Kingdom Hearts 1. Chapter 1

~Captain~

~Chapter 1~

Hi everyone! I'm back with a new yaoi story! For those of you who've read my other one, _Playground_, I promised to give you Sora's story of what happened during that time. Just because they start in a similar place doesn't mean they're that much alike haha

And for those of you who haven't read _Playground_ (the companion story to this) feel free to read either or first. But I want to get the warnings out of the way here and now, once and for all.

Warnings: violence, sex, rape, abuse, yaoi, swearing, mature content, graphic images and yada yada yada.

Hope you like!

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><p>He'd known he was being stupid when he opened his mouth. He'd even thought he had gotten really good at hiding exactly what he felt and keeping it to himself. It'd been almost a week since he'd said something snappy. Or maybe it was just a few days. Time was hard to keep track of when your days were filled with sleeping and your nights with drugs and alcohol.<p>

"You only have one client at 8 o'clock tonight in the red room." Hisa was a man who's weight was sheerly from the extravagant life he led. He just sat back, dyed his balding head a dark brown and chuckled to himself whenever he was please. Greedy, deceitful, and twisted as deep down as any man could be. What other kind of man could run a whorehouse filled with children?

"Only one?" Sora had responded from where he had hastily sat up from his bed. His head pounded but he knew better than to stay lying down like he wanted. Hisa was a petty man who needed constant reinforcement that he was still, as always, in control. But last night had been rough. Being a celebration of sorts he and his brother had chosen to stay in the club for the night and work to get more clients for later. They'd made the decision together, as always, but while Roxas was beginning to come to terms with their life Sora was still adjusting; adjusting with help from substances. For once he'd ignored the small pills he was always offered and drank any alcohol he could get his hands on. No one at the club cared he was only sixteen, only that he and his brother had gotten on stage and danced like no brothers _ever_ should together. "Wow, I thought I'd be whoring myself out nonstop for the next week after last night."

"Don't be sarcastic with me, Sora," warned Hisa. His annoyingly high voice just made Sora cringe.

"I forgot, no one wants me for my mouth, only my ass." Those words he regretted. They hadn't been completely insolent, but they had been just rude enough. He heard a door shut to the adjoined bathroom and hoped Roxas had just left the bathroom.

Then Hisa's large form was in front of him, a hand snaking out to hit him and he just hoped he didn't cry out too much. "You pathetic slut." Sora was shoved onto his stomach. Some self preservation came to Sora and he tried to get his arms under him to get himself up but it was no use. The sheer weight of Hisa was too much. He could feel a hand pushing his shoulders into the mattress. Turning his head he gasped for breath. All he could see was his brown hair and the blue sheets of his bed.

The sound of a zipper gave him one last jolt of fear. Flailing around he hoped he could jest knock the fat man off long enough for him to run. Not far, just to Roxas' room. He could lock the door, or maybe even he'd run all the way out of this damn place.

Pain rocketed up his spine fast as lightning. He cut his cry of hurt short, not wanting to get Hisa any more aroused then he clearly already was. Money was all fine and good, but Sora had been beneath Hisa enough to know what really got the man hard. Hisa lived to see those who defied him cry out in pain and humiliation. Roxas had learned not to take a tone with the man who owned them, but Sora could never fully repress the words that were dying to come out.

Panting like a dog Hisa continued to pump in and out of Sora. The brunette could feel a slick wetness easing the friction. Metallic and sharp, the smell of his blood and the pain that accompanied it was horrific. Instead of tears he tried to pull into himself, find some part of himself that wasn't hurting. Yet that was the problem. The pain kept him fully grounded in his own body and the present. He wanted nothing more than for the pain to end. No, Hisa could burn in hell. That's what he wanted most of all. "Please…" he muttered quietly even knowing Hisa wouldn't hear him.

"You're right, no one wants you for anything more than your body," Hisa said between pants. "At least your brother has some intelligence." The hand between Sora's shoulders lifted only to come down as a smack on his ass. "You're lucky _I_ still want you."

Shutting his eyes against Hisa's words, Sora tried not to think. He didn't want anything Hisa said to mean anything to him. Words were words. They were nothing important. What was important was how heavy the fat bastard was panting and how he was starting to desperately clutch at Sora. Soon, so soon…

"Dammit, Hisa!" Pounding at the door made Sora clench his fists. No matter how many times this happened Roxas, his stupid little brother Roxas, would always try to come to his rescue. "Let him go! Damn you, you fat bastard! I swear I'll kill you if you don't let him go!" He wanted to yell at Roxas, tell him to shut up, that he wasn't helping anything or anyone. Didn't he remember how Hisa used to get angry enough at Roxas' interruptions he'd climb off Sora just to have a turn with him?

In a desperate attempt to keep Hisa in his bed, away from his brother, Sora lifted his hips back into Hisa's, urging the man on. A moan that sounded like it could've come from a female let him know he was doing the right thing. Pushing back again he kept pace with him as Hisa quickened his strokes and came with a disgusting groan of pleasure.

But the pounding continued.

Sora wanted to cry as Hisa dismounted. Turning his face into the sheets he listened to Hisa yell at Roxas for being so disrespectful.

"Have you forgotten who you belong to?" Slap. "Me! I bought you and gave you a chance." Slap. "You have everything you could ever want or need." Slap. "You will both respect me!" The desperate way Roxas was coughing sounded like the air had been knocked out of him.

_That's my little brother!_ Sora wanted to scream at Hisa. Twins they may be, but he had been born first. As the older brother he was supposed to protect Roxas and keep him safe. But…

Heavy footsteps told him Hisa had come back for whatever clothes he had shed to fuck Sora. Not wanting to see anything, Sora turned his face into the covers.

Minutes later the sink turned on quickly and softer footsteps entered Sora's room. "Sora? Can I help?" The tentative question made Sora feel even worse. Hoping his brother would just go away he said nothing, even as his sweet, kind-hearted brother wiped the blood and semen from his body. Not even a thank you came out when he heard the footsteps retreating from his room and the door silently being shut.

He couldn't say it. The little brother shouldn't be taking care of the older one. It was shameful. But even worse was the slight pang of jealousy he couldn't make go away. A sick jealousy that wished Hisa still fucked Roxas too. It was wrong, so horribly wrong to wish for, but Roxas was too precious in the fat man's eyes. Twins, yes, but only fraternal. Roxas had been blessed with the looks of an angel; delicately blond and fair skinned with the same blue and blue could be eyes that Sora had yet on Roxas they seemed wide with an innocence that made people long to corrupt him. Hisa would never harm Roxas like he did Sora. Not anymore. Not when Roxas made him so much richer.

It was wrong to feel like that of course, and he knew it. But he knew for as long as they stayed here he'd never be anything more than Hisa's unwilling experimental fuck buddy. His looks were nothing remarkable, brown hair, blue eyes. Only his temperament kept him in the same grouping of whores as Roxas. Some of the clients Hisa brought to him were of a similar nature, they loved finding a whore who still had some fight to them and putting him at their mercy.

Yet it was even worse than that. Everyone said how Roxas had the most gifted mouth. Hisa had even taken Sora into his office on numerous occasions to see if Sora could gain the skill Roxas had naturally. When that didn't work Hisa found other uses for him. Everything from seeing how many little pills he could take, the combinations in which they were safe, and what else they could be taken with, to how much pain he could take, a whip cracking against his back, a butt plug as wide as a can, to how long he could be fucked without orgasming and then come on command. For weeks he used to be sick, puking up whatever else Hisa had shoved down his throat, or in bed crying from pain that didn't have a particular starting place but ended everywhere. The worst of it all though had been seeing what a failure he was in Hisa's eyes every time he fell short of his expectations.

Failure. It was something he was becoming strangely used to.

Hours went by, or so it seemed, before the door to his bedroom was opened and someone came in. Something dropped to the floor with the barest of thuds. Footsteps towards the bed brought the man close and warm hands rolled Sora over. This wasn't the first time Lexaeus had found Sora like this.

Pulling out a water bottle, Lexaeus reached into his pocket and pulled out whatever was in there. Sora considered the man as much as he considered what was being held to his lips. Two small rounded pills were pressed to his lips. His natural reaction was to press his lips tighter together but in the end he opened his mouth for the pills willingly enough. He'd need whatever was given to him to make it through the night.

When Hisa, or a client, wanted a whore in a particular condition he gave them the little pills he'd had Sora test for him. Each of the four differently colored pills granted a different condition. If the client was someone known to reach his end quickly, but be embarrassed if he was the only one a yellow pill granted the whore an even quicker release. If a whore needed the opposite, the stay hard for hours before coming they were given a blue pill. Pink ones were the worst. They left you so horny you were delirious when you never managed to finish, even after hours and hours. But Sora's favorite was the little white one Hisa had started giving him every time he had to do a job with anyone important. Within fifteen minutes the world around him would fade into a hazy dream. He never needed to remember his encounters anymore. Even while working he could forget he was a whore, no worse, a slave bought to work at the most popular club in town, the Playground.

Water washed down the pills he was offered and the giant man got him up and dressed. Ridiculously tall, Lexaeus was the man Roxas had chosen to share his body with when the man wanted sex. Ridiculously tall, the giant had short spiked brown hair that was almost intimidating if it wasn't set off by his kind blue eyes. Never once had he hurt Roxas. Not even unintentionally. The soft spot Roxas had found in him kept him protected as much as anyone could be here.

As Sora went to look at himself in the mirror he cringed. The only clothing he'd been given was a silky red robe and matching thong. It was so revealing it made him want to throw something at his reflection. "Give me something else, Lexaeus," Sora demanded, not once taking his eyes from his reflection. "Another white one, or whiskey. You always carry some." He wouldn't be able to go out like this, not dressed like this. After the humiliation of earlier he wanted so be so foggy about the details of tonight he could pretend this whole day was a dream.

"Here," Lexaeus said as he held out both items Sora wanted. Sora knew he could take up to three of the white pills without making himself sick. "You're going to want all of that."

"Why?" Popping the pill in he swallowed it with a gulp of whiskey. For a quick second he could feel the burn of the alcohol wake him up.

The long silence finally drew Sora's eyes away from himself. Lexaeus stood there, not looking at him, just looking uncomfortable. Taking another long pull from the flask Sora confronted the fact he knew. "My appointment isn't just with me is it?" He hoped the bitterness wasn't clear in his voice. It was a common thing for a client to want both brothers for a few hours but it was hard. They always chose one they liked more and eventually just went with that one brother. Most of the time it was Roxas they wanted. If he had to go through that again, seeing someone else so obviously choose him brother over him… Not again.

Finishing the rest of the flask as quickly as possible Sora nodded at Lexaeus. "I'll go wait for Roxas." Outside in the hallway that led to both of their rooms Sora leaned against the wall as Lexaeus went to get Roxas ready. He could feel everything in his body slowly taking effect. The whiskey brought a warm heat to his cheeks and the little pink pill warmth to his groin. But the best feeling of all was the haziness that was taking over his sight and his mind. It was like dreaming, almost. Nothing seemed real anymore. Even better was the fact that he couldn't keep a single thought in his mind for more than the moment it took to think it.

When Roxas finally came out of his room in his own blue robe Sora barely even knew it was his brother. Whatever he said went in one ear and out the other and Sora's own response didn't even register to his mind. The last thing he was conscious enough to remember was Roxas pulling him forward for a long kiss and the way it made Sora crave his body.

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><p>Hope you like! Remember to let me know what you think!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

~Captain~

~Chapter 2~

And I'm back with the second chapter! YAY! I'm trying to get this one written pretty quickly, not quite like _Playground_, but quickly. Most of these ideas formed when I was writing Playground but I couldn't find a way to put them all down until a few weeks ago, while trying to fall asleep. Almost a week later I finally walked all the way up to the library on campus to write this and try to get this going for all of you. It's going pretty well, but this will be taking a bit longer than the companion story. Hope you keep up and keep reading!

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><p>He needed something to get him up. He needed something to motivate him to even raise his head. The damage done to his body yesterday was obvious in the way his ass throbbed in time with his heart. Not that he'd die from it, whether that was good or not, but it did keep him safe that next day.<p>

When Hisa entered the next day Sora was still trying to get his wits back. Staring at the ceiling he tried to remember anything of the night before. Luckily he couldn't. Try as he might he couldn't think of anything. It was like last night never happened. If only it could always be like that.

"I thought maybe you'd be stronger than your brother for once, but both of you won't be doing anything useful for a while."

Did he have to remind Sora of how pathetic he was? "Sorry to be such a disappointment," he muttered. If he was a bit snarky today Hisa wouldn't do anything. He was too hurt and Hisa didn't actually want him to be crippled permanently.

"Well if you do a decent job recruiting while you recover maybe you'll find someone who actually wants you." It was a simple concept; go out and find rich men and women to seduce and bring back to the club to become members and enjoy the benefits. Even better would be if those they brought back requested for Sora or Roxas.

Sora wasn't exactly clear on how it worked, but he, Roxas and another girl named Naminé were the only actually whores for sale or rent. They had been bought by Hisa and he used them however he saw fit. They had a chance of earning their freedom but Sora had never had much of a head for numbers and math. He might be one client away from freedom or a hundred. He'd just given up on earning his way out. All other whores who were just working here for money could leave at anytime, but many chose to stay. The Playground was the most prestigious club in town and any whore would make good money here.

"I'll try my best to find another perv who wants a kid's body."

Hisa's face was turning a tomato red color; not attractive against the bad dye job. "I've already found who I want you to get." Hisa was trying to keep his cool. It was just hard when Sora could clearly see how much he wanted to just flip him over and take him again 'til he begged for mercy. "The son of a billionaire is in town with some friends, one of which is the fourth son of some king. They're here for two weeks and I want you to keep your mouth shut long enough to get them in here. Then I don't care if you have to be so delusional you can't think of your own name but you're going to make as much as your brother."

"Make as much or lose as much? 'Cause he seems to be losing a client for every two he gets." Thank whatever god there was he was injured. He really didn't want to deal with Hisa raping him again.

Instead of taking his anger out on Sora again Hisa stormed from the room, beet red, probably to vent on some whore in his employment with brown hair and blue eyes.

In the silence of his room he could hear Roxas in the shower. Hisa always woke his brother up first for some reason, probably because the blond would actually get up and do something with his day. More and more lately Sora couldn't find the energy to do anything more than lie in bed and sleep when he wasn't working.

When the shower turned off Roxas appeared in the doorway, still dripping wet. Sora didn't need to look at him to know what expression he had on. Lately Roxas had had a wounded look in his eyes. It was like an animal that was trapped and confused, abandoned by its pack. It was a look that said he was trying not to think of the things they did to each other as wrong for brothers, but something they did for survival. Crawling into the bed next to Sora he curled up against his side. For the longest time they just lay like that until Roxas' breathing deepened in slumber.

Mixed emotions stormed Sora the worst of which was guilt. He needed to get that look out of his brother's eyes. He had to put his petty jealousy aside and do something to help Roxas. He had to get him out of here.

"Mom…" Roxas always had a habit of talking in his sleep. Well, most were mutters but occasionally a word or two came out crystal clear.

"She's not here, remember?" Sora tried to make his words gentle but even he could hear the harsh truth in his words. If she hadn't died neither of them would be here.

"Yeah, just a dream," Roxas murmured. For a quick second he nuzzled closer into Sora before pushing himself up off of him. His stomach growled a bit and he gave Sora a bashful smile. Placing an ear against Sora's own stomach his smile broadened a bit. "Shall we go try to find something to eat?"

"I guess so." He didn't really want food but he needed something. Besides, if Roxas wanted Sora to go with him to get food he'd do it. Anything for his brother. He needed to start being a better big brother.

Climbing out of bed first he kept his face away from Roxas. He needed to be strong and keep him from seeing the pain on his face. With a small stretch Sora tested how badly his muscles were beaten. Taking a few steps away from the bed he reached into his dresser and pulled out two pairs of boxers, two shorts and two shirts. Being twins of the same height and body type made it easy to share clothes. It was almost like having two different wardrobes. Throwing one set towards Roxas he climbed into his own. Clearly, he wasn't as beaten up as Roxas. The blond was struggling just to get into his boxers. Sora on the other hand was done, dressed and seated back on the bed.

Roxas had finally stumbled into his clothes when there was a knock at the door. Without waiting for either of the brothers to call for them to enter. "You kiddies up?" An eye patch covered Xigbar's right eye and his long, het black hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail. He was by far the most intimidating of the bodyguard/bouncers employed at the Playground. "Oh you are! But what are you doing, going out in that?" The playful way he said everything always made Sora wary. It was like he thought of life as one big game.

"Where are we going?" Sora asked with a glare. Hell if he was going to put up with Hisa and Xigbar today.

"Huh? Hisa didn't tell you?" Scratching at his head Xigbar smiled at them. "Mr. Billionaire just landed and should be off to lunch about now." Roxas groaned where he stood. "Here," he said, throwing two wallets on the bed. "You each are getting big money this time, five grand a day to spend. You should be able to have fun with that much."

Sora tried not to grab the wallet and run. Never, _ever_, were they given that much money when they went out recruiting. It made it too tempting to run away. But with that much money Hisa must really want to impress the rich kids.

Whatever. Sora would do whatever Hisa wanted but Roxas had said he was hungry. Sora would take care of his little brother as best he could from now on, even if that was doing something as simple as making sure he ate. "Fine, but we're going to eat first." Sora tried to push past Xigbar but he wouldn't let that happen.

"Not so fast, kid." Sora hated being called kid. _Hated_. He was not a child. "You guys are going to lunch with the rich kids. Well, not with, but you're going to be at the same place." He was rambling in that way he had. "So put on real people clothes and be ready in ten!"

Both of them grumbled bit but they went to their own closets and found clothes better suited for seducing the rich. Sora found a black collared shirt, a nice pair of jeans and white tennis shoes. Yeah, it was nice enough to go out to someplace nice, but it was still casual enough he felt comfortable. He didn't like dressing up. But he'd do it this once.

"All you two kiddies have to do is hop in a taxi and get over to Fountina. It's this swanky restaurant the rich kids will be at for lunch. Thank you can do that?"

Sora tried not to bristle. Everyone seemed to think he was just a fuck up. "We'll get there fine."

"Whatever you say kid. Just go find a guy named Axel. That's the big guy Hisa wants you to get."

When Roxas came back in jut as he was doing up the last button of his shirt. His brother was dressed impeccably. White collared shirt, jeans artfully ripped and nice black shoes. Each and every one of his bruises and cuts was covered and hidden. Hell, they way they wore contrasting colors was amazing. Sora didn't even feel entirely outclassed by his brother.

"Much better kiddies," said Xigbar in that patronizing tone of his. "Now I trust you'll both be good little boys and stay out of trouble?"

"Shut up Xig," Sora growled once again as he tried to push past the older man again. When he was stopped again Sora had to try not to throw a punch at him.  
>What now?"<p>

"Don't forget these." Two small items were held out towards them. Roxas grumbled a bit at that but took the small black ring anyways. Sora took the offered keychain and placed it in his pocket. Hisa still, after all this time, didn't trust that they wouldn't run away and required them to keep the small trackers on them whenever they left.

Finally satisfied, Xigbar led them up towards the main floor of the club. The way the place was set up put all of the rooms underground with Sora and Roxas' the farthest below. The farther down a room, the higher class the whore. But on top of it all was Hisa's room and office. They were the only rooms above the club.

Approaching the front door Sora tried not to run. He wanted to be out of here. He wanted to feel free. But Roxas seemed to be hesitating. Turning towards him Sora smiled. In response, Roxas smiled back and followed him out of the club and into the fresh air. The sheer bliss of just being outside for once, in the fresh air and sunlight was amazing. It was the opposite of the drugs. Life seemed so much more vibrant and every little thing caught his attention. If he could always live like this he'd never feel the need to touch another drug. He wanted, needed, life to be like this forever. This was how he was supposed to feel!

"So where do we find this guy?" Roxas asked with a smile. That smile was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen. If he could keep that smile on Roxas' face he'd be doing his job as a big brother.

"Xig said he'll be at Fountina. We've got to get a taxi to take us there." For the first time Sora finally wondered how they were supposed to get a taxi. Neither had a phone to call them, or the number even if they did. And this area of town wouldn't have too many taxis during the day. If it was night there'd be plenty taking people to and from the club but that didn't help them now.

"Well… I guess we could walk…" Sora had a few remarks to that but he didn't want to come off as being mean so he kept his mouth shut and just started walking towards where he thought it would be. After walking a few blocks they finally stopped into a small shop and asked where the restaurant actually was. The news that it was too far to walk to buy the time lunch was done being served was crushing. If they went back now Hisa would beat them to the point of death. Well, maybe not Roxas, but Sora he would.

Depressed, Roxas went outside to sit on the bench. "This sucks."

"Naw, this isn't that bad!" Roxas had been so happy earlier. He couldn't be thinking like Sora. Those thoughts just led to more sadness. "We've basically got a day off now, don't we?" _A day where we can pretend to be normal…_

"Hisa can probably see exactly where we _aren't_ right now."

Sora didn't like Roxas being the depressed one. "So? We can still use this time to enjoy ourselves." And not think about what's going to happen when we go home. "I saw a small ice cream place half a block back. I'll go get us ice cream. Maybe they'll even have Sea Salt ice cream!" Growing up they'd always get that flavor before any other. It was sweet, yet salty and so good! Laughing a bit Sora ran off back towards the shop.

It didn't take long to get there and there wasn't much of a wait. Even better, they did have the flavor from Sora's childhood. Something as simple as ice cream made him smile again.

With a cone in each hand he took his time walking back to his brother. This freedom was nice but it was also nice to have a moment to himself; no Playground, no Hisa, and no Roxas. He needed a moment to himself every once in a while. But as he approached the bench where two blonds now sat Sora wished he had run back here. Who was talking to Roxas?

His brother heard him approach and turn to give him a stunned look. Fearful that something was wrong Sora wanted to hit something. What kind of brother was he to leave his little brother alone? Even to go get ice cream. He knew what sort of pervs were out there. Roxas was far too innocent looking to leave alone. "Who are you?" he demanded.

The other guy glanced at him and leaned over towards Roxas. "Is that your brother?" he whispered loudly. Wide, innocent, ice blue eyes were set about a mouth that seemed to have a bit of a curve of a smile to it naturally.

"I can hear you, you know!" Sora shouted. Who was this guy? He looked to be in his early twenties, but the wrong decade. Well, just his hair. Who had a mullet these days? "And yes I am. Now, who are you?"

When he through his arm around Roxas' shoulders Sora gritted his teeth. "I'm Roxas' new best friend, Demyx. Nice to meet you. When Roxas said he was going to that fountain place with his brother I pictured someone a bit…older."

Really? Fate couldn't be this kind. "Fountina?"

"Yeah, whatever. So we've bonded over that."

_Is this guy for real?_ Sora searched Roxas for an answer as he passed the first cone to Roxas and the second to Demyx who acted like a child at Christmas. Roxas' answering shrug was enough of an answer. He didn't quite know what to think either but the guy seemed real enough to them.

"I know Larxene won't eat any and neither will Riku but Axel might." While the brothers exchanged looks Demyx rambled on and on about his friends coming to join them for ice cream. "Hey, this stuff is pretty good. I've never tried this flavor before. What is it?"

"Sea Salt," Sora said in response but he was far more interested in the names. "Who's Axel?"

"Huh? Ph, he's one of the friends I was supposed to meet. We've all decided to meet here this time. We all go to different schools now, you see, so we try to get together when we can. But I got my directions all messed up and couldn't find where we were supposed to meet so I called them and they're coming here instead. It's not really my fault. See, what place doesn't have taxis everywhere…"

Shock must've been clear on his face. Roxas was staring at him. But how did they luck out enough to still find one of the rich guy's friends when they were nowhere near the place they were supposed to be?

Sitting on Roxas' side Sora took a lick from the cone he had. "If you're from different schools how do you know each other?" he asked. He wanted to get a grip on these people before they got there.

"Oh, we used to all go to the same high school. Well Riku and Zexion transferred there, but after college we all went where we were better suited to. Like me! I'm going to school for politics, of course, but I really enjoy music so I'm a double major. Not that everyone is doing what we want. Maybe if she did Larxene wouldn't always act like she had a stick up her butt, but she does and we tolerate her anyways."

If given the chance Demyx seemed the type of person to just ramble on and on without pausing for more than a breath. But Sora didn't really want to hear about that. "How many of you are here?"

"Good question. Well there's me of course, then there's Axel, Larxene, Riku, Kairi and Zexion. So there's six of us. Yep. And eight if we count you two for the day."

Six. No one had actually told them how many would be in this group but if they could get all six to the club there was a good chance at least one of them would become a member. Even better would be getting the billionaire.

Two shinny black cars pulled up in front of their bench. Sora glanced nervously at Roxas before focusing all of his attention on the people getting out of the cars. The first girl to climb out of the car in front was probably about Demyx's age and was similar in coloring; blond hair in a funny style and eyes colder than ice. Behind her came a guy of the same age range but with hair as red as a fire and spiked in the strangest way. But unlike the blue eyes the others had his were a piercing green accented by the small green tattoos that rested below each eye.

From the other car came another girl, younger than the first but older than him, maybe nineteen, with brown hair and violet eyes that made Sora want to stare. Behind her were two other guys about the same age but with silver hair. Other than their hair though they didn't share much else in common. The first had eyes the color of the summer sky at noon while the second had eyes like midnight. While their looks ranged they all had clothes that were clearly of the best quality and highest cost. Hisa would drool when he saw them.

"What? Playing babysitter now Demy?" asked the blonde girl with a sneer. She clearly didn't like the idea of spending time with two kids.

"Lay off, Larxene. They looked lonely and none of us could find a taxi." Even then Demyx had a slight smile. Could he not _not_ smile?

"And you never thought to ask your parents to send a car so you could get around?" Demyx's silence spoke volumes. "Really, you're so stupid sometimes. It's a wonder that you've survived this long on your own."

"They're kind of cute though," chimed in the brunette. She smiled at Sora and he felt a new kind of heat rise in his cheeks. She was really pretty. "Besides, why Zexion suggested we eat at such a stuffy place is a mystery. This is much more our style."

"Speak for yourself, Kairi, but those of us who's mother didn't marry into her fortune aren't uncomfortable in those places." Wow. That Larxene was a bitch. Could she say anything nice?

"Hey, Kairi has a point," interjected the red head before the girls continued fighting. "It's nice out so why not spend it outside?" Looking Sora first then Roxas he smiled a smile full of confidence. "What're your names kids?"

"It's Sora, not kid." He tried to sound as assured of himself as the red head looked. "Why does everyone keep calling me 'kid'?"

