Banshee: I'm back, and I have a new chapter for you! Sorry it took so long, I've just been tired lately and I've had things pop up in life that needed to be addressed first. That, and I had a horrible case of writer's block, and we all know how much that sucks... Well, without further ado, onward to the chapter!

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot.

Chapter Four: Surviving Annoying Redheads

Recap:

"I got great news! The Superior is letting you out!"

Nikki stared at him, shaking her head and smiling once the words registered in her brain, and she asked hopefully, "Really? Does this mean I can go home?"

Roxas' smile faltered. "U-Uh, actually... no."

"Then how is it 'great news?'" Nikki grumbled, crossing her arms.

"Well, you're out of this cell at least." The young Nobody said, trying to sound reassuring. "Come on. I'll take you to your room."

Nikki's eyebrows raised, and she looked at Roxas like she couldn't believe what she heard. "My room? You mean I have to stay in this God-forsaken castle for the rest of my life?"

Roxas scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Pretty much."

"Super.."

"It's not all bad." The blonde said reassuringly. "Your room is right next to mine, so if there's anything you need you can just ask me, okay?"

"Sure." Nikki paused for a moment, and then asked, with a hint of dread, "So, I can't leave the castle at all?"

"You can leave the castle, but one of us has to be with you; you know, to make sure you don't-"

"Run away. Got it."

...

"There you are, Rox. What kept you?" Axel said, patting the teen on the shoulder.

"Sorry I'm late. I had to go and pick up Nikki first."

Axel's eyes went to Nikki and she instinctually stiffened. "Ah, our 'special guest.' Sorry about throwing you in prison, but we don't take kindly to trespassers."

Nikki's eyebrow twitched into an arch. "I noticed." She said dryly.

The redhead held out his hand to shake; a friendly gesture, yet he noticed that Nikki was looking at it as if it was going to bite her. He decided not to address it. "The name's Axel." He said with that same cocky smile. "Got it memorized?"

At those words, Nikki raised an eyebrow again, but bit back a remark as she took his hand. "Wotcher. My name's Nikki. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Now it was Axel's turn to raise an eyebrow. The brunette's voice had an unmistakable edge to it, but with Roxas standing between them, his face lit up with excitement at the idea of his two friends meeting and getting along, he decided to act like he hadn't noticed. For now.

If it weren't for her wristwatch, Nikki never would have known that it was morning when she woke up. The sky was still an inky black and littered with stars, and the heart-shaped moon was still in the same place as it was when she fell asleep. The time on her watch said 9:30 AM, but she didn't feel like getting up. Instead, she simply laid there in bed staring out the window, watching the giant moon.

"How long have I been here?" She thought.

If she were to guess, she'd say that she had been in the castle for about a month, though it felt much longer. The castle didn't have clocks, and the sky, aside from the occasional storm, stayed the same no matter what time it was. Ordinarily she would have checked the calendar on her phone, to know what day it was, but it was gone; taken when the Organization captured her. She swore that if she ever found out who took her phone, she would punch them in the gut as hard as she could, no matter who it was... unless it was Roxas, though she doubted he was the culprit. She couldn't harm that sweet little face of his no matter what he did.

Nikki ignored the stacks of books and board games on the dresser, opting to stay in bed, changing her position every time her joints ached. At first she kept checking her watch to see what time it was, but gave up after about thirty minutes. The simple act of raising her arm was too much of a hassle at this point.

"Hey Nikki, are you okay?"

The brunette, startled, jumped at the sound of the voice, and struggled to free herself from the tangled mess that her blankets had become. Once free, she sat up and came face-to-face with Roxas, who was staring at her with obvious concern.

"Roxas! Oh, um.. I-I'm fine." Nikki stuttered awkwardly. She recovered after a few seconds and continued, drawling, "This room is just so bland and depressing that I didn't feel like getting up..."

"Oh. Okay." Roxas said. "I just wanted to let you know that Saïx gave me a bunch of missions today, so we can't hang out until later.."

"More missions? Jeez, don't you guys ever get a day off?"

"Only when both Xemnas and Saïx are sick, and that only happens when nobody cleans out the refrigerator and they end up eating month-old takeout."

