Axel didn't know why he had followed the kid, and still didn't know by now, surrounded by little monkeys-for-Heartless in some crazy jungle. It wasn't like he was any help or anything—only the Keyblades could unlock the hearts that the Heartless collected, so, really, by fighting alongside Roxas, he was just hindering the Organization's goal.
He'd probably get scolded for it when he got back, but he didn't care, because for once he was enjoying himself.
It was mid-swing a couple of monkey things later that he actually realized what that meant.
Nobodies weren't supposed to enjoy themselves. To enjoy something—that was a feeling each and every one of them had lost with their hearts. So what was this, this good time he was having? Axel would have laughed if he had been in possession of a sense of humor. He glanced over to the other black-cloaked fighter, thinking that the kid would think he was totally crazy if he just started laughing in the middle of a battle like that.
He only meant it as a glance, but he found that he couldn't help but stare. Roxas was...simply amazing. He wasn't a kid now. Not even a Nobody. Just a fighter. A leaping, spinning, flashing, stunning shadow whirlwind of destruction. If Axel had been asked to define true beauty at that moment, he would only have pointed.
The furious motion stopped, only for a moment, as Roxas paused to seek out more enemies. He turned to Axel, and then wordlessly ran at him. The taller Nobody, quite surprised, raised his weapons in front of him instinctively. But the boy reached him, side-stepped at the last second and swung around him. Axel was only just fast enough to turn with him, to see him deliver a double death blow to two Heartless who had crept up while he had been...entranced.
The monkeys exploded into nothingness, and two perfect hearts floated up into the jungle canopy, on their way to Kingdom Hearts. Axel watched them go, dropping his arms to his sides sheepishly. It was a quiet, sideways look that he finally gave the boy.
Who only said, "You gotta watch out for the yellow ones. They're vicious," as the Keyblades flashed away.
"Eh...right," Axel muttered, his own weapons disappearing in a burst of flame. He started off to the next area, Roxas falling into step next to him.
"You didn't hafta do that. I mean, I totally knew they were there. Besides, what's a couple of Heartless compared to a Nobody, anyway?" Axel rambled on. But really, he wondered. Had he been watching Roxas so intently that he hadn't sensed even the slightest threat? The thought unnerved him a bit.
"Maybe I didn't have to," Roxas replied. "But I wanted to."
"Oh," Axel said.
They walked on.
"How come you came with me?" Roxas asked suddenly.
Axel's step faltered, and he stopped altogether. That was the question of the day, wasn't it?
"Ah, that's because," he started, trying to figure it out for himself, "because you make me feel—" what? Something? Everything? "—Feel like..." He shook his head, looking over to the boy, who had stopped and turned. "I don't know. Forget I said anything."
"Funny," Roxas said, deadpan. "I would have thought you'd want me to memorize it, or something."
"Ha, ha, very clever," Axel said grumpily, stalking ahead along the path. That's what he got for trying to make a connection with somebody—correction: with a Nobody. Laughed at by a boy with no emotion. Great.
Roxas' voice stopped him, and he turned back to the Organization's Keyblade Master. "I'm glad you came," the boy said. "'Cause you make me feel, too." And then he did something bizarre. He pushed back the dark hood and smiled. And it wasn't sarcastic or fake; it was an honest to goodness real smile.
Still grinning, Roxas ran off into the jungle as if that were a normal thing to do. As if he was as carefree as another boy in a different life.
Axel stared after him, wondering if he'd live long enough to figure that kid out.