"Well, you look all of, what, fourteen? Fifteen?"

"We're sixteen!" Sora was trying to not glare at him. He really wasn't trying to get in a fight with the guys he was supposed to seduce but he did hate being called kid.

"Fifteen or sixteen, you're still kids." Sora did actually glare at the guy with the azure eyes. It was like the guy was challenging him with just a look. It was frustrating.

He wanted to say something else to make it clear he wasn't just a kid when Demyx laughed. "Wow, chill everyone," Demyx said holding his arms out in a gesture of peace. "Axel's already said it, it's gorgeous out today. What's the harm in spending the day acting like the kids we are?" No one would seem to find fault with that logic so Demyx stood and began walking towards where Sora had come from. "So who's up for ice cream?" The rest of the cone Sora had given him was still in his hand.

It was annoying. Weren't he and Roxas supposed to be in control of this situation? But instead Demyx seemed to be calling the shots. But Sora stood up when Roxas did and followed their cheerful leader anyways. He fell behind the rest as the red head went right up to Roxas and struck up a conversation. For the briefest moment Sora was jealous again. Axel, the billionaire's kid they were out to seduce, had already taken a natural liking to his brother. _But at least we didn't fail today_, Sora thought in consolation. They were in the process of doing exactly what they were supposed to.

About halfway to the shop the pretty girl, Kairi, fell back a bit to talk to him. "Hey, Sora," she said with an easy smile that made him forget his frustration and smile in return. She was really beautiful. Her eyes were like violet gemstones the sparkled with happiness.

"Hey." He wanted to say something else, something that would make her smile bigger but his wits deserted him.

"So what were you and your brother up to when Demy decided to interrupt."

"We were on our way to lunch but forgot to call a taxi before we left so we got a bit stranded and were just trying to figure out what to do." It was close enough to the truth.

She laughed a bit, not at him, but just at the strangeness of life. "I'm glad he is the way he is. We never have been the most proper of people and that restaurant was just too stuffy! Besides, now I got to meet you."

He couldn't not smile when he spoke to her. "I'm glad too. You're different than any other girl I know." Then again all the other girls he knew were whores and the women he knew where his clients.

"Really?" she giggled. "Thank you. I do try to stand out."

"Demyx said all of you are friends and are meeting up here. How'd you all end up here? Traverse town is pretty small."

"We actually came for the clubs." She couldn't have noticed his smile freezing on his face. She continued, "Every time we get together we try to go somewhere new and exciting. Traverse town is supposed to have some of the best clubs so we came here this time."

"Oh…" The happy bubble that had filled him popped. Fate was a raging bitch.

"That, and Riku and I are trying to find a good place for me to meet his parents for the first time."

"Why don't you just go visit them?"

"Well…" she giggled again. "It's kind of a big deal for him to bring someone _home._ See, he's from Radiant Garden. He's the fourth son of the King and only very serious girlfriends get to go meet his parents there. So whenever their sons meet someone they always meet them somewhere else. Traverse Town has a slight charm to it, don't you think?"

So Riku was the son of the king. But which of the silver haired guys was he? His question was answered when Kairi brought her hands up to her mouth and yelled, "Riku!" as if he wasn't just a few feet in front of her. Turning, he waited for them to catch up, azure eyes barely glancing over Sora and settling on Kairi. The way he looked at her made Sora envious. He wanted someone to look at him like he was their best friend. It said they had a history and shared things that gave them a strong bond. "Sora, this is Riku."

Riku extended his hand first. Shaking it, Sora suddenly remembered how this guy thought of him as a kid. "I'm not a kid," he said stubbornly as they began walking again.

Riku laughed a bit. "Okay, Sora. Not a kid." Kairi grabbed his hand. "So where are you from?"

"Here. I live here with my brother and our…" How to describe Hisa? "Gaurdian."

He looked like he wanted to ask more but didn't and Sora was thankful for that. He really didn't want to try to lie to them. Kairi was so sweet and even though Riku brought out every male dominant feeling in him he seemed to understand Sora with just a glance.

Everyone piled into the ice cream shop and found seats after buying their ice cream. Roxas seemed to be having a good time on his own so Sora left him alone and continued to talk to Kairi and Riku. They were genuinely nice people and Sora felt comfortable around them. Kairi was more than just kind smiles and giggles, she did have a bit of steel in her that came out whenever anyone (namely Larxene) said something to upset her. She was not the kind of person to take what she perceived as an insult lying down. Riku on the other hand was mostly steel with soft spots only for his friends. But for all that he was set in his ideas he did listen. It was also obvious how close he and Kairi were. They practically knew what the other was thinking.

Still, even if they could finish each other's sentences Sora didn't feel left out. With them it was like hanging out with friends he just hadn't seen in a long time.

But it was strange. For all that they seemed to be a couple they both insisted they weren't. Not yet at least. Not really. If Riku's parents gave their okay to their relationship then it was fine to date. Until then they were just "adult friends."

"Sora." He looked over at his brother. The slightly sad look in his eyes said everything. Riku and Kairi might be really close, but Sora and Roxas were brothers and closer than anyone.

"Yeah, we should probably head back now." Standing up he couldn't take his eyes away from the two he'd spent the afternoon with. "I'm glad we met all of you." He was speaking to everyone, but he really meant those two. They'd treated him like he was any other normal kid, introduced him to their friends like he wasn't someone to be embarrassed of. They probably didn't understand how much that meant to him.

Roxas said his own goodbyes and followed Sora out of the shop.

Neither said anything on their way back. Nothing had to be said really. They'd had an amazing day where they'd pretended to be normal for once. Sora couldn't help the small smile that came to his lips as he thought of his new friends. Not even the approaching sight of the Playground could pop his bubble of happiness. He had something Hisa couldn't take away from him.

The man who owned their lives stood right inside the doors, waiting for them to get back. For once the rage on his face didn't scare Sora. It was more than knowing he wouldn't hurt him because of their preexisting injuries. Sora finally had some of his old confidence back. Riku had reminded him of how he used to be… "Will one of you tell me why you didn't go to the restaurant and instead spent the whole day in an ice cream parlor?"

"We didn't have to, they came to us," Sora said. "We got a bit lost and ran into one of Axel's friends. He called up his other friends and they all came to meet us." The anger had left Hisa's face now and he was grinning. "So we all got ice cream and got to know them." The little chuckle said how happy Hisa was.

"So when can we be expecting them?"

"They want to come tomorrow night," Roxas said. Luckily he'd taken the time to figure that out. Sora had been having such a good time he hadn't even thought about the next steps. "You need to put six names on the list: Axel, Demyx, Larxene, Kairi, Riku and Zexion."

"Ah boys, you've done me proud! Forget about any appointments this week! Feel free to relax. Just make sure you hook them in the end."

Sora couldn't care less about seducing any of them anymore. He just wanted to see them again. "Yeah, whate-" he started saying when Roxas interrupted.

"They aren't interested in us like that. They think we're kids. None of them are going to pay to sleep with us." Well, at least he was willing to point out the painful truth.

"Really? And you can't do something to change their minds?" Roxas shook his head sadly. Sad over the state of things. He clearly wanted to just be friends with them as well. "Well, then we will figure something else out, won't we?"

As Hisa hurried away Sora took Roxas' hand. "It'll be fine. Come on, we can take a bath and you should tell me about your afternoon." He didn't want to get Roxas into the bath to get him naked. He still wasn't okay with all of the things they were forced to do here for the sake of money. But he wanted some comfort right now. He wanted to be close to his brother. They'd been born together and were meant to be together. Somewhere though, Sora had forgotten just how important Roxas was to him. Riku and Kairi had helped him remember.

He was scrubbing Roxas' back as his brother told him what he thought of their day. "Larxene's kind of mean," he said with a sigh. He had always loved warm baths. "But everyone else is really nice. Well, I only really spoke to Demyx and Axel. But when Zexion and Demyx got into that fight Zexion seemed really smart. And Axel isn't anything like what I thought a rich kid would be. He's really nice, Sora."

"They're all really nice. They met each other in high school." He watched the suds run from his back as he poured water over them. "Axel, Larxene, Demyx and Kairi had all gone to the same high school. Kairi had skipped two grades because she was so smart and that's how she met them, their junior year. Then Riku and Zexion had come as transfer students from overseas. Since they'd both been home schooled they ended up being placed in the same grade as the others."

"Why'd they change schools?"

"For the experience. Riku's only the fourth son so he'll never be king, but he wants to still help out his family. So he's getting to know all sorts of places for experience. Zexion always goes with him and Kairi does too sometimes. But he and Kairi are just "adult friends" as they say." Sora laughed. "If only I'd told them I'm more adult than them!"

Roxas laughed too, but it seemed a bit forced. Mentally cursing himself, Sora hoped he hadn't upset his brother. He hadn't meant to remind him of their situation. More, he'd meant to make fun of it. Unsure of what else to say Sora continued to pour water over his back. When the silence got to be too much he hugged Roxas from behind. "I feel like I might as well have known them my whole life! Roxas, I need to see them again."

"They'll be here tomorrow night," he responded placing his hand on Sora's arm. He gave Sora a comfort he hadn't realized he'd needed until that moment. "You'll see them then." He seemed to have more to say but when he didn't Sora didn't push. He couldn't take his brother ruining his happy bubble. Besides, Roxas had always been far more wary then he had. And why be cautious when life was finally turning around for the better?

The warmth next to him squirmed. In response Sora pushed it a bit. Not away, he liked the body warmth too much, more of a warning push to say 'stop moving before I throw you out of the bed'. It just squirmed again.

Awake and mildly grumpy Sora sat up and glared down at Roxas lying next to him. Bruises covered almost every inch of him still though some were already fading to a sickly yellow color, a few even were green. But most were still a dark purple. The sight made him sad for a quick second until he remembered why Roxas was in his bed. It hadn't been for comfort. They'd been up late talking about their day out with their new friends. Well, Sora thought they were friends. They had been so nice and the connection he'd felt was something he didn't share with the people here.

He wanted to be their friend.

"Wake up Roxas." His brother curled tighter into Sora. Heaving a happy sigh he slipped out of bed, not waking Roxas. Ice cream wasn't much of a meal and he was starving. Throwing on the clothes he'd left on the floor he walked barefooted up to the kitchen. It was still early in the afternoon and many people were still asleep. No one he really wanted to talk to was there so he got a large sub filled to the brink with meat and grabbed Roxas a salami sandwich, his favorite. Taking them back to his room, well, half of his sub was already gone by the time he'd gotten back, he set Roxas' on the nightstand next to the bed and finished his own.

Since his brother was still asleep he decided to crawl back to bed with him. Not for long. Just for a bit. He didn't want to sleep, just to be close to his brother. He was so excited to see Riku and Kairi again. Roxas had said they'd be coming tonight. It was going to be fun. He wasn't quite sure how'd they take the fact that he was a whore, but both Riku and Kairi were such nice, open-minded people he was sure they'd understand if he explained it to them. It wasn't like this was his first choice of a lifestyle.

A while later, Roxas finally woke up and devoured the offered sandwich. For a while the brothers just sat together, enjoying each other's company. But something was off. For as happy as Sora was Roxas seemed to dread tonight. It was like he was looking forward to an unpleasant client coming in. When he suggested they start getting ready Sora would've thought he just wanted to get away from him if he hadn't come back into Sora's room with his clothes.

Shortly after they'd arrived here Roxas had developed an aversion to anyone touching his bare skin while they were on the main dance floor of the club. The onetime Sora asked him why it bothered him so much he had been told how the dance floor was the one place he could choose who touched his skin. It was enough. Sora could understand. Some days having anyone touch him made him cringe and feel dirty. But he hadn't felt that way in so long he'd almost forgotten how unpleasant it was. Instead he just tried to forget. But Roxas couldn't. So he put on a leather pants so tight he couldn't wear boxers under them and sheer shirt that barely his anything but had long sleeves and gloves. He'd be burning up while dancing but it kept people from touching his skin directly.

Not quite possessing his brother's aversion to physical contact, Sora slipped into a tight pair of jeans and comfortable boots. The only thing that really made him stand out was the dark silver shirt he wore. It clung to his small frame. If he was a bit more muscled he could fill it out even better but since he was doomed to be skinny he was pleased by how it fit him.

Around midnight he heard Roxas sigh. "It's almost midnight. They're probably here by now. We should get up there before Hisa sends someone looking for us." In response Sora only nodded. He just wanted to go find them. Only Roxas telling him they probably wouldn't even show up until midnight had kept him so restrained.

Throughout the halls leading up to the main dance floor were whores getting ready. Hisa had spread the word that there were some important guests here tonight and everyone wanted them as clients. Not that it really bugged Sora. He didn't want them in that way; he just wanted to be friends. But when he and Roxas stepped onto the dance floor he was accosted by a regular client of his.

"Come dance with me." The grip she had on his arm meant she wanted more than a dance. Glancing at his brother he had no choice but to follow the woman who was three times his age. She was still relatively attractive for a woman her age, and he knew her husband had also aged rather gracefully. But that didn't make seeing her any easier. His whole body tensed up as her hands caressed him. The groped eagerly at his package and he hid his face from her.

"Please… not tonight…" The hand on him tightened uncomfortably. He stopped moving his hips in time with hers and just stood there.

"Oh Vantus…" she purred. There was only one reason she liked Sora. It was the same disgusting reason her husband did: he reminded them of their own son. Vantus, their son, was years older than Sora but they always said just how much they looked alike. "Might as well be twins with different hair and eyes," they'd always say. But the real reason they came for him was that they were just like Hisa. They liked when he put up a fight at first but in the end would do anything for a pat on the head. For a while he'd thought if he was just docile the whole time they'd be happy but then they had to start trying new things to make him fight back and lash out.

"No, I can't tonight. I'm already working," he said in way of protesting. Her grip tightened again and he gasped and leaned against her. "Ask Hisa!" he gasped out past the pain.

"I'm allowed to have you whenever I want, remember, Van? I even left my husband at home tonight. He'll be here tomorrow though. He's missed you so much while he's been out of town. He gets so jealous every time I tell him I've been to visit you. He had to wait for so many years before he could take you like he wanted. Now that he gets to it's hard to leave you." The hand on his loosened and began caressing him to hardness. "Besides, you know how I love having my son make love to me. You're so much more fulfilling than my husband…"

He couldn't decide what the best way to get out of this was. If he fought she'd get turned on enough she'd have to use him a few times. If he was docile enough she might grab him again until she got what she wanted. "If I have to then let's get it over with," he said with a growl. This way he could please her quickly and get her gone. "Have you rented a room for the night?"

"Of course. The yellow room has been waiting." She was so pleased she leaned down and licked his ear. She was only a few inches taller. But she was convinced he would grow to be as tall as her own son in a few years. "I knew I just had to have you tonight. Something to get me ready for tomorrow night with my husband."

Ignoring her words that were meant to make him hard he led her to one of the many themed rooms. The yellow room was summery and warm, meant for fun sex. As soon as the door was shut behind them Sora found himself on the floor with her sitting on him, pawing at his pants as if she could rip them apart. Her brown eyes were focused solely on her task and her brown hair hung in straight lines down beside her face. "Hold on," he said, pushing her hands away. So long as he stayed in some control this could be over quickly. She liked him more dominant than her husband. Undoing his own pants he pushed them down past his knees as well as his boxers.

It was more of a push than a flip the way he got her off of him and onto her back. Ripping her panties off he tentatively touched the wetness between her legs. He winced. She was disgustingly wet and he was barely even feeling any arousal. He needed a pill of some sort. Something to make this work. Instead he tried to remember everything Hisa would do to him to force him into an arousal. When you were forced into sex as much as he was, getting around wasn't something that just happened. If he wasn't actually aroused it didn't work. And nothing aroused him anymore.

Scooting her legs up he brought his mouth down to her other set of lips. As he did his other hand found his flaccid flesh and he began trying to work it to hardness. Even with his hand pumping away he couldn't get himself hard. It was just too hard. Nothing about her body actually turned him on. His face between her legs, lapping up the juices that spilt from her, was revolting. He hated the taste. He hated the consistency. If he was forced to do this he'd always preferred men. He understood them. There was even once when he'd been taken it had felt goods without the drugs. One person had taken the time to make sure it was pleasant for him.

He tried to imagine that instead. In place of the wetness before him he wanted something hard and thick. He wanted it coated in saliva so when it found his way behind him he could just raise his hips and it would slide in. His hand left his own member to press against his own hole. Even thought it was dry a single finger was able to slip in past the sore muscles. They still hurt but he was getting himself so lost in his own fantasy that he wanted something to fill him. He wanted someone strong but gentle behind him, holding his hips firmly as they pressed into him until they were sheathed. Then they'd pull back 'til he felt empty before sliding back in.

Finally hard he removed his mouth from between her legs. Crawling forward he rested between her thighs and looked down at her. Her arms snaked around his neck and pulled him down for a deep kiss to taste herself as he slid into her. He might not get turned on by the female body, but even he wouldn't deny the wonderful feeling of being inside her. He loved feeling himself slide in and out of her. Yet even as he did he couldn't help but wish it was someone else. He wasn't meant to be the dominant one. He'd rather let someone else make the decisions. But when people wanted him and Roxas together it was only natural he was the one on top. And as sick as it was he'd rather be with his brother than this woman.

Still, he did the job he was supposed to and when she came with a scream he imagined the way Roxas looked when he came. It was a look of bliss. Being released from the hold of the drugs was an amazing feeling. When he finally climaxed himself he tried not to flop down on top of her. He'd had more powerful orgasms and more gratifying. This was just a duty and she wouldn't be satisfied until he came as well. _I guess some of Hisa's training came in handy._

"I'm leaving now. Tell Hisa we're done with the room so he doesn't continue to charge you."

"Whatever you want Van. We'll be back tomorrow night."

He pulled up his pants and left without even wiping himself down. He had to get back and find Riku and Kairi. He pushed his way through the crowds, left to right, front to back. He ignored the grasping hands and the invited thrown his way. He just wanted to see them. "Where are you?" he muttered to himself. He stood directly in the middle of the dance floor. Bodies were pressed together on all sides of him, a few couples even doing more than just dancing. But that was why people came here. They wanted pleasure only whore could provide.

A glimpse of red hair reminded him of Axel. Chasing after the hair he found the edge of the crowd just as Axel found his friends. Sora kept striding forward but something Axel said made everyone turn and immediately leave. "No!" he called out. Someone bumped into him and he stumbled a bit. When he was on his feet again Riku was the last to leave the club and Axel had disappeared entirely.

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><p>Yeah, I know, two chapters in one day! But you guys are lucky! thank and I probably wont have the next out for a little bit so I thought it'd be nice. hahaha<p>

But feel free to write me a review! ^_^ They always make me so happy!


	3. Chapter 3

~Captain~

~Chapter 3~

So this time I have regular chapter numbers for the story. Still, I only listen to one song per chapter to keep me in a certain mood. So I'm thinking I'll still mention which songs I've used.

Chapter 1: Criminal, Britney Spears

Chapter 2: We Found Love, Rihanna (Which I think is a very song theme song for this story)

Chapter 3: Earthquake, Labrinth ft. Tinie Tempah

Oh wait, I almost forgot what I meant to say…. NaNoWriMo is coming up! For those of you who don't know what that is it's National Novel Writing Month. So for the fourth year now I'm going to try to write a novel. It has to be at least 50,000 words of an original story in the month of November with nothing written before. That being said, I probably won't be updating very much in the coming month. I felt I should warn you all before just disappearing. But wish me luck! Hopefully I'll actually hit 50,000 words this year! ^_^

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><p>He was still trying to wrap his mind around what was going on. "So… Roxas found you and told you he was supposed to drug you, fuck you, and have you coming back for more?" Axel nodded. "And he and Sora are whores which you yourself confirmed by visiting Sora the past few nights at his brother's request." Axel nodded again, not liking the slightly mocking tone Riku was taking with him. "And he told you to make us leave before we were caught in this trap the owner has set for us." Yeah, Riku was definitely mocking him. And it did sound a bit ridiculous when Riku said it like that but it was true. "So did you find out Sora was a whore by fucking him too? And was that before or after you messed around with his brother?"<p>

Only his friends would dare piss him off like Riku did now. But Riku was only trying to make light of it so he didn't knock Axel on his ass and beat the shit out of him.

When he'd gotten Axel's phone call the night after he'd ushered them out of the club he'd answered expecting some sort of _good_ reason for what he did. He'd been having a good time with Kairi that night. But even as he watched her dance and drink he had kept an eye out for Sora. When Axel had told him the kids lived at the Playground with their uncle he was suspicious. But he supposed their uncle could be their guardian, shit guardian he must be to raise kids at a place known for sex.

Sora and Roxas being whores made a bit too much sense. Disturbing as it was, it only seemed natural in the situation. Everything was too much of a coincidence.

But he'd gone and calmed his friend down as Axel recounted his night. Even when he'd told how Roxas had sucked him off Riku was just mildly disappointed in his friend. He could still forgive the lapse in judgment though. But when he did want Roxas wanted and went back two more nights to visit Sora Riku lost it. It was one thing to basically be jumped by a kid. He hadn't actually slept with Roxas. But if he kept visiting Sora…

"I haven't slept with the kid!" Axel threw himself out of the chair and went back to pacing. "We just sit and talk for hours. I couldn't do that to him! Not with him! He's a kid."

"He's a whore." The words were truth but they twisted Riku's gut. _Sora…_ The kid was so innocent really. Almost simple. It had been refreshing to talk to him. Maybe not as intelligent as a conversation he'd have with Zexion, but it was interesting. He said what he thought and was pretty clear about his ideas. But he could be the sweetest kid ever and still be a whore.

"He's still a kid! They both are!" Trust the over-excitable red-head to decide to be the champion of some kids he randomly met.

"It sounds like they're just using you as an easy way to make money. No need to actually sleep with a guy if you can trick them into believing they need your help. Especially when the guy is a fool like you." That was what was really bugging him. How could he be sure the kids weren't just using Axel? This was one of his best friends but Sora had seemed so genuine… He just didn't want to believe that a kid could be a whore. Not one who just used people for money. Not Sora. He thought he'd gotten a good measure of the kid.

"Would you just listen? They were bought by that Hisa guy! They don't have a choice! Go ask Sora yourself. He'll tell you everything! I've already talked to Zexion and Demyx. They're willing to help me. Why aren't you?"

Riku sighed in frustration. "Of course I'll help you. Don't I always go along with your stupid plans?"

With a satisfied smile Axel sat himself back down. "Not always. Only when you think my stupid plans are brilliant. But here's what we're going to do. I've already spoken to Zexion and he's got the details worked out. I'm going to go back and talk to the brat tonight. Zexion will get what he can from Sora and then I want you to go visit the kid."

"Why me?"

"You actually talked to the kid before and since I'm keeping this from the girls you're the only one who really got to know Sora before. And I also want you to teach them how to defend themselves. If we're going to help them get free we need to make sure they can protect themselves when they are."

"You do realize you're about to take full responsibility for two kids you know nothing about, right?"

"Of course. And Zexion said he'd work out the details so we're good. Zexion's always been good with that kind of stuff."

Riku shook his head at his friend. Axel didn't always think things through before he set events in motion. He just left the rest of them to figure it out. He'd always been like that though and Riku had come to just expect it. Glancing at the clock he frowned a bit. "You knew I'd agree as usual, didn't you?" It was almost ten. If Zexion was going to go see him first then Riku should probably go and schedule an appointment for directly after. The plan was to keep the kids from actually being used so he'd want as little down time for Sora as possible. No quickies between them. That was, if the kids weren't just using them for easy money. "I'll head over at midnight and make sure I can still see Sora tonight, would that make you happy?" _And I'll see for myself if they're liars…._

"Ecstatic."

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><p>As Zexion left the green room Sora let out a tired breath. Damn. The guy was just too smart. He'd pricked Sora's brain about everything for the past two hours. What did he know about his enslavement? How logn had he been here? Who else was in the same situation? How was the price set to visit Sora set? What about Roxas? How many clients did they take?<p>

It wasn't like when Axel had come to visit him. Then they just talked and relaxed. It was nice. He'd told Axel almost everything already, but Zexion still insisted on reaffirming the information. But Axel was more curious in Sora's ramblings. Especially when they concerned Roxas. Something about his brother seemed to make Axel uneasy. But he promised he'd go help Roxas like he was Sora. But, nice guy that he was he had Zexion come in his place. Too bad though, Sora still had another client.

Vantus' parents had been back every night after Axel. His ass perpetually hurt now and he had a few more bruises to show, but he was still happier than he had been before.

Axel had promised to free him and Roxas.

Running back to his room he knew he didn't have long before he had to see them again. He was supposed to be in the white room in fifteen minutes. Throwing on a tee-shirt with some band on it that he never had heard of (Vantus had a bit of a punk style), ripped jeans and a studded belt, Sora glanced at himself quickly in the mirror. Where the hem of the shirt was ripped and his jeans slung low to show his boxers a bruise in the clear shape of fingers showed from last night. His arms were covered and through the holes in his jeans were more on his knees. That would make the mister happy. Bruises meant he submitted.

But even if he had been a bit more willing than usual it was only because Axel had promised this would all be over soon.

Ruffling his hair so it stood all over the place he ran back from his room up to the white room. Outside the door he took a breath before entering. The room was rather Spartan, only the bed with cheap white sheets, a bedside table and a large wall-length mirror. His client's favorite room by far. Hisa replaced the inexpensive sheets every day so no one ever had to see the blood. It was made even barer by the lack one anyone but himself.

Mildly confused Sora went and stretched out on the bed. They'd show up sooner or later. The sheets wrinkled underneath him. Lifting his head a bit he could see himself in the mirror. _Kinky,_ he thought. Some people loved watching themselves in the mirror. The hand prints he'd left yesterday were gone from the mirror. Curious he got off the bed and went to where he'd been pressed up against it yesterday. The room did smell faintly like cleaning supplies. His handprints were completely gone from surface.

A knock at the door made him glance at the reflection of the door. "Come in," he said even knowing they couldn't hear him. The rooms were sound proof for a reason. Unless you stood right outside the door you were unlikely to hear anything. Even then, no one would be outside the door unless a client was expected or known to be particularly violet. After a long minute the door opened. "You can just walk in you know," said Sora to the mister. Except it wasn't the mister he'd been expecting. For a second his voice left him. Suddenly overly conscious of the bruises he was displaying he pulled down the shirt to hide his hip only to reveal hickeys lining his collarbone. "Hey, Riku," His voice sounded strained. "What's up?" This was not what he'd been hoping for in their next meeting.

