"Okay, so what you're saying is someone broke into your house, stole your pen… and then climbed out of your window?" The salmon roll Riku held between his chopsticks had been there for a while now; pieces of cucumber were beginning to slip out and drop onto his plate.

It sounded more absurd when Roxas heard it out loud. He nodded slowly. "Yeah, well, it's possible they took more, but that's the only thing missing from my room."

After the intruder left last night (and his mind settled from its frenzied state), Roxas inspected his room to see if anything had been stolen. Initially, nothing appeared missing or out of place, so he paced around frantically, trying to play out every possible premise in his head while debating whether or not to call his parents—until he eventually passed out from fatigue. When he woke up later that morning, he decided to brush off the strange encounter as an odd, but very plausible dream. It worked at first, even the rest of his house appeared unaffected in its lavish glory… But when he returned to his bedroom to pack his homework into his bag, he realized something wasn't quite right. The notebook he was certain he'd left open on his desk before he went to bed was closed; peering back at him from its smooth, black, moleskine cover… And his pen was nowhere to be found.

Riku was still having a hard time believing this. He watched Roxas's expression carefully to discern whether or not this was some elaborate joke with a drawn out punch-line. Roxas was never that great at telling jokes. "…And you saw this person? Guy or girl?"

To be frank, Roxas wasn't sure. His gut was leaning more towards male, but there was only so much he'd seen. "I couldn't tell… I could only see part of their face." He decided to leave out the part about the winking. The situation was already weird enough without it.

Kairi's face was consumed with concern. She had also abandoned her lunch, and instead reached out to squeeze Roxas's arm. "I'm just glad you're okay… that must have been terrifying to wake up to."

Roxas didn't know if terrifying was the right word to describe it. He pushed his mostly uneaten carbonara pasta idly around with his fork. "I'm fine, I just didn't expect it is all."

"But of all things to take, why your pen?" Kairi frowned as she asked this; Roxas didn't care for much, but she knew he had a strong attachment to this particular item.

The fountain pen itself was silver with gold trim. Though the body of the pen had an understated elegance, the nib had an intricate swirling design engraved in the silver, and underneath it was Roxas's last name, "Reis" marked in cursive. The pen meant a lot to Roxas because it previously belonged to his grandfather, who in his passing, gave it to Roxas as a memento. Part of the reason Roxas grew to like writing so much was because of this pen. He had always been fond of his grandfather, who was the only family member he could recall ever treating him with anything more than silent disapproval, so he treasured the pen and used it for all of his personal writing. The thought of it being in someone else's hands was enough to make him lose his appetite.

The blond shrugged, feeling more dejected every time he acknowledged his pen was gone. Why couldn't they have been a normal burglar and stolen his collection of cufflinks…

Riku pursed his lips. "I've seen it before, it's subtle, but I'm guessing it's worth a decent price. Especially if it was custom made." He put down his chopsticks as another thought crossed his mind. "I wonder why they chose your house… to steal from, I mean. This is the first time I've heard about a burglary in our neighbourhood."

"—Actually…" Kairi seemed to be thinking carefully about something. The two boys waited for her to continue. "If I remember correctly, my parent's told me about some burglaries a few weeks ago. I think there were two cases reported… it wasn't in this area, but it was pretty close by." Being the daughter of two journalists, Kairi was always informed about the news, sometimes even before it was released to the public.

Roxas's eyes widened. Could there be a connection? "Did they catch the burglar?"

Kairi shook her head. "No… They think it could be a band of thieves who target vacant houses. In both cases, the victims only found out about it after returning home."

"But Roxas was in his house at the time. It wasn't empty." As Riku said these words, the possibility dawned on Roxas that there was still a connection to the previous burglaries.

"My parents… they probably thought the house was vacant because my parents were gone."

Kairi mouthed a silent "Oh" in response. "You're right… no offense Roxas, but you don't exactly try hard to make much of an impression. They could have easily overlooked you and assumed it was just your parents living there."

