Connected to The Malicious Stranger - Read that first if you want.. (You can probably read this story by itself.)

Warnings: Character Death, Violence (Later Chapters)

Roxas's POV

Vengeance

Roxas was a tough guy, who really didn't have time for relationships. He wasn't sociable by any means, nor did he had any friends but that wasn't really his fault. Everyone always avoided him like he had some sort of disease. He didn't know if it was his attitude, personality or his looks but something always drove them away. Everywhere he went, Roxas always felt like some sort of outcast.

Roxas wasn't vain but he always thought he had some pretty decent looks. At age twenty, he was probably considered a good-looking guy with his unkempt blond hair, wide cerulean eyes and pretty average height. He was definitely not in the unattractive category, but he clearly was not as sexy as any famous models. Though, he probably had a problem with his face because everytime he stared at someone, they would glance away, looking a bit terrified. Those moments made Roxas realize he had an intimidating glare, his blue eyes narrowing into a dark gaze whenever he faced a person. He was horrified to hear this from his brother, who laughed at his "funny" face whenever he tried to scrutinize the friend his brother brought home, making her uncomfortable.

The attitude Roxas displayed wasn't awful in any sense but it never got him far. He was aloof, cold and quiet, though it was due to never having anyone to talk to. In high school, Roxas was the loser who usually sat in the back of the class, the one who was never noticed by anyone. He would silently do his work and listen as the teacher lectured on. Whenever there was a team project, Roxas would be the last one awkwardly standing there while everyone already paired up, which led to him lumping in with some poor group. They would ignore him, talking and doing their work while Roxas silently listened, wanting to curl up in some hole and die.

Throughout high school, Roxas had only made one friend. She was probably considered the only companion Roxas had ever talked to and laughed with in his entire life. Her name was Xion. She had sapphire blue eyes and black short hair with bangs parted to the side. She was shorter than him and had a small petite body. Xion was also a person who had no friends so it stunned him when she came up to talk, asking if they can spend time together. Roxas was a bit skeptical at first but he quickly warmed up to her when he realized why she decided to confront him. She was feeling lonely and she had thought Roxas felt the same way.

The two spent their most of their high school time talking, laughing and playing with each other. Roxas could not remember a time where he had ever felt so joyful in life. As days, weeks, and months passed on, Roxas felt himself developing a crush on Xion. He was obsessed. He would follow her everywhere, and practically anywhere. Before school, during school, even after school. Xion didn't really seem to mind because she had developed a crush on Roxas too.

Xion made Roxas feel like he belonged somewhere, she made him feel complete. She understood him. He was in heaven, feeling blissful whenever he was with her. Until one day, Xion never showed up to school. Roxas just shrugged it off, expecting to see her the next day.. But she never came back.. She disappeared without a trace, with her house empty.

That was probably the only time in his life where he bawled, wailing as tears ran down his cheeks. His only friend was gone and he was literally nothing without her. Eventually, high school ended and he continued on to college. His thoughts of Xion soon disappeared, memories of her blurry whenever he tried to remember her and he eventually moved on, his life continuing as if he had never met her. He still had the same reserved, cold attitude and the glowering glare on his face whenever he met reluctant eyes. Nothing ever changed, even after he had met Xion.

Sora, his brother, was always there for him but Roxas couldn't help the resentment he felt towards the brunet. They were twins but their lives were totally different. He actually had friends, something Roxas desperately desired. He was a sociable, bubbly older twin, who talked to everyone who walked his path. Everyone loved him much more than Roxas. Even though Sora had everything Roxas yearned for, he couldn't find the will to hate his older brother. He was the only person, other than Xion, who actually loved everything about him. The amount of warmth and adoration Sora directed towards him had always moved him, making him want to cry tears of joy.

Eventually, he had to move away from everyone, including Sora for college. It made Roxas slightly anxious, as he anticipated something different from his boring life. When he finally arrived, nothing really exciting ever happened. It was all the same, including the cold shoulder he received from everyone. No one ever came up to him like Xion did, nor did they ever acknowledge him. But it was fine... because after all, Roxas was used to it.

