Episode 13: Remember Me as a Time of Day
Title based on the song of the same name by Explosions in the Sky.
I certainly left you guys on a small cliffhanger as the childhood arc of Sora and Namine will come to an end. Aren't you glad that I didn't drag out that whole thing? Everything has come down to this. Okay, maybe not everything. Lastly, I want to continue on thanking everyone reading and reviewing this story! You guys inspire me to continue on.
Genre: Romance/Humor
Twilight Town - August 1999
Namine was sitting with a Mickey Mouse plush in her lap between her brother and sister. She was at the airport with her parents and siblings because it was the day Sora and his family were leaving. She felt sad that she may never see him again. She hoped she would see him from time to time like the holidays, but she was told he was moving for good with slim chances of ever returning because there were big plans ahead for him. She never quite understood why other than the fact he was going off to be film a movie. That was as far as she knew. Now here she was playing with Mickey's hands, making the toy clap itself until her older sister swept it away from her. "Hey! Give that back!" she shouted, reaching out to it, but Larxene held it up high and out of reach. Namine hated being the shortest one out of all her siblings.
"Why? Want to give your little friend something to remember you by?" she teased. "Isn't that just sweet? Ugh, I hate sweet."
"I said give it back!"
"If you can reach for it little sis," she taunted when their older brother, Cloud, took the plush from her hands. "Hey! Cloud! I wasn't done yet!"
"She's saying goodbye to her friend. You need to have a little more of a heart," he told her, giving the plush toy back to his little sister where she immediately held on to it tight and glared at her sister.
"I have one!" Larxene argued.
"Then I question where it is," he quipped.
"Thank you big bro," Namine thanked. "Larxy is always a big fat meanie!"
"Fat?! Why you little—?!"
"Girls!" their mom interrupted just as the middle child of the family was about to attack her.
"Sorry mom," they both apologized.
Right after that happened, Sora and his family appeared at the loading zone with their luggage and bags and were surprised to see them. "Mrs. Hamasaki. I'm surprised to you see you here," Mrs. Motou claimed.
"Namine!" Sora screamed and ran toward her. "How come you're here?"
"She came to say goodbye to you buddy," Cloud told him, patting the top of his head.
"I swear. Those two are practically inseparable," Sora's older brother, Leon, said where he looked at the two little kids. He was the same age and height as Cloud. However, besides their looks, their personalities were a bit different. Leon appeared to be blunt and distant while Cloud was cheerful and loving.
"Oh, c'mon. They might not see each other again for a long time," Cloud mentioned.
"Whatever," Leon said, walking off with his bags.
"What a lovely brother you have Sora," the blond teenager said.
"He's weird, but he's my brother," the kid said, making Cloud chuckled. "Now come on! We have to go to the gate!" After the Motou family had got their luggage checked in and went through security, Namine's family followed as they wait at the gate until they had to board the plane. The two kids were playing together with toys from Sora's backpack. Sadly, it wasn't the Toy Story toys they usually played with because all of them were in Namine's possession back at home. The adults were talking with each other while the teenagers were off doing their own thing where Leon had his headphones on and tried to sleep, Cloud was actually playing with his little sister and Sora while Larxene was reading a magazine on the latest celebrity gossip.
"Ugh, is there anything good here?" she complained, flipping through the magazine where the cover had a group of people that looked like a family. "So much talk about this damn show called All My Family. I want to hear the latest gossip!" Then a small toy 'accidentally' hit her on the head. "Hey! Who threw that?!" she screamed, seeing her brother, her sister, and Sora trying to hide their giggles. "I know it was one of you!"
"Going to miss Namine here Sora?" Cloud asked him, ignoring his middle sister as he played around with the little toys and the kid nodded. "I'm hear to tell you that she has a little gift for you, don't cha Namine?" he mentioned, looking at his sister, whom seemed to be off in her own world. He cleared his throat to get her attention. "Namine."
"Did you say something big bro?" she asked, not knowing what he said before.
"Don't you have something to give to your friend?" he asked.
"Yes!" She got up from her spot and grabbed the plush from her seat that was by her parents. "Tada!" She revealed the Mickey Mouse plush in front of him.
"Mickey Mouse! Gimme gimme gimme!" he happily said, snatching it away from his friend's arms. "I will keep this to remember you by!"
"Thank my big brother Cloud. He bought it for me to give to you."
"Then I will remember both of you!"
"You better take care of it buddy," Cloud said, rubbing his head.
"Flight 13 is now ready for boarding," the attendant announced.
"It's time to say goodbye now guys," Cloud told the two.
"Aww man…" Sora pouted. "I don't want to go." The little boy's family got up from their seats, as did Namine's, and they all started to walk toward the gate together. The children got up and cleaned up while Sora joined the rest. The two families looked at each other where the parents hugged each other and exchanged their goodbyes, the teenagers had a mutual conversation with Leon, and the youngest duo in the group looked at each other.
'"Pleas take care of Mickey," Namine told Sora. "He was always be there for you like me."
"I'm gonna to miss you Namine." The two went at each other for a warm hug where both of their families looked at the kids. They certainly looked adorable together that it was a bit heartbreaking to see the two split up after nearly being together for a year.
"Me too," Namine said.
"Friends right?"
"Till infinity and beyond."
Present Day
Namine was on her bed still pondering about the picture Kairi left in their trailer. Clearly it wasn't photoshop, but to be sure, she and everyone else gave it a closer look to see if it was modified. "I don't want to believe it, but it's obviously real," Hayner said.
"We already knew that for the past thirty minutes dummy," Olette replied, slapping his shoulder. "Stop beating this whole thing like a dead horse until we get some real answers." She then turned toward her attention toward Namine. "How is this even possible? Do you think your parents know something about this?"
"I don't even remember any of this," Namine stressed. "It's almost as if it was taken away from me and no one wanted me to remember."
"You know, you can always call the source," Roxas shouted out as he flipped through numerous channels on the television.
"The source?" Pence said.
"Sora. Or maybe your sister, but mostly your parents too."
"My parents and sister aren't not home yet, so I guess that leaves Sora," Namine said. "But I'm kind of scared to ask him."
"You shouldn't," Roxas told her.
"Yeah, but I wondered why would he keep such a thing from me?"
