Hey guys, yes, I'm back, after an insanely long four months. I'm really sorry about the wait, because I know how it feels to wait for something you love to read. But life was working against this fic, guys. I must have rewritten this baby about five different times. Not only that, but my summer has been really busy, actually. I think my relative gets more computer time than I do. But...on a brighter note, I updated!

Reviewers:

calmxbeforexthexstorm: Oh wow, this made you do a cartwheel! Zexion...you'll see. And yes, lots o' drama. Degrassi style, yo. Thanks for reviewing!

Scootkadoot: Lol, well I hope you're not expecting an epic short chapter, because you're not going to get one here. Another long and epic chappie! Sorry for leaving you hanging! But now here's an update...so yeah! Thanks!

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: Hahaha, I wish I was there too. Oh, and thank you so much for reviewing all this time. I noticed you have reviewed every chapter so far! Thanks you!

RecklessxDreamer: Zomg, I know. This chapter is long too. But yep, we finally know what went down. Lol, don't be like Sora! Don't forget to breathe! Gracias for reviewing!

Freya-san: Lol, I stayed after for the credits, too. I know, I got some newfound respect for Jesse now. Thanks...sometimes I feel like the character development is the hardest part for me, so thank you!

-siarafaerie-101-miss: Thank you for the review!

midnightvisions: Whee, thank you for reading! Lol, yeah, I kinda feel bad for some of the things I put them through, too. Lol, Kairi and Yuna...thanks for reviewing!

Chronos Mephistopheles: Haha, well I accidentally made it insanely long again. And yeah, I do that when I'm reading too. I hope that means it's a good story? Thank you so much!

Okay, here is the long awaited part two!

Enter ??:

The three kidnappers dragged Zexion's small, lithe frame off of the porch and into the conspicuous black car with haste. It was their asses on the line if they screwed this up- Marluxia was known to be mental when he didn't get his way.

"Chap, it's been for fucking ever since I kidnapped someone like this. It feels fucking good! I could fucking SCREAM-"

"Shut up! Do you want to have everyone inside find out he's missing?"

"Well, my bloody, fucking bad, alright?"

The two arguing men abruptly stopped upon noting that their third companion was simply staring moodily at the house. Besides that, Zexion had taken to retaliating- so arguing at the time would have to wait.

"What's up, Xiggie? You got your head in the game?" One asked this 'Xiggie', crawling into the passenger seat beside him. The other was stuck fending off Zexion's attacks. They'd hurriedly stuffed him in a bag (lord knows the man was small enough to fit in one) after wrestling him onto the porch, so it wasn't like they'd had time to tie it or anything. His jaw was starting to deeply regret it.

Xiggie sighed irritably. "What the hell do you think, man? I just kidnapped my fucking brother!"

The attacking body suddenly stopped. "X-Xig…Xiggie?" Zexion called out weakly.

Xigbar rubbed a palm over his eyes. "Yeah, Zex. It's me."

"Why did you guys kidnap me? Xiggie...Luxord…Saix…why?"

All three were silent. No one knew what to say…what they could say.

"Well can I at least get out of this bag?" He tried instead, going for a different approach. The three men exchanged glances. Zexion used to be pretty trustworthy, minus the whole escape clause and such. And Xiggie really wanted to be the good brother he never was to Zex.

"Let 'em out, Lux." Xiggie ordered. Saix and Luxord exchanged hesitant looks before dumping Zexion's small frame to the floor, to his vexation.

Once he managed to get his bearings, he sat up, plopping back down next to Luxord and folding his arms across his chest. He glared hatefully at the man next to him. "What the fuck is this about?"

"What happened to his weak little voice?" Saix murmured under his breath, but Zexion ignored him. He was already doing all he could to remain trustworthy and not beat the living daylights out of them for kidnapping him in the first place; he just had to keep telling himself that they weren't personally doing this, but Marluxia…

He scowled. That asshole.

"Look, the Organization really had planned to leave you alone. I mean, we're not stupid. We realized that by ordering Xiggie to kill Demyx that you would want nothing to do with us. But something terrible is going to happen to us, to everybody, if we don't help. We need you, Zex. And we need Demyx too." Saix answered, finally letting all of their differences disappear and getting to the point of the act. Zexion's glare didn't waver.

"Demyx is dead, remember?"

Now it was Luxord's turn to glare. "Do you think we're bloody idiots? We knew from the start that Xiggie didn't kill the chap. The only ones who didn't know were Maleficent, and you."

Zexion remained silent. The three in the car all stared at him, just waiting for him to say something, but Zexion didn't trust himself to speak. They deliberately allowed him to grieve silently for five years with the death of his loved one, for…for what?

"Why?" He finally asked slowly and softly, his voice nothing but a whisper.

Xiggie at least had the decency to look apologetic. "We actually didn't know that you guys had a thing going. We didn't think you'd take it so hard…but we still couldn't tell you. The reasons being-"

"One: Marluxia ordered us not to, and you've seen Luxy on his bad days. Two: We didn't realize how deep you were connected to him until it was too late, and by that point if we had told you then you would have left to go find him. We're all generally selfish creatures; we wanted you to stay with us-" Saix cut in, only to be interrupted himself.

"And three: You have the bloody, fucking book. That book is a gift, but it's also a curse, Zex. The more you don't use it, and the more you don't know, the less Maleficent does. It was her book, so because she's still connected to it, she's connected to you. She surely would have taken Demyx if she had realized he was still alive, and contrary to popular belief, the Organization loves Demyx." Luxord finished, letting his gaze wander to the house that was now a couple blocks down from them. "Unfortunately, it seems as if you know that he doesn't chum in the afterlife."

Zexion's face remained carefully emotionless as he stared Luxord down. "I have no clue what you're talking about. Demyx has been dead for five years, check the records."

Xiggie rolled his eyes and shifted in his seat to look at Zexion from the back of the head rest. "Oh come off it, Zex. Saix made those records. Besides, we saw your little boyfriend inside when we snatched you."

Zexion finally allowed a twinkle of worry to mar his face. "So…this….terrible thing you speak of. Why does it require Demyx? And what does Maleficent want with him in the first place?" He inquired.

"The somebody of Demyx's original soul, for Demyx is a reincarnation from a past life, remember? Anyway, that somebody was the only son of King Triton of Atlantica, the only heir to the triton. If Maleficent got her hands on Demyx, she could pose him as that son and get her hands on that power. With that power, she could create an army of heartless that could take over the world!" Xigbar explained, his eyes widening at the prospect of a world in complete darkness.

Zexion's heart had begun to beat irregularly. That whole process would definitely require Demyx to be dead. Maleficent could only bend people to her will that were dead.

"So why kidnap me?" He asked, forcing the hidden emotion from his voice. The three men all looked at him skeptically.

"Oh come on, would you have really listened to us otherwise? You still thought we were bloody murders!" Luxord exclaimed, causing Saix and Xiggie to chuckle. Zexion even allowed a small bark of laughter to escape him. It was true.

"Here's what's happening right now. We're going to leave Demyx here for one night, because it's safer that he's with all the guardians and the mercenaries where they can protect him in a conspicuous way. Meanwhile, we're taking you to go talk to Marluxia, you 

know, get all the info and what not. We'll figure out our plan from there." Saix explained. Xigbar stopped at a red light and turned around to face Zexion again.

"The only thing we're having a problem with right now is how to protect Riku and his friends from Maleficent's goons." Xiggie admitted with a sheepish shrug. "It's quite embarrassing, really."

The light turned green and the conspicuous black car went speeding down the empty road. Zexion watched the scenery go by in thought. He just couldn't leave without knowing that Demyx and Riku would be okay. He would even be sad if Coconut was hurt. He had to help them.

Zexion suddenly smirked. "Leave it all to me."

"Riku's Welcome Back Party! Part Two

Or

"The Supernatural"

Enter Riku:

Where was Zexion?

Demyx was freaking out, looking for him like a mad man, but I didn't go over and comfort him or anything. I mean, first of all, I just met the guy today. I have no clue what words to say to bring him up back to his normal, cheery state. And two, if Zexion just left for no reason and wanted me to support his excuse, it'd be best to steer clear until then.

As the song changed from the fast paced beats of 'Don't Stop the Music' to the ridiculous sounds of Hannah Montana, my eyes flitted across the dance floor, searching for the head of chocolate, unruly spikes. No sign of him. I let out a soft sigh of relief. It's not like I was avoiding Kiwi, because that's just silly. That's funny. Really, you slay me!

Alright, I'm caught. I'm kind of avoiding him. But it's not like I was doing it to purposely make him feel bad. I was doing it because I was scared.

I never really knew how much of a jerk I was to Roxas, and even Sora, back then until I heard it first hand from the guy who'd know it best. And now…my confidence was slowly being replaced by doubt. No wonder its taking Sora this long to forgive me. No wonder Roxas hates me. I'm not even worth their time.

And if Sora knew the truth- the real reason I acted the way I did, he would never understand. He would hate me, and he would hate who I am.

And I was terrified of that.

My jean pocket vibrated and I was suddenly forced out of my thoughts. I had been standing in the middle of the dance floor while everyone else grinded and danced in what seemed like a fast-forwarded effect. Lovely. Now I was the leading actor in some angst teen movie.

It appeared I was receiving a call from Zex, the bitch. I flipped it open with vigor and left the dance floor, going to the bathroom- that was surprisingly empty (guess no one was that drunk yet) - and locking the door.

"Where the hell are you?" I demanded, flicking my sweat-filled bangs out of my eyes. I squinted at the mirror and reflection. I looked so pathetic and panicked. God, when did I become such a Prima-Dona?

There was a pause on the other line, before Zexion spoke, his voice sounding low and urgent. "Look, I was kidnapped, but I'm fine. No need to go in labor, Tarada. But I need you to do me a huge favor. It's essential that you do this."

I was still stuck on the kidnapping part of that response. "K-Kidnapped?! Where are you, I'll come and get you…it was the Organization, wasn't it? I swear once I get my hands on them-"

"Riku." Zexion cut me off with a sharp, frustrated hiss of my name. "I. Am. Fine. Don't come get me, and don't make the Organization your enemy. They're not the bad guy here. I just need you to do me this one favor, and I promise that it'll all be okay."

Zexion sounded so grave and stressed…the boy was serious. I watched as my reflection ran a hand through my wet hair and I sighed. "Fine; you know I'm always here for you. What needs to be done?"

"I need you to keep every single person inside. I don't care how you do it, just make sure no one gets in, and no one gets out. If they do…someone will lose a life." Zexion explained swiftly, sounding like he was trying to give me some kind of secret message. "Everyone."

By everyone, did he mean Demyx? Zexion has never told me the details of him and Demyx's past relationship, but I know that Zexion had betrayed him in a serious, life-altering way. And now that he had him back, I guess he doesn't want to lose him. But why would he be mainly concerned about protecting him from the Organization specifically? What kind of shit could Demyx's be in? The boy was a freaking angel!

"Uh, alright, man." I chewed on my thumbnail in thought. How the hell was I going to do that? Roxas would probably try to leave at any time, and there had been other fights going on like crazy. Chances are fifty percent of the party-goers were getting ready to leave.

But hey, I told Zexion I would do something, and I can't go back on my word. Zexion's done so much for me already. It was time to give something back.

Zexion sighed in relief on the other end of the phone. "I knew you could handle it. Thanks for this; you're my most trusted friend on this earth, and I know that's pretty pathetic because it's you, but it's true."

I laughed and gave him a playful scowl even though I knew he couldn't see it. "Gee, good to know that I'm so admired. Anyway, I got you covered, dude. You just handle your business and be back as soon as possible. Demyx's having a bigger meltdown than Britney Spears."

"Noted. Well…goodbye for now, friend." And with that, the line went dead. I pocketed my phone again and glanced into the mirror one last time. My reflection showed a boy…one who seemed like a stranger to me. Oh, how pathetic. I couldn't even recognize my own damn self.

I left the bathroom and stood in the middle of the hallway, thinking. How the hell was I going to do this? I needed help, and I needed it fast.

I had to find Roxas, Axel, Kairi…and Sora.

Enter Kairi:

Kairi watched as Yuna took a long gulp of her coke (because goddesses didn't drink alcohol- of course!) with envious eyes. The way her tongue flicked out to get the last 

droplets on the bottle was just too much to watch without wishing it was some part of her body that Yuna was licking.

She widened her eyes. Whoa, uncalled for, Kairi! Get a hold of yourself! First off, Yuna was not in any way gay, and second off, she was totally taken by a great guy, one that Kairi had personally dated! So she understood how amazingly awesome that Tidus could be when he really wanted to.

But she couldn't help who she was crazily infatuated with. She just wished that she was someone cooler, or smarter, or just more interesting so Yuna could see her as a potential lover! Oh, how cruel the fates were!

"Okay, my turn. What is the most painful thing you've ever experienced?" Yuna finally asked her when she put her coke down, resting her head on the railing. They were both lounging on Kairi's balcony, sitting with their legs dangling over the edge. Yuna had had the idea of asking each other questions to get to know each other, and they had been going back and forth, just the two of them, learning things about each other this way. Kairi didn't understand how she ever got to know someone without it!

"Well, I remember it was three years ago. Riku had just started high school, and we all thought it wouldn't change anything." Kairi said softly, bringing her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her knees.

"But it did?" Yuna guessed, giving her a small smile. Kairi returned it automatically.

"Oh yeah. He ditched us all. But the worst part was that when all was forgiven, he didn't come back to me. He cut me out of our circle of friends. Sora was his best friend, Roxas was his boyfriend, Tidus, Wakka and the rest of the guys were his boys, but me…I was nothing to him." Kairi confessed, looking out in the sea of lights that was her neighborhood.

Truth was that that little incident had really hurt her. She usually made herself forget about it, but when Roxas had recalled it when he was explaining it to Axel, it brought back a flood of emotion. Sure, Riku had apologized profusely for it, but…it still hurt.

Yuna sighed and scooted closer to her, wrapping an arm around her. "Oh Kairi…people have no idea how special you are."

