I'm listening to Simple & Clean right now. I love this song. :'D

Disclaimer: Me + Kingdom Hearts no legal relation.

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Kingdom Hearts: Nonexistence

8: Real Friends

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Axel awoke to the sound of chirping birds the next morning. He stretched out his legs, his feet just reaching the warm sunlight that was pounding part of the floor in the little tree house that he had stayed in overnight. He stretched with a yawn and made his way to stand up. He began to move for the doorway, but the sound of laughter made him stop. He placed his back as flat as he could against the interior wall of the tree house and peered outside with his hood on, hoping to see the source of the happiness.

Down on the beach, a teenage girl with curly hair was running away from a taller, darker-skinned teenage boy with spiky orange hair and a blue bandana wrapped around his forehead. They seemed to be racing, but Axel had a feeling that the boy was letting the girl beat him. He gave another boy a thumbs up as he passed him sitting on the edge of a small ledge near a crystal pool and waterfall. Axel had fallen asleep the night before to the sound of that beautiful waterfall – it was something that he wouldn't soon let himself forget.

Axel decided to make himself known. He stepped out of the tree house with his hood down. He walked over to the edge of the walkway that overlooked the beach and called down to the sand. "Hey, down there!" he cried with a grin. He waved his arm in a friendly fashion and leapt down to the lower ledges of the area.

"Yo, you new?" the third teen asked. He was shorter than the darker-skinned boy and he had dirty blonde hair that was layered in locks sticking out from his head. Axel thought the look was kind of silly, but he didn't say anything.

"Yeah," Axel said. "The name's Axel."

"I'm Tidus," the boy said, pointing to himself. He jerked his thumb to the other two who were still running around on the sand. "That's Selphie and Wakka."

Axel nodded. It was always nice to meet new people. Thinking of how he had lived, without a heart, Axel realized that he'd missed out on something like that in all honesty. But then again, he'd had Roxas, which was as close to a true friend as a Nobody could get.

"Do you know where a kid named Sora is?" Axel asked Tidus.

Tidus thought for a moment. "Sora told me yesterday he'd be out to the island later today. It's not even noon, y'know."

Axel nodded with a friendly smile on his face. "Great. You guys mind if I stick around here and wait for him?"

Tidus nodded. "Sure."

Selphie had finally realized that Wakka had been letting her run faster than him, and was now busy kicking sand on the teen's shins while he laughed at her. Axel smirked in amusement and Tidus started laughing out loud. "C'mon, Selph, it only took you ten minutes this time!" he called. "It's a new record! Maybe next time it'll only take you seven!"

"That's not funny, Tidus!" Selphie shouted. She turned in a huff and dashed into the surf that was piling itself on the sand. She splashed around a bit, stood still, and fell backwards to lay in the ocean. Axel wondered what it felt like to be so carefree.

The Organization had never let Axel have any time to himself. He'd always been working as hard as he could for their sakes, but eventually he tired of it. He realized, after Roxas had been denied approval to meet Sora, that his life as an Organization member was rather oppressive. He was the Dancing Flurry of Flames – he needed the air to exist! He remembered Roxas storming off, but their conversation was still blurry in Axel's mind. Roxas' blonde spikes bounced away from the redhead despite the latter's warnings that the Organization would find him and make him suffer for leaving them.

Roxas hadn't cared.

Axel tilted his head as he sat next to Tidus on the ridge. He hadn't remembered that scene in Nonexistence. He was still remembering new things as time went on. His memories were getting more vivid, even if they didn't replace the scenery around him like they had in Nonexistence. He could see things in brighter color and hear the voices more clearly than before. Maybe that was a sign that Axel had almost remembered everything.

"So where're ya from?" Tidus asked Axel.

"Oh. Uh, I'm from another island," Axel lied. What could he say? 'Hi, I was recently digitized and sent from the afterlife into the living realm so that I could turn one of your friends into a Heartless.' That scenario didn't end well in Axel's head, so he decided to leave the question in an untruth.

"We don't get many outsiders in Marina Town," Tidus said, kicking his feet as he watched the other kids play. "The last one I remember was when Kairi and her family showed up."

