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Love:: Misunderstanding
By : hachi-miitsu
Category: Kingdom Hearts > AU - Alternate Universe
Views: 1826 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: SEE FULL DISCLAIMER PLEASE
Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
I am secretly a worker at Square Enix(?) So, technically I own part of it (?) Lol, I killed their fandom(?) Prepare to die(?)
No, you caught me. Terrible lie. Sadly, though I do wish, I don’t own. I don’t make money off anything either. Hell, I didn’t even get an allowance when I was little Q_Q Song credits at the end. Anyways thanks for all the views guys :D And a review~~! I got a revieeeew xD I’m so happy!!
Woo hoo~ So, I have a question. Is angrymuffin any relation to evil toast? xD awesome penname. Firstly, thank you so so SO much for your compliment >-< I have extremely low confidence when it comes to my work so it picks my ass up when people actually like it! And to answer your question on the how, two things; watch and experience. Write a little of yourself into each of your characters. Learn them so well that you'll know where to hit them the hardest and heal them the bestest :3 If you do then your other characters will too. Hence uber conflict abounds. Also xD I fight. Like, legit fisty, grungy brawls with men three times my size that smell weirder than dry salami and gym socks. But if you’re too scared to get bloodeh then watch UFC or something. Note how they move and imagine how it would feel coming at you. Or...remember that embarrassing time you got hit square in the face with a soccer ball...in grade school. That works too I suppose >////> Really fucking hurt.
Ha, okay I’m done with my not so sage advice. =_= hope it helped? x3 Now, enough with this lame chattah and on with the stuff yeah? I have two words: Brace Yourselves.

Chapter Three: Fuckles and Chuckles
Axel groaned and opened his eyes, covering his face with one hand as he peered through his fingers at the thundering sky above. Wincing, he turned away from the rain, now as nothing more than a misty whisper.
God it was so fucking cold. Axel's jaw cramped in a vicious display of silent reinforcement, as if his teeth had been chattering the whole time he'd been unconscious. Gritting them, Axel shivered as the chill cut right through his sopping clothes, his paper-thin flesh. The redhead moaned as his diaphragm spasmed, feeling the ache all the way to his bones; what he had left anyways. His body couldn't seem to decide if it wanted to stiffen or keep being jittery. Either way, Axel was exhausted. He needed…
Needed…?
He mentally flinched away from that single, disgusting word and grimaced. Axel shifted on the park bench. Need. Hah! He didn't need anything or any—
Axel's inner-castigation paused as he remember the blonde. What the hell had he been thinking, letting Roxas run off like that?
I hope the kid got home okay.
The back of his skull felt like an egg splitting apart in slow motion. Each jarring throb was sharp as it pulsed through his whole being, a soul deep rawness that was intensified by the cold when it should have been numbing. In a last ditch attempt they’d all bum-rushed him at once. Then black.
When he awoke again the place around him was deserted, the gang having collected their fallen and fled. Axel was left with enough strength to drag himself down the road to the park bench where he was currently sprawled.
Yeah, Roxas would be fine. It was true dark now. He was home. Safe in his bed, where he should be. Axel had messed up Xig's boys so bad, they wouldn't have much time for anything except licking their wounds for a while. The redhead let out an exhale that cut off midway as the cold impaled his lungs; a ragged, frozen blade. He coughed into his hand.
Axel grimaced again as he swallowed and moved to a better position where he could cradle his splintered ribs and take some pressure off the back of his head. Starbursts danced across the expanse of his eyelids, nauseating and crackling like audible fireworks. Axel hissed at the unwelcome explosion as a sharp ringing began to buzz in his ears. Worry about yourself first idiot. Just look at you, you freakin' shmuck.
Man, he was going to feel this in the morning. If only he'd had the foresight to—
"Mister? Are you alright mister?"
The redhead smiled faintly as he cracked open his eyes to watch a little girl in a pink raincoat patter up and peer at him. He managed to haul himself into a sitting position with another groan and the wooden bench creaked under his weight. Axel swallowed a gasp as another wave of dizziness crested to drown him so he puckered his brow and focused his attention on her. The girl's eyes widened comically as she stared up at him.
"Wow, you're so tall mister!" She reached out to touch his knee. A startled cry made his eyes flick past her as a woman rushed towards them.
"Mariko? Mariko! What have I told you? What are you doing!?"
The little girl stumbled and cried out as what Axel assumed to be her parent finally reached them and tugged her back, placing herself between her and the red haired delinquent. The mother bit her lip and scowled at his rumpled clothes and welts.
