Title: Last Train
Author: nikki_ntm
Beta reader: Shattered Apocalypse
Chapters: 6/20
Genre: Drama/Adventure/Suspense
Rating: M for language, violence and disturbing themes such as bullying, crime and disease.
Characters: Axel, Saïx, Larxene and Marluxia amongst others (Lea, Isa, Seifer and Org. 13).
Pairings: Implied past/present/future pairings, mainly past Axel/Larxene, current Leon/Arlene, and implied one-sided Isa/Lea.
Setting: Modern Japan (yakuza-themed)

A/N: Merry Christmas everyone! And a Happy New Year too, if I don't make it next week!

x

Chapter 6: Follow the Dove

~ooo~

1999 - Twelve Years Ago

~ooo~

"Isa!"

Lea hurried up to his friend just in time to see him quickly close his books and put them in a neat pile, as if that would make them invisible.

"Your mom noticed that you'd gone." He took a bite of his apricot and sat down across from Isa and flipped through the book on top. Advanced Equations, Lea couldn't even begin to understand all the numbers and letters combined together. He only had to give the pile a quick glance to see that the next book was nothing that would interest him.

"She said that she had to go to the hospital to renew her prescription, and she told me to tell you to not slack off. Technically, you're not slacking off, so lucky for you, I'm not gonna rat you out." Lea grinned and put the book back onto the pile. Isa smiled back and took a deep breath. He always got dodgy when he was caught studying, even around Lea who had already found out about his secret aspirations.

"How're the bruises?" Lea inspected Isa and saw that he still had some band aids on his hand, but the bruises on his face were healing up fast. They were just a light shade of purple now compared to how they had been two days ago.

"Better. Mom nearly gave me new ones when she found out. Doing good deeds isn't what it's made out to be."

He had gotten into a fight with a couple of drunken youths that were out looking for trouble. Isa wasn't the one to get into fights, but he couldn't just stand by the sidelines and do nothing when he saw that the youths had gone after the old and homeless man Wakaji.

It had become a disturbingly popular "sport" amongst bored youths from the inner city to hunt down homeless people and beat them up just for the heck of it. From what Isa had learned that night, they didn't mind replacing the homeless with a burakumin, or eta, as they were better known as; descendants of filth. Hadn't it been for Lea, Isa would've been pushing up the daises now. He had taken quite a beating, but at least the old man Wakaji got away.

"I'm not so sure about that. What I do know is that whatever change you want to push through needs backup. When you didn't have backup those punks knocked you around, but when the backup arrived – me - the tables turned. Which is why you should come with me to the gathering the guys have put together on Saturday."

Isa frowned and crossed his arms. He knew who those guys were, Lea had been spending more and more time with them and Isa had done a few jobs for them, but he didn't like them at all, but he received a month worth of pay for every job he did for them and it had really made a difference back home.

"What kind of gathering?"

"Nothing too fancy. We're gonna meet down at the beach, kill some time. There'll be girls and booze." Lea nudged him and grinned.

"I don't know, Lea. I should study every minute of free time if I want to have the slightest chance of getting that scholarship." He looked down onto the table when Lea's face grew stern. Isa wasn't sure that Lea knew that his dislike for what Isa was doing showed, but it was enough to remind him that he might be losing his time.

"C'mon, you've been studying non-stop for days! You need to get out, meet people. There's a world out there the books don't tell you about. It's not just any guys either, Isa. These are the guys that will give you a job when no one else will. What do you say? Please?"

Lea tilted his head to the side and pouted while fluttering his eyelids. It didn't sound too dangerous. He didn't have to drink, but he could at least enjoy the company, make some new friends, and get away from here. Besides, Lea would be there. If anything were to happen, Isa knew that Lea had his back.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll go with you, just stop doing that face. You're embarrassing yourself."

~ooo~

Saturday came. Isa wasn't sure what lie he had told his mother when she asked him about where he was going, but he had said that he would be out with Lea. His mother didn't usually respond well to that, but he knew that she was kind of grateful to Lea for having defended Isa from the inner city kids, so she just nodded sternly and told him to be careful when he walked out.

It was still sunny outside when they got to the beach. It had been raining a lot these past days due to it being rain season, but it would soon be summer and then came the unbearable heat.

