Disclaimer: I do not own Ramen Noodles, Iosys, Child's Play, Okami, Death Note or any other real life object/product that I've mentioned in here.
"AH!" I squeezed his arm with both my hands as I felt metal pressing against my back.
He tightened his grip on my shoulder in an attempt to crush the veins running within my skin. Trying to equal out what he was doing, I tried digging my fingers into his arm like a pair of claws. This didn't do much by the way the leather was shielding him and preventing me from doing any real damage. He was the one on top.
What just happened? I was still confused. There was no explanation told, only me being jumped and pinned. I didn't know what was going on nor what he was trying to do. Then again, maybe I did. Hadn't gotten any kicks the past month or so? Needed to release some of what's been kept up inside of him? Or maybe he was tired of me getting away with "happily ever after?" He needed some action too I suppose. Whatever! I just didn't expect him to revert back to this stage of the game so soon.
"Glad to catch you at a good time, Rock Ass" a glove-covered hand gently cupped my chin.
`~*~*~*`
Roxas. Roooooxaaaaaas!
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" I screamed like the world was ending. I ran with my arms flailing in the air. Lightning flashed in the windows I passed by while thunder rung throughout the room. Unfortunately neither could penetrate my high powered cry. I had somehow ended up in an incredibly dark, haunted mansion deal. Web-covered furniture was everywhere along with creepy figures positioned here and there. However the most important thing that was bothering me besides the scenery that made me want to shit myself, was the eerie voice had been calling my name since I had dropped in.
Roxas. Oh Roxaaaaas!
"NO!" I darted for a door. Slamming myself inside I found it to be a closet much to my dismay. I was cornered now. Whoever was calling my name was going to be on the other side in a matter of seconds. At the time I didn't have an idea who but by the time all of it was over I wasn't surprised.
Roxas, you can't hide from me.
"Don't make me go Ramen Noodle Power on your ass!" I yelled out into the darkness. That had to have been the most stupidest line I had ever said in my entire life. From my lips or from my mind, it was incredibly idiotic. Even Sora wouldn't go so far as to say something like that.
"Really?" the door swung open, "I'd like to see you try!"
"Axel!"
He smirked like he had just won some type of game. All he wore were his pants, boots, and the hood of his jacket around his neck, leaving his chest bare of his signature trademark. When he flashed his teeth, a pare of fangs stood out from the rest. Oh shit.
"Cucumber-flavored beer?" I held up a glass mug of a green liquid that appeared out of NOWHERE.
"Gross! Put that shit away!" he hissed, slapping it out of my hand. The mug shattered into dust the minute he touched it, making me draw my hand away for the fear that I'd end up the same. "Now then, where were we?" he stepped into the doorway. I fell to the floor but that didn't stop me from scooting into the darkness.
"Roxaaaaas!" he groaned.
"What do you want from me!?"
"Isn't it obvious?" he tilted his head and bared his teeth again, "I want your blood."
"How about some red Kool-aid? Or better yet get the frigging Kool-aid guy in here! OH YEEEAAAAAAH!" I called out nervously. He raised an eyebrow in his own special edition look of "srsly" before getting down to his knees and crawling towards me.
"No! NO! NO! NOOOOOO!" I squeezed my body inwards in an attempt to become smaller. He just kept getting closer and closer. I wanted out! Out of the corridor and into the open! Why did he have to be the one blocking the exit!? Why?
"I've been waiting for this" he gathered me in his arms, stroking my shoulder. "Why does it have to be me? Why not anybody else?" I trembled as I gazed up to him. "Like you really have to ask?" he tilted his head again. Holding me in one of his arms, he directed my attention to his shoulder with the other.
A dark mark was planted within his skin.
"Wha?" I shook some more at the motion.
"You've already gotten me," he cupped my chin to avert my face toward his, "Don't you think I should return the favor?"
Oh hell.
One arm went around my waist with his other hand grasping both my shoulder and shirt into holding them down. My neck was exposed. Drawing me close, he opened his lips and closed his eyes. I shut mine as well, bracing myself for the pain that would commence the moment he bit me.
`~*~*~*`
"AAAAAH!" I held the sheets as I sat up in my bed.
Cold sweat was beading down my face and back, chilling me all over. The near pitch black of the room did nothing to comfort the fact that I had just woken up from a nightmare. All that really did the was moonlight streaming in from my window.
"Dammit! That did not go as I had planned!" I clutched the sheets. Reaching for the book that I had left open on my lap, I scanned the page I had stopped it on. Angrily I skimmed through the words until my anger boiled over.
"Piece of junk!" I threw the literature to the ground in a fit of rage. So much for learning how to lucid dream.
Still upset, I shoved myself back into the bed and laid on my side. As I did so I caught sight of the mark that was on my arm. The burn he had made with the lighter. What I had marked on me for the rest of my life. Memories of how he dragged me into the bathroom and stared at it in sadistic enjoyment came to my mind. Odd how I hadn't thought about it a whole lot and now that I did it fueled my anger. After all that had happened after the burn, the fight, the break. Everything seemed to come back to remind me of why I didn't like the guy in the first place and why I shouldn't be changing my feelings now.
"I hate you, Axel" I nuzzled into the pillow and closed my eyes.
School started up about three days after the rain. Things fell back into a normal pace with homework and hanging out with friends. The Order also came back to action with a less "depressed" Axel but they still weren't doing much. The redhead would seem happy at times but when I came around he appeared like he was ready to vomit. Yeah, that's how you treat a guy after you were "welcomed" into his house. Right. Students had felt comfortable with the fact that they weren't being bullied by them but now that Axel was still acting down, they had more confidence in walking the halls and even strutting in their territory. Demyx still had no idea what was wrong with Axel. Usually after the storm he gets all uppity again but he was just acting weird now. He felt he needed some real therapy.
The day started out pretty normal with all my classes going smooth but earlier, before school started, I had found a note in my locker.
"I want to meet you during fourth period near the second floor lockers"
Seemed like a normal note though I had no idea if it was a mistake or not. Just thought 'might as well check' and went through with whoever wanted to meet me.
Bad idea.
"Ngh! What do you guys want?" I winced at the pressure Marluxia was putting on me.
