. Chapter 9 .

. The 'S' Word .

A/N: Before this chapter starts, I want everyone to take a deep breath. I know it's suprising to find out that Roxas and Namine are siblings, but don't let it bring you down! Things will get better, I promise!


Siblings.

That word was currently dancing around Roxas' head, and was becoming a very hated word in his vocabulary. He and Namine were... related? Blood-related? Brother and sister? Siblings?

Gah! There's that haunted word again. "You lie." Roxas bagen backing away slowly from his father. Cloud shook his head, "The cold, hard truth." His blue eyes widened, "I-I... I don't believe you." His dad sighed, and found a long wooden stick eing thrown his way. He caught it with ease and found Roxas' with a similar stick in hand.

"You're going to fight me?" Cloud asked receiving a nod. He remembered telling Roxas that when in doubt, always fight for what you believe in. I guess he took it the wrong way... Cloud smirked, and let his son make the first move. Roxas aimed for a precise hit to Cloud's pressure point in the arm, but he easily dodged it.

One would notice that their fighting moves and stances weren't normal. Each hit was precise, each move was like a complicated dance. It was very rythmic to the naked eye. "So, tell me," Roxas spoke during battle, "Why didn't you... ngh! Tell me... y-you... ugh, had... another... child?!"

"Why..." Cloud continued, "Don't.. guh, we... sort... things, ngh! Out... this... evening?!" A final blow to Roxas' chest sent him flying down. Cloud clutched his right arm and held out a hand to his son, "You've gotten better, Roxas."

Roxas ignored his outstretched hand and walked up the hill that led back to the campus.

-

Everyone sat down and drank their tea in peace, until they noticed the dark aura coming from Roxas. His eyes were covered by his bangs, and he played with the fork on the delicate china. "Roxas." Namine looked concerned; but more so she felt awkward around Roxas.

She had never thought about it, but once her father arrived, she had realized her and Roxas were related. "D-Dont... talk... to me." Roxas replied, receiving a light nudge from his mother. "Roxas, don't be rude." Sora examined his brother's face; he was very upset.

"Eat something, Strife." Zexion suggested, taking a small bite out of his chocolate cake. Roxas shook his head and stood up, "I'm not hungry." He looked over at his father, "I'll be waiting for you outside." He spat, leaving the dining room.

"I wonder what's happened to my dear cousin." Riku wondered and took a sip out of his teacup. Xion and Yuffie shrugged while Kairi looked at Namine. Namine looked up at Kairi and nodded, knowing what went through her mind. "Mr. Strife...erm... dad," Kairi stammered as everyone gasped.

"No way." Terra gasped, placing a hand over his mouth. "Yes?" Cloud asked, not minding the attention that was drawn towards him. "May we join your talk with Roxas?" Namine continued, receiving a nod from him.

"We'll go too." Aerith smiled, referring to her and Sora. Everyone else decided not to butt in; this was family business.

Roxas sat on a chair inide the gazebo that rested under the stars. The garden was truly magnificent at night. There were lights both dim and bright that surrounded the area. They were placed in an orderly fashion that made it seem neat and organized. It looked like something you would see in a fairy tale.

Roxas' head was slammed on the small table, both hands drooped that nearly touched the floor. Cloud stepped outside with Aerith, Sora, Kairi and Namine behind him. They all took the remaining seats in the gazebo-- silence fell upon them. "Where do we begin?" Cloud sighed.

"From the beginning, please." Roxas groaned, placing an arm over his head. "Well, about eighteen years ago," Aerith began, "Cloud had fallen in love with a woman named Tifa Lockhart. She was a famous musician as you all know; a genius with the fill harmonic. She was also an excellent fighter, both emotional and physical. Cloud married her, and a month later Tifa was pregnant with what is now Namine."

"Then... they adopted me?" Kairi asked, receiving a nod from Cloud. "Yeah, about five years later we adopted you."

"Tifa never knew that during the same time that she was pregnant, I was pregnant too with Roxas." Sora's mouth dropped open, "Two girls? Really dad?" He sent Sora a dirty look then shrugged it off. "Anyway... Tifa somehow found out that Cloud had cheated on her when Kairi and Namine were both six years old."

"Tifa was outraged..." Kairi hung her head down. "All those times she thought Cloud was busy at work... he was really with Aerith and Roxas."

"Must've been hard to raise kids from different families." Sora wolf-whistled. "And where do I fit in... in this story?"

"I adopted you, around the same time Cloud adopted Kairi." Aerith replied. "Don't worry, you and Kairi are nowhere related." Sora raised a brow, "What's that supposed to mean?" She giggled, "Nothing sweetie."

"Moving on." Roxas interupted. Namine stopped Cloud from continuing, "You told me Aerith adopted Sora before you met." Cloud nodded, "Yeah, Aerith made a deal with Sora's mom. She agreed to take her as her own son, since Sora's mother knew she was going to... um, well... die."

"I wasn't ready to take him as a baby. So his mom left him in an orphanage until he was old enough for me to handle."

"What happened after Tifa found out Cloud cheated on her?" Roxas asked, slightly feeling better. "She wanted a divorce." Cloud replied, "After we were seperated, I spent the rest of my life with Aerith, Sora and you. But... Tifa... I never knew she..."

"She commited suicide." Namine bit her lip; Kairi decided to take over. "She was able to take care of us until we were both sixteen, until she finally decided she couldn't handle it. She said that without your love... she had no real inspiration for music. So she... ended her life and we were forced into another orphanage. We stayed there for a couple of months, until Tifa's left over funds were given to us. We had tons of money and decided to attend Ultima High, hoping no one would find out about our past life."

