A/N: Heh... I bet you all hate me for what happened to Axel... if you don't then you're starting to... lol XP Okay, before you decide to throw pointy objects at me, then please enjoy this chapter. ^^

Disclaimer: Don't own Kingdom Hearts, or the characters... Andromeda and Hope aren't mine, but Ink is. And I am proud to say that this plot is mine too. XD

Chapter 10

That disgusting smell. Well, it wasn't disgusting, but since it was the only thing swirling around the air at present, then it was being focused on, and that made it gross. The smell, it was too clean. THAT was what made it icky and hard to bear. It was too clean, and it was mixed with the scent of sick people. Not nice.

Then, on top of that, there was that constant beeping and whirring. Always the same, always constant, and never, ever missing a beep. It was enough to do anyone's head in. Also, there was some strange lump lying there.

Still, unmoving. Breathing, but not talking. He listened to the beeping too, although he payed it no attention. Day in, day out, he was there. The lump. Head buried in his arms so no one could see his broken face. Every now and then, a nurse would stroll gracefully into the room to ask him if he was okay, and to see if there was any change.

This caused the individual to look up, and when the nurse saw his broken expression, the loss littering his eyes, she knew everything was still the same. It'd been the same for a month and a half. No change. Just the beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

"Uhn..."

Immediately, the individual's head shot up, and he was standing over the other male as if nothing else in the world mattered. "Axel?" He said, his voice wobbly, his blue eyes on the brink of spilling tears.

"Hnm..." Again, the red head stirred, wincing as he felt movement in his lower body. He was sore, and the pain began to eat at him. "Nurse!" The blonde yelled, trying to get someone's attention. He dashed out into the corridor, furiously clearing the tears that had spilled over his cheeks with his sleeve. He was alive. He was safe.

"Roxas?" He could speak. Roxas spun to face the red haired teen lying in the white, clean hospital bed, unsure whether he should smile or cry. "Axel!" He grinned. A large, happy smile that spread across his face, lighting his eyes so they shone bright, crystal blue.

"What's goin' on...?" A disorientated Axel tried to sit up, but grimaced and exhaled sharply before deciding that it was a bad idea. "You..." Roxas was now suddenly unsure how to explain. He barely remembered it himself. It was like his memory was a thick book, and someone had torn an important page out, leaving him with the before and after events, but nothing in between.

"Uh..." The blonde wrinkled his brow, his eyes clouding over, when he saw Axel smirk. "What?" He asked, suddenly confused.

"You," Axel sighed. "Even when we're in danger, all the emotion that ever shows is in your eyes." He sighed again, and suddenly felt wave of fatigue pass over him. Closing his eyes, he let out a calm breath.

"Oh... well, maybe..." Roxas mumbled. He'd wanted so desperately for Axel to wake up... and now that he was awake, he couldn't even speak a proper, coherent sentence. What could he say? Things have changed? Tell him about everyone else? Even...? Roxas shook his head, feeling confused about everything but certain about something else.

"Axel? You still awake?" The blonde muttered, his heart humming loudly in his chest. He was surprised Axel couldn't hear it.

((Axel POV))

Confusion was swirling around like an intense thunderstorm in my head. A second ago I was destroying that building, with Roxas, Sora and Andromeda at my side, carrying me out, and now I was here...? In a hospital bed, with clean, crisp sheets? What the hell was going on? Had I missed something...??

"Hmm??" At the sound of Roxas's voice calling my name, I opened my eyes tiredly, nodding my answer. I noticed that he'd edged closer to the bed, and was now standing over me. Since he wasn't very tall in the first place, he was only just barely able to stand over me and cast a small shadow.

"How're ya feelin'?" I asked, mumbling slightly; my voice reflecting my tiredness. I saw Roxas twitch slightly, and he leaned over me. "There's... something I need to tell you..." He mumbled, colour brightening his cheeks. I noted these changes in his appearance, and my eyes widened slightly, my heart beating a fast rhythem in my chest.

