Not What It Seems
Chapter One: New School, New Life
Sora's POV
Line of the chapter: "Moo, I'm a turtle."
I peek out the window, and see we're still going through the forest. I frown and look back at my brother, who still stares at me. The bag of chips I had given him is still lying in his lap. "Vani!" I whine. He sighs, but doesn't say anything. "Come on, you gotta try 'em. The human food is really, really, really, really good." I watch eagerly as he picks the bag up. He opens it and sniffs the contents before making a face. I frown again.
"If you keep doing that, your face'll freeze that way." Vani says, tasting a chip. He spits it out into the bag when he thinks I'm looking, but I let my brother get away with it. Bet you're wondering who we are, right? Well, my name is Sora Hikari, and I'm going to Radiant Garden with my older brother (by ten minutes) Vanitas. Our mother's brother Terra and his wife Aqua (who had been taking care of us since we were ten), had no idea of our conditions. They just thought Vanitas was a rebel, and I was the goody two-shoes (kinda true). You know that "condition" I mentioned before? Well, I'm an angel—they're real, and they have semi-human forms. Vani is a demon, but he has a semi human form also. By semi-human, we mean that we appear human, act human, but we possess most of our angelic/demonic traits. We are on our way to visit our cousins Ven and Roxas who are the same as us, Roxas being the demon, and Ven being the angel.
Why are we here on Earth, instead of Heaven and Hell? Simple. We're part of a long line of Earth-dwelling angels and demons, who would've gone back to their respective realms but sadly, the Door only opens once every few millennia. Did I forget to mention we're immortal? I think I did. Well, I can withstand anything except for darkness and human temptation. Vani can withstand anything except for light and crucifixes. I prayed to God that Tifa didn't keep any of those around the house.
"Aw, you're so mean!" I reply to his earlier comment. It was Vani's turn to frown. I see him smiling. "Are you proud of yourself for that? Ugh, you're just terrible."
"And… we're not here!" he tells me, watching people get on board. We had stopped in Traverse Station to pick up people who wanted to visit the old castles. It's going to be two more hours before we get to the Hollow Bastion Railway Station. My eyelids start to drop once we're on our way again, but at the sound of the train whistle, I jump to my feet with my wings fully extended. Vani glares at me, and I sit back down with my wings reluctantly folding inside my shirt. We ride through the valley and over a river until the whistle pierces the silence once again. I grab my suitcase before following Vani outside. It's considerably colder here than on the islands, I note, rushing to the bench where a family of four sat waiting for relatives. My aunt (from my mom's side) Tifa, my uncle Cloud, and my cousins hug me all at once, which was weird since I was taller than the two adults; at six feet and one inch—another angelic trait. I noticed that Ven and their parents were edgy around Vani, but I thought it was only because of the stories being passed around.
~FLASHBACK~
Vani started to twitch when he saw me get kicked in the ribs by Seifer. I would've healed myself by now, but the crowd gathering provided too many witnesses. Seifer lifted me up by the collar of my shirt and slammed me into the lockers. Black spots covered my vision, as a throbbing pain came from the two bumps on my back. I pressed my lips shut, refusing him the satisfaction of me squirming and begging for mercy. I had barely enough time to register what was going on, when he let me slump to the floor. His goons, Rai and Fuu got their taste of my misery. Rai was a lot bigger than I was, so the bruises forming on my jaw already were black and blue. They beat me until I was almost numb, Fuu firing one word insults at me.
"Pathetic."
"Midget."
"Freak."
Vani lost it, and grabbed Fuu by her throat. She struggled and clawed at his gloved hands, tightening around her neck. Her face turned red with the effort to breathe, making Vani laugh and whisper things I couldn't hear because of my ringing ears. Her nose started to gush blood, and splatter over the floor as she ran like hell in the direction of the girl's bathroom. He turned to Seifer.
