Chibified

Shizuka Usagi

Chapter 7

Roxas pushed Sora back and forth on the swing, absentmindedly, while Sora expressed his delight. Roxas' thoughts keep shifting to the crash earlier that afternoon. His regret for his careless actions hadn't subsided.

I can't believe I was so stupid. Yuffie recently got injured by a nobody and now I hurt her. He guessed it was evening by now, judging by the position of the sun. Yet, Sora still hadn't grown bored of the empty playground.

There's no need to worry, Roxas thought bitterly. She has her knight in armor and… he makes a better dad than I do. At the thought of the silver haired boy, he grew increasingly frustrated. He pushed Sora harder and harder without realizing it. He was caught up in his pensive mood.

He wasn't quite sure why he was so upset at the thought of them together. He had only known Yuffie for a week or so, but he was already protective of her. "Swing me, swing me!" Sora sang, oblivious to Roxas' inner conflict.

Suddenly, Roxas gave one final thrust. The momentum caused Sora to go flying off the swing. When the swing crashed back into Roxas, the abrupt loss of weight brought him back to reality.

"Weeeee! Look, Daddy, I'm a birdie." Sora yelled, flapping his arms as if they were wings. He was unaware of the consequences of hitting the ground.

"Sora!" Roxas called out alarmed. He was too far away to catch him. The fact that Sora was flapping his arms didn't help either.

Swiftly, something whizzed past his head, heading for Sora. Panicked and confused, Roxas found out what it was: a shuriken. That can only mean one thing—or rather one person. But why in the world would she do such a thing?

As a last resort, Roxas dove towards Sora, knowing he wouldn't make it in time. All he managed to do was graze Sora's shirt with his fingertips.

After his feeble attempt, gravity yanked him down harshly. Roxas gritted his teeth as he felt mulch and rocks scrape his skin.

"Sora, Roxas!" A feminine voice rang out before he came in contact with the ground. Accompanying her was none other than the knight in shining armor that had been plaguing his thoughts.

The shuriken, which had been thrown with calculated precision and speed, nailed Sora's hood to the wooden set of the playground. He squealed in delight from all the action that had taken place. "That was fun! Let's do it again."

"I don't think so, kiddo." Riku said sternly. "You nearly got hurt today."

"Wow, Riku, you're acting like a real uncle." Yuffie commented, placing her shuriken back in her case.

"For your information, there aren't many moms willing to do a stunt that risky."

"Very funny, Riku. I'm not any regular ole mom—I'm a professional stuntwoman." Yuffie struck a pose, causing Riku to roll his eyes.

"By the way, Roxas, try not to take out your anger management on Sora." Riku wisecracked, lending a hand to Roxas. He growled and brushed him off indignantly.

"What's anga manage—management?" Sora asked in confusion.

Yuffie punched Riku playfully. "It's nothing you need to fret about. Your uncle is just being silly." Then she turned to the silently fuming Roxas whose back was facing her. "Nice attempted save, Roxas." When he didn't respond she asked softly, "You okay?"

"I'm fine!" Roxas shouted more harshly than he intended before stalking off. Sora stared at his retreating form with puzzlement in his eyes. Yuffie watched him with a look of concern. What it something I said?

"I wonder what's up with him." Riku raised a brow. He's being acting strange since this morning.

"Riku, stay with Sora. I'll check up on Roxas." With that Yuffie took off in the direction Roxas was last seen.

"Like I have a choice." Riku sighed, as he observed Sora swinging back and forth on his stomach screaming, "I'm an airplane!" with the appropriate sound effects.

—

Roxas sat on the roof of the highest building in Hollow Bastion, simply gazing at the sunset. It reminded him of the times he watched the sunset with Hayner, Pence, and Olette, eating Sea Salt ice cream. Except, this time he was alone.

He was beginning to feel somewhat homesick. All he managed to cause here was trouble. Back on Twilight Town, everything would go according to plan. On Hollow Bastion, he worsened things for everyone. He probably damaged his budding friendship with Yuffie and lost Riku's respect for him.

Apparently, I won't be welcome for long…

And Sora… he made such a bad impression on him. He was the worst 'dad' in the world. His temper exploded on Riku—who was his brother in Sora's mind. Additionally, who could forget the accidents from that morning? What kind of person makes that many mistakes?

Oh yeah. Him.

"I had a feeling you'd be up here." A voice Roxas immediately recognized as Yuffie's said.

"Yuffie?" Roxas spoke her name in surprise.

"The one and only." Yuffie confirmed with her bright smile. She invited herself to take a seat next to Roxas, her smile never leaving her face. "So… it must be interesting to live on a world with twilight as the permanent time of day."

"Not really. You get kind of used to it after a while. But, for some reason, I never get tired of watching the sunset—even though it's there all the time."

"Isn't it more visible during the evening hours?"

"Yeah, it is. Sora told you that didn't he?"

"Uh-huh. He told me about all his travels throughout the galaxy. It must be so exciting to be able to visit all those worlds. Each one has something unique about them… I know you were a part of Sora during that time, but were you able to experience it?"

"Yeah, to some extent. But I wasn't able to interact with the inhabitants or Sora for that matter… Though, there was a time he was able to feel my emotions."

"Feel your emotions…?"

"He was able to feel my sadness when he left Twilight Town. That was when I came to the realization that my friends didn't remember me."

Yuffie didn't know what else to say. Roxas had gone through so much this past year. He had been told by strangers that he was a Nobody, merely a shell of Sora's existence. He had been told that he once worked for the infamous Organization XIII. He had been basically told that his life in the simulated Twilight Town was fake. And that his memories there were fabricated by Namine.

Attentively, Yuffie's head snapped back towards Roxas as he continued to speak. "Do…" Roxas began uncertainly, "Do… you hate me?"

"Of course not! What would make you think that?" Yuffie asked incredulously.

"Well… I've caused so much trouble while I was here. The incident from this morning, hurting you, and almost hurting Sora." He finished quietly.

"Roxas, we all make mistakes. Some more than others. Take me for example. I annoy the heck out of everyone even when I'm not trying to. Mothers are supposed to be mature and maternal, like Aerith. She is the ideal girl for any guy."

"I would prefer you." Roxas replied automatically, causing Yuffie to stare at him in astonishment. "I mean—Aerith is a nice and everything—but I like a girl with a sense of humor and adventure. A girl who can be herself without worrying about other peoples opinions."

"Is that so? Since we've on the subject, I like a guy who can be silly and serious. A levelheaded guy who can bring me down to earth if I get my head in the clouds."

While Roxas was pondering her statement, Yuffie pecked Roxas playfully on the cheek. Then she jumped off the roof and landed on the ground with poise.

Roxas blushed and asked, flustered, "Have you met any guy like that so far?"

"Perhaps." Yuffie stuck her tongue out teasingly before sprinting away.

Her dream date sounds suspiciously like me, Roxas thought. Though, I guess it can apply to Riku, as well. Roxas grinned when he recalled Yuffie's kiss from earlier. Then again, who was it that she kissed?