Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Behind the Smoke Screen ❯ Searching ( Chapter 12 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Note to Disclaimers: I do not and nev er will own Kingdom Hearts 1, 2 or Chain of Memories
soâ€¦please do NOT sue me. This is way beyond sta ndard at this point, don't you think?&nbs p;
A/N: Chapter 12 is has arrived. I&n bsp;am SOOO sorry it took so long! The&n bsp;rules have not changed.
The boy/boy love shall continue (sorry allâ€”it's& nbsp;STILL not the main pairing) as will ;the Mature
themes (I.E. that means Rape , Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Gangs, c ussing, blood,
horrible things that SHOULD&nb sp;NOT happen to people, etcâ€¦) ;and that means this story is not for&nb sp;
young ones! I can't stress that enoug h and I sure don't want a lawsuit. The content hasn't
changed either. It ma y seem overly harsh and if it is, w ell, why the hell are you still reading? I
apologize for it taking so long. Life just happens.
Word coding: 'Thoughts' , "Speaking", Random flashbacks or& nbsp;other stuff, Everything else

SE ARCHING
Larxene woke up in a daze&nb sp;as she realized she could see the sky . 'The sky?' Puzzlement washed
over&nb sp;her as she blinked a couple more time s to get herself adjusted. It was moment s before she
realized that there was&nbs p;a pair of legs under her head; more&nb sp;like a thigh. And a toned pair at&nbs p;that.
'And thighs?' She freaked out& nbsp;when she tried to move but found he rself stuck. When she glanced
up she&nbs p;felt a wave of heat rush to her f ace. Marluxia was poised against a tree with his hands on
her, one on her&n bsp;head whilst the other lay on her sho ulder in a vice-like grip. He seemed to& nbsp;be
utterly passed out as she gazed& nbsp;up at him, quiet, serene and non-threate ning. Curiosity got the
best of her ;at the last minute and she reached a&nb sp;hand up to touch him, not sure if&nbs p;he'd wake up.
He didn't stir as h er hand landed on his; she stared at&nbs p;him again. 'He'sâ€¦so quietâ&eu ro;¦so stillâ€¦' She
found herself slowly trying to stand, to sit, to move or do anything so that she could better see his
face. It was& nbsp;shrouded with his hair, the long smooth& nbsp;layers of chestnut covering him, and she
found herself wanting to see what was hidden.
Ever so carefully she pushed aside the silky strands to reveal the&n bsp;soft, now slightly tanned
contours of&nbs p;his face. His high cheekbones were beautifu l just like his finely chiseled lips
complemented by thick brows and long lashes that completed his handsome face; Larxene&nb sp;found
herself leaning in for a closer look. His breath was steady so she ;saw no reason to pull back from
he r exploration since he seemed to be soun dly asleep. His eyes fluttered a bit and she did pull
back, alarmed. He sti ll didn't stir; he appeared to be having some sort of nightmare. She placed a&nb sp;
gloved hand to his forehead and rubbe d back and forth. Instantly he seemed to relax, the tension
leaving his body&nbs p;as his face lolled to the side. Larxen e smiled as she brushed her fingers acro ss
his cheek again, marveling at the&nbs p;smooth, tanned skin. But time was of t he essence and they
didn't have much&nbs p;of it, at that.
"Hey, flower boy, ;time to wake up." She poked his shoulde r. Needless to say she was still
sl ightly caught off guard as, by reflex sh e guessed, his hand came swinging up in& nbsp;defense. She
blocked it with her fo rearm, smirking when their eyes met. Sapphire burned into sky blue as they
both& nbsp;stood, chests heaving in mild surprised. ;

"That was a dangerous idea."
Larxe ne's smirk grew. "I'll keep that in mind for next time."
Marluxia shrugged as&nb sp;his nonchalant faÃ§ade fell back in to place, and it was as if the prev ious
night never happened. "Hey, we shou ld get back to your house. Axel will&nbs p;be looking for you."
"The fuck he ;is," Larxene spat. Marluxia gave her a pointed stare as he began to walk. She&n bsp;
muttered. "Fineâ€¦"
The trek back to the mansion was quiet but the tension of the previous day had ebbe d away,
which both were thankful for&nbs p;in the end. Larxene's head hurt something&n bsp;terrible but she did not
have aspiri n with her for any relief, which was&nbs p;annoying and inconvenient. Marluxia seemed to&nb sp;
notice this but decided not to say&nb sp;anything since Larxene had such a fiery&nb sp;temper. He didn't feel
like losing an y limbs today, or possibly an eye. He&nb sp;chuckled and Larxene gave him a curious&nb sp;
stare. They were almost upon the hous e now and Larxene began to feel her ;gut fill with dread at
facing Axel;&nbs p;she didn't want to deal with it. The&n bsp;decision to run was taken from her a s Roxas
came strolling out, waving enthu siastically.
"Hey Larxene, Marluxia." Roxas g ave them a cheerful smile as the two&nbs p;entered the gates.
"Yeahâ€¦where&nb sp;is Axel?" She was straight to the poi nt.
"Inside. Be quiet though, please. Na mine and Riku are still sleeping," Roxas ;said, his eyes
sparkling. "He's in your roomâ€¦so be just ever so considerate, ok?"
"What? Did you break h im down or what?"
Marluxia cringed. "Oh& acirc;€¦gross. Too much information."
Roxas smiled, this time all teeth. "Glad ;I could be of service."
"Service your&n bsp;boyfriend," Larxene snapped. "I have a da mn headache. I need an aspirin. Excuse me."
Once she's disappeared inside Roxas& nbsp;whirled around to face him. "Ok, spill.& nbsp;What were you two
doing at Demyx's? He said you just ran off with Larx ene."
Marluxia made a sour face. "Not&nb sp;exactly how it happenedâ€¦why?" Roxas shrugged. "Just curious. You two hav e been missing for a while. Contrary to& nbsp;popular
opinion we do care about La rxene. She's like an older sister."

Raising a brow Marluxia nodded. "I suppose.& nbsp;We didn't do anything though. She took&n bsp;us to
Sunset Hill. I fell asleep.&nb sp;She may have very well gone to kill&n bsp;someone. I don't really know." He
bl inked. "You're awfully nosy."
"And you're&nbs p;treading on dangerous ground," Roxas warned,&nbs p;quietly. "I'm just doing it for your own good."
"What would I have to&nbs p;worry about?"
"Your life." Roxas' face ;was somber. "Don't tease her. She's lost&nbs p;too much already. If you do,
you'll&nb sp;pay for it."
"You're assuming I have& nbsp;any likeness towards her," he replied. " This is a ridiculous thing to
suggest."& nbsp;
The young, dirty blonde gave him a& nbsp;weary smile. "Oh really? Hmâ€¦I& nbsp;suppose I should have
anticipated this&n bsp;from you. Demyx is an excellent source&nb sp;of information."
Marluxia was taken aback& nbsp;though he did not show it openly. " Hmmâ€¦you're not as stupid as I& nbsp;
thought."
Roxas smirked. "Glad I co uld fool you. Anytime."
A moment later&n bsp;they were in the mansion trying to c reep through the living room so as to&nb sp;not
wake Namine or Riku. Both were&nb sp;still soundly asleep on the couch. Roxas&n bsp;ventured towards his
room while Marluxia& nbsp;made his way to the kitchen for som e tea. Any distraction was greatly
appre ciated in this hell hole of a place,&nbs p;in his opinion. He was busily prepping ;the kettle when
heard the loud slam&nbs p;of a door right before harsh steps dow n the stairs, then a blonde blur shoot&n bsp;
past. He blinked just as Namine's he ad popped up and Riku yawned; Namine pra ctically flew
back to the other side&nbs p;of the couch when she realized where s he was laying. Riku didn't seem to
notice as he yawned again before rolling ;over a bit and looking towards the door . She had turned
almost green as sh e started feeling her arms and glancing around self-consciously; the silver
haired yo uth hadn't appeared to notice. She was j ust getting over her embarrassment and sudden
discomfort when a red streak flew by and almost mowed Marluxia down. He cu rsed as he heard
Axel shouting and running through the black wrought iron gates. Roxas followed shortly after
though wit h an air of laziness; Marluxia assumed n othing was wrong at this gesture. Not a& nbsp;
moment later a phone rang. He turne d his head to the direction of the living room as he saw Riku
pull out his cellular phone.
"Hello?" Riku sound ed ever so groggy. "What? Are you sure?& nbsp;Can you wait likeâ€¦twenty
minutes?" Namine blinked, intrigued, as she p aused from observing her skin. "Hmâ€&br vbar;ok, sure, be
there in twenty." He&n bsp;turned to her. "Isuki, come with me."&nbs p;
She gasped. "What? Right now? Where? W hat for?"

