Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any recognizable characters.
Summary: Brothers Roxas and Sora move from small Twilight Town to the big city of Hallow Bastion. Hollow Bastion is run by two gangs, the Heartless and the Nobodies. Sora befriends Riku, one of the leaders off the Heartless, while Axel, a member of the Nobodies, attaches himself to Roxas. The two brothers quickly learn that in this city, the gangs aren't just made of kids and don't only exist in the schools. As they learn the workings of the city, falling in love along the way, the bond between families and friends are tested as morals are forgotten in favor of survival. Riku/Sora, Axel/Roxas, Cloud/Leon…more pairings to come. Probably.
...Is it just me, or does the summary make this sound like it's going to be really dark? I don't think it'll be that dark...
Chapter One:
"…After hearing all the testimonies and reviewing the case thoroughly, I have finally reached a decision. In the case of seven year old Hisoka Sora, I hear by grant full custody and rights to the boy's mother, Mudo Kakee." The judge banged his gavel on his podium. "Case dismissed."
Standing behind the plaintiff's table, a slender woman with blonde hair and blue eyes let out a joyous cry and collapsed into her chair. Tears of happiness fell from her cheeks as she embraced her lawyer and thanked him excessively. Across from her behind the defendant's table, a tall man with brown hair and blue-grey eyes angrily slammed a fist into the table before stalking away without a word. No one ever found out where he went.
As the woman, Kakee, gathered herself together, she left the court room and headed down the hall to a small room. She entered and smiled as she watched all the children playing in the mini-daycare the court provided. Over in the corner, two small boys, one eight and the other seven, sat together. The eight year old was showing the younger boy how to use a toy and both were having a good time. Kakee smiled and went to sit next to her children.
"Hi momma!" The blonde exclaimed, giving his mother a hug. "Are you done?"
"Yes Roxas," she answered, her voice soft like honey. "Today was the last day we had to come here."
"Where's my daddy?" The other boy asked, looking around.
Kakee reached out and pulled him into her lap. "Sora hunny, you remember when I explained that after today you might be coming to live with me and Roxas?"
"Yes." Sora nodded.
"Well hun, it's been decided that you're not going to live with your daddy anymore. You're coming home with us."
"Really?" Roxas yelled. "That's awesome! Did you hear that Sora? We get to live together!"
Sora looked between the two, frowning. "But what about my daddy?"
"Oh baby…" Kakee pulled him into a hug and despite her promise to not cry in front of her children, a few tears escaped her eyes. "Let's just go home. You'll be happy with us, I promise…"
The small child said nothing as his mother lifted him up and carried him away.
Eight Years Later
"This sucks, Roxas!" Sora yelled, stomping his foot childishly. "Why did we have to move?"
"I don't like it either, little brother," Roxas sighed. "But mom needed a new job."
"No, mom wanted a new job and she doesn't care that she messed up our lives by getting one," Sora grumbled bitterly.
"Enough," Roxas ordered. "Stop whining and help me with these boxes, will you?"
With an angry growl, Sora reached down and scooped a box into his arms. He stomped down the stairs and out the door to the moving van. Roxas watched after his younger brother and sighed. He knew the minute their mother announced they were moving that Sora would be a pain about it. His younger brother may not have many friends, but he was attached to Twilight Town, it was where he'd lived his entire life. Roxas too, was sad to be leaving his friends and life, but he was also excited about going somewhere new.
As the blonde finished packing up his last box, his mother entered the room. "Roxas, was that your brother I heard stomping around?"
"Yeah, he's just being a baby," Roxas assured her.
She bit her lip, looking worried. "Oh, he hates me now, doesn't he? I'm making you both move like this. But I just couldn't stand that job anymore. The people were so cruel and lazy and everything I had to do was just awful. I couldn't stand another day of it."
"I know mom, I understand," Roxas assured her. "Just give Sora some time. He'll stomp around for a few days then get over it. Don't worry."
Kakee smiled gratefully at her oldest child. "Thanks hunny." She hugged him briefly then bent to grab a box. "Oh, and your friends are downstairs. They came to see you off."
"All right, thanks," Roxas quickly grabbed the last box in the room and headed downstairs. Sure enough, Hayner, Ollete, and Pence were sitting on the porch talking with Sora.
"Hey guys," Roxas greeted. "Come to see us off?"
"Of course," Hayner confirmed, standing up.
"How could we not?" Pence grinned at him.
"Yeah, this is the last time we're going to see you for a long time, maybe even forever," Ollete said sadly.
"No way, I'll come back and visit again. Promise." Roxas said solemnly. Sora took the box from him and headed to the moving van, giving the four friends time alone to say goodbye.
"We're really going to miss you, Roxas," Ollete sniffed, walking up to him and wrapping him in a hug. Roxas held her for a moment before she stepped away.
"I'll miss you too."
Pence stepped forward and smiled as he held out a blue ice-cream bar. "For the road; your favorite, sea-salt ice cream."
"Thanks Pence…" He took the treat and gripped Pence's shoulder in farewell.
