I do not own Disney, Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy! I do own this plot and the new characters though!
The Audition
Saturday, May 9
Roxas woke up nice and early, despite their plane leaving at 1pm. The flight to Traverse Town would take about two hours, and then they needed to get to their new apartment in the Third District. That would take several hours while they settled in and unpacked, but they would hardly have time to relax. They had a very important appointment at the House of Utada at 6:30pm. Tifa's friend, Aerith Gainsborough, one of the managers, was able to get a secured time slot for an open mic audition. The boys originally had planned to wait outside on the side walk like all of the other hopefuls, and just wait until it was their turn.
Roxas was still pumped over the news so much that he hardly slept that night. He could barely believe their luck!
He moved his blankets off his body and looked around his room; the room had belonged to Vanitas until the raven-haired young man moved from the house at the age of 18. For the majority of his life, Roxas had always shared a room with Sora. They had bunk beds, which Roxas was always on the top one, as Sora had a terrible fear of heights. They had always been inseparable, despite the fact that Sora was about 5 months older than Roxas, the blond always defended the brunette, and it also didn't help Sora that Vanitas was one hell of a bully. Roxas shook his head, he was getting nostalgic already. He got out of his bed and looked around.
When he had first moved in to the room, Vanitas had left the room in dreary conditions; the walls were painted with dark red, almost blood color. Worse yet, he had used other red hues and gave the walls a bizarre stripe pattern, it had looked like muscle tissue. And the walls had been decorated with posters of Vanitas's favorite band, The Unversed. After Roxas moved in, he gave the room more earthy colors, several shades of browns and oranges, more bright and befitting of Roxas's persona. Naturally, Roxas filled up the walls with posters of his favorite band, The Organization.
Roxas had been a devoted fan since he was thirteen years old. Back then, the group's leader, Axel Flynn, was barely 17, and Roxas remembered wanting to be just like his favorite singer. Axel had long flaming red hair with a widow's peak, rather small eyebrows and thick, shoulder-length, bright red hair styled into slicked-back spikes. His eyes are a bright emerald color and he had purple reverse-teardrop shaped tattoos under each eye, which left quite the impression on Roxas's young mind.
But now at almost 21, Roxas felt it was a bit silly. They looked cool as hell, but weren't as awesome as they once seemed.
Roxas looked at his dresser and picked up his cell and looked at the time. It was barely 7:45am. On the dresser were the clothes, along with his shoes, that he had laid out for the day, as the drawers and his entire closet were empty. He also has a small backpack where he put his comb, deodorant, lotion, passport, wallet, iPod, PSP, and his lyric notebook. He made a mental note to buy a map of Traverse Town at the airport.
He sighed. At this hour there wasn't much to do, so he decided to go eat something before taking a shower. Waking up Sora early would be a good idea, too. If not, Sora would not wake up until late. That guy could sleep so soundly, Roxas would be willing to bet that if given the possibility, Sora could sleep for an entire year.
Roxas left his room and made his way downstairs into the kitchen, where he found his "parents". Stella was cooking something on the stove, while Noctis was reading the morning paper at the dining table, which was right next to the kitchen. Roxas made his way through the doorway as Noctis looked up from his newspaper.
"Morning, Rox." He smiled. "You're up early."
"Well, today's the big day." Roxas said as he walked to over to Stella and kissed her cheek.
"Don't remind me!" Stella looked at Roxas with teary eyes. "I can't believe my babies are leaving!" She wiped her tears on her apron.
"Stella, honey…" Noctis stood up and walked over and hugged his wife. She leaned into his shoulder and cried on his sleeve. "You knew this would happen sooner or later, darling."
"I know…" She sniffled. "But they're my sons! I don't want them to leave the nest."
"Mom…" Roxas stroked her silvery-blonde hair. "I know that I'm not your real son, you're my aunt, but to me, it doesn't matter. A real mom isn't the one who gave birth to me, but the one who raised me. You're my mom no matter what."
Stella gave a small chuckle, tears streaming down her face. "I never cared that you're my brother's son. You're my little boy, too, Roxy."
"I thank you both for all that you've done for me. You took me in when you could have just left me." Roxas leaned his head to the side, tears threatening to spill from his sky blue orbs.
"There was no way we'd abandon you, Rox." Noctis smiled. "How could we leave a defenseless two year old to his own luck?"
"Related or not, we would never abandon you, Roxas." Stella pulled away from her husband to wrap her arms around the tall blond in front of her. "We love you as much as we love our own sons."
He truly was lucky. His aunt and uncle took him in when they didn't need to; they could have sent him to a foster home, but they kept him. Because of that, Roxas knew his other family members, his cousins, and his grandparents. With tears now flowing down his own cheeks, he wrapped his arms around his mother, while Noctis pat Roxas's messy bed hair.
"We love you, Roxy."
Wait…that voice…
Roxas looked over his shoulder to find that not only was Sora behind him, but that he had somehow managed to wrap his arms around Roxas, all while smiling like the dork that Sora is.
"Hi." Sora batted his eyelashes innocently as Stella broke into a fit of giggles.
"Wow, Sora," Noctis grinned. "I think this is a new record. You never wake up this early!"
"Are you kidding? I couldn't sleep from all the excitement!" Sora beamed.
"That makes two of us." Roxas smiled.
"Oh you two!" Stella slapped each boy in the shoulders lightly. She turned back to Noctis as he hugged her.
