Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters (Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy) in this story. All of these graphics belong to Square-Enix!

Warning: Shounen-ai, yaoi, slash, male/male relationships, gay, homosexual... whatever you want to call it. Oh, and split personality disorder..

Author's Note: There isn't one.

Pachinko

9

ChApTeR: nInE

9

They all stood on the sidelines, jeering and chanting the word 'fight' over and over again as the two boys tussled on the ground in the school hallway. Some kids stood with their arms in the air and others put their hands around their mouths so their voices would project, but no one bothered to step in and stop the fight. Currently, it was a stalemate; no one was winning or losing.

Sora sunk his teeth into Riku's left arm and the older boy hissed in pain as blood was drawn. He struggled for a moment or two before managing to elbow the brunet right in the eye who quickly let go of the arm, but kept thrashing around like an animal. They had been on the ground; Riku laying underneath Sora and Sora on top of him, biting him and scratching him, and he had no idea why. But now they both stood at opposite ends, eyeing each other.

The jeering was unheard as Riku lunged himself at Sora, forcing them both to topple over and roll on the ground. The older boy didn't want to hurt the brunet, he just wanted to know why he was being attacked. Sora struggled like a rabid animal underneath Riku, trying to escape, shaking all over and yelling incoherent words. And now the older male was pinning him, pinning his wrist to the ground with both hands, to hold him in place, to keep Sora from attacking him with his small, boyish fists.

"Why?" his breath was coming in short and blood dripped down his face from the cuts and his arm throbbed from the bite. Aside from Sora's bruised eye, he was quite fine. "Why?" Riku asked again, his chest rising and falling.

"I hate you."

Confusion took over Riku's face and his hold went slack for only a brief moment, enough time for Sora to wiggle free and attack the older one. He had pinned Riku now and he was choking him, pressing down on his throat harshly, trying to kill him. The crowd had gone deathly quiet because the fight was no longer just two children fist-fighting, it had turned into something evil and wrong. Very wrong.

He was gasping for air now, like a fish out of water, struggling underneath the brunet. His fingernails dug into Sora's wrist, attempting to wound the other so he would be forced to let go, but it was to no avail. Things seemed to get brighter and darker at once and his struggling was becoming less and less. And now, it was as if he knew he was going to die.

Air was coming back into his lungs as the fingers were released. Someone had taken Sora off of him.

Riku awoke with a start, his hand going to his neck to finger the flesh, feeling for puncture marks that had previously been there almost fifteen years ago. He let out a shaky breath and got up from his bed. It was four in the morning and he didn't feel as if he could sleep any longer; not after that memory, anyway.

He ran a hand through his silver hair as he walked from the hallway and into the living room where he laid down on the couch. Great. Now he felt like a patient instead of a doctor. Riku sat up quickly, uncomfortable, and gazed around the dark room.. He felt lonely.

The doctor turned on the lamp that sat on a side table next to the couch to give some light into the room. He opened a drawer, a small drawer where he had recently decided to keep all of Sora's letters, and yanked one out. It was from Sora to Riku. It was a silver envelope this time.. How had he overlooked a silver envelope when the rest were just... aqua and blue?

Another hand ran through his hair as he peeled open the envelope flap and yanked out the letter. And, by far, this was the strangest letter of them all.

I'm sorry I tried to kill you.

That was all it said.

"I went back to my house after we had lived with Squall for a while. After I had tried to kill Riku, I ran away. I mean, it was only for a day or two, but I ran.. Riku didn't understand why I tried to kill him, but I wrote a letter to him. I was thinking about it and the letter.. It apologizes for what happened.."

"When did you write this letter?"

"Oh, a few days ago. I slipped into his office and put it in the box of letters. It was silver, like Riku's hair, so he'd be able to spot it." Sora put his arms behind his head, the red chair beneath him very comfortable. He let out a soft yawn and gazed up at the ceiling, eyes drifting and attention wavering as Kairi spoke. She sat opposite of him in a big, leather chair..

"Anyway, I ran away and I went home. The house was burned down to the ground and there was police tape everywhere, but no police. I learned later that my mother was dead.. After I went back to Squall's house, I held Cloud and cried and he explained everything that happened. About mom and dad, I mean. That mom was dead and dad was her murderer and on the loose.." he gazed at the ceiling again and things seemed to jump or rattle. Sora shut his eyes tight and let out a shaky breath. The rattling seemed to grow worse.

"By the time I go crazy and Cloud finds out about Riku, my other personality, dad has killed two other people.."

