"Give it back, Roxas!"

Roxas laughed and darted away from his brother's grip, smirking wildly. Sora overreached, missed him by mere centimetres, and proceeded to fall face-first on the floor. The brunet dropped his soft, brown Neko ears and looked at his brother with eyes overflowing with hurt and mistrust.

When Sora sniffled, Roxas proceeded to curl the ribbon over his fingers and stood atop the kitchen table. His white ears were up and alert, listening for any indication that Zack might have returned. He swished his white tail behind him in excitement and held the ribbon up to his face, ripping it slowly.

"Well, well. Looks like lover-boy's been giving you presents again, huh? How about I send him a little message back?"

"You do and I swear to the Goddess there'll be no safe place left for you!" Sora growled through gritted teeth. He clenched his fists and folded his ears back, utterly tense.

Roxas raised an amused eyebrow and jumped out of Sora's reach, laughing at his brother's scowl. "Like I need a place to hide. We both know you couldn't catch me even if you wanted to," he grinned, fraying the ribbon further.

"Roxas, you do and I swear I'll tell Cloud and Zack!"

The ribbon continued ripping until the sound vanished. Roxas smirked at the two jagged pieces he held in his hands, happy with his handiwork and his brother's forming temper. There was an unnatural twitch in Sora's left eye, and he breathed deep. For a few moments silence lasted. Then the twitch fled, and Sora released an enraged snarl.

"That is it! You're dead!"

The brunet jumped onto the unit, snatching at the torn fabric and wrestling Roxas for it. They scuffled for the broken treasure. Roxas shoved Sora hard, striking him in the chest, and the younger Neko landed with a wince on the floor. He rubbed the back of his head, glared up at his brother, and scowled at the triumphant grin before he pushed his lower lip out in defeat. He folded his ears half-over and dropped his gaze to the floor, summoning up a hurt tone and speaking in a false whimper—his last resort when strength failed him.

"Roxas, please give it back. I'm not kidding; I really will tell Cloud and Zack."

Roxas scoffed. The threat settled heavy on his mind, but he wasn't prepared to stop having fun just yet. "You're such a tattle-tale, Sora. If you want it so badly why don't you come get it?"

The blond held the fabric over his brother's head, laughing when Sora jumped to try and reach it. But with each jump the brunet's hands would clamp around nothing, and Roxas would raise the material higher.

"No fair! I'm only small, Roxas."

"We're twins, Sora. We're the same age, height, weight—"

"Yeah, but you're older than me," Sora argued. "Why are you always so mean to me?"

"I'm toughening you up." Roxas sat on the top, dangling his legs over the side and handing his brother the torn ribbon. "You know I'd never do anything serious to hurt you. Oh, and that whole 'you're older than me' crap, is crap. I'm older than you by two minutes."

"Two minutes and thirty six seconds," Sora corrected, hugging his treasure to his chest.

"Whatever. Just don't let Cloud know Riku's giving you things again; he'd hit the ceiling."

Sora laughed and hugged his brother tight before he scampered away and up the steps, yelling a promise over his shoulder to hide the ribbon and slamming the bedroom door. Roxas flinched to hear it and looked at the falling sun outside the window. It was five p.m.; Cloud wouldn't be back until eight.

He walked into the other room with a sigh, grabbing his bag and throwing himself down onto the rough seats. He upended it onto the coffee table, rummaging through it, moving aside the crumpled pieces of paper, ink, and half-eaten scraps of food until finally he came across the wallet tucked beneath the secret flap at the very bottom. The brown leather was rough between his fingers and the scent of straw and ash was strong, filling his nostrils with the comforting scent. His tail swished happily, and he found himself purring quietly. With a small smile he let the vibrations tingle his throat.

The wallet was his father's… or it used to be, at least. But after their mother had given birth to Sora and himself she had died, and their father had soon followed her with a broken heart. Cloud had been left all alone to bring up two troublesome young Nekos. Roxas smiled in the quiet space. He knew it couldn't have been easy, but Cloud had done such a good job. Their big brother had raised them for sixteen years, and not once had he taken a day off work.

Roxas snapped out of his daze with a shake of his head and opened the wallet. It was empty of all money, but he cherished it. There was a small picture of his mother and father with a seven-year-old Cloud, all three of them happy and smiling as they flashed toothy grins for the artist that painted their portrait miniature. He trailed his fingers over the image sadly, seeing himself in their mother and Sora in their father.

