Sunburn
A/N: My contribution to AkuRoku day. Unfortunately, to those who have been reading my story Inspiration, I have had back to back problems going on with that particular fan fic so it'll be quite some time before it's updated again. But never fear! I don't give up on my stories so it will be updated at some point! Anyway, this little idea popped into my head a while ago and I decided it would make a nice little one-shot for AkuRoku day so please do enjoy. A lot's been going on in my life and I felt like a little comedy would help make the day brighter at least. I hope any who reads this agrees. It's a little jumpy since it cycles through different POV's but I tried my best to make it flow.
Disclaimer: I do not own. Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix and Disney and if you don't know that after ten years of this game series being out then you must've been living on Jupiter or something! Also, any likeness to another fic was unintentional should there be any.
Warnings: language, small lemon at the end (it's not too detailed, just a very short little addition), sexual frustration, and a very grumpy Roxas.
VII-XIII
Roxas
"Roxas … you're orange."
"Thank you, Xion, for stating the obvious."
Yeah, that's right. Sunburn. While Xion was the smart one who kept her coat on and hood up during the mission, I was the idiot who took said coat off because Agrabah is in the middle of the fucking desert and I was turning into boiled Nobody. Of course, I should've realized that taking off my sweat soaked Organization coat would simply turn me into fried Nobody instead but at the time my only thoughts were collect hearts, don't let the residents see us, curse Saïx, and RTC as soon as possible. I didn't think about turning into a pumpkin until I realized my entire upper body was much, much darker than the lower half … and when I learned the hard way how much this apparent sunburn would hurt. Which was why I was currently hiding in my room, sitting on my bed with Xion next to me shaking her head in pity.
"You know, you can't hide in here forever," she sighed as she stood to face me directly. I didn't count on getting sunburn so of course I had nothing to help it. And, surprisingly and unfortunately, cure magic did nothing to help. Not potions, not elixirs … nothing. I had to suffer through this until Xion could get Saïx to let her go to the Marketplace in Twilight Town. And I kind of needed Xion to do this for me since she was the only one who knew.
"I'll hide in here as much as I want," I grumbled in return, causing her to sigh again.
"Honestly, Roxas, why are you even hiding in the first place?" she asked.
"You know how the other guys can be assholes about stuff like this! I can bet you about three or more of them are going to try and slap my arms or back just to see me writhe in pain. And especially keep Axel away! Even if he knew, he'd be sure to forget not to touch me. I can see it now! He'd slap my back playfully, or something while we're eating ice cream and next think you know, I'll have fallen off the fucking Twilight Town clock tower! Dying, or fading, or whatever it is we do is not on my agenda!" I shouted, glaring at Xion for being the first one to purposefully poke me in the shoulder. She ignored it, of course.
"How am I supposed to keep Axel away?!"
"I don't know! Tell him he'll get a Keyblade to the face if he comes in here! Anything! And make sure you keep up the heart collection! I don't want Saïx or the Superior on my ass about this!"
Xion huffed and crossed her arms indignantly.
"You're asking for a lot Roxas!" she sniffed. I sighed and reached over and into my drawer, pulling out a bag of munny that I had collected from my last three missions. It wasn't much since I had just recently synthesized a new gear and a few Hi-potions for myself, but hopefully it would be enough.
"I'll give you five hundred munny, just please do this for me!" I begged. It was pitiful, I know. Keyblade wielders should not have to beg. But in this situation, I think it was an exception. Xion shook her head at me.
"I don't want the munny. But I wouldn't mind a few elixirs ..." she trailed off.
"... How many?"
"Five."
What?!
"Xion! Do you know how much it costs to create five elixirs?!" I complained. I had a right to complain too! Who in their right mind would give away five elixirs?! Plus, I only had three left due to my having a fit and trying to figure out how to get rid of this freaking sunburn!
"Well how many would you give then?" she asked, hand out waiting.
"I only have three left. I'll give you two, no more!"
"Fine then. But for all this, I better not only get two elixirs!"
Jeez. Long gone are the days when she didn't talk or show a personality.
"Two elixirs, two Hi-ethers, and a limit recharge. Is that good enough for you, your highness?" I asked. My temper was slowly boiling, due to the fact that I'm not only short on items, but am extremely uncomfortable dealing with this freaking sunburn.
