Hey, guys. I want to start this out a little differently. I hope you all know that I really appreciate all the positive reviews and feedback I've gotten, but I don't think I've really been able to express how much it really means to me. This story is like my baby. It's therapeutic in the same way that it's painful to write sometimes. Especially because we're getting closer and closer to my own story. Of course, certain things have been edited and dramatized just to make more sense with the storyline, but I'm trying to keep a lot of it accurate.

I don't know why, but it felt like it took me forever to write this one. So I may be misleading you, but happy holidays; this chapter is longer than the past ones.

Which leads me to last but not least: Happy Thanksgiving! And probably Merry Christmas, too, because I wouldn't count on me getting chapter thirteen up before then… But hey, we can hope… right?

Thank you for reviewing the last chapter:

Polymoly: I love new reviewers… Seriously, I love all the rest of y'all too (oh, god, it's late and it shows…), but seeing someone new to the story always just adds an extra bit of joy to my life. Ah, yes… Xion has been an interest to people from the very beginning. But I promise, her story will be revealed soon! (Fuu will be first, but that sort of plays into it…)

AusisWinds-13: Your reviews always make me smile. (: Actually, I've only just grazed the surface of what's going on with Riku. There is more to come. ;) I sort of just have to fit it in with everyone else… On another note, you should hopefully be pleased with the little turn Axel takes in this chapter. (Hint, hint.)

Hinata's Shadow1: Thank god someone picked up on it… (You and AusisWinds-13, actually) I would have felt kind of stupid if no one got it. ^^'

Chapter Twelve: The Change

The year thus far may not have been the best way to judge this, but it was actually pretty rare for the twins to be grounded. The weekend was a dull one. In fact, the whole next week in general was fairly uneventful. Unfortunately, 'uneventful' did not always mean 'peaceful.'

Each day, the boys would come home and mope about the house for the remainder of the afternoon, occasionally doing schoolwork. But the monotony was not what was getting to Roxas the most. No, what bothered him more than anything else was the constant look of worried frustration on his brother's face. He knew Sora was thinking about Riku.

It certainly was a troubling situation, and Roxas couldn't say that it hadn't been on his mind, too. There was something that just didn't add up. There was no doubt in his mind that Sora was right- he believed that there was still something very dark going on in Riku's life. But something didn't make sense.

What had brought the silver-haired boy to therapy in the first place if not a new, kinder foster family? He couldn't imagine the man he pictured to be Riku's father worrying over his son's wellbeing enough to enroll him in counseling sessions.

Trying to puzzle it out made his head spin, and Roxas found that his thoughts were preoccupied as well. He hated to admit it, but he was worried about Axel. He'd never thought the day would come when he'd consider the older boy a friend. Now the idea wasn't quite so repulsive.

The night he'd saved Axel, heard the story of Demyx, Roxas had dreamt of drowning. He'd then spent the next few moments awake seeing flames dancing on his walls. It hadn't been a very pleasant experience, but this was the first time he could remember his dreams being occupied by anything other than their time with their mother.

The end of their second week under house arrest was coming to a close when he found it. He hadn't been snooping per se… Or, at least, he hadn't walked into the room intending to snoop.

It was Monday morning. He had reached his breaking point, so he thought. If he had to watch his brother looking so forlorn for one more day, he was going to start screaming and never stop. He didn't know what could be done to help Riku any more than he had when Sora had first asked. But Leon might. Granted, he didn't handle child abuse cases, but still…

Roxas had gotten up early, but still not early enough to catch his father. In fact, both Cloud and Leon were nowhere to be found. It was eerie for the house to be so quiet.

Roxas crept toward Cloud and Leon's bedroom and found the door open. It would appear that neither man was even home. Roxas slowly crossed the room, unsure of what to do next. He knew this moment of courage would be fleeting. Sora had never openly asked Roxas not to say anything about Riku's situation to their parents, but he still felt like he was going behind his brother's back to do so.

The curtains billowing out in the next room caught his attention. The room, adjoining the master bedroom was used as Cloud and Leon's office. The boys had never been expressly told to stay out, but they tended to steer clear of the place out of respect for their privacy. Now Roxas saw a few papers fly off the desk. He went in and closed the window. Cloud liked to keep it open- he said the chill helped him think. Evidently, a mere breeze had not been enough. As Roxas shut the window he spotted his father, strolling aimlessly about their yard.