As he considered this, the bleak acceptance of thinking he'd never see his pen again shifted into something else. Anger. Roxas was angry. The thief was sneaking around the neighbourhood, waiting for people to leave their homes, and then taking whatever they wanted at will. Not only that, but when Roxas had caught them, they smiled at him! Replaying the smug reaction in his head, Roxas clenched his teeth tightly together, wishing he hadn't stared like an idiot and allowed them to get away so easily. But then it occurred to him… There was one crucial detail Roxas knew, that the other victims did not.

He had seen the burglar. He had looked them right in the eyes.

Roxas unclenched his teeth, feeling a sense of resolve over what he said next. "I'm getting my pen back."

Riku and Kairi were still discussing the details of the burglaries, but they paused and simultaneously looked at Roxas, wondering if they had heard him right.

"You're doing what?" Riku's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. This was pushing it, even for Roxas.

"I'm going to track down the thief and get my pen back." Roxas's voice didn't falter. Without even intending to, he'd made up his mind.

Kairi was equally baffled. "Shouldn't you leave that stuff to the police?"

Roxas shook his head. He'd already considered calling them this morning, but there was no way to alert the police without his parents finding out as well. And the last thing he wanted was for his parents to come home early over a missing pen, and maybe a few necklaces and plates. Besides, he wouldn't even know what to tell the police. "Some person with cat eyes came into my room, stole my pen, smiled and winked at me, and then left," didn't exactly sound right.

He stabbed into his pasta. "No, if I do that, they'll contact my parents, and that'll just turn into a huge mess. I need to do this on my own."

Riku still wasn't convinced. "How exactly are you planning to find them? You don't even know what gender to look for."

"I saw their eyes pretty clearly, and they've also got two small marks under them—tattoos, I think. I won't have any trouble identifying them."

"Roxas, that's too reckless. This person is dangerous, you could get hurt!" Kairi was distraught. She heard countless stories from her parents about citizens getting involved with the wrong people in this town. And those stories never ended well. She wasn't willing to let her best friend put himself in danger over a pen. "Besides," she continued, "if you're looking for someone of… that profession, chances are they live past Station Heights, in the market area. You have no idea how to navigate that district."

Roxas hesitated, Kairi was right about that much. He couldn't recall ever stepping foot into Market Street. It was the largest and most populated area of the town. Though a prominent urban expanse, people of Roxas's kind hardly ever had a reason to go down there. The blond lived in the upper part of town called The Cusp, which was, quite literally, the cusp of twilight town. It was the wealthiest district in the town, and also the most unwelcoming.

"If you're thinking of going down there… I might be able to help you." Riku said suddenly.

Kairi shot an incredulous look at Riku. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Why would you encourage him, Riku? This isn't a game."

"I know that, but Roxas is going to do this with or without our approval, aren't you Roxas?" The blond nodded. "We might as well help him so he doesn't get himself killed," Riku explained calmly.

Kairi couldn't argue with that logic, but she still wasn't happy with how things were unfolding. Minutes ago they were just having lunch together, and now suddenly they were plotting how to track down a criminal. She pursed her lips and kept quiet.

Riku turned his attention back to Roxas. "So?"

"You've been down there before?" He inquired, unable to recall Riku ever mentioning he'd spent time in the market.

"Not personally no, but I know someone who lives there."

Kairi and Roxas shared a curious look. They knew most everyone that Riku knew, and neither one of them had connections with people outside of The Cusp.

"He's… A friend." Riku said this tentatively, as if unsure whether or not to use that title.

"Wait— what?! Who?" As much as she wanted to, Kairi couldn't keep her mouth shut, not for something like this.

Despite his popularity, Riku didn't label many people as his friends. He kept his social circle as small as possible because he found it strenuous and a waste of time to keep up with large groups of people, particularly ones from this side of town. The plethora of admirers he had at school weren't exactly great candidates for friends either, since over half of them wanted more than a platonic relationship. So when Riku called someone his friend, he really meant it.

"It doesn't matter," he said quickly, trying his best to stray away from the topic. "The point is, he might be willing to help you navigate the area if I ask him."

Roxas agreed immediately and with fervour, feeling a newfound sense of resolve over this undertaking.

"Alright, I'll get a hold of him and let you know as soon as possible."