"What? We don't warrant a hello, Rock Ass?" Zexion stepped closer to me. I brushed his hand off my face then focused in on the both of them. It had been a long time since they had last spoken to me and me to them. Ever since the fight ended it was always Axel, Axel, Axel, or Demyx, Demyx, Demyx. Never really the Graceful Assassin or Cloaked Schemer. Didn't take me long to get settled back into the old ways.
"No. After all that you've guys have done, not really" I spat.
"Hmph, I suspected as much" the Assassin chuckled. He let go of me when he knew that I was cornered, giving me some relief so that I could rub my shoulder. "Why aren't you guys with your boss? Or did you lose him while he went skipping?" I sneered. "Nothing like that," Zexion crossed his arms, "but he does have to do with why you're here."
"What're you talking about?" I rolled my shoulder, trying to relieve the pain.
"There's no doubt that you've noticed how Axel's been acting" Marluxia planted his hand next to my head on the locker behind me so that I wouldn't escape to the left. "Yeah, he's been a little different lately. So what?" I raised an eyebrow.
"It's no secret that Axel has acted this way before but usually during the rainy days and possibly once when it wasn't," the grape head cupped his own chin and covered his lips in thought, "But his recent behavior didn't start until Friday. The fight Friday. At the end of it," he glanced back to me.
"And your conclusion is smart ass?" I put my hands out to the side in question.
"Simple; it's your fault"
"My fault?!" I came close to shouting.
"Ever since that encounter, he's been swinging in and out of different moods. Even with Demyx back on our side and playing with that little, what was it called?" Marluxia turned to Zexion. The emo-looking kid drew out his book from his jacket and flipped through some pages, "He said it was sugar glider," he announced with his finger on the page. "Right, even with the sugar glider he still wasn't quite what he used to be."
"And while we're on the topic, that was the most absurd singing and dancing I have ever seen" Zexion sheathed the book back into his jacket and stuck his nose up in the air. "What the hell was that shit anyway?" Marluxia looked to me cunningly. I blushed at the fact that my critics were coming in with some pretty horrid reviews. If the SOS Brigade caught word of what they were saying, they'd be in some deep shit themselves with the leader.
"Can we just get back to what you were talking about. Okay, so it's apparently 'my fault' that Axel's acting this way" I tried to get back on topic. Hearing them say it only made it more true. It wasn't until after the fight that Axel suddenly changed and things became different. Perhaps I was the reason for his awkwardness. "Maybe what I said about my mother had to do with it" I accidentally spoke aloud.
"Those were my thoughts as well but he didn't mention anything about it so I can't be quite sure" the Schemer turned away with his speculative stance, "I've kept my tabs on this guy but I can't quite figure him out. I'm not even halfway."
"You're as freaky as hell" I turned my head to the side. It was weird enough the guy kept a book in his jacket of lord knows what but keeping up to date with Axel? Now that was just creepy. He might as well have been a stalker, a pervert, or both.
He turned around swiftly and the loud smacking sound of a book hitting my face echoed in the hallway.
"Dammit to hell!" I held my cheek when my collar suddenly pulled upward and the lockers came up against my back again. "Now listen!" Zexion stepped up to me, "I'm not taking anymore of your shit so I'll cut straight to the chase. You're going to talk to Axel. Understand!?"
"Talk to him?" I winced. He let go of my collar as he drew back, "We haven't gotten at anybody in a long time and we know Axel's probably edging to do something but just doesn't know what."
"It's time Axel got whatever is on his chest off" Marluxia crossed his arms as he peered down to me.
"So you guys want me to talk to him about whatever?" I said it word for word to see if I was getting what they were saying. They nodded. "Okay, but why me? Why not either of you or Demyx for that matter?" I glared from one to the other. Though I had been meaning to talk to the guy, they could've done it easily couldn't they? I mean, they were almost always around Axel. Why couldn't they do it?
"We're not suited for the task. Not like this one which may get somewhat personal" Marluxia sighed but a smirk growing on his face. Zexion covered his lips to smother a smile when the realization of what they said finally sunk in.
"Oh you guys are asses. What? You think Axel's the same way?"
"Not him, only you" Zexion turned away, trying to control a laugh.
"Ugh shut up!" I put my arm out to the side, "And what am I supposed to get out of it? How do you know I'll actually do it? And how the hell am I supposed to find him should I do it?" I shot out questions that I needed answers to though the first I knew what.
"How about getting information that you possibly want? Surely his character has been bothering you in some way?" the Schemer strutted around us. "And you wouldn't want something bad to happen to your cousin or say, Namine, should you not, would you?" the pink-haired member raised a curious eyebrow. My heart took a sudden decrease in beats. It was bad enough what they did the last time but now they were bringing Namine into this? Somehow I could see why they would; Namine and I have been seen around each other a couple of times during the school day. A tiny rumor was going around saying that we were possibly dating but nobody knew if it was true. Hell, I didn't know it was true but chances are we weren't. I still hadn't decided.
"You sick bastards" I growled.
"And as far as finding him goes," Zexion brought his book out into the light again, "he usually hangs out at the junkyard after school several times a week and he's planning to go there today," he flipped through some of the pages before stopping at one. Pulling out a folded piece of paper, he handed it to me. I took it with a huff and unfolded it. "Those are directions on the mainland to the junkyard. It's a pretty easy route, that is, if your mind can handle it" he explained.
"Shut up" I scanned over the words and pictures of landmarks. Chances are he planned all this out ahead of time. No need for a map if you've been there a bunch of times which I bet those guys had.
"And this isn't some kind of trap you all set up?" I looked back to them. "No, it's not" Marluxia said plainly.
"How can I believe you?"
"Hm, guess the element of trust doesn't play in here does it?" Zexion put his book away.
"Not one bit"
"Then you'll just have to see for yourself. I guarantee you, Axel will be alone when you get there. Well, not completely" he gave me this evil look that said he couldn't wait to see what I'd find out. That bothered me.
"Do your job right and things should be back to normal tomorrow. If so, we won't bother you much about the talk the two of you had if we can get the answer from Axel" flower boy nodded in confirmation.
"Whatever" I mumbled under my breath.
"It is your fault so you should be the one to fix things after all" the Cloaked Schemer beamed proudly.
Those guys pissed me off.
`~*~*~*`
"Okay, let's get started" I held my board down with one foot while I drew the directions Zexion had given me out of my pocket.