He grabbed her hand. "Com e on!" He was out the door in secon ds with Namine flailing the
whole way.&n bsp;"Hey, Hair Guy, tell them Namine will&nbs p;be back later, ok? Bye!"
Marluxia look ed enraged. "What? I am not a messenger! And my name is Marluxia, damn it!" ;
He was still fuming when he heard his own phone ring. 'Demyx.' He threw& nbsp;the phone in the
garbage can, his&n bsp;anger returning. He could still hear Axel and Larxene going at it outside but&nbs p;
made his way to the couch to sit& nbsp;down with his tea and think. His he ad hurt and he hoped, when
he did&n bsp;decide to explore the "finer parts" of&nb sp;Larxene's house, that he would find some&n bsp;aspirin.
Meanwhile, Namine was still sput tering in wonder as Riku dragged her dow n Market Street to
who knew where. She was tying to catch her breath, and&n bsp;pry his hand off hers, to ask where& nbsp;they
were headed when they skidded to a halt before the candy store. Blinki ng in curiosity Namine
watched as Riku&n bsp;entered the store and reappeared, moments ;later, with a bag of sweets. She
b linked again. Riku laughed.
"They're for ;my little brother, Kadaj. He's throwing a&nb sp;tantrum. It's a bribe. You've never met&nb sp;him
before, I don't think."
She looked thoughtful. "No Iâ€¦I don't&nb sp;think I have...I'm sorry?"
"For what?"&nbs p;
She bit her lip. "Ohâ€¦um&acir c;€¦nevermind. Let's go." As they walk ed Namine marveled at the gentle
sway&nb sp;of Riku's silver locks as the sun lit it to an almost heavenly golden. His&nb sp;walk was a
confident gait, strong too . 'No wonder I am totally head over&n bsp;heels for this boyâ€¦' she&nb sp;mused as
he continued ahead of her,&n bsp;whistling like a little boy. "Rikuâ&euro ;¦you bribe your little brother?" He nodded amicably. "Why? I meanâ€¦i sn't that not helping him stop? Isn't it good to teach someone
his age thes e things wellâ€¦when he's young?"&nbs p;
Riku raised a brow at her. "Isuki&acir c;€¦he's 16, just for your information ."
She almost fell over in surprise.&nbs p;"What?" To say she was shocked was an& nbsp;understatement.
"Yes, he's already in hi gh school. This is just how I get h im to do what I say. Sureâ€¦ ;Sephiroth
doesn't agree with it but wha tever. It works. I'll show you when we&n bsp;get there."
He pulled her hand and&n bsp;they were off again. She tried, desperate ly, not to feel ill from the pull o f
his warm hand on hers but he ;was too strong. She began to feel like& nbsp;she was going to scream in
fear&nbs p;but a few minutes later they were stan ding outside of a fancy, two story house where shouts
could be heard from i nside. Namine cringed when Riku opened the&nb sp;door and the shouts exploded
in volum e. He ushered her in quietly as they&nbs p;made their way towards the living room.&nbs p;Namine
almost fainted at the four figu res standing before her. All possessed silver hair, emerald eyes and
pale skinâ €”just like Riku. She took it all& nbsp;in, surprised when they all turned in&nb sp;her direction, three
jaws dropping. The&nb sp;oldest, a tall man with the longest h air she'd ever seen, rolled his eyes and
came their way. Riku handed him th e bag of candy before pulling her along& nbsp;to sit down on a
chair across from the commotion. She was stunned when ;the youngest oneâ€”she assumed this&n bsp;

was the infamous Kadaj she'd heard&n bsp;so much aboutâ€”fell into a p athetic heap on the floor as the
ot her two blinked. Riku chuckled.
"I see&n bsp;you've seen fit to make a fool of&nb sp;yourself in front of our guest. I won 't stop you. Just go do
it in your room."
"No!"
The tall one roll ed his eyes again while he rubbed his&nb sp;temple. "Please take him up there. My ;
patience is wearing thin. Do it now."&n bsp;The two grabbed their brother and dragged him up the
staircase, kicking and shouting the whole time. Once the noise was snuffed out by the slam of a door the tall man turned to them as&n bsp;he let out a long sigh. "Rikuâ&euro ;¦how good of you to come.
Thank& nbsp;you for bringing this." He plopped the&n bsp;candy on the coffee table before taking&n bsp;a seat
himself. Namine was still stu nned. "Soâ€¦to whom do I owe&nbs p;the pleasure of your company, young
la dy?"
"Ohâ€¦" she blushed. "Hello . My name is Namine Isuki. Pleased to&nb sp;meet you sir."
"Namine Isuki, is it?" He narrowed his eyes. Riku gave him&nbs p;a pointed stare. "Yesâ€¦charmed as& nbsp;
well, Miss Isuki. My name is Sephir oth. You areâ€¦an acquaintance of&nbs p;Riku's, perhaps from
school?"
She blus hed a fiery red at this. "No, Iâ&e uro;¦I am afraid not, sir. I am s till in high school."
Sephiroth stared a t his brother as Riku blushed a little.& nbsp;"Ahâ€¦I see. Soâ€¦how&nb sp;did he come by
your lovely face?"&nbs p;
"I go to school with Roxas, Kairi ;and Sora." She smiled, genuinely. "I assume& nbsp;the youngestâ€¦uh,
Kadaj, goes&n bsp;there as well though I've never seen ;him."
Sephiroth agreed quickly. "Yesâ€ ¦how interesting." Riku glared. "Soâ€ ¦what brings you to our
humble ab ode?"
"I was watching movies at her ;house last night. Last minute request but&nb sp;I agreed. We had fun,
right Isuki?"&n bsp;He nudged her with a smile. Namine b lushed again despite the fact that all t he
nudges were making her feel slightly& nbsp;ill. "Anyway, I brought her along. She's never met Kadaj."
"And I'm afraid now was NOT the best time Riku. Honestly , what goes through the heads of you&nbs p;
and your brothers?" He sighed again. " Neverthelessâ€¦I have business to att end to. You're
welcome to anything, as&n bsp;usual. Give my regards to your mother,&nb sp;please. Nice to meet you Miss
Namine. "
She watched him go with mild inte rest that didn't show on her face. "He's â€¦interesting."
"You have no id ea," Riku replied. "You want some cookies?&nb sp;My mom is an excellent baker."

