Hello, hello (: this here is my new and more inventive AkuRoku... well... for me anyway, too many school scenes. :P

This will be a three part story and I'm happy with it so far, it's something different from me! :D

But enough of that, enjoy part one and I'll talk more about it at the bottom. ^^

Disclaimer: Square belongs to the characters!... wait... that's not right, the characters belong to Square :D I own the story. :3

He didn't want to be here, his entire body gave off that vibe, especially his angry expression, his green eyes narrowed, his brow furrowed and his lips straight in distaste. He probably would have slouched too but he was too proud for that. His hands were placed in his pockets, hovering over the few possessions he'd decided to bring along with him in case they managed to disappear miraculously from their denim confines. Everything about him showed he just. Didn't. Want. To be. Here.

The only reason he'd agreed was because of a certain little blond who'd pleaded they go for his birthday. Roxas, -as this particular blond was called,- had put up with the green eyed, red haired Axel for a long time, why he'd stuck with him for so long was beyond the redhead's comprehension, he'd changed a lot since they'd first started dating and you'd think Roxas would have realised Axel didn't really care anymore and would have left. But no. Not this guy, and Axel just didn't have the heart to tell him to go. "Oh cheer up Axel it's not like I'm stabbing you with hot pokers," Roxas rolled his eyes at the redhead but he smiled all the while. He always seemed to smile around Axel.

"Trust me, that would have been a lot more welcomed than this," Axel protested, but received a tut in response, the blond had long since learned to ignore Axel's protests towards everything.

Roxas continued to lead Axel around the open space, his eyes glowing as he took in the old, faded, but still colourful tents and shacks in the carnival. "Lets go see the fortune teller!" the blond said enthusiastically, pulling on the reluctant redhead's hand even more forcefully towards the labelled gypsy hut.

Entering the place was like walking into another world. It was darkly lit and covered in an array of books, glass globes and candles. "Welcome," a woman's voice greeted the pair, drawing their attention away from the ornaments around them and towards her. She sat behind a round, cliché table for a fortune teller, the wood covered by a red and gold embroidered drape which was void of anything fortune teller like. "Please, take a seat," the woman tried to smile though it looked rather cynical. The pair took her in as they sat, her blond, slicked back hair and antenna like strands, her shocking blue eyes which rivalled Roxas' own, but the blond could see she wasn't a particularly good person, her eyes betrayed her. "What can I do for you today?"

"I was wondering if you could read the tarot cards for me?" Roxas asked politely with a smile and she nodded, pulling a deck of cards from her pocket and shuffling them before laying three out, face down in front of the three of them and placing the rest of the cards on the table beside her arm.

She turned the first of the three cards over and examined it briefly before speaking, all three of them staring down at the lion and woman. "This is the card of strength," she spoke and Roxas gave a small smile, "it shows you have self control and very much depend on your personal power of love and optimism that you often share with others. However," she continued, turning the next card and the blond frowned at the twist, "the reverse star here shows your only using that as a façade there are many emotions you hide, like the stubbornness you refuse to show to anyone so you don't hurt them, your rejection towards a change that was destined to happen yet you refuse to let it do so leading you to keep everything inside and refrain from expressing yourself freely." The blond woman looked up with an entertained twinkle in her eye to see a panicked looking Roxas and confused Axel and as the blond male began to interrupt her she flipped the third card and began reading. "But do not be alarmed, the high priestess tells me that if you persevere with your patients something will change for the better." She entwined her fingers once she was finished, smiling at the pair across the table innocently.

"Thank you," was all Roxas could muster, he half wished he hadn't decided to enter the place now. What would Axel say?

"Now it's your turn," she continued, taking the deck of cards and shuffled them again as both of them looked at her in bewilderment. Axel and tarot cards?

"That's not necessary," Axel protested but the woman ignored him, setting the cards down like she had for Roxas.

