(On a derelict theatre stage, under a banner that reads "Welcome to the new fic!" stands the usual GOD troupe, done up in cosplays. Angelo is dressed as Sanji from One Piece, Sora and Kairi as Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers from Scott Pilgrim Versus the World, Riku as Dante from Devil May Cry, and Kalyn with a silver wig on as Daenerys Targaryen from A Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire.)
Angelo: Welcome one and all to Last Summer Dreams!
Kairi: Your fics always have the most unfortunate acronyms.
Angelo: Quiet you.
Riku: So...what's with the costumes?
Angelo: Well, I'm going to Cos & Effect this weekend, so I figured we should all get into the spirit.
Namine: Wait. If Kalyn is Dany, shouldn't Riku be Khal Drogo? Or Daario Naharis?
Kalyn: What are you implying?
Angelo: Riku doesn't look a thing like Drogo, and if I made him Daario, I would have to give him facial hair. And I know a specific fangirl who would skin me if I ever gave him facial hair.
Kairi: (Taps her foot impatiently)
Angelo: What now?
Kairi: You have to explain yourself mister...
Angelo: FINE! Yes, this fic is a month late from it's debut date. Why did I set a date? I can never make it... So, I'm sorry for that. I'm gonna try my best to bang out chapters for this ASAP so we can get to the good stuff, nice and quick. But we got a few housekeeping things to deal with. One, this fic will be short. Only six chapters in length with a bit of a floating time line around the month of August, focusing solely on the island of Salm, where our intrepid heroes live. The five chapters following this one will have the following themes/subjects to them:
-Focusing on the newcomers to Salm island
-Perspective from some of the parents of our heroes
-Focusing on Riku
-Focusing on Kairi and Namine's sixteenth birthday
-The finale, of an undisclosed subject
Also, do to my stupidity with computers and whatnot, there will be a slight formatting change with the fic, involving speech. The rules are as followed:
"Spoken dialogue" (No italicization, no underline, quotations, as always)
Thoughts and internal monologue/dialogue (Italicization, no quotations)
"Dialogue from 'external characters', like Keyblade Spirits" (Italicization with quotations)
Angelo: Hope that clears things up. And, since I'm in the mood, how about a cosplay change before we begin this show. How am I gonna change on stage? (Spins around, and he is now costumed as Doctor Insano from The Spoony Experiment) Why, with science, of course! And I would also like to take this opportunity to use this forum to announce my candidacy for Prime Minister of Canada! I don't care what anyone says, there is no way I'm eviller than Stephen Harper! If you elect me, I promise to turn Prince Edward Island into a maximum security prison where criminals will be hunted down like dogs! And I will construct a giant buzz saw to separate Canada from the United States – including Alaska! Also, I -
Roxas: It's finally happened. He's gone totally insane...
Kairi: Who had August in the pool?
Angelo: Vote for Insano! Vote for the lesser of two evils! Vote for SCIENCE!
Homecoming
"Master? May I have a quick word with you?"
The young man strode quickly across the baroque carpeted floor, his surrounding walls of pale yellow stone, illuminated by torches contained in lanterns.
"What might you ask at this hour?" The young man's master was certainly old enough to qualify for that title. His face was old and worn with age and experience – but not unkindly. "You weren't in the dining hall tonight." His wizened face crinkled up in suspicion. "You were studying in the library all nigh, again, weren't you?" A few scars were spread around his features, serving to make the old man look fierce.
"I...I lost track of time. I didn't mean to, truly." They were outside, under some sort of covering – and outdoor hallway. Walls to his left and a ceiling above, but to his right were only thick pillars every fifteen feet. Beyond the green lawns of the castle grounds was the bright and endless starry night.
The older man looked upon the young man, who seemed genuinely shamed at his habit. "I suppose I can entertain one question. But just one."
"Thank you, Master." The young man with deeply tanned skin showed his master a scrap of paper. "I found this passage in an old tome. Uh... Maester Gregor's Portents, Prophecies, and Passages." He handed him the paper, which had the passage in question written on it in a precise, neat hand. "Only of few of the passages found in Portents aren't analyzed their, and even then, with some research you can find the analysis in other books, but not this one. I spent hours looking for one, but I came up short. I was wondering if you could help my decipher it."
The older man gazed down at the paper, his eyes moving left and right, dancing across the words in silence, before he read it aloud.
"A cycle of death, bound by the Key,
Of those whose wills are not born free.
One of hope, and eyes of the cerulean sky,
The second born with dark ambition, and golden eye.
Destiny's soldiers, wielders of Fate, born only to fall.
If the cycle breaks, they bring salvation for all.
But, if Destiny's champions do indeed die,
Then, what does that say for you and I?"
When the master finished reading, he folded the paper and pocketed it within his robes, staring at the white-haired pupil who brought him this prophecy.
"Do you know what it means, Master?"
