AkuRo--What? That's Not a Word!
Late one night in The World That Never Was, Axel pushed open the door to his protégé's room and leaned against the doorframe with a smirk. "Bored?" he asked, crossing his arms.
Roxas tilted his head to the side of his pillow and nodded. He rested flat on his bed for lack of anything better to do until the next mission.
"Come on, let's go to the Usual Spot," Axel said with a nudge towards the hall.
"I thought we missed the sunset…"
"True, but we can still catch the stars."
Giving out a soft hum, Roxas rolled off his bed and got his feet. He joined Axel in the hall and the two disappeared into a dark portal bound for Twilight Town. When they stepped onto the cobbled streets of their favorite world, the distant chime of the clock tower rang twelve times.
"It's officially August 13th," Roxas commented. "It's been 267 days since I joined the Organization."
"Still keeping count?"
Roxas gave a small nod. Keeping track of the days allowed him to hold his memories close. He never wanted to forget moments like these where he spent time outside with his best friend.
Traveling through the quiet streets of Station Heights, they walked side-by-side in peaceful silence. The tower grew nearer with each step and Roxas could see its silhouette in the distance with its clock face brightly lit. Though before they could reach the top of the hill, Axel came to an abrupt halt, his arms outstretched and his head snapping to the side.
"What's up?" Roxas asked.
"We're not alone."
Furrowing his brows, Roxas was about to inquire further when he caught sight of a shadow moving in the alley. He slid into a defensive position, readying his hands to summon forth the Keyblade if necessary. With knees bent and arms flexed, he turned his head to survey the area like Axel. The two friends stood back-to-back, eyes roaming the dimly lit surroundings.
Something rustled in the shadows, kicking a tin can and glass bottle in the process. A cat screeched and jumped out of the alley, hissing as it shot past the two Nobodies. Their attention focused on the feline for only a split second, but that's all the distraction their true assailant needed. A second figure flung itself from the shadows and tackled both friends to the ground.
Axel let out a loud grunt, trying hard to free himself from the stranglehold that prevented his flow of oxygen. "Wh-what the…?!" he choked out, trying to gasp for breath. But as he pried himself free of the ironclad grip, the former hand around his neck wormed its way between his back and the ground, pressing into his kidney. He grit his teeth, concentrating all his energy into his legs and sprung the culprit straight of his body.
"OMG, squee!!!" cried the anonymous attacker as she flew straight through the air, looped around, and landed gracefully on her feet. "That was so totally awesome!"
Flipping onto his feet with furrowed eyebrows, Axel looked over his opponent. In a fraction of a second his wrinkled scowl straightened into an expression of complete confusion. "A girl?" he exclaimed. "Who the heck do you think you are, sister? Don't you know it's dangerous to roam around at midnight, jumping on a couple of shady guys?"
But the girl didn't seem to pay any attention to Axel. She instead scoured her pockets with a determined tongue dangling out her mouth and screamed "Eureka!" when she pulled out a small camera. Holding it up, a super-high beam of light flashed and blinded Axel again, and again, and again, and again. All the while, the deranged girl squealed in delight with every press of the shutter button.
Axel shot his arms over his eyes to shield him from the awesome power of flash photography. "Cut that out, you foolish girl!" He turned his sights down to where Roxas was struggling on the ground. "Hey, get up and help me!"
"I can't!" his best friend said, wriggling his body. "She drooled on me!"
Axel raised an eyebrow. "So what?!"
"It's like some kind of superglue," Roxas grunted.
"Then take off your cloak! Do something—the light is blinding me!"
With a nod, Roxas lifted a struggling arm to his zipper. He tugged it down slowly, not able to maneuver his limb with enough ease or precision to tap into his swifter reflexes. The estranged saliva kept him struck to the ground like an insect on flypaper while the high-beamed flashes made his pupils go wide like a deer in the headlights.
"Yeah, take it off!" cheered the deranged girl, clicking her camera even faster. "Take it all off, baby! Whoo!"
Roxas cringed. "Who is that?" Slipping his arms free from their sticky sleeves, he jolted onto his feet and summoned the Keyblade.
"Better yet, what is that?"
"Tee-hee! I'm, like, your number one fan!" the girl shrilled with a grand old smile that showed off her metal braces.
Not wasting anymore time, Roxas jumped into the air and flung his Keyblade at the crazy chick. "Strike Raid!" he hollered, sending his blade on a collision course with that evil camera. It slapped the device clear out of the girl's hands, ceasing the blinding stream of light in the process.