I got away with not going home with the others when I told them I had to stay after school to take care of some things. As much as I hated lying to them it was for their own good, especially Namine and Sora. I stayed at the school until I made sure that they were gone and Larxene had come to drag Namine into her car. Damn that woman was brutal! Anyways, as soon as I made sure they were gone, I broke out my board and escaped. Crossed the bridge to the mainland so all there was was to get to where Axel was supposedly located. I hadn't seen Marluxia or Zexion leave the school which was a little weird. Same thing with Demyx but I didn't have much of a clue so left it at that.
" 'Go straight down the road until you come to the four-way intersection. Go to the right' " I read aloud the directions. It wasn't hard to find the intersection and I did as it said. " 'Keep going forward until you hit the next intersection. Take it to the left' " I glanced at both the note and the road so that I knew what was up ahead. This was going to take a while.
The Schemer's directions led me around all sorts of places and landmarks that almost made me think I was running in circles if not taking the long way to the place. Came to a statue of a woman with her hands above her heart. Stopped by an old town candy shop. Passed by two sitting fountains. Then there were the shops that we had passed by on break and where I had almost been run down. I shuddered not just at the memory but at the fact that I hadn't realized how huge the mainland was. It made the other two islands seem so small despite their decent sizes. First island held the elementary, middle, and high schools plus some stores. Second island held a good size of the population in the residential district. But the mainland...damn it to hell. I must've fucking fell asleep on the train so I had missed most of it.
As I made my way supposedly closer I started thinking. When I got there, would I get the answers that I wanted? About the guys in the cars who were trying to kill me? About why he had come and saved me every time they came around? Why he had been acting so strange? Who he was looking for the night of the storm? About him? About his life? What would I get?
"Axel, please tell me everything you know" I mumbled to myself as I flipped my board up into my hand. The ground under me had become dirt a long time ago along with the air shifting from sea water, to nothing, and then to something putrid. The sky had become duller if not grayer when I looked up. It was if it was giving me all the hints of an ominous place I should stay away from. Up ahead, mounds of large items were held back behind a silver barrier.
The gate.
"Guess this is it" I peered up to the mounds when I had reached the gate. From where I was standing I could see a mountain of rust. Washing machines piled on top of couches and chairs. Benches looking like they had large bites taken out of them and torn playground supplies in another mountain of trash.
"Sorry buddy" I set my board against the metal barrier. Using the chains that were on the ground in front of the "door" (I could only guess Axel had done it), I wrapped them around my board and through the holes in the gate before tightening it in a secure and safe fashion. No way I was letting anybody steal my board. That thing cost a shitload of money and I've had it for years at that.
"Here I go" I took a deep breath as I opened the gate and stepped in.
Terrifying.
The place was absolutely terrifying.
For a junkyard that held nothing but trash, it did have a dark feel to it as I went along the path. Everything appeared decayed, just the reason why people would throw the stuff out. But...it looked almost disastrous. Like apocalyptic. As if monsters had came through the place and torn apart everything, the place looked bad. Broken toys lay scattered here and there, especially those fucking dolls with the freaky eyes that looked like they were possessed. Scared the shit out of me so much that I ran past them and peeked back to make sure they weren't following me. Stay away from me Chucky!
The smell of gas was practically everywhere with burn marks occasionally on the ground. Must've been the places where Axel tested whatever fire projects he did. If the whole place smelled like kerosene, he should be thanking his lucky stars and whatever guardian angel who was drunk enough to protect him cause the whole place should've blown up twice with each "project!"
"Where is he?" I asked myself as I passed by two enormous robotic looking owls. Each one had a sort of "top hat" along with canes, gears, and some type of clock writing on them. By that time I felt like I had stepped into a completely different world.
"If I don't find him in ten minutes-" I clutched my fist, "I'm heading home!" I kicked a bucket in one of the piles. I had been looking for nearly half an hour and by it took me about twenty minutes to get to the place, I needed to get home before it got dark and I ended up stranded there. Forget Axel. I'll talk to him later.
A sudden shuddering sound from behind made me jump. At first I thought it was him, making me prepared to turn back around and yell at him for making me search for him. But when I did, all I saw was the pile that held the bucket wedged in between come sliding down onto the path in a loud crash. Damage was at a minimum really since the path was only slightly blocked. It was all junk! I didn't give a damn.
Until I heard a jingle.
Jingling.
Jingling, and the sound of something trotting against the ground. Fast.
I got into a "prepare to run" stance as I faced the rest of the path ahead of me. Whatever it was was obviously coming from where I was heading. By the way it was trotting, it couldn't have been Axel. No. Too many feet. Maybe he wasn't alone if it was him? Maybe the others were with him after all? Or maybe it really wasn't him and instead whoever owned the place or worked there? Coming to check out the damage.
As much as I wanted to hide, I couldn't. Not much room and I'd stick out like a sore thumb with my bright uniform against rusting, decaying trash. So all I could do was stand there in shock until I saw what it was.
The trotting came closer.
And closer.
A bark.
"AAAAAAAH!"
I felt my body drop to the ground with four pressure points forming on my body. At my feet, something was pulling on my pant leg with great force as if trying to yank them off. My eyes quickly focused into what was on top of me only to find a pair of dark brown eyes narrowing back at me. A hot breath that smelled of bacon filled my face. Low inhuman growling vibrated in my ears with a line of loud barks every few seconds.
A dog.
Two of them actually.
The one on top of me got closer to my face and started barking at me so much it's saliva landed on my cheeks. Oh fuck it was going to kill me!
"Help! Somebody help!" I turned my head to the side and screamed as loud as I could, not sure if anybody would hear me over the barking. I should've known. Should've known not to go along with Marluxia and Zexion. Never done what they had asked me to. It was a trap. A dirty trap. To get rid of me.
Damn them to hell!
A whistle.
The barking stopped.
"Huh?" tears had moistened the corners of my eyes.
Another round of whistling with two long ones in between.
"Prometheus! Ramsey!"
I recognized the voice as his and no one else's.
The dog on top of me lifted it's head and turned back to where the voice and footsteps were coming from. When it did so, I got a chance to get a better look at the canine. It was covered in black fur except for it's paws, inside of the ears, mouth, "eyebrows," and the spot on each leg. A muscular build was holding it up and me down. It's ears were up in alert with an unnatural tail wagging for whoever was coming. A spiked collar with a tag was around it's neck.
The footsteps stopped a few feet away with both dogs looking toward him.
