Waking up the next morning, Lea found himself tangled in the bed with Myde. He sighed as he felt his head begin to throb, protesting at being awake. He groaned softly and tried to disentangle himself from the blonde's body.

"Lea?" Myde asked in a sleepy voice. "What time is it?" He began to stretch and naturally made it so that Lea could move his body on his own. "Did you sleep okay?"

Looking at the clock, Lea felt his heart beat quicken. "Oh crap. It's after eight. We need to get down to breakfast." Lea jumped up out of the bed, clutching his head in pain immediately afterwards.

"Are you alright?" Myde asked, sitting up in the bed.

Shaking his head, Lea sighed. "I'm not feeling so hot right now." He sat down on the edge of the bed, trying to stop his head from throbbing. He raised his hand and felt a bump on his cheek from where Xehanort had slapped him the night before. He winced as he pressed against it. Standing up, he turned around and made his way to his bathroom.

As he passed by Myde, the blonde stopped him. "What happened to your face?" Myde asked in a soft voice. "Did you get hit last night by Isa?"

Do I lie? The redhead nodded his head. "Yeah. He threw a punch at me and I forgot to block it." Well, so much for that. He wandered into the bathroom and saw that his face was extremely swollen. His new markings were bright red with the purple appearing to be extremely vivid, and his eyes were completely bloodshot. Whether this was because of the ink or because of the lack of sleep, Lea was not certain. All he knew was that it hurt to touch his eyelids. He raised a hand to his cheek and saw the slight bump that he thought was a lot worse by the way it was feeling. He ran some water and took some antibacterial soap from the sink, making sure to wash his markings carefully so that they would heal properly. He began to run the water and wash his face gently. When he looked up, he saw Myde standing in the doorway, watching him.

"How does your face feel?"

Taking a hand towel, Lea dabbed his face lightly. "It probably looks a lot worse than it feels. But not by much."

"Are you sorry that you did it?"

Lea shook his head. "Not at all." He lowered the towel and took a look in the mirror. "It's going to take some getting used to, but I really like the way that it looks."

"Me too," Myde said in a soft voice. Lea watched in the mirror as Myde approached him from behind. He leaned back against him, sighing when Myde's arms circled his body. Myde kissed the side of his neck, both of them watching the action in the mirror. "I meant it what I said, Lea. I don't know how I'm going to be able to keep my hands to myself." Lea groaned as Myde continued to kiss his neck, arching his back as the blonde's hands traveled down his chest to the top of his pants. "Do we have time...?" Myde spoke into his ear.

Lea moaned and leaned his head back against Myde's chest. "I don't care..."

"No, Lea. I want you to watch," Myde spoke into his ear. Lea opened his eyes and stared in the mirror as Myde reached down into his pants. He moaned softly as he felt Myde's hand brush against his arousal, keeping his eyes on the mirror. "I don't know why," Myde continued to speak into his ear, "but seeing you like this is making me do things I normally wouldn't do or say."

Lea gasped as he felt Myde's hand circle his arousal, beginning to pump him slowly. He bucked his hips into the blonde's hand, wishing he'd move faster. He groaned when he felt that exact wish happen and continued to stare at the mirror, seeing the two of them panting in time together. He raised his arms and wrapped them around the back of Myde's neck pressing against him, groaning as he felt Myde's own hard arousal pressing against him. "Myde," Lea sighed, watching him.

Knock, knock.

Groaning, Lea bucked into Myde's hand, staring into his aqua-marine eyes. "Keep going, I don't care...They'll go away..." Myde nodded his head and began to move his hand faster, both of them watching each other.

Knock, knock, KNOCK, KNOCK.

"Gah!" Lea groaned as Myde quickly pulled his hand out of Lea's pants. Lea sighed and straightened himself, trying to calm his racing heart down. He walked out of the the bathroom and over to the door. "Who is it?"

"Me, princess. Open up." Lea groaned, leaning his head against the door. He opened the door and let Braig into his room.

"Can I ask what you're doing here?" Lea asked, standing in the room with only his pajama pants on. "Isn't it a little early for you?"

"As if. I've been awake since dawn. Now," he blushed as Myde walked back into the room. "Morning, Myde. Didn't mean to disturb you two."

The blonde smiled and shook his head. "Oh, it's alright. We were just waking up, that's all. What brings you here?"

Lea sat on the bed, looking at the older man. "That's what I was just asking him. So, what's up, old man?"

Braig walked over to Lea and lifted up his chin. Lea tried not to squirm, but having the man this close to him was a bit unnerving. He looked up into Braig's brown eyes and saw flecks of amber there. "What are you doing?" Lea asked in a quiet voice.

