Morning Routine [Open to All]

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It was another start to a glorious day on Destiny Island. The seagulls were flying over the beach and the ocean looking for fish to snack on, the waves were lapping up against the shore and the sea breeze was gently rustling through the palm trees and coconut trees. Everything looked the same as always, with the Paopu Tree with the sideways growing trunk on the small island just off shore, the docks were Selphie liked to sit and watch the horizon, the Secret Place tucked away beside the large tree. It brought a smile to the lips of a young silver-haired boy whose feet carried him down the path that led from the village to the beach. There was no school today and a routine had been set in place where the young silver-haired youth would exercise to keep himself fit and health. There was no need to travel the worlds any more after Master Xehanort had been forced to retreat and the worlds sealed. Life had kinda gotta a little bit boring to be blunt and going to school and doing homework was just not the thing Riku was cut out for. He knew it was important, but fighting back the Darkness and keeping the worlds safe was just as, if not more important then going to school. ”Kairi would chew my head off if she heard me saying that...” The Keyblade Master said aloud to himself with an accompanying chuckle. The solid footsteps on the paved path soon turned to the soft crunch of fine sand as Riku finally reached the beach that Sora, Kairi and himself used to play on. A soft sigh escaped his lips though as neither of them seemed to be around at the moment. It was pretty early in the morning so odds were the pair of them were still in bed. ”Lazy bums.” Riku said with a smirk as he glanced over his shoulder from whence he came. Upon looking back towards the ocean, Riku proceeded onwards and hopped down off the pier onto the sandy beach below. The sun shone down from overhead and even though the day had only just begun, the heat was great. It felt like it was in the middle of summer. The Keybarer closed his eyes and took in a deep breath through his nose, getting the scent of the sea salt in his nostrils and allowing his ears to 'see' everything that was going on around him. A pleased smile was spread across the young man's lips as he held his breath for a second, before relaxing and exhaling. Reopening his bright cyan eyes, Riku chuckled to himself as he took off in a slow jog, leaping up onto the bridge that lead to Paopu Island when he was close enough, and proceeded to hop up onto the sideways tree trunk when on the island itself. Here he stood and beamed as his eyes looked out across the ocean. His thoughts drifted to his friends, more so the King and Naminé over the lazy bums. He wondered where they were and what they were doing. It would be great to see them again one day, but he hoped that day was far off. He didn't want the Darkness to return, as much as it was his duty to halt it. Sliding off the trunk, Riku turned about and pulled his shirt off over his head, laying it out neatly upon the trunk. He then started to twist and turn his torso to warm his body up. The heat of the sun on his chest resulted in little warming up to be required, so after a few swings of his arms and soft jog on the spot, Riku started his routine exercise. Taking off in a sprint, he rushed back across the bridge to the door opposite before sprinting back to the middle of the bridge. Here he hopped down onto the beach and started to run a few laps between the bridge and the docks. I wonder if Tidus, Wakka and Selphie have kept up their own training? They liked to used to fight me back on the day... Wonder if they still do?

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Xion sighed, hearing the hiss and whisper of the waves as they rushed in upon the shores and retreated, only to repeat the same movement over and over again..endless. It was soothing...the constant flow of the waves upon the sand piqued the memories in the back of her mind. She had dreamed of these waves once. But the memories eased away, calmed by the endless call of the waves. Peaceful..Much like Twilight Town....

..Or what was left of it. Scuffing a boot in the sand, Xion frowned. While it was true her former sanctuary World was recovering and rebuilding, she still saw the bleakness and destruction, no matter where she looked. Rebuilding and new paving and restructuring was good...but it could not completely cover over the scars left by the ones who had brought death and destroyed the lives of those who lived there. So now, this had become like a second sanctuary. The peaceful quietness of the island made her feel almost like everything was unchanged.. As if the Worlds were all as they had been. In fact, the calm surroundings were beginning to make her sleepy.

