Author's Note: Hello, my lovely readers! Thank you for coming to read Charred Heart. Just a point or two to make before you read. You will come across these lines of dialogue in the story that are italicized and have squiggles on either side; those are the pagebreaks, and at first are "spoken" by Mei, but later switch to Axel. You shouldn't have a problem discerning who is whom. Most of the fun I had with this one-shot actually came from coming up with those pagebreaks XD I don't own Kingdom Hearts nor its related games, but it would be awesome if I did.

This one-shot is a smidgen different from my others; you'll see why as you read.

I'd like to thank my readers, beta-readers, my friends, and whomever it was that wrote an article deciphering Axel's personality on KHInsider---it inspired quite a bit in this one-shot and helped me keep his character in line. This one-shot was quite fun to write :D Please, enjoy. My gratitude for reading, and God bless!

Charred Heart

The man glanced behind himself, scrutinizing Market Street: Tram Common. He checked the little nooks and crannies, all of the places where a petite, adolescent female could hide with stealth. Someone fitting that description—anyone at all, actually—was not there.

Head remaining turned, he stared forward into space, speculating. If one was to look at his expression, they would think that he was disappointed. Another would feel compelled to vertically switch the position of the upside down water drops beneath his eyes.

There was a tugging force on his sleeve, drawing his attention to his other side. A young woman dressed in the same hooded black coat as him was tilting her head inquisitively. Unlike him, she wore her hood up, so only her face below her eyes was visible.

The redheaded Nobody shook his head and scratched the back of it, interrupting the strain of thoughts that had overtaken him. "Well, that's the gist of how missions for Organization XIII go," he explained. "I think it's time we got a little something extra."

She made a questioning motion again; Axel was beginning to wonder if he would ever hear her speak, and clarified, "The icing on the cake, chatterbox."

Salty, but sweet, too. It was like a once distant memory being renewed as she bit into the frozen treat and it touched her teeth, tongue, and lips. She withdrew the Popsicle bar, commonly known as "Sea-salt ice cream," and felt the chunk that she had bitten off begin to melt inside her mouth; she covered her mouth with a black gloved-hand. "Mm!"

There was a chuckle from beside her as Axel remarked almost mockingly in reminder, "Ice cream's cold, Mixe."

She turned her head toward him and lowered her hand, smiling. She answered him with a silent nod before regarding the space in front of her once again. They sat on the ledge of the tower in Station Plaza, providing them with a beautiful view in the distance.

A normal human would be mesmerized, or stirred by the wonderful arrangement of scarlet, crimson, and reddish-orange hues. Axel and Mixe, however, were Nobodies, possessing no heart with which to feel moved. As Mixe watched the sunset, her smile turned to a line lacking emotion. Her ice cream melted, dripping into the space below, whilst memories of her human life overtook her.

~"You, are the fire that burns my heart."~

The sky outside her second-story window was filled with the hues of the setting sun, casting a romantic, enkindled tint in her room and the structures of Twilight Town outside. It was quiet aside from the track's rumbling as the tram passed below.

A book lying on the desk within her room was one of weapons, opened to a page containing chakrams—sharp-edged discs with a hole for the user's finger as they were spun and then thrown. In a sketchpad, the owner had drawn a more ornate form of the weapon than in the book, including more openings and spikes around the circumference of irregularly curved shapes. The colors were red and white.

Mei was a petite young lady, short and proportionately thin. The split ends of her deep purple, almost black, hair brushed her shoulders, and for her current task she had taken a blue barrette to sweep her bangs from lilac eyes. Her attire was simple; a dark blue tee and white shorts along with high blue socks.

She had sat at her desk, pushing the book and sketchpad aside to work on a sheet of paper about the size of an envelope. In one hand she held a collection of green colored pencils, all of different shades. In the other was a sea foam green pencil being applied largely to the irises of the eyes she drew. They were a luminous pair with upside down water drops beneath in line with the pupils.

