Mei's POV-
"I forgot to give this back to you," Roxas said bashfully as he pulled out the pendant my parents left for me.
So that's where it went! Good thing I left before my Aunt woke up.
"Thank you Roxas," I replied as he slipped it over my head. I pulled my hair out and felt the cold metal of the chain on the back of my neck. I tucked the pendant into my shirt. "I have to make sure no one will be tempted to steal it."
"Where'd you get it?"
"My parents left it for me to have…" I smiled sadly at the ground.
Ah, let's not think about this now.
I shook my head a little with my smile still on my face. "Are you done with your mission already Roxas?" He nodded and I linked my arm with his. "Great! Now we can hangout before we meet up with Axel!"
We walked around town for a while. It was like I was giving him a tour, but with a mix of my own experiences like falling out of the tree in front of the book store when I was ten because I was dared to climb the tree by Hayner.
"Your friends sound pretty energetic," Roxas commented.
"You don't know the half of it." I laughed. "They are amazing people, though Hayner can be tiring to deal with when you butt heads every once in a while."
"Are they still out of town?"
I nodded. "They're coming back in two days though! Maybe I can introduce you to them!"
"We'll see." Roxas' stomach growled. He wrapped his arms around his stomach and blushed. "S-Sorry."
I laughed. "Hungry I see. Don't worry, we're actually nearby my house." I waved him to follow me and he did.
"I'm home!" I shouted into the house. There was no response.
She must have stepped out.
I turned to welcome Roxas to my house, but he was gone. I looked around and found him in the living room looking at pictures of me as a child with my friends.
"You make it seem like you've never seen normal house décor before," I pointed out.
Roxas looked at me. "I haven't. This is the first real home I've been to. Everything at headquarters is just one color…pretty plain and empty really."
Sounds more like a prison to me…
"If you need me, I'll be on the other side in the kitchen getting something ready for lunch." I walked into the kitchen and decided to prepare curry rice.
"What's this?" Roxas asked, sitting at the kitchen table where a plate of curry rice was.
"Seriously? What do you they feed you? Geez, this is curry rice. It's a simple dish." I sat down across from him. "It's good. Try it!"
I doubt he'd know if he had any allergies… Let's hope not.
"Ah!" Roxas looked pleased with the flavors.
We talked as we ate.
"I didn't see any pictures of your dad," Roxas said. "Your mom is pretty though. I see a little resemblance between you two."
There is no picture of my mother on display though… He must be talking about my aunt.
"That's actually my aunt, Roxas. I live with her."
"Oh… Why don't you have any pictures with your parents?"
"I have one…in my room… Other than that, we don't really have any."
"I see…"
"Here, let me get it." I went up to my room and came back down with the old photo in my hands. I handed it to Roxas, warning him to take care when handling it.
"You look a lot like your mom!"
I leaned against my fist as I propped my elbow on the table. "Yeah…"
If you count hair color as matching right now. Look at me again after puberty fully comes in.
"Where did you inherit your irises from?"
"My aunt told me it was a birth mark or something."
My father had green eyes while my mother had blue.
"Still, the resemblance is there..."
I can pick out a few resemblances from each. I probably inherited more looks from their parents.
"What about you? How were you born?"
Roxas handed me back the photo. "I don't know… I just sort of appeared. I was just born like this."
I tried to imagine a woman giving birth to a full-grown teen Roxas.
He probably doesn't mean he was born in this way.
"Magic really is something…"
"It must be nice to have parents."
"Yeah…it was nice…"
"Was?"
Huh? Why can't I remember them that well right now? Some things are really hazy but…
I shut my eyes and gritted my teeth.
That night is still vividly in my memories.
"Mei? Are you okay?"
I looked up to see Roxas get up. He was worried about me. "I'm fine. I was just thinking."
Roxas seemed hesitant to ask again, but did so anyways. "What did you mean by 'was'?"
I sighed, standing up to put the dishes away. "My parents died when I was young and I had to move in with my aunt here. She's all the family I have left."
"…" Roxas didn't speak. He just gazed down sadly as I washed the plates. I made sure everything was back where it was supposed to be before I decided to break the silence.
"Roxas, it was a long time ago. I'm older now. I miss them a lot, but I can't change the past. I have to keep moving forward."
"I shouldn't have brought it up…"
"You were bound to find out." We went to the front door to leave just as the door opened to reveal my aunt.
"Oh, Mei, you're ho- Oh hello." My mom stared at Roxas.
I stood between the two. "Aunt Molly, this is Roxas. Roxas, meet my aunt."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Roxas," my aunt greeted, shaking his hand.
"Same…" Roxas looked uncomfortable and shy.
"We were just about to leave." I grabbed Roxas' wrist and tugged him along. "I'll be home for dinner! Bye!"
Axel, Roxas, and I had our usual meeting with our normal jokes and outrageous stories. Roxas never told Axel that I knew about them now, but it was okay. It's only been a day. I said my goodbyes to the duo and made my way down the stairs to the ground level.
Axel's POV-
"Something bugging you, Roxas?" I asked, noticing him look more down than usual. "Woman problems?"
"Yeah…"
"…"
Huh?
"Wait, what?"
Roxas straightened his back and looked up at the sun. "I made Mei sad today. I made her remember something unpleasant…"
"What was that?"
"…her parents are dead. She lives with her only relative left, her aunt."
I wouldn't have guessed that she had that kind of backstory…now I'm bummed.
"I just want to get her to smile again…"
I wrapped my arm around his shoulders, getting closer to him. "You know what can get a girl to smile? A gift."
"A gift? Like what?"
"Something she likes. Maybe not sea salt ice cream though since we have that everyday already."
"I got it! Thanks Axel! I'll see you later!" He got up and ran off to go do whatever he thought up in that head of his.