The day his small sad life changed, it was in one of those small coffee shops. Roxas was just doing his homework, his hands moving swiftly as he narrowed his eyes at the laptop screen, thinking. Right next to his side was his drink, the dark bitter coffee describing how he felt perfectly. He was probably the only customer within the store but it was ideal for someone like him. He didn't belong in those populated coffee cafes with all those students crowded in it. Roxas almost shuddered at the thought of it.

Minutes passed by, before the door jingled, signifying that a customer had walked in. Roxas thought it was peculiar for someone to walk in, mostly because of the poor condition the shop was in. Despite his curiosity, he did not remove his eyes from the screen when he was practically finished with the report. Heavy steps soon ended up at the register, before a low quiet voice flooded his ears.

Roxas frowned, his thoughts now focused on the stranger. The possibility of the speaker being in his twenties was high, which was a bit unusual. The only customers he had ever seen in this old shop were all old and wrinkly. After a few moments passed, the person eventually received his order and strolled pass by the blond, sitting down on the table across from him.

Roxas squinted, pretending he wasn't thinking of the customer as he tried to scroll through the internet, reading boring articles until the guy decided to leave. He soon grew weary from the stories so he grabbed his coffee and took a long sip from his drink before placing it down. Roxas stared at the screen, absent-mindedly, feeling curiosity prick him. Roxas pursed his lips, before deciding a quick look wouldn't do much harm.

Interested blue eyes flickered upwards, before meeting green eyes. Roxas flushed, realizing that the stranger's eyes were already gazing at him before he had even made the choice to look. Instead of glancing away, Roxas held his gaze, breath taken away as he took in the sight. Scarlet, red spikes were styled in many directions while his face looked absolutely flawless. Jaded green eyes gazed into his own, lighting up in delight when Roxas looked at him.

Roxas goggled at him, wondering why the stranger hadn't glanced away by the time Roxas looked at him. The redheaded stranger stared at him intensely before directing a lazy smirk towards the baffled blond. Roxas's eyes grew wider with surprise as he flushed, staring down towards his lap. A chuckle rang through the air before the sound of a chair being pushed in scraped his ears.

"See you later... Roxas..." A low murmur, then the sound of the door being pushed open. Blinking, Roxas wondered if he had imagined his name slipping out of the redhead's mouth. He clutched his face, hoping he hadn't glared at the man before shaking his head in disbelief, his mind still not processing what happened. Someone actually talked to him. Someone actually looked at him firmly without looking away. Roxas was still in shock, bewildered by the whole experience. The last time a person had ever acknowledged him was Xion, not counting Sora.

Roxas bit his lip, as a warm feeling began to spread throughout his chest. He softly laughed, feeling completely energized. A small smile appeared as he packed all his items into his bag and with a grin, he left the shop.

Roxas came back to the small shop the next day. He quickly ordered a drink before unpacking all his stuff on the table. Roxas shook with anticipation as he played a few games on his laptop. He was on Solitaire when the door rang out again, making him tense before glancing up in an abrupt manner. Roxas sighed in disappointment when he saw a old lady walking towards the cashier.

Frowning, Roxas watched the lady leave with a drink and a biscuit. His face was composed, devoid of any emotion but his eyes shimmered with hope and excitement as he waited for the intriguing redhead. The door soon slammed open, with the stranger striding through the shop. Roxas immediately fluttered his eyes towards the redhead, silently pleased to see green eyes staring at him. An intense, calm look flickered his way before turning playful, making Roxas shudder in delight.

Instead of heading straight to the cashier to order, the stranger trudged towards him before stopping in front of Roxas. Roxas gaped, heart thumping when the redhead decided to open his mouth.

"Mind if I sit here for today?" A voice slipped out of the redhead. Roxas gazed at him with wide eyes before silently shaking his head. With a grin, the redhead walked to the cashier to order a drink. After receiving his drink, the guy plopped down on the seat across from him with a content look. Roxas grew nervous, not knowing how to address the redhead, palms growing sweaty. Axel seemed to sense his anxiety because he soon leaned forward, words slipping out.