"Can I help you two gentleman?" A feminine voice broke through our awkward moment, and my pulse suddenly calmed at the presence of someone else in the room. "Ah, I see you're finally awake!" The brunette nurse smiled, showing her set of straight pearly whites. Awkwardly, I smiled back, when a sudden thought hit me.

"Finally I'm awake? What do you mean?" Out of confusion, I frowned, and next to me Roxas sighed heavily, looking fatigued and stressed. At this close proximity I noticed the dark shadows under his eyes. How long HAD I been asleep??

"Sir, you've been asleep for approximately six weeks. Over a month," the nurse said gently, coming to check the beeping and whirring machines. I glared at the annoying heart moniter, and I noted the clear liquid hanging from a drip. When the nurse accidentally bumped it, making the drip sway slightly, I felt a faint pull in my arm. I winced. Needles were the things that got me into this mess...

"Could we have some time, please?" Roxas mumbled, somewhat in embarrassment. Clearly, the nurse had walked in on something. Even I could see that, and I'd been passed out for six weeks. She shot Roxas a small polite smile, and exited the room, saying something about notifying a cloud that I was awake? Maybe it was the morphine helping to soothe the bite in my ribs...

"Cloud?" I asked in confusion, hoping I'd heard the nurse wrong. Beside me, Roxas fidgeted, choosing to stare at the heart monitor standing next to the bed, than at me. I frowned, waiting for his answer. Eventually, he drew a breath, and still not looking at me, he spoke.

"He's my guardian. So's Leon." Roxas sighed, looking like he was about to fall on his face, just because he needed to sleep so badly. "There's so much I have to tell you..." He muttered, making my green eyes fix themselves on him.

"Tell me then," I demanded, in a voice that wasn't as strong as I thought it'd be. It seemed I was tired too. Although I couldn't place the reason as to why... I'd been asleep for over a month, according to the nurse.

"Not now," Roxas sighed, finally turning his gaze to stare at me. There was something in his eyes that blazed, making them vibrant and rich with colour. I looked away hurriedly, feeling suddenly fidgety and slightly... embarrassed? Maybe... probably...

"Look, the nurses said they'd have to keep you in for a week after you woke up, so I promise I'll fill you in on everything when you get out of here." Roxas shot me a small, tired smile, rubbed his blue eyes, which still bore those dark shadows, and stood up, moving to the door so he could exit and leave me in peace. My heart jumped suddenly then, causing the monitor to beep loudly. Roxas turned swiftly towards me, his eyes wide.

"What-! Oh... what's the matter?" He asked, covering his mouth as it opened in a wide yawn. Seething, I shot an angry glare at the heart monitor. I hated it when people could see into me. See my emotions. I only ever showed the emotions I wanted people to see, but this evil machine liked to announce every change in my mood. Or, at least my heart... I frowned and huffed, trying to think up an un-embarrassing answer for Roxas.

"Uh..." Was my coherent response, and it caused the blonde standing slouched over in the doorway to smirk. "You want me to stay?" He asked, his eyes shining with an emotion that I recognised. Longing. My heart did another jump, as did the monitor.

"I take that as a yes?" He said partially hesitantly, walking slowly back to the white hospital bed that was holding me prisioner. I was about to nod and smile, when suddenly the brunette nurse strode back into the room, and with her a sense of importance. Roxas and I stared at her for a moment before she spoke.

"I trust you're finally leaving now? You've been here every day since-" Her kind, soft voice was cut off.

"I'm staying," Roxas said firmly, glancing at me before staring strongly at the nurse. Her face broke into a gentle smile. "Honey, I know he means a lot to you, but I need to go over some routine checks with him, and he also needs to rest for a while. You can visit again tomorrow."