"The more we pounder about this, it'll start to drive me crazy, so hurry and get us some answers!"
"Okay, okay," Namine backed away, taken aback by Roxas' reaction. "I'll call the guy. Don't need to stress more about this than me."
Sora was laying in his bed, staring up into the ceiling. He went straight home shortly after Kairi did. At this point, he didn't know what to do. To make things worse, he knew he had to deal with her tomorrow too. Obviously he needed to string Namine along because she must think it's completely her fault for what happened earlier when that clearly wasn't the case. He turned over on his side and stared at the same Mickey Mouse doll that he was given to him by Namine as a present. Sometimes he sought out to it for comfort when he rediscovered she was back in his life. He thought it was odd for a boy his age to be doing such a thing, but with this crisis, he needed something. "What do I do?" He sat up and looked out his window until his phone started to go off. "Hm? Hello?"
"Sora, we need to talk," Namine sternly said.
"If this is about—."
"This is not about Kairi. It's about us."
"Us?"
"Kairi left me a picture of us when we were kids! I don't remember any of that! Do you know about this?!"
"Crap."
~ Our Life is Not a TV Show or Maybe ~
After that phone call, Sora went straight to Namine's house. Alright, he had to because he knew he couldn't avoid this lingering issue ever since she came back into his life. He was actually a little nervous to even open the door because he didn't know what to expect once he went through it. "If Kairi wasn't in such a fragile state, I would so get back at her for this," he told himself. He laid out his hand to ring the doorbell, pressed it, and waited to see who was going to answer it. A couple seconds later, it was Namine's sister, Larxene. She certainly seemed to have the same attitude the last time he saw her or from what he can recall so long ago.
"Hey Sora! Long time no see!" she greeted, eyeing him from the top to the bottom. "I see you have grown up pretty fast. I just got home and heard the news of what happened. I guess it's time to tell her, huh?" she said so causally.
"Where's Namine?" he hastily asked, ignoring the woman's question.
"In the living room with the others."
"Others?"
"Oh, you know. Your other friends from work. They're all here."
"A-all?" he hesitated. "Great…" he trailed off. The situation got even more awkward. However, he shouldn't be surprise since they were together on set before Namine found the picture. It wasn't too long ago after work was done either and he wasn't sure how his friends were going to take the news. Larxene went back inside and he followed in, closed the front himself, and slowly walked in to see everyone together in the living room. Probably wondering what to do and say about what was going on. "Hey guys…" he awkwardly announced himself while they all started talking at the same time. He couldn't tell what they were saying, but assumed one half was mentioning Kairi while the other was about him and Namine.
"Everyone calm down!" Namine shouted, causing everyone to quiet down. "I brought us all here because of one thing. We will deal with Kairi later, but right now, I want answers." She pulled out the picture and showed to Sora. "Please explain this Sora. Is this really us or did Kairi get some photo of kids that looks like us? Or even photoshop it?"
No words came out of his mouth. He was clueless on how to react. He always imagined how this would all go down once she found out and what it would entail for the two of them. "How do I answer this…" he slowly said, taking a seat on the nearest empty chair. "I… don't know if it's my side to tell."
"Don't you know what happened?" Olette asked.
"I can admit that photo is truly of me and her when we were little, but I don't know what happened after I left. Actually, I don't remember much myself when I did leave Twilight Town. Everything went by so fast that I kind of did forget about her through all the fame. It wasn't until those callbacks that I managed to recognize you."
Twilight Town - Late December 2009
Once the auditions were done, the cast was on their way back to the hotel they were staying at in a van. Hayner, Pence, and Olette sat in the back talking with one another while Sora, Roxas, and Kairi sat in from of them. Not much to Sora's surprise, Kairi was on the phone talking with the producers of the show regarding about the casting director's decision to cast a newbie who threw up on the stage of the Sandlot. Roxas sat between the two and he was causally listening to music while he was staring out the window in silence, looking how much his hometown had changed ever since he left. There were so much buildings now and some were taller than he'd expect.
"B-but! I'm not sure it's wise to bring a fish out out water," Kairi argued on the phone. "The girl didn't even do any screen tests with the rest of us beside Roxas. Ugh, yes. I understand. Mhmm, yes I'm fully aware of the situation. Alright, bye."
"Shesh Kairi, a new girl comes aboard and you're on a witch hunt for her already," Sora told her.
"Hey! That girl hardly earned the position!" Kairi fired back and Sora rolled his eyes. "All she did was one scene."
"I thought she was impressive… for an amateur," Sora replied. "She may have some acting chops if we help her develop those skills. We can have Roxas work his charm and the rest is history."
"That girl knows nothing!" A small silence ensued. "And Roxas is mine!"
"Hey, I'm no one's boy toy," Roxas blurted out.
"But you're my boy toy," she pouted, pinching his arm and and her other arm slowly groping his thigh. "A strong well built…"
"Sora!" Roxas screamed in fear.
"Kairi, he is not some piece of meat." She then retracted her hands to herself. "Man, I feel like I'm your babysitter."
"That girl was something huh?" Roxas asked. "I have never seen so much vomit before!"
"She's clearly not meant for this sort of life," Kairi commented, doing her nails.
"You can be such a child," Sora muttered under his breath.
"What was that?!" Kairi glared
"If you heard it, you were meant to," Sora yawned. He hardly had any sleep from last night, so he was too exhausted to put up with any of Kairi's antics, which he was normally used to. He then looked back out through window. "That girl looked so familiar though…" he whispered to himself.
After getting to the hotel, the cast had to pack up to start prepping for production of the season and their new coming cast member. They needed to keep up with the tight schedule and they were already stressed out because of it. However, it was a small relief to not be filming despite the trip being for work. Once everyone was ready, they went to the airport to head back to the islands. The five hour flight was an opportunity to get some sleep for the lack of hours they've been getting now since they didn't have to do much on the airplane. By the time they arrived, the sky was getting dark and headed back home.
"I'm home!" Sora called out as he got inside his house, dragging his luggage through the front door.
"Hey dear," his mom came out to greet him and hugged him. "How was your small trip back to Twilight Town? It's only been a couple years since we last been there, but how was it?"
"Different from what I remember. Actually, I don't remember that much at all when I was a kid."
"You were just a kid then," she answered and then decided to change the subject. "So? Did you guys find her?"
