A/N: Disclaimer that I don't own any KH characters, towns, names, direct quotes, etc here
I also won't own any lyrics used in any chapters (as I'll be using quotes or work by my favorite artists) and during closing notes of chapters you can find the song/artist names!
Also disclaimer that I know band AUs are always done, maybe overly so, but I fuckin' love them so whatever forever \m/
Plus, KH band AU is just way too good of a thing to pass up putting a spin on, ya know?
Originally intended this as a simple one shot but then realized I enjoyed the idea of a short story more. because you know, I'm not currently writing four separate things, or working, or spending quality time with people who love me or anything now. oops.
Anyway, on with chapter 1!
Chapter 1:
The Beginning
Zexion was not a people person.
That fact should not have been surprising, seeing as the twenty one year old avoided crowds, strangers, and the ensuing awkward small talk that came from such things like one would avoid say- the plague- but somehow, someway, Riku managed to evade the simple facts and force him into these things.
"Riku, I'd like to put out there once more that I am extremely uncomfortable with this idea."
"Zex, you gotta live a little."
Zexion snorted. "I could most likely extend my lifespan, therefore 'living a little' more, by avoiding these things."
Riku rolled his eyes at his older brother. "It's one concert."
One concert. Right. Same way it'd been "one" midnight video game or movie release, "one" trip to a theme park, or "one" awkward high school dance chaperoning incident their mother had sent him on in her place.
Just "one" was never just one, clearly. It was a trick, and Zexion had sworn he wouldn't fall for it again.
"Riku, I made it clear-"
The younger, but taller, boy rolled his eyes once more and continued walking as though the elder hadn't spoken.
Zexion had to increase his speed slightly to keep up, irritated. His brother was walking now with Sora and Kairi, who's hands were laced, laughing with him at some joke.
Zexion was frowning, though.
He was completely not okay with going to see some rock band their friend's sister was in.
It was definitely not an ideal situation for him at all.
xXxXx
The topic had been brought up only the day before, when Riku's aforementioned friends Sora and Kairi had been at the house. Not that their appearance was ever a strange incident worth noting.
The three had been friends since they could speak, and eventually Sora and Kairi had become a couple in the more recent years.
Sora and Kairi made an odd pair in Zexion's eyes. He could tell they loved each other, or least as much as two sixteen year olds could, and it was really quite cute, but he'd always assumed Riku liked Kairi and vice versa.
Sora was a goofy kid, and Riku was- while not quite as serious as his older brother- more stoic. Tall and handsome, and Zexion had always assumed Kairi, sweet little Kairi, would go for someone more mature than the silly Sora. How much more perfect could it be that Riku would be around?
But she hadn't gone for Riku. She'd been in love with Sora, since forever apparently.
Riku had accepted it in stride, though Zexion wondered if that was an act.
He often wondered if any of that strained the friendship of the three, who he'd been chasing around and stuck babysitting since early childhood. As far as he could tell, it made no discernible difference, but who knew.
But anyway, the three teens had been lounging in the living room when Zexion had walked in, shouting over each other about something he couldn't decipher.
He huffed slightly and walked past them through to the kitchen, opening the fridge to look for a drink.
"Look guys, Xion will get us in, cause I've got little sister points to cash in. We just gotta get there." Kairi was saying now, her voice enough to stop the excited babbling of the other two.
A groan was the answer to that, most likely Sora's, as Riku was slightly less inclined towards whining.
"But Kaaaaaiiirrrriii, how?" Definitely Sora.
"Yeah, how? Our parents will never let us go to Hollow Bastion alone." Riku's voice joined, and Zexion's ears perked up slightly at this, wondering what a bunch of high schoolers could want to do over there.
Hollow Bastion was part of Radiant Garden, the next town over, but Hollow Bastion was certainly a bit of a darker part of the town. Generally everything over there was a tad creepy, to say the least, and run down. There was also a slightly higher crime rate from some weird rivalry gangs.
It wasn't the sort of place you'd let a group of teens run wild through, definitely.
"Okay so, plan time! Taking ideas, how will we get there? I need to see The Nobodies live." Sora's voice whined.
