Author's Note: Retarded site wouldn't upload the document yesterday but that's not the point. So...do YOU know how to TANGO? Great, now I got to go fix the outline I set up for this story…okay, back. So I decided I need something to get my creative juices going so I can get more of AWIA done, some of my other stuff done, and finish up this one damn Roxiri fanart that's taking ages. I shall update this story twice this week. Happy? I hope so. Enjoy!
Copyrights: The characters, settings, and back story belong to Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline is mine as well as some new faces that will be showing up from here on. Guess who!
A Walk In Andante
9 – In the Open Shadows
They had been waiting at the Freaky Planet for close to five hours but Hayner still hadn't come back yet. Five hours! Where was Hayner? How could he ever get lost wandering around Twilight Town? Hayner lost? That was too ridiculous to even consider thinking about!
"How hard is it to find them?" Pence grumbled through his second virgin margarita. He poked at his drink while Olette sat thinking, her hands clasped around the tall iced coffee. They were at the bar in the Freaky Planet, away from the people dancing to a tango piece.
"Roxas knows as much about Twilight Town as Hayner," Olette decided to say. "Probably hiding from him or something…"
Pence nodded, then took a long sip. He pulled away from the neon green straw and grimaced. "I hate brain freeze."
"That's why you don't drink so much so fast, you idiot," Olette said quite calmly. "Tango?"
"No! Of course not!" the black-haired boy retorted. "You mad, woman? I ain't doing tango with anyone! That dance is too-too-too sexual!"
Olette snorted. That was hard to believe, coming from Pence. She then tapped at the edge of the tall tinted glass with her chin, thinking a bit. Then it came to her that she could teach someone how to tango. Namely…Kairi.
"Let's teach Kairi how to tango," Olette blurted out happily. "Then we'll take her to a dance club, like I said we should have days ago."
"What, tango with you?" he asked. "I thought men tangoed with women and vice versa, not women and women-"
"Bigot," she snorted and took another sip. "Let's teach Kairi how to tango. And then you and Roxas and Hayner."
"WHAT!" Pence yelled. "I am not going to tango!"
"No, no, no," Olette said with a shake of her head. "You don't need to dance in public. I just want you to learn so that you can help me teach Roxas. And then all four of us can gang up on Hayner, you know…"
Something truly evil flashed in her green eyes. And Pence grinned.
"I like what you're thinking," he said with a smug smile. "I ought to record the whole thing."
"Yeah, and then…" Olette was thinking about forcing Roxas and Kairi to tango – she thought they really were cute together, despite the fact that Sora was very much alive and well acquainted with most of them – but then that thought just melted away.
"And then what?"
Olette didn't answer. She was staring into her glass of light cinnamon brown liquid, her eyes strangely vacant. Pence sighed. Not again! Not one of those weird episodes Olette had been having lately! That girl would just drift off and start daydreaming about that stupid drawing in the middle of anything, anywhere, whenever, wherever!
"It's that drawing, isn't it?" he demanded with a scowl. It had to be. There was nothing else he knew of that would shut Olette up like that.
The brunette shook her head, finally seemed to become aware of him. "No…just thinking."
"About the drawing."
"No, not the drawing."
"Then what?"
"…everything else."
"What does that mean?"
Olette sighed, then said, "I feel something's wrong. Something's not right…but I don't know what it is. Don't you feel it?"
Pence shrugged. "I don't know. I don't feel anything."
"That's because you're thickheaded," Olette muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing, Pence. Calm down."
He glared at her but she ignored the look. "Where's Hayner? It's been more than five hours, nearly six hours, and he's still not here? Where did he go?"
"He might have already known of your evil plan to teach him so maybe he just ditched us for the day," Pence suggested.
"In that case, let's go after him," Olette decided. "No use waiting around for him to show-Hayner!"
She waved wildly at the entrance, where a familiar blond teenager appeared.
Hayner headed towards them quickly, his face contorted in worry and frustration.
"Did you find them?" Olette asked as he sat down at the bar.
"I would've if I remembered where the arena was," he scowled. "I was headed for the arena, I'm sure, and suddenly I forgot where it was. How does that happen?"
"You forgot where the Struggle Tournament arena is?" Pence demanded in disbelief. "My god!"
"And you'd better believe it!" Hayner snapped back. He banged his head against the counter. "I don't know what's wrong with me…"
"You're not alone," Pence hissed loudly. "Olette's daydreaming about that drawing that weird girl let her have. Again."
