Chapter 2: The First Day
As Roxas and Xion finished up touring, he walked her in front of her classroom, "Will you be alright for your first day now? Sorry if I left anything out of the tour, I'm sure your sister would have been much more fun to walk around with." Roxas said apologetically.
Xion shook her head at him, "No I had a lot of fun, if I went with sis I wouldn't be able to talk to you like this Rox- I mean Senpai~." She mused, waiting for his flustered reaction.
Roxas once again turned red and turned away, as he looked away and Xion smiled. As Xion looked closer at Roxas she noticed his eyes were a lighter blue then her own. His eyes had a soothing feel to them, they reminded her of the sky, endless and free. He was only two or three inches taller than she was. Xion stood at a proud 5 feet 5 inches. His hair was a light brown, spiked up, she was unsure if he intentionally caused it to stick up, or if it was natural.
As Roxas glanced up, they made eye contact again, this time Xion turned slightly red with him, "Y-you should go to class now… thanks for helping me today senpai!" she blurted out at him and dashed in her classroom.
Roxas watched her go in the classroom, puzzled by her reaction, as the 5-minute warning bell rang, he realized that he had to dash to his classroom. He slipped in and made his way to his seat, next to Sora. Sora glanced over at him and apologized, "Sorry about ditching you like that bro, did things go alright with Xion?" Roxas took a few seconds to register Sora's words.
"Huh? O-Oh… Yeah things with her went pretty good." Roxas replied seemingly in a daze.
Sora looked closely at Roxas, "Are you okay?" Sora asked, double checking to see if his brother was alright. Roxas nodded and smiled reassuringly at Sora. As Sora was about to bombard his younger brother with questions, Namine and Kairi walked past and claimed the two seats in front of theirs.
As the two girls took their seats, Namine instantly turned around and looked at the two boys. "Did you two treat Xion alright?" She said more forcefully then she had intended to.
"Y-yeah! She likes the school and she's in class!" Roxas replied hurriedly. Sora glanced over at Roxas and nodded his agreement. His hair bobbed at her fast as he was nodding. Kairi looked back to see Sora nodding and giggled at the funny sight before her. As Sora stopped nodding he smiled and laughed with her.
Namine sighed and leaned back in her chair, "That's good to hear, I'll ask her about it later." At that, Namine reached into her bag and pulled out her pencil bag and notebook to start the day.
"Hey it's only a half day today, why don't we all go out for lunch with everyone? We can all get to know each other and catch up on everything we missed!" Kairi said enthusiastically.
As the other three glanced at each other, they nodded in agreement. "I'll text Riku!" Sora said, pulling out his phone and preparing a message. Namine's face turned a slight shade of red at the mention of Riku. But no one besides Kairi picked up on it, smiling to herself.
The start bell rang, signifying the start of classes for the day. As the four faced the front of the class, slowly waiting for the end of class to arrive and granting them the freedom of the rest of the day.
. . .
The bell finally rang, students packed their belongings and started to shuffle out the door back to their homes. Namine had just pulled out her phone and began to text Xion, "I can go get her." Roxas said innocently, continuing to pack his stuff without making eye contact at Namine.
Namine looked up from her phone screen and smiled at Roxas, "Ah really? Thank you! Can you bring her here?" Roxas nodded his understanding and stood up, picking up his bag and walking towards Xion's classroom.
"Shouldn't you have gone with him to get Xion?" Namine questioned Sora. Sora's face turned red from embarrassment.
Sora rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Well I sorta may have left Roxas and Xion because Riku came up to me… " As Sora said that, Riku popped into their class and waved at the group, not yet seeing Namine.
Namine looked up to berate Sora when she made eye contact with Riku and blushed, turning her eyes away from him. She stammered at Sora, "I... It's fine… I'm sure Roxas did alright with her." She quickly grabbed her belongings and stood behind Kairi, trying to seem as small as possible in front of Riku.
Sora turned to greet Riku, and the two boys talked about their first days, Riku occasionally glanced over to Namine and Kairi, trying to make it seem as inconspicuous as possible. Kairi smiled as she saw Riku glance over and whispered to Namine, "Go talk to him!" Namine shook her head, her face still flushed and her eyes downcast. Kairi grabbed her arm and pushed her into Riku. As Namine squealed from the sudden movement, smiling to herself, Kairi grabbed her stuff and pulled Sora along.
