Okay, here's the second chapter! Enjoy!

OCs (c) Me

Kingdom Hearts (c) Square Enix


Kingdom Hearts

Sanctioned Soul

Chapter 2

All was quiet in the forest as an auburn-haired girl slept, curled up inside her sleeping bag as she twisted and turned in her sleep as her brows furrowed in confusion. Within seconds, her cyan eyes flashed open and she sat up, gasping.

"Gah!" she exclaimed as she threw her arms into the air, panting heavily before she placed a hand over her heart. All was quiet for a few minutes as she panted, before she sighed. Looking around, she realized she was still at her camp she had set up hours ago. She fell back with a sigh, staring up at the night sky and the stars that covered it, like fragments of glass on a black blanket. She watched the sky for a few moments, before brushing her sweaty bangs back.

"Wow…what a weird dream. That's it, no more sweets or junk food before bedtime! I need my energy if I'm to uphold justice and protect the innocent. I don't need weird dreams about people who I don't even know!" she ranted as she stared at the sky. She paused and stared at the moon, the white sphere full as it stood out among the darkness of the sky. For a moment, she saw white hair and brown eyes, and the face of a person who she had dreamt of meeting once again.

"Kyrie…huh. For some reason, I feel like I know you." she paused and her brow furrowed, before she groaned. "Augh! Stop it! Stop it! Do not associate dreams with reality! She's just a figment of my imagination- yeah, that's it! She's not real!" she exclaimed, slapping her palms against her cheeks as she did so. With that she rolled over, zipping her sleeping bag up so that it was just under her chin.

"Well, nighty-night whoever is out there! Because Miu is going to sleep and is staying asleep until morning! …unless someone tries to steal my erotica books. Then I'll wake up."

-Meanwhile-

"Kyrie? Uh, Kyrie?"

"…"

"Hello! Earth to Master Kyrie! Your student would like to train please!" the white-haired girl gasped as she snapped back into attention, looking ahead of her to see Kairi with her arms crossed, one hand holding her keyblade as she tapped her foot impatiently. The girl gave an embarrassed smile as Axel and Demyx chuckled, the two watching as the girls began their training session.

"Oops…sorry Kairi. Didn't mean to space out like that." she apologized as she scratched the back of her head. The girl pouted for a moment, before smiling and nodded.

"It's okay. But…are you sure you're okay? You've been acting really weird…" she asked. After the incident that happened a few days ago, Kyrie had been unusually quiet and inattentive, something her friends and Axel caught easily. But now it was Saturday, a day where the two girls had a chance to catch up on some much needed training. Kyrie shook her head as she summoned her keyblades.

"No, I'm fine. Really." she answered adamantly. Kairi sighed and nodded reluctantly as she got into position, Destiny's Embrace held tightly in her hands as she did so. Kyrie followed suit, her white Kingdom Key and Lost Memory keyblade twirling in her hands as the two stared each other down. The two men watched on from the sidelines, giving the girls their full support as they did so.

"Whoo! Go babe!" Axel called as his hands cupped his mouth so they could hear him loud and clear. Demyx nodded and followed suit.

"Yeah, you can do it, Kairi!" he added. Both girls smiled, but didn't avert their gaze to look at them. After a few tense moments, Kyrie ran in, forcing Kairi to step back as she protected herself from the girl's blows. After Kyrie became a master only weeks ago, Kairi had spent a whole week pestering the girl to take her as her first apprentice, something Kyrie was reluctant to do. But after a while, she finally caved in, and so the two would come to the island and train while either Axel, Demyx, or Xigbar watched.

Said two boys watched the two spar, Demyx absentmindedly playing with the zipper of his over jacket as they did so. He was dressed in a black over jacket, a blue tank top with a black one underneath, and dark jeans with sneakers. A silver chain with a musical note attached hung around his neck, and another chain hung out from his jeans.

"Jeez, Kyrie doesn't lighten up one bit. But doesn't she seem a bit…off today?" he asked as they watched. Axel was silent, Kyrie was a bit off today, more so than she had been for the past couple of days. Dark circles were starting to form under her eyes, showing the lack of sleep she had been getting; and even her body movements were slower than usual, pointing to some exhaustion as well. He nodded.

"Yeah…she's been waking up in cold sweat the past couple of nights. She's probably exhausted." he answered, his brows furrowing. He moved his gaze from the girls to the ocean, thinking back to what had been the start of recurring nightmares for the girl a few days ago.

-Flashback-

"Ngh…no…"

"Mm?" Axel groaned as he stirred, cracking his eye open as he did so. He could feel something shaking in his arms and looked down to see Kyrie twisting and turning slightly, sweat coating her temples as she trembled. Fully awake now, he sat up, staring at her in worry before reaching out and gently shook her shoulder.

