Kingdom Hearts- FFM V3!

Sora kept his eyes on Roxas, patiently waiting for more. Okay, so Roxas wasn't with her when she was taken. So Roxas hadn't been referring to a mistake he made that day...right? The question went unanswered as Sora listened through the silence, the brunette glancing down and seeing Roxas' hand in a fist.

 

Kairi felt strong tension in the room, and she listened intently to Roxas' story. She waited patiently for him to continue.

"...she called my cell and when I answered, she didn't respond," he continued. "Well, she didn't respond to me exactly, but to someone else." Roxas closed his eyes at the thought, but kept explaining. "Namine had secretly called me while she was talking to him..." Roxas' fists clenched tighter at the thought of Smith, and he didn't move, afraid he would lose it.

 

Sora looked back up at Roxas after seeing his fist tighten, making Sora's eyebrows furrow in concern. But there were still questions nagging him; Who was Roxas talking about? Was it Jeff? Or maybe Brian. Those were the only two people that Sora could think of that Roxas would hate, and they would have a reason to get back at him for beating them up while protecting Namine before. But Sora had a feeling it was much worse than that, so he stayed silent, waiting to hear more.

 

Kairi took another step closer, only a foot away from Roxas and Sora now. Her concerned eyes stayed on Roxas, the aura in the room strong as silence filled it. "Who, Roxas?" she asked softly when he didn't say anything.

Roxas squeezed his eyes shut a little tighter at the name he knew he had to speak. He lifted his head and opened his eyes, their piercing blue depths full of anger, fear, and determination all wrapped up in one. But it was apparent that the anger was the strongest, and though he looked at Kairi, he didn't feel the anger toward her. "Smith," he said simply, his voice cold and hard in tone.

 

Sora's eyes widened at the very name, the brunette taking his hand off of Roxas' shoulder in surprise. Smith...? "How is that even possible?" Sora questioned softly, taking a step over so he could see Roxas more easily. Smith had been killed along with all the other thugs that day, weeks ago. How in the world was he back? It was impossible!

 

Kairi's eyes widened slightly at the name, remembering that man as one of the guys that kidnapped her. But how was he even alive? Didn't Roxas finish him off?

Roxas' eyes flitted from Kairi's to Sora's, both of them seeming to wear the same expression. His eyebrows furrowed over his eyes slightly as he tried to keep the anger inside him at bay. Roxas diverted his gaze down to the floor as Sora's question rang in his ears. "Because of my mistake," he answered. His words were the undeniable truth, and just that knowledge made Roxas' fists tighten.

 

"...Your mistake?" Sora asked carefully, not sure what Roxas was referring to. He could guess what Roxas meant, but he needed to be sure. He didn't want to put words in Roxas' mouth, after all. He'd just have to depend on his friend's explanation for further details.

 

Roxas closed his eyes and exhaled a breath before lifting his head to look at his friends. "I thought I got rid of him, I really did," he started. "But I was wrong...I didn't finish him off." He shook his head in disgust. Guilt was written all over him, as well as anger, and fear, and deep sorrow... "And because of that, he got Namine."

Kairi watched Roxas with intent eyes, the girl clamping her teeth together so her jaw didn't drop.

 

Sora hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to approach this touchy subject. Roxas was obviously upset enough as it was, and Sora didn't want to make things worse. But still though, there was one thing he really didn't understand... "But, what would he want with Namine?" Sora asked Roxas carefully, his gaze staying on his distressed blond friend.

 

"Revenge," Roxas stated simply, his eyebrows furrowing a little more over his piercing blue eyes. "I heard him tell Namine it was for that reason...and now Namine's paying the price for it." The boy took in a breath through his nose and released it slowly and silently.

Kairi stared at Roxas, taking in his words. This was unbelievable...

 

Silence filled the room for a few moments, and Sora could feel the guilt, sorrow, and anger coming off of Roxas. "Roxas," Sora started quietly, looking at his friend with sadness in his own ocean-blue orbs. "I'm so sorry..." Roxas didn't deserve to go through this, and neither did Namine.

 

Roxas nodded a little before he lowered his head, staring at the floor again. He couldn't believe he let this happen. How could he?

Kairi looked at Roxas, feeling the strong aura around him. "Is there any way we can get her back?" she asked softly. Namine was her best friend, and she cared very much for her, but not in a way that Roxas did. Roxas loved her, and she couldn't even imagine what he was thinking.

 

Sora nodded faintly in agreement. Roxas had come here asking for help, and Sora would help in any way he could. It was the least he could do for his best friend. After everything Roxas and Namine had gone through this year already, Sora felt so bad that they had to go through something else...something even worse than the other events that had occured.

 

Roxas looked up at the question, and he nodded. "Yeah. When Smith got a hold of Namine's phone, he told me to meet him on the corner of 6th and Washington at 4:25 in the morning," he explained. "I can only guess he's holding her at the warehouse like they did you, Kairi, but I'm not waiting for some trade off around then. I have to go get her now."

 

6th and Washington, that's only two blocks away from the warehouse, Sora thought. But not all of that made sense, and he had a feeling Roxas had left out some detail. "Wait a sec," Sora spoke as soon as Roxas was done, raising one hand. "What do you mean "trade off"?"

 

Roxas' eyebrows remained furrowed over his blue eyes, the boy looking at Sora for the moment. "Smith said that he would only let Namine go if there was an exchange. And in order for Namine to be freed," he elaborated, suddenly flicking his eyes to Kairi, "he wants Kairi."

Kairi's eyes widened in surprise. "What?" she asked in disbelief. Smith wanted...her?

 

Sora's eyes widened at that statement, and then his eyebrows furrowed over his piercing blue orbs. "We're not letting Kairi get into any kind of exchange," Sora said bluntly. No, he would never let her get that close to danger. Ever. It was his duty to protect her, and if she was in a situation like that, he wouldn't be able to. An exchange was not an option. End of story.

 

Roxas' eyes immediately shifted back to Sora, and his eyebrows furrowed a little more at his statement.

Kairi turned her head to look at Sora beside her at the same time Roxas did, his words echoing in her ears.

 

"It's too dangerous," Sora stated simply, looking from Kairi to Roxas. Surely Roxas would understand that much...right?

 

Roxas kept his eyes on Sora. "I won't let her out of my sight, Sora," he said seriously, trying to convince Sora to help. He needed to get Namine back...

Kairi let her eyes travel to Roxas now. This discussion about her probably wasn't going to go over well...