Entry 004

[chippedsoul]

Characters: Kazuma Asougi [Jekyll/Hyde]
Campaign: Break
Format: [ brackets ]
Open
Summary: Catch-All for the Break


A - The Doctor is out [Network]

I will not be meeting with clients in person until further notice. If you must make an inquiry for some medicine, use the journal to contact me. I will let you know when it's ready to be picked up.

-Disciple

B- A nightly stroll in the forest

[Anyone who happens to be wandering around or living in the forest, might hear a disturbance during the nighttime. It doesn't occur every night, but when it does, it sounded like someone was cutting down the trees. There's also a low rumbling like thunder that occasionally accompanied the sound afterwards, like a rhythmic thumping. Looking into the source, they will find themselves at the edge of the Index. The ground appeared unstable, with trees uprooted and large boulders that have been split into smaller pieces scattering about the area.

This warzone was only found along the edge of the Index, and every few nights, a new area would turn into a disaster area. If someone manages to catch the person in the act, it turns out to be the Disciple, or was it the Disciple? The low rumbling noise was from him ramming trees into the barrier or throwing boulders at it. Whatever he could pick up and throw, which was almost anything, he was directing them at the barrier. A few times he was crazy enough to punch the barrier.] I need...to go... [If you manage to get in close enough, you can hear him mumbling about going somewhere. It doesn't seem like he's quite all there himself. Are those pajamas he's wearing?]

C-Wildcard
[This post is for the entirety of the break, so feel free to poke me on Discord or silentdrifterz if there's something else you want to play out instead or make your own starter!]

Comments

[ricebird]

Really? What are they like?

[Aaaand once again, Kotori asks an innocent question without knowing she's skipping across a minefield as she readies the sling for Roxas to slip his arm through.]

[twilightskey]

[Roxas pauses at that, because yes, Kotori, that is indeed a minefield of sorts. He doesn't reply right away, wincing as he instead focuses on slowly guiding his arm into the sling. Once that ordeal was done, he lets out a breath before talking.]

One was one of my best friends. The other... well, he's someone I used to hate.

[He says it with a faint chuckle, as if it's an old, inside joke of sorts.]

[ricebird]

Someone you used to hate?

[That... sounds like a story for sure. Hopefully less painful than the friend he hinted at during their scene in The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. (Spoilers: it isn't.)]

[twilightskey]

Yeah. I hated him, because he took everything from me. But, I found out that between the two of us, he's the one who has to be the hero.

He makes a good other.

[Is that cryptic as hell? Absolutely. But it's said with a small smile, like Roxas has had time to process what had happened and has come to accept it, for the most part. Which, isn't too far from the truth.]

[ricebird]

I... what?

[That... doesn't sound just cryptic, it sounds horrible. She starts leading him towards the door, but her eyes can't leave his face in total confusion, curiosity, and concern.]

Why... Why would you say something like that?

[twilightskey]

Well...

[He pauses, allowing Kotori to help him stand up and lead to the door. He feels bad about the confusion and concern on her face. It... really did sound bad, now that he mentioned it, right? If this was how he was before he re-assimilated with Sora, he might be more bitter, more angry at his situation. But he's had time to come to peace with it. And out of everyone who he could have been born from, Sora isn't a bad option.]

[A part of him was hesitant to say, but Kotori deserves an explanation. Plus, talking about this helps him to keep his mind off of the whole Hyde situation.]

It's because... I'm not really a person. I'm a Nobody, and I was born from someone else's heart, when he lost his. That other person... he's my original self.

[ricebird]

A... Nobody?

[She was going to protest when he first said the phrase, but that explanation...]

How... I... I don't understand at all... Born from a heart...?

[twilightskey]

A heart... it's a thing of great power. Sometimes, though, people lose their hearts. They may be consumed by darkness, or given up somehow... A heart that's consumed by darkness usually becomes a creature called a Heartless. That's actually what I thought happened to Disciple, and why I was so worried; Heartless can normally only be beaten for good with a Keyblade. Anyways, when a strong-willed person loses their heart, the empty shell left behind begins to act on it's own.

That creature's called a Nobody. That's what I am; someone without a heart, born when someone lost theirs.

[He hopes this all makes sense. He's never had to really explain this to anyone before.]

Sora's the one who I came from. And he's the reason I have a Keyblade, where I'm from. If he hadn't lost his heart... I wouldn't exist.

[Technically, Nobodies weren't meant to exist, but... well.]

[ricebird]

[Whoa... that's... even if she's starting to grasp the LETTER of what he said, that's... horrifying. What a horrible way to come into being, what an awful weight that must be on his heart and mind. (And yes, she MEANS heart and mind.)]

Roxas-kun...

[twilightskey]

[It does. It definitely weighs heavily on his heart, or whatever that he has that passes for a heart. It's hard to say, and even moreso now that he's become part of Sora. It's telling in the faraway look he gets, and how for a moment he goes silent. Then, he looks back at her, letting out a small breath.]