Nikki grimaced.

"So you've got some missions, huh? When will you be back?" She asked.

"I don't know." Roxas said. "But you won't be alone. I asked Axel to keep you company while I'm gone."

At the mention of the redhead, Nikki's inner self shattered.

"WHAT?!" She screamed internally. "He's leaving me alone with that cocky git? I'll be damned if I'm going to put up with him all day!"

"Oh, really?" Nikki said, her cheery tone wavering a little. "That's..." She started, and felt a snide remark coming on, but bit it back in time and finished with an unconvincing "That's nice."

"I would have asked Demyx, but he's on recon duty."

"Demyx would have been better!"

"Anyway, I should get going. Saïx'll get mad if I don't start my missions soon. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah!" Nikki said, trying to be cheery, but her voice cracked and she ended up squeaking out the word instead. "Yeah, I'll see you later."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "You sure you're okay?" He inquired suspiciously.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She lied. "I just need some water."

The young Nobody gave her a strange look, as if he didn't believe her, but he didn't say anything, instead telling her that he would see her later before he left. Nikki would have sighed in relief, but the thought of spending the day alone with Axel made her nerves even more frazzled than they already were. The last time she was left alone with him, he had her checking her own face for frown lines due to his remarks. The smartass.

In the time she sat there waiting for Axel to arrive, Nikki formulated a plan to escape. She figured that if she could find the same bridge she used to enter the castle, it was possible that she could also use it to leave. The only problem was how she was going to leave The World That Never Was. Nikki couldn't create portals, and she doubted that there was one just sitting around waiting for her to use it. Not only that, but Heartless roamed the streets below, and she didn't want to risk running into them again. There was no way out. She was screwed as far as escaping was concerned. Eventually she gave up her escape plan and just got dressed, and even that seemed pointless because she just ended up throwing on the coat anyway.

"I'm hungry." She said to nobody in particular as she sat down on the bed. "Which way did Roxas say the kitchen was again...? Down the hall and to the right? Or was it to the left? No, that's the bathroom... I think."

Getting up, Nikki poked her head out into the hallway. To her dismay, the hall went both ways.

"Great..." She grumbled.

She began to weigh her options. Trying to figure it out on her own was a bad idea because she could end up lost, just like she did when she first set foot in the castle. Asking someone was a good idea, but who was she going to ask? The only two Nobodies she would ask were away on missions, and there was no way she was asking Axel. She was hungry and bored, and she was in no mood for his cheek. Every other member was either intimidating or insane from what she heard. There was one exception, though.

Zexion.

Zexion seemed like the perfect person to ask. He was polite, according to Roxas, and had the patience to explain things down to every last detail. Getting directions from him would be easy. She just hoped that he was in his room. If he was in the library, like he was for half the day, she was out of luck because she didn't know where it was.

Nikki's eyes scanned the row of bedroom doors until she saw the number six; Zexion's number, and jogged over to it. Swallowing hard, she lightly tapped on the door, hoping that he was inside.

At first, there was no response. Nikki knocked again. Still nothing. She knocked harder and her fist hit the door in rapid taps, getting more frustrated the longer she had to wait. Just when she was going to give the door one last bang, it opened and there stood Zexion, his steel-blue hair covering half his face, and Nikki detected a hint of irritation in his visible eye.

"Yes?" He inquired politely. "Can I help you?"

"Uh, hi." Nikki greeted timidly. "You're Zexion, right?"

"Yes. And you're Nikki, correct?"

"How did you know my name?" Nikki asked.

"Demyx and Roxas talk about you a lot." Zexion said simply. "Is there something you need?"

"I just need to know which way the kitchen is. Could you tell me?"

"Certainly. From your room, you go that way," He pointed to the left, which was Nikki's right, and continued, "and continue down the hall until you reach the end, and you'll see it splits off into two directions. If you go left, that's the bathroom. Go right, and you'll find the kitchen."

"Okay." Nikki said, nodding to show she understood.

"Is there anything else you need?" Zexion asked.

"No, I'm all set. Thanks for the directions." Nikki said gratefully, smiling at him.

