DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.
Just this story. Enjoy!
Xxx XXX xxX
"So, are you still up for that date?" Roxas asked. "Or are you too scared to now?"
His voice was concerned and understanding with that last, not sarcastic and mocking like she'd been expecting.
Wait, she hadn't known him for four days and already she knew he normally acted snarky?
Namine shook her head. "A deal's a deal," she said firmly. "I'm going."
His eyes widened in all of their lapis glory. "Re-really?" he said, shocked. "B-but after—what if—I mean, well—"
"Why are you so nervous?" she replied. "Of course I'll—"
"XION, NO!" Axel yelped.
The cunning brunette had relaxed for a moment, causing Zexion and Axel to lower their guard and let go of her for a heartbeat…
And she'd promptly darted away like a rabbit, presumably to hunt down Kairi.
"Damn!" Zexion cursed as he raced after Xion. "Come on, Axel!"
Namine stared at the three for one more second before shaking her head.
"What happened here?" a croaky but gruff voice barked.
She and Roxas turned to see a bald, bearded man dressed in a business suit walking towards them.
Larxene rushed over to him. "Headmaster Xehanort," she began in a smooth voice. "A few of my friends were attacked and they were forced to defend themselves. I apologize for what they did to their assailants."
Namine had to admire Larxene for the older girl's snakelike way of saying, "We aren't to blame, they are," despite the fact that everybody who had fought was supposed to be punished. The Headmaster almost seemed swayed to her side.
He shook his head. "Five of you against eight of them?" he grunted. "Not bad."
Larxene bowed. "Thank you, Father," she replied respectfully.
Okay, maybe the smooth talk wasn't all that had biased Xehanort.
The artist approached the elder blonde as the Headmaster stalked away. "You're his daughter?" Namine asked incredulously.
"Yep," Larxene yawned, flipping her hair.
"But—"
"I know; no family resemblance, right?" the female parkourist grinned. "I actually got my boo-ti-ful looks from my mom."
Namine giggled as Larxene posed in a comedic fashion.
Xxx XXX xxX
Friday, Friday, Friday. What a lovely word—it meant Saturday and the beginning of the weekend was not long in coming.
So thought Namine as she heard a distant whisper.
"Wake up."
She raised her head and glanced at the alarm clock integrated into the wall the bunk leaned against.
"Daddy, s'barely five," she mumbled. With that her head fell back onto the fluffy fluffiness of the pillow.
"I SAID, WAKE UP!"
Namine shrieked and jerked up, flailing in the tangled sheets. She knew that voice all too well.
"ON YOUR FEET, MIYAMOTO!" Mr. Wallace thundered.
The frightened girl immediately obeyed. Xion fell off her bunk but jumped to her feet.
"DRESS AND GET OUT!" the Shop teacher boomed, pointing at an identical pair of neatly folded shorts-and-shirt uniforms lying on the carpet.
Both of them waited until after he'd gone before changing as fast as was humanly possible.
The two girls stepped out of their room to find the hallway swarming with fellow female students just as confused as they.
"What's going on?" Namine asked.
"No idea," Xion replied.
"What? I thought you'd been here for a while!"
"I have, but this is something I haven't seen before."
Mr. Wallace whistled loudly. The piercing noise very nearly popped Namine's eardrums.
"THIS WAY!" he bellowed, pointing at the emergency stairwell. "MARCH!"
The students jostled and shoved to reach the stairs first.
"FORM A LINE!"
After a few fruitless minutes of attempting to do that, the fifty girls in the hallway barely managed to form something remotely like a column.
"This is insane!" Namine hissed while clomping down the steps.
"What was your first clue?" Xion hissed back.
The sixth floor girls filed into the ground floor lobby. Namine stared longingly at the chrome finish of the elevator doors. Maybe Mr. Wallace wouldn't notice if she—
"Don't even think about it, Miyamoto."
Damn.
Xxx XXX xxX
Fifty students lined up into five precise rows with ten people to each. The last time Namine had done this was in freshman PE two years ago, but she somehow managed to coordinate with her fellows in the present anyways.
Mr. Wallace took his place at the front of the block of girls. He clasped his hands behind his back and began pacing back and forth.
"Now, you're all probably wondering what's going on and why I've dragged you out onto the front lawn almost three hours before classes begin," the gigantic man began.
"No kidding," someone muttered from behind Namine.
"Well, to elucidate you squirming maggots," Mr. Wallace growled. "Headmaster Xehanort was notified that our students, and especially the girls, and especially the sixth floor girls, were severely lacking in physical fitness."
"Not our fault the school's too cheap to have regular PE," Xion grumbled.
