I hate it when you have a idea, but all you have is a beginning and an end with nothing to fill in between. Sorry this took so long. I did some planning for the next chapter and I decided this would set up everything that would happen for the next two chapters. Sorry this chapter had like zero fluff; I really wasn't in the fluffy mood for this encounter. Now for review responses!

DuelRoxas16 - For my own safety all I'll say is that I live somewhere around Toronto :S And Wonderland is pretty cool despite the fact that I'm not a rollercoaster person

roxasduelwielder - Rap battle? Sounds interesting but how will I ever incorporate such a thing?

Now on to the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters used in this story nor do I own the franchises Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy. I also do not own The Hunger Games.


Chapter 9 – Setting the Stage

Days until Halloween: six days. The past week was pretty calm and I could tell that Selphie had been procrastinating. It's not just her school work that falling behind; it's also been the planning that she usually does when an event is around the corner. But like Tidus says, she'll get over it eventually. Nothing fazes that girl and she'll get back on the bull soon enough. And just like that Selphie called for a meeting to organize some stuff for the thirty-first. Everyone who knows Selphie well enough came up with some lame excuse and ditched me and Kairi since Selphie practically begged for us to help her. We weren't the only ones that got sucked into her planning endeavours. Roxas, Sora, Hope, Riku and Xion had no prior knowledge on her… leadership behaviours. So those five innocently agreed to help. God bless their souls. Selphie arranged for everyone helping to meet at my place (WHY?) the following Saturday to do the planning.

Friday evening rolled around and Kairi and I were out on a jog with our dad. It was one of those days when he had the chance to leave his gym for one of his supervisors to look after. And because he has this free time with us, decides to take us out on a jog. Not that there's anything wrong with going on a jog. I was in pretty bad shape since I spend so much time indoors. My dad, Matthew, would occasionally ask me, "Why aren't you more like your sister Claire?" I know that he means no offence, but sometimes I wonder why as well. We're of the same blood so why wouldn't I be a little more athletic at least. And I almost forgot. Lightning's real name is Claire. The reason why she's called Lightning is the speed of her swimming. It's not like Michael Phelps, Olympic level speed, but she was pretty fast nonetheless. I digress. We were out on a jog as a bonding activity between father and daughters. We went around our block a few times and I stopped after thirty minutes of running around in circles. Dad stopped for me and he turned around crossed his arms. His face didn't exactly say impressed, but he let out a sigh.

"You know Naminé; you have to get out more if you plan to get back in shape." Oh why did I even bother mentioning that in the first place?

"I know dad." I tried not to lean over and rest my hands on my knees. Knowing my dad he would instantly straighten my back and tell me that's not good after exercise. Instead of resting my hands on my knees, I opted to rest my hands on my hips and leant back, stretching. Kairi turned to look at dad with one of those cute faces.

"So why did you take us out for a jog dad?"

Matthew clearly looked unfazed by the fluttering eyelids and evaded the question. "What's wrong with wanting to spend some time with my daughters?" He smiled like he wasn't telling the whole truth. And he probably wasn't. Kairi frowned; unpleased by the response she received.

I stopped my stretching and stood beside my sister. "Come on dad, we know you better than that. I know that you have something to talk about so just tell us. Besides, you wouldn't take us out for a jog just to spend time with us." Kairi got him there. Normally he'd treat us to a movie or dinner to spend time with us. It's something that he knows that we would all enjoy. Jogging isn't one of those things.

He raised his hands in the air, as if caught red handed. "Alright, you got me. I do have something to talk to you girls about. How's school treating you girls? It's your junior year and the marks that you get now are the ones that colleges look at along with marks that you get next year. I know I haven't been around much lately and I don't get the chance to help you if you girls need it." That much is true. He hasn't been around much since he had been making plans to expand his gym and he had been busy making phone calls to contractors and renovators. But I could still tell that he wasn't telling the entire truth. There was something else behind that 5'0'clock shadow, but I'll play along for the time being and see how it turns out.

"School has been fine so far. Nothing that I can't handle, but I don't know about Kairi though." That earned me a nudge from her elbow. "Not much has changed, but a few new people had transferred from other places and we got to know them a bit better over the past few weeks."

He scratched his stubble and rubbed his chin. "Who would those people be?"