"Apocrypha." He said slowly, after much consideration. "Even here, at the Well of Souls, we do not possess all the information to be had." His pupil became crestfallen at this proclamation, clearly hoping for more from this dire, vague omen. "I vaguely remember this passage from my youth. A mentor of mine theorized that it's meaning was lost even before Gregor's time. He also thought it was likely nothing more than part of an old fairy tail."
"I see..." Despite having every reason to trust his master, the white-haired young man was not satisfied with theories. He wanted a true answer.
With a slight nod, his master told him, "Now, it's time for you to sleep. Your Rite is fast approaching, and you need your strength. Something you will not find by skipping meals and spending all night worrying over long forgotten portents."
"Yes, Master." He gave the older man a deep bow. "Good evening to you, and I will be ready for my Rite."
"I know you will." He smiled kindly at the young man, at the prodigy. "We all expect great things from you. And I know you will do the Order proud."
The dark-skinned pupil smiled back, though his smile was less pronounce and warm. "I may go abroad, though, if I complete the Rite? That is correct?"
"You may go wherever your heart wishes after the Rite."
Sora woke up with a loud yawn, rubbing sleep out of his eye. Another weird dream... This was the second morning in a row he woke up after some sort of bizarre dream. It was rather lucid, too. He didn't like that at all. He had played enough video games and watched enough anime in his life to know that lucid dreams meant bad news for the hero.
"Good morning, Master Sora!" Reina greeted rather cheerfully.
Sora smiled at his Keyblade Spirit's chipper attitude. Morning, Reina. What's with the greeting?
"This is our first morning together as Master and Spirit, and I've always greeted my Masters this way when the wake in the morning."
You've had Masters before me?
"Keyblade Spirits... Our profession is not particularly straightforward, but suffice to say we choose if we want to be Spirits to the new generation of Keyblade Warriors, and we choose who we wish to serve."
Uh...good to know, I suppose. Sora did have to wonder though, if any of the others had gotten in touch with their Spirits yet. He met Reina before the Kingdom Key turned into Destiny Heart, so he assumed it was possible any of the others could have met their Spirits.
He rose out of his bed, only to groan, rubbing his back and shoulders. He was still a little sore from his fight with Cassius the previous day. Scratch that, he was sore from the gauntlet of Immortals him and his friends had to run through yesterday.
Hell, the past two days weren't particularly kind to us. Four forms of Cassius, Pete, Maleficent, Aeron...
When he exited his bedroom into the adjoining room, a large open space that served as his house's basement, he saw that the pull-out couch was already made up, meaning Roxas was already up, and probably had climbed upstairs for breakfast. He twisted back to check the clock on his bedside table, seeing it was only a quarter past nine. A good wake up time for him.
Taking advantage of the empty basement suite, he entered the bathroom which neighboured his room for his morning shower, taking good time to let the warm water run over his sore joints and bones, enjoying the sensation on the injured extremities. He almost considered taking a bath to soak them, but that would have to wait. It was his first day after another save the world quest, and he only had one month of summer vacation left. He had priorities, most of which involved spending time with his friends and girlfriend.
After cleaning, washing, shampooing, drying, and a quick shave, Sora entered the most sacred part of his morning cleanliness ritual: his hair. Most people assumed that Sora used a gel to make style the hair the way he did, but anyone who had touched his hair knew it was far too soft for hair gel to have been used. Although his hair colour matched his mother's, his hair style and structure came from his dad; his hair didn't really grow out long, but rather it just grew thicker and more voluminous, forming into clumps,spikes, and curls. With the powers of genetics, Sora simply added a high quality mousse that he had been using for years (he was surprised that he had been able to find the exact same brand in Traverse Town and the Radiant Garden) to give his 'do more height and shape, before using his fingertips to style his spikes into the proper, exact shape.
With that task done, he dressed (not in his enchanted black adventuring garb, just an ordinary t-shirt and shorts) and headed upstairs for breakfast, finding his mom frantically moving about the kitchen, and Roxas sitting at the table, still in his pyjamas.
"Look who finally woke up." Roxas commented with a thin grin.
"Look who still hasn't showered." Sora countered back at his brother. "Morning, mom." He said, sitting down at the table.
"Morning sweetie," Allison Alleris beamed at her child, putting a plate loaded with bacon, toast, and fresh melon and mango. "Glad to be home today?"
Sora already had his mouth crammed shut with fruit, so Roxas answered for his brother. "I think tonight is gonna be much better than last night."
"Yeah, I bet..." Before the twins had gone to bed, their parents told them about what had happened to them last night. Some sort of rift appeared in the sky above Salm, broadcasting their battle with Cassius the Cosmos to everyone. Allison clearly had reservations of seeing her precious sons fight in mortal combat. "That... How do you manage dealing with that?"
Roxas shrugged. "We just have to. I mean, we've all had to fight fearsome, tough, strong opponents, and we've always come out on top." He craned his neck and gave it a rub. "Despite the pain."
