Rokushi 2021: Puppy Love:
In Which Two Clueless Zombies Find Love and Puppies
A/N: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. It is the property of Square Enix and the Walt Disney Company. I do not own The Dresden Files, which is the property of Jim Butcher.
This is a creative work I do not profit off of in any way.
Hello, my readers, hello!
Happy Rokushi Week, for the year 2021! It's been a long, long year since we last went to Rokushi Week! I missed you all and I hope that you enjoy Rokushi 2021!
If you're coming over from Rise Above The X, fear not! I have no intentions of stopping my long-fic anytime soon!
The following story is the first in a series of one-shots. They're not necessarily going to be connected to one another, but each, unless otherwise noted, is going to be broadly canon-compliant with Kingdom Hearts III, though given my fondness for Sora interacting with Roxas and Xion, I may revive him early and put this outside of anything beyond Re:Mind.
Tally-ho!
oooo
The first thing that Xion did when she was getting ready for her job was to make sure she had all of the proper equipment: Leashes, biscuits, a washcloth, gloves, boots. Not having the proper equipment for her job could prove disastrous. All of that would go into a backpack. And Xion loved her job—walking dogs was the best job in the whole wide world. It was even better than being a Keybearer. And she wasn't going to do anything that wasn't making sure she was doing the very best job she could at the best job in the world.
The second thing that Xion did when she was getting for her job was to make sure her equipment was in proper working order: Leashes had to be free from wear with the buckles properly attached; Xion had to take care to make certain which biscuits were acceptable and which that were not (some she had to make sure she broke into smaller pieces, lest her charges choke on them); Xion found washcloths to be relatively easy to handle, though often very hard to clean with dog fur after their walks.
Xion tied the laces of her boots as tightly as she could without them hurting her feet—she knew all too well that leaving them loosely tied would have her dogs nibbling at them so that she would trip and fall over. It was early spring, so that meant it would probably be chilly enough for her to need to wear a jacket. She grabbed one off the coatrack and pulled it over herself. It was purple, her favorite color.
"Going now?" Axel called from the kitchen. "Got everything?"
"Yep," Xion said. "See you tonight! Clocktower?"
"Clocktower," Axel agreed. "See you there."
Xion grinned. It was a tradition that she shared with Axel and Roxas. They were both her best friends. She'd been friends with them for a very long time, ever since she first joined the Organization. And every evening, after they had done their missions, they'd gone to the clocktower to watch the sunset and have ice cream.
It'd been a long time since then. Things had turned on their head when Xion learned that she was a Replica meant to siphon Roxas's strength. The Organization had wanted to use her to do bad things…they had planned to use Roxas too. But that was all done and over with now. Sora had saved them. He'd saved them all. There would be nothing Xion could ever do to make up for that.
Being free from the Organization…having lives of their own. It was something she had never dared to dream of. But it was real. It was truly real. And she had a real job to make munny—but she would have walked all these wonderful dogs for free.
She set out down the street. Her first stop was to the small house that King Mickey had purchased. He and Donald and Goofy visited Twilight Town often enough that King Mickey had decided to buy a home of his own. Xion rang the doorbell once and waited. A moment later, she heard two different sets of barks.
"Rar rar rar roo!"
"Ruff ruff!"
"Pluto! Butch!" Xion called. "I'm here. I'm ready! Where's King Mickey, boys?"
"There you are, Xion!" King Mickey said, as he opened the door. At once, King Mcikey's two dogs—Pluto and Butch—came barreling towards them. Pluto was a bloodhound with yellow fur. He was Xion's favorite. But Butch was nice too—a big beige bulldog. Butch hadn't always been King Mickey's dog, but he and Pluto definitely got along. "Ah, they missed you."
"I missed them too," Xion said, kneeling to hook their leashes on. "Thank you, your Majesty. I'm sure they'll enjoy their walk."
"Awww," King Mickey said. "That's really great to hear. Bye-bye, Xion. See you in a while. Pluto, Butch, you be good for Xion now, you hear?"
SMASH!
"Ah phooey!"
