Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.
Rated T just to be safe. You can never be too safe... O-O -Paranoid-
Chapter Two: Settling In
Naminé woke up in the morning with the scarlet rays of the sun on her face. She blinked slowly and let her eyes adjust to the light. She was about to get up when she remembered that she didn't need to brush her teeth or get out of bed. She was just a dog with no cares, no deadlines, and no facades. Naminé was content. Maybe being a dog wasn't such a bad thing after all.
She looked around her surroundings. She was in a bed, she knew that as a fact. It was soft and fluffy with warmth. She rethought the sentence over. Now that she thought about it, it was overly warm...
She looked up at the direction of the pillows and literally froze.
Roxas was cuddling her close to him. That was why she was so warm. He was still sleeping, she assumed. His deep breathing was barely audible but she had the enhanced hearing of a dog. Slowly, she tried to get up without disturbing him.
"Mm..."
Naminé stopped in her tracks. Roxas seemed to tighten his grip on her. Getting up would be impossible now.
'Why did I even sleep here in the first place?' Naminé mentally scolded herself. 'No matter how tired I was, I could have prevented sleeping with him.'
"Rooooxaaass!" Sora's voice bounded into the room along with his being.
"...Whaat?" Roxas sounded annoyed that his peaceful slumber was disturbed and instinctively grabbed his pillow and pulled it over his head, letting go of Naminé. "I'll get up later Sora..."
"Rise and shine Roxie! Wake up now, not tomorrow," Sora continued prancing around the room with Kairi now joining him.
"Go away Sora!" Roxas mumbled through the pillow. Naminé hopped off the bed.
Sora grinned as Roxas' source of heat bounded out the room. He then got a sly look in his eyes.
"Oh no, Roxas! Nami... I think she's in pain! Oh my gosh, she's limping! Roxas, help her!"
Roxas Hikari paused before the sentence registered in his mind. Once it sunk in, he proceeded to hop out of bed in total panic mode.
A bruised Roxas was at the table, being served his eggs sunny side up with a side dish of bacon and toast by his butler. He continued to give Sora the evil eye, breaking contact only once to shove a piece of bacon into his mouth. Sora pretended to ignore Roxas. After all, it was just a joke right?
Finally, the tension got to Sora.
"Aww Roxas it was just a joke. C'mon, I didn't think you would have scrambled down the stairs so fast that you would trip down the whole flight of stairs." Sora seemed genuinely honest. That is, until he couldn't hold his laughter anymore.
"Right," Roxas said stiffly. Naminé could only rasp her doggy laughter.
"Hey... what about I make it up to you? You could ask me to do anything... except kill myself... or inflict pain onto others," Sora tried bargaining after his slip-up.
"Kind of takes the point away from the offer, doesn't it?" Roxas mumbled sarcastically.
Kairi and Naminé slipped away to their own breakfast which was bacon leftovers.
"Hah, Sora really doesn't know when to hold in his laughter like when his life depends on it, huh?" Kairi was giggling so much, her throat sounded raspy.
"Hey Sora, I think your dog's dying," Roxas remarked cynically.
"Say what?!" Sora rushed for a dish of water, running out of the dining room and into the kitchen.
"Payback," Roxas grinned for the first time that day.
Ever since Sora had come back out of the kitchen, a wild look in his eyes and his clothes soaking wet holding onto a bowl filled to the brim with water, to find Roxas eating calmly and peacefully pausing only to deliver the words 'It was a joke' Sora pouted.
"That was mean Roxas."
"Well, you should have thought of that before you told me Nami was in pain to get me to wake up."
The only retort Sora could find was a grunt that meant 'I know you're right but I won't admit it'.
Roxas finished his breakfast and dabbed his mouth with a handkerchief while their butler lifted the clean plate away. Sora grudgingly ate his toast until he, too, had finished his breakfast.
"Want to teach them some tricks?" Roxas asked all of a sudden.
"...Fine," Sora finally said, all traces of a grudge, gone.
"Sit Kai, come on... That's a good girl!" Sora exclaimed when Kairi executed a perfect example of an obedient dog. Sora threw her a piece of a paopu fruit which Kairi hesitated to gobble down only for a second. She was an excellently obedient dog after all.
