Hearts in Chains

Chapter Two: Roxas' Heart

I was being led down the tunnel that led to the pit, my eyes looking down to the ground as I mulled over things within my mind. Sora would be alright…He had to be. He was…well Sora. He did not fall easily; the guy was just too tenacious. He had overcome odds before and he would again. He didn't know just what he was facing out there, but from the hype of the crowd he could hear in the holding chamber then it wasn't a regular opponent. He-

A loud roar came from the crowd, and it was clear that the match was now over or just about. I froze as he focused solely on the reception. It was mainly boos…That meant there was a solid chance Sora won, he wasn't exactly a crowd favorite since he cost men who knew nothing about the Coliseum munny frequently. Who could blame them though? When you hear it is just a boy no older than 18 with only a standard issued keyblade versus a thousand heartless, you immediately go with the latter. "Oi, 76927! Get your spiky-haired ass moving! Don't you want to see if Sor- 7672 won?"

I couldn't help but chuckle. It was too obvious Phil had some favoritism towards Sora, it must have something about that unwavering spirit that lured him. It was what lured me to befriend him after all. Sora had this ability to constantly rally even in his darkest moments and he maintained his trademark sarcasm even in the bleakest times. I was more a loner who just quietly preserved and withstood whatever wave of troubles battered me.

"I think you're the one who is curious, Phil. And really, why do you insist on calling us by our numbers in the tunnel? Not like anyone can hear you."

It was a pointless question, only meant to mess with the shorter robust male. Phil continued on a few steps ahead of me and snorted. "You're a pain in the ass. You're lucky I am even giving you a weapon for this fight you're about to go into. I could just let you go in and duke it out. But no, I am a nice guy. I like to give you suckers a fair chance."

"You just don't want to see us die- Ow!" I yelled as he stomped on my foot. "I hope I broke a toe." Phil quipped as I scoffed and then chuckled. "A little bit angst-filled today are we? If I died, then who would you banter with?"

Our banter would have kept on except we finally came to the end of the tunnel and there I saw something that was expected yet unexpected. A paradox, I know.

Sora stood victorious, just as I imagined, however the beast he beat…The thing was easily the size of a building. And yet Sora still left it in a heap, utterly defeated and withering away into nothingness. That boy was something else, was he even a human…? Because he certainly did things no normal human could do.

I turned my glaze down towards Phil who had a smile plastered on his face as he lifted the gate that separated me from Sora. I stepped into the pit and instantly Sora turned to me from hearing the gate open. He seemed…shocked?

I only notched it up to post-match jitters. I mean, he did just defeat a huge colossal heartless that I doubt any regular arena fighter could have handled. Once I was in the pit and making my way towards him the crowd erupted into cheers of happiness. I felt a slight bit of crimson rise in my cheeks as I gave off a wave to the masses surrounding me.

It was nice to be a crowd favorite, even if it was in this hellhole. I am not sure why they favored me too Sora, but they did for whatever reason. And it came in handy as well, I could recall a few instance my opponent would suddenly have items from the crowd thrown at them and distractions were plentiful. Though of course this didn't help me make any friends in the Coliseum...

Except Sora. Sora didn't seem to care at all about how I was received by the crowd, he was more happy that I actually chose to associate with him. Everyone else couldn't take his sarcasm and his boldness, he was too drastic of a change compared to the dreary background we were in. Why did I become friends with him? It was something about the fire he carried, that raw hunger for freedom that eventually spread for me. He reminded me that we could escape. That we would escape.

As I came in front of Sora the once colossal heartless had withered to almost nothing and was soon to disappear altogether. "You're something else, you know that?" I gave him a celebratory pat on the back, grinning. "Yeah…thanks." Sora responded, his mind was clearly elsewhere.

My smile turned to a frown as I followed him to the gate. "Hey, you alright? You just won despite the fact the odd here were probably stacked against you ten to one. I would expect you to be bouncing off the walls. What happened to the unflappable Sora?" I quipped.

Sora let out a small chuckle and shook his head. "I will tell you about it later. Good luck in your match man. Better make it out." Sora crossed the threshold into the tunnel, flashing a grin at Phil. Phil returned the favor before looking to me and handing me a short sword.

"You better win, or else-" "You'll come down to the Underworld and drag my soul back up here to beat the stuffing out of me. Right?" I had heard this speech so many times before I go recite it in my sleep backwards and forwards.

Phil only rolled his eyes before turning his back to me as he began to go back down the tunnel with Sora in tow. I watched them for a moment, paying no note to the announcer who spoke.

I was a bit busy caught up in thoughts concerning what could have gotten to Sora to leave him nerved. It was- "So are you ready for this slave vs. slave action!?" The crowds roar of approval knocked me clear out of my inner-mind. "That's what I thought! So without further ado, Seifer!"

