Has it really been a year since I updated this? Seriously? Wow. Doesn't feel like it. That's nuts. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Kinda sad. Let's see where it takes us.

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Chapter 11

Responsibility

Seifer stared in disbelief at the doorway. Leon held his sword at the ready, watching Axel carefully. Beside him a girl, probably not much older than Seifer, bobbed and weaved, twirling something sharp and metallic between her fingers. Axel frowned deeply.

"Geez…this is certainly more than I bargained for," he said with a sigh. Beside Seifer's head, the two chakram flashed and reappeared in Axel's hands. "I didn't really want any trouble here."

"Shut it, bonfire-head!" Yuffie shouted as she leaped forward, sharp metal stars flying from her fingertips.

"Hey now!" Axel shouted as he deflected the metal stars and danced away from the charging ninja. "The names Axel, ok?" He blurred for a moment and then disappeared entirely.

"Yuffie!" Leon darted forward as Axel materialized behind the girl, chakram raised high. Yuffie seemed to turn in slow motion as Axel's weapons came down on her head. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly. She looked like she was about to scream when suddenly, she stuck her tongue out.

"Nyah!"

Axel's chakram pierced her forehead and Seifer felt his blood run cold. But barely a second later, there was a burst of smoke and Axel looked down in bewilderment. Before the smoke could clear, Leon rushed in and whipped out his blade right at Axel. The fiery headed nobody sneered and ducked, leaping through the smoke and landing on the other side of the room. He rolled and jumped up to his feet, glaring back at the smoke as it disappeared.

Seifer followed his gaze and was surprised to see that Yuffie wasn't to be found at the center of the dissipating cloud. Instead, a medium sized log lay on the floor with both Axel's chakram embedded deep inside it.

"Gotcha!"

There was another puff of smoke and a flurry of movement. When Seifer looked toward it, he saw Yuffie standing on stop of Axel, holding his arm and pinning him firmly to the ground. "How's that, bonfire-head?" she yelled triumphantly.

Axel was quiet for a few moments, not struggling at all. After a moment, he turned his head slightly and looked up at the young ninja. "It's Axel…not bonfire head or whatever."

Seifer noticed that he sweat was beginning to form on his brow. Leon noticed the same thing at the same moment and began to dash forward.

"It's Axel…got it memorized?"

"YUFFIE!"

Leon flew forward, tacking Yuffie off of Axel just as an enormous pillar of flame burst up from the ground around him. Leon and Yuffie crashed to the floor and rolled until they were stopped by a wall. Seifer watched the pillar of flame with wide eyes. The heat from the flames washed over his body and he felt faint, but he watched anyway. Finally, the intensity began to wear down and the fire disappeared.

"I don't know about all of you…but I've had enough for now, yeah?" Axel stood with his arms crossed in the center of the room where the flames had risen. "This really is too much trouble right now." He snapped his fingers and the chakram flashed and reappeared in his hands. "See ya later, Kairi. Don't forget about me now!"

A plume of deep purple smoke exploded out from the ground right behind Axel. With a smile, he leaned back and fell through the portal which closed immediately behind him. Seifer watched the place where Axel had stood for some time as silence reigned over the room. He felt dazed. Everything that had just happened was rushing around in his head and wasn't giving him a moments peace. He couldn't register all of it. It was just too much.

He could hear a sound off to his right. Quick breaths and sniffling…someone was crying. He turned his head to see Kairi huddled in a ball, her arms wrapped tightly around her drawn-up knees. She was shaking. Seifer felt his body go cold. It was a pathetic sight and he wanted so badly to do or say something to help but his brain wouldn't let him think straight.

"Is everything ok in here?" Seifer heard a woman's voice from outside.

"Not quite…" Leon responded. Seifer turned to see that he was bent over Yuffie who was laying on the ground, clutching her own arm. "Yuffie got a pretty bad burn, and Seifer here got torn up pretty bad."

"Alright…let me see." A woman stepped gracefully into the room. Her long brown hair flowed gracefully behind her. "Oh dear…" she whispered when she surveyed the room. Without hesitating, she made a bee-line for Yuffie. "Ok Yuffie…let go of your arm for me. Let me see how bad it is."

Yuffie whimpered and let go of her burned arm. It didn't look terrible, but Yuffie's expression was enough to tell the truth of the wound.

"Hmm…" the woman mumbled to herself. Then, she placed her hands over Yuffie's arm. "Cura."

A soft green and gold light grew out around the woman's hands and Yuffie's expression slowly changed to that of relief. When the light faded, Yuffie looked relaxed, and thankful.

"Thanks Aerith!" Yuffie beamed.