Time to go face the wrath of woman herself.
I summoned a portal of darkness and walked through it to appear behind Mei. I put my hand on her shoulder. She jumped and I blocked her from kneeing me in the crotch.
"AXEL! When did you get there?!"
"I know you know."
Mei calmed down. "Roxas just told you?"
"Yeah…let's go with that."
"What'd you need? Or are you going to yell at me about finding out…"
"Let's take a seat." I motioned over to a nearby bench.
I asked her about yesterday and she explained how Roxas saved her from a Veil Lizard. I explained to her how creatures like that are formed.
"Darkness in people's hearts…" Mei put a hand up to her heart. "So if I were to succumb to the darkness and have my heart stolen by a Heartless… I would…" I nodded. "That sounds so unpleasant."
"After tomorrow, I will be leaving for a place called Castle Oblivion."
"Where's that?"
"Doesn't matter. It's not a place you can easily reach yourself. I'll be there on a mission and I don't know how long it'll take."
"Did you tell Roxas yet?"
"I'll tell him tomorrow. I just wanted to ask you to leave earlier than usual tomorrow so I could have a talk with him alone."
"No problem!"
This is the girl that makes Roxas worry…
"Make sure you don't get into any more fights while I'm gone. Get that memorized. I won't be around to go beating up some punk kids."
Mei laughed. "I'll do my best."
She makes me worry too…
"Just make sure that you stay safe yourself…" I looked over to Mei, surprised at her words. "You better come back." She stood up and held out her hand to me. Well her pinky finger anyways. "Okay?"
Like some childish promise could affect the future.
Despite how ridiculous I found this, I happily did it anyways. "You can't get rid of me that easily. You better take care of Roxas while I'm away! He better not be deprived of sea salt ice cream!"
Mei laughed as I stood up. I was about to say my goodbyes for the day to her, but she caught me off guard with a hug. I slowly put my arms around her after getting over the initial shock. She let go of me and smiled at me warmly. "I'm glad we met that day on the clock tower. I got to meet Roxas because of you too. This isn't goodbye, but until we meet again. So see you around."
"See you…" Mei walked off, leaving me with a warm feeling.
What is this? I'm just faking these emotions. I can't be…
Mei's POV-
Axel genuinely thinks of me as his friend! He even told me that he was going to be away! He didn't lie about being a carpenter or try to convince me to leave their lives.
I was in a great mood. Nothing could make me feel down now.
"Mei!"
"Huh? Roxas?" I turned around, hearding Roxas' voice. I saw him run over with something behind his back.
"I'm sorry for making you remember bad memories earlier about your family."
So much for my good mood…
I frowned and looked away from him. "It's fine…"
"Whenever you get sad thinking about them just look at this." I looked over at Roxas, confused just as he revealed what he was hiding behind his back. I gasped. "Y-You actually got it?"
In Roxas' hand was the bear from the arcade's claw machine.
"It took some time, but I managed to get it!" Roxas grinned proudly as I took the bear from him. "When you miss someone you love, just look at this bear and hug it. Just know that no matter the distance, they will always be with you."
I looked up at Roxas feeling weird. My vision was getting blurry and I blinked to feel wet tears roll down my face.
That was something cheesy Roxas…
"I made you more upset, didn't I?"
"No." I wiped my eyes and hugged the bear. "I'm really happy Roxas." I walked over to him and embraced him with a hug. Just like Axel, he was stiff, but loosened up and hugged me back. Unlike my hug with Axel, we held each other longer. I didn't want to leave his warm, strong arms. My emotions were all over the place. I just knew I was satisfied with my life in this moment overall.
When I got home later that day, I put the bear beside me as I slept. I thought back to the hug and blushed, pulling the bear to me.
I wish you were both alive to have met Roxas…mother…father…
Roxas' POV-
I was flung backwards across the floor by a Soldier. "Ugh." The soldier came at me with their claws at the ready.
"Aero!" A gust of wind shielded me and pushed the Soldier back. I looked over at the source of the aero magic to see Mei running over in her school uniform.
"Are you alright, Roxas?" she asked me as she helped me up.
"M-Mei?! Since when can you use magic?" I was shocked.
"Did you hit your head when you fell? I've always been able to use magic. Geez, let's finish off this Soldier so we can meet up with Axel with some sweet after mission treats."
Am I missing something here?!
"I'll cover you with barrier when you get close. Once the Soldier gets caught off balance from hitting the barrier, go in for the kill with your combo," Mei instructed me. I nodded, going along with this strange scenario.
I dashed over to the Soldier who ran in turn to me. "Barrier!" I was covered by a shield that knocked the Soldier down on the ground after hitting it claws on the shield. I went in for the kill and defeated it. Mei ran over to me and jumped within a meter of me causing me to catch her around her waist as she wrapped her arms around my neck.
"You did it, Roxas! We're a good team, aren't we?"
I put Mei down. "Y-Yeah."
"You don't look good, Roxas… Here." Mei put her hands on my shoulders and her palms glowed green. The light pulsated onto my body. She was curing my health. "Better?" I nodded, not really sure what to do other than that. "Let's go pick up the ice cream this time then." She linked her arm with mine and we walked off. "We've been making Axel pay for the past week, not that I mind that. Haha!"
This is strange…
The entire walk to the store and to the clock tower, Mei was hugging my arm to her, leaning her cheek into my shoulder. People gave us looks that made me feel embarrassed, but I didn't tell her to stop.
Axel was already waiting for us. He whistled, "Have fun in paradise you two love-birds?"
"L-Love-birds?"
Mei let go of me and shoved Axel playfully. "Go find a girl already or you'll die alone."
"I'll have you know! I have the ladies lining up! I'm choosing not to get a relationship right now because your kind is too complicated."