Kairi laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound. It was kind of raspy and bitter, and it just burst out of her like little shutters of irony. "Please. I'm not special. I'm just the girl that everyone knows; I'm the back-up friend. I have no special skills, no amazing traits, I can't-"

But that was all Kairi got to explain. Because the next thing she knew, this wonderful strange feeling was washing over her, and the feel of the softest lips she'd ever felt were on hers.

The really sad thing about the whole situation was that Kairi, throughout the whole kiss, kept noticing other things she hadn't noticed before. Like the way the wind had this annoying tendency of blowing her bangs into her eyes, or the way the house across from hers lights kept flickering on and off like some type of horror thing.

And as Yuna explored the inside of her mouth and as Kairi ran her fingers through Yuna's hair, her mind kept flashing to memories of Tidus, and how he used to talk about what he wanted to do when he was older.

"When I'm older," he would begin, as they both lay together in the sand on the beach, "I want to save someone's life. I mean, like really stop someone from dying."

Why Kairi would be thinking about that was beyond her comprehension, but her mind and her conscience wouldn't let her just enjoy this damn kiss. She'd wanted it for so long; it was like she didn't know how to accept it properly in her own mind.

Maybe that's why she couldn't seem to just shut her eyes and relax. Then again, it could've been a good thing. Because when she absently glanced down at her house beneath her, she caught a glance of two figures come out from thin air, dusting off some kind of green magic from their clothes.

One of the figures was a man with light brown hair and strange pirate-like clothing, who had a fairly large gun slung in his belt, who was studying some kind of map with detached interest. The other next to him, however, had Kairi squinting her eyes in surprise. A tall, strikingly beautiful tan woman dressed in leather articles of clothing stood cautious, scanning the area with slight irritation. She had long wavy white hair, and…were those bunny ears coming from her head?!

She also had a weapon, only hers appeared to be a bow and arrow of some sorts, shining dangerously under the moonlight.

Kairi sure as hell didn't invite those two to the party.

The doors to her bedroom that lead out to the balcony suddenly slammed open, and Kairi and Yuna quickly pulled away to see Riku standing there, suddenly looking shocked and sheepish.

"Oh! Uh, sorry…um…Kairi…can I, err, talk to you…? For a….sec?" Riku choked out, his eyes wide at the sight of her and Yuna. Yuna quickly stood up and wiped a hand across her dark, wet lips, giving Kairi a meaningfully confused look before backing up slowly to the doors.

"I-I…I have to go." She stammered quickly before running off. Riku watched her go with a look of uncertainty before turning back to Kairi. He looked panicked.

"You're a lesbian? Oh, never mind that, we have a problem."

Enter Roxas:

Oh god, Roxas Haiku had just broken up with Axel Akito.

What the hell was he thinking?! He was so fucking taken with Axel, why the hell would he just dump him like a pair of out of season duck shoes?!

This was crazy. Roxas was usually more logical and clear thinking than this. But the whole closet, reminiscing thing had thrown him off guard. His emotions were all over the place, and a big, huge, realization had hit him just as he was about to forgive Axel and live happily ever after.

Axel had had sex with Namine, which meant that…out of his group of friends, he was the only virgin. And above that, he'd been cheated on in every single relationship he'd been in! Well, okay, this time Axel technically didn't cheat on him since they were just dating, but a little while back when they were officially exclusive, Axel did in fact cheat on him with some bitch named Larxene.

What the hell did he do to deserve this?! Did he accidentally step on the God of Insects or something?

Thus, Roxas, who had been feeling all of this at the time, had decided…to hell with love…and broken up with Axel, the object of his angsty, teenage affection.

Which brought him back to, what the hell was he thinking?!

Now he was just rooming through the house like a little lost puppy, having no clue where to go or what to do. He kind of wanted to go home, but he knew it would only hurt Axel even more to know that Roxas had up and left, but then again, what should he care what Axel felt? He obviously cared much more for Namine than he did for him, since he cared enough to take her virginity and introduce her into the world of sex.

Anyway, since Axel was in the kitchen talking to Namine, Roxas had decided to stay in the Morning Room for a while that was on the way other side of the house, in hopes that his head would clear and the fog would lift, and he could then figure out just what the heck he should do and where he should go from here.

It was so amazing how Kairi did all of this, especially for Riku in so little time. There was an arcade with a bunch of kids surrounding this one kid who appeared to be beating some kind of Arctic Thunder world record, a trampoline where all the cheerleaders like Becky Blecks and Trina Hampton were showing off and doing flips, and-

Holy shit, when did Kairi get a rock wall?!

Roxas blinked in amazement, watching almost transfixed as a chubby, black haired boy wearing a red bandana on top of his head climbed up the wall with ease, talking pleasantly to Paine, who was next to him, as he did so. And for some strange reason, he looked familiar to him, but he couldn't figure out for the life of him why that was.

But of course he couldn't. Come on, he really hadn't had a chance to notice anything about this party, seeing as how he was either fighting with Axel, hiding from Axel, or crying. But now that he looked around (and had a little bit of Cloud's beer- Cloud didn't need any more anyway), he was noticing things. Especially how damn familiar this guy climbing the mysterious rock wall was. It was frustrating that he could Not. Put. His. Finger. On. It.

The boy glanced over at him as he unhooked his harness and did an almost instant double-take. His mouth fell open. Roxas eyed him uneasily. What? Was something on his face? Tear residue, perhaps? An expression of freaking hurt and pain? Confusion? Spitefulness?

"Roxas." Rock wall boy asked, but it was more of a statement or a title or something more than anything else. He furrowed his eyebrows at him.

"Yeah?"

The boy's mouth dropped open again and he began to gape like Freddie Fish. "R-Roxas?! Me…I…Is….It's me! Pence!" He stammered in excitement. Roxas smiled politely.

"Uh, good to see you again." He said properly, still having no clue who Pence was.

Pence's smile died on his face. "You don't remember me? You know…kindergarten?"

No. He definitely did not fucking remember kindergarten. Who the hell remembered their kindergarten years? He sure didn't. But hold on now. Maybe if he really thought back. Kindergarten meant that it was before he moved to Destiny Islands, back when he still lived in Twilight Town…he would have still been wearing his hair long and in his eyes…wearing his signature checkerboard T-shirt and jeans with the knee high socks…

…and him, Pence, Olette and Hayner were best friends…the…the…!

"We were the Kinderguardians!" Roxas shouted, his memory seeming to shake off the dust. He remembered now! The four of them would run around trying to solve mysteries and seem cool to the older fifth-graders. And Hayner…

Hayner had been his best friend.

"YES! Oh thank goodness you remember! I was getting worried… but, look how much you've changed! You're so hardcore and badass!" Pence cried, his warm brown eyes seeming to just sparkle in the presence of his old friend.

Roxas laughed sheepishly and glanced down at himself. He was wearing his favorite outfit- the khaki one that he wore on special occasions (not that a party for Riku was special or anything!)- a couple of rings and a couple of wristbands, and his spike necklace that Axel had given him when they were still boyfriend/boyfriend. And of course Pence had never seen him with his hair spiked.

"Nah, I'm just chillen'. So what are you doing here? Aren't you still in Twilight Town?" He wanted to know, folding his arms and looking at him. Pence shook his head.

"No, I moved. Actually we all did. We heard that Olette's dad had to be relocated here, and we staged a level 5 freak out, so we convinced our parents to move with them. Our first day started yesterday, but unfortunately we couldn't find you anywhere. Olette ended up in a class with Kairi and Namine, which is how we got the invite." Pence explained, waving to Paine as she left the wall. "Sweet, huh?"

Roxas grinned and beat fists with him. "More than sweet! Awesome!"

"So do you want to go find Olette and Hayner?" Pence offered with a knowing smile. Roxas returned it.

"You know it."

As it turned out, Olette and Hayner had been in the movie room downstairs, the last time Pence had seen them. Supposedly the movie playing was Step Up 2 the Streets, which neither had seen yet so both had decided to chill down there while Pence checked out all the cool features of the house.

"You should have seen Hayner's face when he saw Kairi's house. It was like this," Pence told him, pausing to make a face reminiscent of Edvard Munch's The Scream, "Just like that, I swear."

Roxas burst out laughing. Maybe this was why he hung out with Pence as a toddler. The boy was just brimming with good natured humor. "You're sure?"

Pence scrunched up his face so he looked like the President. "Is this the face of a guy who'd lie?"

More laughter bubbled up in Roxas throat, and he had to grab onto the wall to keep from falling down the rest of the flight of stairs. He was going to have to control this insane amount of humor, that Pence.

When Roxas and Pence got downstairs, all the movie watchers (and there was a lot of them- guess some people preferred to watch people party rather than do it themselves) were glaring at them, no doubt due to Roxas' not so quiet laughter from the stairs.

Roxas coughed. "Uh…sorry."

Everyone grumbled as they turned back to the screen, but two faces in particular remained staring at them, whispering to each other in quiet tones. A pair of wide brown eyes and another pair of green were fixated on him, and he fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Why are they still staring?" Roxas mumbled to himself, scowling back at them. The face that belong to the brown eyes looked surprised for a second before sneering back, flopping back down into the couch. The green eyes blinked for a second before growing warmer and suddenly growing closer.

Pence rolled his eyes and nudged Roxas meaningfully. "Roxas, stop scowling. That's Hayner and Olette."

"Huh?" Roxas' face suddenly filled with surprise as he gaped at Pence before looking back swiftly at the two pairs of eyes, but both were gone. Roxas' shoulders sagged and he sighed disappointedly. Great…now he'd just scared off two of his old friends.

A tap from behind him startled him, and he flew nearly three feet into the air as he swirled around. In front of him was a cute brunette girl with bangs that framed her face and a warm smile, and incidentally the host of the two green eyes he'd just seen a second ago. Next to her was a guy dressed in cargo and with strange slicked hair, standing with his arms folded and looking away with a scowl on his face.

"Roxas?" The girl asked out hopefully, reaching out tentatively and touching his hand. For some reason, he instantly relaxed, giving the girl a slow smile.

"Olette?" He asked with a grin. The girl- Olette- broke out into a wonderful smile and threw her arms around Roxas' neck, pulling him close and giving him a tight hug.

"Oh Roxas, it really is you!" She pulled back a little to observe him. "And look at you! You're so different, and yet, you look the same. I mean, you look all hard and badass, but you still have that goofy smile and angelic face!" She sighed happily.

Pence walked over to Hayner and pushed him up towards Roxas, ignoring the warning glare that he shot him and nodding his head to Roxas. Hayner finally looked over at Roxas, both boys staring at each other with tense uncertainty. Finally, when Roxas felt like he was about to break down and crack, Hayner broke the ice.

"Roxas…I…I remembered you." He mumbled, refolding his arms and looking away again with a sniff. Pence and Olette hid smiles in their hands as they watched the exchange in amusement.

Roxas rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "You did promise that you would." He pointed out, the memories suddenly awakening and finding their place back in his mind.

Hayner shrugged and finally allowed himself to look at Roxas and smile. "Yeah? Well, even as a kindergartener I didn't make promises I wouldn't keep. I was a Kinderguardian, you know."

Roxas laughed, and suddenly both him and Hayner were hugging and laughing.

"Where have you been all my life, love?" Roxas joked, pounding fists with him like they used to. Hayner pretended to be a girl and fainted in his arms.

"I've been pinning away for you with my weeping organs and my pounding bosom!" He wailed in his best female impersonation, and suddenly all four of them were laughing and hugging again.

"SHHHH! SOME PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THE DAMN MOVIE!" Someone from the first row shouted, giving Roxas and the gang the finger. Roxas scowled at him and memorized his face. Oh, he was so pranking him when they got back to school on Monday.

Olette wiped her eyes and sniffed, watching on at the three boys that were her best friends, before noticing two approaching figures from the stairs out of the corner of her green eyes.

"Oh hi Kairi!" She greeted at the girl before her voice abruptly left her upon seeing the guy that was with her. "O-Oh my…"

Hayner, Pence and Roxas all looked up to see Kairi and Riku standing at the bottom of the stairs, both looking like they were carrying a cow on their shoulders and had just seen a ghost. As his three old friends gasped at Riku's beauty, Roxas noticed the expression on Riku's face. He looked so nervous, yet determined. Something was up.

"Hi Olette; Olette's friends. We need to borrow Roxas for a little while, okay? We'll bring him back safe and sound, promise!" Kairi giggled, sounding so convincing to the rest of them, but sounding so fake to Roxas, who could see through her façade.

"Don't make promise you can't keep." Riku mumbled under his breath lowly, but loud enough for Roxas to hear. He frowned.

"I'll catch up with you later guys." He bid farewell to his friends, and followed Kairi and Riku back up the stairs, glancing at Riku as they climbed steps.

"What's going on, Riku?" He demanded, grabbing his arm and stopping him at the top step. Kairi stopped as well, turning to them impatiently, but she remained silent. It was important that Roxas and Riku cleared the air.

Riku hid his eyes beneath his bangs. "We need your help. But I'll understand if you don't want to give it."

Roxas looked confused. What the hell was he talking about?

"What? Why wouldn't I want to help you guys out?" He wanted to know.

"Because," Riku muttered, letting out a sigh, "You hate me. And don't even try to lie, because I know you do."

"Riku," Roxas began with a tinge of annoyance, "I don't hate you, and I'm sorry if my anger let it seem that way. I was just so mad at the thought that I had been left behind…and I let that bitterness build up inside of me. I'm not saying I'm not still upset at you, because hell yeah, I am. I'm just letting you know that I still care about you, and I do forgive you. Actually, I'd kind of forgiven you a while ago."

Riku perked up at that, and for a second his normal arrogant state shined through. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Roxas rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly again. "Sor was kind of right. Most of this was about Axel."

Riku grinned at him, and now his personality- the one that resembled the butt of a donkey- was entirely out into the open. "I knew it, Mrs. Axel Akito! This wasn't about me at all! You know, I saw your song lyrics. I never knew you could be so romantic."

Roxas' calm, sincere expression morphed into a scowl so fast that it actually startled Riku for a second. "Shut up, you jerk. Weren't you still apologizing a second ago?"

