fourteen | oo24 [ voice // action for housemates ]

[ Xion sits down to make this post in her room, quietly unhappy about it, but knowing she has to persevere. He wouldn't want her to be sad, she knows it.

She'll have to find a new teacher.

But Xion finds she just can't sit still, and rises, speaking as she moves down the hall. ]

For anyone who knew him... Longshot has...

[ then she notices something. Sora's door is slightly ajar, and the inside of the room...

as if entranced, Xion slows, then moves towards it, giving a gentle push. ]

Gone ...

[ it's empty. the room is empty, completely bare of any sign that Sora was ever there. ]

... home.

[ and that's it. Xion has lowered her journal, giving an upside-down view of the wall through the journal's camera as she stares at this empty room.

it takes a moment -- a long, numb, endlessly empty moment that may go on for two or even three minutes -- for Xion to sink to her knees. only then does she finally, slightly, come back to her senses. she adds her final statement in a voice that, while even, is just barely above a whisper. ]

And ... and Sora ... Sora has also ... gone home.

[ if heartbreak had a sound, it would sound like her voice. for anyone who replies to her over the journals, it will be some time before she responds. housemates will likely get to her first. ]

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No, it's okay, it's not your fault... what about you? Are you all right?

[ Rep doesn't know how to properly respond to that. At the best, he knows he probably should be sad. But he isn't... and though he's not going to admit it to Xion, he's proud of that. The real Riku is probably upset by this... and he's not.

But that makes for sucky comforting.

So. ]

He might be back.

[ If Kairi was telling the truth, anyway. ]

No matter how many times you experience it, it never gets any easier when someone dear to you returns home.

[Sora...? That was Kairi and Riku's friend, wasn't it?]

... Sorry.

[ quite some time later: ]

Thank you. ... did you know -- either of them?

[ yeah she's be less than happy to hear that. still, hearing from her Heartless-ified friend suddenly makes her miss him. ]

Hey . . . where are you right now?

It might be a little longer... [ she sounds uncertain. ]

But I will. [ with that, she simply shuts the journal. it ... might be a little more than two hours before she can make it there, Sanji. ]

Not well. But I'm sorry for your loss...

[He'll be waiting there either way, getting lost in his thoughts and grudgingly reflecting on last week.]

[ sdlkghlakjadghd why you gotta hit home so hard, Regal. Xion pauses for a long moment. ]

It's happened before... I've had a lot of good friends go home, but... it's never been like this. Sora is... he's... he's important. [ her tone wavers on that last word, almost an imploring note, asking Regal to understand just how critical Sora was to all of them. it's a hard thing to communicate through words. ]

... I'm sorry too. I miss him already.

... I don't know.

I... [ a pause. ] No. But ... I will be.

[ Xion looks at him for a moment in silence, eyebrows drawn together, then simply moves closer and leans against him, wordlessly staring into the empty room. ]

... it's fine. [ she says this with a sound almost like a laugh, though it's watery. ] Really. You don't have to -- I understand.

I need -- my friends, I need to stay with them...

[ ouch. but as harsh as that is, it rings of the truth, and Xion takes some comfort in it. ] I know. That's the worst part. And it still feels wrong to wish he'd come back, somehow...

[ ... without knowing exactly why, Xion takes a step forward and lightly puts a hand on Kairi's arm. it's meant as a gesture of understanding, or maybe comfort. she wants to do something, anyway. ]

Then do so. I will see you when you wish.

[ it's actually about four hours later when Xion finally makes it out. she still has to meet Fenimore later... but right now, Sanji is sort of a priority.

for once, it doesn't take any courage to knock on the door, and she feels no nervousness like she otherwise might at going to him or one of the other Straw Hats for help.

right now she just feels tired. looks it, too. ]

[ that's okay, because she's not looking at him either, nor really following him. she literally does not know what to do with herself. Axel may miss the way she simply shuts her eyes at what he says. ]

......

[ it's too much. Xion finally releases him and steps away, visibly distressed. she doesn't want to argue with him about bringing Sora back -- she doesn't believe it at all, but she certainly doesn't want to go back to the sort of arguments they had about her death, either. so she just clasps her hands over her chest and hangs her head. ]

... I know. That's why I'm so worried.

[ and it is peaceful. the KH house was so silent, yet all that grief was deafening in its own way. oppressive. here, in the cool air, with someone who isn't grieving... it's actually a little easier.

perhaps surprisingly, she doesn't cry. her breathing calms and she just stays there, huddled against Fenimore, some of the tension slowly easing out of her shoulders. ]

You know ... it's funny. Other people have asked me that... [ a shaky, disbelieving laugh ] Asked me if I wanted company. I wish I knew what to say. I don't know what to do about anything right now. This wasn't supposed to happen...

... other people have said that ... and I'm still not sure what to say back. ... thank you? [ she's not being snide or anything. she just genuinely doesn't know how to react to all these people saying they're sorry for something that isn't, as far as she can tell, their fault. ]

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