"Eh, this isn't so bad." Sora said, while buttering his toast. "First week after I got the Keyblade was the worst, by far. Or when Clayton shot me in the rear with his blunderbuss! Man...I couldn't sit down for two days after that." He then noticed the horrified look on his mom's face. "Oh...guess I shouldn't be talking about this stuff so freely, huh?" He laughed nervously.
"Please, don't. If what you said is true, and you do have to go...off again, I'm gonna have nightmares about that stuff every night." With that, Allison paced about frantically a second more, before picking up a ledger on a counter. "Well, I don't think I can put off going into the restaurant any longer today. Goodbye, boys." She kissed each of her sons on the forehead in turn, Roxas blushing as this was his first real instance of being kissed by his mother. "I should be back sometime around five, see you then." She smiled sweetly at the boys, the two of them saying goodbye as well, before she left for the day.
Finishing breakfast, Sora asked. "So, what do you wanna do today...brother. Hehe." He remembered when he was younger, and asked his parents why he couldn't have a brother or sister. The exact explanation evaded him at the moment – all he could remember was his dad had issues in procreating – but he was always sad that he never could grow up with a sibling. Having Roxas was like having a prayer answered.
As for the blond, former Nobody, he was still in a bit of a daze; only in his dreams did he imagine having a mother, a father, a brother... a girlfriend. He was a little afraid that he would wake up soon and find himself back in his all white and grey room in The Castle That Never Was.
"Wha?" He shook his head. "Oh...I..."
At that moment, the phone rang.
"Guess we're about to find out." Sora got up from the table to answer the device. "Hello?"
"Hey, Sora!" Kairi replied happily from the other line. "Glad to see you got up, you lazy bum."
Everyone has to take shots at that... Sora thought with a roll of his eyes. "So, did you call just to taunt me?"
"No. I was talking with Nam, and we realized that she – and by extension, Roxas – really don't have any clothes. Dayne and Kalyn probably could use some new clothes too, so how about we all meet in town, shop, and then go out to lunch?"
"Oh...okay." Although the prospect of lunch was promising, Kairi was a manic shopper, something that was known by half the students at their high school. Only Selphie and her older sister Erica seemed to be able to match her energy at the hobby. "I guess we have to. With Dayne's wardrobe, he'll probably roast to death in a few hours out here."
Kairi giggled on the other line. "Okay. I'll give Riku a call. Say we meet just outside the Wired Monk at about...ten-thirty?"
"Sure thing. See you soon, Kairi."
"You too. Love you." With that, she hung up, and Sora put the telephone on the receiver.
"Okay, get showered quickly." He told Roxas.
"What for?"
"We're going shopping."
"With Kairi?" The blond had a shocked look on his face, which was only worsened when his brother nodded back. "Oh dear God!"
"Oh, come on, she's not that bad." Sora lied. "Besides, there's six of us to temper her." He began to clean up his plate. "You, me, and Riku aren't shoppers, and I don't think Namine, Dayne, or Kalyn will turn out to be much of one, either."
"I doubt that Kalyn girl likes much of anything." Roxas muttered. "Except maybe Riku."
"Give her a chance. We just met her the other day."
Roxas shook his head, remembering words that Ansem had taunted him with once. "You're too nice for your own good, Sora."
"Dayne, get up. It's quarter to ten!"
"Excuse me? Did you die and come back to life yesterday?"
"No..."
"Then screw off, Silver." Riku shook his head and groaned.
Being a single income family, the Shiozaki household was rather small, large enough to fit the needs of it's regular occupants (Riku and his mother), but not much else. With both Sora and Kairi's family taking on an extra body for the next several years in the form of Roxas and Namine, Riku found himself straddled with two house guests that weren't exactly making life easier for him.
Dayne was laying supine on the small loveseat couch in the living room, head half off it, and his long legs dangling over the other edge, his duster coat and under-jacket throw in a pool around the piece of furniture in question. The previous night's activities proved especially exhausting for the man with crimson-striped, blue hair, having been asleep for close to twelve hours; especially jarring if you knew Dayne normally slept less than six.
"Kairi just called, we're all going clothes shopping at ten-thirty." Not that he could blame Dayne for not wanting to go shopping with Kairi. "And we're mostly doing if for the benefit of you two. So get up and get showered."
"Shh!"
"I'll get up when I feel like it. Did you die and-"
"'Come back to life yesterday?' No. I didn't. How long are you gonna keep that excuse up?"
Dayne turned around on his makeshift bed and gave Riku a wry smile. "I'll stop tomorrow I swear."
"Would you two stop yammering on?" Dayne's duster fluttered through the air, draping over Dayne's grinning face. "I'm trying to watch this television thing." Kalyn turned back around, sitting cross-legged on the floor, enthralled with the morning news report on the television.