"Well, on behalf of my kind…" Mei bowed. "We are sorry and thank you for not pursuing us. All the lives you have spared by not going after us. It's like a dream."
"I am great, aren't I?"
Like a dream? That's what this feels like right now.
"Roxas, sit down." Mei said to me. I sat down next to Axel with Mei on the other side of Axel. They both frowned.
"Are you mad at Mei?" Axel asked me before turning to Mei. "Did you two fight?"
"We didn't," Mei replied, frowning at me. "He was acting weird during the mission too."
"What?" I asked.
What am I doing wrong?
"You're not going to sit next to your girlfriend? I mean, it's fine not to be together all the time, but you told me in confidence that you didn't want me to be a cock-block all the time."
"Really?" Mei asked, snickering. "How cute."
Girlfriend?
"He loves you that much, Mei. You're both taking each other away from me. Ah, Roxas, I'm surprised you're not trying to kill me for telling Mei what you told me."
"I-It's fine." I didn't understand what was happening still, but I changed my seat to sit next to Mei and felt instantly calm and relaxed. After eating our ice cream, I laid my head on Mei's lap and closed my eyes while she and Axel talked about missions. Everything felt great in the world. I felt content even if I had so many unanswered questions.
I opened my eyes a little, feeling Mei's delicate finger tips brushing the hair on my forehead.
"It's about time to RTC," she said to me.
"Oh…" I sat up and rubbed my eyes, yawning.
"Sleep well?" she asked, getting up, dusting off her skirt.
"Yeah… I didn't even know I knocked out," I replied, getting up myself to see Axel waiting for us.
He rolled his eyes and opened a portal, stepping halfway through it.
"Just kiss already and head back before they start to notice," Axel said before leaving.
"H-Hey! That's none of your business!" Mei shouted after him, her face flushed with pink shades. I looked at her, confused. She looked over at me shyly and tucked her hair behind one ear. I didn't know what I was doing at this point. My body moved itself and I put my hands on her waist, pulling her to me. Our faces were slowly getting closer, Mei's eyes closing as she puckered up her lips. I think I was doing the same thing too. Our lips started to close the distance and-
"Ugh!" I rubbed my head to see the floor from my room in the castle. "A dream?" I panicked. "Nobodies don't dream though!"
Axel and I were assigned for the same mission. I decided to ask him about my dream after we finished.
"That's the last of them. Whew!" Axel said, wiping his forehead.
"Yeah…"
"Something wrong?"
"Nobodies…aren't supposed to dream, right?"
"Not really, unless you're remembering your past…"
"…I see."
"Did you remember something?"
"No, I just had this really strange dream…"
"You and strange? Well I'm all ears."
I took a deep breath. "Well…for starters, I should tell you that I told Mei about…us…"
After explaining what I told Mei and my dream, Axel look at me thoughtfully.
"What do you think?" I asked him.
"I think you really like Mei."
"Of course I do. She's my friend."
"You want to be around her as much as possible too."
"…I just get worried she'll be picked on if we leave her alone…"
Axel started laughing and said not to worry about the dream I had.
Later on we met up with Mei and I felt like I needed to do something but couldn't and it made me feel bad that I couldn't do the thing I didn't know I wanted to do. What is this feeling called? Anxiousness?
Mei decided to head on out earlier than usual, saying she had to help her aunt with dinner today. She gave Axel a fist-bump and patted my shoulder before she left. A part of me wished she gave me a hug before she left and not some measly pat.
I sighed louder than I meant to, causing Axel to start laughing at me for some reason. After he quieted down things became peaceful.
"You know… I'm going to miss this ice cream thing we all do…"
"Huh?" I looked up at him in confusion as Axel just continued to stare forward.
"Gonna be away for a while…starting tomorrow."
"Really…" I felt sad.
"I can fill you in since we're friends. I'm going to be at Castle Oblivion."
"Castle Oblivion?"
I've never heard of that place before.
"The Organization's got a second castle in the World Between Worlds. It's called Castle Oblivion. Got it memorized?"
"I wish somebody told me these things."
No one ever tells me anything…
"Roxas…just stay by Mei's side and protect her while I'm gone. Still keep on the tradition with her until I get back, got it memorized? Don't worry about your dream. I'm starting to understand what's happening now. Try thinking of Mei in a new light instead of what you always see her as."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Axel shook his head and got up. "I gotta head back and get ready. Nothing but fun fun fun…" With that he left, leaving me by myself. I finished my ice cream and saw the word 'WINNER' on it.
I wonder what I won…
"Day 22 – Axel is going someplace called Castle Oblivion. He told me because we're friends. He had to go home early to get ready, and after he left I noticed the word 'WINNER' on my ice cream stick. I wonder what I won… I'll ask him when I see him tomorrow.'
'Axel went from telling me to stay away from Mei from telling me not to leave her side. What's with the change of heart? He's never straightforward with me. What does it mean to look at someone in a 'new light'? It can't be literal… I've been feeling weird around Mei too. If Axel didn't tell me to watch over her, I think I may have avoided her until I got this feeling under control. I better get to sleep now…hopefully I won't have a strange dream again."
The next day I found out Axel had already left by the time I woke up. I wasn't able to ask him about the stick, but I decided to just keep it on me and ask Mei about it later. Today, I was paired to work with Xion. She kept her hood on the entire time and didn't even talk to me once even when I spoke to her. I guess that is just her personality. I just sent her home ahead of me and went off to kill time before meeting up with Mei. I remember she told me her friends were coming back today so I shouldn't take her from them.
Mei's POV-
I was running late to the hideout where everyone agreed to meet today.
Hayner is going to kill me.
I quietly entered and saw their backs to me.
