Unattainable Desire

By Chiharu Tanaka


A/n: Thanks, you guys for all your wonderful reviews! XD The magazine Teen Pick is just something I made up. If it does exist, don't believe it – because I don't own it. Lol.

Disclaimer: (goes temporarily deaf)


Chapter 7: The Date


A white car - a new state of the art BMW 7 Series - cruised down the highways that night. Above them, the night sky was like a sea of black ink hovered with twinkling glitter called stars. The moon was out – nearly full but it still shone brightly nonetheless. As Riku fingered the leather steering wheel of the gorgeous 7 Series automobile, he couldn't help but feel so excited yet relaxed to drive in this wonderful car.

Yet, a small pang of uneasiness rested in his heart. He glanced once on the rearview mirror, watching as Naminé continued talking to Roxas, sitting side by side at the backseat. He clenched the steering wheel unnervingly, feeling himself grit his teeth and them making a weird rustling noise as he saw Roxas place an oh-so-friendly arm around her shoulders. Roxas flashed a brilliant smile of his to her. Embarrassed, she smiled back.

Riku averted his eyes and scratched his neck uneasily as he saw Roxas's blue eyes look at him through the mirror. He paid attention back to the road, praying that he could switch his ears off momentarily to block out their talking. Roxas turned back to the angel sitting beside him.

"Do you like spaghetti?" he asked nonchalantly. Naminé nodded, her blond hair swaying. She tucked a couple of locks behind her ear daintily.

"Oh yes, I love them," she said softly. Roxas's heart raced quickly as she bashfully looked the other way. He knew by the moment he saw her on the tabloids with Kairi Herrington, she was an angel. Perfect was barely a word to describe her. He continued researching about her since – and found out she was the sole heiress of the Castell estates.

Beautiful and rich. What else can I ask for?

The car slowed down as it wheeled into the front door of the Blue Palm, a famous restaurant that served pastas and other Italian as well as French food that knocked your socks off. Riku stopped the car and climbed out to open the door for the two passengers behind him, but Roxas beat him to it. Riku stood there, paused in his tracks and watched like a complete idiot as Roxas climbed out of the car and turned to help Naminé out. She took his hand, got out of the car and briefly turned to look at the dumbfounded Riku.

After they had walked inside the restaurant, a valet came up to Riku to park the car but the poor boy however, jumped backwards in fright as Riku slammed the door with brutal force before following them in pursuit.


"Champagne, sir?"

Riku looked up from looking at the menu to the waiter who was looking at him with a bottle of 1942 red champagne in his hand. Riku gulped.

The meal is already going to cost me half my salary this month...thank God Tidus's bonus can cover that up, and now you want me to have champagne? And from 1942 no less!

"No, thank you...I'm driving," he quickly said. The waiter just raised a knowing eyebrow and walked away. He peered at the menu again, eyes surfacing once in a few minutes to look at Roxas and Naminé who were seated a few tables across him.

Argh, if he was a brainless baboon...which he is anyway...I would have pounded him! Wait...hold up there Riku, ol' boy, what's gotten into you? Why are you so over- protective? Don't tell me you're...

"Would you like to place your order now, sir?" said another waiter who stopped at his table. Riku closed the menu and handed it back to the waiter, never leaving his eyes off them, specifically Naminé. He watched as she wiped the spaghetti sauce stain on Roxas's mouth.

Could it be...?

"One Set C, please," he said, with deep hatred, though gritted teeth.


Uptown Mirage at night – it seemed so familiar to Sora. After all, he was used to the darkness. It was his primary element for doing what he was best at – sneaking around. The guards were idiots – they didn't even see Sora come through the main gate dividing uptown and downtown Mirage. As he walked the brightly lit streets, he looked up at the beautiful night sky, reminiscing on just a few hours back...

"Sora...leaving so soon?" said Yuffie, holding back her tears.

"Don't worry guys...I'll be back as soon as I can. There's just something I want to find out about my parents, that's all," he had said to them.

"Here," said Cid, taking out his wallet and handing Sora a couple of paper notes. "It's not much, but it'll help. We're always here for you, m'boy, no matter what," said Cid, wiping away a tear. Sora smiled genuinely and took the money, before giving all of them a brotherly hug.

Mother...father...looks like fate wasn't so cruel to me after all. I still have a place I can call home; and people I can still call family, even though we aren't related by blood...

It had been hours since he had entered uptown. He stopped walking, entered a fast food restaurant and grabbed a burger and soda for himself. Curious stares were upon him as he ate silently in the corner of the café, but a simple glare from him left them to hurriedly mind their own business.

