Names
Chapter Two: Setup
A/N:
Here we are with chapter two!
Don't really have much to say other than… thanks for all the positive reviews! So yeah… thanks! It really means a lot to have my first KH fanfic get praise.
See ya at the bottom!
"Hey, Kairi! Are those your friends I hear in the front room? I told you that you could introduce us after school!"
Kairi laughed nervously, turning to us and whispering, "She's not very social…"
I heard footsteps walking towards us from the stairs that I knew where around the corner, and when Kairi's supposed cousin came into view…
"Y-you?!"
"Roxas?!"
"Wait, I'm confused…" Kairi said softly and slowly, before making a one eighty and screaming, "You two know each other?! Since when?!"
Seeming to be the only calm one in the room, Riku adopted a mischievous smile and said, "Yeah, Roxas. Care to explain?"
All eyes fell on me.
I took a second to regain my composure before saying, "Sora and I were practicing late last night at school, and after we packed up to go home, I realized I had forgot some things in the classroom. I went to the classroom, and I found her," I pointed to Kairi's cousin. "In the corner by the window. She kinda freaked out when she saw me, but then I told her why I was there, and we struck up a small conversation. Then I left for Axel's house, seeing as I was already late."
All was silent for a few seconds, and then Kairi said, "Well, that makes things simpler!"
How, exactly? She still has to introduce her cousin to everyone else.
"So, this is Namine, my cousin. She moved here from America because of some… troublesome family situations… and she'll be attending our school! She's in the same class as you, Roxas, so could you please be a nice guy for once and show her around the school?"
"Hey, I'm not a bad guy!" I said defensively.
Everyone around me laughed, and I soon found myself joining in.
When it died down, Kairi asked me, "So, you will show her around, won't you?"
"You realize that it depends on who my teacher chooses to show her around, right?" I asked her. "But I have a feeling that he'll choose me anyway. I pulled a prank on him last week with one of my classmates, and he'll probably think of it as a punishment. So yeah, I'll do it."
"I knew I could count on you~!"
The walk to school was filled with conversation, laughter, and all around fun… something that hadn't happened to me in years.
I usually go to school by myself… it's kind of weird to be going to school with my friends.
"Hey, Roxas!" Sora said, waving his hand in front of my face.
I blinked. "Yeah?"
"We're here."
"Oh."
Namine giggled, prompting everyone else to start laughing at my expense. But I didn't care. I liked their atmosphere.
Man, these guys are really easy laughs.
Just then, I heard the school's warning bell ring.
"C'mon, guys! Let's go!" Kairi said, running ahead.
Everyone started running save for me.
Kairi is so much like her… I thought sadly, the memory of a girl with short, beautiful black hair returning to me.
"Why would it come back now?" I whispered sadly.
"Why would what come back now?" someone asked from beside me.
I quickly turned my head towards the voice, finding Namine looking at me inquisitively.
"I-it's nothing. Don't worry about it."
"Why would you tell me not to worry about nothing?" Namine asked with a sly smirk.
I sighed. "Look, it's not something you need to hear. Sorry."
I walked faster, but Namine followed me.
"If you want to talk about it sometime, I'll be happy to listen," Namine said, sounding so genuine that it scared me.
"Yeah… okay."
I looked at my watch. "Crap! The bell is about to ring! We've gotta go!"
I started to run, and Namine managed to keep up, despite my incredible athletic ability.
"I'll have to stop at the office before I go to class," Namine told me as we ran. "Since I'm a new student."
"All right, I'll see you later!" I said, turning around and running towards my classroom.
I ran into the classroom just seconds before the bell rang. "Sorry… I'm late…"
My teacher, who had arrived early, said, "Actually, you arrived on time with seconds to spare."
"Really?"
"Yes, now could you please sit down?" he asked me, though it sounded more like an order than a question.
"Yes, Saix-sensei!" I said, walking over and climbing into my seat.
Wait a second… I just realized… there's only one empty seat in the classroom, I thought, looking at the empty seat to my right.
So she'll be sitting next to me…
For some reason, the thought filled me with happiness.
What the heck is wrong with me? I can't fall in love again! It only leads to—
"Roxas!" Saix shouted, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Y-yes?" I shouted back, eliciting giggles from some of my classmates.
"Pay attention!"
"Sorry!"
"Now, as I was saying," Saix continued. "We have a new transfer student coming to our class today. She's from overseas, and she's coming here to stay with her relative."
I heard students around the room saying things like, "A transfer student at this time of year?" and, "I wonder what she's like."
"Namine, you may come in," Saix said, and the classroom quieted down.
The door slid open, and Namine walked in. She closed the door behind her, then walked up to the front of the classroom.
"Hello, my name is Namine Hikari. I come from America, and I'm going to be living here with my cousin from now on."
When she stopped talking, Saix continued with, "Namine, I'll have you sit next to Roxas."
She walked over to her new desk beside me, sitting down and getting out a very familiar notebook.
Isn't that her sketchbook from last night?
"And Roxas?" Saix said. "I think I'll have you show Namine around the school during lunch as punishment for your little stunt last week. Understood?"
Saix… you may be an amazing teacher, but sometimes you're incredibly dense.
"Understood," I said with a neutral tone.
"Good. Now, back to the lesson."
The first half of the school day passed relatively quickly and without incident, and before I knew it, it was time for lunch break.