He wiped away the beginning of a tear and laid the picture down. Inside the wallet there was also a small, blue gambling chip; a dirty, yellow note that was written in a language he couldn't begin to comprehend; and a glowing, blue gem that was unlike anything he had ever seen before. The stone was cold to the touch, almost like ice, and it was shaped like a tear—a perfectly formed crystallized drop of sadness etched in divine formation. It was small, no bigger than a few centimetres, and yet there was something about it that Roxas found fascinating.

A loud beckoning knock had him looking up. He flattened his white ears and shoved the contents back into the wallet, throwing it into the bag and hiding it by the corner of the room. He frowned; they weren't expecting anyone.

He walked to the door and glanced up the steps. Sora stood at the top, staring between his twin and the door quizzically with just one ear up. With a finger placed gently to his lips, Roxas grabbed the blunt sword that rested by the door. Holding it tight, he undid the rusted iron locks, opened it a crack and poked his head out, looking through the doorway.

"Cloud?"

Roxas pulled the door back and helped his brother inside, closing and locking it behind him as Sora's thunderous steps pounded down the stairs. He put the sword back in place and turned to his older brother. Cloud's ears were down and his eyes were dull, but a faint smile was on his face as he ruffled Sora's hair. When he sank onto the sofa he did so with a grimace and a gaunt look, too preoccupied to notice that Sora was practically bouncing off the walls to have his brother home early. Roxas shushed the brunet and turned to Cloud with a worried frown, still stood in the doorway and unsure of what to make of it.

"Why are you home early?"

The younger blond hadn't meant the question to be rude, but there had yet to be an occasion Cloud deemed fit enough to leave work. It was too hard to get employment within the city and he couldn't risk losing his job, especially not since there were rumours of war skulking through the streets and poverty hanging over their necks like Death's rustic sword.

Cloud looked at him briefly before his gaze was stolen away by his suddenly interesting hands. When he finally spoke his voice was hollow and grave. "It's The Neko Council… They've called a meeting over the war situation."

Sora stilled, sitting cross legged on the floor with both ears perked up. The twins stared at their older brother with curious concern and bated breath.

Finally, after a long stretch of nervous silence, Cloud spoke again.

"Because of the floods last year…"

They all shivered in remembrance. The water had been so cold people had frozen after mere minutes within the icy waves. Their small family had been lucky to make it out alive.

Cloud swallowed the heavy lump in his throat and continued. "Well, a lot of soldiers were lost that year, so the Neko King has personally demanded a toll be placed on the city."

"A toll?" Sora asked. "For what? There's barely enough food to go around as it is. What more can he tax?"

Roxas shook his head. "The king isn't talking about food… is he, Cloud?"

Cloud looked at them and rubbed his knuckles insistently. He swallowed hard and turned from them. "They're demanding one male over the age of fifteen to be given to the Royal Army as tribute to the Royal Family in protection of the city. We're supporting our allies in the war. The king has decided."

Roxas winced to see his brother grasp his blond hair. Cloud growled, his teeth barred as he closed his eyes in dejection. Sora furrowed his brows, staring between his brothers and still trying to grasp at the threads of what the Neko King and The Neko Council had ordered.

"Roxas, I don't… I don't…" He turned to his twin. "What's Cloud talking about? What does it mean for us?"

"It means one of us…" Roxas swallowed hard and looked between them all. "One of us is going to war, Sora. They're separating us."

The horror on Sora's face was mirrored in his brothers'. They all knew what was meant by a 'tribute to the Royal Family'. The 'allies', as they called themselves, were fighting against the Inu, Tora, and Ookami nations—the most vicious kingdoms on the continent. There was only one thing that meant…

Whoever went to war wasn't coming back.

Author's Notes:

Thank you to anyone who read and I hope you enjoyed!

There is a glossary below for anyone who doesn't know the Japanese terms.

Buta – Pig

Hitsuji – Sheep

Inu – Dog

Kitsune – Fox

Kuma – Bear

Neko – Cat

Nezumi – Mouse

Ookami – Wolf

Raion – Lion

Saru – Monkey

Shika – Deer

Tora – Tiger

Tori – Bird

Uma – Horse

Ushi – Cow/Oxen