Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora held Kairi securely, his eyes shut. He lowered his head in her direction, feeling her grip the front of her shirt. They were both clinging, because all too soon, he would have to leave her. That was something he could have never predicted; in fact, it had never crossed his mind before that something like this could happen.

Namine didn't have any tears; her eyes were too dry already from her being awake too much. But the emotions swirling in her heart were much worse than what tears could express, anyway.

 

Kairi bit her lip to prevent it from quivering. She definitely didn't want to start crying; it would only make Sora (and possibly Roxas and Namine) feel worse about the situation. She didn't want to bring more of that sorrow or pain to her friends, no matter how much fear and sadness was swimming in her heart.

Roxas ran his hand through his hair before letting it fall and hang, the other hand holding the letter going limp. He turned his head in the direction of the girl sitting beside him, his big blue eyes locating her immediately. She looked tired, and very effected by all this news. That combination wasn't so great to Roxas...

 

Sora began to run his hand over Kairi's back, realizing that right now, he needed to be strong enough for the two of them. Kairi didn't like it when he put others first when he himself was suffering, but in this case, it was absolutely necessary.

Namine kept looking at the ground, not aware of Roxas' gaze on her. She had no clue what to do now...She was still having a hard time with everything, and Roxas' support had given her a reason to wake up every day. It sounded selfish to feel like he had to be home for her, but that was just how she felt. Selfish...and afraid. What if he got hurt? How long would he be gone? Would things change between them, somehow?

 

Kairi exhaled softly through her nose, still fighting her tears behind her closed eyelids. Sora said he didn't know how long they would be gone, but inside she felt it would be a long duration; they were helping Riku defeat Heartless over worlds--not just one, but many. That meant that it would take longer, and she wasn't sure if she was okay with that. Sora... He would be gone for a while, and she was used to seeing him everyday. Things were going to be so different once the boys were gone, and that stirred the fear inside her.

Roxas felt Namine's name on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't say anything at first. He could see by the look in her eyes that she was contemplating everything, and it didn't look like her concentration was heading for a positive outcome. He switched the letter into his left hand, bringing up his right and setting it on her knee. "Nam?" he called quietly, but even through his soft tone, it was evident that his voice was shaking.

 

Sora continued to rub Kairi's back, exhaling a heavy breath through his nose. There was nothing he could do to change what was about to happen. So all that he could do now was help prepare Kairi to be by herself. He hated thinking that way--he naturally wanted to follow his heart. And his heart wanted to stay with Kairi.

At the sound of her name, Namine left the questions behind in her mind. She turned her head slightly and lifted her eyes slowly, meeting Roxas' after a few moments. She was...shocked, to say the least. And sad, and lonely, and about ten million other things.

 

Kairi felt her eyes sting more at the thought, holding back her tears the best she could. As a result, she buried her head deeper into the dip between Sora's neck and shoulder, feeling his skin against her face. She couldn't believe he was leaving... Actually leaving Earth, their new home. Kairi didn't even know when he would come back. And worse...if he would come back.

Roxas blinked in surprise at the sight of Namine's eyes, now that they were looking directly at him. He pressed his lips together immediately, hating what he was seeing. He hated bringing this kind of pain upon her, and he wished there was some way he could stop it... But he couldn't. No matter how much he wanted to, and he was battling with his emotions, trying to keep them hidden for her sake.

 

Sora stopped the motion suddenly, furrowing his eyebrows. For one brief moment, he felt like he just wanted to run away from all his responsibilities. Run away from the Keyblade and take Kairi with him to a place they could live separate from the troubles. But he couldn't do that...A lot of people depended on him. Not just Kairi, but a lot of people in other worlds needed him desperately just to stay alive.

Namine lowered her eyes to Roxas' shirt, having seen the pained expression in his eyes. She knew that they both felt terrible over this, but what could they do to make things better? She wasn't seeing any options here but to let him go do what was necessary, but that was going to be one of the hardest things she had ever done.

 

Kairi noticed that Sora stopped rubbing her back, and she figured it was because he was dwelling on the news he had received today. No, not just him--all four of them. They all suffered in some way from King Mickey's request. But she couldn't blame him; he was just doing his duty. And so were the boys. As hard as it was for her to accept that they were leaving her and Namine, she had to. She had to have faith in them, as friends, protectors, and--for Sora--a lover. She bit harder on her lower lip, fighting the sadness.

Roxas squeezed Namine's knee without thought, straightening up slightly as he let the letter flutter to the floor. His hands were itching to touch her, his arms urging him to hold her. What they needed right now was each other, because...in a little while...it would be different; they wouldn't have each other. Not for a while.

 

The responsibility wasn't something Sora could run away from. He couldn't change that he had been chosen by the Keyblade to save the worlds. But what he could do was work as quickly as he could to make things right so he and Roxas could return home. That was the one thing he had in mind now, working quickly so he could get back to the girl he held in his arms.

Namine's tired eyes caught onto a movement and she looked over just in time to see the letter fall to the ground. She didn't have anything to say...and even if she did, there was no way she could have spoken. She supposed she still hoped it was a nightmare, but unfortunately, it wasn't.

 

"Sora." Kairi gripped the boy's shirt in both surprise and sorrow, having realized that her heart had spoken to him. By the feeling it had given off when it called to him, she noticed that it did not request an answer, but was simply calling for him because of the emotions within it. Kairi felt the sadness and pain seeping in at the thoughts in her head, the thought of Sora leaving her...for a long time.

Roxas didn't know what to do. He wanted to hold her, but Namine wasn't very responsive. "...Namine," he said, his voice no higher than a whisper. However, the trembling was still noticeable. She had barely moved since he and Sora had told her and Kairi, and it was scaring him a little. But he knew his fear was nothing like the one she was experiencing; it was written all over her face.

