AN: Just a brief explanation to this chapter! This is considered a 'Bonus Chapter' for those of you who've been wanting more of Roxas interacting with the characters of Remnant. Technically it does not follow the canon story as the canon chapter is taking a lot longer to complete than I thought, so we thought it might help to release something in the wait. This is a chapter dedicated to a concept that many of you have suggested in the past, so I hope you all enjoy chapter 35.5!
Roxas yawned as his tired arms pushed himself up and away from the warmth of his bed. The back of his hand rubbed against his eye as he looked out the window next to his bedside.
Still dark out…
His weary eyes lazily examined the room. The lights were off making it difficult for him to see, but he could tell nothing amiss from what he could.
What woke me up…? the boy questioned to himself for a moment.
After a few more seconds of tired wonder, the teen shrugged and laid back down, wrapping himself back into his blankets in the process.
A moment later he heard a noise that made his eyes open again. Lifting his head, he turned towards the door where he could hear the subtle creaks of someone standing just outside the door alongside the sounds of muffled whispers. The boy immediately sat up in worry as he eyed the door, confused. He could see the shape of someone standing just outside the doorway due to the hallway lights casting a shadow visible from the crack beneath the door.
Roxas immediately felt his heart begin to beat faster as he turned to look over at Weiss's and Namine's bed. The darkness of the room was making it difficult to distinguish their figures, but he could definitely make out the general shape of their sleeping forms wrapped beneath their blankets.
So, if it's not either of them…then who is it?
His eyes were wide and nervous as he turned his attention back towards the crack between the doorway and the floor where he could now make out multiple shadows lingering outside of the door. Roxas felt his body grow tense with anticipation. A nervous sweat ran down the side of his cheek as he slowly reached out and took his Oblivion resting against the night stand. Slowly, the boy slipped out of bed and began to approach the door, his weapon ready. He could still vaguely hear whispers and murmurs going on behind the door. He paused a moment to try and decipher the words but gave up upon realizing the door was preventing any intelligible amount of sound travel to his ears.
"Who's there!?" he called out aggressively trying to sound bigger than he knew he was. "I know someone's out there!" To his surprise, Weiss and Namine did not stir.
The voices on the other side immediately ceased in a hushed silence. Roxas cocked his head in surprise. He reached out taking the handle in one hand and readied his Keyblade in the other. He could tell by the shadow casting beneath the doorway that whoever was there was still there, lying in quiet wait for him to come out. The only person, well, the only good person Roxas could predict coming to his room at this hour was perhaps Professor Ozpin, but if it had been him he would have said something by now. The only other could be his classmates, but it was too early in the morning for them to be up at this hour, and besides, they would just knock if it was them. By process of elimination Roxas concluded that whoever was on the other side of this door had ill intentions for either himself or his two friends currently resting in their beds behind him.
Alright, here we go…
His hand swiftly unlocked the door before swinging it open in a single motion, readying his Keyblade to strike when-
"SURPRISE!"
Roxas staggered back in shock as what sounded like a mini orchestra composed entirely of trumpets erupted in front of him. The boy slipped as he stepped back, falling to his back as laughter began to fill the room.
The lights immediately flickered on, blinding the teen as he heard familiar voices laughing all around him. Blinking rapidly, the teen's eyes quickly adjusted to the bright light before he realized his friends were surrounding him, each with a strangely decorated cone strapped to the top of their heads with a thin string and many carrying a party horn which Roxas immediately deduced to be the cause for the explosion of noise he heard.
He saw Jaune reach out and offer a hand to pull him up, which the boy kindly accepted.
Once back on his feet, Roxas stared with furrowed brows at his friends standing all around him. He even saw Namine and Weiss in the group smiling at him. The teen whipped his head back towards their beds where he'd seen them, only to realize that the figures there were…just a tad too lumpy.
Pillows…
He turned back towards the group.
But why?
"Um, what's going on everyone?"
"Well!" Ruby said with a cheery expression. "We were talking to Namine the other day and the topic of birthdays came up!"
Namine blushed. "I, um, well I may have let it slip that we've never had a birthday…"
Roxas raised an eyebrow, did that mean that this was…
"Happy Birthday Roxas and Namine!" the group shouted in unison.
Before he knew what was happening he felt a party hat that read 'Birthday Boy' strap to his head. He saw a similar one fashioned to the top of Namine's head.
"Birthday...party?" Roxas mumbled under his breath as he saw the group begin to flood in with a cart of items. First was a cart that Ren pushed in with what appeared to be a paopu fruit made out of…paper mache? The strange looking item was lying next to a handful of small, child baseball bats. Below the cart in a cavity covered by a cloth flooded out a sea of colorful balloons which all slowly flooded to the ceiling upon release, littering the space above their heads with a vibrant mismatch of spheres.
Ren quickly turned his head towards Nora who was currently eyeing one of the balloons above her head with a glisen in her eye.
Speaking in a tone a parent would use with a child he said, "Now Nora, these balloons are for everyone, not just you. So you can't go around popping them all okay?"
Nora's eyes grew wide like a child who'd just been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "What? Of course I know that! Pffft, who do you take me for? Ruby?"
"Hey!" Ruby called out in offense from across the room as she began to set up the party streamers.
Ren gave his teammate a knowing look. "Nora, I know you. You know I know you, and we both know what you're thinking about doing right now."
Nora did her best to adopt an innocent expression. "You know the old me, the immature, childish me. But this," she motioned to herself with two thumbs. "Is young adult me, you know, the calm, sophisticated Nora with a more mature outlook on life."
Ren's eyebrows raised in a fashion that said 'Is that so?'
Nora crossed her arms. "Just you wait, I'll show you." She pointed up towards the ceiling "Not a single balloon will pop by my hand, promise."
