Title: Last Train
Author: nikki_ntm
Beta reader: Shattered Apocalypse
Chapters: 2/20
Genre: Drama/Adventure/Suspense
Rating: M for language, violence and disturbing themes such as bullying, crime and disease.
Characters: Axel, Saïx, Larxene and Marluxia amongst others (Lea, Isa, Seifer and Org. 13).
Pairings: Implied past/present/future pairings, mainly past Axel/Larxene, and implied one-sided Isa/Lea.
Setting: Modern Japan (yakuza-themed)
A/N: Comments and reviews are much appreciated. Enjoy!
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Chapter 2: Thicker Than Blood
"Fuck."
Axel sat on top of Jecht's roof in a pair of pants and a sleeveless shirt. He was sweating, and it didn't matter how many times he wiped his forehead, it would only take seconds before he had to do so again. They had just finished with their second roof and Axel was hoping that it was their last. He wasn't cut out for this kind of physical labor.
"I don't think I've ever been sweating like this in my life." Saïx touched his arm and was amazed by how wet he was; he was vaporizing in this heat.
"Remember that year your mom got an air conditioner?"
Saïx nodded and sat up right, "You didn't want to leave. Wasn't that time when she got annoyed with you and told you to bring money if you were going to stay with us?"
"And I did."
Axel remembered it like it had been yesterday. Saïx's mother didn't really like that Axel hung around Saïx as much as he did, and it had gotten on her nerves to come home every day and see that Axel was still there. After their argument, Axel had gone out and spent two entire days finding empty bottles to get money for them. He had collected a whole 5000 yen. He had never had that much money before in his life, and he had enjoyed the look of surprise on the face of Saïx's mother when he gave her the money. It had been one of the few times she had been happy with what Axel did, to not say the only time.
"A popsicle would be nice now."
"Oh, the blue one that old man Wakaji sold in the street corner."
"I preferred the strawberry-flavored one. The blue one was salty."
"You think that Yuna has any ice at her place?"
They had been here for two days now. They had slept away the first day, and Jecht had made sure that they had kept the promise he had forced them into once they woke up. He was alright, despite his "quirks" as Yuna had called them. Jecht reminded Axel of his father, his real father, and like with so many other things in this village, it caused him to have an ambivalent feeling.
"No! I'm not going to your stupid set-ups!"
Axel peered down and saw a blond teenager hurry out of the house. Tidus was Jecht's eldest son. He was short-tempered, much like his old man. Axel didn't know much more than that; they had only met this morning. The tension in the house could have been cut up with a knife and served cold. Jecht wanted Tidus to settle down, marry a nice girl, and give him grandkids before he got any older.
Tidus couldn't be older than eighteen; he looked really young and had his whole life ahead. It seemed like a waste for him to settle down now. Axel was twenty-eight and didn't have the slightest inclination to settle down. First and foremost he wanted to come close to a normal life. A day without beating someone up was the first goal and today seemed like the day to take that first step.
"Come back here, you little brat! I ain't done talkin' to ya! Tidus!" Jecht came limping out on the yard and stopped midway when Tidus disappeared behind a hill. Jecht had injured himself while trying to fix the roof the day before Saïx and Axel got here; it seemed to suit Tidus perfectly because now he could outrun his father.
"Bloody ingrate," he mumbled and began to jump back into the house on his one good leg, before he stumbled and fell onto the ground, cursing.
Axel and Saïx hurried down the roof and onto the yard to help Jecht back up onto his feet. Jecht snorted the second he saw them and tried to wave them off, "Y'all better get back up and fix the roof. I can deal with this on my own."
Saïx slowed down but Axel hurried up to him anyway and got a hold around his waist.
"A little help here."
Saïx walked up to them and helped Jecht up onto his foot and stayed beside him while Axel threw his arm around his neck.
"Well, look at you," Jecht said with a laugh, "That some nice body-art y'all have there. Never thought that a pair of sissies like yourselves had it in ya." He looked at Saïx's neck and caught a glimpse of the tattoo on Axel's chest and the tattoos down his left arm, "No offense." He added as an afterthought and seemed intrigued by the dragon Saïx had going from his back, over his shoulder and a bit over his neck and down to his chest. "Guess you weren't kiddin' after all."
