I got the inspiration from the Keri Hilson/Ne-Yo/Kanye West song, "Knocks You Down". For those of you staring in shock at the computer screen:

WHAT?

In addition, this is not a tribute to idiotique's "Shine", nor is it a ripoff. "Jump" isn't good enough to qualify as either.

Warning: Some characters will be OOC as heck, at least in bits and pieces. There will be glitchy personality and plot continuity. Approximately 4/5 people (according to the hits) apparently believe the first chapter to be horrible and don't read the rest of the story. You have been warned.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

Just this story. Enjoy!

Xxx XXX xxX

"It's so ugly."

"Honey, what a school looks like doesn't matter. It's a place to get educated at, not draw."

"Well, wouldn't a school rich enough to afford towers and walls like that, wouldn't some other color than grey be too much to pay for?"

Sixteen-year-old Naminé Miyamoto stared dismally out of the car window at her new home, Arthur Durand Boarding School.

Needless to say she didn't want to be here.

Of course, if her mother, Jennifer Miyamoto, hadn't had the great idea that Naminé needed a 'real' challenge, not the 'substandard' classes of Kingdom Key High, she wouldn't. Namine's father, Ryo Miyamoto, was apparently none too pleased with being coerced into sending Naminé to a boarding school for her junior year, but he also wanted the best for his daughter.

"Naminé, we're here," he said. "You know what to do, right?"

"Yeah, dad," she replied. "Go to the office, sign in, and go to my room."

He smiled. "Good girl."

Naminé gingerly stepped out of the car, still looking at the dull steel gates of the school. She exhaled slowly before helping her father pull her duffel from the trunk. The blonde girl didn't have much with her—just two week's worth of clothing, her drawing materials, and three sketchbooks. She slung the bag and waved goodbye to her parents. They didn't hug or kiss because all three hated the mushy stuff.

And then she turned around to see the school itself.

"Wow..."

The five towers were arranged in a massive pentagon in the center of the school; each one was at least twelve stories tall and fifty feet to a side. Their bases were set upon gigantic circles of concrete that had paths leading towards a center stone that was at least a hundred feet to a side and was surrounded by immaculately green lawns. The entire construction was sunk at least five feet into the ground and ringed by stairs.

And that was just the main area, a proper size analogy of which would be an atom's tiny nucleus to its comparatively massive electron cloud.

The second thing she noticed was the sheer amount of activity on the grounds. She'd expected military discipline—she had prepared for it—not the crazy horseplay occurring before her eyes.

"Waahhh!" A ball streaked not an inch from her head as she ducked.

"Whoa!" A boy ran past after it.

"Watch it!" another boy shouted rudely, running after the first boy. Then the second boy abruptly turned around to take a second look.

"Well, hey there, beautiful," he grinned, brushing his spiky brown hair back. "I'm Sora. What's your name?"

She blushed at the compliment. "Na-Namine. And I wouldn't call myself beautiful," she mumbled, fingering a lock of her hair.

Sora grinned again. "You're too modest. Hey, you're new around here, right? Lemme show you around!" he offered.

"No really, I'm fine; I just have to go to the—waaahhh!" Naminé yelped as Sora grabbed her arm and dragged her off.

Namine had never run so much in her life; she had barely passed PE. She held on for dear life to Sora.

He glanced over his shoulder when her grip tightened a bit, and saw that the blonde was digging her heels in, trying to slow him down. Namine had her eyes squeezed shut in terror, clearly having never run this fast before. Sora immediately slowed down.

"Sorry about that," he apologized, scratching his head in shame.

"I-it's okay," Namine gasped, kneeling down in an attempt to catch her breath. "Can-could you show me to the administration office?"

"Sure," he replied. "It's not too far from here, in that building to the left of the gym. Come on!"

This time they walked to the office. Namine and Sora left once she had signed in.

"Room…126," she murmured, checking her schedule sheet.

Sora's face brightened. "I know the place. My sister's gonna be your roommate!"

The blonde smiled. "She is? What's her name?" she asked.

"Xion," Sora declared. "She's really nice—I'll bet you two'll become fast friends!"

Namine hoped so. She was going to need friends in this place.

Room 126 was in the dormitory building appropriately titled "D" on Namine's map of ADBS. The two reached the light-gray rectangular prism in a few minutes.

"So, what brings you here to this place?" Sora inquired, gesturing at the buildings all around them as the elevator ascended. The walls were made of glass so people could view the breathtaking panorama that was the campus; Building D was the tallest on the grounds.

"I was sent here because apparently Arthur Durand is the best school in Twilight Town," Naminé answered. Her tone turned sarcastic. "My mom wouldn't let me miss out on such a great experience."

Sora chuckled. "Yeah, same here," he smiled. "My dad forced me and my sister to come here, too."

The elevator stopped and its doors opened; they had reached Floor 6.

The young artist shifted her duffel and strode out of the elevator, Sora on her heels. Room 126 was the first dormitory they encountered.

Naminé pushed the door, which was apparently unlocked, open. She timidly said, "Hello…?"

There was no response. Naminé tried again, this time making her voice louder. A shriek of surprise, followed by a loud crash, erupted.

The blonde and the brunette hurried into the room to check on whoever had fallen. A pretty black-haired girl turned out to be the culprit.

"Hi there!" the girl smiled. "I'm Xion. You must be Naminé!"

"Y-yes," Naminé murmured. "I-I'm Naminé. Naminé Miyamoto."

