A/N: My brain, muscles and throat are seriously messed up. It's a miracle that this chapter came out today.
I had my math test today. No comment on that.
Then we had a netball match today, which we lost. I was screaming like Linkin Park. No really, I'm serious.
I love you guys:
Sarie Bear
aarnikotka
coolmegan123
reeby10
Indigo Pheonix
Roxas-Has-A-Stick
Forget Me Not
Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts, I'd probably be excused from taking exams… I think…
Chapt 7: Plans
"The distance between here and there is… Sora and I will never make it there on foot without getting caught…" Seated cross-legged on the floor in the middle of the room, Roxas was surrounded by books and papers, planning his escape route or rather, mumbling parts of it out loud.
Roxas yawned, stretching his arms up. It was his second day in the Element kingdom and he had to find a way to get Sora and him back to their own kingdom.
His initial plan was to sneak out of the castle at night and make a good distance away before they discovered they were gone. However, after calculating the distance between the Element and Key kingdom, he decided to change his plan.
Spread out around him was maps of the world, half-devised escape routes, information books about the Element kingdom and a slightly battered copy of the History of the Element kingdom that Axel had lent to him. He had most of the escape route planned; now all he needed was a map of the castle and some sort of transport across the field that separated the two kingdoms.
Axel was out on a "mission" as he had called it, saying that he won't be back till dark. Which left Roxas plenty of time to plan an ideal escape route and inform Sora. A handwritten map to his left showed the way to Riku's room, which was where Sora was staying.
Looking at the mess around him, Roxas felt his head ache slightly. He stacked up the books and papers and dropped it onto the nearby desk. The floor was now empty except for the small messy handwritten map.
Roxas decided it was time to visit Sora.
forget-me-not
It was stifling hot outside in the cursedly hot sun. And it didn't help that Axel was dressed in his black Organization outfit with the hood up. Damn the rules. Having the hood up every time one was on a mission was ridiculous. Furthermore, he had been out here for at least five hours and had the rest of the day to go. It would be a miracle if he didn't faint from the heat.
His current mission: Patrolling the borders of their kingdom, which hadn't been invaded since god knows when. He swore that DiZ was doing this to get him away from Roxas.
Silently fuming under his hood, he didn't notice a girl, dressed in black, leap over the city's wall and land softly on the ground until she was past him. A key chain hung on her waist glinted light into his eyes, which made him blink and look up.
Alerted of an outsider, Axel instinctively threw a chakram at her; close enough to startle her into halting. When she stopped moving, he had already got close enough to knock her down and hold the other chakram to her neck.
"Alright, who are you and what are you doing here?" He growled down at her. She glared back defiantly, her childish face spoiling the look. She stuck out her tongue at him. He pressed the weapon down harder, making a thin line of blood ooze out from a new cut.
"Not telling." She was dressed like a ninja with her hair cut short. A key shaped key chain was attached to her belt. Axel bent down and picked it up. The name "Yuffie" was engraved on the metal. He recognized the key chain as a citizen of the Key kingdom; he'd seen Roxas carry one when he was captured.
"Yuffie. Weird name, kiddo." He remarked, feeling a little less irritated at having someone to taunt. Drops of perspiration dripped into his eyes and he wiped them away with a swipe of his sleeve. During this distraction, he didn't notice Yuffie grab something from her pocket. When he looked back again, she grinned at him, making a peace sign with her free hand.
"Say cheese!" She threw something at him, a burst of light temporarily blinding him. Opening his eyes again, she was gone. There was an envelope on the ground where she had been.
A small slip of paper was stuck onto it:
PRIVATE AND CONFEDENTIAL. (Give this to someone called DiZ)
Love, Yuffie
A smiley face was drawn beside the signature.
Axel picked up the letter, tucking it into his jacket pocket. His other hand still held the girl's key chain. It went into his pocket as well.
The letter was addressed to DiZ, so he had to go back to the castle. Perfect excuse for getting out of the damn sun.
forget-me-not
The stack of books and papers that had been previously sitting on Axel's desk was now spread out on the floor of Riku's room. There was a new addition to the mess, a neatly drawn map of the entire castle.
Roxas held it before him, carefully inspecting it. "I still can't believe Riku drew this." He told his brother.
"He did!" Sora leaned against Roxas. They were sitting back-to-back. "He drew it after I got lost for the… fifth time."
"Well, it's good." Roxas critically compared it to the messily drawn map done by Sora. "Compared to yours, anyway."
"I choose to ignore that last statement you made."
"Whatever you want. Now," Roxas turned to face Sora. "We have one problem solved. Next one: How do we cross the distance between the two kingdoms?"
"Teleport?" Sora suggested.
Roxas whacked the top of Sora's head. "Be serious, won't you."
"No, I'm serious, Rox." Sora sat up straight, rubbing the injured part of his head. "I saw Riku disappear into a large portal thingie when he left for his 'mission'."
Roxas flapped a hand dismissively at him. "Impossible. Teleporting isn't possible now. It only appears in stories." Fairytale stories.
"No, no! I asked Demyx how it worked and he said it was teleporting. They use some sort of dark material to create links to other places so that they can travel easier."
"Yeah, but it's them. Not us, Sora. We can't create stuff like that. We just have to find another way."
"Okay…" Sora looked out of the window, feeling disappointed. The sun was setting, casting an orangey ray of light onto the floor. Sunset… Sora thought absently, then he froze. "Oh damn… Roxas!"
Roxas looked up from the map he was inspecting. "Yeah?"
"Riku should be coming back now! And—"
"I'm not supposed to be here now!" Roxas completed his sentence, packing up the scattered papers and books that he had brought along.
"Yes!" Sora shouted at him, shoving papers into his brothers overloaded arms. "He said that we weren't supposed to meet again, if not he'll throw us back into those cell rooms again and then we won't be able to see each other again." Clearing the last paper from the floor he opened the door and kicked Roxas into the white hallway. "Now go!"
"I'm gone! I'm gone!" Roxas staggered from the push and ran away from the door as it closed behind him.
He turned at a corner and caught a glimpse of silver hair.
Roxas ducked round the corner, nearly spilling the load in his arms. Where did Riku come from? The blond cautiously glanced back; Riku was heading towards his hiding spot.
Roxas couldn't let Riku see him now. He would definitely know that he went to see Sora.
A black hole gaped behind the approaching Elemental. That must be one of those "portals" Sora was talking about, he thought. It was only a few steps away. If he made a run for it, he could enter the portal without Riku seeing him.
But where did the portal lead? It could be some weird place outside the castle or something.
However, he also didn't want to be separated from Sora again. How would they ever get back to the Key kingdom if they weren't allowed to communicate with each other?
Roxas took a deep breath and, praying that Riku would not see him, dove into the strange dark portal.
A/N: Chemistry test tomorrow. And netball training. Wish me luck.
-Phantom Kira
