Is There an Elephant in the Room? Chapter 43: My happiness, a kingdom hearts fanfic

Posting early because I have something else I need to do. Now that school has started, I'm going to be really busy and may not be able to get you guys a chapter a week, or have SATR start when I wanted it to, but oh well.

So anyway, I'm just going to say have fun reading this long. Long. LOOOOOONG chapter, and you will because you get to learn about Axel's past.

Thanks for all the reviews, I love you all.

Anyway, enjoy, review, review, answer the poll, review, read Hypochondriac, review, and I'll see you probably next week :D

~Sunechirei

Full Chapter Title: My happiness depends on other people's suffering

Axel could only watch Roxas sleep. The small body was just laying there, chest rising and falling in a smooth rhythm. Golden, messy hair was falling into his face, slightly covering the closed eyes of the teen. Slowly, Axel's hand traveled to the necklace hanging on his bare chest, and he smiled. Everything about the necklace reminded him of Roxas; delicate, beautiful, and his.

Even though it was extremely early, Axel had an urge to wake Roxas, tell him what was going on.

But he couldn't.

Roxas didn't need to know anything, though no doubt, Ellie would eventually tell him. Still, it would be better if he had no clue what was going on with Axel's life. It would be better if Axel left him while he was still asleep. That way, there would be no fuss, nothing at all. Roxas wouldn't wake if Axel left. He was a heavy sleeper, and since it had only been an hour since he'd fallen asleep, there was no way Roxas would be conscious enough to do anything, even if Axel did leave.

It was a perfect plan.

Slowly, he slipped out from under the covers, trying extremely hard not to disturb the bed too much.

"You okay?" Roxas' quiet, muttering voice called from the bed. Axel flinched. He'd been completely convinced that Roxas wouldn't have woken up, and yet the boy once again surprised him. Nothing Roxas did made sense to Axel. Just when he thought he'd figured out what was going through Roxas' head, the boy did something strange.

That's what happened in Twilight Town, then again when Roxas told Axel he didn't have any feelings for him, and again at the hospital, and many more times that Axel couldn't keep track of. That's one of the things Axel loved about him so much. It's like the boy knew just what confused Axel, and what to do and say to make sure he always kept coming back.

"I'm just thirsty," Axel replied, leaning over and brushing a hand along Roxas' cheek. "Don't worry, I'll be right back." Roxas nodded, his eyes closing. A pang of guilt ran through Axel at the lie, but he had to do this. He had to lie.

Axel had been preparing for this for the past two weeks, making sure to have everything he needed, doing extra work so he didn't have to worry about it while he was gone, and of course, spending every minute he could with Roxas. The last one was more for himself. He didn't know how long it would take for him to find his father, because even though he knew that he was in Hallow Bastion, it was impossible to know where his house was. So, it could take a long time for him to complete his mission. Every moment he spent with Roxas could be engraved into his memory, and he could hold onto that until he came home.

Still, walking out of Roxas' room after getting dressed, a bag over his shoulder, was one of the hardest things Axel had ever had to do. Every step he took into the kitchen weighed his legs down as though they were made of lead, and when he turned around to look at the sleeping Roxas again, he felt like his heart was being wrenched from his chest.

It was too much for him. Swiftly, Axel walked back towards the bed where Roxas was laying and leaned over him. "I'm sorry," he muttered before leaning down and kissing Roxas on the forehead. "I'm so sorry."

As Roxas stirred, Axel bolted out of the room, not wanting to have a conversation with him. He closed the door behind him, letting out a deep sigh of regret, but also relief.

There was only one thing left to do.

Slowly, Axel made his way to the kitchen, pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket. With the pencil he found in the kitchen, Axel began to write a note for Roxas. But, he couldn't figure out what to say.

I know I wanted you to be honest with me, but I have something I never told you
Please don't come look for me. I don't want you to
I just want to apologize for what
Roxas, I love you so much, but I need to leave because I have something I need to accomplish and

Axel groaned and crumpled up the piece of paper angrily. There was no possible way for him to say what he wanted to, even with his vocabulary. Finally, completely frustrated and not wanting to have to deal with this any longer, Axel just wrote a simple note, one that he hoped would get his message across, but wasn't fancy at all, and made Roxas understand what was going on.

I have something to do, he wrote, hand shaking. I don't know when I'll be back. Don't come looking for me. He thought that was good enough, but he need to add something else, something important.

I love you.

Axel briefly wondered if he should talk to Ellie before he left. She already seemed to know that he would be leaving soon, but if he talked to her, it would be like talking to Roxas: painful and it would only make Axel not want to leave.

So, instead, he headed out of town, trying to drown out his thoughts with blaring music. He didn't dare take his car, for fear of someone recognizing it, so the bus was the only option he had. People gave him funny looks while he listened to his music, staring out the window of the bus, but he ignored them, knowing he would probably never see them again.

Still, the looks he received began to get on his nerves, reminding him of things he didn't want to remember, things from his past he wanted to forget.

Things about his father.

At the end of the three hour bus ride, Axel was irritated beyond belief.

It was then he got the first call.

The phone buzzed quietly in his pocket, and he allowed himself to smile softly. He knew who it was going to be; after all, only one person knew he had gone, and by now that boy was awake.

Sure enough, the name on Axel's phone was "Roxie," with a picture of Roxas' back in a large crowd of people behind it. Axel smiled at the picture. It was his favorite one of Roxas, having taken it on their first date. Roxas didn't know, of course, that he had his picture taken, which made it all more special to Axel. It was like his personal memory of that day.

Axel desperately wanted to answer the phone, tell Roxas he was alright and not to worry, but standing in the middle of a deserted street in Hallow Bastion wasn't the best place to do that. Or, that's what Axel told himself, so he just let the phone ring.

After a time, it stopped buzzing, and Axel felt like he was being stabbed through the chest. This feeling of pain became worse when the phone buzzed once more, signaling Roxas had left him a message.

"Pick up the phone goddammit! I want to fucking know why the fuck you left and what the fuck this letter fucking means you fucking asshole!"

Dial tone, then silence. Axel let out a small laugh. It was obvious from the message that Roxas had most likely been crying before he called. Either that, or yelling at someone. Still, Axel felt as though he were being slowly killed.

And it got even worse when Ellie called him.

"Axel, I know you want to find your father, but this is too much. Just leaving? What do you expect to accomplish from this? Please call me back, we need to talk."

Her voice was extremely calm, eerily quiet, and it sent a shiver down Axel's spine. But it didn't stop him from putting the phone back in his pocket, sighing, and walking down the streets of Hallow Bastion, determined to find the one he was looking for.

"Axel? What are you doing here?" Axel smirked at the sound of Zexion's voice. It had been two days since he'd left Radiant Garden. No doubt, Demyx had informed Zexion that Axel was missing, so it was natural that he sounded surprised to see Axel standing in the lobby of the hotel in Hallow Bastion.

"Looking for a place to sleep tonight, obviously," Axel replied, laughing quietly. "I was in the area and figured this would be the best place to spend the night. You don't mind, right?" Zexion could only shake his head, probably too shocked to say anything, but Axel saw his hand move towards the phone on the desk, and he chuckled. "Oh, Zexion?"

"Yes?" He looked nervous, hand retreating from the phone immediately.

"Tell anyone I'm here, and you're going to be fucking fired." Obviously, the look in Axel's sea-green eyes scared Zexion, as he withdrew his hand from the phone immediately, eyes wide. "Thank you."

Without another word, Axel moved behind the counter and grabbed a key to one of the room, still smiling dangerously at Zexion, then turned to leave the room. He should have known that Zexion would try and call Demyx about this, being a busybody and all, and yet his first instinct when he realized he was near the place was to go there.

It was like the place was telling him to go home.

Suddenly, Axel's phone buzzed, and he groaned. He didn't know if he could take another message from Roxas or Ellie. Yet, he checked his phone, knowing he would regret it. Strangely, the person calling him was none other than Riku; not Ellie, not Roxas, not Demyx, but Riku.

Oh, how tempted Axel was to answer the phone and see what Riku had to say, but a gunshot in the distance distracted him. It could have been his father shooting that gun. Axel wouldn't put it past the man to be cruel enough to kill someone. He practically already did commit an act of murder, after all.

Sighing, Axel checked his phone again. Sure enough, it said that he had one new voice message.

"Axel, answer the goddamn phone. Ellie and Roxas are both trying to contact you," was all Riku said.

"What a waste of a message," Axel muttered, deleting it. "He could have at least said something I didn't already know."

"Mommy! Look, a pretty flower!" The little boy of two held out his hands, revealing a small, white blossom. His red hair was rather long for a young boy, reaching his shoulders, and his clothing was a few sizes too big, the shirt covering his knees as he crouched on the bed of a young, pale, woman.

She smiled, then reached out a pale hand, to pat her son on the head. "Axel, you know you're not supposed to bring flowers in here." Axel's wide green eyes looked up at his mother, horror showing in them.

"I'm sorry! I'll go put it outside right now!" He turned, getting ready to slide off the bed, but two hands came down and wrapped around his small body, pulling him onto the lap of the woman. She smiled, then leaned down and kissed Axel on top of the head. He laughed, and curled up next to her chest, trying to avoid the I.V cord attached to her arm.

"It's okay, Axel," the woman whispered. "I like the flower." She didn't seem at all phased by the fact her young son was speaking as though he were a six year old, at least, rather than speech appropriate for someone who was two. "Now then, where's Daddy?"

A look of panic crossed the child's face for a moment, and he glanced down. "I don't know. He wasn't home when I woke up." This worried the mother. She tightened her grip on Axel's body, despite his quiet protests.

"How did you get here then?" She asked. "The hospital is far away from home."

"I walked."

"You walked all the way here? How? It's so far, and hard to find."

Axel seemed to ponder this for a while, before he giggled. "Yesterday, Daddy brought me here in a... a... a taxi, and I looked out the window the whole way! I knew how to get here then!" This seemed to amuse Axel, and he began playing with the flower again, smiling widely. His mother, on the other hand, seemed a bit worried, maybe even scared. A dark look crossed over her eyes, and she glanced at the monitor next to her bed.

Every day, her vitals became steadily worse.

Soon, the cancer would take her away from her son.

Axel woke from this dream, slightly surprised. He hadn't thought about that day with his mother in a long time.

Glancing at the clock, Axel groaned and placed his head in his hands. Though the hotel was quite comfortable, he hadn't been able to sleep for hours, and based on the hour on the clock, he had only achieved an hour and a half of sleep.

It was five in the morning.

Slowly, he closed his eyes, hoping to get more sleep this time.

Axel was dressed in a small black suit, standing in front of his father. Before them, a casket was being slowly lowered into the ground, leaving behind no traces of the woman being buried.

The date: August thirteenth.

"Daddy? Where is Mommy? I miss Mommy," Axel said, holding onto his father's hand. He didn't quite understand what was going on. All he knew, was the his mom was there one day, and Axel was with her, then he was being taken out of the room by some mean nurses, and being told that he couldn't see her again.

"Elena is gone," the man snapped, pulling away from his son. "Don't ask me about her again." A cold look crossed his eyes as he walked away from the young boy.

"Elena? Is that Mommy's name?" Axel trotted along after his dad, wanting to know the answers to his questions. "Why can't I ask about her? I want to know where Mommy is!" He grabbed onto his father's pant leg, trying to keep him back, but the leg was suddenly yanked forward, sending Axel flying across the field.

The boy landed on his stomach, a few feet in front of his dad, too shocked to pay any attention to the gasps that echoed all around him.

"Shut up!" His dad yelled in a hoarse voice. "I told you not to ask me questions about her!" Axel curled into a ball, holding his hands to his chest, his back to his father.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," he whimpered. Suddenly, his arm was being yanked up, pulling him to his feet as his dad dragged him across the cemetery field. Axel was barely conscious of the people who were whispering quietly about what had just occurred, but they didn't do anything.

A week had passed.

Axel was still wandering the streets of Hallow Bastion, searching desperately for anyone who knew where he could find Reno. His father. No one seemed to know, or they weren't talking, which was making this difficult for him.

Very difficult.

When he asked some people about the man, he watched, irritated, as they became pale, stuttered, and walked away without actually answering the question. Axel came to the conclusion that his father had continued to be a horrible person, terrorizing everyone around him.

It was almost sickening.

But Axel continued to ask every person he ran into back in the dark, dangerous alleys. There weren't many people back there, or, there were none that he saw. These people knew the back streets, the holes, the crevices; everything there is to know about traversing safely. Some people confused Axel with his father, running away as soon as he got near, screaming for help or begging for mercy.

