A/n: Wellll here we are again, take two. This story will henceforth be re-submitted with almost entirely new content! (forgive my previous display of childishness in my writing)

Let's try this again then, shall we?

On goes the reading!

Disclaimer: I only wish I owned KH...

The mainland of the Destiny Islands chain was notorious for its constant clash of cultures, experiences, and everything in between. The tropical dreamland was a common destination for many; paradise for all. As people went about their regular day, no matter how upside-down one's world may be, the scenery in itself caused the civilians to remember to smile.

Though perfection was that of an essence upon the mainland, misfortune never failed to strike one person too many.

In one of the many off-brand coffee shops that littered the main street and its branches was quite the uproar. It was another chilly gray Monday morning; odd weather had been plaguing the once-comfortably breezy city for weeks on end throughout the winter.

The surrounding area was full of bustling, impatient people; the smell of coffee beans only stimulated their already enthusiastic morning energy. The bell chimed from atop the door as people came entered and exited the facility.

And, in the midst of the caricature of instability, there happened to be yet another upset teenager. Adolescence in itself was an already traumatizing experience, many adults were glad to have rid the lingering emotional volatility. But this teen in particular probably couldn't care less about himself or what woes cursed him through the emotional roller coaster of life.

In fact, his current goal was to accomplish the trek to the register.

The silver-headed young man cast a glare frigid as ice to the inhabitants around him. Humans, as an entity, were infuriating. Impatience mixed with adrenaline was the recipe for disaster for city-dwellers. Cell phone ringtones could be heard as an almost omniscient presence, whether from a studying college student, intern for a magazine, or a normal business man or woman.

Riku, however, a senior high-school student, was more than prepared to annihilate the next Motorola, Sidekick, or any other cellular device that dared to vibrate or ring.

"Moshi Moshi!" A young girl with annoyingly-high pigtails giggled into her phone. Riku sighed in ill-contempt.

"Cloud better be happy I do these things for him…" The moody teen continued by murmuring a string of obscenities as he stood in line, looking at the seemingly endless list of errands in his hands.

He had, however, been given a choice to accomplish them either before or after school. How generous.

"Next, please." A petite blonde called over the stir of the compact area. She furrowed her brow as the red-headed man in front of Riku continued to bark mercilessly into his, yet again, cell phone.

"Look man, don't cause the lady any more stress, and move up if you could, please." The eighteen-year-old tapped the other man's arm impatiently as he made the suggestion.

Emerald-green eyes met aqua ones as the man glanced over his shoulder. Riku stared at the small tear-like tattoos under his eyes with slight curiosity, but looked away hurriedly, his impatient expression returning. The man nodded his head and held out his arm, a notion for Riku to step in front of him.

"Please, after you." The redhead, bedecked with earrings galore insisted, ignoring the shouts of complaints of the line's delay. Riku nodded hesitantly and stepped forward.

"Welcome to Sweets n' Things, may I take your order?" The blonde with a bob happily smiled with a blushing tint to her face as she wrung her hands behind the counter. Riku inwardly smiled; without all arrogance, he really was quite the heartthrob.

"Yes," Scanning the menu, he quickly found what the list required, "Can I please have a Paopu Bean Iced Coffee with a blueberry muffin?" He smiled gently to the girl as she peeped a small affirmative reply to the person clearly upset of working the drinks that day. He murmured a thank you and walked the short distance to the other waiting line to receive his drink; the waning impatience sunk back in.

"Leave it to no one but Cloud to want a cold drink in the fucking winter." Riku's brows knitted together as he glanced at the time. The teen released a deep breath, listening to the mainland city sounds. He reminisced the quiet island he and his friends had grown up on; he could still see him and Sora shooting sling shots at the island birds. All sound faded for few content moments.

"I haven't seen you in here before; I'm a regular." An abrupt voice sounded behind Riku. He, somewhat awakened, turn in surprise, but relaxed, realizing it was only the man from minutes before.

"I'm guessing I shouldn't bother you when you have such a serious expression on?" The man laughed.

"Sorry for that. It's just that my roommate always sends me out like his little housewife. It gets annoying when things turn out like this." Riku made a sweeping motion throughout the room.

"Axel; mark it to memory." The other extended his hand for a shake. Obviously, there was some sort of joke behind the saying. "Maybe this roommate isn't one of the best for you? And if you don't mind my asking, judging by your uniform, aren't you maybe late for school?"

