NB. English is not my native language but I do my best to make sure everything is understandable.
If you want to beta the story, please tell me c:

Warning: AU - terminal illnesses, delicate issues, death issues, drug use, underage prostitution, suicide attempt - crossover FF Advent Children

Genres: Angst, Suspence, Hurt/Comfort, Romance

Pairings: Akuroku centric, side pairings Soriku and Zemyx, past!Rokushi, past! LarxeneXion, slight Akusai

General short summary: In Roxas' room, just above the multitude of pics that hang on the headboard of his bed, in the midst of the chaos of all the words and phrases engraved on the wall in black paint, there are three little white words. 'Viva la Vida' is a scream to the world, a hymn to life, a persevering hope. Viva la Vida is the echo of all those spirits who have forgotten to die. And while Roxas fights his battles, Axel tries to save him.

Longer summary: Axel is a high school student who lives in a crystal ball, never really paying attention to what surrounds him. He has friends, he's respected and feared, he has a future with basketball and has everything a teenager could ask, but when he meet Roxas he finally open his eyes and discovers that life is not that happy and perfect playground he thinks. Meanwhile, despite his degenerative terminal illness, Roxas is fighting with all his strengths to chase his desire and save someone really important to him.
But life isn't charitable and they end up discovering all the lies, conspiracies and false hopes that filled their lives.
Why everything was falling apart? Who was the real guilty?
All the answers are inside the human nature.

Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts everybody was aware that everyone in there is gay

Viva la Vida

Act 1.
Knowing Roxas:
the kid without fear

# 01. He is...

The cold rain poured heavily on the slightly misted windows, as aiming to selfishly attract all the attention on itself. The wind was so strong that seemed to want to eradicate everything it encountered on its way. And the sky was so pale that seemed to be sick.

Axel didn't remember to have ever seen such a bad weather since the last hurricane he had witnessed at his grandparents' house on the east coast. He hated rain, he hated water in general, but rain was the one that he tolerated less, especially when it suited his mood the most...decisively gloomy.

A smug grin appeared on his lips when he remembered how, a long time ago, he had said the same thing to Roxas: the blonde had his golden brows furrowed and had looked at him with an unreadable expression for a long moment, than he said something that took the redhead completely aback.

"So... don't you even like mud battles?"

"Excuse me?" Axel blinked a few times and moved closer, thinking he had misheard.

"It's the same as with snowballs in winter, the only difference is that this is with mud... Sor and I loved mudsling at each other when we were children, our mother was always angry when she saw us come home all plastered" Roxas seemed enthusiastic as he explained, but at the obvious puzzlement of the other man, he spoke again "You're too pessimistic Ax, you've to look on the bright side of things"

"I'm not pessimist, it's-..."

"If you don't like water in general, it means that you don't even like the sea?" Roxas stopped him abruptly and when the redhead shook his head in response, he darkened a bit "Too bad, I love it"

Axel brought his mug to his lips as he persisted looking through the windows – not that there was something interesting out there!

It had always been so, he couldn't do anything about it. In whichever situation Roxas, unlike him, was always the optimistic one even his life wasn't all that good. But, seriously, how could Axel be positive that time?

He had to, he scolded himself.

The man was yawning when he heard a movement on his left, as he turned he saw Sora standing on the door frame. He looked horrible, putting it in a kind manner: deep dark circles plied his face, his brown hair was tousled and his blue eyes - just like of his brother's - lacked of the usual sparkle. Sora went near a closet where he took a folding chair and placed it in the center of the white room, just where not too long before there was the bed and now only all that weird machines were left standing.

"He's under anesthesia, everything was fine until now. They're going to operate him in a matter of minutes to let him stabilize" his voice was slurred from exhaustion "The surgeon said that it will take several hours"

Axel nodded his head from the chair he was buried in and shifted his gaze again out of the window "You should go get some rest. You look like a zombie"

Sora didn't answer immediately.

"Today you're missing an important match. You're still on time, why don't you go?" he said instead of paying attention to what the other had said "Roxas told me that a bunch of recruiters from the best colleges came here just for you"

Two acidic deep green eyes settled on the brunette.

