I had much fun writing the first part of this chapter. Got to let your inner crazy loose every once in a while, no?
Note: The word "mook" is jargon for random disposable minor enemy soldier.
Warning: Major violence in this chapter. You have been warned.
DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.
I only own this story. Enjoy!
Xxx XXX xxX
"Xion, what's Thanksgiving?" Naminé asked, staring at the cafeteria bulletin board. "I've never heard of it."
"Apparently, it's some American holiday commemorating the Mayflower colonists' survival and alliance with the Native American Powhatan tribe," Xion replied without even looking up from her porridge. "At least, that's what Kairi once told me. I personally have no idea."
Naminé raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so if it's an American holiday, why are we having a weeklong break for it?"
"Some headmaster went to America and decided he liked the concept of Thanksgiving," Sora answered through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. "So now we get the third week of November off; most of the other students are probably going to go back home."
Well, that explained why the usually crowded cafeteria had less than a quarter of its normal occupants. Even Zexion and Larxene were missing, and they'd been the regulars at the table for whenever Axel, Xion, and…Roxas…ran off to the clock tower. That had happened only once since…Roxas…had gotten together with Naminé, but according to Zexion the three had done it so often in earlier years that the Headmaster had threatened to mark them truant.
And then they'd reached the junior year.
"It's too bad, really," Xion sighed, stirring the white-brown goop in her bowl. "I've always wondered why we'd waste perfectly good vacation time like this in November when we could have three weeks off during Christmas."
Sora and Naminé nodded in agreement.
"But at least it's quiet," Naminé muttered, poking at her PB&J toast.
As if the universe decided at that very moment to refute that statement, the door to the cafeteria swung open with a bang, followed by a boy and a girl covering her ears.
"This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill, fifteen percent concentrated power of will…"
Heads began turning and ears began shutting down.
It took Naminé a moment to realize that Axel was rapping, horribly, and that Sora's face was buried in his eggs and that Xion was caressing the handle of a rather sharp knife next to her.
"Make him stop!" Kairi shouted, glaring at her brother.
"He's not doing Fort Minor justice," Riku said dryly. The silver-haired boy strode over to the table and plopped down next to Xion, who instantly scooted away.
Axel stopped rapping. "Shut up, mister," he growled, bopping Riku over the head.
The elder Miyamoto's response was to punch Axel in the side.
"Friends already?" Naminé asked in a feeble attempt at a quip.
Riku and Axel were now attempting to strangle each other.
"Good for you…"
Kairi sat down next to Sora, who immediately began blushing a deep crimson through a clownlike masked of egg but retained the fortitude to stay where he was.
"Got egg on my face," he mumbled, looking away. "Don't…don't look…"
The redhead giggled softly and reached up to turn his face towards her—then she kissed away the yolk on the end of the brunette boy's nose. Sora looked like he was about to faint.
"Delicious," Kairi murmured, smiling widely. And then she went back in for another go.
From that one action, Naminé could easily deduce whom the charmer had been in those two's relationship and who'd been charmed. The blonde gave a soft smile of her own and turned towards Riku and Axel.
Axel (she still had a difficult time reconciling his last name with him) was sitting at the opposite side of the table from her. He was moving a half-unconscious Riku's head around like a puppet, trying to mash Naminé's brother's face into a nimbly evading Xion's, who had a light red blush dusting her cheeks.
"Oh, Xion, how I love you," Axel sighed in an imitation of Riku's voice that made Naminé glance in shock at her half-unconscious brother before she realized that his supposed voice was just an imitation. Axel was way too good at this…
Xion, on the other hand, was clearly too flustered to notice the difference.
"Seriously, dude, stop," Xion said, ducking underneath an attempt to kiss her forehead. "I mean it, Riku! Stop before I have to do something drastic!"
Naminé scratched the back of her head. "Um…Xion, that's Axel moving Riku's head around…"
The traceuse halted in shock and anger—
"Axel, you bastard—"
—just as Axel shoved Riku's lips onto her mouth. Finally, Riku woke up—to the noises of Xion choking in embarrassment and the sight of Xion's face darkened to cherry red.
"Why, hello there," he smiled through the kiss. "I don't recall kissing such a pretty girl as yourself—but if you don't mind, I have to say I don't mind either."
Axel and Naminé clapped their hands over their mouths in an effort to not laugh out loud (failing anyways) even as a now maroon Xion slapped Riku hard enough to knock the poor boy to the floor.
There was just one person missing…
She wished he were here.
"What're you two laughing about," a soft, familiar voice whispered by Naminé's ear. The blonde smiled again as two strong, warm arms tenderly wrapped themselves around her.
"Roxas," she whispered, planting a soft smooch on her boyfriend's cheek. "You're late, as always."
"You mean I'm fashionably late," Roxas chuckled, taking his seat by her side. "So…what did I miss?"
Naminé glanced around the table—at Kairi, who was practically on top of Sora, at Xion, who was delivering punches with unerring force and precision into a completely unaffected Axel, and at Riku, who was only just now picking himself up off the floor.
"Nothing much," she replied, shrugging.
The door burst open again to reveal Seifer, Rai, and Fuu.
"Hey, rebels!" Beanie-head barked, setting his hands on his hips.
As one, Roxas, Riku, Axel, Xion, and Naminé (Sora and Kairi were too busy making out) rose up to meet their nemesis.
"What do you want now, Beanie?" Roxas sighed, scratching his dark blond spikes. "We already kicked your butt once; haven't you learned your lesson yet?"
Seifer smirked. "I have," he replied. "About the proper use of tactics, that is."
