Chapter 12- To cream or not to cream

After continuously evading his pursuer, the hooded Riku was eventually chased to a tunnel where the exit was barred off. As Riku ran off to the wall, Axel had caught up with Roxas after his 'interrogation', only for them both to see an opening of a dark corridor, and their target disappeared into the shadows before they could reach him. "I thought the impostor was sighted in Castle Oblivion! What's he doing here?" Axel queried aloud. "Xion..." Roxas muttered in exhaustion and disappointment. "Ain't no way that was Xion!" Axel stated in a displeased tone. "The other one was. The one who escaped before. What about that other guy? You got here, so did you finish him off?" Roxas asked. At this, Axel turned his head to the side, avoiding eye contact with Roxas as he answered convincingly "Not exactly. I injured him enough to make him retreat, but we'll probably see him again in a while" Hearing this, Roxas nodded as he lowered his head depressingly. "But... I don't get it. Why would she run from me?" he asked aloud to no one in particular, and as Axel tried to console his friend, they did not realise that the friend in question was right around the corner, just as another figure approached Xion and lowered his hood. "You want to go back?" Riku asked. Hearing his question, Xion turned to face her friends, her expression as depressing as Roxas's own.

Later, at the clock tower, sea salt ice cream in hand, Roxas and Axel are left to sulk over their failed mission to eliminate the impostor, but Roxas was especially disheartened with Xion running away from him. "Why would she do that?" Roxas asked aloud. Hearing this, Axel responded in a somewhat relieved tone "At least we know she's safe. She'll come home when she's ready" Despite his attempt at cheering him up, Roxas still depressingly questions aloud "But won't they turn her into a Dusk?" "Not necessarily" Axel responded. After hearing his answer, "Who were those guys she was with? Why is she cooperating with them?" Roxas wondered aloud. Having heard his friend's concerns, Axel simply remained silent, his mind filled with the events of the day, especially his reunion with an old acquaintance...

It was a warm summer's day in the Radiant Garden, with everyone making the most of the day. The park itself was cluttered with families on picnics, adults bathing in the glorious sunlight with one another, children huddled around enjoying cold and refreshing ice cream, all except for two boys who were walking by the scenery. One had striking spiky red hair that stuck upward in every direction imaginable, blue-green eyes, dressed in a sleeveless white shirt with an orange waistcoat, tan baggy trousers that went to his shins, wearing red and white sneakers with black socks and wearing a yellow keffiyeh adorned with a pattern of stripes blending into a pattern of checkered. His companion was around his age, with bright blue jaw-length hair, the same blue-green eyes as the redhead, wearing a high-collared short-sleeved navy jacket with a stripe of light blue trailing his shoulders to the ends of his sleeves, a crescent moon adorning the left breast of the jacket, wearing a black undershirt, white trousers and black shoes, and a stud piercing in his left ear.

The redhead wiped the sweat off his brow with his arm, panting in the heat. "Sure is hot today. Why the heck are you wearing those clothes in this heat?" Red queried annoyingly "I don't like to wear shorts, you know that. Plus, this jacket is my signature look, just like you and that scarf" the blue-haired boy retorted with a satisfied smirk when he saw his friend's reaction: a severely annoyed face that screamed 'Hey!' "There's not even a bead of sweat! What, is your blood really that cold?" Red jokingly questioned, to which Blue simply growled in annoyance quietly, prompting his friend to give off a grin of triumph, only to turn to annoyance when he remembered the heat. "Whatever. Let's at least get some ice cream. That is, if this heat doesn't kill me first" Red sighed exasperatedly, while Blue nodded his head.

After walking in comfortable silence, they soon saw their location: the ice cream stand owned and operated by the richest citizen of the city: Scrooge McDuck. Then, both the boys noticed a sign saying 'Limited stock' in bold blue letters over the counter, just barely considering the long line that was waiting for them. This shook Red to his core and exclaimed "Oh man! C'mon, Isa. We've gotta hurry, or they'll be fresh out!" Isa simply sighed and just continued at his leisurely pace, walking until he heard a sound, something like a thud. He couldn't see where it was, but got an idea of where it came from. "Lea" Isa called. "What is it?" Lea asked, turning back to his friend. "Did you hear something?" Isa asked to which Lea nodded and responded "Yeah... the sound of my heart giving out when there's no ice cream left!" in mock annoyance. "I'm serious, Lea" Isa tried to explain, but then, to their surprise, a little girl suddenly collided with Lea's leg and fell backwards.