Shutting the door behind him Riku just leaned against the door and gave him a long look. His azure eyes barely left his own in the mirror after only a quick glance at his body. "So it's true." Three words and Sora suddenly felt stupid. He'd been looking forward to seeing Riku and Kairi again, expecting it to just be like hanging out with friends again. But that was stupid. Riku was a prince of some foreign country. When did a prince willingly consort with a whore? Especially one who wasn't even worth enough to keep safe and whole.

And angry blush rose in his cheeks as he tore his eyes from Riku's reflective ones and went to go sit on the bed. Resting his forearms on his knees he kept his eyes on the floor. How stupid could he be? Of course it wouldn't be all happy and perfect like before. Roxas had been right the other night when he'd said maybe it was for the best he hadn't seen them that night at the club.

"You'd really do anyone who walked in here, wouldn't you?" His fists clenched and unclenched quickly. His chest seemed tight. What kind of answer did he expect? Keeping his mouth shut he forced his body to relax. "What would you do if I said I'd paid a quarter of a million just to come see you for a few hours?"

_Anything._ For that much Riku could beat him black and blue and he wouldn't say anything. Well, nothing coherent at least. But as it stood he couldn't manage to say anything anyways. His heart was beating in his ears but was somehow lodged in his throat. He knew he should say something. Even ask what exactly it was Riku wanted from him. He'd do it. He had to.

In long, measured strides Riku walked up to stand before him. Sora looked up as Riku swung his right fist into his face. Twisted half over himself he had a moment to wonder if he should flip all the way over and just offer his ass before the pain of his cheek set in. He could taste blood. His skin was on fire and his jaw felt out of place. His hands bunched the sheets in anger. Spitting the blood in his mouth out onto the sheet he refused to move. Let Riku do whatever he wanted with him. He was too angry at his own naiveté to do anything.

"Both of you are just using us, aren't you?" All of the questions. He already seemed to have his own opinion of who and what Sora was. Why bother asking? Riku let out a bitter bark of laughter. "Axel's been duped by two child whores. We all were. Did you guys plan all of that at the ice cream parlor?" Sora's silence seemed to just anger him more. "I never thought your _owner_ was a lair. He said you were full of spirit and would give me a good time in bed. Though he did say I should go to your brother if I wanted actual skill."

"Shut up." His tongue felt weird. It was bleeding. He must've bitten it as well.

"A whore shouldn't tell a client what to do." Why? Why was Riku trying so hard to be mean? He'd been so nice the other day. He thought if he could just have a chance to explain himself he'd understand. A person was a person no matter what. Birth and status shouldn't make him look down on Sora. "Does your brother have better manners? Axel did say it was the best blowjob he'd ever had."

With a growl Sora launched himself from the bed to tackle Riku to the floor. No way in hell was _he,_ of all people, going to look down on his brother. Sora tried to hit him as soon and they were on the floor but Riku was too fast. Grabbing Sora's wrists and wrapping his leg around Sora he flipped him over. It was done so smoothly Sora didn't realize what had happened until he was trying to regain the breath that had been knocked from him.

"You're too slow," Riku commented like Sora was an experiment.

"Screw you asshole."

"You're never had to learn to fight, have you?"

"I don't have to know any fancy moves to beat the shit out of you." Sora spit in his face. The blood wasn't as prevalent any more but some of it still got to Riku's cheek.

"So you do have a spirit in there. Here I just thought it was your brother."

Who the hell did he think he was to just talk about his brother like he was just some common whore? It had never been Roxas' fault he was in this situation. _Never_. Sora was his older brother. He wouldn't let anyone mistreat Roxas. Planting his feet on the floor he flung his hips up enough to throw the guy on top of him off balance. Instead of rolling back onto him Sora rolled away. Once he was back on his feet he rushed back at Riku who'd also made it to his feet. He was even lucky enough to get one good hit in to his chest before Riku had him turned around in a headlock. He walked him forward to the bed and pinned him face down on the sheets.

"Are you done yet?" Riku's breath was hot against his ear. His voice was just barely a whisper but it no longer held any hostility.

Lifting his head he barely got his mouth out of the sheets. "Take it back. You're not worth enough to talk about my brother. He's a better man than you'll ever be." He tried to free himself but Riku's grip on him was firm. "We may be whores but we have way more honor than shit like you. What kind of sick pervs come here to rape kids? At least we don't have a choice. It's sickos like you that are the reason we're here in the first place."

There was a long silence. Sora kept struggling to get up but nothing he did could free himself. His arms had begun to fall asleep from being twisted behind his back too long when Riku finally climbed off of him. The only thing that kept Sora from charging him again, regardless of the outcome, was the fact that his arms felt like a million pins were poking them and he wasn't sure he could make a fist. Shaking his arms he cringed as they regained feeling. Standing up again he faced Riku.

The aggression that he'd had before was gone. In its place was something more like curiosity. "When you make a fist don't put your thumbs inside of it. You'll break them that way." The words washed over Sora without him really understanding them. He looked at his closed fist. His thumb really did go inside it. "And you're too weak to actually hurt someone right now. Start doing pushups and sit-ups. Anything just to strengthen your body."

"Hold on." Sora was confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Axel wants me to teach you and Roxas how to defend yourselves," he said with a sigh. "I'll make him work with you as well. You need to be able to defend yourselves when we get you out."

"But if Axel sent you then what was all of that before?" Just remembering Riku's whole attitude made his chest tighten again. He was acting like the Riku he'd first met.

"I'm only going to ask you once, and I'll believe whatever you tell me." What Riku wanted to ask took him a long time to get out. "Are you and your brother just using us for money?"

"No!" The accusation hurt! How could Riku think like that? Then again, if he seriously thought about it, it made some sense. He could think of some people here who would do something like that. Hisa would try to use them for that if he understood anything other than sex and money.

"Then why are we coming here?"

"Axel said he'd help us." Hasn't Axel explained everything to Riku before? "Hisa bought us. Once our debts are gone we can be free. Really free."

"Why can't we just pay to get you out? Why go along with all of this?"

Roxas had once explained to him why that wouldn't work. "It's… complicated. Roxas knows why." The doubt in Riku's eyes made Sora growl. "My brother is not just trying to keep us here. He has it way worse than me. He wants us to be free more than anyone. He knows how much more debt we have. It's just… We can't let Hisa know what we're doing. Roxas is afraid if someone just comes and tried to buy us Hisa will say our price is even higher and make it something no one will pay. We've got to keep getting it down, one client at a time."

Sora knew he should still be mad a Riku but he couldn't rid himself of the feeling like he and Riku and Kairi were meant to be friends. He should trust them. He wanted to trust Riku. He wanted Riku to know everything and understand. _Roxas used to tell me I was too trusting for my own good._

Walking back to the bed Riku sat, looking pointedly at the space next to him. Sighing Sora sat as well. There was still a good foot of space between them. "Was it a client who left you with all of those bruises?"

"It's not that bad," said Sora with a shrug of indifference. And really it wasn't. "Since Hisa owns us we're some of the only ones allowed to be hurt like this without the whore's permission. Some of the others here are into it though. But some clients just like it when you want nothing to do with them." He tried to sound nonchalant about it, like it was just a minor inconvenience. "But Hisa won't let them really hurt us. Last time Roxas almost… died..." Sora had to pause to make sure his voice didn't tremble too much, "the client was banned permanently."

"Don't you ever fight back?" He made it sound like they just let people misuse them without even raising a concern.

"We can't. If we're going into a situation where we might try and refuse a client we're given whatever we need to get the job done." He wanted to tell Riku everything Hisa had done to him. He wanted to tell him about the drugs he'd taken willingly and the ones Hisa had forced down his throat to see what a good limit was. "It's a hazard of the work," he said with a laugh to try to lighten the situation.

"You really need to learn how to defend yourself," said Riku, more to himself than his companion. Standing up he offered Sora a hand up. "Now put your thumbs outside your fingers when you make a fist. Raise your arms a bit more. You need to use them to shield your body."

Just like that they went from a discussion a part of Sora wanted to continue to something he knew he needed to learn. Riku was patient for the rest of his time with Sora. He wasn't harsh when correcting him, just calm and collected. From defending himself he went to teaching him how to actually throw a punch that would hurt someone. When he thought Sora had the basics he even had him come at him again. He couldn't lay another blow on him, but Riku had seemed pleased enough with the minor adjustments.

For the rest of Riku's bought time with him Sora was genuinely happy. The was better than being outside or getting ice cream. For the first time he felt like he was doing something. Yeah, maybe it was Axel and Riku actually helping them get out, but Sora was planning on just getting out of here. That was already more than before. And learning to fight gave him a small feeling of control over his life. If he could get good enough he could protect Roxas forever, with his own hands. They'd never have to worry about being too small again. The fear that they were too weak would be gone.

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><p>After that first night Zexion stopped visiting him. All Sora wanted was to fight and get stronger. Even when his muscles screamed at him in protest and he couldn't even bear the thought of getting out of bed for the first hour of being awake he couldn't wait to go back and try fighting again.<p>

The second night of Riku's visits he'd taught Sora where to hit someone if they attacked him. Other than the obvious place, if they were a guy, Riku made him learn certain pressure points. Then came easy tricks if he wasn't strong enough. The eyes, breaking the nose, bending a finger back, anything he had to to get away and get help. But that wasn't what Sora wanted. He wanted to be strong enough to defend himself, not run away.

Demyx also came to visit him. Happy-go-lucky he brought a deck of cards and insisted on playing any game he could think of. By the third night of Demyx's visits Sora had finally figured out some strategy to the games and beat Demyx almost every round. That got him up. Challenging Sora to a quick sparring match Demyx proceeded to trounce him so thoroughly that when Axel came in he didn't even want to let Sora try and fight. But he insisted. Axel still beat him, but Sora felt like he was slowly beginning to grasp how he needed to fight.

Riku never said it outright, but he seemed pleased enough with how quickly Sora was picking up on things. No matter how much he pushed Sora the brunette kept going. Even if it exhausted him. Last night, four nights since the first time Riku visited him, he had collapsed in the middle of their fight. _Stupid, stupid, stupid,_ he scolded himself when he came to. He knew he should've eaten earlier. But his body had been so sore and he really hadn't been hungry… After taking the offered glass of water from Riku he had wanted to go just one more time. Axel would've said no, Demyx would've fretted. But Riku just gave him a long look before he shrugged and helped Sora up.

Out of all of them Riku was the best fighter. Sora couldn't waste time. He needed to learn everything he could. Of course Riku promised he'd continue to teach him when he was free but he still couldn't waste time.

That was why he was so excited about tonight. He'd gotten up extra early to stretch out and even ran upstairs to get food. Everyone had been up it seemed strange as that was, but he wasn't curious enough to find out why. Whatever news it was would reach him eventually. Instead he took his sandwich back to his room to finish.

Stretching once more he took a fighting stance; arms in front, feet beneath him, legs slightly spread for balance. Throwing a punch he imagined Riku. Not that he wanted to hurt Riku. No! But Riku was the most worthy opponent he could think of. Ducking a phantom blow he back peddled, making sure he didn't trip over his own feet. It was a serious problem he had at times. Throwing another punch he paused when he heard his door slam open. "Wh-what? Roxas?"

Blond hair was in his face for a second before he went crashing down to the floor. His body screamed out but he ignored it. Roxas' face was buried against his neck. "Sora," he whispered. Completely confused he tried not to throw his brother off of him in fear. What was wrong with him? The faintest idea came to him when he felt a tongue reach out to lap up the faint sheen of sweat from his skin. Not just anywhere either, Roxas licked right above his collarbone, a spot he loved when high on drugs. Even now it made him squirm. "Sora…" he whispered again. His tongue made a path up to Sora ear, lips tugging the lobe gently. "I love you."

"I love you too, but what are you doing?" He hoped Roxas didn't hear the shaking in his voice. If Roxas was drugged and needed relief… It wouldn't be the first time they helped each other but he'd always been on something as well. But there was nothing but his strange behavior to say that was the cause. It was too early for Roxas to have been given something. He also wasn't pawing at Sora like without contact he'd lose his mind. He knew the feeling of needed some sort of release and Roxas clearly wasn't in that state. So what was it?

A hand came up to cup Sora's cheek. Roxas didn't open his eyes as he moved his lips from his ear to his own lips but the way he kissed his brother surprised Sora. It was so gentle and sweet at first. Then a desperation creeped through Roxas until even Sora could feel it. Opening his mouth for his brother Sora couldn't help the small stirrings it gave him. Drugged or not they'd done this enough they knew each other's bodies. They could get each other hard and needy faster than anyone else. But it had never gone beyond a friendly groping and kisses. Kisses were okay. But Roxas seemed more intent than just that. He had Lexaeus if he wanted anything more.

Hips ground together and hands moved his shirt higher on his chest. Roxas rubbed them gently as his hips continued to create friction. He couldn't help it, he hardened. His own hardness pressed against Roxas'. He wanted to end it right then, dick straining to touch his brother through the clothes but Roxas pinched the hard nubs his nipples had become. Bucking his hips he gasped in their kiss. Sober this felt so good. There was no painful edge to his need. Just lust.

Placing his hands in Roxas' chest he tried to push him off. He couldn't lust after his brother. Not while in his right mind. "Roxas, what are you doing? Stop! We're brothers!"

"And I love you for being my brother." His sensitive body betrayed him again when Roxas' hands didn't stop. His erection began to throb. "If I have to share my body with the rest of the world why can't I choose to give it to you? It's not like your body doesn't want this." The truth hurt. This was his brother. But he'd gone five nights without sex. Even when he and Roxas got breaks from work they somehow got release after only a few nights. Him not having sex was almost strange for his body. It was accepting Roxas too eagerly.

Eyes locked on his, Roxas stared at him as his hands made their way down his bosy. Eyes, same as his, held him still. There was something so fragile behind that gaze. He was silently begging Sora not to turn him away. He needed something from this too. This was all for some reason only he knew. That look kept him still as Roxas shimmied his boxers and shorts low enough to free his erection. As the cold air hit it Sora shivered again. Or maybe it was seeing Roxas slide himself down his body to take the head of his cock in his mouth. His tongue, a talented tongue, wrapped itself around Sora's head as he sucked. The moan that slipped from Sora's lips was involuntary. Roxas had only done this for him for a client. Knowing it was for _him_ his brother did this he couldn't help the small feeling of pleasure that raced through him, making this better.

More of his length was being swallowed by Roxas. His head bobbed up and down slowly. His focus was on gently scrapping his teeth against Sora every time he pulled back. It was the slightest thing but it made the sensation of Roxas' mouth on his even stronger. Small moans escaped his traitorous lips again. The loudest of all came when he felt a small hand on his balls, another on the base of his dick, pumping him in time with his brother's mouth.

Biting his lips, he shut his eyes. He wanted to pretend this was someone, anyone else. _Let this be a dream…_But he remembered enough from his hazy moments to know this could only be Roxas. His oral sills were unparalleled. He knew Sora's body front to back better than Sora even did.

Far too soon he felt a small coiling in his stomach that kept growing. Knowing his brother too well Roxas swallowed Sora to the hilt. A last moan escaped his lips as he released himself in Roxas' mouth. He knew he should feel horrible for that but as Roxas swallowed it all he forgot to feel bad. The feeling of that mouth on him was amazing. It swallowed until it had milked him dry and limp then kept teasing him back to hardness. Blood dripped into Sora's mouth from where he'd bitten his lip too hard.

When the delicious heat left him Sora took a moment to compose himself before opening his eyes. Roxas still sat between his legs, eyes clear, soul barred to him. "Please, Sora, fuck me." This wasn't the desperate begging of a needed release. It was a plea for help. Responding more to the meaning than the words he nodded. The strange look in Roxas' eyes dimmed. Instead he looked mildly pleased. Taking two of Sora's fingers he popped them into his mouth and played havoc on his mind. Horrible though it was he wanted his brother's mouth on him again licking his dick instead of wetting his fingers. When he moved away from Sora he stripped down to bare skin and positioned himself on hands and knees in front of Sora.

Stripping off his shirt Sora placed himself behind his brother. Giving his fingers one more quick lick he inserted one, then another, making sure to spread his brother as gently as he could. The last thing he wanted was to hurt his brother. Not when he seemed to need this in his own way. Curling one, then another, he carefully searched out that one spot. He knew vaguely where it was from hazy memories. When he found it he placed a hand on Roxas' hips to help steady the shaking. Grazing over it a time or two more he had to admit he liked seeing Roxas shake from pleasure. It didn't turn him on more, but knowing _he_ was the one making his brother feel good was a heady rush. Breathy and lustful Roxas stopped him, "Sora, just do it."

For a second he regained his wits. Who cared if he could make his brother feel good? For one to do this to another was sick. He should call this off, back away now. Yet… There had been such a _look_ to Roxas… Sora knew it would be seen as a rejection for him to stop now. He'd never reject his brother. Ever.

Spitting into his hand he made sure his dick was slick before even daring to breach the tight hole in front of him. Hell, even if it was his brother is felt so good. Groaning he went slowly, adding an inch of himself at a time, angling his thrust upwards to brush past Roxas' sensitive spot. The moan of pleasure that came with the shaking kept Sora angling each thrust. If they really were doing this he'd make it something his brother could look back on fondly. No regrets. Holding Roxas still with one hand he reached around with the other to pump him in time with his thrusts. He played with it gently, only adding pressure as he sped up. He knew Roxas, he knew his body.

He'd reached a fevered state. Roxas was just so _tight_ around him. The warmth was so satisfying. He wanted more. Speeding up he thrust right against Roxas' spot until he cried out his release. His seed spilt through Sora's fingers and across the carpet. The muscles in his ass convulsed driving Sora on. Faster, deeper. No longer just trying to please Roxas he rocked his hips until he came inside of him. The strength of his orgasm made him stop, he couldn't ride this one out.

Fully spent he pulled himself out. He wanted to say something, for Roxas to say something, but neither did. Instead Roxas stood up and walked to the door, leaving his clothes behind. There he paused long enough to mutter, "Thank you," before he continued to his room, shutting the door behind him.

The curiosity in Sora almost drove him to follow Roxas. But he knew his brother well enough to leave him alone right then. Whatever had drove him to seek Sora out was gone. If he needed space he could have it. For himself, Sora wanted a moment to try to process what had just happened. The sorrow that had seemed to leak from Roxas had left Sora feeling ill. What was he sad about? If he was nervous for leaving this place Sora could comfort him without his body. This may be the home they knew best, their only home now, but they'd have each other. They always had, always would. But it was more than that. Had that been his way of saying goodbye to the life they'd lived? He'd be lying if he said being the last one to be with Roxas here made him sad. Better him than anyone else. He just hoped he had given Roxas a decent memory.

Going to the bathroom he could faintly hear something coming from his brother's room. He hoped to god he was just imagining how those noises sounded like sobs. _No…_ He felt mildly sick. Had that not been what Roxas wanted? Had that been a test? Had he used his brother like everyone else?

_No._ He knew his brother well enough to know that. This was something else. Something he couldn't just fix. He was dying to ask, but he couldn't bring himself to go in there and ask after what they'd just done. He was ashamed of himself. He was the older brother. Old brother's didn't have sex with their younger brothers. Especially not their twin.

Climbing into the shower he tried to focus on something else. _I'll get the answers from him tomorrow,_ he told himself. Instead he let the warm water relax his clenched muscles. He had to focus on one thing at a time. He'd force the answer from Roxas tomorrow, when he himself didn't feel so delicate. For now he needed to focus on relaxing his tense muscles so he could put up a decent fight against Riku. He'd bought Sora for the whole night, not just a few hours. He'd promised a good fight. Riku would get his mind off of what a horrible brother he was.

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><p>Hi everyone! One more little note: For those of you who read <em>Playground<em> first then this, you'll notice how similar things have been so far. Starting with the next chapter we get into the real story. I just wanted to get the background set before I started Sora's real story. And some things have been left out that were in Roxas' story. But that's just the differences between the brothers.


	4. Chapter 4

~Captain~

~Chapter 4~

So I ended up listening to Children of the Lights by The White Panda while writing this. Kinda liked how it felt. And happy Halloween! Yay! I love this time of year! Fall is my favorite season…

I know this chapter is a bit shorter but I thought it would be a good place to end it. This is where things ended in _Playground_ before the story skipped ahead 3 years so I felt it was appropriate. The next chapter is almost ready. I just have to finish it up and edit it! But I've started yet another story. It's called _Apocalypse_. Read it and let me know what you think! And feel free to review this!

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><p>"Sora! Sora, you lazy bum, wake up!" He'd ignored the previous words, threats and warnings. His subconscious was telling him to wake up. But he almost always had a midday nap. They really helped in recuperating from the nights before and workout sessions with his new friends.<p>

Cold wetness crashed over his face. Bolting out of bed to escape the water that had been poured on him he took a second to really wake up. "Roxas? What was that for?"

"Put clothes on and put whatever else you want to take in a pillowcase or something. We're leaving right now."

The surprise and glee Sora felt over those words made him stupid. "You're caught up?"

"Would you hurry?" Roxas stormed out, clearly upset by Sora's idiocy.

Stupid question of course. Roxas had said they were leaving! But how? He thought they'd be waiting up until the last night before Axel and the others left then going with them. Plane tickets had been bought, though with what money Sora wasn't quite sure. They'd be going back and starting their own lives under their protection until they could be on their own.

Maybe they were escaping! All of Sora's old fantasies for getting out of here came rushing back. Shoving his favorite clothes into a pillowcase he gave his room a once over. Two years. This had been his room for two years. He had nothing here he really wanted. Only the clothes so he had something to take. Rushing into Roxas' room he tried not to start asking questions about the plan. Roxas seemed stressed. Maybe the plan was slightly risky. Or maybe Roxas felt weird after what had happened yesterday. He almost asked but Sora decided to wait until they were out of here. No need to waste time with questions that could wait. Hell, outside of these walls the question wouldn't matter.

Roxas took his hand and led him up through the long corridors of the Playground. A quick glance at a clock on one of the walls told him it was ten minutes 'til seven. Up and up they went until they reached the main floor of the club. Instead of heading for the doors that led to freedom Roxas kept leading him up to Hisa's office. The place filled Sora with a sickening fear. He'd only ever been here when Hisa wanted to try something new on him. The last time he'd been here had left him in such a state he had been drugged up so badly he didn't remember the following week.

Outside the door to the office stood two of the bouncers, Lexaeus and Luxord. Both men were tall but Lexaeus was still taller. Blond haired Luxord was one of the newer bodyguards. He didn't get paid like the others. He was working to settle a gambling debt. They broke off from their conversation to stare at the two approaching boys. Roxas didn't even seem to notice them. Opening the door to Hisa's office he dragged Sora in behind him. Silently pleading for Hisa not to get too angry and rape them again Sora tried to figure out what was going on. Why grab his stuff just to go visit this asshole?

Behind them the bouncers came in to see what had two whores running to the one place every smart whore feared. "Sora's debt has been repaid, hasn't it?" Roxas' question made Sora smile. They were going to shove it in Hisa's face then storm out. Lexaeus was a trustworthy guy. He'd make sure they were safe. He loved his brilliant brother. "It was repaid days ago when the prince came to visit him for five hours in the blue room." Roxas took out a few papers folded together and threw them at Hisa. "I stole the figures for our debts months ago to keep track of how much we owed you. I had the prince's friend check them when he came to visit. They haven't been coming here to use us; they've been helping us remove our debt." The confidence that had rand clear in Roxas' voice when he'd first stormed in was gone. In its place was the sorrow from yesterday.

Hisa picked the papers up and examined them, face turning a bright purple. "Throw the brat out of here. I never want to see his face again." Brat. Not brats.

Gripping Roxas' hand tightly he tried to understand. Luxord came from behind him to grab him. "Roxas!" he screamed, panicking. "Let go of me Luxord!" The tall blond man was pulling him away from his brother. "Roxas!" Their eyes met and Sora realized a horrible truth. Trying to tighten his grip on his brother he flailed against the man's hold.

When Roxas let go of his hand he felt his world crumble. _Goodbye._ His eyes screamed it. Yesterday had been a goodbye. Sora fought with everything he had. He couldn't feel the soreness of his body. All he could think about was getting to Roxas. He'd stay here forever for him. They couldn't make him leave and keep Roxas. He was older! He had to protect him! "What are you doing? I thought you said you were free?" How could Roxas do this to him?

He turned from his brother to try to scratch at Luxord's eyes, break his nose, and hit him in the throat. Riku had taught him how to get away from someone stronger than him. Why wasn't it working? Half dragged to the door Sora looked back at Roxas. Tears of panic blurred his vision. All he could look at was Roxas. Damn him. He just stood there, only his eyes saying how sorry he was, not lifting a finger to keep them together. Forget their father. This was the worst betrayal Sora had ever felt.

Outside the door Luxord had to pick him up to get him down the stairs. Still he fought as hard as he could. His kicks seemed to merely annoy the man, his punches like flies running into him. The man said something but Sora couldn't hear him past his own cries for his brother. His tears were fully blocking his view of everything. "Roxas! Roxas! Roxas!" If he called out enough his brother might realize how stupid he was being. He might run down to him.

Why wasn't Roxas with him?

Bright light made Sora cringe for a second. He cringed again when he was dropped and his pillowcase dropped on him. "No hard feelings, kid. I really am sorry," said the blond man as he shut and locked the door. Sora noted how that had been the most the man had ever said to him at once before panic overwhelmed him again. _Roxas._

Belongings pushed aside Sora tried to bang on the glass doors. Luxord still stood behind them, shaking his head in pity. He had to get inside. But no matter how hard his fists pounded on the glass it wouldn't break. Kicking didn't do anything but knock him off balance. "Please! Let me in!" He fell to his knees in front of the door. "Don't do this! Luxord! I'll do anything! Let me in!" He blinked to clear the tears from his eyes just to see the man just shake his head and walk away. Scrambling to his feet he clawed at the door. "Luxord! Dammit, Luxord! That's my brother! I can't leave him! Let me in! I need him!" He went back to banging on the door.

Someone was trying to get his attention. Hands gripped his shoulders. He resisted them, pulling him away from his brother. Whoever had his shoulders said something but Sora still couldn't hear them over his own yelling. What could be more important than what he was doing? "I need him! I need my brother!" Hot tears continued to pour down his cheeks. What the hell had Roxas been thinking? Why had he been too stupid to see the goodbye for what it was?

