Disclaimer: We, of Eddie and Alex, do not own any characters from Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts.

Kuramu: Seriously? A soap opera?

Alex: We're bored, ok? And not really.

Twilight Town

Roxas walked into the Usual Spot to see his friends already gathered, discussing the homework they'd received in school the day before. "Hey, guys, my cousin is moving here with his family," he said after their usual greetings.

"Sora's moving here! That means Squall will be here too," Hayner said quickly.

Olette smiled. "Zell will be thrilled to hear that."

"Your dad still going on about the 'good old days' in the SeeD?" Roxas laughed.

"Well, he's seen the most battle time out of all of us," Hayner replied. "I can't wait until I'm old enough to join the ranks too."

"You couldn't fight your way out of a paper bag," Pence joked. "You can't even beat Roxas at Struggle."

"At least I'm not as bad as Seifer," Hayner remarked. "He's got such an attitude."

"Well, his dad is still an active member, isn't he?" Olette asked. "Maybe he's just acting out because he doesn't have anyone."

"Nah. I think he's just trying to follow in his old man's shoes. Dad's always going on about how Seifer Sr. was a pain too, always trying to be the leader of everything," Hayner said. "And I bet I could beat either of them at struggle. Just you wait until the tournament."

"Yeah, yeah, all talk, no action," Roxas smirked. "Now, come on. I promised Sora and Uncle Squall I'd meet them at the train."

"You didn't say they were coming today!" Hayner shouted. "Do I look okay? Do I smell alright?"

"Oh, for the love of Genova," Roxas grabbed his friend's arm and pulled him to the station. "You smell fine and you look like you do everyday. Trust me, they already know you're nuts. Trying to get a good first impression won't work."

"Awww, Roxas," Hayner whined. "Why are you so mean to me?"

"You two bicker like an old married couple," Seifer remarked from where he leaned against a wall. To either side of him stood his cronies, Fuu and Rai. They had grown up together in Balamb Garden, but had been sent to Twilight Town while their parents stayed behind.

"Losers," Fuu smirked, flipping back her short silver hair.

"You're right, Seifer, they do act like that, ya know," Rai commented, always loyal to his 'leader'.

"Hey, Seifer, guess who's coming to live here?" Hayner grinned. "Your dad's old friend, Squall." If anything, the scowl on Seifer's face became more prominent.

"Yeah, whatever," Seifer turned his back on them, his long coat flaring out behind him. "Hope you make it the tournament, Hayner. I'd love to see you cry when you lose to me."

"He is such a jerk," Olette hissed, glaring at the trio.

"Trust me, their parents weren't much better," a low voice said from behind them.

"Uncle Squall!" Roxas hugged his uncle. "How have you been?"

"What? No hug for me? I feel so loved, Roxas. Really," Sora pouted from behind his father. Behind Roxas, Pence and Olette were staring at the equally spikey hair of the small family.

"What? Didn't you two know? After he left SeeD, Squall inherited a fortune from his long lost relatives. He invested in a hair gel company. They get free samples," Hayner remarked.

"They must go through a mountain of gel a day," Olette said quietly.

"Nah, Sora wakes up with that hair, don't you Sora?" Roxas pulled the small brunette into the group. They could see the resemblance between the two cousins immediately.

"What? Oh yeah," Sora smirked. "Doesn't even unspike if it gets wet, either."

"Wow," Pence just stared. "I'm adding a Sora's hair to the list of Twilight Mysteries."

"You and that list," Roxas sighed.

"So, where's old Zell? Still trying to make it big in the hot dog industry?" Squall asked.

Hayner laughed. "No, he went to a local college. Mom demanded he get an education before she married him. Now, he owns his own catering business."

"Ah, that sounds like him," Squall smirked.

"Squall, I could use some help here," Rinoa's voice wafted through the small station. They turned to see a small stack of suitcases beside the petite woman. "Honestly, one glimpse of your new home and already you've forgotten me."

"No, I was just glad to see…Roxas!" Squall placed the boy between him and his peeved wife.

"Come on, Roxas," Sora glanced at his mother. "Looks like Mom needs a hand."

"Hello, Roxas," Rinoa smiled at him. "How's my baby sister doing?"

"Mom's fine, Auntie Rin," Roxas hugged her before grabbing some of the suitcases. "By the love of Materia, what is in these?!"

"My game consoles," Sora smirked. At his cousin's stare, he laughed. "What? Can't a guy like to play video games until 3 in the morning?"