When the last bell of the day rung, Roxas was more relieved than usual to go home. He had a lot on his mind, and he still couldn't get over last night's encounter. Every time he thought back to their stupid smile and wink, his mood would turn sour.

Gathering his things from his locker, Roxas headed towards the front of the school, where his driver was waiting to take him home. Though he walked quickly down the halls, he paid little attention to his surroundings. With his eyes fixated on the floor and his mind distracted by a number of thoughts, Roxas rounded the corner. Almost immediately, his view of the marble floor was interrupted by a pair of black oxford shoes with gold tips—the collision was inevitable.

Reeling, Roxas stumbled back.

"Watch where you're going, dumbass!"

With all that had happened, Roxas didn't think his day could get any worse… But he was clearly mistaken. Seifer Almasy stood in front of him. His arms were crossed in their usual hostile manner, and his lackeys, Fuu and Rai were by his side.

Seifer's family were the owners of the school, which more or less meant Seifer did whatever the hell he wanted, whenever the hell he wanted. He had undisputable control over the student body; not even teachers would challenge him, so he roamed around like a fascist leader, tormenting students for pleasure with his two underlings. In Roxas's eyes, Seifer epitomized everything he hated about this side of town. The two had spent most of their childhood rivaled in competition, but Roxas took to avoiding the other as much as he could once they started high school. He didn't want any unnecessary conflict added to his already miserable school life. Still, Seifer always found a way to wedge himself into Roxas's world, and took great satisfaction knowing he exasperated the blond.

Ignoring his comment, Roxas rubbed at his nose and attempted to move past the group. With no delay, Rai followed swiftly to the left and blocked Roxas's path.

"What, no apology, Reis?" Seifer sneered in his direction. He was clearly enjoying the chance encounter.

"Insolent," Fuu commented with her typical one word remarks.

"Get out of my way," Roxas said plainly. He was never in the mood for Seifer's deranged antics, but today in particular, he had less patience than usual.

"Out of your way? If I'm remembering correctly, you crashed into me… So why don't you get down on your knees like a dog, and beg for forgiveness?"

Roxas raised his eyes to meet Seifer's, trying his best to maintain an air of indifference. He didn't want Seifer to see the growing anger he felt, it only ever proved to fuel his adversary. Having known him all his life, Roxas learned a number of things about Seifer growing up, first and foremost that he thrived off other's suffering.

Without warning, Roxas dashed towards an opening between Seifer and Rai, hoping to catch them off guard and slip through. Rai was too quick for Roxas, however, and managed to grab onto the back collar of his uniform. Yanking him back, Fuu and Rai each grabbed one of his arms, and with their other hand clasped on his shoulders, they slammed him against the lockers.

A sharp ache surged down his back as he hit the metal. The blond gritted his teeth and let out a small groan.

Even with the explosive noise, the students who were loitering around the hall up until now made no attempt to help Roxas, instead they began filing out of the building, refusing to acknowledge the violent exchange.

Seifer walked at a leisurely pace towards his opposite, cracking his knuckles all the while to indicate what would come next. He leaned in uncomfortably close to Roxas's face with a menacing smile. "Still no apology?" Roxas remained silent. "No worries, you'll be sorry soon."

Roxas struggled against his restraint, but with both Fuu and Rai's weight holding him in place, he wasn't going anywhere. Unwilling to swallow his pride and give in to Seifer, he clenched his eyes close and prepared for the incoming blow.

" —Hey! Don't touch him asshole!"

Recognizing the sound of that voice, Roxas opened his eyes and felt overwhelming relief at the sight of Tidus and Wakka running in his direction. Seifer's fist was raised, but his threatening demeanor quickly diminished when he realized the protest was directed at him. Roxas's friends were coming to his defense. Though he never hesitated to prey on Roxas when he was alone, when he had backup — particularly when they were two star athletes — Seifer suspected things would not go in his favour. He made a small motion with his head, signalling to Fuu and Rai to stop what they were doing. They both let go of Roxas at once.

"Another time then, Reis." Seifer flashed a smile at Roxas as if parting with a good friend. But just as quickly, his lips pulled back down into their usual look of disdain. The trio pushed past Roxas and continued on, likely looking for another student to torture.

