route_1065 | With my old friends

Entry tags:

roxas | kingdom hearts

With my old friends

Who: Roxas and Demyx
Where: Violet City
When: June 23, probably afternoon-ish
Summary: Two ex-co-workers meet for a chance to talk
Rating: G/PG?
Log:

It was weird, being back in Violet city after so long. Roxas could barely remember the last time he was here. It brought back a lot of memories. Especially as he walked by the gym and the Bellsprout tower. It was like nothing had changed. Not even the music.

He wandered around for a bit more, taking in the sites before heading for the pokemon center. Sparky, his pikachu, sat comfortably on his shoulder like usual, and Roxas thought he really didn't look out of place here. Really, he belonged here. But now it was time to meet someone from his past.

He didn't have a lot of memories of Demyx. Just the fact that they went on missions together and that he was usually left with the bulk of the work. He'd been in Johto before, once and only for a brief time. This time he seemed here to stay maybe. You could never tell with this place.

But there was no point in putting it off now. He walked into the pokemon center.

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He hadn't been in Violet very long, only short of a week or so while Valeria was busy with work and Lea worked on his badge battle with the local gym leader. However, Demyx hadn't found anything for himself to do. In the little time that he had spent since arriving in the strange world of Johto the best he could come up with was just to wander about during the afternoons and go out a few times to battle wild pokemon. It was interesting, a whole new world of possibilities, a whole new life as a human to boot. He had a partner, friends, a life all his own and the heart to appreciate it. Really, it was everything he had ever wanted.

Today was no different. Another day in paradise, another afternoon of wandering, this time with purpose. He had a delivery to pick up from the Breeding Center. He had arranged for the 'mons to be delivered to the pokemon center. A Zorua and a Murkrow, two Dark-types to counterbalance his psychics. Everyone liked to pick on him because he played up being goofy and lazy, but he had spent a lot of time considering which pokemon he should get to start off his journey with. He was the recon guy, after all, part of his job was handling and organizing intel...he just...didn't really like putting effort into it so much.

Perfectly understandable. So, as he turned the corner toward the center he was surprised to see the outline of his old...comrade making way inside the very building. Demyx quickly closed the distance and made his way into the center. Once across the threshold he glanced around and spoke out to call for his comrade.

"Hey, Roxas!"

It's weird, seeing Demyx after so long. He's been in Johto for so long, gotten to know the faces of a lot of other people that when he sees one from home, it's almost out of place. Still, it's not like Demyx was Xigbar or Saix or Xemnas so it's not like he was that worried.

"Hey. It's been a while," Roxas replied, managing a wave. He paused for a moment, thinking. "There's a cafe not too far from here. It might be better to talk there than here."

"Yeah, it has...Probably longer for you than me, though." Demyx nodded, then reached up behind his head to scratch the back of his neck sheepishly. He realized the time difference was in effect, that Roxas had been hear a great deal longer than himself, and that the difference meant that what had been the time between Roxas leaving and defecting for Demyx was that and his entire time in Johto plus whatever else had happened in their world between.

"That sounds good. I'm followin' you, then."

Roxas nodded, turning around and heading out the door. It had been a while, but he was pretty sure that he remembered where the place was.

"So, how are you doing? Adjusting to Johto?" He speaks a little hesitantly, still not the best at social situations.

"...Honestly? It's a little weird, but..." Demyx sighed, for someone specializing in intel and recon it was surprisingly difficult for him to cope with all the things that had presented themselves to him over the past few weeks. Putting them to words proved to be an even bigger challenge.

"I mean, one minute I'm fading away...next thing I know I wake up in a panic. My own heartbeat caused it, I had...almost completely forgotten what it felt like. So, I jump out of bed and nearly fall flat on my face, then some woman comes in, hands me the 'gear and a pokeball, and I'm shoved out the door." Okay, surprisingly well so-far. Not the most eloquent explanation, but definitely a sufficient summary all things considered. His hands slowly rose up behind his head, gaze absently wandering around in thought as he considered how to explain everything.

