Summary: Sora's life had taken a downward spiral until he met a somewhat troublesome 'genie' that offers him a chance to set things right. Turns out things aren't as simple as he'd anticipated, but then, they rarely were when it came to Riku. (SoRi AkuRoku... and others I'm yet to decide on =p)

Author's note: Sorry for the crappy chapter but I hope you enjoy reading it all the same. This chapter's theme is "Heart Attack" by Faker.

Warnings: Slight language.


Chapter 2

Heart Attack

Sometimes if we don't go
...sometimes you don't know
You don't go, I don't go, I don't go, you don't go
I've got your back
But you don't got mine
This heart attack...
Then I'm feeling fine.


(Not a hint of grey hair.)

(Skin completely free of wrinkles or pigmentation.)

(Vertical posture.)

He'd woken up 50 years younger this morning.

Sora shakily unlocked the bathroom door.

"About goddamn time!"

A tan hand accompanied the assault on his senses, thrust through the opening and gave a forceful shove. Sora landed on the floor in an unsightly tangle of gangly, teenage limbs. The owner of the offensive hand, a boy with dirty blond hair, stormed in scowling darkly and flounced over to the cabinet, grabbing a tub inside without so much as acknowledging him.

His entire world had woken up 50 years younger this morning.

"What the hell are you looking at?"

This is all just a really weird dream. I'll wake up soon. This can't be real. Nope. Nuh-uh.

"Roxas?" He winced at the way his voice broke on the second syllable as though he was-

Oh wait.

He was pubescent.

Supposedly.

He sat there on the bathroom floor watching dream-Roxas preen. Everything seemed so surreal.

"Is that… really you, Roxy?"

"Don't call me that."

Sora's eyes curled into happy crescents before adopting the appropriate somber expression. Now, he knew he should be grown up about this, he knew that such actions were below his mental maturity. Then again….

The temptation is… just too great….

He really wanted to.

Besides, he also figured that, currently being a teenager, partaking in old pastimes would be pretty much conducive to his age.

This was all a dream anyway.

"Oh Roxy, don't be like that," There was something comical about the way annoyance slit his eyes and wrinkled his brow.

"Sora." In the mornings, there was nothing more rewarding than that pained look of irritation.

It even beat coffee.

The best part about this situation was that moody, teenage dream-Roxas was four times more likely to implode.

"Rox-"

"Don't you dare."

"-anne."

"I'm warning you."

"You don't need to put on the red light…."

"Sora!"

"Rooooooooxanne!"

A twitch.

"You don't have to wear that dress tonight… "

The silent treatment. How mature.

To his credit, dream-Roxas was holding out quite well until an impossible falsetto broke from Sora's lips, around which time he winced, causing his hand to make an unversed sweeping motion, leaving him with an unsightly cowlick in otherwise immaculately styled blond hair.

"Damn it, Sora!"

"Nyee hee hee."

Now he wasn't one for petty revenge, but….

Was losing his job so funny now, Roxas? Hmmm?

Fearing possible paralysis or the loss of limbs, Sora made a swift exit from the bathroom. It was unfortunate he hadn't been quick enough to avoid having a fair amount of mouthwash poured on him. He was fairly sure he now redefined the concept of minty fresh. Roxas never had been a morning person.

It's so strange.

Dreams were vague and disjointed, yet this one was so… precise. There were even height markings on the kitchen doorframe. The latest inscription matched his current height: 15 years, 8 months and 23 days old.

Sora felt a melancholy smile touch his face -his father had always been militant when it came to detail; he imagined it came from being a member of SOLDIER. Sora amused himself in thinking his father had probably kicked himself at night for not knowing the minutes and seconds to add to the marking. On their 15th birthday Roxas had decided he was just too coooool for everything associated with the Strife family name. Cloud was exempt, for some reason - Sora wasn't sure what made the patriarch coooool enough, by Roxas' standards.

Was it the Hayabusa?

The Ray Bans?

The complete and utter lack of facial expression?

Consumed by his thoughts, Sora failed to notice someone enter the room and playfully sneak behind him. Abruptly he was spun 180 degrees and enveloped in a tight hug, smothered in a generous bosom.

"Good morning darling!"

Sora pulled his eyes upward, spooked to see the slim woman with warm brown hair in a braid. She had large, luminous green eyes and wore a wide smile that looked just like... his own.

