Kingdom Hearts - Blades of Three Realms

[Kailah S Majessta]

Tifa applauded along with Aqua, and gave the first genuine smile of the evening (showing she was finally relaxing from the ordeal with Cloud).

"With these kids?" she responded to her, "They never cease to amaze me." Tifa then called out during said applause, "Great job Shiro!"

Kailah's face was a mixture of being impressed and confused, her mouth opening and closing as she attempted to try and find the words to say as she clapped for the performance. "Did..." She looked to Yuffie, then to Leon, then Aqua and Tifa and back again, looking for an answer, "Did he just sound... like a girl...? And TOTALLY nailed it?!"

She blinked for a few moments, then shook her head, smiling. It seemed to her like the earlier tension was almost completely gone, and walking around, she laughed at Vanitas' reaction before overhearing Isa, and almost fell over laughing harder, "Sorry Roxas! But it was too good!"

With that, she walked over to Isa and introduced herself, "I'm Kailah. You didn't strike me as the teasing type," she gave a polite, yet bright smile, "Do you mind if I sit with you while they all sing?"  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Shiro of course, would've start looking to change to the next song straight away, if he wasn't dealing with a -lot- of people going essentially WTF over his singing, of course, the comment from Vanitas made him eyetwitch as his normal voice returned all too easily without needing to clear his throat again "i am -quite- male thank you." he would say in the absolute flattest of deadpan voices he could do, at least -somewhat- taking in the encouragement and such in stride, well trying, if the blushing face and clear want to flail was any indication, but he just turned a way, humming a bit before passing the mic to Roxas to get his mind off of Isa's comment "how about your turn Roxas, don't worry, i'll sing another one later." he said, while moving to sit down so he can at least get over his embarrassment by pulling out a bottle of cream soda from underneath his jacket and started drinking it to at least try to keep his throat loose and wettened before responding to Sora and Riku "trust me, back in Spira auron had me taken to a doctor to find out, and even -they- can't really explain how i can suppress my adams apple and change my voice box." he'd say, before his throat would at least tighten for a bit and out would come Cloud's voice clearly "though Yuna did capitalize on it and made me do impersonations of everyone every once in a while, and then when she actually started her own singing career and dragged me into it... yeah, makes me still pretty skittish about letting others hear me do it." he said, switching back to his own after that and took another sip of his cream soda and all.

Roveth just barked a laugh at the looks on Sora and Riku's faces about things, even Leon's surprised made him giggle a bit with glee as he took pictures of their gobsmacked faces and all, yes, even now he still likes having blackmail. of course he just chuckled, wondering what Roxas would do now that he's being put on the spot though, so this was definitely amusing him greatly, granted, he also took a picture of Vanitas's outburst as well if only because that was actually the most hilarious of the reactions if only because of him questioning shiro's gender and all. granted, he did turn to Axel to say he would give him copies of the photos, when he saw the clear anger-vein on his head, and sweatdropped. uh-oh.. looks like someone struck a nerve!

Axel of course would've also been -very- amused at Riku and Sora's reactions to Shiro's singing if Isa hadn't commented about Ven, of course, cue the anger-vein that Roveth saw and Axel quickly reaching up and slapping the back of Isa's head "i may have been friends with Ven a long time ago, but Roxas is still my best friend, as is Xion, got it memorized?" he'd say with a clear underlying tone of 'you do -not- want to fan this fire!'  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Isa winced mildly when Axel struck him for his comment. Even so, Isa's amusement didn't actually seem to fade and was, in fact, fueled to even greater heights by the acknowledgement it had already won him from the intriguing young woman called Kailah wanting to join him. Axel and Demyx would likely be very much surprised to find him smiling pleasantly and not scowling or glaring at her like he usually did with the two of them.

"By all means, I would be delighted for the company," Isa responded with that smile in full view. "By the way, you can call me Isa."

Roxas blinked in surprise when Shiro handed him the mic because he hadn't really been paying attention to him after he finished his song since Isa was being a jerk again, but then he nodded and got up from his chair. "Um... right," he walked over to get the karaoke machine ready for the next song. Unlike Shiro whose exposure to the machine was a bit more limited, Roxas had been using this same machine on and off for the past few years so he was much more familiar with the song selection and picked something that fit his mood. Even though he was rather annoyed about what Isa had said, Roxas still regarded Crystal with a smile even though he knew Leon was very likely going to have a fit once he started singing. The music would come on and Roxas would have to be ready to start almost immediately, but that was no problem, not for him.

"I need another story // Something to get off my chest // My life gets kinda boring // Need something that I can confess // 'Til all my sleeves are stained red // From all the truth that I've said // Come by it honestly I swear // Thought you saw me wink, no // I've been on the brink, so // Tell me what you want to hear // Something that will light those ears // Sick of all the insincere // So I'm gonna give all my secrets away // This time don't need another perfect lie // Don't care if critics ever jump in line // I'm gonna give all my secrets away" Whereas Shiro had been essentially singing for everyone's enjoyment, Roxas was clearly much more focused on one specific member of the audience, not that Crystal was complaining. Leon was far less amused, but for now he was going to let it slide until the song was finished. "My God, amazing how we got this far // It's like we're chasing all those stars // Who's driving shiny big black cars // And everyday I see the news // All the problems that we could solve // And when a situation rises // Just write it into an album // Send it straight to gold // But I don't really like my flow, no, so // Tell me what you want to hear // Something that will light those ears // Sick of all the insincere // So I'm gonna give all my secrets away // This time, don't need another perfect lie // Don't care if critics ever jump in line // I'm gonna give all my secrets away" Roxas did seem reasonably more relaxed while he was singing as he could easily ignore the dirty looks Leon kept directing at him and he didn't care what Isa thought of him right now either. "Oh, got no reason, got no shame // Got no family I can blame // Just don't let me disappear // I'ma tell you everything //So tell me what you want to hear // Something that will light those ears // Sick of all the insincere // So I'm gonna give all my secrets away // This time, don't need another perfect lie // Don't care if critics ever jump in line // I'm gonna give all my secrets away // So tell me what you want to hear // Something that will light those ears // Sick of all the insincere // So I'm gonna give all my secrets away // This time, don't need another perfect lie // Don't care if critics ever jump in line // I'm gonna give all my secrets away // All my secrets away, all my secrets away" The music would fade out with the last repeat of the chorus and Roxas would lower the mic to take a deep breath and let it out to ready himself for another song if need be.

