A/N: Thanks to my reviewers Inspiration of Imagination, Dani-Chan Sprite-Monster –13-and RoxasxAisu4ever. Your support keeps me writing! (Hands out cyber Sea-Salt Ice Cream Bars)
August: Struggle
"Sora!"
The keyblade wielder grinned. "Hi guys! Having a good summer?"
Four friends, reunited again.
Hayner opened his eyes, smiling at the memory. Almost a month had gone by since Sora had arrived. The four had spent the time inseparable, Sora alternating between staying at Pence and Hayner's houses. Summer had never been so good, but like all things, it had to come to an end. Sora was heading home in two days and school started the day after.
But before summer ended, there was one thing left that had consumed Hayner over the past week. One last goal that had taken over his mind…
The Struggle Tournament.
"Ow!" Hayner cried, flying backwards, hitting the mat. He grunted, slamming his club down on the ground in frustration, glaring up at the spiky haired boy in front of him.
Sora shrugged. "I told you to block."
Over the last week the Usual Spot had transformed into a not-so-elaborate training center, consisting of a few hastily thrown down mats and a pile of Struggle clubs they had begged off the Struggle coordinator.
Sora had graciously offered to act as Hayner's Struggle coach to the relief of Olette and Pence. Watching Hayner fall under Sora's intense instruction was much more rewarding than the cuts and bruises they sported when they were Hayner's targets for practice.
"I did block!" Hayner grumbled, getting to his feet.
"More like flailed." Pence said under his breath. Olette stifled a giggle.
They were silenced with a harsh look from Hayner. Sora gave them a sympathetic look then assumed a fighting stance. "All right, come at me again."
Hayner's face radiated renewed determination as he charged Sora with a yell. There was a loud whack of wood on wood and both boys were thrown back on the mats laughing.
Olette and Pence joined in as the fighters got up and shook hands. "I think that's enough training for now!" Sora said, clapping Hayner on the back. "You've gotten a lot better!"
Hayner beamed. "Thanks! You're a pretty good teacher!"
It was Sora's turn to beam as he gathered the Struggle clubs and put them in the corner. "You're a good student!" He replied, stretching. "Now what guys?"
Everyone took a few moments to think, then, Olette spoke up. "Why don't we go see if they need any help with the Struggle preparations? Maybe they'll even let you guys spar on the arena!"
"Great idea!" Sora said, already heading out the curtain. "C'mon!"
Laughing, everyone followed.
"We're sure glad to have your help!"
Hayner tried to smile but grunted instead as he and Sora heaved the large poles holding a huge banner proclaiming the tournament. Olette and Pence rushed forward to secure the poles and they four stood back to admire their handiwork.
"That should be it!" The Struggle coordinator smiled. "You're welcome to practice some more if you'd like!" Sora gave Hayner an exhausted look, which made Olette giggle.
"Thanks sir, but I think they'd like to save it for tomorrow." She said between giggles.
The man nodded knowingly. "Of course, of course, I'm looking forward to seeing you boys in action tomorrow!"
Hayner and Sora were already limping away.
"Well, it's getting late!" Pence said, yawning as they walked away from the Sandlot. "You better rest up for the big day!"
The two boys nodded, stopping to gaze at a Struggle poster (that Pence had painstakingly put up a month ago) with determination. Hayner put a hand on Sora's back. "You and I have to make the finals, that way, no matter who wins, we all split the prize!"
Hayner and Sora tapped elbows together. "It's a promise." Sora replied.
"You two are gonna clean up!" Pence said, happily.
"Go get 'em!" encouraged Olette.
After quick goodbyes, they all went their separate ways, Hayner feeling a strange sense of Dejavu…
Hayner woke with a start. "Was that a dream?" He mumbled, rubbing his head and looking around his room. His eyes fell on the Struggle club lying on the floor and his eyes widened. "Finally, Struggle day."
After inhaling breakfast, to his mother's obvious dislike, Hayner rushed to the Usual Spot, club clutched tightly in his hand.
