Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return V2

"Fine," Roxas agreed, eyebrows furrowed. "But that means one of us will have to be with her a lot, at least until we know how to handle this." The last time they had dealt with someone as dark as Nathan, they had been after Kairi. He didn't think it could be any different.

 

Sora shook his head, disagreeing. "No, we have to stay away too. If Nathan notices any changes in you, then it would give him reason to hurt Kairi. We can't risk that." Kairi's protection was his responsibility, as Leon had told him at Hollow Bastion only a few hours ago. He could always try to speak to Kairi about moving to her original world, but she doubt she would be receptive of the idea right now.

 

Roxas sat up a little more. "He wouldn't see any change," he replied tightly. "I've been this way every time I've been around him. He won't suspect anything." He was referring to how uptight and angry he felt, how dark he felt. The last time he had been around Nathan for more than five minutes, he had been chasing after Jeff. His "change in behavior" wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary.

 

Sora looked up at Roxas, his eyebrows furrowed in seriousness. "Are you sure?" He wasn't going to risk Kairi getting hurt in any way, but it would help if Roxas was able to be close to her. Another thought came to mind, one that was very important. "If you're even near her more than you ever were before, then he will be suspicious. He seemed...unnerved, by my return home, though he couldn't have known where I was or what I was doing."

 

"It's either me, or we leave her alone with him," Roxas said. He lifted his hands in a slight shrug. "I personally would rather go for the first choice than risk Kairi's well-being because we were playing it too safe." He then thought of something, but wasn't entirely sure it was a good idea. He didn't mention it, mainly because it involved Namine.

 

Sora lowered his head, unclasping his hands and then interlinking his fingers behind his lowered head. He didn't have an answer to that suggestion; he needed to do what was best for Kairi. But this wasn't a black-and-white situation--there was no easy way to make sure she was protected. He doubted that he would be able to be close to her, since she had moved on to somebody new.

 

Namine would be the only one that Nathan wouldn't feel threatened by, Roxas realized. But he refused to put her in the path of danger, especially with somebody that held the same amount of darkness within him as Smith. Roxas stared at Sora, deciding it wouldn't be a good idea to say anything unless Sora asked for another option. Of course, he would have to think about it himself; Namine was far too precious to him to lose.

 

Sora stayed in his position, the betrayal starting to sink in. He gritted his teeth together, forcing himself to exhale a heavy breath to calm himself down. Now wasn't the time to release his emotions. "Is there any way Namine can keep an eye on Kairi?" He hated asking that question, but it was the one other option he saw.

 

"I was actually wondering the same thing," Roxas admitted then, eyebrows furrowing slightly at the fact that Sora had been thinking of the same option as he had. "We'll have to explain everything to her, though. I'm sure she won't like it, but if you feel it's the safest option we have, fine--we'll try it." He reached over and picked his phone up off the table next to him, but once he had a hold of it, his eyes found Sora again, very serious now. "But if I feel that anything is getting too dangerous, I'm stepping in. Got it?" Roxas wasn't to be messed with when things involved Namine, so if they were going to go through with this, he was going to be keeping a close eye on Namine, while she watched out for Kairi.

 

Sora lifted his head, his hands going to his knees. "Understood," he said, giving his friend a firm nod. If this was the other way around, then he would have said the same thing. "We don't have to have Namine with her all the time, though; we could have her text Kairi every once in a while. That would be more subtle than having Namine around all the time. Safer, too." He wasn't going to throw one of his friends into a dangerous situation without taking precautions.

 

Roxas nodded in understanding, having been on the same thought process as Sora once again. He flipped his phone open and immediately started typing a text message to Namine about their new plan. He was all for helping Kairi, because she was a very dear friend, but bringing Namine into this was something he was still very cautious about. Roxas could only hope they would be able to get some details about this guy, and come up with a plan.

 

A few days later...

Sora laid down on his back, staring up at the ceiling of his bedroom. It was midday, but he didn't have any place to be. The only "exciting" thing that happened was that he got a call from Kairi a day or two ago. She tried offering him an explanation for why she was dating somebody else, but Sora calmly said he didn't need to know. It didn't matter, as long as she was happy. That was true, except for who she was with. Sora was in constant contact with Namine, who had instructions to text him or call him with updates a few times a day.

 

Kairi had her arms crossed, blocking more of the cold from her form as she walked down an empty street with Nathan, his arm around her. She wasn't entirely social lately, not after Sora's return. She had finally mustered up enough courage to call him and try to explain, but he had simply told her he didn't want her to elaborate on anything. When he admitted that he just wanted her to be happy, she had nearly burst into tears; she had betrayed his trust and loyalty, and yet he still wanted the best for her. Kairi couldn't help but think about Sora after that, and it was obvious that Nathan noticed. She could see he was growing impatient with the fact that she wouldn't talk about it, so she was happy when he finally gave up and instead suggested a walk for some fresh air. Kairi agreed immediately.

