A/N: I got the title for this chapter from the N*E*R*D album...but obviously none of the songs in it are relevant to the story, hahaha - I'm just not creative enough to think up of my own title. Great album though.

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Seeing Sounds.

Roxas pulled his hood over his spiky blond hair as he ducked into his car after dropping his siblings off at home. It was perfectly sunny during noon, but then when school ended the town was hit with an onslaught of rain.

As if he needed any more signs.

The blond was grumbling to himself the entire drive to the psych ward, and he was still grumbling when he stepped out of the car, ran to the front doors and navigated through the confusing hallways to his designated lounge room. The moment he stepped inside he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Ah, I knew you'd turn up!" Axel grinned down at him, "See, Larxene, we didn't scare the living daylights out of him after all!"

"Huh," The blonde girl sauntered towards them from her spot on the sofa, "I thought we'd never see the likes of you again. You were shaking like a leaf yesterday."

Roxas felt an embarrassed blush rising on his face. "Er, really?"

"We guessed you haven't read our profiles yet," The pyromaniac jerked his head towards the pile of papers in Roxas' hands, "You should give them a read sometime - they're actually pretty interesting."

"I actually read yours when I got home last night," The blond admitted sheepishly, pointing to Axel's profile, "Er, I would've never guessed the things they said."

"Me neither," Larxene muttered sarcastically, "But hey, it's not everyday you're diagnosed as a psycho."

"It fits you perfectly." Axel smirked, and much to Roxas' surprise the blonde grinned from ear to ear.

"I guess I should've known you'd be coming back," Larxene's eyes drifted towards the ceiling and she crossed her hands behind her head, "It's not like you have much of a choice anyway."

"Don't remind me," Roxas muttered as he moved towards the couch to sit beside Kaori, who looked as lifeless as she did yesterday. He pulled out the patient profiles from the inside pocket of his jacket, "So are these things really accurate?"

"To some degree, yeah," The redhead moved to sit on the opposite side of Kaori, "Though I don't understand where they got the whole verbally manipulative thing from. I'm a nice guy if you give me a chance!"

"And about the promiscuity," Larxene leaned over Roxas' shoulder from behind the couch to point at her profile, "I don't get where they got that from either. Okay, so I did two guys. How the hell is that promiscuous?"

"Are you forgetting about the last volunteer?" Axel sneered, "Or the one before that? What about-"

"Shut it, Firestarter."

The blond sighed and leaned back against the couch, his eyes drifting towards the ceiling. "What am I gonna do for two hours?"

Larxene shrugged her petite shoulders and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Beats me-" Her eyes wandered towards the door and her face lit up, "-hey, you said you were a musician, right?"

"Yeah...so?"

Axel seemed to catch onto what the blonde was saying, and he grinned deviously. "Why don't we sneak into the arts room so you can show us what you're capable of?"

A blush made its way towards Roxas' cheeks. "Er, I'm not as great as you think I am, really-"

Larxene cut him off by grabbing his wrist and pulling him off the couch; Axel snickered childishly and bounded alongside them. The redhead poked his spiky head out the doorway to check if the coast was clear, and when it was safe to go he tiptoed out into the hallway. Larxene, who was having a hard time suppressing her giggling, followed him and pulled poor Roxas with her.

"Wait," Axel held out an arm to stop the blondes; they both looked up at him in confusion as he cupped his hand over his ear, "D'you hear that?"

"Huh…" Roxas strained his hearing; someone was playing the piano, and they were playing it very well. It was coming from a room just down the hallway - the arts room, he presumed.

"Again?" Larxene chuckled, "I wonder how he does it."

"Who?" The youngest of the three asked curiously as they approached the room; the beautiful piano was louder and easier to hear at this point.

"Him." Axel slid the door to the arts room open, and Roxas tilted his head to the side in curiosity. The arts room was filled with all sorts of equipment: there were easels stacked along the side of the room, and the shelves were packed with different kinds of paints, crayons, pastels, markers and pencils. Musical instruments were kept on the opposite side of the room; there were at least three guitars, a xylophone, various percussion instruments and even a drum kit. In the centre of the room was an old upright piano, and a young man with sandy blond hair was sitting in front of it with his hands moving so quickly over the keys they appeared to be a blur. His eyes were distractedly wandering around the entire room as if he was watching something moving and a serene smile was stretched over his young features - he almost appeared to be hallucinating.

Seconds later his eyes stopped moving, and he turned to face his intruders. Roxas was a little uneasy at first, but when he noticed that the young man's kind smile was still there he relaxed. "Oh - hey Axel, hey Larxene." He pulled the top over the keys and rested his elbow over it. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Oh, nothing really," The pyromaniac shrugged; he clapped a hand on Roxas' shoulder and shook him a little bit, "Just showing our new babysitter where the art room is."

"We got a new volunteer?" The stranger's green eyes squinted over Roxas' name tag, "Hm, we haven't had one in awhile." He stood up and approached the youngest of the group, holding out his hand. "It's nice to meet you - my name's Demyx."

Roxas shook it and marveled at how supple his hands felt. "I'm Roxas." He glanced over at the old piano. "You're really good - I heard you from outside."

Demyx flushed and placed a hand behind his head. "Ah, there's really nothing else to do around here besides play," His expression suddenly darkened, "It's just that the stupid nurses around here won't let me play as much as I'd like so I have to sneak in every now and then."

"So unfair," Larxene muttered as she moved to lean against the piano, "And to think that they think they're helping us get better." She scoffed and glanced at her nails. "Bullshit."

"That does sound a little unfair," Roxas agreed with a frown, "I mean, they should know by now that you love music, right? Why won't they let you play?"

