Sorry for the delay. I was in Canada, then got a tiny hamster named Sephiroth (I love him), then decided to rent Oldin Sphere, and finally bought KH: Chain of Memories. It's been an intense week. I hope you all enjoy this here last introductory chapter that took forever to get out.
A Beautiful Letdown
Chapter 3: Question the Answer
Coffee shops in New York City were about as crowded as the streets. It was like caffeine was up there with air to New Yorkers. Unfortunately, Axel didn't know this as he sauntered into Starbuck's. The line was astronomical, curling back and forth throughout the shop. Axel didn't understand why, after all, there was a Starbuck's on nearly every corner of New York, or so he had seen.
The line moved at an excruciatingly slow pace, Axel took the time to memorize the menu. Nothing else he could do. He was about six or seven people from the front when he realized he had no idea how much munny he actually had. A hand reached to his back pocket and opened the wallet. His munny had been replaced with paper. Cat-like green eyes read the markings on the paper, "Federal Reserve Note. The United States of America. One hundred dollars." There were other words on the bill, but they didn't matter. Now Axel knew where he was and had more than enough cash to get some coffee before continuing his journey to find Roxas.
As he paid the lady five dollars for his caramel frappucino, he spotted a table next to a window with a newspaper on it. Axel sat himself down and read over the paper. There was a surprisingly interesting column on the U S's involvement on Iraq. He read a hint of sarcasm in the column. His eyes glanced over the writer's name, "Sora Kaida."
"It couldn't be. Not here," Axel shook his head in disbelief. Fingers filed through pages and sections until he found the one he needed, the classifieds. He skimmed over names and numbers of people who needed roommates until one name stood out. He recognized it from somewhere, probably from back home.
Judging by what he had seen in with the prices of coffee, he took a pen and started to do some calculations until he reached an acceptable number in terms of what he thought rent should be. Reading over the listing, he noticed his rent price matched the one listed. He stood from his table and left the shop in search of a pay phone.
About three blocks down the road, he spotted one. After waiting for the person inside to finish their call, he pushed two coins into the machine and dialed the number on the listing.
"Hello," Responded the person on the other line.
"Hi, uh I'm Axel. Is this Riku?" Axel asked.
"Yeah."
"I saw your listing in the paper. You still need a roommate?" Axel needed him to say yes. He knew he would most likely not see Roxas today, so they couldn't get a place anytime soon. As of right now, Axel was homeless and utterly alone.
"Yeah, I am. You interested?" Riku needed a roommate almost as much as Axel needed a place to stay. He had just moved in the place and needed money for the deposit. If he couldn't get the money in time, it would be back on the streets for him, or worse.
"Yep,"Axel ran a hair through his hair.
"My address is 3328 Alton Rd Apartment 412. Come down today if you get the chance. We'll talk," Riku had taken yet another day off of work. The past two weeks had been hell. Maybe today would be better.
"See you in 20," Axel hung up the phone. No, he didn't know where Alton road was, but luckily he was in New York City. Tourists were everywhere, that meant so were tourist shops. All he had to do was turn around and there stood a souvenir shop. He entered bought a map and set forth to his soon to be apartment.
The walk hadn't taken as long as Axel thought it would. Then again, he didn't have a watch or cell to know exactly what time he had left or what time it was now. He glanced up to were the sun hung in the sky. He guessed it to be somewhere around 4:00 p.m. His glaze moved from the sun to the name of the apartments, "Radiant Towers." He pushed through the doors and buzzed number 412.
Axel made his way to the apartment and knocked on the door. It opened to reveal a man about as tall as himself with long silver hair, "I'm taking it you're Riku."
"That's the name," the man raised a pale, yet toned, arm and ran his fingers through his hair. "Come in." Riku moved from the door to reveal his home to his potential roommate.
Axel took in the sight of his potential new home. It was small, but what can you expect from a Manhattan apartment? Riku showed Axel to the dinning room, which was really just an extension to the kitchen. He took a seat and waited for Riku to start asking questions.