Kairi. That name was important. Axel couldn't remember how, but…

"What does Kairi look like?" Axel asked. "That name sounds familiar."

"She's a really cute girl around my age," Tidus replied. "She has red hair that she just recently let grow out to her shoulders. She likes pink, too, so she wears pink blazers and shoes most of the time. She's really smart, too, but sometimes I wonder if she's really that smart of if she just wants us to think that she is."

Pink shoes and blazers? Red hair…Axel was getting an image in his mind. She really was a cute girl. She had…

"Bright blue eyes," Axel muttered. "About…this tall." He made a motion with his hand and Tidus looked at the estimate.

"Actually, yeah," he said with a nod. "So I guess you do know her, huh?"

Axel nodded. "Yeah, I know her. Kind of. It's…I don't remember." He buried his face in his hands.

Tidus raised an eyebrow. "Got amnesia or something?"

Axel muttered an incomprehensible agreement from somewhere between his fingers and Tidus chuckled. Axel felt a pat on the back and heard Tidus' voice. "Eh, don't worry, Axel. You'll remember everything. Amnesia isn't permanent, from what I've heard. Maybe Wakka should whack you on the head a coupla times."

"Nah, but thanks anyway," Axel replied with a laugh. He looked out at the sand again, towards Selphie and Wakka who were splashing quite happily out in the surf.

"Wanna take a dip?" Tidus asked. "The water should be pretty warm by now."

Axel blinked in response. A dip? In the ocean? He'd never…

"C'mon, Axel, it won't be bad," Tidus said with a laugh. He tumbled off of the ridge, hitting the sand hard, and made a mad dash for the shoreline. Axel watched him for a moment, somewhat surprised and confused, but he eventually lifted himself off the ridge and swung his legs to the sand, following the teen in a jog.

The water felt wonderful on Axel's legs, and despite his black cloak getting heavier as it became drenched, Axel felt himself powering out to deeper water. A grin had spread itself across his face without him knowing it, and as he swam out to chest-high water, Axel realized that for the first time in his coherent memory, he was truly enjoying himself. Somehow he'd forgotten what it was like to swim.

"You look like you haven't swum in years," Tidus said as he effortlessly paddled past the waterlogged redhead.

"Couldn't tell ya if I had or not, honestly," Axel laughed. "But it feels good, that's for sure."

"It sure does!" Selphie agreed. She was diving in and out of the water like a dolphin, going to the ocean floor before springing up as hard as she could to sail as high as possible through the air. She sprayed all three of the guys in doing so, issuing laughs from all four of them.

Axel had forgotten what it was like to swim, to play, to have fun. Was this what it was like to have true friends? All he could remember was his relationship with Roxas – it was friendship, but a fake one. Neither of them had ever had a heart, so neither of them could truly feel any happiness when they were together. All Axel knew was that he had felt a memory of happiness when he and Roxas did things together, a feeling that no other Organization member could generate. Roxas had been as close to a friend as Axel could remember ever having.

And here he was, playing in the surf as if he had been doing so for years with Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka. The four of them were having a great time! Axel was beginning to feel sorry for his old "life" with no heart because it had missed out on things like this.

"And just wait until Sora and the others get here!" Selphie grinned. "Then all seven of us can just swim all day long. It's nice to have a new face again."

"Definitely," Wakka agreed. Axel noted the boy had an accent that made listening to him kind of fun. "We'll have to play volleyball up on the beach, too, ya?"

"Ya," Tidus mocked even though he was sincere about agreeing. "And then we can have races up to Paupu Island, just like old times."

"Sora had been gone for so long," Selphie said as she floated past Axel on her back. "It's nice to see him and Riku again."

Riku. That name didn't really ring a bell with Axel, but he felt that he should remember it for future reference. He dove down and closed his eyes after he remembered that salt water stings your eyes. He launched into the air and did a back-flop onto the water's surface, issuing a small wave to drench Selphie, who squealed and laughed.

The day continued on just like this, just swimming and talking, until the four decided to finally get out of the water. They sat on the ridge leading up to the waterfall and dried off. Axel felt so heavy with his cloak so wet, but he didn't want to take it off – part of him didn't remember what he looked like without clothing, and he definitely didn't want to be surprised by what he saw if he had some horrible scar or something, especially in front of his new friends.

