Hello! I am back again with a (semi) new fanfic! Well, this isn't really new, because technically it's an addition to the original story line of this fanfic, but I count it as a sequel. Due to the immense success of my last fanfic, I have decided that it is my duty to continue the story line (because I love these characters so much), so please enjoy!

Prologue:

Hojo's footsteps echoed as he speed-walked down the hallways of Shinra Electric. His breathing was slightly ragged, and he clutched a small folder to his heart as he continued to race down the hall. When he came to a door labeled 'meeting room', he stopped abruptly. Then, taking in a deep breath, he put his hand on the door knob, turned it, and sauntered into the room. Hojo suddenly shrank back at the unusual coldness of the room, and the difference in the atmosphere around him. He felt like he was in the lion's den.

"S-sir?" Hojo croaked, looking around the dark room, trying to make out a shape.

"Hello Hojo." Came a voice from behind him, and he whirled around, lifting his hand in the air to strike the figure standing behind him, who's voice he did not recognize. The figure caught his hand quickly, and put it down slowly, but with immense force that made Hojo's breath stop.

"For pity's sakes, Hojo. Learn to relax." The voice chuckled, forcing Hojo back into the room. Hojo almost tripped as he reached behind him to find the meeting table.

"Um. I do not recognize you. Are you...?"

"Yes, Hojo. You do not have to tell me who I am. I despise unnecessary loudness."

"Um, I apologize, but I have never seen you in person like this before. In all our previous, um, transactions, I have only had contact with your, um…"

"My ambassador."

"Um, yes. May I ask, where he is, right now?" Hojo said uncomfortably, looking around the room, half expecting the man in question to jump out of the shadows. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something stirring, and he whirled around to see a figure coming towards him very slowly. The lights turned on in the room, and the figure, decked out in all black with deep red stripes down his arms and legs and a black helmet covering his face and head, winced a little bit. The man behind Hojo chuckled as the figure moved closer to them, enclosing Hojo between itself and the man behind Hojo.

"You do not like to be exposed, do you?" The man said, seating himself at the head of the table. The figure kept standing, even as Hojo sat down beside the man.

"Does, does he want to…?" Hojo trailed off, pointing to the standing black figure. The man at the head of the table shook his head.

"He can stay standing. Now, Hojo, what is it that you wanted to speak to me about?" The man drawled, looking straight into Hojo's eyes. Hojo looked away, but still felt the man's stare on him.

"The Investigation Bureau is onto us." Hojo said suddenly, and his breathing began to change again.

"Again?" the mysterious man chuckled, as if it were nothing. Hojo shook his head quickly, breathing harder.

"No, no. It's different this time. They're actually building a case- on me. They know about the experiments- and the intimidation." Hojo said quickly, glancing at the man beside him every few seconds. The man seemed more serious than he had been before, and he stroked his chin, sighing to himself.

"That is a problem. What do you want from me Hojo? Tell me quickly."

Hojo sighed in relief, but held his breath suddenly as the last bit of air was about to escape his lungs. Then he spoke again.

"I need your help. I want you to get them off my tracks, I want you to help me if I do happen to go to court- if you do, I'll pay you back a million times over. Just help me."

The man looked up at the ceiling, and then back at the black figure abruptly. "Who is in charge of the investigation?" He said slowly, as if formulating a plan in his mind.

Hojo snorted, smiling bitterly. "The former Turk."

The man looked up in wonder. "How did he leave the organization? I thought the only way those people left Shinra, was by body bag."

Hojo looked uncomfortable, and suddenly eyed the door, before forcing his eyes back on the man beside him. He shrugged. "I suppose it was a slip in security." He croaked, and the man beside him pursed his lips, sighing in agitation.

"Well, then it looks like this little 'investigation' has all plumed from a little 'slip in security'. The past comes back to haunt, Hojo, if you allow it. And you are going to allow it."

A whimper almost escaped Hojo's throat. He did not want to go to jail. "What do you mean I am 'going to allow it'?" Hojo snarled, looking at the ground. "I can't do anything about it!"

The man looked at Hojo again. "No, you cannot do anything about it Hojo. But that is your fault. You are not in the capacity to find the means to do something about it. You never have been, and you never will. You are a genius, but you are an idiot."

Hojo's shoulders fell, and he looked down at his hands in agitation.

"But I can do something about it."

Hojo looked up in amazement, and saw that the man was smiling slightly. Hojo gave himself a minute to process the information, and then stood up quickly, bowing deeply to the man in front of him. The man did not stop him, but he looked irritated.

"Well, thank you sir. Thank you very, very much. I am forever indebted to you." Hojo said, chuckling and shaking at the same time. The man looked up at him again.

"Yes, you are." He said darkly, and Hojo pursed his lips, deciding not to try and figure out what the man meant. He began to walk out of the room, when he heard the man cough.

"Hojo?" The man asked quietly, and Hojo turned to look at him again. The black figure had moved beside the man, who was still sitting down.

"Yes?"

"Your son."

Hojo looked back in confusion. "Yes, what about my son?"

"How is he?"

"How is Sephiroth?"

The man nodded, looking off into space. Hojo shrugged.

"He's in jail for involvement in a building scandal, rape charges, and his involvement with Shinra Electric. I have not spoken to him ever since he lived under my roof a few years ago."

"How long will he be in jail?"

"A pretty long time, sir."

