Stress-laden Descent [Tag: Kairi]

"Shit... shit!" Ragna swore, running. Whatever those shadows were, he had appeared to have outrun them for now. Despite that, he kept going for a little bit longer. He wanted to be sure, to be 100% certain that they were gone. His mind was racing after what had just happened. Terumi... that bastard had created the thing on his arm? No... there were more pressing matters to think about. Whatever creating Noel did, it most have caused this to happen. He didn't know where he was, what those things had been, or anything about anything going on right now.

Grinding to a halt at last, he doubled over on his knees, breathing heavily. "Noel..." She had become... that. Mu-12? What a joke. Like hell could he ever accept something like that. Like hell! That bastard, Terumi... when he got his hands on Terumi, no more tricks. He would just kill the asshole. Or, he would... he knew he couldn't, as things were. Terumi had a life link with Noel, so he couldn't kill him until that was broken. The last thing he wanted was Noel dead at his hands when the only person he needed to finish off was the serpentine asshole.

Looking around him, he... he had no idea where he was. Somewhere along the way, he had gotten lost, or something... "Where the hell am I...?" It was a place that wasn't incredibly bright. There was flowing water here, as well; Ragna was stood to the side of it, walking by it. "Tch... I really should watch where I'm going." Last time he ran headfirst into a situation and place without paying attention to where he was going, he'd been conned out of a meal by a little kid calling him a paedophile.

Ragna barely had to walk before he came to an opening. The water seemed to gather here, similarly to a pond; Ragna took a moment to stop and sit down. There were other entrances here, but he... needed a moment. "What the hell were those things? Little black bastards... if he has a BlazBlue..." Maybe that was something Hazama could do with it? Ragna swore again in his head. There was so much going on right now in his head, so many things to consider. The idea that this may not be Kagutsuchi at all wasn't even in his head.

The lost man sat at the edge of the water, putting his palm on his forehead. Where the hell was Rachel...

this time, i'll protect you!

K

airi was on break. It had been fun training with Sora for the day. But.... he and Riku had responsibilities to the world's now. It wasn't like when they were kids on the islands anymore. They had to stem the darkness wherever it reached, so they coudn't really stay in one place for to long. She supposed that would be her burden to once her training was done... Sora and Riku never had the opportunity to train properly. What they had learned they learned fighting for their lives and to her shame often fighting to save her. She supposed that was part of the reason She was training so formally to begin with. One part calling from Master Yen Sid, Two parts refusal from a certain pair of boys to put her in danger. She could understand their feelings sure, but that didn't lessen her desire to guard their backs any. Reminding herself of this minor irritation she decided to go to the waterway to clear her mind. That place always reminded her of her and Sora's secret spot and by extension always helped her keep a clear head about things. This time when she went down there however... things were different.
Since Leon and his crew left for their home the waterway was almost always empty aside from Kairi's frequent visits. But this time a rather... rough looking character stood at the water's edge. At first she summoned her keyblade to her side out of habit. She didn't know this person, for all she knew he could have been one of Xehanort's flunkies spying on them or something!

This suspicion would lessen quite a bit upon realizing the older male had zero idea what even the heartless were. Heartless were frequent in Traverse Town.... had this man recently... lost his home? The look of suspicion she held changed to one of worry. This man would be lost, possibly alone. Kairi wasn't yet ready to bare the more hands on responsibility of being a keyblade wielder but... she could handle the other stuff, in her mind it was one of her duties to help people cast from their home by darkness-even if they were a few years older than her.

Dismissing her keyblade she approached the mercenary like man in his brooding. She gently tapped him on the shoulder, doing her best not to startle him. (Because coming from behind totally dosn't have that effect)

"Excuse me sir... are you all right? You... seem troubled"

She could feel that much, she couldn't feel all his pain of course... but negative emotions had their root in darkness-it was with her light she could feel that darkness, if only in small amounts.

She remembered what happened to Riku, no one should have to deal with that kind of darkness alone.

♥ thanks tia!

Almost already having decided to get up and go somewhere, Ragna felt a small hand tap on his shoulder. "...Huh?" He turned around and looked at the girl, getting up as he was more than ready for anything. With the way that young bounty hunter had dealt a blow like the one him and his doll had, he was more than ready for anything this time. It had taught him that you shouldn't underestimate someone over something like age, at least... if a kid could do something like that, who knew what power other types of people could end up wielding?



