MY. GOD. I can't believe me updating this story a skipped a whole damn YEAR! That is ridiculous, and my readers like you lot do NOT deserve this maltreatment. I don't know, but something about the stagnated events of this chapter gave me something of a cramp. Oh well, I am back (or, as back as I can get)! Anyway, this was published just after the brilliant SkyLandOcean's birthday! So, happy birthday, my favourite authoress! XOXOXOXO
I reiterate, I am so sorry, and hope you enjoy, FINALLY, the chapter!
Those Daily Things
Chapter 10 – The Roxas-Namine War
Riku loved having a cape, it was awesome. Even though Roxas and Namine had been at each other's throats for a week, Riku couldn't help but feel pleased with his brand-spankin' new cape. It was blue and gold, it flowed right down from his neck to his feet, and it sparkled in the Thursday afternoon stages of early twilight, where the sun was just beginning to burn from shining yellow-white to a radiant gold.
"Keep it down in there!" Riku shouted under himself, as various living objects bumped the seat Riku was sitting on. God knows how many poor animals had been trapped in his enormous cape.
Stephanie suddenly poked out from under the cape. "Gimme a few more seconds, I think I found it!" She said, ducking back into the forest. Contrary to what you may be thinking, there was nothing M rated happening here – You see, Riku had been setting up a small table for him and Stephanie to have lunch on, when he dropped it, and it had fallen into the depths of the monstrous fabric. Stephanie had been in there for six minutes trying to find it.
Stephanie then burst out of the cape, coughing and wheezing, holding the foldable table triumphantly in her hand. "I swear I saw the devil in there."
Riku stood up and shook himself – rats, squirrels and innumerable other small-to-medium sized woodland creatures flew from the folds of the cape in all directions, squeaking protests. Much to Riku's and Stephanie's surprise, a human being also fell out. The poor girl stood up, looking very nutrition-deprived, and staggered away.
It was about that moment when Kairi came walking up to them. After Sora had declared himself (following Tom's advice) neutral in the Roxas-Namine War, he had mainly become an envoy between the two warring factions. The whole conflict had escalated to unbelievable levels in just two days – It was a battle of the sexes, almost every Grade 9 boy vs. every Grade 9 girl in the school. Save, of course, for Sora.
"Hey there, Riku. Nice cape." She said, admiring the patchwork. Even though he thought both sides were both right and wrong, he remained friends with the sides as well.
"Thanks, awesome huh?" He said, standing up and twirling a little, giving one or two rats their opportunity to escape.
"News from the front?" Asked Stephanie, who saluted.
"Yes. Our spy on Roxas' side has informed us that Roxas intends to try and obtain Sora on his side. As you know, Sora is very well liked and respected amongst the student body, and losing him to Roxas would be a great blow for morale." Kairi informed, keeping a serious face.
"Uh, girls? Am I the only one who sees this as a mere squabble and not a war?" Riku interjected.
"Excellent report, Comrade!" Stephanie exclaimed. The two then dropped the military façade and began talking normally, discussing the latest news – the latest of which was that Tom was returning the next day, with the new History teacher in tow.
"I hear she's full of herself." Stephanie commented.
"Really? I heard she's really nice." Kairi replied, consternation showing clearly on her face.
"Oh yeah?" Stephanie asked, narrowing her eyebrows at the sky. "Who's your source?"
"What another source is there?" Kairi replied.
"Tom." They replied, in unison, then broke out into fits of laughter. The man with words for every situation was at last at a loss for feelings!
Back in their room, Sora had barely gotten out of his school uniform and into his casual clothes when he was roused from his after-school reverie by a knock at the door. It wasn't Kairi – Kairi never knocked.
Truth be told, he was in no mood for visitors. His body was putting him through all manners of unpleasant complaints, particularly the more primal ones. He was glad Kairi wasn't here – she'd probably be pointing and laughing. Yet at the same time, Sora felt quite dejected. Kairi had been over at Namine's all week, and Sora had barely seen her. As a result, the one who was always knocking at Sora's door was…
"Roxas." Sora panted as he hastily swung open the door, having taken the last fifteen seconds to hurriedly put on the yellow belts that crisscrossed over his crotch. Still, he leaned forward, sure to let the creases on his pants disguise his problem.