He smiled and turned to pick the fallen papers up off the floor. The wind had scattered them all over the room. He felt a twinge of guilt as he rifled through them, feeling like he was prying as he attempted to put them back into some sort of order. And he really hadn't been meaning to pry when he skimmed over a few of them… but then he caught one thing- one name- that made him freeze. Larxene.

What could Cloud possibly be writing about their mother? Slowly and carefully, Roxas read through the paragraph. They were simple statements, detailing out what had happened to Larxene after the arrest. Brief words on the institution she'd been sent to. Nothing that helped clear anything up.

For whose benefit could this be? Everyone in the house already knew the details of their… situation. And, if they could help it, no one ever brought up Terra and Larxene. Cloud and Leon had become their "real" parents a long time ago. More often than not, the twins' past was just too painful to remember.

A thought entered his mind, not entirely welcome. Hadn't Leon said that a reporter had been pestering them for details just a few months ago? Had they finally caved- agreed to do the article? He couldn't really explain why, but if this was true, he didn't like the idea. And yet… Something still didn't add up.

What was written… This was basic information. Information Roxas was sure the media had gotten the first time around. With shaking hands, he flipped back a few pages and read on.

At first, his thoughts were too scrambled for him to really focus. But the first word he picked out was his own name… and then his brother's. With growing dread, Roxas read through the paraphrased police reports and the description of the hospital. For a moment, he thought he was going to be sick. He knew what this was.

He was so absorbed in his discovery that he didn't hear the front door open. He didn't hear Cloud climb the stairs. He didn't hear the footsteps coming up behind him. In fact, he didn't hear much of anything until his father called his name.

"Roxas?"

The boy turned. He wasn't sure what his eyes revealed- some form of betrayal most likely. Cloud just looked confused.

"What are you doing?"

"What the hell is this?" Roxas answered, quiet and stricken. Cloud seemed to see what Roxas was holding for the first time. He didn't even have the decency to look guilty, Roxas noticed.

Cloud's eyebrows furrowed. "Roxas, why are you going through my things?"

Something seemed off about his father. Cloud still appeared distracted- as if he was just now getting a hold on the situation, but Roxas pushed these thoughts away. His eyes flashed with anger, and he stood abruptly, letting the papers flutter to the floor.

"This is it?" he demanded, sweeping a hand in a wide arc over the pages strewn around the floor. "This is the big, secret project you've been working on all these years?"

Cloud knelt down in an attempt to gather the mess. He seemed to be at a loss for words. And when Cloud was caught off guard his writer's vocabulary tended to shine through. "Roxas, your behavior right now is… despicable."

"I'm despicable?" His eyes blazed with anger.

"That's not what I-"

"This isn't despicable?" Roxas continued loudly, not allowing his father to get a word in. "Watching our pain and then exploiting it for this, this trash isn't despicable? Were we always just some big project for you? Observations for your next great novel?"

The pain on Cloud's features was a palpable thing. He may have been the author, but Roxas had proven that he, too, could give meaning to words. "Roxas, of course no-"

When he cut him off again, he delivered the most hurtful words of all.

"You're no better than all those damn reporters," he spat before turning and striding out the door, leaving his stricken father behind.

Roxas didn't stop until he'd reached the bus stop down the street. His mind was consumed by a red haze. He wasn't really aware of anything around him until something tapped his elbow. He jumped and turned to see Sora standing beside him, holding out his backpack. For once, his brother looked fairly awake despite the hour.

"Here, you forgot this. Why are you out here so early, anyway?"

Roxas didn't answer, choosing instead to grab the bag away and cross his arms, scowling down at the ground.

Throughout the entirety of the bus ride, Sora continued to glance worriedly at his brother but wisely kept his mouth shut. Roxas kept his eyes glued to the scenery passing by.

As much of a blur as his classes were, they passed slowly. More than once his teachers sent him dirty looks because he was tapping his fingers on the desks too loudly. Things were moving all too fast, yet all too slow. The day dragged by, (though he was unsure of what it was that he was so anxiously anticipating) but his thoughts were a whirlwind.

The indignance he was feeling had taken the form of a dagger in his chest. He couldn't breathe without feeling it, couldn't lead his thoughts elsewhere.

How dare Cloud commercialize their life- put their story into words like it could really be said so simply?

His fingers stopped tapping. He was vaguely aware of Hayner, sprawled out in the neighboring seat, watching him as his hands clenched into fists on the desktop. He did his best to ignore both Hayner and the history lecture until one eventually looked away and the other was brought to a halt by the sound of the bell.