"Axel?" I tried to get a peek at him, but the dog was in the way.
"Prometheus! Siiiiiiit" he directed. The dog that had my leg, Prometheus, sat down obediently. I thought he was calming them down at first when he suddenly-
"FERRIS WHEEL!"
Prometheus went mad at that point, barking and dodging to the side all around me. "Axel!" I tried to get a look at him again but Prometheus was getting in the way over and over again. "AXEL!" I tried to at least get his attention.
"Ramsey! KILL!"
Everything around me except the dog on top of me went silent. Kill. Kill? As in me? Why? Why would he command something like that? Did he hate me so much? Want me gone for good when he couldn't do it himself? Why? Just why? What was going on in his head?
The dog opened his jaw as wide as he could. With a thrust of his head his teeth darted toward my exposed neck. I shut my eyes.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
I can't say I was prepared for what happened next. Wasn't prepared for the bite at all. Yet it didn't come. It never did. When I peeked an eye open, the brown eye was looking back at me. Jaw was still opened with breath all around my neck as well as teeth. I trembled as I stared at it but it snarled without fear. Hearing it's threat, I diverted away nervously.
"Good boys!" Axel laughed as he ran around to the side. I finally saw him come into view as he threw something from his hands. The dog on top jumped off me and jumped again to catch something in it's mouth. The other dog did the same, getting it's reward for a "good job."
"Huh?" I slowly sat up.
"Well, look what the cat coughed up" the redhead peered down at me. An unbelievable rage shot through me when he was finally close enough to me. A joke. Some sick joke! A piece of shit!
"You bastard!" I hissed with clenched teeth.
"Don't get pissy with me. That's what they're trained to do" he pet one of them when it walked over. I got up to my feet and dusted off furiously. Trained to do it or not, that was still a jackass move. I came here to talk and he goes and does that! Piece of shit!
"I'm going home!" I turned heel to leave when Axel grabbed the back of my shirt.
"What!?" I spun around fast enough so that he'd let go. "What? Not going to stay and do whatever it was you were going to do?" he tilted his head questioningly. "Hell no! Not after what just happened! Do it some other time!" I looked back at him as I got back on the move again. He snapped a couple of times which led to one of the dogs getting in front of me and holding it's ground. It snarled angrily and growled loudly as a sign for me to go no further.
"Oops! Looks like you don't really have a choice unless you want to take on Prometheus" Axel said in his sarcastic tone. This guy didn't seem to have changed at all.
"You're such a bastard" I glared back at him.
"Oh well! Can't all be nice guys!" he shrugged playfully, "Now haul your ass this way," he turned around and waved his hand for me to follow. The other dog trailed after him happily while I did so reluctantly, Prometheus up close behind me should I turn to run.
We went along wordlessly pretty much the whole way. Both of us probably wanted to talk wherever he was leading for a more "comfortable" setting. Yeah whatever would be comfortable in his eyes. The dogs came around next to me and relentlessly sniffed and bit at me like they were deciding if I was food before tasting. Luckily they were just nipping but their teeth still hurt.
"Ouch!" I drew my leg away from one of them. Axel didn't look back so I assumed he didn't care what they were doing to me. Jackass. But that's when something clicked in my mind that failed to earlier. Looking down to one of the dogs, a red tag hung from it's collar. Though far away I still caught what was written on it.
Ramsey.
Well, not just a person...
...sey!
"Ramsey" I mumbled to myself. The dog's ear twitched my way at the sound of it's name. "So that's who he was" I nodded to myself. "What're you mumbling about? Talking to yourself, crazy?" Axel looked back at me. "Nothing" I shook my head. He kept staring at me for a while longer before looking back toward the road, "Weird guy."
About five minutes later we had ended up in front of some type of shack of junk. It was literally made out of junk. Metal and wood slabs covered the roof with just as much making up the walls. Parts of playground equipment were also melded in with the other two here and there. All sorts of things were sticking out of it like some sort of defense line. Nonetheless, it looked big and kind of stable. But still...
"What a piece of crap"
"Shut up and lets go" he grabbed onto the doorknob (of the only normal thing that was the door) and pushed in. Ramsey and Prometheus ran in after him while I uncomfortably followed. The inside was as freaky as the outside. Just a long corridor with all sorts of things from the outside that were sticking out also sticking in. Our feet clanked against the steel floor covered in holes. At the end of the tunnel some light shone through along with the sounds of voices that sound like they were from a T.V.
"Yo" he pointed up once we entered. I wasn't sure how to take that, but okay. The room wasn't as trashy as everything else since it was built with even more stable looking substance. Two rolly chairs were positioned around the room with a pink stool halfway between them. A grander looking seat was positioned at the back wall on a platform in front of a hammock which I assumed were his. Up on a ledge in the corner a mini T.V. sat turned on. In another corner, a fully functional bottle cooler. As for the rest of the room, just dotted with knick knacks and "bad boy" stuff.
"Take a seat if you can" he opened the cooler and took out two bottles of something.
"'Kay" I stepped to the side nervously toward one of the rolly chairs. Before I could do anything, one of the dogs jumped into the seat. I looked back to the other one only to find the twin doing the same to the other one. I saw why he said "if you can."
"Ha! You get the pansy seat!" he pointed to the pink with one of the bottles. "Urrrrgh!" I reluctantly plopped my ass down on the stool as he handed a drink to me.
Bubble Man.
"I'm not a little kid you know?" I tried to keep my vein from bursting as he unscrewed his bottle of tonic. "Well you sure do act like one" he picked the remote from off the floor. T.V. turned off, leaving us in silence.
"So," he screwed the cap back on after he had taken a swig of it, "What brings your sorry ass here?"
I twitched, "I wanted to talk to you"
"About what?"
"About...everything"
"Everything...?"
"About everything that's happened since the fight at the hangar. All that's been going on around us. What's been going on with you" I gestured to him. He brought his legs over one arm of the chair while he laid his back against the other one, "Fire away."
"Oh! Okay!" I wasn't expecting that straight of an answer from him. Guess he wanted to talk too was what I expected. "Um, okay. Uh...how's...your shoulder?"
"What?"
"You know...where I bit you? How is it?" I started out with a sheepish smile. I wasn't even thinking about that but since I mentioned the fight and all...