"Nothin' you need to worry about, kid. Mind telling me what part of Kagutsuchi this is?"



Now that he looked, something felt... off about this girl. She didn't feel like the usual riff-raff he encountered in Hierarchical Cities. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it reminded him of when he'd had his run-in with that white-clad freak that had assaulted him. Something felt odd, though it didn't feel like it was in exactly the same way or anything. Regardless, he kept his guard up, ready in case she decided to pull something. You could barely even tell with people... he supposed he couldn't exclude himself from that, either. Still, he didn't have beef with anyone outside of the NOL, and wouldn't act like he did.



After all, it wasn't like he was looking to draw attention to himself. Still, he had a feeling that this girl was going to push now that he'd called her a kid... judging by some of his more recent engagements, he regretted saying it already.



He'd find out soon, he guessed.

this time, i'll protect you!

"Nothin' you need to worry about, kid. Mind telling me what part of Kagutsuchi this is?"

Kairi visibly twitched in annoyance at being called a 'kid' by someone who didn't even know her. Here she was trying care for a man CLEARLY lost, did he have to respond so rudely? A simple 'I don't want to talk about it' would have done fine! Still.... she wasn't really sure of a 'Kagutsuchi' or if Traverse Town was apart of it. She supposed their could be something beyond the large gate people tended to use as an exit via gummi ship but honestly attacks from the things was so frequent as is, she could only imagine how bad it would be out there. Certainly not stable enough for another settlement that could be the source of this Kagutsuchi ether.

The auburn haired girl gave a light sigh. How could she explain this to the older male? Even if he seemed a grumpy sour puss, that didn't mean he or the people from his world deserved it's destruction. Kairi knew the feeling of loss That came with that realization, she experienced it first hand with the islands. She supposed.... the easiest way to break it to him would be to treat it like a bandade-peel it off fast.

"Listen... sir... the people that end up in this town, their here because.... because they've all lost the world they call home..."

Except her, she, like the Yuffie and crew was lucky enough to have her world restored thanks to Sora's efforts. To be honest this wasn't a position she really like. No one liked to hear that their home was gone, that the place they were in now... was completely different. It was bad to be sure-the worst possible outcome.

So she supposed we coudn't blame him if he was still a little grumpy, Though he didn't seem the type to mope.

A lot like Riku in that respect to she supposed.

♥ thanks tia!

Ragna's regret was very nearly well-earned, he noticed the change in emotions Kairi had been wearing and waited for her to reply. Thankfully, she apparently decided not to push what he had said, which was downright shocking to him. He had expected her to respond in a big way, to yell at him. A bonus might have been that she would have gone away, he supposed? Didn't need the attention of someone like this while he prepared to get back at Terumi... it would just cause him problems. And a headache. Both things, probably.



Or, that's what he had thought.



When Kairi spoke next, he felt his eyes widen and his attention was focused pretty much solely on her. "...Huh?" He turned his head slowly, looking at her as it really started to sink in. "...What'd you say?" He responded rather aggressively, before doubling back on himself. "Wait a damn second, does that mean...?!" It wasn't a matter of Terumi summoning those creatures. It wasn't a matter of him having to go and find Terumi. Terumi had created Mu-12 successfully, and thus from that moment he had been moved here purposely because it was over. Mu-12 was going to go and destroy that Amaterasu that Terumi had mentioned. He was guaranteed the destruction of the world.



"So that means I'm gonna find more people from my "world" around, right?" He realised, upon asking this, that he was colossally missing a key point. "Woah woah woah, hold the hell up. You're tellin' me that there are multiple worlds?" Humanity in his world never really had the chance to search for these multiple worlds since they were pushed to the edge of extinction and had to recover and focus on the Earth and their own problems above all else, but this was definite news to him.



Of course... a ton of questions had arisen, and these weren't all of them. "If that's true... you gonna tell me where the hell I am, and who you are? You know an awful lot about this shit, unless you're flat-out lyin' to me." He didn't have anyone else around to ask, but he still doubted the legitimacy of this, if only a little.



