Chapter 13: Initial Attraction

Naminé made her way to the laser tag arena after sorting through her spinning thoughts. She didn't realize during the games, but she was having a lot of fun with Roxas. Heck, she was having so much fun that her laughter turned painful. That rarely happened to her. Why, then, was it happening with someone she supposedly disliked?

She slowed down as another thought hit her: she couldn't truthfully say she disliked Roxas now. She was enjoying his company until Axel showed up and made her realize whose company she was actually in.

Roxas was supposed to be annoying, insufferable, and a complete tool. The last half hour didn't exactly reflect that.

And sure, he deflected her shot and sent it to another side of the arcade. He actually took all the basketballs at her station and threw them everywhere. It should have been annoying. And he tripped her! What kind of guy would trip a girl to win a game?

The weirdest— and maybe worst— part was that it didn't bother Naminé. It should have, but it didn't. It was… fun. In the simplest of terms, it was pure immature fun.

"What is going on…?" Naminé berated herself as she walked into the dark lobby. The loud electronic music was enough to pull her from her thoughts. She looked around as multiple colors shot in all directions, the smell of a fog machine reaching her nose. Her friends were split on either side of the lobby, already suited up for the game. Ignoring the urge to walk over to Roxas and his friends, Naminé instead bounced over to her sister.

Kairi looked up after strapping a vest on and smiled at her sister. "There you are! I was starting to get worried."

"Why?" Naminé asked idly as she looked over at Riku and Sora. They were huddled close together, no doubt discussing a strategy to employ. "I was just using the bathroom."

"I didn't know whether or not Roxas was lying about that." Kairi grinned as she looked over Naminé's shoulder. "You kind of ran off with him. Did you have fun?"

"I didn't run off with him. You ditched me to play games with your boyfriend. I wasn't going to play third wheel." Naminé remarked.

"Why third wheel it when you can double date it?" Kairi asked slyly. She giggled when her sister tried to walk away from her. "Hey, I'm kidding. I know you hate him and all," Kairi rolled her eyes as she spoke, "but you already know what I think."

"You're the only one who thinks this is some playground crush." Naminé reminded.

"I stand by my intuition." Kairi crossed her arms confidently. She jumped slightly and almost dropped her gun when a loud buzzer signaled the end of the game before theirs. "Oh boy! We're starting in two minutes."

"You ready for this, Kairi?" Sora lightly shook his girlfriend's shoulders in his excitement. "I can't believe it's starting soon!"

"Try to contain yourself!" She giggled as she shrugged out of his grasp. "Are you boys finished discussing your special tactics?"

"Yup. Sora and I are going to alternate on the attack. Are you okay with playing defense?" Riku rested his hands on his knees as the rest of them formed a square with him.

"I can run around and shoot, you know."

"We know! We just think you're better suited for defense. Besides, that's a lot of area for one person. You'll get tired." Sora nudged with his elbow. He turned his attention to Naminé. "Can we count on you to root for us?"

"Is that a serious question? I'm not exactly your brother's biggest fan." Naminé grinned.

"Awesome!" Sora closed his fist. "It's like we have a home crowd now…"

"It's only a laser tag game." Kairi giggled.

"But it's an important one." Riku reminded as he pointed to the clock. "One minute left! Let's do this!"

They all stood and walked to the door that would lead to the playing area. Naminé wished them all good luck before jogging over to the trio on the opposite side. They seemed to be a little more excited: Roxas and Xion bounced lightly on their toes, with Axel shaking his limbs to loosen up.

"Hey guys!" Naminé greeted. All three of them turned to her at the same time.

"Naminé! Are you spying on us?" Axel playfully pointed an accusing finger.

"Nope! Just checking in. Kairi and the boys seem to be ready for you."

"Oh? You wouldn't happen to know how their approach, would you? I'd like to offer Roxas here as payment." Axel shoved Roxas forward. "He'll be your personal slave for a month if you give us some intel."

Roxas smacked at the hand that nudged him. "What? No I won't!"

"Fine. He'll be your sex slave—"

"Axel!"

"Ignore them." Xion pulled Naminé aside and away from her teammates. With a quick glance over her shoulder, she caught Axel wrapping Roxas into a brotherly headlock. Xion spoke up again, commanding her attention. "Thirty more seconds. Will you be cheering for us?"

