a/n: While this fic is an AkuRoku fic, it will coincide with 3 other fics I'm working on that fit into the same story line but focus on Sora/Riku, Zexion/Demyx, and Lea/Isa.

I plan to update about every 1 to 2 weeks. Rated mature for later chapters. Reviews are VERY appreciated!

"Why are you here, Axel?"

Withdrawing the cigarette from his lips and agitatedly flicking the ash off, he shifted from his resting state against the gently curving trunk of what he had been told was the famous Paopu tree, he'd never been on the teeny island before but it gave him a weird sense of nostalgia.

The redhead exhaled smoke into the late afternoon breeze, watching it swirl into nothing, "I told you it's Lea."

A pause as he Riku resisted an eye roll at the seemingly frivolous detail that Lea kept reminding them all of. Just one letter changed everything. It was the difference between cradling sick emptiness with ghost love and the harsh thud and ache of longing for someone who was no longer tangible to him. Really, what kind of fucking joke was that?

"Right, Lea. Why are you here?"

The kid was relentless. Cold as a deep-sea dive to anyone save the Destiny Island Dorks, or otherwise known as Lea's new friends.

He flashed Riku a smile, "The old man said to stick with you guys for training. I'm on Team Hero now."

A cheerful screech followed by a rain of laughter and giggling drew their attention down to the shore line where Sora and Kairi had jumped into the pink orange tinted water from the pier and were splashing each other relentlessly until they were both soaked. It was the last day of their summer vacation and they were living it to the fullest before returning to a period of quasi-normal existence. Lea turned his gaze back to Riku who watched the two tenderly with a quiet smile. Of course Riku had never lost his heart, it was trapped in his chest, heavy, caged, and full.

When the piercing blue eyes turned back to Axel they were hardened.

There was a touch of jealously in him at the little peak of Riku's heart, the content of knowing his dearest ones were just a giddy shout away. Safe and whole. The guy had what was most precious to him and he knew it.

And Lea knew he would do anything to protect it, even against those whom Sora trusted.

Not that he wasn't aware how distrustful Axel had been. Hell, Riku probably had the low down on everything that happened at Castle Oblivion if he was rubbing elbows with Ansem the Wise and Namine.

"I am grateful to you for rescuing Sora back during the Mark of Mastery exam, but why do you want to wield a keyblade?"

Lea didn't answer immediately, but stared back out into the reddened sky, watching the sun take its slow plunge into the ocean. The sunset here was noteworthy for sure, but nothing like the one in Twilight Town. Nothing could hold a candle to the fading sun on his face, the sensation of drowning in those eyes when he smiled. Lea took another drag and let it dissolve in twists.

"I have to get him back."

He chanced a look at the teenager, and Riku nodded at him, stern but understanding, before his gaze wandered back over to Sora and Kairi who were now wringing their clothes free of seawater.

The night settled in, warm sky tones shifting to a bruises as the sun began to disappear behind distant waves, an early twinkling of stars introduced the evening. Lea finished his cigarette and let it flare up between his fingers and burn into ash that the wind took.

Smoking had started before he'd lost his heart; it had begun as an anxiety reliever, the experimentation done by Xehanort and his cohorts took a toll on his mental and physical stability. He had kicked the habit as a Nobody, the comfort lost on him. But once he had regained his heart the addiction came back in full force as an attempt to fill the hole in his heart. The pack he had now he'd found in Isa's room, while searching for his friend. He remembered the stupid the fight over his bad habit, how it had escalated out of control and into rage. Into a division between them.

Now he'd had lost his two best friends and had not an inclination how to get them back. So far the quest for Isa's whereabouts had been fruitless and Roxas… He didn't even know where to begin except to stick around Sora and hope something would come up. Ienzo and Vexen agreed, grudgingly, to look into it but he'd had no word from them about it yet. He'd scoured the files at Radiant Garden, but had only run into to dead ends on the topic of Roxas's special case. There might have been something in the reports at Organization XIII's stronghold, but the path to the castle was just as lost as his best friends. Even if he could get to it, Xemnas had probably made sure to hide any information that might exist.

"If you get him hurt I'll kill you." Riku kept his eyes on the ocean.

With the threat breaking their silence, the world seemed to shift back into motion, back into the now instead of the contemplative past or future.

The redhead chuckled humorlessly, "I'd expect nothing less from you. In fact, I'd do the same in your position."

"Hey slowpokes we're going back! Are you coming!" Sora called up, hands cupped around his mouth, from the dock where Kairi waved to them, one leg already in the boat.

Even Lea couldn't help smiling at them. Sora's cheerfulness was welcomingly infections.

As they made their way back down, Lea turned to his wary confidante, "But Riku, lighten up. I've grown pretty fond of the kid." He jabbed his thumb in Sora's direction and then tapped the side of his forehead, "Got it memorized?"

So he had been officially inducted into the group of Destiny Island Dorks as honorary 'training buddy,' ordained such by Sora. Riku had, to his surprise, become his major sparring partner, and after a few rounds with the cadaverous boy that he had obtained the most bruises. It was almost as brutal as his guard training at the Radiant Garden castle. Although the better score usually belonged to Riku, Lea was never far behind. Of course it did hurt his pride a bit to be floored by a teenager.

"I'm…a little out of my element with these swords." He tapped the broad side of the wooden blade against his palm as he tried to catch a breath, attempting to hide the labor from his fellow competitor.

