District Delivery {Riku}

[Dane Cahal]

Whoever had the bright idea to actually LIVE in the second district of town was either stupid, or outright crazy. Not that this man couldn't handle anything that got in his way, but actually having a busy going in this area was inconvenient for everyone. Although Dane grumbled to himself about this, he was getting payed to deliver the crate he was carrying, being one of the few people that could put up with going here. It wasn't like he could simply get another job either, and he supported his son and himself just fine. Easing the crate under one arm, the man closed the oversized door behind him, as to not let any wandering Heartless into the first district. Granted, those things probably would at one point or another anyways, but the logic that Heartless don't open doors was strange, yet convenient.

Turning back around, Dane began his walk to the other end of the district. He first made a right, and at the corner had to make a left due to that was the only direction to go in. This caused him to walk past a couple of stores, none of which the man payed much attention to. Right now wasn't the time to browse, nor was that really a pastime of his to begin with. Once he got to the stairs leading down into the courtyard, he let out an irritable grunt as he nearly dropped the crate he was carrying. "Damn these stairs.."[/color], he thought to himself as he walked down. After he did so, now came the time where he was on alert a bit more. Getting ambushed was never a good thing, especially when he had to carry something like a crate around. There wouldn't have been any place he could have put it down in a situation like that.

Looking at the crate he was carrying, he took a good look at the sticker that showed where he was supposed to drop it off. Upon reading it closely, the man stopped next to the alleyway that would lead to the third district. Scowling at what he was reading, the man said irritably,"Damnit!" Apparently, he had to go even further into the third district, making the past few minutes a complete waste of time. If Dane had read it before, he could've simply just gone through the door that connected the first and third districts, dropped off this stupid crate, go back, and get his money. He rolled his eyes as he turned to start walking down the alleyway. For all he knew something was going to interfere with him getting to his destination, thus causing Dane to only become more irritable. He needed something that would let him calm down, and it was quite obvious he wasn't going to be friendly... well, moreso than usual.[/size]

[riku]

Traverse Town should have been one of the first places that Riku had checked and yet the idea of heading the world that was the home for the homeless had never managed to cross his mind. When he had first found himself tossed out from the Islands and first found himself wandering all the worlds alone the keyblader had only gone to the world once and only under Maleficent’s suggestion. Afterward, when the worlds that had previously been cast into darkness had been restored, he had seen no reason to return to it. Quite frankly Riku had assumed that the world would have just up and vanished itself since there was no longer any reason for it, though apparently that wasn’t the case.

It wasn’t the case because, most likely, there were still plenty of worlds that needed to be restored that simply hadn’t been. Especially as of late with everything happening with, with-

Stop. Thinking. About that. All the goddamn time!

The silver-haired teen let out a small sigh as he walked into the second district. Shops galore seemed to line the areas, along with a hotel and something that almost looked like a church. I didn’t know that people here were religious. Which was kind of a weird thought. Was he religious? It was hard to believe in a god after going to so many different worlds and see so many different gods already (Mount Olympus, he was looking at them) but that didn’t rule out the concept of there being something higher that was watching over them. After all, the so-called gods of Olympus were no stronger than a keyblader and certainly a real god would be so much stronger. Though, if there was a real god, why would they allow for all of… all of this to happen?

Because most likely there isn’t a god. Or if there is a ‘god’ it’s probably just the light. Or something. Kingdom Hearts. The teen paused to look down at his right hand. It’s neither good nor bad. It’s just whatever you make of it. That sounds like a god to me. In the end, isn’t it always just what someone makes of it…?

The teen could have easily allowed for himself to stay lost in his thoughts for awhile, and if it hadn’t been for the sudden flicker of movements he had seen most likely that would have been what had happened. As it was, though, Riku caught something moving along the edge of his peripheral vision. Something tall, almost like a man, and carrying something…? What? When he looked up, though, it was gone.

No wait, not entirely gone. There was something – somethings – still there, slipping their way along the cobble streets. Black and inky and at first Riku thought they were shadows, only when they surfaced they looked more like rabbits than the small ant-ish heartless. What are you…? It wasn’t hard to guess that they were no good, and with any hesitation he summoned his keyblade before running forward. With ease the keyblade hopped over the wall behind the fountain and landed easily in a half-crouch before running after the strange creatures.