"Find who?"
"Hello?! Your guys' new potential star."
"Oh… she was actually offered a full-time role."
"Wow. She was that good?"
"I think so. Kind of went off the script, but it still seemed natural. Roxas went along and it paid off."
"You guys should throw a surprise welcome party as you always! When you get the chance, get me in contact with her parents to do it and I'll coordinate with Olette."
"Slow down mom. I just got home. Can we do this tomorrow?"
"You're right dear. Leave your things and head on up to get some rest. I'll handle your stuff."
"No, it's okay. I can take care of myself."
"You're growing up so fast. Make me want to pinch your cheeks," she said, pinching his right cheek anyway.
"Mom!" he complained, pushing her arm away. "I'm going to my room now." Finally, he started to head up the stairs to go back to his room. When he got to the top, his mom had one more thing to ask him.
"I forgot to ask, but what's the girl's name?"
"Umm… I think her name was Namine Hamasaki."
"Oh my god! You met your childhood friend?! What are the odds?!"
"What are you talking about?"
"You don't remember her?"
"No… am I supposed to?"
"Huh… you two were inseparable for about a year till we had to move."
"Why don't I remember anything about her?"
"I don't know myself. We kind of lost contact with her family after we moved. Thinking about it now, we packed some of your childhood stuff in the closet. You know, the place you hardly look into because you're lazy to clean it up yourself." Before she knew it, Sora's mom discovered she was talking to herself as he went into his room to find belongings he never knew about. He dropped his things once he got inside his room and dashed to his closet. After he opened it, he turned on the lights to find wherever his childhood things were located. He went through some boxes, but with no luck. He spent about ten minutes going through everything until it had to be the last one to contain the items he needed to find. He opened it to find a Mickey Mouse plush that was still intact along with other kiddie toys. Amongst all of that, he found a couple pictures of him and Namine.
"So it's true…" he trailed off, rummaging through countless photos through his fingers. "She's not some ordinary girl after all."
Present Day
"That was the day I found the photo. After that, it all came flooding back to me like a rush of water. So much for me having a photographic memory," he brushed off.
"Sometimes we suppress our memories that all it takes is something familiar to remind us," Olette said, making everyone look. "What? It was something I randomly read up about before."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Namine asked.
"You obviously didn't recognize me. What was I suppose to say? Hey, I'm your long lost friend, let's catch up? It's not like I've known for years." Soon, everyone heard something echo from the kitchen, causing their heads to focus on the sound and saw it was Roxas by the microwave.
"Sorry. I was getting hungry and thought some snacks would be nice while we hear this lovely backstory," he explained. "Anybody else want to share some popcorn?"
"Make sure to add butter," Namine and faced Sora. "If you don't know and I don't know, that means…" She slowly looked at her sister who was sitting down on the kitchen island. "Do you know something we don't?"
"I do," Larxene quickly replied, but didn't elaborate.
"Aren't you going to explain yourself?" Namine pushed.
"I…I…" Larxene paused for a moment and it was the first time Namine saw her hesitate with her words. "I'm not really comfortable in talking about this," she continued. This further surprised Namine. Her sister's demeanor dramatically changed once she asked the question. It was obvious she was hiding the truth. "Maybe it's best you hear it from mom and dad. I called them earlier about the situation, so they should be here soon." Namine groaned in frustration because it seemed people close to her were keeping a big secret from her.
"I need some water," she said, getting up from her seat as she went to the kitchen.
"I'll come with you," Olette announced, following her as Namine got two cups and handed one to her. "Your life sure seems to be its own television show. I can't tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing compared to what we portray on TV."
"Ugh, I know right. Where the hell did all of this come from?"
"It's like you brought this little backstory without you knowing. Things like this don't happen here. Actually, they don't really happen much in real life." She made a small giggled at the thought. "It's almost like we are some form of entertainment to someone."
"Life imitating art huh? I can't tell if that's good or bad right now. The writers almost wanted my character and Sora or Roxas to have some sort of history that we never knew about it. Talk about a creepy coincidence that it's happening in real life."
"Not like they have some magical pen to write our destinies!" The girls laughed at the thought. "But that too would be creepy."
"Yeah it would."
"We're home," Mrs. Hamasaki announced.
"Yes! People with answers!" Namine cheered as she saw both her parents walk in the room. They stopped to see everyone and then back at her and then at Sora. They knew what this was all about. Larxene never mentioned it over the phone and the adults seemed like they knew this day was coming. It seemed to take forever when no one said anything while her co-workers stared in silence waiting for something to happen. "Please, say something," Namine called out.
"It's time, huh?" her mom replied and then eying Larxene in which she noticed.
"Yeah. I guess so," the older blonde said, looking away.
"You sure?" their dad asked again.
"We're here now under strange circumstances," Sora responded. "I think we both deserve to know why." Mrs. Hamasaki sighed and placed her purse on the kitchen island first while Namine and Olette took a seat on the couch with the others with their glasses of water. Mr. Hamasaki followed his wife and whispered something to her, including Larxene. It seemed they were trying to get their story straight.
"Before we give you answers, we want to let you know we did what we thought was best for you," Namine's mom explained. "When you were five years old, you and Sora were always with each other. Normally we'd have play dates with his family because we were neighbors and you guys went to the same school. So yes, you are missing a complete year and he was part of it.
"So what caused such a thing to happen?" Namine wondered.
"There was an accident," Larxene answered.
~ Our Life is Not a TV Show or Maybe ~
Twilight Town - Fall 1999
A young Namine was sitting on the floor of her house playing with her toys. She was being watched over by her two older siblings on a Friday night while their parents went out to have a date night for themselves. It's been years since they've been alone after they had kids, which was why it was nice to finally have two teenagers by now to watch over their youngest sibling and the house. Normally, they trust them, so it wasn't much of a problem to babysit. Larxene was slumped on the couch watching TV as her sister played while Cloud was held up in his room doing his homework, being the studious student that he was of his junior class. Later on, the house phone rang and Larxene picked it up after. "Hello? Mhm… yeah… man, I know right. I would go out, but I'm stuck babysitting my baby sister. My brother and I are getting paid though, so its no biggie. Heh, alright I'll see ya tomorrow at the mall. Bye."
"Don't you like watching me Larxy?" Namine asked.
