Kingdom Hearts lends itself sickeningly well to highschool AUs, so I decided to join the bandwagon and write one of my own. Of course KH is not mine – if it were, there would be a lot less Disney and a lot more mansex, and it would most likely not be rated anywhere near 'E'.

Alright, a warning ahead of time – I know the premise isn't realistic, and it's not really meant to be. This fic isn't set in the 'real world' – it's a very isolated and small-scale space with no contact from the outside world. It may initially seem like a contemporary setting in your average highschool, but it's not really, and this should become more obvious with time.

The rating will fluctuate wildly, but do expect sexxors, language, drugs and alcohol, angst, the gay and the het.

And hell, what's an AU without some marginally-related song lyrics:P

How to Become a Nobody

Chapter 1: Someone tries to hide himself

Someone tries to hide himself
Down inside himself he prays
Someone swears his true love
Until the end of time
Another runs away
Separate or united?
Healthy or insane?
To be yourself is all that you can do

To be yourself is all that you can do

-Audioslave, Be Yourself

Sora woke up out of habit five minutes before his alarm clock would start ringing and jumped out of bed, toes hitting the floor first and digging into the thick blue carpet as he padded out of his room and downstairs to have a shower. He jumped into the spray before it turned hot, jolting himself fully awake and only staying in for five minutes before toweling himself dry. Peering in the mirror, he ran his fingers through hair that stuck up in strange directions even when it was wet and contemplated shaving the short, light brown strands that stuck out in weird places on his chin. Deciding against it (you could barely see them anyway, he rationalized), he wrapped the towel around his waist and went down the stairs into the basement to fish some clean clothing out of the dryer, pulling out clean underwear, a T-shirt and a pair of loose shorts without really looking at them.

Dressed and now fully awake, he climbed back up the stairs for breakfast. His father had made bacon and eggs sunny-side up, arranging them on the plate so that they resembled a happy face. In an attempt to make it healthier, the face sported lettuce hair. Sora grimaced but knew his father would nag him if he didn't finish the greens as well.

"Good morning, Sora," his father said, bustling about the kitchen. "I'm almost done making your lunch. I even cut off the crusts for you." Sora's father was in his late forties, his mop of light blond hair mostly turned to gray topping a face that held wrinkles more from smiling than frowning. His sleeves were rolled past his elbows and an apron reading "Kiss the Chef" protected his rumpled white button-down shirt and gray slacks. He dashed between the various pots he had bubbling on the stove, a small mixing bowl with a cookbook placed on it like a lid and a pile of half-chopped veggies on a cutting board.

Sora rolled his eyes as he sat down and picked up his fork. "Morning, Dad. You know I haven't cared about that since I was twelve. You don't have to cut them off, you know."

"I wanted to do something extra special for you today." The older man dipped a ladle into one of the pots and blew on the contents before sipping it thoughtfully and and adding a seemingly random spice from one of his many unlabeled jars.

"Huh?" Sora looked up, mouth already full of egg. "What's so special about today?"

"Sora!" The teenager wasn't sure if his father was actually shocked or was just trying to act cute. "How could you forget today? It's your sweet sixteen!"

"Gawd, Dad, you're making me sound like a girl." Sora downed another dripping forkful of egg, surprised at his own forgetfulness despite himself.

Sora's father ignored his son's tone and sighed dramatically. "Ah, my little boy is growing up. Soon he'll be leaving the house! Whatever shall I do?"

"Daad," Sora whined. "Stop it." His father laughed to himself and Sora finished his breakfast and washed it down with the remains of his orange juice, grabbing his lunch bag off the counter and running up the stairs back to his room to stuff it into his backpack.

Bounding back down again, Sora plucked his helmet off the coat rack and fastened it securely on his head before waving his dad goodbye as he stepped out the side door into the garage to wheel his bike out onto the sidewalk. Throwing his leg over the saddle, he started wailing on the pedals while standing up, streaking down the flat suburban streets on the way to Kairi's house.

She waved at him as soon as she spotted him in the distance, messenger bag hanging over one shoulder as she waited with Riku just outside the white-picket fence around her house. Riku didn't wave, but Sora knew that he'd been seen as the silver-haired boy turned to watch his friend come towards them, ending with the screeching, almost-thrown-over-the-handlebars-but-not-quite stop that Sora had perfected long ago before swinging his leg over the seat and pulling his bike up onto the curb.

