Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora shrugged it off, looking down at the ground by his feet. So what if he hadn't been himself? "It's none of your business," he said in a low voice. In some ways, maybe that was false, but his curiosity belonged to himself. Nobody could take away his right to privacy.

 

Riku exhaled a breath and looked back up at his friend, but to his surprise, Roxas spoke.

"Even if it isn't, that doesn't mean we shouldn't care," the blond said, his eyes bright as he looked at his Somebody. He and Riku were Sora's friends, so naturally they would be affected by Sora's behavior. So what was going on inside Sora's head wasn't there business. That didn't mean that they could completely forget about it, not when the effects were this deep and obvious.

 

Sora looked up when Roxas spoke, the teen looking to the side and seeing him sitting on the crates. He briefly noticed that when Roxas said "we", it meant he was associating himself with Riku. Any other time, he would have been thrilled, but he only noticed it in passing now. "You don't want to get in the middle of this, Roxas," he warned, his voice quiet but stern. Riku was the one who was really ticking him off, and he doubt Roxas would want to be in that position as well.

 

Roxas's eyebrows furrowed instantly at the words. He wasn't quite sure what Sora meant by that. Was he threatening him? Or just trying to stop him from talking any more? Roxas wasn't really sure, and because of that, he stared up at his friend with fixed eyes.

Riku wasn't sure what to think of what was going on here. Sora was getting defensive over something he had simply shrugged about earlier. It was obvious to him that Sora was hiding something important from them, and it could possibly be bad.

 

Sora held Roxas' glare, noticing a bit of a confusion in the eyes that looked identical to his. At that moment, though, he didn't remember why he should care about his friend being in an uncertain state. Drop it, Roxas, he silently warned. He wasn't threatening him per se, just thinking that he didn't want either of his friends digging down deeper and finding the issue.

 

Roxas sensed a tingling inside him and by the look on Sora's face, he knew it had come from him. It wasn't a feeling he had gotten back when Sora had collapsed in his house, when he was sitting outside. No, this time it was negative, a warning. Roxas stayed silent, his gaze still fixed on the eyes opposite him.

Riku glanced from Sora to Roxas and then back. This was ridiculous, whatever was going on here. He didn't like it, and was sure by the look on Roxas's face that he didn't enjoy it either.

 

Sora exhaled a breath and redirected his gaze to the wall in front of him. Having stare-downs with his friends wasn't accomplishing anything. He was surprised they had allowed it to stoop to that level. Of course, for him, that was better than speaking. For them...not so much. If they really wanted answers, they would have to at least ask questions. Whether they did or not, though, they wouldn't be finding out anything.

 

Riku crossed his arms, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Sora. "You're different," he told Sora. "And I'm not sure if I like it." His best friend had told him everything if he was troubled, and now he wouldn't say anything. Whatever was wrong was changing Riku's view of Sora, and he didn't think Sora even cared.

 

Sora felt the words hurt him beneath the surface, though he didn't dare show that. He was committed to being silent now, and nothing could change that, not even what Riku just said. "I didn't ask what you thought of me," he said, looking his friend in the eye. I don't like who I'm being either, he thought to himself. But he couldn't change things even if he wanted to.

 

Riku gave Sora a look of disbelief and anger. "I don't need your permission!" he said, voice rising. He was beginning to grow tired of Sora's behavior. Of course, Sora probably didn't notice; he was too busy pushing him away.

Roxas tensed slightly, eyebrows still furrowed at the action taking place in the room. Things were getting worse as this went on.

 

Sora glared at Riku, arms still folded across his chest. Riku's outburst surprised him, so much so that he couldn't think of a response. Then again, it felt like he had said all that he would say. Unless Riku and Roxas dragged something out of him, which he doubted they could.

 

Riku took a few steps toward Sora. "I don't know what's gotten into you," he said lowly. "And I'll never know if you keep being so stubborn, Sora! Whatever it is, it must be bad, because it's having a negative impact on everything--your moods, your fighting abilities, and your attention." Riku pointed a finger at the blond in the room. "If it weren't for Roxas earlier you could have been hurt. Usually you're more aware than that, so whatever has affected you isn't doing you any good."

Roxas was surprised when he was brought into the conversation, but actually agreed with Riku's points. Sora wasn't doing so hot when it came to battle or being aware of his surroundings, let alone being sociable like he usually was.

 

And if it wasn't for me a week ago, Roxas wouldn't be here to save my butt, Sora thought seriously, keeping his eyes on Riku. While Roxas had been distracted with his memories, Sora had been the one covering his back and keeping him free of injury. Did Riku see the similarities, or was that just him?

 

Roxas decided to cut in before Riku could speak again. "I've been there, Sora," he said, looking over at his Somebody. "The recollection of my memories threw me off and I lost it a little when it came to talking or fighting too." He purposely looked at Riku, one for pointing out that similarity, and two for his next words. "It's degrading, but there's nothing you can really do about it. I'm sure that if I talked to you about what was going on instead of keeping it to myself, I could've probably handled it better." Roxas's eyes gazed at Sora, eyebrows furrowing. "You know that talking problems out helps more than you think. I made the mistake of not doing that, and it changed me, along with the memories that returned. Don't do the same," he finished.

 

"I'm not getting memories back, Roxas," Sora started in a low tone of voice, the volume of his words so soft it was almost inaudible. "That's the problem." He shut himself up and looked down at the ground, eyebrows furrowed. I said too much, he thought, bracing himself for his friends' criticism.

 

Riku caught Roxas's eye at the remark, arching an eyebrow. "Memories are the problem?" he asked, repeating what Sora just said. He was confused. Sora wasn't getting memories back, so that was the problem... That didn't really make sense, at least not right now.

 

Sora looked over at Riku for a brief moment before he looked to the ground again. "Forget it," he said, bringing up a hand to wave through the air. The gesture meant that they shouldn't take it seriously, and he hoped they would be smart enough to leave it alone. Those two, though, they were being far too curious. If they found out what was bothering him...well, he didn't know what would happen. And he didn't want to find out.

 

Riku frowned. "Not a chance," he said, staring at Sora. "Losing memories and never gaining them back is too important to forget. That's the problem, isn't it?" He took a step toward Sora, concern and determination in his expression. "You know you lost memories, and they haven't returned."

Roxas felt his eyebrows furrow, his mouth a tight line. By the way Riku spoke, he already knew that was the problem. Roxas was just as surprised, though he didn't say anything. Sora was going through something similar to what the blond had himself, except he couldn't remember anything. Deep inside Roxas, he knew it was supposed to happen; the regaining of his memories must have triggered what was happening to Sora now. After all, they were connected.

 

Sora held Riku's stare with a glare of his own, his mouth staying shut while Riku spoke. Now, though, he was desperately wishing that things hadn't come to this point. Riku was dead on, though he didn't seem to know the specifics of his missing memories. "If you two are done prying, I'd say it's time we fought some Heartless." He brought himself off the wall and headed to the door without another word.

 

Riku instantly stepped back toward the door, spreading his feet wide and getting in a stance as to block Sora's way. "The Heartless can wait a little while longer," he said, voice stern. "We need to get to the bottom of this, before it gets worse."

Roxas rose from his seat when Riku had darted for the entrance, the boy alarmed. Sora had tried to escape, and Riku wasn't going to let him. He had a feeling it was going to take two to keep Sora inside; he seemed determined to drop this subject. Roxas's hands curled into loose fists as he looked at the two people in front of him, waiting for what was next.