"And we will! Come on, when have we gone wrong before? I have those little sister points to cash in and this is a perfect time. Who do we know that can take us?"
"I think I know a guy." That was Riku's voice, and Zexion's eyes narrowed in realization.
Turning on his heel, and sure enough the three teens stood in the doorway, all looking at him. It was a bit creepy to have three pairs of eyes all trained on him, unblinking, and he did not like it one bit.
Fighting the urge to recoil visibly, Zexion asked, "What do you want."
Kairi, a tiny little redheaded girl with big blue eyes and a heart shaped face, looked up at him and smiled her most winning smile. Her teeth were all very white, and he blinked.
"Zexy, could you do us a favor pretty pretty pretty please?"
"Don't call me that." Automatic response.
Kairi pouted and batted her long eyelashes. "I'm sorry, just...Please hear me out? We really want to go to this concert, in Hollow Bastion, by our absolute favorite band The Nobodies, and I know it's a little far but you won't have to pay for anything! My sister will get us all in, I'll pay for gas..."
Zexion sighed. "The Nobodies?" He questioned.
"You must've heard their song that's been on the radio, dude!" Sora exclaimed. "Strike Raid?" Nothing. "Oh wait, that was last year's single! Wrong Guy? You must have heard it, right?"
When Zexion continued to stare at him, the brunet boy launched into an offkey version of a song Zexion didn't recognize, except for maybe, possibly hearing it from Riku's room once. Which, now he thought of it, he was sure he'd heard these three yell about nobodies before. So, at least there was that.
This in mind, he turned his attention back to Kairi, asking, "Your sister?"
Kairi nodded, eagerly jumping to the fact he had yet to give a solid no. He could see the determination in her eyes, and he wasn't sure he liked it. "Yeah, Xion, remember her? She's a couple years older than me, dark hair?"
Zexion did remember Xion, albeit faintly. She'd always been kind of quiet, and was perhaps a year or two older than Riku. They'd never really been friends, exactly, but he did know of her.
"I remember." He said slowly, still wondering what Kairi's sister could have to do with this.
He failed to see where Xion and the concert they wanted to go to connected.
Kairi's wide grin was back, and behind her Sora was smiling too.
But Zexion still had no intention of giving an answer.
"Although, I'm missing something. Xion, how would she get you three in?" He asked, curiosity a little piqued.
Kairi frowned and turned back to look at Riku. "You didn't tell him?"
Sora laughed. "Wow Riku, how could you not tell him?"
Riku just rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and leaning on the doorjamb. "I didn't think he'd care. He doesn't exactly listen to them."
"But it's still a cool thing, and you could have told him! No wonder he's hesitant, he doesn't even know!" Kairi retorted.
"Pray tell, what is it I don't know?" Zexion sighed. He was already tired of this back and forth between the trio.
Kairi whipped back around, replacing her frown with the winning, mega watt smile once more.
"My sister is the drummer for The Nobodies."
Zexion was a bit surprised. Kairi's sister was in a band, apparently a band with a single on radiowaves, and he didn't know? With how much these kids hung out at their house, he figured he ought to have picked up on this.
"I'd still rather not." Was his response, with what he assumed was an air of finality.
After that, it had really become a matter of the three of them whining at him, and Riku going over his head to their mom who said that Zexion would be all too happy to oblige, and that was that.
Zexion was not all too happy, but apparently that was irrelevant.
The twenty one year old could think of a million other things he could be doing that would improve his mood, the top one being murdering his younger brother, but that would be rash and a short lived breath of air anyways, before their mother would murder him in cold blood, regardless of the fact that in such a situation, it would render her childless.
Keeping this in mind, he begrudgingly followed behind the younger group, an eye on them as he regarded the fact that maybe the best way to avoid future problems such as these would be to actually move out, as then he couldn't be manipulated as such, but that seemed like such an inconvenience on its own.
The man was also eyeing the club they were approaching apprehensively. It wasn't a very large building, but it had a strange sort of charm. It looked sort of like an old run down castle, and the sign above the entrance just read:
"Hollow Bastion Theater:
The Nobodies
TONIGHT/SOLD OUT"
A long line of people was snaking around the building, all talking excitedly, and Zexion wanted nothing more than to hightail it out of there.