Kairi raised a hand to stop any further questioning. "That much isn't important dad. What's important is that we made new friends and they're cool to hang around?"

"Cool or fun? I wouldn't want my daughters to be hanging around people just too look 'cool'," he said with air quotes.

"Okay, fun, cool, whatever. They're great to be around. Does it really matter dad?"

"I don't know maybe like… Are they girls or are they boys? I mean I would feel better if they were girls, but if they were boys then I'm not so sure." That's his protective side showing. My face fell flat when he said 'boys' and Kairi was trying to suppress her laughter.

"Is that what you wanted to talk about dad? Because you could have spared us the jog and Kairi from laughing her guts out." Kairi stopped her laughing and took in deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Okay. Dad you don't have to be so concerned about that. We can take care of ourselves and if something's wrong then we'll tell you and if not, Lightning at least." I nodded, feeling pleased that Kairi pointed out that we're capable of looking out for each other.

He seemed somewhat relieved by that. "How about your mother?"

"What?! Dad no. You know how mom would react if she got word of something bad happening. She'd go rampant and interrogate us." The redhead that was our mother would naturally switch to her lawyer mode.

"Eventually you would have to tell her right? There's no escaping her and you two know that. And now that you've told me there's nothing wrong, can either one of you tell me about your new friends?"

I looked like he wasn't going to give up anytime soon so I gave in for the sake of time. It was nearly 9:00pm and the sun was nearly below the horizon. Tomorrow, Selphie and the others helping are gathering at our place to do the planning for Halloween. She insisted that we meet up at our house because her place was quote, messy, unquote. Anyways I digress.

"Their names are Sora, Roxas, Hope, Riku and Xion," I listed.

"And when you meant by they're cool you meant…"

"I meant that they're interesting people. They come from different places so it's cool to listen to their stories and share our own. Sora, Roxas and Hope come from Twilight Town and Riku and Xion come from the other side of the island. They used to attend to the boarding school there."

"You mean DICI?" Destiny Islands Collegiate Institute. That preppy boarding school is known to have people who are really stuck up. But Riku and Xion aren't. I guess they aren't that spoiled.

"Yeah. Don't know why they moved, but I'm glad they're here. They're really interesting people. I'm sure you'll like them."

"We'll see about that tomorrow. Your mother and I are going out to dinner with a few old friends tomorrow night so please don't wreck the place okay?" He smiled crookedly at us and I knew what was implied. It's not that he would bear down on us if they came back home to find it trashed. It would be our mother and she would have us skinned alive. Okay, over the top yes, but you get the point.

"You know that Kairi and I wouldn't do that. Though I'm not so sure about Selphie; she might end up bouncing around the room."

"Better hide the coffee. I trust that you two can control your friends, right?"

I shake my head. "No guarantees dad."

We got home and it was already 10:00pm so I took a quick shower and I flopped on my bed after drying my hair for what seemed to be an eternity. I'll get to see Roxas again tomorrow. I smiled at the thought. We don't normally see each other outside of school since there isn't a reason why, but it'd be nice to see him more often outside of school. I can't help but feel that tomorrow isn't going to go incredibly smoothly as Selphie would like and chaos would be inevitable. If that happens, it'll spell the end for me and Kairi. I push the thought of the house in ruins aside and I stare at the blank ceiling in the dark until I drift off to sleep.

I was startled awake by a familiar noise. The doorbell. I fold my pillow over my ears to try to block out the dreadful noise. I didn't bother to get up and check the door since Kairi and Lightning are usually awake before me. But the ringing doesn't stop so I push myself out of bed. I walk down the stairs slowly and I stand in front of the mirror at the base of the staircase. I look presentable enough despite my ruffled hair, nightgown and penguin slippers. I trudge towards the front door and I clasp the handle without bothering to check the peephole. Whoever decided to show up nine in the morning better have a good excuse for waking me up. I could hear some muffled voices behind the door and I could make out a few words.

"... sure that it's right?"

"…positive."

"…seem like they're awake…"

"Try again!"

I swing the door open to see a gaggle of my friends on the porch. There was Riku leaning against the large wooden post, Xion was sitting on the porch bench, Hope was idly shaking his silver hair to some music, Selphie was scribbling some stuff on a clipboard and Sora was bickering with Roxas. His messy blonde spikes were bouncing about when he shook his head.