"Don't cry Mom!" The two boys hugged her.
"Come on, darling," Noctis kissed the top of her head. "They promised they'd call and visit every now and then."
Stella sniffled.
"Besides, when they're gone…we'll have the house all to ourselves…" his voice and his face was highly suggestive, but topped it off when he winked at Stella.
"DAD!"
Both boys let go of their mother, Sora made gagging noises, Roxas looked disgusted, Noctis laughed and Stella shook her head while rolling her eyes.
"No person ever wants to know that their parents are still going at it!" Sora hissed.
"Sora, you're almost 21!" Noctis laughed. "You still can't –"
"Nope! I don't care how old I get; it's just sick and wrong!" Sora shook his head wildly, like when a dog tries to rid its ears of water.
Stella face palmed. "Alright, enough of that. Boys, go wash up for breakfast."
With that, Noctis walked back to the dining table, Sora and Roxas walked to the downstairs bathroom across the living room, while Stella finished making pancakes.
"Seriously, I am so psyched about today!" Sora balled up his fists energetically.
"I know, I can't wait for the audition!" Roxas laughed.
She could hear the sounds of doors opening and closing along with many different voices of children. The hallway sounded like a stampede, the many little feet running around, the excited murmuring, and the voice of an older woman asking the children to not run in the hallway.
Naminé opened her eyes, slowly trying to adjust to the bright light coming in from the window by her bed. She rubbed her eyes and looked around her room; her eyes were beginning to adjust to her surroundings, she could see all the various drawings that covered up her white walls. Most of the drawings were from her class of kindergarten students she taught. The majority was done in crayon, a few of them were with finger paints, and an even less were simple pencil art. She smiled warmly; she honestly could not imagine herself living anywhere else. Even when she had to leave the orphanage, she would never leave the beautiful village. After all, Serenity Meadows was her only home, and the only place she would ever call home.
Her thoughts were interrupted when someone knocked on her door.
"Naminé!" An older woman called. "Are you awake?"
"Yes!" she replied, quickly getting out of bed and putting on her slippers and attempting to haphazardly do her bed. "Come in!"
The large white door opened and into the room stepped an older woman. She was around her mid-sixties; a bit short, kind faced, and round, like a teapot. She wore a lilac colored dress over a faded pink apron, her white hair was swept into a small bun at the back of her head, and she wore a small beret that for some reason always reminded Naminé of a teapot's lid.
She walked over to the young blonde and smiled warmly at her. "Good morning, child."
"Good morning, Mrs. Potts." Naminé replied, giving her a hug.
Mrs. Potts ran her fingers through Naminé's soft hair, making the young girl sigh contently. About, 20 years ago, on a cool spring evening, a young, pregnant woman collapsed at the entrance of the orphanage, her life slipping away. Mr. and Mrs. Potts brought her inside their home, and tended to frail girl, trying their hardest to keep her among the living. But it soon became apparent to them, that the young woman was in labor. Her long blonde hair was sticking to her sweat drenched face; her breathing was becoming increasingly difficult. Mr. Potts had left to get the doctor, while Mrs. Potts and a few women of the staff did their best to assist the young woman. But unfortunately, by the time the doctor had arrived, the young lady had passed away, but not before giving birth to a pair of twins; a boy and a girl.
Naminé and Snow had first heard the story of their mother when they were fifteen. This caused a big impact on the twins, particularly Snow. He became determined to know of their roots, where their mother was from, their father and the reason why their mother ended up by the orphanage. Mrs. Potts told them as much as she could recall, sadly, a name was never given. The beautiful young mother never mentioned her own name, she could barely even breathe.
But even after all this time, despite her own curiosity over her mother's identity, Naminé felt that she already had a mother, Mrs. Potts. She was warm, caring, gentle, but strict if she needed to be. Naminé knew that she spoke not just for herself or her brother, but for all of the orphans when said that Mrs. Potts was the only mother they knew. And the only one they needed.
"I just wanted to let you know that today you won't need to give art classes." Mrs. Potts smiled.
"Why not?" The young girl looked almost aghast.
"Your brother asked me to tell you that he'd like for you to play the piano while he practices." Mrs. Potts replied. "He's been practicing his vocal scales all morning, he's so anxious."
Naminé giggled. "I bet, he's been waiting on this opportunity his entire life." She sighed and looked around her room. "I can always do a lesson before bed time."
Mrs. Potts sat on the corner of Naminé's bed, motioning to the blonde to take the space next to her. When Naminé joined her, the older woman began unbraiding Naminé's loose braid. Oh how Naminé loved moments like this; feeling of her beloved mother figure's fingers gently combing through her flaxen hair. The young girl closed her cerulean blue eyes, feeling as if she were in some sort of trance.
"I wonder if the children would like water colors…" Naminé mused.
"You've always been a devoted artist." Mrs. Potts draped the blonde strands over Naminé's right shoulder. "You took a hobby that you had as a child, and made it your gift. You gave your love of art to others, and that love inspired more passion for art."
Naminé blushed. "Ever since I was little, I was always fascinated by the complexity of drawing. A flower can be a simple thing, like a daisy, or an intricate work of beauty, like a rose. I've always believed that anyone can learn to draw lines and connect them to make something else, but no one can teach you to have a passion for it."
"You're born with it." The two said simultaneously.
Naminé turned to look at Mrs. Potts and the two embraced, with the older woman planting a kiss on the artist's forehead. "My future is in art, I just know it."