Crowds were really, really not his thing.
Perhaps he could book it back to the garage they'd parked in, just a few blocks south, and lock the car doors and speed out of there.
Sure, he wasn't exactly a runner, but he was in decent shape. The element of surprise would also be an advantage. Plus, the fact he was quiet may buy him some time. The trio might not even notice his disappearance for some time.
While he thought on this plan to abandon the younger group, someone approached them.
A short girl wearing a dark hoodie, with said hood pulled up to hide her face, had bounded up to them and launched herself at Kairi with a strangled yell.
"Xi!" Kairi exclaimed, returning her sister's hug.
They broke their embrace and Xion turned to look up at all of them from under her hood, smiling. "Hey guys! Follow me."
Turning on her heel, she headed off in the opposite direction.
"I've missed you so much! This is all so cool! I'm so excited...also, what's with the hood?" Kairi was saying, speaking rather fast, but Xion just waved off her question as she walked up to the bouncer, a huge man with auburn hair, and said, "They're with me, Lex", before she pushed her way inside.
The large man said to them, "Go right ahead", his soft voice not quite connecting with his intimidating exterior.
They nodded though, walking past him through the dark entrance.
Zexion had eyed the club apprehensively from outside, but on the inside it was...
Nice. That was a good word to use here, as it wasn't the greatest building he'd ever been in, but it was much cleaner than he'd been expecting.
That could only be a plus.
It had a high ceiling, and old fashioned looking torches in the walls that served as the main source of light.
The stage was set up a bit high, and the room was bigger than it had seemed from outside.
Once indoors, Xion had lowered her hood. She looked the same as always: dark hair cut into a short, choppy mess of layers, and big blue eyes just like her little sister's.
Her face was a bit leaner than Kairi's, and she wore heavier makeup than Zexion had ever seen the redhead in, but aside from that they were nearly identical.
"Sorry 'bout that. Didn't wanna cause a scene." Xion was saying, as she led them down a hallway. "We're gonna set you guys up to hang out in the green room with us until showtime. I'm just so glad you could make it! Isn't this venue so cool?"
As she spoke, she opened the doorway into the green room and let them all file in before her, beaming.
Zexion entered behind the younger three, and quickly surveyed the room.
A haughty looking blonde woman with a sharp, angular face was sitting in the corner, twirling- was that a knife?! Zexion wondered, horrified- through her fingers. It was indeed a knife, he realized upon further inspection, and he again quashed the urge to get out of there as quickly as possible.
Two boys, a blond and an extremely vivid redhead, were on a loveseat, wrapped around each other, talking quietly.
Xion closed the door behind them. "Where's the leading man? Promised Kairi she could meet him," She joked, nudging her sister. Kairi blushed and gave a nervous chuckle, nudging the older girl back.
The blonde woman shrugged, dropping the knife blade down into the table with a terrifying sort of thud. "Who knows, he never shows up before showtime. Drama queen gets the jitters if we see him before he's completely cleared it." She directed this last part at the newcomers with a derisive snort and a roll of her green eyes.
"That's not fair, Larx. Don't be jealous that he's so much prettier than you." The redheaded man spoke up from his perch, a laugh in his voice. Getting to his feet with the other close behind, he held out a hand to greet the others, first to Kairi, then Sora and Riku, and finally Zexion.
"Name's Axel. Got it memorized?" He smirked.
Axel was tall, so very tall, and incredibly thin and sharp looking under his tight clothes. His facial features were rather catlike, and Zexion noticed he had small, teardrop shaped tattoos under his green eyes that seemed too bright to possibly be real, lined in thick eyeliner, and of course the mass of cherry red hair that stuck out in nearly every direction.
Zexion's first impression was of a porcupine. An extremely bright colored and large porcupine.
"No one cares to 'memorize' anything, because it's such a stupid catchphrase." The small blond boy deadpanned, before introducing himself as well. "Name's Roxas, nice to meet you guys. Ignore my idiot of a boyfriend, he's mostly harmless."
The blond was around the same height as Zexion, and had a nest of unruly hair on his head, though compared to Sora's mass of brown locks, he was positively well groomed. At any rate, it looked as though he at least actually styled it that way.