"I already promised my sister I would cheer for them." Naminé shrugged sheepishly. "I'll secretly cheer for you guys in the next game if you're playing more than one."

"I'll take that! It's a best out of three, so we're guaranteed at least two games."

"Guess I'll have to be neutral for the third game, assuming neither team wins both." Naminé's eyes flicked toward the clock. The final fifteen seconds began ticking down. Red lights began to revolve above head, signaling the imminent start of the game.

"That's my cue. See you in fifteen!"

"Yup!" Naminé watched Xion run back to the boys, high fiving each of them. She found Roxas's eyes as he twirled his gun and couldn't help but smile.

He smiled back. The next second he was off, running into the arena with his team.

Naminé made her way up a short staircase to the spectator's box, which was elevated slightly from the level of the laser tag arena. A number of obstacles and barriers were scattered about the place, colored with intricate designs in the black light. A few of the barriers swung back and forth, usually near the center. Naminé watched with interest as each of the players stopped at a checkpoint before running off in different directions.

From her left, Roxas and his group charged forward at the same time. Naminé bit her lip as the scoreboard lit up.

The game began.

Naminé bit her finger as the last minute of the final game began to tick. After a thrilling pair of games, the match was down to the wire. Kairi's team took the first game, but Roxas and company came back and easily won the second. Now, with both teams fighting to win the war, it was closer than ever before.

Perhaps it had to do with the fatigue. It was also possible that each team adjusted to the opponent's strategy. As Naminé watched, it didn't seem like either team really paid it any mind: it was a shootout. Roxas's team would maintain the lead for a good seven seconds before Kairi and her boys stole the lead. It was a seesaw of momentum, and neither team really separated from the other to close the game out.

Thirty more seconds.

Naminé didn't even realize she spent the last half hour watching the games. It passed quickly even for her: she was more engaged with the game than she thought. She wondered if any of her friends were feeling the effects of such an extended battle. Surely they were tired after running around for so long. Then again, maybe the past half hour felt even shorter for them.

Ten more seconds. Roxas's team was up by a single point.

Naminé found herself locked on Roxas's figure. She tightly pressed her lips together as he ducked behind a barrier, shouting something to his teammates. Xion and Axel immediately dropped to the ground, and Naminé realized what Roxas was hoping to achieve. She smiled. It was a cheap tactic, but it was smart. The other team couldn't get points if they couldn't get any kills.

Five seconds.

Naminé gasped when Sora, Riku, and Kairi made a break for it. The trio surged forward, leaping over barriers as they advanced with blinding speed. Roxas and his team couldn't have seen it coming. Sora ran toward the barrier where Roxas was crouching and leapt over it. The scoreboard added a point to his team's score.

Three seconds. Tie game.

Kairi ran to the spot where Axel and Xion were hiding, pointing her gun in their direction. Naminé watched as the pair tried to look over their barrier— probably tipped off by Roxas— and took a few shots at Kairi.

A point was added to their score. They were up once again.

But before the final second ticked away, five points were added to her sister's team. Naminé's eyes widened as time ran out.

Roxas lost.

Naminé released a breath she didn't even know she was holding. As the loud buzzer sounded and the arena lit up, Riku was mobbed by his two teammates and fell to the ground thanks to Kairi jumping on his back. Sora quickly threw himself on top of the two, laughing joyously. Naminé couldn't help but smile at the scene: they looked like a bunch of kids again.

Not even a minute later, both teams reentered the lobby. Though defeated, Roxas and his team had smiles on their faces. Kairi, on the other hand, stole a piggyback ride from Riku as Sora jumped around excitedly.

"I can't believe we won!" Sora laughed as he pumped his fists in the air. "You're the best, Riku!"

"It was Kairi's idea." Riku chuckled. He set Kairi on the ground and rolled his neck.

"That was all you! I just said when we should charge." Kairi threw her arms around Sora, ruffling his hair in joy. Both of them were breathing heavily.

"I was wondering if you forgot about it. We were down, after all."

"We had to wait for the right moment, Riku. We got lucky."

"Yeah you did!" Axel coughed mockingly. "We had that one in the bag. How did that happen?"

"We had a better plan." Riku shrugged.