"But mommy, this stranger doesn't look mean. He looks cold. And hurt. Can't we—"
The redhead gathered all the pain in his body and smothered it. He couldn’t afford to let some stranger see him this weak. And they looked like such a happy…whole pair. They were from a different world and they needed to get back there.
Axel pulled a face at the girl, making the mother backpedal a little more.
"Enough, Mariko. Let's go. You don't want to hang around people like him. We have to get home now and make dinner for papa, remember?" A bag rustled at her side and Axel glanced down at the leeks poking out from its bulging contents.
“Oh, yeah…” The girl looked up at her. "But mommy, can’t we just—"
"No buts young lady. Come—"
"She's right Mariko." They both jumped when Axel spoke, watching them from behind his hair like a cornered animal. "Good little girls should be home, out of this weather." He spoke softly but his voice still carried through the soft, hissing sprinkle as he wrapped an arm around his stomach. Yes, a part of him craved that purity. But a bigger part of him wanted to push it away or break it. He didn’t want to be around something so light because it made the dark in him all the more ugly and apparent.
The woman tightened her jacket as she sneered at him,sensing something off about the boy. "I'd say the same for you, but you probably don't even have a home. Mariko." She held out her hand and took hold of the little girl's wrist before leading her child away, Mariko peering back over her shoulder and waving. When her mother wasn't watching, Axel blew Mariko a kiss and winked, making her giggle. The woman looked down at her daughter then back at Axel before hurrying her pace. With the storm finally succored it wouldn't be too hard for them to get home. They'd be fine.
Axel sighed and ran a tired hand over his face. She was almost right. Almost. He had to start heading back h-, back that way too. He made a face at the woman—a speck on the horizon as she dragged Mariko along—before hugging himself with both arms, shivering.
Yeah, mothers. What the fuck did they know? Everything. And nothing.
The rain sputtered nonsense as he dragged himself to his feet. It stung, unforgiving…the lone witness to Axel's sojourn. His hair whipped around him at the whim of the howling winds. Axel felt the heaviness of the dead seep into his soul and solidify as he trudged through the park and down the road, ignoring his protesting body.
Foolish, the boy joked all the time about how feeling numb was better than feeling itself. But the truth, the cold hard truth was…he hated moments like this.
Hated the way his skin tingled slightly and his stomach sloshed with the thought of going ho—back there. Hated…that the happiness he so painstakingly built for himself throughout the course of the day vanished when he walked through his door. Even on nights like this, when the earth quaked and wailed, he feared going back. Anything was better.
Axel jumped as the toe of his boot scuffed the bottom step of the stone staircase. He blinked and looked up, pushing his sopping locks to one side so he could better see the towering structure…cold like a castle. And carrying just as much promise of torture.
Axel began the climb like one condemned, holding his breath when he finally reached the top as he pressed his ear against the door for any sign of life. The old wood creaked. Green eyes narrowed in concentration as Axel grasped the knob in his trembling hand, wincing. It made his palm ache like he was holding an ice cube. His heartbeat sped up, but the redhead ignored it as he opened the door just a crack and slipped inside as quietly as he could. The gloom swallowed him whole.
A flame doused in the darkness.
Axel took another slow breath and held it, sifting through the dim shapes of furniture, the staircase, the darker splotches where the doorways lurked. He crept forward; aware of the floorboards that creaked in protest under his footsteps, aware of his breathing that was too loud, the drips of water that were deafening as they fled from his clothes like cannonballs in the waiting black.
Still nothing.
Axel edged around one doorway and peered inside. He could just make out the rise and fall of a fat lump on their threadbare couch. The TV was off and there were empty plastic jugs of vodka scattered around the wheezing figure. Cracks of lightning flashed through the shuttered blinds like a panicked strobe light—throwing the room into blinding detail before plunging it back into shadow.
The smell of booze pervaded the air and almost made Axel gag. But he didn't because silence was necessary. Axel had never known the meaning of "home". All he knew were a father and a house. This house. This man who could only claim the name and nothing more.
Taking a last glance around, the redhead started to sigh in relief but clapped a hand over his mouth. His father wasn't awake now, and he wanted to keep it that way. He snuck past the living room and cursed every squeaky step in their staircase as he made his way up to his room.
Breathing that sigh out through his nose only after the door was shut and locked, Axel turned and began stripping his sodden clothes off. He kicked them to one side, padded to his desk and set down his knife and lighter before popping a few Advil. With careful probing that still left fingerprints dancing across his vision, Axel felt around his head. It’d heal alright. He just needed some rest.