"Desukara, watashi wa ushiro ni suwaru n, anata wa watashi no otōto o taosu Miru dakeda to omou? Īe, saifā o okonau koto ga dekimasu. Watashi wa anata to wa owatte iru toki, anata no kawari ni jigoku ni kakikomu tame ni ikiru o susume shimasu." He turned to the lockers, where I was sneaking a hand up my uniform top to heal my broken and bruised ribs. The white glow was masked by the white shirt, stained with my own blood.
~END FLASHBACK~
That's when the stories began. My cousins are the only ones to be nice to Vani, but Ven is uncomfortable in his presence, being an angel like me. My uncle takes our luggage from us, and puts them in one of the two cars they'd brought. Ven and I walk to my aunt's blue Honda, while Vani and Roxas went in the black Nissan. I remember Ven had been Vani's best friend at one time—when our parents were still alive. I scratch the skin that was underneath one of my white, fingerless gloves. The sun is up and high in the sky, so I have extra trouble keeping my wings down with the temptation to rise up and fly.
"Hey Sora?" Ven asks. Yep, that's my cousin, Ventus Strife all right. Always wanting to play a game of 20Questions.
"Yeah?"
"What's been going on since the last time we saw you?" That had been twelve years ago, not counting the holiday visits and summer vacation.
"School, working at the smoothie shop, sleeping, hanging out with friends, the usual." Oh yeah, I forgot, and saving the world from certain death by being an angelic freak!
"What about Vanitas?" he asks, silently. I hear him—thank you super-sensitive hearing!
"Eh, I dunno. He does karate and stuff a lot. He works at the… the place with the, um… Okay, I admit, I have no freaking idea, he always keeps to himself."
"You sure?"
"Positive."
"Well, at least I can trust one of the Hikari twins." he mutters under his breath. I hear him (he's getting to be too human for his own good), but turn to the window and watch the clouds. The sky is a comforting baby blue, dotted with puffy white wisps. I watch the sun sink just a little deeper into the sky, as we pulled into the driveway. A group of people were taking turns banging on the front door. Two redheads were all screaming up at one of the windows. A taller boy, one of the redheads, wearing black basketball shorts and a black t-shirt with a red bandana around his neck seemed to be doing most of the screaming.
"Hey, Ven! Roxas! Will you get your asses down here already? Three hours, where are you and your cousins?" he adds, kind of losing his voice. I hop out of the car and run to the front door.
"Hikari twin number one, at your service! So, what can I do for you?" I ask, looking at the assorted group. The screamer coughs and clears his throat.
"I'm Axel, got it memorized?"
"Sure." I say, smiling. My eyes scan the group, stopping at the redhead next to Axel. She's wearing the girls' school uniform, a dark green tie with a white blouse and plaid green skirt. On Axel's other side is a girl with blue eyes and unevenly short black hair. She's wearing a black tank top and dark grey skinny jeans stuffed into pointed-toe heeled boots. I notice Vani keeps his eyes on her, and the odd aura she's giving off was new to us. Behind them is a dirty blonde with baggy camouflage jeans and a military-green vest with a skull-and-crossbones shirt underneath. I flick my eyes over to the silverette, with the boys' school uniform on, the top buttons undone and the dark green pants hanging loosely around his waist. I roll my eyes at his obvious attempt to attract girls, and turned back to Axel. I sling my arm around Vani's shoulder, ruffling his hair. "I'm Sora Hikari, this is my brother Vani." I tell them. My eyes drift past Axel, to the redhead girl. She's effin' hot!
"Don't encourage them, Sora-kun." he murmurs, low enough for only me to hear.
"What did he say?"
"Oh, he doesn't like my nickname. Okay, fine, his name's Vanitas."
"So, Sora-kun, you gonna come with me and Ven?" Roxas asks.
"Aren't you supposed to go with Vani?" I cross my arms and give him a knowing look.
"Damn your intelligence."
"Where are you goin'?" Axel asks
"NOWHERE!" Roxas and Ven both scream. Roxas slaps a hand over Ven's mouth, and vice versa.
"If you shout 'NOWHERE' then you are most definitely going somewhere." the silverette pointed out.
