Title: Last Train
Author: nikki_ntm
Beta reader: Shattered Apocalypse
Chapters: 12/20
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)
x
Chapter 12: Of Donkeys and Men
Axel shook his soda to chip the ice while he looked at the map he had balancing on the wheel. He had stopped by a rest stop for a quick leak, but he had been drawn in by their multicolored slushies'. By the looks of it they were heading north, to the city Echizen. He wished that he had stayed on the national roads instead of going on the expressway, since Lake Biwa was to his far left. At least it was a comfort that they would be passing by Tsuruga Bay before turning towards the city Axel had deemed secure enough.
According to the pamphlet he had taken from the diner, Echizen had been the home of Murasaki Shikibu – the author of The Tale of Genji. He remembered it vaguely from elementary school. Even as a prince, Genji had to struggle for his place in society, Axel remembered his teacher saying, but the only thing his classmates had taken away from it was the amount of women Genji slept around with.
He chuckled quietly, and threw the pamphlet onto the backseat, slurping the last of his soda as he took another look on the map to make sure that he knew where to turn to end up by Tsuruga Bay.
"Can't you do anything in silence?" Saïx mumbled, stretching his legs as far as the small space would let him.
"You're awake…"
"Of course I'm awake! Who wouldn't be with you slurping for half an hour? Just go and buy another one."
He couldn't believe the relief he felt at hearing Saïx talk and seeing him move. It had almost been two days since they left Kyoto and this was the first time Saïx had awakened since. The helicopter that Xemnas had sent after them had circled around the area and to shake them off Axel had to drive around and stop at the wee hours of the night to fill up the tank.
In those two days Axel had made it a habit to check his pulse every other half hour just to be certain that Saïx was still alive, at times he had hoped for an annoyed mumble or a slight twitch in his sleep, but this was much better.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been hit by a car."
Axel frowned and folded the map up and put it in the backseat with the pamphlet, "You want an aspirin or something? I can go and buy some."
"I'm hungry."
"Yeah? There's a diner over there. You up for a walk or do you want some to go?"
"Let's go to the diner."
Saïx stepped out of the car and narrowed his eyes when the sunlight hit him in the face. The rest stop had cherry trees around the diner and the green grass around the parking lot was in the brightest shade of green. He covered his eyes and was about to lean against the car behind him when Axel put an arm around him and led him forward gently.
Axel sat across from Saïx in a small booth in a secluded corner, and watched him sigh as he leaned back and closed his eyes briefly to make the room stop spinning.
"You look like shit."
"Thank you for that input, Axel."
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"I said that I felt like I was hit by a car, you're the only one interpreting that as 'being okay'."
Axel took the small envelope on the table with all of the diner's specials and he looked at them to see what he would like to eat when a young waitress walked up to them with a smile.
"Hello, welcome to Hokuriku Diner. Have you decided for anything?"
"Um..." Axel turned on the envelope, "I'll have a burger with fries. Make it the biggest burger you have, and don't go easy on the fries. I'll have a coke with that, lots of ice. Thanks."
The waitress wrote down Axel's order and then turned to Saïx, "And you, sir?"
"I'll have what he's having but just the salad. And a glass of water, normal water not fuzzy, and two aspirins."
"Okay, I'll be right back with your orders."
"Thank you," Axel said and turned to Saïx slowly, "I thought you said that you were hungry."
"I was until I heard you order."
"I'll have you know that I haven't eaten since we left Kyoto. You had me worried sick."
"Not sick enough, apparently. I can still hear you slurping."
Axel leaned back in his seat and sighed. Saïx seemed well enough to slag him off at least, he could settle with that for now. He was too hungry and too relieved to be talking back. Besides, there were other important things to be talking about right now. Axel reached for the little yellow notebook in his pouch and leaned forward while Saïx gave him a bored look.
"I've been looking through it and I think I know what this is now."
"Go on."