Standing out in his thin face, his eyes were a clear blue, accentuated with just a small touch of eyeliner, and when he shook Zexion's hand, the elder noticed a tattoo of the number "13" on the inner part of his wrist.
"And in the corner, being antisocial or possibly plotting the murders of innocent babies, is Larxene-" The blonde woman smiled at Xion's words, a slightly scary grin that showcased pearly white teeth. Her blonde hair was sleek, with a few pieces that stuck up, reminding Zexion forcibly of either antennae or electricity.
"And somewhere out there is our leading man, the real appeal, but who really knows. You'll get a chance to meet him later, I hope." Xion finished with a small smile.
The teens fell into a comfortable companionship with the others, and were all talking over each other with them at once.
Zexion allowed himself to find a seat, though he was currently sitting on the edge of it.
These people were sort of... unnerving, and if this was the case, what in the world could their other bandmate be like?
Would he have face tattoos as well? Or a giant chest piece? Or god forbid those ridiculously, down to the shoulder stretched ear lobes? If this was what the band looked like thus far, what should he expect from the aforementioned frontman? And really, what kind of band was this? Why in the name of God was Zexion here of all places?
Had Zexion been a rude person, he might have voiced some concerns and hightailed his brother and friends straight out of here.
But as it was, he passed judgement silently, and brooded in the corner, watching these people to ensure they didn't cause any harm to what he viewed as the children in the room.
He watched Axel and Riku joke around, whereas Sora and Roxas seemed to have found a companionship their own.
Xion and Kairi were sitting with Larxene, who wasn't really invested in the conversation, but at least wasn't smiling that scary smile anymore.
Zexion did not consider himself exactly... normal by any standards. His hair was a brilliant shade of blue/grey, and he let his bangs hang long into his face. He wore a lot of dark colors, and while he didn't have any piercings or tattoos, he wasn't exactly conservative.
But compared to The Nobodies, he suddenly felt very conservative indeed.
Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he realized that maybe that judgement was a tad unfair. So far, with the exception of Larxene, he wasn't actually all that frightened by anyone's appearance or mannerisms now that the initial shock was wearing off.
He was still apprehensive that maybe this final member would be a horrifying shock to the system, but he was trying to settle that particular concern.
As the afternoon became evening, the group all relaxed and fell into a pleasant camaraderie, enjoying themselves immensely before it was announced that showtime was coming up. The band members all stood up from their relaxed perches, Axel stretching, looking excited.
Xion shrugged at Kairi's raised eyebrow and pointed look around the room and said, "Promise y'all can meet him later. Now scram, kiddos, we have a show to do and have wasted way too much time already."
She shooed them out, pointing them back towards the stage.
Kairi and the boys began jabbering excitedly, Zexion trailing in their wake.
The club floor was almost all one big area, and Zexion worried he'd find himself in the middle of it. There were so many people outside, and he didn't want to be anywhere in that midst.
But he apparently need not have worried, as Kairi led them up to the doors offstage.
The redhead flashed her passes at someone, and they were ushered to sit at the side of the stage.
While they milled around on sidestage- thank you, Xion, for not forcing Zexion into a pit!- Zexion watched the crew setting up the instruments against a backdrop of a strange symbol with the band name displayed in giant letters.
"Who else is playing?" Riku was asking Kairi, but she shook her head to the question.
"No one. Special hometown treat I guess, two hours straight of Xion and the gang."
Riku grinned as Sora let out a low whistle. "Awesome." was the silver haired boy's response, and his entire demeanor was more energized than usual.
Zexion smiled a little at that. His brother was normally so reserved, and had a calm and collected demeanor most days...but this was special to him. Riku was clearly extremely excited.
Same went for the crowd out in the venue. Everyone was ecstatic, the energy palpable, some people calling out cheers as the sound guys did their work.
The lights dimmed a short time later, and Zexion felt a small thrill despite himself. The energy in the room was insane, all these people were so excitable, and the show hadn't even begun yet.
Xion ran out past them first, slapping a high five to Kairi's hand as she passed, situating at her kit and starting a drum roll as the crowd screamed. Zexion could barely make her out against the dimmed lights and assumed the crowd couldn't either, but he supposed they all had to know it was her anyway.
