2Disclaimer: Don't own Kingdom Hearts or Disney, or anything associated with it. Anyways, enjoy~
Note: Think of this fic as a series of short stories that merge into one overarching narrative, the POV will gradually broaden to more and more characters along the way
OoO=short cut
XxXX=Long cut
'Roxas'=thoughts
Roxas=narration
I remember it now...at least part of it. It all started on that day...
The day I first met you, that's when I truly, finally began to exist.
The First Day pt. 1
"...Roxas!"
"..."
"ROXAS GET UP!"
"…I'm up...I'm up…" Roxas mumbled, he swung his legs on the floor and let out a giant yawn. "Huh, it's only 6:30? That means I still have...an hour…" Collapsing back on the bed, he drifted off back to sleep for a good five minutes before jumping out and running to the bathroom.
'I don't have an hour, the bus comes in ten minutes!'
He managed to quickly get in and out of the bathroom by washing his face in the bathroom and brushing his teeth while he took a pee.
After getting ready, Roxas threw on his backpack and went to the kitchen where Axel had migrated to with a partly chipped coffee mug in one hand and a cracked phone in the other. "You sure got ready in record time, huh?"
"Learned from the best, right? Well, I'm out."
"Hey wait," He motioned his coffee mug to an oversized key laying haphazardly on the couch. "Don't forget your, uh...thing."
"Yeah my keyblade?" Roxas rolled his eyes, then stuffed it inside his already crowded backpack. "Thanks. See ya."
"Later."
Taking his skateboard from the front door, he ran down the apartment steps and skated to his bus stop a few blocks away. However, by the time he got there, the bus was already rolling down the street.
"Well...here goes nothing I guess!" Roxas took his keyblade out and pointed it at the bus. "Stop!" He enchanted.
The bus stood motionless on the street, frozen in time. Roxas pumped his fist. 'Yes! It actually worked! Man, how bad would it be if I was late on the first day!' He boarded the bus, smirking to himself, and took a seat near the back. Moments after, time worn out its effect on the school vehicle and it was back on track to its predetermined destination; Destiny high.
He felt a tap on his shoulder. "Yo, Roxas, thought you wouldn't make it!" A boy with unruly blonde hair and attitude to match grinned back at him. "Ready to check out all the cheerleaders?"
"Hayner!" Olette, being the only sensible one, slapped him upside the head.
"Geez sorry, but you know Roxas was thinking the same thing."
"Uh...no..." He rubbed the back of his head.
Olette rolled her eyes. "Boys, right Pence?"
"Uh huh," Pence said absent-mildly, giving full attention to his new game system instead. Olette jabbed her elbow into his stomach and Pence begrudgingly put his it away, then gave Roxas a small smile.
"Thought for sure you'd be late Roxas, like on the first day of junior high," Pence said.
"I know, but I wanna start this year off well. After all, I finally get to use my keyblade for real!"
"Right, but you still gotta do your homework like a good boy!" Hayner said in mock seriousness, he ruffled Roxas' hair. "Seriously though, don't forget we're hanging out at the usual place today."
"Yeah, yeah," He cleaned his hair back up. "As long as ice cream isn't on me."
"You know the rules, last one buys," Olette said.
"That's totally gonna rip into my munny."
"Heh, have you considered getting a job," Pence said.
"It's not like Axel hasn't reminded me like every single day, besides I'm worrying about school right now."
"And by that you mean sleeping and playing video games all day."
"Ah- you know me too well."
Olette sighed. "You're hopeless Roxas."
"Hey, give me some credit."
"Right, we can always count on you being late," Hayner said.
The four shared a laugh together, and soon after, Roxas found himself staring out of the window.
Various buildings and stores dotted the street corner, becoming more scarce by the time the bus reached the highway. There, he could see tiny black creatures darting across the stalks of cornfields and hiding within the forest. 'The heartless, they're always here…' He felt his eyelids growing heavy. 'Why.'
