A/N: Thank you to those who reviewed!

Okay, I changed the genre because I thought humour was more fitting for this fic. There'll still be drama but overall like there's gonna be a lot more like stupid moments lol. Anyways please read on now before I keep talking for ever!

Oh, and just for references' sake: 10 munny equals about a dollar in conversion or whatever.

Summary: AU: Riku's band has the chance of a lifetime--they've finally made it to the Nationals. Between a wild road trip to the finals, band bonding and heated rivalry, which band will rise above the rest for a shot at fame? Sokai, Namiku, AkuRoku. Rated for strong language and suggestive themes.

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Square-Enix and Disney, except for the band name. That was my oh-so-creative name, I know. :p

LiD: Rise and Crescendo

Chapter Three: Of Rude Awakenings & Rotini

The sleeping bag was sodden with sweat when Naminé awoke. Struggling to climb out of it, she felt the rubbery, squishy fabric peel off of her skin. Ugh… she wasn't used to sleeping in these things.

Naminé crawled to her feet, to see that everyone's – save Sora's – sleeping bags were still occupied. Moving around them, she went into the kitchen – not before stealing a glance at the slumbering Riku, however. Inside the kitchen, she saw Sora bustling about.

His brown hair was spiked up and madly as usual, and his blue eyes were twinkling gently even first thing in the morning. Never seen that light of his die out. Out of everyone in the band, Sora had always been the cheeriest, and rarely did his optimism fade. Full of life and energy, he always had been a joy just to be around.

He was wearing rusty red cargo three quarter-lengths this morning and a tan and beige tie-dyed T-shirt. Around his neck was the usual silver chain with the crown pendant and he wore LiD's wristband along with a few hemp bracelets embroidered with wooden beads.

"Hey Sora," Naminé said cheerfully. Turning to her, Sora grinned and motioned for her to come in farther.

"Hey Naminé, I was just putting breakfast together. Doesn't matter though, there'll never be enough."

"Enough food?" Naminé asked, puzzled.

Sora joked, "Naw, not enough room in the car. Don't tell her I said so, but your sister eats like a chocobo." He laughed while flipping a piece of bacon on the pan.

Still laughing, she began helping Sora to pack breakfast for the morning ride. After about ten minutes, they had decided: four apples and an orange (Kairi said citrus was better for her skin), five milk cartons, some bacon in a heated container, five muffins and a cheese omelet for Naminé. Just as they had finished cooking her omelet, Kairi and Riku entered the kitchen as well.

"What smells so good?" Riku asked groggily, rubbing his face. "Can we eat some?" Sora rolled his bright blue eyes and said,

"No; it's all mine. Now get your ass upstairs and get ready, buddy."

"Awww…" Kairi mumbled, as she left the kitchen.

"Tubby," Riku muttered, following Kairi. Sora made a face at Riku's back, then turned to Naminé and said,

"Thanks for the help, but you should get ready too." Naminé nodded and began to leave as Sora added behind her, "Oh—and could you wake Tidus up? He sleeps more then Kairi eats!"

"I heard that!" Kairi's voice called from the stairway. Sora flipped a wink at Naminé before turning back to finishing packing the food. He called back,

"Sorry babe, just trying to keep you on top!" They heard Kairi huff in response.

Giggling again, Naminé made her way back to the living room. Sora really knows how to brighten up a day… Kairi's lucky to have a guy like him. In the living room, Tidus was sprawled out on top of his sleeping bag with limbs spread in every direction, snoring gently. Crouching over, Naminé prodded Tidus' chest with one finger. Nothing.

She prodded again, coming a bit closer.

"Tidus… hey… wake up… " She said. Tidus mumbled something and shuffled over, turning on his side. She didn't see it coming, but suddenly his arm was around her waist in an awkward hug. He was a lot stronger than she was, so she was quickly dragged down with Tidus cuddled up next to her. Laughing nervously, she squealed,

"Hey! Tidus! Cut it out!" His arm was an iron bar though over her, and she couldn't get up. Instead she started punching his arm fruitlessly.

"Get off of me!" she laughed, masking how uncomfortable she was. Tidus grinned, but his eyes were still closed in "sleep".

"But I'm so comfy!" he complained. Naminé smacked his arm extra hard.