When they found out that Axel was looking for his father, it became even worse. After a week, no one would talk to him. Word had spread, and many avoided the streets during the day, causing Axel to have to switch his walking habits, change to moving around at night.

It was difficult to keep changing his schedule, but he found it was worth it. It took him two weeks to figure something out: you don't ask questions, you just listen.

So he listened, every evening, and every morning to the chatter and gossip from the homeless, the prostitutes, the gang members, trying to find out if any of them would reveal the place his father was hiding out in. He didn't doubt that Reno knew he was there, looking for him. Axel knew that his father had become a coward over the years, hiding from his own son, the son that he tortured for a years time.

"Daddy, I'm hungry," Axel whined, tugging at his father's sleeve. The man was laying on a couch, surrounded by dirty plates, wrappers from food, bottles of beer, the TV blaring in front of him, and his clothes looking as though they hadn't been washed in weeks. A hand came around and smacked Axel across the face, sending him stumbling back.

"I don't fucking care," Reno muttered. Axel didn't understand what was going on. Two months after his mother passed, and the relatives had stopped coming to visit, his dad moved him to a new house, left him alone at home without food, or drink, nothing he needed to survive, and he wanted something to eat.

Yet, the only thing he got was a smack in the face. From his father. Axel didn't know what he did, what he could do to stop this, to get food, to be happy again.

It was all he wanted.

"Naminé?"

"Hello Axel." Naminé had a quiet voice. A tired, quiet, irritated voice. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, it has been," Axel muttered. He hadn't been expecting a call from the girl who he'd stolen Roxas from. "Why are you-"

"I got a frantic call from Kairi telling me you'd taken off. Apparently you've been an asshole. Again."

"Look, Naminé, I don't need you telling me-"

"Shut the fuck up Axel, and listen to me. You stole Roxas from me, and now you're hurting him. Stop it."

"Goodbye, Naminé," Axel said, pulling the phone away from his ear, but Naminé's voice kept him from doing so.

"Axel, I swear that if you hurt Roxas again, or if you do anything, anything, that results in Roxas being upset one more time, I won't let you live it down." Axel said nothing as Naminé caught her breath on the other side of the line, then she continued her scolding. "I still love him, Axel, and I'm still mad at you for changing him, so don't you dare give me a reason to come back and take him, because I will, Axel. I will."

Then she hung up on him. Axel sighed, and began to put his phone away, knowing that there was something more going on with Naminé. There was always something more going on with that girl, in Axel's opinion. But his phone buzzed again. Axel groaned and checked the caller I.D.

It was Riku.

Axel let it ring, not wanting to talk to anyone else, even if it was his best friends boyfriend. After a message was left, Axel listened to it.

"Axel you son of a bitch answer your phone. I swear that I will kill you when you come back if you don't get your ass on the phone, right now, and call me back. You want to know why I'm telling you to do this? Because you're best friend just cried so hard and long that she passed out! That's right, Ellie cried. And passed out because she was so upset. Answer the damn phone."

Axel nearly threw his phone on the ground after that message. He hadn't wanted Ellie to be angry, or sad at all. He wanted her to just go along with the life she was living, and he wanted her to ignore the fact that he was gone.

Why didn't she just do that?

Why did she obsess over this entire thing.

Why couldn't people just act like Axel thought they were going to act?

"Daddy, I'm going out to play?"Axel called, then realized his father wasn't listening to him. The man was sleeping, laying on the couch in his own filth, snoring. Axel looked down at his feet, trying to ignore the rumbling stomach. It had been over a year since his mother's death, a year since Axel was left alone with his dad.

The three year old felt lonely.

He spent most of his time outside, no matter how cold it was, or who was outside. Many women asked Axel how he was doing, if he was getting enough food, or where the bruises came from. Axel only smiled, told them he was eating fine, and that he fell all the time.

The believed him, and left him alone.

Axel didn't really know why he lied to the women. A part of him knew they would save him, get him away from the hitting, the yelling, the lack of food, but he didn't want to leave his dad. He wanted to stay with his father.

But when he got home, after running around with children who lived near him, the door wouldn't open. He climbed on the bench near the door and rattled at the door knob. However, it wouldn't move. Axel slipped off the bench and grabbed walked around the apartment, searching for a window to get in, but there was none.

"Daddy?" Axel called out at the door. "Daddy, it's cold. Where are you, Daddy?"

The air was like ice to my body, chilling me to the bone. I remember that most of all, the inability to feel my hands, and my feet, the fact that I was shivering so much that I couldn't remember what it was like to stay perfectly still.

I think my breathing was shallow, and every breath I took was more painful than the last, but it was hard to remember as my brain slipped away into darkness. Kept, slipping away, farther and farther. I knew then that I would be safe soon. I would be fine in only a second.

Then the voice came.

"Is this him?"

All I wanted was for that high pitched, young voice to leave me alone, let me die. Well, I think that's what I wanted. I know now that's what I wanted to happen, but back then I was just wondering who the person was talking to.

"Miss?"

She sounded like she was only a year or so older than I was, so somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew she couldn't help me. It's amazing how much a three year old can understand about the world around him. Though, I suppose I knew more than most children my age, as I was a genius and all, but still, thinking back on it...

"Hey, you okay?" The voice was back, closer to me this time, and I felt a hand on my arm. "Ah! You're cold!" The hand withdrew from my shoulder, and I heard a strange noise, like a zipper being undone. I thought she was going to strangle me, or, I think that's what I thought.

All I can remember is being extremely scared.

But then there was heat, a jacket being placed over my body, and the girl patted me on the head.

"I'll be right back, okay? Don't. Move."

Then she took off, leaving me alone in the street again. After that, I remember heat returning to my body, just slightly, and I could feel the snow tickling my face. Whimpering, I managed to grab the jacket and pull it closer to my face, wanting the heat it brought.

I hated snow. Always had.

"Ellie, I asked you where you're jacket is?" Another voice, a woman's.

"I told you. I gave it to the boy I found!"

"But it's freezing out here! You could catch a cold in that dress of yours."

"I don't care. He was really cold."

"So are you!"
The voices were getting closer and closer, louder and louder, and they kept getting more annoying. I didn't like these two.

"There he is!"

"Oh my!"

I heard more rustling, and all of a sudden, someone was picking me up, holding me close to their body. It was warm, and comfortable.

It reminded me of my mom.

"We have to get him to a hospital. Ellie, go back to the orphanage and tell Cid where I've gone."

"No! I want to come with you!"

"Ellie..."

"I found him, I'm going." I could just imagine a small girl pouting, her arms crossed angrily. It made me want to laugh, but the breathing was still extremely difficult. It wouldn't matter. I knew I wasn't going to survive much longer.

Just like what happened to my mom.

Three weeks. Axel found that it was extremely difficult to survive in the streets of Hallow Bastion for that long. He thought it was going to be easy to do this, to find his dad. He thought he was going to be done within a few days, hours even. He wasn't expecting to find as much trouble as he did.

And the dreams.

He hated the dreams with such a burning passion that he began to try and avoid as much sleep as possible. The longest he went without sleep that he could remember was three and a half days. Three and a half days of no sleep before he collapsed onto the ground, drifting into oblivion.

"You're not gonna hurt me, are you?" The young girl cocked her head, crossing her legs under her body. She was sitting on the bed next to Axel, playing with the blanket at her feet. Axel could only look at his hands, not quite sure what was going on.

"No," he muttered, "I didn't mean to attack the doctor... he just scared me." The girl blinked, then lay down on the bed.

"You talk like a grown up, but you're only three. I'm four. I don't talk like a grown up."

"I'm sorry," Axel said, tugging at the IV in his arm. It reminded him of his mother's time in the hospital. She always told him that the tube would save her life, keep her safe from everything bad that happened.

Axel didn't know if he should believe her anymore.
"I don't care. I think of Mommy and Daddy when you talk. I miss Mommy and Daddy."

"What happened to them?"

The girl looked down at her hands. "They aren't here anymore."

"Are they dead?"

Axel immediately knew he said something wrong, as the girl slid off the bed. He wanted to take back what he said. He didn't want her to leave. He liked her. But she turned to him and smiled, confusing Axel.

"What's your name? Dr. Ansem said he didn't know what your name was, and you wouldn't tell him."

Axel smiled, feeling a warmth blossom in his chest, and told her in a quiet voice.

Then he was eight, sitting at school, in the principal's office, arms crossed, head bent, a nasty glare hidden under his red locks of hair. Cuts and bruises covered his face and arms, a sure sign of a small fight, and standing over him was a man with blue hair; one of his adoptive father's, Saïx.

"Let's go, Axel," he said, his voice cold. Axel flinched, thinking of his father, but followed anyway. As the two walked, an awkward silence fell over them, leaving Axel desperate for an escape. Saïx, however, wouldn't give him one. "What happened?"

Not answering, Axel turned his nose up in the opposite direction of Saïx and walked on ahead. He didn't want to talk to anyone about it, especially not a man who was supposed to take care of him.

Before reaching the car, Axel became tempted to run off, leave this god awful world of his behind and live on his own; it was something he could do, being tested as a genius. He knew that surviving in the world on his own wouldn't be that difficult. It wouldn't be like when he was three. But even then he had been able to steal food and some clothing in order to survive. He would be fine.

It would be better.

But then he thought of Ellie, who had told Axel only a few days before that he was her best friend, and always would be, no matter how old they got, and he let go of the notion. He couldn't run away.

And his life wasn't that bad.

When they reached the car, Saïx repeated his question.

This time, Axel answered. "Because the boys are jerks," he said calmly, pulling open the car door. "They all think they're so great because they're guys and can play sports. So, when I mentioned to one that living life as a sports fan would leave him fat, old, greasy, and pathetic, he snapped." Axel let out a small laugh. "It was really funny to see such a imbecile get red in the face. I doubt he even knew what I was talking about."

Even though Axel found this to be hysterical, Saïx was not amused. Axel gauged his reaction to be one of irritation and anger. A scary and dangerous combination.

"Why would you say that to him? Is there something wrong with liking to play sports?"

Axel pondered this for a second, buckling his seat belt. "Only guys play sports."

"So?"

"Guys are stupid idiots."

"Do you hate men, Axel?"

"Yeah. I do. Got it memorized?"

"Axel, please call me back. It's been a few days, and you're starting to scare me. Love you."

"If you're there and just ignoring my calls, Axel, you do realize that you're going to regret it as soon as you come back, right?"

"Pick up the damn phone! I want to talk to you!"

"Roxas is acting as though the world is coming to an end. Why do you continue to just ignore us, the people who are trying to help you? It doesn't make any sense, Axel. Please, please, just answer the phone for me. I know you don't want to, but I need to talk."

"That's right, it's Ellie again. Just wanted to let you know that Roxas is practically dead. At least call him back, you son of a bitch."

"Alright, that's it. I'm done. I hate you, Axel. I hate you so much! We're through! Don't even bother coming back here when you finish whatever the hell you wanted to finish. I won't be waiting patiently like a little dog for you to come back."

"I'm sorry. Ignore that last message from me. I didn't mean it. Please call me back. I love you."

"Hey Axel, it's Kairi. Everyone's really worried about you. You should call at least one of us back, let us know you're okay. That's all we want. We won't come and try and find you. Please?"

"Dude, Axel, you could have at least told me, you're roommate, that you were taking off. I would have liked to know if you were going to just leave. Thanks for that. Bye."
"Please call me back. Please? I just want to talk to you again. I really miss you."

"Good going, Axel. You officially broke your boyfriend. Now he's gone."

Axel nearly dropped his phone at the last message. His phone had been off for a while, hiding in his pocket while he talked to people.

"Now he's gone."

How could he be gone? Where did he go? Why did he go? Axel desperately wanted to know the answer to these questions. He wanted to know, and he was tempted to call Riku, the one who'd left the last message, and ask him what he meant.

More than that, he wanted to call Roxas and make everything right.

But he couldn't.

He just couldn't.

"Go away! You're irritating me!"

Axel turned around angrily and glared at the young, three year old boy following him. The boy watched Axel with wide blue eyes, then showed a small toothy grin.

"I don't wanna," he giggled, tugging at the bottom of his pajama shirt. He ran forward and grabbed Axel's leg, hugging it tightly. Disgusted, Axel tried to push the boy away, but only managed to ruffle the blond hair a tiny bit. He groaned and started walking again. He was definitely regretting running away from the party, leaving his dads behind and trying to find a small, quiet place to just relax.

Finding the Strife's young son was not something he was expecting. Now, the boy was literally attached to Axel, following him everywhere in the house in his small pajamas and stuffed bear. As a ten year old, Axel absolutely hated this, especially since it was a boy.

