Hey everyone who is reading this. I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed or alerted this fic. Or just those who were like 'Meh. I have nothing better to do with my time might as well see how this turns out.' Anyway since for me this is a break while I have insane writers block about the million other fics which I'm desperately trying to update. Also I realized that I forgot the disclaimer. So let's start this thing.
Disclaimer: I do not own the copyrights to Kingdom Hearts or any of it's characters though the places mentioned in this fanfiction are completely mine to tamper with as is the character Rei Dokushoka
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Axel sighed as he threw himself onto his small bed. He stared at the ceiling. I hate information gathering he thought. Looking around he found a small neon green tennis ball lying on the floor of his dorm. Reaching his hand over the side of his bed he grabbed it. He threw it at the door and caught it as it bounced back to him. He fell into the rhythmical pattern. Throw and catch, throw and catch. Today was just as boring as that English assignment. Seriously, I'm never going to let Riku ever talk me into collecting information again. Stupid new kid, not talking to anyone, what a prick. Do you wonder whether or not he realizes how much trouble he's putting me through! Hard enough collecting information since I'm a fucking freshman. Did I just swear in my head? Am I asking myself rhetorical questions? Sweet.
Axel smirked; he turned his head to look at Riku's digital alarm clock. 5:30 pm eh? Riku should be back soon since dinner's at 6. We should be able to get some more information from Sephiroth there. Axel listened to the THWAP sound the tennis ball made against the wood door. If there was one thing Axel appreciated about his school it was the fact that they had a communal dinner. It lasted from 6 to 8, but anyone from any grade was welcome to show up and eat together. It wasn't so much the fact that everyone could eat together which excited Axel. It was more the chance to watch Sephiroth torture Riku with his desire to be friends with his cousin. Axel was so wrapped up in his fantasies of how Sephiroth would attack Riku next that he didn't notice the doorknob twist. The red head caught the ball and threw it without a second thought when.
THWACK!
"Holy Fu – "
Axel scrambled into an upright position and watched as the small hard neon green tennis ball fell to the floor with a light thud. He looked from the ball to its victim. Riku's aqua eyes seemed to be burning with an intensely cold fire. Axel was frozen in his place from just making contact with them. Riku slammed the door shut and stomped into the room.
"H-hey man, sorry about the whole ball in the face thing…" Axel managed to say. Riku seemed to not notice. The silver haired boy threw his book bag against his wall and jumped onto his bed. Axel watched as his room mate flipped onto his stomach and screamed into his pillow. Axel's mouth began to twitch.
"I take it you had a rough day…" the red head said not expecting an answer.
"Nobody knew anything about that god damn new kid and as if that wasn't enough I was stopped in the hall by this asshole kid who wanted me to join some kind of committee and then I was attacked by Sephiroth in the middle of the hall" Riku continued to rant as Axel listened intently.
"Well if it helps I used some of my amazing powers to get a little information about the new kid" at these words Riku seemed to lose his anger. He looked at Axel and stayed quiet. The two stayed quiet for a while.
"Are you going to tell me?" Riku asked after 10 minutes of their silence.
"Oh…yeah sure but only on two conditions" Axel said snapping back to reality.
"Depends? I'm not going to chew off my right arm, or star in a sci-fi movie which you wrote" Riku said.
"Great cause I never wrote it!" Axel said with a grin. Riku glared at him. "God Riku you really have to get a sense of humour or that new kid will never want to be friends with you"
"Whatever. Now what are these two conditions" Riku said.
"Alrighty! Condition numero uno" Axel said in a terrible Spanish accent. "You come with me to the caf for dinner, I'm fucking starving here waiting for you!" Riku cocked an eyebrow.
"Why didn't you just go yourself?" he asked. Axel looked shocked at this.
"And risk looking like the loser with no friends who has to come to the cafeteria by himself and sit alone in a corner talking to nobody and babbling on about something stupid that no living person on this earth cares about left to turn into a bitter old man with a hatred for children! I think not!" Axel yelled.
"Seriously how can you say so much at one time?" Riku wondered out loud.
"I'll let you in on my secret one day" Axel said with a wink. "Anyway condition deux" he said in a French accent this time. "I tell you while we're walking to the caf, since you know dinner has already started!" Axel had already bolted off his bed and was waiting at the door. Riku quickly followed him. They left their room quietly and locked the door.
"So, since I'm agreeing to your terms tell me everything you've found out" Riku said while he walked briskly. Axel slowed his pace. Riku slowed down to let his best friend catch up.
