Day 163

Xemnas was sitting where he always sat as Saïx was deposited in the round room. "Roxas and No. XIV have departed. I've ordered them to stay on the Islands for no less than four hours: plenty of time for their hidden memories to take over...if it goes according to plan," he stated, giving the Superior the update.

"Good, good. Now we wait...and hope Sora and Kairi's memories do precisely as they should..."

The Corridor ended, like the light at the end of the tunnel. Roxas and Xion stepped into the beach-worthy sun, the smell of vegetation and sea-saltiness filling their noses. The sand was littered with (familiar) seashells. A wooden shack behind them held a makeshift staircase to the second tier, which led to the small inlet close to the beach. Xion looked around. "You know, I don't think we've ever been here together," she said.

"Yeah..." Roxas humbly replied. Xion stared at him as he scanned the area. His golden wind-swept hair was always...And his smile was so...And his eyes were...She put a hand to her temple. Ugh, she didn't know what to call it. She liked it all about him, but she couldn't describe it. It was...good. What other word could she use?

"We'd better scout," he said. And his voice was...good. Xion sighed.

"Yeah, you're right."

They had taken three steps when the first Poison Plant materialized right there on the beach. Keyblades at the ready, Roxas and Xion went offensive. Xion shot a fireball and her partner swung repeatedly at its face. In no time at all, it had been destroyed.

"One down...who knows how many more left," Roxas grumbled. He went off to the side and picked up a long stick. Returning to the beach, he made a couple of markings and jabbed it into the sand. "Axel showed me this. For time-specific missions, this tells the time. When the shadow of this stick reaches here," he explained, pointing to one marking, "we can return to the castle. This sure will be a long mission."

"Hey, at least we get to do this together," the girl reassured. Roxas gave her a funny look. Uh-oh, I said something wrong, she thought. "I mean, as opposed to doing it alone!" Xion corrected.

"I guess," Roxas said and began walking to a different spot. Xion felt herself turning red again. Why does this keep happening? First at the clock tower, then in my room just thinking about Roxas's gesture with the ice cream...Xion followed after Roxas...

4 hours remaining

They surveyed most of the island, but found little Plants at all. If there really was an "invasion" like Saïx said, they really WERE hidden well. The duo decided to check the inlet with the misshapen paopu tree that doubled as a bench. Roxas stroked and examined the palm trees, Xion on the paopu tree.

"Weird...nothing here," Roxas stated, puzzled.

Xion stood on the tree's trunk, staring into the horizon. "Nothing," she repeated. Roxas admired her secretly for a moment. He always liked her short hair, the way she laughed, her smile...He'd meant to ask Axel how you described stuff like that. All her traits were...something. They made him feel something around her, but he couldn't really describe it. It mustn't be heart-related, given his lack of one, but his insides felt warm and funny when she was with him. Well, right now, the mission was the priority, so now wasn't the time to mull over those thoughts.

"Ah!" Xion exclaimed. Her foot had slipped and she began to teeter off-balance. Roxas acted quickly as she started to fall. The boy ran to the edge and held out his arm for hers. Xion fell and reached for his hand, firmly grasping it. Unfortunately, her pull was stronger, and Roxas came tumbling over the edge as well. He twisted his body around so he landed on his back in the shallow area, propping himself up with his arms and legs into a sitting position, doused. Xion, meanwhile, also tumbled toward the water...landing right in Roxas's arms.

"Whoa!" she said, having been caught. The two stared into the other's eyes for a moment before they both began to laugh big laughs. Their laughing died down and they sat like that until Xion realized her arms were around his neck. The image of a boy similar to Roxas flashed in her mind and vanished just as quickly. She pulled her arms back to herself as Roxas stood up and set her on her feet.

"Hehe," Roxas muttered, rubbing his head and looking away, "so...no Plants here."

"Yeah...next area, I guess?" Xion added, just as flustered.

3.5 hours remaining

A tree house lay in the tree closest to the shore, large, sturdy, and covered in foliage. The tree house was only a square, empty room made of wooden planks on all sides. The two entered, ducking inside the doorway.
"Where do you suppose all the Heartless are?" Xion asked upon seeing the empty room.

"I'm almost wondering if Saïx just needed to get rid of us. Maybe they're doing work on the Castle?" Roxas suggested.

Well I'm glad they put us together, Xion thought silently.

