Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora sighed and brought a hand to the back of his head, shaking his head a little bit. "I have no idea," he confessed. "But we can't procrastinate; This is too important to keep from them." And it would be impossible for him to keep from Kairi, anyway, because of their natural connection.

 

Roxas reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "I'll call Namine," he said, looking up at his friend. "She's been really tired lately, so we'll just go over to her house." He didn't want her going anywhere when she hadn't slept that well in the past few days.

Kairi was sitting in her room, reading a book. For the past few minutes she'd been feeling uncomfortable, but it wasn't because of her bed or her position; it was her heart. She had experienced this feeling too much, so it was easily identifiable. Whatever was wrong, she knew she was feeling it because of Sora.

 

Namine was sitting on the couch, watching television special on special guitar-strumming techniques. She had been playing and learning more on the instrument lately as a distraction, and even if it hadn't been doing too much for her, it was a good way to kill time.

Sora nodded slightly and pulled out his phone. "I'll call Kairi and tell her to meet us there," he said. He preferred speaking aloud to her most of the time, even if they could communicate through their hearts. He was afraid that if they spoke that way, she could better sense that something was wrong.

 

Roxas nodded and dialed Namine's number as he stepped into the living room, giving himself and Sora a little privacy. He brought the phone to his ear, not sure exactly what was going to happen today.

Kairi couldn't focus on the print in front of her, too concerned with what was going on inside her. For the past few days the only real problem, as far as she knew, was that she was scared. But she wasn't anymore, thanks to Sora. But was what going on now?

 

Namine heard her ring-tone go off and she immediately muted the television, reaching for the phone with her other hand. She flipped it open and saw that it was Roxas who was calling her. That wasn't surprising; they had been talking a lot lately. She brought the phone up to her ear, answering the call. "Hello?"

Sora speed-dialed Kairi's number and then pulled the phone up to his ear. He wouldn't explain things just yet--that would happen when they were all at Namine's.

 

"Hey, Nam," Roxas greeted. "Would you mind if Sora and I came over with Kairi?" It was best just to ask right off the bat and not try to feed the conversation. He didn't want her worrying about anything until he was with her. That way he could explain in person.

Kairi heard her phone ring, seeing it against the comforter on her bed. Lying on her stomach, she reached for it, noting it was Sora's name that appeared on the screen. She opened her phone to accept the call. "Hello?" she said into the phone.

 

Namine thought it was a bit weird how Roxas phrased it, but she wouldn't mind spending some time with all her friends. "Sure," she answered. "Right now?" If that were the case, she would quick freshen up; she was still in her pajama pants.

"Hi, Kai," Sora greeted, masking his voice to cover any distress or sadness. "You think you could head over to Namine's? We're all gonna be there." And by all of them, he obviously meant himself, Roxas, and Namine.

 

"Yeah," Roxas answered, nodding despite the fact she couldn't see him. He bit his lower lip a little as he stared at the floor. He really didn't want to explain all of this to her, having a feeling that it would end badly. But he had to...

Kairi arched an eyebrow slightly at the question. Why would she need to head over to Namine's? To hang out? "Yeah, sure," she said casually. "I'll be over there in a few minutes." She wasn't sure exactly was going on; the feeling in her heart was still there, but Sora sounded just fine...

 

"Okay, see you soon," Namine said, smiling weakly. She would look forward to seeing all her friends, as long as they didn't watch another scary movie. She almost said a joke about it right there and then, but something in Roxas' voice kept her from being so lighthearted.

"Alright, see you there," Sora said gently. Kairi had no idea what was in store for her...The thought made his voice sound a little more serious than it had before.

 

"Right," Roxas said, and after a second ended the call. As soon as he pressed the button he sighed, rubbing his hand over his face as he started back to the entryway, where Sora was at.

"Bye, Sora," Kairi said, waiting a brief moment before shutting her phone. His last words to her were...different. His voice had been gentle, but at the same time very stern, as if he was thinking deeply about something other than the conversation. It bothered her somewhat, and she began to wonder if it had anything to do with the feeling within her heart.

 

Namine bit her lip lightly and shut the phone. Roxas sounded...odd. She didn't know how to describe it. Oh well, she would see him soon enough and see that everything was just fine. She turned off the television, stood up off the couch and stretched, her muscles tense. She had been awake since 4:30 that morning, so she was tired. But things would be better when she was with all her friends.