The corners of the man's mouth turned up a little, but he was not smiling. "Pity." He said quietly.

And Hojo left.

…..

Roxas walked along side Axel, licking a sea salt ice cream. Every few minutes, he would steal a glance at the man, who seemed to look a little bit more tired now. It had been two years since his dad had died, and two years since he'd moved into his family's old house in Disney Town. Things were easier on Axel now, now that he didn't have to pay rent for an apartment anymore, but having another person living with him seemed to be slowly taking its toll on Axel. He had never had to look after someone in this way until now. Axel rubbed his eyes, and smiled at Roxas.

"You okay?" Roxas asked, and Axel shrugged.

"Yeah, I'm just a bit tired." He mumbled, looking off into the distance. Roxas smiled slightly, and suddenly, he remembered Xigbar's wedding. The horrible discomfort of lying, completely naked, with his legs apart, right in front of Axel. The vulnerability. Roxas shivered a little bit, and Axel looked at him with curiosity. "Something wrong?" Axel said quietly, and Roxas shook his head.

"No, I just got the chills. I don't know why."

Axel chuckled, and suddenly put his arm around Roxas' shoulder. Even though it had been two years since the incident, Roxas' heart still gave a tiny jump when Axel surprised him like that. It had been terrible a year ago, when Axel finally got up the courage to touch Roxas again. Roxas would pull away suddenly without even realizing it, and then it went down to just a jerk in his shoulders, and now it was just internal. He wanted things to go back to the way they used to be with Axel, and he wanted to forget what had happened, because it was embarrassing to remember. But sometimes it made Roxas wonder. Would he have enjoyed it eventually if Axel had continued? Would it have turned out to be a better thing to do than trying to leave things the way they were?

Roxas scratched the back of his head, sighing. He shouldn't have made the promise to Axel at all. In a weird way, he felt guilty for not going through with the whole thing. It had all made Axel more cautious and nervous around Roxas- like he was handling something incredibly fragile.

Roxas looked up and noticed that Axel was looking straight at him. Roxas' eyes trailed up to meet Axel's, and Axel suddenly looked away, blushing. Then, Axel cleared his throat loudly, and smiled as broadly as he could.

"Well!" he said, looking around him. "Great day this is! Actually, I've been meaning to ask you, what are you gonna do now that summer is coming around? You got any colleges in mind yet?" He added brightly, and Roxas shrugged.

"Yeah, I got a lot of acceptance letters, I just gotta sort out scholarships. It's funny; Namine keeps telling me that if I need any help financially with my decision, she's 'always there'. She loves giving away her money, now. But she looks after Xion. She does anything for Xion, because Xion is so nice to her." Roxas said, grinning. Then his smile faded. "I think Xion was the first one to actually truly care about Namine. And, I guess some could say it was because Namine was her provider, but I don't think that was it. I think Xion just genuinely really likes Namine. It makes me feel really guilty sometimes. I should've looked after her better. I should've looked after both of them better."

Axel shrugged. "It's fine. You were just a kid, you couldn't have done much. I was the adult. I should've helped her when she needed it. But I was too selfish to see past my own nose." Axel said, grinning at Roxas. Roxas chuckled.

"You, selfish? Axel, where'd you get that idea?"

Axel suddenly wrapped his arm around Roxas' neck, and gave Roxas a noogie. Roxas yelped in pain, and Axel laughed out loud, and then began to run off, letting Roxas chase after him.

"You asshole!" Roxas roared as he ran after Axel, who occasionally glanced behind his shoulder to see if Roxas was catching up. Roxas had always been faster than Axel, though, and he eventually caught up with the man, and tackled him to the ground. They both rolled around, laughing hard as they rough housed with one another. Then, they suddenly quieted down, and their laughs died down to a chuckle. They breathed heavily, looking straight into each other's eyes, and then Roxas looked down at Axel's body. He noticed that he was sitting on Axel's stomach, just a few centimeters away from Axel's crotch.

They both scrambled up, and darted away from each other, looking down at the ground. Axel folded his arms over his chest, trying to laugh. Roxas grinned uncomfortably. "Hey, that was the first time in ages that we've done that." He said, as if trying to allay the situation. Axel looked up at him with an unintelligible expression, and then he suddenly beamed. Then he looked around him.

"Heh. I was paying so much attention to you running after me that I didn't even notice where we were going. We're on your street already." He said distantly, and then he grinned. "And look who we've run into."

Roxas turned around to see what Axel was talking about, and it was as if Roxas' whole face lit up, he was so excited. Xion and Namine were walking down the road towards them, and apparently did not notice them yet. Roxas looked around, and suddenly ducked behind a trash can. Axel snickered at him, shaking his head. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked, and Roxas shushed him. "I want to surprise Xion. Shut up and don't tell her I'm here." Axel put his hands into his pocket.

"Well, it's pretty obvious, what with me talking to a trash can and all."

"Then shut up."

Axel shrugged, and looked back over at Xion and Namine. Both looked beautiful and charming, as usual, and a number of boys looked back at them as they walked by. They had both acquired new found confidence, and Axel found himself attracted to them too. He grinned at them both as they noticed him, and they waved at him, and sped up towards him.

