Chapter 11: Reunion
A/N: Looks like Tsukiko suffered major heartbreak. I wonder what Ankoku can do cheer her friend up? Maybe Axel isn't really 'dead' after all. We'll just have to see.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts; I just own Ankoku and Tsukiko.
Enjoy!
/
Ankoku sat in her room that night.
After trying to calm Tsukiko down, she confronted Saix and demanded what happened at Castle Oblivion.
The answer she got was not the one she was hoping for.
/
Flash back
Ankoku stormed up to Saix when she got back from Twilight Town.
Seeing Tsukiko cry like that over the thought that Axel might be terminated really affected her.
She simply had to know the truth.
For her friend's sake at least.
Saix gave her an emotionless stare as she came up to him.
"You're awake" he said.
Ankoku just glared at him.
"Alright, listen" she said.
"I know that you know what's happening at Castle Oblivion. Just tell me what's going on so I don't have to keep pestering you"
Saix gave her an icy glare.
"You better watch your mouth" he warned.
Ankoku just glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest.
When he realized that she wasn't going anywhere, he decided to give her the edited version of the news.
"We're looking into what befell them" he said.
Ankoku raised an eyebrow.
'Them'?
"Them?" she asked.
So more than one person was terminated?
"How many?" she asked.
"You still don't know?"
Saix just glared at her.
"What I know is that I don't owe you any explanation" he said.
"Now get to work"
Ankoku just gave him a nasty glare before storming to her room.
This was not good news.
/
Ankoku sighed as she leaned her head against the wall.
There was no way that she could tell Tsukiko about this.
If she started crying hysterically hearing about one person being terminated, then she didn't even want to see her reaction at hearing that more than one was K.O'd.
Roxas wasn't reacting well to the news either.
He had been quiet the whole day.
It really bothered Ankoku.
He was finally starting to open up more and become talkative.
But when Saix told him about what happened at Castle Oblivion, he went back to his quiet state.
Ankoku let out a deep breath.
How could everyone that went to Castle Oblivion become terminated?
Sure, she could see Vexen keeling over, but she never thought Axel would bite the dust too.
He had to be one of the strongest members of the Organization.
"I guess even the strong have their weak points" she thought.
She ran a hand through her messy black hair.
There was no point beating herself over this.
There was nothing she could do.
Axel was gone, and she had to face that.
She just wished that the ones who were closest to her weren't affected by this as well.
/
The next day, Ankoku was given a mission in Twilight Town.
Since they were short on staff, Saix told everyone that they would be working on Solo missions.
Ankoku didn't really mind.
She needed the time to think over everything that had happened.
She also figured that Roxas would want his space.
He may not have said much, but he kept his thoughts locked deep inside him.
When it would become too much for him, he would pop.
She sighed as she walked down the deserted streets.
She pulled out the paper that told her what her mission was today.
"Let's see" she said.
"I need to get rid of a group of heartless. That's new and exciting-not"
She placed the paper back in her cloak.
"Can't Saix think up of anything else besides destroying heartless and recon missions?" she asked herself.
"He could at least pitch in and destroy these little pests instead of sitting on his lazy ass and giving out orders"
She summoned up her keyblade and used her powers to predict where the heartless were going to be at.
"This is going to be so boring" she said in a bored tone.
She suddenly realized that she was starting to talk like Larxene.
She shuddered as she pictured herself acting like that savage nymph.
"At least she was one of the ones who were terminated" she said.
She went down to the sandlot so she could hurry up with her mission.
/
"Another job well done"
Since Ankoku predicted where the heartless were going to be at, she finished her mission in only fifteen minutes.
She looked up at the evening sky.
"I guess I still have some time to kill" she said.
"It's not like I'm in a hurry to head back home anyway"
She decided to treat herself to some Sea Salt ice cream.
"After everything that I've been through lately, I need this" she thought.
She headed towards the market area to buy herself an ice cream when she saw Tsukiko.
The young woman seemed so lost in her own world that she didn't seem to know what was going on.
Ankoku bit her lip.
She knew that she must have been suffering from the bad news, but she just couldn't see her like this.
She walked over to her.
"Hey, Tsukiko!"
Tsukiko looked at her and gave her a weak smile.
"Hey, Ankoku" she said.
Ankoku shoved her hands into the pockets of her cloak.
"So…how have you been?" she asked.
Tsukiko sighed and looked off to the side.