"Honestly? Who cares" Axel blurted, tightening his grip on the armrest of the chair "I can wait for the next time and if they're not there, I can go and chase them wherever the fuck they hid. But not today. Roxas needs me"

Sora's eyes softened at the sight of the fire in his eyes. Axel had always dreamed of playing in the NBA, he was really a good player despite all the pranks and shits he did in the past, but now he couldn't do any false move: since when, the year before, he led his team to win the state school championship, he entered in the viewfinder of many renowned colleges. This is why now he didn't play only for fun but for his future.

"You're likely to sacrifice your future for the person you love. It's a nice gesture" the brunette whispered with a softer tone, but not betraying his exhaustion "Roxas was lucky to have found someone like you"

The redhead pursed his lips and made eye contact with his feet on the ground. You're wrong, he wanted to yell, if it wasn't for Roxas I was still lost now "Stop talking like that" he blurted instead.

Sora sighed.

"Roxas took his condition with philosophy and so we do" he said and when he noticed that the taller man had clenched his fingers on his cup, he leaned forward and put a hand on his wrist and smiled slightly "Roxas, our parents and me... we had more time than you to accept his situation. Unfortunately the illness has worsened and his hopes to survive reduced" he paused a moment when noticed the look of pure hate of the other "I'm not saying to abandon or forget him... just, consider also the worst of the situations and be ready to accept what could happen"

Axel snapped impetuously and almost threw the cup of coffee that still held "How can you talk like that about your brother? He was always positive and you too... you, your mother, you were so fucking optimistic... and now you come and say to give up and that there is no more hope for him?" had raised his voice, but remembering of being in a hospital immediately lowered it again.

"No, Axel. We all know that Roxas will make it, he's strong and I'm sure that the first thing he'll ask when he wake up is how was the match" he laughed nervously but then sighed "What I want to tell you is... just don't feel to bad if something goes wrong, because we'll need you".

Said this, Sora stood up, go to put back the folding chair where he had previously took it and then lingered to inspect that space left empty when Roxas'd been rolled to surgery. Axel followed all his movements with his eyes, without saying anything and noticed that eventually, after a careful study of the room, Sora focused on two laptops propped carefully on the bedside table next to the chair he was still sitting.

"Hey Axel. So what'd you say about Roxas?"

Axel didn't reply right away. He scanned cautiously the two laptops: one of them was white, it was Roxas', and was there since his hospitalisation; while the black one was Axel's, he always brought it there when he went to see him as to pass time together with one of those stupid online games.

"Take your time"Sora whispered from the doorway before disappearing without Axel noticing anything.

Instinctively the redhead grabbed his black laptop, placed it in his lap, and began to write-down an endless stream of words, with his mind back to a few hours before when Roxas, a bit dozed off because of the morphine in his system but still lucid enough, had looked at him exhausted and had asked one of his weird questions "Axel... after the surgery what will you say about me? Usually people speak highly of dead... your opinion, will it change depending on the outcome?"

Axel's face twisted in an expression of pain as his mind traveled backwards in his past with the little blonde.

*. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *.

What can you say about a seventeen-years-old boy at death's door?
That he's nice. And intelligent. That he goes nuts for cherry coke. That he loves literature. And Freddie Mercury. And me. Perhaps this is what I prefer the most, apart from his indomitable temper, even if he always loves to emphasize how he loves Freddie Mercury more than me. It makes me jealous as hell, as idiotic it is, but I'm not used being put in second place. And then, fuck, I'm sexier!

I can't say for sure when we first met but I can totally assure that when we knew each others our relations were quite stormy. I was the asshole on call: sexy, famous, acclaimed by everyone and unfair with the neighbor. Instead he fell in that category that everyone would define as "loser" but that I enjoyed calling "sacrificial prey"... yes because as a predator in my spare time I delighted myself with my preys.

Nothing personal, mind you, just plain fun (probably unfair to them) in fact I didn't even consider worthy to learn their names and this made me superior than all the low-ranking bullies (line Seifer for example) that set their sight only on a couple of kids and beat the shit out of them for the whole year. At least me and my group were just in our injustice: don't deprive anyone of their daily ration.

