Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora cleared his throat, taking a few steps forward. "Don't be sorry, Namine," he said, having finally found some words to say.

Namine turned around slowly at the voice, seeing the brunette boy standing behind the one who had been talking to her earlier. The kindness in his voice sounded genuine, and somehow those simple words made her feel a little better.

Sora made eye contact with Namine before continuing. "I had a friend before who was in a position a lot like yours. He forgot all his friends, but they remembered him. So you know what we did?"

Namine shook her head slightly, her tears having stopped falling a few moments ago. "No, what?" she asked softly, wiping at her wet cheeks.

Sora smiled softly. "We all helped him get his memories back," he responded. "Because that's what friends do--if one of them is ever lost, we help them get back on track." The Keyblade wielder ran a hand through his spikes, still offering Namine a small smile. And he felt a little better when she weakly returned it with a smile of her own.

 

When Sora began speaking, Kairi paid attention, her eyes on the two throughout the conversation. She agreed, knowing that they had to help Namine get through this. They could do it as long as they all worked together.

Roxas glanced up at the girl in front of him while Sora was speaking, but let his eyes relocate the floor in sadness, despite his friend's way of trying to improve the problem. That was why Sora was different from him--he was so optimistic about everything, while Roxas couldn't help but feel sad, and angered, and down about it. No... he thought sadly, his hands forming fists. This isn't happening. Not to Namine...

 

Sora waited a brief moment, but after some more silence, he spoke again. He forced his voice to be cheerful despite the fact that he felt very bad for Namine at that moment, and for Roxas. It was clear from his silence that he was having a really rough time with all this. "We'll just start with the basics," he said optimistically. "I'm Sora, this is Kairi, and he's Roxas." With each name, Sora nodded to his friends.

Namine nodded slightly. "Sora, Kairi and Roxas," she repeated. It wasn't hard to remember the names--it felt like she was remembering it, not learning it for the first time.

 

Kairi smiled to the blonde girl, nodding. As long as she acted like it didn't negatively affect her, things would go smoothly. Well, that was what she believed. She glanced at the boy who had been silent for the last minute, sensing negative energy. It was obvious he wasn't absorbing all of this well.

She...She doesn't remember me? Roxas couldn't help but let his emotions take control, the boy just standing there. Motionless, even through the small introductions. His sight was glued to the floor beneath his sock-covered feet, not liking one bit of this. At all.

 

Sora nodded slightly, a smile appearing on his lips. "You got it," he assured her. The teen noticed that Roxas' stance was making Namine uncomfortable, so he kept talking with hope of trying to distract her, and buy Roxas some time to compose himself. "And we live here in New York City."

Namine's small smile widened. "I remembered that," she said, her voice sounding a little excited. Maybe recovering her memories would be easier than she thought. The blond girl moved forward and sidestepped Roxas, her hand lightly touching his arm as she moved toward the other two teens, Sora and Kairi. "...And it's summer vacation, right?"

 

Just the touch sent a vibe through Roxas, one that was hopeful but at the same time, disheartening. The girl he loved, was she really gone? Or would she come back to him? He looked out the corner of his eye, knowing that she was behind him now. His eyes closed, his head lowered as his fists tightened. He'd lost his memories once, when it involved Axel and his real identity as a Nobody. Now he knew how Axel felt--it was upsetting, and disturbing to know that the person you love--whether as a friend or with much stronger feelings--didn't remember you.

Kairi smiled softly, nodding. "That's right," she confirmed. Namine was already acting more cheerful; that was a good start.

 

Namine pulled up a chair at the table at sat herself down. Sora politely grabbed the chair next to her and took a seat as well, obviously hoping to make her feel more comfortable. It was working. I wonder if I ever had a crush on him? she mused, glancing into those bright blue eyes. But she didn't stick to that topic--there were more things to remember than past crushes.