"Sora, honey! Are you all right? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

He wretched himself out of the grip and reeled backward, landing on the floor harshly for the second time that morning. Sora shuffled back, attempting to put as much distance between his... dead motherand himself.

"AAHHHHHH!"

The exact course of events that passed in the next few minutes escaped him, but Sora guessed it was something like this:

1) His mother responded with her own startled screaming. 2) Roxas ran down the stairs toward the commotion, spilling his coffee on the journey and scolding himself, which began his own vocal contribution. 3) The screaming attracted Pluto who came bounding in through the dog flap, barking hysterically. 4) Cloud G.I joe'd his way into the living room, pointing his .600 Nitro Express Magnum at the source of his wife's fright. 5) Sora's screaming started with renewed vigor at the latest development. 6) This started the cycle anew.

A familiar blackness infiltrated the edges of his vision as consciousness begin to fade. It could've been caused by the post-trauma of waking up 50 years younger, it could've been the reality of seeing his dead father, dead mother, dead dog and de-aged brother all in the same room; it could've been the gun aimed at his face.

It could've simply been too early in the morning.

This is... really happening.

The world faded.

This is real.


It was like he'd never grown up. He guessed that was because technically he hadn't.

"I said I'm fine, Mom!"

"Honey, you fainted! I'd be an unfit mother if I let you go to school today."

"I didn't faint! I passed out! I don't faint."

A snort. "And exactly how did you come to that conclusion?"

"I work myself to the point of exhaustion and pass out. Like a real man. I didn't faint like some girl."

Eye roll. "Idiot. That makes no sense, you got out of bed an hour ago."

"Shut up, Roxas!"

"Roxas, don't antagonise your brother – he's in delicate health, he might faint again."

"Mooooooooom!"

"Excuse me. He might pass out again."

"Don't encourage his idiocy, Aerith."

A defeated sigh. "Roxas, why do you insist on calling me by my name and not my title?"

"You want me to call you Mrs. Strife?"

"She meant 'mother', retard."

"It's called dry humour, retard."

"Where did I go wrong?"

"What is dry humour anyway? Humour minus the saliva?"

"How can you be so stupid?"

"It's called dry humour, retard."

"You did not just air quote."

"Uh-huh. And I'll do it again."

"Stop that."

"And again."

"Stop."

"Aaaaaand again."

"You make me retch."

"Cloud, are you heading by the supermarket today?"

"Hn."

"Can you get some milk, please? We're running out."

"Hn."

Ring-ring.

"Thank you, honey."

Ring-ring.

"Hello? You've reached the Strife residence – Oh hello Riku, would you like to speak to Sora? Just a minute, please. Sora! Sora!"

"Aaaaaaand again."

"ARGH! STOP!"

Crash.

Dysfunctional? His family?

"Now look what you did, idiot!"

"Me? This is all your fault, you wacko!"

Sigh. "Not another table…"

Never.


Sora walked from his house to his first day at Shermer Highschool. He whistled and skipped all the way because today was going to be a good day. He walked through the glass doors of the large brick building and was amazed at how many people were already there. He took a crumpled up piece of paper out of a pocket in his shorts. He gave his schedule the once over and found himself doing a double take over two words. Did that say-

Child Development?

He blinked.

What self-respecting male did Child Development?

It was just his luck, really, Sora thought as he fidgeted at the reception, the one time he really needed something and the lovely, grandma-ish secretary Mrs. Potts was on a leave of absence and had been replaced by the psychotic school counselor.

Larxene scared the living crap out of Sora.

"Can I have a quick word, Larxene?"

"Zoom. Whoosh. There's two for you."

In his nervousness he felt the beginnings of an incessant ramble form in his throat.

"Look, I think there's been a mistake in my timetable I'm a guy so I can't do Child Development because I don't even like kids in fact I think I'm allergic I break out in hives I swear and I've seen Supernanny and Nanny 911 so I know I'm not cut out for that shit I'll take anything even Advanced Algebra even though I'm too stupid for Advanced Algebra and I'd probably fail since I still don't get that mc-squared joke and I really should because I'm a lot older than I look so you have to help me get out of Child Development and into something anything else so I'd appreciate it if you'd be nice for once in your life and help me out!" Sora sucked in a mouthful of air and stared intently at his large yellow sneakers.

Larxene simply stared. "Are you quite finished?"

Sora mulled over his argument for a minute. "Yeah, that's about it."

"And what's the magic word?" Larxene ridiculed, condescendingly.

Ah, that was easy.