When the hands didn't stop pulling at his clothes he swung a fist at them, throwing all of his weight behind it just like he was taught. Sora barely registered who it was that he hit. All he cared about was getting back into the club. Hisa's face when he had been taken out couldn't mean anything but trouble for Roxas. Last time he'd seen Hisa that furious had been when he'd taunted him. The pain from having Hisa rape him was still so deeply engraved in his mind. He couldn't let Roxas feel that pain. He was supposed to protect him! They were brothers! And now Roxas was trying to protect him… He finally understood. The good-bye, the slight distance between them… All his way of preparing for the good-bye he knew was coming. Why had he just let Roxas walk away from him? He should have barged in and questioned him until he figured out his stupid, hurtful, plan. They could've come up with something else. Together. A different plan, any other plan, so they could be together.

"Sora!" Arms encircled his neck in a firm headlock. Sora tried to kick backwards, step on the feet near him. But Axel had been one of the ones to train him. He knew what to expect. "Sora, listen to me! You have to tell me what happened!"

"Roxas is gone! He lied to me!" It hurt so badly. Roxas, the one solid thing in his world was gone. His chest was constricted. How had he ever felt anything negative towards his brother? Why had he let him go?

Axel let him go and Sora turned to face him. Axel promised he'd free them both. The shock on Axel's face was a perfect mirror for Sora's feelings of betrayal. "That brat," the red head muttered as he pulled out his phone. Punching in a few quick numbers he didn't seem to wait long before someone answered. "Riku. Get an extra room ready. Sora's coming back with me."

"No!" He had to get inside! Banging at the door again he almost believed he could get inside. If he was just a little bit stronger….

"Yeah, Roxas pulled one over on us." His hand came back to rest on Sora's shoulder.

"I'm not leaving without Roxas!"

"Get a few band aids too. Sora doesn't want to leave. Things are going to get a bit messy." He could hear the growl in the older man's voice but Sora was desperate. Every second meant Roxas could be farther from him. What if Hisa locked him in a room? Sora _had_ to protect him. "Come on, Sora."

Wheeling around he tried to hit Axel again. Ready for it this time he caught Sora's fist and used his own momentum to fling him to the ground. Pushing himself back up he rushed at Axel again. Arms wrapped around his waist and he pushed him until they slammed into the side of the club. Momentarily winded Sora used the chance to drive his heel into Axel's foot. Back peddling he ran back to the front doors. "Let me in! I'll do anything! Hisa! Just tell me what you want!" And he meant it. Anything for Roxas. He'd take the rape again to spare Roxas.

Axel's angry growl was all the warning he had before he was caught in the headlock again. This wasn't just to restrain him though. Axel was taller than him. Standing straight made Sora's feet dangle a few inched from the ground. Gasping for breath he tried to fight the oncoming black spots. He scratched and pulled at the arms holding him. _Let me go! _He pleading was silent gasps. _Let me save him!_ The pressure on his neck was too much. What little air he took in wasn't even registered by his brain or body. _I'm so sorry, Roxas. I couldn't protect you._

* * *

><p>When the black sedan pulled up in front of the hotel Riku had already made his own decisions. Kairi and Larxene had been called over so he could explain the situation to them. Zexion and Demyx were on their way to the club to try to get in a figure out what happened. Riku could see Axel's bright red hair from his window. In his arms was Sora, small frame not moving. It seemed to take forever for Axel to bring the boy up the elevator and to his room. Standing in the open door Riku watch Axel carefully. He knew his friend well. His cheek was swollen and red, arms scratched and red. The look in his eyes was murderous. Very rarely had he ever had to see his friend look so mad.<p>

"You didn't get another room?" Axel's voice was quite. Sharp.

"When Sora wakes up how are we supposed to watch him if he had his own room?" Riku said with a shake of her head. "I can keep an eye on him this way."

"Keep a close eye on him, he was hysterical back at the club."

"Seemed to give you a hard time." That was such a not amused look. "Just go lay him on my bed." Axel put Sora down and came back to stand by Riku. His silence was horrible. "So what happened?"

Axel glanced back towards Riku's room. "They look alike." He seemed so hurt. Beneath the cold front he seemed more than just angry. He was crushed. He had been the first to promise those kids he'd help them out of there. This might be the first time he wouldn't keep a promise. Yet… he did get Sora out. Or Sora got out himself. Yeah, he'd been mean to the kid at first, but he genuinely liked him. They got along as well as he and Kairi did. "Their eyes are the same, have you noticed?"

"Yeah, blue eyes." Where were Axel's thoughts taking him?

"I've never seen anyone look so hurt Riku. I thought Sora had lost it for a second there." He sighed. It was like he released a pain he'd kept to himself. Sinking to the floor he rested his arms and his knees. His head was bent so Riku couldn't see his face. "I found him outside, trying to get _in_ to the club. He was yelling about Roxas." He had to pause and clear his throat. "The kid tricked us. He never wanted help with his debt. I should've seen it. He never wanted help for himself. Only Sora. He didn't even want us to visit him. Only Sora. Sora must've been the one who was close, not Roxas. Everything he said was a lie."

_I told you the kid was playing us._ The words almost came out but Riku had never seen Axel so crushed. All of his good intentions had been for nothing with that kid. But hadn't Riku warned him? _But Sora was truthful…_ He hated to admit it, but he thought of Sora as a friend now. He'd be upset if Sora had done something like that to him. If Axel, the big hearted idiot who got all of them into this mess, had decided to make Roxas a friend he could understand the frustration. For them friends were hard to come across. Most people had other intentions when they spoke to them. Money did that to people. But these kids hadn't been overly concerned with the money they had. They just wanted to be free.

Angry footsteps and snarled words got Axel's head up. Standing up Axel moved out of the doorway so Riku could close the door. If Larxene was here first things were going to be loud and they didn't need Sora waking up. One thing at a time. "Oh? We're actually seeing more than one of you at once?" Riku tried not to cringe away from the ice in her tone. Since they'd only let the guys know of their plan they'd taken turns hanging with the girls while the rest were at the Playground. He knew they'd been a bit upset by that but Larxene was more than pissed. _What does she know?_

"Chill Larx," Axel said firmly. There was no more time for a pity party. Larxene saw weakness and attacked. Luckily Axel understood that. "We're going to explain once Kairi gets here."

"She's a minute behind me, now start talking or I swear you won't have a dick left to go screw your whores." The icy blue of her eyes were nothing compared to Axel's. Those green eyes were like cold hard emeralds.

"Watch it Larxene," Riku warned her. Larxene was a bitch but she was still a friend. She should know as well as him that when Axel was pissed even she wouldn't stand up to him. It was one of those unspoken rules: Don't piss off Axel. "It's more than what you think."

His eyes snapped to the figure running up behind the blond. Kairi had a concerned look on her face. He knew he should be glad both girls didn't come in fuming but he didn't want Kairi to be too understanding either. But that was her nature; she was the most generous person alive. "What's happened?" She may seem understanding, but Riku could hear the trap in her innocent question. Larxene and she both knew the Playground was a brothel and if they lied even Kairi would show the steel she had in her. Luckily, they had no intention of lying.

* * *

><p>The bed was too soft. The voices around him were nothing new; he was used to someone waking him up. Though, they normally didn't yell. Unless Hisa was in a rage. But even then it was more of a physical awakening. But the bed was too soft.<p>

"I'm telling you, the brat tricked us! He couldn't have been close to being free if he'd do something like this!" The world came back to him. That was Axel. He sounded almost as furious as Sora felt. "I should've know. He never wanted me to help him, only Sora."

Only Sora… How long had Roxas been planning this? What could've possibly possessed him to throw Sora out to safety when he couldn't go with him? But some part of him understood. If he could've made sure Roxas was safe he would have done anything to see that happen. But it really killed him that Roxas did it to him first.

Underneath the fury all of his pain and sorrow came back. _Roxas…_

"Shut up! Both of you! I think he's waking up." That voice… he hadn't heard it in days. It was so much kinder than the other girl's. Opening his eyes he saw Kairi leaning over him violet eyes full of concern. "Sora? Are you okay?"

No, he wasn't. He needed to find Roxas.

He struggled to sit up but Kairi's hand on his shoulder told him to relax. Those violet eyes… so full of concern… she looked like she was trying to understand how he was feeling. As if she could. When had she ever lost the person closest to her? Someone she could communicate with with just a glance. Someone she loved more than herself. He needed to go find Roxas. Shrugging off her hand he looked around the room. There was Riku, standing in the doorway looking at him in the most stoic way possible. Axel was in the room behind him, fists clenched and still glaring at the blond Larxene who glared right back.

A sharp pain had him clutching his head. That just made it hurt more. Tenderly touching his head he found a sore spot on the right side. When had he hit his head? He could remember everything up until Axel had him in a headlock. When had he hit his head? Didn't matter.

"You're whore's awake." The words stabbed at him. He wasn't a whore anymore. Roxas saved him from that.

Glaring at Larxene he wanted to say something but Axel beat him to it. "Shut up and leave. We don't want or need you here right now."

"Axel—" Kairi stated but Larxene was already storming from the room. With a sigh she looked back at Sora. "Sorry. We didn't mean to wake you. But I had to see you for myself and they followed me in."

"It's fine." His head hurt. He felt light headed just from sitting up. "Roxas-" The name caught in his throat. His brother. His twin. Roxas wasn't with him. "Where's Roxas?" He knew they wouldn't know but he had to ask. Maybe, by some twist of fate, Roxas got out.

"We're looking for him," Kairi said softly, like calming a wild animal. "Zexion and Demyx are out trying to find what's happened to him and how to get him out for you. He'll be fine soon. Just rest."

"I don't want to rest!" Sora snapped back. He shouldn't take his frustration out on her, she was so nice, but this was too much. How did she expect him to sit by while other people looked for his brother? Swinging his legs from the bed he stood up slowly. His head throbbed harder but the light headedness eased up a bit. Kairi reached up to stop him but he stepped back away from her hands. "Don't. Just let me go find him."

"You're not leaving kid," Axel said from where he stood. "What you can do is sit back down and stay out of our way. I don't need you getting in our way." There was a scary anger in his tone. When did Axel get scary?

But his need to find Roxas was more pressing than Axel's anger. "Back off Axel. I need to find Roxas."

"We're looking into it." That came from Riku. He'd moved from his place by the door and came to stand on the other side of the bed. "You're going to stay here." Sora growled at him. This wasn't fair. "If you really want to go find him, beat me in a fair fight." Even less fair. They both knew Sora still couldn't. He wasn't strong enough or skilled enough. He'd just lost to Axel outside the Playground.

"Screw you, Riku." He tried to put every ounce of venom into his tone. Still, he sat back down. He wouldn't win this battle. Kairi sat next to him and Riku resumed his spot by the door.

For the next week Sora was kept on lock down. Kairi stayed with Sora at all times. Whether it was sitting in a nearby chair or sleeping next to his bed she left him as little as possible. He could understand why she did it. She was just trying to comfort him. It just wasn't working. She wasn't Roxas. She was kind and funny and sweet and gentle but she wasn't Roxas. She gave him some small comfort but it wasn't like the comfort just knowing Roxas was okay would give him.

Riku slept on the couch, having given up his bed for Sora. Every time Sora even thought about sneaking out Riku was suddenly up and right _there_, making sure he didn't get much farther than the front door. They'd gotten into a few fights when Sora just couldn't take it anymore. He'd tried every trick to get past him. He even bit Riku once. Still he couldn't get past Riku.

Zexion came in with daily reports of what he'd found. Larxene had even found out that Hisa was planning on opening another club in Atlantica before she left. From there Zexion found that Roxas wasn't there. Many of the whores from the Playground had gone to Atlantica, a few disappeared entirely. Of the body guards, half stayed and the other half went to Atlantica.

"I've checked with every airport, cruise liner and train station across the world. No one has seen him. He's vanished." Sora had held out hope until he heard Zexion's words. He'd honestly thought that they'd find Roxas and get him out. Zexion was brilliant. If he couldn't find him… No. Sora couldn't think that way.

If Roxas hadn't been seen anywhere where could he be?


	5. Chapter 5

~Captain~

~Chapter 5~

Hi everyone! We're on to the first chapter that really gets into Sora's story! Instead of doing NaNoWriMo I wrote this. So I have to make up extra time writing that. But this was worth it. This was kind of fun to write. I'm really enjoying going more into what happened with Sora while Roxas disappeared. Anywho, please feel free to review this for me! I love you all!

* * *

><p>He knew he'd regret this the second he stepped onto the plane. Hell, he'd known he regret this the second he agreed with Riku. Well, agreeing was putting it mildly. Riku had been very good about <em>not<em> saying how it was mandatory. He hadn't once mentioned how Sora didn't have a choice. Wasn't a single word of how Roxas had stolen money from clients to make it possible for Sora to have a good chance to start out a new life. Nope. Kairi had been the one to beg and plead and wheedle Sora into feeling guilty for not agreeing right away to come home with her, Riku and Zexion to Destiny Island.

No Riku just was there, being all understanding of everything, fighting Sora when he needed to fight and just understanding Sora's pain without a word. It was almost worse than Kairi's persuading. No, not almost, it was. By the end of the first week without Roxas Sora was dying for someone to fill the gap Roxas had left. Riku was that. The silent way that he knew exactly what Sora was thinking killed him. He could read Sora like a book but Sora still couldn't figure him out.

So Sora agreed when Riku just stood there one day, staring at him as Kairi tried to convince him yet again that they should leave. That stare finally broke him. He knew Riku had been doing everything he could to get Roxas back to him. That stare said that and more. It told Sora he'd continue to do everything he could but ne needed to also get back to his own life. A life that Sora was now expected to be in. The message was clear; Sora was not leaving Riku's side until he was certain Sora wasn't going to do anything that could end up with him back in the Playground.

So he got on the damned plane to go back to Destiny Island with Riku, Kairi and Zexion. A private plane, of course, dammed rich snobs. He wasn't feeling very gracious towards them even when he knew he should. It was just so dammed annoying. Kairi was so brilliant and kind. But she was also sure that she was helping Sora. She was always with him, defending him before he even got a chance to speak sometimes. He wasn't helpless, just younger than them. Zexion was only annoying because he wouldn't loosen up no matter what anyone said. And then Riku… Riku was the dammed know-it-all prince from another country who got his way all the time unless Axel was around. If Axel was there Riku tended to cave towards the older guy. Not because of any real need to, but Axel did have a rather dominant personality. Well they both did. Riku was just a bit mellower about things.

Axel and Demyx had left as well to go back to college. All of them were seniors with only a few months left before they graduated but Axel and Demyx went somewhere else and Larxene to the same school. Once everyone graduated from their respective schools they'd be on to bigger and better things. Riku would go back to Radiant Garden to resume duties as a prince and Zexion would go with him to act as his advisor. Axel and Demyx would be expected to do something political. Larxene would be expected to marry someone political and Kairi wanted to be an actress like her mother. All of them had their lives planned out and seemed to just assume that Sora would just be going along with all this.

They had all, expect for Larxene, done what they could for Sora to help him find Roxas. After just a week Sora could already seen the doubt in Axel's eyes. The red head didn't seem to have any hope at all. But why should he? He barely knew Roxas. And didn't know anything about the connection the brother's shared. Roxas was out there, waiting to be found. Sora could feel him. Their bond told him that. As hurt as Sora was, Roxas was worse. This wasn't something he could explain. He just knew it. So how could he move on and be in their lives without Roxas?

"We've gotten you an apartment on campus in the same building as us," explained Zexion. "When we land I'll get you an account set up with all the funds you'll need. Kairi has agreed to take you shopping for new clothes tomorrow. Riku's arranged for a few private tutors for you so you can get caught up on the schooling you've missed."

The world looked so small from the window of a private jet. Up here nothing could hurt him. This was some fake world where he was safe. Down there, with off the people he couldn't see, the world was dangerous. Here it was just the four of them in this plane. Zexion sat across from him to explain everything that had been arranged for Sora. Kairi and Riku were sitting across the row playing cards.

When they'd first gotten on the plane Riku had explained his plan for finding tutors for Sora. He wanted Sora to be caught up to where he should be in his studies within six months. It would be a lot of work but Riku was convinced that for Sora to get on with a normal life he'd need a proper education. In six months the lease on Sora's rent would be up and he could do whatever he wanted. Almost whatever, because he _was_ still underage. Riku had decided to act as his guardian for now. He volunteered to pay for everything until Sora came of age. All he wanted in return was that Sora not do anything stupid and study hard enough to get caught up in six months; the last two of which Riku wouldn't even be around for since he'd graduate in four months.

Sora's next year and a half were basically planned out for him. Riku graduated in four months so then he had two months by himself to finished studying. After that he'd probably get a job for a year or so and following that he'd turn eighteen and have a say in his own damned life. Finally.

As the plane touched down Sora felt a moment's regret. He wanted to be up in the sky again, away from all of this. But that wasn't how life works. Following the others off the plane he stared at the two black sedans waiting for them. Did they always have cars waiting for them wherever they went? "Sora, come here," called Riku from the first car. Walking up to him Riku opened the door for him. "Ride with me. I want to ask you something."

"Sure." It wasn't like he could say no. Climbing in through the offered door he sat nervously until Riku got in and the car started. Scratching his head apprehensively he glanced sideways at Riku. "So what do you need to ask me?"

Riku waited until Sora looked up at him. He found himself trapped in Riku's intent gaze. Unlike Roxas' sky blue eyes they had a hint of green to them. Funny how different they were but they both had a similar effect on Sora. He was completely enthralled in anything they might have to say. Their words and actions helped define Sora's life. Funny how quickly Riku had taken Roxas' place in Sora's life.

For a long moment Riku didn't say anything, just stared at Sora as if he could find the answer to his question without actually asking. "What'd do you think about getting a job? A real job."

The question stung a bit. Averting his eyes Sora mumbled, "If it's about the money than I'll live off of what Roxas stole for me. I'll get a job and pay you back when I can. As soon as I can."

"It's not about money Sora. I want you to get a job to start building your life up again. And I think it'll be good for you."

"What did you have in mind?"

Again he waited until Sora looked at him. "Work for me. I want you to just run errands and such."

Realization hit Sora in a second. "You want to keep an eye on me." A small bubble of laughter exploded from his mouth before he could stop it. "I won't do anything stupid Riku. I just want to find Roxas."

"I know you do. That's why I can't be sure you won't run off and try to find ihm yourself."

"So you're keeping tabs on me."

"Looking out for you."

"Treating me like a kid."

"You are a kid."

Sora bristled at that. "I'm not a kid." He was sixteen. Sixteen and he had done more adult things than most people. He really hated being called a kid.

"Then stop acting like one." Riku's tone was sharper than he'd heard before. "We're doing everything we can for him. Zexion is getting you daily updates. When you finally accept the fact that you can't do anything more by yourself than we can then you can do whatever the hell you want. Until then I'm in charge of looking out for you."

For some reason that really pissed him off. He didn't want or need Riku looking out for him. "Pass me off to someone else then. Leave me alone." _Everyone else has so far._ "I'll take care of myself."

"Can't do that." Reaching towards a briefcase on the floor Riku popped it open with a smug smile. A stack of papers appeared in Riku's hands and were held out to Sora. "You're a ward of Radiant Garden now. Zexion helped me get the paperwork done. As a ward of the royal family of Radiant Garden I'm responsible for you until you come of age."

The anger Sora felt could barely be contained. Bought by Hisa, now basically owned by Riku. What kind of hell was this? But even worse was knowing that Riku did all this. He just helped Sora escape one place to basically become an owned servant for himself. Bull. Shit. Is that all Riku wanted from him? Then why not just buy him in earnest from Hisa. Then there wouldn't have been any confusion by Sora, thinking he was actually free.

"Whatever," mumbled Sora. He knew better than to talk back to the person who owned him. Beatings and rape were all that got him. But there was such a burning anger underneath every ounce of calmness he displayed. Thank whatever god there was he could remember what a shit life he had just a week ago. He could keep his mouth shut and his temper under control. Of course that didn't mean he'd willingly go along with any of this. He'd just bide his time. Relax. Wait.

He could feel Riku's questioning eyes on him. "What are you so upset about? We're just looking out for you."

"Whatever."

"Why are you upset?"

"Whatever."

* * *

><p><strong>Week 1<strong>

Destiny Island University was a small university set on the coast. It was a beautiful place with a small Island where children went to play right off shore. It wasn't much of a college town but there was always something going on. Even better, everyone knew everyone in such a small place. After even just a week Sora was already getting to know a lot of the people around town. Like the baker's son a few blocks down, Pence. He was a nice guy about Sora's own age. He was a bit bigger, but he was a bakers son and he had the craziest black hair that was only partially contained by a sweatband he wore every day. He was even nice enough to give Sora an extra bag of chips every time he went in to get Riku's dammed lunch.

Pence was a joy to be around. It made his daily lunch time routine with Riku bearable. Every weekday at eleven o'clock am Sora went to the little bakery and chatted with Pence. He ordered a sandwich and drinks for both him and Riku, got his free bag of chips and waited until Riku got to the bakery at eleven forty-five. From there Riku questioned him about his day, not that he ever really did anything. Riku gave him things to get done and he did them. Just like this dammed lunch. He'd leave by twelve thirty to go back to class and Sora would stay a bit longer to talk to Pence.

The only week day that varied was Thursday, when Kairi came with Riku. They were so insufferably couple-y. Kairi was all cute and sweet and adoring of her princely boyfriend, staring at him with the big puppy doe-eyed look she only had when he was around. And Riku was all prince-like and courteous and excruciatingly kind. It made Sora sick. They had their own perfect little relationship and he was missing a brother. Worse was how forced it seemed.

He had no doubt that they liked each other but it seemed more like just really good friends than boyfriend and girlfriend. Riku didn't need a sweet pushover of a girl. Not that Kairi was a pushover. She did have some mettle to her. But Riku needed someone who challenged him and pushed him to be better than he was before. Someone more than Kairi. And Kairi needed someone who would bring out her more dominant personality. But who was he to judge that? And they still weren't actually dating. It was just for sex for now. Sex, and Kairi wanted to make it official.

But even Sora could see that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. There was a better chance of Zexion finding Roxas. Each and every day he brought Sora the details of what he found. It wasn't always at a set time, but each and every day Zexion made a point of coming to see Sora to let him know if he found anything.

He never did.

* * *

><p><strong>Week 2<strong>

"So what did you do today?"

"Nothing."

"You must have done something."

"You should know what I did. You scheduled my day."

"There's plenty of time for you to do something."

"I talked to Pence."

"What else?"

"Nothing."

* * *

><p><strong>Week 3<strong>

Riku finally started to give him more than stupid errands to run. He was told to go take a taxi to one place or another, pick things up and deliver things to people he would never normally have to meet. They were all very nice, but Sora felt out of place. They all wore nice suits and watches and had expensive looking cars and haircuts. Sora went in wearing jeans and whatever tee-shirt he could grab. Everyone always looked at him like he was just kid who wandered in from the streets to ask for money. Until he mentioned he was here on orders from Riku. Then every single one of them changed and was sickeningly courteous. "Would you like something to drink?" "Can I get you anything?" "How are you doing today sir?"

Between that Sora had his lessons in Math, Science, Social Studies, Music, English and Geography. It was so tedious just studying. And the homework. That was one thing he hadn't missed these past two years. Homework and tests. And all of his tutors expected him to be some prodigy like Riku, Zexion and Kairi. They thought he'd pick up on all of their lessons quickly. So he tried extra hard to study and take in everything they had to throw at him.

Sooner or later Sora would be pounding his head against the wall.

But he did whatever Riku asked of him. He delivered papers and checks, picked up packages and passed along messages. He studied, he did work, and he took tests. It was nothing special, but it got him out and away from campus more and more. The only thing that didn't change was the damned daily lunch. Sora was expected to be there for lunch every week day without fail. So he always made of point of getting there with enough time to talk to Pence.

The only good parts of the week where he wasn't expected to do everything for Riku were the weekends. He was allowed out and about with a card linked to an account with more funds than he could ever think to need. Kairi always told him to go shopping or invited him to go out with her to get new clothes. Zexion brought him reports but they were getting more and more dire. No one, anywhere had found Roxas. There were a few people who looked like him but each lead was false. And Riku… Riku didn't visit him at all during the weekends. He just disappeared from Sora's life.

Maybe he hated Riku sometimes. Sometimes he wanted to hit him even when he was acting as calm as he could be. But Riku had still been the asshole who stepped in to fill the hole Roxas left. He had, for just a short week, been the one to know what Sora was thinking with just a word. He had been the one Sora felt closest to. He forced himself into Sora's life five days of every week and those other two he just up and vanished. What was Sora supposed to do with his life? He ended up just sitting there in his apartment doing nothing but sparing with an imaginary Riku, pretending he was finally kicking the older boy's butt.

He hated this new life of his. But most of all, he hated the weekdays when he was forced to see Riku then left alone.

* * *

><p><strong>Week 4<strong>

"Are you really still mad at me?"

"Nope."

"Why are you so upset?"

"Who said I'm upset?"

"You've barely been talking to more for the past month."

"Really? Has it been so long?"

"The sarcasm is rather telling."

"Oh."

"Answering me with noncommittal responses says something to."

"…"

"You used to talk to me."

"Did I?"

"I thought we were friends."

"Same here."

* * *

><p><strong>Week 5<strong>

Three months left. Three stupid months left until those three idiots left the university and he could be alone. Yeah, it was still five months until the tutors would leave him alone, but it was only three months until he could stop running errands for Riku.

Kairi had finally convinced him to go shopping and buy some new clothes so he looked presentable when he ran errands for Riku. At first it felt like a betrayal of his ways, but he could see the logic in it. More than that, he wanted new clothes. He had a few from the Playground and a few he bought immediately after. But new, _nice_ clothes meant people would look at him differently. He wanted to get rid of everything he was before. New clothes could be a first step.

Nice jeans and shirts, nicer shoes, even a few accessories. He threw out everything he took from the Playground. He like the feel of new clothes. The only problem was that they were bought with Riku's money. Getting rid of one existence of slavery for another… It was all so horribly depressing.

So he got a haircut. For some strange reason he thought it would help with his outlook on life. He didn't cut all of his hair off, it was more of a trim really, but he just wanted something new. And his hair had gotten so long it was more than just unruly. It was a mess.

After the trim he was able to look at himself in the mirror with new eyes. He looked a tiny bit older. A tiny bit more serious and mature. It was a step in the right direction. Maybe now Riku would stop treating him like just an errand boy. Maybe he could do something useful now. Maybe Riku would say he no longer had to be babysitter and he could have a real life and make friends. Wouldn't that be such a nice dream?

Too bad it was just a dream. He just wanted to be free from all this. Why should he have to basically be a slave to one person or another? Wasn't it a basic human right to be free? To have a life to call your own? Didn't he and Roxas deserve to have a normal life like every other teen their age? They should be back in their home, with a happy family. They should be together. They were brothers. Twins. Why couldn't life be simple like that?

