He walks outside, to the backyard of Castle Oblivion. It's a strange place, the backyard. It's covered with grass and wildflowers, with trees poking up from the ground here and there, offering flowers and fruit and sweet smells. The only thing out of place is the eleven-foot cement wall caging all of the beauty inside. He's thought of the reasons behind this before. Nobodies want hearts. Hearts are the symbol of love, and of beauty. If Nobodies want hearts, then they must want beauty as well, right? So they cage it in, in this sanctuary, this jail cell. And it can never hope to escape. For beauty cannot travel, cannot choose where it wants to be. Beauty will always be caged, whether by a wall, or by a flower, or a face.
And the face to his left is the embodiment of beauty.
He has no idea where this girl has come from, he just knows that she is here now. She is shorter than him, but about average height for her age - she looks to be about fifteen. He is still a full foot taller than her. Her hair is a red-brown, auburn if you will, and her eyes are an impossible purple-blue. Her lips are pressed together tightly in anger, and her nose crinkles with the effort. It only makes her look like a child having a tantrum, but it's the cutest thing he has ever seen.
A tentative look appears in her captivating eyes. "Axel?" she asks.
He closes his eyes breifly, letting the sweet sound of her voice carress him as it rides on the wind. She doesn't appear to notice. "Yeah, that's me," he says, turning to face her. He tries to hide his awe as he takes in her beauty at this better view. She's incredibly skinny, almost like him, but she doesn't look malnourished. Her skin has a healthy, tan glow to it, complementing her eyes and pink lips. Her clothes match her lips: a pink dress with at least three zippers running down vertically with a white camisole underneath. The dress has a black belt across her tiny waist, and two uneven pockets at each side. A long stretch of black fabric hangs out from one of the pockets, with a few little pink strings attached. Her shoes are big pink sneakers, and she's messed with the laces: they cross once over her shoes, then criss-cross up her ankles. She also wears a black and white wristband on her left wrist, and a necklace that has slipped underneath her cami.
Only someone as gorgeous as her could wear such outrageous clothes and still make them look amazing.
"Now the question is: who are you?" he finishes, gesturing toward her with one hand.
She takes a step back and her eyebrows furrow in confusion. A word seems to form on her lips, but dies there as well. Finally, she speaks again, her voice nearly a breath of disbelief. "You don't... remember me?"
He raises a brow. "Remember you?" he repeats. He thinks for a moment. "No, not ringing a bell." He shrugs. "Sorry."
"How could you..." She walks forward, toward him, but stops after a few steps. She's still well far away from him. "Are you sure?" An edge has come into her voice now, the anger beginning to return to her pretty features.
"Positive." He runs a hand through his hair. "Listen, sweetheart, I don't rememer a lotta the people I meet, or kill if you're one of those, so don't take it all personal."
"But you should remember me!" She stomps up to him, her face contorted once again, with anger, and frustration. "I'm Kairi. Your girlfriend."
Girlfriend? He bites back a smile. The very idea of this girl being his girlfriend is enough to make him want to drag her in by the waist and capture those tempting lips with his own, just to see if she is telling the truth. But he doesn't. He simply shrugs once more. "I told you, I'm sorry, but I don't remember you. Look, you might've just gotten the wrong impression. If I met you in a club, then you're probably not my -"
As he speaks, her eyes are filled with more and more fury, until finally, she lifts a hand and strikes him hard across the face.
His sentence is cut short by the force of the blow, and he catches himself by stepping out with one foot. Damn, she can hit hard, he thinks. His eyes travel back to hers. Look, Katie - whatever your name is - I don't care how pretty you are. Nobody hits me.
He closes his hand around her throat before she can take another breath, and lifts her up to eye level.
She coughs and chokes, obviously unprepared for the assault. The anger remains in her eyes, however, and she manages another sentence. "What, so hitting me before wasn't enough for you?"