A thin smile pulled at Ren's lips. "Good." He immediately turned back around to face his cart. The young man picked up the paopu fruit before finding a small hook and attaching it to a set of strings meant to support the-
POP!
Ren immediately spun on his heel to find Nora with her eyes wide and her hands behind her back.
"Wasn't me!" she quickly spat out.
Ren's eyes narrowed, looking the girl up and down before noticing her hands firmly placed behind her back.
"...Show me your hands…" he spoke very calmly, slowly moving towards the girl.
Large beads of sweat began to roll down the side of her face as Ren came closer. When the boy was standing just a foot away, his head beginning to veer over her shoulder to examine the contents of her hands, she spun around and dashed away, dropping the remains of a bright pink balloon as she did so.
"You'll never catch me alive! Muahahaha! I am the balloon bandit!" she called out as she pulled down one of the balloons by its string and squashed it between her hands before a loud POP echoed throughout the room.
"Quickly!" Ren announced with urgency as he began to chase after the girl. "Catch her before she gets to all the balloons!"
"You'll have to kill me for I am the unstoppable balloon bandit! Muahahahaha!" Nora called out in an intentionally cliche cowboy voice.
Roxas watched in bewilderment seeing Pyrrha, Yang, and Jaune all give chase as the girl continued to run around the room rapidly pulling down balloons and popping them. The boy slowly turned his attention to his right where he saw Ruby standing atop a step ladder attaching streamers to the wall. He could see Namine standing beside the girl, laughing as the two girls continued to talk.
"...Wait…" Roxas stammered a realization hitting him. While he was new to the prospects of a 'birthday party' he did understand the concept of a 'surprise'. The boy quickly walked up to Namine.
"Oh! Hello fellow birthday boy!...Er, well I guess I'm a girl." she stammered rubbing the back of her head.
"Why was I the only one who was surprised? Shouldn't you have been surprised with me?"
"Well that was the plan at first," Ruby began to explain from above them. "But Weiss wasn't quiet enough when she woke up so Namine woke up with her." Roxas looked up as Ruby began to talk before his eyes widened and a blush covered his face. His head quickly averted down as he hadn't realized that Ruby's skirt had been positioned directly above him.
Seemingly not noticing Ruby continued, "We didn't want to have to reset everything, so Namine agreed to help us surprise you!...Aaaand, there!" she said pinning up the last of the party streamers. "How does it look?" she asked cheerfully as she looked down towards the two former Nobodies.
Ruby raised an eyebrow in confusion as she noticed the bright red tint on Roxas's cheeks, his gaze firmly affixed to the ground.
"What's wrong? You okay?" she asked as she began to step down from the ladder, in the middle of one of her steps however, she froze, her eyes growing wide.
I was on a step ladder…in my battle skirt…with Roxas directly below me...talking…
Putting two and two together, a bright flush raced through her features before she quickly turned away and began to walk back towards the door stammering, "More stuff to grab talk to you later bye!"
Just then there was a loud THUMP as Nora was taken down by Pyrrha having wrapped her arms around the girl's legs.
"I got her!" Pyrrha cheered triumphantly. "Now someone tie her up before she can get away!"
"On it!" Jaune called out as the boy quickly produced a rope from one of the carts. Roxas momentarily questioned why they'd brought a rope to this birthday party as Jaune swiftly began to wrap the rope around the girl's arms.
"No! Release me you party poopers! There are still balloons that need to be popped!" Nora hissed doing her best to attempt to wiggle free but failing.
Namine and Roxas each slowly began to laugh at the display before a noise caught their attention. From the doorway they could hear the sound of squeaky wheels straining to support whatever they were carrying. The two former Nobodies turned to look when their eyes widened. Both Ruby and Weiss were straining to push in a cart which had on top of it the largest cake either of them had ever seen. So large in fact, that despite the cart carrying it only lifting the desert a couple feet off the ground, it managed to only barely slip beneath the top of the doorframe unscathed.
Once the two girls had managed to push it towards the side of the room where the other carts had been situated, they each slumped to the ground in exhaustion.
"Why, gasp, why is it so big?" Ruby managed to get out staring at Weiss for an answer. The cake was a pure snow white with an immaculate design executed with red frosting and sugar sprinkles
Weiss scowled, also taking deep breaths. "I, gasp, I wanted it to be special! It's Roxas's and Namine's first birthday after all!"
Ruby opened her mouth to retort before pausing and thinking about it. "You know what?" She smiled. "You're right!" The girl pushed herself to her feet before offering a hand to help Weiss up.
"So!" Ruby shouted thrusting a fist into the air. "Let's make this a night to remember!"
The first game of the night had been described to Roxas and Namine as 'Pin the Tail on the Donkey'.
"Basically," Blake began motioning to a large donkey picture on the wall. "The objective is to take this," she handed a sharp pin with a tail attached to the boy. "And pin it to where it's supposed to be on the donkey."
Roxas raised an eyebrow "That doesn't seem so hard." He began to walk over towards the picture when Blake's hand shot out and stopped him, he could see a faint smile on the girl's lips.
"It isn't, well, not when you can see that is." She gave a devious grin before without warning a blindfold was wrapped around his eyes from behind.
"What the-!" he stammered as Weiss struggled to tie it from behind him.
"Hold still! I'm trying to get this on right!" she complained leading Roxas to stop squirming.
"Alright, there. You're ready." She smiled gently placing two hands on his back and pushing him forward.
Roxas slowly began to approach the donkey, pushing his hands out in front of him so that he wouldn't run into anything.
So the rules to this game are to give a blindfolded person a sharp object and tell them to pin it to something they can't see. That seems...dangerous.
Roxas shrugged deciding that they probably knew something that he didn't given they'd played this game before and slowly continued forward.
The group of friends all gathered around the picture, stifling their collective laughter as the blindfolded boy continued to stumble his way towards the donkey. Pyrrha who was standing next to Jaune leaned towards the boy. "This was a really great idea Jaune. Thanks for planning it out for us, you're the best."