S he nodded. "Sure. What kind of cookies a re they?"
"Paopu puffs. Some ancient rec ipe from before the beginning of time," he replied as he
rummaged in his ba ckpack. "They're like shortbread with paopu f illing. They're delicious, trust
me."
Ag ain, she nodded. The sick feeling in the pit of her stomach began to slip a way as she watched
him search his b ag with determination. Even though his touch& nbsp;irked her, she'd never felt so much ;
at ease with Riku before and was s urprised that she was even able to commu nicate with him
without all the timidnes s she normally felt. As if on cue s he heard a loud crash before she saw&nbs p;
three figures tumble down the staircase.&nb sp;Riku didn't so much as glance up from digging through
his backpack. Namine bl inked in confusion and surprise as she r ealized it was all three of his
bro thers minus Sephirothâ€”he didn't seem the type to play. She gulped as Ka daj glanced up and
spotted her; his ;eyes widened then narrowed. He quickly picke d himself and brushed off his
clothes&nb sp;before making his way over to them. R iku still had yet to look up from h is wild search.
She was caught off-guard , momentarily, when Kadaj extended his hand.& nbsp;
"Hi, I'm Kadaj. What's your name?"
She stared at his hand a moment bef ore reaching out to take it. She had&nbs p;almost placed it
completely in his gra sp when one of his brothers slapped it&n bsp;away. She glanced up in shock. The one with short hair smirked before shakin g a finger at her. "Trust meâ€&brv bar;you'd rather not have
done that." The one with longer hair rolled his e yes. "Hey. This is Loz. He doesn't mean& nbsp;any harm but he's
right. Kadaj is&n bsp;not one to trust. I'm Yazoo. What's your name again?"
"Namineâ€¦" sh e trailed as she watched Yazoo shove Kad aj to the side. The shorter, younger
brother seemed unfazed as he wriggled his&n bsp;way between them again, this time simply& nbsp;staring at
her. She gulped again, n ervous. 'What the hell is Riku doing?' She glanced over at him and
notice d he'd found his cookies but was in ;the process of opening the bag. She was about to ask
him something when sh e heard Kadaj speak.
"Hey. You'reâ&euro ;¦hot. Are you and Kairi related?"
Namine blushedâ€”she guessed about t he color of Axel's hairâ€”at the& nbsp;sudden comment before
bowing her head.&n bsp;"Umâ€¦thank you?" She wasn't sure if he was teasing her but was, non etheless,
embarrassed by his straight forward ness. "And noâ€¦we're not related."&n bsp;
"Hmâ€¦" Kadaj was deep in&nb sp;thought. "So you're related to that crazy& nbsp;friend of her friendsâ€¦what's her nameâ€¦Larxene? She's a total babe! Tall, blonde, stacked, dangerousâ&eur o;¦I heard she's a floozy
thoughâ ;€¦kind of easyâ€¦she has ;a reputation but whateverâ€¦she's so hot! I'd like to get into her!" Unaware of where it came from, Namine ;stood and slapped him across the face, her eyes
narrowed. When four pair of&nbs p;eyes widened she stepped back, holding her& nbsp;hand. "Oh I umâ€¦I'm

s orryâ€¦it's just thatâ€¦"&nbs p;She trailed off again as Kadaj gave he r blank stare. Suddenly, she just
threw& nbsp;her timid nature to the wind. "You know what, screw you! That's my sister! She's NOT a
floozy! You're a jerk!" ;With that said she ran from the house,& nbsp;tears in her eyes as she slammed the door.
There was a resounding smac k around the house as Yazoo slapped Kada j over the head and Loz
kicked him. Riku was quiet. "Look, Riku," Yazoo beg an. "You know Kadaj is an idiotâ€& brvbar;"
"Whatever," Riku snarled at his ;youngest brother. "You have no tact, you&nbs p;sorry, spoiled little
brat! She's a ni ce girl and she wanted to meet you. ;Look how you repay her!" He began to&nb sp;storm
out too in hopes of catching&nb sp;up with the fading figure of the blon de girl. "FUCK YOU KADAJ!"
Namine kept&n bsp;running and running without any intent to stop, and no idea where she was ac tually
headed. All she knew was that&nbs p;she needed to get away from them as&nb sp;the memories came flooding
back like a broken dam. She couldn't stop the tear s nor could she stop running. She choked back
a sob as someone yanked her&n bsp;arm back and she gasped. Whirling around& nbsp;she came face to face
with brillian t aquamarine eyes as Riku pulled her clo se. She let out another sob as she fought for
him to let go, kicking, screaming and flailing. Surprised at her reac tion, Riku almost let her go
until she began shaking. He pulled back just i n time to see her cower in what app eared to be fear.
Puzzled, he gently&nbs p;brought her to his chest and smoothed her hair as she cried, his arms holding& nbsp;
her securely.
"Namine?" She nodded into his chest thought her quivering had ;not stopped. "Are you ok?"
When she&nbs p;nodded slowly but continued to shake, Riku& nbsp;sighed. "I'm sorryâ€¦about my br other.
Had I known he would've said ;that, I never would have introduced you."&nb sp;
She sniffled again as she shook her&n bsp;head, not caring that she looked ridiculo us, too tired to fight
him too. The re was so much more swirling around her& nbsp;head as she remembered Kadaj's
comments. "No, Iâ€¦ it's not that. I mean, yes, it was rude but Iâ&eur o;¦that's not what's bothering me.
My& nbsp;sister is not a whore. She justâ&e uro;¦no one understands her. No one kn ows her."
Riku agreed as he patted her head again. "I understand, Namine. You&nb sp;don't have to come visit
again if&nbs p;you don't want to. Did youâ€¦s till want a paopu puff? I still have&nbs p;them. No way in hell I'd
leave th em for Kadaj's idiotic ass. And they'll make you feel better. I promise."
She&nb sp;sniffled a little while wiping her eyes&nb sp;of any excess tears. "Sure, I'll have ;one."
With a smile, Riku grabbed her&nb sp;hand again, this time taking them in the direction of the haunted
forest wher e Larxene lived. "Come on! I have to&nbs p;get you back before your sister kills me!" A
light feeling settled in her ;stomach as she followed. For now, she d ecided to just let everything
be before& nbsp;she returned home to the ugly feelings&n bsp;spreading through her body. He turned to& nbsp;her
with another one of those beaut iful smiles on his face as he bent forward and kissed her forehead.
"You're ;a good sport Isuki. I'm glad you came&n bsp;with me." She blushed awkwardly as he&nbs p;ruffled
her hair, her thoughts confused.&nb sp;"Come on. I bet Roxas has some hot&nb sp;chocolate made just for
you."

&n bsp;
Sora's bright eyes were dull as he&n bsp;perused his chemistry homework. He could hear Leon banging
around in the kitchen& nbsp;in an attempt to make, in Sora's op inion, a pathetic dinner. He was so tire d
of Leon pretending to be a good&n bsp;big brother when he was hardly ever there. And Sora was quite
disgusted that he was trying so hard now. 'Doesn't& nbsp;he get it? Doesn't he get that this is all just the
worst ruse he's&nb sp;ever attempted to pull as my big brot her?' His AP chemistry homework was
glaring him in the face, the problems mo cking him for his inability to master th em. He sighed. It
was a rough night . He'd had to decline Namine's invitation&nbs p;to hang out; Larxene was nowhere to be found. He'd also declined Kairi's invit ation to help him study as Leon had ;insisted that he stay
for dinner. 'A t least Riku made it.'
After everyth ing that had happened to Namine he was&n bsp;glad that she was not left alone on& nbsp;such an
evening. He wanted to be&nb sp;there, to be a good friend to her&nbs p;because that was the type of person he
was deep down inside. But Leon, ap parently, sought to ruin his plan at eve ry turn; he was
thoroughly upset and&nbs p;put off by this behavior. He had alrea dy thought about hitting Leon over
the&n bsp;head with a skillet or a broom but&n bsp;ended up changing his mind at the lo ud thud that echoed
through the room.&nb sp;He figured that Leon was in enough em barrassing pain as it was, most likely having dropped the skillet on his head&nb sp;or hand or some other extremity. Sora ;could care less
about all his misfortun es. "Ohâ€¦boohooâ€¦too bad,"& nbsp;He muttered under his breath. He was&nbs p;pretty
sure that the red ball he'd&nbs p;been throwing at the wall was going to leave a stain on the white paint;
but he didn't care too much anymore.&nbs p;That seemed to be a current trend that he didn't want to
stick. It contra dicted every part of his personality and ;that it what he hated the most.
"S ora!"
He clenched his teeth as Leon ;called for him to come eat whatever hor rid dinner he'd managed to
cook up. ;Sora ignored him as he threw the ball&n bsp;at the wall one last time before pic king himself
off the bed and heading&nbs p;towards the dinner table. What he saw left him so annoyed he almost
turned&nbs p;around and left. "You made pizza?"
"We ll yeahâ€¦at least it's homemade."&nb sp;
"So what?" Sora's eyes looked aghast. ;"This is your special dinner? You've got&nbs p;to bed kidding
me!"
Leon looked a nnoyed as he began cutting the pizza and put a piece on Sora's plate. The y oung
brunette seemed overly aggravated as&nbs p;he took a seat at the dingy table,&nbs p;arms crossed over his
chest in an ;obstinate fashion. He didn't touch his dinne r even as Leon continued to eat in the
deafening silence that blanketed them.&nb sp;To Sora it was more suffocation. A ho rror tactic, Sora
liked to think. His&nb sp;mind was going a million miles a minu te as he tried to figure out a way& nbsp;to get
out later. It was a sch ool night but he was sure Leon had to go back to work, late, as usual. ;He
wanted nothing more than to disappea r, melt under his chair, anything to be& nbsp;away from Leon's
ridiculousness. 'God,&nbs p;this is so stupid.' His phone buzzed&nb sp;and he knew it was Kairi calling. How
he wanted to answer it, to say&nbs p;he was coming over, to hear her voice& nbsp;through the phone. 'Damn

