note; All right, now. Chapter four. :) I'm trying to get the plot moving as fast as I can.
Honest. But all stories start out a little slow, am I right? Eh. Maybe not. Haha. Oh well.
I tried to add more friction between Kairi and Axel in this chapter, because after all,
this is a kaixel fic.

- x -

iv.

- x -

As Kairi stands there, leaning on the doorframe with the peeling paint and ink pen scars, she finally feels as if she knows why these dirty blonde kids need help.

They are dying.

The delicate doll of a girl with the bitten-down nails and hollow blue eyes who grew up too fast, too soon, too miserably.

The man with a tune on his lips and a light in his heart that is in constant danger of being blown out with the frigid winter wind.

The empty husk of a boy with nothing in his eyes or his heart or his lips, nothing but hate for the world that kicked him while he was already down.

Each one of them is dying slowly, painfully, with every haggard breath.

And Kairi continues to stand there, just stand there, and thinks that she was the entirely wrong person to call.

Because if she was honest with herself, really, truly honest with herself, she would say that she is dying, too.

But 'honest' isn't something that they feed children with silver spoons in the Upper East Side.

So Kairi says nothing at all.

"Who is she?" The boy in need of saving spits the words at Axel accusingly (how dare you?!), eyeing Kairi in a way that makes her feel entirely uncomfortable in her Alice + Olivia metallic shift dress. (Too shiny and expensive for this side of town).

Axel catches the train of thought before it reaches the young girl's ears, and halts it with a single glance. Don't forget, Roxas. I'm part of that world, too.

Eyes (glazed over with a thin layer of frost) narrow upon receiving the message. No. You aren't.

The one called Demyx interrupts the silent conversation with a weary smile toward Kairi. "So, you're our prince in shining armor? Oops, sorry, princess. My bad."

The joke is innocent enough. There is no malice in his tone, no spite.

And yet for some inexplicable reason, Kairi wants to hate this man. To hate him and his words and his hope and his grin. She wants to hate him, because he doesn't belong in a city like this, in a world like the one that's forever turning, spinning, revolving in a dark space as empty and cold as the room that they're in now. (Princess, what princess? There's no princess here. No damsel, no distress, no pink skirts and dainty crown. The princess is dead, all bathed in red.) And Kairi wants to cry.

But she swallows the sob in her throat and keeps the anger in her fist for another day (another dollar), silently cursing these shattered people and the emotion that they manage to bring out of hiding.

"Hey, Kai –" Axel begins, but is abruptly cut off by a loud, obnoxious pop tune that reverberates throughout the entire expanse of the weathered room.

It takes Kairi ten seconds to realize that it's her phone.

Letting out a tiny 'oh!' and feeling remarkably idiotic, the auburn-haired girl puts a hand in her tiny clutch purse and pulls out a slim, silver cell phone. The digital arrangement of letters seems to concern her, as her eyebrows knit together before she flips the phone open and puts it to her ear. "Olette? What are you doing? I thought that you were…" She pauses, listening intently.

Roxas rolls his eyes and puts his head back onto the makeshift pillow, while the rest of the group blatantly eavesdrops in on her not-so-private conversation.

"Oh. Really? Um, okay… But why…? Well, I don't know, but I'll try. Yeah. No, Riku hasn't said anything about that. Honestly! Besides, why would he talk to me anymore?" A girlish giggle flies into the cell phone, "Yeah, if he was gonna tell anyone, it'd be Sora… what?! No! At least, I don't think so. Huh. Now that you mention it…" She giggles again, causing Roxas to make a decidedly unsubtle coughing noise. Kairi frowns at him, but smiles at something spoken to her that no one else can hear. "Look, about that favor, it's fine, really. I promise. Yeah, of course! Totally." Cue another string of laughter, "Yeah, okay. Uh huh. Oh, before I forget, how's Selphie? Aw, good." Roxas coughs again. "Ugh, Olette, I have to go. …What?" Kairi blushes, glancing over at Axel, who looks on, bemused. "No! It's not like that. Have you been talking to Sora? Ugh, Olette…"

Raising an eyebrow, the green eyed young man smirks in an almost accomplished manner, and winks at the beat-red girl in front of him. Her blush intensifies.

"Look, I really have to go now. Yeah. Of course. Yes, I promise. I'll talk to you later. Okay. Bye." The cell phone shuts in sync with yet another one of Roxas' coughs. Sighing, Kairi runs a hand through her hair, "I get it, okay? I'm off. Chill out."

