Chapter IX: Embers In The Dust
Every now and then the stars align
Boy and girl meet by the great design
Could it be that you and me are the lucky ones?
Yet again Axel was alone in his mission that day. Despite his laid back behavior, he was good at his job, perhaps one of the most qualified workers within the Organization. This didn't change the fact that going it alone wasn't exactly pleasant – Nobodies were still social creatures after all. It was boring without someone to interact with... and in truth, he wished Xirena would have been his partner on these types of days instead of it just being him – especially when one considered the other partner options. From his finished mission he returned to the castle in a pillar of darkness, emerging in the Gray Area.
He saw Xigbar, Vexen and Luxord playing poker at one of the coffee tables, but no-one else seemed to be lounging around in the common area. However, another was present, but he was far from the lounging type: Saix. He stood at the threshold of the residential hall with his cruel eyes set on the red head. Axel's already dulled expression fell further because he knew what was coming, he knew there was no way he could bypass the berserker without having to speak with him about some dry, uninteresting work-related topic.
Saix would constantly inspire complex feelings within Axel. It wasn't easy dealing with him and their work behind the scenes, it certainly wasn't easy seeing how much his friend from years ago had changed, and it wasn't easy watching him grow more and more distant... Part of him still longed for the simple days when they were kids, but the other part of him desired to move on from those bittersweet memories. Their interactions were always so strained these days, focusing always on work and nothing else. Since Saix became so close with Xemnas, Axel certainly felt like he was tossed to the side in favor of a higher power – only to be called upon for the wet work. Moving on though? That was far simple too. At least, it was previously. Now?
Xirena. That silly girl.
Axel had grown fond of her and found himself always looking forward to seeing her; to be with her was so different than anyone else he'd ever met. She captivated him, so much so that when they were together he seemed to forget all his worries... well, except the ones Zee inspired in him. She was another complex one, paradoxically so, but still a complexity.
Axel perked up at the thought of the purple haired girl, and immediately began to wonder where exactly she was. It had become almost instinctual at that point to go seek her out when she wasn't around. It could be that he just liked hanging out with her, maybe he had concerns that she'd get harassed by Xigbar or Rex; maybe she was looking for him too? He could see she was attached, and everyone else probably could too – he just hoped he didn't come off to others as being obsessed with her. Although, did it really matter what the others thought? And then there was the ultimate "concerning" reason for his searching for her...
Perhaps... there was more than just a friendship evolving between them. This was an idea Axel never cared to think about, and would discard anything close to that before it could fully formulate. They were friends. Just friends. It was way too awkward too consider anything more.
"What are you smiling about?"
Axel got so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't realize he kept on walking while wondering about Zee like a dopey dog, taking him towards and past Saix. That dull yet at the same time harsh tone only managed to slow him down than bring him to a full stop though.
"Pft. I'm not smiling!" Axel dismissed with a casual wave of his hand as he was known to do.
Saix followed Axel with his gaze, unsure what to make of the ginger blowing past him with so little acknowledgment. Ultimately, he had nothing important to say to Axel, and made no effort to stop him during his leisure time. As he strolled down the hall towards his room, he glanced at Xirena's door – which was directly across from his own.
I wonder if she's home yet? He thought.
In a cosmic act of wizardry, her door swung open in the usual whirlwind fashion that it does. It was no surprise to Axel that the sweetly smiling Xirena was standing there, eyes ablaze with glee that Axel was there.
"Axel! I need you in my room!" She practically screamed while grabbing his wrist and dragging him in, "Hurry!"
She probably could have worded that better...
He was tossed in while Zee slammed the door shut behind them. A bit dazed, Axel didn't immediately see what the big deal possibly could be – especially to require such gusto, but then again, Zee always was very... passionate. Passion was something the castle had certainly lacked. The sound of the girl shuffling across the floor caught his ear, and her form appeared in his periphery.
"Eh?" Axel asked, "It's... a bunch of... stuff?"
On and around Xirena's bed were the items Rex had so kindly gifted to her, but weren't organized at all yet.
"Yeah!" Xirena piped up, confirming the obvious.
The violet haired girl stepped forward, twirling and humming pleasantly, careful not to run into her bed and fall on her face or accidentally step on Sunny. Axel slowly followed, craning his neck to try and get a glimpse of what all the 'stuff' was.