With confidence Sora responded, "Abracadabra!"

"Let's try this again, how do you normally express your gratitude to somebody?"

"You want a tip? Is that ethical?"

Larxene's face twisted into such an ugly sneer that Sora took an instinctive step back. He did not like the murderous gleam in her ice blue eyes. For once, Sora was quick to realize he was in deep shit; he did the only thing he could in the situation while still preserving his manly dignity.

"Eh, heh heh," he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck in mortification. "I… uh…" He made a great show of looking at his nonexistent watch. "Oh, look at the time!"

He turned tail and ran, ignoring the outraged cry behind him.

He raced into his form room, tossing his book bag on the floor by a nondescript school desk and hunched down tiredly, catching his breath. He felt more than a little winded after running up and down the stairs, through crowds of people, slipping on a puddle of an unknown detergent-smelling liquid and bumping into some seniors only to discover from a guy with a nasty looking facial scar that all 200 rooms were on the second floor.

Needless to say he felt like an idiot.

And to top it all off…

He just ran away from a girl.

Riku had better never find out about this. He'd never live it down.

Sora glanced about the room, recognising a few people immediately. Roxas sat off to the side of the room being cooooool with his headphones on and eyes shut, ignoring everyone and everything; Tidus, sat on the desk over, was enthralled in an issue of Blitzball Weekly. There was a group of girls sitting in a tight circle in the corner of the classroom. He only remembered two; Xion, the black-haired girl, his cousin, and Namine, the quiet blonde. They were talking about something, seemingly looking at his general area of the room. He looked behind him; then to the right, then to the left. There was no one else.

They were talking about him.

"Hey, Sora!" he heard one of them say, "Come here!"

Sora went obediently to the group of girls. Xion looked at him as though she planned to eat him alive, while Namine mumbled incoherently, a blush covering her face. Xion pointed a finger at him.

"You were at acting camp last summer weren't you?"

Eh? Was that the "character-building" experience that his mother had forced him to enroll on every summer?

"And you got to play Juliet, didn't you?"

Probably.

"INSTEAD of me!"

He had no idea why Xion refused to like him when she positively adored Roxas. It seemed to him that she would make a point of expressing her dislike of him. Xion opened her mouth as if to say more but she was interrupted by the opening of the door just as the bell rang. Sora returned to his seat and consulted the clock. School started at 9:00 am sharp. It was now 9:15, which meant that the teacher was fifteen minutes late.

How many teachers were late to their own classes?

The sound of a chair being pulled out signaled that someone had taken a seat beside him. The girls flocked like seagulls to the new arrival.

"Hey, Sora." His heart began to pound.

Sora recognized the voice as Riku's, and was momentarily taken aback. He didn't turn around straight away, almost expecting to see the new Riku stood there in a cruel twist of fate, a bitter and withered shell of his former self. Instead, turquoise eyes had a light in them he hadn't seen in a very long time, and the quiet smile on Riku's youthful face almost choked him. Immediately, Sora felt as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, inexplicitly elated.

He had his friend back.

He felt a flame of determination ignite within him.

He was going to keep him that way.

Riku blinked at Sora, who was staring at him with the intensity of a thousand watt bulb.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just really good to see… you."

Sora's smile was so dazzling that Riku had to blink off the intensity of it.


The cogs of Sora's mind were churning. He needed information if he was to keep Riku Riku. But he couldn't just ask, he had to be discreet, had to employ his tact, like it had never been employed before.

"Pssst! Riku!"

The addressed raised an eyebrow.

Tact.

"What are your… uh… top five qualities in a partner?"

Booyah! He was all over tact like a fat kid on a cupcake.

Riku's other eyebrow joined the first. Sora waited patiently for an answer, but Riku was uncharacteristically flustered, seemingly tongue-tied. Then it dawned on him.

Riku was….

shy?

Tidus leaned over Riku's desk, interest peaked, and decided to give his view on the matter.

"Five qualities? That's easy. Number one, bendy."

"Unpredictable." Riku interjected.

"Number two, shaved."

"Must appreciate the genius of the Kinks."

"Number three, slightly anorexic."

"Expressive eyes."

"Four, about 5% lesbian."

"Should be …in touch with their masculine side."

"And finally, mustn't be too smelly in the cellar." Sora couldn't withhold the snort of laughter at Tidus' vulgarity. Riku sent Tidus a digusted look and finished with: "Compassionate."