"Yeah, we got outplayed." Roxas scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "I thought five seconds was short enough. You guys covered that ground really fast."

"I think if we saw it coming it wouldn't have turned out that way." Xion sighed. "Our plan was sound; you guys just picked up on the weakness of it."

"Yup. Though Kairi wasn't supposed to give you guys a point." Sora teased, poking at the redhead's side.

"I was always supposed to be the decoy!"

"Yeah, but you weren't supposed to get shot!" Riku laughed. "Either way, we won."

"Congratulations on that too." Naminé giggled, finally speaking up. The group simultaneously turned toward her.

"Naminé!" Sora pulled the blonde into a bear hug.

She grimaced. He was sweatier than he looked. "You guys played well!" She politely pulled herself from his arms.

"Did you see us? We were so extreme!" Sora narrowed his eyes and deepened his voice as he spoke.

"That was the craziest and most productive five seconds I think I ever witnessed. You guys moved really fast." She turned toward her sister. "Nice job out there. You brought honor to the family name." She joked.

Kairi mockingly bowed before laughing with her twin.

"Don't we get a compliment too?" Xion placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder.

Naminé smiled in return. "Of course. You guys did great! That second game was pretty short."

"It was!" Sora tucked his hands behind his head and grinned. "If we based wins on total score, you guys would have won it all."

"Winning is winning." Roxas shrugged. "We'll get the next one. You guys won't be so lucky next year."

"We'll be ready for you guys." Riku said as he deflected a jab from Xion. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm thirsty as hell. Be back in five."

"Finally. I wasn't going to be the guy who was going to admit that first." Axel took off his gear and handed it to the nearby attendant. "Back in a sec!"

Naminé watched most of her friends file out of the dark lobby, electing to just wait for their return. Roxas surprised her when he dropped into the seat besides her, his head hanging low.

"We had that." Roxas chuckled to himself. "I should have known five seconds was more than enough time for Sora and Riku."

Naminé tilted her head, trying to get a good look at him. "Don't beat yourself up over it. Luck just wasn't on your side."

"I don't know. Maybe if I hadn't yelled so loud they wouldn't have known it was safe to run ahead." The boy threw his head back with a sigh. "We just got outplayed. They had the better plan."

Naminé's brow furrowed. "That's not to say your plan wasn't good! I know for a fact that I wouldn't have thought to do that. It was quick and smart thinking."

Roxas grew quiet, staring emptily at the girl beside him. He chuckled. "Who are you?"

Naminé leaned away, taken aback. "What? What are you talking about?"

"The Naminé I know would be making fun of me right now, not trying to make me feel better. Did you replace her?"

Naminé's smile dropped slightly. Is that what he thought of her? "Well if that's what you want, fine!"

Roxas interrupted quickly. "I didn't mean it like that!"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. I'm actually glad that you're not trying to piss me off." Roxas laughed as Naminé rolled her eyes. "You just surprised me."

Visibly calming, Naminé relaxed in her chair, averting her gaze. "It shouldn't have. I'm always this nice."

"Not from my experience. Are you saying I was wrong about you?"

"If you stick around long enough, you'll find that out on your own." After realizing what she said, Naminé quickly stood up. "But that's beside the point! Cheer up already! It's only a game, so there's no need to beat yourself up over it!"

Roxas shook his head, snickering to himself. He sat still for a moment before shooting out of his chair. "Who said I was beating myself up over it?"

"That pathetic face of yours, that's what!" The blonde slowly stepped away from Roxas, a smile tugging her lips. "You would take something like this so seriously that you'd let it get you down."

The conversation ended when their friends returned. Roxas directed his eyes towards Xion, who tossed him a water bottle. He caught it easily and immediately took a few gulps. Axel soon dragged him away to where Sora and Riku were, forcing him to participate in a conversation.

"I hope you didn't get bored watching us." Xion had an apologetic look on her face as she approached Naminé. "I know we were in there for a while."

Naminé quickly shook her head. "It was fun to watch, really! I can think of a number of things far worse than watching my friends duke it out in the laser tag arena."

Xion walked over to the wall where her laser tag gear was hanging, lifting it off the hook. "You want to know what's more fun?" Xion sauntered over with a wide smile on her face. "Playing the game."

Naminé quickly backpedaled. "W-What? I only came here to watch."