"Alright, it's decided. We christen Sora's new home with an all night video game war," Pence cheered.

"Here, here!" Hayner agreed.

"Yo, Roxas, who's this?" a lanky red head appeared around the corner.

"Oh, hi Axel. Aren't you supposed to be at college?" Roxas asked. The redhead laughed.

"Roxas, it's Saturday. S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y. Got it memorized?" Axel smirked. "Besides, I heard that your family was moving in."

"How'd you…or right, your brother works for the public department. He'd know when a new family comes to town, " Roxas said.

"Oh yeah, Shinra electric company, great dispenser of the electricity needed to play video games," Pence added.

"Oh pyro, you let him hear about a game console, didn't you?" Axel looked over at Pence. "He won't stop that until you let him play something, you know."

"Oh, I guessed," Sora smiled. "By the way, how do you know Roxas?"

"My friend Zexion tutored him in math last year," Axel replied. "And since I wasn't too great in that subject myself, I tended to tag along."

"I see Cloud's inability to count is inherited," Squall smirked.

"Haha, what is this? Pick on blondes day?" Roxas pouted. "Can we go now? Sora's bag is heavy!"

"Games…" Pence chanted over and over. Olette hit her head with her palm and shoved a suitcase into her friend's arms. "Wha?" Pence looked down at the suitcase.

"The sooner we get these to Sora's house, the sooner we can play games," Olette reminded him.

"Oh yeah!" Pence cheered. The conversation was interrupted when Roxas' cell phone rang.

"I know that tone," Axel smirked. "You forgot to tell Namine where you were, didn't you?"

"Crap! You're right," Roxas flipped open the phone and went off by himself, dragging one of the suitcases behind him.

"Does he know the house is in the opposite direction?" Squall asked.

"Probably not," Axel replied. "But when it comes to Namine, he usually doesn't have a clue."

"Yeah, his sister is really weird."

"Well, ever since Aerith and Cloud opened up the delivery business with Tifa, they've been busy," Squall said patiently. "So, I guess Namine took up the position as head of house, looking after Roxas whenever she could."

"She's like a mother hen," Axel sighed. "When Roxas, Zexion, and I ran late studying for the exams, she called like every half hour to check up on him."

"That's Namine for you," Rinoa smiled fondly.

"Only you would think that's endearing," Squall rolled his eyes.

"Hey, guys, Namine said she's bring the cart around if we wait a bit," Roxas said as he pocketed his phone.

"But…the games," Pence pleaded.

"Can wait. Honestly, if you have patience, the games I have are top rated in Destiny Islands," Sora said cheerfully. "And my friends back home say they're top of the line."

"Oh yeah, how is everyone?"

"Well, Selphie and Irvine are still living on the ranch," Sora said. "And Tidus and Wakka got invited to the Blitzball tournaments in Zanarkand."

"Sweet. Hope they do well in that," Roxas commented. "I know Tidus never had the heart for struggle, and he loves working in a team."

"Yep, that's Tidus," Sora grinned.

The roar of a motorcycle drowned out the rest of the conversations. Astride a giant motorcycle was Cloud, his dark uniform blending in with the sleek machine. Attached to the motorcycle was a cart equipped to handle the speeds Cloud was known for. "Seems the gathering started without me," Cloud joked, sliding off the motorcycle to greet his relatives. As he moved, a small figure was revealed.

Namine looked tiny on the large motorcycle, but Roxas had seen her handle the monster almost as well as their father. In her hands was the clipboard Roxas had come to loathe. It usually held a list of chores, or a grocery list, or some such nonsense on it. Often though, he'd find Namine doodling on her own lists, lost in her own little dream world, like she was right now.

"Hey, Namine, aren't you going to say hello to everyone?" Roxas poked her in the arm. She flinched and turned wide blue eyes to him. "Earth to Namine. Your relatives are here. You going to talk to them or stare at them like they're aliens?"

"Haha, Roxas," Namine glared at him.

"Come on," Roxas helped her off of the motorcycle and walked her over to where the group had gathered. He noticed that while Pence was still daydreaming about the video games, the rest of the group was loading the suitcases into the cart. As Namine moved past him to greet their family, he noticed the perfect sketch of Sora on her clipboard. How had she known he'd grown like that? Or had she done the sketch as they'd driven in? But Roxas hadn't seen her drawing when she'd been on the motorcycle. He decided to let it go. Understanding his sister was like trying to understand an alien alphabet without reading the manual.