Depositing the sea foam green pencil into the group of pencils in her left, she withdrew chartreuse, carefully sweeping it in the outer region for a gossamer tint. She hunched over, looking even closer at the blend of colors. After applying a few more shades of the hues, she sat up straight, set the pencils aside in the spine of the weapons book, picked up the drawing in both hands, and held it in front of herself.

The perfect eyes staring back at her drew her to smile bashfully and a mild suffusion enflamed her cheeks; they were colored similarly to the red eyebrows giving the eyes an intense expression. She had to sweep her gaze away momentarily before looking at it again.

Gently smiling, she took one hand from the paper and unclipped the barrette, allowing her bangs to fall in front of her face. She tousled the liberated locks, fixing them so they plainly fell to mask her eyes; one could not see them well, however she had become accustomed and saw well enough. Some, like her mother, would find it peevish.

Mei continued looking at the picture as she reached back to pull the chair away from the desk and walked to her bed. She stepped onto the baby blue comforter and faced the wall that the head of the bed rested against. There was a giant collage there on a vertically long bulletin board. She took a pin and used it to keep her newest drawing in place.

It was one of many. The others centered on the same subject, but displayed separate parts. She took her hand and traced the jaw line of one of the subject's face in another picture with her fingertips. He was a man with a strong chin and sexy smirk. The eyes she had drawn were the same in this, only smaller. His hair was a collection of long, bright red spikes swept back but for a few, shorts strays at his hairline that stayed up. Her fingertips continued to trace until she touched his chest.

She lifted her eyes from where her fingers touched and looked at his face again. He smiled back provocatively in a confident fashion, in such a way that he was telling her to "come on." Mei tilted her head and half-lidded her eyes as she inched forward and kissed his mouth.

~"No, the inciter of my affections; the breeze manipulating that fire."~

Sea-salt ice cream was a popular Twilight Town treat for its salty, yet sweet, taste. Mei walked up the incline of Station Heights, biting into it as her eyes searched the scene before her for something of interest or possibly something to draw; in a lavender drawstring backpack, she carried her sketchbook. She soon turned left into the Back Alley, toward the Sandlot.

Leisurely, she strolled until a sudden dark corridor erupted into existence toward the other end of the alley. She could only guess it was a portal of some kind, for two young men exited from it. They were a suspicious-looking pair donned in hooded black robes, so Mei found herself crouching behind a box as she looked after them.

"Okay, let's get this done fast," said the taller of the two as he rotated his shoulder. "What was today's target again? A Guardian?" At first, she saw solely his back and the spike-styled hair emanating from his scalp. The robe fit to the slender, but masculine, shape of his torso.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I think. . . ." His companion was smaller in comparison and had shorter, blonde spikes that brushed forward. Mei could hardly see the blue of his eyes since only his profile faced her; his physiognomy appeared spacey.

The first turned to the second. "You're such a zombie. Want me to go have all the fun while you figure it out? C'mon."

"Y-yeah. . . ."

Mei took a bite of her ice cream, keeping her eyes on the mysterious men. She waited until they nearly crossed into the Sandlot to stand from her hiding spot. Men in black. . . . I wonder what they were talking about, she thought, and followed them, casually eating her ice cream. A target . . . hit-men?

~"It was a spark from when I first saw you, enkindled as I watched you from the shadows."~

Watching people had always been a hobby of Mei's. She was the silent observer of people in crowds, or simply random individuals, though shadowing Axel was a special case. Normally, she would choose a spot frequented by Twilight Town civilians, and observe them when they thought that no eyes were on them; it is under those conditions that a person is truest.

She would carry her sketchbook and draw these people, or use them as inspiration for comics with very little dialogue. Words told solely tales; actions spoke more loudly and truthfully, despite that they were sometimes cryptic.

