Getting Home Late (Riku, then others maybe)

((PM if you want in and have an entrance planned. This is storyline mostly. I have been working on this post for days. Lemme know what you think, okay?))

Getting Home Late

Kairi tried to be as quiet as she could as she crept up the steps to her parent's house. She was way past curfew but with the big decision today, and then the beach, and then Riku's house, and then going to Twilight Town and the fight that found them there . . . it was very late, or early as the case might be.

She had just gotten the side door through the kitchen closed and locked again and was turning around to sneak up to her room when the lights suddenly flipped on and she was momentarily blinded. When her eyes cleared she saw both her parents standing in the kitchen looking at her with identical expressions of anger and frustration. Her mother was wearing a robe over her nightgown and had her arms crossed, one finger tapping an unsteady rhythm against her sleeve. Her father was in his pajamas and he was frowning.

Her mother started things off quickly enough. Somehow, she always did. "Where have you been, young lady? Do you know what time it is?"

Kairi sighed. All she wanted was to go to bed. She was exhausted after everything that had happened. And so much had happened in just one day already. "Yes, Mother, I know. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

Her father, the mayor, frowned deeper. "You didn't answer the question, Kairi. Where were you?"

Kairi couldn't tell them about Twilight Town, or the Mansion and what she went through there, or the fighting just outside it. There wasn't really much of anything she could tell them. "Out. Okay? I was out with Sora and Riku this afternoon and things just sorta happened. I just want to go to bed, can this wait until later?"

She wasn't expecting the look her parents gave each other. Her mother spoke very clearly. "Kairi, where did you get that necklace?" There was a careful note in her voice that spoke of dangerous territory.

Kairi's hand went up to touch the necklace. She really didn't want to discuss this right now, but she didn't have much of a choice. "Riku gave it to me."

Her mother's eyes narrowed. "And what did Sora have to say about that? Why are you wearing it if Riku gave it to you? Are you trying to hurt Sora?" Her voice got louder and more shrill with each question.

Kairi winced. Hurting Sora was not something she had ever wanted to do, and the very reason the choice had been left unmade for so long. She had hurt him, though, by leaving things unresolved between the three of them. "Sora knows, Mom. I . . ." her voice faded slightly, "I made my choice between them today and I chose Riku."

For a moment there was stunned silence in the kitchen, and then Kairi's mother turned on her father. "I warned you! I warned you that this was what would happen if we let her associate with that good-for-nothing! Sora comes from a good family, a good background; he would have been a good match for her! And she's going to throw her life away on some . . . some orphan!"

Her father harrumphed. He never raised his voice and raged like her mother did. "Riku's a good kid, Myra. He's taking care of himself quite well, especially since he came back after wherever he had vanished to. I thought that Kairi and Sora would be a good influence on him." He sighed, somewhat sadly, "Besides, she has years to go before anything serious happens."

Kairi shook her head. "No, I made my choice. He's all I want. He's all I'll ever want. I didn't ever want Sora the way I want Riku."

Her mother rounded on her. "You foolish girl! You don't know what you want! You don't know what's good for you! You're just a stupid little girl! I know what's best! I forbid you to ever see this Riku, ever again! I am going to get this foolishness out of your head once and for all!"

She grabbed Kairi by the back of the neck and started to pull her further into the house. "In the morning, your father is going to see that Riku is sent far away from here and you are grounded until he's gone. And then you are going to send an apology to Sora. You are going to tell him that this was all a terrible mistake and that you have changed your mind. I hope for your sake that he chooses to accept it."

Kairi yelled back. "You can't! Sora's as much Riku's friend as he is mine! You can't hurt him like that!"

"I can and I will."

For a moment, Kairi felt helpless against her mother. She didn't want to be locked in a tower-room like Cinderella or bound in sleep like Aurora or Snow White, or locked in a cellar like Belle. She didn't want to be held prisoner in her parent's house while Riku braved who knew what all her father could throw at him to keep him from getting her back. She didn't want to stand helpless as he fought the battles for her, because she knew that he would. He would fight them and he would win, but at what cost? She felt the shard in her heart flare to life. She was not as helpless as the other Princesses. She did not have to wait for rescue. She was not going to wait for rescue.

She bent and twisted and pulled herself out of her mother's grasp, and then winced at a flash of pain from around her neck as something metallic fell to the floor. The room was silent as she bent to pick up the necklace and saw that the chain had been broken by her mother's grasp. Her neck stung slightly where the chain had broken the first layer of skin as it was pulled. She held the necklace in one hand and faced her parents, a new expression on her face. One they had never seen before.