"Rex gave me some cool things..." She began, picking up a magazine and a CD she had left on her bed.
"Eh? You kiddin' me?!" Axel simply couldn't believe it... Rex? REX? Of all the Nobodies, Rex was easily the most selfish and petty of the bunch. When she showed him what she picked up, however, it suddenly made sense...
"Mhmm!" She nodded, holding up two of the many things she had yet to go through fully, "He said he didn't want it all anymore!"
Understanding immediately sunk in. The CD was Baby One More Time by Britney Spears, but the case was badly scratched and possibly broken. The magazine was and issue of NME, but looked as if it had been rolled up, along with it having small tears on the edges of the cover (and presumably the rest of the pages too).
"...I see!" Axel nodded, keeping an enthusiastic charade up, even though his disbelief had been slayed by the truth of the situation.
He literally gave her his garbage. Axel thought, shaking his head a bit. He didn't let any more than that show though.
"I was so happy when he said I could have his stuff..." She said softly as she set the magazine and CD back down into a box, "It was so nice of him, dontcha think?"
"Uhh, yeah!" Axel half-lied.
While it was shitty of Rex to dump his unwanted trash onto Xirena, there was a shred of goodness buried somewhere in this scenario... The ginger just shrugged it off – he hated wasting brain cells on Rex. It was time to take an entirely truthful and positive spin on it.
"I'm happy for you, Zee." Axel spoke in earnest, "Really, I am."
With her business with the box done, she turned back to Axel, their eyes meeting instantly as she did. A pinkish hue had spread across Xirena's face, and it looked like she was trying to keep herself from giggling girlishly.
"Thank you Axel." She responded with sincerity, her words sweeter than sugar; only surpassed in sweetness by the look on her face.
"Heh..." Axel awkwardly chuckled as he looked away, hoping to minimize the possibility of pulling a goofy face and having her see, "I'm just being honest, is all." He added, this time concluding with a more confident chortle.
Xirena suddenly felt something bump up against her leg, and the distinct sound of a pig snorting revealed that there could be only one culprit: Sunny. Xirena knelt down and scooped up her pig baby, giving her a quick nuzzle.
"Have you thought of your wish, Axel?" Xirena asked mid-nuzzle.
"Uhh..." Axel drawled, "Yeah, I think I can make something happen."
An overjoyed Xirena shifted Sunny so that she was held in just one arm, and used her now freed hand to grab Axel's. She tugged him along towards her bed so that they could be right next to the window – seeing the sky was crucial to all this, even if it was just pretend. The pair assumed their seated positions on the bed – Axel sitting to the left of Xirena, and she on his right side obviously. No matter what, they always sat in the same spots when they did their wishing, even in his room. Always Axel on the left and Zee on the right.
All fell silent as they sent their wishes out into the universe...
Gurrrrrrrrrrglleeeeee buuuuurp
Xirena gasped and grabbed her stomach.
"Woah! You okay?!" He asked with a tone of urgency.
"Y-Yeah..." She murmured, "I'm... just hungry. I didn't eat anything yet today..."
Xirena frowned as she rubbed her noisy stomach, avoiding Axel's gaze as she did so. Axel felt a flood of relief wash over him – the way she doubled over and grabbed her stomach made him think she was sick initially, so it was comforting to know it wasn't serious.
"Hmm...Y'know, I wouldn't mind grabbing a bite to eat myself." Axel said, pondering for a moment, before the light bulb went off, "Hey, I know! I'll treat us to some dinner!"
Xirena's eyes lit up brighter than the sun and spun her whole body to face Axel – if she had a heart it surely would have skipped a beat.
"Axel... You..." She began, fragile yet sincere, "You made my wish come true!"
"Eh?" Axel asked, "Whaddaya mean, Zee?"
"Well I was hungry so I wished for food!" Xirena explained.
Axel was amused by the simplicity of her desires – it made him wonder what else she could possibly be wishing for.
"Hm..." Axel hummed, running his hand across his stomach, "Y'know, I could go for some dinner too right about now."
Two hungry Nobodies and no food to be seen... no less a substantial meal. Axel, being the genius that he is, came to a quick solution.