Jaune smiled as he turned his head towards her. "It was nothing really, when you guys told me you wanted to host a party for the two of them...well it just felt like I needed to make it right."
"Well you certainly did. Everyone seems to be having a great time…hold on…!" Pyrrha's eyes narrowed as her head whipped back and forth. "Where did Nora go!?"
Jaune's eyes grew big with equal concern, turning his back from the game as he too began to search for Nora's whereabouts. They tied the girl up and let her stand with the group to watch the game as it continued. She had originally been standing next to Pyrrha, but now she was gone.
Pyrrha's eyes widened as she pointed towards the other side of the room. "She's making a break for the cake!"
Jaune's head whipped around, his expression panicked as he saw Nora slowly scooting across the room towards the delectable dessert. Her mouth was open with a slim line of drool running down the corner of her mouth as she continued to crawl towards her goal.
"Crap! Quick! We have to get to her before she gets to the-" Just as Jaune turned to chase after the girl he felt something…
Sharp
Stab directly into his rear.
Reacting purely on instinct the boy shot into the air, a donkey tail firmly affixed to his butt.
"Did I get it…?" Roxas mumbled as he pulled the blindfold off his head, only to see Jaune dangling from the ceiling where his head pierced through.
"Uh oh…" he quietly mumbled as the group desperately attempted to help pull the boy back down to the ground.
The teen heard Weiss's sharp voice call out, "Hey!" Turning his head to see Weiss beginning to approach the cake where Nora had already began to bite at a corner piece. The tied up girl turned sharply towards Weiss, frosting and cake debris crumbling from her face as Weiss continued to storm towards her.
"That's for later Nora!" Weiss snapped as she grabbed the girl's ankle and slowly began to drag the girl back towards the group.
"Noooooo...!" Nora bellowed as she was pulled away from the delicious treat that was the birthday cake.
Once the tail had been removed from Jaune's rear and the cake removed from Nora's face, the group decided that it might be best that they move onto the next game. "Alright guys! It's time to whack the pinata!" As Yang was shouting the announcement she pulled the strings attached to the paopu fruit pinata and tied them to the nearest bedpost. Namine eyed at the fruit star shaped paper mache questioningly until Yang spoke again.
"For this game you use this," she handed Namine one of the bats as she was explaining the objective of the game. "And whack it a few times to get the candy out. Like the previous game, you gotta do it while blindfolded." Namine stared at the bat in her hands and then at Yang with uncertainty, "But won't someone get hurt if we do that?" Before Yang could answer her question Ruby abruptly came into their conversation while wrapping the blindfold behind the startled blonde girl.
"What? Nah! It's completely safe I guarantee it!" As she finished tying the blindfold she gently guided Namine to a nearby desk chair and spun her four times before commenting with a mischievous tone, "But it's more fun when you're a little disoriented!"
Namine stumbled left to right from her dizziness while hearing quiet laughter from her friends. Once she found her balance, she slowly waved the bat side to side as a guide to find the pinata until a soft hollow THUMP perked her ears. She tapped the object with her bat a few times and smirked in determination before letting a "Eyah!" escape from her lips and started to whack the paper mache with all her strength. After several attempts to bash the star shaped fruit Namine stopped her swings and removed her blindfold to see how well she did. She blinked a fews times to adjust to the sudden lighting before looking up and smiling to see that she managed to make an impressive dent on the pinata based on the few holes she left on it.
"Whoo hoo! Nice job Namine!" Yang shouted as she and the rest of the group clapped to her efforts. Namine's cheeks turned tint red and a sheepish smile grew on her face as she curtsied to her audience as a 'thank you'.
"Alrighty! Looks like your next birthday boy!" Yang spoke as she handed a bat to Roxas. However, as Ruby put the blindfold on Roxas and prepared to spin him on the chair, she as well as everyone failed to realize that Nora had successfully slipped out of her restraints. Without warning, she popped into view wearing a blindfold and holding her mallet much to everyone's horror.
"Don't worry everybody! I'll get that candy out!" Nora determinedly shouted with a wide grin pulling on the corners of her lips.
"NO NORA DON-!" Before Ren could finish his sentence, Nora swung her mighty mallet in a wild furry as a crazed battle roar escaped from her lips. Roxas pulled his blindfold off to see before his eyes grew wide in shock watching Nora smash through the furniture and walls. Ren, Pyrrha and Jaune frantically surrounded her to stop her rampage but she whacked them one by one, sending them flying across the room. Roxas couldn't help but wince as he heard each of them crash into the wall and leave their indents in the wall as they slid down groaning in pain and losing consciousness.
Without warning, Nora appeared before him and raised her mallet ready to strike. Roxas's eyes widened in horror as he assumed his fate was sealed, but just as the mallet was mere inches from his face a sudden red blur came into view and pushed him out of harm's way. After hearing the loud SMASH of the chair, Roxas's eyes opened to see that he was indeed still intact, but also to find Ruby on top of him.
"Thank goodness I made it in time! You okay Roxas?!" Ruby asked with concern laced in her words as she eyed the boy worryingly.
Roxas released a nervous chuckle before responding, "Y-yeah, I think so. Thanks for saving me Ruby. Uh...would it be alright if I could get up now?" Ruby scrunched her eyebrows for moment unsure why Roxas would ask her that until her eyes widened and her face became red from the realization that she was sitting right on top of him.
"Oh! Uh-yeah, sorry!" Before Roxas knew it, she pushed herself to her feet while looking away with a flustered expression. Just as Roxas lifted himself off the floor and was about say his thanks, he heard another SMASH and snapped his head in the direction of the sound to see that Nora had successfully destroyed the pinata, releasing the candy contents within it. However, unaware that she'd already achieved the objective of the game, Nora continued to swing her mallet around until she was in front of the cake.
