pullsheavendown | ♚ IC Contact for Sirens' Pull ♚

Me? What is it?

Was it true? The part about you... fighting Vanitas before?

[He's quiet for a moment.]

Yes. But—I told you about that ages ago, remember? We ran into each other and he was a jerk, so...

[But he'd left out a few critical details, hadn't he?]

But you never told me why.

[And there it is. He'd told him they'd clashed over something, though he'd never clarified what. At the time, their mind had been on other more pressing matters. Now that he looks back, both at what was said earlier today and what was said back then, he can't ignore it.]

[The silence stretches out even longer this time. No, he didn't tell Sora why. He hadn't wanted him to know, hadn't been prepared to share the way his thoughts got all tangled up when it come to Sora—his own insecurity, the rush of panic that came when anything threatened to hurt him, the primal need to protect his Other that even Roxas didn't understand. Still doesn't, not entirely, not even now.]

I know.

[A little more insistent, though it's more that he's speaking alout to himself than to Roxas.]

So it's true then.

[Now this part is more for the other.]

It was because of what he did to me before, wasn't it?

Edited 2012-08-05 18:33 (UTC)

I don't—

[He cuts himself off. This conversation is inevitable, has been since he let the truth slip to Sora without even being aware of it. But something niggles at him, feels wrong, and he takes a moment to figure out what.]

Axel's still there, isn't he?

[He trusts his best friend with just about anything. Would himself listen to anything Axel wanted to unburden himself of. But there are some things that should remain between a Nobody and his Other.]

[That catches him off guard]

Yeah, he's here. Why?

Did you wanna talk to him?

I'll talk to him later.

I just think this should stay between the two of us.

What? How come?

[It's lost on him why he'd want to hide it from other people. Maybe before they'd come this far, he could understand. But right now he's just confused.]

I just don't want to talk about it in front of people, okay?

All right. Then... I guess it'll be our secret?

That's not what I meant.

You wanna come over or something?

Actually, I can't right now.

[Normally, he'd jump at the chance to meet up with Roxas. The hesitance says something in itself.]

Maybe not for a while.

...okay.

[He doesn't want to leave it at this, but who is he to insist? He punched Sora, hurt him. Lied to him, if by omission.

He really, really hopes this whole incident doesn't undo a lot of the distance they've crossed together.]

Sure. Just...whenever, then.

[Is that... disappointment he hears? Sure, maybe he's turning the other down, but it's not like--

Wait.]

Roxas, I wanna go-- I want to talk -- but... it's the Unversed.

You saw what they did today at Kahve. They're out of control. If you weren't there, who knows what might've happened.

If I don't take care of this first, people are going to get hurt.

Edited 2012-08-05 20:42 (UTC)

What—really?

[He hasn't actually thought about the Unversed much since he destroyed the ones around Kahve. Yeah, he knows where they come from, but it hadn't occurred to him that they could be that much of a problem for someone unused to them.

Suddenly, he feels pretty sheepish for assuming.]

What are you going to do?

Yeah. Soon as I woke up, things were... really crazy. The more I felt, the crazier they got. And every time something bad happened, more of them showed up.

It's getting easier now that I'm settled at Axel's, but there's already too many of them running around. My friends told me they'd help.

[His only reservation:] I'll just have to deal with what happens when they disappear and get rid of them. All of them.

Edited 2012-08-05 21:00 (UTC)

By yourself? Sora, come on...

[If he sounds skeptical, it's because he's skeptical. Sorry, bro.]

Wait—

What do you mean, what happens when they disappear?

I won't be. I don't have to worry about getting all those Unversed on my own when I've got help.

[He stops at the question. Roxas won't hear a lengthy pause. It's just long enough to look down at his hand. To curl his fingers inward, then relax them again.]

The way I am now? [Stuck in someone else's body] It's nothing like I thought it would be.

It's ... hard being Vanitas.

But—

[I'll help. He doesn't say it.

They've never called themselves friends, after all. Not yet. Even if now Roxas is thinking that he'd like to. But this isn't about him.]

You're not Vanitas. You're Sora. You're not the same as him.

[He knows the truth, tells that to himself every time he talks to Vanitas.

It's just worlds different when he hears it from someone else, someone he trusts. It's more true.

Firmly:] No- I'm not Vanitas, even if I'm in his body. And I won't become him either, even if he tries to convince you and me otherwise.

I mean... all I've got to do is find out how to switch back and I'll be me again, through and through. [The only hint of uncertainty:] Right?

Edited 2012-08-05 21:55 (UTC)

Right.

[His voice reflects more certainty than he feels. How do they fix something like this when they don't even know how it was done? The 'old lady' Sora mentioned is a place to start, but it's still troubling. But he won't let that show when Sora needs to be confident.]

We'll figure it out. It'll be no sweat.

[Sora nods to himself, feeling and sounding more hopeful.] Yeah.

Then, maybe when all the Unversed are taken care of, and I'm me again...

We can have that talk.

[It's something of a relief to hear that hope in Sora's voice, however weird it is to hear it as Vanitas' voice.]

Just hang in there. And if you need more help, call me.

I'll be here.

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