"Where is Mei?" Olette questioned with a worried look on her face. "I hope nothing bad happened while we were gone…"
"How dare she make me wait!" Hayner shouted, stomping his foot around.
"I could have slept in more…," Pence complained, rubbing his eyes.
"That wench," Hayner said, cracking his knuckles. "I'll teach her a lesson she won't forget when she gets here."
I glared daggers into Hayner's back.
Wench?
My eyebrow twitched as I quietly made my way behind my friends. I clasped my hand on Hayner's shoulder harshly huffing and puffing. "I'm ready for my lesson, SENSEI." I made sure I said the last part harshly. "The wench is ready to learn."
He screamed like a girl for a second, on his knees, begging for forgiveness as I laughed evilly.
"Ah, you're here Mei!" Olette said, pushing Hayner off to the side to grab my hands in hers.
I smiled sweetly at her. "How was your trip?"
"I got a bunch of money from my relatives, but other than that I was pretty bored. I wish you came with me…"
"That would have been awkward for me and your family."
Olette puffed her cheeks, displeased with my response. "They adore you!"
Pence stepped on Hayner, who was still on the floor where Olette pushed him, on his way to me. "Anything interesting happen?"
"Nothing like a robbery or explosion," I replied.
Hayner crawled into a corner, growing mushrooms. "I'm being ignored… No one cares about me… I'm a worthless use of space…"
Olette looked over at Hayner and smiled. "Hayner." Hayner turned around with a bright smile full of anticipation. Or it was until Olette's smile turned dark. "Are you growing mushrooms in the hideout again?"
"N-No!" He ripped them all out and threw them away.
Pence and I broke into laughter while Olette questioned how Hayner even got mushrooms to grow.
There's our fearless leader for you.
"Mei, why do you have all these bandages on you?" Pencer asked when I slipped off my jacket. Olette pushed her way through as well as Hayner to get a good look of me.
I thought back to Seifer and his gang and then to Roxas and Axel.
"Seifer was being…a nuisance," I admitted, sighing.
I don't want to bring up Roxas and Axel just yet…
Hayner and Olette's faces darkened and Pence hid behind me in fear of their venomous aura. I laughed awkwardly, trying to calm them down. "It wasn't that bad. I made some new friends and they helped me out." I smiled at the memory of Axel beating up Seifer and Roxas trying to defend me from being dragged away by Seifer.
"You still got hurt though!" Olette pouted at me.
I can't really tell them that most of these injuries were from a battle with a Veil Lizard… Can I? They'll think Seifer did a number on my head.
"We can settle this with his group next time we all meet, okay?" I reasoned. "No reason to waste this reunion on thinking of those pieces of trash." I linked my arm with Olette's. "Come on, let's go down to Market Street and look for any new shipments."
The four of us left. They guys just caught up with each other when Olette and I walked into a store. We later went to an arcade where Hayner challenged me to Dance Dance Revolution, claiming he would wipe the floor with me and embarrass me since I was late to the meeting in the hideout. Only, things didn't go how he wanted them to. I was the one who wiped the floor with him.
"We've been playing here since we were this big," I said to the exhausted Hayner. "You never beat me at it before. Why did you think today would be any different?"
"S-Shut up!" Hayner said breathlessly to me as Olette handed him a water bottle.
"You're not mad at me, are you Hayner?" I gave him a puppy-dog face. He threw his water bottle at me, which I caught. "He's so violent today. He must be going through that rebellious stage." I pulled out a tissue and held it to my face, pretending to sniff as if I was going to cry.
Later in the day, when we were walking home in the same direction, we divided off into two groups by gender. Olette was telling me about how handsome her older cousins became since she saw them last Christmas. I wasn't that interested in hearing about that. When she brought up boys and looks, my mind wandered to Roxas and yesterday when he won me the bear from before just to cheer me up. Olette seemed to catch on that I was not interested in what she was saying but something else because…
"Mei, did you meet someone?"
I tripped, but managed to stabilize myself. "W-What?!"
"Come on. Tell me. Who's this guy that caught your eye?"
"I-I wouldn't really say he caught my eye… He is definitely interesting…"
He wields a keyblade and can use magic.
"So there is a guy! What's his name? Have I met him before? Does he go to our school?"
"U-Umm."
"What are you two yelling about?" Hayner asked.
"Mei likes a boy," Olette said, grabbing and digging her nails into my arm.
"You're into boys?" Pence asked, surprised.
"…I hate you all…" I glared at them.
Hayner put his hands on my shoulders with an award winning grin. "What's his name?"
He wants to beat him up…
I stuck my tongue out and ran away from them.
"Is she eloping with him?!" Olette shouted out.
"I'll kill him! Pence, get my shotgun!" Hayner shouted out.
"You'll need more than a shotgun!" Pence replied as I got away.
I hate them, but I gotta love them.
I met up with Roxas at the usual spot.
"Hey stranger," I said plopping down next to him. He handed me an ice cream. Something seemed off about him today though in that he seemed more on-edge.
"S-So Axel is off on a mission for a while."
"He told me two days ago. He wanted me to give you guys some alone time yesterday."
"Oh, that's why you left early."
"Yeah, are you alright Roxas? You seem kind of stiff today."
"I'm normal. Nothing is wrong. Why would something be wrong?"
I narrowed my eyes at him. "I see… I'm glad to know nothing is wrong with you."
He's totally lying.
We talked about his mission today and how he had a new partner who didn't even talk at all. He didn't even know what they looked like and he wasn't even sure about their gender. He said the name was Xion.
I, in turn, talked about my day with my friends.
"They all think I have a crush on you," I said, laughing. "Isn't that crazy? Good thing I didn't tell them your name. They'd confront you."
"A crush on me?" His voice sounded high all of a sudden. I looked over to see him looking away from me. "That's strange all right."
