Inverted Sky: KH 358/2 Days
Chapter 3: The World That Never Was part III
-Roxas POV-
As the blond moved through the hall, a somewhat sullen expression slowly formed on his features. Roxas let out a heavy breath of exasperation, his eyes not focusing on anything particular as he simply walked to his room. 'I wonder how long Axel will be away.' the boy mused to himself.
After hearing about the red-haired man being transferred to Castle Oblivion, Roxas merely went on his mission early. Him not having anything else to do, so he decided to use the rest of the day to just take break. Normally, Axel would drag him somewhere to hang out, or even to just talk. So now that the man was away, the blond was unsure of what else to do with his free time. 'I guess I've relied too heavily on Axel to help me out.' he thought before pausing in front of the door to his room.
'Well...no point in complaining about it. I should start doing my own thing while he's away, maybe make some other friends.' Roxas continued while placing a hand to the handle in front of him.
'I can probably use this opportunity to finally go and talk to Xion. We haven't gotten the chance to actually talk to one another, so this might be the perfect chance.' he added, turning his gaze in the direction in which he just came from.
'I wonder if she's back yet. Maybe I should at least go and say 'hi'.' the boy wondered curiously, his head tilting down slightly as he did.
"Although..." Roxas uttered aloud as he slowly shook his head.
'...it's not like I have much to talk to her about. I only recently joined the Organization too, and I doubt 'that's' going to be much of a talking point.' the boy furthered in his mind, to which he simply opened the door and walked into his room.
"Well...I'm sure we'll get paired up eventually. By then, I should have something interesting to talk about." he whispered to himself while laying down to get some rest.
Almost as though he was testing fate however, the blond walked into the lounge area the next day, only to be approached by Xigbar and Xion. The blond arriving a bit late though, since he was so used to having Axel knocking on his door to wake up. Yet as Roxas blinked at the man, he almost took a step back in surprise when he said his next words. "Sorry to do this to ya, but I'll need you to watch over our newbie for a few days." Xigbar claimed before simply walking away, not even offering an explanation.
Entirely stunned by this, Roxas took a brief moment to snap out of his daze and turn to Xion. He then offered a small, yet sheepish smile while waving a hand in greeting. "Um...well...I look forward to working with you." he said, obviously a bit nervous.
The girl just seemed to gaze at him from beneath her hood, yet slowly nodded in silence. Taking this as his cue, Roxas summoned a corridor of darkness for them to head to the world known as; Twilight Town. This being the location for Roxas' mission of defeating Heartless, though the specifics were somewhat vague, as usual. The pair arriving in the middle of the forest that lay just beyond the walls surrounding the town. Where of which, there were no signs of Heartless, or really anyone in the vicinity.
While this was rather typical, it actually just served to make the blond a bit more nervous. Him almost hoping for someone else to be around so that he could use them as a talking point. After having multiple missions in this world, Roxas had become familiar with a few of the inhabitants. Yet it seemed that fate was still not quite in his favor, as he briefly glanced toward Xion. Whom was still entirely silent as she watched a few woodland creatures skittering across the ground, or up the tall trees nearby.
Steeling his determination, Roxas cleared his throat while looking around the area. "This place seems open enough for us to use, while also offering possible cover and vantage points." he claimed, sounding as professional as he could.
Though Xion remained silent, she offered the boy another nod of her head in response. The suns rays that filtered through the canopy framing her hood in such a way that allowed Roxas to see a bit more of her face. Despite having never seen it before, he almost found himself feeling as though it was exactly as he was expecting. However, Roxas was pulled from these thoughts when the girl suddenly spoke up; "We can also use some darkness to draw the Heartless here, that'll make it easier for us to finish our mission." Xion spoke softly, making the blond stare at her with a blinking gaze.
Her voice was...exactly what he expected. Like he heard it hundreds of times, but somehow couldn't remember until he heard it again.
'This is so weird...I feel like I should already know her, but I don't know why.' he thought to himself, his confusion being almost visible in his expression.
He quickly covered this up though, as he offered a nod in return to her suggestion. "Yeah, that'll definitely work." he stated with a small smile.
'I am pretty surprised that she actually spoke. I heard she never talked with the others during their missions.' Roxas thought as he glanced around slowly, trying to come up with a strategy he could use to utilize the environment to his advantage.
'But man...it still feels so awkward. Axel was always the one to initiate conversations most of the time, so having to be the one to talk first is really tough. I wonder if Axel feels like this whenever he has to start a conversation with me.' the blond thought to himself while letting out a breath.
'I guess I should thank him for doing so much of the heavy lifting in us becoming friends to begin with.' Roxas added with a faint smile.
But his gaze immediately turned back to the girl, when Xion removed her hood and revealed her face. "I also look forward to working with you today." she said, a small smile appearing on her own features.
Roxas gazed at the girl for a few moments with a strange sense of recognition. Her shoulder-length black hair was spiked in an oddly familiar manner. And while the right eye was gold in color, the left one was the exact same shade of blue as his own. But what truly got to the boy, was her face. Though he had the brief moment of thinking he had seen her before, this was now multiplied several times over. It now feeling more like, she was someone he's known his entire life. 'Sora...' he thought for a brief moment.
However, the blond quickly snapped out of his thoughts as he noticed the girl giving him an inquisitive gaze. "Th-Thanks, I'm sure between the two of us, we can handle this mission easily." he claimed with a smile appearing on his own features once more.
