Disney Medley Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Prompt:
"Come on, it wasn't even that hard of a fight. You're exaggerating" Axel swung his sea salt ice cream over Roxas's head, slow enough for him to dodge, with a quick, reflex duck. His voice was sing-songy at the end, showing he was only goofing around. "I could have had him without your guys' help." he took a bite from the ice cream and immediately regretted it. "EmmmmMMMMM-hmm! Got my brain there!" he gripped his head as Roxas and Xion laughed at the sight.
"Serves you right, saying you don't need us." Roxas roasted right back, hitting Axel's shoulder a bit, "You need all the help you can get."
Xion leaned herself forward a bit, smiling cheekily, "Karma." Her face was bright and sweet, even in her teasing.
Roxas looked over to it, but Axel just lightly shook his head, looking away, "I should have never taught you guys that word..!" He threw up one hand in protest while they laughed behind his back, "Giving you all my knowledge,... just so you can use it against me. What kinda friends are ya?!"
"Uhh... your only kind?" Roxas teased, as Axel swung the ice cream near him again. "H-Hey! That almost got my nose!" Roxas smiled as Axel looked off into the distance with the sunset... the light not fading anytime soon.
"I have other friends, it's just... some are... lost, I guess." He took another contemplative look towards the yellow clouds and sky... His gaze moving upward, as though the heavens, "I've been thinking about them... a lot lately..." He then looked to the two again, seeing them clinging to every word, wondering about what he was saying. "But the universe decided to dump you lot onto me! What was I supposed to do? Put you boxes like small kittens and puppies? Leave ya on the side of the road! Barking and meowing for scraps?!" He kept swinging his arm as Roxas laughed and ducked, scooting over before bumping against Xion and flinching a moment, turning back to her and then moving back to his spot.
"S-Sorry..." He looked down a bit, and... Axel squinted his eyes, almost swearing that expression looked kinda like...
But love was impossible for a Nobody, they didn't have hearts to feel it.
Must have been a fluke.
Xion put the back of her hand down from her mouth, a little surprised, but shook her head with that same, calming, and soft smile decorating her gentle features. "Em-emm, it's alright." She assured him, and Roxas just grinned a bit awkwardly back at her, glad to receive that comfort.
"Aye, aye, aye... You two confuse me." He was only gone for a few days... how did they get so close?
He scratched the back of his head, but Xion got up first and he looked over in surprise, "You're leaving?" He didn't think she'd go that quickly, "What about the sunset? It's still pretty high up there on that horizon line, Xion." He waved his ice cream nonchalantly towards it being too early to go. "What about the countdown?" He joked, as they had a game where they would try and see who's countdown actually matched the descending sun. None of them really ever won, but it was fun to joke around and try it out with them anyway.
"I was given a job to do. See?" She summoned her keyblade, "It works now."
"I helped her with that!" Roxas reminded him, like they haven't shown it off every chance they got to...
"Riiiighhhtt..." Axel leaned his head forward, "Alright, take care." He lifted a hand to send her off, but was once again surprised in a bit of sad disappointment when Roxas got up as well.
"I'll go with you." He added, nodding to Xion.
She smiled, "I'd like that." Before both turned to him.
... What was he, now? A third wheel..?
"You want to come to? Axel?" Roxas tilted his head as though expecting him to jump up all excitedly and go, 'Would I!? Thank you ever so much!' but Axel's pride got a little in the way.
"Nah, you're golden." He fanned a hand back to them, looking back directly at the sunset. "I've got only these precious few hours off, why would I squander it off by going back to work, huh? Enjoy the worlds without me." He took another bite of his ice cream, again, being risky with the size and portion and once again coughed as he stuck his thumb to the top of his mouth, hitting his foot against the clocktower.
Roxas and Xion chuckled, before Xion gracefully nodded her acceptance of his refusal. "See ya,... Axel."
"We'll come straight back. Promise..!" Roxas eagerly added, and the two gazed at each other a moment before Roxas offered her his hand, wanting to help her down, "Here." He added.
