Chapter Two
The Search Begins
"Here kid, wipe the blood off your face," Axel tossed a wet nap towards the blonde sitting in the back seat, as Demyx busily fiddled with the radio dials. The red head was watching the man intensely before slapping his hands away, a long, pale finger turning off the radio. Demyx seemed about to complain until the red head narrowed his eyes and pulled on a pair of sunglasses. Roxas watched the two curiously and blinked at the wet nap sitting in his lap.
"But…I'm handcuffed," Roxas said carefully, his nose scrunching both in confusion and to push his glasses back up. Axel eyed him from the rearview before realizing his mistake and laughing out loud to himself. Demyx muttered something about him still being drunk as he went for the radio dials again, making Xigbar snort before he reached for the wet nap in Roxas' lap. The blonde cringed into the seat; trying to get the dirty man's hand to only touch so much of him was hard. Finally, Xigbar grabbed the tiny package and tore it open before bursting out in giggles. Roxas' eyes widened as he watched the man nudge the blonde in the passenger seat. He had finally decided what they were going to listen to, and to Roxas it sounded like something with all bass and no music, the entire car's frame sort of vibrated with the rhythm.
"Dem, what does this look like?" The eye patched man asked the blonde as the man turned and stared at the open package. His blue eyes glistened as his smile widened across his face, his pearly white teeth a shock against his tan skin.
"Axel! Look at it, it looks like a condom wrapper!" he squealed before tossing his head back and laughing loudly. Through out all of this, Roxas sat there confused, simply staring at the open wet nap package not understanding what the two were laughing at. He really didn't see how it looked like a condom wrapper or even why that was funny. The redhead peered over his shoulder, and with a snort turned back to the road after seeing what exactly his two companions were laughing at.
"Both of you grow up. Xigbar, fucking wipe the poor kid's face," Axel sped up slightly, changing lanes before really pushing the gas pedal. Roxas watched as the scenery blurred by in a mixture of colors. He noticed Xigbar squirming towards him from the corner of his eye with the wet nap and he shrunk back against the seat. If they would simply uncuff him, he'd be able to do all of this by himself. They were in a moving car anyway, Roxas didn't see the point in the handcuffs.
"I'm not a kid…I have a name," Roxas said shakily, watching as the wet nap zoned onto his face. Xigbar was rough, pressing down against Roxas' soft skin and scrubbing as if he was polishing an old shoe. Roxas was sure his face was all red, and maybe even slightly more bruised than it was previously. It definitely felt more tender after the man pulled away, satisfied with his cleaning job. Roxas could only hope it was better than it felt.
"Really now, what is it?" Axel said, his eyes shielded by large, dark sunglasses. He had a wide smirk on his face, reminding Roxas of Freakazoid. The old theme song played through his mind, making him forget for a second about the citrusy smell under his nose and on his cheeks from where Xigbar had wiped. For a few seconds, he was back in his apartment with Sora and he was comfortable. Not on a hot leather seat in the back of a tiny Porsche as a hostage.
"Roxas," the blonde had to stop himself before he said his last name. He was so use to introducing himself using both, something about the formality attracted him to saying it time and time again. However, something told him it would be best not to use it this instance. He didn't want these maniacs knowing his full name, it would be too easy to find him once they were released from prison. "Where are we going? Can you take me to my apartment?" Roxas decided to change the subject from his name before anything could be said about it. It seemed to work just fine with everyone.
"We are going to my boss's house, in the next city over." Axel glared at both Xigbar and Demyx as he said this, before looking at Roxas quickly "so no, I cannot take you back to your apartment." Roxas glared at him through the rearview mirror. He had to be taken to his apartment, that was really his only hope for survival.
"Why are you even taking me? I have nothing to do with this!" Roxas shouted angrily from his seat, Xigbar simply stared at him with a smile and Demyx looked at him apologetically before Axel got around to speaking. Roxas didn't know who to blame for his being here, it would easily be put on Demyx and Xigbar for grabbing the wrong person, or Axel for not being responsible, or even Sora for getting into this mess in the first place.
"I have to see what my boss thinks I should do. We can't just let you go, especially since you know we're hunting down your twin," Axel chuckled at the absurdity of the very idea. As if actually setting Roxas free was humorous. The blonde didn't see anything funny at all about this situation, in fact he was just about ready to cry.