"Sora and I are gonna go check up on Roxas and Xion! You two wait at the main entrance for us alright?" Kairi said to them cheerfully. Sora barely managed to grab his bag before Kairi pulled him out of the classroom, waving as he went.
Momentarily stunned by the scene Riku made eye contact with Namine, and he slowly spoke, "I still need to get my stuff, would you mind walking with me?" As he finished his sentence, his face slowly turned red from embarrassment.
Namine giggled, "I wouldn't mind at all." She gestured for Riku to take the lead as the two walked through the halls, slowly getting to know each other.
. . .
Roxas walked in front of Xion's classroom, as he gazed in he saw the girl with her headphones in staring out the window. He smiled to himself, thinking how similar the girl was to him, as he walked over, a few of the other students gasped at a second year walking in their classroom. Whispers flew around the room about who he was here for, Roxas smiled to himself as he stopped behind Xion.
He tapped her shoulder and she turned around, as they made eye contact, Roxas explained, "I came here to get you, we're going out to lunch now with everyone." Xion nodded and began to pack her stuff. Roxas felt a bit disappointed that she didn't smile at him, he made a mental note to ask how her first day went one the way out.
As Xion was almost done packing her stuff, she looked up at Roxas and said quietly, "I don't have any money. I didn't think I was going out today." She pulled her headphones off and let them rest on her neck.
Roxas laughed and pulled out the money he and Sora had grabbed for breakfast this morning, "My mom can pay for you today." Roxas said with a wink, a small smile appeared on Xion's lips. "I think they all are waiting for us at the school gate now, ready to go?" Roxas picked up Xion's bag and swung it over his shoulder, gesturing for her to follow.
As Xion stood up with Roxas, and glanced around, noticing a few kids staring at both her and Roxas leaving the classroom. Xion looked back at Roxas and asked innocently, "So senpai~ what are you treating me to today?" Roxas' face turned a pink at the cheeks, and he was unable to face the young girl. They walked in silence for a few moments, until Xion once again voiced up, "You get embarrassed easily don't you senpai?"
Roxas glanced back at her, "Do I? Is that a bad thing?"
Xion giggled and said teasingly, "Of course not, I think it makes it more fun to tease you."
As the two continued to walk towards to front of the school, they had their fair share of laughs and talked quite easily with each other. They both slowly familiarized themselves with each other, and enjoyed one another's company.
When they finally reached the entrance Sora waved and bellowed at Roxas across the field, "ROXAS C'MON I'M STARVING!" Roxas and Xion laughed and ran over the join their group of friends. As the two stood with the rest of the group. Sora said, "So what's for lunch guys?"
Kairi shook her head, laughing at Sora's one track mind, "Lets get ramen!" She looked to the others for agreement and they all nodded eagerly.
The shop was only a few minutes walk from the school, as they all were seated at their table, Roxas noticed that Xion was seated across from him, he glanced around at the other's and noticed that Kairi had her face hidden behind the menu. He smiled to himself when he noticed Sora was making funny faces across from her. He looked at Riku and Namine and noticed they were calmly reading their menus, turning his head back to his own, he snuck a quick glance at Xion across from him. She was brushing her short hair back and had her brow furrowed, trying to figure out which one to order.
Roxas casually asked her, "Xion… Have you ever had ramen before?"
Xion looked up, her face slightly flushed from embarrassment. "No... I've only had the instant packets at home." She continued to read, her expression growing more and more confused by the second.
As the waiter came by, he opened with a pleasant tone, "Hello, welcome to Radiant Garden's one and only ramen house. Are you all ready to order?" Xion was too immersed in the menu to speak up for herself.
Roxas was about to ask for a couple more minutes for Xion, but Sora had beat him to it, "I'll have the Miso ramen." Sora pointed at Kairi, "and she'll have the Shio ramen." Sora looked at Kairi expectantly, seeking some acknowledgement if he got her order correct or not. Kairi had a pleasant look of surprise on her face. She turned to the waiter and nodded her confirmation on the order.
The waiter then turned to Riku and Namine, Namine was the first to announce her order, "The Hakata Ton-Kotsu Ramen please." She closed her menu and started a pile towards the corner of their table.