"Hey Sora, you know there's a legend about the paopu fruit—"
"Shh, Roxas. Don't taint Kai's ears."
"Taint?" Roxas crossed his arms and waited for an explanation.
The explanation never came.
Sighing, Roxas bent down and stared at Naminé which unnerved her. Such close proximity was enough to make any girl squeal. Especially if the person in front of you was Roxas.
Naminé, being the stubborn girl (or dog) she was, refused to acknowledge Roxas at all. She still believed that he was a boy who did nothing but complain and use other people's feelings to his advantage.
"Nami, could you uh... sit?" Roxas looked a bit uncomfortable now.
"No, you can't do it like that Roxas. You have to be confident," Sora inputted once he heard his twin brother's poor attempt of a command.
"Nami, sit." Roxas tried again.
Naminé slowly sat down on her hindquarters. She mentally noted that it felt weird to obey another person who obviously looked down on her intelligence level. She was as smart as him, if not better.
"Good girl," Roxas awkwardly petted her head.
Sora just sighed in frustration. Roxas really knew nothing about dogs.
"Okay, let's see if they know how to lie down," Sora said, reaching for another paopu fruit piece.
"Didn't I tell you already? There's a legend behind that lethal fruit!"
"Lethal? It's not lethal! For your information, it tastes great. Right Kai?" Sora turned to Kairi expectantly.
"Woof...?" Kairi barked uncertainly.
"I bet even she knows the legend of the paopu fruit Sora! You're such a goof head."
"Am not," Sora butted in indignantly.
"Anyways, you said something about lying down?" Roxas said, expertly shifting the conversation.
"Oh... yeah," Sora scrunched up his face in concentration. "Kai, lie down."
Kairi obediently did so. She could win an award for being so obedient.
"Good job Kai! Your turn Nami!" Sora looked over at Naminé cheerfully, as if he expected her to actually do it.
"Lie down Nami," Roxas said in a tone that implied pleading.
She did. Hesitantly though. Her pride was on the line here.
"Good girl," Roxas sighed and unconsciously threw her a piece of the 'lethal' paopu fruit.
She ate it. She was hungry after all.
"Oh, how about one more trick before mom or dad comes home?" Sora asked Roxas.
"Sure," Roxas replied a bit tiredly. He had lost a major portion of sleep thinking about the problem that came in the form of his parents. How could he convince even one of them?
"Kai, roll over."
It was executed perfectly.
"Nami? Roll over."
She refused.
"Dude, you just got ignored! I bet it was your first time being ignored by a girl, huh?" Sora couldn't contain his laughter.
"Larxene ignored me once too..." Roxas mumbled.
"Want Kai to show Nami how it's done?" Sora asked a bit more considerately this time.
"Sure?"
"Kai, roll over."
Slowly, Kairi rolled over all the while staring at Naminé.
Naminé just stared at him emotionlessly. No way was she going to flash her stomach for all to see again.
"It's no use Roxas. I think you have to teach her manually," Sora grinned manically and bounded out of the room with Kairi in search of the daily newspaper. Roxas was left to his own devices.
Twenty minutes later and Roxas was still determined to get Naminé to roll over. It was as if she was purposely evading Roxas' hands. Every time he was about to roll her over himself, she refused to remain lying down and would get up onto her paws.
"UGH!" Roxas shouted for the seventh time, his hands furiously scratching his head in attempt of gaining a bright idea. Naminé was almost amused staring at his actions. She wasn't aware that the front door had opened but Roxas was. "Mom's home already?" He whispered to himself.
"Roxas? Sora? Where are you two?" A female voice asked. "Aren't you going to greet your own mom?"
"C-coming," Sora's shaky voice could be heard from upstairs. Roxas wasn't so lucky.
"H-hey mom," Roxas tried to smile, but failed when his mom poked her head into the living room and saw Naminé.
"What is this dog doing inside the house Roxas? I demand an explanation from you—" Sora chose to make his entrance at that moment with Kairi, "—and Sora. Now."
"Uhm, well... you see, I found her yesterday—"
"So you mean it could have rabies? You brought home a mutt?!" Their mother shouted.
"No, Nami's a purebred golden retriever," Roxas threw in a half lie since he wasn't so sure himself.