"You're welcome." Zexion replied. "Take care."

"You too."

As the brunette began to walk away, she waved at Zexion, who waved back, and she turned around fully and began travelling down the hallway at a light jog. The schemer watched her leave, his arms folded and his expression one of deep concentration.

This human certainly was an interesting one. The amount of darkness in her heart was no more than that of the average person, so she would be no use to the Organization as a Heartless. Though, from what he had been told, she had a strong will, perhaps one strong enough for her to become a Nobody if she ever lost her heart. While the darkness in her was weak, there was an unmistakable light and warmth coming from her that touched everyone within reach; he even felt it when talking to her. She also seemed to have an effect on people she met, much like Sora, the Keyblade wielder, and she was the type of person who could make friends with almost anyone. And though she looked innocent and harmless, and had a sweet disposition, Demyx once stated that she could be quite scary when angered. This certainly made her an interesting case for study.

A small grin appeared on his lips.

"Very interesting..."

After what felt like an eternity of walking, Nikki finally made it to the kitchen. As soon as she entered, she made a beeline for the fridge to look for something to eat. So far, though, she couldn't find anything that she liked to eat. She ended up closing the fridge and checking around the kitchen, trying to find something to make for herself, eventually settling for some bread to make a sandwich.

"Hm..." She hummed, taking a jar of peanut butter from the cabinet. "Peanut butter and..."

She looked thoughtfully at the three other items she had gathered; grape jelly, marshmallow fluff and bananas, and silently debated with herself on what she should have. She wasn't picky, so any one of them would be fine.

After some intense thought-not really-she just shrugged her shoulders and said "Eh, I'll have all three."

So there she was, making three peanut butter sandwiches to eat; one with marshmallow fluff, one with sliced bananas and one with grape jelly, and then she sat down at the table to eat her very interesting lunch. She had just started the marshmallow fluff when...

"So this is where you've been. I was worried you got lost or something."

At that familiar, irritating voice, Nikki nearly choked on her sandwich, which she only took one bite out of, and whipped around to see Axel standing in the doorway. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, with that same irritating smile on his face. He waved a hand lazily.

"Yo." He said. "Having a nice lunch?"

Nikki said nothing, narrowing her eyes at him. This didn't seem to bother Axel, however, for he sauntered over to the table where she was sitting and planted himself in the chair right across from her, not caring that she was glaring at him the whole time. In fact, it seemed to amuse him, for he leaned forward on his elbows, watching her with that cocky smirk that he knew she hated. Slowly chewing the bite she had in her mouth, she and the redhead locked eyes, as if caught in a strange staring contest. Finally, she swallowed her food and growled out, through gritted teeth, "What?"

"Nothing," Axel said nonchalantly. "Roxas asked me to keep you company while he was gone, so here I am. Isn't that nice?"

"Yeah." Nikki said flatly. "Real nice."

"Those look good." Axel said, referring to the sandwiches. "Can I have one?"

"No." The brunette snapped. "Make your own."

Axel pouted. "Aw, that's mean."

"Deal with it."

"You have three sandwiches there. You mean to tell me that you're going to eat all three of them by yourself?"

"Yup."

Axel was silent for a moment, and Nikki could practically see the gears turning in his head. Watching him intently as she slowly chewed on her sandwich, she noticed the subtle way his gaze seemed to alternate between her and the remaining sandwiches on the plate. She eyed him suspiciously, having an idea what he was going to do. Slowly she grabbed her plate and inched it towards her possessively, giving him a look that clearly said "Try anything and I will kill you." He moved and she instinctively put a protecitve arm over her plate, but he was just shifting his position so he was leaning on his hand, still watching her with that calculating look in his eyes and that damned smirk.

"What?" Nikki snapped, breaking the silence.

"Nothing," Axel said. "You just got a little something on your face there."

This had to be a trick. She just knew it. But she had to ask.

"Where?"

The redhead said nothing, just pointing at the side of his mouth. Still keeping her eye on him, Nikki reached up and felt the same spot on her own face, finding marshmallow fluff on her hand when she retracted it. She scowled at Axel, who was still smiling, then reached over for a napkin. As soon as her arm was away from the plate, Axel moved, with the speed of a striking cobra, and snatched one of the sandwiches. Nikki tried to grab it back, but she wasn't fast enough. He was out of her reach before she even moved.

