Kingdom Hearts - Blades of Three Realms

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Roveth, of course, once they split off, had taken off for the main street area to find a bank or legal tender so he could work on legalizing owning that mansion, one man's trash is another man's treasure, and like hell was he going to let anyone but himself own all that wonderful technology hidden within. course, he'd also teach Pence how to handle the tech as well, so as to let Hayner keep up his training when they weren't off world gallivanting around kicking heartless, nobody, or unversed a**. of course when he saw Shiro and Xion he'd at least give quick greetings towards the two and told Shiro if the apartment's cramped, to head to the abandoned mansion in the forest, with that done, he'd go make his A-Rank in Charisma known so he can legally get that mansion.

Shiro of course had taken the meeting with Roveth in stride, clearly having not realized who had dropped in the sandlot or anything like that thanks to the cheers "well then i think it might be best to get our clothes at the laundromat at Axel's apartment and check on everyone there." he said, grinning all the while and definitely in much better spirits than after the second stint of ice cream since he saw that it was getting dark for real.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

"The mansion, huh? I wonder what suddenly got Roveth interested in such an unusual place," Xion pondered while she headed back toward the apartment with Shiro. Then, once they were in the laundromat she could see that Roxas and Crystal were still there folding and packing away laundry. This in itself was to be expected, but the fact that the pair seemed positively giddy wasn't lost on Xion either. "You two seem awfully high spirited. Did something good happen?"

From that alone it sounded like no one else had noticed anything about what had happened in the woods outside of town. Roxas guessed the presence he had felt while Crystal was fighting the armor was too localized to really stand out this far into town. Well, that was probably for the best. Crystal didn't want to make the others worry so if they hadn't sensed anything they could probably keep that part under wraps until morning. Of course, it was going to be way more difficult to cover-up why they were suddenly so much more cheerful than when they had parted ways at the clock tower. That was a bit too obvious. "We've been having a good time," Roxas admitted with a smile. "I'd even be willing to try it again sometime."

"If we have the chance, we really should," Crystal was in total agreement with that sentiment. "It looks like Shiro managed to wind himself down so that's good too. And somehow, it would appear that Roveth is managing to keep himself not only out of trouble, but entirely off the radar. I haven't seen him once."  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Shiro raised an eyebrow hearing that Roveth had actually kept off the radar for once "well i know Roveth had said something about being in the abandoned mansion just in the forest outside of town with Hayner and his gang, and he was looking to do something with it." he said, shrugging "other than that, he hasn't been acting up by pranking Seifer, which is a good thing i guess, because i don't need more reasons to humiliate him during the tournament, Seifer that is." he responded, though he did chuckle a bit hearing that comment about winding down "well, when you use a job to relieve stress by envisioning the object of said stress source as the ball instead, it'd make you want to hit it too. coincidentally i beat Sora's record at the grand stand, from my count i was at 510 before i stopped more due to time than anything." he responded with a chuckle and all.

Roveth of course was a busy beaver, between getting legal paperwork done, heading back out to the mansion, getting a few of his summons to help clear up and carve a more normal path to the mansion in both the wall and the forest, as well as start sprucing the place up, he'll be up all night most likely. renovating and so on can be such a tedious hassle. but to him, it'll be more worth the effort as soon as he got the place livable again, and much more well defended using his Traps, spells, and Shadow Allies to do so.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

"I was wondering if Seifer managed to coerce you into the Struggle Tournament," Crystal nodded. "Well, if you're going to be in the tournament, you know me and Xion will be there to cheer you on, isn't that right?" she gave Xion a knowing smile.

"Um... right! Of course," Xion hadn't even really thought about that since it seemed like something that went without saying. "But it sounded like the one Seifer is really itching to fight is either going to be you or Roveth. Are you sure you don't want to sign up yourself?"

"And give Seifer the satisfaction? No thanks," Crystal smirked. "If anything, I'll have him foaming at the mouth so badly seeing me in the audience that it'll be a quick and easy knockout for Shiro. Just don't forget to collect the orbs once you're done pounding his face into the concrete," she reminded Shiro. "That's how you actually win."

