Chapter Three: The Manipulator and His Good Friend, The Manipulator

Disclaimer: Same as the disclaimer on the first chapter.
Author's Notes: Well.. I said they would get longer, andtheywill! It's just.. I don't even know. bewilderment In this chapter more sexual tension is built up in order to reach the inevitable.. well.. y-o-u k-n-o-w. I'm aware imparticular isn't a real word.. but god.. it just fits.
Axel was wrong in his assumptions that Demyx would keep the other members at bay. He wasn't
entirely wrong, but he was not entirely correct either. Saix imparticular was livid with the lack of
his inclusion. He was, after all, second in command to Xemnas. As Axel gingerly closed the door to
his room so as to not disturb Sora's recooperative sleep, Saix strode right up to him.

"Who do you think you are keeping me out of all of this," he hissed.

"I've told Demyx everything you could possibly need to know." Axel smirked.

"What are you accusing me of. No. Wait. That is not at all important. I deserve to know
exactly what happened in castle oblivion."

"Maybe you do, but the disclosure of that information is solely up to Xemnas."

Saix sneered. "The superior has been distraught lately. I'm sure this has prevented him
from telling me everything himself."

Axel's eyebrow raised amusedly. He loved this advantage. "Oh, is that so? When I reported to him that we had captured Sora, he seemed exalted.. or at least that was the best impression of happy
I've ever seen. Well, maybe in your seniority you've seen a better one. I can't really know myself." He just had to remind Saix that Xemnas could not truly be distraught. He just had to push all of his buttons simultaneously. That was Axel

Hell's fire brewed in Saix's head. His soul seethed. And yet.. the little bit of information Axel had
slipped him subdued this somewhat. Through clenched teeth he strained to ask, "The. Keyblade.
Master. Is. Here?!"

Axel pointed to his bedroom door. "Yeah. If you're confused about this, you should probably go for a walk and, um.. mull it all over." Axel held that newfound trust with the superior high over Saix's head.

Saix gave him a toxic look, and staggered off.

Demyx just slipped by him towards Axel. He looked nervous. "Sorry. Guess I couldn't satiate his curiosity."

"He just needs to get the stick out of his ass. I don't think I've ever seen him so disapproving." Axel laughed.

"So.. how's he doing?"

"He's doing great. He's recovered nicely." Then, Axel added in a barely audible whisper, "And he trusts me, and
everything I've told him."

Demyx looked calmer. "Well, I'm glad everything has gone to plan. It looks like all of our ambitions will be fulfilled pretty soon." There was a small pause where Demyx might have expected Axel to tell him something confidential out of a somewhat cordial friendship. The window of opportunity came and went. Demyx turned, and walked away.

As soon as he was about out of earshot Axel added, "Yeah, just about all of our ambitions."

Meanwhile, just on the other side of that same door, Sora had woken up. He had gathered the courage to explore his surroundings. He had come across a pile of Axel's clothes. They had a faint masculine scent. It was something
he couldn't identify. He thought they smelled nice though. The room was plain enough to be a hotel room. There
was nothing personal about it. So, Axel was half of a person. What was that like for him? What routines did he
have to maintain like a normal person. In what ways was he abnormal. Sora could have easily just mistaken him for
another human being. But Axel had clearly stated he was not a full person. He had no heart. "Like a vampire." Sora
corrected this thought. Didn't vampires just have a dead heart? Axel had no heart. "I must have forgotten a lot." If Axel had no heart, didn't that make him a heartless? Clearly not.. but still.. what was a heartless. Those without hearts? He sighed heavily.

"This world has been connected." He remembered that. Who was that?

"Sora.." Kairi slipped past him.

Riku offered him his hand. Escape.

"Escape from what, Riku? It's your fault. The universe granted you your wish. It killed Destiny Island."

Sora remembered the little monsters that swarmed over their playground. He remembered how the key had come to him.
The key rescued him. He swung it like his wooden sword and it collided with the black.. heartless, was it? They vanished.

Riku offered him his hand.. and then everything went away. But, Axel said that Sora could help them restore the hearts of
all worlds. Did this include his home?

Sora peered out of a window at a spectacular heart-shaped moon.

"It's a heart!"

A kingdom.

"What?"

Kingdom Hearts..

"I.. don't understand."

Kingdom Hearts.

"I.."

The door slid open. "Oh.. um.. Sora! You're up."

Sora whirled around to see Axel standing in the doorway. Sora smiled. "Yeah. I'm feeling great now."

Axel smiled too. "That's good. I knew you would recover quickly."

"Did you say we were fighting something when my memories were erased."

Axel appeared troubled. "Yes. I didn't think anything like that had actually happened to you, but Xemnas did."

"Xemnas?"

