Into Town
Riku felt uncomfortable going into town feeling the eyes of the townsfolk watching him as they walked down the central square. He hadn't really been out since he first arrived, preferring instead to stay at the shack. Mabel insisted though that going off into town would be a good experience. If he was to stay here a while, he might as well get to know the fellow townsfolk. His first experience was definitely a bit disorienting but Mable assured him that it would all be worth it.
Passing several of the shops and thrift stories, the place was crowded with its usual amount of strange and unique individual people who occupied this mundane tourist trap of a town. It was a sunny day though, and thankfully there was no smell of darkness anywhere, just the smells of people sweat.
Along with Mable, Dipper also decided to accompany them-against his will-also do to his twin's insurance. Something about reading too much and needing fresh air.
"Mabel I could be researching" Dipper muttered as he followed his sister in a huff, "You know solving problems to the great ills of life and the universe".
Mabel rolled her eyes, "Seriously bro-bro, you get more worked up then a workmanon a working day"
"Well yeah, when the forces of darkness steal your world OF COURSE YOU'LL GET WORKED UP!" Dipper was pretty much shaking violently at this point.
Mable continued to just shake her head in shame, "Seriously...Worked...Up"
Riku watched from behind the two of them bicker, deciding this wasn't his place. Beside it was probably what normal brothers and sisters did. He wouldn't know not having any siblings of his own, the only person who came close was Sora, and the two of them used to bicker all the time when they were younger. Guess it evolved into trying to kill each other and joining the forces of light and darkness.
"Howdy kid fighting his inner demons" The old yockle with mangy beard appeared with his dirty hat and clothes, "And Mabel ...And kid with spiky white hair"
"Wait what?" Dipper blinked.
"Howdy Old ManMcGucket" Mabel waved, "He's such a funny old timer...Tragic backstory though".
"I've been sensing something, the forces of darkness moving ...Great change is coming…" He said, voice shrill and panicky, "At least that's what the raccoon who keeps trying to steal my marbles tell me. BUT HE AIN'T GOT THEM YET! Heh heh...Welp off to work on my death ray"
"Should we be worried" Dipper asked nervously
Mabel shrugged, "He's just being wack Old ManMcGucket, besides he got that from a raccoon, everyone knows you can trust racoons, now frogs, frogs you can trust explicitly".
Dipper raised an eyebrow "Why?"
"Because frogs are good"
Dipper just remained quiet.
Riku for his part tried to block all of it, this town was already proving itself to be a bit of a wild card for him. Considering his own hometown was boring, this place seemed to be the exact opposite problem, it was too wild, crazy, and too ...weird. Strange for him to consider it, all he wanted to ever do is leave, and when he did, now he ever wanted to go home. Even if home was still a complicated matter for him and his heart.
"Here we are, Lazy Susans" Mabel said opening the door to a nearby cafe area.
The place was full with the local townsfolk, most of them eating breakfast or having a cup of coffee. Mabel led Dipper and Riku to a table and sat down. Riku looked over and observed some of the people, unsure just what to make of them.
"That's manly dan" Mabel said, pointing to a large buff man with red beard and hair wearing a lumberjack outfit,
"These pancakes are SUPER MANLY!" He shouted, slamming his hands on the table causing it to break in half, "YEAH!"
"Wendy's dad" Mabel added "oh and that's Tobey, local newspaper guy"
"I've got the latest scoop, Orange Juice is better than Apple Juice, it's scientifically proven"
Mabel cringed, "He's strange"
"Apparently" Riku muttered eyes drooping forward.
"Hey pay attention" Mabel snapped her fingers in front of im, "You'll be staying here, you might as well get to know these people"
"Why?"
"Because, they might help you in the future, having friends and people around you is important"
Dipper snickered, "Easy for you to say Mabel, besides not like we had people back home. Barley have people now, apart from Grunkle Stan and maybe Grunkle Ford".
"Well it's better then being all alone" Mabel huffed, "Stuffing your face in books all the time"
"Books that might have answers"
"To what?" Mabel argued, "Sora defeated the bad guys, we don't have to do anything"
"Well what if it happens again, we don't know if Sora even one. The darkness could still be out there, more bad guys out there ..." Dipper looked around and leaned in "Bill Cipher could be out there"
"Dipper" Mabel hissed, looking at Riku who just looked out the window, "Not now"
"It's okay" Riku said holding his hand, "I think about those things all those things all the time. And honestly ...I agree with him".