Riku took one last glance at the menu and placed his order, "The spicy Ton-Kotsu Ramen for me then." Riku followed Namine's lead and stacked his along with Sora and Kairi's menus.
The waiter turned one more time to face Roxas and Xion, "What will you two have?"
Xion had her head buried in the menu, her face full of confusion from half the words and ingredients in each dish. Roxas smiled and looked at the waiter, "We'll take two Shoyu ramens." The waiter nodded his approval and verified with before leaving.
As the waiter left, Roxas tapped Xion, and the girl's head popped up, as if shaken from a trance, Roxas smiled and told her, "I ordered us both Shoyu ramens. Since it's my treat, you'll have to deal with what I order you." He stuck his tongue out playfully at her at the last comment.
Namine laughed as she saw the playful banter the two were having, "Looks like you'll fit right in with us Xion. For some reason the Shoyu ramen is the only one Roxas ever has ordered."
Roxas looked up defensively, "Hey just because I don't have the need to try everything on the menu doesn't mean anything!" He took a glance at Xion, "Don't listen to her, the shoyu is the best one."
The two started playfully shooting retorts back and forth, soon enough everyone but Xion was arguing about their favorite ramen. Xion looked at them and began to laugh, Roxas stopped arguing for a minute to admire the girl's laugh. That's… really cute. Roxas thought to himself, when she finally stopped she looked at Namine and jeered, "I dunno sis, if Roxas says that Shoyu is the best, I'll have to believe him there."
Namine reached over and playfully tousled the other girl's short black hair, "Hey! Taking the words of Roxas over your own sister?" As they were calming down, the waiter had come back to deliver their orders, once distributed, everyone immediately stared at Xion.
"Why are you all looking at me?" Xion asked, the noodles already in front of her face.
Sora grinned, "The new person gets the first bite!"
Xion gave Roxas a puzzles look and slurped up her first bite of noodles, "These are delicious!" The rest of the group cheered and began digging in their portions at once. Xion gave Roxas a small smirk commented, "I think Shoyu is the best, I'll stick to this kind from now on."
Namine glanced up her mouth wide, a single noodle still hanging out of her mouth, "Roxas look what you've done!" The group laughed at her comment and they all enjoyed their noodles.
As they were finishing up, Sora looked up from his bowl and saw Kairi pulling out her wallet to pay, "Kairi, you have something on your mouth still." Before she could react, Sora leaned over the table and wiped her mouth with his napkin. "There we go!" Sora said happily.
Kairi's face turned a bright red, and she stuttered, "I-idiot!"
Sora playfully teased at her, "You were always a messy eater."
Kairi's face flushed a deeper red and she threw her napkin at him, "You pay for me today!" Sora glanced over to Roxas for some help, and the instant Roxas saw the look on his brother's face, he immediately scooted his chair away from Sora.
"Nope, you dug this hole for yourself Sora." Roxas smirked, enjoying the little exchange between the two friends. As Sora begrudgingly pulled out his wallet and paid for both his and Kairi's meal, the other two boys did the same for the girls they sat across from.
Kairi's face slowly returned to its natural color, "I guess I'll buy you ice cream sometime to pay you back."
Sora's face lightened up, "Deal!"
As the group made their way out of the shop Riku spoke up, "Why don't we go to the park? It's a relax for a bit." He glanced at Sora and Roxas a smirk appearing on his face, "Not to mention I don't think you all can beat me in the race we used to do."
Sora and Roxas looked at each other and grinned back, in unison the two boys replied, "You're on!" The three boys dashed on ahead as Kairi giggled.
Xion and Namine looked over with questioning looks, as Kairi glanced over and saw their faces she explained, "As kids we would all come here, and they'd run across the park seeing who was the fastest. Riku tended to win more often because he was older, but now that I think about it, I It has been awhile since they went at it."
As the two nodded their understanding, they heard a voice yell out to them from the distance, "Kairi! C'mon say go already!" Sora shouted across the field, as the other two boys lined up next to him. Xion smiled as she saw Roxas getting ready to run and getting position.