And there was the second problem. To be honest, the girl from the deposed kingdom known as Dalmasca wasn't as large as an imposition as Dayne (being a half foot shorter than him and and bit more reserved towards Riku and his mom) but Riku had to go and channel Sora last night, giving her his bed and sleeping on the floor himself, entertaining any and every question she had, before she dozed off around two in the morning. Questions about himself, about Sora and Kairi, Roxas, Namine, the islands... He rubbed his eyes, pinching his cheeks at the same time, trying to wake himself up.
It was at this time that Eira Shiozaki, Riku's mother, entered the room, a tray of food draped across her arms. She passed out bowls of bran cereal, topped with fresh fruit to her son and the impromptu house guests.
"Thanks, mom." Riku smiled back at the smaller woman. Being an elementary school teacher, she was off during the summers, time Riku always appreciated, since it meant they could see each other more.
"You're welcome, Riku." She smiled wearily. Riku could still tell she had reservations about the Keyblade and the journeys it seemed to direct towards him and his friends, after seeing the battle with Cassius last night. "Did everyone sleep well?"
Dayne finally sat up, letting Riku sit down next to him. "Very well, thank you." The ex-Immortal replied. "And I promise, I will not make much more of an imposition on you, ma'am."
"Please, Dayne, this-"
"I won't hear of it. In fact, once we're done this little shopping trip, I'm going out to look for an apartment." Kalyn shifted uncomfortably on the floor, but no one said anything further, as everyone in the room followed the brunette girl's actions, and watching the news report.
"...returning to our top story this morning," the female anchor said, welcoming the viewers back from the commercial break. "The strange aurora of lights that appeared above the island of Salm at around six pm yesterday evening. The strange phenomena seemed to be some sort of random event, as a sound explanation has yet to be obtained. Most people seem to pass it off as some sort of magnetic disturbance, like the auroras found near the poles of the Great Ocean, but others have called in or been interviewed, claiming they could see vague humanoid shapes within the lights.
"At this time we will be re-airing the press conference held earlier today by Mayor of the township of Salm, and Governor of the island of Salm, Aiden Minami."
The image on the screen changed to a middle aged man, thinning black hair and a spade shaped beard, standing behind a large podium and a number of microphones propped up on the stand.
"That's Kairi's father isn't it?" Kalyn asked. "Adoptive father, right?"
"Yeah." One of the first things she and Riku had talked about was Kairi and her story.
"He's a politician?" Dayne muttered distastefully. "No wonder I can't stand him... What's with this mayor and governor junk?"
"They're two separate position of political office." Eira began to explain in a small voice. "Aiden is on his fourth term as mayor – who only run cities or towns – which is his final term. Elections are in October, and he leaves office in January. The Governors run islands as a whole, whether they be large like Maydel, or small like Salm, here. He was only elected to the position in March, and assumed office not too long ago."
Dayne nodded along, keeping his eyes narrowed on the televised image of Kairi's adoptive father.
"...all we can say about the aurora for yesterday evening is that it is was some sort of magnetic disturbance in the atmosphere, according to a theory brought to me by one of my advisers. There is no cause for concern, as it was nothing more but a freak accident." Aiden Minami lied through his teeth, though only a handful of people knew he was lying.
Eira squinted pensively. "Hmm, I have to wonder..."
"What is it, mom?" Riku asked.
"Well, I could see that..." she swallowed a little, "that battle clearly. So could Aiden, Julia, Erica, Dias, and Allison. But why couldn't anyone else?"
"I gotta hunch." Dayne put his empty cereal bowl on an end table next to the couch. He scratched at his chin, all eyes on him. "How best to put this... somethings can't be seen by normal people. Ghosts, spectres, supernatural hoodoo are hidden from the mundane world by...like a veil, that only people that are spiritually attuned, people with a certain amount of spiritual energy can see."
"And that rift they all saw was one of them?" Kalyn asked. "And if it was hidden by that...veil, how did their parents see it?"
"Well, spiritual energy has a weird way of reacting to non-spiritual people." Dayne continued. "If a person with a high amount of that energy spends a lot of time with someone who isn't spiritual, then the energy of the first person will seep into, touch, the non-spiritual person, causing them to become spiritual." Dayne shut his eyes and waved his head about in an odd manner. "Again, it's just a theory, and I didn't understand it much even when it was explained well to me."
Riku's eyes narrowed. He had heard about stuff like this during his tenure with DiZ. The sixth sense, sight beyond sight. "So...because we spent so much time with our families, we've awakened their sixth sense? The sense to see beyond that veil?"
"Yep. Probably extends to anyone else you spend a lot of time with. You know, like good friends. Stuff like that."
Riku sighed tiredly. What are the odds that Tidus and the others saw us fight Cassius, clear as day? But he already knew that answer.
"Erica, you really should go easier on her..."
"Come on, mom! This her first day here. I won't break her on her first day.
