A.N. Hello again everyone! The school holidays are nearly over, but I may be able to get another chapter done while I'm at the beach. Also, when paedophilia is mentioned in regards to Axel and Roxas, its in the 'Axel is centuries older than Roxas' sense, and not the 'Roxas is underage' one. Thank you for taking the time to read this authors note. Enjoy!
Warning: This chapter contains swearing, Sephiroth angst, mentions of paedophilia and psychological torture.
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.
The low roar of thunder rolled through Twilight Town as the storm that had been threatening to arrive for hours finally broke. Caught out in the open, a small blond teen who had been caught out in the open bit back a curse, clutching her sketchpad close in a vain attempt to keep it dry.
As the rain poured down Namine looked around for shelter, too far away from any of her friends' houses to seek refuge there. The only other option would be public transport, and the town's buses, and busdrivers, weren't supposed to be too trustworthy.
The small blond sighed at the absence of her boyfriend. True, Marluxia couldn't stop the rain, but at least with him here the wait would be far less unbearable. Far less unbearable, she thought, remembering the last date they'd gone on with an absent smile. Marluxia was so sweet and kind and funny and...
Beginning to daydream, she prepared to wait out the storm.
Thunder boomed over the flatlands out of town. Torrents of rain poured down as small flickers of light leaped from one cloud to another. The clouds cleared momentarily, before closing again, and a black bolt of lightning crackled down and slammed into the street only a few hundred metres up from the oblivious Namine.
A slender figure pulled itself up from the charred area of the pavement, long blond hair crackling with static. Pushing her fringe out of her face, the short nymph-like blond looked down the street at Namine, her green-blue eyes cold as ice.
"I should just go up there and drive a god-damn kunai through her chest," she muttered to herself angrily. "But he might just have an explanation for this, and he deserves for me to give him that chance."
Angrily plunging an electrified knife into the wall Larxene snapped her fingers, and, as ions gathered and pulsed in the sky above her, growled,
"You'd better have a damn good explanation for this Marluxia."
A timid knock sounded on his door, and Sephiroth looked away from his contemplation of the scar on his palm long enough to give whoever it was his 'I-will-disembowel-you' glare, before continuing to ruminate over the events that lead to the mutilation of his palm.
He could hear soft whispering outside in the hall as whoever it was worked up the courage to open the door. Sephiroth blinked in surprise as Sora stuck his head into the room and looked around.
Composing himself, the silver-haired young man turned around and gazed at Sora enquiringly.
"What?" He said flatly.
Sora blanched, sticking his head outside the room for another whispered conference. Rolling his eyes, Sephiroth strode over and, pulling the door open, grabbed Riku's arm and dragged him inside. Pulling his katana down from the wall the silver-haired young man settled comfortably down on his bed crosslegged and began to sharpen the sword, pretending to be unaware of the fright it was giving his unwelcome visitors.
"So," Sephiroth said, "What brings you here?"
As Sora and Riku exchanged glances and the brunette opened his mouth to begin, Sephiroth held up a warning finger.
"You have five minutes to explain your problem and justify this intrusion before I kick you out," he cautioned them, "Now, Sora; you first."
Sora gulped and tried to hide behind Riku, and, once he was safer than he'd been out in the open, began to explain.
"Well, you know Roxas, right? Yeah, my half-brother? The blond one? Yeah, well Roxas was being all strange and stuff, and then he disappeared and I haven't seen him in two days."
Overcome by the melodrama, Sora burst into tears and Riku, who was looking slightly melancholy himself turned around and patted him on the back. Sephiroth raised an eyebrow and contemplated what he'd done in a previous life to deserve this.
"Alright Sora," he sighed, "I think I get the picture. Now, one question. Roxas was being strange how?"
The brunette emerged from behind Riku and whispered into Sephiroth's ear confidentially,
"He was being stalked."
Sephiroth blinked.
"You're still not making sense Sora, and your five minutes is running out."
"He wasn't just being stalked," Sora murmured, "He was being stalked by a vampire!"
Sora held a serious expression for a few seconds before he and Riku burst out laughing at the general hilarity of that statement. They both stopped in shock as Sephiroth's hand reflexively closed and crushed the whetstone he had been using to sharpen his katana. For a short moment they even thought they could see unshed tears glistening in his eyes as he longingly murmured,
"Cloud."
Sensing that they were intruding on something private, Riku gestured to Sora that they should leave and, planting a light kiss on the brunette's forehead, murmured to his boyfriend,
"It's alright Sora. We'll talk with Seph again later."
Closing the door quietly they went back to Riku's room, leaving Sephiroth sitting alone in melancholy silence. Blinking back tears, Sephiroth held the medallion his boyfriend had brought for him so long ago.
"Cloud," he whispered, "I'm so sorry. I wasn't able to protect you and now you're...gone."
A tall red-head stalked through Twilight Town's market district, cursing under his breath as he went. Seeing a familiar pair of curtains draped across what he knew was the end of an alleyway, Axel took a quick glance around to see if the usual late-night inhabitants of the town were around, and, reassured, stepped inside.
Oriental rugs were drapped over all the walls, and a variety of crystal balls, strange devices and herbs in small pots lay strewn around the room. Plumes of crimson incense wafted through the air, the smell of charcoal and smoke everywhere.
"I've been expecting you," a dry British voice drifted out of the shadows. "It's been a while hasn't it Axel?"
Axel spun around and rolled his eyes at the spiral of cards that was forming itself into a body behind him.
"Honestly Lux," he sighed, "Do you have to be such a drama queen?"
