I scaled the wall easily; it was basics at this point. Besides, I'd been here before. Just a simple scoping out of the land, but still; I did my job well. I knew what I had to do and where I had to go.

I ease myself to the ground, landing on the balls of my feet. As soon as they touch the soft grass, I take off running, keeping low to the ground.

My hand stays on my right thigh, where my dagger is kept in its sheath. My other hand guides me along the wall in the darkness. Finally, I find the tree I was looking for and reach up for a branch. I quickly climb up, utilizing the natural hand holds in the bark. I find a branch with a good view of the house and rest there.

I watch the house from my spot across the courtyard. It's quiet, the servants' quarters dark. A maid walks past a window on the top floor. The bottom floor seems silent. Perfect.

I jump down from the tree and land noiselessly in a crouch on the ground. I dart across the yard, keeping to the shadows; not that it was hard. This house was practically begging to be looted. No security, no lights, few people, and all the silver I could steal.

I reach the house and easily open a window, sliding in silently. My eyes take a moment to adjust before I realize I'm in what must be a meal room. I open my pack and start quickly and quietly throwing in any valuables I see. I throw open cabinets and drawers, dumping anything I find into my sack. All of my lessons are repeating in my head; get in, get out.

I move my search to the next room and discover a grand staircase. I contemplate going up. The image of a loot-filled master bedroom makes up my mind. I swiftly climb the stairs and make my way down the hall. I slow outside a door that I assume to be the master bedroom. Stopping, my back against the wall, I listen for any signs of a person in the room. I hear none. I slowly move my head around the doorframe. I am met with a huge bedroom, empty of people. Just my luck.

I slink into the room and move to the large dresser. An assortment of men's jewelry lay scattered. As the make their way into my bag, one falls to the ground. It lands on the stone part of the floor and elicits a small noise as it bounces. I reach down to pick it up. It's much smaller than the other men's rings I had found, more delicate. Tiny silver wires encased a jagged, red and orange stone. It reminded me of smoke encircling a flame. I stick it in my pants pocket so as not to lose it.

As I turn to leave, something suddenly sweeps my feet out from under me. My head hits the dresser as I fall to the stone floor, stunning me slightly.

"Nngh…" I groan. I have no time to recover before my attacker sinks a knee into the small of my back, pinning me to the ground. My face is pressed into the area rug. It smells faintly of something burnt. It reminds me of a crisp, autumn air.

"Well, well." a smooth voice says next to my ear. It brings me out of my daze. "It seems I've caught a mouse." He moves so the weight of his entire body is on mine. "I hate mice."

I move to reach for my dagger. My hand barely twitches before I feel a blade at my neck.

"Tsk, tsk. I wouldn't do that, Roxas." the smooth voice mocks. I freeze.

"Ho-…how do you know my name?" I ask.

"You don't think I follow up on every little mouse that makes its way into my territory? I must have flinched. He continues, "Yes, I saw you the other night. It seems you really quite fancy my house."

I struggle to get him off of me. The knife presses harder on my neck; I stop.

"Ah-ah. What are we doing, Roxas?"

"Let me up so I can fight you."

"Now why would I do that?"

"Kill me then."

"That's just too simple, darling." He emphasized this with a finger tracing down my neck. I would've sworn it was hotter that any other normal human finger.

"Nngh…What the hell are you doing, freak?"

"The name's Axel" His fingers slowly tangle themselves in my hair. He makes a fist and pulls my head back so I'm forced to look at him for the first time. Blazing green eyes lock on mine. "Got it memorized?"

I attempt to spit in his face, but because of the awkward angles it lands on the side of his cheek.

"Heh, heh." He laughs, wiping it off. The blade disappears from under my throat and my hair is freed. My head falls back to the carpet. I groan as I hit the same part of my skull that hit the dresser. I wince as I feel my head rolled to the side.

"You've bled on my carpet, Roxas."

I open my eyes to see a small, red stain on the carpet beneath me.

"Cry about it." I mumble into the rug, my head throbbing. I must've cut it on the way down before.

"What was that, Roxas?" He gently strokes my head, but even that causes me to hiss in pain.

"Awh. Poor Roxy." He whispers, pressing his lips to my bloodied temple.

"What the—?" My question is cut short as I elbow Axel in the head as hard as I can, which wasn't very. Still, it's enough to push him back which gives me the chance to roll over, although I'm still mostly underneath him. I immediately punch him in the face before he recovers.

A grin stretches over his face as he rubs his jaw. I reach for my dagger again. It slides out of its sheath and I manage to graze his arm. He curses and grabs my wrist, swiftly getting possession of my dagger. He pins my wrists to the floor on either side of my head.

A ridiculous crosses his face as he stares down at me. A knee moves up to cover my elbow as he lifts his arm up, assessing the damage. His tongue reaches out to meet the wound, slowly licking its length. He appears slightly unbalanced and I take the opportunity to try to knock him over. He laughs at my attempt and swiftly shifts his position. With both of his knees now on my elbows, he presses my own dagger to my neck. It presses into the skin, drawing a few drops of blood.

"Heh. I knew I shouldn't have put my knife away." He continues grinning. I continue glaring, pinned to the floor, his weight on my chest.

"Well now what, if you're not going to kill me?"

"I haven't decided yet…" He contemplates. "Well, first things first." He leans down to my ear and whispers, "You have something of mine." As he says this, his free hand reaches behind him. His hand slowly reaches into my pocket to retrieve something. I stifle a surprised moan as his hand brushes against my groin.

What the hell was that?1 Did I like that? I didn't like that. …What was that? I panic.

He gently kisses my earlobe as he gets back up, his hand retreating from my pocket with a small ring; the one I tried to steal from him earlier.

"You sure know what to look for, kid."

"I'm no rookie after all." I shoot back. "And don't call me kid."

"Then why…" He leans down, our faces inches from each other. "are you currently pinned to the floor, Shorty?" I can feel his hot breath against my face.

Blood rushes to my cheeks and I try to tell myself that it's out of anger. I push against his knees, trying to get him off of me. Finally, I give up. I look up at him.

"Why are you so fat?" I ask.

"Don't call me fat just 'cause you're short. besides, I've totally been watching what I've been eating."

I could easily think of ten other places I'd rather be than pinned to the floor, talking about my captor's eating habits. I had to get out of here. What time was it? I was supposed to meet Larxene at one with my night's steal. I looked at the clock in the corner of the room. 1:30 a.m. Shit.

Axel notices my distraction.

"Need to be somewhere, Roxas?" Our faces are still inches apart. "Unfortunately, I think you might be a little late." And his lips crash into mine.