Words:: 527
Notes:: I hope this makes sense ><

[Dane Cahal]

The first portion of the alleyway to the third district wasn't too eventful, and the tall man simply turned again to continue heading down the alley. Adjusting the crate under his arm, once more Dane grumbled irritably to himself. Whatever was inside this crate, most likely food or something of that sort, enjoyed shifting around so that he lost his grip every so often, causing the man bother with it again. Thankfully he was almost at his destination, as he looked up and saw the door at the other end of the alleyway. On the stretch he was on, Dane was halfway to the door already. However, the man soon stopped in his tracks, and he scowled again. Sniffing the air once, he began to figure out that he wasn't alone, and nearby was some unpleasant things he would much rather not have to deal with at this time.

Hearing sounds of feet shifting about rapidly, Dane turned his body so that he could easily look up and down the alleyway. Before he forgot to do so, the man stepped back towards the wall behind him, and carefully set the crate next to the wall. If he had to fight with unwanted guests, he may as well not have anything weighing him down. From the corner he previously turned from, the man saw a few creatures rushing around it. Even though the midgits were of a blue color with red eyes, he immediately figured these things as Heartless. Whether or not the man was right or wrong was a completely different story altogether. All Dane's instincts told him was to fight, and fight he would! While facing the ones that had rushed around the corner, he immediately caught sight of a few trying to ambush him from behind.

"Get outta here!", he yelled irritably at the creatures, despite the fact that they couldn't talk back. If anything this was a trait that Dane actually enjoyed, since it would result in his temper not rising more than it should. Without any need to wait longer, one of the creatures lept at the man, trying to strike with its pathetic, little arm. In response, Dane curled his right hand into a fist, and punched it right in the head. Apparently, this thing was weak enough so that it vanished in one fell swoop. Maybe this wouldn't take too long after all, even though these blue creatures came in a swarm. Hearing a rush from behind, the man took his left elbow, turned his head, and slammed the elbow into another one of the little freaks. From there, the ones that had gotten in close would soon have punches thrown at them, and Dane wasn't going to hold back.

Because he was focused on remaining in one area, what he assumed were Heartless had begun surrounding him, and as such began to take a few hits. These strikes didn't really do anything, however, as Dane was a pretty tough guy. Annoyed at this attempt, he turned his body, and began focusing his strength into his arms and hands, even when he was being struck. A few moments later, the man outstretched his arms and spun in a 360 degree circle, using his 'Blowback Lariat' trick. The creatures that were attempting to leap onto the man would be slammed by his arms, and likely defeated as well. However, there were other creatures that had been slammed into by their allies being knocked back, and since it wasn't enough to defeat them, were simply forced to be pushed back. This gave Dane some distance, although there were still other things to get rid of.

[riku]

The first thing that Riku noticed when his keyblade swiped through one of the strange rabbit-esq creatures was that they were not that strong. They definitely weren’t shadows but the ease in which they were killed reminded the silver-haired teen of the weak heartless. All it really took was one good hit from the keyblade and the creatures seemed to start to fall apart, allowing for the ‘blade’ to continue on through. There was no body left behind as they seemed to just melt into an inky blackness that disappeared into the street surface and any mark that might have been left behind was consumed in a small darkly-covered fire that seemed to consume the rest of their existence.

The second thing that he noticed was that these creatures were most definitely not heartless. At least they weren’t any of the branded heartless that had plagued their journey before. There was no sign of any heart being released as they evaporated back into nothingness but it was painfully obvious that they were not normal beings. The feeling of the darkness was almost palpable around them and Riku couldn’t help but grimace as the cut through the ones that had cropped up in the center courtyard area. What… what are these things? Why are they even here…?

Just another mystery to be added to the pile of mysteries that they needed to untangle and solve to move forward. Great.

The ones in the courtyard were quick to either die or vanish and Riku didn’t even have enough time to work up a sweat. The keyblader almost felt disappointed at this fact when he remembered that most of them had seemed to be darting down the alleyway leading to the third district. This was followed almost immediately by a voice, an irritated man shouting “Get outta here!” Oh, damn…

Riku allowed for his keyblade to vanish as he turned to run down the alleyway. Instead of risking exposing the weapon to someone who had no business even knowing that it existed he chose to turn to magic. It wasn’t his strong suit but creatures seemed weak enough that the most basic of spells would be able to take them out. The palm of his right hand grew cold and then rapidly frigid as he found himself approaching a much older man backed into a corner. The man seemed to be standing in front of something to protect it and the worst case scenario popped into the keyblader’s head - There’s a child back there and he’s trying to make sure they stay safe.

It seemed that he had already managed to take out most of the creatures that had gone after him, and with a swipe of his hand Riku released the built-up spell, casting ice fragments out. The spell had a small radius but the alleyway was cramped enough to make it so that the remaining creatures were easily impaled with the small icicles. The ice shattered when it impacted with the ground and the creatures burned away, leaving no trace behind.