Sora's face drew into a thoughtful frown, piecing together his newly acquired information. He made a discreet note of his findings.

"Errrr…So what you've come up with is an unpredictable, yet compassionate, slightly masculine Kinks fan... with eyes?"

Riku smirked. "I know. It's an impossible dream."

Sora was just about to say something smart when the classroom door opened once again. A tall man with pink hair smiled apologetically at the class. It was 9:35 am.

"OOOOKAAAAAY!" The man stood on his tip-toes at the front of the room. The sheer volume of his voice snapped Sora full to attention. The man merrily uncapped a board marker and began to write on the board.

"Hello everyone. My name is…" he finished doodling and motioned dramatically to the board, "Marluxia! You will all refer to me as Mister Marluxia!"

Riku found himself leaning forward against his desk and blinking uncontrollably at the teacher's absurd handwriting, every single bubbly, red letter of his name was surrounded by a heart. There were doodles here and doodles there, all across the board. He felt like he had been removed from high school and put into a class of preschoolers. He glanced to his right and was happy to see that side of the room sharing a similar reaction. Then his eyes wandered to his left where he saw Sora smiling serenely, seemingly unphased.

Riku smirked.

Idiot.

A rogue piece of silver hair dangled in front of his eyes and tickled his nose. Riku cursed softly as he tried to correct the rebellious strand of hair. He felt Selphie's eyes on him as he tried vainly to correct his hair, veering away from the stagnant mass of oestrogen.

He did a double take.

Was Selphie even in this class?

He hadn't heard her name called at registration and come to think of it, he was pretty sure Kairi had said Selphie was in her class...

Why? Why was she stalking him?

"Do you really like Miss Tilmitt that much, Mr. Secretan? Or are you one of those types who just stares a lot?" Riku fixed Marluxia with a cool stare, unflinching, willing him to spontaneously combust through the power of his colourful imagination. The last thing he needed was Selphie deluding herself.

Sora's lips had conducted that illuminating smile once more and Riku felt his heart melt to his knees. Then he frowned - it wasn't directed his way.

Sora was looking at Selphie.

Such was the paradox of Riku's situation that he almost smiled.

Almost.

It seems that fate is not without a sense of irony...

A torrid of jealously propelled Riku as he scowled viciously at Selphie until she retreated behind her homework diary.

He felt disgustingly good about it, too.


Sora scrawled the word 'Selphie' under possible suspects and reviewed his short, vague list.

Unpredictable? Selphie was known for her mood swings.

Selphie was compassionate when it came to romance.

While Selphie wasn't exactly masculine, she was certainly no lady.

Selphie had been humming 'you really got me' at lunch - definite Kinks fan.

Expressive eyes? Well, Selphie had… big eyes. So, yeah. Check.

Everything was coming together so smoothly. It had to be Selphie.

"Sora!" A tinkling, sweet voice called from behind.

"K-Kairi," Sora stammered, scrabbling to hide his notebook under the cafeteria table. Kairi bestowed him with a gentle smile, which he returned with a goofy grin.

"I pulled some strings. Congratulations, you're no longer enrolled on Child Development!" Sora thanked his lucky stars Kairi was the student body president.

She was the pampered daughter of a diplomat and an artist. Her eyes were deep amethyst and rimmed with dark eyelashes while her hair was a light strawberry-red. Kairi stood before him, twiddling her thumbs, a look of concern painted on her delicate features.

"Are you, ok? You've been acting a little… off, today. You keep forgetting things, where rooms are, names. Then you retreat to an isolated table at lunch. You! Of all people! If you have any problems, you can tell me, ok?"

Sora smiled sincerely. What he had always admired the most about Kairi was her kindness. She had always asked him about his day, how he was doing and while she did so her lips would compose a soft, bright smile that affirmed she actually cared; it wasn't just another reason to flaunt her perfect white teeth.

"Kairi, I'm fine, I promise." He flashed her a sincere grin and a thumbs up in confirmation, "By the way, what optional did you enroll me for?"

"Food technology."

His smile fell.

There was a reason why the male population cringed at the mere thought of Food Tech. A reason so traumatic he remembered it even now.

The Apron.

Sora shuddered.

The greatest torture device known to man.