"We always hang out a lot over the summer," Sora informed her. "Well, we actually hang out a lot no matter what the time of year is," he said with a smile. "Sometimes we'll go play Frisbee in the park." He chuckled, looking over at Kairi. "Do you remember that one time when that dog showed up and smothered us with kisses?"

 

Kairi smiled at the memory of the dog. "Oh, what was his name?" she wondered aloud, pressing her lips together as she thought about it. She snapped her fingers once it came to her. "Toby! That was it! Do you remember him, Namine? He adored you." She felt her smile widen, the girl then glancing toward the boy who had yet to take a seat. Roxas had his back to her, but that was enough for her to know that he definitely wasn't taking this lightly.

Roxas sighed softly, sure that no one could hear him over the chatter. He remembered that day, though. He had saved Namine from the dog's constant kisses, and had to tell the pup that Namine was his. But that was in the past, and Namine didn't remember that... Roxas ran a hand through his untidy spikes, forcing his feet to move. The boy left the room in silence, not knowing if he could handle those memories right now.

 

Namine shook her head slightly at Kairi's quesiton. "No, I don't remember." She turned somber for a moment, but then looked back up at the girl across from her. "Was it a big dog?"

Sora chuckled. "Big enough to topple you," he said, trying to contain his laughter at the memory. "He just randomly ran over to you and Kairi when you were at the park and eventually he got on top of you and started licking your face. It was the funniest thing."

Namine smiled faintly, looking up at the ceiling. She couldn't remember this at all, at least not from her perspective. She could, however, imagine it happening. That was a start...right?

 

Kairi pressed her lips together, a wave of sympathy washing over her at the sight of Roxas leaving. She decided that maybe he just needed some time alone, and the one thing she could do to help that was to assist Sora in telling Namine everything, and asking if she remembered.

Roxas walked through the house until he reached the back door, the boy not bothering to grab his shoes as he left the house and reached the backyard. His feet met the soft earth, feeling the texture of the grass even through his socks. He sighed, his head lowering as he made his way to the shade tree located in the yard. He sat himself down away from the trunk of the tree. He needed a moment to take this in... All of it.

 

Sora pretended not to notice Roxas leave. It killed him seeing his best friend in so much anguish, but he had to do some damage control before Namine was hurt anymore. He cared about her--a lot. Not in a romantic way, but their friendship was still strong.

"So..." Namine started, feeling a bit awkward again. "How did we meet?"

Sora chuckled softly. "Now that is a long story," he said with a weak smile. The truth was, their meeting wasn't under the best circumstances. But the friendships that resulted from it were totally worth it. He paused for a minute, trying to think of a response. "We've been friends for a while, and we've gotten much closer since we moved to New York a little while ago."

 

"He's right," Kairi added softly. "We may have met in a complicated way, but things are simpler now." She shrugged. "We may have our troubles, but our friendship is strong enough to get through any of them. Some are stronger than others, but in different ways." Kairi's relationship was, in a way, stronger with Sora than it was with Namine or Roxas. It was soley because they loved each other, and had known each other since they were little. The same could be said for Namine and Roxas--they loved each other very much, and that love could conquer anything. Not only that, but Roxas and Sora shared a different connection than Kairi and Namine did.

Roxas picked at the grass for a few moments, trying to absorb the fact that Namine had forgotten everything. She didn't remember her past, her friends, what happened yesterday... The last one he was kind of grateful for; what happened to her was terrible and hurt to think about. All of this was painful to ponder over, especially to him. The love of his life forgot who he was...

 

Namine nodded faintly, taking note of everything that was said during their conversation. She wanted--no, needed--to remember this. Maybe it would help her in the long run with her forgotten memories. One thing that she really noticed, however, was how neither of them actually answered how they met. They made it sound like it was a bad experience...ah, but maybe she was reading too deeply into things. She'd just take their word for it and trust their friendship with each other were really strong.

"So..." she started again. "Sora and Kairi. You two are...dating, right?" Namine couldn't have explained how she came to that conclusion; it just seemed to fit. And just by seeing how they looked at each other seemed to set something off in her mind.

