A/N: Yes... another story. Bad me. Anyway... this is slash, so if you don't like it, go away, etc.

This is AkuSora, an interesting pairing if I do say so myself. Just thought I'd try something different.

Enjoy!

Edit April 20, 2007: Went through and fixed some grammar and spelling errors, plus spiffed it up a bit.

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Invisible Chains

CHAPTER 1

"You know, I think the house might just blow down," Sora said thoughtfully as he peered out the window.

Roxas looked up from his book at his twin brother's proclamation, thinking that it might not be that far off. The windows of their apartment rattled noisily as the rain pounded mercilessly against the panes and roof, and the wind made the whole house creak, giving the idea that it was having a hard time staying a solid building. It was about 9 in the morning, but it was dark and dreary, heavy steel clouds billowing in the normally clear sky.

"Yeah, haven't had a storm this bad in a while." Roxas replied before returning to his book. His back was up against the arm of the couch, and his knees were drawn up, giving him something to lay his book on.

Sora turned from his post at the window and flopped down next to Roxas on the couch, putting his hands behind his head in a reclining position. "Hope mom's okay," He said with a hint of worry. It wasn't so much that there was a storm– just that it was so unexpected. The middle of July was usually sunny and bright for the nondescript town that they lived in with their mother.

"I'm sure she's fine," Roxas mumbled absently, curling his legs closer to himself and continuing to submerse himself in his book.

Sora just shook his head and smiled slightly. They may have looked a lot alike, but that was about where their similarities ended. Sora was a naturally cheery and open person, while Roxas tended to be quiet and blank, preferring to hide in his books rather than interact with people. This resulted in Roxas being rather sharp, and Sora sometimes being... not so sharp. They sort of balanced each other out in a way– if Sora got too hyper, Roxas was able to reason with him and calm him down, and from time to time Sora could pull Roxas out of his shell to interact and just have fun. They had a fairly loving sibling relationship, and along with their caring mother, their small family suited them just fine.

Sora sighed a bit, not being able to keep the feeling of boredom from creeping into his limbs. It was the middle of summer! Sora hadn't survived his second year in highschool for nothing. He should be out doing something– swimming in the ocean with his friends, having bonfires, enjoying the warm weather and freedom from stuffy classrooms and schoolwork. But the storm had quickly squashed any of those possibilities.

The brunette sighed again, this time with purposeful obnoxious-ness, earning him a playful kick from Roxas.

"What was that for?" Sora asked with a mock hurt expression.

Roxas just rolled his eyes. "Be creative. I'm sure you could come up with a long list." He added another kick for emphasis.

"Hey!" Sora laughed at the insult. "I can't help it if the day isn't even half over and I'm bored already."

"You could always read a book," Roxas said with a completely straight face, but then sniggered at the incredulous look Sora shot back at him.

The rain continued to beat against the house, drowning out most other noises other than the wind. As Sora turned away from Roxas to stare at the ceiling, he sighed softly again, closing his eyes and just listening for a while to the rain and the rustling of pages in Roxas' book. The rain wasn't really all that bad, he thought. It was just that most people didn't like to go out and do stuff in it, and Sora liked to be around his friends as often as possible.

Finally, deciding he'd had enough lying-on-the-couch-listening-to-the-rain time to last him the rest of the summer, Sora suddenly launched himself off the couch and proclaimed, "I'm going for a walk!"

Roxas, who had been only slightly startled by Sora's sudden disruptive departure from the couch, now looked up with a slightly disbelieving look and said, "Sora, please, you just got done saying that the house wouldn't be able to withstand this storm. It'd carry a wisp like you out to sea."

"Oh, a little rain never hurt anybody." Sora had a smile in his voice as he laced up his overly large shoes and grabbed a coat from the closet. It would be nice to get out of the house, even in weather like this.

Turning back to his book once again, Roxas just shook his head and said, "Fine, but don't expect me to say anything nice at your funeral when you die from pneumonia."

Sora crept up behind Roxas on the couch, who was still engrossed in his book, and quickly snatched said book out of his hands.

"You could always come with me," Sora grinned cheekily.

Roxas made a sound of annoyance and grabbed his book back just as quickly, saying as he found his place again, "Sora, just because I was born at the same time as you doesn't mean I want to die with you."

