Chapter 15: Summer Vacation Part 2
Time of Day: ?
Weather: Foggy
Place: The Velvet Room
"Why, hello there, Sora," Igor greets. "Welcome to the Velvet Room."
"Looks like we're back in the regular Velvet Room," I say. The bottles of expensive liquor clutter on top of cobalt shelves, keeping surprisingly still, even though the room is a limo that's always driving in an endless fog. For some reason, this blue velvet limo just feels more homey to me than that large empty elevator. "What's with that other room, anyway?"
"That was an old room for another resident," Igor says.
"Not to sound ill-mannered, but that person's exploits there are of no concern to you," Margaret says. Looks like the mysterious secretary is back.
"Hey Margaret, how was your break?" I ask.
"It was delightful," she smiles. "But not important as of now."
"I was just asking…" I slouch in my seat. Talk about a cold-blooded secretary.
Margaret opens her book, and three cards pop out of it, a trail of tiny stars follow each. Each one is veiled in a warm azure flame. "The Magician, The Emperor, and The Star. Each one represents one of the three friends you've deepened your bonds with."
"Are you talking about Roxas, Riku, and Donald?" I ask. Last thing I remember, Roxas is the Magician, Riku the Emperor, and Donald the Star.
"Precisely," Igor says. "I once told you that making bonds strengthens you, correct?"
"Yes, you have," I say.
"Well nurturing those bonds will make you grow even stronger," he says. "I sense that you will be deepening more bonds and even making new ones in the nearby future."
Darkness shrouds my eyes as the Velvet Room fades away.
August 11, 2015
Time of Day: Noon
Weather: Cloudy
Place: Destiny Islands- Streets
"So, I was watching this movie yesterday, and some guy kicked through an entire tree!" Yuffie exclaims. "I wonder how much you have to train in order to do that…"
"I don't think that's even physically possible in the real world," I tell her. "It's only through practical effects and-"
"Lalalalalala!" Yuffie covers her ears. "I can't hear youuu!"
"Fine, you weirdo." I laugh. "Go ahead and believe what you want, but I'll always tell you the cold hard truth."
We decided to hang out today to get something to eat and maybe do some summer work while we were at it. It was half-off at the Secret Place, so my wallet and my stomach were in agreement for once.
"Hey, Yuffie!" A boy around our age comes running toward us.
"Oh, hey Miyu…" Yuffie's tone alters from happy, to slightly annoyed. "What, did you get mugged again?"
"Ha, ha, very funny," Miyu replies sarcastically. "I just wanted to thank you for helping me last night, and that I was sorry for just taking off."
"Taking off?" Yuffie frowns. "I hope you mean run away." Woah, what's up with Yuffie? She's normally doesn't sound this angry unless someone takes her food.
"God, what's your problem?" Miyu asks. "There's like, nothing redeeming about you at all with that bad attitude of yours."
"Oh shuddap!" Yuffie says. Okay, why was this even happening?
"Speaking of which," Miyu says. "What's up with Namine? She seemed oddly cheerful and had a weird laugh, y'know?"
"Yeah, that's just how she is." Yuffie raises her eyebrow.
"It seems like you've rubbed off on her," he says. "I can't even believe it. Namine was better off being gloomy." Wow. This guy is a dick.
"Shut your trap about her!" Yuffie says. "You don't know jack shit about her! She's a good person, got it?"
"Whatever!" Miyu walks away in spite.
After a minute of awkward silence, I decide to break the ice. "Sooo, what was that about?"
Yuffie turns to me. "So, last night I saved that jackass from these guys who were attempting to mug him. He ran away the moment I saw him being confronted in a alley."
"He didn't even ask for the help?" I ask. "He seriously just assumed you were going to help?"
"Pretty much."
"But even you normally don't get that angry with people. What's the deal with that?
"He's one of those persistent guys who thinks he can get with Namine. The day that I saved him in the alley, just a couple hours before, he was bad mouthing me about how I was just treating her like a little girl whose dad won't let her date people or whatever."
