(no subject)

[ex_aeroga402]

Who: Riku islandshore and you!
Where: Saffron City
When: January 17th, starting at 3pm
Summary: Rikuday has Arrived!
Rating: G
Log:

[It was pretty easy for Sora and Ven to get everything prepared, because they were hardly alone. Everyone who showed up early helped with decorations, and Hikari helped keep the zanier ideas in check - no longer would it rain glitter on Riku when he entered the room, she pared him that fate.

As the hour of the party drew close, Sora went to pick up Riku. The plan was to usher him to the building blindfolded and get him to the room they'd reserved. If Riku saw the outside, the surprise would be spoiled. And so, while waiting for the birthday boy to arrive, Ven flicked off the lights and prompted everybody to hide.

Any minute now, Sora'd be back with Riku...]


[ooc: Notably, there are a lot of people who said their characters would attend who don't have tags for this community. I think they have to be added to the list by mods, but everybody's welcome to participate here regardless of that, so come right on in!]

Comments

[usedswift]

01. Wallflower
This was a pretty new thing for Tenten, a party with civilians. A party at all, really. Of her two teammates, Lee had always seemed like the most likely candidate to party but Neji...? Picture Sasuke, but even more unapproachable.

Still, this was a new place for her, full of people she didn't know (or really trust yet, most of them), so she hung back a bit, ready with a friendly smile for anyone who approached, but mostly just watching, trying to figure out the different social dynamics among everyone here.

------
02. JPop-ninja...?
Alright, it had taken a while, but she'd finally approached the stage herself. A little bit of attention in exchange for meeting other people couldn't be too bad, right? And she had enough confidence in her singing abilities, especially considering that she was following a Blastoise.

A beat as she took a breath to prepare herself, then started to sing to this. One couldn't quite accuse her of dancing, but she wasn't going to stand still, either, swaying with the upbeat music and moving back and forth along the stage.

[beforethedarkness]

The first person to come to her likely wasn't someone Tenten would smile for; Sasuke, having just dropped his gift off at the table, decided to stop by Tenten and just stood beside her, watching the others idly.

"... How're you adjusting?" He asked quietly, still watching the others but clearly listening for what Tenten had to say so far. Whether it was about the group or about simply being in that strange new world, however, was up to her.

[usedswift]

She spotted him coming, giving him a measuring look and a smile nonetheless, but she didn't speak first. Instead, she returned her attention to the crowd, unconsciously following his gaze to survey the rest of the crowd.

"I'm fine," she answered without looking at him, though if he was paying any attention at all, he'd likely be able to tell from her tension that she was lying about that, at least. "Everyone's been really nice so far, and I have a razorbird for a pet. It's like a vacation~"

[beforethedarkness]

He glanced over to her again before leaning back, closing his eyes and sighing softly as he felt his Riolu clinging even more tightly to his leg.

"..."

But, naturally, he didn't say a word about it. It wasn't any of his business at all. Instead he reached down to gently scratch Sakura behind her ears, trying to get her to calm down and quit quivering. He didn't think she'd be this shy around crowds...

[usedswift]

"What about you, Sasuke-kun?" She glanced to him then, trying to gauge his expression, before crouching down to offer her fingers to the quivering Riolu to sniff in the hopes that maybe it would calm down, even a little. "Have you adjusted, here?"

It wasn't quite accusing, just quietly curious as she looked up at him from her crouch.

[beforethedarkness]

Hesitantly she leaned forward to sniff Tenten's hand, looking up at her when she was done. She stopped shivering at the least, which got Sasuke to straighten as he shook his head, "... It's different. I think I'd still rather have my chakra."

[usedswift]

Tenten smiled down at the Riolu and tried to pet it gently atop the head. "Yeah, I know what you mean... I'd like to be somewhere where weapons aren't illegal, too. But I'll manage. If you can do it, I should be alright."

[beforethedarkness]

She almost shied away from Tenten's hand, but she let her touch her just fine and blinked up at her again, making a questioning noise in her throat at Tenten while tilting her head at her.

Sasuke, satisfied that Sakura wasn't going to bolt on him, leaned back on the balls of his feet and asked, "... I'm going to go after the Rainbow Badge on Saturday, after this. Have you thought about what you want to do?"

[usedswift]

Tenten could only smile again and coo softly in response to the Riolu's sound, a little charmed by the smaller Pokémon's shyness as she tried to stroke its head again. Both of hers so far were pretty aggressive, so something like this was almost sweet.

Her eyes flicked back up to Sasuke again, and she shook her head. "Badges... I've read about those. Everyone's told me that there's no way home, but... I have to keep looking. Maybe make a name for myself by following this place's rules, but I..."

