Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters in it or in this story. I actually have it, you know, BOUGHT it, but I didn't make them. I'm not that cool.

Author's Note: I DID IT! I DIIIIIIIIIID IT! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I should be done with all of the editing by the end of this week, if I keep up with heavy persistence. Guess what! I turn 18 in about a week or so! X3

QOUTE: The magic between two loved ones is an unspoken force. –Fortune Cookie

~Midnight~

Roxas leaped up, hand grasping for the ledge of the roof. He barely grazed it, grasping tightly to the ledge of the wall and pulling himself up onto the rooftop, sweat glistening on his forehead. Scrambling, he quickly slammed the last poster for the Struggle battle on the vibrant green wall, though how anyone would see it up there was beyond him.

"Time!" He yelled as he did so, swirling around to face the bridge just below him. Sweat glistened on his arms, head and neck, sliding down and into his eyes. He slowly, tiredly raised his arm to wipe the perspiration off of his skin. A group of six teens walked out from the shade of the bridge below him. Sora, Kairi, Riku, Olette, Hayner and Pence were their names, and they were Roxas's closest friends. Namine, his other friend, was waiting back at the usual spot. Twilight Town was a very humid place, year round. It was always too hot for her pale, fragile skin, even in the dead of winter.

Sora was a brunette who looked remarkably like Roxas. Or maybe it was the other way around? The young brunette was wearing jeans today, with a white T-shirt to keep the sun from COMPLETELY killing him. He grinned a small grin, sweat shining on his forehead as well.

Riku was a year older than the gang, and one of the most sought-after guys at Twilight High, with silver hair and piercing blue eyes. Today, he wore his trademark blue jeans, yellow vest. He also temporarily sported a lovely cast on his left arm, at which he sometimes muttered a string of curses, having received it during a particularly drastic fencing tournament. He and Sora were nearly inseparable, apart from when Roxas took his place. He was very quiet, and often looked moody.

Kairi was considered a redhead, although it shone more magenta than red. Her hair was shoulder length, and she had sky blue eyes, border-lining gray, always shining with delight. She wore her trademark pink dress (as always) to help keep cool in the horrid heat, her white tennis shoes glinting blindingly in the sun. She was always finding something to smile about.

Roxas had known Hayner almost as long as he'd known Sora (and by extension, Riku). Hayner was a bit of a rebel, already grinning sadistically at the exhausted Roxas. He wore camouflage all the time, always green. His blonde hair was spiked, gelled. His attitude was that of a rebel, of a kid who wouldn't be told what to do, and his stance reflected it. He stood now, with his arms crossed, a smirk adorning his childish features.

Olette was a girl with brown hair hanging over her shoulder, an orange tank top and beige cargo pants. She had green eyes, and had known Roxas since he was a toddler. She was like a sister to him, always bossing him around and trailing after him like a mother, trying to get him to tuck in his shirt or eat healthy. She was the group "mother".

Pence was slightly round, and the only person Roxas or Sora knew to be shorter than them. He wore a sweatband and a red jersey with blue jeans. When Roxas met Pence, he'd met him along with Hayner. Pence and Hayner had known each other for a very long time, almost as long as Hayner and Roxas knew each other. Pence was a kind-hearted, though shy young boy, and it was fairly well-known that he had a crush on Olette. Well, unbeknownst to her, that is.

Roxas was wearing his trademark checkered wristband and matching ring, baggy white and black pants, black shirt (horrible idea as he now realized) and white vest with checkers. His hair was its normal disarray, more so with the sweat. It currently stuck out in every direction imaginable.

"1 minute, 6 seconds." Sora shouted back. Roxas groaned in horror, his face falling.

"Aw man!" He leaned against the wall for support. It was green, for some odd reason. "I only get to do this once every summer, and this is what happens? I'm a whole thirty seconds off from my normal time!" Sora and the others laughed as Roxas entered mope mode.

"Just admit it Roxas," Hayner snickered. "You're as fast as an old lady. And as short as one." Roxas jumped up at that, unaware of how precariously he was perched on the ledge.

"What did you say? C'mon Hayner, say it- whoa!" Roxas, in the midst of his anger rant, toppled off the side of the rooftop, away from the group. The last they saw of him was his arms flailing. A string of curses rose up as a dull thump! rang out.

"Omigosh, Roxas!" Olette and Kairi dashed forward as the guys laughed, Sora falling flat on the ground. All except Riku, who was still under the bridge, snickering and trying not to laugh (because it was immature).