"There are many branches of art, my dear." Mrs. Potts smiled as she slowly let go of Naminé. "Never forget that."
"I know." Naminé smiled as she straightened up.
"Now, get ready for breakfast." Mrs. Potts lightly patted Naminé's lap. "Today will be a long day."
Mrs. Potts gave Naminé another kiss on the forehead before leaving the room. The blonde walked over to her closet and began examining her small collection of dresses. The plus side of teaching art? She actually got paid for it, not as much as an actual school teacher, but it was still decent pay. She picked out a beautiful off-the-shoulders orange summer dress, she had been saving it for a special occasion and this was definitely it.
The day that her brother's dream would come true.
The air was a bit heavy, but maybe that was a given since airports are always crowded with travelers. Roxas set down his suit case on the conveyor belt as Sora and Riku followed suit. Each of them had smaller packs that carried their more important belongings, as well as something to keep them occupied during the long flight.
"Well, this is it, guys." Riku sighed.
"The beginning of the rest of our lives." Sora exhaled.
"Man, that was cheesy." Roxas snickered. "You couldn't have said anything better than that?"
"Hey, it's true!" Sora pouted. "This is where it begins! We're stepping into the doorway of adulthood!"
"Wow, that was the most pussyfied thing that I've ever heard."
The three of them turned to see Vanitas walking towards them, wearing dark colors as always. Some of the girls looked at him with a mixture of fear and interest. Everyone else…just seemed to stay away from the pale-skinned brunette as much as possible. This brought something to Roxas's mind…how was Vanitas so damn pale if they lived in a tropical island?
Behind Vanitas were Noctis and Stella, Roxas could see that Stella was trying to hide her tears, as Noctis comforted her by giving her one-armed hugs.
"You know, that's one thing I'm actually gonna miss." Vanitas said as he crossed his arms, while placing his balance on his left side. Roxas noticed that some of the nearby girls sighed amorously. Roxas rolled his eyes.
"What? You're actually gonna miss me?" Sora looked quite shocked, like a kid who had been told that Santa was coming to deliver presents on his birthday.
"Pfft, yeah sure." Vanitas laughed. "No, what I meant is that I will miss the shit that comes out of your stupid mouth, dip shit."
"You do know that we're in public, right?" Riku raised an eye brow.
"What about it?" Vanitas snapped.
"There's little kids around." Roxas stated it like it was obvious.
Vanitas rolled his yellow eyes. "You do know that I don't give a fuck, right?"
Sora's fists shook. "I just wanna punch you so bad…!"
"Like you actually would." Vanitas sneered.
Sora raised his fist, but Riku grabbed onto Sora's hoodie. "Dude, you really want to cause a scene before we leave?"
Sora looked at his best friend and sighed, his shoulder slumping down. He turned to look at his older brother and mouthed 'I fucking hate you'.
Vanitas simply gave half a smile, and flipped off Sora.
At that moment, Noctis and Stella came up beside their oldest son, who had promptly shoved his hands in his jean pockets. Stella's eyes were red and puffy, but even then, she still managed to give a heartfelt smile. Noctis's eyes were rather watery, no matter how cool he looked, seeing him like this always drove home the point that he was only human.
"Well," Stella hiccupped. "This is it."
Sora took in a sharp breath, Roxas didn't have to look at him to know that Sora was about to cry. If this dragged on, so would he. He looked over at Riku, even the silverette was getting choked up.
"You boys, sorry, I mean, men…" Noctis gave a weak laugh. "You young men better look after yourselves. We won't be around to babysit you."
"Promise me…" Stella's voice was breaking by now. "That you'll never be too busy to call."
"Don't worry, Mom, we'll call every week." Roxas assured her.
She wiped away her tears with her tissue. "You too Riku, I'd better hear from you, young man!"
Riku smiled. "Of course."
"You're asking too much from Gallagher, Mom." Vanitas snickered. "He only talked to you because you fed him. He would have died on his own."
"Van." Noctis hissed in a warning tone. "Aren't you the least bit sad that your brothers are leaving?"
Vanitas looked over at Sora. "But of course I am! My adorable baby brother is going out into the big scary world! How will he survive?"
He then looked over at Roxas. "And Roxy! My other little brother! Even though you're much tougher than Sora, it's still worrisome that you'll live away from mom and dad!"
Sora looked absolutely infuriated, Roxas was getting pissed off. Noctis narrowed his eyes at Vanitas and smacked him at the back of the head, Vanitas looked indifferent.
Stella took a step forward and took Riku in her arms. "Take care, Riku. I better hear from you!"
Riku chuckled as Noctis shook the silverette's hand, Stella then walked over to Roxas and the tears rolled down their cheeks. "My little Roxy…I'll miss you so much!"
"Oh Mom…"
Stella got on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. She moved away from Roxas as Noctis gave Roxas hug and ruffled his spiky hair before they turned to Sora, who sniffled noisily. "Oh my little baby!" Stella broke down completely as she embraced her youngest son. Noctis hugged both wife and son, holding back his own tears. When they parted, all three of them had puffy red eyes.
"Take care, Sora." Noctis smiled.
"I will, Dad." Sora sniffled, while wiping his tears on his sleeve.
Stella looked over at Vanitas expectantly. "Van, aren't going to hug your brothers goodbye?
