"Let's play hide and seek! Count to ten!"

"Hehe, he won't find me here!"

"…"

"This is getting boring."

"…Roxas?"

"Roxas where are you? Roxy? ROXAS?!?"

"MAMA! PAPA!"

"Hey, wake up sleepy head!" Roxas yawns and rolled over, trying to ignore the loud, annoying thing above him. "Up and at 'em! We have important visitors today."

"Fzghtz." Was his only reply until a pillow banged against his head. "Ow! Axel!" Roxas jerked out of his pleasant dreams to glare at his best friend and brother. The redhead was grinning down at him, pleased with the response he'd gotten.

They couldn't have looked more different. Axel was tall and gangling, going through an unfortunate growth spurt at the moment. Roxas was tiny and compact, two years younger than his friend. They were brothers by adoption but in no way blood relations, and Roxas was glad. Some of the feelings he held for Axel were anything but brotherly and the redhead was showing signs of reciprocating. Maybe it was a little sick but Roxas didn't think so. They hadn't met until he was six and Axel was eight.

"Stop woolgathering!" Roxas winced as he was prodded again and dutifully got out of bed, stripping and washing off his hair in a basin. Roxas caught Axel playfully leering at his buns and shoved the dirty water at his friend, almost slopping it over him. "Woah hey, my clothes!"

"Stop staring at my ass and throw that out." Roxas said sharply and Axel grinned, carrying the basin out and tossing it in the street. Sanitation was pretty rudimentary in this little town and there was no real plumbing to speak of. Fortunately there was a very good well and their elder brother went to fetch water every morning.

Most of the world had luxuries like indoor plumbing and electricity but for Roxas and his brothers those had always been passing conditions. For a brief while he'd lived in Baraba, the capital city of Altica and had gotten to experience those things. He'd also learned how to live in the nastiest streets and how to survive among gangs and other viciousness. He'd been glad when his mother had decided to take another rural placement. Plumbing that broke down half the time wasn't worth Axel and Reno having to beat up a gang member who thought he could rape Roxas in the school shower. Things could have gotten really ugly in a hurry if they hadn't heard the ruckus and come running. Roxas put that out of his mind as he put on his finest clothes. Usually reserved for church functions, they were dark brown pants and a creamy dress shirt with an embroidered vest. Axel's clothes were almost identical although his vest had a tiny white silk flower pinned to it. Roxas vaguely wondered where he'd gotten it then decided he didn't care. It looked a little silly really.

"Are you boys ready?" Their mother stepped into the room and Roxas met her soft green eyes and nodded with a smile. She was very beautiful with red hair the same shade as Axel's. Her face and body were beginning to show her age and there were a few grey hairs in that red mane, but only a few. Roxas knew that many of the boys their age in the village had the hots for his mom. "Good. They'll be here soon."

"Along with the camera crews." Axel grinned and Roxas laughed as their older brother stepped into the room. Reno was flamboyantly handsome with his red hair, blue eyes and wonderful body. Roxas thought he was a good view of how Axel would look when he finished growing.

"Don't be disrespectful lad." Their father admonished from the front room. He had thick, chocolate hair, eyes as blue as Reno's and a friendly, open smile. "Even if they are doing this mostly for the publicity it will benefit us."

"Yes dad." Reno said obediently then grimaced as his father began picking up the letters he'd written. They were thank you notes to their funders and Roxas knew Reno didn't like the way their father humbled himself writing them. But Roxas thought dad had a point that saying thank you would keep them in people's minds. Besides, it was just the decent thing to do.

The family left the small wooden house and began walking down the street to the helicopter pad. A nanny goat butted Roxas and tried to chew on his vest before he shood her away. The livestock was everywhere and not even an act of god could change that. Roxas vaguely wondered what the visitors would make of it and figured they would likely be appalled. Especially when they had to use the toilets.

The villagers parted respectfully for them as they walked up their place in the greeting area. Their mother was a respected Doctressa, as they called her here. She tended to the hurts of the villagers and often used minor healing magic and herbal potions to help them. A combination of doctor and herbal wise woman she was invaluable to the area. Their father was equally valuable in a different way, a very good teacher who helped the children realize their potential. Not many of them went on to the Universities, true, but most could read and write when he was done with them. And sometimes his father ignited a real fire in one of his students and they managed to go and learn more. His father treasured those moments. Roxas vaguely knew his parents had originally come from a rich land but it was hard to imagine. To him, this place was home.

