A.N. I'm back for a chapter! That's right, it's me, Chris the Holy (apparently I'm also Christ now, hahaha, wonder how that happened, Kim). Anyways, I really hope you enjoy this chapter. I know that I've made Roxas kind of a deuche, but just bear with me, all right? I have no idea what's going to happen. I've only written up to Chapter 20 on paper, after that is a complete mystery to me and the rest of y'all.
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"Holy shit," Cid grumbled. "So now we've got some heartless people running around with that Sephiroth bastard and his spawn?"
"Um…" Riku said quietly, trying to decipher what the man was saying, as he had said it at the speed of Sora on a Rock Star. "Yes…?"
"Do you know how many there are?"
"Nobodies, six. Overall, that makes ten."
"Shit…" Leon muttered, and Riku felt inclined to say, "But I think we've got one on our side, permanently." At his words, all of them shot a quick glance at Axel and Roxas, wrapped around each other in a corner of the room, completely oblivious to the looks that they were getting, far too busy making out and staring deeply into each other's eyes. Hurt flashed across Riku's face briefly, but he banished it from his features almost immediately. Only Sora, watching him with scrutiny, caught the look, and a wave of pity swept through him.
"Wow…" he thought with sympathy. "My Nobody's so cruel…and completely blind, too, apparently. He can't even see how torn up Riku is, and by the way he's acting, I doubt that he ever will."
Everyone on the ship was feeling very awkward by this point, put off by Axel and Roxas constantly all over each other. No one really wanted to say anything, but no one wanted to really be around them, either. Especially Riku, who was making a point not to look at the duo, and everyone could feel how uncomfortable he felt. Everyone was uneasy and on edge, not really sure what they were supposed to do.
So, doing the best to ignore the newly-reunited couple, they discussed for the better part of two hours what they were going to do, now that the threat had doubled. And Leon, somewhere in the middle of the conversation, said, "There were six wolves we were unaware of. Who's to say that there weren't be more?" They all puzzled over that for a while, as well as to how they could fight them. And, after two hours, having run out of things to talk about, they all agreed to meet back there the next day. Already, the shadows were lengthening as twilight set the sky on fire.
Riku sighed, walking out. Sora scampered after him, worry for his best friend springing to his mind. Axel and Roxas, noticing that everyone was leaving, followed them after a pointed cough/growl from Cid to usher them out. They caught up to the other two, and Roxas tugged at the back of Riku's shirt.
"Hey…is it all right if we crash at your place?" the blonde inquired, giving Riku the puppy-eyes. What once had been a cute gesture to the silverhair was now painful, and Sora picked up on his feelings.
"Nah, Roxas," he said quickly. "Go on to my house. My parents are out," as usual, "and we've got an extra room."
"Aw thanks, Sora," Roxas said cheerfully, pulling on Axel's hand, which was currently draped over his shoulders. "We'll try not to make a mess," he teased, and Riku and Sora winced in unison, both wishing fervently that the silverhair could have been out of earshot by the time that Roxas had let out that little comment.
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"You're being insufferably ignorant," Axel said, lying on the bed with his hands behinf his head and his emerald gaze fixed upon the ceiling.
"What do you mean by that?" Roxas asked, toweling off his sopping wet hair with irritation. "What could I possibly be ignoring?"
Axel couldn't help but smile at the blonde's defensive question. "If you knew, you wouldn't be ignorant of it." (Don't mess with a pyro's logic, people.)
"Get to the point," Roxas muttered, and Axel sighed.
"Riku. You're oblivious to how he's feeling right now."
Roxas snorted. "He's fine. I just talked to him."
"When?" Axel asked, surprise evident in his gravelly voice.
"A while ago, while you were in the shower."
"And did he sound…sad?"
"No…" Roxas said, then after a moment's hesitation, admitted. "Well, a little bit. I asked him about it, though, and he said he's just tired, which," he added quickly, 'makes plenty of sense, what with all that's going on…everything he's gone through."
It was Axel's turn to snort. "Of course. He's just tired." The tone of his voice was scathing, and Roxas bristled. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"It means exactly what I implied. Tired? Bullshit. That kid's as heartbroken and depressed as no other, and you've been completely overlooking it all."
Roxas sat on the edge of the bed, huffing. "Well, he said he was completely fine with me going back to you. He knows how we feel, he understands that."