Roxas had fallen on top of two seniors from Twilight High, two years older than him. He rubbed his head in confusion and pain, and started at a grunt underneath him. He looked down. Roxas was currently sitting on the stomach of a very annoyed looking red head.

"Get. Off." He growled. Roxas scrambled up, careful not to cause any more pain to his victim.

"I'm so sorry!" Roxas yelped, giving the red head a hand. Which proved futile, for once the redhead had taken Roxas's hand and pulled to stand up, Roxas was pulled down instead of helping the redhead up.

"Maybe not, shorty," the red head snickered, pushing against the floor and pulling them both up. Roxas felt his ears go red in annoyance and embarrassment.

"I'm not short, I'm just not as tall as you!" He protested. Another laugh joined in with the red head's.

"In other words," a blonde mohawked kid snickered in front of him, stepping out from behind the very tall redhead and leaning an arm against his shoulder, "you're short." Roxas was about to protest again when he heard Kairi shout his name. A moment later she sped around the corner, only to stop short. She stared at the redhead in shock.

"Hey there little girl," he smirked. Just then Olette crashed into Kairi, peering around her shoulder in confusion. She froze too. Kairi turned and ran back around the corner. Roxas cocked his head in confusion and bewilderment as Olette scrambled after her. A moment later, Riku walked calmly around the corner, still grinning to himself, although with a twinge of irony.

"Hey Roxas. We're heading back to the group. Now." He grabbed Roxas's collar and dragged him off, much to the blonde's protests. The redhead smirked.

"The name's Axel. Got it memorized?" He shouted as the blonde vanished around the corner.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Roxas, I think you are a magnet for trouble sometimes." Riku sighed as he tossed the protesting blonde into the usual spot, shielding his injured arm behind him. Everyone was already waiting anxiously.

"What'd I do?" Roxas asked, confusion adorning his features, as he stumbled forward. Sora joined him on the floor, equally confused.

"Yeah, what happened?" The brunette asked, his own voice saturated with confusion. Apparently he'd had to be dragged as well, just for sheer lack of understanding. Riku snorted.

"Little Roxas here fell on Axel, one of the toughest guys in town." Silence. "Rumor says he knocked three teeth out of a kid for stepping on his foot," the pale boy elaborated. Roxas stared at Riku, horror and realization dawning on his face.

"And I…" Roxas's voice faltered.

"Squashed him." Riku smirked again. "I'm not joking. You're a magnet for trouble." Roxas frowned slightly.

"And he could do possibly… what to me?" Roxas asked hopefully, perhaps wanting to hear that all that he would receive was a hit on the shoulder or something.

"I don't know," Riku answered, taking a seat beside Kairi and crossing his arms. He looked thoughtful. "When I heard the rumor about Axel hitting some guy for so paltry a reason as stepping on his foot, I was surprised. He's usually a generally good person. Maybe pulls a few pranks… Maybe he just didn't like the guy."

"He didn't seem mean," Roxas muttered, hope still saturating his voice. How he prayed he was right. Sora patted his shoulder.

"It's all right Roxas, you can hide at my house until he forgets, so we don't take any chances." Sora said, attempting to assuage his friend's horror.

"Axel doesn't forget," Pence sighed. Namine sat silently next to him, drawing as usual. It was hard to say if she actually knew what was going on. A knock on the wall next to the opening sent Roxas sliding under a chair, terror lining his features at the thought of the looming redhead, come to collect his beating privilege.

"Yo, it's Seifer, ya know?" Rai's voice flitted into the opening. The group laughed as Roxas crawled out from under the chair in relief. He made a face of disgust, mirroring that of Hayner's, the only one not laughing. Seifer was not an enjoyed person in the group, most especially between the two blondes. His gang consisted of Rai, the town idiot, and Fuu, the town mute.

"Seifer, what do YOU want?" Hayner yelled back. He looked ticked off. He always did when Seifer was present. His body signals didn't exactly say otherwise, either, as his hands opened and closed angrily.

"Just wanted to have a good laugh." Seifer peered in through the flap. Roxas had hidden again, this time behind the couch. He sneered. "Looks like the victim of the day isn't even here. He must've run home to mommy. Hah!" And with a flourish of rude gestures towards Hayner (who immediately tried to run after him, but was stopped by Olette and Pence pouncing on him and holding him on the ground in a strangle hold), they were gone. Roxas peeked out from behind the couch. Even Hayner snickered, let up by Olette and Pence once it was assured that Seifer was out of firing range. Namine just sat in silence, still drawing.