"You even named it?! What about you Sora? Is this other dog dirty as well?!"
"I don't think so... I mean, Kai smelled like strawberry shampoo yesterday—"
"You. Sniffed. The. Dog." Mrs. Hikari's question came out more of a statement.
"Uhh, no?" Sora attempted to cover up his mistake with a lie.
"Don't lie to me young man!" Their mom screeched.
"Okay, yeah, maybe I did," Sora muttered quietly.
"If you get these dogs out by today, I'll promise to get you both a purebred dog from the pet store." She tried to bribe them.
"You promised us that five years ago mom," Roxas rolled his eyes.
"Well, I'll get you both one, now."
"Well, we don't want one now," Roxas mimicked his mom.
Their mom left the room in frustration.
Roxas stared at Sora sullenly while Kairi blinked her eyes in disbelief in being called dirty. She used only the best shampoo for her hair. Naminé was busy being offended at being called a mutt. Seriously, the woman just came into the house, took one look at her, and labelled her a mutt. It was stereotypical of her to judge Naminé just because she heard that Roxas picked her off from the streets.
Mrs. Hikari came back into the living room to find that the dogs were still in her house.
"Roxas... Sora..." She growled.
"Mom, listen. They're very obedient and they could do all of those fancy dog tricks their first try. Just give them a chance, would you?" Roxas asked his mother in the most pleading and miserable tone of voice Naminé had ever heard him use.
"Tell them to both roll over and they might get to stay. Both of them need to roll over or they both get out," Mrs. Hikari crossed her arms.
Roxas looked as if the Gods had cursed him. Sora only stared at Roxas, his face drawn into a dead look of torture. How could their mom have picked the only trick Naminé couldn't (or wouldn't) do?
"Roll over Kai."
Kairi had no problem.
Now it was Naminé's turn to sweat. If she didn't do it, she would probably get kicked out of the house.
"R-roll over Nami," Roxas gave Naminé the most pleading look. He then shut his eyes and clasped his hands together in a praying position.
Slowly, Naminé lay down. Hesitantly, she did a quick turn and rolled onto her paws. Roxas, who had peeked during the time that he was supposedly praying, grinned at Naminé's efforts. She had done it!
Mrs. Hikari only grunted in displeasure and disappeared. She reappeared a bit later with car keys dangling from her fingers.
"Where are you going mom?" Sora asked a bit curiously.
"Don't you need supplies? Hurry up and get into the car before I change my mind." She walked out the door.
Roxas pulled Naminé into a tight hug.
"Thanks Nami," Roxas whispered into her pale fur.
Inside the car, Sora had settled himself comfortably in the car and was now playing with Kairi's ears. Roxas slid into the seat beside him and picked up both of Naminé's ears. He noticed that they were uneven.
"Mom? Could we bring her to the fur trimmer? Nami's ears are uneven."
"Sure, why not? Might as well look presentable."
Naminé tensed in fear. She had paid expensively for her haircut. She wasn't about to let someone else ruin it. She would look horrible if she ever became human again.
"Alright Nami, you're just going to get your fur trimmed okay? Nothing to worry about, I promise." Roxas pet her one last time before handing her over to the groomer.
Naminé looked at him with pleading eyes. She didn't want her fur trimmed, especially not her ears which portrayed her hair as a human. No way was she going to do this willingly.
She was tied to a pole that stood on a special table. The groomer was about to clip the first uneven thing he saw, which were her ears.
She proceeded to whine.
Roxas looked guilty but he just stood looking at her with his mom, Kairi, and Sora. Time for step number two.
She fidgeted.
The groomer sighed in annoyance but it only delayed him for a moment. He was about to bring the razor to her ears again. Time for extraordinary measures.
She rolled over.
"Not now!" Roxas hissed urgently.
"So she did know how to roll over," Sora commented from his place behind Roxas.
"Uh, mom? Could we just forget about trimming her fur?" Roxas asked hesitantly. "I think she's a bit scared."
Mrs. Hikari just crossed her arms and muttered, "I knew I should have thrown these dogs out..."
