KPOV

By the way, I've noticed that I haven't been putting disclaimers. Too bad, I'm too lazy to go back and change the other chapters. Whoops.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Kingdom Hearts or any of the character mentioned in this or past chapters. However, I do own the path this story is taking. Nothing is the same as the game, as I warned you. Yay for me.

O..o..O

I looked around me in intense confusion, made all the worse by the fact that Axel was studying me, with that peculiar little smirk on his face. I'm really starting to hate that. "Uh, where are we?" He laughed. Oh, crap. Bad things happen when he laughs.

Or maybe not. "Kairi, Kairi, Kairi. Don't you recognize this place? Why, it's none other than Hollow Bastion! Formerly known as Radiant Garden." Okay, that struck a nerve. I was supposed to forget about my past, didn't the bastard know that?! I've always done so well, never let on that I knew anything about Radiant Garden, the place Sora told me about. Always played dumb. But at least I was good at that! No one ever suspected I remembered anything about my childhood!

As I couldn't very well say all that, I settled for glaring at the aforementioned bastard. He just grinned. Now, I know that bad things happen when he grins, smirks, or sneers. I'm usually right about that.

And I was. He grabbed my arm and pulled me forward, seeming to know his way around this god-forsaken place. Wow, was this really Radian Garden? Or, wait, what did he call it? Hollow Bastion, or something incredibly similar. Was this really the place I'd grown up in? When I lived here, the place was full of life! There was green everywhere, trees, grass, plants, flowers. Oh, the flowers. You didn't walk even a few feet safely. You always had to watch where you were going, unless you wanted to step on and crush the beautiful little things. Animals, little ones, of course, we weren't a little fairy tale town, were everywhere. Bunnies, birds, little wild things like that were everywhere! And then, the pets. Cats, dogs, more birds, even the occasional hamster or gerbil or something. But the best thing about this place was the people. They were all so friendly and kind! All of us were devoted to stopping the Heartless. We had a commitee of some sort, something like the Radiant Garden Peace Commitee. The RGPC. The name had always made me laugh. But my life... My life was like a little black spot on a beatiful multi-colored blanket or something. There was another little boy, one who helped me, made my life easier... Now what was his name...?

Axel interrupted my reverie by stopping. I guess this didn't knock me out of my daydream as much as the fact that while I was thinking, I ran into him. Hard. I fell on my back, and he turned around and laughed at me. The bastard. "C'mon, Kairi, wakey, wakey! Daydreaming, were you? No time for that, we're here." He left me to scramble to my feet and turned back around to gaze at the ramshackle little house he'd stopped in front of. Well, no, ramshackle wasn't quite the right word. It was a quaint little place, and could be full of charm, an absolutely adorable abode, if someone were to clean it up a bit. "What's this? Where are we?" I mumbled, not quite expecting an answer.

He surprised me. "The home of an old friend. I need a favor." The way he said the words made me think that this person probably didn't think of him as a friend, and probably would have to be persuaded to do Axel a favor.

He stepped up to the door and knocked twice. No answer, and I was about to point out that this place wasn't exactly the kind of place in which someone would enjoy living, when he turned his head. Maybe he heard something, I don't know.

"Come on, Namine. The game's no fun unless you're willing to play..." he murmured. Unless that wasn't what he said. I wouldn't have been surprised. At any rate, he turned to the side and kicked the damn door in! I mean, come on! Is he serious?! Or does he just get paid to play Matrix and kidnap little girls? Well, I guess I'm not little anymore. I'm fifteen. Not exactly little.

Whatever. I wouldn't have gone into the creepy little shack, but I didn't have a whole lot of choice in the matter. He grabbed my arm and pulled me right along behind him.

I was surprised to hear a small but definate whimper coming from inside the shack as Axel strode in like he owned the place. Maybe he did. I shouldn't be one to judge. Unless being kidnapped is basis for judging. In which case I am more than qualified.

He stalked into the small, dark room, and at first I couldn't see anything. Then, as my eyes accustomed to the gloom, I saw a little girl, huddled in the corner of the room, clutching something to her chest. Her blue eyes were wide open, and she was shaking, so much so that her white blonde hair shook along with her.

"Ah, it's my old friend, Namine! Say hello to Namine, princess." said Axel, breaking out into a grin. Fake, probably. However, from the way the girl was shaking, I'd say he'd gotten some intense pleasure out of tormenting her in the past.

"Axel...? I can't help you." These weren't normally considered odd words, but considering the two members of the conversation... Very odd. What could Axel need from this little girl?

The question was immediately forgotten in my haste to get away from him. He was quivering, though with fear or rage or something else it wasn't clear. But he was also getting warm, and I happen to have a certain affinity with my outer layer of skin. "What do you mean?" he murmured, but his tone made clear that he was shaking with rage. I could only imagine why.

The girl, Namine, I think, stood up slowly, and I could see that the object in her hands was a shell-pink sketchbook. She also had a few pencils strewn onto the floor, as though she'd gotten frustrated with their unwillingness to do her bidding. "I mean I know where he is, but it won't help you. I'm sorry."

Axel took a half-step towards her, but Namine was either incredibly stupid or very brave, because she stood her ground. "What do you mean, it won't help me?!" he roared, covering the rest of the distance from him to her in an instant. He grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked, inciting a cry from both of us: Her one of pain, and mine of anger.

He appeared not to notice. "You, witch, will tell me where Roxas is!" he hissed. She winced, her eyes filling with tears. "Axel, I'm so sorry... Roxas is dead... Well, he went back to Sora. I'm so sorry."

I started. Sora? What part did my best friend play in this? Did they mean that this Roxas person went and found Sora and that my friend killed him?

I don't think I'll get answers to any of that yet. Axel had let go of Namine and nearly fallen backwards. He caught himself on the wall at the last second, and slumped to the floor. Namine opened up one of those portal-things (I should have guessed that she was part of that whole buisiness) and stepped halfway in, turning around to speak to me. "Kairi, I'm sorry. I have something to take care of. I can't give it back just yet." And with that she disappeared to her destination.

Not knowing what else to do, I went over to Axel. True, he'd made the last few days miserable for me, but there's just something in me that can't ignore a person in pain. No matter how inhuman that person acts.

He was crying. I'd seen him laugh, sneer, joke, smile, frown, and cringe, but I'd never seen him cry. This must have been bad.

I had to do something, I couldn't just sit there and let him cry! So I did something completely unsafe and out of character.

I went over to him, sat in his lap, and put my arms around him. Odd, but he wasn't hot, just the opposite. He hesitantly put his arms around me, and his embrace wasn't hot and stifling like most people's. His hug was nice. Cool, and he didn't try and hurt me or say anything inappropriate like I was prepared for.

In short, he astounded me.

So I settled down in the cool embrace and closed my eyes. It would do us both a bit of good to get some rest.

Dang. That's quite a bit longer than I usually write. Anyway, I'd like comments! Constructive crits, people! I'd like to know if I'm moving this along too quickly, and what you think!
At any rate, I like it, and I have a grand scheme! Please comment if you have anything to say!
Uh, also, I noticed that I have no lyrics in this chapter... I just couldn't think of a song. Please for suggestions!