Before Braig answered, he began to do magic. Lea looked up and saw a giant orange flower above his head, watching as green light began to emit from the flower. He looked up and felt his face grow hot, almost as if it were healing instantaneously. He watched as the flower disappeared and Braig stepped backwards, letting go of his face.

"How's that feel?" Braig asked, trying not to notice Myde changing in the corner of the room. "I just healed you, kid. That's a cure spell. Well, a curaga spell - advanced magic 101."

Lea lifted a hand to his face and felt the bump that had been their earlier was gone. "Why?" He asked in a shocked voice, not quite sure why Braig decided to help him.

"Why not? I like you, princess. I have a few tattoos myself, and I know what a pain in the ass they can be as they heal. This just...sped up the process a little bit. Your marks aren't fully healed, but they're a lot better than they were a few moments ago."

Lea just sat there, dumbfounded. "That was incredible. Are we going to learn how to do that type of magic?"

"I think that we'll be training you how to use the basic spell. Don't know when. It was the last spell that I was taught." Braig walked over to the door. "Listen, I'll let you two finish up in here. I just wanted to stop by and heal you. See you guys down in the dining hall." Braig opened and shut the door before either of them could say a word.

Looking over at Myde, Lea touched his face. "That was pretty awesome, right? My face feels so much better!"

"It looks better too," Myde said, walking over to where Lea was sitting on the bed. "Now, don't you think you should be getting dressed? We only have about a half hour before we need to be in class."

Nodding, Lea stood up and walked over to his dresser. "I doubt that Braig is going to mind if we take a little bit of extra time at breakfast. Besides, I'm not going to be in class again today." He reached down and grabbed a pair of clean underwear. He grabbed a pair of jeans from another drawer and quickly got dressed.

"You're not going to be in class again?" Myde said in a sad voice. "I wish I didn't have to go to class. I mean, Braig is great and all, but...he kind of intimidates me..."

The redhead laughed. "Myde, he's a good guy. I'm actually surprised at how much I appreciate him. I've gotten to know him, working on this stuff that Xehanort is having me work on. He's not as scary as he seems to be. Just try speaking to him." He grabbed his lab coat and slipped it on. "You ready to go?"

Myde slipped his own lab coat on and nodded. "I think I am. I guess you're right. I'll try talking to him when you leave. He's just so..." He walked over to the door and stepped outside, followed by Lea.

"He's just so...what? It's because of the eye patch, huh?" Lea laughed, and turned to the right, glancing at Isa's door. He sighed, hoping that whatever had caused him to look the way he had the night before was no longer an issue. He almost wanted to tell Myde to go on to the dining hall without him, but knew better. If he had knocked on his door, what if Xehanort answered? What then? He followed Myde to the lift. "Don't let the eye patch scare you. He's a teddy bear."

Laughing, Myde shook his head and slid the gate open. "I doubt that, Lea. But fine. Yes, it's the eye patch. I don't know, it freaks me out. And have you seen his weapons? The guy is crazy at combat."

"Were you watching him?" Lea asked, teasing Myde a bit. "You're not going to start going to his room now, are you?"

Pushing him against the lift, Myde laughed. "Shut up, Lea. No. I'm not. Whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me for a bit."

"Stuck, huh?" Lea grinned as the lift arrived at the main floor. "I don't think that's the word I'd use, but okay." He walked into the dining hall, laughing and then suddenly felt his heart begin to break inside of his chest.

"Lea? Are you okay?" Myde asked, noticing the change in Lea's demeanor.

As soon as they had entered the dining hall, Lea had seen Isa. Only Isa seemed to be completely off, just like he had looked the night before. He was sitting at a table with Xehanort. He watched as the older man spoke to him quietly, Isa staring blankly at the table. What happened to him? He watched as Xehanort turned and saw the two of them, causing Lea to quickly look away. He raised his hand to his cheek, knowing that the bump was no longer there, but could still feel the sting from when he had slapped him.

"I'm fine, Myde. Come on, let's get some food and head out to the garden, yeah?" Lea kept his eyes away from the table that Isa and Xehanort were sitting at. He knew that if he kept looking over there, he would just being paying the price later on in the evening. He really didn't fancy another slap across the face.

Myde nodded his head and walked over to where the food was. "Sure thing, Lea."

"You notice them, too?" Lea turned around and saw Braig standing right behind him. "I don't know what's going on with the Luna Diviner over there, but something is up." Braig spoke quietly so that only Lea could hear him.

"What did you call him?" Lea asked. "Luna? What's that about?"

Braig smirked. "It's what Xehanort calls him when he's not around. Everyone here has a nickname."

"I don't believe you."

"Why not? What reason do I have to lie to you?" Braig continued to smirk.

"Fine. What's my nickname?"

"Flurry of Dancing Flames."

