The only people Riku put faith in was Sora and Kairi. Riku was not just a teenager; being told you're destined for greatness at age five makes you grow up quickly, ineffectually. There was still a large part of himself that was still a child; still reacted like a smart-aleck nine-year-old who was too full of himself and had a big head. The part that'd never grown up flinched like he was about to be struck because, in his mind, he was. It wasn't as if Riku hadn't, in the past, been beat up, and it wasn't as if it'd been for his fault entirely. Most of the time, it was to protect his other friends, and it came out of nowhere. He knew how to defend himself when everyone else was too weak to come to his rescue, he knew that when someone grabbed you, the first thing you did was prepare to react.
It'd simply carried over to his fighting style.
Maybe if Axel hadn't had such an emotional response, he wouldn't have had such a violent reaction. In Axel's hand, his wrist flinched slightly before he held onto the ice pack, rising his eyes to watch Axel as he stepped back.
Maybe if Riku felt better, he would've retorted about Axel being overly serious or acting like he was some sort of wounded lion, but he just looked down and silently took the pack that'd melted off of the back of his neck, replacing it with the cold one once over with a shudder. He didn't argue against his actions, nor did he try to immediately shrug it off as some sort of freak accident. It was what it was, and he didn't know if there was anything Axel hadn't understood from his sudden movement.
The problem was, Riku didn't want to talk anymore. His heart still rammed in his chest, just a frightened, caged dog pounding against his ribs in an effort to escape as he swallowed and quickly rebuilt a stern facade.
"I know you don't," he finally ventured, crossing his arms over his chest, defensive, hands clasping onto his biceps. "I'm sorry. I'll... tell you when I can."
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The only people Riku put faith in was Sora and Kairi. Riku was not just a teenager; being told you're destined for greatness at age five makes you grow up quickly, ineffectually. There was still a large part of himself that was still a child; still reacted like a smart-aleck nine-year-old who was too full of himself and had a big head. The part that'd never grown up flinched like he was about to be struck because, in his mind, he was. It wasn't as if Riku hadn't, in the past, been beat up, and it wasn't as if it'd been for his fault entirely. Most of the time, it was to protect his other friends, and it came out of nowhere. He knew how to defend himself when everyone else was too weak to come to his rescue, he knew that when someone grabbed you, the first thing you did was prepare to react.
It'd simply carried over to his fighting style.
Maybe if Axel hadn't had such an emotional response, he wouldn't have had such a violent reaction. In Axel's hand, his wrist flinched slightly before he held onto the ice pack, rising his eyes to watch Axel as he stepped back.
Maybe if Riku felt better, he would've retorted about Axel being overly serious or acting like he was some sort of wounded lion, but he just looked down and silently took the pack that'd melted off of the back of his neck, replacing it with the cold one once over with a shudder. He didn't argue against his actions, nor did he try to immediately shrug it off as some sort of freak accident. It was what it was, and he didn't know if there was anything Axel hadn't understood from his sudden movement.
The problem was, Riku didn't want to talk anymore. His heart still rammed in his chest, just a frightened, caged dog pounding against his ribs in an effort to escape as he swallowed and quickly rebuilt a stern facade.
"I know you don't," he finally ventured, crossing his arms over his chest, defensive, hands clasping onto his biceps. "I'm sorry. I'll... tell you when I can."