Look! I'm not dead! Sorry about the long lapse; I've been getting over a king-sized case of writer's block, but I seem to be pretty well over it now.
Now, for courtesy's sake; DISCLAIMER!
Three truths and a lie;
I'm fourteen years old.
I write fanfic.
My parents think I am doing homework.
I own Kingdom Hearts.
…No, it isn't that hard to guess. (For those with too much faith in my parents, it's the last) Without further ado…. Vanity!
Blah- is Yuffie I.M.ing Cloud.
Blah- is Cloud messaging Yuffie.
Cloud's PoV
Moving sucks. It really does. I ran a hand through my hair, ignoring the stiffness of the gel. I was used to it, after all. Sighing, I got up and opened to box I had been using for a chair. Books, just like the three other boxes already brought into my room. Reading was something I enjoyed, and now I wouldn't have much else TO do. Thankfully, there was a pretty good library, or I really would go mad. I pulled the books out of the box and began arranging them on the empty shelf. Science fiction mostly, some fantasy. A handful of non-fiction, hard science and a few lonely history texts. I love math, particularly the applied math in science and physics. The books were all squared away on the shelf that ran along one wall at head height. Head height on me, which meant maybe chest-high on most guys my age. Being short sucks. The walls were already covered with stuff I had shipped over from my old room; a mishmash of posters, newspaper clippings, artwork and poetry covered most of the walls. I frowned; I needed to get some more stuff, there was still white paint showing.
I headed outside to grab another box of stuff off the lawn. Junk was piled pretty randomly higher than my head in places, but I wasn't really paying attention. I felt a prickle at the back of my neck, the kind you get when someone is watching you for reasons you don't like. I looked around quickly. The street was empty, but across the way a guy was leaning casually on the railing of an ornate wrought-iron balcony. I couldn't tell much about him, just that he was tall and had brown hair right down to his shoulder blades, cut jagged and spiky. I gave him a good glare and grabbed a box, one with my name penned across the top—Cloud Strife, and don't you forget it. It wasn't my birth name; time and lazy memories had lost that. It was the name I was given when I was just a child, moving from foster home to foster home. The 'cloud' bit embarrassed me sometimes, since it sounded like a woman's name, but Strife suited me like a tight-fitting leather glove.
The brown-haired guy was STILL watching me. I flipped him off, and then carried the box into the house. Creepy neighbors. Feh. Just what I need. It took me hours to get my room set up, same general arrangement as my room back in Massachusetts. The effect wasn't the same, though—the room was a touch too long and narrow, and far too high-ceilinged. I thought again about getting something to cover the white wall showing through. I paced over and looked out the window. It overlooked a small corner of the back yard, a twenty foot square walled on three sides with a tree in one corner and climbing rose completely covering one high brown brick wall. A wooden lathe covered in cat's claw covered the spot, further enhancing the impression of a room. I eyed the window, calculating. The screen should pop out easily… I slid the window open and was surprised again at the heat. Phoenix Arizona was apparently hotter in the shade than full sun in Boston. Outside seemed suddenly less appealing. Still, I continued what I had started and popped the window screen off with a grating noise and climbed out.
The window was easily twice as big as the one in my old room, and easy to climb through. I dropped the three feet to the burnished flagstone and looked around. The fourth open side, which had not been visible from my angle, opened into the pool area. That was one of the few perks; I had heard that you could swim outside year-round in phoenix, and I was beginning to re-think my initial skepticism. The pool took up pretty much the entire back yard, and glittered like some kind of gem, like the stone in my birth-mothers wedding ring that was all I had left of her. Aquamarine. Aqua, for water, marine for ocean. Seemed kind of redundant. The heat outside was indescribable. Just out of curiosity, I walked over to the pool and stuck my hand in. Walking into the sun was like being hit by a hammer; I suddenly understood why mother had insisted I wear the heavy sunscreen. Even with it, I still felt like I was burning. The water in the pool didn't help any; I had had cooler baths! How did people survive here! I quickly retreated to the shade and closed my window down to a tiny crack so that my room wouldn't get hot.