When they got up beside him, Xion gave Axel a sudden hug, and kissed him on the cheek. Then she grinned back at him. "How's my hero?" she beamed, her hands still around Axel's waist. Axel looked away, not bothering to grin anymore. "Don't call me that." He mumbled, lowering his head. Xion loosened her hold around his waist, and then let her arms fall by her sides. She looked around suddenly, and then put her hands on her hips.

"Where's Roxas? You two are usually always together. You make a poor girl like me jealous." Axel nodded absentmindedly, trying to ignore the ache this brought up in his heart. Namine looked up at him as if examining him, and then looked back at Xion.

"Maybe he's out, Xion. Perhaps Axel's waiting for him too."

Xion pursed her lips. "I don't know, I think he's around here somewhere." She went right up to the trash can, but stopped in front of it and turned around, squinting off into the distance. Roxas sneaked out from behind the trash can, and leapt on Xion just as she turned back around, inadvertently kissing her on the lips. The two lingered for a while, and Axel chuckled, shaking his head, as Namine looked away, a tad bit embarrassed. Xion pulled away from Roxas a bit, who suddenly seemed to remember where he was, and turned the two of them back to everyone else, laughing nervously.

"Sorry, Xion, I just meant to kiss you on the neck, but then you turned around." He said, grinning. Xion shrugged, looking back at him with pinking cheeks. "I don't mind." She said quietly, and their eyes lingered on each other for a moment, before they addressed the two people in front of them. Axel sighed. "What a gross couple." He said loudly, laughing again. Roxas punched him on the arm, laughing too, and then slid his arm around Xion's waist, as they began to walk up the front steps. Axel looked up after Roxas in confusion.

"Wait, I thought we were gonna go to the clock tower." Axel said slowly, eyeing Xion up and down. Roxas put his hand on his forehead, and then inhaled deeply. "Oh, gee, sorry Axel. I forgot to tell you that my parents wanted me home early today."

Axel looked closely at Roxas, and his eyebrows rose a little bit. "Why do they want you home?"

Roxas shrugged, scratching his head again. "They wanted to tell me something. My mom sounded really weird on the phone, kind of like she was only half there. Maybe I should be more worried." Roxas' eyebrows began to knit together, and Axel rolled his eyes.

"Don't you dare start to worry yourself again, Roxas, everything's gonna be alright." Xion said playfully, poking Roxas on the nose. Roxas laughed, and his shoulders loosened a little bit. Axel let out the breath he had been about to use to say along the lines of the same thing that Xion had just said. Except it seemed like Xion said it better than Axel would have, because Roxas didn't fake smile like he used to with Axel when he was worried, she genuinely loosened him up, and it seemed like he felt like he didn't have to try to act like everything was 'fine' around her. Axel caught his lower lip moving out into a pout, and he pursed his lips, and then began to hum to stop himself. Roxas closed the door behind himself and Xion, and Axel turned to Namine.

"So, do you need someone to walk you home?" He said politely, remembering what Roxas had said about his guilt for not looking after Namine better.

Namine nodded. "That would be nice."

The two walked in silence for the first five minutes, and Axel tried to subtly watch Namine out of the corner of his eye. She seemed much happier than she had been two years ago. She walked straighter and taller, and she seemed a little more fearless. Axel smiled a little.

"Do you want to go up to the clock tower with me?" Axel said abruptly, and Namine sighed. Then, she shook her head slowly.

"Oh, Axel. I would love to go with you, but I have to get ready for a date with Leon."

Axel looked up at the sky in irritation, and chuckled. "I am just getting rejected today." He said, shaking his head. Namine took it seriously, putting her hands on either side of her face.

"I'm really sorry. You see, he asked me a few nights ago, and I like him an awful lot and-"

Axel gave her a quick hug. "Namine, I was just joking. Relax. It's nice that you're going out with him." He lied, looking away. Axel didn't get along very well with Leon. He had settled with himself that they just had personalities that exploded when mixed together. They were too different. "Do you really like him?" He added quietly. Namine nodded, blushing.

"He makes me feel very safe. I know he'd look after me- but only if I really needed it. He gives me the space I need to become independent, too, though, which is good for me." She added, laughing softly. Axel smiled.

"That's good." He said dully, and turned onto the street that lead to Namine's mansion. "Well, here we are." He drawled, and looked down at Namine. "Would you like me to walk you to the door, madam?" he said warmly, taking her hand in his. Namine beamed. "Yes, good knight." She chirped, and Axel lead her to her front gate (which she had to unlock for him) and then up to her front door. Axel bowed, and Namine curtsied, and she said goodbye, waving to him as she closed her front door behind her.

Axel sighed, looking after her a bit, and then started to walk away, snickering in irritation. He tried to think of what he had to do that night, stretching his shoulders over his head. Then he put his hand in his pocket, drawing out his phone. "Let's see if I have any messages."

Axel paused to look through them, and he sighed in deep irritation when he noticed he had over ten new messages, all from Selphie. There were two voicemails.

'Hey sexy tiger. Can I come have a sleep over with you tonight? XOXO. Ur sex kitten wants you. –Selph '

Axel decided to opt out on reading the rest. He shook his head, and closed his phone. Selphie was alright to mess around with, but in any other scenario, she was stifling. She always wanted to know where he was or if she could 'sleep over'. Things were different now that he had Lea with him. He couldn't just make Lea sleep over with Isa every night of the week, or his parents would get irritated. They didn't like Axel to begin with anyway, after his involvement with Saix going to jail. And Axel didn't feel comfortable having sex with a girl a few years older than Lea with him just on the other side of the wall. He cringed at the idea.