"Morning guys." I rub my eyes sleepily.

Roxas gave a slight wave and smiled warmly. "Morning sleepy head. Looks like you just woke up."

"Huh?" I half grumbled. I looked down at my clothes that I was wearing.

"Nice penguin slippers," he chuckled.

I flushed red and I stepped aside to let them enter. "I should probably change.."

I was halfway up the stairs when Selphie called me back. "Where's Kairi?"

"She's probably still asleep. I'll go wake her-," I didn't finish because Selphie flew up the stairs and into the hallway.

I quickly changed into a skirt and comfortable shirt before walking back down. I haven't had breakfast yet so I slide two slices of bread into the toaster and I pour myself a glass of orange juice while I wait for the toast to finish. I rest my elbows on the breakfast bar that overlooks the living room. I spot Roxas messing around with Sora's hair. His golden blonde hair and deep cerulean eyes. He's so…

-CRASH-

What the? Everyone stopped talking and glanced to the staircase. It definitely came from upstairs. I placed my glass on the counter and I walked over to the foot of the staircase.

"Selphie? Is everything alright up there?" I asked hesitantly. I didn't really want to find out what happened, but I wanted to make sure that no one was hurt.

"Yeah! Everything perfectly fine! I'm just trying to-." She stopped short for some reason. "There we go!" She was pulling Kairi down the stairs. Her face screamed 'I just woke up' and her clothes were hastily put on. Yet her hair was immaculate. How? I have no idea.

"So you finally decided to wake up Kai? Everyone was waiting for you." Selphie released Kairi from her grasp. She went straight for the kitchen and emerged with a slice of toast and a cup of coffee.

She smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I kind of slept in. And I also kind of forgot about you guys coming over."

Selphie clapped her hands together. "Well now that we're all here let's get started." We gathered around the coffee table and she started to pour over the details of the Halloween event.

"And that's the standard layout for the night's events."

"So what do you need us to do on the night of the event then?" Sora asked.

Selphie spreaded a large sheet of paper across the table. All of us leaned in to look at it. "This here is a map of the event grounds. It shows all the booths that will be available and the attractions that will be placed on the boardwalk. The details about the booths haven't been official yet, but we do need people to supervise them. That's where you guys come in."

Riku leaned back and scrunched his scrunched his eyebrows together. "Let me get this straight. You want us to do guard duty for that night?"

"Don't think about it like that. You'll be manning the booth for about two hours in the evening and then you're free to go wherever and do whatever."

Xion's eyes widened suddenly. "Do you know if my dad has a booth on that night?"

Selphie flipped through her clipboard and traced the paper with her pencil. "Right here. Destiny's blend right?"

Xion pumped her fist in the air triumphantly. "Yes! I'll be manning that booth with my dad."

"As for the rest of you," Selphie began, "Here's a list of the booths that will be running on the night of the event. Take a look at it and decide which one you want to help out with." She pulled out two pages from her clipboard and placed them on the table. "Whichever one you decide to help will still give you community service hours."

Sora grabbed the pencil on the table and proceeded to cross off the 'candy shop' option when Roxas stopped him. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

I looked at him sideways. "Why is that Roxas?"

He turned to Sora and said, "Remember the last time you were around that much candy?"

Sora's expression became neutral. "Right. I forgot about that." He turned red and scratched his head embarrassingly.

Selphie picked up the pencil and crossed off the 'Destiny's Blend' option. "Sora, why don't you take help with the merchandise booth."

"What is it selling?"

Selphie twirled the pencil between her fingers. "All manners of souvenirs and toys."

"Alright. Sign me up!" I forgot how much of a kid Sora can be sometimes. Maybe that's just him being bright and happy.

Riku pointed at the option below Sora's. "The strongman booth. I'll help with that one." I didn't know whether to roll my eyes or laugh at him. At least it's fitting for him.

After assigning Hope the carnival treats booth and Kairi the costumes booth, Selphie looked at me and Roxas. "You two are the only ones left."

She looked down at her clipboard and back at us. "How does face painting sound?"

Which one of us though? Before I could ask, Roxas had already begun. "Who? Me or Naminé?"