"SOOORA!" Roxas cried, stepping forward and throwing his arms around his best friend without warning. Sora patted Roxas' back from within the embrace, and Sora felt a single warm tear drip onto his shoulder. When the blonde pulled away, Sora could see the sad smile and the glistening, teary eyes that were trying so hard to look happy.
"How are you feeling…?" Sora asked gently, knowing full well that Roxas had collapsed in spirit over the week. He had taken Namine's break-up with him VERY hard.
"A bit better." Roxas replied. "But I seriously think that if it weren't for you, I'd be dead of either depression or suicide."
Sora put his hands on his hips, mock-frowned, and leaned in to Roxas' face like a nagging mother. "So you aren't doing better!" Sora exclaimed, throwing his hands up in mock defeat and turning away. He then spun back to face Roxas, grinning. Roxas closed his eyes and tilted his head, smiling a bit more. "Come here. Nothing better than a spot of Melee to clear the mind, eh?" Sora said, and Roxas nodded, as they walked toward the large cluster of beanbags that lay in front of Sora and Kairi's old, beat-up, small TV. The Gamecube was hooked up nearby – the small, near-ruined console was worn and chipped from years of use and misfortune. The sheer fact that it was still working is one of the great true mysteries of Sora and his friends.
"Someday…" Sora vowed, as he did every day, to the copy of Super Smash Bros. Brawl resting on top of his desk, next to his messy pile of games and CDs. This made Roxas chuckle, as he knew how badly Sora wanted a Wii to play Brawl – He probably wanted one more than everyone else in the school combined.
Sora knew Roxas was in no mood to compete, so instead he chose Team Battle – and set himself and Roxas against two high-level computer characters. Sora played as Roy, and Roxas Mewtwo, and the two began to fight the computer-controlled team as soon as the game said "Go!". Ten seconds in, they were dominating with their respective strategies and combos.
However, neither of them really felt the game. It felt like a front, just a formality. School was over for another day, but the past two days had felt like two months for all involved.
After a few minutes, the door swung open, and Kairi stood in the entranceway. Her exuberant smile was immediately replaced by a frown the second she saw Roxas sitting on a beanbag. In her dormroom.
"What are you doing here?" She hissed, her scowl bearing down on the unfortunate male as she dropped her bag on her bed. "We have a strict No Bastards rule!"
"Hence, I find my presence in accordance with all set regulations." Roxas replied coldly.
"Oh well. Some bad smells can't be erased until they fly away." The auburn-haired girl sighed, dropping onto the third beanbag and, seeing that the round of Melee had just finished in the boys' favour, pulled Sora close to her, closing in her lips on him.
Roxas watched on, an unimpressed expression on his face, as Kairi continued on glance smugly at Roxas whilst keeping Sora completely immobile by suckling on his neck. Suddenly, Kairi turned from the sensitive spot (Which was emblazoned with the remnants of a thousand hickeys) and glared at Roxas indignantly. "Do you mind?"
Roxas raised his eyebrows quizzically. "What? I'm enjoying me watching just about as much as you are."
"Then go away!" Kairi snapped back, and nuzzled Sora's face into her stomach. "Besides, Sora and I need our time alone!"
"Look, I don't have to leave just because you came in and started faceraping Sora!" Roxas retorted.
"And I should be able to come in - to my own bedroom - and start kissing my boyfriend without you peeping in, you voyeur!" Kairi replied stubbornly.
"Mmph." Sora tried to speak from Kairi's stomach.
"Shut up." The blonde and redhead both said, in unison, to the brunette.
"Mmph-No." Sora pulled his head out of his girlfriend's embrace. "You're both being unfair. Roxas, she's right, we deserve and expect privacy when it's warranted – but, Kairi, I know you're opinionated, but I want to let Roxas just relax and be in the company of friends."