He decided to chance listening to his voicemails. The first one was from Selphie.

"Alright, baby. I just wanted to ask you if I could come over to your place tonight. But you're not answering your texts, so I figured I'd just call you instead, but you're not answering your phone either. So, I'm feeling really lonely right now and I noticed that we haven't had sex in like, five days. Okay maybe three days, but I'm just getting worried that you're growing distant. I wanna make it up to you, so I'm gonna bring a few surprises with me tonight. I'm gonna come over, and if you're not there, I'll officially be worried. But, if you are there, we can make up properly, okay? Love ya to bits! Bye! Kisses! Selph"

Axel groaned, and rubbed his eyes. The second message was from Lea.

"Hey, ugly, I'm staying over at Isa's tonight so have fun with Selphie."

Axel narrowed his eyes, and pressed the end call button on his phone, ending the voice mail call. "Bratty little piece of shit." He muttered to himself as he walked over to the train station. Him and Lea, even after two years of trying to understand each other (honestly, though, Axel had attempted most of the understanding bit); had both found out that they could not understand one another. So, Axel just tried to subtly guide Lea through life as much as he could, with as little social contact as possible. At least Lea understood Axel's world, though.

Axel sighed as he got on the train to Disney City. There were few free seats, and Axel sat down. But, the next stop, a pregnant woman boarded the train, so Axel gave up his seat for her. Axel sighed as the conductor announced his stop, and he looked at the ground beneath him as he hopped off the train. Then, he made his way home, trying not to think. To his surprise and dismay, Selphie was waiting at the door for him. He let out a deep breath through his nostrils, and rolled his eyes.

"Selphie, I don't want you waiting for me on my doorstep anymore. I got your message."

"Then why didn't you call me back?" She snapped, and then sighed, trying to smile as if nothing was wrong. "I just wanted to see you. Is it so wrong for a gal to want to see her boyfriend?" She gushed, throwing herself around Axel. She began to nibble at his ear, and rub her thighs against his.

"Fuck, Selphie. At least wait till I get in the front door." He mumbled in agitation, and Selphie giggled loudly.

"I can't help it Axel, I want you so bad I can't stand it." Then she leaned in closer to him. "Let's skip dinner and just go to bed, okay?" She drawled, and Axel shrugged, opening the door. He had barely got it closed behind him, when Selphie began to empty the bag in her arms. It had an assortment of sex toys in it, and Axel whipped his head around, as if Lea was going to come running down the stairs, or he would find his dad shaking his head in the doorway.

"Selphie, where the hell did you get this stuff?" Axel barked, grabbing the stuff and shoving it back in the bag. Selphie pouted, folding her arms over her chest.

"You're such a drip now, Axel. Ever since you moved into this new house, you never do anything fun with me anymore."

Axel breathed out quickly. "That was because then, I was living in a little apartment by myself. Now, I'm living in my parent's house with a kid."

Selphie looked away from him. "I don't see any of them around." She said quietly, and then began to tear up. "I just wanted to make it up to you; I thought you'd like this stuff." She wiped at her eyes, and Axel stifled a groan, going over to her and holding her head in his hands.

"We can have sex, any way you want, how about that? Whatever way you want it, I'll have it." He said, looking into her eyes. She smiled. "Really?" She said in wonder. Axel nodded. Then, he began to kiss her, letting her work her tongue into his mouth and pull him closer to her. Selphie backed Axel over to the couch, and threw him down on it, lowering herself over him, and settling onto his lap. Then, she began to kiss him harder, letting her tongue move around the inside of his mouth. "Kiss me back Axel." She growled as she pressed her fingers into the crevices on either side of Axel's body, between Axel's hips and his lower stomach. He took a sharp breath in, and pulled her closer to himself, kissing her hard as their tongues began to touch.

As he parted his lips from her mouth, he felt Selphie playing with the top of Axel's pants, trailing her fingers over his stomach and then her forefinger inside the top of his pants. He could feel it trailing right above his member, brushing over his pubic hair slightly, and he felt in between his thighs beginning to heat up. Selphie giggled as Axel kissed her neck, trailing his tongue down it and onto her collar bone. "I can feel you getting hard." She sighed, and then she suddenly stuck her hand down into Axel's pants, and grabbed his penis. Axel gave a startled yelp, and Selphie's mouth formed an 'o' shape. Then she laughed as Axel put his hands over his face, and then moved his fingers through his hair. "You're such a woman now, Axel. It seems like I'm doing all the work now."

That irritated Axel, and he frowned at Selphie, narrowing his eyes. Then he smirked, grabbing her by the waist and reaching up under her shirt, until he'd pushed her bra up and was playing with her nipple. She began to breathe harder, and gulped back a sigh. Axel leaned in close to her ear, sighing into it on purpose, and then snickering. "Who's the woman now?" he drawled, and kissed her on the ear. Then, he grabbed her by the hips, and twisted her around so that she was lying on the couch and he was over her, his palms down by either side of her head. He took her shirt and bra off, and she took his shirt off of him. They began to kiss again, and Selphie rubbed her knee in-between Axel's legs. Axel sucked in a breath, and then slowly reached his hand under the leg line of Selphie's knickers, stroking her labia. Selphie moaned slightly, nuzzling her head in the crook of Axel's neck. Then, Axel pushed apart Selphie's legs, and draped her over his lap, pushing her skirt up to the top of her waist. As he began to kiss her collar bone again, he moved his fingers in-between the lips of her vagina, and then slowly pushed them up inside her. Selphie moaned, and threw her arms around Axel's shoulders, letting her lips rest on his jaw line, and kissing it again and again. Axel smiled slightly, even though Selphie could not see it. He felt good again.

