A Common Associate [ Neku - Closed]

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So there stood Riku in his new attire in the center of the Sandlot.
His blue eyes looked around to catch a quick look at where he particularly
was. Right off that bat he noticed that he had made it back to Twilight Town.
So far, on his new journey Riku had met a few interesting people and a few
that caused some trouble. Yet, that is the reason why he needed to travel around.

As a Keyblade Master he needed to uphold the peace between the innocent and the
beings of the darkness. His last adventure had led him home on something of a 'relaxing'
day which turned out to be more of a fiasco. Nonetheless, the silver haired boy is
going to travel around this world to see if there could be any problems. Or maybe he
could make a new friend today.

With this in mind Riku began to walk to the uphill road heading towards the Tram.
While making his way up this hill he could feel every muscle working due to how steep
it is. As his eyes slowly drifted from left and right he noticed some games and attractions
for people to try out. One seemed to be a game where you need to keep the ball up in the air.

[Deleted]

After a much needed stroll around town, Neku had pieced together that another portal had supposedly opened in the middle of the market
though noone would dare go near it. The opportunity had finally revealed itself and his ticket off this planet had finally shown it's face.
Radiant Garden was fun and all but he had grown tired of this very compact world at least as far as people are involved.
The outskirts were very desolate and he had felt like he overstayed his welcome, though technically it had only been 2 weeks.


Entering the Market Courtyard, Neku laid eyes on the purple and black portal that seemed to ripple and float on nothingness
Something was willing him forward as if destiny itself was nudging him towards his own inevitable timeline. Stopping by the Sea-Salt
Ice Cream shop to say goodbye to Scrooge McDuck and thank him for the temporary job, Neku grabbed two bars of Ice Cream
and headed out. He raced up to the ever waiting portal in spite of his slight knowledge about it, although after dealing with this same 
uncertainty on mulltiple occasions, the outcome didn't really bother him. He was a bit too hyper for his own good at this point.


Diving through the portal like a madman, Neku found himself not going forward but instead, shooting straight down at a speed that he probably
contributed to himself by speeding through the portal. Had the portal been facing forward and low the ground for that matter, this wouldn't
be a problem but seeing how the exit side of this one was high in the sky, things might not bode well for Neku. Looking down at his impending 
doom, Neku realized that he was on a collision course for someone down below and worse yet, they were on a hill. He couldn't really grasp
where he ended up or who it was below but if he knew one thing it was that they weren't gonna be a happy camper once he landed.

[Deleted]

Riku stood there and simply watched as someone began to take the challenge
and knock the ball multiple times into the air. This seemed like an easy
game at least for Riku of course. He thought about attempting the game, but
it just wouldn't be as fun since he didn't have Sora to compete with him.
Then, something sparked his attention.

As he looked up it appeared as something or someone was falling fast from the
sky. Well this wasn't a good situation to be in. Riku had to act fast if he
was going to help who or whatever was falling. His blue eyes bolted around and
noticed one of those carts with large soft bags in them. "I could use that,"
He said softly.

Quickly, he ran over to the cart and managed to get some people to help push
and position the cart so who or whatever was falling would land on the soft white
bag. Moments later a loud poof could be heard from the boys body crashing into the
bag. Riku soon remembered this happened to him before too, could this person have
used a portal of some sort to get here?

[OOC: I hope your fine with crashing into a white soft bag on a wheeled crate. xD
I thought it would be better than a person. I can edit if you want let me know.]

[Deleted]

With the ground ever-approaching and the distance between Neku and the portal greatly increasing, hope seemed futile. Even though he couldn't tell where he was, with every passing moment the chances of it being Shibuya shrank. Neku let out a kind of sigh, balled up, and prepared for impact. Using a pin would seem logical in this situation but at this speed, focusing a psych would be near to impossible.


In his last seconds of what he thought would be life, Neku wondered if the rest of his friends made it back to Shibuya and were waiting for his safe arrival but finally concluded that it would be long before he found out. A giant 'poof' sound emanated from his impact on...pillows? Neku quickly opened his eyes to better assess the situation. He was inside of a cart filled with large soft bags. The chances of this being real were pretty low. "Who would go out of their way to save a stranger? Sounds like something Sora would do, though I haven't seen him since I left Traverse Town so the chances of him being here are slim."