After coming downstairs from her shower, Namine found herself assailed by a recently roused from sleep Erica Minami, who decided to give her new sister one of her infamous bear hugs. Knowing her own birth daughter, Julia Minami was doing her best to try and get Erica to go easy on the former Nobody. But when Namine was finally released from the crushing hug, the blonde was red in the face from laughter, beaming at her new parent and sibling.
Kairi watched from the kitchen table with a smile on her face too, because she knew this scene all too well. The day after she had been left on the Minami's doorstep, when Erica found out she now had a little sister, the raven-haired girl attacked the young Kairi with a tight bear hug, so tight their parents were worried Kairi was hurt. But the redhead just laughed and smiled like Namine was doing now.
I'm glad. She deserves this. Having to share a bed, do to space restraints, Kairi knew first hand how giddy Namine was about this change around in her life. Especially about having a family. "They're not going to lock me away, or be nice to me and expect something in return. This is literally a dream come true!" She had declared last night, so excited and jittery she could barely lay still.
"So," Julia began, after her two daughters were pried apart. "What are you three up to today?" Julia looked nothing like any of her daughters – granted seeing as how Kairi and Namine weren't her birth children – with a willowy figure, kind green eyes, and dark blonde hair done up in a short braid. Still attractive and youthful looking, despite being in the mid-thirties. Now that she had met the women, Kairi thought her mom had a lot of similarities to one Aerith Gainsborough.
"First day out of summer semester, so I'm just gonna try and relax for a day or two." Erica said with a grin. She worked while she was at school, and only had three months of the year wholly to herself.
"We're going out shopping with the rest of the group." Kairi answered, causing Erica to chuckle.
"Really, Kai? After fighting that epic battle, you're forcing them on a spree with you?"
The Princess of Heart looked rather offended. "Why does everyone have that reaction?" She asked. "I'm not that bad." She turned to her mother and sister. "Am I?"
The two blondes looks off, wistfully and nervously, to try and deflect the question.
"I have probed through your memories." Her Keyblade Spirit, whom she dubbed Miw, though that was not his real name. "And yes. Yes you are that bad."
Shut it, you. She mentally lashed back at him. And stay out of my memories!
"And you, Namine?" Julia turned to the third teenage girl. "It's your first day here, is there anything we can do for you?" She gave her a warm smile.
"Um...well..." She looked away for a second, forgetting for a moment where she was, and that this women actually and legitimately loved and cared for her. "I've always had problems...seeing things from far away. I think..."
"Do you need glasses? Why haven't you got them, yet?"
Namine seemed to shrink where she stood. "I asked DiZ...Ansem...he said I couldn't risk going outside. And M-marluxia..." She visibly paled when she said that name, "he said...'stop crying or I'll give you something to cry about'..."
Gently, Julia placed her arms on the paling girl's shoulders.
"It's okay." She reassured in a half-whisper. "Erica, I have to get to work. When Namine gets back, do you think you could take her down to the optometrist?" The raven-haired girl smiled and nodded. "Alright." She got up to leave, but turned around one last time. "Oh, and girls," she said, addressing Kairi and Namine, "uh...your father, he would like to speak with you when he gets home tonight..."
Thought so... "Okay, mom." Kairi calmly replied.
This caused Julia to raise an eyebrow. Kairi would usually act up when her father wanted to speak with her in private. An instilled fear of disappointment.
"You're okay with this?"
Kairi nodded "Yeah. After all, you said I was the one who had change." And he never liked change. "I was surprised he didn't force me down for a talk when I walked in the door last night."
"Yeah...Your father said he wanted to, but he had work to get to. And I know it's always work with him, but this something he had to do quickly, he said. Something involving Namine."
"Me?" The blonde looked confused, and her new mother nodded in response.
"Told you daddy would accept you, Nami" Erica said in a sing-song voice. Namine blushed slightly.
"Anyways, I'll be home around four, girls." Everyone shared their goodbyes, as Julia Minami left the house.
Around this time, Kairi whipped her head around, looking at the clock mounted on the wall. "Ten-ten! We gotta roll, Namine." She grabbed her newly christened twin by the arm and forcibly dragged her to the front door. "Shopping time! See you later, Erica."
"See Kai, this is why people don't want to go shopping with you..." Namine moaned, as her sister dragged her out the door. "Hey! Wait up! I don't even have my shoes on!"
"Cripes! It's hot out!" Dayne panted, crouching his giant frame in a bit of shade on the street.
"And this is why we're going shopping, Dayne." Kairi said with her hands on her hips. Everyone had prepared for the heat, save for Dayne who had come in his black jeans, black leather under-jacket, and duster coat. Five minutes after leaving Riku's home, he had discarded his duster and under-jacket – revealing a white t-shirt underneath – but he was still sweltering. "And don't say you can take the heat. This is cool for August! It's like twenty-five. I know your wardrobe, four-fifths of it are either black or leather." Kairi had come equipped for the heat in a denim sundress and gladiator sandals.