Selphie looked at her clipboard again and looked back up, smiling. "Well since we covered all the necessary booths that I was assigned to take care of, you two can do it together!"

"Together?" I blurted out. Two hours of face painting with Roxas?! I don't know what's worse; dying of self-consciousness or the multitude of children swarming our stand.

By the look on her face, Selphie didn't understand my reaction. "Is there something wrong? If there is, I can always put you on costume duty. Dress up as a creepy clown for two hours."

I felt my face heat up and everyone's eyes glued to me. "No there's nothing wrong. Just wondering why face painting." Yeah. That's right, why would you pick face painting?

Selphie blinked a few times quickly before replying. "Well it just made sense that since you and Roxas are both talented with a paint brush, I felt that you two would be the most appropriate people to take on the job."

'Of course; how stupid of me,' I chided myself mentally. I looked at Roxas from the corner of my eyes. Is he blushing? His face was red and his head was dipped down so I couldn't see his eyes. Is he embarrassed to be sharing a booth with me? I hope he doesn't mind that.

After what seemed to be 3 boxes of pizzas (Kairi ordered using the money that mom left us) it was nearing 7:00pm. We finished planning fairly early and it ended up with us playing 'Truth or Dare', random hair braiding because Kairi started to braid mine (Riku's hair got braided by the way), and two movies. We were halfway through our third one, The Hunger Games, when Xion got up.

"It's getting late so I better get going," she said while stretching. Riku got up and pulled out keys from his pocket.

"I have to drive this girl home," he gestured to Xion. "Later guys."

Just as Kairi was about to open the door for them, Lightning pushed it open. I peeked over my shoulder and gave a slight wave to her. Lightning gave a nod and stepped to the side to let Xion and Riku out. She hung her keys on one of the hooks along the wall before sitting down on dad's Lazboy.

"You guys know that our parents aren't going to be back until late right?" She gestured to the remainder of us.

"Yeah, that's why we had this." Kairi gestured to the stack of empty pizza boxes on the coffee table.

Lightning nodded slightly and faced Selphie who was almost dozing off. "So I'm assuming all the planning is done?"

Selphie shook herself awake and looked at Lightning. "Sorry about that," she said quietly and fixed her brown curls. "The planning is done, but what I want to know is if you're interested in helping."

"Depends on what it is."

"First aid. Knowing that you have the proper certifications, I thought maybe you'd be interested in volunteering."

Lightning stared at the ceiling for a good minute before looking back at Selphie. "I'll consider it. If I do decide to volunteer I'll let you know."

Selphie smiled. "Great! I think I have done everything that needs to be done so I'm going to go home now."

She left after gathering her stuff and there were six people left in the room. Kairi was sitting on the floor beside Sora who had a mouthful of popcorn which made him look like a chipmunk. She was hugging a pillow and buried her face in it. I don't know why she finds the movie so frightening. Hope fell asleep, but Lightning woke him up because he nearly fell from his seat. He left to go home promptly after that. Then there was Lightning who just left to go upstairs. It all seemed pretty normal. I thought that this year be a little more interesting. Sure the first week was wild, but the ones following up until now were really ordinary. Nothing came as a surprise. Same friends with the addition of new ones. Though I really shouldn't say that because it's like that old saying; 'Be careful of what you wish for'. I just wanted life to be a little brighter. A little more like my paintings and sketches with colour and dynamo. I think I may have just jinxed it. What if something is going to happen that will make my life more interesting? What if it's something that will flip my life upside down, but not in the good way? That wouldn't be interesting. That would be terrible. I felt something fall on my shoulder and I turn over to see Roxas, who was sitting beside me, fall asleep. His arm that was once draped over the couch fell on my shoulder and his head was tilted slightly towards me. I didn't mind. I didn't mind at all. I didn't really want to watch the movie and I felt my eyes becoming heavy. The effects of getting woken up earlier than usual. I let my head sway a bit and I land on Roxas' shoulder. I didn't bother moving away; all I wanted was to sleep so I let the sandman take me into his fantastical dreamworld.


I felt that this chapter was dry. Again. Gotta get out of this depressive rut! I'll try my best to update on a regular basis :)

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Until next time~

-Icey