"He sounds like a jerk. What'd you do the the thugs in the end anyway?"
"Well, one of them was smart enough to realize that Miyu could have called the cops. So, they just left."
"Well, it's a good thing you didn't get into a fight. Who knows what would have happened?"
August 12, 2015
Time of Day: Afternoon
Weather: Sunny
Place: Destiny Islands- Streets
"Hey, leave the kid alone!" Yuffie says.
"Huh? Great, it's her again," One of the thugs say. The same three jackasses we met a couple days ago, are now harassing a younger boy, probably no older than Usagi.
"Don't worry, I know how to handle with this bitch," the leader says with a smirk.
"You got somethin' planned?" The other thug says.
"H-Help…" The small boy whimpers.
"You hear that "Yuffie"? The kid wants some help," The leader mocks.
"How do you know my name?" Yuffie asks.
"We had a… Friendly conversation with some guy who had some beef with you." The leader's smirk turns into a dark grin. "He told us a bunch, like where you live, and about that precious Namine of yours."
"What are you aiming at?" Yuffie asks.
"Oh, I'm just gonna have a small chat with this kid," The leader says. "So why don't cha just stay put? Who knows what'll happen to your little girlfriend if you get in our way."
One of the thugs starts to laugh. "Man, that's fucking dark!"
"Why you…" Yuffie's face fills with anger.
As the small boy starts to cry more, Yuffie starts to prepare her fists.
"Hey Yuffie," I say to her.
"Sora, don't even think about getting in my way this time around," she warns.
"I wasn't going for that." She looks at me confused. "Just do your thing and let hell loose on these bastards!"
"With pleasure!" Yuffie's angered face turns into a determined smile.
"You sure you wanna do that?" The leader asks. "You don't care what happens to-" Yuffie interrupts him with a jumping roundhouse kick to his face. She then uppercuts one thug, and strikes the other with a left hook.
"Damn Yuffie, you're a freaking badass!" I say.
"Wasn't even trying!" She smiles. She turns to the small boy. He has a sparkle in his eye, and a smile on his face. "Are you okay?" She asks.
"Yes!" The boy says happily. "That was amazing!"
"That's good to know!" Yuffie smiles. The boy runs off, thanking the both of us.
"Was that the right thing to do?"
"You mean smash their faces in?" I ask. "Yes, yes it was."
"But what if they actually do go after Namine," Yuffie's triumphant demeanor shifts to one of worry.
"Then I guess that means you'll just have to protect her."
"Yeah…" Yuffie forms a gentle smile. "But this time… This time I won't let any dark thoughts, like the ones that created my Heartless, cloud my heart this time around!"
I give her a thumbs up. "Then good luck, Ms. Knight in Shining Armor!"
Yuffie punches my shoulder and blushes. "Seriously, just be quiet!"
August 14, 2015
Time of Day: Afternoon
Weather: Clear
Place: Destiny Islands- Beach
Yesterday those bullies were caught in the act by the cops. Serves them right for being assholes. Come to think of it, when Riku and I were hanging out a couple days ago, we were confronted about being bullies. Small world, isn't it?
As the calm wind blows into my face while I ride my bike, I can't help but notice a familiar blonde girl lying down on her belly under a palm tree.
"Now Mr. Bunny, please don't move…" Namine whispers.
Every so often, she changes her focus from a small brown rabbit, to her sketchbook, which I occasionally see her carry around. As I inch closer to her, I notice that the drawing is extremely detailed. She's not even using anything special, just your average mechanical pencil.
"And done!" Namine gets up, and brushes the dirt off of her clothes.
"Hey Namine!" As I greet her, she shrieks and launches her sketchbook into the air. "I got it!" As I reach into the air to catch the book, Namine runs into me, and she almost falls down. Luckily, the book lands on its back. I awkwardly laugh. "Don't got it."
"Sora!" Namine yells as she picks up her sketchbook. "Why'd you have to scare me like that?!"
