Back To The Start [Closed]

The Olympus Coliseum... it had been quite some time since Sephiroth found himself here last. He had attempted to search Radiant Garden for Cloud first, since that was one of the last places they last encountered one another, but the fools took steps to keep people like him out. It was almost enraging. It mattered not to the soldier, however. There were still plenty of holes that his quarry could hide in. This was a place where they had fought once before. Perhaps he was here? Sephiroth would find that who he sought was here no longer, but that didn't mean that this place held nothing of interest.

As Sephiroth exited the lobby of the coliseum, he saw a most curious sight; a boy. He kind of reminded the one-winged angel of that Sora kid he fought a few years ago. It wasn't him, though. While Sora carried the overwhelming stench of the light, this boy... he had very clearly been touched by darkness. Like the stench of a skunk's spray on clothing, it never truly came out. What happened next piqued the soldier's curiosity even further, however. With a wave of his hand, he called forth a vaguely key-shaped weapon.

'A keyblade.' Sephiroth hadn't seen the weapon in quite some time, but the appearance and method of summoning was unmistakable. "How fascinating." The silver-haired man smirked briefly before approaching the kid, his arms crossed. The boy recalled his weapon, though he might have wished he kept it drawn by the time their interaction was done. Sephiroth's own weapon, his loyal Masamune, was secured to his hip. The soldier could almost hear it calling for the blood of the Keyblade Master.

Sephiroth would stay his hand for now, though. The boy might have information worth extracting. He stopped mere feet from Riku's back. He stayed silent for a moment, thinking about how easy it would be to draw his sword and run him through. The soldier didn't need to, though. The knowledge that he COULD was more than enough. "You there, key-bearer." The man in black addressed Riku directly, his voice betraying no hint of the murderous intent he had.

"Your heart... it bears the mark of one touched by the darkness. Tell me, what brings you here to this... place?" He looked around at their surroundings with a slight frown at the last word.

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Riku

Riku reacted about like Sephiroth assumed he would. The man in black smiled an amused smile as Riku went on a spiel about friends and whatnot. How his heart was his own. 'Naive.' The man thought the word with more than a hint of superiority and arrogance. He wouldn't argue that point, though. Whether or not Riku's heart had been touched by the darkness was not the conversation Sephiroth was looking to have.

He would simply respond with an insincere line given with a tone that had a drop of amusement in it. "Of course. Forgive me." He knew these types. He had encountered them all throughout his life. When asked what he was doing here, Sephiroth shrugged. "Just looking for somebody; a blond  man. A warrior dressed in black. He carries a large sword. Have you seen him?" While Sephiroth doubted the boy would give him a truthful answer even if he had seen Cloud, he wanted to put him in a position where he had to either lie or tell him the truth.

It was a game to him. A little song and dance before he dealt with the Keyblade Master. Asking strangers about his target had simply become a formality at this point. He kept his azure gaze fixed on Riku, the silver-haired man's hand resting casually on the pommel of his sword. 

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Riku

Sephiroth frowned slightly at Riku's words. Not only had he not seen Cloud, but his attitude about it was getting on the man's nerves. The silver-haired man narrowed his otherworldly blue eyes at the Keyblade Master before him, gripping Masamune's handle eagerly. "You haven't seen him then?" The one-winged angel didn't get the sense that Riku was lying to him. Still, it didn't matter. He got what he needed from the key-bearer. Now it was time to clean up.

Taking his hand off of his sword's handle, the soldier took a single step towards Riku. Sephiroth paused briefly before introducing himself. "My name is Sephiroth. If you make it out of this alive, be sure and remember that." He brought his right fist to his chest, then threw it out to the side. A single black wing unfurled from his back, spreading several black feathers over the area. "...But do not despair, I will make sure that you die here." 

Sephiroth spread his stance and lowered his center of gravity, wrapping his left hand around Masamune's handle in preparation to attack. "Now, come. Show me your skill, Keyblade wielder. Die in a way worth remembering." Sephiroth exuded an aura of dark malevolence. This battle was happening, whether Riku was ready for it or not. If he declined Sephiroth's invitation at a first strike, Sephiroth would simply be the one to get things started.

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OOC; Sephiroth is rarin' for a battle! =D

Riku

Sephiroth didn't quite expect Riku to run away. He thought those who wielded Keyblades were supposed to brave. Though the only ever Keyblade wielder he really met was Sora, so he didn't really know much about them as individuals. As Riku threw a spell at his face, Sephiroth tried his best to see through the darkness, but to no avail. He growled and waved away the cloud of black smoke as best he could. Eventually, the magic dissipated just in time for Sephiroth to see Riku flee into the lobby of the coliseum. 

The soldier frowned, standing up straight and looking towards where his target fled. "Coward." The man in black drew his sword and began walking casually towards the coliseum proper. He kicked open the door once he got in range, an expression of slight annoyance on his face. Sephiroth took a step into the lobby, wary of an ambush.

His training was etched deep in his mind. Almost without thinking, he could identify conditions for an ambush and put himself on guard instantly. He would scan the interior, looking for Riku. If he did not find him here, he would next make his way to the arena. Sephiroth wasn't going to let this one get away.

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Riku

The soldier continued through the lobby, looking under every rock for his target. At this point, his goal wasn't even to fight him. Cowards were no fun to battle against. At this point, Riku was worth more to him alive. With a sigh, he sheathed his sword. He was about to continue into the arena when he noticed a curious sight in one of the metal braziers that lined the walls. He saw the reflection of the boy trying to sneak out. 

'Hmph. Slippery little key-bearer.' The man in black pretended not to notice the boy for a moment. He would wait until he was almost up to the door before speaking in at a volume high enough to echo throughout the lobby.. "Before you scurry away, answer me this; who do you work for?" Sephiroth turned to face Riku, his azure orbs burning with hate. "I want someone who can provide me with an interesting distraction while I wait for Cloud. It is clear to me now that this person is not you. Even Sora was interesting, if a little irritating. You are simply annoying."

The one-winged angel gave the silver-haired boy a sinister smile. "If there is one thing I cannot stand, it is someone with power refusing to use it. Those people are cowardly." He approached the boy. "The situation you find yourself in is perilous, but there is an easy way out. Answer my simple question and I will allow you to leave." 

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Riku

Sephiroth smirked at Riku's response. He had a strong personality. Like Cloud. Men like that interested the soldier. He had no interest in making enemies out of weak-willed clods.  man is defined by who his enemies are, and Sephiroth would not allow an enemy to be made out of the unworthy. It seemed that Riku would not be giving in to the pressure. That was fine. As Riku laughed once more, Sephiroth simply kept his smirk, staring at the boy.

The Keyblade Master had passed every test thus far. Perhaps he believed that he would walk away from this conversation having given Sephiroth nothing. However, this was not entirely true. While the soldier had not learned who Riku worked for, he learned something almost equally as important; that the boy before him cared for them. That was almost more important than actually learning their identity.

As the Keyblade wielder turned to leave, Sephiroth gave him one final statement. "Report to your superior. Tell them what happened here." He said it for more reasons than one. He knew from the brief time they knew each other that Riku disliked Sephiroth telling him what to do. He suspected that he would report to his superior anyway-- whoever they were-- and he would tell them about what had transpired. A small victory for the man in black. "Tell them Sephiroth sends his regards, and..." He narrowed his eyes at the boy. "...that i'll be watching with great interest."

He smirked one final time before darkness came up from the ground at his feet, slowly swallowing him whole as Riku left the lobby. Once the shadows vanished, Sephiroth was gone.

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Thread exit! Had a great time. :3