Just as she raised her mallet and was ready to strike the cake, Roxas heard Weiss scream, "NOOOO! NOT THE CAKE!" She along with Yang, Blake, and Ruby dogpiled on Nora and succeeded to restrain her before she could cause anymore mayhem.
"Alright!" Jaune exclaimed once the last pieces of candy had been picked off the ground and the debris from Nora's rampage swept away. "Lets try and make sure that this next game isn't a bust!"
There was a collective nod from the group as Nora struggled against her new set of ropes pinning her arms to the sides of her torso.
Roxas watched with a raised eyebrow as Pyrrha set out a number of chairs facing outward and forming a circle.
"The objective of this game is relatively simple." Weiss explained standing in front of the group. "Music will play prompting all of us to walk in a circle around the chairs, Pyrrha has volunteered to operate the radio-"
"Hello!" Pyrrha waved with a smile standing next to a simple looking radio resting on one of the carts.
"-and thus will be the one determining when the music stops and plays. When the music stops, players will attempt to secure a seat as fast as they can. The player who does not is eliminated from the game. You'll notice that the number of chairs arranged before all of you is one less than the current number of players present, meaning that every round will result in an elimination." Weiss spoke matter-of-factly, raising one finger in the air to make a point. "The last player remaining will win the first slice of cake alongside the opportunity to select the first present for both Roxas and Namine."
The girl promptly shifted her attention to Roxas and Namine as she continued, "In the event that either of you win, you will be allowed to select your first present." she smiled sweetly.
"Enough instructions!" Yang complained moving towards the chairs. "Let's get started already!"
Not moments after Roxas found himself in a line consisting of Yang, Ruby, Jaune, Ren, Blake, Weiss, Namine, and then finally himself.
"Are you all ready?" Pyrrha asked with a bright smile.
"Yeah!" cheered Yang and Ruby in unison.
"Alright! Here we go!" the young Amazon said pressing down the play button.
The room filled with the sound of an electric guitar keeping beat with a set of drums, prompting the line of students to move forward. Roxas felt a bead of sweat collect on his brow. He's never been in a competition like this before.
"They see you as small and helpless
They see you as just a child.
Surprise when they find out that a warrior will soon run wild.
Prepare for your greatest moments
Prepare for your finest hour.
The dream that you've always dreamed is suddenly about to-"
The music immediately cut out and Roxas's eyes grew wide as he saw movement from the others all dashing for the chairs.
Crap! he thought to himself. I wasn't paying enough attention!
The boy turned on his heel and darted for the chairs. His eyes widened as he noticed that all the chairs but one had already been claimed.
I've gotta move quick! he thought to himself as he raced for the seat, before turning mid sprint and sitting down in a rapid blur of speed. A relieved sigh escaped his lips as he rested in the chair between Yang and Ruby.
"Aw come on! You're all way too fast!" Jaune's voice complained.
"Sorry Jaune," Ruby gave the boy a sympathetic smile. "Maybe next time?"
Jaune's shoulders slumped. "Yeah yeah I know. I just didn't want to be the first one eliminated is all." he mumbled as he walked over next to Pyrrha who gave the defeated young man a pat on the back for his efforts.
"Alright! Everyone!" Yang announced. "Butts up! Time to go another round!"
Roxas rose from his seat quietly thinking to himself, I'll have to be more focused for this next round. I got lucky last time, if I don't pay attention, I might not be so lucky this time.
Roxas adopted a serious expression as he watched one of the chairs be removed, and the music started up again.
" -flower.
We are lightning
Straying from the thunder
Miracles of ancient wonder.
This will be the day we've waited for."
Roxas eyed each chair with a level of intensity mirroring that of a lion eyeing its prey. His mind raced as he did his best to predict when the music might stop.
If she follows the same pattern she did before then the music should stop right about…
This will be the day we open up the door.
I don't wanna hear your absolution
Hope your ready for a revolution.
Welcome to a world of new solutions.
Welcome to a world of bloody evolution.
In time, your heart will
Now!
Open-"
The music stopped just as Roxas turned on his heels and shot forward. This time he was the first one in a seat as the others all scrambled to find a remaining seat.
"Ah, I thought I would last a little longer than this." Ren shrugged. "Oh well, guess I'm out this time." the young man said before walking over to where Nora was still struggling against her bindings. She'd gotten a bit of rope between her teeth now, and she was chewing.
"Next round!" Yang cheered as the group all sat up before a seat was removed and the music started up again.
Roxas began to feel he'd gotten a decent grasp on the game as the music started again.
"minds
A story will be told
And victory is in a simple soul.
Your world needs a great defender.
Your world's in the way of harm.
You want a romantic life; a fairytale"
If she follows the same pattern as last time, then that means I have a few more lines until it-
"that's full of- "
Much to the boy's surprise, the music came to an abrupt halt. Shocked, Roxas hesitated a second longer than he predicted he would have had he predicted the timing right.
Shoot! he scowled in frustration. She changed up the timing!
He shot towards the chairs a second after everyone else, once again forced to race to the last remaining chair only barely reaching it before Yang.
Roxas let his head lay back against the chair in relief.
That was close, he thought to himself as Yang shouted, pointing at Blake.
"She cheated! She used her semblance to make a clone move into the chair so that I would think it was taken and would go for another one!"
A devious smile was resting on Blake's lips as she retorted, "No one ever said that we couldn't use our semblances."
Yang paused, her arms crossed and giving the girl a dirty look. After a second longer, the blonde sighed and dropped her arms to her side. "Yeah I guess you're right there, good thinking Blake."
The girl in black simply nodded in response, a thin smile still spread from her lips.
Yang walked over to Pyrrha and Jaune "Alright everyone!" she announced. "Butts back up! Round four!"
