Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora shook his head slightly. "I guess I failed, then," he said quietly. "I had a mental breakdown during that battle. Ironically, emotions were the only thing that saved me." Normally, emotions made you lose a battle, but today, they had saved his life.

 

"What you were feeling powered your physical strength," Riku said with certainty, remembering how fast and harsh the attacks on the Heartless had been. "As for the mental strength, only you could really know. If you say you failed it, I can't really disagree." He may have been close to Sora, but Riku wasn't so close as to know what was going through the kid's mind and when. He just had to trust Sora's judgement, even if he didn't like it.

 

Sora nodded faintly, recognizing that although Riku's tone was gentle, he was being completely honest. The brunet appreciated it more than words could express. Lately, he had been feeling as if he knew nothing but lies. But Riku was being truthful, even if he didn't know all the answers. "...I'll have to think about it some more," he declared. He wasn't quite ready to write off that battle as a failure. If he really did have a total breakdown in his mind, then yes, he would call it a loss. But he wouldn't do that until he knew what he was thinking and feeling for sure.

 

Riku nodded once and turned his attention back to the wide space in front of him. The fact that he got Sora to open up hadn't been as hard as it had seemed with Leon before, and Riku could only pin that on the fact that he and Sora had known each other since they were four and five years old. That long of a friendship and the overall connection they had as best friends had to affect Sora's will to open up in some way.

Roxas opened his eyes finally, pushing himself from the wall. He didn't want to think about the thoughts reeling in his head anymore. It had been long enough, so he decided it was time to find Sora and Riku to help out. If he could. The blond didn't glance at Leon and Yuffie as he headed for the door, a hard expression still on his face.

 

Sora clasped his hands together in his lap, his eyes resting on the area in front of him. It felt as if the conversation had ended, and he was alright with that. It had been unpleasant to talk about, which was why he had been avoiding it earlier. But he knew he had made the right decision by opening up to Riku.

Leon watched silently, having been focused on his own thoughts during the silence. They concerned Sora, but not only him--his friends, too. He would have to tell them about the message he received from the King, and he had to do it soon.

 

Roxas walked through the already-open door and outside the house, stopping for a minute to look both ways that Sora could have possibly gone. Something was telling him to go right and so he did, hands in light fists at his sides.

 

Leon exhaled a breath, turning to look at Yuffie beside him. "I guess now's as good a time as any to tell them about the message," he said, referring to a letter he had received from King Mickey recently. He had hoped he could wait for things to settle down before sharing the news, but that didn't seem likely, so he would just tell them now.

 

Yuffie nodded, dark eyes on Leon. "Good luck," she said, her voice soft at the mention and action taking place. "I'm not sure how they'll take it." After all, with that message and the situations between the three boys now, she didn't think the next problem would be solved very easily.

Roxas marched up the steps, feeling the wind jostle his spikes a little, his bangs covering his eyes somewhat. He swiped at them, clearing his vision with slight frustration before making it to the top of the incline and turning to follow the path. He wasn't very surprised to find Sora and Riku sitting there, his gut having told him they would be this way.

Riku heard faint footsteps and looked over his shoulder, seeing the familiar blond Nobody making his way toward them. He was a little late, considering the conflict was mostly solved.

 

Leon nodded and rose out of his seat, silently heading towards the door. Like Yuffie, he wasn't sure how they would take the news. But he was about to find out, whether he wanted to or not. He walked out the door and made a right turn, his gut telling him that was the right direction to go.

Sora heard the footsteps, but he didn't bother looking over his shoulder. He already knew that it was Roxas just by the way his footsteps sounded.

 

"I take it you guys talked already?" Roxas said, swinging his legs over the edge to sit on the other side of Sora. Sitting like this briefly reminded him of the clock tower in Twilight Town, but he shook it off. "You two have been out here for a while, and it seems too quiet to assume anything else."

Riku nodded once, his eyes looking out at the horizon again. "I'm pretty sure things are better than they were before," he replied, glancing out of the corner of his eye for just a second at Sora before gazing forward again.