"Morning, Sora. Happy Birthday." Kairi held out a small, pink-and-bow-wrapped present to him. It matched her pink, zippered dress and her pink butterfly hair clips.

"Wow, thanks, Kairi!"

Sora was about to rip it open immediately when Riku put out a hand to stop him."We're late already – you can open it at break." He paused. "I got you one too but it's in my locker at school. You'll have to wait until we get there." Riku stuck his hands back into their usual position in the big pocket on his dark hoodie. Sora never understood how his friend could wear that thing all the time with heavy, baggy pants to boot – even in the middle of summer. He never looked like he was sweltering, for some strange reason.

"Aw, you're such a wet blanket." Sora whined but stopped anyway, hanging the box from his handlebars by the ribbon. He pushed his bike along as his friends walked, immediately striking up a conversation about their weird English teacher and the crazy stunt he had pulled the other day. The friendly chatter bounced from one topic to another, never letting up right until they got to school when Sora split off from his friends so he could go lock up his bike.

Sora barely made it into his first class on time, just sliding into a chair near the back of the class as the teacher started attendance. He hadn't had time to go to his locker, so his backpack rested underneath his desk and between his feet, and he held the unopened present from Kairi in his hands.

It took him a few minutes of picking at the ribbon to undo the knots and bows and slip it off onto the floor. Trying to avoid making too much noise, Sora slowly peeled away the tape and unfolded the paper to reveal a small black jewelry box. He opened it to reveal a necklace with an equally black pendant – it was almost heart-shaped, the only irregularity the three points that extended from the bottom. It was rimmed with red with a pattern of something that looked like red barbed wire criss-crossing the front and back.

There was a small note enclosed with it – it read only, 'You've got mine.' Sora smiled something goofy despite himself, pulling the chain from the box and fastening it around his neck. He had to turn it around backwards to look at the clasp and then pull it rightways again.

So caught up in his new accessory, Sora didn't notice that the teacher was looking expectantly at him while tapping a stick of chalk against her palm in impatience. "Uhhhh... did you just say something to me?" Sora blinked.

The teacher sighed. "Pay attention next time, Sora. Yes?" She pointed towards another student instead, one who was sitting in the front row and waving her hand in the air furiously.

Slightly embarrassed but still put in a good mood by the gift, Sora ruffled through his bag and pulled out his notebook to take some notes in earnest. Before turning his head to the page he noticed Kairi looking at him from the other side of the class. She grinned at him and he returned the smile, mouthing a 'thanks' in her direction.

It wasn't until lunchtime that Sora got to see Riku again and pry the promised gift from his best friend's fingers. Sora sat in the lunchroom across from Riku and Kairi, his borscht ignored in favour of the large, hastily-wrapped and suspiciously lemon-shaped package that Riku had placed on the table in front of him.

"Do I even need to unwrap this?" Sora quipped, taking ahold of an edge and ripping anyway, shortly revealing a brand-new rugby ball. "Thanks, Riku."

"Well, it's kind of my fault that your old one got so busted up, anyway," Riku muttered sheepishly. "I kind of owed it to you."

"We'll have to try it out after school." Sora grinned. Him and Riku were both on the school's rugby team and they often practiced on each other.

Riku returned his smile. "Sure."

"Sooo," Kairi leaned across the table, turning her head to look at both Sora and Riku. "What's a girl to do while the boys are off doing boy things? Are you just going to leave me behind, is that it?" The good humor present on her face took any bite out of her words as she nudged Sora's shoulder. "Come on, let's do something special for your birthday. Paint the town red."

"Well..." Sora considered. "I can't be out too long, but what have you got in mind?"

Kairi slapped herself in the forehead. "Aww, I forgot all about that! That really sucks. I was hoping we could do something fun."

Sora shook his head. "Naw, I've got a couple hours, and my dad will understand if I'm a bit late. We can still do something."

Kairi's smile returned as she leaned back in her seat, fingers drumming against the table in thought. "Well, then, we could always –"

"No." Riku interrupted before taking a large bite of his roll and chewing slowly, knowing his friends would wait and enjoying how he could annoy them. "We're not doing that."