"Hey Zee, you like Chinese food?" He asked. Xirena blankly stared, which was a fine reaction since Axel answered his own question without hesitation anyway, "Who am I kidding? Everyone loves Chinese food."
Xirena looked befuddled – or just downright amazed – amazed at the fact that Axel somehow knew that everyone loves Chinese food. Her eyes glazed over as her brain trying to process this grand claim.
"Don't worry, it's on me. Be right back!"
Axel then left through a dark corridor, leaving the puzzled Xirena alone yet again to begin his quest for food. Xirena remained troubled...
"What... what happens if I don't like Chinese food?!" She wailed, grabbing her hair frantically.
It wasn't long before Axel, armed with a bag in each hand, returned to Xirena's room. The aroma of the food wafted across the room and it hit Xirena like a mack truck – almost to the point of stunning her.
"You're gonna dig this, trust me." Axel said, setting the bags down in front of him on the floor, and proceeding to sit himself down next to them, "I even got chopsticks!"
Axel pulled out the utensils and tossed a pair to Xirena, who haphazardly caught them. Axel pulled apart the bound sticks and Xirena mimicked him, although she lacked the same finesse. She also sat down on the floor, across from Axel, watching as he opened up the bags.
"I got a bunch of different stuff, I'm sure you'll find something ya like." He explained.
Xirena watched as he produced various boxes from the brown paper bags – most of them being white and nondescript, but every so often there were tupperware-like containers amidst the flimsy white boxes. Before either of them knew it, there was an ocean of food in front of them, and Axel was finishing off the set-up by opening all the food containers. Dozens of different scents were released into the room with greater intensity than before, most of them smelling yummy.
"Okay! First of all we got white rice, plenty of white rice actually, sweet & sour chicken, beef with broccoli, crab rangoon, egg drop soup, egg rolls, sesame chicken, pork lo mein..."
Xirena started picking cautiously as Axel rambled off the list of food, choosing a non-threatening looking box of white rice. With chopsticks in hand, she held the box and tried to pick up the rice within after opening it. But to no avail. Zee's clumsy use of the chopsticks lead her to nothing but rice being dropped right back into the flimsy white box. With every attempt, she whimpered when it eventually and inevitably failed. Axel on the other hand... he was too busy shoving lo mein in his face to notice immediately.
"Sho hwhatcha theink?" He asked, mouth still full and chewing his food.
"I... I don't know..." She murmured.
Axel looked up and saw her painful misuse of the chopsticks.
Then before he himself knew it, he was on the move. Axel quickly scooted across the floor and situated himself directly behind Xirena, all the while she was oblivious. In fact, she didn't notice him until he reached his arms around her small frame, taking her hands in his.
"It's like this, Zee." He began.
He guided her hands, positioning the chopsticks properly and demonstrating how to do it. Their dual effort resulted in success – Xirena (and Axel) managed to use chopsticks.
"Think you got it now?" He asked.
"I think so!" She said happily, breaking free of him and diving into the rice.
Axel leaned back and relaxed a moment, feeling rather proud of himself with that move. His eyes wandered around her room and over to her desk... The desk. Like a strike of lightning, it hit him... that note, the note he'd slipped under her door that she'd kept. There was no other way than the direct approach to get answers to this tiny mystery...
"Zee?" He said, "Why do you still have that note I left for you about the clock tower?"
Xirena looked over her shoulder, swallowed all the food she stuffed in her mouth and fell into her thought.
"I dunno... It just seemed nice to keep it."
It just seemed nice to keep it.
The echoes of Xirena danced around Axel's mind. Even though he got an 'answer' from her, it didn't really answer anything at all. It seemed not much thought was put into it other than 'it would be nice.'
Over-thinking things was something Axel needed to cut down on – same with chewing on his cheek. The two often went hand in hand. The juxtaposition of his over thinking compared to the simplistic views of Zee was maddening at times, now being a great example of it. Over a stupid note. At the same time he appreciated what a breath of fresh air she was...
Zee's face popped into his head, specifically the expression of intense joy and gratitude after he told her they would keep Sunny. Even now with that moment long gone, the memory was more than enough for him. Although that rather intimate chopstick usage position from earlier was a memory that made him feel similarly...