Ven had led Roxas upstairs, past the café part of the building, silently. They hadn’t dared to turn on the light, so their only source of guidance was the moonlight coming through the long windows. The wooden stairs whispered softly under their feet as they walked up to the third floor. As they reached the floor, Ven pointed to two doors, the one on the left side being Roxas’s room. The one on the right side, the side of the stairs, had a sign on it with the word “Ven” on it in elegant cursive. Next to it was one with “Aqua” and further down, “Terra”. The three seniors lived and worked here at Café 4 a.m., and walked to school, apparently. Ven smiled and tossed Roxas a key and a roll of bandages, and nodded.
Roxas just shook his head and smirked as he unlocked the door and walked inside. The room was lightly furnished, showing that it was just a rental room. A comfortable looking bed and a window with a wide sill greeted him. Walking in and closing the door behind him, Roxas walked over to the window and pulled the maroon curtains open. Exhaling, Roxas sat down on the windowsill and leaned against the cool glass. He closed his azure orbs and listened to his heart slow down to a normal pace. He was worn from the battle, and the adrenaline was starting to leave his bloodstream as he relaxed. But with the exit of the adrenaline came the throbbing reminder of the pain in his crushed left hand. Cringing in pain, the blonde grabbed the roll of bandages and looked around for something sturdy that keep his hand straight so the bones would grow back correctly. He spotted a wooden ruler along with various other school supplies, and laid the ruler perpendicular to his hand. He then quickly wrapped the bandages around his injured hand and the ruler. After testing the placing of the ruler, he concluded that they would keep his hand flat. The azure eyed blonde slumped on the bed and began to struggle with the now uncomfortable shirt he was wearing. He fought against the button up with his uninjured hand and after removing it from his sweat drenched torso, Roxas threw it on the floor. He slowly lowered himself onto the bed, and as he closed his eyes, he knew it was going to be a long night. After a short amount of fitful sleep, Roxas awoke. In frustration, he clawed uncomfortably at his sheets and his bare torso. He was short of breath, and drenched in sweat. He couldn’t get his mind off one thing. Roxas couldn’t stop thinking, dreaming, of his dance with Namine.
His azure eyes reflected the memory. He sighed as he thought about what happened. After doing a bit of walking around, he had found Namine sitting down on the railing outside one of the clubs. She was looking around for someone, anyone she knew. Roxas thought she looked kind of lonely. She was hugging herself, her bright blue eyes searching the crowds. Roxas could already see a few guys checking her out, but he doubted that they would get far. He was surprised that Kairi wasn’t around, but then again, she was probably dancing with Sora. About time too. Roxas slipped his hands in his pockets as he walked towards Namine. Her eyes lit up as he came into view. She stood up and walked towards him.
“Finally, someone I know in this place. I thought you guys ditched me!” she scolded while hugging her blonde friend lightly.
“Namine, you know I could never ditch you” Roxas whispered lightly. He noticed her blush as she looked away.
“Sure,” Namine muttered dully. “So where did everyone go?”
Roxas sat down on the rail Namine had previously occupied. She sat right back down by him, and he put his arm on her shoulder, trying to ward off all the guys. Fortunately for Namine, and secretly for Roxas, it worked. Some of the guys, Roxas recognized them from school, sneered before going to find other girls; jerks. After a while Roxas regretfully removed his arm from Namine’s shoulder. He felt her shiver as his fingers slowly crossed her back.
“Roxas, you…you didn’t answer my question. Where is everyone?” Namine quickly asked, bringing what Roxas was doing to his attention.
“Oh! Well, Kairi and Sora are probably off dancing. Xiruk and Riku are trying to pick up girls. Only problem is, Riku seems off his game; every time he tried, he faltered. I guess he has someone waiting for him back at home.”
“Hmm…I think her name is…Selphie? I know Kairi was talking about someone today.” Namine said as Roxas gave her a weird look. “Whaat? I’m not into all that gossip and stuff.”
“Yea, I guess,” Roxas chuckled. Namine laughed with him and for a bit they sat in a comfortable silence. After a while, they noticed that they were the only ones who weren’t dancing. Roxas couldn’t stand it! He liked her, and he knew she liked him, but being nobodies, they weren’t supposed to FEEL this way. Roxas shook his head, and smiled sadly. He was starting to hate being a Nobody.