OoO
When he woke up again, he could see Destiny High; bursting with vibrancy and energy from the school's own cheerleading team welcoming the students and the start of a new school year.
'Maybe highschool won't be so bad.' Roxas slung his backpack over his shoulders, feeling a surge of excitement. 'Wait, why does my backpack feel so much lighter.'
A quick look in his backpack and he realized his keyblade was missing, and a quick look outside the window and he realized what happened to it. Roxas scrambled out of the bus and approached local bully; Seifer, who was waving his keyblade around like a toy and having a stand off against Hayner.
Seifer smirked at Roxas. "Oh and here comes sleeping beauty, get enough sleep last night?"
"Give me that back, it's not yours!" Roxas yelled.
Rai and Fuu, Seifer's loyal lackeys stood in front of Roxas. "What're you doing?! Out of my way!"
Rai thumped his huge chest. "It's Seifer's keyblade now! Ain't no way a wimp like you has what it takes, y'know!"
"Finder's keepers," Fuu said in her usual shortness of words, she pulled a strand of her loose hair away from her vibrant red eyes and tucked it away behind her ear.
"You heard them." Seifer squeezed the handle of the keyblade, then slashed it in the air.
"You don't have to be an asshole about everything Seifer, you're just jealous you don't know have one!" Hayner yelled.
"That's right, will you stop being a bully," Olette said.
"Wanna bet?" He tossed the keyblade high up in the air and threw it like dart across the sidewalk. The sudden commotion caught the attention of several students and a crowd slowly began accumulating around them.
"If it's yours, go ahead, call it back. The keyblade comes back to its owner doesn't it?"
Roxas opened his clenched fist and raised his arm to beckon his blade; nothing. 'Come on, why isn't it coming back to me?!' A few of the students started laughing and he felt his cheeks turning a deep shade of red. 'No, this can't be happening!'
"Guess the keyblade doesn't want you," Seifer said.
"That's not true!" He shot back. "It's just...not working."
"—What's with all the commotion?"
Pushing through the crowd of students was a tall, muscular young man with spiky brown hair and a handsome face to match. He held Roxas' keyblade firmly in his grasp as he faced Seifer and his gang. "You the punks giving this kid a hard time?
"Not us," Fuu said.
"Yeah, it was all Seifer's idea y'know," Rai said.
"Whatever, just get to class, looks like you need it."
A wave of relief overcame Roxas as Seifer and his gang stomped away. "Uh...thanks." He mumbled.
"No problem, don't let those guys get you down." Terra bent down to his level and gave him his keyblade back. "You'll be a fine keyblade wielder someday."
Roxas gazed at Terra's back until his image became a mere memory. "That guy...he's a keyblade weilder isn't he?"
"He was hot too," Olette said. "Did you see that muscle tone and he's a senior on top of that!"
Hayner and Pence both silently gagged to Roxas who smirked.
"Seifer's gonna give us hell next time we see him, though," Pence said.
"Yeah, but maybe next time a cute girl will come to Roxas' rescue instead!" Hayner said.
"Come on, you guys aren't giving me enough credit. After today, I'm gonna be the one coming to the rescue with my keyblade!" He ran ahead to the high school while the bell rang; class was in session.
XxXX
Roxas walked into his homeroom class just as a few other students were. Maybe it was because he hadn't stepped foot in a classroom in months, but there was something off about the presentation of the classroom, there was floral prints decorating practically every inch of the brightly lit room save for the desks which remained unscathed from overly elaborate flower patterns. He quickly wrote off the strangeness, however, when his attention focused on all the students he had to deal with for the rest of the year.
'I remember some of these kids are from my junior high,' Roxas took a quick survey of the students he knew, or at least "kind of" knew. 'Sora, Kairi and Zexion, but there's a lot of new faces too.'
Up in the front of the room was Sora, a bubbly, happy-go-lucky boy with hair even spikier than his. He was chattering away to his best friend; Kairi—distinctively quieter and more reserved than Sora, but still remained quite assertive. Their other friend, Riku, was in a higher grade, but they had no problem with making friends with practically everyone else in the class, everyone except for Zexion whose only company was an old spell he named Lexicon.
