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Roxas and Xion in a battle were unstoppable.
Anyone who knew Roxas knew he was a fighter though and though. He wasn’t one by choice, of course, he wanted a normal life, begrudgingly going to school and maybe getting a part-time job somewhere to earn some money for a skateboard or something, but he was made into a fighter and a damn good one at that. His skills with a keyblade were amazingly deadly, and the fact he had two of them was nothing to sniff at.
There wasn’t much in a fight that Roxas thought he couldn’t handle with his reflexes and brute strength (plus the magic he used from time to time).
Xion, on the other hand, worked strategically. She studied her opponent, found weaknesses from the smallest mistakes. She was quick, and her hits were precise. The way she interlocked her magic with her strikes were deadly to whoever opposed her. She had no choice to be; she had to prove herself useful for the Organization, so being able to take down enemies no matter what was critical for her.
She could strategize her way to victory at the drop of a hat, and that’s what made Xion so deadly in a fight.
They were both so strong.
Roxas knew they worked like a well-oiled machine. Xion picked up the slack of his restless, and borderline dangerous fighting style, and he provided her with opportunities to scoop out an enemies attack patterns and weaknesses. They were strongest together, knew each other’s pitfalls and being able to cover them, yet equally strong enough on their own that knowing which of them was strongest would mostly end in a deadlock.
That didn't stop him from poking the bear every so often.
Walking into the living room of their shared apartment, he saw Xion relaxing on the couch, laid out with her feet perched on the back of the couch making an almost lazy 'L' shape.
"Hey, Xion," he'd said out of nowhere one day, "I'm probably stronger than you, right?"
Xion peaked over the book about seashells she was reading. Her face was hidden from his view, but he could tell from her eyes was looking at him with indulgence.
"Well, physically, yes." She answered slowly. "It comes with the territory of thinking you can beat anything if you hit it hard enough."
Roxas chuckled a little bit. "Yeah, it does, doesn't it. But would you say I could best you in a fight?"
This time, Xion raised an eyebrow at him. "I wouldn't say that."
"So you think you could beat me?"
"I wouldn't say that either."
"Well, what would you say?"
"What are the circumstances? Is it a fight to the death?"
"Absolutely not ."
They'd never really talked about it, but Roxas always froze when 'Xion' and 'to the death' were in the same sentence. There were simply far too many times they'd been put against each other for Roxas to even think about it again, especially considering Roxas had actually killed her once. Hell, it took Roxas a little over a year to even be able to see Xion in red armor.
"Hmm, then the answer's pretty up in the air, isn't it?" Xion said.
“It doesn’t have to be though.”
“What do you mean?”
"A sparring match. You and me. We'll go until either of us immobilizes the other or taps out."
Xion frowned, knowing how stubborn the two of them could be. "That would take way too long."
"Then we'll do the handkerchief method Terra told us about."
Xion pursed her lips at him before giving a large sigh, closing her book with finality and putting it to the side. "And here I was thinking I'd actually have a day off. I'll go change."
Roxas smiled, knowing she was just as curious as he was.
⧪
A light corridor away, and they arrived at a desert location they used to train. It was an empty field, a ways off to the left was an attempt at a stone wall that was a little taller than Roxas. There was a stream close enough for them to hear but not see, and several pine trees scattered in the area, giving them enough room to move around without being too open. A perfect place for a sparring match.
Sporting sweatpants and a tank top, as well as a belt around their waist with a handkerchief loosely tied around it, Xion and Roxas looked around the area to survey it, making sure no one else was around to get caught in the crossfire.
"So, the rules are simple," Roxas began, putting down two water bottles on a nearby stone, "first to either get the handkerchief or make the other tap out, wins. Nothing too big, and don't try to headbutt me again."
Xion rolled her eyes; strategically it had its advantages, but she wasn't going to try it after accidentally hitting him in the nose the last time.
"And what does the winner get?" She asked instead.
Roxas shrugged. "I don't know, bragging rights? I figured we'd see after we're done."
"That's not good enough."
Roxas rolled his eyes, "How about the winner gets one command that the loser has to only?"
She looked intrigued. "Any command?"
"Within reason."
Xion hummed for a quick second before nodding her head. "Okay then, let's get started."
Roxas watched as Xion readied herself in front of him, lowering her stance and summoning her keyblade, eyes determined as always. She gave him a nod, waiting for him to do the same. It was silent for a moment before Roxas moved to strike.
Xion quickly deflected his swipe, spinning around and trying to back swipe at him. She danced out of the way as Roxas managed to duck under her keyblade, no doubt trying to do for a lower hit to take her handkerchief.
Roxas stumbled forward when Xion transformed into a ball of light, jumping three or four steps away from him, reforming and casting thunder at him. He dodged, eyes moving around as Xion continued the game of catch and attack, keyblades deflecting Xion's attacks at almost just the right time but slipping every so often with her magical blasts.
"Xion, this isn't technically a fight if you keep running, " he complained, ducking just in time as fire whirled above his head.
"Well, you can't exactly fight an enemy you can't catch." She taunted, not at all taking a moment to pause.
Roxas rolled his eyes, almost no one could, but luckily for him, he knew Xion in a fight, and she could get a little repetitive in her cockiness.
