A/N: Hiiiii! If you didn't know, my name is Raven and I have decided to start writing Kingdom Hearts fanfiction. This is my first, and such and such, so please treat me kindly.

It is an AkuRoku fanfiction with side pairings of SoRiku, Zemyx, and some others. By the end of this chapter, if you feel so inclined, please leave a review =)

The house was empty and a strong aura of loneliness seemed to surround it, clinging to the walls and ceilings. It seemed to be leaning on to one side, its wooden framework creaking with its own weight as if it were hunched over, mourning the many losses of its inhabitants. Now it was just a shell of its former being before new memories and new life flourished inside of it, a transitionary state. As the last few boxes were collected from various rooms of the house, footsteps echoed throughout the empty space bouncing off empty walls oily with marks of pictures that had previously been hanging. Its creaking seemed to increase with the number of boxes being removed, as if it was still emptying the contents of its current soul.

One of the people remaining inside of the house stared at the houses empty rooms. Truthfully, they felt the same as this house. Emptiness clung to their stomach as their childhood memories were either packed up or thrown away to make space. This was such a disaster, and the person groaned as they gazed through what had once been their bedroom window. The view of the blue sky above the houses built precariously on this hill until eventually the sea was there, kissing the sky stuck in his mind even as he looked away. It was a snapshot he wouldn't soon forget.

Roxas turned away from the window holding his arms tightly as if he were trying to keep himself together. A sigh passed through his lips and he glanced at the hardwood flooring of his room for a moment before slowly continuing over to his closet, shut behind a white door. The emptiness of the space seemed all the more inviting to him. He entered the small five-by-five closet and sat down on the floor, closing the door as he descended. The clicking of the door echoed through the room and the closet and darkness engulfed him.

There, Roxas curled into a fetal position and his mind drifted off. The darkness around him evaporated as he thought about all the time he'd spent here. There were countless moments he could recall of himself hiding there, or being shoved in there by his brother or his friends. He remembered how he accidently broke the doorknob when he slammed the door behind him while looking for somewhere to cool off after losing his temper. He'd been trapped in the closet for at least three hours before someone decided that whatever he was angry about couldn't be that bad. Of course, his pride kept him from making a fuss for help from the people who'd angered him.

All of his things had already been packed, and now the movers and his father were just filing away the larger things into the moving truck. This gave Roxas the perfect opportunity to enjoy what little time remained in his childhood home. He'd already said goodbye to his friends here in Destiny Islands, and he couldn't possibly see them again, especially not after the teary words and gestures of affection he'd shared with them. It would just break his heart too much to say goodbye again.

After receiving the news about the move, he'd only cried twice. Once was while trying to comfort his brother when they heard that their house had been sold, and the second was when he'd said goodbye to his friends. Roxas had never been one to cry much, and he tried to fight back the tears that threatened to fall now as he savored his memories in this house. Still, even if he cried one last time, his record was practically spotless compared to his twin's.

"Roxy!" a voice called, echoing from the hallway and spilling into the room and subsequently Roxas' ears.

Still, even at being summoned, Roxas stayed in his fetal position. He refused to leave until he was physically dragged from this place. His heart raced as the footsteps drew closer. He desperately didn't want to be found, but the closet didn't exactly pose as the best hiding place; especially when the severe lack of furnishings left so little places to hide.

The closet door opened and the light that entered the room blinded Roxas for a moment, making him unable to see the figure standing in the doorway clearly. He didn't need to be told who it was, however, because his brother's ridiculous hair was a dead giveaway in any light.

"Come on, Rox, it's time to get out of the closet," Sora said with a grin in his voice.

"Ha, ha, very funny," Roxas grumbled. He didn't particularly enjoy his twin making jokes about sexuality when Roxas had deliberately decided to keep it a secret from everyone, including Sora himself. Not that he felt he had to fear Sora knowing the truth, being that Sora was also gay, but it was more so something Roxas wanted to keep to himself. For his part, Sora didn't realize Roxas knew of his sexual orientation either, and he wanted to keep things as they were. Things were simple, and he never wanted to threaten that, not knowing how his parents might possibly react to the news that both their sons batted for the other team.