Larxene followed, a strange piano like thing draped across her shoulders. Zexion raised an eyebrow, noticed by his brother, and Riku whispered, "keytar."
Zexion hadn't even known that was a thing, but Larxene had one plain as day, playing a few keys thoughtlessly, a much less sinister grin on her face now.
Roxas and Axel stepped out together, hand in hand until they separated and took their spots on opposite ends of the stage. Roxas slung a strap for a bass across his shoulder, plucking a low note while Axel played a long riff on his guitar.
The energy in the room was thick, the anticipation reaching some strange height, but they were still waiting for one more.
The intro came to a close, and the bandmates launched into a full opening of a song, and a man ran past the small sidestage group, Kairi gasping and going, "It's him!"
Zexion could barely make out any features besides the quick glimpse of hair spiked into a weird, mullet type hairstyle.
The crowd screamed, "DEMYX!" As the stage lights all came on at once and the man was illuminated, a strange, guitar like instrument hanging across his body. With a large grin, the frontman leaned into the microphone and began to sing right off the bat.
Zexion was blown away immediately.
The man- Demyx- was beautiful.
He was tall and lean, and had a mop of dirty blond hair in some cooler version of a mullet, bright blue eyes, and his voice was gorgeous. He was wearing simple clothes- ripped jeans, a black tank top, and combat boots.
Silver hoops went all the way up one of his ears, catching the light, and Zexion was so entranced by those small details.
Demyx was singing something about nicotine, and leaving towns behind- pop punk at it's finest, Zexion realized wryly, something he normally never would have listened to, but suddenly he wanted to kick himself for not having listened to this band sooner.
This wasn't his scene or style but he suddenly found himself sort of really wishing it was.
The first song came to an abrupt halt, and they immediately jumped into another one.
Demyx sang something about peace, and melodies, but Zexion found it hard to concentrate as he watched the man.
After the second song ended, Demyx called out, "Hey, Hollow Bastion! Glad to be back. And may I say, y'all are looking lively!"
Screams were the response to this.
Demyx grinned. "It's so rad to be back, no kidding. It's seriously so good to be home. We missed you. Did you miss us?"
More screams echoed through the room.
"That's what I like to hear!" Demyx called out, his voice carrying.
"Literally they just screamed incoherently..." Zexion murmured, really just to himself, but the crowd screamed, yet again, for Demyx's words.
Larxene across the stage was speaking into her mic, and she was saying, "so HB, do you all wanna hear a duet?"
The crowd surged. Apparently the blonde was a favorite, as in particular someone shouted, "Only if you sing, baby!"
Larxene turned to the frontman, grinning widely. "Whaddaya say Dem? Wanna duet for these guys?"
Demyx grinned, easily jumping into it. "Of course I do...but only for our hometown friends here, you know!"
Screams and incoherent shouts came from the crowd, while Sora and Kairi nearly wet themselves from excitement standing there sidestage.
Demyx was picking the strange instrument up, plucking a soft song.
Axel and Roxas were making eyes at each other across the stage, Axel blowing a kiss to the blond boy.
The crowd screamed, one voice in particular going, "I WANT TO HAVE YOUR BABIES AXEL"
On the side of the stage, Zexion was cringing.
Had he mentioned he hated people? He really, truly did, and he'd almost forgotten that for a brief moment, but it was rearing its head once more.
Axel had joked something back, and the crowd laughed along.
Larxene leaned into her mic, also chuckling. "Shhhh you guys, how are Dem and I supposed to play for you?"
"Yeah yeah, pipe down and listen!" Demyx called out, mock reprimanding.
"We wrote this one together about those times when it feels like... the one person you're calling out for, the one you're constantly looking at, never sees or hears you. We were both feeling a bit low over our various loves... You guys know that feeling?" He added, a small smile tugging at his lips.
"The last time I saw you, you turned away" Demyx began. His tone was different for this song, it was softer.
"I couldn't see you with the sun shining in my eyes," Larxene added.
"I said 'hello' but you kept on walking,"
"I'm going deaf from the sound of the freeway."
Zexion was amazed.