Vanitas rolled his eyes and walked over to Sora. It was at this point that Roxas truly saw the differences between the brothers other than the three year age gap; Vanitas was slightly taller than Sora, he was also more muscular, and even though he wore contacts, his eyes held a cold gaze that Sora's eyes did not. The two siblings glared at each other for a few seconds before Vanitas gave Sora a chaste hug.
Sora blinked confusedly, as far as memory served, Vanitas had never hugged anyone other than Stella. The raven-haired man turned to face Roxas; he merely nodded in the blond's direction, and barely gave Riku a passing glance. But then again, what else would Roxas have expected from Vanitas?
"The flight 358, departing for Traverse Town is now boarding."
The three musicians looked at one another before looking back at the family. Despite the teary eyes from the parents, both of them were smiling encouragingly towards the three; however none of them seemed to be able to move.
Vanitas rolled his eyes. "If you don't get going, you'll miss your plane, idiots."
Stella looked at Vanitas disapprovingly while Noctis hit him in the back of the head again.
Riku cleared his throat. "Thanks for everything." he then walked away heading towards the terminal gate.
Roxas and Sora looked at each other before looking back at their parents. "We love you."
Stella laughed as fresh tears spilled down her cheeks again, Noctis smiled warmly at the two boys, and Vanitas simply raised an eye brow.
"We love you, too." Their parents echoed.
With that, the cousins walked away, following the direction Riku had taken.
This was it; this was truly it, like Sora said, they were taking their steps towards the doorway to adulthood.
Wow, that really is corny. Roxas smiled, he looked over at Sora, and he was grinning excitedly.
In the three hours it took to get to Traverse Town, Naminé had truly enjoyed the scenic route. She had never stepped outside the borders of Serenity Meadows, but the road to the city had been absolutely breathtaking. Snow, who was wearing a simple blue medium-sleeved shirt and jeans, drove the entire trip as he had been to Traverse Town on several occasions before hand, and knew his way around the city.
"Where is House of Utada located at?" Naminé asked as Snow parked the car. Finding a parking space proved to be quite the difficult task; clearly many people of all walks of life had come to make their dreams a reality. She got out and grabbed her satchel which made noise as the bottom had a few large beads.
"We'll have to walk a bit," Snow sighed. "I parked about five blocks from the place. It's in the Second District."
"That far?" Naminé was thankful she had brought a large white wicker hat with her.
"I'm afraid so." Snow looked at her apologetically. "Let's go buy some water; it'll help fight this heat."
Naminé nodded. After stopping at a nearby 7-11, she suddenly became much more aware of the city. She looked at all of the buildings surrounding her; it was at this point where she realized how much of a countryside girl she was. The large buildings were called apartments; they usually had around 12 or more small homes inside. And then the many different shapes of the buildings fascinated her, she could imagine the architect that came up with the structural design had to have a very creative mind.
She inwardly giggled, no matter where she went, all she saw was art. In the colors of the buildings, the décor on the windows, even the paved road she was walking on! She liked that there were a few sun shaped insignias on the pavement at every traffic light, it was a nice touch. She noticed that the side walk seemed to also have some kind of astrological sign, but there were too many people on the sidewalk, it was some kind of line.
"There it is!"
Naminé looked up at the excited voice from her twin. Her jaw dropped. He was pointing at a large building that had a guitar on its roof that was a bold choice! It certainly screamed out to all music lovers.
"Oh my goodness!" she whispered.
"I know, it's an amazing sight to behold." Snow smiled. "This is where it'll happen, Nami."
She looked over at him; his eyes were alit with such a glow, that mere words would never do it justice. It was the very look she had when her pencil would meet her sketchbook, when a brush met an easel, when a pastel met a piece of paper.
"Then let's go make your dream come true!"
They walked up to the building and even though she should have known it was likely to happen, she was still shocked to the that the line of people that extended the last five blocks they had just walked was the actual waiting line for the auditions. As they walked past the many civilians, Naminé couldn't help but notice the different array of clothing people wore. Some looked quite sensible styles, other were outlandish. Didn't it bother them wearing leather jacket or pants in the awful heat of summer?
They stopped when they reached the main entrance, it was guarded by a large muscular black man wearing quite the stylish pair of lens. Naminé noticed a name tag on the man's grey t-shirt, Barret.
"Um… excuse me, sir?" Snow called to him. Barret was almost twice the size of her brother. But then again, that wasn't saying much, Snow was barely 5'4".
"Whaddaya want, kid?" Barret's voice was gruff. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
"Err, yes I see that, but um," Snow chuckled nervously. "You see, sir, I have an audition today."
Barret scoffed. "If I had a munny for every time some punk-ass kid said that to me today, I'd be filthy rich."
Naminé's eyes widened. Why was Barret so skeptical? Snow wasn't lying to him.
"Yes, I understand you, but I really do have an appointed audition today."
"You got proof?"
"Um…"
Barret grinned triumphantly. "Dat's what I thought. Now go and wait yo turn like every other dang fool here."
Snow turned to Naminé crestfallen. She turned to look back at the line; it seemed to have become longer in just a few minutes. At this rate, they would never make it to the 7 o'clock deadline.
Snow eyes widened as if he had remembered something important, and turned back to face Barret. "Can you please tell Mr. Fair that Snow Martin is here?"
That got Barret's attention. "How do you know Fair?"
"He's the one who booked my time slot as a favor." Snow's smile was one Naminé hadn't seen since they were children; mischievous.