But they had not seen Kairi since she had faced her own heart to learn to use her Keyblade, since she had been forced to choose between two friends who meant more to her than her own life, since she had been on a battlefield as monsters came running because she was born of Light and because she was a Princess of Heart.

There was darkness in her mother, well-meaning, but darkness none-the-less. She had no intention of actually hurting either of them, but she wasn't going to let them hurt her or Riku, not because of her choice. "No." The tone of her voice was completely new to them.

Her father frowned again. "Kairi, sweetheart, be reasonable. This is for your own good."

She shook her head. "No, this isn't about my good; this is about my mother and her ideas. I am not going to be her puppet to play with any longer. I am not going to live the life she planned for me. I am going to find my own happiness and listen to my own heart."

Her mother started to say something and she shook her head. "No, Mother, don't say it. I know where I came from and I know why I'm here. I know who and what I am, even if you do not. Riku is a better man than you give him credit for being, a stronger man. He and Sora have done what neither of you had the strength to do."

She took a step backwards, away from them and towards the front door. She had the room to move in the living room so she held her empty hand out and called her Keyblade to her. Both of her parents gasped in surprise; they'd never seen one before. King Mickey had been adamant in the beginning that the repression of memories following the attack of the Heartless be left unaltered, so none of the three had ever spoken to any of the adults around them about Keyblades or the other worlds. "Riku gave me this, too," she told them, "and then I had to use it to defend my own life, my own heart." She met their eyes. "After tonight, you won't have to worry about either of us again."

She turned and took three steps, then tapped the end of the Keyblade against the front door. It unlocked and swung open for her and she walked out into the darkness.

---
Her eyes were blurry with tears when she finally reached Riku's house. She didn't know what to expect when she got there, but she knew that he would understand. He, of all people, would understand.

She turned the corner and looked at the house for a moment. She was prepared to summon the Keyblade again to unlock a door or a window if she had to, but she would much prefer to find a light on so that he could open the door for her. She supposed that Shadow could even find a way to unlock the door if he needed to. And she had no doubt that Shadow would welcome her back even if Riku were already asleep.

She took a deep breath. Time to face the consequences of her choice.

Riku laid there, in the dark, rethinking the day's events. he would, eventually, have to make it up to Sora. He had been acting cold to his friend today, and he didn't want to drive any more of a wedge between them. Shadow snored gently at his feet, sleeping like the dead. Today had been a good day for his furry friend; He had, finally, gotten to meet the person Riku was always telling him about. Images of milkbones and cats to chase dancing through his head, Shadow was oblivious to the presence that had just arrived at the front door. Riku slowly got off the couch, and crept to the front door in complete darkness, his eyes well-adjusted to the darkness. His mind flashed through several possibilities as he crouched by the door; Exdeath, come here for some unknowable evil plot? Sora, here to talk about what had happened? Terra, his new friend? A nameless robber? he remembered well the last time his house had been ransacked, and he wasn't going to let anything like that happen again.

Riku's Keyblade materialized, and Riku grasped it tightly, his knuckles white around the hilt, his face set in a grim slash. Riku counted off three seconds, then kicked open the door, the tip of Way th the Dawn darting out first, a plot to drie back any would-be attackers. As he rounded the corner, Dark Orb already charging up at the tip, his eyes landed on Kairi, standing there in the gloom, tears in her eyes, a broken expression on her normally-beautiful face. In a flash, his mouth went from the feral snarl to a deep frown, and he banished his keyblade, rushing over to Kairi.

"Kairi! What the hell are you doing here? I thought you went home. Why are you crying? What happened? Who did it. Tell me who made you cry, Kairi, and I swear I'll make them regret ever being born!"

Riku, calming down, quickly looked over her; no physical damage. This, it seemed, was purely emotional damage. Shadow's worried face poked out from the corner of the doorway; The pup was, obviously, concerned about what was going on, and wondered why his sleep was disturbed. He saw the looks on Kairi's and Riku's faces, and instantly got it; Something had happened to Kairi, and Riku was angry about it. Riku sighed, and, in a gentle tone of voice, suggested that they go inside.

"Kairi? Come on, Kairi, calm down and tell me what happened. Let's go inside, it's still early, we can talk inside where it's warmer. What's wrong? You look terrible."

Riku gently herded her inside, back onto the couch they had shared earlier, which was still warm from where Riku had been lying on it. Riku sat down next to her, and looked her over, once again, making sure she was unhurt. As his gaze slid across her neck, he stopped; The necklace was missing. And there was a faint mark, invisible in the gloom outside, marring her smooth throat. Suddenly, it clicked; he had met Kairi's parents, before. They had disliked him immensely, and seemed to prefer Sora. It was rather obvious why she was here, and why she was so upset.

