Chapter 9: No One Sees the Real Me

Time of Day: ?
Weather: Foggy
Place: The Velvet Room

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," Igor greets me. "I am very impressed. The number of bonds you've made with people is impressive. Your most recent one is that of the Hanged Man Arcana."

A card appears in blue light above Margaret's book. She opens it, and the card lands on it, bursting into a small blue light. She opens the book and I see a picture of Seifer.

"Why does that Arcana sound, I dunno, dark?" I ask. "It's not like Seifer tried to kill himself."

"Oh," Margaret says. "You have been mistaken. The name is misleading, but the Hanged Man actually represents self-sacrifice for the sake of others."

"Nonetheless, your connection has made you stronger," Igor says. "I sense a new bond that might be formed in your future. You may not be able to tell when or where it will happen, but rest assured. The light inside you will lead the way." Igor smiles at me.

The Velvet Room fades into the fog outside.

June 20, 2015
Time of Day: Afternoon
Weather: Cloudy
Place: Moogle Co.- Food Court

"Dude, can you believe she's actually going to be staying here?"

"Omigosh, I can't even believe it! Do you think that she'll go to our school?"

"I wonder if I could get some good pics and sell them…"

That was the majority of what I've been hearing this entire day. Apparently, some big celebrity is going to be moving here to the Destiny Islands. Must be all over the news… I wonder if that person will show up on the Midnight Reflection… Oh, sweet. I finally found a seat.

I've been looking for a seat since I got here so Roxas, Yuffie, and I can do some work. It's been like 5 minutes, but I'm just a tad bit impatient. I sit down and notice something under my foot. It's someone's cell phone. Its cover is pink and has pictures of candy on it. I turn on the screen. A picture shows up a really good looking girl with red hair and an old lady. I scan the crowd for someone with the same hair color. It takes a couple seconds because it's crowded, but I finally someone with red hair.

I try to get close to her. "Hey!" I try to get her attention, but she doesn't turn around. Instead it seems like she's starting to walk faster.

She goes down through the stairs, and I follow her into them. "Wait up!" It's like my voice is falling on deaf ears. At the bottom of the stairs is a hall that leads to some elevators. They open and she pushes through two guys walking out of them.

I manage to get inside. She has a scared look on her face until I show her her phone. "You forgot this at the food court."

A frown appears on her face. "Why didn't you just say that!?" The doors close and the elevator starts to descend.

"To be fair, I was calling you." She takes her phone. The elevator stops and I get out. "Nice phone cover by the way. It looks tasty!" The elevator doors start to close.

She looks at her phone with a confused face, like she's surprised I said that. Now, time go back and look for another seat.

Time of Day: Night
Weather: Cloudy
Place: Dojima Residence

I'm watching TV and eating dinner with Zack and Usagi when the red headed girl appears on the screen. She's sitting down at a table, a microphone and tons of people snapping photos and asking questions.

"Doesn't your grandmother run a bakery in Destiny Islands?" A male reporter asks.

"Yeah, she does. It's called Paopu Pastries," the girl answers

"What will you do about your band, Destiny's Embrace?" he asks again.

"Now that the tour is over, we agreed to go separate ways for now and pursue other goals. I think Yuna said that she'll be continuing to perform though," she replies.

"Ms. Kujikawa, do you know when you'll return to work?" A female reporter asks.

"I haven't decided when I'll come back to work" the girl tells her.

"Hey, do you think we'll run into Kairi in town?" Usagi asks. So that's her name, huh.

"I'm pretty sure I did," I tell her. Usagi's face fills with curiosity. "She dropped her phone and I returned it."

"That's so cool!" Usagi smiles. "Is she as pretty and cool in real life as she is on TV."

I think back to how Kairi reacted earlier. "Uhh, I guess you could say that." Usagi stares at me in awe.

"The best thing about this town was that it was quiet," Zack says. "First the murder, now a celebrity! This year has been anything but quiet."