"Riku." The teen accepted the gesture, clasping the man's hand firmly. "And that's my point exactly. But, overall, he's not as bad as I've expressed." He added hurriedly.

"How long have you two known each other?"

"About two years now." Riku answered hesitantly. This stranger oddly had a clear desire to know more about him. A few moments of silence awkwardly passed between them.

"I'm sorry, but have I met you before? I feel as if I have…" Axel began again, hoping this didn't sound too cheesy, but having a feeling it did.

"You seem somewhat familiar…I don't think I recall where exactly." The teen closed his eyes in thought, "Some town I assume?"

"It had Twilight in it, I'm sure." The redhead continued.

The name donned the pair simultaneously; both of them stopped and stared at each other. Sound seemed to fade for enough time for the emerald and aquamarine eyes to blink a single time.

"Next!" the woman at the counter called.

"Well, it was nice to, uh, meet you, but I gotta run." Riku stepped close to the counter and received the items.

"Hopefully we'll meet again." Axel gave a small smile and waved the silver headed teen off.

"I don't know if it's best we did…" Riku muttered thoughtfully under his breath as he stepped out into the biting wind; he would have cursed Cloud again, but didn't have the mental capacity to think of anything other than the strange encounter.

He pulled his jacket tighter and ran across the busy street.

"Riku, wait up!" A spiky-haired brunette ran up to Riku, pushing him in the arm playfully as he continued to walk.

"The least you could do was respond when I call you! You must be brooding again." Sora continued to ramble to himself. Riku, only half listening to his best friend of ages, held a puzzled look on his face.

"Oh yeah Sora, your brother said your mom called you about Christmas break plans." Riku smirked devilishly to the other, the underlying message clear between the two.

"Dammit, Cloud could've given me a heads up at least! She's gonna kill me!" The teen cried in pretence agony. The other only grinned and walked by his side quietly.

"What's got your boxers in a bunch this time?" Sora deadpanned.

"Your metaphors are so blunt, you know that?"

"That's not the case right now. Is Cloud bothering you?"

Riku nodded 'no'.

"It's just… I met this guy at the coffee shop today…" He trailed off.

"Uh-oh," Sora's cobalt eyes twinkled, "Cloudy's gonna be angry." Sora sing-songed playfully.

"That's not it, Sora… I feel like I've seen him before..."

"Well then, maybe I know him too… what does he look like?" Sora tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"He looked like he always knows what's happening… like he keeps things from them to play with them…"

"That's some description Riku."

"Like I said, I just feel as if I've met him before…" Riku said in agitation.

"Like where? We've been on these islands all our lives, and we know almost everybody here." Sora laughed off.

"But… I mean, it's not impossible for us have to left here… maybe, we just don't remember when…" The puzzled boy furrowed his eyebrows in thought.

"And, there goes Riku with his imagination in the lead!" Sora held an invisible microphone to his mouth and spoke excitedly.

"Oh, can it. Where's your other half?" The silverette hastily changed the subject.

"Roxas is coming to school later. He said he wasn't feeling well…" Sora looked up and smiled cruelly.

"PMS!" They chimed together jokingly as they laughed at the longtime joke.

"He always was the more feminine between the two of you. Other than that, I can understand what makes you two twins." Riku smiled plastically. His mind silently wandered. Sora rested his hands behind his head, gazing to the sky as Riku steadily stared at his feet.

They fell into silence.

Blue eyes stared impatiently into the white computer screen. Running a hand through his spiky blonde hair, the twenty- four year old man reached a hand towards his iced coffee;

Which was not there.

Clenching his fists in mild frustration, Cloud saved his text file and shut down his computer, snapping the screen shut with unnecessary force. He rolled his chair away from his desk to sit in a short silence until the end of his 'peace- time'. Undoing a button, which was making him unreasonably agitated, on his white quarter–length sleeved shirt, he sighed. Cloud glanced at the digital clock above the door.

The bell rang, signaling Hell the start up its fires.

Giggling girls bounced into the classroom, removing assortments of brightly colored jackets they wore, while slouchy boys lazily stalked in with their book bags dragging the floor.

"Ohayo Mr. Strife." A certain silver-haired student walked to his desk panting heavily, eyes loaded with a glare.