"What do you mean, scare? I was only saying hi…"
Namine puffs out a breath. "You just surprised me when I was so calm. So naturally, I freaked out."
"Then I'm sorry. Anyway, you were just drawing that bunny?"
"Yeah, it was eating this small flower, and I thought it would have been really cute to draw."
"Can I see?"
Namine hesitantly looks at her sketchbook. "Hmm, okay, but don't hurt my baby." Baby? She hands me the book. Oh, this is the baby.
As I flip through the pages, I see many different things. Whether it be random animals, landscapes, or portraits of someone, each one is always extremely elaborate.
"Wow, how long does it take you to draw these things?" As I flip through the sketchbooks, I see that there's even drawings of us in here!
"Things like that bunny don't take very long, but if I'm drawing something like a person, it takes me a while mainly because their expressions change so much."
"You're great at this stuff!" I compliment. "I can sort of imagine your stuff in an amatuer gallety of some sorts."
"I've entered contests, but mainly for paintings."
"You paint, too? Can I see some of those paintings?"
Namine smiles. "I'd love to, but there's a large group that didn't have a reservation at the inn today, so I kinda have to go help my mother when I get back. You can come tomorrow, though!"
"Really?"
"Sure, why not? You can see my personal art museum!"
August 15, 2015
Time of Day: Afternoon
Weather: Rain
Place: Amagi Inn
"You seriously came in the rain?" Namine asks.
"It's not like I had anything else to do today." I shake my head, and water droplets fly everywhere. "So where's this, quote unquote, art museum of yours?"
Namine giggles. "It's in my room. Just follow me!"
I've never been inside the inn, but it's actually really nice. The rooms are traditional Japanese-styled, everything is made out of wood, and there's even a sauna that's connected to a hot spring!
"I seriously have to stay here one night," I tell her.
"I hope you can pay for it," Namine teases. That's certainly a businesswoman in training if I've ever seen one. "Anyway, here's my room!"
Namine walks through a door. It's a big bedroom with all of the usual things you'd see in these kinds of spaces. Except a lot of things are white.
"You really have a thing for white, don't you?" I ask
"It's my favorite color. It reminds me of paper and blank canvases, so it relaxes me."
"Makes sense." Namine has a bunch of things an artist would normally have, like crayons, pencils, markers, and paint. She even has an easel. But what really piques my interest is the wall completely covered in different drawings and paintings!
"Awesome, right?" Namine asks in a smug way.
"Yeah, it is…" I'm currently at a loss of word at how detailed all of the art is. Namine seriously has the right to act as smug when it comes to her art!
Namine starts to talk about each one of her works. The way she describes each one corresponds with how the painting or drawing looks like. One painting in particular catches my eye.
"Hey Namine, what's with this painting?" It's primarily made up of dark colors, like navy blues, blacks, grays, and other dreary shades. The painting depicts a person just watching a crowd of people. The people in the crows look happy about everything, but the person alone is just sulking in despair.
"Oh, that old thing?" Namine says. "Yeah, I painted that a couple months before you moved here. Back then, I was always busy at the inn, so I felt like I was alone, even when Yuffie was with me. I was jealous of my peers because they did whatever they wanted. It was to the point that I felt like I was just watching my life go by, and that I was wasting it working here." Namine crosses her arms. "My question is Sora, what does this painting mean to you? You're looking kind of pensive."
"I guess it's just reminding me of my time before I moved here," I tell her. "I moved around a lot, never made many friends. And when I did move, it always happened during the time of the school year where everyone already has their small groups and stuff, so naturally I became a loner." Yeah… Those were sad times. I get what Namine was saying about always feeling alone. "But… I'm thankful I met you guys."
"We're happy we met you too, Sora!" Namine assures me.
"You say that, but I feel like I haven't even been very close to you in particular."
"What do you mean?"
"I dunno, I just feel like we don't talk much, even after you got your Persona."
"Sora, it's fine. Don't be too hard on yourself. Ever since I became friends with all of you, I've been happier than I've ever been."