As Neku poked his head out of the cart, his sight was greeted with that of the townsfolk who saved him, all with quizzical looks on their faces as if asking why he was falling from the sky. One particular person stood out from the rest. A tall and muscular teenager with pale skin, bright blue-green eyes and silver hair stood looking more calm and collected than anyone else, as if this wasn't out of the norm for him. Neku broke his concentration from the boy and made his way out of the cart. "Umm..thank you all for saving my life. I don't know how I can repay you.." ,he spoke awkwardly. There's not much he could say in a situation like this and he wasn't going to try and explain something that he barely understood himself.


He looked directly at the one that didn't quite fit in with the rest and spoke again. "You're not from this..." He stopped realizing the crowd was still around them and walked up the hill, to separate himself from the people, hoping that the other person would follow. He stopped at the top of the hill by what seemed to be a Tram station, and waited. Something was bugging him. He'd seen this person before. He just couldn't put his finger on it. He hadn't been many places since the Reapers' Game so it had to be recent. He'd find out soon enough, hopefully.

430 | Neku Sakuraba | notes: (OOC: It's fine. It was way better than landing on a person xD)

❖ nox ❖

[Deleted]

The Keyblade Master had stayed silent from the moment the boy had landed
on the soft bag. Riku from there simply watched the boy thank everyone before
turning to him and saying 'you're not from this' before walking off towards the
tram. Riku kind of figured the boy wanted him to follow him up there. Well he
shouldn't keep the traveler waiting.

Several seconds later Riku soon made his way up to the Tram Station where he
found the boy simply standing there. "To answer you, no I'm
not from here. Names Riku," he paused. The Keyblade Master took a minute
to wonder how this boy could have gotten here. From what he knew Sora and himself
had fallen from the sky, but after using the door of light.

"If you don't know we are on Twilight Town." Riku decided to pause here to let
the boy before him talk. The Keyblade Master figured the kid has some questions
to ask. Other than that Riku stood there with his arms crossed waiting for the next
part of his day to begin. At least there is no heartless for the moment.

[Deleted]

Taking a second glance at this place, it wasn't so bad. It looked more lively than he had originally expected. The town was brimming with life though something was a little off but he'd investigate more into that later. Right now was the matter at hand. As the all too familiar boy walked up, he answered two of Neku's questions nearly simultaneously. "To answer you, no I'm
not from here. Names Riku," stated the boy. Neku's head burst with ideas. He knew he'd seen this guy before and he just recalled when it had occured. "So it does all correlate around Sora," he thought to himself. Before Neku could speak, the boy added that they were currently in a place called Twilight Town. Neku stood there for a second trying to figure out how to proceed with his questions. Making sure this was the same person was essential. Coming off as a lunatic would only hurt his chances of gathering any more information.


"Riku, I...." he paused. "No that's a wierd way to start," he pondered in his mind. After a few more seconds of deliberation, Neku finally decided on how to present his question "Ok. Do you know a guy named Sora?", he asked of Riku. Neku knew this was also a strange way to start a conversation but as for now this would save a lot of 'beating around the bush' and also it would help him find out if Riku recognized him. The apparition of Riku that Joshua showed him and Sora back in Traverse Town didn't seem to notice them so this might just be a false lead, but Neku pursued any shred of hope that might just lead to Shiki, Beat, and Rhyme. He then chose to acknowledge his other statement. Letting out a big sigh, Neku replied, "And I figured this wasn't Shibuya. I take it you've been here a couple times?" Neku then took his headphones off completely. At this rate, he knew finding Shiki was nothing less than a miracle. "I mean who's ever heard of jumping between worlds through a mysterious portal anyway? I might just be going crazy," he thought.

360 | Neku Sakuraba, @riku | notes: (OOC: Sorry for short post again xD)

❖ nox ❖

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Riku just continued to watch the boy and listen to what he was trying to say.
What was the matter with this guy? Neku seemed flustered with his own thoughts,
or just couldn't conjure up the right words to say in this current situation.
Well its not like it matters much anyway because the boy before him soon asked
if he knew a guy named Sora before saying he figured this wasn't his home world.

Go figure everyone apparently knows Sora no adays. While Riku was practically
hiding and dealing with the darkness Sora went around and made friends with everyone
he possibly could. Its like Yen Sid says Sora is able to connect his own heart
with the hearts of others no problem. Sure Riku is a Keyblade Master and all, but
Sora did have one of the best abilities ever.

"Yeah Sora is my best friend though right now we are on separate adventures," He paused.
"I've been here multiple times to help a researcher out." That is all Riku was going
to say about his ventures through this world. He didn't want to bring up the fact that
he had to work so hard just to get Sora back too normal. Life was a real pain some times,
but well worth it because of his friends.