The peace combined with the warmth of the sun and sand persuaded Xion to stay a little longer..each minute was stretched a little longer;

Just a little longer..then I'll go... In another minute..

That's what she was thinking to herself..telling herself just a little while longer..

And she wandered by the shore, gathering seashells that were scattered here and there, her favorite kind included. Thalassa shells, and various other findings filled her pockets as she let the edge of the tide run up over her boots. She inhaled, breathing in the wondrous salty warm air. And then her gaze was caught by movement. Turning, she saw a silver-haired figure walking nearer....and for one horrible moment Xion thought it was Xemnas.

But no...this form was much more familiar, and in a less frightening way.

Riku...

She tilted her head, simply watching from her place at the water's edge. Would he notice her? For now, Xion would remain to the side, just observing.

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Akemi had fallen into a deep sleep after the events that took place in his home world. Within the deep slumber he began to dream. In his dream, his eyes slowly opened. The sounds of a strong wind whipped around his ears. The feeling of a cold nip covered his face and was slowly getting worse. Everything was white like....snow? The boy quickly sat up as the frigid wind blew across the frozen surroundings. Shivers ran through his body as the cold surrounded him. Where was he? Last thing he remembered, he was in his town square. He held his head as he slowly stood up. Everything was happening way too fast. It was confusing him.

Crossing his arms over himself, he tried to keep warm. Akemi began to wonder through the snowy wasteland. Just miles and miles of snow covered land. Trees and rocks were blanked with the cold powder. The ground was hidden deep under it, freezing time for the plant life down below. The animals were all sleeping in their homes, waiting for the warm spring breeze to wisp away this frozen season. A sigh left the cold, chapped lips of the boy. His crimson hair was the only thing that stood out in all this white. It felt like hours had gone by with every step he took. Time seem to crawl as he stood still, letting the current of time slow down around him.

He fell to his knees as he shivered more violently. It was so cold. Was he going to die here? But all of a sudden, the sounds of a familiar yet horrific noise filled his ears. It was a roar of a blood thirsty monster. His azure eyes darted up and gazed upon a shadowy creature. Without any seconds to spare, he ran as fast as he could, trying to get away from the monster before he would get to him first. However, he was too slow compared the beast. The monster flew and got in Akemi's way. The boy fell to the ground on his rear as he began to back up. Step by step, the monster moved forward. Akemi could barely make out the shadowy monster. Darkness rippled and swirled around him but the beast seemed to be more human than anything. His glowing red eyes were the only thing that stood out. Soon, the familiar sounds of that voice in his head began to echo all around. Whispering words of doubt, fear, and telling him to submit to the darkness as the monster slowly walked towards him. Fear rolled through his body. He moved back as far as he could and backed up into a rock. He had nowhere to go. The monster glared at him with his glowing red eyes as he slowly lifted up his claw. Before long, the beast lunged at the boy pulling back sharp talons. Akemi covered his face with his arms as he waited to be struck down.

The boy opened his eyes the moment the attack would have landed. He was blinded by a bright light the moment he awoke. Shielding his eyes with his hands, he began to wonder if he was dead. However that idea was thrown out the window the moment he heard the sound of waves crashing onto a shore and seagull squalling in the skies above. Sitting up slowly, he could feel the warm sand around him and the sun’s heat. His eyes wondered around to gaze upon his surroundings. There were few topical trees around him, miles of ocean, and what looked like a broken bridge that led to a door that maybe that goes to another part of the island. ”H-How did I get here?” Akemi said to himself as looked around with a confused look upon his face. Last thing he remembered was...and that's when it hit him. The boy remembered everything from the world being attacked to his secret being revealed. However after that, everything was a blank. Everything was happening way to fast. So many questions and no answers to be found. Though he knew he had to stay calm or at least try to fight back the tears. Akemi slowly tried to stand up as he sand fell off of his clothes and hair. His knees began to quiver a bit and soon fell to his knees back into the sand. His body was still a bit weak but he had to try and press on. Trying once more, he stood up and began to stumble across the sand. There had to be some form of answers here but where?

