Aladdin looked back. He kind of felt bad for the man they'd passed—Who would choose to wear all black in Agrabah, anyway?—but there was no time to lose. If the guards caught him, it was all over. Still, he was only in trouble if he got caught, and he never got caught! There was nothing to worry about.
The young woman beside him had begun to pant. Maybe it was time for a break. He whipped around a corner and climbed up a rafter. He had been planning to take her to his secret place, but this would have to do for now.
"Are you okay?" Aladdin saw her almond-shaped eyes widen in surprise. Man, she was pretty. He shook his head. It's not time to get distracted, he reminded himself. Once we know we're in the clear, then we can worry about trying to get to know her.
She smiled. "Yes, I'm all right. How did you know where to go to escape them?"
Aladdin shrugged. "Well, when you've grown up on the street, you learn ways to get around the law."
The expression on her face was one he couldn't quite place. Nevertheless, he forced himself to carry on the conversation. "What about you? You didn't look too familiar with the area? Not that the way I took you was exactly common knowledge, but still."
"Uh, let's just say I . . . Well, I never got to visit this part of the city." Her brows furrowed. "You're sure the guards won't find us here?"
Aladdin smiled. "Not a chance," he said. "And if they did, we'd find a way to escape." He watched the way her lips pursed in thought. Boy, did he want to kiss her. A squeak from Abu brought him back to reality. "Oh . . . Um, this is Abu."
~\*/~
Demyx's whole body seemed to be on fire. He opened his eyes with much effort and then grimaced. He felt all icky with sweat. What about this world was appealing to the people who lived in it? Gross. What happened, anyway?
He gazed at his surroundings, hoping for a hint. He stopped short at the sand. Oh, I remember now. Sand. Agrabah. Heat. . . He sneezed. "Well, I'd better find somewhere to stay. What was my mission again?"
He fished his mission card out of his pocket. Because the Organization deemed him untrustworthy (and, well, lazy) Saïx had gotten in the habit of writing down the missions Demyx was given. That way, he couldn't claim he had forgotten what he was supposed to do, which he'd only done once! Still, the mission card came in handy at times. It took him a few minutes to read it, which he blamed completely on the heat. Once the words written on the card finally registered in his heat-addled brain, he groaned. Of course, it had to be a giant heartless he needed to beat. Why was he always given missions like this? Recon was way more his style. . .
Dismissing the thought, he yawned. Did he really have to get up? Sure, the heat was intense, even with the shade, but he could just stay here and… But Saïx would have my head if I didn't make it back soon. He sighed. Why couldn't life be easy? He tried to stand… and promptly fell flat on his face. The dust stirred up from the commotion caught in his throat, causing him to cough. At least, he hoped that was the reason. One coughing fit later, he finally made it to his feet. He propped himself up on the wall and lifted a hand to his head. The heat sure was intense. He actually felt kind of dizzy, but that would pass… probably.
He shook his head to dispel the discouraging thoughts and immediately thought better of it when the pounding in his head increased. Note to self, don't shake your head when you feel dizzy. It doesn't really work out. He sighed, "Okay, time to knock out this Heartless so I can go home." …And isn't it sad that I think of the castle as home? Head heavy, he trudged off through the city.
~\*/~
Roxas leaned back, eyes on the sunset. Technically, in Twilight Town, the sun was always setting. Be that as it may, the beautiful sight never got old to the Nobody. He sighed. Axel and Xion must be running late today. But that was okay.
He perked up after hearing a sound behind him. He turned around with a huge grin on his face. "There you are! I've been waiting for ages!"
Xion laughed, "We'd have been here sooner, but Axel forgot his munny and had to go back to get it."
Axel rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, it was a rough mission, okay? And I just wanted it to be over with, so I didn't check to see that I had everything when I left my room…"
The three of them spent the afternoon enjoying each other's company and eating sea salt ice cream. It was only when they stood up to RTC that Roxas noticed something about Axel. The taller Nobody had been in the middle of a statement about how much fun it had been to explore the new world with Xion—"You would've loved to see it, Roxas! Fluffy white all around!"—when he sneezed.
~\*/~
Axel's eyes were wide. Nobodies couldn't get sick, right? So how did he end up sneezing?
Roxas and Xion had never sneezed before and were naturally amazed by the concept. "What was that?!" they exclaimed.
"Uh, just some . . . weird thing that happens when… people talk about you to others or think bad things about you. It happens all the time to people with hearts." He convinced himself that he wasn't lying, not exactly. He had heard the rumor that sneezes could happen if someone was gossiping about you, and that was far more likely than a Nobody becoming sick.
Roxas's eyes grew wide. "Oh? You mean it can happen to anyone?" he asked.
Xion smirked, "I bet it happens all the time to Saix."
The three Nobodies laughed at the thought.
~\*/~
In the solitude of his room, Saïx paused his reading upon feeling a very odd sensation. He knew logically, of course, that the feeling was something he had once felt back when he was a Somebody, but to feel it now? He took off his reading glasses and sniffed, trying to erase the tickling in his nose.
I'm back!~ Enjoy! :3
Soli Deo gloria!
~LHDD