The wooden swords had been reinforced with magic by Yen Sid to be durable in training, since using their actual keyblades for practice would be overkill (not to mention dangerous and highly conspicuous, considering they were supposed to be staying inconspicuous for the time being) and regular wooden swords would fracture instantly when any of them clashed (which they knew because they had already tried it).

Riku chuckled darkly and regained his fighting stance, except with a tad of flaccidity and a sheen of sweat on his arms, white strands of hair plastered to his face, "You making excuses, Lea?"

Lea smirked and took to his revised stance, similar to how he fought with the chakrams, but with the handle turned towards Riku and the wooden blade behind, his free arm held up and slightly in front of him, partly in defense, partly grasping the ghost chakram he wished he had. If he was going to fight with a keyblade from now on he would have to adjust his entire fighting style. He still lagged in summoning time compared to Sora and Riku. Right now his fingers itched for a crossed handle.

"Who me? Never."

And then Riku's knees bent, he was rushing forward and Lea ducked and slipped around to his side in hopes of landing a blow across his side.

On the other side of the island, Sora and Kairi were sparring together. Both of them opted out of fighting Riku this round, since he was hardest on everyone. Lea had expected the newly appointed Keyblade Master to take it easy on Sora and especially Kairi, but he was a ruthless trainer. After sparring rounds though, he would always make sure his friends were properly hydrated and tended to any bruises or scratches they had gotten, using up his own magic even though King Mickey and Yen Sid had both strongly advised them all to avoid using magic while on the Islands.

After his turn with Riku (which he had, unfortunately lost) they met up with Sora and Kairi for a break. Sora had earnestly lost his round with Kairi, though he was far from sullen about it, in fact he always praised Kairi for her success in training, she was a quick learner. The girl was sweaty and beaming, her rubine hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, a black headband with red and pink hearts keept the bangs from her face.

Honestly, it was pretty badass that she was a Princess of Heart and a keyblade warrior.

"You're gaining on me Kairi, soon you'll be able to kick Riku's ass too." Lea commented.

At that she tossed him a pageant smile, hand on her hip and nodded, "You bet I will."

He grinned. Cheeky little thing.

"That's Master Riku." Sora added, earning a rueful smirk from said master.

"Just to you, slacker."

For the next round he was taking on Kairi while Riku and Sora sparred, it was a first that they had been partnered together. They had been at this for a couple weeks now, and around this time Kairi and Riku left to get a start on their homework, leaving Sora and Lea.

The thought of homework always made him reminiscent, he had found school too much of a bore, the work too easy, but Isa had always been on his ass about attending anyway, always reminding him of their future. Funny, how it had been Isa's idea for them to apply for assistantships in the study at the caslte and ruined any hope they'd had of a future.

"No hard feelings when you lose, right?" Kairi asked, lifting the wooden sword.

"Ooh cocky, I like it."

They had just traded blows when an "OW RIKU! YOU GOT ME OKAY?" resonated to their side of the island and the pair of redheads burst into laughter.

While Riku healed Sora's blisters and the yellowing stripe of a bruise across his back, Kairi and Lea sat on the dock by the boats watching a school of fish glide by near the shoreline.

Lea looked away from the fish to the Princess of Heart. He should say something; he'd been meaning to apologize to her for the longest but hadn't been able to find the right words. When it came down to it he could never say the right thing. It was all façade and eloquence with him until it really mattered.

He scratched his head, "Hey Kairi, how about I teach you some fire magic next week?"

She nodded vigorously and smiled up at him, "I'd love that!"

"And about...what happened with the Organization, I'm-I'm sorry."

She was still smiling at him, for some crazy reason.

"It's not just about when I kidnapped you." Wow when he said it out loud it sounded really shitty, and more than a little creepy, although it was far from the worst thing he'd done in the Organization. "I meant what I said about looking for someone I care about, and that's why I did those icky things." The stuff before Roxas left? He didn't have an excuse, and he wasn't as sorry as he should be. Before Roxas he had only been hanging onto something dead.

Kairi nodded, her smile never faltering, "I know that now. Though I didn't like you at all, at first. I thought you were like the rest of them. But when Sora told me what you did, I realized you're a lot like Riku, y'know." Her gaze fled back out to the wavering school of fish, "He would do anything to keep his friends safe, even if that meant letting darkness into his heart. But it doesn't just go one way, right? I think Riku needs Sora and me just as much as we need him. That's why I have to get stronger. I don't want to be left behind anymore; I want to protect the people I care about too. So I guess you and I are a lot alike, too."

That's why he had come back for Roxas, time and time again. He had been desperate enough to beat the shit out of him, enough to knock him out and drag him back to the Organization, (which probably hadn't been the best idea at the time), enough to turn renegade just for the chance to see his best friend again, even once. Roxas had saved him from the horrible numbness of accepting your fate as a Nobody and the finger that twisted his will around half hopes. Roxas was the spark. The light, now buried in his own darkness.

Lea smiled sadly, "I hope Roxas needs me as much as I need him."

Kairi said nothing, but gripped his hand with her own, the pressure just steadfast enough to be comforting and for a moment, as he looked at her, her eyes seemed a shade lighter and her smile a bit softer, and Lea knew the words next weren't just Kairi's.

"You're his friend, of course he does."

a/n: Please excuse my Destiny Trio + Lea indulgent first chapter, the shit storm is soon to come. This ride is gonna be half slow burn half forest fire.