The heart monitor sped up and I blushed a deep crimson from the confused expression the nurse graced me with. I ignored Roxas for the moment; he'd only make my current situation worse. After all, what the nurse had said was enough to confirm that he DID care about me. 'You've been here every day' is what I'd call caring. I redirected my gaze to my toes, which made lumps in the white covers under my bedclothes, and wiggled them, just to distract myself.

"See you Roxas..." I mumbled into the blankets as he departed, and the nurse giggled. "You two are so cute." I looked up to see her beaming, and I looked away, scowling. The monitor next to me beeped furiously as images spun through my mind, and I had an intense desire to crush it; although it might not be the best idea... I clenched my teeth and listened to the pointless rambling of the nurse instead.

It turned out that the nurse's name was Belinda, and she was a single mother with two children. One hers, the other adopted. I smiled when she'd said adopted, and this made her ask me why. When I said that I was an orphan, her chocolate eyes shone with tears, but she was a strong woman, and she held them back. I explained that I'd practically found a home anyway, what with Demyx and Zexion, and if it hadn't been for those injections- I stopped abruptly, leaving Belinda staring at me curiously.

"What is it honey?" She asked gently, and when I looked up at her, she was clutching a clipboard, her face full of concern. I chewed on my lip before deciding to humour her.

"What did... I mean, what happened when all the teenagers..." I couldn't properly voice my question, but Belinda seemed to understand anyway. She spoke with chagrin, and this time a tear managed to slide down her cheek.

"Many were killed. We were lucky it was only this town, you know," she said, sighing heavily. She'd finished her analysis on the machines beeping and whirring around me, and was standing beside me clutching her clipboard.

"The staff here at the hospital... we were always in danger. All these teenagers would barge in of their own free will and demand to be treated. Sometimes they became so angry I was almost killed...!" Belinda said, her voice sounding slightly shaky. I gave her a sympathetic look, and she smiled sadly at me.

"You and your friends were lucky. You were strong enough to defend yourselves. Most of the people living here either died or fled. Population is slowly climbing back to what it was, though." Belinda flicked some of her dark hair behind her ear and smiled. The blank expression occupying my face was just a charade to make it seem like I was calm, so Belinda would continue, but inside I was raging.

Lucky. If we had've delayed destroying that tower any longer, then heaps more people would've died. And what if we hadn't known about the tower? A sick feeling made my stomach lurch. We might have even died. Those teens with powerful abilities... they would've passed through other towns, reaching larger populations. And they liked to kill. I shuddered as I imagined all the carnage, making myself snap back to reality.

"Well Axel, I think I have you to thank," Belinda smiled warmly. My face formed a quizzical expression, and the brunette before me laughed lightly. "If it wasn't for your heroics, the town wouldn't have been able to flourish again."

With one last warm smile, and a 'bye hun,' Belinda was out the door and had disappeared down the corridor smelling of disinfectant, soap and sick people. I dropped my green eyes to the floor, trying to think of sleep. I ignored the hot tear that fell from my closed eye as I drifted off into that peaceful blackness. (A/N: I don't know why I made him cry. I think it finally dawned on him that he was a hero, in a way, and he was crying in realisation...)

The following week was horribly snore worthy. I mean, aside from the literal sense. I was having a lot of sleep, because my body did need to heal, but apart from sleep, which one could only take part in at certain times, for example, if one became tired, there was nothing else to take part in. I passed the time by counting sheep, which is insanely ironic, and something I shall never do again because it is extrememly BORING and unlike everybody says, it does NOT make you sleepy, and looking forward to my brief encounters with Roxas and his older brother Cloud.

Both of them did look familiar, and Roxas reminded me that if I told him they resembled each other in even the tiniest fashion, then he would gladly make his fist meet my nose. Although I didn't see anything wrong with having an older brother that was still ALIVE; my stomach did a mass of saddened flops at this thought; but I guessed it was different between the two of them than it was for Reno and me.