Hayner was last to step forward and didn't say anything as he stared. He and Roxas had been through so much together; they were best friends. It was with each other they had discovered their not-so-straight sexuality and the two always led the group of friends. It was the hardest thing Hayner had ever had to do, saying goodbye to this friend. But when Kakee called for her son that it was time to go, he had no choice but to say farewell.
"Listen Hayner…" Roxas began.
"Forget it," Hayner interrupted. "It's not like we could have stayed together forever, anyways. We made the most of the time we did have and that's what's important." He moved forward and gently kissed the blonde boy. "Goodbye, Roxas."
"Bye, Hayner."
Kakee called for him again and Roxas waved once more to his best friends. Things were not going to be the same without them and Roxas knew he would never find as true as friends as Hayner, Pence, and Ollete.
"Be sure to write!" Ollete called after him.
"I will!" Roxas answered, getting into the van. "Bye!"
"Bye!"
They waved at each other until the moving van was out of sight and even then, Roxas still stayed twisted in his seat to look back. He didn't notice that he was crying until Sora reached over and wiped a tear off his cheek. That snapped Roxas out of his daze and he turned forward, resting an arm around Sora's shoulders.
"Did you get to say goodbye to your friends?"
"Yeah, I saw them the last day of school," Sora answered.
"Don't worry, Sora," Roxas soothed. "We'll both meet new friends in Hollow Bastion, I promise."
Sora smiled and leaned into his brother, getting more comfortable. They had a seven hour drive in front of them to their new lives.
"This…is our new home?" Sora asked, staring at the house in disbelief.
"Well I thought you might want a bigger one," Kakee replied. "You'll both finally get your own room now. And there are two bathrooms, so you two don't have to wait on me in the mornings anymore."
"Cool," Roxas nodded. "Look sharp, Sora. We have unpacking to do."
Sora snapped out of his daze and hurried to help his brother with the boxes. The family of three spent the rest of the day moving the boxes inside their new home. Their furniture had already been brought to the house a week earlier, so they didn't have to worry about any of that, thankfully. Once everything was inside, Sora and Roxas decided to take a tour of their new house.
It was a lot bigger then the old one and was two stories tall. The downstairs, starting at the front door, had a long hallway that led straight to the stairs. To the right of the hallway was the kitchen, which had an island in the center and came complete with a dishwasher. Sora and Roxas had flipped when they saw the dishwasher and playfully fallen to their knees, pretending to worship it. Dishes had always been their chore back home and they hated it.
To the left of the hallway was the living room that connected to the den. The living room was filled with boxes now, so it looked smaller then it actually was. It had a large window with white curtains and an electric fireplace in the corner. They weren't entirely sure if the fireplace worked, but at least it looked nice. The den was the same as the living room except slightly smaller and only had one window that had shades instead of curtains.
Upstairs were all the bedrooms, bathrooms, and laundry room. Sora and Roxas' rooms were next to each other and the same size. Each room had one window and a decent sized closet but Sora had blue carpeting while Roxas had a forest green. Other then that the rooms were the same. Kakee's room was larger then the boys and connected to her own personal bathroom with walk-in closet. The carpeting was a pretty white and really soft. The second bathroom was directly across from Sora's room and had a tile floor with a shower and bath.
Over all, the house was very nice. The fact that it was better then their last served to mollify Sora's temper at moving a little bit and he even cut back on the whining. The three had a small dinner of fast food (since there was no way they'd be able to cook with how everything was now) before setting to work unpacking.
After working three days straight at unpacking, everything was finally done. There were still a few boxes left in storage, but everything was pretty much unpacked. Kakee was scheduled to start her new job in two days and the boys needed to be enrolled in school before then. So the family decided to get that done as soon as possible and spent all day Saturday in town. While Kakee enrolled the two in high school, Roxas and Sora were allowed to go to the mall and look around.
"This place is different from Twilight Town," Sora commented as they walked.
"That's because Twilight Town didn't have any malls," Roxas shrugged. "All the shops were on Market Street but here everything is in the same building." He smiled at his little brother. "That's right; this is your first time to a mall, isn't it?"
"So? When did you ever go to a mall?" Sora pouted.
"When I visited my grandma," Roxas answered. "She would take me shopping for clothes."
"Hmph," Sora's pout deepened. "Yeah sure, just rub it in that I never had a grandma to do that stuff with."
"Oh, come on," Roxas nudged him. "You do too have grandparents, on mom's side."
"Yeah, but they're too old to go shopping or anywhere besides the bathroom anymore." Roxas laughed, knowing that was true. Their mother's parents were old and lived in a retirement home together.
"Look," Sora pointed. "What's that store?" He was pointing at a nearly all black store with baggy clothes displayed in the windows.
"Hot Topic," Roxas read the sign. "Never heard of it; it looks gothic. Wanna check it out?"
"Sure, there's no gothic stores back home."
"Makes you wonder how we ended up wit so many Goths in school."
Sora laughed and led the way into the store, glancing at all the oversized clothing on the racks. Most shirts displayed were either of movies, bands, or had inappropriate sayings on them.