"That'll work," Xion shrugged. She took the items I handed her before leaving the room to go let the others know to leave me alone, especially Axel, and to get Saïx to let her go to Twilight Town. Damn Saïx and his keeping a close eye on Xion! It would've been better if she could've just gone on her own time, but scar-face just loves being a nuisance! I'd have gone myself but … moving was a very unappealing idea at this moment. And dammit, my arm itches!
Xion
The things I do for my friends. Sigh … Oh well. It's not that much of a problem helping Roxas out; I just wish I didn't have to go to Twilight Town to do so. Saïx might not even let me go! And I have to tell Axel not to go into Roxas' room! He's not going to listen to me, not unless I tell him why! And why's Roxas trying to keep that a secret from Axel anyway? I can just see this entire situation turning into a mess! Oh well … Next stop, the Grey Area. Thankfully, everyone … well everyone that was left, was here so I could just go ahead and let them all know not to bother Roxas. No one paid me any attention as I walked into the room, which suited me just fine. First things first … I inhaled slowly as I walked over to Xigbar, Luxord, and Xaldin, all of them in their own little corner gambling. All of them looked up as I approached, although only Xigbar and Luxord greeted me.
"Well if it isn't Shorty number two," Xigbar said, "Where's Tiger? Aren't you two normally being short together?"
"That's actually what I came to say. Roxas will have to stay in his room for a few days and we would appreciate it if you could not bring his absence up with Saïx or bother him in anyway ..." I said quietly and politely.
"I thought Saïx made it clear that getting fucked too hard wasn't a good enough excuse for skipping out on missions," Xigbar said as he peered over at Axel who was draped across one of the other couches, playing tricks with the fire he held in his hand. My cheeks immediately turned red and I thanked my lucky stars that my hood was up and no one could see my face.
"No, no! That's not what the problem is!" I quickly denied.
"Then what would be the problem? I am set to go on a mission to Wonderland with him in a few days after all," Luxord drawled, not looking up from his cards.
"He, um, he wishes to keep that a secret ..." I mumbled.
"Right … we'll play along. But for a price," Xigbar said.
Everything has to be for a price huh? Well, then again, I did just do that to Roxas …
"Okay ..."
"Three premium orbs, please," Xigbar demanded as he held out a gloved hand in expectation. Tight lipped, I handed over the only three premium orbs I had. There goes that rare synthesis material … Xigbar grinned before dragging his forefinger and thumb over his lips as if he was zipping them shut. Well, I'd earned their silence. Next I moved onto Demyx who was currently over by the window, sitting on the ground and tuning his Sitar. He looked up immediately when he noticed that I was standing over him.
"Hey Xion," he grinned, "What brings you to this neck o' the woods?"
"Hi Demyx. I just wanted to let you know that Roxas will be staying in his room for a few days and would appreciate it if you didn't bother him or let Saïx and the Superior know ..." I said. His eyes shot over to Axel's couch before returning to me, causing his grin to widen.
"I see … I'll keep it secret," he winked before returning to the tuning of his Sitar. Ugh … why does everyone keep thinking it's Axel's fault? … Well, I guess I can't blame them. It was the reason why Roxas asked me to cover for him on his last mission.
Shaking my head to clear it of such thoughts, I made my way over to Axel last. His attention didn't waver from the flames in his palm and he only acknowledged me with a simple, "Hey Xion."
"Hi Axel. Roxas wanted me to tell you to stay out of his room unless you wanted a Keyblade to the face."
I figured I could be blunter with Axel since we're friends now. Axel seemed to realize this as he didn't give me a weird look like the others might have. Instead, he simply sat up, waving away the fire in his hand, before facing me fully.
"What's up with him now?" Axel asked as one of his eyebrows rose questioningly.
"He doesn't want me to tell you," I sighed in exasperation. Really, Roxas, you can be ridiculous!
"Really now? Well I see that as a clear invitation!" Axel smirked as he created a dark corridor and stepped through it (an action I could see coming from a mile away)
Sigh …
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
"Okay, fess up. Why does he look like he'd just been attacked with orange paint?" Axel asked, clearly pissed off as he stepped back out of the dark portal clutching at his bruised forehead.
"I told you he'd throw his Keyblade at your face," I answered simply. The look I got in return pretty much told me to stop beating around the bush.