“Umm, maybe…we should go find-“
“Would you like to dance?” Roxas interrupted. His eyes widened in shock. He didn’t mean for that to come out, but hey, it did. He secretly cursed his fate.
“Sure!” Namine agreed quickly, making Roxas grin widely.
Roxas stood up and straighten his shirt, and then he offered his hand to Namine, a warm smile on his face. She looked at his hand for a second, before taking it and standing up. Roxas enjoyed the feel of her soft hand in his rougher ones. As an upbeat song started, Namine started to move her hips to the beat. She threw her hands in the air and closed her eyes. She was really losing herself to the music, and Roxas couldn’t do anything but watch in awe for a few seconds. He then smiled and started to bob his head to the beat, and slowly got his lithe body moving to the beat. They danced closer and closer twirling about each other, like they were made for this dance.
Here we go, another night out
Waited all week, just to get out
Where do we come from
Do I know your name
Doesn't really matter
In this life we're all the same
Move for me, I’ll move for you
Move for me, I’ll move for you
Move for me, I’ll move for you
Move for me, I’ll move for you
A DJ, a light show
Speakers puttin out
It's where we're going
This way and that way
Getting past the name
Doesn't really matter
In this life we're all the same
This song was made for them, the bass pumped through their veins, the singers voice luring them in like a Siren’s would. But there was no stopping, as an extended mix of Kaskade & Dadaumu5’s “Move For Me” rocked the crowd. Roxas slowly started to notice Namine as she danced with and up against him. He felt his body temperature rise quickly at every touch of her small body against his. Any lesser man would’ve had to excuse himself. Staying in flow, Roxas lightly grabbed her hand and twirled her, so that she faced him as they continued to groove to song. Roxas noticed that the lyrics had ended and only the drum and bass remained. He inwardly cursed as he realized that the song was almost over; that his time with the one girl who actually made him feel human was about to end. Not wanting the moment to end, Roxas danced closer, and intertwined his hands with hers. Namine, an inch or two shorter, suddenly looked up at Roxas, and smiled understandingly. As the song ended, Namine brought their hands down and wrapped herself in their joint arms. As she laid her head against his, she whispered.
“Roxas, I umm…talked to Kairi.”
“Oh yea? Who...I mean what did you two talk about?” Roxas asked his hope and curiosity betraying him.
“Well, partly about Sora…”
“And?”
“And we talked about you. We talked about you and me.” Namine finished, looking into his eyes for a response. He looked back into her eyes, clear light blue, with a tinge of worry. She looked back into his, a deeper blue, cloudy, but loving. The just stood there as the DJ ended the song and told everyone that the party was over. The DJ’s words snapped them out of their moment.
“Well then, does that mean-“
“Hey guys! Time to go!!” Sora interrupted, oblivious to the important moment.
“Alright, so where are Xiruk and Riku?”
“We’re in the shadows, picking in chicks and watching over you guys.” Xiruk said as both he and Riku walked from a backstreet that lead to the other side of the street party. Kairi came running from a larger part of the crowd, looking worried until she saw her group. Oh ho, then she looked mad.
“SORA!! I told you to WAIT UP!” Kairi yelled while pounding on Sora’s arm. The two kept up their antics, Kairi yelling and hitting, and Sora trying to protect his poor defenseless arm, as Xiruk and Riku laughed. Roxas and Namine, however, just stood there shaking their heads in defeat. They started to wonder who the real babysitters were.
“Come on guys, we gotta head back to Sheridan, or we’re screwed. “ Roxas said once the laughter died down. They all made their way to the school, noticing that many students were already far ahead of them. They talked about the fun, Riku’s failure at picking up chicks, and the first day of school tomorrow. Xiruk and Riku led the group through the quiet streets, Kairi and Sora flirted shamelessly with each other, and Namine and Roxas stayed to the back of the group, awkwardly holding hands and looking at the stars. Roxas mentally cursed Sora for ruining the moment between him and Namine. He missed the warmth of her body against his as they danced and hugged. Even though it wasn’t as nice, he did still enjoy holding her hand. The sensation of her small soft hands against his rougher, larger ones sent shivers up his spine, especially when she gripped his hand tighter. As they got closer, Xiruk was the first to notice that something was wrong.