He left 15 minutes later, and began to trace the path of his childhood memories. He remembered the house that he and his parents used to live in. An hour later, he reached the said place. It was an English-style Victorian house that stood alone among the empty suburban streets somewhere in the northern outskirts of uptown Mirage. As he sat down on the stone steps, he sighed. Having walked all the way from downtown Mirage located at the south, through the capital center, and all the way up north, he was exhausted.

A few minutes later he got up from the steps and proceeded to the door. It was locked, obviously. He stood there, thinking back on his childhood memories.

"Honey...where did you leave the emergency keys?"

He was only eight or nine...and his father forgot his keys when he left the office hurriedly to pick Sora up from after school activities. "It's in the rose bush, dear," replied Sora's mother.

"The ROSE BUSH! Why did you put it THERE!" wailed Sora's father helplessly. On the other line, she chuckled.

"One, it's to make sure the robbers wouldn't want to try and find it there. Two, it's to teach forgetful people like you, dear, a lesson." Sora grinned. It worked, too – his father never forgot his keys ever again. Sighing, his father put down the phone and rolled up his sleeve, ready to take the plunge.

He emerged with his arm filled with scratches, but it wasn't so hard for him, after all he's Sora's father. Snapping out of his reverie, Sora peered down at the bushes and stuck his hand inside, looking for the key. Lucky enough – he did find the key, severed only with a few scratches.

Sora inserted the key into the keyhole, turned it, and opened the door. The house was completely dark – since it was quite run down already. Sora looked around the dusty living room, where most of the furniture were either gone or covered with white sheets. He took out his flashlight from the bag and peered ahead. Within this house carried many happy memories, as well as painful ones.

He proceeded up the stairs and walked over to the end of the hallway, where his parents' bedroom was. Slowly, he swung open the door and flashed the light around. Everything was still there as he had remembered. The family portrait hung on the wall beside the bookshelf. Everything else was covered in white sheets. Sora lifted the portrait and placed it on the bed. Behind it was a small iron-clad safe, with scratches and even explosion marks.

Somebody obviously tried to get something within this safe...but who? Why?

The combination lock was made up of 26 letters, from A to Z. There were four letters to be inserted, meaning from 26 to the power of four, there were roughly 500,000 possible combinations. Sora scratched his head. He just realized that his mother never gave him the actual combination that will unlock the safe.

He plopped down on the bed and sighed; looking at his mother's will and then looking at the portrait that laid down on the bed. He smoothed out the dust on the picture, and looked at his parents' faces staring back at him.

Reading the will once more, an idea struck him. He walked over to the safe and filled out four letters that the robbers would never have imagined.

L – O – V – E

The safe door swung open easily with a hearty tug.


Naminé smiled weakly as Roxas told her about his recent concert in Spain. Something felt very wrong about this date. It wasn't the date she had imagined at all, it was disastrous. For some odd reason, Roxas was really nice to her, but at the same time, she wasn't really comfortable with the way he was treating her. He was treating her as if she was some sort of angel that fell down from the sky.

"Roxas...did you ever regret becoming a celebrity?" she asked slowly, changing the subject whilst getting the thought out of her head.

"Well, not really...I get to meet a lot of interesting people...and I've always wanted to be a singer ever since I was little and all...so even though I may even have stalkers...I don't really regret making this decision," he said. Naminé nodded.

Strange...how he wanted to become a celebrity while Kairi and I were born celebrities...

The dinner ended as quickly as it had started, and soon enough Riku was taking her and Roxas home. Naminé stopped in her thoughts when she thought she saw Riku staring at her through the mirror. He was looking at the road.

Strange...he looks angry...I wonder why?

Naminé looked at him, her head titled slightly to the side. She wondered what happened that made him so angry, while completely ignoring Roxas. "So my manager was so angry at them...Naminé?" asked Roxas, waving a hand in front of her face. She snapped out of her thoughts and turned to Roxas.

"Oh, sorry...what were you saying?" she asked, surprised.

Roxas clicked his tongue, suddenly aware that she had been staring at Riku. He continued his story, but kept a glare towards the rear-view mirror of which Riku momentarily looked at. Pausing for a moment, he narrowed his eyes as he was sure he saw Naminé looking at him from time to time, and Riku looking at her as well through the rear-view mirror.

Okay, bodyguard...if that's how you play the game, then let the best man win.