'Yeah, same old same old.' Roxas eased back into his seat and took out his phone to pass the time until the teacher came.
10 minutes passed before their teacher finally came in, Mr. Marluxia; an odd man with a pretty face to compensate. He wore an all black suit with black gloves that highlighted his rather thin frame, a near unremarkable presentation, save for his pastel pink hair that flowed down to his back.
Marluxia greeted everyone with a slight bow and a devilish grin. "Greetings. As you all should know, my name is Marluxia. It's a pleasure to meet you all and to be your homeroom teacher for the first year class."
He took a moment to power on his smartboard, where a neatly put together presentation displayed on the screen. "Now, a little bit about myself. I'm 25 and I quite enjoy gardening. This is actually my first year teaching, however, I'm no stranger to combat so rest assured you're in good hands..." He trailed off when he heard the door open.
"Welcome!" He greeted. "You must be Xion, correct? Lucky for you, you didn't miss anything crucial, I was just starting my lesson."
Following his statement, a girl with short, silky black hair dragged her feet across the classroom floor. If Roxas had to guess, Xion either gotten herself ready at the last possible second or simply forgot school was today judging by her untidy uniform and unruly hair. Although, her exhausted expression hid a cute face Roxas couldn't help but gaze at as she made her way to an empty seat and dropped her head on the desk. Which inevitably caused a few students to chuckle at her expense.
'That girl...I wonder who she is.' Roxas mused.
Marluxia cleared his throat to gather the attention of his students. "At Destiny high, you will be learning academics as well as the ability to fight against the heartless. For this is no average high school, but a school where all your abilities will be refined and put to the test." He picked up a stack of papers and passed them out to each student.
"This is the curriculum for the year in my class as well as safety guidelines and general rules. You can read them in your time with your parent or guardian because they'll be needing to sign those forms." Returning to his desk, he pushed a rose vase out of the way and sat on his desk. "To start off, you won't be learning anything in my class in the traditional sense, but accumulating all your knowledge because at the end of each week, I will be taking you on a mission to defeat heartless."
He clicked on the remote and the slide shifted to one of black creatures Roxas saw earlier. "Since this is merely your first year, each mission will be personally guided by yours truly, but come time and you'll soon be assigned missions to complete."
"Hey, hey! On these missions, is it true we'll be going to different worlds?" Sora asked.
"It is. For now, we'll only be focusing on the heartless in Radiant Garden, but there are many worlds with many heartless that need to be dealt with."
"Awesome. And another question, what's so special about this—" He grabbed a scratched and dented keyblade that's seen better days from his backpack. "Like, I'm always told it's super important, but a giant key seems kind of lame."
"Excellent question. Though I won't be the one teaching you about the keyblade, I know a great deal about it. While everyone has the ability to defeat heartless, only those who wield the keyblade can truly rid the world of them. Despite its powers, it's still a tool you must learn how to wield. Any other questions, comments, concerns?"
Xion raised her hand.
"Yes?"
"When is class over?"
Marluxia smirked at her frank question. "In ten minutes, today is an early release being it the first day. In these few minutes we have, I wanted to share with you all some pictures I took my rose garden."
Roxas laid his head on his desk as images of various different roses flashed across the smart board. He glanced over at Xion, then quickly averted his eyes when she realized he was looking at her. 'There's something about you, I know it.'
*ring-ring
"That does it for class, remember to have your forms signed and turned into me by tomorrow."
When Roxas finally made his way outside of the classroom between, Xion was already ahead on her way down the hallway. 'I guess I missed my chance.' With nothing else left to do, he glanced over his schedule.
Roxas- - - - - - - - - First Year
Period 1: Homeroom—Marluxia Room 100
Period 2: Magic studies I—Vexen Room 346
Period 3: Endurance training—Lexaeus Room 212
Period 4: All-World History—Larxene Room 406
Lunch
Period 5: Intro to heartless—Xemnas Room 308
Period 6: Gummi Block shop—Cid Highwind Room 433
Period 7: Keyblade training I—Master Eraqus Room 123
'Looks like I'm going down this hallway to magic studies, whatever that is.'
