"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me."

"Roxas!"

It was comforting to hear Olette's voice again. I thought I'd give her and the other guys a call once Sora and I got home from school. Riku had gone on home ahead of us, most likely still upset with me and reeling to get away from Axel the rest of the day. Luckily, Axel had left early too by skipping the rest of the day.

"Hey what's up?"

"Nothing much without you here," her tone took a downward turn. Her answer was similar to the one she gave me the last time I called. The week before I had time to talk to them since I wasn't in school but once I was, I had almost no time to chat, especially with my own problem with a certain redhead. "I can't say as much without you guys here either." I shook my head as I laid against my pillow.

"Really? You're living beach life now."

"Is that Roxas?" Hayner's voice faintly asked in the background. "Yeah it's great here. I got a job, living with my cousin, sunny nearly everyday. It's pretty good here with the exception of one thing," I paused for dramatic effect.

"Really? What?"

"C'mon! Let me talk to Roxas!"

"A redheaded, jackass from hell," I answered casually.

"Huh? You mean like a school bully or something?"

"Is this Roxas? Hi Roxas!"

She was probably trying to understand my words and probably fending off Hayner at the same time. "Yes, a school bully. He and his friends creep around the school looking for people to pick on. Lately, it's been me, my cousin, and two of his friends, maybe more," I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"By the way you describe them, they don't seem like they'd be much," she giggled. Hayner didn't bother to interrupt us that time, leaving me to guess that she had tamed him. "Yeah, that's what I thought when Sora told me about him two weeks ago, but I was horribly, horribly wrong," I laid my hand over my eyes. "What? Is he worse than Seifer?" she asked curiously.

"Yes, yes. Ten times worse than Seifer. Worse than five Seifers put together!"

"Yeesh. What's he done?" The question I was waiting for her to ask. Just wait until she heard this, I took a deep breath for what was to come next.

"The first time we even meet, he throws me to the ground and I'm put on his personal hit list he calls a 'flame list'."

"Sounds like something Seifer would do the first time he meets somebody challenging, excluding the hit list part."

"Sure, that'd be Seifer's level one, but he wasn't done yet. The next day he slams me against some lockers. Two of his guys holding Riku down-"

"Wait, who's Riku?"

"My cousin's best friend."

"Oh, continue."

"Like I was saying, two of them hold Riku down and one of them holds Sora down so that neither of them can help me."

"Sounds like something Seifer would also do, except he would slam people into their lockers until the teachers would tell them to let them out."

"Somewhat."

"Go on."

I took a drink of my lemonade before getting back to her. "Then he -actually, this is kind of petty- but he and his gang threw several balloons filled with chocolate syrup at us on our way home. Yeah, that part seemed pretty Seifer-y too."

"It does."

"But it gets worse."

"Do tell."

"A couple of days ago, he dragged me into the boys' bathroom and burned my wrist with a pocket lighter-"

"HE WHAT?" she practically screamed into the phone, causing me to hold it away from my ear. She was that loud. "What? Who did what?" Pence called in the background.

"Seriously? Are you okay?" She was panicking on the other end. Within seconds, she would probably going to have a heart attack over the phone. "Yes! Yes! I'm fine. The nurse got it taken care of and it's healing as we speak," I held up my bandage arm above me.

"Are you sure? You don't need a doctor or anything?"

"Yes, I'm fine! Keep in mind, this happen a couple of days ago so it's a little late to be asking for a doctor."

"I just want you to be okay..." My heart shook. She sounded like she was about to cry. It was just an injury to my arm, not my bones shattering inside me or anything. Nonetheless, it was all the same to her and she still sounded like crying anyway. She was that worried about me. "Yes, I'm okay," I said gently, laying my arm next to me. "Okay, good," she sounded like she was regaining her composure. I definitely wanted to avoid that again.

"Have you told the principal about him?"

"Yeah, but he didn't get a chance to do anything about it right away cause he skipped."

"So when was he able to do anything about it?"

"Today, finally, but not in the way I expected. After he burned me, he took my mother's anklet. Most of the week I've been bitching and moaning about it long enough that Riku took matters into his own hands and decided to fight over it with him today."

"Your mother's anklet? I'm sorry Roxas."

"No, I should be the one who's sorry. When our principal, Mr. Xemnas, caught them, Riku claimed he was fighting him for something Axel took. Oh, Axel's the name of the guy I'm talking about."

"Oh, so what happened to them?"

"Both of them got in trouble. I listened in on them when Mr. X was talking to them-"

"Roxas!"

If there was anything Olette disapproved of -besides sleeping in class- was eavesdropping. "Hey! I couldn't help myself! He said he was giving Riku out-of-school suspension and Axel PSS, but I have no idea what that means. I doubt what he's getting is also dragging in what he did to me on Wednesday." Axel may have been serving time for beating up Riku, but it still didn't make up for the robbery.

"And he still didn't give it back?"

"Not even one charm off of it. He caught me behind the corner and said something about having a lot of fun or something. That's really starting to bother me."

"I'd be worried too. Can't you call the police on the guy or anything? That option must've been in your mind earlier."

"Yeah it was, but not anymore. The police have 'done' things to him in the past, but nothing really justice-like. Plus there are rumors going around school, saying that his dad is part of the mafia, so there wouldn't be too much use of the police if they're true."

"The mafia?"