A picture of Sora giving Kairi a piggy back ride. It was a cool night, and she was walking alongside another boy. But it was late and very dark out, and apparently Kairi was tired, so Sora gave her a ride.

Namine smiled faintly, remembering the stars that shone that night. It was a beautiful night, though she didn't realize why that night stuck out to her so much at that moment.

 

Kairi's eyes widened a little in surprise, the conclusion unexpected. "Uh, yeah. We are," she told her friend with a smile. Her periwinkle eyes found Sora, the girl giving him a look of happiness. Their friend's memory seemed to be improving, even if it was just a little. Remembering that she and Sora were dating was a pretty important factor.

Roxas flung the grass between his fingers away from him. It was pretty obvious at this point--he was upset. Namine's memory loss definitely caught him off guard, and he should have figured something this terrible would happen. Last time, Smith had abused Namine, and seeing her in such a condition hurt him for weeks. But she was strong enough to get through it, and he had been there to support her. But would it be the same this time around? Would she overcome this? Roxas was certain that he couldn't give up on Namine... But wasn't that what he was doing now?

 

Namine smiled. "I thought so," she said. "Just the way you two look at each other...it's sweet."

Sora looked from Namine to Kairi and then back to the blond girl, a smile appearing on his lips as well. "Yeah, Kairi and I grew up together. And we started dating once we were here. And ever since then...well--" he turned to give his girlfriend a wider smile. "--things have been great."

 

Kairi's smile grew a little more at the sight of Sora's. She nodded in agreement, knowing full well that what he said was the undeniable truth. Their love had gotten very strong.

Roxas fell back with a heavy sigh, a groan of frustration leaving his lips as his back met the grass. He lay there, knees propped up as he stared through the leaves of the tree. This was unbelievable... Everything, all of it. First she was taken away from him, then put into a coma, and then she fell into another coma after he woke her, and now that she awakened the second time, she forgot him. It was aggravating, and upsetting.

 

Namine's soft smile faded slightly, the girl just observing Sora and Kairi's movements. Nothing they were doing now was bringing back any memories, and she couldn't think of any more questions to ask. Perhaps it was time she did a little searching on her own. "Thanks, guys," she said randomly. "I think I'll head home for now--see if I can remember anything else."

Sora arched a brow slightly in surprise. "You remember where you live?" he inquired, worried about her getting lost in the city.

The blond girl nodded. "4523 Jefferson Street," she responded without thought. Then she shook her head slightly, bringing a hand to her temple. "I don't know how I remember that, but I'm sure I know where it is, too. Three blocks away, right?"

 

Kairi nodded. "Yeah, that's right," she confirmed softly. It was good that Namine at least remembered her home...

Roxas squinted a little when the sunshine came through a part in the leaves, blinding him for a fraction of a second. He brought up an arm to rest against his forehead as he stared up at the tree, his thoughts on Namine. He loved her...so much. But he just didn't know if he could see her right now, not when she wasn't...Namine.

 

"You want us to walk home with you?" Sora asked, offering to not leave his friend alone in her time of need. If she really wasn't sure about where she lived, he wouldn't have asked--he would have told her they were coming too and nothing could stop them. But since she seemed to know...

Namine shook her head slightly, rising from her seat. "That's alright," she said softly. "Thank you anyway." The blond girl weakly smiled at her two friends before heading toward the door. But before she exited, she turned around and spoke again. "I guess I'll see you guys around."

 

Kairi lifted a hand to give a small wave. "We'll come by and see you soon, okay?" She smiled, hoping to provide some comfort. But at the same time, she couldn't forget that Roxas was gone, and he probably was worried about Namine too.

Roxas closed his eyes, not wanting to think anymore. He just wanted to absorb the serenity of the outside world around him--the light breeze, the warm sun, the comfortable weather... If only all things were this simple, he thought.