There he was greeted with an overly excited Sora, an exhausted-looking Pence and a sympathetic Olette, patting Pence's back kindly.
Sora jumped up as Hayner burst into the room and quickly went to hold the curtain open. "C'mon you guys! The earlier we get there, the sooner we know the order of the matches!"
Olette stopped patting to glare at Sora. "Give us a minute! You woke poor Pence up so early he can barely stand!"
Pence let out a long, drawn out yawn. "Go on ahead you guys. We'll catch up."
Hayner huffed impatiently. "You can sleep later! We all have to go together! That's what friends do!"
Olette opened her mouth to argue but was interrupted by a loud yawn from Pence. "Okay, okay, I'm up!" He stood up, dragging Olette with him. "Besides, if I sleep, we'll miss the match!"
The area around the Sandlot was packed with cheering people. The four pushed and shoved their way to the front, Sora and Hayner joining the other contestants and Olette and Pence finding choice spots in the crowd.
"Way to be late." Seifer said smugly as the two boys approached.
Hayner geared up to retaliate but Sora put a hand out to stop him. "Don't worry, he won't be talking so big after the matches."
Hayner shrugged off Sora's hand and pointed his club at Seifer. "Yeah Almasy, today's your lucky day. Today, you get the privilege of losing to us."
Seifer looked like he was about to shout back but was interrupted by the Struggle coordinator.
"Quiet everyone! Could I have your attention please?" The round man said, smoothing his brown hair back. The crowd grew silent. "Ehem! Welcome ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, to Twilight Town's 25th annual Struggle Tournament!"
He allowed the crowd to roar in excitement for a moment before holding up his hands for silence. "Thank you. And now, please give a warm welcome to our reigning champion, Seifer Almasy!"
Seifer strutted onto the arena and the crowd cheered loudly, drowning out the "boos" made by Hayner and his friends. Above it all Rai's voice could be heard yelling, "Hey! Cheer louder! It's Seifer you know?"
Once again the coordinator held his hands up. The crowd quieted. "Now, before we begun the tournament, I'd like to give a refresher of the rules. Each contestant will be given possession of 200 orbs. The goal is for one contestant to gain control of the other contestant's orbs before time runs out! And now, without further ado, let's start the first match: Vivi versus Rai!"
"Huh?" Hayner said, staring at the two as they made their way to their places on the arena. "I didn't know Rai was going to compete, or Vivi!"
Sora shrugged. "Maybe Seifer wanted some easy wins."
Hayner scoffed. "You probably got that right."
Up on the arena, Rai pointed the club at a slightly shaking Vivi. "Yo! I'm gonna win, you know?"
Vivi only nodded.
"Ready boys?" The coordinator said, from the side. "STRUGGLE!"
Rai let out a yell and charged Vivi who seemed to be too scared to move. His yellow eyes got wider and wider as Rai got closer and closer…
"Vivi! Move!" Olette shouted.
Her cry made Vivi jump and he dived out of the way of Rai's rampage just in time. Shaken, he got up to find himself being rushed by Rai again. Olette cried out again but instead of dodging, Vivi lifted his club high and braced himself for the impact.
The thwack echoed throughout the Sandlot and silence fell over the crowd. A grunt was heard and then, to everyone's shock, Vivi threw Rai to the ground, releasing a shower of red orbs.
A pause, then the crowd exploded in cheers. The coordinator jumped up excitedly. "Well! I don't believe it! Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of this match is Vivi!"
Vivi stood in shock as Rai got up grunting. "That wasn't fair, you know?!" He yelled as he limped off the arena. The cheers continued as Vivi continued to stay frozen in front of where Rai had fallen, red orbs surrounding him. In the end, the Struggle coordinator had to drag him off.
"Wow!" Olette said, clapping. "Vivi's gotten a lot tougher!"
"Yeah," Pence agreed. "I wonder what inspired him?"
"Or who." Sora said, picking up his club.
"Yeah, who…" Hayner said softly, fingering his club.
Once the arena had been cleared, the coordinator spoke. "That was quite an electrifying first match! And now, our newcomer Sora versus Hayner!"
