Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!

Final Fantasy © to Square Enix!

Chapter 4: Four

When Axel opened the door, he expected to see one of a few faces.

Isa's was not one of them.

"Hey… May I come in?"

His oldest friend stood before him, no longer dressed in the same coat he'd seen him wear for the last, who knows how many years. And his eyes.

Not the harsh, cold amber he'd seen so often.

Soft, even a little nervous, deep green.

"Y-yeah. Sure. Come on in."

Stepping inside, Isa looked at the teenagers. Xion immediately turned around and began dusting something. Roxas narrowed his eyes, staring him down.

"Sorry the place is a mess. There's a lot to clean up."

"Mind if I help then?"

"Not at all."

Taking off his jacket, revealing the soft yellow shirt he wore underneath, Isa grabbed a rag and looked to Roxas. "Where should I start?"

The boy's eyes softened slightly at the gentle words. "The banisters need to be polished."

"I'll do that then."

He began to clean.

While nothing would make this any less awkward, maybe having everyone's mind on something would help the conversation.

"I came here for a few reasons." He paused, looking back at the three. "First, I wanted to apologize." They all stopped, even Xion, to look at him.

"Lea. I'm sorry that I tried to destroy the friendships you made. I'm also sorry that I dragged you into my plans and put you in danger. And, I'm sorry for weaponizing our friendship against you and these two.

Roxas. I'm sorry for everything I said to you. I never treated you like a valued member, or as a person. And then I attacked you when you tried to leave the Organization when I should've helped you.

Xion. Nothing I could ever say can convey how sorry I am. I… I treated you horribly, like an object rather than a person. Nothing excuses how I treated and spoke to you. But, I'm incredibly sorry for everything." Averting his eyes, he slowly cleaned the banister. "I came here to start over. I want to be the friend I should have been all along. If you'll let me."

Silence.

Gentle footsteps approached the stairs. Xion stepped up closer, looking at him.

"You're the reason we're both here, aren't you?"

"Did Even tell you?"

"No." She averted her eyes again. "I figured it out. You were the one always near me after I was brought back to help Xehanort. You made sure no one else really messed with me, though Xemnas was the exception. But I guess you would've had a hard time stopping him. But… I remember everything being fuzzy. I didn't remember who I was. Until Axel said the name 'Roxas'. I saw flashes of memory. And then you spoke… I was thinking about it after. You purposely tried to jog my memory, didn't you?"

His gaze softened. "I did."

"And were you the one Ienzo was talking about? He said that someone was working with Even to bring me and Roxas back from inside Xehanort's group."

"I was." Glancing down at Roxas, he sighed. "When I was recompleted, before Xehanort made me a Nobody again, I had all my memories and feelings for a short time. And the one feeling that overtook them all, was guilt. I had to do something."

Roxas looked down. "Then, I guess… thank you."

"Thank you." Xion whispered softly.

Axel smiled. "Looks like I rubbed off on you."

"Heh, you wish."

The conversation drifted away as they all silently began cleaning.

Not really an awkward silence, but a comforting one.

They hadn't forgiven him yet, but they seemed to have accepted his apology.

"Pizza's here!" Xion called from the doorway. "There should be enough for all of us."

Sitting down on the floor, they opened up the box of pizza. Isa walked over. "No table yet?"

"Nope. Still cleaning everything up." Axel grabbed a slice. "And it's hard to cook since the kitchen is basically a solid fire hazard if we turn anything on. But one thing at a time. We want to make this place free of dust bunnies before we get to that. It's hard to fix anything when you're coughing and sneezing up a storm."

Sitting down, Isa grabbed a slice. "This is a pretty big house. And you're doing it all alone?"

Roxas shook his head. "Hayner, Pence, Olette, and their families have been helping us. It's still a lot though."

"Speaking of home," Xion looked at Isa, her eyes still holding a hint of caution, but she did smile a little, "where are you staying?"

"I was planning to find a little place in town here. There's really nothing for me back on Radiant Garden." He met eyes with Axel. "I saw the memory wall."

"I did too."

Roxas and Xion glanced at one another. A silence conversation passing between them before Roxas sighed. "We have lots of room here."

"Huh?"

"You should stay here." The boy said, not looking at the man. "Look, Xion and I might still be cautious of you, and we haven't forgiven you yet. But you said you wanted to start over, right? If that's the case, then you can prove it to us."