 

Sora nodded silently in agreement, keeping his gaze forward. Things weren't perfect, but he really did feel better after talking to Riku. And sitting between his two best friends now somehow made him feel better. He knew he wasn't alone before, but having them on either side of him really made him feel connected to them. It was a good feeling.

 

Roxas nodded in understanding and turned his eyes to follow the other two's gazes. He looked out over the rural area of the world, just staring. He'd thought enough of things lately; he didn't want to think anymore.

 

In a few minutes, Leon made his way up to the stairs. He immediately saw the three teens sitting together, and somehow he sensed that it would be alright to approach them now. "If you guys are done talking, there's some business that needs to be taken care of," he said, standing a few feet away from the group. His voice wasn't pushy anymore--it was more cautious, since he was bearing serious news.

 

Riku turned his head at the voice, sensing something behind it. He turned around and jumped down from the wall. "What's going on?" he asked curiously, though his tone was calm and serious.

Roxas's eyes darted in the direction of the voice and when Riku hopped down, Roxas just stayed where he was for the moment. His eyebrows furrowed a little more in curiosity and concern, but nothing more.

 

Sora looked over his shoulder a bit, but then turned himself around so that he was facing Leon. He wasn't sure what he had to say, but he could tell by his facial expression that it was serious.

"Recently, I got a message from the King," Leon said, looking over the three teens as he spoke. "He wasn't sure where to find you guys while you were fighting, but he assumed that someday, your travels would lead you here, and I could pass on his message."

"What message?" Sora asked immediately, frowning slightly. Whenever it came to the King, things were very serious. If it was anything like the message he and Roxas had received to leave Earth, he wasn't sure he wanted to hear it.

 

Roxas didn't move from his spot, just staring at Leon with focused eyes. When it came to the King and his messages, nothing was usually lighthearted about them. That was what made him listen more intently.

Riku's hands balled into light fists at the mention of the King, but he didn't say anything. He just listened for more.

 

"First he wanted to thank you guys," Leon said, looking at Sora as he answered the question. "You guys have been doing a good job defeating the Heartless...You've been doing so well that he believes not all three of you are needed to keep fighting." He took in a breath, his eyes scanning over the three teens. "He says one of you can go home now."

Sora froze at the last sentence, his hands loosely by his side. Home? He had just been longing to go home earlier that day, but...but not like this. He wasn't in any shape to go home. He was feeling better, yes, but things weren't completely solved.

 

Roxas stared at Leon in shocked silence, that being the news he wasn't expecting to hear. He turned his head away and looked down at the ground far beneath him. One of us...can go home?

Riku turned his head to look at the other two boys near him, seeing their surprised expressions as well. He looked back at Leon. "When did you hear from the King?" he asked, that being the only reasonable question in his head.

 

"I got the letter just a few days ago," Leon answered, turning his gaze to Riku. "I was a bit surprised when you guys came; I wasn't expecting to pass on the message so quickly. I guess Fate had a hand in you guys coming when you did." Leon didn't believe in coincidence; everything happened for a reason at a certain time and place. Though Sora's journey to Castle Oblivion may have brought him heartache, it led him and his friends to Hollow Bastion. And that, in turn, was going to change everything for one of them.

Sora listened into the conversation absently, looking down at the ground near Leon's feet. Home...one of us...can actually go home? He wasn't sure if it was good news or not. For so long, he had wanted to hear those words, but now it felt completely different.

 

Home. Roxas thought of the busy New York streets and the park that he, Namine, Kairi, and Sora always visited and played games. And then he thought of his house, and how much he missed the coziness of it. But...there was something wrong with all of that now. He didn't think he belonged there, not anymore. Not after all he saw and remembered about himself.

Riku nodded, pushing his hair back and away from his eyes. He turned his sight to Sora and Roxas. He could see by their silence that there wasn't much to really say. It was all a shock, even to Riku.