And he hated boys.

"I said go away! I don't want to be around you!"

"Aw, why not!" The boy looked up, pouting, then yanked on Axel's pant leg to bring him down to his level. "I really like you!" He smiled again and hugged Axel around the neck, who blushed. "I like Axel!"

"What are you saying?" Axel exclaimed, trying hard not to think about his burning face, "You don't even know who I am." He pushed the boy off of him and stood up, brushing his suit as though the boy's touch was vile. He glared down at the boy who looked confused and sad, eyes cast downward as he rocked back and forth on his feet. Opening his mouth, Axel was about to yell at the boy again, but a familiar voice called out from the hallway.

"Roxas? Roxas where are you?" It was the voice of the woman who was hosting the party; the woman Axel had insulted earlier that night.

"Mommy!" The boy cried out, clapping his hands before running towards the voice. In an instant, Tifa was in the room, picking up her son. "Mommy look, a friend!" He pointed at Axel, still smiling, which caused the boy to flush. He just thought of the boy as an annoyance, not a "friend."

"A friend?" Tifa asked her son. "How did you meet him?"

"I wanted to know what the loud noises were downstairs, and was he there," Roxas explained, stumbling over his words slightly. Then he paused, realizing his speaking mistake. "He... was... there," he muttered to himself, hiding his slightly red face from embarrassment in his mom's shoulder. She smiled and patted him on the head.

"That's right," she whispered something else to him, but Axel couldn't hear what she said. Whatever it was, it perked Roxas right up, and he giggled again. Then, Tifa's attention turned to Axel, who's only thought was to run away in fear.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean to get here. I just wanted a quiet place and-"

"You're Axel, right?" Axel nodded. "Thank you for staying with Roxas. He doesn't like to sleep when it's his bed time, so he's always wandering around. When I saw he wasn't in his room, I thought that maybe he'd gotten hurt," she said, holding her son close. "So thank you."

This only helped with making Axel completely embarrassed. He'd been wishing for the boy to disappear, not caring where he went, and yet now he was being praised by the boy's mother. It was like he was being mocked somehow.

"Yeah," Axel muttered, "no problem."

Tifa let out a laugh, then held out the hand that wasn't holding up Roxas. "Come on, I'll take you back to your dads. They've been looking for you."

Ignoring the hand, Axel nodded and pushed past Tifa, heading towards the party. He could hear her laughing behind him, and then her footsteps following him. He desperately wanted to escape the madness of the woman and Roxas, but of course, his life didn't like him.

"You don't have to come with me," Axel eventually said, turning back to Tifa. All she did was smile, holding a shy looking Roxas on her hip. A single thought ran through Axel's head at this point, one that he wasn't expecting.

He looks really cute.

Suddenly, Axel began hitting his head with his hands, not sure at all where that thought came from, or why he blushed from it. The boy was only three years old. Seven years younger than Axel...

"Axel, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!"

Another laugh from the mother, and Axel couldn't help but think he was being mocked by the woman, even though she didn't know why he was acting the way he was.

"There you are!" Axel heard Saïx's voice, and cringed. He didn't want to talk to another person that evening. His plan was to leave the building and just ignore everyone for the rest of the evening, but no. He couldn't act like a horrible son in front of the woman who thought he was being nice to her son. Then she would talk to him some more.

"Sorry... I got lost," Axel mumbled, ignoring the laugh coming from Roxas. Or, he ignored it until a woman's voice called out to Tifa.

"Oh Mrs. Strife, your son is absolutely precious."

Irritation rose in Axel, but at the same time, relief. He wasn't the only one who thought the young boy looked cute. There were others who agreed with the woman, and Tifa laughed. Roxas, on the other hand, looked calm, tired, and was watching Axel with wide eyes.

It made him blush.

"I want to go home," Axel muttered, grabbing Saïx jacket sleeve.

"Alright," Saïx replied. He bowed his head at Tifa. "Thank you for inviting us to this party, we'll be taking our leave now."

"Oh! Let me send you off then," Tifa said sweetly. Saïx just laughed.

"No, it's alright Miss. I'm sure your son wants to go back to bed now, he looks extremely tired," Saïx said.

"Please, I insist! Roxas won't go to bed anyway, will you?" He seemed to be considering it for a minute, then shook his head.

"I don't wanna go to bed," he chirped in a sing-songy voice. "I'm not sleepy."

Axel nearly groaned when Tifa followed them to the door, where Xemnas was waiting for them. It was confusing to Axel how his other dad knew they were heading to the door, but he was too anxious about the small blue eyes watching his every move to worry about it. He could feel his nerves rising greatly with every step he took.

By the time they actually reached the door, Axel thought he was going to have a panic attack.

"Did you have a good time, Axel?" Xemnas asked when they reached him. Axel only shrugged, then glanced back at Roxas who was still staring at Axel. The boy smiled shyly and buried his face in his mother's hair, whispering something to her.

Tifa seemed confused at first, but shrugged and put Roxas on the ground. "Roxas told me he wanted to say goodbye," she explained, looking as confused as Axel felt. Roxas took a step forward and tugged on the bottom of Axel's shirt. Rolling his eyes, he crouched down and looked Roxas in the eye.

"What?"

He wasn't expecting what happened next.

Roxas leaned up and pecked Axel on the lips really quickly, then ran back to his mom. Axel couldn't move as Roxas waved.

"Bye bye Axel."

"Oh my," Tifa said, sounding both surprised and amused, before she picked up Roxas. "I'm sorry about that."

Axel blushed and backed away, trying to hide his face from everyone around him. "I don't care," he muttered before trying to run off into the night. Saïx, however, grabbed his arm and nodded his head at Tifa.

"Have a wonderful evening."

"Same."

As the three walked out of the building, Axel looked down at his feet and smiled.

"Saïx?"

"Hm?"

"Maybe guys aren't as bad as I originally thought."

"Truth or dare?" Ellie asked, flopping herself down on the bed next to Axel. The two of them were spending their last weekend of freedom having a sleepover, along with Demyx, so they might actually look forward to school starting. Ellie, in middle school, and Axel, in high school.

"Dare," Axel replied. He sat up and smirked, thinking there was nothing his cousin could do to phase him.

Ellie, however, had other plans. "Alright, I dare you to sneak into my dad's study tonight and steal his prized article."

Axel paled. "You're kidding, right?" When Ellie shook her head, he groaned and placed a pillow over his head. "I can't do that! He'll kill me!"

"Well wouldn't you know, Axel here's a chicken!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

"Not!"

"Prove it!"

"Fine, I will!" He slid off the bed, sticking his tongue out at the grinning pre-teen girl, before carefully making his way out of her room. The house Ellie lived in with her adoptive father, Ansem, was always so cold and dangerous at night, the shadows leaping out at Axel like dangerous hands coming to kill him. It always made him shudder.

It was especially bad around Ansem's study. The large oak doors always loomed over Axel, who was considered short for his age, seeming to mock his every whim, especially the curly, cursive letters engraved in gold in the door:

Dr. Ansem Lea

Sighing, Axel pushed open the doors, making sure the hinges didn't squeak, and glanced around quickly. The clock on the desk read just after midnight, so there was no doubt Ansem was sound asleep, preparing for his next day in research. Ellie always told Axel that her dad worked all the time, and was almost never home, and even when he was, all his time was spent in this room.

There was no doubt she was just using Axel right now to get back at Ansem for that.

She was rather malicious sometimes.

Glancing around the room, Axel searched for the awarded article about some kind of disease he found a cure for. Finally, his eyes landed on it, sitting just above the desk, gleaming in the moonlight streaming in from the window.

The only problem now was getting it down.

Axel moved forward, getting ready to climb onto the desk, when he heard a noise outside the room. In an instant he was out the door, not caring if he was seen or not. He could just convince Ansem later that he was imagining things.

He could hear Ellie laughing when he entered the room a few seconds later, out of breath.

"I... told... you... you... were... a... chicken!" She managed to get out, trying hard not to fall off the bed she was laughing so hard. All Axel did was cross his arms.

"Hey! I got in there, and I was about to get the article, but someone was coming and-"

"Chicken!"

"Oh shut up Ellie," Axel yelled, jumping on the bed, tackling the thirteen year old girl. She let out a gasp, and instinctively grabbed the back of Axel's shirt, flipping him over so she could get a hold of his neck to pin him down. Axel, however, was expecting this, and trapped her arms behind her back before she could complete the action, grinning.

The two continued to wrestle, both laughing, until finally, Ellie was sitting on Axel's back, holding his arm up against his back so he couldn't move. He struggled against her grip, but it was useless.

"Man, you guys look like you're havin' fun," a voice suddenly said from the doorway. Both Ellie and Axel looked up at the speaker, eyes wide, and saw Demyx standing there, a half asleep look on his face. "Didn't mean ta interrupt you," he yawned, walking into the room.

"Be quiet Demyx, I'm just teaching Axel here," she tightened her grip around his wrist, digging her nails slightly into his skin, then smirked at his yelp, "a lesson about attacking a girl."

"Whatever, I don't care." He climbed onto the bed next to Ellie and yawned again. "Anyway, I thought you guys were playing truth or dare."

"We were, but then Axel decided to be a chi-"

"Don't say it!"

"Fine, it's your turn," Ellie snapped, climbing off Axel's back and leaning against the wall. She glared at him with her golden eyes, lips turned up into a smirk.

"I will!"
"Be quiet guys."

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth!"

"Whatever happened to being quiet?"

"Shut up Demyx. Is it true that you only got an A on your last science test because the teacher thinks you're cute?"

"What the hell? Of course not!"

"Wow, really? I'm surprised."

"Shut up Demyx. Truth or dare?"

"Why do you guys always pick on me?"

"Truth."

"Is it true that-"

"You like guys, not girls?"

Both Ellie and Axel, who looked like they were about to murder each other, froze, and turned to Demyx. He gave them both a confused look, then said, "Hey! It's a good question! I've been wanting to know the answer to it for a while."

All eyes turned to Axel, who was by now flushing a deep red. This wasn't a question he'd been expecting to hear, especially not out of Demyx's mouth.

Especially not right now.

"Hey, Axel, answer the question," Ellie eventually said.

He blushed deeper and looked at the ceiling. "Don't tell anyone, okay?"

Axel didn't want to walk anymore. He was getting sick of this searching, sick of this painful walking hiding, from asking questions and listening to the horrid gossip of the place known as the forgotten world of Hallow Bastion. Everything he heard made him lose all faith in humanity, and every day he felt sicker and sicker, just listening to some of the things said.

"Another person was murdered."

"That girl was raped and left for dead in the snow storm last night."

"Man, I hope no children got hurt in the raid last night."

"All those bitches deserved to be massacred. They didn't have lives anyway."

These things being said made Axel want to hurl.

Yet he continued walking, continued searching for the one who he wanted to find. The dreams he was having were no longer horrible. They'd moved onto replaying important memories in his life, things that stuck out more than others. But he still feared sleep. Any night could change, and Axel might be seeing his life as a child again, sitting alone in the cold apartment, waiting for his father to return.

As he was thinking about this, Axel failed to notice a shadow crossing the alley, heading towards him, until it was too late. Suddenly, there was a gun against his back, and a cold voice echoed behind him.

"You're not supposed to be here. I would have thought you'd learned your lesson last time."

Axel didn't know what to do. No one had told him he wasn't welcome anywhere, except for maybe a bar where he'd searched through the crowds, but they were far away from this place. Still, the gun pressed against his back was all too real, and the person holding it obviously believed Axel was someone else.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Axel tried to reason, holding up his hands to show he wasn't armed. "I've never been in this place before."

"Don't give me shit, Reno. I've warned you before that the next time you came down here, you wouldn't be able to leave."

The click of the gun frightened Axel and he shouted, "I'm not Reno!"

There was no gunshot, and suddenly, the metal was removed from his back. "What?" The man asked, and Axel turned around. Standing before him was a black haired man with blue eyes; a rare combination of features. "Huh, you aren't Reno. Who the hell are you then?"

"Axel. I'm Axel."

"Axel? Why does that name sound familiar?" The guy lowered the gun and glanced away for a moment, thinking about what he just said.

"Um... I don't know but-"

"You're pretty much the spitting image of Reno, though," the guy interrupted, taking a step forward.

"That would be because I'm his son." The gun appeared in his face. "Whoa! Don't shoot me! I fucking hate the guy!"

"You do? Why?"

"Because he's a bastard who pretty much tried to kill me when I was young."

"Hm... good answer." Again the gun was pulled away, and this time, stored in the man's belt. "My name's Zack. Nice to meet you, Axel."