I furrowed my brows. "How would that be strange? A girl falling for a guy is perfectly normal."
"I didn't mean it like that!"
"What did you mean then?"
"Just that uhh…people don't fall for each other that quickly… People like you."
"People like me?" I looked out in the distance.
You mean people with hearts?
"I may not exactly know the situation of your work and who you are, but no one chooses who they fall in love with… I must sound pretty ignorant, but love comes in all different types of forms… Like you've never thought of dating someone and having a connection… I believe in cliché stuff like finding your true love one day…as silly as it sounds."
"… I don't know things like this…"
"Things like what, Roxas?"
"Things like love." I turned to look at Roxas who looked back at me in fear. "What does it feel like? How do you know you're in it? How do you know if it's possible?"
"…" I didn't know what to say. How could I answer him when there is no real answer in the world? I've never even experienced things like this. Yeah, I've once in a while fangirled with Olette over some cute guys on TV, magazines, and the occasional passerby, but it wasn't actual love.
But…maybe I can begin to understand…
My face flushed and my heart started to race once I realized my thought.
"…At first… I don't think we know if it's true love or if were even in love… Once day we wake up and we realize it's there. We trip down the stairs and out of nowhere we think of that person rather than ourselves."
We ate in silence for a while. Neither one of us wanted to leave and neither one of us knew what we could say.
Do I…like Roxas…? Maybe this is just a hero complex since he saved me… I just like his company…
I thought about the bear he gave me.
You don't just do that to a girl and get her feelings all riled up! I need to test this! I-I mean prove to myself that I just like him as a friend.
"Roxas."
"Yeah?"
I cleared my throat. "Let's go on a date tomorrow after your mission."
"…" He just stared at me as if he was still trying to process what I just said. "…"
"Well?"
He looked away from me, hiding his face. "S-Sure."
We parted shortly after the agreement. I couldn't help but feel accomplished after I got to my front door. Feelings are strange things and I'm still young. I have a lot of time to figure these things out.
Roxas' POV-
The next day was no different. I was sent on another mission with Xion and we finished as normal.
I need to go find Mei…
"I've got someplace to be again today, so go on ahead without me." I didn't expect Xion to reply, just to listen. That's all they've ever done anyways.
As I made my way past them something unexpected happened.
"R…Roxas…"
"Huh?" I turned around to face Xion. "Xion…?"
Was that…?
"Roxas is your name."
"Yeah…" They walked away from me as my vision faded to a scene of me first getting my name and also when I was first being asked to join the Organization.
I shook away those thoughts and ran off to find Mei.
Mei's POV-
I fixed my skirt, feeling a little ridiculous for checking myself every few seconds. Roxas and I agreed to meet in the park and now I just had to wait for him to finish his mission.
I pulled up my socks even though they were fine.
I was wearing a white, short-sleeved dress shirt with a mint-colored brace skirt. I wore thigh-high white socks and black doll shoes. I curled my hair slightly and braided two strands of my hair from each front side of my head to the back to be pinned with a big clip.
"Ah!" I stood up and rose up my arm to wave. "Roxas! Over here!"
He spotted me and ran over. "Hey, sorry for the wait."
"It's nothing. I wasn't even waiting that long."
No way am I telling him I've been here for an hour and a half.
"So, what do we do now?"
"You've never been on a date before, huh?"
"Is it that obvious?" Roxas rubbed the back of his head.
I winked. "Just a little." I grabbed his wrist. "Come on. If we're going to go on a date, you should at least be in something casual too."
"Hey! Hold on!"
.
.
.
"Do…I look weird?"
Roxas walked out wearing cargo shorts, red and black sneakers, an orange tank top with a yellow image of a sunset on the front, and a short sleeved gray sweater that was left unzipped with a matching hood.
He looks more like he lives here now.
"Not at all." I smiled and went over to him, linking arms with him. "I think you look rather handsome in some normal clothes. It's nice to see what's under that entire black cloak."
Roxas blushed lightly from my comment and pulled his hood over his head in an attempt to hide his face. "Let's go to the next place already."
I laughed, holding a bag full of his usual clothes with my free hand. He stuffed his hands in his pockets as we walked side by side with our arms linked down the streets of Twilight Town.
Roxas' POV-
I wasn't used to wearing anything but the Organization uniform. I felt a little self-conscious as we walked, but no one was looking at me. Mei led me to the train station.
I raised my brow at her as she grinned at me. "What did you have in mind actually?"
She ignored me and turned to a clerk, sliding money over. "Two please!"
"Where are we going?" I tried to ask her again but she just brushed it off and pulled me along to the incoming train, saying everything was a secret. We got on the train and sat across from one another.
"Have you ever been on a train before, Roxas?"
"No… What do people do on dates exactly?"
"Well…they just hang out and go places together."
"Axel said that it's something people in love do."
"Yeah, and we're just testing the waters right now."
"… You lost me."
Mei sighed. "Do I need to point everything out to you? Let's see if there is a possibility that we'll fall in love with each other. Let's see if we have an interest in being more than just friends."
W-Why do we need to think about that?! We're just friends!
I thought back to the dream I had.
Why did I have a dream where I was dating her?! Was Axel trying to tell me it was a sign? Maybe it was foretelling the future?
"We're here!" Mei shouted, getting me out of my thoughts. I looked out the window.
"The ocean?"
"The beach!"
We walked out together and went over to some restaurant that was beside the ocean.
"We're going to be having dinner here," Mei said to me handing the bag of my clothes to a waiter who took it to be stored. "But for now, let's have some fun!"
Fun?
We spent the next few hours building sand castles, taking off our shoes and socks so we could play in the ocean and splash each other, and shell picking.
I held both of our shoes while Mei collected shells.