It turned out that Roxas wasn't going to have to worry about singing again right away either because as soon as it was clear that the song was over Sora actually jumped out of his chair.

"Me next!" Sora declared as he rushed over to the machine. Roxas quickly handed him the mic while holding Sora at arm's length away from the karaoke machine.

"Alright, fine, but maybe you should let someone who knows how work the machine for you," Roxas advised him while inclining his head toward Demyx. "You don't want to break it and have to buy him a new one."

Sora did back off when Roxas's warning managed to sink in. "Right, guess I should probably leave that to you then."

"Hey Sora, mind if I do one with you?" Ventus had gotten up from his chair too. "I mean, I don't really know how well I can sing, but I was hoping to do a dance number for Aqua."

Sora brightened considerably. "Oh, that sounds like fun! Maybe I'll try to dance too!"

"We'll see if you can even keep up with my moves," Ventus grinned back at him.

"Okay, then for you two we need something fun and upbeat that you can dance to while you sing," Roxas nodded as he scrolled through the music selection. "Yeah, I think this one should probably do the trick."

"This speech is my recital, I think it's very vital // To rock (a rhyme), that's right (on time) // It's Tricky is the title, here we go... // It's Tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that's right on time // It's Tricky...it's Tricky (Tricky) Tricky (Tricky) // It's Tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that's right on tim // It's Tricky...Tr-tr-tr-tricky (Tricky) Trrrrrrrrrrricky" From the start it was clear that Ventus was more focused on his break dancing than the actual singing aspect of karaoke. This isn't to say that he wasn't trying to handle some of the vocals too. It just meant he knew where his real talents were and it wasn't the singing part of it. "I met this little girlie, her hair was kinda curly // Went to her house and bust her out, I had to leave real early // These girls are really sleazy, all they just say is please me // Or spend some time and rock a rhyme, I said "It's not that easy" // It's Tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that's right on time // It's Tricky...(How is it D?) It's Tricky (Tricky) Tricky (Trrrrrricky) // It's Tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that's right on time // It's Tricky...Tricky (Tricky) Tricky" Sora did his best to imitate Ven's dance moves, but since they hadn't gotten in any practice so he could actually learn the moves beforehand it meant that he was pretty awkward and clumsy about it. It didn't really matter to Sora if he embarrassed himself though as long as they were having fun with it. "In New York the people talk and try to make us rhyme // They really (hawk) but we just (walk) because we have no time // And in the city it's a pity cos we just can't hide // Tinted windows don't mean nothin', they know who's inside // It's Tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that's right on time // It's Tricky...(How is it D?) Tricky (Tricky) Tricky (Tricky) // It's Tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that's right on time // It's Tricky...Tricky (Tricky) Tricky (Tricky) huh!" Ventus certainly found it amusing how hard Sora was trying to copy his moves. He made a mental note that they were going to have to practice together so they could do a better job next time. "When I wake up people take up mostly all of my time // I'm not singin', phone keep ringin' cos I make up a rhyme // I'm not braggin', people naggin' cos they think I'm a star // Always tearin' what I'm wearin', I think they're goin' too far // A girl named Carol follows Daryll every gig we play // Then D dissed her and dismissed her, now she's jockin' Jay // I ain't lyin', girls be cryin' cos I'm on TV // They even bother my poor father cos he's down with me // It's Tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that's right on time // It's Tricky...(How is it?) Tricky (Tricky) Tricky (Tricky) // It's Tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that's right on time // It's Tricky...Tr-tr-tr-tr-tr-tricky (Tr-Tr-Tr-Tricky) Tr-tr-tr..." Ven was also pretty happy with the results because Aqua was actually smiling and that was mainly what he was going for by showing off his dance moves like this. Not that he wasn't just having a lot of fun doing it regardless. "We are not thugs (we don't use drugs) but you assume (on your own) // They offer coke (and lots of dope) but we just leave it alone // It's like that y'all (y'all), but we don't quit // You keep on (rock!) shock! Cos this is it..." Ventus would strike one last dramatic pose, balancing on one hand while still holding his mic with the other while grinning at Aqua. Sora tried to do the same thing, but he ended up toppling onto his back.

Ventus launched into the air to get back on his feet and went over to help Sora get back up. "Thanks for helping me out with that."

"No problem," Sora was grinning too. "That was a lot of fun for me too. I might have to learn how to dance like you."

"Thanks Ven, that was really sweet of you," Aqua smiled as she applauded them both. She nodded to Sora as well. "You were both outstanding."

Vanitas was feeling a little bit jealous, mostly because Ventus was getting along so well with Sora, but he wasn't exactly eager to sing in front of everyone himself so he just continued to sit quietly to watch.

Riku and Kairi were both impressed with Ven's dance moves, but also with Sora's determined fumbling to keep up with him.

"Okay, so whose next?" Sora was ready to give up the microphone now that he'd finally gotten that out of his system.

"I guess I could do one now," Crystal spoke up from her chair. "Unless maybe Shiro wants to do another one for us first."