"It sounds like I won't want to miss seeing this either," Roxas decided. He didn't plan on fighting, unless it was against Sora and Riku, so he intended to sit this one out, but he wouldn't mind spectating with the girls. Although, he was considering taking up the Grand Standing job to see if he could possibly beat Shiro's record at some point. "So, you said you got about 510 hits in the grand stand, right? I might have to see if I can beat that. As long as we keep the record away from Sora, I don't really care if you beat me, but I still think I might give it a try. As far as jobs go, that one is pretty fun."

They finished packing away the rest of their laundry.

"So, Roveth's got something going on in the abandoned mansion, does he?" Roxas wondered about that.

"He said we could think about spending the night there if the apartment got to be too crowded," Xion explained.

"Did he now?" Crystal thought about that. "It sounds like he must have really taken a liking to the place."

"Anyway, let's see what exactly Axel, Demyx, and Isa have done to the place before we decide where we're going to spend the night," Roxas suggested. He was genuinely curious to see what those three had managed to get done today.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Shiro nodded, cracking his neck a bit "well, i'll have to find someplace out of the way to train, since i'm not allowed to use my regular weapons on him i have to adjust to what i have to use, so i guess having the mansion will be useful." he said, shrugging a bit lightly as he also packed away his laundry "and yeah, it is fun, i really got into it once i finished venting most of my leftover stress from Seifer that i kinda made it into a grandstanding show on it." he said with a chuckle, while nodding to Crystal's suggestion of going to check on Axel and Demyx and Isa at the apartment, following everyone so he didn't get lost going to said apartment even though he did leave from it.

Roveth meanwhile had been quite busy, not just turning the mansion back into its former splendor, but also adding more rooms for everyone to have a single bedroom if they so wish, some guest rooms, a gaming den (wreck-it Ralph!), a large 5-Star Kitchen (Shiro will thank him profusely later for it i'm sure.) fully stocked, so on, making full use of all the space he could in the mansion and expanding it as far as he could, not working underground just yet given he didn't want to add to the basement just yet technologically wise, and how was he funding materials and everything? why a side-save of Virtual Twilight Town, that didn't have any modifications done to make Hayner's Training simulation world.

Axel of course had finished getting Isa's stuff settled in, as well as a place for the moogle to rest should he want it, of course this -did- lead to a problem that the only guest room was turned into a 'Demyx-Cave', complete with TV, few other musical things, and of course, a Karaoke Machine which was currently out and being used more in the living room, probably much to the irritation/amusement of Isa, and definite irritation of Axel, who did the majority of the work despite trying to coax Demyx into helping, sodding lazy b*****d.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Roxas, of course, let them into the apartment with his key. It was really more of a formality, of course, given that he could open literally any door with the Keyblade, but that wouldn't exactly be proper etiquette now would it? Besides, he knew as well as anyone that sometimes people do like their privacy.

"You guys sure got a lot done," Roxas commented as he looked around to see how much the layout had changed. It looked like they weren't going to have a guest room anymore, but that was probably okay. Roxas kind of doubted they would be having anyone else move-in with them after Isa. Not that he didn't see Crystal as a possibility, but far from moving in with everyone else, she could probably afford to rent her own apartment considering how she seemed to toss munny around.

Isa was amused at first, mainly because Demyx using the karaoke machine was annoying to Lea, but Demyx's singing quickly grew tiresome very quickly as he wasn't nearly as gifted a singer as he was talented as a musician, not that Isa would ever admit that to him.

"Oh, hey, a karaoke machine! If I can find a song I like, maybe I'll take over and give it a try," Crystal seemed to be somewhere between enthusiastic because it seemed like a fun idea and mortified that she was actually even considering it. It sure as heck wasn't something she would ever consider doing in public.

"That sounds like fun!" Xion agreed.

"Wait, you sing?" Roxas was genuinely surprised.

"Well, not so much lately," Crystal scratched behind her ear. "I'm not very good so I mainly do it when there's no one around to listen. To keep myself entertained I guess. I definitely enjoy listening to music and I'm pretty decent at remembering lyrics to songs I've listened to."

"Well now you have to do it because we're all going to want to hear it," Xion insisted.