"Guess I might be preaching to the choir with anybody else, but I knew you were always a special case. Different from the rest of us. All that's in the past now, though, isn't it? No more 13, no more Superior and X-face barkin' out orders...no more lookin' for..." A pause and Demyx sighed again. The words hung heavy, but were filled with a strangely distant reverie that rang with every syllable.

"...My heart. No more wishin' I was me again, no more achin' or emptiness or...anything. Here I am, human as can be... How am I 'adjustin' to it all? ...I dunno, really. Well, I guess? Ah, man...listen to me goin' off like this. Sorry, Roxas. Haven't really been able to find a place to get it all off my chest until now, you know?"

"It's fine. I...I sort of get it." The situation isn't quite the same, but Roxas knows the feeling, all too well really. Thinking your life is over and then you're being thrust out on an adventure, it's a pretty quick turn around.

"I think that ending up here was the best thing that could have happened to me. Things. Things were almost over for me to." It's not like that was a secret.

"Yeah, I'm with you there. Weird, isn't it? Gettin' yanked from home and tossed into a whole 'nother world turns out to be the best thing that happened to ya." Demyx chuckled a bit, grinning at the thought. It certainly rang true for them considering all that came with the relocation.

"So...since you've been here a while have you met the guy called 'Lea'?" He asked in an innocent and curious enough way to be transparent about the purpose. He already knew the answer himself, but confirmation from another would help to solidify his conclusion. "I, uhh, have a funny feeling about the guy, you know? He seems like a familiar face somehow."

"Yeah. It's better than being sent to a world I already know or something like that." If he'd ended up in Wonderland or Halloween Town again? He didn't want to think of it.

Roxas did, however, have to scoff at Demyx's question.

"Of course I know Lea. It's his second time in Johto and I've figured it all out. I know who he is, or will be."

It still bothered him, a bit, because he missed Axel. It had been two years and the way they'd parted still kind of weighed on him. But there wasn't a lot he could do about that right now.

"...Ah, I was right then. It wasn't too hard to figure out that Lea is Axel's somebody." Demyx mused offhandedly, interested but unsurprised at the answer he received. "Heh, big as the universe seems to be you can still say 'small world.'" He chuckled again, dryly this time with a very slight bitterness to it.

"So, how's the time treated you so far? You must've gotten up to some pretty big things since you've been here, an' all."

"Yeah, he's pretty much the same guy. Just, uh, don't tell him about the whole Axel thing, alright?"

He didn't like keeping secrets, having had enough kept from him in the past, but all things considered it was probably better. Ignorance was bliss after all.

"Other than that, yeah, things are good. I mean, I got all the Johto badges now, so I'm going to start working on the Kanto ones, and then I'm gonna challenge the champion. And there's my pokemon team to. I'm pretty proud of them."

The Pikachu on his shoulder perks up his ears and gives a "chu!" of approval.

"Er-...I might have let a little bit of that go accidentally when we first met." Demyx admitted to his partial embarrassment and full frustration.

"I took one look at the guy and blurted his name out without thinking, seeing him and hearing his voice took me for a loop." Of course, saying that, he felt bad to have inadvertently let Roxas down a bit. Still, it stopped quickly, and he only made a few vague hints as to what the relationship between himself and Lea's Nobody was.

"I didn't tell him anything he didn't need to know. I dodged all the hard questions and lead him off from it before things got dicey."

It hurt, though, even being honest hurt. A lot of things hurt to think about, too. He didn't miss that feeling. But, he knew. It all came with the package of humanity. Sadness and pain were buddied up with happiness and pleasure, all that stuff.

"Ah, your buddy?" Demyx asked and nodded his head over to the Pikachu curiously.

"He's cute. Lemme think...he's...a Pikachu? They're electric types, yeah? I've been doing my homework lately, trying to look like I know what I'm doing since I plan on sticking it out here for the long haul."

"Yeah, I did that to, when I first met him," Roxas admitted. It had been a disheartening conversation to be sure. "So I think he sort of knows, but just, keep how he becomes Axel and all that quiet. But it seems you already did that. That's all we really need to do."