He switched hands with the bottle and slipped his free hand into his jacket, feeling around it. "It's fine. Got a bruise from your big mouth but it's okay so far" he brought his hand back out. "Oh! Uh, guess that's good" I chuckled nervously. It was just awkward being there with him.
"So, that's who you were looking for when you spent the night over at my house?" I nodded toward one of the dogs.
"That's Prometheus. The other one is Ramsey" he pointed to the chair on my left. "Oh! Right!" I nodded shakily. "And if you must know, yes. Ramsey is the one I was looking for that night" he crossed his arms. "Thought so" I hid a smile as I looked to the sleeping dog. Better that way than awake and bothering me.
"I can tell already that this conversation is gonna get stupid so I'll lead things from here" he fixed himself in his seat and took another swig of his drink. I brought my knees close since that was all I could really do.
"As far as what happened that night goes like this. Prometheus and Ramsey guard the place while I'm gone but I stop by practically everyday or have Xigbar come by to make sure these guys are well fed," he began, "Storm comes every year; I bring them home with me. Only difference this year was that my car was out of gas so I had to come by here myself. I was told to stay home and allow them to wait out the storm but there was no way in hell I was leaving my champs out here to die."
"They mean a lot to you, don't they?" I glanced to the dogs sleeping in the chairs.
"Hell yes. Anyway, I snuck out and made my way here on foot. Midway here the weather started getting crazy so I sped my pace up. Get past the gates and whistle for them to come but only Prometheus showed up. I searched everywhere for Ramsey but he was a no show. Poor guy got scared and ran away to find some better shelter"
"What? Is this place not sturdy enough to resist a storm?" I examined the ceiling. Course it wasn't. He reached from his chair to one of the walls and knocked on it with the back of his hand. "Place is good for some storms but can shake a bunch against high winds. Otherwise it'll stay up. I personally made sure it would" he explained.
'Well that can't be good' I laughed in the back of my mind. "I brought Prometheus back home but went out for Ramsey. I went to hell and back searching every place I thought he would go to keep safe. From here all the way to the island bridges and then finally around the residential district, a.k.a where you live" he gestured to me. "Did you ever find any hints of him while you were out before you ended up in front of my house?" I asked.
"I saw him running toward one of the bridges but lost sight of him when things got foggy," he explained, "So I searched around there as much as I could but didn't find him. Wasn't long after I arrived when I got kidnapped into somebody's house," he stopped and gave me a suspicious look, "and you know the rest from there."
"Yeah" I undid my bottle and drunk some to get rid of the crawly feeling I was getting about that night. Memories of how we had talked came back into my mind along with his "tear" and the blanket laying on me. Oh no...
"So, uh, where'd you find him after you left?" I wanted to skip over those thoughts.
"He was hiding in a trashcan in an alley on the second island. Took a complete U-turn around me when I got to the residential district. No injuries, just a little shaken. In the end he was glad to see me" he finished with a somewhat proud tone.
"Did you get in trouble when you got back home?"
He raised an eyebrow while flashing a nasty look with his eyes. "Sorry" I lowered my head. "So everything turned out fine" he said and took another sip of his drink.
'Okay, so I got an answer to that' I thought. "How about further than that. Before the storm came?" I asked.
"What're you talking about?"
"Back during break. With all the car chases and stuff like that. What the hell was going on?" I leaned forward, setting my drink in front of the stool. He crossed his arms and gazed up to the ceiling as if he was remembering what had happened. Like he really needed to think! He was there! Better be giving me some fucking answers this time!
"Oh" he brought his head back down. He set his bottle in the cup holder of the chair and fixed his seating so that he was facing me. I could already tell things were going to get tense so it was a good idea for the both of us to brace each other. Fire away Mr. Flurry of Dancing Flames.
"No doubt you've heard the rumors about me?" he asked, "About how my dad's a mafia leader? And Xigbar is my guardian. No shit Demyx told you the truth about all that so I shouldn't be asking you!"
"Yeah, told me a few things" I nodded.
"Good. Then I won't have to go through much" he sat back in the chair and crossed his arms. "Basically...it was a hit."
His words broke in my brain and blasted into my ears so violently I thought I was going deaf. Did he just say what I think it was? "A hit?" I felt my body trembling like a time bomb.
He sighed, "Yeah. Two hit men were put on the duty of having you either greatly injured or dead. The former I suspect they were trying to do since you're only in high school but that third time almost seemed like they were trying to murder you."
I held my arms tightly from hearing what he was saying. Murder? Me? For what!? As far as I knew I had nothing to do with mafia affairs, business, nothing unless knowing Axel was something!
"What did I do?" my voice was shaky. As much as I didn't want him to hear it like that I just couldn't help the fact that I had just realized I was trying to be killed.
"You remember back to your second week at school right?" he tilted his head. "That little 'fun' week you did?" I glared at him, "Yeah I remember."
"That day you brought the knives. You cut my jacket and I went home like that"
"WHAT!?"
He closed his eyes like he was in pain but continued on when he opened them, "It wasn't because of that. But when word of my jacket got out and Asshat called to let the house know I had gotten in a fight, things sort of went into the works."
"Like how?"
"A few of my dad's men started keeping an eye on you. It's not like they've been stalking you home or following you everywhere but they've done some work. It wasn't until the next day that I found out what they had done. I'm sure you heard me on my cellphone" he laid his head on his fist.
"Y-yeah," I sighed, "So what did they do?"
"You should know as much. Four of them followed you to a restaurant and then sort of followed you and Mori after you left. I think you may have seen one of them" he said the last part in a wondering tone. I crossed my arm and thought back to that night in hopes to draw back the memory of what the guy looked like. "OOooh! Yeah I think I saw one of them. Had a dragon bracelet or something around his wrist" I concluded.
"Dragon bracelet? Then that was Ark," he confirmed it for me, "But yeah, that's about all they did until...the next day."
"Next day" I echoed his words. That was the Friday when I jumped off the roof and fought him.
"When I got home from the fight, I passed out right after I had stepped in. Got a doctor to take a look at me while the hit guys were given some orders behind my back"
"What happened after that?"
"At first nothing until weeks after the fight occurred. You were hidden when you were with Demyx and took them a while to find you when you got back in school but they eventually tracked you down. Remember how I said third time a few minutes ago?" he asked.
"Yeah, now that I think of it. That doesn't make sense. Do you mean that they attempted it before and I didn't even know?"