"I know, I walked right into this one," Crystal looked thoroughly embarrassed. "But it's fine as long as it's just for fun."

"At this point it looks like Axel and Isa would appreciate anyone other than Demyx doing the singing," Roxas pointed out. He glanced toward Axel. "How long has he been going at it anyway?"  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Axel just glared death at Demyx for a bit more before getting up and taking the mike away with a clear look saying he'll roast him later "Five Hours. thankfully the first three he actually was doing quite well and singing in tune and on point. the last two he's been singing god-awful, off key, and making me want to murder his face." he said with clear venom as Demyx backed up holding up his hands in surrender "Geez! chill out Axel! it was all good fun." Axel of course responded scathingly before handing the mic to Crystal "its only good fun when my ears weren't near bleeding from that off-tone crap!" he said hotly in return.

Shiro of course sweatdropped, looking at the Karaoke Machine with a bit of trepidation, let it be known he had a decent voice, but he honestly felt he couldn't sing worth a s**t, course, he's probably wrong, but still! "... okay, have fun with it Crystal." he said with a smile, showing he was not letting her back out, but hopefully also keeping himself out of singing as well.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Isa relaxed once Demyx was finally deprived of his control over the microphone. "That took long enough," Isa heaved an exasperated sigh of relief.

Crystal took the mic from Axel and went over to the karaoke machine to slot in a selection of songs that were at least familiar to her. Roxas and Xion watched with interest considering Crystal had just said she didn't generally sing where anyone else could hear her and yet she seemed strangely familiar with how to work the karaoke machine as though she must have used one before at some point.

"Okay, that should do for a good sample size," Crystal nodded to herself, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath to help herself remain centered and so she could focus on simply remembering the lyrics. Her timing wouldn't be perfect and she didn't have the highest vocal range, but in her mind it was about knowing the words and the intent behind them that was really important. As such, the selection she had chosen included Melodies of Life (Final Fantasy IX), 1000 Words (Final Fantasy X-2), Chiisaki Mono - Make a Wish (Pokemon Jirachi Wish Maker), We Will Meet Again (Pokemon Lucario and the Mystery of Mew), and as a sort of finale she included a personal favorite, Together Forever (Pokemon 2.B.A Master). Of course, since she was confident she knew the words to these songs, she didn't bother using the lyric display and instead focused on the performance aspect by striking some dramatic poses and dancing along with the music to the best of her ability. All in all, what she lacked in talent she was more than making up for it with cuteness factor alone.

Isa couldn't complain. Crystal's choices were tasteful and she sang them well, even when the songs weren't necessarily suited to her range. She was actually quite the little performer. Roxas certainly seemed to appreciate the show, although that was perhaps because some of the lyrics in the songs she had chosen might have held particular relevance to him. Regardless, he and Xion were both applauding once Crystal was finished and purposefully approached Shiro to hand over the mic. "Okay Shiro, now it's your turn to have some fun."

Crystal was thoroughly embarrassed and would have very likely gone off to find some secluded corner to hide in until she managed to calm down, but Roxas caught her before she could make it very far so she settled for hiding her face against his shoulder while he hugged her and kind of chuckled at how cute and silly it was that she could get this worked up after the fact even though no one had said a negative word to her. "You know, most people get stage fright before going on stage," Roxas patted her lightly on the back.

"You're getting pretty good at catching her," Xion noticed.

