unstable... I swear I'm not trying to bring anyone down. I just don't understand.

[...]

I'll be out by the lake if anyone needs me.

[With that, he snaps his journal shut, venturing out into the woods with his Komory Bat fluttering close behind. His destination is simple: the larger of Luceti's two lakes. Why there? Well, it has everything to do with a raft he's been keeping for the past five years. One of his first accomplishments.

He's had to replace pieces of it more times than he can count, and the sail's a bit tattered now, but anyone in the area may spot him leaning back against the mast and flicking stones into the water.

His bat perches on his shoulder, and he lets out an airy chuckle.]

Hey, relax. I'll sort this out. Just need a little time...

Comments

[stilldontgotit]

[Hmm, that's an interesting way to look at it. So they didn't want to deal with regrets, huh?

Riku chuckles. Ah, if only he could look at it that way, but there's a giant roadblock in his path that keeps him from such an outlook.]

But still, doesn't it worry you that one of you could disappear someday? Or worse, disappear and come back as a blank slate without any memory of your experiences.

Not saying you made the wrong choice or anything. Truth is, I think it's brave that you guys went through with it, it's just... this is painful enough. I don't know if I'd be able to take it.

[deathsdoctor]

My husband has disappeared twice on me already. So does it worry me? Yes, yes it does... and I know how painful it will be when we're parted again. And how painful having someone you care about having no idea what you've been through together. [Although he's not talking about Itachi in this case.] But I guess it comes down to this. We could be taken away from or made strangers to each other unexpectedly in a heatbeat no matter where we were.

[There was a girl named Sugar that Law knew (how well... who knows) when he was young. A Devil Fruit user, like himself, with the power to turn people into toys. And once they were turned, all memories of their existance were erased from everyone around them, leaving the toy as the sole person to know of what once was.

They could become strangers through injury or jutsu or so many things...]

... oh, I know. It's not for everyone. It's really not.

[stilldontgotit]

True. There's always gonna be that risk. It's not even exclusive to love, either; I know almost all of us have lost friends here. Even that's painful, sometimes just as much.

[Riku's not certain other worlds would fall under the same risks, but then, someone in his universe held the power to manipulate memories, and circumstances stripped him from his friends on more than one occasion.

To that end, maybe he's onto something.]

I think the uncertainty's the worst part. You never know if they'll come back with memories, without, or if they'll even return at all. A lot of my friends have been gone for years now with no sign of coming back.