A/N: This is a story I couldn't wait to write down even though I'm on vacation. :P It's also for my friends who are patiently waiting for me to update my stories! My treat to you guys, :) Enjoy.
Black Day
namixas.oneshot
-----Christmas in December. Valentine's Day in February. White Day in March…lots of romantic days for couples…-----
-April-
And I'm miles away from love…
Snap! Namine sighed looking at her broken purple colored pencil that she had just used, "Stupid couples have it so easy…" she muttered.
She turned to her brown haired friend who was checking his cell phone for any new messages before looking back at her making her smirk, "You're grinning like an idiot reading Kairi's text message."
Sora's face became red, "You said you wanted to see them."
The blond girl grinned at his reaction and took his cell phone to read the picture message. "I'll do my best," she read from the phone and saw an attached picture of the redhead smiling with what looked like her new cake recipe.
Kairi is currently participating in the Japan Junior Pastry Chef Training Camp sponsored by Rinoa Heartilly. If you think about it, it's like a pastry chef boot camp.
She sighed again closing her eyes for a moment, and it wasn't just her chef skills, but even capturing a boy's heart like…"She really is amazing..."
"Can I have my phone back?"
She threw it back at him before resuming back to her drawings. She took a quick peek at Sora who went back to checking his text messages and shook her head before reaching for a red colored pencil this time, "He can't get in touch with her much right now." Then her hand took a cerulean color, making her pause, "Plus…Roxas is in Destiny Islands. He's studying under a famous pastry chef since it was his prize for winning the World Junior Pastry Chef Competition."
Namine looked at her white page now scribbled with random lines of blue. She didn't think it was fair that a boy like Roxas should be a genius at cooking and baking unlike her, a girl who should at least have decent skills in home economics. She couldn't even make pancakes from the pancake mix box!
The blond girl closed her sketchbook. Roxas was moving on to become a famous chef like his parents did before similar to Kairi's path. Even Sora was doing something productive by taking his role under his dad (the director) as a student body director. "They're moving toward their dreams…" she muttered.
"Huh?"
She smiled at the confused boy, "Nothing Sora. I'll see you later."
He patted her shoulder, "Okay. Later Namine."
The artist watched him walk away before heading in the opposite direction. Sora…it was one-sided love that she knew from the very start. With everything settled and her friends moving on… "I feel like I've been left behind…" she whispered to herself, "so I'm a little sad about this…"
Right on time, a familiar ring started playing which almost made her jump since she thought she had her phone off. At first, she was thinking about letting it go to voicemail, but the caller was the reason why she decided to pick up, "Hello?"
"Hey, Namine?"
Her heart thumped nervously, "Roxas?" A smile began to slowly form upon her face, "Wow long time no talk. How are you?"
Roxas smiled at the sound of her voice, "Yeah. I'm doing good." He also remembered something else, "Hey you know what? I was featured in the Oathkeeper - One Sky, One Destiny."
Namine stopped walking, "What? Wow! That really famous magazine?!" She couldn't believe it, it was one of those best of the best that could only be featured in there and now someone she knew was in it, "Cool I'll read it! I promise!" She'll have to keep a note to herself to drop by the nearest bookstore to pick one up.
The blond boy chuckled at how excited she seemed to be. She wasn't always like this, something must have put her in a good mood, "Oh yeah. I'll be coming back to Twilight Town soon." he paused, "And I'll treat you."
"Huh?" She replayed his words in her mind and found no sarcasm in that sentence, "W-Why?"
"Remember the day of the competition?"
Flashback
"There are a lot of famous people here," Roxas thought looking to his right and left. Everyone around him were all famous chefs that he could name from the back of his mind. "Shoot. I'm actually getting a little nervous…"
He almost jumped at the sound of his cell phone. "I should've turned it off…" he murmured.
"Roxas? It's me Namine."
He sighed in fake disappointment that it wasn't Kairi, "Oh. It's only you."