"Is he gone?" Roxas whispered. Laughter broke out again, this time without Sora.

"Come on, Roxas," Sora said to the miffed blonde. "Let's go get some sea salt ice cream." They walked out of the hangout spot and headed in the general direction of the ice cream shop, careful to avoid places where people usually walked. They kept a sharp lookout for either Seifer's gang or Axel's. Axel's gang wore trademark black robes, black boots, black everything, whereas Seifer's was more of just him, Fuu, and Rai, without any special uniforms. Just three teens, two of which followed Seifer like shadows, all of them bent on stopping all gang violence (excepting of course Seifer's, because they were so unstoppable). They usually turned their heads and ignored Axel and his gang's bad activities. Rai was a full-bred idiot, and Fuu never talked. Or at least, when she did she only ever made little snippets of sentence structures. Her conversations usually consisted of one word. A speech was two words, and a novel three.

"Do you see them?" Roxas whispered, the two hiding behind a trashcan.

"Nope," Sora sighed in relief. "Coast is clear." He frowned as the two stepped out to race to the next hiding point, a bench. "I heard the guys talking about Axel and his gang. Before you came, of course." The reference to their own group as a gang was misleading. They were all just a large group of friends. Axel's on the other hand… they were a gang. Literally. They usually hung out in the city. "They were… surprised that Axel would come here, this far away from their gang's usual spot." Sora said, his brow furrowed in thought. Roxas frowned too.

"Why is that, do you think?" Roxas whispered back to the brunette. Both of their big, blue eyes were clouded in thought, so they didn't realize they'd slowed to a walk. And that they were being trailed. They barely noticed their stalkers walking right up behind them.

"So we can find some new toys to play with." A voice whispered in between the two boys. Sora jumped, and Roxas whirled around, his face going pale.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't our newest buddy, Roxas," Axel smirked behind the mohawked kid, the one who had spoken in between the two boys.

"The name's Demyx," the mohawked kid said, as if he could read Roxas's mind. Roxas glanced at a trembling Sora, who returned it. They had to buy some time before they could run. Size doesn't encourage speed.

"Ah, uh, what do you mean?" Roxas asked innocently.

"I mean, we're bored as heck with the stupid, stuck-up twerps near our spot." Axel advanced toward poor Roxas, who flinched. "Shorty," he added with a smirk. His green eyes seemed to glow brightly. Roxas blinked again.

"I'm NOT short." He replied, miffed. Sora touched his shoulder. An idea hit Roxas, and he threw his finger in the direction behind Axel and Demyx, shock and disbelief filling his face. "Whoa, that guy's dog just… farted out fire!" Roxas shouted, hopping excitedly up and down. Axel and Demyx automatically turned to look without thinking. Roxas and Sora turned and ran as fast as they could, thrusting their legs into every step they took, trying to make their strides longer. "What now?" Roxas gasped.

"Trams! We'll get to the sunset terrace!" Sora shouted. They changed course, sprinting up to the tram common. Today was the Student tickets/ride free day, thank goodness. They raced into the tram, much to the annoyance of a certain redhead and blonde Mohawk.

"Damn they're good." Axel grinned, Demyx standing next to him, watching as the tram slid away. "This is the most fun I've had since that fire!" The redhead crowed in delight. Demyx rolled his eyes.

"Just don't go breaking him, 'kay?" Demyx whined. Axel laughed evilly. Demyx rolled his eyes again and trudged off to the tunnels. "If you want to catch up to them Ax, we'd better start running," Demyx warned. Axel ran ahead of Demyx, a grin on his face, fire lighting up his eyes.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I think we lost them," Roxas whispered from under one of the bushes on the terrace. Sora hissed at him to be quiet. Right then Axel and Demyx raced up the hill, looked around, and cursed. They turned and walked back down the hill, rattling off locations to each other. Roxas waited until he couldn't hear them anymore before stepping out and sitting on the bench, his aching back protesting against the sudden movement.

"Roxas!" Sora hissed. "What are you doing?" The brunette's spiky hair popped out from under the bench Roxas was sitting on. His blue eyes were wide in fear. 'What if Axel comes back?" He whispered hoarsely.

"My back hurts." Roxas hissed back. "It's just for a moment," he added, groaning as he stretched out his sore back. Sora sighed, shaking his bushy hair.