it.' His phone buzzed again and this time he answered it. "Hello? Hey, sorry, I'm eating dinner."
Sora glanced at Leon&nb sp;who was glaring. "Can I come over lat er if Lexaues says it's ok?"
"Sure, ;I can ask, then text you?" Kairi sounde d anxious, maybe even slightly strained. "Bye
Sora."
"You didn't even ask if&nbs p;you could go."
"Should I?" Sora looked murderous. "You're going to go to work. I'm going to sneak out
anyways. Wh at's to ask?"
"You've been sneaking out? !"
Sora rolled his eyes as Leon sta rted on his tirade, already mentally blocking him out. It was easy
when he'd&nbs p;been doing it for a couple years now.& nbsp;It was like second nature. He'd be lying if he
said it wasn't easy. Be fore he knew it Leon had marched out&nbs p;the door for work, apparently done
wit h Sora's ignoring him. As soon as he&nbs p;was out the door Sora sprinted to his& nbsp;room, grabbed his
coat and ran to&n bsp;Kairi's. He was a few minutes away w hen Kairi's text arrived; it gave him an
affirmative. Smiling, he knocked on her door. There was some shuffling, a crash , then wild
laughter before Lexaeus open ed the door.
"Evening Leonhart."
Sora&nb sp;nodded, semi-nervously. "Good evening. May I&nb sp;come in and study with Kairi, sir?" Lexaues allowed him inside before going b ack to tinker with the kitchen sink. Sor a raised a brow
as he passed to&nbs p;set his books on the table. Kairi offe red him a smile. "Hi Sora. I'm glad ;you could
make it."
Sora smiled ba ck. "Trouble with the sink?"
"Uncle Lexa ues broke it," she snickered.
"Did not!" He shouted.
Kairi rolled her eyes again as she pulled out her AP Chemistry homework to work on with Sora.
She was a little dazed as she handed h im a pencil, her eyes feeling a little&n bsp;droopy. She sneezed.
Sora glanced at ;her. "Are you getting sick?"
Kairi nodd ed as she started on her chemistry probl em. "Yeahâ€¦I think I am getting the flu. It
sucksâ€¦right before the chemistry project, too! By the&nbs p;wayâ€¦are you and I partners?" ;
He shook his head. "Sureâ€¦we&n bsp;gotta pick something though."
"Hmmâ&euro ;¦I will think about itâ€¦abou t something!" She sneezed again.

"Ok,"&n bsp;he said, all smiles. "Maybe you should&nb sp;have some soup? Did you have dinner y et?"
"No," she replied warily. "Uncle Le xaeus has been working on the sink forev er."
"Wellâ€¦I could warm you&nb sp;up a can, if you have any," he o ffered. She nodded, seemingly
delighted at&nb sp;the suggestion. Sora gave her a small ;smile as he made his way towards the&nb sp;kitchen
where Lexaeus was still banging&nb sp;around under the sink. He blinked. "Um&aci rc;€¦Mr. Hashibaâ€¦would
you&n bsp;mind if I made Kairi some soup? I&nb sp;think she's catching the fluâ€¦"&n bsp;He trailed off as a grunt
followed&n bsp;by a hand to the cabinets came from& nbsp;between the spilled water and sink. "Um& acirc;€¦thanks."
Immediately Sora went ;to work warming up her soupâ€”si mple canned vegetableâ€”as his mind&nb sp;
wandered to his treatment towards Leon&nbs p;earlier that evening. He didn't think it&nb sp;was completely
unfair but he didn't f eel Leon warranted any better behavior. He&nb sp;knew that Leon was trying hard
but&nb sp;he hated being lied to all the time&n bsp;by someone who was supposed to love him and care for
him. 'Stillâ€& brvbar;maybe I've been kind of an ass to himâ€¦' Sora thought woefully&nb sp;as he stirred the
liquid in the warm pot. He loved his brother, and his& nbsp;kinder nature was beginning to get the&n bsp;
better of him the more he thought&nb sp;about it, mainly because Leon worked so&nb sp;hard. 'But we never
seem to get&nb sp;anywhere! He's holding out on me, the ;bastard!' His eyes hardened as the soup& nbsp;
finished cooking, his sympathy disappearing&n bsp;as he poured the warm food into a&nb sp;bowl. He walked
over Lexaeus' stretched&nb sp;legs and made his way over to where&n bsp;Kairi was blowing her nose with
ferv or. She had turned pale but her nose&nbs p;was red from the tissue and he laughed . She looked up
in wonder before he r eyes widened in thanks as she gracious ly accepted the steaming bowl he
present ed.
"Thanks so much, Sora! I'm starving! " She took a small spoon and began blowing on it. "Oh!
Come to my room really quick! I think I have an id ea for our Chemistry Project." They made ;
their ways towards her roomâ€”So ra suddenly nervous as his palms began t o sweatâ€”as she threw
a com ment over her shoulder. "Be right back U ncle! I'm going to go get my notebook,&n bsp;ok?" A
grunt. "Thanks Uncle!"
Inside her room Sora wasn't that surprised to& nbsp;see it decorated in soft purples and&nbs p;pinks with
marine life decals everywhere.&n bsp;He'd never seen the inside of her ro om before but it screamed
Kairi everywhe re, if rooms could scream at all. He&nbs p;grinned as he saw the Paopu keychain hanging on her jewelry tree. He'd given&n bsp;it to her a few years ago, when ;they'd first became
friends. He knew Ri ku had hated him back then and they ;weren't necessarily best friends now;
but&nb sp;Riku had grown on him and accepted th at he liked Kairi. He knew Riku had ;liked her tooâ€”
that tended to&n bsp;happen when a guy and girl were best friends. Unless one was referring to Ro xas'
flaming ass. Namine and Roxas were& nbsp;NOT compatible. He let out a chuckle&nbs p;as he waited for
Kairi, who was r ummaging through a pile of books, to fin d her notebook. He tried hard not to&nbs p;
pay attention to her school uniform sk irt, which was slowly riding up her thig h. It wasn't a very
short skirt but it wasn't that long either. Her blouse& nbsp;from earlier that day was gone to b e replaced
by a thin, tight tank-top&nbs p;since Twilight town was unbelievably hot no matter what time of the
day.