"You're not from around here are you?" Riku asked as he poured the two some coffee.
The question startled Axel. He had expected something more along the lines of, "Do you have a job?" or "Are you on drugs?" He didn't quiet know how to answer the question without provoking many more. "No, not exactly," he said.
Riku took a seat at the table and slid the coffee to Axel, "Neither am I." The silver-haired man sipped on his coffee.
What is this guy getting at? Axel thought to himself.
The silence hung over the two before Riku finally broke it, "You know Sora, don't you?"
Axel chocked on his beverage. He coughed to clear his throat, regaining his composure. "I know a Sora. I don't know if we're talking about the same one."
"Short, spunky, always smiling, hails from Destiny Islands, brown spikes that defy gravity, crown necklace, blue eyes..." Riku trailed off for a moment. He shook his head and came back from his thoughts, "Know him?"
"Actually, I do. You're the guy he had been looking for," Axel remembered Sora asking him once or twice about a guy named Riku and some girl who's name was above him at the moment.
"And you're the one that went level five kamikaze to save his life," Riku's eyes traveled up from his coffee to settle on Axel who nodded his head at the accusation. "Thank you."
"I had to. Roxas was a part of him at the time. I couldn't let him get hurt," sadness filled Axel's mind. He shook his head and continued with their conversation, "How is Sora anyway? I'm assuming he's here as well."
Riku tensed and flipped his hair into his eyes. No one needed to see him look depressed. He was supposed to be the strong one, "He's here, somewhere. Things didn't work out between us and he left. That's why I need a roommate."
"Oh, sorry man," Axel dropped the conversation noticing the tension building around Riku. "Hey, have you seen Roxas around?"
"Nope. You looking for him?" Riku had only met Roxas a few times, one of which he tried to kill him. He figured that was in the past by now.
"Yeah. We got separated when we arrived in the city earlier today. I hope he's alright," Axel's eyes moving past the man and to the window.
"He's a tough kid. I'm sure he's alright," judging by what Riku had seen of Roxas in the past, he figured the boy would be fine.
"I hope so..." Axel paused. "Well, we kind of know each other already, so if it's alright with you, I can move in and help you out," Axel hoped their connection would get him a warm bed to sleep in.
"Yeah, alright. Where's all your stuff?" Riku asked.
Axel laughed, "What stuff? I was a nobody, we didn't have anything to begin with."
"Oh, right. So you don't even have a job?" He already knew the answer to that question, but thought he would ask anyway. After all, the point of having a roommate would be to pay bills. One needs a job to have money to do so.
"Nope, but I do have over $3000 and have bar tending skills like you wouldn't believe," Axel grinned at the man sitting across from him.
"Consider yourself no longer homeless," Riku rose from the table and extended a hand to the other man. Axel took it and shook it firmly. "Let's go get you a job, some clothes, and you're boy back."
"What about singing the lease?" Axel wanted to go find Roxas, but he knew there was protocol to follow when moving in with someone.
"Well, our landlord is a bit of a vampire," Riku laughed. "Okay, not a vampire, but he sure as hell sends out vampire vibes. He won't be in until 7 or 8. That leaves us a few hours to spare."
"Right..." Axel didn't even want to question what Riku had just said, nor was he looking forward to meeting this creature of the night. "So, where to?"
"Who knows? It's a big city. Some bar some where has to be hiring. We'll start on my street and work our way around," Riku grabbed a hoodie from the floor and disappeared out the front door.
"So, is Axel your nobody?" Rude asked as he stretched out on a subways seat.
Reno stood in the aisle holding on to the safety rail. Rude had seemed to have been playing 20 questions since they both arrived in the city. He rolled his eyes, "That would mean I was a heartless at some point. Now, have I been a heartless lately?"
"Not to my knowledge," Rude answered.
