AN: Can be taken as part of the Twilight High series, so if you haven't read that, please go and have a look. It's done as a separate story because... well, because I felt like it, really. And it's a lot longer than any of those chapters. Prompt number 10 - "breathe again".

Roxas took a step back from the large canvas he'd been working on, and studied it critically. Something about it didn't look quite right to him. Of course, he'd been lacking confidence in his artistic abilities for a while, since the teacher had looked at a sketch he'd drawn and said, "it's very good, Roxas, but what exactly is it?" He hadn't been able to explain that it was an image of the shadow creatures he saw in his dreams, beings called Heartless. If he'd said that, he'd have been called deranged and sent for counselling. That had happened once before, and he wasn't prepared to go through the unpleasant experience for a second time.

"Naminé, could you have a look at this for me?" He called across the room to the blonde girl, his only friend in the class. She laid down her paintbrush and moved to stand by him. "I think it's missing something, but I'm not sure what."

In an attempt to please the art teacher, Roxas had foregone his usual subjects in favour of a holiday scene – his friends on the beach. He'd been using photographs from the previous summer for ideas, and they lay in a pile on the table. Naminé picked them up and flicked through the images, then looked at the painting again.

"I'm really not sure how to say this, Roxas…"

"Just spit it out and be done with it – probably the best way."

"It doesn't look… real. I know it's a painting, Rox, but there's something missing, and that's the emotion. Your pictures are normally creepy, yes, but they capture the attention of everyone who looks at them, they drag you in, like the monsters are really in the room with you. This just… doesn't." She smiled, but it was a sad smile. "I'm sorry, Roxas."

"No, it's ok." He looked at the painting once more, and realised she was right. "I'll see if I can do any better tomorrow."

This painting had to be perfect, because it was his final coursework piece. He had two weeks left to finish it, so he'd better start finding the cheerful emotions he needed from somewhere. Without even thinking about it, he washed his paintbrushes and packed them away in his bag. There was no point continuing if he didn't feel like it.

Naminé sighed as he left the room. Her final submission was a portrait of Roxas, and now he'd gone, she was struggling with the spikes of his hair. Deciding she'd tackle those when she could study them properly, she turned her attention to his clothing instead.

…………………

The next morning, Roxas was sitting under a tree in the playground with a group of friends, when Naminé rushed up to him, flustered and out of breath.

"Roxas, have you been in the art room this morning?"

"No, why? Has my painting miraculously improved overnight?" He started to laugh, but stopped abruptly when she didn't join in."

"I think you should see it, Roxas. It's been destroyed."

"I haven't been anywhere near it since I left yesterday afternoon."

"I know."

Slowly, he followed her to the art classroom, and flicked on the lights. His painting no longer resembled his painting. Someone had taken some black paint and splattered it all over the canvas. It wasn't even salvageable, because of the colour used. They were still staring at it, horrified, when the teacher arrived.

"Roxas, what on earth have you done to your painting?"

"I didn't do it. That's how it looked when I got here."

"Do you have any idea who would have done such a thing?"

Roxas and Naminé looked at each other and nodded. "Seifer."

"Seifer Almasy? Yes, I had noticed his attitude towards you, but I didn't think even he would go this far. I don't think there's any option but to start again. I'm sorry, Roxas. I'll see if I can get permission for you to skip any classes that aren't vitally important, so you can get this done." The teacher gestured towards the supply cupboard. "Help yourself to whatever you need."

As he set up a new canvas on his easel, Naminé checked her own painting. Fortunately, it was still the way she'd left it.

"Word of advice, Roxas, if you don't mind?"

"Right now, Naminé, I need all the help I can get, so go ahead."

"Don't try and please anybody else. Paint what you want to paint, even if that does mean the creepy monsters."

He grinned. "Point taken. Actually, I've already got an idea. Do you think you could persuade a few people to pose for me?"

She looked puzzled, since Roxas didn't usually use models. "I don't see why not. Anyone in particular?"

"Quite a few people, actually." He sketched a few rough lines on a piece of paper. "Yes, that should work."

Naminé tried to peer at his sketchbook, but he flipped it closed and slid it into his bag. "Could you possibly ask Sora, Kairi and Riku to come here for a little while? I don't think they're doing much this morning."

"Ok." Puzzled, she wandered off to find them. Roxas picked up a pencil and started on the centre of the image, which he could do from the pictures in his mind. When the three friends finally sauntered in, he already had a rough outline of three shapes – a dog (standing on its hind legs, holding a shield), a duck (brandishing an oddly-shaped stick) and a mouse (wearing a crown).

"Where do you want us, Roxas?" Roxas glanced at them, then started rearranging the furniture.