"How about…afterwards? I'll need to get clothes to help you find Sora!" Roxas tried to bargain with the man. He was lying, but that was information only he knew. The redhead had no idea of his plans to actually inform the police, so tricking him would be easy. He could simply say he wanted to find Sora too, anything to give him a legitimate reason for going to his apartment. Though he knew somehow that they wouldn't ask, they didn't seem to be the caring type.
"Afterwards isn't now. So shut up and sit still, we've got a long way to go." With that the conversation was cut short, any questions or anything else was stopped before it even had the chance to blossom. Roxas was furious and he wished he could cross his arms. The ache in his shoulders reminded him that no, he wouldn't be able to do that for a while.
...
The sun was high in the sky when Axel parked in a tiny plaza, they where…somewhere, Roxas figured as he blinked the sleep from his eyes. At some point during the long drive he had fallen asleep. Now he had woken up just in time, the heat was at its peak and the car felt like an Easy Bake oven. Roxas could feel the sweat rolling down his temples almost steadily, a fact that disgusted him and made him wish more than anything for a nice cool shower. The eye patched man was fanning himself with a paper, the bandana around his neck dark with perspiration, making Roxas wonder why he still had it on. Surely it was only making him warmer than he already was. The blonde that was seated in the front was sipping from a water bottle, seeming content as could be. The clear liquid in the glass bottle reminded Roxas painfully of his dry throat as he tried to swallow.
"Could I please have some water?" Roxas said, his voice sounded thin and breathy. He had never been so thirsty before in his life and watching the condensation on the green bottle was not helping. His throat worked furiously around the dryness and his tongue moved across his lips trying in vain to moisten them. Demyx's eyes widened as he tugged the straw from his lips with an audible pop, wiping at his mouth before looking down at Roxas' pale, chapped lips.
"Oh my god, you must be dehydrated! You poor child," Demyx leaned towards the back, holding the glistening bottle to Roxas' lips, letting the blonde catch the straw between his teeth and take as many long swallows as he possibly could. The water tasted like a gift from Olympus as it ran down Roxas' parched throat. Demyx simply watched him with a smile as he gulped down the water.
Finally he pulled away to breathe, his lips once again moist, began to sting as the numerous cuts made themselves known. That didn't bother Roxas though; he was simply content to have his mouth moist and water in his stomach. It was already starting to ache with hunger, and he definitely didn't need a hunger migraine on top of a vase-to-the-head ache. "Thanks," he said, his normal voice finally showing shyly underneath the rasp. Roxas cleared his throat carefully and the other blonde just smiled, waving it off.
"Don't mention it. You looked parched!" Demyx laughed as the car pulled to a stop and Axel unlocked his door.
"You all stay in here, I'm going to get food and come right back. Both of you keep an eye on him, don't fuck up again." And with that, the redhead slipped out of the car.
A few people stood by to watch him as he gracefully climbed out of the red and black sports car, his vibrant hair matching perfectly with the pain job. Not to mention he was exceedingly gorgeous. Roxas came to the conclusion, using the rear view mirror and millions of tiny glances, with a lot of reluctance. In all honesty he was shocked with himself. How could he be thinking about his kidnapper's looks, when this man was out hunting for his brother and holding him hostage? He didn't want to think of Axel and his flat chest, tightly covered by his white wife beater, or his long, lean legs that were hugged by tight, leather pants. Behind what most medical experts would classify as attraction, Roxas wondered how Axel could stand the heat. He knew for sure that the people were watching because an attractive man coming out of an equally attractive car mustn't have been an everyday thing in this one horse town, or that was his guess.
Roxas tried glancing out the front windows, seeing as the tiny back ones were tinted black and it was hard to see. Outside was nothing but empty land, a few scattered houses around the cluster that was this plaza. It was probably their downtown. Judging by the way it looked, with a few stores and most of the town's populace accumulated here, it was almost certain that this was the town's center. Roxas watched as a few people walked around, shopping bags in their hands as they chatted happily about whatever. The blonde wanted to scream for help, but something told him to go against that. He didn't want to do anything that would steer him off the course that would lead him to his apartment.
It didn't take Axel very long in reality, but to Roxas it felt like years before the redhead came back into view. He stood out quite a lot amongst the quiet town's people. A hoard of young girls stood huddled on a street corner, each drooling in awe as the man strode towards his car, looking like a movie star. Roxas looked at all the girls, rolling his eyes at their stupidity as Axel climbed in. If only they knew they were ogling at some kidnapping, mafia murderer. Axel seated himself comfortably before handing all of them their food, or well, except for Roxas and started the car. Demyx seemed to have noticed the fan girls and pointed it out to the redhead with a laugh as he unwrapped his hamburger. Amongst the joke Roxas' attention was caught by the man's words.