"He got sunburned."
…
"That's it?" Axel asked, "Why was he trying to hide it?"
"I don't know Axel! He's weird!"
Axel seemed to accept this answer as he only nodded.
"So that explains why he wants me to stay out of his room then. Probably doesn't want me to touch him. But still, how'd he get that badly sunburned in the first place?"
Oh jeez. This is why Roxas didn't want Axel to know …
"Heart collection in Agrabah …"
It only took a split second for Axel's expression to go from questioning to surprise to … straight out laughter. Roxas didn't want Axel teasing him about it. I guess I can understand …
"Are you … seriously telling me he was dumb enough to take his coat off in Agrabah of all places?!" Axel asked between gasps of laughter. Yeah … sorry Roxas.
"He explained it as … not wanting to turn into boiled Nobody."
Axel's laughter only increased.
"I guess getting deep fried in the middle of the desert was a better idea, huh?"
I only shrugged. I didn't want to add gas to the flame. Roxas was probably going to take back his elixirs now …
"Do you think you could help keep it a secret from Saïx and Xemnas though? I'm gonna try and collect more hearts while he stays in his room and I asked the others to keep quiet about it as well," I told him. He nodded again.
"Of course I will! Besides, if I turned him in, I would lose all of my opportunities to tease him about it!" Axel replied cheerily. Great …
I shook my head at his antics and silently made my way towards Saïx who stood in the middle of the room ignoring all of us.
Good luck Roxas …
Axel
This could be a predicament …
Xion just got permission to go tralala-ing in Twilight Town to find some way to help cure Roxas of his 'blonde moment' mistake in Agrabah (which I honestly would've expected out of Demyx), while I had to be expected to patiently await Roxas' possible month of healing like a good Nobody.
I like to set people on fire …
I don't do good Nobody.
Unfortunately, randomly poofing into Roxas' room will quickly land me with another Keyblade inflicted wound and that kid can get vicious when he's angry or in pain.
And currently … he's both.
So this leaves me with nothing to do. No Vexen to fuck with; he's dead. No Marluxia to make fun of; he's dead. No Larxene to make angry; she's dead. No Zexion to burn the books of; I fucking had him killed by the silver haired kid's clone thing. And I don't even know what the fuck happened to Lexaeus, all I know is that he too is dead. And Vexen's the only one I had the pleasure of killing! Where's the fun in that?! Of course fire beats ice! Just like paper beats rock and lizard beats Spock! Err … anyway. My choices of members to torment are limited as there are only eight of us left! Not to mention, our little black haired Naminé look alike is prancing around Twilight Town and Roxas, the only one I like, is brooding in his room like the emo orange he'd recently turned into! Needless to say, I missed the little shorty (not the Naminé clone, the hot blonde one)!
I might as well go on a mission for as interesting as this place is right now. Though, now that I think about it, I do have that one mission in Agrabah … pfft Agrabah. That kooky kid.
Roxas
It has been a week. A week! And it still hurts to move! Not as much as before but enough to where brushing my skin against something will leave me cringing. And I'm still orange! Whatever it was Xion picked up, some Twilight Town brand shit that I can't remember the name of, helped a little but I have to keep applying it for another week! Another week of this agony! Okay, it's not that bad, but I still fear leaving this room. I already don't like it when people touch me (aside from Axel), but it would only be worse if they all caught me in the state I'm in and decided it would be fun to poke at me. And of course Saïx and Xemnas wouldn't give a damn as long as I kept collecting hearts. I should probably thank Xion for covering for me too, now that I think about it. She truly is a good friend.
And speak of the devil …
I looked up as a dark corridor materialized in my room, Xion stepping out of it. She took one glance at me before shaking her head and sitting down next to me, the dark portal dissipating quickly.
"Your forced week of celibacy is driving Axel a little stir crazy, you know," she said. Quite the conversation starter.
"He'll live."
Xion started laughing.
"Oh I know he will. It's everyone else I'm worried about! He set the couches in the grey area on fire the other day …" she informed me, smiling of course. She was allowed to smile, though. She wasn't the one Axel was terrorizing. I groaned and lay back on my bed, wincing slightly as the fabric of my sheets rubbed against my back.
"He's an idiot."