He is about to ask her what she means when he spies an ugly looking bruise on the side of her face. Did he do that? He doesn't remember it. Impossible; she must be lying.
He sighs. "I don't have time for this." He lets her go and watches as her knees crumple underneath her, making her fall to the ground violently. "You must be looking for another Axel, Katie, 'cause I didn't hit you. I don't even know you. So get outta my face."
She stands up shakily and raises a hand to her chest. She rips off the necklace she is wearing and throws it to the ground, tears in her eyes. She turns on her heel and runs away, sobbing.
He raises an eyebrow again as his eyes travel down to the silver necklace shining in the grass. He leans down to pick it up, then straightens and examines it. It is a chain of tiny chakrams, like his own, linked together to form jewelry. His eyebrows furrow in confusion. He didn't give this to her. But who else had those chakrams? It couldn't be a coincedence.
He puts the necklace on. Who cares? That crazy girl is gone, and I have a cool necklace. All's well.
And at that moment, two teenagers burst through the doors of the backyard. He recognizes Sora and Riku, both with angry faces. Why's everybody pissed off today? he wonders, but brushes it aside. "What do you guys want?" he asks, his voice almost a sigh of exhaustion.
"How could you do that to Kairi?" Sora asks, stopping a few feet from him.
"Oh, it's Kairi?" he replies, ignoring the question. "I thought it was Katie."
"You should be happy Leon is still in there with her," Riku says. "He'd kill you for this."
"Oh, Leon's here is he?" he asks. "Well, perhaps I'll pay him a visit." He summons the shadows beneath him and allows them to envolop him, transporting him to the entrance hall of Castle Oblivion.
Leon stands with her, a hand on her shoulder as she wipes away tears. At the sound of the shadows, the two look up. Leon's expression hardens as Leon lays eyes on him; her face changes from sadness to fury. Her eyes drop from his eyes to the necklace, then back again, even angrier than before.
"Leon!" he greets, smiling. "It's been much too long!"
"Not long enough," Leon growls, drawing Leon's sword. Leon runs to him, Leon's teeth ground together.
"Oh, not this again," he mutters. He kicks the sword up, then shoots an arm out to catch Leon at the neck, making Leon's head snap back. He finishes with a punch to the small of Leon's back, and Leon crumples to the floor, unconscious.
She lifts her eyes from Leon to him, her anger replaced by fear.
He smirks. If there's any emotion that suits that beauty best, it's fear.
Sora and Riku run into the hall, breathless already. They won't put up much of a fight, he knows. He takes Sora first, dodging an attack from the Keyblade, then punches Sora in the gut. Sora doubles over, and he uses this opportunity to slam his fist down on the back of Sora's head. Sora falls, just as Leon did, unconscious.
Riku doesn't seem to care about how easily he has just taken down Riku's friends. Riku rushes him, but he easily knocks the Keyblade aside and summons his chakrams quickly. He sets them ablaze and jumps away before Riku can cut him with the Keyblade. He shoots fire into Riku's eyes; Riku groans and stumbles. He smirks and flings out his chakrams like boomerangs, cutting deep into Riku's abdomen. After one cut by each weapon, Riku falls unconscious with Riku's fellow companions.
She is the only one left, pressing herself against a white pillar next to the stairs. Her fear has turned into terror.
He saunters up to her, and watches greedily as her eyes widen with every step he takes. Oh, how he wishes he could steal her. Take her up to his room and kiss her, hold her face between his hands, and pull her up against him. But it is not to be. She has angered him enough; he will put up with her no longer.
"Axel, wait!"
He turns and lays eyes on Larxene. He sighs inwardly. How long will that blonde psychopath chase after him before Larxene realizes that he is not interested in Larxene? "What do you want?" he growls, turning only his head toward Larxene, but keeping close to her.
"That's Kairi, right?" Larxene asks, gesturing toward her. Larxene looks unconcerned with her presense, but Larxene's eyes show that Larxene is furious that she is here.