"I'm not! I'm suffocating!" It was true—his arm was heavy on her petite form.

"Way to make the girl feel welcome," a voice smirked from over them. Suddenly, Tidus yelped in pain and sprung off of her instantly.

"Hey man, what was that for!" Tidus called out. Riku had just walked past, and Naminé saw him roll his eyes. Her cheeks stung from embarrassment.

"Asshole… kicking me…" Tidus mumbled, getting to his feet while rubbing his back. From the kitchen, Riku called out,

"Force is better than persuasion at waking Tidus up, Naminé." Feeling ridiculous and fighting down her blush, Naminé struggled to her feet. He spared me some embarrassment by making me even more embarrassed. Wonderful. She grabbed some clothes from her bag and went upstairs, seeing her older sister in one of Tidus' many bedrooms.

Quickly, she showered and changed into her new clothes. She had decided on wearing a lime green sundress, printed with cheery pink and yellow flowers. In her hair, she clipped it to the side and also wore a yellow flower barrette. Not one for jewelry, she wore only a beaded crystal pink necklace she'd received from a friend from the Academy.

She had to admit, she was quite nervous with going on this trip. This isn't my band, these aren't really my friends… sure, Tidus liked to flirt, and Sora had never had a problem with her, but still… what about Riku? Does he mind that I'm coming along at all? Of course not, she told herself. Riku doesn't care at all. She couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed with that thought. But at least he wasn't being rude to her or anything.

Kairi wouldn't have let me come along if the group had complained. Right? Naminé couldn't stop feeling of doubt nestle in the back of her mind. How would I know? She did kick me out of the room…

Naminé sighed. She hated this so much—she wanted to go on this trip because she had seen how much fun these guys could be, but she didn't want to feel like a burden or something. But Kairi said it's okay. She said so. Shaking her head, Naminé tried to get rid of the troubling thoughts and left the room.

Coming out of the house, Naminé made her way to the car. There, the rest of the group was gathered, all waiting for their keyboardist. Kairi always takes forever to get ready, but she doesn't even take care of her outfit once she's dressed. Naminé shook her head fondly.

The guys had already thrown their stuff in the back trunk, and Sora had come up to take Naminé's bags from her hand. Tidus beat her to it though, and took her stuff to the back trunk, claiming,

"In apology." Naminé smiled softly, and moved to sit in the convertible. It was a nice car—deep blue and with black leather interior. It had a full stereo system, AC, heating and plenty of legroom. Naminé didn't need to guess what that was for.

Tidus was behind the driver's wheel, and Riku had taken the passenger seat. Tidus was drumming invisible sticks to the beat of the music that was roaring. Upon turning in his seat to face Riku, Tidus stopped his "drumming" and knocked on the daydreaming Riku's head with his fists.

"Knock knock," Tidus taunted, wearing a stupid grin. Riku ignored the other 17-year-old, swatting away his hands. From behind though, Sora grinned devilishly and declared,

"I guess nobody's home!" And proceeded to head-lock Riku, using the other hand to give him a vigorous noogie. Taking advantage of the moment, Tidus began poking Riku in the stomach repeatedly calling out "ding, dong, ding, dong" purely to annoy their friend.

"Hey! Cut that out!" Riku yelled, not able to keep the laugh from his voice.

Sora laughed, "Who's tubby now? Huh?" Naminé didn't know if she should run and get help or stay and pretend she didn't exist.

However, she saw Riku's free arm fly up and grab a firm hold of the front of Sora's shirt. Using his strength and the leverage of being in the front seat, Riku tilted Sora so far that he flipped over the seat—

"Whoa!" Sora cried out—

—landing smack with his legs in Tidus's lap and his head in Riku's lap (which Riku promptly shoved so it was hanging in the foot area). There was a pause.

"Dude, nice. I so didn't see that coming," Sora said to Riku, sounding like his nose was plugged because he was hanging upside down. The three started laughing madly. Boys are absolutely insane!

A man appeared at the front window of the house next door to Tidus'.

"Turn off that blasted music, you hoodlums! And that noise—it's 7 am in the morning!" he called out. To which Tidus promptly retorted with an—

"Up yours, grandpa!"

Naminé buried her face in her hands, wishing she could sink into the seat. She had retreated far enough into it. From the front, she could hear the three snickering, and from their positions, the boys managed an awkward exchange of high fives. Riku, laughing, even said to Tidus,

"Nice, man. Nice."