Isa thought that he would be nervous, but Lea made him forget all about that when they had walked down the streets, talking nonsense.

There were three persons sitting on the edge of the sidewalk, hanging with their feet over the sand below. Isa had met them before. Seifer was sitting in the middle, drinking out of a can of beer. He had cut his blond hair short and was wearing his gray, long coat with a red cross on the one sleeve. Beside him sat his two, loyal friends, Fujin and Raijin.

Raijin had come here from Okinawa in search for a better life, but he hadn't done so well for himself obviously. He was always wearing sleeveless shirts in different colors regardless of the temperature outside. Fujin was allegedly a girl. She had a patch over her left eye and she had dyed her hair silver. Isa had never heard her say anything, but he had seen her hit Raijin whenever he said something that she didn't agree with. Maybe that was her way of communicating?

As they got closer and saw that no one else had showed up yet, Isa couldn't help but to wonder if Lea had been referring to Fujin when he said that there would be girls at the gathering.

Seifer nodded in Lea's direction and tossed him a can of beer.

He looked at Isa and grinned, "Well, look at you. Haven't seen you around for a while. I thought you were going to turn your back on your brothers."

Isa wasn't officially a part of their gang, and Seifer was aware of the moral issues Isa tackled with when doing jobs for them, but he wanted to expand the gang. It surely got him on the boss' good side.

"Of course he isn't," Lea said and flopped down on the sand, "We outcasts gotta stick together."

"We heard that you were attacked by a gang. If you join us, we'll avenge you."

Seifer never missed an opportunity to try to convince Isa to join them. He had thought that it would be easy once they had Lea; he hadn't counted on Isa being so stubborn when everything around him clearly told him that he needed people he could rely on in this world where dog eats dog.

"I'll manage."

"Yeah, but for how long? It's a dangerous world out there."

Isa sighed and shot Seifer an annoyed look, "My world will end up being more dangerous if I join a criminal organization."

Lea nearly choked on his beer, quickly looking at Isa, hoping that words would come to him quickly to stop Isa from digging his grave too deep, but Seifer beat him to it.

"Oh? Criminal organization, is it? That's not how it sounds when you need a job. You gonna live off Lea for the rest of your life? Is that the life you're gonna live, Isa? Kept like a woman?" He snickered and got Raijin and Fujin to join him as the subtext hit home.

"Don't talk shit, Seifer. Stop being an asshole and let everyone enjoy the party. Geez." Lea took another sip of his beer.

"That's no way to talk to your brother," Seifer crossed his arms and tried to look disappointed, "But I know that you mean well, Lea. I'll let it pass for this time."

Raijin looked over his shoulder to see if the others were coming, "Hey, Seifer, I thought the others would turn up, you know."

"Setzer is on his way. He said he had a couple of business men to con before he picked up the ladies."

"And Kuja?"

"Hell, if I knew. The boss wanted a word with him. I think the loan sharks need muscle to collect debts, so look forward to work." Seifer smirked and finished the last of his beer while he reached for another one. "Here, have one." He threw it to Isa and took another one for himself, "We don't want no buzzkill here, so join the party."

Isa wasn't sure if it was the pleading look in Lea's eyes, the peer-pressure in general or if it had been curiosity that made him drink the disgusting beer. Whatever it had been, he drank it and before he knew it he had agreed to a second and to a third. By the time the rest of the invited came around, they were all a little tipsy.

Setzer was in a suit, he had his long, silvery hair in a ponytail to keep it in place. He had a couple of star struck girls with him, they came from different high schools judging by the emblems on their uniforms. The only one Isa could recognize was the uniform for the girls who came from Shinwa's High School. He had been there when he had to sell meth to some girls; it had been one of his first jobs for this gang.

Setzer introduced everyone to everyone, but the names completely escaped Isa's mind. He noticed one girl more than the others though. She wasn't Japanese. She was blond, had really green eyes and a name he could hardly pronounce. It was the second time he had seen a Westerner up close like this. Isa never counted Lea as a Westerner, even though he was half-Irish. The second foreigner was his tutor from the local library.

