A/N:Ahh unlucky thirteen...
Are you trying to annoy me on purpose?
I try, Roxas, I try.
Well so far you've made a very pathetic attempt.
Don't irritate me so much, or I'd kill you off.
I'd like to see you try. rolls eyes
Just ignore him. So anyway, this is chapter thirteen, and it's a bit...short. Sorry, but I've decided that if I merge this with the next chapter it'll be... well, I have to write the Nobody's Perfect parter, and it seems kinda awkward. I repeat, I do not hate Sora. And Kairi must have a, should I say, evil side. No-one's good all the time, right?
Disclaimer:How do you even define ownership of Kingdom Hearts? I mean, I have a copy of Kh, KH:CoM, and KHII, but does that actually mean I own Kingdom Hearts?
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XIII: Plink
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"Roxas, seriously, my ears are ringing."
"I should've talked to him. I should've talked to him."
Riku restrained himself from casting Silence from the blonde boy, who was currently walking back and forth, muttering something incoherent ever since he had arrived.
Roxas and Sora had portalled back into the house that he and Riku shared after the incident at the Island Keyhole; and Sora had absolutely refused to come out of his room after Roxas had portalled him there. Riku even felt the Keyblade lock his door from the other side (which he took as a sign that yes, Sora was very mad at the entire general population, since his shouted apologies through the door were only met by absolute silence).
The next few uncomfortable hours were spent in the living room, with Roxas doing most of the talking. A very bewildered Kairi was clutching a throw pillow as if her life depended on it, her frightened gaze flickering from him to the blonde. Halfway through the confrontation Roxas had portalled out to get a very distraught Naminé, who had taken to sobbing throughout the entire night.
Riku wanted to slap his forehead (but no, he didn't do that, his hair made sure of that) in frustration; Kairi's chained memories were now beginning to break free of their bonds. As soon as Roxas returned with her Nobody the redhead started asking questions that none them wanted very much to answer; like the events in Castle Oblivion. Naminé regarded them all with a very frightened stare; the knowledge that Kairi would figure out sooner or later that she was the one who chained her memories probably explained her sitting away from Kairi as far as possible.
At around midnight Roxas threw his hands up in despair; all of the things they had thought of to make Sora come down had been useless. Riku couldn't blame him; if you found out your friends had formed their own little love triangle together with your almost-girlfriend, and one had offered to erase her memories of you, wouldn't you be pissed off too? They all went off their separate ways; Kairi's memories filling in (and the occational glare she threw at Naminé), Roxas biting his lip, and Naminé hiding behind Roxas, from him or Kairi's glares, only she knew.
After they left, it was as if Riku was alone all over again in the house. This time it was more unsettling, since Sora always liked to make his presence felt. He thought he heard a muffled sob or two from the wall separating his and Sora's room, but that was the only indication that there actually was another person there.
When he woke up this morning he found a note tacked to his door, saying that, he quote, "Riku, if you want to live, don't bother me." The first, and hopefully the last, death threat that Sora had told him.
Now they were here, waiting in one shady corner of the Academy Quad for Sora to arrive; or if Sora would ever arrive at all. He watched Roxas pace back and forth over and over.
"Roxas. Please. Stop." Naminé said timidly, looking up from her sketchpad. She had been rather badly shaken by the night before, and she had not made eye contact with him ever since. He had tried to talk to her, but all he got was a frightened squeak before she ran away.
"Come off it, you guys," Kairi said loudly. "Bipolar that he is, I bet you he'd walk through that gate as if all's fine and dandy."
"You are the most insensitive girl I have ever come to know," Roxas retorted, stopping his pacing.
"But it's true, and you know it."
Riku stared at Kairi; did she really hate Sora that much that she didn't even feel remorse for breaking his heart? But Kairi (and deep down, him too) believed that Sora really didn't feel too deeply, the way his mood swings showed.
"Kairi, I think you should tone it down a bit," he said quietly, his mouth curling.
"Riku. I am absolutely sure that he'll push this away, just as he pushed me away," she laughed bitterly. "He's always been a happy boy."
"No he wasn't." Naminé spoke up, pencil in her hand, the fear quite gone from her voice now, "He killed the Organization. You don't think he's happy doing that, do you?"
"How would I know? You chained my memories down in the first place. You're scary for a friend, you know, and I'm still waiting for your explanation on why you would do that."
Naminé bit her lip and kept blessedly silent as she went back to her sketch. Riku knew she was only protecting Kairi from the knowledge that yes, Sora had brought back his own would-be murderers.
"Okay, here's the deal," the redhead said loudly. "If Sora walks through that gate as if nothing's happened, we forget everything that had happened (she threw a not-literally look at Naminé) and we all become friends again, no bitterness, no nothing. Even Sora. Otherwise...well, you may forget that you have even met a Kairi Dalmasca in your lives."