Olette and Pence cheered extra loud as the two boys took their places on the arena. Hayner smiled at his friend before assuming a fighting stance. "Ready Sora?"
Sora grinned and copied Hayner's stance. "You bet!"
"STRUGGLE!"
Sora moved lightning fast and Hayner looked around frantically before crying out as Sora struck him from the side. Blue orbs erupted onto the field and Sora rushed around collecting them before facing Hayner again. Hayner pushed himself up, a determined look on his face before rushing Sora with a yell.
Sora blocked and moved to slash Hayner on the side again but he quickly dodged and thrust Sora from behind. Sora grunted as the club impacted, red orbs flying around the arena. Hayner let out a whoop of triumph, gathering the orbs.
In Hayner's brief moment of victory, Sora recovered amazingly fast and hit Hayner with a spinning attack as he collected the last of the orbs. Hayner flew in the air then landed with a smack on the sandy arena, red and blue orbs raining down on him.
Once again, the Sandlot filled with cheers. "Amazing! What a victory from Sora!"
Sora rushed over to Hayner, extending a hand to help him up. Hayner ignored the hand for a moment, staring at the sky. "Aww man, I can't believe I lost!" Pushing away Sora's hand he got up, brushing the sand off his clothes.
Sora smiled. "I had a lot of fun fighting you."
Hayner grinned, then put on a serious expression. "Well I didn't, wise guy."
They both laughed, clapping each other on the shoulder.
On the side, Pence and Olette smiled at each other in relief.
A few minutes later, Sora found himself facing an unlikely foe: Vivi.
"All right folks! It's time for the third match of the tournament: Sora versus Vivi!"
Vivi looked as scared as ever and Hayner felt sorry for him as he watched Sora take his fighting stance. "Go easy on him." He said softly.
Going easy on someone didn't seem to be in Sora's fighting style however, as Vivi fell in a sea of blue orbs in a matter of minutes. They shook hands politely, Vivi beaming despite his loss, clearly happy to take third place. Sora waved at Hayner, Pence and Olette happily as helpers rushed to clear the arena for the final battle.
Seifer jumped onto the arena eagerly and Hayner couldn't resist taunting him before he faced Sora. "In a hurry to lose?" He shouted. Seifer shot a glare at him then turned his attention to Sora. "There's only room for one up here!"
Sora merely shrugged and took his stance for the third time.
"All right boys, keep it clean! You're the top bracket! Ladies and gentlemen, our final match: Sora, our underdog hero versus Seifer, our defending champion! May the best man win; STRUGGLE!"
Sora and Seifer charged each other with equal speed, colliding and sending blue and red orbs around the arena. Once the orbs had settled, the crowd gasped as Sora and Seifer stood, clubs locked together, each trying to overpower the other. Beads of sweat dripped down both their foreheads as they exerted all their strength. To Hayner's horror, Sora grunted and his feet slipped an inch on the sand.
"C'mon Sora! You can do it!" He yelled, his shouts soon echoed by Pence and Olette. The support gave Sora the strength he needed and with a cry he heaved, lifting Seifer off the ground. A slash of the Struggle club and Seifer fell, hard onto the sand, blue orbs tumbling off the arena into the crowd.
"I don't believe it! What an unlikely turn of events! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you this year's Struggle champion: Sora!"
Hayner, Pence and Olette clambered onto the arena, attacking Sora with hugs and screams of delight. Sora grinned, laughing with his friends as they gave each other big and dramatic high fives. The Struggle coordinator approached, holding the Champion belt and the large, trophy bearing four branches, each topped with a different colored orb. "I proudly present these to you. Congratulations Sora!"
Sora raised the trophy high, the twilight sun catching its side, making it gleam.
The silence atop the clock tower was calming after the cheers from the crowd at the Sandlot. Sora held up the trophy, admiring the orbs before plucking out the yellow one and throwing it to Olette.
Olette gasped, catching the small yellow orb in her lap.
Hayner casually reached out and caught his red one and Pence yelped, barely catching the green one.
Finally, Sora took the blue one, holding the orb out to catch the light. "As promised."