"Aren't they pretty?" she asked me, showing me shells of different shades. Some pretty and others average looking. It was like a metaphor for the kind of person she was. She accepted all kinds of people.
I mean, she accepted a Nobody like me.
Mei gasped and dropped her shells. I looked up from my thoughts to see what frightened her. She went behind me as a group of Shadow Heartless appeared.
"Stay back Mei," I said sternly as I tossed her shoes over to her and slipped on my own. I summoned my keyblade and got into a stance.
"Be careful," she said to me as I ran forward to attack.
Mei's POV-
I stood there, watching Roxas fight off Heartless. I felt useless. I couldn't do anything to help him, even if he didn't seem to need it.
I wish I was special enough to have powers… I'm just…normal…and helpless…
"Eh?"
I felt something on my leg and looked down to see a small Heartless clinging to my leg, looking up at me with its yellow glowing eyes. It looked kind of cute, except for the fact that Axel warned me that they could steal hearts by bringing out the darkness in people.
I screamed, throwing it off of me. Roxas heard me and shouted out a spell that shot out a ball of fire to the Heartless.
"Are you okay?" he asked me after finishing off the last of the Heartless. I nodded and hugged him, burying my face into his shoulder.
I'm not strong enough for this kind of stuff… My weakness makes me vulnerable… I get affected by something that Roxas can just kick off in a snap.
"Hey, let's head over to the restaurant now," he said after holding me for a few minutes. He kept his arm over my shoulders so that I could hug him from his side. Before we walked in, he whispered to me, "I told you I would always protect you."
I let go of him as he walked inside, holding the door open for me.
"Roxas…"
For this weak girl…you'd still protect me? I have nothing to offer but my company.
"Coming?"
I smiled and nodded, walking in. We sat at an outdoor table and ordered spicy tuna rolls as well as some lobster pasta.
"The reflection of the sky is pretty neat," Roxas said.
I agreed with him. "Try this." I picked up a roll with my chopsticks and leaned over to put it near his mouth. He opened his mouth and ate it.
"It's a little spicy."
"Hence why it's called a 'spicy tuna roll'."
"Shut up," he cursed bashfully.
I grinned, teasing him about everything I could think of.
Roxas' POV-
I made sure to change back into my uniform before returning to the castle. I walked Mei home and gave her the clothes to keep for me.
"Day 24 - I teamed up with No. XIV again today. We finally talked a little—Xion even said my name for the first time. I forgot to ask about the 'WINNER' stick to Mei since Axel left before I could ask him.'
'I think it was a good idea to have a date to think about us. It's a pleasant thought to think of dating Mei, but it won't work out. We're two different kinds of human and I wouldn't want to put her through such pain. It would be hard to love someone who can't love back too.'
'Just being friends is good enough for me."
Mei's POV-
"Dammit. Gosh, why me? Why him?"
I banged my head on my pillow.
I like him…a lot…
Roxas' POV-
Today, Xion showed me her face before our mission today and I found out she was a girl because of it. Not only is she a girl, but she could wield a keyblade just like me! I wasn't alone anymore, but I still didn't know why I was chosen to wield it. Usually after our missions I just left Xion to meet up with Mei, but today was a new day. I felt closer to Xion more and decided on making an executive decision.
"Xion, you've earned the icing on the cake," I said to her happily.
"What is the 'icing on the cake'?"
"Come on, I'll show you."
Mei will love to meet you. I'm sure you two will hit it off nicely.
Mei's POV-
"Come on, you can tell me, Mei. We're best friends!" Olette whined.
Olette decided to come to my house before breakfast to pester me about the 'mystery guy'. I was trying to go back to sleep while she sat at the foot of my bed, shaking my legs through the covers.
"Go away," I grumbled. "It's too early for this."
"MEIIII!" Olette lied down behind me in my bed. She started poking me from behind before I turned around in frustration. I hid half my face with my blanket, showing only my eyes that were glaring daggers at Olette.
"What?" I said darkly as we stared at one another.
After a moment of silence, we both started cracking up.
"You do not give up," I said.
"Nope!"
I have the best friends ever.
I groaned and pulled myself up out of bed. "You win."
Olette hugged me from behind. "I always win with you. Now spill."
I stretched my arms and turned to face her. "There's nothing much to say…"
"Name?"
"You don't know him."
"Let me try to!"
"I'm not even that sure if I really want to be with him romantically."
"Do it."
"What?"
"If you're even thinking of it like this then that just shows that you care about him to the extent of thinking of him constantly."
"… He would probably see us as too different…"
"Isn't that fine? If you love someone strongly enough then you would be willing to take chances. It sounds kind of romantic to think you are from two different worlds."
She probably thinks he's rich or poor like this is some kind of drama.
"I've never been in a relationship before and neither has he for that matter."
"Then it's uncharted territory for both of you!"
"Uncharted territory?"
"Yeah, you're both new to love and dating. How long have you known him?"
"Maybe a few weeks, I guess you can say."
"And I'm only hearing about this now?!"
Olette started to wrestle me in a fit of not knowing everything sooner. All the while, I had one thought in my mind.
Uncharted territory? Feels more like uncharted desires to me… I can't think of when I started to fall for him…
In the end, Olette convinced me into telling Roxas about my feelings. Somehow, I forgot to tell her his name and so did she.
I'll tell him at the clock tower today!
Roxas' POV-
"This is such a great spot, Roxas. How'd you find it?" Xion asked me as we sat down on the ledge. I smiled and handed her a stick of sea salt ice cream. "What's this?"
"Sea salt ice cream. It's good, try it!"
"It's sweet…and salty."
"It's good right? Axel and I, we meet here for ice cream around this time after work. This flavor is his favorite."
"It sounds like it's yours too."
