The door was flung open the moment I knocked on the rough wood. Axel ushered me inside, concern all over his features. He led me to the couch and pressed a cold soda into my hands, which I took numbly.

"Roxas is at work," he said. "He'll be home as soon as he can. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," I replied faintly. My argument with Riku still echoed through my head, causing tears to sting at the back of my eyes. I couldn't believe it was over. I had never loved anyone as much as I had loved him, and now he was gone. My heart was still breaking.

Axel sat down next to me and put an arm around my shoulder in comfort. We sat like that for what seemed like hours, the redhead unsure of what to say and me with nothing to say. I heard the door open softly, and for a wild second I thought it was Riku walking into the room. The remains of my heart dropped to the floor when Roxas walked into the room.

"Hi honey, hi Sora," the blonde man said as he stood in front of us. "How are you feeling?"

"Just great," I said, and I smiled in what I hoped was a convincing way. "How was work?"

"Can't complain," he replied. "I'm going to go make dinner for us. Is there anything you'd like to eat?"

"Actually, can I have some time alone?" I asked. "I just…I have to think about this."

Axel nodded, stood up, and followed his boyfriend into the kitchen. I stayed frozen on the couch, absently rubbing my thumb across the slick aluminum of the soda can in my hands. I contemplated just running out of the room and going to Riku's, begging for him to forgive me and to take me back. I was halfway off the couch before the image of the two cloaked men flashed across my mind. With a sigh I sank back down, defeated.

After crying for a few minutes and silently shouting at God that this wasn't fair at all, I got up and walked into the kitchen, where Axel and Roxas were busy making dinner. As I watched, Roxas walked behind Axel and hugged him tightly around his waist and planted a sweet kiss on his fiery hair. It made my heart ache, and I had to stop myself from breaking into tears again. That should be me and Riku, I thought miserably.

I walked into the kitchen, and Roxas quickly untangled himself from Axel, obviously not wanting to distress me with their signs of affection. I sat down at the counter, smiling.

"It's okay, you guys, you don't have to stop because of me."

Axel placed a plate piled high with rice and stir fry in front me. "You can sleep in the guest room," he told me as I thanked him for the food. "You can stay for as long as you'd like—you're always welcome here."

"Thank you," I whispered, and dug my fork into the food before me. As I lifted the utensil to my mouth, however, my stomach clenched painfully. I slowly placed the fork back on the plate and pushed it away from me. Roxas looked at me curiously.

"I…I'm not hungry. I'm sorry." Axel squeezed my shoulder reassuringly and silently placed my plate in the fridge.

"Don't worry about it. It'll be here for you whenever you're ready, all right?" he said. I looked up at him miserably, and the look of sympathy and friendly affection in his eyes was so sincere that I wanted to break down right there. I didn't deserve friends as kind and caring as Axel and Roxas, especially after what I did to Riku. I didn't deserve anything other than death.

"Would it be all right if I took a shower?" I asked. Roxas nodded and led me to the bathroom.

"I'll bring you some clothes when you're finished. Axel and I will be in the living room," the blonde said.

I thanked him and closed the door behind me. Stripping down, I proceeded to take a scalding shower, barely feeling the burning water as it hit my skin. I felt numb, both inside and out. As I stood with my head bowed, the water pounding on the base of my neck, I came to a realization that I should have thought of a long time ago. It was so simple, and so easy; I felt foolish for not thinking of it before.

Shutting off the water, I dried off and dressed in the clothing that Roxas had left outside the door. With a new resolve, I walked down the hall and into the living room, where Axel and Roxas were lying on the couch and watching a movie.

"Hey Roxas, can I talk to you for a moment?" I asked.

Roxas cocked his head curiously at me but didn't say anything. He stood up and followed me into the guest bedroom. Once he had sat down on the bed, I closed the door and stood there, facing him.

"How did you get that scar on your back?" I asked abruptly.

A look of shock and surprise flashed across Roxas' face. He crossed his arms, suddenly defensive. "Why do you want to--" he began to ask, but I cut him off.

"Please, Roxas, this is important. Tell me how you got your scar."

Roxas didn't reply, and for a second I thought he wasn't going to answer me. Finally, he sighed, running a hand through his spiky hair.

"Fine, I'll tell you, but it isn't a pleasant story. You're not even supposed to know what I'm about to say." He sighed again in defeat before continuing. "Do you know what Axel, Riku, and I do for a living?"

I shook my head. "Riku never told me."

"He never told you because no one is allowed to know what our job is. I know it looks like we just have regular nine to five jobs, but that's not true." Roxas ran his hand through his hair again. "We…work…for a multi-million dollar company that specializes in giving loans to smaller companies. If someone has a new business or a struggling one and they need cash fast, they come to us. But sometimes, they can't pay back what they borrowed from us. That's where we come in."

Dread settled in my stomach. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that, when a business didn't pay the company back by deadline, then Axel, Riku, me, or one of the others would go and…persuade them to do so."

I stared at him in horror. "You're assassins?"

"No, more like…tax collectors. Very rarely do we kill a client. We just…rough them up a little." Roxas shrugged, clearly not bothered by his profession. I, however, had a huge problem with it. I bit my tongue, though, and let Roxas continue with his story.