"Seifer, where're your manners? Offer the girls something to drink, they have all had a rough day at school, haven't you, girls?"

"What are you drinking, Setzer?" The girl by the name Olette sat down next to Setzer, swinging her legs softly. Setzer had pulled out a small bottle from inside his jacket and held it up.

"This is scotch. It's not the finest scotch, but it sure does its work. You wanna have a sip?"

Isa's attention was diverted when he saw the Western girl approach Lea, who clearly feared that she would start speaking English with him, but then she spoke.

"Wuah, you sound Japanese!" Lea exclaimed with an expression that made the girl giggle, "What was your name again? Setzer said it really fast and I wasn't paying attention."

"Um, I'm Larxene."

"Larxene? That's a really weird name. I'm Lea."

"Isn't that a girl's name?"

Lea wasn't sure how to react, he looked around first to make sure that no one had heard her and he gritted his teeth while he tried to come with a comeback.

"It is not a girl's name! It's a very cool and unusual Japanese name that goes all the way back to the time of the samurai!"

"Oh." Larxene tried to hold back a smile, "My mistake then. I like what you've done with your hair. Does it stay like that naturally?" The change of topic made Lea quickly forget that he had been upset and he got into the mechanics of how he fixed his hair, although there wasn't anything scientific behind it.

Isa wasn't sure how many cans of beer he had gotten through when he heard Lea's intoxicating laugh ring in his ears and felt Lea tug on his sleeve before he dove down and stood on his arms.

"Isa, c'mon, let's show 'em that we can do ninja-moves."

"What? No. I'm all bruised up."

"C'mon, Isa! Put on a show here. Impress the ladies," Seifer said and clapped his hands loudly from where he sat. Lea stood back up and pointed at the blond girl with a smug smile.

"Pay close attention now, 'cuz this'll blow your mind."

He got onto his hands and jumped around on his arms until he lost his balance and tumbled down onto the sand with a snicker as the world spun around him. He got Isa doing the same, he didn't want to at first, but the more beer he drank the less he felt the bruising on his body from the beating the other day. It was weird how easily amused and carefree he became while drunk, not even the girl vomiting by the edge of the sidewalk bothered him enough to give it a second glance.

The sound of the police siren escaped him completely until Lea grabbed his arm and pulled him down the beach, running away and trying not to laugh. Isa turned his head and saw that the foreign girl stayed with the girl that was vomiting even though the police was getting closer. Everyone else had already left.

Despite it all, Isa could only focus on the tingling sensation in his chest when Lea held his hand as they walked down the street back home.

~ooo~

Present

~ooo~

Axel took another long sip from one of the bottles of sake he had bought at an off-license store back in Tokyo. He ignored the glare Saïx shot at him from the corner of his eye. They had been going all over Tokyo, clearing all the places on the list with an address in the huge metropolis. It had taken a week to find them all and search them through, but they had found nothing.

"You seemed to know your way around Ansem's labs," Axel said, tapping at the bottle he had resting on his lap. He had hoped Saïx would at least glare at him, but there was no reaction.

"How many times did you meet Ansem in Xemnas' stead? Dr. Even seemed to know enough about you to not mess around."

"What do you wanna know, Axel? If I was in charge of Ansem's experiments? I wasn't. Whatever deal Xemnas had with him, I was kept out of it."

"You can't really blame me for not believing you though."

"I don't care what you think of me. You weren't there, so you don't have any right to judge."

Axel decided to let it be, although there were a lot of things he wanted to say. It wasn't like he had been absent because he wanted to, he had been sentenced to prison for three years for a deed he hadn't committed. Saïx, if anyone, should've been aware of that.

He had been worried for Saïx during his time in jail, but once he had been released all those worries had disappeared. Saïx had become Xemnas' right-hand man and had his own posse, which Axel had been made a part of.

It had been a year since, and Axel never wanted to notice the changes in his best friend, but now he was forced to see them. He was beginning to think that maybe he had done so too late.

"Stop drinking. I can't stand you when you're drunk; and it smells."

"You can't order me around anymore," Axel mumbled and took another sip to prove his point. He took the short silence that followed as a victory.

"It wasn't meant as an order."