Kairi's interviews end with a movie trailer with her in it. She's talking to a guy on a rooftop. "So you think no one sees the real you, huh? Let's have it be clear, that I see past all your many faces! Don't push me away just because you can't realize that!" The scene ends with the movie title written across the screen in some fancy cursive font.

June 21, 2015
Time of Day: Afternoon
Weather: Rainy
Place: Moogle Co.- Food Court

"Roxas out of all the places to meet up, why here?" I ask him. "It's raining out, so it's so crowded in the indoor food court."

"Well, where else are we going to meet?" he asks.

"Anyway," Riku says to get off of the topic. "Do you think Kairi's gonna show up in the Reflection?"

"Probably," Yuffie says. "She did show up on TV."

"But she's been on TV a lot," Namine says. "What's the difference this time around?"

"With her going on hiatus, she's become the talk of the town," I say. "Everybody knows about her and her family's bakery."

"We also don't have a clue what the culprit's motive is," Roxas says.

"Maybe he has personal grudges against us," Riku says. "I know there's ton of people that hate my guts. What about you, Namine. Has there ever been anyone you've pissed off?"

"Never," she says sternly.

Yuffie awkwardly laughs. "C'mon Nami, there has to be at least one per-"

"Nope, not at all."

"Well, I guess you're the exception," I say jokingly. "Anyway, since it'll rain tonight we need to check the Midnight Reflection. Who knows if she'll even show up?"

June 22, 2015
Time of Day: Afternoon
Weather: Sunny
Place: Paopu Pastries

"So you're sure you saw her Sora?" Riku asks.

"Yeah, I'm sure," I tell him. "There's the bakery." I point towards people in front of a small building. All kinds of people are there, paparazzi, random high schoolers, people who actually came to buy stuff from the bakery, and that one creepy guy that hides behind a bush in order to get raunchy pictures of celebrities and post them online.

"Dude, I can't wait to see her! I've been waiting for this moment my entire life!" Roxas says. So you've been waiting to tell a celebrity she might get kidnapped? You must have some great aspirations Roxas. "Ever since I saw her in that bikini in the Reflection last night, my passion to meet her has risen tenfold!"

"I've actually been here before. The food they sell here are really good. I mainly come for the cinnamon rolls," I say.

"Then how come no one is going in?" Riku asks.

We walk up to the door and see a flyer. In big bold letters it reads:

YOU CAN ONLY ENTER

IF YOU'RE COMING TO

BUY OUR PASTRIES

But then next to the flyer is another. It reads:

OUT OF PASTRIES

SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE

PLEASE COME AGAIN ANOTHER DAY

"Like hell some stupid sign is going to stop me from seeing a celebrity!" Roxas abruptly opens the door. No one is at the counter. "Um, hello? Anyone here?" Roxas asks

Kairi walks through a door leading to a kitchen. She's wearing a red shirt and a white apron. "Didn't you see the sign?" She asks in a monotonous tone. "We're out of food."

"Woah, it's seriously Kairi!" Roxas says

"So you're the real thing, huh?" Riku asks.

"You're just straight out about it, huh?" She looks at me and a small smile appears on her face. "Hey, you're that guy from the other day."

I wave at her and smile back. "Hey there."

"Hey, what the hell?" Roxas asks. "You guys already know each other?! Not fair!"

Kairi returns to her monotone voice. "So are you guys here to buy our pastries or what?"

"Yeah, definitely!" Roxas says.

"Well we're out, so you might as well leave," she tells him coldly.

"In that case, um, uh…" Roxas becomes quiet.

"Do you still have cinnamon rolls?" I ask.

"Hmm… Let me check something first." Kairi walks out of our sight. She comes back with three freshly baked cinnamon rolls. "I mentioned a spiky haired kid to my grandma, and she told me it's okay to sell these to you. "

"Yup," I smile. "That's me!"

"We hid some food in case people actually wanted to come here and buy stuff. Not the people who only come here to take selfies with me." She hands me the rolls in a paper bag.

"That's 1500 Munny for three rolls, right?" I ask.

"Yup," Kairi tells me. I hand her the money. "Thanks for coming." She smiles at me, and I get a jealous stare from Roxas.