The helicopter was coming in for a landing and Roxas shielded his eyes for a moment as it tossed up dust. Soon it was safely landed and people began to climb out. Roxas smiled for a moment as he saw their clothing. He hoped it was their idea of Sunday best because if it wasn't, they were more alien than he could imagine. The woman was wearing a gauzy outfit that was easily capturing the attention of all the adolescent boys although it really showed nothing. Her jewels would have invited theft in the slums, if anyone had thought they were real. Long brown hair fell in a wave behind her and she looked very young but Roxas thought she wasn't. Mostly because of the boy by her side who looked his age and had matching, chocolate hair in a spiky haircut. They also had the same blue eyes and Roxas was sure they were mother and son.

"He looks like you." Axel commented and Roxas blinked, looking at the brown haired boy. Yes, they did look a lot alike. That was odd. The man that got off the helicopter next only reinforced that. He had spiky blonde hair and blue eyes and looked even more like Roxas than the boy. Roxas frowned and shook his head. He knew who his real father was and there was just no way he could be related to them. It was just a coincidence. The man and boy were both wearing suits and Roxas felt sure this had to be their Sunday best. Surely even rich people wouldn't wear suits all the time!

They were here to make a gift of a donation to build a new school and medical centre for the region. Roxas was very happy with that. In addition to giving his parents more to work with it would make their village a hub for the area. That would mean more prosperity for the villagers, most of whom were his friends. Roxas watched as his mother and father stepped forward to greet the strangers.

"Greetings! I'm Raphael Sophoni and this is my wife, Doctor Lillian Sophoni. Welcome to Shaali." Roxas wasn't that interested and ignored the adults in favor of looking at the new boy. He was staring at Roxas, his lips slightly parted. They really did look a lot alike. Axel grinned at him and the boy cautiously walked over.

"Hi. I'm Sora. What's your name?" He was still looking at Roxas which was a little odd. People usually fixated on Axel and Reno first, they were just so striking. Roxas smiled and answered.

"I'm Roxas. These are my brothers Axel and Reno." Roxas blinked as Sora took a sharp breath and his eyes seemed to mist over. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Then Sora glanced between him and the others. "You don't look much alike." Roxas sighed to himself. He got that all the time from people who were too nosy.

"I'm adopted." He said briefly and for some reason that made the other boy smile. This was a little weird. "Ow!" Roxas winced as Sora stumbled forward and grabbed his hair, yanking out a tiny bit of it. Sora immediately stepped back.

"I'm so sorry! I'm clumsy today." He apologized and Reno laughed.

"It's probably the flight. You'll feel better when the jet lag has worn off." Reno spoke from long experience. In the course of their career their parents had taken them all over the world. The only constant had been that the places they went to were poor. Sora smiled sheepishly and nodded as Roxas rubbed his head, then shrugged. The boy was clumsy but nice. It didn't really matter though. They'd only be staying a few days and then he would be gone.

So it proved. Sora's parents were both very nice and gracious but clearly a little uncomfortable with the sewage and washing arrangements. Axel, Roxas and Reno giggled about it to themselves but were careful to be respectful. They had a lot of fun with Sora, managing to get him out from under his parents watchful eyes so he could play with the goats. That was a bit hard and they were always accompanied by one of the camera crew. Not to photograph them but just to watch over Sora. Roxas wondered why they were so protective. Surely they didn't think anything could happen here! Well, accidents could happen anywhere he supposed.

Finally they bid goodbye to the little family and watched as the helicopter took off. Roxas had entirely forgotten about how Sora had pulled out a bit of his hair.

He had no idea that would change the rest of his life.

"Papa, please!" Sora tugged on his father's arm and heard him sigh.

"Sora, it's ridiculous. He can't be our Roxas, not after all this time." There was an ancient pain in his voice. Sora's twin, Roxas, had been kidnapped from them at age five. They'd expected and waited for a ransom note but nothing had ever arrived. The police had searched and searched very hard. Private detectives had tried their best. But it was as if Roxas had vanished from the face of the earth.

"We can at least get his hair tested, Kyle." His mother said softly. There was no hope in her eyes, only sad resignation. "Just to lay this to rest." She was sure Sora would pester them forever if they didn't. Sora had never given up hope that his beloved brother might be returned to them someday.

"Still ridiculous." His father muttered but Sora could tell he was weakening. "They're a very good family. I checked into them." Sora was sure he had. His father wanted to know who he was dealing with. "The thought that they would be involved with kidnappers is ludicrous!" Sora smiled as his parents squabbled a bit about the unlikliness of the Sophoni's being involved in the kidnapping. They were going to test the hair and that was all that mattered. Sora was sure he was right.

Soon he would have his brother back again.

"I can't believe it." Sora and his mother looked up as his father entered the kitchen. His mother enjoyed cooking and was preparing supper for them while Sora helped. Sora blinked as he saw his father was carrying a sheaf of papers and his face was very pale. "You were right Sora."

