The Foxhole Court Tumblr Part 2

Who is Riko Moriyama?

I don't know if I'm the only one interested, but I need to know more about the sinnamon roll Riko. He clearly had enough context to be more than just the antagonist in the other drafts, and associating him with Drake or Proust seems over-semplifying to me (even though I'd read a background on Drake and Proust any day tbh their headspace is a nightmare and I want in). So...who is Riko?

Riko has been a prick pretty much since day one, but the original Riko wasn't technically a bad guy. He was Kevin's boyfriend, and they'd broken up because Riko cheated on Kevin with Jean. (Kevin and Jean were Fuji and Miki, back then) Jean was the one who injured Kevin's hand when they got into a fight over that indiscretion, and Kevin transferred over to the Foxes in protest.

How Riko went from that to this is like trying to explain how Andrew derailed so far over the years. I wanted a stronger antagonist, so I kept giving him more power–and then I tore a chunk of it away in the final draft out of necessity. He had more presence in the second-to-last draft, just as Neil's father did, but I had to delete entire chunks to balance the story out. It's hard to talk about Riko without talking about Tetsuji, though, so there's a pretty good chance we're gonna detour halfway through this. Sorry in advance.

Riko was a mistake, a second son in a family only allowed to have one. He was passed off to Tetsuji as soon as possible, and his mother was quietly disposed of for not taking proper precautions. ((Never mind that she didn't make Riko on her own)) Riko was kept alive in case something happened to Ichirou before Ichirou managed to have his own first son, but that was pretty much the only point of his existence as far as the main family was concerned. Because he was a contingency plan, Riko had to be educated on who his family was and what sorts of things they were capable of.

For his safety, the security guards that patrolled the stadium and Edgar Allan's campus were Moriyama's people. It didn't matter that Tetsuji & Riko were castoffs– they still bore the Moriyama name, and the Ravens were a costly investment.

((Only one person was stupid enough to make an attempt on Riko. He was handed over to the Butcher and killed in Evermore's tower with a dull axe. Riko was made to watch, and he brought Nathaniel and Kevin with him. They needed to know what happened to those who threatened a Moriyama.))

Perhaps Riko still could have come out of this okay, since he was being raised far away from the Moriyama family business, except no one comes out okay where Tetsuji is involved.

Riko grew up at the Nest, watched over by Tetsuji's assistants so Tetsuji could focus on his Ravens. The only toys he was allowed were Exy balls, and when his tiny arms could hold more weight he was given tiny racquets.

Kayleigh brought Kevin by the Nest whenever her job brought her to the States, and Riko and Kevin would gurgle at each other in the locker room while their parents worked. These were the only times in those first years that Tetsuji interacted with Riko. Tetsuji wanted nothing to do with Riko until Riko was old enough to shape into a star. Riko was too young to understand any of it, but he could connect the dots on at least some level that Kevin being at the Nest = Tetsuji would actually look at him instead of just walk past him without slowing.

Tetsuji, who had plans for Riko, advised Kayleigh to leave Kevin with him. Her job meant she was traveling all the time–it would be better if her son got to stay in one place. She turned him down but said if something ever happened to her, she'd make sure he as the godfather got custody of her child. Tetsuji asked if the father would be a problem ((he'd known since her pregancy who it was)) and Kayleigh reminded him that the father would never know the truth. Tetsuji believed her because he wanted to.

And when Kevin was old enough that he could finally start properly training, something happened to Kayleigh, and Tetsuji inherited her son.

Here is a fact: Tetsuji is not a good person, but he is not his brother. He is concerned with his little kingdom and nothing else outside of it; the Ravens are the only things he must control 100% of the time. He treats them like objects to manipulate, unruly animals that have to be broken before they fall in line, but he does not kill those who can't keep up. He simply breaks them to the point that they can't fight back. (Failed Ravens had a tendency to commit suicide)