Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, that's why it's called fanfiction.

A/n: This was going to be a oneshot, but I thought it was a bit long to write in one sitting. Please review and let me know what you think, this style is a little different for me. Slight spoiler warning.

Part One

It was all over. Here they were, the famous Destiny Islands three. Together and home again. So why wasn't she happy? Leaning even further out the window, Kairi watched her two best friends. They were racing down the beach again, but their wooden swords had been replaced by keyblades. The sun glinted off of the unique weapons unnaturally and Kairi squinted into the sunlight. She held a hand out in front of her face, blocking the bright rays. She glanced down at the beach again, but the two boys were gone. Half of her really hoped they found find her, and the other half prayed that they wouldn't. She didn't know why, but things just weren't right.

Something thumped outside the door and Kairi jumped. She hear Sora calling to her. Looking back out the window again, she hoisted herself up onto the ledge and leapt out onto the soft sand below. Riku had joined in and she felt kind of guilty for hiding from them, but she just didn't feel like herself anymore. Something was missing, and she had a vague idea what it was.

She darted across the warm sand and slipped into the secret place. It was getting harder and harder to fit through the opening. The thought made her heart fall, she hated growing up. Everything changed, especially people. She could remember a time when she had been in love with the boyish charm that used to radiate off of Sora. It was long gone now, replaced by adolescence. It all seemed very morbid to her.

She stood up inside the cave. At least all their drawings were still there. She gazed down at the picture of her and Sora, holding paopu fruit out to each other. Tears formed in her eyes and it felt like her heart was being ripped out. Having the two boys back with her was the only thing she had wanted, and now that they were here she just wanted to be alone.

There was the door, right in front of her. She stepped forward and placed a hand on the smooth wood. It was warm. She sighed and placed her other hand on it as well. Maybe he was there, on the other side of the door. Maybe he was looking for her, too.

She moved forward and leaned against the door, as though it was embracing her. The warmth flooded through her body, making her shiver. She smiled and tears rolled down her cheeks. What a wonderful feeling. Like he was right there with her. Something within the door shifted. She let out a choked laugh.

"I miss you too…" She whispered into the wood.

'What am I doing? I don't even know him!' She backed away from the door and all but threw herself from the secret cave.

xxxxxxx

It was nearly midnight and Kairi sat on her bed, arms wrapped around her knees and staring out the window. She heard someone open her door, but didn't bother to look.

"Hey, Kairi. Did you want to talk?" Riku asked, sitting down on the bed in front of her. She smiled at him, but couldn't hide the fact that she had been crying.

Sora sat down right behind the silver haired boy and gave her a worried look.

"What's wrong? You've been acting really weird. We know you're avoiding us." He pouted at her sadly.

She shook her head. "I don't know. Something's missing, it just doesn't feel right here. I'll be okay, I just need some time to myself. Thanks for worrying about me though." She leaned forward and gave the two boys a hug.

"Come on Sora." Riku stood up and moved over towards the door.

It was pretty obvious that Sora didn't want to go, but Riku gave him a look that said he'd walk out or be dragged out. Kairi smiled appreciatively at him. They closed the door after them and Kairi sighed deeply. Good thing Riku was at least mature now, she could drop hints just as subtle as she wanted and he'd catch them.

She looked back out the window. Stars glittered in the dark night sky and the moon was slowly rising up over the ocean. For some reason, all she wanted was to be out there, dancing in the surf or playing in the sand. She crept quietly out her window, hoping her mother wouldn't hear her. She dropped down to the grass of her backyard and ran into the trees, ducking away from the light cast by her mother's kitchen. Confident that she had escaped unnoticed, she made her way through the dark palm trees and down the beach to the dock.

xxxxxxx

Kairi finished tying her boat to the rickety old dock and stood there for a while, staring up at the stars. It was so beautiful and peaceful out, she wondered why she didn't come here at night more often. She walked quietly out into the sand. It felt strange to her, the sand was cold beneath her feet and the waves seemed quieter now that it was night. Like they were hibernating until day broke again.

