The City of Naught: Chapter Two
A Hollow Radiance
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Disclaimer
Muahahaha. Notice it's not disclaimer land this time. See, I'm capable of being normal and mature. I just don't like to. It's no fun. When you act grown-up, they heap responsibility on you, and with responsibility…comes the major loss of writing time. So be happy that I am goofy and immature:3 oh yeah…And Disney and Square-Enix own Kingdom Hearts, and such. Not me. I own nothing. Wait, wait, wait! I own Seraph and Gabriel! Yay!
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The train wheels screeched as the train lurched forward, shuddering violently. Roxas, shaken out of a shallow slumber, just managed to keep himself from sprawling embarrassingly on the floor. He scowled at the opposite wall of the train compartment. He had just been disturbed from the first dreamless sleep he'd had in weeks.
Eventually, the metallic squealing came to a stop and the train shook once more, and then fell still. There was a clunk as the barriers fell down to keep the vehicle form moving around as people disembarked. A whistle sounded, high and shrill, and then ended abruptly, an echo sounding a few times.
The doors opened, and Seraph and Gabriel stood up, shouldering their carry-on bags. Still a bit disgruntled, Roxas did the same, and followed the two adults out of the compartment.
The Hollow Bastion train station was certainly not what he was expecting, to say the least! It was a huge building with a high, vaulted ceiling with various windows to let in the warm sunlight. The walls were of grey stone decorated with the occasional brightly colored poster or something else to spice up the room. The lights form the subset above played on the walls, tinting them pink and orange. Ahead, there was a fancy glass door inscribed with gold décor that led down a path that, one assumed, went into the city.
To either side of the door were short hallways. The signs above them read "Visitor's Center" and "Restrooms."
"Wow…" Gabriel trailed off. "I honestly didn't expect it to be this nice…"
"Yes, it does have a certain charm," agreed Seraph with a nod.
Roxas remained silent, furiously thinking, 'You've only seen the train station! The rest of the town may be a dump for all we know!'
They stood in an uncomfortable silence for a long moment, when Seraph spoke up again.
"Gabriel," she said softly, "You have the address for the house?"
"Uh-huh." He nodded, and began fishing around in his pocket for the slip of paper he had written it on. His company had been kind enough to supply him with a fairly nice (they had been shown pictures) house. The only problem now was finding it…
"Ah-hah!" He said, waving the crumpled piece of paper. "We live at…number thirteen, Rising Falls Street."
Seraph rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know the address, but what I meant it, how do we find the house?"
"Umm…uhh…" Gabriel smiled sheepishly. For the computer genius that he was, Roxas's surrogate father didn't have much common sense. Maybe his son's blonde hair color was rubbing off on him…
Seraph and Roxas sighed.
"Hey…" the latter spoke at last, "There's that 'visitor's center' over there. Maybe they'll have maps of the city you can pick up or something. At least, there should be someone who can give us directions…"
"Good idea!" Gabriel smiled broadly, stuffing the address back into his pocket. He began toward the left hallway, the other two trailing after him.
The visitor's center was…in all actuality…a gift shop. They must have gotten a lot of tourism in Hollow Bastion. Spinning racks of postcards lined one wall, and a bin of posters sat in the corner. Along the other two walls, information brochures stuck out haphazardly form various slots. In the center, there were clothes racks holding up hoodies and t-shirts galore. And in the corner opposite the poster bin was the checkout desk.
A boy, perhaps a year or so older than Roxas sat in a plush chair behind the desk, his feet resting on top of the cash register. He was reading a magazine…upside down. Roxas looked inquisitively at this, but the silver-haired boy didn't even look up.
Seraph, playing the part of tourist, flitted between racks of postcards, and Gabriel began scouring the informational brochures, hunting for a map. Roxas, unsure of what to do, stood there like some sort of an idiot, his hands by his sides.
Minutes later, Gabriel "hmm'd" and murmured, "I can't find a map anywhere!"
"Then why don't you ask?" Seraph said back, gesturing toward the silver haired boy, her eyes still scanning over various posters.
Gabriel nodded, and strode over to where the boy was still reading his magazine upside-down. Roxas couldn't help but notice that he hadn't turned the page yet.
"Excuse me," Gabriel said politely. The silver-haired boy started, as if he had just noticed them.
"What do you want—I mean, hello and welcome to the shining city of Hollow Bastion." His voice was dull, as if he had memorized the speech. He probably had. "My name is Riku and I'll be assisting you today. If there's any information you need, please feel free to ask."