"Only came here to watch?" Xion repeated. "That's such a waste! You're here now! You might as well try it, right?"

"I agreed to watch though, not to play…" The blonde shifted uncomfortably. "I'm wearing a dress… I can't play."

"What's this?" Kairi came over, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Are you going to play the next round, Naminé?"

"I'm trying not to…"

"Don't you think she should?" Xion asked the other twin. "I could definitely use a breather, after all."

Naminé's eyes widened. "Wait, you're sitting out? I don't want you to sit because of me! I'm definitely not playing!"

Kairi eyed her sister. "Nam, don't be so mean. Xion needs a break. Are you really going to deny that?"

Naminé looked helplessly between the two girls. "Why don't you wait up for her? I'm sure all of you could use a couple minutes to rest!"

"Not really." Kairi shrugged. "We're all ready to go. Right boys?"

The guys looked up in a collective group. "Huh?"

"You guys ready to play?" Kairi repeated.

"Ready when you are!" Sora answered for them with a thumbs up.

Kairi turned to her sister, taking the equipment from Xion. "I think that says it all."

"Wait a second!" Naminé threw her hands up defensively. "What's Xion going to do? We can't just leave her!"

"Why? We left you." Kairi said bluntly.

Xion chose to answer for herself. "I'll just watch this game. And quit worrying, you're not leaving me out. I'll be back for the last game. We got five, remember?"

Naminé stared at the black vest in Kairi's arms, her heart pounding nervously. "So I only have to play one game?"

Xion giggled. "I was hoping we could team up for the last game. Four versus three, with you on our team."

"And before you start on how that's unfair to us," Kairi added, "We're completely fine with it. Don't be a party pooper." Kairi smiled, remembering their earlier joke. "Don't dishonor our family name!"

"Are you ladies ready to go?" Axel joined the small gathering of girls with Roxas following closely behind.

Xion turned to answer him. "Yup! Naminé's playing for me this round, just as we discussed."

"Wait, what? Really?" Roxas stepped between his friends.

"Oh cool! Don't worry, Naminé! Roxas will tell you what to do, right?" Axel thumped Roxas hard on the back.

Roxas met Naminé's eyes and gulped. "Huh? Why isn't Xion playing?"

"She's taking a break!" Kairi dumped the gear into Roxas's arms. "Teach my sister the basics. I'm gonna have a talk with my team now that there's a pair of fresh legs on the enemy's side."

Roxas turned to Axel and Xion. "Why didn't I—"

"We talked about it when we got drinks. It's no big deal; I'll be back next game. All four of us will play them." Xion walked over to Naminé and pushed her forward. "Go on! Put on your gear!"

Naminé stared at Roxas helplessly like a deer in the headlights. "Can't you tell them—"

"I'm gonna talk to the attendant and let them know we'll be ready in a couple minutes! Hurry up now!" Axel patted the pair's shoulders, grinning cheekily. "Come on, Xion. You need to let him know we'll need another vest for next game too."

Roxas could only watch as his friends walked off, forcing him to help Naminé. He turned to her with a confused look. "Um… so you're actually playing?"

Naminé nodded slowly, taking the vest from Roxas. The laser gun dropped to the floor, hanging by a long cord. "Yeah. I sort of got ambushed." Lifting the black vest over her head, Naminé settled the heavy gear over her body, shrugging into it. "Am I doing this right?"

"Yeah, just buckle the sides…" Roxas reached over and buckled the straps around Naminé's waist. "Have you even played before?"

"Never, actually." Naminé looked over at her sister, but Kairi didn't look back. She was too busy laughing over something Riku said.

"So you're completely clueless." Roxas sighed.

"Why do you say it like that? I can learn the rules!" Naminé spoke indignantly, her voice dropped into a low hiss.

"Why are you whispering?"

"I don't know! To make it seem like we're talking strategy?" Naminé threw the excuse out there, hoping Roxas would buy it.

He rolled his eyes. "Right. You have yet to take a step inside there and we're talking strategy."

"Roxas! You're free to show Naminé the arena!" Xion called from the counter. He nodded.

"Well, looks like you're really playing." Roxas fixed the vest on his own body and beckoned Naminé to follow. "Come on. I'm apparently supposed to teach you how to play. As if I didn't teach you enough already."