"The cafe" he said simply. "When you pushed me?" I raised an eyebrow. He rolled his eyes, "I overheard some of the guys talking about 'checking' up on somebody and when they say that, it's usually not good. Said he had spiky blond hair and had been with Mori. I suspected it was you and followed them to the cafe."
"What were they doing there? Were they the ones I saw out in the parking lot looking into the restaurant?"
"Correct! They were the ones with the binoculars, trying to get a better look at you to make sure they had a positive identification. Once they did they were about to go into action BUT..."
"That's when you pushed me into the bushes!" my eyes became wide when I came to the conclusion. So that's why he did it! Things were starting to make sense. He pushed me so that they didn't see me. "And the lights that went by the bushes...that was them!"
"Exactly. I made sure that they didn't see you. Plus pushing you brought back some old times that I really needed to feel" he stretched his arms up happily. I gave him my look of "srsly" when I heard that, "You're mean."
"Why thank you"
"Was that the same sort of deal that went on in the shopping district?"
"I went there when I caught word that they were going to try again. Not to mention me and the others wanted to check out the bad ass store they got there" he flicked the sides of his jacket. "I should've known" I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"It's obvious that they don't do their work in broad daylight so I dropped the others off and came back around the time you came out of the restaurant"
"When I went to go feed the cat" I took a sip of my drink.
"Got a soft spot for scraggly animals?"
"Leave me alone!"
He laughed while I fumed in my seat. Look who's talking! He has two dogs guarding the trashiest place on earth! Then there was Samba who he had a fun time with!
"So," he calmed down, "I got there just in time I guess. Brought my chakrams with me should I have to do any damage."
"You did. To their car. Mafia fiends or not, wouldn't you be in deep shit for messing up such an expensive car?!" I twitched some more. He shrugged it off casually as if he didn't care. No duh he didn't! "I don't care. They may be part of my dad's men but that won't stop me from causing shit to happen if they're doing something stupid" he drunk some more of his ginger ale.
"No kidding. So they left me alone after you came. What happened to the cat?"
"Gave it to Ramsey"
"YOU WHAT!?"
"You like kitty Ramsey!" he called out the dog to my left. He lifted his head toward his master and barked happily, wagging it's tail. I buried my face in the palms of my hands at that. What a horrible way to go! I could imagine those two mutts tearing the poor thing apart limb from limb!
"I'm just kidding!" he laughed as he sat back against his chair. I flashed a smug look his way that said I did not like his joke. "I let Sho take care of her. He's a sucker when it comes to taking care of wild animals."
"How so?"
"He works at the zoo, idiot"
"Oh. How about the next night? When they chased me and I fell?"
"Yeah, I was a little late on that one," he scratched the back of his head, "I slept in. Point is, I hopped in my car and got there as fast as I could. Dropped you off at the civilian bridge and sped around to where the vehicle bridge was and blocked them off until they left."
"And speaking of speeding, what the hell was up with what you did to your car?" I asked when what he did came back to my head.
"What do you mean 'what I did to my car?'"
"The compartment?"
"Oh. Yeah that wasn't even my car"
"WHAT!?"
"It was Xigbar's. Guy doesn't even use the thing so, I'll do what I want with it"
"He's gonna be pissed when he sees it. 'Holy shit what happened to my car?!'"
"I had good reason so he doesn't need to get his ass in a wrinkle"
I chuckled a little bit when I thought about him. Guy did look kind of old with the gray hair and all so...ha ha. Axel flashed a confused look my way but waved it off.
"So, um, am I good for now? I haven't had any encounters with them for a while."
He scratched the side of his head in thought then shrugged, "I haven't any run-ins with them lately and no word of any new missions. They already know I don't want you hurt so they have and should be keeping away from you. I don't know who's behind it yet but when I do there's going to be hell to pay."
"It's not your dad?"
"No and I'll keep it at that"
"Hm. So, if they do come around again...you'll protect me?" I hid my face when I could feel blood rushing to my cheeks. That's basically what he was doing and it felt amazing for some reason to know that for sure. I glanced back his way to see him with his head turned to the side, scratching the back of his head, flushing as much as I was.
"Yeah, I'll come and protect you I guess. But since you know all this now I expect you to do some looking out for yourself," he tried to cover up his flushing by pointing at me, "That last time I almost didn't make it. You should start looking after yourself instead waiting for the big boys to come save your ass."
My blush melted away into another round of "srsly." Yep, there was the old Axel again. And while I had my mind on it, "Lastly, there's your mood. What the fuck PMSing chick?"
"Oh lay off! You make it seem like how I feel is such a big deal" he waved a hand around.
"Well it's no lie that you tend to be different when it comes you how you feel"
"Yeah, so? It's not bothering anybody is it?" he slammed his fists down on the arms of the chairs.
"It's bothering me!" I blurted the words out without thinking. He shot up straight in his chair with a look of pure astonishment. When I realized what I had said, I shook my head to dispel it and to keep the blood at the back of my head so my worry wouldn't show. "I mean, it's bothering Demyx too. Maybe even Marluxia and Zexion are a little curious about your attitude. I don't really care about those two but maybe Demyx and I want to know what's been going on with you" I saved myself from flushing again though I could still feel my cheeks getting hot.
"What's going on with me?" he sat back against his chair, setting his cheek on his fist again as he thought.
"Do all your mood swings...have to do with the fight? When I mentioned my mother...?" I tried to bring out the possible answer. That's the way he made it seem though going through such a long "trip" didn't make any sense.
"No, it wasn't that. I told you that already didn't I?" he rubbed his temple.
"I just thought it really was," I shrugged discouraged, "You ended everything when I mentioned her." He sighed and rolled his eyes, "Have you ever considered I was exhausted and that I just dropped things at the same time you mentioned her?" he said it simply as if that was the truth. I wasn't buying it.
"Did...something hap-"
"BE QUIET!" he got to it before I could even finish my question. A pissed look was on his face when he sat up in the chair but he quickly calmed down into his previous position, dragging a hand down his face but stopping at his eyes.
"Sorry" I tried to look away.
"One. Stay out of my privacy. Two. Nothing's going on with me. Three. If you so badly need to know why I stopped the battle," he lifted his hands over his eyes so I could at least catch the glimmer of them, "I guess...I felt a little guilty."