"I heard that!"
"What, that Naminé girl?" Hayner questioned, raising his head immediately. His brown eyes sparked with interest. "That drawing?"
"Yeah, the one Olette's been obsessed with since forever," Pence confirmed. "I mean, that person's not even real-"
"Is, too!" Olette barked, then drained her glass of the iced coffee while Hayner and Pence stared at her.
"Do I want to hear about this?" Hayner asked Pence quietly.
The black-haired boy shook his head. "Save your sanity, Hayner. Use it to find them. Let's go."
''
It was the cool breeze that woke her up. She was sure of it. It was a chilly touch, waking her out of the strange dream she was living in. She stirred slightly, kept her eyes tightly shut, as she tried to sink back into the blissful safety of dreams. She wouldn't mind sleeping forever.
She felt a slight pressure on the left side of her face, a warm touch tracing her jaw line, a soft caress that left her feeling so much safer than she could ever be. The world seemed right; no danger, no fear, no anger, no lies, no despair, they all seemed to melt away in the cocoon of warmth.
She shifted again, pressing the right side of her face against heated fabric. The air seemed to be cooling; she didn't like it and continued pressing against the warmth surrounding her. And then she heard him.
"Hey…you awake?"
Don't worry. I'm here.
The same voice. And suddenly the vividness of the dream came rushing back to her, the flurry of doves, the eerie stained glass, the arms of darkness…
"…don't…" she whispered, felt the fear again. "…don't leave me…not again…please…"
She didn't know whom she was addressing. Maybe she didn't have to know.
A warm, firm touch caressed her cheek, calming the fear inside her heart.
"I'm not going to leave you."
I'll always be by your side.
Who was it? Sora or Roxas? She didn't know. She was afraid to know. But she had to find out.
"Sora?" she whispered. But as soon as the name slipped through her mouth she knew she was wrong.
"No…it's Roxas."
Roxas…not Sora. Roxas. It's you. Always…you. I haven't thought of it before but it's true. It seems like it wherever I go…you're there. Always there. How strange is that? We haven't known each other for that long…but it feels like I've known you forever. Forever…
"…okay…" she whispered with a tired smile.
"Kairi," she heard him say, "Kairi, get up. It's been hours. We should go."
Hours? Go where? From where?
"C'mon, Kairi. Time to get up."
She felt him sliding his arms around her, pulling her up into a sitting position. She swayed at the lightheadedness and he pulled her against his shoulder. She leaned against him, waited until the dizziness faded, then opened her eyes.
The sky was noticeably darker and all the street lamps were glowing in a rosy yellow light. Down one of the pathways to the arena, she could see people walking past on the sidewalk. There weren't a lot of people out.
"Evening," Roxas murmured. "Where do you want to go?"
"What?" She didn't get it.
"Well, we have to eat something, you know," he explained patiently. "There's an area in the shopping district, actually…there's a lot of cafes in that area. You wanna go?"
She shrugged. "I dunno…"
When he looked at her in puzzlement, she smiled cheerfully and stated, "I think I'm too lazy to move."
He laughed. She pulled away in surprise, watched him as he tried to smother it and fail. She had never expected him to laugh, couldn't have even imagined him laughing. Well, he did now and then but this time…it just seemed different.
She smiled. She loved his laughter.
After some time passed, they were still sitting there inside the arena, looking off into nowhere. They were silent. Kairi didn't feel like she had to say anything. She felt like she never had to say anything, because he would understand, no matter what.
He finally rose to his feet. He brushed at his pants, then turned to her and held out his hand. She didn't hesitate before taking it and letting him help her stand as well. Roxas didn't let go, though. He started pulling her towards the street, where there were people still walking.
"Where are we going?" she asked curiously.
"If we don't run into them, the shopping district. If we do run into them, I have no…idea…"
He came to a stop at the Tram Plaza. "Well…no point turning back now, is there?"
She could see them across the plaza from them. Hayner and Olette appeared to be bickering over something, while Pence dashed here and there, peering at windows of the local stores and at one of the announcement boards placed at random throughout the plaza. She hoped he wasn't the first to see them.
"Hey, Sakusen, get back here!"
Someone bolted from right behind her and Kairi jumped into Roxas as a teenager dashed towards the middle of the Tram Plaza. The next thing she knew, two more teenagers ran past her, intent on catching the first one, the one up ahead.