Meanwhile, his face clearly stated, 'Please leave me alone.'
Gabriel did not seem to notice this, and he chirped happily, "Well, then would you happen to have any maps for sale?"
Riku shook his head. "We're sold out. However, if you need directions, I suppose I can look them up for you…" He said something else in a soft mumble, but Roxas managed to make out the words, "Anything…get you away…faster...let me…book…"
"Come again?" Gabriel asked, cocking his head to the side.
"Nothing." Riku put on an apathetic face. "Now, where do you need directions to?"
"Rising Falls Street. We're moving in there."
"Oh," Riku said, nodding slightly, "So you're the people moving in down the street…Anyway…" He removed his feet form the cash register and rolled the chair over to the computer, typing vigorously. A screen came up that showed the best routes from the train station to Rising Falls Street.
"Would you like me to print that out for you?"
"Yes, please."
"'Kay." Riku clicked a few times with the mouse and the printer started up, whirring as the page was printed out. Without another word, he picked up his magazine. Gabriel shrugged and picked up the printout, studying for a second before turning to Seraph and Roxas.
"Shall we go, then?"
The older two left, but Roxas lingered just a moment.
"Hey…" He said to Riku, who didn't even look up. "Sorry you had to put up with Gabriel…He's a bit dense…" And with that, the blonde-haired boy turned to leave the visitor's center (more like gift shop). However, he could swear that he saw, just before he left, that the corners of Riku's mouth had twitched upward in a slight grin.
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"Wow…" Roxas said upon entering the house. It was a beautiful, older house with a careworn warmth to it. The wooden floors were a light honey oak, and the walls were pale yellow and white. This, combined with the sunlight slanting through the broad windows, gave the room the appearance of a summer morning. The trim on the corners and by the baseboard matched the golden color of the floor perfectly, adding a softer touch to the design.
All three began wandering around their new home, forgetting, for the moment, the one they had left behind. Roxas vaguely wondered how all their belongings had gotten into their house, and made a note to ask Gabriel later. But for now, he was just interested in seeing the rest of the house.
Wooden stairs peeked out from behind a wall.
"A second floor?" Roxas asked himself, although it was actually more of a statement. Curious, he ascended the steps, and found, what must have been, the residence area. There was a small open area where the top of the stairs opened up, bay windows letting light in. A hallway extended back from it, a few doors visible form Roxas's perspective.
He strode down it, peeking in a few of the doors. The first had been a bathroom, the second a large bedroom with Seraph and Gabriel's boxes, connected to a large bath. On the other side, directly across form his parents' room was an empty room, presumably the guest bedroom, and a bit down the hall from that was another medium sized room, his boxes filling up about half of it.
"I can assume this one's mine, then…" he said to himself.
"Yup!" Gabriel said, peeking in after him. "If you don't like it, you can move to the one down the hall…"
Roxas shook his head. "No this is fine." In all honesty, he just didn't want to be across the hall from Gabriel. He snored. Very loudly. Seraph had to sleep with earplugs.
"Oh, Roxas," Seraph said, appearing behind her husband. "We haven't ordered any furniture yet. Any suggestions?"
The teenager stared blankly at her. "I dunno…green?"
Seraph considered for a moment. "Yes, green would look rather nice. A darker, foresty shade, maybe with some ivy as decoration…"
She wandered off, still rambling on with ideas for the decorations. You see, Seraph had wanted to be an interior designer, but had been unable to find a decent job as one, and had become an architect instead.
Gabriel shrugged and ducked out of Roxas's room, just as the doorbell rang.
Gabriel rushed down the stairs, delighted to have visitors so soon. Can you tell that he is a very extroverted person?
Roxas was a bit slower, but he drifted to the first floor as well, mildly curious as to who it might be.
Seraph, who now had a clipboard and was jotting down ideas for the house design, answered it with a broad smile. She found herself face-to-face with a huge chocolate cake.
"Hello, and welcome to Hollow Bastion!" it was a woman's voice, young-sounding.
"Oh, hello!" Seraph exclaimed, "That cake must be heavy; why don't you come in?"
"Thank you." Seraph moved aside to let the woman past, saying softly, "I can take that."
The cake was shifted to her, and Seraph managed to get it into the kitchen and set it down on the counter.
For the first time, the two women looked at one another.