For starters, they were blondes, and I was a red head, but that was a minor detail. Roxas had Sora, but I'd only had Reno. No one else. That made my brain buzz. Where was Sora? Come to think of it, no one except Roxas and Cloud had come to visit me. Even this other guardian named Leon that Roxas had sometimes mentioned hadn't come to visit.

The question of where everyone else was, and why the hell they hadn't come to visit me now that I was awake, was a constant question that buzzed ruthelessly around in my head. However, when I voiced my concerns to Roxas, he smiled, and told me that everyone was okay, and I shouldn't worry about them. Only, this made me worry more, and so the day I was finally able to leave this dumb, smelly hospital behind me, I was constantly aggitating Roxas and Cloud, informing them that I had to know the details about everyone.

"Axel," Cloud finally said. From the back seat of his car, I shut my mouth obediently. Something about the guy made me NOT want to disobey him. In the front passenger seat, Roxas shot a smirk at me, and I crossed my arms, deciding not to say anything cutting and stupid. Roxas's family had been so generous to me. I didn't want to throw it back in their faces. After all, they'd payed for the hospital visit (which, let me tell you, was not cheap!) and they were offering me board and they'd also taken the liberty of buying me some clothes.

I smirked down at myself. Roxas had good taste. Black sneakers, which were a given. I wouldn't be able to live if I hadn't any black sneakers. Jeans that were dark, patchy in some parts, but they suited me anyhow, with a sliver belt buckle hanging over my middle, and lastly the top and gloves. Gloves, fingerless, and black, of course, and the shirt was simple in itself. It was a plain black tee which fitted me nicely, and there was a large white, grinning skull splayed over my chest.

Over the soft hum of the music playing in Cloud's car, I heard Roxas say, "We're here," and seconds later I was staring at a large house, double story, which looked large enough to accomodate around twenty people.

"What do you think?" Roxas grinned, elbowing me. I winced, and his expression turned to one identifying realisation and horror.

"Sorry Ax..." He mumbled. I frowned, rubbing my bruised ribs which were now tingling slightly. I hated nicknames. My name was mine, and no one else could change it.

"Axel," I nodded grimly, following Cloud up the front steps. The older blonde hadn't talked much during our encounters, and it seemed as if he had no emotion lurking behind that blank face at all. However, once I reached the top of the steps, he graced me with a small smile.

"Turn around," he said smoothly, and I shot him a quizzical look. What the hell was he-? Oh. Cloud pulled out a small piece of silky material from his jeans pocket. A blindfold. Why in the hell would I need one of those. I sighed, deciding to see what fate had in store for me, after all, it couldn't be worse than what I had gone through already... and I spun around. Cloud slipped the blindfold over my eyes, and my vision was cloaked in blackness.

I heard the faint grinding of metal as the key turned in the lock, and then the creak as the wooden door swung open. Someone made their way inside; I assumed it was Cloud, and I went to follow him but stumbled.

"Uh...!" I scrambled around blindly, hoping someone would help me through the door, and a soft laugh met my ears.

"Stop floundering!" Roxas laughed, and I immediately became stoic and still. That was, until I felt Roxas entwine his warm fingers with mine and tugged me through the doorway. I let out a barely audible squeak as I made my entry, and I was sure Roxas heard me.

My heart palpitated strongly in my chest as I anticipated what was coming next. But, I needn't have worried. It wasn't as bad as I had first thought. Roxas whipped the blindfold from my eyes, and I was overwhelmed with colour and movement. Demyx, Zexion, Andromeda, Riku, Sora, Ink, even Hope (my eyes were as big as tennis balls at this point) and a male brunette that I didn't recognise were all standing around the room, smiling and eating food.

"What...!?" I was virtually lost for words, and attractively gaping like a goldfish until Roxas came to my rescue. "It's a welcome party... sorta." I glanced over at him, and he grinned sheepishly.

"What do you mean, sorta?" I asked, confused for a moment. I was slightly offended when Roxas gave me a this-should-be-obvious look, but I was glad he explained the current situation to me anyway.

