Chapter 14

27 reviews! Bwahahaha! A record since Chapter 6! My reviewers are awesome!…Not that I keep track or anything…anyway…Anyway, thanks to all those people reviewed! What with school and a few new jobs (just two little ones, but still, they're a bit of work!) I'm just learning how to balance out my new schedule! Don't worry though, once everything's settled, I'll still be on track with my updates! So thanks to: Poet Bucky, A-chan, SarahXxUnlovedxX, ramen-is-my-goddess, BlueFox of the Moon, The Flurry of Destiny, Dust to Dusk, Aindel S. Druida, Ivy J., ooXloveXoo582, Tinker16, XfallenXshadowX, Bitter-Sweet Beauty x3, DemonicxTears, -x-Leon-Ada-x-, Cassie-san, Takara Zizumea, Yours For all Eternity, BokuraNoLoveStyle, -IvyBlonde-, Scootkadoot, Clouded Mirror, NightmareFairy, Mare Dragon, Duskri, PirataNoctis, TheLadyGrey, Polish! You dudes rock my world! ;)

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After Axel had dropped Demyx, Zexion, and Namine off at their apartment, he quickly backtracked to the Strife residence. Luckily Auron had driven his own car into Hollow Bastion so he didn't need a ride back to his home. Axel knew that Roxas and Riku were probably fine. They had Leon, Cloud, and Sora to take care of them. But still. He needed to see for himself that Roxas was alright, safe in his own home.

Once he reached the Strife house at the end of the court, Axel knocked lightly on the front door. He smirked when Sora opened the door not a second later almost as if he had been waiting in the entrance hall, the brown-haired boy perking up when he saw who it was outside. "Axel! Come in. Roxas is taking a shower, so no going upstairs!"

Axel's smirk widened and he cast a longing look at the stairs just to make Sora flustered. Chuckling at Sora's expression, Axel ruffled his hair. "I'm kidding. I'll be good."

"You'd better!" Sora gave him a warning glare, which was about as scary as a nipping puppy, then scampered into the parlor. Curious as to what he was up to, Axel followed him in, his eyes narrowing with sympathetic understanding when he saw Riku lying out on the couch. The younger man's eyes were closed, his eyebrows furrowed with an apparent migraine. Cloud was crouched down next to him, the doctor's fingers wrapped around Riku's wrist, his own eyes closed as he counted the other's pulse in his head.

After a moment, Cloud's eyes opened again and he smiled slightly. "The good news is that your blood pressure is normalizing again. I suggest you rest up, eat whatever it is Leon is cooking, and stay away from any intense physical activity."

Riku nodded, rubbing his forehead as Cloud stood up. The blond man stopped as if noticing Axel for the first time then blinked once before frowning lightly. "Axel, walk with me."

Axel tilted his head to the side at the man's tone; he couldn't tell if Cloud was angry with him or trying to express some other emotion but he followed after him into the hall. He hadn't had chance to change yet so the black combat boots he had worn to the warehouse clunked noisily over the wooden floor as he walked behind Cloud. Cloud led him into the kitchen where Leon was busy stirring something on the stovetop, the man turning and giving only a grunt of acknowledgement before going back to his cooking.

Cloud rolled his eyes fondly then turned to Axel, regarding the taller man critically for a moment before speaking up. "Axel, we wanted to thank you. It was stupid to rush ahead like you did but…you were able to get to Roxas and Riku before we were, and thought quickly enough to make sure they were safe." Cloud paused, glancing back at Leon. The other man had stopped stirring by now but was still facing the stove, part of the conversation despite the fact that he wasn't saying anything. Sighing, Cloud glanced back at Axel. "Two years ago, Roxas was disappointed when you didn't call after everything settled out, more than he even wanted to admit to himself, I think. It was depressing having to watch him try to get over you."

Leon growled then turned around. "What he's trying to say is that if we don't see you around this house often enough, we're going to drag you here from your apartment. There's no reason to watch Roxas mope around when we know where you live."

Axel looked at the both of them then grinned. That had been the most threatening acceptance he had ever received, but he wasn't going to complain. Axel slung an arm over Cloud's shoulders. "You don't have to worry about Roxas. I'm not going anywhere so he won't have the chance to get any more emo than he already is."

"You'd better not be talking about me."

