Disclaimer: The following contains characters and elements from Disney, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Dissidia Final Fantasy, TWEWY, and some OCs. I own nothing but the idea and the OCs.
AN: I wish to apologize in advance for subjecting you guys to what I refer to as Character Overload in the First Chapter. I do this every time I write a story, I am not kidding! Also, this Chapter is a little slow. Bear with me and no flames Please!
I don't know if anyone's noticed, but I've been doing some updating and editing, in this chapter in particular. As always, please review.
**11/18/12** Okay, thanks to fellow writer Yue Asuka, it has been brought to my attention that these chapters are spaced kinda tight. I apologize, you guys. That must have been hard to read! Thank you, Yue! As always, review please!
Chapter 1: Morning Chaos
Riku's alarm went off at 5 a.m. The same time it always did. The 17 year old sat up in his bed and stood up to open his bedroom window, allowing the early morning sun to flow into the light colored room. He then immediately launched into his morning routine: make his bed, wash up, get dressed, brush his hair, and proceed downstairs.
Today he wore a white, sleeveless shirt with black and yellow trim, a black belt, light blue jeans, and white lace ups that matched his shirt. On the back of his shirt was an embroidered, winged heart shape outlined in black. Brushing his hair was a simple matter of making sure that the silver lengths that hugged his shoulders fell straight down. (AN: It's Riku's outfit from KH: DDD, with his hairstyle from KH1. I don't like his hair in DDD!)
He then left the room and walked to the room next door on his left, pulling on a pair of black wristbands, one on each wrist, as he went. Opening the door, he moved to a bed in the room's far corner and gently shook the figure huddled beneath the blankets.
"Xion, come on sis. Time to get up." A sleepy, blue eyed girl with short black hair sat up and looked at him while he opened the window next to the bed.
"I'm heading downstairs, sis. Make sure you're up if you want breakfast," Riku told her.
Xion smiled. "Alright, Big Brother."
"Don't call me that. You're the same age as I am."
"You're older by half an hour."
Riku shrugged, not interested in starting a pointless argument with his twin sister. "Whatever you say, sis."
Xion was giggling while Riku left the room, closing the door behind him. He made his way down a carpeted staircase to a clean, semi-metallic kitchen. There, a spiky, brown haired boy dressed in highly detailed, primarily black, clothing sat slumped over the kitchen table, sleeping in his hands. Riku shook his head and lightly kicked the boy's leg to wake him up.
"Sora, what's the point of getting up early to help me cook breakfast if you're just going to sleep at the table?" Sora yawned and stretched before standing up. He turned to his best friend and grinned.
"Sorry, Riku. Here, just let me get- Whoa!" As he stepped forward, Sora promptly tripped over a leg of the chair he had been sitting in, knocking the chair over. Riku grabbed his friend's arm, stopping him before he hit the floor face first. Sora grinned sheepishly at him as Riku yanked him back onto his feet. Sighing, Riku bent down and righted the chair.
"Good morning. Guys! Breakfast ready yet?"
Sora and Riku turned to face the blonde boy who had entered the kitchen. He had sapphire blue eyes, the same shade and color as Sora's and his hair was spiky too, but the spikes were neater, more narrow. Unlike Sora, who was dressed predominantly in black, this boy was wearing tan pants, a black shirt with a short sleeved tan jacket, black shoes, and a black and white checkered wristband on one wrist. Riku smiled at him.
"Actually Roxas, breakfast is not ready yet, but thank you for volunteering to help."
As Roxas moved towards a refrigerator in a far corner, grumbling to himself, Xion and two other girls arrived to help the boys.
Riku glanced at his sister and shook his head, amused. Apparently, Xion had taken a complete inventory of what her brother was wearing and had decided to replicate it with a more feminine touch. Her shirt was white and sleeveless with black and yellow trim, and a black embroidered, winged heart shape on the back, exactly like the shirt Riku was wearing. The black belt and black wristbands she was wearing were also the same. However, she was wearing a light blue jean skirt and navy blue, knee length stockings rather than jeans, and a pair of short white boots instead of lace ups.
Xion smirked at Riku and kissed him on the cheek, then kissed Roxas before helping him pull a large pan out of a cabinet.
One of the two girls who had entered with Xion, a girl with long, light blonde hair dressed in a short white dress, and a pair of white sandals decorated with small white flowers, walked up to Riku and put an arm around him.
"Good morning," she said as she stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. Riku smiled at her.
"Namine."
Riku turned and began measuring flour and water while Namine pulled out milk, eggs, cinnamon, and apples.
Behind them, Sora and his twin brother Roxas began tossing a bottle of syrup back and forth while Xion and the other girl, Namine's twin sister Kairi- a girl with shoulder length, reddish brown hair in a short pink dress decorated with zippers and short, pink and white boots- watched.
