TWENTY? Already? :D A little longer chapter than the last few, sorry about that!

Sleepless Chapter 20

Jecht came into Tidus's room a few minutes later saying everyone he saw in town said they were asleep not too long ago. After half an hour, the televisions started working and they turned on the news. They concluded it was something in the air and everyone should be cautious of what they do. After the news broadcast, Tidus walked Kairi home hand-in-hand.

"Be careful, alright?" Tidus said once they were half a block from where she lived. "I don't want you to get sick."

Kairi nodded, "Yeah, same goes for you. But I'm scared."

Tidus squeezed her hand gently in assurance, "They'll be more information about it tomorrow." When they got to her front door, he kissed her on the cheek and told her to stay safe. Kairi waved goodbye once he got far enough and went inside.

For the next month, Kairi's days were repetitive. She was either at school, being taught blitzball, or shopping around with Selphie. The incident with everyone falling asleep at the same time never happened again. People were hesitant on going outside and school was cancelled for about a week because of the concern of the school board and everyone else. Kairi and Tidus also grew closer, into more than him being just a comforter. Today was Saturday, and they planned on going out to the island.

"We haven't gone in so long!" Selphie shouted as she ran around on the beach.

"Yeah, we haven't. Now quit the screaming for a while, ya?" Wakka suggested as he started checking if he could still hear. Tidus and Wakka were setting up the boats. Everyone seemed pretty excited about it, but Kairi was hesitant. Something told her not to go there. She was disappointed in herself, they planned the trip a week ago and now she was getting weird feelings about it. She slapped her forehead and looked to the sky.

Oh please, please don't throw up. She stopped looking at the sun and pressed on her stomach gently. Tidus walked over to her with a little pout.

"You feeling ok?" He asked concerned. She shook her head and sighed.

"I feel like I'm going to puke," she admitted sadly.

His eyes got wide, "You're not doing this to get out of the trip are you?" He teased.

Not purposely. She raised her hands up, "Of course not! I just feel sick all of a sudden." She replied quickly.

"Do you want me to stay with you?"

"No, that's fine! I don't want you to suffer because of me."

"Kairi, you know I don't mind."

"No, really! You go ahead. I know you've been dying to go the past week." She tried to convince. It was true. The best blitzball practices could be done there and he has been talking about the trip all week.

"You two ready?" Wakka called across the dock.

Tidus gave her a bittersweet smile, "You sure you don't want me to stay?"

"I'm sure. Just be careful."

"Hey, I should be saying that to you. I'll see you later," he smiled at her and kissed her forehead quickly. He then ran to where Wakka was and waved goodbye.

Kairi felt her forehead; it tingled where Tidus pressed his lips. The three started to row their boats towards the island and waved one last time at her. She waved back and sighed, turning around when they stopped waving. She felt like a disappointment, but they'd understand, she knew. Kairi just didn't like doing this to them. She pushed it out of her mind and grabbed her water bottle.

She walked into the park and sat on a bench. The view was beautiful here, it was so green and the birds sang gently. Kairi uncapped her water bottle and took a sip. She still felt a little sick, but she could feel it start going away. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. The birds chirped and the leaves rustled…and footsteps were coming closer. She opened her eyes and looked before her; a man in a black cloak.

She jumped up, "W-who are-"

"Hey! Kairi! You know, Axel." He greeted casually with a wave. He flipped his hood down. Fiery red hair and green eyes with a mark below each eye, he looked…interesting. He stepped closer and she looked for a thick branch to hit him with if he came any closer. "Hey, I'm only here to talk. I'll stay right here," He stated, pointing to the ground beneath him.

Kairi relaxed a little. "Talk about…"

He looked around then looked in her direction, "Your friend." Kairi didn't reply, she needed a further explanation. "The brown-haired one…starts with an 'S'." He hinted.

"Selphie…? What about her?" She questioned. Kairi started looking for a branch again.

"That's who comes to mind?" He asked in a strange tone. It sounded disappointed but glad, if that was even possible. She was confused. Of course that was the only one that came to mind. Axel gave a smile, "I guess its official then."

"What's official?" She asked urgently. He shook his head and opened a dark portal, surprising her. Then a lost memory was found; the night of the storm, Axel was in her room. She stood up and grabbed his arm, "Wait! Tell me please!" She begged.

He sighed and looked into her eyes. Blue eyes searched green ones. "R-O-X-A-S. Got it memorized."

"Roxas…? What's that?"

"That's all I can say." And he disappeared.

Another lost memory? Kairi didn't even know she had those. She ran home, repeating the spelling of Roxas again and again. Once she got to her room she took out a pencil and notepad and wrote Roxas down. She was hoping something would spark but nothing did. She sighed sadly and ripped the written sheet off the rest and stared at it. "Roxas…Roxas…maybe its backwards? Saxor….Saxor. No. None of those are right. What does Roxas mean?" She mumbled to herself as she looked around her room for a dictionary. She felt something was close.

Review, please?