Kyrie (c) Me

KH Characters (c) Square Enix

Kingdom Hearts

Shattered Soul

Chapter 19

"Ky…Kyrie…"

Kyrie gasped, turning as just as Axel appeared, carrying Xion over his shoulder. He had cuts and bruises all over what she could see of his body, and looked exhausted. Before she could react, he fell face-first to the stone-cold floor, unconscious.

She gasped again, running to his side before kneeling down and checking him over, making sure he had no serious injuries. She then turned to an unconscious Xion and checked her as well, relieved that she was just knocked out. Before she could move to lift either nobody, a presence stopped her. Slowly turning, she came face-to-face with Xemnas as he stood behind her.

"Ah, I see Axel has completed his mission. You may tend to him, but leave Xion to me." he spoke, his amber eyes focused solely on her. She stared at him, still as she tried to look away from his gaze. But she couldn't, it's as if his eyes had her transfixed to that spot. Those eyes, they sparked something inside her.

"Ah, your heart is so pure, so full of light. I have found another like you, in this world. But you are different. You are not one of the seven pure hearts I seek."

"But...I cannot deny that soon, you will chosen by the most powerful weapon in the world. And, that the heart of all kingdoms will one day, call for you. But for what purpose, I need more research. Until then..."

"I will leave a touch of myself behind...in you."

She winced as her eye began to sting, that voice…

"Girl, I suggest for you to take Axel and leave. It would be unwise to leave him on the cold ground for long…" she looked up just as Xemnas walked past her, carrying Xion out of the room. She made a move to follow, but stopped when Axel moaned lightly in his sleep.

She stopped and gazed at him, she was torn on whether to pursuit Xemnas and Xion, or help Axel. She knew Xemnas had something awful planned for her friend, but she couldn't just leave Axel here. She sighed and leaned down, grabbing Axel's arm and wrapping it around her shoulders, so that she supported his weight as she tried carrying/dragging him through the halls of the castle. It was difficult, since none of the other members were back yet and Axel was a lot taller and heavier than her.

"Ugh…so heavy…" she thought as she continued to carry him. After what seemed like forever, she spotted the door to his room and gave a sigh of relief. She started again, dragging him to his room as her arms screamed with the effort, but she didn't relent. She had to get him to the safety of his room.

"Just…a little…more…" she thought as she continued on. Soon, she had his door open and had managed to get him on his bed. She huffed, pulling up a chair and adjusted her clip, which had begun to slip and allowed some hair to obscure her left eye. She stared down at him as he slept fitfully. Concerned, she leaned forward and pressed her hand against his forehead, surprised at how hot he felt.

"He feels warm…warmer than usual…" she thought as she pulled her hand away. She looked him over, his coat was damaged and it clung to his body as he sweated bullets.

"Should I…remove his jacket?" she thought. She was still for a few minutes, before sighing and grabbing the zipper to his cloak, sliding it down. Within seconds, she had the cloak slipped off and resting on a nearby chair before she leaned over him again.

"He can call me a pervert all he wants later. This is for his own good." she thought as she started pulling up his sheets to keep him from getting a chill. She stopped halfway though, and got a good look at him. He was a bit lean and muscular, a mix of both you could say, as he lay there resting. She felt heat rising in her cheeks as she continued to stare at him. Thankfully, he was wearing pants, why not a shirt, she had no idea.

"He… really does look handsome without his- WHOA! No, no, no, this is not the kinds of thoughts you should be thinking about him, dammit!" she thought as she turned away, slamming her head against the wall as she tried to shake away her thoughts. After a few more moments of slamming her head against the wall, she sighed and turned, pulling the sheets up to his chin as he rested. She felt worry rise within her again as he rested, his fever was still high. How could she get it down?

"Maybe I can ask the others…no, that wouldn't work. Only Vexen knew anything about medical treatment, and he's…gone." she thought in aggravation as she paced, she had to figure out some way to help him. But how? Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door and turned just as Demyx came in, looking bored.

"Hey Kyrie, Xiggy's wondering if- whoa. What happened to Axel?" he started, before noticing the unconscious pyro. She quickly grabbed her notebook and pen before writing something down.

Demyx, I need help. Axel has a fever and I don't know how to make it go down! The only one who'd know anything is Vexen, and he's gone!

Demyx nodded as he read the paper and caught the fear in the young girl's eyes.