"It's really messed up if you think about it. Ansem was leading a project on memories. I was told that he wanted to be able to store memories, kind of like files, but according to these notes it was just the first step to what he wanted to achieve. By materializing the memories he could either create or delete a person from someone else's memory."
"Why not just knock them over their heads? It's easier, more effective, and cheap."
"I thought you'd be fascinated by this." Axel flipped the notebook open and looked at the pictures.
"I'm sure I will be once I get to eat something."
"This must be what she meant by deleting me. That's gotta be the punishment if I don't figure out what she wants."
"Who?"
"The hologram."
"I've never seen her."
"Be happy for that. She's like those kids in horror movies, shows up when you least expect it and in the creepiest places too. Like back in Kyoto in that freaky house..." Axel paused and scratched his arms absentmindedly, "I wanted to talk to you about that actually."
"About what?"
"About the lab."
"What lab?"
"The one in that freaky house in Kyoto. You went all crazy, remember? You saw an armadillo while you took a walk and you wondered if it had died?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
The young waitress came back, balancing a large tray with both Axel's and Saïx's orders. She put down Axel's coke and Saïx's water with the two aspirins before she reached for the plates.
"Is this the biggest burger you have?" Axel asked as he eyed the Happy Meal-sized burger with distaste.
"It is. Would you like me to bring you another one?"
"Yes, go and bring him another one. I'll be taking this." Saïx reached for the small burger and took a bite of it, looking strangely satisfied.
"Make that two." Axel added.
"And bring some more fries," Saïx said between his chewing. He reached for a fry on Axel's plate and dipped it in ketchup before he took a bite. "Crunchy."
Axel watched amazed as Saïx ate like Axel hadn't seen him do in years. The burger disappeared in a matter of seconds and he reached for Axel's coke to clear his mouth.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm eating."
"Yeah, but... this is vile food according to you."
"It looked good now. Are you saving the Béarnaise for the burgers?"
"No. You gonna eat that salad?" Axel teased, thinking that it would make Saïx ease down, but he simply shook his head and took another sip of the Coke.
"No, you can have it. Knock yourself out."
The waitress came back with two more burgers and more fries. She didn't seem used to customers ordering this much and maybe she was worried that they would dine and dash. They didn't quite look like they had the funds to be ordering without restraint.
"That'll be 2130 yen," she said with a smile as she reached them a receipt.
"Where's the men's room?"
"It's down that hallway." The waitress pointed to where the bathroom was and frowned slightly, "Sir, are you okay?"
"Yeah..." Saïx had suddenly lost all resemblance of color as he got out of the booth and hurried to the bathroom. Axel looked after him and pulled out 3000 yen on the table and smiled at the waitress.
"Back in a flash." He hurried after Saïx. The men's room was quite big, it had three small booths, four urinals and a long sink.
Saïx had gone into the booth closest to the door. The sound of the radio coming through the speakers in each corner masked the sounds of Saïx vomiting all the food he had eaten just now.
Axel ran his fingers through his hair as he paced down the men's room. This wasn't good. It felt strange to be so on edge and to nearly panic as soon as Saïx did anything that could be odd, but when he dreamed of his death every night, he had to be on his guard.
He stopped when he heard Saïx fiddle with the lock and open the door.
"What happened?"
Saïx gripped the side of the door tightly as he took a deep breath and he closed his eyes. The noise from the radio seemed to disorient him, but he shook it off. Axel followed him as Saïx washed his hands in the sink and rinsed his mouth with water before washing his facee, almost waiting for him to fall over.
"I ate too fast."
"Let's get you to a hospital. You've been weird lately and I think we should have it checked out to make sure it's nothing serious."
"It's not something serious. I just ate too fast. Let's get back out there before that girl gets the same stupid idea and gets us into trouble."
Always as stubborn as a donkey. Axel was certain that something was wrong, Saïx negating it only made him more certain of it and he didn't know how to convince him that it was in his best interest to be in good health. He wasn't sure that Saïx believed that his dreams were of any importance, and maybe that's where the problem was. To Saïx, they were still playing tag with their brothers.
