Heh, sorry for the wait. I got sidetracked. Anywhoo! Hope you guys enjoy this little chapter!
It turns out there was no one up on the clock tower once Roxas finally made it to Twilight Town. He wondered if he might have been too late, or perhaps too early. Despite this, he sat down in his usual spot as he gazed out at the familiar sight beyond him. From there, he found himself thinking back to the events from moments ago.
Roxas never would have thought he would end up running into that girl again, even though a part of him wanted to, but not like this. The Nobody knew that he was supposed to avoid contact with people from other worlds. It wasn't his intention to be seen. With that said, he could easily decide not to return to that world just so he can avoid getting in trouble with the Organization. But after learning how much this girl resembled Xion, it only left him more curious. Maybe just this once, it wouldn't hurt to break a rule.
After sitting around lost in thought for a while, Roxas decided to call it a day and return to the castle, realizing his red-headed friend probably wasn't going to show up to the clock tower. From there, he followed his usual routine of making his way to Xion's room. Or at least, he would have gone to her room if it weren't for him running into Demyx in the hallway, who looked like he needed a favor. And it just so happened that no one else was around at that moment, which meant Roxas had no choice but to go along with whatever the good-for-nothing Nobody needed. Once he managed to get himself out of that mess, Roxas just made his way back to his own room, deciding he will visit his friend in the morning.
Before he knew it, a new day had begun. Roxas got up from his bed and went through his brief morning routine before he made his way out and headed to Xion's room, all while keeping an eye out for anyone who decided to get in his way. Thankfully that wasn't the case this time around. Roxas didn't have much time to stick around anyway since he had his daily mission to complete. But he at least wanted to see her face for reassurance.
"Morning, Xion," he grinned, walking to her bedside. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the thalassa shell, placing it with all the other seashells next to her.
"There's some things I gotta tell you, but I have to get today's mission out of the way first. And uh…" The blond paused, thinking back to what Kairi had told him the day before. "I think I might have a surprise for you once I get back."
But I'm still not even sure what it is, Roxas rubbed his neck sheepishly, remembering the redhead had convinced him to return to the island to show him something. She did mention it was something Xion would appreciate. More seashells perhaps? Maybe she had a treasure chest full of them.
"Well… time for me to get going. See you later, Xion," he waved goodbye to the sleeping girl and headed off to the Grey Area to receive his mission for the day.
Kairi wasn't sure how long it's been since she felt this ecstatic to go to the island. It still seemed a little bittersweet going back, but she managed to get by. And it was all because of a stranger she met the day before. No, Kairi couldn't call him a stranger. Deep down, she knew there was something familiar about this boy. Not only because of his physical appearance, but she had an unusual feeling in her heart looking into those ocean eyes of his. Whatever this feeling was, she wanted to find out more about it.
As Kairi began to make her way to the island, she began to wonder if the boy would even show up again. She did tell him to meet her there the following day, after all. Though, now that she thought about it…
Maybe I was a little too forward telling him to come back...
Suddenly, the idea of him disappearing and never returning seemed to take over Kairi's mind at that moment. Even though she didn't know him that well, she couldn't bear the thought of having someone leave her. Not again. Before her mind dove deeper into those negative thoughts, she immediately spotted Selphie walking nearby. The brunette noticed Kairi's presence and eagerly ran up to her.
"Hey Kairi! Are you going to the island today?"
Kairi managed to give her a small smile as they continued to walk together from there. "Yeah, I was heading there now."
Selphie hummed and fell silent for a moment.
Kairi waited for her to say something else, only to get silence in return. She turned to look at her friend, who seemed to be occupied with her thoughts. "What? What is it?"
She finally looked over at the redhead and tapped her chin in thought. "You know, you haven't gone back there for weeks and now ever since we stopped by the other day, it's like you've moved past all that… Oh!" Her face suddenly brightened as realization struck her. "Did Riku come back? Is that why you're going there?"
Kairi shook her head and smiled sadly at the thought of her other friend not being present. "No, I still haven't seen Riku around. But…" She paused, looking out to the horizon where the island came into view. "There's this other boy that I met there… I'm not sure who he is or where he came from but I feel like I know him somehow…"
"Oh…"
Kairi noticed the brunette went silent once more. She really hoped her friend wasn't thinking this was odd. No, it was pretty odd. There was no denying that. She bit her lip and shrugged slightly. "That's not weird, is it?"