* * *

><p><strong>Week 6<strong>

"You look good."

"Thanks."

"New clothes, new hair. What changed? I thought you wanted nothing new."

"I didn't. But I'm sick of the looks I'm getting from the people you send me to see."

"What looks?"

"The ones saying that they pity me."

"Should I talk to anyone about it?"

"It's fine. I can take care of myself."

"I know you can."

"What's with the smug look?"

"You're talking to me again."

"Shut up."

* * *

><p><strong>Week 7<strong>

Riku was fighting him again. Between the tutors, the lunches and the errands things were starting to get too routine. Everything was just too… Normal. Yes, he wanted normal, but he wanted it with Roxas. Until Roxas was with him he didn't want normal. He wanted someone to make things seem okay. But not normal.

So he picked a fight with Riku. It wasn't anything serious of course. For all intents and purposes Riku did own him. He could do whatever he wanted with Sora and no one would say shit. So Sora thought long and hard about how he would pick a fight with Riku. It took about an hour before Sora was running up to Riku's apartment to wait for him after class. He blew off his tutors and sat right in front of Riku's door.

When Riku got there he just stared at Sora for a long time before he opened the door. "Want to come in?" he asked. Sora entered without a word. When he just stood just right inside the door Riku gave him that look. The one that said, "I know what you want. I know what you're asking for. I know you." Dropping his backpack to the ground he turned and faced Sora. "Well? Come on then."

That was it. As simple as that Sora's whole world got easier. Every little stressor that had been bugging him for the past month and a half was put aside. Nothing mattered except for the punches coming his way. Blocking and throwing some of his own his whole world condensed into the room they were in. Riku was the source of almost all of his problems. Riku was here in the room. Riku was the one who he could do something about all of his issues. Riku could set him free.

Anger bubbled up in him. Why couldn't the world be normal? Why was he stuck with someone like Riku in his life? Why not Roxas? Why Riku?

* * *

><p><strong>Week 8<strong>

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I said I was fine."

"Don't be mad again. I said I was sorry for that. I honestly thought you'd be able to block."

"Shut up Riku."

"You've said my name again."

"So?"

"You haven't said it for almost two months."

"Stop looking so smug."

"I don't look smug."

"You still look all high and mighty and smug as hell."

"You can be kind of rude sometimes, did you know that?"

"Says the asshole who is the king of rude."

"Sora. Just shut up."

"Yes sir."

* * *

><p><strong>Week 9<strong>

He hated being called a kid. He hated knowing that others called him a kid behind his back. What he hated most of all was knowing that he was enough of a kid that he would sneak around behind closed doors just to listen to them call him a kid.

Of course he hadn't meant to. He just kept telling himself that. He was just frustrated. Zexion hadn't come to let him know about Roxas the night before. But Zexion did scare him a bit so he didn't want to go ask him why he didn't. Instead he went to Riku. Riku seemed to know everything that Zexion did. Sora went up to ask him what he found but instead he heard Riku on the phone.

The adult thing to do would be to walk away and come back later. Or to knock and make his presence known. Anything but stand outside the door with his ear pressed against the door listening to Riku's conversation with Axel. Yes, not every word was clear but it was obvious enough that it was Axel after a little bit. The topic of their conversation, he and Roxas.

"I know he's a kid, Axel. I know. But he's not. He's been through more than you or I have. I just want him and Roxas to have a normal life. For that we need to find Roxas."

Roxas. They were talking about him and Roxas being kids. But at least Riku was still looking for him. They had to find Roxas.

"Shut it Axel. I'll figure that out when the time comes." Figure what out? If only he could hear both parts of the conversation. "I know. But he's just a kid. That's it."

He was a kid. That's it. Simple and plain and easy. At least that was clear.

* * *

><p><strong>Week 10<strong>

"What happened? You're back to being quiet."

"No I'm not."

"Stop doing that."

"Why?"

"You're acting like a kid."

"I am a kid."

"I thought you hated being called a kid."

"I hate you."

* * *

><p><strong>Week 11<strong>

Zexion only came every other day now. There were less and less new leads about his brother. But even if there were Sora didn't give up hope. Roxas was out there somewhere. Riku would help him find him. Wouldn't he? He'd already done so much for Sora, he would stop now. Not for this. There was too much at stake for Sora. And they were friends, weren't they? Maybe this existence was something like slavery, but Riku was just doing this because he was worried about Sora. He could understand that a bit. If he had left Sora alone Sora would've gone back to Traverse Town in a second, done anything, submitted to anything just to be with Roxas again. Anything.

But that wouldn't help with anything. Being with Roxas… It wasn't enough anymore. He needed to be free with his brother. Free and safe forever. He needed Riku's help with that. Riku had the resources to keep them safe. He also just had their best interests at heart. He seemed to genuinely think of Sora as a friend. He would do this for Sora because of that.

* * *

><p><strong>Week 12<strong>

"You're quiet."

"At least you're not calling me angry."

"Because you're not today. You're just strangely quiet. Why are you quiet."

"Roxas."

"What about Roxas?"

"Will you really help me find him? Can I trust you to help me find him?"

"I'll do everything I can to help you find him."

"Everything? Really?"

"Anything."

* * *

><p><strong>Week 13<strong>

Life was settling into a routine. Nothing fancy, but it was a routine he could live with. Riku had begun to ease up once he finally sensed Sora wasn't going to run away at the first chance he got. It was kind of endearing. In an annoying sort of way of course. Sora still wasn't happy about Riku deciding to take Sora's life into his hands, but he was less bitter about the whole thing. Sora hadn't been completely stable. He knew that now. He still wasn't. But he didn't quite care. Riku was his friend who was just looking out for him.

Still was a bit galling. But having accepted that, life was good. Not perfect, but good. Pence was becoming a fast friend. Not someone he'd ever share he horrible past with him, but someone to talk to and joke with. It had taken a bit, but he was beginning to feel more lighthearted. He would find Roxas. Riku promised. And Riku was the type of man to keep his word.

Man. When had he decided Riku was that much older than him? Maybe it was the way he presented himself to everyone. But when it was just them, like during lunch or when they were sparing, Riku was lively and energetic. He was a kid like Sora. He made Sora feel competitive. He made Sora want to be stronger and smarter. The little taunts he'd begun to throw at Sora had him up at night studying. He began waking up early just to get in a small workout or run in before his day started. Riku needed fewer and fewer things done for him leaving Sora with spare time to himself. So he went to the children's island to visit and made friends with the kids. He ran more. He sat outside in the park just staring at the clouds soaking in the sunlight.

He felt better. Everything about life was so much better and brighter. The only thing that could make it better would be if his brother was here. But Roxas must be okay. He must be because Sora was okay. They were the same really. Everything that happened to one had always happened to another. When one was sick the other was sick. For as long as Sora was okay, Roxas must be. So it was just a matter of time until Sora and Riku found him or he found them. Only time…

The waiting was no longer killing him with every minute. He understood that Zexion was running out of leads. It just meant that eventually, when Zexion got him a real lead he would actually have Roxas. Not that he told Zexion that. He still wanted the occasional updates. It was just reassuring to know that they were still looking.

* * *

><p><strong>Week 14<strong>

"We're graduating in a couple of weeks."

"Don't remind me. It'll be lonely here without you."

"You'll miss me?"

"I'll miss being busy. You have me running around like crazy."

"Well, why don't you come with me? It's just two months rent. Come to Radiant Garden and finish up your studies there. I can have new tutors for you there and you'll just finish up your studies there."

"What then?"

"Whatever you want. You can do whatever you want from there."

"Whatever I want?"

"Well, you don't seem to be as willing to throw your life away anymore."

"At least you're blunt about things."

"At least you can handle it."

"I can handle a lot."

"I know you can. You're just impulsive sometimes."

"Sometimes? That's new."

"Alright, all the time. But it's why we're friends."

"Friends. That's why? I thought it was because I just had such a great personality."

"That to. You're pretty entertaining."

"I'm very entertaining."

"Very."

* * *

><p><strong>Week 15<strong>

The graduation took forever. Forever and a day. Sora hated sitting still. But he did. All three of his friends graduated with the highest honors, Summa cum laude. Kairi even had a special mention in art and Riku got a mention as the nations number fencer. Even Zexion got his fifteen minutes of fame as the graduating class president and the student with the highest GPA. All in all it was rather droll.

But Sora sat there the whole time, watching and clapping with everyone else. Afterward he even went and gave them the presents he had gone out and bought for them. He'd taken a bit of time to think of what to get them. Expensive things didn't mean they'd like it. They had all the money in the world. So Sora put thought into it.

For Zexion he found a rather amusing alarm clock. Not that he needed a new one, but he was always up early and so uptight. So Sora found him an alarm clock that he really hoped he wouldn't wake up to. When the person didn't wake up and to press the button the little wheels on it took it off and rolling off of the night stand onto the floor to hide under anything nearby. It would be one hell of a time finding it once it rolled away. Zexion really needed to lighten up.

For Kairi he found a picture of her, one that Sora really liked, and had it taken in and hand done. It was very pretty and artsy, just like her. It was her in simple clothes, a white tank and purple skirt and just sneakers sitting making one of her little charms. It had such a peaceful quality to it that made Sora smile every time he saw it. She was such an amazing girl. If he ever got married she would be the type of girl he wanted to get with.

Lastly, for Riku he took a while to think. He wanted something to say thank you. Thank you for the money, the time, the patience. Thank you for being there when he was so hopeless. Thank you for taking care of him and filling the whole Roxas left. He wanted Riku to know how important he had become. So he used his spare time to look around and visit all of the local shops. Riku could buy anything there though. So he went online at the library. But most things just weren't right. So he figured he should just think longer and harder. But no amount of thinking and searching could bring him any closer to what would be a good present for Riku.

He gave out all of their gifts, smiling with Kairi and laughing with the others at Zexion's perturbed reaction and the note saying to lighten up. But when it came to Riku he pulled him aside. "Riku. I couldn't think of anything right to get you. So I want to come with you. To Radiant Garden. After my last two months are up here, I want to come to Radiant Garden." The smile on Riku's face told him he had come up with the perfect thing. It wasn't much, but Riku had clearly wanted him to come with. So after the next two months he'd go to Radiant Garden. "I don't know what I'd do there, but I'm sure I'd find something. Or you could find something for me. You seem good at that."

Yeah, that smile said Sora had hit the nail on the head.

* * *

><p><strong>Week 16<strong>

"So you're sure you want to wait two months before you come with me?"

"I'm sure."

"What will you be doing while I'm gone?"

"Be bored?"

"You know you'll be bored without me around."

"You're so cocky."

"Self-assured."

"Whatever floats your boat."

"But you're sure about this?"

"I'm sure."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Do you think I'll get into trouble?"

"Yes."

"Calm down, Riku. I'll be fine."

"Promise me you won't do anything stupid?"

"Hard to promise when half the things I do are stupid."

"Sora…"

"Fine. I won't do anything too stupid."

"Promise?"

"Promise."


	6. Chapter 6

~Captain~

~Chapter 6~

Hi! So here's chapter 6. I'm sorry for this taking months to get up! Can anyone forgive me? Pretty please? I'm continuing with it! I promise! And I've figured out how to get my ideas for this to connect fully now!

Anyways, this is kind of a… horrible chapter. I'm sorry if you're squeamish or don't like harsh, horrible, evil things. But things get happier from here on out! Promise! Out of all the chapters, this is the closet to the darkness of _Playground_. Let me know what you think!

And just cause I do enjoy telling people what I listen to while writing, I've listened to Glee's version of Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson.

* * *

><p>Promises were a funny thing. They were supposed to be something you followed through with and held to no matter what. And when you broke a promise you should feel guilty and do everything you could to take it all back. To fix your mistake and try to keep your promise.<p>

Riku really should've known not to make Sora promise something he couldn't possibly hold on to. Why did Riku think Sora could go two whole months without having him around to keep him in line? It was a sad fact, but Sora had known he couldn't keep that promise he made to Riku. Riku had known too, Sora could see it in his eyes, but he'd chosen to believe Sora. Well, try to believe him. He should really have known better.

Sora saw his friends off at the airport and had the driver they'd left take him back to his apartment. There he should've waited until his math tutor came and just been a good kid. But no. Stupid Sora decided to leave a note on the door telling his tutors he was following Riku to Radiant Garden. Of course he knew they'd call to confirm it with Riku soon enough, but Sora still had a few hours until then. Calling a cab he drove back to the airport, bringing only a small suitcase full of clothes. Nice clothes. Clothes Riku's money bought him.

Guilt followed Sora all the way onto the plane. It might have followed him beyond that, but he couldn't let it. He was determined not to let it bother him until he had finished what he had set his mind to doing. He was going back to Traverse Town, back to the Playground, to find Roxas. He'd do whatever he had to find Roxas. Whatever he'd have to to get information. He'd do it as quickly as possible before Riku caught on and came to find him. And Sora had no doubt that the second Riku found out he broke his promise he'd be right there kicking Sora's ass and dragging him to Radiant Garden.

He'd have maybe two days before Riku got there. That was being optimistic of course. If the tutor called Riku, Riku would have Zexion track the credit cards and check the airlines. He couldn't just drop everything to come track down Sora, but he could probably be there in about a day. So he had one to two days before Riku was on his ass trying to kill him for breaking a promise.

Wouldn't it be so much easier if he had never made the promise? The consequences of this would suck.

When the plane landed in Traverse Town Sora was off the plane and running. He didn't check his bag so he still had it. Out front he hailed a taxi. "I need to get to the Playground. The club," he told the driver. Checking the time on the clock he cringed. It was already almost seven o'clock pm. The plane ride had taken a bit longer than he'd thought. But that was okay. It would be easier to get in if it was later.

When the taxi pulled up Sora handed him his card to run before he got out. Suitcase in one hand he took a deep breath. The club was already opening. The name was alight and staff were already entering the building. A bouncer Sora didn't know was already at the door to keep clients from trying to sneak in. That was a bummer, Sora was hoping there would be a bouncer he had known. Much better chance of getting in without a scene being caused. Walking up to the man, a tall man with long black dreadlocks and a mean look on his face, Sora tried for his best smile. Not the smile he got when talking to Kairi or the one he got when sparing with Riku. This was the smile his muscles remembered from having to impress clients or try to make them fall for him. Small and secretive as if he had something secret just for the client. Roxas had shown him how to make his smiles look different. Roxas had a million different smiles and expressions to seduce each and every different person. Sora just had the one. He had never accepted the reality he was living in the Playground. Now he was trying to go back there with a horrible taste of the reality he was all but throwing himself into.

"Hi. I'm Sora. You're new here, aren't you?" He had to be charming. He had to get in there. The man didn't respond, just stared down at Sora. "Not much of a talker? That's okay. But I just need to get inside and talk to Hisa about getting hired."

"He's not here." The man was sharp and to the point. At least there wouldn't be any wasted words. It also meant Sora probably wouldn't be able to seduce him. That was okay. Sora would rather not have to sleep with someone just to see Hisa.

"Where is he?"

"Atlantis."

"Will he be back soon?"

"No."

"You really don't talk much, do you?" Yeah, that glare said that Sora should probably start walking away now. Or run. Just get out of there. With a wave he scooted around to the side of the building. There had to be another way in. He had to get in. Had to before Riku caught on and came here to drag him back.

No windows on the main floor of the building. No way to get except the back door. Even that was locked. Hell, Sora didn't even know where it lead to. He'd never been allowed to explore the club before. He'd always tried to find ways to escape but was always caught and got in trouble. Maybe this door wasn't locked from the inside. But how to get inside…

Running back around the peak at the front of the building his eyes scanned for people. It was still too early. He'd need to wait until about nine o'clock. Someone might show up about that time. The doors to the regular club opened at nine thirty. So he just would have to wait about an hour.

Setting the suitcase down Sora sat on it. He definitely didn't want to sit on the ground. His clothes were too nice and he needed to look his best. Tonight he'd use every little trick Roxas had ever taught him to try to seduce and sleep with anyone to get into the club. Get in and find Roxas or at least some clue about his whereabouts. Anything. For Roxas.

Idly he wished he had a cell phone. He'd never bothered getting one because he saw Riku so often, but he wanted one now. Yeah, Riku would yell at him, but he wanted to hear his voice. He wanted Riku to tell him he was being stupid and to get his ass back to Destiny Island or to Radiant Garden. He wanted threats and yelling. He wanted Riku if he couldn't have Roxas.

But if got Roxas back would he need Riku as much? Would be feel the need to just hear Riku's voice to comfort him if Roxas already did that?

Stupid thoughts. Stupid pointless thoughts.

The minutes dragged by painfully slow. What kind of person did this to themselves? But Sora was always a strange one. He had always been the kind to just barge ahead without really thinking this through. This was one of those situations. But when people started showing up at the front door, some to wait to dance the night away and some to meet with clients, Sora stood up.

Quickly scanning the crowd he was both elated and dismayed at the plan that popped into his head. Leaving his suitcase he fervently hoped no one would take it and he walked right up to the line of people waiting to get in. "Did you miss me?" he asked with the smile Roxas had taught him. Vantus' mother gasped in pleasant surprise.

"Oh Van! Hisa said you'd been a bad boy and he had to send you away!"

Sora's chest tightened. She made it sound like she'd wished he'd been a bad boy wither her so she could punish him. It was sickening. Despite that he felt right. "I was a very bad boy," he said with a conspiratorial smile. "But I'm back to ask Hisa if I can come back."

The naked desire in her eyes was disgusting. He was a fool to give up his freedom for this. He still remembered the bruises and scratches on his body left by her and her husband. Yet he'd be a fool if he didn't try to find Roxas this way. "Well he's not here right now but I think we can find a room to use while he's gone." Grabbing Sora's hand she dragged him to the front of the line. "Xaldin!" she said coming to a stop before the new bouncer. "This is Sora, he used to work here. I'm going to use one of the rooms, number thirteen, tonight. Have Hisa bill me whatever amount."

Xaldin regarded the two of them for a moment before standing aside so they could pass. Once inside Sora felt sick. Sweat and sex, the smell was still there. The dancing throng of bodies was the same as before. He couldn't see some of the whores he'd gotten to know but that meant nothing. He was dragged so quickly through the dance floor he didn't get a chance to look. The only thing he did look at was the stairs leading to Hisa's office. The door was shut, probably locked. He just had to find a way to get in there.

"What's room thirteen?" he asked once the deafening music was behind them. She led him down to the rooms where the whores lived, not towards the rooms he was used to being in.

"Oh, Van," she said in a chiding mother tone as if he was a silly child who knew nothing. "With that new club in Atlantica and so many going there to work Hisa remade a few rooms." She glanced over her shoulder at him then, the look in her eyes making his insides freeze. "Room thirteen is my favorite."

Down and down they went. The tension building in him got worse. These halls were too familiar to him. Even in a drugged state he knew his way through them. When he started seeing numbers on the doors descending until they came to the end of the hallway he wanted to puke. He'd expected to go to a room, fuck someone senseless and then sneak away to Hisa's office while they recovered before slipping out a back door or even running out the first. He'd have broken away from the woman now if he had thought it possible. But the fuss she'd raise would have bouncers on him in a minute. He had needed to make sure she was sated first. But sleeping with her in Roxas' old room was pushing his limit.

Memories rushed back to him as she pushed open the door. Except for the random books and scattered clothing Roxas used to leave around the room was the same. Same bed, same sheets, same nightstand. "Why didn't the connecting room have a number?" he asked, hoping his voice didn't sound as fragile to her as it had to him.

"That's just a storage room," she said offhandedly. It made it worse. Not only had he not been good enough, but his room hadn't been up to par either. But she didn't know about that.

Shutting the door behind him her eyes raked over his frame. He'd grown a tiny bit and put on muscle in the four months since she'd last seen him. If the look in her eyes was anything to go by, she was pleased. "Van," she cooed. "You've been such a naughty boy. Misbehaving, making us worry. How are you going to make this up to me?"

_Be dominant_, he told himself. He still remembered everything she and her husband liked in the bedroom. That tone of voice said she wanted a fight. If he gave her one she'd be even more drained by the end. "I don't think I should be punished."

The gleam in her eyes intensified. Walking up to him she pressed against him, her hand finding its way into his pants. "I'll punish you if I want." The hand on his penis tightened a bit. A nail scrapped the underside of his balls. "Be a good boy and strip for me."

It was funny. Just a bit ago he would've done that without thinking. He wouldn't have cared who saw his body. A small part of him would've rebelled but he still would've. Now his clothing was like a last line of defense. Once he shed it he'd be lost again. The things Riku bought him were worthless here. If anything they were just a whore's clothing, meant to seduce and tease. Removing each one without any finesse he stood in front of her. Her hand had released him.

As her hands roamed over him he could feel something in him snap. Whatever little part of himself he'd been trying to hide away in a happy place was broken.

If she wanted to play he'd play.

Placing a hand on her shoulder he turned he so he could push her against the bed. Climbing atop her he let him hands graze her body over her clothes. His touch was light, barely a whisper ruffling her clothes. Even as she arched up for more contact he drew away. He was going to be in control. "Punish me after I prove how sorry I am." His voice sounded dark even to his own ears. Leaning down he kissed her harshly. It was a punishing kiss compared to his gentle hands. Teeth scrapped against teeth, tongues battled violently.

In a practiced movement he undid her pants and pulled them from her hips along with her panties. He let her struggle out of them as he touched her. Already she was wet. It disgusted him even more. Yet the violence was something new. This new person controlling his body found something almost arousing in the viciousness. Half hard he pushed into her. Nails dragged down his back drawing small drops to the surface.

"Don't touch me," Sora growled down at her. In response her hand fisted in his hair, tugging it painfully. He felt her trying to flip him and let her. The scratches on his back stung against the covers. For a second he was worried Roxas would be upset he had gotten blood on his sheets. Forcing the thought away he held her hips as she rode him hard into the bed. Her nails scratched down his chest. She seemed determined to not leave an inch of him unmolested.

He could feel her reaching her finish. As she convulsed around him and flopped atop him he pushed her off. He didn't want to touch her more than he had to. He felt disgusting. Used. It was worse than before. Before he had the excuse he didn't have a choice. Now, doing this to himself made him a disgusting creature. Rolling off the bed he brushed off he hand reach for him. "You're not leaving?" she asked, tone indicating actual punishment if he was.

"I'm just going to wash off before we go again," he said indicating the bathroom with a wave of his hand. Going to the bathroom he used to share with Roxas he shut the door behind him. He turned on the shower but didn't get in instead he went to the door that used to lead to his room. Opening it he slid inside, shutting it behind him quietly. His room really was s storage room. Not for extra sheets and furniture. No, that would mean Hisa had forgotten how much he hated Sora yet loved using him. Chains had been sunk into the walls. Shelves held toys for every sick occasion; tables were laid out with every restraint he could imagine. Seeing at least one familiar thing in the room he went over to the wardrobe. Inside were all sorts of outfits. Finding a pair of leather pants that looked almost his size he slid them on. A black fishnet shirt completed his outfit. None of the shoes looked his size so he opted to just go barefoot.

Slipping out of his old room he tried not to recall every instance he was ever dressed similarly. Memories wouldn't help him now. At that moment nothing but luck could help him. But luck was with him. No one was in the halls as he made his way back up to the main floor of the club. Even there everyone was so entranced by the music and the whores dancing the didn't see him slip up the stairs towards Hisa's office. When he reached the door he hated himself for a moment. Hisa was gone. His office would be locked and he didn't know how to pick a lock. Even if he did know he didn't have anything to pick a lock with.

Trying the knob anyway Sora was surprise when it turned. The pleasant surprise was ruined a second later when he saw someone sitting behind Hisa's desk. "Sorry," he said quickly with a smile. "I was looking for Hisa."

The man had long blue hair and strange golden eyes. None of that stood out more than the giant scar forming an X across his face though. Sora had though Xigbar had seemed scary with his eye patch. Xigbar was a kitten compared to the man in front of him. "Have a seat," the same said gesturing towards a chair on the other side of the desk. "Hisa's in Atlantica right now. What did you need him for?" The question was innocent enough. But Sora felt uneasy. This man radiated savagery. Hisa had a similar feeling to him but this man seemed more likely to hit you for the sake of hitting you.

"I came to ask Hisa for a job." Good enough reason to be here. Why he wasn't wearing shoes wasn't something he could answer but luckily his feet were hidden by the desk. Even if the man stood up the chair was situated so close to the desk he probably wouldn't be able to see.

The man didn't move. Sora couldn't even see if he was breathing. For a long moment he just stared at Sora. Finally he stood up. "Hisa sold your brother."

Sora wanted to know how the man knew this, how he even knew Sora or Roxas, but he had a more pressing question. "Where's Roxas?"

Sure strides brought the man around the table. "I act as Hisa's business partner. I find him clients and suggest who would be best suited to the job."

"Then you—" Sora was horrified. He had thought Hisa had found the sick, perverted people who came to rape and abuse children by himself. Of course it made sense that someone gave Hisa information. But if this bastard was the one who found the men who beat Roxas until he was almost dead, the ones like Vantus' parents who wanted nothing more than to fuck their own child, he was sicker than Hisa.

A hand ruffling his hair was all the warning he had before his head was slammed forward into the desk. Where it hit the corner felt like fire had erupted. The rest was just a throbbing mass of pain. Even his ears were ringing. He felt his arms being forced above his head but he couldn't see straight enough to tell what was going on. "That little stunt your brother pulled cheated me out of a few million," a voice hissed in his ear. With the ringing Sora barely understood the words.

Shaking his head to try to clear it made it hurt more. Struggling against his own body Sora tried to stand but his arms wouldn't raise off the desk. He tried focusing on the shiny thing around his wrists but his head was forced down against the desk again. He couldn't breathe like that. As he gasped for breath the hand on the back of his head moved. A finger was put into his mouth reflexively he swallowed around it before biting down. He tasted blood even if he couldn't hear the snarl of pain beyond the ringing.

The man removed his finger and went to sit behind the desk again. The world came back into focus quickly enough then. "What the hell?" he shouted. Trying again to pull away he found out exactly what was keeping him in place. Handcuffs held him bent over the desk. In the middle they were attached to the other side. He wasn't sure how they were being held in just the wood, probably a metal plate on the other side or something. Yanking at them hurt. These weren't the fuzzy ones women liked or even the leather ones he'd been tethered to a bed in before. These weren't meant for play. Still he kept tugging.

The man said nothing, did nothing; just sat watching Sora futility try to get away. His bleeding finger tapped out the seconds against the desk. Long minutes passed. The tapping drove Sora even hard to get away. The sound was maddening. His wrists were quickly raw and bleeding. It hurt but he'd been through worse.