She had dark shoulder-length red hair, violet-blue eyes, wearing a white dress adorned with blue flowers and blue line across the chest, pink hem and large white shoes and a necklace with a silver bead hung around her neck. At first, Lea seemed increasingly annoyed, but then, both he and Isa noticed something wrong: her face was ghastly pale, and her eyes were filled with fear. "What's wrong?" Lea asked, as he knelt down and helped her up to her feet. The girl did not respond for a while, struggling to speak "S..S..Sairu's in trouble! Someone, help!" she suddenly exclaimed, which alarmed everyone in the queue. Hearing this, Lea nodded to the terrified girl and began to run off in the direction she had come from. "Lea, wait! What about ice cream?!" Isa exclaimed after him, but Lea deliberately ignored him, and kept running, until he turned a corner and saw a sight that made his blood boil: a boy with darkish red hair, dressed in a short-sleeved blue shirt with white shorts and grey trainers, lying on the ground with an overweight, bald man with cold light blue eyes standing over him, dressed in a white vest, dark blue trousers and black shoes. His companion was lean-built with slicked back dark brown hair, dressed in a black polo shirt, wearing khaki green cargo pants and brown sandals, his hazel eyes staring at the child on the ground before them.

The big guy spat to one side and proceeded to grab the boy by his hair, lifting him up before giant hands pushed him down again. He chuckled in delight and spoke in a venomous tone "That's what you get for injuring our boys. And this" he proceeded to kick him in the stomach with no mercy, causing the boy to struggle breathing "Was for bumping into me" At this, Lea's clenched fists began shaking uncontrollably, until, in a flash of red fiery hair, ran headfirst into the big guy, throwing him down to the ground as well, where his head struck causing him to black out. At this, he quickly turned to face the boy in pain until the other man grabbed Lea from behind, restraining him, until a swift kick to the head sent him falling back, out cold instantly. The saviour was revealed to be none other than Isa, who Lea shot a grateful grin. "Let's get going. Once we're in a crowd, they can't attack us in the open" Isa stated and they fled, Lea mounting the injured party on his back as they bolted out of the alleyway and returned to the marketplace, where the girl was waiting for them.

Once they skidded to a halt, Lea turned his attention to the boy on his shoulder. "Are you alright? Don't worry, those guys won't be coming after you now" Hearing this, the boy managed a grateful grin, which Lea returned with his own grin of equal vigour as he lowered the boy to the ground. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he was greeted by a tight hug from the girl who warned his saviours. "Arrgh, Kairi, that hurts" he declared, and she let him go instantly, relief in her eyes. "Sorry, I was just worried. Did they really hurt you that badly?" she asked embarrassingly "Yeah, it's pretty bad. But it would have been worse... for them. Once I get in the zone, there's no stopping me!" he exclaimed proudly, laughing, only for Kairi to flick a finger in his forehead, shutting him up. "You can be so stupid, Sairu. You could have been hurt even worse if they hadn't arrived" she said in a scalding voice.

At this, Sairu sheepishly grinned at her, as he turned to face the older boys who faced them "Thanks a lot for helping me out, but I'm sure I could have taken them" he said, which earned him a disapproving glare from Kairi. Lea simply snorted at this remark and said "Easy there, tiger. I bet you would have sent them crying, but not now, not till you get older at least" At this, Sairu merely growled in annoyance as Lea chuckled "Might as well introduce myself. The name's Lea, got it memorized?" gesturing to his head with a finger as he grinned. "I'm Isa, Lea's friend" Isa introduced himself in an exasperated voice at his friend's antics. "I'm Kairi, nice to meet you" she introduced herself as she curtsied to the boys, earning her a chuckle from Lea who bowed in good humour, which earned him a chuckle from Kairi and Sairu alike.

"Guess it's my turn. I'm Sairu, got that memorised?" Sairu said in a joking voice of his own, which earned him a double-take from Lea. "That's my line, you know" he remarked scathingly, whilst Isa snorted and remarked "I'd say it suits him better" Hearing this, Lea's expression became crestfallen, as the other three couldn't control themselves, and erupted into laughter, with Lea joining in as well. Once the laughter died down, Lea turned to the ice cream stand that was now closed. "Well, no ice cream today. We might as well call it a day, Isa. Let's go" Lea said disappointedly, at which Isa nodded and the two began making their way to the park again until "Hey, will we see you guys again?" Sairu called. At this, Lea turned and smiled, responding "Sure you will. Cause we're friends. Remember that, Sairu, Kairi"...