Pre-Author's Note: Mur. Random one shot. Sorry about all these average or less one shots people… I'm trying.
Disclaimer: I'm allergic to cats and dogs and mice and just… anything with fur in general.
-Kairi? Riku? We'll be friends forever right?-
They're best friends. Really they are. But sometimes… They can all be so different. Sora, Kairi and Riku. That's just who they are. They make up a team. A trio.
A t r i n i t y.
But that still doesn't erase the differences between them. Differences that often times cause they to fight and get angry.
After all, it's only natural that Sora and Riku should be annoyed when Kairi drags them to the mall. And whenever Sora's going on and on about sports or all the other stuff he's involved in at their high school, Kairi and Riku can't help but get a little miffed. Just like how Riku's numerous insecurities and withdrawn nature get Sora and Kairi so impatient and ticked off.
Still… That doesn't stop them from being friends.
((Dog, Cat and Mouse… Wasn't that how the saying went?))
And yeah so they're a little different from each other. So what?
They still get along most of the time. In fact some people say it's like the three of them were made to be friends. As if they're differences are actually just puzzle pieces. And together they all fit so well.
Like one day they all go to the movies together, they had all decided on seeing Stranger than Fiction. And Sora likes it because it was a comedy. Kairi agrees on seeing it because it was so romantic. And Riku allows himself to be pulled along for the ride because he doesn't want to disappoint his friends and besides… There's a lot of tragedy involved in the plotline of the movie.
- - - - &
So basically they all manage to find one element of the movie that they like. And later on when people ask them how it was; Sora will say it was hilarious because the guy kept yelling at a disembodied voice. Kairi agrees that it was good, but says it was because the guy's relationship with the restaurant owner lady was sweet. And then when everyone turns to look at quiet Riku he'll say that it had given him something to think about.
And that's all there is to it right? Because they get along.
-Of course Sora! Don't be silly! We'll always stay together…-
Sora really is a dog person. In every sense of the word. Just like the animals, he's happy and energetic. After all, isn't that the overall definition of dog person? They're happy-go-lucky. And all that jazz.
And just like Sora is a dog person, Kairi is a cat person. Because for one thing, she has a sort of feline grace about her that just spells pretty. Kairi is pretty after all. She enjoys treating herself, much like cats, and likes lounging in luxury. But that doesn't mean that when times of trouble come she won't be ready with a set of retractable claws to beat the shit out of whoever's showing her insult.
So Sora's a dog person and Kairi's a cat person… What does that make Riku? Well I suppose the only thing left is mouse. And isn't that always how it is for Riku? He'll take whatever role is left if it means making his friends happy. So if it means he has to be the mouse in their friendship then fine. He'll do it for them. And it some ways the role does fit. Mice are quiet. Mice enjoy a laid back life without much heroism. Riku fits the role. He really does.
- - - - &
Yeah, so basically they all have their individual roles of dog, cat, and mouse. But how do these roles interact? Well, the dog is the leader because it's the strongest and the most outgoing. So that makes the cat the sidekick right? The one who's always there to support the dog and keep everyone emotionally fit. And then there's the mouse; and the mouse is just there because his friends want him there and that's all the mouse cares about. Right? The mouse only cares about what the dog and cat want.
Yeah, and that's it. Isn't it? That's how they get along. It just is.
And no one's ever questioned it before because why should they? The three friends are happy enough. What they share is good enough for them.
-…That's fine with me. I'll stick around if you guys do.-
Sometimes people think that Riku shouldn't be there. They say that Riku is always so miserable and unhappy. He's ruining it for Sora and Kairi.
And whenever someone says something like that Riku gets even more depressed and starts to think maybe Sora and Kairi don't really want him around. Maybe they're just being nice. They are, after all, very nice.
So then Riku thinks about leaving them alone and letting them be friends or possibly more if they explored the idea. And he stops talking to them and he tries to move on. However he always feels bad whenever Sora or Kairi try talking to him again and he just ignores them and he can see the hurt look on their faces and… Too much. It's too much. Right? That's too much for one mouse to handle.
Well, at least he thinks it's too much.
- - - - &
So just when Riku's about to give up Sora and Kairi will be there. And they'll drag him to his feet (because they know what happened, because Riku always gets like this after someone says something).
And then they'll drag him over to whoever it was that said such mean things to him. And just when Riku's about to tell them it's okay and it's his fault for overreacting… They'll start yelling. They'll yell at the jackass that told Riku to leave them alone. Then Sora will turn to Riku and say that they don't want to be left alone and that they want him there (with them).