Axel was the first for which she had begun stalking. He simply amazed her; upon watching him, and the occasional "Organization XIII" member, she had come to the conclusion that he was a vigilante of some sort, a hero. These creatures referred to as "Heartless," whose presence she had never noticed prior to realizing the existence of the Organization, were extinguished by the group daily, sometimes by method of elemental magic—all the more fantastic. The first time she had seen as such, she had moved her bangs to better see, incredulous.

Perhaps it had been when his chakrams had been alight with fire that her adoration, or obsession, had been ignited.

She hid around the corner of the Sandlot, hunkered low in a path connecting to the Back Alley. A pleasant smile was the curve of her mouth as she watched the trio of people in black hooded clothing battle in the Sandlot's arena versus a large Heartless called a Heatsaber. There was also a sliver of unease, for they had been attempting to vanquish the monster for awhile with no signs of it slowing down.

The Heatsaber was a large Heartless that appeared to be covered in bulky armor from head to toe and had giant arrowheads colored a volcanic orange for hands. Fire would sometimes lash out from those arrowheads when it attacked, burning its adversaries.

"Our attacks aren't working!" stated the sole female of the group. She had short, black hair parted on the right side of her head and light blue eyes. She held a sword resembling an oversized key—a "Keyblade"—identical to Roxas's, whom also was fighting. Xion was the girl's name; so Mei had gathered when listening in on her, Axel, and Roxas's conversations on the Station Tower almost daily.

Axel dashed back, distancing himself from the Heatsaber; in the process he was closer to Mei, his posterior facing her. "Look at it closer—there's a force field around it. There must be a Barrier Master somewhere," he said, sweeping his gaze across the area.

Mei searched the archives of her memory for talk about a Heartless titled "Barrier Master." One had never, to her knowledge, been brought up—or targeted, rather—in Twilight Town thus far. She filed through her brain to make sure, crawling back a few paces and sinking more into the shadows for when Axel would check behind himself. The nether region of her head collided into something strongly.

Touching the back of her head, she twisted to see what she had hit and came face-to-face with a small, dark figure bearing glowing yellow eyes; in comparison to the Heartless creatures she had sighted previously, it shared the common characteristics, as well as the emblem. It wore an outfit of blues, including a top hat, and carried a giant book similar in size to itself.

Beneath her bangs, Mei's eyes widened at the suspended figure before herself—which she assumed to be the Barrier Master—and opened her mouth, inhaling sharply. As she rose she took a few steps back, proceeding away from that Heartless and into the Sandlot's Struggle Arena.

She was unwittingly heading toward Axel, keeping a wary eye on the Barrier Master. It speedily floated after her, lifting its book and attempted to attack her with it; she hardly bent backward far enough just in time. Bad of balance, she tipped back too far and her rump ended up meeting the arena floor. She felt the back of her head and her shoulder blades make contact with someone's legs, as well.

". . . !" Mei tilted her head back as Axel looked down at her; her bangs parted just enough for his sea foam greens to meet one of her lilacs. Red flushed her face whereas his eyes widened in surprise and he stepped back. His companions expressed shock, too, also seeming uneasy; Organization XIII was supposed to run a covert operation, unseen by the residents of the worlds they visited.

The hairs on the back of Mei's neck prickled as she stood and evaded the Barrier Master again. A tension knotted in her stomach—she did not favor the idea of being seen either. It was more preferable to watch from the shadows, not be watched in the light. Her palms began to sweat.

Axel's expression hardened and he raised his chakram, igniting it. His mouth curled into an almost bittersweet smirk as he moved to where Mei would be out of the way and threw his weapon at the Barrier Master. Roxas and Xion followed up with Fire spells of their own, and the Heartless disappeared, releasing a heart.

Mei relaxed a little, lowering her guard—just a smidgen. She twisted so she faced Axel, biting her bottom lip, and appeared poised to run away, but her feet were not obeying the commands her mind sent to them. His eyes were on her, inquisitive.

"What are you standing there for? Run!" he urged—almost as if he were annoyed, she noted—when she did not move.