Kairi had stopped writing in her notebook and her eyes drifted to Sora's baby face. He looked so calm and peaceful and yet deeply confused. She smiled softly and held in a soft chuckle as she watched the patient swat at nothing in the air. It was bizarre, really.. One moment, Sora was acting like an uncivilized beast and the next... he's acting calm and weak, like a tired child ready for a nap.

"How do you know that? And who were the two people your father killed?"

Sora licked his lips, "Oh, it was on the news. 'Murderer Slaughters Teenage Boys'. I don't... remember their names, but my father said one of them looked like me and the other looked like Cloud."

"When did you talk to your father about the murder?" the auburn haired nurse shifted in her chair and leaned her arm on the armrest. She was still scribbling in her small notebook every now and then.

The rattling continued, "Oh.. After he was in jail. The last time we spoke.. It was... well, that was the last time we spoke. He said to me 'Sora, you tell your brother momma will always forgive him' and that was it. He got up and left and... we never spoke again."

"Did you tell Cloud what your father had said?"

"No. But.. I know I should've..."

The ground was covered in a thick blanket of white snow and the whole entire park was silent. The world was sleeping, hibernating, and the crisp snow was acting as a blanket for the dreadfully long sleep. The day was chilling to the bone and the skies were overcast, weathermen calling for a few more inches of snow during the late evening. Everything was crisp and beautiful and two boys trampled about in the snow, leaving marks and tracks with their boots, but being deathly quiet as if they were afraid speaking would awake the Earth and bring about the next season.

Roxas grasped Axel's hand in his own and squeezed it, his cheeks and nose pink from the bitter weather. It was the type of day that made you feel you were truly alive. A wind would pick up and rattle Axel's black coat and turn Roxas's eyes pink from the sudden chill. It was brisk and beautiful and it was perfect because, well, they were together on such a lovely day.

"Jesus, it's cold." a puff of white air emitted from his chapped lips as he spoke.

"You're the one wearing the thin trench coat. Are you even wearing anything under it?" Roxas eyed his boyfriend.

And Axel simply grinned back, "Care to find out?"

"What, and catch a cold, have it turn into pneumonia, run up a hospital bill, linger a few months, and then finally die? No, I'll pass."

Axel shifted, grumbling something under his breath, "Can I have a kiss, then?"

Roxas stopped in his tracks and chewed his lower lip, as if he seriously thinking about it. Giving a small shrug, he stood on his toes and kissed Axel's lips. It was meant, truly, just to be a soft, gentle, and short kiss, but the redhead wrapped his arms around Roxas's body and refused to let go (though, Roxas was enjoying it..).

Their tongues touched and the blond felt his body go hot and his cheeks flush pink. He pushed his tongue into Axel's mouth, hesitantly, and then began to touch everything he could. From teeth to gums and from gums to his boyfriend's tongue.. He squirmed and broke the kiss, suddenly wanting to know if Axel really was wearing anything underneath his black coat..

"My, my.." the redhead's hands had moved from Roxas's body to his cheeks, "that was quite a lovely little kiss." he gave the blond a peck and then released him, feeling quite satisfied with how the day was turning out so far. "Come on, lets go down to the pond."

Axel grasped Roxas's hand and they trudged through the snow, making their way to the pond. It was, indeed, a very big pond. Big enough to freeze over and to have kids skate on it, but this year the ice was weak. It was unsafe to walk on because it could break very easily. Almost three kids had drowned so far this winter alone.

They reached the edge and gazed at the frozen pond. They weren't foolish enough to attempt to walk across it. Even Axel knew better than that. He squeezed Roxas's hand and let out a tired yawn. Snow made him sleepy and the silence was almost deafening. The blond smiled up at his boyfriend, but it quickly faded.

Someone was coming up to them very quickly. It was a bit hard to see in the distance, but Roxas could tell that it was a man and he had something in his hand.

Roxas turned back to look at the pond and spoke, "Do you see that man behind us?"

But Axel didn't have time to answer. Someone hard and cold had hit him and he fell. Blood was running down his forehead and onto his cheek and he couldn't talk. His vision was darkening and he couldn't understand what Roxas was saying or what was really going on. He moaned and grumbled and attempted to get up, but felt vomit rise from his stomach. Roxas was yelling.

"Stop!" he was struggling against the man who had tackled him and was strangling him, "stop!" tears ran hot down his cheeks and he was finding it harder and harder to breathe. Roxas struggled underneath the weight and he was trying to scream, but he couldn't. His tongue hurt and he wasn't sure why.

Axel was up now, a hand on his head in an attempt to mop up the blood. His vision was shaky, but he saw Roxas and their attacker. With a shudder, he picked up something (it was heavy and cold and he assumed it was what he had been hit with) and he ran up to their attacker, hitting him with the object square in the face. It knocked him off and he howled.