"Yeah, he actually mentioned a mafia group after he burned me. Something about a 'Tri Mafia'. I asked Riku about it and he said that it might be a branch under the mob Axel's father is part of."

"Really?"

"That actually worries me. Before, I didn't think it was all that possible but with the gossip going around and the guy he runs around with after school...It only means more if he says something about it! These rumors feel like they're coming true."

She was silent for a quick moment, "I wish we were there to help you out."

"Me too, but...It's dangerous here with Axel and his gang and all. You guys would probably end up just like me, so it's better me than all of us," I explained, but my heart was screaming out to them.

"Then try to keep your head up so that I know you'll still be there to call us again, okay?" she was concerned again. "Okay," I answered, hoping to do just what she asked.

"I got to go. Love you." Hearing her say that made me blush a little. I don't think she had ever said that to me prior to me leaving. She didn't even say it on the last call I made with her. Yet hearing those words come from her made me cheeks hot. Despite this, I answered as casually as I could so that the silence wouldn't be an instant giveaway that I was flushing.

"Love you."

"Bye."

"Bye."

I flipped my phone shut.


"Thanks for letting us come over, Mr. Mori," Sora smiled, Samba trying to escape his grip.

On Friday, Sora and I had decided to leave Riku alone for the rest of the day to give him some space. However, we decided to check up on him on Saturday; see if he was alright, cheer him up, whatever was needed to make him feel better if he needed it. In addition to comforting the guy, Sora told me he had a chinchilla that he really wanted me to see.

Standing at the door and actually paying attention to the man in front of us would've been polite. Unfortunately, I was too distracted by Riku's huge house. It wasn't like wealthy-person-haw-haw-haw huge, but just big. Door-sized windows were on the next floor, a wide open front yard with patches of tropical plants here and there was spread around us with a palm tree or two to offer some shade. Just wow. Sora's house didn't compare; his was built simple with a small lawn and one palm tree out front. Seeing as how the front of the house was facing the path we had just come from gave me the idea that the view of the ocean must've been impressive in the back.

"Your welcome, Sora. It's nice to see you come over here for a change instead of Riku going out all the time. Oh, and who's this?" The man took notice of me.

"This is my cousin, Roxas," Sora brought me close to him by hugging my side. "Roxas Koizumi. Nice to meet you, sir," I put my hand out. He grasped my hand with his and gave a firm shake. I swear when I first saw him that I noticed something familiar. Must've been one of those "like father, like son" deals, since he looked a lot like Riku. His hair was shorter and parted down the middle so that the strands were evenly distributed. His face more mature from aging, but his eyes were the same green as his son's. Still had the equivalent no-tan-on-an-island situation going on. There was no doubt that Riku would look the same way twenty years from now.

"He's up stairs in his room," he thumbed inside. "Okay, thanks," Sora nodded and stepped in after the man had made way for us to come in.

"Woah," I gasped, taking in the surroundings. And I thought the outside was loaded, so was the inside. Inexpensive furniture and decorations were everywhere, from the mirrors on the wall to the flowers in costly-looking vases in corners and on the table in the hallway. Burgundy filled the walls while the sand-colored carpet was softest I had ever put my feet on. Woah, I shoved my shoes to the side. Everything seemed ready to jump out at you.

"C'mon, Roxas! Riku's room is this way," Sora took my hand and led me around the corner to where the staircase was. I wish he hadn't dragged me around in such a hurry; I was still taking everything in.

Upstairs the decor arrangements continued as the walls went from burgundy to maroon -not that I could really tell. I had to ask Sora on it. "Be careful on your first step into his room, okay?" My cousin peeked back to me with a smile. Dumbfounded, I nodded, Why did I need to do that again? He stopped at one of the doors in the hallway and knocked on it twice. "Come in," Riku answered from the inside. Hearing the casualness in his tone made me sigh in relief. He wasn't mad as far as I knew. Seemingly confirming this to himself as well, Sora grabbed the doorknob and gave it a twist.

Could the house look any more like a rich person's? At least I saw for myself why Sora told me to watch my step.

Riku's room was moderately large, but still held the basic necessities of a teenage boy. The soft-carpeted floor was separated into three levels; the first one was the one that Sora and I were standing on along with a bookshelf next to the door, but nothing else really. It only extended from one wall to the other. The second held nothing and mostly acted as a step to the third. That one emptied out to a rectangular-like "pit" that held Riku's bed. Across from it was the T.V. as well as a few game controllers on the floor. On the other side of the bed, was a dresser with a mirror attached to it. Next to the dresser stood another table-like stand with what looked like an animal cage on it. Lying against the wall by the nightstand was a black guitar with purple and red flames. With all this neat stuff in his room, I expected him to be in the middle of it, but he wasn't anywhere in the said.

"Go get 'em Samba!" Sora took Samba out of his pocket. The glider jumped off his hands and started to glide toward the glass door I had neglected to notice before. As I watched the critter soar toward it, Riku stepped in from the door. Dressed in a black tank top and dark blue pajama pants, he gazed up to us from the center of the pit. "Howdy," Sora waved cheerfully. I couldn't do the same. Riku appeared better than the last time I saw him, but I could still feel the fault. A small bandage was on his cheek but that didn't compare to his head being wrapped under his bangs. From beneath his tank top, his shoulders were covered in a mahogany colored gunk that let off a distinctive smell of an exotic minty scent.