Roxas decided his strategy would be to watch for when Pyrrha's hand turned off the music. Sure, it meant he would be unaware of the available seats, but at least he wouldn't be behind everyone else when he went for the chairs. For a moment he questioned to himself why he was taking this game so seriously, it was in fact a party game, and the stakes weren't particularly high.
The whole point to a game…is to win it, isn't it?
He concluded that this fact was true, and continued to meticulously plan for his next move, catching a devious grin on Ruby's face out of the corner of his eye.
The music continued.
"-Charm.
Beware that the light is fading
Beware if the dark returns.
This world's unforgiving, even brilliant lights will cease to burn.
Legends scatter.
Day and night will sever.
Hope and peace are lost forever.
This will be the day we've waited-"
The moment Roxas saw Pyrrha's hand depressed his feet moved forward, whipping his head around he began to scan for an available chair. To his surprise, three of the four chairs had already been taken by Weiss, Ruby, and Blake, leaving the fourth and final chair for him and Namine to race towards. The two darted for the chair, bumping into each other in the process as they each came inches from the seat…
.
.
.
!
"Aw shoot! I was hoping I'd win it!"
Namine complained before sighing, "Guess I'm not as fast as you guys are."
"Sorry Namine!" Weiss exclaimed with a frown. "I just really want you to open my present first is all."
Namine smiled in response as she moved to the side with the others.
"Alright guys! We're getting to the final members!" Yang cheered with a bright smile, a fake microphone in her hand. "Let's do this!"
Roxas felt beads of sweat rolling down the sides of his face as he rose again and began to walk around the chairs in time with the music.
How are they moving so fast? They were there in less than a blink of an eye!
"-For.
We are lightning.
It makes sense that Ruby would get there so quick, her semblance is literally speed, but how did Blake and Weiss-
Just as he thought this he looked down and noticed as Weiss walked white speed glyphs appeared beneath each shoe.
Welcome to a world of new solutions.
This will be the day we've waited for.
So that's how she's moving so fast! Shoot! I'm starting to think I'm at a severe disadvantage here. So that explains Weiss and Ruby, but how is Blake-
This will be the day we open up the door-"
Just as the music cut out Roxas's eyes lit up with understanding. Having been watching Pyrrha for when she pressed the button, the boy whipped his head around, his feet moving as fast as they could. Just like before, he saw that all three remaining seats had been taken.
Rather than give up, however, the boy made a bee line for Blake's chair.
This is going to be really awkward if I'm wrong! he thought to himself as he shot into the chair, momentarily tipping to the side before correcting himself and sitting upright. He was breathing heavily, and Blake was standing before him, her eyes wide with shock.
"How…how did you know that was a clone and not me…?"
Roxas grinned, wiping the sweat that had built on his brow. "I didn't, I took a gamble admittedly."
An impressed smile rose from Blake's cheeks. "Wow, good job. You figured me out."
Roxas smiled as the girl walked off to the side.
"Whooo!" Yang cheered, using one of the put aside chairs to step on as she announced, "It looks like things are heating up! We are down to our final three contestants! Only two chairs left! Lets see who makes it to the grand finals to this epic showdown of musical chairs!"
Roxas nervously rose from his seat as his mind raced as to what he was supposed to do now just as the music started back up.
"I don't wanna hear your absolution
There's no way I can outspeed them with the way I'm playing. Both of their semblances are too good at this!
Hope you're ready for a revolution.
Think Roxas think! If you can't outspeed them, what else can you do that might give you an edge?
Welcome to a world of new solutions.
Roxas's brow was furrowed in a deep focus as he combed his mind searching for some sort of advantage. He'd nearly given up when an image popped into his head. The boy immediately went bright red as he thought, I sure hope this works...and that she forgives me...
Welcome to a world of bloody evolution-"
Just as the music came to a close, Roxas leaned forward towards where Ruby was preparing her semblance to dash towards the chairs. The boy brought his lips inches from the girl's ears and whispered four distinct words.
Immediately, Ruby's eyes grew like ovals, her face turning a bright red. Her hands immediately rushed to her cheeks as she stood frozen in place.
"AAAAndd! It seems that Weiss and Roxas make it to the final round!" Yang announced. "I'll be honest folks I did not see that coming!"
The flush in Ruby's cheeks remained as the girl spun on her heel and shot Roxas a dirty look. The boy gave his best apologetic expression and mouthed the words 'I'm sorry' as he did so. Ruby turned on her heel and stomped away towards the rest of the group.
Namine leaned in next to Ruby, whispering as she said, "Hey, why'd you freeze like that? You were the fastest one out there. It's like you didn't even try that last round."
Ruby averted her gaze to the ground. "...It was something he said…"
Namine raised an eyebrow at this. "What'd he say?"
Ruby's blush deepened. "...Do you promise not to tell anyone?"
Namine shot the girl a strange look but slowly nodded. Ruby leaned in, cupping her mouth as she brought her lips to the girl's ears.
"White with pink stripes."
Namie's eyebrows knitted together in confusion, her eyes narrowed to slits before widening with realization. Her cheeks became a similar shade of red to Ruby's as Yang announced, "Alright now! It looks like we're down to the final two! The boy wonder who can seemingly do anything and the ice queen herself-"
"Hey!"
"Let's get to it! Pyrrha! Hit that track!" Yang cheered throwing a fist into the air.
"On it!" Pyrrha cheered matching her energy as her finger pushed down on the button.
Weiss looked over her shoulder as Roxas slowly followed her, the two of them wrapping around the lone chair. "I know you're the birthday boy and all, but I hope you realize that's not going to mean I simply give up. I want you to open my present first, so that means I have to win this."
"In time, your heart will open minds
I've only got one last trick up my sleeve.
A story will be told
Roxas began to step closely behind the girl, watching her glyphs as they formed beneath each foot.
