A/N: When was the last time I posted on here? Years. College has eaten my life away, but I was really inspired to create this piece around the end of KH II. This is my take on what would've happened when Axel took Kairi that evening. I hope you enjoy, and I missed you all!
Misplaced
...
...
"We've got something in common, Kairi. You and I both miss someone we care about."
It had all happened so quickly. The long black robe. His hand clamping on mine, the shock my whole body felt. Far off in the back of my mind, I thought I heard a dog barking. I wanted to look back. To turn away from this man.
"Hey…"
He was a stranger, yet seemed so familiar.
"...I feel like we're friends, already."
Where have I seen this person before?
A wave clapped near me, knocking me out of my stupor. My eyes snapped back into focus.
It didn't matter who he was. I wasn't going with this guy.
"Let go of me!" I cried out, my free hand gripping at his sleeve. The material felt like liquid. I was losing my grip on both the sleeve and my control of the situation.
One of his green eyes slid back towards me. I felt his hand squeeze on mine.
"I can't let go. Not yet."
A black abyss opened in front of us, seemingly out of nowhere. Everything in me wanted to go the opposite direction. I heard more barking. Pulling backwards, I managed to twist my body just enough to see an eager yellow dog pacing a few feet from me. Next to the dog was a similar abyss.
The dog was offering an escape.
As hard as I could, I started to yank against the man's hold, but the abyss swallowed us within seconds. Then it went silent
Opening my eyes, I tried to adjust them to the darkness.
Nothing but quiet surrounded me; no lulling ocean waves, not even the sound of my labored breathing. The only indication of presence I had was the hand gripping on me. I didn't know if that was more comforting or unsettling.
In an instant, the darkness melted away, and I felt a gentle breeze on my cheeks. The hand that held me was gone.
"Open your eyes." My captor said, not unkindly.
My eyes fluttered open. Blinking a couple of times, I tried to take in exactly where I was.
I had expected to be taken to some dark, gloomy dungeon, but in front of me was one of the most gorgeous sunsets I had ever seen. Orange and pink blended across the sky, with the golden orb of the sun nestling into the distant water.
Beachfront sunsets were beautiful, but to see it from above was-
The awe I had felt suddenly flickered, confusion setting in as I wondered just where I was.
This certainly wasn't the islands.
Whirling around, I almost bumped into the redheaded man. He caught my arms just before impact.
He looked down at me anxiously, hands on my shoulders.
No...not at me. Through me.
Like he was looking for something else.
"You said your name was Axel?" I found myself asking distractedly, matching his gaze.
He blinked, immediately letting go of me. "Yeah, Axel. Didn't I tell you?"
Somehow, it didn't sound right.
"Axel." I repeated dumbly, moving back from him.
"Yeah." He smirked, "Got it memorized, now?"
I waved aside his attempt at humor. "Why am I here?"
"Why would you want to be anywhere else?" Axel let out a sigh, walking past me.
I turned as he moved past, my eyes following him as he swung himself onto the building's ledge. He turned a little and beckoned me with his hand.
Against my better judgment, I did as he wished and stood next to where he dangled. Gulping, I looked down at the little town below.
But why all the way…?
"Up here?" I finished aloud, realizing just how high up we were.
"Sit down and you'll see why." Axel murmured, seemingly entranced by the setting sun.
Gingerly, I sat myself with my back facing the sunset, keeping my feet firmly planted on the brick roof.
"Kairi," He smirked, "I won't let you fall."
Swallowing hard, I took another look down below.
Looking back up again, I saw his smile had softened with encouragement. Sighing in defeat, I very carefully shifted myself around so that one leg, then two, were hanging off the ledge.
We sat in silence. I don't know how long we sat there like that, just watching the sun blend into the water. For some reason, it didn't seem right to disturb him.
Why did I care about how he was feeling, though? He had no problem sweeping me away against my will.
Fueled by this sudden remembrance, I angrily turned to him.
Axel turned in unison.
"Here."
Something cold bumped into my nose. I took it in my hand.
It was a bar of ice cream.