Sora threw up a little in his mouth every time he so much as glanced at it. It was almost impossibly effeminate, it was hot pink, there were frills, lace and flowers everywhere. It was the sort of monstrosity that made Barbie want to claw her eyes out and be glad of the loss, rather than look at it for an extended amount of time. It wasn't a mere blow to masculine pride to wear it, but the complete and utter eradication of any sense of self-respect for the rest of one's natural life. Every year, their screwball teacher would allocate it exclusively to one of the males unfortunate enough to have been enrolled in Food Tech for the entire year. There was no way of knowing if it would be you.

Sora gulped.

Farewell, dignity.

Kairi adopted a slight pout, "Don't sulk, Sora. I'm doing Food Tech, too." The attempt to comfort only proved to evoke a defeated, almost mournful sigh from Sora - just another witness present for the premature demise of his self esteem.

"Stop being so dramatic. Riku is enrolled too." Kairi added. Upon noticing Sora perk up considerably her expression crumbled momentarily before her lips reaffirmed themselves into a weak smile.

"Is Selphie enrolled on Food Tech?"

"Huh? Selphie?" Kairi blinked, bemused. "Yes, I believe she is."

Sora rubbed his hands together and cackled.

Excellent.


Sora drew the shower curtain open, and watched as the steam rushed forward, settling on the mirror until it was opaque. The nearest towel, a fluffy little peach number, landed snugly on his hips in moments.

A Happy Mondays CD that lay on a pile of dirty clothes, he inserted the disk into his stereo. He turned up the volume as 'Kinky Afro' began to blast out, in order to signify he did not want to be disturbed, and not, as he tried to convince himself, to drown out the sound of his God-awful singing.

As Sora was pulling a black t-shirt over his head a surge of heat rippled through him, leaving white spots in his peripheral vision. He swayed a little on the spot, disorientated, and grabbed at his spinning head. Without looking up, he knew he wasn't the sole occupier of the room anymore.

"I'd suggest you keep the towel up, Gramps. You wouldn't want everyone to know you don't have a penis." Sora stared as he absorbed the meaning of the warped greeting. Flopped over the pillows of his bed like a lazy cat in a sunbeam was the Djinn, grinning cheekily at him, eyes crinkling with mirth at his own joke.

"What? You didn't think you'd be getting rid of me that easily, did you?"

Welllll…

Yeah, actually.

He had.

Sora ushered the redhead to turn his back while he put on some shorts.

"Are you decent? I'd hate to not see anything." The Djinn chided.

The offense was unnecessary and after a tiring day Sora lacked his usual patience. "Yes, I'm decent. Do you have to be like that?" He grit through clenched teeth, spinning abruptly he froze.

From the bedroom door, Roxas looked at Sora questioningly.

"Like what?"

"Th-this has a perfectly reasonable explanation, honest!" He stammered, eyes darting frantically between the Djinn and his temperamental kin.

"Whatever," Roxas stated dismissively, "I just came in to ask if I left my Wild Shake Gatsby in here."

Huh?

Something about this was… off. Could it be the distinct lack of bloodcurdling screams as Roxas (foaming at the mouth) bludgeoned the unsuspecting Djinn with his skateboard? Or was it the absence of gunshots from his father's .600 Nitro Express Magnum?

Instead, there was an appreciative whistle from the Djinn. Sora's eyes flitted uneasily between the two, settling on Roxas, completely befuddled at his lack at response.

The Djinn offered a conceited grin."Oh, don't worry about him. People don't see or hear me, unless I want them to."

Ah, that would explain why Roxas hadn't collected those leering green eyes on the end of a toothpick yet.

"No, you didn't leave your 'Mild Take'-'

"Wild Shake."

"- girly hair cream-"

"Moving rubber!"

"-in my room."

Roxas raised a suspicious eyebrow that implied that he wasn't finished, but Sora tactfully ushered him out of the door with the promise to look for it after. He closed the door with a relieved sigh.

The Djinn had a perky look on his face, "Who was that?"

"Who, Roxas?" The Djinn looked awfully eager as he nodded for some reason, "He's my brother. Twin brother."

"How interesting."

"What are you doing here, anyway?"

The Djinn adopted a pose of mock-hurt, "Can't a concerned qareen just check up on his charge now and again?" He reverted back to his lazy sprawl. "Guess I didn't explain myself too well before, but it's ma job to guide you, make sure you fulfill the wish I've been assigned to grant."

"You mean my wish."

"That's what I said."

"No you didn't, you said –"

The bedroom door swung open again, revealing Roxas on the other side pointing accusingly at him. "I knew you were up to something! I heard voices! What are you hiding?"

Play it cool, Sora.