That victory is in a simple soul."
As the song ended, he saw Weiss turn heel and dart for the chair. Just as she was doing this however, he too shot out a foot, placing one on her still active glyph and shooting after the girl at a matched speed. The room gasped as the two neared the chair and…
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!
Roxas found himself lying sprawled out on the ground, a sharp pain erupting from the side of his head. Looking up, he could see Weiss staring down at him with a look of concern on her face.
The boy slowly sat up. "What just happened?"
"You dove for the chair and hit the edge with your face!" Yang said bluntly.
"Oh…" Roxas mumbled rubbing the bump on his head. Turning, he saw that Weiss had in fact taken the final chair.
Roxas sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I guess…I lost."
The room was quiet for a few moments. The rest of the party all staring at Roxas's seemingly defeated form before a grin slowly began to split the boy's face.
Soon, he was holding his stomach laughing. "I took that way too seriously! Hahaha!" In only a few seconds Yang cracked a smile, and then Ruby, and then Weiss. Soon enough, the whole room erupted into laughter.
"Okay guys! It's finally cake time!" Ruby announced as Jaune and Ren pushed the cart carrying the colossus cake to the middle of the room with grunts escaping from their lips. Once the cart was set in place the boys collapsed onto the floor from exhaustion. Pyrrha placed two candles on the low section of the cake and lit them.
"Alright," Weiss spoke as she gently pushed the Nobody twins towards the center of the cake. "Let's get you two settled right over here. Everybody ready?" She looked around everyone who nodded collectively. Before Roxas and Namine could ask what they were supposed to be ready for everyone began to sing.
"Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear Roxas and Namine~!
Happy Birthday to you!"
Everyone clapped and cheered after the last verse leaving the Nobodies to look around confused and unsure of what was supposed to happen next until Yang shouted with a grin on her face, "Blow out the candles, you two! Oh, but be sure to make a wish before you do! It might come true!"
"A wish? But...what do we wish for?" Namine asked while Roxas raised an eyebrow as his way to reiterate her question until Ruby answered, "You can wish for anything, silly! Go with what your hearts' desire!"
"What our...hearts' desire?" Roxas hesitantly repeated and Ruby nodded her head. The twins closed their eyes to momentarily think of their wish until they opened them and glanced at each other with wide smiles slowly growing on their faces. Without hesitation, they turned their attention back to the cake and blew out the candles.
As everyone gave another round of applause Ren cut the bottom sheet of the cake and began passing out slices to everyone. The Nobody twins received theirs first, then Weiss since she won the previous game, and then to the next person in line. Once everyone enjoyed their delectable slice of cake, especially Nora who had to remain restrained in the ropes to prevent her from causing more trouble, the time came for Roxas and Namine to open their presents.
Weiss approached the two with a relatively simple sized box. The girl reached out and offered the object to Roxas before handing a similarly sized gift to Namine. The two Nobodies shot curious glances towards one another before returning their attention towards Weiss who continued staring at them expectantly.
"Well?" she said with a raised eyebrow.
"...Well?" Roxas repeated with clear confusion in his voice.
"Open it already will you?" Weiss complained as she motioned with one hand towards the boxes.
Roxas and Namine turned to each other before sharing a combined 'ohhh' moment. Without hesitation their hands began to tear into the wrapping paper and through the underlying box. A few moments later, Roxas had a checkered black and grey patterned scarf with red lining in his hands. Contrastly Namine held in her hands a silver chain necklace with a simply designed sea salt ice cream hanging upside down in the center.
The two smiled as they placed the gifts around their necks. To Roxas's delight, the fabric was surprisingly soft against his neck while still providing a suitable amount of warmth. Namine found the metal of the chain strong and smooth to the point that she hardly felt it as it rested against her collar bone.
"Thanks Weiss!" Namine exclaimed excitedly as she studied the necklace around her neck. Weiss beamed at her appreciation.
Roxas bore a steadfast grin across his features as he said, "Thank you Weiss, it's really nice."
Weiss's smile spread wider as Yang pushed to the front of the group, two presents in hand. "Me next! Me next!"
Complying the Nobody twins set to work tearing apart the wrapping paper around her presents only to be presented with something they'd never encountered before.
"Uhh…" Roxas muttered under his breath trying his best to figure out exactly what he was looking at. To him it resembled a skateboard but without any wheels.
"Um…" Namine began quietly. "What is it exactly?"
The look of Yang's visible disbelief left the duo in a state of embarrassment as she said, "They're hoverboards guys! They're awesome!"
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Not long after Namine sent herself crashing out of the window and Roxas made a human shaped indent on the wall, the group decided that it might be best if they moved onto the next set of gifts.
Blake silently approached the Nobodies with a thin smile and presented each of them a rectangular shaped object wrapped in simple green with a red bow on the middle. As they humbly accepted their gifts and unwrapped them, both of them discovered that their present was a book.
Namine squealed in joy with a twinkle in her eyes as she presented the book to the crowd titled The Scarlet Letter. She spoke with excitement, "Oh thank you Blake! How did you find this book?! I've searched high and low for this novel, but there wasn't a single library or bookstore that had it!"
"I have my ways." Blake commented with a sly grin on her face as she winked at the blonde girl.
Roxas couldn't help but cast a curious gaze at his book The Wandering Warrior before being snapped out of his stupor by Blake's explanation, "It's about a strong warrior traveling around the world to find his self value and purpose in life. He meets many people who help him on his journey. Sound familiar?"
A thin smile pulled on the corners of the boy's lips as he said, "Heh, probably. Thanks Blake. I'll be looking forward to reading this tonight."
Blake beamed back to the boy as her way of saying 'you're welcome' before turning back to join the group.
Nora cheerfully approached the set of twins with one box in either hand. Extending both hands out one to each twin she exclaimed, "Enjoy!"