Barret pulled out a walkie-talkie from the back side of his pants. "Yo, Hyper Puppy, this is the Big Man, over."
Hyper Puppy?
Naminé tried her hardest to not burst out in laughter, and judging by the look on Snow's face, so was he.
"What the hell?" came a lively voice over the static. "I told you to stop calling me that!"
"Tough shit." Barret cleared his throat. "I got some kid out here saying he has a booked audition."
"Another one?" the other man sighed. "Don't you know how to deal with those by now?"
"Oh I do, but this one says he knows your ass. That you're the one that booked his appointment."
There was silence for a minute.
"What's the kid's name?"
"Snow Martin."
"….oh. Oh!"
At that Snow smiled triumphantly.
"Yeah, he has a 7 o'clock appointment!" Mr. Fair's voice seemed to smile for him. "Go ahead and let him in!"
Barret shrugged. "Copy that, Hyper Puppy." He then placed the walkie-talkie back in its place and looked at Snow. "You're lucky he actually remembered you, that guy would forget his fiancé if she wasn't around."
He then moved out of the way and let the two siblings enter the building. Once inside, Naminé was thankful for the marvelous invention of air conditioning. She took off her hat and placed her water inside her satchel. She followed Snow across the wide reception area, to the front desk.
"Excuse Miss?" He spoke a bit quietly.
The receptionist had curly brown hair and amber colored eyes. She was wearing a suit and looked rather charming. She smiled kindly at both siblings. "May I help you?"
"Mr. Fair booked an open audition for me today." He said as he pulled out his wallet to take out his ID.
The receptionist took it. "Ah yes, Mr. Martin. Your appointment is at 7 today."
Snow smiled excitedly. Naminé couldn't blame him, she was excited for him. She looked at the brunette's name tag, it said Cissnei.
Cissnei picked up the phone and dialed an extension number. "Hey Zack? The seven o'clock is here."
Naminé suddenly became very aware of her surroundings. From the soft carpet beneath her, to various abstract patterns on the wall, to the painted ceiling. Even the lounge furniture was very different. Some of the chairs looked like small thrones, and the couches looked more like disfigured mathematical shapes.
The windows to the outside looked like they belonged in a, for the lack of a better phrase, a rock video, having a rich Gothic frame. They curtains were a strange teal shade, which certainly contrasted the various colors on the walls. The patterns themselves were simply astonishing. From simple things like squiggly lines to circles and triangles, everything meshed so well.
"Nami?"
She turned around to see that Snow was looking at her intently, chances are he knew that she was analyzing every aspect of the building due to her artistic nature.
"Everything all settled?" She smiled.
"Just about." He smiled back. "Miss Cissnei went to go get Mr. Fair."
"Are you nervous?" She noticed he looked awfully composed. If it were her in his place, chances are she would have thrown up by now.
"…a bit, yeah." He smiled sheepishly. "I just hope I don't choke, or worse, lose my voice at the last minute."
"Don't jinx it." She said cautiously. She then knocked on the reception desk.
Snow shook his head laughing. "Thanks, that always works."
"It's the reason why I do it." She giggled. She looked behind Snow to see Cissnei walking next to a rather tall man. His hair was black and was spiked back, in a downwards motion, with a single stand in front of his face. His deep blue eyes were alit with an energy she normally saw in…puppies.
Was this….?
"Mr. Fair!" Snow smiled and walked over to the taller man and shook hands.
"'Mr. Fair?' That was my father, call me Zack." Zack smiled. He turned to look at Naminé and blinked. "Is she that sister you mentioned?"
"Yes, this is my little sister, Naminé." Snow grabbed her wrist and walked her in front of Zack.
Good heavens, the man was tall.
"N-nice to meet you, Mr. Zack." She smiled shyly, shaking his hand.
"'Mr. Zack?' Wow, you guys are so polite! You don't see that often!" He grinned.
Even when he smiled, he looked like an excited puppy. Was it wrong of her to imagine a pair of ears and a waging tail on him?
"Lemme show you where you'll be performing Snow." Zack patted the blond's shoulder as Naminé walked behind them and Cissnei returned to her desk. Naminé looked back at the entrance as several new voices entered the building.
She saw a brown haired young man accompanied by a young woman with…blue hair.
"Man it feels good to stretch!" Sora sighed as he extended his arms. "That seat was comfortable and all, but after almost three hours of sitting, my ass hurts."
"I think we should go get our bags." Riku said as he finished drinking water by the airport restrooms. "Thank god we shipped our instruments a week ago, of this would be a bigger pain that it is now."
The Traverse Town International airport was twice the size of Destiny Islands airport. That, and the fact that they weren't familiar with the building would take a while for them to find their belongings.
"Where are we supposed to go, anyway?" Roxas asked as he looked at his flight ticket.
"We have to go to the baggage claim area by gate M." Riku said as he looked at his own ticket.
"Hey, guys…"
"What Sora?" Roxas was looking around at the adjacent area. He could see gates N and O, so gate M couldn't be too far.
"Is there a time change from here to Destiny Islands?" Sora continued.
"I'm not too sure." Riku replied. "Why?"
"Look over there."
Roxas looked up to the large column Sora was pointing in the middle of the building. There was a large, noticeable digital clock. It said 4:50pm.
"Holy shit!" Roxas exclaimed. They barely had anytime left, they had to grab their stuff and bolt out of the place. They barely even have time to get to their apartment to drop their stuff off!
