Chapter 8
"Power Of The Paopu"
Okay, back to Lea! :)
(Short-ish chapter)
-x-X-x-
The darkness clears and the scenery becomes visible. The crystal blue waters roll onto the shore ever so gently and I breathe in the serene setting. Salty ocean air fills my lungs and a smile makes its way across my lips. I was just so close to seeing Roxas again.
"Come on, let's go." I said coolly as I walked ahead of the blond man. My anger and rage toward the man seemed to slowly fade away with each roll of the waves on the shore. Something about this place just gave me a feeling of peace right down to my core.
Ansem merely 'mhm'ed in compliance and followed shortly behind me. As we walked away from the shore, not a single soul was around. "Where is everyone?" I said under my breath so only my ears could hear the words. I looked over my shoulder to the stoic man to find him standing straight as a board, arms tucked behind him, casually watching the ocean roll in. "So where do you think everyone is?" I said again, but this time to Ansem.
"I don't know. Maybe we should check the homes." He motioned his head toward the homes across the ocean. My jaw fell slack when I realized the island was nothing more than a hang out spot. No one actually lived here. "Shit." I breathed a little too loudly. I searched the beach again, looking for any sign of a certain deep wine-haired girl. As the wharf entered my field of vision, I smiled fondly at the sight of the tree growing at its end. Without a second thought, my feet moved me down the wooden pier. Finally at its end, I reached for one of the fruits that had ripened perfectly on the odd tree. Sliding my fingers around the smooth surface of the star-shaped fruit, I smile down at it.
Footsteps from behind me became louder as I continued to admire the yellow star. "What's that?" I heard a voice that resembled nails on a chalkboard to my ears question me. "A paopu." I smiled wider as the name rolled off my tongue. "There's this legend that says if you share one with someone, your destined to stay together." I paused and stretched my smile as far as I could. "No matter what."
-x-X-x-
"Axel!" I heard a beautiful voice call my name from outside my room. Before I could respond, my door burst open.
"Hey, Roxie." I welcomed the boy as I lounged on my bed playing with a book of matches.
"IT smells like sulfur in here." The small blond crinkled his nose in a strangely adorable way.
"Hm, I couldn't imagine why…" I said sarcastically as I struck up another flame, tossing the charred remains of the other match into a glass of water beside my bed.
"Give me that!" Roxas said as he snatched away the matches.
"Hey!" I said more out of shock than anger. I smiled lightheartedly, silently telling him I wasn't actually upset.
"You'll get over it birthday boy." He winked at me and laughed. This wasn't like Roxas at all. What happened to the shy, awkward Roxas? Ah, who cares? Shy and awkward or bold and mischievous, I love the kid to the bottom of my- er…
"Axel?" My thoughts were interrupted when the blond boy called my name again. I raised an eyebrow in question and gave Roxas my full attention.
He sighed almost in an annoyed tone. "I said that I got you something!" His bubbly personality shone like the fucking sun. Why's he have to be so irresistibly adorable…?
Then, without warning, something ice cold filled my slacked jaw. "Mhmph!" I muffled out in shock, my eyes wide as I looked to Roxas. He had the cutest innocent smile painted on his face as he shoved the present in my mouth.
"Happy birthday Axel!" He yelled and threw his hands above his head in excitement. "It's sea salt, our favorite!" He smiled at me, his big blue eyes seemingly sparkling. I took the stick of the ice cream between my index finger and my thumb to lower it from my mouth to speak. I chuckled at his actions and licked the blue liquid off my lips.
"Thank you, Roxas." I said genuinely only to find the blond looking like a deer in the headlights. "W-what? Do I have something on my face?" I lifted a hand to my face and wiped around frantically incase there was some ice cream stuck there.
"I think that's the first time you've called me Roxas…" His eyes slowly retreated back to their normal size and a smile crept across his face. "But you do have a little something on your face." He said with a mischievous glint in his cerulean eyes. Before I could wipe my face again, Roxas took the liberty of cleaning it up with his finger. As he leaned back, he placed the finger in his mouth and hummed in delight. "Mmm" Licking his lips tauntingly, he smiled innocently back at me. 'Damn tease…'
After I managed to calm my flaming red face, I stammered with y words for a moment. When the hell did Roxas get to be so… bold? After my brain finally managed to catch up, my words coming back to me."Uh… thanks." I said with a slight blush returning. No way in hell is Roxas gonna make me act like some school girl. I composed myself and returned to the original subject.
"What? No, I've called you Roxas before." I thought for a second. "Maybe…" I smiled sheepishly, realizing I really had never called him Roxas. It was always 'Roxie' or 'Rox' or 'Rox-ASS' or if I wanted to see a blundering blushing blond: 'Sweet Cheeks' That one always worked… I smirked as I recalled the last time I called him that.
I mindlessly took a large bite out of my sea salt ice cream. "Ow!" I exclaimed at my teeth sunk into something that felt like a rock. "The hell?" I examined the ice cream. "What is that?" I asked the blond as I pointed out the strange object in the bar that I had just bit into. When I looked to Roxas, his eyes were downcast to his own ice cream in his hand. Upon closer inspection, I noticed his face was a furious shade of red.
"I-it's half a paopu." I cocked a short eyebrow in complete confusion.
"A what? And why only half?"
"People say if you share one with someone, you're destined to stay together no matter what." As he finished explaining, he looked at me with unsure eyes and lifted his own ice cream. And sure enough, there in the center of the bar was the other half.
I smiled uncontrollably at the gesture and licked around the frozen piece of star-shaped fruit.
-x-X-x-
I twirled the paopu around in my hand and chuckled softly.
"Ha, I wonder how he managed to get one of these." I looked back at the tree then to Ansem. He just stood there. I was a bit surprised in his lack of disgust toward my probably obvious feelings for Roxas.
"Ya know, Roxas was the only person I've ever loved." I said aloud as I stared out across the ocean, the sun just starting to dip into the horizon. 'Why am I telling him this?' I thought to myself as the words just seemed to flow out of my mouth at their own will.
"You cannot love without a heart." He said a little too cold for my liking. But I ignored it. I was too content to pick a fight.
"You know nothing." I said plainly. I paused for a moment before continuing. "What's your problem with Nobodies anyway?" I turned my head to look at the man beside me.
"They are a mistake." He said not angrily but almost…woefully.
"But are they really the ones at fault? I never chose to become a Nobody. None of us did." Ansem gathered the guts to look me in the eye. "Why hold so much hatred toward an innocent?" I looked at him intently.
"No, they aren't. I am." With that, he turned and stalked back to the shore.
Not wanting to press, I caught up to Ansem and opened a corridor of darkness. "Well, let's head over there." I said and stepped into the darkness. Ansem said nothing, but followed right on my heels.
And just like that, we were back in pursuit of the girl within another girl.
-x-X-x-
Please don't forget to leave a review! I'd love to know how to improve and what you guys like :)