"She's been giving me a lot of practice," Roxas grinned a bit at that. "So, now I guess we'll see what Shiro has to offer, won't we?"  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Shiro had blinked, having the mic thrusted into his hands making him fumble a bit before taking it, and looking surprised/scared at singing, given he's -never- sung before in his life, even in the shower! of course, after a bit of mental encouragement and glancing to Shiroi Senko who nodded with a 'Kweh!' he sighed, stepping up so to speak and fiddling through the playlists, finding quite a few that'd fit but nothing right, until he found the right one to start off with, and set it up, this being Princes of the Universe (Queen.) as he started singing, actually staying in tune and on par with the singer "Heeeeeere we are, Born to be Kings! we're the Princes of the Uuuniverse~ Heeeeere we belong! Fighting to Survive, in the World with the Darkest Powers.... Yeah!" of course he'd stop to let the music play through as he took a breath, apparently this was his first time if his blushing and nervousness was any indication "And here we are... We're the Princes of the Universe... Here we Belong, Fighting for Survival, We've come to be the rulers of you Worrrrrrrld~!" he would head bang to the music before before continuing on. "I am Immortal, i have inside me the blood of Kings~ (Yeah!) i have no Rival, No man can be my equal! Take me to the future of you worrrrrld!~" a little bit of a pause for them usic to kick in before starting back up "Booooorn to be kings, Princes of the Universe, Fiiiighting and Freeeee~ Got your world in my Hannd~! i'm here for your Love and i'll make my Staaaand~! Weeee were born to be Princes of the Universe~! No Man Could Understand~! MY POWER IS IN MY OWN HAAAND!" of course, there was a bit of a chorus while Shiro worked to focus a bit so he could at least take a couple of deep breaths "I'm a man that will go far...~ Fly the mood and Reach for the staaars~ With my Sword and my Head held High~, Got to pass the Test First tiiime~! YEEEEEEEEEAHHHHHHHH! i know that people talk about me i hear it every day, but i can prove you wrong cos i'm right, FIIIRST TIIIIIIME~! Yeah! Yeah! alright let's go let's go! HAHA~!" of course, the guitar solo would hit, starting to pick up rapid pace in general as he readied his voice once more "Yeeeah! watch this man Fly!~ BRING ON THE GIRLS~! HEEEEERE WE ARE! Born to be KINGS! we're the Princes of the Universe...~ Heeere we Belong... Boooorn to be Kings, Princes of the Universe, Fiiighting and Free~! GOT THE WORLD IN MY HANDS! I'm Here for your Love, and i'll make my Stand! We Were born to be Princes of the Universe~!" with Shiro repeating the last word until the music faded out, causing him to sigh as he looked to everyone with a slightly nervous look, given this was the first time singing anything -that- long, much less anything at all.

Axel of course wasn't going to say it first, but given he gave a quick look to Demyx who was actually green in the face, not of sickness from Shiro's singing, but of pure envy at how well Shiro sang that he was a bit ticked at being upstaged by a brat like that. of course, Axel himself thought it was awesome, but he was gonna let those who have been around Shiro longer than him speak first.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Crystal had recovered from her flailing by the time Shiro finally got his act together and suffice it to say she was indeed fairly surprised by how well he could sing. To her knowledge he had never shown any indication of musical ability, let alone performed karaoke before. "Hey, no fair, you never mentioned you could sing!" Crystal declared, although she did have to applaud his efforts. "Well, you've got no choice now. There's no way we're letting you go with just one song."

"He was pretty spot on," Isa had to agree. Shiro had seemed pretty nervous, but his performance betrayed the fact that he apparently had natural talent for this particular activity.

"I wouldn't mind hearing some more," Xion also agreed. It was a rather pleasant surprise that Shiro could apparently sing so well.

"You're pretty good," Roxas was clearly impressed. Shiro was apparently good with more than just swords.