"Yeah, it's not that bad." Kalyn replied. She was wearing the only other clothes she had brought with her, besides the shorts and top. It was some sort of garb, popular in Rabanastre and Dalmasca at large, made from a material they called sand-silk. Loose-fitting, wide cuffed trousers that swished around her ankles whenever she moved her legs, a some sort of thing, loose, long sleeved shirt, complete with sleeves as wide as her pants, and a large hood. It was light, cool, and kept the direct sunlight right off her. "You guys get a nice breeze from the ocean here. Try the dry heat in Rabanastre, then come talk to me."
"Hot..." Dayne moaned again.
Everyone rolled their eyes. "When are pineapple head and chocobo hair getting here?" Kalyn asked.
"They're always late." Kairi said. She then turned to Namine. "So, what's it like dating a guy with chocobo plumes?" She giggled.
"I dunno. How does kissing a pineapple feel?" She retorted, with everyone sharing a laugh (except for Dayne, who just moan and panted again).
Kalyn grinned. "I'm glad to see my nickname has caught on so well."
Riku broke up the conversation. "Did you two get into contact with Tidus and the others yet." He asked Kairi and Namine. Both girls shook their heads. Riku wiped some sweat from his brow. He was probably the second least prepared for the heat, behind Dayne (though he was still doing miles better than him), dressed in a pale blue tank-top and khaki pants.
"That's it..." Dayne lurched to his feet. "I need to cool down, and I need caffeine."
"Yeah, you need caffeine. You weren't up until two in the morning..." Riku muttered.
"I told you, I'm sorry. You didn't have to do all that stuff." Kalyn said.
"No. It's alright. I promised I would do it to you..."
The others blinked at the two. "Um...What did you two get up to last night?" Roxas asked, a devious smile forming on his face.
It was at this moment that the Keybladers of Dawn and Water realized their faux pas.
"Nothing!" They snapped in unison. "It was nothing!"
Dayne shook his head at the sight. "Whatever. I'm going to get an iced coffee." He then walked off to the coffee house they had gathered in front of, the Wired Monk.
"He could have at least offered to get us something..." Roxas murmured.
Namine turned the conversation back on course. "Anyway, you sure that they know something, Riku? I mean, Tidus and the others." Namine had borrowed some short-shorts and a tank top from Kairi, although she found them a little big. It seemed just because they were once a Nobody and Somebody, didn't mean they were perfect mirror duplicates.
"Well, Dayne said it was possible for them to be...spiritually awakened. It's possible they actually saw the rift and what happened in the rift."
"You guys talking about Tidus and those guys?"
The group turned to see Sora and Roxas had joined them – dressed in shorts and tees, red for Sora, white for Roxas. Instantly, Namine and Kairi went up to hug the two, leaving Kalyn to shake her head.
"They've been apart, what? Twelve, thirteen hours?"
Riku replied. "To be fair, I think that might be the longest they've been apart." The brunette just snorted and continued to shake her head.
When the hugging was done, Riku went up to the two. "So, did you two get in contact with Tidus and the others?"
"Yeah." Roxas said. "That's why we took so long. Tidus phoned right before we left."
"And...?" Kairi asked the two of them.
"Well, for some reason, only our mom and dad and those guys were able to see that light show for what it actually was." Sora answered.
"All our families could see the rift properly, too." Kairi returned.
"Why's that?"
"Let the big guy explain when he gets back." Kalyn said.
Sora nodded. "Anyways, they want answers, obviously."
"Knew that would be coming." Namine said with a shrug. Kalyn groaned.
"How many times do you guys have to tell your story?"
"Way too often." Roxas chuckled.
"...But," Sora began, "But, I told them that we were still all banged up and whatnot from yesterday. So we get today to ourselves, and we're gonna tell them tomorrow at five, at my place." He smiled. "I figured, we could make it like, our victory party."
Dayne returned to the group, a cup of coffee ice slush in his hand. "What's this about a victory party?"
"Remember those people we met on the beach when we first came here yesterday?"
"You mean the kid who look like Meg Ryan, the guy with the stupid accent and that ridiculous hairdo, and the hyperactive girl who tackled Kairi?" Sora nodded. "Oh, great..."
"And it's not gonna be just them." Sora extrapolated. "They told a bunch of people, Tycho, Gabe, Amelia, Arc, Sakkee, Garnet, Rhys and Rhysa, Rydia, Irvine..."
Dayne rolled his eyes and groaned. "This island... Oh, by the way." He turned to the group. "I got a weird look from the girl behind the counter at the shop. She looked surprised...shocked to see me."
Roxas chuckled. "Well it could be any number of things. Your outfit, your eyes..."
Kalyn joined in. "His hair, his attitude, his face..." Dayne growled, irritably.
