Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, but one of my best friends is named after a form of undersea vegetation. So there.

Do you know what's better than sex? Lots and lots of reviews. Hint, hint.

Chapter 9

Nowhere to Run

When Kairi awoke the next morning, the sun was shining on the blue-green water. She had spent the night curled up in a corner of Captain Jack Sparrow's forward cabin, and to tell the truth she hadn't gotten much sleep. Co-existing on a ship with a bunch of sexually-deprived pirates could do that to a girl. (At least she assumed they were sexually deprived.) They weren't the most appetizing bunch.

That, of course, excluded Jack. He may have been dirty, scraggly, and unrefined, but he had to be one of the most charismatic men Kairi had ever met.

He sauntered into the room shortly after the sun had risen, still moving about like he was slightly inebriated. Kairi had the feeling this was a chronic ailment.

"Morning, love," he greeted her, seating himself at his table and putting his feet up. "I trust you've spent a restful night on the Black Pearl?"

"Uh, yeah. Real restful," Kairi drawled, trying to beat the wrinkles out of her shirt. She hadn't taken her gauntlets off all night, wanting her only weapon to be ready at all times. Then again, she had no idea how to make the blades appear. She had a shrewd suspicion they only reacted to heartless, a bit like Sora's keyblade.

"Splendid," Jack said, reaching for a bowl of apples in the center of the table. He bit into a big green one. He chewed for a few seconds, made a face, and tossed it over his shoulder. "Rotten, all bloody rotten. We'll have to acquire some more the next time we put into port."

"Put into port?" Kairi repeated. She wheeled to face the grimy window looking out over the deck. The town she had arrived in the previous night was nowhere to be seen. By the looks of things, they were in open sea.

"Holy shit!" Kairi yelled, hyperventilating slightly. "Where the hell did the land go?"

"Out, I believe," Jack answered, folding his hands innocently. "But don't fret, I'm sure it'll be back in a few days."

Kairi felt the desperate need to kick something. Once again, everything had spun out of her control. "You bastard! You sailed away without letting me off!"

Jack kicked his feet slightly, nearly toppling himself from the chair. "You know what? You remind me of someone."

Kairi fought to control her temper. "Who?"

"A certain other fiery young lady, with a temper so scorching you're left quite hot afterwards." He paused, apparently to ponder this last statement. "Yes, you remind me of her. Add in a dress much too binding for you and a vendetta for your one true love, and you two would be nearly identical. In a manner of speaking."

"A vendetta for her one true love?" Kairi asked. "What's that mean?"

Jack looked amused. "She was searching for a young lad, a Will—,"

"I'm looking for someone too!" Kairi interrupted. "But this is so different! I have to chase Sora across the universe, not just across the world, and I—."

"Come again?" Jack interrupted, staring at her intently. "Did the name Sora just pass you lips, love?"

"Yeah," Kairi said cautiously, hardly daring to believe it. "Yeah, it did. Do you know him?"

Captain Jack stroked his mustache thoughtfully. He seemed to be putting on a big show of trying to remember. "Er…short fellow, so high…carting around a giant key…blonder than I am?"

"That's right!" Kairi exclaimed, clapping her hands together in excitement. "You do know him!"

"Oh yeah, the two of us are best mates. We go back, oh…a week at least."

Kairi's heart nearly stopped. "A week? He was here a week ago?"

"Aye, he helped me out of a tight spot or two. O' course, you just missed him. He left…err…couldn't have been more than three days ago."

The usual disappointment was settling in on Kairi. It was lessened, however, by the fact that she was only a few days behind this time. Maybe the next time the Realm of Darkness decided to suck her in and spit her out onto another world, she would actually get there ahead of Sora!

Almost as if the god of irony had read her thoughts, the familiar swirl of color was closed in on her. A few moments later she was no longer sitting across from a fiendishly handsome pirate, but standing in the Realm, face to face with a younger, though no less attractive, man.

"Kairi!" Axel exclaimed as soon as the mist had cleared. "Are you okay?"

Kairi's brows nit in confusion. This was certainly out of character. Knowing Axel, she would have suspected a cruel taunt or a jibe of triumph. Instead he was just looking at her with what might have been mistaken, in the wrong light, for concern.

Not to be fooled, she demanded, "What the fuck do you want now?"

Axel winced like she had slapped him. He was oddly haggard-looking, his eyes clouded by something he hadn't sported the last time they'd met.

"Listen," he said intently, taking half a step forward. "You're in a lot of trouble."

"You're telling me," Kairi snapped.

Axel shook his head. "Not from me. From the rest of the organization. They're on to you, and they're going to hurt you."

Kairi folded her arms. "And like you wouldn't?"

"No!" The response was so violent it even seemed to shock Axel. "No," he continued, quieter. "They're going to kill you…I don't want you to die, I…Wait!"

Kairi didn't want to listen to him. Almost without realizing it, she summoned up a door from the nothingness in the Realm. She sprinted toward it and found herself running through a forest of bamboo in the middle of the night. The sharp leaves tore at her as she flew by, scraping her face and arms. She didn't care. She was fully aware of Axel following her, and all she cared about was getting as much distance between herself and him.