"Actually, he wasn't. You were." Kairi offered, but one look from Roxas made her pretend like her shoes were the most interesting things in the world. "Uh, never mind."

She looked up again when she thought it was safe. "Actually guys, we have a job to do, remember?"

Roxas tilted his head at them. "Yeah, about that. What exactly do you need my help with?"

Riku gave him a knowing smirk.

"Let's just say we're going to need a lot of mischief."

Enter Axel:

Never before had Axel felt so horrible, so mad, and so depressed all in one night. But now he had. And he had to tell you, it pretty much sucked ass.

Roxas was upset. He got that. Tonight he had just found out he had taken Namine's virginity, and then had to recount a horrible time in his past. Of course that would make any guy break down. But…he didn't expect Roxas not to want to keep seeing him. He thought Roxas would forgive him, and he would keep on dating both.

No such luck. Roxas had had it with him, and now they were back to square one: friends. Axel shuddered.

But this was what he wanted. This was the reason why he began dating Namine in the first place. This was the only fucking way to guarantee that Roxas would not take him back before that faithful time came when he would have to leave.

But, god fucking dammit, he didn't expect it to hurt this much.

"Axel…are you okay?" Namine asked him, placing a comforting hand on his elbow. They were both leaning on the kitchen counter, each staring thoughtfully into space, completely ignoring the party going on around them. That was probably one of the best things about Namine, though. Axel could just be with her and feel anything he wanted to feel without the fear of someone intruding in his thoughts.

He gave her a small, reassuring smile. "I'm fine." He scoffed and straightened, tossing her a smirk. "Come on…I'm Axel."

Namine giggled in her hand and stepped closer to him. "Well, hi Axel. I'm Namine. And I would like to know if you want to meet my parents tomorrow evening."

Axel turned around so his face was hidden by his long spiky red hair. And this was one of the worst things about Namine. She was treating him like he was her little boyfriend, or something, when they were just dating. And sure, it wasn't her fault that Axel was so damn sexy and likeable, but…his heart really did belong to Roxas. So her trying to make him hers was just…

It made him very, very reluctant.

"Uh…but, um, isn't tomorrow a school day?" He hedged, scratching his head and still refusing to look at her. Namine laughed from behind him and gently turned him around so 

he was facing her. Her cute little face smiled up at him, and he felt a pang of guilt for leading her on like this.

"Yes, but last time I checked dinner was served after school. Besides, you don't have work tomorrow. I remembered your schedule and made plans accordingly." Namine explained, leaning up to give him a kiss on his cheek. "It's decided then!"

"Y-Yeah…" Axel laughed nervously. Memorizing his schedule? Deciding things for him…? What kind of monster has he created?!

Maybe taking her virginity wasn't the best idea on his part.

"Axel!" A voice from behind them suddenly shouted, and he swirled around to see Kairi, standing there looking nervous and panicked, with Riku and Roxas next to her, both looking away from him for different reasons.

"Couldn't we have just left him out of it?" He heard Roxas mumble to Riku.

"Hey, you're not the one who's on his hit list, buddy." Riku muttered back.

"Anyway, because obviously Riku and Roxas are under the assumption that we're all death, Axel, we need you." Kairi told him cheerfully, but it was a sarcastic sort of cheery, the one where everyone can fucking tell you're shitting with them.

Axel twisted away from Namine. Thank god for Kairi and the two rude boys next to her. "Uh, alright. What's up?"

Enter Sora:

"Hey, have you seen Riku?"

"Nope, sorry Klutz, haven't seen him."

"Do you know where Riku might be?"

"Notta clue, Klutz."

"Did you see where Riku went?"

"Uh-uh, I was too busy dancing with my baby!"

It was after asking my fifteenth stranger that I realized that Riku was nowhere to be found. Which definitely confirmed that, yep, Riku was avoiding me.

But I was not to be discouraged! I was going to find Riku if my life depended on it!

Zexion had really put things in perspective for me in the Riku front. What he said made perfect sense. Riku was probably nervous and scared about talking to me- I mean, Roxas had basically just told us that Riku ripped his heart out and tore it into pieces.

I would have been a quivering mass of fear by now if I was Riku.

I bumped into a chair- like a freaking idiot! - as I entered the Dining Room, letting my eyes roam around. There was Selphie, Tidus and Wakka sitting together in a booth, whispering to each other, a couple pointing and laughing at me from my little clumsy action and some other people I didn't recognize who were too busy stuffing their faces with cheese fries to even notice me.

Great. No sexy, silver haired assholes in my eyesight.

I strode up to the trio of my friends with a no bullshit gleam in my eyes and slammed my fists down on the table, but I ended up missing and hitting myself in the thighs. Wakka and Selphie snorted, but Tidus merely raised an eyebrow at me and looked back down at his hands.

"Looks like it's a bad night for both of us." Tidus observed, kicking an extra chair from the table in my general direction. "What's your story?"

I sighed and sat down, surprising myself by managing not to miss it. Huh. Maybe Riku's lessons were paying off some. I would have to tell him that- if I could ever freaking find the boy!

"I'm sure you heard; it's the highlight of the party. Anyway, I'm looking for Riku. Have any of you seen him?" I asked hopefully, biting my lip. Tidus slumped back down in the booth, and Wakka patted him sympathetically on the back. I gazed confusedly at the two of them. What was wrong with Tidus?

Selphie ripped her worried gaze from Tidus to give me an empathetic smile. "No, I'm sorry, Sora. I haven't seen him since your closet spat." Then she leaned in close to me and whispered, "You haven't, uh, by any chance, seen Kairi…have you?"

I scowled. No. I hadn't seen her since she freaking locked me in that closet.

"No, I haven't. Sorry. But I think I might have caught a glimpse of her going upstairs with Yuna while I was talking to Zexion." I told her, trying to be helpful. But I guess what I said had the opposite effect. Both Selphie's and Tidus' whole bodies fell dejectedly onto the table.

I gave Wakka an alarmed look. What did I say?!

"What's the matter?!" I practically shouted, clutching my heart. It was beating so fast! I hope I hadn't said anything to offend them to the point of physical pain! But Wakka just rolled his eyes.

"Breathe Klutz. Jeez, it's not that serious. They're just lovesick. Calm down, will ya?" Wakka scoffed, shaking his head. He pulled Tidus and Selphie back up to sitting positions with both arms and then turned back to me. "See? They're fine."

Selphie's body fell back onto the table with a thud.

"Lovesick?" I repeated, staring at Tidus. Now that I looked at him, he did look sort of dreamy- but a depressed dreamy, like he was imagining Yuna in some kind of paradise with a steamy Fabio-looking man with fifteen pack abs and a whole tray of body shots. "Are you having Lady Yuna troubles?"

Tidus groaned. "She's been spending all her time with Kairi! And when she's not spending time with her, she's talking about her, and about how great and special she is. I heard a rumor that Yuna even asked her to call her Les! She hasn't asked me to call her that, and I'm supposed to be her boyfriend."

I coughed awkwardly. "Uh…but isn't Lady Yuna, like, straight?"

Tidus snorted and gave me a sarcastic grin. "Yeah, but I heard Kairi's bi. And I was her last boyfriend. If I can make Kairi, Miss Boy Crazy since she was five, switch teams, who's to say I won't make Yuna either?"

"I don't know much about Lady Yuna, but she seems to be in love with you whenever you're around." I pointed out, trying to be as much as a help as I could be to a boy who thinks his girlfriend is a lesbian.

"Yeah, the operative phrase being 'whenever I'm around.' But when I'm not, she's all for being with Kairi, her special new mystery." Tidus said scornfully, resting his head in his palm and placing his elbow on the table. "The worst thing about it, though, is that I know there's a huge possibility that Yuna might fall for Kairi. Why not? I did. You should know too, since she's your best friend. Kairi is beautiful in every way. Her personality is caring, funny and up for anything, her looks are a classic, flawless pretty and she makes the best out of every situation. Why wouldn't Yuna go gay for her?"

I shrugged noncommittally. I didn't like talking about Kairi stealing Yuna away. Actually, I didn't like talking about Kairi with other people at all. It felt too much like choosing sides, even if what Tidus was saying about her was very nice.

"I-I don't know." I glanced over at Selphie before returning my gaze to Tidus' quite handsome face. "Who's she lovesick for?"

Tidus opened his mouth to totally blab her secret when Demyx ran into my chair, knocking me backwards and landing me on the floor like a fly who'd run into a window.

"Hey Demyx. What's the matter?"

"I can't find Zexion anywhere!"

I laughed sadly and stood up, dusting myself off and ignoring the laughing couple- again. "Join the club. I can't find Riku either."

Demyx stopped his ranting long enough to cock his head at me. "That's funny, because I just saw him with Kairi, Roxas and Axel- and they were looking for you."

I paused and narrowed my eyes at him. "Really?" Then I exhaled. There was no way- that wasn't even possible. Why would Riku and Roxas be together? Plus Axel? Not a chance. "Jeez Demyx, do you enjoy messing with me like this?" I whined, feeling a little offended that he would be mocking me at my fragile state.

Demyx shook his head and grabbed my shoulders. He shook me. Hard. "Listen. To. Me. There is something serious going on, and they're looking for you. By the looks on their faces, it's very important. Go find them."

Thus, this is how I find myself searching dutifully once more for the guy I really want to talk to, the guy I'm really afraid to talk to, and the guy who probably won't talk to me at all. Add in my best friend who is now officially a girlfriend stealer and it's a fiesta!

Joy.

As I searched the house, earning three bruises and a long gash on my knee due to said clumsiness, I realized this was a really cliché situation. The pursued becomes the pursuer. The tables turn and I'm always the one with the short end of the stick.

I pondered all of this as I went from room to room, not really noticing anyone if they didn't have silver hair and sparkling aqua-marine eyes. That's probably how I found myself inevitably bumping into Roxas, who, of course, didn't even lose his posture.

As for me…

Roxas stared at me as I hit the ground with a thud, earning yet another bruise on my knee. I rubbed it furiously.

"Ow…" I complained with a pout as a slow smile of amusement suddenly made its way onto Roxas' face. He tilted his head at me and offered his hand for me to use to get up.

"Need some help?" He asked like the wise-aleck he's always been. I playfully scowled at him, slowly getting to my knees and carefully standing up by myself. See! I didn't need anyone's help! I was fine!

"No." I replied curtly, giving him a teasing sneer. Then I became serious. "Demyx told me I needed to find you guys. Said it's important. What's up?"

Roxas became serious again as well. "We need your help. Something is about to happen. Something bad. Something that's much bigger than us…and we've got to protect everyone."

He offered his hand for me to take, to lead me to the path of Moving On. But there was something that had to be said first. There was something that needed to be said.

"Roxas…I am so very sorry for breaking your heart. The blame should go to me one hundred percent, not Riku. I've just been selfishly letting you torture him with no blame whatsoever going to me, and that's not right. So I'm sorry." I apologized, looking away.

Roxas was silent for a moment before sighing and rolling his eyes.

"Honestly, what is it about you and Riku's anatomies that won't let you two let things go? I forgive you. Hell, I forgive Riku. And it's not like I didn't shamelessly torture you when Riku first initially left, or did you just forget how pissed off at you I was?"

I didn't forget. I still have some scars left from his "pranks."

"I loved him." I whispered, finally letting it be said. There. It was done. Now all my feelings that I had bottled inside for years were finally completely released. There was nothing more for me to hide. I am Sora "Klutz" Hikaru. Bare and naked and vulnerable.

Roxas cocked his head at me and gave me a bemused look. "Loved? As in past tense? Let's not kid ourselves, Sor."

I opened my mouth to say something, which, okay, probably wouldn't have been all that retorting and witty. Jeez, I wasn't quick like Mr. Einstein over there. But the chance to reply would've been nice. The next thing I knew I was being dragged by Roxas through room after room after room, leading me to the last stop on the Moving On train.

Riku.

Enter Riku:

Between the three of us- me, Roxas and Sora, of course- Kiwi had always been the most emotional. Little things, weird little things touched him in a way that never even so much as crossed our minds. For example, back when we were younger, we had all spent winter break in Christmas Town, a little ways off from Halloween Town, and "Santa" had lost his sled of goodies. Well, little Kiwi became so distraught over it, that he spent three days looking and searching for it, before finally discovering it in the clutches of three little tricksters from Halloween Town. He actually fought them for it, and saved the day.

See, me and Roxas? Fat chance in hell of us doing that. We spent the first day helping Kiwi look, the second day going snowboarding, and the third day eating candy and getting fat in the Candy Shoppe.

Based on that single incident, and trust me, there were many, I can honestly say that I had a lot of freaking reason to be surprised at what had just happened. Really, it's a quite logical explanation for my surprise.

Roxas dragged Kiwi towards us and I winced. I braced myself for a glare, and slap, or maybe even a declaration of the end of our friendship. That incident had proven that Sora 

has always been a surprisingly good person, and usually, that comes with being a good judge of character.

I pondered all of this in those lasting few seconds that closed the distance between me and Sora and prepared myself. What I wasn't prepared for, was his next action.

Kiwi hugged me. Hugged me. As in, wrapped his arms around me, nuzzled my neck with his face, and squeezed.

"Hugmahumdaror…" I babbled like the intelligent guy I am. My eyes flitted around in shock as Sora hugged me even tighter, and, in order to distract myself from Sora's delicious scent and his toned little body against mine, I glanced at my…amazing group of friends. Roxas and Axel both turned to each other and snickered before pausing and promptly looking in different directions. Kairi touched her lips in a distracted fashion, and everyone else was…well, partying.

As well as the little dancing monkey who was occupying my brain at the moment.

And suddenly, just as soon as it happened, he pulled away, leaving my body with an empty, yearning feeling. The smile that was there suddenly disappeared and was replaced with a scowl, not unlike the ones I was now used to receiving from Roxas.

"Look Riku," He began with a confidence I hadn't seen from him since I got here, "it's alright if you aren't comfortable enough yet to tell me the reason why you left. It's alright if you don't even want to tell me why you're back. But don't run from me. I want to talk to you. I want to try to go back to the way we were; best friends. You, me and Roxas."