"I think it's his height." Sora broke in. Dayne looked at him as if to say "my height?" "Well," the blue-eyed boy began to explain, "The people of Salm, of these western islands, are usually genetically short. Like, Kairi is about the size of an average adult, and people like Riku and my dad, who are about six-feet, they're considered pretty tall. So you, you would be like a-"
"A freak..." The six-and-a-half-foot tall Dayne grumbled. "Of all the worlds, I had to come to superheated midget land..."
"Enough with the discussions and groaning." Kairi chirped in, hopping up and down. "It's time we get to shopping!"
She was answered by a chorus of six groans.
"I'm not that bad!"
Two-and-a-half hours, eight stores, several thousand munny, and countless groans later, the group of Keybladers finished their shopping, and were heading out of the market district of Salm, to find a place to eat.
All of them had changed shirts along the way, Kairi having found a vendor that was selling a variety of shirts with kanji characters written on them. Both Sora and Kairi thought it would be a good idea to get ones with the characters for their elements on them, dubbing the seven articles their "team shirts". So now, Sora was in a red shirt with the kanji for "Destiny" on it, Roxas in white with "Twilit" on his, Kairi and Namine in pink and white – respectively – each having "Light" branded on theirs. Riku's was a dark orange with "Sun" on it, Kalyn in sky blue with "Water" on her front, and Dayne was in a dark blue with his shirt being branded by a "Lightning" kanji.
"Hmm... Let's find a proper place to eat." Kairi saw Dayne eyeing a few food carts along the street. After the people who didn't have proper clothing – Dayne, Kalyn, Namine, and Roxas – Kairi had bought the most, compared to Sora and Riku, who bought barely anything. The redhead justified this by saying it had been months since her last splurge, but no one was buying it much.
"Hey, I got an idea." Roxas announced. "Why don't we got to All- I mean...why don't we go to my mom's place?" He was still getting used to the concept of actually having a mother.
"Good idea, Rox." Namine smiled back. The others shared similar sentiments.
"So...what? Is your mom like a waitress or a cook?" Dayne asked as the group made their way to said restaurant's location.
"Nope." Sora replied. "She owns it."
The Sand Sea had become a staple of Salm since it's creation fifty-odd years ago. Currently run by Allison Alleris, who's family had owned the restaurant since her grandfather's day, it had a reputation for being friendly to all customer, and for serving some of the best food to be found on the island. Although not fancy enough to be a high-class restaurant, it was far from some dive bar or greasy spoon diner, it had been successful since inception, and was popular enough to attract people to Salm for no other reason than to eat at the Sand Sea.
After stepping inside and getting a table from the hostess (Dayne noticing a "Help Wanted" sign up front, and Kalyn chuckling that the eatery shared the name with a tavern back in Rabanastre) their waitress came up to them rather quick enough.
"Good afternoon," A girl in her late-teens to early twenties with curly blonde hair, wearing a khaki skirt, and black golf shirt stepped up to the table, beaming, menus in hand. "Welcome to the Sand Sea, my name is Nicole and – Sora!" She gasped and smiled broader when she saw the spike-haired boy. "I haven't seen you in forever!"
Sora smiled up at the waitress. "Hey, Nicole." He stood up to meet her hug. "Still saving up for college?"
"Ya-huh." She broke the hug. "Seems I can't get away from working for you family. First I'm babysitting for you, now your mom's got me waiting tables." She looked past the younger teen. "Hey, Riku. Hi Kairi. Oh? Some new friends?"
"Um...I guess so." He turned around. "Nicole, this is Roxas, Namine, Dayne, and Kalyn. Everyone, Nicole." The strangers introduced one another, as Sora sat down, with Nicole passing menus around.
"So," the cheerful girl took out a pen and pad, "Can I start you guys off with some drinks or appetizers?"
"Yeah..." Sora spoke for the group, only vaguely looking at the menu. He practically knew it off by heart. "Can we get a plate of tostones to start, and I'll have an orange cream Salo."
"Cherry Salo, please." Riku ordered.
"I'll take a strawberry-kiwi." Answered Kairi.
As Nicole started to write down the orders, Dayne turned to the island natives. "What's this Salo stuff you're ordering?"
"It's a speciality soda brewed here on the island," Kairi explained. "It's really good. You guys should order a bottle."
"And you four?" Nicole turned to the newcomers.
"Black raspberry Salo." Namine said.
"Mango for me, please." Roxas followed.
"Um...I'll take a black raspberry, too." Came Dayne.
Kalyn scrutinized the menu, before answering slowly, "...Chocolate Coconut..."
Nicole nodded and smiled. "Okay. I'll be right back, everyone."
After Nicole left, Kalyn was the one to ask a food question. "So...what's a tostone?"
"They're unripe plantains, sliced thin and fried." Riku explained.