The same sound jolted him into motion. He hurried out of the room, but Hayner was quick on his heels.

"Hey. Hey, Roxas! Wait up!"

Reluctantly, he slowed to let Hayner catch up. His friend scrutinized him quietly for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed.

"What?" Roxas demanded at last.

"Well, geez, you don't need to go biting my head off," he replied tersely. "What is wrong with you? One day you're so out of it no one can get through to you. The next you're going around like you're on some sort of mission and can't wait to be out of here. You're acting so goddamn bipolar lately-"

Roxas spun to face him head-on, his eyes flashing. "Do not use that word like that."

It was to his misfortune that Hayner was so confrontational by nature. This turned his frustration into anger and the need to bite back. "Or else what?!"

What happened next was all very sudden. Neither boy had noticed the small audience their scathing words had begun to attract. Unfortunately, there was a serious mistake made with their intervention. A second later, Olette stood before him, hands up in a pacifying sort of way. Unfortunately, it was Sora who had stepped in front of Hayner.

The ringleader of their little band of misfits had never taken the same shine to Sora that the rest of the school seemed to. Hayner felt he was a superficial poser, palling around with the popular crowd one day and trying to blend into their group of friends the next, and he'd never been afraid to say so. Until recently, his grudge against Sora had really been the only thing Roxas and Hayner ever truly argued about.

And now, in the midst of something bigger, Sora was the last person he wanted to see. The second the brunet twin opened his mouth in an attempt to ease the tension, Hayner roughly shoved him to the ground.

Sora's resulting grunt as he landed on his back was more out of surprise than fear or pain, but it made Roxas see red. Olette and Pence lunged forward to stop Roxas from tackling Hayner to the floor as Kairi helped Sora back to his feet. He struggled for a moment, feeling and no doubt resembling, a snarling, rabid animal.

At last, his friends released their grip and Roxas wrenched his arms back to his sides. He glared fiercely at the other blond for a moment before sweeping past the group, his scowl still in place.

Hayner glared in response, spitting out as his friend walked away, "Fine. Next time, we'll settle this without your guard dog."

There was a resounding smack, and Roxas could see Hayner reeling from the aftermath of Kairi's slap, but he was already turning the corner and didn't look back.

He needed to get out of here. He couldn't stand one more stressful encounter. He'd go crazy, if he hadn't already.

The night Roxas had found Axel on the verge of suicide, he had come upon the scene by chance. This time, he didn't let the wind master his destination. He was going to end up at the old mansion sometime today anyway, right? So this is where Roxas set his course, slipping out of school easily, hoping for some peace and quiet.

Axel was early. This was a rare occurrence, but he wasn't about to stay in the car with his surly chauffeur. Sometimes he hated the man his parents had hired so many years ago. For all the suspicious looks he'd received, Axel had begun to think he should set the car on fire.

He fingered the lighter in his pocket but didn't give in to the temptation. Instead, he got out of the car, giving the door a good slam on the way past.

He might have been early, but the front door swung open easily. (He wasn't sure if it was ever locked.) He climbed the stairs slowly, once again slipping his fingertips over the lighter in his pocket.

The night he'd spilled the story about Demyx to Roxas, he'd gone home and flicked the switch repeatedly, watching the sparks' brief lives. He had been home alone. Perhaps not the best timing, but his parents never had been the considerate type. Axel had crept down to where the maids stored the working lighters. He had very stealthily returned to his room, though he doubted any of the servants cared enough to bother to stop him.

Back up in his room, Axel had slowly rolled up the leg of his pants. Having learned from an early mistake, nearly every inch of his body had been meticulously shaved- there were spots that he maintained and others where he suspected hair would never grow back.

He had flicked the switch, watching the flame for a moment with mesmerized, watery eyes. Silently, he apologized to Roxas, to Demyx, before bringing the flame to his skin. He held it there for a moment, waiting for the familiar relief. But there was none. Just pain.

There was the briefest shock of panic before he finally removed the lighter, let the flame die out. A new burst of tears welled up in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks. He turned his face up to the ceiling as if something was watching him in his most pathetic moment yet. The fire had failed him. Fitting. He felt like such a fucking failure…

Axel clenched his hands into fists, trying to stop the shaking as he reached the top of the stairs. He let out a deep breath, realizing no one else would be here yet. He finally released the lighter. Axel hadn't attempted anything else since that night. More than a week 'clean'… It was a strange feeling.

Axel walked to their meeting room and took in the circle of empty plastic chairs. He was about to take his own seat when he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye.

There was a small balcony leading off of the room, separated by sliding glass doors. Axel looked out to see someone leaning against the railing. He did a double-take when he realized that it was Roxas, of all people.

He chuckled lightly, smirking. What had happened to his life? Not that it had been exactly predictable before, but things were continuing to take turns for the strange lately.

He rolled his eyes to the ceiling for just a moment before he moved to join the other boy on the balcony.

Sora's hands clenched and unclenched anxiously. The car ride had been endured with tense silence. Sora had covered for Roxas, telling Cloud that his twin had found another ride after school. Judging on what he'd seen this morning, the idea wasn't so far-fetched. And evidently the school had failed to inform their dad of his brother's absence in half of his classes, so they were safe on that front.

Which left one problem: What would he do if Roxas wasn't there?

There had been a time when Sora had always known where his brother was even if they weren't always together. Now, there seemed to be a million different invisible forces pushing them apart. He supposed it was just a part of growing up, but that didn't mean he liked it.

It was hard to describe the relief that overtook him when he walked into the meeting room to see his brother already there. The only other person in the room was Axel, who he noticed had taken Xion's seat beside his brother.

Roxas looked up briefly to give him a small smile and nod of acknowledgement before turning back to whatever conversation he'd been having with the older boy. Sora may not have known what had been wrong to begin with, but his brother looked infinitely better.

He took his own place and pulled his DS out of his bag. He was already deep into Hyrule when he felt someone watching him. He glanced up to see that Riku had arrived and was perched on the edge of his own seat, watching the game. Sora smiled slightly but didn't call attention to his observer.

Xion arrived next. It became apparent immediately that Axel's switch-up had thrown a wrench in things. The black-haired girl had frozen in the doorway, a look of unmasked horror on her face. But Kairi quickly came up behind her. She took in the situation with a smile and grabbed her own chair, moving it between the two brothers so that she could watch the game as well.

Unable to stall any longer without attracting unwanted attention, Xion seemed to grit her teeth. She moved forward, her head down, and quickly took the seat beside Axel. Naminé didn't so much as flinch when she saw that her seat was occupied. She easily claimed the place beside Riku, smiling at him when he jerked his head roughly at her in acknowledgement. Excluding Aerith's, there was only one seat left untaken when Fuu walked in.

And when their group leader joined the scene, she beamed at them.

"Well," Aerith said, taking the remaining seat, "it seems we've changed up the boundaries a little."

She didn't receive much feedback, and not everyone looked nearly as pleased.

"It may not feel like it," she continued, "but you've all made a lot more progress than you probably realize. These types of things are always an experiment. Group therapy relies so much on the dynamics of the group- sometimes, it just doesn't click right."

"And you think we have?" Riku cocked an eyebrow, his tone familiar and challenging but not quite as harsh as it had been in past sessions.

She smiled enigmatically. "What do you think?"

He didn't answer and seemed more than a little relieved when Axel cleared his throat. "Well, I think so."

"Yeah?" Riku asked again, not quite as confrontational.

"Yeah." For the first time, Axel didn't seem to be hiding behind a mask of untouchable superiority. "Yeah, I do. I, uh… I've got a story for you guys…"

Axel had stayed after to speak privately with Aerith, but Roxas thought his relaying to the rest of the group of his story of Demyx had gone over relatively well. At the very least, the other teens certainly had a new respect for the older boy. Even Riku.

Now, Roxas tensed as he neared the car. He felt his stomach clench as he slid in behind Cloud and Sora glanced over worriedly again. But no one said a word the entire ride home. (Roxas noticed that Sora had been thoughtful enough to grab his bag after he had stormed out.)

There was a new level of tension as they came to a halt outside their house. Cloud cleared his throat as they all got out.

"I want to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk to you." Roxas's response was immediate, stiff but firm. Sora's eyes widened, and Cloud sighed.

"This isn't about this morning, Roxas. Well, not really. Leon and I want to talk to both of you."

Reluctantly, Roxas followed his brother inside where Leon was waiting. He was clearly stressed and tired, his hair looking like he'd run a weary hand through it a few times. The two sat down across from their fathers, equally cautious and curious.

For a moment it was like they were in a suspended war zone. And then Leon dropped the bomb.

"Roxas, Sora… Your mother contacted me this morning."

Review please!

I don't own Kingdom Hearts!

I'll probably go back and add more to this author's note later, but right now it is late, and I am tired… So.. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!