He moved his fingers around inside Selphie, and watched her quiver as he played with her. Then, he closed his eyes when he felt her reach inside his pants, and stroke him gently, moving her fingers up and down slowly. "Do you mind…?" he breathed, and Selphie nodded.

As Axel moved into a kneeling position, Selphie readjusted herself, and stroked Axel's thighs. Then, she trailed her tongue up and down Axel's member, until she let her tongue rest on its tip. She was just about to stick it in her mouth, when Axel heard the lock on the door unclick. "Get off." He said suddenly, and Selphie looked up at him in horror. "What'd I do?" She said, kissing the inside of Axel's thigh. "You know I'm the best!" She added, and then she bit the tip of it slightly and squeezed Axel's ass, just as Lea stormed in the front door.

"Sorry, Axel, I forgot my underwear, I hope I'm not interr…" Lea trailed off, and stared in horror at the scene in front of him. Axel stayed frozen in surprise, and Selphie continued to hold Axel's right ass cheek, resting her head in-between his thighs. Then, everything seemed to happen at the same time.

"Oh, holy go-!" Lea barked, backing towards the door in shock. Axel suddenly leapt of the couch, and tripped as Selphie tried to hold onto him. As if sensing that she was not entirely properly attired, Selphie pulled her skirt back over her ass, and patted the creases out of it before sitting back down on the couch politely. Axel stood up from the floor, shouting for Lea to wait. Lea shook his head in disgust. "No fucking way am I gonna wait to see your hairy ass! Get that thing away from me!" He added, throwing a book from his backpack at Axel's stomach as he raced for the stairs. Axel caught the book in his hand, and then threw it on the ground in a rage. "Fuck!" He bellowed, storming back over to the couch and putting his clothes back on. Selphie looked worried. "Does this mean…?"

"Selphie, not right now." Axel barked, then added "and put your damn shirt on!" Selphie obeyed with surprising speed. When Lea ventured back down the stairs (being sure to ask if the coast was clear before he went), he didn't even look at Axel (though he did take a peep at Selphie, who waved at him quite amicably). Axel had his hands folded in front of him, and he sat stock straight. When Lea left, he slumped over, putting his head in his hands. Selphie patted him on the shoulder, and then leaned into his ear.

"We can move this upstairs if you want." She said in a hopeful voice, and Axel sighed, nodding. They went upstairs, but Axel was not in the mood anymore. They did it once before Selphie decided that she wanted to go home, and left in a huff. Axel then took a shower, and went down to watch junk TV shows until 3 o'clock in the morning with nothing but his boxers on and a blanket wrapped around him.

Lea played video games with Isa till 2 o'clock, and then tried to fall asleep, blushing to himself as he imagined Selphie naked, and wrinkling his nose as he tried to delete Axel from his metal picture. All in all, a lovely night for all parties.

…..

Roxas waved back at Axel and Namine as he shut the front door behind him and Xion. Immediately, he heard the commotion in the living room, and he furrowed his eyebrows together, and scratched the back of his head. He heard his mother's slightly frantic but excited voice, and an unfamiliar man's voice talking calmly about some paper work that she had to sign. When Roxas peeped into the living room, he gasped, noticing that it wasn't just his mother and the lawyer. There was a whole news crew, with cameras and filming equipment all set up, filming his mother.

His father was sitting beside his wife, looking off into the distance absentmindedly. Then, Roxas noticed another person sitting on the other side of his mother, beside the lawyer. He had the same blond color hair as Roxas did, and it was even in the same style. Roxas unconsciously squeezed Xion's waist, and she patted him on the shoulder, asking him what the matter was. Roxas shook his head, wondering if this was all a weird dream. Then, the boy turned around to look at him. It was like looking in a mirror.

Roxas swayed a little bit, and Xion caught him, barking for help. The news crew swiveled their cameras over so that they were facing Roxas, who tried to gulp back what he feared was coming back up his throat. Then, his mother noticed him too.

"Darling!" She chirped, running over and hugging him tightly, with tears in her eyes. Then, she started to shake her head. "I'm sorry you had to come in when things were like this. We planned on telling you quietly, but then the news station came, and we were all so happy and bewildered at the same time. We've already sorted out the legal stuff, but the news station has asked us to re-enact what we said in the meeting- but of course, only the non-confidential stuff" she added with a wink, and then continued "So, maybe you'd want to go up and rest now, darling, clear your head? I know this must be really odd and frightening for you to see. Xion, could you take him upstairs and make sure he's alright?"

Xion nodded, and slowly directed Roxas upstairs. The news station interviewer ran up to him and tried to talk to him, but Xion shielded him from the man's questions. "Please, be patient with Roxas." She said gently. "This is all very strange for him and he's not taking things particularly well, he needs to lie down for a little while."

The news man tried to follow Xion up the stairs, but Roxas' father stopped him, telling him to 'leave the boy alone' and let him rest. The news man nodded, and started to ask Roxas' mother about the mysterious and beautiful young lady who had walked through the door.