"Seems kind of ironic, doesn't it?" Demyx chortled and Axel swatted him across the head from his seat. Xigbar chose that moment to laugh loudly, choking on the drink that had been passed back to him. Axel stopped at a light and turned, dropping a paper bag onto Roxas' lap. The redhead smiled at the blonde through the rear view mirror.
"I guess Xiggy will have to feed you," The man seemed to find this fact hilarious as he sped down the street and out of the quiet town. The large blue sign was an indication that they had now left and were only a few hundred kilometers from the next stop. Roxas hoped to God the name he read on the sign was a City's name. It seemed familiar enough, though in the back of his mind, a dark knowledge let him know he was very far from home.
"Here, lemme hold your burger first. We'll take turns," The eye patched man reached into Roxas' paper bag and pulled out a neatly wrapped cheeseburger. Roxas eyed it, before deciding he'd rather eat from this idiot's hand than starve. He took more than half of the burger with his first bite, almost choking as he chewed the dry bread into small enough pieces to swallow. Xigbar laughed before placing the food down and reaching towards his own, taking just a big a bite as Roxas, if not bigger.
Each of the men where finished in a matter of minutes, the only sound being that of liquid traveling through their straws. Xigbar had to hold Roxas' soda to his mouth for him to drink, and as humiliating as it was, the cold fluid helped the ache in his head and made him feel better. The eye patched man, ignoring the red head's protests and shouts threw his trash out the window, the wind carrying it God knows where. Axel groaned, before looking at Xigbar over his shoulder. "Why'd you do that for?" he asked angrily and the man just laughed with a shrug.
"Sorry mother nature if I offended you," Xigbar teased, a smirk on his face when Axel gave him the finger. Demyx simply yawned, announcing that he was tried and that everyone needed to shut up.
Now the entire car was quiet, at some point Xigbar and Demyx had both passed out, leaving only Axel and Roxas awake. For some reason or another, the blonde felt awkward sitting in silence, though Axel didn't seem at all bothered. Roxas cleared his throat before speaking. "Why…do you want my twin?" he asked and Axel tilted his head up, Roxas' only indication that he was looking at him through the mirror.
"I already told you. He owes my boss quite the sum, so we were going to take him back to the base and remind him to pay. Instead…we ended up with you," Axel added the last part with a groan, his hands tightening on the steering wheel for a second before his whole frame relaxed and he looked back at Roxas. One of his fine eyebrows arched high on his forehead, the smirk on his face made the expression very suggestive despite the large sunglasses. "Could have been worse though, at least we've got some eye candy with you," Axel laughed as Roxas' cheeks slowly turned from pale to a flaming red. The blonde's already large eyes going even rounder as he quickly turned his head and looked away from the rear view mirror. Axel chuckled before focusing back on the road.
"Shut up," the blonde tried to push the blush off his face, definitely not wanting his aggressor to see that side of him. He doubted anyone wanted the person who kidnapped them to see them blushing or anything of the sort. That sort of face just wasn't meant for these types of situations. "But…why does he owe your boss money?" Roxas got back on track quickly, though his stomach still felt slightly off and his cheeks were much warmer than they should have been, even if it was sweltering outside.
"Look, I don't even know if I should be talking with you about this stuff. It might cost you your life kid, so just be quiet until I've spoken to my boss. Unless you wanna talk about the weather or something," Axel fixed his eyes on the road, and it was Roxas sign that he was very serious about what he was saying. The blonde wanted to ask questions though, there were just too many to simply ignore. He wanted to know why his brother owed money, and just how much did he owe? Along with those questions there were many more, like who exactly did he owe money to and just what type of person was Axel's boss? Roxas wanted to know the answer to each and every one, but the finality in the redhead's voice made sure he wouldn't.
"I'm not a kid," Roxas said instead of pushing his luck with questions and Axel laughed before apologizing with a shrug. The blonde glared at the back of Axel's seat. How dare he call Roxas a kid? He was twenty-one for Christ's sake. He had definitely passed the point of being referred to as 'kid'; he was now in the zone for a 'mister' or even a 'sir'.
"Just how old are you? I'm guessing twenty-one, right?" The redhead smirked widely when he saw Roxas peek at him through the rear view mirror. The blonde's shock quite evident on his face, and Axel enjoyed every second of it. He laughed happily and waited for Roxas' question. He knew it was coming; it was only natural to ask how he had guessed his age correctly.