The moment the box left her hand Roxas felt his entire body shift to accommodate the weight of the box. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Namine get pulled to the ground from the weight.
"W-What's in here?" she asked in a quiet daze. "It feels like it weighs a ton!"
"Only a hundred-fifty pounds actually!" Nora happily corrected. "I thought I should give each of you a small section of my own personal workout routine! So I set in some dumbbells for each of you to train those muscles when you get the chance!"
Namine and Roxas each shot each other a concerned glance before turning back to Nora and saying in unison, "Thank you Nora!"
The girl beamed in response as she turned around and returned to the rest of the group before leaning over towards Ren and whispering loudly, "Try and beat that!"
Ren could not help but roll his eyes and slightly shake his head as he approached Roxas and Namine and said with a soft smile on his face, "Happy Birthday you two." He handed each of them a strangely shaped yet extraordinarily soft gift, which they unwrapped to discover that they're pillows.
"I know that a lot has happened lately, so I thought that these could help you sleep better at night. I own one myself so I know it helps me at night after a long day." He couldn't help but glance at Nora from that last comment like a parent who looks at their child when they know they're trouble makers. Nora crossed her arms with a 'hmph' before sticking her tongue out at him as her retaliation.
Roxas examined his gift in silence until he slowly looked at Ren and spoke with a sincere smile growing on his face, "Wow...this is really soft. Thanks Ren, I'm sure this will help me sleep better from now on, so I'll definitely give it a try the next night."
Namine also had a sincere smile planted on her face and nodded as her reciprocation to Roxas's gratitude to Ren's gift.
"Okay, my turn!" Jaune said with determination in his voice as he handed the twins a single wrapped box. As they opened the gift together, they looked at the surprise questioningly as the front of the box read Compost King.
"You play as a farmer collecting organic scraps for your compost heap. Whoever gets the biggest pile becomes the Compost King!" Jaune explained with excitement in his tone. "And get this! It plays in real time, so the game can last for hours or even days! Pretty cool huh?"
Both Roxas and Namine looked at their present with uncertainty for they could not find the right words to say to Jaune for giving them such an...interesting game. Regardless, it was the thought that counted so Roxas spoke for the both of them, "That sounds, um...fun Jaune. We'll give it a try when we have the time. Thank you for the game."
As the older blond boy grinned in satisfaction for the response Prryha approached next to him and said, "Sorry. Is it alright if can I go next now?"
Jaune nodded and the young Amazon smiled as her way of saying 'thank you' until she faced the Nobodies with her hands behind her back. Before they could ask her what she was hiding, she beat them to the punch by saying, "Alright you two. I need you to close your eyes and take out your hands with an open palm."
Both of them tilted their heads and gave the redhead curious glances, but complied and did as she asked them. A few moments went by when the touching sensations on their hands felt something soft and light. They scrunched their eyebrows in wonder on what it was they were holding until Prryha spoke in anticipation, "Okay! Now you can open them!"
The moment Roxas and Namine complied to her instructions, their eyes slightly widened in surprise.
Before them sat two crochet dolls with a set of rather distinctive features on the palm of their hands. Namine's was a doll with long blonde hair constructed of yarn which fell halfway down its back before stopping. It's head was larger than its body as it leaned against the side of her hand wearing a simple and yet familiar white dress. Its eyes were blue beads sewn onto its face.
Namine's eyes widened as she looked at the present, studying it with wonder. "Is this me!?" she exclaimed with a bright smile.
Meanwhile Roxas had reached out with his other hand to adjust his respective doll. Sitting lopsided in his hand was a doll of similar proportions with a head full of blond spikey hair and a set of blue beads for eyes. It's clothes merely consisted of an all black organization coat small enough to fit the doll's puny body.
Roxas raised an eyebrow as he stood there staring down at it. "They're…little figurines of us."
Prryha softly giggled as she said, "You could say that. They're mainly dolls that I hand made through crocheting. My mother taught me when I was little, although I never saw myself using the skill that often. But after hearing about celebrating your birthdays I thought that would be a good opportunity to use it for your gifts. Do you like them?" She looked at them with slight concern and fear in her eyes, worried that they would not like their gifts.
However, those feelings dissipated when both blondes looked at her with grins plastered on their faces and nodded their heads.
"They're really adorable, Prryha! I'll be sure to put it around my backpack! Thank you so much!" Namine said with excitement in her voice.
Prrhya beamed at them and turned around to return to the group.
Roxas and Namine turned as they watched Ruby approach them with a sheepish smile. "Um, my gift is a little different."
Roxas felt a smile pulling on his lips as he responded, "Don't worry, it's not like we'll know any different if it is a 'little different'."
Ruby flashed a smile at his comment before kneeling before the two Nobodies and gently setting the box on the ground. Her fingers gripped a simple red bow affixed to the top of the present before slowly pulling the ribbon free of the box.
Before Namine or Roxas could question exactly what she was doing, the present began to open by itself. Its walls began falling to either side with it's top dropping to the side revealing two lone figures standing upright, their faces bore smiles as they looked up towards the group of students hovering above them.
The first figure seemed to bear a close resemblance to that of Roxas, although his hair was black and his face failed to express the same youthfulness Roxas so often exemplified. With dark black bags resting below his eyes and what resembled a five o'clock shadow coating his chin and neck, it was clear that whatever doll company responsible for making this had messed up the design of Roxas. In place of his typical Organization coat the poorly constructed replica wore a baggy pink morning robe that touched the ground along with a set of fluffy looking trousers with a yellow mickey mouse design to them. In one of his hands rested a mug filled near to the brim with a brown substance. Written on the side of the mug was the simple message 'Who needs sleep?'.
