Musicbox

Chapter 3 - Loveless

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any Disney characters. :3

Thankyou for all the reviews again! Without them, I don't think I'd be continuing this story. :3 -gives Chocobos, pocky, and Nomura-kun plushies to reviewers- This chapter is a little longer than the others, I think. At least word-wise. Enjoy.

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Sora had left his room earlier that morning and went to the downstairs lobby of the hotel to catch up with Donald and Goofy. He found Donald first, who had been waiting impatiently with his arms crossed, tapping one foot on the floor, and Goofy trying to stash as many food items into his pockets as he could before they left. Sora approached Donald to make his presence known.

"So where is he?" Donald glowered.

"Oh, Axel?" Sora said, knowing full well where Axel was, "He probably slept in."

"Good ridance."

Sora made his way into the short line of people who were serving themselves breakfast and was followed by Donald. Sora accidently shuddered at the sudden thought of the previous night. 'What in the heck was Axel thinking?' Sora thought. 'I mean - Riiight...like kissing me is going to make me like or trust him or whatever it is he wanted.' Sora felt his heart pound unwillingly before Donald poked him to bring him back to his senses. "Sorry!"

After breakfast, and restocking supplies at a store on one side of the town, the three made their way all the way back to the other end to leave.

"So, where's that there Axel guy?" Goofy asked. "Ain't he supposed to be comin' with us?"

"Err..." Sora was at a loss for words. He knew offhand he wouldn't tell them the reason they were leaving Axel behind. Just that they were leaving Axel behind. "He, I think, I guess we'll be going without him."

Goofy gave Sora a blank but questioning look, and Sora didn't notice Donald's smirk. Sora noted that they were walking under the hotel they stayed at. He looked up at the patios for a sign of Axel, but couldn't see him. His heart sank, but he didn't sense it, and he rested his gaze back onto the other end of town.

Meanwhile, Axel peered out from the porch of the uppermost hotel room. The first thing he spotted were Sora and the others. "Damn, am I lucky. All I have to do now is call for Sora's help and.........wait - can't I fly? That's right, I can fly." Axel was stunned at the discovery of his ability he'd had for years. He stood on the railing with the soft breeze cradeling his hair. Sora, Donald and Goofy were quickly approaching and he had decided to land directly in front of the three for a dramatic entrance. He always loved showing off whenever possible. At the right moment, he finally threw himself off the patio before realizing something very crucial. "Hold on! I don't fly - I floa-" His voice was cut off by the blood curdling crash landing off his body hitting the hard cement only several feet in front of Sora, and Axel immediately saw stars.

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The hospital room was dimly lit and had the faint scent of antiseptics made Axel feel worse than he already was. His head felt like it was spliting open, and as he looked down slightly, he saw his arm was mangled beyond use. He unplugged an IV tube from his right arm with his not-so-damaged arm, shuddering at the thought of a needle being stuck inside of him. There was a sudden movement to the right that alarmed him. He looked as far left as his aching head would allow, and found a sleeping Sora resting in a seat in the far back corner of the room. Axel was glad that the boy had a change of heart, but decided to avoid waking him up until boredom got the best of him.

He cleared his throat and called out Sora's name in a voice that was surprisingly uneffected by the fall. Sora gradually opened his eyes and stretched his arms with a yawn.

"Ah...Axel?" he questioned. "Oh, that's right!" Sora walked over to the older man at his own pace and held up four fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"I fell down, I didn't turn stupid."

"Well...do remember anything? Do you remember me?"

"Of course. How could I not?" The last part slipped out of Axel's mouth accidently.

"I...well that's good. You're in pretty bad condition. I don't think you'll be out here anytime soon, or so says the nurse. And, well, Donald, Goofy and me are going..."

"To leave without me?"

Sora inwardly screamed at himself, pounded himself in the head. He didn't actually want Axel to go. In fact, he'd much rather stay longer and take care of him until he was feeling better. He just started understanding why Axel had said the two of them were alike. And another resisting force told him that Axel was almost an enemy. Almost, but that could have just been from Donald's influence. "I...I guess so. I mean, we really need to hurry. You probably won't recover for months."

"You know, it was mostly your fault."

"Mine?! If you hadn't kissed me-" Sora stopped.