"Hey!" Nikki shouted in protest. "That's mine!"

"Not anymore it isn't." Axel said triumphantly, sitting back in his seat. "That's what you get for not sharing."

"Give me back my sandwich or I'll be 'sharing' my fist with your face!" Nikki threatened, showing him her clenched fist.

The redhead shrugged. "No thanks." He blew off her threat. "I'd rather have the sandwich."

"I swear to God, if you take just one bite..."

"If I do, then what? What will you do?" Axel taunted.

They locked eyes and Nikki gave him the most murderous glare she could manage before she answered, "You'll find out."

While that glare might have intimidated anybody else, it didn't work on Axel. He had faced bigger and badder creatures than her, and she was an ordinary human while he was a Nobody with power over fire. To him, she was about as indimidating as a box full of kittens.

"I'll take my chances." He said.

Slowly he moved the sandwich toward his lips.

"I'm warning you..."

He opened his mouth...

"Don't you dare-!"

... and he took a bite.

"That's it!" She shouted angrily, slamming her hands on the table. "Your feeble half-existence ends here! You're dead, you hear me? Dead!"

Nikki lunged at Axel, hands outstretched to grab him by the throat, but missed him when he jumped out of the way and ended up face-planting on the table. Though she couldn't see his face from her position, she could hear him chuckling at her expense, and if her face wasn't already red from anger, she would have blushed in embarrassment. She recovered quickly, rolling off the table and onto the floor, landing on her feet. He was directly across the table from her, still chewing on the sandwich as if nothing had happened.

"Careful now. You don't want to hurt yourself."

Nikki growled. "Shut up!"

She swiped at him, but he dodged easily.

"Ooh, looks like the kitten's got claws."

Nikki hissed and swiped a second time, only to growl in frustration when she missed him again.

"Stand still, dammit!"

"Now why would I do that? It's more fun to watch you struggle." Axel replied cheekily.

She would have moved to hit him again, but it was obvious that this was just a game to him, and she was not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her make an ass out of herself in front of him... again. Snatching what was left of her food, she stormed out of the kitchen, and all she said to Axel on her way out was an irritated "I'm out of here."

As he watched Nikki leave, the redhead took a moment to think. This was the second time that she had shown hostility towards him, and if he were honest with himself he would say that it was both funny and cute; funny because no matter how threatening she tried to be, she failed miserably at it, and it was cute because that's how she looked when she acted like this. And if he were even more honest with himself, he would admit that he was a tiny bit jealous of how close she was to Roxas. So that, combined with how cute and funny it was when she got mad, made pushing her buttons so satisfying.

And the best part? It was so easy! It didn't take much for him to send her into a frenzy, and so far he loved every second of it.

"Ooh," Axel mused, his smirk coming in full force. "Having her around is gonna be fun."

It had only been a couple hours since Roxas left, and Nikki already wanted him to come back. For one, Axel wasn't nearly as irritating when the younger Nobody was around; in fact, both of them tried to be on their best behavior in his company because he wanted so badly for them to get along-both being his best friends, and all. But it couldn't be helped. Roxas was away on missions, and she had no idea when he would be back, so she was stuck dealing with Captain Smartass.

No matter where she tried to go, which wasn't far because she knew so little about the castle that she could get lost in less than a minute if left on her own, Axel was there, offering his undesired input and pushing Nikki's buttons to the point where she was now contemplating murder. She had hoped to be safe from his pestering in her bedroom, but, apparently, being the captive meant her right to privacy didn't exist. The only place she could go where he wouldn't follow was the bathroom, but she couldn't stay in there all day.

"Are you back in bed again?"

Nikki growled and pulled the covers over her head in an attempt to ignore the intruder, reminding Axel of a moody, antisocial cat.

"Go away." She hissed, not helping Axel's imagination. He was expecting a pair of ears to pop up on her head any minute.

"Now, now, you can't stay in bed all day." Axel chided playfully. "You should be outside, enjoying the sunshine."