She felt awkward, but slowly crept toward the secret place again. She felt safe there, almost like someone was holding her away from the troubles of the outside world. Without even realizing it, she found herself standing before the door again. It was so dark in the cave, only a few rays of moonlight filtered in through the gaps in the rock. Just enough light for her to see the drawings on the walls and the outline of the door. She approached the door carefully, pressing her palms against it.

Something in her heart began to ache and she stared at the door. She felt like it was killing her, but allowing her to live at the same time. Something vital was missing from her life, but it was there. Just beyond the door. If only she could open it. For a moment she actually looked to see if there was a handle or something, but of course, there wasn't. That would be much too easy. She sank down onto her knees, still embracing the door and allowing its warmth to flow into her being.

"I wish I could find a way to open this door. I wish you were here." Tears began to roll down her face and she was rather surprised to find herself crying again.

"I wish I could see you again, just once and I would be happy." She leaned her face against the door and cried softly into the wood.

xxxxxxx

Darkness. Everywhere he looked there was darkness and more darkness. Is this what it would be like to be a heartless? What a horrible existence. The bright white halls of Castle Oblivion were preferable to this.

Stepping forward, his heavy boots clicked against the freezing stone floor. He shivered from the cold and wrapped his arms around himself. He wondered for a moment if any other members of the Organization may have been sent here. Laughing out loud, he remembered that he didn't care. He knew the only Organization member that he wanted to see, and chances of that were slim to none. That thought kind of hurt, but he was drifting in an eternal abyss of darkness here. He had bigger things to worry about.

He walked along for a while, almost enjoying the view. At least it was peaceful. But it felt like he had been here for years. A tiny heartless popped up in front of him. He stared at it for a moment. It wiggled its antenna and crept forward, sniffing at him. He smiled down at it and brought his foot back. He kicked the little heartless as hard as he could, watching it fly off into the darkness and hiss angrily at him. He waved rudely at the little creature. If there was anything he hated more than heartless, it was probably the Organization. Well, at least if he was going to be stuck here he could spend eternity terrorizing heartless.

The thought of spending eternity here rang through his mind. That meant he'd never get a chance to see her again. Pain stabbed at his heart and he grabbed his chest sadly. He thought for a moment.

"Hey! I have a heart!" He cried happily into the darkness. Figures, when he finally gets a heart he's in the last place where he would want to try and enjoy it.

Wait, did that mean he was a heartless now? And why were the beings that lost their hearts and kept their bodies called "nobodies" anyway? And the Heartless were the ones that stole hearts from people, so they had plenty. 'What a stupid idea! Who thought of that?' he thought angrily to himself. He chuckled lightly. 'Probably Xemnas'. Stupid.

This darkness was really starting to get to him. Whatever he was, he didn't like being here. He sat down on the cold floor. He felt like he'd been here for about ten years now, it was really starting to drive him crazy. He tapped his boots on the floor to pass the time. This was horrible, he had to find a way out of here.

Jumping to his feet he ran through the darkness, his footsteps sounding loudly around him. An image of the red-haired beauty he had kidnapped came into his mind. He cursed loudly, throwing his hands to his head. Why did he have to go and die? He could be there with her right now. He could be holding her in his arms, stroking that hair that nearly matched his own. He'd only known her for a little while, and he already knew that he wanted to see her again.

He found himself amazed at the new range of emotions he could experience with a heart. He felt angry at himself, despair, sadness, loneliness, jealousy toward the attention she gave to Sora. And what was that? Was that love? He felt warm inside and found it a little unsettling. He sighed. Like she would ever have wanted to be with him anyway. She had the keyblade master, what did she need him for? 'Aw, come one, don't think like that!' He shook his head wildly. 'I've got to find a way out of here!'

He jogged through the darkness, hoping against hope that maybe somebody left a door open or something. Anything that he could use to escape. Fatigue began to set in and he stopped. Falling back limply he landed on his back against the cold hard floor. He stared up at the lovely darkness above him for what felt like hours.

"This sucks." He groaned up at it.

He closed his eyes in contemplation. Maybe if he just waited here something would appear and magically save him. Whatever. He fell asleep waiting for his miracle.

xxxxxxx

It must have been hours later. Maybe even days. Something jolted Axel awake and he stared around him in surprise.

His hands felt warm. What? He sat up and scrambled to his feet. What the hell was going on? He felt like he was being hugged. It was… nice.