"Mom would kill us if we came home with any of this stuff," Roxas said, picking up a shirt that read, "I'm free Tuesday…" on the front and "…But $50 every other day." on the back.
Sora smiled at the shirt and pointed to another one on the wall with a picture of a woman with a baby carriage. "Milf?" Sora asked reading the word under the picture. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Mother I'd Like to Fuck." A voice answered. Roxas and Sora turned to see a sales clerk standing behind them. "Anything I can help you with?"
The clerk looked to be around their age and definitely stood out in the store. He had platinum blonde hair spiked even messier then the brothers' hair. He wore a strange black shirt that had one long sleeve and the other arm sleeveless with a lion brooch on his shoulder. He wore solid black cargo pants with a type of half trench coat wrapped around his waist. His eyes were an intense blue and his voice was deep as he spoke to them.
"Ah, no, we're just looking," Roxas answered. "Thank you…" He peered at the nametag on his shirt, "…Cloud."
"Mother I'd like to fuck?" Sora repeated. "That's terrible." Cloud lifted an eyebrow and shrugged at him.
"Come on, Sora," Roxas nudged him towards the door. "Let's go get something to eat. Thanks again." He bowed slightly to the man and Sora followed suit (a habit they had learned from their shared Japanese grandfather) before the two left. Cloud watched after them a moment, a little surprised at them. They had to be new to the city because he couldn't tell if they were Nobodies or Heartless.
Kakee picked Sora and Roxas up from the mall a little past five and drove them home. She didn't say anything about their school when asked which led the boy's to believe there was something wrong, but they didn't push it. Instead they showed off their new purchases; Sora had gotten two manga (another thing his Japanese grandfather had gotten him into) and Roxas had gotten a new video game and t-shirt. However when they arrived home, Kakee asked the boys into the kitchen to talk to them and everyone took a seat around their new wooden table.
"What's up, mom?" Roxas asked, kicking a box out of the way. They may have been finished unpacking, but they still hadn't gotten rid of all the empty boxes lying around.
"It's about your schooling situations," Kakee began.
"What about?" Sora pressed, skimming through his new book. He really wanted to go read it.
"Well you see boys, unlike Twilight Town, this city has more then one high school," she explained.
"Of course, it's a lot bigger then back home," Roxas shrugged. "So which one are we going to?"
"That's just it. Here they choose which school you go to based on your grades, where you live, your attendance and behavior issues and a lot of other things."
Sora shut his book with a snap, suddenly getting an idea of where this conversation was going. "Roxas has better grades and attendance then me." It was true, having someone like Ollete as friend made it impossible to slack off or skip school.
"Yes, I know that," Kakee agreed. "And our house is right on the dividing line of the district…"
"Mom are you saying that we're going to go to different schools?" Roxas demanded.
"Sora's going to go Hollow Bastion High and Roxas is going to Radiant Garden High."
Sora was currently not speaking to his mother. His previously forgotten bad temper had returned full force and he was currently sitting in his room pouting. Roxas was upset too, but he knew his mom had no control over the situation. And really, Sora was kinda overreacting. Then again, he had a good reason too. The boy had a very hard time making friends and he depended on Roxas to be there for him. Things were going to be that much harder if he had to face a new school and place alone.
Roxas knocked on the door before entering Sora's room without waiting for an invitation. He found his brother pouting at his new manga book as he re-read the same page over and over, not absorbing any of it. Roxas padded over to the bed and plopped down.
"You're not being fair to mom," he stated.
"I don't care," Sora answered, turning the page the wrong way and not noticing.
Roxas frowned at him and snatched the book away, earning an indignant cry from his brother. "Stop acting like a spoiled brat, Sora. You're nice to everyone except our mom and that's not fair."
"Neither is being moved to a new place and separated from my brother," Sora snapped.
"For Pete's sake, Sora, it's not like we won't get to see each other. We live together for goodness sakes." Roxas sighed and moved to sit next to his brother. "If it'll make you feel better I'll come to pick you up right after school and we'll come home together."
"…Fine," Sora grumbled. "You promise?"
"Yup, you bet."
"Roxas!" Kakee's voice floated from downstairs. "Telephone. It's Hayner!"
"Okay! I'll get it up here!" Roxas yelled back. "You okay now?"
"Uh-huh, I'll be fine." Sora assured him. "I think I'm just going to go to bed now."
"Okay, 'night." He ruffled his hair. Sora swatted him away in annoyance and Roxas laughed.
"'Night, big brother."
A/N: My stomach hurts so bad right now. It's been…two and half days since I've eaten anything other then a piece of toast. I don't understand how anorexic people can go for so long without eating, it hurts. (sad face) Ah well…this has nothing to do with the story I have just began posting.
Why I have started this new one and began posting it, I don't know. I just finished off one of my majors and dropped another one. You think I'd have enough sense to wait before posting this. I blame it on the hunger. Yes, it's all the hungers fault. Hmm...updates for this will be decent speed at first, but slower as I get farther along. I'm going to go work on Chaos now, so until next update. Ja!
Staryday