Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora suddenly felt dizzy, the pain coming to his head now as well as his leg and arm. He must have hit his head on the ground, though it mustn't have been too hard, since it hadn't knocked him unconscious. He released a pained breath, leaning his head against the wall behind him as his eyes shut. He needed something to distract him from this pain, but he didn't know what. Conversation probably couldn't hurt...at last not as badly as the wounds did.

 

Riku opened his eyes at the noise, his head turning to locate Sora. He saw him clutching his leg and the expression on his face. "Left side?" he asked, his voice flat. Riku had seen that Sora was lying on that side when he finally got down to his level; he figured that maybe he landed on it. Possibly.

Roxas glanced up, hearing the few words, but he instantly looked back down at his hands. His head hurt from all this thinking, the memories, and the pain he had endured during the fight. Riku had pushed him roughly against the wall once, and he had knocked his head. Perhaps that was why it was hurting now, though he had ignored it for as long as possible. Now that it was quiet, it was a little hard to avoid it.

 

Sora opened his eyes at the question, trying to mask the pained expression. He should have expected that at least one of his friends would be looking at him. He turned his head slightly and looked up at Riku, who was leaning against the wall. "Yeah," he said simply.

 

"I figured," Riku commented, looking at his friend before turning his gaze forward again. "I should've watched where I was aiming. Sorry." He always took in his surroundings, either before or during battle. That included who or what was nearby.

A small frown had found a place on Roxas's face subconsciously, the boy staring off into space. Why did this have to happen now? Actually, no, he was glad it occurred now instead of later or earlier. He didn't think he'd be able to handle having Namine see him go through this...

 

Sora diverted his gaze to the wall in front of him, displeased with Riku's answer. "You shouldn't have been 'aiming' at all," he said softly. "You two should have listened and called it off before it got that heated." It may have seemed like he was being a bit harsh, but under these circumstances, he believed his tone was justified.

 

Riku didn't say anything. Instead, he simply exhaled a heavy breath. Sora was right, but it was hard. Riku was a little surprised at himself, because he had never been that angry before, never gotten into such a...dark battle like that with someone. Xehanort's Heartless had been close, but this was somehow worse.

Namine. Roxas lowered his head slightly at the thought of her. He missed her so much, and longed to hear her voice for the past month and a half. But now he wasn't sure if he wanted to see her, not after...this.

 

When Sora was responded to with silence, he lowered his head, his chin resting on his chest as his eyes fell shut. Guess now I'll be babysitting both of them from now on, he mused. To make sure that they don't kill each other whenever they get the chance. Great. This was a bad situation, but he wasn't sure if he was ready for an answer to the question of why this even happened.

 

"You know," Riku started after a second, his voice without much fluctuation. "This is exactly what I was talking about a month ago..." Back in Agrabah, when he told Sora that they would end up just slowing him down. True, they had made great progress with the three of them. But it had slowed down when Roxas's memories started returning, and the fight just now was another problem.

Roxas's thoughts had trailed off, and he caught on to what Riku said. It looked to be the start of a new topic. He glanced up from under his lashes slightly, his head still lowered a little bit. He had a feeling that Riku was referring to the fight, but with him Roxas could never be sure. He hadn't been sure of a lot of things involving Riku until just recently.

 

"So what're you suggesting?" Sora asked, lifting his head and opening his eyes. "You're just going to ditch us?" That's not gonna happen, he added mentally. The Heartless really were growing stronger, and the reason that the battles were even possible to win was because the three of them were working together. Surely Riku realized that.

 

"Did I say that?" Riku asked. He turned his head to Sora, looking down on him with a raised eyebrow. Things were too complicated now, he realized that. As stubborn as he was, Riku knew he wasn't going to leave the two behind because of this. However, things would be harder, considering the circumstances.

 

Sora looked up and met Riku's gaze, his eyes softening after a moment. He was being too defensive; Riku hadn't come right out and said anything. "I don't understand half of what's said around here anymore," he stated, a soft sigh following that. So many empty holes...too many questions to ask. And too much tension in the air to ask them.

 

Riku turned his head forward again, gazing across the dimly lit cave. "Isn't it always that way?" he wondered aloud, thinking of the last few years. There were always complications, mysteries that needed to be solved. There were always situations somebody didn't understand, or questions that had to go unanswered for a while.

Roxas stayed silent, his eyes falling on one of his knees. Taking in the situation and the conversation, he felt he was one of the people that could relate to that. He had always wondered what connection he had with the Organization other than being a part of it, and now he knew, after so long of no answers to help clear up the haze.

 

Sora didn't quite get what Riku meant behind his words. Was he joking? "You mean me never understanding or clueless people in general?" he asked, a slight smirk appearing on his lips. He couldn't deny that he was often the most confused person around, in any situation. He didn't like the position, but in a way, he had gotten used to it.

 

Riku let out a single chuckle, but then exhaled softly. "Not just you," he said with a sideways glance. He then looked forward again, his faint smile disappearing. "Everybody, even me." Becoming a Keyblade master came along with a tough responsibility, and many curiosities. There were many things that had still gone unanswered, but he could never find the right words to form the questions.

 

Sora hummed slightly in agreement, facing forward again. "You always seem to have the answers, though," he confessed softly. Riku always seemed so knowledgeable, but he supposed that there was no way he could fully understand everything life threw at him, or at his friends. Like this situation; he was probably trying to figure out why this was happening.

 

Riku lowered his sight to the ground at the words. "That's only because I'm around the right people, like DiZ," he said softly. "And I don't have to worry about sealing the Keyholes. You have that covered."

Roxas blinked once, still staring at his leg. He was beginning to realize just how out of the loop he was in this conversation. Sora and Riku were discussing who did what, and who had what answers. Roxas, he had nothing. They couldn't include him in this, because he hadn't done anything worth mentioning.

 

"And being manipulated," Sora muttered. "Pretty good at falling under that category too." He felt bad that he had almost completed Kingdom Hearts for the Organization, and having them capture Kairi to make sure he came for them and fought more Heartless along the way. He felt so stupid sometimes...why did people everywhere want to control him? Didn't he have the right to live his own life?

 

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Riku said, not lifting his eyes to Sora. "People can be sneaky. Sometimes you just can't see through them. After all, I fall under that category myself." Riku then frowned slightly at the recollection. "But, hey, at least you weren't possessed. You've got that going for you." He briefly thought back to Maleficent, and Xehanort's Heartless. They had tricked him, and Xehanort's Heartless had abused Riku's choice of not being afraid of the darkness. Riku wanted to shudder at the memory, but stayed still.

Roxas remained quiet, only listening. He was actually a little surprised at Riku's words; nobody had told him about that. He guessed it was a hard topic to discuss. Regardless, Roxas already knew that that had happened because of Riku's decision regarding the darkness. His fault, really, Roxas thought silently.

 

After a few moments of silence, Sora realized that Riku had a point. "Guess you're right," he said quietly. He didn't want to follow this thread any longer, afraid he would say something that would bring up more dark memories for his friend. It was a touchy subject, and he knew that he had to tread carefully whenever it came up.

 

"Anyway," Riku started again, looking up at one of the drawings on the wall. "When it comes to having the answers, you need to keep yourself near the right people, like I did. DiZ was one, and so is the King." He always did have most of the answers Riku was looking for, and helped him through the Dark Realm until they were separated.

Roxas looked up at Riku, a frown still on his face. "Don't forget your time with the Organization. Apparently you have to sneak around to get some answers, too," he said, his voice soft but holding a darker tone. He didn't appreciate being followed or spied on during his time in the Organization, even if it was for Sora.