Author Renorin, or RenRen for short. Aero's the beta so I have love for sisters. Even really annoying ones. (Aero: I'm annoying? Try living with you.)
Disclaimer We don't own Kingdom Hearts. That's like Disney and Squeenix or whatever they're calling themself nowadays.
Breaking the Girl
Chapter One: Strange New Place
Wiping beads of sweat from his brow, Roxas cursed at the heat under his breath and returned to the work at hand. His hands gripped fiercely at the iron handle of the shovel, plowing it over and over into the disgusting filth covering the chocobo's stalls and emptying their contents into a wheel barrow.
At least he had the satisfaction of knowing he wasn't alone.
Three stalls down, an exact replica of himself - minus the goofy brown quills of hair - grumbled in a similarly dissatisfied tone as the noises of another shovel plunging into the depths of the unmentionable reached Roxas's ears.
"How are you holding up down there?" the blond teased while pausing and propping himself on his own crap-moving tool for a quick break.
His reply came in the form of a rarely spoken curse - at least from Sora's mouth anyway.
"Thought so. But just think of what Kairi will say when she returns home. You'll have a nice tan, and you'll have the muscles to make it look good."
Sora hummed a pleased note at the thought of the red head ogling him and quickly returned to his task. With a laugh Roxas followed his actions.
Despite the less than appealing working conditions for the day, which included sweltering heat and the post-rain humidity hanging in the air, Roxas felt in high spirits. For some peculiar reason it just seemed like he should be happy about something. And so he donned a smiled as he worked, even conjuring up a tune to lighten the mood.
When it met Sora's ears the slightly older teenager joined in with his bright melody, singing the words in a voice that was surprisingly good for a boy. He and Kairi were a perfect match in all aspects. They both loved to sing and weren't half bad at it.
The two's singing seemed to lighten the mood a great deal and as such the work passed much more quickly. Soon enough the stalls were as clean as chocobo stalls can get and the boys moved on to their next task: repairing the fence.
"Can't Father come out here and help us?" Sora whined when a wooden plank dropped onto his foot. When Roxas merely shrugged and attempted to hide a snicker he rolled his eyes and shot a glare - more of a pout really - towards their calm white house seated at the forefront of the property. Currently the dirt driveway was devoid of their single carriage as their older brother had left early that morning.
He hadn't really explained why either.
Just as Roxas began to wonder where their older blond had gone off to the thundering of giant bird claws and the unmistakable jostling of a mobile wooden frame sounded off to their left, approaching at a dragging pace. Roxas felt his stomach flip in anticipation as he noticed two extra figures seated to his brother's left.
Two female figures.
The taller of the two females seemed to be talking with their brother in a serious tone, her features appearing solemn the closer they traveled. The smaller girl at the edge of the bench had tucked her legs close to her chest and hugged herself tightly with her lips pressed together and her eyes puffy and red. As the carriage dragged to a halt in front of the house and Roxas caught a better glimpse of the shorter girl he felt a twinge at his heartstrings. She had been crying.
The twins shared a quick glance of confusion before abandoning the fence and sprinting across the yard, questions spilling out of Sora's mouth before he was even close enough for his brother to fully understand him.
"Cloud! Cloud where have you been? What happened? Who are they?" He gestured towards the girls, who wouldn't meet the naïve brunet's gaze.
With a wave of his hand Cloud dismissed his younger brother's questions and stepped down from the carriage, offering his hand for the girls and leading them to the ground one at a time. Clearing his throat he said, "Sora. Roxas. Go and tell Father that I'm home."
Still rather confused and in need of answers Sora stared for a minute longer at the three before he heeded his brother's request and dashed into the house, Roxas following closely behind.
When the two were out of earshot of the girls and Cloud Sora rounded on Roxas. "Who are they?"
"I don't know," the blond admitted slowly, his tone suggesting that he was deep in thought. I've never seen them before."
"I wonder what they're doing here..." The brunet trailed off while turning and heading for the stairs to find their father.
Shrugging in answer though Sora had already gone Roxas followed his brother up the wooden staircase.
O-O
Dinner that night was awkward at best as their dining room was just large enough to accommodate two extra guests. For the most part the girls picked at their food and kept quiet while listening to the polite conversation around them with half an ear. Everyone had been introduced though the twins had been spared the information on why the girls where there to begin with.
The oldest, Larxene looked to be barely eighteen. Her hair was a vibrant blond and her eyes a startling blue that caught Roxas's attention whenever he'd catch a glimpse of them out of the corner of his eye. She looked like the type of girl who ought to be talking instead of trying to close in on herself.
Next to her Naminé seemed just as mousy with hair a softer shade of blond and eyes more of a violet than a blue. Where Larxene had trimmed her hair off just above her shoulders Naminé had kept hers fairly long. It swept slightly off to the side and curled around her shoulder tamely.
While spooning some mashed potatoes into his mouth Roxas snuck glances at the girls whereas Sora openly stared. This seemed to make them even more uncomfortable. They shifted in their seats and shot each other nervous looks. With a reprimanding glare towards his brother Roxas tried to lighten the mood.
"So where are you from?"
It took the girls several seconds before they realized he was speaking to them and Larxene took the liberty of answering.
"Just south of here. A place called Twilight Town." It almost came out as a question, as if she were asking if Roxas had ever heard of the place. In truth he hadn't.
"Why did you come here?" Sora openly blurted, not the least bit phased as every member of his family eyed him incredulously at his blatant question.
