Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any Disney characters. They belong to Square Enix and Disney respectively.

Warning: Mild shonen ai in this chapter

And just a side NOTE: For this story Axel's about 2 years older than Sora and Kairi, which makes him 16. In other words, he's a lot younger than he was in KH2. I should post the ages of the characters somewhere... hmm... Ooo! Profiles at the ends of chapters! (Y'know, kind of like in the game.)

Herutsu no Oukoku

Chapter 5: Flurry of Dancing Flames

Axel cautiously walked around the streets of Traverse Town, his green eyes darting around and keeping a sharp eye out for any Heartless. Black shoes thumped quietly on the ground the tops of which were half covered up by the bottom of his green pants. He wore two shirts; one was faded black and had long sleeves and the one over top of it was red and had the words "Fire Hazard" written across it in black.

He stopped walking and ran his hand through his spiky long red hair in frustration. "C'mon, Rox. Where are you?" He muttered, still looking around.

"Axel?"

Axel turned around, his eyes hopeful. "Roxas?" He asked, only to be disappointed when he saw no one and received no answer. His eyes dropped to the ground and he stuffed him hands into his pocket, his whole posture screaming, 'depression!'

"I guess… he's not here." Axel murmured to himself. "Heh. I should have known it wouldn't be that easy." He started walking again, too busy thinking back to his home and his friends to pay attention to where he was going.

There was a small café in Twilight Town near where Axel lived and he and his friends would go there when they'd get a chance. Most of the time Axel's best friend, Roxas, would go there when he needed a break and Axel never passed up the opportunity to go see him.

"Hey there, Foxy Roxy." Axel said as he sauntered over to the petite blonde. He slid onto the armchair that Roxas was sitting on and tried to wrap his arm around him.

"Axel." Roxas glared at him and knocked his arm away. "Cut it out. And don't call me that!"

Axel pouted and then dramatically threw both arms around Roxas. "But I love you! How can you deny our love!"

Roxas groaned and dropped his head into his hands. He knew that there was no way to stop the obsessive redhead from getting his way and, although he would never admit it, he enjoyed the attention. "Axel." He said in an exasperated tone. "People are watching."

Axel didn't so much as move. "So? Let them look. I'm not ashamed."

"Of course not." Roxas muttered. "Could you at least let me move so I can drink my coffee?"

Axel loosened his grip a little and when Roxas leaned forward to pick up his drink, he slid down into the seat and pulled Roxas into his lap. "There!" He cheerfully exclaimed. "Isn't that better!"

Roxas growled in frustration.

"Now, all we need are some snacks so I can feed you." Axel teasingly said. "Now where is that waitress…"

"Axel…" Roxas said warningly. "Don't you even dare."

Axel laughed and pulled Roxas a little closer so he could rest his head atop the spiky locks of blonde hair. "Okay."

Roxas didn't move away.

A small smile worked it's way across Axel's face at the memory, but just as quickly as it came it went away. 'That was the last time I saw him before…' He lifted his head up to look around and cursed when he saw that he was surrounded by Heartless. "Damn it!" He loudly cursed as he jerked his hands out of his pockets.

Flames wrapped around his hands and up to his wrists as he summoned his red and white chakrams to his hands. He effortlessly threw them at the Heartless while letting more and more fire build up so he could form a barrier of fire to protect himself. He smirked as the spikes on the chakrams ripped through the Heartless and then spun around to return to his hand. Each time they came back he wrapped new fire around the spikes.

"Back off!" He growled as he swung around and blasted fire at Heartless coming at him from behind. He slowly started backing up as he fought the Heartless, hoping to get to the door to First District before the Heartless could overwhelm him.

A new weapon, one quite similar to his chakrams, flew out of nowhere and took out a group of Heartless on his left. He didn't question the help and continued to fight even as someone dropped down from the roof and helped him out. It wasn't until all the Heartless were gone that he turned around to talk to the person who helped him.

"Thanks for your help." He said to the raven-haired girl.

"No problem!" The girl said cheerfully as she hooked her weapon onto her back. "The name's Yuffie! And you are?"

"I'm Axel. Got it memorized?"

Yuffie laughed. "You've got a sense of humor, I see. I like that. So, what are you doing out here in Second District? It's not exactly a place you want to go for a walk in. There are Heartless everywhere. But man, those are some cool weapons! What are they?"

"Chakrams." Axel told her. "I don't know where they came from though. I got here about two weeks ago and was attacked when they appeared. I knew how to use them just like that." He snapped his fingers. "And as for why I'm here…" His eyes dimmed as he remembered why he was wandering around. "I'm looking for a friend of mine. My best friend."

"You know, you're the second person I've met today who is looking for their best friend." Yuffie said. "And since I told him I'd keep a lookout, I'll do the same for you. What's he look like?"

Axel thought for a moment on the best way to describe Roxas. "He has spiky blonde hair. And it sticks up to one side, which makes it look like he just got out of bed." A small smile tugged at his lips. "And the most gorgeous sky blue eyes… they're a little cold though, and he usually looks like he's disinterested. And he always wears this fancy X shaped pendant thing."