Nathan kept Kairi close to him, aware that he had a role to act out. Kairi had been so distracted lately with this Sora guy that he finally decided trying to get into her head was useless. Instead, he talked to some people, and they were to carry out something he had planned differently, but things changed. Now that Kairi was feeling down, he figured it was the perfect opportunity to get her off this world and onto his own, so he took matters into his own hands. It was only a matter of time before things began to play out.

 

Sora rolled to the side of the bed, setting his feet on the ground as he sat upright. When Namine wasn't hanging out with Kairi, she was often texting her. Sora didn't know what they spoke about, but he didn't really care as long as somebody was able to be in contact with Kairi. That way, they would know if something was wrong or not. Unfortunately, Sora could no longer communicate with Kairi through his heart. He didn't have to try to know that they weren't connected the way that they used to be. Nevertheless, his instincts were sharp, and he felt like he could somehow sense if something was wrong.

 

Kairi was also thankful that Namine had been there for her. Roxas kept his distance, and she knew it was because of what she did to Sora. Now that he was back, it was hard to ignore the aftermath of her decision. However, Namine had been around to help Kairi deal with it; she was a good friend. Kairi was lucky to have her. The redhead's thoughts got distracted when she felt Nathan's hold on her tighten slightly. She looked up at him. "What is it?"

Nathan's eyes were directed at a group of people walking the opposite way on the other side of the street. "Trouble, ten o' clock," he simply said. He recognized the people immediately, slightly amused by their attire; they had to blend in somehow with this world. Regardless, he kept his mask on, his lips set in a firm line.

"What?" Kairi asked in surprise, her eyes instantly moving to her left, focusing on the people across the street. They looked like young men, around their twenties from what she could tell. But she could also see that they looked dangerous, almost threatening. "Should we turn back?" she asked quietly, looking up at the boy next to her.

Nathan lifted his arm and ran a finger under his nose, that being the signal. However, he focused on his task, and that was playing along. He stopped as if in alarm, his grip on Kairi loosening a little as the group across the street made a little noise and then looked both ways before making their way toward them. "I don't think that's an option anymore," he said. The men picked up their pace a little, evil smirks on their faces and glints in their eyes. Perfect, Nathan thought. "Run. Now."

Kairi's eyes widened and she felt Nathan usher her forward urgently. She didn't hesitate following his orders, her heart skipping a beat in fear as she picked up her pace from a walk into a run, hearing hollers and protests from the group coming toward them. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Nathan running right behind her, and the men beginning to follow.

 

And speaking of instinct...Sora suddenly felt nauseated, and he didn't hesitate to pull out his cell phone. He opened it and dialed Namine's number to see if she had been in contact with Kairi recently. He held the phone up to his ear with one hand while he got up off his bed, slipping on a pair of sneakers.

Namine sat on her couch, putting down the book she had been reading when her cell phone rang. "Hello?" she said, having seen from the caller ID that it was Sora who was calling her.

"Have you spoken to Kairi lately?" Sora asked, getting straight to the point. He knew when to trust instinct, and he needed to act quickly to try and figure out what exactly was wrong.

Namine shook her head, though she realized that Sora couldn't see her. "No. I haven't talked to her since this morning." She texted her earlier that afternoon, but she had said that she would be...out with Nathan. "She's with Nathan."

"Where?" Sora asked, his tone serious as he slipped on a black leather coat. He needed to go, and he needed to go now. Kairi was in danger; he could feel it.

"Um..." Namine bit her lip, trying to remember. Sora's urgency was making it harder for her to think, though she didn't dare say that aloud.

"Namine!"

"Near his house!" Namine said, finally remembering. "He lives on the corner of 13th street and Orchard. They're probably in that area."

 

Kairi reached the end of the street and suddenly felt a tug on her wrist, jerking her to her right. Nathan had a hold of her now and was running a step ahead of her, leading the way. She glanced over her shoulder and realized that the group of young men were only about ten or fifteen yards behind them; in other words, they would have to get lucky to lose them. Kairi felt herself panic, turning her head forward again in time to dodge a pile of snow covering some of the sidewalk. What was going on? Why were these men after them?

 

"Thanks," Sora said shortly, hanging up his cell phone. He stuck it in his pocket and tied his shoes before he ran through his house and to the front door. His skateboard was there, and he knew that he would need it to get to that neighborhood quickly. He grabbed it and opened his front door, shutting it behind him when he was outside. And then he threw down his board and rode it, still skilled at it even though he hadn't done it in months.

 

Nathan looked over his shoulder, seeing the familiar people still chasing him and Kairi down. All was going according to plan. Good. His eyes fell on Kairi as she tried to keep up, running quickly. She looked scared for her life, which meant his plan was working. He just had to keep going along with it. He turned his head forward again, still holding onto Kairi's wrist as he ran down the sidewalk.

 

Sora was glad that the area around his home wasn't heavily populated; he could go as quickly as he needed to go. The location Namine had given him was a few blocks away from his house, so it would take a few minutes to get there. But that didn't mean that Kairi and Nathan would be there. He growled softly in frustration, still moving forward. He would find her, no matter what. He was her protector.