"Two years ago, Riku was a permanent employee for the company, and he and I were partners." Roxas blushed, casting his gaze to the floor. "We were also, um, boyfriends. One day we were called out for assignment, but I wasn't feeling well, so Riku volunteered to go by himself. It was a simple job, so I agreed. When he came back, however, something had changed. He wasn't talking as much, and he was strangely distant towards me. He refused to tell me what had happened during that assignment, but he became extremely paranoid and was always looking over his shoulder when we would go out. He also would never let me go out alone. It was all really weird.

'Then the phone calls started. At first, when I picked up the phone there would be no one on the other end—they'd hang up a second after I said hello. After about a week of this Riku wouldn't let me answer the phone. He'd either pick it up himself or let it go straight to the machine. And this whole time, he had slowly stopped talking to me or being seen with me. It was like he was removing himself from my life.

"And then, we went on one assignment at the outskirts of the city. Riku had received the details of the assignment, and he didn't tell me where we were going. We arrived at this old school around midnight, but it seemed odd to me that we were the only two there. I had been walking toward the school building, but I could tell that Riku had stopped walking behind me. I was about to turn to ask him what he was doing when my back just exploded in pain. Riku had slashed me across the back with the knife he always carried around. I remember laying face down in the dirt, my blood soaking through my clothes, and just looking up at him. He sheathed his knife, met my eyes with his and said, 'You've become too much of a liability to me.' And then he just walked away and left me there to die."

Roxas paused, and I stared at him in shock, my mind processing what I had just been told. "How did you survive?" I finally asked him. He smiled wryly.

"Axel found me. He was a new employee at the company and had been dispatched to find me when I didn't show up for work that morning. He took me to the hospital and took care of me until I had healed. By then, Riku had been relocated to another city, and Axel became my new partner. And, well--" he shrugged again "—you know what happened next. Sometimes Riku comes back, but he only stays for a month or two before leaving again. He never told me why he tried to kill me. Honestly, the first time he saw me again he was shocked I was still alive. Needless to say, Axel hates him."

I sank to the floor, overwhelmed. They were mercenaries. Riku had tried to kill Roxas. But why? My mind whirled around and around, and suddenly something clicked. I looked up at Roxas, and as I spoke the words I knew what I said was the truth.

"He wasn't trying to kill you, Roxas. He was trying to protect you."

Roxas stared at me, incredulous. "What?"

But I had jumped to my feet and began pacing, the gears in my mind spinning at a frightening pace. "He did what I'm doing right now. Something happened at that assignment, and when it did I have a feeling that you were being threatened. Riku needed to get you away from him, for your safety. And how else but to make you hate him? So he attacked you, and moved away, and probably just prayed that whoever was after him would leave you alone now."

Roxas gaped at me. "Sora, what are you talking about? You're not making any sense."

I whirled to face him, eyes bright. "Roxas, I know what he did because I'm doing it right now." I pointed to the scar right below my eye, from where the cloaked man's boot had connected with my cheek. "You remember the night I was attacked, right?"

"I'll never forget it," Roxas said. "But you were mugged."

"No, I wasn't. I was attacked and beat by two men who interrogated me about Riku. They wanted to know where he was and how I knew him. They also destroyed my apartment and followed me to work." Roxas opened his mouth in astonishment, but I plowed on. "I knew that if I stayed around Riku any longer, I would eventually lead them to him. I couldn't let that happen, so I did to him what he did to you—I made him hate me."

"How?" Roxas stammered, as overwhelmed as I had been a minute before.

I took a deep breath—it still hurt to think about it. "I told him that I didn't love him any more, that he was just a temporary and that I had fallen for someone else. It's not true, but it worked. He hates me, but that means he'll stay away from me. And that's what I wanted."

Roxas shook his head in distress. "Oh my God. I can't believe this."

I nodded firmly, confident in my hypothesis. "And you know what? I'll bet you anything that the people Riku was trying to protect you from are the ones that are following me now."

I stood directly in front of Roxas and kneeled so that I was eye level with him. "Roxas, I need you to promise to do what I'm about to ask you."

Roxas opened his mouth to protest, but one look at my determined expression made him change his mind. He nodded, resigned.

"What do you want?"

"I want a gun and directions to that school."

Roxas stared at me. "What are you planning to do?"

"If I stay here, those men will find me and hurt you. I can't let that happen. I have a feeling that they'll be there—it's just a hunch, but I know I'm right." I took a deep breath. "I love Riku. I want to be with him. I can't while those men are alive. So I'm going to find them, and fight them…or die trying. I'm going to save Riku. So please, I know you have a gun. I need it. Now."

Roxas stayed frozen on the bed. After a minute or two, he stood up and walked out of the room, coming back with something wrapped in a towel. He unwrapped it and gave it to me. It was a handgun, and the metal was icy against my skin.

"The school is on Montgomery Street, five miles from here."

"Thank you." I decided to go out the window, so as not to alert Axel, but paused before leaving. "If I'm not back by tomorrow morning, then will you please explain everything to Riku? Tell him I'm sorry, and that I love him."

"I will."

I didn't look back, just jumped out the window and began the long walk to Montgomery Street, the weight of the handgun heavy in my jacket.