"Yeah. You see, Axel brought me here to eat ice cream on my first day with the Organization and after my first mission he got me ice cream again. He said it was the 'icing on the cake'."
"Like you just did for me?"
"Yeah. Around the first few times of us doing this ice cream thing, we met Mei."
"Mei? Who's that?"
I thought about it. I know what I feel but putting what I feel into words was hard. "Mei lives in this town and she's someone with a heart. She knows about our existence… Ah! She wouldn't do anything bad though! She's really outgoing and funny. Nice person to be around, especially if you're sad. She makes you feel like…you're whole…like you have a heart with feelings and all. She makes the impossible feel possible…even when it just seems like some hopeless dream." I blushed.
Did I really just say all of that out loud?
"…You guys must be really close…"
"Yeah well, Axel, Mei and I are friends."
Just friends.
"Friends… Do you think that I could be a friend too?"
"Of course! When Axel gets back, we'll all have ice cream together! Mei should be here any minute now to join us! For now, let's just introduce you two."
"I can't-"
"Sorry I'm late Roxas!" Mei shouted, bursting through from the darkness of the clock tower. "I was having a girl's day with Olette."
I chuckled. "It's fine. Here." I tossed her a bar. She caught it and thanked me before her eyes wandered over to where Xion was.
"I don't believe we've met before." Mei sat on the other side of me, holding out her hand to shake. "My name is Mei."
Xion started at her hand, unsure of what to do. I motioned for her to shake it. "Xion."
Mei's POV-
"Xion… I've heard about you a little from Roxas. I didn't know you were a girl." I laughed. "He didn't know either. I'm glad you got out of your shy shell."
"Shy shell?" she questioned.
Roxas, I come here ready to pour out my heart to you and I find you here with another girl? Granted, they are both just coworkers…but I thought this spot was just our spot… Axel, you, and me…
I made sure that Roxas couldn't tell I was disappointed and a little jealous.
"Ah, I mean that you were more to yourself and now you're opening up," I clarified.
"Oh, before I forget. Mei, do you happen to know what this is?" Roxas pulled out a stick that said 'WINNER' on it.
I gasped. "You actually got one! I thought they were an urban myth used as a marketing tool to get consumers to buy more of the product!"
"…What?"
I laughed awkwardly. "Sorry. Basically, it's a promotion they have. If you get a stick that says 'WINNER' on it, you get to turn it in for a free ice cream with your choice of flavor! Why do you think Axel and I get disappointed when we end up with nothing?"
"I thought it was just something people did when they ate ice cream."
"… No… That's not what we do." I sweat-dropped.
Much to my disappointment, Xion and Roxas left together. Xion is a nice girl. Still very quiet like how Roxas was when I first met him, but she's nice. She doesn't seem to have any romantic feelings for Roxas and Roxas is acting really friendly. It seems a bit out of character of him to, but I could just be rubbing off on him now. Better me than Axel's example.
I'll pull Roxas aside and ask him if we can have a talk in private tomorrow!
Roxas' POV-
"Day 25 – Today was my third day with Xion. I've gotten to know a little more about her. That's right, she's a girl with black hair and she can use the keyblade just like me! I took her out for ice cream after our mission, but I'm saving the 'WINNER' stick that Mei told me about. Axel deserves a reward when he gets back.
'Xion wants to have ice cream with us from now on. Maybe we'll all be friends.'
'Speaking of friends, I forgot to tell Mei about what I was thinking… I'll talk to her tomorrow about it. Hopefully I remember."
The next day, I woke up and found out someone was terminated at Castle Oblivion. Saix says it was most likely Axel.
"What happens when Heartless are destroyed?" I asked Xigbar. I had a lot of burning questions on my mind.
"The hearts remain and then those hearts gather together to form the great Kingdom Hearts."
"Then what remains if a Nobody if destroyed?"
"What's there to leave behind? We're not even supposed to 'be' in the first place."
I'm not on the same par with Mei at all. I wasn't supposed to even be born.
"And the members at Castle Oblivion… Where did they go?"
"Nothing's left of them."
"In which case… I'll never see them again?"
Axel…
"That's right." Xigbar didn't seem to have any remorse for them as he summoned a portal. "Coming?"
"Oh yeah, I'll catch up with you later at the castle though." I stepped forward to go over to the portal when out of nowhere my head started hurting and I didn't know what was going on. Everything turned black in a matter of seconds.
Mei's POV-
I came to the clock tower a bit earlier than usual. I woke up with a bad feeling in my chest today that I just couldn't calm. Roxas didn't show up, instead Xion did. She looked just as surprised as I did that Roxas wasn't here.
"Roxas wasn't on a mission with you today?" I asked.
She shook her head and took a seat next to me. I handed her a stick and we ate in silence, thinking he'd just show up any minute now. Fifteen minutes had passed.
"I hope he's okay," I whispered to myself.
"I'm sure he is," Xion said, patting my shoulder.
I smiled over at her. She was a really nice girl.
I leaned back in my seat. "You know, when I first met you yesterday, I have to admit I was jealous."
"Jealous? What's that?"
"Ah, right. Feelings are new for you guys. Jealousy is when you wish you were someone else or wish you had something another person had all to yourself. That's one way to put it…rather awkwardly I might add."
"You wished you were me?"
"Ehh… I just realized yesterday that Roxas isn't someone I can have all to myself. I guess having Axel away had made me get greedy. It was just new to see Roxas so energetic about you eating with us yesterday that I just wished he could have done the same to seeing me yesterday."
"I'm sorry…"
"No! You don't need to apologize. I should be the one apologizing. I wasn't being as earnest with you as I should have been. Since it doesn't seem like Roxas is showing up today, we can just use this time to get to know each other more."
I'm guessing I'll do most of the talking considering you guys don't even know a lot.
.