OneRepublic - Secrets
Run D.M.C. - It's Tricky

 

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Demyx would look between Axel and Isa, before raising an eyebrow, of course, he did give Roxas a nod of thanks before deciding to open his mouth, knowing full well it might get him killed tonight, and given its Axel and Isa.. he could survive, maybe. "well, it might be a running gag between me and Axel due to the fact i hardly see him in the company of women.. but yanno, Isa, while it is surprising that Axel actually notices girls.. it's even more surprising for you, because clearly i fully expected you to bat for the other side using Axel to 'vent' your frustrations on." he said quite too calmly, with Axel actually cracking his neck with how fast he actually turned it to stare at the sitar player, as if he did -not- expect that to come out of his mouth. holy cow, that was near -Shiro- level snark!

Shiro would hum a bit, while glancing to what he could see on the list for songs, but not seeing anything immediately and not wanting to scroll through them he would merely wave Crystal on through "Be my guest, i wanna enjoy you guys singing too yanno." he said, smiling a bit while grinning to Ven, Roxas, and Sora "nice work on the singing though you guys, you did pretty well." he said while clapping a bit. of course, he made no motions or acknowledgment of Leon's clear dislike of Roxas's singing, and who he was singing -for-... yeah, he could easily tell that he might have to do something about that eventually.

Roveth of course was clapping and everything for those singing, even chuckling a bit happily at Sora's attempts of keeping up with Ven's break-dancing and all, while glancing to Shiro, knowing full well he'll be singing one more time before they call it a night as he spoke up, more to Tifa and Leon "if you guys want i can persuade Demyx to leave the Karaoke machine here after i get the hard-drives which hold the songs and get them copied so i can build him a new system back in Twilight Town later, that way there will be a permanent entertaining factor to add in on things." he said while crossing his arms a bit with a chuckle.  

[Kailah S Majessta]

Tifa applauded for Roxas with almost thoughtful smile- she really loved the song choice and made a mental note to maybe have that type of music available to listen to at her leisure. The lyrics themselves were sweet, and she glanced at Leon to make sure he wasn't about to jump over the bar, to which she was glad that he was still just making faces (whether he wanted it to show or not).

When Sora and Ventus got on stage however, she couldn't stop laughing. First the singing, then Sora attempting to match Ven's moves, it was too much for her- too bad Cloud couldn't be there to see it. He may have actually smiled if he was.

Tifa turned to Aqua after clapping and cheering loudly for the two, "So that's Ven, right?" she was still smiling, "I think he'll do just fine with this group of kids. He and Sora have already taken a liking to one another."

And it was nice. She loved having a full house, especially when, doing something as -normal- as karaoke, everyone seemed happy and actually acting like kids. It warmed her heart to know that the battles hadn't brought them down.

At Demyx's comment, Kailah gasped, eyes widened, and her shock quickly turned to a grin, and spoke from her seat next to Isa, looking between all three of them, "Well someone's a bit snarky. Too bad it seems like he likes making fun of you and Axel because he may be hiding something- or even better, compensating for something himself." This was probably the boldest Kailah had been since her arrival in Radiant Garden. She was having fun at least, and laughed, "Don't worry, I'm kidding!" her smile was bright and a fang showed through before turning her attention to Isa.

"Sorry about that. It's very nice to meet you, Isa. Will you be singing tonight too?"

Tifa smiled, and shook her head 'no' to Roveth "Thanks for the offer, but to be honest, the most traffic we get in here is when you all come to visit. I don't think anyone would be using the karaoke machine besides Yuffie, Kailah, and Zidane." She thought about it for a moment, "Although it WOULD be nice to just have it set up in case anyone DOES want to make a night of it? But I wouldn't want to unless Demyx says it's okay. And if it helps to get the machine out of the way so you can build a better one back in Twilight Town, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have it as a permanent fixture here at 7th Heaven."  

[[XIII] Roxas]

"Yes, that's Ven," Aqua nodded to Tifa. She was really glad to see that Ven was having such an easy time of making new friends with this group of kids. Vanitas seemed slightly perturbed seeing Ven and Sora getting along so well, but so far there still weren't any Unversed so he seemed to be tolerating it in his own way. "Thanks again for having us," she added thoughtfully. "It really means a lot."

Isa might have lashed out in anger at Demyx for his comment, but he liked Kailah's response better. In fact, it caused him to smirk slightly. Until Kailah asked him if he would be singing and he immediately began to blush. "No, I'm afraid I'm really not the singing type." And just like that Demyx was off the hook, for now.

"Okay, then I guess I'm up," Crystal got up from her chair to take the mic away from Sora as he and Ventus returned to their chairs. Roxas knew that Crystal could work the machine so he headed back to his seat too now that he no longer needed to guard the karaoke machine with his life from Sora. It seemed a bit funny to Crystal that she was feeling more self-conscious about the dress she was wearing than the actual singing part even with so many new faces in the audience. She walked over to the karaoke machine to scroll through the song selection until she found the one she intended to sing and raised her mic before putting it on.

Crystal would move with the rhythm of the song clearly pretty familiar with this one already as she very comfortably got into it. "As long as you love me // Although loneliness has always been a friend of mine // I'm leavin' my life in your hands // People say I'm crazy and that I am blind // Risking it all in a glance // And how you got me blind is still a mystery // I can't get you out of my head // Don't care what is written in your history // As long as you're here with me // I don't care who you are // Where you're from // What you did // As long as you love me // Who you are // Where you're from // Don't care what you did // As long as you love me" There was really no question who this song was specifically meant for. Crystal's gaze was on Roxas and he honestly couldn't help that he was staring right back at her because this was probably some of the best singing he'd heard from her. It helps when it's something you're familiar with and there's some real feeling behind it. "Every little thing that you have said and done // Feels like it's deep within me // Doesn't really matter if you're on the run // It seems like we're meant to be // I don't care who you are (who you are) // Where you're from (where you're from) // What you did // As long as you love me (I don't know) // Who you are (who you are) // Where you're from (where you're from) // Don't care what you did // As long as you love me (yeah)" Leon tensed visibly and leaned just a little too hard on the bar counter like he was going to vault over it at any second to chase Roxas out of the building. Yes, it was getting to him that badly. "I've tried to hide it so that no one knows // But I guess it shows // When you look into my eyes // What you did and where you're comin from // I don't care, as long as you love me, baby // I don't care who you are (who you are) // Where you're from (where you're from) // What you did // As long as you love me (as long as you love me) // Who you are (who you are) // Where you're from (where you're from) // Don't care what you did (yeah) // As long as you love me (as long as you love me) // Who you are (who you are) // Where you're from // What you did // As long as you love me // Who you are (who you are) // Where you're from (where you're from) // As long as you love me // Who you are // As long as you love me // What you did (I don't care) // As long as you love me" Crystal finished the song with a smile, clearly very happy with how it turned out. She might have been blushing slightly, but she quietly ignored it.