"Thanks a ton, Sora!" Pence said, copying him.
"One more treasure for us to share." Hayner said, doing the same. Olette and Sora copied them, taking a moment to enjoy the beauty.
Olette reached behind her into the cooler they had brought up. "I've got a present too…for all of us!" She held up four ice cream bars.
"Awesome!" Pence said, reaching over to grasp one of the bars. Hayner laughed, taking one as Sora stood to get one from Olette…
"Sora!" Hayner screamed, watching in horror as the boy lost his balance on the clock tower and fell forwards. Quickly he jumped up and reached to grasp his friend's hand. His fingers closed around Sora's and then, darkness surrounded him.
Hayner was alone. Trapped in black. He had never been more scared in his life.
He cried out, screamed the names of his friends, over and over until his voice was hoarse. He ran, ran further and further into the darkness until his legs couldn't move anymore. He listened, listened so desperately that the silence stifled him and began to sound like screaming and wailing and he covered his ears and screamed and wailed with it.
He didn't know how much time had passed. He wasn't even sure time was passing. It was swallowing him up. Everything that made him Hayner was drifting away…
"It's hard isn't it? To keep yourself here."
Hayner bolted. He had heard something. To him, that voice was the only thing that told him he was still alive. "Who's there?"
"Over here!" Hayner turned towards the direction of the voice and shielded his eyes. A light. The desperation made his legs move and he ran, faster and faster towards the light. It grew bigger and bigger until suddenly, he emerged from the darkness and fell on the warm dusty ground of the Sandlot.
He shivered, relief filling his whole being, a few tears lingering at his eyes. The sound of footsteps and from the ground Hayner glimpsed black and gray shoes, a red stripe running down from the top. A hand appeared to help him up, a black and white warmer on two fingers and a checkered wristband…
Hayner stood up, eyeing the mysterious boy. He had blonde hair that spiked up, a warm smile and blue eyes just like Sora's. Hayner couldn't remember ever seeing him but there was something so familiar about him, like he should know him, but didn't. The boy looked around the area, a look of nostalgia on his face.
"So many memories here."
Hayner looked closer at the boy. "Do I know you?" He asked carefully.
The boy looked at him and smiled. "You should. But it's okay if you don't remember. Here," He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key chain, three circles making a sort of face dangling on the end. "Take this." He held it out towards Hayner. "It might help you find your way."
Hayner took it hesitantly. "What do you mean?"
The boy shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe it'll open a door?" He started walking away.
"Hey wait!" Hayner cried, following him. "What am I supposed to do know?"
The boy turned around, grinning. "C'mon Hayner! You're our leader right? I'm sure you'll figure something out." And with that, he was gone.
Hayner turned, grumbling about ambiguity and stopped abruptly at the sight in front of him. There was a door, in the middle of the Sandlot. Remembering the boy's words, he approached it, key chain in hand.
"How am I supposed to open a door without a key on my key chain." He mumbled. As if answering him, he felt a cold object in the same hand. Looking down he gasped, there was a key on the key chain. "Dang this is creepy." He breathed. He looked at the keyhole and gulped. "Guess there's nothing else to do but move forward!" Before he started thinking about it again, he quickly thrust the key into the lock and turned.
The door opened with a click and Hayner was blasted by a burst of light. "Well," He said, "It's better than the darkness." He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Here goes!"
Clutching the key tightly, he walked into the light.
"Sora!" Hayner had screamed. Olette looked up from the ice cream bars, her eyes widening in terror at the sight in front of her. Sora was falling off the clock tower.
She stood up frantically as Hayner reached for him. "Hang on!" She cried, running to help, but she never reached them.
She was standing just under the clock tower, the balcony just before the ticket booth. Frantically she looked up, but glimpsed no one on the familiar ledge. "Where is everyone?" She voiced out loud, looking around. She was alone; the far away sounds of a train whistle her only companion. Strangely, she felt no fear and found herself meandering towards the balcony, staring into the bright setting sun.
"Beautiful isn't it?"