Roxas looked at her as if she was crazy. (heck, she probably was.) Naminé's mouth hung open after this pronouncement, and Riku was just shocked at what she had just said.
"Hey!"
Riku forced himself to look upon, disbelievingly, a very familiar brunette Wielder, waving at them like his usual goofy self.
"I told you so," Kairi said in her best I'm-not-freaking-out-now voice as she brushed past him to meet Sora.
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"What? What about the orchestra?"
"We're a player short, your Majesty," a woman of twenty years or so said nervously, her hands clutching the conductor's rod tightly in her pale hands.
King Mickey sighed. He didn't have time for this. "Shelinda, then go find another one."
"But Your Majesty, the piece that we are to play after the knighting requires much skill, and we need a violinist of particular---"
"Just find one. Dismissed you are."
With that he spun on his heels and walked away, leaving an almost terrified Court Conductress behind him. As soon as he rounded the corner he ran for the Castle Library. Undignified as running was, it was exactly what he wanted to do, for he had found an entry in on of the oldest books of the Archives about the so-called Key to Kingdom Hearts.
He pushed the door open (no mean feat, for a mouse his size and a marble door of that weight) and ran inside, not caring if the door swung shut loudly.
"Ah. Your Majesty. How nice to see you again."
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Another note? She threw a hell-I'm-freaked-out-too look at the two blondes sitting next to her while trying to covertly uncrumple the ball of paper Roxas had thrust in her face. Luckily, Sora was too preoccupied with understanding the professor's accent to notice.
Aren't you scared of sitting next to him?
She penned down her reply under Naminé's neat handwriting. No choice.
The ball dropped down onto the floor, together with Naminé's pencil. Both were picked up by Roxas.
She sneaked a glance at Sora, who was now trying not to laugh at Tidus' (wicked, but still amusingly accurate) quiet imitation of the professor's voice. She herself had to stifle her laughter, Tidus was good at that. It was a miracle that the teacher still hadn't noticed the number of students who were burying their faces in their hands to stop laughing.
"Kirisawa? Hikari? Vat iz it that you vind vunny in my clazz?"
Tidus immediately kept a straight face, while Sora bit his lip, trying and miserably failing to stop laughing.
"Detention zounds nice, doezn't it?"
Sora shook his head. "Uh, sorry, Prof. Luccia, but I kinda got somewhere to go to after class."
"And where might that ve?"
The bell rang as he held up a tightly furled piece of parchment bearing three circles touching each other and grinned at the teacher's severe expression. "Don't worry, prof, I'll take the detention the next homeroom. I'll take everyone's detention; you can keep me here 'till midnight."
Cheers erupted around him, and assorted people slapped him on the back, laughing as they left the room. He only grinned and turned to her. She heard Roxas and Naminé inhale sharply at roughly the same time.
"So. You three coming with me and Riku tonight?" He asked, ignoring the professor's scandalized glare.
"Uhhhm... I think no." Naminé said shakily. "W-we have a..."
"...it's that Lifestream Physics homework. It's kinda difficult," Roxas finished. "Naminé has to teach me how exactly to do it." (At which said girl shot Roxas a scorching glare.)
The brunette shrugged. "Last time I took Physics it gave me one heck of a workout. I was never the same since."
Kairi exchanged glances with Roxas and Naminé. Yes, she was absolutely positive that Sora had very violent mood swings, but this...? Earlier that morning she had clung to Riku's arm while they walked with the brunette Wielder, afraid that he might just go berserk on them. She supposed the mere sight of her clinging to Riku's arm was enough to certainly make him angry, but no; no reaction at all, it was as if it was a perfectly normal thing to do in their perfectly normal day. Sora had just asked why Kairi looked so pale, asking if she was feeling cold.
Well, she was almost tempted to say yes she was feeling cold, not on the outside but in her heart, the way he was acting, the way he pushed the issue away. But she didn't, (aside from the fact that Riku repeatedly tried to step on her foot to keep her from saying anything) because she couldn't bear seeing Sora falter again.
"Kairi! Did you eat today?" Sora said loudly, waving his hand in front of her.
"Huh? Of course I did," she replied, her thoughts still swimming wildly around her head. "Why're you asking?"
"You keep spacing out on me." He said, his brows furrowing together in the way he shared with Roxas.
"Uhm..."
"You're gonna go with us, right?"
"Yes, yes, sure, Sora, " Kairi answered, trying to slowly inch her chair away from Sora's peering face.
"Alright! Riku'll pick you up at around seven. What about you two?" he asked, staring past Kairi at the two Nobodies.
"Toldja we can't, Physics homework," Roxas said offhandedly, but determinedly avoiding looking at Sora.
"Well, say hi to the neighbors for me."
She alternated her glance from Roxas and Sora. What neighbors?