"Oh be quiet." Naminé huffed. "You volunteered to teach me how to drive, for one thing. And this right here? It's not my choice."

Naminé shuffled behind Roxas, undecided on how to hold the gun connected to her vest. She followed his lead and stepped into the arena, feeling a blast of cold air hit her. She shivered slightly; she didn't expect it to be so much cooler than the lobby. She figured she'd be more grateful when she was running around.

The arena seemed much smaller inside, but the barriers were much larger than she would have guessed. The electronic music in the background was lowered to a hum, surely to allow Roxas to speak at a normal volume. From the door, Roxas led her straight along a waist-high barricade, stopping at a large plastic replica of a crystal. The fake stone sat in a depression in the wall, just slightly inside of it.

Naminé watched Roxas bend down and insert the pistol-shaped laser into a holster. A light on his gun shone red before turning green after a few seconds. Roxas then lifted a headset that hung just slightly above the slot he chose. He placed it over his ears and turned to Naminé. "You're going to need a headset. Do what I did."

Naminé repeated Roxas's actions, choosing the slot adjacent to his as if it mattered. She was relieved to see her own gun glow red, then green. She put on the headset. "Okay. Now what?"

"That's how we enter the game." Roxas answered. "The first thing you do when you come in here is charge up and get a headset."

"Charge up?" Naminé jumped on Roxas's strange choice of words.

"Yup. Whenever you get shot, you have to recharge at one of the stations. This is the first charge station in our territory. The other two are there," Roxas pointed to a lightning bolt two o'clock from their position, "and there, at the five o'clock. You usually recharge at the nearest station, but sometimes you can use your death as a way of moving safely. Remember that."

"Right." Naminé nodded, looking back and forth between the two charging stations. Both of them seemed to be in rather vulnerable places. "Why are they so… out in the open? There's no wall protecting it."

"There are walls nearby, and that's good enough." Roxas began walking to the far station, expecting Naminé to follow. "There's a three second grace period after your recharge so you have time to find cover. It also prevents people from being cheap by picking people off as soon as they recharge. You recharge the same way we did at the first station: crouch down, insert your laser into the slot, and wait for the light on your gun to turn from red to green. You'll also hear a noise on your headset. I can't really describe it, but… you'll know."

Naminé bit down a smile. "Well, that helps. You're so descriptive."

Roxas smiled wryly before redirecting attention to her vest. "Speaking of headsets, you'll also hear a sound when you get shot. It should sound like an explosion."

Naminé didn't exactly approve of that method. Whose idea was to use a sound indicator when loud music blasted in the background? "Will anything else tell me I've been hit?"

"Your gun light will turn from green to red." Roxas brought his laser to eye level. "See the lights on my headset? They also turn red when I'm killed. It's a way for teammates to know whether or not their teammates are live… and I guess for enemies too. It confirms the kill for them, since there's no noise for when you successfully take someone out."

Naminé observed her vest. "Can they shoot me anywhere?"

"No." Roxas shook his head and pointed to a circle on his chest, just above his heart. It was about twice the size of her fist. "They have to hit right here. It's a bigger target than you think. They can also shoot you in the back," Roxas turned around, showing the much larger circle on the vest, "that's probably the easiest way of killing someone. It's practically your whole back."

"So can I just cover the vest and be fine?"

"Nope. They can shoot your headset too." Roxas pointed to the round earmuffs. "It's only one shot to any of the areas. They'll get you, I promise."

"You say that like you want me to get shot." Naminé crossed her arms.

"I don't. You're on my team." Roxas chuckled. "Anyway, Sora and his team will have different colors just in case you can't tell. Their life lights will be blue. When you successfully kill them, the light turns orange. So if you see blue, shoot. If you see green, it's a teammate. If you see orange, it means they've been killed. If you see red—"

"Then I let my teammate know they need to recharge, or recharge myself." Naminé finished.

"Right." Roxas nodded. "What else am I missing?"

"Are the crystals significant at all?" Naminé pointed to her their own when she noticed the other team had one as well.

"Oh, duh! The crystals are the best way of getting points. If you shoot it, your team gets five points."

"Instead of just one for shooting a person?"

"Exactly."

Naminé nodded silently. So that's how they lost last game. "Is there anything else I should know about it?"