Isn't that nice Riku? Isn't that nice of Sora?
- - - - &
So Riku will smile and thank them and that'll be it right? Wrong.
Because somewhere in the back of his mind Riku will think (and know) that he doesn't deserve them as friends. But he doesn't say anything so Sora and Kairi certainly think that that's that and it's over for now.
((Back to being best friends right?))
They don't know. They don't know how much those mean words affect him.
But they still go through that whole process over and over again. Someone will tell Riku he should leave them be. Riku will leave. Sora and Kairi will yell and get Riku back.
That should be it. That's how it always went before.
Still, everytime they run through the process it leaves Riku a little more broken then before right? Right. So yeah, he gets more broken until… What? What happens when the mouse reaches its limit?
Maybe if Sora and Kairi had noticed they would've stopped the process of hurting, yelling and healing. But they didn't. And besides. At some point it must've been too late right? Yeah so… Maybe it is too late huh?
That'd be awful if it were too late for Riku. But it is. It's too late for him. Even if Sora and Kairi did notice now they wouldn't be able to fix what's been done.
Even the Keyblade Master and the Princess of Heart aren't that powerful.
((…RiGht…))
One day, someone says that to Riku again. And this time instead of just cracking a little more and chipping around the edges like before…
He breaks. It's done. He breaks. It's done. Donedonedonedone…
All done. No more right? Right, all gone. Nil. Nada. Zip.
He's done. He's broke. Broke and done. Riku thinks that has a nice ring to it. Broke and done.
- - - - &
Sora and Kairi are surprised. They didn't see this one coming.
Somewhere in his mind Riku thinks, Ha. I fooled you guys too huh? No one expected this. Well I surprised everyone. Surprise.
Is Riku sad anymore?
Maybe. Maybe he is glad it's over. That he doesn't have to worry about being the mouse anymore. Maybe it's a good thing. Sora doesn't like thinking of it as a good thing though and Kairi has to admit she doesn't like this much either.
Too bad. It's too late now. If you hate it that much you should've done something sooner.
And in so many ways, Riku is right. Sora and Kairi could've stopped all this if they'd just noticed sooner. But that's all in the past. This is now and Riku's broken isn't he? Yes he is.
And he's gone too. He left a while ago. They took him away after he broke because well… He was broken wasn't he? So yeah, these days Sora and Kairi can't hang out with Riku anymore because he got taken away that day he broke.
But they still visit him sometimes you know.
-It's a pretty world out there.-
-Can I see?-
-Wanna spend the day with us? Y'know, like old times…-
-Really? O- Okay…-
Whenever Sora and Kairi visit they make sure to have as much fun as they can. They go to Riku's room and talk to him for a while. And sometimes, if the people who work at Riku's new home will let them, Sora and Kairi take him out for a while.
They'll take him to the park and watch that old lady feeding squirrels. They'll take him to a movie and now Riku doesn't think about the movie too much. In fact most of the stuff the movie talks about goes over his head a little. They'll take him for a walk and if they meet people Riku used to know, Riku will be shy. He'll be shy because he knows that they know what happened to him.
But at least now no one says mean things to Riku anymore. Now they're all polite and they don't tell him to leave Sora and Kairi alone. They don't do that anymore. Isn't that a good thing at least? Riku certainly thinks so.
- - - - &
So in the beginning there was a dog, cat and mouse. But people were mean to the mouse so eventually he left and broke. These days the mouse is still around but he's not that same anymore. Instead of being insecure and withdrawn he's vulnerable and childlike. His eyes look a little bit wider and he tends to have trouble concentrating.
So in the end there was a dog and a cat. And a mouse too. But the mouse wasn't the same. So the dog and the cat looked after him. Why? Because they felt like it was their fault for not noticing what the mouse was going through.
And maybe it was their fault. And maybe it wasn't.
But this is how it is now so there's no use complaining. And anyway things aren't that bad.
Right?
Right.
Author's Note: This story just refused, point blank, to end itself. So I called my dear friend CraziiJaney and she help me plot out the ending. Thanks go to her.
And another thing, as the story went on you might've noticed how the writing style got a little bit weirder as it progressed? Yeah, that was done on purpose because Riku just got more and more insecure as the story went on. So I guess the writing style followed him.
People it's MY BIRTHDAY today!!! So be nice and leave me a long review as a present 'kay?
bliss