It's... not the worst thing. I thought I was going to vanish if I went back to him, but when I joined with Sora, I didn't disappear. I just... went back to where I belonged.

[Though as he says it, there's a hint of sorrow in his voice. He knew he had to go back to Sora, but it would have been nice to be his own person.]

[He hadn't intended for her to find out on a night like this, but, well... At least she isn't worrying about Shizuo??]

[ricebird]

Wait... So does... Does that mean you're... you're not alive anymore...?

[A ghost or angel, maybe, somehow solid here, but... dead...?]

[twilightskey]

[Roxas has to pause, pondering that.]

I... don't know. I mean, my heart returned to Sora, and I don't have a body anymore. But I didn't disappear, or fade into darkness... And, sometimes I feel things through Sora. So...

[...did that constitute dying? Roxas is unsure.]

[ricebird]

[No body anymore... And with that he called himself, that seems like a stupidly cruel joke. Her steps begin to falter, but she looks to him, tears streaming from behind her glasses again.]

I'm so sorry, Roxas-kun... I'm sorry... It's not fair...

[She's not even sure what else to SAY to that, what else to DO. How can he be so CALM about something like that? How can he be so sure that he was less deserving of life just because he wasn't the original?]

[twilightskey]

[Oh no. Oh no, he hadn't meant to make her cry. He stops mid-step, reaching out to her with his good arm.]

H-Hey, wait... I-I didn't mean to make you cry..!

[He was trying to just talk to her, not make her more upset!]

[ricebird]

[The second Roxas makes contact, she pulls him into a hug. Still careful of his arm, but only barely, arms tight and shaking with her sobs.]

I'm the one that should be comforting you... You don't have to be okay with any of that, Roxas-kun. You deserve to live as much as anyone else, no matter where you come from... You're not nobody...

[twilightskey]

[The sudden hug was entirely unexpected, and Roxas goes still when she pulls him into it. He hissed a bit in pain, but when her words reached him, he stiffened, his breath catching. Those words echo in his mind, and remind him of something very similar he was told in the depths of Sora's heart.]

["Roxas, you're you. We're not the same. I wanted to tell you that. That you deserve as much as I do to be your own person."]

[Strange, how someone completely unrelated to him, who's only known him while he was here, would echo words said by his Somebody. After several long heartbeats he lets out a shaky breath, his good arm coming up to somewhat awkwardly wrap around her.]

[ricebird]

[She just keeps holding him, not wanting to tighten the hug too much in case it hurts him more. Everything tonight has been too much. Hyde hurting Roxas, Shizuo trusting her with his care when she has NO idea what to do, the chance that Shizuo OR Disciple could be hurt just as badly if it turned int a fight, even the pain that the Disciple will likely feel when he learns what happened... And now, learning that one of her best friends doesn't even consider himself human? That he's DEAD at home, or something close enough to it?

It's all she can do to just... let her grief take her and ride it out instead of bottling it in... And at least this way... she can be there for Roxas too, even if she can't do anything else.]

[twilightskey]

[He genuinely feels bad for speaking up, and letting Kotori know the truth about him. After everything that went on tonight with Disciple, and Hyde, and Shizuo... he's really regretting telling her about his existence as a Nobody. But all he can do right now is hold onto her, his good arm slowly rubbing her back.]

[He wants to apologize, but the words don't come out. He just keeps holding her, letting her let her emotions out. Tonight was... not a good night for any of them.]

[ricebird]

[Funny he should think that... because after a few minutes, Kotori's sobs finally begin to slow. She's not done crying yet, but it's enough that she can look away and TRY an apologetic smile at the boy.]

I'm sorry. [For what happened to him and for breaking down. But...] Thank you... for trusting me with that...

[twilightskey]

[RTher than feel reassured by the words, Roxas balks.]

Wh... No, I should apologize to you. I-I didn't mean to make you feel worse, and after everything that happened tonight...

[ricebird]

[A shake of her head.]

Don't apologize for that. I wanted to know, and... I'm kind of glad that I do, even if it was something painful. It means you trust me, and that means a lot. And that can't have been easy to say; I have a REALLY hard time saying when things bother me, so I can appreciate that.

[twilightskey]

[Roxas can only stare at her for a moment, both surprised and touched by her words. It was sort of similar to hearing Sora say as much, only it felt different because Kotori hadn't known about him or his backstory. He slowly nods to her.]

Okay.

...thanks for hearing me out, Kotori.

[ricebird]

[A nod of her own as a faint smile returns.]

Any time.

[And she means it too.

She lets out another sigh.]

So... let's see if we can find someone to fix your arm.

[hatesviolence]

[At some point, Kotori will be receiving the long awaited message from Shizuo:]

Found Disciple. We're all right and I'm taking him home.

How's Roxas?

[twilightskey]

Okay.

[Roxas nods, and follows Kotori out into town. It's going to be tricky, finding someone to fix his arm, but they'll manage... or so he hopes.]

[While they look, he notices Kotori's journal ping.]

Hey, I think you have a message.