Roxas found he could breathe again and quickly stood, finding a nasty head rush overtake him. They had to run. They had to get out of the park or they were going to die. He was trying to speak, but his throat throbbed and more tears ran down his cheeks. Axel yanked him close, feeling a bit more aware. He was afraid. They both were. They couldn't run.

"It's okay.." he squeezed Roxas, "I think he's knocked out. It's okay.."

The blond was shaking his head, pressing his face into Axel's coat. His mind kept telling his legs to move, to run and find help, but he couldn't. Fear had paralyzed him and staying right there in Axel's arms felt like... protection. He didn't move. Neither of them did.

"Axel.." the voice came out choked and more tears spilled down his reddened cheeks.

There was movement in the snow, but neither boys took notice. The redhead was cuddling his lover tightly. The moment, they were hoping, was over, and once they had regained their wits, they would run... but they never did see him move.

A look of pain and confusion suddenly came over Axel's face and his hold on Roxas went slack. His arms fell to the sides and he fell to the ground, blood seeping through the snow. It was coming from the right side of his back. Multiple stab wounds. Roxas was stunned and shocked and he couldn't move. Axel wasn't dead, he was mouthing the word 'run', but the word wouldn't process.

Their attacker held a bloodied knife, a wicked look on his face. Roxas stepped back. His mind was torn. He wanted to run, but he wanted to save Axel. Axel was his world.

He fell onto the snow, on his knees, and his love took over his common sense. He pulled the redhead close and held him, tears running down his cheeks. Axel was still alive, he was saying incoherent words and his hand was going to wipe at the tears. Their attacker was watching the two boys with a disgusted look..

Cloud and Sora.

His foot connected with Roxas's chin and the blond fell backwards, dropping Axel into the snow. His jaw felt broken and he stood and began to run. Axel would live. He was tough. He just needed help and fast.

Within a moment, their attacker had caught up to Roxas and he tackled him once again. He drew the knife back and stabbed the blond in his right shoulder, relishing in his scream of anguish. He grabbed Roxas and began to drag him towards the pond with the soul intention of drowning him. There was a trail of blood in the snow and every now and then, Roxas would hear Axel cry for help, but it was such a soft, gentle, and short cry..

"Fucker." he broke a chunk of ice away and grabbed the back of the blond's neck, shoving his face into the exposed, chilly water. "Sora.. My son.." he was holding Roxas's face in the water, drowning him, and he was struggling, "my child.. Why did you leave? Why did you let Cloud do that?" tears were running down their attacker's face and Roxas's struggles were becoming less and less.

"Oh, Sora... Cloud is dead now. He's dying. He's.." Roxas had stopped struggling completely and his body went limp. The attacker stood and placed his bloodied knife next to the blond boy who he had mistaken for his son. Tears flowed down his old face and he walked away from the pond, feeling empty inside. Sora.. His Sora.. And Cloud.. His Cloud. All gone.

Roxas pulled his face out of the cold water, gasping in gulps of air. He was freezing. He sucked in as much air as he could, his shoulder paining him. Playing dead.. It had worked.. And now Axel.. He swallowed hard, praying, hoping, wishing that his lover was alright..

The blond stood and began to run back to Axel's resting point. He was slow when he ran now.. His shoulder was bleeding freely and his body didn't have enough air. But Axel.. His darling Axel whom he loved more than anything else in the world.. He was shivering and his lips were blue. Axel was still alive.

"Axel, Axel.." he said the name twice, whispering it, and he kneeled down next to his lover, "you're alive, you're.." his lower lip quivered and the redhead offered a soft smile. Roxas didn't move. He couldn't. But he was smiling right back at Axel, their eyes locked in a silent goodbye.

There was a gun at the back of his blond head.

"Axel.."

"Yea?" his voice was weak.

"I love you, you know.."

A bang rang out and the Earth was no longer sleeping.

"You hear something..?" Sora removed his earmuff at Cloud's words. "Like... the bang of a gun?"

He listened and then shrugged. They were on their way home from school.

Sora grasped Cloud's hand and squeezed it, his cheeks and nose pink from the bitter weather.

"Jesus, it's cold." a puff of white air emitted from his chapped lips as he spoke.

Sora laughed, "yea, it really is.."

Author's Note: God, finally. I had no idea what to write for this chapter, but like.. Yes, here it is. In all it's wonderful Axel and Roxas dual death scene. If you're wondering, their attacker was, indeed, Sora and Cloud's dad. Also, at the time he killed them, he believed they were Sora and Cloud and not Axel and Roxas. Bummer, huh?