Peeking out from behind her fingers, she saw the old man shake a fist at the group of teenagers and go back inside. Face still burning, Naminé re-adjusted herself in her seat.

Sora had been in the seat behind Riku—at the moment he was still upside in the front, laughing hysterically for no particular reason ("I think the blood rush is getting to him," Tidus noted idly as he and Riku pulled him upright)—and Naminé was sitting behind Tidus.

Finally, the two boys pulled Sora up, whose face was indeed very red from all of the blood that had rushed to it. He still had a goofy grin on his face, and looked somewhat high in Naminé's opinion. With some help, Sora wobbled into his back seat.

While waiting, the four used the extra middle seat to begin eating breakfast.

"Damn Sora, I knew you were lame, but your cooking? It's almost too good to be true," Riku teased as he finished off the last of his bacon. Sora grinned cheekily and replied promptly,

"Eh, women love a man who can cook. Not that you would know, of course." Riku scowled but said nothing.

That was when Kairi came running out of the house at top speed, yelling an apology. With a piece of toast hanging from her mouth. Sora turned briefly, grinning, and raised his eyebrows significantly at Naminé as if he was saying, see?

Being away at school all the time has made me forget all these things. Though many considered her to be an observant one, she had to admit—Sora wasn't nearly as blind as he came off as.

Naminé quickly started packing away breakfast—taking a few things out for Kairi—and handed Kairi the bags once she arrived.

"Sorry I'm so late ohmigosh I didn't even notice I had to change and do my make up and ohmigosh…" With that, the girl came to a quick halt in front of the back trunk. She chucked her bags in along with the food bag, and putting on arm on the back trunk, Kairi swung into the car, landing in the middle seat.

"'Bout time," Tidus grumbled. Kairi rolled her eyes, and Sora swung one arm up on the seat over Kairi.

"No worries man, come on, let's just get going!" Sora called out. Kairi smiled gratefully and snuggled in closely under. She turned to her younger sister and asked,

"Please tell me that food is for me." Naminé smiled and handed the food over. Kairi grinned and proceeded to stuff her face with her share of the breakfast.

"Don't get anything on the seats," Tidus warned as he revved up the car.

"Yeah, yeah just get going already," Kairi retorted, taking a swig of her milk carton. Sora and Naminé were given the wonderful task of holding everything that would not fit in her lap so it would not spill.

Smoothly, the convertible began to pull out of the driveway, and began racing along the neighborhood roads. Naminé watched the houses get eaten up by the rapidly enveloping sky, and they all became mixed up and distorted as they pulled into more mainstream roads. Watching it fly by, it reminded her of what her palette would look like after a particularly difficult painting.

Ansem had always told her the messier the artist's palette, the more original the work. A horrible ache began eating at her the moment she thought of Ansem the Wise though, and quickly she pushed the memories away. He's gone. He's never going to be teaching you art again.

Still though. Trying to not think about her former teacher was the worst thing to do.

After a few hours, they were on the freeway and making their way to a roadside diner for lunch. They spotted a small plaza in the distance. They got out of their car once they reached Luigi's—an Italian diner that was relatively empty at the time.

The five found an empty table by the window, and pulled up another chair to seat them.

"So what are we gonna order?" Sora asked. The whole group shot him an incredulous expression.

"We are not going through that again," Kairi snapped, rolling her eyes. "Everyone just order their own thing, okay?" The group nodded in response and scanned their menus.

There was nothing vegetarian on the menu, so Naminé put down the menu relatively quickly. Ah well. I'm sure there's something I packed that I can eat. When the waitress came around, she asked them all,

"Will you be ordering then?"

She was a young woman, maybe in her early twenties with pretty green eyes and ash blonde hair. Once he saw her, Tidus leaned back in his seat and nodded at her, smirking lightly and said,

"I'll order something all right, but only because it means someone as gorgeous as yourself will be coming around again." The woman gave him a mischievous smile back,

"I've gone a few around a few times."

"You must have—looking at you makes me dizzy… gonna catch me?"

"I'll catch whatever you have."

"Ahem," Kairi interrupted their flirting, and shot Tidus a death glare. The woman gave a start and asked quickly,

"What are you gonna have?"