"That's what they keep telling me," he answers. "Why?"
Larxene looks at him like he is stupid. "Vexen has been looking all over for her! And Sora, too. Help me take them to him."
He sighs. Vexen is a crazy, creepy, mad scientist, and he does all he can to avoid confrontations with Vexen. But he can't avoid this one. "Fine," he growls. He turns back to her, and she looks up at him in fear and apprehension.
He smirks and grabs her wrist, pulling her close to him. She lets out a small sound of surprise as she is pressed against his chest by his arm behind her back, but otherwise doesn't try to get away. He is glad of this; it's very annoying when they struggle.
But she does something he does not expect. "Demyx!" she cries, and a shadow portal opens up near her.
Demyx steps out and she wrestles herself free of his grip. She tackles Demyx hard, and as Demyx goes down, Demyx conjures a shadow portal on the ground, which they are sucked up into.
"Dammit!" he curses, raking a hand through his hair.
Larxene watches him with a smirk, which instantly disappears as he locks eyes with Larxene. "Whatever," Larxene says, shrugging, picking up the unconscious Sora. "I'll take him while you find her, okay?"
He says nothing, but the message is understood. Larxene disappears into the shadows, and he is left to find her on his own.
----DarknessisLight----LightisDarkness----DarknessisLight----LightisDarkness----
It is not long before he finds her. Demyx has left, and of course Demyx took her to Demyx's room.
He appears in the room and finds her nestled in the sheets of Demyx's bed, holding a pillow close, crying into it. Her eyes dart to his when she hears the shadows, and she jumps out of the bed.
"What do you want now?" she asks. He can still hear the tears in her voice, as if her heart itself is crying.
"Just come with me, dammit," he commands, holding out his hand.
A flowered Keyblade appears in her hands. "Why should I?" she snarls defiantly.
She has a Keyblade? He raises an eyebrow. Suddenly she is very interesting. "What do you expect to do with that?" he asks.
She says nothing in return, only runs at him with the Keyblade pointed straight at his chest.
He easily grabs the blade and twists it up to the ceiling. She lets out a yelp as her wrist is twisted, but does not let go. He pulls her close and summons a shadow portal, and they appear in Vexen's laboratory.
Sora lays on an operating table, and Vexen stands over Sora, examining Sora intently. Larxene leans against a wall, watching the scene with uninterest.
She gasps as she sees Sora laying there, and wriggles free of his grip once more. She runs toward Sora, the Keyblade appearing in her hands again. "Get away from him!" she cries, slashing at Vexen.
Vexen grabs the Keyblade as easily as he did and eyes her curiously. "Strange, but promising," Vexen mutters to himself.
She grinds her teeth together and jumps back, letting go of the blade, only to have it disappear from Vexen's hands and into her own once more.
Vexen nods to him, and he comes up behind her. He grabs her arms and twists them behind her back, forcing her to drop the Keyblade.
"Let go of me!" she screams, and kicks at him.
He snarls and spins her around, keeping her arms behind her back. He pushes her against the edge of a table to keep her there, pressing as close as possible to make sure she doesn't kick him.
She struggles and screams all the way through Vexen's operation, but by the end even he can tell she's exhausted. She is trying too hard to keep her eyes open, but she still manages to pin him with a furious glare as Vexen finishes up. "I can't believe I loved you," she whispers, then falls limp.
He is stunned. He can't help it; he drops her, and she falls to the ground. Larxene and Vexen look at him in confusion, but he hardly notices.
Vexen orders Larxene to take her somewhere else for safekeeping until it is time to use her in an experiment, then disappears somewhere. Larxene tries to talk to him, but after many failed attempts, Larxene disappears as well, taking her with Larxene.
She loved me, he thinks, over and over again. She loved me, she loved me, she loved me...
I have to remember her.