"Well, we figured," he gestured to himself, Cloud and that other strange brunette when he said 'we,' "that you'd be living with us now. Y'know..." Roxas trailed off, and looked up at me, his blue eyes piercing through my green ones. It took me a moment for the information to sink in. I had a home. With people that cared about me. My face cracked slowly into a grin, and I suddenly realised that Roxas's fingers were still entwined with mine; I didn't voice the matter though.

"I'm allowed to live here?" I asked incredulously, my eyes burning with happiness. Roxas grinned back at me, but he wasn't the one to speak. The brunette standing over the opposite side of the room addressed me in a smooth, cool manner.

"Of course, it won't be for free," he said, and my eyes connected with his, my hands clenching invoulentarily. Roxas gave my hand a tight squeeze in return, and I managed to resist jumping in surprise.

I was about to say that I hadn't gone to school, so I had no available education, but the brunette cut off my sentence as it hung loosely in the air between us. "You'll be helping teach self defense and martial arts to my students, starting next week."

I sighed in relief. "But," I said hesitantly, "I don't really have much experience-"

"Not from what I hear. All these guys have to tell me is that you saved them countless times." The brunette grinned, and I smiled awkwardly in return.

"Well, now that's over with, let's get to the food!" My eyes fixed themselves on the dark haired girl who sang merrily, stuffing a muffin into her mouth. Hope. I took an unconscious step backwards, my face hardening. What the hell was she doing here?

"Hope, you could've been more subtle..." Andromeda muttered from behind me. I was shocked to see that he was decked out in a maid's uniform, but not the cliche black and white skimpy-ish dress. More masculine.

"Okay!" I said firmly, feeling everyone's eyes on me due to my sudden loudness. "I think you people should tell Axel a little about what's going on," I said, sinking down into the nearest cushiony object, which happened to be a couch. Roxas followed me (by now I'd let go of my hand; I could feel all the expressions of surprise as people were starting to stare at us...) and plopped himself down beside my slumped form.

"We don't actually remember that much," Zexion spoke for the first time.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously. I thought it would only be me who'd had memory loss, due to the slight incident of my passing out for several long weeks...

"Nup. My memory's black," Demyx chimed in, and before anybody else could pipe up and voice their lack of memory, I decided to break it down for them. "Does anyone actually remember what happened? Or maybe you could tell me why Hope," I shot her a glance, "happens to be hanging around."

"That'd be because of me." There were MORE people!? My eyes darted to the now filled doorway, which held a strong, kind looking dark haired woman. She smiled at me as she spoke. "My name's Tifa. That stoic guy over there in the corner is Leon, and Hope is here because I'm her psychiatrist."

My eyes bulged. Psychiatrist!? Hope didn't need a psych evaluation, she needed a mental hospital. This was the girl who thought it'd be fun to try and kill me and all my friends (which were now virtually my family) because she thought it would be 'fun'. I scowled, crossing my arms.

"I have two personalities," Hope said rather brightly, considering it was her conscience we were talking about. My face must've softened, because the people surrounding me seemed to relax; I thought about it. Hope having a split personality made sense... but what about when she'd been injected with the serum? Maybe it had merged the two personalities together, and had some sort of tragic side effects? I did a mental shrug. Either way, she seemed fine now...

"Wait a minute, why're you dressed like a maid?" I fired my question at Andromeda, who was standing discretely in a corner, holding a mop and leaning on it slightly.

"Took you a moment to catch on," he joked. I frowned. "I'm working for Cloud and Leon. I don't really have anywhere to go. My family isn't exactly friendly when it comes to the prospect of taking care of me," Andromeda snorted unattractively, "and Hope's in the same situation as I am. But, she really needs Tifa, who lives here too, so I guess it all works out." He smiled, readjusting the mop so it was leaning against the nearby wall.