Radiant, warm sunlight streaked through the window panes like a thin prism of light and hit Sora's sleeping face. He stirred slightly, turning around to look away from the light but found himself unable to sleep. He opened his eyes, flashing a pair of sky blue orbs. Slowly getting up, he took a stretch then scratched his spiky brown hair as he looked around the room. His eyes stopped at the portrait of his family that he had cleaned and hung up.

Good morning, father and mother...thank you for everything.

Now that it was daylight, he had a better view of the house. It was still in good shape - only minus was the condition of the dust that that had built up and the grass that had grown outside the house. Sora looked at the deed of the house that he held in his hands. It was one of the things left inside the safe, including a bank book, an ATM card, a set of keys and a piece of paper written by his father.

The sky is the sole key to the guarded door,

Only one knows where it is, and nobody else knows more;

If so happens the guardians shall die,

That will be the time the key shall come up and rise;

To unlock the door, guarded for the nation,

And to protect the treasure within for the future generation.

Sora scratched his forehead. What could the poem possibly mean? His father didn't seem like the type to write this kind of things, but he was certain that it was his father's scribble.

Whatever it is...it doesn't make any sense! What is this door? And why did Dad encrypt this secret into a poem like this? What exactly were Mom and Dad involved in?

Ever since he returned to search for his past, his life seemed to be more and more mysterious everyday. Sora sighed, giving up on the piece of paper. He pocketed it and went downstairs to look for a rag and a pail to start cleaning up the home that he had left for six years.


"How was the date?"

Naminé sighed unenthusiastically. "Truthfully, Kairi...it was kind of boring...Roxas isn't half as interesting as I thought he was."

"Just give him another chance, I mean he's practically every girl's dream guy! Any girl, except me of course, would have loved to be in your shoes," said Kairi on the other line.

"If you say so, Kai," said Naminé. "Anyway, I gotta go to bed now, I'm kinda tired."

"Okay, then, see you in the morning! Remember, we have tennis!" reminded Kairi, before clicking the 'off' button on her phone. She then paid attention to the wide-screen, high definition plasma TV in front of her and switched the channel to MTV.

"Hey, you're just in time to catch MTV's Artist of the Month - Twilight!" said the perky host who was sitting on an armchair. Seated on the sofa was a tall, lean guy with wavy blond hair and a green jacket. Beside him was a young girl with chest-length brown hair and green eyes. The guy sitting on the far right was rather short and plump, with dark brown hair covered with a bandana.

"Hello, world - we're Twilight, from the prosperous Mirage!" said the tall guy. The host cackled.

"Right you are, Hayner. These three - consisting of Hayner, the awesome guitarist," she said, referring to the blond. "Olette, the sweet female vocalist, and Pence, the cool drummer, are the skyrocketing trio who are rocking the current charts with their debut single that was released just a week ago - Sakura Kiss. Now, what inspired you to come up with this song? It's a real catchy beat, I love it!"

"Well," said Olette. "The inspiration came when we were thinking of something that suited the spring season of May, and since right now in Japan, Sakura blossoms are blooming everywhere, we wanted to give a strong feeling of first love with a captivating beat."

"Wow, interesting!" said the host. "Now, how did you three get to know each other?"

"We knew each other since junior high, actually," said Pence. "We used to...and we still do play instruments as well as compose our own songs. Personally, I think Sakura Kiss is one of our best. I might add a little bit of hip-hop into our future albums though," he added with a smirk. Hayner and Olette laughed with him.

"That's great! Also, we notice that your band as well as the famous teen singer Roxas Parker are all under one company - have you guys ever met before?"

"Well...not yet, but I expect that we shall meet him soon, after all, he's a fellow musician," said Hayner.

"Okay! Now, it's time for a break, but don't touch that remote because we are going to play you the music video of Twilight's first single - Sakura Kiss, before the commercials start!" Kairi tapped her chin lightly with her index finger as her head bopped along to the catchy music.

Maybe you're my love,

I wanna meet you now,

To give you my precious Sakura kiss,

In the cozy spring breeze,

Let's start a new romance!


Rather aggravated, Roxas pushed the "Off" button on the TV remote and looked out the window. He had been watching MTV for a while - and it was obvious - Twilight was topping the local music...as well as international music charts. Teeth gritted, he clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white. It was not looking good for his reputation.

Abruptly, his cell phone rang. He picked it up and answered the call. "Hello, Roxas's line," he said nonchalantly to the receiver.

"Roxas - what have you done THIS time!"