After thanking the two profusely and promising to make it up to them at a later time, Roxas returned home with a sore back and a weary mind. He had reached the conclusion that the universe was punishing him today; only an act of god could explain the degree of misfortune he'd been experiencing.

Not wanting to risk any more unusual occurrences, Roxas locked himself in his room and studied until his mind was numbed by mathematical equations and philosophic theories. When he was unable to continue, he decided he'd take another shot at searching for his pen, in the infinitesimal chance that it was still in his room. He inspected everything calmly and carefully this time, making sure not to miss any small crevices. He even went so far as to check the pockets of his pants, with no luck. Although, he did find a ring he'd been missing for a while now.

Dropping back into his chair, Roxas stared aimlessly at his desk. He had no desire to write (for obvious reasons), but it was still fairly early in the evening, so he wouldn't be able to fall asleep even if he tried. Thinking back to the conversation during lunch, Roxas opened his laptop and typed "Twilight Town Market Street", into the search engine. He clicked on the images tab first and scrolled through, taking in the different sights of the district.

Roxas's eyes eventually fixated on a photo of a train, where he saw the name "Reis Railway" printed across the body of the train in large letters. It was always a strange sensation to see his last name advertised like that. When he was young, his grandfather had taken him to Central Station to look at their trains. This was the first time Roxas had seen something so large that could move, and he was mesmerized. But being a child, he was also afraid, so he refused to step onto the locomotive. After that time, his parents never bothered to take him there when he asked, and then when he was old enough to go on his own, he had no logical reason to since he had a personal driver. It was a little bizarre knowing he'd never been on a train before, despite it being the basis of his wealth.

Shaking away his thoughts, Roxas scrolled back to the top of the screen and clicked on the maps tab. His eyes widened when he saw all the overlapping lines. The streets branched off into smaller streets, and some of those branched off into even smaller roads. As he tried to make sense of the daunting image, he was interrupted by an incoming text. Picking up his phone, he glanced at the sender. Riku.

[ Tomorrow 4pm.

Meet at my place. ]

Roxas bit his bottom lip as he read this, already knowing what it meant. For the first time since suggesting it, he felt nervous. This was, after all, outside of The Cusp. And in terms of things his parents would not approve of… To put it simply, he'd never stepped so far out of line as he was about to with this plan. But he knew none of that mattered. He was going to find the cat-eyed burglar no matter what.

Roxas walked over to Riku's house at 3:55 p.m. the next day, after dropping off his things at home and changing out of his uniform.

It was April in Twilight Town, which meant the weather was beginning to warm up, but it still got pretty chilly in the evening. To combat this, Roxas wore a black varsity jacket with white sleeves. Underneath he had on a light gray chambray shirt, and he paired the ensemble with formfitting dark blue jeans.

Before he left his house, he mentioned to his housekeeper he would likely return home after six, and asked him to leave his dinner in the fridge.

Kairi greeted Roxas at the door with her usual sweet smile. She had on an oversized beige knit cardigan that reached halfway down her thigh. The white top underneath was tucked into a high-waisted black-and-white plaid skirt, and to keep her warm she had a light pink circle scarf wrapped around her neck.

Although Roxas insisted that she didn't need to come along, she wouldn't take no for an answer. If he was going to do something so "impulsive and idiotic", as she quoted, she had to be there to keep an eye on him. Uttering things like that was the reason Riku and Roxas often described Kairi as an overbearing mother. Her response was always to smack them on the head.

"Where's Riku?"

"He's still getting changed…" She was looking at Roxas as if scrutinizing his outfit. "…Did you bring a weapon?"

Oh right. The thought hadn't crossed his mind for some reason, but now that she said it, it seemed like a logical thing to have on him. He shook his head, wondering if he owned any weapons at home he could carry around inconspicuously.

Half expecting that answer, Kairi rolled her eyes and opened her cross-body bag. She fished around for a few seconds and pulled out a small, black, cylinder shaped object. "Here."

Roxas turned it around in his hand and examined the label of the bottle. "Oleoresin Capsicum… what is this?"