"Anyway, now the real reason we came here," I say. Kairi turns around confused. "You've heard of the Midnight Reflection, right?"

"Yeah, I think I overheard some people talking about it yesterday," she tells us. "People keep on saying that they saw me in a bikini, but I've never worn a bikini like that in any of my photoshoots. Plus, her boobs were bigger."

Roxas looks at her chest. "Oh yeah, wow, you're right."

"Don't be rude." Riku punches Roxas in the back.

"Look, there's a big chance the person showed in the reflection will be kidnapped." Kairi gasps. "Listen, we're just here to warn you. It may seem crazy but-"

"You're upsetting the neighbors! Beat it!" I hear Zack's voice.

"Crap… Listen, we have to go now," I tell her. "Don't mention us to the police, okay! You can trust us!"

"Hmm…" Kairi looks down as if she's in deep thought. "Fine. Explain this to me some other time."

"Thanks for trusting us." We turn around just as Zack and Terra enter the bakery. I act surprised. "Oh, hey Zack. Did you come for some cinnamon rolls too?" I ask him jokingly.

"As much as I would just want to buy all of them, we're here on business," Zack tells us. "Why are you here?"

"Roxas wanted to meet Kairi, and I wanted cinnamon rolls." Not a lie, but just not the complete truth.

Zack stares at me. I think he's trying to determine if I'm lying or not. "Anyway, you three should go," He tells us. "We have things to discuss with her."

"We were just about to leave anyway." Roxas, Riku, and I walk out. "Bye."

We close the door behind us and we talk about random stuff so Zack doesn't get suspicious. Hopefully I didn't act too guilty.

"Roxas, are you trying to make us look like creeps?" I ask him.

"Shhh, she's leaving the bakery!" Roxas tells me.

"I don't even get why we're doin' this," Riku says.

"We're hiding to see if we can find the guy to see who's after her," Roxas answers. "Be on the look out for suspicious characters."

"The only suspicious ones are us," I tell him.

"Sora's right, you know?" We turn around and we Yuffie and Namine walking with each other. "What are you guys doing?"

"You three do look pretty suspicious," Namine says.

"Are you the killer Roxas?" I ask him jokingly

"Shut up." Roxas continues to intently watch Kairi down the street.

"Hey guys!" I look past Namine and Yuffie, and I see Zack's partner Terra.

"Hey Terra, what brings you here?" I ask him.

"Zack wanted me to keep an eye on you-" Terra realizes what he's saying and starts to stutter. "I meant that I was going to buy some stuff from the bakery! Yeah, I was totally going to say that." So looks like Zack read past my lies.

"Hey guys, look over there!" Roxas points at some guy looking behind a pole.

"Is that him?" Yuffie asks.

"Must be," Riku says. "He's just standing there and watching her." Which is the same exact thing we're doing Riku.

"Let's go after him!" Roxas starts to run at the creepy guy.

"Roxas, he could just be-" Namine, Yuffie, and Riku zip past me.

Terra follows, telling them to stop. "That could just be a regular celebrity stalker, not the killer!"

The creepy guy notices them and starts to lead the chase. I follow them until they pass Kairi. They all cross the road, and tackle the stalker onto the ground.

Kairi stops walking. "What's up?" I ask her.

"I'm confused, what's happening right now?" She asks me.

"My friends are being idiots right now," I tell her. Terra grabs the stalker by the collar and starts to walk him across the street. "Do you want me to bring you to a place where there are less crazy people?"

She smiles. "Sure."

Time of Day: Afternoon
Weather: Sunny
Place: Destiny Islands- Beach

"So do you think there'll be anyone here at this time?" Kairi asks. I brought her to the part of the beach near the bakery.

"Probably not," I tell her. "It's nearly nighttime, so not many people are here."

We sit down on the sand. Kairi notices a magazine with her face on it next to us. As she flips through it, she sighs. She rips out a page. "What sucks about this is that I'm used to having stalkers."

"Wouldn't it be better not to?"