He turned again and crashed onto the bed with closed eyes, careful of his ribs. The boy wiggled closer and snatched one of the pillows into a tender hug, pretending it was someone that had waited for him to come back. That it was someone who cared.
All too soon his thoughts flickered to the blonde boy. Roxas…
Axel chuckled to himself. That kid held up surprisingly well, given the situation. Axel cradled the pillow to his creamy chest and traced the shadows that danced on his ceiling. Roxas, Roxas. Yeah, he would definitely stick close. The kid was naïve. Wonderful. That afternoon he lit up the room when speaking about music….Axel wanted to bathe in that warm glow.
And protect him. Roxas’s was the kind of purity he could tolerate because it wasn’t suffocating. It didn’t threaten him. The thought of someone laying their filthy hands on the blonde though.
He tossed and turned, restless with fresh excitement though both his mind and body were far past the line of exhaustion. A creak at the stairs made him freeze. He rolled over again slowly, staring at his door with bated breath. Black sparks reignited but Axel shook his head and strained for—
It was silent at first, then…
"C'mon boy, open the damn door." His father's voice, husky from drink, bled through.
Axel frowned and chewed on his bottom lip before padding to the door. Placing his ear to it, he could hear the wheezing breath that belonged to the old man. Dread dripped down his spine as he looked down at the crack under his door. The light from the hallway was almost obscene as his father's shadow stretched across the floor, an unwelcome invader.
"Boy, don't make me…" The man hiccupped and then belched so loudly Axel cringed. When the door jiggled Axel stepped back—not quite able to work himself into a panic—but shaking nonetheless as his entire body pulled taut again.
The lock clicked and the knob turned with a broken groan. Axel shivered as the silhouette of his father filled the doorway completely. The man didn't move, but Axel flinched anyways when something in his hand caught the light.
The old drunkard swayed, an ugly smirk carved into his face while he clutched the knife handle.
"D…dad?"
His father's beady eyes glinted in something akin to sobriety as he remained motionless. The redhead inched closer to him despite every nerve ending telling him to run for it. This wasn't Xigbar. This wasn't Riku or Roxas. This was…
Axel jumped back just in time to miss the first vicious stroke at his throat. He barely managed to miss the second as he lurched out of his father's way. The old man lumbered forward with the clumsy grace only a seasoned drinker could really pull off. Axel side-stepped the crazed man until he could see him wearing down. He didn't beg, or try to reason. It wouldn't help. It never did.
He couldn’t fight back. This wasn’t some street brawl that he indulged himself in. This was the singular man he’d never be able to raise a hand against, no matter how much he wanted to, no matter how easy it might’ve been. At the moment, Axel—even if he’d had the wherewithal—couldn’t do much more than dodge where he could and take it where he couldn’t.
His father doubled over and wheezed, his stench intensified by the pursuit as it trapped itself between the walls of the small room.
Axel crouched and inched forward. When his father didn't move, he placed a hand against the man's slick back. "Dad? Dad are you—" The old man straightened faster than Axel could react, knocking the boy back with a solid backhand. He used that temporary shock and pinned the boy beneath his crushing bulk.
His breath was sickening and Axel did his best to wiggle away, to no avail. "Dad! Get off!! Stop, da—"
Axel choked when a heavy fist ground its way against his stomach. Added to this, the miasma of booze and rancid sweat made Axel want to dry heave, but he coiled against the urge. He couldn't allow himself to be vulnerable here. Not now. He knew what happened if he left himself defenseless.
"Plea-se...da...d...ugh."
Still, he had no respite. Axel's aching ribs splintered further and his head throbbed, vision swimming with each new tidal wave of agony as his father crushed him down harder. The bruises, the cuts; they all screamed: get away! You must flee before it's too late!
His heartbeat and the pulsing pain warred with each other in a battle for dominance over his body until the only thing he could hear was his father’s ugly voice cutting through the din.
"I own you boy. Nothing is free and you're not allowed peace if I can't have it either… You're nothing but a disgrace. You don't deserve to live. You…" He hiccupped and his face pulled into a silent scream as he hauled himself closer. "You...bastard! If you hadn't…she'd still be…Give her back to me! Damn you!"
His father punched the ground mere centimeters from the boy's head. "Damn you to hell!"
Axel's body convulsed with the force of swallowing his dry heaves as more waves of miasma churned and suffocated him. He scrunched his eyes closed and fought back tears. This was not a father. A father wouldn't violate his children …physically …mentally ….psychologically…. not this way. The sting of the blade bit into his neck, causing Axel to cry out. The old man laughed and his breath undulated like a sour fog.