"We need to catch up, right Sora-kun? Venny? Roxie-pop?" Vani asks, using old nicknames that would win our cousins over for sure (that, or they'd get annoyed and say yes to save themselves from further embarrassment). Roxas shoves his hands into his pockets and grumbles a mixed-up answer while Ven nods slowly.
"Now for the real purpose we came here. End of summer week-long party!" Axel exclaims, fisting the air.
"Party equals chance for IRC!" Vani whispers. I glare and smack him upside the head.
"What'd he say?"
"He's in. And word of advice Vani, if you decide to do that, say hello to your brand new crucifix!" I say loud enough for the people across the street to hear. Tifa looks out from the living room window, giving me "the look". Do all mortals do that to their children? Sheesh, give me a break! My brother's the son of Satan, for crying out loud!
"Crucifix? Roxas, once again, you have disappointed us. We thought the twins would be normal for a change!"
"Hey, it's not my fault! I was going to help you figure out the evil twin, but you can learn it the hard way. Right Sora-kun?"
"Right. Anything you want to say in English, Vani?"
"Goth chick, hey! Can you go inside for a minute?" the goth girl stares but retreats to the Strife household anyway. Vani dashes after her, and I think that he plans to investigate. I hope so.
"Your brother, he's not a pervert is he?"
"Er, aren't we all perverts?"
"True, but not what I meant. Can he keep his hands to himself?"
"Most of the time."
"Whaddya mean, 'most of the time'?" I laugh. He has no idea what I have to put up with on what Vani calls Incubus Day. Just like Roxas damned my intelligence, I damn Vani's stamina—I mean, seventeen girls in one night? Who does that?
"Five, four, three, two, one…" I kick the door open with my foot, giving them the cheesiest grin I can manage without cracking up. As I predicted, Vani has the goth girl straddling him up against the wall. They're making out, (NOT MY DAY) but she looks like she's merely surprised. He lets her drop to the floor once he realizes the door is open. Axel's trying desperately to staunch the nosebleed. Ha-ha, that's my brother, the demon prince.
"Interesting. I have a feeling we'll be seeing more and more of each other, don't you?" he asks huskily. My own nose starts to bleed and I curse my ears and my semi-human form. I exchange glances with Ven, both of us nodding and turning to Axel and co.
"Did Roxas tell you about our conditions?"
"Yep, he said you four had a rare form of cancer." the redhead girl answers. Her eyes widen. "Oh, my name's Kairi! And Xion is the one your brother was raping." she giggles. I want to drop dead right now, send me to Hell if that's what it takes to kill an angel. NO, I DIDN'T MEAN—
"We don't have cancer." I hear Vani say, "Really, Roxie? We'd be dead. I think Sora's halfway there. Venny! Sora was thinking it again. Seriously, he needs to learn if he wants to go to Hell, they will send him there. No joke."
"Huh?" Xion asks, her eyes fading back to normal. Vani shrugs, I think. I don't know… my body feels like it's on fire and my vision keeps going in and out of focus. Ven's carrying me? I groan in discomfort, and once the blurry shapes of the group are behind a door, the groans stop as a white light blinds me for a moment. I'm feeling a bit tipsy, but at least I'm not going to Hell. Y'know, I have to thank Vani for not letting the darkness suck my soul into everlasting torture. Maybe when he starts going to Heaven, I'll give him a hand and we'll call it even. Maybe.
"Sora-kun, you alright?" Speak of the devil. "And he'll appear."
"Can you read my mind?" I ask. He laughs.