Although what he was saying warmed my ever-thawing heart, some of his negotiations weren't what I wanted. I didn't want to go back to being best friends. I wanted us to grow up together; to move on. To become intimate and close in a way that just isn't possible as best friends.

But for now…

"I…do too." I responded, feeling like I was making a promise I couldn't keep. "And…I can't tell you any of those answers. Any of you…" I looked around at my friends, the people I trusted. "Not yet."

Kiwi surprised me by nodding. "I know. And when you're ready, we'll be there. But for now…stop acting so emo so we can all save the island and what not."

As I gazed into Kiwi's beautiful, big blue eyes, and he stared meaningfully back, I finally felt half of that empty piece of nothingness begin to chip itself back into place, as it should. I grinned, and turned to Roxas, who was shamelessly staring at Axel's now unattainable ass. He felt my gaze and looked up at me, blushing cutely but not taking his eyes from mine. And in that look, the other half of my heart made its way into its position, as well, leaving me with a sense of completeness.

"Uh, guys? What's with the staring contest? We have a job to do, remember?" Kairi suddenly complained, folding her arms and raising her eyebrows at us. I directed my grin at Kairi now.

"Oh come on…as if you even have a plan." I scoffed, my grin growing even wider as she narrowed her eyes at me. "What, do you plan to lock them all in a closet like you did with us?"

Roxas and Sora laughed as Kairi fumed at me.

"It worked, didn't it?" She cried out exasperatedly. I snuck a glance at Axel, but I quickly looked away. He was in a rotation between staring sadly at Roxas, frowning at Namine's figure in the distance, and glaring at me for even speaking in his presence.

Yeeeeeeah, I take it he was still angry with me.

"I'll have you know I actually have a very intricate plan, this time!" Kairi announced determinedly, and the four of us all piled together, listening intently at the plan that would no doubt fail.

Enter Zexion:

"Zexion…"

Zexion jerked awake, blearily blinking the sleep out of his eyes and running a hand down his face. When did he fall asleep? No, better question: whose voice was that? He couldn't be sure, but it sounded distinctly like…

Maleficent.

"Uh…we're here." Xigbar announced awkwardly, gesturing in sheepish pride at the house they'd stopped at. Zexion shook off his exhaustion and followed Xigbar hand only to jump and recoil in disgust. Where they even at a house?

No, there was no way that was a house. Instead he was looking up at a half brick, half decaying wood hunk of material in the shape of someone's home, but not quite getting there. Zexion squinted. Where those…cockroaches running inside the crack of the front door? Was that…a fire ant colony on the entire side of the "house"? And was that… a chimney in the shape of a male hoo-hah?!

"I'm not going in there." Zexion announced quietly, glancing over at Xiggie with a look that just dared him to question his declaration. Saix shrugged understandably, while Luxord merely burst out laughing.

"Spot on decision there, mate." He applauded him, still laughing as he made to enter to the house. Saix followed him, quietly mumbling to himself about there being a full moon tonight. That left Xiggie and Zexion out there alone.

"Zexion…" Xiggie started, but Zexion pretended as if he had never even spoken.

"Well…I'm kind of exhausted, so I guess I'll go inside…but only if I get a bed." Zexion murmured. He stretched, almost as if to prove his statement.

Xiggie let out the breath he had been holding. "Of course." He mumbled softly. Zexion nodded emotionlessly at him and began to the front door, effectively hiding his whole face from his brother. That would do. Because if his brother saw him, he would see all the emotion that Zexion had been hiding for years now in the absence of his beloved brother.

When Zexion opened the door, the first thing he noticed was that the exterior wasn't a thing like the interior. The interior was just like their real base of operations in Never Was Town in Bastian Bay, only things were homier…more relaxed.

And the second thing he noticed was that something had attached itself to his small torso, squeezing him close to it. Or, perhaps 'it' was not the operative word to use. He looked down.

Marluxia. No, no. It was the correct pronoun.

"Zexion! I missed you!" Marluxia squealed, hugging him closer to his body. Lexeaus merely saluted him from where he was sitting on the couch in front of the TV. Saix, Luxord and 

Xiggie had run off somewhere to do something that Zexion really could care less about, and Larxene ruffled his hair in that annoying way that always managed to piss him off a little bit.

Zexion said nothing in response to Marluxia.

"Aw…still emotionless as always, eh Zex? Well, anyway, I was wondering. Did you, by any chance, see…Vexen, while you were there?" Marluxia hedged, his voice suddenly growing more hesitant by the minute. Zexion, despite himself, gave way to a small smile. Everyone knew that Marluxia was deeply in love with Vexen. And while Vexen never reciprocated any feelings for their leader, everyone could tell that he was just in denial about it.

Marluxia was a strange character, to say in the least. It was a joking debate in the Organization that he had split personality disorder. One minute Marluxia was carefree and ditsy, then he'd be yelling and throwing things at them, and then he'd be serious and displaying some serious leadership qualities.

Vexen, on the other hand, was all ice. In fact, the Ice Queen barely said a nice word to anyone whenever he wasn't in his laboratory. Supposedly, Vexen and Xemnas used to date, but Xemnas dumped him in favor of Saix, and that's when Vexen went from nice, to ice. But that was alright, since that seemed to be something that Marluxia was into, so it all worked out.

The others all had personalities that Zexion didn't exactly care for. That or he simply didn't care. Still…they were his comrades; his brothers and Zexion couldn't deny that things just wouldn't be the same without any of them.

Larxene was kind of this crazy bitch who took out her frustrations on everyone, and usually Zexion stayed clear of her. Marluxia was her best friend, and whenever she was around him, she instantly became tamer. To sum it up, Larxene was like the annoying big sister he'd never had.

Lexeaus, or Lex, was actually pretty…well, nice would be the first word that came to mind. When he was on a mission, Lex was actually pretty horrible and was pretty evil. But whenever he had downtime, he was the sweetest man Zex had ever met. He also had this weird brotherly complex for Demyx, which, yes was kind of annoying, but now seemed kind of endearing.

Saix, Luxord and Xiggie were pretty trio oriented. They never really went anywhere without the others. Saix, however, had recently taken to sleeping with Xemnas, which had given 

way to tension between them. Zexion had to admit, it was…abnormal…. to sleep with their Superior.

Zexion blinked as Marluxia gave a strong slap to his back, and his body, due to its size, went tumbling into Larxene, who smiled down at him. Funny, her smile didn't bring him happiness. Actually, it only gave way to uneasiness.

"So Marly…you up for some catch?" Larxene asked Marluxia evilly, shoving Zexion roughly back into Marluxia's awaiting arms. Marly's eyes widened at Larxene and he quickly pulled Zexion to the protection of his back.

"No! " He gasped, and Zexion almost began to feel remorse for thinking the worst of him. And then, "If we piss him off now, he'll never tell me if he saw Vexen. We can mess with him later, when all is told."

Zexion gave him a blank look and shoved away from him. Assholes.

He had just reached the bedrooms when Marluxia came running after him, grabbing his wrists and abruptly pulling him into his bedroom.

What the-

"Hi. Yeah, sorry about that; we were just teasing. You didn't have to have a BF." Marluxia whined loudly, locking the door behind them. Zexion raised an eyebrow.

"A 'BF'?" He repeated uncertainly.

"Uh, yeah." Marluxia looked both ways before lowering his voice. "You know, a bitch fit."

Okay. At this point Zexion was just about ready to get some sleep. He regarded Marluxia with impatience, which was probably the most expression he'd ever given him.

"Why am I here?" He demanded softly. Marluxia suddenly became serious, and once again Zexion was dumbfounded at the obvious transformation in personalities.

"Look. This is very important, so you need to stop fooling around. Sit down. Now."

Zexion sat, inwardly cursing him in his head. He was fooling around? If that was fooling around, he didn't want to know what being serious was like.

"Xemnas recently informed me that Maleficent has somehow got her source on some serious power...power that she has been wielding and growing stronger with. We don't know what it is, but we know it's serious. I trust that the Dog, the Brit and the Pirate have told you all about her intentions with your little boyfriend?"

Zexion felt himself settling back into his rank at Marluxia's no bullshit tone. "Yes, sir."

Marluxia nodded. "Good. I also trust you know that we are relocating into the home of your silver-haired friend in order to maintain contact with the Mercenaries?"

Zexion paused. Uh, no, he didn't know about that one. Did Riku even know about that? "Uh, no sir, I didn't."

"Well, it'll be your job to inform him of this. Now, I'm not sure if you know about the history of the Organization, but it's not a pretty one. So relax, grab a beer from my mini-fridge over there, and listen."

Enter Riku:

The plan, I was to learn, was very simple, to the point…and kind of stupid. But then again, it's always the ridiculous, silly plans that work out the best. Still…I couldn't help but still be a little nervous about the whole thing. I mean, these were lives at stake here. None of us could mess this up. There was no room for mistakes.

But on the other hand…that didn't mean that we couldn't enjoy the hell out of it!

I grinned as I made my way to the dance floor, casually making my way into the middle. Kairi told me to be conspicuous and stay on the down low, but what was the point of dancing on the outskirts when you could just dance in the center? Hey, you know what they say: live today like there's no tomorrow!

Demyx returned to his DJ stand with a calm determination as Taylor Swift's sappy love song ended. We had all decided to include Demyx when we realized that he was just as important to this plan as the rest of us. And it was better to keep the main guy we were protecting close to us.

He slid a concealed record from out of its case and placed it into the player, giving the expectant dancers a happy little smile that made them all feel uneasy. Ha, they were such followers. Did no one plan to request any songs? Or maybe even ask what was next? Well, guess not.

Guess they'd just have to deal with Demyx's next song!

Dem leaned over the table after pressing play and winked at me. I nodded back and settled into the center, turning my face down and widening my stance; a couple of people who were around me stepped away and stared at me curiously. Hell, I was curious myself. I had no clue how to dance.

5

"What's the new kid doing?"

"Oh, he's not new, he just ran away for like, three years."

4

"Is he about to break dance?"

"Who the fuck cares? I could totally take him on."

3

"I'm surprised he's not chasing after Sora, or something."

"Who's Sora?"

2

"When the hell is the music going to start?"

1

Go time. Time to break out the big guns and start our mission. Mission: Ultimate Distraction. The music came on, and I didn't know what I was doing; I just began to move. Ignore the people staring, Riku. Ignore their comments. Just focus on yourself and carry out your part of the plan.

"I'm bringin' sexy back.

Them other boys don't know how to act.

I think it's special what's behind your back.

So turn around and I'll pick up the slack."

I started dancing the only way I knew how: badly. Between the robot and the worm, I think I may have been held back in a class. Yeah, the class that taught you what generation you were in. It was pretty obvious that I was in the wrong one.

"Dirty babe…you see these shackles; baby I'm your slave.

I'll let you whip me if I misbehave.

It's just that no one makes me feel this way."

People peered on in shock as I broke out in the funky chicken. Saw that move on VH1: Classics. Then I tried my hand at the hustle. Yep. I was doing the hustle to Sexyback. And proud. For shame.

I could see Demyx holding his stomach and doubling over in silent laughter out of the corner of my eye. Was I making a fool out of myself? Demyx fell out of the booth and onto the dance floor, still shaking in mirth.

I think the answer was yes. Then again, this was kind of fun!

Enter Sora:

And here I was thinking that Riku was good at everything. I laughed out loud and then covered my mouth from where I was secretly watching him dance. Riku was good at everything… but dancing!

My walkie-talkie buzzed from my pants and I reached in to get it. I reluctantly looked away from Riku's Running Man and buzzed back in on the machine.

"Agent Kiwi, here. What's the problem? Over."

Almost immediately I got a response from Kairi. "Stop ogling Riku's sexy dancing form, over."

I blushed. "I was not! Over!"

"This is Agent Kai here, asking from confirmation from all other agents that Agent Kiwi was indeed ogling Riku's sexy dancing form, over." Kairi's voice came out in amusement from the walkie-talkie. I waited patiently for one of my good old pals to back me up.

"Request granted from Agent Rocky. Agent Kiwi was definitely ogling, over." That was Roxas. But I guess I wasn't expecting an agreement from him, since I ratted him out earlier to Axel.

"Request…err, granted from Agent Pyro. Agent Kiwi was ogling, and not only that, but he was probably day dreaming about having Agent Kuey's sexy body up against him in bed, over." That was none other than Axel. My eye's bugged from my eyes. And after I helped him out earlier with Roxas, too!

"Don't you guys, heehee, have a job, hahaha, to do? Ov- haheeha- er." Demyx suddenly came through into the conversation, talking between chuckles. I looked over at Riku. He had now somehow managed to get everyone in the house to do some kind of made-up routine that consisted of The Sprinkler, The Lawnmower and The Macarena. Ugh, he was such a leader.

"Alright, alright. Agent Pyro, on the move. Melting windows 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Over." Axel suddenly announced, bringing us all back to the task at hand. The plan was to use Riku's horrible dancing skills and obvious leadership qualities to distract everyone in the party. Then we would lock everyone inside until the two strangers Kairi saw lurking around left, and until Zexion gave them the okay.

During that time, Kairi would use every fiber in her bone to entertain Riku's guest and make them believe that nothing weird was going on. That meant lots, and lots of games; games I wasn't sure if I even wanted to play.

It was freaky sometimes how perverted Kairi was.

Anyway, it was my job to block-off the bedroom windows, which were windows 6, and 9 upstairs. Kairi was taking care of the backdoor, which was huge, and Roxas was taking care of the huge glass ceiling that hung above the basement.

I snuck one last look over at Riku. His hair was tumbling down his back in dark gray waves as his muscles bulged from the tight black leather vest under his white and yellow sleeveless jacket. Oh god…it had even unzipped a little. There were little trickles of sweat rolling down his perfect abs…

And the way that perfect behind was moving and swinging in those dark blue jeans…I could feel my mouth go dry and my eyes go a little hazy. I bit my lip. Oh man…if I was three years younger…

"Agent Kiwi, where the hell are you? Have you finished your mission? Over?" Kairi suddenly screeched into the phone. I jumped, looking away and suddenly this feeling of deep shame washed over me. Look at me…wishing I could go back to the time when Riku and I snuck around behind Roxas' back?