"Hmm," she hummed at the first card. "The reverse empress tells me you're having relationship problems thanks to your personal lack of affections," Axel gave a strongly offended look but the fortune teller just smirked and continued, " but it looks like things will change, the fool shows that you will begin a new journey soon which will give you hope," she went on as she flipped the third card, "the star will guide you to your new hope and the thing you want to protect most." Her expression turned blank again and there was silence, both men taking in what they had been told before Roxas abruptly stood from his chair.

"Thank you, that was… enlightening. Excuse me," he said as he turned away and swiftly made his way out of the hut.

"What do you think you're doing?" Axel demanded but the blond showed no sign of feeling threatened.

"Do not blame the cards Axel, it's not my fault your relationship isn't in best form," she answered, pointing at the redhead accusingly. "Roxas isn't happy with what was revealed but that's just the way it is," the angry redhead bristled but turned away, storming out of the hut. This wasn't going to end well, he didn't want to deal with an emotional Roxas.

"Where are you going?" Axel called after the blond as he followed him back onto the broken cement.

"Relationship problems? Is that what this is Axel?" Roxas called back, spinning to face the redhead as he caught up.

"Me? You're the one who won't let go, you're the one who keeps everything inside, I'm not to blame here!" He shouted back, bristling again, that fortune teller could go to hell if she thought this was Axel's fault. The blonde's eyes welled with tears and his lip quivered as he listened to the redhead before he turned away and ran into the hall of mirrors.

"Hey kid! You gotta pay to get in there!" The worker called, standing from his seat as the blond ran in and with a frustrated sigh Axel ran after him. "Am I fucking invisible here?" The eye patched man called as Axel ran past him, ignoring the worker as he entered the tent.

"Roxas!" The redhead called into the room though the blond was no where in sight. This was why Axel hated these places, he hated the deceitful bending mirrors, the one in front of him disfiguring the redhead where he stood and he stared at a reflection of himself looking like a blob of nothing on the floor and he scoffed 'that's right, I'm spineless,' he thought before moving away from the reflection and continuing through the room.

Axel's frustration only increased as he wandered aimlessly deeper into the maze. "Come on Roxas, just come out here!" he called, but once again received no answer. He finally stopped still, looking around himself to decipher where he was but came up fruitless. He was lost, and pretty sure the place was supposed to be smaller than this. As he pondered trying to just get the hell out of here a shuffling sound had him spinning in the direction of the noise but Axel saw nothing. The redhead shook his head, 'place is driving me insane' he thought before turning back and taking a step, hitting his head abruptly against a metal pipe he hadn't even noticed. "Ah, shit!" he cursed, clutching his head as he did so and crushing his eyes shut with pain. Where had that come from anyway? Axel winced as he opened his eyes again, ducking the pipe and walking away dizzyingly.

His mood now far from happy he stormed on through the hall, "where the fuck's that exit?" Axel cursed, turning another corned and feeling his spirits lift slightly at the sight of a blue velvet curtain, a slither of light appearing from the other side, "finally," he mumbled to himself, making his way towards the door when he heard a deafening scream.

"Get away from me!" the voice shouted and Axel felt his heart stop… that was Roxas' voice, and sure their relationship was rocky, but if the boy was getting kidnapped, he wasn't just going to stand there.

"Roxas!" the redhead called again, running through the door and stopping dead once he was through… The carnival didn't look like this at all, 'what the fuck's going on here?' the redhead pondered as he squinted in an attempt to see into the distance, not like he could see his hand in front of his face in front of his face never mind the distance, he was surrounded by a thick, grey fog and though he turned around to find the exit in stead he was met with even more nothing.

The sound of laughter brought Axel back to reality and he listened for where the sound was coming from, perhaps they knew a way out of this place, his patience was growing thinner every second, and that laughter was just pissing the redhead off more. He wanted to find Roxas and get out of here. Simple as that.

He began walking soundlessly and to his luck in the right direction since the laughter began to get louder, how could someone even laugh in a place like this? It was absurd and infuriating since Axel found none of this the least bit funny. "This way," a voice sang and Axel spun to his left, honing in on the voice and breaking into a sprint until the fog abruptly lifted and he stopped dead.

What the hell was this place?

