Title: Cat's Cradle

Summary: (AU-ish: keeps details from the game but mixes them with FFVII and a healthy dose of my own little mental universe- will have many descriptions, for clarity.) One wouldn't expect Axel to be a Turk. Then again, one wouldn't expect Roxas to be on the run for something he didn't do. But since when has anything been normal?

Rating: M

Warnings: The general shit. No citrus forseen. (Note: 'general shit' entails violence, language, possible mentions of nudity… and a meddling female OC not unlike Sakura.)

BGM: None

Comments: Random idea that smacked me upside the head. Enjoy. I want this to be the last filler chapter- they have to start heading back soon, you know. ^_^ And I want to develop more of the relationship between Axel and Roxas, which isn't possible with Demmy and Zexy holding the spot light. (Holy crap, I just realized... this and Dybbuk have been up here for a year and I haven't finished either of them yet! Well, finished posting. I've got them finished on my hard drive. For the people who still read these two fics, thank you! I am sorry I am a lazy wench and don't update as frequently as I should. I'll admit to getting discouraged for a while on these because my OCs weren't well recieved. But now, eh. I've got a story to tell and I'll be damned if I let it go unfinished because I've got my heart on my sleeve for anyone to do damage to. Also... the dog that was the inspiration for Nanashi died recently. Just thought I'd throw that out there. He was about five years old.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Which is a fact that I am glad for, because that means I don't have Xemnas trying to find me and force me to give him the rights to it. You can have that one, Nomura-sama, he's all yours. (My brain deserts me when I'm awake at six in the blinking morning.)

Shot VI: Leaving; a place to call home

"Puppy!"

"Puppy!"

"Here, Puppy!"

"QUIT CALLING IT 'PUPPY'! IT HAS A NAME, DAMMIT!" Zexion growled. Demyx and Axel looked up from where they were playing with the dog, noticing the startled look on Roxas's face and Izumi's calm gaze never wavering from the paper. "Izumi, curb your cousin and coworker!"

"Why? Zexion, you know Nanashi means 'no name'." Izumi smiled when Nanashi walked over to her, circled around her feet, and laid down, head on top of them.

"Why would you name him 'Nanashi' anyway?" Roxas asked.

"Well, I didn't exactly intend to get him." She shrugged and folded the paper up. "Lessee… I was hanging here for a weekend, wasn't I, Demyx?"

"Think so." He nodded. "I know so- that was back when I'd just graduated and moved here and you were coming in because I was depressed the band had broken up."

"Right. We were out walking one day and found this little puppy stuck in a ditch. Poor baby, big old fluff ball and he couldn't get out… he was still little then. Demyx went in and got him out, took him to the vet. Since he was still only about 17, they weren't letting him claim the dog, so I had to claim him. I didn't want him, but I figured if Demmy wanted him he could keep him, so I just said he didn't have a name yet. That way Demyx could name him." Izumi grinned as Nanashi moved a little in his sleep. "The woman wrote down 'Nanashi'. When he came back from the vet clean and everything, he never left me alone. I swear I must know how a mama duck feels now… he was always at my heels, yipping at me and telling me he wanted this or that…"

"I was his happy-fun-playtime pal, Izumi was his mama." Demyx grinned, perching on the seat by Zexion, who was calming down. He didn't know the whole story about Nanashi- he knew the meaning of the name, sure, because Izumi showed him the kanji once, but he had met Demyx roughly a month after this incident. "She didn't take him home with her at first, said she didn't think her apartment allowed pets, but he cried every night until I talked to her, and put her on the phone with him."

"Reno thought I was crazy until I told him it was the dog crying for me- he thought you were my lover and I had a kid until I explained that you're my cousin and the dog was crying for me, not a kid." Izumi sighed. "After getting funny looks for humming stuff over the phone to get him to calm down for a week, I finally just came down here for a weekend and came back with a little fluffball sleeping in a crate in my passenger seat." Izumi smiled as she leaned down to ruffle the dog's ears. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"So he's only Nanashi because you didn't think you were going to keep him?" Roxas asked.