Kairi scowled. "You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"Yes, I do," Riku smirked. "You were going to suggest that we go to the arena."

Kairi opened and shut her mouth a few times before making an indignant noise. "Well, you got lucky."

Riku rolled his eyes. "I have no desire to sit around while you ogle at Tidus' abs as he splashes around, no matter how glistening and well-defined they are."

"Tidus is so last week. Now it's all about Leon, Leon!" Kairi smacked her friend in the back of his head. "And I thought you guys liked sports."

"Doggy-paddling with a ball isn't a sport; it's a travesty."

"BLITZBALL. It's called BLITZBALL."

"Whatever."

Sora's amusement at his friends' squabbling was interrupted by a light tap on his shoulder. He twisted around in his seat to face an older boy who had the habit of tugging on his gelled blond spikes when he was thinking about something. "Hey, Cloud. What's up?" Sora didn't often talk to his cousin, but they weren't on bad terms or anything – he just didn't know the other boy all that well.

"I kind of wanted to ask a favour." Kairi and Riku were still wrapped up in their argument about the merits (or lack thereof) of blitzball. Sora cocked his head to one side, curious as to why Cloud would approach him about anything.

"It's – I mean, I was..." Cloud tugged more fiercely at the spike before continuing. "I was supposed to meet Tifa today, but something came up. She's busy with her club right now, so can you tell her that I'm sorry, but I'll see her on Monday?" Tifa had been Cloud's closest friend for as long as Sora could remember.

"Sure, Cloud. I'll talk to her during afternoon break. What class does she have?"

"...History. It's on the gym end of the third floor."

Sora nodded slowly. "Okay... sure, I remember. You don't have to worry about it."

Cloud looked visibly relieved as he finally let go of his hair. "Thanks, Sora," he said shortly, nodding. Sora gave Cloud a small wave as the older boy left, repeating Tifa's name a few times in his head to make sure he would remember.

"What was that about?" Kairi asked, apparently victorious in her argument with Riku and now turning her attention towards Sora.

"Oh, nothing big. Are you guys done yet?"

Riku groaned. "Apparently we are now going to the arena. There's a game on today and Kairi's going to die if she misses it."

Sora's eyes widened. "Oooh, the team's playing them, huh? I bet this'll be big."

Kairi bounced up and down in her seat. "You bet it is! No way am I letting you guys miss it – although you might have to leave early, Sora... but don't worry, I'll fill you in on all the details when you get back!"

The afternoon bell put a swift halt to Kairi's enthusiasm as the three dumped their garbage and piled their trays on the stack before parting ways and going to their next classes.

When break finally rolled around, Sora went up to the third floor and began scoping out the history classroom, looking for Tifa. He caught her sitting on one of the desks near the front, caught up in animated conversation with a friend.

"– and that's why I keep tellingyou, Tifa, there's no way that they're going to lose this year, I mean, their centre is fantastic –"

"Tidus, right?"

A dismissive snort. "Tidus is so last week. But Leon, Leon –" the shorter girl made a fanning motion with her hand, dreamy expression on her face.

"Yuffie," Fond exasperation showed in Tifa's tone. "Ah –" she turned around. "Sora! It's been a while since we've talked. How are you?"

It was just like Tifa to be so friendly even though he barely knew her. "It's all good, Tifa. I just came in to pass on a mess on a message from Cloud. He says he won't be able to make it today."

Confusion knotted Tifa's brow. "Really? Did he say why?"

Sora shook his head. "No, he just said that something came up suddenly and he'll see you on Monday. I guess you can ask him about it then."

Tifa opened her mouth like she was going to say something before shutting it again. "Cloud, you idiot," She muttered.

"What, what?" Yuffie piped up, feeling out of the loop. Tifa shook her head and Sora just shrugged.

"I've got to get to class. I'll see you later, Tifa!" Sora left the room and dashed back down the stairs.

Class couldn't go fast enough, and when the bell finally rang Sora was the first to jump out of his seat and out the door. He caught Riku at his locker and the two of them picked up Kairi on their way out, laughing and talking all the way to the bus stop.