"There are many things I could call Axel, but idiot wouldn't be one of them …"
"Of course it wouldn't. You're too nice to him. Don't be afraid to whack him in the head with your Keyblade a few times if he gets out of hand …" I trailed off, hoping he wasn't starting too much trouble.
"Normally, that's what you're for," she replied. I sat up again.
"You're right. It normally would be me. But I'm not going anywhere near him until this nightmare is over," I sighed, gesturing to my orange-ness. It was slightly disturbing that I had in fact gotten darker now, so that I no longer resembled a fresh orange but something more akin to the color of baby vomit. It was gross. Of course I didn't want to be anywhere near Axel looking like this. He wouldn't care, but I sure as hell would. And then he'd forget and try to touch me and that would all end very badly.
"Roxas, you're too self conscious. Since when do you care what others think?" Xion asked after studying me for a while.
"Since I turned into a crayon."
Xion rolled her eyes at me, causing me to once again curse the fact that I was one of the few people she ever showed 'emotion' to. I always got the sass …
"You're too overdramatic," she said before getting up to leave the room.
"Was there any purpose to your little visit?" I asked, watching closely as Xion's shoulders hunched.
"Umm, well …"
"Xion …"
"Saïx is onto you …" she mumbled.
"What?! You said you would cover for me!" I exclaimed.
"Hey I lost three premium orbs and a good sum of munny covering for you! I can't do everything at once, you stupid orange!"
See what I mean? Sass …
"I know! I just … what did he say?" I asked tentatively.
"He didn't say much. Just that he noticed that there wasn't as much heart collection going on as usual and that he noticed that you haven't gone to him for mission briefing in a while," she informed me.
"Ugh, but this'll last for at least another two to three weeks!" I groaned … again.
"Well … sorry Mr. Deep Fried but I can only hold him at bay for maybe another week or so."
"Another week or so, huh …"
Xion
And another week or so turned into about two weeks of dodging Saïx and Xemnas. It was difficult, especially now that Xemnas noticed and was getting suspicious but some good came out of it. Roxas was no longer orange. No he was … umm … well … let's start from the beginning of today …
"Roxas what are you doing?"
He banged his hooded head against the inside of the refrigerator, having flinched when he heard my voice. When he turned to me, darkness covered the majority of his face, making the electric blue color of his eyes stand out eerily.
"… Nothing."
"You know, you don't have to hide just to get food …"
"I wasn't—!"
His sentence was cut off by a gasp as he looked over my shoulder before disappearing into a dark corridor. I turned to see Axel staring at the spot in which Roxas was just standing with a confused expression. His eyes turned to me before an eyebrow rose, silently asking for an explanation. I shrugged to let him know that I was just as confused before stepping into the portal just as it was closing. On the other side, I found Roxas huddled on his bed, brooding as usual.
"You're still hiding from him?" I asked, watching as he sighed.
"I can't let him see me like this …"
"Like what?"
"Trust me, you don't want to know."
"Roxas, you're acting like the Beast! Just show me!"
His eyes narrowed at me from beneath the hood.
"How do you know what the Beast acts like?" he asked.
"I'm observant," I said before flicking my fingers towards him, throwing an aero spell at him and forcing the hood off of his head. His eyes widened almost comically before he quickly pulled the hood back over his head and held it down. I couldn't find it funny though … it was just so …
"Are you shedding or something?! When did you become a snake?!" I practically screeched. It looked pretty hideous, and the word hideous should never be associated with Roxas.
"Shut up okay!" he shouted, huddling more into himself.
"Is that from the sunburn?" I asked, trying to push the image of peeling skin out of my head.
"… Yeah."
"No wonder you're hiding from Axel …"
"I don't even need the Keyblade now! All the Heartless have to do is look at my face and they'll die automatically," he cried, once again dramatically.
"That's not true …"
He pulled his hood down and I had to look away. I didn't need to look at him anyway to see the scowl on his face. C'mon, Xion, think positive. Positive!
"At least your skin's fair again …"
"I think I'd rather be the orange."
"Well it should only last for another week or so …"
"Another week or so of looking like an actual zombie … great."
…
"What should I tell Axel?"
"Same old. Keyblade to the face and such."