"Well where to start…um…let's see" Axel paused while scanning his memory. "Rei attended Mouruichi Junior School, from the rumours flying around it's said that he is like a super genius who's GPA is 99.9, they say that it would be a hundred but the teachers weren't allowed to grade him as such because that would mean that he was perfect and didn't need to attend school"
"Anything else?" Riku asked interested.
"Well, I asked some of the freshmen who went to Mouruichi, but first off let me tell you that there aren't a lot of them! Probably like 2 or 3 tops out of the entire freshmen year. That place is pretty far away from here. Anyway they say that they don't remember him at all and I guess that means that he wasn't that popular. Everyone in his class says that he barely participates and that his nose always seems to be buried into a book. People say that he's some special case that the headmaster wanted so that we could show him off. But apparently he demanded that he had his own private room with an on site bathroom shower and all. Nobody really knows anything beyond that though. Wonder why? Usually the whole school knows everything about any new student. Never really looked into this much, but it seems that since he doesn't talk to anyone everyone is too afraid to talk to him. Maybe we should just stay clear too eh Riks?" Axel said. The red head hadn't noticed it but the pair had some how ended up in the cafeteria with their food in their trays. Axel looked at their regular table at the back.
"Damn someone took our table Riks" Axel said. He looked at his friend who smirked.
"Hmmm…maybe we should go and tell that new kid that our table is off limits" Riku said looking at Axel. Axel frowned. "Of course he's welcome to stay should he choose to put up with us"
"I don't know Riku, what are you planning?" Axel enquired.
Riku gave Axel a goofy grin. "Why nothing but trying to befriend the poor shy new student" And with that Riku started to walk off to the table in the back corner.
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Riku dropped his tray onto the rectangular table. He took a seat beside Rei Dokushoka. Axel timidly followed suit. The red head carefully lowered his tray onto the table and sat across from Rei and Riku. As Riku watched Rei seemed unconcerned with the fact that two strangers had decided to invade his personal space. I guess that this guy will be tougher to crack than I thought. Riku looked over at the book Rei was reading. Vampire Beach? Riku paused a minute. Looking Rei once over the boy with the lilac hair and round glasses never seemed the type to be reading a vampire book. He seemed more like the type to be reading a book on Quantum Physics and the Euclid Theory. Well if I want to find out more about this kid then I guess I'll need to get closer to him.
"Hey, my name's Riku. You're Rei right?" Riku said turning to the boy he sat beside. The lilac haired boy flashed his visible eye towards Riku. Riku was a little taken aback by the boy's eyes. Though it was probably overlooked because of the boys large round glasses and the fact that his bangs covered half of his face, the boy's eyes were large and held a deep crimson colour. They were dark, mysterious, and seemed to hold all the knowledge of the world.
Seeing Riku falter Axel immediately covered enough for his friend to regain his composure. A simple introduction, though with one of Axel's infamous stories it became long and complicated. Riku faked a cough. Axel stopped and smiled.
"Robitussin!" Axel shouted.
"Thanks…" Riku responded.
Axel went back to eating his dinner of a cheeseburger. Riku picked up a fry from his poutine. Popping it in his mouth he looked at Rei. Rei had gone back to reading his novel; occasionally he would take a swig from his bottle of Sprite. I can use this as an opportunity Riku thought.
"Hey Rei, how come you're not eating?" Riku asked.
"I'm not hungry." Rei answered politely though his gaze never left the page.
"We saw you at lunch you weren't eating anything then either. Aren't you gonna…you know…die?" Axel blurted out. Rei stopped reading. He took out a small black bookmark and placed it at his spot. Crap what if he decides to leave?! Oh my god Axel I swear if he does I will kill you personally! Riku thought. He waited to see what Rei would do. Rei didn't move he just casually put his book down and looked straight at Axel.
"And why would I die?" Rei said in a nonchalant tone. It took a minute for Axel to understand the situation before he could respond.
"Um…well…you know…starvation?" he said timidly. Rei continued to look at the red headed boy. Axel seemed to shrink. Hunching himself over his tray, Axel took another bite out of his cheeseburger.
Riku was stunned. He had never seen Axel like this. Axel, the boy who was always chastised for being loud and talkative; the boy who adapted to every social situation because he was loved by everyone; the boy who always seemed so confident, eager to take on any challenge that life could throw at him, was shying away from talking to this guy? This guy is probably using some type of advanced black magic to petrify Axel in order to reduce his friendship meter. Riku mentally cocked an eyebrow. Mental note: Never talk like Axel again. Riku snapped back to the scene. Rei seeming thoroughly distracted from his reading was casually sipping his Sprite, while Axel was still nibbling on the patty of the cheeseburger.