After a few moments of getting situated into the trees, the two were ready for their attack. Then, with a quick acknowledging nod to one another, they allowed a bit of dark power to flow outward. It swiftly baiting the Heartless in and around the town to come toward them. There being an immediate group of several dozen of these creatures that swarmed the ground below. Seeing them begin to search for the source of darkness, both teens summoned their Keyblades.
Though Xion had heard of Roxas using a Keyblade, the boy hadn't heard the same for his partner. Which led for the blond to glance in her direction with a bit of surprise. This was short lived however, as the girl swiftly shot multiple shards of ice at the gathering of Heartless. Shaking his head of his thoughts, Roxas quickly followed up the girl's attack with his own. Both knowing that fire and lightning magic would be a bad idea to use in the forest, so they both decided that ice magic would be best.
'I'll ask about it afterward.' the boy thought briefly as both he and Xion then leapt down from their perch in the trees to engage their foes properly.
To call it a 'fight' though, would be generous toward the Heartless, as they were very swiftly defeated by the two. Both of whom seemed to almost naturally work perfectly with one another, like they had been doing so for years. Something that made them amazed, but also a bit unsure. Even in the midst of battle, the pair couldn't help but question if they had some kind of connection that hasn't been told to them yet. These thoughts continuing to grow more and more, that is until, the leader showed up.
This being that of a Darkside, a type of Heartless both Roxas and Xion were told was too powerful for them to handle. Upon seeing this large creature emerge from the shadows, the teens knew that they should probably flee, just in case. However, without even exchanging words, they both already seemed to know what they wanted to do. 'I want to fight.' was their unified thought.
While it was for different reasons, the two had a deep desire to grow. For Roxas, it was to prove his sense of 'self', as it was all he's had since he was found not long ago. As for Xion, the boy wasn't entirely sure her reasoning. But with only a single look at the determination in her eyes, there was no mistake it was important to her. So with their minds made up, and their desire to win being solidified, the teens began their charge.
With one strike after another, the two could feel the large Heartless beginning to weaken. It seeming that their combined might was enough to slowly bring the behemoth to its knees. Upon falling forward, the teens took this as their chance to fell the beast. And with a scissoring attack from either side of its head, the Heartless swiftly turned to black mist and disappeared along with its large crystal-like heart. They had won. Against a foe that they were told was too strong for them...they won.
Once the remnants of the Heartless were gone, Xion and Roxas turned to one another with a blinking gaze. Both just taking a moment to feel the thrill of knowing that they defeated their foe, and were successful in their mission. As they let out sighs of relief, the pair finally began to acknowledge the questions they both likely had.
Why do I feel like I know her/him?
What is her/his connection to me?
Why is she/he so familiar?
These inquiries and many more flowed through the pairs minds as they seemed to just stare into each others eyes. Yet it was the blond boy whom spoke up first, as he simply offered a small smile to the girl. "Well...that was both odd and amazing at the same time." he commented while chuckling softly and shrugging his shoulders.
Xion tilted her head to the side for a moment before gaining a soft smile as well; "Yeah, it was." she said silently with a brief nod.
"But since we seemed to finish up so quick, I'd say that we deserve the 'icing on the cake'." Roxas continued, giving a slightly wider smile.
Though Xion gazed at him curiously, the blond just gestured to the side. "Follow me, I'll show you." he claimed as the two then headed into the town proper.
Where of which, Roxas got them both a sea salt ice cream popsicle. The boy told her not to eat it just yet however, as he then led her to the top of the town's clock tower. Whereupon, he sat down on the edge of the walkway and gestured for her to do the same. "This is the best place to eat ice cream." was all he claimed with an encouraging voice.
As Xion sat beside him, she gazed out toward the setting sun with an expression of surprise. The orange and red rays shining across the town below, as well as through the cloudy sky. This turning the clouds shades of purple and dark blue, as the night slowly approached. It being the first time she had seen such a beautiful scene, though it was oddly familiar. "If there was an ocean." she whispered silently to herself.
Roxas glanced to her briefly, yet saw that she was already eating her ice cream. "What do you think?" he asked with a tilt of his head.
"Salty...yet sweet..." Xion muttered softly before looking at the blond once more.
"It's perfect." she added, a smile curling her lips as she looked genuinely happy.
Noticing this, Roxas gained a wider smile while starting to eat his own frozen treat. "Axel always brought me up here after a mission. So I figured it would be nice to do the same for you, since we're working together and all." he said as the pair continued to watch the sunset.
Xion glanced down to her ice cream for a moment, a soft expression on her features. "I'd like that." she said while nodding her head.
"And hey, even when we don't have missions together, we can still meet up afterward." Roxas added in a confident, yet also encouraging tone.
"Well...so long as one of us doesn't run late." Xion commented while letting out a soft chuckle.
The boy turned to her with a surprised glance at her making a joke, yet he soon laughed softly with the girl. "Yeah...which will probably happen from time to time."
Aha! I bet you didn't expect a Roxas chapter so quickly! Well, I figured it was only appropriate. And yes, his POV chapters will be in the usual format, rather than in the diary-type format for Xion. Not all of her chapters will be like that, but the ones where I skip around a bit will be. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and the pair's official meeting. I wanted it to feel a bit awkward for them, since it would be kinda fun that way. Let me know what all of you thought. Until next time.