"Hey, Roxas!" a feminine voice said from my left, the source walking up to me.
Without turning around, I said, "Hey, Larxene."
"Sucks that he gave you the job of showing the new kid around before eating! Why don't you ditch her and come eat with us?" she asked, pointing to two of my other friends, Xexion and Marluxia, who were both waiting for me by the door.
"Sorry guys, but I have to do it or Saix will destroy me with homework," I said apologetically.
"You have a point," Xexion said as he walked up to us, messing with a deck of playing cards absentmindedly. "Saix is still really pissed at you for that prank you pulled on him with Larxene. How she got out of punishment is anyone's guess."
"Not really," I said. "He just has it out for me."
At this, we shared a laugh.
I then remembered the silent Namine sitting beside me, so I grabbed her hand and said, "Well, I'm gonna show her around now, guys! Later!"
I got up, dragging her along until we were out of the classroom.
"Sorry about that," I said as we began to walk. "My friends, despite being popular, are pretty weird."
"It's all right," Namine replied.
It was then that I realized that we were still holding hands. I quickly let go, saying, "S-sorry!"
"It's all right," Namine replied once more.
Awkward silence reined the hallways.
"Well, what say we show you around?"
"Lead the way!" Namine said cheerily, giving me a wide smile.
Too…! Innocent…! Must resist!
Halfway through lunch period, I had successfully showed her the locations of all her classes.
"So, you thinking of joining any clubs in particular?" I asked her as we walked through the halls. "You draw, right? You'd probably be well-received in the Art Club."
"Yeah, I probably would be well-received in the Art Club, but it would be lonely," Namine told me. "Kairi said that everyone goes to the Kendo Club, even her."
"Is that so…?"
Kairi doesn't go to the Kendo Club! She goes to the Calligraphy Club. What is she trying to pull?
"She also said that you're the star of the club," she said, smiling. "Even better than Sora and Riku combined."
"I may be the star of the club, but I'm not that good…"
What the hell has Kairi been telling her?! And still, who would believe that I'm that much better than a muscular guy like Riku?!
"Well, Kairi has been known to tell tall tales," Namine mused. "I guess this was just another one."
Still, the fact that she believed it for even a little while is crazy…
"Still, I want to join the Kendo Club," Namine said softly, her face gaining a slight pink hue. "Because you'll be there."
My eyes widened, and I stared off into space, completely taken aback by her words. Then, I began to slowly piece together what was going on.
Wait a second… Kairi's trying to set Namine up with me! I swear to god, if Kairi told Namine any weird lies about me, I will destroy all of her anime posters… with fire!
"Hey, are you all right?" Namine asked me, waving her hand in front of my face. "You're spacing out."
"Y-yeah, I'm fine," I stuttered. "Just thinking."
"About what?"
I looked around nervously, thinking, Man, I can't tell her!
"It doesn't really make sense…" I trailed off before continuing with, "If I can ever figure it out, I'll tell you."
"Okay!"
The rest of the school day went smoothly, and soon, I was walking home together with Namine, Sora, Kairi, and Riku.
"So, Sora, Roxas, Riku," Kairi asked. "Don't you three have kendo practice?"
"Ah! I completely forgot!" Sora said frantically, grabbing his head.
"Nah, we got today off," Riku said nonchalantly, somehow ignoring my brother's outburst.
Then again, Riku is spectacular at ignoring anything he wants.
"I know, I just wanted to see him freak out," Kairi said/laughed, pointing to Sora.
"Hey!" Sora shouted, clearly unamused by her joke.
"Come on, Sora," I spoke up. "We would've reminded you."
I looked around at Kairi, who was silently laughing, then at Riku, who was just giving me a smug look.
"Okay, scratch that," I corrected myself. "I would remind you. These two 'friends' of yours would just watch you freak out."
We all busted out laughing, and even Namine, whose lips had been sealed the whole time, giggled lightly.
Oh yeah, that reminds me! I need to talk to Kairi about her plan.
"Hey, Kairi?" I asked the redhead, walking to the side.
"What's up?"
"We need to talk about something."
"Okay!"
Once we were out of earshot, I turned to her and let loose. "What the hell, Kairi?"
"Huh?"
"You're trying to set me up with Namine! Look, I don't know everything you've been telling her about me, but it has to stop. I don't want or deserve to be loved."
"…"
I saw tears building up in her eyes, and I immediately felt bad for being so harsh.
"How could you say that…? That you don't deserve to be loved?"
"I'm sorry. If you went through what I did, you would understand why I feel this way. Ask Sora about it if you want but I doubt he would tell you."
With that, I left for Axel's house, not even looking back.
I can't fall in love… it never lasts, and only ends in pain.
A/N:
There it is! The next chapter! To be clear, I'm not the type of person who can update his stories extremely quickly. Sorry for those of you expecting fast updates, but it just won't happen very often. If I'm really on a spurt of inspiration, then you might see weekly updates, but that's the best I can do.
Also, for those of you who like The World Ends with You, I'm glad to announce that I'm making a fanfic for the archive! It'll be Neku/Shiki, with hints of past Neku/Joshua. I don't like yaoi much, so it'll be strictly in the past, with only minor references.
Well, I guess that's about it! Time for the disclaimer!
I don't own the Kingdom Hearts franchise or anything I borrow from it!
Until we meet again!