She looked in front of her in time to see someone stepping into her path. She shrieked, digging her heels into the soft earth. The blades in her gauntlets slid out, but a moment later she was pinned to the ground, her arms uselessly at her sides.

"So this is she," her attacker breathed, his face very close to hers. "You're very beautiful." Kairi only saw a flurry of silver hair and cold eyes before a hand worked itself under her shirt and up her back.

"Get off my!" she screamed, trying to wrench herself away, but the man struck her across the face. He licked away the blood that formed on her lip.

"Hush," he ordered, sitting up. He was pale and gaunt, a large x marring his forehead. It took Kairi a moment to realize the marking was a scar.

"You're what the organization wants," he whispered, leaning down close to her. "Xemnas told me he wanted you alive, but he didn't say I couldn't take a piece of you myself." The man caressed Kairi's face with a heavy hand, moving his tongue along her collar bone and reaching under her shirt again.

No, no, no! Kairi's mind was screaming in fear but she couldn't get her lips to move.

But suddenly, miraculously, the man's weight was gone.

She sat up. Axel was standing over her, his eyes fixed on her attacker.

"Don't you dare touch her!" he growled, aiming a kick at the man's head. He moved just in time, scrambling to his feet, trying to adjust his long black coat.

"You're going to be sorry for this one, Axel," he spat. "Two hours of torture wasn't enough, I see. Well, I look forward to having you both next time." He waved his hand and a moment later he was gone in a rush of darkness.

Axel offered Kairi a hand. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

Kairi shook her head, letting him pull her numbly to her feet.

"You're shaking," he observed, pulling her close to him. She didn't try to resist. She couldn't think, she couldn't feel. It was like her entire body had frozen over.

God, she had been so scared.

"Come on," Axel muttered. He drew up a portal, and a moment later they were no longer standing in the bamboo forest. There was suddenly the bite of autumn in the night air, and the only thing to be seen was a few scraggly trees and a few twinkling lights in the distance. Those and the little house they were standing in front of.

It was very small, probably containing no more than three rooms. Its shutters were drawn and there was no light coming from inside.

"Whose house is this?" Kairi asked, her voice very small.

"Mine." Axel took her by the hand and started forward. Kairi, dug her feet into the ground.

"I'm not going in there." Some of her sense seemed to be returning to her. This was Axel, for crying out loud. If anyone meant her harm, it was him.

"Kairi…" He sighed, aggravated. "Look. If I hadn't come along Sai'x would have done some really nasty things to you. Believe it. He's done them to me."

Kairi raised a critical eyebrow. "You mean he's—?"

"He's come close," Axel said, staring at the ground for a second. "But anyway. Organization 13 is looking for you. You'll be safe here."

"But you work for them!" Kairi protested. "You want to kidnap me!"

"Not anymore. I can't let them…" He trailed off miserably. "I can't let them hurt you."

Kairi didn't know what to say. This change of heart sure was startling, but she didn't seem to have much of a choice. Besides, she was still much too shaken to go anywhere on her own. And it was cold out here.

"Fine." She followed Axel into the house, warily. "Is this your home world?"

Axel shook his head. "I have a house here, but it's not where I come from. It's the only place I can go that the rest of the Organization doesn't know about. Yet," he added ominously.

Once inside, Axel walked across the room and began to toss logs onto an empty grate. A few minutes later, he had a small blaze going, filling the room with wavering light and a glow of warmth.

"There's no power source here," he explained, lighting several candles placed along the mantel and shelves. The combined lights revealed a small, tidy room. Two armchairs stood in front of the fire and a shaggy old rug lay across the floor. Axel gave Kairi a woolen blanket and told her to sit in front of the fire. This she did, curling up in one of the chairs.

She had to force herself to stay awake. As kind as he was being, she didn't trust Axel any farther than she could throw him. How was she to know that this wasn't just some elaborate scheme to get her to trust him? She wouldn't put it past him.

Axel emerged from the back room a few minutes later. He had shed his black leather coat and was now just dressed in a pair of faded jeans and open-necked shirt. Taking the seat opposite Kairi, he fixed her with his keen gaze.

"Are you feeling alright?"

Kairi nodded. "As good as can be expected."

Axel frowned. "You're all scratched up." He walked over, turning her arms over and examining her face. "Did Sai'x do this?"

Kairi shrugged. "He might have done some of it, but I think a lot came from the bamboo." Her voice was quite hoarse.

Biting his lip thoughtfully, Axel pronounced his diagnosis. "Well, they're all pretty much closed up. Are you in any pain?"

"No," she answered. "Just kind of stiff."

Before she could say anything else, Axel had circled behind her. Tentatively, he put his hands on her shoulders. His fingers fanned out to rub the twisted muscles bunched underneath the skin. She stiffened, her breath coming in sharply. Axel twisted his knuckles, kneading her upper back.

It felt good. Kairi let her shoulders sag, letting the large hands work the kinks out of her tensed neck and back. Of course, a moment later she remembered who it was that was touching her. She shied away, standing up and wheeling around.

"Stop it!" she yelled, going red with embarrassment. "I don't trust you at all!"

Axel smiled. A sharp little shiver sped up Kairi's back.

"Kairi, please," he said. "I don't want to hurt you. I saved you, remember?"

"That doesn't matter," she protested. "I can't trust you, I just…can't."