"What 'sunshine'?" Came Nikki's shout from under the blanket. "There is no sunshine! There isn't even a sun out there! All I see is a giant moon!"

"You're awfully grouchy today. I take it you're not a morning person?"

"It's noon, jackass!"

"Nope. Definitely not a morning person."

"Piss off!"

"I bet you'd get up if Roxas asked you to..."

"Leave him out of this!"

Axel had to duck to avoid the book that Nikki threw at him, and it bounced off the wall before landing in a crumpled heap on the floor.

"I'll stay in bed as long as I want!" The brunette snarled as she threw more books. She tossed one after another, each hitting the wall with a "bang!" as Axel kept dodging them. She kept throwing until the stack on the dresser was gone. With her ammo exhausted, she retreated back under the covers, harshly yanking them over her head. "Now leave me alone and get out of my room!"

Even after that display, Axel wasn't the least bit fazed by her aggression. The way he saw it, she was just a pissy little kitten having a hissy fit after being woken up from its nap. He had to admit though, she had a good arm. Still, she seemed angry enough, so leaving her alone for a little while until she cooled down was the smart thing to do.

"All right, fine." He conceded. "Have it your way, sweetheart."

He moved to walk away, but stopped after two steps. The redhead was motionless for a moment as he thought about what he was about to do. You see, a thought had crossed his mind, and it gave him a wicked idea, one that he was sure would get a big reaction out of Nikki. He saw it on the internet once, and though he was thinking of testing it out on Roxas, he decided Nikki would be a better guinea pig. Sure, she would be even angrier, and there was a chance that she could actually hit him, but the risk was definitely worth the reward. Ever so silently, Axel walked over to Nikki's bed and slowly lifted the covers before climbing into bed with her. At first she didn't seem to notice; probably trying to tune him out again, so he made himself comfortable and waited for the fireworks.

Nikki had her back to Axel and the covers were over her head, so she hadn't seen or heard him coming. The shift in weight on the other side of the bed was so subtle that she hardly even noticed it. Since she couldn't hear Axel anymore, she thought he'd left. She didn't hear the door open or close, so she figured he must have used a portal to leave.

"Finally," She thought. "I'm alone. Now I can just lay here and wait for Roxas to come back."

Now that Axel had left, she didn't have to put up with the hot, suffocating air beneath the blanket to hide from him. Pulling the covers down, Nikki took in a deep breath of cool air and sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. Opening her eyes, she stared at the ceiling for a while, and even in the darkness of the room it still looked miserable and dull. She turned over on her side, and froze. Inches from her face was a pair of bright green eyes.

"Morning, Honey~." Axel greeted her with a smirk.

The scream that came out of her was loud enough to be put in the book of world records. He was sure the whole castle could hear it. In fact, Zexion, who had gone to the library after his conversation with Nikki, jumped and dropped the stack of books he was holding. To escape the intruder in her bed, Nikki jumped out of bed and onto the floor, breathing heavily.

"Nice landing." Axel complimented.

"Holy Jesus crap on a stick, what the bloody hell is wrong with you?" She demanded, ignoring him. "What the hell are you doing in my bed?!"

The redhead simply stretched, raising his arms above his head. Resting his head on his hands, he wriggled around on the mattress, making himself comfortable. "Nice bed." He said. He added with a smirk, "It's more comfortable than mine. Wanna switch?"

"Get out of my bed!" Nikki ordered, stomping her foot.

Axel shook his head. "Nope. Your bed's comfy. I think I'll hang out here for a while."

Nikki was so frustrated, she almost started tearing her hair out. He was doing this on purpose, she just knew it. There was no way someone could be this irritating on accident. Roxas may not be aware of her dislike of the pyro, but Axel certainly caught on, likely from the second they met, and is now trying to make her miserable. And the worst part was that there was no escape from it. She couldn't leave the castle on her own, not without getting herself killed, anyway.

But you know what? Screw it. She wasn't going to put up with this. She was going to find a way out of the castle, one way or another.

"I'm going to the bathroom!" She blurted out before turning on her heel and walking out the door. She slammed it behind her, not caring what Axel's reaction was going to be, or if he was going to try and follow her.