Selphie looked at the redhead as a smile gradually formed on her face. "No, not really. Maybe he's an old friend of yours. Did he recognize you?"
The image of his face suddenly flashed in her mind again. "If by "recognize", you mean that I reminded him of someone he knows, then... yes?"
"Oh well, that might explain it," Selphie nodded, looking out ahead of her, "He has to be someone you knew at one point."
Kairi glanced at her friend thoughtfully, realizing she may be right in some sense. But even then, the redhead still wasn't entirely convinced.
"I'm not sure. He kind of reminds me of someone else I know. Someone close to me…"
"Who? Riku?"
Kairi stopped walking when a familiar face flashed in her mind. It was more vivid this time; a brown-haired boy smiled back at her, but the image was soon replaced with the boy in the black coat.
"Hey, are you okay?" Selphie asked, looking at her friend with concern.
"Never mind," mumbled the redhead, shaking her head as she tried to push her thoughts aside. "Anyway, I'm gonna be seeing that boy again today."
The brunette's eyes brightened as she kept her gaze on Kairi. "Oh, you are?"
Kairi nodded. "He said his friend hasn't been feeling well in the past days. I wanna try to help somehow… I think a little gift should be fine."
"That's a sweet thing to do," Selphie said with her hands behind her back. She eventually stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Kairi with an impish smile. "Well… I guess I won't get in your way then."
"What do you…" The redhead trailed off, immediately acknowledging the face her friend was making. When Kairi realized what she meant, she laughed and playfully nudged her friend. "Okay, come on. It's not like that, Selphie. I just met the guy yesterday."
Selphie laughed in return, shrugging at her remark. "But I thought you said you kind of know him."
Kairi shook her head as she looked back towards the island. "It's just a feeling I have, that's all."
"If you say so," the brunette smiled, curiously looking at her friend. "By the way, does this mystery boy have a name?"
Kairi kept her gaze ahead of her, thankful she was able to at least remember this boy's name.
"It's Roxas."
Roxas swung his keyblade left and right, eliminating the last of the remaining Heartless lurking around. He was sent on a solo mission to Halloween Town that day, which meant he had to work double duty. Once he finished up there, he thought about the brief chat he had with Axel earlier in the day.
Just before Roxas left that morning, he managed to run into his red-headed friend, who admittedly got caught up with some stuff the day before, which explained why he didn't show up to the clock tower.
"How about I make it up to you," said Axel, "I'll buy the ice cream today."
"I guess so," Roxas mumbled, rubbing his neck. "I'll try to be there."
The tall Nobody raised a brow as he reached out and ruffled the boy's hair. "What? Got somewhere to be later?"
"Umm…" The blond tried to think of an excuse as he attempted to fix his messy hair, deciding he would eventually tell Axel more about the familiar stranger he encountered when he got the chance. "I wanted to bring more seashells for Xion."
"More seashells, huh?" Axel chuckled, crossing his arms. "Pretty soon, her whole bed is gonna be covered in those."
Roxas only gave him a sheepish look. Before he was able to say something else, their conversation was suddenly interrupted when Saïx approached the two Nobodies.
"Don't you have someplace to be?" He asked in his usual cold tone, mainly directing his attention to Axel.
"Yeah, yeah…" Axel sighed and waved his hand before disappearing into the Corridor of Darkness. The blue-haired man then turned his attention to Roxas to assign his mission.
And there he was now, making his way back to the dark corridor after completing his task. From there, he began to make his way to his next destination, only this time when Roxas finally arrived, he noticed the familiar orange hues surrounding him. The Nobody glanced around, realizing he must have made it just before the sun began to set on the small island.
He found himself appreciating the warm sights, taking another look around before he spotted a figure sitting on a tree just across the small bridge overhead.
It was the red-headed girl.
Kairi arrived at the island sometime in the late afternoon, more or less around the time she spotted Roxas the day before. It was no surprise to see he wasn't around yet, which gave her time to collect what she needed for the wayfinder she wanted to make. A lucky charm for Roxas's friend.