"I don't like it here, Axel," Ellie whined, grabbing onto his uniform jacket. "Everyone keeps giving me funny looks."

Axel sighed and pushed Ellie off. He hated the fact that she was taller than he was, even if it was only by an inch. "That's because you keep clinging to me. Genius junior thirteen year old. Gay genius junior thirteen year old. You should go hang out with people in your grade."

"No! You and Demyx are the only ones I know in this school. And I don't make friends that easily," she protested. "Come on, be nice to your cousin for once."

"I'm nice to you all the time."

"Yeah, and I'm the heir to some ancient civilization that once ruled the world."

"Oh my, I had no idea, your highness," Axel said, falling into a mock bow. "I shall be sure to attend to your every need from this moment forward!" He snickered when Ellie hit him over the head. He considered this payback for all the stuff Ellie made him do while they were playing games. Being a year older gave Ellie an advantage to quite a few things, which meant Axel always had to listen to her.

"Oh no, little Axel's got himself a girlfriend. Someone call the fag police, cuz Axel just broke a sacred fag law!"

The look in Axel's eyes could have killed a whale, and he turned towards the guys who'd called that out, and hissed, "She's not my girlfriend, Zidane. She's my best friend and cousin." His arms crossed, he let out a nasty laugh and continued. "I'm as much of a fag as I was yesterday, ass face."

Axel didn't care that Zidane looked about ready to commit murder in the middle of the now quiet lunch room. Even Ellie's indignant "Axel," was lost on him, beaten out by the raging thoughts of getting back at the senior who'd tried to ruin his life over the past two years.

But no one else said anything. Instead, Zidane smirked at Ellie, like a plan had formed in his head, and then backed off, calling out, "You won't be so cocky later you fucking queer." He ran off laughing, as Axel jumped forward to try and attack the insulting teen. Ellie managed to grab his arm right before he could, however, and held him back.

"Axel?" She asked, confused. "How often does that happen?"
"Doesn't matter. Just ignore it," Axel replied, looking down. He hadn't let anyone in his family know that the guys in his school found it fun to insult him, make sure he never had any friends, or could walk around the school without whispers of abuse following his every move.

It irritated him.

But he pushed it off.

He realized later that day, he shouldn't have just ignored Zidane's threat.

"Hey! Get off me!"

Axel was thrown to the floor of the storage room, arms tied behind his back, Ellie being held hostage in front of him. Her cry sent a jolt of fear through Axel's heart, and he struggled against his bonds angrily.

"What the hell are you doing," he yelled at Zidane, who was standing over him with a smirk on his face. "Why's Ellie here?"

"Ellie huh," one of the guys holding said girl laughed, "that's a pretty name. Perfect for a pretty girl like you." Axel watched in horror as the guy began unbuttoning Ellie's shirt. "Not that I'm gonna remember it."

"Zidane!"

"Oh," Zidane finally answered, crouching down, "I thought it'd be interesting to see what would happen if you saw your best friend being fucked in front of you. I mean, if it was she was a guy, I bet you would want to join in, but since she's not a guy..." He laughed and grabbed Axel's head, turning it so he was watching the two guys hold Ellie down on the ground, stripping her.

He closed his eyes, not wanting to watch as he struggled against the strong hands holding him down. If only he were taller and stronger...

"Oh, come on Axel," Zidane cooed, smacking Axel over the head, "you should watch this. See what's normal."

He couldn't watch. He was powerless to help his best friend.

"Get the fuck off me!" Axel hadn't heard Ellie say anything coherent until this. Surprised, he opened his eyes just in time to see a half stripped Ellie knee the guy on top of her in the crotch. Axel wasn't quite sure what happened next, as things moved too quickly for him to really understand the events, but somehow, Ellie was next to him, hands shaking, untying the rope, as the two guys and Zidane ran out of the building, screaming curses back after him.

As soon as the rope was untied, Axel moved so he was sitting up, facing his cousin.

"Ellie, are you alright? Are you hurt? Did they do anything?"

All Ellie did was start sobbing, crossing her arms across her chest and leaning down. "I was so scared!"

"It's not safe for her there!"

"The boys have been expelled, and are being tried for statutory rape. They should be going to prison for a long time."

"Yes, those boys are. What about all the other ones? According to the school councilor, these were only three of the ones who were bullying Axel. What if another person decides that Ellie is a good target for them? Huh?"

"If anything happens, Axel will-"

"Axel's the reason this happened to her! It's because of him that she was attacked on her first day of high school."

"He's learned-"

"He's learned nothing! I'm taking Ellie away from here, and away from him."

"Ansem, you're overreacting to this."

"Overreacting? My daughter almost got raped, Xemnas. Almost raped because your son doesn't know how to behave in a social situation!"

"Axel is not to blame! Taking Ellie out of this school is fine, but cutting her off from Axel? Those two are closer than we were, brother. Do you think that taking her away from her best friend would be protecting her?"

"If it means saving her from other people who may hurt her, then yes."

Axel closed his eyes, trying to keep the tears from falling. He doubted that either of the men in the other room knew that he and Ellie were sitting there, listening to their argument. She was pressed up close against him, holding his hand like it was her only lifeline, and she cringed at every word said against Axel.

"You're a victim here too," she muttered, resting her head against his shoulder. "You're the one whose been bullied for the past two years."

"This isn't about me. This about you," Axel tried to explain. "I can take care of myself, but-"

"So can I! I'm the one who got rid of those guys..." She trailed off , eyes closing. "It's not fair that those people can get away with saying those things and being so horrible to you, then only get punished because they physically hurt me." Her long brown hair fell into her face as she shook her head. "Physical wounds heal much faster than emotional. Both of us know that already! Why can't others see that?"

"I think they can," Axel said. "They just seem to ignore it, or push it aside, like it doesn't matter to them at all." He'd already thought about this before, when Ellie was being talked to by the police about what happened. The school had found Axel holding a crying Ellie in the storage room, surprised, and angry.

He told them what happened, and immediately, Zidane and the two guys were found and arrested.

One perk of being a genius: teachers listened to you.

But as they helped calm Ellie down and get her wrapped in a blanket to be taken to the hospital, Axel couldn't help but think about all the times the teachers had ignored bullying they saw. Sometimes, a guy would call Axel horrible names and purposefully exclude him right in front of a teacher.

They ignored it.

"Well, it's wrong. It should be changed. Someone should be out there to help defend the people who can't defend themselves."

"There are," Axel said, rolling his eyes, "they're called lawyers." He was hoping to have Ellie drop the subject with that sentence, but instead, she just became excited.

"I want to be a lawyer!"

"Huh?"
"Yeah!" she exclaimed, pulling away from Axel, "I want to be a lawyer, and help defend people who need it, put guys who hurt others in jail so they never see the light of day again."

"What about being a doctor?"

"That's what Ansem wants me to be. But I don't care about that anymore. I'm going to be a lawyer, and I'm going to be the best one out there, so I can protect people like you, and like me. People who've been wronged." Her fists clenched. "And I'll make sure to put the people who killed my parents behind bars. I'll find them, and get them to be put in jail." She began crying again.

"Ellie..."

"Don't worry about me anymore, Axel. I'm gonna go to the school Ansem wants me to go to, and then go to law school, then I'll make sure you never get hurt again, okay?"

Axel didn't know what to say. This was a side of Ellie he'd never seen before. She seemed so sure, so determined, and extremely protective. Eventually he smiled, and let out his first laugh since the incident two days ago.

"And while you're gone, becoming the best damn lawyer in the world, I'll be sure to become stronger so next time, I can protect you." He stood up. "You've already saved me twice, Ellie. I think it's time I payed you back, no?"

"And I thought he was a bastard before," Zack muttered, leaning back against the alley wall. Axel didn't know what to say as he bowed his head. This Zack guy had turned out to be Roxas' godfather, the guy who took Tifa in all those years ago, and one of the people that helped with the mess a few months ago.

At first, when he found this out, Axel didn't want to associate with the guy, as he felt it would be betraying Roxas somehow. However, he knew somewhere that Roxas wouldn't care. He actually liked his godfather, even though he said the guy was somewhat of a freak. Axel didn't think he was a freak, especially after he started talking to him. If anything, the guy was completely normal.

Of course, how you act in a dangerous situation, and how you act around your family and friends are completely different. Most of the time.

"So, you want to know where he is?"

Axel nodded. "I know it sounds stupid, but I want to confront him, get him to apologize for what he did."

"And how are you planning on doing that?"

"I don't know. What do you suggest?" It was supposed to be a rhetorical question, sarcasm brimming in every word, but Zack answered it anyway.

"I suggest you go home and leave this all behind you."

"What!"

"Look, Axel, I admire you for surviving all that shit, then being able to come here and look for the guy, but you don't know what he's like now. Some of the things that guy's done would make you want to curl into a ball and never speak again," Zack explained, his voice much calmer than Axel would have thought it would be.

"I don't give a fuck what he's done." Axel stood up and prepared to take off, glaring at Zack all the while. "If you're not going to help me at all, then I'm going to just going to have to find him on my own."

"And what about Roxas?"

He froze, feeling his breath getting caught in his throat. "What?"

"Tifa told me that Roxas has come to find you, Axel. He knows you're here, and trust me, you're a hell of a lot easier to find than Reno. What happens when he finds you? Will you continue to search and send him off? Will you bring him with you, putting him in extreme danger? And what about if you die. What happens if Reno is too much for you and you don't survive meeting him? What do you think Roxas will do then?"

There was no answer for what Zack was asking. Axel hadn't thought about what would happen with Roxas, mainly because he hadn't made the connection that Roxas was coming to find him.

He should have, but he didn't.

"Just let me tell you about what he's done," Zack pleaded, "then if you still want to find him, I'll tell you where you can find him."

Axel rolled his eyes, but nodded. "Fine, tell me what's become of my dear father. I know a shit ton of people are afraid of him but-"

"It's not just a shit ton of people, Axel, and they aren't just afraid of him," Zack interrupted. Axel growled, irritated, and waited for the man to continue. "Every person who's ever met Reno of SeeD is terrified of him."

"Reno of SeeD?"

"That gang he's a part of is called SeeD, which just happens to be the gang of my mortal rival Seifer. Seifer's just as bad as Reno is, only, he sits back and watches other people do his dirty work. Reno actually does the shit."

"So..."

"When I first met the guy, I guess it would have been a few years before you said he locked you out of the house, it was his initiation into SeeD. Normally, the initiation is just a few guys going out to beat some random punk up, maybe have a few beers, but that's not what I saw. I was actually with Tifa, Roxas' mother when we saw the group of SeeD members walking down the streets. It had been right before she disappeared, so she was different than how you know her. Cold, distant, a dangerous fighter, but what the two of us saw made her puke right then and there."

"Just tell me what he did," Axel snapped, frustrated. He wasn't in any mood for a long story, though it was interesting to hear that Roxas' mom knew Reno.

"He slaughtered a ten year old girl."

"W-What?"

"A ten year old girl by the name of Jessie," Zack said in a quiet voice. "We all knew her well. She was the daughter of a baker who sold us bread all the time. A sweet little girl who always tagged along with Tifa when she saw her. Smart too. Aerith was convinced she was going to get out of here and make a life for herself somewhere else. But Reno saw her wandering the streets barely after night fall, and he grabbed her arm, probably breaking it immediately. Before either Tifa or I could react, he stabbed her in the stomach."

Zack looked as though he were about to either cry, or throw up. His face was pale, eyes closed. He looked like Axel felt.

Sick.

Disgusted.

Horrified.

"Why would he do that?" Axel asked. "How could anyone do that?"

"That's not all he did to her," Zack continued, ignoring Axel's questions. "Even though that wound would have killed her anyway, he continued to stab her, laughing all the while, slashing at her face and arms, then he left her, mutilated, dying, but alive." The last part seemed to really get to Zack. "The son of a bitch! The worst thing he could have done was leave her with all that pain and suffering, but he did. Once Reno and the others were gone, I managed to get Tifa to come down with me to talk to the girl. She was happy to see us, and she asked me to give her parents the money she'd collected from delivering bread. I was the one who delivered the news to her father."

Axel was speechless, sitting there. His father did this? Killed such an innocent girl so horribly? He always knew the man was a horrible person, but to do something so merciless...

"That's only the first thing he did. That man terrorizes every person he runs into. I even found out later he's the one who nearly killed Tifa. Vincent's pretty much the only one in my gang who'll go out at night now. Everyone else is too afraid to leave the safe house. Even then we don't feel completely safe there."

"How is this guy still on the streets?" Axel asked, horrified. "How could no one have stopped him?"