Olette whirled to face the speaker. A boy about her age, piercing blue eyes, swept spiky blond hair wearing a black and white checkered jacket and khaki colored pants.
She watched with mild curiosity as he came to stand next to her, admiring the view. "Yeah." She said, eyes still on him. Somehow she felt connected to this boy and felt if she gave it time, the situation would explain itself.
They stood in comfortable silence for a few moments, Olette realizing how beautiful the twilight landscape actually was. She was so used to it that its beauty had eluded her.
"It's so different from the darkness." The boy had spoken again.
"Darkness?" Olette asked.
The boy nodded. "But, thankfully, there's always some trace of the light." He threw something to her.
Olette caught it and held it up. It was Sora's blue orb. Confusion swept through her. "Hey this- How did you- Who are you?"
The boy smiled. "Let's just say, an old friend." He motioned towards the orb. "Keep that. It may take you somewhere." He started heading towards the station.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Olette shouted after him.
"I have a train to catch! Nice seeing you Olette."
"Nice seeing you too…" Olette trailed off. Still in a daze she turned, holding up the orb to the sun. The light danced off of it, mesmerizing her and she felt as if she was being taken away…
Pence scratched his head in confusion. He furrowed his eyebrows as his poor brain tried to piece together the events that had occurred mere minutes before. He remembered hearing screaming, Hayner and Olette jumping up frantically, but before he knew what was going on he had found himself standing on the beach.
"My brain hurts." He said finally, sitting down in the sand with a thump. He didn't realize someone was coming up to him until an ice cream bar was shoved in his face.
"Want a brain freeze then?"
Pence, who had finished his ice cream first on the clock tower and had been eyeing the others in Olette's hand, took the bar gratefully. He took a huge bite before turning to face his kind benefactor.
He spoke without hesitation. "I know you, don't I?"
The boy took a seat next to Pence, licking his own bar. "Yeah, you do."
Happy with the confirmation, Pence turned once again to his ice cream. "Thought so."
"Why do you know me?" The boy asked, a glint in his blue eyes.
Pence shrugged. "I just do. Somehow. I don't remember but, I'm sure I know you from somewhere."
The boy chuckled. "Funny how that works huh?" He turned to look at Pence who had finished his bar. He held his up. "Wanna trade?"
Pence nodded eagerly, earning another chuckle out of the boy as they swapped, full bar for Popsicle stick.
Another chunk of the bar gone and Pence decided he had a question of his own. "So, why do I know you?"
The boy smiled. "That Pence, is something you have to figure out for yourself." He stood up, Pence's eyes following his movements. "I'll give you a hint." He flipped the Popsicle stick like a coin, letting it land in the sand. "Follow the signs, maybe they'll lead you somewhere." Then he set off in the direction the stick was pointing. "See you later, friend."
Pence watched him go, feeling slightly anxious. A part of him told him to run after him, another told him to take his time. Struggling with himself he realized he had finished the bar. Pocketing the stick, he stood and started following the boy's footsteps.
They all found themselves at a train station. So they took a train, hoping it would take them home. When the doors opened to the familiar station, they were surprised to see each other.
"Pence! Olette!" Hayner cried, rushing towards his friends. "Boy, am I glad to see you guys!"
"Yeah!" Olette said, cheeks flushed. "What happened to me was just weird!"
"Uh huh." Pence nodded. "That boy was a little funny."
Hayner narrowed his eyes. "Wait, you saw a boy too?"
"Yeah! He gave me a Popsicle!" He exclaimed, pulling out the stick in his pocket. "See, huh?"
All three friends stared at the object in Pence's hand. It wasn't a stick. It was part of a picture, ripped from a whole. But the most mysterious part was, they knew that picture well.
"Why do you have that?" Hayner asked. "I thought Olette put it in the Usual Spot! And why is it ripped?"
Pence lifted his arms in exasperation. "I don't know! I didn't touch it! And why would I rip myself out of the picture?"
"Hold on!" Olette said, reaching into her pocket. "Hey! The orb's gone!" She said, bewildered, pulling out another ripped piece. "Now I have my piece of the picture!" She grabbed the piece from Pence and fit the two together. "See?"