After shutting the door, Nikki took off running down the hallway. She went in the same direction as the bathroom, but never went inside, continuing down the seemingly endless corridor. She tried looking for any hints that she was heading towards the exit, taking every twist and turn possible, but everything looked exactly the same no matter what direction she took. It was like being trapped in a giant maze, but unlike other mazes, this one didn't seem to end. She was beginning to wonder how the Organization members could even figure out where they were going, because she sure as hell didn't know. Except for the bathrooms, there were no signs indicating where anything was. But she kept running, even when her muscles ached and her lungs were burning.

As she took the next corner, a flash of silver flew by and Nikki skidded to a halt when she saw that several Dusks had appeared in her path. She tried looking for a way around them, some kind of shortcut, but there wasn't one. And fighting them off wasn't an option. There was just too many of them.

"Going somewhere, sweetheart?"

At the familiar voice, Nikki cringed. "Oh no... don't tell me..."

Turning around slowly, she wasn't surprised to see Axel standing before her. His hands were on his hips, and he was still wearing that goddamn smirk, and she could see the amusement in his eyes. He even looked like he was trying to suppress a chuckle or two, which made this situation even more embarrassing.

"Hey Axel..." Nikki droned.

"You're not trying to escape, are you?" He asked almost coyly, crossing his arms.

"No!" She exclaimed defensively. "I was just looking for the bathroom. I... forgot where it was."

Just from the look Axel gave her, she knew he didn't believe a word she said. His eyebrow was raised quizzically, and his lips were curled in a knowing smile. Arms still crossed, he leaned forward until he was at eye level with her before he said, "You're a really bad liar, you know that?"

"Yeah, well, we can't all be good liars." Nikki shot back, looking directly into his eyes. She could have sworn that she saw something in his eyes when she said that; it was directed at him after all, but it was gone as soon as it appeared.

If what she said insulted him, Axel didn't show it. He simply smiled and said, "You ready to go back to your room now, or do you wanna run around some more? I don't mind chasing you. I can be the cat if you'll be my mouse~."

At the last sentence, Nikki blushed, much to Axel's amusement, and growled, "Just take me back to my room!"

The redhead seemed more than happy to oblige, summoning a portal without any complaints or witty remarks, much to Nikki's relief. Since she ran around so much, it would simply be faster to use a Corridor of Darkness to return to her room, and because she was so tired from running, she wasn't going to complain. After the portal had fully materialized, Axel stepped aside and bowed graciously before her, and said in the most polite tone he could muster, "Ladies first."

Nikki scowled at his mock-politeness, responding to his chivalry with a loud "Hmph!" as she stomped through the portal, Axel following close behind her.

Grrrrrrrr...

Nikki dutifully ignored the noises coming from her stomach as she laid on her new bed, once again curled up under the covers. It had been almost an hour since Axel had taken her back to her room. Thankfully, he had left her alone since then, but she knew that he was nearby just waiting for her to leave her room and run into him again. So, to avoid that, Nikki stayed in her room, even as hunger began to set in.

GRRRRRRRRRRR...

The next growl was louder, and hunger pains followed not long after. She attempted to smother it by wrapping her arms around her stomach, but the feeling persisted.

GRRRRRRRRRRRR!

"ALL RIGHT, FINE!"

Cursing her hungry stomach, Nikki reluctantly got up and left the room.

She had no trouble finding the kitchen this time, making a beeline for the refrigerator as soon as she entered the room. Finding nothing she particularly liked, she then checked the cabinets. Still nothing. Sandwiches were out of the question, since it was dinnertime. From the looks of it, the Organization needed to do some shopping because there was hardly any food left.

"Great..." She grumbled, slamming the last cabinet door shut. "What am I supposed to eat now?"

"There's always takeout."

"Eeek!" The sound came out before she could stop it, and she jumped. It's not like she expected Axel to be right behind her, his voice right in her ear. He probably did that on purpose... the bastard.

Axel chuckled. "Oops. Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

Nikki scoffed. Sorry my ass, she thought. He wasn't sorry at all.

"What do you want?" She growled.

"You're hungry, right?" Axel said. "I can go out and get you something, if you want. So? What're you hungry for?"