"That was great Crystal!" Kairi cheered encouragingly from the audience.

"What did you think Roxas?" Xion prodded him lightly on the arm. "Didn't you like it?"

"Huh?" Roxas was slightly stunned. "Oh... yeah! That was really pretty amazing!" he managed to snap out of it even though he was still blushing rather profusely. Usually when Crystal was singing she was just doing it to mess around and have some fun. That was why Roxas was so surprised when she pulled this one off like she really meant it.

"Anyway... are we going to make Shiro sing another one or does someone else want to take the stage?" Crystal finally spoke up again.

Backstreet Boys - As Long As You Love Me

 

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Axel chuckled a bit at Kailah's deflection of Demyx's comments as said Sitar Player actually just smirked a bit lightly at that but shrugged "nope, i just like poking fun at these two whenever i get a chance." he said smoothly enough, grinning all the while "especially since these two love to poke fun at my apparent laziness outside of my passion of music." he said, though he did turn to pay attention to Crystal and of course clapped for definitely another good song being sung, of course, he did glance over to Roxas and then to Leon, and just shook his head with a smile, figuring that he'd keep Silent. Axel however... "yanno Leon, you're looking quite a bit more constipated than usual.. maybe you should take a step back and look at it like this: there are far worse ways those two can flirt with each other than singing." he'd say with an almost sing-song tone of voice, knowing it'd also probably get Roxas and Crystal flailing at his words but he honestly was more intending for Leon to chill a bit, though he did expect Tifa to have words too for him.

Roveth of course just looked over to the others, before looking back to Tifa with a bit of a smile "it's not a problem at all Tifa, and he has been asking me to build a better one for back at the mansion anyway because he can increase the library size for a bigger one in that case, but he still wants a copy of the hard-drive contents as a starter for the new one so i'll just have to take it out of this one after tonight to go get that copied, then i'll bring it back to put it back in." he said, smiling a bit lightly as he mentally snickered at Demyx's comments, oh yeah, he's more than likely to get it when he gets home from Isa... either way he'd look to Shiro who was actually contemplating one more song.

Shiro of course just blinked a bit about being offered the mic, he'd take it back up as he chuckled a bit lightly "fine fine... one more song from me, then i'm probably going to be mentally tired enough to hit the hay." he said, yawning a bit lightly as he took the mic gently from Crystal and wandered over to the karaoke machine, beginning to scroll through the contents of the list to look for a song that stood out to him. of course, apocalypse had shown up, swiping the second mic from outta nowhere smirking a bit "i wanna sing too~" Shiro of course would snatch the mic out of Apocalypse's hand and set it down with a frown "No, besides, i was thinking of a solo song, so you can just hide yourself and listen."  

[Kailah S Majessta]

Kailah rolled her eyes at Demyx's response with a smile while shaking her head before turning her attention back to Isa, "That's too bad, I'd want to give it a shot myself, but I don't think I'm quite ready yet. I am a musician, so it's not the performance part, I'm just still kind of new to everyone. I don't want to impose." However when Crystal started her song, she subconsciously set a hand on Isa's arm, "I LOVE this song!" She sang at her spot all of the lyrics from memory, doing a small dance in her chair, obviously just enjoying herself, and cheered loudly when it was done.

"You were GREAT Crystal!" Her eyes immediately went to Leon, and she raised an eyebrow and made a sort of 'I'm not getting in the middle of that' face when she saw the frown that appeared on Tifa's at his leaning on the counter. Kailah then almost laughed at herself, "Sorry about that Isa. I just... really get into my songs sometimes. Are you at least enjoying yourself? You don't seem as...loud as your friends over there."

"It's really no problem Aqua. Enjoy yourself!" Tifa's smile continued as she really enjoyed the sheer cute aspect of a young teenage couple singing these songs as Crystal started to sing, however during the song, she DID notice Leon, and that frown began to grow. Her eyes narrowed slightly when she saw how he was leaning on the bar. After the song, her eyes still on Leon, she addressed Aqua, "Excuse me for a moment," then proceeded to walk towards him just in time to hear Axel's comment. Her arms were crossed, and that narrow-eyed frown was still directed towards him.

"Not to mention with the way you're leaning on MY bar, you're going to have a bigger problem than kids flirting when you have to fix what you break." Tifa's eyes softened, but the frown remained, "Come on Leon, let the kids be kids." A small smile, "I thought it was kind of cute."  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Leon didn't totally realize how tense and irrational he was being about Roxas and Crystal until he was not only teased by Axel outright, but also scolded by Tifa. Once they had both spoken their piece it made Leon feel very foolish and it showed because the frown that had occupied his face up until that point gradually faded into a look of extremely bewildered embarrassment, complete with embarrassed blushing, at being called out for his completely unwarranted overprotective behavior. Hadn't Tifa already had this conversation with him the last time he got worked up over it? Leon knew that Roxas was a good kid and he had even tested him himself to make sure he wasn't all talk with regards to wanting to protect Crystal. Heck, even Shiro had apparently approved of him. So why the heck did Leon get so agitated when he saw the two of them together? It quite honestly didn't make any sense.