“Hey guys, we’ve got trouble,” He warned, causing everyone to pay attention.”The gates closing!!”
At his words, everyone broke off into a dead run to make it in before curfew. Once those gates were closed, they were closed until 6 in the morning a good 8 hours from now. Xiruk and Riku were the first to make it in, followed by Kairi and Sora, who barely made it in. Roxas knew then that only Namine would fit, so he dipped behind her and pushed as hard as he could. He heard a yelp of surprise, someone fall to the ground, and the sickening crunch of his hand getting caught in between the gates. He sunk to his knees and just sat there, as everyone looked at him. Roxas’s vision was cloudy, and everything went numb, but it didn’t stay that way, because pain decided to visit, with a present.
“YEOOOOOOOOOOOW!!” Roxas screamed as the pain of bones being fractured finally hit him. He shot up and started to pull on his arm, slowly edging his hand out of the gate. Riku and Sora tried to pull the gates apart, and Xiruk joined in on one side, the girls on the other. After a muscle straining effort, Roxas could finally feel the gates ease up and quickly pulled his hand out from its metal death grip. As soon as they saw it was free, everyone let go of the gates, and they slammed together with a loud clang. Roxas looked down at his left hand, which was now starting to swell, and then to his friends on the other side of the gate. Namine looked worried, but Kairi was the first to think.
“I’ll go tell one of the teachers what happened, so they can let you in!”
“And get everyone in trouble?? Don’t. I’m going…to head to that café where Ven and the others work, I bet they’ll be able to help. Someone mind calling them and telling them I’m on my way? I think I left my phone in my room.”
“Of course Roxas, but be careful out there. We don’t know if anything is out there at night.” Namine warned. Roxas nodded his head, cradled his hand between his arm and chest and started walking away. The others realized that they couldn’t do anything without serious consequences, so they all went to their rooms. Xiruk made the call to Terra to watch out for Roxas and to have some bandages ready. As Namine walked into their dark dorm, lit only by moonlight, she remembered that Roxas left his cell phone in his room. She crept in, enjoying the cool metal handle against her hands. After looking around and actually calling the phone. It wasn’t here. Namine smacked her forehead in realization. The idiot still doesn’t HAVE a cell phone, he’d been using hers. They would have no contact with him unless they bothered Ven or the others.
“Nnnng, Roxas you IDIOT!” Namine moaned, annoyed.
Around this time, Roxas was in the main part of Crown, the beautiful coastal city where Sheridan was located. It was quiet, since it was after curfew. Roxas thought it was weird that there were so many buildings, and no lights. In fact, it was eerie, causing Roxas to shiver as he cradled his probably broken hand.
“Stupid Gates, give a guy a break!” Roxas muttered. His had still hurt but was beginning to go numb. As Roxas walked deeper into the city, he felt it; an enemy was near. He heard something charging from behind, and turned around in enough time to summon Neverwas and block the rabid form. What Roxas saw shocked him. It looked like a nightmarish combination between a heartless and dusk nobody. The zipper mouth opened to reveal rows of horrible teeth, and its silver body ended at 2 black, sharp claws, and pointed black feet. Its eyes were red, full of anger and excitement at the prospect of food: aka Roxas. Roxas swung the Neverwas, flinging the odd beast backwards, but like a cat, it landed on its feet and charged again emitting a screechy roar. Roxas jumped back as it slashed its claw through the air aiming for his head. He parried the next slice, which cut a spike of his blonde hair, and then spun to the right and slashed at the beast’s side. The strike made it slide a bit, but the beast shook it off and kept coming. After an intricate dance of fighting, dodging, and parrying, the beast got an open shot at Roxas, sending him flying. Roxas wasn’t used to fighting this fast, and the laws of gravity were his enemy. He felt the strain that pushing himself so far was producing.
“Okay, there is no way this is your regular dusk, its way to powerful.” Roxas decided while clutching his torso. The beast took this moment to charge at him again, right claw aimed at his head when suddenly a voice yelled.