The only way the codger's breath would've been minty fresh is if he suddenly developed a hankering for peppermint schnapps. Unfortunately for Axel, he was a straight vodka man.
"That's right you little faggot. Writhe. Life is pain boy." The father's eyes hardened as they roved over his son's tense face, the naked bruised flesh.
Axel thrashed with renewed vigor even though every fiber of his being screeched in protest. He wanted to faint right there but he had to escape. He had to at least try. The pressure increased on his neck and he felt a few beads of blood drip down along the blade's edge. Axel slumped realizing…hoping that this time might finally be different. That when he went to sleep this time, he wouldn't have to wake up and relive this all over again.
Axel closed his eyes, embracing his imminent fate when suddenly his father's body went as limp as a boned fish. The redhead stilled a moment. Then relief flooded his entire being, quickly drowned by a nasty stab of stagnant disappointment.
It had taken his father longer. So long that Axel actually believed he would go all the way this time.
He rolled the lump of flesh over so he could stand before dusting himself off. He regarded the man that had yet again attempted to kill him, torn between contempt and pity. His father's eyes were damp with unshed tears and his breath came in shallow gasps.
Why did he come back? It was the same almost every time, though it was quite the occasion when the old man could work up the gumption to get off the couch and all the way up the stairs.
It hadn't always been this way. Or at least he hoped things had been different when he'd been a tender youth. He'd stolen this man's happiness. His father's state now was…all his fault. If he hadn't…
Axel tsked at himself, hating the weakness that came with reminiscing…imagining. What-ifs got you nowhere. Hadn't his father already hammered this into him? The redhead pulled on the closest pair of pants he could find before he bent and threaded his arms under his fathers', lugging the old man back downstairs. He dumped him on the couch and made himself a quick sandwich. It was time to leave again. He couldn't stay here.
Sucking on his teeth, Axel spat into the kitchen sink when he tasted warm copper. He thumbed them just to be sure nothing had cracked then took a bite out of his sandwhich, cursing and spitting again as fresh stabbing agony exploded along his jaw. Axel's expression darkened, realizing this was the last food he'd have for a while. He'd just have to suck it up and endure.
The boy only took long enough to finish his sandwich and get fresh clothes on before he was out the door again. The rain crucified him. He stopped and looked up at the vast sky, a reddish grey affair that arched over the glistening city…like an old heart that throbbed in a nest of cobwebs.
The rain turned his blood to ice again. Ah, blissful numb. He looked forward bleakly. His feet began to carry him and he let them. Axel was tired of feeling. The darkness embraced him like a close friend and he reveled in it. He didn't care where he ended up that night.
_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_
Come here Roxas.
Come play.
Come…
The blonde parted his lips and panted as the pressure increased around his most sensitive area. “N…no..sto…uhm.” He thrusted his hips to feel more, arching his back and fisting into the cool sheets draped around him with a shuddering groan.
That’s right. Just like that. He’s broken you in quite well, hasn’t he…e…e…
Roxas jerked awake with a ragged gasp as he searched his room. No intruder, no Xigbar. Eyes still wide, he rubbed at his torso and crotch, trying to get the voice out of his head and the fingers off his skin. When the flesh burned enough, Roxas turned to glare balefully at the green numbers that the alarm clock burned into the wall next to his bed. He took one breath to calm himself then promptly choked on it.
Thunder rumbled as the deluge outside splattered mud against fences and frayed his already raw nerves. He would not jump. He would not panic. He'd be…
Dammit. It was 1:23. In the morning. And he was awake. During a thunderstorm. He was fucking awake. Lightning accompanied the next clap of thunder as it cut a jagged path of light across the sky outside.
Roxas hated thunderstorms. And like any self-respecting coward who hated thunderstorms, Roxas didn't hesitate to dive resolutely under his blankets. He stayed like that, a shivering amorphous lump for quite a while as the storm raged then calmed then exploded again in dizzying intervals. He stayed like that of course, until an earsplitting scream raised goose bumps on every available portion of flesh he had to offer.
Who in their right mind would be out at this hour, in this kind of—?
Roxas snarled at himself before whipping off his blankets and cinching a robe around his body. It would offer little protection from the weather but someone had screamed. Someone could be in trouble. Roxas was a coward, sure. But he could pull it together when the occasion called for it. Trying to keep this thought near and dear to his heart, he sprinted to the window to see what had caused such a racket.