"Kyrie, babe? Hey, wake up." he spoke softly as he continued to shake her shoulder. After a few moments, she gasped loudly, sitting up and nearly colliding his head with hers as she cried out in surprise.

"No!" she exclaimed in alarm. He jumped back, surprised as she sat there, panting heavily. After a few moments, she blinked at him in confusion as she began to calm down.

"A…Axel?" she gasped. He nodded as he reached out, brushing her bangs away from her right eye as he stared at her in concern. "Yeah, it's me. You okay? Did you have a bad dream?" she was silent as she sat there, before nodding slowly.

"Wanna talk about it?" she shook her head.

"N…no. Let's…just go back to bed. Okay?" he stared at her reluctantly before nodding, laying back and pulling her against his chest. All was quiet as the two slowly drifted back to sleep, one thought lingering in the pyro's mind before sleep took him.

"What did she dream about?"

-End of flashback-

Ever since then, she had been waking up every night, the same dream repeating over and over again. She wouldn't tell him much about the dream, except that in the dream someone was always chasing her, someone she didn't know. He was quickly brought out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of a keyblade being knocked out of someone's hand and turned, seeing that Kyrie had managed to get Kairi off guard and knock her keyblade out of her hands. The girl sighed as she slung one of the blades over her shoulder, the other resting on her hip.

"You're getting good, but you need to keep a better grip on your keyblade. It'll be easy for heartless or any other enemy to knock it out of your hand if you don't." she scolded. Kairi nodded and summoned the blade back into her hands, before Kyrie dispelled hers.

"I think we're done for today. You're getting better." Kairi brightened at this.

"Really? You think so?" Kyrie nodded.

"Of course I do. You better head back before the mayor starts to wonder where you are. We'll do this tomorrow, okay?" Kairi hesitated for a moment.

"Um, actually, Selphie and I have some errands to do tomorrow so…" she paused for a moment before continuing.

"And your birthday's in a few days so we can start training again after your birthday. Is that okay, Master Kyrie?" Kyrie visibly flinched at the title, but nodded anyways. She was a bit suspicious, since Selphie hadn't said anything about being busy this weekend, but she decided to give Kairi the break.

"Okay, we'll start this again the day after my birthday. But don't be late or try to bail, okay?" she said sternly. The girl giggled and nodded before waving goodbye and making her way to the dock. Demyx got up and stretched before yawning.

"I'm gonna head back too. Before Xiggy tries to make dinner again. See ya!" and with that, he opened a corridor and disappeared, leaving Axel and Kyrie alone on the island. All was quiet for a few minutes before Axel stood, walking over to her side as he grasped her hand. She was still significantly shorter than him, but she had grown some. Now she was almost as tall as Selphie, something the pleased her despite Selphie being a little shorter than Kairi.

"Hey, wanna go sit on the crooked palm tree?" he asked as he looked down at her. She was silent for a moment before nodding, allowing him to lead the way as they walked towards the Seaside Shack. After going through that and crossing the bridge, the two young adults found themselves at the crooked palm tree, Kyrie sitting on its trunk while Axel stood with his arms crossed. The girl scooted closer so that she was next to the pyro, resting her head on his shoulder as she did so. He smirked at this, allowing her to rest her head on him as the two stared at the setting sun.

"Hey, Kyrie. Bet you don't know why the sun sets red." the girl rolled her eyes at this as he continued. "You see, light is made up of lots of colors. And out of all those colors-"

"Red is the one that travels the farthest. Axel, you've told me a thousand times. You even brought it up when you, me, and Roxas were waiting for-" at this, she stopped. He raised his eyebrow at her before she continued. "-You brought it up when the three of us ate ice-cream together."

"Yeah, back when you and Roxas acted like zombies- ow!" he exclaimed as she smacked him. "I did not act like a zombie!" she protested. He smirked a little as he rubbed the spot where she had hit him.

"Heh, whatever you say, Master Kyrie." something inside her snapped at this as she glared angrily at him.

"Stop calling me that! I'm sick and tired of everyone pointing out that I'm a keyblade master! I never wanted to be a keyblade master in the first place!" she shouted, her temper flaring. His eyes widened as he stared at her, before she gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. "Axel, I'm so sorry. I-"

"No, it's uh, okay. Damn, I didn't know you felt that way. What a lousy boyfriend I am." he interrupted, trying to be calm and not get angry at her outburst, which he would've done normally if it wasn't such a sensitive topic. She shook her head as she placed her hand on his cheek, turning him towards her.