Come to think of it, Axel's been obediently staying away for quite some time now. I wonder what he's up to …
Axel
I never thought I'd experience the horrors of sexual frustration. I mean, I know it must be pretty bad for Roxas (he seems to think I don't know what's going on and I'm not going to bother him while he's brooding over the simplicity of peeling skin)but at the same time, I'm starting to feel a little impatient. I've been going on missions like crazy, checking out every single god forsaken floor of Castle Oblivion for this god forsaken Chamber of Waking just so Xemnas can continue with his pointless little schemes, obliviously thinking that he's indestructible against the little Keyblade wielder. Eradicating stray Heartless and such and, of course, performing recon on new worlds when Demyx is being lazy. But it hasn't helped. Roxas tends to be distracting, especially when he's unobtainable. It's been nearly a full month since Roxas came back deep fried, but it's felt like eternity to me and my very active libido. A Nobody needs a little relief every once in a while and who better to share that experience with than the only person in this entire castle I truly like. Almost as if I had a heart. This kid … I wish he knew the things he did to me. He must not as he insists on throwing a Keyblade at me, and an occasional blizzard spell, every time I tried to visit him. Currently, the only way I had to keep track of him was through Xion who willingly informed me of Roxas' ridiculousness daily. Apparently, all the kid did was lay around, write in his journal, and peel. It sounds gross but it'll end soon and hopefully he'll learn a valuable lesson about taking care of oneself whilst in another world. Though, honestly, I never expected him to take his coat off in the middle of the desert in the first place. Especially with heart collection being such a long process. He can be such a doof.
"Hey, Axel. Where's Tiger?" I heard Xigbar asked as he walked into the Grey Area, nodding at Saïx whose attention was on me, intrigued. Eavesdropper.
"He's still uh, not well," I lied lamely. No doubt he'd have the same reaction I did if he knew about the whole orange thing. Saïx's eyes narrowed at me as Xigbar simply shrugged.
"Jeez, let up on the kid a bit. I'd be surprised if he can still walk," Xigbar said as he created a dark corridor and slipped through it.
I could only wish that was the case.
"Axel …"
Shit.
"Yes, dear buddy Saïx?"
His frown only got deeper.
"You know something don't you?"
"I know that it's been a month since I last got laid …"
Saïx immediately dropped the subject, annoyance plain as the giant heart in the sky showing in his eyes.
"Did you find the chamber yet?" he asked, looking down at the reports in his hands.
"Nope."
" … Axel, this is of the utmost—"
"Utmost importance, yada yada. Yeah, I got it. Castle Oblivion isn't exactly the most straight forward place you know. I've checked that place over and over and I have yet to find this damn chamber you and Xemnas want so badly!" I said, sticking my hands behind my head casually as if only to stop myself from flipping my old friend off or worse … turning him into roasted goose or something.
"Be sure to check every corner," he sighed. I nodded and headed towards the hallway, hoping to catch some sleep. At least my dreams haven't been plagued by my predicament … yet.
"Lea."
My steps froze at the sound of my other name … my real name. He only calls me that when he's truly being serious.
"Yeah?"
"Be sure that whatever you and Number XIII are hiding is taken care of before Xemnas gets involved. He's rather unforgiving compared to me."
"What's this? A show of compassion from the Lunar Diviner?" I asked, still not facing him.
" … Just a warning."
"Right. Thanks … Isa."
He merely grunted as I continued my way out of the room, only to run into Xion. She huffed exasperatedly as her nose hit my chest before stepping back to apologize most likely.
"Oh, hey Axel," she greeted, rubbing her nose.
"Hey Xion. Don't know how you missed me, I do kind of stick out …" I said, smirking at the pouty look on her face.
"I was distracted …"
"Uh huh … any news from Roxas?" I asked. The depression pulsating out of the Gray Area was a little overwhelming and I was currently in need of my favorite blonde.
"Oh! That's what I wanted to tell you! He's all better. He said the peeling stopped and his skin isn't itchy anymore … Axel?"
…
Roxas' bedroom, here I come!
Xion
I watched as Axel opened a dark corridor and disappeared into it, smiling like the cat that ate the canary the entire time. Poor Roxas. He only just got through the remaining hell that was his sunburn and he's going to be attacked by Axel. Oh well!
I walked into the Grey Area, Saïx glaring at me the entire time as usual. I've learned to ignore it. All I needed anyway, was some things from the Moogle. I had ran into a few power techs and decided to treat myself to a new gear. The Moogle greeted me as usual, I made my purchase as usual (jeez, 11,700 munny?!), and I grabbed some potions and ethers, as usual. As I completed my purchase, the Moogle started idle conversation with me … as usual.
