Chapter 1: Someday Soon
Summary: Roxas was an outcast. He made it that way, and he never complained about it. He hid his own secrets only so that one person could find it, his reason for playing, and his heart. Roxas X Naminé
Disclaimer:I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its characters.
Who are you?
A girl with soft blonde hair and blue eyes stared back at me with a gentle smile gracing her lips. "C'mon Roxas!" She yelled from across a white room. She ran ahead of me, putting more of the vast whiteness between us. I reached out to her in a desperate cry.
"Who are you? Who are you to me?!" I exclaimed tripping over myself and crashing onto the floor. The girl disappeared into white and darkness finally surrounded me. I slammed the last sliver of white on the ground and watched it turn into darkness. However as I sat in the darkness, I felt something warm grasp my hand and pull me out of the darkness.
Somehow I ended up in another white room decorated with furniture and artwork. Those pictures looked like memories of the person who'd owned the room, somebody probably young too. After all they weren't that good. I watched as a younger version of myself stepped inside the room followed by that girl. She smiled at me and waved goodbye before closing the room.
I clenched my fists. I was going to find out who she was no matter what! I ran tried to open the door and saw my hand pass through it.
Had I died?
Personally I didn't think so. I could still remember what felt like a week ago when I went to school and had lunch with my friends. I figured I could walk through the door and slowly passed through it and saw a man in a red suit beside somebody wearing an overcoat and mask.
"But I like him Daddy." She said in what appeared to be in my defense.
"No further outbursts!" Her father yelled, grabbing her from behind and beginning to drag her to the door. By then I had heard them and the younger me ran out of the room and skidded to halt at the scene.
My face had shown that I was heartbroken. "Wait!" The man in the overcoat stopped me, slipping his hands under my outreached arms. The girl fought from her father's grip. She pulled his hand from her face and attempted to hide her obvious sadness.
"Roxas! We will meet again. And then we can talk about everything." She smiled at him as widely as she could, hoping that would make up for her sudden departure. My younger self dropped his arms and stopped all motion. "Someday soon, I promise!" She yelled out before exiting her house.
Both my younger version and myself fell to the ground and watched as the man in the overcoat followed the two of them. I felt something in that huge house, loneliness.
"Hey Roxas, still practicing?" Hayner, Roxas' closest friend asked. The young pianist turned around and smiled at his roommate. He stood up from his stool, collected his music, and locked the piano. "You don't have to stop because of me."
Roxas shrugged. "I was already finished." He told his roommate nonchalantly before walking ahead of him. The other blonde frowned, Roxas was still not happy. Despite being the best pianist at a school all about the arts, despite being one of the most popular boys at the Academy, despite getting a solo even he wanted, he was still not happy.
Hayner had known the boy since he was a child. He liked Roxas a lot more back then too. Roxas had smiled a lot more and seemed to act so immature, forgetting the simplest things like a gift before going to a birthday party. "Hey wait up!" Hayner called out, trying to reach him.
He knew Roxas was avoiding him for a reason. Even being one of the most popular boys in the school he also was the one most outcasted. Usually it was the other way around but something just went wrong with that. Often times when people talked to Roxas they wanted to gain something from talking to him.
Roxas was just as good at sports as Sora, the captain of the blitzball team, or Riku, the captain of the track team. He was on the blitzball team and people talked to him so they could play or get to go on a date with Sora. So just to stop all of this, he distanced himself from the popular crowd.
It worked.
People stopped asking him for things. People didn't even want to talk to him at all and now, Hayner barely knew anything about this new person. This new 'Roxas' that was talented and serious, he knew nothing about.
He hardly ever saw him either. Roxas usual left early in the morning to practice and wouldn't return until late at night when Hayner was already asleep. Plus, he didn't have any classes with him. It was rare to see him. He was just surprised he caught him in that piano room. Usually he kept moving around, and somehow he always got permission.
"I'll see you later then." Hayner said to an empty hallway when Roxas had disappeared. When he felt somebody touch his shoulder he turned around and saw his girlfriend, Olette. "Hey." He said unenthusiastically. Olette put her hands on her hips and glared at him. Hayner understood and smiled slightly, "Hey, Olette."