He nods, hearing the information.

"Yup, he's a pikachu. His name's Sparky. He was my starter, but he was just a pichu back then."

Out of all the pokemon on Roxas's team, Sparky was the one he always kept with him. They were partners.

"Ah! He's a cute little guy, isn't he?" Demyx grinned a bit as he watched the little yellow mouse. "I have a Ralts, I call him Alto Clef. Alto for short. He's a shy little guy, but boy did it throw me for a loop when he decided to show me he can speak...er, communicate with his powers. A telepathic pokemon, who would'a figured!"

It really was quite a surprise to him the first time Alto made himself known. He was almost unable to believe that he was hearing the projected thoughts of the small, shy creature he had befriended, but surely enough it chose to trust him enough to do so. It was at this point that Demyx produced a pokeball from the inside of his coat and, with a quick motion, released the small creature from the place it had asked to rest in.

Once free, the Ralts yawned and stretched its small form out a bit before looking around and- with a bit of a start- noticing the other human and the pikachu. The immediate reaction being to scramble under Demyx's jacket and shyly duck away inside.

"H-hey," Demyx spoke out under a half-chuckle and bent down to open his coat and reveal the young Ralts. "It's alright, Alto, this is Roxas. He's...well, he's a friend of mine from the world I came from. And the pikachu he has with him is Sparky. They're okay, really, you're not fighting them or anything."

The young creature, hearing this, stared up at Demyx for a moment. Shortly after, the blond shook his head in answer to an silently communicated question. Alto appeared to calm down considerably and held out its arms, communicating a quick request to be picked up. Demyx responded them by lifting the pokemon onto his shoulders and letting him situate himself behind the blond's head.

"He's really shy around new people...And he really only ever talks to me. I wish he would open up a bit more, but we're working on it..."

Edited 2012-07-02 17:06 (UTC)

"I've heard psychic pokemon can do that. I don't really have any so I wouldn't know," Roxas shrugged. Sparky in the meantime, waved enthusiastically at the Ralts. He liked meeting new pokemon, especially if they were friends with Roxas's friends.

Roxas paused to take out his pokedex. With all these new pokemon showing up, he was going to have a tough time filling it up.

"You haven't been here for very long. Sometimes it takes a while before a pokemon really trusts their trainer, but it's a good bond to have. They make good friends."

"It's weird, you know. Having him around feels nice, it's...comforting somehow. I read that Ralts are empathic pokemon that passively share the emotions of their trainers...seems like he shares his emotions with me sometimes, too." Alto looked down at Demyx, a small smile forming on his lips at the suggestion. Noticing the pikachu attempting to wave at him, the Ralts shyly waved back.

'H-hello there. Good to m-meet you...Umm...it seems like our trainers know each other s-so I guess we'll just be sitting around while they catch up...' While the other pair spoke, Alto made an attempt to speak telepathically with the Sparky and greet him properly. Demyx had been trying to get Alto to open up a bit when people he doesn't feel any hostility from are around, but the fear and pressure of other people's emotions was sometimes difficult to push aside. As he had been growing stronger it was getting somewhat easier, albeit slowly, and he had decided that perhaps it was as good a time as any to try.

"I guess...Speaking of which, I'm actually waiting on a delivery from the Johto breeding center. A Zorua and a Murkrow should be here pretty soon."

"It's nice to meet you to!" Sparky said, energetically. If he could, the Pikachu would launch himself off Roxas's shoulder to give the Ralts a hug, but he figured he'd wait a bit. "If they're friends, then we should be friends to"

"I don't think I ever got pokemon from the breeding center. Usually I catch them, or get them from eggs that just show up. I've seen Murkrow before, but not Zorua. I've never heard of that one." It was just more proof that he had a lot farther to go on his journey. With all these new pokemon popping up, he had his hands up.

"Apparently, Zorua are capable of transforming themselves. I was warned that it might try to take on a human form based on what it sees..." Demyx mused over the creature and explained a bit of what he had researched.