"No. It's written all over your face." I frown. I seem to be doing a lot of that lately; whether it's from us getting closer to the Separation (as Ven called it) or the fact that the demons of our family are getting closer to their sadistic sides—I honestly don't know. Vani reaches over and curves the corners of my mouth up, pulling them higher until I smile for real. He sits back, that over-confident smirk on his face. Roxas screams for us to get in the living room. My wings flutter in the urgency to fly. God, when was the last time I did that? Saving Selphie from imps that somebody unleashed upon the whole Play Island? Wait, no. Vani pushes my wings against my back until they retreat inside my skin, taking the form of two small bumps. Kairi greeted me in the hall, carrying a bowl of popcorn. Roxas and Vani flash each other evil grins, their fangs visible for one split second. As soon as I see Chucky's face on the main menu,
"Eeep!" is the sound that comes out. I'm under Ven's Invader Zim throw blanket in a record of ten milliseconds. Roxas and Vani hit play, and my curiosity leads me to peer out from under the blanket. My mouth drops open in horror. The voodoo ritual! Those things scare the living shit out of me, and Vani does it all the time. I feel someone else under the blanket and see Kairi's red hair in my peripheral vision. She giggles nervously,
"This movie scares you too?"
"Kinda, but it's the voodoo that scares me really." I confess.
"The doll scares me more."
"So, what are they gonna watch after this?"
"Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, and if we're lucky, Scary Movie." she adds.
"Scary Movie?" I've heard of it, but since Vani's in charge of movie rental, I don't get a say in what we watch or don't watch.
"Yes, oh, this part's not as creepy." she says, and we poke our heads out. Andy is getting his birthday presents, and opening them happily, until he sees that they're clothes. No Good Guy doll for him. Vani's playing with Xion's hair, as if he's not even aware that he's doing it. She's yawning through all the boring and ordinary parts. Wait, the TV's on, Andy's in bed… holy crap somebody's gonna die! I feel someone prevent me from going back under.
"You're not going anywhere, pansy. Now watch the freakin' movie." Axel commands from behind me. I turn to see the babysitter get hit in the head with a hammer—since when do you put an actual hammer in a kiddie toolbox? She falls out the window and lands on a truck, causing a huge depression in the roof. Vani and Roxas are cracking up, like this is the Robot Chicken episode where Chucky gets taken down by Cabbage Patch Kids. Aren't my cousin and brother wonderful?
The same thing happens when Eddie Caputo's house is set on fire. I would hate to be the guardian angel on duty in this movie. "Ha! Kid didn't even notice, too busy pissin' on a chair." Vani mutters, shoving popcorn into his mouth. Roxas is tackled randomly by Axel, who complains that my "fat head" is in the way. More laughing from the resident demons when the detective gets attacked by the evil doll. Seriously, I wish Riku hadn't taken over the job of keeping my head focused on the screen. I look to Kairi for help, but she's hogging the entire Invader Zim throw!
"Whoa!" Xion cries, and I only have to see Vani's horn's protruding from the wild spikes we shared to know what happened. He's got that devilish smirk on, completely unaware of his horns growing out. I told him to get them filed down like Roxas, but he wouldn't listen. And now that's come back around to bite him right in the ass.
"Heheh, cool horns Vani, w-which store did you get 'em from?" I ask, faltering on part of the sentence.
"Hot Topic, fifty percent off with a purchase of a CD."
"Which band?"
"Isn't it obvious? The Devil Wears Prada."
"Literally." Roxas quips, and we (the supernatural beings) laugh. He leaves to go "put them away" and comes back with his hair covering them once again. He sits back down in the middle of the part where the mom locks Chucky in the fireplace. Tifa refills the bowl, and Cloud tells her not to and sends Vani to go do it instead. I pause the movie, despite the resounding groans.
"Oh come on!" Kairi chips in. "You'll like this better, right?"
"What's better than an evil doll to kill us all with voodoo and kitchen knives?" Vani asks, raising an eyebrow. Riku lets go of my head and glares at my brother. I pout, the slumped shoulders, bottom lip jutting out with a slight trembling for good measure, everything.
"Scary Movie!" She pops the disk in and sits back under the blanket, only to have it stolen by Roxas and Hayner.
"The Earth will be mine, MWAHAHAHAHA!" Creepy. Axel asks if I've seen it before and I say no. He talks with me about how I'll love it, and how I won't be able to take Scream seriously ever again. Awesome.
"Hayner, give it back!"
"No!"
"Fine, I get your corny glasses then!" Roxas yells.