But the coughing doesn't stop.

Demyx holds a dirty shirt to the boy's face as he hunches over, his lungs rattling. Naminé simply kneels there, nervously picking at the chipped black polish still clinging to her fingernails.

And Axel - arrogant, devilish, grinning Axel – takes a pristine water bottle out of his sleek, black messenger bag, unscrews the cap, and walks over to the dying boy. He gently, so very gently, removes the rag from Roxas' mouth and replaces it with the opening of the bottle, urging him to drink in a way that's compassionate, but almost routine.

It is only now that Kairi truly sees the reason behind the mysterious phone call and frantic voices.

So, she decides to keep her word.

"St. Matthew's."

Roxas and Naminé only blink up in confusion.

Axel rolls his eyes at the small girl's suggestion, "Yeah, right. That would work. Thanks for playing, Kai, but I'm pretty sure you lose."

Obviously miffed by the fact that no one is celebrating her sudden willingness to come to their aid (or her sudden genius, for that matter), Kairi leans on one leg, jutting out her hip in defiance, arms folded across her chest. "Can you think of anything better? And don't call me 'Kai'." Bubblegum pink lips pull themselves into a pout, and for a fleeting moment, Axel falters.

But it was only for a moment. This is Axel, after all.

"Look, sweetheart, the second these kids walk into that building, it's all over. They're minors, Kai. They'll be taken up and distributed from house to house like a pack of cards." He tells her this with the same raw intensity he had spoken with earlier; the same amount of venom and scorching fire. "Trust me."

(What a silly thing to say in a place like New York City).

The sound of a camera shutter makes Kairi jump, and her gaze is pulled from Axel and down to the floor, where a single Polaroid lies.

"Oops. Sorry. Is this a bad time?" A boy a bit on the chubby side stands in the doorway, a large, old camera resting in his hands.

Demyx stands and puts on a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Of course not, Pence. We're all family, here."

But Roxas doesn't want Pence to get involved, doesn't want his friend to get hurt. So he lies through his teeth in a way that reminds Kairi of the castle she wants to escape from, "Actually… this is a bit of a private conversation. Sorry, Pence. Why don't you go take pictures of Yuffie? I'm sure she'd be thrilled."

The photographer shrugs, not really wanting the self-titled ninja to be his only model (again), but in a life like his, there's no room for complaining. So he turns around and walks away, the forgotten Polaroid sent moving in Naminé's direction from the slight push of air from Pence's foot.

And with nobody watching, she pockets the photo, another reference for another sketch.

"He's not going to a hospital. That's final." The argument starts up just as heated as it had been before. Green eyes meet blue, and something dangerous and electric buzzes between them.

Demyx rubs a calloused hand over his face and sits back down next to Roxas, restraining him as he attempts to get up.

"A hospital?! No. Freakin'. Way"

Axel gestures to the boy, giving a single nod toward Kairi as if saying, 'There you go.'

But this upper-class girl was raised to never let go of a golden opportunity, and with an errand that she has to run, this situation has golden written all over it.

"I can sneak you in. Honestly. I have a friend whose father is the chief surgeon, so she pretty much works there. She wants me to do something for her anyway, so that can be our cover. If I clean you up enough, no one will notice a thing. I'm telling you, this can help."

Sick of the blood on his hands and the death in his lungs, Roxas considers her proposal. After a painfully long silence, he speaks. "Fine. I guess this could work, but I'll only go on one condition." He turns to his older brother, determination set in his expression, and Demyx knows that no matter what he wants or thinks is right, he is going to lose this battle. "You stay here and watch everyone. They need you. You know, just in case."

And there's no use arguing, so Demyx keeps silent and ruffles Roxas' hair affectionately in reply.

Ignoring Axel's evident anger, Kairi smiles up at him, batting her eyelashes. "Great," she turns to Roxas and Naminé, "now let's go."

(and for once, she feels like she has a part in this fairytale)

- x -

A glittering smile gleams from one side of the darkened office, its attention focused on a certain photograph of a certain girl (with her elaborately made-up face and windblown hair). A waif of a girl with hungry eyes; hungry for something more, something better.

It's all too perfect, really.

And as a long, pale finger reaches out to punch a series of numbers, the smile only seems to widen. It speaks in a voice eroded by cigarettes and shouted orders.

"I think we've found her."

A dial tone cackles in response.