“Blizzarga!!”
As the frosty air cleared, the beast was seen frozen in a giant icy crystal. As Roxas looked to the direction the shot came from, he spotted Ven gliding towards him, killer intent in his eyes.
“Move fool!” Ven yelled as he swung the Frost Knight at frozen enemy, following the initial slash with a flurry of strikes, then jumped backwards, spinning. Roxas had never seen such a combination of moves executed so quickly, strongly, and frightening. Ven meant business, even when it was just one enemy. The ice crystal shattered into many pieces, and when it was all said and done, the beast was gone. When Ven looked up at Roxas, he found a totally different person. Usually Ven’s eyes were like Roxas’s, deep blue and slightly cloudy, but now they were dark, angry. Roxas wasn’t sure who to fear, the beast that attacked him, or Ven when he was like this. But noticing that Roxas was safe, and staring, Ven stood up out of his defensive position and calmed down. His eyes and mood returned to normal, like nothing had ever happened; a real battle worn warrior.
“Hey Roxy, we got the call from Xiruk, heard the curfew beat you.”
“Uh yea, the gates were closing, but I didn’t want Namine to get in trouble, so I pushed her in.” Roxas said, still slightly afraid of Ven. It was then that he noticed that a few of his spikes where frozen. “Great, a haircut and a few spike-cikles. What’s next, gonna die my hair??”
“I dunno kid, I think you do need a cut, or people are REALLY gonna get confused. Keep your spikes, and your boyish charm. If you actually get one, who knows, maybe Namine will fall for you,” Ven said, winking and walking away. Roxas just stood there, feeling awkward and alone. Adrenaline still pumped through his veins, and he had no clue what Ven just saved him from. All Roxas knew was that he wanted to sleep, and get his hand taken care of. “Hey Roxas, come on, unless you want to get attacked again.”
That was all that Ven had to say to get Roxas moving. The walk to the Café was quiet, as Ven just wanted to get back to bed, and Roxas kept trying to figure out why the world decided to smack him in the face tonight. As they reached the door to the café, Ven opened it and ushered Roxas in. It was quiet but a woman was still behind the desk. She had black hair with one bang coming down to cover an eye. Her green eyes showed a lot of experience, but also kindness. She was only a few inches taller than Roxas, and had a light tan.
“So is this the boy Ven?”
“Yup, Roxas, this is Naomi, the owner of our little café. So can he have one of the spare rooms?”
“Of course he can. Hello Roxas…um what happened to your hand?” Naomi asked.
Roxas had totally forgotten about his hand, and was disgusted to find it purple and swollen.
“Yea… I got it smashed between the gates at Sheridan. Is there anything you can do to it?” Roxas asked. Naomi smiled and reached behind the counter. In her hand was a glowing green orb with tinges of red and yellow around the edge. She tossed it to him and he caught it in his injured hand.
“It’s a heath orb, it should keep down the swelling and repair any damage, but you should keep it flat during the night, or it won’t grow back properly.” Naomi explained, and then disappeared into the back. “Good night boys…”
Roxas now laid on his bed thinking about all that had happened. ‘Shame I left my cell phone…oh you have got to be kidding me. I was supposed to pick up a cell phone while I was out with Sora, and I never did!’ Roxas rubbed his forehead in aggravation. Not only did he need a cell phone, he needed a haircut to fix the damage done.
“Boyish charm my ass, Ven.” Roxas whispered, running his fingers through his hair, only to feel pieces from the frozen parts chip off. Roxas growled at his fate. After inspecting his hand, Roxas decided that sleep wasn’t going to come and decided to go downstairs to see if the owner was still awake. He pulled his shirt on, gingerly over his injured hand, and walked downstairs quietly, as to not wake up the seniors. As he got down to the floor and relished the feel of the smooth, cold floor under his bare feet, he heard a chuckle.
“Hey Roxas, couldn’t sleep?” Roxas looked to his left, and by the window was Naomi, the owner, lounging with a cup of coffee. She sat in the chair cross-legged, turned towards Roxas with a smirk on her face, and an elegant china cup in her hand. She had taken off the green apron, signaling that she was just relaxing.
“Uh, yea actually; sleep never comes easy when you’re injured.”
“Well, why don’t you call up that girl you like? I bet she’s up worrying about you.” Naomi suggested with a knowing smile.
“Well, I forgot to get a cell phone when Sora and I were out earlier, so I’ll have to pick one up tomorrow. Anyways, I don’t want to keep her up.”Roxas explained walking towards the table Naomi sat at. “Do you making me a cup of coffee though?”
“Sure kid, I don’t mind at all; any particular flavor?”
“Mmm, I would have to go with mint. Thank you very much.” Roxas replied to the retreating figure of the owner. She walked over to the counter, lifted to the divider, and got to work on the coffee. Roxas watched her work for a bit before looking off into the distance. No one had bothered to tell him exactly what he had fought out there, and he didn’t think he would get a straight answer for a while.
“Here you go kid, your coffee is done. Drink it while it’s hot,” Naomi said, suddenly appearing beside him. Roxas took the cup carefully and decided that he’d have to pay more attention to his surroundings. They both sat and talked for a while, enjoying each other’s company before Naomi decided to head up to bed. Roxas decided he would follow suit if he wanted to survive his first day of classes. He noticed that his hand had stopped throbbing and that the swelling had indeed gone down. It would probably be fine by morning. As Roxas walked upstairs, he realized he would probably sleep better if he laid against the window, since the glass was cool to the touch, and jutted outward enough to lay their comfortably. ‘Even Nobodies have to deal with the heat I guess.’ Roxas smirked. His plans soon changed though, as he heard a knock on his door. Maybe Ms. Naomi had something to tell him? He walked towards the door and answered, only to find that Terra, Ven, and Aqua stood in the hallway, each with a serious expression on their face. Terra grabbed him without a word and quietly everyone led him through a hallway he hadn’t seen before. It ended up leading to the upper area of the café, where Roxas had sat one his first day in Crown. Everyone sat down, and gestured for Roxas to do the same.
“Ok…so what’s this about? Did I do something wrong?” Roxas asked, confused about their late night meeting.
“Roxas, we’ve just got a few things to discuss before we send you off to bed.” Terra explained. First he dug into his pocket and brought out a brand new cell phone. He slid it across the table towards Roxas. “Don’t worry, it’s a regular cell phone, but we noticed that you didn’t have one yet. On it you can view your schedule and a map of the school. Each blinking red dot is you class, the yellow dot being you. You can find that all under the book icon.” Terra explained, pointing to it on the main menu of his phone. Roxas just raised his eyebrow, taken off guard.
“Look Roxas, we, along with the King, have made a change to your schedule. You’ll be meeting us for 4th period. It all has to do with what you fought tonight, and what you failed to summon at the ceremony. Yes, we know all about it, but that’s all we can tell you for now.” Aqua explained. Finally it was Ven’s turn to speak. “Look Roxas, what you fought last night was a Fallen, or Mute as their called by most. You probably noticed that they were stronger than any of the regular enemies that you’ve fought. That’s why we need to train you during our sessions 4th period. The cell phone is just a present that we decided to get you, since all students have one, and can’t seem to go without it.”
“So you guys have experience fighting the Mute?” Roxas asked.
“Experience? We have experience with them and their original forms.” Ven said darkly. His expression was similar to the one he wore while fighting earlier that night.
“Finally,” Aqua said pulling out a pair of scissors and snipping them together, “We have come to realize that you need a haircut.” Ven and Terra looked at Roxas with mischievous smiles, doing nothing to better his mood.
“Umm, guys, that’s not necessary.” Roxas said, getting up and backing away.
“Oh yes, yes it is Roxas; it’s very necessary.” Aqua responded and was wearing the same grin the two boys did. All that was heard was a scream and the sound of scissors snipping hair. Roxas woke up a little pissed about his ambush last night, but reasoned that Aqua hadn’t done a bad job. His spikes didn’t looks as awkward as they had after the fight, albeit shorter. After cleaning himself and examining his appearance in the mirror, Roxas felt happier about his first day at school. He just had to find Namine and the others before class started.