Sora offered his twin a hand. "Seriously, though, Dad said we're leaving." His tone was more serious this time, devoid of Sora's usual cheerfulness and enthusiasm. Sora probably felt about as empty as Roxas. Still, Sora was Sora, and he would revitalize himself soon like he always did, even with the biggest of turns in his life. Like that time Sora almost drowned when he got sucked under a massive wave and was launched into a reef. His leg had been broken in addition to almost drowning, and it made Sora upset for about a day and a half. Then he was back to his cheerful, bubbly self.

Roxas envied that about Sora. Though they were twins, they weren't much alike. The blond doubted it had much to do with being fraternal twins rather than identical twins, but their personalities and demeanors were just rather different. In terms of looks, they were fairly similar looking aside from the fact that Roxas had blond hair and Sora had brown hair. In terms of personalities, they were complete opposites. Sora was open and not afraid to be himself or share his emotions. Roxas was a fortress that sucked everything in and nothing ever came out. He envied Sora because, while being more open would go against his more reserved, secretive nature, it would be easier to go with the flow and let the chips fall where they may. Harboring everything was hard on himself, but he couldn't bring himself to deal with things in any other way. It just felt natural, and he didn't know how to change that.

Their opposing natures seemed to bring the best out of each other, though. Or at least, that's what people had always said. Truthfully, whenever Roxas sat quietly next to Sora as he was laughing his ass off over nothing, he couldn't help but think his aura looked all the dimmer in comparison. Despite their differences, they got along swimmingly. They had their moments, of course, but they didn't hate each other, and Roxas was very glad for that.

Roxas took Sora's hand and his brother wordlessly lifted him to his feet. The two of them exchanged glances as they looked around the empty room one last time. There were no verbal words between them, but that didn't mean there were none at all. Roxas constantly read the truth on Sora's forehead as thoughts ran through the brunet's mind.

"Are you ready, Sora?" Roxas finally asked, deciding to take charge of their departure. His eyes were locked on Sora's face, though he knew what the answer would be.

Sora smiled at his brother. "Yes," he said. His forehead said, 'No.'

The tension in the car was unbelievable and seemed to make the windows of the vehicle rattle more than usual. Roxas sat in the front seat, Sora sat in the back seat, and their father drove. Among them were several smaller boxes from the move. A fern was placed in the seat next to Sora, CD's, bags of clothes, notebooks, and various other things from Roxas and Sora's rooms were all over, covering the floor and the seats.

Sora and Roxas' father Cloud could intimidate even the bravest soul when he was upset, which was the current situation. All three of them knew that they were moving because their mother, Tifa, had been transferred to Radient Garden due to her job. Cloud, unemployed after being laid off and in search of work, could hardly argue against the substantial raise his wife would receive for taking the job. Still, it angered him that he felt powerless to help his family, emasculated but still trying to maintain some sense of dignity. His silent but palpable antipathy had colored his every action ever since the news of Tifa's opportunity.

Tifa had insisted on driving their family's SUV instead of the car, which only added to Cloud's quiet disapproval of the situation. Cloud hated Tifa's car. He regularly relied on his SUV to validate and assure his manhood to the world, thinking it must've made him seem like a true father and husband who could work and provide his family with everything they could need. How Tifa had convinced Cloud to switch cars with him for such a long duration in such a stressful time was a mystery to Roxas, but he didn't exactly feel like asking his father, lest he decide to crash the car as they were speeding at 85mph on the freeway.

"Dad, can we listen to the radio?" Sora asked from the backseat.

Roxas immediately looked back at his twin with his fiery glare expressing his reaction to the fuckery spilling from his brother's mouth. That was one thing about Sora Roxas could not and would not accept with open arms. Sora had a talent for completely ignoring the mood of any given situation and making it exponentially worse.

"Oh, you want to listen to the radio, do you, Sora?" Cloud asked in a sickly sweet voice. Roxas tried to look away from the horror that was his father's death glare, but he couldn't. Even though it was aimed at the road, it hurt his soul anyway. "What station would you like to listen to?" he snarled. "We could listen to jazz, or country, or even fucking mariachi music! Well? Pick your poison, kid!"

Roxas tore his gaze from his father to look at his brother, waiting for a response. He starting gnawing at his nails when Sora replied very nonchalantly, "Actually, Dad, could we listen to pop or hip hop?"