"Really?"
"Really." Namine has a proud smile on her face. "Ever since you guys saved me, I got to be myself around more people, and I'm thankful for that."
"Then in that case, you're welcome." I return her smile.
"Thank you!" Namine turns back to one of her other paintings. "So, this one represents…"
We spent most of the afternoon examining all of Namine's art, with me leaving about 3 hours later.
August 17, 2015
Time of Day: Evening
Weather: Clear
Place: Paopu Pastries
So apparently there's a end of summer festival tomorrow night. The only reason I know of that is because I just so happened to pass by the park where it's being held. Now the one thing I want to know is this:
Is asking Kairi out on a date a good idea?
I mean, I haven't asked her yet, but I still remember what happened last time we went on a date. It took me probably around an hour to get back to my house. But on the other hand, I really should thank her for healing back when we fought Pence, sooo-
"Oh hey Sora." I turn to my left and I see Kairi in an apron and her hair tied in a messy ponytail. "What's up?"
"Hey Kairi!" I wave and try not to sound nervous. "So um, nice weather, and uh, stuff."
Kairi looks at me with an amused look. "Dude, that's like the most cliche small talk you can think of." She giggles.
"I know, I know." I rub the back of my head. "The point is, I wanted to talk to you for a bit."
"Sure, just lemme do something quick." Kairi rushes back into her grandma's shop. She comes back outside as fast as she entered, this time without an apron and her hair is loose. "Grandma says to take as much time as we need, so talk away!"
"Great!" Now just to ask her… Why are words not going out my mouth? Dammit Sora, just talk to the girl!
"Sora, why are you so quiet when asked to talk?"
"Oh, sorry. So you remember the date we had, right?" Oh god where am I going with this?
"Yeah, what about it?"
"I messed up back then."
"What?" She sounds really surprised.
"Yeah, y'know, near the end of the date. You ended up leaving me back there."
"Oh, yeah… Sorry about that."
"No no no, it's… It's okay. I just wanted to tell you that I'd like a do over."
"A do over?"
"Exactly. So tomorrow, would you like to have a second first date with me at the festival?"
Kairi starts to chuckle. "A second first date?"
"I did say a do over." I smile.
"Yeah, you did." Kairi smiles. "Sure, I'd love to go on a second first date with you."
August 18, 2015
Time of Day: Evening
Weather: Clear
Place: Destiny Islands- Public Park
As I wait for Kairi on a bench, I get to see a lot of the stands. There's all the usual suspects like fishing games, the caramel apple stands, and that one game that everyone knows is rigged. Heck, even Riku has a small stand.
Apparently, his mom told the festival director, and he said that Riku would have his own booth. I stopped by to say hi, but there were so many kids, and even some teenagers, gathering around his stand to see all of his work! I wonder if he'll run out at any point.
"Sora!" I hear Kairi's voice behind me.
"Oh, hey… Umm, Kairi. Is that you?" She's in a pink dress with a black hood with three long zippers on it. She has a thin black belt on over the dress. But for some reason, her hair is blue and she's wearing the red fashion glasses Donald gave her.
"Yeah it is!" She says. "I may have been here for a while now, but people do still swarm me. And the fact that I'm on a date too would bring attention to us as well."
"What do you mean?"
"You know, whenever celebrities are seen going on dates with people no one have even hear about, people go nuts! Anyway, how do I look?"
To be honest, she kinda looks like my mom with the blue hair, but I definitely won't be telling her that. "You don't look bad…" Smooth, Sora. Smooooth.
"That's all you have to say?" Kairi looks down. I swear I hear her mumble, "I spent forever picking this thing out…"
"Sorry!" I tell her. "I was just shell shocked at how great you looked."
"Really?" Kairi's eyes shine.
"Yeah! Now, what's the first thing we should do?"
"You didn't plan anything?"
"Not really. I totally didn't waste all of my time picking my clothes instead of planning what to do during the festival." Oh god, why am I telling her this stuff?
