A/N: This chapter is all about Roxy. YAY ROXY!

Warning: So- you know the drill. This contains male on male pairings, child abuse, and really angst stuff. So if you're an angst fan keep reading. If you lean more toward humor, I've other stories in the works you might want to check out.

Disclaimer: Lawyers said 72 cents isn't enough to buy the Kingdom Hearts games, let alone get it from Disney. Damn you Walt…

Summary: This is the story of poor Cloud. He and his twin brothers live with their abusive father. After a while, his friend Leon becomes suspicious. What happens then?

Remember:

"Talking."

Thoughts.

Time Skip

Emphasis on words.

Self-explanatory.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Chapter Four

For the last several days Cloud had been going to Leon's. Cloud's grades were slowly, but surely, rising. Even Cloud's mood was a bit more lifted. Roxas supposed it was because his older brother barely had any friends. As long as Leon was doing some good, Roxas wouldn't mind his presence.

But the other boys… well; they were a completely different story. "Riku! Give it back!" Sora whined with his arms stretched above his head. Roxas stalked over and kicked Riku's shin. It affectively made the silver haired kid drop the blue bouncy ball. Riku bent over, wincing and Sora ran up to him. Axel though, was laughing hysterically.

It was after school again and the four boys were in the back yard playing bad mitten. Or trying to, one should correct. Riku thought it would be better to steal the ball away from Sora every chance he got. The game barely got started and Roxas was already in a really foul mood. Perfect. Just perfect.

"Jeez, you don't have to kick so hard." Riku grumbled. Sora's brows came down in concern as he lightly tapped the spot Roxas had injured. Riku let out a hiss and Sora with drew sharply. Axel leaned on his racquet. "Don't blame him. You're the jerk who keeps stopping the game." The red haired boy pointed out.

Riku gave him a glare. Sora looked up at his twin. They shared a look before Roxas threw his racquet and stomped away. The older boys literally jumped as it hit the fence and bounced off. Sora crossed his arms and sat down next to Riku quietly. Axel was confused but didn't question the antics. The more he observed the better…

Roxas threw open the door, scowling and stomping to where Cloud was. He knew that look Sora threw him. That look he always hated from his brothers. The "Please-Don't-Do This" look. The blond could feel his heart steadily break against his ribs. It's bad enough I live with those words… He walked into the room where Cloud was throwing popcorn at his brunet companion.

His blue eyes darkened for a moment. Cloud looked, for just a moment, purely happy. Like he should always be. Just a normal teenage boy with a normal teenage friend. Roxas was glad, but he also felt like weeping. Why was it that Roxas should be left behind? Oh, that's right… Because he is the cause of all of this.

Later That Night

Roxas cupped the crying boy's ears. "Shh…" he whispered, rocking the brunet back and forth. Little fingers held tight to the cotton clothing, bandages already peeling. Sobs shook his tiny body and Roxas closed his eyes tight in the dark room. "PLEASE STOP!" the voice screamed. Roxas heard the splatter down the hall.

Sora clung on to his twin, ears buzzing in deafness. Roxas rocked him back and forth. "Cloud's okay, Cloud's okay, Cloud's okay, Cloud's okay…" he mumbled, voice losing the battle from behind their door. Sora watched Roxas move his lips, but couldn't hear the words because Roxas wouldn't let him.

A shrill wail silenced the house. The air sung in tightness unseen by human eyes. A coppery smell drifted from down the hall. The light, harsh yellow, spilled from under the locked door. The moon was covered in clouds. All was dark… All was deathly silent. Except for the sobs, and the mumbles, and the whimpers… and the wind.

That Morning

Roxas felt the gentle shaking of his shoulder. His eye lids felt heavy and his body was so exhausted like he ran a mile. His twin groaned and dove under his pillow… again. He quickly kicked the brown haired lad to the floor. Cloud sighed and helped them get up. Roxas noticed the slow movements and the new bandages littering his pale frame.

He never said a word.

…

The blond wasn't paying too much attention to his teacher. He read a head of everyone anyway. It wasn't that bad of a story, the words he all knew too. Roxas let his eyes drape over his slumbering brother. With a sigh, he kicked the chair, causing Sora to jump awake. Roxas chuckled to himself as Sora looked around feverishly.

The boy looked up as the bell let out a loud and annoying ring tone. Roxas calmly closed his book and put it in his desk while the rest of the class stormed out in a rush. He made his way to the door, noting that once again, Sora was not waiting for him like he use to before he met Riku.