"How did you know?" The blonde said, trying to get a better look at Axel's face, but those damned sunglasses covered nearly everything. Roxas was confused as to how Axel had known his age, because clearly the redhead didn't think he was very old if he had been calling him kid. Or that could just be because Axel was a lot older than Roxas, though that didn't seem to be the case. The redhead was very physically fit, and clearly fairly young.
"I know your twin, so obviously I know how old you are," Axel's smirk turned into a huge grin as more questions presented themselves to Roxas. The blonde knew Axel mustn't have been a friend of his brother's or else he definitely would have seen him before, and he wasn't from any of their schools. Roxas really had no clue how Axel could know his twin, and the confusion clearly showed on his face. "You seem surprised," Axel chuckled when Roxas unwittingly nodded.
"I was just sure I knew all of Sora's friends," Roxas admitted and Axel just laughed harder, changing lanes and going even faster than before. Roxas' heart did a little jump as the car's speed grew, the other cars zipping past them as they covered quite a lot of distance.
"Clearly not, little man," Axel again was watching Roxas through the rear view and just the knowledge of those jade eyes on his frame made Roxas uncomfortable. "What could Axel be thinking?" he thought over and over, and hard as he tried to focus on their conversation his mind went back to that, though he wasn't sure why.
"Are you sure you're a friend? Doesn't seem that way to me," many friendships were different, and people had many views on what friendships are like, but one thing was obvious about all friends. They would never kidnap you, or take you anywhere against your will and beat you. Roxas was more than sure about that.
"I'm sure," was the only answer Axel gave before he went quiet and continued driving. Slowly Roxas watched more and more buildings come into view, the out skirts of the city a familiar sight to the blonde, considering he was born and raised in a city himself. He watched as they drove onto a street, filled with people, millions more than the town they had encountered only a few hours earlier.
Quickly though they exited the busy streets and moved gracefully onto more residential streets, and quieter neighborhoods. The houses were all huge and fairly spaced apart, most hidden behind many trees and bushes or fences. Roxas watched in awe as they slowly drove by each giant manor, before finally stopping in front of a large, pristine mansion. The entire house was white, making it look like an ancient Greek temple. The large pillars all aligned on the front also helped complete the look, along with the beautiful fountain out front. The Porsche pulled to a complete stop at the bottom of large stone steps, Roxas being pulled out of the back by a groggy Xigbar. He had woken up only minutes before arriving, so his handling of Roxas was slightly rougher than usual, though Roxas didn't know for sure if that was the reason, or even what the usual way was.
Axel was already half way up, urging the others to hurry before bounding up the rest of the steps. "Come on, I don't have all day. I have to get looking for that little brat," Axel sounded annoyed and Roxas scowled at him, glad that once he was taken back to his apartment he would be calling the police on him. Maybe the men in prison could teach Axel a thing or two. This was when Roxas finally caught a glimpse of the tiny tear drop tattoos adorning the man's cheeks, and slowly he re-evaluated the coward he thought Axel was. One had to admit, it took an awful lot of balls to get a facial tattoo.
Xigbar yawned hugely as he trudged up the stairs, hauling Roxas along behind him. Finally when they were all together at the door, the redhead knocked and they all stood waiting anxiously. Roxas though, felt as if he was the most nervous. This was his first time meeting the man, and this man wanted to kill his twin brother. Or so it seemed that way. "Roxas be quiet and do not speak unless spoken to," for once it was Demyx giving the small blonde an order and Roxas nodded though he didn't know why. He could damn well start singing if he wanted to, though the blonde knew it was never going to happen. He just didn't have enough guts to do that sort of thing. "Let's hope he's in a good mood. That way we won't get lectured."
The large doors swung open and in front of them stood a man so huge he blocked almost the entire entrance. Roxas stared with wide eyes as they all made their way past him and into the large, brightly lit house. Everything inside the mansion was white as well, the walls, the furniture and even the chandelier hanging above the large, white spiraling staircase. Stare in awe was all the tiny blonde could do as the large brunette led them towards the stairs. "Xemnas is waiting for you," Axel smiled at the man, all white teeth and charisma before patting him on his large shoulder. Roxas was amazed at the size of the man and wondered just what he was doing at the house. His thought however was interrupted by a loud, booming voice from the top of the staircase.