"Oh my gosh!" King Mickey gasped. "See ya later, Xion! Donald! Goofy! What's broken?!"
Xion bit her lip. Maybe she should stay to help…but then Pluto began tugging on his leash and she wound up being dragged along for the walk. Walking with Pluto and Butch was different than walking by herself. Xion had to move a bit more quickly, in order to make up for Pluto tugging on her. It wasn't good to let dogs tug on their leashes—it put a lot of strain on them and it made it tougher to keep pace for all of the dogs. Beyond Pluto and Butch, there were other dogs Xion was supposed to be walking. She walked them to the edge of town, where Mister Slade lived with his two dogs.
"Mister Slade?" Xion called, after she knocked politely with no response. "It's Xion. We spoke on the phone?"
"I'm a'coming, jus' hold yer horses!"
Xion wasn't completely clueless. She knew that meant "be patient," though why that particular phrase was used or how it had been invented, she had no idea. Mister Slade came to the door before she could dwell too much on it. He was a short man, though part of that was from him being hunched over all the time. He had a thick mustache and he walked with a limp. He led Xion out and around to his yard, where two large hounds barked eagerly.
"Chief!" Mister Slade whistled. "Copper! Xion's here, you be good to her now, ya hear?"
Chief was a…well, actually, Xion wasn't sure what he was. Mister Slade said he was a wolfhound, but those were supposed to be really, really big—Olette had showed Xion pictures in one of her books. Cooper was definitely a bloodhound though—with longer, floppier ears than Pluto. Xion liked giving Pluto head scritches, but Copper usually got his ears rubbed. Either way, walking four dogs was even trickier than walking two. Copper was always trying to smell the ground, looking for scents, and Chief barked a lot. Still, they were both good dogs. Xion had one more dog to go get…
Mister Dresden was friends with Father Forthill and given that Xion had no idea where Mister Dresden lived, but she did know where the church was, that was her next destination. It was maybe a ten-minute walk to the church, but since Xion thought it'd be a bad idea to try to take all four dogs out on the main roads and went through the side streets instead, it took almost thirty to get there.
Mister Dresden was waiting for her. He was very, very, very tall. He was taller than Axel—though maybe not as tall as Axel's spiky hair. He wore a big, brown jacket—Olette had called it a "duster"—and looked like he hadn't shaved in two or three days. Xion felt a little sorry for him. Mister Dresden looked tired…and even though Xion had been walking Mister Dresden's dog for over a month, he still looked surprised to see her. Or maybe surprised to see Pluto and Butch. But he had Mouse with him.
Mouse was the biggest, fluffiest dog Xion had ever seen. He was gigantic—bigger than Copper and Chief and Pluto and Butch put together. He waddled over to Xion, with his leash in his mouth; the other four dogs stood still, almost like they were knights, standing at attention. Xion smiled at Mouse and scratched behind his ear.
"Hi, Mister Dresden," Xion said. "I should be back in a couple of hours. Are you going to be alright? You look a little tired."
"I'm fine, Xion," Mister Dresden said. "And you don't have to worry, the Dogasaurus isn't going to give you any trouble. I need to talk to Forthill though…"
Mister Dresden patted Mouse on the head, and then he patted Pluto, Butch, Copper and Chief. He also patted Xion on the head—which she was used to, from Axel. With all five dogs, Xion set off again. She would take them down and around and…well, she'd have to see. Xion didn't usually set out with specific plans about where to walk, beyond avoiding the biggest streets and trams. But she'd make sure the dogs would see the sights. There was Sunset Hill and the Sandlot and the places her friends worked—Hayner worked at the open-air theatre, Pence worked at the bookstore, Olette worked at the ice cream shop…and then there was Roxas…
Maybe…maybe they would see Roxas. That would be nice.
oooo
Take a poster and press it on precisely. Roxas wasn't sure how the adhesives that lined the walls and bulletin boards of Twilight Town worked, but it definitely made it easy to hang up posters. Hanging up posters was one of his jobs. His first and most important job was his responsibility as a Keybearer, but Roxas liked hanging posters and delivering mail. It let him explore areas of Twilight Town he otherwise wouldn't normally go.