Xion and Roxas were occupying the Heatsaber, pummeling it with their Keyblades incessantly. The Heatsaber crossed its arms in front of itself, guarding, and awaited a momentary cessation before pulling its arms in and charging an attack. When it released its energy, it charged forward and knocked Roxas and Xion into the air through a blow to their stomachs.

Axel turned away from Mei and twirled his chakrams, throwing them both sans fire. Roxas and Xion twisted in the air in recovery and landed in the Struggle Arena, not hesitating long to charge in. Their movement seemed a little slower, but otherwise, one would assume that they were alright.

Mei swallowed. The presence of the Heatsaber had been lost to her with the brief revealing of the Barrier Master; it was a bit easier now to coerce her feet into taking a step back. While the Keyblade wielders had taken a hit well, she had a feeling that with her complete lack of battle experience, she would not be so lucky.

She finally dominated her feet and turned toward the exit to Market Street: Tram Common. At the same moment in which she began running, the Heatsaber vaulted high, escaping the close-range attacks the Organization members had been executing.

When it landed, it did so directly in front of Mei, cutting off her decided path. There was an impact that knocked her down to her rump again; in frightened reaction, she raised her arms in front of herself and turned her head. Her heartbeat rang in her ears, pulsing in quick succession. It was straining against the walls of her chest cavity, as if struggling to liberate itself.

Mei shut her eyes, anticipating the blow to come as the Heatsaber homed in. She braced herself, and felt the concussive blow come across her right, forcing her to topple over onto her side and hit her head against the pavement.

One eye opened in a squint, and all of the colors around her dulled. Where the Heatsaber had hit, and the regions she had rebounded, smarted, but not as much as they could have. The fear coursing through her veins acted as a temporary, but not very potent, anesthetic.

She braced her right hand on the ground whilst attempting to lift her own self with difficulty. The other arm held her opposite side. Slower than she would have liked, she slid and began to bring her leg up; her eyes closed upon exerting effort.

The Heatsaber raised an arm in front of itself, poising to strike again, when it was simultaneously struck with two chakrams and gigantic blocks of ice (Blizzaga spells cast by Xion and Roxas.) It faltered, and was barraged by two Thundara spells; lightning bolts cascaded around it en masse. Disappearing in darkness, it released a heart.

Mei finally stood, holding her side, and swooned. Not only did the colors around her seem duller, but objects appeared to be less defined. Certain things remained in focus whereas others were not. The thumping of her heart receded, and she staggered a step prior to tripping over her own feet.

Someone caught her before she hit the arena floor; a soft leather enveloped a portion of her arm as that someone's gloved hand kept her somewhat aloft. That person lowered himself to kneel and used his other arm to cradle her shoulders. Her arm was released, and her bangs brushed against her skin gently; tickling, as he moved them to better see her face.

Mei opened her eyes, seeing a mass of red around a fair complexion with chartreuse orbs. She squinted, trying to put the image into focus, and smiled. The parts where they made contact suddenly felt warmer to her, and a blush flared upon her cheeks. Tenderly, she spoke but one word before her vision blackened, a name: "Axel. . . ."

The surprised look on his face was last thing she saw before hours later, when she regained consciousness. She was still in the arena of the Sandlot, only she was alone and lying on her back. To her surprise, even as she sat up she felt little pain; perhaps one of the three had cast that "Cure" spell on her, mending the injuries she had sustained from the Heartless beating.

A small smile came to her lips as she hugged herself.

~"The first time I melted in your arms . . . my heart felt like it was reduced to ashes, fluttering through my veins."~

Pieces of black cloth lied strewn on her desk, placed and piled in a non-uniform manner. Spools of black thread also lied on top; one was undone but knotted significantly whilst another was still brand new. A third sat on the edge of the desk, just in front of Mei's sketchpad. It was propped up by her alarm clock and displayed the Organization outfit in great detail and different angles.

