CHAPTER FOUR

I don't own this anime.

Did I just watch a horrific documentation at a very late night? Yes, I did. And did I watch it with my insane cousins who fell asleep halfway through and had to be woken up loudly because I was scared because the lights were off? Yes, I did. I am insane and it is Halloween.

Anyway, thanks for everyone who reviewed. And everyone who put this story in their favourites. And to everyone who put this story on their story alert. It's nice to know that people are anticipating the fourth chapter of this story. May I mention this is the longest I've gone keeping my updates consistent?

This chapter consists of an emotional Axel, a not-so-indifferent Roxas, a friendly Hayner, a progress in the story, and maybe a rickety old house. Maybe.

A month passed by and the students had gotten used to their everyday life at Destiny High. In that short period of time, Axel had managed to befriend Sora and his friends. Slowly but surely they started trusting the redhead who gave more information than necessary to his newly found friends about himself. They found out Axel was an orphan, a pyromaniac and an overprotective friend when it came to Roxas.

For that month, whenever the topic of his blonde friend came up, his expression softened even if it was just the slightest fraction and he started talking about him quite fervently yet at the same time controllably, as if trying to restrain himself from giving more information that needed. He'd tell them his birthdate, his fond memories of the guy but whenever it came to just asking how the guy was; Axel just gave the vaguest of answers.

For that month, Roxas had gained a reputation in the school. He was known as the "Carbon Cloud" by the teachers and the "hot freshman" by the students' feminine population. Whenever the teachers were asked why he was called "Carbon Cloud", many would smile and just reply that it was an inside joke amongst the older staff. Sora and his friends knew that they were referring to their Cloud.

Sora knew how Cloud acted around other people and managed to understand what the staff meant. Cloud was the stoic, quiet student who tried to avoid any sort of attention at the school, instead focusing his efforts on the barely visible track that the Organization leaves. Of course, the school didn't know they were part of such a hunt for the four years Cloud and Leon spent in the school. Yet Cloud still managed to catch their attention.

He was always urged to join the sports teams that the school offered and was usually coerced into competing for the school's championship. Most of the time Cloud usually refused the offer, citing his part time job as an excuse. It was a lie, of course. However there were times that Leon would manage to convince him to join, citing the extra credit as an excuse. Sora knew the real reason though, Leon just really wanted Cloud to remember he had a life outside of the Organization.

It was strange, now that Sora thought about it. There were times that Cloud was so sure he was near to catching the Organization in its act. During those sure moments, he would disappear from the face of the earth for days, leaving a message saying he's found a clue of their whereabouts. Tifa was usually worried sick about him and would try and find where he went without avail. A few days later, Cloud would return in a horrid mood, training and training and researching again until he dropped from exhaustion.

It had happened most often right after Aerith was murdered. Cloud and Leon were in their senior year and their grades had dropped considerably low and Uncle Cid had to be called to the principal's office. They had to join some sort of sports team at that point and that was the only year that they had actually joined a club.

Nowadays, it rarely happened that they would get some sort of information about the Organization. Their biggest breakthrough was the Hercules case, and that only happened because Hades's kid Nico called them about suspecting his father had decided to get rid of his competition in the volleyball championships for the most valuable player. Even then the lead had gotten them nowhere with the designated assassin destroying all evidence a homicide was about to occur.

In that month, Sora had tried to befriend Roxas during their only class, homeroom. However, the blonde seemed to have an aversion to him and tended to be more interested in what Hayner was saying. A week after Roxas managed to introduce himself to Hayner, they became quick friends. Sora couldn't understand at first, but realized it when they mentioned that they liked skateboards. With nothing to boast about other than his skills at keyblade wielding (which was a secret so he couldn't really boast about it), Sora soon drifted away from Roxas's circle and started getting closer and closer to Axel.

When the one month had passed by, Sora and his friends sat at the cafeteria cheering.

"It's been one month of high school, guys! What do you think about it so far?"

"It sucks, Axel. I can't wait for summer."

"Don't be bumming around, Sora! You've still got three years left!"

"Why do you keep hanging out with us freshies, anyway? Don't you have sophomore friends to tend to?"

"Unfortunately, no. They all hate me because I'm a smart ass. Got it memorized?"

"Or they all hate you because you add that to every end of the sentence. Commit THAT to memory!"

"…you suck, Riku."

"I don't suck and you know it."

