"Ooof," Kairi hit the ground with a gasp. Her legs sprawled over the brick sidewalk awkwardly and her palms stung where she had scraped her skin. She braced herself with one knee as she attempted to regain her footing.
"Need some help, princess?" Kairi could practically hear the smirk in his voice. She gritted her teeth and said nothing as she staggered to her feet. She slumped against a nearby wall and glared at the red-headed man that towered over her. Axel smiled not threatened in the least. Kairi wanted to slap him.
"What do you want?" Kairi had wanted to sound calm and unruffled, but her voice quivered slightly. Her arm burned where Axel had grabbed her and her entire body ached with exhaustion.
Axel glanced at her. His emerald green eyes betrayed nothing, but his eyebrows furrowed. "What do I want?" He repeated. He leaned on the wall next to her. "I want you to stop running away." He grinned at his remark.
Kairi said nothing. Her vision blurred and tears slipped from her eyes. She brushed them away impatiently.
"Hey, don't cry," Axel said hastily. Was that a hint of alarm in his voice? Kairi chanced a glance at Axel. He was looking at her with concern. "Look," Axel said desperately as Kairi began to sob in earnest, "I didn't hurt you. That was all you, okay? Geez, I mean who jumps off a building and scales a wall like that? No wonder you're all scratched up." Axel ran his hand through his hair frustrated. He took a breath and added, "Well, so much for our first date…"
Kairi surprised herself by smiling at his weak attempt at humor. Her skin was slick with tears and her eyes were heavy from crying. Her face felt stiff as she contorted her lips into a bitter grin. "Some first date…"
Axel helped Kairi into a sitting position. He kneeled down next to her and murmured, "I'm not going to hurt you, okay?" Kairi arched her eyebrows dubiously. "I know things seem a bit crazy to you. But you gotta understand that you're important, okay? We need you." Kairi merely looked bewildered. "If I told you the whole story we'd be here all night." Axel chuckled darkly. He fixed Kairi with a critical stare. "Oh yeah, it would probably help if I healed you…" He raised his palms over her arms and legs. "Curaga!" A green halo enveloped Kairi.
After the green light dissolved into her skin, Kairi watched her various cuts knit themselves together. Her bruises faded. "Wow," Kairi breathed.
"That's the magic of being a Nobody."
"Nob-"
"Don't ask," He helped Kairi to her feet. She jerked her arm away reflexively.
"What now?"Kairi demanded as she surveyed the collection of silent houses around her. Twilight Town was a different place at night. The warm hues and light airy colors that were present when the sun was shining mutated into ominous shadows as night fell. Kairi shivered.
"Now? We're going to meet my boss."
-x-
"Your boss lives here?" Kairi asked incredulously. She expected a creepy mansion- a run-down house in a bad neighborhood maybe, but a modest inn at the edge of town? Kairi felt an inexplicable sense of disappointment.
Axel's face was oddly blank. He tapped his finger on the counter rapidly; his eyes glowed in the artificial lighting of the inn lobby. "No," Axel said slowly. He glanced at her and said quickly, "We're just here to, um...Hey!" he snapped at a nearby inn employee, "We've been standing here for five minutes. What do I have to do to get a room here, huh?"
"Oh! Yes, of course! I'll find someone to help you right away, sir!" The frazzled employee frantically assured him as he bustled off, presumably to find the manager.
"What are we doing here?" Kairi hissed suspiciously, trying to mask the knot of dread that tightened in her stomach.
Axel's cat eyes widened in realization, "It's not want you think!" Axel panicked. "We're only here cause, well, we don't have transportation at the moment! Nothing else!" He was spluttering dumbly now, muttering hectic explanations. Something inside him seemed to wilt as Kairi regarded him with rage and fear. His face burned in shame.
"Sir?" A timid voice cut in tentatively.
Axel's head whipped to the source of interruption. "What?" He growled irritably.
"Your room is ready?" The inn manager cowered in Axel's shadow, smiling sheepishly.
-x-
"So this, um, portal of darkness thingy isn't working? Which is why we can't go to your castle?" Kairi echoed skeptically. She was sitting cross-legged on the edge of one the beds. Axel sat uncomfortably on the other bed across from her, avoiding her gaze.
"Yeah. Look, I know how this sounds. Believe it or don't believe it. I could care less, princess," Axel said regaining some of his composure as he flopped on to the mattress. Although, he was glaring at the water stained ceiling, he could feel Kairi's unnerving gaze on his profile. "I'll figure something out in the morning," Axel added as he turned away from her completely. Something about her violet-blue eyes just…just-Man, what is with this girl?
"Well, alright," Kairi said doubtfully, mentally reviewing her options. If he comes near me I'll scream, she decided firmly as she reached across her bed to switch off the lamp. The room was plunged into darkness. The open window offered scant illumination. She could vaguely make out Axel's huddled form across the room. Kairi rolled away from him, aware that her breathing sounded too loud in the overwhelming silence of the room.
Finally Axel said in his familiar sarcastic way, "One more thing, princess. Don't try to run away again." His voice was weary, but Kairi could hear his standard smirk.
An unexpected smile found its way to her lips in the darkness, "Wouldn't dream of it."
Axel yawned and mumbled sleepily, "Smart girl. You know I'll always be there to bring you back."
This story was supposed to go in another direction, but then it kinda morphed into a romance. XD /fails
Hope you enjoy!