He's quite the flirt… that almost sounds like something… something he'd say to me. That was when she realized it: Tidus wasn't actually interested, he was simply, well, flirting. Flirting for the hell of it, because it was fun and an interesting way to pass the time. Thank goodness… I thought he actually liked me! She supposed, now, it would be a lot less awkward the next time they held a conversation.

"Lasagna with extra mozzarella cheese," Kairi said.

"Same with me," Tidus added. Sora told her,

"Umm… can I get those twirly noodle things? You know: their kinda thick and like, served with vegetables and spices and those funny little bread doo-dads? And that weird cheese on top? The hard cheese?"

"Er… certainly…" the waitress replied, jotting it down.

"Yo thanks," Sora said breezily, leaning back with his hands behind his head.

The rest of the group struggled to stifle their laughter, but then the waitress turned to Riku.

"Spaghetti and extra spicy meatballs," he told her. "Please," he added as an afterthought. The waitress asked Naminé, and she replied,

"Oh, just a drink of soda would be fine." Riku, who was sitting across from her, gave her a funny look. He says more than he thinks he does, she noticed.

"On a diet?" he asked quizzically.

"No; there's nothing vegetarian on the menu," she said, cursing the stony-ness of her voice. Why can't I say anything except what I have to? Riku frowned.

"That's no reason to skip lunch," Riku insisted. "Waitress, can you get her spaghetti without the meatballs?" The waitress shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but our sauce has meat in it too."

"Don't you have anything that's meat-free?" Kairi added, concerned.

"Er… we could always give her some macaroni and cheese…"

"That'd be fine—right Naminé?" Riku asked, watching her expectantly. Something about the way he says my name…

"Sure," she said softly, shrugging. The waitress finally asked,

"And to drink?" All of them agreed on pop. The waitress left, and returned a few minutes later with their food.

Kairi and Tidus dug into their lasagna, Riku had no difficulty with the spicy meatballs, and Sora… well, the chef had no idea what Sora had meant, so had settled on the classic—pizza. When he got it, Sora had simply frowned, shrugged and ate it anyways: who didn't love pizza?

Naminé picked at her macaroni and cheese—she had never liked it much, but thought it would be rude to refuse since Riku and Kairi had been so concerned.

LiD

Pretty soon, everyone had finished their meals. Well, everyone except for the blondie in front of him. Naminé… wow, it's been a while since we've met, hasn't it? Riku reflected. She's so quiet… was she always like this? How is anyone supposed to have a conversation with this girl?

Ok, so Riku could be quiet too. But his was more because he had nothing to say. Naminé? She just seemed shy.

While he was finishing his pop, Kairi stood up.

"Guys, I'm gonna go check out the other stores around here, okay?" she said, picking up her black leather purse and swinging it over her shoulder. Figures. Where there're shiny things; there's Kairi.

"What other stores Kairi?" Tidus scoffed, easing back in his chair. Kairi rolled her eyes,

"We saw some… it's a small plaza, but I'm sure there's something interesting… anyone wanna come?"

"I will," Sora obliged, getting up. Riku shook his head, smirking slightly. A good boyfriend. Always gotta make sure your girl is safe.

"Naminé?" Kairi asked. The younger sister shook her head in response. Shrugging, Kairi and Sora left the diner.

Riku sighed and put down his now empty glass, and said to Tidus,

"What are we gonna do about the car?" Tidus nodded quickly in response.

"Right! Okay, so I'll go fuel up now… I guess someone should stay for when Kai and Sor come back."

"I'll stay," Naminé offered. The 15-year-old had not finished her food, and instead had pulled a sketchbook out of her bag with a pencil. Riku gave a start.

Yeah… it's definitely her. She's the one who I saw backstage at the Finals.

She was now staring out the window, tapping the pencil to the page almost impatiently.

Tidus shared a look with Riku, before he turned back to Naminé.

"Why don't you come with me? Riku will stay here," he offered. Riku nodded at the girl who was now facing them again.