Kairi yelled back across the field, "Ready? Set… Go!" As her voice carried, the three boys shot forward. They were neck and neck, neither boy giving way to the other. Kairi looked over at the two other girls and pointed to a stone wall with a tree nearby, "The first one to go over the wall wins."
Namine whistled softly and Xion glanced over in her direction. "If I recall correctly, Sora was on the soccer team, he played a…"
"Forward." Kairi finished for her, her eyes completely set on the three racers. "Riku played basketball, I think he played as a center if I remember correctly." The boys were getting closer to the wall. As the three girls looked closer, they noticed Roxas was slightly behind the other two boys.
"What about Roxas? Did he do any sport?" Xion inquired.
The other two girls shook their heads, "He always said there wasn't a point, his parents would end up going to Sora's games. So he didn't have much drive to try to do anything." Kairi replied in a quiet tone.
As Roxas ran he noticed he was a couple steps behind the other two, I guess I'll try it today. Roxas quickly thought. He picked up his pace and the next thing he knew he had passed the other two boys and the wall was in front of him.
The boys were coming up on the wall Sora and Riku giving each other looks, seeing who would make first. When suddenly Roxas took the lead and high jumped over the wall with relative ease. The girls could only stare in amazement, having never seen Roxas ever pull such a move. As the other two boys used their arms to propel them over the wall, they landed and caught their breath. Roxas lay on the ground groaning and clutching his back, "I thought the impact would have been softer…" The girls came to join them, and as they all saw Roxas, everyone erupted in laughter at the boy's stunt.
"When did you learn that Roxas?" Riku asked, giving him a look of respect.
"I'm not that lazy Riku, I use some of my time outside." Roxas shot back, wincing as he tried to sit up.
Sora looked over to Kairi, "Kairiii can I get that ice cream?" He gave her his best 'puppy dog eyes' look he could muster.
Kairi shook her head smiling, "Well I do owe you one. Are you all gonna come or are you gonna head back home?"
Namine and Riku exchanged looks and she said, "I think I'll head home. It's been a long day. I can leave Xion in your capable hands, can't I Roxas?"
Sora cheered and grabbed Kairi by the hand and half pulled, half dragged her to get ice cream, she she waved good-bye to her friends. Her face was slightly flushed from Sora grabbing she so impulsively. Namine smiled to herself at her two friends going off on their own. Namine looked over the Xion, "Hey Xion, I'm going to go on ahead back home." Her face slightly flushed when she uttered the next part, "Riku is going to take me, and from the looks of it, Roxas is gonna need some help."
The young girl looked up at her older sister and nodded laughing at her comment, "I guess I'll have to help him like he helped me this morning." Namine smiled and took Riku's hand, the two walked together, soon enough leaving the other two alone. Xion sat next Roxas, leaning against the wall that he just jumped over.
"You could be a track star with that kind of jumping Roxas…" Xion said quietly. Roxas looked away, his eyes unable to look at hers. "Why don't you give it a shot?"
"No one would come to cheer me on… So there isn't really a point in trying for it." Roxas slowly started to sit up, leaning his back against the wall. A silence came across the two, neither knowing what to say for some time.
Finally, Xion stood up, she turned and looked down at Roxas, "Roxas join the track team."
Roxas sighed, "I told you no one would-"
"I'll come. If I come to cheer you on, then you'll be okay with doing it right?" Xion cut Roxas off before he could finish his statement.
Roxas stared into the girl's eyes, and saw the sincerity behind her words. Roxas stood up, wincing at his sore back, he smiled at the girl and said, "I'll do it if you're there to cheer me on then."
Xion shot him a smile, and Roxas felt his heart beat faster in his chest. He looked into her eyes once again, and turned away quickly, "Ah, I should get you home before Namine gets on my case!" He hastily turned around and faced the other way to hide his embarrassment.
As Roxas turned around, Xion exhaled quietly, hiding the underlying tones of embarrassment she felt. Roxas turned around and once again looked at her with those blue eyes of his. Xion hid her blushed face with a quick remark to Roxas, "I'll follow your lead then, senpai." As Roxas' words came out stuttered, Xion laughed as the two began walking back home.
Author's Note
WAaaa sorry for not posting earlier! I've been really lazy and dealing with a lot _ I hope you all enjoy it, and Chapter 3 is being worked on! :)