Yuffie smiled. "Sounds like you really like him. Well, I haven't seen anyone around here who looks like that. Heck, I've only seen one person with spiky hair, but it's not blonde." She peered closely at Axel. "Say, you don't look so good. I've got an idea! How about you come with me and let my friend Aerith get some food in you!" She poked him in the side, making him jump. "You're thin as a stick! And Aerith says I'm skinny!" She huffed, half in anger and half in frustration, and then grabbed Axel's arm. "C'mon. I've got to at least get you an Ether or something. You had to have used a lot of energy throwing all that fire around."

Axel let himself be dragged along. "I don't feel tired." He lied, wanting to spend more time looking for Roxas.

Yuffie rolled her eyes and continued pulling him to the door. "Sure you don't." She said sarcastically.

Axel tried to pull his arm out of her grip, but found it useless and continued to allow her to pull him to First District. 'A quick break won't hurt. And Roxas wouldn't want me to tire myself out.' He told himself. 'And maybe I can ask around in First District again.' His stomach growled and he looked anywhere but at Yuffie, hoping she didn't hear it.

"Sounds like someone is hungry." Yuffie remarked, her voice teasing. "I bet Aerith can whip you up something real quick. And if she's busy then I can do it instead!" She pumped a fist into the air. "Yeah! I can cook you up something really nice!"

Axel gulped, not sure if allowing the energetic girl dragging him along to cook would be such a good idea. It didn't seem like she had a very long attention span.

Some time later Axel found himself leaving the Accessory Shop with Yuffie skipping by his side. Thankfully, he didn't have to suffer through her cooking and got to try Aerith's cooking. Unfortunately for him, with Aerith there he got several of her strange concoctions shoved down his throat after she decided that he didn't look well enough to be walking around on his own.

"I had better not have been poisoned by that." Axel muttered to himself.

"Don't worry. We've been force fed her stuff a lot and we're still here." Yuffie tried to assure him. "Her stuff really does help, you know. She just hasn't found a way to make it taste good and still work well."

"Why couldn't I have just used a Potion or Ether or something?" Axel asked crossly. "At least those don't taste bitter or of sour milk."

Yuffie laughed. "They don't taste that bad. And Aerith doesn't really trust Potions or Ethers. She said something about them being bad once or something about not knowing what's in them and ever since then the moment one of us pulls out a Potion or anything she swoops in out of nowhere and dumps it out. It's the strangest thing, though. The grass she dumps it on turns this funny purple color and then changes to neon green."

A worried expression crossed Axel's face and he took a second or two to wonder exactly what goes into Potions before he decided that it would be better for his health if he didn't know.

"Yuffie!"

Yuffie looked around to see who it was calling her name and broke out into a smile when she saw who it was. "Sora! Kairi!" She yelled, waving an arm in the air. "Welcome back!"

Axel turned around to see who Yuffie was yelling to and his heart nearly skipped a beat when he saw the boy running toward. 'Roxas?' He wondered briefly, before he took a good look at the boy. 'No. But they look a lot alike.' The thought of Roxas having a brother briefly crossed his mind.

Sora and Kairi ran up to Yuffie and Axel and stopped a few feet away.

"Who's your friend, Yuffie?" Sora asked, noticing Axel right away. Not that anyone could, with his bright red hair and all. "I don't remember seeing him before."

"Oh!" Yuffie exclaimed. She had gotten into one of her little scatterbrained moments and had forgotten that Axel was standing right beside her. "Guys, this is Axel. He's looking for his best friend just like you are, Sora."

"Really?" Sora looked curiously at Axel while Kairi shyly hung back, not sure what to make of Axel. "You wouldn't have happened to come across anyone with silver hair, would you?"

Axel shook his head. "Sorry."

Sora looked a little disappointed. "Oh… no, that's okay. I'll just have to keep looking! I know I'll find him sooner or later. I'm Sora by the way." He held out a hand for Axel to shake.

"Axel. Got it memorized?" Axel said with a smirk as he shook Sora's hand. "And who's the lovely redhead beside you?" He asked.

Kairi narrowed her eyes. Something about Axel bugged her, but she couldn't quite place what it was. "I'm Kairi." She said, trying to push back her distrust.

"Soo…" Yuffie tried to break the tension that had settled over them. "How'd your trip to Merlin's go? Did you find your way okay? You gave him the book, right?"

Sora nodded energetically. "Yeah! And Merlin taught me a spell! You wanna see?" He asked.

Yuffie shook her head, holding back a laugh. "No, that's okay, Sora. I'm sure I'll see it in action later. Hey, was Naminé there? I haven't heard from her in forever. In fact, the last time I saw her was a year ago when she dropped by to say she was going home for a bit."

"You mean her world wasn't destroyed like everyone elses?" Axel interrupted.

Yuffie shook her head. "I don't really know. No one but her and Merlin really know where she came from and neither of them are saying anything."

"And she chooses to stay here?" Kairi asked, confused. If she had the choice she'd rather be at home with her family and friends, not in some strange place and unable to go home.