Again Larxene answered. "Our house burned down." She left the details to the imagination and even Sora could fill in the blanks.
Though Cloud came across as cold and distant he had a big heart and a kind demeanor. If he felt he could help someone in need then he would. He had obviously offered for the girls to stay with them. Roxas concluded that their family must have died in the fire.
Sora's mouth formed a small 'O' as he averted his eyes and returned to munching thoughtfully on his piece of steak. At the head of the table their father sighed tiredly and excused himsef, his chair scraping against the wooden floor as he left.
The other didn't linger long except for Roxas whose turn it was to wash the dishes. After the others had left he gathered the plates and silver wear in silence, placing everything in the sink and switching on the tap.
With the water running he couldn't hear the light sound of bare feet padding across the floor nor did he sense the presence of the small girl. Thus he was rather startled when he turned towards the table and saw her standing in the doorway looking as if she were torn between wanting to stay and wanting to bolt for the stairs.
With a gentle tone Roxas addressed her as if she were a skittish chocobo. "You can stay if you want. It doesn't bother me."
With the barest hint of a nod she stepped beyond the doorway into the kitchen and took a seat at the end of the table, farthest way from Roxas. For several minutes she watched his hands working as he slid a damp soapy cloth over the plates, rinsed them and toweled them off briefly before stacking them on the counter. The only sound was the chinking of plates and Roxas nearly jumped in surprise when her scarcely audible voice interrupted his movements.
"Would you like some help?"
After a brief moment of thought he nodded and gestured towards the right side of the sink. When Naminé gingerly took the drying cloth from his hands and stationed herself at his side he gave her a reassuring smile as he returned to washing the dishes.
Later he found he was thankful for her help because the task was complete much quicker than usual.
"Naminé," he began as if asking permission to use her first name.
She nodded in acknowledgment.
"Do you and your sister have no place left to go?" After he'd said the words he winced, realizing that it sounded like he wanted to get rid of them.
"Not that I'm eager to have you leave," he corrected hastily as a faint blush tinted his face.
To his surprise she actually smiled softly. "It's ok. But no we really have nothing left. My parents and my younger brother were all the family we knew about, and with them gone..."
Roxas gulped sharply as tears welled in the girls beautiful violet blue eyes. He found himself incapable of handling crying girls and he immediately felt uncomfortable. However he also felt a strong urge to end her pain and to hurt whoever had made this poor girl cry in the first place. In this case he wanted to hurt himself.
"Don't cry," he said a little more gently than he thought he could given his experience with this sort of thing. "You can stay here as long as you need. We have a room upstairs. My sister's room..."
And it was Roxas's turn to trail off and leave things left unsaid. He just didn't talk about Aerith, especially not with strangers.
"Thank you," she managed while holding back her tears and offering a genuine smile. "It means a lot to us."
A few moments of awkward silence passed where Roxas wasn't sure if he should say something more or just leave. Finally he was forced to do the latter when his father called down the stairs and announced that he should get some sleep. With Naminé close behind he climbed the stairs towards his bedroom, fully intent on catching some sleep.
And he had done just that until he awoke late into the night at the odd sounds drifting in through his open doorway. At first he had almost sprang out of bed and ran into his sister's room as he used to do years ago when Aerith was still sick and his mother used to sit at her bedside and quietly cry herself to sleep.
A moment later he realized that the soft sobs he heard were not from his mother but from Naminé.
Without care for his lack of shirt or pants Roxas rolled out of bed and padded carefully across the bedroom so as not to wake Sora, the teenager's light snoring reaching his ears from behind as he exited the room. He turned left down the hall and made for what used to be his sister's bedroom half expecting to see her fragile body lying there in bed with his mother hovering over her.
However the sight that greeted him was no less disturbing.
Her face buried in her pale little hands Naminé sat at the edge of her bed wearing nothing more than a flimsy white nightgown and stockings. Larxene slept peacefully on the adjacet bed, impervious to her sister's pain.
"Naminé?"
Lowering her hands she glanced up at Roxas with tears streaking down her pale face. Roxas wanted to go to her immediately and comfort her but remained rooted to the spot as she studied him for a minute or so and then beckoned him inside.
Wordlessly Roxas lowered himself onto the bed with several inches separating them and whispered in a voice only she would hear.
"Are you ok?"
Faintly nodding she wiped at her eyes. "I'll be f-fine. I just can't sleep."
Struggling between the urge to encompass her in his arms and the reminder that they barely knew each other Roxas blinked a few times and said nothing. He couldn't bring himself to move closer or away and she didn't seem inclined to make the choice for him.
"I keep seeing my house in flames," she mumbled in a voice Roxas could hardly understand. "And I can hear my little brother screaming as if it's happening all over again."
Their eyes met for half a second as a silent question and answer passed between them. Roxas caught the brief dip of the girl's head as she agreed and lessened the gap between them, her head resting on his shoulder as his arms circling her shaking body.
"I'm sorry," Roxas said simply because he didn't know what else to say.
"Thank you," Naminé replied softly and the two remained that way for some time with Roxas gently patting her back and Naminé allowing tears to flow freely until she could cry no more and fell into the abyss of sleep.
When Roxas finally realized that she had dozed off he gingerly laid her back on her pillow and draped the blanket over her tiny frame, whispering a faint "good night" before returning to his own room until morning.
Author's Notes This was supposed to be part of the one-shot challenge we're doing but it started to get really long. Now it's my first ever chapter story! Woo! I know it's a little short but keep in mind I have three extra chapters already written so the wait shouldn't be long.
