Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.
A/N: Sorry for the very late update on this! I was too distracted with my other fics. XD But now, I shall resume writing this... after a short notice. I'm going back to my home country tomorrow so I won't be able to update... tomorrow and on Saturday. Hopefully I can resume writing after the first week of May (since I'm going to spend the entire week for my enrollment in my university). That's all.
Oh Vanitas. This story is turning out to be more Vanitas-centric than I originally planned. (T'was supposed to revolve around Sora and Roxas XD)
This is a totally random chapter. I watch too many videos on YouTube so...
P.S. Sorry for the sucky lyrics. XD
Chapter Word Count: 941
Ex Animo
Shooting
"Okay, so we need Terra, Axel, Demyx, and Riku for crowd control, and–"
"Do we really have to go through all this? Can't we change into our costumes now?" Vanitas interrupted with an evident scowl. Once again, his impatience brought about self-imposed disdain. Ventus rolled his eyes and simply smiled at Aqua.
"Vani, our school uniforms ARE our costumes. You have to excuse him, Aqua. He's just upset that you won't allow him to be your assistant director," he explained, twiddling his thumbs while doing so. It amazed him how calm Aqua could be whenever he reasoned out Vanitas' actions. If he didn't do so, Aqua would have murdered his brother on the spot.
"Well, excuse me for being a much better director than that brawny brainless bozo you call boyfriend," Vanitas spat.
Sora and Roxas winced when they saw the deadly look in Aqua's eyes.
"R-Roxas… we have to–"
"I know, Sora."
The younger Strife brothers ran away screaming as Vanitas began doing the same while Aqua began to dislocate his arm.
"This sucks. I can't believe I won't have enough screen time! The ladies will definitely be dismayed."
"Shut up, Vanitas. You brought this to yourself," Ventus replied. "Hey, Naminé! Are you ready?"
The blonde-haired girl nodded with a soft smile, holding up her professional camera. "Yes, sir!"
"Kairi, where's Sora?" Aqua asked.
Vanitas groaned in frustration. After writing a few fair songs and recording them, Roxas believed it was time to take their band to the next level. Now, it was their first day of shooting their very first music video.
It was definitely amateur, but they somehow knew that the results would be satisfying enough. Their venue was Radiant High's beautiful courtyard, since it was definite fit for their song. Aqua was assigned to be the director since she brilliantly planned out the script of the video, and she decided Terra would be her assistant because he easily scared others, save for Vanitas. Naminé was the camera girl due to her amazing camera and photography-slash-videoing skills. She was truly artistic, and she was given a chance to show it in another way.
Sora and Kairi were naturally assigned to be the leading couple of the video. Why they chose the love song for the music video, Vanitas didn't know. And why they chose Sora and Kairi instead of him and Xion, Vanitas hated.
He hated the fact that he only had a few scenes in the script, and most of them were just scenes of playing the drums.
Ventus was grinning like a Cheshire cat beside him, watching everyone working around. They volunteered out of helpfulness and excitement, but Ventus promised that he would pay them even if they turned the munny down.
"Okay, so this part will have Roxas and Sora walking together, and they see Kairi sitting on the bench. Roxas, make sure you push your brother hard enough to make his fall look real! He should tumble over the bench and fall on the ground right beside Kairi. You can do that stunt, right?" Aqua said. Ventus and Vanitas looked at their youngest brother who nodded wildly with a grin. Roxas, meanwhile, received a short peck on the cheek from Naminé.
"Psh, lovey-dovey sickos," Vanitas snarled.
Ventus grinned and pushed Vanitas' shoulder. "C'mon, just apologize to Aqua so she'll put in that scene of you getting slapped by Xion."
"What the fuck, Ven?! That is the most fucked up idea you ever had!" Vanitas exclaimed.
Aqua didn't tolerate his loudness from afar, causing her to yell at Vanitas through her megaphone. "We would appreciate silence, thank you very much!"
"Terra must find this so fucking hilarious," Vanitas mumbled.
"Yeah, he does," Ventus replied, still smiling. His brother indignantly punched his shoulder, but that wasn't enough to wipe away Ventus' grin. "Come on, Vanitas. Cheer up. Watch Sora and Roxas! They rehearsed this scene at home with the couch and it was pretty funny."
"Terra, get the speakers ready!" Aqua exclaimed.
Well, at least Vanitas was a sport, Ventus thought. He hummed happily while swaying his legs back and forth below the bench and watched everyone get ready. Aqua signaled Sora and Roxas to start walking, and Terra turned on the speakers for their music to echo throughout the place to guide Sora and Roxas in their acting.
Why did I fall
For an angel
Why did I fall
For you, my dear
Ventus was proud to hear his vocals while watching Sora and Roxas walk by in the scene with the former staring at Kairi reading a book on a nearby bench. Vanitas chuckled – were they even shooting a video? It cannily mirrored Sora's situation back in middle school.
I don't need a push
To fall this hard
After all I fell
For you
Roxas nudged Sora a bit too hard, causing Sora to really fall back and stumble painfully over the bench, hitting his arm on the bench armrest with Kairi staring at him in a horrified state.
"Sora!" she yelled, standing up. Sora's rear end fell flat on the ground and he gave Kairi a silly, dizzy-looking smile. Roxas looked completely shocked in the background.
Terra stopped the music, with Aqua giving them praises after calling out a cut.
"Well, that was entertaining," Vanitas deadpanned.
"Vanitas! Your scene is next!"
The golden-eyed boy glanced nervously at Ventus. "I thought most of my scenes were removed?"
"I guess Aqua decided to keep the part where Xion slaps you."
Ventus didn't expect Vanitas to shrug it off with a smirk. "Meh. At least she gets to touch my face. That sly girl."