Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora looked over at Roxas, the teen only hearing his friend because of his great hearing. However, he chose not to speak to Roxas, for what he whispered obviously wasn't meant to have been heard.

Namine nodded faintly, though she wasn't sure if she agreed with Kairi's assessment or not. A while ago she had thought Jeff was no longer a problem, but he constantly proved himself to be an annoyance. No, worse than that...a pain. Literally.

 

Roxas sighed, his shoulders slumping a little as he closed his eyes. What was he doing? He needed to be up there, with her. The creep attacked her, and Roxas in turn attacked him. But that was all he was thinking about--revenge, justice. He hadn't been thinking about comforting her while he was so angry. But that was going to change, right now.

Kairi continued to hold her best friend, feeling very upset for her. She caught a glimpse of the slap Jeff had delivered, and it was enough to make Kairi feel fear. She couldn't imagine how Namine felt at the moment.

 

Namine exhaled a soft breath, the air coming out a little shaky. That was a result of her holding back the tears of pain and sorrow she had in her eyes. She shut her eyes and subconsciously loosened her grip on Kairi, her cheek ringing in pain.

 

Roxas took in a breath and then turned around completely, starting up the hill. He ran his hand back and forth through his hair as he started to pass Sora. "Now I really don't want to leave..." he mumbled loud enough for him to hear. It was obvious that he was referring to problems like Jeff threatening Namine. I'm not going to be here to protect her from any of that, Roxas thought sadly as he climbed the hill.

 

Sora heard Roxas' muttered words, but he couldn't find the strength to respond the them. Both of them knew that they had no choice but to leave, no matter what the painful consequences were here on Earth...or for the girls. In order to protect them, they had to save the other worlds out there.

 

Roxas let his hand fall to his side as he shook his head, trying to get rid of the pessimistic thoughts before he saw Namine. He continued climbing up the inclination of the hill, his sneakers digging into the grass. He reached the top, but he stopped when he spotted the girls. His eyes softened considerably at the sight of her, the girl he loved. He could tell by the way Kairi was holding her that she wasn't okay, and he was sad to recognize that it didn't surprise him. Roxas lowered his eyes to the ground to try and compose himself completely, starting toward the girl's location.

Kairi had been facing the boys' direction, and her eyes lifted from the grass to see them at the top of the hill. They weren't far from her and Namine, a good ten yards or so.

 

Sora followed Roxas, only about three steps behind him. He noticed the way Kairi embraced Namine and his eyes softened immediately. He felt terrible over all of this, even if none of it was his fault. Namine and Roxas didn't deserve this, especially not at a time like this.

Namine kept her eyes shut, unaware of the boys at the top of the hill. She had noticed the quietness around them for a while now, but she hadn't registered what it meant quite yet. Given a few more moments, she might have connected the dots.

 

Roxas exhaled a deep breath, looking up again at the girls. His eyes immediately met Kairi's gaze and he then looked to Namine. He couldn't see her face, and that scared him a little.

Kairi began to loosen her hold on Namine a bit, having seen the expression Roxas held in his eyes. He clearly wanted to speak with Namine, or at least be with her.

 

Sora stopped a few feet away, arms crossed as he waited for things to unfold. He had no place in this anymore--he had done what was necessary to get Roxas to the top of the hill. Now it was up to the blond how things would go.

Namine felt Kairi loosen her hold, she did as well. She opened her eyes slightly and turned around, her gaze immediately falling on Roxas right near her. She hadn't heard him come, but that didn't surprise her too much--she still felt as if she were in shock as a result of everything that happened.

 

Roxas took a few more steps and stopped two feet from the girls. He glanced at both of them, his eyes lingering a little longer on Namine before he lowered his head for a second. He ruffled his hair on the side of his head and then lifted his sight to Kairi. "Can you...uh...give us a minute?" he asked politely, glancing at Namine halfway through his question. His eyes rested on Kairi now, waiting for an answer.

Kairi nodded. "Of course," she said gently, linking her hands behind her back. She started away from them, and after walking a few feet her sight landed on Sora. She motioned to him with her head to follow her, that way the blondes could have their requested privacy.

 

Sora nodded faintly and did what Kairi requested, the brunet following only two steps behind her. He had figured Roxas would want a moment or two with Namine, considering all that had happened.

While Roxas spoke to Kairi, Namine brought up a hand and tucked back some hair on the one side of her face. The side that was slapped, though, still had hair in front of it. She doubt her thin blond hair would be enough to hide the redness, but she tried to cover it up anyway. The last thing she wanted was to see Roxas angry again.

 

Roxas didn't turn his head to follow his friends as they left, but he did watch them with his eyes. When they were out of his sight, he looked at Namine, and he instantly wanted to wrap his arms around her. But he didn't want to shock her anymore than she already was after all that just happened. The blond boy took a few steps forward so he was standing right in front of her, his eyes gazing down at her slightly shorter form. He could see by the look on her face that she wasn't doing so well, and he didn't think she would be. Not after Jeff's little stunt. But of course, Roxas probably didn't make things any better.

 

Namine was aware that she was holding her breath as Roxas looked at her. She hoped he didn't notice her cheek, but she knew that it would only be a matter of time before he moved her hair out of the way so that he could see her face completely. She was sure of it.

 

Roxas blinked once softly, his eyes staying on the sky-blue he loved. But they were full of pain and fright, and that in turn made him feel down. He lifted a hand toward Namine's face, starting to brush her bangs away from her face. As he did this, his fingers caught onto other strands of her hair, and he unintentionally pulled more of her hair back. His eyes followed the movement, but they grew in size when he saw the redness against Namine's cheek.

 

Namine immediately shut her eyes when she saw Roxas' expression change. Obviously he had noticed the mark from Jeff's slap. She lowered her head without thought, her cheeks reddening. As much as she hoped Roxas wouldn't see the injury, she knew it was almost certain that he would.

 

Roxas's eyes darted to Namine's, but he couldn't see them as well when she had them closed like that. "Nam...?" he tried, but his voice wavered a little at the sight of the mark on her face. What...what was this from? All he had seen was the kiss. Roxas's eyes were soft with curiosity, fear, and concern for the girl before, not understanding what had happened here. He didn't expect her to tell him, because she had been silent. Another question was on the tip of his tongue anyway.

 

Namine opened her eyes at the sound of her name, her gaze slowly wandering upward to meet Roxas'. She didn't have the words to say what happened, so she hoped that her eyes told the story. Well, sort of. She didn't want Roxas to know, but at the same time, she did. It was confusing how she felt that way.

 

Roxas swallowed, nervous to even speak what words were ready to form in his mouth. "Did...did he hit you?" he asked, his eyes moving from the red mark against Namine's cheek to her eyes. The expression within them was enough for him to know, for he could tell instantly. He flinched a little, his eyebrows furrowing slightly in sadness. No... He didn't touch her like that...did he? Roxas didn't let him get away with that...

 

Namine lowered her gaze to Roxas' shirt, the girl lightly biting her lip at the question. She wordlessly nodded in response to it, her eyes staying on their current location. Yes, shocking, Jeff had hit her. And then kissed her. He probably figured it would throw her off guard long enough for him to make his move. And it did.

 

Roxas closed his eyes instantly at the small movement, a small sound of pain leaving his throat. No, he didn't do that. Not again. I didn't let this happen again... But Roxas knew that it was true; the mark on Namine's skin was enough, the mark Jeff had left against her. Roxas could feel his anger coming back, but he pushed it down with a light curl of a fist at his side. Now wasn't time for anger.