Omg, guys. I love you all. xD I've got some people wanting to read this now?! YAY. 3 This makes me really happy. XDDD And now I HAVE to write more often. Woot!!

Okay. Disclaimer still stands.

UPDATE: WOW, I suck. xDDDDDDD; I totally lost my inspiration for this… BUT. I'M BAAAAAACK! Let's hope it stays that way.

Let's skip all the chitchat that I haven't done yet, and get onto the story.

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Shouts were heard off in the distance as slow footsteps crunched the grass and twigs in a rhythmic pattern. As the figure approached those shouts, they died down, and the group looked up to see their long-lost instructor. All bodies paused in movement, and weapons began to disappear. Everyone stood, now, in a more relaxed position, eyes fixed on the person standing in front of them.

As the wire retracted into the silver ring, Eryx put his hands on his hips. "… Well, wha'dya know... The Might number VIII has surfaced. How was the three weeks of bed rest?" He asked, tilting his head to the side and grinning at him. Axel moved up to him and put his hand on his head.

Roxas snickered at the sight as Axel looked down at him with his own grin. Eryx's faded. "… You two may have the same snarky attitude, but Axel's still taller."

"And anorexic. Don't forget anorexic," Xanthus added in, an eyebrow rose. The grass at his feet ignited, and he started to hop around, trying to get away from it, though it seemed to follow him everywhere.

Xylia laughed a bit at this, and Eryx would have had he not been locked in a staring contest with his instructor. After a moment, Axel lifted his hand from the top of the boy's head, and flicked him between the eyes. Eryx blinked, and the redhead grinned. "…. Heheh… I win."

Eryx gasped, then growled. "You cheated!! Jerk!" He shouted at his back, seeing as Axel had moved to walk up to Roxas.

The blond looked up at him, tilting his head. Axel was staring at him… in an odd way. "… What…? What's with that look?" He brought his head down close, and Roxas blushed. "Wh… what?!"

Emerald eyes blinked at him, and Axel moved away. "You're shorter than I remember…"

Roxas looked dumbfounded. "I'm what…? Okay, that's so not true." He followed after him, Xanthus and Eryx snickering at the two. "What makes you say that?!"

"You just are," He said, stretching a bit.

Roxas stopped. "…. I'm not shorter… You just haven't stood up in three weeks. You forgot!!" He protested, reluctant to believe anything like that.

Axel waved his hand a bit. "Eh, ignore it. Let's get on with the lesson!"

Roxas paused, then reached out and grabbed Axel's wrist. "Ooooh, no you don't. You aren't doing anything in your condition. You're supposed to go five weeks before doing anything remotely close to this. You're lucky I'm not forcing you to stay in bed right now!"

Axel waved him off. "I'm fine, I'm fine," He said, pulling his arm away. "I'll be alright. Just because they can leave bruises on you doesn't mean they've improved enough to leave a single mark on me."

Roxas paused, staring at him. He hadn't just said that… "… Where do you get off, Axel? You haven't been around!"

Axel grinned at him. "That's because I was too busy recovering from saving you."

The blonde's eyes widened and he looked down. "… I'm… I'm sorry…"

The older teen sighed, shaking his head. "You idiot…" He walked over to him. "I didn't say it was your fault. It's the same both ways. You should be keeping me in bed right now, and I should have kept you there instead of letting you run around and get us into trouble."

Roxas grabbed his arm again. "Then go back to bed before someone else gets hurt."

Eryx cut in. "Hey. If we manage to land one hit on you, will you go? It bugs us to see you two acting like a married couple." The two of them stared at the teen, then flushed. Roxas let go of him.

Axel cleared his throat. "Ah… Yeah, fine." He didn't really want Roxas to continue to be upset with him… "One of you lands a hit, I'll go back."

Just then, there was a sudden pain in his arm. He looked down, and it had been covered in a mauve-colored smoke. He stared at it, wide-eyed. "Wha… What just--?" He couldn't voice his confusion at that point in time, too dumbfounded to do anything. Where had that come from…?!

Phoenix stood several feet away, his hand stretched out toward Axel, covered in the same smoke-like substance. "… Go…" He said.