The song was simple, but Larxene and Demyx harmonized well together, surprisingly. He found himself actually getting into the song. Larxene didn't seem like the singing type, but here she was, and she looked so...happy, doing it.
The song wasn't long, it was almost over.
Zexion found himself sort of wishing it wasn't, it was that good.
"The next time I see you, you'll turn away
I'll say hello but you'll keep on walking." Demyx crooned at Larxene.
"The next time you see me, I'll turn away." The blonde sang back, a sad smile on her lips.
Zexion wondered briefly what had happened to cause them to write this. It was definitely... sad.
"Do you remember where we used to sleep at night?"
"I couldn't feel you; you're always so far away."
Together, the two sang the final lyrics of their song:
"I don't, don't wanna take you home
Please don't, don't make me sleep alone
If I could, I'd only wanna make you smile
If you were to stay with me a while..."
As the song ended, Demyx straightened back up from his more relaxed perch.
"Alright, come on guys, let's pick the pace back up. That was a nice breather, but we've got more dancing to do I think.
But first, let's hear it for Larxene!"
The crowd cheered, and Larxene saluted them.
"And of course, Roxas on the bass," The blond boy bowed, "Axel on lead guitar," Axel blew a kiss, pretending to catch a few back from various fans, "Xion on drums, keeping us all in line,"
Xion played a drum roll, eliciting more screams.
"And I'm Demyx, if you didn't know, on the sitar and sometimes, shouting at you, you know how I do." He shrugged, mock bashfulness in his posture.
Zexion smiled. The man could cater to a room.
He was just so enchanting.
The band launched into another song, and Zexion couldn't take his eyes off this strange, beautiful boy.
It seemed that, all too soon for the trio, and not entirely soon enough for Zexion's taste; though he was enjoying himself at least a little, the show was coming to an end.
"Alright guys, this last one is called Wrong Guy," Demyx was saying, wiping sweat off his brow.
The crowd literally screamed themselves hoarse. Demyx tossed the cloth aside and held up his hands, waiting for it to die down, a smile on his face.
When the yelling had subsided enough, he continued, "Please help out if you know the words. Let's go wild, okay HB? Everyone fuckin' move!"
This song was different. The energy was different.
Zexion suddenly found himself not wanting the show to end, specifically based on this song. It was just...too good.
"They said, in case you failed to respond, to use aggression to liberate the true disposssssiiiiitiiiiion," The blond crooned.
The crowd sang right back to him, and Demyx grinned widely.
"but man, did they send the wrong guy for this one!" Demyx sang, his voice a little rougher, having gained a bit of an edge.
Zexion felt his eyes widen.
The boy was so...hot, really.
Other words simply couldn't, wouldn't describe it.
Zexion felt so strange. The slate haired boy could not stop staring at this front man in awe.
Throughout the bridge of this, the last song, Axel jumped into the crowd, Roxas sang backup vocals through laughter, Larxene was thrown a bra, and Xion broke a drumstick.
They took it all in stride though, Larxene throwing the bra back with a "call me!", Xion grabbing a replacement, Axel crowdsurfing through the venue to the joy of many.
"Alright guys, last chorus! Hold Axel up where I can keep an eye on him," Roxas teased, as they held onto a pause during the song post bridge. The energy in the room was building, and everyone was waiting in anticipation, and somewhere near the middle of the room Axel was still being held up in midair by the crowd, grinning like the cheshire cat.
Demyx dropped the neck of his instrument, the strange guitar thing- sitar, Zexion reminded himself- hanging down around his chest, grabbing the microphone stand with both hands, a grin on his face.
"Alright guys, with me now. Ready?
They said, in case you failed to rrrrrrrreeeeesssspond,
to use aggression to-"
the crowd screamed along, "LIBERATE YOUR TRUE DISPOSITION!"
Demyx grinned. "That's right! With me now, once more, let's do this!"
And everyone in the building, Zexion included, though he wasn't shouting, moreso quietly singing along, uttered the last line of the song.
"And man, did they send the WRONG GUY FOR THIS ONE!"
Closing notes: the duet Larx and Dem sing is "Make You Smile" by +44 and I do not own or claim ownership of it.