"Hurry up, Reino!" somebody yelled, then Pence yelled as the first teenager didn't make a quick enough turn and ran into him. The teenager, a boy about her age, leaped to his feet and kept running. Pence sat up and yelled after him, shaking a fist in his direction.
"Get back here, you great-dirty-great-stupid-bastard!"
She could hear Olette laughing as someone else – this 'Reino', perhaps? – said, "He's getting away, Kitsuna!"
"You think I don't know that, you great son of a…"
Normalcy slowly returned to the Tram Plaza as the onlookers looked at each other, shrugged, and continued about with their business. Hayner and Olette rushed to Pence, who had murder written all over his face.
"Kairi?" Roxas said quite slowly. "You can let go now."
"What-oh…sorry," Kairi muttered as she released his arm. But then she felt herself seeking his hand, holding it tightly. He intertwined his fingers with hers and looked at her with a slight smile. She felt her face heat up but she returned it with her own just the same.
It does feel like I've known you forever. I wish I knew why…
"…bunch of hooligans…"
"Pence, just shut up."
They sounded closer but then the tram stopped and unloaded a mass of people that flooded the emptiness in between. Roxas seemed to take the cue, pulling her into the crowd so that they could get lost in the flow and escape his friends…
"I swear, they were just here! I saw them!" Pence again! Will that boy ever shut up?
"Where did they go? Where the hell did they go?" Hayner growled.
"Would you give it up for once, Hayner? It sounds like you're in love with her or something!"
Hayner likes me? What! That's just wrong…ugh, sometimes I really wish I wasn't born pretty…wait, yes I do. Damn it, I hate it when this happens…
"I am not in love with her! I swear I'm not! I-"
"Roxas! Kairi! Over here!"
Olette! She jumped right in front of them with a grin.
"Guess what!" she sang. Roxas froze in place. Kairi looked at her curiously, wondering what she had in mind.
Hayner was watching Olette with apprehension but Pence – where did that camera come from! – was trying to hide his laughter behind the camera. Kairi had a feeling the two – Olette and Pence, that is - were in some sort of conspiracy plot of sorts or something.
"What?" Roxas asked slowly, carefully.
"You know how to tango?"
That did it. Pence laughed uproariously, sitting down on the plaza grounds and holding his sides while Hayner leaped back from Olette like she was the devil.
"What!" he shouted. "Woman, what the hell's on your mind!"
Kairi didn't get it.
"What's tango?" she whispered to Roxas, who, it turned out, was equally perplexed.
"Maybe she'll explain it to us," he whispered back.
"Tango is a form of dance. People do it at dance clubs all the time, depending on what music's playing," Olette said. "It's very intimate, if you want me to describe it that way."
"Which is why I have no idea why you asked that in the first place!" Hayner yelled. He obviously took major offense to this question since he was screaming each of his words out. And he was turning red. Kairi wondered if anybody else noticed it.
"Well I thought it would be cool if we teach it to Kairi before she leaves-"
"WE! Who said 'we'? I did not agree to this, Olette! What's wrong with-"
"Hey, Hayner," Pence chirped up. "You know how to tango?"
Hayner stuttered to a standstill. He was now quite visibly turning red.
"What about you?" Pence turned to Roxas, who shook his head. His blue eyes were wary of the next thing either Pence or Olette was going to say.
"Awesome, then I can teach all of you how to-"
"Olette, you are kidding, right?" Roxas interjected. "Please tell me you're kidding."
"Why would I?" Olette grinned. "When you go back home, Kairi, you can definitely show the kids there the moves. Hey, maybe you can teach Sora how to tango, too."
Kairi blushed at the suggestion. She still hadn't gotten over what Olette said about tango: intimate.
Sora…I haven't thought about you in a while. I haven't even thought about your voice…why? All I'm thinking about…is him.
"…what's that, Hayner?" Pence demanded, his voice breaking through her mangled thoughts. "Hayner, what did you say?"
"I…uh…" Hayner stared at his feet, shifted from one foot to the other. Olette and Roxas stared at him intently. "I…know how to tango…"
"What!" Olette yelled.
Kairi started laughing.
Roxas shook his head.
Pence's jaw dropped open.
Hayner glared at the four of them. "You really think that's funny?"
"Where'd you learn to tango?" Olette asked. She didn't believe him at all.
