Author's note: Hi guys! Long time no story huh? :P
This is actually a side story to another story I will write up shortly. It will be called Bittersweet Aroma so please look out for that title in the future :) I have a massive writer's block for that story at the moment but please enjoy this in the meantime. This story is a complement to the main story to help understand the characters a bit better and to uncover bit and pieces of the past. No big plot line or anything.
Thanks guys :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy, or any characters from them. They belong to Tetsuya Nomura.
Chapter 1: The day Sora started from the bottom
A woman wearing a slim-fitting grey suit walked down the hallway into the reception area. She had a headache. Her tight hair bun and high heels weren't helping with the pain either. She groaned as she checked the time: 3:30pm. Only one more hour to go, she mentally thought to herself. She continued walking and stopped by the entrance, pushed her glasses into her face while looking down at her clipboard, and called out;
"Sora Hikari?"
A young brunette man stood up from the couch and held out his hand enthusiastically. "That's me! Nice to meet you!"
The woman frowned as she eyed him up and down.
White collar shirt. That's acceptable. Black slacks. Most appropriate. And… red converse shoes? Wild spiky hair? Who was he trying to be? The tenth doctor?!
She plastered on a wide smile and hesitantly shook his hand. "Yes… it's a pleasure. Now please follow me, Ventus is waiting for you in his office." She turned back on her heels walked back where she came from.
"Thank you." Tension filled the air as they walked in silence. The uncomfortable atmosphere was overwhelming but she put up with it. This was all part of the job. After working at this office for a time that was way past her liking, her care factor has decreased significantly. Poor kid.
They stopped by a large wooden door with the name 'Ventus Kizuna' engraved on the front. The woman knocked before opening the door and entered the slightly musk room. There was a tall window at the end of the room with a desk just before it and two chairs at each end. A red carpet was rolled from the entrance to the door to the desk and a couple of bookcases lined the walls. The chair furthest away was turned facing the window, hiding the figure from the visitors.
"Ventus, Sora Hikari is here." The blue haired woman spoke.
"Thank you, Aqua. You may leave now." A stern voice boomed out from the chair.
As Aqua left, the chair spun around revealing a blonde hair man with shorter spikes styled in a professional matter. He was wearing a dark grey suit with a bright red tie and a white shirt to complement. His eyes widened slightly as he checked out the young man before him and smirked. He had a good feeling about this guy. "Have a seat, young man. How are you doing today?"
"Good, thank you, sir. Yourself?" Sora pulled out the chair and sat down, feeling slightly appreciative that it was slightly cushioned.
"I'm good. Please, call me Ventus." The other man smiled. "You applied for the 'Store Manager' role, didn't you?"
"Yes I did." Sora started to twiddle his thumbs.
Ventus reached down and pulled out a piece of paper from the drawer. "So, before we begin the interview, I was looking over your resume and to be perfectly honest, it surprised me. No work experience whatsoever, no skills were mentioned, and lastly, you just graduated from UDI with a degree that has no relevance for the position you applied for. What do you think is going to happen today?"
Sora sat up straight and smiled calmly. "I think you are going to give me a chance."
A blonde eyebrow shot up. "Oh? A chance to work?"
"Yes and," Sora grinned before straightening up again, "you are going to give me a chance to explain myself. If you didn't, you wouldn't have called me up for an interview. I mean, you saw how crap my resume is."
"Hmm, cocky aren't you?" Ventus grinned along with him. "Why should I hire you when there are plenty of other people with more qualifications?"
Sora continued. "I know that I may not have the right experience or skills you desire, but I have the right work ethic. I'm still young so by getting this job it will give me a precious opportunity to learn and develop. I can follow instructions and have a willingness to learn anything. And by applying with an empty resume, I showed initiative. Courage, even."
"Mmm." Ventus leaned forward on the desk and looked straight into the young man's eyes. "The Corner Café is a well known company that has over 100 stores across the Island, and we only hire the best to represent us. If there was a single slip up or accident, it could ruin us. This position you applied for requires someone to smoothly operate the café and manage other staff. At times, you may have to work independently, especially due to the location of this store. Why do you think you have what it takes to be in this position?"
"Did you ever play soccer in high school?"