The thread leading from the spool was connected to a needle held between Mei's lips. She hovered over her bed, wearing the barrette to keep her hair out of her eyes, bearing an expression of great concentration. Black cloth was laid out on the bed, appearing like a sleeveless, open robe. On either side, long tubes stretched out from the arms, and above, the cloth that was to become a hood. Mei was lining the pieces up, preparing to sew them together.

She took the needle from between her lips in her left hand, climbing up onto the bed. Crossing her legs, she sat in line with the desk and facing her project, switching the needle to her opposite hand. Her fingertips were marred from the many times in which she had accidentally pricked herself.

~"For hours, and days, that warmth lingered."~

Mixe lifted her ice cream, only to realize that it had all melted off of the stick. She set it aside. Mouth displaying an indecipherable emotion, she reached forward and hovered her hand in the space before her. Moments later, there was a dark flash, and a crimson-hilted katana manifested itself.

Axel glanced at her side-long, resting his arm on his knee; he had also finished his ice cream some while ago. He studied her mouth and the rest of her face that was visible. It had been a week since she had joined the Organization, and in verity, he had not seen her full countenance as of yet. Something seemed familiar about those lips.

~"The first thing you said to me was my name. I didn't know what to do . . . didn't know what to think."~

Axel's room was identical to that of the other Nobodies of Organization XIII, almost purely white but for grey shadows. It was sans a personal flair, without any decoration except for the Nobody crest fashioned on the headboard of the bed.

He currently lied on that bed, arms crossed beneath him as an extra pillow, while staring at the ceiling. The redheaded Nobody speculated and wondered; all that he could do, but feel. That young, plum-haired girl he could have sworn had never made contact with him before, yet she knew his name and had said it with the most gentle of tones, like he was a familiar face.

How was he supposed to "feel" about that? Perhaps it was simply to be confused—but would one consider that a feeling? It seemed more associated with the process of thoughts—the jumbling and non-understanding of them.

He tossed onto his side and frowned, searching the archives of memory from when he did have a heart, trying to remember how his human self would have felt. Perhaps thought it weird, and then moved on; but for his human self, this would not have been what the Organization viewed as a complication. He did not favor complications. At times, he would have to converse with a world's inhabitants to gain some reconnaissance—and obtain Sea-salt ice cream. Never did he remember offering his name, though.

Those eyes when looking upon him had sparkled, alight with emotion he could only wish to feel. Surrounded by the pinkish hue of blood rushing to the face, brightening that light where he almost could not bring himself to look. It was an emotion he knew well, and one of which he missed most, as it saturated his name when spoken from those soft, rosette cusps: love.

~"So, I thought about you."~

A female figure donning the hooded, black Organization coat stumbled out of a dark corridor, clutching her chest in a hunkered position. Breath passed between her lips in quick in- and exhalations, accented strongly. She wore her hood so it concealed a majority of her countenance.

She took her other hand and held it in front of her mouth, not trying to hinder her breathing, but soften the sound. Cautiously, she lifted her head diminutively, regarding the brunette Organization member with a Mohawk that she had followed inside; he continued walking on, thankfully appearing not to have realized her presence. Until Demyx finished ascending the stairs, she remained crouched, standing only after he disappeared through a door.

The hooded young woman lowered her hand from her mouth, softened her grip on her chest, and grinned in open-mouthed awe. The stairway on which she stood was suspended high above the floor, so high that only the void of nothingness appeared to be below. Far, far away was a white wall speckled with grey. The grand size amazed her, and the emptiness made the abode appear mystic. The height did unsettle her, though, thus she descended the steps into a different room.

Some time later, she found herself walking in a long hall. She looked around for a moment, but seeing as there was nothing on the walls to look at, it was not a task she could perform for long before seeming to be brainless.

Axel turned into the same hall as she, scratching the back of his skull as he thought; his head was turned to the side, and his other fist rested on his hip. The woman stopped, stepping back in surprise. She hunched, turning her head in all sorts of directions, looking for a place to hide. Her plans were foiled when he lowered his hands and looked up, catching sight of her.