The blond boy could imagine the look on Namine's face from his greeting, "Is that how you treat a friend who called to cheer you on?" She was silent for a moment," By the way I couldn't reach Kairi."
Roxas stared at a nearby clock, he didn't have much time, the competition was going to start soon, "Dude, you should really consider the time zone difference. You're such an airhead."
Namine paused and checked the time on her alarm clock. Destiny Islands was 3 hours ahead from Twilight Town's time, "Sorry, I didn't realize and- wait! An airhead?!"
"You'll never get a boyfriend if you keep acting like that."
Her face flushed red. She was grateful that he couldn't see her face right now, "What?!"
He glanced at his cell phone and smiled fondly, "But I feel better now…thanks."
End of Flashback
"You gave me a call remember?" Roxas' voice broke Namine's flashback relapse, bringing her back to reality, "Even though we bickered a little bit, it helped me relax…and I won the competition. So I want to thank you for it."
The blond girl froze in her spot with the cell phone still in her hand. Roxas had never been this kind before, it was as if…she shook her head, "Well, in that case…you can treat me."
"Good. Looking forward to it, later."
She smiled, staring at the screen with the words "call ended" before flipping it shut. Her heart was beating nervously again, "Wow…he's coming back to Twilight Town…" She started running towards her studio, "Then I'll have to do my best too," she told herself, "My dream is to become a world famous artist and that starts now."
"Wow…Namine," Olette was skimming through various pages of her friend's drawings, "You're doing great lately."
She clapped her hands together in triumph, "Yes! I've been inspired and ready for new challenges!"
The brunette girl grasped Namine's hands in a dreamy daze, "I'm so happy! You used to be so picky on what to draw and which artists to work with!"
Namine let out a soft laugh. It was true, she used to be the type of artist who couldn't seem to work with anyone, she was used to being more independent as you could say. She opened her box of crayola crayons and picked out a sky blue color this time, "When he comes home, I don't want to be the only one who hasn't changed a bit."
A few days later…
The White Mansion - Namine's room
Snap!
Namine glanced up at Olette in surprise. She sadly looked at her broken crayon, she had a bad habit of breaking her coloring utensils, "An art exhibition?"
"That's right," Olette grinned, "you were selected as one of the top popular teen artists to have several of your artworks displayed in the next Sunset Hill art exhibit." She pulled out a poster from behind her and opened it up for her to see, "See? These posters are going up in a couple of days, aren't you excited?"
"Wow…" the artist was in awe, "That's a famous art event where all the popular artists gather!"
"Oh and they want you to introduce a dessert you can make at home."
Namine froze, dropping her other crayon. At least this time she didn't break it. "W-Wait…I-I can't do that, I can't cook at all!"
"Eh?" Her friend held a worried expression, "But the theme is already set, if you can't they'll book another teen artist." She pulled out some of Namine's works from a manila envelope, "They decided this because their favorite works of yours were mostly drawings of pastries and cuisines. Guess they assumed you liked to cook as a hobby."
The blond girl slumped to the floor. What great luck, a theme that she was a definite fail at.
"Hey," Olette patted her shoulder, "Kairi's a good cook, why don't you have her teach you a healthy dessert recipe?"
A light bulb lit up above her head, "That's right I have Kairi!" She pulled out her cell phone ready to call her when she realized one problem, "I can't get in touch with her…" she sadly shut her cell phone and closed her eyes tiredly, "What should I do?"
"Maybe…you could ask Roxas?" Olette suggested, she didn't know how close Namine was with him, but she knew that he was someone she started talking to recently. She took a glimpse of her cell phone, "Oh! I have to call Pence to see if he finished developing those photos from the school dance last week, talk to you later Namine!"
Namine gave a small wave back to her friend, "My only other choice is…" she eyed her cell phone watching her hand hesitate back and forth whether to call the boy or not. She sighed and started dialing, "He might tell me not to rely on others but…" She heard a click on the other line, "Roxas?"