He looked around the darkness hopefully.

"Kairi?" he called out. "Kairi!" he yelled louder when he got no response.

He suddenly felt like crying, what the hell was wrong with this place? He ran forward, searching for any sign of the girl. She was trying to reach him. She was actually trying to reach him! He was excited, but scared at the same time. He tried to reach her back, but wasn't sure that it was working.

"Kairi, please! I miss you so much…" he fell back again when her touch faded, letting himself hit the cold floor harshly. It hurt, but it hurt a lot worse that she had left him again.

He didn't understand it, he barely knew her and here he was, falling head over heals in love with her. She wasn't even here with him! He sighed happily. 'Maybe if I wait she'll come back…' At least he prayed she would.

Axel waited for hours, shivering against the freezing stone floor and staring up at the dark abyss above him. He was so cold, he knew his lips must have been blue. It had been so long he was beginning to give up. He was going to be stuck in here forever. He felt so tired and weak. The darkness was sapping his energy. He held a gloved hand to his face, but he was so numb he couldn't feel it.

"Kairi…I think I might be dying. Again." He murmured to the chill air around him.

"It would be really great if you could get me out of here, no pressure or anything." he let his arm fall back out beside him.

"I mean, I know we barely know each other and all, but…" His eyes drifted closed from the boredom.

"You know… I wouldn't mind, maybe, getting to know you better." He tapped his foot sadly against the stone, listening to the darkness around him for any nearby heartless. He listened for several minutes, but heard nothing but his own words echoed back to him.

"I don't really blame you, if you don't want to. But I guess it would be nice, like, even if you humored me or something." He sighed heavily.

"I'm so losing my mind, this place is really horrible. I hope you never get stuck in here. What am I saying?" He put his hand over his eyes again and laughed.

He let the silence ring around him. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that he heard footsteps. What a crazy idea. He opened his eyes and cried out in surprise.

"Oh my god! What the fuck are you doing here!" He walked in a nervous circle, staring at the slightly glowing girl.

Nothing had ever looked so out of place in his life. She just stood there, smiling happily at him, blonde hair flowing in a nonexistent wind. As soon as the shock had settled he leapt on her and hugged her happily.

"Namine, I never thought I would be so happy to see you!" She smiled knowingly and took his hand.

"Hurry." She whispered, moving through the darkness as he followed her lead. She pointed straight ahead and he saw a shimmer of light.

He felt it now, Kairi was right there. She was crying or something, trying to reach him again. It was very faint this time, how Namine had managed to get in and find him he may never know. But for her to have risked coming here to find him, Kairi must have really wanted to see him! He saw the faint outline of a door before him and he huffed tiredly as he leaned against it. Namine smiled at him warmly and placed her hands against the door.

xxxxxxx

Kairi rested her head against the door lightly. Tears ran down her cheeks, but she didn't care. She wasn't in the mood to cry. Something within the door shifted dramatically and she scrambled back in fear. A bright light pierced through the dark cave and she put her hands up and squinted into it. She watched in amazement as the door swung open and Axel fell out onto the cave floor. All at once the light faded, leaving the two enveloped in soft darkness again.

Kairi's eyes were wide, she really wasn't sure what to think. She had wanted to see him so badly, and now that he was here she didn't know what to do. Pressing herself up against the wall, she put her hands over her mouth. He climbed shakily to his feet and braced himself against the door. He put a gloved hand up to his flame red hair and groaned. He still hadn't noticed she was there.

"Oh my god…" Kairi whimpered. His eyes shot up and met hers, both of them utterly surprised.

They stood there like that for a long time, just staring at each other, neither really knowing what to do. Axel held his breath as she slowly moved forward. She held out a shaky hand and he eagerly pressed his own palm against hers. She relaxed at his touch and their fingers entwined. He pulled her closer and she wrapped her other arm around him, hugging him tightly. He couldn't remember ever feeling so happy before. He was finally here, holding her. They were together and that was all that mattered in the world.

"I can't believe you're here. I thought you were dead." She whimpered into his chest. He felt himself blush, 'Me too…' He thought sadly to himself.

"Thank you." He replied, burying his face in her soft hair.

End of Part One