"I'm sorry for barging in like that. I know you just got here, but when I heard we were getting new neighbors, I just had to do something to make you feel welcome. I really should have given you some time to settle in, though." She smiled apologetically. She was a pretty woman, perhaps in her mid-thirties. Her hair was wavy and blonde, her eyes the brightest green.
"No, no, not at all!" Seraph waved off her apology. "It's wonderful to meet you. I am Seraph Hakumei."
The blonde woman nodded. "I'm Reisei Mizu. My husband, children, and I live next door."
"Oh you have children?"
Reisei nodded enthusiastically. Roxas listened with a mild curiosity.
"Yes, a boy and a girl. The girl is seventeen. Her name is Larxene, and the boy, Sora, is fifteen."
"Really?" Seraph cocked her head and smiled. "I have an…umm…son. He's fifteen as well."
Suddenly, a voice sounded next to Roxas.
"Ugh, girl talk…"
Roxas jumped about a foot into the air. "WHOA!"
The boy grinned cheesily. He had spiky brown hair and sky blue eyes that twinkled with a amusement at Roxas's reaction.
"Sorry 'bout that." He smiled again, and stuck out a hand. "I'm Sora Mizu. I live next door."
Roxas recovered, and nodded. "Roxas Hakumei."
"Not the talkative type, are ya?"
Roxas cocked his head to the side and stared inquisitively at his new neighbor, totally silent. Sora sighed. "Well, that answers that question..."
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The rest of the evening passed quickly. Reisei's husband Kaiyou had come over later that evening, and they sat on unpacked boxes, eating Mrs. Mizu's chocolate cake (which turned out to be very good.) Sora got through to Roxas, and they has begun talking about things in their individual lives, and such. Although Roxas was more quiet and reserved, and Sora was outgoing and friendly, they had a lot in common and got along very easily. And so Roxas was settling in to his new home.
It was about ten o'clock when the Mizu family left, and Roxas went up to his room to blow up the air mattress that he would be sleeping on until their furniture came in. He hooked up the electric pump, being too lazy to blow it up by hand, and began rummaging through the boxes for some loose t-shirts and boxers that he could sleep in.
He came across his bag that he had carried onto the train, and remembered something.
"Oh yeah…" He murmured softly.
There was the plain, brown package that Hayner, Pence and Olette had given him. Curiously, he pulled at the strings that held it shut, untying them one-by-one. After that, he pulled off the paper to reveal a plain, shiny wooden box.
He smiled, and opened the lid. It was filled to the brim with all sorts of envelopes, loose letters, postcards and stationary.
"What?" He wondered, raising one eyebrow. Intrigued, he picked up the top item: a plain, white envelope that had his name written on the front. He unsealed the letter and began reading it.
"Roxas,
How's Hollow Bastion? I hope you like it there? Have you made any new friends? You know, you better not forget about us! I expect you to write and tell us all about it. Or else. Well, anyway, we miss you, buddy. Hope to hear from you soon.
--Hayner"
Roxas smiled. That was so like Hayner.
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Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, facing east to catch dawn's first light. Outside, birds chirped playfully as they flitted around. Roxas winced and grunted as the light assaulted his eyes. He squinted to keep out the full blare of the sun, and checked his watch. It was 6:48 AM. On a Saturday. No one should be awake at that ungodly hour!
Nevertheless, there was no hope of him going back to sleep, now, so he might as well get up and have a look around the town.
He quickly dressed, (after digging through the boxes to figure out which one contained his clothes) brushed his teeth, and fixed his spikey hair.
He went downstairs to find that Seraph and Gabriel were already up, the first of which was eagerly thumbing through a catalogue for a furniture store. Gabriel was reading a newspaper.
He looked up, and grinned broadly.
"Hey, Roxas," Gabriel said. Oh no. That voice meant trouble, "You know, you're almost sixteen now. You should look for a job, today."
Roxas blinked, taken aback. "What?"
"You should look for a job." Gabriel repeated matter-of-factly.
"Hmm…" Roxas considered the idea, finding that he rather liked it. Work would keep him from being bored all day, and it would be nice to have some spare cash…
"I'll look at least. Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna go have a look around the town."
"Okay."
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Roxas sighed heavily. After wandering among residence streets for about twenty minutes, he had come to a larger area, which was referred to as "Market Square." Thinking this might be a good place to find some work, he had wandered, looking for help wanted signs. He had checked out a few, and had not found any suitable to his schedule or abilities. And, he was nearly back where he started.