"The name's Axel.. How bout you?" Roxas blushed, internally groaning at himself when he felt his cheeks reddened. Oh god, it had been so long since he had last spoken to anyone.. and he was starting to get flustered for no reason. Axel raised his eyebrows, looking amused.

"Sorry, it's Roxas.. My name's Roxas.." He mumbled. Axel stared at him intensely, hard eyes making Roxas feel a bit uncomfortable. But his harsh green eyes quickly softened, a smile inching up.

"Roxas, you've got to ease up! I promise I'm not going to bite!" Roxas looked at Axel, growing even redder. He had a strong urge to slam his face onto the table. His mind was screaming at him to stop acting like a high-school girl. He wasn't normally like this. Roxas was the cool, calm, collected type of guy, not the one who starts blushing like crazy when he's spoken to. He breathed in deeply, trying to calm down before he decided to reply. Axel was just leaning back in his chair, a patient smile on his face.

"Sorry, it's been a while since I've last talked to someone.. Especially strangers like you." Roxas voiced, with a composed smile. Axel placed on a wild grin, teeth flashing as he opened his mouth.

"Well that isn't good," His grin grew wicked, eyes widening with glee before he leaned in to whisper. "You shouldn't talk to strangers, you know.. But maybe, you're willing to let this outsider into your life." With that last low whisper, Axel leaned back. His green eyes shining with dark intent while his wild gin died down to a soft smile.

Roxas froze. What did Axel mean by that? Did Axel really want to be part of his life? Or was he joking...? Questions began to flood his mind as he gazed at the smiling redhead. Roxas observed the feral grin and the green eyes that shined with suspicious intent.

"Are you saying.." Roxas hesitated. His eyebrows furrowed in thought, as he narrowed his eyes at the redhead, peering at him with suspicion. "Are you saying you want us to be friends?" Roxas smiled nervously, feeling quite foolish for allowing a hint of hopefulness slip through his voice. If that wasn't it, then he had no idea what Axel was implying.

Axel snorted, grinning. "What else could I possibly mean? Of course I want us to be friends!" Roxas gulped, feeling his mouth drying. Friends? This redheaded stranger wanted to be friends? His heart raced as he pondered on about it. Nobody had ever desired to befriend him before. He glanced at Axel, feeling reluctant before blathering out.

"Do you normally do this?" Axel looked at him, looking clueless while Roxas let out an uneasy chuckle. "Do you normally come up to strangers, asking to be friends? I mean not that I mind but I don't have much friends. There's probably a reason for that too. I'm probably not a good person.. and I don't really have the best personality.. I'm really flattered that you want to be friends with me but are you sure you're going to like me? Are you-"

"Roxas.." Roxas stopped his chattering, as serious green eyes stared into blue. "I just wanted to be friends. No reason, you look like a pretty cool guy.."

"But why..?" Roxas scrunched his face up, puzzled. He was still feeling doubtful about the statement, it's not like anyone ever wanted to be friends with someone like him.

"Why? Because you look really lonely and I just sorta had the urge to talk to you.."

Lonely? That brought up some sad memories. Xion confronted him for that very same reason too. She mentioned that his big azure eyes attracted her towards him. That his sad eyes pleaded her to come up to him, to befriend him. After that, he stuck close to her, almost never leaving her side. He soon fell in love with her but she disappeared one day, without telling him anything.

Roxas was uncertain whether or not he should trust the redhead. He glanced at the redhead, lost in thought before coming to a decision. Didn't he move out, expecting a change? Sure, it took at least two years but shouldn't he be taking this as an opportunity?. Maybe Axel would help him break out of his shell and he'll be able to make more friends than he can ever dream of. Roxas slowly started to smile, his conclusion clear.

"Then, let's be friends!" Roxas decided, slightly beaming with excitement. Roxas directed a smile towards Axel, eyes twinkling with happiness. Axel blinked, before chuckling, amused with the attitude shown.