"Yeah, okay. Come on, Nam, you'd better get started on teaching me that homework." He stood up and heaved his (mysteriously already full of books) bag over his shoulder, giving Kairi a glance that was supposed to say 'I'm sorry' but came out as 'I'm so glad I'm outta here'. He grabbed a blushing Naminé's wrist and they both walked out of the classroom (in record speed).
She watched them hurry outside and felt like screaming Don't leave me here with this psychotic kid!, but seeing now that she was quite alone with Sora, she had no choice but try to escape slowly. She turned her attention back to Sora, who was now trying to close the zipper of his knapsack, complete with mutters of 'dang zipper' and 'books that have absolutely nothin' to do with the subject'. She sighed resignedly as she started to pick up her things and place them in her own bag. One of her pens rolled over the edge of her table and fell to the floor with an unusually loud 'plink'.
Swallowing an oath (hey, she was a demure girl, and she never cursed except in the right situations), she got up, swung her body bag over her shoulder, and bent down to pick it up, and realized a second too late that Sora had done the same.
Instead of grabbing the pen Sora's hand grabbed her own.
And he didn't let go.
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Shelinda flipped through the World Directories the Castle had to offer; she could feel sweat beading above her brow. Why did Ashe choose now of all times to back out? All she left was a recording and a scribbled note this very morning, something about dusks and slayers and something she couldn't read.
"Shelinda."
"Go away, can't you see I'm busy!" she almost yelled, her fingers tracing down the current page as she tried to find the words 'professional' and 'violin' one the same line. "Leave me be!"
"Shelinda."
She took a deep breath and prepared to give the speaker a lecture he'd never forget for the rest of his life. "I told you, I'm---" she clamped her mouth shut. It was the King who was trying to get her attention. (How she managed not to recognize the King's distinct mousy voice is a mystery.)
"Oh my---I mean, I'm sorry, Your Majesty!" she quickly rose out of her chair and curtsied (never mind that in the process about ten Directories crashed to the floor with a resonating thud), her hands turning clammier by the second. "I am dreadfully sorry, I--"
The King held up a hand to stem her apologies (relief is so much of a lovely feeling)."It is understandable, Shelinda. I have found you a violinist." He swept a gloved hand, gesturing to the person behind him.
It was a girl, a good sixteen years old, at the very least. Her blonde hair was combed back from her forehead, and two stray locks of hair irresistibly reminded her of those Shadow antennae. She was wearing some kind of hooded black cloak (now that she's thinking about it, it looks like the rumored outfits of the rumored Organization XIII, but she had long dismissed Organization XIII as a fairytale told to scare little kids) that reached to the floor, and her gloved hand was curled tightly around the handle of a violin case. She had the bluest eyes Shelinda has ever seen; a deep royal blue, and she looked more nervous than anyone she had ever seen in her life.
"Play for her," the King instructed, and for some reason the girl shot him a very nasty glare before obediently taking out a Castle violin from her case. She took in a deep breath and shut her eyes tight before placing her bow lightly on the strings. She seemed to wince just before moving her bow back and forth.
It was one of the most spectacular violin solos Shelinda had ever heard (and it seemed the people milling around thought so too, judging from the way the Audience Hall fell silent). As the last bars of music faded away into the air the Hall erupted in applause, and Shelinda was one of those who clapped the loudest. Young as this girl was, her ability was astounding.
"I have never heard anything of the like, girl," she said breathlessly, her head still reeling from her impromptu performance. She wanted to pry open this girl head and learn how she was able to play something like that perfectly. "Where did you learn to play like that?"
"First of all, don't call me girl, I have a name. And secondly, if I told you where, you most probably won't believe me." And with that she turned her attention back to her violin and adjusted the tightness of the strings.
The King sighed resignedly. "She is a bit feisty, but nothing (for another reason unknown the girl threw him another glare) you cannot handle. Off with you two, and make sure tonight will be perfect."
Shelinda watched as the King turned around, made his way to his throne, disappeared around the back, and opened the Hall of the Cornerstone (there had been some rumors that the Cornerstone was somehow...malfunctioning, but it was much better thinking otherwise). She turned back to the blonde, who was still preoccupied with tuning her violin. She cleared her throat and introduced herself.
"I am the Court Conductress, Shelinda."
The blonde slowly raised her gaze to meet hers, and, as far as she could see, tried to smile, but ended up with some sort of grimace.
"I didn't exactly wish to be here, but... Larxene's the name."
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She gazed up questioningly at his cerulean eyes, and a chill ran through her. There was no light in them anywhere. She instead looked down at the hand clasped tightly around her own, and she knew at once that this was no joke. Her heart suddenly sped up to a gallop a second (or something like that).
"Sora?" she asked timidly, half-afraid of the reply she might get.
He stepped forward and quickly closed the gap between them. She was suddenly aware of how cold his hand was.