"Don't worry, my little bishies! I have a spare!" With that look of utter glee and ecstasy still plastered over her face, the strange girl reached into her purse and pulled out a pink, cellular phone. But before she could flip it open, Axel charged up to her and grabbed her wrist. "OMG! Axel's touching me!! I could just die!"
"You don't know the half of it," Axel said, taking the cell phone with his free hand and crushing it in his grip.
As the girl watched her phone fall to little, metallic pieces and hit the ground, she jumped in eager rhythm from one foot onto the other. "OMG!! Axel crushed my phone! Squee!"
Both Axel and Roxas stared confused at the estranged girl, not sure what to make of her peculiar antics.
"Just who are you?" Roxas tried again.
"OMG! Roxas is talking to me!! I could just die! …Again!"
"You will die if you don't answer our questions!" Axel growled, tugging at the girl's arm with a menacing glare contorting his countenance. He leaned his face in close, hoping to scare the girl into submission. But he found himself letting go and leaping back in horror when she placed a kiss on his nose. "What the heck?!"
"OH. MY. GOD. …I just kissed Axel…On the nose!! Squee!" She did a little victory jump, throwing one hand in the air as she screamed into the night sky.
"Axel, what should we do?" Roxas asked. But he didn't receive a reply. His best friend was too preoccupied rubbing his nose with wide eyes to respond. "Hey, snap out of it! Axel!" Still nothing. The man stood transfixed, not able to comprehend the acidic burning sensation fluttering through his cartilage. Growing impatient, Roxas grabbed both of Axel's shoulders and shook him while shouting, "Number 8. Axel. The Flurry of Dancing Flames!"
Axel blinked, eyes refocusing on his best friend. "…What just happened?"
"I don't know," Roxas replied with a shake of his head. "But we need to deal with her. She's trouble. I'm getting a really weird feeling being near her."
"Yeah, me too—wait! We're both—we can feel?" he sputtered. "That's not possible!"
"Of course it is!" exclaimed the girl, now standing between the two friends. They jumped back, shocked that she could move so fast and undetected. "Anything's possible on AkuRoku Day!!"
Axel narrowed his eyes. "Aku-what?"
"AkuRoku Day!" the girl repeated, her smile growing. "It's like Christmas for fanfics only yummier! Mmm!"
Roxas looked over at Axel in confusion. "Did they invent a new holiday while we were stuck in our rooms?"
"That's not a holiday! That's just a made-up word by some weird chick with a death wish." He held out his arms, outstretched up from his sides so that his open palms faced outwards. Flames burst from his hands and his chakrams appeared. "Roxas, just think of her as a Heartless! You know what to do!"
"But, Axel—"
"Just attack!" Axel flung himself at the deranged girl, but she didn't even look fazed. Instead, she rolled her eyes skyward and tapped a pointer finger against her cheek.
"Oh dear, you two need to get into the 'AkuRoku' spirit." She locked gazes with Axel just as he readied himself to make contact with his chakrams. But the man soon found himself suspended in mid-air, his body frozen in place.
"Hey! What did you do to him?" Roxas demanded with a cross-slash of his Keyblade. His patience worn thin, he glared at the girl and prepared to strike at her himself.
"Aww, don't worry! I'll get you both fixed up faster than you can say 'slash-fic plz!'" With a snap of her fingers, the estranged girl froze Roxas in place just as he lifted the Keyblade for another Strike Raid. She then reached back into her purse and pulled out a fuzzy, pink pen and a matching pink notebook, flipping the notebook open and jotting several things down in it. "Don't worry, my little bishies! I'll fix everything right up, tee-hee!"
Pink portals swirled beneath the two Nobodies, spewing out pink tentacles that latched onto their bodies and hauled them into the unknown, pink abyss.
Axel awoke with his head buried in a pillow. Springing his body up from the mattress, the covers slipped off him and revealed his bare frame. "What the heck happened to my cloak?" he wondered. "And my chakrams?" Eyes falling down to the bed, he scoured it in vain for his missing paraphernalia. He let out an agitated grunt, turning his attention instead to the small dresser against the wall and pulling out various articles of clothing. The Flurry of Dancing Flames didn't deal too well with the frigid air freezing his naked body.