Kairi sighed. "You're right, Sora. Okay, Rox, I'm sorry for snapping at you. It's just- Namine's in a really bad way, and you haven't, in any way, deemed yourself forgiven for what you did." She then smiled evilly, however. "You're still not forgiven though."
Roxas put on much the same evil grin. "Oh, I know that… The battle goes on!" He said, bidding the happy couple goodbye as he left the room.
Sora closed the door behind his friend, eager to relax for the night. When he turned back, Kairi was nowhere to be seen. It was then that he felt an enormous force from behind him, as his lover tackled him from behind. Laughing, Sora stumbled around the room for a few seconds with Kairi straddled upon his back until the pair collapsed on the beanbags. The two laughed happily. The entire grade was at war, save for these precious moments.
The redhead swung herself on top of the brunette, and brushed his face with her hand. "Sora, I don't mind, really. I may be with Namine, but you hang out whoever you like."
"Thanks, Kai." Sora grinned, wrapping his arms around her body. "Just one last favour."
"Yeah?"
"Don't talk about any of that." He said, then craned his neck upward, touching her lips with his own. Kairi relaxed and sunk into the kiss, relaxing her body until-
"Eek!" She squeaked, quickly jumping off her boyfriend. She stumbled backwards, landed flat on her ass, and began pointing and laughing at Sora's previously belt-concealed problem.
Sora blushed furiously. "Oh shut up!" He defended himself, throwing a beanbag at Kairi, who, even as she stood and blocked the overgrown pillow, could not stop laughing. Sora, having seen the futility of his problem, let his humourous nature kick in, and happily began laughing with her.
Despite the jollity in the room of the two meant-to-be lovers, that night, for others involved, was deep and dark. Roxas slept only after Axel had drained his energy of the waking world through band practice in one of the rooms in the music block for hours on end. Namine, however, lay awake well into the hours of the morning, listening to the radio – earphones plugged in so as to not wake her roommate, Xion.
She could feel the covers offer no real warmth… or at least, no warmth like the warmth found in Roxas' arms. Namine still felt absolutely violated, but she missed the company he offered her.
"And now listeners, sit back as we listen to one of classics of 2006, that time period when everything was so simple – reflected in Nelly Furtado's hit 'All Good Things'".
"Honestly, what will become of me?
Don't like reality,
It's way too clear to me…
But really, life is daily…"
At this, Namine began to choke back the sobs that bit at her very being. Bitter loneliness swelled at her from the inside, and for the first time in years, she cried. She cried for longing, and she cried at the cold that left her hugging her own legs. But mostly, she cried for Roxas as she tore the earphones from her ears and threw the portable radio at the floor in frustration, her memory still dictating the lyrics to her brain, remembering images and feelings of her and Roxas, over and over…
"Flames to dust,
Lovers to friends,
Why do all good things come to an end…?"
The next day, everything was calm for a change. The miniature saga of love and hate surrounding Redmond, Henry, and Yuffie had seemingly dissolved, with Yuffie breaking up with Henry and going back to single status. The whole affair was now barely even being followed. Tom had returned the next day with the new History teacher, but unlike her getting settled in, Tom didn't even take Friday off, choosing instead to begin teaching his Grade 9 class into their last unit of the year.
"Dracula by Abraham Stoker," he began "Is quite possibly the most famous horror novel ever, on par with and succeeding Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and others like The Wolf-Man and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The character of Count Dracula is single handedly the most famous vampire ever."
Emma, a known fangirl, put up her hand.
"Did Dracula-"
"No Emma, he did not sparkle."
She put her hand down dejectedly as Tom continued, explaining their assessment task – the last English one of the year – to them. "So, you want me to check the content of your assignment or just have a question about the task or story, give me a yell!" He said to his class.
"I have a question." An English accent declared from the doorway. The new History teacher stood, her brown hair flowing over her shoulder. She looked sophisticated and fierce, but possessing a sublime beauty in her face. Her stance was clearly proud.
"Ah, here she is." Tom said, unsure if he was grimacing or smiling. "Class, this is your new History teacher, Ms. Francis Septimus."