The waitress was busy with some other customers on the other side of the room, much to Saïx's relief, but she kept a close eye on them when she saw them walk back out.
Axel took the change the waitress had put on a small plate on their table and sighed. Saïx didn't look like he wanted to be facing food right now, but Axel hadn't eaten anything yet so he went for his burger.
"Can we go?"
"You still feel sick?"
"I just don't want to be here."
The waitress walked up to them, still looking worried.
"Sir, how are you feeling? Do you want me to call an ambulance?"
"No, he's fine." Axel interjected, "He's just feeling roadsick, he's not good with curves on the road. Can you pack this up, we're gonna take it with us and you wouldn't know of... some discreet clinic, would you?"
He was ready to laugh it off in case the girl got scared of what he was saying, but she fell into thought and asked them to wait for a bit. That would earn her quite the tip. Axel turned back to Saïx, fidgeting where he sat.
"Where does it hurt?"
"Nowhere. I'm fine."
"Could you stop being an idiot and just tell me where the hell it hurts," Axel hissed with a quick glance at the customers who were too preoccupied with their own conversation. "You're not fine! You – ...fuck."
He quickly reached for a few napkins and put them against Saïx's nose. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes with an annoyed mumble. The waitress came running back with a small notepad and a phone.
"What happened?"
"He's having a nosebleed. Is that the phone number to a clinic?"
"No, it's a phone agent who can tell you where you need to go. He's really reliable and he knows of all hospitals in Japan. You should call now; your friend doesn't look too good."
"Thank you."
The waitress walked back to the counter and left Axel to do the phone call. On the second call a man picked up.
"Kunsel's Ask Me What You Will Agency, how can I be of assistance?"
"Hi, um, I'm at a rest stop on the Hokuriku Expressway and I'm on my way to Echizen. I need to know where to find a clinic that's discreet and reliable."
"Ah, yes. You're an hour away from Echizen's city core and you're currently at Hokuriku Diner. At the Echizen City Office go left and drive up to road 365 and once you're in Hatta drive up north to Uwano. In Uwano take road 187 to Saso. The clinic is on Korogikai. It's got free parking space and a cafeteria. Did you get all that?"
Axel finished writing the last of the directions and gave a slight nod, "Yeah, got it. Thanks a bunch."
"No problem. Tell your friends about me!"
Axel hung up and put the note in his pocket, quickly taking a glimpse at Saïx.
"C'mon, let's go." He went to his side and helped him up. The waitress walked up to them again when she saw that they were leaving.
"Aren't you going to take the food with you?"
"No, we're fine. Thanks for the help."
Saïx was pale and feverish by the time they drove away from the diner and towards Echizen. There would be no time to stop and admire the view over Tsuruga Bay. Next time, Axel thought as he sped up.
~ooo~
The clinic was nothing like he had imagined it would be. He had imagined a crumbling building deep within an alleyway, flickering lights, trashy chairs, a thick smell of hospital and yellow walls, but this clinic could be one of the prettiest clinics he had ever been to – nothing like that so called free clinic in Kobe where Saïx's mother had been hospitalized.
He looked at the form he had been given and tried to fill it without telling too much. Saïx's nose had stopped bleeding, but he had a faint mark of red on the lower part of his face and he still looked pale.
"Are you allergic to anything?"
"Stupid questions."
Axel ticked over the square for no and glimpsed at all the other million questions they wanted answered. He got up from his seat and walked up to the reception and gave the form to the nurse that he had spoken to earlier. She took the form and looked it through with a slight frown.
"You haven't even written his last name," she said.
"We're here incognito. All we need is a quick check-up with a trustworthy doctor, can you make that happen?"
He was leering at her dangerously, and the nurse held the form closer to her, as if that would shield her from anything.
"Yes, of course, sir."
"Great." He flashed her a quick smile before he sat back down next to Saïx and looked at him, ""The doctor should be attending to you soon."
"I'm fine now. Let's just go."
