'Tis me again, saying that I'm just screwing what I said before and writing more! I've gotten enough whining from my friends that official reviews are mattering less to me now. Thanks to those who did bother to review, though. :3 I hope you liked it. xD; Anyhow, it's time to get started!
Enjoy chapter two----------
Roxas walked out of the portal that took him to Axel's door. He hesitated, wondering if he should knock. Axel seemed pretty upset, but he didn't know if it would make him angrier to barge in. He closed his eyes, lifting his hand and knocking lightly on the door. Silence. He started to doubt that Axel was there, but then realized that with his recent behavior, anything was possible.
"Axel… I know you're there…" Still silence. He sighed. "I'm coming in…" Silence again. If he was there, he didn't have anything to protest about Roxas entering his room. The blond grabbed the handle of the door, pushing it open slightly and looking in. He opened the door all the way, looking around and seeing no one. The bathroom light was on, however. He slipped in, leaving the door open, and headed for the bathroom.
A quiet click caused Roxas to jump and turn around, noticing in the dimly lit room a dark figure with seemingly glowing emerald eyes. "… Axel…" His hand was on the door—he had been waiting for him to show up the whole time. Roxas's muscles were tense from being startled, but for some reason he couldn't relax them. The air felt so heavy he could barely breathe, let alone move…. Axel was just not happy.
The redhead closed his eyes and moved toward the blue-eyed blond, seeming less intimidating but more frightening in the dark. Then he stepped into the light, which cast shadows over his face in ways that depicted his current depression and anger, or at least as close as Nobodies could get…. He walked till he was almost next to Roxas, then opened his eyes and gave a half-lidded distant look to his friend. "… What do you want?" He asked, his voice a cold monotone.
Roxas opened his mouth to try to speak, but he couldn't. It was almost as if he were talking to a complete stranger, and an angry one at that. What had happened to the friend he was so used to? He caught himself every time he thought about saying he 'cared' about him. Nobodies couldn't care. At least that's what they always told him. That's what they told everyone… But then what was wrong with Axel. If he couldn't feel, he couldn't be upset.
It was then that it hit him exactly who he was talking to, or attempting to speak with. It was Axel. It was his friend—no, his best friend. They could talk about anything, even, or especially, when they were upset. He shook his head. "Sorry for coming in without permission…" The pyre didn't move. "… Axel, what's wrong? You've been acting so strange lately… And you were deliberately hurting me earlier. What's the matter? Did I do something? I'm sorry if I did, but I want to know if I made you mad--" Axel put two fingers over his mouth.
"Shut up." He said coldly, grabbing his coat at his shoulder and pulling him slightly to get him to follow. He went to sit down on the bed, and Roxas followed, though he didn't seat himself.
"… So, what is it…?" The blond asked calmly.
"That's what I'm wondering…" Axel replied in a low tone.
Here Roxas decided to take a seat next to Axel. He put a hand on his shoulder. "What's different to you…?" He questioned, giving the redhead a starting point to explain himself from.
"… I think I'm more confused than anything. Confused at why this is happening. I feel kinda strange—like I have something in my chest that hurts and feels like it's going to explode. Whenever I feel like that my mind starts going off, too."
Roxas dared to ask what Axel hoped he wouldn't. "What sets that off?" He asked.
"… Eh, it's nothing," Axel shook his head and looked away, a very light shade of rosy color flitting across his face for but a moment, though Roxas caught it.
"… You're lying. You're supposed to be good at lying, but you're not fooling me today. It's not nothing, what is it?" He asked, leaning over so he could see his face better.
"… That new girl."
"W-what about her?" Roxas asked, blushing a bit as well as he thought of her.
Axel looked at him, feeling it again. "… That," He said, getting up and walking toward the door. He didn't get far before he was stopped.
Roxas had a hold on his arm now. "Hey! Wait a second, Axel… Are you saying it bothers you that I think she's pretty?!" No response—Axel's easiest way of saying 'yes' without actually speaking. "Why would that bother you…?"
Axel shook his head again, this time more violently. "I don't know!" He yelled, frustration taking over.
Roxas reacted badly, confused at this as well. "Just because I stare at someone for a few seconds, you flip?!"
"Yeah, I guess I do!" Axel retorted, yanking his arm out of Roxas's grip and turning to him, eyes flashing dangerously.