"Roxy!" Axel turned around and quickly swooped down to scoop Roxas up in his arms, nuzzling into his wet hair before he hoisted him up. Roxas cried out indignantly as he was lifted up, his arms wildly wrapping around Axel's neck to keep himself from falling over. "How was your shower?"

Roxas flushed, glancing at Cloud and Leon before punching Axel hard on the shoulder. "Pervert." Seeing that Axel wasn't going to let him down even under the threat of being hit again, Roxas sighed. "If you have to know though, it was nice, but now I'm really hungry."

His stomach grumbled against Axel's chest and he blushed a little more as Leon shook his head. Grabbing a bowl from the cupboard, Leon doled out a helping of soup, walking over and handing it over to Roxas. "Here, it'll be easy on your stomach."

"That and if you haven't eaten anything for the last few days, we need to start you off slowly," Cloud murmured. "Axel, why don't you take him into the dining room? And while you're at it, call Sora out of the parlor. We can have him grab something for Riku too, whether or not Riku has an appetite."

Axel nodded, smirking as he carried Roxas out of the room. He was beginning to like having him in his arms actually; Roxas was just small enough so that it wasn't all that much of an effort for short distances. Axel grinned at the thought.

"Whatever you're thinking, cut it out."

"Aw, Roxy, how did you know I was thinking about you?"

Roxas glowered, his cheeks nearly a bright red. "You had that pedophile grin on your face again."

Snorting, Axel set Roxas down near the dining room table, careful so that none of the soup sloshed out of the bowl as Roxas found his own footing. "You mean my sexy grin." Without even taking another breath, he directed his head down the hall toward the parlor. "Yo, Sora, come get some dinner for you and Riku!"

Roxas rolled his eyes as he sat down at the table, his posture somewhat limp as he was undoubtedly still exhausted from his whole ordeal. "Subtle. You know, if Cloud wanted to scream at them, he could have done it himself from the kitchen."

"Come on, Roxy," Axel grabbed the chair next to Roxas's and spun it around so that he could sit in it backwards. "You weren't actually expecting me to go all the way over and talk nicely to them, did you?"

"You're right, that would be expecting too much of you…" Roxas's voice trailed off as he looked cautiously at Axel who was staring at him with an odd expression on his face. "…What?"

"Nothing, just watching."

"Watch all you want, see if I care," Roxas grumbled, digging into his soup. He was hungry, damn it, and he was going to eat his medically-rationed portion of soup with or without Axel staring at him. He had only gotten a few spoonfuls into his mouth though when Axel spoke up again, apparently not content with the silence that had fallen between them. "Hey, Roxy, let's play a game." Roxas shot him an odd look but Axel ignored it and continued. "You can ask me a question, about anything. I'll answer and then I get to ask one of my own. It'll help break the ice, because really, let's face it, we don't actually know many useful facts about each other."

Roxas rested his spoon down in his bowl, glancing up searchingly into Axel's sharp green eyes. Axel did have a point. He really didn't know any of the basic facts about Axel. But what would he ask? Biting his lip, he frowned thoughtfully for a minute before looking up. "Alright. You're in college, right? What's your major?"

Axel laughed. "Starting with the stereotypical college questions? Fine, fine. I'm a Chemistry major, with a minor in Fire Science. And yeah, it's an actual minor."

"I'm just surprised you're smart enough to be into Chemistry. Even Riku said those classes were hard."

Axel put a hand to his chest as if offended. "You hurt me Roxas, you really do. I can be smart when I want, I've even been known for having flashes of genius from time to time. But now it's my turn for a question." He tapped his chin, making a show of thinking hard before smirking down at Roxas. "What's your favorite food?"

Roxas frowned. "And you thought my question was stupid? I don't know, I'm not picky." Suddenly his eyes brightened, "Wait, sea-salt ice cream! Sora hates the stuff but I think it's great!" He thought hard as Axel chuckled at his response, the sixteen-year-old's mind working fast. "Were you born in Radiant Garden, or are you just coming here for college?"

"Just for college. I come from the delightful Twilight Town." Roxas had to laugh. Twilight Town was known to be a picturesque little village perfect for postcards, where everyone knew each other's names and where people went to raise a happy, perfect family. Basically, he had no idea how it could have produced someone like Axel. "Laugh all you want, but it was a decent place to grow up, if not incredibly boring some times. Reno and I got into some deep shit when we were kids and you don't even want to know what happened when Demyx and Namine moved in from Halloween Town; it was hell on earth for the good people of Twilight Town." Roxas laughed again and Axel smirked. "What about you, did Leon and Cloud move you here or are you from some backwater town too?"

