Again, thank you all who are still with me. I hope that you're at least slightly entertained. *bows* This chapter is for all of you SoRiku fans.
And now...
Chapter Ten
Rude Awakening
Roxas lay on his bed, blankly staring at the ceiling, replaying over and over the events that had taken place early that morning. Squall had rushed in to consol Roxas as he went through every emotion known to man before collapsing on the floor from exhaustion. Roxas had slept most of the day, Cloud coming to check on him every hour, until he awoke late in the afternoon. Now, he seemed numb inside. A small rap at the door broke his pseudo concentration.
"Come in." Roxas had no emotion in his voice, sounding weak from the crying and screaming. Sora, slowly opening the door, stuck his head in.
"Hey, bro." Roxas didn't acknowledge the brunet, continuing his blank stare at the ceiling. Sora scowled and marched over to the bed side, his fists balled tightly by his sides. "Damn it, Roxas, get up!" Roxas continued to stare at the ceiling. Sora, deepening his scowl, lowered his eyes slowly. "Roxas. I'm sorry." Roxas started to turn his head when something hard smacked him on the cheek.
"Sora, what the HELL!" Sora, eyes starting to well up with tears, still held his hand aloft from slapping Roxas.
"Damn it, quit feeling sorry for yourself!" Roxas was taken aback as Sora's word rang in his head. He was reminded of Axel, sending him back into an emotionless state.
"What's the point?" Roxas stared back up at the ceiling, the color draining from his face save for the redness in his irritated cheek. "I couldn't do anything to help my parents, and now I'm just as useless..."
*smack*
Sora huffed softly, tears staining his cheeks. "I don't want to hear it! You could at least be supportive of him! You could go see him and give him strength." Sora began to sob softly, angrily wiping the tears from his face. "You could try to find out what happened yourself. I would." Roxas wall of numbness started to crumble as he watched Sora break down from a fight that was not his.
"Sora?" Roxas reached up slowly to wipe a tear off his brothers cheek. "Why? This doesn't concern..." Sora pulled back roughly, anger lighting his eyes.
"The hell it doesn't! I'm the one that has to sit back and watch my brother suffer!" Sora grabbed Roxas' hand softly and knelt next to the bed. His voice and expression softened as he continued. "Look, I know you feel helpless, but you have to do something or Axel is going to be locked up." Silence fell between the two, Roxas cheeks now stained with tear streaks.
"Do you..." Roxas gulped as he looked to his brother for comfort, afraid of the answer. "Do you think... Axel did it?" Sora smiled softly, pulling Roxas up into a firm hug.
"What does your heart tell you?" Roxas didn't even have to think on it. Sora, unknowingly, had given him the answer he needed. Roxas found a new strength in the undeniable truth he held onto. God, he hoped he was right. Roxas pulled back from the hug and smiled at Sora.
"Thank you." Sora returned the smile and giggled lightly.
"Eh, it was..."
*smack*
"Roxas?" Sora grasped his cheek, shock and surprise on his face. Roxas simply shook his head, smiling.
"You didn't apologize for the second slap." Both of the boys laughed heartily together before another knock was heard from the door. Not waiting for an answer, Cloud poked his head in.
"You two had better not be fighting in there. Don't make me sick Squall on you." From down the stairs, said brunet's voice rang out.
"Don't call me SQUALL!" The Cloud, Sora, and Roxas laughed in unison.