The three of them ran through the airport like wild animals, trying to avoid running into people and trying to locate their designated luggage claim area. They practically sprinted down the electrical stairs, which was met with several outcries from the other civilians, they moved past the other two gates in record speed. They finally managed to find their baggage claim gate and waited impatiently for their stuff to finally appear in the conveyor belt and ran for the nearest exit like maniacs. They took the nearest cab and basically demanded to the driver to step on the gas.
"What? You little bitches want me to break every speeding rule?" the older man hissed. He was almost balding, with a pair of goggles on his forehead, he looked to be nearing his sixties, but the man had muscles. He glared at the three and purposely blew a puff of smoke from his cigarette. Sora looked utterly disgusted.
"Look, can you just please go as fast as possible?" Roxas hissed. He certainly was in no mood to argue, least of all with some cranky cab driver.
"If you don't like my rules then leave and get off my back!" the driver growled. Roxas clenched his fist, but the driver started the cab anyway. "Where to?"
"The Third District." Riku replied.
"Alrighty then, you boys better strap yerselves on." There was something weird about the driver's grin as he pulled out of the waiting area.
Roxas rolled his eyes but did as he was told. Once the cab was away from the airport area, the driver made one hell of a U turn and got on the freeway. Sora, who had neglected to put on his belt almost flew to the front seat.
"Didn't I tell you to strap yerself in?" the driver snapped. Sora straightened himself and quickly attempted to put his seatbelt on. But sadly for him, the driver began changing lanes like if he was playing a video game while yelling obscenities at the other drivers. This caused Sora to once again nearly fly to the front seat.
"Sit down and put on yer goddamn SEATBELT!" the driver roared.
Sora fumbled a bit before finally hearing the 'click' of his seatbelt. Roxas knew that had asked to drive fast, but this was border lining on suicide since road rage was tame compared to this insanity.
After a few more batshit insane maneuvers from the driver, they ended off the freeway and into the crowded city streets. From their current location they could easily see the large electric blue guitar of House of Utada, and the waiting line outside was ridiculous. Roxas checked his cell; it had adjusted to the new time. It was 5:10pm. They had to hurry and get there before 6:30.
"Damn the streets are crowded!" Sora said as they neared House of Utada.
"Well what did ya expect? A ghost town?" The driver hissed.
"Riku, you get off here and tell them that we'll be there in a bit." Roxas said. "Sora and I will drop off the stuff and meet you there ASAP."
Riku nodded and opened his door and ran through the streets as fast as he could.
"HEY! YOU CAN'T DO THAT SHIT HERE!" the driver roared. "YOU HAVEN'T PAYED ME YET, YOU LITTLE SHIT!"
"Just keep driving, we'll pay for him!" Sora yelled.
After a few minutes they finally arrived at their apartment building and the two cousins got out of the cab and quickly started grabbing their stuff and running inside the building, the cab driver yelling at the top of his lungs every foul word known to mankind. The good thing was that their apartment was on the second floor, so they only needed to run up a flight of stairs. Roxas hastily unlocked their door as he and Sora unceremoniously dumped their bags and suit cases on the floor with resounding thuds. They ran back down stairs to the cab as the driver almost single handedly destroyed his driver door when he got out.
"Now you listen to me, you little shits!" He snarled. "I better get paid or I'm gonna rip you a new one!"
"We'll pay you, old man!" Roxas snapped. "We need you to drive us to the House of Utada and then I'll pay you!"
Sora, who had taken the last remaining bags back to the apartment, and came running back from the building huffing and wheezing.
"Did you lock the door?" Roxas hissed. The last thing they needed was for someone to steal their belongings.
Sora held out the keys from his pocket and nodded weakly. They both got inside the cab as the cranky driver got back behind the wheel. He revved up the cab pulled out into the streets like a chase scene from a movie and then the most psychotic corner turn ever. Roxas knew he should have feared for his life, but he would NOT miss this audition for Kingdom Hearts Records. Roxas's cell now had 5:40pm. It had seriously taken thirty minutes to get to their place and dump their stuff?
When they pulled up in front House of Utada, Sora leapt out of the cab, with Roxas right behind him.
"HEY!" the driver roared. "WHERE THE FUCKING HELL IS MY GODDAMN MONEY!"
Roxas growled loudly as he ran back to the driver's window and began tossing the driver various bills. He even didn't care if he threw in a $100 munny bill. Roxas turned back to the building and saw that Riku was talking to the security guard, the large man didn't look happy to say the least. Did this entire city have nothing but cranky workers?
Finally, the security guard gave the okay and let Sora and Roxas enter. Once inside the cool building Roxas and Sora caught their breath and laughed hysterically.
"I can't believe we made it!" Sora panted.
Riku smiled. "At least you had me to do the talking."
"Why didn't he let Sora in?" Roxas wheezed.
"Apparently, Barret, the guard, said that he wasn't gonna fall for the 'I have an appointment' line." Riku said. "He told me to go wait in line like everyone else."
"How did you convince him to let you in?" Roxas asked he attempted to fix his windswept spikes.
"I told him about Tifa and how it was her friend Aerith that got us the time slot secured." Riku grinned.
"I bet that shut him up!" Sora punched the air.
"Not really," Riku shook his head. "He pulled out his walkie-talkie and actually confirmed everything I had said. Thank god that Ms. Aerith hadn't left the premises yet and gave the order to let us in."
"Wow." The cousins echoed.
