[08] Hearing

...ki...

It was that weird dream again. The one where I picked up that giant key. I reached up with my hand, brushing my fingers against something just out of reach.

Naoki...

I opened my eyes slightly and glanced around. Rather than darkness, I saw a window with light streaming through.

...ke up, Naoki!

Rather than floating down on nothingness, I felt fabric on my bare legs and springs supporting my back.

..or the...f god, Nao...!

And rather than the tranquil hum of a disembodied voice calling my name softly, there was banging and shouting.

"We're eating without you, Naoki!"

My eyes snapped open as the knocking stopped, and I jerked upright. My head smacked against the lamp I was just groping, a high-pitched yelp sending me back onto my back to rub my soon-to-bruise forehead.

Once I was over my rather rude awakening, sheets were thrown off, day clothes thrown on, and I was soon racing through the house to the kitchen.

"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" I semi-shouted, hopping around as I attempted to put on both shoes at the same time and slip my bag strap over my head. My mother simply sighed and set a small container of oatmeal on the counter, which I grabbed and stuffed into the bag.

"That's a surprise," my dad playfully remarked, though he didn't look up from the notebook open before him. I darted for the door, only to poke my head back in a moment later to shout a hasty 'bye, love you' before taking off into the street on my bike.

I'd found a small part-time job, if you could call it that, helping our little post office deliver letters. They said something like helping the neighborhood kids get 'work experience', but really it was probably just for cheap labor since kids would be happy using a few munny just to buy ice cream and sweets. I, on the other hand, had a plan. If we were going to get out of this town, we needed the munny. I already had a little bit saved, obviously, but occasionally that ice cream addiction got the better of me, so it wasn't as much as it should've been.

Even before we found Kaito a couple years ago, Miyako wanted to leave. I always thought it was from what happened with her father, but she never mentioned it in her reasoning. Not that she really explained her reasoning. She wanted to leave and I wanted an adventure.

After Kaito showed up, he would describe features of a place we had never seen, though he wasn't sure where it was either. That's really what stirred up our wanderlust, though I didn't exactly want to go to another little island surrounded by water as he described it. But that was the foothold we needed, confirming that there were places besides Twilight Town in this god-forsaken world.

Miyako began to change after we met Kaito. As he told stories of a sea of green, she grew more and more insistent on leaving. The only thing that didn't change...was Kaito. She never mentioned him in our 'escape plan'. And now that she's actually gone and made a raft without saying anything to either of us, and only showing me when Kaito wasn't there, I worried. I had known it all along and didn't want to believe it. Miyako didn't like Kaito, and there was nothing I knew or could do about it.

"Naoki!" Again with shouting my name, but this time rather than a head-lamp collision, it was almost bike-person. I felt the wind halt to my left as I flew past Hayner and his group, who all walked side-by-side so really the only person in danger of being hit was the unlucky duck walking on the far right of the group, Roxas. Reflexively, I had still slammed back on my pedals, back wheel skidding around at the sudden friction and leaving a black streak across the cobblestone street.

When I looked back up, Hayner, Pence, and Olette were standing around a fallen Roxas, all stunned from his near-death situation. Horror filled my mind as it dawned on me that I almost was the criminal in a hit-and-run. I leapt off my bike and ran back up the sloped road with it at my side. Everyone was slowly coming down from their slow-motion replay of events, yet Roxas still sat on the ground, probably replaying his life as he almost died. Or was at least almost severely injured. Dropping my bike rather than using the kickstand, I held out my hand to the fallen boy.

"S-sorry 'bout that," I stammered, only realizing now that I had been holding my breath. Roxas stared at my hand for a moment, still dazed, until Hayner and Pence pulled him to his feet. My untouched hand fell back to my side. It seemed then that the silence was broken.

"Roxas, are you alright?" Olette asked, a bit delayed but better than never, I guess. The boy nodded, finding his words again.

"Yeah, I'm fine. That was close, though," he commented, laughing slightly as he rubbed the back of his neck. Hayner grabbed him around the shoulder and started shaking him violently, surely to injure him if he wasn't already.

"Dude, you almost died there!" He seemed more excited about the scenario than actually concerned for his friend.

"Yeah, it was like zoom! and then waahh! And we were all just like woahhhh," Pence threw in some helpful commentary from the group's point of view, deepening my guilt for my careless biking. Figuring I was about chopped liver at this point, I picked my bike back up to prepare my departure.

"Sorry again. See ya guys." I waved slightly, receiving half-hearted farewells as I wheeled my bike around and swung one leg over the seat. As I was about to kick off, Roxas stopped me.

"Wait, Naoki, can I talk to you really quick?" I looked over as he came to stand beside me, his friends continuing on their previous walk with confused whispers and glances. I was equally confused, if not more, as I had never actually had a conversation with the blond boy. He was just a kid from school, and even my recollection of that was pretty hazy. Like he wasn't always there.

"Er, I have to get to work, but we can walk and talk," I suggested, ignoring the fact that I was already running late before the run-in. Curiosity killed the cat, y'know, but I was still determined to make it to my part-time job. Roxas looked as if he was debating momentarily, but nodded in agreement.

We walked in awkward silence for a few minutes, like he wasn't actually sure what he wanted to say. Of course, I didn't know what to say either since I had no idea what he wanted with me.

"I saw you at the mansion," he finally said. His tone was a bit indescribable. Not quite accusatory, and just a little hint of confusion. I gave him a quizzical look. I had only been to the mansion once, that time when Kaito saw the figure in the window. But Roxas wasn't there, so how could he have seen me there?