Roxas paid no mind and rushed up to the dishevelled groomer to retrieve Naminé. Apologizing a few more times, Roxas finally got Naminé back. He lifted her off of the table and set her on the ground. After shaking herself thoroughly, she gave a satisfied sniff and walked over to Kairi.
"It's like she owns you," Sora whispered suggestively.
"She does not," Roxas punched his twin on the arm none too lightly and walked away.
"She so does," Sora retorted, rubbing his sore arm.
"Can I help you?" A sales clerk was standing behind the group of five, including their dogs.
"Yes, could you suggest a brand of dog food suitable for golden retrievers and dachshunds?" Their mom asked politely.
"Right over this way please," the sales clerk glanced at the two dogs and then ushered Mrs. Hikari to the next aisle.
Roxas rolled his eyes. Subtly nudging his brother, he jerked his head in the direction of the collars and leashes. That would be more interesting than picking out the most delicate type of dog food. Not that he had anything against delicate dog food. Sora nodded his head excitedly and quietly slipped away to join his brother.
Naminé and Kairi decided that the type of collar their owners would pick out for them would be more important than finding a high quality type of dog food.
"... No Sora, that would make her look like a freak," Roxas' whispered voice carried over the shelves.
"What? No, it'll compliment her red fur!" Sora whispered back angrily.
"She'll look like a strawberry!" Roxas shoved his hands into his pockets.
"She'll be a cute strawberry!" Sora clutched at the collar like a lifeline.
"... Suite yourself," Roxas said, taking his hands out of his pockets to reach for a light blue collar with a star pattern.
"Now that looks awkward," Sora interjected.
Roxas sighed and put the collar back on its hook. Sora took one last glance at the green collar and put it back on the hook as well. They might not show it, but they considered each other's opinions valuable.
Naminé didn't really mind the light blue colour of Roxas' choice, but the stars looked a bit weird. Kairi sighed in relief knowing that she wouldn't have to wear the green collar.
Sora mistook her sigh as regret. He picked her up and made her face the shelf of collars. Kairi widened her eyes at the sudden action and at how high she was above ground.
"Go on and pick Kai," Sora voiced from his position behind her.
Kairi looked back and forth between the display of collars and then pawed at the left side of the shelf. Roxas was clearly confused as to why Kairi understood Sora. His mouth was even open.
Sora stepped to the left. Kairi pawed to the left once more. Sora took another step. Kairi then reached out for a pink and black collar that gave an impression of a mismatched zipper. Sora put her down and took it into his hands.
"Found Kai's collar," Sora turned back to Roxas with a grin on his face and his hand elevating the pink/black collar into the air. Roxas snuck a peek at Naminé. She was staring right back at him. Sighing, he picked Naminé up and held her in such a way that she could see the collar display.
Naminé looked at the display from a human's point of view for the first time since she turned into a dog. She missed the things she could do without depending on someone else. It was so frustrating that she had to count on another person, a stranger, to feed her, to clean her, and to care for her. It was, truly, the worst point of her life.
Naminé inwardly sighed. It wasn't his fault that she was in this predicament anyways. It was, in some way, her own fault. She was grateful for what Roxas had done, but sometimes, it was hard to know that she could have fed herself without any help.
Naminé looked to the right and to the left. Roxas was having a little trouble holding her up.
She wasn't that fat though.
She finally pawed to the right. Roxas took a step in wonder. Maybe these dogs were, in some way, more intelligent than normal dogs.
Naminé scratched at a simple metal chain with a star locket. She wondered why dog collars had lockets anyway, but she was happy that there was a human-like design in the midst of doggy tastes.
Roxas put her down and reached gingerly for the chain. It was perfect. He didn't know that Naminé had almost the same taste in collars as he did. They would both have to wear a chain every day he mused.
"Nami, did you know you have the same tastes as me?" Roxas bent down and pet her on the ears, softly.
She finally smiled genuinely, for the first time, at Roxas.
Sadly, Roxas was preoccupied with the star locket chain.
As twins are (mostly) alike, Sora was also looking at the star locket.
Luckily, Kairi was not looking at the locket, but instead, focused on Naminé. A grin formed on her lips.
Poor Naminé. A week of torture to come in the form of Kairi.
