Destiny's Song

Author's Note: This chapter holds some crucial bits of information! Enjoy it (it's longer than the first chapter)! Please, any reviews at ALL would be greatly appreciated: I love hearing from you guys!

Chapter Two- The "big" Day

"…and the time is 4:07. You may begin!"

A whirl of fingers.

The boy was not too tall, and not too short. His hair fell about his head crazily, all jutting out in great blonde angles. His eyes concentrated solely on the keys in front of him, blazing with an intensity that the adjudicator could clearly see.

Very interesting. She nodded and smiled.

The song ended with a tumultuous run, blazing incredibly fast down the keys and landing on a final, low note.

And that was all.

Roxas let his hands fall off the keys, as he closed his eyes and let out a sigh. That was all that was left.

He glanced over at the adjudicator to see her writing on her clipboard, face now impassive.

She finished, and put the board down slowly. She was a thin woman, petite and yet exuded an aura of otherworldliness, somehow. Her hair fell from her head in one long braid, and she had amazing green eyes. She was extremely beautiful.

Eyes shining, "Thank you. You will receive notification from us in three to six weeks." Face still impassive…was there a slight twitch at the lips?

"Thank you."

With that, Roxas proceeded to walk out of the room and into the large, spacious hallway. The sun was shining through the several windows in the ceiling, as well as the walls, which were windows themselves. To his right exactly seven chairs (he had counted as he slowly and painfully made his way up seat by seat), each with someone occupying a respective seat, and each as uncomfortable as the next.

His competition.

He turned on his heels, and walked slowly by each chair, giving sparing glances to their occupants.

Fear. Hope. Detachedness. Panic. Anger. A plethora of different gazes met his own.

Finally, by the seventh chair he gave his last glance.

A pair of sky blue eyes met his own, both crinkled and shining with a smile underneath.

He was a lithe boy, probably only seventeen or eighteen. He wasn't gazing at Roxas exactly, but over his shoulder out the window. The view below was magnificent, with a whole city jutting into the sky like a fold out book. The light of the setting sun cast a calm air into the hall, and highlighted the boy's tan features.

The boy had now turned his gaze on Roxas, and was waiting patiently for the blonde youth to realize that he had become the new object of his attention.

A prickly feeling spawned stunningly on the back of his neck and he whirled around…

…only to find the boy looking off to the side, whistling a pretty tune.

…

Okay…

"You're gonna fall."

Roxas turned as if in slow motion, this time his right foot landing on that pesky untied shoelace. With a yelp, he fell forward, face heading straight towards the cold floor…

…when a pair of tan hands grabbed hold of the back of his shirt.

He was seized around his midriff and hauled back to his feet. Slightly embarrassed, Roxas gave a shaky little laugh and looked at the offending shoelace, cheeks still holding that telltale tint of embarrassment.

With a grin, Sora stuck out his hand. "That was a close one, huh? Don't worry about it." A wave of that tanned hand. "I'm Sora!" The smile made Roxas glance up, Sora looking at him with that same crinkled expression he had first seen. Was he always smiling? He wondered this as he pondered the hand also in front of him.

"Oh here, let me…" Sora bent down and proceeded to tie Roxas' shoe, disregarding the mild shock he was working through at having now experienced a prickle, trip, and almost painful fall, to only then be saved by some smiling stranger who was now tying his shoe like he was some four year old. Was this boy insane!

With a hop Sora leapt to his feet once again, still grinning, and stuck out his hand, a second attempt. This time Roxas did take it, a small smile playing on his lips as well.

"Roxas."

Roxas wondered, as he always had, what this new person would think of his strange name. It wasn't common that you met someone named Roxas, after all. Usually he got an "OH WHAT A PRETTY NAME!" or a weird look/step back combo, as if he were suddenly contagious- 'Roxa-whut?' and the like.

And still that smile remained, though it was much more subdued than the original broad grin. Roxas was beginning to finally understand the old saying about your face and the dangers of making faces with it…this boy had obviously done something terrible: He'd been too happy.

"That's a mighty interesting name." He was now swaying back and forth, his hands behind his back. The same whimsical look remained on his face. "It makes me think of…the rainy-sunny days back home."

"Really." That was certainly a new one. Rainy-sunny day?

"Yup." Procuring no further thought on the matter, Sora promptly sat back down, and looked at Roxas expectantly.

Roxas himself wasn't sure about what he should do…he was done now, all that was left was to go back to the hotel…maybe watch a movie or some late night talk show host…and then fly back to his home the next day, only to wait in anticipation.

But this boy held his attention. Normally, he wasn't too friendly with strangers. But Sora…Sora was different. Though he felt something pulling him away, he took the seat next to Sora, which led Sora's face to light up once again in smile. This time Roxas returned it in full.

That smile…

The day was certainly turning up.

Sora's morning had certainly been hectic. After rushing out of the house with- "I love you honey, do awesome!" following in his wake, he hopped on the nearest bus and traveled into the city.

Truth be told, he was nervous. Incredibly, terribly nervous. After all, who wouldn't be? He was trying out at one of the leading school's of music in the country, The School of Destiny's Hand, or just Destiny's Hand or DH. He would be graduating in the week to come, and was to be heading off to college (or so he hoped). DH, however, was not like most colleges and universities. Including the amazing scenery, they held auditions for their students late in the year, and were not very committed to academics at all. The tradition of escalating arts in all forms over all sorts of other formal programs led the school to have a reputation as slightly non-conformist. No, it was definitely not your normal college. But it was revered around the world as the leading institution of music study. And it was Sora's dream.