Sora just laughed as he left, calling happily back over his shoulder, "I'll be back later!" before shutting the front door again.

Roxas watched the closed door for a few minutes before frowning slightly.

He liked his life here with Sora. They both had plenty of friends, and more often than not the whole group of them would hang out together, like one great big family.

But sometimes... things didn't feel right. Sometimes he realized just how perfect his life was– too perfect. And he'd suddenly get a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach telling him that he was forgetting something, something important, and that some how it was all wrong...

But then, just as quickly as the feeling came, it would disappear, and Roxas would be left feeling confused, like something forgotten that you know that you know but you can't remember.

Today was one of those times. Except this time the feeling stayed with him, and only grew worse as the storm raged outside.

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Sora grimaced slightly as he waded through puddles and leaned against the wind, trying to stay upright. The novelty and refreshing feeling of being out in the rain had worn off a while ago, and now he was soaking wet, freezing cold, and, though he was loath to admit it, a bit lost. Sure, he knew this town like he knew the sky was blue, but it was so dark, and the rain and fog made it hard to see... oh, Roxas would never let him live it down.

"Who's brilliant idea was this again?" He mumbled to himself. "Oh, yeah. Mine." He replied miserably.

"You shouldn't talk to yourself– people will think you're a suspicious character."

Sora whipped back around behind him, where the seemingly unfamiliar voice had come from. Speaking of suspicious characters...

Striking green eyes peered out of the darkness of the alley behind him, set in a long face, and framed by medium length flaming red hair that was heavy and dark with the rain. Two simple but noticeable tattoos adorned his face just below his eyes. The tall figure was covered mostly by a long black leather trench coat, and from what Sora could see of the clothes underneath, there was only more black cloth, all of it soaked through from the storm; he didn't seem to mind as he leaned casually against the wall, arms folded over his chest. All of this combined with the cocky grin on the man's face struck a cord in his mind. He seemed so familiar...

"I hadn't hoped to run into you this quickly, but I guess luck is just on my side today," The stranger said as he pushed off the wall and took a couple of steps toward Sora.

"Um... do I know you?" Sora asked carefully as he took a couple of steps back, only vaguely sure that he didn't and wanting to make sure anyway.

"Oh, I'm sure you don't. Not right now anyway."

Sora gave a confused look at the cryptic answer.

The man smirked and stepped closer, his long strides easily bringing his within arms length of the brunette. Before Sora could react, the man was directly in front of him, forcing him against the wall he hadn't even realized was behind him. He just stared up with slightly wide eyes as the man leaned in dangerously close, making his stomach flip.

For the life of him, Sora couldn't think of anything to do or say, other than to just stare up at those piercing green eyes. He couldn't help the slight flush that lifted to his cheeks at just how close the stranger was to him.

"The name's Axel– got it memorized?"

The warm breath on his ear and the firm body pressed against his own made Sora shiver, while his heart pounded heavily against his chest. It's just nerves, he told himself. Anyone would be nervous with a wack-o like this walking around...

And then Axel pulled away suddenly, leaving Sora to let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, feeling colder now that there was nothing sheltering him from the rain once again.

"Well, looks like that's my signal to go." Axel said as he looked sharply into the distance through the fog.

Sora blinked through the rain that was still falling, and looked off in the same direction. After a moment he realized what had caught Axel's attention; the almost foreign sound of police sirens wailed in the distance, only slightly stifled by the rain and wind.

"What are you, some kind of convict?" Sora asked incredulously. He turned back to look at Axel and nearly jumped when he saw that Axel was looking right back, a haughty grin plastered on his features.

His grin just widened a bit creepily as he gave a slow, deep chuckle and said, "Won't be surprised if that's what they tell you." Then he leaned forward a again, making Sora lean back (or at least attempt to– he should have known that the wall wouldn't have gone anywhere).

"I really do have to go now– but don't worry, I'll be back soon. Try not to miss me too much, Sora."

Then he pulled away and started walking swiftly down the street, leaving Sora wide eyed and thoroughly flustered. How had that guy known his name?

Before he could pull himself together enough to confront or even chase after him, Axel had already disappeared around the corner down the street, leaving behind nary a trace of his existence except a very flustered, confused, and wet brunette.