 

"Kairi," Sora responded softly, the name naturally leaving his heart and transferring to Kairi's. He had no clue what to say to make anything better; they were in a lousy situation, and at the current moment, there was nothing anybody could say or do to change that. It killed him to know that he couldn't make things alright this time--that had always been his purpose in situations like this. But this time, he was just as powerless as everyone else was.

Namine lifted her eyes to Roxas' again, her dimmer eyes finding his brighter blue orbs. "Yes?" she whispered, surprising herself. Her hands were folded in her lap, not that she was aware of anything other than the shocking news.

 

Kairi pressed herself more into Sora, not that she could do much more; she was already being held to him very tightly. It didn't bother her, and she didn't request he let go. She never wanted him to let go, and she knew that it would unfortunately come to that in a few days...

Roxas parted his lips to say something, but nothing would come out. He couldn't say sorry, because that wouldn't do any good, and Namine probably didn't want to hear it. Even if he did say it, she couldn't say it was okay. Nothing was okay about this. Roxas would be leaving her behind on this world for an unpredictable amount of time. What if something happened to her? Something bad? And he couldn't be here to protect her or comfort her?

 

Sora felt his heart ache, as if it wanted to speak on its own. But say what? There was nothing he could say in this situation; He was utterly speechless. Instead, he allowed his actions to speak, the teen starting to rub over Kairi's back again. This isn't fair...he thought sadly, opening his eyes partway to gaze at the girl in his arms. It just isn't fair...

Namine looked into Roxas' eyes for a few more moments, seeing him at a loss for words. She understood perfectly what that was like--That was something she had been experiencing a lot lately.

 

Kairi sucked in a breath, allowing her teeth to leave her lip finally. Her lower lip was beginning to hurt because she had been biting down on it so hard, trying to prevent it from shaking with her unshed tears. This was all so much, such a shock.

Roxas glanced down from Namine's eyes, closing his own for a second. What could he say to her? Anything? Nothing? And what about when the time came for him and Sora to actually leave? What would he do then? Roxas opened his eyes immediately at the thought, freezing up because of it.

 

Sora continued the gentle gesture, his eyes falling shut again. For now, he would just sit and hold the girl he loved in his arms. He didn't want to ever let go, but that would be necessary in a few days. As much as he hated to admit that truth, he couldn't just deny it and pretend that this wasn't for real. Unfortunately, it was.

Namine shut her eyes, feeling them getting surprisingly moist. She couldn't cry, though...Roxas was already worried about her. It showed by the way he texted her a lot and rarely was apart from her side. Now, though, things were going to change drastically.

 

The more Kairi thought about it, the harder it was to keep her tears inside. She felt one tickle the corner of her eye before sliding down her cheek. She pressed her lips together at the feeling, knowing she would be shedding many more tears in the near future.

Roxas's eyes located Namine's hands, and he instantly put his larger one over them. He loved her...so much. And the thought of leaving her for an uncertain amount of time frightened him. He didn't like being far from her, and sometimes even just a few blocks was too much. Roxas knew he was going to be very jittery once he was off this world, surely because he would be too worried about the girl he loved.

 

Sora stopped rubbing Kairi's back once again, suddenly feeling a new wave crash his heart. He had no idea it was caused by the tear Kairi shed, but he knew he needed to do something else, now. He lightly set his hand on the back of her head, the hand trembling faintly from his own sadness and fear.

Namine opened her eyes a crack and looked down at her lap, seeing Roxas' hand over her two hands in her lap. They looked so...frail, compared to his. That was the best way she could describe it. She bit down on her lip lightly, tears starting to appear in her eyes. How would she survive without him..?

 

Kairi felt that single tear trickle down her cheek and linger on her chin. She opened her eyes, her sight blurry as she gazed down at her hand clutching Sora's shirt. Though she couldn't see it clearly, she was sure her knuckles were white from the grasp she had on the fabric. And it only tightened when she felt the slight shake of Sora's hand against her head.

Roxas gazed at his and Namine's hands, blinking a few times to try and clear the haze in his head. So many questions, but no real answers... It frustrated him a little, especially when he knew that he couldn't soothe Namine right now. Looking up at her, that feeling grew worse. Her expression made him scoot closer to her, his grasp on both of her hands tightening.

 

Sora took in a deep breath and then released it, trying to compose himself. Now wasn't a time for him to be upset...That would come later, when he was all by himself. At the current moment, he was just so frustrated. He couldn't do anything to make things alright. Those thoughts made him feel like he wanted to move around and work out some of that tension, but he couldn't release the girl in his arms.

Namine bit down harder on her lip, trying her hardest to keep the tears inside. She couldn't cry; she just couldn't. She couldn't let Roxas worry even more than he already was. He was leaving whether they liked it or not, so she would have to do her best and mask some of the pain. Obviously it would be impossible to mask it all, so she didn't bother trying to convince herself she was capable of that deceit.

 

Kairi took in a breath and was upset to realize that when she released it, it was shaky. She didn't want to show that she was this upset, because that would make Sora feel worse. She didn't want that for him, not when he already felt bad about it. But once that one tear left, more started to follow. Another tear slid down Kairi's face, making her heart wrench.

Roxas gazed at the side of Namine's face, noticing she was very stiff. He wanted to help her, even though he knew it wasn't very possible right now. It didn't matter, really, because he was going to try anyway. Roxas lifted his right hand from Namine's two, instead wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her to him. He had been wanting to hold her for a while, and he wasn't going to fight the urge anymore, because he wanted to be able to wrap his arms around her while he still could.