Kairi thought it was the perfect gift. She remembered making one for herself to give it to someone special. Someone she longed to see again. With that, she began her search for some thalassa shells. After some time of exploring around and getting a head start on creating the charm, Kairi noticed Roxas was still nowhere to be seen. The girl tried not to worry much, assuming he must have been busy. Yet she couldn't help but think back to the thoughts that invaded her mind earlier that day, about being left alone there again. She tried to fight those thoughts away as she headed over to the paopu tree.
Once there, the redhead settled herself on the tree trunk, gazing ahead at the sparkling sea as the gentle breeze hit her face. After she felt more at ease, Kairi reached inside her small bag and pulled out one of the few seashells she collected as she continued to put the charm together. She found herself very focused on this for a while until she heard footsteps approaching. Her heart flipped out of instinct as she turned around and saw the familiar face from the day before.
Kairi flashed a warm smile as the blond boy approached her. "Oh there you are! I thought you weren't gonna show up."
Roxas found himself giving Kairi a smile of his own before he noticed her fiddling with something in her hands. "Yeah, sorry about that. I got caught up with some stuff."
"That's alright," she said as she patted the empty spot next to her, inviting him to join her on the tree. "Come on up."
The boy climbed up and settled down beside Kairi, curiously looking over to see what the girl had been doing. Before Roxas was able to question it, he saw her staring back at him with an amused look on her face.
Roxas tilted his head in confusion as he heard her laugh softly. "What?"
"Do you always wear that coat?"
The blond momentarily glanced down at his outfit before looking up at the girl again. "Yeah, why?"
"Don't you get a little warm wearing it? Especially in a place like this?"
She did have a point, but it's not like he had a massive wardrobe back at the castle. He rubbed his neck self-consciously and shrugged. "It's kind of all I have."
Kairi kept her gaze on the timid boy, wondering if he might have been joking. But she just went along with it and continued to work on the charm. Roxas's eyes trailed back down to the small object in her hands. Right away, he could tell they were seashells but he noticed the girl had somehow tied up a few together to make a star shape out of it.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"Well… remember when I said I wanted to show you something?" She tied up the last of the seashells together before proudly holding it up for him to see. "You mentioned your friend likes these, so I thought you can give this to her. It's a good luck charm."
"A good luck charm?" Roxas repeated as she handed the star-shaped charm to him.
Kairi swung her legs back and forth off the tree trunk and nodded. "Mmhmm. If you and your friend ever get separated, this will help you find your way back to each other."
"Huh…" He examined it for a while longer before the girl continued.
"It's still missing something though," she reached over and pointed at the empty space in the center of the charm. "A token of some sort. I wasn't sure if maybe you might have something to put there…?"
Roxas pursed his lips momentarily before placing the charm in his lap to reach into his pockets, pulling out whatever he found. There was some munny, an ice cream stick with the word WINNER written across it, and a few pieces of a broken seashell he must have forgotten about that likely fractured during his mission. He stared at the items dumbfoundedly before looking up at her.
"Is any of this good enough?"
"Hmm…" Kairi examined his hand filled with miscellaneous objects. She laughed softly as her eyes fell on the fractured shell. "Wow, what happened there?"
"Guess it broke on my way here," he shrugged.
"Hmm, must have been that coat of yours," she teased, poking his shoulder.
The Nobody couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, sure. Let's go with that."
Kairi's gaze suddenly fell back to his hand. Just as he was about to shake off the broken pieces, she spotted a peculiar shape. "Wait, hang on…" She reached out and picked up one of the small fragments, smiling as she examined it. "This piece kind of looks like a heart. See?"
The girl held it in her palm for Roxas to see for himself. Despite some minor chips on the broken piece, it was indeed shaped like a heart, similar to the ones that the Heartless released.
"I guess it kind of does… Can I use that?"
"Yeah, that should work," Kairi nodded with a smile, taking the charm back from him to attach the small piece in the center.
Meanwhile, Roxas's gaze fell on the sight in front of them. 'Peaceful' was the first word that popped into his head as he watched the orange hues reflect off the body of water. He always found it comforting watching the sunset, even outside of Twilight Town.