The arena was packed – it seemed like the entire town had come together to cram themselves into their half of the arena, and the three friends had trouble finding seats. Side-stepping through rows and narrowly avoiding feet, they managed to secure themselves a tight little corner near the back.

"I can't see anything," Kairi complained.

"We did come here at the last minute," Riku pointed out. "I bet most people here bought their tickets in advance."

Kairi sighed and contented herself with craning her neck to peer into the distant sphere, almost standing in her seat at times as she strained to see the action.

"You know what I want to know?" Sora asked after the halftime break had been called. "How do they stay so long underwater?"

"They get special training, of course!" Kairi gave him a friendly punch.

"I bet you'd like to get some 'special training' from Leon."

"Riku!" Kairi couldn't hold her anger for more than a few seconds.

Sora had to leave halfway through the second period. Riku, contrary to his previous complaints, claimed that he was actually getting into the game and wanted to stay, but Kairi left with Sora to walk him to the bus stop.

They stood together in one of those rare moments of silence between them, occasionally looking up the street to see if the bus was coming. Eventually the weight of his backpack starting straining his shoulders and Sora thunked it at his feet as he leaned against the pole of the bus stop.

"We've been together for a long time," Kairi broke the silence, but Sora didn't reply. "Even when Riku left, that time... the two of us stayed together."

"Yeah..." Sora was looking at the road. "It has been a long time, hasn't it? I never thought about it – it's just always been that way – you, me, Riku..."

"Do you want to go out?" Kairi said suddenly. "Like, I mean, as a date? Just us two?"

Sora blinked. "You mean, a date date? Alone date? Like boyfriend and girlfriend date?"

"Yeah."

"...Okay then. Sure."

"Good." Sora turned around to face Kairi's lips as she kissed him for the first time.

xxxx

Sora returned home to an anxious father, the first thing out of the man's lips a question asking where he had been.

"I was down at the arena with Riku and Kairi," Sora explained. "I left early but we still ran a bit late... sorry, Dad."

His father's expression softened. "Aw, don't worry about it, Sora. It's not fair to keep you away from your friends on your birthday, after all – and I am sorry that I can't spend more time with you today. If it were up to me –" He sighed, burying a hand in his already messy hair. "Well, it isn't. We have just enough time to eat dinner before you go – I'll have to pack some cake for you so you can eat it on the bus." The man hesitated. "And – I'll pack a slice for your mother, as well."

"You're way too nice, Dad." Sora began marching up the stairs to pack his bags with a few things that he would be needing over the next two weeks.

As they ate dinner, Sora's father asked him all those generic parent-questions about school, his day, and his friends as Sora belted down what he could of the monster-sized meal that Sora's father had cooked. When Sora said the two of them couldn't possibly finished it all, the older man laughed and said that he'd survive on the leftovers for the next two weeks.

Sora hit the bus again, the trip now familiar enough that he didn't bother looking out the windows. He probably could have been doing something productive, like homework, but instead he just put on his headphones and listened with his eyes half-lidded, sinking into a state of semi-consciousness for the duration of the trip.

The bus pushed through suburbia and into the outskirts of town, the houses they passed becoming more sparse as they dotted over farmland before becoming more regular again.

As if he had passed some sort of invisible line, the houses started to take on a different sort of quality. Maybe it was the color schemes that were different or maybe the houses were done in a slightly different style, but the moodof this new city had always struck Sora as being somehow apart from what he had been used to.

Who knew, maybe it was just all in his head.

Stretching as he began to stir from his daze, Sora noticed a glint in the window as the necklace Kairi had given him reflected off of the glass. Making a noise of annoyance, Sora reached behind his neck and undid the clasp without looking, then stuffed the accessory into the small pocket on his backpack.

The bus came to a halt at a half-empty station where bored employees and tired travelers milled about or waited in line. Pulling his bag to his shoulder, Sora stepped off and turned towards his destination – it was within walking distance, anyway.

The apartment building he sought was squeezed in between two others of nearly identical build, clean and well-kept but in general rather drab. Someone had attempted to brighten the place up by planting a small tree on the boulevard, but the little thing only made its surroundings even more boring by comparison.

Sora took the elevator up to one of the nicer apartments on the top floor and was surprised to see his mother present when he stepped in the door.