Her hair was hanging loosely over her&nb sp;shoulders as her lithe fingers picked up&n bsp;a bright pink
notebook from the stac k. "Aha! I found it!"
In his attemp t to see her discovery he had leaned&nbs p;in too close. When she whirled around they
bumped noses so hard that he f ell over. When she tried to catch him&nb sp;she went tumbling with him
as well.&n bsp;Letting out a shriek she braced herself&n bsp;against him as they both landed on t he floor. He
blushed furiously as they&n bsp;both realized how close they were. Kairi& nbsp;lay atop him, her arms on
either&nb sp;side of his shoulders; his hands were ;bracing her up above him. She took in&n bsp;a shaky breath
as she saw his t omato-colored face below her. Any other time& nbsp;it would have been hilarious
except ;that they were in quite the compromising&nbs p;position. She felt her eyes close as s he tried to
think of an easy way&nb sp;to get out of their situation when sh e heard a crash. She looked back to ;see
her stack of heavy notebooks and&nb sp;textbooks laying all over Sora's legs and& nbsp;shins.
"Ouchâ€¦" he whispered&nb sp;below her. She turned to him and let& nbsp;out a peel of laughter. "That
hurt& acirc;€¦so not funny, Hashiba."
She&nb sp;couldn't stop laughing as she tried to&nbs p;hold herself up to no avail. A few&nbs p;seconds later she too
came crashing do wn upon him as the laughter continued. H e couldn't help but smile but felt
strange as her body lay atop his, shakin g. When her laughter died down only the& nbsp;quiet remained
and she realized where&nb sp;they were and how they were positioned.&nb sp;Reality crashed down on her as
she&nb sp;looked up. Sora was frozen in place a s she felt heat rush through her.
" Ohâ€¦Iâ€¦Soraâ€¦um,&n bsp;that isâ€¦do you need help u p?" She asked, quietly.
"Do you?" He&nbs p;replied just as quietly, even a little ;shocked. "Maybeâ€¦you should get up& nbsp;first."
"Oh yeahâ€¦that would&nb sp;be good idea, probably." She answered sudd enly feeling a little playful.
"But sinc e when are good ideas always the best?"& nbsp;She slowly leaned over and gently touche d her
lips to his, catching him com pletely off-guard. She had liked Sora for&nbs p;a long time and now was
the perfe ct opportunity to tell himâ€”or s how him. She waited for a response but&n bsp;felt nothing but a
slight tremble fr om him. 'Am Iâ€¦wrong?' She&nb sp;froze for a second but changed her mi nd when she
finally felt his arms c ome up and gently settle on her back.&nb sp;'Nevermind.' She felt his lips move ;
beneath hers as he kissed back. He ;seemed nervous but she was ok with that so she smiled
against him. When th ey broke for air she gave him a win k. "You're a pretty good kisser,
Leonhar t. Who would've known?"
He grinned a&nbs p;little, still surprised. "Who would've thought&n bsp;you'd be so straight-forward
Hashiba?" Th ey both let out another laugh as their&n bsp;lips met again. Outside her door, Lexaeus
looked like he wanted to faint. Wh en they broke for air the second time&nb sp;both Sora and Kairi
agreed that they& nbsp;needed to get back to work. He smir ked. "Hey, Hashiba, how about we do our& nbsp;
project on chemical reactions when pushe d into motion by outside forces of natur e?"
Kairi giggled as he swooped into&nbs p;to kiss her again. "I'd say that's a&n bsp;perfect project proposal!"

When&nbs p;they arrived back Roxas did, as said, have a nice pot of hot chocolate made&nb sp;and waiting
for Namine. He greeted he r and Riku at the gate with a smile and a friendly wave. Larxene and
A xel were nowhere in sight but Marluxia w as asleep on the couch when they entered the
mansion. Zexion was present but&nbs p;there was absolutely no sign of his bo yfriend anywhere and
Namine blinked in s urprise.
"Zexionâ€¦where is Demyx?"&n bsp;
"He's not welcome here anymore, I su ppose. Not just yet anyway. It seems tha t he has, somehow,
in the strangest ;way, really, been replaced by someone else." Zexion responded blankly as he
opened&n bsp;cabinet after cabinet in search for the&n bsp;coffee. "I think he's busy at home t hough I haven't
seen him since last ;night."
She gave him a curious stare&nb sp;as she realized he had spoken quite a bit. "Umâ€¦but he's your
b oyfriend."
"Yes," Zexion replied, still blank . "I do not, however, keep tabs on him. He is a grown man,
Little Nami ne."
"Oh," she said, bewildered. Roxas b rought her a cup of the steaming liquid& nbsp;as Riku plopped
down next to her,&n bsp;ear connected to his phone as Yazoo's&nbs p;voice drifted through the other end,
s ounding exasperated. She took a sip, idly&nbs p;eyeing Riku's side as if interested in ;sliding up next to
himâ€”but&nbs p;she didn't. Roxas gave her a narrowed glance, which she shook her head to, and went
about his way to find Axel.&n bsp;She thought he might be a little jea lous since he was usually in the
po sition Riku was at the moment but she&nb sp;needed more than friendship right now. She didn't
know if Riku could provide thatâ€”she was pretty sure he sti ll liked Kairiâ€”but she'd live w ith the
fantasy for the next few mi nutes. Zexion seemed to notice but said nothing as he scooped coffee
into the&nb sp;filter before setting the coffeepot on its highest setting. Marluxia was still slumberi ng
peacefully in the corner when Axel&nb sp;and Roxas returned. Larxene followed a few minutes later in
a drunken daze, h aving just awakened from a very long nap . She ignored Riku and Namine as
sh e went for the coffee Zexion was making. They were having a small, quiet convers ation in the
kitchen when Axel leaned&nb sp;over the couch.
"Soâ€¦getting ;a little close to our crush, are we?"&n bsp;
Namine's face flushed as she looked at Axel, their noses touching as she gla red weakly. She
leaned back so far to escape Axel's accusing glare that she ;practically backed up against Riku.
Though&n bsp;not there she was still within reach.&nbs p;"Heâ€”he is not! He just helped me out today!"
"Liar, Liar, pants on fire, Nami!" He whispered dramatically in& nbsp;her ear. Riku's was still glued to
his phone but he didn't seem bothered&nb sp;as his fingers played with tendrils of&nbs p;her silky blonde hair,
which cause her to flush unbeknownst to him. "I think&n bsp;someone is crushingâ€¦and she's n ot the
only one!"