Xion chuckled as she opened the door to Roxas' bedroom, shaking her head as she sat him down on his bed. "There you go." She said gently, kissing him on the cheek. After a pause, Roxas suddenly wrapped his arms around the back of her neck, pulling her closer to him. She teetered, and fell on top of him as he began to kiss her savagely, pulling her in towards him sharply, and then out again slowly. Xion tried to back away, but he put his arms around her tighter, and held her head closer to him with his hand. Xion gasped for breath, and pinched Roxas on the side. This only made him sigh, and his brows furrowed up again, as if he was trying not to think about something. Xion took the moment to address him.

"Roxas, what the hell is wrong with you? I don't want this right now, I don't know what's gotten into you." She said with tears in her eyes. He looked so pained.

Then, Roxas opened his eyes to look at her, stroking the sides of her face, and then he pulled her closer to him, and gave her a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, Xion. I- I just don't understand what's going on right now. I don't know why I feel so upset. It's just kind of creepy, I don't know… When that boy turned around… it was like my reflection." He faltered at the end, and looked off into space. Xion patted him on the face to bring him back to, and then got off of his lap and lied down beside him, kissing him on the cheek. "Come on, crybaby. We've been through worse than this, haven't we?"

Roxas chuckled sadly, shaking his head. "I'm so sorry that I didn't go after you. That's the only thing I regret."

To this, Xion sighed, rolling her eyes. "Roxas, you know full well that that is not your only regret. You have a lot of 'regrets' that aren't even your fault. You need to stop blaming every bad thing on yourself. It was not your fault."

"Then whose fault was it?" Roxas snapped, folding his arms over his chest. Xion shook her head, sighing.

"I don't think it was anyone's fault. It's just the way things happened. I don't want to blame anyone for anything that happened to me. I don't want to hold onto the past like that, it has too many painful memories."

Roxas closed his eyes at this, sadly. Xion stroked his hair gently.

"And you remember, Roxas. My troubles started long before I met you. I've been having trouble ever since I was born."

Roxas looked up at her, with moistened eyes, and smiled, letting a tear escape his left eye. Xion wiped it away, and leaned into him again, kissing him. "And my troubles have ended now that I met you again." Roxas beamed at this, and pulled her closer to him again. There was a knock on his door, and Xion sat up beside him again, blushing slightly. "Come in." she said, and his father walked into the room. This surprised Roxas, as it was usually his mother who comforted him. It was obvious that his father was slightly uncomfortable, and Roxas smiled a little bit in spite of himself at his father's shaken stature.

"Um, son… I have something to tell you…" he said slowly, eyeing Xion. She began to stand up, but Roxas kept her hand in his so that she would not leave. Roxas' dad looked back at Roxas, as if appealing for help. Roxas let go of Xion's hand. She backed out of the room, waving to Roxas. "I'll see you tomorrow?" she said brightly, and Roxas nodded, sitting up in bed. "Bye Xion." He called after her as she left, and then he turned his attention to his father, who was twiddling with his thumbs aimlessly.

"S-son?" His father said suddenly, and Roxas looked straight at him.

"What is it that you wanted to tell me dad?"

Roxas' father sighed, and began. "You know how we told you when you were younger, that you were a twin?" Roxas nodded, feeling like he was certain that he knew where this was going.

"Well, we had thought that that other baby had died a few hours after being delivered, he was extremely weak, you see, and they were worried about him, so it was a shock, but it was reasonable and understandable when they told us he did not make it. I don't know the specifics or how she did it without anyone knowing, but one of the nurses took the baby, and ran away with it, keeping it for herself. So, the funeral that we had for our other son, and the coffin, were all empty. He doesn't even have the same name that we gave him." The father said absentmindedly, and then continued on, as if trying to get himself together.

"But, of course he wouldn't have the same name, since she named him when she took him. But, anyway, just a few weeks ago, the nurse died, and he was left with no more family. When they tried to find out what other family he could be sent to, they came across our records, and he took a blood test, and it turned out that he shares our DNA. So…"

"…I have a new brother." Roxas finished slowly, not entirely taking in the situation. He shivered slightly at the thought of it, but nodded affirmation, that he understood what his father had told him.

"Well, when you are ready to come down, I suspect the news station will have a few questions for you, so you'll probably have to talk to them."

Roxas nodded at this, and stood up at the same time that his father did. Then, they both made their way downstairs, Roxas trying to calm his heart, which seemed to be beating faster and faster.

"Here we are." His father muttered, as they entered the living room. The news men seemed to pounce on Roxas, and shoved the microphone in his face, smiling broadly at him.

"So Roxas, can you tell us what exactly you are feeling right now with the addition of a new brother to the family- an identical twin, of all things?"

Roxas shrugged, squinting from the huge umbrella light that was shining onto him. "I don't really know what to feel. It's like looking at a reflection. I, I just don't know what to feel right now…"

The news caster nodded understandingly. "I see I see… Ventus, what are your thoughts on the situation?"

The boy identical to Roxas looked up serenely, smiling, though he looked a little bit worried. "Well, I think I'm in the same boat. But, in a way, I feel like it's harder for me, because I've been thrust into a whole new world, and I am being told that this is my new family. I'm sure I will grow to love these people, but I just don't know what to think right now." The boy shrugged, and Roxas looked at him in wonder. He was a very handsome boy, and he was very charming. In an odd way, Roxas felt a little bit intimidated by him. He had the strange feeling that this boy might be his new better half.