"Kairi? What happened between you and your parents? This could be very bad, so please, explain it to me. It seems I'm going to have to have a little chat with your parents. What they did was disgusting, hurting their daughter this way. They can do whatever they want to me, but laying a hand on you is something I won't forgive."

Riku's eyes, as he said this, were hard and cold; He was more than capable of punishing her parents as he saw fit. Hurting him he could deal with, but hurting Kairi was an unforgivable offense.

Kairi collapsed into tears the moment Riku opened the door. It took her several minutes to collect herself enough to say anything at all. She held out her hand and showed him the necklace where she was carrying it inside a fist so tightly clenched that there were dimples in her palm where the edges had been pressing.

"They were going to try to lock me away. M-mother said that they were going to m-make sure that you could never see me again. They were going to send you away somewhere and make sure you couldn't come back. I – I wasn't going to be like the other Princesses. I w-wasn't going to let them make me a prisoner while you fought to get to me b-because I know you would." She hiccupped lightly through the tears. "I think King Mickey's going to be upset with me. I –" she paused slightly, "I used my Keyblade to unlock the door when I left. I didn't attack them, or hurt them, but I wasn't going to let them hurt you."

She looked up and met his eyes in the darkness of the house. "I don't know what they can do to you because of me. My father's the mayor and Mother can make him do things, I think. I just don't know what. I know . . . I know that I'm not going back there. Not to my mother and her awful ideas about what is or is not proper. Not to a house that might as well be a dungeon or a prison tower. I am not going to be a puppet for my mother to pull strings and make me dance to her tune."

Tears started falling again, but there was a fierce note to her voice. "I am not going back there. I'm not." She sniffled momentarily and hiccupped twice. "I'm not going to give you up, not for anything." She looked down at her hand and started crying again. At least half the reason she was as weepy as she was had to be because she was exhausted to the bone. "And she broke the necklace. My mother broke the necklace when I pulled myself loose from her."

Riku hugged her closer, trying to comfort her. At the same time, he had to calm himself; Every word cut into his heart. It was his fault. If it wasn't for him, her parents wouldn't have done this. Without him, Kairi wouldn't be crying. Without him, Kairi wouldn't be unwelcome in her own home. It was all his fault; he didn't deserve Kairi, and even her parents could see that.

"Kairi... I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. If it wasn't for me, this would never have happened. Without me, you wouldn't be holding that keyblade, putting yourself in danger. Without me, you never would have been hurt by your parents like this. I'm.... I'm no good for you, Kairi."

Riku's arms around her went totally limp as he said this, before stiffening with fresh resolve. It was his fault. But, he wasn't going to give up. Not now. It was his fault, so he would fix it. He could do nothing else. He would do what was best for Kairi, no matter the cost.

"Kairi, I swear to you, I'll set things right. I'm going to have to talk with your parents. If they think they can send me away from you, they're dead wrong. This is my house, on my land. Since you can't go back home, you can sleep in my room. I don't sleep that often, so it's no real big deal to me. And... If they try to take you away from me.... I'll have no choice except to fight. I'm not going to let them ruin this. I've loved you since the day I met you, and I'm not going to let anyone, even your parents, take you away from me. But, for now, we have to see if we can avert this. Is there any possible way we could get your parents to change their minds? I certainly hope so. I don't want to have to do anything drastic. I gave up my soul to be with you. They think something like this could keep us apart? Not so long as I breathe."

Riku's eyes, as he looked into Kairi's, were hard and cold. He would fight for her, to keep her by his side. He would kill for her, to stay with her. He would rather die than be separated from her again.

Kairi felt his arms lose their strength and she wanted nothing more than to shout that he was not to blame for her parents' idiocy. She buried her face in his shoulder and wished that there were some magical words that would make everything better.

She sniffled. "When will you understand? The Keyblade you gave me is the only reason I am not locked in that house, a prisoner to wait helpless for death or rescue. Without you, who would have guarded me while my heart was elsewhere? Without you, how would I have escaped those who thought to use me as bait to hurt Sora?" She looked him straight in the eyes, not letting him look away. "Riku, you are the most wonderful thing in my life. Without you I would be miserable, dancing to my mother's twisted tune of propriety. I don't want . . ." she sighed, "I don't want a life without you."

She leaned against him again, willing herself to relax and trust that somehow, everything would work out. "I don't know if my mother can be reasoned with. My father . . . maybe. He's not like Mother. He doesn't have her ideas. We . . . might can . . . talk to him." She yawned very large and fought to keep her eyes open.