"I've been better" she admitted.
"I don't want to believe that Axel was probably terminated. But there is that possibility that it's true"
A tear ran down her face as she thought of that.
Ankoku looked at her sadly.
She didn't want to see her friend so broken.
She was used to seeing her smile, not frowning.
She gently grabbed her arm and pulled her along.
"Come on" she said.
"You deserve an ice cream"
Tsukiko didn't say anything as she was being dragged around.
She really didn't care at the moment.
Ankoku bought them their ice creams and took them to their usual spot.
/
Ankoku mindlessly munched on her frozen treat.
Normally, she would have enjoyed the sweet taste in provided, but today, it tasted more salty than it did sweet.
She looked at Tsukiko who didn't even bother to eat hers.
The ice cream simply melted and dripped on her hands.
Ankoku just sighed as she looked at her.
"Are you sure you're ok?" she asked.
She knew that she wasn't, but she needed her to talk.
She knew it wasn't good to have thoughts being bottled up inside.
Tsukiko just looked at the ice cream that melted on her hand.
"I just…can't believe that he might actually be gone" she said.
She looked towards the sunset.
"For as long as I've known him, Axel has always been strong. He's too stubborn to give up"
She smiled weakly.
"That's probably one of things that I loved about him"
Ankoku had her ice cream stick hanging from her mouth as she looked at her.
She had heard Tsukiko once say that she and Axel were lovers, but she didn't know how that was possible.
She knew that love was a feeling, but since Axel was a Nobody, there was just no way that he could experience something like that.
"Um…can I ask you something?" she asked.
Tsukiko nodded.
"You know all about us Nobodies, right?" Ankoku asked.
"Yeah" Tsukiko replied.
"And you know that we don't have heart"
Tsukiko nodded.
Ankoku bit her lip.
"Well…I don't want to sound rude, but…if you know that we can't feel…then how are and Axel lovers?"
Tsukiko gave her a small smile.
"I guess you wouldn't know, since Axel doesn't say anything" she said.
"I know that he can't feel anything, and I understand clearly that he doesn't have a heart. But whenever we're together, it just seems right"
She looked out towards the sky.
"He said that whenever he's near me, he feels like he's a normal person, that I complete him. He might not feel anything, but I feel everything for him"
She gave Ankoku a weak smile.
"I guess you could say that I act like his heart. I feel things that he'll never be able to feel"
She placed a hand over her chest.
"Although, I find some of the things I feel to be a little strange" she admitted.
"It's when I feel something that I'm not used to; I don't know how I'm supposed to react. I've always been like that since I could remember"
She gave Ankoku an apologetic smile.
"I guess this must be a little confusing for you" she said.
Ankoku shook her head.
"No, I understand it a little" she said.
Tsukiko smiled slightly.
"You know, you're real easy to talk to" she said.
Ankoku shrugged.
"I can be when I want to" she said.
Tsukiko giggled a little.
For the remainder of the day, the two of them talked about random things.
Tsukiko would talk about all the times she spent with Axel while Ankoku would talk about everyone in the Organization and how Saix was a pain in the ass.
Later that night, Ankoku had a strange dream.
It featured that boy with the silver hair and the girl how looked a lot like her.
/
The two of them stood in front of this great white door.
The boy was on one side while the girl was on the other.
She had tears running down her face as she looked at the boy.
She reached her hand out towards him.
"Riku! Hurry up on this side!" she cried.
The boy sadly looked at him and shook his head.
"The door needs to be closed on both sides. I have to stay" he said.
The girl looked upset at that.
"No!" she cried.
Voices could be heard around them, but they were muffled out.
The girl looked at her heart shaped necklace and pulled it off.
She kissed it and handed it to Riku.
"Riku!"
She pressed the charm in his hand.
"It's like I said before; my heart belongs to you, it always has"
Riku looked at the charm before smiling softy at her.
The rest was a blur after that.
The only thing she got out of that dream was that the boy was named Riku and apparently he had a deep connection to this girl.
/
For the next few days, Ankoku would hang out with Tsukiko after her missions.
It was nice to be able to hang out with another female.
Xion was always busy with her missions, so she wouldn't be able to hang out after words.
Roxas would always be lost in his own little world.
He was still affected by the news that everyone in Castle Oblivion was gone.
Demyx and Xigbar didn't make him feel any better either.
They would just rub it in his face that everyone was gone and would enjoy seeing his reaction.