"Nah, Sora and I've lived in Radiant Gardens for as long as I can remember. We lived in an apartment at first after Leon and Cloud adopted us and then moved here, so this is basically the farthest we've ever lived outside the city as far as I know." Roxas paused, wondering what kind of life Axel had lived as a kid. He wanted to know, especially one question in particular. But he wasn't quite sure how to ask it. Finally he looked up at Axel again, meeting his gaze almost shyly. "How many people have you dated?"

Axel blinked then smiled, shrugging nonchalantly. "A few. six or so, depending on your definition of 'dating', but things always ended within the first few months, mutually or otherwise. Do you like horror or comedy movies more?"

Roxas was lucky to have caught the question at all, his mind still trying to wrap around the idea that Axel had dated so many people. He himself had never dated anyone, at all. Ever. Suddenly feeling a lot more intimidated and inexperienced, Roxas tried to mimic Axel's nonchalant shrug. "Um, horror I guess. Comedies can be way too stupid sometimes." Stirring his soup absently, Roxas wondered just what kind of people Axel had dated before. If he ever possibly was going to think about dating the red-head, though he was still denying that he liked Axel at all even though he knew differently, would he would be tossed away in only a few months as well? He wasn't anything special, so someone like Axel probably would get bored with him quickly.

A hand suddenly waved in front of his face and threw Roxas out of his thoughts to find Axel looking down at him with a hint of concern. "You okay? You kind of spaced out on me for a second there."

"I'm fine." Roxas said quickly, his gaze falling to his bowl. "Just thinking." Hearing a shuffling to his side, Roxas looked over to see Sora coming out of the kitchen with a tray of food balanced precariously in his hands. Distracted by the sight, instincts from his part-time job as a waiter crying at him to help carry the food before it spilled, Roxas spoke up. "Hey, Sora. Do you need help?"

"Nope! I'm fine." Sora shook his head as Roxas opened his mouth to object, a smile on his face. "Really, I've got it! Well, I've got it good enough to make it to the parlor anyway." He didn't want to offer Roxas an escape from talking to Axel either. As much as he wanted to keep his little brother from awkward situations, Roxas needed to come to terms with his attraction to Axel one way or another. Besides, he wanted to help Riku himself. His boyfriend had been acting distant ever since they had found him in the warehouse. Sora understood that it might just be from the exhaustion, but there was something in Riku's gaze telling Sora that something else was wrong.

Managing to carry the tray all the way into the parlor without spilling anything or dropping and breaking any dishes, Sora placed it on the coffee table in front of the couch Riku was lying across then sat down on the ground between the table and couch. Having sensed him approach, Riku had opened one eye but at the sight of the food quickly closed it again with a grimace. "Sora, thank you, but food truly does not sound appetizing at all right now."

Sora frowned, reaching up to comb out Riku's silky hair with his fingers. "You have to eat something, Riku, you haven't eaten in days. Besides, Leon made this light on purpose so you'd be able to keep it down."

"Sora…"

"Just try a little. If you can't handle any more, I'll stop bugging you, promise." Sora looked up as Cloud rapped his knuckles on the parlor doorway to catch their attention, Leon standing behind the blond with his arms crossed.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to let you know that Leon and I are going upstairs to rest. He needs to get off of his injured leg and I doubt he'll actually do that unless I'm watching his every step." Leon rolled his eyes but didn't say anything, unable to actually dispute the accusation as Cloud continued. "Sora, you and Axel are in charge. And Riku," he sent a warning look in said young man's direction. "You'd better do what Sora says and eat or else I'm going to have to stick an IV in you within the next few hours. I don't know about you, but personally, I'd rather be fed through my mouth." He smirked at Sora's disgruntled expression. "Just remember to relax and Sora, if anything happens, don't hesitate to come up to our bedroom."

Sora nodded, waiting until Cloud and Leon had left the doorway before turning back to Riku, his eyes wide as he pulled the tray closer to Riku. "You'd better eat, because I don't think he was lying about the IV…"

Riku let out a long sigh but slowly slid up into a sitting position. His face was still paler than it should have been, but it had gotten much better since they had got home, and his hand shook only a little from exhaustion as he reached out for his bowl of soup. Once he had it in his lap, he glanced over at Sora from behind the silvery veil of his bangs, giving a weak chuckle before patting the spot beside him. "Sit up here with me. I know you have a question to ask."