Nikki eyed him suspiciously. He was being too nice. But she really was hungry, and an embarrassingly loud growl from her stomach proved it. Keeping her gaze downcast so she couldn't see Axel's amused smirk, she grumbled, "I don't care. Just no shellfish. I'm... allergic."

At first Axel just stared at her for a few seconds, then just shrugged and said, "Okay. I'll be right back."

He summoned a portal and began to walk through it, but, since apparently he can't leave her alone without aggravating her in some way, he cheekily said, "Don't go running off now, you hear?" before disappearing. Nikki huffed and crossed her arms, snidely mimicking him and sticking her tongue out. Sure, it was childish, but it gave her some satisfaction, at least.

Axel found himself at Radiant Garden's food market, staring at food for much longer than he should be. There were lots of foods to choose from, and they all looked equally good, but he wasn't just picking out something for him. He was getting food for a girl too. A girl he knew very little about. A girl that hated his guts, for some weird reason. She didn't seem too picky, being able to eat three different types of peanut butter sandwiches, and she said herself that she didn't care what he picked out, but he couldn't help but have trouble picking out something for this girl to eat.

Should he choose a kind of soup, or would she prefer a salad? Depends. Girls like to fuss over calories, don't they? Then salad would be the better option, probably. Then again, she didn't strike him as a salad eater. Did she like meat, or was she a vegetarian? Her supposed shellfish allergy ruled out a lot of seafood dishes, basically anything that wasn't straight-up fish, and as much as they didn't like each other, he didn't want to put her in the hospital.

Why did getting food for a girl have to be so difficult?

Because girls are difficult, that's why. Anything involving women was so needlessly complicated...

After nearly an hour of just standing there, Axel just decided to randomly pick things out, carefully avoiding the shellfish, and have it wrapped up to take back to the castle. Carrying two bags full of food, Axel waited until he was away from prying eyes before summoning a portal.

When Axel returned to the castle, he found Nikki had been patiently waiting at the kitchen table, amusing herself by stacking plastic cups into a pyramid. It appeared that she was so focused on her task that she hadn't even noticed him. As he watched her, amused, he noticed how her eyebrows were knitted together and how her tongue was partially sticking out from between her lips, and he couldn't help but think that she looked kind of cute. Quietly setting the bags on the counter, he stalked up behind her as she was carefully setting a cup onto the pyramid she had built, and said casually, "Nice job. It looks a little lopsided, though."

Once again, he was so close that she could feel his breathing on the back of her neck. Letting out a small-and high-pitched-squeal, Nikki jumped, dropping the cup and causing the pyramid to collapse, sending plastic cups everywhere.

"Jesus Bloody Christ, are you trying to give me a bloody heart attack?!" She exclaimed angrily as she whirled around to face him, her face beet red. "And what took you so damn long? I've been waiting for a bloody hour!"

"Aw, did my little kitten miss me?" Axel cooed as he patted Nikki on the head, making her growl.

"You couldn't pay me to miss you!" Nikki hissed as she slapped his hand away. "I wanna know. Are you an annoying, insufferable git to everyone, or is it just me?"

"Not everyone. Just with you." He replied, using his finger to bop her on the nose. "'Cuz you're special. And you're just so cute when you're angry."

The brunette's eye twitched. "I'm gonna kill you..."

"Hey guys!"

Both of them turned to see Roxas enter the kitchen, tired and a little beaten up, but his face lit up as soon as he saw his two friends. Nikki jumped away from Axel and did her best to eliminate all her hostility towards the redhead, who still stood there with that same smirk on his face.

"Hey Roxas." They both said at once.

The younger Nobody took a look at the mess of cups, and asked, "Why are there cups everywhere?"

"Nikki was making a pyramid." Axel said before Nikki could answer, casually putting an arm around her shoulder. "She was doing really well until it collapsed."

"And whose fault was that?" The brunette inquired, looking at Axel accusingly. It took all her self control not to shove him.

Axel just looked away, whistling innocently. "Wasn't me. I was out getting food, remember?"

Nikki just rolled her eyes.

"Speaking of which, who's hungry?"