Hayner walked with Olette to the school's café and joined their other friends, Pence, Selphie, Riku, Sora, and Kairi. "Hey guys!" Olette said as she gave Selphie and Kairi hugs before sitting down next to Hayner. "Guess what Hayner told me!" She said to start off the conversation.
"Oh what?" Selphie and Kairi asked. Sora laughed at their enthusiasm with Riku while Pence remained quiet.
"I saw Roxas." Hayner stated solemnly. Sora, Riku, and Pence were surprised. Neither of them had seen the teen at all, not even Sora who had placed the pianist on his blitzball team. Most of the meetings hadn't been mandatory, but he would expect someone so serious to attend all of the meetings.
Kairi and Selphie tried to smile. "Really? Is he good?" They asked to brighten up the situation.
Hayner shrugged. "He seemed well, but I was listening from outside and his playing seemed so—off. It was just so uncoordinated, I'm starting to think he's getting sick."
Everybody listened quietly, but gaped when they saw a certain spiky haired blonde entering the café, soaking wet and bruised up. They rushed to his aid and Sora held his cousin up and into a seat.
"Think we should take him to the hospital?" Sora asked Riku. The platinum haired boy shook his head. "But he's bleeding!" He yelled back.
"Roxas is probably in a gang and got beat up. Just leave him be." Roxas, who had been awake the entire time, moved his bruised arm to the nearest full drink and splashed it on Riku.
He grimaced in pain as he slowly opened his eyes. "I'm not in a gang. Why should people blame me just because I don't want to be used?!" He said in a strong voice shifting his body and rising up from the chair.
Roxas clutched his side to hide the obvious bleeding and tried to smile at his concerned old friends. "I'm an outcast remember? At least Riku knows, always the smart one." He said trying to find his old smile again.
The young pianist went back to his new dorm. There was a reason why Hayner had never seen him. He had asked to move because he needed a large room so he could play his own piano. He had used 'needing to practice' as his excuse and it creditable for someone who practiced as often as he did.
He took out his key and fumbled with it as he attempted to slip it into the keyhole. "C'mon!" He yelled as he slammed it in and turned the knob. He sighed before tossing his book bag to a nearby desk and taking off his soaked coat.
Roxas slipped into a white t-shirt and plaid pants before finally dropping on his bed. His old clothes had been stained with his blood and just a little of those who actually fought with him.
"I wonder where I went wrong?" He asked himself. He felt the back of his cool hand on his steaming forehead and grimaced at the pain it took just to move his arm. "Why does it hurt so much?"
When he heard the familiar melody of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 reached his ears, Roxas picked up his cell phone and slowly put it at his ear. "Hello?" When he heard a familiar voice on the phone his eyes jerked open. "Mother?!"
"Hi, Roxas-sweetie! How are you, we're coming to Japan tomorrow so be sure to look nice when you pick us up." His mother told him.
Roxas gulped. He could never hide this many bruises or tell his parents what he had been enduring. He would never let anybody know why he became and outcast; why he began to distance himself from the people that might understand.
"Can't you just have somebody pick you up? I'm going to be with the orchestra." He lied.
"But Roxas-darling!"
"Gomenasai, I'm sorry but I'll be busy, Mother." Roxas insisted.
"Oh, fine. Well at least speak with your father and apologize." His mother told him. The teen shrugged as he waited for his father to be on the line next.
When he heard his father's baritone voice he smiled to himself. It had been a long time since he had talked to him. "Hello, Roxas."
His face became serious. "Hello Father." Unlike his mother, his father had always paid close attention to Roxas. Probably because he was needed for success, that every time he spoke it would need to be emotionless to not be analyzed. "I pray you're doing well."
"Well thank you Roxas. But no need for formalities, how've you been?"
"Well," was his short answer. "I also apologize for not being able to greet you. Please pardon me for now."
He could sense his father's smug smirk. "Of course, Roxas. You're old enough to go on your own, so please do your best. Your mother and I have to leave so hopefully we'll see you tomorrow."
"Alright, Father. You and Mother have a good night." Roxas pushed the end button and looked at his screen. It was a photo from an album he saw. He was playing a recital and he was smiling. He was glowing magnificently and there was nobody in the world that could deny it.