"I haven't seen Roxas around here for a while. Is he okay, kupo?" the Moogle asked as I handed it the munny and synthesis material necessary.
"Ehh … not really …" I sighed, deciding to be truthful.
"Really? What's wrong, kupo?"
I lowered my voice so that Saïx wouldn't overhear.
"He got a really bad case of sunburn and wouldn't leave his room for a month," I nearly whispered.
"Is that so? Well why didn't you tell me, kupo? I have something that gets rid of stuff that that within a matter of minutes, kupo!"
My face blanked. All this time and …
"Here, kupo, you can have it free of charge since Roxas is my best costumer," the Moogle said, handing me a bottle with something written on it in a language I didn't understand. I nodded stiffly and thanked the Moogle before quickly hurrying off to Roxas' room. He's gonna flip once he finds out that he could've healed his sunburn a month ago if he'd just gone to the Moogle. And maybe I should've thought of that! Oh great!
I made it to Roxas' door and lifted my hand to knock when I noticed the sounds from the other side of the door. My face flooded with heat yet again and I lowered my hand, backing away from the door and thanking my lucky stars that I didn't think to use a dark corridor. My eyes drifted to the bottle in my hands before returning to the door with the number XIII broadly displayed on it.
… I'll tell him later.
Roxas
Not thirty minutes ago, I was taking a shower and ridding myself of the last traces of that horrifying sunburn. Not twenty minutes ago, I had asked Xion to let Axel know that my skin could once again be looked upon by him (and him only) once again and within a matter of seconds, I find myself pinned to the bed adorned only in what I would call my birthday suit if it weren't for the fact that I technically wasn't born, Axel having already stripped and situated himself, pounding relentlessly into my most sensitive spot.
"You … have no idea … how much I've wanted to do this … for the past month …" he practically growled, his sentence broken up by an occasional gasp as his fast paced thrusting continued. I didn't answer; I couldn't really. I had to admit that after a month of not allowing myself to be touched, at first due to the pain and later due to the … skin peeling, I was feeling slightly frustrated myself. After a month of not having this; the feeling from his skin rubbing against mine, the feeling of being filled and then … release. It was almost unbearable. We both relaxed a bit after our simultaneous climax, Axel pulling out and laying beside me. We lay in silence, enjoying the moment a month's worth of sunburn had denied us.
"Lucky you," he said, placing an arm over my abdomen, "You got to stay in here all month. Xion and I had been working our asses off."
"Yeah, because it was lucky that I got to have sunburn for three weeks and then peel during the fourth," I snorted.
"And I'm sure you've learned your lesson …" Axel said, his point mostly being made by the expression on his face.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I won't take my coat off in Agrabah anymore," I sighed, "And I know Xion had double duty collecting hearts, but what kept you so busy?"
"Ugh, Saïx and these annoying missions to Castle Oblivion," he groaned tiredly. I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Castle Oblivion?"
"Top secret, sorry Roxy …"
I smacked him in the chest for the nickname but otherwise said nothing. If he couldn't tell me, then he couldn't tell me no matter how curious I was. I'd missed this anyway. Just being able to lie quietly beside him. It helped me forget the constant effort of missions, heart collection, and keeping Xemnas pleased. It helped me forget my problems like not remembering my former life, not really knowing what to do with myself, and my most recent problem of turning into an orange … I liked just being myself with Axel whether it's at the clock tower or in the bedroom.
"You know, maybe I am lucky," I said. Axel's attention, which had drifted, immediately returned to me.
"Why's that?"
"Well, I have you don't I? And Xion of course. Both of you give me more of a purpose than just helping Xemnas get Kingdom Hearts. I just wouldn't be myself without you guys …"
Axel smiled briefly before it turned into a smirk.
"Indeed, without us you'd just be the Keyblade swinging Nobody in all of his orange glory …"
"Shut up!"
Yeah, I'd definitely learned my lesson.
VII-XIII
A/N … again: It was kinda short but, again, I just wrote it for fun to get my mind off certain things. I hope the POV transitions weren't too horrible … Anyway, again, Happy AkuRoku day 2012! I hope it didn't suck too badly …