After throwing on the heaviest clothing he could find, he made a run out the door into a long hallway—not caring in the least that he just stole some random guy's apparel. Eyes narrowed, he made gradual progression down the hall while keeping his eyes peeled for both his partner and that weird chick. When he found his way out of the complex, he stepped out onto the snow-covered streets and shivered.
Taking a look around the town, he didn't recognize any of the buildings. "That girl must have teleported us to another world," he muttered, walking down the shoveled sidewalk. He traveled for a good twenty minutes with no sign of either target. The world proved huge—larger than what he was accustomed to, and the freezing weather made it even more troublesome for a flaming Nobody such as himself. The below-zero temperature took its toll and forced him to withdraw into the warmth of the nearest building.
"Axel, there you are!" shouted a familiar voice.
The Nobody snapped his head towards the door with a small, relieved smile. "Roxas."
"I've been looking everywhere for you," Roxas said as he approached. Like Axel, he was dressed in a heavy jacket and snow boots.
"Same here," Axel replied with a nod. "Any idea what's going on, or did you wake up naked too?"
Roxas raised an eyebrow at the taller man and smirked, jabbing him in the ribs. "Is that supposed to be some sort of cheesy pick-up line?"
"Huh?"
"Ha, ha. You know I'm already yours, so there's no need to woo me," Roxas continued. "C'mon, let's go to the café and get something warm to drink. We can go skating afterwards like we planned." He looped his arm with Axel's and proceeded to lead him out the door.
All the while, Axel stared at his best friend with a scrutinizing gaze until they entered the café. They sat down at a table for two near the window, getting a panoramic, super-special, lovely, wonderful view of the winter wonderland outside. Roxas sat across from Axel, taking off his winter coat and slinging it across the back of his seat before gazing back up at the taller man. He took notice of Axel's furrowed brows, and his own expression dropped. "Hey, are you okay, Ax?"
"Axe…?"
"Did the cold weather get to you? Maybe we shouldn't go skating."
Axel furrowed his brows even more. Why was his partner acting so peculiar? "Roxas, what's gotten—"
"Hello, I'm your waitress for today! What can I get you two?"
"I'll have a hot chocolate," Roxas replied.
"And you, sir?" she asked, turning to Axel with her pen and pad at the ready. But his narrowing eyes remained fixed on Roxas. "Sir…?"
"Axel?" Roxas looked at the man, concerned. "Are you okay?"
A long pause ensued before Axel gave an insincere smirk and answered without tearing his eyes away from Roxas. "The same for me," he said.
Nodding, the waitress jotted down the orders and made her exit.
"Axel, what—"
"She did this, didn't she?" Axel interjected.
"Huh?" Roxas didn't even bother to hide his confusion. "Who are you talking about?"
"That stupid girl!" He gripped the sides of the circular table and pressed his long fingers into it. "She did this to you!"
Roxas frowned. "I see where this is going…"
"She—huh? You do…?" he asked, genuinely curious.
"Axel…" Roxas let out a shaky, infuriated breath. "We've been over this; I don't like her that way."
"What…?" Now it was Axel's turn to be confused.
"Naminé is like a sister to me! How could you ever believe those rumors?" he shouted. "You trust some punk losers at school more than you trust me?"
"Roxas—"
"Just shut up, Axel! I can't believe after all this—after everything we've been through—you still don't trust me!" Roxas pushed away from his seat, grabbing his jacket and tossing it back on.
"Roxas," Axel tried again, but to no avail.
"I just can't be in a relationship with someone who doesn't trust me," the teen said in a cold tone. "Goodbye, Axel." He turned to leave, but Axel shot up from his chair and called after him the only way he knew how.
"Number 13. Roxas. The Keyblade's chosen one."
The teen stopped. He turned his head to view Axel over his shoulder and glared at the man with angry eyes. "Number 13…?" he echoed in a dead voice.
"There's something wrong," Axel thought. "He might attack me. I'd better get ready." He loosened his arms, preparing to spring them out and call forth his chakrams.
Roxas rolled his head to the side and heaved a deep breath. He turned around to stare Axel dead in the eyes. "Is that what I am—a number to you? You've screwed around with twelve other guys before catching me in your trap?"
Axel's eyes narrowed. He didn't understand anything, but he knew that strange girl was responsible for Roxas's warped personality. He'd make her pay.
The two engaged in a long staring match until the waitress came back with a tray in hand. "Here's your order!" she chirped.