No.

I had to keep moving forward. It was time for me to move on…which meant that Riku and I couldn't just go back to what we had. We had to start with a clean slate, and that meant not giving into temptation.

I looked up again and Riku was looking straight at me, giving me a slow smile and a sexy wink. I clutched my chest. Oh, but it wouldn't be easy. It definitely wouldn't be easy.

I made my way up the cream colored stairs, running a hand against the light green colored wall paint. This house was so familiar to me. I remember how often Riku and I would come here and just…live. I nodded my head resolutely and took bigger steps up the stairs, being careful not to trip on my face again.

Okay, so first things first. The most important room in the house. Kairi's.

I slowly approached Kairi's door with a sudden hesitance. Why was her door closed? That was weird; Kairi said she left her door wide open. Huh.

My eyes suddenly widened as a sudden epiphany hit me. Oh my god. What if…what if it was the intruders inside? I glared down at myself as a sudden anger washed over me. Three years ago I never would have had to worry about this. I used to be so graceful and strong…why the hell wouldn't my body just follow its natural tendencies?! Why did everything I touch come back ruined? Why couldn't I stand on my own two feet?!

Despite myself, I could feel angry tears well up in my eyes, and I furiously brushed them away. I was not going to cry over this. Everyone already thought I was weak as it was.

I slapped myself. Get yourself together, Sora! You have a mission!

I opened the door and paused. There, right before my very eyes, was Selphie, and an unidentified girl, going at it like there was no tomorrow. And I couldn't help it; I stared.

"Um…" I finally mumbled, my gaze drawn towards the ground. Selphie gasped, and she jumped out of bed, throwing her tight yellow dress on with haste and giving me an apologetic look. I nodded wordlessly.

"Don't…don't tell Kairi, okay?" She whispered to me, before scurrying out of there. I looked back up when I felt a pair of eyes on me, and I realized that the other girl was still in here. Actually, upon further inspection…I knew this girl. My eyes widened. Wait a sec- that was…

"Uh…Paine?" I asked, tilting my head a little to get a closer look at the girl. She turned her head, and a pair of violet red eyes locked onto mine. Yep, that was Paine alright. Wow…I had heard rumors that she was a lesbian, but I didn't know she and Selphie had a thing going.

"Don't get your panties in a twist, Sora-bear. She just wanted to see if her feelings for a certain someone went farther than an individual attraction." Paine explained, lighting up a cigarette and buttoning up her outfit. Vaguely, I wondered how she managed to do it so quickly.

"Oh. And?" I asked. I knew it wasn't any of my business but…I was curious.

"Leslie the Lesbian." She sang, walking out the room and closing the door behind her. I raised my eyebrows. Wow. Everyone was becoming a lesbian these days in Destiny Island. It almost makes me feel bad for the straight guys here.

Anyway. I had to somehow lock the windows.

Attempt one: Good old-fashioned window clasp

I stood next to the first window and pulled the shutters up. It was better that way. Now I could actually see. I felt the sill for the little white lock, whistling SexyBack for some entertainment. Once I found it, I happily turned it and the window popped closed!

Too bad it didn't actually happen that way.

I turned the clasp, and the window made a wheezing sound before falling silent again. I stared at it. It didn't even budge a little! I tugged at it again, and once more it wheezed, but still refused to move. I sighed. Of course it would be my windows that refused to close. Turning to the other window in the room, I was once again denied in my mission, as the window also stubbornly stayed open.

I pouted at it.

The windows glared at me, and, telepathically, I could tell it was saying, "Tuck your lip back in, we're not moving."

I sighed. Damn.

Attempt two: Brute strength

"May the force be with you." Cloud told me, in my mind. I nodded calmly, and stood up from where I was leaning against Kairi's bed. I eyed the window superiorly.

"I have the force with me." I bragged to the window. The window remained silent. I took a deep breath. Okay. One. Two. THREE!

I sent a deathly kick to the sill, using the force to pull it closed. The window screeched, but didn't budge a muscle. I let out a frustrated shout. This wasn't what I needed right now! Riku, Roxas and I had all just forgiven each other, and in order to keep that, we would have to carry out this mission!

"I hate you." I muttered to it. The wind from the open window howled snootily.

Attempt three: Hammer time!

I laughed menacingly as I fished out a hammer from under Kairi's bed. I have no clue why it was even under there, but at this point, I couldn't waste time with silly little details. This window was going down Sora style.

I held up a wooden block against the open portion of the window and held it in place with my foot. The nails were in my pocket, and I reached down to grab one when I realized that the pockets all had belts on them. I stared. What kind of pants did Riku buy me?!

With the hammer gripped in my left hand, my fingers wrestled with the little belts and buttons to pry it open. All of those bruises began to catch up with me, and my extended leg began to cramp up a little. I bit my lip. Oh crap.

I tried even harder to open the pocket, and I could feel my fingers getting cuts from the lack of attention, but I couldn't help it. I was starting to panic, and my foot was starting to slip, and…

The wood, my shoe, the nails and I all went flying onto her bed with a heartfelt ooof!

I glanced down at my pants and left out a frustrated cry. The pocket had completely ripped off. I groaned. Riku was not going to be happy with me at all. I shifted my gaze to the window. It hadn't even had the decency to scratch.

Attempt four: …?

At this point, I had no more ideas. What more could I do? I wasn't strong enough to pull the window down and clasp it, I wasn't skilled enough to force it down, and I wasn't coordinated enough to patch it up.

This sucked.

"Um…this is Agent Kiwi here. I, um, wasn't able to carry out my mission. I've failed you guys. Over." I admitted pitifully into the walkie-talkie. Great. Once again Klutz makes a comeback, just when things were starting to get better.

I peered at my right hand to check for any injuries. It happens much more often than you would think. As I peered closer to my palm, I started to notice something strange. Small little white and gold dots were sparkling all around the air surrounding my hand. My eyes widened. Wha-

And suddenly, a large golden key appeared in hand.

I blinked. And I blinked again. And again. Nope, Key still in hand.

And then I had this incredible urge to open something with it. I couldn't explain it, but this key almost seemed to be connected to me, like it was riding on my every thought wave, offering its own suggestions like we were friends. And it seemed to be telling me to use it to open the window.

I cautiously walked towards the window, glancing around and observing the window. I didn't see a keyhole. So how was I supposed to lock it?

My hand suddenly lurched towards the window, and soon I found myself in some alternate dimension, with swirls of what could only be magic surrounding me and making a path. I leaned back and a huge surge of power ripped through the tip of the key, shooting straight up into an angled path. I peered up as much as I dared with all of that power pressing me down, and saw that a huge keyhole was staring down at me.

The force of light from the key hit the keyhole straight on, and a loud clicking noise was heard. My eyes widened as I seemed to be zooming, and a flash of white blinded me.

I blinked again. I was back in Kairi's room, thrown back on my back onto her pink, frilly bed.

The windows were completely closed and locked. And that key…that powerful, golden key with a silver chain hanging from it… was completely gone.

Basement

We were all supposed to meet Roxas back downstairs in the far side of the basement to see if he needed any help once we were finished with our task. He did have the biggest windows to lock, after all. But...as I was walking over there, I was still wondering if I should tell anyone what just happened. I stared at my hands as I shoved past the people making out in the hallways. Did it really even happen?

Granted, a lot of stuff…weird stuff…had happened in my house, or at least I have a feeling it did. But this…I mean, a giant key, appearing in my hand? Getting transferred into a weird magical area with a giant lock? What?!

My shoe snagged onto the carpet on the top of the stairs in my distraction, and I went tumbling down, scrapes and bruises making their way onto my arms and legs as if it were nothing. Finally, once I fell into the last step, I hit the wall in a crumpled heap.

I groaned. This was just great. Just when I think my clumsiness is finally fading, it sneaks back up on me. And to ass insult to injury, no one was even here to help me up. As I struggled to pull myself back up on my feet, I placed one hand on my bent knee, and the other on the ground.

As I shakily tried to gather my strength again, I flexed my fingers, trying to somehow use them to cheer myself on. God, this was hurting so much. I squeezed my eyes shut.

I felt a tingling feeling on my hand again. As I peered down, the key suddenly appeared in my hand, blowing my bangs skywards as my eyes widened. Oh jeez, not again! Well, at least I knew I hadn't been hallucinating.

"Sora, was that you?" I heard Roxas call out from further into the basement. Crap! His footsteps were slowly resounding off the walls, and I furiously tried to shake the key away. No, no, no, this…this thing had to go away! No one could know about this! No one!

"Go away!" I hissed at the key, and in a fit of nervous anger, I threw it at the wall next to me. I watched as it slid down to the floor softly, looking pitiful and lonely by itself. And then, before I could even blink again, it was gone.

I furrowed my brow. G-Good. I was glad it was gone. That's what I wanted, right? To be rid of the random giant key? Ugh, I needed to stop personifying everything. It was going to be the death of me.

"Sor, are you down here- Ohmigosh! SORA!" Roxas suddenly shouted, running over to my bruised and, probably bloody, body. He fretted over me like…my mom. "Sora, are you alright?! What happened?! Come on; let's get you up from there."

Roxas companionably helped me up onto my feet, and as I grabbed his hand with my own right one, I cast a glance at the wall where I had thrown the key. Nothing was there. I sighed a sigh of relief. Good riddance.

"Okay, so Axel and I managed to close all of the windows together, and-"

My knowing smile stopped him, and he sighed at me in annoyance. "What?"

"Together, huh?" I winked, nudging him in the shoulder. "Is that some kind of code for-"

"Axel and I are friends. Best friends, Sor. We were back then, and we are now. I'm not going to let some little petty thing like…like our feelings ruin the most important friendship I've ever been in." Roxas explained. My face fell at his words. What about our friendship?

Roxas noticed my expression and quickly back-pedaled. "Not saying that our friendship isn't important. They just target different areas of my heart." He scowled at himself. "That made no sense. I'm sorry, I just…"

"It's alright; it made sense." I assured him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Roxas slowly smiled back and nodded, almost to himself. When the silence began to get a bit uncomfortable, I hastily cut through the tension by letting my knowing expression return.

"So what'cha guys talk about while you two were down here by yourselves?" I prodded, poking Roxas on the nose. "Huh? Huuuuuh?"

Roxas narrowed his eyes and stepped away from me. "Maybe you should try that thing…"

"What thing?" I asked excitedly. Roxas smirked.

"You know…that thing where you mind your own business."

My jaw dropped. I can't believe I fell into that one. Roxas began to laugh, and I teasingly stuck my tongue out at him. Jerk.

"Rocky? I thought you said you heard Sora make an ass out of himself again?" Axel called out as he walked towards us. I glared at Roxas and he grimaced sheepishly.

"Anyway, I finished the last window. So I guess we'll just wait for Kairi." Axel drawled, scratching the back of his head. And so, all three of us stood there silently, waiting.

After about five minutes of this, Axel's impatient nature finally got the best of him.

"What the hell, how long can locking a door take?!" He exclaimed, whipping out his walkie-talkie from his back pocket and giving it a long blow. "I'm going to buzz in."

"Oh, yeah sure, and get her pissed off at all of us for you rushing her. If I were you, I would just wait." Roxas suggested calmly, comfortingly taking Axel's hand and rubbing his thumb against it. The red head looked down at their hands quizzically before glancing back up at his ex-boyfriend.

"I don't care if she's pissed off. Besides, that doesn't seem like a very familiar emotion on her, anyway." Axel retorted, but I could see his whole posture sort of relax at Roxas' touch, just like in the closet. I hid a smile behind my hand. I see Rox had a new weapon.

"Guys, I'm upstairs. We're about to start phase two of our plan. Distraction part two. Agents, get your cute little butts over here! Over!" Kairi exclaimed into our walkie-talkies. Rocky and I both exchanged glances before I suddenly shouted,

"Last one up the stairs is a rotten egg!"

Enter Riku:

I wiped my brow. Man, dancing for what had to be an hour really takes a toll on you! On the bright side, I made a lot of new friends dancing. Like this pretty blonde girl named Penelo, who matched my dance moves perfectly. She was the first one who caught on to my routine, and the last one to stay dancing with me.

But boy was she spunky.

"You're already tired? Boy, I would've thought a handsome guy like you would have a bit more stamina than that." She teased, clasping her hands behind her back and leaning in towards me. "Or maybe my expectations were just too high."

I grinned at her. "I see the girl has jokes!"

She gave me a mischievous smile back. "And I see the boy has fans. See you around, lover boy."

I watched quizzically as she walked off. What was she talking about? But just as soon as that thought crossed my mind, a pile of girls went rushing towards me. I blinked down at them uncomfortably. They were all staring at me like I was a piece of meat. I looked up over top of their heads. All the males in the room were glaring at me. Great. Just like Bastian Bay.

Luckily, I could see my savior coming towards me, and I shot her a grateful look.

"Okay, ladies. He's all mine now. Back away." Kairi smiled, gently pushing them out the way and grabbing my hand. Half the girls glared at her hatefully while the other half widened their eyes in awe. Some even started to cry.

"I hate you, Kairi!"

"She's so cool to know a guy like that!"

"Lucky bitch!"

Kairi smiled at them and picked up the microphone. "Okay, okay, let's all settle down. Now that we have everyone up here together, I think we should start some more games! Oh, and the winner of the Riku Welcome Back Party Dance Challenge is…" She turned to me with an expectant grin.

I grinned back. "Penelo."

"Penelo!" Kairi repeated, clapping. Everyone else joined in as a spotlight, courtesy of Demyx hit her. She gave me a playful pout, and walked up to receive her prize.

"I guess the joke's on me." She laughed, and we both laughed at each other before sharing a hug.

"The name of the game is Seven Minutes in Heaven. It's a classic and one of Riku's past favorites!" Kairi announced, transitioning into the next activity with an ease that I knew she didn't feel. Everyone began to clap, the sleepiness that they all once shared dissipating from the newfound excitement. I couldn't blame them. Everyone loved kissing someone, and everyone loved the gossip that came with it even more.

Well, I didn't, but I suppose I don't count. I've probably had too many kisses from the wrong guys to last me a freaking lifetime.