She would always have to intervene before Roxas would snap at them.
It was tiring, but she figured that was the job description of being an older sister.
She really enjoyed the times she spent with Tsukiko.
She learned things about her that she didn't know before.
Like she lost her memories nearly ten years ago. She said that one day; she just woke up and realized that she was in Twilight Town. She couldn't remember anything from before then.
And that her eyes were actually green, but she wore purple contact lens because she thought they looked cool.
"I always try to be different" she would say.
Ankoku even told her about the strange dreams she had with that girl and that boy named Riku.
Yep. Hanging out with her made her missions a lot more enjoyable.
/
Day 71
It had been nearly a month since news that the members of Castle Oblivion were terminated.
Roxas was still a little moody about it, but it wasn't as bad as before.
Tsukiko was still upset as well, but Ankoku would always see her after her missions to make her feel better.
Today, she and Roxas were paired up to do their mission in Twilight Town.
Apparently, there were these dark blobs that were all over the town.
They were harmless, but Saix thought that having them around would interfere with their heart collecting.
"That guy is just giving us random missions" Ankoku said.
"I bet he's trying to get us killed and make it seem like we died in the line of duty or something"
Roxas didn't say anything as they arrived at the town.
He hardly talked anymore except if he was asked a question.
Ankoku just sighed and pinched his brother's face.
"Listen, Roxas" she said.
"Being sad and gloomy won't bring Axel back. All things have an end point. We're no different"
She let go of his face and placed her hands on her hips.
"I'm sure if Axel were here now, he would think the way that you were acting was pathetic. You're a keyblade master, so show some more 'oomph'"
Roxas looked at his sister.
She did have a point.
If Axel were here, he wouldn't like to see the way that he was.
He would have wanted him to carry on with his life as if nothing was wrong.
He gave her a small smile.
"You're right, Sis" he said.
Ankoku wore a know-it-all smirk.
"Of course I do" she said.
"I'm the eldest, so I know more than you"
Roxas just chuckled slightly.
Ankoku looked around the alley way.
She didn't see any dark globs, but she knew they were around town.
"Let's split up" she said.
"You take the tram common and clock tower. I'll take the sandlot and market place"
Roxas nodded and ran off to get rid of his portion of the prey.
Ankoku summoned her black keyblade and headed towards the sandlot.
"This should be easy" she said.
/
And easy was right.
Saix wasn't kidding when he said that the globs were harmless.
She had figured that they would spew stuff out when she attacked them, but instead, they simply stood there and got hacked away.
"I think this has to be the easiest mission I've had so far" she said.
She headed back towards the alley where she saw Roxas waiting for her.
He opened up a portal.
"Let's head back" he said.
Ankoku nodded.
She really wanted to go get ice cream, but she figured Roxas wanted to just head home.
Just as they were about to step in, a familiar voice stopped them in their tracks.
"Hey, Roxas. Ankoku"
The twins slowly turned around and saw Axel standing a little ways off.
The red head smiled at them.
"How's it hanging?" he asked.
Roxas and Ankoku's eyes nearly bugged out.
They had thought Axel perished with the rest of the members who went to Castle Oblivion, but he was standing right here.
Axel walked up towards them.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
"You both look like you saw a ghost"
Roxas stuttered a little before he spoke.
"Axel?" he asked.
Ankoku pointed a shaky finger at him.
"But…we thought you were gone!" she cried.
"Castle Oblivion-the whole team was annihilated"
Axel wore a know-it-all smirk.
"Correction" he said.
"The weaklings were annihilated"
They both looked relieved.
They had thought that they had lost a friend.
Ankoku knew that Tsukiko would be happy to hear this.
"You had us worried" Roxas said.
Axel snorted.
"Worried?" he asked.
"Well, that's a neat trick, considering you haven't got hearts to feel with"
Ankoku just rolled her eyes.
"Same old Axel" she thought.
Roxas smiled.
"W-wait here!" he said.
"I'll go buy is some ice cream!"
He ran off to the market place to get their favorite frozen treat.
Ankoku stayed behind so she could talk to Axel.
She was seriously going to chew him out for acting like he was dead.
She sent him a nasty glare.
Axe just sweat dropped.
"What?" he asked.
"You have a lot of nerve to pull a stunt like that" Ankoku replied.