For his part, this probably was not such a good idea. What if it was an axe murderer…or worse… an Avon lady? He strained his eyes against the grey static that swam below his window, unable to make out much of anything. The blonde stood there for a solid minute, wishing for the first time in his life that lightning would strike.
After another minute it answered eagerly, splitting the night sky in an arching dance and raising the hair on his arms. The alleyway was illuminated. As he watched, a figure spread its arms and screamed at the heavens before falling to its knees, finally coming to rest with its face buried in the boiling mud. Roxas blinked, not quite sure what he'd just seen. Even as the figure lay still as death, its yell haunted him. A shiver rippled around the blonde like a physical pall.
Roxas chewed his lip until it tingled, torn between his own fear and... This person needed help. But he…but what if it was Xigbar? The person was so dirty that no telling features stood out. It could be anybody. It could be Xigbar….
No, dammit he had to do something! A life was a life. Roxas witnessed the figure fall. If that person died it would…no. There would be no death because he'd do something. Something.
There was always a first step to everything. Roxas scowled down at his cold feet—both literally and otherwise—and willed his big toe to wiggle. When it didn't respond he pinned the digit with a scowl so fierce it made his eyebrows throb.
"Move, damn you." The toe defied him in its resolute motionlessness, then…ah, there was the first twinge. "Come on, move."
Roxas let out a breath as the toe he placed his focus on squirmed against the carpet. He flexed his foot, did the same for his other, then rolled up his sleeves. He raised his hands and slapped both his cheeks. "Right. Let's do this." He paused and frowned down at the grey static that had returned. "Please don't be an Avon lady…or Xigbar. On second thought, Avon lady sounds good."
The blonde bolted downstairs and threw open his door. The downpour scratched at his face like broken glass but Roxas held an arm over his eyes and squinted through it as he stepped out.
"Hello", he hollered as he trudged through the back gate and into the alcove. "Hello? Where are you?"
Nobody answered.
The downpour fell like sputtering ammunition as if its sole purpose was to deter him. By the time he struggled his way to the approximate spot where the figure had fallen there was no trace to be found. It was as if he had imagined the whole thing. Scenarios like this never ended well for the gullible shmuck who fell for these tricks. The Avon lady could be lurking around that very corner with free samples and…he shuddered and cast around one more time, wincing as what little feeling he had left fled.
When he realized that the search was hopeless Roxas gave up and ran to his back gate, closing and locking the sliding door behind him. The click was more satisfying than it should have been. Despite his mind sneering at his overactive imagination, Roxas knew someone had been out there…that they were still out there. He'd failed.
Like any self-respecting wallower, Roxas trudged into the kitchen and made hot cocoa. It was not girly. It was scientifically prevalent for him to drown in chocolate when he wasn't feeling good. Endorphins, and all that.
After the scalding happy-draught was guzzled, Roxas plodded upstairs to crawl back in bed. By the time he managed to curl himself under the covers, he heard the faint tinkle of his mother's keys as they jiggled in the lock. Groaning, the blonde dragged himself out of bed and back downstairs again to greet her.
The tiny woman came in and shook out her rain coat. When she saw her son standing in the entryway she held her arms out towards him. She looked haggard but that was the thing he really loved about his mom. Even if she was at the end of her rope and about to drop, she always had a hug for her baby boy.
"What on earth are you doing up this late?"
Roxas looked down at his fresh pajamas, the scarf draped around his neck to hide the angry bruises and back up at the shadows under her eyes, deciding it would be better not to say anything. She had too much on her plate already. "I couldn't sleep because of the rain. Just wanted to make myself some cocoa is all."
She smiled and cupped his face, rubbing her cold thumb in circles against his cheek. "You've got a fever again."
Sheepish, he pulled back and led her into the kitchen where he made her a cup of cocoa as well. Her smile remained serene as she accepted the piping gift and patted the stool next to her. He sat up with her while she told him about her day between long sips.
"But really Roxas", she said at length. "I think it's time for bed."
His eyes stinging, he nodded. "I love you mom."
She bent forward and kissed his forehead again. "Off you go then."
When Roxas climbed the stairs for the final time that night he braced for the coughing fit he knew would come, even though she did her best to hide it from him. It rocked her entire body and gurgled like a death rattle in her brittle lungs.
Roxas paused midway—forgetting for a moment the figure that had collapsed in the rain—and almost went back down to help her. But as he toyed with the idea, the blonde shook his head and continued on up the stairs. His mother had her pride. She wanted her son to believe her to be invincible, and at times like this, he almost did. She tried to hide that horrible cough. But Roxas knew…
And it was only going to get worse.