"As long as I'm getting paid sis, it doesn't matter."
"When is the pizza coming?" the little girl wondered.
"Oh shoot! I forgot to order it!" Larxene remembered.
"Cloud!" Namine shouted as the tall teen came to the living room.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Larxene forgot to order pizza!"
Cloud sighed and went into the kitchen to grab the other phone that was inside. The pizza menu was also on the refrigerator to make orders easier without really looking it up. "Of course she did. I could cook something, but I'm too tired from school to do anything," he said. Just as he was about to answer the phone, it rang again. "Huh, whaddya know. It's like someone knew I was going to use it. Hello? …Yeah, it's me."
"You try cook something!" Namine ordered her sister, pointing her finger at the teenager.
"The only thing I can cook are instant noodles," Larxene answered. "Pour some hot water and bam! It's done! No extra work required."
"You're lame!"
"I'm anything, but lame. You'll understand when you're my age."
"Hey girls, wanna go out to grab pizza?" Cloud asked out of nowhere.
"Why? We can just order over the phone," Larxene replied.
"Yeah, but we can get it fresh out of the oven."
"They give a fresh one to the delivery guy."
"Can we just go?" Cloud countered. "I'll pay for it, so you don't have to chip in."
Larxene immediately raised her brow because her brother was acting suspicious and out of character. She knew something was up and decided to play along, thinking she'll use whatever he was hiding to her advantage. "Namine, go grab your jacket from your room. We're picking up fresh pizza."
"Yay!" Namine cheered and ran off to her room.
The middle child got up from her seat and approached the eldest one with her arms crossed. "Alright, so whatever hidden agenda you may have, I'll keep quiet about it from mom and dad…" Larxene pointed out. "If you have give me all your earnings for tonight. Do we have a deal?" she offered and Cloud rolled his eyes. His sister definitely knew how to bargain and knew he had to take it.
"Fine," he moped.
The three siblings got ready and Cloud drove them out. At first, to Namine at least, he did drive them to the nearest Pizza Hut where she got the chance to order a pizza herself. She was excited to do it herself, but to her dismay, Cloud rushed her. She didn't know what was going on, but Larxene did except not entirely. After leaving the pizza joint, the two girls were eating the slices in the car, not knowing where they were going next until Larxene saw where they were headed. "A movie?! Really?" she exclaimed. "Cloud! We have to get home before our parents do. Sure I like to do whatever I want, but I like to get paid here. If we get caught, that's not gonna happen."
"Don't worry. They do this every time and they come home after midnight. It's not too much of a problem," he shrugged off, parking the car. "I promise we'll leave once we finish this double date."
"This is because of some girl that your friend is trying to hook you up with? You've got to be kidding me."
"Please, I really like her. I need this chance," Cloud begged.
Larxene gave it some thought and scoffed at what was going to do. "Fine. I'll watch Namine for the time being and we'll watch…" Larxene scanned the movie posters on the wall from the windshield and saw the perfect one to bring her little sister. "Tarzan."
"Thanks for having my back."
"Whatever. Just go already." Cloud turned off the car and handed his sister the car keys as he left. It made Namine wondered where he was going while she ate her cheese pizza and asked her sister. "He's going to meet someone, but we're gonna watch a movie. You excited to watch Tarzan?"
"Let's go! I want to watch the movie!" Namine shouted as she was about head out with her food.
"Woah there little sis!" Larxene screamed, calling her back. "We can't bring that in!"
Hours later
Cloud and Larxene were now heading back home, hoping to beat their parents in order to cover up the fact they went out without their permission, especially when they borrowed the car. "I see you're happy from your last minute movie date," Larxene said aloud, noticing the everlasting smile plastered on his face. It was actually starting to creep her out. "Tarzan was great and Namine loved it. We actually snuck in the pizza somehow. You know how theater food is such a rip off."
"Isn't that a large Icee from the concession stand?" Cloud asked, eying the cup holder by the emergency brake.
"We shared."
"Wait! You didn't save a slice for me? I paid for that!" Cloud noticed.
"Don't worry. We saved you…" The blonde slightly opened the box to eye inside it. "Some pieces… okay just two."
"Sorry Cloud," Namine admitted in shame. "I ate most of it."
"Just don't do it again Namine," he told her, shrugging off the lack of pizza left. He turned his attention back to the road, placing one hand on the wheel, and the other to rest his head on. The ride back home was going smoothly. It was late in the night and it appeared not much cars were out. Most of the stores around them were already closed by now and it was rather quiet, which was strange for a Friday. Cloud later looked at the rear view to talk to his younger sister again. "Namine, remember not to say anything to mom and dad of where we went, got it?" he said and saw her nodding in response. "Alright, we would get in trouble if we—!" The front tire suddenly blew out, surprising the three passengers and causing Cloud to lose control of the car. Thankfully, he responded quickly and the car sharply turned around at the sound of the screeching tires, bringing the car to a halt in the middle of an intersection. "Is everyone okay?" he asked, catching his breath.
"Yeah…" Larxene groaned, holding her head. "So much for getting away with this. Don't know how we'll try to lie our way of out of this."
"I'll figure it out later," Cloud replied. "I'll call my friend for a favor. He'll help us."
"Cloud, I want to go home," Namine trembled as her hands were shaking and frozen in fear.
"Don't worry Namine. We'll be home soon after we—!" In an instant, another car slammed directly at Namine's door, sending the whole car to tumble on its right side. The sheer impact of the hit caused all three to scream and into a daze. Cloud groaned in pain as he was still strapped in his position from the driver's side thanks to his seatbelt. He could hear the sound of the other car's horn endlessly, indicating the driver was knocked out.
"C-Cloud?" Larxene quaked, feeling the shattered pieces of glass on her side. "What the heck just happened?!"
"Somebody hit us. How's Namine doing?"
Larxene tried to turn her head to check and her eyes widen in horror to see her little sister wasn't awake. It was worse to see her dangling in the air due to her seatbelt keeping her in place and the injuries she received. "Oh my god! Namine!"
"What?! What is it?!" Cloud panicked.
"She's bleeding badly from her injuries! We have to get her out of there!" Larxene unbuckled her seat and tried to move, but screamed in pain from her right arm. It appeared to be broken after the car turned over. "Ow! Ugh! I can't let this stupid injury stop me!"