"What are you talking about? There's only the two of us here."

"Then who the hell is that?"

Roxas was staring directly at the Djinn.

Invisibility on!

Still there.

ON!

Nope. Still there.

ONNNNNNNNN!

"Oh him?" Sora gave a sheepish laugh, stalling. "He's…" His eyes wondered the room, looking for a plausible answer. He caught sight of a Guns N' Roses poster over Roxas' shoulder.

"Axel Rose." Insert foot in mouth.

Smooth. Reaaaal smooth, Sora.

"Axel… Rose?" Roxas' incredulous look broke from his usual coooool façade.

'Axel' gave a lazy wave and smiled from his place on the bed. Sora was surprised to see that previously sharp, pointed teeth were now replaced by regular human-looking ones, eyes had dimmed down to a more natural, yet still magnificent, shade of emerald green.

"Hey I'm Axel, a new friend of Sora's - I'm coaching him, he's tryin' to get on the Basketball team." Axel lied, face smooth and flawless. He lifted the arm from around his back. Sora could see he was holding something compact and purple. "This is what you were looking for, right? Gatsby? You're a man of good taste, I'm a fan myself - eat it all the time." He launched it across the room, a 1000-Watt smile on his face. Roxas caught it easily with one hand.

"…..thanks." Roxas made to exit the cluttered room, but not before fixing his brother with a suspicious stare that clearly said 'we'll talk about this later'. Sora waited until he heard Roxas' footsteps fade as he trampled down the hallway.

"What the hell was that? You said he couldn't see you!"

"He caught me off guard - I wasn't concentratin'. It happens to the best of us." If he was bothered at all by this he didn't show it; in fact, Sora thought he looked pleased at the turn of events.

"And what happened to your teeth? And your eyes? And where did you get that hair stuff you gave Roxas, because it sure as hell wasn't there before!"

Axel rolled his eyes as though answering such questions was beneath him.

"I can look however I want to look, thought more human features would be less alarming. You humans sure are easily frightened," he snickered, recollecting in an exaggerated high-pitched voice, "'Ahhh! Please don't chop me!'"

Sora felt blood rush to his cheeks, made a disgruntled sound in this throat.

Axel's grin grew, "As for the wax, I conjured it," He sensed his charge was about to say something idiotic, "And no, not out of thin air – it doesn't work like that. Let's just say, that some poor little stock manager will be scratching their dear, baldin' head wonderin' why they're one short on the Gatsby delivery." A nasty little cackle.

Sora blinked. Did that indirectly make them …thieves?

"But what about… magic?"

Axel laughed, and not just a brief laugh – it was a bellowing hackle, as though he'd just heard the funniest thing.

Rude, much? You didn't see him laughing when the guy said he was a genie.

When he was sufficiently calm, Axel adopted that monotonous drawl he used when explaining what he thought to be common sense. "You don't gain something from nothin', you have to give somethin' in return. To receive, somethin' of equal value must be lost. It's the universal law. Applies to you and applies to me. Well, not so much me anymore, so prepare to pay up at some point." He was in that lounging position again, examining his nails with false interest, "Guess I forgot to mention that."

Sora's eyes widened, "Forgot? Forgot? Don't you think that's just a little bit important?"

Shit, what was worth a tub of Gatsby? An ear? An eye? He was going to be an amputee all because of Roxas' stupid hair product!

"Gramps, don't worry about it. That was my treat. It's not like you actually asked for it. 'Least you know before you get too wish-happy. No foul, no harm, yeah?"

"What happens if you don't… pay up?"

Green eyes looked accusingly at him, "Hey! Will you stop sidetrackin' me? I'm a very busy guy – places to go, people to see, and here you are, wastin' my time with mundane questions." Axel turned his palm outwards and a thick book appeared in his hand. "Here." He handed the book – Riku's journal – to him."This is what I came to give you. Sorry it didn't arrive here with you, I'm a bit outta practice – funny story, really; it ended up in a dumpster a few towns away." At Sora's horrified look he added, "Could've been worse - the book might've arrived here and you in the dumpster."

The Djinn laughed at this concept.

Sora didn't.

"Well, that's all I want for now, be seein' you, partner."

Axel gave a mock-salute and evaporated into a grey mist that sailed through the open window, no trace of him was left in the room.

Great. Now, how was he going to explain that to Roxas?

Then Sora realised.

Axel hadn't answered his question.

"Damn it!"


Author's note: T_T