They helped Jecht back into the house and sat him down on a rundown sofa at the end of the room. Jecht's house wasn't at all as neat as Yuna's house. He had stuff lying around everywhere and he seemed to collect on everything that could be labeled as trash.
"The roof's done," Axel said and Jecht gave a slow nod, "You having family trouble?"
Saïx shot him a disapproving look.
"What's it to you?"
"Well, I can run after your kid for one."
Saïx couldn't believe the choice of words Axel had gone with, there was no point in upsetting Jecht now.
"You gonna talk sense to my boy?" Jecht chuckled, "I'd like to see you try. That kid has a skull thicker than mine; he ain't gonna see what's right for 'im until it's too late. Family tradition." He paused and sighed, "Fine. Talk to 'im and if you can make him show up for lunch at the tavern, I'll be grateful an' all that." Jecht crossed his arms and looked away, waiting for Axel and Saïx to leave, which they did.
They set off in the direction they had seen Tidus go. Axel was hoping that there wouldn't be many villagers out to see them walk by. Jecht hadn't seemed bothered by their tattoos and what they meant, but Axel didn't count on all the other villagers being as understanding. Fortunately for them, they all seemed to be in the tavern that Jecht had been talking about, preparing for lunch. This was a really small village and most of its villagers were old. Jecht was amongst the youngest and that was saying something.
"What's wrong with you?" Saïx asked as soon as they were out on the yard again.
"What do you mean?"
"This! Since when are you a family counselor? Since when do you even care?"
"What? He's an alright guy, he didn't threaten to call the police or kick us to the curb when he saw our tattoos, he's got a problem and I think I can help. There's nothing wrong with that."
Saïx grabbed him by his arm and made him turn around, "Let me rephrase the question. Why the hell are we here? You can't expect me to believe that you kidnapped me to save us both from evil because you suddenly got a conscience. Did you steal money?"
"No." Axel pulled away from Saïx's grip, "Do we have to talk about this now? I'll tell you why once we've settled the thing with Jecht's kid."
"Tell me now." Saïx demanded. It was going to take a while for him to drop the hierarchic thinking, it seemed. Axel shuffled the dirt with his left foot and tried to come up with an explanation that was satisfying and believable enough for Saïx. He couldn't tell him the truth yet. Not with how things were now. He was halfway through a half-baked lie in his head when they heard Yuna call for them. She walked up to them, smiling.
"Did you finish Jecht's roof yet?"
"Yeah. It's done. We were going after Tidus 'cause he got into a fight with Jecht and we thought we could help out a bit."
Yuna's smile faltered and she suddenly seemed nervous. "Oh. I should go and have a talk with Jecht then. I didn't mean to cause him any trouble." She bowed her head slightly, "I'm glad that the both of you are feeling better. Your eye is healing up nicely, Axel."
Before Axel had any time to question her about what she had said, Yuna walked off to pay Jecht a visit.
"What was that about?"
Saïx sighed. For someone who assumed the role of a family counselor, Axel sure had problems reading the obvious. "She's probably the one Jecht wants Tidus to marry. She tried to be nice or something and told Jecht to invite Tidus to lunch today and since it backfired, she thinks it's her fault."
"That kid really is an ingrate if he's complainin' about getting together with her."
They finally found Tidus sitting on the grass by a small creek that ran through the village. He was throwing stones into it and looked generally gloomy. It was strange to see a person with blond hair out in a rural village, it was normal to see rebellious teenagers bleach their hair in the city but Axel had never once seen a postcard of a Japanese village with rebellious kids.
Tidus was wearing a white T-shirt with an American flag on it and marine-blue sweatpants. It was nothing like how Yuna dressed. She always wore a yukata, and even walked around in gekka – traditional, wooden shoes.
Axel couldn't quite understand what the appeal was in standing out when you didn't have to. Being born different in a country where difference wasn't encouraged much had brought him nothing but trouble his first years. He had tried to fit in by coloring his hair black, but once he found his spot amongst the family, there was no need to do that anymore.