I nodded, shifting my gaze to the floor. My head was buzzing from everything happening around me, and to top it all off, everyone was chatting and eating food. I decided to sum everything up, just to be sure... Okay, I thought, Cloud and Leon own this huge house, which they live in, along with Sora, Roxas, Tifa, Hope, Andromeda, Riku... well, I assumed Riku lived here... and myself. Maybe I should check.

"Hey Roxas," I asked, "Does Riku live here too?" The blonde was slow in the uptake of his response, but he got there eventually.

"Nope. He lives with his mum, just a couple of blocks away..." Roxas succumbed to the dazed, tired look he was supporting just seconds ago, and I sighed, looking away from the sleep deprived teen. Okay then, Riku wasn't living with me...

My eyes rose to the people conversing just a metre away, when I saw someone walk passed. He disappeared again amoung the group of talkative people, but I got a glance of his chocolate hair. It was Ink. I frowned. So, Ink was living here too?? I was so confused...

"Oi, Roxas," I had to nudge the teen and his eyes jerked open. "I'm still here," he mumbled sleepily. I grinned, "Can you show me to my room?" I asked, just wanting to get away from all the madness of loud chatter and colour and movement. Roxas nodded, standing up slowly and stretching.

"You're sharing a room with me," he said as we walked slowly to the door leading to what I presumed to be stairs. "Why's that?" I asked, astonished. Didn't Roxas share a room with Sora? Judging by how protective he was of Sora, it was strange to hear that he suddenly had his own room.

"Sora's moving in with Riku and Riku's mum. I can guess why," he turned and wiggled his eyebrows at me, and my stomach lurched, but I grinned at the same time. I'd not seen Roxas act like that before, it intrigued me... but, I hoped he wouldn't react poorly when he found out that I actually liked-

"Here it is," the short blonde said, pushing the door open for me. My eyes widened. I'd never had a proper bedroom before. True, I did have a proper house when I was in my younger years, but this was completely different to the pile of trash that was my old, childhood room. The beds looked clean and comfortable (never again will I look at comfy beds the same again; I shall treasure them, the hospital bed sucked), the walls bore posters of many glamorous looking people that I didn't recognise, but to top it off, there was a television, a DVD player, and other gadgets that I'd heard of were spread out on the carpeted floor.

"This is...!" I couldn't describe how awesome it was to finally have a decent bedroom, and to be sharing it with someone such as Roxas? I was loving it.

"Umph..." Roxas sighed heavily, falling onto his bed in a heap. He kicked off his shoes and they landed with a muffled thud on the carpet floor, and crawled up to his pillow, lying on his back facing the ceiling. What the hell. I was tired too. May as well join him...

I dumped my shoes as well, climbing onto my bed and getting in a comfortable position on my back. It was when I was finally lying on that soft bed that my mind clicked on something that seemed to be missing, and my mood switched to instant panic.

"What's up Axel?" I managed not to show surprise as I caught the blonde teen staring at me in confusion; I clasped at my neck, and understanding lit his face.

"It's safe. Here," Roxas smiled, reaching up to the back of his neck and unclasping a chain. I caught the small item as it sailed toward me, and weaved it through my fingers before fastening it safely around my neck.

"Thanks Roxas, for keeping it safe," I murmured, but the soft sound of snoring echoed from his small form, and I knew he was asleep. I sighed, clenching Reno's ring in my right palm, and closing my eyes. It was still warm from Roxas's touch.

A/N: See!? I'm not a horrible person!! Maybe a little insane... but NOT horrible. I wouldn't ever kill Axel. He's my favourite character in all of Kingdom Hearts! ^^

Do you want another chapter? I could end it here... although I want to write a little bit more... and also, do you want more involved AkuRoku-ness? Like... more than talking and holding hands? :D It's doable. XD

Oh, but I'm going to Central Australia for a school camp, and I will be away for two weeks, so the next chapter won't very soon, but I can promise that I will write it if yah like. :) (meaning, it will be up sometime in the holidays...)

Review please! xo