"He's smart. Tifa told me you were a genius, right? Well, you must have gotten it from him." After a moment of letting all of that sink in, Zack sighed and stood up. "Now do you want to find him? Give him a piece of your mind?"

Axel looked down at his hands. "Yeah, I do." Before Zack could protest, he stood up, towering over the man. "I know it sounds stupid, but I need to find him. I need to do something, or I'm never going to be able to let it go."

Zack didn't do anything for a moment, then sighed.

Axel ran as quickly as he could, trying hard not to laugh so he wouldn't run out of breath. The rain whipping at his skin was somewhat frightening, reminding him of his near death experience, but still, he couldn't help but feel exhilaration.

Sixteen, in college, and running from drunk, angry seniors.

What better way to spend his spring break?

"Get back here you little fucker!" Some guy Axel didn't know was yelling after him, but it was difficult to hear thanks to both the rain, and the fact the guy was so drunk his speech was slurred. Everything about it made Axel want to laugh. Especially the reason he was being chased.

Stealing the MP3 player of the frat party's host.

Of course, Axel had a reason for doing this other than just to annoy the guys; he'd been terrorized by this frat group since his first day of classes, so he decided he was going to get back at them. They made his life hell, he crashed their party.

In his book, that was an excellent way to get revenge.

Even if it meant having to get soaking wet while running through a nearly empty park. The idea of catching a cold didn't even stop him, mainly because there was no way Axel would every catch a cold. The last time he'd been sick was from the hypothermia, but since then, nothing. Other than being underweight, and short for his age, Axel had nothing physically wrong with him.

Mentally, on the other hand...

Finally, the people chasing him gave up, screaming curses and insults after him. Axel had to laugh at their idiocy. Not only were they drunk, in the middle of a city park, while it was raining and cops were everywhere, but they'd been outsmarted by a sixteen year old. A kid they'd assumed was spoiled and living on "daddy's money," as they put it. Everyone in the college thought Axel was just using his dads' money to get what he wanted.

They didn't even know he was a genius.

Which he found to be weird, seeing as not many sixteen year old guys could get into one of the best colleges in the world, unless they were a genius. Axel assumed they were just complete idiots.

"Now then," he muttered to himself, wiping away water from his vibrant green eyes, "where shall I shelter from this god awful rain?"

There was pretty much nowhere to hide from the droplets of water falling down on him. Trees didn't work as well as movies made them to, though, it would be better than getting completely soaked.

As he moved towards the only clump of trees that had any leaves on them, Axel made sure to keep his eye out for any frat boys who decided they didn't want to give up on finding and castrating the red head. Instead of frat boys, however, Axel spotted something a lot more interesting.

Two young boys, probably around nine, romping around in a pile of mud, laughing, and attempting to shove each other into the pile. Axel smiled, reminded of the time's he and Ellie would go out after a rain shower and play around without a care in the world.

But now she was gone, and Axel was too busy with classes to really hang out with anyone.

With a laugh, Axel turned away from the boys, figuring they would be leaving soon anyway, but one boy called out the others name, and that immediately took over Axel's attention.

"Wow, you're so weak, Roxas!"

Roxas. Axel's head swung around to examine the boys again. One had light brown hair, tall, lanky, wearing clothes people would consider to be skater clothing, which was weird for such a young kid. The other boy had sandy blond unkempt hair, a dark, baggy t-shirt, and a pair jeans, most likely an outfit to rebel against his mom. Again, strange for a nine year old boy, if he was nine.

Which Axel knew he was.

After all, he was seven years older than the Strife boy.

"Roxas," he whispered, eyes never leaving the blond. "Huh." The last time he'd seen the boy had been six years ago, when he had been pecked on the lips. Axel doubted the boy remembered that incident, or that the three year old Roxas knew what a kiss on the lips meant, or what that one incident had done to Axel.

He wanted him to know, though.

"Now look who's weak!" Roxas said as he tripped his friend, flipping him into the mud. "Take that!" Axel laughed quietly, amused by the triumphant look on Roxas' face, and at how high and cute his voice sounded. Axel had become accustomed to the dark, already matured voices of the college students.

He found it refreshing to hear a kids voice.

Especially one of a boy who wasn't a bastard like the rest of them.

"Cheater!"

"Cheater? How did I cheat?"

"We said no tripping."

"You would have done it to me!"

"So? That's not the point here."

"You're so stupid, Hayner."

Their banter, which Axel enjoyed listening to, was quickly interrupted by a woman's voice calling out from the distance. The boy who wasn't Roxas, Hayner, perked up immediately, then let out a groan.

"Man, why does Mom have to show up now?"

"Sucks to be you, doesn't it?" Roxas laughed, dodging the fistful of mud being thrown at him. "Hey! No throwing!"

"No tripping."

"Hayner, Roxas, get over here now!"

Axel couldn't help but crack up at the exchange. The boys were so innocent, arguing about the rules being broken. If only more people were like that.

After that last call, both the boys were too far out of hearing range for Axel to see what they were arguing about this time, though he assumed it was the same thing as before. Axel was tempted to follow them, learn more about the nine year old boy he hadn't seen in six years, but he held back. It would make him a stalker if he did that, and already he was in the police's records for arson.

Which of course were false charges. Sure, he'd set fire to the principal's desk, but it had been an accident.

Somewhat.

He hadn't known the lighter he was playing with would fall from his hand, much less catch the desk on fire. As far as he was concerned, it was too small of a flame to to much of anything, but nope. He'd been suspended for three days, and now had a juvenile record.

But, that one small accident kept Axel on his toes for everything, and getting charged with stalking a minor wouldn't really look good for him.

He even guessed Ellie wouldn't talk to him anymore. Already she was busy with her new friends at the boarding school she was attending. One incident and she could just run off with her boyfriend, never to see her family again. Axel didn't doubt she would do that. She had been acting weird recently anyway, like she was hiding something from him.

So, all the more reason to just let Roxas go off.

He didn't want to, though.

"You cut your hair."

"You got taller."

"Yeah, hit my growth spurt. Apparently my family doesn't get tall until age seventeen."

"How tall are you now?"

"Six four."

"Holy shit."

"Yeah..."

"So, what are you doing here?"

Axel clenched his fist and glared at Ellie. "Ellie, you're in the hospital, after nearly dying, because your boyfriend went nuts and stabbed you!" Rolling her eyes, Ellie tried to sit up, but Axel grabbed her shoulder and shoved her down again, glare getting narrower. "Uh-uh. You stay down."

"Bastard," Ellie muttered, before sighing. "He only stabbed me once. The rest was just cutting me."

"Cutting you? That's what you call it?" Axel couldn't believe what his cousin was saying. "I saw the pictures, Ellie. He fucking shredded you!"

"That's exaggerating-"

"Yeah. So exaggerating. That's why you have over twenty cuts on your stomach, chest, and arms. The doctor said it's gonna leave scars. Not only that, but he doesn't even know how you survived!"

"Axel..." He was standing by now, fists clenched, and a fire gleaming in his eyes. Ellie placed a tentative hand on his arm and pushed down slightly, beckoning for him to sit down. "There's no need for you to get this upset. It's over now. He's in a mental hospital, I'm safe, and-"

"What about the scars it's gonna leave? How are you going to explain that to any guy you get with?" Axel sat, feeling as though he were about to cry. If only he'd been there, like he was supposed to be. He was supposed to meet Ellie and her boyfriend, Terra, for a get together, but he couldn't go. He had a final to do.

He had his chance to save Ellie, to repay her, and he failed. For the second time.

"I don't want to "get with" another guy, Axel. You don't have to worry about that." A dark look crossed her face as she said this, and she glanced down at her lap. "I don't want to get close to anyone ever again."

Axel didn't know what to say. He could argue with her, say that not all guys were insane, but he didn't want to. He honestly didn't want her to be with anyone. It was somewhat selfish of him, but Axel wanted Ellie to only talk to him again, to only think of him and Demyx when she thought of her family, and people she loved. He wanted things to be the way they were before she went to the boarding school. Before she met her friends there.

So he didn't say anything to her. He just sat and watched as tears formed in her eyes, then stood up and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her head against his chest.

"You don't have to, Ellie," he muttered. "You don't have to get close to anyone. I'll be here for you. Demyx too."

He thought this was what Ellie wanted to hear.

It wasn't.

"No! I don't want to do that!" She said, pulling away. "I don't want you to change your life because of me! I can take care of myself, Axel. I've proved that. You love someone already, right?"

Axel thought of the blond Strife boy, of Roxas, and blushed, but shook his head. "It's not love, Ellie. I just care about him like... like a brother."

"Uh huh. Sure." There was a moment of awkward silence, before Ellie said, "Axel, will you promise me something?"

"What?"

"Will you stop looking for your father?"

"Excuse me?" He couldn't believe he was hearing this. From Ellie. She had always been supportive of his search. She'd always been supportive, and even promised to help him with his mission when he graduated from high school. What changed. "How could you ask me to do that? How could you ask me to do that?"

"I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to interrupt me, okay?"

"I'm not making any promises."

"Axel..."

Axel rolled his eyes. "Fine. What?"

"I don't know what it was, but after Terra... stabbed me, and I fell into an unconscious state, I had this weird dream, like I was sitting in the middle of nowhere, on a bench. Then, my mom's there, sitting next to me, smiling." Ellie smiled up at Axel. "Do you know what she said to me?" Axel was about to answer, then realized it was a rhetorical question and shut his mouth, pouting slightly from having to listen to this. "She said to me, 'I'm so glad. I'm so glad you're alive." She stopped talking, waiting for Axel to say something. He just shrugged, looking away.

"So?"

"It made me realize something: I didn't manage to survive those men because I'm supposed to be find them, and you didn't beat all odds and survive the streets as a three year old to hunt down your father. The two of us are here right now because we have to live our lives in the present. Not in the past. That's what our moms would have wanted." She paused for a moment, then sighed. "We've both been through so many things. Why should we go looking for pain?"

There was nothing Axel could say to counter that.

"Fine," he muttered, sitting again.

"You promise me that you won't go looking for your dad, just like I won't go looking for the people who killed my family?"

"Yeah."

"Pinky promise?" Axel raised an eyebrow questioningly at the childish gesture, but hooked his pinky with Ellie's.

"Pinky promise."

There was a building. A single building. That's where Zack had instructed Axel to go to.

Where his father was.

Hand shaking, he grabbed the doorknob, not sure if he should do this or not. He'd been thinking about the day when Ellie was in the hospital, where he promised her he wouldn't look for his father. Pinky promised, for that matter. You didn't go against those. And yet he did, not long after that day. He'd found something that intrigued him.

A police report mentioning something about a guy named Reno.

That's what started his frenzy.

The answer to his one question: where was his father. He had planned to let it go after that, not go looking for him, but the more he looked into the location, the more desperate he'd become to find the man. Roxas beginning work had stopped it for a while, but the desperation to find him became too strong.

Axel just wished he hadn't gotten Roxas to fall in love with him so soon. He wanted to leave first, deal with his father, then get back and finish what he started with Roxas. That way, he wouldn't have gotten as hurt.

But of course, that's not what happened.

"Who da hell are ya?" Axel spun around immediately, but it was too late to defend himself. The guy who called out to him grabbed his chest and shoved him against the door, pressing his arm against Axel's neck. "What da ya want wit us?"

At first the pain was from the neck, but the strange man's speech and grammar was what really pissed him off.

He tried to talk, but the fact that there was a arm pressed against his throat kept him from being able to make a sound. The guy realized this, and let him go. Coughing and wheezing, Axel growled, "I'm looking for a guy named Reno. Ever heard of him?"

"Reno? You lookin' for Reno?" The guy laughed like Axel was some kind of idiot.

"I do believe that's what I said," Axel replied calmly, still massaging his throat. "Please take me to him."

"And why da fuck would I do dat? Who da fuck are ya?" If this guy hadn't been a good two hundred pounds heavier than Axel, he would have attacked him. But, since Axel could probably get his skull bashed in with one hit from the fist, he didn't dare try and do anything. Roxas? Easy to take down. That kid was almost a foot shorter than Axel, and really weak. Not this guy.

"Because I need to have a talk to him. Got it?"

"You're a stupid idiot. Reno'll kill ya in a second. Ya want that?"

"No he won't."

"Really? What makes ya so damn sure?"

"Because I'm his son."

There was laughter, then silence. "You ain't no son o' Reno's. He ain't got no son at all. No bitch would want to be with dat guy."

"Well, it's a good thing my mother wasn't a bitch. I want to talk to him now."

"Get da fuck out o' here. You ain't got no business talking ta Reno, so scram before I kill ya!"