She smiled to the class and laughed. "It's a name straight out of a fantasy tale, I know! Just call me Frankie." Her aggressive smile then returned as she turned back to Tom. "My question, Tom, is this: care to show me to the History department so I can get my desk sorted?"
"Yeah, sure." Tom replied nonchalantly, handing a DVD to a girl in the front row to set up. It was at this moment that Sora called out Tom's name.
"Yes, Sora?"
"Big dance practice still on this afternoon?"
"Uh… Yeah. Course it is." He said, lowering with his blushing head as Frankie chuckled behind him. Tom quickly turned on his heel and swung out of the door, gesturing for Frankie to follow.
"Big dance, huh? Didn't see you as the song and dance type." Frankie said to him, as soon as the classroom was out of earshot. "From what I heard, you were always more of a 'dramaturge of the Shakespeare festival' kinda guy."
"Yeah well, unfortunately the music department likes to shirk responsibility for projects like this." Tom sighed. "Problem is, we didn't get enough applicants or the rights to all eight dances. We've got, perhaps, enough for four – and yet we need to fill a fifteen-minute time slot. So if you're gonna laugh at me, save it for the presentation afternoon – when this whole little excursion comes crashing down."
Frankie cocked her head sidewards and closed her eyes. "Well, wasn't that pessimistic. You really didn't strike me as that kind of drama teacher. You know, I might possibly be able to help you."
"You know Ancient and Modern Histories, granted, but how does having an intimate knowledge of historical events and names help out us here?" Tom joked silently, hoping she wouldn't take it seriously.
"Put simply: it won't." She said, guiding him by the arm over to a bench and slumping him down on it. "Now, I ALSO do journalism and social psychology – PARTICULARLY teenage psychology. Now, that student, Sora, who calls out to you – I could tell from what and how he asked and confirmed the practice that he really has faith in and cares about his friends, but is not afraid to poke fun at his mates."
"Got that right."
"I usually do." She answered flawlessly, with a flick of her hair. "Now hear this, You said you have the resources for four dances. Only do four. Only get the rights to the four dances you've prepared for the most, and use the money you'd reserved for the four cut dances to increases the offers on the rights to the four you're keeping." She continued outlining her plan as Tom nodded along.
"Then, with the timeslot left for the other four dances, put an ad out for a battle of the bands, and promise the winning band a spot at the presentation afternoon to fill in the lost spot. If my thoughts are right, then the school's musical community would RUSH in to get such an exposure-filled opportunity."
"Hey, hey, HEY! You just might be on to something here!" Tom said, gaining enthusiasm as he rose off the bench, fist balled and under his chin in thought. "You know, I got you wrong the first time. You just might be able to pull it off here."
"Excuse me," She demanded, placing her hand on her hip. "MIGHT?"
Tom shook his head, smiling. "You have NO idea." He laughed, extending his hand. "But I can help you out, if you help me out here."
Frankie remained quiet. Tom continued. "Forgive my speaking candidly, but you're smart and beautiful and you know it too. I don't doubt you in the slightest, but I can help you out with anything you could need around here."
She turned back to him, opening her eyes and unfolding her arms. "You mean that?"
"Exactly. You know me – when I make a promise, I keep it."
"…You took that from Halo 3."
"…And that is EXACTLY why I need your help."
She laughed riotously, then straightened out, plastered a grin over her face and grabbed hold of Tom's hand, shaking it. "Alright, dramaturge. You've got yourself a deal."
At last, the cherished lunch bell rang. Students from every subject, class and grade bolted from the boring enclosures of learning and academic pursuit into the mayhem of the grounds, and the brief hour of freedom and friendship that lunch offered.
Of course, it wasn't that simple as of late.
Sora and Kairi, were, as usual, stuck in the middle of the Grade 9 courtyard. Now two of the very last who hadn't taken a side in the aptly titled 'Roxas-Namine War', they each held their lunch in one hand and a collapsible deckchair in the other, they unfolded their seating arrangements next to another neutral, Riku – who had somehow managed to bring, store and now install an enormous sunbathing chair. He lay there, completely oblivious to their presence, mirror in hand - reflecting the sun onto his pale skin, great cape covering every other yoctogram of his body.