Four huge terra cotta pots stood in the corners of the small outdoor 'room', not flower pots but huge unglazed jars. I wondered what they were for, until I remembered something I had read. The Egyptians, I think it was, had filled clay pots with water. Then, as the water evaporated, it had cooled the water, the jars, and the Egyptians. I grinned and grabbed the hose in one corner, and filled all four jars, wetting the whole area and myself for good measure. The temperature in the area had dropped noticeably, but it still wasn't weather to be outside in. I opened up the window and slipped back inside, shivering from the air conditioning on my damp clothes and skin. The water had just rolled off the gel in my hair. I grabbed a towel from the bathroom and ran it over my arms to dry them. That was another perk of the move; my own bathroom. Not that I liked this move. I had been wholeheartedly in favor of staying in Newton, with my girlfriend and the people I'd known most of my life. My girlfriend… Aerith Gainsborough. The genuine nicest person I'd ever met. Beautiful too—creamy skin, long cinnamon hair, and eyes like pieces of moss agate—but it was her kindness that first attracted me. I am not a nice person by nature, but she didn't mind. She was nice enough for both of us.
I shook myself out of my musings and booted up my computer, a brand new top-of-the-line laptop, bought by my parents on a guilt trip. It booted quickly, with a sound effect of booming thunder, presenting my background; a drawing of a catboy wearing a tee-shirt I liked. The shirt read "it's a case of mind over matter. I don't mind, and you don't matter." I had thought it was the funniest thing. I quickly hooked up the last cord—a DSL connection. I opened up instant messenger and clicked up my friends list. It was depressingly short. LuckyStars17… Aerith. A guy named Alex I had never met, my cousin in New Hampshire… no one was logged on but GreatNinjaYuffie, a girl my age claiming to live in this scorching place. I thought for a moment, then clicked on the name. A small window popped up, reading Strife93 has logged in. I smiled slightly; with that username, I could be anyone.
Hey Cloud-chan! Yuffie described herself as otaku, i.e. obsessed with all things Japanese. Yuffie had tried to explain honorifics, but all I got was that it wasn't (really) insulting.
Hey Yuffie. All moved in now. Just finished setting up the computer.
Really? How are you likin the valley of fire?I rolled my eyes at Yuffie's nickname for the city.
It's hotter than an oven here! First place I've been where you can literally fry an egg on the sidewalk.
Poor Cloudie-chan, moving in in the middle of July… Cheer up, it'll drop down to the nineties by mid-October. I choked. Nineties! In OCTOBER!
How hot does that make today, in degrees? I typed, morbidly curious.
Not that bad. Only 114. Could be worse. I choked again and felt like my eyes were going to fall out of my head. I decided it was time to change the subject.
So… what school do you go to? I crossed my fingers and muttered a wish.
Sophomore at good ol' SHS. Sunnyslope High School. You? I felt like cheering. Yuffie might be crazy, but she was familiar. She had even sent me a picture of herself in a ninja outfit once.
There is a god. Freshman at Sunnyslope, starting next year.
OMFG! Lol/\/\ yeah! I smiled a touch at Yuffie's comment. Meet you at the front gate, two weeks from Monday, then?
Sure, but why two weeks?
Lol. First day of school, baka. Meet quarter till? I checked mentally. Two weeks until school started? But that would be august…7th. I glanced at my desk calendar. Yup, first day of school, write where mom had written it. Shit.
Why do I smell brimstone all of a sudden?
Lol. Welcome to Hell, buddy.
Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? This is another story done with kingdom hearts characters, but as high school characters. This is NOT IN THE SAME UNIVERSE AS CYNICAL WORLD! Just so you know. But most of the other warnings do apply—future shonen ai, irregular updates, highly original character view. Anyway, thanks for reading—and if I get, oh… three reviews, the next chapter should be up by Tuesday. Thanks!
