Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return V2

Kairi looked down at the words, but nodded. "Okay," she replied, her voice soft. If Sora wanted to go, he should; she didn't want to keep him. Plus, she didn't know what would happen if he stayed any longer, and she wasn't sure she wanted him to. What he had said earlier, about how he killed somebody she loved and that he wouldn't be surprised if she left because of it, touched a nerve. She really needed to think, and in peace.

 

Sora nodded, setting his hands on the couch beside him so that he could push himself up. Before he did that, though, he looked back over at Kairi. "If you need anything, you have my phone number," he said. "And you know where my house is." He stood up as he said that second sentence, wincing faintly at the pain in his ankle before he looked back down at Kairi. "Alright?"

 

Kairi nodded once more as she met Sora's gaze. She saw how serious he was about his statements, and it was nice to know that he was still there if she needed anything. "Thanks, Sora," she said then. She might have already said it before, but he deserved to hear it again.

 

Sora nodded at Kairi, seeing in her eyes that she appreciated what he said. If he were his old self, he would have given her a reassuring smile, but today, he couldn't do that. "Talk to you later," he said softly, referring to the time when she would tell him her decision about Hollow Bastion. Or, if she called him any reason before that. Either way, he knew he would be in contact with her again.

 

Kairi nodded slightly, but otherwise remained in her spot. A part of her was afraid to see Sora go, mostly because she was still saddened and scared of what had occurred the day before. But another part of her knew that she needed the space to both grieve and think about the opportunity given to her.

 

Sora looked at Kairi for a moment longer before turning away, starting towards the door toward the entrance hall. He was limping faintly because of his ankle, but he was preparing himself to get used to that pain. He had to walk home from here, so he would have to put up with it for a while. He set a hand on the front door and opened it before he stepped out into the cold winter weather, shutting the door softly behind him.

 

Once she heard the front door close, Kairi leaned forward. She rested her elbows on her knees and brought her hands to her face, sighing. The next few days were not going to be easy for her. She had a lot to think about: Nathaniel, Hollow Bastion, and Sora. She didn't like the thought of pondering over any of them, mostly because either topic involved something disheartening. But Kairi knew this was something she had to do, but first she had to find the strength.

 

Sora was forced to take the walk slowly, despite the fact that he only had on short sleeves and jeans. By the time he was on his road, he was limping pretty badly. He hissed softly and brought down a hand to grip that leg, even if it wasn't helping him with the pain. He needed to get off his feet and take another look at his ankle; it was probably a worse injury then he thought.

 

Roxas approached Sora's front door, the crutches in his hand. After Sora called him, he hadn't been able to get back to sleep, so he ended up getting ready for the day. Once he ate, he grabbed the crutches from his closet and came straight here to drop them off to Sora. The blond rang the doorbell, leaning against the two crutches on his right side, waiting for his friend to answer.

 

As Sora got closer to his house, he noticed somebody standing outside. Unable to recognize them from a distance, Sora felt the urge to summon his Keyblades. But once he reached the bottom of his walkway, he knew who the person was. "Roxas," he said, seeing his friend standing there with the crutches he had requested.

 

Roxas turned around quickly in surprise, his eyes widened slightly. When he recognized Sora, he relaxed a little. "Oh, hey," he said with a weak wave. He then motioned to the crutches. "Just came by to drop these off." He noticed that Sora didn't have a coat, which was odd considering it was freezing outside. The blond dismissed it though, looking at his friend from his place near the door.

 

Sora nodded, approaching the stairs that led up to the porch. He pulled his right hand out of the fist it had been in and used it to grip the railing, using it so that he wouldn't put too much weight on his injured ankle. "Thanks; I appreciate it." As much as he knew he didn't want to use crutches, he knew it was necessary.

 

"Yup," Roxas said, nodding with his reply. He watched Sora and saw that he was limping. He took that as a sign to grab the crutches and finally hand them over. He held the crutches each in one hand, keeping them ready for when Sora got up to the porch.

 

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Sora tried to hold back a wince. His ankle was hurting terribly, as was the rest of his body. He had been slammed against the wall and floor multiple times throughout the fight, and he was feeling it. He took a few steps forward and reached into his jean pocket, trying to pull out his house key.

 

Roxas watched Sora with curious eyes. He said the battle was pretty bad, and by Sora's condition, he was starting to comprehend it a little better. He was surprised Sora was even out of the house, but thinking about it, he assumed he was at Kairi's. After yesterday, it wasn't really a surprise that he would stay there.

 

Sora searched his other pocket, but when that one was empty too, he brought a hand to his forehead. "I forgot to grab a key," he mumbled with a sigh. He wasn't used to having a place to return to every day, so it would take him a while to remember to have his house key on him. Same for his cell phone; the only reason he had it on him today was because he had been talking to Namine right before he went in search of Kairi.

 

Roxas continued to hold the crutches in his hands, looking at Sora. "Extra key?" he asked. If he didn't have that, there were only three ways he could go with this: he could break into his own house, go somewhere else, or unlock the door with the Keyblade.

 

Sora lowered his hand, looking down at the ground as he tried to remember. "Um..." He felt as if there was one, but he didn't know where. "...Either under the mat of that rocking chair--" he nodded to the outdoor chair as he spoke, "--or above the door frame." Those were the only two possibilities he could think of at the moment, so he hoped that one of them was correct.

 

"'Kay." Roxas handed the crutches over in Sora's direction. The chair was right behind the blond, and with Sora's ankle, it probably wouldn't be that easy to reach the top of the door handle. Roxas would do it; he didn't really care.

 

Sora reached out a hand and grabbed the crutches, knowing what Roxas had in mind. Once they were in his grasp, he slipped them under his arms, using them to support him enough that when he lifted his injured foot off the ground, he didn't fall over.