And my probably unfair behavior lasted right up to the beginning of my third year of high school. I'll never forget that sunny 2nd October, when the principal called me in his office during the lunch morning I heard that there had been an anonymous disclose and that were taken disciplinary measures for all members of water polo, rugby and basketball teams: some helpful members were expelled indefinitely, others were simply this because of an unauthorized party held in the school premises at the end of the summer, exacerbated by the presence of alcohol, soft drugs and hot intercourse with the cheerleaders. I had only a couple of beers. You know, I wasn't interested in that shits and I was too gay even for a quickie with a chick – at that time no one knew about my sexual interests so I just pretended to be too drunk even to lower my pants.

I didn't deny my fault of participating but I didn't feel equally as guilty as the others to be relieved from my duties. Luck, if we may so call it, seemed to be my friend and after a long lecture the headmaster was going to release me, when his eye fell on my grill marks and then the verdict was simple: I couldn't come back to the team until I filled the my shortcomings, because "school isn't only leisure and basketball", quoting his words. Okay, we can joyful skip my obvious disappointment and all the colorful curses I cordially addressed to the dearly beloved principal... regarding the anonymous, I'd have found him and tortured him.

And it was in that same fateful October 2nd that besides being suspended from basketball, I went for the first time in the study room (we had a study room?) and I met Roxas.
I stood at the counter and leaned forward to catch the attention of the little blonde who was curled up on the stool on the other side. He looked up from that big book in front of him and stared at me intently. He had a large black bruise that went from the left eye to his temple and a cotton swab in one of his nostrils to stop a probable loss of blood.

"I need a tutor" I said flatly.

"I know" he replied without giving me too much importance looking for something on the desk "Wait, I'll fill in your form"

I raised an eyebrow, annoyed by his manner and tone used "Shouldn't I do it myself?"

He gave me an amused look but undoubtedly sarcastic.
"I already know everything, don't bother" it took him about thirty seconds before laying the sheet on a stack and spoke again "Your tutor will arrive at 4, time scheduled for remedial course" he murmured without taking his eyes from the book he was reading before.

I glared daggers at him, eager to pick a fight, but I wasn't in a favorable position so I just grunted an assent and glanced at the clock, it was 15:43, lacked twenty minutes. Perhaps it was better to follow the advice of the annoying kid and I decided to find a chair and make it my throne. I looked around to pass the time: it was a fairly large room with tables scattered around, the counter of the acidic kid, a computer and a lot of workpaper upon its wooden surface, a double door communicating with the library. Except me and that microscopic tot the room was empty.

Bored, I yawned loudly and began to play with my phone. Occasionally I addressed a look to the strange kid, than to the clock and back to my phone until I didn't understood that time wasn't going to pass so easily so I started to fantasize on how could look like my tutor: a cute, sweet, quiet girl with blond hair and blue eyes, and maybe with a nice pair of boobs. A true paradise for my eyes. I may be gay to the core, but a I always appreciate beautiful girl!
Sometime during my daydream the clock marked the 4 o'clock and I turned my attention to the door, where I assumed the tutor would come, but it was closed. Perhaps she was late.
I turned back to the little boy who was still reading, after a few seconds his cell phone began to vibrate and he finally closed his book.

"It's 4 o'clock" he stated getting up from his stool, walked around the counter and approached my to the table. Now that I looked better, his figure was even more petite than it seemed: he was wearing a checkered black and white Rolling Stones shirt, a sweatshirt with his zip open, a pair of dark gray skinny jeans and at his feet a pair of checkered vans. Not bad for a looser. Really not bad!

"Well?" I asked with a puzzled expression.

He said nothing, he let himself drop on the chair beside to me and put his bag on the table from where he drew a folder "Before we begin I'd like to take a look at your portfolio"

"Wait. What does it means?" I spread my eyes open, trying to not crack my voice.

The boy raised an eyebrow and looked at me like I was a stupid.
"I'm your mentor, really pleased to meet you. Now take the books"

Immediately I got up on my feet and slammed my hands on the table, my eyes showed all the anger that I had tried to suppress since principal's kind gift till the behavior to know-it-all guy in front of me.

"You... YOU'd be my mentor? And you've been in here all the time, why the fuck did you made me wait like an idiot?"

"Sit down and lowers his voice, we are not at the stadium, Mr. Sportsman"

"No, I don't lower my voice. Are you kidding me or something?"