"It's not like I really like her, Axel…." Roxas said a little more calmly.
"Then stop gawking at her!!" He shouted, the emotions that were supposedly fake going out of control. "It pisses me off to have you looking at someone--!!" He cut himself off before he said too much, blushing vibrantly as he turned away and began to walk. Roxas reached out to him, touching his shoulder and gaining a violent, but expected, reaction as the emerald-eyed redhead roughly knocked his hand back and turned around. "What the hell do y—" His shouting was cut short, Roxas wrapping his arms around him in an embrace.
Roxas buried his face in Axel's chest. "I don't like her, Axel. I'll never like her. Alright…?" He looked up at him, loosening his grip on the redhead's coat. Axel was looking away, though Roxas could see the opaque red covering his face and the nervous expression his eyes so easily made apparent.
"… O-ok…" Roxas released him, looking down. Axel noticed this. "… W-what?"
"You aren't gonna like the news I've got, Axel…"
The redhead eyed the teen, seeing that he was approaching this new topic in a friendlier manner. "What is it…?" Axel asked in a complaining and already regretful tone as if nothing had just happened.
"Xemnas appointed the two of us to training the new guys… This afternoon." He glanced up at him sheepishly, grinning innocently.
Axel couldn't be mad at him with the face he was putting on, obviously for that exact purpose. "… Ah, shit… Oh well, better relax while we can." He sighed, though the feelings he had been getting were still bothering both of the boys. He turned around, moving toward the door as Roxas stopped him with his voice.
"Axel…?"
The older boy glanced over his shoulder. "Yeah?"
"Nobodies don't have emotions, right…?" He questioned uneasily.
Axel thought about it for a moment before he struck gold in his own mind. The words he spoke were directed not only at Roxas, but also to himself and all other Nobodies. "I wouldn't say that… I'm not one hundred percent sure if we have hearts, but ask yourself this—do they control our emotions…? It takes a heart to be living, but it takes a soul to be alive. At least that's what I believe." And with that, he grinned his mischievous grin that gave Roxas a bit of piece of mind. It meant that Axel was really okay now. And not only that, but he seemed to believe a more positive side of how the Nobodies' worked. A side no one else had been able to see before…
And Roxas was glad for that.
----------
Afternoon.
The new members were all scattered in yet another new room Xemnas had created. It was almost a separate world, an island floating in the air above the castle with its own climate and weather. Today, it was sunny and a very neutral, comfortable temperature. There was very little wind to throw off anyone's aim or balance. Perfect for training.
Eryx was leaning against a large rock, which Xylia sat atop. A tree sat several feet away, and Phoenix had seated himself in the shade, where he hugged his knees and watched the others converse. Xanthus was walking about, jumping atop and medium to large sized rocks and climbing any trees that were near the group as he talked to Eryx and Xylia. Maxwell threw in his own comment here and there, but spent most his time waiting playing his fiddle and destroying random objects.
The two teachers for the day stepped out of a portal that appeared in the middle of the group of students. Just as they stepped out, Xanthus dropped down from a tree in front of them. "Hey!" He chirped. Axel smirked.
"'Ey," He replied, shaking his head. "C'mon, everyone. Lets get started." The 5 of them all got up from where they were and assembled in a small clutter in front of the two of them. Just as Axel was about to start, he caught sight of a portal opening. He watched to see Sora and Riku exit from it. Roxas followed his friend's gaze to below the tree Phoenix was at to see them. Axel called out to them. "Hey… What're you guys doin out here…?"
"Your Superior asked me to be here," Riku answered. "Sora came along if that's quite alright."
Axel hesitated, and then nodded his head. He still wasn't sure of what was going on with the two of them being around so much. He'd have to ask Xemnas. Riku and Sora walked forward, sitting down on the rock Xylia was on before. Sora smiled at them all, and several of them smiled back, though less sweetly than he did. Even Roxas caught himself giving Sora a kind face.
Axel proceeded with the lesson after giving an appreciative nod in Riku's direction, which was returned in an opposite manner, the silver haired boy tilting his head back rather than forward. "So… I've been informed that you haven't had any training in serious combat." They exchanged glances with each other, Eryx, Maxwell, and Xanthus nodding in response. Axel eyed Phoenix and Xylia for reactions, but after finding none, glanced at Xylia once more before continuing.