"What?" Mabel looked shocked, "D-Don't you have any faith in your friend?"
Sora shook his head, "It's not that I don't have faith, Sora did defeat Xehanort, he closed the door. But that doesn't mean there probably aren't other things out there, other threats"
"And we need to be prepared for them" Dipper said, eyeing Mabel seriously "That's why we need to be alert and ready"
Riku bit his lip, but decided not to speak. In many ways he did agree with Dipper, however he wasn't sure if this was the way to go about it. Preparation was all right and good but he could see the intensity in the boys eyes that worried him. In a way it reminded him of himself before his adventure. Alert, snappy, ready to go it alone in order to better control events, thinking that others would get in the way.
If he wasn't careful Dipper might take Riku's own path.
"Hey there sweetie,"
"Hye Lazy Susan"
Riku looked up to see the owner, she had a lazy eye with big bushy grey hair wearing a pink waitress dress. She was holding some coffee in one hand and plates in another. "What can I get yuh"
"I'll have a three steak burger" Mabel beamed
"Pancakes please" Dipper said
Riku paused for a minute, "Salad"
Mabel frowned, "Wow your boring"
"I like to eat healthy what can I say"
Dipper laughed, "Better then Mabel, don't think I caught you eating that barrel of sugar"
"That can't be good for you" Riku commented.
"Oh my gosh" Mabel looked towards the door as someone entered, "Is that...Is that Pacifica"
Riku turned to see a girl, probably around Mabel's age, wearing a scarf around her head and sunglasses. Despite that he could see shades of blonde as she entered the room, her face wearing a lot more makeup than most kids her age. She snuck into the shop and headed towards the dining bar taking a nearby booth. Quickly he saw Mabel rush up to her and say in her loudest voice.
"HEY PACIFICA" Mable screeched from afar.
She jumped looking shocked sighed, "Mabel hush...I wanna remain incognito"
Mable raised a eyebrow, "Okay, but your a Northwest"
"No that's not-" Pacifica grunted, "Nevermind, I'm hiding here in secret?"
"Why?"
"Because"
"Because why?" Mable asked innocently.
"Because -Because I'm a Northwest, and I don't want to be seen here" She said, becoming more frustrated by this "But the food is good, and I'm hungry and I'm sick of eating high end caviar and lobster every single day. A girl needs to pig out from time to time"
Dipper rolled his eyes in the background, "Yeesh, good to know you have rich people problems!"
"Stuff it Pines!" Pacifica shouted before looking at Mabel, "Uh-y-you can join me if you want"
"How about you join us instead"
"Oh...Okay"
Pacifica followed Mabel to her side of the booth, the first thing she did was notice Riku and lowered her sunglasses eyeing him carefully, "So...Who's this guy"
"This is Riku" Mabel said drawing attention to him, "He's knew to town, he's staying with us"
Pacifica snickered, "Hmm...Maybe I should come over for a sleepover after all"
"Ew" Dipper stuck out his tongue, "Wouldn't do you much good, he's gay"
"Dipper!" Mabel huffed.
"What I'm just stating a fact, nothing to be ashamed off, besides, he's got the hots for Sora anyway"
"Dipper!"
"What-Ouch!" Dipper rubbed his head as Mabel smacked his book with it.
Riku cheeks turned a bright red. Yes he liked Sora but again, this idea that he had the hots for him….Sure he was gay….It didn't mean….Perhaps thinking about it was not the greatest idea right now. He tried to calm his mind and returned to apathetic silence.
"Anyway…" Mabel continued trying to end the awkward silence, "Yeah, he's staying with us for a while"
Pacifica smirked, "Bleeding heart as always Mabel"
"Yep, that's me, Mabel Bleeding Heart Pines"
Again the silence.
"So…..Maybe you'd wanna join us around town Pacifica, I'm trying to show Riku the ropes, how better to show him if the town knew the richest and most popular gal in town was his friend"
"Oh great," Riku moaned.
Pacifica again eyed Riku with intrigue, "Sure...He could use a lift"
"A what?" Riku sounded nervous now.
Dipper smirked, "Welcome to heck my friend...Welcome to heck"
"SHOPPING TIME!"
-000-
Shopping.
Riku was a kid of simple taste, he never shopped too much even back on the Island. Sora didn't shop much unless it was with his mom, Kairi never shopped much either. So going to a mall was definitely a strange feeling. Apart from the all the people there he was pretty much a prisoner to Mabel's wills. Pacifica and Dipper seemed to be more or less okay with whatever she wanted to do.