Roxas felt his mouth curve down into a frown. Stupid silver haired punk. What did he see in Sora? Why was he ALWAYS around? Didn't he have any other innocent boys to corrupt? Roxas blue eyes fell onto the profile of a smirking Riku. Sora was avidly hanging on to his arm as he chatted non-stop.

Axel was sitting down in the shade of a nearby tree, pencil and notebook in hand. Roxas wondered why, so he made his way over to see what Axel was doing. Axel seemed to smile the whole time. Roxas felt himself groan as he realized they were all pictures of little flames.

Roxas plucked up the pencil and drew a stick figure of himself pouring a bucket of water over the fire. Axel threw the blond a mock wounded look. Roxas couldn't help but smile in an innocent way. Axel in turn had to look somewhere else. Roxas mentally added a point to his list of wins over the third grader.

Roxas wasn't paying too much attention to anything else around him. That was until he heard Sora yelp. Roxas sprung into action so fast, Axel even felt the whiplash. Riku was sitting victoriously over the chocolate haired boy. Roxas clenched his fist at the sight. The color red seemed to hold his vision.

Before a pin could drop, Roxas had launched into action. He jumped on to the second graders back and was pounding furiously. Riku let out a strangled cry of surprise. Roxas seethed as Riku had fell on top of him. "Calm down!" Riku said with a rasp. Roxas growled and kicked at him.

"Stay away from my brother!" he hissed, hands ripping into the earth. Riku felt his eyes narrow. "Like hell!" he exclaimed now, fury taking over. Before anyone knew, they were both going at each other. It was a hurricane of legs and arms. Sora was tearing up, but could do nothing but watch. Everyone on the playground stood confused.

Axel quickly grabbed Sora up by the shirt. "Teacher! Now!" he ordered. Sora turned back to them unsure. But he quickly went off to fetch an adult. Axel tried to break them up, but was slapped twice in the process. Three different teachers were called in. One held on to Riku, Sora kept him calm by clamping on his arm in terror.

Roxas was fighting both grown ups in such a manner, there were injuries along their arms and faces. Axel searched his mind frantically for anything that might calm him. Finally, the answer came in a huge burst. His hands reacted on instinct, reaching out and pulling out a strand of gold.

Roxas eyes went wide for a moment, confused and scared. Axel's green eyes watched as his temper immediately disappeared, and Roxas had slumped down and covered his head protectively. "Don't touch me!" he yelled. Axel stepped back to give the boy some air. He watched as the children were ushered away.

The first grade teacher had run up and panted heavily when she was sure the scene had settled down. The adults faded back to go heal their cuts and scrapes from the blond. Riku stood, lungs shuddering in a harsh breath. Sora was still holding his arm but the other teacher had left.

Riku let himself get back together. Sora helped him as much as he could. Finally Riku walked up and Roxas cautiously let his eyes wonder to the swirling aqua eyes. "I'll say this once Roxas. Get a life." He threatened. The blue eyes were as big as saucers as the silver haired boy walked away.

Sora looked between his friend and his brother. In the end, his feet pattered after Riku. Roxas nails dug into his scalp. All he wanted was his brother back. How could he ever forget…? He didn't deserve what Sora and Cloud had now. He was going to lose them. Axel was watching the boy, who was usually so cold and stoic look absolutely lost.

His feet had moved toward the blond. Roxas' teacher held out a hand, stopping him. Axel glared up at the intruding woman. "Go to class. I have to take him to go see his brother before we call his parents." The icy words left Roxas shaking. Axel stood defiantly for a moment, but he had to turn away. He had to…

At The Middle School

Cloud was sharing his notes with Leon. The teacher was writing something on the board. Yuffie was trying to throw something but kept missing. Over all, it was normal. That is, until there was a knock on the door. The teacher put down his marker and struts over to the door. Leon looked up as the door revealed a second grade teacher.

Cloud was too busy looking for anything he missed that was in the notes of his friend. But Leon saw the familiar flash of blond hair behind the woman's skirt. The teacher nodded, a grave line marring his face. "Cloud," he called. The blond blinked and looked up. "Take your stuff." He said.

Cloud scrunched his brows and quickly grabbed his book bag. He quickly sprinted out to find out what was wrong. Leon jumped up as soon as the door closed. The dark haired boy had run over to the pencil sharpener by the window to see what was happening. Sadly, his pencil could only last so long.

Once Cloud had stepped into the corridor, he was tackled. His sky blue eyes blinked and his head snapped down. His midriff was enveloped in tiny arms. He sighed as he saw the blond mop of hair nuzzle into his clothes. "Roxas…" he mumbled. The young blonde's shoulders were shaking in an attempt to keep the cries in. "What happened?" he whispered.