_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_
The next morning was a blur. His alarm clock screeched in piercing staccato and Roxas entertained the urge to take a hatchet to it. Had he done so, the potentially mangled scrap of irritation would've been the fifth one that month destined for the garbage heap.
And four were enough for him.
He smacked the button and dragged himself out of bed, forcing himself to dress. Outside, it was still damp and cold from the storm. Roxas was grateful for the dense material in their winter uniforms.
He hadn’t dreamt anymore of Xigbar. Roxas wasn’t sure whether he should be relieved or not because what had replaced Xigbar was arguably something much worse. He couldn’t be blamed for his own weaknesses because he’d done the best he could against the scarred boy, however…
Try as he might, Roxas couldn't steer his mind away from the creepy figure from last night. There was something more he could have done. Maybe just five more minutes of searching and he would have found something, someone. Was the person okay? Would he hear about a body found in the park on the morning radio? Would the police come for him?
"If you saw something, why didn't you help?"
Roxas could see it now: the police would show up on his doorstep, blaming him. He'd be convicted and carted off to prison. His mother would weep as they shaved his head a-and shoved him into a cage… They'd bone him. There’d be so much boning. He was too young to be someone's bitch!
H-he'd tried. He'd tried to help that person! They'd j-just disappeared…they wouldn't believe him. His life was over.
Even as these ideas flashed in his mind he knew they were ridiculous. And yet…
He was still worried. And for this, he could blame himself.
It had just been so strange…. The person had definitely been there one minute, then gone the next. Roxas shook his head—shoving everything to the back of his mind as he boarded the train—and clung to a rung hanging from the ceiling.
One had to keep their wits about them when travelling.
At the stop he glanced at his watch and felt his stomach sink. He was going to be late! Again!
With the seconds ticking against him, Roxas bolted from the terminal as fast as he could, ignoring the irritation around him as he shoved his way through the milling bodies. Finally free of the crowd, Roxas sucked a breath in through his teeth. There was no time to waste.
He picked up the pace and tore down the streets, straining his body with everything he had as he clutched his bag with one hand.
Crap.
He was so frigging late! His lungs were starting to stiffen as his ribs stabbed the expanding organs. Against his will, his legs wobbled and forced his body to stop. Roxas leaned at the waist and braced a hand against the damp brick by his side, chest heaving.
His ears pricked up and he straightened again slowly when he heard a voice…that voice. 'Gaijin, gaijin', it hollered. Roxas's heart froze even as his lungs finally thawed, the moist air biting at the sweat beading on his body.
The blonde turned—even knowing who it already was—hoping his imagination was just running away with him again. It wasn't. With a small cry, Roxas stumbled and fell. His left knee scraped against the jagged cement and tore open. With a moan, he leaned over to cup the pain that exploded there as tears pricked his eyes.
Double crap.
Swallowing a groan, he picked himself up after a moment and hissed as the leg protested under his weight. Roxas heard the call again, a lot closer now.
Triple crap.
It was just as he'd known…feared: Xigbar and his gang. They had been in their street clothes yesterday, but now, with increasing trepidation, Roxas traced the threads and colors that he himself was wearing. That all of them were wearing.
They laughed as one entity as they repeated that horrible word, 'gaijin, gaijin, gaijin', over and over again.
Faggot had almost been preferable.
Roxas's irritation tempered his fear as he turned and limped away in the school's direction. He wasn't fully Japanese. So what? He could take this, had always bourn the stigma and worse. Everyone is an outsider in some way, at some point in their life.
Even so, he damned his painted skin, his blonde hair and his blue eyes.
The boy was jolted from his annoyance when he rounded the last bend and, with a sigh of relief, stepped onto school campus.
Hands shaking, he hauled himself through the front doors and pulled off his shoes, slipping on the wabaki still pristine in their newness. Had he ever had a chance for a pair to get old? Rubber slippers were a lot cleaner than the shoes that tramped all over the nasty Tokyo streets. Even with using them just inside the school though, wabaki did get dingy. He hadn't owned a particular pair long enough for them to even lose their new glow.
Roxas growled as he straightened the lip of one around his right foot, keeping as much weight as he could off the other. The scowl that puckered his brow deepened when a shadow dwarfed him.
"Xigbar, screw off. We're in school now and you can't—" He looked up and swallowed as Axel loomed over him with a tired smile.