Saïx had colored it blue once upon a time, but as he climbed up the ranks he had colored it back to his natural black. He hadn't gotten rid of his bangs though, and his hair was still long, so he put it in a ponytail to keep it from getting in the way.
Tidus pretended not to notice them when they sat down beside him. He continued on, throwing rocks until Axel broke the silence.
"So your old man is trying to set you up?" Tidus glared at him from the corner of his eye and tensed up at being reminded of it.
"How old are you?"
"Nineteen."
"Yeah? What do you think about marriage?"
Tidus shrugged and put his arms around his legs, "It's alright, I guess." He looked at both Saïx and Axel, "Do you have wives?"
"Us? No. We – we're very job oriented. We're always on the road, there hasn't been any time to stop and smell the roses. Uh, if you think marriage is alright, why are you making such a fuss about it?" Axel hadn't thought it would be this easy to make Tidus talk. He had been nervous about it, but this was okay.
"Dad wants me to marry Yuna. Or to 'court her'."
"And that's a bad thing?" This kid might have a screw loose if that was his problem. "There's nothing wrong with her, right? You both grew up here, so you must know her."
"We used to be friends. That is, until dad started to bug me about marriage." Tidus sighed and waved off a mosquito, "She would only be marrying me because I'm the only one left. She doesn't have a choice. Even if we got married, we would have to leave for the city and I don't have any skills. How will I provide for us if I can't get a job? It's not fair."
That was unexpected. Tidus seemed to have spent a lot of time thinking about this; he wasn't being ungrateful, he was actually being mature. That would be difficult to break to Jecht, who seemed to like thinking that Tidus was being a rebellious teenager that only wanted to spite his father.
"I had a younger brother. He left a couple of years ago to find something better in the city. He didn't want to stay here, isolated from the rest of the world. I thought that he was stupid for leaving us, and I was mad at him for a while. That was probably why he stopped sending letters, but I know better now. I should have left when I had the chance, too. I could have made some money and then came back to assure Yuna a safe life." Tidus looked at the creek with a pondering look, "Dad doesn't know that he left. He thinks that he was kidnapped. The cops came by. It was a really big thing; reporters came here and asked us a lot of questions. I was angry at my brother, but I had promised him that I wouldn't tell anyone. Dad's been unbearable ever since."
"Tidus..." Axel began slowly, "You should tell Jecht. I mean, that's – that's a pretty big secret to keep. And -" Axel couldn't quite wrap his head around what Tidus just had told them. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to lose a child, just thinking about things like that would only get in the way of his work, which was pretty much extortion and threats.
"...and you shouldn't meddle." Saïx was clearly through with this session of confessions, but Axel was far from it.
"Tidus, you have the chance to be honest with your father. Your brother is still out there and he might want to come home. Imagine the shock when he comes wandering in like nothing happened. And you don't have to think so far ahead. Yuna likes you, it's clear as day. She was the one who told Jecht to tell you to show up for lunch. She doesn't seem like the kind of girl who would settle with anyone. There's really - "
"I can't believe I'm hearing this." Saïx sighed in complete awe, "Are you listening to yourself? This is exactly what I mean. Where the hell is all of this coming from? Be honest with your father? Honesty is not even a word you comprehend and just the fact that you're using it in this context is freaking me out. You better tell me what's going on or I'll punch your other eye in."
Tidus looked from one side to another, figuring that he should stay quiet. He sat in between Saïx and Axel, the tension almost on par to that of his house. He hadn't really paid attention to their tattoos until now, but he knew enough to understand what they meant.
"I can't tell you now! I'll tell you in due time, but now is not that time. We're trying to solve another problem here and I don't think discussing your trust issues is going to help much, so calm the hell down!"
"Guys!" Tidus interrupted and snapped his fingers in front of them to get their attention. "Lunch sounds great. I think we should go to the tavern and see what they've prepared. You're staying at Yuna's right? Her food is delicious. I've been thinking of what you said, Axel, and I've come to the conclusion that I should at least talk to Yuna. She's my friend and I've been really weird lately. I'll see what I'll do with dad – guys! Seriously, focus. You don't need to fight. You'll get my stomach upset."