"Absolutely not. Look, I know that you're not a big fan of hospitals, but this is going to happen whether you like it or not, so deal with it." Axel crossed his arms and gave him a determinate look.
"No need to sugar coat it for me, jerk. I'm sick you know."
"You just said that you were fine."
"When have you ever listened to me?"
There was no point arguing with him. They were in a waiting room with sick people and the last thing they wanted was to hear Axel and Saïx argue about nothing. Axel sighed and reached for a pamphlet that lay on the coffee table in front of him.
"Make yourself understood in your own language – Independent Interpreter's Agency of Japan"
It was filled with pictures of people looking professional and smart, like they had all the answers to the problems of the world. The clinic was apparently affiliated with this agency and offered their non-native patients care in their own language. Axel felt rather dumbfounded as he continued reading, skipping some difficult kanji. They were offering quite a service here, and it was seemingly free of charge. What kind of underground stuff could be going on here?
Maybe he could make use of this. There was a third part in the little yellow notebook that he had yet to understand, mainly because the entries were either in German or English. He couldn't do it before they examined Saïx though, or they might end up with an interpreter talking to them in German and then they'd really be in trouble.
A strong-built doctor with pitch-black hair walked into the waiting room, holding a pad and reading off the form on it with a questioning look. He scratched his cheek and looked out over the room.
"Morpheus?"
Axel nudged Saïx and helped him up, "C'mon, that's you."
The doctor bowed his head lightly and took a quick look at Saïx that still seemed rather dizzy where he stood with Axel holding him up, "Can you walk? Do you want a wheelchair?"
"No, I'm fine."
"Alright, examination room 4."
They walked down a clean hallway and entered examination room 4 where there was a stretcher, a computer, chairs and a lot of other expensive machinery. Axel gulped as he took in the sights and reluctantly let Saïx sit down on the chair in front of the doctor.
"Um, do you know of a Dr. Ansem or Dr. Even?"
"No, I don't. I usually leave before the night shift gets in. Are they your regular doctors?"
"What? No. This is our first time here. I just wanted to know if you knew them."
"Alright. I'm Dr. Fair, and I can tell that you don't feel all that well," he paused and smiled, waiting for a reaction to his spontaneous rhyme, but received nothing but a stoic look back.
"Right, do you have a fever?" He got out of his chair and knelt in front of Saïx to put his hand on his forehead, but there was no fever. "Can you sit over here?"
He led Saïx to the stretcher and sat down on a stool in front of him, he pulled a trolley closer to him and reached for a flashlight and a stick. "Open your mouth wide and stick out your tongue. Have you been feeling nauseous?"
Saïx nodded.
"Have you vomited? Fainted?" Dr. Fair threw the stick into the bin and stood up to feel on Saïx's neck.
"I've vomited, but I haven't fainted."
"Actually he did faint. The other day, on Tuesday night he fainted. He got out of it recently."
"How recently?"
"Couple of hours."
"Mm-hmm."
Dr. Fair walked over to an intercom by the door and pushed a button, "Cloud, could you come in for a consult?"
"Yeah, sure. I'll be there in a sec."
"What's wrong, doctor?" His mouth was going dry and his gaze wandered from Saïx to the doctor. Dr. Fair had just opened his mouth to answer when a blond doctor walked into the room.
"What's up?"
"Could you take him outside? I need a few minutes."
"No problem. Sir, could you come with me, please?"
Axel was just about to protest when he caught the look in Saïx's tired eyes, "Just go, I'll manage."
Dr. Fair closed the door behind them and hurried back to Saïx with a kind smile as he dug into his pocket for that small flashlight.
"I'm going to shine this into your eyes. Look at me."
Saïx did as he was told and looked at Dr. Fair as the doctor frowned slightly at what he saw.
"What's your eye color?"
"You tell me, you're the one looking at them."
"Your real eye color, I mean."
Dr. Fair put the flashlight away with a small sigh, "You have a discoloration in your eyes. It's called heterochromia, and it can be caused by a variety of things, but judging by your symptoms I have to ask, have you suffered any head trauma recently?"