"Hey," he smiled, Samba landing on his head.

"You...okay?" I blinked.

"Somewhat." The platinum turned around to the stand with the animal cage. Sora anxiously led me down the steps to follow his friend. Discomfort filled my chest being next to Riku. Just looking at him was a reminder that I had gotten him into that mess. An apology was needed. Even if it wouldn't fix things, make him better, or if he didn't even accept it, he deserved one to know that I was taking in the heat as well.

He opened the cage and reached in, picking something out. "This is Ricochet," he turned around with an over-sized mouse-like creature in his hands. All I could do was stare at it wide-eyed as it looked up to me with a tilted head as it had never seen me before. Samba started to go crazy on Riku's head, making tiny barks and wags of his tail. "Alright, alright," Riku laughed, making a start for the bed. Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, he laid Ricochet onto the bed next and allowed Samba to climb off his head for a jump onto the chinchilla.

"Cuuuute," Sora came over, sitting up on his knees with elbows propped up on the bed, settling his chin in the palms of his hands. I stayed off the bed, satisfied with just leaning against the foot board pole. The two critters began rolling around with each other in a ball of fur, one trying to overtake the other. Nevertheless, as cute as it was, my attention kept shooting back to Riku and his state. His injuries, his actions, his attitude after the battle. He himself was an embodiment of my guilt.

"Hey."

Blinking from his gaze on the two, he turned in my direction with a blank expression. "I'm sorry." My eyes shifted to avoid his. "Sorry for what?" he asked, but something in his tone told me that he knew, he just wanted me to tell him the rest. "Sorry for getting you dragged into this," I rested my head against the pole and closed my eyes. For a minute, there was nothing but the sound of the two furballs playing with each other and the ocean outside the door. He sighed and, by the shifting of fabric, sounded like he was starting to lie back on his bed.

"It's okay, I mean, that's what friends are for, right?" Sincerity was only partially in his tone.

"Friends don't get you beat up by a pyro with connections to the mafia," I faced him with opened eyes. "It's no big deal. I've been meaning to beat Axel for a while. Any day now I probably would've lashed out at him, so no better day than Friday," he shrugged casually, looking out the glass door.

"But now you're in trouble because of my selfishness," I raised my voice. I didn't expect to get the word "selfish" out of me, but the way he was so calm about it wasn't what I wanted. Now I was getting upset cause he wasn't. Oddly enough, I wanted him to be pissed at me! Yell, push, tell me to leave, whatever! After all it was what I deserved for getting him beat up like that and all my complaining. Or maybe...maybe I hoped he would do those things so that I would feel better...

"I was just trying to help you out. Doing what I did would most likely be worth getting that anklet back if Axel had coughed it up," he reached over and scratched the chinchilla on its back as it sat up against him with Samba lying up against it.

My knees gave out as I dropped to the floor. Lying my right arm on the bed, I buried my face into the bed sheets. "Roxas," Sora put his hand on my back. I shook my head, feeling tears coming to my eyes as my shoulders jerked up and down. Hearing Riku's response to my words and seeing his injured body as the result of the fight made think some of it through some more. Was my charm...really worth people getting hurt over it? It was special to me, but no doubt it was as much to anybody else. Why should they fight over something that wouldn't mean a whole lot to them the next day? It was my focus, not theirs. Nobody should start jumping into fights to get it back, I concluded. I didn't want that. Mom wouldn't have wanted that.

Something furry was rubbing against my arm. I lifted my head to see Ricochet and Samba pawing and sniffing at my hair to see what the heck was wrong with me. I smiled a little, giving the two of them a poke at their tummy areas.

"Hey," Riku spoke up again. My attention went to him with watery eyes and a sinking heart. He rolled his eyes before continuing, "Don't put so much weight on yourself. It was my choice to fight Axel. It was my choice to give it a shot of getting your keepsake back. Sure, your moaning and groaning annoyed me and that's sort of why I left you guys Thursday, but I went to take him on myself. You didn't do anything to push me into brawling with him." His tone was hard.

"But I got you involved in something that should've been my fight. That should've been me," I countered. "No, I chose to get myself involved. Didn't you hear me tell Axel that anything that has to do with you guys also has to do with me?" he crossed his arms. The fact that he admitted it did make me feel a little bit better, but I couldn't soak in everything else he was saying, not yet anyway.

"Fine," I said, defeated.

"Don't forget, I've got your back. Though next week I won't really get the chance to," his words turned into a mumble toward the end of his sentence. "You got OSS?" Sora guessed. "Yeah, one week plus three days morning detention," Riku counted on his fingers. "And what about Axel?" My cousin questioned, possibly hoping for something good.

"One week PSS and five days after school detention," I answered for him. Riku stared at me wide-eyed, "How'd you know that? From what I heard, he left right after he stepped out of the nurse's office so nobody should know about that." Nervousness crept up my chest. No better time to spill that I had been listening in on the conversation. Oh boy, I nervously looked between the two of them.

Hoping they wouldn't be mad at me, I flashed another one of Sora's cheesy smiles. "I kind of...eavesdropped on some of what was going on." The two of them looked at each other like they couldn't believe it. My smile faded at the possibility that they were going to be upset after all. But then Riku shrugged, meaning either the smile worked or he wasn't going to get mad in the first place.