A wavy blonde haired boy- dressed in a black shirt, a camouflage vest, camouflage three-quarter pants and camouflage sneakers- named Hayner, ran into the kitchen and took the syrup bottle in midair, prompting Sora and Roxas to run around the kitchen chasing him, all three of them laughing their heads off.
Xion and Namine then set about cooking as many eggs as would fit into the large pan.
A dark haired, blue eyed boy in a red shirt and baggy jeans named Pence and a girl with wavy brown hair , green eyes, an orange tank top, orange three-quarter pants, and white shoes named Olette, came in and began loading plates and glasses onto the kitchen table, which was larger than most.
Riku and Namine put the finishing touches on a batch of pancake better they had been making together, and Riku took the mixing bowl and began pouring generous sized circles on to a hot griddle.
"Hey, I'll handle that."
Riku turned to see Seifer, a tall blonde boy dressed in blue and grey, reach out to take the bowl from him. Behind him, Siefer's friend Rai, a tall, dark skinned, dark haired boy dressed in red and black, was wrestling the syrup bottle from Hayner, while Riku and Xion's cousin Fujin, a red eyed, short silver haired girl dressed in tan and navy blue, silently maneuvered around them, adding napkins and silverware to the table. Riku smiled at Seifer.
"I appreciate it, Seifer, but-"
"I'll handle this. You need to get the store ready for opening. You shouldn't have to deal with this."
"Thanks, Seifer."
"You go ahead and take Namine with you. Everything's under control here," Seifer smiled confidently. Riku's smile widened teasingly.
"And the triplets, Seifer? They need something to do that doesn't involve crashing into walls, or the ceiling, for that matter." Still smiling, Riku pointed to three small girls trying and failing to put a bowl of fresh fruit on the table without smashing it. Seifer stared at the three girls, flummoxed. Riku grinned and approached the leader of the girls, a girl with light brown hair that was mostly short save for one long braid at the back of her head, dressed in a white shirt with pink edging and a blue skirt and blue boots. She had one blue eye and one green eye. She smiled at Riku as he approached.
"Yuna, why don't you take Rikku and Paine and go help Seifer?" Yuna looked at her sisters; Rikku, a bouncy girl with green eyes, a tall blonde ponytail, and dressed in a yellow shirt, orange shorts, and tan boots nearly did a backflip, while Paine, a stoic girl with red eyes and silver hair, dressed completely in black save for a red belt, nodded her head quietly. The three then dashed off, leaving Riku to catch the poor fruit bowl and set it on the center of the table.
Leaving the kitchen with Namine behind him, Riku made his way to entry of the stairs and the overly furnished living room. There, a group of young men, and one young woman, in their mid twenties were sitting, all looking a little tired. The nearest one, a black haired man named Dilan, handed Riku a key.
"The main floor is clean. All we need to do is stock a few shelves."
Fujin's older brother Even, a man with green eyes and loose blonde hair that nearly reached his elbow, added, "The ice chest is full and the appliances are in order."
Even's friend, a tall, brown haired, stern faced man named Aeleus, nodded in agreement. Luxord, a blonde man with a goatee playing with a deck of cards, grinned cheekily.
"Not to worry. Everybody pulled their own weight. Even Marly and Arly over here."
Marluxia, a green eyed man with shoulder length, light pink hair, and blonde Arlene, his girlfriend and Luxord's sister, both glared at him.
Namine's older brother, a slate haired man named Ienzo, looked up from the book he was reading. "Lea and Myde spotted a problem with the lights. They're fixing it now. Once they're finished, we can start stocking the shelves. Please don't worry about the state of the store. Everything's nearly ready."
Riku gave a reluctant nod and was about to thank Ienzo when a door on the far side of the room banged open and three people walked in. Dilan's brother Lea, a tall, green eyed young man with crazily red spiky hair, gave Riku a cocky smile.
"Light's fixed!" he announced. His friend Myde, a young man in his early twenties with blue eyes and a blonde mullet, nodded in agreement and rubbed his hands together.
"Did the kids blow up the kitchen yet?" he joked.
The third person to walk in kicked the door shut and glared at Myde before approaching Riku. He was very similar to Riku in height and appearance, but he was dressed in black and dark red, and his eyes had a harder edge. Riku smiled at him warmly.
"Good morning, RR." (AN: "RR" is pronounced as "Double R", okay?) RR stared at him, then patted Riku's arm in reply.
"The street outside is safe," he said in a hoarse, barely audible whisper.
Riku nodded. "Thank you, RR. Why don't you go to the kitchen with Dilan and the others? Breakfast should be ready in a minute." RR's eyes narrowed momentarily, and then he nodded.
While RR and the others moved off in the direction of the kitchen, Riku looked at Namine and nodded in the direction of the stairs.
"I'm going to get my other siblings up. At the moment it's just me and Xion who are awake." Namine nodded and walked off to the kitchen while Riku went back upstairs.