[Deleted]

Hmm... Neku deliberated with himself a little while longer. Taking in the environment, he realized just how cherished this town seemed to be. There was enough laughter about to make one feel lively just being in it's vicinity but also enough calmness to make one feel serene and at peace. It had every trait that one might ask for in a home. Neku pondered what to ask the boy next. "Oh, excuse my forgetfulness. I'm Neku" ,he spoke a bit formally. What was that? I feel like I'm kissing up just for information. An idea manifested inside of his head. He pieced together that if he tagged along with this Riku fellow for a little while, he might be able to get some information on this whole world traveling business. If I pull this off, finding Shiki will be a no brainer. He figured he'd be conjuring up portals at will in no time.


With more wording difficulty, Neku's befuddlement seemed to show more clearly. Interrogation wasn't his specialty, but it slowly started coming naturally. "If you know Sora then you must be the apparition I saw that was fighting with Shiki and Beat, right?" He couldn't help but show his excitement after saying this. The thought of actually getting a lead after all this time was refreshing. Of course, he could just always deny Neku the information but the onslaught of questions from Neku continued. "And also, when we finally escaped Traverse Town, we ended up in different places. How did you control where you ended up?" Neku did not know for sure if Riku had the ability to choose how he ended up places but it only made sense. The chances of him randomly ending up here multiple times are low right? If not, I could possibly be stuck in an infinite loop jumping from here to Radiant Garden repeatedly.


Neku glanced to the right at the station that was located on top of this hill. It seemed to be a train station of sorts, or maybe a tram. Neku normally distrusted people he didn't talk to personally beforehand but a friend of Sora's must be trustworthy. A guy like that doesn't keep evil company. I think letting my guard down just this once won't hurt. Neku began to reflect on his friends once more. Beat, Rhyme, Shiki, and Joshua were all missing, if Joshua could be counted as a friend. He was still unsure about that little detail. He had yet to encounter anything as evil as the Reapers and Joshua was practically one, sort of. Grabbing his MP3 and staring at it, he could think of nothing more than Shiki. She's yet to notice that she's the only one I pause my music for. I'm so close to finding you. Just wait.

466 | Neku Sakuraba, @riku | notes: Rebuke the concept of distrust. Let character be your judge and jury.

❖ nox ❖

[Deleted]

Well what were the odds of this? Neku knew both Beat and Shiki as well as Sora.
This day sure was getting interesting already. First, he had to save the poor guy
and now he finds out all of these people they know. However, there has to be some
reason why Riku was here in particular right? Yeah he traveled here on his own
free will, but what is his purpose today?

Is it just to help Neku out with some problems or is the darkness actually lurking
about? "Shiki and Beat. I remember both of them," He paused because he heard Neku
ask how he controlled where he wanted to go. "I use portals of Dark to traverse from
world to world. It's an tiring ability when you use it."

"If you don't mind I would like to explore this world a little bit." As much as
Riku wanted to stay and chat he really couldn't. As Keyblade Master he has a duty
to find any problem that might be occuring and fix it. So far, he hasn't really done
anything, but save Neku from going splat on the ground.

[Deleted]

From the moment Shiki and Beat's names were reciprocated, an uncontrollable smile spread across Neku's face. Whether it was the glimmer of hope that Riku was somebody who might know where they are or how to get to them or if it was just meeting someone who actually had an encounter with them, a ray of happiness had seemed to manifest inside of Neku, giving him hope. Riku continued to give him all of the answers he had been attempting to figure out all of this time, thought the next statement set Neku aback.


"So the portals are..Dark..?" Neku had no clue why the one word seemed so peculiar to him. Does that mean this guy is connected to some type of darkness? Waving off the thought, Neku gave reply the Riku's last statement. "If you plan to traverse this world, would it be alright if I tagged along?" Though Neku knew he might be imposing on a stranger, more information was what he needed, and right now this guy was a bank of knowledge to him. "I know it's a little..out of the blue but I feel that sticking with you might be the right choice right now considering I'm a stranger in a foreign land. Right now would be a great time to explore my surroundings."


The more Neku pondered, the more it seemed impossible. From what he knew, he wasn't filled with any darkness. At least, not enough to even fathom creating a path to another world. Is there a difference between Dark and Evil? He dispelled the notion. If Shiki, Beat, and Sora trust him I can't disagree with their choice. He awaited Riku's response with earnest.

283 | Neku Sakuraba, @riku | notes: Hope has returned to the hopeless.

❖ nox ❖