"No."
"Are you sure? I suspect that you may have a concussion, I'll have to take you to X-ray to confirm, but I'm almost certain that it is a concussion. Did someone hit you? Were you in a fight?"
"Can't you just fix me up and let me go?"
"I could, but that would weigh on my conscience. You don't have to choose a path of crime, you know. There's a lot of help out there if you feel like you're stuck in a vicious circle. There's a church in Uwano that helps people get back on track without selling the religious stuff. It's quite difficult to get a spot, but I could write you a recommendation letter."
"Why do you think I'm a criminal?"
"I saw the tattoo. Was it done in the traditional way?"
"Yeah."
"It must've hurt. It looks like it's quite a big one too."
"I've been through worse."
"I'm sure you have. No need to take it to the next level, right?"
Saïx simply nodded. It wasn't like the doctor could understand. He didn't know of Saïx's responsibilities or how far into the world of crime he had fallen, and he didn't expect the doctor to understand either. It was what it was.
"Why did you send him out? Do you think he hit me?"
"Did he?"
"Would it matter?"
Dr. Fair chuckled, "You ask a lot of questions."
"So do you."
"Look, if he did hit you, you should notify the police. They are here to help, much like I am."
"Well, Dr. Fair, you're not helping me now. You're annoying me. I'll stay for the X-ray and thank you for your services, but that is it."
"Alright, I can live with that. You want me to call your friend back?"
"No, and I don't want you to tell him about the concussion either."
"Why not? If he didn't hit you and you're travelling together, he should be told that you need lots of rest and maybe even stay for observation if you do have a concussion."
"I don't want him to know. Isn't that enough?"
Dr. Fair's expression darkened, he did clearly not agree with Saïx's decision, but he could do nothing but to go along with it. He held up to the door and watched Saïx walk stubbornly although his world was clearly spinning. It was sad to say that he wasn't the only one who chose to stay on the path of crime rather than to change his view on the world and accept the second chance that could be given to him.
~ooo~
"Am I under arrest or something?"
Dr. Cloud Strife looked up from the notepad he was holding and uncrossed his legs as he glared the man in his custody.
"I'm a doctor, Axel. Not a cop."
"So I could go if I wanted?"
"Yeah, but not into the examination room."
"Why?"
"Because Dr. Fair is conducting an examination on your friend."
"What kind of examination?"
"The kind that will help him figure out what is wrong with your friend."
"Mind to go into the details?"
Axel crossed his arms, his brow furrowed with suspicion. He had very little trust for doctors in general, especially if they started to act as dodgy as this Dr. Fair. He glanced at the door and tried to figure out how quick the doctor could react, maybe he could make a run for it?
"I don't know, Axel. It depends on what symptoms he has, his medical history. You're here to not get in the way and so that Morpheus can answer whatever questions Dr. Fair may have in peace, without any pressure from you."
"His name is Saïx actually."
"Yeah, that sounds just about as believable as Morpheus."
"Well, actually it's Isa, but he'll crack your head open if you call him that. He prefers to be called Saïx."
"Right."
The doctor didn't seem to be dangerous. He worked at a free-clinic after all, and he hadn't threatened to call the police if Axel left to check on Saïx. Maybe he was someone trustworthy? Axel wanted to play with that thought. What if they had encountered people that could actually help them, no strings attached? They didn't have to know the entire story, just bits and pieces, enough to want to help them.
"Do you know of a Dr. Ansem or Dr. Even?"
Dr. Strife fell into thought and repeated the names under his breath, "Um, there was a family with the last name Van Ansem in my neighborhood when I was little, but I don't think that anyone was a doctor. Why? Do they work here?"
"Where did you grow up?"
"München, Germany."
"Figures, you don't look very Japanese."
"Neither do you. Where did you grow up? I doubt it was in..." Dr. Strife looked at the notepad and read the address that Axel had written on the form he had left at the reception earlier, "...Calcutta? Really?"