"I'd never do that" said the blonde feigning an innocent-mocking tone "Besides, I advised you that recovery lessons are scheduled at 4 o'clock, before than I'm not obliged to pay any form of attention to you"

Enough. I didn't even know his name and I already wanted to kill him. I grabbed him by the collar o his shirt "Nasty brat, how you dare-" I couldn't complete my sentence that he warned me defiantly.

"I highly recommend you to let me go"

"Or what?" I laughed "You don't reach my shoulders and judging by how messed up is your face I don't think you're a good in fights"

"Yeah, I'm not that strong"

"Good. And you know who am I?"

"Axel Moore, 17, point guard in the school basketball team" he said bored and I smirked "...sadly renowned because composed by real animals" he added soon after.

Unexpectedly, those words didn't piss me off so much. I chuckled and tugged him, noticing how easily I could knock him out "Don't be full of yourself, chick, or you'll end up hurt. You've to respect who's stronger than you"

With a flick of his hand he managed to free himself from my grip and looked up at me "You'll be the king of the savannah somewhere else, but as long as you are in this room I'm the boss"

I raised an eyebrow in a huff and towered over him "I really hope you're kidding"

"And I'd also like to suggest you to not even raise a finger on me otherwise you can say bye bye to your beloved basketball" I listened in silence and so, knowing that he was leading the issue, he continued with a cheeky tone "Your grades are in my hands, and if they'll eventually rises, the principal can always expel you from the team due to act of bullying as he couldn't do for that little funny giddy party"

"Wait, how do you know ..."

"I know everything, Mr. Flurry of Dancing Flames" he laughed heartily and took a hand to his chin "Oh by the way, I must admit that it's a too cool nickname for a drunk who dances around a fire"

"So it was you!" I barked now blinded by rage and without noticing I grabbed him by the neck and raised him to my height to make eye contact "You're the mole"

The kid coughed violently and squirmed slightly so I put him back down without grace only because I noticed that he was suffocating.

"Answer me!"

He leaned against the table and took a few minutes to catch his breath.

"That Marluxia of the water polo team... he felt really hurt after being suspended for the entire semester... and if I'm not mistaken, just a couple of hours ago, I saw him coming out the principal's office... this time with an expulsion"

"So it was you... why did you do that? My future will be compromised!" I gritted my teeth and stabbed him with a look I saw him regain his composure and stepped in front of me, he stared back fearless.

"Your future? And my present then? I did it to protect me and everyone else from you," he spat venomously "We haven't given you all any reason for such anger towards us. We can't go back home every day with several bruises just because you think 'we look at you' or even 'because we exist' ... though I could tolerate it. But when that friend of yours, Xigbar, he put his dirty hands on Naminè, I... I was furious. Only monsters would touch a woman" he lowered his voice and with it his head too.

I shifted my gaze elsewhere, I had heard something about it: Xig was drunk and wanted to force the girl to do activities she didn't want to... and I got really mad when the others told me. I decided to not respond. Blondie-looser was acting like a little shit but he was incredibly brave, I liked his determination. Maybe I could give him a break... but I wasn't fully satisfied because my basketball now was suffering the consequences.

"Be careful, Moore" he continued "You and your group can be stronger but I have wit and stubbornness on my side. I won't be satisfied until everything will be right and fair in this school"

"Masochist, huh?"

"Combative, I would say" he corrected me.

I shook my head and went back to sit down, so did him a few moments later. I handed him my grill marks and I smiled laconic as he peered at it.

"So, Marly's reduced you to so?"

The bow, who at first introduced himself as my mentor, waved a sarcastic grin "Marluxia is smarter than he looks... I never imagined that he'd eventually find it out so soon. He seems a fussy first lady with his pink hair but he can throw a wicked cool left hook!"

I laughed heartily at his comment, the same thought as me.

"Learn to know your place, keep your mouth shut and maybe I can tell the others to go easy on you... if you're really that good and I get good grades I can also consider the idea of leaving you in peace"

He didn't answer but continued scanning my previous tests that he had pulled out of his folder.

"Are you sure to be good enough for me to be readmitted in the team?" I asked breaking the silence, not that I didn't trust him but I knew absolutely nothing about this guy.

"Here is my grill marks. It's your right to make sure it isn't a fool who gives you reps" he murmured quietly as he passed my a sheet.