"You'll make it worse if you force yourself," Cloud told her. "Just stay put as I try to get this stupid door to open." He reached for the handle and managed to open the door, but it required more strength than he thought in order to keep in the air. He used the steering wheel to hold himself while he unbuckled his seatbelt and carefully got out and onto the ground. He placed his hands on his knees while leaning on the car to catch his breath. Right after, he pulled out his cellphone to dial 911 to call for help and reported the location. After that was done, he headed for the trunk to slowly break the rear window with his feet since it was a small SUV. "Oh god… please be alright."
"Don't worry about me. I'll get out on my own. Just get Namine out and we'll wait for help. You did call for help, right?"
"They're on the way," he replied to see his baby sister unconscious and barely breathing. "It's gonna be alright…" his voice quivered as he slowly tried to grab her by releasing her from the seatbelt. "You're gonna be fine. Everything is gonna be fine. You're gonna be fine." His hands were growing numb as he held Namine in his arm, repeating those very words. He did his best not to break down as he carried her out to safety. He was beginning to place the blame on himself, thinking this dilemma wouldn't have happened if he didn't bring his sisters along, and all for a date "T-this is my fault," he told himself, feeling weak in his knees where collapsed on the ground, holding his sister.
"I'm out," Larxene said, holding her damaged right arm. "How is she?"
"It's my fault," Cloud whimpered as he started to cry.
"Cloud…"
Eventually, they all were brought to the nearest hospital by the ambulance. Cloud and Larxene were attended to their injuries once they arrive and their parents arrived about an hour later after being given the news. They didn't have the time and energy to scold the two, but were happy to hear that their kids were alive. Upon all of their knowledge, a drunk driver had hit their car and that person, including Namine, were critically injured at the scene. By some miracle, she wasn't put in a coma from the impact, but she was still rendered unconscious when she was brought in and into surgery. It nearly put her family members over the edge that they could lose her and it was a relief when a team of doctors brought her in the room they were waiting in. She was covered in scars, cleaned from the blood that drenched her body parts, and a bandage wrapped around her head. However, when she woke up, a repercussion of what that accident left shocked everyone.
"It's very similar to a case of retrograde amnesia," the doctor explained. "Due to the collision, she's suffered from head trauma and her memories of the past year have been wiped clean, but anything befo`re that remains. She is very lucky to have survived that crash at a girl her age."
"Is there any form of cure or something?" Mrs. Hamasaki asked.
"Ma'am, it is not that simple. Head injuries like this don't exactly require some prescription. She would have to go through extensive therapy to recover."
"She's only a little girl. She doesn't even know what has happened to her."
"I'm sorry, but I can't guarantee if she'll gain back those missing memories."
"So that whole year is gone? She won't be able to remember anything?" the woman pleaded.
"I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is."
"Then we must make a decision. We have to forget about that whole year."
"I'm not sure how I feel about that honey," Mr. Hamasaki replied as his wife seemed to be making a hasty decision without his consent. "Can we at least try? Maybe one day she'll remember it all."
"And if she doesn't?" his wife asked.
"Then…" He sighed in disbelief as he knew this would be a hard decision. He looked at his other children who appeared to still be in quite a shock. They both stood in silence with their visible scars and stitches with grief stricken on their faces. Cloud was taking it the hardest as he eyes were filled with tears, but they never seemed to come down while Larxene was practically a statue filled with regret. "We won't say it a word to her."
Present Day
The living room was in complete silence for about a minute and the only sound was the wind blowing outside. No one knew what to say after hearing the story. It was heavy to hear how Namine lost a year's worth of memories. It was a dramatic experience no little girl should go through and it seemed to have greatly affect her whole family as she nearly died at the scene. It was a miracle that she was alive and well today. "O-oh my god…" Namine trembled and Olette took a hold of her hand to calm her.
"Breathe," Olette said. "I'm here."
"Namine…" Sora trailed off, looking at the fear in her eyes.
"It was a traumatic experience seeing you like that," Larxene recalled. "I can't get the image out of my head when Cloud held you in his arms to this day… no matter how much I try to cover it up. As for him… he never forgive himself for what happened. That's why he's very protective of you."
"We tried therapy to jog your memory, but nothing came up," her mother added. "It got frustrating to deal with that you would sometimes cry because we were giving you a hard time. I mean, we were stressing you out and you never understand why. We just didn't want to put you through it anymore. It was getting too hard to watch you go through that pain."
"And what happened to the driver? The one who hit us?" Namine asked.
"To keep it simple, we sued him and had him put in jail. You don't have to worry about that part," Mr. Hamasaki answered.
"And what about the Sora part? The moment we moved here, you guys knew about him?" Without hesitation, her parents nodded their hands. "I'm guessing you never planned to tell me or him about what happened either. Heh, I figured, but I get it. Hearing it now, maybe it was best I forgot what happened to me… except now that I know it happened, I can't get it out of my head."
"There's a box inside your room that dates back to the year you are missing you know," her mom said.
"Is it in that childhood box I never looked into?" Her parents nodded again. "Funny how sometimes the answer you're looking for has been with you the whole time."
"Can I say it's bizarre how you two were brought back together?" Hayner pointed out.
"Right! I was thinking the same thing!" Pence followed. "Imagine when people find out about this."
"Nah uh. They are not going to find out about this," Namine replied. "I think its best we keep this whole thing to ourselves. Don't want the media and public all up in my face about this. This is too personal and I want to keep it that way." Namine took a breather to process all the information she heard. It was certainly a lot to take in that she had a minor headache. "Well, I am mentally exhausted now and hungry" she announced. "I never even eat dinner yet," she pouted where her stomach growled. "Yeah, that's a sign. Got any pop—you ate the whole bowl?!" she immediately asked Roxas, looking at what remained to be scraps.
"Yours was a long story to listen to. Food was necessary."
"I'm glad you find my soap opera life entertaining to fill your stomach."
"I can always rewatch it on my DVR," he quipped.
"You act as if my life is some TV show."
"After this, how can I not?"
"I think I should throw you out my second floor window now, how 'bout that?"
"Whoa! Now that's too dramatic for my taste," Roxas exclaimed.