"You should have seen Tsukiko when I told her what happened at Castle Oblivion. She was ballistic. You better apologize to her"
Axel just rubbed his head.
"Already did" he said.
"She was really mad when I told her, but she forgave me"
Ankoku just gave him a dull look.
"What she sees in you is beyond me" she said.
Axel gave her a cocky grin.
"It's because I'm hot and so good looking. None of the ladies can resist my charm"
Ankoku just looked disgusted.
"Yuck" she said.
Axel just laughed.
"Come on. I bet Roxas is waiting for us" he said.
They both headed up to their usual spot.
/
The three of them ate their ice cream as they watched the sunset.
It was nice having Axel back in the group.
He made things livelier with his sarcastic attitude.
Axel took a bite of his ice cream before talking.
"I gotta check in with the boss, or he's gonna let me have it" he said.
The twins looked at him.
"You haven't RTC'd yet?" Roxas asked.
Axel shook his head.
"Nah" he said.
"Then where were you this whole time then?" Ankoku asked.
Axel wore a cocky smirk.
"I was at Tsukiko's, where else?" he said.
Ankoku glared at him.
"You better not have done anything to her" she growled.
Axel just laughed at her.
"Please" he said.
"Why would I do anything to one of my closest friends? I'm not that heartless"
He laughed at his own joke.
"Well, why did you come here then?" Roxas asked.
Axel shrugged.
"Guess I needed some time to sort out my feelings" he said.
Ankoku just rolled her eyes.
"Whatever, mister I-don't-have-a-heart" she said.
Everyone just laughed at the joke.
Axel noticed that Roxas had hardly eaten his ice cream.
"Hey, your ice cream's melting" he said.
"Eat up"
Roxas nodded and slowly ate his ice cream.
"You know, I started inviting Xion up here with us while you were gone" he said.
Axel raised an eyebrow.
"Xion? Really?" he asked.
Roxas nodded.
"Yeah" he said.
"I promised her that the four of us could have ice cream together-you know, once you got back"
Ankoku smiled.
"We're all friends now" she said.
"And it's kind of nice. I'm not the only girl up here eating ice cream"
They caught up for the rest of the evening and ate their ice cream.
This time, when Ankoku ate hers, it tasted sweeter than it did salty.
/
That night, Axel stood in his room and looked out his bedroom window.
It was weird being back here, but it was better than staying in that all white Castel Oblivion with Larxene and Marluxia.
As he was looking out the window, Saix walked into his room.
His face was as cold looking as ever.
"Why didn't you report in?" he asked.
Axel looked over his shoulder.
He wasn't going to tell him that he was with Tsukiko.
He kept his relationship with her a secret.
No one was supposed to know about the Organization, and if they found out about her, he knew they would kill her.
He wasn't going let that happen.
He turned around and faced the blue elf.
"Oh, good to see you too" he said sarcastically.
"You're welcome. Thanks for the kind words"
Saix just ignored his sarcasm.
"I'm told Namine has gone missing" he said.
Axel held back a smirk.
He also wasn't going to let Saix know that he was the one who let her go free.
"There one minute, gone the next" he said.
"I don't know how she got out"
Saix glared at him.
"You searched every room, I expected?" he asked.
Axel just scoffed.
"You're kidding, right?" he asked.
"That's like counting grains of dust in a building full of sneezing people"
Saix just gave him an icy stare.
"What about the chamber?" he asked.
"Did you find it?"
Axel placed his hands on his hips.
"Come on, I would have told you that much" he said.
He wore a cocky smirk.
"But I gotta hand it to you…you were right" he said.
"About Marlixia, the traitors….you knew exactly what was up"
"All I did was find a place to send everyone who was getting in the way" Saix replied.
Axel scoffed.
"Well, isn't that nice to know where I stand" he said sarcastically.
"Did you come back in one piece, or didn't you?" Saix asked.
He started walking away.
He stopped when Axel spoke up.
"I disposed of Zexion" he said.
He wore an evil smirk.
"That's how you wanted it, right?" he asked.
"I'll play along…for now"
With that, Saix left the room.
Axel just sighed and looked out his window again.
"I never get cut any slack"
/
A/N: Yay! Axel's back! I'm sure you knew that I wouldn't do that. He is one of my favorite Organization members. I sure Tsukiko is really happy to have her sweetheart back.
Now that our favorite red head is back, what else is going to happen to our favorite Nobodies?
You'll just have to review to find out.
Ja ne