"What's this about Xig? Is he giving you trouble again?"
"Oh…sorry. No, I…" Roxas trailed off as he fully examined Axel's form, spackled with grime like he'd rolled around in it…or...
….a figure spread its arms and screamed at the heavens before falling to its knees, finally coming to rest with its face buried in the boiling mud.
Axel gave him a funny look and raised his knuckles to pop one at a time. "Listen, I can take care of Xig. You don't have to be afraid of him. I'll protect you okay?" His tired eyes wandered to the shorter boy's throat and the faint hand prints that wrapped around it before flicking down to the fresh blood caked on his knee. It peeked through the hole in the Roxas's pants and taunted Axel with his inability to protect. Green swirled with an unreadable expression for a moment before hardening into furious sea foam.
Fear sizzled in his chest as Roxas kept his own eyes riveted on Axel's hands that flexed and fisted. That defended…that hurt. The blonde opened his mouth and it worked helplessly for a minute so he closed it with a snap. Axel's expression melted into a concerned smile.
"Hey", he murmured. "Roxas, it's okay. He can't hurt you. I won't let him." Axel reached forward to graze the backs of his fingers against Roxas's jaw but the shorter boy flinched and ducked away from his touch.
"I uh…" He found his voice again but it cracked with his nervousness. Sounds...colors felt muffled suddenly by the throb in his knee and the blood rushing in his ears. "I have to get to class."
Axel chuckled. "You and me both. We have it together remember?"
Roxas's face paled and he backpedaled, able to forget his fresh wound as his panic overrode everything else. He gripped the strap of his backpack with whited knuckles. "Yeah…I… I'm gonna…skip. Tell the professor that I got sick… or something. Bye!"
"Oi! Roxas wai—" The redhead's brow crinkled with a scowl as Roxas bolted down the hall and out of sight. Speckles of blood marked his trail like obscene breadcrumbs.
When the blonde shied away from him this first time, Axel didn't dwell. Neither did he really fret the second and third time when they met in the hallway between classes and Roxas suddenly had another thing to do or somewhere else to be.
When lunchtime rolled around however, Axel was starting to get very tired and very confused.
"So you know how serial killers always return to the scene of the crime? Well… that's like me with sex behind bushes." Riku flipped his hair and raised a piqued eyebrow at Axel who was resolutely ignoring him in lieu of letting his eyes wander in search of a certain blonde. The redhead yelped and finally graced Riku with his attention when the perfectly coifed boy reached over and pinched his thigh. Hard.
"You fucking harpy", Axel shrieked, clutching at the offended flesh. "What the hell?"
Aquamarine rolled in twin irritation. "It's your own fault for ignoring me, you know."
"The only time we chill is when you're in the doghouse with Sora—”
“It wasn’t my fault this time! Tidus walked in on us so I smashed his head in. Do you realize make-up sex is a very tenuous thing?”
“—you little punk. It hasn’t even been a day and here you are again. Choose a better fucking place next time!"
Miffed, the silver haired boy puckered his lips into a pout. "For the record, I don't ignore you. It's just funner to nail Sora than talk to you. And I'm not the one with liberty spikes, thank you very much." At this Axel tugged at one of his locks in an attempt to flatten his hair, ignoring the younger boy when he continued. "In fact—"
The fork in Axel's hand clattered against his tray of untouched food with a plastic rattle, causing several heads to turn in his direction. But he didn't care because his eyes finally found what they'd been hungering for, and they feasted now with greedy abandon. Riku gave him a concerned look then turned in his seat to see what had his friend so utterly spellbound.
It was like a breathless countdown, Roxas taking a single step into the cafeteria and letting his eyes rove aimlessly over the ambivalent sea of teens. Axel sat up a little straighter as those baby blues paused on a group of geeks two tables down from where he was sitting before rolling and moving on. Then they locked with his.
Riku cried out as Axel shot up in his seat so fast his chair went flying. But he didn't care. He was already gone. The target was in sight and they had to settle this or…or…
They had to settle this.
He gave chase as Roxas turned tail. Their feet slapped against the polished linoleum, marking their struggle throughout the otherwise silent halls. After three minutes of cursing, questioning, and gasping he finally grasped the boy by his elbow and dragged him into an empty classroom.
Axel forced his panic and agony down, smoothing his face into an impassive expression as he turned to face a quivering Roxas. Internally, the redhead was relieved to see gauze now wrapped around Roxas's knee, even if it was spotted with drops of crimson from the stress of his pursuit. He had bigger fish to fry though so he squelched that relief and braced himself.