~ Our Life is Not a TV Show or Maybe ~
Dinner was over and everyone was taking a rest from all the food. They haven't actually left the living room after hearing the story. Now, they were simply watching TV while Namine's parents went back to their room. It also prompt her to go to her own room for a bit while her cast mates were busy relaxing. It was a good thing that they didn't have to work tomorrow. By the time she got inside her own room, she headed for the closet to look for a particular box that her parents mentioned that contained anything from 1998 - 1999. She was kind of lazy, so she simply looked at the box because majority of them were marked with words regarding what was inside. However, the one she was looking for didn't appear to have a name. There were a few things that were nameless and she pulled them out to lay on the ground. Once she got that part done, she sat on the floor and opened them where the first contained Toy Story toys. The first to be seen were Woody and Buzz Lightyear and she picked them up with both her hands. Turning them around, she saw names written at the bottom of their feet. "Sora," she read aloud, looking Buzz's foot. "And Namine," she continued, looking at Woody's foot. "These would've been a real head scratcher if I didn't come here." She continued to rummage through old belongings where she eventually littered her entire closet floor with toys and pictures scattered around. She went through every single item, but mainly at pictures of her and Sora. There were countless pics of the two ranging from birthday parties, hang outs at the beach, playdates, cooking in the kitchen, and eating sea salt ice cream together.
"What are you doing?" Sora asked, coming inside to see the massive mess. "And did a tornado come in here?"
"No you idiot. I was going through everything in these boxes and looking at these pictures of us. What are you doing here?"
"Just thought I check up on you," he replied and noticed she was looking at a photograph where the two's faces were covered from eating the blue ice cream. "You loved eating sea salt more than me."
"Which explains how you knew it was my favorite; amongst other things."
"It was only a year."
"Sometimes that's all you need to make a friend."
"Heh, we became friends after I hit you with a ball."
"You did what now?"
"Nothing," he brushed off as he came up to discuss more than lost memories. He crossed his arms and leaned in the open doorway to ask the same question. "Let me ask you again, how are you feeling?"
"I'm fine if that's the answer you needed to hear."
"But are you really? 'Fine' and 'ok' are such a lazy words we all use to hide how we truly feel. You seemed to not say much after hearing what happened." Strangely, Namine didn't respond to him. "C'mon Namine. I can tell you're feeling more than what you're saying to get people off your back," he continued, getting down on the floor to sit across from her. He had to move some things aside to truly be in position. "No one says they're fine after hearing what they fount out." She never responded again, looking down at her feet and started to fiddle with Woody and Buzz. "Namine?"
"H-how does—!" Namine stopped to try and collect her thoughts. "How does one even comprehend to what I—to what we found out? I wish I hadn't ask about all this because I'm sure forgetting about it was the best thing to do for me. And to hear the burden my brother still carries with him after all this time. Blaming himself for what happened when it's not his fault. It was that damn drunk driver! He almost killed us! Almost killed me!" She stopped for a moment and closed her eyes to relax herself. She could feel her heart waver thinking about the whole thing. "I don't know how to handle all of this, but to throw a petty tantrum. And I'm sorry for forgetting about you," she said, looking straight at him. "I can't imagine how it was for you to remember me, but not… me."
"Hey now," he said, getting closer to her. "At first I was frustrated too, but when I got a chance to hang out with you more, I stopped dreading the idea of you trying to remember me. It didn't matter to me anymore because we were doing fine. We were fine because it felt like a big reset button. So what you don't completely remember? We're here now and making new memories," he explained, hoping it'll ease her mind. "And please, don't apologize for something that was totally out of your control."
"But it still bothers me because it means something to you and I can't recall anything. Wouldn't it be better if we had the chance to reminisce about our childhood?"
"Okay, okay. You need to calm down," Sora replied, getting concerned. It seemed she was drifting into a sense of remorse for simply not remembering him. "Yes, it means something to me, but please do not keep on punishing yourself just because you can't recollect what was lost. You have all these to prove that it is real," he said, referring to everything scattered around them. "Including me, your sister, your brother, and your parents. Nothing disappeared."
Namine was slowly picked up Woody and tugged one of his arms. "Can you tell me one story?"
"Hm?"
"A story. One you remember clear as day."
"There's a lot that I remember now."
"Then what about our last day together?"
Summer 1999
A six-year old Sora was laying on the sand, looking up to the blue sky that was riddled with white fluffy clouds. It was a sight to enjoy for him until Namine suddenly popped up from above his head, making him jump in shock as she flashed a smile at him. "Stop being a lazy bum and help me build this sand castle Sora! I need help!"
"Can't I be the big scary monster that destroys the whole thing?" he asked. "Like Godzilla!"
"No, no! I worked too hard on this! You can't destroy it," she claimed, pointing her shovel at him while carrying a bucket in the other one.
"Okay…" he pouted. With small shovels and buckets, the two children were building a sand castle together. It was a lengthy process because Sora didn't know how to build one, meaning Namine yelled at him a few times for destroying parts of it. She thought he was doing it on purpose in order for him to stop helping her, but Sora wasn't that smart enough. In the midst of the process, they would sometimes get distracted with each other by throwing pieces of sand at each other, splash some water at one another, and play around with tiny critters they came across like a hermit crab. At some point, Sora had the strangest idea where he would dig some kind of pit that went around the castle to create some sort of water barrier. It seemed effective when the ocean came rushing toward the two and the pit managed to fend off the rush from damaging the castle walls. Of course, he screamed a bit when it came flooding inside and he fled out.
"Silly Sora," she snickered. "Now you're all wet!"
"You too!" He suddenly grabbed her wrist and dragged her just as another rush of waves came crashing into the two. "Now we're even!"
"That's not fair," she complained, crossing her arms. "How am I supposed to have fun now once you're gone?"
"Make new friends!" he happily suggested.
"But what if I don't want to?" she pouted. "They might not be as fun as you."
"You'll always be happy as long you have someone! That's what my mommy told me."
"Then promise me one thing."
"What?"
"Promise that we'll be friends forever no matter what!"
"I promise."
"Pinky promise!" Namine held out her pinkie finger after saying that and Sora didn't hesitate to wrap his around hers to make it official.
"I promise," he repeated. Then out of nowhere, Namine gave him a hug that caught off guard.
"Don't go!" Namine cried out despite everything that just happened.
"We promised, remembered?"