"Well then Axel isn't my nobody, now is he?" Rude shook his head as Reno continued to speak. "Just because we have red hair, tattoos on our faces, are pale and wear black a lot doesn't mean we're related. My god. Our names aren't even similar, at all. Everyone knows Organization members' names are derived from their others' real names." Reno was sick of being asked if he was some how related to Axel. If one more person even thought he was, it would surely send him over the deep end.
"Chill out. It was just a question," Rude hadn't expected his friend to react so harshly.
"I know, but I have been asked that damn question so many times. Anyways, isn't this our stop?" Rude nodded and both walked out of the subway, emerging into, yet another, busy New York street.
"Why do we need to find these guys again?" Rude asked as he followed his friend.
"You need to learn to pay attention," Reno shook his head. "The heartless and nobodies teamed up. If we don't get all of the Organization back to the Underworld, they'll take it over and use its powers to destroy everything." Oh, how many times he had repeated those words to his companion.
"So, we need the Organization because of their 1337 fighting skills?" Rude continued on with his questions.
Reno continued answering, "No, we need them to bake cookies. Of course we need their fighting skills. Get with the fucking program."
Rude asked yet another question, "How are we going to find them?"
Except this time Reno didn't have an answer, "Well, I don't know. I'm just trying to find Cid's shop at this point. I'm hoping he got that upgrade, if not, then we're fucked." One thing was for sure, Reno did not want to return to Auron without the Organization. That would not be a pretty sight. Reno shuddered at the idea.
It had taken longer than Roxas had imagined to get all of Sora's belongings into a taxi. The sun hung low in the sky as they piled in the yellow car and headed toward the apartment. The building wasn't run down, it actually looked nice compared to all the other apartment building surrounding it. Roxas counted five stories before he grabbed some of Sora's belongings and entered the building.
"Vincent said we needed to meet him in his office to get the keys," Sora said as he plopped a suitcase and bags outside a door marked 'Rental Office.'
"He's still in there?" Roxas glanced to a clock on the wall. "It's after 7."
"He said he would be there until 10 or 11," Sora knocked on the door. The door opened to reveal Vincent in all his glory.
Vincent Valentine wasn't the kind to have a welcoming appearance, he always wore tight black clothing and a red cape. His long, wild black hair was held away from his face by a red bandanna. He didn't care if he was in a new world, his appearance would never change.
"I take you're Sora and Roxas," Vincent said. Both nodded. "Come in."
Roxas followed Sora into the small room. He noticed paintings on the walls of places not of this world. Roxas assumed they were of Vincent's home.
As Sora and Roxas sat before the man, he spoke, "There are only a few rules that my tenets must follow: number one- rent is due on the 18th, number two- rent is due on the 18th."
"So, I take it rent is due on the 18th," Roxas muttered under his breath followed by a quick chuckle.
"Do not patronize me," Roxas could tell the man never spoke with exclamation, nor did he appreciate jokes. "Trust me, you do not want to see what will happen if you turn your rent in late," Vincent said as his eyes locked onto Roxas'. The action sent a chill down the blonde's spine.
Sora could sense the stale air that was being exchanged, "So, do Cloud and Leon live here, too?" He hoped bringing Cloud into the mix would put a better impression on Vincent.
"They'll be living across the hall from you. I made sure of it," if Roxas squinted, the could see a hint of a smile on Vincent's lips at the thought of Cloud. His hand pushed a few small objects across the table, "Here's your keys and your lease"
"Thanks," Sora reached out and took the keys. Roxas and Sora signed the contract without a glance. Sora handed the paper back to Vincent. He nodded at both their signatures.
"See you later!" Sora said as he and Roxas rose to leave the room.
"Before you leave," both turned to face their new landlord, "the building will be having a welcome party for its new tenets a week from tomorrow. Will you be joining?"
Roxas knew this wasn't a question, "Of course. We love parties." Sora nodded with fervor.
Both boys left the office. Roxas knelt down to grab some of Sora's belongings, "He definitely has it for Cloud."
"Told ya!" Sora practically ran to the elevator, suitcases in hand.