The blonde furrowed his eyebrows. "No, I was more of a chess geek."
"Well, I was the captain of the soccer team. Even in UDI, I was the president of the Soccer Club. You know what I learnt? Teamwork. To play the best game, we had to work as a team. Brotherhood helped us to succeed. As the captain, it was my job to encourage and motivate everyone before a big game so that we would put in 110%. Everybody relied on me to make the best decisions and lead the team into victory. Even if we won or loss, it didn't matter. We had fun together on the field and that was the most important factor. I can also work well under pressure and make decisions in order to produce the best results. It was great to work in a tight-knit team and I hope to bring over the same qualities to this job." Sora smiled at the memories as he reflected on his experiences.
"What is your greatest failure and what did you learn from it?"
"How about love?"
Ventus almost choked. Did he hear that right? "Excuse me?"
"Have you ever been in love?"
"Um, well," Ventus scratched the back of his head before answering. "Yes I have." He felt that he could trust this kid.
The young man looked away for a second before looking back at the blonde. "When I was in my last year of high school I was in love with this girl. She was smart, kind, and so so beautiful. I was at the point where I was obsessed and followed her every move. When we had to choose what to do after we leave high school, I was shocked when she wanted to do a law degree. So I decided I wanted to do law as well. I spent the rest of my senior year studying just to make sure I can get into this course as the score to get in was so high. I missed my senior prom for this. My friends started to drift away and I hardly showed up for soccer practice even though I was the captain. It was the worst time of my life. When the results came out, I ended up passing the score and excitedly went to ask this girl out. But she rejected me. She was going to Radiant Gardens for college to do a beauty course instead. By this experience, I learned that I shouldn't give up what I enjoy in life for love…"
There was a pregnant pause in the middle as Sora looked away. The young man coughed suddenly and perked back up. "…and learned that no matter what I'm doing I should strive to do it the best of my ability. Otherwise, it's not worth doing at all."
Ventus gave him a sympathetic smile. "Alright. What are your availabilities?"
"I can work everyday, any time." Sora smiled.
"Can you start next week?"
"Yes."
"Good." Ventus spun around his chair and faced the window. He was having an internal battle with himself as he looked at his reflection upon the window. This kid showed potential yet he did not have the necessary experience. He could either be really bad or be a quick learner. He hoped for the latter. Should he give in? He sighed inwardly and spun back, facing Sora. "You know what, kid? You remind me of myself when I was younger. And it's not just the spikiness, it's your passion. You clearly show that you have a passion for delivering memorable experiences and you demonstrate that you have warm and authentic communication skills. Lastly, you have great instinct; I will give you a chance. You're hired."
Sora widened his eyes. "What?"
"You're hired. Congratulations, Sora." Ventus held out his right hand.
"Just like that?"
"Just like that." Ventus confirmed.
Sora stood up and took his hand. "Thank you, sir! You won't regret this!"
"It's Ventus. However,'' the blonde placed two fingers on the side of his head, "it won't be for the 'Store Manager' role. You will be a regular barista since we have another opening for this position. This involves making coffee for our customers as well as helping with the other café duties. You don't have enough experience or skills to be a manager yet, but if you prove to me that in about a year or so you are capable of running the café independently with no problems, I might consider you for the role. Is that alright with you?"
"Yes!" Sora replied too quickly. He straightened up and coughed. "I mean, I'd have to make some arrangements but it should be fine."
"That's what I like to hear." Ventus grinned and stood up. They began walking towards the door. "In the meantime, I'll be running as the store manager. Yes, I have decided I'll be returning to the field." The blonde announced to himself, leaving Sora confused in the background. "I'll train you in every area to make sure you are perfection before the store opens. Aqua will give you the details about the training sessions on your way out."
"Thank you so much, sir." Sora bowed before him and left with the biggest smile on his face.
"It's VENTUS!" The blonde called after him but grinned as he saw the young man fist pumped the air. He shook his head and return to his office. This is going to be a long year.
And so it begins.
UDI = University of Destiny Islands. I wanted it to sound like UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles). :P The girl is not Kairi btw. She plays a different role.
Thanks for reading the first instalment and I shall see you guys soon :)
... I hope. *fingers crossed*