Roxas groaned slightly - that voice could only belong to his manager, Seifer. Even though they have their clashes, Seifer was actually a nice guy - he just didn't seem like the person who showed it. He was extremely strict when it came to Roxas's actions - and even put him under serious vocal and dance training, even though Roxas was already good at both. "The music industry isn't looking for just 'good'," he had told Roxas when he signed the contract. "You need to stand out - be like a star, you get what I mean? Guys like you won't last long if you don't shine."

Roxas owed the guy for taking him to the top of the music world, but now he wasn't in the mood to be grateful; his position as Mirage's best is being threatened, and so was his job. "What are you talking about, Seifer?" he asked back.

"Don't play dumb with me, Parker - Rai's just gave me a heads up from the gossip column of Mirage Times. The daughter of Erin Castell? How can you spoil your image now that your position is being threatened by those brats!" Roxas bit his lower lip, listening to Seifer's yell on the other line.

Damn it, the paparazzi must've tracked us...

"Are you listening to me, Roxas? I've worked hard to get you this far and I'm sure you have too - but thanks a lot, chicken wuss - for spoiling your own image. You're on your own for this one, don't come crying to me - you hear!" yelled Seifer for one last time before Roxas heard a loud slam from his office phone and the line went dead. Instantly he knew that he was in big trouble.

They're going to attack Naminé, those vicious sharks...


The rays of sunlight brightened the blue skies over Mirage the next day. Riku lazily got up from his bed and glanced over at the clock. It was eight in the morning, and with a loud groan, he raked through his silver hair with his hand, recalling what happened the night before.

After returning Roxas home the night before, Riku kept silent throughout the whole journey back to Naminé's penthouse. He could feel her bright blue eyes watching him as they took the elevator up to the top floor, but he kept stiff and averted his aquamarine eyes elsewhere. "Riku," she said, touching his arm as they entered the house. "Is there something wrong?"

He abruptly blinked once and turned to her. Her eyes glossed with concern, oh how he hated it when she looked at him that way. The same way she did when he rescued her from the clutches of the Organization. He could feel the worry in her angelic voice stab his heart; so he shook his arm off her grasp rather forcefully.

"It's...nothing. Good night," he said quickly, walking to his bedroom and closing the door behind him.

I should have not treated her like that...what the hell is going on with me? Wasn't Kairi the only girl I'm supposed to have affection for? Wasn't that the reason I became a bodyguard in the first place?

He sighed. Emotions were so confusing - so he stood up to get cleaned up. After showering and such, he stepped out the sanctuary of his bedroom and walked over to the kitchen where Naminé was making French toast. "Good morning, Riku," she greeted with her everlasting warm smile. He smiled back, rather crookedly.

"Mornin'," he said, pouring himself a glass of milk. He then took a piece of the toast and walked over to the living room to watch some TV. Flipping through channels without much interest, he caught some of topics discussed by the morning news - like the continuing investigation on Kairi's kidnappers and an earthquake in Japan. He changed the channel to MTV and looked at the flat plasma screen wide-eyed when he read the headline of the morning's gossip column.

Roxas Parker is occupied!

"Recent photos from yesterday night showed that our very own Roxas Parker is dating a mysterious blond haired girl - we've confirmed her to be the daughter of the rich real-estate tycoon Erin Castell - Naminé Castell! Wow, I had no idea Roxas had a thing for extremely rich girls," said the quirky female host. Riku - who was in utter shock spitted out the milk that he was drinking.

"What's wrong?" asked Naminé, hurrying into the living room after she heard Riku choking loudly. He pointed to the TV screen, gasping for air.

"Those...damn...paparazzi..." he choked out, looking up at her. He stood up and grabbed the phone and contacted the security guard at the front gate. "Don't let anyone suspicious in - orders from Miss Castell, you hear!" he yelled.

"Yes, sir!" said the guard, awaken suddenly from his nap. Riku slammed the phone and looked at Naminé - she was staring rather worriedly at him. He bared his teeth, growling like a tiger as he looked over at the French windows.

"Damn that Parker...look at what he's gotten you in, the paparazzi are never going to leave you alone now."


To be continued...


Author's Note: Argh yes, I am finished! The exams are over and I'm in my 2-week holiday (yay) and gonna try and update whatever as much as I can. Yes, the song Sakura Kiss doesn't not belong to me, it belongs to Chieko Kawabe (I love that awesome song). And yes, I have been reading too much The Da Vinci Code. Expect some Sokairi, Namiku, Namixas and Roxette in the next chapters!