Kairi starts to laugh. "Okay, Mr. Fashionista, stop being such a dork and let's just enjoy this festival!"
Mr. Fashionista? Dork? "I'd be glad to, Ms. Spoiled Teen Idol!"
"That's EX Ms. Spoiled Teen Idol to you!" Kairi flicks my nose. "Anyway, let's play some games first!"
"Wanna try the shooting gallery?" I point to a nearby booth. The man in charge of it is holding a BB rifle, and is rearranging prizes on a shelf.
"Oh, you're on!" Kairi dashes to the booth, and I follow suit. "And just so you know, I don't hold back."
"Hold back? It's just a game!" I laugh. "Hey, I'll pay for the two of us, okay?"
"Nah, I got it." Kairi takes out some munny and hands it to the guy in charge of the booth. He hands her one rifle, and me a second one.
"Ready!" The man says. "Set!" I steady my aim. "Go!" I pull the trigger and I shoot my first target. As time counts down, I'm slowly realizing that Kairi is shooting more accurate shots than me. As for me, my shots tend to be near the edges of the target. How is she so good at this?
"And time!" A bell rings. "Looks like your date beat ya, kid."
"Dangit..." I pout.
"Get wrecked, mate!" Kairi gloats. The man hands her a paopu fruit plushie.
"Aren't you the competitive one?" I ask. "How about we play a couple more games, most of which, I will totally beat you at!"
"You ready to put your munny where your mouth is?" she sneers.
Three games later, I've lost to Kairi at the ring toss, the game with the stupid milk jugs, and the hammer strength game. The goddamn strength game.
"Sooo, where's that confidence you had earlier?" Kairi asks.
"Gone, along with my man card for losing that strength game."
"Like you had one to begin with!"
I start to laugh. "Touche. Dammit, why do I say that every time we're around each other?"
"Because I'm a boss ass bitch!" Kairi smiles. "Anyway, do you wanna check up on Riku? I heard he has a pretty popular stand."
"Oh yeah, I saw it while I was waiting for you. Sure, let's go check up on him. I'll see if I can bargain with him so I can get something for free."
As we get closer to Riku's makeshift shop, we see him starting to pack up all of his stuff.
"Hey Riku!" Kairi waves.
Riku turns toward us. "Hey, what's up?"
"You're packing up already?" I ask.
"Well, I can't exactly have a stand if I have nothing to sell," he says.
"You seriously got sold out?!"
"Yeah," he responds wearily. "Everything was sold practically the moment I put what I made on the table." He raises his eyebrow. "So, what are you doing tonight, and who's that?"
Looks like the old fashioned wig and sunglasses disguise works. "It's actually Kairi."
"Why is her hair blue?"
"She's in disguise because we're on a date."
"I have to or else someone might come and kill Sora," Kairi says.
"Okayyy…" Riku has a perplexed look on his face.
"She means that her fans are gonna go crazy and magazines are gonna hound her with interviews because I'm on a date with their favorite celebrity."
"Okay, that makes a bit more sense." Riku grins. "In that case, I'll make sure not to tell Roxas. I'm pretty sure we all know he'd kill for a date with a celebrity, whether it be Kairi or someone else."
I laugh. "Thanks for covering for me bro."
"No problem." Riku smiles. "By the way, did you guys hear about the raffle they're doing?"
"What raffle?" Kairi asks. "It must be new if I hadn't heard about it."
"It is," he says. "It's for some charity to remodel some places around town. Everyone is saying that the grand prize for the raffle is something pretty epic."
"Sounds cool. Are you gonna try to win it?" I ask.
"Not really. I have rotten luck when it comes to this stuff." Riku holds up a metal box with a lock on it. "I'd rather use all this munny to buy some new materials." He walks away, his safe full of cash in his arm.
"How much munny do you even think is in there?" Kairi asks.
"I don't know, but considering he sold all that he made, it must be a lot."