A sudden absence of sound other than Sora's struggles had him looking up at the man. No longer was he looking at Sora, but instead he was staring at the clock with a small cruel smile. Sora felt his cheeks heat in anger. His whole body was hot with it and the exertion of trying to free himself. "Let me go," he demanded. His whole body was burning in anger. Or just burning. His wrists were tingling in pained heat. He glared at the man, seriously contemplating trying to trow himself over the desk to at least kick out at him. How he'd get over there was really the only thing Sora couldn't figure out. He was too short, the cuffs too close to the other side, to walk around the desk. If he jumped over he'd land in a weird position and the man would have time to move.

As he contemplated how to kick the man's ass, literally, he felt the first wave of heat reach his groin. Painful understanding had Sora yowling and trashing like a wild animal. The cruel smile, those cold eyes, were focused on Sora again. The man was just waiting for the time to pass until whatever he had given Sora began working. Whatever pill it was was beginning to send pleasant tingles throughout Sora's body.

He wanted to scream and yell, even cry. He was a fool, an idiot. Roxas was the smart one who'd gotten him out of this place and he'd walked right back in here. Even worse was the fact that a part of him was reacting to more than just the pill. He was getting harder by the second but it was more than that. His mind was now craving ignorance. He wanted one of those white pills so he could go back to pretending this never happened. He knew himself well enough to know that if they'd just keep him in that blissful, forgetful state he wouldn't care about anything anymore. And that was far too tempting. To forget about being a failure and about Roxas. To forget about life here and his short life being free.

He wanted to forget.

Sora's erection was biting into the leather pants he wore. Even knowing what was being done to his body he found himself grinding against the desk instead of fighting to get away. The friction was nice. Even the pain in his wrists was beginning to feel good. His clothes became another source of pleaser. Each movement had them shifting around him. The fishnet shirt was running over his nipples, turning them into hard nubs of pleasure. He needed more stimulation. After he found his release his body would stop betraying him.

That bastard just continued to watching him. With each passing second Sora was driven more and more towards not caring why he came at all. His body wanted release. His mind needed it. His limbs felt shaky. "Fuck," he muttered. It was that or start begging for a simple touch. Some part of him must've betrayed how he felt. The man reached across the desk to brush his bloody finger across Sora's cheek. Sora had every intention of trying to bite the appendage again but once skin touched skin he was undone. If he hadn't been away from the drugs for four months maybe he'd have more resistance. Now all he could think about was the man touching him again, even when it revolted him.

As the finger drew away Sora tried to follow it. The man stood and came over beside Sora gain. A hand slid into his pants to cup him. He hated and loved it. Even disgusted with himself he thrust into the hand. "Stop," he managed to gasp out. His hips were moving of their own accord.

"One more," said the man, offering exactly what Sora wanted: a small white pill. Except it wasn't even a full dose. It was at most maybe half. Still, every part of him wanted to forget just a bit of this. He couldn't ask for it, wouldn't. Not with words at least. But he opened his mouth willingly and quickly swallowed the pill.

As soon as it was down the man became as vicious as Sora feared. His nails dig into Sora's balls making him scream, though whether it was pain or pleasure Sora wasn't sure. His nails felt longer and sharper than any woman he'd been with.

"Stop," Sora begged. Small tears pricked the back of his eyes.

"Ask nicely."

"Please stop. Please."

"Saix."

Saix. Saix. He'd remember the name. "Please Saix. I'm begging you. Don't hurt me," he pleaded in a small voice. He wanted to beg for the man to do anything to grant him release. Sora would even take the pain that his body only registered as pleasure. But he needed to keep some of his honor intact. Instead of heading his pleas Saix's nails dug in again. "Please!" Sora cried out. "Please stop!"

It was a blessing when the hand slipped out of his pants but when they came down Sora began to cry in earnest. A sharp nail circled his hole making Sora ache for more contact.

Mercy came as the pill began to take effect. Everything was getting fuzzy. A digit worked its way into his hole and Sora could feel the nail tearing at his insides, one scratch at a time. He could feel his throat ripping itself apart as he screamed in pained pleasure. Another finger worked its way inside Sora to cause more damage. As the first drops of blood began sliding down Sora's thighs the drug took full effect and he couldn't even remember his own name, much less why he'd done something so stupid.

Awareness came back more quickly than he'd expected. Normally he woke up after a night's sleep. This time it was like coming back to awareness after day dreaming. One second nothing, the next he saw, felt and heard everything. No longer was he handcuffed to the table but instead he was sitting in the chair he had sat in before with his own hand around his member. The biggest difference between now and before he took the drug was how he felt. Before he'd been burning with desire for more friction. Now was so much worse. He hadn't felt this way since Hisa use to experiment on him. It felt as if he'd taken a handful of pills at once. He was pumping so hard and fast that he felt raw but he couldn't care less. He couldn't even care about the blood streaked across his body. He just kept pumping and hoped his dick didn't fall off.

He moaned as a draft of air from a vent made his skin tingle. A name was on the tip of his tongue but he didn't know why. He wanted to say it but moaning worked just as well. But Saix wasn't around. Sora's head whipped around to make sure. When no one else was in the room Sora sighed. His hand still worked towards his release. It was frustrating knowing he wouldn't find it. This almost made it worse yet he couldn't stop.

He imagined the blowing air as soft breath against his skin, fingers gently running across his body. Using his other hand he traced a spot right above his collar bone. Roxas knew the spot. It loved it when Roxas kissed him there. Now it made him even more painfully hard if that was possible. But it wasn't Roxas he was imagining. The hands he wanted on him were larger, stronger. They were hands that wouldn't punish him for not bending to anyone's will. The breath was the breath of someone who wanted to protect him from this. "Riku…"

He hadn't heard the door open or the footsteps that brought Saix up behind him. "Riku? The prince from Radiant Garden? That's who you've been fantasizing about?"

Sora couldn't even jump in surprise, so intent on finding a small release. Sadly he was even excited the man was back. It didn't matter that he'd left Sora a bloody mess. All of the fiery pleasure he couldn't feel pain anymore. But with Saix here he could help Sora find release. He needed more stimulation.

Reaching out towards the man he clutched at Saix's shirt. "Please fuck me." His voice sounded husky with need.

"You'd let anyone use you, wouldn't you?" Sora wanted to deny it. If he wasn't in such a state he'd hate anyone using him. But he _needed_ this right now. So he nodded and gave the man the most wanton look he could. "Tell me what you want to do to Riku," Saix said in a quiet voice.

Sora licked his lips. It was a strange request. Of course he'd accommodated stranger ones. "I want to touch him. Tease him until he's hard for me." Sora moved his hand from himself to touch Saix. He pulled the man close enough he could press his face against him. Already the man was hard. Or was it from watching Sora try to get himself off? "I want to taste him." Deftly he undid Saix's pants. Reaching in he pulled the man's dick out. If the man had fucked him in his mindless state he'd cleaned himself up before coming back into the room.

Opening his mouth he took the man's length into his mouth. It wasn't incredibly large and he hadn't forgotten his skills. Just tasting it made him feel like he could reach release if he could bring Saix to his. The man might take pity on him and help him. Using his tongue he licked around the head and drew Saix's length all the way back to his throat. Swallowing he tried not to gag as he deep throated the man. But it wasn't enough. Saix was hard but he wasn't overly turned on by what Sora was doing. There was no wild thrusting against his face, no grabbing his hair to force himself deeper in Sora's throat.

Sora's eagerness to suck wasn't completely feigned. In the moment his world became his hand on himself and the dick in his mouth. Raising his other hand his played with Saix's balls a she sucked harder. When even that didn't have the effect he wanted he panicked. If Saix didn't get off he'd never have a chance. "I want Riku to fuck me," Sora said as he pulled back and gave the head a lick.

"How?" Sora looked up, desperation showing in his eyes.

"Any way. Anywhere." Remembering the desk he was bent over before he stood up. "Over the desk." He laid himself out across it again, legs spread, giving Saix permission to take him.

"Would you make him get you ready himself? Or is it that you want him to take you dry? Do you want him to hurt you?"

What a stupid question. Of course he didn't want that. And Riku wouldn't. Hell, if he wanted to think about it Riku wouldn't even want Sora to do any of what Sora had just said. Riku didn't swing that way. He was dating Kairi. Yet if Sora had to choose someone he'd want to touch him it would be Riku. The older boy was kind. He had a quiet confidence about him. Best of all he had been able to read Sora. He'd put up with Sora for months without taking advantage of him. More than that, Sora couldn't deny that out of everyone he'd ever been with Riku was more attractive in every way. His looks set him apart but his kindness was what drew Sora to him.

But Saix had already proven that he enjoyed watching other's pain. He was the worst kind of pervert. "I don't care," Sora said. "He can do whatever he wants to me." Saix walked over to the other side of the desk, shedding his pants and boxers as he went. Pulling something out of a drawer Sora looked away for a moment. Whatever Saix was going to do, Riku never would. Glancing back Sora swallowed his fear. It looked like a leather harness too small for any person to wear. As Saix strapped it around his member so it ended right below the head of his cock. Small studs decorated the leather.

Coming up behind him Saix position himself at Sora's hole. He wished he had prepared himself now. "Would you want him to fuck you like this?"

Sora nodded. To say no would mean Saix forcing him to take more pills, build up the pain that came from not finding his release, until he did. It seemed this was Saix's idea all along. And if Sora agreed this might all be over sooner. "It doesn't matter." Finally taking his hand off of himself he braced himself against the desk, braced against the pain.

Saix gave no warning before he forced himself inside Sora. There was no gentle touch on his hip, no hands against the desk. One second his skin was hot and tingling with a painful need for release, the next he could almost see the blood he knew was rushing out of him. Each stud felt more like a knife even if they couldn't have been more than a quarter of an inch long. But damn they were sharp! The delicate skin puckering around his hole was torn. His insides, already ravaged before, were brutalized more. Tears came without warning burning tracks down his cheeks. His pain was so intense he couldn't hear himself screaming. Above all of the pain and blood was relief as well. In the haze of such enormous pain he found relief from those damned pills. His mind was clear.

Shoving back on the man he tried to free himself. A deep thrust had him arching at the lightning shooting up his spine. Wetness slid down his legs and he sobbed harder between gasps and pained shouts. The pleasure was back. Even as he knew his body was in more pain than he could ever remember being in he felt _good_.

"More, please," he sobbed. An angled thrust had Saix rubbing a spike along a part of him yelling in pleasure. Though he couldn't tell the difference between his pained cried and the ones of pleasure any more. Everything that came out of his voice sounded the same. Each pleading word, each whimper, was just a vibration his throat made. He wasn't sure how long Saix fucked him. He didn't remember the end.

It couldn't have been from the pain, never before had Sora passed out from pain alone, but suddenly everything was okay. It was dark and peaceful. There was no sensation in his body. There wasn't a thought of anything. It was possibly the happiest he'd been in a long time.


	7. Chapter 7

~Captain~

~Chapter 7~

Hello! Here's another chapter! For your amusement I'm going to let you in on what goes one while I'm writing.

First of all, I live with 4 guys because i had serious roommate troubles and moved out. So I'm staying with my... not my boyfriend (fuck buddy) and his roommates. He's alternating between homework, studying for a test, and playing Mass Effect 2 before the third game comes out. He and I are smoking way too much hooka. His best friend who doesn't live here is playing on the other tv (because having one retardedly large tv in the living room isn't enough) and even better, he'd playing the SAME GAME. One of my guy's actual roommates is watching rescue me and talking about "mmmm titties. Oh! Do you know (insert sorority girl's name here)? She's smokin' hot. You should set me up with (enter my sorority sister's name). She's so hot." While all of this goes on around me I'm writing this, teaching another guy how to cook asparagus and repacking the hooka.

This is a typical night in my life.

* * *

><p>In his mind everything was okay. He and Roxas were eight again, living at home with their mother and father before everything happened. Fresh cookies were in the oven, waiting for them to be done playing outside. He'd climbed up a tree because he had to make sure it was the right tree for he and Roxas to build a tree fort in and Roxas was too afraid of heights. Sora hadn't realized until he was up in the tree that he was also afraid of heights or at least of falling.<p>

From the ground Roxas shouted encouragements up at him. Biting the inside of his cheek to cover up the quivering of his lip he smiled down at Roxas. "I'll be okay!" And if he could just figure out how to get down the same way he got up he would be.

But of course Roxas didn't believe him. Roxas was always looking out for Sora even if Sora was older by a few minutes. Running inside to get their mom Roxas hurried back. "She's coming Sora!"

"Sora!" his mom called. He looked up to see he come out of the house but she wasn't right. He could hear her voice so clearly but he could see her face. All he saw was her brown hair and her rushing towards him. "Sora!"

But he didn't want to get out of the tree. It was safe. He could stay up here for years, build the fort around himself. It's be his new home. When it was built Roxas could come up and stay with him. Their mom could too. But his father could keep the house. He could keep it all to himself. And the cars. And the cottage. He could keep everything. Sora just wanted Roxas and his mom. They'd be all the family he needed.

"Sora!"

Waking from his dream made reality worse. He had to find Roxas. Why he was sleeping and wasting made him stupid. Roxas needed him and he only had a little bit of time before Riku figured out his plan. He felt bad, but Riku really should've known better than to believe Sora wouldn't go looking. But his limbs felt heavy and his eyelids heavier.

His eyes opened before he could get his body to move. For a second he was afraid the light in his ceiling had blinded him. Everything was so bright! It made his head throb. Or was his head already throbbing and the light made it worse? Normally his tan walls did a better job of absorbing some of the light. But this was ridiculous. Squinting up to get his eyes adjusted he began to realize he wasn't even in his room. He tried to sit up but he body rejected his movement.

"Sora! Don't sit up!" It wasn't his mother's voice so at least he wasn't dreaming. But what was Kairi doing in his room or wherever he was?

He tried to say something but nothing came out of his throat. It was so dry he might as well have been stranded in the desert without a drop of water for weeks. Kairi must've released his struggle. A trickle of water passed through his lips. Not all made its way into his mouth. Cool drops ran down the side of his cheek. Too soon she stopped giving him water. He needed more. Wanted more. He also wanted food if his now rumbling stomach was telling the truth.

"W—why…are you… here?" Talking hurt. Even with the water he felt dehydrated. "What… happened?" He could open his eyes all the way now. He definitely wasn't in his room. Everything was white or at least pale. A pale blue curtain around his bed with white plastic railings on the side. A steady _beep_ made him glance at a giant monitor. _Hospital._ But how did he get here? And when?

"Oh! I promised I'd call Riku when you woke up!" Kairi exclaimed. She was dressed in a simple summer dress. Destiny Island had been warm but never had he seen her wear a dress there. "Stay here, okay? And don't fall asleep again." Her words were lighthearted but Sora could hear worry beneath them. Again he wondered what had happened. He'd gone to sleep in his bed and woken up here.

The second she was out of sight, heels clicking against the linoleum, Sora forced his body to cooperate. Sitting up winded him. Tubes in his arms made him feel queasy. He didn't like needles. Shots at the doctor had made him cry as a kid. Now seeing them poke out of his arms was disgusting. Lifting the hospital gown away from his body to look for signs of what happened he only found scratches. Had he been mauled by a cat? He hoped if that was the case it was at least a lion or something. Being beaten in a fight by Riku was one thing; losing to a kitten was embarrassing.

But his legs felt like he'd run a marathon and even his ass hurt. His chest was tight. Breathing was a challenge in and of itself. From its spot in his chest his heart continued to beat steadily, making his head throb in time.

He could hear the clicking of heels again. Shortly after Kairi reappeared. "Good! You're still up!"

"Water?" he asked feebly. She grabbed a glass still half full and raised it to his lips. Taking it from her he felt his hand tremble. Still, he didn't want her to be burdened with taking care of him. He was sixteen! Almost seventeen actually. His birthday was in the beginning of September. "What happened?"

"Doctor said you might have PTA. Post traumatic amnesia. You've been in a coma for a few days. Don't worry though," she hurried to exclaim at his shocked face. "You shouldn't have any permanent damage. Functionality of your limbs might be iffy for a bit and talking might be a challenge but you'll be okay!" Reaching out she took the glass from him. "We were all really worried, you know. Riku had to stop spending every minute here after two days. He couldn't stand watching your eyes open and thinking you were okay before you drifted off again. It was really scary, Sora. You can't do that to us again, got it?"

Sora just nodded. He didn't even know what it was he did to get himself like this. But he could figure that out in a bit. There were other things he needed to know first. "Where am… I?"

"Riku brought you back to Radiant Garden." Sora's heart dropped. He was in so much trouble. "You're actually in the castle's medical wing." Kairi suddenly let out a small laugh. "I should actually thank you. I'm still really upset you did this but because of you I've been granted full access to the castle. Before Riku still wouldn't let me come here. Me being here makes his family think we're more serious than we are, you know?"

She said it all with a smile and a laugh but she seemed so sad underneath it all. Reaching out he touched her hand. He wanted to say something comforting but nothing came to him. He felt like a coward for it, but he was glad talking was hard for him. "Don't worry about Riku," she said with a smile. "I'm sure he's going to want to yell but he really was worried about you. I don't think he'd ever been so worried actually. And he won't want to let you out of this room for a while but I'll convince him to let you go shopping with me. The weather here is really nice. And you have to see this place! It's really beautiful. Oh! And they have the best food here. There's ice cream and fresh fish. I know you like fish. I'll see if I can get you some when Riku gets here. And when you're up we've got to go into town. There's so much going on!"

Sora just let her continue to ramble. She was trying so hard to keep him from asking any questions she probably couldn't answer. And even if he wasn't really interested in the plays and movies going on in town he could see it made her happy to just talk about it. The only thing he didn't understand from her rambling was why she was talking about doing it with him. Riku was her boyfriend, or he might as well be. Shouldn't he be doing all of those things with her?

Kairi was beginning to repeat herself when Riku finally came to see Sora. His hair was messier than it normally was and his eyes showed just how frayed he was feeling. "Thanks for calling me Kairi," he said but he couldn't stop looking at Sora.

"Of course! I'm going to get Sora something to eat. Do you want anything?" Riku shook his head and let her leave without a glance. When the door shut behind her he finally looked away from Sora.

It was an uncomfortable silence. Was this how Riku felt when Sora refused to talk to him for the first few weeks on Destiny Island? "Riku…"

"Did you even consider keeping your promise to me?" Riku said cutting of Sora.

"Well… I promised I'd come… let you… keep watch over me in… Radiant Garden... Didn't I?" Sora's attempt at humor wasn't appreciated. Whatever lease Riku had kept on his temper snapped. He stormed over to push Sora back down. From the way he was leaning over Sora, Riku might as well have climbed into the narrow bed with him. Their faces were so close Sora could feel his breath, smell leather, paper and metal on the other boy.

"You promised you wouldn't do anything stupid."

"You knew… it was a lie."

Letting go of Sora Riku began pacing around the room. "I thought you'd do something reckless. I thought you'd bribe someone for information. I thought you'd go find Hisa in Atlantica. I had people waiting there for you. Or maybe you'd just get on a computer and search for information. But that would all be too smart."

"I don't remember." And he didn't. Whatever happened was lost to his mind. If Riku wanted answers Sora couldn't give them to him.

"Then what do you remember?" Riku snapped.

"You leaving."

"And what's your plan for finding Roxas?"

Ashamed Sora sat himself up but couldn't find it in him to look at Riku. Something had happened. Something must've gone wrong with his plan. If he told Riku what he was planning maybe Riku could help him remember. "I was going to go back… to the Playground."

"Why? Hisa just started a new club in Atlantica. He wouldn't be there."

Maybe it was simple logic to Riku but Sora hadn't once considered that. Riku had overestimated Sora's intelligence and not thought to watch for him returning to the Playground. "Never thought of that."

Riku growled. "And when you got there?"

"I don't know. I'd figure out a plan when I got there."

"Then what about an addiction to drugs? Did you forget to mention that as well?"

"I don't—" He must've gotten to the Playground. That would explain any drugs found in his system. But why had he taken any of the pills? He knew his weakness to them. Hell, he had loved them while there. They made the nights bearable and during the day he could pretend everything was a nightmare. He was drawn to the hazy feeling he had. If he'd been given the choice he would've always taken them, even when they weren't needed, even if it made him sick. "Hisa used to give…them to us. To help us," he explained.

He felt ashamed. There were a million reasons he wasn't worthy of Roxas' sacrifice or Riku's help. He wasn't smart or brave, there was nothing outstanding about him, he had no skills beyond sex, he was weak and he was addicted to those little white pills that made his life easier to bear. He wasn't proud of it but knew that was how he stayed sane. Yet admitting it to Riku made him feel dirty. Some part of him cared what Riku thought of him.

"I'm sorry," Sora said in a small voice.

"Sorry? You went back to that place and were raped!" Riku's voice had risen to a shout. "You threw everything we did you and Roxas back in our faces! Why would you do that to us?"

"Roxas." That was all the answer he could give. He didn't remember what happened but he had broken his promise for Roxas. He'd do anything for his brother. He wanted to do more but it was clear that couldn't happen now. He'd blown his chance and now there was no hope.

Riku stopped pacing and was back beside Sora. His anger hadn't lessened. The look on his face scared Sora. If Riku hit him now, if he realized Sora was just a whore indebted to him and raped him now, Sora wouldn't recover. His body was too fragile. Without Roxas to keep him grounded he was too unstable. Riku had been his new rock in life but now Sora feared he'd lose him too because of his actions.

"What about how hard the rest of us have looked for him? Did you stop to consider that?" No he hadn't. He hadn't even thought about what they'd think beyond their anger at him. Yes they'd wasted money on him, but what else did they except? "Is getting raped to find Roxas more important than your friends?"

Sora couldn't say anything. Friends? He hadn't really thought of them as such. Sure they had moments where their actions could be considered friendship but Sora wasn't like them. They had normal lives. A whore for sale had no place with them. He'd never thought about actually having them in his life longer than he had to. He'd rid them of the responsibility of taking care of him as soon as possible.

"Just tell me… did I find Roxas?"

"No." Riku's voice was soft but it didn't ease the harsh reality of the word. Sora had done this to himself and had gotten nothing in return. "Zexion is still looking. He'd been by to tell you what he's found. I thought it would help you wake up." Riku leaned closer to Sora to look into his eyes. Those clear azure eyes absorbed Sora. He didn't care that he was in a hospital. He just didn't want those eyes to look at him in anger again. But it wasn't anger. There was worry and frustration there. Sora hadn't really seen Riku anything but calm and collected before.

"Don't hate me." The words were out of Sora's lips before he realized what he was saying. All he could think about was the look in those eyes. Riku considered him a friend and would really be sad if Sora hadn't come back. He wanted to be pissed at Sora but couldn't be because he was just happy Sora was okay. Knowing he was beginning to understand Riku with just a look went a long way to making Sora feel better. But if this stupid stunt had deprived him of what might become real friendship he'd hate himself.

"Sora…" The door opened. Kairi announced her return loudly but Sora didn't hear a word of it. Soft lips were on his taking his breath away with the gentleness in the gesture. Too quickly it was over. Riku was still beside him but looking at Kairi coming around the curtain surrounding his bed. Goosebumps erupted across Sora's skin. He was hot and cold at once. The shock of the surprise kiss and the briefness of it left him speechless.

Calm as ever Riku thanked Kairi for the food she brought Sora and excused himself from the room. No goodbye for Sora. Kairi didn't stay long after that. Putting the food within arm's reach she followed Riku out, promising Sora that she'd be back later.

Long after they left Sora's food remained untouched. His huger was pushed aside by the plethora of emotions running through him. Riku… Riku was undeniably attractive. He was also completely idiotic if he thought just because he'd saved Sora yet again Sora would show his gratitude with his body. But that kiss hadn't been asking for sex. It was more just a confirmation of something. Though Sora wasn't sure what. Then there was Roxas. The fact that he was so easily distracted by Riku wasn't good. He needed to focus more on finding Roxas.

Frustrated tears fell down his cheeks. He really was a failure. He couldn't find Roxas. His feeble attempt had landed him here. If that didn't make him a failure he didn't know what did.

When a doctor came in they found Sora a placate patient. When Kairi came back he was curled in a ball in bed. Instead of talking she just sat with him until the sun outside the window set. He was grateful for her silent comfort even if it didn't take his mind from any of his problems.

His sleep that night was fitful. When Sora woke he felt barely rested. The whole day he tried to make his limbs work. They were more steady than the previous day but still shaky. When he stood for the first time his legs gave way beneath him. After a few tried he was able to walk around the bed. He wanted to leave the room but that would send Riku after him to chew him out again and Sora wasn't sure he was ready for that. He was willing to trust that Zexion was doing all he could to find Roxas, seeing him wasn't important. And though giving up control of the search, not that he ever had control, left him ample time to think about another silver haired boy Sora didn't want to see him.

Riku and Kairi were together. It wasn't even right for him to want Riku. As a prince, even a fourth son, he must be expected to produce an heir. And wasn't it only proper for a man and woman to be together? Yet there was now a tempting, lingering thought that refused to be pushed from Sora's mind. Riku was only a fourth son. His older brothers could have plenty of children. Besides, it would be asking too much if Riku didn't want to be with a girl. Yet he was already sexually intimate with Kairi, wasn't he? That left Sora alone.

Sora hadn't ever contemplated seriously being with anyone by choice. Roxas had found solace in Lexaeus while in the Playground. Sora was too afraid of the pain to want to be with anyone. The few times he could recall a relatively pleasant experience with sex was when he was so drugged up pain didn't even register. What if it was only painful? And what if Riku turned out to be like all the others? Gentle and caring at first before boredom set in and he'd want something… more. Would he be a guy who wants to hit Sora? Or would he enjoy hurting him in other ways? Just imagining it made Sora sick. Nice guys couldn't do that. He couldn't.

The next day was easier on Sora. He could walk around fine. He still felt breathless if he tried talking for too long, but otherwise he was almost back to normal. The third signaled the release from the room. Kairi had worked her magic and convinced Riku, and thusly the doctors, that Sora needed to get out. He was all but chomping at the bit. So Kairi brought him a pair of real clothes and dragged him out. The fresh air was refreshing.

"So where should we go first?" Kairi asked. Sora's opinion didn't really matter. He was content to be dragged along where she wanted. Shopping for new clothes for him, getting him a haircut, even getting him a laptop. He'd used a computer as a kid and during his time at Destiny Island, but she helped him get fully caught up on all of the new technology. Then it was off to the movies. She could quote each line from each character. Apparently she wanted to be an actress like her mother. Her father had even directed a few movies. It was really fascinating listening to her talk about her normal family. No siblings but dreams big enough to keep her family busy. If it wasn't for Riku she would be back in Destiny Island trying to get an acting gig.