It's hard to believe that Seven Minutes in Heaven used to be one of my favorites. It made me realize how much I've changed and grown up since those three years ago…those years in which I didn't know what I truly was.

"You guys all know the rules, right?" Kairi paused to listen to the drunken calls of affirmation before shrugging and continuing. "Yeah, I know you guys do, but just in case there's one shy person in here who doesn't, but really wants to play, I'll explain them again."

As Kairi explained the rules, I noticed Yuna watching her from where she was sitting on Tidus' lap, and I found my thoughts once more wandering to Kairi and just how little I actually knew about her.

I guess that telling me she was a lesbian would be kind of weird since both times that I've seen her prior to the party have been all about me. But still. I kind of feel like jerk for not…noticing? I don't even really know what I feel; all I know is that I miss having that close friendship with her.

And what's the freaking deal with Yuna? I don't know; I just didn't like the thought of her stringing Kairi along confusedly while she experimented with her dark fantasies. I mean, it was obvious that Tidus was crazy about her, so what the hell was Yuna doing with Kairi? That whole triangle just seemed like a disaster in the making.

Pssssh, like I could talk. I'm the one that ruined my own love triangle.

"-And since it's his party, Riku will spin first!"

I had been completely zoning out during Kairi's instructions and rules, but I wasn't a zombie. I definitely caught that last bit. What the hell, man? I didn't even want to play this game!

"Kairi…" I whined, trying to ignore all the pairs of eyes on me. I shifted uncomfortably from the attention. Jeez, the party had already been in swing for about four hours now. Couldn't we just all sit down and talk about life's issues?

"No." Kairi hissed sharply, answering both my previous question and the question in my mind. "Now get your ass over here and spin the damn bottle."

I frowned at her. Since when did she become so bossy?

She immediately made room for me next to her in the giant circle that I only just now noticed had formed while I was spacing out. I found myself wedged between Kairi, and the pretty brunette that Roxas was apparently friends with.

"I'm Olette." She whispered to me, gazing up at me with hopeful green eyes. I grinned down at her. I liked her energy; it reminded me of a five year old Sora.

"I'm Riku. So how do you know Roxas?" I asked, or at least I was about to, when a bottle was shoved roughly in my hand by Kairi. When I scowled over at her, she merely shrugged pointedly.

"It's our mission as party planners to keep the party on its toes." She hissed, the obvious message apparent by her tone. Oh, that's right. I kept forgetting that these games weren't just for pleasure. We were also trying to prevent anyone from wanting to leave, and that meant providing a whole array of entertainment.

With a sigh- and a frown at Kairi- I reached over and placed the bottle in the middle of the circle. As my hand prepared to spin, I noticed all the girls around me position themselves, all leaning in towards the bottle with their freshly glossed lips open eagerly in anticipation.

I ignored that. Spinning the bottle, my eyes frantically searched for bright blue ones at the same pace as the spinning plastic Coke bottle, hoping to all that was holy that it would land on Kiwi.

The bottle stopped.

It sure as hell didn't land on my Kiwi.

My eyes slowly looked up to see who it was I would be forced in the closet with, and when I saw who the receiver was, my heart nearly stopped. Why, oh fates, do you betray me so?!

Kairi bit her lip but tried to keep her voice from losing its forced cheeriness.

"Axel. I see, um, that Riku's landed on you. Well, I guess you two should head on in there."

Axel glanced up from where he was idly flickering his lighter on and off and narrowed his green, cat-like eyes in confusion when he saw everyone's amused glances on him. He tilted his head slowly at them before peering at Kairi.

"Huh?" Then everything that had been happening around him registered in his brain. "Wait, what?"

Kairi shrugged apologetically at him. "That's how the game works. It doesn't take in affect personal feelings; it just randomly chooses whoever it feels like." She gave him a small comforting smile. "You can take some beer inside with you, if you'd like." She added.

I glared at her. Oh yeah sure, getting him drunk would surely prevent him from pummeling me. There was obviously no such thing as angry drunks around here, huh Kairi?

I stood up cautiously and slowly made my way into the closet, just finally noticing Kiwi entering the room with Roxas in tow. Both paused when they saw me and Axel entering the closet while the rest of the observers all catcalled and whistled.

The last thing I saw before Kairi closed the door was Kiwi staring at the floor disappointedly.

Click!

I looked up as Axel flipped the light on and sat down on the way other side of the closet, opening up a can of Budweiser from the six packs, as promised. I sat down across from him, watching him almost enviously. With all that had happened tonight, I could use a little alcohol subsidence myself.

After completely downing his first can, he finally acknowledged my presence by tossing me my own can to drink out my problems. I graciously opened it and took a small swig. I figured I should save it as much as I could since it didn't look like Axel was the type of guy to share very often.

"Okay, so look." Axel suddenly started, waving his beer around as he spoke, "I don't usually make it a habit to try and kill someone. Even if it is for Roxas. And it's probably….not completely fair to pin the blame on you for something you did when you were practically a kid. So I'm…."

He took another long gulp of his beer instead of finishing what I knew he was doing. Apologizing. And being Riku, best friends with Sora and Zexion, two guys who would rather hide their feelings than revealing too much and getting hurt, I could recognize that Axel didn't do it very often.

"Don't worry about it. I probably had it coming anyway. I would rather it be an attempted murder from you rather than some creepy thin man on the street." I amended, feeling a bit more comfortable. I glanced down at my Pokémon watch. Only about forty five seconds had passed. Wow, time sure flies fast…

Axel suddenly reached in his pocket, and took out a shiny red object that was in the shape of a square, and I perked up eagerly.

"Food?" I exclaimed like a guy who had been on an all water diet. Axel rolled his eyes and tossed me another beer. I glanced down at the one in my hand. Huh, guess I had drunk it without realizing what I was doing. Well…that can't be good….

"IPod, son." He slurred, and I noticed he'd already gone through three beers. I looked at my watch again. Two minutes. Two minutes and he'd just downed 32 ounces of beer. Holy crap, Axel must have been one distressed dude.

He tossed me the iPod and I just caught it barely. Good thing, too, since if I missed, it would have hit me square in my eye. And a black eye just isn't attractive on a guy as pale as me.

Fingering the large screen like a jerk (I know how much people hate that), I skipped the videos in favor of searching the song list. I stared down at the iPod in my hand with a grin. One song that I'd heard before immediately caught my eye. This song had Axel all over it. I looked back up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"'Stupid MF by Mindless Self Indulgence'? Wow, music sure has changed since my day." I mocked him playfully. Axel just stuck his tongue out at me and chucked the empty beer bottle at my head. I caught it sloppily and gave him a teasing frown.

"That was mean."

"The world is mean, buddy boy. I suggest you jump on the bandwagon and ride that pony! P-O-N-Y, got it memorized?" Axel reflected wisely, rubbing his chin as if he was an intelligent old sage. I gave him a weird look.

"Right."

"You know," Axel mused, pausing to burp in a rude and kind of gross way. "I screwed a girl once to this song. It was hot. H-O-T, got it memorized?"

I rolled my eyes at him and took another swig of my Bud. "Dude, why do you find it necessary to spell everything? Do you think the rest of the world can't or something?"

Axel just laughed loudly. "I have to prove my I-N-T-E-L-L-I-G-E-N-C-E, got it memorized?"

"And why do you say 'got it memorized?' all the time? Who the hell is going to memorize something you said only a few seconds ago?" I continued. Axel was waving me off, but I was on a roll. The beer was making me especially talkative today, and I was going to talk until my mouth started bleeding and Axel's ears fell off!

"And why do you screw around with Roxas' feelings? The kid is in love with you, passionately in love with you. SO in love with you, in fact, that he's willing to forgive me just to make you happy! And in return, you date Namine and fuck a bunch of sluts who just want you because you have a reputation for being great in bed!"

Axel laughed dryly. "You forgot some things. Like when I don't remember that his birthday is on-"

"November 15th." We both finished at the same time. Axel looked at me meaningfully for a long moment, and I stared back. In a way, Axel and I were the same. We both hid our true feelings by doing something else, something that usually wasn't very acceptable.

"Sounds like you remember to me." I spoke out quietly, suddenly deciding I really didn't need any more alcohol in my system. "So why not let him know you know?"

Axel sighed and downed what had to be his sixth beer. Damn, he had tolerance! "This is my last year, you know. I've been waiting to get off of this damn island and see the world since I was first moved here my sophomore year."

I laughed. "It's only been two years and you're already yearning to get out? I would think if there was someone here who wanted to get out the most, it'd be Roxas, not you."

"I...have family shit. It's not so much the place than it is the people in it. Of course, there are quite a few diamonds here, like Rocky…Sora…Kairi…" Axel sighed. "Namine."

I cocked my head at him and tapped him on the head with my bottle. "Yeah, what's the deal with that? If you love Roxas as much as it seems like you do, why are you even with her?"

Axel groaned and fell back on the closet floor, his long legs nearly whacking me in the face. "I like Namine, I really fucking do. She's gorgeous, caring, and easy to talk to…she's pretty much the girl of my dreams." He paused and fingered a flannel shirt sleeve. "My dad….my dad really likes her, and that's important to me."

"And he doesn't like Roxas?" I guessed. Axel snorted and rolled his eyes.

"I never even told him that we were boyfriend/boyfriend when we were going out." He admitted. At my appalled expression, he just shrugged. "Dad's at work practically 24/7 or off on some business trip, so he didn't really have time to notice that his one and only son was bisexual. Besides…dad's pretty prejudice. He may not be a homophobe, but he can't stand to see it."

I ran a hand through my hair. "Does Roxas know that?"

"I've never actually come out and told him, but I'm pretty sure he got the picture when Rikku and I would randomly start shouting at him to get out whenever the garage would open and dad would come in." Axel explained.

"So is that why you're with Namine? Because you know she's the kind of girl that your dad would want you to be with, and you want to be the kind of son your dad would be proud of?" I inquired. I had a feeling I hit that one right on the mark. Score one for Agent Kuey; I was getting better at this all the time!

Axel looked away with a scoff. "Maybe." Then he stared over at me again, once more engaging us in a long staring contest. Finally, he spoke.

"I want to go to Beauty Bastian University, and that's all the way in Bastian Bay. I want to go to become a chef, and be able to serve cuisines to…everyone, I guess. However…that would mean leaving Roxas. I figure I should do it sooner than later so he at least has time to adjust."

I eyed him in sudden aggravation. "Wait. You mean to tell me that the only reason you've been an asshole of a boyfriend to him is because you want him to break up with you, so you don't have to deal with leaving him when the school year ends?"

Axel glared at me. "Long distance doesn't work. But you should know all about that, huh Tarada? You didn't fucking call or anything for three whole years; you completely dissed all of your friends. And I've seen that kind of fucking behavior enough to know that everyone does it."

I opened my mouth to retort before I suddenly had an epiphany about the pyro. "You've been hurt in a long-distance relationship, haven't you? That's why you're so against it. You don't want to do the same thing that your past lover did to you."

He wouldn't meet my eyes. "I figure if I somehow get Rocky to leave me now, I won't hurt him later."

I softened and reached out to pat him on the leg. "Well, if there's one thing I've learned from all of my mistakes, it's that sometimes the most impossible seeming situations can work themselves out."

Axel tilted his head to the side and suddenly smirked at me. "You're such a fairy, Tarada."

There was suddenly a bang on the door, one that startled both me and Axel.

"Time's up!" Kairi suddenly called out, opening the closet with flourish. The lights blinded me for a second, and I frowned blearily. I couldn't even see anybody, but I could already feel everyone's eyes on me. Jeez, didn't they have a bottle to spin?

Axel reached over for the bottle and placed it on the ground, glancing around the circle to see his options. He caught Roxas' eye, who kept it before looking back down at the bottle. I sighed. They were seriously in denial. When did life become so complicated that people who loved each other just couldn't find a way to be together?

"Hi." I heard a cheerful voice from besides me, and I looked over to see Kiwi had plopped down next to me. My mood instantly soared, and I grinned happily over at him.

"Hi, back. Where did you and Roxas run off to?" I wanted to know, folding my arms at him in mock seriousness. He shrugged and handed me a slice of pizza.

"The pizza guy came before we locked all the doors, but you didn't notice because you were too busy showing off your dance skills." He explained with a smirk, taking a bite out of his piece. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You were watching me?" I asked incredulously. He choked on his food, and I laughed as I patted him on the back. Finally, he grabbed Axel's beer and washed it back down. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Axel giving him a death glare and tossing it in the trash. Of course, Kiwi didn't notice any of this. He was too busy trying to hide his blush.

"N-No! I just happened to be in the area…and…and…I happened to have a lock to perform right at the spot you were dancing at, and-"

"I see the bottle has landed on Sora!" Kairi announced in her microphone, and scandalous catcalls erupted from all the observers. We both looked up in surprise, our previous conversation losing its appeal as this new bit of information registered in my mind. Axel and Kiwi? Wow, that was a strange couple if I'd ever seen one.

"C'mon, Klutz. I'll show you a good time." Axel whispered in his ear before heading towards the closet. I turned to Kiwi with a scandalized expression.

"You're going to make out with Roxas' ex-boyfriend? You little slut!" I hissed at him, pretending to be majorly disappointed in him. I was just playing around, but the truth was that I really didn't mind all that much having Axel and Sora make out like that. I mean, sure, I'd prefer if he only did it with me. But I knew this was a game, and plus, getting jealous would only lose me some more brownie points with Kiwi.

"Shut up. You're one to talk." He scoffed back, standing up and giving me a challenging look, before following Axel into the closet. I chuckled as Kiwi slammed the door, and Kairi set the timer. As I sat waiting, I looked over to see Olette staring up at me again. She blushed furiously when our eyes met.

"S-So you never said how you knew Roxas." She pointed out, tilting her head at me. I grinned and directed my gaze over at Roxas, who was sitting between some kid wearing all cargo and another kid who was only slightly pudgy with a red bandana. They were looking over here at Olette and me suspiciously.