"I know, but nothing will be the same when you leave." Sora couldn't help, but pat her back a few times to help comfort the blonde, knowing he was going to be leaving by the end of summer. He was sad too, but he did his best to hide it to be strong for his friend. They've been inseparable since that fateful day at recess where she almost tattled on him for hurting her with a ball.
"You will be okay," he said.
"Sora! Namine! Time to eat!" Mrs. Hamasaki called out.
"Food!" they both shouted, immediately forgetting about the issue, and ran off to fill their empty stomachs with the meals Namine's parents prepared for them at the small wooden table.
Present Day
"Here's one photo Kairi never managed to swipe from my wallet," he said, pulling out a folded piece of paper and unfolded it. It was the very photo where the two took a picture together in front of the sand castle they had built. Namine reached out for it and grabbed it with her fingers, feeling a smile form on her lips naturally. Her own reaction took her by surprise, but the moment felt comforting and her heart began to feel light again.
"I can't help, but feel nostalgic right now when I look at this."
"See? There's a tiny part of you that remembers."
"Can I ask you something, but please don't take it the wrong way. Do you like me? …Or did?" she trailed off, unsure how he would respond. Sora paused and stared at her because he knew that question was going to come sooner or later. He already knew how to answer it once he figured it out himself. He calmly shook his head in response to her question.
"No, I don't. At first I thought I did, but what I truly missed was a friend that I haven't seen in a long time. I never had that in a while until I became a part of the show. I didn't have to be constantly surrounded by people who were older than me and move onto the next movie that my parents signed me up for."
"You were lonely huh?"
"I guess I was, but thanks to these resurfaced memories, it feels great to have you back in my life."
Namine looked at Woody again and pulled up Buzz Lightyear with her other hand. "Then let's continue on making new ones to remember and talk about them when we're old. Who would've thought we would be reunited this way? It's so unrealistic, yet it happened to us anyway."
"A million to one, and we're that one together."
"Knock, knock," Roxas chimed in. "I see you two are bonding."
"And here comes someone to ruin this lovely moment," Namine joked.
"Hey! I resent that!" Roxas ranted, making the two laugh.
"Can you give me and Sora a moment? We'll be down shortly."
"Fine, I'll go" Roxas scoffed, flinging up one of his arms, waving goodbye until Namine called him back in.
"Wait! You dropped something!" she shouted out to him.
"Hm?" Roxas looked down to see he had dropped his lucky charm. Sora and Namine looked from their distance to see a small, white x-shaped charm that seemed to resemble a shuriken. "Whoops. I guess it came flying out my pocket," he said, picking it up. "It came off earlier from my keychain when it got stuck on something. It's amazing it's still intact after so long."
"Where did you get such a trinket?" Namine wondered. "You don't seem the type to carry such things."
"You know, I don't remember how I got it." Roxas gave it some thought and then remembered what Namine just said. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, nothing," Namine replied in her high pitch voice.
"I know that tone! You're lying to me!" he pointed out.
"Alright you two, cut it out. Roxas, go back downstairs and we'll meet you there." Roxas sticked his tongue out at the two and left the room. Once Sora knew he was gone, he couldn't help, but ask one more thing. "You know he likes you, right? It's like he is drawn to you and can't help it."
"Yeah… I do."
"So what the heck are you doing on stalling this? You're torturing the poor guy."
"I know. It's… complicated. I mean, he's Roxas."
"What does that mean?" he questioned, titling his head.
"I have been hanging out him practically every day since I got here, but when I think about it, I don't truly know the guy besides what I known from the media or whatever that's public information. I feel like I'm told about these things about him rather than seeing it."
"Okay first, those stupid thoughts in your heads, get rid of them. Second, you already seen some of his character traits. The guy had us fly out to Twilight Town because of you. I think that justifies that the boy is willing to do anything for you. And third, do you like him?"
"I don't know how I feel about him," she muttered.
"You're being stubborn is what it is."
"Alright, alright. I'll figure about it later. You know, it's a good thing we're not stuck in a love triangle or this would be messy."
"I'm pretty sure people thought I liked you from the start. Okay, maybe just Kairi, but hah! Fooled her. A guy and a girl can be great friends without any feelings bubbling inside them. It's like Hollywood makes such a thing impossible."
"I hear ya. It's time we go back downstairs."
Once their conversation was over, they head on down to see their cast mates falling asleep. Namine woke them up and advised that they should simply head on home to rest. With all of what had happened in the course of twenty four hours, it was safe to say to call it day. The talk with Sora helped ease Namine's mind for what she found out about herself. Later on, half of her co-workers hugged her goodbye and left with Sora remaining. "You need to go home," he told Roxas from the car.
"I know, but I want to talk to Namine for a little bit before I do."
"Hah, alrighty then. You two kids better not stay up too late now, you hear?"
"Shut up dad," Namine mocked. She and Roxas waved goodbye as he drove home, leaving just the two of them outside of her house. "Talk about such a momentous day. One thing after another. What time is it now?"
"It's past ten."
"Lucky tomorrow is our day off. Wanna walk for a bit?"
"Sure," he answered and the two start to drift off in the neighborhood. It was silent for a minute until Roxas spoke up again. He hated the silence and wanted up speak up about today. "So, this is one story we will all remember. Two friends reunited after so many years… kind of makes me want to tear up." Namine playfully shoved him.
"Hey, don't tease us."
"Sorry, but I actually wished it was me. A part of me wished I was in Sora's position because it seems this whole thing will bring you guys closer now. I kind of hoped we had an opportunity to get closer with each other too."
"Roxas…" Namine sighed. "We do not need that kind of story to bring us closer. There's always going to be something that will pull us in. Who knows what'll be, but I'm sure something will come along."
"Talking and hanging doesn't seem to be enough for me now."
"That's because it's always work, play around and do stuff. I mean, is there something that I don't know you that the media hasn't dug up yet? I know you've been acting since you were a kid, you're an only child, your favorite color is black, and you love to workout."
"I also like warm walks on the beaches and I am a great listener," he playfully added as if it was some dating show.
"I bet you do."
"We've only known each other for about four months now. I don't expect you to completely know me compared to the others whom I've known for years."
"Time seems to be going so fast that I'm losing track of it now. You say four months, I say it feels about half a year now. Maybe even more."