"Yeah. The way they designed the arena makes it hard for you to shoot it with accuracy unless you stand at a certain angle." Roxas began walking to the enemy crystal, stopping about five meters from it. "See this?" He motioned toward the ground.

Naminé looked down and saw that they were both standing in a rectangle outlined in red and green lights. "What is it?"

"The sweet spot." Roxas smirked. "This is your best shot at the crystal. Any farther back is a very tough shot, even impossible. They put it inside the wall so you can't shoot it from the sides too. The barriers that move? They're intentionally supposed to block the view from the safest spots in the arena. If you want your best shot at the crystal, this is it."

Naminé looked around and crouched behind the waist-high wall in front of her. "Ah. I can't see it from cover."

"Yeah. Your head has to be above the wall to even see it. It's great design on their part. But don't get too cozy with the cover here." Roxas pointed to their sides. "The enemy has a clear shot from the left and right, so camping is pretty much impossible. You have to coordinate your attacks so that all the players have to recharge at the same time, or engaged in other fights, so that someone on the team can have a clean shot."

"So everyone needs to be distracted. Otherwise walking here is almost asking for certain death." Naminé stood completely, adjusting her headset as she looked around.

"It is asking for death. You will get shot here. The net gain, though, is four points in our favor. Unless you're one of the lucky ones who stays long enough to shoot twice. Then the net gain is nine."

"I can't just fire away at it?"

"Nope. There's a five second refractory period. Good luck staying around that long. It takes one second for the enemy to charge, and they're immune to your attacks for three whole seconds because of their grace period. That leaves one second of fair game between the defender and the attacker. The odds aren't exactly in your favor."

"I see." Naminé spun around, taking another look around before speaking to Roxas. "I think that's everything. Anything else I should know about?"

Roxas looked down at the gun in Naminé's hand. "Yeah, just one more thing. Shoot the crystal." Roxas instructed, pointing forward.

Naminé raised her gun in front of her, trying her best to line up her shot. She pulled the trigger, hoping something would happen. Her expectations were met with silence. "Did I hit it?" Naminé tilted her head.

"Obviously not. Nothing happened." Roxas smirked. "Here's a tip: line the shot up with your eyes. There's no recoil, so you don't have to hold it like a normal gun."

Not quite understanding Roxas's instructions, Naminé stretched her arms out and held the gun higher. "Like this?"

"No, I mean line it up with your face." Roxas uncrossed his arms.

Naminé's face scrunched in confusion. "What does that even mean? I'm lining it up with my eyes!"

Sighing, Roxas walked up to Naminé and turned her head with a hand. "Look ahead." He then reached down and grabbed Naminé's shooting hand, and brought it to her right cheek. "See what I mean? With your eyes lined up, you'll actually be able to see the laser."

Naminé stood stiffly, not even listening to the words that left Roxas's mouth. She was too busy paying attention to their close proximity; his face was just centimeters to her left, and she could feel his hand lightly pressing against her lower back. She could even feel his warm breath on her cheek.

She became acutely aware of her slowed breathing and a hotness burning her face. Her heart, while beating normally, seemed to get louder and louder with every contraction. Naminé heard a hum of words, but she was never able to comprehend them; they seemed to go in one ear and out the other. What in the world was Roxas talking about?

"Naminé."

Naminé blinked. That was her name.

"Naminé? Hey!"

"Huh?" Naminé sputtered dumbly, finding Roxas's eyes in the dark. Were they always that blue?

Roxas groaned. "Really? Did you really just space out? Please tell me you were paying attention." He scratched his head in frustration.

"I was!" Naminé lied indignantly.

"Then do what I told you to do." Roxas ordered.

Naminé drew from the last thing she remembered and brought the laser to her face. She stood there dumbly until Roxas growled.

"You weren't paying attention."

Naminé rolled her eyes. "Fine, I got distracted! Just tell me again." She said impatiently.

Roxas walked closer and placed his hands on Naminé's hips. He didn't hear her sharp intake of breath. "I said to turn your body like this. The goal is to make yourself as small a target as possible. Bring your shoulder and hip forward," Roxas pushed one of Naminé's shoulders, "and set your other side back. Hold the gun with both hands so your elbow covers the sensor over your heart and keep the gun steady."

Shaking away a few strange thoughts, Naminé gulped and nodded. "Right. Small target."