"Now, now, Rude, there's no need to threaten this young man. He said he wanted to talk to me, so let him talk to me," a cool voice said. Shiver's ran up Axel's spine. He recognized that voice. From behind the bulky man, a tall, red headed man appeared, placing a hand on his friends shoulder. "Hello, Axel. It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Axel? Hey, wake up!" Axel jerked awake and glared at the person talking to him. He didn't like being woken up, especially not when he was so tired from school.

"What the hell do you want, Ellie?" he snapped, slumping back in his chair. Well, his and Ellie's chair, as it was in the apartment they shared. The two had decided to share a place until either they graduated from college and got jobs, or they found other people to split rent with.

"I told you that I needed you to meet someone today," she said, her cheeks slightly pink. "You remember that, don't you?"

Axel was immediately awake after this. Ellie never blushed. She must have found someone she either liked, or had a tendency to embarrass her. Both of which were interesting, and didn't fit Ellie's personality at all. Especially since she said she would never get close to another person ever again.

"Person? Meeting? What?" He asked, rubbing his head. He honestly didn't remember her ever telling him she wanted him to meet someone, and even if she had, there was no way he'd agree to it. Axel didn't like meeting new people.

Sadly, everything suddenly made sense.

There was no way Ellie told him about this whole ordeal, and she had a reason for it: don't let him hide.

"Well, he's coming over right now, and I thought you'd want to meet him," was Ellie's reply, smiling slightly. She plopped down in the couch next to Axel's seat and glared at him with what kids liked to call "puppy eyes." Now normally Axel wouldn't be affected by a girl trying to act cute and innocent, seeing as he didn't have any sexual feelings for females, but Ellie looked so pathetic when she did that he really had no choice.

It was like she was his little sister or something, even though she was older than he.

"Ugh, fine," Axel groaned, rubbing his temples. "But if he's some kind of freak I'm going to murder him, you do realize this, right?" Ellie bit her lip, then pushed away from the couch arm for a minute, pondering something. Axel had to let out a sigh.

Ellie always seemed to fall in love with the weirdos.

"What's wrong with this guy? And why are you dating him anyway? I thought you didn't want to-"

"There's nothing wrong with him!" Ellie exclaimed, looking hurt, "And I never said we were dating!"

"But you are, aren't you?"

"Well..."

"Look, I don't really care, as long as you don't get hurt again," Axel explained, though it wasn't completely true. He didn't want Ellie to leave him again. He didn't think he could deal with being separated from his best friend, and if she really did like this guy, she would most likely follow him to the ends of the earth.

Even though she wouldn't admit it.

Right before Ellie could say anything, and she looked like she really wanted to, there was a knock on the front door of their apartment, and Ellie bolted out of the couch, muttering something about perfect timing.

With another sigh, deeper this time, Axel payed close attention to the conversation going on in the front area of the apartment. The voices were hushed, but Axel could hear something in Ellie's voice that he'd never heard before. She was acting like she was shy, embarrassed, and the tone coming from the guy seemed to irritate Axel.

The guy sounded confident and cocky.

It had always been Axel's job to be like that.

He wasn't happy about it.

Finally, Ellie appeared again, face a light pink, and holding hands with a guy Axel had never seen before.

Tall, long silver hair, blue eyes, and a very nice build.

Axel's first impression: this guy was really hot.

Second impression: this guy was aggravating.

"Hey, the name's Riku," the guy said, holding out a hand, a smirk on his face. "You're Axel, right? Ellie's told me quite a bit about you."

"Has she now," Axel hissed, standing up quickly. He wanted to make sure he was taller than this "Riku" person, as he didn't like to be shorter than people. It was a close call, but Axel was definitely taller. This seemed to intimidate Riku a bit.

Almost instantly, the two began glaring at each other, irritation flying from both. Ellie just stood there, face blank, glancing from Axel, back to Riku, to Axel again.

"Yeah, she has. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Of course not. Why would I have a problem with Ellie talking about me?" Axel decided he was going to have fun with this guy, and make it seem like he was in love with Ellie. Try and scare him off a bit. But Riku just laughed, grabbing Ellie by the shoulders and pulling her into his embrace. His arms wrapped around her waist, and held her there, despite her struggling to get away.

Axel knew he was making a big mistake; you never grabbed Ellie like that and survived.

It was only a matter of time before she got fed up enough to kick his ass.

"Give it up, Axel, I know you're gay," Riku countered, squeezing Ellie tighter. She gasped, then blushed.

Not the reaction Axel was expecting.

"Oh?" He said, irritation rising. "Did Ellie tell you that?"

"Nope." The smirk on Riku's face was an interesting one, like he was hiding something important. "You sized me up when I walked in here, and not as if I were some kind of rival. You were checking me out. I don't really think guys who are straight would do that."

Axel did not like this guy.

There was a way he talked, a way he held himself, and the fact that he was hugging Ellie from behind without being killed. All of those things just irritated Axel beyond belief.

"Oh, like you could tell what I was thinking during that time," Axel laughed, crossing his arms. Ellie looked beyond confused. Most likely, she thought nothing bad would happen, and Axel and Riku would just get along, have everything be perfect. But, that wasn't happening, and it was obvious she didn't know why.

Axel didn't really know why either. Maybe Riku reminded him of stories Ellie told of Terra, her psychotic ex-boyfriend.

Or, it could be that Ellie might be leaving him.

"Don't assume things, Axel. I'm a very different person than you probably think." He let Ellie go, a devilish look on his face. When she turned around to face him, however, the evil glint in his eye turned to one of adoration and kindness, and he smiled sweetly. "Yes?"

"What the hell is going on?"

"Nothing really. Your cousin's just being kinda weird." He leaned down and kissed her quickly, causing Axel to blanch. He was so glad Ellie wasn't look at him.

"You're the one who's acting weird," she muttered looking away. After a weird moment of silence, she sighed and turned back to Axel. "I'm just going to get something from my room, I'll be right back." Just before she disappeared into the back, she faced the two men and ordered, "Don't kill each other."

"No promises," Axel muttered under his breath, still glaring at Riku. As soon as Ellie was no longer in the room, Axel began speaking again, voice still hushed. "What are you using Ellie for?" Riku laughed, like it was some kind of joke, but he began avoiding Axel's eyes, a sure sign Axel had hit a weak spot.

"What are you talking about? I'm not using Ellie," he retorted, voice shaking slightly. Axel decided it was time to instil his dominance. He grinned and walked forward, closing the distance between him and Riku, laughing lightly. Riku tensed, but didn't move, even when Axel lightly pressed his body against the stranger. Axel found this both amusing, and strange.

"The pretty ones are never straight," he whispered, then pulled away quickly. Riku looked as though he were on death's doorsteps, and he stumbled back slightly.

"I'm not using her." He was glowering, though the effect wasn't as great as it would have been before. "Maybe I was when we first met, but I had my reasons, and she knew it." This time, he was the one who took a step forward, grinning again. "Guess what, I'm completely in love with your cousin. What are you going to do about it?" He laughed and pushed past Axel, heading to the place he saw Ellie disappear off to.

Axel, however, grabbed his arm and yanked him back.

"One year. You have one year to change my mind and convince me not to kick your ass. Got it memorized?" Leaving the threat hanging in the air, Axel let go of Riku and headed back to his chair, collapsing in it as he listened to Ellie come back into the room, then Riku talking to her. Out of the corner of his eye, Axel saw Riku wrap his arm around Ellie's shoulder, pulling her close, a soft look in his eye.

It reminded Axel of how his mom looked when she had been in the same room as his father.

It seemed Riku really did love Ellie, and he cared about her.

But why would that irritate Axel so much?

He was nervous.

He was never nervous.

But there was just something about the questions Cloud Strife was asking for the interview that got to Axel, like he was asking about more than just past jobs, or skills, work ethic, et cetera.

That wasn't the case, of course, but Axel could tell that Mr. Strife had a knack for reading people, getting a feel of who would do well here. How else would he have built up such a famous and rich business while being so anti-social?

"So, you're working on getting your doctorate right now?"

"Yeah... I meant to finish it a while ago, but I keep forgetting to write my thesis."

"Forgetting?"

"I mean," Axel started to say, laughing, "I mean that I've been so busy that I've had no... time to write a good enough thesis for my professor." He grinned, hoping Mr. Strife didn't think he was a lazy no good person. He was, of course, but he didn't want his maybe future boss to know that.

"Good save," was all Mr. Strife said, writing something in his notes. "I think that will do, thank you." He stood up, and Axel followed, though he regretted it immediately. He was quite a bit taller than Mr. Strife.

"Alright, so I-"

"You know my son, correct?"

"W-what?" Sure, Axel knew about Roxas. Quite a bit about him, actually. Though he was quite a bit younger than Axel, being only fifteen, and Axel being twenty-two, Axel had become a tad bit obsessed with the boy. Whenever he saw him in the streets, or walking through the park near his house, Axel would feel a flutter in his stomach, like there was something crawling around in there that didn't belong.

He liked the feeling, though.

When he described it to Ellie, she laughed and told him that's what love is.

"If I remember correctly, you called my wife a bitch at a Christmas party twelve years ago, then ended up being kissed by my son," Mr. Strife replied. "Do you recall that day?"

Completely embarrassed, Axel nodded, and turned around. "Yeah, I remember. But that was a long time ago, why does it-"

"Because Roxas didn't stop talking about you for quite a while after that. He really liked you, and I just wanted to see how you felt about him before making my final decision."

"Wait, what? Feelings for Roxas? Final decision?"

"It's seems I was correct, and you have feelings of love for my son. Though, this may get in the way eventually, I feel that you are indeed the best man for the job, despite the fact you seem to have a lazy streak and temper." He held out his hand. "Congratulations, Axel Lea, you are officially going to be running the business with my son as soon as I retire."

Axel didn't believe it.

He thought that Mr. Strife was pulling some kind of prank on him, joking, yanking on some strings, just to see how Axel would react to situations such as these. Not that they happened very often.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but I don't quite understand-"

"You hit me in the head with a book, then still had the guts to come in here and be cocky and sarcastic," Mr. Strife explained. "That's the kind of person I need to work alongside Roxas, both in, and out of, this business."

"Both in and out? What are you talking-"

"For future reference, I don't care if you date Roxas, as long as you don't let it get in the way of your work, and no one gets hurt. Also, PDA's are not allowed, and wait for him to be at least eighteen. That way, I don't have to deal with Eraqus dealing with legal stuff. I don't like things like that."

"Okay, okay, stop!" Axel shook his head, completely confused. "What are you talking about? What does this interview have anything to your son?"

"It doesn't."

"What?"

"It has nothing to do with anything."

"What are you-"

"Here, tomorrow, eight AM. Do you understand?"

Still slightly confused about what just happened, Axel nodded. "Yeah, but-"

"Good, you may leave now."

"Oh... o-okay?"

He turned to leave, wondering how this could have happened in such a way. He didn't even think he'd done well with the interview, being sarcastic, not really answering any of the questions, not knowing how to be respectful, and of course, the fact that he accidentally hit the man in the head with a book right before the interview began.

"Wait," he said suddenly, turning around again. "I'm the only person you've interviewed. What about the other guys out there? I'm pretty sure I'm not the best person you want to hire and work with your son for, uh... however long you want me to."

Sitting at his desk, Mr. Strife raised an eyebrow, a smirk curling on his lips. "Obviously you're not as smart as your records say you are."

This angered Axel quite a bit. His intelligent was never insulted, by anyone. They didn't dare to, knowing that he was a genius, and all.

"Why do you say that?" He hissed, moving back towards the desk. "What makes you have the nerve to call me an idiot?" He slammed his hands on Mr. Strife's desk. "First you take me in first, then you ask me weird questions that don't really make any sense, then you say I'm hired while talking about your son and... well, me, then you tell me that I'm an idiot? What the fuck is going on here?"

"Not the best way to talk to your boss, Mr. Lea," the man said, eyes narrowing. "Though, I do suppose I owe you somewhat of an explanation for what has happened here." He placed his chin on his hands, and Axel couldn't help but think that he was a sadistic person.

"Fine. Explain."

"I knew before I even opened the door that most likely, you were the one I was going to hire." Axel groaned and sat down on one of the chairs before Mr. Strife's desk.

"You have video cameras out in the lobby."

"Maybe you are the genius your professor says you are," Mr. Strife muttered.

"My professor? You talked to my professor?" Axel couldn't believe what he was hearing. His college professor always hated Axel, making him out to be a monster or a freak who needed to stop being so smart. He never put out a good word for Axel, keeping him from getting his doctorate four times, and even going so far as trying to kick Axel out of school for getting a hundred on the test, accusing him of cheating.

Axel hated his professor.

"Yes, I did. When I saw your name on the application, I recognized it from the Christmas party twelve years ago, and I wanted to know more about you." There was something about the smile on his face that seemed rather scary to Axel. "Arrested for arson, civil unrest, accused of cheating, many hospital records from being beat up and random injuries, but never sick, and of course, my favorite," he grabbed a file off his his desk and opened it, placing it in front of Axel.

Another groan.

In the file was a document dating back to Axel's freshman year in college, talking about the day he decided to flood the science building. He never really figured out what possessed him to do such a thing, he just felt the urge to set off the fire sprinklers and some of the chemical showers on the floor.

They never actually discovered who did the deed, but he was one of the suspects. And Cloud knew it.

"How did you get that?" Axel asked, voice quiet.

"I told you, I talked to your professor. He was very willing to give me everything I wanted to know about you and your education."

"That ass hole!"

"Of course, what he told me only made me want to hire you. I had to check something else out first."

"What else do you know about me?"

"You'll find out eventually. Now leave."

"Whoa, wait! Tell me-"
"I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Lea."

"Bu-"

"I said, 'I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Lea.'"

Axel rolled his eyes and stood up, extremely confused, annoyed, but at the same time extremely happy. He'd gotten the job. "Alright then, Mr. Boss-man."

"Don't call me that."

Just the sight of Reno made Axel feel sick to his stomach. Both fear and anger flowed through him, bringing about this feeling of nausea, nearly breaking Axel down. He'd been preparing himself for this moment for quite a while, psyching himself out so he wouldn't have any negative reaction to seeing the man who hurt him so much when he was a child.

Yet, it hadn't worked. He was shaking, so filled with fear and terror that he couldn't even move. He didn't know what was wrong with him, but he couldn't speak, couldn't breathe, couldn't do anything but stand there, face pale.

Reno seemed completely amused.

"What's wrong, son. You seem scared. Is the dark still terrifying to you?" He laughed, and took a step towards Axel. "I would have thought after twenty-three years, you would have gotten over that little fear of yours." He started laughing, flicking a long piece of red hair out of his face. "Or, is it that you're afraid of me?"

Axel's voice was still evading him, so he couldn't respond, only glare viciously, even though it didn't seem to phase Reno at all.

"So, I've been hearing rumors about you," Reno continued after a chuckle. "Stories say that you kept asking at me for a while, then just stopped, instead listening to every conversation you could, still trying to find out where I was, but never being able to find me." It's kinda interesting, don't you think? Twenty-three years ago, you ran away, and now you've come back to find me. Somewhat hypocritical, in my opinion."

More people had gathered in the dark alley way by this point, surrounding father and son, whispering to each other. Axel quietly observed the people as Reno talked, recognizing most of them from the streets, but was brought back to Reno's words when he mentioned what happened all those years ago.

He finally found his voice.

"Excuse me? Ran away?" Axel let out a laugh, trying to hold back the extreme fear he felt. "I did not run away you fucking bastard," he hissed. Reno's blue eyes narrowed, arms crossing, but Axel continued. "You're the one who locked me out. I never did anything wrong."

"It's obvious your memories are distorted," Reno growled, stepping forward, "Of course, I can't really blame you, you were only three." He glanced around to the other people in the alley and began laughing. "Do any of you guys think I would lock a child out of his own house?" Everyone else in the alley laughed as well, but Axel could tell they were only laughing because they were afraid.

The look in their eyes let Axel know they did think he would, but they were too scared to say the truth.

"Nothing else to say, Axel? Interesting, they told me you were considered a genius. Honestly, I can't see it." The distance between the two was closed, and Reno clapped a hand on Axel's shoulder and grinned. "Good to see you again, son. I honestly thought you were dead until a little while ago, but it's good you aren't. Why don't you join the gang here? I'm sure you'd like it."

Saying this was a mistake.

Almost as soon as the last word left Reno's mouth, Axel grabbed his wrist, which was still near his shoulder, and twisted it viciously. Caught by surprise, his opponent's entire body contorted, and suddenly, the man was on his back, eyes wide with shock. Silence fell over the small crowd that had gathered as all of them stared in shock at what was going on.

"I want nothing to do with you," Axel hissed, standing over his father in a gloating manner. "I'm here to kick your ass for all the shit you did to me." He took a small step back as Reno crawled to his knees, head bent. Though Axel couldn't see the man's face, he knew there would be dangerous look there. After everything he'd heard about the man, there was no way there wouldn't be one.

Like a fool, Axel thought this would be the end of it. Maybe there was a small part of him that thought Reno wouldn't hurt his own son again. But he was wrong. In an instant Reno was on his feet again, and he grabbed the collar of Axel's shirt, a while glint in his eye.

"Kick my ass?" He laughed hysterically then shoved Axel away. "Don't make me laugh, boy. You couldn't hurt me if you tried!" Then there was a punch heading towards Axel's face. He managed to dodge it, but barely. Axel considered himself lucky, though. Nine years ago, Ellie had convinced him to join her in taking martial arts lessons. Though he'd never tell Roxas this, or anyone, for that matter, Axel had actually achieved his third degree black belt in a few years time.

So he knew how to fight, despite what others would tell him. Sure, he was thin, and slightly weak, but during his training, he'd managed to memorize every single pressure point and nerve known to man.

He couldn't lose this battle.

"Sure I can," Axel taunted, grinning. The fear was beginning to dissipate. "You're not that strong of an opponent." Most likely, taunting his enemy wasn't something he should have been doing, and he didn't realize this until Reno's foot came into contact with his stomach. He gasped and back away, ignoring the sudden noise coming from the crowd. It had been a while since they'd seen Reno fight, according to the rumors.

They were very excited about it.

Axel, on the other hand, wasn't excited at all. He couldn't stop thinking about all the things he and Ellie had talked about when it came to Axel's dad, or the look in Roxas' eyes when Axel refused to tell him about his real parents. The memories of searching through all the information on the internet, the things he'd heard about his father while searching through the dark, desolate streets, everything about everything.

Guilt.

Anger.

That's all he felt.

"Come on, son," Reno eventually snickered, lording over Axel who was crouched on the ground. "Give up while you're still alive. I don't want to hurt my own flesh and blood." The way he said that only angered Axel more. It was like he meant it, and at the same time, implied that he didn't consider Axel to be related to him.

Instead of giving up, like every instinct in his body was telling him to, Axel starting snickering. This didn't seem to phase Reno, but when Axel shifted and swung his leg under Reno's tripping the older man. As quickly as he could, he stood and fell into a normal fighting stance, just waiting for Reno to stand up again.

The fight moved quickly after that. Reno got to his feet and attacked Axel, swinging a dangerously fast punch, which Axel blocked, then an uppercut, which made contact. Trying to not show how much pain that caused, Axel retaliated immediately with a punch of his own. It was just as vicious as his father's, but it lacked a certain quality; a certain killing quality.

Even though he'd wanted to do this for years, unlike his father, he didn't actually want to hurt anyone.

He never liked to.

So Reno managed to catch the hand and twisted Axel's wrist. This time, he couldn't hold back the cry of pain. The sadistic laugh of Reno sounded, sending Axel into a sudden rage. His body acted on it's own as he began swinging at Reno, some missing, some landing very dangerous hits on the man's stomach, arms, and even face.

Yet, despite the fury of punches, Reno managed to attack as well.

He grabbed Axel by the collar again, moving extremely close, but instead of hitting, he shoved Axel back with quite a bit of force. The crowd moved away instantly, and Axel felt the contact of a cold, concrete wall against his back. Searing pain coursed through his entire body, especially the head, and he crumpled to the ground, panting.

"Pathetic," Reno rasped, trying to catch his breath. It seemed his age was catching up to him. "You're so pathetic, Axel. You always have been. Begging me for food, not even being able to take care of yourself for a little while as I mourned my own wife's death, and now you failed to get back at the man you falsely accuse of locking you out in the middle of December." He laughed viciously, sounding slightly desperate. "You're a pathetic person! And guess what, because of that, no one can ever love you! Elena didn't even love you. She just acted like it because she felt guilty for getting sick."

Axel didn't move. It was like he couldn't hear Reno, yet, at the same time, he could. Every word was like another knife being stabbed into his heart. The words could easily be true; it was highly possible that no one loved Axel, that he was just a pathetic man. After all, he couldn't even get over what happened when he was younger.

Ellie did.

Riku managed.

Naminé too, didn't blame her grandmother for anything.

Roxas stopped hating Axel after a while.

Kairi no longer wanted to slap Riku.

Sora got his act together after a time and started being friends with Riku again.

Even Tifa and Cloud moved on from their past demons.

Yet Axel couldn't.

Every day of his life after being adopted by Saïx and Xemnas, Axel desperately wanted to find his dad, his real dad, and ask why. He wanted to know everything that was going through Reno's head when he locked the door that day and didn't let Axel back in, even though he knew Reno could hear him tap on the window. For the three days that Axel waited out by the door, hoping that his dad would open it, he listened to the TV blaring, and the laughter of his dad who didn't seem to want to leave. He wondered why the door didn't open, what he did wrong, how his dad couldn't hear him.

Then when he left the front door to go and find some kind of food, he still returned every day, hoping that the door would open.

One day it did.

No one was there.

Nothing was there.

So he left again, calling out for his dad, wanting to find where he was, making sure to avoid people so they didn't try and take him away.

Then a few weeks passed.

And he didn't want to look any longer.

Weak, and tired, he lay down and didn't want to wake up.

"We should be friends."

"Friends?"

"Yeah! Friends!"

"O-okay..."

"What's wrong?"

"I've never had a friend before."

Axel clenched his fist. Would Ellie have said that if she didn't like him?

"Guess what? I love you." He remembered those words coming from Roxas, a while ago. Even though the boy had been slightly drunk, the fact that he whispered those words, especially on Axel's birthday, had only made Axel love Roxas more.

Would he have muttered that to Axel if it wasn't true? People always say that the drunk can only say what's really on their mind, after all.

Axel's mind whirred, thinking of all the times he'd been with Roxas. Had those been fake? Suddenly, he became aware of a body hovering over his, and the press of a cold blade against his cheek. The instant this happened, Axel's mind snapped back to the alley way, and he lifted his face, not caring that the knife cut his skin slightly.

Reno looked somewhat surprised that Axel was smirking at him, and he reached up and grabbed the wrist holding the knife.

"It's amazing how much you love to derive pleasure from other people's misery," Axel said laughing. "Here I thought you were just an emotionless bastard, but no. You actually like to see people suffer. You become happy when you see them fall into a depression." His grip tightened around the wrist, even though he knew it would do nothing to Reno. "Did you know, there's actually a word for that?"

"Hmph. You're nothing but an idiot," Reno muttered. He yanked his hand away from Axel and came down to stab, but missed, as Axel rolled out of the way. He stood up again just as Reno came at him. He grabbed the arm before he could attack, and pulled Reno in. The man fell off balance, and right into Axel's knee. He groaned, dropping the knife, and Axel kicked it out of the way, grabbing Reno's shirt and yanking him up.

Grinning, he shoved the man back, trying to ignore the splitting headache in the back of his head. Deep down, he knew he needed to end this soon. He'd hit his head extremely hard, and any second, he could collapse.

"Ready to be done, Reno? You've lost your weapon," Axel taunted. He heard footsteps behind him, then Reno screaming.

"Stay back you idiots! He's mine!"

Axel smiled, realizing that his father had a narcissistic streak. The man had to do everything on his own. He was feeling embarrassed, probably having never been this beaten up before.

So, Axel didn't want to give him a chance to attack again, as he seemed completely desperate. Any more, and Axel could be killed.

It only took one more hit to the face to send Reno to the ground. Panting, Axel stepped back from the man, laying down on the ground.

"Now who's pathetic," he muttered, stumbling away. His vision was going fuzzy, and his head hurt horribly. People moved out of the way, a low whisper of words following every move Axel made. But they didn't follow him, as he hoped they wouldn't. If they followed, he could be attacked when he was most vulnerable.

Which happened quite quickly after he managed to get out of the strange alley way. He sunk to his knees, the black cloud of unconsciousness taking over his eyes.

He was going to pass out.

He smiled, and closed his eyes.

Axel loved his music. He had all different styles on his iPod, classical, pop, rock, classic rock, rap, and even screamo. Most looked through his music list and cringed, wondering how a person could like so many different songs, but Axel didn't care. Ever since he was young, he was obsessed with everything about music, even going to far as to start writing it sometimes.