My heart suddenly dropped to the bottom of my chest and my eyes widened as I whirled around to see a certain dirty blond sauntering out the opposite entrance with a short sword in tow and sporting a cocky grin. He wore a black tuque with the "Ore" kanji inscribed right in the center of it. He wore a blue crop-top vest with white lining underneath a floor-length white jacket along with baggy, aborigine colored pants, with the legs tucked into black combat boots with light blue laces. This was unusual for slaves; they usually only wore rags, to be allowed to wear clothing of your own choosing was an extreme rarity.

Wait, why the hell did I give a shit about his clothes?

Seifer, along with a few others, were the ones I was captured with as prisoners of war in Twilight Town. I stood there for a long time, my mouth hanging open as Seifer flourished his sword and grinned even wider while sauntering to me and closing the distance. "Whatcha doing chicken wuss? You going to fight or do I get an easy W?" How could he be so calm…?

"Seifer…I couldn't possibly fight you…"

He was one of the few people left from the group that was captured still alive, though we didn't see eye to eye on, well anything he still was a reminder of my home. When we would get into our typical spats, it reminded me of home. Back in the days when things were normal. He was one of the few I could reminisce about it with. We had so many crazy plans of escape and revenge, I of course inspired him and lit him up with the fire Sora gave me.

Even though he could be a total douche to me I didn't want to kill him. If anything I wanted to get out with him just as much as Sora. But now I was supposed to fight him…? I couldn't; there was just no way I could bring myself to do it.

"Oh, and why is that? Because we come from the same place? Tch, who cares! Right now it is live or die, eat or be eaten! Who cares about the background?" How could he be saying that!?

"I cared!" I fired back, stepping towards him with a frown. "If we don't fight each other we may be punished but it isn't worth it, Seifer. We need to stick together-"

I was cut short by an abrupt sword slash from Seifer that I was forced to block at the last second sending us into a deadlock. Now our faces were mere inches from one another as Seifer pushed eagerly against the sword I held in my grasp.

"Want to know a secret, Roxas?" He whispered out as his lips twisted into a vindictive and deranged smile. "This is worth it! You have no idea! So come on, hate me! Kill me! Or let me run you through!"

My mind went blank, the words cutting into me deeper than any blade could ever do. What had happened? This was a complete 180 from the Seifer I knew. While we had our moments of debate we never resorted to violence. How could he be so eager to fight me? Did he hate me that much?

This lapse in thinking caused me to lose the deadlock, my weapon flying from my grasp as I stumbled back. "Why…?" I whispered out before rage soon bubbled to the surface. "Why Seifer! God dammit, why!?"

Seifer blinked, his face falling flat before a scowl now dawned over his features. "Is that even a question, you slacker? Because you're why I am here!" "How is it my fault that we are in here!?" I yelled, trying to reason with him.

My reason didn't do a whole lot of good apparently since I was forced to roll right under a sword slash. Seifer glared as he turned to me again. "Stand still, let me cleave you in half! And it is because I said so! Now shut the hell up and get what is coming to you!"

…

Well you can't argue with that logic.

Luckily, I rolled to where my sword had been sent after the deadlock and I equipped myself with it once more. I refused to go on the offensive. I couldn't bring myself to do it. No matter how much he despised me I could not bring myself to attack.

Seifer did not share my reluctance. He was on me in an instance throwing a flurry of strikes, his angry driving him more and more. All I could bring myself to do was parry and dodge. This continued on for a while, before he swung just a bit too hard and I managed to back away just in time and forced him to carry the swing all the way through.

He was wide open, I could have gone in for the finishing blow but yet again, I couldn't. This was the man I grew up with for most of my life in Twilight Town. To kill him for something like…this wasn't fathomable.

So instead I jolted forward and grabbed the toque on his head and yanked it down, temporarily blinding him. He instantly went to rip off the cloth but in that short amount of time, I managed to pry the blade from his hands and leave him weaponless.

I stood there now, holding both of our weapons and eying him and slowly speaking. "I am not going to kill you Seifer. I refuse…" Apparently, my words carried because there was a collective gasp from the audience.

Seifer stood there, a scowl etched onto his face as he cast his gaze down. "You righteous bastard…Why couldn't you just kill me…" He whispered out, an utterance only I heard. I blinked a few times.

"You wanted me to kill you…What are you talking abou-"

"It seems that this match has come to a standstill, with the valiant Roxas refusing to fight his unarmed opponent. What do you think folks, should we let them both walk away from her unscathed?"

I felt hope rise in me as the crowd cheered and it was almost a clearly unanimous yes. Crowd favorite status paying off! "That's what I thought! Let us continue the bloodshed!"

What.