There was even enough cloth left over in the gargantuan cape for Stephanie to rugged up, every inch of her covered save for her protruding head, and hand with sandwich poised for quick access to the gullet. From Sora and Kairi's point of view, it looked a bizarre, multi-sexual cloth monster.
"Good greetings." Riku mumbled lazily from his position of unrivalled comfort. "The neutral section is getting lonely, don't you think?"
Kairi, already annoyed with where the conversation was going, plucked her straw from a juice popper frustratedly. "It's not the number of people here, it's who is here." She grumbled. "Can't we talk about something more sweet? It's always hormones and conflict with you boys."
"Hey, I resent that." Sora interjected, and Kairi rustled his hair in apology.
"Oh I get it, because all boys are like that." Riku replied, lowering his mirror, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"No, Riku, of course I didn't mean it like that." Kairi said, rolling her eyes. "I was just saying, most boys go between shooting things on screen to lecherously hitting on the nearest thing with a female anatomy."
Riku now folded away his mirror and tucked it within his cape, cocking his head, affronted. "Now, that is narrow." He said. "Well, if all men are hormonal, violent bastards, than women are so elitist, they have tunnel vision."
"Riku!" She snapped. "That was so rude of you!"
"I'm just saying, sometimes I hope that that aforementioned tunnel vision is indeed a symptom of death as they say," Riku snapped. "Because I'd rather die than generalize everything like you lot do."
Kairi stood.
"You know what? Screw you." She announced, furiously packing all her food back into the plastic bag she held. "Sora, you can stay with this prick. Honestly, I was on the verge of forgiving Roxas, but if all the boys over there," - she gestured towards the boys' side – "are all such machoist, supremist idiots, then it's true the grass is much, much greener on the other side." And, with that, she stood and strode – collapsed deckchair in other hand - over to the girls' side, igniting a rousing call of cheers.
"I echo that sentiment about greenery. I can take arguments about Roxas, but when she labels all men like that, I'm not associating with that." Somehow gathering mirror in cape, enormous sunbathing lounge in one hand and the little remains of his lunch in his other hand, the great bulk that was Riku hobbled (under the weight of his possessions) towards the boys' group – which let out a similar cry of approval.
Stephanie, who had clambered off Riku as he prepared to leave, went back over to the girls' side, to which she had been allied all along.
Sora sat alone, no group to join, the last man who cared and loved each and every one of friends. "Who'd have thought that that would leave me alone in this?" He mumbled. The pressuring buzz of both groups, on either side of him, seemed to grow until at last the 5th period bell rang out, cutting clear his thoughts of such isolation.
The brunette opened his dorm door, and, much to his surprise, found a package between his and Kairi's beds. It was quite large, certainly a box, and had dormitory monitor Zexion's note on it:
"Mail's for Sora. No-one touch it – I'M WATCHING YOU, KAIRI."
With a chuckle, Sora dropped his bag on unmade bed and snatched an unnecessarily large letter opener and cut open the edge of the packaging. As soon as he saw the blue-and-white box, he cut the cardboard away in a swath of fury, letting the brown packaging fly out in all directions, without regard for any other property.
Panting, his shining in sheer joy, he looked at the Nintendo Wii before him.
"I guess that's the one bright thing that's happened this week!" He announced, hands on hips, grinning, before unceremoniously unplugging the old, faithful, ruined Gamecube and plugging in the shining new console. Sora blazed through the hardware and software setup, having rehearsed for these moments through countless hours of internet tutorials and guides.
Finally, extracting a key from a pocket within a pocket within his belted-on pocket of his pants, he unlocked the glass case and withdrew his cherished copy of Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
"This week Goddamn SUCKS." Sora lamented dismally, head in hands, letting his legs stretch out limply from his slumped position at the base of the desk, while the screen displayed simply, "Error – Disc cannot be read".
Kairi walked in through the door, saw him, saw the error, saw the game and console, and dropped her bag. She walked over to her boyfriend and stretched her arms around him. She knew that life wasn't fun for him right now, when not even his fun worked.