He was most definitely not in the carnival anymore, or anywhere else he'd seen before. The leaves of trees dripped multicoloured paint creating a stream of vile grey water which trickled down each side of a bright white road. There were no animals, just an array of plants Axel had never seen, most of them continuously dripping pink, green, blue, any kind of paint the redhead could imagine and the only thing that distracted Axel from this nonsensical scene was the sound of a cheerful voice. "Bright colours, big smiles!" Axel heard the voice cheer as he searched for the body it belonged to and it didn't take long for him to find it… though in this horrid concoction of colour he was surprised to see the person blended right in.

"Excuse me?" Axel said, -ignoring the fact that this guy seemed like a class five psychopath so he could get out of here as quickly as possible- and the person turned, his eyes wide before grinning.

"A visitor!" the other greeted and Axel realised this guy must have been crazier than he first thought -if that was even possible. He had shocking pink hair, his clothes were some sort of old, mad hatter style fashion and he shamelessly held a basket full of paints pots, a few of which have obviously toppled since the paint was now running down the side of the man's corduroy pants. "Good night, and how can I assist you tomorrow?"

Axel gave the man a curious look. Absolutely none of that had made any sense but this delusional person seemed to think otherwise. "Uh, how do I get out of here?" he asked plainly, he'd had enough of all of this already.

"Leave? But you just arrived, won't you leave?"

"But that's what I want to do," Axel said though the pink haired man looked at him curiously.

"What?" He asked and the redhead frowned.

"Leave."

"Leave? But you just arrived," Axel clenched his fists, this was starting to piss him off more than anything else in his life had.

"Look, I just want to get out of here, all I need are directions," the redhead grit his teeth in frustration, this guy was definitely asking for a kick in the teeth.

"She said you'd be coming," the man said, a lot calmer and it too Axel off guard. What just happened here? "What about the other one? You'll leave him behind?" the redhead twitched, how did he know?

"You've seen Roxas?"

"Perhaps not," the man continued, tilting his head to the side so he was practically looking at the redhead side ways, "there was a commotion that caught my inattention… it was," the man skipped over to the road and pointed over his shoulder, "that way."

With an acknowledging nod Axel began down the road but was stopped again, "but Marluxia didn't tell you if they ask!" he called, "the blue mistress at the pond might know," Axel turned to look at the man who was smirking, "but don't worry," he went on, his grin growing, "she's crazy."

With that the one calling himself Marluxia turned and began painting again, leaving Axel to cast him a final concerned glance before walking away.

Was he losing his mind? What kind of carnival was this anyway, surely he hadn't hit his head that hard. Which reminded him he'd just developed a major headache, not to mention his temple was killing him from that bump.

Axel's thoughts wandered as he followed the white path until he finally noticed the things around him. The trees were now a normal colour but they were sparse and everything was now very grassy, he felt like he was in the countryside though he'd never seen a place so green in this town before in his life. Had he really been so closed minded about everything? Ignored what was around him to stay secure in his own shell? He hadn't always been like that.

Before he knew it Axel found himself at the edge of a huge pond, blue water lilies danced on the surface of the water in an amazingly precise circle, and the only thing that disturbed any of this was the light ripples from pearlescent dragonflies. Axel grimaced at the scene. He preferred his grey buildings and skies, all of this was far too whimsical for him.

The redhead looked around, that creepy pink haired guy had mentioned a pond and a woman, was it this one? His eyes finally settled on a pale wooden bridge to his right and he followed it with his eyes to the other end where he spotted a woman lying on the grass on a small island in the middle of all of this water and she was staring at him. Axel squinted to see her but couldn't make the woman out, only the movement of her hand as she lifted it and beckoned him forward. Every part of this signalled 'bad idea' and the redhead didn't budge. "I know why you're here!" the woman called and Axel's ears perked, "it's about that blond boy isn't it? Come here and I'll help you."

Against Axel's better judgement he did as she said and walked over to the bridge which didn't look as safe as it should. "Don't worry," she encouraged and the redhead took a cautious step, testing the sturdiness of the wood before finally making his way over it.