"Sora, what are you doing?"
Silence.
He stood there in front of her, so close that she could smell his scent: something like a cross between the ocean and a ripe paopu fruit. The sunset glinted off the crown necklace he always wore, uniform or not.
The silence was deafening, and he still hadn't let go of her hand.
Another chill raced up her spine.
"You can... uh, let go of me now."
Silence.
She thought she might die of a heart attack if she stood there any longer. His breathing was coming in short, ragged gasps; and in the glow of the setting sun filtering through the windows she could see a single sparkling tear trace a path down his cheek.
Her eyes widened. She was seeing him at his most vulnerable; here before her a broken Wielder stood, a tear testament to his broken heart, his hand clasping her own as if his life depended on it. Guilt flooded her own heart with full force as she wondered how she could be so cruel to someone who sacrificed everything to save the world. Her world.
She raised a free finger to his face and wiped off the tear, her own threatening to fall from her eyes. She could see herself reflected in his cerulean orbs; and she could feel herself reflected in his heart.
"Sora..."
He suddenly released her hand and clasped her instead, holding her to his chest tightly, short of crushing her. This was no hug; it was an embrace, that was the only way she could put it as. The pencil fell to the floor again, but this time, she didn't mind the sound it made.
Plink.
And he cried, his body shaking with every sob that escaped from his trembling mouth. She reached up and put her arms around his neck, hoping her touch was comforting enough for him to just stop crying, because honestly, seeing Sora cry was one of the worst things she had ever had the misfortune to see.
"K-Kairi..." he said brokenly. She looked up into those hauntingly dull eyes, searching for the reason why all of this happened, what possessed him to give up everything for his duty. His face was so closer, and coming more closer, and for some reason, she was bridging the gap, tiptoeing as she grabbed the front of his black vest for support.
She could smell paopu on his breath, and every tear shimmering unshed in his eyes. Closer...
"Kairi! Are you here!" Selphie's head suddenly poked inside the deserted classroom, her eyes searching for her best friend. "There ya are, I've been looking all over for you!" she squealed.
And she suddenly realized that Sora was sitting nonchalantly on his desk, his yellow sneakers going back and forth, his cerulean eyes betraying nothing of where he was standing a few seconds ago.
"Hey Selph!" he greeted cheerfully, waving at the brunette hyperactive girl. He bent down and picked up a white pencil.
"Kairi, I think this is yours," he said, holding the pencil out at her.
She wanted to scream.
No, I don't hate Sora, and no, I don't hate Selphie. She just seemed to be the kind of girl who fit the scene, so what the heck.
Yay for reviews! Cookies!
DFIRE314 Thanks for bein' the first guy to review! -blows kisses-
Cat of Darkness Thank ya!
Reita Hyperness is good, as long as it's not the sugar-induced kind lol
Ri2 NO someone can't be happy unless I want them to be, natch...XD thanks for reviewin'!
TgIiDgUiS The story gonna get a lot sadder... XD
Chyio-Chan Da-dun! Updated already!
Prodigy Keyblade Wielder Here's the update... Luv ya!
Princess Kairi You should check put Nobody's Perfect if you like the Organization...
talimthewindwaker You! Soul Calibur player! Aww, thanks for reviewing!
KaryuuNoHaneKata Yes. Those posters are evil. But 100 Acre Wood is the supreme. Thanks for reviewing! Feh! Kairi's such a sweet girl, don't you think?
tsubame7 That's just so cute! NYUUU! I love that word!
AnimeDutchess I love you! I love you! Oh my goodness! The reviews...!
Anna 12382 Yeah... but mind you, it's bittersweet
darkdude71 oh. yeah. In both fics someone kicks the bucket, you know.
Sorra I try my best... I do. Love the review!
FlowerLady-Aerith Exactly what I was trying to do! Yay for reality!
Firestorm23 Sorry made you cry... but no worries! I'll try my best for the other chapters to capture the same emotion!
Katchi Updated it already! XD
Masked Felix "..." I love it when you review. So...wordy. I love it! Ahh, you sound just like Xemnas...
Starlight-x Happy ending? Tragedy? I didn't exactly put my foot down on that... maybe it'll turn out to be a happy one, even if somebody dies... -sniff-
Phoenix80hp Oh my---, dang, I love you for that!
hikari-aozora You..you... man, you're one sweet reviewer! thanks for the reviews!
There ya go! Cookies for all!
Question! Sorry for being stupid, but...what exactly are Mary Sues?
Read. Review. Man, I wish I could reach 60 reviews, but... that's wishes for ya.
Flamers, go ahead. Bring the flamethrowers on.
The next chapter's XIV: Away, and it's the night of the Knighting. Someone will say this line:
"You're far too good for your own good."
And no, for you wisecracks out there, it's not DiZ. He's dead. Period. Go away.