"NO! NOT MY GUNNAR GAMING GLASSES, THOSE ARE SPECIAL!"Axel puts the movie in and hits play. I see some totally sexy mortal running through her kitchen with Scream after her, and out of all the knives (that Vani probably has in his room) on the counter, she chooses the banana. WHAT THE HELL? A FREAKING BANANA? How is that supposed to ward off a psychopathic serial killer? I understand it chasing off a cereal killer like Roxas, but still!
"Ugh, why does every bitch have fake tits?" Vani complains when the girl has one of her boobs sliced off. Then she gets hit by her parents' car. Roxas and Vani burst into another laughing fit. Riku asks why they laugh whenever something bad happens.
"Long story."
"We have time."
"Okay, well it goes like this," Our parents were together for only a little while. He made Mom pregnant, with twins, but then Mom got raped. Dad leaves as soon as we are born, at home. Mom is extremely angry and torn. The rape kinda twisted Vani beyond repair, and she couldn't take it anymore. We found her on my bed, holding a picture of Dad, but we both thought she was sleeping. But no matter how hard we shook her—I feel my stomach twist in knots (stupid mortal feelings) but I continue. "She wouldn't wake up." I dialed 911, and she never did wake up. We went to live with our aunt Aqua and uncle Terra. They read her will, and it left us a lockbox from our father and a letter from Mom. We found out some things that no ten-year-old should have to put up with. Me, Ven, Roxas, and Vani haven't been the same since.
"How do Roxas and Ven tie in with that?"
"Hm? Oh they were told by Cloud. Roxas was screwed up because of Cloud's brother Sephiroth."
"Sora-kun, you ain't telling people about 'it' are ya?"
"Yeah, what of it? Xion probably has something like 'it' too, I know you got that vibe."
"Moo, I'm a turtle." Roxas says all of a sudden. We all laugh, but I get dragged upstairs and into the attic anyway. Ven and Roxas follow. The demons lock the door and push crates over it so that nobody can get in. We angels can extend our wings during the day, but at dusk, we have to retract them. Vani searches for the mirror and I look for the stone. The stone is an uncut ruby set in gold that we place in front of us while chanting. Then the area angel will appear. On the Destiny Islands in Japan, Namine was our messenger angel. Here, it's Aerith. The demons have a different system where each demon is assigned a messenger for the season. It is summer, and the sun reflects off the stone and Aerith appears. She wears mortal clothes to disguise herself in case we are seen. A pink button-up dress with a purple belt around her waist. On her feet are boots, and she has her hair in one long braid with a bow in it. Her green eyes are friendly and welcoming.
"Sora, Ventus, you have a new mission. We want you to investigate a particular group of students at the high school you will be attending. They are popular, so you need to become popular as well. If nothing is gathered then, return to us immediately."
"Can we see what they look like?" Ven asks, more familiar with her than I am.
"Oh, believe me. You'll know them when you see them." Aerith smiles and the light stops reflecting. I pick the stone up and stash it in the crate. Axel and Riku are banging on the ladder, and I pray that Vani and Roxas will wrap it up.
"Got it. So, unregistered daemon, find, capture, send to Hell." I forgot to mention something. Demons don't like to be called that. They prefer daemons, like we prefer angels over "messengers of God".
"You got it, man." Braig? Wasn't he the one that got Ven sent to the hospital by freezing him solid? He almost got… what was it called? Hypo-something. If Ven's body was destroyed, he would have to wander the earth for eternity as an invisible spirit. None hearing, none seeing, I've heard so much about it.
"Alright," my brother replies. In a silent voice he asks, "is Dad still there?"
"Oh, kid, I'm not sure he wants to see you."
"And why not? I'm his only kid, the motherfucking prince of Hell."
"Yeah, yeah, we know. The thing is, boss-man isn't giving him any credit for the heir."