----DarknessisLight----LightisDarkness----DarknessisLight----LightisDarkness----
He finds her in a holding cell. It's too like Larxene to leave guests ill-attended; he figuredshe'd be stuck in here.
He appears inside her cell, and kneels down next to her. "Kairi," he says, shaking her shoulders slightly, just enough to try and wake her up. "Kairi! Kairi, please wake up!"
She lets a moan pass through her soft lips as she slowly opens her eyes. But as soon as her eyes rest on him, the anger returns. She sits up and scoots away from him. "What do you want, Axel?" she says, every word dripping with hate.
He cringes. "I just wanna talk," he replies gently, but moves no closer.
"Fine then," she spits. "Talk."
"I'm sorry," he blurts out. After he begins, it just keeps coming. "I'm sorry that I hit you, I'm sorry about forgetting you, I'm sorry for hurting you and your friends, and I'm sorry you're here. I'm sorry I stopped you from saving Sora, and I'm sorry you don't love me anymore. But Kairi..." He moves closer to her, unable to read the expression on her face, but at least she doesn't back away. "Kairi, I don't know what this... feeling is. It's like a weight on my chest that won't go away, but whenever you're around it feels lighter than air. Like it's flying. And when you said you loved me... the feeling just grew and grew... and I had to find you. I have to remember you, Kairi. I don't know a lot of things for sure, but..." By this time, he is kneeling next to her, hardly a nose away from her face. "I know that I wanna know you. I know that I like being around you. I know that I never want to see you sad, or angry with me. And when I hit you, I know that I didn't mean to do it, and I know that it will never, never happen again." He strokes her cheek with his hand and traces his eyes over her face, memorizing it, in case she doesn't accept his apologies. "Please, Kairi..." He closes his eyes and leans forward, resting his forehead on hers. "I think..." he whispers, barely a breath. "I think I love you."
When he opens his eyes, there are tears gathering in hers. He is afraid he's upset her until he sees the smile on her face.
She swallows and holds back the tears threatening to fall. "Oh, Axel," she gasps, her voice shaking from her sobs of happiness. "I knew it. I knew you loved me."
He smiles, feeling his own eyes well up in tears. "I do," he breathes, and presses his lips against hers. His chest flutters at the feeling; it feels so right to kiss her. He pulls away and wraps her in his arms, holding her tight against his chest. He runs his fingers through her hair as she cries tears of joy and love and relief onto his shoulder, and whispers in her ear. "I love you, Kairi," he says. "I love you so much. I'll never stop loving you."
He hears a laugh bubble up from her sobs and she hugs him tighter. He smiles brighter than he has in what feels like ages. "You'll help me remember, won't you, Kairi? Help me remember how we used to be. I can learn everything about you again, and it'll be just like before. I promise. Would you like that?"
She nods enthusiastically, lifting her head up and wiping away her tears. She laughs in between sobs, a wide smile still plastered on her face. "Yes," she answers shakily as he pulls back wet strands of her hair sticking to her face. "Yes, I'd love it."
"Then that's what we'll do," he promises. "Anything you want, and it's done, my love." He kisses her forehead. "My dear." Her cheek. "My angel." Her other cheek. "My princess." Her nose. "My girl." He gazes at her fondly for one moment before standing up, sweeping her up off her feet with him and blowing her worries and tears away with one passionate kiss. He spins her around, her feet flying through the air, and he can't think of a time when he'd been more happy.
It's the truth that beauty can never be free. But beauty is not meant to be free. Beauty would not be beauty if it was free. But beauty can be found in all things, free or captive. It is in the wind, in the trees, in the song of a wildbird. In the laughter of a child, the smile of an elder, the embrace of a mother or father. In a melody, a story, or even a word. Or, in this case, beauty can be found in the love... between the light and the darkness. And that love will never fade, never dull, and never die. That love will withstand even the toughest trials of time, and it will stand strong, knowing that its beauty will always be known, for it will never be lost. And that is because it is never free.