Cloud announced that Sora had a visitor, and that supper was almost ready. Sora's face brightened immensely, donning the goofiest grin Roxas had ever seen, making him almost roll off the bed laughing. The Sora raced out of the room, while Roxas casually walked, renewed vigor in his step. Roxas sat at the table, laughing again as Sora squealed from the front door. Cloud patted him on the back before returning to cooking. Sora almost passed out when Squall invited the new boy from the front door to eat with them, introducing him later as Riku. Roxas couldn't help but glare at the exceptionally pale boy, his hair bearing a remarkable resemblance to Sephiroth's. Dinner was light hearted, no mention of Axel crossing the table for Roxas' sake. A few time through out the meal, Roxas would catch Sora and Riku staring at each other, turning their heads to their plates when they noticed Roxas looking. When the meal was over, Sora lead Riku to the door whilst Cloud collected plates. Squall stood at the sink washing and rinsing, and was soon joined by Cloud who had slid under his arms. Roxas, feeling livelier and a bit tired, started to walk up the stairs, glancing back at the front door. He watched for a moment as Riku spoke, his arms crossed over his chest, a light smile on his lips. Sora leaned against one side of the door frame, both hands behind his back. Sora swayed a little as if nervous. Roxas couldn't hear any of the conversation, but watched intently anyway. Riku lightly bent down to kiss Sora on the lips, making the brunet turn red as a fire engine, before exiting the house with a backwards wave. Roxas smiled at the stunned Sora still standing in the doorway. He knew now what he had to do. He had to protect his love at all costs. How to do it? Well, details would work themselves out, Roxas figured, heading up the stairs to his bedroom.
Axel sat in a solid concrete room, only a mirror to his left, a table in between two chairs and a door leading back out into the police station he was currently in. He leaned back, cracking his vertebrae on by one on the solid steel chair he sat in. Looking to a high corner of the room, Axel noticed a surveillance camera directly aimed at him. He flashed a cocky smile its direction and leaned a little more comfortably on the steel backing of his chair. His hands were bound in front of him by a pair of steel handcuffs, leaving red rings on his wrists as he fidgeted. Axel vaguely noticed how hot it was in the room, a strong gust of luke-warm air pelting him from a vent directly above him. Axel figured he had been in the room about four hours now without any food or water. He licked his parched lips hoping in vain that the moisture would return to them. The door opened sharply, and a man Axel had never seen before entered. The man had bleach blond hair flowing down the front of a white lab coat. Under the coat, he wore a simple white shirt and a pair of black dress pants. He smiled curtly at Axel, nodding and sitting in the chair across from him.
"Hello, Axel. May I call you Axel." The red head simply shrugged. "Okay then. My name in Vexen. I'm here to give you a psychological evaluation." Vexen placed a Manila folder on the table, opening it and thumbing through the slightly thick stack of papers. Axel smirked cockily at the doctor.
"So, I'm crazy now? Well, that's a new one." Vexen glanced up at Axel with his own smirk, looking back down at the papers.
"You're quite the interesting specimen, Axel. Two years in a mental institution for almost setting your own house on fire, suspicion in the school fire three years ago, and..." Vexen raised a brow, looking up at Axel. "Assault on an officer at the age of eleven? You've been busy." Axel leaned back, reminiscing on the past.
"Yeah..." Axel sighed, staring off into space. Shaking his head gently, he looked down at the cold steel table in front of him. "I'm still not as bad as you though." Vexen frowned.
"What do you mean, Axel?" Axel chuckled evilly as he raised his head to look at the man.
"You objectify human life, diluting the person you're working with down to paper work and signatures. You say their name multiple times so maybe they don't notice, but I can see right through that facade of yours." Vexen grinned back at Axel. "You see, you're no better than me. The only difference is that you have a certificate to back up your bullshit." Vexens' grin widened, almost insanely.
"Well, I guess you've read a few psych books yourself, eh?" Axel stared at the man, his anger and frustration coming out in a grin more insane than Vexens. The door opened again, and Sephiroth entered, looking between the two staring at each other.
"Detective Sephiroth?" Vexen continued staring at Axel as he spoke. "The subject has too much knowledge of the human psyche. Therefore, I cannot conduct a proper evaluation. Simply put, he's yours." Sephiroth smiled coldly at Axel whose cocky grin turned into a look of disgust, hate, and rage. Vexen got up and broke his staring contest with Axel, exiting the room. Sephiroth sat in the now vacant chair, crossing his arms.
"Well, we meet again, Axel." The red head spat on the table in defiance. Sephiroth leaned forward in his chair, looking the red head directly in the eyes. "You're not going to get away this time." Sephiroth's laugh echoed throughout the interrogation room as Axel lost all sense of hope he might have.
Okay, so I could have ended this chapter a little further along, but I got side tracked by work. That, and I have to get my van to a shop this weekend. I might not update for a while, so don't get pissy if I don't post for a week or so.
Dasvidania! ^_^