"Weird…" Hayner said, absentmindedly reaching into his own pocket for the key chain. "What's this?" He murmured, fingers gripping paper. He pulled it out and gasped.
"What?" Pence asked, staring at the frozen Hayner in shock.
"Let me see that." Olette said, grasping the paper. She fit the pieces together and gasped as well.
All three pointed to the fourth figure.
"It's that boy!"
Sora was in the Usual Spot when they arrived. He turned worried blue eyes to them as the curtain was swept away and they barged in.
"Hey! Where have you been?"
They ignored him, only rushed to the back of the room to find the old picture gone.
"Where'd it go?" Olette exclaimed, looking frantically around on the floor.
"I don't know, but my brain hurts again." Pence said, sinking down on the couch.
"What happened guys?" asked a very confused Sora.
Hayner reached into his pocket and pulled out the picture, handing it to Sora. "This, we found it but we don't know who that guy is."
Sora's took the picture and the moment he glanced at it, his eyes grew wide. "Roxas." He whispered.
"Huh?" Hayner said, moving closer to the boy.
"It's Roxas."
Bzzt RESTORATION AT 100%.
"Roxas." Hayner whispered the word slowly, like trying to unearth a deep and precious memory.
"Yeah, Roxas! That's what that boy's name was!" Pence exclaimed excitedly, jumping up.
"Roxas, our friend, Roxas…" Olette said, barely a whisper.
"Roxas?" Pence said the name hopefully, like he was expecting him to answer.
"Where is he?" Olette asked, her green eyes full of questions.
"Yeah, where is he?" Hayner bolted up; then turned his fierce brown eyes to Sora. "You know, don't you?"
Sora averted his gaze. Hayner stormed over to the spiky haired boy. "Where is he?" He yelled angrily, grabbing Sora's shirt with both hands. He continued to glare at the boy, ignoring Pence and Olett's cries of protest. "Anwer me!" He cried, shaking Sora violently.
Tense silence followed. Then something in Sora's ocean eyes made Hayner let go. The three friends watched in shock as Sora dropped to his knees, tears running down his face.
"They remember you. They remember you."
They remember me.
Hayner stood on the beach, watching the waves drag shells away from their warm sanctuaries in the sand, and to places unknown. To some it may have seemed cruel, but to Hayner, it seemed like a release. Those shells were free, free to explore and discover. He felt like those shells, free to explore the depths of his mind and discover memories that had been tucked away in the cobwebs of his being. Memories of his best friend, memories he now swore to protect, no matter what.
"We'll always be together, right?"
Not all of Sora's story made sense. But, he knew it was true. The blue eyes said so, as well as the tears that fell from them. Hayner reached into his pocket smiling as his fingers touched the glossy paper. He lifted it up, his heart clenching in remorse and guilt as his eyes lingered on the figure on the left, smiling, unburdened, free.
"I doubt we can always be together."
Hayner turned his eyes to the horizon, the sun sparkling on the water's surface, the twilight painting the sky orange, pink and yellow, the clouds glowing amber as the water stretched on and on, never ending, unstoppable, just like Roxas' fate.
"But what matters is not how often we see each other, but how often we think about each other."
The picture fell into the sand, accompanied by fresh tears. His head lowered, he cried, unashamed and strong.
He looked up when he felt two hands on his shoulders comforting him. He looked up into the faces of Olette and Pence, as tearful as he.
Pence smiled. Olette bend down, rescued the picture from the sand and nodded, handing the photo to Hayner.
The three friends stared at the photo. The truth. The way it was supposed to be.
"Looks like our summer is officially over."
A/N: I really love Roxas and his story really impacted and touched me. After beating Kingdom Hearts II, I knew I had to write something for Roxas. This is what came out. I strongly believe that memories are never forgotten, even if they were supposedly simulated. If Roxas' memories were created, why couldn't Hayner, Pence and Olette's be restored? Anyway, this was my tribute to Roxas; hope you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for reading! ^_^