"Pepper spray," Kairi replied.

Startled, Roxas looked up at the redhead. "Uh… is this stuff even legal?"

"Technically no, but this bottle has a low concentration of O.C in it, so it should be fine."

Roxas wanted to ask her how she managed to get her hands on this, but the sound of the doorbell cut their conversation short. Shoving the pepper spray into his pocket, he followed Kairi to the door.

Both Kairi and Roxas were expecting Riku's friend to be… Well, someone like Riku. A tall, calm, and collected individual with nice hair. When they opened the door and saw a shorter, wide-eyed teenager with brown spikes for hair, they weren't sure how to react.

At the sight of the two, the newcomer's face broke into a smile that spread from cheek to cheek. "Hi! You must be Roxas and Kairi. I'm Sora!"

Kairi recovered from the initial shock and smiled back. "Oh, of course! Nice to meet you, Sora." She opened the door wider and gestured with her hand. "Please, come in."

The moment Sora walked past the two, Kairi turned to Roxas and silently mouthed the words "Oh my god", to which Roxas nodded vigorously.

"Riku's told me a lot about you two—" he began, but paused when he took in the sight of Riku's foyer. "Wow… This place is huge!"

Riku chose this moment to appear from the second floor, adjusting the sleeve of the white shirt under his brown leather jacket as he reached the stairs. When he looked down and saw all three of his friends gathered together, his expression froze. He looked first at Sora, who was admiring the chandelier, and then at Kairi, who was grinning at Riku with a devious glint in her eyes.

"Sora, hey." Riku was halfway down the stairs now, and ignoring Kairi's exaggerated expressions. "I didn't think you'd get here so fast."

"It wasn't that busy so I ended my shift a little early. Your house is way bigger than you described, by the way." As he spoke, Sora noticed that Riku seemed preoccupied by something, he kept peering up and down the brunet. "What's wrong, is there something on me?" Sora looked down at his clothes as if trying to spot what was awry.

Riku smiled faintly and shook his head as he reached the bottom of the staircase. "No it's just… You're wearing normal clothes. I've only ever seen you in your work clothes."

"Hey, you're right," a grin formed in place of his confusion. He pulled at the hem of his dark-red bomber jacket. "How do I look?"

"Good. Your style suits you."

Strange muffled sounds were coming out of Kairi, even as she held her lips sealed tightly together. Roxas had to nudge her with his elbow so she'd stop.

The four soon made their way out of Riku's house and into his car, where his driver was waiting patiently. Sora suggested it was best to drop them off in the center of Market Street, nearby Tram Common, in order to avoid traffic.

Once they were all settled in and the car pulled out of the driveway, Kairi excitedly asked Sora how the two had met, knowing that Riku would never divulge her. Sora explained that he worked as a barista at a café on this side of town because he made a lot more money in tips. Riku happened upon the café two months ago and ordered a latte macchiato from him. The next day, he returned to ask Sora how he prepared it, and the day after he came back again, insisting he couldn't replicate the drink no matter how many times he tried. After that, Riku frequented the café quite often to order his favourite drink, and a friendship had naturally developed.

Kairi, who was utterly charmed by Sora's personality, insisted that the four of them had to start hanging out together, especially because she had never seen Riku smile so much in one sitting.

When the car reached its final stop, Roxas exited the vehicle slowly; his body was tense in anticipation.

The streets before him were filled with faces; adults heading home from their jobs, kids running ahead into crowds despite their parent's objections, teenagers who were hanging out with their friends after school… Though The Cusp was plenty big, it was never this populated and lively. Stores and restaurants lined the streets, one after the other. Roxas could see a couple sharing a meal on a patio, and laughing so hard that one of them appeared to choke on their drink. Everything looked so easy here, no one had to pay attention to the way they walked, or talked, or ate. Even the air felt different.

Kairi looked equally amazed as she took in her surroundings. "This is unbelievable… I've been downtown a few times, but never this far in… Who knew it got so busy!"

After the initial shock had passed, Riku placed a hand lightly on Roxas's shoulder to get his attention. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked.

Roxas nodded. He wasn't turning back now.