"Of course," Aerith smiled. Then, without a moments hesitation, the woman was up and walking toward Seifer. She stopped in front of him and kneeled down. "My name's Aerith, let me take a look at you." He nodded, wincing as her hands carefully probed his wounds. "What's your name?"

"Seifer," he stuttered through the pain.

"Can you show me your hands, Seifer?"

Slowly, he tried to turn his palms up, but a wave of pain arced up his arms and he screamed.

"Stay still, shhhhhh. It's alright." Aerith grimaced. "I'll get you fixed up." She held out her hands over his and closed her eyes. "You got burned pretty badly…don't worry though."

Seifer watched her carefully. He could feel a breeze on his fingers and when he looked down he saw a faint green glow. The glow covered his hands and traveled up his arms, covering his shoulder and chest. The light felt comforting, and he could tell it was seeping into him.

"Cura."

The light brightened and Seifer's body began to feel warm and light. He looked down and saw the burns on his hands disappearing. After a few seconds, they were gone completely. He flexed his fingers, testing them. Sure enough, they didn't hurt at all.

"How's your shoulder?" Aerith asked.

"Huh?" Seifer replied. Then he remembered, he'd been stabbed in the shoulder with Axel's weapons. He shrugged. "Fine. Wow. Yeah, fine." He swung his arm around in a circle. "Yeah it's great, thank you."

"No problem," Aerith said with a smile. She turned and scanned the room again. "Oh, Kairi!"

Kairi was standing. Her face was red and her eyes looked strained. Tears were streaking down her face. She was shaking slightly. Her mind was racing. Everything was spinning around her. Everything that had just happened was a blur, some terrible dream. It wasn't real. Couldn't be real…but it was.

"It's nice to see you again, Kairi," Aerith said slowly. She could sense the situation. She hoped Yuffie would remain quiet. Kairi was in a very bad place right now.

"This is all my fault," Kairi whispered.

"That's not true," Aerith said calmly.

I was supposed to say that, Seifer thought to himself. He was supposed to say it wasn't her fault. Hell, right before I kissed her, she had been saying how much of a burden she was on everybody, he thought. He could hardly imagine the sort of things she must be thinking now.

"No one would have gotten hurt if it wasn't for me," Kairi said with a hollow voice.

"That's not true, Kairi," Aerith whispered.

"If…if I hadn't been here, Yuffie wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"That's not how it works."

"If Seifer wasn't protecting me, he wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"Kairi it's not like that."

"Sora wouldn't be lost somewhere, neither would Riku. They'd be safe back home on the Destiny Islands."

"Kairi…"

"None of this would happen if I didn't exist," Kairi said, as though coming to some sort of conclusion.

"Kairi that's not true!" Aerith said firmly.

"Isn't it though!" Kairi screamed. Tears burst from her red eyes. "Everywhere I go, someone is always trying to use me or something. All just because I'm a princess! And people get hurt!" She knelt down and hugged herself, sobbing loudly. "People always get hurt because of me! Protecting me! Rescuing me! Sora turned into a heartless because of me! What if he hadn't turned back? What if Riku is lost forever? What if Axel had killed Seifer? And what if no one had rescued me before? The whole universe would have been lost to the darkness!"

She was shrieking now. No one dared to say anything. Leon knew that what she was saying was true. Because she's a princess, her destiny is interwoven with hardship. He was no stranger to that sense of despair. He had given up his name to escape the sense of responsibility.

Aerith understood. She could feel Kairi's sadness. She was blaming herself for everything. There was nothing she could say. Kairi was right, but that didn't make it her fault. If only she could convince Kairi of that. But the words wouldn't come.

And Seifer was lost. He had no idea Kairi kept these sort of feelings inside. The sort of hardship she must have been through. And she really was a princess, she hadn't been lying after all. But what the hell was he supposed to do? What the hell could he say? She blamed herself for all those things, and everyone who protects her gets hurt, and she can't take it. But if no one does, the whole universe is at stake. And she's been smiling the whole damn time. He wanted to say he'd always be there for her, that he'd protect her; that he'd die for her, and he was sure Riku and Sora felt the same way…but that wasn't what she wanted to hear. There was nothing anyone could say.

"I…wish that I was…" she stopped and then shook her head. "I want to be alone."

"Alright," Leon said firmly. He strode across the room and stood on the elevator. "C'mon." He motioned toward everyone else. Yuffie looked nervously at Kairi and then nodded. Aerith bit her lower lip and then followed. Seifer said nothing, but walked with heavy steps over to Leon.

"We'll be downstairs. Take as much time as you need," Leon said as the elevator began to lower.

Kairi said nothing.