The redhead rolled his eyes and drank his soda. The three really had grown on him with their petty jokes and clever comebacks. The month had progressed by quickly and he was getting a head start on his mission quite thoroughly. According to the book Zexion had lent them the last time he visited, a friend feels comfortable around you when one insults you without fear.

The four started about classes again and how Axel's standing in the academic levels became. The group was divided into two with Sora and Riku defending that Axel should have been a freshie and not a sophomore seeing as most of the classes he's taking are for freshmen and Axel and Kairi fought for their side, proclaiming that Axel takes sophomore classes as well.

While the four were fighting for their side, Roxas walked in the cafeteria trying to ignore the stares he was getting from the others. Whispers filled the cafeteria as the blonde walked in the room.

Roxas ignored the stares, going over the day like nothing was wrong. He approached the vending machines as quickly as possible. Water would be nice to stuff down his throat right now.

Axel finally noticed the silence and observed the crowd. Something had caught everyone's attention, but what? Or who? Noting the direction of everyone's stare, his eyes narrowed.

Axel stood up from his seat, careful not to make a sound. He made quiet careful steps and approached the blonde who was now drinking down his newly bought bottle of water, holding on his other hand what seemed to be a bottle of pills.

"…Roxas?"

Sora hadn't even realized that Axel had approached the blonde. Riku and Kairi were busy trying to understand why everyone had stopped talking all at once. When they heard Axel's voice echo through the whispers, their heads snapped towards his voice.

Roxas stopped drinking and opened his bottle of pills. He took three out and swallowed them quickly, drinking them down alongside with the contents of his bottled water. The container now empty, he threw it in the trash bin and proceeded to buy another bottle of water.

"…Roxas!"

He twisted the top open and started drinking once again. Water was a nice soothing effect on his throat and he needed the slightest bit of relief on his aching body.

"Dammit, Roxas! Fucking look at me!"

Axel threw Roxas's bottled water on the ground furiously, spilling the contents messily on the floor. He looked closely at his best friend. Roxas took a glance at him and sighed out of exhaustion.

The redhead looked at Roxas prudently. His head was covered in the familiar white bandages and his right arm was bleeding profusely under the already dark bandage. His arms were bruised lightly and a bandage was wrapped under his polo shirt, peeking through the buttons on his polo. Axel knew Roxas did the bandaging himself as they were quite sloppy.

"…what the fuck happened?"

The blonde stared at him for a moment and raised an eyebrow knowingly. Of course Axel knew what the fuck happened, he did his required missions all in one night. Axel realized that this was the reason Roxas had been leaving so early in the morning and returning so late in the evening. He felt an impending rage pound in his head.

"…you idiot. Why the fuck didn't you tell me?"

"…you know the answer, Axel."

Axel's fumed even more. The students felt the cafeteria getting warmer and many went to call the school staff. Axel realized he was starting to release his power and tried to calm down and nullify his own powers. Roxas noticed the changes in the temperature and helped Axel out, conjuring up a small Blizzard spell around Axel to cancel out his heat.

"Fuck you! These past few weeks you've been ignoring me and leaving me with unanswered questions and you fucking expect me to know what's going on in your head?"

"..."

"Speak to me, damn it! I can't always read your damned mind, Roxas!"

Axel couldn't take it anymore; he punched the blonde right in the jaw. Red was the only thing Axel could see at this point and nothing was stopping him from making Roxas into his personal punching bag. Before he could control himself, Axel landed punch after punch, only regaining his senses when he was held back.

"Axel, stop!"

"Axel, STOP!"

"Axel, look at who you're beating up!"

Finally, Axel stopped squirming in Sora's and Riku's grip. Roxas was held by other students, many asking if he was okay or not and whether or not they should bring him to the nurse's office. Axel looked at what he had done.

Blood started seeping on his head bandages once again and the bandage on his right arm was now soaked. Roxas looked paler than usual and the overall blood covering his head and arms were increasing by the minute. The students looked at the situation and decided to carry the blonde to the nurse's office without his permission. His condition had gotten worse and he wasn't even better off to begin with.

Axel wanted to punch himself for doing this to his best friend.

Before he noticed it, Axel was already back on his seat. Many of the students stared at the redhead for a while, only for their stares to be returned with a cold glare. Soon, the crowd returned to their daily activities, glancing back at the newly rumoured insane sophomore that is Roxas's best friend.