Lea burst out laughing. "Are you serious? What the fuck? Fine. What's yours? And why do you even know these things?"

"The Freeshooter. And I know because he told me. I'm sure he's told ol' Luna as well. If not, he'll be learning it shortly. Xehanort is priming him to be his second in command."

Lea sighed. "That's what he said..."

"Oh? He spoke to you?" Braig raised his eyebrow.

"Lea? Did you want some food?" Myde came over to the two of them. "Oh, hello again, Braig." Myde smiled brightly at him.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Lea nodded. "I did. Braig, I'll be right back. We're going to head out to the garden and eat. Did you feel like joining us?"

"No, I've got shit to take care of before I babysit, I mean, teach class. You guys can come to the room at 9:30 instead of 9." Braig walked away, heading over to the table where Dilan and Even were sitting.

Grabbing some food, Lea quickly glanced over at where Xehanort and Isa were sitting and saw that Xehanort was no longer watching him. However, he saw blank blue eyes staring back at him. He felt the muscles in his stomach clench, not sure what to do. He silently pleaded with Isa to show him he was aware. He saw the bluenette nod slightly and felt a weight lift off of his shoulders. I have to find a way to speak to him. Maybe I can get Braig's help? But then I'd have to tell him about how I had spoken to him already. Fuck, this situation sucks. He quickly broke eye contact with him, not wanting Xehanort to see that they had done that, and looked at Myde. "Shall we head outside?"

The two of them walked out of the dining hall and headed out to the garden. "Did you see Ienzo?" Lea asked, sitting down on their bench.

"Yeah. He's busy. Again. Like always. I know, I can't be upset. I just wish he'd talk to me and tell me what's going on. It seems like there are secrets that are running through this castle and I'm not aware of what they are." Myde began to eat his breakfast. Lea began to choke on the juice he was drinking. "Lea? You okay?"

Coughing slightly, Lea nodded his head. Myde had hit the nail on the head and it was too close to comfort for the redhead. If you only knew, Myde. He swallowed and took a deep breath. "Yeah..." he croaked out. "Just swallowed wrong." He cleared his throat, trying to recover from the acidic burn of the juice in his throat.

"Silly! Be careful!" Myde laughed, eating his food. "Do you need some water or something?"

The redhead shook his head. "No, I'll be fine." His voice was still a bit rough, but he knew it would pass. He began to eat the cereal he had grabbed, staring out at the garden. "Do you think we'll do anything exciting today with Ansem? Do you think we'll actually have lab this afternoon?"

"That's tough to say," Myde said. "I don't see why we wouldn't have lab. Of course, him cancelling lab yesterday was a bit of a surprise. I guess we'll have to wait and see, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess," Lea said. He looked down at his wrist and saw that it was almost 9:30. He quickly finished the rest of his food, knowing that if he was going to be watching videos again, he'd need to have as much content in his stomach as possible, that way he'd have something to throw up if necessary. "We should get going," He stood up from the bench.

Myde finished his food and stood up as well. "I wish I could help you with whatever it is you're doing." They both walked over to the trash bin and threw away their trash.

No, you really don't. "You'll be fine. Come on." The two of them headed back into the castle and made their way to the classroom. They entered and saw Braig sitting behind his desk. However, Lea felt his heart drop once more as he saw both Xehanort and Isa in the room with him. He looked at Braig. "Sorry. Did you want us to come back in a bit?"

"No, no. You're fine. Sit down. Xehanort has asked for me to postpone your project for the day so we can work on a bit of combat with magic. He was just saying how both he and Ansem had spoken and decided that it would be better to work on this now instead of when we're sparring tonight. That way, you guys can get a feel for it in a safer environment."

Lea sat down, staring at Braig. "Um...alright. But I left my weapons upstairs in my room."

"You are excused to go and get it," Xehanort spoke in a non-threatening tone. "Myde, Isa. You two may accompany him as well."

Sighing, Lea stood back up. He left his bag where it was. Myde looked over at Xehanort. "Sir? My sitar is in the back of the classroom. Do I still need to go with them?"

Lea's eyes widened, afraid to turn around and see anyone's reaction. "Fine, Myde. You can stay here. Isa? Your weapon is in your room, correct?" Lea strained to hear Isa's response but heard none, still afraid to turn around. "That's fine. Why don't you two head upstairs? You two have fifteen minutes to go up there and grab your weapons."

Had Lea been watching, he would have seen a look of complete dominance pass between Isa and Xehanort in a silent understanding. The room was quiet with the underlying tension in the air. Lea walked over to the door and pulled it open, not caring if Isa was behind him or not. He began to walk down the hall and headed into the main area. He knew that if Isa was following him, he'd catch up to him by the time the lift had arrived. He walked over to where the lift was and hit the button, calling it back down to the main floor.