Crossing his arms, he leaned against the door as Roxas edged to the opposite side of the room. "Alright, what's up with you? You've been avoiding me all day."
"I-I-I haven't been a-avoiding you…" Roxas squeaked as he pressed himself against the wall and flicked his eyes around for an escape. "You're just imagining things." He laughed but it was strained and caught in his throat. His eyes took on the electric hue they did whenever he got scared. Axel made to move closer. Suddenly, it all snapped into place as the redhead came to rest a scant foot in front of his prey.
"You're…scared of me aren't you?" His expression shocked, Axel steeled himself for the reply he knew was coming. Roxas looked like he wanted to deny it at first but in the end he nodded weakly.
"Why? I'd never hurt—"
"Did you even see yourself yesterday", the shorter boy blurted out. "Self-defense I can understand. B-but what you did…"
"I was protecting you", Axel shouted. He couldn't understand. Deep down he knew that the more he pushed the blonde the harder it would be to hold onto him. Axel glowered at the ground. They'd made so much progress yesterday…and who the hell was he to judge how Axel fought? “Did you like the way he touched you? Is that it?”
Roxas paled, fury now tangling with his fear in a sickening, reckless combination. “Shut the fuck up”, he spat. “You had no idea what that did to me yesterday.”
The redhead couldn’t hear him now as his hysteria rose. A guttural roar ripped from his throat as he hefted a chair and chucked it at the wall next to him.
Roxas didn’t understand. How could he? You had to ride your enemy to the ground or they'd be back…and they'd come for you. Axel’s head spun for a second and his chest heaved as he fought for air, his thoughts hurtling around him in an angry, frenzied tornado. But when he looked up and saw the petrified expression that tightened Roxas's features, he knew he needed to calm down. He did have anger issues but…
"Roxas, don't ignore me…" His voice softened a tender decibel as he tried to reason with the shaking blonde. “Please, I'm sorry I was only trying to protect you. I- I like you a lot.” His arms came up in a placating gesture as he took a step closer. "Aren't we friends? We made a promise right?"
The redhead bit back a curse as a shadow passed over the blonde's face. Roxas was erecting those damn blockades around his heart again as he pressed himself against the far wall. "I won't let you hurt me."
Axel's fingers spasmed in a violent gesture like he wanted to strangle the stubborn blonde. Instead, he moved without thinking, slamming his arms against cool plaster and trapping Roxas between it and Axel's heat. "When will you get it through your thick fucking skull that I would never hurt you?"
The shorter boy was unfazed. Roxas glanced up at him, his face blank and his eyes dead. "I don't believe you. You can't claim something like that if you've only known me for…what? A little longer than a day? And the way you—"
"Don't throw yesterday in my face again. Sometimes I snap okay? And I'm sorry you had to see that side of me if it scared you so much but—"
"So what's to stop you from snapping on me like that?"
Axel raked a hand through his hair then dropped it to his side. "I…I don't…it's because..."
The room fell into a silence so perfect that for a moment not even the birds outside dared to sing.
When a few more moments passed in this breathless limbo Roxas sighed. "Then I think we're done here." Without another word the blonde shoved past him and limped out the door.
Axel had an answer, he did. But it stuck to the back of his throat and made his head feel like it was swathed in cotton.
"Because I don't want you to leave me."
The soft words were spoken in a reluctant growl because he hated that sudden intrusion of reliance and yearning. Axel spoke to empty air, to the desks warm from the sun that shredded through the dissipating clouds, to birds that he could now hear as they sang about nothing. They'd been singing the whole time really. It wasn't important though.
What was important was that he let these words float around things that wouldn't hear him one way or another. He did this because letting the person he wanted most to know, to hear his heart was far scarier than drunkard fathers or thunderstorms.
Q_Q I can’t believe myself sometimes. I’m such an ass Dx Sorry for the crappy ending and all. Though, some parts were kinda cool >_> I'm lame so don't take my opinion…. The word onion is buried in opinion if you stare at it long enough x333 Anyways, I wrote this chapter to highlight all the differences in our boys' lives :3 Pretty drastic don't you think? And well…I love torturing them. Read it. You want to. Read it. Just don't beat it, beat it, beat it… see? Totally lame xD *dances anyways* There were no song credits in this chapter O_O kinda surprised me. But oh well~
More coming soon!
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- 5
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Love:: Misunderstanding	By : hachi-miitsu Category: Kingdom Hearts > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 1826 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Love:: Misunderstanding