.
"So you guys are called Organization XIII and you have fourteen members? You being fourteen and Roxas being thirteen?"
Why still be called Organization XIII then?
"Yeah, I'm the newest member."
"Only girl?"
"No, there's one other girl named Larxene."
"Showing girl power! Speaking of power, Roxas uses a keyblade, what about you?"
"Funny story," she chuckled. "I use a keyblade too."
"That's cool! I wish I could summon something like that."
"You mean you can't summon a weapon?"
"No… I'm just a normal, average girl. I wish I could learn magic though. Roxas said maybe to me about it, but I think he really means no."
"I can teach you."
"R-Really?!"
"Yeah, I don't see why not."
I got up and wrapped my arms around Xion. "I love you, Xion! I'm so psyched! Ah…let's keep this a secret from Roxas. I want to surprise him."
Xion nodded. "Mei…your face is red."
"I-It is?" I put my hand on my warm cheeks. "I'm sensitive to heat is all!"
On my way home, I passed by the hole in the wall that led to the Old Mansion. That nagging feeling in my chest returned. I sighed and shook my head.
"I'm just overthinking this." I looked back at the hole again one last time.
I hope I'm just being paranoid…
Xion's POV-
I didn't see Roxas at all today…
I was on a solo mission in Twilight Town today. It was just a normal sweep of the area: getting rid of the Heartless.
I thought about how sad Mei was when we were waiting for Roxas.
Maybe he's on a long mission… A stakeout? There has to be a good reason.
"Xion?"
I turned around, wondering who could be calling me in the middle of my mission.
"…Mei?"
Said girl ran over to me in her blue overall shorts. "On a mission?" I nodded. "I wish I could help."
I heard Mei sigh and mutter under her breath, "I thought you were Roxas…"
I don't think she wanted me to hear that… I'll pretend I didn't.
I didn't want Mei to frown, even for a second. The only thing I could think of to keep her mind off of whatever is making her sad was:
"How about I try to teach you magic?"
"R-Right now?"
I nodded. "I may not be the best teacher, but we can practice on some Heartless."
Mei embraced me into a tight hug. I wasn't used to this kind of warmth. I liked it.
"So what's first, teacher?"
"Um…"
How did I even learn in the first place?
"Just…picture what you want to happen. Let's start with a basic fire spell. Let me show you." I spotted a lone Shadow nearby and held my hand out. "Fire!" A ball of fire shot out of my hand and hit the Shadow, destroying it.
Mei gaped at me in amazement. "A-Amazing!"
"You've never seen magic before?"
"I've seen TV animation magic and magic tricks. The closest to magic I've ever gotten was those magic kits when I was younger. I used to have magic shows where Hayner was my lovely assistant."
"Hayner?"
"He's one of my friends. Let me try to mimic what I saw." She pointed at another Shadow. She furrowed her brows and held her hand out. "Fire!"
Nothing happened.
I rubbed my chin. "Try relaxing your body. Try to feel the magic flowing through you…through your fingertips. Then picture what you want to happen and let it go. That's what I do…"
Mei puffed her cheeks. "I'll work on it, just do your thing."
I worked on completing my mission with Mei over my shoulder, trying to shoot out a ball of fire from her hands.
She really isn't giving up. She's started to get red in the face. That's the opposite of relaxing.
I couldn't help but left out a small chuckle at Mei falling back on the floor in exhaustion even though I was the one taking out Heartless.
"Aha! You laughed!" Mei shouted, grinning and pointing at me from the ground.
Did I?
I scratched the back of my head, not sure how to react in this situation. Mei sat up and held her hand out.
"No matter what, I won't give up trying to learn how to do magic. I've always childishly dreamed of being able to do real magic and not just illusionary tricks. I have to be useful to you guys. I don't like that I'm aware of just how weak and helpless I am now even when I grew up here being pushed around by the local thugs. I want to get stronger to protect the people I care about so they won't worry much about me anymore. I'm tired of being some porcelain doll people are scared of shattering. Thank you for helping me even though the real journey is something only I can undertake. I'm glad to call you one of my friends."
Friends…?
I took her hand. It all happened in on fluid motion. Even I didn't see it coming. I pulled her up with both of my hands while her pupils became small and her face paled. Her mouth opened but said nothing except the words, "Protect, Xion."
I was pushed off to the side onto the floor as a pendant slipped out of Mei's top; glowing a yellow, off-white hue like the heart moon. Mei had her arms in an 'x' shape in front of her as she hunched her body so her head would be behind the 'x' as a Neoshadow came down with its claws. A shield appeared in its globe-like fashion over the both of us before impact could be made. Mei's eyes were shut tightly as the Neoshadow was repelled back a few feet. The barrier went down and Mei opened one eye to see the Neoshadow coming back. I quickly got up in the frenzy of my shock and summoned my keyblade.
I leaped forward to attack the Neoshadow. All was going fine before I messed up my combo. I shut my eyes, ready to meet the impact that would surely come down on my back.
"NOO!"
But it never came. I opened my eyes and looked up to see the Neoshadow was frozen in place. I didn't waste this opportunity and finished it off with a thunder and a swing of my blade.
I looked over to where I last saw Mei standing only to see her collapsed on the ground. I ran over to her in panic thinking she was hit without me noticing. She was alive, but knocked out.
That was barrier and stop…even I can't use those yet… Who did they come from?
I thought back to when Mei was trying to perform a fire spell and then to when her pendant glowed and all this shock begun.
The pendant on Mei was not glowing anymore. It was just a plain clear pebble. Pebbles aren't typically clear though. Was it a gem?
To be safe, I casted cure on Mei and picked her up. I left her at the clock tower and quickly went back to finish my mission. All while thinking:
That was no doubt Mei's magic… Who is she?