Something to the right caught his eye, and he turned, curious. There, like a beacon from Heaven, in the window of a small shop, sat a sign that read, "Help Wanted. Must be fifteen or older. No previous job experience required."
Roxas smirked.
'Sounds like my kind of place.' He looked up at the sign above the door.
"Aeris's Art Supplies."
"An art store? Oh well…I wonder how it pays…" On this note, he walked into the shop.
A bell 'ding'd' as he entered, and a young woman looked up from the counter at the back.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" She asked politely.
Roxas stood silent for a moment, then snapped back into reality.
"Yes. I noticed your sign in the window."
The brown-haired woman laughed, her green eyes sparkling.
"I see. What is your name? I haven't noticed you around before."
Roxas shrugged. "I'm Roxas Hakumei. I just moved in…"
The woman smiled kindly and nodded. "I'm Aeris Gainsborough. Where are you from?"
"Twilight Town."
"Never heard of it. Anyway, can you work a cash register and count money?"
Roxas blinked and said, "…yes…"
"Great! You got the job!" She clapped a few times. "Tomorrow we can work out a schedule, if you can come by around tenish?"
"Sure," Roxas nodded, thinking, 'Wow…that was easy…She must have been desperate for someone to apply for that job…'
"So…when do I start?" He asked politely.
Aeris handed him the key to the cash resister.
"How about now?"
Dumbstruck, Roxas just nodded.
'She really WAS desperate…'"Good!" Aeris smiled warmly. "I know this seems really abrupt, but I have a really bust schedule and I was supposed to be somewhere…" She checked her watch, "Ten minutes ago…Cloud would kill me if I skipped out. Again."
"Umm…" Roxas grinned nervously.
"Well, I'm off! Ta-ta!" Aeris walked out, waving.
'That was…interesting…Well, I got a job, what do I care?'A bit weirded-out, Roxas took his place behind the cash register, having a seat on the stool.
For the first time, he looked around the store. Wow, for an artist, this place must be heaven! Supplies of all kinds and brands imaginable lined the walls and racks. Paints, canvas, pencils, charcoal, pastels and oh so much more sat on the shelves, waiting to be picked up by some artsy-person. Roxas scowled slightly. He had never been into the 'art' thing. Neither had any of his friends. Hayner picked fights, Pence took pictures, and Olette was always reading something. How ironic that his first job would be in an art store? He chuckled slightly at the thought.
He looked up suddenly when the door opened, the bell making its infamous 'ding.'
"Hello?" A feminine voice said.
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Author's Notes
How was that for chapter two? Yes, I know, my writing got fairly crappified by the end, there, but I did this all in one sitting, what do you expect? I'll probably edit and re-upload it later. My favorite part of this chapter is how I portrayed Riku. It was just a fun scene to write. And as for making Larxene Sora's sister…that was just on the spur of the moment.
Well, now to rant about what's going on in my life, cause I need to rant somewhere. Preferably where no-one I know in real life will read it. Therefore, fanfiction is perfect!
I have this friend. For security purposes, let's just call her Morgan. Anyway, she is one of my best friends. We hung out a lot, and talked on the phone and stuff. Anyway, then…umm…Brian! Yes, then Brian asked Morgan out, and everything's changed. She acts like she's better than me, and totally excludes me. Not to mention, whenever we do talk, all she talks about is him. "Brian this, Brian that, oh Brian's just so sweet, Brian's so cool and perfect and"…It just makes me sick. It's not just that, but apparently now I'm not 'good enough to be her friend' now that she has a boyfriend. Like last Saturday, she and Brian were going to the mall, and he told her to invite all her friends, and that he would invite his. Anyway, so Morgan called up –thinks of fake names- Natasha, Latisha, Millie, and some other people. But not me and my friend, Noava (her online nickname). Anyway, when Noava confronted her and asked why we weren't invited, Morgan said something to the effect of "Oh, I didn't think you'd want to come." As if. What she meant was "I didn't really want you to come." I don't know. Maybe I'm just being pathetic and immature. Maybe I need to get over myself. But…you know, it's just not fun when a friend totally gets obsessed with some guy and forgets about her friends, who have known her way longer than him. Please feel free to tell me what a loser I am because of this whole thing, but I'd also like to thank you for letting me vent.
Anyway, if you'd review, I'd love you forever. And ever. And ever. And all eternity. C'mon. Click the little purple button. You know you want to...
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Stay tuned for chapter three: New Acquaintances