"I'm from Kobe," he said with a sheepish smile.
"Were your parents born abroad?"
"No. Well, not my mom, she's Japanese. My dad was an Irish sailor."
"Yeah? Where do you live now?"
"What do you mean?"
"You said you were from Kobe, that's at least four hours from here by car. Did you come here for the free-clinic alone or do you live nearby?"
"Oh." Axel scratched the back of his neck and looked down on the floor, "We're on a roadtrip. Figured we should get out while we're young and see Japan."
"Sounds great. Have you been in Echizen yet? There's a crab museum and a lot of old shrines."
"A crab museum?"
"Yeah, lots of crabs to look at. It's really pretty, but I usually get hungry when I go there."
"Who wouldn't?"
Dr. Strife smiled. His pager went off suddenly and he picked it out of his pocket and looked at it, "Seems like your friend is ready to go."
"Where do I pick him up?"
"Nowhere. They're coming here."
Axel sat up properly in his chair. He was still thinking of whether he should let this doctor read what the little yellow notebook said or not, but where could he find a German doctor who could do him this favor for free if not here?
"How is this place sustained?" Axel asked at last. He needed to know if he should be worried, he needed to know if there was any evidence that this free-clinic was sustained by blood money.
"What do you mean?"
"Who pays for all of this? Where does the money for all the equipment, machinery and staff come from?"
"Didn't you see the plaque on your way in? We have beneficiaries, or should I say one beneficiary. Rufus Shinra, he owns the cracker factory next door, so he lets us borrow this facility and he pays for most of the luxuries in here."
"Why?"
"Zack's and Rufus' fathers fought together in some war, so Rufus has always been ready to pay for whatever crazy idea Zack comes up with."
"Zack?"
"Dr. Fair, you met him earlier."
"Oh. Yeah, of course. A free-clinic next to a cracker factory. Must be really good crackers to afford all of this."
"It's what got me and Zack through med school. They only come in four flavors, sadly, but they've started to produce biscuits and other types of cookies, so yeah, buy their crackers and support our clinic."
There was a quick knock on the door before Dr. Fair opened it and stuck his head in, "Not interrupting, am I?"
"Not really, I was just marketing Rufus' cookies."
"Really? You sold any?"
"No, but the message is out there. When he sees 'Shinra's Crackalackin Crackers' he'll surely buy a bag or two."
Zack smiled and leaned against the door. Axel got up and tried to look past Dr. Fair's shoulder to see if Saïx was there, and Dr. Fair opened the door wider and revealed Saïx sitting in a wheelchair with a not so amused expression on his face.
"What happened? Why is he in a wheelchair?"
"Nothing to worry about, he's dizzy and I finally convinced him to use the wheelchair to not fall over and break something."
"Did you find out what was wrong with him?"
"Well, I concluded that he has a severe case of motion sickness, so I gave him some medicine for that and I also convinced him that you both should stay at our place for a couple of days. What do you say, Cloud?"
"As long as you do the dishes, I don't mind."
Axel looked astounded and slowly glanced at Saïx from the corner of his eye. It didn't seem like Dr. Fair, or Zack, was making things up – had Saïx seriously agreed to stay at a stranger's house? Or were they even strangers to each other? It wouldn't surprise him at all if Dr. Fair turned out to be one of Ansem's many assistants.
"I don't think that will be necessary," Axel said and both Zack and Cloud stopped talking and turned their attention to Axel, "I mean, we don't wanna impose, and we have places to be, so... thanks for everything, but we'll manage from now on."
"Don't worry about it. We have lots of room and Saïx shouldn't be going anywhere by car right now. His motion sickness might last for days and I would like to keep him under observation, and instead of having you both here at a hospital, I thought it would be better to invite you home."
He didn't like the meaningful look in Zack's eyes, he didn't like that polite smile and he didn't like to think that maybe Saïx had a plan to go with this invitation, but he had no choice but to suck it up and return that polite smile he wished he could wipe off from the doctor's smug face.