"You guys ready to use your skills?" Roxas said, knowing he was a teacher in this as well. They all nodded this time except for Phoenix, Xanthus and Eryx seeming to by very anxious to 'play' with some enemies. Roxas looked at Axel, who looked back at him. They nodded simultaneously, and called forth a large group of Heartless (A/N: Think the amount of them in Destiny Islands at the beginning of Kingdom Hearts 1).
Roxas started. "Ready."
Axel continued. "Set."
They finished together, the two of them thrusting their outside arms forward and sending the enemies at them. "Go!!"
Once the first few managed to occupy the first four members, they seemed to slip past and congregate around Phoenix. As they closed in, he just watched. The mass of them converged onto him, and he stayed still. Axel and Roxas jumped, both moving to stop them from killing the boy before an arm flew out in front of them.
Axel glared at Riku. "What're you doing, idiot?! They're gonna kill him!" Riku put a finger to his mouth and slowly looked to the pile of darkness the young boy was enveloped in. Roxas and Axel followed his gaze.
The last few remaining enemies slipped away from their targets to join the writhing heap of Heartless. The four other members watched them, and then saw what was happening to Phoenix. However, none of them moved. The lowered their weapons and waited. Roxas and Axel were confused.
An odd dark grayish spark flew from the mountain of black, then another, and another, until it was continuous. Suddenly, in an explosion of gray flames, the Heartless turned to smoke and died. All that was left was the child, standing in the same position as before, the same look on his face—the only thing different was that he was surrounded by ash-colored flames that slowly died out.
Axel and Roxas weren't confused anymore…. Roxas turned to his friend. "… Um… He seems to know enough about this…"
"Indeed… Shall we let him sit the rest of it out?" He asked quietly.
"Yes, because the next lesson was gonna be them fighting us."
"… Good point." He nodded, getting a little louder. "Phoenix. You may sit the rest of the lesson out for today. You seem to be beyond our help at this point in time." The child moved to the tree once again and sat down, hugging his knees and watching as they continued their lessons.
Eryx spoke up. "That would be a good idea to try again when Phoenix isn't around. He attracts the darkness," He explained without really going into detail. He flipped his hair back. "Besides, those were a bit too… weak." His tone was cocky, which made Axel twitch. Roxas nudged him though, so he released the anger with a sigh and the clearing of his throat. "So, teach. What's next?"
Axel and Roxas again exchanged glances and nods. Then Axel looked at Eryx and grinned the same grin Eryx had when he'd entered, except something was noticeably different.
Axel was better at it.
Roxas reached forward with both hands, closing his eyes for a moment while the members watched. He then slowly opened them again, tossing them a little smirk before his two keyblades appeared.
Axel reached out and arched his back forward slightly. He spread his legs a little, putting one foot a little farther back than the other. His head lowered slightly as he grinned his signature toothy grin. In a burst of flames on each hand, his chakrams appeared. "We're your next targets, buddy. On your mark… Get set…" He paused to look at his friend, who nodded to him.
They finished in unison once again.
"Go!!"
Eryx immediately shot his wire from his ring, wrapping it around one of Axel's chakrams, giving him a bit of a shock as the younger fuchsia-eyed boy whipped him into the air. The redhead worked through it, though. He grabbed hold of the wire as he held onto his chakrams at the same time, knowing he was already being shocked so it didn't much matter. He yanked on it in mid-swing, pulling himself to the boy and kicking him in the chest. He fell back, losing his grip on the pyre's weapon.
Axel landed on his knees, leaning forward and breathing heavily. The shock was quite an injury to him. As he looked up, the same length of wire was being thrown at him again. He moved out of the way for the most part, but it cut his cheek. And caused him to bleed. He had to admit, the kid had been trained well.
Not well enough, however.
Axel didn't need to be as close to Eryx as the younger boy thought. He made a swiping motion with his chakrams, sending a wall of flames at him that collided head-on, forcing the now burnt kid back to hit the rock he'd been leaning against before. He fell to the ground, deciding he didn't want to be too sore for tomorrow's practice so he didn't get back up.
Riku clapped sarcastically at the performance. "I think you've worn him out enough for today. You've done well, but there's plenty more time to practice. Let's call it a day since you guys were called up to do this on such short notice." Axel nodded, opening a portal and motioning for Roxas to follow.
