Peanut

Zack winced at the touch, in pain everywhere. But he wasn't going to let that stop him. "He's my problem," he said, stepping past Aqua as he raised his sword in front of him. Sephiroth was a menace from his past; he had nothing to do with the Keyblade wielders, or so he thought.

Zack stabbed his hefty blade into the ground, that being his only physical support after that attack. He already used up all of his potions, and as soon as he saw Sephiroth prepare that attack, he knew what was coming. He knew that as soon as Sephiroth weakened him, he'd deal the final blow. But suddenly, Zack was surrounded by Keyblade wielders. He was surprised and glad for the interference, but also angry. I have to be the one to end this... he thought, picking up his sword again. He had to kill Sephiroth.

Ven and several others pleaded with Phil while the fight raged. There were invisible barriers set up around the fight to keep it contained and to keep the audience safe, but those walls also prevented anyone in the crowd from jumping in. He and the others all knew that they had to break through and fight Sephiroth; he was one of Xehanort's Darknesses in the past. The problem was, the barrier took a while to be put down, and Phil could only do it to a small area so the rest of the crowd wasn't hurt by any of Sephiroth's huge attacks. But finally--finally--the shield was brought down before them, just as Sephiroth cast one of his worst attacks on Zack: Heartless Angel.

"You've haunted Cloud long enough," Zack claimed. "Sephiroth...I'm putting an end to you!" He charged forward and swung his hefty sword, fighting in a different manner than he had in the other matches. In those, he had been lighthearted and carefree. But with Sephiroth around, those emotions disappeared and were replaced by anger and sorrow.

"What are you doing here?" Zack growled, ignoring the countdown that Phil gave to start the fight. He had no intention of fighting Sephiroth until he knew what he was doing here? Zack had his own reasons for fighting in this arena, but those were personal. Sephiroth never did anything without purpose, so he definitely had a reason for being here.

Zack's eyes widened, but it wasn't because of Aqua's cry. "Sephiroth!" he growled, any form of a smile disappearing from his face as he glared at his former comrade--his former idol. He joined SOLDIER to be a hero, and when it came to heroes, Sephiroth was the best there was. First Class SOLDIER, far above others in rank and always able to be calm. But then... He winced, tightening his grip on the Buster Sword that he held in front of him as he remembered Nibelheim: the town Sephiroth burned when he sank into insanity. How was he here and alive?

The Next Day Upon hearing his name announced, Zack waltzed into the arena. He passed a wave and a smile to the crowd, lifting his hand back to grasp the hilt of his large sword. He held it up for them in a pose before he looked towards the other side of the arena. The final opponent wasn't called in yet, and whoever he (or she) was was a mystery. Phil kept things pretty secretive when it came to various branches competing and their victors meeting in the final match.

"Goodnight," Roxas murmured, too tired to make out the meaning of the words Namine said before her farewell. His eyelids fell shut, his head turning slightly on the bed as his body became more relaxed. Though it wasn't the most conventional position, he was already starting to fall asleep just because of the exhaustion.

Roxas peeked his eyes open, seeing Namine standing by his legs. "You won this time," he said faintly. She took him to his room so he wouldn't train, and she stopped by the bed so that he'd sleep. In a matter of minutes, he would be knocked out cold and not think about training anymore until morning.

When they were in his bedroom, Roxas slid out of Namine's loosened grasp and sat down on the bed that was behind him. He couldn't help but sink into it and then fall backwards, his eyes immediately falling shut. Alright, he was exhausted: he had to admit that now. He'd just have to train again tomorrow.

"Okay," Roxas sighed quietly in defeat. He'd go to bed, and if he didn't immediately pass out when he hit the mattress, he'd think about returning. He was a little sad that he wasn't walking Namine to her room, but he knew she wouldn't leave him alone now. Besides, he didn't feel like arguing with her, and he didn't feel like encouraging her to take her arm away.

"Um...whoops?" Roxas tried. But there was no recovering from his most recent blunder. She could handle being told that she was important to him, but she couldn't handle the idea of him training again that night. He really should have been more careful with censoring himself...

Roxas smiled weakly, though he had to admit that Namine had a point. "Maybe," he confessed quietly. "But I thought maybe I'd come back and..." He didn't finish, realizing that would be a dumb move. Not coming back, but telling Namine that he was thinking of coming back.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Roxas said. He set a hand on the computer and rose, able to do it. He regained some energy while sitting on the floor, and anyway, he wasn't going to sleep on this floor tonight. He'd make it just fine; he wouldn't let himself do anything less.

"I guess I can...walk you to your room?" Roxas offered. What else was there to do? It was late and everyone else was probably heading to bed. He and Namine should have done the same since they were going back to Olympus Coliseum tomorrow for the finals. But...he didn't know what he'd do yet.

"Sorry about that," Roxas said with a weak, sheepish smile. He wished it hadn't happened like this, but there was no taking it back now. But now what? They were just kneeling here, alone with so many things to say but nothing to say at the same time.

Roxas nodded slightly, taking in Namine for a moment. She was taking it...well, despite his suddenness. "I'd like to hear your thoughts on it though," he said quietly. "Sometime." She could tell him now or later: whenever she was ready. He wasn't going to force her to talk now when he already unloaded so much on her.

"I just dumped a lot on you," Roxas said with the weakest, frailest smile. He really hadn't meant to unload everything on her, especially not while he was so tired and worn down. He hadn't let himself think of how to tell her, since he didn't meet his goal yet.

"I feel kind of silly," Roxas said quietly as he met Namine's eyes. He said so much that he shouldn't have said right now, and while he felt bad for it, he wasn't going to take it back now. Namine deserved to hear what he felt.

Roxas looked over at Namine, weakly meeting her eyes. He already said a lot of stupid things: well, they weren't stupid, but they weren't called for in this conversation. He kept his mouth shut, though he was trying to read her expression. How was she taking this?

Roxas looked down at his lap with half-open eyes, seeing a drop of sweat fall from his bangs. "...Sorry," he said faintly. "I didn't mean to confess to you like this..." He was going to be strong for her: he was going to prove that he was strong enough to protect her and then he was going to tell her his feelings. Obviously that didn't work out.

Roxas felt lightheaded, maybe because of what he was saying and maybe because of pushing himself too much. "Nam..." he said weakly, giving her the best warning he could. He set a hand on the computer and slowly lowered himself to his knees, too weak to stand.

As soon as Roxas realized what he said, his cheeks flushed. "I mean...Well...I mean..." There was no point hiding it now. And he didn't want to retract what he said. "I mean it," he said quietly. "I couldn't protect you." So he'd get stronger until he was able to protect her.

"I didn't protect you well enough," Roxas said, surprised at the moisture that appeared in his eyes. "I couldn't protect the person who means the most to me..." He was stunned that he confessed such a thing, but with how tired he was physically and emotionally, he didn't have his usual filter.

"No I'm not," Roxas said, finding that his knees were weak both from the strain he put on them in the past few hours and because of the conversation. He didn't like admitting this to Namine. "I wasn't...strong enough to protect you." She had to step in to defeat Seifer. If he was stronger, everything would have been okay. She wouldn't have had to use the power that she didn't like using.