"If you shoot like this, not only does your accuracy increase, but the only viable target is on your back and the one side of your headset. It just so happens they're on opposite sides. Now shoot the crystal." Roxas took a few steps back to watch.

This time, when Naminé pressed the trigger, she saw the laser's trajectory. Though she missed the crystal, she was able to correct her aim quickly and easily landed her second shot. The crystal glowed as a light sound effect played in Naminé's headset. She smiled and turned to Roxas. "I got it!"

"That was the plan." Roxas laughed. "I only had to tell you what to do twice too. That's an improvement." He turned around to walk back to the door where they entered.

"Is a compliment so much to ask for?" Naminé followed after him, taking her headset off.

"Is that what you're doing? Fishing for compliments?" Roxas chuckled. He stopped midstride and turned around to pat Naminé on the head. "How about I give you a compliment after we win?"

She smacked his hand away. "Don't patronize me. And I changed my mind; a compliment from you is worthless."

Roxas clicked his tongue, holding the door open for Naminé. "Hey, be nice! We're teammates now. The bad guys are on the other team."

"I'll believe that when you prove you can resist being a total asshole for at least three consecutive minutes."

Half an hour later, Naminé found herself breathing heavily on the ground. A stinging cramp ailed her abdomen, a pain she hoped to relieve with a little pressure. She watched her teammates run by her every now and then, none of them bothering to see if she was alright. Despite that, she smiled.

Laser tag was so much fun.

She lost the first game with Roxas and Axel, but with Xion on their side, their team's production only got better. The opposing team still managed to keep it within seven points; after all, an additional enemy also provided another target.

Exhaling slowly, Naminé peered over a low wall before ducking behind it again. Sora was just a couple steps away, shooting at one of her teammates. She could probably land a shot if he remained oblivious. As carefully as possible, Naminé crawled closer to Sora before jumping up, aiming the laser just as Roxas had taught her. Elation spread through her as she watched Sora's light change from blue to orange.

"Ha! Payback!" Naminé shouted. Her hand flew to her cramping side. Ouch.

"I'll get you next time!" Sora ran off with a smile, obviously unbothered by the snipe. Naminé, on the other hand, ran as fast as she could to her closest teammate's location. She made sure to run around the obstacles: jumping over them was out of the question.

She fell into a crouch next to Roxas, who'd occasionally trade shots with Kairi on the other side of his wall. She noted the clock, eying the pair of threes on the countdown.

"I think we have this one in the bag." Naminé shouted over the loud techno music as Roxas resumed cover.

He nodded. "Yeah, but it's still fun to shoot at Sora and your sister."

Naminé crawled over and stole a peek around their defense. Apparently Roxas got Kairi before she got him. "Where's Riku?"

"Xion's got him pinned over there." Roxas pointed across the arena where said players were shooting. The pair was using the same barrier, laughing in their own little game. Roxas rolled his eyes, raised his gun, and took a few shots. He smirked when he landed one. "Ha!"

Naminé yanked Roxas down by the waistline of his shorts. "You're such a party pooper! They were having fun!"

Roxas pulled himself into a kneeling position, rubbing his butt. "So was I." he muttered.

"You've got some serious jealousy—" Naminé didn't have the chance to finish her sentence. Sora and Kairi came around their wall at the same time, picking Roxas and Naminé off before they could even raise a gun in opposition. The new couple howled in laughter.

"Told you I would get you!" Sora pointed to Naminé, grinning like a mad man.

"Maybe you guys should focus on the other team instead of each other." Kairi teased as time wound down. The two blondes looked at each other and laughed and spoke simultaneously.

"He started it."

"She started it."

The loud buzzer sounded overhead, abruptly cutting the music. The final score flashed on a nearby screen: Naminé and company had taken the game with a nine point lead.

The whole group convened in the lobby, exiting through the doors they came through. Each of them shed their gear, thanking the attendant on the way out. The group slowly split apart as the boys began to animatedly tease each other over actions in-game. Naminé smiled tiredly as she watched Axel ridicule Roxas, making fun of him for getting so into the game.

What a strange day. Naminé thought absently. The blonde dropped into a nearby chair, realizing how much her feet hurt. Playing laser tag in a dress and sandals was probably not her best decision of her life, but she didn't regret it. She had fun, a feat most surprising considering the amount of time she spent with Roxas.