Long after the sun set Kairi brought him back to the castle to show him his new room. It was grand, like the rest of the castle. Nothing about the place said overstated elegance. Simple lines adorned the walls. A few paintings from well-known artists hung on the walls. In his room he had a king-sized bed as well as furniture in matching cheery wood. Kairi helped him hang his clothes in a large wardrobe but let him put away the rest in drawers, mostly because his underwear went in there.

"I'll show you around the castle tomorrow. All right?" she said as she left.

Sora pulled out the matching silk pj's Kairi had gotten him. _"These are so cute! And the blue will match your eyes!"_ The silk fell softly against his skin. He couldn't help the sigh that passed his lips. It was so nice having real pjs. He'd slept naked in the Playground and Destiny Island. Clothes felt like protection. It was putting on another layer of skin to protect him from the world. And as embarrassing as it was he liked the feel of his member against the silk. It was so delicate against the sensitive skin.

Going into the connected bathroom he brushed his teeth and even brushed his hair. It was still long, Sora hadn't let Kairi cut that much off, but his head felt lighter. It still stuck out at odd angles though. Maybe even more without the extra weight. Glancing at himself in the mirror he had to look away. He looked just like Roxas. Their hair was different, their skin slightly different tones. But their eyes were the same deep, endless blue of the ocean. He could remember when they both had the happy eyes of children. Now there was something dark in Roxas' and Sora could see traces of it in his own eyes.

A knock at his door had him poking his head out of the bathroom. "Come in!" Still the door didn't open. Walking over Sora opened it and tried to not run and hide. There was Riku, looking like a prince in a suit that was made just for him. Hell, it probably was. Wide shoulders were emphasized, eyes were drawn to slim hips, silver hair and light azure eyes were offset by a suit darker than black. What was he doing outside Sora's room.

"Are you still angry with me?" Sora asked. Of course that's not what he really wanted to ask, but it was a good start.

"I'm furious," Riku said simply. "But I wanted to see how your day with Kairi went."

"It was great. Didn't she tell you about it?" Sora could heart his heart beating in his ears. The only reason his hand wasn't shaking was because it was against the door. But his voice was steady.

"She did but she always thinks shopping is wonderful. I wasn't sure if you found it as enjoyable." Riku shifted so he could lean against the doorframe. The suit pulled tight across his chest. Everything about him made Sora want slam the door shut and hide under the bed.

"It was fine. I've never been shopping like that before," Sora replied with a laugh. "She's showing me around the castle tomorrow. It's really wonderful by the way. And thank you for the room."

"She told me. But I thought you might like to begin training again." Riku was looking at his shoe like it had a scuff on it. "Not with me. I'm going to be busy the next few days. But different segments of the Royal Army train here during the day as well as my family's personal guard. I thought you might like to start training with them."

The idea soothed Sora. Shopping? Bah. Training sounded much better. Getting stronger and being able to protect himself was something he couldn't refuse. He wanted real training more than anything. "When and where?"

Riku laughed. His eyes lit up and his smile put Sora at ease. "Kairi can show you to the main training hall at eight. I've already let them know you'd be showing up."

"Thank you, Riku." As Sora said his name Riku looked up at him. Riku pushed himself away from the doorframe to take a step closer to Sora. Still refusing to run Sora looked away. He'd said thank you. That was never enough. Everyone always wanted more. He had nothing to give Riku but his body. It was just too much. Sora was terrified Riku wanted his body. Why else would he show up so late and give Sora something he clearly wanted? "Do you want to come in?" _Just please be gentle._

"No. I just wanted to make sure you were okay after Kairi took you out today. I'll let you go to sleep now." Sora's shock must've been obvious. His heart was still beating hard in his chest. He had resigned himself to being a whore for Riku but Riku didn't want him. Was he too damaged? Too dirty? A hand cupped his cheek gently. There was a frustration in Riku's eyes. One more directed at himself than Sora. Keeping Sora still Riku leaned in to give him a kiss. There was plenty of time to turn away or slam to door shut.

Sora let lips press against his. Riku still smelled like leather and paper. A finger caressed his cheek. A shiver ran through Sora. He felt terrified and thrilled all at once. Too soon the lips left his. "Good night, Sora."

Roxas was the one with the fascinating name. People said it like it was synonymous with sex. Yet as Riku said it Sora felt… special. He didn't feel like a molested child. For the first time he felt like he could grow up, move past it all. Sora felt like Riku saw him as something different.

"Good night."

Sora didn't shut the door until Riku was so far down the hall he couldn't see him anymore. Crawling into bed Sora drew the covers up over his head. The tears were coming again. Each one was a drop of relief. Safe. He was safe. He wouldn't be hurt here. Riku wasn't going to hurt him. He was finally safe.


	8. Chapter 8

~Captain~

~Chapter 8~

So I'm giving a shout-out to WolfPacFaan for being a continuing supporter of this story! For the reviews and the positive comments. You've been amazing! Also to Salvi for reading not only this story, but also _Playground_! You've been so great whenever I take way too long to post! I love the support of everyone! ^_^

And I am also apologizing for not having this up yesterday or even a few hours ago. If you care to hear about my crazy excuses you'll find them after the story.

* * *

><p>Riku would protect him, if he could. If Riku knew what was going on Sora knew he'd do anything to stop it. But Riku didn't know and Sora wasn't sure he could tell him. The boy was so kind to Sora. He seemed to look at Sora like he was a real person. If he had any idea what kind of person Sora really was he wouldn't be there for him anymore.<p>

Sora couldn't lose Riku like he lost Roxas.

When he'd been woken by Kairi everything was bright and shiny. He dressed in sweats and followed her around as she showed him each of the training halls as well as the guard's quarters. Each member of the royal family had their own personal guard. The King's was at the very center of the castle and Riku's guards were located in a separate building towards the back of the castle. The training hall was right outside the King's guards rooms. A weapons room with everything from swords to guns was nearby. The swords were for ceremonial purposes only but they were still part of regular training.

The Royal Army was practicing in the main hall today. They lived on the outskirts of town but came up to the castle to train. Only the best were selected for the Royal family's guard. After Kairi briefly introduced Sora to the leader of squad eight and the Commander of the army, she bounced away to go do more shopping, saying she'd be back after lunch.

Like any soldier, Sora began with conditioning. Running around the expansive castle grounds left him gasping for air. The pushups made his arms scream. After just a few minutes it was obvious he wasn't nearly as strong as any of the other soldiers. Their commanding officer yelled at him to keep up and work harder but was tempered by the Commander's encouraging remarks. The other soldiers conditioning with him were supportive as well. They all had an encouraging smile for him and a few choice comments when they were tired. Their language was enough to make Sora smile but it was nothing new. Whores in the Playground had pretty bad language.

Sora thought he may have found a friend. Another soldier in training around his own age, Hayner, was having almost as hard of a time as he was. Brown eyes, blond hair and a never ending smile made Sora warm up to him immediately. Even better was the way he stuck his tongue out at their leader when he was annoyed. Hayner slowed down to run with Sora and take some of the yelling when they were the slowest trainees. But Hayner made it funny.

When training was done for the afternoon everyone was crowded into a separate hall for lunch. Long tables were set up along the hall and at the far end were women serving food. Grabbing a plate Sora got in line behind Hayner.

"Is every day like this?" Sora asked.

"Almost. Once we are done with basic training we'll be allowed to start the weapons training." The grin on Hayner's face said that's the real reason he had joined the army. "There are these huge guns, machine guns. And then the swords. If you are good enough to join one of the Guards you have to learn to fence too. They have tournaments. The princes sometimes compete as well. Did you know Riku is a world champion? He normally wins if he competes and not 'cause his guard lets him win. He's just that good."

Sora knew Riku was good but he didn't know he was _that_ good.

"I'm going to join Riku's guard," Sora declared suddenly. Even if he hadn't thought of it before, he knew it was what he wanted. It felt right.

"Riku's? Not the King's?" Sora shook his head. He'd protect Riku by being a part of his Guard. "Well I'll be joining Riku's too then. Someone has to make sure you don't get into trouble. And I can tell, you're trouble."

Sora laughed. It felt so nice being able to just talk to someone. Food was dumped on his plate and Sora followed Hayner to a table. Everyone else from the squad was already at the table digging in. A few jokes were passed around, some good natured ones were directed at Sora. And when Kairi showed up to drag him away the looks he got from the other guys made him laugh harder than any joke. If only they knew he had no interest in her and she was dating someone.

Though that brought up a whole separate issue. Was Kairi aware that Riku was kissing him? Would Riku tell her or was Sora going to be his dirty little secret?

"So how was it?" she asked. They were walking side by side up to his room. "Riku said you'd probably have more fun doing that than shopping."

"I wouldn't say more fun…"

"It's okay," she assured him with a laugh. "Most guys don't like shopping. Riku certainly doesn't." Her steps slowed as they got closer to his room. "Sora?" He turned around to look at her. She was stopped, staring uncertainly at the ground. "Has Riku said anything about me?"

"What do you mean?"

"He's been distant. Well, more than normal. He doesn't seem to see me as anything more than a friend now. He hasn't for a while. But you guys seem really close so maybe you could figure out why…?"

Sora tried not to look guilty. He hadn't done anything but let Riku kiss him. "Sure Kairi. I'll figure it out." He felt like such a liar. He knew a bit more than he could tell her. But if Riku was playing for a different team it wasn't Sora's place to oust him.

"Thank Sora. I'll let you go. Zexion wants to see you when you're done showering. Should I come steal you away from training tomorrow?"

"Don't worry. I'll stay for a whole day tomorrow."

"Okay."

Sora went off to his room. Jumping in the shower he quickly washed the sweat from his body. Grabbing a towel he wrapped it around his waist as he tried to find clothes. Did he want to wear something casual or nicer? What kind of meeting did Zexion want to have? Finding a nice pair of slacks and a yellow shirt Sora tried to remember where Zexion's office was. Somewhere near the training hall. Wandering around he checked multiple doors before he found Zexion's office. Opening the door before Zexion could even give him permission to enter Sora let out a low whistle. Damn. Zexion had a nice office for being just out of college. A nice wood desk, even his own name plaque. Papers of all sorts were scattered across the desk.

"Hello, Sora," Zexion said. His voice held a twinge of annoyance. Was he actually upset Sora had just entered? How uptight.

"Hey Zexion," said Sora as he flopped himself down in the chair across from the desk. The chair was a comfy leather armchair. Purposefully laying a leg across one side just to annoy Zexion, Sora stretched out. "So what did you need?"

"I wanted to ask you what happened. Do you remember anything else?"

So, Riku told him about lack of memories concerning him returning to the Playground. "I still don't remember anything. You want to fill me in?"

Zexion took a moment to reorganize papers and file them away in a desk drawer. "We traced your card. Riku flew out to Traverse Town when he found where you were going but he didn't get there until the next morning. You had a head start of almost twenty-four hours. When he got there with some of his Guard they found you in an alley beside the club."

Probably the same one he waited in for hours before getting into the Playground. "Was my bag still there?"

"No." Sora had figured as much. None of the things he brought with him had been returned to him here in Radiant Garden.

"Was I already asleep?"

"Yes, you were already in a coma. You had been brutalized, raped, and drugged. Riku took you to a hospital in town who confirmed a coma from a head injury and overuse of narcotics."

Sora wasn't sure how he felt. Ashamed was a large part of it because he wasn't sure if he took the drugs himself or if they were forced on him. Hisa used to force him to take them but if Hisa wasn't there he didn't know who else might've or why. But if something had happened, something so bad he couldn't bear it, and he had access to those ones that would make him forget everything Sora knew he would've taken them. So did he do it to himself or not?

Standing up Sora decided the conversation was over. He remembered nothing. There was no use in continuing the conversation. "If I remember something I'll let you know," said Sora quietly.

"Sora." He stopped at the door when he heard his name. "Do you really want to remember? Sometimes it's better not knowing what happened."

"Maybe it is sometimes. But this isn't one of those times." Slipping out the door Sora began wandering aimlessly around. Zexion was so uptight and serious. He needed someone to loosen him up. And what he said about not knowing. It bugged Sora. He wanted to know. He needed some sort of explanation if only so then he'd know for certain he did everything he could've for Roxas. That was the only way he'd be able to keep himself from doing anything else stupid.

Finding his way back to the training hall Sora saw a different group of men practicing. Each wore white pants and a white shirt. Partners were sparing against each other, some with fists, others with swords. A single man stood watching the rest with a slight frown. Long brown hair hung freely around his shoulders.

"That's Leon," said a voice from behind him. "Captain of Riku's Personal Guard."

"Commander!" Sora jumped to attention making the older man laugh.

"No need to be so formal, Sora. Walk with me. I'll show you more of the castle." As Sora followed him he took one last glance at Leon. If he wanted to become part of Riku's Guard he'd have to impress that man. And from the look on his face he wasn't easily impressed.

The Commander of the Royal army was a tall man, clearly beginning to get on in years. Cropped blond hair was graying at the temples and strands of gray peppered his mustache. "It's a great honor to be made a part of the Royal Army. And if you show real promise of the Captains may take notice of you and invite you to join their Guard."

"The Princes don't choose who's in their Guard?"

"No. The only say they have is who their Captain is. The Guard votes and presents their choice to their Prince. Then the Prince has a few options. They can accept the candidate, refuse them outright, or challenge them. Prince Sephiroth and Prince Riku are the only two I've seen make the challenge, and since then neither have chosen new Captains."

Following the Commander outside the castle Sora wished he'd worn a tee-shirt. It was hot in the nice shirt and he didn't want to sweat and ruin it. "What does a challenge involve?"

"It's three separate rounds. The first is always a trial by combat, a simple fist fight really. The second round is the potential Captain's choosing. Anything from swords to guns to endurance testing is allowed. Last is the Prince's choice. Again, it's whatever they want. And though potential Captains are trained to be the very best, the Princes were trained as children as well. Riku often trains with his Guard when he'd not busy."

"What has Riku chosen?" asked Sora.

"Riku chooses fencing of course. He's guaranteed a win that way."

_Of course he'd choose to fence_, Sora told himself. _Stop being stupid._ "So where are we going?"

The Commander smiled at him over his shoulder. "You seem interested in Riku's Guard so I figured I'd show you what you're in for." Sora followed the man into the barracks where Riku's Guard lived. On the outside the building was simple white stone with a large windows. Inside was so much more fantastic. It was larger than it looked. Easily fifty beds in rows lined the main room they'd just stepped into. "Off to our right is where they keep their formal uniforms and swords."

Sora could see through the open door and was in awe of the uniforms. Brilliantly white each uniform had gold trim along the shoulders and cuffs. Gold buttons started at a stiff collar and ended at the bottom of each tailored jacket. There were even boots in white and gold, as well as matching hats. Sora hadn't cared one way or another when shopping with Kairi but he'd love to try on one of those.

"The King's Guard wears gold. Prince Sephiroth's wears grey. Prince Ansem's wears black. Prince Kadaj's wears silver and Prince Riku's wears white. All uniforms have gold accents to represent their tries to the king." Sora resisted the urge to go look at the uniforms more closely. Instead he followed the Commander back towards another open door. This room was just ass large as the first but with tables and chairs instead of beds. "Here is the game room. Whenever they're resting the Guards come here to play card games. Over there is Leon's office and room." Sora was glad they were heading over there. He wanted to see what a Captain's office was like.

Surprisingly enough it was barer than any other part of the barracks. Only a simple desk and two wooden chairs, one for Leon and one for a guest, took up space in the room. No pictures hung on the walls, no medals to remind him of rendered services. Sora was most disappointed there wasn't even a sword for him to look at. "There's nothing in here," Sora said a touch dejectedly. He'd been looking forward to something awesome after seeing those uniforms.

The Commander just laughed. "That's Leon for you. He has no interest in anything but his job. But for a man so young he makes a fine Captain."

Sora looked again at the room. It was bare. But Leon wasn't trying to make himself look more important than he was or make his job seen anything different than what it was. For that Sora could respect him. "I want to serve under Leon," he told the Commander. "I want to get strong enough to be in Riku's Guard."

As if the Commander was actually looking at Sora for the first time he smiled. Not the warm smile he'd had on while showing Sora around. This was a cold smile. "I can mention you to Leon, have him take a look at you."

Sora knew that smile. He knew that look. "Thank-you sir," he said taking a step away from the man. Somehow the man had put himself between Sora and the door. Of course there was still Leon's room to run to. Maybe he could climb out a window. "But I don't mind working hard to get him to notice me."

Fast as lightning a hand reached out to take hold of Sora's arm. For an old man his grip was painfully tight. "I really don't mind doing a favor for you, Sora. And I'm sure you can do one for me as well." He pulled Sora close then, right up against his body so his other arm could grab at Sora's hair. "I've heard things about you, Sora. I think we could make each other very happy."

A few thoughts ran through Sora's mind in quick succession. The first was if Riku had told everyone he was a whore. Perhaps he'd just told the Commander of the Royal army. That would make sense. And explain why this was the first man to try anything with him. The second was an internal debate whether or not Sora should just go along with the Commander. If Riku had been here he wouldn't have let Sora even consider it. But Sora wasn't fast enough or strong enough to get away. All of Riku's Guard was training in the castle. Yelling would get him nowhere. And his butt still hurt from the time he didn't remember. No excruciating pain, most of it had healed while he was in a coma, yet it did give him a twinge of pain now and again. And if he couldn't get away he had to keep from getting hurt more.

This was exactly why he needed to become stronger! He had to defend himself! If he did this now things would be no different here. He would just be a whore for everyone's use. Riku wouldn't say his name like he was an equal again. Instead Riku would see him as a whore.

"No," Sora said shoving the man. "I don't know what you've heard, but there's nothing I can do for you."

The hand in his hair tightened to the point of pain yanking his head back. Sora could feel the Commander's hot breath against his ear. Even though his voice was little above a whisper Sora heard each word clearly. "What I heard was there was a video of you the Prince is keeping hidden. The rumor is you're begging for Prince Riku to fuck you like a needy slut." The pain in his head faded as pieces slid into place in Sora's mind. He couldn't remember anything, but the fog of his mind was a little less dense. The hand on Sora's arm left to grab Sora's dick. "Can you only get this up for your Prince? Or can you get it up for your Commander?"

"Don't touch me," Sora growled. The mention of Riku spurred him to action. He didn't know what the man was talking about, and he was going to find out, but Riku was not a part of this. He had no place in such a depraved conversation. And Sora would not let Riku view him as less of a man. "I can find my way back to the castle."

He tried to pull the hands off of him. Thick muscles were tense under his palms. _If you're seriously outmatched you should remember to hit the groin and the throat. _Sora could hear Riku's voice telling him what to do. Raising a leg he kicked out at the man's groin. Honestly, he hadn't thought it would do anything. When he was suddenly free of the hands he was frozen for a second. Once he realized he was free he took off running back through the barracks. He almost tripped over a chair and growled when his hip banged against a bed post. He was at the door when he finally heard footsteps behind him. Far enough away he knew he'd be able to make a scene before the Commander caught up to him. Yanking the door open he ran outside—and straight into another body.

Looking up from where he'd fallen Sora tried not to tremble. _No._ If the Commander had been told Leon probably had been as well. And if he had come here after the Commander had brought Sora… Two against one wasn't fair. "Don't touch me!" Sora yelled. His hands balled into fists on the ground beside him. If Leon tried anything Sora would fight. And if given the chance, he'd run.

"You're the one who ran into me," Leon said with a confused look. "Why are you on the ground?"

"I – I fell," answered Sora with an embarrassed glare. "Because you were in my way."

The commander's footsteps were slowing as they approached the brunettes but Leon didn't take his eyes from Sora. "Then why don't you stand up?"

"I'm not a kid," Sora stated, standing up nevertheless. "I don't need you to tell me what to do."

The exasperated look on Leon's face made It obvious what he thought about that. Saying nothing more to Sora he finally looked at the Commander. "Sir. May I ask what you're doing in my barracks?"

"I was showing Sora around." His voice was red, eyebrows tilted downwards in unconscious anger.

"Well, then there won't be a problem if you were to explain that to our Prince." Leon glanced at Sora again. The scary frown he'd had on earlier was replaced by a small smile that lit up his face. "Sora. I'm sure this will distress Riku. Please go wait in Zexion's office so he can find you."

Saluting Sora didn't let himself look back as he went to the castle. He was scared. Terrified actually. But elated. He had run and would've gotten away had Leon not been outside the door. No longer was he just a pawn. He could fight back! Opening the door to Zexion's office without knocking again he was willing to take a glare from the man. But Zexion wasn't there. Sora was shocked. Did Zexion actually have a life outside of the castle and his duties here? The thought of him doing something just for fun and not for Riku was so strange Sora couldn't even picture it.

Feeling bold, Sora sat in Zexion's chair behind the desk. It wasn't quite as comfy as the chair Sora had been in before. Still, there was a sense of power that came from sitting there. A few papers were still out on the desk. Most had figures and sums on them. Two were reports. Seeing Roxas' name his heart leapt—then fell as he realized it was another false lead. Still he hung on every word like a lifeline. When he'd read them he wanted to see other reports. Opening up the drawers of the desk he found rows of files. None had Roxas' name.

Pushing away from the desk Sora checked every inch of each drawer. Nothing! What did Zexion do with the reports? Seeing a shelf with files on it Sora went over to it. More names, more figures. Nothing on Roxas. Dragging Zexion's chair over he stood on it to check the higher shelves. No more files, but Sora did see a simple box of ebony about the size of a briefcase. Opening the box he cheered in victory. On the very tops was Roxas' name. Flipping through the pages he could see the dates going back four and a half months. There was barely a day that didn't have a report. Even though Sora knew there was no trace of Roxas he was relieved. Zexion hadn't been lying or making things up. He was looking for Roxas.

Beside the first stack was another smaller stack of reports, these with Sora's own name. Doctor's reports mostly. Here and there were smaller pieces of paper with a different style of writing on them. From the detached way they wrote about him Sora guessed they were Zexion's notes about him. Underneath all of the notes was a small CD with a note tapped to it. Nothing was written directly on it. Curious, Sora grabbed it before climbing off the chair.

"If Zexion's not here I don't need to stay," Sora said out loud to himself. "I'm sure Riku will look in the room he gave me if I'm not here. Or maybe I'll run into him on the way to my room and save us some time." Pleased with himself Sora left Zexion's office. He took his time going back to his room, keeping his ears perked for the sound of Riku's voice. Strangely enough, he didn't hear anyone. No servants were even in the halls.

Inside his room he went over to the laptop Kairi had gotten him. Opening it up he placed in the CD, taking the note off. It took a minute before his computer woke up from its sleep and opened up a menu to play what was on the disk. Reading the simply typed note Sora felt unsettled.

_A present for the Prince. In return we ask for Sora to be returned to us in good condition. _

A wanton moan was what triggered the first of Sora's memories. Looking up at the screen he felt the blood drain from his face. He felt cold all over. There he was on the screen. The Commander had spoken true. There Sora was, blood smeared across his ass and inner thighs, panting and moaning as he stroked himself with one hand as the other reached around him to poke at his entrance. He remembered the blood and the pain. That's why he took the white pill. From the still intact look of himself this must've been shortly after that. The angle of the camera said it was off to his right where he'd barely looked. If he was so lost in lust he probably hadn't noticed it.

"Who're you imagining?" a voice asked him calmly. Sora was proud of himself. He shook his head refusing to give up the name. He watched himself bite his lip drawing blood. A few more times the voice asked who Sora was thinking about but not once did Sora answer. He eyes fluttered open and closed, cloudy with drugs. Whatever Sora had been imagining must've been good. The way his hips were moving was horribly erotic.

Had Riku really seen this? Was _this_ the reason he was giving Sora those gentle kisses? Sora's could admit that even with the blood on him he was a sight to see. His face was caught between innocent lust and wanton desire. His back was arched like a taunt bow. When his body seemed so close to exploding he'd rise up on his toes. When orgasm couldn't be reached small tears fell down Sora's cheeks. The panting grew heavier and harder. Eventually Sora watched himself fall backwards into a chair. His hand was no longer at his entrance but instead playing with his body. It was hard watching himself but he kept at it. There might be information in here that he still didn't remember. Each second he watched was another bit of the puzzle falling back into place.

Almost three quarters of an hour later Sora could see the look in his eyes clear up. His lips parted and in the tone of a moan Sora heard himself say a single name. "Riku…"

For the first time during the whole video Sora felt a stirring in him. In a drugged up state he had called out for Riku. Not to save him, but to satisfy his lust. He could picture himself bent over like he had been, rising up to meet each of Riku's thrusts. The man had a body made for sex. His hair was long enough to hold on to. Those eyes and lips were made of sin itself. A strong body to take control and dominate in the gentlest of ways.

He wanted Riku with a needy passion.

"Riku? The Prince from Radiant Garden? That's who you've been fantasizing about?" asked the voice.

Sora reached out to clutch at the man's shirt. Whatever arousal Sora had felt thinking about Riku died. The look on his face was so needy it was pathetic. And looking that way at just some random man was unforgivable. Even knowing the pain of the drugs he couldn't forgive himself. If he wanted to be with Riku he couldn't be so debauched. "Please fuck me," Sora said, voice husky with need, driving home his self-made point.

"You'd let anyone use you, wouldn't you?" Sora nodded. "Tell me what you want to do to Riku."

"I want to touch him. Tease him until he'd hard for me." Sora pulled the man closer to rub his face against the bulge in his pants. "I want to taste him." The pants came off, a hard cock came out. Sora looked away from the screen then. He really didn't want to watch himself suck off another man. Not when he'd just realized how badly he wanted Riku. He bit the side of his hand to reassure himself he wasn't in the chair, sucking the dick of a random man. He was sitting in Riku's castle, safe. "I want Riku to fuck me."

Sora's emotions were all twisted up. He wanted to shut this off but had to keep watching. He felt himself hardening between his legs thinking of Riku yet felt completely inadequate.

"How?"

"Any way. Anywhere. Over the desk."

"Would you make him get you ready himself?" That brought up so many more raunchy images. A hot oil massage that led to oil slicking his dick, dripping down his balls to slide over his hole and make it easy for only of those long pale fingers to slide in him. A tongue circling that ring of muscle to make it relax. The next words put on whole new spin on those images. "Or is it that you want him to take you dry? Do you want him to hurt you?"

Of course he didn't want to be hurt. And Riku wouldn't. But he could think of plenty ideas that might involve a little bit of pain and lots of pleasure. If it put him at Riku's mercy he wouldn't mind being tied to a bed. Riku could even spank him if he was bad. Never before had that seemed so erotic. There were a few toys he wouldn't mind using if Riku was up for it. The trust he had in Riku meant he knew Riku wouldn't abusing him for no reason.