When Axel reached the island the woman smiled at him and the redhead took in her features. She had long, slowing black hair and she wore a rather revealing blue dress, the bottom of it cut up to the side of her thigh and the top dipped to the top of her ribs though Axel found none of this appealing at all, he had always preferred blonds, especially Roxas and he remembered why he was here. "Excuse me miss," Axel started politely, "could you tell me what you know?" he asked and the raven smiled.

"Of course," she said, standing and guiding Axel to a chair and table he could have sworn wasn't there before, "why don't we talk over tea?" she insisted and the redhead knew he couldn't refuse. He had to get Roxas out of here, then they would talk. "My name's Tifa," the raven introduced herself as she poured liquid into a pair of china cups and Axel looked at the peculiar drink, this wasn't any tea he'd seen before. Tea most definitely shouldn't be blue. "And you are?"

Axel took his attention away from the cup to see the woman smiling from across the small, round table, "Axel," he said and she nodded.

"Well, Axel, please drink up and I'll tell you what I know," she encouraged the redhead who took a sip from the cup, this stuff was sweet, too sweet for Axel and he placed the cup back with a small smile. "I saw the blond boy you're looking for, he was with-" but Axel found the rest of the words were only mumbles, he was more interested in the woman in front of him, her hair, eyes, lips, and he watched as she stood up and ran her fingers along the table top, smoothing the lace as she went and sitting lightly on the table to the left of Axel. "Are you alright?" Tifa asked seductively and Axel nodded though he couldn't help the hand that trailed up her leg as she leaned forward, rubbing her own hand down his spine and whispered in his ear, "are you tempted?" she asked and Axel felt his restraint slipping though he didn't know why, why was he restraining himself? He wondered and he didn't reject the kiss she placed on his lips and he moved his other hand to her waist. All of this was unusual, it had been a long, long time since he'd kissed a woman like this, he'd only ever been with one person for years now. Who was it again? The question sent Axel's mind crashing back down to earth and he opened his eyes in shock, who? How could he wonder who, it was only ever Roxas, he had never kissed a woman like this because he never wanted to be with a woman. He loved Roxas, and only had eyes for him. What the hell happened?

Axel pulled away and panted, holding Tifa away by her waist as he stood up sharply, "what's wrong?" she asked and the seduction in her voice was back but Axel couldn't listen to it, he didn't know what she'd done but she was through messing with his mind.

"I have to go," he said abruptly, ignoring that she had told him nothing, he didn't care, he had to get out of here, had to find Roxas. It was only ever Roxas, Axel knew that now.

"But things are getting good," she protested, grabbing the redhead's arm in an attempt to pull him down for another kiss but he pulled away, "wait, h-have some more tea you haven't finished it yet."

The tea. So that's what it was, "you're no mistress, you're a temptress" Axel accused the woman and she smirked sardonically.

"You would reject… the blue tea temptress?" she asked with a sweet but cynical voice and the redhead panicked. This was dangerous.

"Excuse me," he said and turned but the tug on his coat was firm and he crashed to the floor on his back.

"You're not going anywhere," she continued to smile, climbing on top of Axel as he struggled to get away. Finally he pushed her, the woman landing with a grunt in front of the bridge and the redhead cursed, "you won't get past me boy," she threatened menacingly and Axel stood, scanning for another way out but there was none… only.

Without a word Axel turned and dived, landing in the water with a loud splash and he swam, swam as fast as he could to the other side of the pond as the raven screamed after him, Axel panted, his clothes dripping wet but he didn't look back, he ran. He had to find Roxas, this place wasn't safe. "I'll find you," Axel promised out loud as he made his way into the forest.

A/N: Craaazy happenings, it's so much fun! xD

I really hope this isn't Alice in Wonderland-ish, I really don't want it to be, though Marly's outfit is 'Mad Hatter' ish I hope that's the only thing. :/

Enough of my babble!

Tifa was fuuuun! 8D

I'm having fun with this story xD so I really hope you all like it too.

I'd love to hear what you think so please leave a review. ^_^

Kit~