"Sea-salt ice cream?" I almost demanded, not sure whether to be relieved or even more angry.
Axel took a bite of his bar and blinked at me.
What was with this guy?!
"Hey!" I snapped, "Did you really drag me here to eat ice cream? What are you trying to pull?!"
"You know what kind of ice cream it is, hm?" Axel took another bite, looking at me expectantly.
"Of course I know what it-!" I stopped short.
How did I know? We never had this kind back home.
Not sure how to finish, I looked down at the seafoam bar.
"Better eat it before it starts to melt."
Skeptical, I glanced back at him.
He chuckled lightly. "I didn't poison it."
"You also didn't answer my question." I said firmly.
"If you eat it, I'll tell you why I brought you here." Axel took another bite. "I promise. Just indulge me for a moment."
Seeing no other alternative, I bit into it.
As flavors of salty and sweet mixed around, the sun slowly sunk in half. It wouldn't be long before it set.
As I ate my ice cream, I dared to glance at Axel occasionally. Not once did he look at me.
Where have I seen him before?
"Have you ever been to Destiny Islands?" I asked suddenly.
"Well, yeah." Axel stated, "How do you think I got to you?"
"I mean before that."
"No, not that I can recall…" He took another bite and with a full mouth, asked, "Why?"
"You just...look familiar."
A flash of surprise crossed Axel's face, but he quickly masked it.
"Oh?"
"I just recognize your face from somewhere, that's all." Finishing the last bite of my ice-cream, I set the stick down.
"I doubt it." Axel flicked his popsicle stick off the ledge and didn't offer any more words.
The sunset was only a faint gold thread across the sea. It would be dark soon.
Then what would happen to me?
My skin prickled as the dusk air settled in. Or was it fear?
Twirling my finished ice cream stick around my fingers, I noticed lettering along the side of it.
Winner
I smiled bitterly to myself. My friends were missing, I'd been kidnapped, and I was a sitting duck on a ledge. Some winner I'd turned out to be.
"Whatcha got there?"
Axel leaned near my shoulder and took the stick from me.
"You got the same as him, huh?" He scoffed, taking the stick from me. "This stick must bring bad luck."
With a pained expression, he tossed it over the ledge.
Watching the popsicle stick fall to the sleepy town below reminded of his promise from earlier.
Twisting my legs, I pulled my feet back onto the roof and backed a few steps away from the ledge. He watched me silently, waiting for me to speak.
"I've done what you asked." I said shakily, adjusting my skirt. "You told me you'd explain everything."
"Do you remember anything?" Axel asked, staring at me intensely.
"Do I…remember what?" I frowned.
"Doesn't any of this feel familiar to you?"
In a matter of seconds, Axel was directly in front of me.
"What are you talking about?" I felt my back press against the tower wall.
"You said you remembered me." Axel leaned in, stretching his arms on either side of me like a cage. "Don't you remember Roxas?!"
"No, I don't know anyone by that name! Let me go!" Wincing, I pushed my hands against his chest.
With a disgusted look on his face, he lifted my hands up by the wrists.
"Xion, you have to be in there, somewhere!"
"I don't know who Xion is." I made another failed attempt at pulling my hands back. "Please, let me go!"
"But you look so much like her." Axel held my wrists in front of me, leaning into my face. "Bringing you here, I thought you would…"
The pleading in his voice stopped me from squirming.
"Thought I would what?"
Letting go of my wrists, Axel glided his hand through the length of my hair. "I assumed part of Xion would still be inside your heart."
"I'm sorry, I can't say I understand what you mean." I took a couple of steps back. "I don't know who either of those people are."
Axel looked off to the side, seemingly gaining some composure.
"This spot was where all three of us used to spend time together. I was never so close to feeling before."
I rubbed my wrists a little, puzzled over his choice of words. "Can't you feel?"
"No." Axel smiled sadly, stepping back as well.
"So then," Not knowing how to respond, I elected to change the topic. "What happened to them? Roxas and Xion?"
"They're a bit…misplaced, right now." He rubbed the back of his head, "I thought I could get them back. Or, at least Roxas."