"Sora, stand on that table, facing the window, Kairi, you're on the chair, and Riku on the floor." He moved them around a bit, then returned to his canvas. "Sora, raise your right arm as if you were holding a sword."

All three looked confused, but remained in their set positions until Roxas told them it was ok to move."

"Can we see it yet?"

"No, not until it's finished. But if you could send me Axel, Demyx and Zexion, it'd be really helpful."

"No problem."

Roxas repeated the process with the next three, and again sent them out of the room without letting them look at the picture. Right, now he had the outlines drawn, he could start on the painting itself. As he searched for his paintbrushes, the rest of his art class filed into the room, all looking annoyed. A few even sent glares his way. Roxas shrugged, returning to his work. He had a lot to do before the deadline, and he wanted it to look good. The teacher lectured the rest of the class, while Roxas ignored it. If he had to take it home with him every night in order to protect this painting, he'd do it. It already looked impressive, and he'd barely begun – it was much more his usual style than his previous effort had been.

Later that day, when he was taking a break from his painting, Naminé wandered over to take a look. The people on either side of the image were recognisable, despite being dressed in unusual clothes, but the animals in the centre confused her.

"Going to explain it, Roxas?"

"It's something I see in my dreams. A fight between light and dark, good and evil."

"What about these?"

"I'm not sure about the animals just yet. But they're always there. It feels like I've lived through this, yet I have no idea what it is."

Roxas was taking no chances with his new project. At the end of school, he enlisted Axel's help to carry it home.

"On one condition, Roxy."

"What's that?"

"I get to see it. That thing's damn awkward to transport, and I'd like to know just what it is. Besides, I posed for it this morning, didn't I?"

"Ok. I'll show you when we've got it back to my house."

It was covered with a protective sheet, and had been since the paint had dried. Keeping it covered, Axel and Roxas carefully lifted the painting and carried it out of the school. "I suppose you'll need help bringing it back tomorrow."

"That was the general idea, yes."

"Why do I let myself get talked into things like this?" Axel sighed dramatically."

"Because you love me."

"True. Sad but true." He winked, showing that he wasn't really upset about helping Roxas.

In Roxas's room, they leaned the painting against the wall and uncovered it.

"That's me, isn't it?"

"Couldn't be anyone else, not with that hair." They laughed. Axel's hair was unmistakeable.

"I like the weapons, they're cool."

"I'm not sure what they're called, but they look good. They're going to have flames around them, when I paint that part."

"Much better than your last one, I have to admit."

"Don't let Seifer hear you say that, he'll be devastated."

"Was it him?"

"Who else would do something like that?"

"Good point."

For the next few days, this became routine. Roxas had been excused from most of his other classes, because it wasn't his fault he'd had to start all over again. Getting the colours exactly how he imagined them was a painstaking job, but one he enjoyed. Finally, after a week of working solidly on it, the painting was finished. He pondered over a title, unable to think of anything suitable – nothing seemed dramatic enough. Naminé was the one who solved the problem in the end.

"Kingdom Hearts." Roxas turned to look at her. "Call it Kingdom Hearts. Look at the moon in the background, it's shaped like a heart. They're clearly fighting some sort of war, and most wars are caused by a dispute over land, a kingdom."

"Kingdom Hearts. Sounds good to me."

Seifer approached, and Roxas suddenly realised how nervous he was. He tensed, waiting for the insults to start.

"So, you finished in time." He scowled, and walked away again.

"Breathe, Roxas." Naminé laughed. "He can't do anything now, it's too late." Roxas let out the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding in a loud sigh.

"Finally, I can stop worrying about this."

……………………

"I'm proud of you, Roxas."

Axel's arms wrapped around his waist, and Roxas leaned into the touch. Their embrace earned them a few glares, but they were used to the disapproval by now. They were at the display presentation – all artwork submitted as part of the course was put on display and awarded marks. Roxas's painting was attracting a lot of interest.

"And the prize for best submission goes to…"

Roxas wasn't paying attention. It was only when Axel pushed him towards the stage that he realised he'd won. He stumbled up the steps in a daze to collect his prize, and was enveloped in hugs from all his friends as soon as he made it back to them.

"Knew you could do it, Rox."

"It just goes to show," murmured Zexion, usually the quietest of the group, "that sometimes deliberate sabotage is the best thing that can happen."

"Seifer must be raging mad about this."

"Yeah, his plan really backfired."

"Serves him right."

Roxas tuned out the talking around him, and looked at his painting again. This time, it seemed to speak to him, in Axel's voice. "Let's meet again, in the next life."

A reply, in his own voice this time. "Yeah. I'll be waiting."

Maybe this was the next life. Maybe the next life was depicted in the painting. Either way, it felt very real to him.

AN: I really like this story - I'm proud of it. But do you guys like it? I won't know unless you tell me.