In one fluid motion, Roxas grabbed a mug of hot chocolate off the tray and splashed its scorching contents onto Axel's face. "Jackass." With that, Roxas stomped out of the café.
Meanwhile, Axel was on the floor rolling in pain. Some of the boiling chocolate got into his eyes, and for whatever reason, his powers weren't reacting to absorb the heat.
"Tsk, tsk! That's not how you're supposed to act!" squealed an all-too familiar voice. "Of course he'd walk out on you like that!"
Axel forced himself onto his feet, hunched over in pain with only one eye opened. "You!" he growled, eyeing the deranged girl with the fuzzy, pink notebook. "You did this!"
"Like, duh!" she giggled.
"You picked the wrong Nobody to mess with, girlie!" He flung his arms out and tried to call forth his chakrams but failed. His agitation melted into a self-spiting smirk. "Heh, you did something to my powers?"
"You don't need them, silly! You're hot enough without the power of fire, if you know what I mean," she said with a suggestive smirk.
"No, I don't know what you mean. Now either give me back my partner or I'll just have to take you out the old fashion way!"
"Squee!! You called him your 'partner'!" the crazed girl shrieked, reaching a pitch Axel didn't believe to be humanly possible. "That gives me a great idea!"
Before Axel could jump out and strangle the girl, he found himself tangled in another mess of pink tentacles and pulled into another abyss.
Roxas sat slumped at a cramped desk in a small classroom. He was awakened by a spit wad to the head and jumped at attention, hands automatically positioning themselves to wield the Keyblade. "Strike Raid!" he shouted, flinging his hand in the air and whacking the girl sitting in front of him up-side the head with an empty palm.
"Ouch, you jerk! Why did you do that?"
"Huh…?" Roxas stared with wide, confused eyes. That wasn't the estranged girl! Heck, he'd never seen that particular girl in his entire life! And hey, where was the Keyblade?
"Mr. Strife!" shouted the man at the very front of the room, standing before the expansive, black chalkboard. "Is there some reason why you're assaulting your fellow classmates and crying random outbursts in the middle of my lecture?"
"Strife…?" Roxas echoed, not sure if that name was meant to address him.
"Now apologize to Ms. Tilmitt and take your seat! You have detention!"
But Roxas just stood there, uncertain where he was or what to do. He looked around the room in hopes of regaining his bearings, but the two-dozen unfamiliar facing staring at him from their own desks confused him even more.
"Hey, teach! It's cool! Roxy's sorry—aint'cha, Roxy?" Two comforting hands came to rest on Roxas's shoulders from behind, and Roxas craned his head enough to catch sight of Axel's left eye. "He's just having an off day. We all have those, right?"
"Very well," relented the teacher. "Both of you just take your seats and let me get through this lesson."
"You're the boss, teach," Axel said with smirk. He then whispered in Roxas's ear, "You owe me one, Roxy," before sliding back down into his seat.
"Axel, what are you—"
"Mr. Strife, sit down or I will give you detention!"
Not wanting to draw any further attention to himself before analyzing the situation to its fullest, Roxas complied and crouched back into his own seat.
With a satisfied nod, the teacher continued in his lecture. All the while, kids continued to stare at Roxas—some giggling while other snickering. The Nobody didn't have the slightest idea what to make of the situation. He knew that estranged girl to be responsible, but as he scanned the sea of faces, he couldn't spot her anywhere. Axel was the only one he knew, but he didn't want to risk talking to him just yet. Though, his best friend's behavior appeared rather odd.
"Since when does he call me 'Roxy'?" he wondered. "Maybe it's a new codename…? Even so, it sounds too weird. Or maybe Axel knows something about this world that I don't? Hmm…"
A loud ringing snapped Roxas from his thoughts and he yet again shot up from his seat in a defensive position. All the students pushed from their own seats, taking backpacks and notebooks with them as they shuffled out the door.
"Remember, your research articles are due tomorrow!" the teacher called after his students. He then turned his attention to Roxas, who was scrutinizing the exiting crowd with narrow eyes. "Mr. Strife, a word if you please." Of course, Roxas had already forgotten that the odd name was to be associated with him and didn't respond until Axel slapped him on the shoulder.
"See you after your meeting with the teach," he said with a wink before disappearing out the door.
"But, Axel—"
"Mr. Strife. Now."
Cautioning his way up to codename Teach, Roxas approached the target like Axel had taught him. He kept a careful eye on his target and kept his knees bent as he shuffled closer to the man.