Still, you had him for the most part.

this time, i'll protect you!

I

n response to the warrior's confused attempts to confirm her words Kairi simply gave a nod, her eyes downcast and unable to look at him directly. She HATED having to deliver this kind of news to people but unfortunately the Heartless had been consuming more and more worlds lately. As a result this duty had become an unfortunate routine for her during her stay in Traverse Town.

Not wanting to overwhelm the older man Kairi nodded a second at the man's realisation of multiple worlds. It was quite a lot to take in she knew. Couldn't they just be taught this stuff before hand...? Well she supposed not... not with how difficult it could be to go from world to world., well unless you could manipulate darkness she supposed, but that was out of the question for most-at least on the level needed. Kairi pointed towards the sky in an an attempt to get her point across to the man.

"Every star in the sky is another world, when one blinks out...."

She let the meaning of her words sink in for a moment, unable to actually state the implications herself. Their was no easy way to explain to someone that the place they called home their entire life.... was gone now.

"But yes, since this IS pretty much the gathering place for those kinda people... your friends will probaly end up here to sooner"

A more reassuring smile crossed the girls hair as she was able to confirm this for him. At least their was some positive feedback right? At least you still had the hope of seeing your friends again.

Annnnnd he didn't fully believe her, that was ok, It wasn't like someone wanted to just believe some stranger telling them their world had gone poor right? She truly wished she could tell the man that she was lying-That this was all just a cruel game she was playing to get some cheap sick thrill. She wished she could... but she couldn't, she couldn't lie to him like that.

"My name is Kairi, I know what it feels like to lose everything you once knew.... I've been through it to before. I... I'm sorry, I wish I could say this was all a joke or a weird dream but... it's not"

Kairi put one hand to her side and gave a light sigh to steady herself. She would never get used delivering this news, how could anyone?

"This is Traverse Town, like I said before it's where the people who lose their homes... end up"

She was so bad at this... but really could anyone be expected to be good at delevering this kind of news? 

♥ thanks tia!

Kairi's nod was a rather sullen one, and Ragna understood. Kairi looked upset by it, and it made the man think about it. Firstly, why was she getting so upset? It wasn't her world, it was his. She seemed as genuine as genuine got though, and as hardened as he acted, Ragna didn't like to have a crying girl on his conscience. Even if she didn't cry, she looked like she could start at any moment. He could be wrong, but she didn't seem to be trying to bait him into lowering his guard so she could gut him. Plus, even if she was, to try a story like this? She'd have to be the biggest idiot on the planet.

Ragna paid attention nonetheless as she pointed skyward, the ceiling blocking the view of the stars but him getting the message all the same. Each star in the sky was a world, huh? And when a light disappeared, it meant a world had been destroyed. He guessed he wasn't the only unlucky one after all... though his world had almost been completely rendered destroyed anyway. This just finished the deal - even then, the harsh dictatorship that remained of the world had been much less than pleasant to actually live in. Still, taking the world away from people just because of that, having it be destroyed? Like hell... he wouldn't ever get behind that. Wasn't that what he had been fighting for? Revenge, as well as to find and save Saya of course, but also to take out the NOL and release their grip on the world...

Still, his friends... he wasn't sure anyone he really stayed with was really his "friend". Maybe Taokaka... otherwise, he had a bit of an odd relationship. Being a wanted criminal tended to do that to you, even when you weren't a bad guy and other people saw that. Master status got in the way an awful lot. This world was probably a fresh a start as he would get, even if it ended up only being temporary. He didn't exactly have any plans to gossip about how wanted he had been, after all.

Hearing everything Kairi had to say, Ragna let out a sigh and softened his gaze a little. "Listen, uh, Kairi. Guess I'm not the best at introductions, it's been a while since I've had to do any of that crap..." Last time he'd had to introduce himself had been a long time ago... everyone had known his name afterward. "Name's Ragna the Bloodedge." Despite not liking to get involved in other matters, it was difficult to not say anything when she seemed so... upset in front of him like that. She hadn't tried anything, she had just seen him and explained something like that, and seemed seriously hurt by it.