He walked on, adjusting the satchel that had the remaining three dozen posters he needed to hang up. There was also the second satchel that had all the mail he needed to deliver. He'd been at this for about an hour, now…hmm, where should he hang posters next? Near the Bistro? Nah, too obvious. Maybe near the bookstore? There were several bulletin boards on that street.
Roxas walked on, his sneakers pounding against the cobblestones as he started to run. It felt good to run. It felt like being alive. It felt like…
"Ra ra roo!"
"Huh?" Roxas said, turning his head. "Oh! Xion! And…friends!"
Xion was walking, or at least, trying to walk, five dogs. Roxas grinned. She was up to walking five dogs at the same time? That was really, really impressive. All things Xion did were impressive, because she was so good at what she did once she put her mind to it. Roxas recognized Pluto and Butch, but he didn't know the other three dogs. There was Pluto and Butch and a dog with long ears and a dog with short little ears and a…wait, was that last one a dog or a wooly mammoth?
"Hi Roxas," Xion said, smiling at him and brining the dogs to a stop. "Hanging posters? I thought you had mail today."
"I do," Roxas said with an nod. He reached into his second satchel—the one that had all the mail—and handed Xion an envelope. "You got mail!"
"Oh," Xion said, taking the envelope with her free hand. "I'll read it later, I don't want it getting lost. Or Pluto eating it—leave my shoelaces alone, Pluto! Could you put it in my backpack?"
She turned around slowly and Roxas carefully undid the zipper of Xion's backpack. It was filled with supplies for walking dogs. Roxas gingerly slid the envelope somewhere it wouldn't get too wrinkled and then zipped the backpack back up. Xion turned back around and smiled at him.
"Would you like some company?" Xion said. "Pluto and Copper keep trying to smell things, but I think Mouse likes you."
Two dogs were smelling Roxas—the dog with short ears and the great, big, huge fluffy dog that was grinning up at him. Roxas hadn't realized that dogs could grin, but apparently they could.
"Er…which one's Mouse?" Roxas said. "It's not the wooly mammoth is it?"
"He's not a mammoth!" Xion said. "He's a…um…er…well, I'm not sure. Mister Dresden said he was a Dogasaurus."
"I thought dinosaurs went extinct," Roxas said. "That's what Even said, anyway."
"I'm not sure Mister Dresden was serious," Xion admitted. "He seems very nice…but also really sarcastic. He reminds me of Axel."
"I wouldn't know," Roxas said. "I've never met Mister Dresden. I think Olette's mentioned him and I know you know him, but I haven't spoken to him."
Roxas scratched at the back of his head. When he got nervous, he had a tendency to repeat himself. Xion didn't seem to mind though. She jerked the leashes gently and the dogs began walking. Roxas walked beside her.
They walked quietly for a while, pausing so that Roxas could hang up a poster or deliver mail. Roxas liked this. He liked this a lot. He liked walking. He liked hanging up the posters. He liked delivering the mail—he paused a moment to hand a magazine to Setzer, one of the Struggle champions—but most of all, Roxas liked being with Xion. She was sweet and funny and smart. She'd always been one of his best friends…but something felt funny in his stomach.
It was strange. It almost felt like his stomach was doing somersaults. Sometimes Roxas felt really hot and sometimes he felt really cold when he was with Xion. Roxas wasn't sure what it all meant. But he did like her. And he liked being with her. And he liked watching her walk the dogs. He liked the way Xion would rub and pet Pluto and the way she would scratch the ears of the long-eared dog. Then there was the way Xion would sing little songs to the short-eared dog—who was apparently called "Chief," even though it was clear that Mouse was the boss of all the other dogs.
"It's strange," Xion said. "Sometimes I think that Mouse and the other dogs can understand us…like, I mean really understand us. Pluto's always been good at figuring out the way I feel, but Mouse seems to know the way I think. Do you know what I mean?"
"I'm not sure," Roxas said. "Mouse does seem like a very good dog, though. He's so big…he could tug you anywhere he wanted to go."