She flushed harder as she almost spit out her hot&nb sp;cocoa. "Axel," she whined as she tried&nbs p;to shut
him up. "Be quiet! He'll hear you!"
Axel glanced at him. "Oh ;please girly, he's absorbed right now. He&nb sp;can't hear shit."
"I can to flame&nbs p;boy," Riku snapped as he smirked at th e redhead. "You and I need to have a talk
after this phone call."
Said flame boy smirked back, his face coy.&n bsp;"Oh? This should be exciting. I've always wanted to
try a platinum blonde to add to my conquest list."
"Axel, s top being a flirty slutbag," Roxas said as he walked by with another cup of ;hot chocolate.
It seemed Marluxia had s tirred and asked for a cup as well. ;Ever the sweet host Roxas brought
him&n bsp;one. The redhead pouted at this as h is boyfriend sat next to the brown haire d man, staring.
"Hmâ€¦"
"Hm ? What do you mean "hm?" I am not&n bsp;being a slutbag! Where's my hot chocolate ?" Axel
practically roared at his blonde haired boyfriend. "Hey, and stop staring&nbs p;at Marluxia! I don't think
thatâ&euro ;”" Unfortunately the words never quite ;made it out of his mouth before Larxene had
appearedâ€”seemingly out of& nbsp;thin airâ€”and poured her steamin g hot coffee, fresh from the pot, all&nb sp;
over his head. He sputtered and scree ched as the hot liquid cascaded down his flaming red mane
onto his pale ski n and dripped from the ends of his hair. He let out a real roar as he& nbsp;spun around
to hit her but she ;had already dug her kunai into his neck . "Why youâ€”youâ€¦bitch!"&nbs p;
"Shut it flame boy. I have a head ache to rival the French coup and demoli tion of the Bastille.
SHUT. THE. FUCK.&n bsp;UP. You're getting on my damn nerves!"&nb sp;She hissed through clenched
teeth. Her&nbs p;eyes were bloodshot, her hair wild and ;lips in a snarl. Marluxia thought she l ooked
very much like a feral cat. A xel didn't even flinch as she pressed th e knives harder for emphasis
since he&nb sp;had said nothing to comply with her r equest, or command, rather. "Did you hear&nbs p;me,
Axel, did you? I swear I will cut off that part which makes you fertile if I have to hear your girly&nbs p;
whining one more time!"
He scoffed&nbs p;at this as he threw his weight at ;her, knocking her back to the point whe re she
stumbled and fell on her ass . She shrieked, uncharacteristically, as Axel ;jumped on her, lighter at
her antennae& nbsp;as he held her down with his legs.& nbsp;"Look, pretty lightning bug, don't make kill you
just cause YOU decided to get a case of FUCKING PMS!"
"GET TH E FUCK OFF ME, AXEL! I'M GOING TO S LIT YOUR THROAT!" She shouted
back as&nb sp;she struggled to get free.
Marluxia w atched this with mild interest as Roxas stood up to get more hot chocolate for&n bsp;him
and Namine. Riku was still on&nb sp;the phone, only shooting them occasional g lances but not really
that interested in their little scene. Their daily brawls were something he, as well as everyone,
had become accustomed to and able to&nbs p;fully ignore. Larxene was hissing and spitt ing again, like
a feral cat, and Ma rluxia turned his gaze towards the TV as the previous night was completely

forgotten. He was sure that she had mere ly been under the influence of drugs to& nbsp;have said the
things she did. Both& nbsp;of them must have been. Then, out o f nowhere, it appeared Larxene had
gaine d some kind of upper hand and had m anaged to bite Axel's wrist so hard that he yelped and
released her. She th rew him back against the coffee table so hard that it shook its content to the
floor where a glass platter broke&nb sp;and shattered to a million tiny pieces.&nb sp;
"What crawled up her ass? She was&nbs p;calm a few minutes ago," Marluxia commented as the battle
between Axel and Lar xene continued. He knew she had a headac he but for it to have been that
bad would've implied a hangover. Last he&nb sp;checked they'd only smoked and he knew,&nb sp;for a fact,
that it did not caus e major headaches. Roxas shrugged. "Hmmâ&eur o;¦oh well."
Axel, for his part, was struggling to remove kunai from his arms as Larxene tried to kick the can&nb sp;
of hairspray from his hand. Neither w as having too much success as Namine sta red and Riku
continued to chat on h is phone, his arm resting comfortably behind& nbsp;his head. The fact that no one
made a move to reconcile the situation would've irked anyone else. But Marluxia calm ly sipped
his cocoa as the carnage carried on like a bad TV show without&nb sp;commercials or any other
bothersome interr uption. The raging display continued across t he living room before it finally
ended&n bsp;up in the clean kitchen. Minutes later&nb sp;the loud bang and crash of fallen pot s and pans
echoed. Only seconds later&nb sp;did the breaking of dishes chorus as did the clanking of thrown
utensils. By& nbsp;the time their savage fight had moved&nb sp;outside everyone's ears were ringing; Riku ;
had long since been done with his phone call. Roxas was now lazily flipping&nbs p;through the
television channels while Namin e and Riku talked about another get toge ther. Marluxia noted
she seemed a bit&nb sp;more upbeat and enthusiastic. She also wor e a small but genuine smile on her
lips. 'It seemed she's a lot better.' He was amazed at the fact that ;she let Riku get so close but
glad that it seemed to be getting better.&nb sp;Then again she could lose it at any&n bsp;moment, he knew.
'Jacob wasâ€&rd quo;'
The thought died quickly. He s tood abruptly as Roxas settled on the di scovery channelâ€”
something about the& nbsp;mighty "Dancer." He could care less as&n bsp;he made his way towards the
backyard in silence, which no one seemed to ;notice. However, Namine had risen from her&n bsp;seat to
follow him as Riku received& nbsp;another call from one of his brothers.&n bsp;It was a great time to slip
awa y and she took it. Her sister was n owhere in sight and that was a great&nbs p;advantage for her at
that exact moment since Larxene seemed to have a strange& nbsp;hate for Marluxia. She found him
si tting by the dried up fountain, his hand s caressing the barely living flowers with&nb sp;an oddly
loving expression. A small s mile lit her features. 'He seems like ;such a gentle person. How can
my s ister hate him so much?' Namine found&nbs p;herself puzzled as she continued to watch&n bsp;him.
"You can come join me, if you wish, Miss Namine."
She jumped as&nb sp;their eyes met; his held friendly warmth&n bsp;and mystery as he beckoned her forward&nb sp;
to come sit with him. She quietly&nbs p;obliged as she made her way towards hi m to sit down atop the
concrete str ucture, which scraped her legs and scratched& nbsp;her delicate skin to a slight redness.&n bsp;
"Tell me, Miss Namine, why do you&nb sp;hide?"

She blushed. "Well, Larxene do esn't approve of me talking to you. You' re a stranger. It's safety
first, to&nbs p;her."
He smirked. "I'm no longer a&nbs p;stranger, Miss Namine."
"I think you're&nbs p;a good person," she answered quickly but&nb sp;shook her head, too. "But Larxene is
not so easy to sway. She wouldn't h ave made it this far, not acting that&nb sp;way or being so trusting."
He seemed& nbsp;interested. "Do tell, Miss Namine."
She& nbsp;hesitated. "I can't. It's not my story&n bsp;to tell."
He nodded. "You're quite t he trustworthy sister. Larxene has much to&nb sp;be proud of by you, dear
girl."
Namine blushed at his statement as she&n bsp;scooted closer to watch as he pulled ;out a flask of water
to quench the thirst of the poor, dying plant. The&nb sp;way he handled it, so lovingly and sw eet, made
Namine see him as nothing ;more than a tender hearted person. She gave him another smile as she
watched&nb sp;him place the flask back into his coa t and sat to lean back against the granite surface.
She joined him quietly, ;leaning slightly near him but not close ;enough to touchâ€”she felt like his
presence soothed her even though the thought of his masculinity disgusted her.&nb sp;She flinched
when he reached out a&nb sp;hand and touched her hair, catching a ;strand between her fingers before
twirling&n bsp;it slightly. The soft golden strands remi nded him of a certain nymph and he smiled, a bit
uncharacteristically, as his&nb sp;thoughts drifted to her for a few sec onds. Hers was, although, perhaps
a few& nbsp;shades darker and a little more unruly&n bsp;and coarse. He could only raise a br ow as she
seemed to shy away from&n bsp;his gentle fingers, his lips quirking in& nbsp;a slight frown.
"Are you afraid of& nbsp;me?"
She shook her head tentatively.&nbs p;"Uh, no Iâ€¦its not thatâ&eur o;¦but I mean, you know and allâ €¦being
there that nightâ€&brvba r;" She felt ready to cry as he lea ned away from her, his lips still in&nbs p;that frown
she thought didn't fit his& nbsp;features. "Oh, Marluxiaâ€¦I'm sorry&a circ;€¦I uhâ€¦"
He chuckl ed, shaking his head profusely. "If I'd had a sisterâ€¦how it would've b een nice to have
one like you. You& nbsp;knowâ€¦Iâ€¦"
"Did y ou have a brother?" The words cut deep&n bsp;as he turned away, closing his eyes in shame as
she reached out a hand& nbsp;to touch his arm. "Sora said thatâ €¦you had a brother. Marluxiaâ€& brvbar;what
was he like? Do you mind&nbs p;telling me?"
He sighed. He didn't know how to react to her questions because&n bsp;he hadn't talked about it in
years&n bsp;and it was precisely what he was try ing to forget. He had tried, for years,& nbsp;to keep the
secrets hidden in the&n bsp;deep recesses of his mind, so that h e could move on with his life. But lately,
they'd resurfaced and were driving&nb sp;him mad. His run in with Demyx, his&n bsp;nightmares, Soraâ€”it
was all ;getting to be too much. No one had ;actually ever asked him either, especially n ot