Her eyes found him again, reminding her of her previous reactions to his proximity. There was something different about him that she couldn't quite figure out. She realized that she was feeling a little annoyed. Why did he have that effect on her earlier? Why did she even react that way? Questions bounced around her mind, and none of them had a good answer. Was she warming up to him? Maybe that was it. Their conversations were filled with useless banter and snappy comments, but Naminé couldn't really claim to dislike him anymore.

Sure, he was a cocky condescending asshole half the time, but it didn't even bother her anymore. So maybe that was it. Maybe she was just getting used to being around him.

But that couldn't be the case if he was an asshole only half the time. He was the one who changed, right? He'd proven himself to be a decent teacher, displaying that he was actually capable of being remotely amiable.

That, however, did not answer the question that had sat in the back of her mind during the laser tag games: what the hell happened during those few minutes before they started playing? Naminé could only come up with one answer, but she wasn't going to be the one to accept it right away.

"It's not like I actually like him now…" she assured herself.

"What was that?"

Naminé jumped at the question. How did she not see Roxas approaching her? "Nothing. Just talking to myself."

"I wish I could come up with something witty for that, but I'm empty." Roxas chuckled. He stopped right in front of her and held out a piece of paper. "Scorecards just finished printing. Your KD ratio was only negative two."

"My what?" Naminé closed her eyes. Did he just speak in a different language?

"Your kill-death ratio was only negative two."

The seated blonde shook her head. "Is that good?"

"It means you died two more times than you killed someone."

"Oh." Naminé frowned slightly. "So that's not good."

"It's not, but it's not bad either." Roxas grinned. "You did decently for a beginner, better than what I expected."

"And what exactly were you expecting?"

"I assumed you were going to be a deadbeat on the team." Roxas grinned, holding his hands up for a high five. "Congratulations on exceeding expectations!"

"Shut up." Naminé tried her best to fight down the smile that inevitably formed on her face. Ugh. She had to get away from this boy. When she attempted to walk away from him, he blocked her path.

"We're actually that way." He pointed behind her with a scorecard. Naminé spun around and saw the rest of their friends leaving through a side door.

"Oh." Naminé looked at Roxas for a moment before walking toward the door, ultimately deciding that she wouldn't thank him. Roxas followed closely behind.

"Hey, Naminé." Roxas took a few quick steps and walked alongside her. He folded the scorecard and dumped it in the trash as they passed. "You did pretty well out there. Chin up! It was only a game!"

Naminé stopped in her tracks, recognizing the speech. "Who said I was down?"

Roxas merely smiled and walked on ahead, holding the door open. As Naminé approached, he released his hold. He still laughed even when she caught the door. "Your face." He retorted childishly. He cackled louder when he dodged a smack.

"One day I'm going to teach you how to properly hold a door for a lady." She muttered to him. She made her way over to the rest of the group, briskly passing the boy she couldn't quite understand.

Roxas ran his hand through his hair, a teasing smile on his face. "You'll have to find a lady first. I'm quite sure you're not referring to yourself."

Redeeming Endeavor: Thanks to anyone who favored or subscribed to LPA or myself! I can't believe so many of you are following this story. Last chapter saw the favorites exceed the alerts, which I thought was interesting :-)

I'd like to point out elspoek1, PEANUT v1.2, Spellbound a.k.a soragirl4ever, VARIABEL, Ash09, sora93kairi, shadowwulfx, Burai Stelar, DoC, Zoe the Hunter, Hegodart, Super Sally, Allied Forces, Stonekipsta, Morgead'sgirl, Gear001, TwinToshiro, KurukiXV, Draco Oblivion, Gumi Harue, roxasXnamine-ftw, Dramamamapwnsall, nine-taileddemonfox1597, TheShallowAbyss, Tenshi Yami- Angel of Darkness, Shire Folk, Chibi McFu, and Muledragon for taking the time to review and talk to me!

Chapter Data: Word Count- 6,717. Total Editing Time- 429 minutes.

Harmless Author Fact #13: Currently, my favorite TV show is House MD, with Modern Family closely behind. I also love Fringe, enjoying Terra Nova, and miss Heroes. I watch Glee too.

Take care, and see you around!