Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora looked up. He had made up his mind; someday soon, he would get the answers he sought. He opened his eyes and turned around on his feet, his leg feeling so much better he didn't even grip it with his hand. Above him, the sun was setting, so he knew that it would be best to go somewhere else. "We should go inside somewhere," he said quietly to his friends, first looking to Roxas and then to Riku.

 

Riku nodded once. "Sounds good," he said in agreement. "Let's go." He already turned and started toward the cave they had occupied before, seeing that as their "safehouse" on this world. Riku was beginning to wonder just how long they would be here. They had never stayed in one place for more than two days, and they would be leading up to three after tonight. They needed to get moving.

Roxas blinked back to attention, his sight darting from Riku as he passed him to Sora. He scratched at his hair and furrowed his eyebrows. He had subconsciously caught the small conversation, luckily. Still, he was wrapped up in his thoughts. Too much had happened too fast--being occupied by his thoughts was more than likely at this point.

 

"We'll leave tomorrow," Sora said, adding onto what he said before. With this new-found determination of his, he was wanting to get the job done as soon as possible. And to do that, they would have to go to new places. He took a few steps forward, limping faintly but not feeling terrible pain. He stopped when he was next to Roxas, giving him a look that said 'are you alright?' They hadn't had a chance to talk, and he wasn't sure if Roxas would want to. But if he did, Sora would be there for him.

 

Riku briefly glanced over his shoulder to reply. "Alright," he hollered. He then turned his head forward, still walking toward the cave so they could all rest.

Roxas met Sora's gaze and let his hand fall. He stared at his Somebody for a minute before shaking his head, as if to say, Don't worry about it. It wasn't Sora's burden to bear, though it did involve him a little bit.

 

Sora arched a brow slightly, but he didn't verbally question Roxas' facial expression. If he wanted to share, he would. He had to know that Sora was still there for him. Even after everything that happened lately, they were still best friends. He really hoped Roxas understood that.

 

Riku stopped near the cave, noticing that there weren't any footsteps behind him. He turned around, looking across his shoulder at his younger comrades. "You two coming or what?" he called to them, arching an eyebrow.

Roxas was looking at Sora when Riku spoke, and then he turned his head slightly forward, eyes shutting for a moment. He still wasn't very fond of Riku, and he realized that he had to get over it due to the mission they were on. However, that didn't mean he had to be the the most polite. He didn't say anything, regardless. Instead, he glanced at Sora and motioned with his head for him to get going. He would follow behind in case Sora got too weak or fell again.

 

Sora noticed Roxas' expression, some anger hidden beneath the surface. He gave his friend a weak smile, as if to say, You get used to Riku after a while. He was a bit bossy and overbearing at times, but he genuinely cared for people. That was something that wasn't lost on Sora. He started walking toward the cave, facing forward as he went toward his older friend.

 

Riku waited patiently by the entrance to the cave, his eyes watching his best friend closely. It was strange to see Sora hurt like this, because on their last adventure he hadn't seen it. Sora had been very strong and determined. It was different to see him this way, though he did remember the times Sora would get hurt back on the Island when they were kids. That was far from their position now, though.

Roxas's lips had turned up faintly at the corners at Sora's smile, but once the brunet had already started off, it faded. It was hard to believe that Sora and Riku were best friends, but at the same time it wasn't. It was just...there, fact. He could only guess that they became friends naturally and out of fate. Heh, it atleast did them some good, Roxas thought, considering they're both Keyblade Masters and all.

 

Sora felt the pain in his leg, but it wasn't too bad. At this point, he needed to show no weakness; they needed to move on, and he had a feeling Riku would only let that happen if he appeared well enough to move and fight on his own. As he got closer to the cave, he gave Riku a faint nod, silently telling him he could go inside.

 

Riku nodded once in understanding, smiling slightly. "C'mon, Sora. I thought you were stronger than that." He remembered saying that to him a lot when they were younger, but especially recently. Well, Sora was as strong as he thought. He knew that now. Riku waited one more second, glancing back at Roxas. He met his stare, realizing that the blond's gaze turned into a glare. Riku smirked ever so slightly before turning and heading inside.

Roxas looked after Riku with distaste. He knew then, just like he had understood before, that they weren't going to get along well for the rest of the journey. Whatever. Roxas could fight back equally, if that was what it took. He wasn't just some Nobody that could get pushed around for Riku's hatred toward them.