Sora guided them down the street, explaining that their best chance at finding the kind of person they were looking for was further south. As they walked, Roxas tried his best to inspect the face of anyone who he thought could potentially be the thief. The last thing he wanted was to miss them because he wasn't being observant enough. They soon arrived at Tram Common, a large open-market that circled around; with multiple paths that split off into separate areas. It was packed full of people, some buying fresh produce from vendors, others examining handcrafted goods that were laid out on tables or blankets. Just seconds after they entered, Kairi felt her eyes gravitate to a cute, navy-blue drop-waist dress displayed on a mannequin. Biting her lip, she forced herself to look away… She'd have to come back another day for it.

The four walked around slowly, taking care to examine each passing face. After scouring the area for what seemed like forever, they trekked down another street, and then another. They tried asking shop owners, but with little to go off of, they didn't uncover many clues aside from, "Maybe, I'm not sure", and "Can you describe them in more detail?"

Eventually, however, they came across an older lady tending to the plants in her shop, who perked up at the words "face tattoo".

"Small tattoo's under their eyes? Yes, I see him around all the time! He's a strange looking one… He dawdles around the market a lot with his friends, near the entrance," the elder said.

So it was a "him", after all… Hearing someone else recognize the thief reassured the blond, at least now he knew for certain he wasn't going crazy the previous night.

"Can you tell me anything else about him? Any other features?" Roxas asked urgently.

"Well… he has long red hair… And he's tall, very tall!"

The group thanked the woman and rushed back to the entrance of Tram Common. They looked around for another thirty minutes or so, trying to narrow down their search to the description the shop-owner had given them. But no matter how much they searched, there were simply no tall men with long red hair loitering around.

The sun was just beginning to descend — the pale blue sky was dissolving into an amalgamation of oranges and pinks — when Roxas heard the distant bells from the clock tower, signalling another hour had passed. The short hand on his watch was pointing to the small black VII. By now he was usually taking a long, hot shower.

Feeling discouraged, Roxas quietly sighed and took one last look around. He was tired, and his friends looked equally drained. He decided he'd come back tomorrow and try again.

Before he could turn to tell his friends, he felt someone brush past his arm as they walked by, laughing obnoxiously loud. Irritated, Roxas looked up and saw someone who's hair was a strange combination of a mohawk — with the sides of his head shaved — and a mullet. Weird. Feeling unsettled by the sight, he glanced over to his companion. He could only see the back of their head, but they had an equally uncommon hairstyle. He'd never seen anyone with red hair this bright before, and it stuck out all over the place like a pointy weapon. It almost made Sora's hair look tame.

The absurdity of their hairstyle distracted him, and his thoughts wandered momentarily until the significance of that feature struck him. Long red hair.

When the redhead turned to speak to his friend, Roxas could see the familiar shape of his eye, and though it was quick—the glimpse of something under it.

Riku, Sora, and Kairi were talking amongst one another when Roxas suddenly raced into the crowd.

" —Whoa, Roxas! Where are you going?!" Kairi cried out to the blond.

Roxas pushed through the multitude of bodies, trying his best to keep up and not lose sight of the red hair. The open-market was nowhere as congested as it was when he first arrived, but it was still teeming with lively faces, making it difficult to navigate through.

He followed the male all the way to the other side of the circular street, by now he was only a few paces behind the other. Squeezing through a group of teenage girls, he reached out and tried to grasp at the redhead. Though he couldn't latch onto their arm, he managed to grab the sleeve of their olive-green military jacket.

Feeling a tug, the stranger looked behind him, and then stopped to turn around completely. His friend with the mullet-hawk didn't seem to notice the redhead was no longer following him, and continued on.

When he stared down at the breathless blond, with his striking green eyes and pointed tattoos, Roxas knew without a doubt he had the right person

He raised an eyebrow at Roxas. "Can I help you?"

Roxas, whose face was now a mixture of exhaustion and anger, breathed out deeply before he spoke. "You took something from me, and I want it back."

The stranger didn't appear to understand what he was referring to. He blinked. "Come again?"

