Chapter 11- Confrontations
After sleeping for what felt like an eternity, Sairu's eyes finally opened as the perpetual light of sunset came through the curtains billowing in the wind. As he rose to his feet, he staggered for a moment, but he used his control over gravity to push himself up straight again. "So you're finally awake" said a voice, and as Sairu followed it, he found Lunar Bahamut in his sealed form on the bedside table, in a curled position that suggests that he had been sleeping. "It's only been one night, right?" Sairu asked, unsure of his companion's words. To his surprise, Lunar Bahamut shook his head and responded "You've been unconscious for about twenty days. The training you were going through took a tremendous toll from your body. Even though you have recuperated from your prolonged slumber, you still have to be careful" After hearing this explanation, Sairu was shocked to hear how long he had slept. He wasn't an early-riser to begin with, but being unconscious for twenty days was too much to take in.
As Lunar Bahamut stood on his hind legs, he took flight and landed on Sairu's shoulder just as the door to his room opened. Sairu didn't even have time to see who it was before a streak of white and blonde ran into him, pulling him into a tight embrace. As his eye adjusted, he saw it was Naminé. As she held him, she lifted her head to look at him, relief evident in her cobalt eyes. "Naminé..." Sairu weakly said, as he realised she was even stronger than she looked. "Can't... breathe..." At this, Naminé let go allowing Sairu a big breath of air. "I'm sorry. I'm just... so glad you're awake. I've been really worried about you" she said, a tint of pink in her cheeks again. As Sairu caught his breath, he was a little taken aback by this, but was touched she was worried.
"Well, I'm here now. No need to worry anymore" he responded with a soft smile upon his face. At this, Naminé smiled in response, and then the two departed for the pod room. But as they walked, Sairu noticed her smile falling as they walked in comfortable silence. The only reason she would be like this that Sairu could think of was Sora. "Naminé..." Sairu said, which earned her attention. "Thanks for being worried about me. I imagine you're the only one who would be worried about me" Naminé looked taken aback at this, but sheepishly nodded her head in response, trying to smile but couldn't fully muster it. Noticing this, Sairu asked in a concerned voice "Is something wrong?" At this, Naminé seemed to shiver, but she responded "It's getting even more difficult to restore Sora's memories. It's gotten so bad, that Riku took off about a week ago, and hasn't returned yet. I think he left to try and fix it himself" Hearing this, Sairu was curious and surprised as to why Riku would disappear like he did. Yet, he understood Riku wouldn't sit around and let it get worse especially if it concerned his best friend. Now that he thought about it, he knew what it was like to do something before it got worse, better than most people.
After walking some more, they arrived in the pod room where Sora was sleeping, DiZ seemingly having finished typing something into the device in that room. As he heard approaching feet, he turned and was relieved yet somewhat disappointed that Sairu was awake after all this time. "So, you wake after all. Might I enquire as to why it was that you fell asleep?" DiZ asked in curiosity as he turned to face them. "Sairu put himself through intensive training with a new power we had been working hard to master. The sheer effort he put in reflects what he gained out of it. I am certain he has increased his mastery over this technique, if not achieved it" Lunar Bahamut explained upon his shoulder. DiZ was satisfied with this explanation and nodded as he spoke "I see. Well, I take it that Naminé explained the situation to you regarding your slumbering friend" Sairu nodded in response and replied "Yeah. I heard it all. Even that Riku has disappeared for about a week now" "Indeed, he took off somewhere with that puppet that is ruining everything. From what I observed out in Twilight Town, they have re-emerged. Go to them and find out for yourself" At this, Sairu nodded and turned to Lunar Bahamut, saying "I need to keep up appearances. Don't refer to me as Sairu once we're out there." His companion looked surprised but nodded in response all the same, then, to their surprise, he transformed again: this time, he had become a dragon-shaped gauntlet on Sairu's left arm. Sairu took this in stride, nodding to both DiZ and Naminé before pulling up his hood and disappearing into a corridor of darkness.