"What do you think you're doing, Mr. Strife?" the teacher sighed, holding his head.
"What do you want?" he asked curtly, avoiding the teacher's inquiry.
The teacher sighed again. "Listen, Roxas…"
"He knows my name?"
"I know you've been struggling to keep your grades up ever since your mother passed on, but that doesn't excuse you from lashing out at a fellow classmate."
"Mother…? Huh?"
"Please, Roxas," the teacher said, looking the teen in the eyes with concern. "Try to compose yourself."
Roxas simply stared.
"Okay?"
"Err…" The Nobody didn't quite understand the conversation, but nodded anyway. Though he did so with narrowed eyes, waiting for the second the target would shed his disguise and reveal his true Heartless form.
"Good! Now go on, it's lunchtime," the teacher said, before grabbing his briefcase and shuffling out the door. Roxas was left alone in the classroom, not certain of what just happened. What did a Heartless care for lunchtime?
With many questions running through his mind, Roxas wandered off in search of Axel. Surely his best friend could shed some light on things! He roamed the halls, passing giggling girls and snickering guys. Some formed little circles around the various walls of lockers while others strolled in one direction or another in leisure.
"Yo, Roxy! Where're ya going?" shouted Axel. He pushed himself off the locker he was leaning on and dashed up to the younger Nobody.
"Axel, what's going on?"
"You mean with all the kids?"
Roxas nodded. There were too many kids and not enough Heartless; that is, unless the kids were Heartless in disguise somehow. Axel had to know a strategy to reveal their true forms!
"Well," Axel began with a smirk, "you did make yourself out to be the class clown with that crazy battle cry. That was a good one, Roxy! 'Strike Raid!' Ha!"
"What are you talking about?" Roxas asked, his face expressionless. That confused Axel.
"Are you okay, Roxy?"
"Why are you calling me that? If you want to use codenames for this mission, you could always use my number."
To that, Axel raised an eyebrow and rubbed the back of his head. "Well gee, Roxy… I just thought, you know, since we're going out and all…"
"Going out where?" Roxas asked, his eyebrows now knitted with determination. He didn't quite understand Axel's code words, though. "Did you find out where that girl is? So she's outside?"
Axel blinked. "Huh? Girl…?"
"You know—the girl! The one with the notebook!"
"Roxas, if…if this is about your mom, I—"
"I don't know why you're acting this way, Axel, but we've got a job to do. You said it yourself: she's just like a Heartless! We've got to vanquish her and then find a way back to Twilight Town!"
Axel's complexion paled and his eyes saddened. He reached out and took a hold of Roxas's hands, caressing them with his own. "Roxas…" he whispered. "Roxas, we're in Twilight Town. Please don't do this…"
Taken completely aback by the older Nobody's actions, Roxas yanked his hands away and spaced himself. He gritted his teeth, fists shaking at his sides. "You," he seethed, "are not Axel."
Closing his eyes and holding the bridge of his nose, Axel let out a shaky sigh. "Please, Roxas. Please don't give them a reason to send you back to the nut house. I don't want to lose you again!"
"You're a Heartless!" Roxas held out his hands and willed the Keyblade to him…but it never appeared. Despite his numerous tries to call forth his might blade, the burst of light never reached his palm and he stood there in the middle of the hall looking as though he was constipated.
"Roxas…maybe you should go home," Axel said, offering his hand. "Come on, I'll take you to the nurse."
Roxas jerked away from the hand shouting, "Stay away from me, Heartless! I don't know what magic you're using to block the Keyblade, but I'll find a way to break it!"
A tear trickled down Axel's cheek. "You don't mean that, Roxas…do you? Heartless? Me? But I—"
"The next time you want to try and trick me, at least check your facts. Nobodies like me and Axel can't cry because we don't have hearts."
With one last heart-shattered glance, Axel turned around and walked away with his shoulders hunched. A low sniffling echoed down the hall until he rounded the corner and disappeared. The action confused Roxas. Why didn't the pseudo-Axel attack him?
"Oh dear, you're not going about it right, either!"
Roxas swerved around and stood face-to-face with the strange, pink-notebook-totting girl. "You!"
"I'm just going to have to try harder next time," she said with a sigh.
"I don't know what you've done to Axel, but—"
Before Roxas could finish his sentence, pink tentacles pulled him down into a pink portal.
To be continued…