"Axel, you've finally arrived...Demyx and Xigbar, what are you doing here?" The voice bounced off the walls and surrounded the guests of the house. Axel nodded his head as Xigbar and Demyx slowly tried to worm their way out of the foyer. The man however stopped them, his eyes narrowing as he told them to stay where they were. He climbed down the stairs with an elegance Roxas had never seen before; he appeared to almost be floating over every step, his hair shinning like silver satin under the lights.
"We came here with Axel," Xigbar answered, jutting his thumb in the direction the redhead was standing. Axel sent him a glare before turning to look back at Xemnas as the man finally stood in front of the group.
When Roxas and the man were finally face to face, the blonde realized that the man had incredibly light, hazel eyes and dark olive skin. His eyes almost appeared yellow, and the look of them sent chills along Roxas' spine. Again the question of how his brother knew these people popped up in his mind. "I see...and you've brought along a guest," the man chuckled, before crossing his arms. His suit was all white, except for his tie and the handkerchief he wore in his breast pocket, those were both black, along with his leather shoes. Roxas didn't know exactly what to make of the man. He didn't seem like some street thug, nor did he seem like your every day business man. There was something about him that made Roxas uneasy and fearful. It was almost as if the man had a certain aura about him that demanded respect, or fear or maybe even both. Whatever it was, it made Roxas nervous to think of his brother dealing with such people.
"Though…it's not the one I was expecting," the man continued and Roxas felt those yellow eyes do a quick sweep of his disheveled appearance. Axel chuckled from his spot along side Roxas and the blonde could already sense the lies the redhead was about to tell. Though, Roxas only knew the red head was lying because the man had said he was going to. To anyone else looking, Axel seemed cool as a cucumber.
"This is Sora's twin brother…Roxas," Axel nudged Roxas forward and the blonde took a stumbling step towards the man. The silver haired man stepped down from the last stair and stood directly before Roxas, making the blonde feel tiny and insignificant. He was rather tall as well, and at this point in time, Roxas realized he was the smallest one in the room, quite possibly in the entire house.
"And why is he here and not Sora?"
"I went to search for him" there's the lying "but I didn't find him anywhere, so I got his twin instead," Axel seemed ashamed to be admitting that he didn't find Sora, though why he even lied about going was beyond Roxas, maybe it was because finding his brother after all was Axel's job and even if it was done incorrectly, he still had to do it himself. That would always look better than getting someone else to do your work for you. The silver haired man listened quietly, Roxas half expected him to start screaming at any second but instead he just raised an eyebrow high onto his forehead. "Don't worry though Xemnas, I have a plan."
Xemnas, so this was the man Axel had been worried about speaking to. That fact seemed more than obvious now though and Roxas felt silly for over looking it. Then what the redhead finally said sunk in and Roxas turned to look at him. Axel had a plan? It appeared that everyone else in the room was also curious and the redhead laughed before shooting off into the explanation of his plan. "I'm going to use Roxas to help me find Sora. They are twins after all, so, Roxas must know his brother's whereabouts and if that doesn't work, I'll use him as bait…that is, if you still want me to," Roxas blinked owlishly when Xemnas' eyes landed on him and he felt like hiding behind someone though there was no one.
"Really now? And he's accepted this?" Xemnas seemed skeptical as he stared at Roxas and Axel laughed loudly before gripping the blonde's shoulder in a painful hold. It was very tight and Roxas leaned over trying to ease the man's grip, his face scrunching in pain.
"He doesn't really have a choice." With that all the men in the room laughed, except for Roxas.
"Very well then…I don't have to tell you that I expect this to be the last time this happens, correct?" Axel nodded his head as Xemnas stared at them, the man then turned and made his way back up the steps. Before fully leaving them though, he turned and eyed all of them. "And Axel I have to speak with you. Please, do remember that I want Sora alive, he does in fact still owe me my money. As for the twin, I don't really care, though I'd prefer you leave him alive as well. It is always such a hassle to deal with deaths."
A/N: What a lovely summer day it is outside, though I could do without the sweltering temperatures.
Hopefully the A/C will be put in my room soon o_o
Anyway, onward to the story! The second chapter is where we meet Xemnas, or get a glimpse at him. He's pretty chill in this chapter, no reason for him to fly off the handle anyway.
A special guest shall appear in the next chapter, come on ladies and gents, guess who 8D !
You'll probably all get it anyway xD
Well, I hope you all enjoyed this addition to Just Between Us!
Tune in next time, to see what happens!