"Well, not entirely. After I decided to keep him I couldn't think of a better name than Nanashi for a Turk's dog, so I kept it. At least a few people see the irony in it." With that, she got to her feet. "Well, I'm gonna follow Nanashi's example and hit the hay."

"But it's still early!" Demyx protested.

"It's midnight, Demmy, and I want to go shopping tomorrow, plus I should call your parents and tell them hi and ask how the cats are. They aren't going to be happy to hear I'm still a Turk but I wouldn't change my job… can't… not really." She sighed and turned away, leaving the room with a sleepy dog on her heels. Zexion got to his feet and put the book away, yawning.

"Demyx, she's right- and I'm rather sleepy myself. Good night, everyone." Zexion turned and left the room, and knowing that he wasn't going to have any company unless he went right then and there too, Demyx bade everyone goodnight and left behind his boyfriend. Roxas stretched and headed for his own room, falling onto the bed and almost instantly passing out.

Or at least, he would have had someone not knocked on the door. "Who is it?"

"Axel- are you decent?" Without waiting for an answer, the redhead barged in and sat down on the foot of Roxas's bed. "Look… I enjoy spending time with these guys a lot, but we need to get back to Midgar. Reno's probably found all sorts of information for me, and we have more resources to get to Larxene there. Plus… your brother is likely worrying."

"He's got Riku there for him, Sora's gonna be okay…" The blond punctuated that last word with a yawn. "And Cloud's got one less mouth to feed too…"

"He's also got another worry on his mind. Come on, Roxas- you're not being arrested. I promise you that. I'll see myself retired from the Turks before I break that promise too."

"Retiring isn't so bad…" Roxas said, sitting up blearily.

"Yes it is. Did Izumi tell you what a Turk is, essentially?" When Roxas shook his head no, Axel sighed. "Roxas- we're basically mercenaries. We assassinate people if we have to. We're so elite, few people get in without an invitation. Izumi's one of the few, and definitely the youngest. Do you know how old she was when she was initiated? She was 17. I was 18. She's a year younger than me and the same rank. Do you know how she would have done that? She is one of the best of the best- it's her detachment. Trust me, Roxas, Izumi's a tough one. You'd rather have me after you than her."

"If she's so tough, why did I see her break down the other day?" Roxas said- his brain was fogged by sleep and he wasn't thinking enough to watch what he said. "At the ruins of the reactor… she told me about her brother… she broke down… she told me she only made a point to join the Turks because she wants revenge…" Axel was floored. She knew the kid less than 24 hours and she spilled her life story to him? That was totally un-Izumi.

"Kid… don't tell anyone that story. It'll get her in trouble. I'm going to pretend I never heard it, myself. And as to my original point… Roxas, we're mercenaries. When we get retired, it's not by choice, and it's not pensioned. It's forced at gunpoint and the family gets a lovely little letter saying their Turk baby was killed in action." Axel sighed. "You get it, Roxas? We don't retire- we die. And if anyone hears about Izumi's motives, she'll get retired for sure." Now Roxas was awake.

"I'll… I'll try to pretend I never heard her story. I just wish… I wish that there were a way I could help her."

"There is. One, don't tell that story. Two, come back to Midgar with me." Axel said. "That way they don't discipline me, fuck with my brother, or send Izumi after your ass. Remember- one of the best of the best, she'll do anything to get her quarry."

"Wait a minute- you said Turks were pretty much invitation only. So how did she get in just after her graduation? And the Mako eyes?" Axel blinked in shock. "My cousin Cloud- he was a member of SOLDIER… I know what Mako eyes are, I know what they look like. How did she get them, I thought those were only for SOLDIER."

"Every so often we hold interviews to make it seem like a more fair selection- a few get chosen to work in Shinra middle management, and the desk jobs suit them more than the action we see. Occasionally there will be a promising person who makes it through the obstacle course without any trouble and even asks 'what's next?' Izumi was one of those people, what I've heard anyhow. She even went so far as to judo-throw her examiner just because he snuck up on her. Oh, was Reno ever pissed…"

"Reno… you've mentioned him twice, who's he?"

"That's my older brother. He almost didn't want to let her in, but he took a good look at her and decided she had spunk and determination so she merited a shot. As to the Mako eyes… we have them too, don't you see?" Roxas took a good look at Axel's poison green eyes and noticed…

"It's there… faint… but Izumi's you can tell."