Sora smiled a little then moved up to the couch, sitting beside Riku for a moment before wrapping his arms around Riku's torso and burying his face into Riku's sleeve. He frowned though as he felt Riku tense slightly, and withdrew his head only enough to look up at Riku's face. "Did I do something wrong?"

"You're part of the problem but it has nothing to do with what you personally did."

Sora pouted, "You're trying to talk me in circles again. Just tell me what's wrong, Riku. If it has something to do with me, then maybe I can help."

Riku sighed again but reached up with one hand to tenderly ruffle Sora's hair, leading the other's head to rest against his shoulder. "Give me a moment to try to eat and pull my thoughts together, Sora."

Sora nodded. He would give Riku all the time he wanted as long as he knew Riku was eventually going to talk. Whatever was bothering his boyfriend, Sora knew it had to do with Maleficent, he had figured out that much. Sora wasn't going to let her split him and Riku apart though, no matter what she had said. So he willingly let Riku think, happy to cuddle against the other's side for a few moments.

Riku ate slowly, either trying to stall or genuinely forcing himself to swallow every bite. Sora suspected the latter judging by Riku's unhappy expression; when Riku got sick, an event that had only happened a few times, the first thing that went always seemed to be his appetite. After a few minutes of patient silence though, Riku put the now half-empty bowl back down onto the table then wrapped both of his arms around Sora, holding the other boy close. "Sora, she revealed something to me while I was trapped inside of that room, something about me. Something which may be hurting you, which is the only reason I can bring myself to tell you about it."

Sora tilted his head to the side curiously, burrowing deeper into Riku's arms as he absently took one of Riku's colder hands into his smaller one. "What is it?"

Riku closed his eyes for a moment then sighed. "You know in order to live, I need to stay inside this house, except for only short periods of time." Sora nodded encouragingly. "It has become apparent that there is something else I draw my energy from, and that thing is unfortunately, you."

Starting, Sora sat up, pulling away from Riku's now limp grasp as he straightened up. Riku continued, talking faster, becoming less eloquent as he slipped into a near panic. "I expect that you understand the consequences of this, and realize that it would be safer for you if you were to distance yourself from me completely. You saw today what could happen, if I'm kept from this house for too long, I can only draw energy from you and I can't control how much energy I take away. I don't want to hurt you, so I think that if I were to stay in this house or on the property for the rest of my life you could go ahead and live however you wanted. Without you, I would most likely be able to take care of myself, possibly leave the house for two or three hours at a time without too-painful costs-"

Sora silenced him with a gentle finger to his lips and Riku heaved a sigh against the fingertip, glancing over at Sora who had up to this point just been watching him ramble. But now the younger's eyebrows were furrowed thoughtfully. "So…what you're saying is that if I was with you all the time, we could leave the house for longer than just a few hours?"

Frowning, Riku grabbed Sora's silencing hand in his own, shaking his head fondly despite his distress. "Sora, I think you missed the point of this conversation. It's dangerous for your health for you to be around me. Even inside this house, I know it provides most of my energy but I'm still pulling some from you. As long as you're near me, you won't be able to live to your fullest."

"But where else would you get your energy?"

"She, that witch said that I could…follow her example. Steal energy from strangers." Riku frowned as he watched Sora's expression darken. He leaned over, staring at his shoes as he quietly murmured. "I would do it, if it meant keeping you safe."

Sora stared at him for a second and then suddenly punched Riku in the shoulder. "You can be so stupid sometimes!" Sora leaned down so that he could see Riku's face, a rebuking pout touching his lips when he met Riku's shocked gaze. "Would you really just fall into her trap that easily?"

"I would be doing it for you-"

"No you wouldn't! It'd be selfish because that's not what I'd want. I don't care, Riku." Sora shook his head, lifting Riku's chin. "I don't care if you need my energy to live. In fact I'm happy." Smiling a little, Sora chuckled weakly. "I love you. I don't care if I'm tired a lot or anything. I can handle it. But I can't live my life to its fullest unless you're there with me, so don't think you can just get rid of me because of something like that. Besides, between the two of us, and with everyone we know, I'm sure we could find some way for you to get energy without having to hurt innocent people, right?"