"You…" Roxas gritted his teeth. He was so overcome by outrage he couldn't bother to be nervous about approaching a criminal. "You were in my house two nights ago, you stole from me!"

The redhead, who now seemed somewhat amused by Roxas's exasperation, shook his head. "Sorry to disappoint, kid, but I think you've got the wrong person."

Roxas wasn't going to be so easily deceived. Furrowing his brows together, he kept his eyes locked their green ones. "No, you're lying… I saw you—you were in my room!"

"Look," he scratched the back of his head with a disinterested look as he continued, "I've got better things to do with my time than watch you throw a tantrum. Go take it up someone who cares. Now if you'll excuse me…" His gaze pulled away from Roxas as he turned away to leave.

No. It couldn't end like this. Roxas hadn't come this far to be brushed off so easily. Watching the redhead walk away, he did the only thing he could think of doing.

"Thief!" He exclaimed loudly enough so the people around him could hear. He pointed at the tall male frantically. "Thief! He's a thief!"

The redhead froze, his back still turned to Roxas. The crowd around them was beginning to stare at the confrontation, wondering what was going on. Roxas kept his finger aimed at his back, waiting for the stranger to make his next move. After a lengthy pause, the redhead turned back around and looked at Roxas with his lips pulled together in a straight line. He rubbed between his eyebrows with two fingers and sighed out deeply.

"Okay, alright, cool it." He walked back towards Roxas and pushed down the hand that was pointing at him. "You win."

Astonished that it actually worked, Roxas stood silently, he wasn't sure what to say next.

The companion who was previously walking with the redhead reappeared at this moment, after tracing back his steps when he realized his friend was missing. "Axel! Keep up, man…" He glanced over at Roxas, eyebrows raising in curiosity. "Who's this?"

"Just someone," Axel replied, not giving it much thought. "You go first, Dem. I'll meet up with you after I'm done here."

The male looked at Roxas again, and then back at Axel. With a shrug, he agreed and sauntered off.

"And you," he said as he turned back to Roxas, "come with me."

Roxas trailed after the redhead in silence. So his name's Axel, he thought, fitting name for a crook. He knew there was no actual truth to that thought, but he was too spiteful to care. Though he was still cautious of the male, and where he was taking him, Axel was surprisingly less hostile than he thought he'd be — for a thief that is — which made Roxas all the more brazen with contempt.

They walked out of the crowd and into another street that was substantially less populated. Axel continued to lead Roxas towards a brick archway; it looked like the entrance to a back alley… Where was he taking him?

Roxas stopped, and his hand reflexively reached down to his pocket to check if the pepper spray was still there. "I'm not going in there," he said bluntly. Though he was brash, he had more common sense than to follow a stranger into an empty alleyway.

Clicking his tongue, Axel stopped as well, and turned to face the blond. He leaned against the brick wall of the archway with his arms crossed, and took a long look at the sullen teenager.

Roxas shifted uncomfortably in the silence, but kept the scowl on his face.

"…You know," Axel tilted his head to the side as if to peer at him from another angle. "You looked a lot friendlier in the dark."

Roxas's lips twitched at the remark. This was the first time Axel was blatantly admitting to having seen Roxas before. And he was making light of it, too…

"And you looked a lot more threatening."

Roxas's comeback was unexpected, and Axel's brows shot up before he suddenly let out a loud laugh. He realized then that he had thoroughly underestimated the teenager. He may have been another rich boy from The Cusp, but he was completely unlike any of the people Axel had met up there, who immediately backed away at the sign of danger.

"I don't know how you managed to find me, but you've got guts, I'll give you that." He smirked at Roxas. "Alright, tell me what you came for."

It was mostly luck that led him to the redhead, but Axel didn't need to know that. Roxas met Axel's gaze, his scowl finally beginning to fade. "My pen."

"Your pen?"

"Yes, my pen. It's silver with gold trim," Roxas seethed, feeling offended at the way Axel said the word "pen", like he didn't know whether or not to take the blond seriously.

Axel furrowed his brows and looked up, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth repeatedly as he tried to remember if he had taken a pen. It wasn't exactly a remarkable steal, especially compared to the other valuables he'd taken, but he did vaguely recall seizing the long silver object right before Roxas woke up.

