Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora followed Kairi over to the rings, looking at the display from behind. He wasn't interested in anything in this store--he had his ring. And, of course, he didn't have the money to buy anything anyway.

Namine flipped over the tag on the necklace, her eyes widening slightly at the price. She bit her lip slightly in concentration before heading over to the corner to look at some cheaper necklaces.

 

Kairi felt a presence from behind and looked over her shoulder, seeing Sora. She smiled at him before looking back at the display of rings. Of course, there wasn't one better than the one she gave to Sora, not in her eyes. But they were all beautiful.

Roxas instinctively followed Namine, trailing her steps. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Kairi's vibrant red hair and Sora's spiky mane, but turned his full attention to the girl he was approaching, his blue eyes on her form.

 

Sora exhaled silently, eyes wandering to the display at his eye level. He casually set a hand on Kairi's lower back, eyes not leaving the wall as he made the movement.

Namine brought up a hand and started twirling her hair--a habit she had recently started getting into. She used her other hand to look at a simple necklace on the wall. The simplicity of it somehow made it more beautiful in her eyes.

 

Kairi's lips turned up a little more at the small touch against her back. Her eyes stayed focused on the rings, though, staring at a beautiful purple gem against a white gold band.

Roxas came to see what Namine was looking at, the boy standing beside her as he let his eyes wander the necklaces hung on the wall. "Find anything you like?" he asked, his eyes locating a pearl necklace among the other pieces.

 

Namine fingered a necklace, keeping her eyes on the shining bronze necklace on the wall. "...Not sure yet," she said slowly. It was a beautiful piece, but she had no clue what she would wear it with if she did buy it.

Sora looked up higher, the display running up most of the wall. He was surprised--some people probably wouldn't have been able to reach the jewelry at the top because of its height.

 

Kairi let her eyes roam to the left, her sight searching the many pieces that were displayed. There were so many different colors, and many beautiful rings. No wonder Namine liked this store...

Roxas nodded slightly in acknowledgement, his sight wandering along the wall. There was so much of this stuff. Where did they get it all?

 

Another piece of jewelry caught Namine's eye, so she released the one she had a hold of and lightly touched a sparkling white necklace. It was gorgeous...

Sora kept an eye on the wall and a hand on Kairi's back, not really focused on anything in particular. He noticed a few customers were browsing the store, but other than that, the place was pretty quiet.

A man and his crew burst out of the back room, ski-masks covering their faces. One man held a fully-loaded pistol in his hand. Darkness was written in his eyes as he pointed the gun at the ceiling and fired a round. "Everybody freeze!" the man called Black shouted. "This is a robbery!!"

 

Kairi instinctively ducked at the sound of gunfire, whimpering in fear. Once it was finished, she lifted her head to see men in ski masks, guns in their grasp. A robbery?!

As soon as the gunfire kicked off, Roxas put his arms around Namine, making it so his back was to the danger and she would be safe from harm. He furrowed his eyebrows as he turned his head to look over his shoulder at the men.

One of the leading men, Ross, kept his gun tightly in his hands, one finger on the trigger. He scanned the store, noticing that the crowds outside the store were scattering due to the gunshots. Perfect, now the place would be empty; just what they needed for an easy escape route.

 

Sora instinctively slid his hand to Kairi's arm and pulled her back slightly, so that he was standing between her and the danger. The rest of the people in the store screamed and ducked, frightened. And for good reason, too--these men had taken measures to hide their identities. These weren't amateur robbers.

Namine gasped when she was pulled into Roxas' arms, eyes clenched shut tightly. She didn't know what was going on until the man said something about it being a robbery. But knowing almost made her more afraid. What was going to happen...? Her heart rate increased as she suppressed the urge to whimper.

Black smirked and scanned the store. Perfect--this was going to be a sinch. "Everyone on the ground!" he screamed. "Now! And do it slowly or we'll shoot."

 

Kairi's eyes widened as she looked at the men, but she knew she needed to follow the order. Quietly, hands shaking, she started to get down on the ground, her eyes finding Sora at the same time.

Roxas turned his eyes to Namine. "Come on," he softly urged, trying to soothe her apparent fear. He wasn't going to let one of the men hurt her. He wasn't going to go through that again.

Ross observed the store clerks, watching them carefully get down on the floor. His sight then turned to the customers, watching a few women and men go to the ground as well. But then his eyes found the four teenagers, and his interest grew.

 

Sora obeyed the order, his eyes never leaving the men at the other end of the store. One of them seemed to be looking in his direction, and there was no way he was going to try and do something when so many lives were at stake, including Kairi's.

Namine met Roxas's eyes for a moment and gave him a small nod. Trying to be brave, she slowly lowered herself to the ground.

 

Kairi lay down on her stomach on the floor, her heart pounding in her chest. Why was it that the four of them always found themselves in these kind of situations? Was it just bad luck? Or was it fate once more?