"Of course he'd tell you that," Axel said, starting to get impatient. He thought about revealing what Riku had said, but he didn't think that Riku would want him to. Not yet. But he wanted to open Roxas' eyes to the pain that he was causing. "He still loves you, Roxas. He just didn't want to tell you, because it would be making you choose between the two of us. By saying that he's 'fine with it,' he's sparing you that decision. That's how much he cares." Axel rolled over, turning his back to the blonde. After a couple seconds, he heard Roxas' quiet footsteps, and a pressure on the bed, right behind him. A gentle hand set itself, slightly hesitant and gentle, on his shoulder.
"Axel…?" Roxas said tentatively.
"Hn," Axel grunted in reply, and he felt the hand on his shoulder flinch slightly, but his voice persisted. "Look…I'm sorry," he said quietly. "You were right, I didn't notice. Thanks for pointing it out for me."
There was a pause, and Axel turned his head, eyes alight. "No problem," he snickered, and Roxas caught on, once again, to his tone. "Hey!" he said defensively, hitting the pyro with a pillow.
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There was a tentative knock at the door, and Riku answered it grudgingly. Sora stood at the door, bouncing on the balls of his feet nervously.
"Oh! Hey!" he said, surprised, as though he'd expected Riku not to be there. "How are you?"
"Fine," Riku lied, stepping aside to let his hyperactive friend inside. Sora bounced inside, not letting the lie escape his notice, chewing on his notice, but Riku barely noticed. His mind was still muddled and confused, and Sora's voice brought him back to reality with a thud.
"So…you doing all right?" Sora asked, apparently unaware that he'd asked basically the same question ten seconds ago. Riku thought about pointing this out, but instead just shrugged it off. Whatever.
"Yeah, I'm doing all right," he said, and Sora caught the lie for the second time. Riku thought about it, then said, "Except for this hole in my stomach."
Sora blinked at him in complete confusion. "What, you're hungry? You want me to make you something?"
Riku grinned, lifting his shirt to reveal the bandages. "Ah, no, Sora," he teased. "I meant it a little more literally."
Comprehension at last. "Oh! Oh, right," the brunette exclaimed, getting it. (A.N. I know that Sora's not this ditzy, but right now he's really worried, so he's a bit tongue-tied. I dunno if he usually acts like that, but it's cute to me). He cast a nervous glance at the wound. "But do you need me to do anything for you?"
"Nah, I'm good," Riku reassured him, trying to resist the urge to shrug him off. It hurt too much to shrug.
"How are you still alive?" Sora blurted. (Talk about subtle). "After all you've been through. Even if you just count the stuff that's happened in the last two days, by all rights you should be dead."
Riku this time forgot, shrugged, and winced. "I don't know," he said, quietly, answering the brunette honestly for the first time that night. "I don't know why I'm still alive. Maybe it's all just dumb luck."
Sora nodded, glad that Riku was starting to open up and act like himself a little bit. Not much, but a little. "So.." he said quietly. "Do you…y'know, wanna talk about anything?"
Riku thought about declining the offer, and Sora honestly thought that he would. So it took him by surprise when Riku sighed, defeated, and said quietly, "Yeah, I do."
Silence, until, "Wait, really?"
He nodded. "Yes, really. Maybe…it would be good for me just to talk about it." Sora was stunned. Take back what he'd said a couple seconds ago. Riku wasn't acting like himself at all. But, he reasoned, it would be good for him.
A knock interrupted them, and they both turned to look at the door. They looked uncomprehendingly at it, and Sora, slightly put off and dazed, opened it without thinking.
"Hey guys!" said Kairi happily. Sora and Riku just stared blankly. "What?" she asked, laughing nervously but completely unworried.
U-um, what're you doing here, Kairi?" Sora stammered.
They still hadn't told Kairi anything, even that the Traverse Town gang had showed up. They had all agreed that getting her involved definitely wasn't a good idea, She didn't know that Riku was a werewolf, or that Roxas- and now Axel- had returned. Nothing. So having this discussion in front of her was out of the question.
"Damn," Sora thought as she let herself in. "Just as he was opening up, too…" But there was nothing he could do about it now.
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He's gone?"
"Both of them, yes."
"That traitorous bastard!"
"I told you it was a bad idea to trust."
Snarl. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"
"He's turned traitor before—I told you what happened in Castle Oblivion."
Smirk. "Yeah, apparently he came this close to kicking your sorry, flowered ass."