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The feeling of the warm summer-like air blowing through his hair and brushing against his face, arms and chest was a wonderful feeling. He did enjoy getting up this early when the beach was deserted so he could spend time completing his little exercise routine. Alongside all the school work, Riku was also a Keyblade Master, having passed his Mark of Mastery exam a while back. The young lad knew he had to stay in shape for whenever the Darkness inevitably reared it's ugly head once again, and staying in bed, eating chocolates and day dreaming about Kairi wasn't the way to go about staying in shape. Riku had to wonder if Sora ever was going to pass his Mark of Mastery exam with the way he slacked off and have a far too relaxed approached to life. It did make him smile though. It was nice to have such a good friend whose laziness was contagious. Riku could do with relaxing from time to time, but today wasn't that day nor that time. There was exercising to be done! Something was off today though. While the feel of the soft sand underfoot was the same, and the seagulls squawking in the blue skies were the same, the waves on the beach the same, the trees rustling softly in the wind the same... the strange black figure standing on the ocean's edge, wasn't the same. Riku jogged passed the figure once and reached the docks on the opposite side of the beach and shook the sight off as a figment of his imagination, but when he turned back around to jog back along the beach, the figure was still there. Blinking his bright blue eyes, the young Keybarer's jog slowed into a walk and stopped completely as the silver-haired youth examined the person nearby. He couldn't 'smell' anything coming off of her, or what he assumed was a her. She had a feminine look to the back of her. His breathing was controlled, taking in steady deep breaths to slow down his pulse after having only just started to warm it up. The sight of the figure reminded the Keybarer of Organization XIII, but didn't Master Xehanort create a new Organization? Riku didn't recall seeing someone this short in his new clan of freaks. ”Hey err, you okay there?” Riku asked curiously, wondering if they were melting underneath that black coat in this weather. The height of this person and the style in how their hair was... and the fact that he couldn't 'smell' anything on this young woman, all lead to signs that this was possibly Xion. But what was she doing here on Destiny Island? Oh wait, she could use the Corridors of Darkness, right? The worlds didn't need to be unsealed for people to travel about, if they knew how to summon the Corridors. The silver-haired youth wondered, if this was Xion, if she had returned to Destiny Island at all since the time he brought her here from Beast's Castle. Well, before he got too far ahead with his thoughts, it might not be a bad idea to actually learn the identity of this person. As the Keybarer returned his thoughts to the present, he noticed that the young woman had already turned to look his way and, much to his surprise, the figure did indeed turn out to be Xion. A subtle glance to her hands revealed the seashells she had gathered, Thalassa shells, Kairi's favourite. Didn't she make a charm out of those shells for Sora? Wonder if he still had it? ”Xion?!” Riku didn't try to hide his surprise. ”What're you doing all the way out here? I thought you'd...” The silver-haired Keybarer cut himself off, bringing his hand to his mouth where he cleared his throat, averting his eyes away from the young woman for a second. I thought I'd forgotten everything about her while I was battling Roxas... But here she is in the flesh and I can remember her name... Cyan eyes glanced back towards the black cloaked woman and he watched her, mildly bemused. Perhaps she'd be able to shed light on why she was back. This wasn't the first time it had happened though. Ansem had an uncanny knack of not staying dead and most of the powerful users of Darkness under Maleficent's control had managed to return back to life before. After a slow blink of his eyes, Riku lowered his hand back down to his side and nodded his head, giving a small smile to the woman before him. ”Heh, sorry. It's really good to see you again.” However, the pleased expression shifted to one of confusion once more as the silver-haired youth sniffed a couple of times, getting a whiff of not only the sea-salt, but of a powerful, slumbering Darkness. The Keybarer glanced over his shoulder and stared of towards the far away door that lead to the opposite side of the beach. ”Is someone else here...?”