The rest of the lunch hour was spent in silence.

The headquarters was quiet. It was the eerie sort of silence, one that kept your guard at bay and your sanity on edge. Even the lesser nobodies walking around with their arms and legs swishing about in the hallways and in the garden were making no sound at all. The Samurai Nobodies were even more silent than usual, their master was away and there was nothing to do but guard the headquarters.

Only nine people lived in the headquarters, now six thanks to the new mission Axel, Roxas and Xigbar had been given the last month. Despite the small number of people living in the Organization's base, the leader had opted to create a giant building of the sort, if you could call it that. There were fourteen floors, if you counted the basement and the gardens outside made the place look like a nice place to stay. There were even the two Olympic sized pools in the back gardens; alongside with a huge garden maze that no one in particular visited.

Marluxia used to tend to these gardens, cutting and planting and watering every plant he cared for. He made the gardens what they were now. Since his death, the lesser nobodies did his job for him. The leader had grown to like the gardens; they were perfect for discussing business with clients instead of the cold, air conditioned air inside his office whenever it was summer. Sometimes the gardens were used as training grounds when the usual training grounds were barely usable from the destruction the members inflicted upon it.

The Olympic sized pools were used often by the older members, mostly the bachelors who brought back ladies to try and impress them (but mostly for seeing them in swimwear was enough use of the pool all on its own). The younger members used the pools for recreational things like swimming and exercising. Demyx was usually the one who spent the most time in the pool though, water being his affinity.

The building itself was a big mystery. Ever since the leader had started the Organization XIII, the headquarters had never changed. It was like he himself knew the number of floors needed the amount of members he would recruit and the needs and wants of the members. Each floor was a specifically designed place for each member. The higher the floor on the building, the higher your rank went. Xemnas lived on the 13th floor, ignoring the superstitions implied upon the number. It was quite ironic, he had called it the first floor of the building and implied that the original first floor would be the 13th floor.

The members knew what he was trying to achieve, though. The sky was not the limit for Xemnas, it was the beginning.

Although every member had his own floor, there were some special exceptions. Once a member dies, all his belongings will be destroyed and a grave would be instilled in the basement floor.

The basement floor was probably the biggest of all the storeys in the building, excluding the leader's place. It contained the graves of the three members that had already passed away. They were spaced strangely, like there were missing gaps between the members. The other members didn't know about it, but the spaces were reserved for their future deaths.

Xemnas liked to think of it as symbolic, that even in death they will never escape the Organization.

The grave never used to be there, though. The basement was their meeting room before. It had thirteen luxurious chairs arranged in a circle. When the first two members died, Xemnas didn't account for their deaths and decided that the basement be a grave for those who died. The meeting room was moved to his place and it became a lobby more than anything else.

The floors that used to occupy the three deceased members were converted into recreational rooms. Marluxia's room was turned into a training room. It was a computer simulated training room that helped train the new blood. Back when the younger members had joined just recently, they were trained in Marluxia's death infested room. He had just died and the plants in his floor were restless, releasing toxins and irritating gases.

Larxene's room was the torture chamber, to put it frankly. Her death had given way to all her weaponry and torture items. The woman was a sadistic killer and often made her victims suffer more than what was paid for. Her unfortunate demise in the Organization's enemies was a terrifying ordeal, but from what the reports on her cadaver looked like, she laughed all the way through the pain. Xemnas felt a little proud of his choice, she had never given them the satisfaction of her scream.

Vexen's room was a little bit different, though. His place was turned into a gaming room. From the increase in assets the Organization had gotten, Xemnas had decided that a game room would be acceptable within the budget. Nerf guns were stored in the glass cabinets, board games were stalked upon one another in the closets, and simulation machines were set upon one side and a different assortment of sports equipment were placed inside the makeshift net basket.

Barely anyone used the game room, though. Even though the members had known about the place, it was more of a placeholder than anything else. The games involved a lot of team building and the simulation machines were barely used since the Organization already owned many of the simulation games in reality. The profits in the mercenary business were huge and the money was used to buy them better means of transportation. This included the Organization's own private jet plane and a vehicle for each member. Although the members had preferred the dark portals to riding the company-issued cars, the portals were tiring to make after missions and everyone opted to just use the vehicle after every mission.

Xemnas thought about his success a lot. During the times when all the paperwork was finished and the day was coming to an end, he would lean back on his leather chair and relax. Even though he was a successful businessman, his goal was still far from his reach.