No, they just said yes! What the hell is this!? They just said yes you nimrod! Hell, the crowd even looks confused. I scowled and began to yell. "What are you talking about!? They just said yes! Let us out of here-"

"Here you go ladies and gentleman!" The voice carried on, ignoring my ranting entirely. "Incentive!" Suddenly on the large screen hanging above the Coliseum flickered from a picture of us to something different.

It took a few moments to register before I felt my stomach churn and threaten to rise up my throat. Sitting tied to chairs were Olette and Fuu. Olette was dressed in typical slave attire which consisted mainly of rags. Her shining emerald eyes glinted with fear as they stared dreadfully into the camera, her chocolate locks tangled into a mess, blood trickling from her nostrils...

Fuu was dressed in the same way, except her crimson irises looked...defeated and utterly beaten. On top of that her lip looked considerably swollen and her hair was in the same state as Olette's.

Both of them were girls we got captured with during the occupation, Olette was the one apart of my group of friends with and Fuu was a part of Seifer's clique. Seeing the clear evidence of a beating upon them sent rage reverberating through my spine and I could see Seifer instantly tense up too. "You bastards! You said you wouldn't hurt them!" He screamed loudly as he took a large step forward to the large screen, as if he could do something.

"If neither of you are willing to fight, then the girls get it! However, if would be so nice to comply then we will gladly let them go unharmed." I felt my stomach churn again as I bit my inner cheek, shaking beginning to overwhelm me. Seifer turned his head away and glowered as he held his hand out towards me.

"Please…Give me my sword…Let's finish this quick…" Seifer called out, his usual cocky demeanor faltering as a frown replaced the scowl. I stood there, gazing at his sword before I tossed it back to him, which drew a collective gasp from the crowd around. I wasn't going to win this dirty if I had to win…I owed him that much respect.

Seifer caught it with one hand and laughed a bit, shaking his head. "You are too valiant for your own good, Roxas…" He spoke as he looked me dead in the eye. It was then I understood, everything falling into place. "You didn't want too actually…"

"Nope, it was either this or they both died…I didn't have a choice in the matter, and if I told you then they would…You know." Seifer droned out as he slowly slid into fighting stance. I did the very same thing as I cast my gaze away. "I…" "Roxas. If I die, please take care of her."

I firmly nodded as we both went flying at one another, my feet desperately crying for me to stop and my arms felt like blocks of cement and didn't want to move. The world was just one huge blur, the only thign in focus was the eyes of Seifer, which began to become plagued with tears. Once within range we swung our swords at the same time, ready for the climatic clash.

They never met.

We both slid past each other in the sand and there was a moment of tension…I waited for the feeling of pain to surge through my body but it never came…That's when I heard something fall onto the sand. I slowly veered my gaze down and onto my blade.

It was coated in crimson.

I dropped it as if it were contaminated and began to back away before whirling around to find Seifer lying face down in the sand. Everything was drowned out as I ran the short distance to him and slid down next to him and rolled him over onto his back.

I looked to his abdomen and felt my heart skip a few beats…It was slashed wide open and bleeding out profusely…he hadn't swung his sword. I stared down at his face…It looked almost calm, his eyes half-lidded and a small grin plastered on his expression. "Why didn't…why didn't you swing your sword…" I choked out, tears beginning to well up in my eyes as I bit my inner cheek roughly.

"I didn't feel like cooperating with destiny…" He whispered out as a weak chuckle followed. "I didn't want to hurt the one I considered my friend…I didn't want to give them the thrill of a close match…I didn't want to kill you, Roxas…I am still the Head of the Disciplinary Committee...I can't kill the ones I try to protect. I was hoping you'd take advantage of me earlier when I charged you...You're usually better than that Rox."

I couldn't understand, tears began to flow as I pulled his head into my lap and choked back a sob. "S-Seifer…" "Roxas…You got to get them out of here…I just…" He paused as a couch suddenly ripped through him and blood spurted from his mouth.

I wanted to tell him to stop talking…That he would be fine…That help would come…But they were lies… Lies I could not bring myself to tell. "I can't do it…I am not cut out for it…You're different, I can see it in your eyes. I always knew you were the one who can end all this…It's your destiny…Roxas, Promise me something…"

I couldn't stop the tears any longer as I forced my eyes shut and only managed a short nod as Seifer lifted his hand slowly and took mine, gripping it tightly. "Kill them…Kill them all. Avenge me, avenge everyone else…Don't let anyone hurt the ones you cherish and if it isn't too much to ask…" Another cough came through and by now, I felt his grip weaken as his life began to fade from his eyes.

"Pick up my slack…Protect Fuu, Rai, and Vivi. Pick off where I left off…Roxas…" He whispered as the life extinguished in his eyes as I continued to weep, burying my face in my arm. I was unaware of the two sapphire spheres paying special attention to me from the stands.

"And that concludes all matches for today, folks! Remember, since it is the first Friday of the month then the winner of today's matches will be held for sale!"