"Merlin's here." Yuffie said simply. "And I get the feeling that she doesn't really care for her home. She said something to me once about a prophecy and how it messed up her world…"

They all fell silent for a moment, most of them wondering about the mystery that was Naminé. Axel just wondered who it was they were talking about, before he remembered the girl in white he met when he first arrived.

"Hey Axel, do you want to join us?" Sora asked suddenly. "Me and Kairi are going to travel on a gummi ship to different worlds so I can look for Riku and to find a way for us all to go home."

"When'd you get a gummi ship?" Yuffie asked before Axel could say anything.

"We made two new friends in town!" Sora said, just as excitable as ever. "They're names are Donald and Goofy and-- Hey!" He turned to look for them so he could introduce them better. "Where'd they go?" He looked guiltily at Kairi and then they both turned to look at the door to Second District. Yuffie and Axel followed their gazes.

"Well… they did say for us to go on ahead." Kairi sheepishly said. "You don't think they were just saying that to be nice, do you?"

Sora started running for the doors, but before he got too far they opened and Donald and Goofy tumbled out and collapsed on the ground. Donald looked up and gave Sora a glare for leaving him and Goofy behind.

"Oops?" Sora offered them a half smile and then he and Kairi walked forward to help the two up.

"So when do we leave?" Axel asked. He'd already been all around Traverse Town looking for Roxas and hadn't found him. Sora's idea of looking for Riku picked at his brain until he decided it'd be a good idea to go look for Roxas in different worlds.

"What do you mean 'we'?" Donald asked crossly. "You aren't going!"

"Aww, come on, Donald." Sora said pleadingly. "He's looking for his friend too! You just gotta let him come along!"

Donald crossed his arms over his chest. "No!"

"Gawrsh, Donald. Maybe we should let him come with us." Goofy said. "It wouldn't hurt to have someone else along who can fight."

Donald let out a frustrated growl. "Fine. But I won't like it."

"Looks like you're coming along with us, uh…" Goofy paused, not knowing Axel's name.

"Axel."

Goofy nodded. "Nice to meet you, Axel. I'm Goofy and this here is Donald. We'd be honored to have you come along."

"Thanks."

End Chapter
And so ends Axel's chapter. Now there's only one member of their group left to introduce, but he won't come in until chapter 8. I absolutely adore Sora. He's one of those characters who can be friends with just about anyone, so I figure "Of course he'd be the one to invite Axel along". And as for Kairi's dislike for Axel... I really have no idea where that came from. Originally I was going to have the two get along with maybe a few sibling-ish fights. (like poking and teasing one another mercilessly)

And time to begin the Profiles! (Donald and Goofy are the same as they are in the game, so you don't mind if I don't add them in, right? Later I might add little tidbits.)

PROFILES

Sora-

Hair color: brown

Hair style: spiky

Eye color: cerulean blue

Age: 14

Weapon: Keyblade (Kingdom Key)

One of the main heroes in the story, Sora is searching for his best friend, Riku. He's teamed up with Kairi, Donald, Goofy, and Axel to go around to different worlds and to look for Riku and to find a way to go back to Destiny Island.

Kairi-

Hair color: dark red

Hair style: long; usually in a braid

Eye color: violet

Age: 14

Weapon: Keyblade (Heart Flower (note that the name has been made up on the spot. if anyone knows the real name of Kairi's keyblade, let me know)

The main heroine in the story, Kairi is looking for a way to go home to her family and friends. She's found a friend in Sora and gets along with Donald and Goofy, but doesn't seem to like Axel very much.

Axel-

Hair color: bright red

Hair style: spiky but long; sometimes pulls it back

Eye color: green

Age: 16

Weapon: chakrams and fire

Like Sora, he's searching for his best friend (Roxas) although unlike Sora, it's apparant that he likes his best friend as more than just a friend. He joins Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy on their journey to the next world.

Riku-

Hair color: silver-white

Hair style: short

Eye color: aquamarine

Age: 15

Weapon???

Sora's best friend. He's currently missing.

Roxas-

Hair color: blonde

Hair style: spiky (tends to spike up to one side)

Eye color: cerulean blue

Age: 14

Weapon???

Axel's best friend. He's also missing.

MINOR

Yuffie-

Always ready to go and fight or do something, Yuffie gets along with just about everyone. Some people are annoyed by the sheer amount of energy she has (like Leon, for example) but they can't help but admire her for staying happy in a time where there isn't much happiness around. She stays with Cid, Leon, and Aerith in Traverse Town.

Aerith-

The mother figure of the Traverse Town bunch, if she catches wind that someone isn't feeling their best she'll glide in and find a way to make them better. She may not look it, but she can be a dangerous foe. She spends her time working in her small garden outside the shop and working on her own Potions for her friends.

Cid-

The owner of the Accessory Shop and the one who got Yuffie, Aerith, and Leon out of Hollow Bastion when it was being overrun by Heartless.

Leon-

He spends his time patrolling Traverse Town to make sure everyone is safe or training underground Merlin's house. He's usually cool and collected and there's not much that can faze him. Not even Yuffie. Aerith is the only one who can unsettle him.

NEXT UPDATE: (around) September 4