"Okay, calm down. A cure spell I think would make his fever go away, as well as heal up his scratches and bruises." he explained. She stared at him blankly for a moment before writing more down.

A cure spell? What?

Demyx stared at those four words blankly before looking at the confused girl.

"Kyrie…you've been here for months and you don't know what a cure spell is? Do you even know magic at all?" he exclaimed. She shrugged.

I don't know any magic. The first time I heard about it, Xion had healed me during a mission in Twilight town.

He sighed, slapping his forehead.

"Augh, great! Well…since you don't know any magic, I think a potion would help too. here," he started, handing her a bottle of green liquid. She scrunched her nose in disgust, she hated potions. The first time she tried it, she immediately spat it out afterwards. It tasted that bad.

"I know it tastes awful, but it helps. And besides, all you have to do is open Axel's mouth and get him to swallow it." he continued, watching as she scrunched up her face at the bottle. Grudgingly, she nodded as he turned and left the room.

"Later! I gotta go and catch some Z's, I hope Axel feels better!" he called. She nodded as the door slid shut before turning to the unconscious man. She sighed. This was it. Gently she opened his mouth and poured the potion down his throat, rubbing two fingers on his throat to get him to swallow. When the bottle was empty, she threw it into a garbage can and took note of the grimace on his face.

"I guess even though he's unconscious, he could still taste the potion." she thought as she sat on the chair again. She watched him for a while as she checked his temperature and made sure he was comfortable, before looking out the window at Kingdom Hearts.

"Axel…"

-Later-

"Ugh…"

Axel moaned as he slowly regained consciousness, not really sure where he was at the moment. Opening his eyes, he took note of his surroundings before realizing that…

A. He didn't have his cloak on, and B.

Something was on his stomach.

Looking down, he spotted Kyrie's head on his stomach as she rested peacefully, her hair obscuring her face as she rested. He felt heat rise to his cheeks before he reached out, brushing her hair out of her face. Without her hair in her face, she looked more mature. The thought made Axel smirk.

"She should leave her hair out of her face. She looks…" he stopped, a small frown gracing his features. These weren't the kinds of thoughts he should have about one of his best friends. But he couldn't help it, he didn't know why, but he just couldn't. He slowly sat up, careful not to wake her as he looked at his surroundings. They were in his room, his cloak hanging over a chair. He felt her stir, and watched as she woke up.

"…Nn…what time is it?" she thought as she sat up groggily, yawning silently as she did so. A flash of bright red stopped her, and she came face-to-face with Axel. Her face immediately flushed, here he was shirtless, and she was kneeling over him. Scrambling to get off, she fell to the floor with a resounding thud, making him laugh as he watched her try to compose herself.

"What's wrong, Kyrie? My body too hot for ya?" he chuckled. Her blushed darkened, curse him!

"Curse him and his body, and my stupid hormones!" she thought as she looked away, not wanting to meet his gaze and prove him right.

He watched her as she sat on his floor, her face cherry red and she fought to avoid his gaze. In all honesty, she looked cute with her face red and her posture frazzled. He smirked, moving to pull her back onto the bed before there was a knock at the door. Curious, Kyrie stood and answered it. When she opened the door however, she froze and her face paled. Axel was about to ask what was wrong, before Xemnas walked into the room, with Saix right behind him.

"Ah, Axel, you're awake. I've come to congratulate you on your successful capture of Xion, as well as give Kyrie her new mission." he spoke smoothly. Kyrie scowled and stepped so that she was near Axel. He looked at her before giving a small smirk.

"Kyrie, you are to follow me and Saix. Axel will stay here, understood?" he spoke. She winced, looking at him. He nodded.

"Go." he mouthed. He didn't want her getting in trouble because she was worried about him and refused to obey orders. Nodding reluctantly, she followed her superiors out of the room, leaving Axel by himself. He sat on his bed silently as he watched his door slowly slide shut.

"Kyrie, be safe."

-Meanwhile-

"Kyrie, we have a new mission for you and it is dire for you to complete it." Xemnas began as he, Saix, and Kyrie walked down the hallways of the castle. She nodded, keeping her eyes to the ground and not meeting either man's gaze. He stopped, turning to her just as she stopped at his feet.

"You are to find Roxas and Xion and keep a watch on them as they do battle. Once the battle is over, come and report the victor to me."

Yep, isn't their awkwardness towards each other cute? Anyways, I don't have much to say this time, so enjoy the story and please read and review!