"Hey there, Xion," he greeted.

"Xion" did not respond, taking a step back, and turned, breaking into a run. Huh? Axel followed, seeing that she proceeded awkwardly, as if not used to the Organization garb. For that matter, she was a slow runner, athletically unsound, so he caught up with her quickly. A firm grasp on her arm was all it took to stall her.

"Xion—what's wrong?" he asked, pulling her back. The girl within his hand went limp like a noodle, positioned so her other shoulder came in contact with his chest. Her head came back, and she turned it, attempting to look at him; she simply twisted within the hood, giving him a mostly obscured view of her nose, mouth, and chin.

Axel stared, studying the visible parts of her face whereas she opened her mouth and allowed her lips to tremble. He quirked a brow at her strange behavior and looked more closely at the girl's face. Then, he realized that she was not who he had thought.

His eyes widened, "—You?!—," and he used his free hand to pull back her hood: lilac eyes peeked at him from behind plum-colored bangs. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, roughly pulling her closer.

Mei stared back silently, unable to break her eyes away from him and closed her mouth, red dominating her face. She swallowed, smiling sheepishly with a nervous sweat trailing past her temple. Once she found stable footing, she twisted so his arm wrapped around her and she nearly faced him. She beckoned for him to lean down.

Believing she intended to whisper to him—though his countenance expressed some suspicion—he complied, leaning in so his face was level with hers. His ear faced her as he glanced, waiting for her to begin speaking.

However, her mouth remained shut. Instead, she took up her right hand and cupped his cheek, turning his face toward hers. Searching his eyes, dithering her view from his confused gaze to his lips, she lifted herself onto the tips of her toes and kissed him gingerly.

Axel blinked, his questions coming to an abrupt and complete halt. The redheaded Nobody had no heart to race or flutter, but he felt his blood rush through his veins like raging rivers. Tingling warmth entered from her lips, coming onto him as she boldly deepened it for a flickering moment. Fleeting like a fire's stillness, the "feeling" ended as she lowered back onto her heels, breaking the kiss.

His hold on her arm was released slowly, moving across her back to her left. He took his other arm and held her in front of him so they faced each other completely. Leaning still, their visages were but inches from one another—hers full of a crimson suffusion and his holding an almost blank expression. His eyes were narrowed softly, and his lips parted ever-so-slightly. Mei tried holding his gaze, but the fluttering in her abdomen was too much—she had to look down.

The inciter of her affections, the breeze normally left untouched, was consumed as he leaned in, and their mouths met once again.

~"I'd never had a stalker before; but it didn't feel weird to be kissing mine . . . it was nice."~

Darkness surrounded the hilt and blade of Mixe's katana, dissolving it from her grasp. Then, the female Nobody turned her head a little, noticing his eyes were on her. She lowered her hand and tilted her head, parting her lips just a smidgen; another questioning glance.

He leaned toward her, resting his weight on his right hand. He was staring hard, completely serious. "Mixe . . . who were you?"

". . . !" Her jaw dropped and she averted, regarding passed him. A small, bashful smile came to her lips, and she bowed her head. Hesitantly, she brought her hands up, and used them to pull back her hood. Plum-colored locks brushed against her shoulders, hanging on either side and between lilac eyes.

She glanced at him and smiled; the sole addition to her countenance as a Nobody was a single mark coming from beneath her eye to her chin, curving with her cheek. Axel regarded her with no expression of surprise, but a quizzical one. "How?"

Her smile grew a little and she closed her eyes, placing her hands over where her heart once had been. "I wanted our hearts to be together; mine charred, and yours . . . even if that meant in darkness."

End of Charred Heart

Thanks for reading, God bless, and please, review if you'd like; it'd be awesome if you did :D Not everyday I write a character like this . . . I would like to know if she's well-received.