"I don't care. He can do whatever he wants to me." There was silence for a moment. Sora looked back at the screen but only Sora was in view of the camera. When the other person's torso came back into view Sora forgot about his sexy fantasies with Riku. Rushing over he grabbed the trash can beside his desk. He made it just in time before he puked.

A knock on the door made him puke again. "Sora? Can I come in?" His arms felt shaky. "Sora?"

"Stay out!" Sora warned. The voice on the video asked if he wanted to be fucked like that. Sora could almost feel the ripping pain again, the hot blood rushing down his legs. He could feel the spikes ripping through him again. As he was violently sick he began to cry. This is why he forgot this. There was a reason he pushed this from his mind.

Arms around him made him panic to get away. "Don't touch me!" he yelled again. His voice on the video was screaming now, begging for the pain to stop but for someone to keep fucking him. Between his mind and the two voices he couldn't tell what was real. The arms around him were just holding him in place to fuck him. The smell of leather was from the leather pants he had had on. Coppery blood mixed with vomit made it clear he was going to make himself light headed from losing both.

"Sora, you're all right. I won't hurt you."

"Please, Saix. Please. Don't hurt me." His chest heaved with a labored sob. His muscles felt like they were going to snap from the tension running through them. His arms felt stuck to the trash can.

"Damn it, Sora!" Those arms held him so tightly his own tingled. Coppery blood became the sharp scent of steel. Still thrashing Sora's head hit against something behind him. Then he really could smell blood. But it wasn't his. It wasn't his. Spinning on his butt he looked at Riku, now covering his nose. A few drops of blood had fallen on a sky blue shirt. The gray jacket was open. Tilting his head back Riku tried to slow the bleeding.

Sora let his hand drift towards Riku's face. Halting just before he could brush the skin Sora leaned forward to rest his head against Riku's chest. In the background he could still hear screaming and begging for more, harder, faster. "I'm sorry."

The face leaned into his hand. Unexpectedly soft skin rubbed against his hand. Those eyes that Sora longed to look at all the time locked onto his. "I puked when I first saw it as well." There was a faint curve to his lips telling Sora he wasn't angry for the bloody nose. "Are you okay?"

Sora sat back on his heels. His face was still wet from tears. Running his tongue around his mouth he cringed at the acrid taste of vomit. "I remember. It helped me remember."

"The video or what happened earlier?"

"Leon told you about that?" Sora knew he'd done the right thing, and was still proud of it, but he still felt like the whore Riku had first met; put into situations where refusing wasn't an option. Riku nodded. "How many people know?"

"My family of course, those who were there and the Captains of the Guards. The Commander of the Royal Army knew, but the new one won't be informed."

"What will happen to the old one?" The sobbing and screaming continued. Sora wanted to shut it off. He would when Riku moved away. There wasn't a chance in hell Sora was moving his hand from the other boy's face.

"Rape is punishable by the loss of all property and lifetime in jail."

"He didn't actually rape me, Riku." Sora had to clarify that. He wasn't going to be sleeping around here, by choice or not.

"Which is why he'll spend only ten years in prison for assaulting a ward of Radiant Garden." The small smile slipped from his face. "I told you I'd protect you Sora."

More than anything Sora wanted to lean forward and press his lips to Riku's. Hearing him say those words was a balm. Sora was really, truly safe. "Don't worry, Riku. You won't have to for long. I'm going to join your personal Guard."

"Sora…" Riku's tone was actually stern. Pulling away from the brunette he went to shut off the video. With the dying sound Sora's body relaxed. "You're not joining my Guard." His nose was already dry but blood was still smeared on his face and hand. The look in his eyes said this was something he didn't want to talk about.

"Why not?"

"There's no reason for it." Riku did up the buttons on his jacket but they didn't cover the stains on his shirt.

"You know, if I do join, I can stay by your side and protect you once I'm strong enough." Sora tilted his head down and tried to look sheepish. He really hoped Riku couldn't see the smile blossoming across his face. "And me being closer to you means you can protect me more." If Riku wanted to use his position to keep Sora from what he wanted, Sora would play the game as well.

As Riku sighed his name Sora felt his chest tighten. His name became a caress, a finger trailing down his spine sending shivers of delight across up body. "We'll talk about this later. Get cleaned up and rest today. I'm taking what you stole from Zexion's office back. You get to deal with him tomorrow."

A small victory, yes. But Sora was happy. "Yes sir, Prince Riku," he said with a half assed salute.

"Shut up, Sora." But Riku he was smiling like a fool as well.

* * *

><p>Once again, I am super duper sorry for not having this up sooner. I was going to but my new roommates kind of got in the way.<p>

Yesterday my computer was used to watch a show from some sketchy internet site. Why mine? Because none of the guys I live with want to possibly get a virus on theirs. So we hooked my laptop up to the bottom TV while my fuck buddy played Mass Effect 2 on the top one. I would like to point out, I'm the idiot who bought him the damn thing and he makes me help him move it from his bedroom to the main room EVERY SINGLE DAY! And it's not small. Yeah, it's thin, but it's also 46" and I'm only 5' tall. And where he makes me help him put it is above my head. Tiny people should not be doing that! And I say tiny because he'd only 3 inches taller than myself.

But whatever. So we watched hours of TV shows and then he wants to go to bed. And like a good person I don't keep him up so we go to sleep at 3 in the morning. Then I wake up to the horrible singing of one of his other roommates and this same guy moving all of our dishes, shisha, and stuff we were too lazy to clean up the night before in front of his door. I can rant about this guy for hours but I won't. Fully awake I realize the bastard I'm sleeping with didn't wake me up for my classes and having to take the campus bus there would take too long. So instead of going to class I start editing this only to be interrupted by another roommate. This one I like. He's tall, funny and kind of a man-whore. I've told him so to his face and now he won't let me forget it. But it means he comes in at random times (normally when I'm not wearing anything decent) to ask me about girls and cooking and what to cook for a girl he's trying to date. But get this, he's leaving in 3 months to go to another state and doesn't plan on dating this girl long distance. So I help him. Which turns into me wearing _only_ a sweatshirt and using a blanket to cover the rest of me up. This is all made more awkward by the fact that once upon a time (2 years ago) he was sleeping with my sorority sister, hit on me, and thinks my 16 year old sister is hot. He's 24 and she's a virgin. I'd like to laugh that off, but like hell is he sleeping with her. Who know's what he has from how much he sleeps around!

Then things calm down but my fuck buddy gets back early. Yes, we used to date for a 15 months, but during the last 3 i went out of state and things got bad. We broke up when I came home and now he's the nicest guy again. We go shopping for food and when we get back his last roommate and best friend are at his place so what do we do? Watch more TV on my laptop! We're watching Game of Thrones if you care. Then we start playing a board game. Oh! which one? The Game of Thrones Card Game which we played until 4 in the morning when I finally finished this and am posting it. I hate being a nice person.

But I love you all!


	9. Chapter 9

~Captain~

~Chapter 9~

Here's another chapter for everyone to enjoy!

* * *

><p>Zexion was possibly the scariest person around. Sure Riku could get all serious but Zexion was just Zexion. As Sora sat across from him in his office he couldn't help but fidget. Not once did he raise his voice or glare at Sora. Nor did he even make any threats. All he did was sit there in silence and wait for almost an hour. Sora was forced to sit there in the silence for the hour. No training or saying anything. Silence. Every few minutes Sora would try to apologize but Zexion still said nothing.<p>

When he was finally ready to talk Zexion didn't change his cold demeanor. "So tell me everything you have suddenly remembered."

"I went to the Playground to find Hisa and demand to know where Roxas was."

"And?"

"He wasn't there."

"I want every detail Sora. Even what color shirt you were wearing."

Zexion's form of torture was more exquisite than anything Sora could have dreamed possible. For the rest of the afternoon Sora was forced to sit in the same chair and recount every detail he could remember. Zexion wasn't okay with him glazing over the rough stuff. He made Sora tell him every detail and relive every moment. Then Sora had to elaborate on how he felt during each one. At first he tried lying or avoiding the truth but Zexion _knew._ So Sora told him about the shame and arousal, the pain and the pleasure. It was worse than watching it on video.

When he got to the part where Saix raped him he lost his breakfast. Trying to remember details of the man he had met for just a few minutes before being drugged was almost impossible. He still shied away from those thoughts. When he'd finished his tale Zexion finally elaborated, in painful details, about Riku coming to save his ass. Riku blowing off a meeting with his father. Bloody clothes stuck too Sora. Leon having to carry him. Pumping his stomach to make sure he didn't die from all of the drugs.

Sora was stupid enough to make a comment about knowing that he wouldn't die which made Zexion curious about how he knew that. Explaining Hisa testing all of the drugs on him became a hell of its own. All Sora got out of the whole event was knowing he hadn't found Roxas and knowing Zexion was the meanest bastard on the face of the earth.

Kairi came in at lunch time to try to get Sora out of it but Zexion had killed that happy thought with just a glance. Then came the part where Zexion told Sora about how much trouble he was causing Riku. The message had been clear to them even if Sora hadn't gotten the subtly of it. Saix and Hisa wanted Sora returned to them. They'd only let him go so he could be healed by the best doctors. The video was blackmail. Sora's begging Riku to fuck him on tape was embarrassing for the Prince and his family. If that got out people of the kingdom would look at the royal family in a different light.

What made Sora feel like trash though was him being male. This couldn't be played off like some abused girl crying out for her boyfriend. All it was was a whore lusting after a Prince from another kingdom. So Riku had agreed to pay five million for Sora. And then he had to explain to his family exactly why he'd spent that much. Needless to say, they had wanted Sora to leave immediately. Of course they weren't going to send him back to traverse Town, but they hadn't wanted him anywhere near Riku. He was a problem they wanted solved but Riku was refusing to let Sora leave. And since he'd already made Sora a ward of Radiant Garden they had no choice. But Riku was on the outs with his family because of Sora.

Sora wasn't allowed to leave until dinner and only then after he apologized profusely yet again and explained that he knew going through Zexion's things was wrong.

He might've brooded on the conversation all night if Kairi hadn't pounced on him the second he was free. Bringing him along with her she treated him to dinner at a quaint little place and talked his ears off. The distraction worked. He was all smiles and laughs after that.

After that day things settled into a routine for Sora. He woke up early and began training with the army again. He and Hayner became fast friends. Each day he could feel himself getting stronger and each night he felt his muscles protesting the workouts. Leon hadn't acknowledged him with more than a nod but no one gave him weird looks. A new Commander had been chosen, a younger man named Terra. He was strict but fair. Sora couldn't help but like him. What he liked even more was the small wage he got from being in the army. It went straight to his account and he didn't spend any of it. When they went shopping Kairi insisted on paying even when he objected and there was nothing else he needed to spend it on.

Zexion let him know once a week if anything on his brother turned up but there never was. Still afraid of the older boy, Sora did nothing to his face that might upset him. But when he knew Zexion wasn't going to be in his office he'd sneak away from whatever he was doing, even if he got in trouble with the squad leader, so he could go move stuff around in Zexion's office. Not much, of course. But his desk was moved just a few inches. His pens were placed in different spots. It wasn't much but it was clear from the frazzled look that it was just enough to annoy the boy.

Kairi would swing by during lunch just to chat and lament that she and Riku still weren't getting anywhere. He felt bad and wanted to tell her that every night Riku stopped by his room to check on him. And every night Riku didn't come past the doorway to his bedroom but always gave him a light kiss. Every night was filled with a wonderful mix of panic and excitement. Asking Riku to come into his room still scared him. He didn't want to sleep with Riku or anything, not yet at least, but he was afraid Riku would take it that way. Each time Riku refused made Sora calmer and more frustrated. And those kisses were something he never got used to. Each one was like lightning and sweet darkness.

Once Sora had shown enough improvement physically along with the rest of his training squad they moved onto weapons training. Swords were by far his favorite. Learning each position and running through them until one flowed into the other was like therapy for Sora. Everything else disappeared for him. Riku's kisses were non-existent. Roxas wasn't his missing brother. He was simply Sora.

When he told Riku about it things went from light kisses to even getting hugs and asking if Sora would sit with him in the hallway and just talk for hours. Perhaps that was backwards, but Sora liked the hugs more. Feeling himself pressed against Riku made his face flushed. Strong arms wrapped around him, sturdy chest against his own… Just smelling him made Sora hot and bothered. His imagination ran wild after that. He dreamt of doing so many things to the older boy. Each morning he woke up to find himself hard confirmed that was just a dream. And he still wasn't even sure if he really wanted to do those kinds of things with Riku. But the dreams were nice.

The one thing that didn't go as planned was Sora's birthday. He told no one about it. He didn't want presents, and even if he told Kairi no he knew she'd still get him something. So he let it pass without a comment. The one thing he wanted was an extra kiss from Riku. When Riku came to his room that night to talk about his day Sora pounced on him before he could say anything. It was the first kiss he had started with the boy. At first Riku seemed surprised. Then he kissed Sora back with more than just a chaste brushing of lips. His mouth was firm against Sora's. His hands came out of his pockets so he could hold Sora close to him. It wasn't a make out, but the kiss was still earth-shattering. When Riku finally let him go he seemed surprised by himself. After that Riku would find Sora during a break of a few minutes they both had to sit and talk more.

Maybe that was how Sora's routine began to end. It had healed something in Sora he hadn't known was broken. Zexion commented on it, "When did you become more annoying than usual?" as well as Kairi, "You've gotten so much more confident Sora. I like it!" though he hadn't started another kiss with Riku since.

The months passed faster and faster. It was the end of November before Sora had realized. The days were colder and everyone had to train inside. Because of limited space Sora was only sent to train a few days of each week. The others he spent with Kairi exploring the town. They had become best friends, according to her, and Sora liked it. He could be honest with her about everything, except Riku. When thoughts of Roxas were troubling him more than usual she'd make Zexion go over all of the reports again and again just to satisfy him.

She must've known something was up when she mentioned Riku. Sora's consoling responses became fewer and fewer. In her eyes she could tell he knew something but she wanted to press him as much as he wanted to tell her. As long as neither said anything they could continue to pretend everything was alright.

When Riku left and took his Guard with him for a meeting overseas Sora felt so lonely. Kairi was right there feeling the same, but it wasn't. She confided in him that Riku had stopped sleeping with her shortly after they got to Radiant Garden. She wasn't even allowed in his room. And then he'd stopped kissing her a few days before he left. She said it was probably because he was so busy but Sora knew the truth. Riku wasn't interested in her. He had felt it the first time he'd met them. He could sense that they'd be better as just friends. But seeing how sad she was he also wished he didn't like Riku and Riku wasn't kissing him instead.

For three days Riku was gone. Each night Sora felt anxious. Riku hadn't actually said what he was going for. Zexion had said business, but what if his family was pressuring him into a marriage or something to get Sora out of the way? The idea was eating Sora up inside. At least with Kairi he could be happy for the both of them. But losing Riku to someone he didn't know…

When Riku returned Sora had to force himself to wait until that night before seeing Riku. He wasn't even sure which bedroom was his. So he waited in his room, glancing at the clock, hoping Riku would still come visit him. When he heard the knock on the door he had the door open before he even knew he had gotten out of bed. "I'm glad you're back," was all Sora said before hugging him.

But Riku held Sora at arm's length. His face was so serious. "I'm going to tell Kairi it's over tomorrow."

"But what about your family?" Sora hoped the joy wasn't clear on his face.

"I'll figure that out later." Riku licked his lips nervously. "But are you okay with that? She won't have a reason to stay once I tell her. And I don't want you to be alone without her. Now that training had been minimized and I'm always busy."

The way Riku was always think of Sora just made him happier. "I am making my own friends Riku. You can stop looking out for me." Riku just shook his head with the small smile Sora was beginning to know all too well. It was the smile that said Sora was wrong but he wasn't going to say anything. "Just… Let me tell her. She's my best friend here. I should be the one." Riku seemed doubtful of Sora's words. "Let me tell her then she can have time for it to sink in before she rushed off to yell at you." In the moment they'd laughed.

When the next day came Sora could barely work up a smile. "Kairi!" he called out when he saw her.

"Hey Sora! So where should we go today? There's that cute little tea house we haven't gone to in a while." She looked beautiful in her jeans and fur lined jacket. Faux fur of course. She loved animals too much to want to wear one.

"Wherever you want." As they made their way into town he could hear the tension in her voice. There wasn't the easiness between them like there normally was. When they were settled in a secluded table towards the back of the tea house she barely even sipped from her cup.

It still took Kairi asking him directly for him to tell her. "Kairi… I'm sorry. I really am. It wasn't something I tried to do. It all just happened and I wanted to tell you, want to tell you. I really do. I just don't know how."

She stared into her cup as if tea leaves could tell her everything she needed to know. "Riku really isn't interested in me anymore, is he?" she asked in a quiet voice. Sora's lack of a response was one. "It's okay. I kind of figured. All he talks about now is you anyways." Small tears formed in her eyes and Sora hated himself for ever living. What kind of asshole made a girl like Kairi cry? "I guess I was hoping it was nothing."

"Kairi, I'm so sorry! I'll leave Radiant Garden if you want. I'll go to Twilight Town and stay with Demyx or something. Please don't cry. I'm sorry!"

She surprised him with a giggle. "Riku wouldn't let you leave. If you tried he'd find out and yell at you until you agreed to stay." That she was so not shocked made Sora even sadder. She had known. She was so much more perceptive than she acted. And far more mature than Sora. Kairi was the kind of girl Riku's family wanted for him. "He and I have just been friends for a while now. It won't be too hard to lose to title of girlfriend."

"Kairi –"

"I'm going for a walk, okay?" she said as she stood up. "I just need to think for a little bit."

"Just don't stay mad at me forever," he said as she began walking away.

She let out another giggle. "I'm not mad Sora. You're my best friend, remember?"

Relief made Sora lighter. He paid for their tea and went back to the castle. Kairi didn't hate him! He and Riku didn't have to keep whatever was between them a secret! At least not from Kairi and that was what mattered to Sora. Rushing through the castle he went straight to Zexion's office. "Zex!" he called out using the nickname he'd given Zexion just because it annoyed him. "Where's Riku? I need to talk to him!"

"He does have a life without you around, you know," said Zexion with a frown. Sora was learning that just because the words came out one way they weren't always mean. "And right now he'd meeting with a friend in one of the lobbies downstairs."

"Awesome! Thanks!" Running back through the castle he was lucky enough to catch a burst of feminine laughter. Veering off towards the sound he burst through the doors. "Riku!"

As he took in the scene in front of him he tried not to feel too uneasy. But it was so hard when Riku was looking so attractive with the top button of his black shirt undone and his jacket thrown over a chair making two girls laugh. Two older girls who both came from money as well if their clothes were any indication. "And this is exactly who I was telling you about," Riku said with a smile and a waving gesture to beckon Sora closer. "He's eccentric on the best of days, hyper active on the worst. Sora, I'd like you to meet Aqua and Aerith. These two were always around when I was a kid. Until I went to study overseas we were attached at the hips."

"Hello," Sora said with an awkward smile and a slight bow. How did was he supposed to act when meeting well off ladies like these? From their giggles he clearly wasn't doing something right. Blushing profusely he cleared his throat. "Riku, I wanted to tell you –"

"I've asked Aqua and Aerith to show you around now that Kairi won't be here. And they've agreed to take you to some of the events coming up and introduce you to some of their friends as well." Riku only smiled at the girls when he said that. They all laughed like they were sharing a joke he didn't understand.

Sora supposed they were pretty. Aqua had the strangest short blue hair and eyes. And she was tall for a girl. Aerith was more classically pretty, with long brown hair done in gentle twirls and forest green eyes. But as pretty as they were he didn't understand why they were there. Unless this was Riku's way of getting him used to the world he came from. His friends here weren't fighters or guys who helped kids. These ladies were well bred socialites.

Straitening up Sora tried for his best smile. "Then I hope I won't embarrass you ladies too much when you take me in public."

"You're too cute Sora," said Aerith. "There's no way you could embarrass us. Everyone will love you!"

"Now that he'd here I'll leave you two to torment him. Please try not to scare him." As Riku left Sora wanted to reach out just to touch him for a moment. He wanted the physical connection after hurting Kairi so badly. But Riku didn't look at him again as he walked past him right out the door.

_His friends probably don't know he's gay._

Once the door was shut behind him Aqua sighed. "Well now that he's gone we can really have fun."

"I really don't think this is a good idea…"

"Oh shush. You don't really want to go meet a bunch of prissy girls today, do you Sora?" Sora just shook his head. So much for thinking these were the kinds of girls who like tea parties and dancing. "Alright! Let's go find that Leon!"

Still confused Sora stayed put as Aqua ran behind an oriental looking screen. Seeing his confusion Aerith clarified for him. "Riku told us about you a while ago. And though we know he wants us to introduce you to people, Aqua thinks it would be a better ice breaker to have you train with Leon." She straightened a wrinkle in her pink dress. "In reality, she's been looking for an excuse since Riku banned her from training with his Guard."

"What did you do to get yourself banned?" Sora asked before he could stop himself.

"I got myself invited to join. My father freaked out when he found out so Riku, being such a good negotiator, agreed to keep me away. In private he's been letting me train in swordsmanship with the army." Coming back around the screen Sora gapped. No more soft flowing blue gown. Instead she was in a tight black outfit for training. "So you just became my reason to go back."

"And tomorrow we really will take you to meet some other girls," Aerith rushed to chime in as if Aqua would forget.

"Exactly what she said. Come on Sora!" Aqua was actually a lot like Kairi, barging on ahead and just assuming Sora would follow. Of course he did. It was giving up control and just letting someone else direct him. The three of them went to the training hall where it wasn't Riku's guard training but men all in gray. If Sora remembered correctly, gray was Riku's oldest brother's Guard. But Leon was there, standing against the wall to their right next to a man with blond hair that stuck out in all directions like Roxas' did.

"Leon! Cloud!" Aqua rushed over while Sora and Aerith followed at a more sedated pace. "Sora and I came to practice with you guys today."

"You're not allowed to be here Aqua," the blond said without looking away from two of his men sparing. "Keep your hands up Seifer!"

"But Sora needs to learn to fence. If he's only with the army when's he going to learn that? And who better to teach him then Leon?"

"Riku's said not to let him."

"Since when have we listened to him?" Leon asked the other man. "Sora, this is Cloud, Captain of Sephiroth's Guard. When it comes to swordsmanship, he's one of the best. He'll teach you to fence." Noticing the cool stare of the other man Leon shrugged. "I'm fairly sure Riku told me not to train the kid –"

"I'm not a kid," interjected Sora.

"So if you do he can't be upset."

Cloud shrugged and walked over to the weapons room. He came back out a second later holding two thin swords. Tossing one to Sora, the brunette was proud of himself for catching it. He followed Cloud to a clear area of the room.

"This is a foil," Cloud said holding up the sword. Sora examined the one in his hand. It was extremely light compared to the normal sword he had been practicing with. The hand guard was circular, almost large enough to cover his hand as he made a fist around it. "There are other fencing weapons but we'll start with this one. Unlike with a sword, you only can score a point if you are able to hit your opponent with the tip of the blade. Any hits with the sides don't count."

As Cloud continued to show Sora exactly how to stand and attack, as well as the rules for fencing, Sora watched Aqua and Leon out of the corner of her eye. Aqua was good with a sword. Really good. But so was Leon. They circled each other like lions, waiting for a chance t strike. Though the swords were blunted when one of them did manage to land a hit on the other Sora was sure there'd be a bruise to show tomorrow.

_That's how good I have to become,_ Sora thought.

Like learning how to use a blade, Sora was surprised how quickly he picked up fencing. He'd seen others in his squad try to learn but he did have a certain amount of natural talent. For him a sword was just an extension of himself. Though if he was being completely honest with himself, using a foil was much more difficult. He was fast but Cloud was faster. With a sword he could block and feel comfortable his blade wasn't going to break. Each time the foil bent the slightest bit he looked away from Cloud to make sure it was still intact.

Time passed quickly. Before he knew it Cloud was halting Sora's training to tell the Guard to go clean up before dinner. Sora felt his arm and shoulder ache. Glancing at the clock he smiled. It was almost seven. Training was a much better way to pass time than meeting people or shopping. Handing the foil back to Cloud he was surprised when Cloud rewarded him with a smile.

"I can understand why Riku doesn't want you on his Guard, but, once you've become capable enough in fencing you're welcome to join mine or any of the others. Your talent would be a welcome addition."

For hours the grin didn't leave Sroa's face. Not even the scary prospect of having to meet people the next day could diminish his joy. As he waited in his room for Riku to come he planned on telling Riku about it and letting him know he was going to join his guard. If he had Cloud's recommendation and Leon's permission Riku had to let him! And he'd try to find Kairi before she left to tell her. She'd be so proud of him.

He glanced at the alarm clock beside his bed as he changed into pj's with rounded stars on them; Kairi had said they were cute. Eleven o'clock. It was late. But making plans with Aqua and Aerith had taken time. Still, he gotten back to his room around nine thirty. He was sure he would've heard Riku knocking. Where was he?

Sora stayed up for another hour before deciding Riku wasn't going to show up that night. Disheartened Sora climbed into bed. He tried to tell himself that Riku was probably doing something important. He wouldn't have just stopped coming to see Sora without a good reason, especially not after he'd told Kairi that Riku was basically gay. And that had been Riku's idea. Or maybe he was talking to Kairi right now. If that was the case he could completely understand him not showing up. After being together for so long, and knowing each other for even longer, it only made sense they'd spend a lot of time talking. He'd just tell Riku about joining his Guard another time.

* * *

><p>I feel like I should apologize for the shortness of this chapter compared to the last two. The next will be longer!<p>

Anyways, it's time for another side story about the guys I live with!

We went to see Project X tonight. We were going to go at 10:30 and I was supposed to sneak their alcohol into the movie for them in my purse. Being the only one under 21, I got freaked out when I saw the cop standing int eh movie theater. Lucky for me, I forgot my ID so we had to go back to the house to get it. Since we already had gotten drinks and popcorn this meant I managed to spill the coke all over me when we got back into the car. Rushing back to the movie theater for the 11:30 showing i told them if the cop was there I wasn't going to bring their booze in so my fuck buddy poured it into a Gatorade bottle and shoved it in his pants which someone concealed it. There wasn't even a bulge! I had to leave his friend's whiskey in the car though. But as we were walking up the theater we passed the cop leaving and he did search my purse. yay me for not having anything on me!


End file.

Kingdom Hearts