It just wasn't meant to be a good day, Sora thought as he shook his head to clear his thoughts, spattering droplets of water in the process. That was one of the more disturbing and random experiences he'd had in his entire life. And why had Axel seemed so familiar? Sora was almost positive he'd never met anyone like that before, and yet...

He took a deep breath and started walking towards home (he was pretty sure it was in the right direction anyway– the rain had lessened and he felt more confident that he knew where he was...)

Looking up, Sora realized that the rain had, indeed, lessened quite a bit. The clouds were lighter now, making the sky whitish grey rather than resembling darkened metal, and the vicious rain had diminished to a dreary sprinkle. Even the wind had died slightly, remaining only as a soft breeze.

Sora sighed as he walked. He hated how he felt right now. It was one of those times when the world around him didn't feel quite right, like he was forgetting something important but couldn't figure out what. Usually the feeling left quickly, and Sora didn't often give it a second thought.

But today... the feeling didn't go away, and meeting Axel made it worse somehow.

Huffing in frustration, Sora trudged on, finally turning the corner street that marked his house only being a block or so away. The rain was clearing, maybe he'd go home and dry off and then go visit one of his friends... yeah, that was it, he just needed some company. That was all.

Taking a deep breath and climbing the steps to his front door, Sora plastered a smile on his face and went inside, not noticing the sirens fading in the distance and a set of green eyes watched him.

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Roxas looked up as the front door opened revealing a very wet Sora, grinning goofily despite being soaked to the bone. The blonde tch-ed and fetched a towel before Sora could track water all over the house.

Roxas couldn't help but give a small smile of relief. Seeing and being around Sora always made that odd feeling of uncertainty go away. Somehow, Sora just made everything seem more real, more solid and unquestionable. If Sora was there, then it would all be okay. With this in mind, Roxas returned with a fluffy white towel and offered it to his brother.

"Thanks!" The brunette said as he stripped down to his boxers and wrapped the proffered towel around himself like a blanket. Roxas just rolled his eyes and took the heaping pile of water logged clothes and went to sling them over the shower in the bathroom to dry.

While Roxas was in the bathroom, Sora flopped happily into his twin's spot on the couch, feeling better than he had a few moments ago. The blonde always made that unsettling feeling go away. It was still there, Sora noted mentally, but at least it was wasn't as intense. Roxas just seemed so... unquestionable. How could he be forgetting something if all he needed was right there with him? Friends and family were all that mattered.

Sora was distracted from his thoughts as Roxas reentered the room, making a disgruntled noise at finding his brother in his spot. Sora merely looked up innocently in response.

After a long glare, Roxas couldn't stay mad at Sora and his lips twitched into a smile as he sat on the other side of his bother. Sora grinned and snuggled deeper into the couch in victory.

"So, how was your walk?" Roxas asked with an eyebrow raised, "You evidently didn't get blown away, and you look healthy enough. I guess I won't have to prepare a eulogy... after all..."

Roxas trailed off when Sora didn't react the way he had expected. Instead of laughing and coming back with a cheerful remark of his own, the smile had slipped of his face, leaving behind an out-of-place frown.

"Sora?" The blonde asked softly. It wasn't like Sora to be so quiet.

"Have you ever felt... felt like..." Sora made an awkward sound in his throat as seemed to fight for the right words. "Felt that things aren't quite... right?" Sora wouldn't meet Roxas' gaze and fidgeted slightly with the towel he was still wrapped in, looking anxious. "Like you're forgetting something important– really important, but can't figure out what it is?"

Silence, and then–

"Yes."

Sora's head whipped up with surprise at the soft reply. He had expected... confusion, or impatience– he had almost wanted Roxas to kick him again and tell him to stop sulking over silly things. But as their gaze met Sora knew that Roxas completely understood, and for that Sora was very grateful. He relaxed slightly, but that other thing was still on his mind.

"So what happened today, while you were out in the rain?" Roxas prompted, knowing that there was more to it than that.

Sora sighed, thinking of the encounter from earlier. "This guy showed up... he seemed familiar, but I'm positive we've never met him before. He said his name was Axel, and he was really tall and–" Here Sora looked away a bit and paused, blushing, "–creepy." Sora finished uncertainly, wondering why he was blushing but not really wanting to think about it.

One of Roxas' eye brows shot up when Sora started blushing, and filed that away for later, fully intent on torturing Sora with the knowledge. In the mean time he adorned a thoughtful look.