Vexen's "classroom" was practically a bona fide laboratory with flasks, granulated cylinders and all sorts of lab equipment cluttering the lab tables, leaving little room left for the actual classroom setting. Roxas took a seat at a lab table next to a boy with dishevelled, dirty blonde hair.
"What's up, name's Tidus, you?"
"Uh, Roxas."
"Roxas, huh. Stuck here in this mandatory class too? I'm so not into magic or whatever."
"You're telling me, I only know like one spell and it took me forever to learn."
"Good luck with that. I hear we'll be practically learning the whole book."
The moment class started, Vexen walked in with an oversized laboratory coat and a black ascot around his neck. Having a rather lanky figure, his face was bony and chiseled, like he hadn't eaten properly in weeks. When he reached his desk, he viscously glared at his students, as if they would be his next meal and said in a tone reeking with arrogance, "My name is Vexen. I have many hobbies, none of which I'll disclose, but I will say that I have an immense fondness in science."
Vexen departed from his desk, then skulked around the lab tables, appearing to take delight in his student's terrified faces. "While you children may think that real world truths are constantly at odds with the fantasy of magic, let it be known," A flame ignited in his hand. "—They're intertwined. In this class, we'll be conducting experiments, researching, and most importantly, learning spells- defensive spells, offensive spells, healing spells, including summoning spells."
His mention of summoning garnered the attention of the students. "But before you do anything of the sort. You must always start with the basics." Vexen pointed to a poster hanging on the front wall, dubbed the 'periodic table of magic elements'.
"Some of you will flourish, some of you will flounder, but all of you will learn magic, because a person who knows no magic, knows no life."
Tidus tapped Roxas on the shoulder. "This guy's a total crackhead." He whispered.
"I know, I get a bad feeling about him."
"Dude same, I bet he's like a failed scientist or something and this was the next best thing."
"—Ahem! Before I begin the obligatory review of the student handbook, are there any questions about the expectations I'll have of you?"
Naminé, a girl Roxas hadn't noticed before, raised her hand. She had a frail figure, with mid length, pale blonde hair swept across her shoulder. "No sir, but may I go to the restroom?"
Vexen rolled his eyes. "Sure. Anyone else—yes, what is your question?"
Roxas watched as Naminé walked out with a notebook in her hand. 'That's weird, is she going to write down what her crap looks like?' He chuckled to himself.
"Is there something you'd like to share with the class, boy?"
He stared blankly at the teacher. "Who, me?"
"Yes you, well spit it out."
'Come one, why'd I have to be put on the spot like this.' "N-Nothing, I just uh, can I go to the bathroom?"
"Fine, whatever. You teenagers are all so predictable."
Roxas made his walk of shame to the door while the class slipped in a few snickers of their own, once he was out, he breathed a sigh of relief. 'Why does embarrassing stuff always happen to me.' He saw Naminé sitting across the hallway, scribbling something down in her notebook, a sketchbook more likely.
"Some bathroom break," Roxas muttered, he approached her. "Skipping class already?"
Naminé set her pencil down. "Something like that, you're Roxas, aren't you?"
"That's right, and. You're Naminé...so whatcha drawing?" He tried to peek over her sketchbook, but she quickly pressed it on her chest. "Aw come on, you won't even give me a sneak peek?"
"I...don't really like to show other people my drawings."
"Guess there's no winning you over, but what's wrong with drawing in class?"
"Nothing I just wanted to get out." She stood up. "This is goodbye for now, Roxas, I think the school day is over for me. Sorry for leaving on such short notice."
"Didn't take you for the rebellious type."
She gave him a small smile. "Listening to authorities was never something I was particularly good at."
And then she was gone.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading thus far, I really appreciate it. I'm excited for this story and I hope you all will stay tuned;)