Of course, it would probably be just one more song for Shiro since it was already pretty late and he was possibly planning to head off to the abandoned mansion to regroup with Roveth for the night. Even though a room had been setup for Xion in one of the guest rooms that hadn't been taken over by Demyx or prepared for Isa, the apartment was still pretty crowded and busy with this whole karaoke party that Demyx had started. Xion would probably accompany Shiro to the mansion where it was probably a bit more quiet and there was a little more breathing room.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Shiro of course blinked, and sweatdropped at Crystal's accusation, holding his hands up in surrender about it "i didn't know myself, honest! and no, i didn't use my magics, because vocal cords do not work like that." he said, noticing the envious look from Demyx himself, as shiro rubbed the back of his head with his free hand in nervousness "this is honestly my first time trying to sing." of course, when the Encores, even Axel piped in for one, came in, Shiro looked nervous, given he himself didn't know if it was a one hit wonder or if he really had natural talent in singing "well... okay okay, i give, one more, then i'm going to go find Roveth at the mansion and stay there for the night, no offense, Axel, but the apartment is a bit crowded." Axel of course snorted, but nodded in agreement "true, i can agree with that, so long as you guys know how to take care of yourselves." shiro nodded, before moving back to the machine, going over the song list, before finding something that actually pulled him into picking it, but then realizing he chose a song that had probably a female vocal on it normally, he cringed, but shook his head, and moved over to the nearby window, where the moon was peeking out and sitting on the Windowsill, letting the music start up as it seemed light-hearted, yet sad in a way Shiro's voice actually.. changed, and it wasn't by magic either, it was like someone had pushed his adam's apple inside his throat and made it disappear temporarily "Wiiishing on a dream that seems far off, hoooping it will come todayyyyy~... Into the Starlit niiight~, Foolish dreamers turn their gaze, Waiting on a Shooting Starrrrrr...." he then took a breath a moment, before looking to the moon outside and continued "But... what if that star is not to Come? Will their dreams fade to Nothingggg~? When the Horizon darkens moooost... weee allll neeeed to believeeee there is Hoooooope~!" he took a tiny breath before continuing on "Is an Angel watching Closely Ooooover meeeee~? Can there be a guiding light i've yeeeet to seeee~? iiii know my heeeeaaart should guide me but, there's a hole wiiiithinnnn my Sooooul~" Shiro got off the windowsill and started back towards the karaoke machine continuing to sing "what will fill this emptiiiinessss insiiiiide of meeee? Am i to be sattttisfied withouuuuuut knowinggggg...." he then would turn back to the gang, smiling a bit sincerely, if a bit sadly "iiii wiiiish then, for a chance to seee, now all i need.... (Chorus: Desperately~) is my... starrrr toooo coooooomeeeeeeee~..." with that, he closed his eyes, and let the music finish playing out as he lowered his head to think about the song he picked out of instinct.

Demyx of course was blue with surprise now instead of green with envy. how the blue heck did Shiro do that? his voice is clearly male! there had to be magic involved, right!?! Axel of course stared hard at Shiro, not because of the music (which he was mentally jaw dropping over, but the song itself, and how it definitely fit Shiro and his predicament, he narrowed his eyes a bit lightly ".... interesting song choice. also... are you a girl in disguise?" he decided to ask bluntly, causing Shiro to flail and sputter incoherent babble that sounded like complete denial of what Axel just said.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

"Huh, well I guess this means Shiro has a natural talent for singing," Crystal was also surprised. Of course, Shiro's vocal range aside, she was also surprised by the surprising depth of the song's lyrics and how perfectly they seemed to apply to Shiro himself. She was pulled from her thoughts, however, at Axel's accusation about Shiro possibly being a girl in disguise as she snorted and burst out laughing. "Actually, there is this one world we've been to a few times, Nerima it's called, and this guy called Ranma apparently went on a training journey with his father to this cursed springs training ground called Jusenkyo. Anyway, long story short, whenever he gets splashed with cold water, he transforms into a girl. His old man transforms into a panda. And there are quite a few others who have been similarly cursed. Hot water will change them back to normal, but they seem almost disproportionately drawn to cold water." Not that she was trying to imply that something like that had happened with Shiro. In fact, it wouldn't do a thing to explain away how only his voice had changed during the song.

"Well Shiro, you're certainly one of many talents," Roxas had to admit. He was surprised too, but nowhere near as dramatically as Demyx or Axel were about it. Or maybe he was just getting used to some of the strangeness that was typically being exhibited by Shiro in general since he'd spent a bit more time with him than the other two. "This might even be something to consider pursuing further since you seem to have a real gift for it."

"Right, well, it's already late and we should probably head for the mansion to find Roveth before it gets too dark," Xion decided to bail Shiro out for the moment.

"Ah, so you're going too, huh?" Crystal wasn't really surprised, just a little disappointed now that they were leaving so soon. "I was thinking maybe we could try a song together, but oh well, another time maybe."

"Sure," Xion nodded with a smile.

"You know, for someone who gets embarrassed so easily, you certainly are eager to take the mic back," Roxas observed with regards to Crystal.