Upon reaching the landing, he stopped and frowned. A brown haired girl in a pink shirt, a white short sleeved jacket, , a dark green skirt, boots, and carrying a black stuffed cat was standing next to a door, staring at it.
"Shiki, what are you doing?" The girl jumped and turned to face him. She smiled nervously.
"Hi, Riku, uh-"
"Downstairs Shiki. Now." Shiki scuttled past Riku and ran downstairs. The door she had been watching opened and a light orange haired boy in a long purple shirt with a high collar, white shorts, purple boots, and large purple headphones over his ears walked out and approached Riku.
"Big Brother." Riku turned away from the stairs and hugged the second oldest of his four younger brothers.
"Hey, Neku." Neku closed his eyes and leaned against his older brother, prompting Riku to kiss the top of the younger boy's head.
"Are you alright? Is your cold still bothering you?"
Neku shook his head. "No, I'm okay."
"Alright. Breakfast is about ready. Do you need help getting to the kitchen?"
"No. I can do it."
"Alright. Just take it slow, okay?"
Neku nodded and began to shuffle slowly downstairs.
A second boy walked out of the room Neku had just left. He was wearing a white sleeveless shirt, tan pants, sneakers, a black hat with a small skull on the front, and a chain on one side of one leg. Tufts of blonde hair jutted out slightly from under his hat. He smiled at Riku glowingly.
"Hey, Bog Bro'. Watcha doin'?"
"Getting the six of you up, Beat." Neku's twin smiled and pointed over his shoulder to the room he and Neku had just vacated.
"Joshua's out like a light-"he pointed to the room next over
"- but Rhyme's up. She's just waiting for you to come get her."
"Where's Hope?"
"Oh, he already got up and left to wander around town."
"Without anything to eat first? Typical of him." Riku smiled and patted Beat's shoulder.
"Thank you, Beat."
Leaning close, he whispered, "Keep an eye on Neku, won't you? Don't let him over exert himself."
Beat smiled and whispered back, "Always the one taking care of everybody, aren't ya, Big Bro'?" Beat took off.
Riku entered the room the room his four brothers shared between them. T here, he found his youngest brother, blonde haired Joshua, asleep, tangled up in blankets. Riku walked up to his bed and shook the younger boy's shoulder.
"Joshua, time to get up." The boy groaned and turned over. Riku shook him again.
"Joshua." Finally, he sat up.
"About time, Joshua. Breakfast's ready. Get downstairs or you won't get any." As Joshua pulled himself out of bed and reached for a shirt and a pair of jeans, yawning, Riku left the room and went to the next one, where Rhyme, the youngest of Riku's family and his one other sister besides Xion, pounced on him the second he opened the door.
"Big Brother!" She screeched. Her yell hurt his ear, but it didn't bother him as he held his "baby sister" in his arms and kissed her forehead. Her blonde hair was hidden by a black hat similar to the one Beat wore, -with a larger skull on it- and she was dressed in a long sleeved, light orange shirt and white overalls. Her sneakers accidentally kicked his knees and she kissed his cheek to make up for it. Riku carefully lowered her to the floor and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Ready for breakfast?" She looked up at him excitedly.
"Pancakes?!"
"Yes."
"Yay!" Seizing her brother's hand, Rhyme pulled Riku down the stairs and into the kitchen, where everyone else was seated at the table. As he sat down and started eating, Riku checked the clock. It was 6 a.m. The store was due to open in an hour.
When he finished eating, Riku watched everyone for a moment, then picked up a clean plate and began placing pancakes, eggs, and an orange on it. He then placed to plate on a tray along with a mug of hot chocolate. Behind him, Sora swiveled in his chair, saw what Riku was doing, and rolled his eyes.
"Delivering breakfast to him again, Riku?" Riku didn't look up.
"He needs to eat too, Sora."
"Yeah, I know, but why do you have to baby him? He can get up like the rest of us, cant he?"
"Sora!" Riku glared at him.
Sora looked sheepish. "Sorry."
Roxas looked at his brother, than at Riku.
"You know, Sora has a point. How come we have to go out of our way to take care of him? He doesn't even help out at the store!"
"Whether he helps with the store or not, he's one of us, and he needs the same things we do."
"Fine. Whatever, but can you at least get him clean up the kitchen or mop a floor or something, rather than just lie around all day? I mean, I know you feel sorry for him, Riku, but this is pushing it."
Riku fixed Roxas with a frosty glare.
"When you're done eating, Roxas, do you mind counting the munny in the register? Xion did it yesterday," Riku said shortly. He picked up the tray and made his way upstairs to the third floor of the house, where only one room was occupied…
AN: Okay, and that's the end of Chapter 1. Please review and tell me what you think. No flames please! Again, I apologize about the extensive number of characters I shoved at you in the very first chapter. I do that everytime. Thanks for reading! Wonder what'll happen in Chapter 2?