"Cute, huh?" Leon answered gruffly with a disgruntled sigh. "I'm not sure I see it, but I guess I'll try to ease back on them." He had, at the very least, stopped himself from leaning on the bar counter.

"Honestly Leon, you'd better seriously mellow out before you decide to have any actual kids of your own," Yuffie teased him pointedly. "Otherwise, if you ever have an actual daughter we're going to have to pity you forever."

Leon's embarrassment peaked even further and his face went even more red in the process. "Come on, I'm not that bad... am I?"

Crystal really wasn't used to getting so much praise for her own singing so all those compliments were making her blush even harder as she passed the mic along to Shiro and headed back to her chair next to Roxas. The blushing also wasn't helped at all by Axel's comment about the two of them flirting with each other through song. That might not have been either of their intent with the songs they had chosen, but there was no denying how it must have sounded to anyone else listening. Although, it was amusing how Kailah actually seemed to know the song from memory had decided to sing along. After all, embarrassment aside, Crystal really liked it too.

Still blushing in his own right, Roxas leaned closer so that he could whisper softly in Crystal's ear. "Thank you," was what he wanted to say because he did actually feel better now. He was still a bit nervous about everything that was going on and it really was thanks to her being there that he was able to remain calm about it. Roxas settled back into his chair, leaving Crystal to appear slightly surprised when he reached over to take hold of her hand.

Crystal actually was slightly surprised, but she got over it quickly and gave his hand a light squeeze before leaning in to whisper back to him, "Anytime."

"You know, I don't think I would have pegged those two as being such saps," Vanitas commented with mild amusement.

"Yeah, well, you really shouldn't judge anyone by appearances," Ventus pointed out to him.

"Fair enough," Vanitas responded with a shrug. He looked happy though.

"It's actually kinda funny that they're both so singing inclined," Riku added with his own amusement. "That really wasn't something I thought about when I was trying to get them both together."

"But Riku, I thought it was Roveth who actually got them together," Sora chimed in while prodding Riku lightly in the arm. "How come you keep trying to take credit for it anyway? And besides that, I thought you said you were only trying to get them to spend more time together."

"Same difference," Riku shrugged mildly. "The point is I helped."

"It's cute that you want to be so involved, Riku, but I don't you made nearly as much of an impact on the two of them as you like to boast about," Kairi interjected in a teasing tone. "Not that I don't get why you keep trying to look out for Roxas. It's obvious you still feel bad about what you did to him."

And now it was Riku's turn to start blushing in embarrassment. "Hey, that's not fair! And besides, it's not like that's the only reason..."

"It's okay, Riku," Sora grinned at him. "We all know that's just how you show you really care."

"Fine, you win," Riku slumped back into his chair, but he was smiling so clearly he wasn't actually too upset by being called out like that.

Namine certainly couldn't help giggling at the exchange between the three of them.

Meanwhile, Isa continued to smile pleasantly at Kailah. "Actually, I really don't mind being in such a cozy atmosphere. And it's always good see that those kids are at least in good hands with Lea even if they don't always get to come back home to the mansion in Twilight Town as often as they might like."

"I'm still amazed by how well they all seem to get along," Aqua was really in awe of the group. Especially with how Vanitas seemed to be fitting in so quickly. That was certainly something she never expected to see.

This was also around the time when Zidane finally sauntered into the tavern with a self-satisfied grin on his face now that he had managed to explore every inch of the castle that was accessible to him. He intended to walk in and settle at his usual seat at the bar, but instead he paused in the doorway staring at some of the new features that had been brought in during his long absence today.

"Wow, when did we get a karaoke machine?" Zidane wondered as he noted Shiro holding the microphone. Next his gaze settled on the two boys who looked suspiciously nearly identical to Roxas and Sora. "And what's with the twins convention?"

Roxas's grip on Crystal's hand tightened slightly as he tried very hard not to snap at Zidane's comment. "Nice to see you again too, Zidane."

"Well then Shiro isn't it about time for your next song?" Xion decided she should try to help disarm the situation before it could escalate any further.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Axel would of course turn and look offended (even though he really wasn't offended at all.) "well sir, i have never been so offended! i do make sure that they at least have fun when our journeys allow us." he said with a mock scoff, before smirking a bit lightly "also, for most of them they're quite capable of handling themselves, two of them having been doing so alone for a lot longer than they'd care to tell us or show us."he said, looking right over to Crystal and then glancing to Shiro as well, more especially, given he -had- been keeping tabs on the two ever since Roxas had mentioned them that first time, that was how he found out about one of their return trips and all to Radiant Garden for a rest stop.

Roveth meanwhile raised an eyebrow to Aqua, before chuckling a bit, smiling "well, when we're not serious and gearing up for a fight, we're quite accepting and laidback about things, except for me because i prank people when i'm able and have good targets." he said, putting his hands behind his head "honestly, i think that my other half, and Crystal, are the bridges which are trying to connect everyone together, both light and dark. i mean, look how accepting we are about Vanitas now that he's not driven insane, and Ven is quite an innocent soul, even more than Sora, but at the same time it's refreshing." he said, while looking over to Shiro, who had actually had to punch Apocalypse in the jaw again to get him to back off on singing, and with a pout he did go back within Shiro's neck at least "then again, i look at us like one whole crazy family, and everyone fits together in some way." he'd say with a soft smile and all, even if Kuriboh did just appear on Roveth's head to coo cutely and all.

