Chapter 3 ~ Training
"For the love of Kingdom Hearts, you are pathetic!"
Roxas swallowed tightly, his hands clenching and unclenching about the hilt of his keyblade, which was currently lying in front of his face on the ground. Stay calm. He urged himself through his grimice, "Don't let HIM beat you." Roxas closed his eyes and took another greedy gulp of air before opening them again. His gaze opened to a closeup view of Axel's sturdy black boots mere inches from his face. Roxas cringed because he knew what was coming next.
"Are we done already?" Axel asked cooly from over Roxas' head. Roxas swallowed again, trying desperatly to get a hold of himself long enough to make his body move.
"I guess we are." Axel moved his foot, sliding the front of his boot underneath Roxas' chin. He lifed his foot up, bringing Roxas' face along with it, causing Roxas to have a full view of Axel's self-satisfied smirk. A smirk that Roxas had come to loath by the way, since everytime he failed at anything, that same smirk was sure to follow.
"N-not yet." Roxas managed to gasp out, even though Axel's boot was closing off his windpipe slightly. "I'm still…in..this."
Axel laughed. "I'm afraid I don't agree with you. But if you still want to fight," Axel swung his foot out from under Roxas' chin and back before Roxas had time to even blink. The force of the kick sent Roxas' head jutting sharply to the right and Roxas' teeth rattled so hard his tounge bled. "I'm happy to help you out." Axel finished cooly as Roxas choked and sputtered in between strangled cries of pain.
"Don't think that I'm doing all this to be cruel Roxas."
Oh I'm sure you aren't. Roxas thought angrily as he felt a bruise forming along the stretch of skin from his upper lip to his cheekbone. Let me guess, you are just trying to train me.
"I'm just trying to train you so that you will be strong enough to command your own brand of Nobodies when the time comes. You don't want to disappoint the Superior do you?"
No. Roxas thought fearfully as he spit out one last bit of blood. The Superior was even more brutal than Axel. In fact Axel was like a day at the beach in comparison.
"I thought I taught you to answer your superiors Roxas. Do you need another lesson on your other cheek?"
"N-no!" Roxas managed through coughs. "I heard you. I'm listening, honest."
"So glad to hear it." Axel smiled smugly, "Now what have you learned in today's training Roxas? And maybe you should get off the floor, it's unsanitary to just be lying there in the dirt like that. Exspecially since you are bleeding, it might get infected."
"Thanks for the concern." Roxas meant it sarcastically, But Axel just smiled and waved his hand in acceptance. Implying that either he hadn't sensed Roxas' sarcastic tone, or (more likely) he had and was ignoring it. Roxas then turned his concentration to pulling his sore and broken body to it's feet. It took a great deal of grunting and thrusting, but eventually Roxas was standing, if with the occasional wobble, in front of Axel.
"There see? Much better. I can see your face more clearly now." Axel closed his eyes in a catlike smirk and wraped one long and slender arm around Roxas' shoulders. "Shall we go back? You need to have that looked at." He poked the bruising skin on Roxas' face, causing Roxas to cringe and retract from Axel's hand. "Yeah," Axel said, starring intently at Roxas with those same catlike eyes, "You definatly aren't ready."