"You're a strange girl Namine."
Namine let out a small laugh. "I guess I am, but I just want to be me. I'm feeling a bit more confident with myself being here than before and I'm not sure why."
"I think you're meshing your personality with your TV counterpart who isn't afraid to take some chances."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Do you remember your audition?"
"I threw up, so yes, I remember every painful detail." Roxas couldn't help, but snicker at the memory since he saw it himself.
"No, I'm not talking about that part. Remember when I introduced myself to you when you got on stage and we shook hands? I could tell you were pretty shaken up and nervous, and it's not because your palms were sweaty. You were shaking, didn't talk that much, and I'm pretty sure you were staring at my good looks the whole time." Namine scoffed at his comment. "But then at that moment when you went off script, you weren't that person anymore."
"That's because I pulled from experience. I played the nobody card against a popular boy because hey, I thought that's what nobodies seem to do in the movies."
"You know, I would've liked to know the Namine before she became an instant star."
"I'm sure you would."
"No, I mean it," he confessed, stepping in front of her. "What would life be if I was a normal guy who happened to go to your school? I think we would've been great friends… or maybe even more?"
"We're already friends Roxas," Namine assured him, pretending that she didn't hear the last part of his sentence. She wasn't ready to address the situation yet. "Maybe we were bound to meet each other at some point anyway. Does that convince you enough?"
"I'm sure you can convince me if I take off my shirt and you touch my abs" Roxas winked, teasing her on purpose.
"I see them on TV thank you very much. I don't need to touch it or you… or any place really. Stop getting crazy ideas."
"That may be, but…" He suddenly got close to her and grabbed her hands. "You get to see them in person." Slowly, he started to guide her hands to the bottom of his shirt. "Or better yet…" And he placed her hands under his shirt to feel his stomach, which caused her to quickly pulled them away where she made a small shriek and shoved him to the ground as he fell on his back.
"Oh my god!" Namine quickly went to his aid.
"For a small girl, you sure have enough power to push someone like me down," he groaned, still on the ground.
"I'm not the one seducing you."
"But you have to admit. You were turned on," Roxas smirked.
"N-no! I was scared you moron!" she blushed. "I… never really touched a boy. Especially there. Or any place."
"Once again, I'm learning someone doesn't have much experience with intimacy. I can help with that."
"S-shut up! I'm only a teenager."
"Our hormones get crazy at this time of our life."
"Alright, now you're just getting a bit cocky with all your good looks and hot body."
"It's nice you acknowledge two of my greatest perks."
"You're so conceded that I'm not sure if I find it charming or annoying."
"Maybe a bit both," he smirked as Namine rolled her eyes at him, but gave him a smile too. After that, the two continued to walk in silence. After that awkward encounter, Roxas thought it was strange and kind of perverted what he did to her, but at the same time, he didn't regret it. It was more of an attempt at pushing the envelope to see where it would go even if he was messing with her. Then he remembered how he reacted to everything that went down in the night. "Hey, I'm sorry if I came off insensitive about what happened to you. I… don't know how to react to these kind of things, you know?"
"What? Real life drama and revelations? Believe me, I didn't know how to react either. I was practically speechless."
"Being in this little celebrity bubble of mines makes it seem like I'm obliviously to so many things I can't tap into. A part of me almost wishes something terrible to happen to experience it."
"Please, don't. Too much has happened in such a short amount of time. We should be more concern about our job than our personal lives right now. We're almost done!"
"You walking into ours makes it seem impossible now." Namine playfully slapped his shoulder. "No, really it has. Would any of us be here if you didn't come to audition?"
"I suppose not. Talk about opening a can of worms. I mean, what else could be coming our way?"
"There is Kairi…" Roxas trailed off.
"You're right. I can't forget about that. The rest of our day happened because of that picture she left in our trailer. I think it's gonna take more than an apology to fix this."
"If anything, I would let Sora handle it. He knows her better than anyone else."
"Sora… always seems to be there when you need him."
"I know I do," Roxas agreed. "I trust the guy with my life."
Sora arrived at his house after spending nearly most of the day with everyone. He left his shoes near the front door and headed upstairs to his room. Once he got inside, he saw his clock and it read eleven o'clock. Talk about perfect timing. He knew he and the others had to work early in the morning again. They were so close to filming the final episode of the season that it excited him, wondering what the script was going to be. However, there was one person in the back of his mind because she seemed to have isolated herself. Ever since Namine confronted about Kairi's feelings for Roxas, she slowly started to distance herself from everyone and it worried him because he knew that was the main problem. He can't blame her for giving his best friend a reality check, but he never knew she was going to take it pretty hard. After he got dressed into his pajamas, he sat on his bed and dialed Kairi's number to check up on her.
At home, she was sitting up on her bed staring off into distance. The room was silent until her phone started to ring. She looked over to her nightstand to see Sora calling her. She picked up the call and left it close to her right ear. "Kairi, are you there?" he asked, but she didn't reply instantly. There was a brief pause for half a minute until Sora spoke up again. "I can hear you breathing you know."
"I'm here."
"Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah. Just needed time alone." Before she knew, she started to breakdown when her eyes started to get doused with tears as she whimpered softly while her heart started to ache again.
Sora heard it through his phone and knew he had to comfort her. He took a small breathe before saying anything else. "Kairi… I know you don't want to talk about it, but I'm here, so I'm going to stay on the phone with you." If Sora was with her, he would've seen her slowly nod because she knew he was being there for her after everything that has happened. "Until you want to hang up. I'm here. I'm here." Kairi took a deep breathe hesitantly and let it out. In that moment, Kairi realized how Sora's always been there for her no matter what and knew when she needed someone. She didn't have to always spell it out for him because he knew. He just knew and it doesn't take a second for him to know when something was bothering her. Him calling her was the right moment and reminded her that he will always be there for her. Finally, she hung up as Sora removed his phone from his ear and stared at it while the screen faded to black.
People just love to find and put things in the closet. First Namine and then Sora. I suppose its my way of using the idiom "skeletons in the closet." Anyways, that ends the Sora/Namine arc and puts to rest to some doubts you guys may have had. As for what's been going on with Kairi, you guys get to find out in the next chapter, but hey, let me know what you think in the review till then.
Thanks for reading and leave a review or any thoughts if you can!