[1st Day / Day 358] VIDEO

[dualwielding]

[the camera shows -- the road. a lazy voice pipes] No... Roxas, that's the wrong way.

I don't need your help. [somewhat sullenly. Roxas turns the D-terminal around so that it focuses on his face, but he's not looking at it, now focused on the Digimon offscreen] You won't go away?

Of course not. I'm your partner.

Fine. Then... you may as well remember something for me. A name. It's-- [Roxas pauses. it's a long pause, and then his eyes widen] What was it?

Well... what did it start with?

Give me a minute, I'm trying to think-- Sh... Something with... [blankly, and increasingly frustrated] I can't believe I forgot again. Sh... She...

[you should probably interrupt him because he is really distracted and has forgotten what he was doing and that this thing is still on. feel free to stumble across him in person, too; he's just hanging out, sleepy evil koala on a low wall next to him]

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[dualwielding]

[his attention returns to Sora. he's used to smaller places -- without a lot of people. avoiding being the center of attention, except amongst the small group that was allowed to know about him]

Protect it, huh? [his gaze flicks over the landscape, finding the little oddities that don't quite fit the way that he was trained -- how small the town is, a darkened industrial complex, the unnatural formations in the distance] Yeah, I guess so.

Do you want to get that Tokyo place back?

[heartdive]

...It's a crater, Roxas. I don't think there is a getting it back. Two god like Digimon decided to have a some kind of grudge match over the town. All we could do was evacuate and get as many people out as possible.

[ and sure, Minervamon apologized. doesn't mean the entire thing doesn't upset him still. he's not mad at her anymore, but his lips are still set in a thin line as he talks about it. the entirety of the situation, as Ryu drops a little lower for Roxas to pick out more details of the land. ]

[dualwielding]

[he heard the most basic version of that in the greeting, but it's still a shock to really hear] ...They can be that powerful, huh?

[it's unnerving to think he can't even fight them on his own terms] From what it sounded like, I thought that it had just disappeared, and so I thought it could be... brought back. But if it was really destroyed, if it's just gone...

Do people intend to stay in HospiTown? [it's bare-bones as far as settlements go]

[heartdive]

Yeah... They exist on a completely different level than us.

[ and Sora hates it, not really being able to do anything himself. thankfully he has settled for putting all of his strength and trust into Ryu and Vixie. maybe he can't fight, but they can and that will be enough. if he draws power from his friends, then he can be a source of power for them. seems right. ] But it was destroyed. Just like that. We'd been attacked there so many times - have had to rebuild a lot of things. Just frustrating to see it all go...

[ he shakes his head, clearing away some of those more depressing thoughts. ] Some of the Digimon sound like they want us to take sides. Minervamon told me that some of them have different ideas about how this should all be handled. There's another Digimon that took some people with her too. So... I don't know if people are going to stay here until the next thing happens or what.

[ a shrug of his shoulders. ] M'not really sure it's a good idea, splitting us up like that.

[dualwielding]

[Roxas is quiet for a beat, tilting his head back. factions of Digimon, destroying populated settlements and splitting up the Chosen Children... he doesn't like it]

[but it's probably something he'll have to see for himself to really judge]

...I don't know. [and then, after a beat, tilting his head up to the whipping wind] What do you normally do during the day? How do you stay -- busy? [the last few days before he returned to the Dark City to take down Kingdom Hearts were just as depressingly empty as he'd feared they would be, without someone giving him missions to do. a "summer vacation" for the foreseeable future...]

[heartdive]

[ Sora takes a moment to look over his shoulder at Roxas. not expecting that sort of question! ]

I still train with my partners. Maybe I can't hurt another Digimon, but that doesn't mean I should just lose what skills I have, you know? Wheeljack is up for a spar if I really need it too.

[ training is always good. hanging out with someone that's become really important to Sora is even better. doing two at the same time? awesome. ] And really? Ryu and Vixie need that too. But otherwise? We kinda do what we want. Explore and screw around. People are always asking for help over the D-thingie so there's that to pay attention to, too.

[dualwielding]

[he's quiet for a beat. training -- people did that on their days off. screwing around, and spending time with friends...] Sounds like a vacation. [which is a good thing for humans, right...? he's never really understood it]

I guess -- Phascomon does need my help, though. [a glance at the digimon, clinging to his arm still, face planted into his shoulder and eyes shut. he's not asleep, is he? if he focuses his attention on training him and making him better, then that's... something to fill his days]

[heartdive]

Pffft. No.

[ Sora laughs, and Ryu does along with it. vacation... ]

Vacay time is all about sitting around and doing nothing. There's no responsibilities like school or this heavy stuff that comes with having a Keyblade. Nothing you're really expected to do.

[ he pauses at the last line, shuddering a little. ]

Unless Mom has chores for you to do. Then that might be something...

[dualwielding]

...But you're doing whatever you want. You get to decide.

[he glances out over the landscape again] I've never really had to decide before. [just one day at a time, probably no more than four days, scattered over an entire year... he was so lost when he left the Organization, and now he's even further removed from it]

And you have to do it every day.

[heartdive]

Everyone gets to decide what they want to do, Roxas. That's called free will. I mean overall our mission here is the same - save the Digital World. But that's not something that someone just hands you directions for, you know?

Gotta figure out stuff on your own. [ of course, Sora flashes him a grin. ] Maybe not completely alone. That's what friends are for.

[ Sora thinks that Roxas has what it takes... KNOWS it, really. but these things take time. the guy has a lot on his plate already... maybe he just needs to take it one day at a time. ]