As if on cue, a hundred faceless minions stepped out from behind the tables surrounding the five. Dozens of leering eyes and cruel sneers focused upon Axel, Xion, Roxas, Riku, and Naminé.
They were completely unfazed.
"No idea what conservation of ninjutsu is, huh?" Xion sighed, raising her fists. "You people have got a lot to learn…"
The five charged into the mob and almost immediately random minions began flying every which way like bowling pins after a strike. Naminé got lost in the thickets of mooks, but she punched, kicked, kneed, elbowed, and generally jammed sneaker up and through ass through said squads of minions until she found and linked up with her brother.
"Did you see Roxas?" she shouted, sweep kicking an opponent off his feet.
"Back there, I think!" Riku shouted back, hammering another mook unconscious and curb stomping his head.
"Back where?" Naminé yelled, slamming two right hooks into somebody's jaw.
There was a collective scream of pain and fear and at least a dozen people went flying in the face of Axel's shoulder rush. Another cry of shock erupted from their left and Xion charged in, swinging around a stainless steel table leg like a baseball bat and delivering a disabling hit with each attack.
"Have either of you seen Roxas?" Naminé called, breaking a mook's arm and slugging him across the face.
"Not yet!" Xion replied, doubling over an opponent with a blow to the stomach before bringing her impromptu weapon down on his head.
Axel just shrugged in ignorance before grabbing two people's heads and cracking them together.
Naminé flipped somebody over her shoulder before rushing off (to her friends' yelps of surprise). She had to find Roxas. Had to. She didn't know why, only that she had to.
"Come on, where are you?" she mumbled, ducking a punch and retaliating with a kick to the mook's crotch. "Don't hide from me…!"
Just three more people to go…
She dove between two mooks, roundhouse kicked the third, and burst through the outer edges of the brawl and looked around to see—
His bloody face set in a mask of pain and sorrow.
His bloody hands frozen in front of him.
The bloody switchblade buried to the hilt in his chest.
She screamed and screamed and screamed…but no sound came out.
Xxx XXX xxX
The boy gazed at the sleeping angel—his sleeping angel.
Her lightly tanned skin was almost as pale as the moonlight that crept across Dorm 126. Her tiny hands were drawn up to her graceful neck. Her long, silky blonde hair was fanned out on her pillow as if she were underwater. Her face was tranquil, with just the slightest hint of a smile playing across her pink lips.
"Did I ever tell you just how beautiful you are when you're asleep?" he whispered, gently running his fingers through her hair—in his opinion, softer threads than the finest silk. "You look so peaceful, so unaware of the troubles you go through when you're awake."
She stirred. Mumbled something about…he couldn't really understand the last part, but he took it as a garbled protest.
He smirked. "Okay, I'm not saying you're ugly when you're awake, and I do like you better then. But still."
She didn't respond. Of course she couldn't; she was unconscious, and Xion had once told him that she was an almost comically heavy sleeper.
Roxas smiled again, moving his hand from Naminé's hair to her cheek. Her skin, if anything, was even softer than he'd remembered.
Then again, all men considered the women they loved to be the most beautiful in existence. True beauty is found where love is requited, he'd read once.
"I probably love you way too much," he chuckled, taking his hand off her face. "My sneaking into your room in the middle of the night proves that."
He glanced up at the top bunk, which was emanating light snoring. Good; Xion was still unaware of his presence, which was fortunate. Xigbar had told him that by now she'd probably kill him on sight and ask questions later.
Naminé stirred again. Moaned in pain. A single tear squeezed through her eyelids and slid down her face—
His finger had wiped away the drop of water before it could cross the centimeter of her skin from her eye to the pillow. Why was she crying?
He got his answer a second later.
"Roxas…no…" she murmured, shifting a little. Her hands were clutching at her covers now. "No…don't die…don't die…wake up, please…"
He was panicking now. How was he going to calm her? How?
"I'll kill you…Seifer…I'll rip your brains out…"
Then her voice lowered and distorted into incoherent whimpering and gibberish.
"Naminé, Naminé, calm down," he whispered into her ear, resisting the urge to shake her. "Calm down!"
She continued moaning. She was crying, now, sobbing and gasping.
What was he going to do—?
"What is it you usually do to pacify Miss Miyamoto, Mr. Takahashi?" a dry, iron-hard male voice said from behind him. "You hug or perhaps kiss her, correct?"
Roxas whipped around, his lapis eyes narrowed to slits, searching for whoever had spoken. But there was no one else in the dorm besides him, Naminé, and Xion. He didn't know that a certain guardian spirit was also in the room.
At least he could give this mystery person's tip a try.
The traceur gently leaned down and picked up the artist, wrapping her in a tender embrace. He followed it up with a gentle touch of his lips to hers.
The sensation of her lips was intoxicating. He found himself falling in even as some remaining rational part of his mind screamed and screamed and screamed at him to back off—
Naminé's eyelids fluttered open and for a second she swore that the person she'd seen die in her arms was there in front of her, holding her in his arms—
And then Roxas's index finger pressed down on her temple.
The traceur knew he hadn't even hit hard enough to keep her under for more than half a minute, but all the same he once again felt the horror and self-hatred his mind had suffered through that night at the Formal.
And so he did the only thing he knew he could do in a situation like this.
When Naminé came to thirty seconds later, the mirage—the familiar blond spikes, the familiar twinkling lapis eyes had to have been a trick of the light—was gone.
Xxx XXX xxX
SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY.
I DIDN'T UPDATE. D:
Windows Parental Controls Time Limits were harsh before, but when my mom saw that I got an 85 on a test, she freaked and accused my time on the computer of causing that.
SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY, again.
*sigh*
Umm…review, please? *smiles weakly* If you're not too mad at me, that is…