Cloud practically punched the radio as he turned it on and surfed through the stations to find a catchy song. Roxas couldn't ignore it when his father venomously grumbled quietly to himself, "Fucking idiots… 'Oh, Cloud, can we please shave your head and donate it to poor people in Africa!' 'Sure, darling, why don't we pay a hundred extra dollars for immediate shipping so that they can have my fucking hair right away!?' 'Cloud, why don't we just get you castrated and then bathe you in estrogen!' 'Sure, sounds like a fan-fucking-tastic idea, thank you!'"

Roxas felt his heart break a little bit when he looked up at the rear-view mirror and saw 'Sometimes, I think we should have let Sora drown,' reflected on his father's forehead. Feeling sickened, Roxas opted for turning to look out the window as they sped away from familiarity.

Since birth, Roxas had been able to literally see the truth on peoples' foreheads. When he was little, it just seemed like scribbles to him, but once he learned to read, he found that the words spelled out sentences. It took him a while to realize that what he saw on others' foreheads was the truth (it never worked on himself, even when he concentrated his hardest to lie to himself). It also took him a long time to realize that what he saw on peoples' foreheads wasn't the absolute truth. It was their version of the truth. For example, when he and Sora were little, Sora always said that Santa existed, and nothing on his forehead said differently, even though Roxas had known whenever his parents talked about Santa that it was a lie.

Due to many instances like these, Roxas hated his ability. Sometimes he felt like he had been deprived of a normal childhood by seeing the truth all the time. The truth hurt, and he didn't think it was worth it to be able to tell what people actually thought of whatever was spewing from their mouths. As they say, ignorance is bliss, and Roxas desperately wanted that.

This skill made life rather difficult for Roxas in some respects. He had a much skewed perception of what trust in people meant and growing up, he'd had a hard time deciphering when he should ignore being lied to and when he should speak up. The way people lied had made Roxas reconsider his own use of deception. He tried to be truthful in most situations, but found himself lying most often to protect others and others' secrets. He also learned how to state facts in ways that, while misleading, were still true. Lies were so natural and constant that he didn't think much of it anymore, not even about the fact that his unique experience with them made him rather convincing when hiding things. He'd grown used to it long ago.

Roxas had never told anyone about his ability because he knew that his ability was his alone. This, he knew, because once he had offered the idea of someone having his ability to do that to Sora. His twin had said that that would be awesome, and then whined about how it wasn't fair that only super heroes and cartoon characters could have such gifts. He hadn't told a soul since then, fearing retribution from the people around him. He didn't want to see how they truly felt about him when he told them, and as he grew older he realized that if he did confess to anyone, they would likely think he needed to see a professional. Even if his confidant believed Roxas, he didn't want that fact to change anything. He was happy not knowing why he had this gift if it meant living a relatively normal life. Being a teenager was already so difficult, he didn't want to add complete social suicide to the list. No one at all knew about it, and he wanted to keep it that way.

The power to see through others' lies was also confusing. It didn't work with people convinced that something was true. Additionally, a person's truth about a matter was only revealed when they were actively thinking about it. It also didn't help that the truths swayed with the person's mood and feelings. For instance, Roxas knew that his father didn't honestly want Sora to drown, well not in the long run. It was a short-term truth applicable to only that moment. Due to these discrepancies, Roxas had named the different truths, though he didn't spend a whole lot of time reflecting on them. They were just words he'd put together to try to make sense of his ability at some point. He called truths that were only applicable to the moment 'fake truths,' long term truths 'proper truths,' and truths he wasn't sure were long term or short term 'incoherent truths.'

Sora was the only person he knew that hardly ever lied about anything. Even when he knew that he would get in trouble for telling the truth, he still told it the vast majority of the time. The only things he really lied about were things that were deeply personal for him, which Roxas understood. On many occasions, he considered telling Sora of his ability, but then he always remembered what a blabber-mouth his twin was. If Sora knew that Roxas could always tell what people were actually thinking, he would undoubtedly go around either telling everyone or trying to get Roxas to tell peoples' truths.