"No, Axel, you're not a lousy boyfriend. It's just that…the thing is…I never asked for this. I never asked to wield the keyblade as a master, I never asked to go on all of these adventures. All I wanted was to just be normal now that Xemnas is gone. But…" she paused, looking towards the sunset.

"I'm sure that Riku and Sora never asked for this, either. To travel all over the worlds, to fight the heartless, or to have to fight master Xehanort. I'm so selfish…because they're being forced into this too and all I can think about is myself. I'm so selfish." he was silent before wrapping his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.

"Kyrie, it's normal to feel that way. If I was in your position, I would've felt the same too. Besides, I'd rather you be a little selfish instead of selfless. You would've gotten on my nerves if it was the other way around." he explained. She smiled a little at this, before glancing at a bulge in her pocket.

"Speaking of being selfless…um…there's something I want to give you." she said shyly as she reached into her pocket, her cheeks stained crimson. He looked over at what she was pulling out, before his eyes widened. She quickly took his hand and placed the object into it, before curling his fingers over it. He stared.

"Is this…a Wayfinder…?" he asked dubiously. She nodded shyly, her cheeks turning a darker shade of red as she did so. The Wayfinder was made of Thalassa shells that were a pale yellow towards the center and pink towards the tips, a token resembling a flame resting in the center. Red stitches held the shells together and a simple drawing of Axel's face was drawn in on the topmost shell. A silver chain connected to the top of the shell, so that it could be attacked to a belt or a bag. It almost resembled Sora's, but had a few differences.

"Y-yes…Kairi showed me how to make one. I wanted to give you this before I left with Sora and Riku…but I couldn't find the chance to. When I got back…I decided to wait until before my birthday. I wanted to make something that tied us together, like the Wayfinder you gave me." she explained. Sure, Axel hadn't made the Wayfinder she had, but he had delivered it, thus giving him a connection to her. He stared at the charm silently for a few minutes, making her nervous and anxious as she waited for his response. After a while, he placed a hand on her head, making her look up at him in confusion as he stared down at her.

"Kyrie…you didn't have to make this. Ever since the day we met, we've always been connected. Got it memorized?" he chuckled, pointing to his temple. Her eyes widened and she dropped her gaze in embarrassment, before he pulled her to his chest.

"But thanks, I'm glad you made it. It's one more thing for us to share." and with that he leaned in, pressing his lips against hers as he held her tightly against him. She smiled into the kiss and closed her eyes, returning it as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He groaned a little in the kiss, sliding his tongue against her lips as he tried to deepen it. She hesitated for a moment before opening a little, allowing him to explore.

After a few minutes, the two pulled apart, panting heavily as they did so.

"Heh, left you breathless, didn't I?" Axel smirked as he panted. The girl blushed brightly, using her bangs to cover to face as they turned their attention to the sunset. As soon as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon, Kyrie jumped off the trunk and joined Axel as they began to walk across the wooden bridge.

But unbeknownst to them, a figure had been watching them, a cold smirk on his lips as he watched them walk hand in hand towards the dock. He was an older man with dark skin and amber-brown eyes, his silver hair reaching past his shoulders. He looked like he was in his late twenties, early thirties, and was dressed in an Organization cloak. A plan began forming in his mind as he watched the young man hold her tightly against his chest as he began rowing the boat, a plan that would successfully capture the girl without much effort.

"Yes…this girl is so very pure, I cannot deny that any further; she truly is the Princess of Light. The heart of all kingdoms is calling for her, and I cannot deny it no longer. Soon, the worlds and all of the power of Kingdom Hearts will belong to me." he then turned, opening a dark corridor as another man joined him, this one resembling him except that he was younger than the man and his silver hair reached just above his shoulders.

"Vanitas, it seems that I've found our key to ultimate power. Within a few days I will need your assistance." the young man nodded, his cat-like yellow eyes glowing with mirth. His appearance faltered for a second, changing to that of a boy with black, spiky hair. The man's appearance faltered for a moment as well, revealing an old man with a gray goatee and no hair atop his head.

"Whatever you say, old man. Whatever you say."


Uh-oh, can you guess who those two were? I bet you can't. ;P

Oh, and if you want some pics of Axel's outfit and Miu, here's some links.

hisui-no-afurika . deviantart art/ At - Sunset - I - ll- Remember-You- 271808290 (I do not take credit for the outfit. Give the credit where it's due! (also, remove all of the spaces!)

and here's Miu! k-chanlovesanimexd . deviantart gallery/ 23914181#/ d4kpupn (this is her, in case I didn't give a good description in "Bonded Souls". Also remove all of the spaces)

Anyways, enjoy! And review!