Tron Legacy

Rinzler

A quiet whisper alerted him of her waking.

He watched as she stretched across the bed, bundling herself with the thin shits.

"Mmmm...you're back," her voice carried like the wind.

A familiar hum rumbled from his chest, an audible growl leaving him. The distinct lining of petite shoulders trembled the slightest as she giggled.

"Welcome home, Rinzler-san," Kagome greeted sleepily as she pulled herself up into a sitting position.

She still found it strange how she had to sleep in the clothes she was forced into cycles ago. The lights lining her form constantly glowed a gentle blue against the white fabric.

She blinked away the dark spots, adjusting to the low lights of the room, this world did not have a sun. It was a constant blanket of darkness, towering glass and metal structures, all glowing lively with the lights of the city. She did not know precisely where she was, but from what she had gathered, she was in a very different world.

A world that was in a sense digital, purely formed from data.

And yet, everything was real, the people were real.

Kagome tilted her head to take a look at her self appointed caretaker.

As usual, he sat on a rather stylish, modern sofa a few feet form the foot of her bed. Unlike her white suit, he wore a sleek black suit.

And unlike herself whose suit lined with multiple streaks of blue, his own suit was very subtly highlighted with orange.

And he wore a helmet. Constantly.

Only once had he told her his name.

Rinzler.

In all other cases, he only spoke to her in short answers.

He did not restrict her from wandering, but she felt he knew where she was.

But somehow, she did not mind much.

This was a dangerous place.

She had learned that the first cycle here.

Fortunately and unfortunately she had been an unwilling audience to the games of the Grid.

There, she witnessed the brutal matches to death and the skills of Rinzler. To say the least she had been terrified when he had cornered her.

Well, to be precise, he had come upon her getting mugged by five men. There Kagome came to the realization that humans like herself, or "Users" in this world were unwelcome. They had landed a solid hit to her face, drawing blood from her nose. The assailant froze when he saw the blood on his hand and nearly seemed to faint when he saw it on her face.

She had then taken two down on her own however and all but froze when the fighter had appeared behind the remaining delinquents.

He was unmerciful in his attack, rather than knocking the men out he had destroyed the three. He had stalked towards her like a panther, a seemingly constant growl under his breath as he suddenly pinned her to the wall.

The pressure was there, but he didn't grip her wrists in a tight vice.

He had called her User, he did not freeze like the others had. For a moment she thought she was going to be marched to her death, again. But in that moment she could almost sense a shift in him. He simply released one of her wrists and wiped the blood from her nose gently.

He had brushed against her nose accidentally causing her to flinch. It was then he backed away and then promptly began dragging her away to his apartment.

Where she was now, and where she had been hiding.

He came and went at odd hours, and sometimes for hours.

And in that time she realized something.

Rinzler was at war with himself. He always seemed in a constant state of restraint, and when that restraint seemed to loosen the slights she felt a shift, the same shift.

There were times when he seemed to see her in a different light and attempted to reach out with her.

In those times, he grew more talkative with an almost wistful tone when talking about Users.

Then he would short away.

And never mention those moments.

And she was not sure if she had dreamed it.

But she thought she had felt a face pressed against her chest, right above her heart. She hadn't flinched or moved, Kagome just knew that he was listening to her heart and her breathing.

What shocked her was that she felt a face, not a helmet. He had taken it off.

And like that she had fallen back asleep and when she woke, he was gone.

It saddened her.

But it was okay.

Kagome smiled at the faceless helmet, almost losing herself in the reflection of the city and stars on the glass of the helmet.

She knew that every cycle that passed, they grew closer.

Sometimes he would let her lean on him, he had never pushed her away but no longer tensed under her.

He would even sneak a hand in her own, not holding completely but just resting it on hers.

He was like a child learning.

Rinzler tilted his head the slightest as her face turned red, an action he had seem occur multiple times. She called it a blush.

He liked the way it looked on her.