"Well you could just collapse one day. Get all dizzy from hunger and then next thing you know the room starts spinning then you end up in hospital with a lot of people chastising you about not eating" Riku said without thinking. Rei smirked. The lilac haired boy turned to face the silver haired boy sitting next to him.
"Sounds like you talk from experience…um…sorry what was your name again?" Rei asked.
"Riku" Riku answered nervously. I'd prefer not to talk about my past…he thought.
"Riku…" Rei repeated. "It seems like I struck a nerve. Well I stick by my earlier statement, but it's not my place to intrude on your personal life. Though I thank you for caring I would hope that you not bother about me"
Riku watched silently as Rei picked up his book, carefully removing the bookmark, and returned to reading. Riku mentally kicked himself. If I really want to find out about this one then I shouldn't let anything get in my way! He thought angrily. Especially me…he added. He grabbed another fry and chewed at it angrily. He sat for a minute trying to formulate a new plan. As he reached hastily for another fry he felt a firm hand grab his wrist. He looked up, ready to give an icy glare to the one who had stopped him from claiming his prize of potato, melted cheese, and curd.
"I know that you're hungry but the poutine isn't going anywhere" Sephiroth said firmly. Riku scoffed. The younger of the silver haired cousins turned his head away, flipping his hair. Slightly annoyed, Sephiroth squeezed Riku's wrist.
"I don't want to have to visit you in hospital again, so eat slowly and chew understood?" he said seriously. Riku scrunched up his face.
"Whatever." Riku responded. Sephiroth lightly patted Riku's head before sitting down. Axel looked up from his tray to give Sephiroth some acknowledgement. The older boy nodded to the red head.
"So what's up? I've never seen Axel this quiet" Sephiroth said poking Axel's forehead. Axel rubbed the point where Sephiroth had poked him.
"If that bruises I'm going to hunt you down to make you get me a band-aid" Axel stated. There was a snort from beside Riku. The three boys turned to see Rei who had been quiet since Sephiroth's arrival. Sephiroth grabbed Riku's head unexpectedly.
"Who's that?" Sephiroth said inclining his head towards Rei.
"New kid" Riku said as he finished chewing the fry Sephiroth had stopped him from gormandizing. He swallowed. "His name's Rei Dokushoka just transferred here from who-knows-where." Sephiroth nodded as though he had just learnt some valuable information worth remembering.
"Hey Seph, mind if we crash the party?" a languid voice said setting a tray down on the table. Riku looked up to see two students taking their seats on either side of Axel. One was a tall brunette with fairly long hair; he had a scar that ran across his face from right to left. He wore a white polo shirt and white tennis shoes with the standard pants. The other was an equally as tall student with blond gravity defying hair. The blonde's eyes had an eerie yet enticing glow.
"So this is your cousin and his friends? You two look similar" the blond said coolly. The two students picked up their slices of pepperoni pizza and bit into the crust simultaneously. Sephiroth snickered.
"Riku these two morons are Cloud and Squall"
"Leon" the brunette interjected.
"– yeah…whatever. So the blond is Cloud and the brunette is Leon. They're sophomores here. I met them in my sophomore year and thought they were adorable." Sephiroth told his cousin. Leon and Cloud snorted.
"More like Cloud had a major crush on your cousin there" Leon said. At this Axel couldn't help but return to his normal prodding, annoying self.
"Please do tell!" Axel said propping his elbows onto the table and resting his chin on his folded hands. The red head batted his eye lids in an attempt to get Leon to talk more. The brunette opened his mouth to divulge the story when Cloud cut him off.
"That's another tale for another time" Cloud said shoving his half eaten pizza into Leon's mouth.
"And I expect to hear it at another time!" Axel said with a wink.
"Anyway guys, this is my cousin Riku, his best friend Axel, and his other friend Rei" Sephiroth said pointing each of them out. Rei looked up surprised, as if hearing the words 'friend' and 'Rei' in the same phrase was a new experience. 5 minutes of idle small talk occurred between Sephiroth, Cloud, Leon, and Axel before Cloud finally decided to end it. Cloud had looked at his empty tray and then his watch.