"I…um…my parents made me learn…they like to dance," Hayner muttered. He was obviously extremely embarrassed about it. "So…yeah, you don't need to teach me anything."
"Well great," Pence grumbled. "There goes your glorious plan, Olette. What's the fun in doing tango now?"
She jabbed a thumb in Kairi's direction, then pointed fingers at both him and Roxas. "I guess Hayner wins this one."
"You guys were plotting something, I knew it!" Hayner yelled. "You guys were planning on forcing me to learn how to dance, huh, since I hate dance clubs! Nice try!"
Pence sighed. "Sigh…I knew tango was a bad idea…"
"You didn't know anything…"
Something poked at her side. Kairi twitched and looked at Roxas questioningly.
"Pointless?" he whispered.
"I don't dance," she answered. "Especially not the tango."
"Try convincing Olette," he said. "Good luck with that."
"But I don't dance!"
"That's not going to save you, just letting you know," Roxas said with a knowing smile.
Kairi sighed. "Just what is the tango?"
It was just her luck that Olette overheard her. "I'll show you. Hayner?"
The blond teenager stared at her for a few seconds, then realized what she was going to do. "Oh hell no-"
She grabbed his hand and within seconds Kairi understood just what the tango was. Pence was applauding slowly, obviously still shocked over the fact that Hayner could dance, while Roxas started shifting from foot to foot.
"And that," Olette said while Hayner pulled her back into standing position, "is but a sample of the tango."
For all she knew, Kairi could faint.
Dance like that? No way! I want to get out of here! Fighting and dancing all at once…no, no, no…I came here looking for Sora and the next thing I know I'm learning how to dance and fight so that if time comes, I can go after him and teach him to tango with me. That…just doesn't seem right.
Actually, nothing seemed right anymore.
When I do go, what will become of…you?
''
Fuu had been more than unusually quiet the whole day. The only word that he, Rai, and Vivi were able to get out of her was, "Hi." And that really wasn't much. Why wasn't Fuu talking? She didn't talk a lot but she did say more than a one-word greeting.
No matter. The day was over. Maybe tomorrow she'll be back to normal and they can all resume plotting on how to get back at Hayner's little group, that blond twerp named Roxas, and the new girl, the one Roxas hangs out with all the time now-great, there he goes, thinking about the new girl again. He hated it. He couldn't understand what it was the redhead was doing to him.
"Ugh, I hate this," Seifer muttered to himself as he headed towards the train station to take a train home to Sunset Residential District. "The only way to get back at Roxas is either whip his ass at a Struggle match or accuse him and his buddies but that girl…damn it, stop thinking about her!"
He muttered darkly as he stalked down a street, glaring at every teenager and kid who was still out and about this late in the day. They scattered.
Power was a glorious thing.
But as he passed by an alley, he heard something. No, not something. Someone. Someone was there, hiding in the alley, talking. A man. Was he talking to himself? Was he insane?
"I wonder…"
Seifer walked into the alley.
"…they've got the advantage. He's close enough to exert some sort of influence. He can pull them apart…don't know how it happened. They got the jump on us or something…not even supposed to exist…as long as the clipping's untouched…all the time in the world…"
Seifer crouched down low as he neared the voice. He saw a cluster of old, rusting trashcans and threw himself behind them. Then he peered over the edge, saw a tall figure in a inky cloak. The person was hooded.
Seifer was astonished when the man shifted and suddenly disappeared in the shadows. But then the man must have moved again, for there he was again, plain as day, just standing there. Who was he talking to? And if not who, then what was he talking to?
"…has she figured it out? Dammit, then what's obscuring it…look, I do not plan on playing guessing games and killing people who may be useful later on…no, absolutely not! And while we're at it…I see…oh really? Okay, then what about…dead. Well of course he's dead. Everybody's dead except for us!"
Seifer didn't know whether or not he should stay there. He remembered that weird man standing at the corner a while back, the one who said he wasn't going to kill without reason. Was he connected to this guy? If so, what were they planning to do? Why were they going to kill people-no, wait. They were talking about killing people but they also said they wouldn't depending on who the person was. But that made no sense? How would they know-
A hand rested on his shoulder, gripping it so tightly Seifer couldn't move, even if he wanted to. The scream never escaped his throat.