Axel sighed and put the bottle away slowly. He was sure that if the Ansem-thing didn't get to him, Saïx would. He would go mad going back and forth between thinking that Saïx had officially become a heartless monster without a trace of a conscience or that Saïx might have a split personality or something.

"Did Xemnas ever mention anything about Zexion?"

Saïx clenched his jaw, gripping the wheel tighter, "You swore."

"Yeah, well, you swore you wouldn't change..." Axel mumbled under his breath and turned to look out of the window on his side.

The road was surrounded by hills and mountains, the forests around them were dense and dark, even though the sun hadn't quite set yet. The fence by the highway became a blur as they passed it by and Axel couldn't quite get his eyes off it. The car sometimes cast a strange shadow on the ground, seeming like the car's shadow couldn't quite keep up with them. Axel sighed and leaned back into his seat; this was going to be a tiresome trip. They had recently come out of Tokyo, which meant that it was at least a six hour drive left to Kyoto, and his only company didn't seem to be in the mood to talk.

He reached for the radio and put it on, if anything it would be interesting to hear what radio station Arlene had set it to.

"...weather will come after today's news. Three murders have occurred at three different hospitals around the center of Tokyo. The police believe that there is a connection and they are working hard on finding the culprit. There's no information on whether the police has a list of suspects or if the victims were in any way connected. The Tokyo Police Force has recently begun a close cooperation with American intelligence agencies. According to our sources this is seen as a perfect opportunity to put the cooperation to test. This cooperation has caused strong reactions from citizens in Tokyo, who oppose the meddling of American forces, calling the cooperation imperialism in disguise. How the police will- "

Saïx turned off the radio and kept looking ahead. He slowed down when he saw a gas station. He drove onto the parking lot, parking the car by the only gas pump with a machine that took money in cash. While Saïx filled the tank, Axel got out of the car and stretched his arms, taking a stroll around the place.

The area around the gas pumps wasn't big. It fit ten cars at most and it was surrounded by rock and forest. The lamps flickered once Axel approached the three vending machines standing against the wall of the restroom. He leaned against it and rested his head against his arm, sighing deeply while reaching for change in his pocket. He turned his head slightly to catch a glimpse of Saïx before looking back at the vending machine. What could make him talk? Saïx didn't drink, he didn't smoke anything and it would be difficult to drug him.

"Shit..." Axel pushed one coin into the machine and focused on the sound of it falling in with the other change. The alcohol he had drunk hadn't been enough to make him relax. He pulled on the sleeves of his jumper and smashed the button pad on the vending machine with a loud slam.

"Axel."

He turned around when he heard Saïx call for him and he froze when he saw that Saïx had pulled out the gun. A thousand thoughts crossed his mind before he realized that Saïx was looking into the forest. A soft breeze blew across the parking lot and as the branches moved, Axel saw what Saïx was looking at. Someone was standing in the forest, limping towards them. It was a young woman coming out of the woods. She was whimpering and sobbing, reaching her arms out when she saw them. Saïx raised the gun, ready to shoot her if he had to while Axel tried to approach her slowly. She was hurt. Her clothes were torn and soiled with blood.

"H-help..." she sobbed.

"What happened to you?" He grabbed a hold of her when it seemed like her legs would give in, but she froze the second Axel put his hands on her, and her eyes seemed to go blank as she stopped sobbing.

"Hey!"

"Soiled doves..."

"What?"

"Axel." She looked up at him and dug her nails into his arm, "The answer lies within the true nest of the soiled doves."

She fainted the second she finished that sentence, Axel managing to catch her before she hit the ground. He laid her down gently to try and see if she was wounded or if maybe the blood on her clothes was someone else's. This girl was maybe as old as Yuna, she wasn't wearing any school uniform and it hadn't occurred to Axel to search her pockets for any identification.

"Is she dead?"

Saïx walked up behind them and tilted his head to get a look at the girl's face. It was easier to ignore Saïx's indifference when there was someone else that needed his attention. The girl had a few cuts on her arms, but she wasn't bleeding anymore. What was she doing out here? Had she been kidnapped? Abandoned? Axel cradled her up in his arms and carried her to the car.

"Axel, what are you doing? You can't take her with us."