Roxas smiled and tossed his phone onto his nightstand.
I'd rather not dream at all forever, as long as I don't have to think of you…
I stood in front of the piano dressed in my concert attire. When I looked out, I saw a full audience all-waiting to hear me. Almost as if it was automatic I took a seat and my hands were lightly placed on its ivory keys.
The sound of Spring began to emit from the piano. I could feel the rhythm flowing through my body, almost as if it was clutching my arms forcing it to play.
When I was almost finished something felt wrong about it. It didn't make sense; why did the music sound so…wrong? The score was perfect, my playing was precise but I couldn't even reach that pinnacle of the music.
I banged on the keys as if I couldn't help it. The audience gasped at my actions. I shut my eyes tightly and attempted to leave but found I couldn't when I felt a warm hand grasp mine. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that same blonde girl from before.
My head turned to an empty audience and it was just both of us on the large stage. She pushed my hand down and a single clear C came out. I looked at the single finger placed on the key and then behind me. However, nobody stood there except empty air.
The audience hall turned to darkness except for a single seat filled for that girl. Her blonde hair framed her face and some were pulled behind her ear. "Play for me, Roxas!" She yelled from her seats. I looked at her and nodded.
Finally when I played I could feel the music's desire. What the composer wanted to obtain when writing this. The music, the rhythm, the beat, I was so captivated by it all. I could finally remember where I went wrong.
The minute I felt loneliness, I had become tainted with its taste. Almost as if had grabbed my body and locked me up in a cage, I could never get used to being surrounded by people after that.
"Thank you, Roxas." She said to me when I finished playing. I wanted to reach out and ask her so many questions only to see her disappear again.
"Wait!" I shouted.
Roxas jerked up wide-awake. His breathing was shallow; he felt frozen with his arm outreached like that. "What just happened?" He asked himself in a whisper. Roxas wiped the beady sweat off his face and splashed cold water.
He took a shower and quickly got changed into a white polo and his usual black coat. He heard the doorbell ring as he was brushing his teeth and saw his seniors, Axel, Leon, and Cloud along with Aeris and Tifa. "Hey Roxie!" yelled a girl from behind them. Yuffie stepped in front of the seniors and made a victory sign. "Found you!"
Roxas grudgingly let the senior group (and a junior) into his flat. "Wow, Roxas. You have it made here!" Axel said in astonishment. The sophomore stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged.
"I have to participate in the orchestra. Plus, I pay for this. It's not a dorm room."
Axel nodded and took a seat on the couch along with the group while Roxas sat across from them. "Roxas, we heard from your friends you got beat up. Is that true?" Leon asked. Roxas lowered his head and his gaze was at the floor. Yuffie stared at him intently; this was Roxas?
"Leon! Don't be so harsh. Let's just go." Yuffie interjected. Roxas lifted his head. "That's okay if you don't tell us Roxas. We just wanted to know."
"I did. They were from another school. They told me I didn't deserve what I have now." Roxas laughed at himself. It was intoxicating. This feeling that had a hold of his body, he never wanted to let go. A fake smile appeared on his face, "I'll be fine." He stood up and excused himself.
Yuffie wanted to stop him but was stopped by Axel. "Let him go. He needs to find that person, the reason why he shouldn't give up. We can't help him right now. We just need to have faith in him." The redhead told her.
The high school junior nodded. She had faith in the boy ever since he was a child, but what she didn't know was whether or not that reason for him was out there. As they left, Yuffie was the only to spot a photograph placed on the desk. It was of Roxas in concert attire holding the trophy standing next to the photo. Roxas was still a child, lovingly standing beside his parents. But it wasn't the ones she recognized.
Then, who were they?
Roxas waited in the piano room staring at the black and white keys before finally leaving his home. He tossed his briefcase over his shoulder and stared into the sky. His parents were coming today. He couldn't face them even if he did look fine.
The pianist sat down at the stool and began to play Beethoven's Symphony No. 3. He liked No. 7 better; it was the first song he learned how to play. He continued to play catching the ears of a new student, an artist.