"However, they're a very good and stable addition to most any team. As it gains levels it learns a lot of powerful skills, and has a high stat gain up to and past its evolution. I was able to ask some people about it and learned a lot from trainers who had raised one."

'Y-yes...That would be nice!' Alto replied. Surely, any pokemon that wished to be his friend was welcome. Especially if it was a trainer's pokemon that his trainer knew.

"You're really taking this seriously. I didn't think you had it in you." Roxas was honestly impressed. Granted, the last time they met, Demyx was still pushing missions on him and other responsibilities.

"If you ever need help with your training, you can let me know."

"Then it's settled!" Sparky cheered with enthusiasm.

"Y'know, Roxas...I might look like a goof an' all," Demyx grinned a bit wider and reached up to poke at his head with his index finger a few times.

"But, you forget that I was the recon guy. My job was collecting and organizing information for the Organization. I'm pretty good at it, when I feel like putting the work in."

Granted that he knew that was code for 'almost never' but, still. The point had been made, he was clever and all just...lazy, and goofy. Really goofy.

"Once he gets here..."

He started, only to be interrupted by the gear ringing. Demyx brought the receiver up to his ear quickly and activated the call.

"Hello? Demyx here," He started, nodding a few times as the person on the other end spoke. "Yeah, that's me. I placed the order in...Oh, good. The pokemon arrived with the delivery. Alright, I'll be there to pick them up shortly. Thank you."

Demyx closed the call and placed his gear back down into his pocket. A quick glance back toward the way they had come showed his mind was back on task, but he didn't quite want to interrupt them talking.

"...Eh, it can wait a few. This is important."

"Yeah, and if you didn't you'd make me do. Don't think I don't remember Olympus Coliseum."

He says it teasingly. Surprisingly, Roxas has managed to gain something of a sense of humour here.

"Of course it is. C'mon, we're almost at the cafe."

"Matter of priorities, Roxas. You're a tough one, and I'm not cut-out for fightin'!" Demyx pouted, then crossed his arms grumpily.

"'Sides, Xigbar was there an' all. I still don't know what he was up to that day...But! That's in the past, now. Nowadays it's spending time with the others and battles, everyone here sure has their work cut out for them with this trainer stuff..."

"It's not that hard, once you get used to it," Roxas shrugged. "Though it can be frustrating when your pokemon's levels are higher than the ones in the area. It's hard to get experience then."

Especially since most of Roxas's pokemon were in the seventies and eighties in terms of their levels.

"But I like being a pokemon trainer. And then one day, I'm going to be the Champion."

"I don't have to worry too much about that, Val and Lea both have pretty good teams. We spar sometimes..."

Thankfully, not being directly involved in the fighting has helped him learn to not be afraid of a fight...somewhat at least.

"Speaking of which! I might go after the gym battles at some point. It seems like they're the biggest thing to do in general..."

"That's good. The gym challenge is pretty fun. I just finished it recently. Your pokemon have to be really tough though. And there's some strategy involved."

Type matchups and what attacks work better than others. Battling pokemon was something Roxas had come to love. There's a pause as he takes out his badges case.

"These are all the Johto ones. I have to get the Kanto ones next."

"Goin' to Kanto next? Huh...You'll be pretty far away."

He says it in an almost depressing way, as though a bit of hopelessness comes from the realization. Then again, this world is still opening up to him, the paths he could take are still nearly infinite in number. Potential futures endlessly lining up to him.

"Well, hey. Keep in touch when you go? I guess that sounds silly, but I don't know anybody here but you. And now that I'm trying to turn myself around I could definitely use a friend."

"I've seen all of Johto now. I feel like it's time for something new."

Two years was a long time to explore one region and he was looking forward to something new.

"I have the gear and it works in Kanto. You can call when you want provided I'm not asleep or something. I keep an eye on the network to."

He shrugs. It'll probably be the closest he'll get to saying they're friends right now.

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With my old friends

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