"Guilty?" my head tilted slightly in curiosity. Axel felt guilty? He removed his hand and exhaled as he looked to the side, "Yes. I. Felt. Guilty. Just a tiny bit. I guess what you said made me feel that way. I didn't believe that I had taken-"
"Stole"
"TAKEN something as valuable as that from a dead person and seeing you go through a bunch of shit to get it back sort of made me realize...things" he scratched the back of his head. "Oh" I was flushing again. Damn. That must've been the hint of emotion I had seen in him for the first time. He felt guilty. Or maybe it was the deal that he was feeling rather than what he felt.
"So, you went all depressed mode because of that?" I felt my cheeks becoming warmer.
"I wasn't depressed but that night did run in me so deep both mentally and physically that the fun ran out and I just became plain bored" he explained that like it was easy. My flushing was on the road to being flushed. Bored? He was just bored? Is that even a word anymore? HE WAS FUCKING BORED!?
"Bored" I narrowed my eyes. "I was not up for going around you anymore after that night which took the excitement out of things. Just going around after other people was like a lame game of tag" he waved his hand around.
"So I'm a toy to you?" my eyes were beginning to hurt. It was unbelievable but not impossible for this guy. I could imagine I was that much to him before the fight by the way he enjoyed my pain and sorrow. At least I could see why he called me a "good boy."
"No, just somebody to keep the mood going," he rose from his seat, standing tall before me, "Honestly, I've never taken things so far. Depends on what Mori told you, but I've never tried taking things to levels like those until you came."
Damn, my cheeks were becoming warmer, "Glad I could be your source of inspiration" I tried to be as sarcastic as I could but my cheeks! My cheeks...!
"Stop fucking blushing you faggot!"
Oh yeah. That made me stop.
"Guess that's better than being called a shitheel" I rolled my eyes. In no way was I doing it because of him, at least I didn't think so at the time. Just did it cause...I could!
"What?"
"When you called me that the day you came back..." I wasn't sure how to word it since I was about to share my feelings. Day was getting weird. "It...really hurt. So...could you...? Could you not call me that again?" Axel flashed this sort of confused look when I finished talking which gave me the idea that he was going to do so anyway. Figures. That's just like him. Plus why would he lay off just for something like that?
"Fine"
Ooooh wow. That was quick.
"T-thanks" I tried to keep from showing my blush again. Covering my cheeks wasn't going to help lest I wanted to look like a damsel in distress in front of him if not a blushing bride.
"Whatever," he rolled his eyes, "Are we through here?"
"Uh, I think so" I scratched the back of my head nervously. I assumed we were. I had gotten my information and he had shared his feelings, I did so too much and he thought so too. Guess we really were.
"No more questions you want to pester me about?" he spun a finger in the air. Well if he was going to be like that, might as well. "Your dogs. What are they?" I pointed with both my hands to the sleeping mutts in their chairs. "Doberman pinschers. Packed full of loyalty and brutality to match" he explained like it was something to be proud of. Sure, be proud until they bite somebody and both are put to sleep but I doubted he'd allow that.
"Also before I forget about it, why did you want my mother's anklet in the first place?" I had to know. Profits was always in my mind but if the mafia already made him rich than what would a few more dollars matter unless he was just greedy. He did make me buy him some snacks when he was in detention after all.
"Looked cool. Simple as that. Haven't seen anything like it before" he said it like he really didn't want to tell.
"Course you wouldn't. My mom made it herself"
The redhead turned away from me toward one of the mini posters below the mini ledge in thought. He couldn't have been telling the truth when he said there was nothing going on with him. I really wanted to know but then again, I was to stay out of his privacy. Fine, but chances are it would bite at me again and again as soon as I was reminded.
"Nice"
"Hm?"
"Are we done here now?" he asked more persistently this time. Yeah, I was "boring" things up again. No shit he probably wanted to get rid of me. Plus it was getting late so might as well take my leave.
"Yeah, we're done" I picked up my can and rose up from my seat. The dogs must've sensed me doing that by the way they rose their heads, looking at me intently. Once I was up I took the time to stretch out my back, legs, and arms. Had been sitting for a while so gotta get the kinks out of my joints. Yeesh!
"So yeah" I smiled cheesily, not sure of what to say next. He raised an eyebrow like I was supposed to say something to him but what, I had no idea. I only had a few choice words for him. "Tomorrow!" I turned around toward the door he had left open, doing a quick wave. Saying "see ya tomorrow" just did not feel right in a way. I couldn't forget what this guy had done to me. By the way he spoke, he still didn't sound like he was ready to make peace with me despite his good acts. Just because he gave me a drink didn't mean anything either. Plus, I didn't even know if he was going to show up tomorrow or not. He might as well just skip!
"Bye" I started heading down on the metal when I made a sudden stop.
"Oh, and Axel" I turned back around toward him. Not like I made any progress taking two steps into the corridor; I could still see him. He looked to me as the T.V. was flipped back on.
"Thanks"
I couldn't tell what he was thinking. His blank expressions never surprised me nor gave me definite answers. "You gotta be kidding me" was what I was thinking he was thinking or even "fuck you" which would be a more common response. Yet he kept quiet as he rolled onto his side and glimpsed up to the T.V. At least Ramsey and Prometheus were watching me go.
The rest of the time I used to find my way through all the rubble he had lead me into in the first place. Things went quicker once I remembered where to go, avoiding the split paths we had come upon earlier that lead to even more of the labyrinth that was the dump. As I trekked around, I felt somewhat lighter. I didn't know if it was because I was excited or happy or what, but I just felt like something huge had been lifted off my shoulders. Talking to Axel must've been what I really needed. If he felt the same he'd probably think the same thing about me though he'd never admit it. Now if I just knew how things would be tomorrow; I'd probably be walking on air if he comes up good with Marluxia and Zexion.
"Oh geez I'm hungry. I hope Tifa has dinner ready when I get back" I peeked to the falling sun as I came up to the gate. I didn't have a clue how much time had passed but the way the sky was turning orange...There was always the chance Sora was going to question just what the hell I was doing at "school." I'd have to come up with an excuse on the way back.
"Pizza would be nice" I unchained and picked up my board in the same place I had left it when I came. Seconds before I was going to drop it to the ground, the sound of footsteps came from behind.
"Hm?"
"What a way to leave a guy" Axel came strolling around the mountain of junk with Prometheus and Ramsey by his side like a pair of hell hounds to their master.
