A/N: Hi again! I'm not sure if this is my best work, because I was kind of unsure about it. However, it was meant to be short. I'm just not that great at extremely long one-shots, so sorry if you like those. I could try in the future, though. For now, here it is.

Gone Forever

Namine cautiously found herself walking in the void of Betwixt and Between, searching for a certain someone. She didn't know why she felt like she needed to find him, she just did. All she ever wanted was to sense his hand brushing hers again. To see those green eyes sparkle would mean the world to her, for she hadn't seen them light up in a while. Then again, he actually set her free in the first place, though she still ended up a dependent again. She didn't know how to be anybody else except that. Remembering the almost insincere tone of his voice, she knew he was just acting. He would have never hurt her on purpose, despite the fact that he prepared to go through her to get to Marluxia. At the time, he had bluffed, she knew that. Still...before that incident, there had been other times in which he seemed like he truly cared about her well-being, even loved her.

Quietly walking through the tunnel, Namine stifled a gasp as soon as she saw her beloved lying on the ground. He looked deathly pale as he talked to Sora, as though articulating every word took a little bit more out of him. It couldn't be possible, she thought, he couldn't be...

....Dying.

Denied as she did, the fact still remained that this tragic scene played out before her eyes. Though not an act of his, she barely believed it to be genuine. Sora decided to leave right then and there once a portal emerged. She wondered if he caused the redhead's downfall. After all, he had killed and killed mercilessly before—why not now? She ignored Sora's departure, wandering over to Axel.

"Hey, kid," he whispered hoarsely, mustering up a wan smile for her. Usually, he had almost never smiled at her, only smirked. Maybe his smirks hid what he must have "felt" for her. Keenly aware of this, Namine struggled not to cry at that moment. Why did he have to die while she had to live? Live to serve...it was fated that she proceed with that for the rest of her days. Maybe she could fade back into darkness someday just to be with him again. Namine finally asked the question that had stayed inside her for five minutes on end. "What happened to you?"

Axel chuckled wryly while running a hand carelessly through her blond tresses. "Oh, just fighting off some Nobodies, sacrificing myself for some kid I barely know. You know, the usual."

She always wondered how he could joke about something as serious as impending death. Better than moping, she supposed.

Sighing, Namine gradually realized that Axel would never come back, no matter how much she longed for it, how much she wanted it to be. Once a Nobody fades back into darkness, it can never return from whence it came. It would be like cheating death, and as much as Axel had cheated when alive, he couldn't in death. That thought depressed her above all else. His smirk would vanish forever, his teasing green eyes eventually erased from existence. Everything she ever adored about him would cease to live, so she bitterly assumed. She continued barely watching black strands of nothing course their way out of him, numb to the point that her voice had eluded her.

"Namine, do me a favor," Axel abruptly implored in a vulnerable tone.

"What?"

His emerald eyes glistened once more, a sight she wished had stayed for all eternity. "Take care of my friend Roxas for me. And...maybe you can find someone better than me?"

The last sentence had come out as a question, as though unsure that he thought himself the best for her. Axel had never once been lacking in confidence of anything; hearing this now frightened Namine. She gulped down a few sobs, shuddering from the effort. She had to put on her brave face for him—she had avoided letting him see her cry. Usually, she only told others what they wanted to hear. This time, she would reply with words that she herself wanted to hear.

"There can never be anybody better than you," she told him firmly, showing renewed confidence, whereas it had lacked before.

A true smile, uncontrived, showed on Axel's face. Namine felt relieved in the knowledge that what she had said was true, in her opinion. She leaned over him to kiss him for the first and last time. He seemed ready for it as his lips captured hers in the tenderest way possible. If only this had happened every day before his death. For, now she knew that what he showed her in his kiss was real and not just some act he put on to trick her. Once their lips parted, the rest of him faded away into nothingness. Her smile that she had bestowed on him in the brief five seconds before his death wavered. When that happened, she reinforced it, aware that Axel hated crying. He would want her to celebrate his life, recalling all the good times they had. She would do that for him.

Now, more than ever, since his final curtain call had ended. Exit stage right.

A/N: Sorry, I couldn't resist the theatre reference at the end. For some reason, I'm writing more tragedy than I ever thought I could possibly pull off. Well, this one had more of a bittersweet ending, so it wasn't all sad. Still, I know I made the death scene longer. It was on purpose, though I didn't think it would turn out the way it did. What can I say? I surprise myself sometimes.

If you didn't mind the shortness and all, I would appreciate reviews. And maybe some constructive criticism? I'm just unsure about this one. Well, nonetheless, I hoped all of you liked it. XD