He held a hand out to his side, quickly casting Pearl, hearing Xion groan in discomfort and changing course. Following the sound of her voice, he dashed towards her just as she appeared from light, bringing Oathkeeper and Oblivion down in a flurry of attacks, Xion having just enough time to bring her keyblade up to block. Roxas didn’t think much of it as he continued this combination of attacks, knocking Xion into the air before following. Instead of following up, he watched as she got her bearings midair, backflipping away from him. He smirked at her for a moment before he heard her hiss softly, face immediately paling at the thought that he might have actually hurt her.
“Xion?”
“Fine!” She hurriedly shouted, holding a hand out to him before he could run to her. She pressed the same hand against her now split lip. Even though she’d blocked the brunt of Roxas’ attack, the force of his strikes knocked her keyblade against her face. She almost let out a small laugh. It's almost nice to know Roxas wasn't half-assing anything.
She shook her head, getting back in ready position.
“Are you--”
She reassured him, “Don’t worry, it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
It took him a moment, but Roxas nodded, giving her a shaky smile before getting ready.
And just like that, they moved, dancing around one another as their keyblades knocked against one another. Roxas could feel the blood flowing through his body and a buzz in his heart, seeing Xion waltz around him. Even as he started to feel the ache in his body from having blocked her moves, or the weight of losing mana, he still wanted to smile.
However, he knew neither one of them could keep this up much longer, and they were both gathering multiple wounds that would sooner or later need to be healed unless they wanted infections. This had to end quickly, but there was no way in hell Roxas could forfeit, and he knew Xion wouldn't let him call it either without reaping the rewards of victory.
Roxas took a deep breath, rushing towards Xion with a barrage of attacks. The cling of their keyblades hitting one another loud in his ringing ears, furthering the pulsing of his temples from the oncoming headache--because unlike what she said, she did headbutt him again--, but he pushed through.
He tried excruciatingly hard to keep the smirk off his face as he pushed Xion back with each strike of his keyblades. If he didn’t know she could take it, he’d feel bad at her upset expression, but watching her eyebrows furrow as she thought her way out of Roxas’ almost reckless barrage was exciting.
When he brought Oblivion and Oathkeeper down in a diagonal slash, Xion jumped out of the way, gasping as she backed into the stone wall Roxas was pushing her towards. Then, Roxas couldn’t keep the smirk off his face. He knew Xion fought her best in open areas with her back free. He almost felt bad when he brought his keyblades down against hers once again, feeling her arms buckle just the slightest before she leaned against the wall, letting it anchor her into a deadlock, their keyblades forming an X.
Roxas took a deep breath before putting more pressure against his blades, knowing that sooner or later, Xion would either buckle or have to call it a quits. She groaned, glaring at him briefly, probably knowing he was trying to wait her out.
“Is this really how you wanna win?” she breathed out, pressing back against him. Roxas quickly readjusted his back leg, making sure she couldn’t push him off.
“A win’s a win, isn’t it?” he snarked, slightly breathless. Besides, it was probably the best way to end this without either of them getting hurt too badly. They're too evenly matched, and there’s no way Lea would appreciate them returning home bruised and lacking mana. He’d probably never heard the end of it about Xion’s still split lip.
Too caught in his supposed victory and imminent scoldings, Roxas didn’t realize Xion slowly angling his Keyblades downwards. He let out a slight yelp when, with his body weight, his blades slid across Xion’s, implanting themselves in the stone on the side of her.
Before he could move to extract them, Xion ran a hand through his hair, angling his face, leaning forward and kissing him.
He briefly worried about the split in her lips before his eyes fluttered closed, thinking about nothing but Xion’s lips against his. Forgetting his keyblades altogether, he pressed one hand against the wall and the other one against Xion’s cheek.
Roxas felt his heart beating in overtime due to their fighting and could hear his blood flowing in his ears. He wanted to control himself, making sure not to kiss Xion too hard because of her lip, but the adrenaline in his body pushed him to kiss her as hard as he could. Time seemed to stop while her lips were against his, and Roxas wondered if their kiss would last for eternity.
With a quick yank of his hair, Xion ended the kiss, pressing her forehead against his as she took in Roxas’ hazy eyes. “You’re so easy to distract, Roxas.” She gave him a small smile before slipping from in between his arms. “Oh, and I win.”
“Wha--!” Roxas quickly turned to catch her but felt his lower body tug. He blinked as her smile turned smug before looking down to see his legs frozen completely in a chunk of ice. He gasped in disbelief, looking down at his belt to see the handkerchief tied was also gone.
She’d tricked him so good.
He groaned as she melted her ice away, laughing while twirling the handkerchief in her other hand. “Sorry, babe.”
“Are you really?”
She looked as if she was thinking about it, and Roxas could only be grateful for it.
He sighed, “Don’t answer.”
She giggled, leaning forward and kissing him on his cheek and grabbing his hand. "Now that that's over, how about we go home and you finally let me relax."
Roxas raised his eyebrow in confusion, "Is that the favor you want?"
She lifted an eyebrow, taking a few steps towards him, setting her pointer finger delicately in the middle of his chest, "Oh no, the relaxing part is a given. But , I do expect you to help me relax."
Roxas gulped, knowing the look in her eyes meant he really had his work cut out for him, not that he really minded. "What… did you have in mind?"
She winked at him then sang, "You'll see."
Looks like defeat can be just as sweet.