I grabbed it and began to scroll through the various grades, there was an immense collection of A and A +. I ended up with an insane or what? I wondered in amazement. And then I noticed that near Physical Education there was written in capital letters 'exempted'.

"What is it? You're too good at school so you can skip PE... Roxas Strife?" I added reading his name.

"I think it's none of your business" he didn't look at me, he was making a habit of it.

"Thinking about it... Strife uh? Your name doesn't sound new to me"

"Probably it's my brother. He plays soccer"

"No, no it isn't him" I waved a hand in denial "I seem to remember that a couple of years ago a Strife retired from the soccer team during a game... due to an injury?"

The blonde looked up only to eye me disdainful and then lowered them again with disinterests.

"Martin Bauber once said everyone must respect the soul mystery of his fellow man and refrain from entering in it with an impudent indiscretion"

"And who the hell is this?"

"This, as you say, was a philosopher, cited, among other things, in class this morning. But after all, you were too busy to sleep instead of listening" he said candidly grabbing my literature book. Had I not known that behind that angelic little face was hiding a Satan in miniature, I could have told he was really cute. It didn't take me too long to figure out what kind of psychopath he was. Sarcastic and vengeful.

"Now are you spying on my movements in class?"

"Of course not ... But, you know, if someone sitting behind me starts snoring in the middle of a documentary film, I can't help but notice"
I blushed embarrassed, feeling like a berk. Not only I had fallen asleep and he'd seen me, but he was also in my class and I hadn't ever noticed!

"Uh sorry... I didn't... I didn't know we were-"

"Relax" he cut me, sounding not even a little displeased "It's true, we have some classes in common but I've never had the presumption that someone insignificant like me could be noticed from one of your caliber "

I remained silent to study that strangely relaxed features. Roxas Strife was a weird guy with an intractable temper. But he was interesting. I decided that I liked him.

"Wow! I've never seen a book so blank. It seems that it's been printed ten minutes ago!" he trilled in mocking amazement, flipping through the pages "Now I understand why you're so good at school"

A vein throbbed on my temple and I sharpened my gaze.

The fact that I had declared a temporary break didn't mean, however, that I had ceased to hate him, especially if he continued to instigate me!

After a long break on this website here I am again, this time the fic I'm presenting is the translation of the same story I've published in italian on EFP archive (you can see my page in the profile).
I'd like to do a premise before leaving you.
This story born as a development and improvement of other things I've written (see Knowest thou the land where lemon trees blum etc.). The plot is extremely intricate so I had to divide the story in various acts in which I focus on issues about a particular characters and you'll see a change of povs and shits, every act will be composed by a various number of chapters. Until now I've written 3 acts:

Act 1
Knowing Roxas: the kid without fear (chap 1-9)

Act 2
Reminescences about Xion: the little girl with big bue eyes (10-11)

Act 3
Xemnas' silent scream: shut your eyes and pull the trigger (12-)

However other three of them are planned but I can't spoiler other things right here. Just mind that this isn't a normal giddy comedy (well it can seem a comedy but it's not), but problems will arrive really slowly... slowly because I'm an asshole.
I decided to translate it because the story had a quite good success until now and someone asked me to make an English version because she wanted to read it... so, I hope you like it and if my English sucks please tell me and I'll look for another style or something , if you want to propose as a beta welcome.
Because of my lack of time and will and because the fic is fucking long (more than 160 pages of Word up to now and still in progress), I'm going to update only if I receive your reviews and your opinion, otherwise I'm going to continue and focus only on my Italian version... we can say that this chapter is a test. No interest, no sequel :/

Ps. if you want to see the cover image in a better quality you can find it in my tumblr website: akuroku-perfectillusion, or on my deviantart: Faith Yoite.
Hope to see you next time.

Preview
#2. Freak

"What's up?" I asked, my sudden question made him jump.

"What do you mean?"

"You're too quiet and distracted. It's not like you"

He glanced down at his drink placed in his lap "Nothing, just thinking"

"Want to vent?" I looked elsewhere, finding difficult to play the role of the good Samaritan.

"No, thanks"

"Alright"

"Something is gonna happen"

I glanced at him "What?"

But he didn't answer, he had his eyes fixed on a swing in front of us. He looked like an empty shell, and it seemed strange to say it, but I didn't like to see him in that state.

"Roxas" I called him and he turned his attention to me.