There was silence for a few moments before Axel spoke up. "Don't tell me you didn't like it." he said with a malevolent smirk.

"I-! My point is it wasn't my fault that you fell down eight stories, practically breaking your head open and killing yourself in front of hundreds of people."

"Ooh. So you did like it then." Axel was obviously bringing this up on purpose, in Sora's opinion to annoy him. Axel had actually just found a weakness and the new hobby of teasing Sora; giving Axel a whole new perspective on interacting him. That is, if he recovered from this hospital in time enough to follow Sora and the others on their journey - which he planned on doing.

"I was going to stay here and take care of you for maybe a day or two(one thing that Sora hadn't consulted Donald or Goofy about), but if you're going to try and be a sarcastic jerk, then forget it."

"I wasn't being sarcastic. I was giving you my honest opinion," Axel answered innocently.

"Well.........don't." Sora said, unable to think of anything else.

"So does that mean you're leaving me all alone now?" Axel asked, doing a bad attempt at sounding helpless.

Sora made his way to the door and opened it. "I'll be back tonight with dinner." He hurriedly walked out and closed the door, leaving Axel alone in the silent room.

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Sora, Donald, and Goofy had been walking around the streets of the city with no valid destination when Donald asked, "So? Are we leaving now or aren't we?"

"Er..." Sora mumbled, "I told Axel that we'd be taking care of him for a day or so. At least until he feels just a little better."

"What?! I thought you didn't even like him. I sure don't."

"I know you don't. But I think he's actually starting to grow on me. I didn't like you at first, but I got used to you eventually. You know how that works out."

"Got used to me?"

With that, Donald and Sora argued for what seemed like hours as they passed by an assortment of clothing stores, restraunts, and other shops until finally a small little store on the corner caught Sora's eye. It was called 'Loveless' and looked to be like some sort of flower shop. He crossed the street with the other two and entered it, in a way. There was no door, ceiling or walls; it was completely open and looked like a piece of art for the city with rows and bouquets of flowers. A tall woman greeted them, brushing her long dark brown hair behind her shoulder. Sora was slightly startled by the color of her eyes; they were red like blood, but still gave her a strange and different compelling beauty.

"Hi there," she said in almost a laugh, "I haven't seen you here before. Can I help you?"

"Oh, we were just..." Sora's eyes wandered to an enormous bouquet in the far back. It was made of soft pink lily-looking flowers that blended in with their long, light green leaves. In the arrangement were several star-shaped fruits and if Sora wasn't mistaken, he swore they were paopus. He pointed them out. Sora asked, "Where did you find those star-shaped fruits?"

"Oh these?" she smiled gently, "These are very rare. Actually, I found them scattered throughout the fields just outside the town. They're so strange. I've never seen anything like them before. I think they appeared not too long after the stars began fading. Objects from other worlds will appear here sometimes. I imagine they do the same in other parts of other worlds too. They're always very rare and beautiful, so they're sold for a lot of munny." Sora felt the dread of how much they would cost, and decided against buying it. "Why do you ask?"

"These fruits are from my island. Before my world disapeared. They mean a whole lot to me."

The woman gave him a severe look for a minute before walking up to the bouquet, taking it off of it's shelf, returning, and shoving into the boy's hands.

"Er...what is it?"

"They're for you."

"Ah..."

"Free. Take them."

"Oh, wow, really?" Sora was a little surprised at her generous offer.

"They're important to you and you lost them, didn't you? I know how that is."

Sora took the offered gift. "Thankyou." He gave her a sincere smile and left with his two friends.

Once the three were out of sight Goofy timidly asked, "So..how much did those there flowers actually cost?" Sora was curious too and looked at the label. It read: 'Not For Sale'.

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There's Chapter Three. I'm sorry for taking so long to update, but I made this chapter a little bit longer. I think Tifa is probably out of character a lot, but I haven't really played Final Fantasy VII except for the very begining a while ago. I'm sorry it didn't really seem like anything progressed much in this chapter, but some of the things will play a part in most of the rest of the story. Actually, most of the story I haven't planned out except the end (which will be very surprising :D), since I just started deciding to write an Axel/Sora fanfic as soon as I started writing it. Well, I'll also try updating sooner. Byebye, and please review if you get the chance. :3