Roxas never used the truths for anything, and he never wanted to feel pressured by anyone to use them. Roxas absolutely never told someone's truth to anyone else, unless he felt the situation was dire, which was extremely rare. It didn't matter if it would benefit him or Sora or anyone. That was the mindset about truths he would never change. Plus, going about trying to prove what someone thought was difficult. It was also hard to try to use the ability to get answers because people got suspicious of him if he asked too many questions.

Eventually the car ride lulled Roxas to sleep against the window. Riding in cars had always put him to sleep, even though he was now sixteen years old. His family always joked with him about it, often offering to drive Roxas around town if he ever said that he was having trouble sleeping. They frequently cautioned him not to fall asleep at the wheel, which he was actually a little afraid of doing whenever he drove anywhere, no matter how close. In fact, he usually looked for alternative ways to get around if his destination was close enough to justify it.

Three hours later, Cloud woke Roxas and explained that they had stopped to get gas and also so that they could eat and stretch their legs. Roxas yawned and got out of the car, stretching up into the air as his father began fiddling with the gas pump. They were at a gas station, and there was a Carl's Jr. across the street, which was their target location. Their SUV was already parked outside the gas station's mini-mart, so Roxas and Sora decided that Tifa was probably already at the restaurant.

The entire meal, which was about as good as Roxas had hoped (he hated Carl's Jr.), was fairly silent. There was the exception of when Tifa told Sora to stop texting while they were having a family meal, and Sora just ignored her. Everyone was too exhausted from just sitting there in the same positions for hours to bother with conversation. Plus, Cloud didn't look like he wanted to hear their voices, anyway.

They were back on the road not long after. Sora practically had a temper tantrum over wanting to ride shotgun this time, and Roxas finally gave a sigh and heaved himself into the backseat. The ride once again lulled him to sleep. Before he had dozed off, however, Cloud had told him and Sora that they would arrive in Radient Garden the next time they stopped.

Roxas woke up intermittently throughout the ride, having to keep shifting and readjusting his position. Once, a plant had fallen from its precarious position against the back of the driver's seat and landed on Roxas. To be brief, it wasn't a nice sleep. Finally, though, Sora shook him awake and told him that they were in Radient Garden.

It was somewhere around midnight, but even so, there were many lights on in the city of Radient Garden. The streets were also crawling with people. It wasn't ridiculously packed, but it looked like Destiny Islands did in the daytime at around noon. Roxas began to wonder where they were living as they went down a street that seemed to be exclusively for night clubs. Both he and Sora had kept themselves far away from the house-hunting and buying their parents had done. They hadn't wanted to admit that they were leaving. So, they had no idea where they would be living other than that it was a large city.

Cloud informed them that they were in downtown Radient Garden and that their house was in a more residential area about ten miles away. Sora pressed his face against the window as he drunk in the sights of their new stomping grounds. Roxas was also somewhat eager to see what this place had in store for them. He didn't like that he had been forced to move, but he was a little excited at the idea of starting from scratch. A clean slate. He couldn't help but smile as he wondered about all the interesting people that could live in such a big city.

In Destiny Islands, it was a fairly small community. Not small enough to where everyone knew each other's names, but small enough that they only needed two schools in total: an elementary/middle school mix and a high school. Here, there were probably multiple school districts within minutes of each other. It was sort of bittersweet, though, because while there would be a lot of new people, there would also be a lot of new people. Roxas had never been a big fan of crowds, and he was terrible at making friends and meeting people. He tried not to dwell on the thought and just enjoy the look of the city lights against the evening sky.

When the buildings began to space out and the air began to lose its metro vibe, the twins glanced out the windows with a different kind of interest. They would be arriving at their new home soon, and they wanted to try to get to know the way around. It was difficult in the dark, though, and it would definitely look different in the daylight. Still, it was nice to see the area a bit.

They entered a neighborhood labeled 'Tranquil Meadows' on a big stone sign in metal letters. It looked like any normal neighborhood. The houses were all smashed together to squeeze as much space as possible, but Sora verbally expressed that he was happy that they all had at least ten feet vertically of front yard. Roxas didn't know why he wanted a front yard. He never played in their front yard back in Destiny Islands.

Finally, they pulled into the driveway of a small-looking two-story house.