So, standing outside the elevator door, after having a wonderful conversation with Naminé about how pathetic most guys were, Axel decided it was time to switch his listening preference, having been going on a random rap phase, and instead began to play some random heavy metal song that he couldn't remember putting on his iPod.

Suddenly he heard muttering behind him, and he turned slightly, only to see someone he wasn't expecting to until the end of the summer: Roxas Strife.

Smirking to himself, he turned up his music, hoping to attract that irritated looking boy's attention some how. Sure, the two of them would be working together in the near future, but he wanted to make an interesting impression on the teen, as it would begin the process of getting him to fall in love.

However, the boy seemed oblivious to Axel,instead crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently while he waiting with Axel for the elevator to come.

Finally, it came, and Axel immediately walked into it, knowing Roxas would have no choice but to follow. When he turned around again, however, Roxas hadn't moved at all, instead, rolling his gorgeous blue eyes with frustration. Axel grinned, he'd made an impression.

After a while Roxas did join Axel in the elevator, which only amused Axel more. He intended to look away once Roxas had entered, but he found he couldn't take his eyes off the boy. He watched as Roxas pushed the thirteenth floor button, admiring the way he moved, and his messy, blond hair.

Once the doors closed, he managed to tear his eyes away from the boy. However, an awkward air fell over the elevator, as there was no one else in the area and Roxas seemed determined to be what Axel called a sour puss. After a while, it was irritated to Axel, who only wanted to hear Roxas' voice, so he ripped out his earphones, turned off the music, and looked down at Roxas.

"I hate the current atmosphere," he exclaimed, grinning when the boy looked up at him. Axel nearly choked when he made eye contact with the crystal blue orbs. However, he continued before Roxas became suspicious. "You look familiar. What's your name?" He was having fun with this, knowing there was no way Roxas would recognize him. He leaned down, wanting to be closer to the eighteen year old.

He took a step back, his face slightly pink, which was odd, and he answered, "Roxas Strife. Who are you?"

Yep. He didn't recognize him. Realizing he was completely in love with a person who had no idea who he was, Axel shook his head slightly and decided to act like an idiot. "Roxas Strife? The boss' son? No wonder you look familiar." He laughed, trying not to feel like a horrible person for what he was thinking at that moment, as it was rather disturbing. Roxas, however, seemed completely irritated.

"What does it matter to you?" His voice did things to Axel that no other voice could, even if it was full if annoyance. "And you didn't answer my question."

Axel decided in that moment he wasn't going to use Roxas' real name. It seemed too mature for such a cute looking boy. There was only one other name he could use. "What would that question be, Roxie?"

He could see the boy flinch, obviously not liking his nickname.

"Don't call me that," he snapped. "I only asked you one question."

"Aw," Axel cooed, extremely tempted to wrap his arm around the teens shoulders, "does the spoiled little rich boy not want a nickname? How adorable." If only Roxas knew how true that statement was. Axel had become extremely turned on by the fact that the boy was irritated. "Now, I had forgotten your question," Axel lied. "What was it again?"

"I asked you- You know what? Never mind."

"Never mind? You asked me the question, I want to know what it is. Come on, just tell me." Axel gave into his feelings at this point, and he slipped an arm around the thin shoulders of the boy standing next to him. However, he shrugged the arm off, then turned, eyes narrowed in a glare. Having the time of his life, Axel decided to glare back, trying to scare the boy slightly.

He assumed it was working.

"What's wrong?" He smirked. "Scared of the answer?"

"Why would I be afraid of your answer? I just don't care anymore." It was obvious it was a lie. Roxas seemed to be completely scared of Axel. It was obvious with the way he shifted away from Axel, wringing his hands together, and the fact that he was avoiding all eye contact.

Axel was completely amused.

As soon as the elevator door opened, Axel slipped out of it, making sure to brush up against Roxas once, then he dashed to the stairwell, desperate to talk to Ellie. He waved at a very confused looking Kairi.

He didn't have time to say anything to her, as he had more important things to do, and he didn't want Roxas to know where he had gone. Screw with the boy a little bit.

It didn't take very long for him to make it downstairs, nor to make it to Ellie's office. What took a while, was to make sure he let his boss know that he would be a little late for the stupid meeting he had to go to, which probably concerned Roxas.

Before he opened the door, he dialed the number for Kairi's office, making sure to block the number. Have a bit more fun.

"Hello, Cloud Strife's office, this is Kairi, how may I help you?"

"Sup Kai?"

"Axel! There you are! Mr. Strife has been looking for-"

"Is his son there right now?"

"What?"

"Is his son, Roxie, there right now?"

"Yes."

"Okay, is he in his dad's office right now?"

"No... Axel, where are you?"

"Floor below yours."

"Why are you on the twelfth floor?"

"Why do you think?"

"Please don't tell me you've gone to bug Ellie and Riku again..."

"Yes, I have. Just let Mr. Boss-man know I'll be a bit late. Okay?"

"Fine, I'll let him know."

"Thanks Kai! See you later!" He hung up the phone before the woman could say anything else, and decided it was time to open Ellie's office door. Slowly, and quietly, hoping to see an interesting scene, which sometimes happened.

He happened to get lucky.

Riku had his back to the door, blocking the view of the small attorney which his arms were trapping against the desk. Though Axel couldn't see her, he knew she was probably bright red, and wanted her boyfriend to leave her alone. Riku, however, was extremely stubborn. One quality in him Axel could respect. Other than that, he hated the guy.

Or just thought he was a player.

Even after four years of Riku dating Ellie, he just couldn't trust the guy.

Still, it was entertaining for him to see all the stuff that happened when Riku was supposed to behave, and refused. Like what was happening right now.

"Riku, move," he heard Ellie mutter. "You need to get your ass home and make sure you don't get really sick."

"Hm... I don't really want to," Riku replied, his voice low and hoarse. "Instead, how about you come over and..." His voice dropped too low for Axel to hear, but whatever it was sent Ellie into a frenzy, shoving Riku away, and Axel saw her place a hand on his forehead. Riku groaned, and grabbed her wrist, pulled it away. "What was that for-"

"You have a fever, you fucking idiot. Go. Home!" She managed to struggle away from Riku, her face a deep shade of crimson. It was then she spotted a snickering Axel, and she covered her mouth.

"Axel! What the hell?"

"Need to talk to you, Riku, get out."

"Make me," Riku growled. "She's my girlfriend, not yours."

"Obviously. I'm not that desperate."

"Axel!"

"What, it's true!" He snickered at Ellie's narrowed eyes, and Riku's completely confused expression. He was kidding, and Ellie probably knew that, but it was still funny to see her reaction. "Anyway, Riku, I need to talk to Ellie about something private so get the hell out before I report you for being here while sick. You know how much Mr. Boss-man hates it when people are stupid and come to work sick."

Riku sighed, then turned around to Ellie again, grabbing her around the waist. Axel groaned, realizing what was going on and he turned away, not really looking forward to Riku kissing his best friend.

Finally, Riku passed by Axel, smirking at him, and despite the fevered look on his face, he seemed extremely smug and irritating.

Axel hated that.

Ellie, on the other hand, was completely red in the face muttering to herself about something Axel didn't really want to know.

"What do you want, Axel?" She asked after a time, sighing. Axel could only smile, only it wasn't really a smile. More a grin of absolute evilness. He could see Ellie shiver slightly, probably realizing that Axel was planning something.

"Guess who I saw in the lobby?"

"Who?"

"Guess!"

Ellie didn't look very happy, but Axel could care less. He was too excited for Ellie's irritation to get to him. "Santa Clause?"

It was obvious Ellie was being sarcastic when she said this. She tended to become like this when she was embarrassed and frustrated about something. It was a quality in her that Axel found to be very annoying. So there was only one thing he could do.

"Yes, Ellie. Santa Clause. In June. It's a miracle, now you can ask for the assistant Boss-man's been promising you for the past two months." He smiled, mockingly, but Ellie just rolled her eyes.

"Fuck you, Axel. Who are you talking about?"

"Roxas."

"The boy you've been obsessed with since you were ten?"

"I have not been obsessed with him."

"Yes you have."

"Whatever," Axel muttered. "Anyway, I just saw him in the lobby, and rode up with him in the elevator, and he's so fucking adorable!" It was impossible to hide the excitement in his voice. "Though, I think he doesn't like me very much. He also doesn't remember who I am, so he probably doesn't remember that night when he kissed me, but I don't care because he's so good looking, and his voice is kinda deep, but also not, it's like he's a fifteen year old, though based on the fact that I'm seven years older than him, he would be eighteen, which means he's legal and I can't get in trouble anymore if I really want to date him and-"

"God, Axel, you've had, what? One conversation with him," Ellie interrupted, covering her ears. "You sound like a girl in love."

Axel had to laugh at the last sentence. "Only half of that is true. I'm totally in love, but I'm not a girl."

"You act like it sometimes." She sighed. "Anyway, what do you want from me right now?"

"To talk about Roxie."

There was an annoying silence that fell over the two in the room, until Ellie groaned. "Go to your damn meeting with Mr. Strife."

"Yes ma'am!"

"Oh, Axel?"

"Yes?

"I need that report."

"Roxas is an idiot who needs to stop being an asshole and realize that he likes me!" Axel couldn't take it anymore. He could ignore Roxas being open about his hatred towards Axel, but that was before New Years, and their trip to Twilight Town, which in Axel's opinion, had been the best night in the world. Being with Roxas like that had been a dream come true for him.

But the teen just had to go and ruin it, even after he'd broken up with his girlfriend, and been the one to come onto Axel in Twilight Town, by saying he didn't have any feelings for Axel.

He'd been brave enough to say that he just wanted to be friends after all they did.

It was extremely annoying to Axel.

"Did you ever think," Ellie said slowly, flipping over the page of her report, "that he doesn't like you, and that you just want him to, so you convinced yourself that all signs of embarrassment are there because he wants to do you?"

"You mock me!" Axel exclaimed, slamming his hands down on her desk. "I am in no way that kind of person, Miss Ellie! I know that Roxas likes me, maybe loves me, because he practically said so when he allowed me to strip him back in-"

"Too much information!" Ellie let out a frustrated groan and covered her eyes with one hand. "I did not need to know that you idiot! I told you, 'don't tell me anything about what goes on with you and Roxas!'"

"Sorry, I'm just irritated."

"I noticed."

"Can you really blame me? First he likes me, then he and his girlfriend break up, then he tells me that he has no feelings for me whatsoever. What's next? I'm the sexiest man in the world?"

"Wow, Axel... just... just wow."

"What?"

"You're being a complete idiot! If you want to be with Roxas, and you're not okay with what's going on right now, then tell him that. Don't come complaining to me, because I could care less."

"Yeah, like that's going to end well." Recently, Axel noticed, Ellie had been acting weird, irritable, and like a bitch. Normally she would just listen to Axel's rants without much addition, but in the past week, she'd yelled at him twice for no reason, and when he asked her the legitimate question of whether she was knocked up, he'd gotten slapped in the face. "I don't think Roxas will accept that stand-"

"Just do it!"

"And if I refuse?"

"Do you like being a man?"

Axel was confused for a moment, wondering what she meant, then it hit him. He gulped.

"Yes."

"The get out of my office, take Roxas on a drive, and deal with this whole thing!"

He nodded, then exited the office. This was the only thing he could do to fix everything that had happened, and maybe get Roxas to agree to be more than friends...

He hoped it worked.

It was snowing again. Axel could feel the cold flakes fall against his skin, and he wanted to groan. But it was too painful to even do that small action. His head was throbbing, and his mind was still processing what had happened.

He'd gotten into a fight with his father.

And won.

A sense of accomplishment and closure rushed through Axel. All he wanted to do now was cry.

Another painful action.

So instead he just thought about his dreams, the ones that had haunted him for the past three weeks, and how much all of those events had changed him. Especially the last one. If Ellie had never said that to him, he and Roxas wouldn't have been in the car that day, and wouldn't have gotten in a car crash, which meant they never would have started going out.

Axel most likely would still be wallowing in self pity, rather than having experienced the best ten months of his life.

But now, he mused, it's all gone.

He was convinced that death awaited him.

Then there was a warm hand brushing against Axel's cheek, flicking strands of hair away from his eyes, which had just opened. He glanced up, ignoring the pain, and saw the one person he'd been longing to be with since the day he left.

The blue eyes were dull, sad, irritated, angry, and the skin surrounding them was extremely pale. Axel felt his heart clench when he realized it had been his fault.

Roxas looked like this because of him.

But still, he was happy to see the boy at least one more time before it was time for him to go.

He smiled, and closed his eyes again.