Clothes shopping was first, Riku was forced to try out a variety of various clothes. Mabel suggesting that he 'expand his wardrobe'. He hated every single piece of clothing. Too much of it was flashy and over the top, again because of Mabel she insisted on glitter, too much glitter. Thankfully he didn't buy anything and kept his usual yellow vest.
They went around to a video shop, many of the movies were one's Riku had never ever seen in his life. All of them looked cheesy and ill made with movies like "Attack of the 10 foot Foot" and "Manwolf"
"Why do you Plebs watch this?" Pacifica asked almost in disgust.
Mabel gasped, "Oh girl, we have movies to watch when you come over for a slumber party"
Pacifica just gave a deadpan stare "Oh joy"
After a few hours at the mall, Riku was dragged then to the miniature golf course in town. He had heard about this game but they apparently never had it here. For the most part he stood in the back with Dipper as he noticed more and more Mabel shifting her attention away from him and towards Pacifica, and it wasn't until the 3rd hole that he began to notice a bit of a blush.
Riku raised an eyebrow and leaned in towards Dipper, "So ...What exactly the story there" he pointed to Mabel.
"Who Mabel and Pacifica," Dipper asked.
Riku nodded.
"Oh, long story short they were kinda rivals and or enemies and then I helped her evict a ghost from her house and she got a bit friendly with us but not by a lot ...However Mabel wanted to build on that so she's been trying to be friendly with her and well, I think she's gotten a bit of a crush on her now"
"Really?" Riku looked surprised
"Yeah, I mean, hey it's Mabel she's all about that summer love and since my whole thing with Wendy hasn't been working out ...at all" Dipper frowned for a moment, "I've been kinda you know...Helping out when I can and stuff"
Riku shrugged, "Well good for her, it's nice to have someone to love" He sounded almost bitter and quickly flinched.
No, he wasn't going to take his own frustration out on Mabel. Despite his own failed love of Sora, he would always care about his friend. It was being selfish and yearning for more that allowed him to fall to the darkness in the first place. He tried to shake off the feelings and just focus on the game of golf. Which surprisingly, he was actually really good at, he struck 17 whole in ones without even breaking a sweat.
"Good to see I still have my winning streak" He smirked, enjoying himself as the game went on.
Mabel smiled.
"Yeesh, he's good" Pacifica said wiping the sweat from her brow, "Maybe I should double my training regiment"
"Oh come on, we have one more whole we can take him on" Mabel said, sounding confident, "I know we can"
Riku smirked. "Ok, sure, if both of you get a whole in one on the final round I will assume defeat"
The final whole, the windmill.
"Ah the windmill" Dipper smirked, "Hope the Balls aren't up to there old tricks"
"Balls?
"Golf balls that came to life and tried to kill us" Mabel walked up to the Windmill and opened it to Riku's shock. Inside was several talking walking Golfballs all running around. It took them a while to look up and notice before they all started screaming in shock.
"AH THE EVIL ONE RETURNS"
Mabel giggled, "Ah they remember me...Hi"
"THE EVIL ONE!"
She closed the windmill before heading back.
"Shouldn't be any trouble" She smiled.
Riku just grimace
"Okay let's play!" Mabel shouted.
The game was intense, Riku instincts for victory automatically kicked in first thing. He concentrated on getting the ball through the center hole. Mabel and Pacifica stood by watching hoping for him to lose. Though he wasn't going to give in without a fight, or in this case a simple game of golf. Taking a deep breath, he began to stretch his arm, holding onto the club tight and with a simple swing got the ball through the center hole of the windmill and towards the main one.
The tiny ball rolled through the green, it was just a few inches away and then ...Stopped.
"What!" Riku mouth dropped.
Mabel smirked, "Okay Pacifica, together"
"Together" Pacifica smirked,
The two held the club and swung at the ball and had it swing straight and true towards the hole. It managed to pass Riku's ball hit the end and then go inside the whole without a hitch.
Riku again gasped, "You got to be kidding me"
"YES!" Mabel beamed clapping Pacifica's hand, "We did it, girl power"
"How-" Riku looked at the green and examine it closely, "T-That's impossible, I had it perfectly, that should have gone in the whole perfectly"
"Yeesh dude calm down it's just a game" Dipper said rolling his eye.
"Yeah, one I should have one insantly"
Mabel seemed disappointed, "The point wasn't to win, the point was to have fun though, and did you have fun"
"If I won" Riku muttered.