Roxas looked around the room and felt an urge to close his eyes. He obeyed. It seemed fuzzy, but in the back of his mind, Roxas saw a blurred image of the boy in red. The boy looked younger...and he was dancing in this very room. A girl was with him. She looked surprisingly like Xion, but the girl's hair was velvet red as opposed to Xion's signature ebony color. The two figures were laughing as they danced playfully...

"Roxas?"

He opened his eyes, the image fading away. "Huh?"

"You alright?" Xion inquired.

"Yeah...I thought this spot was familiar, that's all."

"Familiar from what?"

Roxas thought about confiding in her about his visions. "Well-"

Xion suddenly shoved the boy to the side. "Look out!" she cried. A Poison Plant's head came crashing down on the spot where he stood. Their Keyblades flashed to life. The Heartless was rooted to the very center of the room.

Roxas jumped behind it and attacked its base. Meanwhile, Xion aimed her Keyblade and shot a Blizzard toward its emotionless face. It reared its stem back, ready to slam its head into the ground. The Plant slammed its head into the ground once, narrowly missing the girl. It slammed once more, Xion rolling out of the way. The third time, however...

Roxas tackled the girl, grabbing her by the waist and rolling out of the way simultaneously. The boy swung out his Keyblade and launched three consecutive Fires at the beast. It went up in flames, disintegrating into black dust.

Relieved, Roxas let the weapon fall and caught his breath. He suddenly realized now what position the two were in. Xion was on her back, propped up on one elbow, with Roxas on top of the girl as if guarding her with his own body. Their eyes locked just as before. The image of a girl similar to Xion flashed in his mind and vanished just as quickly. The two blushed instantaneously. The boy immediately got up and dusted himself off. "Oh, uh, sorry about that," he said shyly, holding out his hand.

"No, its fine," she answered, taking his hand and pulling herself up. "It actually felt..." Her eyes wandered, looking for a word. When it never came, she dropped the sentence and rushed out. "Come on," Xion called out behind her.

Roxas dismissed his Keyblade and hesitantly followed. "It did feel...nice," he barely muttered under his breath, completing her thought.

3 hours remaining

A wide wooden platform sat on the far end of the Island, elevated on the vegetation and rocks. It was bathed in sun and directly above the sea, the sound of waves and the smell of sea-salt drifting over it. Xion stepped onto the railing of the edge and began to balance across it. Her boot slipped, but Roxas caught her hand, keeping her balance. "Thanks," Xion expressed.

"Don't worry, I've got you," the boy reassured. They both smiled secretly. When they reached the end, Xion sat down, her feet dangling toward the water as Roxas did the same. "Feels just like the clock tower," Roxas stated.

"Yeah," Xion agreed. A breeze picked up and fluttered through their hair. "Even the wind feels the same."

"And the smell of ice cream," Roxas added, taking in the smell of sea-salt. They both chuckled. "Hey, Xion."

"Hm?"

The boy was unsure of what he was about to ask. "Do you ever...feel...warm inside? Or lighter inside, but only at certain times?" he hesitantly questioned. The smell of the ocean grew stronger.

Yes, I do. Every time I'm around you, in fact. You make me feel warm and good and I feel like that's what having a heart feels like. And I like everything about you and I want us to hang out forever, Xion shouted inside. Instead, she just muttered, "Um...I don't know. Why?"

"Nothing," the boy quickly answered. The smell of the ocean was overwhelming. "I've just...been feeling...weird lately..." But the feeling he was talking about was definitely not what he felt now. The sound of the waves resonated in his head as the sea-salt smell wrapped around his brain. His vision blurred, his balance faltered.

"Roxas!" he heard off in the distance. The boy fell backwards onto the platform, clutching his skull and rolling on his back.

"Rrrrg," he groaned. When he opened his eyes, everything was a blurred image. When he closed his eyes, the boy instead saw static behind his eyelids with a boy's faint silhouette. Roxas saw two things before he blacked out: he opened his eyes and watched the smudged of Xion swinging at a large pink flower. Then, he closed his eyes and saw as the static cleared away. The smell of the ocean, the sound of the waves, and the sight of the beach were imprinted in his brain as he saw the boy in red was pulled into focus. For the first time, Roxas saw the boy in perfect detail, from his optimistic grin, to his bright blue eyes, to his wild chestnut hair, to the silver pendant of a crown hanging from his neck. Suddenly, the picture became agitated, and it dissipated, leaving Roxas in unconscious darkness.