It had been a long time since he started the Organization. Eleven years he'd been in the business, but no sign of the thing he was longing for the most.

Kingdom Hearts.

It was a jewel, the most ancient and precious of all the jewels in the world. The jewel was just a legend in the books, no pictures or details explained the whereabouts of the precious jewel. Xemnas only knew of it from the tale of his old mentor. Legend says that the jewel can be found in the hearts of those whose emotions reach out to the heavens and that whoever holds the jewel will gain their heart's desire.

He had only caught a glimpse of the jewel once in the eleven years he had searched for it, and that discovery was only by chance.

Xemnas took off his gloves and looked at his hands. He was getting old and time was running short.

The plan would have to start sooner than expected.

"All right, Roxas. Where's the asshole that did this to ya?" Xigbar asked, looking quite stoic even as his fingers twitched to grab his weapon to shoot something.

"Probably at school." Roxas replied, drinking more water than necessary. He wasn't about to say anything else that had happened.

Xigbar grunted. It wasn't often that Roxas was sent to the hospital for his injuries. Mostly it was just for some simple assassin mission. He was after all, one of the best. Some missions he comes home without even a scratch on his body. Nobody could compare to his mission success rate and the short amount of time it takes him to track down the target. It was one of the reasons the kid was always so busy, many of the clients favour him over others. The other Organization members didn't mind. More time to do one's own hobby.

"I heard from the hospital and the school. It seems you and Axel had a fight. What the fuck about? Seriously, you haven't even talked to him in the month that you lived in the same apartment. Usually you just go out for some reconnaissance about the targets." Xigbar asked.

"The usual thing."

"You came to school with too many injuries?"

"Yeah."

"…are you an idiot? Do you know what those dumbasses would think? That I abuse you assholes at home! I'm the fucking acting guardian, didn't you think about that?"

"I didn't start it."

"Who the fuck cares if you didn't start it or not? You're in the fucking hospital for broken bones, bruised arms and a bleeding head! I don't give a shit how you do your damned missions or if you do them right, don't fuck this up and involve me in the damned situation. The moment you get the fuck out of this place, your punishment will take place, fucking understand?"

Roxas nodded. He thought about it, Xigbar was right. They were not supposed to attract the attention of the school, they weren't supposed to be showing off fighting skills and they weren't even supposed to be in the hospital in the first place. What was he to do, anyway? People noticed him even when he didn't want the attention. Cloud had left quite the impression on the elder school staff and for some reason they weren't retired yet.

The elder staff would notice the similarities between the two. Cloud's quiet demeanour had reflected upon Roxas's own quiet attitude. Roxas's blonde hair and blue eyes reminded them too much of the muscular older brother he had not met with in years. Cloud's refusal to join any of the clubs had matched Roxas's refusal to even walk near any of the clubrooms despite both their amazing performance during P.E. class.

In the month that had passed by, the teachers had called Roxas the perfect Carbon Copy of Cloud. Or C.C. for short. Thankfully, none of them had known that Cloud had a younger brother. But still, it did not stop them from asking whether Roxas had an older brother.

Roxas always said no, even if he wanted to say yes.

"Anyway, how's the mission?" Xigbar's temperament had cooled off.

"I've managed to befriend Hayner's group. The one with the blonde. Axel, from my observations, has managed to earn their trust slightly. I give it some six more months in order for him to know more. My mission will take some seven more months. They are quite wary of new people."

Xigbar nodded and noted down Roxas's estimations.

"Fine. I'm making this month's report. You better be prepared when you get out of the hospital. The blonde one is here."

Xigbar palmed Roxas's hair and left. He noticed the three teens who were eyeing him suspiciously. He smiled at them and told them that Roxas was inside and that they contact him should anything happen to the kid again, reassuring them that he was the acting guardian, making excuses about his real parents and waved them goodbye.

"Hey." Roxas said, looking at his new visitors.

Hayner looked at his new acquaintance. They had met at the skate park. He just walked in a few weeks ago and started skating. He left the park in awe, actually. In all the years Hayner rode the skateboard, never had he seen the flips and tricks Roxas had done. It was gravity-defying, to say the least.

The blonde had done flips, 50-50's, backsides, fakies, grinds, indies, ollies and the rarely mastered trick: the 720 gazelle flip. The older skaters were quite impressed, opting to recruit him in their team for the upcoming skateboarding competition. Roxas denied all their invitations, instead excusing himself as too busy to join any competitions. It had stayed that way until Olette suggested that they include him in the team, citing the fact that they needed a fourth member.