"Calm down, calm down!" Ragna held his face in his hand for a second. What was he even doing... "Not gonna lie, that was a hell of a lot to take in." He still needed time to let some of what she had said sink in. Folding his arms, he kept talking. "Look, I'm not gonna get on your case for any of that crap about leadin' me astray, alright? Just... stop looking so down, will you? I get that it's sad news, and that'll probably hit me in a bit, but the last thing I need is something like that on my mind, too. I won't yell anymore, okay?" The ex-criminal resumed his usual pose and looked over at her, appearing rather calm himself. He'd be angry about this later, yes - but there was no point in getting angry about it unless you knew full well what you were directing that anger towards. He wanted to know for sure that it was Terumi that had caused his world's destruction before he got mad, and so for now there just... wasn't much point to letting it overcome him.

For now, he just waited for Kairi to respond.

this time, i'll protect you!

H

eh... wow, this guy really had a way with words. But he was right, She had to stop getting so emotional over this sort of thing. She couldn't change what was lost-she didn't have that sort of power. He was father rude, and his name pretty off putting... but he didn't seem like a bad guy. In fact he tried to calm her upset state. In an effort to NOT embarrass herself to much in front of this new person she straightened her posture and regained her composure. She was a keyblader and this was her job-She would have to get used to that.

"It's ok just.... it never gets easier telling people that, you know? It's not a happy subject"

Sure the guy seemed to treat her like a child at this point, but she really couldn't blame him for that right? She defently acted the part for a minute there. On the upside at least the guy wasn't yelling anymore! Kairi gave a gentle sigh to steady herself and place one head to her hip. Even in the few days she had been here many new arrivals had been forced to come here. So many people... so many world's gone just like that, it was a little disheartening.

"It's kind of funny if you think about it... this is the place I come to ease my thoughts in this town... and instead I found you"

The teen chuckled playfully. It wasn't like she meant the words in a mean way, it was just ironic to think about. This place... basically a second secret place... it was just funny to think of it as anything besides peaceful. This guy... Ragna, their had to be a reason he was angry-Their had to be a reason She felt what she did inside him. She didn't need the apprenticeship of powerful wizards (though it is a very nice perk she had to admit) to tell her not to overlook him. He could be like Riku was.... or maybe Sora's other friend Cloud, She wasn't entirely sure. Their was a lot of... something building up inside of him. Or she was just reading way to far into this like a Selphie wannabe. That would be nice but... she didn't think that was the case here. She could ask she supposed, but that would be both an awkward and very rude thing for a stranger to bring up. So instead she'd just be the welcoming committee! She could try to help him later if he wanted

"But yeah.... welcome to traverse town, the place that will never give you a pleasant sunrise, do you... need to know anything else?"

No Kairi, of course not-this guy is obviously the leading expert on a world and creatures he's probably never seen before now.

♥ thanks tia!

"No kidding, huh?" Ragna wouldn't want to have to break news like that to someone. To be fair though, he was never really the type of person to travel with people that he would have to tell, nor the type to tell anyone news like this, whether he knew them or not. He kept out of the business of others, and they kept out of his. Well, usually. He was a wanted terrorist, after all. "Guess it doesn't help that most people wouldn't take this sort of shit well." Himself included, he had freaked out pretty hard there.

The water continued to flow. The serene nature of the area the two were in hit Ragna, and he recognised the truly different surroundings all over again, contrasting with the area he had come from immensely. He had come from the very top of Kagutsuchi, from the Altar, where Mu-12 had been smelted before his eyes and sent to destroy his world, which he could only think that she must have succeeded. That being said... he probably needed to not be so rough, all things considered. He didn't want to make it obvious that he was injured, after all, though telltale cuts and bruises were things he couldn't cover. Terumi had not been soft on him.

"Well, it's not like I was particularly paying attention to where I was going." Ragna shrugged slightly, having run in here from... well, goodness knows where. He was going to be completely lost when he left this place. "Traverse Town... god damn, I'm good at getting to places with a ton of surprises just waiting in the wings for me." This girl was kind, that much could be seen already. If it was an act, it was a good one - Ragna didn't expect any trouble from her.

"Assuming I'm not the only person to come here, mind telling me what exactly I'm supposed to do from here? If my world's gone but I was saved, there's gotta be something I can do. Can I get it back?"

If there was one thing Ragna needed, it was directions.