"Oh, Roxas and I used to be involved." I answered her, amusing myself by winking over at them and gauging their reactions. Roxas just rolled his eyes and whispered something to Hayner, who looked like he was seething or something. Pence just raised his eyebrows and made an observation to the two boys, who both grudgingly nodded.

"Oh?" Olette inquired, raising her own eyebrows in surprise. "My, my, Roxas sure does aim high, I see. For how long?"

I let my eyes drift skyward as I thought about the question. Huh. How long did Roxas and I go out? Well, let's see…Roxas first came to the island when he was five, and we all became this trio of best friends. Okay, then I started harboring secret feelings for him when I was…nine. And he admitted that he liked me when he was nine, and we started going out. I cheated on Rox the day before I left, which was three years ago, and I am seventeen now. So I was fourteen then. Which meant that, Rox and I had been together for about four years?

"Eh, about four years, give or take." I admitted with a shrug. Olette's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in shock. I laughed good-naturedly. Yeah, it kind of surprised me too.

"Gosh, you two were together for a long time! What on earth caused you two to split?" She demanded, switching a suspicious stare to Roxas, who stared back at her with a small, confused half smile on his face.

"I fell in love with my best friend." I confessed. And you know what? Surprisingly, my heart didn't break when I said it. Already I was slowly starting to forgive myself for this. After three years of torment, I was finally moving on.

Olette nodded understandingly. "I can relate to that. Back in Twilight Town, I had this major crush on my friend Hayner," She paused and pointed over to him (the kid with too much cargo on), "but then I found out that he didn't swing that way, and our friendship took a major suffering. But, you know, time heals everything, and we were no exception. Actually, I sort of think he has a crush on Roxas now."

I gaped. "What?! Are you serious?"

Olette gave me a sour look. "Don't look so surprised. Roxas' edge is sexy to him. Besides, I'm pretty sure Hayner may have had a crush on him way back in Kindergarten."

"It's not that. Of course I think Roxas is adorably sexy, I went out with him for four years, didn't I? What I was surprised about was the fact that Hayner would be brave enough to have a crush on Roxas when he's head over heels for Axel." I explained with a wave of my hand.

Olette scrunched up her nose. "Who's Axel?"

And as if she said the magic words, Axel was in between us, placing both of his arms around us. "I, my new friend, am Axel. Don't believe me? Just ask that cute little brunette that just stumbled out of the closet."

We all looked over at Sora, who had wobbled over to sit next to Kairi. His lips were dark and mussed, and his eyes were slightly glazed over. I rolled my eyes. Whatever. That look was nothing compared to the one that Kiwi gave me when we first made out by the Papou tree.

Olette blushed at Axel, and I can't be sure, but I think her mind was in overdrive by the proximity of such hot guys next to her.

I watched distractedly as Sora tripped on his way back up to the center, preparing to spin the bottle. Aw, it looked like that little tumble skinned his other knee. I repressed the urge to go up there and kiss it by watching the bottle spin around and around, curious to see who it would land on.

It slowed to a stop in front of the weird, hair-slicked boy next to Roxas. Olette giggled, and I raised an eyebrow at this old friend of Roxas. Now, okay, I'm not normally a…a jealous person. But…really. What did those three have that I didn't? That Sora and Kairi didn't? I mean, it's nice to have other friends but…the way I always saw was that you always hung out exclusively with your best friends. And there he was, having just been empowered with a sense of self-worth, not even sitting by Sora, or Kairi, or…

Me.

"So" I started in an attempt to distract myself from…myself, "what's the kid's name?"

Olette calmed herself and was now watching distractedly as Hayner went striding confidently into the closet, followed by a reluctant and slightly blushing Kiwi. "Hayner. He may look like one of those straight-from-an-old-teen-movie punks, but he's much more than that. He's…a piece of work. One that you kind of have to get to know yourself to understand." Olette explained. I considered this as the closet door came to a close.

Hmm. I guess I could understand that. A person, like Kiwi for instance, has many layers, and no matter what they seem like on the outside…the exterior…they're never what they appear to be on the inside. People, in the immortal words of Donkey from Shrek…are like parfaits. And everybody likes parfaits.

I was so into my philosophical thoughts that I hadn't noticed that the seven minutes had already gone by. Kiwi was finally finished, and he flopped down besides Roxas on one side, while Hayner took his other. With both boys leaning on his shoulders, panting like that, Roxas kind of looked like a pimp. I grinned. That wasn't exactly as farfetched as it seemed.

The game went by between other people I wasn't exactly close to after that, and I soon found myself getting to know Olette a little better. She was actually a very observant person, and it was interesting to hear all of the little pieces of info that she had picked up on. Like how she didn't even know that "flippy haired girl with the yellow", but she could tell that she had a thing for Kairi. I'm friends with them, and I didn't even know that! And I thought I was observant…

Finally, after about another forty-five minutes passed, Kairi ended the game to give everyone a chance to catch their breath and refresh themselves before the next festivity. At first I thought this was a bad idea, since the whole point of this was to prevent anyone from wandering off, but when she started leading everyone to this cool room with mirrors and sinks inside, like a powder room, I knew that she was a genius disguised as just a beautiful teenage girl.

I don't want to seem like a boring old drag, but the next couple of games I kind of…slugged my way through. Let's see, there was the game of Baby in the Air, where you try to hit the other player from a long distance. That was a disaster in the making, seeing as how, one, we're in a house, where there are tons of things just waiting to be broken, and two, Kiwi is a freaking Klutz. He never caught the ball, and he was always tagged with them, causing multiple injuries and frequent first aiding.

The game after that was pretty fun, and much more tolerable, although Roxas and Kiwi would probably disagree with that statement. The name of the game was Body Part Tag, and I got to decide which body parts I wanted it to be. Apparently ass isn't a good body part to choose, as this only infuriated Kiwi even more.

Then it was time for Kissing Tag, but that didn't last very long. If Kiwi didn't even want anyone to touch his ass, why would he want someone to kiss him? That, however, was a question that went ignored, as the game provided him with more first kisses than he could handle.

We had just finished the last round of Whistling Bluff, where someone sits on your lap, and you try to figure out who it was by their whistle. I almost won this one, but seeing as how Axel was apparently a sex pot that girls just fawned over, he easily identified every girl by how they sat in his lap. Anyway, so we had just finished that game, and everyone had kind of jointly decided that we all needed a drink.

I figured that this might be the right time to plan my getaway. It wasn't that the games weren't fun and all…it was just that when you had everyone staring at you, watching your every move just because you're gorgeous, things kind of lost their appeal.

Thus, I put my James Bond glasses on, and prepared for my ultimate challenge.

Mission: Sneak Past Kairi and Not Get My Assed Kicked for Even Trying

Enter Sora:

I think…maybe, if I wasn't so sure that Kairi was my friend and that she loved me…I think she might by trying to get some kind of revenge on me.

Did every game we play have to involve Riku touching me somehow? Huh? Whatever happened to Monopoly? Or Charades? What happened to those games?

I forgave Riku and all of that, but I was supposed to be taking baby steps. Baby steps! And boy, he wasn't making it easy. Every time he touched me, no longer was I blinded by rage and hurt. Now when he touched me, I felt all the emotions I had felt on our last night together back then three years ago, when we…lost our virginity to each other. That's all I saw; all I felt…and it was slowly weakening my resolve.

I watched as he talked to that Olette girl animatedly. Huh, he sure had been talking to her a lot. Maybe I should get to know her too…I mean, Riku was so outgoing, but he had a hard time making real friends. It was surprising that he was doing so, and so soon.

"Now that we've all had a drink and a dance, we can start the festivities again!" Kairi squealed into the microphone as everyone burst in applause. Riku fiddled with the weird bandages around his arm embarrassedly. I stared. What the heck happened? I thought I was supposed to be the clumsy one, not him.

"We can't just sit here and drink away our problems?" Cloud mumbled pitifully next to me. I turned to him and rolled my eyes.

"Stop pretending to be a drunk, Cloud. You don't even like alcohol."

"I could!" Cloud protested, but we were interrupted by Kairi's microphone again.

"By the way, if you haven't guessed this yet, all the games here were games that Riku used to like, games that Riku likes now, and games that are just plain kinky!"

More applause. This time there were catcalls directed to Kairi, catcalls that caused both me and Riku to growl a little bit without really noticing. I guess we both had some sort of protective streak going for her.

"Maybe if I back away slowly…" I heard Riku muttering to himself, running a hand through his hair and taking a few steps back. What the- where did he think he was going?

"Okay, so the next official honorary Riku game will be truth or dare! Riku's ultimate favorite game back in the day! Riku, why don't you come up here?" Kairi announced, gesturing for the spotlight to hit Riku just as he was about to leave. I snickered. Looks like he wasn't going anywhere.

"Oh," Riku stammered, looking quite sheepish, "Uh, alright. Thanks Kairi."

A couple of mumbled whispering between the two old companions and five minutes later the name of the game was Truth or Dare.

The party was for Riku, so of course he was going to go first. I suppose, then, that I should have saw the next part coming.

"Kiwi, truth or dare?" Riku asked slyly, leaning back into Cloud's legs. We were all sitting on the floor in a circle, well, at least those who were participating. Everyone else was crowded in the chairs and couches, drinking beer and watching the game intently.

I chewed on my lip. What should I pick? Picking truth was guaranteeing that I would be asked some ridiculous question. And picking truth would make me seem like some kind of…

"Wimp?" Riku challenged with a devious grin. I tucked in my lip and glared at him. Sora Hikaru was no wimp!

"Dare!" I retorted, tilting my head towards him in defiance. Riku's grin only widened as the crowd oohed and awwed.

"I dare you to come over and give me a kiss." Riku ordered, folding his arms. My jaw dropped. I so should have seen that coming! Despite all that happened, though, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to kiss him again. Out of all the guys I dated after Riku, and even before, he had always been the best kisser. He had been the only one who had managed to wake up all my senses and cause sensational sparks to go up and down my spine.

But where was Roxas? If Roxas was here, we'd never have to go through this stupid game. One good thing about Roxas was that even though he may come across as mean, he always said what everyone else was thinking. And at this point, I was thinking that this was a horrible idea.

Enter Riku:

This may come as a shock, but…I'm kind of an asshole sometimes.

Sora was looking at me like he would melt me if he had heat vision, but I wasn't fooled. I could tell that he wanted it.

"I don't think the game has a time limit, but in this case I'm willing to make an exception. Come on, Sora. What's it going to be?" Kairi finally announced exasperatedly. Kiwi seemed to be frozen into place, and by the look of uncertainty on his face, I could tell he was debating this in his head.

I know that I should be more sensitive to his feelings but…now that I knew for sure that Roxas and Kiwi forgave me, I was all out ready to pursue the things I wanted.

Number one priority?

Kiwi.

He kept glancing down at his hand, and once again I found myself curious about that. What was up with that? Did he burn his right hand or something? Did something happen?

But I quickly found those thoughts taking backseat to that fact that Kiwi was actually coming over here! Finally, after three long years and two days, I was going to feel those irresistibly soft, luscious lips on mine once more!

Once he was about five inches away from me, he looked up at me, and I think I may have died just a little from the pure azure innocence in those eyes. I reached out and caressed his cheek with my thumb. I could hear people around us giggling at us, but I didn't care. As far as I was concerned, this was our world. They were just visiting.

"Okay…one little kiss, Riku. No harm done, right?" He murmured to me, his hands shaking nervously. Aw…that was pretty cute. He was nervous. My grin softened into a gentle smile, and I pulled him towards me with a hand on the small of his back.

"No harm done." I agreed, leaning into him and placing a hand through his soft spikes. His breath was ghosting on my skin, and the urge to touch him was growing too great. I moved my lips closer to him, and he did the same. Our lips had just barely touched…

The sound of Becky Blecks shrieking caused Kiwi and I to jump away from each other in surprise. We both looked up to see the entire household in chaos, true Godzilla style. What were they running from, though? What happened?!

Something hit my leg hard, and I leaned down to rub it. But what I saw shocked me. A small, yellow eyed black creature stared up menacingly at me, and my eyes widened. It was…those things that Cloud used to tell me bedtime stories about. What were they called again?

One of the black things jumped on Becky's head, and started to rip out her hair, causing Trina to scream, "They're so heartless!"

Oh yeah. Heartless. That's what they were called. Those things that Cloud always told me I was allowed to change for, the things I was allowed to become a monster for in order to defeat. Sora gasped next to me, and I looked over at him to see that a giant silver key had materialized in his hand. Sora…had been given a supernatural weapon.

The heartless seemed to be everywhere, and jumping on everyone, and I slightly wondered if they were even as dangerous as Cloud, and everyone right now, was making them. But then I looked to my right. Katrina Woods, one of the cheerleaders who had been nice to Sora, was completely covered with them. I watched silently as what looked like a heart suddenly flew up into the air. I gasped mutely. So they were dangerous.

"Everyone, get downstairs! Go, now!" Kairi yelled, herding all of the guests down the stairs, while Roxas beat the creatures away with a brown stick. I would have rolled my eyes at that had the situation not been so serious. God, Roxas was always trying to fight people with sticks.

"Tarada the Fairy! Wake up! We're not in Never Land anymore! Come on, grab your ass a weapon and get to fighting!" Axel shouted at me, waking me from my observant trance. I blinked down at the object he had placed in my hand. It was a wooden sword, similar to the ones that Sora and I used to fight with. Alright, Riku, time to get fighting.

As I stabbed a heartless with the wood, and as Sora swung blindly at another, I vaguely wondered where the hell Cloud and Leon had gone. Even Yuffie was missing. All three had 

disappeared, and that worried me. I was used to Cloud always rescuing me, so if he wasn't here, who would do that now?

Finally, after a couple of ferocious swings, the heartless I had attacked faded away into black nothingness. Huh…maybe I could do this.

And maybe, if I perfected the art of the fight with this piece of wood, I wouldn't become the monster that Cloud always suggested that I become.

I heard a door slam, and I looked up to see Kairi locking it quickly before placing the key in her bra. She looked up at me in fear, as more heartless began to ooze from the floor.

"That's not going to hold them, is it?" She asked me, seemingly solely intent on protecting the guests and the door. I took a step towards her, the need to protect her growing strong in my heart, when she suddenly screamed, "Sora!"