"You know, as awful as it is sometimes, eventually the princesses get their Happily Ever After. We just have to survive all the stuff until then. It just seems like an awful lot of stuff is getting thrown at us all at once." She sighed, chuckling softly. "I know that you aren't going to let them take me away from you. It's why I couldn't let them make me a prisoner. I knew that you would not simply let Mother send you away and have that be the end of it. I knew . . . that you would come for me. I just . . . didn't want to wait. I don't want to always be waiting for you to rescue me."

She sighed, her eyes starting to drift closed again against her best efforts. "I'm glad that I have you in my life."

Well, well, well... The little girl is crying because of her parents? What a baby... Well, you're not to be blamed after all what I saw today, he he!

From one moment to another, Exdeath was now standing at a distance of six meters from Riku and Kairi. He was looking at the scene, enjoying every second of this person's pain and sadness. It was what he liked to do, to see the eyes full of anger and sorrow of people, to see how they abandon the people they love for others, to see how they react when something bad happens to them. It was cruel and heartless, just like Exdeath was. This man was made of pure evil, and he only wanted other people for the exception of himself to live their lifes without hapiness and joy, which was imposible, yet he liked to see what was more near to that situation...

The man walked some steps forward, facing the two kids with his sky blue helm.

Yes, I was watching all your scene back there in your house, but I was surprised. I really thought you were to lock yourself in your room crying, girl!

It was true. Exdeath had been looking at the whole scene with Kairi and her parents, and followed her to Riku's place in order to see what he liked the most, and it was more enjoyable with the person that was suffering had her heart full of light, with almost no darkness inside. Was there anything better for a madman and chaotic ruler than him? Probably no, for the exception of certain things...

What? You don't want those people that call themselves your parents anymore? Are they too rude to you? That's how life is, girl. Respect it, and suffer in it! Oh, you would have seen the face of your mother... She broke in tears after you left that house. And your father, like an idiot, didn't know what to do. Oh, what a great family we have here!

Exdeath seemed to have no intentions on talking to Riku, but to only laugh at the situation of Kairi. This was going to last for a while, and considering the girl's state, she was probably going to explode at him.

Kairi burst into tears at the harsh and hurtful words that Exdeath threw at her. Whoever said that words would never hurt, had never had hurtful words slung their way. "How can you say such things?" Her voice was shrill, and thick with the tears that fell down her face. She physically cringed way from the armored man as she sat on the couch beside Riku.

She tried to wipe the tears away, but more followed just as quickly. "Of course I love my parents! But I am not going to let my mother make my decisions anymore! Never again! I love Riku, and I'm not letting go of him, not for anything!"

She collapsed on the couch, worn past endurance by all that she had gone through that day and the fact that it just never seemed to end. How much more would she have to endure before matters were calm again?

Exdeath was enjoying being there, and was about to burst in laughs to the girl when he had an idea. He was going to use it in a better ocation, but he didn't know if there was going to be another chance like this one. Exdeath gave some steps forward, looking at the tearful eyes of the young girl, almost laughing at how pathetical it looked. Exdeath was about to reach her, and even touch her, when he simply started to talk, not caring about the feelings of this pitful woman. He put all his fingers together in his hand, while saying to Kairi in the middle of her tears:

So you are saying that you won't let your mother take control of your life again... That you are going to be with this brat forever. Well, seems fair. And like it seems your mother is never going to leave you in peace, I'll just help you out... In my way!!!

When he said the last words, his hand opened and was moved violently to Exdeath's left side, not hitting anything, but something more dangerous happened. A wide explosion was heard from far away, exactly where Kairi's house was supposed to be. In fact... The explosion was produced right inside Kairi's house, and it was wide enough to blow almost anything into pieces. The fire was coming out from everywhere, and even some part of it was now transforming into dust several kind of plants that were around.

Exdeath following laugh was heard from many meters away, as he was enjoying this more than anything.

((*sigh* I need to get this moving again. Sorry for the length, not much to say right now.))

The sound of the explosion shook the house and Kairi screamed. She didn't know how she did it. She didn't know if she would ever be able to move that quickly again without stumbling over her own feet, as tired as she was, but she ran outside to look in the direction of her parent's house and saw the light from the fire, and heard the wailing of sirens beginning to sound as the trucks started to react to the explosion.

"NOOOO!"

She looked at Riku, grief warring with fear warring with desperation in her eyes. "I have to help them. I . . . I have to. No matter what they've done, or tried to do, they're still my parents. I have to." She was so tired that she was repeating herself, but she was not going to let herself collapse while her parents were in danger.

((EDIT: Because of real life issues, and the resulting lack of creative energies, this thread is being put on hiatus until further notice. Role-play will continue, though, in other threads. The explosion will remain, but the results will be that Kairi no longer lives with her parents. Thank you, and have a good day.))