"I am." Roxas said eagerly.

"Well then, let's eat."

"Not until you clean up this mess."

The three of them turned to find that both Zexion and Demyx had entered the kitchen. Demyx seemed excited, while Zexion looked mildly irritated.

Axel shrugged. "Fair enough." He patted Nikki on the shoulder. "Well, you heard him. Clean up your mess, dear."

"What?" Nikki exclaimed. "What do you mean my mess?"

"You were the one playing with the cups." He said.

"If you hadn't scared me, they wouldn't have all fallen down in the first place!" Nikki shot back.

"You both can clean them up." Zexion interjected. "Since you're both equally at fault, it's your responsibility to pick up after yourselves."

Nikki opened her mouth to retort, but only ended up closing it again. There was no use arguing. She was the one that took the cups out in the first place, and Axel was responsible for knocking them down. If he hadn't scared her, she would have been able to neatly stack them up and put them away. But, when it comes to the redhead, fate is against her. Apparently Axel had the same thought, for he didn't object either. While the others watched, they picked up the mess of cups and put them back in the cupboard. Once they were finished, everyone sat down to eat.

"So how was your mission, Roxas?" Nikki asked, trying to start up some conversation since the silence was beginning to get to her. "Where did they send you this time?"

"Nowhere special." Roxas replied. "It was a just a mission to take out some Heartless in Halloween Town."

"Halloween Town's cool and all, but it's really creepy there." Demyx chimed in, shuddering a little.

"What'd you expect from a world where it's Halloween all year round? Rainbows and unicorns? It's supposed to be creepy." Axel said.

"People like the rush they feel when in a fear-enducing situation that isn't life-threatening. They experience high levels of dopamine, which is a chemical in your brain that regulates how you perceive and experience pleasure. For instance-"

"Yeah, yeah, enough with the boring science talk already, it makes my head hurt." Axel cut Zexion off, making the schemer scowl at being interrupted.

"I apologize if large words confuse you, Axel. Not everyone can have an extended vocabulary. I doubt you could even spell 'dopamine.'" Zexion hissed.

"D-O-P-A-M-I-N-E." Axel spelled out the word accurately, smirking triumphantly as he pointed at the other Nobody. "Eat it."

"Oh, he got you, Zexion." Demyx snickered. Zexion's eye twitched.

"He got lucky that time." Nikki said, chuckling. "I bet Zexion knows words so long that Axel couldn't spell them if his life depended on it."

"Is that a challenge, sweetheart?" The redhead objected cockily. "You want a science nerd spelling bee? I'll be more than happy to give you one. Go and get me a dictionary."

"You can't use a dictionary!" Roxas interjected. "That's cheating!"

"It's not cheating! I'm just gonna sneak a quick look at the words first."

"That's totally cheating!"

"Not if you have a photographic memory, like me."

"As immature as this is, I am confident that if I engaged in a spelling contest with you, I would have a higher chance of winning." Zexion said confidently, the slightest smirk on his face.

"You willing to bet on that, shorty?" Axel challenged.

"Most definitely." The schemer shot back. "The loser gets dish duty for a year."

"Oh, you're on!"

"I don't know about you guys, but my money's on Zexion." Nikki said.

"Mine too." Said Demyx.

"Count me in!" Roxas chimed in.

"You're betting against me?" Axel exclaimed dejectedly. "Roxas, how could you?! You're my best friend!"

"Sorry dude," The young Nobody defended himself. "But a spelling contest? Yeah, Zexion's definitely gonna win that one."

"You're all traitors." The redhead spat at them, making them laugh.

Needless to say, Zexion knew way more words than Axel could ever spell, and the redhead not only lost the contest, but was stuck doing dishes for a year.

For the first time since Nikki arrived at the castle, she was able to hang out with a group of people and joke and laugh, even if Roxas was the only person out of the bunch that she could actually call a friend. It was then that she thought about her friends back on Destiny Island. They must be worried sick, especially Sandy. But thinking about that would have to wait. Right now, she was enjoying herself and the company of the three Nobodies at the table, and thoughts about her family and friends would just have to wait until she was alone. If only she had her phone...

To be continued...