"..Ah, you're right, I did take your pen." Roxas's eyes lit up. "Buuut then I pawned it. Like the morning after."

"—What?! Who has it now?" Eyes wide, he spoke desperately, thinking he could still buy it back if he hurried. "Where can I find it?"

"I sold it to Cid… who left for Traverse Town this morning. He usually takes the pawned goods and sells them to another buyer at a higher price."

Disappointment surged through the blond. Was Axel telling the truth? Roxas had a feeling he knew the answer to that, but he didn't want to believe it. "You're lying again! Tell me where you're keeping it!"

Axel raised his hands in surrender, frankly surprised at how far Roxas was pushing this pen thing. He got a pretty decent price when he pawned it, but it definitely wasn't worth running across town to retrieve. "Sorry, kid… I'd return it if I had it but—it's gone, really."

His hopes sinking quickly and sorrowfully to its grim end, Roxas was too crushed to respond. Slumping his shoulders, he turned and started walking back towards the entrance.

Seeing Roxas's crestfallen face made even Axel feel apologetic. But he also knew once Cid sold these items, they were almost impossible to get back. There was nothing either of them could do.

As Axel watched him sulk away, he felt the tiny bit of a conscience he had eating away at him. Though he was a burglar, he only stole things he didn't think would be missed. When he took Roxas's pen, he assumed it was just one of the many he owned. He didn't think he had some deep-rooted attachment to it. And while he had seen the entitled rich-kid-tantrum time and again, this was different. It was strangely agitating. Sucking in a breath, he knew he was going to regret what he did next.

"Hey, wait up!" Axel jogged after the blond.

A dejected Roxas stopped and looked in his direction. "What?"

"Here," he stretched out a hand, "give me your phone."

Roxas looked confused. He frowned at Axel. "What, so you can steal that too?"

Axel rolled his eyes. This kid had way too much spunk for someone his size. He was lucky Axel was the one who stole from him, and not the others. Larxene would've strangled and dumped him in the trash by now…

"I'm a burglar, not a robber." He gestured with his open hand. "Just, give."

Roxas was skeptical, but he pulled out his phone anyway. He thought he would drop it in Axel's hand, but instead, Axel reached over and slipped the phone out of Roxas's fingers. The gesture startled the blond, who was used to modest, polite behaviour. His parents would definitely be shaking their heads if they saw this. Then again, they'd be doing a lot more than just head shaking if they knew what Roxas was doing down here.

Clearing his throat, Roxas went back to glowering at Axel. "What difference does it make? Both take things that don't belong to them."

"Trust me," Axel replied, partially distracted as he tapped something into Roxas's phone. "I've been robbed before." When he finished, he shoved the phone back into Roxas's hand. "There's a difference."

Roxas looked down and saw that the name Axel, along with a phone number was saved into his contacts. "What's this for?" He didn't exactly gather that this confrontation had spurred a friendship.

"It's a favour. If you ever need something that your reservoir of wealth can't buy, hit me up."

A favour? Roxas raised an eyebrow. "I don't need a favour."

"Not now, but you will. At some point, everyone needs a favour." His lips quirked as he looked at Roxas's perplexed face.

Roxas was distracted by another obvious thought. He looked at the redhead skeptically. "…Aren't you afraid I'll report this number to the police? You are a criminal."

Axel didn't seem fazed. "If you were planning on reporting me to the cops, you would've done it already. Don't think I don't know how you people work," he tapped a finger against his temple with a knowing smirk. "Anyway, I'm outta here." Instead of dropping his hand back down to his side, he rested it on Roxas's left shoulder and swiftly brushed it twice, as if brushing off dirt. "Stay sharp."

Roxas was at a loss for words as he watched Axel stroll off. His eyes slowly peered back down at the ten digit number, wondering what kind of favour he would ever need from a person like Axel.

" —Oh yeah," Axel spun back around as something else crossed his mind. "You should probably check your texts," he said, walking backwards as he spoke. "Your friends are worried about you, Roxas."

His lips curled up, and Roxas recognized the look. It was the same way he looked at him the first time they met.