"Right about what?" His mother said, confused as Sora's heart leapt.

"Roxas! He is Roxas! I told you!" His mother went very pale and stared at the papers.

"…Oh my god. What do we do?" She asked her husband and he hesitated. Sora blinked at them both. Wasn't the answer obvious? They should go get Roxas!

"I don't know Zabel. We'll have to go talk to them." Sora was feeling quite bewildered now and had to speak up.

"What do you mean? We should go get him!" His parents exchanged a glance and Sora felt extremely frustrated. "What?"

"Sora, sweety, it isn't that simple." His mother said as gently as she could, giving him a hug. "It's very unlikely that family kidnapped him themselves. Actually, it's impossible. They were living in Ybara at the time, we checked." Sora blinked. That was a poor nation but not really too far from the Destiny Islands. Ships travelled from there all the time. "After your suspicions we had someone check the records and they've never visited the Islands. It's more likely they adopted Roxas in good faith that he was really an orphaned child. I don't know how that happened but I can't see any other possibility."

"Which means we can't just rip him away." His father said heavily as Sora stared at him, feeling oddly betrayed. "They could make a good case that he's their son, legally speaking. We need to talk to them. We need to see what Roxas wants."

"…Oh." Sora hadn't thought of the legal aspects. It hadn't really occurred to him that Roxas might have a life and be happy with it. He bit his lip and smothered a flare of resentment towards the family that had adopted him. It wasn't their fault. "Okay. Can we head out right away?"

"Yes. I've been making the arrangements. Go pack, we're leaving in two hours." His mother hastily took the food off the stove and Sora bolted out to get his clothes together.

He couldn't wait to see his brother again.

Roxas and Axel were helping their mother treat a cow. Roxas was vague on exactly what she was doing but he knew that his part in it involved being the muscle. Treating large animals sometimes required a lot of muscle.

"Doctressa!" Roxas grinned as their mom cursed like a sailor before looking up from what she was doing to the cow. The cow, an old milk cow, mooed pitifully. "The helicopter people are back! They say they are here to see you!" She blinked and reached up, almost smearing blood across her face before remembering the gloves on her hands. Grimacing, she looked back at the cow.

"Tell them to wait. No, take them to Raphael. Tell them I'll be there as soon as I'm done." Growling imprecations she plunged back into her work on the cow as Axel and Roxas held her steady. Finally she was done and began suturing the incision. When everything was closed and disinfected she stripped off her gloves and dumped them in a pail. "Okay. Let's go." Roxas hung up his smock and looked down at his clothes dubiously. They were his usual wear, tattered jeans and a ragged, slightly dirty t-shirt. Axel was even worse since his pants were too short, thanks to is growth spurt. His mother caught the direction of his gaze and smiled. "Don't worry Roxas. They didn't give us any warning so they can take us as we are." Her smile faded as they walked out of the clinic. "I wonder why they're back?" She sounded worried and Roxas didn't blame her. This was very unusual.

It was after lessons and Raphael had been helping some of the farmers put up a fence. Now he was entertaining their guests and Roxas was relieved to see they were in far more normal garb. But then, jeans were well nigh universal. The boy with brown hair waved at him with a smile and Roxas moved closer to Axel uneasily. The two adults were staring at him now and Raphael wasn't looking very happy.

"Lillian, maybe we should take this to the house." Raphael took her hand and she frowned before nodding. She could tell the villagers were all listening. Not surprising, this made excellent gossip. They walked over to the house and while there was no camera crew this time there were a few men along that Roxas figured had to be bodyguards. But then, they were rich and this was a poor country.

"We're here for our son." The man said abruptly as his mother shut the front door. He pulled out a sheaf of papers and handed them to her as she looked at him, baffled. "We had a son named Roxas. He was kidnapped when he was five and no sign of him was ever found. Sora took a bit of his hair when we were here… those are the results of the DNA tests. This is our son." Roxas stared at him, shocked, as Axel put his arms around him protectively.

"You have to be joking!" His father said as the Doctressa leafed through the documents, frowning. "We adopted him from a woman in Ybara. She said his father was a common laborer by the name of Sanda Roman." Roxas swallowed hard and tried to remember these people. The brown haired woman was looking at him hopefully but he couldn't remember her at all. Could this be real?

"Raphael, these tests appear to be accurate." Lillian said, troubled and glanced around. "Let's go to the kitchen and… have some tea." That was her cure for the ills of the world. The homely tasks of brewing tea helped settle her nerves as her husband looked through the papers. He wasn't a doctor and he didn't really understand them but it was something to do.