Smiling softly, he felt his cell begin to vibrate in his pocket. Snatching it out, he saw a picture of a silver-haired boy grinning with his arm wrapped around a laughing Sora on the screen.

Riku.

Sora's smile widened, and he opened it up.

"Hey."

"Sora! How're you feeling?"

"Riku…you have no idea. I've never been this nervous in my entire life."

A laugh. "Sora, once you're done, they're going to have no idea what to do with themselves. We all know you're child protégé…they have to let you in." He was laughing, but Sora could feel the reassurance in the remark.

Riku had been Sora's best friend since they were little kids. Growing up, they had been inseparable, always going on adventures and playing at the beach, not to mention getting in trouble with the locals for those reasons. (There's a reason why one of the beaches is colored completely green with distinctive orange trees…but that's a tale for a different day.) Now they were older and their lives were beginning to lead away onto different paths. Riku was the athlete, star of the soccer team, amazingly intelligent, and gorgeous to boot. He was loved by many, but he wasn't at all self-centered. He was modest, and always understanding. That was one of the best things about Riku- he was a great listener, and could always empathize with a person. Riku was just a genuine, compassionate guy, and Sora admired him for it to no end.

But likewise, Riku had admired Sora for a long time. His carefree attitude, contagious laughter, and bright eyes…yes, he certainly admired him…

Sora put his head in his left hand, with his phone in the right, pouting.

"Riku, seriously. I'm not good enough. They're going to just…I don't know, laugh at me! Be like 'Oh, sorry, you're not even close…' and then kick me out or have me dragged out by security. I don't know which; it depends on how desperate I get..."

"/sigh/…Sora."

"…and then I'll be put on the street and there will be people all around staring at me wondering what's going on…"

"Sora…"

"I'll wander the streets aimlessly, never be able to return home due to the horrible, horrible shame. I'll have to live my life as a hobo, making due with what I have, spending my time around garbage can fires and eating out of garbage cans! Riku! What am I going to do? " /heavy breath/

"…are you done?"

"…"

"Okay. Listen- One, you are good enough. Remember that competition back in April? (Sora had taken first out of over hundreds of participants) You're definitely good enough. Second, you won't have shame because no matter what, you're still my best friend. I'll just have to hunt you down if you don't come back. And three…three…/muffled laughter/"

"What!"

"…You as a hobo. It's too funny. /giggle/"

"Rikuuuuu!"

"Haha, I know. Sora. Listen to me." He was more serious now. "You're going to be fine. You're the most amazing musician-person I know, and no matter what happens today, you will go on to do great things. No. Matter. What. Never forget that. And plus, I'll always be there to back you up, whenever you need me. I mean, what are best friends with amazing looks for, eh?" He was smiling, Sora could tell.

Sora smiled as well, and lifted his head to see the sky.

"Riku, I don't know what'd I'd do without you."

"Life would go on." He teased. There was a silence for a few moments. Then a breath: "Sora…" He began hesitantly.

"Yeah?" Sora asked, genuinely curious.

"…Good luck." He finished, though seconds later. He had lost his nerve.

"Thanks."

He smiled.

When Sora stepped off the bus, he took a nice look around. The city was amazing, and he could only feel awestruck every time he stepped in to it's whirling life. The scaling buildings jutted all around. The people lost in their own worlds…or maybe not so lost as they led others to think. The sounds of traffic, people gossiping, shouting, laughing. It was incredible.

Sora smiled and felt strangely comfortable. Then he let out a breath, and with a sense of trepidation moved his head to gaze straight up at the building towering in front of him. In large curved letters loomed: The School of Destiny's Hand (an interesting name, eh?) with a bronze hand attached below, stretching out above the sidewalk. As he looked on, a butterfly flew from the tip of the hand and fluttered down to where he stood. He slowly lifted his index finger and, amazed, watched as the butterfly landed, the perfect sign of tranquility.

After a few moments it seemed to gaze at him, then flew off into the wind. He watched it go with hopeful eyes. They slowly changed into a look of determination, and he looked back at the building.

He was ready.

So now Sora was waiting his turn in line, and the anticipation was mounting. He had nothing to occupy himself, and he was staring about nervously. The other competition was all stony faced, and he felt a sense of fear beginning to loom. But he thought back on the butterfly, of Riku, and his mother, of Tidus and Kairi and Selphie, and all of his friends at home. He wouldn't let them down.

And then, Roxas came out.

Of course, Sora wasn't sure what it was. But the sight of the blonde haired boy clicked something in his mind. He was reminded of Riku. Perhaps the way he walked, or the casual glances he gave off to the side. When their eyes met, though…Sora couldn't explain it. But he felt…something.

And they hit it off.

Roxas was intrigued with Sora.

He found that when he was with Sora, he lost track of time. The boy's views on life were optimistic and reminded Roxas of someone very much, though he couldn't place his finger on it. He soon found himself smiling as much as Sora, as he was told stories of island life, where he and his friends went on wild adventures and beaches were turned green and where paopu juice could be found.

Yes, he knew the legend of the paopu- to share one with someone was to intertwine your destinies—forever. Roxas could be oddly romantic at times.

And even having just met this boy, Roxas felt something. And what it was, he was afraid to look for. But gazing into the boy's eyes, he saw something…

Something…

And then a woman with brown hair stuck her head out into the hallway:

"Sora?"

He was the last one.

A/N: And that's all! I really hope to make this story as long as I can, it's definitely a project for me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and the cliffie! Muaha.

Plan on seeing a LOT of Roxas in the future, for there are plans. Oh yes, there are plans.

Well, please, don't keep me from letting you review! It would make me oh-so happy!