"Oh, why must I go though?" It wasn't an outraged protest, just a quiet question. Riku was about to out right say: "There's no way we're leaving a 15-year-old girl alone in some diner in the middle of nowhere." But Tidus beat him, instead saying,

"It'll impress the guys at the gas station. They'll think I'm real high end with a classy act like you on my arm," he teased, a slight smirk on his lips. Naminé laughed: a high, gentle sound that resembled a breeze whispering past mountains. Ugh, Riku scolded himself. That was completely unnecessary. I haven't been able to write a new song in so long I'm starting to take out the poetry on people.

"Oh? How can you be so sure I'm acting?" she retorted playfully. Riku quirked an eyebrow—this was the first time she'd actually flirted back with Tidus. First time she'd really said anything other than politely smile and laugh.

Tidus laughed, and shook his head, replying equally as playfully,

"You keep that up with the gas station guys and maybe we'll get a discount." Smiling that soft smile of hers, Naminé responded,

"No, seriously, I'd rather stay here. I want to… I want to draw for a bit." Tidus nodded in understanding and left. Riku perhaps would have gone too, but he really wasn't comfortable leaving the girl on her own.

"What… what are you drawing?" he asked gently, his lame attempt at small talk. Naminé was lightly sketching something, forehead crinkled.

"A picture," she responded dully. Riku couldn't resist the urge to roll his eyes. So much for that.

"Brilliant answer from someone who goes to the supposed finest academy in the nation. Didn't you actually learn anything?" he responded, a ghost of a smirk on his lips. Naminé looked up, and Riku was surprised to see a flicker of pain in her eyes,

"I… I learned plenty. I had the best teacher in the world, and… and…" Her frustration had grown and she let her sentence trail off, eyes going back to her sketchbook. She was now pressing harder with her pencil. Leaning forwards in his seat, Riku rested his elbows on the table. Sure gets touchy real easily.

"Sorry," he offered, still staring at the table. Looking up, he added, "I'm sure you're great. Kairi's always talking about it."

"Really?" Naminé asked, pausing for a moment. Riku was caught off guard. Answering honestly, Riku instead said,

"Not really—I just thought I should say something nice." Naminé's lip twitched in a smile, but her head bent over again. This time, her drawing sketching remained steady for a while before frustration wrought its way into her brow again.

Wonder what's wrong with her… I've seen some of her art work, she is amazing… artist's block maybe? Writer's block was common… did painters and sketchers get it too? Probably.

Sighing and leaning back again, Riku watched the blonde-haired girl attempt to draw. She would make a few lines, grow upset, and either scratch it out or rip off the piece of paper all together and toss it back on the table. Her blue eyes—identical to her sister's—sparkled furiously, and her pretty, pale face was filled with aggravation. Slender hands continued to draw, though it seemed she wasn't happy with the results.

Riku frowned. He recalled the last time he had seen her this upset… that had been years ago, when they were children. It had been so easy to cheer her up then…

Riku left Kairi's house into the humid summer air. They had been working on a piece for their school band – Kairi had just been introduced into it, playing the piano. It'd been a long practice session – he'd been ready to go home and play video games half an hour ago. As he made his way outside to begin the walk home, he thought he heard something. Crying. It was muffled slightly, but it was crying all the same.

Turning the corner, he saw Kairi's younger sister—Naminé—sitting on the curb, sobbing gently but burying her face in her hands.

Because he recognized the girl, he had made to move comfort her. When he approached the 11-year-old, he awkwardly put a hand on one of her shoulders. What do I know about comforting? Not like being at home has taught me anything. The girl pulled away quickly, and looked up with tears streaming down her face.

"What's wrong Naminé?" Riku had asked, sitting down beside her. She tugged her knees in closer to herself.

"I'm leaving," she said after a pause. Riku looked over at her,

"Why?"

"Because I got accepted into a special school for arts."

"Didn't you want to get in?"

"Yes… but I didn't realize… it's a boarding school. When my parents told me about it, they didn't tell me I'd be away from home almost all year, all by myself."

Riku nodded, not knowing what to say. I'm so bad at these kinds of things… Kairi needed to be here. Or Sora. They knew how to deal with people who were upset… they'd dealt with him enough times…

Not knowing what else to do, Riku grabbed Naminé's hand and began to lead her down the street. Look, he wanted to say. Take in what you can of this town before you're gone. Maybe she got the message; her head whirled in every direction, watching everything.

Finally, he got to where he wanted. There was a small ice cream parlour that Riku always went to whenever he needed a treat. Maybe it was because this was where his Mom had always taken him after school before she'd passed away.