someone as young as Namine, and& nbsp;especially not a stranger. He could hear it in her voice, the
tender concer n, the genuine curiosity to know more ab out him. Not to judge, not to berate&nbs p;or
criticize; but to know, to learn&nb sp;and to grasp truth. He wanted to open up and let go of the demons
b ut he didn't know if Namine was the ;person for it. Her young, semi-innocent mind was not
exactly the thing he wante d to ruin with his shadows and troubled& nbsp;past. She had already suffered
enough&nb sp;in the past month or so; how could&nb sp;he possibly unload on this girl, this ;troubled child?
Shaking his head, he pu shed himself off the ground to stand, le aving Namine puzzled on the
floor.
"Marluxia?"
"Namineâ€¦I'm afraid I&nb sp;must not tell you. I cannot and I&nbs p;will not. Thank you for accompanying
m e this evening. Goodnight." He could hear&nbs p;her disappointment but did not turn back&nb sp;as he
glanced towards the door to&nbs p;see Larxene standing there, arms crossed ag ainst her chest. She did
not look m urderous but she did not look pleased ei ther. He was almost to her when she ;stepped
from the threshold to meet him, her eyes guarded, stance antagonistic. They& nbsp;stopped, side-by-
side, quiet and tense a s they both turned to each other. "Be&nb sp;nicer to her, savage nymph. She's a good girl. Perhaps you should take better note of that before you make a dir e mistake."
"My name is Larxene, asshole . And why do you keep interfering?" Her& nbsp;knives flashed in light
but she did not make to strike him. He gave he r a sinister smirk. In reply, she simply nodded, a
small, solemn frown placing&n bsp;her mouth for the first time he'd ev er seen. "Wellâ€¦goodnight,
flower&nb sp;boy."
"It's Marluxia, damn it." With not so much as a second glance back ;he walked through the door
into the&nbs p;living room and departed through the front& nbsp;door.
Axel and Roxas bade him goodn ight on the way, watching silently as he disappeared into the
distance until he& nbsp;became a fading figure to their eyes.&nb sp;Riku sat there, somewhat contemplatively,
as Axel and Roxas made their way up ;to their room to retire for the evening . Larxene came in
shortly after with&nbs p;her eyes slightly lowered and gave Riku&nbs p;a sideways glance before retiring to
h er own room for the evening. Somewhere i n between all the occupants leaving and Marluxia's
departure, he realized that Namine was nowhere in sight. 'Where did she go?' He glanced around
until he&nbs p;noticed the backdoor was ajar. 'Hmâ&eur o;¦she must've left when I was on ;the phone with
Yazoo.' Rising up fr om the couch he made his way back t owards the yard in search of the blonde& nbsp;
haired girl. He found her, quite qu ickly, sitting on the stone fountain, seeming ly deep in thought
and mostly, oblivious to his even exiting the back door. ;He was a few feet away when she shifted, gasping as she saw him. Her face flushed scarlet as he came to sit&n bsp;next to her though
quite a bit of distance away. She nodded to him slow ly, her eyes flashing in surprise as she
looked at him. Riku smiled a littl e at her display.
"It's a nice nigh t out," she whispered.
He agreed, stretc hing out on the cold surface. "Yeah, it& nbsp;is. Do you mind if I smoke?"
< hr> She shook her head. "Umâ€¦no...it 's fine." Her mind was still focused on& nbsp;Marluxia and the subject
she'd broached; clearly he'd been bothered and hadn't k ept it that much of a secret. She c ouldn't
seem to hide this from Riku ;either. She felt heat fill her face as& nbsp;she realized he was staring at her
intently, his eyes unreadable to her clo sed gaze. Sighing, she scooted her legs from underneath
her and allowed them to& nbsp;hang over the edge of the fountain just as Riku blew out a cloud of smoke in the opposite direction. "Umâ&eur o;¦Rikuâ€¦I was wonderingâ€&b rvbar;why are you suddenly being so
nice to me?"
He let out a peel of& nbsp;laughter as he watched Larxene disappear ;from the windowâ€”he assumed she ;
was checking on her sister. Namine didn 't appear to have noticed. "Why not? Is& nbsp;there a reason I
should be so mean to you, Isuki?" He shrugged. "You're&nbs p;a sweet girl. I don't see what reason& nbsp;I
have to be mean."
"Yeahâ&eu ro;¦silly question, I guess," she replied&n bsp;as she turned her glance up to where the stars were
twinkling in the sk y. 'Twilight Town is truly radiant tonight .' She was grasping for something to ;
talk about when Riku reached out, his&n bsp;arm slinging around her shoulder and pull ing her close.
She made to wriggle away but stayed when she realized he was not about to let go. There was a&n bsp;
strange combination of fear, anxiety and& nbsp;uncertainty that washed over her at his& nbsp;touch but she did
her best to curb it. She was sure he could feel ;her shaking beneath his fingertips and felt& nbsp;slightly
embarrassed that she couldn't g et herself under the proper amount of co ntrol. "Riku, Iâ€¦I can'tâ€&brv bar;"
He said nothing as he nodded to her, allowing the small sobs to wrack her body and not
questioning it at all. Somehow the night seemed to pass&n bsp;peacefully despite her turmoil and his acceptance of her tears.
In her room, Larxene was watching Namine and Riku ou tside in her backyard. Her kunai were raised to her lips as she waited, wit h baited breath, for him to make the&nbs p;younger girl cry. But
when Namine did& nbsp;Larxene found that they were not the&nbs p;tears she was expecting; and Riku simply&nb sp;
let her be without even so much as a sideways glance. For all her life&n bsp;Larxene could not begin to
fathom wh at that was like, to have someone like&n bsp;Riku let her vent, to let her sit&nb sp;with the pain of
what had happened.&n bsp;Suddenly, she felt herself become morose as she took in what it meant for her sister. Perhaps Namine had finally fou nd someone special. That it was Riku was a bit
bothersomeâ€”she wasn't&nb sp;so sure about himâ€”but he see med genuine, as far as she could tell.&n bsp;
Kairi, Sora, and Roxas had known him for a while now, Kairi for the lon gest. But he didn't seem
like a bad kid unless one thought smoking cigarettes&nb sp;was a horrible habit. 'Like I can talk,' she
mused to herself as she&n bsp;lit up her own cigarette. She could hear Axel and Roxas watching TV
from&nbs p;across the other side of the hall thou gh it didn't bother her tonight as much& nbsp;as others, which
she thought was pe culiar. Shifting from one hip to the oth er, she found herself staring, openly
no w that no one was around, at the tw o sitting on the fountain in her moonlit backyard. There
were times when she&nbs p;wished she had that but then, like Nam ine's recent dilemma, she found
herself drifting back to those parts of her teen age years, the parts she tried to forget . Yet, she
knew, on some level, the y were parts that made her who she was now, and she wasn't sure she'd
change that.
Sighing, she made her way&n bsp;towards her room again as she closed ;the blinds on the display she'd
previou sly been staring at for minutes on end.& nbsp;She passed by the empty shower and hesitated. In