"Mmm, I get it. He thinks by ignoring me that I'll get bored and leave him alone. Wrong! When I turn twenty-one—"
"In four years," Braig interjects. For a daemon, he's great at stopping my brother's rants.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Still, tell that goddamn rapist," I cringe, just a little, because it's not good to use the name of the Lord in vain, "that I'll find him and slice off his dick then make him eat it—"
"Van! Shut the fuck up already! We have to go," Roxas adds. The daemon prince glares, and we stretch our wings out one last time before they retreat inside our shirts. I push the crates off the door and pull it open. Ven drops down first, then Roxas, then me, and Vani lingers just a bit longer until Roxas starts yelling again. Kairi and Axel fire question after question, at me and Ven—Roxas had escaped about five minutes before. I sigh and give false answers, though the lies weigh heavy.
Vanitas' POV
"Did you really do that to me?" Xion asks again. I smirk and roll my eyes; is she deaf, dumb, and blind? I just said "Yeah, and don't deny you liked it." when she asked me the first time, I'm cornering her away from the others, and she got some of her lipstick on me. Why do mortals even wear this stuff, it won't come off, it just smudges! Oh well, this American girl is interesting. I think I'll keep her around.
"Do I have to repeat myself, stupid girl?" she turns away and crosses her arms over her chest defiantly. The Japanese girls back home were always submissive, well, most of the time. I've been hit upside the head with a book bag and called a pervert before, but that doesn't happen in America, does it? I don't know, but maybe I can learn a few tricks from the boys in California. "I said, 'Yeah.' is that so hard to understand? Damn, the Japanese girls were so much easier to work with."
"Japanese? Is that where you're from?"
"You could say that. We're from a group of islands off the coast. We're close by, so we're technically Japanese."
"That explains the crazy hair."
"Do you believe in God, around here?"
"Duh, I'm Christian." Suspicious. She won't look at me, am I losing my sexiness? OH NO!
"Huh. You believe in Satan then right?"
"Yup. If you believe in God you have to believe in Satan." she says. Now she looks at me, and she speaks the truth.
"Good, then we can hang out."
"Why? You're Christian too, aren't you?" I burst into a laughing fit, and she frowns. Just like Sora-kun, who should really smile more. I mean, just 'cause we're brothers and we'll be torn apart in four years (fuck you, Braig) doesn't mean that those years should be unsmiley-ish. Don't tell me that's not a word, I'm trying to get the point across here, and that is so Roxas' thing. Or Ven's. I have no idea, those two are too identical. "What are you then?" A daemon prince, that's what.
"Sora-kun and Ven are Christian. I'm Satanic, like Roxas."
"Roxas worships Satan?"
"I wouldn't say worship, but we prefer him over God any day." Wait, she's not totally disgusted? Interesting! To the lair! I start to run, mumbling nonsense to myself that I'll forget later. Xion is following me, but no matter how many shortcuts and hiding spots I have through the house, I can't shake her. I run upstairs, only to crash into Cloud. I get hit upside the head with my own suitcase.
"Go put your stuff away Mr. 'Balan' and I don't want to catch you and Roxas in one of those rituals."
"But you let Sora and Venny—"
"Go, Vanitas." I glare at my uncle and dash down the hall to the last door on the left, "my" room. I lift up the loose floorboard, and pull my ritual kit out. Ew, it smells like Roxas. He owes me now. I put the kit back, and unpack my things. My battle gear, my helmet, my knives, a tourniquet, some first aid supplies, a pack of cigarettes, and a mini guillotine. I hang my flag up against the wall, with the symbols for Hell and darkness on the black fabric. Xion bursts through the door as I'm sharpening a machete, and sees the variety of dark things in here.
"What do you want?" I watch her carefully, and smirk when she shrugs. "Then get out, stupid girl."
"Will you stop calling me that!"
"No. Now get out before you make me do something reckless." I warn, waving the machete in her face. She holds her ground, and I pull the ritual kit out. "I asked you to leave nicely, but if you want to be a Venny, then be my guest." I put my hands on the doll of Sora-kun and start chanting, keeping my eyes fixed on the doll. She's not shaking in fear yet, interesting. I chant a bit louder.
"What are you doing?"
"Scaring the shit out of Cloud."
"Why would you do that?"