Was it too close to vulnerability to admit that she just wanted to go home, to know if Lee was going to be okay, to help Neji now that he seemed like he was on the road to not being a total jerk? She shook her head again, voice firming. "I can do this."

[beforethedarkness]

"Good."

After a beat, he added, "It's the first badge I'm going after. If you want to see what a gym battle is like, the battles usually aren't private."

Sakura seemed to enjoy the attention and leaned into Tenten's hand, making another noise and even nuzzling into it. Okay, she could like this person. She seemed friendly enough, and if her trainer was comfortable around her then she could be too!

[usedswift]

Tenten smiled again and gently tried to pick the Riolu up, intending to hold her in against her shirt so she could meet Sasuke's eyes more easily. "Would I be able to go with you and watch? I'd like to see how you fight, here."

[beforethedarkness]

She was a little hesitant, but Sakura went with Tenten easily enough and shifted to get more comfortable with the grip before giving a small bark of approval up at her.

"... The gym leader can only take one challenge at a time. But I don't think there's anything against spectators."

[usedswift]

Cute! Tenten nuzzled her nose against the top of the Riolu's head and shifted her own grip to accommodate, holding her easily.

"I don't think my guys are going to be ready for something like that for a while. We still need more training together, after all."

1

[chosen_light_child]

Hikari blinked, looking over at Tenten as she came across her, before smiling and walking over to the other girl. "Hey Tenten-san! I'm surprised to see you here." Which was true, since she just got here, she was surprised that the other girl knew Riku...

... Actually, chances were that she didn't know Riku at all, actually. Still... "Are you enjoying yourself?"

[usedswift]

She started with a little surprise at hearing her name, not expecting to run into anyone she actually knew here save for the other two ninja of her village. At the familiar, friendly face, she couldn't help but smile and offer a quick wave. "Hikari-san! Yeah, it's really nice here."

She gave her a quick incline of her head and another smile. "It's nice to meet you in person, finally."

[chosen_light_child]

Hikari smiled. "Yeah, I know what you mean. There's a lot of people that I didn't know in person for a good long time though, I'm glad that it wasn't that long for us," she said.

"So... do you know Riku, or do you know someone else that knows him?"

[usedswift]

"Yeah, it's definitely better this way. As cool as it is to talk to someone on a little screen like that, I like meeting people."

Tenten clasped her hands behind her back and offered a somewhat sheepish smile. "Well... I spoke to Riku once, over the 'gear. I'd like to get to know him better, if I can, but I'm mostly here because Sasuke-kun is here. What about you?"

[chosen_light_child]

"I've known Riku for a while, actually. Though we generally don't meet in person all that much," Hikari answered.

Actually, they didn't really get along at first either, but well, that was a good long time ago.

"But wait, you know Sasuke-kun?"

[usedswift]

"Oh, yeah? This whole not-seeing-people-in-person thing, I'm going to have to get used to it, I guess."

She still didn't like it; she didn't trust that it's really secure when filtered or that it was actually the other person on the other end, but it was functional enough, she supposed.

"Huh? Yeah, we're from the same village, me and him." She tapped her pointer finger against her forehead protector, the band of metal she constantly wore attached to cloth and tied around her head. "He's a year younger than me, though, so I don't know him all that well, either."

[chosen_light_child]

Hikari blinked. "Oh. Yeah... I guess that makes sense. I never really asked Sasuke much about where he's from, so I didn't even know that he was a ninja. But at least you have someone from back home here, right?"

[usedswift]

"Oh..." Crap, was that something she wasn't supposed to go around telling people? She was just so used to people seeing the headband and just knowing that one belonged to a ninja village...

"Yeah, it's something. But even then, everyone else has been pretty great, too! I think I might have more friends here than I ever did back home!"

[chosen_light_child]

Hikari blinked. "Yeah. Though, I mean, he is Sasuke-kun. I'm lucky I manage to get full sentences out of him," she said. "But really? I mean, you just got here a little while ago, right?"

[usedswift]

She couldn't help but laugh quietly at the description of Sasuke, nodding once. "Sasuke-kun is a lot like my teammate, Neji. They're always so wrapped up in their own thoughts, it's hard to get a word in edgewise, I think."

Tenten hummed quietly and clasped her hands behind her back, fiddling with her fingers. "Well, back home, I mostly spent time with my team. Neji, Lee, and Gai-sensei. Don't get me wrong, I want to go home, but..."

[chosen_light_child]

Hikari nodded. She... well, she could understand that. Especially considering that Tenten was a ninja. That obviously made things more difficult for her friend wise.

"Well, as long as you're here, you'll just have to keep making friends then, right?"

[usedswift]

"Yeah, I'm going to try!" She gave Hikari another smile, this one a little more confident, though she didn't stop fidgeting with her fingers. "Do you mind if I ask how long you've been here, Hikari-san?"