Before Sora could undo his seat belt, Cloud placed a hand to his chest to stop him. "Boys," he said, glancing from Sora to Roxas, "before we go in, I just want you to know that you'll be sharing a room."

"What!?" the twins cried in unison.

"Why didn't you tell us that before we came?" Roxas demanded, glaring at his father with a newfound hatred. Not that he didn't love his brother, and he really didn't hate the idea of sharing a room with him. He was just mad that his parents had kept it a secret from the two of them.

Cloud looked away from them, for a moment. His pride was obviously aching. He didn't want to have to tell his sons that they couldn't afford a nice house with separate rooms for the both of them. "Your mother and I were afraid you'd duct tape yourself to your floors," he offered as a joke.

None of them thought it was funny.

"Go on, explore the hovel." Cloud handed Sora the new house key.

Within a heartbeat, Sora and Roxas were out of the car and racing up to the front door. Sora fumbled around with the key so much that Roxas got irritated with all this anticipation. He grabbed the key away from his twin and managed to unlock the door on the first try.

It was pitch black inside, and they scrambled around to find a light switch. When they finally located one on the wall adjacent from the door, the room was illuminated, revealing that they were in a small walkway that had a coat closet to the right of the front door. The walkway led into a living room. There were stairs in the corner on the left if one kept walking into the living room. To the right, there was a hallway. They followed the hallway first and found a normal-sized kitchen and dining area that looked very bare without a dining table. In the hallway that connected the living room and the kitchen was a closet with folded, wooden doors. Behind the doors was a space for a washing machine and dryer. There was also a small bathroom with just a toilet and sink in it next to the "laundry room."

Then they went upstairs. There was a bathroom immediately up the stairs with a bath and shower as well as a counter with a sink in it. On the left was another room. They entered and found that it was the master bedroom with its own bathroom and everything. Across the hall to the right of the stairs, they found a regular bedroom. On the same wall was another bedroom.

Roxas and Sora exchanged confused glances. Their father had just told them they would have to share a room. Why would they need to share a room if there were two bedrooms?

"Dad!" Sora called as the two of them raced back down the stairs. They found that their father was already bringing in some of the things from his car and placing them in the kitchen, since that was the only place with a solid surface for now. Tifa was with him, but she was adjusting the clock on the oven and microwave.

"What is it, boys?" Tifa answered for her husband, who was hunched over against the counter with fatigue.

"Why do we have to share a room if there are two bedrooms?" Sora asked desperately. He approached his mother like a dejected child, his shoulders all slumped. His signature, irresistible puppy dog eyes on his face.

Tifa gave her son a sympathetic look and she took Sora into her arms. He had always been her favorite, probably because Sora was a total momma's boy. She took his face into her hands and stared into his deep blue eyes. "Oh, my baby boy, I'm sorry, but I'll need that space for a home office. You'll be able to use the office too, of course, but I'll need it for work. You and Roxas love each other, right? And you both love me, right?"

Sora glanced over at Roxas for a second, but his attention was on his mother. "Well yeah, but…"

"Then you're just going to have to make this sacrifice for the family," Tifa tried to explain in the gentlest way possible.

Truly, it sickened Roxas. She was nowhere near as sweet with anyone or anything else ever. He made gagging noises at the display, earning some chuckles from his father.

"But, Mom! Roxas smells! He smells really, really bad! Have you ever smelled his feet? I'll die within a day!"

"My feet don't smell!" Roxas scoffed.

"Roxas, would you please just start helping your father get the mattresses, sheets, and pillows from the car. Put them in our rooms. We're going to have to wait to get the bed frames and bunk beds for you and Sora," Tifa ordered him even as Sora was still in her grasp.

Roxas rolled his eyes and did as he was told.

A half an hour later, everyone was in their beds trying to sleep. The problem was that Roxas had always had trouble falling asleep in strange places. Being able to see Sora right next to him in his own mattress made him more comfortable, but not enough to sleep easily. It took much tossing and turning before he finally fell into an uneasy sleep.

A/N: I really hoped you enjoyed the chapter!

If you did or if you didn't, feel free to leave a review and tell me why. I'm very open to any suggestions, and I appreciate any I receive! I will be updating this story as regularly as I can, so we'll see how that goes.