"That would explain why he was looking to the door. Nobody just smirks to the door unless somebody's there. I thought it was Demyx or one of the other guys," he replied under his breath.

"Yeah, I was listening in when I was on my way to the nurse's office. Once Xemnas was done I hid behind the corner down the hall, but Axel knew I was there anyway," I shivered, remembering the words he had said earlier about us having "fun."

"He didn't do anything to you did he?" Riku sat back up, all of a sudden alert. With a shake of my head he laid back again, "No, only mentioned that we were going to have some 'fun'." Sora shifted a little uncomfortably, "Well, that shouldn't be too much of a problem right? I mean, he'll be in PSS, whatever that is."

I raised an eyebrow as I stared at him, "You don't know?" He was the one whose been at Atropos longer than I have; I expected him to know anything and everything about it. Yet he shook his head, "Must be something new Mr. X and the school board added in this year."

"Judging by how Xemnas wanted us away from each other, this PSS has a good chance of being far from the school. Most likely the mainland," Riku cupped his chin in thought. "The Peruse Center?" Sora guessed. Riku nodded, "Could be."

"Wait, what's the Peruse Center?" I intervened, scratching Ricochet's ear. "It's a learning/activity center on the mainland. The school board owns it and allows teachers to send students there who need tutoring, after school activities, or extra classes. I assume Xemnas would send him there," my cousin's friend guessed. "That could be the reason why it's called PSS. Peruse School Suspension," I confirmed. In all truth, I had no idea. I was still new to the school. "And that should mean your guys' week should go undisturbed while I'm here doing work," he motioned to the large packet of papers stacked on his dresser. Sora and I cringed, thinking of who knows why type of work they packed into that thing.

"I'm surprised the both of you guys didn't get a harsher punishment by the way you guys messed each other up," Sora laughed nervously. Riku fingered the bandage around his head, feeling the wrap but with no anger in his action. "Speaking of messed up, what's that stuff on your shoulders?" I pointed to the odd colored stuff on the said. "Oh this?" he took his hand to pull the sleeve of his tank top down, "Tiger Balm."

"Tiger Balm?" I echoed confusedly. Never heard of it. "Yeah, it's this ointment that you rub on a joint or anywhere it's sore or hurts on your body. It starts to the soothe it within minutes," he explained, Ricochet and Samba trying to eat his pants. "Really? Why'd you put that on?" I questioned further. "My shoulders were a little sore by the time the fight ended, so Mrs. Harleen gave me a jar of the stuff. Said it sort of replaces taking some medicine for the pain," he stopped as he let his arms become suddenly relaxed, "plus it feels so good!"

"Man, I want to try it out!" Sora threw his hands up in the air like a referee giving a touchdown signal, Ricochet and Samba jumping through the space in between.

"So, away from that, how do you like the house?" Riku spread his arms out in a gesture to the room.

"Are you guys rich?" The words automatically blurted out of me after being held for so long. He chuckled, covering his lips as if that would keep it in. "No, not really. This house used to be like every other house, but my parents and I have been modifying it over the years. This is just the finished product," he explained, looking around the room.

"Really? All this stuff looks like it would've been expensive," I raised an eyebrow as Samba jumped onto my head and Ricochet was barking for him to come down.

"At first it does, but most of that stuff my mom got from some markets on the mainland for some cheap prices. She just organized them in a way that made it look like she spent a fortune," he crossed his arms. "So she's like an interior designer or something?" I asked. "Yep" he nodded.

"What about your dad?"

"He's an office worker on the mainland."

"Seriously? My dad works at an office back home, well, when he's not stationed anywhere by the military."

The rest of the time I was getting to know more and more pieces about Riku. We had some things in common, some things others we didn't. Branching from some subjects, he and Sora would tell me about how they met and their childhood together.

Somehow we got onto the topic of the view outside on the Riku's deck. He led us out there to show us the view, leaving the critters inside to play amongst themselves. Though Sora had seen it before and wasn't as amazed, I was astonished. Sora's house didn't have that great of a view so high up. Perched up there, Riku told me about the extra island across the ocean that he and Sora would play at during the summer. His finger directed my attention down to the docks on the beach, telling me that they got there by using some small boats and paddles instead of the gigantic fishing ones that always went out to sea.

"It's fun that way," he explained when I questioned why not use the fishing boats, "plus it's exercise. How do think I got my arms like this?" He flexed his pale arms, muscles bulging and veins revealing themselves. "Working out?" I answered clueless. He laughed.

Leaving the discussions behind, we ended up play some video games on Riku's T.V. Once we realized we had spent most of the day at his house, we took our leave. "Say 'bye,' Samba." Sora waved his pet's paw as we stood outside on the front porch, the light of the hallway illuminating the darkness. Samba barked and made a few scratchy squeaks to the rodent in Riku's hands. Ricochet barked several times and made a few jerky movements. Were they supposed to be talking to each other?

"We'll see you later, Riku," Sora giggled, settling Samba on his head. "Right, see ya guys," Riku set Ricochet on his shoulders. "Night, Riku," I waved. "Night" he did the same, then turned around to head back into the light.

"At least he's feeling better now" my cousin beamed, as we trailed down the path that led us there. "At least he is. I still feel pretty guilty despite what he said," I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Don't be." The light of the moon reflected in his perfect blue eyes. I blinked, diverting my eyes from his, "How can you say that? I mean, Riku's practically fighting for us. Doesn't that bother you?"