They interviewed Roxas and Ventus a little more, and Roxas found himself mumbling most of his answers shyly, contrary to Ventus' open, seemingly flawless character.

"Let's get a picture of you two hugging." The cameraman said suddenly, and Ventus moved closer to Roxas, smiling slightly. Roxas put his hand on Ventus' shoulder, a little bit uncomfortably, and Ventus put his hand on Roxas' waist at first, and then let it trail up Roxas' back until his hand rested on Roxas' shoulder. Roxas heard Ventus chuckle. "Sorry, I'm used to holding a woman." The boy said, and Roxas frowned, wondering if Ventus meant his old mother, or if he was getting at something else, but the camera man signaled for him to smile before he could think about it at all.

Roxas tried to smile, but he knew it looked fake, because he was not feeling happy on the inside at all. He felt weird. He was sure that Ventus' smile was perfect.

But, he sucked in a deep breath, and looked back at Ventus, who had taken his hand off Roxas' shoulder. Roxas took his hand off Ventus' shoulder then, too, and ran his fingers through his hair, blushing a tiny bit.

Ventus looked him up and down, and then smirked. Then, he walked back over to Roxas' mother. Roxas was shocked. He didn't know what was up with this boy. He stole a quick glance around him to see if anyone else had noticed the boy's expression just then, but no one was paying attention at all.

Roxas sighed, and went into the kitchen, deciding to get himself some dinner. He looked at the clock again, and gasped with surprise when he noticed that the clock read that it was 8 o'clock already. It had felt like thirty minutes, but everything that had happened had spanned 3 hours. He shook his head in disbelief, and then put on an egg for himself.

Roxas hunted through the fridge for some bell peppers and onions, and celery, and poked around hoping to find some leftover chicken from the night before. He whisked the egg in a little bowl, and chopped up the vegetables, enough for himself and his mother and father, and Ventus, to have some if they wanted it. Then, he sautéed a small portion of the vegetables and chicken for himself, whilst he poured the whisked egg into a separate pan.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Ventus coming into the room, and sitting down at the table. "Do you want some omelet?" he said politely, and Ventus nodded brightly, leaning forward and setting his elbows on the table, and putting his head in his hands. He sighed, and looked lazily on at Roxas, who had begun another portion of egg and vegetables. Roxas folded the vegetables and chicken into the first egg with cheese, and let it warm up for a moment before he took it out of the frying pan and set it on a plate for Ventus. Then he started making his own.

Ventus looked down at the food happily. "This looks really good, Roxas." He said brightly, and began to eat the food. Roxas looked over at him, and noticed that he didn't have a drink.

"Do you want some juice?" Roxas asked, pointing to the fridge, and Ventus nodded. Roxas got him a drink, and set it down in front of Ventus as he seated himself across from the boy with his own food. Ventus looked straight at him as he cut his omelet, and then smiled.

"Roxas, I think you forgot to turn the stove top off." He said quietly, and Roxas slapped his hand to his forehead.

"Oh, shit, you're right. I totally forgot." He said, going back to the stove and turning the dials to off. He chuckled as he moved back to his seat across from Ventus, settling into his food again.

"With all this crazy stuff going on, it's hard trying to keep my brain in check, you know?" Roxas said brightly, smiling at Ventus. Ventus nodded, half listening.

Roxas sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I'm really sorry about what happened to your mother. I'm sorry about the whole thing." Ventus forced a grin. "It's not your fault. You don't have to be sorry about anything."

Roxas shrugged, and laughed a little bit. "Yeah, I guess so." He looked up, and met Ventus' eyes. Their eyes lingered on each other, and the corner of Ventus' mouth turned up just a little bit, as if he was daring Roxas to keep looking. Roxas began to feel uncomfortable, and he looked away abruptly, coughing a little bit and mumbling about how late it was getting.

A few minutes later, Roxas' mother came in. She set her hands on her hips playfully, and nudged Roxas in the arm. It irritated Roxas a little, because she only got like this when they had 'special guests' that she felt like she needed to impress. "Well, Roxas! You are a model son, aren't you? Taking care of yourself first, and leaving us to fend for ourselves." She joked a little over dramatically, winking. Roxas chuckled, a tad bit irritated.

"At least I'm independent." He muttered, looking at the clock again. It was 8:30. His mother laughed, and Roxas pointed to the fridge. "I cut up some vegetables, and there's some chicken and eggs in the fridge if you want to have an omelet." Roxas' father nodded, and began on his own, and Roxas' mother sat down beside Ventus.

"So, how was your trip here?" she said in excitement, looking at Ventus affectionately. Ventus smiled warmly at her.

"It was fine, it was a long way to come, but I enjoyed it."

"Now where was it that you used to live again, darling?"

Ventus looked up at Roxas, and then back at his mother. "I lived in the Land of Departure."

Roxas' mother sucked in a breath, nodding vigorously. "That is a ways away, even though it is in the same region as us. Nibelheim is actually closer to us than the Land of Departure is, did you know that?"

Roxas' father looked back at his wife as he sat down at the table, taking a sip from his glass of water. "I don't know if it's quite that far."