Shiro did hear at least Xion's 'plea' of sorts, having finally found the song he wanted to sing, with a hum he'd look over the note records a bit and while it was a male singing, it'd be somewhat high scale for males.. interesting. of course, he'd poke the song into playing, and turned to everyone, closing his eyes and listening to the music a moment to get into the flow of things before starting "I'll be reborn here and Now! i'll go beyond the sky i gazed at... i grasped it tightly, inside the palm of my own hands... where there was hope~" he would chuckle a bit to himself mentally as he started dancing to the song, now more getting into it as the music continued a bit before continuing "all of the Scenery depicted before my very eyes... i realizedi n reality, it was very small... for instance, if i had encountered you, easily the world would have flipped over! with so many things i don't know, i can only laugh... it's proof of how much further i can go beyond here!~" he'd continue dancing, not to the level of Ven's breakdancing thankfully due to the fact he didn't want to actually -break- things with his taller body and all. "I chased a faraway place... bringing desires that can't be surrendered. i'm aiming for an unknown peak, betting everything on it!" he'd then let the music play for a bit once more while dancing and showing off his moves, yeah, his voice was definitely much more refined and capable of handling singing.. no doubt due to his antics in Spira... "the thing hiding inside of ordinary objects... i won't overlook that it is special. for instance, if you change the angle you see from... you'll see, living things seem different. no need to exaggerate, just don't stand and watch.. Right here, right now! show off the best of yourself!" he'd pause right here, humming a small little bit, before continuing "i've cut through without fear! seeking a new scene... you don't need meaning or theory, for a fulfilled state of heart..." of course, with this, the change of music pace would slow down, but not the words at all, oh, they kept their pace pretty much the same, it was just slower in general as if conveying a buildup of sorts "Ah... basked in the sweet days and Bitter days... we've realized, we've learned.. there are things nobody but us can do.~" with that, the pace picked back up to normal tempo and shiro kept up resuming his dancing "I chased a faraway place, bringing desires that can't be surrendered... i'll stumble upon an unknown peak... Now!" he then would take only a short breath, as if hitting the close to the end of the song "i'll be reborn, no matter how many times! i'll go beyond the sky i gazed at~ i grasped it tightly, inside the palm of my own hands! where there was hope..." he then let the music finish as he continued to dance to it, eventually spreading his arms wide, giving off his simple 'true' smile instead of any smirks or anything like that.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

"You say that, Lea, but I've heard from Demyx in your absence about how absolutely frantic you were when those kids went missing," Isa deadpanned back at Axel. "You can't fool us. We know you'd be worried sick if you weren't traveling with them." Then he relaxed slightly. "Not that that's a bad thing. Even if they are capable of taking care of themselves, they are still only teenagers. They need someone there to look after them and remind them that it's okay for them to just be kids sometimes."

"Yes, I can see that," Aqua had to agree with Roveth. "And it seems like everyone here must really trust yours and Crystal's judgement. Sora and I were ready for a fight, but you both vouched for Vanitas without raising your weapons at all. I was always taught that the darkness is something that must be avoided at all costs and yet you were able to see Vanitas simply as another person who needs help. Honestly, I'm not sure I could have done that."

"That's just Crystal for you," Yuffie grinned in amusement. "She might act all tough and anti-social, but she cares a lot about everyone."

"She wants to see the good in people," Leon nodded in agreement. "But she isn't naive enough to believe she'll find it in everyone which is why she still recognizes villains like Xehanort as enemies that must be stopped."

"I'm sure Shiro wanted to vouch for Vanitas too, of course," noted Yuffie. "But he's got problems with articulating what he wants to say and tends to talk himself into trouble when he's not careful. That's why he has to let Crystal and Roveth do the talking for him even though he means well."

"Well, he might have a tough time just talking to people, but it sounds like he can probably sing with the best of them," Zidane was certainly impressed by Shiro's singing talents with that last song. He grinned cheekily at Shiro. "I'm glad I made it back in time to catch that."

"It's just too bad you didn't get here sooner," Yuffie teased. "You missed out on him sounding even more effeminate for his previous song."

"Forget effeminate," Vanitas chimed in. "The guy sounded like a chick."

"Don't listen to them, Shiro, that last song was wonderful," Xion attempted to distract away from Yuffie and Vanitas's comments about his singing so that Shiro wouldn't immediately become self conscious about it again.

"Yeah, you were great!" Crystal added trying to be encouraging.

Roxas nodded. "Plus, it was a good closing act to try to wind things down for the evening."

"That's a good point," Riku admitted. "There are too many of us to all stay the night here at 7th Heaven so some of us are going to have to head back to Twilight Town fairly soon."

"Aw, do you really have to go?" Sora knew from how Riku said it that he was volunteering to go back himself.

"Well, you know, Namine needs an escort and I'll probably have to run some more errands for Master Yen Sid," Riku answered with a shrug. "Whereas you still need to get in more training with Merlin to improve your magic which I've heard could really use some improvement."

Sora had the foresight to appear somewhat embarrassed about that. "Well, I guess that is kinda true." Then he cheered up almost instantly. "But at least that means I get to spend more time here with Kairi so that's a good thing!"

"And we'll both get to spend more time with Ven and Vanitas," Kairi added encouragingly.

"See, you'll be so busy you won't even know I'm gone and I'll be sure to visit again real soon," Riku assured them both.

"Meaning the rest of us should probably wash up and start getting ready for bed," Crystal realized. And no, it wasn't just an excuse to get changed out of that dress, although she would be very glad to be rid of it for the night.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Roveth would nod as he got up, seeing shiro walk over as he took the mic, if only to get to work on getting that harddrive out right quick as he chuckled "Vanitas just needed a nudge in the right direction once he overcame his issues, so i have no reason to not give him a chance, besides, Shiro's senses for the good inside people are as much acute as Crystals is, mine just hyper-focuses on ill intent to an extreme, thus when i sense no ill intent then i have no reason to be hostile unless they're a complete arse without ill intent towards anyone. Seifer being one case in particular of the 'Jerk without repent to -everyone-'" he stated, before getting to work on things, at the mention of sleep he'd shrug lightly "after i finish getting this hard-drive out, i'm taking my usual perch on the roof for the night, so there's no need to worry about a room for me, also gives plenty of chance for someone to bunk with Shiro instead of me." he said, giving only the smallest of glances to Xion, before turning to get to work by summoning one of his robotic warriors: Robotic Knight, and proceeding in working to get the Hard-drive pulled out so it can be taken to Twilight Town to be copied for the new Karaoke Machine and all for Demyx.