"Of course it does, but I try not to think of it as a completely bad thing," he reached up to pet Samba. "How come?" I continued to look away. "Cause, I can still defend myself. I may not be as strong as Riku, but at least I can try. He makes me strong if you know what I mean." Even in the darkness I could see him grinning.

I smiled too, "You look up to him?" I smiled too.

"Yep! That's why he's my best friend. It's one of the reason's why we've been best friends for so long," his tone sounded so cheerful.

Observing his confident stature, I took in what he was saying. It reminded me of my friendship with Hayner. We were always competitive with each other, but we were each other's role model in a way. I lacked the confidence, he lacked the maturity. Together, we got a dose of what the other could give. Without a doubt I was seeing a similar deal with Riku and Sora.

"He is pretty good, isn't he?"

"He's the best!"


Sunday went by without anything really new.

Riku got a start on his week-long packet of work so we couldn't really go over to see him. Sora didn't have work that day and neither did I since our "boss" was busy. Instead, we just stayed home and played some video games to pass the time by. I don't want to say that I forgot about my mother's anklet. 24/7, it was on my mind around the clock. Yet on the outside I was still hiding how worried I was about it. Already I had enough people who were involved who didn't need to be. All I lacked at the moment was a plan. Demyx couldn't get it cause he didn't know too much about what Axel had done with it or where it was. Riku attempted to get it back from him but it resulted in him getting trouble. Mr. Xemnas couldn't get it out of him either cause he hardly knew about its current whereabouts nor did he completely believe it was real. And Axel's mother...I hadn't really thought of her.

Knowing that she had a role in his life was enough, but I had no idea what she could be like. If mafia life was how I perceived as being dark and violent, and if Axel's father was just that, then I could see her as being a fragile woman who was frightened of everything. Or maybe because her husband was part of the mafia, she was really rich and selfish. The possibility that because she can't handle Axel and that her husband was part of some dark organization didn't rule out that she wasn't an alcoholic. Actually, excluding the second one, I could see his mom being all of the above just by having Axel as a son which only made my hopes on her finding anything of mine sink.

All of them were ruled out, which only left one person to try and get it back. Of anybody, I should be the one to retrieve it. No questions asked.

Then came Monday. As if things couldn't get any worse.

"I won't call you unless it's an emergency, I got it!" Sora confirmed what Riku was telling him over his cellphone. I waited for him to be done loading his pack so we could go to homeroom, but talking to Riku at the same time was slowing him down. His friend had called him on our way to school when he was about to start working on his paperwork again. I didn't have the faintest clue they were talking about except that whatever it was was worth 15 minutes of talking.

"Yes, I'll get you a soda and some chips out of the machine." My cousin finished loading his backpack, closed his locker, and zipped his pack. I stood up off the lockers, ready to go when he was. "Okay...'kay....Alright then. We'll see you later...bye," he flipped his phone shut. "Done?" I crossed my arms. "Yeah. Let's go," he smiled, getting the backpack on his back. At that, we started to make our way down the hall.

Less than five minutes after leaving his locker, Kairi came running up to us. "Hey guys!" She greeted us with a ray of sunshiny smiles. "Morning, Kairi," Sora strained on his voice with his eyes looking away from her. "Any word on Riku after he fought last week?" she asked, taking a spot next to me so that I was between her and Sora, much to his "relief."

"Yeah, we got to talk to him on Saturday even though I wasn't up to seeing him again," I explained, guilt blending into my tone. "Really?" her tone seemed sad the week before. Sora confirmed it, "Both of them got in trouble; Riku's got OSS plus three days of morning detention. Axel got a week of PSS plus five days of after school detention." For a second, I thought I caught the scent of some really strong cologne.

"Is Riku okay about it?" she was cautious in asking about it. "He seemed pretty alright when we last saw him," I answered, a lighter tone in my voice. "Well that's good. Oh, and what's PSS?" she tilted her head and looking over to Sora for the answer. "The three of us guessed that it meant the Peruse Center on the mainland. Xemnas must've suspended him there as a way to keep Riku and Axel apart. Peruse School Suspension, hence the word 'PSS'," Sora finished proudly.

"Actually it means present-school-suspension. As in and similar to in-school-suspension."

My feet froze in place, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. Something was wrong. Something was very, very, wrong. A few inches in front of me Kairi and Sora stopped as well, probably guessing the same thing I was. Oh, hell, I gasped in my mind.

"Hey Roxas! What's up?" A leather black arm snaked around my shoulders, pulling me back into Axel's chest. "Axel!" My eyes widened at the sight of him. I wished I hadn't looked up at him. His eyes were piercing right back at mine. "Correct! And as you already overheard, I've got PSS for a whole week!" he squeezed me tighter. "You should really get your facts right," the voice who was correcting us before came from Zexion, who was now putting a black book away into his jacket. Today's breakfast was churning in my stomach from being in Axel's grip. The flame from last week was brushing up against my wrist again. Walls were spinning around me. I felt sick again. In an attempt to make it all stop, I dropped my head with my eyes still fixed wide open.

"Let him go, Axel!" Sora demanded, his voice with sprinkled bits of shakiness. "Oh, come on Strife. I'm not killing him now am I?" my captor asked sarcastically, but from another person's point of view I probably looked dead. The cologne that I had caught earlier, was actually the scent of the kerosene that was always on him. I took less than a minute for the odor to start eating at me. How I mistook gas for cologne was anybody's idea.

"Let him go now, you creep!" Kairi tried at him. "Spare me, bitch. Besides, I promised Roxas here some fun this week, did I not Roxas?" I could tell he was looking down to me. No, no, I struggled to find clean air, but it seemed like he had infected the entire area of his stench. Of anything, I wanted to be let go so I could run. Take Kairi and Sora in my hands run as far away from him as I could. "I want an answer," he cupped my chin, forcing me to look up at him. By then, the odor was starting to make me a little dizzy. Narrowing my eyes I reluctantly answered, "Yes. Yes you did."

"That's right! This week's going to be loads of fun, huh?" he shook me a little.

"Yes, it will." I coughed, the gas moving to my lungs.

"Gee, Axel. What kind of 'fun' did you have in store?" Another voice asked. Marluxia.

"Only the kind so exciting and bad ass it'd make you slap your mom," the redhead released my chin to look back at his companion. As my eyes tried to regain some focus, I scanned the area for any sign of help. Kairi and Sora were still in front of us, wanting to help me but too afraid to do so. They didn't upset me. I understood; they'd probably end up in a bind similar to mine. Yet the other students were at the far back of the hallway from what I was seeing, obviously trying to avoid being in Axel's way. No response to the look of an SOS. We couldn't expect any of them to come by anytime soon. Of anybody I wanted to be here the most, it was Riku.

A pain shot up my right wrist as Axel lifted it up. "After all, I did remind him how much fun we were going to have," he gazed my injury with a smug look.

"Axel stop! Let me go!" I cried out in pain. Just when it was starting to really heal up, he went and did that. "Stop it! You're hurting him!" Kairi raised her voice. "Please," he rolled his eyes, dispelling my pain of not being much. "Please, Axel," I looked up to him, though now he was just a blur to me. His grip loosened until my wrist was fully released from his grasp. Protectively, I drew it under my left arm. I didn't want him to ever do that to me again.

"Fine, but only cause we're going to have so much fun that I won't have to do that," he sighed with a shrug.

"I just want my mother's anklet back," I whispered to myself. His grip around my shoulders loosened as well.

"What?" His eyes locked to mine. There was a shift in the way his eyes usually looked. They seemed sort of...gentle. His face was remained serious, there was no doubt about that, but his eyes looked like they were becoming soft. I thought I was seeing something I hadn't seen before. He had the appearance that he wanted me to either repeat what I said or go on. Too bad for him, I wasn't willing to.

"Axel!" Mr. Saix's voice shouted from behind us. Above me, Axel sighed and let go of me. Still woozy from the fumes, I fell to my knees. "What the hell are you doing now?" The teacher started our way, Sora and Kairi helping me get to my feet. "Just having a little fun with Roxas and his friends," the liar turned around, using the same tone he had given Saix the other week.

His answer only made blue-haired man snarl, "Don't give me such crap Axel, I know you and your friends were bothering Roxas again." Being out of Axel's grasp allowed me to recover my senses, the first thing my vision took in was just how scary Saix looked. The skin on his nose wrinkled in ferocity, his teeth bared so that several fang like teeth were visible. The scar on his face appeared more jagged than usual, as if growling like that was stretching the wound. All in all, he could turn into a beast at any moment.

"Get down to Xemnas' room now!" Saix pointed down the hallway. Initially, it seemed like Axel was going to trail after his group that was doing as they were told. At first it did. I stiffened at the sudden feel of his hand against my cheek while giving me that same wicked smile he'd been showing off the past couple of days. "See you, around Roxas," the Flurry lightly dragged his hand off my face, sticking both his hands into his pockets and heading down the hall. Saix only glared as he passed by him, Axel giving a fake salute.

"Are you three alright?" Saix shifted moods when he turned back to us. "Yeah, he didn't do much except for squeezing my arm," I smiled weakly, showing my wrapped wrist.

Gently, he took my arm and examined it for himself. "Did he hurt you? I can take you to the nurse's office if you'd like." A smirk was in my mind. Never got attention like this back at home. "No, it's okay. Leave it alone for a while and it should feel fine," I answered, feeling a bit of blush in my cheeks.

"If you insist then," he carefully let me go. "Thanks for the help, Mr. Saix," Kairi smiled. He smiled with a hmph, "There's no need, though I suggest you three get to homeroom before Axel comes back."

"Speaking of Axel sir, we heard that he got PSS. If you don't mind me asking, where is that exactly?" Sora asked nervously, trying not to intrude on somebody's personal business. "There's no problem in asking, Sora. The PSS has at least one room on each floor. Axel will be staying in the one second to the top," Saix pointed his finger towards the ceiling. "And how long will he be in there for?" Kairi stepped in again. "By the rules of PSS, he should be staying up there all day for as long as his term is. He'll only be let out for the restroom and/or any medical problems. Lunch will be brought to him and he will enjoy whether he likes it or not," he clarified in an authority-like manner.

"So he won't be out in the hallways?" I questioned. He shook his head, "Most likely not. Students in the PSS room are usually under close surveillance. If they're going to leave the room, there is a sign-out sheet that they have to check in and out on. When they're out too long, they'll be brought back from wherever they were and may have to serve extra time. He shouldn't be out anywhere near you three." His smile reassured us. That was something to sigh happily about. Safe for now, I felt my body go incredibly loose.

"Thanks for that, Mr. S," Sora smiled as if he had just been offered a bed after pulling an all-nighter. "Your welcome. Now you three better get to class before the bell rings," he gestured down the hallway where we were originally going.

"Oh, you're right! C'mon guys!" Kairi grabbed our hands and started to pull us her way. "O-okay! Thanks again Mr. S!" I waved with my injured arm back at him while my cousin and I were dragged down the hallway. "No problem, Roxas. All of you have a good day," he called back with a wave. Knowing that Mr. Saix was tough and knowledgeable about the PSS deal made me feel less stressed. When Riku wasn't there, I saw him as a night in shining armor.

*~'~'*

"He's here...'Who?' You know 'who'!...Yes, he is here," Sora held the phone away from his ear just as Riku let out a loud irritated sigh. Kairi and I shifted on our desks while Sora shuffled his feet around in obvious discomfort. With the teacher out of the room for homeroom ,we kept to the corner in the back next to the windows. Sora decided it was a good idea to let Riku know what was going on. Neither me nor Kairi objected; this sudden turn of events needed to be known.

"Why?" Riku asked, allowing his friend to bring the phone back to his ears. "You know that PSS thing we were talking about?" Sora asked. Riku responded that he did.

"Yeah, well, it turns out PSS stands for present-school-suspension. As in in-school-suspension. As in he's here."

The phone was away from his ear again. Another aggravated sigh. He really wasn't liking any of it. Once the sound was done, he brought the phone back to his ear again, "Hm? Okay," he pressed a button on his phone. "Can you guys hear me?" Riku asked when he made sure the phone was on speaker. "Loud and clear," Kairi nodded to the blue cell Sora held out in the middle of us. "Good. So how did you guys find out he was there?" he asked. "Zexion told us," I rolled my eyes. That guy was odd. Who carries a book like that around? Seeing him with a book didn't seem what would be allowed in Axel's crew unless it held his hit list, or should I say, "flame list."

"Zexion? Knowing something like that isn't impossible, but why would he tell you guys?" The platinum asked in puzzlement.

"Because Axel was with him," Sora answered. "The first thing he does is grab me and pull me into his chest," I butted in real quick. It felt like something that needed to get out in the open. "I'm not surprised. That's what he does to get people's attention. He's annoying like that," Riku mentioned somewhat casually, "Smells bad doesn't he?"

"Ugh, he's smells like he works at a garage!" I almost flipped over on the desk when I laid back on it. "Can't believe I almost mistook it for cologne!" His scent was strong. Chances are I'd notice it feet away. "He does use kerosene a lot. I think that Xigbar guy may sometimes try to cover it up with cologne," the voice on the phone disclosed some information. "Almost passed out because of that stuff," I took a swig of the drink I bought before we entered homeroom.

"There's no doubt he knows that. Uses the stench to his own advantage," he concluded, "What else did he do?"

"Fun, fun, fun!" Kairi waved her hands sarcastically. "Got that part down. Anything else?"

I rubbed my wrist, "Squeezed my arm." The pain was diminishing, but it was still there.

"HE WHAT?"

All three of us winced at how loud he said that. I took several glances around the room to see if anybody else heard, but luckily they were too preoccupied with their own conversations. "Hurt my wrist a little. I'll be fine though," I tried to clear that up with him. He was already in trouble. I didn't want him to come to school with guns blazing.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." There was a pause on the line before he finally said something, "Alright then. He do anything else?"

"No, it got up to there until Mr. Saix came to our rescue," Kairi smiled cutely at the thought of him. Sora and I rolled our eyes. She couldn't be serious about having a crush on him, could she? "Good, that's what he's there for." Riku was probably nodding in confirmation on the other end, "Now, could you guys let me in on this PSS situation? Did Saix give you any information on it?"

"Uh huh. PSS is basically in-school-suspension for starters. It's held in different rooms on each floor of the school," Sora paused to allow Riku to soak the information in.

"Different rooms on each floor....Which one will Axel be staying in?" The question we knew he would ask came up. "Second to the top floor," Kairi got to the answer proudly. "Hm, okay. Go on," he took only a second to analyze that. "Apparently, he'll be up there everyday of his term and only let out for medical problems or bathroom breaks," my cousin paused again. "Hm," his friend was pondering on the other end, "that might be a problem."

"I don't think we should have much to worry about. Saix said that everybody in there is under close surveillance and that when they're gone too long, they're brought back," I reassured him. Another "hm" from him before he spoke again, "I guess, but I'm not too sure on that. What about lunch?"

"It will be brought to him whether he likes it or not," Sora answered just as proudly as Kairi did. Another moment of silence as Riku was soaking it all again. "It sounds like you guys would be safe, but I can't completely believe that." Uneasiness filled his tone.

"Why not?" I automatically blurted out. Something inside me told me that we weren't safe. The doubt was always there. We may have had some delays to keep him back, but we just weren't in the clear, at least not with him in the same building as us. The question was hovering in my mind, craving for an answer. I guess when Riku finally mentioned what was bothering me, I just had to know why.