Suddenly, the view in front of him was blocked when Kairi proudly held up the finished charm in front of his face. "Here you go, Roxas."
The boy took the charm from her and glanced at the little chipped heart in the middle.
"Thanks," he smiled, carefully tucking the small object away in his pocket. "I'm sure she'll really like this."
"She just might," Kairi said with a smile of her own, curiously looking at him. "How is she doing today?"
"Uh…" Roxas scratched his head unsurely and shrugged, "Still the same. She's been in a deep sleep for a few days now. There's no way of telling when she'll wake up."
"Oh…" The girl's smile faded away as she gave him a sympathetic look. "What happened to her?"
"I'm not sure…" The Nobody shook his head, looking down at his lap. "It's weird, the same thing happened to me too just weeks before... but it's kind of hazy to remember anything. All I remember is waking up next to all these seashells beside me."
Kairi's face softened, recalling when Roxas briefly brought up that little detail just the day before. "So she left those seashells for you, and now you're doing the same for her. That's sweet."
"Yeah. I guess so," the boy shrugged.
Kairi gave him a reassuring smile, turning to face the sea. "She'll be fine. I know it."
Roxas managed to smile in return as he followed her gaze. They sat in comfortable silence shortly after as they both watched the sight in front of them.
"It's nice, isn't it?" Kairi asked, breaking the silence.
Roxas slightly tilted his head and glanced at her. "What is?"
"The sunset."
The Nobody kept his eyes on her as she continued to stare off into the distance. He eventually did the same, smiling warmly as he watched the glistening sea again. "Yeah, it kinda reminds me of the one back in Twilight Town."
"Twilight Town?" Kairi wondered, now turning to look at the boy. "Is that where you're from?"
"Uh… you could say that," Roxas hesitated for a moment, unsure how much he should say about himself. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to speak a little bit about the place. Twilight Town almost felt like a home to him, after all.
The girl's eyes brightened as she shuffled closer to Roxas. "So you're from a different world, huh? I figured as much. How's it like there?"
Roxas remained in place, trying to ignore the fact that she was now closer to him. "It's nice, I guess. I usually meet up with my friends on the clock tower and we have sea salt ice cream and talk about stuff while watching the sunset."
The redhead suddenly gave him a peculiar look. "Sea salt ice cream?"
"Yeah, have you tried some? It's really good." Roxas couldn't help but grin as he thought about his favorite snack.
"I can't remember if I have…" Kairi muttered, tapping her chin in thought. "Maybe you should bring some next time."
Next time? She wants me to visit her again?
Roxas snapped out of his brief thoughts as he realized something. "W-Wait, but it'll melt by the time I get here."
"Not if you're fast enough," Kairi smirked.
The boy raised a brow and shuffled away slightly, letting out a faint chuckle. "I'll try… but I can't promise you it'll still be any good."
Kairi stayed silent for a moment before she ended up shuffling close to him again. "Fine, I'll just go visit you instead then."
Roxas mentally panicked. Not only because he was close to falling off the tree if he continued to scoot away from her, but he just wasn't sure how much of a good idea it was for her to drop by.
Great...
"Maybe I'll go sometime when my summer vacation starts," she added, swinging her legs back and forth enthusiastically as she looked out ahead.
Summer vacation. Roxas remembered Axel explained how it's a time where kids get a whole month off to do whatever they want. Suddenly, Roxas couldn't help but smile at her determination to visit him during her free time. It made him wonder... "Have you visited other worlds before?"
Her kicking slowed down as Kairi tried to recall the hazy memories lingering in her mind. "I actually came from another world when I was younger but… I can't remember much of it."
Roxas noticed she began to fiddle around with her bracelet as she went on.
"Just some months ago, my friends and I decided to build a raft, hoping we could go out and see other worlds but some things happened, so we never got around to it... My memory is still a little hazy from it all but we ended up getting separated along the way."
"It feels like it's been forever since I last saw them…" she mumbled, placing her hand over her chest. "But I'm sure they're alright, no matter where they are right now."
Roxas could only sit there in silence as he thought about Axel and Xion. He couldn't bear the thought of getting separated from his own friends. It scared him just thinking about it.