"Yeah, I guess so." She folds the page into a paper airplane and throws it. "The girl everyone makes a big fuss over, isn't me." The plane glides over a small sand castle. "Hmph. Kairi the biggest teen idol my ass. She's just another packaged product created to sell. Nobody sees the real me. Ever." The plane lands in front of the water.

"What do you mean?"

She scoffs as she hugs her knees. "You wouldn't understand."

"That's totally fair, not even giving me a chance." I can tell she remains skeptical. I guess I can't blame her. I'd probably be resentful if I were in her shoes as well. "Keep it bottled up and you'll get sick."

To my surprise, she throws her head back and laughs. "Because you know everything, right, Mr. Messiah?"

I shrug. "If the shoe fits."

She shakes her head with a slight smile. "You're freaking horrible."

"Hey, I'm just trying to offer my condolences, a shoulder to lean on in your moment of pity; free of charge. How can you not accept a deal like that? Free! That's a pretty good deal. I'll have you know that I play a pretty big bargain for my shoulder services."

"Okay, fine, you win. Just stop being a dork." Her mirthful expression sours back into its cynical foundation. "It's just… do you think that someone like me has the luxury of living a normal life?" She picks up a nearby stick and carelessly tosses it towards the ocean. "I don't even know who to trust anymore. I've had to adapt to constant second guessing and paranoia when it comes to everything I do."

"So you're a really cautious person, big deal."

Her eyebrows scrunch. I think I might have just pressed the wrong button here. "You don't even get it, do you? I've been sheltered into isolation because of my status. I don't know what a true friend is, and I never will. I'll never know if somebody is friends with me because they generally like me for me, or if they're trying to ride on my bandwagon for some extra perks that come with a majestic status."

Nice to see that she's humble about it. But wow, I never really thought about it like that. "When you put it like that…" I trail. I don't even know what I can say to even the playing field. She's clearly more experienced in this avenue than I am. Maybe it's times like this where it's better to just shut up.

"And that's only half of it. Scams, shady businesses, constant endorsements that I don't even agree to sometimes, public appearances, hey, even a death threat every now and then."

"A death threat?"

"I don't take them that seriously," she affirms. "They're mostly in vain. Dilan told me that every celebrity with a high status gets a death threat every now and then." She sighs. "Doesn't make it any less stressful."

"I can imagine."

"No, you can't. I'm sorry, but someone like you just… you just wouldn't understand. My childhood was robbed from me. I can never get it back again. I hardly even know what it means to have fun, not anymore, anyway."

"I don't think that's entirely true," I interrupt. She gives me wide eyes. "Sure, you're a big name, but you can easily quit. The choice is yours, it's up to you to pick your path."

She looks skeptical. "That's what I thought at first too. But you know, something about these contracts confine you into less optimistic outlook."

I give her a pouty face. "Stop moping like that, you're making me sad."

She tries to put on a weak smile, but her eyes tell a different story. I can see the pain, the plea for help in those deep, blue orbs. "Sorry," she mutters.

"Alright, you need to cheer up." I set my eyes on the magazine. "Hey, can you give me one of those pages?" She rips out a piece and hands it to me. She watches my hands intricately fold the sheet of paper into a flower. "Here, have it."

Kairi smiles. "Impressive." She rips a piece out and folds it into the crappiest origami crane I've ever seen.

"Geez, you suck," I tell her bluntly.

Kairi pouts. "That's not very nice." She rips another piece out and folds it into a better crane. "I can do better if I try."

"Fine, you proved me wrong," I tell her. "Sorry." I laugh a little. My phone vibrates. Riku sent me a text. "My friend just told me the coast is clear. We can head back now."

"All right then." We get up from the sand. "It's getting dark, so we might as well leave. By the way, you never told your name."

"It's Sora. Sora Narukami."

"And mine's Kairi Kujikawa."

"Oh yeah," I say jokingly. "I think I heard that on TV last night." Kairi laughs a little.