Tidus got up, and much to his relief, so did Axel and Saïx. He filled every moment of silence with senseless chatter about everything he could come up with; a walk to the tavern had never felt so long and stressful. Axel felt sorry for Tidus once he had calmed down a bit, but it kept Tidus busy from thinking about the reaction from Jecht and Yuna once he showed up at the tavern.
The tavern was one big dining room with a long, low table and a lot of cushions. The kitchen was in the back and the bathrooms were outside the tavern. Axel was glad to see an old air conditioner in the corner. Most of the villagers were already there, ready to have their lunch. The chatter died out when they noticed Axel and Saïx walk in, a lot of their tattoos out for everyone to see. Yuna hurried up to the two and greeted them before she turned around.
"Everyone, this is Axel and Saïx. They were in a car accident and ended up here. Let's make them feel at home with us." She bowed her head, Axel and Saïx doing the same. The villagers seemed to relax once Yuna had given them her stamp of approval, and she smiled at them again before asking them to sit by her.
Tidus sat down in front of them, looking rather sheepish when he made eye-contact with Yuna. "I'm glad you decided to show up, Tidus," she said, making Tidus blush.
He scratched the back of his neck, "Yeah, me too."
Jecht decided to remain quiet about it. He didn't want to ruin the mood; his son was difficult to deal with, and truth be told, he was really grateful that the two newcomers had decided to help him out with this one.
"Axel, I brought a special paste for your eye." Yuna took out a small container from her sleeve and gave it to Axel. At first glance it looked like the sample of a soap bar, as it was green and shaped like a square. "All you have to do is take a little piece of it and blend it out with water until it thickens a little. Then you apply it to your eye or any other bruise. Do it twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. It'll help if you eat food with zinc. Eat whatever Saïx eats; he seems to get enough zinc. His bruise is almost gone."
"I eat well." Axel protested as he helped himself to more meat from the small pot on the table.
"You eat that vile concoction from the vending machines," Saïx corrected, "Not even dogs eat like that."
"You would know."
"Yuna, d-did you make this?" Tidus held up his bowl of soup and raised his voice high enough to talk over Axel and Saïx. "It's really good. This is the fish dad caught yesterday, right? The fish from the creek is really good. You should try it if you haven't, guys." Tidus took Axel's bowl and took some fish from another pot and put it onto his plate. He was going to reach for Saïx's bowl when Saïx took his plate away from Tidus quickly.
Tidus seemed rather surprised and was going to say something when Yuna reached out her plate and smiled, "I'll have some."
The subject shifted to gardening and plantation. Jecht quickly took the lead in the conversation and told the youths about the best ways to care for a garden. Axel didn't know that the earth had to rest, or that you had to plant certain things in a certain order to not take all the vitamins and minerals from the earth.
They were halfway through lunch when the sound of screeching wheels came from the outside. The only car that passed by this village was usually the truck that came with mail and goods, but from what Axel had heard it was an old car and an old man that drove it. That screech sounded much like something else, and his heart began to beat faster when he heard a door slam shut. He hadn't even noticed that Saïx got up, not until the sliding doors were pulled aside. Axel got onto his feet and then everything else happened in slow-motion.
"Well, well, well." Xigbar stood by the doorway with his favorite gun in his hand. He looked at them with his one good eye and smiled wickedly. "Small world, ain't it?"
"Who the hell are you?" Jecht got up from his cushion fast enough to seem threatening. Axel didn't get the time to get him out of the way before Xigbar fired away and shot at Jecht's leg.
"Dad!"
"Stay put, or I'll put a bullet in your head. Simple rules." Xigbar waved around his gun and seemed bored with the look of horror on the villagers' faces. "Saïx, get in the car."
Axel looked at Saïx intently, like he was trying to draw out an answer by glaring, but Saïx didn't turn to face him. He walked past Xigbar and out of the tavern. He had been expecting this. Saïx knew that Xigbar was coming; he knew that he would be going back to Kobe. Axel clenched his fists tightly and caught a quick glimpse of Tidus holding his hands against the shot wound on his father's leg. These people had nothing to do with this, yet they had been caught in the middle.
"Let's take this outside," Axel said, "They don't have to see this."