"Oh, so plantain potato chips." Dayne murmured, tapping his fingers impatiently, eyeing the menu. "W-what the heck is a spider sandwich?"
"That's the house speciality this time of year." Sora explained, cheerily. Seeing Nicole again had put him in a real good mood. It seemed he missed the islands more than he thought. "It's a whole soft-shell crab, deep fried, and put on a po' boy bun."
Dayne's eyes went wide at the description as he dropped the menu. "That sounds...delicious. Ungodly delicious..."
Everyone had a fair chuckle at his reaction. "Yeah. Trust me, it is as good as it sounds."
"Well, now that I know what I'm ordering," Dayne stood up, "I have something to take care of. Excuse me." With that, Dayne left the booth where they were sat, walking to wherever he was going; with Dayne it was hard to figure out his moves sometimes.
A few minutes later, Dayne returned, with a big smile on his face, swaggering to the table. "Well, I got a job today, people!" He declared as he sat down. "What did you do with your lives?"
"You got a job in ten minutes?" Riku questioned. "Where?"
"Here." Everyone craned their necks to see that Allison had joined them. "Again, I can't give you much work, Dayne. At least not until next month, but it should be enough for a living."
"I thank you all the same, ma'am." Dayne smiled back at her.
"Allison, please."
"Allison it is. Now I just have to find myself a place to live."
"Crap..." Kalyn swore, leaning back in the booth. "I guess I have to get on that, too."
"Kalyn, it's alright." Riku said to her. "You can stay at my place for a while." Roxas snickered at this, but Riku ignored him.
The Ivalician girl shook her head. "I know you're willing to, and that your mother says I'm not an imposition, but I can plainly see you don't have the room for me..."
"Why don't you stay with us?" Allison offered.
"What?" Kalyn, Roxas, and Sora all replied in a bit of shock.
Allison just smiled at the three. "Why not? We have much more space than Eira does at her place. More food, we bring in enough money, and we have that guest room that never gets used. We should be able to live comfortably with both Roxas and Kalyn added."
Kalyn just blinked dumbly at the offer. "This is...awfully kind of you, ma'am..." She was at a lost for words with this charity. "Th-thank you..."
"You're my son's friend, you're new here, and besides, it'd be nice to have another girl in the house." She gave a quick laugh, and then left for other business, leaving Kalyn mystified, but happy.
Nicole returned not long after that, with seven sodas in tall, chilled glass bottles, passing them out the patrons. "So, are you all ready to order?" The group nodded.
"A spider sandwich." Said Sora.
Dayne came next. "Make it two."
"Spicy beef stir fry," Roxas replied.
"I'll have the flounder." Kairi said, handing Nicole her menu.
"The seafood, tomato, and eggplant pasta," Riku ordered.
"The garden chicken, please." Said Namine.
"I'll try the... um...chicken and pork jambalaya?" Kalyn said, unsure of what she was exactly ordering.
With another smile, Nicole left to put their orders in. Kalyn sunk down in the booth, smiling again. It was an odd smile, as if she didn't know smiling was the right or proper thing to do.
The change in disposition was noticed by her companions. "You seem in a good mood, Kalyn." Namine noted.
"I just... I never expected everyone to be so nice to me." She mumbled. "I almost forgot...It's such a wonderful feeling..."
"Glad to see you not acting like a total bit – OW!" Namine had stamped on Roxas's foot. "Okay Nam, I'll play nice with the new girl." He said sarcastically.
"Hmm, this our only month of summer, guys." Sora said aloud, as if just realizing.
"Well, we seem off to a good start," Kairi said to her boyfriend. "We got to try and make the most of it. It looks like it'll be our only break in a while."
Sora nodded for a moment, before taking the unopened bottle of soda in front of him and raised it high.
"A toast?" Dayne scoffed.
"Why not? We got quite a bit to celebrate about." He gave the bottle a little tip. "To our victory."
Surprisingly, Kalyn was the first to join in, quickly lifting her bottle up to Sora's. "To the island of Salm, and all it's kind people..." She joined in a quiet voice.
Dayne rolled his eyes, but joined in nonetheless. "To the first vacation I've had in...well, I've lost count of how many years it's been."
Riku, Kairi, Roxas, and Namine joined their glasses to the others. "To summer vacation." Kairi cheered. "And let's make the most of it! Right?"
"Right!"
Again, sorry for the lateness of this. LSD won't be a very plot-heavy fic, I'm trying to focus on the characters this time out. It's filler-like, but not fully filler, as some concepts are going to be introduced, and some characters are going to grow. Also, that victory party mentioned, will be taking place next chapter.
Also, as a point of future reference, I have figure out the currency for this universe. 100 Munny is equal to one Gil, while one Gil is more or less on par with one Canadian Dollar.
Anyways, I'm going to finish my final preparations for Cos & Effect. I'll be back whenever I am back. Sayonara bye-bye, everybody!
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SirAngelo