Riku chuckled weakly, his shoulders trembling as he hung his head to let his hair cover his face and hide his expression. Frowning worriedly, Sora was about to lean in when Riku suddenly lurched forward and pulled him to his chest, clutching onto the small body. Sora squeaked with surprise then relaxed, his expression softening when he realized that Riku was silently crying. Reaching up, Sora brushed the tears away before he tilted his head up and kissed Riku gently. Riku only clutch onto him tighter and returned the kiss as well as he could, his relief and appreciation tangible as he held Sora close.

From the doorway parlor, Axel could only shake his head, turning away to give the two the privacy they needed as Riku dealt with his overflowing emotions. He had gone to investigate when he and Roxas had heard Sora's raised voice but Axel could see that the older Strife kid was handling things well. He couldn't help but listen into the conversation though; the whole thing kind of sucked for Riku. He'd have to ask Demyx and the others about the possibility of getting Riku another energy source. But in the mean time, he fumbled inside his coat pocket for his cigarettes and his lighter, sitting back down at the dining room table with Roxas as he put the unlit cigarette between his lips.

Roxas scowled at the sight but ignored it in favor of concern for his brother. "Are they okay?"

"Yeah, they're just working some issues out…" Axel flicked his lighter open and closed. "I guess I should get going though, leave you and the lovebirds to relax." Standing up, he ruffled Roxas's hair. "I'm glad you made it out safe, I'll call you soon though, okay? We can plan to hang out sometime."

He turned to leave the house when Roxas reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt. "Wait. Don't go." When Axel turned back to look at him, Roxas frowned, unsure of what to say before he found his ground again. "I've still got your coat upstairs. If you hang around I can go get it for you."

Axel smiled, the expression causing Roxas's tight grip to loosen. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to stay a few more minutes. I'll meet you out on the porch, alright?"

Roxas nodded, relief washing through him as he finally let go of Axel's shirt, watching for a minute as the thin red-head walked toward the door before getting up himself and heading to his room. The coat was lying on his bed where he had placed it before going to take a shower. Roxas couldn't help but smile as he picked it up, running his fingers along the warm, black leather. He really was starting to fall hard for Axel. The young man lived in an entirely different world though. Roxas's brows furrowed; Axel was almost graduating college, he lived in an apartment far away from his parents, he was a full-fledged adult. But Roxas himself…Roxas sighed as he looked down at his hands, next to Axel's they looked like a little kid's hands or something. But still, he really liked Axel, and if Axel actually was interested in him, then maybe there was actually a chance? If he actually tried to respond to Axel's advances, could things actually go beyond idiotic flirting and awkward, tense moments? Either way, it was beginning to take too much effort to pretend that Axel's advances weren't affecting him. Especially after that rescue; he was doomed to be in love with the red-head. Shaking himself out of his thoughts when he realized that he was spending too much time in his room, Roxas pulled Axel's coat into his arms, hugging it close to his body as he hurried back downstairs.

When he got out to the porch, he found that Axel leaning over the railing, halfway done with his cigarette, the lazy autumn air filled with the scent of smoke. Coughing lightly, Roxas slung Axel's coat onto the rail beside the man then hopped up to sit on top of it. "You should stop smoking."

Chuckling low, Axel blew out a smoke ring. "I know. Reno's been telling me that for years. Hasn't stopped me yet though, it's addicting, you know?"

Roxas paused then smiled a little as a thought hit him. "Hey, Axel."

"Hm?"

"If you stop smoking for a week, I'll go out with you for dinner and a movie."

Axel choked on the bit of smoke he had just pulled into his mouth, coughing it back out. "Wait, what did you just say?"

"You heard me. If you don't smoke for an entire week, that's seven whole days, I will willingly go with you to wherever you want to eat and then go see a movie."

Nearly purring, Axel moved over, pulling his cigarette out of his mouth and trapping Roxas on the porch railing as he put his hands on either side of the teen. "Any reason for this particular kindness?"

"What, I can't be worried about your health?"

"Oh, I've got no problem with that," Axel smirked, "But that does sound damn close to a date to me. You had better explain yourself before I start assuming things."

Roxas swallowed, his face turning red as he clutched onto the rail, resisting the urge to shove Axel away and run for his chastity. It was a hard defensive mechanism to resist, and the only thing that stopped him was the thought that maybe Axel had indeed finally worn him down. "Well…" he murmured, Axel close enough to hear him, his cheeks coloring as he stumbled over his words a little. All of his senses had suddenly amplified as soon as Axel had leaned in, and Roxas was noticing everything from the way the tattoos under Axel's eyes shifted as he smirked to the smell of the cigarette smoke curling around them as it rested between two of Axel's fingers beside them. "After that rescue, I think you can assume whatever you want."

"So damn cute." Axel's low chuckle sent a shiver down Roxas's back and he closed his eyes as Axel leaned forward, too wrapped up in Axel's charm to be offended by the description. The touch of their lips was tentative, cautious on Axel's side and inexperienced on Roxas's, but when Axel pulled away after a moment, Roxas was still stunned.

Laughing quietly, Axel leaned their foreheads together, running his hand through Roxas's hair, the blond strands still damp from his earlier shower. "We'll have more time in a week to get you used to that. Shit-!" He cursed as he suddenly felt his fingers burning, the cigarette having smoldered down to its bottom, then threw it down onto the porch and stomped it out with his boot.

His shout had snapped Roxas out of his daze and the blond teen scowled at the black mark the cigarette left on the porch wood. "Axel, you idiot! You see, this is why you shouldn't frickin' smoke, it damages other people's property! You had better sand that out because Leon is so going to give me the job when he hears you did it."

"Don't worry, Roxy, I'll take care of it. But just so you won't have to wear down your precious little hands." He smirked as he saw Roxas almost visibly bristle. Kissing Roxas was fun, but somehow irritating his little blond was nearly as good. Not quite though. Bending down, Axel pecked Roxas on the lips, straightening back up even before Roxas had realized what had happened.

When he did though, Roxas's angry flush darkened and he took a half-hearted swing at Axel's stomach. "Why are you still such a damn pervert?!"

"Aw, only for you though." Axel ruffled Roxas's hair again, fluffing up the damp spikes.

Roxas sighed, his blue eyes falling to the ground with muffled embarrassment. He glanced out passed the porch and into the court, wanting to make sure that none of their neighbors were looking. He did not need any of them telling Cloud or Leon that they were kissing. Lucky though, no one seemed to be outside at the moment. His eyes did stop however, on the horizon, on a black spot. Frowning, Roxas leaned into Axel's side, watching it for a moment before his eyes narrowed. "That's weird."

"What is?"

"That bird. It's flying really straight."

Axel followed Roxas's gaze, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of the bird too. It wasn't until a crow's or raven's caw hit his ears that he grabbed Roxas's sleeve and dragged him inside the house, locking the door behind him. Sora had stood up at the sound of the door slamming, his eyes wide and confused as Axel rushed passed him to snap the curtains closed, throwing the room into darkness. There was a pause before a light clicked on, Sora standing by the switch. "Axel, what are you doing?"

"There's a raven outside."

From the couch, Riku started then shakily stood up. "Do we have anything to defend ourselves?"

Axel frowned, running a hand through his spikes. "Man, I should have grabbed some stuff from my car before coming inside." Scowling, Axel leaned up against the window, taking a breath before peeking outside the window, cursing when he saw the raven perched on the railing Roxas had just been sitting on, its eyes locked onto him. Covering the window quickly, Axel took a deep breath to collect his thoughts. "Do you have any iron, salt, anything that we've given you over the years?"

Sora frowned. "I'll check the upstairs and get Cloud and Leon."

As his older brother dashed upstairs, Roxas turned to Axel, "I can check the kitchen for enough salt for whatever you want to do with it."

Letting out a sigh, Riku turned his gaze to Axel as well. "Look for iron as well as you can. I will check the basement to see if there are any iron tools, Leon has been working down there often lately." Both of them raised their heads as a sudden chill fell over the house, literally falling like a sheet over them. It was then that Axel heard a sort of scratching coming from the windows, as if something was scraping against all of them at once.

Riku's head had jerked up in the direction of the stairs not one second before the sudden crash of glass echoed from above followed by Sora's shriek. "Riku!" Riku was up the stairs in an instant, his feet pounding against the floorboards, not even pausing to care if Axel was behind him. When he got upstairs into his and Sora's room, he found Sora clutching his chest by the door, his blue eyes wide as he pointed at the window. "R-Riku, the window!"

Riku's eyes flashed to the window and he saw what he originally thought was a spike poking through. One second glance though, he realized it was actually connected to a larger branch; it was a thorn. He ran to the window, his aqua eyes widening. The entire yard was full of black thorn bushes.

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