She smiled just a hint wider, and Axel's brows furrowed... He didn't teach Roxas that...
'These other worlds are getting to the kid's head.' he concluded, taking a 'smaller' bite of the ice cream and looking away.
... He looked back and noticed their hands still connected, just... what, looking at each other or something? Those sweet grins liked to just be painted on their faces like conjoined oil paintings, huh?
He finished off the ice cream, seeing their hands finally part made him at last look away as they rounded the clocktower's corner, going down.
"What am I moping about?" He gobbled up the ice cream, "No point if they're not around." He twirled the stick in his hands, "No winner again, huh?" Seeing the stick be blank, he put it in his mouth and got up, dusting off his hands and then rubbing them on his cloak.
"I'wll waswh iwt lawter." He mumbled with the stick still in his mouth, before looking down from the tower and seeing them again.
... He slowly... took his stick out of his mouth.
"... It's almost like..." He narrowed his eyes again, peering down at them, his lanky form following the action.
He was reminded of Castle Oblivion, Sora's reactions to Namine... thinking she was this 'Kairi' he seemed to have a close connection with... It couldn't be... could it?
If Roxas was his Nobody... would those feelings... persist?
'Even without a heart?' This grew his curiosity even more, somewhat exciting him as he wanted to watch them interact more.
In a bit of a spritzy side-jump, he watched them closely, moving his head about as though trying to get a better view of them down below him. "~I can't see what's happening... and they certainly have no clue.~" he began to sing, "~Their acting all wrong, and here's the bottom line...~" He swung himself back to the front with a full hop, "Our trio's already on the rocks!"
He raced down, "~Is it this sweet caress of Twilight?~" He skidded down some railings, "~What's this magic everywhere?~" He jumped to the stairs.
"~Is my vacant chest remembering this atmosphere..?~" He stopped halfway down the tower to lean over and peer again from the side of a window, looking to see Saix... Eh, he was probably being mean, and Roxas defending Xion, swinging an arm in front of her and rushing to the front...
Intrigued, his eyebrows rising at the tension and drama forming below that he couldn't make out, Axel kept moving his arms down the windows, "~Disaster's in the airrr~" He then bolted to catch up with them.
"She's not just a puppet!" Roxas spat out, summoning his own Keyblade, "Don't you have anything better to do than to pester us!?"
Saix's eyes narrowed, his jealousy overwhelming, then looking up to see Axel racing past the clocktower's windows to make it down to them.
"... Our Master has asked that you both be assigned separately.. Sorry, no tag-teaming today." He threw out his arm, separating Roxas from Xion.
"Ah! Xion!" Roxas reached out a hand but Saix was now perfectly between them, and glaring down at Xion.
"Rox-.. Ah." She also reached out, but the condescending look from Saix made her stutter, catching her breath as she stepped back and away from him.
"Get to your duties... Roxas." Saix moved his head forward, not looking at either one of them. "Now... before you keep proving yourself useless to us..."
"Oh..." Roxas also stepped back, something hurting from those words, but what? He turned to look away and shake a fist in the air, before dropping it, but keeping it tightened by his side, "Okay..." He reluctantly stated and turned around... walking away before rushing off.
When he was significantly gone, and Xion was about to turn to do her own tasked duties elsewhere, Saix immediately swung around to face her, "~Remember, little puppet... The world is cruel...~" he walked by her, "~This world is wicked~" Xion found herself looking to him, her mouth somewhat agape. "~There's not a soul that you can trust in this whole city~" He swung back around, "~You have no friends...~"
"That's not true!" she countered, but he glared deeper.
"~The organization keeps you, dresses you.~" He lowered his chin, "~We who took upon you our own dreams...~" Not fully the truth, but he gestured a hand to her as though showing some merciful gentleness, even if it was only for an instant. "~How can you disappoint us, girl, unless you stay in line... always in line...~" He charged towards her before stopping to delicately lower a finger to her, a tough reprimand.