We continue to walk around the festival, enjoying whatever we can while we're here. Riku was right when he said people were talking about the prize. Kairi and I haven't been to one place where we haven't heard people talking about the prize. Just how grand is the grand prize?
"Maybe I'll go test my luck…" Kairi and I walk toward the booth selling the tickets.
"Hello there, dearies, are you here to buy raffle tickets?" the woman behind the booth asks.
"Yes we are!" Kairi says.
"Aren't you energetic?" The woman asks. "That'll be 100 munny per ticket. We'll be announcing the raffle winners soon, be make sure to stick around!"
We each hand her 100 munny, and we get our tickets.
"What's your number Kairi?"I ask. "My number is 122205"
"Mine's 015960. Good luck Sora!" Kairi says.
"You too." Hopefully I can win grand prize. What would it even be? Mayor for the day? Free ice cream?
After ten minutes of waiting in anticipation, a girl around our age walks up onto a gazebo. She starts fiddling with the microphone. "Hello? This thing on? Oh, shoot, it is." The girl smiles sheepishly. "Okay folks, it's time to reveal the winners of the raffle!" she says into a microphone. People start to cheer.
"So this raffle was created to support the Destiny Islands Restoration Committee help pay for repairs to important and historic places in our small town such as our town hall! Thank you anyone who bought a ticket, because if even if you don't win, you'll still be helping our wonderful town!"
"Get on with it, Hayden!" some guy yells from across the park.
"Anyway…" The girl, or Hayden, tries to hide all of her embarrassment. "The number of the Bronze Prize is... 032802!" That's not my number so that's good. A man walks up onto the gazebo. "You've just won a coupon book for the stores in our local business district!"
He walks away with a content look on his face. I wonder if I'll get to that point in life where I'll be happy with winning a coupon book. But then again, I did pester Yuffie to let me look for some coupons before we went to the Secret Place the other day, sooo…
"The number of our Silver Prize is... 073112!" Hayden announces. A small girl walks up onto the gazebo. "Congratulations, you just won a handmade teddy bear made by Tatsumi Textiles very own…" The announcer blinks, as if she's reading it wrong. "Riku Tatsumi?" The small girl takes the teddy bear with gusto, and goes back to her parents.
"SO WHAT IF I MADE THE TEDDY BEAR?!" I hear Riku scream. I feel that Riku still might be embarrassed about people knowing about his hobbies, but I'm sure he'll get used to it. Eventually.
"Okay everyone, we're at our Golden Prize!" Hayden announces. "The ticket number for this prize is… 111808!" An old man walks up onto the gazebo. "You sir, have just won free ice cream at the Frozen Fortune Ice Cream Parlor for a month!" The old man takes a sheet of paper with a smile on his face.
"Listen up and check your tickets carefully!" Hayden warns. "It's time to reveal the winner of our grand prize!" The crowd cheers. "The first two digits are 12!"
12, okay, I got that.
"22!"
Okay, these match too… Will I actually-
"And the final number is… 06!"
OH COME ON!
I hear a victorious cheer behind the two of us. "I TOLD YOU I'D WIN IT!" Wait a minute… That voice… Roxas runs up onto the gazebo.
"Congratulations, you just won a trip with your friends to an all expense paid trip to Radiant Garden!"
And Chapter 15 is done! Next chapter, the group will be going to Radiant Garden! It'll be the final part of their Summer Vacation.
Did any of you like the Namine part? To be honest, I had trouble writing that part. Main reason being, Sora and Namine aren't the closest of friends in this story. I completely neglected their friendship together, so I thought that Sora should mention it to her at one point.
I actually had a blast writing Sora and Kairi's date scene. Palette wrote their first date, so writing my own was a nice experience.
Also, I know I said I was aiming toward weekly updates, but I don't think that's going to happen. With me in school, and Palette having her own life, the times we can edit together tend to be on the weekends, and sometimes we don't even finish editing. Not to mention, writing a chapter takes me 2-3 days, and I only have time on weekends to write.
Anyway, thanks for reading this chapter!