truth, she had been, slightly, neglecting hygiene due to Namine's incessant showering but now
was as good& nbsp;a time as any to "get clean." She&n bsp;glanced around momentarily before darting into the
bathroom for a long deserved s hower. Relishing in the cool water as it slid over her hot skin in
the ;muggy evening air of Twilight Town, Larxene' s thoughts drifted back to Marluxia's forlorn
figure walking out of her house ab out an hour prior. She had wanted to&nbs p;ask him what was wrong,
to see wh at it was that made him look so gri m. Was it out of pure curiosity, genuine caring or
sick fascination? She couldn' t quite tell but she knew she wanted&nbs p;to know what made him tick,
what made him sad, what made him smileâ&euro ;”but mostly, what made HIM. She was,&n bsp;after all,
human and a naturally cur ious creature in general, mainly because her& nbsp;mother kept so many
secrets about h ow they lived when they were younger. Na mine had been so innocent back then.
'So was Iâ€¦seems like such ;a long time ago.' Shuddering at the ;images that seemed to spring from
nowhe re, she grabbed for her towel and made&n bsp;her way back to her room, only barel y noticing
that her friends' room was&nb sp;completely silent now. 'I guess they we nt to sleep.' Once inside the
comfor t of her room she went about her "n ormal daily" rituals when her brand new cellphone
began ringing like it was the& nbsp;objects only purpose in life. Narrowing her eyes, Larxene picked up
the noisy&nb sp;contraption, flipped it open and stared at the number flashing on the screen. Ange r
boiled up inside her as she press ed talk.
"You have some fucking nerve&ac irc;€¦"
"Ah, Larxeneâ€¦a good evening to you, too. I am calling&n bsp;to propose another meeting, this time
without any outsiders. You understand, of c ourse. I am more than willing to work&nb sp;with you here,
if you return Namine&n bsp;to me, that is." His voice sounded c oarse with a hint of velvet crÃ¨me . His
eloquence would never cease to&nbs p;amaze her if she ever held him in ;high regard, which would
never happen a s long as they both lived. "I will make it worth your while. I will not&nbs p;bother you. I
am a very forgiving ;and tempered man, Larxene. You do know this."
"You're scum," she spat into the& nbsp;receiver, shaking even as she held her&n bsp;towel closer to her body.
"You can't have her. There's no way in hell I 'd give her back to you, asshole. You&nb sp;keep sending
your little dogs around here and I'll make you sorry!"
"Ah, ;tsk-tskâ€¦such threats, my sweet blo nde. I will have to reprimand you for&nb sp;such insolence. I
am being quite gene rous. You wouldn't try anything rash now,&nbs p;would you?" His silky voice held
laugh ter in its wake as she heard a smal l chuckle emit from the other end. "I&nb sp;daresay, dear girl,
you're playing with&nb sp;forces even you can't contend with in ;your lifetime. Do you really want to go
down this road with your dear old& acirc;€¦step-father?"
Her anger only c ontinued to escalate as she fell back ag ainst her wall in frustration, nervously
running her fingers through her hair as ;she struggled to find a good comeback, a good threat for
him. "Listen, I a m not giving her back. There is an attorney working on Namine's case, so you'd&n bsp;
better back off unless you want all& nbsp;your business aired out to the town,&nbs p;fucker." He seemed to
pause at this,&n bsp;his breathing changing. "If you ever thre aten me, or touch her again, or so much as
even THINK about hurting us ;or my friendsâ€¦I will kill you . So you'd better get your shitty
c ronies out of my face. I'm coming for&nb sp;you, "father" and I hope, for your sa ke, that you're
prepared."

"We'll b e seeing each other soon," he whispered dangerously into the speaker as he hung up.
Larxene breathed in a heavy but ;even breath as she looked up to her&nbs p;flickering ceiling light. She
hadn't hear&n bsp;Namine come in yet and wondered if i t was safe for her outside. When she&nbs p;chanced a
quick gander out her window& nbsp;she saw that Riku was bringing her sister inside, though Namine
looked half ;asleep as the young silver haired boy s upported her weight. 'I have to act n ow,' she
mused as she scrolled throu gh her phonebook. She wouldn't call it s talking but she had copied
some numbers& nbsp;from Demyx's phone, namely Zexion's, Xigbar's and Marluxia's. Somewhat tense
and unce rtain, she pressed the call button on Ma rluxia's number since she and Demyx weren't&n bsp;
really talking either. She was surprised& nbsp;when the phone picked up though there&nb sp;was a bunch of
static and shouting&nb sp;before anyone actually answered it.
"Hello ?"
"Flower boy, I need you to come& nbsp;with me. I have something that might&nbs p;interest you."
"Nymph?" He sounded puzzled. "How did you get my phone number? And why, may I ask, are
you calling me at such an atrociously late hour?"&n bsp;
"Do you ever stop talking like we're from the Victorian ages, you ass?" She& nbsp;snapped back as she
searched her ro om for a shirt and some pants. "Anyways, are you in or not?"
"It depends,"& nbsp;he replied. "I need to know what's in it for me. I don't like taking u ncalculated
risks, especially with the likes& nbsp;of you."
Growling, she managed to h old the device to her ear as she sl ipped on her jeans and a tank top she found in a pile of what she ;hoped was clean clothes. "Listen you priss,& nbsp;I am not prone to
asking people&nbs p;for help or even if they'd like to&nbs p;do something like this with me. But yo u offered
me some help, soâ€&brvba r;.you going to help me or not? I d on't have time to waste, you jerk."
A laugh followed. "Well, since your time&nbs p;is so precious, and since you asked so politely, then I
suppose I could g ive you a moment or two of my help. Where should I meet you on this fi ne
evening?"
Pausing for a minute, she let a small smile grace her lips&nbs p;as she found herself softening at his
proper words and mockingly polite manner.&nbs p;"At Sunset Hill. There'sâ€¦something&nbs p;I want to show
you."
"As you ;wish, Savage nymph."
There was a click& nbsp;then silence as she reached for her ;heavy black coat. She had it almost all the
way on when she realized it&nb sp;was way too hot for her to be we aring such a thick leather coat, and
in Twilight Town of all places. Taking ;one last look around her room, Larxene threw her coat on
the bed, grabbed her keys, wallet and phone before darting&nbs p;down the stairs. She only briefly
wave d to Riku and Namine, who were standing& nbsp;in the kitchen talking quietly, Namine e ating

cookies as Riku sipped strawberry& nbsp;milk. Namine gave her an uneasy smile&nb sp;as she walked past.
Riku nodded. Once in the outside air, Larxene made her&nb sp;way towards the hill, only noticing the&nb sp;
stars because they were shining so br ightly in the dark blue sky. When she&nb sp;reached the top, she
saw him standing there, sans coat, his chestnut hair gle aming in the moonlight. She stopped for a
moment, drinking in his features and&n bsp;appearance when he turned to her. She&nbs p;felt shock fill her at
being caught&nb sp;but managed to shrug it off with a&nb sp;nonchalant stare as she walked towards him until
she was standing a few feet& nbsp;apart.
"What did you want me to&nbs p;see?" He asked, hands in his pockets.
Larxene glanced up. "Follow me. Thisâ&e uro;¦is something both of us need to&n bsp;talk about."

(I apologize, again and again, for taking so long. I w as trying to write a good chapter for&nb sp;
everyone but I am not sure I acc omplished that. However, I hope you enjoyed&n bsp;it, even a little. But
please, let&n bsp;me know what you think. I welcome al l criticism, though flames are a less ef fective
formâ€”so keep that in&nb sp;mind. If you have questions please ask.&nb sp;I will answer them to the best of&nbs p;my
ability. Thank you for still readin g, reviewing, etc. Love you all. Peace o ut, until next time.)
Sadistickunais&nb sp;