A cough in front of the teen alerted him to the teacher. "Mr. Strife, we caught him fighting with another student." She told him. Cloud gasped and looked down at Roxas. He pulled back and kneeled down. "Why? Who? Roxas is this true?" he asked, voice trembling a bit. What had made his brother snap?

The blond hiccupped. "Riku. He was… He said…" the first grader couldn't explain it and began to dissolve into more shaking. Cloud felt his face fall. His head snapped up when the teacher coughed. "It was violent. All the other boy said was that Roxas started hitting him." She tried. "We also had to call your father." Cloud knew this would not bode well…

Later

Dinner was quiet. It had been a long time since Mr. Strife actually had supper with his boys. The dishes clinked as the boys were washing up, spines straight. Once the plates were all dried and put away, their father summoned them to the room. "Sora, Cloud you two go upstairs." He commanded. Sora's eyes widened. Cloud hesitated.

"But…" he began. The man's dark eyes flashed and Cloud quickly let his mouth fall shut. He took Sora by the hand. He marched upstairs, leaving Roxas sitting across the table from his father. Roxas was staring at the wooden grain. He heard the click of his bedroom door. His father stared at him.

"You were fighting." It was a statement, not a question. Roxas nodded, fingers gripping on to his fabric of his pajamas. His father sighed and stood up. Roxas gulped, keeping his eyes on the table. A groan came from the stairs. Roxas and his father looked over to see Cloud's head round from the corner. Their father shot out of his seat.

"I told you to go upstairs." He grated out. Cloud's hands wrung together. "Please, Roxas doesn't need any punishment." He begged. The man was not touched; he walked over and grabbed his son roughly by the neck. Roxas jumped up protesting but his father slapped him across the face. He froze and Cloud struggled.

"Please, he doesn't need this!" Cloud pleaded, neck starting to hurt from the constricting collar. His father sneered and shoved him into a closet. Cloud shouted out as his back hit the racks of coats. The door slammed. "And why not?! You'll let the little bastard kill again!" the accusation rang out and Roxas closed his eyes to hide.

"It wasn't his fault! Blame the doctors! He's just a little boy!" Cloud cried, fists banging against the wood. He winced as the knuckles grew raw. "HIDE ROXAS! HIDE!" Cloud shouted as skin spliced off with every thud the door made. Roxas closed his eyes mumbling to himself. "I can't see him, he can't see me! I can't see him, he can't see me!"

Cloud could hear the shattered cries from the boy. His eyes frantically scanned the closet looking for anything useful. He couldn't find a single thing. He kicked the damn door. He clawed at it for what seemed hours. But it couldn't cover Roxas' pleas for mercy. A tired grunt made its way up the stairs.

Cloud slapped the door. "Roxas! Roxas! Stay awake! Let me out! ROXAS!" the blond yelled urgently. He hands hurt, his head throbbed, and his voice was hoarse. A slight shuffling was heard outside the door. Suddenly, the knob clicked, and the closet bent. In spilled blue light from the night. Cloud blinked, eyes adjusting.

His sight came on his little brother, arms limply hanging and bruised. He was hobbling slightly and hunched over. There was a scrape above his brow and a cut on his left cheek. Cloud covered his mouth with his hands. "Oh Roxas…" he breathed. Roxas sniffled and fell into his brother's chest.

He scooped up the child and surveyed the damage in the kitchen. A few broken glasses were scattered on the floor but nothing that really mattered. Carefully, Cloud had sat Roxas down on the counter. He ran some cold water and took off Roxas' shirt. He disinfected to cuts and rubbed some lotion on the bruises.

The elder blond cleaned up the mess and then carried Roxas upstairs. With slow, silent movements he unlocked the twin's door. Roxas was half dead asleep in his arms. He walked over and found Sora hiding under his covers again. Sora was slightly rocking back and forth. Cloud gently laid his brother down.

He soothed Sora as best he could. The boys were in a fitful sleep soon. Cloud sighed and leaned against the pillow for a moment. It was at these times, that he wished he was a better older brother. He could have saved Roxas. He could have held Sora. But no… He was stuck, trembling in a closet. Soon, he would no longer be able to take their blows…

How much longer could they live like this? Cloud wondered if the moon could be tainted crimson…

TBC

A/N: Awe, that one was so sad! I feel so bad for Roxas. Did any of you understand it?

And yeah, I wussed out on the abuse scene. I just couldn't do it. Sorry for those of you expecting more. Any questions? I'm sure there are. Review me!

NEXT CHAPTER:

Leon baby-sits Sora! Axel's thoughts! Cloud's Mommy!