"Right," Xion said. "I know that walking five dogs is a lot—Copper, leave the squirrel alone—but I like these dogs…hmmm, who's your next piece of mail for?"
xxxx
It took them two hours before Roxas had only one piece of mail left and all the posters had been hung up. The envelope had the name Dresden written on it, so Roxas followed Xion back down a side-street to the church. A very tall man was there waiting outside. Next to him was a little girl. It was hard to say how old she was—maybe ten? Maybe seven? She was very, very, very small. The big, huge, furry dog named Mouse gave a tremendous bark—it was more like a lion's roar—and bounded up to her.
"Mouse!" The little girl squealed, bending down to pet the dog's fur. "Did you miss me, boy?"
"Maggie," Mister Dresden chided. "Remember your manners…oh man, when did I turn into Michael?"
"You say that like it's a bad thing, Dad," The little girl—Maggie—said. She straightened up, brushed some imaginary dirt off her jeans, and then turned to Xion. "Miss Xion, thank you very much for taking Mouse on a walk. I'm sure he enjoyed the company of the other dogs and the company of you and your boyfriend."
Roxas felt his mouth go completely dry and Xion's face turned nearly as red as Axel's hair. The little girl gave an impish grin. Mister Dresden looked confused.
"He's not my…er…we're not…um…the thing of it is…is…um…he's not my boyfriend!" Xion stammered. "Roxas is my best friend in the whole wide world, but he's not my…er…you're welcome for Mouse…um….Roxas, say something!"
"What?!" Roxas said. "Xion's wonderful and sweet and kind…er…and great and special and…why are you grinning at us like that?"
"Roxas!" Xion blurted. "Change the subject!"
"Change it to what?!"
"I…er…um…Mister Dresden?" Xion said, her face turning redder by the minute. "Are you going to take Mouse home?"
Mister Dresden reached down a hand and took Mouse's leash. The huge, furry grey dog turned his head—Roxas was certain that Pluto and the other dogs all but stood at attention—and gave a big, doggy grin. Maggie pressed a tiny, little hand into Mouse's fur—it was almost like a lion's mane—and followed her father back into the church. Roxas grinned sheepishly at Xion.
"See you at home?" Roxas asked. "Oh, wait…clocktower with Axel, right?"
"Yeah…" Xion said. "I need to get the rest of the dogs back…but yeah, clocktower."
She smiled shyly, turned on her heel and walked away, the four dogs trampling along ahead of her.
oooo
After his walk with Xion was over, Pluto went to his doghouse so he could find his bone. He had several toys to chew on, but right now he wanted to chew on his bone. He barked happily at his Friend Mickey and then went into the yard where his doghouse was. Pluto's doghouse was next to Butch's doghouse. In the darkest corner of Pluto's doghouse was his bone.
Pluto sank his teeth into his bone. Biting his bone always made it easier for Pluto to think. The bigger the bite, the more Pluto had to think. And right now, he was thinking about Xion. Xion was a very good Friend to Pluto and to other dogs too. Xion took Pluto for long walks in the strange world that was always in the time that was Almost Bedtime. Xion took Pluto for walks with Butch and with Chief and Copper and Mouse. Butch lived in the same house as Pluto, with their Friends Mickey and Donald and Goofy. Chief and Copper lived with their Friend Master and Mouse…Master Mouse lived with his Friend Maggie.
Pluto had never met a dog as good as Master Mouse before he had started going with Xion for walks. They are good walks and it was very good of Xion to take Pluto for walks with as good a dog as Master Mouse. Master Mouse was a special dog—the kind of dog that Pluto had always heard stories about but had never seen in dog until the walks started.
Pluto chewed more of his bone. He wanted to do something nice for Xion. A way to say thank you to her always being a good Friend. Xion smiled a lot and gave the best ear scritches and had the best laugh ever when Pluto licked her fingers. She also shared lots of good treats. She was a very good Friend.