"Well, it's embarrassing, sure, but I have fun with it too," Crystal chuckled somewhat nervously. "Besides, it's less embarrassing with more people because then I'm not the center of attention."

"Come on Shiro," Xion took him lightly by the arm and guided him to the door so they could exit the apartment. Hopefully he would regain coherence sooner rather than later.

"So then, I suppose that means you'll both be staying then," Isa didn't overlook the fact that Roxas and Crystal hadn't left with Xion and Shiro to head for the mansion. "Well, that's fine. Do try not to make too much noise though," Isa decided to leave them with that before excusing himself into his room and shutting the door behind him as he left the pair to the wolves known as Axel and Demyx. They were bound to have some kind of splendid overreaction to that last comment.  

[Never Soldier B]

Blaze broke the silence of the now empty lot with a yawn followed by, "Ugh, my everything aches now." He look around while stretching, "Where am I again? I think I saw the tower on my way down so... Twilight Town? I have a house here!" With a spring in his step, Blaze headed for the Tram Commons exit of the Sandlot; before tripping on his re-entry mess and falling face first in the trough his face had dug in the ground. "But first I guess I'll have to do something about this," he sighed.

Straightening himself up, Blaze summoned his Keyblade. It had the head of a spanner for the teeth, holes all down its length of various regular pollygons in assorted sizes, and the guard was two multi-tools with all their parts fanned outwards. "I think it went something like this, hope I'm not too rusty." With a rhythmic series of gestures (back and forth, back and forth), the cobblestones began to float and dance in time with the beat. Then, gummi parts began to dance too. "Whoops, no stopping them now," Blaze chuckled. The dancers began to whirl about, one gummi piece for every cobblestone. Then pair by pair, they settled into a patchwork pathway.

"Okay, now off to home and hearth." Blaze began to head off up his new road, humming to himself snippets of 'Fly Me to the Moon'. As Blaze was about to duck into the hole leading to the forest, he glanced at a poster 'Notice of Redevelopment'. "Oh no no no no!" Dashing through the woods at full speed Blaze came face to face with the 'New' mansion, gasping "Somebody bought my house!"

Sitting at the base of one of the large trees, Blaze rested while trying to think of where he was going to stay. "Sleep first, think later." Standing up, Blaze summoned his keyblade once more while dumping out his pockets. Blaze flicked the blade back and forth and strode purposefully around the trunk. Each time his foot was about to land on nothing, a gummi block would affix itself to the tree; till spiraling staircase lead all the way up the trunk of the tree. With a flourish and a bow, a small gummi house formed around the top of the tree.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Demyx just stared at the closed door leading to the outside where Xion had pulled the impossibility that was Shiro out, before looking to Crystal, then back to the door, then crystal again "....right then. i'm just... yeah, i think i'm gonna hit the hay too, that was too weird in of itself, probably a complete fluke or he used magic without noticing or something. yeah, that's it." of course, Demyx headed off, while Axel looked to Roxas and Crystal with a small smirk "soooo... do i even need to say to use protection?" he asked pointedly while continuing his smirk. ohhh yes here comes the teasing, it'll get his mind off of what just happened there with Shiro.

speaking of Shiro he had his held down a bit due to the fact he was blushing in pure mortification at being asked that kind of thing and all. "Gah! that Axel is cruisin' for a Bruisin' tomorrow for even insinuating i'm a girl..." of course, he frowned a bit as they walked, he himself was curious as to how he did that, but either way he'd just follow along, heading past the renovation signs given Roveth probably hadf a few rooms done already, as the aforementioned dark half was down below in the basement taking assessment of things more properly.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

"Wow, I think Shiro actually broke Demyx," Roxas watched as Demyx headed off to his own room while seeming pretty out of sorts over Shiro's musical performance. Not that it wasn't weird. It was. It just didn't really bother Roxas that much. But Axel knew exactly how to get to him and he immediately started blushing. "Believe me, that's one conversation with you I won't soon forget."

Crystal was also blushing, but she was also giggling as if she had remembered something particularly funny. "You don't have to worry about that, Axel, Leon already gave me that whole lecture the first time I brought Shiro with me to Radiant Garden. I think he might have even been more embarrassed by it than I was."