 

Sora arched a brow at Riku's expression, wondering what that was about. He turned his head and looked back to Roxas before he looked in the direction of the cave again, seeing Riku go inside. It was at that moment that he understood. He released a heavy breath through his nose in frustration, hand clenched in a fist by his side. Those two would probably never get along, and that wasn't okay with him. In fact, it made him very upset.

 

Roxas turned his head ahead of him, looking out over the rocks toward the grassy land with the same glare. He hadn't understood the problem Riku had with him before he got his memories back, but now that he had them again, he couldn't help but agree with the hatred. They had been against each other, but Riku had won. Roxas had just tried to go his own way, but he was always stuck following someone else's rules.

 

Sora looked over at Roxas after a moment, his eyes hardening. Forget it. He would leave this behind; he had little patience for things he didn't understand. So what if Roxas and Riku hated each other? At least they wouldn't go kill each other; they had enough respect for Sora not to let things go that far. He turned forward and headed into the cave after Riku, silence surrounding him.

 

Roxas's eyebrows furrowed a little more at the thought as he exhaled a breath angrily through his nose. That was going to have to change, and soon. He knew that he held a lot of power within him, and he could go his own way if he tried hard enough. "But didn't I do that before?" he asked himself softly, lowering his head to stare at the ground beneath him. It hadn't worked out in his favor last time, but did that mean he would fail again?

 

Sora walked into the dim cave, seeing Riku leaning against one of the walls. "Don't antagonize him," he said in a low tone of voice as he walked past, referring to what had just happened with Roxas. "He's still my best friend. Respect him for that if you can't find any other reason to." He didn't want his two friends to be at war. Even if they didn't like each other, they could have a truce.

 

Riku kept his arms crossed across his chest, chin ducked down. He didn't say anything, only closing his eyes. Getting along with Nobodies had never been easy for him, and Roxas was no exception. Even though Sora did make a point, Riku had a feeling Sora's words wouldn't be true for very long; Roxas already seemed like he was changing, but Riku wasn't going to mention it to Sora. It would only make things worse.

 

Sora headed over to an area a few yards off and sat himself down against the wall, careful not to re-injure his leg. Tomorrow they would be off, to some other world. He would fight alongside his friends and defeat the Heartless. At least they had that goal in common.

 

Roxas had made his way over to one of the rocks, perched up on one. He hugged his knees to his chest, burrying half of his face in them so he could look out at the sunset. He remembered he had always done it back in Twilight Town, both with his "data" friends, and Axel. Roxas sighed softly, blue eyes now relaxed as he looked on at the setting rays. He missed those times, both of them. During hard times, he wished he could go back to those moments again. Especially now that he remembed the times he had with Axel.

 

A week later...

Sora absently held the Kingdom Key in his right hand, walking toward a place that only he knew of--Aladdin's old home. They were in Agrabah again; they had just arrived that morning. And now that it was midday, they would take a quick break and then get back to fighting the Heartless. By "they", Sora mostly meant Roxas and Riku. His fighting hadn't been up to par lately, despite his previous determination. He was honestly surprised that Riku and Roxas hadn't confronted him about it, but then again, he hadn't given them much chance to; he was careful to stay out of a position where he could be interrogated. He hadn't been talking too much lately, so that didn't make things easier for the group.

 

Roxas walked a few steps behind Sora, both of his Keyblades in his hands. It only felt natural to fight with both of them constantly now. Ever since his memories returned it was uncomfortable for him to fight with just one sometimes. He faced forward as he glanced out of the corner of his eye, as if he could see who was behind him. The light footsteps were familiar by now, and he knew they belonged to Riku. His eyebrows instantly furrowed as he looked ahead of him again, exhaling. They had been on mostly nonspeaking terms since the incident a week ago, and he was okay with that. They only spoke when it was necessary, and that way of being "civil" was alright with Roxas.

Riku took the rear, eyes roaming the deserted city. Heartless had appeared, again, which meant that Agrabah's streets wouldn't be crowded today. His eyes settled on his best friend leading the group, aware that he had been quiet lately. At first Riku had just figured it was because Sora was focusing, but now he wasn't so sure. He even noticed that Sora's fighting abilities had dwindled for the past few days. It worried him a little, but he hadn't asked questions. Yet.