"Yeah, let's be friends.." Axel murmured with a slight nod. Roxas nodded along, before stilling. A few seconds of silence ticked by before he slowly scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish. What were friends suppose to do again? Unfortunately, he had no clue..

"So, now that we're friends. What do we do now?" Roxas mumbled, hoping Axel had the answer. Axel laughed, rolling his eyes in amusement before digging into his back pocket, taking out his phone.

"Now that we're friends, we hang out with each other!" Axel wiggled his eyebrows, as if it were that obvious, before waving his phone in front of Roxas's face. Blue eyes flickered across the bright screen, looking clueless. Then, Roxas flashed his bewildered eyes towards Axel.

"What?" Confusion laced his voice, as he narrowed his eyes at the screen right up his face. The phone soon drew back, lying down next to the redhead's coffee. Axel frowned, mirroring the perplexed expression on the blonde's face.

"It's a phone? You know, where you exchange phone numbers so you can talk and message." Roxas flushed, as realization started to overcome him.

"Yeah, I know what a phone is..." Roxas grumbled, feeling a bit agitated before glancing away, biting his lip. "Umm, I don't really carry a phone around.."

Roxas didn't really care for things such as phones. Phones are items for people who have a social life and Roxas had none whatsoever. He does own a cheap iPhone in his small apartment but it's currently in the corner of his room, dusty from his lack of usage. The only person he would ever use his phone for is Sora. Though, that usually occurred once a month and he was never the one to initiate the call.

Axel choked in disbelief, wide-eyed before laughing. "Well, aren't you a bit old-fashioned." Roxas frowned, irritation written all up in his face as he clutched his hands tightly against his jeans. So what if he didn't bring some stupid device around, was he expected to be like everyone else?

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh all you want.. but I'm not finding this as funny as you are.." He muttered, annoyance clear in his voice. Axel stopped his laughing fit, as he leaned closer to ruffle Roxas' blond hair. Long, slim fingers slipped into silky hair, messing it around, making Roxas slightly relax from his temporary fit. He sighed in pleasure, liking the warmth rubbing his hair around.

"It's fine.. Phones are overrated anyways. Sometimes, being the odd one out of the crowd is good..." Axel murmured, removing his hand from Roxas's hair. Roxas almost groaned, feeling the pleasant sensation of fingers petting his head disappear.

"I mean, I do have a phone but it usually stays in my house." Roxas explained, shrugging his shoulders in a nonchalant way. He didn't really care if Axel wanted to use a phone to contact him. If anything, it sounded like a pretty cool way to communicate and if they're going to be friends, they are probably going to need to make plans on where to meet.

"Are you sure you want to use a phone?" A questionable gaze focused on him, making Roxas smile a bit. It felt nice and different that Axel was considering what he wanted.

"Yeah, a phone is fine. But like I said, I don't really carry it around though.."

"But you carry your laptop around.. Do you use email? I assume you have one of those, right?" Axel asked, as he rubbed his head in thought. Yeah, Roxas did have an email, one he made years ago in high school to contact Xion. If anything, he should get to making a new one but he didn't really had the urge to do so.

"Yeah, I have email.." Roxas mumbled, staring down at the table in an intense manner.

"Good! I guess we should exchange emails!" Axel grinned, pleased to have a way to communicate with the blond. He grabbed his phone, unlocking it before handing it to the blond. Roxas blinked, glowering down at the phone, a little clueless.

"Uhh.."

"Put your email down." A slight rolling of the eyes, looking amused.

"Ohh.." Roxas paused, blank look in his face. Sighing, he quickly typed in his username in the redhead's phone before reluctantly handing it to Axel.

Axel glanced over the screen with a vacant expression before arching his eyebrows in wonder. Entertained, green eyes slowly raised up to meet his, laughter gleaming in his orbs. "13KeysofDestiny?"