"What? Did you want to talk more or something?" I turned back to him as he single-handedly jumped the gate.
"No. I'm here to offer you a ride" he put his hand out to the side as if gesturing to something but I didn't see what. Least not yet...
"A ride?!" I was taken aback a little. Oh gosh things were happening again! Axel was showing some supposed kindness my way and I wasn't sure how to react. Sure enough I wasn't expecting him to say something like that so soon. What was up with this guy?
"Stop blushing!" he rubbed his temples like I was really getting to him. No doubt I was. I didn't even know I had started doing that again! "Don't think much of it," he pointed at me with both index fingers, "I'm not doing this to be nice. I'm doing it in case those goons are out there cause there's a chance they might've tracked you here. That, and the fact that I sure as hell don't feel like going back out should something happen to you if they are out. Simple as that."
Ooooh, he got on my nerves. "You're such a jackass but I guess you do have a point" I turned away from him angrily as I flipped my board up into hand. It had been a while since I went out on my own so it was possible they could've followed me here even if I didn't have any problems. Then there was what Axel said about them acting at night and with the sun going down, that fact only made his deal seem good.
"Fine, I'll go with you" I looked back up to him.
"Grand choice sir" he said it in a tone like he was really wishing I hadn't said yes. I rolled my eyes as he led the way to the left of the gate, Ramsey and Prometheus following as much as they could without running into any obstacles. Somehow when I had first arrived, I had missed the giant shape in the "corner" of the place. A car shape was formed under a dirty brown tarp and covered the vehicle down to the wheels. Axel whipped it off effortlessly to reveal the red sports car that he was usually seen dropped off in. I almost laughed when I saw it, thinking that Xigbar would be sitting in the driver's seat like he was included.
"This?" I walked over to the convertible's back seat door while he rounded to the front seat. At first I thought he was going to unlock it so I wouldn't have to jump the door but instead the trunk popped open a little bit. "I cover it for safekeeping" he mumbled as he rounded to the open compartment.
"But here's the deal. If you're going to ride with me..." he rummaged through whatever was in the trunk. I decided not to look but the contents that were his chakrams fell into the back seats.
"You're riding in the trunk"
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
He gave me the look of a guy not amused by a crazy person. "There's no way in hell I'm going to be seen with you riding with me" he pointed to the empty space he had made for me.
"What about that time when those guys we-"
"That was at night. Get in the trunk"
"NO! Forget it!" I dropped my board on the ground. No way I was going with him now, not if I had to ride like that. What was wrong with me riding in the back? Taint the seats? I could've ducked if it meant so much to him.
"Prometheus," when I heard him say that I turned to see him standing by the gate with his hand on the latch, "ready to play with him boy?" The hound was snarling my way like my presence all of a sudden became a threat to his master. His growling was loud and accompanied with saliva melting from between his teeth. Vicious, just like his master.
"Alright! Alright! I'll get in the motherfucking trunk!" I surrendered my hands into the air as I stepped on one end of my board so that it was partially lifted into the air. "Maybe later, boy. I'll be back in a few minutes" the redhead removed his hand from the latch. The doberman sat back down and returned to a calm state like nothing had happened. Geez...
"Just don't close the trunk all the way. I don't want to die back here" I tossed my board in first before climbing in.
"Like I want you to die either" Axel smiled proudly above me as he grabbed the lid. I slid the rest of my body into the cramped yet contradictorily spacey compartment. "What? Worried about me?" I raised in intimidating eyebrow.
"Tch, no. Cause I don't want to be charged with manslaughter" he brought the darkness down.
`~*~*~*`
The ride in the trunk was pretty much the worst I would experience yet.
Despite the space being unbelievably comfy, his driving was not so. Just like that night, he drove over bumps and it felt like he was speeding all over the place. Only difference was that I wasn't so close to the ground but I could hear the road and cars speeding by. I held the trunk door near closed with one hand, keeping it cracked so that fresh air would seep in and I wouldn't die by my own carbon dioxide. For some weird reasons I could feel it wouldn't be my last ride in the trunk since he was a "mafia boy" but I couldn't tell for sure.
Around ten or fifteen minutes into the ride, the car slowed down. Outside of the crack became shadowed on the left when we came to a stop.
When I heard the driver's door open and close I lifted up the lid slightly to check what was going on.
"This is where you get off" Axel finished opening the door.
"The school?" I lifted myself up, cracking my back as I looked up to the enormous building, "Not exactly the place I'd expect you to drop me off. Especially with your image."
"It was the closest I could get you so don't complain. You can make it back to the other island on your own with no problems at this distance" he pointed to the gates. "Yeah, sure" I lifted one leg out and followed through with the other. I got my board on the ground and checked in the trunk to make sure I hadn't left anything while he watched impatiently.
"You done?"
"Quit complaining. I'm leaving now" I put one foot on my board while I tightly closed the door. "Good, cause I don't want anybody seeing me standing here after hours" he strutted to the driver's seat and got in. He revved up the engine and turned around as if waiting for me to go.
"Axel!"
"What?"
"Thanks again" I smiled uncontrollably. No idea I was doing it but it felt right.
He shook his head furiously and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Whatever, Roxas!"
"Axel!"
"WHAT?!"
"That's the first time you used my name in a long time!" I cupped my hands around my lips to amplify my voice. He glanced back at me with a nasty look, flipping me off.
"Just for today Rock Ass!"
And on that note he put the car into drive and sped away, leaving me coughing in the dust.
Yep, definitely the old Axel.
A/N: Oooh, I got caught up in Higurashi Kai -sweatdrops- Ooh this chapter! It was supposed to be before School Samba! but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting with what was in that chapter. Result: Axel would've been fully calling out "Ramsey" in Billy in the Rain and both that chapter and Samba! would've had some differences. Ramsey was going to be named Billy (not to mention I was about to name the chapter Zetsubou Billy in Rain) but dropped both so Billy was Axel. And the dream for this one was about to be completely random-er but I just kept it short. And Roxas talking about Ramen Noodles and cucumber flavored beer cause: One, I was eating noodles at the time. Two, Iosys is all I'm going to say. -snickers- Points to those who caught the Okami references! The two giant owls were Lechku and Nechku! Next chapter we should be finding out a little bit more about Axel. Until then, thanks for reading and please review!