"Well... the name does seem familiar..." Roxas said as he wracked his memory for traces of this mysterious person.

Suddenly, a vision of flaming red hair and verdant eyes smirked back at him, the figure donning oddly zippered black robes. He said something that was hard to hear, his voice muffled and echoing strangely in the dark landscape of his mind. Roxas strained to catch the bit that he did.

"... –ames Axel–... ... ... –emorized?"

Roxas blinked and found himself staring at the couch. "Axel... I think I do remember something..." He looked up at Sora, "Did this guy have spiky red hair and green eyes, with tattoos underneath them?

Sora nodded. "Yeah, exactly. He knew my name, and said that he 'hadn't expected to find me so quickly', or something like that, like he'd been looking for me or something. But I don't understand, we know everyone in this town, and we've never left, so how could–"

While Sora had been talking, more flashes of shifting memories surfaced in Roxas' mind. His head started to hurt this time as scenes of a dark city loomed before him, threatening buildings raised into a sinister night sky, neon signs competing with the light of the heart shaped moon to illuminate black hooded and robed figures through the rain. He gasped at the pain as the scene shifted, now showing him a beautiful sunset overlooking a peaceful town below him; he realized he was looking at a small blue glass sphere sparkle in the brilliant sunlight. Roxas cried out and gritted his teeth, his head throbbing as another scene unfolded of a bright beach, waves lapping up behind him as he looked at a pretty blonde girl in a white dress, her name just on the tip of his tongue–

And then it was gone, replaced with Sora's worried visage face very close to his, his voice calling his name and his hands shaking him by the shoulders.

"–oxas, Roxas! What's wrong? Are you okay? Oh, please just say something!" Sora couldn't keep the fear from his voice. Roxas had been trembling, clutching his head, eyes wide but seeming unfocused like he was seeing something that wasn't there. And then he had started rocking back and forth, making pained noises, eventually screaming and grinding his teeth. Sora had never been so scared in his life.

But that wasn't right, was it? Hadn't there been something else... something even worse...

Sora's dread faded a bit when Roxas spoke.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine–" He was very far from fine, actually. He was breathing hard and his head hurt horribly, and he felt sick. What were those places? If he had known them once, how could he have forgotten?

Suddenly Roxas had a face full of brown hair, his twin's arms clinging to him tightly.

"God, don't scare me like that..." Sora said, his voice shaking and thick with relief.

"Sora." Roxas said softly, hugging him back and tucking his twin's head underneath his chin. He tried to relax; he felt stiff, like all his muscles had been tense, and his head still hurt, though not nearly as much. He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to calm down so as not to worry his brother.

"What happened? Are you sure you're okay?" Sora asked pulling away just enough to look at Roxas' face. The brunette was on the verge of tears, but he held them back, telling himself he was being ridiculous– he pushed away the nauseating fear that had possessed him.

The blonde smiled meekly in reassurance. "Yeah, Sora, really, I'm alright. But... I saw things..." He lowered his gaze, looking troubled. "People and places that were like memories, but that I thought I'd never seen before. Like this dark city, with a heart-shaped moon, and a town overlooked by a never-ending sunset... and a beach..."

"We've never been anywhere like that," Sora replied, finally pulling away but then leaning his shoulder against Roxas' for comfort.

Roxas sighed and leaned back. "I know, that's what makes this so weird..."

"And why did you have that weird attack, while I didn't?" Sora wondered out loud. "And what was with that guy, Axel? Do you think he knows what's going on?"

Roxas nodded thoughtfully. "I'm sure that if anybody would know, it would be him. He and these... memories, I guess we'll call them, have something in common after all."

"What's that?"

"They just popped up out of nowhere and don't make any sense!"

Sora laughed at Roxas' assessment of the whole situation, feeling a little better knowing that Roxas seemed alright– for now, anyway.

Suddenly, Sora's stomach rumbled and he flushed with embarrassment.

Roxas let himself snigger in response. He was feeling better now. The pain was gone, and being around Sora always made things better.

"Come on, let's go get something to eat and worry about this later."

Sora smiled at his brother and promptly agreed as the two headed into the kitchen, oblivious to the shadowy figures that were appearing outside of their house, just visible through the curtains of their front window.

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A/N: Reviews are always appreciated, so tell me what you think!

'Til next chapter!

:Adrian Winter: