A.N. Hello again! The hecticness of assessment is in its last stages so after a while I should have more time to write. Until then, please enjoy this chapter as the plot begins to develop and show signs of actually existing.

Pairings: Ultimately Akuroku, Soriku, Zemyx (thanks to Dualism), Marxene (Marluxia and Larxene courtesy of ShadowAili) and Marluxia and Namine.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 2 or anything associated. They all belong to Square Enix. As does Final Fantasy. Neither do I own the rights to 'Les Temps des Cathedrals' or 'Por Ti Sere'.

Roxas blinked sleepily in the middle of English, the combination of a late night and the beating he had received when he got home making it difficult to concentrate on what his teacher, Ms. Gainsborough, was saying.

Thankfully, the day was nearly over and, sure enough, a few minutes later the bell rang and Roxas hastily grabbed his stuff and headed off home, not in the mood to deal with Sora.

As he walked through the crowded streets of Twilight Town, Roxas ignored everyone in his path, prompting a few irritated comments from other pedestrians, though, lost in though about the last nights' events, he didn't even notice.

Walking through the square which was, unusually empty, the normal legions of street performers absent save for a few mime artists, Roxas was brought out of his musing by the arrival of a young man dressed in baggy blue pants and a tight, long-sleeved turquoise shirt with a large navy-blue instrument case hoisted over one shoulder, who settled down next to the steps leading up to the library.

Despite the young man's somewhat ragged clothing, he exuded a sort of charisma that made it hard to take your eyes off him. As Roxas watched, the young man brushed his fringe out of his eyes and removed a large blue guitar-like instrument from the case before laying the case down open on the ground and starting to play. After a few rippling chords and some minor adjustments to the tuning, the young musician took a deep breath and started to sing.

"C'est une histoire qui a pour lieu, Paris la belle en l'an de Deiu, mil quatre ent quartre vingt deux, histoire d'amour et de désir..."

Roxas gasped in amazement as the brown-haired teen's mellow strangely familiar voice rang through the square, entwining with the music to create a delicate and wistful song that reminded Roxas that he hadn't seen Axel since that night, soft rippling interweaving harmonies springing from his dancing fingers. A hush fell over the square as the young man continued to sing and play, the spell broken only at the end of the song, at which point the crowd that had gathered began to applaud.

Coins fell into the open case like rain, and a constant stream of people came up, congratulating the brown-haired musician, who blushed and bashfully waved away the comments. Looking around, he spotted Roxas at the edge of the crowd, and gave him a bright smile and a wave.

Though somewhat puzzled that a stranger was being so friendly, Roxas thought the teen seemed nice enough, so he waved back, and settled down to listen. The musician settled back down, and began playing a repetitive series of chords, before taking a deep breath and launching into song.

"Cuando me vi desnudo y sin aliento, arando un mar desierto y sin amor, cuando pense que mi alma habia muerto, ilegaste tu como la luz del sol..."

With a smile Roxas lay back and relaxed, letting the music sweep over him like a wave, his mind conjuring up images of how his life could have been, had his father had a different life. Before he knew it, Roxas was deep in slumber, lulled to sleep on an ocean of music.

Roxas woke with a start, and opened bleary eyes to see the brown-haired musician poking his shoulder. Somewhat irritated, Roxas smacked his hand away.

"What?"

The musician smiled.

"Nothing much, you just sat there sleeping for about five hours, and I though to myself, Demyx, you can't possibly leave the nice little blond here on his own, cause then his parents would ground him and he'd be miserable and..."

Amused by the teen constant stream of words, Roxas had started to giggle.

"What's so funny? " The musician demanded. "Seriously, what's so funny?"

As Roxas continued to roll around laughing hysterically the young man scowled at him.

"Man, what the hell is with the giggling!" Suddenly he cowered away from Roxas as if the blond was contagious. "Have you been attacked by one of the laughing snakes?"

After taking a few deep breaths Roxas was able to calm down. Looking up at the musician he raised an eyebrow.

"Laughing snakes?"

"What, you don't believe in them?" The brown-haired teen said, eyes wide with panic. "Well, someday the laughing snakes will come for you, and when they do, don't come crying to me."

And with that final word on the matter, stuck his tongue out and then held out a hand.

"Hi." He said, "I'm Demyx."

Roxas smiled.

"Roxas."

Smiling, the two shook hands.

"Pleased to meet you Demyx." Roxas said with a smile. "You new around here?"

Demyx smiled.

"Nope. I've lived here my entire life, just down in the slums, so probably never would have seen each other. My parents died recently, and I was adopted by my best friends family and so," He shrugged, "I'm here."

Roxas smiled at him.

"Well," the blond said, "It was lovely meeting you and all but that unscheduled nap means I need to get going to minimise the punishment I'll get for being home late."

"Ahhhh," Demyx said with a cheeky grin, waving his finger at Roxas. "That's why having a friend who knows this city is handy. I can get you anywhere in this city within ten minutes, maximum, and that's for the outskirts."

Roxas looked at him in awe and them threw himself at Demyx and hugged the taller musician. With a smile, Demyx gently untangled the blond's arms.

"Yes Rox, I love you too, but come on, we're going to be late."

As Demyx beckoned towards him and ran into an alleyway, Roxas followed, shouting as he went.

"Don't call me nicknames. And I am not gay!"

Several minutes later the blond caught up to Demyx who was standing in the middle of an alleyway in front of a broken-down old shack. Looking around, Roxas realised that he was in Tramp's Alley, and looked at Demyx questioningly.

"I'm sorry about this Rox," the musician said mournfully, "You're my friend and all, but, some friendships go back longer and go deeper."

Taking a deep breath Demyx began to sing, and suddenly the storm that Roxas hadn't noticed was brewing broke overhead. As the raindrops plummeted down the musician's song caught them, forming them into three-metre high walls of water. At the sound of the musician's singing and the effect it had on the water, Roxas realized why the brown-haired teen's voice had sounded so familiar.

"You're him." The blond said, eyes wide with shock. "The one who attacked me here before."

As he turned to run, he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye, and next thing he knew Demyx was holding him up in the air by the scruff of his neck, having somehow crossed the five-metre gap between them in moments.

Holding Roxas firmly, Demyx walked over to the shack, and, after knocking opened the door slightly and deposited the blond inside. Looking around, Roxas could see red rugs, crimson silk hanging over the walls and a huge fireplace roaring in the middle of the room. Red-gold cutlery was set out for one on a mahogany table to his right, and a scarlet four-poster bed took up most of the room on his left. The smell of cigarette smoke hung heavy in the air.

A floorboard creaked, and Roxas spun to see the door swing closed, revealing a man behind it. Long red hair brushed the ceiling and emerald eyes glittered with cruelty as Axel straightened up to his full height and gave a cocky smirk.

"Well, well, well," the vampire said, sounding very pleased with himself. "It's good to see you again...Roxy."

Well, what did you think? As per usual, reviews are loved and appreciated. Spend five minutes to write one, and you make my day. Next chapter will come the beating/smex you've all been waiting for.

I may not be able to update again for a while, as assessment is nearly finished and work on my novel has recommenced.

Once again, thanks to my wonderful beta, Malik's Bunny Mika.