"Ah, my life wouldn't be so perfect if I didn't have you." Cloud whispered and smirked, taking the sweet-smelling drink from the adolescent's hands. He grinned and gained his composure, as any teacher should. Riku glowered.

"You made me scurry to the furthest Sweets n' Things from our flat, wait in line a good twenty minutes, run back to the house thinking you were still there, sprint to school grounds to be welcomed by your annoying little brother over there, and now the kind of 'thanks' I receive is how great of a housewife I'd make." Out of breath, Riku seethed.

Cloud couldn't help but notice a bottom lip sticking out in a pout while Riku nagged innocently. The teen glanced around, now wary of his surroundings, and brought his attention back to his old crush.

"You're such a pedo. You're sleeping on the couch tonight." He whispered harshly, venom seeping from the words.

"Now Mr. Watenabe, I think now is the time to take a seat?" Cloud asked, still grinning, he took the muffin gently from the other boy's hands. Riku's scowl never faltered as he resentfully stalked to his seat.

"Ok class, I hope you had a well-enough time over your weekend, because I sure did," The class chuckled as Riku shrank into his seat, head remaining downcast, "And as we all discussed Friday, we will be going to the Museum of Cultural Arts for our field trip tomorrow-" Cloud was cut off as the class cheered.

"I really hope you all are cheering for the art, though I have a feeling it's the mixed classes that make you happy." The blonde man grinned charmingly as girls began to swoon.

His ego only inflated more.

"But for now, I need for you all to get into your cultural groups and prepare questions for the speakers, from around the world, who will be speaking with you." Cloud clapped his hands twice, signaling for the boys and girls to get started. Riku's ears rang violently.

World.

Cloud had said world as a one, but wasn't there always more than a world? The term only resonated within the confines of his mind.

It should be... worlds... right?

An image of Axel flashed through his thoughts. His jade-green eyes and flaming red hair, like fire, sparked his mind into a silent raucous of questions. Riku had only met that man today, and here he was thinking of him like he meant something to him.

Darkness crept up the walls of his head, cold and uninviting, causing Riku to cower inwardly. A clenching pain infiltrated his stomach as he lurched forward in pain; splitting headache, which felt like two invisible hands stabbing their fingers into his temples, overcame him. Why had he begun to imagine these painful experiences now coursing through his line of sight?

The one thought of Axel brought these pictures to him.

Colors of unknown places swirled his once-vacant of the moment mind. Keys, mermaids, skeletons, children, thrones, whales, and rising waterfalls permeated his thoughts. Riku's hair stood on soundless end as a chill set down his spine. Why was he feeling this way? These thoughts felt like never ending chains of memories…

And these memories brought only more pain to him.

An overruling stab that made his head to spin and teeth to clench caused the teen to bury his face in his hands, unwanted tears forming at the corners of his eyes. His face felt hot; he felt sick. Something had to be done to leave the area soon before a commotion would start.

He attempted to stand up, but his body was conquered by a slow, burning paralysis. He clawed at the desk, trying anything to regain the feeling back into his system. Riku glanced around him; people looked only like blotches of colors revolving around him making him squint with uncertainty. Coming over to the teen hesitantly, Demyx grinned, but that beam faded when he saw that his best friend was struggling somehow.

"R-Riku? Are you ok, man?" The blonde raced over to his desk in full speed. Sora, Tidus, and Wakka vaulted over desks to check out the scene. The sound level in the room downed into a murmur as girls turned to watch and boys silenced completely. Cloud stood up abruptly; his brows furrowed in worry and confusion.

Riku's fringe covered his hot, blearing eyes and his body continued to freeze. His breathing sped up as he attempted to choke out words, desperately pleading for help. The room continued to spin with hues and mixed in with voices of what sounded like general worry.

"What's the problem here?" The Strife speed-walked to the forming group around the silver-headed teen. He pushed through the students, and took a firm hold of Riku's shoulders in concern. He felt under the bangs towards his forehead and retracted his hand in pain. The teen's body felt like fire.

Riku looked up into the stark sapphire orbs.

Then all fell to darkness.

So there!I'm quite satisfied with this rendition. Thanks to my supermegafoxyawesomehot beta, (and chibi sized best friend), this wouldn't have even been thought of nor would it have been grammatically correct. I'm back in the writing groove y'all!

So if your kindess could extend one more step, and could establish a review, my life will be complete.

I mean that.

HC95