"I'm gonna go see if they have the tunnels blocked off. Maybe we can get to my house by using them," Sora said, standing as well. He pointed a finger at Roxas. "DON'T move an INCH, and keep an eye out!" Roxas waved a hand at Sora, and the brunette jogged down the hill, the green trees swaying in the wind from his movement. Roxas closed his eyes, dropping his head between his knees.

"Mind if I sit with you?" A quiet voice drifted down to Roxas's head. He glanced up at a pale haired boy with glasses on. Long bangs covered his right eye. Roxas nodded, straightening. The boy sat down. He was probably the same age as Axel, or at least near to it.

"My name is Zexion." His voice was a whisper, and unnaturally quiet. He looked inquiringly at Roxas.

"Roxas." The blonde said in return. He frowned. "Have you seen any sadistic redheads around?" Roxas stood nervously, turning to face the blue-haired teen. Zexion laughed.

"No, I haven't. I don't suppose he's chasing you?" He inquired. Roxas nodded, but froze in the act of it. He glanced at Zexion's dark, black robes, having noticed them before.

"Er, so, what're you doing here?" Roxas asked nervously. Zexion blinked and laughed. His eyes lit up, narrowing marginally.

"Well, you see," Zexion started, "my friend sent me up here to do him a favor. He thought perhaps I could help him locate a short little sophomore kid. I wouldn't call him sadistic, but he is a redhead. He only told me that this kid was blonde, with blue eyes. And VERY small." His eyes glinted at Roxas, who could feel a sudden cold sweat dripping down his back, despite the cooling air. "Know anyone like that?" Zexion asked innocently, his one eye glinting mischievously, as Roxas slowly stood from the bench.

Roxas began to back away, but his back hit something solid. He looked up, and his face paled visibly. Axel snickered at the crestfallen Roxas, having snuck up behind him after he'd stood up to face Zexion. He'd somehow managed to climb up the cliff beside them, completely escaping Roxas's attention.

"Shit," Roxas muttered as the red head lowered his hands onto Roxas's shoulders, making the blonde shiver. Quickly, he slid under Axel's legs and shot off down the hill. As he touched the granite of the town sidewalk, Sora came into view. "Sora, run!" He practically screamed. Sora caught sight of Axel sprinting after Roxas and immediately turned and ran toward the tunnels. Roxas could hear Axel's long legs catching up to him. "Shit shit shit shit shit SHIT!" Roxas yelled. He dodged under a low bridge, and Axel momentarily stopped. Roxas splashed through the tranquil river and sprinted around another building to see Sora waiting anxiously in the mouth of the tunnel entrance. "Go!" Roxas shouted as he dodged around a smaller tram, different from the one they took to get here. Sora saw him and ran in. Once again Roxas could hear Axel's long legs. "I'm not gonna make it!" He howled. He sprinted into the tunnel, and Sora dragged him behind a pillar. They stood, trying hard not to breathe too loudly. Silence.

"This way!" Axel ran in, followed more slowly by a hyperventilating Demyx and a smug Zexion. "Ah shit, I think he went this way!" Axel ran into the smaller tunnels that branched off all over underneath Twilight Town and the Terrace. Zexion leaned against Roxas's pillar, Demyx against Sora's. The two shot each other a horrified glance, scooting out of the line of sight.

"What's with Axel and this Roxas kid?" Zexion muttered curiously. "He's never had this much interest in his prey." Demyx shrugged, unresponsive. "Wasn't he over this?" Zexion pressed.

"You should know by now." Demyx blinked, looking embarrassed. "Apparently this kid's different."

"So he's the one?" Zexion said softly. Sora shot a glance at Roxas, but Roxas was too far gone into the conversation going on behind them to notice. Axel ran in then. Sora nearly screeched when the redhead almost saw him.

"Damn, he got away." He sighed, brushing a hand through his hair. "Oh well. He's got to come to school some time." He sauntered out, smirking. Zexion chuckled and followed. Sighing, Demyx was the last to leave, scuffing his shoe against the paved tunnel.

"So much for normality," he muttered on his way out. Roxas finally gasped, collapsing on the floor in a heap. Sora slid down to sit next to the blonde.

"What do you think they meant, 'so he's the one'?" He whispered. Roxas took a few moments to reassemble his thoughts.

"I don't know." He finally whispered. He groaned suddenly, as if in pain.

"What's wrong?" Sora whispered.

"School!" Roxas groaned. Sora laughed. It was a strained laugh, however, and it died quickly as Sora helped his friend up off the floor.

Things had finally seemed to be getting normal, and then this happens?

Let's face it. Sora and Roxas never had a normal life.