"Why are you walking so fast?" Lea turned around and saw Isa limping towards him. "Don't you realize that not everyone is graced with long legs like you have?"

Lea cracked a smile. "Long legs, huh? Fine. Sorry I was walking too fast for you, Isa. I'll try and walk slower next time." The lift arrived and Lea pushed the gates open, letting Isa step inside first. Soon as he was inside, he stepped in after him and closed the gate. As soon as they began to make their ascent, Lea looked at him. "Isa...what's wrong? Why are you limping? What was wrong with you last night?"

Taking a deep breath, Isa shook his head. "I...I can't talk about it, Lea...Please don't ask..." Lea watched as Isa began to cry. He reached out towards him and cringed when Isa slapped his hand away. "Please, don't."

Lea just stood there, trying to figure out what was going on. As soon as the lift stopped on their floor, he didn't bother to wait for Isa this time. He quickly opened the gate and walked out. "Look, I understand if you can't tell me. But don't treat me like this, Isa. I deserve more from you."

Chasing after him, Isa limped fast. "Lea, you don't understand. I can't say anything to you. You're the reason I'm in this position right now!" Isa screamed at him. Lea turned around, his eyes wide.

"That's a lie."

Isa laughed manically. "A lie, huh? Right. I'm lying. Because of our tryst during the sparring last night, Xehanort decided to show me that I belonged to him. Why don't you think about that while you go and get your weapon?" Isa glared at him, opening his bedroom door and quickly shutting it.

Staring at the door, Lea couldn't understand what was going on. I hope he isn't serious... He debated on what to do, knowing that they were pressed for time. The last time he was late...He opened his own bedroom door and grabbed his chakrams and stepped back out. He looked at his watch and saw that only five minutes had passed since they had left the room. Isa was still not back out in the hallway. He took a deep breath and knocked on his door, opening it without waiting for an answer. He saw Isa sitting on the floor, crying. He quickly set his chakrams down and went over to him.

"Isa! What's wrong? Please talk to me!" Lea said, sitting down on the floor with him. "Why are you sitting on the floor?"

Isa shook his head. "Lea, please. I can't. I can't do this. He's going to hurt me again if you touch me.."

"What did he do to you last night?"

Taking a deep breath, Isa sighed. "He said that he could taste you on my tongue and then proceeded to show me how he was the only one that could do that for me."

Lea's stomach dropped. "He...He raped you?"

"Rape is too nice a term for what he did to me," Isa whispered. He quickly stood up, wincing. "We have to go back. If we're late..."

Lea grabbed his chakrams, trying not to cry. "Isa...I'm so sorry..." He opened the door and walked towards the lift.

"Don't be," Isa said quietly, limping towards the lift. "I would rather him defile my body than have him go after you."

The lift arrived and they both stepped inside of it. Lea turned and looked at Isa. "Don't say that, Isa. You do not deserve to be treated like that. Ever. No one does."

"He will kill you. He hates the fact that I still desire you. He feels that the only person that should be with me is himself. That's it." Isa sighed, resting against the back of the lift. "Lea, I told you this was complicated."

Lea grimaced. "Complicated is an understatement. I guess this makes more sense why he hit me last night."

"He hit you?" Isa turned and looked at Lea. "But you don't have any marks on you..."

Shrugging his shoulders, Lea sighed. "It's because Braig healed me this morning. He healed me more for my tattoos, but it helped with the welt that was on my cheek from his slap."

"I told you to be safe," Isa spoke quietly as the lift arrived at the main floor. "Please, Lea. You have to be more cautious."

"I know, Isa. I was a few minutes late to our meeting last night. Because I was trying to figure out what was wrong with you. And he decided to take out his anger on me. Whatever. It's over. I know to never be late again. Now, come on. We need to walk a little faster. We only have five minutes. I don't know about you, but I really don't want him to hurt me again."

Isa shuddered. "I don't want him touching me period, Lea. I want to tell you what happened. I just don't know how..."

The two of them stopped a few feet from the door. "We'll figure something out. We can do this, Isa. You and me. Always."

Isa smiled, the first sign of normality returning to his face. "Yeah. Always."

Lea walked over to the classroom door and opened it. "Ah, with two minutes to spare!" Xehanort spoke in a low tone as the two walked into the room.

"Sorry. The lift wasn't running as fast as I would have liked," Lea made up a lame excuse. He almost smacked his head at how stupid it had sounded but it was too late to take it back.

Xehanort chuckled darkly. "No matter. You two are here now. So, are you ready for learning how to fight with your weapons and magic?" The three apprentices nodded their heads. "Fine, then.

"Let's begin."