Axel's heart stopped. New friends. The realization was like being slammed in the head by a bag full of bricks. He had real, living friends with hearts! They could feel the kindness of others, they could return sincere kindness to others, and they knew what it was to feel emotion. It was all that Axel could ever hope for.

But something in the back of the redhead's mind was beginning to nag at him. He was there for a reason, but in all the fun and excitement in the surf, Axel had almost completely forgotten why he had come to Destiny Island.

"Where do you think Kairi is?" Selphie asked Tidus.

Tidus shrugged. "Who knows? She and Sora are always off together lately. There's no telling where they are right now."

Sora. Axel's mission returned to him in a rush of visions. Ansem. The Organization. Nonexistence. The Castle That Is. Sora and Donald.

Roxas.

Axel felt the pressure building up inside of him again. He'd been wasting his time with these little kids when he should have been searching for Sora! How could he be so stupid? Was he really that idiotic? He'd been waiting for Sora here at the island with Sora's friends, hoping he'd be by that afternoon. Sora had probably felt Axel's presence and decided not to go to the island! Axel knew that was the case.

Axel stood up and steam began to rise from his cloak as his skin's temperature began to rise. The flames inside of him were working their magic on his clothes, drying them in front of Selphie and the others, who were watching in a mixture of awe and surprise.

Axel turned and looked at the three of them. "I'm looking for Sora. You guys are going to tell me where he is!" he cried. A chakram appeared in his right hand, the happiness spent in the waves totally lost in Axel's rage at himself for being so easily distracted.

"Why do you want to see him so bad, huh?" Tidus asked defiantly. Axel was mildly impressed at the kid's attitude, but this wasn't a time for teenage heroics. The second chakram appeared in Axel's second hand and the redhead glared at Tidus, forcing him to sit down hard on the ridge.

"Where's Sora?" Axel demanded.

Axel's ears twitched at the next sound he heard: "Oh my God! Axel!"

Axel turned, his frightening gaze unfaltering, to face a young woman with shoulder-length red hair and sparkling blue eyes. She was a pretty young woman in pink shoes…

Axel stood up and gave the girl a sneer. "Kairi! It's been too long."

"Not long enough, you jerk!" Kairi shouted. "What do you want with us now?"

Axel brandished a chakram. "Not much. I just need to speak with Sora. I don't have a lot of time, could you see that I get to see him?"

Kairi gazed at Axel in amazement. "You expect me to lead you to him after seeing you threaten my friends like that? You're more insane than I remember!"

Axel felt the pressure inside building yet again. Precious seconds were ticking away. He had to speak with Sora!

"Kairi, please," Axel said in a much quieter voice. He forced the pressure to drain out of his chest as the chakrams disappeared from his hands. "I don't have much time. I need to speak with Sora."

Kairi took a step back, landing her left foot in the surf. "Why? Why are you here?"

"To speak with Sora," Axel repeated. "How many times do I have to say it?"

"Just one more – c'mon, we know you have it in you!" a new voice said from behind Axel. He turned to see a tall young man with long silverfish hair and bright blue eyes. He had a strange bandage wrapped around his left hand, and in that hand was a dangerous-looking red and black blade with an angel's wing falling off of it. The shape reminded Axel of…

"A Keyblade?" Axel gasped. "Who're you, kid?"

The young man laughed. "You expect me to answer you? You want to see Sora, you'll have to go through me first."

Axel sighed. "I don't want to hurt Sora. I need to speak with him. Just tell him it's Axel!"

"Don't tell him, Riku!" Kairi cried.

"No, Kairi, it's okay."

A young man with spiky brown hair appeared from behind a large tree in the center of the island. He had bright blue eyes, just like Riku and Kairi, and a comical face that was completely sullen. He made his way to stand next to Riku and looked down at Axel.

"Sora!" Axel cried with a smile spreading across his face. "C'mon, it's okay! Tell them I'm okay!"

The boy could find the words to only say one thing: "You're supposed to be dead, Axel, what are you doing here?"

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And now all the actors are present! Muahahaha!

Okie then. Reviews are widely appreciated! Thanks for taking the time to read.