"Hey, what's up?"
"Um…Um…" Namine knew what she wanted to say, but she didn't want to be blunt about it. "How should I bring it up?" she thought.
"She's being strangely quiet…" Roxas checked his cell phone to see if the line was still connected, "Namine?"
"How are things over there?" She suddenly blurted, mentally slapping herself in the head for asking the most overused question in a conversation.
"I'm so busy these days," The blond girl heard from the other line which weren't the words she expected to hear. "They're saying they want to serve my desserts at the three-star restaurant Papou Eatery," he continued, "isn't that cool?"
And before she could say anything he added something else which made her unhappy, "Guess I won't be coming back to Twilight Town anytime soon, huh?"
"What?!" her inner self almost said aloud, she was disappointed, "But…But you said you were going to treat me."
"So what did you call me about?"
That last sentence made her upset, "Why don't you just eat papou fruits for the rest of your life!" She yelled in reply ending the call in a snap before throwing it across the room.
"What?" Now it was Roxas' turn to be surprised as he tried calling her back again.
"I won't answer…" Namine thought as she laid on her bed with the pillow over her to shut out the sound of her cell phone ringing, "Roxas you liar…"
The blond boy stared at his phone seeing that she didn't answer the last four times he tried calling back. "Namine?"
"Idiot…" she muttered as she wiped her tears away from her eyes with her blanket, "That's not what I wanted to hear…"
Seventh Heaven Diner
"Ah…" Namine took a glance at her eleventh attempt at baking pastries and over to her "teacher" who was staring at all the food in disbelief making her sigh, "I guess you can't help me either, Cloud."
The older blond slumped into a nearby chair and closed his eyes to rest, "Give me a break, I've been so busy without Kairi here."
She watched him slowly fall asleep leaving her to work by herself, "Guess I'll just have to do it on my own," she murmured and faced the kitchen counter trying to brainstorm what else to make. "Though, I better not let Tifa see all this mess, she would kick me out if she saw this." She already messed up the kitchen at her house and now DiZ won't let her take a step in there anymore.
Namine opened her "My First Baking Book", and flipped through the pages for a simple recipe she could make. "I've been watching Kairi make a lot of things…I'm sure I can do it."
The first couple of days, she realized that her mistake started out with using the wrong ingredients like mixing up salt for sugar. Then after a few more days it was her timing with how long "something" should be in the oven.
She fell to the ground seeing the results of her burnt cookies, melted looking flan, flat looking cupcakes, and …she didn't know what those other ones were but she knew they weren't going to be eaten anyways, "I failed." A week had already passed and her food seemed to look less edible day by day. "I'm an embarrassment to all girls in the cooking world."
"Namine!" Olette had heard about her whereabouts in the kitchen and peeked through the diner door to see a depressed girl on the ground surrounded by a mess, "Let's just buy a snack from a store."
She looked up at her brunette friend confused, "Huh?"
"It'll be okay!" Olette bent down to lend her a hand to stand up, "We'll just pretend you made it."
The blond girl stood up, feeling uncertain about that idea, "I guess…I don't want to lose my chance…"
Sunset Hill - Day of Art Exhibition
"I bought it…" Namine's mind said as she looked at the white box in her hands.
"Nami-chan!" Aerith's voice greeted her as soon as she stepped in the room, "Thanks for coming today!"
"Oh yes, I-I'm looking forward to it." Namine bowed her head slightly, as the older girl noticed the white box, "Is that your homemade dessert?"
"Oh…um…" Her eyes started at the white box in her hands. All she had to do was say one simple word, "yes", but she couldn't bring herself to do so. "I wonder…if this is right…" She looked at Aerith, "lying…" then over to Olette, "and cheating…about cooking…" Roxas suddenly came to mind, "Is this…" She shook her head, "I'm sorry, I…"
She felt a soft hand touch her shoulder and became stunned to see who appeared beside her with something in his hand, "You forgot something…your homemade dessert."