"So what? What's wrong it?" Accusing blue orbs glowered at the redhead, looking uptight. His username did sound nerdy but it was a distant reminder of his time with Xion, so he decided to keep the tacky name.

"Oh no, nothing's wrong with the name. I didn't really expected someone like you to have a name like that. I thought it would've had your name in there somewhere.." Axel exclaimed, waving his hands around wildly, hoping not to offend his new friend.

"For your information, I made it in high school.. There's nothing wrong with it.." Roxas grumbled before changing the subject. "Just hand me your email.." Roxas grabbed his laptop, unlocking it before handing it to Axel.

Axel hummed, taking his time, before handing the laptop back to Roxas. Roxas blinked, eyes processing the text as a huge silly grin began to spiral upwards. "Your username is way worse than mine.."

"My username is fucking awesome." Axel smirked proudly, crossing his arms smugly. Roxas scoffed, snorting both at the response and the username. Who the hell has the name SexyDevil8 as their username? Talk about having problems..

"Whatever.." Roxas saved the email address into his laptop before shutting it down. After putting his laptop into his bag, he peered at Axel, noticing the dark look in his eyes and the troubled frown on his face. He appeared as if he were lost in thought, gazing steadily at Roxas. Intense green eyes studied the blond, scrutinizing every detail. Roxas carefully placed on a smile, a bit edgy as he considered his words.

"Is something wrong?" Roxas meticulously murmured, taking a deep breath. Axel snapped out of his thoughts, shaking his head lightly as a huge grin began to replace his unsettled face from before.

"Nothing, nothing's wrong! Thanks for worrying though!" Axel quickly uttered with a slight tremble to his voice, making Roxas narrow his eyes. Roxas thought his behavior was a bit unusual but what did Roxas know about having friends? None apparently so he disregarded the odd reaction, shrugging it off. "Well, now that I have your email, I can message you tonight! Though, I'm actually in a rush to go somewhere right now.." Axel exclaimed, as he grasped his drink before chugging it down. The blond took in the view, observing the way Axel took long, huge gulps before placing it on the table with a satisfied sigh.

"Okay, I guess I'll hear from you tonight then." He whispered, as a dull ache began to spread from his chest. Lonesomeness had started to seep back in, a downcast expression seeping through Roxas's face. Axel arose from his seat, stretching his long arms out as a yawn came out of his mouth. Still stretching, Axel placed his eyes on Roxas, stilling when the sight of a despondent frown caught his attention.

"Hey, don't look so dejected. It's not like I'm leaving forever.. We'll chat tonight, I promise." A couple of feathery touches pats his shoulder, reassuring the blond. Roxas softly smiled, nodding slightly. The same expression was shot back towards the blond, before striding down to the door. "Well, see you later Roxas."

The door slammed before Roxas had a chance to mumble "goodbye.." Roxas breathed out, releasing out a gasp of air he was holding in. A silly grin broke out, replacing the usual detached image he would usually be seen with. He actually made a friend.. A sense of triumph filled his senses, making Roxas feel as if he had won a game. He knew he shouldn't keep his hopes high but happiness and joy smacked all reason away. Roxas had the strong urge to boast about his new friend but it wasn't like he had anyone to share the good news with. His grin died down to a slight smile. Well, even if he didn't had anyone to tell his new friend to, he still had his brother to brag to.

Glancing at his watch, Roxas decided he had spent enough time at the shop and started to finish off his cold beverage. Roxas walked outside, loving the way the sunset gleamed before walking towards his small, isolated apartment. If he were acting a bit more sober, Roxas would've probably noticed the sharp venomous glare that followed his figure as he trailed down the dark streets.

Okay, I was seriously thinking of making this a one-shot but honestly, I'm not patient enough to do that. Sorry if this seems a little boring at first but hopefully it'll get better as time passes by. I'm planning for this story to have about two or three chapters. This story probably won't be related to "The Malicious Stranger" that much but it was based on it so whatever. I wouldn't really call this a sequel. Hopefully this chapter sorta catches your attention.

I'll update in a week or so! Reviews are appreciated ;D