"Yeah, I went with Miyako and Kaito the other day. We were gonna write our research paper on it. Or, more specifically, the ghost inside," I replied. Roxas shook his head. I thought he was going to disapprove of us copying their topic for the paper.

"No, I saw you inside the mansion. I wanted to ask about the girl with you. In the white room." I began to wonder if I really had hit him. Or was he this crazy before?

"I never went inside. The gate's locked."

But he went in, supposedly. And he saw at least two people, apparently. Or he was just delusional. My statement seemed to stump him. Only momentarily, though, as he soon stepped in front of my bike and grabbed the handlebars, bringing me to a sudden halt.

"Come with me," he demanded, locking eyes with me. This kid was dead serious. And I was still a dead cat that may as well skip work at this point of tardiness.

I left my bike chained to a lamppost on a side street while Roxas and I headed toward the hole in the wall and the forest beyond. The walk to the mansion felt shorter than ever, anticipation gnawing deep inside. As the two of us approached the very obviously locked gate, Roxas picked up and arm-length stick and stood before the giant lock. Maybe this kid really was a bit insane, and that's why I had a hard time remembering him.

"Roxas...that's a stick..." I remarked hesitantly. He glanced over at me, and for a moment I thought I saw his face twist like he was remembering a painful memory. But it was fleeting as he looked back to the gate and lifted the stick in both hands to point at the lock.

The air prickled around us and I held my breath, knowing something would happen, but not sure what. A few silent moments passed, which turned into a minute of us standing and staring expectantly at the still-locked gate. Roxas exhaled in frustration and mumbled, dropping his raised arms.

"It worked last time."

I sighed. I knew this feeling, and I knew what he was trying to do. But what was he trying to do? It was odd, something I couldn't explain, but I knew.

"Lemme see," I said, reaching for the stick. He complied without question, handing over the object and taking a step to the side. I stood before the gate and let out a determined huff, holding up the stick in my right hand. I stared into the abyss of the seriously over-sized lock before closing my eyes.

And like in my dream, I reached out not with my physical hand, but mentally. Grasping in the dark for something. When my 'fingers' brushed against something, I didn't stop. I latched on, and as soon as I did, the weight in my palm multiplied. Opening my eyes revealed what I had only seen once in the dream: a giant silver key.

Except it was real this time.

"Naoki..." Roxas mumbled in amazement, but also with a tinge of hurt. I was amazed, as well, as I turned the key over in my hand, inspecting it. It was a forgotten dream to me just this morning, and honestly I wondered if I was still sleeping.

"Woah," was all I could finally say. Roxas snapped out of the trance first, pointing at the lock.

"Now try unlocking it," he instructed. I shrugged slightly and pointed the key at the lock. May as well, right? Almost instantly, a ball of light formed at the tip of the key, shooting into the depth of the keyhole. The lock began to glow and, soon enough, faded away. The light vanished and the gate creaked open. Without another word, the boy that brought me out here in the first place stepped forward to enter the forbidden grounds. I looked down at my hand, only to see that the key had been replaced with the stick once again. Feeling a slight attachment to it now, I twisted it into the strap of my bag and followed Roxas.

The mansion was a lot creepier up close. Inside, everything seemed to be broken and covered in dust, but you could pick out very obvious paths around rubbish piles as if someone lived there but would rather cope with the mess than actually clean it. It reminded me of my own room, except my paths were less noticeable and I still tripped over piles of magazines every other day.

I, never having been inside an abandoned anything, wanted to sate my curiosity by looking around, but Roxas was already making his way to a staircase on the left. Not wanting to be left behind, I hurried after him as he ascended to the second floor. There was a room around the corner at the top, the door slightly ajar to show a glowing white room compared to the gloomy ruin of the surrounding hallway. As we approached there was a voice. It sounded like a one-sided conversation until we were standing in the doorway, then you could barely make out a mummer in the silence.

Roxas pushed open the door, and we were met by two pairs of icy blue eyes. At one end of a long dining table sat a small blonde girl in a plain white sundress, a sketchbook and pastels scattered across the table in front of her. At the other end was what looked like a ghost, yet that wasn't the most chilling part. I felt like I was looking into a heavily filtered mirror. Everything about her was some shade of blue, but her features very closely resembled mine on first glance. But I blinked, and she was gone. I stared at the chair she had been sitting in, mouth opening to speak, yet no words came out. Roxas, on the other hand, didn't appear to notice her at all as he focused on the more tangible-looking of the people.

The girl wasn't surprised to see us, or at least she didn't show it. In fact, she smiled like she was expecting us. Or just expecting Roxas, as she paid me no mind.

"Roxas," she said, standing from her chair. "You're back." Her smile wasn't one of greeting, though.

I turned and ran back out of the room. That girl, Namine, she talked like she knew too much. I didn't want to hear it. I didn't want anything to do with this anymore. I wasn't even a part to begin with. Roxas just dragged me along in his delusion. If I left now, I could pretend nothing happened. I could pretend I never saw that 'keyblade'. Pretend it was all a dream. I stopped and grabbed the banister at the top of the stairs.

Truth was, I didn't want to leave. It was like the adventure I was seeking, like what me and Miyako fantasized about. It could get us out of this town, even. I wondered what Miyako would think of it.

The front door of the mansion creaked open, signaling someone's entrance. I flinched, preparing to hide, but then blinked a couple times. Maybe, quite possibly, I had been the crazy one all along.

"Miyako?"