"THEREFORE, the Headmaster has decided to forcibly get you fifty into shape," Mr. Wallace grinned devilishly. "And he hath chosen yours truly to whip, beat, and/or otherwise torture you into that condition. We will be doing this every Friday."
"I presume 'we' excludes you?" Namine said sarcastically.
"Now, today we're working on your endurance," said the new physical education instructor. "Fall in!"
Mr. Wallace turned on his heel and started for the west side of the school. Most of the girls began moaning and groaning.
"Why are they complaining?" Namine asked.
Xion smirked. "I'll just tell you this. By the time we get where we're going, you will be too."
"But it's just walking…"
Namine mentally took back her words when she saw exactly where her former soldier of a Shop teacher had led them.
"Are you kidding me?" she yelped.
The outdoor football stadium was a spectacular sight, over a thousand feet long and five hundred wide. It formed a gigantic loop—green turf on the inside, a reddish-brown running track forming the perimeter, and the concrete bleachers for hundreds—no, thousands, more like—surrounding it.
Mr. Wallace whistled again to get the attention of the dismayed girls.
"OTT, BTL!" he shouted.
Nobody moved.
"For those of you who don't know…ON THE TRACK AND BEHIND THE LINE!"
Grumbles sounded behind Namine, but she and Xion skipped down the steps without complaint.
What was the point in that, anyways? They obviously weren't going to get any sympathy from Mr. Wallace.
There were six painted divides on the track; Namine and Xion took their place on the second. The black starting line was right on the edge of where the curve began.
"FOUR LAPS! BEGIN ON MY MARK!"
Namine tensed.
"THREE!"
Her stomach clenched. Butterflies materialized inside it.
"TWO!"
Sweat beaded on her forehead and prickled on her back.
"ONE!"
She crouched down.
"ZERO!"
Forty-nine girls shot forth like a volley of musket fire. Only Namine straggled behind, her legs refusing to reach the pace her brain ordered them to.
"Move, dammit, move," she hissed as she attempted to catch up with the rapidly shrinking image of the other students. "Severely lacking in physical fitness, my ass…"
Her throat was raw and burning and her muscles were already inflamed by lactic acid.
"Have to…run…!" she grunted.
Namine was beginning to wish she'd spent all those hours after school exercising instead of drawing.
"Need help?"
The familiarly gentle voice made her turn around in shock.
"Roxas?" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"
He gave her a slight smile. "Helping you," he answered.
The artist very nearly fainted right then and there when he scooped her up in his arms.
"Put me down!" she hissed.
"Make me," he smirked.
Then they were in motion so fast it took Namine a second to realize Roxas was running.
"What are you doing?" she asked, horrified. "What if they see?"
"Who?"
"The other girls!"
"So?"
"I'll be—I'll be…ummm…"
He chuckled and ran even faster. Namine bounced up and down in his arms in time to his steps, her long blonde hair flowing in the slipstream.
The first girl they passed glared jealously at the blonde artist, but the latter was too busy marveling at how warm and comfortable being in Roxas's arms was.
But the second girl just had to be Xion. The brunette parkourist took one look at the two blondes and gave Namine an evil, evil grin.
"Lovebirds," Xion crooned, before accelerating away from her now blushing friend.
The artist looked up to see that, Roxas, too, was blushing like mad.
"We'll kill her later," both said in unison. Then they blushed again.
Xxx XXX xxX
"Testing."
"No, I still can't hear you."
Namine waited for a moment.
"Now?"
"Kinda, but it sounds like you're standing a hundred feet away."
Mr. Wallace had outdone his previous bellowing of abuse when he saw Namine being carried by Roxas. Of course, the spiky-head had had it worse, his arms occupied with Namine's weight and unable to shield his ears.
The artist sighed. "How am I supposed to go on a date with you when you can't even hear me?" she demanded, shifting back.
"I know!" Roxas whined. "It sucks even more when you know what I've got planned…"
"What are we going to do?" Namine asked, curious.
"Not telling," he said firmly, crossing his arms.
"Tell me, or else," she threatened.
He sneered. "Or else what?"
Namine pounced on Roxas. Laughter resounded within the room as her fingers danced across his sides.
"God, stop—STOP—uncle!" he alternately yelped and laughed, squirming to escape from the tickling.
"Excuse me," Xion said dryly. "I hate to ruin your flirting, but I'm trying to do my homework…"
Both felt their cheeks burning. "We were not flirting!"
"Riiiiiight…"
Why had she let Roxas into her and Xion's room anyways?
Xxx XXX xxX
Another random scene meant as filler. Sigh…
No, you can't see the date yet. I'm gonna tease you with it.