“Are you okay?” Aquamarine eyes darted to the older man for a moment before Riku half-shifted to look behind himself. He didn’t want to leave himself exposed to the stranger on the off chance that he was just as, if not more dangerous, nor did he want to leave himself open to more of the strange creatures. “Do you know what those things were?”

Words:: 575
Notes:: Derp

[Dane Cahal]

Knocking out, more demolishing, another one of the creatures with a well aimed punch, the man was ready to just go all out at this point. Well he would, if not for the fact that as soon as he went for another kill, what appeared to be an ice based spell zoomed out of nowhere, getting rid of whatever creatures that remained in the alleyway. Sure he was naturally a stubborn guy, meaning Dane was about to yell at someone that he could've taken care of it, but today he didn't feel like yelling for a reason like that. The quicker he got done delivering the crate, the better off he would have been. Although for a moment, his mind wandered to who the caster of the spell was, and for some reason thought it was his son who had done so. Looking to see who had done it, the man was about to say something until he realized that... it wasn't his son.

Apparently the person that cast the spell was some silver haired teenager. Despite the fact that the man didn't know this kid, he at least was content with the fact that the kid seemed to be able to handle himself in a fight, at the very least. Now wasn't the time to worry about that, as the same teenager had begun to speak up. However, Dane frowned irritably when asked if he was okay. The most real damage that was done to him was a few rips on his shirt, and possibly a scratch here and there, "Kid, does look like I'm injured?" Grumbling to himself again, the man turned around to pick up the crate again. He made sure to adjust the crate so that he could carry it underneath his arm easily. Right now he wanted nothing to do with the silver haired teenager, and so instead of just yelling at the boy, Dane merely ignored him.

That is, until another question was brought up, one that irritated the man. Who was this kid thinking that the man was just a walking encyclopedia about everything?! Not to say that Dane was by any means stupid, but it's not like he knew everything. Looking back at the silver haired teenager, he retorted, "Probably some other damn variation of Heartless! Don't ask me!" As soon as he was finished with his response, the man began walking towards the third district once again. Quite frankly Dane wasn't going to be a boat load of information, if the silver haired kid hadn't already guessed. Even though he continued walking while ignoring the teenager, this man was on alert even more. Just from catching a few more scents in the air, there were more of those creatures around. Granted, at the moment none of them seemed to be coming after them.

Aside from one that was probably doing something completely stupid as it appeared out of the air right in front of this man. It was yet another blue looking creature, although resembled something closer to a Soldier Heartless due to the humanoid appearance. Rushing at Dane, apparently it was going to attack, which caused the man to, as expected by this point, grumble irritably. He wasn't going to bother putting the crate down, seeing as how it was only one this time. Just as the creature got close to the man, Dane used his free hand, which at the time was his right hand, to grab the thing by the head, and slam it into the wall nearby. After that, he formed the same hand into a fist, and then punched the creature fiercely to eliminate the thing. Once he was done with that, Dane arrived at the door to the third district, and opened it to walk into said district. If that silver haired kid followed, well, his temper was not going to be too pleasant.

[riku]

Even though he hadn’t fought off the strange creatures in any sort of attempt to gain praise from the stranger, Riku wasn’t going to deny that he expected some sort of ‘thanks’ in return for helping him. After all, he doubted it was every day that a stranger popped out from nowhere to help a person defend against the heartless or- or whatever it was that the creatures were. They’re not heartless. Definitely not. Which was a brand new mystery that the keyblader was going to have to unravel, but not at the moment. At the moment he just needed to make sure that they hadn’t hurt anyone-

“Kid, does it look like I’m injured?”

… and apparently they didn’t. Aquamarine eyes blinked in confusion as Riku found himself just staring almost blankly ahead at the older man. He couldn’t quite figure out what part of that man’s rather curt statement upset him the most, the fact that he was just brushing off his help so easily or the fact that he had called him kid. The silver-haired teen – er, man – had yet to wrap his mind around the fact that several years had passed for him in nothing more than a blink of an eye, but there was no denying that he looked older. A bit taller, a bit more rugged – the word teenager barely seemed to describe him anymore and kid… Really? Did you really just call me kid?

Okay. Well then. Apparently that was what upset him the most.

The man’s next statement was no kinder than the first and Riku found himself just starting to grow annoyed with how he was acting. “Sorry I thought that someone from around here might actually know what was going on.” The keyblader didn’t even bother to hide his irritation as he just frowned at the other man. It wasn’t hard to see that he had probably been in the middle of doing something when the creatures had attacked, and that he was intent on getting back to whatever job he had, but the silver-haired teen found himself hard-pressed to care. Next time I’ll just ignore it when I see the strange alien creatures heading toward a target. Well no, not really but he would still think it.