"What's the big hurry? Our apartment will be there all day," Roxas followed at a much slower pace despite Sora's waving for him to move faster.
"I want to see Leon! I haven't seen him in months. I thought he was still back at Radiant Gardens. I miss him, and Cloud, and everyone so much. Leon helped me-"
Roxas cut his friend off short, "Okay. I get the point." It never seized to amaze Roxas how Sora could go off on tangents about almost anything.
They rode elevator to the fifth floor and made their way to apartment 512. Roxas had looked forward to having an evening full of unpacking and lounging, but when Sora threw his bags to the floor and ran across the hall, Roxas knew his plans had been discarded.
Sora knocked on the door, shooting back a big toothy grin to Roxas who was slowly making his way to his friend. When the door finally opened, a tall brunette stood in the frame. Before the man had a chance to say anything, Sora dive tackled him to the ground. Roxas chuckled at Sora's enthusiasm.
"Woah there, Sora. Let me have room to breathe, kid," Leon smiled down to Sora, who nodded as he rolled off of the man. "Who's this?" Leon pointed in Roxas' general direction.
"Oh yeah!" Sora got up and pulled Roxas into the apartment. "This is Roxas. Back home he was my nobody, but here, he's my roommate!"
"Well, any friend of Sora's is a friend of mine," he put out a hand which Roxas shook. "Come inside. I made coffee."
Roxas and Sora sat as Leon gathered beverages for the three. He handed the two some coffee before getting a cup for himself, "So, you're living here, then?"
Sora nodded and answered before Roxas had even processed the question, "Yeah. We found the ad in the paper, and I noticed Vincent's name, so I mentioned Cloud, and that basically sealed the deal. Where is Cloud anyways?"
"When do you find time to breathe?" Leon asked with a laugh. "Cloud's down at the Lime Spider. He bar tends there four nights a week. He'll be home around 3 in the morning."
"Are you two together?" Sora asked bluntly.
A blush fell over the older brunette's face, "Well, yeah. We are." There was a brief pause before Leon spoke again, "What about you and Riku?"
Roxas noticed his friend's normally happy complexion disappear. He spoke before Sora, for once, "They have a few issues to work out."
"Right," Leon nodded catching Roxas' drift. "What's your story?"
Roxas sighed and took a sip of his coffee, "I was in the Underworld for some time with the Organization. Then Auron sent us up here so we could have our lives back."
"You don't look like you're enjoying your life too much," Leon said.
"Yeah. My boyfriend, Axel, and I were separated on the trip here," Roxas looked down at the table.
Leon sensed the touchy subject and moved on to something he had hoped wouldn't provoke such drama, "So, the Organization. I'm taking it they're not the dicks they used to be."
Sora finally chimed in, "Hey! Watch it. Roxas was in the Organization!"
"It's okay, Sora," Roxas put a hand on Sora's shoulder. "No. Now we are basically in debt to Auron. So we'll be helping him out if he needs us."
"Gotcha," Leon stood and stretched out his back. A light shown down from an adjacent window illuminating Leon's toned abs through his white shirt and a scar between his eyes, "I'll help you guys move in. We have an extra TV and some stuff you can use until you get on your feet."
"Okay! But can we go see Cloud first?" Sora asked.
Leon laughed, "There's no way you're actually 21."
Roxas put a hand up, "Actually, in a little over a week, we will be."
"Interesting. Well, then tomorrow we'll go visit Cloud," Leon walked to the door, beckoning the others to follow.
"Sounds good," Sora followed Leon out the door, Roxas close behind. "Who knows, maybe Axel will be there, too."
"Doubt it," Roxas sighed as he made his way to the apartment. It had only been a day, and his hopes had already lessened significantly.
Not the most interesting of chapters, but it's the end of the introduction. I had to introduce characters and set up events that will matter later on. Loveless Lies is almost done, so this will be my main focus until I come up with something else.
Reviews are nice, but not necessary.
--Sarah Emily