Everyone started to crack up, save for Phoenix, Roxas, and Axel. The redhead blinked a bit. "What just happened…?" He asked, looking to Roxas, who was starting to snicker a bit.

"You just got hit. Go to bed."

"But I…"

"Axel, go."

"… No," He said, crossing his arms and looking down at him.

Roxas raised an eyebrow at him. He was silent for a moment, his stare piercing through Axel as if his eyes were lasers. He reached out, grabbed his arm, and enveloped the both of them in darkness, sending them to his room.

The moment they were standing to the side of the pyre's bed, the blond shoved his friend. He yelped a bit, falling backward and landing on his bed, which was a good thing—it didn't hurt. He leaned up, glaring at him. "What was that for?"

Roxas crossed his arms. "You're staying in bed—you said you'd go back if you got hit, and Phoenix hit you." He tried to sit back up, and Roxas pushed on his chest, pinning him to the bed. "Stay. Put," He said, sounding sterner as he became annoyed with the redhead's stubbornness.

Axel didn't seem to like his tone, and reacted badly. "Why should I? I'm fine enough to walk around, so stop babying me."

Roxas glared at him. "I'm doing this because I'm worried about you, dammit. I don't want you hurt any more than you already are."

"Did you forget again? The reason I'm in bed, hurt, in the first place is because you were too stubborn to stay where I put you, so why should I do the same for you?" He spat. Emerald eyes widened as a sharp pain became apparent on his cheek. Roxas had back-handed him….

"… What's your problem? Two minutes ago, you told me it wasn't my fault, and now you're blaming me? I know I'm the one at fault here, alright?! It was my stupidity that got my ankle hurt—that got your ribs cracked! I'm sorry, okay?! I thought I might be making up for it, staying by your side, making you feel better… I guess not."

The blond moved, and Axel reached out to grab his wrist. Roxas paused, and then jerked his hand free, walking out the door and slamming it behind him. The redhead winced.

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Hours passed…

Roxas sat on his bed, drowning in the thoughts that clouded his mind and poured a depression over him that he often had wondered was possible. He closed his eyes, pale lids collapsing over ocean blue. He pondered, had he hurt Axel with those thoughts…? If he had, good—no, that wasn't what he wanted… He deserved to be hurt after what he said—that wasn't true… They'd both been upset, they were angry with each other, and because of that they had failed to see the reasoning behind the other's actions.

This wasn't what he wanted to do… He hadn't really meant to hurt him. The only thing he could think to do was go and apologize… How hard was that going to be? The hardest things to say in life, he'd always thought, were 'Help me', 'I'm sorry', and 'I love you'. But, he knew he had to say it. An awkward healing would only lead to a rift created between them, and after how happy they'd been he didn't want to do that.

He lifted himself from his bed, and moved to his door, smiling a bit. He'd apologize… and everything would be alright.

When he opened the door, something tackled him to the ground. When he caught a glimpse of it, it was a large white wolf. Its ears were pinned back, and its teeth were bared, a low snarling growl emitting from it. The boy couldn't move—he was too afraid.

The figure, cloaked in black, moved into the room. From the slit in the middle of the fabric came a black lace-gloved hand, pale skin beneath it connecting with the arm that followed. The rough fabric touched his cheek, and he trembled at its cold touch. He stared up at black-colored lips, which curled into a smile as the wolf backed off. The hand retracted, and pulled back the hood.

Waved hair moved to her mid-back, wine red in color. Her eyes were a striking yellow, and beneath the cloak she wore much black laced clothing. She reached down and grabbed his arm, pulling him to stand. She leaned in, whispering into his ear.

"My doll… My puppet… It is time to perform…" She said, voice very precise, and laden with an accent Roxas couldn't quite place. She began to pull him toward a cloud of swirling dark grey smoke, and he tried to get away. She covered his mouth, and pulled him into it, the boy only getting one word out.

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Axel sat up in his bed, snapping out of his dreaming state as he began staring toward the door.

He could have sworn he'd heard Roxas calling for him…

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DUNDUNDUN.

Yeah, the chapter's finally done. xD;

Review please, and we might just get a chapter out faster. Reviews maketh me happy.

Till then, be good, and have fun!

Melodious Nocturne Stalker