Leading Naminé inside wordlessly, Riku bought a chocolate and vanilla cone. I hope this does something… she shouldn't have to cry… The man handed it to him, and turning, Riku gave it to Naminé.

She was surprised—she was still too busy watching everything to notice what he had been doing. She finally let go of his hand, and accepted the ice cream. Then, even though she was leaving, even though he barely knew her, even though he had said nothing but give her ice cream…

… She smiled. Maybe I'm not so bad at this after all…

… Yeah, times were definitely easier then. Everyone got so complex when they were older. Stupid people. Stopped making sense all together—like Dad… wasn't always such an ass. Mom always made him happy…

Riku sighed after having re-lived the memory—that had been so long ago. Kairi and Naminé had moved to Destinyville about five years ago, and Naminé had started going to that Academy four years ago. LiD had formed when the band members were only twelve and thirteen, and Kairi and Sora had started going out when they were thirteen.

Naminé hadn't been around when the band formed, but she learned of it. She had been really happy to hear about it from her sister though—Riku remembered Kairi saying that. She had been really happy…

Right now, Naminé was still pouring over her sketchbook, trying to draw something without much success. Riku was surprised to see she was almost frustrated to tears. Won't you smile? He asked her silently.

An idea occurring to him, Riku got up. Naminé hardly even noticed.

Walking over to the cashier, he asked them quietly for another order. The man nodded, and handed Riku what he had asked for. A cup of ice cream.

Smooth, caramel ice cream. As long as she actually likes it…

Approaching their table again, Riku slid into his seat again. Putting the cup on the table, he slid it over to Naminé. The girl gave a start when it bumped into her sketchbook. Confused, she looked up at him, as if asking, Where did this come—?

Then realization hit her, and there was an awkward moment before she smiled in thanks to him. Frustration now off of her face, Naminé began eating the ice cream. She stopped and asked him,

"Want some?" Offering him a spoonful. Polite as ever, he thought, smirking slightly. He shook his head silently. Naminé dropped her gaze and continued to eat the ice cream, spoon chinking against the plain glass cup.

Riku watched her, and leaned back in his seat, wondering if she had taken the same trip down memory lane as he had. Maybe that was why she had paused for a moment while eating the ice-cream, and looked up at him briefly.

Either way, Riku told himself. Another job well done. I think I've gotten better at this… not as useless as he thinks.

"Better than mac and cheese, eh?" he asked, teasing. Naminé smiled,

"Much better."

"Oh, but it was so raw looking. Bet it tasted fresh."

"Fresher than—"

"—a breeze whispering past mountains?" Riku suggested, remembering. Naminé looked at him funny, but smiled all the same.

"Something like that," was all she said. For a moment, she looked him directly in his eyes, and Riku met the gently sparkling blue ones with his own piercing aqua ones. Naminé broke the entrancing moment, by looking up when Kairi and Sora re-entered the diner. Wonderful timing guys. Just wonderful. Shaking his head slightly, Riku stood up to meet his bandmates. A few seconds later, Tidus rushed into the diner and motioned for them to come outside.

"Come on!" Tidus called out. "We gotta get going—I parked illegally and we have to move before someone notices!"

"Nice job Tidus," Riku drawled while pulling out two one-hundred munny notes to cover the band's bill. Naminé made to pull out a note of her own as well, but Riku stopped her by saying,

"Hey hey, don't do that. I ordered something you didn't even want, and the ice cream was on me." Sighing, Naminé nodded and got up, leaving the diner as well.

Once he'd gone up to the counter to pay, Riku followed after Naminé. He tried to convince himself that her frustration was annoying. Honestly, if she starts moping around, crying all the time, I'm not taking it. I'm not going to keep buying her ice cream forever; she should just toughen up from… whatever's bugging her.

But still, Riku could not help but remember how pleased he'd been to be the one to make her smile with that ice-cream.

A/N: Sora had ordered Rotini btw. I think so. :p My next chapter might take a bit longer to get posted… I dunno. January is pretty busy for me, so don't expect something too soon. Even if you read this a week after its been posted… still review! I kind of have an idea of where this is going, but there's no point to continuing if no one else is enjoying the story with me. So review guys! Come on, it only takes like… a few seconds… !!