"No luck there." Namine sunk low in her seat. Everyone was silent for a few minutes, until Roxas decided to speak up.

"So... you're my dad... and you're... Namine's dad?" Roxas asked shyly. "You're half siblings. You have the same father." Aerith scratched the beack of her head, forcing a smile. Cloud placed an arm around Aerith's waist, "But.. to be honest, I loved Tifa very much. It's just... Aerith... she was always so forgiving, so beautiful, and I couldn't leave her and-"

"Please. Save us the drama." Roxas interupted once again, leaning back in his chair. "So. Um. Bottom line... Namine and Kairi are... my sisters?"

"No." Kairi giggled; seeing Roxas so confused amused her. "Sora and I are adopted children. You're not blood related to me, you're not blood related to Sora." Roxas nodded, "OHH. I think I get it now... so, that means... dad? Two girls? Really?"

Cloud sweat dropped and cracked his knuckles. Roxas still looked slightly stunned which Aerith noticed. "Roxas, if you'd like proof, I'll order you your birth certificate, and Namine's." Roxas nodded, "Yes I'd like that mommy." Roxas smiled like a sweet baby that had just gotten his pacifier. Then he blushed, "So... we're... siblings, huh?"

"I'm sorry, I guess some things... really are better left unsaid, brother." Namine laughed at Roxas' face. "Please don't call me that." He pleaded.

"Aww, now everything is sorted out. why don't you both hug it out?" Sora teased, receiving a death glare from his brother. Namine stretched her arms out, and he didn't want to reject her so he pulled her close to him, glaring at his brother at the same time.

Sora slapped his forehead and laughed as hard as he could as Roxas flipped him off. Aerith and Cloud laughed at their antics, obviously not noticing Roxas' unfriendly gesture. "I'd say he took that rather well." Cloud smiled, pulling his wife closer.


About a week later, Roxas began to feel even more awkward around his sister. Namine, on the other hand, didn't mind. In fact, she seemed happier. Ever since Cloud and Aerith left, she felt more calm and peaceful. Kairi still seemed a tad depressed, but she got better everyday.

Until this morning. Kairi awoke to the sound of her cell phone alarm for the first time. She had been using her alarm clock in her room, but this time, she had used her phone.

'Come on, rise and shine ladies! Wake up! Waaake up!' Kairi gasped; it was Selphie's voice. She hadn't seen her for two weeks! She had been busy with Organization duties for two whole weeks! She didn't attend her classes, or worked at the pizzeria, for she was excused until she finished her jobs. Kairi sighed and hit her head against the wall.

What kind fo friend was she? Not keeping on contact with them for two weeks... they probably wouldn't talk to her. Kairi sighed and grabbed a towel from her chair, heading for the bathroom in the hallway. She bumped into Namine on the way out, rubbing her eyes.

"Oh, Kairi, good morning." She smiled, until she noticed the sadistic look on her sister's face. "What's wrong?"

Kairi played her cell phone alarm ring tone. Namine nodded, "It's been awhile since we've seen them huh?" Kairi leaned against the wall, "Do you think they'll forgive us if we see them again?"

Namine tapped her chin. "Maybe... we should do something nice for them, you know?" Kairi nodded, "That's good... but what will we do?" Namine snapped her fingers, "I've got an idea."

-

"Why do they call it Minute Maid... when it takes two minutes? The ice melts, and juice is formed... in the span of two minutes. So ask yourself, why do they call it minute maid?"

"Boo!" Hayner yelled as he threw a piece of paper towards Tidus. "That was the worst poem ever!" Yuna giggled, "No offense Tidy-Widy but that was terrible."

"Oh great, I'm named after underwear." Tidus sweatdropped and balanced himself on the fountain's edge ont he quad. Selphie sat on a nearby bench, starin at the ground. Olette sat next to her, licking on her sea-salt ice cream. She placed a hand on Selphie's shoulder and handed her another ice cream bar.

"Do you think they'll be back?"Selphie asked, taking her ice cream. "Of course, didn't you hear Xion and Yuffie? They said, well, Xion wrote, that Namine and Kairi are almost finished with their starting duties." Selphie nodded, "But... do you think they forgot about us? I mean-"

Selphie was cut off by a backpack being thrown at her. "What the-" Selphie looked up to find all of ehr friends equipped with the same backpacks. In front of everyone was Kairi and Namine, dressed as if they were going camping. Everyone grinned, they knew what those sisters were up to.

"Everyone ready to do some cave hunting?"


Aww, isn't that sweet? It's almost time to hunt for the cave! Don't remember what I'm talking about? Go to the first chapter! Anyway, wow. Thank you for everyone who reviewed! I see you're all surprised about the Namixas thing xD. But don't fret, things will get way better. Just stay with me here!

Anyway, replying to reviews time!

Brittney: Why thank you, that's very sweet ^_^

Xxemogirl94xX: It's okay, I'm weird too! =P

KHgatomon3444: Is it really out of the picture?? -insert mysterious music here-

DRAGONFIRE563: Please do keep reading !

Tayt63: I know huh? That totally got everyone :D

rikku247: I'm wondering where i'm going with this too haha.

Chipmunk4ever: Because I'm awesome =P But don't worry, I promise you things will get better. I support Namixas and SoKai as well!

Anyway, I'm going to go take a nap. For once I updated at a normal time, instead of the middle of the night xD Please keep reviewing, and I love you all! I greatly appreciate your support!

-Kyorii