Shiro meanwhile had eyed Crystal and roxas, glancing only to Leon a moment before deciding to speak up, clearly doing as Xion said and ignoring the moronic comments from Zidane and Vanitas, at least speaking in his normal voice "Well.. given it just turned night and all, i think you and Roxas have enough time to go out stargazing tonight, Crystal." he'd suggest, smiling a bit lightly "as for me, i'm probably going to turn in early as i am a bit tired and not just from the singing." he said, glancing to Tifa with a small smile, before turning and heading off "so i think i'll get that shower right quick and then i'll be hitting the hay." with that, Shiro had basically left things to the quietly working Roveth and the others.

Axel just shrugged a bit lightly while tilting his head to the side to pop his neck a bit to keep it from developing a crick "well, i knew Crystal, Shiro, and Roveth could take care of themselves, i was more worried because my two best friends also disappeared without a trace suddenly." he said nonchalantly, as if not disagreeing with isa's words, which he wasn't. "and typically that's what i'm there for, to help remind them to just be kids when they're not facing down evils of the likes of Kefka and the likes." he said with a chuckle and all as Demyx had gotten up and stretched himself "well, outside of Shiro deciding to make me completely envious of his voice range -again-, this was a fun break from working on the next album, shall we get ready to go, Isa?" he said, clearly intending to head back to Twilight Town themselves as they have their own things to do back at the mansion.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Crystal cringed visibly when Shiro suggested she could still go out stargazing with Roxas given that she still really wasn't comfortable in her present attire and she really didn't feel like it was suitable for going out stargazing, at least not in the capacity of being able to stretch out comfortably on the ground somewhere to enjoy the view because she was going to be feeling very self conscious about all the exposed skin and her severe lack of pants. This was, of course, in stark contrast to how casually she would have gone around wearing that thieving outfit she donned sometimes from the El Nido archipelago. It was for Roxas's benefit though and he seemed to like it so for now Crystal tried to calm herself down so she could try to tough it out at least until they were outside and out of earshot of everyone else. That part proved to be easier said than done because naturally herself and Roxas weren't the only ones to have heard Shiro's suggestion.

"Oh yeah, stargazing sounds like fun!" Ventus totally misunderstood the context of Shiro's suggestion. "Come to think of it, I don't think I was ever on this world at night before. What do you think Aqua? Want to come check it out with us?"

"Hey doofus, I'm pretty sure Shiro meant they should go out like 'on a date', meaning just the two of them," Vanitas sighed disdainfully at Ventus. "Are you sure it's a good idea to invite yourself along with them?"

"Oh!" Ventus paused abruptly. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't realize that was what he meant! It's just, I got excited about the idea of stargazing since we used to that all the time back home."

"It's true," Aqua smiled slightly. "The view from the Land of Departure was always amazing."

"Well, we can still go out stargazing if you want to," Sora pointed out. "We just have to make sure to give those two lovebirds plenty of room." Now that he had spent more time around Roxas and Crystal together he had plenty of basis for wanting to tease them about it.

"No, that's okay, there will be plenty of time to stargaze some other night," Ventus waved him off lightly. "Besides, me and Vanitas still should probably focus on getting settled in first. I mean, if we're going to be here a while, we should probably check out our room and try to get used to the place."

"Speaking of which, Sora, does this mean you're going to be bunking with me again?" Zidane inquired with a grin.

"Huh, I guess so," Sora grinned back. "Otherwise there might not be enough rooms for everyone."

"Come on, we should get out of here while we have the chance," Roxas decided to take the opportunity to show himself and Crystal to the door to slip outside in the quiet of the night.

"Is it just me or did it seem like Roxas was pretty touchy about those twins comments people have been making about us?" Ventus decided he should probably ask about that since he really didn't want to be getting on anyone's bad side right now.

"It's nothing you need to worry about," Xion assured him. "Roxas is a little bit sensitive about that stuff because of always being compared to Sora, but he'll get over it. Trust me, he knows it's not your fault that people keep bringing it up."

"Yeah, he's become pretty resilient like that," Riku was inclined to agree. He glanced to Namine. "So, shall we head back to Twilight Town?"

"Yes, I think now is probably a good time for it," Namine answered with a nod.

"Indeed, getting ready to head back is probably for the best," Isa nodded to Demyx. Then he turned to Axel, "I trust we can leave the rest up to you." And finally he looked back to Kailah. "It was lovely meeting you. Perhaps I shall stop in another time so we can get better acquainted."

"Right, we'll go on ahead," Riku announced as he stepped outside to ready a dark corridor so he and Namine could return to Twilight Town.


Roxas and Crystal, meanwhile, headed for the gardens in an attempt to try to take their minds off things while enjoying the view. The view itself was pretty spectacular, not only because of the stars in the sky, but also because of how beautifully Aerith had been tending to the gardens to make sure all of the flowers were blooming to their maximum potential. Illuminated by the night sky it was truly spectacular to see. Even so, the view couldn't distract the pair from everything that was troubling them at the moment.

"Roxas, are you holding up okay?" Crystal was mostly concerned about him because she could tell that he was feeling especially burdened with the knowledge that there really was another boy out there who looks almost exactly like him. Roxas had finally managed to come to terms with his own identity relative to Sora, but meeting Ventus had probably given him some doubts again.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Roxas deflected. He knew he shouldn't be letting those comments get to him so badly and he thought he must have seemed inappropriately agitated in his response to them, but he honestly couldn't help how he was reacting to the situation. "I mean, you still don't seem too happy about the dress."

"Well, that's more because I'm not really fond of wearing dresses," Crystal scratched behind her ear. "Even so, I guess it isn't any worse than the silver bikini. It's not my top pick, but it's not exactly awful either."