Xigbar laughed, "Good grief. Whatever, let's get this over with. I have a delivery to make." He waved his gun and let Axel get ahead of him. Xigbar was anything but in a good mood. He had been driving for hours in this heat to retrieve the traitors. He had to put a bullet through someone to make this day worthwhile.
Axel had gotten to the doorway when he suddenly turned around and knocked the gun out of Xigbar's hand, planting his fist into his face immediately. He grabbed a hold of Xigbar's head with two hands and pushed it down onto his knee hard enough to hear Xigbar's nose crack. He was faintly aware of the gasps and shrieks from the villagers', but he was much more taken in by the rage he felt at being betrayed by the best friend he was trying to save. He pushed his elbows down onto Xigbar's back and then he pulled him up by his neck to hold him up long enough to punch him in the face again. Xigbar dropped to the floor, unconscious. Axel took the gun on the floor and put it in the back his pants.
Yuna had hurried over to Jecht's side to see his wound. Jecht was lying down and grinned when he saw Axel approach him.
"You never cease to amaze, do ya?"
"Are you okay?"
"I'll be okay once my eldest son stops crying like the wuss he is."
"Shut up! I'm not crying!" Tidus wiped away the tears that were threatening to run down his face. "That man could've killed you!"
Yuna sat up and sighed, "The bullet is in there. I have to take it out. It seems like it missed the vital points, which is good, but it's going to take a while to recuperate."
"For fuck's sake."
Axel took another look around the room; everyone seemed to slowly let go of the shock. Everything had gone really fast so maybe it would take some time for them to understand what had happened. Axel hurried over to Xigbar, searching through his pockets until he found a wallet. He took all the bills and hurried back to Tidus.
"I have to go. Take this. It should cover whatever it is you need to help Jecht back to health." Axel gave the money to him. Tidus was still trembling, but he was trying to snap out of it to not be bullied by his father.
"Money. S'all you city slickers think of," Jecht said from where he lay. Axel tried to smile, but he was feeling guilty, sick and a whole cocktail of other less-than-pleasant feelings that he didn't want to deal with right now.
He picked Xigbar off the floor and carried him outside. Saïx was sitting in Xigbar's black Mercedes, waiting for him to come out and drive him back to Kobe. Axel walked up to the trunk of the car and opened it with the keys he had taken from Xigbar's pockets. Axel threw him in there and tied him up much like he had done with Saïx a couple of days before. He closed the trunk with a loud slam and walked around the car to get into the driver's seat.
"You're bringing him with -" Saïx stopped in mid-sentence when he felt the barrel of the gun against his temple. He caught a glimpse of Axel in the corner of his eye, and he felt his breath get caught in his throat when he saw the fury in his supposedly best friend's eyes.
"You have thirty seconds to explain what the hell you were thinking." Axel unsecured the gun to let Saïx know that he was ready to shoot his brains out if he had to. "Go."
"I had to; you weren't telling me what you were thinking -"
"Bullshit. Try again." Axel's hand was trembling and he hated to see how weak he was. He still measured his strength by how capable he was to kill, he realized. He was trying to become a normal person, but normal people didn't have their best friends at gun point, did they?
"My loyalty lies with Xemnas," Saïx said, "You can't seriously expect me to give up my life just because you've decided to become Mother Theresa. The family is my life. It's the only life I know, it's the only life we could choose -"
"Shut up." Axel pressed the gun harder against Saïx's temple, "That's a lie. This wasn't our only way out."
"We are descendants of filth. The only way for us to make it anywhere is to be with the family -"
"Shut up! Yeah, we had a rough childhood, we were in the shit. I'll give you that much, but we did have a choice. Stop repeating everything like some goddamn robot! You're saying the same things I was telling you back then. I thought that it was our only way out. I was wrong. Okay? I was wrong! We didn't have to become this. This was my choice. For the both of us. Now I'm getting you out." Axel was breathing hard, and his hand just wouldn't stop trembling.
"Put your seat-belt on."
He put the gun away on his side of the door and buckled up as well, reaching for the keys and got the car going. They still had a long way to go, and with the high-ranked Xigbar in the trunk, Axel was sure that Xemnas wouldn't let him get away with it.
