Beta done 8/15/07…
On with the story after the insanely long prologue! Also for those of you that aren't familiar with my work, I update weekly and even at times, daily so don't worry about a story that's gonna leave you hanging for weeks at a time. Enjoy!
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Chapter 1
The nighttime breeze gently scraped past his cheeks as he stared up into the indigo sky. The pale moonlight shone upon his fiery features giving them a somewhat violet hue. He closed his emerald eyes in thought and reminiscence. After all, thoughts were the only thing a Nobody was able to do. He could not feel emotions since he did not have a heart.
He sighed to himself as he sat on a high ledge in the Bailey looking down at the steps. Once again, he found himself following this woman, connecting with her feeling of loss and sensing the darkness brewing within her as time went by.
So much was happening around him and there was nothing he could do to aid. He was getting tired of wandering through the worlds and through the darkness. He had made an effort to help Sora since he had reminded him so much of Roxas, but he had failed. He had no purpose and the only thing keeping him from fading away was his curiosity to see the fate of the worlds due to the Organization and Sora. He wanted to see who would prevail victoriously.
He also wanted to use the remainder of his non-existing life to observe the mysteries of one's hearts. He wanted to see what made humans so special that they thought they were better than the Nobodies. It's not like they ever asked to be born and asked to be empty shells. It wasn't their fault. Fate was cruel to them and it would not allow them to exist, even though that was all they had ever desired.
He traveled through the worlds seeing various emotions expressed and observing how hearts seemed to work. He saw how hearts connected and people willingly gave their hearts onto others and either received the same in return or their heart was betrayed and broken by another. He even realized that there were so many humans out there who had a heart, but acted as if they never had one at all.
Humans seemed so ungrateful to him. There were so many things he could not understand and so many things that couldn't be explained. Still, he searched for the answers to these equations until he could find something else to occupy his time and interest him.
Lost in his thoughts, he hadn't realized that he had lost track of the woman that he was pursuing. She had been sitting on the steps, ridding whatever heartless that bothered her during her moments of meditation. She was lost in her own thoughts when he saw her and he decided to watch her and do the same. By the time he had looked down from the high brick ledge he was sitting on, she was gone.
He furrowed his brows as he stared onto the vacant site. She was nowhere to be found. Just as he was about to stand up and leave, he felt a presence behind him. He grinned as he recognized the familiar heart lost between her darkness and her light. His little hobby was finally discovered.
Tifa put her fists up, ready to fight if necessary. Her body stood in defensive stance as she stared at the man cloaked in black. He was sitting in front of her. She was facing the back of his fiery spiked head and he stood still, obviously not threatened by her presence. This baffled her and even angered her.
"Why have you been following me?" she questioned him angrily.
Axel shrugged his shoulders. He slowly stood up from the ledge, but did not turn around. He turned his face slightly to reveal half of his arrogant smile. "I don't know what you're talking about".
"You know damn well what I'm talking about. I've never seen you before, but I've sensed your presence at times. I didn't notice it at first, but eventually I felt your eyes on me mostly during the time I spend alone. What are you scheming?"
He laughed, not that he found it funny because he was unable to express humor, but for some reason it was an emotion he had learned to mimic. Although he had no heart, he remembered what it was like to have one. He knew that if he had one, now would be the time to laugh.
"Nothing, nothing at all. I didn't realize it was a crime for a guy to wander around at night and just happen to run into you by coincidence".
Tifa didn't like the fact that he seemed to find her amusing. She grew even more furious. She spent her nighttime hours alone to dwell in her own thoughts and she didn't want anyone else to see her in such a weak state. It was a side of her that she only kept to herself until she realized this man was making a mockery of her or so it seemed.
"Aren't you one of those guys that Sora's after? The Organization? What business do you have here?"
Axel shrugged again, "Is Sora after me? Not really? Am I from the Organization? Not really? Business? I told you- I have none".
Tifa pressed forward, still with her fists up. She was unsatisfied with his vague answers. Axel still stood with his back facing her, his body relaxed and wearing a smug grin.
"Liar!" her voice grew louder as she shook her head in disbelief. Her long chestnut hair swayed in the wind as her nails dug into her raised palms.
Axel stood silent for a bit. He scratched his chin in thought as she spoke to her, "Well…I could tell you, but I doubt you really wanna know. They say the truth hurts after all, not that I know what that feels like, but hey, it's your call".
She nodded her head "Tell me".
Axel sighed and slowly turned to face her. His smile had worn off and he locked his intense gaze with hers. He still showed no signs of threatening intentions and she wondered why.
"I lost something…I guess. So I'm trying to find it".
"And what does that have to do with me?" She was slowly relaxing her body and her voice was becoming calmer. She realized he had meant her no harm.
"Nothing really, I just sense that you've lost something too, so I kinda feel like-"
Tifa cut him off, "You can't feel anything! Nobodies do not feel! Don't act like you understand me!" She blurted it out unintentionally. She didn't mean for it to come out the way that it did, but she was so embarrassed from the fact that he had seen her in her loneliest hours that it didn't matter.
He looked up at her, his eyes furrowing. His face expressed anger even though Nobodies were not supposed to express anything. His tone returned her harshness.
"Don't act like you understand me! You think you're so much better because you have a heart! Look at you, you have a heart and you're letting it sift into the darkness! That shows how great you are! Stupid human!"
Axel cringed at her in disgust as he opened the entrance to darkness behind him. He disappeared into it and Tifa was now standing alone. Her body relaxed as she stared at the empty space where he once stood moments ago. Her eyes were wide with shock. She didn't expect him to lash out at her that way.
The brunette crossed her arms in front of her. What did he mean by her heart sifting into darkness? She felt bare as if he could see right through her. It was as if he saw behind her lying exterior and saw what was really brewing inside of her. This frightened her. She knew that there were uneasy feelings rising in her because of Cloud and Aerith, but she had no idea that anyone would be able to see it.
She wondered if she had said too much. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. She could learn as much as she could from the computers and the information that Leon dug up from Ansem's study, yet she'd still be in the wrong to assume she knew everything about Nobodies. She was not a Nobody, just like he was not human. She had no right to assume about him as he had done to her.
Either way, maybe he didn't deserve the harsh confrontation she had forced upon them. After all, through the time she had sensed his presence, he never tried to harm her. It was as if he was looking after her for some odd reason. Even though she was a bit ashamed to have been seen during her darkest and loneliest hours, a part of her felt comforted knowing he was there. She could not explain why she felt that way, but it eased her loneliness a bit.
Her curiosity tugged at her along with her regret for the cold words she had given him. She wanted to know more about why he was pursuing her and if possible, find out more about the Nobodies from someone who knew them most- a Nobody.
She finally decided, that next time they'd meet, she'd make up for what she had said and approach him differently. She knew it wouldn't be long. It was just a feeling, but she knew, that somehow and sometime soon, he'd find her again and this time maybe she'd pursue him.
Tifa turned around and jumped off the high ledge, landing on her feet and one palm. She stood up and walked back towards the town. It was late and time to retire for the night. After all she'd have to continue her search tomorrow for Cloud and at night, she'd meet up with this mysterious Nobody. She looked forward to it and deep down inside she hoped that it would go well.
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So what did you think about Tifa and Axel's first meeting? They kinda got off to a bumpy start but hey, wouldn't you react kind of mean if some guy was following you around? Stay tuned and let me know what you think.