There was that bossy tone again. Axel rolled his eyes and sat the girl in his seat, opening the door to the backseat and folding a quilt into a pillow, and putting another quilt over the seat as a sheet.

"She is not coming with us, Axel. The cops will be looking for her and I am not risking going into jail for some runaway brat."

Axel turned around violently and walked up to Saïx in a few, determinate steps, glaring him right in the eye as he took Saïx by the collar.

"I took three years for you, so you're just gonna shut up and come to terms with the situation 'cuz she's coming with us, got it? For fuck's sake, have some heart!"

He let go of Saïx with a push and went back to get the girl and put her in the backseat so that she could lay down properly. He put his hand near her mouth to make sure that she was breathing before he stood back up and placed a cover over her to keep her warm.

He hurried to the vending machines and bought water and things he imagined girls her age would eat. Saïx had already taken his place by the wheel when Axel got back into the car, He couldn't hold back a snort when he saw what Axel had brought. He got the engine going and drove back out onto the highway. Axel glanced at the girl and sighed as he turned back; it was going to be a long night. They had to stay at the next stop to get some sleep and once the girl woke up, Axel would make sure that she got back home safe and sound.

~ooo~

The clock was ten and they had been on the road for an hour when the girl in the backseat began to toss about, her eyes fluttering open at the feel of the warm sunlight coming in through the window as well as the chilly breeze. Axel turned around to check up on her, he didn't want her to freak out. She sat up quickly when she realized that she was in someone's car, looking around, trying to figure out where the hell she was, but there were very few landmarks out here by all the mountains.

"Easy," Axel said as calmly as he could, "We found you at a parking lot by a gas station. I'm Axel and that's Saïx. We just want to help you get back home. What's your name?"

The girl brushed her brown hair behind her ear and put the cover around her tightly when she felt a shiver run down her spine with the feel of the wind.

"Kairi."

"Kairi. Nice to meet you." Axel tried to ease up the tension with a smile, but the girl just kept looking at him intently, "Where do you live, Kairi? And how did you get here?"

She looked out the window and then back at Axel with a sad expression, "From the sea." She paused, "That's all I can remember. I was put out on the sea to get here."

"Don't you live in a city somewhere near here?" Axel was puzzled. They were miles inland and high up on these hills by the mountains. Even if there were rivers around here it would be impossible for someone to survive all the way here from the sea. He didn't even have a map to show Kairi.

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Where're your mom and dad?"

"Dead."

Axel turned to face forward and sighed. He had taken water over his head this time. They would have no choice but to take her with them. Axel was sure that Saïx would oppose that; they would dump her by the road right now if he had any say in it. That was probably what he was thinking about right now. There was no denying that the girl might be better off by herself, but Axel didn't want to be the one to tell her that she had yet to catch a break.

"You hungry?" Axel reached for the paper bag he had put all the food in and decided to pick up the nut mix, it seemed healthy enough. He reached it to Kairi, but she shook her head.

"I'm allergic to nuts."

"That's a weird thing to remember."

Axel gave Saïx a quick glare before he put the nuts back into the paper bag and searched for something else. He turned back around and smiled at Kairi, "Gummibears?" He moved the plastic bag with the gummibears around until she took it. It was probably not the healthiest breakfast but it would keep her blood sugar up until she got a proper breakfast.

Saïx parked in front of the gas station and turned off the engine with a small sigh. Axel opened the door on his side, "Come with me." He gave Saïx a meaningful look before stepping out of the car. "We'll get you some new clothes to wear, you want anything else?"

Kairi shook her head and smiled weakly as Axel slammed the door shut. Dark clouds were gathering in the sky and a cold breeze blew through the parking lot. Axel waited for Saïx to walk ahead. The color of his eyes matched the sky and they were as chilling as the wind.

The store was crammed with stuff; food, magazines, clothes, sweets, tobacco – everything to be able to compete with the vending machines outside. There were big posters on the wall advertising the homemade apple juice they sold at this place. The vendor had put the small bottles of apple juice by the cashier. He seemed happy when he saw that he had costumers.

Axel greeted the man by the cashier with a small nod and tried not to be bothered when Saïx didn't even look in his direction. The man's polite smile faltered soon enough when Saïx picked up one of the local newspapers and flipped through it calmly.