June 23, 2015
Time of Day: Afternoon
Weather: Cloudy
Place: Destiny High- Hallways

"So what you're saying is that the Midnight Reflection is some sort of warning?" Yuffie asks.

"Yeah," I tell her. "It's like some twisted view into the culprit's mind."

"And then the crazy versions of people only show up when they enter the Mirror World?"

"That's my guess. Those are the days we need to head into the mirror and rescue them."

"Should I tell everyone else this?"

"Yeah, where are they anyway?"

"Riku wasn't feeling good, Roxas skipped school, and Namine was helping at the inn."

"Oh, okay. Are you going home?"

"Nah, I gotta get to my teacher for some extra help. See ya later Sora!" Yuffie runs off.

"Bye Yuffie." I head to the the school exit.

"Oh hey Sora." I turn around and I see Kairi.

"Hey Kairi. What brings you here?" I ask her.

"I'm going to be going here for school," she tells me. "I just came here to fill out some paper work. I'm going to be in the Sophomore class."

"Same as me and my friends then."

"That's cool. Maybe you could show me the ropes."

"I've only been here since April."

"Really?" We walk toward the door, but we see a bunch of paparazzi by the gates. Kairi sighs. "I swear they weren't here when I first got here."

I start walking in the other direction. "Follow me, I know another exit."

Time of Day: Afternoon
Weather: Sunny
Place: Destiny Islands- Streets

"I'm surprised the paparazzi didn't know about the back entrance," I say. We were headed toward the bakery.

"I know, right?" We finally reach the bakery, and there's even more people there than at the school gates. "Just great…"

"Ms. Kujikawa!" We turn around and see a guy in a suit.

"Dilan?" Oh, so she knows him. "What are you doing here?"

"Who's the guy?" I ask Kairi.

"He's my manager," Kairi tells me. "I don't know why he's here though."

"We need to talk. Follow me to somewhere a bit more quiet." Dilan starts walking to the nearby park. Kairi and I follow him.

Once we got to an isolated area, Dilan stops walking. "Listen, as your manager I can not have you continue acting foolishly."

"I already told you, I'm not going to be a singer anymore!" Kairi tells him. "I'm not some stupid doll that someone needs to manage all the time!"

"About that movie where you were given the starring role-"

"What? Are you trying to force me to perform again?!" Kairi cuts him off. "Just go."

"Yuna has taken your place."

"But I thought Yuna said that she would continue to be a singer?!" Kairi asks. "She never said anything about taking an acting job!"

"Well with you going on hiatus so suddenly, the producers for the movie couldn't find a replacement for your role in the movie on such short notice," Dilan tells her. "That was when Yuna stepped in to take your place."

"But…" Kairi chokes on her words.

"I'm going to become her manager." Kairi gasps as Dilan tells her this. "You clearly don't understand this business. At least Yuna knew what a good opportunity was" Dilan starts to walk away. "You're on your own now."

Kairi and I are now alone. Everything became quiet, the only noise coming from the rustling of the trees.

"Hey Kairi, you okay?" I put my hand on her shoulder. "Are you really sure, you wanted this hiatus?"

"Get your hand off me!" Kairi slaps my hand off of her shoulder. "What would you know? You barely even know me!" Tears form in her eyes. "You're the same. You're exactly like everyone else." Kairi runs away crying.

I can't help but feel guilty about this. Maybe I shouldn't have asked about her hiatus... I guess she was right though. It's not like I know her enough to understand her pain.

I start to walk home and it starts to rain. I should probably check the Reflection tonight. But if my theory was right, and Kairi shows up on the Reflection all messed up...

Time of Day: Night
Weather: Rainy
Place: Dojima Residence

Please Kairi, don't show up… I look at my clock. It's only a couple seconds till midnight. I walk toward my mirror. A yellow glow emits from it. I see a slender hand with red nail polish on holding a silver pole. The view goes expands, revealing Kairi in a red bikini. She laughs seductively.

"Why hello there…"

To my readers, I'll only tell you this: These next upcoming chapters are going to be fun! Thanks for reading this chapter, leave a review, favorite, and/or follow the story!