After thinking it through, he spoke up again. "You guys said that when he's out too long that they'll bring him back right?" All three of us nodded at the same time as if he were standing before us. He continued on, knowing we confirmed his question, "Then who's out there with him? Is there anybody that goes with him while he goes to the restroom or the nurse's office?" A sudden stroke of fright struck through all of us. It was written on our faces. "We...We never thought to ask that," Sora shook his head as he looked down to his phone. "Staying in one room isn't Axel's forte. He needs to be on the move. That could mean he might try to avoid going back to the room," he brought up another point. Another stroke of realization. Things was getting scary.

"In actuality, you guys could have problems," he concluded, most likely crossing his arms in disagreement.

We turned to each other with fearful eyes. If we were out in the hallways the same time as Axel was, he'd be all over us. It'd be like swimming in shark filled waters. He was swift like one, probably good at evading anybody looking for him through all sorts of twists and turns. After all, he knew the school better than I did. That was me, an easy target and easy to corner.

"So," my eyes fell to the phone, "what should we do?"

"First of all, stay near classrooms, lounges, and Mr. Xemnas' offices. Anywhere there are teachers and staff is a good thing. Not only will they defend you, but I doubt Axel would dare bother anybody with a bunch of teachers around him despite his cocky attitude," he commanded. He made a good point. If Axel had any common sense in that cocky head of his, he won't bother us while authority is around, I thought it over, a small smile peeking in the corner of my lips.

"Two, if you ever see Axel about to cross your path, run. It doesn't matter if he sees you or not, just run the opposite way or wherever you just came from. Even if he starts chasing after you, at least you'll have a head start," he proclaimed. "That's probably what we'll be doing if we see him anyways," Kairi shrugged, puckering her lower lip so she could blow a bang out of her eyes.

Sora curiously pulled at one of his spikes, "What if there are too many people around to run?"

"Even better. A crowd of people means a lot of uniforms that look the same. Just get through the crowd as quickly as you can and try keeping your heads down if that's possible. He'll be able to identify you by your hair," his friend replied, a hint of hope in his voice. Another good point. Our hair styles weren't exactly what others would call "normal" whether they were naturally fixed that way or not.

"Lastly, if you get caught by Axel in a place where nobody else is, start yelling 'fire.'"

I rolled my eyes again. "I doubt he's going to do that to us." Sure, Axel was a creep but I was pretty sure we, and everybody else in the school, knew that he wouldn't go so far as to push sexual borders. If he was, the girls would have something to worry about and so would we if he was gay, but something in my gut told me he didn't roll that way. "No, not for that. It's a tactic that will get people's attention. If anybody knows Axel, which most people do, then they'll come running to see if he set anything ablaze," he stated. "Wouldn't we get in trouble for doing that?" Sora sounded iffy on that part of the matter. "Might, but hopefully not too much. If any teachers come, you can explain it to them and if Xemnas asks, just tell him Riku told you to do it in self-defense," he finished.

"Then wouldn't you get in trouble too?" As much as I was for going with Riku's plan, I didn't want him to end up digging a hole even deeper than the one he was in already. "It's okay, I don't mind taking the heat. At least we'll have a good reason for it," he answered in a carefree tone. To him it wasn't that big of a deal, but I felt another ounce of guilt being added to the weight on my shoulders. Great. We could be doing something to get Riku in trouble and the guy isn't even at school! I kept myself from shaking my head."Are you sure about that?" Kairi voiced my question for me. "Of course. It's not too much trouble. The max I could get is a detention or private dining or something. Nothing too big," the boy responded as cheerful as Sora on a regular day.

We looked at each other uneasily again before turning back to the phone.

"Okay," Sora spoke up for all of us.

I envisioned the guy on the other end nodding to himself like we were there. "You guys should be okay. If anything happens to you guys, I swear I'll let you guys jump and yell at me as much as you want," Riku declared, giving a sign that this call was almost over. "Riku, you know we can't do that," Sora looked down to the phone, shaking his head. At first there was nothing on the other line. When he didn't answer, we got the impression that he had left his phone. That is until he spoke up again, "Fine, Sora. What if I treated you guys to something good for a week?"

"Mmm, I can go with that," Sora beamed to himself. That was a quick change of heart, I peered at my cousin. "Me too!" Kairi shot a fist into the air. "I suppose," I joined in.

"Alright then. I gotta get back to work now so I'll talk to you guys later, okay?"

"'Kay," all three of us said in unison.

"Alright. See you guys later. Bye."

"Bye!" Sora flipped his phone closed, the crown shape on top lighting up to show that it was still on. We shared another round of uncomfortable glances. Taking what little we could from the conversation with Riku, we were on our own. We should be okay if we just follow what Riku gave us. Not all of the results should be bad. Everything'll turn out okay...right? I thought hopefully, staring at the phone in Sora's grasp.


A/N: Yaaaay Ricochet! I did say there would be more animals after all and Ricochet is another one of them! Why a chinchilla? I don't know! Samba needed a playmate is my reason I suppose. Yet, even the animals are out of character since they're nocturnal and don't like to be picked up. As far as in-school-suspension goes, it's basically having to staying in a room at school for the whole day without going to any of your classes. Out-of-school-suspension is when you serve a suspension out of school, but are given work to do while you're out. Bottom line: They're both bad! And private dining sounds like it'd be good, but it's not. As for private dining, you eat alone at lunch for being late to a class fives times. That's how my school works anyway. Thanks for reading and please review!