At that moment a young woman walked up to them. She was wearing a pink summer dress with a white-to-blue gradient underskirt, and strap on sandals. She had mesmerizing emerald green eyes, luscious lips and mahogany brown hair that was braided at the back and accented with a pink ribbon to complete the ensemble.
"Hello!" She said in a sweet and innocent angelic voice. "You must be that band Tifa spoke so highly about!"
Sora blushed. "Aw shucks, we're not that good."
"Oh?" The young woman smiled.
"Yes we are." Riku smiled confidently.
The young woman giggled. "Oh I didn't even introduce myself! I'm Aerith Gainsborough, nice to meet you all!"
"I'm Riku Gallagher."
"Roxas McCartney."
"Name's Sora Osment!"
She held out her hand as one by one, each band member shook her bracelet laden hand. "Okay now, just follow me so you can see where you'll be performing."
The guys followed Aerith down a hallway past a reception desk. When they entered the main room, their jaws dropped. This fully equipped stage was larger than the one in Seventh Heaven, that one was puny by comparison. Roxas looked around the room; there were a few other groups huddled around on the left side and only three people on the right side. Roxas figured that those were probably the soloists. He saw a tall guy with black spiky hair talking animatedly to a pair of blonds, a guy and a girl. The girl stuck out the most due to her orange dress, which contrasted with the dim lights of the room.
"This'll be your stage." Aerith pointed to the stage behind her. "As you can see, we're providing instruments just in case you need them." She noticed they guys avoided her gaze when she said that, and she giggled. "Just don't break them!"
At that moment the tall guy that had been talking with the two blonds came up to Aerith and wrapped an arm around her. "Hey guys! Welcome!"
Roxas suddenly took back what he had thought earlier about all the workers in Traverse Town being grumpy. This guy was just as excited looking as Sora!
"This is Zack, guys." Aerith smiled at the tall man beside her. "He's the other manager here besides me." Zack gave her a look and she giggled. "And he's also my fiancé."
"You guys co-own this place?" Sora smiled dreamily.
"Indeed we do!" Zack grinned proudly. "It's like our baby. Except no diapers need to be changed. And thank the gods too, because that would NOT be a pretty sight!"
The guys laughed as Aerith lightly slapped Zack's shoulder. "Anyways, Tifa told me you guys call yourselves 'The Keyblade Wielders', right?"
"Yes ma'am!" Sora replied enthusiastically.
Aerith giggled at him. "Okay, the representative for KH Records is already here, you just-"
"He's here?" Roxas scanned the room again. He still saw the two blond's on the right side of the room and the other group acts on the left. There a few other people wearing polos and slacks, so Roxas assumed that they were employees.
"He's in one of our other sound stages." Zack elaborated. "We decided to split the performances from music related to dance related."
"That way, there isn't a huge crowd when the time comes for the performances!" Aerith finished. "Anyways, if you guys would walk over to that room on the far left corner, you guys can gather your wits about and relax until it's your turn. Oh, and choose what song you'll be performing, you only get on chance! "
The guys did as they were suggested and sauntered their way over. The room seemed to scream 'rock star' at them, there was an edgy feel to the room by just looking on the furniture. Sora immediately plopped down on the first couch he saw. Riku laughed and sat on a single seat recliner just a few steps away from Sora. Roxas walked over to Sora and slapped away his cousins legs so that he could sit in the same couch.
"So, what song are we gonna perform?" Riku said as he laid against the couch looking at the ceiling.
"We need to impress them, that's for sure!" Sora chimed in.
"We'll do 'Disguise'." Roxas told them. The other two didn't look at him, but he knew they agreed with the choice. "We need to start with a strong song and finish with a bang! And this song has everything."
"Just to be sure, Riku is doing second vocals, right?" Sora looked a bit worried. Roxas knew that Sora had confidence issues when it came to singing.
"Yes, Sora, you can stick to doing back up." Riku smiled reassuringly.
Sora exhaled loudly before returning his attention to the abstract patterns on the ceiling. Roxas could feel the nervousness in the air, he looked at his cell and saw the time, 6:15pm.
"Fifteen minutes guys."
The other two exhaled and Roxas suddenly began to pray to any deity that might be up in the heavens for a blessing.
Naminé turned her head when she heard noises coming from the stage. She saw three guys with the most impractical hairstyles she had ever seen; one had wild spiky brown hair that went in every direction, the also had spiky hair but at least it looked like he attempted to style it, and the other guy, the one with silver hair, well he actually looked the most stylish of all three. His hair was long, his bangs covered the majority of his face, but it made him look very...dare she say it? Appealing.
The blond picked up the electric guitar and strummed a few notes before adjusting the strings to his liking. The silverette picked up the bass guitar and also strummed a few notes before he, too, changed them. The lively brunette sat behind the drum set and began spinning the drumsticks on between his fingers. Naminé looked back at the guitarist; she assumed he'd be the lead singer since he took the center mic. His eyes were colored a wonderful shade of blue, very reminiscent of the sky. His features were very handsome and although she couldn't figure out why staring at the blond caused her to blush. She was grateful that the room's lights were fading more to focus on the group up on the stage.
Miss Aerith, Mr. Zack's fiancé, walked up to the center mic, and cleared her throat addressing the small audience. "Are you guys ready?"
There several replies scattered throughout the room, Naminé giggled when the staff started pumping their fists in the air.