Xion bounded forward and enveloped Namine's left hand in a handshake. "Pleased to meet you!" she squealed.

Naminé winced at the tight grip. "Nice to meet you too, but…"

"Xion, let go of the poor girl," Sora said sternly. "You're about to crush her hand."

Xion immediately released Naminé, who gently nursed her hand in the other. The female brunette grimaced in remorse. "Sorry," Xion muttered, brushing her hair back like her brother had.

"It's okay," Naminé said for the second time that day. She gave Xion a shy smile. "I-I'm new around here. Could you please show me around?"

"I'd love to!" Xion grinned. The brunette's smile was like her brother's as well.

Xion, Sora, and Naminé strolled onto the front lawn of the campus. The blonde asked question after question, learning the various quirks and histories of different aspects of the school.

"So, why are you two here?" Namine asked.

Xion and Sora stiffened.

"Sorry if that was too personal," the petite girl quickly said, regretting ever asking the question.

Sora waved away her concern. "Don't worry about it," he sighed. "Our parents…"

"They sent us here so that we couldn't 'interfere' with their business and moneymaking," Xion finished, but with a trace of bitterness that Sora's voice hadn't possessed.

"They took Xion away from her friends," Sora whispered into Naminé's ear. "She got into a huge fight with Dad over it—they haven't been on casual terms since then."

Namine winced in sympathy. She hadn't had too many friends besides Olette, Pence, and Hayner, but she and they had been more than a little tearful at Namine's departure.

She opened her mouth to try and cheer up her new roommate, but before she could do so, a shadow loomed over her.

"Watch out!"

Naminé's eyes glazed over.

Sora jumped at her, tackling her away from the falling object.

The object turned out to be a green-eyed, redheaded boy with strange tattoos below his eyes. He was clad in a light gray T-shirt and cargo pants.

"Axel, what the hell?" Xion demanded. "What were you trying to do, kill my new roommate?"

"Sorry, Xion," Axel apologized. "Wasn't expecting you three to walk right under me…"

"You could've waited until after we got past, moron," Xion snapped.

"I was already falling!" Axel defended.

As the two bickered, Sora told Naminé, "That's Axel. He's a traceur."

"A traceur?" Namine asked curiously.

"He does parkour."

Naminé breathed in sharply. She'd heard about the art known as parkour. It involved using bare hands and feet to traverse any obstacle one encountered, as quickly, safely, and directly as possible. In her opinion, it was also borderline suicidal.

"Wow…Is Xion too?" Namine said.

"Yeah, she's one of them too. They call themselves the XIII; only four or five of them are still in school," Sora explained.

Naminé nodded. "Wow…" was all she could say again.

That was when she realized Sora was still lying on top of her. "And, uhhhh…"

Sora noticed what his, errrr, position was and immediately rolled off of her. Blonde and brunette blushed furiously.

"Yo, Axel!" somebody called. "What're you doing trying to kill the new girl?"

Axel threw his arms and cried out in frustration. "For the last time, Roxas, I didn't see her!" he snapped.

The boy Axel was talking to, Roxas, walked into Namine's field of vision. She knew they were still arguing, but it didn't really matter.

She was too busy being mesmerized by the newcomer.

Roxas had spiky blond hair, and the upright strands waved invitingly in the light breeze. Every time his blue eyes turned to her when he gestured at her made her heart skip a beat. The gray outfit he, too, wore was stretched over his chest, giving Namine a clear view of his pectoral muscles. His arms and legs were muscular and well toned, with the physique of a gymnast. He was drop-freaking-dead gorgeous.

The petite girl blinked her trance away when she realized Sora was saying something to her. Reality returned with an almost audible rush.

"Yes, Sora?" she said, turning to the brunette and blushing furiously.

Sora was now in a fit of laughter. "I caught you looking at him," he snickered. "Interested?" He emphasized every syllable in the last word.

Naminé's already ruby cheeks darkened to something close to maroon. "Shut up," she hissed, embarrassed.

"Oi! New girl!" a voice called. "Come here!"

His voice...it was husky, and yet raspy, deep and deep...

And then Naminé realized Roxa was talking to her, and nervously placed a hand on her chest as if to say, "M-Me? Really?"

"Yeah!" Roxas hollered.

Naminé apprehensively approached her fellow blond. She shyly held a hand out to shake in greeting.

To her complete shock Roxas took her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles. The artist immediately jerked her hand away.

"That's the way you greet a beautiful woman," the blond traceur smirked.

If she wasn't before Naminé was most certainly flushing crimson right now. She warily took a step back.

"I'm not beautiful…" she said slowly, forcing down the urge to add, "But you are."

Roxas chuckled. "And modest too…I like that," he observed in a sly voice, eyes flickering up and down the artist's body.

Said artist raised a hand and smacked it across the spiky-haired traceur's face. Naminé stormed off, again embarrassed. From behind her she could hear peals of laughter from Xion and Axel, sympathetic but still amused.

Xxx XXX xxX

I know it's horrible right now, but I swear that this story will get faster and better later on. It is, after all, my first REAL foray into 3rd POV (not the half-assed story that was Redemption).

I also know that I don't know the first thing about parkour. If some of my information is wrong, then for the love of God tell me so I can change it.

So tell me what you think of this. Was it great? Good? So-so? Quarter-assed?

Just click the review tool to give me a piece of your mind—positive or negative. Flames are appreciated but only if they tell me something useful.