"We'll pay for that."

Axel hurried to the shelves with T-shirts and shorts. He didn't have the time to stop and think about what to choose, he took one of each size available while Saïx helped himself to a chocolate bar.

"You can't do that, sir. You must pay for it before you eat it."

"Oh?"

Saïx walked up to the man by the cashier, reaching his hand out to push down the glass ornaments onto the floor.

"I don't take orders from lowlifes like you." He looked at the man's nametag, "Mr. Sakamoto."

"I-I don't want any trouble, sir."

"Maybe you should've thought of that before you opened your big mouth." He smiled at Mr. Sakamoto and took a bottle of apple juice. Mr. Sakamoto stood paralyzed as he watched Saïx take a sip and look at him sardonically, like he knew that he could do whatever he wanted and get away with it.

Saïx wrinkled his nose and spit out the juice on the floor with a disgusted sound at the back of his throat. "You really shouldn't charge for this, Mr. Sakamoto. It tastes like piss."

He turned the bottle upside down over Mr. Sakamoto's head with a polite smile. Axel's hand pushing his arm away didn't come as a surprise at all.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" The question came as a low hiss, as if Mr. Sakamoto had yet to find out about what was going on. Saïx pulled out of Axel's grip with a cluck of his tongue. He turned around to walk out and he took two more chocolate bars on his way out and waved his hand.

"Nice to have met you, Mr. Sakamoto."

Axel pulled out a couple of bills from his pockets as he looked after Saïx, he couldn't hang about in the store so he put a few thousand yen on the counter and bowed his head quickly, murmuring an apology before hurrying out to the parking lot.

Saïx stood leaning against the car, pretending to enjoy his surroundings while eating what was left of the chocolate bar. Axel opened the door to the backseat and gave Kairi the clothes he had bought, "Not sure which one will fit, so choose whichever makes you comfortable. We'll be outside standing guard."

Axel didn't wait for Kairi to answer; he slammed the door shut and glared at Saïx from his side of the car.

"You wanna tell me what the fuck that was about?"

"Not really."

"Damn it, Saïx! You agreed to cooperate, remember? This is not cooperating. You're fucking everything up!"

"Am I now? How were you going to break into places and fight off our brothers with a brat on our necks? You gonna welcome her to the family? Teach her how to shoot, maybe?"

"I haven't thought that far ahead yet."

"Well, that's the problem with you, Axel. You don't think. If you'd done a bit of thinking we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Alright, sure, be mad at me if that's what you think, but this has nothing to do with that man in there, or with the three nurses or doctors or whatever the hell they were."

"They were in my way. When there's something in my way, I get rid of it."

"Since when?"

"Since it was required of me."

Axel clenched his fists. It was a good thing the car was in between or he would be rearranging Saïx's face right about now.

"Would you get rid of me if I was in your way?"

"I wish I could."

That may be the most sincere thing Axel had heard Saïx say in quite some time. He turned around and leaned against the car and crossed his arms. The words echoed in his ears and he tried to focus on the silver lining; at least Saïx didn't have it in him to kill Axel.

Kairi stepped out of the car and left the door open to lean on it. She had changed into a baggy T-shirt and shorts that came to her knees.

"I –"

She looked at Saïx and bit on her lower lip gently when he got into the car and slammed the door shut. She sighed and looked at Axel in hope to get his attention. "I won't be a burden." Axel turned on his head to look at her. "I think I know where I should go."

Kairi lifted her left leg and pointed at her ankle where she had a small tattoo. Axel got closer to see what it said, the kanji were small, but readable and he understood enough of it to make out what it said.

"It's an address in Kyoto. Have you been there before?"

"I don't know. Maybe." She watched Axel give a slow nod and look back down at the pavement, "Is he mad at me?"

"He's mad in general." Axel sighed, "Don't sweat it. Whatever he does or says, it's got nothing to do with you. Just ignore him. Let's get you home."

He opened the door and jumped into the car. Kairi hurried back in too, glancing at Saïx as he got the car going. How did someone become so bitter she wondered as her attention slowly diverted to Axel who had decided to look out the window on his side to avoid looking at Saïx.