"Oh.. he's our leader Sora. The leader of our group. There's just.. so much I take for granted. I forget that, well.. you've
forgotten everything. Hopefully you'll be back into the rhythm of things soon enough." Axel walked into the room and
sat on the bed.

"You're leader, huh?"

"Yeah."

He could feel the edge of the protective shell of Sora's heart. Its aura was like the light of a lantern, drawing all things in towards it.
It illuminated the properties of the heart within its protective light. He was so much like Roxas. Sora's throbbing
heartbeat sent waves of realization lapping at his skin.

Axel himself knew that nobodies had no feelings. They lacked morality and consciousness. They were all-consumed
by their need to be whole again. He hadn't been bothered by this before. But now he had a human version
of himself to compare to. It gave him a different perspective. Any emotions he had felt since Roxas had left
were acts. How had he ever gotten so used to it. When you've lost something you never knew you had.. maybe
it doesn't feel like it was ever lost. Axel was the only member who tried to remain aware of this disability. The others
seemed to want to pretend as though they were capable of feelings. It was a self-deluding charade. He was the one
who constantly reminded them of that. "For someone without feelings, you do an excellent impression of a smug
jerk, Zexion." He had always said thing like that. Making that distinction irritated them, but he enjoyed that.. or at
least.. he pretended to enjoy it.

But with Sora around, all feeling was genuine. It was as though he had a heart. But he did not.

"Tomorrow, Sora."

"Hm?"

"Tomorrow I'll take you on your.. well.. the first mission you'll remember. We'll make it easy. Test out your natural
abilities. I'm sure those have stayed somewhat intact. Don't worry. Xemnas thinks you'll bounce right back."

"Xemnas must know an awful lot then." Sora grinned. He loved talking to Axel. Learning from him felt like a privelage.

"He does."

"Does he know a way to help me find Kairi and Riku?"

"We wouldn't have joined up together if he hadn't offered. He's really doing everything in his power to help you,
but only because you've helped us so much."

Half of that was a lie. Half was truth.

Sora felt so comfortable, and was scared to move. He was scared that even breathing to much, the movement of his chest up and down, would melt away this snowflake of a moment. His skin prickled gently. What a weird feeling. Yet it was so gratifying. It reminded him of playing with Kairi, and even playing with that show-off jerk, Riku. Wakka.
Tidus. Selphie.

Axel made him feel the way Destiny Islands made him feel. Was that it?

Axel grew slightly uncomfortable with Sora's silence. "Soooo.. hungry Sora?"

"Actually.. yeah, I guess I am. I have no idea when it was that I ate last!"

"It's been a while."

It felt wrong to have to leave Sora. He didn't even want to leave the room. Luckily, when he opened the door, a
stunned Demyx stumbled backwards.

"Oh, eavesdropping were we? Great. Well, you heard our keyblade hero's hungry then. Could you be a friend
and fetch him some food? Huh?"

"Y-yessir. Um.. of course, Axel. H-hi Sora!" Demyx sprinted away. Sora tried to wave, but was a little too late.

Axel through his cloak aside, and crumpled into his bed. Exhaustion sunk him like a stone. "MmmmSora.. I'm just gonna take a quick nap. You know.. it's been.. an excruciating day." Sora nodded in quiet understanding. Axel's figure was stunning. Sora wanted to feel the width of his abdomen.
He wondered how that would feel. Thick and warm probably. His eyes scaled up and down the vertically positioned
Axel. In no time at all Axel's brain had evaporated in a light sleep. Sora's attention was drawn suddenly to his sharp
jawline. He reminded Sora of a lion asleep. It had a normally feral appearance that transformed itself when its
owner slept. Suddenly what was dangerous was undeniably attractive.

Sora crept up to Axel's sleeping figure. He hadn't ever reacted this way to someone. He was so naive. He thoughta quick touch would satisfy his curiosity. He traced one finger gently down Axel's jawline. It was the epitome of masculinity.. at least.. his jawline was. The rest of him was an exciting mystery. He was unparalelled by any other person Sora had known. Had Axel been awake he would have reminded Sora that he's not exactly a person.

Sora's fingers scissored around Axel's delicate chin. If Sora had understood all of this he might have thought that his feelings of love for Kairi seemed.. almost platonic in comparison with this. But he still hadn't put his finger on the feelings that compelled him to-

Someone knocked on the door. Sora's hand snapped back.

Demyx's voice wormed through the doorway all muffled. "I brought food!"

"Err.. Come in?" He felt strange inviting someone into a bedroom that was not his.

Axel, who was not so deeply asleep, was busily committing those small touches to memory.

Got it memorized, Axel?

Additional Author's Notes: You must feel like this is going nowhere fast. Patience.. it is unfolding slowly.. and I'm sort of trying to cultivate this little plot of mine in a semi-realistic way. I mean.. I pretty much SEVERELY altered the original plot. Hope you enjoy.