"Hi." Roxas blinked, pulled out of his shock but the soft voice. Sora. The boy was smiling at him shyly. "I knew when I saw you that you were my brother." Axel was still holding him protectively and Roxas hesitated before pulling away and giving the redhead a comforting pat.

"S'okay Axel." He muttered to his friend who looked highly dubious before turning to Sora. "Hi. I, uh, I can't remember you." He wished he could. Sora seemed to be really nice. The other boy smiled bravely.

"I know. It's okay, I wouldn't remember you either but we kept pictures. See?" Sora pulled out his datapad, something Roxas had only seen a few of in his life and scrolled through pictures. Roxas blinked as the other boy showed him a picture of two children, one with blonde hair and the other brunette, having a bath. They looked to be perhaps three.

"Oh wow. That really is you." Axel said but he sounded worried. Roxas bit his lip and nodded. This was getting more believable by the minute.

"But how could this have happened?" Sora's mother, Zabel, asked as Lillian served them all tea. Doctressa Lillian sighed and took a seat before answering.

"I think I know." She sounded reluctant but gamely went on. "We adopted Roxas from Sanda's mother, a woman by the name of Kia. She was old and living very precariously so she didn't feel that she could look after her 'grandson'. I didn't want to say this when I thought he was Roxas' father, but Sanda was a very unstable man. He was always looking for get rich quick schemes and sleeping with many women, according to his mother." And it was pretty bad when your own mother described you that way. "He was always travelling. It's conceivable he passed through the Destiny Islands."

"You think he put the boy with his mother and told her Roxas was his." Sora's father filled in. "But why didn't we receive a ransom?"

"Because Sanda stepped in front of a bus when he was drunk." Lillian said simply and everyone winced. "He must have kept his own counsel and Ybara didn't have much in the way of crystal sets back then. We adopted Roxas then left for Vitra, a small village up near Northsand. We never even heard of the kidnapping and even if we had, we wouldn't have seen pictures." Without some kind of image they would never have connected their Roxas with the kidnapped one. It wasn't a super uncommon name.

"This is a nightmare." Raphael muttered, adequately expressing Roxas' feelings. "What should we do?" There was a brief silence around the table before Kyle cleared his throat.

"He is our boy. We'll give him a very good life in the Destiny Islands with a better education than you could manage here." Raphael gave him the stink eye and Kyle spoke hastily. "Not meaning any disrespect."

"We are giving the boys an excellent education." Raphael said a bit grumpily. "Reno's been accepted to the Midrealm University for next year." That was a highly prestigious University. Kyle and Zabel both looked at the oldest boy in surprise and Reno shrugged modestly. "I make certain they're fully schooled and take the standardized tests." Not everyone could have handled that but Raphael was a truly amazing teacher. Axel liked to joke that he could make the habits of earthworms interesting.

"We could sue for custody." Zabel said and Roxas winced, curling up against Axel. Axel put an arm around his shoulders. Roxas was only twelve. That might be old enough to pick where he wanted to live but it wasn't at all certain.

"And we could fight it." Lillian returned, a hard note in our voice. "I appreciate your loss but he's been our son since he was six. We love him and we can't just let him go."

"Lillian." Raphael cautioned. He was grimly aware of how ugly a protracted lawsuit could become. Sora's family would have the edge in money but they would have an edge in the lack of treaties between the two countries. It would still be a legal mess and Roxas would be caught in the middle of it. "Roxas, what do you want?" Roxas started as the attention suddenly shifted to him.

"I – I don't know." He was intrigued by the thought of his real family. They were rich and had the kind of life he wasn't sure he wanted but had sometimes tried to imagine. And he could feel a bond to Sora already. But… "I can't leave Axel." He was deeply bonded to his brother. Reno was too old to be close to either of them, five years older than Axel and seven years older than him. But the two year difference between him and Axel had been nothing.

"Perhaps Axel could come too." Kyle said slowly as Lillian and Raphael exchanged a glance. Axel looked surprised then grinned.

"Hey, that would be neat! It would be like when we went to live with Aunty Rana for a while. Could we maybe go for six months or something?" He suggested brashly and the adults all looked thoughtful.

"Perhaps. We'll have to discuss it." Axel's father said oppressively but Axel and Roxas both had a feeling they would go for that option. Although only after a very long discussion and probably a legal contract being drawn up.

"If they both go does that mean I'd have a room to myself?" Reno remarked to the air and winced as Lillian pointed at him.

"You just volunteered to take the couch. Sora can have your bed." Reno started to protest then thought better of it. "All of you, go. We have things to discuss." The adults had a lot of things to hammer out and the children didn't need to see all of it.

This was a horrible situation but they would just have to make the best of it.