"Okay then! Let's give a warm welcome to...The Keyblade Wielders!"
All of the people in the room clapped as the guys shook of their nerves. The blond guy nodded to the brunette and the drummer clicked his drumsticks while shouting "One, two, three, four!"
Immediately the band began playing and even though Naminé wasn't familiar with this genre of music, she found herself bobbing her head to the music. Then the blond sang...
I don't mind your teasing, I would often encourage it. Your perfume, your lips and your body drive me insane. The sensations you cause in me are all I need to live.
You say you want to just pass the time, but baby that just won't do.
Something about you makes me crave you more and more, I feel so pathetic, how can a simple kiss drive me up a waaaaaaaaall?
Let me say that you won't be doing that, no I won't let you do that.
I'm not just gonna let you leave like that. You drive me insane with your little games, that I can barely take it anymore.
Even if you leave while I'm asleep, somehow, I'll find you.
Even if you leave to another country, I'll find you.
Even if you wear men's clothes as a disguise, I'll find you.
Naminé's jaw dropped, his voice was the most...sexy thing she had ever heard. But she was a bit concerned for the lyrics. The song was, despite the catchy tune, well, obsessive. She wondered if the lyrics were based on a real life experience, or if they were just lyrics to a deliciously catchy song. She looked around the room and saw that the other audience members were also moving in rhythm to the song.
I tried pretending that your soft little touches had no effect on me, I even ignored that voice inside my head telling me that I was falling for you.
You say that's it not like destiny has a red string tied around our pinkies, that you're free to do what ever you like.
This all had started as a game for you, but honey things just got serious.
I worry that I'll seem like some stalker, but darling just look at me.
I really did fall for you, for your words, for your loooooooove...
Let me say that you won't be leaving, no I can't let you leave.
I can't just let you slip through my fingers. You drove me insane with your little games, that I feel like some addict.
Even if you leave while I'm asleep, somehow, I'll find you.
Even if you leave to another country, I'll find you.
Even if you wear men's clothing as a disguise, I'll find you.
The guitar and bass lowered their pitch while the drummer cranked up the beat. Naminé was sure that everyone in the room at this point was going to have a hard time forgetting this song anytime soon. She looked around and noticed that a tall man wearing an expensive looking suit was smiling broadly at the group on the stage. Next to him was a slender and voluptuous woman wearing casual clothes, and did she have blue hair?
The sensation of the two of us under the sheets has been engraved into my whole being.
Just remembering that makes my lips tremble, and my body aches for you.
I could list everything that I love about you alphabetically.
All I'm saying to you is that the game is over, this is reaaaaaaaaaaaal.
Let me say that you're not going anywhere, unless I'm there with you.
I wouldn't be able to let you go. If your game of love is a drug, then consider me a junkie for it.
Wherever you hide, I'll find you.
Whichever country you live in, I'll find you.
Whatever disguise you wear, I'll find you.
You can't hide from me, I hate to be a stalker but this is what happens when you play such dangerous games!
You can wear any disguise, I'll know it's you.
The song reached it's end with several last beats of the drum. When the last hymns of the guitars died down, the entire room exploded with applause. The three guys straightened up and bowed to the small audience, as Miss Aerith walked back up to the stage.
"Wow, was that incredible!" She beamed. "One more round of applause for The Keyblade Wielders!"
The room once again went off like a thunder storm. The guys shook hands with Miss Aerith and waved back at the audience before leaving the stage and going into the lounge room. For some inexplicable reason, Naminé had the strongest urge to personally tell the guys that she loved every second of the song. Well maybe not the content of the lyrics, but she wouldn't mention that part. But the more she thought about that, the more she decided against it. After all, it would be a bit strange to have some random girl say that she loved your song.
Another group was now going up on stage to perform. After them, it would be Snow's turn.
The three of them flopped down on the large lounge couch, laughing their heads off.
"Holy shit!" Sora exclaimed. "That. Was. AWESOME!"
"Wow, I didn't realize how much of an adrenaline rush that could be." Riku exhaled. "Performing in Tifa's bar is nothing compared to this!"
Roxas laughed. "That was the best performance we've done!"
The door opened as the sounds of another band performing reached their ears. Aerith walked in with a tall, brown haired man walking behind her. He was wearing a very expensive-looking suit, his hair was mostly combed back, with some hair framing the sides of his face. He had a serious expression on his face, but not intimidating, he was a bit more taller than Riku. The three guys stood up from their seats and looked at Aerith.
"Guys, this Terra Dohring, he's the representative I told you about." She smiled at them.
"A pleasure to meet you." Terra grinned. Each guy introduced himself to Terra before the taller man clapped his hands. "Okay guys, I don't like run-arounds, so let's get to the point."
Roxas heard Sora gulping loudly, his own hands were getting clammy from the nerves. Please say we made it, please say we made it!
"You guys were phenomenal!" Terra exclaimed. "Truly fantastic! Your stage presence was so engaging, you got out there and cast a spell on the audience. I'm 100% sure that not one person out there wasn't moving along to the beat."
The guys looked at each other excitedly, this was better than they had hoped!
...but did that mean they would be signed? Roxas felt his heart beating so fast, he felt like everyone in the room could hear the noise.
"Guys, it's my privilege to welcome you to Kingdom Hearts Records."
Ta-dah! I finally got this done! Sorry it's so long, I just felt that if I made it two chapters it would be confusing. Anyways, I hope you liked it!