In the currently vacant 'usual spot', two robed figures sat in absolute silence. Riku and Xion had been sitting like this as if contemplating something, until a corridor of darkness appeared before them, revealing another robed figure, his face obscured by the hood shrouding his face, with a silver dragon gauntlet attached to his left arm. At first, Riku seemed wary of the third person in this room, but Xion seemed to be aware of who it was. She rose from her seat and cautiously approached him, before asking "You're... Getsuryu, aren't you?" At this, 'Getsuryu' nodded in Xion's direction and turned to face Riku, who seemed confused but when he spoke, he realised whose voice it was and went along with it. "It has been some time, but it appears you were the one who never told me your name" At this, Xion chuckled in an embarrassed manner, and responded in a bashful voice "I'm Xion. It's nice to see you again, Getsuryu. I take it you're acquainted with Riku here", gesturing to Riku on her right. At this, Riku nodded and answered "We've met a couple of times. Though I want to know why you are here" Getsuryu's posture did not stiffen or relax, as he responded in a silky voice "Obvious really. I'm here to lend assistance on your endeavours" At this, Riku noticed his bluff and responded "Right. We were hoping to lure out some people in the Organization by making our presence known. Care to assist us?" At this, Getsuryu smirked beneath his hood and responded "Playing a game of cat and mouse, are we?" At this, Riku nodded and then, they heard it, a voice that yelled out "RIKU!"
At this, Riku and Xion pulled up their hoods and the three ventured into the alleyway, where Sairu saw a boy with blonde spiky hair and the same cobalt blue eyes that certain friends of his possessed. As he looked at him, he seemingly invoked a sense of nostalgia within Sairu, but put that thought to the back of his mind, as the other person, tall and lean built with bright red hair, noticed something and turned to face them. "Who's there?" Axel called, as his emerald eyes fell on three hooded figures, two of whom had their entire faces shrouded in darkness, whilst the other Roxas seemed to recognise. "Xion?" he asked. Hearing this, one of the cloaked figures dipped their heads, then turned around, opening a corridor of darkness and disappeared. "Xion, wait!" Roxas exclaimed as he ran towards them, only for one of the remaining cloaked figures to stand in his way. "Rrgh. Get out of the way!" Roxas said angrily, to which there was no response other than for him to run off into the underground passageway. "Hey!" Roxas yelled before he gave chase, and he followed into the underground passageway.
"Roxas, wait up!" Axel called and attempted to follow, but the last of the cloaked figures stood in his way, the gauntlet on his left arm emitting a white stream of energy that suggested this was a sword of sorts. "Out of my way!" Axel yelled as he called out his chakrams, and struck his adversary, who reeled from his injuries, only for his form to ripple in a manner reminiscent of flowing water and disappear, but Axel's senses alerted him in the nick of time as he dodged an attack from his back, where his hooded opponent stood, uninjured. "What's your problem, buddy?" Axel called in an annoyed voice, only for his adversary to disappear in a flash and reappear behind him again and successfully struck Axel's back. The wound itself was superficial, but Axel suddenly fell to his knees, struggling to stand up. "What's going on? I can't stand up" Axel said aloud, at which his opponent answered "Gravity. With this weapon I carry, whenever I cut someone, the whole of your body became trapped in a smaller field of gravity where you are currently experiencing roughly three times the gravity you would otherwise be used to. It is far from fatal, but enough to immobilise agile fighters such as yourself. The reason is I have questions I have to ask you. I will not cut you down, and you will answer my questions in exchange for your life" he said in an authoritative voice.
At this, Axel seemed content with his situation and responded in an amused yet serious voice "Depends what you want to know. If you want to know about us as a group, forget it. I don't sell out comrades or friends" At this, the hooded one only chuckled and it then exploded into laughter, until he responded "Fear not. I have no interest in doing such primitive things. Does the name 'Zexion' mean anything to you?" At this, Axel's smug expression evaporated as he heard what was being said. "Why do you want to know about-?! Wait a minute, you're..." And as he spoke, the hood fell down, revealing Sairu to him. "Right. I want answers and you're going to give me them, Axel. Got it memorised?" Sairu said, gesturing to his head with a finger to his head.