"Damn it all…" he said with a yawn. "I have to go. Decided to take an Art Appreciation class as my elective see? And now I have to go and research some dead guy I never heard of" he fished around in his pant pockets and produced a small rectangular slip of paper. "Guy's name is Vincent Van Goh…anyone ever heard of him?" Cloud looked around hopefully. Everyone around the table shrugged before they heard Rei talking.
"Vincent Van Goh: Born in Holland 1883, mostly worked with postimpressionist style. His two famous paintings are 'The Starry Night' and 'Wheatfield with Crows'. He was normally a depressed man. He cut off part of his own ear following a fight with another artist, then painted 'Wheatfield with Crows' before shooting himself."
The whole table turned to stare at the boy with the book. Rei seemed strangely calm with the fact that he was able to recite a synopsis on a dead painter who many average high school boys would never have known existed. Rei went to pick up his empty Sprite bottle and sighed feeling that it was empty. Cloud finally getting over his initial shock sat back down. He grabbed Rei's hand and shook it violently.
"Hi, my name is Cloud Strife. I don't care whether you're human or a super computer sent to this world to gather every scrap of data we possess, but if you can help with my homework you're my new best friend…" Cloud paused as Rei tensed hearing the word 'friend' again but quickly calmed down.
"Now I'll buy you a drink if you just repeat everything you just said slow enough for me to copy down." At the prospect of a drink Rei automatically shoved his bookmark into place and dropped the book onto his lap.
"Get me a bottle of Sprite instead of a can and I'll even write everything I just said for you" Rei responded.
"Deal!" Cloud yelled. The blond sophomore jumped up and ran to the cafeteria's counter before the lady could close the register. Riku turned to look at Rei who had already started writing out the paragraph onto a large blue cue card in large print. In less than 2 minutes Cloud had returned with the bottle of Sprite. Rei handed him the large blue cue card and grabbed the drink out of his hands. Quickly unscrewing the cap, Rei gulped down a quarter of the bottle. Throwing his head back he smiled. He thanked Cloud who proclaimed that he would gladly do it anytime as long as Rei would give him information so he didn't have to waste time researching.
"So since I now don't have any work who wants to come to our dorm to play Halo? Everyone at this table is invited!" Cloud yelled loudly. Axel looked at Leon.
"You two share a dorm?" he asked the brunette.
"Unfortunately…"Leon sighed. Cloud who was ecstatic since he was now free to party decided to add his two cents.
"Of course we're roomies! Otherwise where would I get another XBOX to hook up with? Huh? Playing online is cool and all but the damn newbies always with the sniping"
Riku looked at Sephiroth who had been quiet for too long to possibly have still been alive. Looking into the glazed over bright green eyes, Sephiroth looked as though he had fallen asleep with his eyes open. Riku looked back and turned away just in time to avoid actually hearing a part of the conversation of Cloud, Axel, and Leon which had suddenly turned to female gamers, or lack there of. Lastly there was Rei.
"So are you gonna go to Cloud's?" Riku asked. Rei blinked rapidly as though unable to believe that after everything that just happened at dinner Riku was still trying to talk to him. Rei sighed and removed his glasses. He ran his hand through his lilac hair.
"You're never going to leave me alone are you?" he asked. He looked at Riku with his large crimson eyes and Riku gulped. It's going to take a bit to get used to those eyes he thought to himself.
"Not until you me and Axel become the Three Musketeers" Riku said.
"Okay two things;" Rei said. Riku tilted his head. "One, that was possibly the most clichéd thing that I've ever heard" Riku stuck out his tongue at this. "Two, what you just said might take a long time to happen."
"Which is why we should start now" Riku said.
"Hey are you two coming! Seriously guys they're closing down the caf!" Cloud yelled from the entrance to the cafeteria. Riku spun around looked at the four guys standing at the doorway. Turn back to face Rei, Riku outstretched his hand.
"Coming?" he inquired. Pushing his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose Rei grabbed Riku's hand and stood up.
"Let's get going then" Riku said calmly as they walked towards the group.
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So what does everyone think? Is the story moving too fast? Too many characters right now? Are Sephiroth's eyes not green? Review and tell me please. Anyway since this is just something to keep my mind off thinking for new things for my other fics this will keep going at this pace regardless of whether I get 1 review of 30 reviews(but please don't let that discourage you from leaving a review) !! Oh I also wanted to know whether I should add a short little filler chapter about the six of them playing Halo at Cloud and Leon's.
Kay Laterz!
KEC
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