I whirled around to see a group of heartless taking down Kiwi, trying to get the key in his hand. My eyes widened, and I was about to run over to rescue him, when Kairi beat me to it.

"Hey! You get away from Sora!" She shouted, only to be trapped by a circle of heartless. She put her hand to her lips in fear, before they all pounced on her. I gasped out, and I had no clue who to help first, or what I could even do with this wooden stick.

"Sor? SORA!" Roxas shouted, and he went running for Sora, so I went after Kairi, stabbing the heartless to no prevail. This stick just wasn't strong enough to take them all.

I could see her hand beneath the heartless on top of her, and I furiously tried to grab it, but there was just too many of them. I growled from deep within my soul, and prepared to become the monster I knew I had to, when a sudden cry of "duck!" made me stop and do as I was told.

I raised my eyes and looked up to see Axel suddenly….on fire?!...as he sent powerful blasts of fire towards the heartless piles that were on top of Kairi, Sora, and now Roxas.

When the sound of silence greeted me, I slowly stood up to see all the heartless gone. Kiwi slowly and shakily stood up, using the key to heft him on his knees, and I turned to my right to help up Kairi, who had little cuts all over her legs and arms.

"Are you alright?" I asked her, concerned. She nodded slowly, before placing a hand to her head.

"What…what was that?" She began, but we were both distracted by the sudden screams that were erupting from Axel. Roxas ran over to him, but just as he was about to touch him, his hand came back burned.

"Axel?" Roxas tried, as the fire that had previous erupted from him surrounded Axel in simmering flames. "Axel, what's happening?"

"I'm burning…" Axel replied weakly, calming down slightly at Roxas' voice. "I was…burning."

Kiwi, Kairi and I watched this in bewildered concern, before a distant thumping gained all of our attention. All three of us looked at each other.

"Something is coming, and it sounds like it's coming from outside." Kairi pointed out. Sora and I turned to each other and wordlessly shared understanding nods.

"We'll go out there. If we wait in here, we'll only be leading it to everyone else, and we can't risk that. Roxas, you stay here with Axel. Kairi, you go protect the door, and try calling Cloud. You know his number." I announced, tossing her my cell phone. She nodded, and I turned back to Kiwi. I really didn't want him to go out there. But he was the only one with a true weapon, and I had to think for the welfare of the whole house.

"Let's do it." He nodded, and taking my hand, he led us out the house…and to our fate.

Enter Sora:

As we watched the pool water spread continuously as the beatings got louder and closer, suddenly I was starting to ask myself…was this such a good idea?

We didn't even know what this thing was. Speaking of which, what the hell were those things inside the house? They were like little black creatures with no souls. And their eerie yellow eyes had somehow bled themselves into my head, to remain there until I felt safe again.

The pounding suddenly ceased, and I squeezed the key in my hand tighter. I don't know what I was going to do with this, but all I knew was that I was glad I had it. I let out a shaky breath, and that seemed to resound off the walls and into the silence.

"Sora!" Riku suddenly cried out, and I looked up to see a huge black creature with glowing yellow eyes falling towards me. I yelped and held my key up in a last minute attempt to protect myself. Well, here it was. I guess this was the end.

But when another minute passed and I didn't feel any different, I opened one eye slowly. What I saw made me widen my eyes immediately, and let out a shaky gasp. No longer was it Riku next to me, but some older guy I had never even seen before. He was tan and muscled, with glowing yellow eyes and a prominent face. Somehow, something in my heart panged, and a feeling of familiarity washed over me. It was a feeling so strong; I was dying to look into it, but now was neither the time nor place.

I was being held away from the creature by these strange purple tentacles jutting out from the man's back, while the man was surrounded in what appeared to be a hex-like bubble of darkness. With a grunt, the guy actually lifted the creature off of him and into Kairi's pool. My jaw dropped in amazement. Whoa, this guy was strong!

The tentacles gently lowered me back onto the ground, and I watched them do so for a moment before looking back at the man. He stared at me for another moment before turning away and lifting his hood over his head, so that his face was hidden. I took a hesitant step towards him, before a rumbling in the pool caused me to rip my gaze away. The creature had sucked away all of the water and used it to gain more power, as it had grown bigger and stronger.

I turned to the guy in the cloak. "Okay…I don't really know what I'm doing, but I know that this thing has got to go down. You with me?"

The cloaked man looked at me, and because his face was hidden, I couldn't read his expression. Finally, a deep grunt of affirmation was heard, and I turned back to the mysterious being determinedly.

As I ran towards the thing, out of the corner of my eye I could see a key, similar to the one I carried, form into the man's hand, and he lifted it upwards in a cool slashing stance. I gave him a thumbs up before turning back to my target. In my head, I locked onto it, and I visualized a blue circle target to where I planned to slash.

Using my instincts, I slashed the creature's legs in a three combo recession, surprised at myself at the sounds coming from me. Well, it wasn't so much the sounds that shocked me, as was how easily they spewed out. It was almost natural, as if I had done this before.

I could see the stranger in the cloak next to me using his key so easily, I was almost envious. His strokes and movements were so graceful and strong, not like my awkward, almost clumsy strikes. He was even using this blue gel-like stuff to hit him...from his hands!

As the man and I began to weaken the creature, in the back of my mind I realized that no longer was I the clumsy boy from before. Every step I took was thought out, well, sort of…but at least I wasn't falling each minute.

I slashed the thing's legs forcefully and it began to dematerialize, just as the leg that the stranger was working on did as well, and the creature went tumbling legless back into the pool. With a satisfaction that I haven't felt in a long time, I watched as the huge black creature faded into the night, just as it came.

"Yeah! We're awesome! Let's-" I began happily, jumping up in the air in victory, but when I looked over, the cloaked stranger was backing away, looking like he was preparing to run. I froze, afraid that any sudden movements would make him retreat back even more.

"Wait, don't!" I started, letting the words run together in my haste, but it was too late. The cloaked figure that had helped me in Riku's absence had run off, assumedly in the same direction as he had come. I gasped and prepared to run after him, but I could hear calls of my name from behind me; actually, from two voices I was surprised to be hearing from at all.

"Sora!"

"SOR-RA"

I cocked my head to the side and let a slow smile make its way onto my face. The voices belonged to two of my most trusted friends: Goofy and Donald. Now, the thing about those two was that even though they were the lamest and dorkiest friends I have (as if I can talk), they always had the ability to make me smile and be myself, which is what I'd been having trouble with lately with my other friends. Gosh…I just feel like I'm so far from where I was just a few shy days ago. It was kind of comforting to know that Donald and Goofy were here with me now, and unchanged.

"Hey guys!" I exclaimed, as they pummeled into me, effectively causing me to fall to the ground in a clumsy, messy heap. We all laughed shamelessly.

"Sora! We saw you fighting that big, err, shadow-y thing and we justa sorta were wonderin': who was that fella you were playing key wars with?" Goofy wanted to know earnestly, smiling widely at me. Donald rolled his eyes and placed a hand on his hip.

"Goofy! Sora wasn't playing! This is serious!" Donald squawked, and I couldn't help but let out another happy laugh. I missed them so much. I think the last time I saw them was a couple of months ago-Halloween? Well, it didn't matter now. All that mattered was that they were here.

"Yes, it was serious, and no, I have no idea who that guy was. I don't even know what this key is. All I know is that…" I trailed off in my speech, finally noticing that Donald and Goofy were holding weapons of their own. Granted, Goofy's was just a shield, but Donald had some kind of staff looking thing in his hand.

"They just…appeared! We've been fighting them creature things with 'em." Goofy explained as I led them back into the house. Roxas was now asleep, being held by Cloud, who was walking slowly back and forth, as if he were an infant who needed to be comforted. Axel was being lifted up by Leon and…I gulped. Oh no. My dad.

They all looked at me the second Goofy closed the door, and I had to bite back the impulse to go back outside and make a run for it. Dad immediately dropped his end of Axel's legs, much to Leon's disgruntlement, and made his way over to us. I looked away and played with my fingers to distract myself.

"Sora! Are you alright? Where the hell have you been, I've been looking everywhere for-" Dad paused as he took note of the giant key in my hand. His gaze slowly lifted to meet mine, and I quickly tried to save myself.

"Dad, listen, this key, this weird, giant key…it just appeared. Out of nowhere, you know? One minute I'm trying to lock Kairi's window to keep out the weird, attractive man and his girl from getting inside the house, and the next this baby pops up in my hand. Then, meanwhile, Riku is trying to kiss me, and these crazy heartless shadows pop up from the floor," I made spooky noises and waved my hands around eccentrically, "and I look up and suddenly I'm majorly wrecking this huge monster with some strange tanned guy in a cloak."

When I finally finished, panting and my heart racing, I looked around to see that everyone was staring at me like I was some kind of attraction at the freak show convention. Suddenly, and I'm not sure because it could have been the sudden exhaustion, I felt defensive.

"What?! It happened, dammit!" I shouted. As if those were the magic words, everyone was back into action, with Dad returning back to Axel, shaking his head and muttering something darkly to Leon, and Cloud resuming his mother-like fretting over Roxas.

"Where are the others?" I finally asked, feeling so completely spent that I could barely even stand on my own two feet. Goofy and Donald both eyed me uneasily and took up both sides of me, acting as protective covers if I suddenly started to lose balance. Which, of course, I did.

"Sephiroth, Reno and Zach took everyone home after wiping out the rest of the heartless." Cloud answered softly, placing a tender kiss to Roxas' temple. Dad rolled his eyes, and I couldn't blame him. Cloud really was a mom sometimes.

"Oh…Sephiroth is back? Really?" I asked hopefully. Cloud glanced at me but otherwise remained silent. I hummed and nodded my head, but immediately regretted it. I wobbled on my legs a bit, letting Donald and Goofy hold me up.

"Come on, Sora, we better get ya home before you faint of exhaustion." Goofy said, and he lifted me over his shoulder. But I wasn't ready to succumb to sleep just yet. There were a lot of unanswered questions…questions I needed to know the answers to.

"It's good that Sephiroth's back. That must be where…Riku…went." I murmured to myself absently, not noticing the way that Cloud seemed to freeze at the mention of Sephiroth and Riku in the same sentence. "Isn't that where…Riku...is?"

Cloud squinted his eyes at me over Roxas' now flattened hair. "Riku didn't go home?"

I yawned and clutched Goofy's shirt with my fingers. He was such a good friend. Just like Riku…sometimes. "The last time I saw him," I couldn't stifle another yawn, "was when we both went outside to fight that…that…thing. The next thing I know, I look over…and…and…it's not Riku. I mean, he's not there anymore. So Sephiroth musta gottem."

I was distinctly aware that I was slurring my words, but I was too tired to really care. Actually, I was too tired to notice a lot of things. Like the way that Cloud had placed Roxas down and was running past me back outside, shouting something that I couldn't hear. Or the way that Axel was suddenly screaming in pain again, or the way that the key in my hand seemed to just fade away once more.

All I know is that I was so ready to just sleep away this whole nightmare…

Sleep…away this life.

Enter Riku:

"All four of them slept right through Sunday. I had no idea that that incident would affect them so much."

"Riku…Riku, I…I've waited so long to speak to you. And now that I can...you aren't even conscious."

"…You…like so many others…truly hate me. I debated returning prior to that girl's party in order to…to just see you, but the previous statement…that one little fact…stopped me."

"Don't worry, Riku. I haven't left you. I haven't even gone to the apartment yet in fear that you would wake up and go, "where's my Cloud?" just like you did when you were here when you were just a kid."

"Riku! Wake up! Our plan worked, so you need to wake up! Roxas woke up an hour ago, so now it's your turn. Since when have you let Roxas beat you in anything! Come on…you…you need to wake up, okay?"

All of these voices…I just wanted them to go away so I could go back to sleep.

"Riku? You up yet? Come on, Riku. I'm up. So it's time for you to get up. Otherwise…we'll be thrown off balance!"

Kiwi. That was Kiwi's voice. Alright already, I was getting up. I groaned a little, and tried opening my eyes, but found with a startling realization that I couldn't. I could hear little buttons around me beeping furiously as my heart started to pound wildly, but I still couldn't see!

"Riku? Riku! Riku, you're up! But…but what's wrong?" Kiwi asked me. I could recognize his voice, but I still couldn't see. Then it hit me. Oh my god…was I blind?

And then, suddenly, the darkness that prevented me from opening my eyes was lifted, allowing me to open my eyes into those beautiful blues that I was so fond of. I was…I was cured!

"I'm not blind?" I asked, surprised to find that my voice was croaky and kind of sounded like I needed to clear my throat. Kiwi laughed and leaned away from me, holding up a black blindfold, and now that he was no longer my only view I could focus on the entire room. Cloud and Leon were snuggling together on the couch, while Sephiroth was leaning against the wall, arms folded and eyes sharp, watching them silently. Axel was sleeping in the hospital cot next to me, his skin red and with a slightly burned tint to it, with Roxas sleeping on one side of him, and Namine on the other.

I was slightly surprised to see Zexion and Demyx there too, both asleep on the wooden table, holding hands in their sleep. And finally in the room, there was Kairi, who was curled up in a little ball next to me, on my bed.

I softened and scooted over a bit to give her some more room. Then I pulled her into my arms and under the covers, feeling a bit happy to finally be back in brother mode with her. Kiwi watched us with an unreadable expression on his face, and I looked up to see Sephiroth had now turned his gaze to me, staring at me with an expression similar to Sora's.

"Riku." Sora finally sighed, crawling onto the bed from the other side and curling up next to me. "Riku."

And in that one proclamation, I knew. And really, I probably knew it from the beginning.

I knew, I mulled around in my mind, trying not to let sleep take me just yet…I knew that everything would be alright between us in the end.

And with that thought, I let myself succumb once more to sleep, one last thought ringing through my mind.

And that thought was,

Birth by sleep…

Well...so much for this not being "nearly as long." Yeah, it was, and I'm sorry! I was actually going to split this in half, but I don't think the first half of the story is very strong, so I just couldn't. Alright, so this ends part one! Tell me what you think!