Sora flipped his phone shut and stuffed it back into his pocket, frowning. He wasn't looking forward to this...not at all. But they needed to do it. Just a few days ago, he had been willing to exchange himself for Riku. And that meant leaving his friends, but now, things felt different...more like they had to rationalize everything. He wasn't sure which situation was worse, in all honesty.

 

Roxas entered the entrance hall, noting that Sora was no longer on the phone. "So are we heading to Namine's now?" he asked, a slight frown on his face. Ever since he had gotten the news it had been there, and he didn't know if it would disappear or not once he saw Namine.

Kairi set her phone down and closed her book, marking it by pressing the corner of the page in. She pushed herself off her bed, grabbing her phone and stuffing it in her back pocket as she started out of her room. All she had to do was slip some shoes on and she would be heading for Namine's house.

 

Sora nodded faintly. "Yeah. You have the letter?" he asked. He wasn't sure if they would need it or not, but it wasn't something he wanted to lose any time soon. Tomorrow when he woke up and thought today was all a nightmare, he would see the letter and know that this was reality.

Namine exhaled softly, finishing her stretching. She turned around and headed for her bedroom to put on jeans and a neater shirt, expecting her friends shortly.

 

Roxas nodded. "Yeah. Let's get going," he said, his tone flat. It was clear he was not happy about this, but he knew that there was no other choice; he had to go, whether he liked it or not. It was the duty he had of being the Nobody of the Keyblade Master, having the same abilities and such. He was sure he wasn't and wasn't going to be the only person upset about it.

Kairi approached the front door of her home after leaving her room, grabbing her house key and stuffing it in her pocket as she slid on some sandals. She locked the door from the inside before shutting it behind her, descending the porch steps and starting toward Namine's.

 

Sora nodded and walked forward, being closer to the door than Roxas. He opened the door and then headed out, trusting that his best friend would be right behind him. When they got to Namine's and talked about this, he was going to try and find some way to make things better. He swore it.

A few minutes later, Namine was dressed in jeans, a brown shirt and a white sweatshirt. She looked in her mirror and noticed she looked pretty tired today, but unfortunately, there was nothing she could do to make that go away. She sighed softly and exit her bedroom, turning off the light behind her.

 

Roxas followed behind Sora, grabbing the doorhandle on his way out. He shut the door behind him and continued walking with Sora to reach his girlfriend's house. He didn't know how he was going to tell her this, because he knew Namine wasn't going to be happy. And that was all he wanted for her: happiness.

Kairi only lived a few blocks from Namine, so she was sure she would reach her home before Sora and Roxas did. She couldn't help but feel troubled, and the sensation in her heart wasn't helping her.

 

In about ten minutes, Sora and Roxas were approaching Namine's house. Kairi was probably already inside; she lived a little closer than Roxas did. He had thought over many ways to break the news, but none of them seemed right. A silent breath left his lips, the teen deciding he would just have to wait and see how things played out.

Namine sat on the couch in her living room, waiting for the boys. Kairi was already there with her; she had been for a few minutes. It made sense, considering the location of her house compared to Roxas'.

 

Roxas walked alongside Sora as they grew closer to the path toward her doorstep. He was closer to it on his side, so he turned and walked along it. He didn't want to think about what was coming up, but it was inevitable. He had to acknowledge it; there was no way around it.

Kairi nibbled on her lower lip as she sat on Namine's couch, hugging her knees as silence surrounded the two of them. She was becoming eager to know what was going on; something just didn't seem right.

 

Sora slowed down for a beat, letting Roxas get ahead of him to the door. It was his girlfriend's house, after all, so it seemed right that he would be the first one to go in. Or maybe Sora was just too chicken to go in first. Either way, Roxas would be the one to ring the doorbell.

 

Roxas had his hands stuffed in his pockets as he approached Namine's front door. He stopped in front of it, just standing there for a moment. He took his hand out of his pocket and ruffled the hair on the back of his head, sighing. He was nervous, he knew that much. With a second's hesitance, he pressed his finger against the doorbell, hearing it ring outside the house.

Kairi perked up at the sound of the chime, her eyes darting to the entrance to the room. The boys were here.