Before Riku could open his mouth to snap off something he would undoubtedly regret another one of the strange creatures appeared. It resembled one of the soldier heartless but, just like the rabbit-like ones, the keyblader couldn’t see any sign of the emblem on its body. It had the same ‘feeling’ about it as well, making it obvious that it wasn’t just another heartless. What the hell- Before he could even react, though, the man reached out to grab the creature’s head. With barely a grunt he slammed it against the wall, killing it upon impact.

… Ha! Maybe I shouldn’t try to piss this guy off. Not that Riku really felt threatened by the display of strength the other had just shown, but it just seemed like the easier course of action. Getting into a fight would just be messy and complicated.

The man was starting to walk away, heading to the third district, and after a moment of pause Riku started after him, pursuing him doggedly. “Since there’s obviously more than just one of them around here you probably should care. They’re not heartless and they’re not a variation of them; they’re something completely different. And why are you here just carrying boxes around if you’re that strong? Couldn’t you do a lot more…?” The silver-haired teen allowed for his voice to trail off instead of finishing his thoughts. Couldn’t you do a lot more out in the worlds? A fair enough question, but at the moment Riku couldn’t quite remember what the current rules were regarding worldly travel. Am I allowed to say that or not?

Words:: 647
Notes:: Dero

[Dane Cahal]

From his apparent focus on his job, the man didn't seem to care about the silver haired guy's irritation. As long as Dane wasn't bothered any longer by the random person who just so happened to be there to help out, he wouldn't think on it. But as stubborn as this man was, it seemed that other people were probably just as stubborn. The guy who the man insisted on referring to as 'kid' had rushed after the man, and a growl of sorts came from Dane's throat. Having his back to the door now, which left it open more or less, he turned slightly to look down at this stranger. At this very moment his temper began to rise some more, being very much close to a 'pissed off' stage of anger. Especially since the first part of the kid's statement only stated the obvious. These creatures hardly backed off once they started coming.

"If ya know those things aren't Heartless, then what makes you think some random guy is gonna know what those things really are?!", he retorted, as he began to put the much shorter 'man' under the 'lack of common sense' list that was in some part of his mind. Okay, so the fact that those creatures weren't Heartless was a little useful for future reference. Right now Dane was really considering various ways to let off some steam, and perhaps lower his risk of a heart attack. Surprisingly enough, the man has never had a heart attack yet due to his short temper. The last part of the kid's statement made the man cock an eyebrow, partially in his typical, irritable way, and partially in curiousity. He shook his head though, thinking the silver haired guy was nuts, "None of yer dang business kid. Don't ya have anything better to do?"

Without giving another word, the man simply just turned back around and entered the third district. A few more steps and he would just drop off the crate, head back, and get his money. Once he took a few steps inside the district though, he stopped and sniffed the air once more. Glaring at the railing on the opposite side of the door, two of the same creatures that resembled Soldiers hopped over the railing, ready to give a fight. Dane went to set the crate down again, but the moment he turned, out of nowhere did a third of this same kind of blue creature had appeared, and stole the crate right out from beneath the man. How the man didn't catch the scent of this one he didn't know, and the creature was apparently fast enough to run away with the crate, leaving Dane to deal with the other two, "HEY! GET BACK HERE YA BASTARD!"[/color]

His temper had risen to levels nobody should have seen, and Dane simply charged at the two blue creatures, and grabbed them both. Once he had one in each hand, the man slammed the two of them together, then turned around and threw them at a wall. Upon impact, these two creatures were destroyed as well, now leaving the man to go after the one that stole the crate. He didn't hesitate to give chase either, and he promptly rushed down the stairs leading into the courtyard area of the third district. On one end of the the district in front of the alleyway where the Zero District was, a large pile of boxes and crates blocked the way. Quite frankly, it was more than likely someone else put those there, as the man doubted these creatures were that strong to put something like that together quickly.

However, the moment Dane spotted the one creature that stole the crate, which was running up the path that went behind the fountain, more of the creatures showed up to block the man's path. Aside from the two kinds that were spotted previously, another sort of the creatures was with them. This time, these blue creatures were rather close in appearance to Large Body Heartless, although these looked smaller than Large Bodies. In any case, another growl of sorts came from Dane's throat as he prepared to take all of these creatures on. Being outnumbered meant nothing to the man, since he saw how weak they really were,"I dare all of you to take me down!"[/color][/size]