The two of them disappeared from the new training island and reappeared in front of Axel's room again. The older teen opened the door, moving toward his bed and falling down face-first on it. It was then that he realized he was bleeding pretty badly. His cheek began to sting as he sat back up, covering it for a second and pulling it back as he winced.
Roxas sighed, walking toward Axel's bathroom. "Stay there, idiot." Axel laughed a little bit as he continued to mess with the wound and make it hurt even more, letting out a small ouch every once in a while. The blond boy rummaged through the medicine cabinet in Axel's bathroom until he managed to find the right stuff for treating the wound.
He walked out with a wet cotton ball, a patch to cover it with, and some disinfectant. He sat down, pulling Axel's hand away from the wound as he winced again. "Ack—Ow…"
Roxas resisted the urge to smack him. "Dork, quite messing with it and it won't hurt as much." He touched the icy wet ball of fluff to the cut, causing Axel to pull away and wince.
"Ow! Is there soap on that?" He complained, leaning away from Roxas as he asked.
"Yes. Now, let me clean it up, stupid." He leaned forward, reaching to attempt to swab it again. The moment he touched the wound, Axel pulled further away, and kept doing so until he had to prop himself up with his arm and Roxas had to sit on his knees. The blond kept trying, but Axel pulled back again and again. Soon enough, Roxas gave up and leaned back, crossing his arms.
After a moment without movement, Axel sat back up slowly, eyeing his friend. "You are such a baby, Axel," The blue-eyed boy sighed, shaking his head. This annoyed Axel.
"Hey, look who's talking mister—" Axel was cut off by the battle of cry of Roxas as he tackled him down and sat on top of him so that he couldn't move. The diversion had worked. Roxas snickered.
"For being the one who usually manipulates me and Demyx, you're pretty easy to mess with if you hit the right buttons." He jested, putting his free hand on Axel's head to make sure he didn't move when he touched the wound with the cotton. The pyre hissed in protest as the slice across his cheek was cleaned up in a most obnoxiously painful way.
As soon as it was cleaned and patched up, Roxas started to get up. The moment he had the chance, Axel threw the younger boy off and onto his back on the bed. He jumped on top of him and started running his fingers across the boy's ticklish spots, causing him to flail and scream. Axel was getting his revenge.
However, it's all fun and games till someone gets their coat accidentally unzipped.
As the redhead continued to hit the younger boy's ticklish areas, Roxas accidentally got his sleeve caught on the upper zipper on Axel's coat. The younger boy continued to thrash about as he laughed and screamed underneath his friend, and ended up pulling the zipper down.
Axel noticed this. In fact, his reaction was to stop, blush, and stare at Roxas in the position they were in. The blue-eyed blond blushed as well. (A/N: Aw, what a cute moment. :3 NOT FOR LONG)
The door opened, and the familiar voice of Demyx caused the two friends to turn and look at him. "Axel, Xemnas wanted to congratulate—HOLY SHIT!" Demyx didn't know what had just happened. All he saw was Axel, blushing, with his coat unzipped on top of Roxas who was also blushing and breathing heavily (From laughing). He turned around, shut the door, and ran away.
This occurrence made the boys realize their own positions, causing them to scramble up off the bed on opposite sides and look away from each other and blush even more. Roxas cleared his throat and looked up at the ceiling while Axel zipped his coat back up. They both sat down on the edge of the bed simultaneously, and a long awkward silence followed.
A few more moments passed before either of them spoke. Axel was too frozen with embarrassment and something else he couldn't quite place his finger on, but Roxas was a little less freaked, so he opened his mouth to speak. Just then, a voice was heard throughout the halls. Xemnas was calling them again.
"I just wanted to inform you all to get out your casual clothes and get changed. A party welcoming the new recruits will be held in the auditorium—No uniforms required. You all have an hour to get ready."
Roxas couldn't speak now. He couldn't look at Axel, and Axel couldn't look at Roxas. Neither one of them wanted to move, but Roxas had to get ready. A portal appeared, enveloping the blond and causing him to disappear. Axel let out a sigh of relief as he moved to get ready.
--------------
NEXT TIME!:
The party begins! What will we come across in our lively event? Danger, foreboding ominous feelings, and surprising entertainment!
Hope you enjoyed, stay tuned in for Chapter 3!
Melodious Nocturne Stalker