Xion liked the boy Roxas. Pluto noticed that Xion got happy and nervous at the same time when she was with Roxas. It was a strange sort of feeling, though Pluto did think that people had more feelings than dogs. Or perhaps they thought too many things and got their feelings mixed up. But Xion would giggle when she was with Roxas. That was a very nice sound. Pluto liked it when Xion giggled…
Pluto chewed more of his bone as Butch came by. Butch had a big bone in his jaws. Butch chewed his bones differently than the way Pluto would, but Pluto did think he would have to talk to Butch about something nice they could do to Xion. Something that could do with Roxas…hmm…what to do, what to do, what to do?
Xion and Roxas…they reminded Pluto a lot about how his Friend Mickey had been with Minnie. A long, long, long, long, long time ago, Mickey had gotten happy and nervous around Minnie. But then, one day, Pluto had seen Mickey and Minnie touch faces. And then Mickey wasn't nervous around Minnie anymore. He was only happy. So…that meant that Pluto should try and do something that would make Xion touch her face to Roxas's face. That would make Xion very, very happy! And maybe she would share more treats!
Hmm…this town…it was called Twilight Town. It looked like it was Almost Bedtime, but it was really only about Lunchtime. Still, maybe Pluto could try and get word out to Chief and Copper and Master Mouse. He would bark and bark and bark. It was the…Twilight Bark.
"Ra ra roo!"
No other barks, but then again, Pluto had only just started. He went to the side of the fence that was closest to where Master Mouse lived and began barking more. He barked and barked.
"Ra ra roo! Ra ra roo!"
The message was simple: Help good Friend Xion. Xion need to always smile and not be nervous with Roxas. Make touch faces. Make Xion laugh and be happy.
Pluto had never been one to waste barks when describing things. Bark what you mean and get to the point.
"Wuff! Wuff! Wuff!"
Butch! Butch was helping spread the barks! This was something Pluto was very grateful for. For such a long, l long time, he and Butch had not been friends, but Xion had helped them be friends. Of course, Butch would want to help Xion too!
"Wuff! Wuff! Wuff!"
"Ra ra rooooooo! Ra ra roooo!"
Pluto could hear Friend Mickey running about, thinking something might be wrong and Donald was quacking and squawking and honking—hmmm, Donald had always smelled a bit like a goose.
Finally, Pluto heard more barking. Barking from far away. Big, loud barking! Barking that was almost like roaring, and sounding like it belonged in only the most special places!
"Wo-ruff-rar! Wo-ruff-rar!"
Master Mouse was replying! He'd heard the barks! And he had a message for them…
"Wo-ruff-rar! Wo-ruff-rar!"
Oooh…that was a very good idea!
oooo
Xion sighed quietly as she led Pluto, Butch, Copper, Chief and Mouse down one of the paths of Twilight Town. She couldn't remember…had they been down this street already? Her stomach did a somersault. That lamppost looked familiar, but that bulletin board didn't. But maybe she had it backwards…
"Xion?"
"Roxas!"
Roxas was coming down the path. He gave her an uneasy smile that she tried to return. Things had been odd between them the last few days. She didn't like feeling odd around Roxas. He was such a wonderful friend to her. He had always been a wonderful friend. Roxas was smart and kind and strong and…remarkable. But she didn't think Roxas felt about her the same way she felt about him.
"Do you want some company?"
"Yes!"
The word blurted out of her mouth before she could stop herself. But yeah, the truth was the truth…Xion liked being with Roxas. She gave a shy, sheepish grin and looked over to the dogs…
That was funny. They were all staring at her. Xion knew better than to look a dog in the eye. Starting was rude. Dogs saw it as a threat…but what did it mean when five big dogs were staring at her and Roxas?
"C'mon," Xion said, holding the leashes. "Let's go…Mouse, they'll follow your lead. Mouse? Are you alright, boy?"
Mouse looked up at Xion—which wasn't saying much, since he was so big—and then tilted his head down. And then he winked.
At once, all five dogs began running. Xion grabbed onto the leashes with both hands, holding as tight as she could. Roxas grabbed the leashes too, their fingers pressing against each other. But then Mouse and Pluto turned around and began running towards them, while Chief and Copper stopped up short. Then Butch began running in zig-zags…the next thing Xion knew, she was stuck, her legs tied between the lamppost and Roxas.