Axel couldn't help but chuckle at his catchphrase being used against him, but he soon recomposed himself and spoke in a manner least expected him to "Little Moony is all grown up" before chuckling again. Sairu inwardly cringed at his nickname, but shrugged it off, as his expression became serious again. "Don't change the subject. Tell me why: why did you take the life of Ienzo's Nobody? You aren't going anywhere until you tell me" At his tone of voice, Axel's expression darkened and asked as such "So you want revenge, is that it?" Sairu didn't answer, as he looked down at another of his former friends, yet the look in Sairu's eye told Axel all he needed to know: it wasn't hatred, but a desire for the truth. Despite his past with his current captor, Axel was true to his words and he refused to sell out the Organization "Sorry, I can't tell you". At this, Sairu's mouth fell into a frown as he knelt down to look Axel in the eye "Your loyalty is admirable as always... Lea. But I have a right to know the truth, especially since my best friend's life was stolen by your intervention". Axel visibly cringed at the mention of his former name, but he looked Sairu back and said "Things haven't changed enough for me to sell out my comrades. I remember when we were kids; you were always being pushed around by the older kids, and I was the only older one who had your back. So you choose to repay me by keeping me bound here for interrogation? And here I thought we were friends, Sairu" feigning scorn before his eyes.
At this, Sairu closed his eyes in frustration and stated "This isn't about betraying your comrades. Just tell me what I need to know. Although, based on your words, it would seem his demise was much desired by one of your own comrades. How deplorable- comrades that strike each other down. But lest we forget, we are adversaries, not comrades or friends, you and I. Tell me" Axel glared defiantly and said "I can't" After he spoke, Axel suddenly fell forward onto his chest, spread-eagled on the floor. "You said before you wouldn't sell out your comrades, but what do you expect to happen when the ally's identity is still undisclosed? Tell me in confidence. Surely, you're capable of doing so without betraying your ally?" At this last remark, Axel emitted an exasperated sigh and spoke in an exasperated tone "I guess that's fair. Fine. The reason... was because we had our own agenda, and we needed Zexion out of the picture to reach it"
Sairu was listening intently as Axel divulged the truth "Don't get the wrong idea about this next part, but we didn't exactly trust our boss's promise of our own hearts. We concocted this scheme in order to ensure we got what we wanted, but with their rank and my rank in this little club of ours, we didn't know if the boss was honestly seeking Kingdom Hearts to complete us. So, seeing as how Zexion was highly favoured, we chose to have him perish so they could gain the boss's trust and get closer to him. That was what I set out to do, but you interfered and changed it so that he sacrificed himself instead of being finished off by me. Then, if it were found out that the boss lied, we would betray him to gain our hearts ourselves. That was the plan, but things changed"
After hearing Axel's confession, Sairu remained kneeling in thought about all he thought, and as he rose to his feet again, he suddenly felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. At this, he dispelled the blade as the energy dissipated, and Axel rose shakily to his feet. "What happens now?" he asked curiously. Hearing this, Sairu turned away, closing his eyes and simply saying "Off with you" "Huh?" Axel said in response, surprised. "Your friend is probably waiting for you. Best not keep him waiting" Sairu clarified. At this, Axel couldn't help but chuckle, yet he nodded his head in gratitude and prepared to leave. "So, does this mean we're friends again?" he asked. Sairu didn't know how to answer that, but he responded "It's going to take more than an interrogation for you to gain my trust again. Besides, despite everything, we're on opposite sides in this battle. We'll probably have to fight eventually" Hearing this, Axel was inwardly disappointed but he responded nonchalantly "Guess we'll see what happens when it happens. For what it's worth, I won't tell anyone about your identity. Fair exchange?" At this, Sairu responded "Yeah. See you around, Lea" After speaking, Sairu disappeared into a dark corridor, and noticing his departure, Axel tore off for the underground waterway to save a friend in need.