At first, Axel hadn't quite understood the name change.
As time though had gone, he would start to understand… It was true in more ways than just one. He wasn't Lea anymore.
Not just the name, but… The person he was. Lea… Lea had been the thing that had been taken from him, that light.
He was merely the empty body that had been left behind.
True, he had Lea's memories and looked like him too, but they were two different people. All the things Lea had held so dear, when Axel thought about them… he didn't feel anything.
Lea had been able to feel these odd things, these… connections. Axel didn't feel any of it, even when he looked at his former friend. He couldn't feel the thing that had been between them.
Even when they were standing right in front of each other… Axel would still do what-ever he could to keep Saix safe. It was his purpose… his one true purpose. He needed it, because without it… What was the point?
Axel could feel the hollowness of his body, the place where his heart should have been, it felt so empty… So cold.
It was weird, not even finding any satisfaction in his own progress.
There were times Axel found himself seriously considering taking off his coat, allow the darkness to consume him, turning him into a mindless dusk. Then he could mindlessly be searching for his heart like all of the others without having to think further about it.
How-ever…. That would mean leaving Saix alone… It was the one thing he could not do.
It was hard to explain, but… There was a spark. When he thought back at the way things had been, how happy he had felt back then… He found himself wishing he could experience that again. Just one time.
Sitting with his friend… Eating ice-cream… Laugh…
The more he thought about it, the more it started to hurt. It wasn't even his own life he was remembering, it was someone else! And a very long time ago. That life, could never be his!
As he looked at Saix's cold expressionless face, he didn't even know what to say. Asking Saix to relive the days from when they were people… It would be a pathetic suggestion. Saix… Was not the kind of person to indulge in such things, and so… Axel moved away, not bothering to even say anything.
He would remain in Saix's shadow and do his bidding…. It was his purpose… his only real purpose.
Then what was this gnarling feeling… eating away in his hollow body. It… hurt.
Axel didn't really know what made him do it… Bring Roxas to the clock tower.
The kid, he looked so much like Ventus, it was absolutely uncanny. How-ever, more than that, the kid looked so confused and so lost.
He really was a blank slate, unlike other nobodies, Roxas's didn't even have memories of his former self. In fact, he didn't seem to know anything at all.
Axel couldn't help but chuckled amused at just how dependent Roxas was on others, there was a naive childish air around the younger member. Then he would glance up, and his eyes would look towards the setting sun with a big look of pure wonder on his face.
Axel smirked amused by the sight, then he blinked, he glanced down and put a hand over his chest… The hollow space in his chest. What… What was that? Something had felt… nice.
"The sun… It's like a really big star right?" Roxas asked in such a wondering voice.
Axel smirked amused. "Yeah." he nodded. "And every world has their own sun, that's how we can see them all from here."
"So… If we go to another world. And look at the night sky, we would be able to see this sun. It would just be looking like a star from far away." Roxas pointed out. "That's so cool!" he smiled happily.
Axel blinked astounded. Then smiled amused… Roxas really had the logic of a child. Then again, he only was a few days old. He had to learn everything from scratch.
"I did what you told me to do!" Roxas then informed as he looked up.
"Oh yeah?" Axel asked.
"Before bed, brush my teethes. When I wake up, eat breakfast, first then brush my teeth, you're right, the orange juice tastes way better when you haven't brushed teethes yet." Roxas stated.
"And it's because you brush your teethes because?" Axel asked.
"You can get holes in your teethe if they are not clean, even loose them." Roxas repeated what Axel had told him.
"Hah, good job." Axel laughed, he couldn't but be amused with how proud Roxas was of such a simple thing. And Roxas smiled happily, happy to see Axel so happy.
"What on earth are you doing?" Saix asked in a cold voice as he caught Axel in the hallway.
"Huh?" Axel asked.
"You've been meeting with Roxas after house." Saix pointed out.
"Ooooh, right." Axel nodded. "Easy there, i'm just teaching him how to actually function as a normal human being." he stated. "The kid is absolutely clueless you know, he literately doesn't know anything! He didn't even know what an ice-cream was." he stated. "It would be nice to be able to leave him alone for five seconds being afraid he'll kill himself." he stated.
Saix didn't seem convinced as he looked at Axel with those cold eyes.
"Seriously?" Axel asked. "Look, Roxas is valuable because he is a keyblade wielder. Without him, all of our plans will fall apart. All I am doing, is making sure he wont die a really stupid death because no one was looking. We want to stay on Xemnas's good side don't we?" he asked.
"Very well then." Saix nodded. "How nice of you to act as a baby sitter willingly."
"Hey I'm just thinking forward." Axel stated. "I'm just doing it now so I wont have to in the future. It would suck to be stuck on babysitter duties for years and years, man oh man." he shook his head. "No thanks."
Saix smirked, then stepped beside Axel. "I'm… sorry for doubting you." he stated. "Have fun with your… baby sitting duties."
Axel shrugged. "I'll make due."