Her bindings were the leashes that had been attached to Pluto and Mouse…though Chief and Copper had also slipped their leashes off and were somehow using them to further secure her to Roxas. Feeling her face burn redder than ever, Xion turned her head to look at him. Roxas's eyes were wide with surprise.
"Um…"
"Er…"
"Um…"
"Er…"
"Um…hey!" Xion said, as Copper began to tug on her backpack strap. "Copper! No! That's a no-no! Pluto, I told you to stay away from my shoelaces!"
Xion struggled, but the dogs had somehow managed to tie her so that her feet were a few inches above the cobblestones of the street. She couldn't get any leverage to try and shoo Pluto away. And…gah! He'd bitten her shoelace free! She worked hard to make sure the knots wouldn't get undone…and now he'd stolen her boot! And now…gah!
"No, Pluto, don't! That tickles…" Xion broke into a fit of giggles as Pluto began licking at her bare toes. A moment later, Copper managed to gnaw her other shoelace loose and tug off her remaining boot. Xion squeaked and squealed as the dogs tried licking at her soles. She leaned her head against Roxas's shoulder. From here, Xion could feel Roxas's heartbeat. Xion's own heart might have leapt into her throat. Slowly, she leaned her head back as far as she could—it bumped against the lamppost. Roxas was still looking at her…his eyes were as wide as saucers.
"Er…oof!"
Roxas slammed up to Xion, as if he'd been pushed by something…maybe a wooly mammoth? And just as he lifted his head back, Roxas was pushed forward again. His lips pressed against Xion's.
It wasn't the way Xion expected to kiss Roxas…who was smart and brave and kind and remarkable and deserved the best sort of kisses ever…but…it was kinda nice. Pluto was still lapping at her toes and that made her giggle, even while kissing Roxas. They were still stuck together and Xion wasn't sure either of them was at a good enough angle to use their Keyblades to free themselves…but…
"It worked! Good boy, Mouse!"
That voice…it was Mister Dresden's daughter, Maggie. Xion strained her neck as she watched the little girl walk up to Mouse and press a tiny hand against his fur. In her free hand, were several leashes.
"Maggie!" Xion said. "Quick, untie the leashes!"
"Mmm…no," Maggie shook her head as she picked up Mouse's leash. "Mouse says we should leave you two there until…well, forever, I guess. But I was right, wasn't I? He is your boyfriend, isn't he! Ha!"
"What the…you mean, you planned this?"
"No," Maggie shook her head. "Mouse planned it…I'm just the getaway driver. Or getaway walker, I guess. C'mon doggies…"
With that, Maggie began hitching up the other dogs, humming to herself as she did so. All of the dogs were much, much larger than she was. Once she was done, she turned back to Roxas and Xion.
"I'll send Dad to get you in an hour or so. Or maybe Mister Axel…bye!"
Over their protests, Xion and Roxas watched the little girl walk away. A moment later, all five dogs stopped suddenly. Mouse turned to look at Maggie.
"Mouse, why are you looking at me like that—-aaaaaaahhhhhh!"
"What happens now?" Xion asked as Maggie was yanked away by all five dogs. Her yells faded away into the distance. "I don't know if I can get my Keyblade to get the leashes off…maybe Isa's claymore can get a better angle…Larxene's knives?"
"Until then," Roxas said. "What should we do? Contemplate our place in the universe?"
"I already know what I want for my place in the universe though," Xion said. "To be with you…oof!"
Roxas leaned in and kissed her…his aim was a bit off this time, since he didn't have a dog pressing against him. His lips pressed against Xion's nose. When he pulled away, Roxas's eyes were very wide, but he was grinning.
"Um…"
"Er…"
"Um…"
"Er…"
A/N: And there we have it, my dearest readers! The first installment in Rokushi 2021! Puppy Love!
Thank you for reading, my dear, dear readers. Please leave a comment if you're so inclined. I appreciate each and every one of you!