"Happy Birthday, Sora!" She blew a noisemaker as he put his pack down, making him jump a little at the sound. She held out a blue-wrapped present for him.

"Not wasting any time, huh?" Sora gave a small smile and accepted the gift, picking open the ribbon.

"I can't stay very long, I have some business and – and I'm so, so sorry about that, honey, there's just no way I can get out of it –"

Sora sighed. "It's no problem, mom, I know how it is." His mother was usually out of the house or away on business. She was already wearing her suit and had her jacket draped over her arm while she pulled on her dress shoes.

"Oh yeah," Sora remembered, pulling the plastic container out of his bag. "Dad said to give you some of this." He held out the cake, icing now streaking across the top and sides of the container.

His mother paused, obviously frowning but trying to hide it. "You can – just put it in the fridge, honey, I can eat it later."

"Oh – okay then."

The breath whooshed out of him as he enveloped him in a crushing hug. "I really am sorry about this. For your birthday, at least, I wanted to be here."

"It's okay, Mom, really, I understand." Sora assured her.

"Alright then. I'll probably be back by Sunday night. I'll see you then." Kissing the top of his head, she picked up her briefcase and was out the door before Sora knew it.

Sighing again, Sora went to put the container of cake in the fridge and dragged his pack to his room and dropped it on the floor, flinging himself on the bed without taking off his shoes. He lay there for a while, contemplating just going to sleep but then rejecting the idea as a bad one.

Sora wasn't sure how long he lay there, but he was suddenly jolted awake by the phone ringing in the living room. He levered himself off the bed and went to pick up the phone.

"Hello?" He rubbed his eyes, still not fully awake.

"Roxas! It's me! You weren't about to fall asleep, now, were you?"

Sora scowled, knowing Axel wouldn't see his face but would know what was on it anyway. "No," he lied.

"Liar," Axel laughed. "Well anyway, we threw party for you –"

"– or you just wanted an excuse to party –"

"– shut up, anyway, it's down at Namine's place and everyone's already started. Get your sweet ass down here before I have to come over there and drag you down."

"Sure, sure. I'll be down in fifteen or so. Tell everyone they're not allowed to have fun until I get there."

Sora could almost see Axel grin over the phone. "Oookay, will do. I'll see you soon!" He hung up.

Dashing back to his room, Sora looked at himself in the tall mirror and frowned. Opening his dresser drawer, he pulled out a pair of jeans with and a black and white-checker T-shirt. Moving to the bathroom, he fumbled around the cabinet for his jar of hair gel, re-arranging his hair so that it stuck counter to its natural direction.

When he was satisfied, Sora picked up his black zippered jacket from the coat rack and stepped out the door of the apartment.

It was Roxas that stepped onto the street.

xxxx

The party was in full swing when Roxas arrived, people out on the lawn stumbling around laughing, trying to avoid the beer bottles that were strewn on the grass. Some were flat on their backs, staring up at the sky with dazed expressions or sitting down, giggling helplessly at the half-witted antics of the others or perhaps nothing at all.

Axel greeted him at the door with a sloppy kiss, one hand at Roxas' face as the other held a half-empty pop bottle that probably held more vodka than 7-Up. "Happy birthday, Roxas." The redhead had a goofy grin on his face, his silly expression only made worse by hair that was an even bigger disaster than Roxas'. His mostly-black clothing – a pair of frayed jeans, a ratty old beater and a jacket that probably wasn't real leather – was dotted with what Roxas would call an excessive amount of chains, zippers, and safety pins, all thrown together to resemble some sort of pseudo-goth/punk-wannabe mix that Roxas insulted to Axel's face but privately thought was just a bit badass.

"Enjoying your party yet?"

Roxas snorted. "Myparty? I don't even know half these people."

Axel waved his hand dismissively. "The point isn't how well you know them now, it's how much you won't care after you've downed this!" He handed Roxas the pop bottle.

"Ugh, I'm probably going to get your germs from this. I don't even know what you put in this – how do I know you didn't put some shit in this that's going to knock me out so you can date rape me?" Roxas took a swig, wincing at the strength as he questioned Axel.

"Aw, Rox, don't youtrust me?" Axel batted his eyes in innocence. "When have I everdone anything to make you doubt me?"