The second figure was that of a slightly lean young female with light tan skin and dark brown hair tied with a band to form a ponytail that fell all the way to her back. Although there were faint black bags under the figure's eyes, they still had some energy behind them as well as an innocent smirk to compliment them. She wore what appeared to be just a simple black tank top with navy blue capri shorts and a pair of black and white patterned slide in sandals.
The first figure stepped forward revealing a set of blue sea salt ice cream slippers affixed to his feet and said, "Heya! Roxashadow here! Me and Shiloh just wanted to take the time to say a mighty big thank you to everyone who's stuck with us on this long...long journey. A few days ago marked the second year anniversary to the story and boy is that something to think about! I've been working on this story for two years now! That's crazy to think about! This story has grown past every expectation and the support has been more than I honestly deserve."
"Aw, don't be ridiculous! You deserve it as much as any good author does!" said the Shiloh figure before continuing. "Still amazing that I went from a simple reader to a beta reader for this amazing story. It's really fun to see what you've been planning for the story and it does feel good to be able to help out. But...there are times when I have to read fifty times to catch your mistakes!" she exclaimed while giving the RoxaShadow figurine a dirty look.
A sheepish grin crawled up the Roxashadow figurine's face. "Well that's just because I don't get a lot of sleep is all. If I did I probably wouldn't make a single mistake in my writing…"
"That's the problem! You go overboard and don't take care of yourself! And that's when I have to be the one to clean up your mess!" the Shiloh figurine shouted as she stomped to the taller male figure and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt shaking him.
"Hey hey! Watch the mug!" he complained while slowly bringing the mug to his lips, his head still bobbing left and right rapidly from being shaken.
"Besides," he added rolling around the drink in his mouth. "Sleep is for the weak."
Shiloh couldn't help but look at him in disbelief for a moment before face palming and sighing with defeat, "You really are impossible sometimes. This is what I have to go through folks!" She raised her arms in defeat and began to walk away.
"Hey! Hey! We have to finish this message to the audience! Where do you think you're going!?" he hollered after the girl.
"I'm gonna go find a nearby wine store to buy some sake to drink my woes and stresses away!"
"Pffft, what do you think is in this cup?-Slurp-Yeah, that's the good stuff."
The Shiloh figure rolled her eyes and shook her head in annoyance before walking back and said, "Fine, but after this you're gonna buy me a drink."
"Pfft, what are you an alcoholic?" RoxaShadow said while raising the mug to his lips finishing his morning cup of whiskey. He frowned as he noticed the mug was empty. "...Fine. We'll find something."
Shiloh made a toothy grin to celebrate her small victory before facing back to the audience. "Well anyway folks, just as RoxasShadow here was saying, I wanna say thank you all for your support and kind words. I'll still be around to help out this guy!" she teased as she gave a hard pat on RoxaShadow's back before continuing. "So rest assured my good people! You shall be able to continue reading this amazing story with ease and very little distractions from the spelling and grammar errors."
"...Not if I have anything to say about it…" the figurine murmured while raising the cup to take another pretend sip.
"Anyhow," he continued. "This chapter is just a small treat to you all as the canon chapter is in production. Currently thirty pages and counting aaaaand I've never been more tired. So after I feed this alcoholic her liquor, I plan to take a long, looooong, nap." Shoulders slumped and his feet dragging on the floor he slowly started to make his way off the cardboard stand.
"For the record, folks, this was my idea since I'm the one who had to remind him about the second anniversary of this story." Shiloh said while pointing at RoxaShadow behind her with her thumb.
"Pffft, I don't remember dates…that's for people who can remember things past their lunch…" Looking over his shoulder he called out, "Now hurry it up! We need to get out of here so that the fourth wall doesn't shatter entirely and the characters can move forward thinking we're just a weird gift."
"Alright fine. Sheesh, no patience these days." Shiloh said while rolling her eyes. "Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. And I also hope you'll stay with us on this crazy roller coaster ride to the very end. Now you'll if you'll excuse us we'll be out having some drinks."
"Peace!"
Namine slowly raised he head looking to the rest of her classmates. "Uh...this is a weird gift right?"
Roxas nodded. "Yeah…although something outside of my control is telling me to simply write it off as a defective set of toys."
"Yeah me too," Ruby added
"Me too,"
"Me three,"
"Me four,"
"Huh…" Jaune murmured under his breath before clapping his hands together. "Who wants another slice of cake?"
"Yeah!"
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AN:
No real Author's note here. This chapter was a collaboration with Shiloh with each of us writing out scenes and then looking over each other's work. We mostly got the idea for the chapter as a thank you for sticking around for so much, and a means to hold you off until I finally get to finishing the cannon chapter. I know many of you were expecting the real chapter which I assure you I am currently hard at work on. It's simply a matter of this chapter requiring the most attention in relation to the others. A document that's over 30 pages leaning towards 40 pages is no easy task to complete lol. Considering the most recent chapters all reach around 20-ish pages, it's safe to say that this one is the equivalent of 2 chapters if not more depending on how long the final scene of the chapter takes. So look forward to the next update being a mighty big one!
Hey everyone! Shiloh here! I hope you all enjoyed this bonus chapter! I'm sorry this was a little late. We were originally gonna release it on THE day of the anniversary that this story was published, but...let's just say we bit off a little more than we could chew DX We had to do this while doing the main story AND the omake at the same time, so doing three projects at once while handling real life at the same time was NOT the best idea. But we finally managed to get this done at least, so that's a small victory that RoxaShadow and I are happy about! Anyway, I wanted this to be special because I love Roxas and Namine and believe they deserve this after all that they've been through in the KH universe. So I thought this would be perfect to correlate with the anniversary of this great story! Rest assured, though, that we will get back on track to the main story. I only ask that you all remain patient for just a little while longer. But other than that, I just wanna say thank you all for supporting RoxaShadow and sticking with him so far! I do hope that you will stay with us to the very end. With that, bid you all audieu :D