Axel smiled. He'd thought about inviting Isa to stay, but he knew the two kids would be against it… or so he thought.

"We're all starting over." Axel smiled. "Join the party. And it will be one more hand helping out while I'm job hunting."

Isa smiled.

The warmth in his heart, something he hadn't felt in many years, swelled.

Kindness.

"Thank you. I'd be honored."

Axel stood up. "Then you and I better run to town. We need to get you a sleeping bag until the rooms are clean enough for real beds."

"We'll finish up today's cleaning list." Xion smiled.

Glancing over at Isa, she looked into his eyes.

He'd always been cruel to her. Staring right through her with those hard amber eyes. But today, she saw those soft green eyes. His real eyes.

His real heart.

Somewhere inside her, she hoped he would prove it to them.

That he would start over.

"When did you wake up?"

"Yesterday."

Isa and Axel pulled up the shuttered gate into the main area of Twilight Town as people walked around, most going home as things seemed to be winding down for the night.

"Were you with Ienzo when he called?"

"I was, but I wasn't ready to talk yet." He sighed. "I didn't know what I was going to do. I thought about staying in Radiant Garden and helping out Master Ansem, but I really wondered what made Radiant Garden feel like home. Truth is, Mom, Dad, and my friends made it home."

Axel smiled sadly. "I know the feeling. It felt kind of empty there. And it was unfamiliar to Roxas and Xion, so I figured it wasn't the best place for them."

Isa nodded. "I can see that. You were my best friend before, and I hope to rebuild that bridge and build new ones with Roxas and Xion. So, I felt like coming here was the best idea. I didn't expect those two to welcome me in, but it does sound like I'm only there on a trial run, which I respect."

"You did do some pretty crappy stuff to them, or rather Sïax did."

"Yes. And while you continue to go by Axel, I think Isa is the better name for me. My Nobody's name carries lots of terrible memories with it."

"I think that's a good call."

As they two dropped by a store, buying a sleeping bag as well as more cleaning supplies, and walked out, a figure waved. "Good to see you, Axel."

"Hi, Miss Prudence."

The old woman, who seemed to be just closing up shop, walked over. "How are things going?"

"Pretty well. Still a lot of work to be done, but we can do it."

She nodded, glancing over at Isa. "And who is this?"

"My name is Isa, ma'am."

"Nice to meet you, Isa. My name is Prudence. Are you friends with Axel?"

Axel nodded. "Yeah. He's my oldest friend. He'll actually be living in the mansion too."

"Oh, will he now." She smiled. "Then I hope to see you around, Isa."

"Same to you, Miss Prudence."

She gave them a nod and walked back to her shop.

"She seems nice."

"She's apparently the town grandma. Everyone loves her. When you get the chance, you'll have to meet some of our new friends."

"I look forward to it."

Roxas dumped the mop water into the central garden area as Xion hung up the cleaning cloths to dry. "What do you think about Isa?"

"You heard what I did in the Keyblade Graveyard. He was mean because he was jealous of us."

"That's no excuse for what he did and said to you."

Xion sighed. "I know, but I think he deserves a chance, don't you?"

The boy sat down. "I guess so… I mean, he did save us, apparently. Without his help, we might not be here."

Sitting down beside him, Xion pulled her legs to her chest. "He makes me nervous, but his eyes. They're not the same. The eyes of Sïax were hard and cold; they felt nothing. But Isa's eyes… they were gentle and soft. I think he means it. I want to give him a chance."

"I kinda do too, if only to repay him for what he did for us. But if he goes back to being mean to you, I'll finish him off myself."

"Roxas." She giggled. Standing up, she looked around the house. "This is our chance to start over. Our home to try and make a new life, and I think it's only fair to him to give him the same option. If we're starting over, then we should try to make new relationships with people. Including him."

Roxas leaned back, one foot kicking some of the tall garden grass. "I know. I'm just nervous. I actually want him to be telling the truth, but I don't know yet…"

"We'll just have to wait and see."

"Guess so."

Axel and Isa returned as the time for bed approached. They all laid down in the sleeping bags by the fire.

Roxas, Xion, Axel, and now Isa.

The teens passed out quickly, as did Isa.

But Axel sat up, staring into the fire.

Smiling.

A chance to start over.

For him-

Roxas-

Xion-

And now, Isa.