"Well, there was that time with the pizza, and then that time at Luxord's –"

Axel shoved Roxas and the younger boy laughed, already starting to feel lightheaded from the booze.

The two milled around for a while, Axel greeting various people and making sure that they didn't trash the place more than was absolutely necessary. When Marluxia wasn't around to keep shit under control, it usually fell into Axel's lap to take care of things – not that he did any more than he absolutely had to do to not get chewed out by Marluxia. Axel wasn't about to sit around sober at a party of his own devising – where the hell would be the fun in that?

At one point someone switched the music to a band that Axel was crazy about, and he dragged Roxas into a mass of jostling bodies to dance with him. Roxas was just drunk enough for it to be fun rather than embarrassing and just sober enough not to be falling over his own feet. The music was too loud, straining the speakers as far as they would go, and he knew his ears would be ringing for hours afterward – he kept bumping against Axel and people he didn't know but nobody cared.

Eventually they pulled out of the pack of dancers and started weaving through the crowds, Roxas in tow, Axel eventually tracking down the person he was looking for where she was passed out on the couch, apparently unaware of the couple that were making out almost on top of her.

"Hey. Namine." Axel swatted her cheek a few times, eliciting only a brief flutter of eyelids and an incomprehensible noise as a response. "Shit. She's totally out already. Marluxia's going to kill me."

Roxas peered down at Namine, examining the girl's pale features. "Well, at least she's not dead."

Axel groaned. "Trust me, if she were dead, Marluxia really wouldkill me. Then he'd resurrect me and kill me again."

"Whatever. Anyway, let's just take her upstairs. We can deal with it in the morning." Roxas grabbed her under the arms and Axel grabbed her feet, and somehow between them they managed to carry her up the stairs without dropping her or banging her head against anything. She barely weighed anything, anyway, and she didn't even stir as they swung her onto the bed in her room.

"Anyway," Axel clapped his hands. "Now that that shit's done, it's time to give the birthday boy his special present."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "You actually threw together the money to get me a present? I'm shocked."

"Hey, hey, I can get shit done when I put my mind to it!" Axel protested. He unzipped one of the pockets in his jacket and pulled out a box – smaller than his palm – that he hadn't even bothered to wrap. "Here."

Roxas accepted the box and opened it. Inside was a single white earring – it looked something like an inverted heart connected to a four-pointed star. "Um, it's cool, but... I don't have a piercing."

Axel grew a wicked grin, unpinning one of the safety pins from his jacket and pulling out a lighter. "Not yet, you don't."

"Why do I not want to let you near me with sharp objects?" Roxas poked his friend.

"Because you're smart. Wait for a sec – I'm sure there's a lemon still floating around downstairs."

When Axel came back with a lemon half he immediately pushed Roxas to sit on the floor. "No need to be nervous. I'm a professional." Axel stuck out his tongue, showing off the barbell on it while gesturing to his metal-filled ears. "Granted, this did get infected and I could barely talk for a week, but it's all good now."

"That isn't encouraging at all."

Axel yanked on Roxas' ear, eliciting a shout from the other boy before flicking the lighter on and holding it under the safety pin in his other hand, holding it for a few moments before stashing the lighter away again in his pocket. Holding the lemon behind Roxas' left lobe, he took the moment to put his lips right next to his friend's ear and whisper, "this is gonna hurt" before giving said ear a roguish lick.

"What the hell was that fo – ah ah ow!" Roxas whined but didn't move his his head, not really wanting to have a bigger hole in his ear.

With a bit more rather painful wriggling in his ear, Axel pushed the pin through and stuck on the backing. "There ya go."

Roxas put his hand up to his ear, wanting to touch his new earring, but Axel slapped his hand away. "You'll only make it sore. Just leave it."

"You so enjoyed that, you sadist."

"Of course." Axel grinned. "And now for part two of your very special present."

"There's no way I'm going to let you pierce my tongue."

Axel feigned offense. "Now why would I do that to you? I'm going to be needing that tongue healthy and well." When Roxas shot him a suspicious glance, Axel confirmed those suspicions by pulling out a strip of condoms and a bottle of lube. "Happy Birthday, Roxas."

Roxas grinned, wrapping his arms around Axel's neck and climbing into the redhead's lap. "Fuckin' A."