Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Or Jesse McCartney. Or the song featured here. I actually like Jesse's version of "Bleeding Love" more than Leona Lewis'.

A/N: Hi guys! This is actually my first KH fic. And my first challenge. Oh boy. I hope I don't screw up. Anyways, this challenge is by BeyondTheClouds and it's her Fifty Chapter Drabble Challenge. I chose the one where Sora, Roxas, Ven, and Vanitas are in a band because I love music, the four of them, and I had experience being in a band. So I thought this would be fun to write! And I chose "Ex Animo" as the title because... well, it's gonna be revealed on a future chapter. It's Latin, and it means "sincerely" or "from the heart." I really hope I pull this off well. Please R&R, and enjoy the first chapter! :D

Chapter Word Count: 995

Ex Animo

...

Shower

...

...

"Hey Roxas, how exactly did we form a band?" a brun asked, retaining to his famous stance. He placed his hands behind his head for support and glanced at Roxas with a curious expression.

"From our Guitar Hero addiction, right?"

Roxas shook his head. "Maybe? I guess it was because of that and because Vani wanted to smash stuff? That's why mom and dad bought him drums," replied Roxas. Shrugging, he and Sora faced their older brothers who knew the real reason they formed their band.

Ven crossed his arms as Vanitas smirked evilly at them. "Don't remind me. It was embarrassing."

"No, it wasn't. It was fun revealing to everyone in school that you sing in the shower," he reminded. The younger boys started laughing, much to Ven's chagrin.

"I remember now!"

"I couldn't believe my ears when we heard you singing Jesse McCartney songs!"

Oh, how he loathed that day in the shower…

...

"VEN! Get your ass out of the bathroom pronto!"

A raven-haired boy glared at the locked door in front of him and proceeded banging his fist on it. The strong urge to destroy the wooden blockade standing in front of him rushed through his spine.

"I'm not yet done, Vanitas! Try getting Roxas out of the other bathroom! That would be easier!"

Vanitas gritted his teeth and kicked the door before storming away. How could his younger sibling dare defy him in the wee hours of the morning? He knew Ventus knew better. It wasn't like he was singing in the shower or anything.

His yellow eyes squinted when he heard an odd sound echoing from the bathroom. Was it possibly…? No, it couldn't be… could it?

He slowly returned to where he stood seconds ago and pressed his ear on the door. Step, step, step. He rolled his eyes; Ven was simply wasting his time in the bathroom. He readied himself to bang the door again, until –

"Closed off from love, I didn't need the pain…"

Vanitas had to control his laughter and run away from the bathroom his brother occupied. He never expected that amongst the four of them, Ventus would inherit their mother's habit of singing in the bathroom. He smirked and ruffled his spiky black hair in amusement. There was nothing Ventus could hide. Especially from his sly and ever-so-caring older brother. He took out his phone from their room and placed it close to the door, recording every single lyric Ven sang. However, Vanitas was remained impatient.

"VEN, I'LL SMASH DOWN THE DOOR IF YOUR ASS WON'T GET OUT OF THE BATHROOM IN 10 SECONDS!"

"I'm coming! I'm coming! GEEZ!"

...

"You're in an awfully good mood today, Vani. What's up?"

Vanitas rolled his eyes and glared at the boy beside him. He was supposedly the perfect mirror image of the raven-haired boy, except for his blue eyes and brown spiky mane that resembled his older brother's. Next to the boy were Ventus and Roxas, who happened to be identical to each other. They shared the same style of their golden blonde hair and had the same blue eyes. Vanitas wondered how he managed to be the physical black sheep of their family in terms of eye color.

"None of your beeswax, Sora," he replied, his deep voice scaring the wits out of his youngest brother. The brunet grabbed the checkered wristband of his other brother.

"Let go of me, Sora!" shouted Roxas.

"He won't murder you," Ven added smartly. "But I'm also wondering why you're not acting like a total grump for two straight hours."

Vanitas smirked. "You'll see."

It was clear that Ventus was completely oblivious to Vanitas' plan and didn't even bother to find out what it was. Sure, he was worried about the state of his brother. Vanitas was never that happy.

Ventus parted ways with them because of his separated locker. He rummaged the metal cabinet for his Chemistry book and happily closed it.

"I'd like to thank Lea for lending me the privilege to give a morning announcement," boomed Vanitas' voice from the school speakers. Ven turned around and wanted to know why Lea allowed Vanitas, of all people, to give morning announcements. Lea had more common sense than just telling them to get his name memorized, just like his brother, Axel.

"I DID NOT, VA… MFFPH!" Lea's voice faded away with muffles.

"Anyway, since my lovable brother, Ven, took a long time in the shower and locked me out for a while, I want everyone to embrace the reason he spends a decade in it!"

Terra and Aqua tackled him by surprise and started beating him down with questions.

"Whoa! Whoa! Take it easy!" he exclaimed, pushing away Terra's grip on his wrist.

"This is so embarrassing! Why did you let Vanitas do it?" Aqua asked. Ven grimaced. "Huh?"

"You know… take a video of you in the shower," she said. "I expected better from you." Ven's jaw dropped.

"WHAT? I'm not THAT stupid, Aqua!"

"Well, what else do you do in the shower?" she asked.

"Closed off from love, I didn't need the pain
Once or twice was enough and it was all in vain
Time starts to pass, before you know it, you're frozen… ohh…"

Ven's blue eyes widened in shock. The entire school was quiet, probably listening to his singing that had the echoing feel of the shower. Vanitas was going to pay…

Terra stifled his laughter. Sora and Roxas came up to him with dumbfounded "you-can-sing?" looks on their faces. Aqua smiled.

"I keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love…
You cut me open…"

"Well, at least it wasn't a video of you in the shower or something. Nice voice, Ven. If only Terra could sing..."

"HEY!"

...

"The only reason I liked that day was because you got detention and Axel punched you in the face for tying up Lea," Ventus mumbled.

The younger boys were still laughing. Vanitas simply shrugged. "The punch was worth it."