"I'm keeping it under control. Plus I'm tired and that makes the Mako look weaker. But Izumi… she wanted to be the best- she took more treatments than the average Turk. She went to the very point of Mako poisoning before they cut her off. She didn't come in for training for a week and I asked Reno about it. He's always been closer to her than I have, but then again… up until a week ago I couldn't remember her name."

The two sat up for about an hour after that, trading stories. On the other side of the wall, Izumi sat in the dark, listening, tears silently falling down her face. Nanashi was asleep again, never seeing his mistress's softly-heaving shoulders, or really registering the smell of saltwater that trickled down her face. It hurt to be so close to Hiroshi- and yet so far away at the same time.

--

The next day dawned beautifully. Izumi came in morose. Demyx knew why right then and ushered her outside, holding on to his cousin as the others ate breakfast. Everyone knew why she was in tears- no one had to speak. Finally Demyx and Izumi came back in, the girl washing her face off in the kitchen sink. "Hey! Have some couth!" Axel said jokingly, rolling his eyes. Izumi flipped him the bird as she dried her face off.

"This is how I roll. Deal with it." She replied. "So… Demmy… I gotta head home today."

"So soon? Mi-Mi, you never stay long!" Demyx pouted. Izumi hugged her cousin and laughed.

"But I have to get back to work! I promise you, after this mess is cleared up, I'll come back here… or I'll bring you to Midgar for a week! Yeah, you and Zexion both! Or we could even split the time, I have a freaking month of vacation coming to me after this… maybe we could all hit Gold Saucer even!"

"When are you going to visit Mom and Dad?" Demyx asked, but he was smiling; apparently this was a question of no matter.

"I'll visit home when they no longer call me a traitor and throw shit at my head because I'm a Turk. Effectively, when I'm dead." Izumi pulled it off with a light tone but Axel and Roxas had to fight a cringe; the three knew what it meant but the boys knew it would be a possibility if something slipped. Demyx just laughed as if it were the funniest thing he'd ever heard. "Well, guys, we'd best pack."

"What? You're taking Axey and Roxy too?" Demyx mourned.

"Sorry, gotta get back to work, and you should know Roxas's story. After all, Izumi filled you in, didn't she?" Axel grinned. Demyx nodded sadly. "Hey, bet we have this finished faster than you can blink. With Roxy on our side, we can't lose!"

"You make it sound like some silly sports manga…" Izumi, Roxas, and surprisingly enough Zexion intoned.

--

The three were back in Midgar after two days of travel on the main roads. No sooner did Roxas pull into the driveway than he was attacked by his twin.

"ROXAS!" Sora screamed, hugging his twin for dear life. "My god, Cloud told us you'd gone on a trip and then the Turks came to talk about you and I was so scared and so was Namine and dear sweet Gaea you terrified us all and why didn't you call me and…"

"SORA!" Roxas yelled. "Look, it's a long story. I'm sure you know the gist of it, and I'll explain the whole deal later. But for now, let's say I'm helping find Larxene so I can have my revenge for this crap. I couldn't call because I had a mistaken idea they were going to arrest me. And… you told Namine?!"

"I had to… but she'll be better when she hears you're back!" Sora grinned. "So call her!"

"Fine, fine… you're a pain in my ass sometimes, you know that?" Roxas sighed, and smiled as he pulled out his cell phone.

--

"IZUMI! AXEL!" Reno called, happy to see the two. Axel looked miffed.

"So she's more important than your only brother?" Axel huffed.

"Of course! She's a girl," Reno teased. "You know I call out who I see first."

"I know, bro." Axel hugged his brother while Izumi just stood there, Nanashi on his leash sitting at her heels. Suddenly, with no warning, the two brothers drew the girl into their hug.

"You get in on this too!" they said, and Izumi just had to smile and laugh. It was a crack in her shell and they knew it- the knowledge that she wasn't as hard as she liked to seem made them happy for some reason, and they kept holding on to the smaller girl.

As families and friends reunited again, no one could foresee that the happy times were soon to be done, and a time of strife was soon to begin.