"~You are a puppet~" He reniforced.
"~I am a puppet...~" She responded her uniqueness given to her from Roxas's memories of Sora's Kairi reverting her back into the stale personality she once was before.
"~Why invite needless scrutiny?~" He reached behind her for her hoodie.
"~Only a puppet...~" She ducked her head... as though accepting it.
He hesitated to put it back over her head when his eyes darted to where Axel was rushing to meet her, "~Do as we say... Obey... and remain... in lineeee~" He tucked his hands back behind him, deciding he was out of time. He walked off, ignoring Axel's calls to him, and smirked subtly on his exit... knowing what he had done.
'You can never be one of us.' He thought to himself, 'Axel is only setting himself up for disappointment... It's all a waste of time. If he won't help me find her... I'll find her myself.'
Xion... just kept her head down as Axel rushed to her side, "Xion! What'd he say to you? That little..!" He shook his fist in the air and then threw it down, unable to help his memories resurfacing of Isa, once his closest friend... Is kinda was, in his-... uhh, well, he just still is. "Xion? You okay?" He put his hands gently to her shoulders and had to part his legs a bit to lean down to her level.
Gosh, all his friends were shorties.
"Xion?" He noticed she didn't look back up at him.
She moved one of his hands off her shoulder in a sliding gesture with her own hand, "Axel... I have to get to work now." She stood silently, waiting for him to let her go.
"Ah... oh... Okay... Take... care?" He moved slowly out of her way, removing his other hand as she walked along her way. "... Huh, what got into her?" He looked to Saix, gritting his teeth and tightening his fists, "Saix..!" He growled out and took off after him, 'What'd you say, you little... gah, smartmouth!', He charged forward, unable to say anything too horrible... they were supposed to be on the same team, after all... "I'll get you back this time!"
Xion walked before her energy to keep her steps up grew faint, and she felt for the first time tears starting to form on her cheeks. Surprised, she touched her cheeks, then went to pull her hoodie up as though to reset herself... but just... couldn't.
She let the fabric drop to her shoulders, "~Look at me... I will never pass... for a perfect replica... or a perfect puppet...~" She swayed to keep herself moving, her sorrows adding up, trying to press on... but stumbling as she walked, looking almost rag-doll-like in her movements to try and not completely crumble to the ground. "~Can it be..? I'm not meant to play... this parrrrt~" She spun herself around as the scene changed and she was Sora, looking over Destiny Island's seashore. "Now I see~ If I were truly to beeee myself~" Sora's image sang with passion, but placed his fists on her chest, closing his eyes. "~I would break and my best friends would part...~" She reverted back to herself, feeling a coma sinking in...
She wandered through Twilight Town, singing, "~Whooooo is that boy I see? Staring straight, back at me...~" She looked into a shop's window, seeing Sora yet again, and having both the reflection and herself touch their respective cheeks. "~Is he staring... back at me?~" She shook her head, rushing off from the image and to the side, conflicted. "~Is this-reflection?-someone I'mmmm supposed to knowww?!~" She looked confused, was it really her? That boy... the fake organization member... wearing the cloak... blindfolded with white, silvery hair... His words continued to plague at her being. "Some~ One~ Explain to me~ Who I am... Because I try, desperately my reflection shows... Another me inside...~" She cupped her fingers over each other, all her memories confusing her now, flooding into her almost... but from what source?
"~When will my...~" She had to turn her head to riff a quick high note before continuing, "~Reflection... show?~" She summoned her keyblade, skimming a hand over it as she knew it was Sora's... but also... came with Roxas's support and aid in being able to summon it. "~Who I want to be...~" She closed her eyes, looking up and hugging the Keyblade, remembering the day he saw a face to her... and gave her something she longed for.
Identity, "~Who he sees... insideeeee~" She let the Keyblade down and, although woozy from the memories rushing in, stumbled and wobbled into a darkness portal to try and complete her mission.
It wasn't until later that she would wake up... with shells by her bedside...
Fin~