"Shut up!"
"But he had a point. You were the traitor there, Marluxia."
Splutter. Rage. "Y-you were doing the exact same thing downstairs, you little sociopath!"
Smug. "Oh, shut up, Petal Boy. I was merely counteracting your actions."
Annoyance. "Can we get back to the point?"
"My pleasure."
"Thank you. What are we supposed to do now?"
"What else? Kill him."
Snort. "You really are shallow."
"Fuck you!"
"Excellent comeback, Petal Boy. What will killing the traitor accomplish, may I ask?"
"It will get him out of the way, for one thing."
"And you will, of course, be able to just waltz up to him and stab him in the throat—as he doesn't have a heart to impale—and just shimmy away? He and Number XIII go everywhere together, it won't be that easy."
Spit. "So, what the hell are you suggesting?"
"Kill XIII."
Silence, then cold laughter. "Oh, yes, that's much more sophisticated." Mocking. "Numbers XIII and VIII go everywhere together."
"Hang on, let's hear him out."
Huff. "Whatever."
"Blame it on…Riku, Sora, whoever of that little group is close to them and would have a definite reason to want to kill him, most obvious to have a motive. It will be child's play for us to convince Axel to fight for us, if he wants revenge on those who killed his 'beloved' Roxas. Is that good enough for you, XI?"
Grudgingly. "Fine. Whatever."
Smug again. "There's a reason that I was the tactician, Marluxia. A very good reason."
"So, basically, this is an elaborate frame-up."
"Essentially, yes."
Satisfaction. "Good. I'll get right on it."
(A.N. That was Saïx, Marluxia, and Zexion, people! Sorry for the confusion, but I was feeling too lazy to write it all out with actions and stuff. Besides, it sounds kinda cool like this. Definitely a different approach to things. I thought it was fairly easy to tell who was who. Then again, I wrote it. PM me if you want to know exactly.)
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A.N. Yo, this is Chris. I know, I know, unimaginable, right? Well, Kim's posts are few and far between, so I upped and did a chapter myself (I'm at her house right now, and I'm watching her play Kingdom Hearts. Ironic, no? She's in Monstro). Anyway, sorry for not being so vigil at my posts as I once was. A lot's been happening lately. Plus, I'm on vacation for two weeks after Sunday, so…I'll just have to bug Kim. You wanna help? Her sn's Nighgina, I don't know if she's already told you. She's got stories, too, but she…doesn't update much, if you haven't noticed by the length of time between posts on just my story. Heh heh…well, anyways, I hope you like this chapter. I've read all of the reviews that I've gotten so far, and I really appreciate those of you who've slogged through it with me for so long:
Phaz-How I love you, phaz. Thank you for everything, and Kim thanks you, too. You're the only one, I think, to acknowledge her writing my chapters. (Kim says 'I loves you's! Me loves you's long time!).
ChibiFrubaGirl-bliss
Schizo-of-Destiny-Hey, you weren't there for me in the beginning, but you've been with the gang ever since. Hope you're still around to see it to the ending. Or give me ideas for the ending, 'cuz I have no idea what I'm doing.
princessOFdarkness-Oh, one of my favorite reviewers, been with me ever since the Strong story. Thank you thank you thank you for sticking with me, I know it can be tedious at times.
Smiley Smackdown-Thank you soooo much for all of your support on this. And Sephy will be staying for quite some time, and he'll make a reappearance soon. I think. Maybe.
Boyhood bravery-Hey, never seen you before, but I'm so glad to have you aboard! If you haven't already noticed, I have few enough reviewers left to be able to write one of these out for each of them. Yup. Pretty pathetic, but hey, I'm still doing it, aren't I?
Mizuki Hikari-same can be said for you. Never seen you before, but hey, newcomers welcome. As long as you read the first story so you're not confused, everything'll work out. Glad to have you aboard.
And more thanks go to:
Sanluris
Divinehearts
Flurrydivider
Chibified Zombie
Sera
PP.Bunny
Never Remain a Memory
Haninozuka Mistukuni
Note: I only thanked the people who reviewed for Chapter 16, so don't get huffy and leave, just review for the next chapter and I'll see what I can do about getting your name mentioned so that people can check out your own stories and stuff. I may or may not be the one to type up the next chapter, but I'll see what I can do. Signing off!
BlackFalcon002, aka Chris