For some reason, I felt a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. I allowed them to slightly lift.
"Well, then you and I are the same."
Axel looked surprised. "How so?"
"It's like you said before. You and I both have people we care about." I leaned against the tower wall again, hands behind my back, "And we're both searching for them."
"It's not the same."
"Isn't it?" I asked, "Aren't we both lucky to have people who care about us?"
"Not if they're gone." It sounded like his heart was breaking.
"Even if they aren't here with us," I glanced over at him, "We still have their memories."
Memories.
For a moment, this rang familiarly through me.
His face, where did I-?
"They're too painful for me." Axel turned away, breaking the nostalgia.
"They wouldn't want you to remember them like that."
He flashed a forlorn smile. "I don't suppose they would."
We smiled at each other silently for a moment.
A cold breeze blew through, covering my arms in goosebumps. It reminded me of where I was.
But why?
"Axel, why did you take me here? Please give me a serious answer."
"There's no point in telling you, anymore." He stretched, looking almost renewed. "I'm giving up on my plan."
"What does that mean?" I asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.
"This was all a mistake." He sighed, putting a hand affectionately on my head. "I'm taking you home."
Home. Something inside my brain shifted again, and words flew out of my mouth that sounded foreign and familiar to my tongue.
"Thank you...Lea."
Axel removed his hand at once, looking alarmed.
"You...where did you hear that name?"
"I- I don't know." I fumbled for words. "It just came to me. It feels like I've said it before."
"But how could you have? Were you ever in Radiant-"
Something suddenly caught my arm from behind. Looking frantically over my shoulder, a man with a cold gaze and cold blue hair to match towered over me. His amber eyes regarded me blankly before turning to look at Axel.
"Thank you so much for locating the girl for us, Axel." The man in the similar black robe addressed him condescendingly. His arm quickly snaked around my waist, drawing me closer to the portal he stood in.
Axel frowned. "Leave her be, Isa."
"Ah, are we on a somebody-name basis now, Lea?"
…Isa…
...and Lea…?
Images began flashing in front of me.
Suddenly, I was in the middle of a town square, surrounded by the bustle of people. On the ground in front of me was an ice-cream cone, smashed all over the bricks. I must've dropped it.
"You dropped yours again, Kairi?"
I looked up to see two boys in front of me, one with red hair, the other with blue.
The boy with red hair was holding out a bar of sea salt ice cream to me. His face was slightly blurry, but the eyes were unmistakably green. I squinted.
This boy was Lea.
Or…was it Axel?
The boy with blue hair patted me on the head, amber eyes crinkling in a smile as he began to mouth something to me.
This was Isa.
Lea handed me the bar, smiling as he formed words. I strained to hear him, but the town began to melt together, making a colorful blur of everything.
I felt the tightening around my waist again.
"We don't need her anymore!" I heard Axel snapping.
The glaze wore off my eyes, my vision returning.
"You mean you don't need her, anymore." Isa replied calmly.
Axel gritted his teeth, materializing two spiked, circular weapons.
Feeling slightly dizzy, I looked back and forth between the two of them.
These two...aren't they friends?
Were they once my friends, too?
"Your name is Isa?" Interrupting, I raised my head up to the man, searching his scarred face.
There was no doubt about it…he was the same boy.
"You're much better off coming with me," Isa didn't acknowledge my question, "We're going to meet up with Sora very soon."
My brain tried to absorb his words. "With Sora?"
A sharp pain hit my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. Gasping for air, Isa's face began to blur. Just like the town scene.
As my eyes grew heavy, I caught a glimpse of Axel.
His worried, blurry face was mouthing something urgently to me, and just before I'd faded into unconsciousness, some of his words made it through:
"...I'll bring you back to Radiant Garden."
...
...
A/N: Phew, this turned out to be a little longer than I thought it would be. I enjoyed playing around with the fan idea that Kairi, Saix, and Axel met or even knew each other back in their days of living in Radiant Garden. I thought it would have been an interesting twist to the story. This is only intended to be a one-shot, before she gets taken prisoner in The World that Never Was. Please tell me what you think!