Roxas' mother nodded to herself. "I remember when Roxas was working and going to school over there. We thought that he was going to make a way for himself when he started moving rank so fast. At first you were just cleaning crew for the hotel, weren't you?"

Roxas sighed. "Mom, I worked in the offices in the Land That Never Was. I was an apprentice for the Company."

His mother nodded her head slowly, as if mulling things over in her mind. "Oh, right, right, right."

Ventus took a breath, and then smiled. "That's funny that you were over there that whole time, just a small distance away from me. The two towns are pretty close."

Roxas nodded. "Yeah, it is."

"I used to go to the old Academy there, when I was younger. Before it got shut down. Did you know that Castle Oblivion- the hotel- was built from it when it shut down? They knocked down a bit of it, but it's just funny to pass by it and see the resemblance… of course, now the hotel is shut down, too. I don't know if it's temporary or permanent, though."

"It's permanent." Roxas chuckled, with a slightly bitter tone of voice. Roxas' father was very interested.

"Wait, the old Land of Departure Academy? Under Master Eraqus? That was one of the most renowned Academies of the day just a few years back. It was particularly good for helping financially strained children, wasn't it?"

Ventus nodded, a little sad. "Master Eraqus wanted to give everyone an equal chance, no matter where they came from."

"Why did it shut down again?"

Ventus shrugged. "Some financial scandal. Some high up sued and caused a whole big scandal about the school stealing money or something, and Eraqus was ousted from almost every honorary and associational position he had- anywhere."

"Wow. He lost everything?"

Ventus nodded, staring down at his empty plate. "The whole thing was a lie, and everyone knew it."

"Then why did the school shut down?" Roxas ventured, wondering. Ventus looked up at him from under his eye lashes, and smirked a little.

"Because someone played dirty."

Roxas looked around uncomfortably, but no one else had seen the smirk besides him. His father was shaking his head, and his mother put her fist on the table.

"Terrible the way things happen like that. Every major institution is filled with corruption. It's the damn mob chasing us all wherever we go. I'm telling you." She started to clean the plates off the table, but her husband took over for her.

"Do you want me to show you two to your room?" she said brightly, and Ventus nodded.

She led them up the stairs, and Ventus carried his bags up with him, setting them down in Roxas' room when his mother opened the door.

"There. Maybe we'll get you your own bed, but money's a tad bit tight right now, we've been trying to save up for Roxas next year."

Ventus shook his head. "It's fine. I don't mind at all."

Roxas' mother nodded, and left the room so that the two could get ready for bed. Roxas sighed, and picked up his bed clothes, getting ready to leave the room. Ventus smirked again.

"What are you doing?" he asked, and Roxas turned around again.

"I'm just gonna go get ready for bed." Roxas said, discomfort creeping in at him. Ventus shrugged.

"You don't have to leave the room. We're brothers now. It's fine."

Roxas nodded, reasoning with himself that they were brothers; it wasn't like he was sleeping with another random person. He sighed, and began to take his shirt off, and then his pants, when he noticed Ventus looking at him. Roxas looked up at him, and folded his arms in front of him.

"What're you looking at?" He snapped, and Ventus shrugged. "It's just weird. You look exactly like I do."

Roxas' shoulders relaxed a little bit, and he pulled his night shirt over his head, and then his night pants.

"But, you know, I can understand why you'd be nervous. I mean, I don't even feel like you're my brother. It's like you're just myself except you're in front of me. I'm hot." He added mischievously, and Roxas whipped his head around. Ventus was grinning widely. It made Roxas shiver a little bit.

Roxas shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Ventus sighed. "Look, you and I know that we're never gonna feel like brothers. So let's just be friends instead. Really good friends."

Roxas nodded. "If you want." He said coldly, and Ventus' smile faded a little bit. Then, he tried to brighten up again. He had the same worried look on his face that Roxas got. "Well, you'll have to introduce me to all your friends tomorrow, so I can make some new ones. I'm sure that they're all really nice people. I need some new friends, since I've had to leave my old ones behind."

Roxas pursed his lips, feeling a twinge of guilt for the way he'd acted previously towards Ventus. "Yeah, I can do that."

Ventus lied down at the bed, looking up at the ceiling. "What are their names?"

Roxas scratched his head. "Well, there's Hayner, Pence, Olette. And Xion. And then there's Namine, Kairi, Sora, Riku, Selphie, Axel, and Lea, though Lea isn't very interested in our group. He's got his own friends."

Ventus nodded, and Roxas went on. "Then in Hollow Bastion there's Aerith, Leon, Yuffie, and Cid. And Loz and his brothers have just moved down here. So, there are them too. There are a lot of people that you need to meet."

Ventus nodded, and Roxas could see that he was excited. "I can't wait to get to know all of them. Maybe we could arrange a party." He said thoughtfully, and Roxas nodded. "Yeah, that'd be good."

Ventus sighed a little, and smiled, closing his eyes. "Maybe it'll be good for me to start over again. I can bury all my regrets."

Roxas was a little puzzled at this, but he shrugged it off, closing his eyes, too. Everything today had happened so fast, it was like a dream. It seemed like every weird thing happened to Roxas and his friends. Time would tell if the addition of this new kid to the family would be a fortunate or unfortunate occurrence. Until then, Roxas reasoned with himself, he'd just try not to worry about it. The last thing he needed was a new worry.