"Ah, you know how these doctors are," Axel smirked, "Just 'cause they have a fancy piece of paper with a gold sticker on it they think they know everything about us. They conclude that everything you do contributes to your...illness. Sure, on the outside they make it seem like they're our best friends but in reality we're just their lab mice."

"Yeah," Larxene concurred, a malicious grin stretching across her fair lips; she began to approach Roxas slowly, taking baby steps, and the younger blond gulped and began to back up against the wall, "You've got shrinks in all shapes and sizes poring over you with their clipboards, medicine bottles and shiny needles, thinking that they've got your sickness pinpointed just where they want them," She laughed darkly and Roxas gulped again, "But they don't know shit. How the fuck can you cure a disease of the mind when your mind isn't the one that's diseased?"

"I-" The youngest blond stuttered; he could feel his heartbeat pumping erratically as Larxene's eyes frantically searched his face for an answer, "I don't know," He forced the third lump down his throat, "M-maybe it's safe to assume that it's just some kind of safety net, y'know? It's comforting to think that there's someone out there that knows how to...how to make your, erm, sickness go away, even when you know it's practically impossible."

The only female in the group malignly licked her lips as she backed away from the trembling volunteer. "That's exactly the answer I was looking for."

"Where did you find him?" Demyx chuckled, "He's smarter than he looks."

"Dunno," Axel shrugged, "Ansem's the one who chucked him into our room." He playfully tugged on one of Roxas' cheeks, and the youngest blond jerked out of his grasp. "But he's definitely a keeper."

"I'm not a shiny new toy for you to play around with, y'know," Roxas grumbled as he rubbed his sore cheek; Larxene was cackling in amusement in the background, "I'm human like the rest of you."

"At least that's what you'd like to think." Axel smirked, and the youngest blond stared back in confusion. The redhead chuckled and gestured towards the various instruments lined up against the wall. "So what're you waiting for, maestro? Show us what you can do!"

Roxas rubbed the back of his head as he approached one of the guitars. "What if someone comes in?"

Demyx waved his hand dismissively. "No one really comes here, and since you're a volunteer you won't get yelled at." He returned to the piano and pushed the over off. "Let's see if we can duet!"

"Ooh, this is gonna be a toe-tapper, I can tell." Larxene simpered and pulled up a chair. Roxas could not help but blush as he pulled the guitar strap around his shoulders; he plucked the pick that was wedged in between the strings and strummed a chord - everything was perfectly in tune. Demyx struck the same exact chord on the piano, grinning at him. The younger blond grinned back and began to play a random song off the top of his head. Axel began to laugh and he bent over the pile of instruments; he picked up a tambourine and tossed another one over to Larxene, and the both of them began to jokingly play along.

Giddiness rushed inside of the youngest blond as his fingers flew skillfully over the fingerboard; he began to play more complicated notes and rhythms, and he smiled when Demyx easily followed along with the corresponding chords.

There was a thump heard outside the hallway, and the foursome immediately stopped their playing. "Fuck," Larxene spat, though at the same time she was giggling, "Someone's heard us."

Demyx quickly closed the piano and Roxas stashed the guitar away. They dashed out of the hall and back towards the lounge, laughing the entire way.

Axel collapsed on the couch, careful not to sit on top of Kaori, wiping his eyes and running his hands across his hair. "That was great," He laughed, "I've never felt so normal in my entire life."

"Here, here," Larxene smirked.

Demyx's eyes were drifting around the room again. He clapped a hand on Roxas' shoulder, though his head was tilted towards the ceiling. "That was great," He grinned as he finally looked downwards to face the younger blonde, "We definitely need to jam again sometime."

"You're in this room too?" Roxas asked as he reached for the profiles hidden in the inside pocket of his jacket, "Why didn't I see you yesterday?"

"Oh, I was in for my weekly checkup," The musician explained casually; his eyes began to wander around the room again, "We crazy people have to check in with a shrink every now and then to see if we're still here, if you catch my drift."

"Ah," Roxas nodded; he checked the time on his phone and nearly gasped, "Oh, it's time for me to go." He ruffled his hair and gave his newfound friends a wave. "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow?"

"We'll be waiting." Larxene sang before he closed the door behind him.

Roxas shuffled through his patient profiles as he made his way out of the ward; the rain had stopped just in time for the sun to set. The sky was smeared with different shades of red, pink, orange, yellow and purple and he paused for a moment to admire the view. When he reached his car he finally found the profile he was looking for.

Nobusuke, Demyx

20 years of age

Resident of Twilight Psychiatric Facility for 1.5 years

Points of Interest: An accomplished musician capable of playing virtually any instrument; mood varies depending on the time of the month but has never been any sort of a threat

Diagnosis: Sound → Colour Synesthesia: claims to 'see' music and sound in the form of colour, which explains the constant distracted expression.

What an interesting condition; it didn't even sound like a disease. To Roxas it sounded more like a gift, maybe even a privilege.

The blond was surprised at how exhausted he was by the time he arrived home; he nearly collapsed on his way up the stairs, and when he finally reached his room he plopped face-down on his bed and was knocked out for a good few hours. When he woke up it was already dark out, and he cursed himself for skipping dinner with the family yet again; he trudged out of his room towards the kitchen, hoping Sora didn't devour everything off the table.

Luckily there were some leftovers in the fridge; he heated whatever was left of the dinner he missed in the microwave and ate it in silence. He reached into his jacket and pulled out the patient profiles again, reading them distractedly as he finished his food. When he was finished his eyes widened as the heaviness of fatigue washed over him again; maybe Sora was right when he said he was the laziest one in the family.

Roxas yawned as he dragged himself up to his room. He undressed languidly and crawled underneath the sheets, and when his tousled head hit the pillow he was out almost immediately.

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A/N: Volunteering can really take it out of you.