You Are My Kingdom Hearts ➳ Axel

Carving Destiny

Chapter 21: Carving Destiny.

Jai's POV:

My feet shuffled along the cool ground, my eyes trained on the figure I was following. Her short, cream dress and honey-coloured hair were the only distinct things that would give me a clue as to who she was. Even then, I had no idea.

"Jai," a smooth voice called. "Your destiny is waiting for you."

"What do you mean?" I shouted, shielding my eyes from a sudden burst of light.

She turned around, her sapphire eyes boring into mine. "You won't follow the path, will you?"

A small, amused smile appeared on her lips, as if she could see right through me. She waved a hand, and two ivory doors appeared. They contrasted with the expanse of darkness that surrounded us, much like she did. There was so much light in the dark, held in the girl and in the doors. What on earth were they for?

"I don't understand!" I shouted through gritted teeth. "Who the hell are you?!"

"...A friend," she spoke softly, before walking away.

I tried to chase after her, but she seemed to disintigrate into nothingness. My hands flew to my temples, unable to suppress the feeling that I would spontaneously combust at any moment. I didn't, and I couldn't understand. I didn't know who she was, or what the hell those doors were for. They looked exactly the same, so what was the difference?

"That necklace may as well be my heart -- seeing as, y'know, I don't have one," Axel chortled.

Eyes wide, I clutched the necklace that had been fastened around my neck for what felt like forever. The necklace wasn't his heart... I reached out for him. My hand went right through him, as if he was never there in the first place. That's when I realised, "You're not real..."

He shot me his signature smirk while leaning against the door on my left. "Sure I'm real! Let's just say that I'm... temporarily not real."

I crossed my arms and stared at the Redhead. Even in this weird world of imagination, he was exasperating, and just so incredibly him. I wanted to throw a shoe at him, but I also wanted to hug him and tell him that it was okay to be who he was. It was so contradictory, but it seemed to perfectly explain how I felt towards him. Conflicted.

"Okay... why are you here?"

Axel stared at me incredulously. "You seriously don't know? Because... you want me to be. Got it memorized?"

"Wait, what? That's ridiculous."

"He's not the only one." Sora was leaning against the door on the right, a goofy grin spreading across his face.

"S-Sora?" I gasped in surprise.

"Is family important to you, Jai? I think it is. Your family cares about you so much," Sora continued, walking towards me.

At the same time, Axel began to advance in my direction. Both men were headed my way, determined expressions on their faces. My brother, and my.... my what? I was around Axel all the time, and yet there was still no label. Was he my friend? My colleague, associate..?

"I don't know what to do!" I shouted, clawing my hands through my hair.

Sora and Axel both held a hand out. "Come with me."

I shook my head. My heart was beating at an unnatural rate. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't do much of anything, really. I cared about these two so much, but I couldn't make a decision like that. Was I supposed to decide between my family and the Organization? The Organization was long behind me now, so it couldn't be that. Family or friends?