Hayner didn't want to include him, he knew about Roxas. He was quiet and you never knew what he was thinking. All he ever had was straight face and according to the whispers in the faculty room, straight A's. The kid had been impressing everyone he had met without even exercising the effort everyone else had done so. He didn't like it.

Eventually he had to succumb to Olette's wish, Pence wanted him in the group as well. So Hayner asked him before he left the park and to his surprise, Roxas nodded and gave him his number. As if he was expecting the whole thing to happen. Hayner concluded that Roxas knew more than he was letting on. Nobody in high school gets straight A's and still has time to go to the skate park every day after school. Something was up and he wanted to find out.

"Hey yourself." Hayner replied.

"Roxas, what happened?" Olette said, staring at the bandages that covered his body.

"He got in a fight with the sophomore redhead. Axel, was it?" Hayner answered.

"Yeah."

"Will you still be able to compete?"

"Hayner! Roxas is injured and that's all you can say?" said Pence.

Hayner's mood soured. The two were starting to treat Roxas like a friend. That wasn't good. He thought it was just supposed to be the three of them; that was how it was ever since childhood. Why were they suddenly adding a new member, someone they barely knew from the beginning?

Roxas noticed the blonde's posture. His arms were crossed, his brows were scrunched and his muscles tensed.

Hostility detected. Defensive posture administered. Note: Research on the art of gaining trust.

"Don't worry about it, Pence. I'll be ready for the competition. But I'm kind of tired at the moment, so could you…" Roxas replied

"Yeah, we get it. We're leaving. Bye Roxas! Get better, okay?" Olette said, smiling brightly at Roxas. Roxas watched her closely.

Eyes dilated, blinking quickly. Heart rate: fast. Face unnaturally red. Awkward posture administered. Trust gained, affection gained. Mission partly complete.

And Roxas did what the books said, he smirked at Olette.

Olette blushed and was about to comment, but Roxas put his index finger to his lips. He wanted her to keep quiet. Olette nodded and laughed silently. Without skipping a beat, she ran off with Hayner and Pence.

Roxas's smirk stayed until he was sure they had left. It was tiring to make facial expressions; it was even more tiring to decipher their actions and expressions. It had been so long since he had been able to feel anything. He was wondering whether anything was real anymore.

He leaned his body against the headboard. He had to do this. It was the only way to keep him safe. To keep everyone safe.

To make amends for her death.

With that thought placed in his mind, sleep took him over.

XxX

"Cloud-nii, come look! I found a dog. Can we keep him?"

"Sorry, Rox. I'm really busy right now and we don't really have the money."

"But what about Mom and Dad?"

"They're… they're not here anymore. Okay?"

"No! It isn't okay! It's not fair! What did they do to be gone, Cloud-nii! Bring them back! Bring them back!"

"I can't do that. They're dead, so stop asking me for something impossible!"

"It's not fair. It's not fair. Why did they have to die? Did we do something bad, Cloud-nii? Did I do something really bad like not brush my teeth or eat my vegetables or drink all my milk-"

"You didn't do anything, Rox."

"Then why did they have to leave? I'm sorry, please bring them back! I promise not to do anything bad anymore, not to eat junk food anymore or even ride your skateboard secretly and stuff! Please, Cloud-nii! I want Mom and Dad back!"

"…I can't get them back. But I can find the people who did it and stop them from ever doing it again."

XxX

Ah, consistency gone. I'm sorry for being a week late and for the short chapter. Our school was being an arsehole and decided to move our huge test to a later date.

Did this chapter contain the rickety old house? I don't know.

I lied, Hayner isn't friendly. Boohoo. Expect more lies, like Roxas suddenly falling for Sora.

Aww. Someone already figured out Nico. Seriously, Percy Jackson is this famous? What about the good old classics like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies? Go read it.

However, nobody has still figured out the anime character I borrowed from this one anime. Whoever gets it right will get a cameo for the next chapter.

I dedicate this chapter to blacksakura13. She has been writing fanfics for a long time and we're friends IRL and because of her continuous posts about not being able to update in time, I finally felt guilty for leaving this story unfinished. Go check out her stories.

Don't worry, I won't leave.

Until the next chapter.