"Why?"
"Because?"
"Because why?" Mabel asked.
Riku paused trying to think of a good reason as to why winning was such a good idea. His parents had drilled it into him that victory was important. He had to compete, always proving himself that he was the but. As he thought Pacifica just watched eyeing him closely, her face scrunched as she thought about what was happening for a moment.
"Riku," She said, her voice for once not condensending, "Trust me, don't make a big deal over a game of golf, it's dumb"
There was a brief moment of silence as the words went into Riku's head and then it clicked.
Riku just smiled, "Good game" He said extending a hand.
Mable took his hand, "Yeah, see, fun"
"Yeah ...Fun"
Maybe this is what it was like to play with friends.
-000-
The rest of the day went actually pretty well, after a fun round of golf.
Pacifica had to return to her mansion, leaving just the three of them to return back home.
Riku kept thinking about his golf game. It was such a small thing, but the fact he got worked up about definitely put things in perspective. Was he really that bad back home. Had he ever treated Sora or Kairi that way with his competition. He remembered always getting a thrill over winning whenever he was younger, did it only get worse? These thoughts left a sickening feeling as he continued to think it over.
"Hey, what's wrong with you now?" Mabel asked.
"Just thinking"
"About the golf game? Come on Riku, it's just a game, you overthink too much, your like Dipper"
"Hey" Dipper yelled.
Mabel stuck out her tongue "Do too"
"Not getting into this" Dipper muttered, "Nope ...No, I'm not"
"Do too" Mabel snickered looking back to Riku, "Look, the only way your going to overcome a lot of this, if you just stop thinking about every little thing to much. Just sorta...Loosen up and go with the flow".
Riku nodded and tried to think it over.
"Ugh, don't like now Mabel, Gideon," Dipper groaned as they passed the town's landfill.
"Who?"
"A former child physics who's evil and wants to date me," Mabel explained.
Riku was surprised by how casual she responded as he looked up to see a very pudgy looking boy with fluffy white hair glaring back at them. He glared at all of them, his cute chubby cheeks clashing with his far more serious look he was sporting at the moment.
"Pines!" He sneered clenching his garbage stick, "What are y'all doing here!"
"We're just walking through town Gideon, we're free people unlike you." Dipper snapped back.
Mabel chuckled, "Yeah, man you are a stinkarino."
"Because of you!" Gideon pointed to Dipper, "And stop laughing Mabel, my future wife should show respect."
"Woah I am no one future wife," Mabel said, slapping him, "I am an independent free thinker!"
"You're gonna be my Queen!" Gideon yelled.
Dipper got in front of his sister now, "Hey back off psycho."
Gideon in a rage pushed Dipper onto the ground and headed towards Mabel.
"I said you'll-" Gideon started to huf holding his point picket tight as marched he over towards them, but all of a sudden he saw a large shadow loom over them. It was Riku. He felt a switch flipped on, a old protective instinct that he hadn't felt in ages come over them.
"Leave them alone shrimp," Riku sneered, his cold eyes glaring down at Gideon.
Gideon froze as he saw the tall teen, hands balling into first. Slowly the young chubby child physcique began to pace back, clearly afraid of what harm Riku could do. Dipper and Mabel just seemed shocked, surprised by how he was protecting them, despite still hardly knowing them.
"Hey, he's attacking little Gideon," One of the blind looking thugs in the dump said pointing to Riku, "get him."
They began to charge as Riku summoned his sword eater. Instinct took hold as he leaped into the air and landed right on top of the thug knocking him down, another one charing toward him trying to grab Riku. But Riku was tougher and managed to deflecting kicking him in the shin and causing him to fall on his stomach, the last of the goons just stood there in silence as Riku glared at them, Soul Eater pointed right at them.
They rose their hands into the air as Gideon hid behind them cowering in fear. Just looking at him squeal caused Riku to have a small hint of pleasure, as well as a smirk on his face.
"I-I'll have my revenge!" Gideon shouted as he ran away.
"T-Thanks Riku," Mabel said seeming shocked.
Riku just huffed back to his little shadowy corner behind them, "No problem, we should get going."
"Y-Yeah, right…" Dipper eyed Gideon for a moment before heading off, leaving him and everyone else shocked and confused.
Riku didn't want to intervene but something told him that Dipper was really worked up about not being able to protect his sibling. That was something he could understand, after all, didn't he once do whatever it took to defend the ones that matter the most?