Roxas got down on the ground next to Namine, keeping his eyes on her. He then let them fall on the men by the back room. If they wanted to rob the store, why didn't they just hurry and get it over with? They were all innocent, why hold them hostage?

Ross adjusted his gun in his grasp, peeking through the holes of his ski-mask. His sight rested on the boy with spiky hair, aware of who he was, before his sight fell on the girl next to him. Yes, that was the princess...

 

Sora knelt down on the ground beside Kairi, not fully going down. He sat on one knee and kept an eye on the men. He desperately wished he could look Kairi in the eye and tell her things would be alright, but that would put them in more danger. He needed to know exactly where these men were at ALL times. The brunette set a hand on Kairi's upper back, that being the best comfort he could provide at that moment.

Namine crouched down glad they were in a corner. That meant nobody could come at them from behind. But still, she was very afraid. And she was positive that her body language and facial expression showed it.

Black nodded to his men, and they quickly got to work. One of them busted open the cash register, while another hurried to the front of the store. He typed in a code in the electrical pad by the entrance and a metal gate came down. Nobody was leaving the store. Nobody. Especially not their target.

 

Kairi squeezed her eyes shut when she heard the gate go down. That was definitely not good.

Roxas sharply turned his head to the gate that was going down, his adrenaline beginning to kick in. This was bad, very bad. And he didn't even know why the men were locking the store up, especially since they only wanted money... Was that all they wanted?

 

"What's going on?!" one customer cried bravely. "Why are you locking us--"

Black pulled up his gun and shot the man in the chest before he could finish the question.

Namine brought a hand to her mouth to quite the small scream that escaped. Her eyes started to tear up at the thought of that poor man's death. She clenched her eyes shut, willing herself not to cry--that would only make her an easy target for these men.

Sora's eyes widened at the scene in front of him. From where he was, he saw it all very clearly. And now he wasn't sure what to think or do. He was frozen. There was nothing he could do against these robbers. Sure, he could summon the Keyblade, but these were ordinary men. They couldn't know about his secret...

 

Kairi bit her lip to hold in her scream. She squeezed her eyes shut so she didn't have to see the man that had been shot, for he was within her sight. Now dead, unmoving. The thought scared her stiff; even Sora's touch wasn't helping.

Roxas's eyes widened, his lips parting in disbelief. Did that really just happen? Knelt down on the floor, the boy let one of his hands find Namine's. He could feel the tension in the room, and he wanted to protect her from all of this danger. But if he even moved the slightest, he was sure to end up like that man, dead.

Ross simply smiled at the action. Adjusting his gun, he scanned the room. "Anyone else want to be next?" he asked, finger on the trigger.

 

Sora kept a hand on Kairi's back, unmoving. He didn't want to bring ANY attention to himself. Hopefully things would blow over quickly...these men would take the money and just leave them. Most people would be scarred for life, but he and his friends could survive anything that came their way. Right...?

Namine bit down on her lip, keeping a hand to her mouth. Roxas' hand touching hers didn't seem to register in her mind; she knew it was supposed to be comforting, but they both knew there wasn't a thing he could do in this situation.

Black turned to one of his men. "The police will be here soon," he told him. "Keep an eye on all the hostages while we secure the rest of the money--we won't let this fall through." All this talk of money was making him sick; that wasn't really why they were there. But for the sake of their anxious hostages, they needed to play it out like a real robbery.

 

Ross went on ahead and approached the back of the counter, searching for a safe of some kind. He might as well act like this was what he was looking for, but he already spotted the target.

Kairi kept her eyes shut, trying to keep her breathing even. The best thing she could do now was remain calm and hope this would all be over soon. Once they got the money or the jewelry, or both, they would be gone and let them go.

Roxas pressed his lips together, flexing his jaw as the disbelief stage faded and the anger approached. This was too unfair to all of them. They just got over their recent troubles a few months ago, and everything had been going very well for all four of them since then. And now these men had to ruin everything...

 

Namine bit down harder on her lip when she felt a tear escape her closed eye. She quickly wiped it away, hoping nobody was watching her. She thought she felt a pair of eyes on her at that moment, but it must have been Roxas.

Sora exhaled heavily, trying to keep his cool. It took a lot for him not to summon his Keyblade at that moment and get rid of this problem. But he knew that wasn't the solution to this problem. If they waited it out, then things would be fine. He hoped.

Black scanned the store, seeing terrified customers crouching everywhere. As much fun as it was torturing them, he knew that no more of them would die today. They were here for one reason, and one reason only. And nothing was going to divert them from the plan.

 

With little interest, Ross looked for this "safe", but found nothing. "Not here, man," he told Black, playing off his part.

Kairi opened her eyes only to stare at the floor. Just make them go away, she begged.

Roxas wasn't sure what to think at this point. He kept thinking about Namine, about her safety and how she was doing. But he knew the answer; she was probably just as scared as he was. All he wanted was for these men to get what they wanted and go.