Roxas looked back down on Naminé a bit too late. She had stopped smiling the second she had found out that she was, in fact, smiling. "So, do you want to pick your own leash as well?" Roxas twirled the chain on his fingers.
Naminé sniffed uninterestedly.
"I'll take that as a no," Roxas started to walk deeper into the aisle with Sora, Kairi, and Naminé behind him.
"What about you, Kai? Do you want to pick your own leash?" Sora looked back behind him, at Kairi.
She pretended not to understand and Sora just shook his head.
"I know you're not that dumb Kai."
"Where did you boys disappear to? I looked elsewhere for a minute and you two are gone!" Mrs. Hikari asked once they had purchased dog food, a bed, some bowls, the collars, and the leashes. Only the collars and leashes were chosen by Roxas and Sora. Or so Mrs. Hikari thought.
"Sorry mom," Sora gave his mom a cheeky grin.
"Yeah, thanks mom. You really helped out a lot," Roxas added from his position beside Sora in the back seat of the car.
"Helped out huh? More like I did everything..." Mrs. Hikari mumbled with both hands on the steering wheel.
Roxas just gave a smile.
"Sora, you make the weirdest dinners ever," Roxas commented from his place across from Sora on the dinner table. "I mean, toast and omelette for dinner with a side of cider?! Are you getting mixed up on what dinner is?"
"Leave your brother alone, Roxas." Mrs. Hikari speared a piece of omelette from her plate and brought it to her mouth. "I personally like omelette for dinner."
"I guess he takes that from you," Roxas whispered and bit his toast. It really wasn't that bad actually.
Naminé and Kairi were deciding whether to eat from their new purchased bowls filled to the brim with... dog food. When Kairi and Naminé first saw the bowl, they instantly gagged at the fact of eating dog food. They had watched when their friends had threatened to force dog food into an innocent student's mouth just because the student had refused to hand over their completed homework. In the end, the student had thrown the completed paper into their faces. All because of the mention of dog food.
Kairi bravely took a small piece into her mouth.
And spat it back out.
"It tastes like concentrated chicken!" Kairi complained, rubbing her tongue on the wall. Luckily, Mrs. Hikari didn't notice.
"It... it can't be that bad, right?" Naminé asked with a flicker of hope.
"It is that bad! Well, maybe not that bad. Now I know why dogs love human food," Kairi refrained from damaging the wall any further and plopped her tongue out.
In the end, they had to eat it anyways.
The Hikari family (excluding their dad) had finished their dinner and was now preparing for bed. Roxas was in the bathroom brushing his teeth. Naminé was trying to sleep in her newly bought bed, but failed due to the fact that it smelled unnatural. Like a new pillow you haven't washed yet.
Roxas had exited from the washroom and was dressed in his pajamas that consisted of a baggy t-shirt and baggy shorts. It was funny how drowsiness could influence the way you dress. Roxas paid no mind to his appearance and hopped into bed. He took one last look at the lonely corner Naminé was in and pulled the blankets over himself.
She would have come to him by now if she had wanted to sleep with him again.
End of Chapter Two
Author's Note: Hello and thanks for reading once again. I never had time to explain why I chose to write this particular story, so I'll write it out today. I know many people have done this plot before me but I had wanted to try writing my own version. I'm not sure where it'll lead me but I'm willing to write until then. Once again, thank you for reading. Oh, and please tell me if there are any grammar mistakes. It really bothers me and I have no idea why...
P.S. This is a bit urgent and embarrassing at the same time. I'm not quite sure if I wrote their ages yet... (Kairi and Naminé's that is). If you've spotted their ages please tell me. I'm so useless. D:
FeralFairy: Thank you, I'm really happy that you enjoyed the story. Erm, I had thought the story was clear but I guess it wasn't clear enough. Kai is what Sora named Kairi because of her dog form. Nami is what Roxas decided to name Naminé after he heard his brother's choice. (Kai means ocean and Nami means wave if that helps). Was there a tournament of some sort mentioned here? I'm quite sure I didn't write anything about a tournament... o_o"
xMisfit: Thank you! You really have no idea how happy I was the day I read your review. I'm pretty sure I was floating in school that day. ;]
Chipmunk4Ever: Haha, thank you! Here's the next chapter for you! xD