"At least you still sound like you," Roxas did finally manage a smile even if he still seemed somewhat distant. Crystal could certainly see that he was starting to retreat into himself again because hadn't she done the exact same thing? As such she really wasn't going to stand for it. Crystal tugged Roxas over and put her arms around him, just hugging him close.

"And you're still you," Crystal stated firmly. "Listen, I know that you're not okay and today was probably harder for you than it was for anyone else and I'm here for you. You don't have to face this by yourself. Just like sometimes I really need you too."

The next thing either of them knew, Roxas was clinging to Crystal with tears streaming down his face. No, he really wasn't okay. He was confused and scared and couldn't even think what to say. All he could do was hold on tight and let the tears flow until they eventually stopped on their own.

"I love you Roxas," Crystal eventually broke the silence again. "Nothing that happened to day is going to change that. That's one thing I can promise you don't have to worry about."

Roxas relaxed his grip slightly and just continued to hold her close. He hadn't realized just how desperately he needed to hear that. "I guess right now there's a lot I'm unsure of, but something I am sure of is that I love you and I'm lucky to have you believing in me."  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

of course, once Roveth had managed to get his own work done, he'd send the Robotic Knight back to Twilight Town via Shadow Walking, and when he returned, he'd move to jump onto the roof of the 7th heaven to find a good place to perch and watch the stars in his own way with a small smile, sure, he was used to being alone, so it was no big deal for him, as it did let him look at the stars, which to him, in a way guided his soul like a beacon, shiro may be one of those twinkling stars and Roveth the 'darkness' surrounding it, but he would never willingly harm his light side, so it was a moot point, as he hummed lightly, and continued to gaze off while extending his senses to start feeling out the entire town he could keep an eye on, being an ever-watchful shadow indeed fitted him to a tee.

Axel nodded while Demyx would head out to join Riku and Namine and all to head back "no worries, Isa, i'll keep an eye on em." he said, while stretching out in his seat almost like a lazy cat, but he was alright with this as he glanced up the stairs where Shiro was more than likely going to be getting to bed "which also means its your bedtime kiddo." he said -way- too teasingly to Xion, facing her with an easy-going grin of sorts.

Shiro of course was sitting on his usual bed once he finished taking his shower, drying his hair off with a towel as he was at least topless, having pulled on a pair of silk shorts, though he did have a starry background blue t-shirt he was about to put on for bed, for now he was just drying his hair and thinking on things, even so far as to open up the gate for a single portal and bringing out from it oddly enough a shortened form of enkidu to look at, as if wondering what his 'mentor' would do, normally he'd also be talking to Zoro, Sanji, and Kenshin, but those three were already asleep or at least strangely silent at the moment so he wasn't going to bother them. ~hmmh... how could i learn to actually tell my feelings... when all i am. when my body.. is made out of blades...~ he thought, clearly troubled more about that fact than about the singing or his usual not understandable dreams he had from time to time.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

"But everyone else is still up!" Xion gave Axel her very best pout the effect of which was immediately ruined when she started giggling.

Isa chuckled slightly as he slipped out the door to accompany Demyx back to Twilight Town. Leon, of course, looked to Sora and Kairi.

"Anyway, you both have training with Merlin in the morning so you should be getting ready for bed too," he reminded them.

"Aw, does it really have to be in the morning?" Sora whined pointedly.

"You want to impress Riku by improving your magic, right?" Kairi tried to encourage him.

"Well, that's true," Sora nodded. "Okay, I guess I can get up early if it's for a good cause."

"And you both should probably be getting ready for bed too," Aqua looked to Ven and Vanitas.

"Are you seriously trying to impose a bedtime on me?" Vanitas just kind of stared at Aqua in disbelief.

"And I was asleep for thirteen years! Can't I have a bit of leeway here?" Ventus tried to negotiate.

"Come on Xion, it won't be as fun without Crystal, but we can still hit the showers together before bed," Kairi convinced Xion to follow her upstairs to the shower room while the boys were still busy being difficult about having to get ready for bed.

Zidane mentally noted Yuffie's absence, but said nothing about it. He had a pretty good idea of where the little ninja must have gone.


Out in the gardens, meanwhile, Crystal and Roxas had found a nice quiet bench to sit on beneath a particularly gorgeous tree. Roxas was notably calmer and had somehow ended up lying down on the bench with his head on Crystal's lap. Really, they were just talking while enjoying the scenery and each other's company.

"You know, when the Organization tried to get rid of me I began to question why it was that I kept going back to them, especially when Xion kept running away and Axel wouldn't even talk to me," Roxas sounded contemplative. "I realized then that I didn't know where else to go and I wasn't even sure there was anyplace I could truly belong even if I wanted to leave. I know now, of course, that Xemnas wanted for me to feel alone and hopeless so I wouldn't try to fight back. And when I did leave I didn't think anyone would miss me, but Axel was devastated when he couldn't convince me to come back and it sounds like you were pretty broken up about it when I disappeared too even though we had barely even met."

"I didn't really understand it myself, but somehow it felt like I couldn't just leave it that way," Crystal nodded softly.

"Right, you tried to find me and in doing so you discovered the real truth," Roxas continued. "And I guess I never really did tell you anything about myself. I mean, you've heard bits and pieces about what went on with the Organization, but you haven't really heard it from me and it really wasn't always bad. At least, I didn't think so. I mean, I was happy whenever I got to spend time with Axel and Xion, especially when all three of us were together. Most days we were forced to go on solo missions, but sometimes we were assigned to team missions and those days were always a lot of fun. Neverland was one of the best."

"You certainly are a natural at flying," Crystal couldn't help but smile.

"Axel didn't really take to it right away, but with a little encouragement from me and Tinkerbell we managed to get him into the air," Roxas was grinning now as he reminisced about how awkward Axel had been at flying initially.

The two would continue on like that for a while completely unaware of Yuffie lurking silently in the hedges with her camera at the ready.