Smirking, the blond Englishman brandished a card that depicted a woman sitting on a throne in the middle of a field.
"Alas my friend," he declared, "I'm afraid that Fate is leaving me no choice."
They both had a quiet chuckle before sitting down cross-legged on the cushions strewn all over the floor. Luxord settled into a very dignified Lotus and practiced what Demyx and Xigbar had named his 'Buddha' expression while smiling kindly at Axel.
"So Ax," he said, "What was it that you wanted?"
Axel frowned.
"I have a problem," the red-head declared.
"Sorry Ax," Luxord said beatifically, "You'll have to find someone else to deal with that."
Axel looked singularly unamused.
"That's part of the problem," he growled, "I 'found someone else' as you put it, and for some reason the idea of draining the kid doesn't seem as fun as it normally does."
Luxord's smile widened and he pulled a card out of the air with a flourish. Axel stared at the picture of a tall red-head who resembled him holding hands with a boy who looked just like Roxas with an angel who looked suspiciously like Luxord beaming down at them. Looking at the text at the bottom of the card, Axel started swearing in half a dozen languages about Luxord's insanity before storming out.
The 'Gambler of Fate', as the sign outside identified him smirked and snapped his fingers, remarking as he vanished in a flurry of cards,
"I didn't know pedophilia was one of Axel's fetishes."
Abandoned on a cushion the card sat there, the bold looping text at the bottom reading 'The Lovers'.
Sephiroth still sat on his bed, not having moved since Riku and Sora's visit in the afternoon. The only light in the room was that of the moon shining through a gap in the curtains. Sitting there, lost in regrets, the silver-haired young man started as his mobile began to ring. Somewhat curious, as the circle of people with his number was small enough to count on one hand, Sephiroth uncrossed his legs, walked over and picked up the phone.
Stumbling backwards and nearly dropping it, Sephiroth stared at the name glowing on the screen for what felt like a lifetime before accepting the call.
"Hello," a familiar voice came over the phone, "Seph, are you there?"
He just stood there, before whispering a single word into the phone.
"Cloud?'
"Yeah, its me," his boyfriend's voice said softly, "Its been a while hasn't it?"
A flicker of pain passed across Sephiroth's face.
"It has."
"Seph, there's something we need to talk about."
Sephiroth frowned. Cloud hardly ever sounded worried.
"But," his boyfriend's voice came over the phone, "He told me to call you."
Sephiroth's teeth began to grind together at the mention of him.
"He said that whatever your brother and Sora were visiting you for, the matter was none of your business and involved one of his friends. And, Seph, he said he'd be very upset if you intefered. I don't want him to hurt you Seph. Please don't get involved. I'm begging you."
Sephiroth frowned.
"You're not Cloud."
"What do you mean? Sephiroth, is this meant to be a joke? Cause if it is, it isn't funny."
"It's very simple. You're not Cloud. Cloud knows better than to ask me to abandon Riku, Cloud doesn't beg, and he never called me Seph. So, whoever you are, why don't you quit this charade and tell me who you really are."
His voice came down the line, that familiar icy tone that was all he had to blame for losing Cloud.
"But Sephy, don't you love me any more?"
As Sephiroth gritted his teeth, in a desperate attempt to restrain from waking up the street with his screams of rage, the voice changed again. A smooth dark slightly Japanese voice began to chuckle down the phone.
"Having fun reliving the past?" The stranger asked, "I'm sure he would be very proud. Now Sephiroth, I may not be Cloud, but he wouldn't want you to get hurt. If you Sora and Riku get involved in Roxas' disappearance, hurt will be the understatement of the century. I'm not threatening you, this is an honest warning."
"You know what I am," the voice continued, "If not who I am, and that should explain why it would be safer to mind your own business. You think you've tasted desperate just because you're an orphan and you lost your precious Cloud, but you're wrong. If you continue to pursue this foolish path, then you will learn exactly what people mean when they say that you humans are defined by suffering."
"Are you?" Sephiroth snarled into the phone, "One of that bastard's friends?"
The stranger chuckled.
"More like his lord and master when you get down to the grit. But back to the business on hand. Stay away from Roxas. The Flurry of Dancing Flames won't be a happy bloodsucker if you start messing with his pet."
"The Flurry of Dancing Flames?" Sephiroth asked and was rewarded with a slight chuckle.
"Oops, I said too much. Though perhaps it's for the best. After you look him up in a book it may help you realize how dangerous this situation is. You may be able to hold your own against him and Cloud, but don't let that get you cocky. Your pathetic human combat courses won't help you at all against one of us. If you were to fight even the weakest of the true vampyr, you would be crushed."
The voice gained an undertone of dark amusement.
"Never think that you could stand up to me, or even Marly just because you fought off Leonheart. We're all in a whole different level to him."
Another chuckle.
"Goodbye Sephiroth, its been lovely having this chat. Oh, and, by the way? Squall sends his regards."
Hanging up, Zexion smirked as he looked over at the bedroom he knew was Sephiroth's. Giving another quiet chuckle, the Cloaked Schemer vanished into the night.
What do you think? Please review, I live off your compliments. Spend the time to write one, and you make me a very happy author. C'mon, write one as a late Christmas present.
Next Chapter: Sephiroth does something foolish, Zexion makes another phonecall and the LarxeneMarluxiaNamine sub-plot thickens. Oh, and we learn how Roxas is doing, but no-one's interested in that.
Thanks again to my wonderful beta Malik's Bunny Mika.
Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Year.
Azrael