Aerith clapped her hands happily as Roxas handed her the tray, "Oh! Black sesame pudding! This looks delicious."
"Roxas…" Her mind was confused seeing him give the older girl a warm smile as if it were no big deal, "No way…" The blond boy looked at her, "But…why?"
Roxas walked over to her, "Cloud told me that you were in trouble."
"That's not it," she shook her head and took him by the arm, "Come over here."
She quickly dragged him over to the corner of the exhibit and spoke quietly, "You said you didn't have time to come back to Twilight Town."
The blond boy shoved his hands into his pockets and turned his back on her so they weren't facing each other, "That's true."
"I knew it…" Namine sighed.
"Or…so I thought," he added which made her confused, "But…you haven't answered your phone ever since that day. Then…I don't know why…but," his voice suddenly had a softer tone, "I wanted to hear your voice," he turned back to face her, "I wanted to see you all of a sudden."
Her face transitioned to a light pink color, startled to hear those words, "To see you…"
"Yeah…"
"W-When you said you didn't have time to come back to Twilight Town…I-I…was so sad that…I wanted to cry…" Her vision was starting to blur as she quickly tried to wipe some of her tears away, "Because…I wanted to you see you too…I wanted to see you more than you did…this is your fau-"
He interrupted her by pressing his soft lips against hers, the two of them in bliss while Olette who was watching from a few yards away started smiling and nudged Pence to take their picture. Namine was stunned as the blond boy stared into her eyes before realizing what he just did.
"Whoa!" He started backing away with a red face, "Wh-What are you doing?!"
She was turning red, "That's…That's my line!"
"I couldn't help it! You looked…kinda cute all of a sudden." He blurted back as it fell in an awkward silence between the two. "Hey," he began, "do you know what day it is?"
"Today…" she started, "is…April 14th."
"Yeah, Black Day," Roxas nodded knowing that she probably didn't know what that was, "In Korea, they have Valentine's Day in February, White Day in March and Black Day in April. Those who didn't have their love life together…wear black clothes, and eat black jajangmyeon while consoling each other." he took a glass of the black sesame pudding from the table by them and handed one to her, "You and I…" he said softly, "both lost our love. We're both the losers. That's why this is my style of Black Day."
"That's right…" Namine remembered, Roxas liked Kairi and it was one-sided just like her situation with Sora. She took the glass from him as he continued, "Let's eat this together and get it over with already," he paused, "and look forward to a new love."
"He's aggressive and self-centered." She thought as Roxas grinned, "This is my best dessert yet."
The blond girl smiled, "But sometimes, he's sweet. I don't get him at all." Her eyes glanced at the dessert in front of her, "I'm already over it, but maybe…" She took a spoonful and a genuine smile appeared on her face, "Yeah, it's delicious."
He smiled warmly back at her as another thought came to mind, "that's what I like about him…"
"I think…" she started, "there won't be a Black Day next year."
"Me too." Roxas agreed as they both froze realizing what they said before bursting into laughter.
"Yeah." Namine grinned, "From now on, for all the romantic holidays…" she took him by the hand, "Since you're here you might as well see some of my artwork." She smiled to herself, "…I'll be the heroine."
End / Black Day
A/N: Yep, it's a different fanfic compared to how I usually write in my other stories. Who says that the girl has to always be the one good at cooking? XD No offense to anyone who's a master chef out there - I love baking/cooking! :D
Ah and any of you "Kitchen Princess" fans, yes I got this from the special chapter at the end of Volume 10 - Akane and Black Sesame Pudding :) I'm glad those two ended up being together. I should try those recipes sometime soon, haha.
Loved it? Too sweet? Sour? Bland? - Leave a review please with a strawberry on top - that makes me hungry.....^^;;;; I'll happily respond to any reviews I recieve :)