Kairi began to wonder what was going through the boy's head, seeing how he went silent for a while. She turned to face him almost at the same time he turned to look at her, briefly catching her by surprise.
"I hope you'll find your way back to each other," he said, attempting to reassure her.
"I know we will," the girl gave him a small smile as she kept her gaze on him. Kairi wasn't sure why but there was something comforting about looking into his eyes.
Comfort. Maybe that was the unusual feeling she felt in her heart as she looked at him.
Of course, it didn't take her long to catch herself staring at him for some time.
"Anyway... it's getting late," she said, hopping off the tree. "I should start heading back home."
"Right..."
Roxas did the same and turned to leave but Kairi stopped him, gently tugging on his sleeve. "Hey, Roxas? Thanks for showing up today."
He faced her and smiled warmly as their eyes met again. "Yeah, of course. I was planning on stopping by anyway. And you kinda told me to come back."
The girl laughed softly at his remark. "Fair enough. Don't forget to give that to your friend," she said, referring to the charm.
"I won't."
"And be careful with it," she added, gently nudging him as she began to walk off. "You don't wanna fracture it like that other shell, do you?"
Roxas laughed sheepishly as he watched Kairi walk ahead of him. Without thinking, he called out to her. "Are you gonna be here again tomorrow?"
Kairi halted and turned to face Roxas. For a moment, she was certain she saw a brown-haired boy standing in his place, but she knew her mind was just playing tricks on her. She had to remind herself this wasn't that boy. This was Roxas.
She smiled softly and gave him a nod. "Yeah, I'll be here."
Roxas wasn't sure what came over him at that moment but he was relieved to hear that she wanted to see him again.
"Right… then I'll see you around."
"See you around, Roxas."
With that, she finally walked off while Roxas stayed behind. The blond stood there in thought as he took one last look at the sunset and grinned to himself.
Once he left the island, Roxas briefly stopped by Twilight Town out of habit. He made his way over to the station plaza and looked up at the clock tower, only to see it as empty as it was the day before. He figured that would be the case, realizing how late it must have already been. The Nobody decided to skip the usual clock tower routine and began to make his way back to the castle from there.
Soon enough after reporting back, he found himself standing in front of Xion's door. Roxas stepped inside her room and walked towards the sleeping girl.
It was almost as if he never left.
"Told you I'd be back," Roxas smiled, carefully rummaging through his pocket. "And I brought you something, like I said I would. It's a gift from a girl I ran into on that island." He pulled out the charm and held it up, briefly surveying it to make sure it was still intact.
"It's funny… she kind of looks like you. I thought I might have imagined it when I first saw her but… looking at her, I kind of see you…" Roxas's voice lowered as he gave Xion a peculiar look. "Err… anyway, the girl's name is Kairi. She said this is supposed to be a good luck charm. So if we ever get separated, we'll find our way back to each other… or something like that."
He stared at the charm again before he smiled softly and placed it beside her. "I hope you like it."
Suddenly, Xion stirred in her sleep, catching Roxas by surprise as he stared at her wide-eyed. He eagerly waited for her to open her eyes but they remained shut within those few moments. Sighing, his shoulders dropped, realizing he probably got his hopes up for nothing.
"Wishful thinking," Roxas mumbled, keeping his gaze on the girl before he kneeled down by the bedside. The boy's gaze fell on her gloved hand in front of him and out of instinct, he reached out and gently placed his warm hand on hers.
She's so cold, he thought.
"You know, I got to see the sunset over the sea today," he spoke softly, resting his head on his propped arm. "It kind of reminded me of Twilight Town."
Roxas smiled at the memory, thinking how much he longed to watch the sunset with Xion again. He was really starting to miss it. Suddenly, a wave of drowsiness hit Roxas at that moment. It seemed like the Nobody didn't realize how tired he was until now as he continued to speak.
"I wish you were there to see it…"
Roxas didn't remember saying anything else after that as his mind shut down. Before he knew it, he was sound asleep by Xion's bedside with his hand still resting on hers.
Little did he know that just outside the door listening in on the one-sided conversation was his red-headed friend.