"I suggest you stay put while I finish this call, then I'll deal with you," the man said, his voice non-threatening but frightening all the same. "Yeah…you were right after all. So I've lost my street smarts…shut up. Look, finish tracking down that wielder and go get the blade while I deal with the business here…if all goes well, we'll continue as planned. If you can't, go to the fields of dust…alright, I'll shut up. Hey, I planned this. I know what's going on…"
Seifer had no idea what the hell this man was saying. None of it made any sense whatsoever. Hell, he couldn't even begin to assume what the man was talking about. Maybe it was because he was scared shitless; the man had him in an iron grip and just moments ago he was talking about dead people.
"…make sure he keeps an eye on them. If that no-good meddlesome blockhead tries to sneak up on them again…no, stay off all trains. Should he return…yes. Okay. Tell him that. I'll get back to you later. We're shifting phases now so you'd better take note. Bye."
There was a slight mechanical click and Seifer knew he was done for.
"Stand up."
He had no choice but to obey. The man's hand tightened on his shoulder. His bones were being crushed. The man had an incredibly strong grip; Seifer wondered if it was possible for any human to be this strong.
Slowly he rose to his feet but the man yanked him up. Seifer grimaced at the pain.
"Turn around."
He did as told. And there he was, that man in the dark coat and the hood. Seifer blinked, then squinted. The man seemed fuzzy. His outline seemed to blend in with the shadows of the alley. Was it the cloak? Or was this man…not a man?
Oh shit…
"You have no idea, do you?" the man hissed, bringing his face close to Seifer. Funny. There was no nasty bloodcurdling breath in his face, no trace of breathing.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he answered coldly, trying to sound tough. But he knew he wasn't tough. He may very well piss in his pants right now. This man must be a ghost.
"No, you don't. All you've been hearing is gibberish, from me and my colleague," the man agreed. Seifer's eyes widened. He knew! "You have no idea what's going on right now, do you? I know you've been questioning but you have no idea. Not many people pick it up as fast as you do but you're still too slow. Not like your silver-haired friend. She knows something's up, hands down."
"What did you do to Fuu?" Seifer hissed. They're messing with his gang!
"Nothing. Because it's you we need to talk to."
"Me? What the hell do you want with me?" Seifer demanded. "I've been listening and I don't like what you're talking about. What is it about dead people, huh? You tell me that!"
The man was silent but the grip was as strong as ever.
"It's quite simple, if you'd like me to scare the living daylights out of you," the man said softly. "If all doesn't go as planned, you will be dead."
Seifer raised an eyebrow at this statement. "Stop joking with me. That's ridiculous."
"You think it's a joke? I know what's going to happen. In a few years there will be a nightmare, a holocaust of immeasurable proportions. Everything will be destroyed. Every living creature in this universe will be dead in a matter of years. Do you think I'm joking now?"
"How do you know what's going to happen in several years?" Seifer demanded. He was starting to sweat under his cap; this man was frightening him, whether it was the truth or not. "Nobody knows. You can't just go around blasting people with what you call the 'truth' about the future!"
"You know why I know this?" the man hissed. Seifer nearly cried out as the man's grip on his shoulder tightened once more. "Do you know why?"
"I don't need to know, you crazy man. Just let me go! I don't want to mess with the likes of you and your 'colleagues'!" Seifer snapped back. "Let me go!"
Abruptly the man did. Seifer had been tugging back on the vice grip but at release he fell down. He stared up at the man, whose hood was in his direction. Seifer swallowed nervously.
"It doesn't matter if you believe us or not but something will happen in a few years if we don't act now. That's why I need your help. You are the only qualified person who can help us."
"What makes me qualified?" Seifer demanded.
"Because you hate the blond-haired child," the man said.
Seifer stared. Roxas? What did Roxas have to do with these weird people?
"So what?"
"And that new girl, you like her, don't you?"
Oh my god, who are these people? Are they mind-readers or something? Seifer thought, feeling the blood drain from his head.
"S-so what? W-what does that have to-to do with anything?" he stammered. He hated when he sounded weak but this man was too frightening not to hide it from him. Maybe if he sounded chicken enough, the man will let him go.
"Nothing. But if we are to get anywhere, there are some things you need to know about those two, especially the blond-haired child…"
Author's Endnote: So I guess I'll need to tell you that the reason why this is such a long story is because of the great detail it goes into. I treat this like a television series or a Korean drama, not a movie. Unless you've begun noticing, there's a lot of side stories and whatnot threaded through the main storyline. Basically a warning that this is going to be one LONG story and you're in for a hell of a ride. Review? Thank you!