"Are you that dense? I'm obviously the evil twin." I lean back, drained. "Make yourself *cough* useful and get *cough* the bag…" She hands me the tiny pouch that's normally around my neck or shoved deep into my pocket. I pull out one glowing red crystal and chant what I can while coughing. I start glowing and the energy is returned.
"What was that?"
"Nothing. Just, help me up."
"You called me stupid, why should I help you?"
"You're interesting," I say, while getting closer. I pull away just when our lips touch, and she gives me a questioning stare. EVIL TWIN people, I'm not going to give you everything like my hopeless romantic of a cousin—that means you Venny! "Now help me up." She leans down and offers me a hand. I take it, and sadly, she wasn't smart enough to not pull while I got onto my feet. We are officially, screwed. I'm too exhausted to move, and she is under me.
"Get off!" she yells, pushing on my chest. She really is THAT slow. Let me see, unable-to-stand-up Vanitas (check), weak Xion (check), dense Xion (double check), and heavier-than-her Vanitas (also double check). Okay, she's close to the bed, that might work…
"Reach under the bed."
"Why?"
"You wanna keep the feeling in your legs or not?
"Fine." she grumbles. She puts her arm on the floor and slowly moves it toward the underside of my bed. Her hand disappears into the darkness, and she jumps into the air, terrified. I manage to get on my knees, and still she clings to the ceiling. What. The. Hell! She is so not a mortal. Axel bursts through the door as she drops down, and he pauses to take in the dark atmosphere of my lair. I feel so appreciated!
"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO SORA? ONE MINUTE HE'S THERE AND LIKE HE JUST 'POOF' DISAPPEARS!" Axel screams, and Kairi shows up holding a porcelain brunette doll with spiky hair like mine and blue eyes. The Coldplay shirt he wears is tiny and shows a little bit of his stomach the way the redhead is holding him. His jeans are also tiny, and the Osiris he is wearing are fit for a toddler. I marvel at my work, and figure Sora's inanimate body might be upstairs. "AND THIS FREAKY THING IS IN THE KITCHEN STARING AT US! WHAT THE HELL IS—oh hey Rox."
"Vani, did you do that to Sora again?"
"Yep, and I am very proud of my work."
"Dad is going crazy, and he keeps telling Mom to 'kick the damn Balan out he's screwing up already!'"
"What's a Balan?"
"Nothin'. Now let me show you my ventriloquist act!" I take the doll and count to three in my head.
"Ventriloquist my ass." Doll-Sora looks down at his body and shrieks. "What did you do?"
"Wow, that's an excellent impression of your brother." Kairi says.
"I give up. Vani why can't your dumb pranks wait until tonight?" Doll Sora asks.
"I got bored, and my lair can't keep me entertained unless there's a corpse in it!" A lot of things can keep me entertained, but messing with Sora was the only choice available.
"Which should be arriving tonight! Whaddya say, Van? Up for some fun and games?" Roxas elbows me, and I say yes while glaring.
"Put it like that and you sound like two cannibal rapists." Doll Sora remarks. Kairi giggles nervously. Xion is watching with an amused smile, like she sees this every day. Axel's watching Hayner make Roxas impressions.
"Put it like that and you sound like a psychopathic serial killer stuck inside a doll-or Chucky for short!"
"Vani, change me back!" Doll-Sora yells. Cloud comes down and is about to ask if I'm unpacked, but then he sees Sora still running his mouth and grabs me by the collar of my Slipknot music tee that a coworker in Japan gave me. I try to resist the strength but I'm still recovering from the body-switch. He pushes me into the closet and switches on the light. Is it me or is this totally a scene off that show in Japan... what was it called?
"You."
"Uh, yeah, me."
"I told Seph I didn't care about handling demons,"
"Sure. Anyway, did you know Roxas ordered a corpse from the morgue. He said it would be coming soon, and I wanna call dibs."
"You make me sick."
"Figures. Angels are such weak little pussies." I smirk when he tries to hold back his anger.
"I know the perfect punishment."
"What?"
"Seven Minutes in Heaven, with Ven."