Our duo is back! My last fic for my (self decided) Kaivember. Hope you will enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own KH, nor its character, not its music, not it's INSANELY COMPLICATED PLOT WHAT IS GOING ON INSIDE NOMURA'S HEAD

Kairi had missed Twilight Town. She had not spent a long time there on her first visit, but she had been eager to come back, and to meet again Hayner, Pence and Olette. She wondered how they were. It had been a while, but she knew they would remember her. They were friends, weren't they?

Axel was the one who took her there. He had things to to, or so he said, and they both agreed to meet up in an hour. However, Kairi, lost in her exploration, was now very late, and she didn't even meet her three friends yet.

She knew they were likely to be at their usual spot and she decided to at least say hi before looking for Axel, hoping he wouldn't be too mad at her.

What she had not expected was to be welcomed by Olette running into her arms as soon as she stepped in.

"Kairi, you're okay! We were so worried!"

"Worried? Didn't Sora tell you I was fine?" She frowned, hugging Olette back before letting her go. Hayner and Pence also looked concerned. But Sora told her that he had returned to Twilight Town, a bit after he had defeated Xemnas, and had told to the trio that she was back.

"We're not talking about that!" Hayner looked on the edge.

"Calm down, guys, maybe she doesn't know." Pence was always the cool one, pragmatic and quiet. But his words worried Kairi.

"What don't I know? Did something happen?"

They nodded gravely. "Then tell me! Maybe I can help!" Whatever troubled them, she wanted to solve this. She owed them that much.

"He's… He's back, Kairi." Olette hiccuped. "The man who tried to kidnap you before? He showed up again, and he asked if we knew where you were."

Kairi's heart missed a beat. Sora didn't fill them up enough. Of course, back then, he couldn't have known that… "Where is he now?" Her hands started shaking. Her friends misunderstood her fear, and Hayner gave her a bright smile.

"It's okay, we would never have told him!"

"We didn't even know you were there, to be honest," Pence added.

"We told him we wouldn't let him hurt our friend, then Olette snuck behind him with her bat and she smacked his head real hard! He ended up running away as we told him to stay away from our friends. Ha, he won't come back, I can promise you that! But it might be safer for you to stay with us for a while."

"Kairi, are you alright? We told you, there's nothing to worry about."

The world was spinning. "Where is he now?" she repeated, her heart racing in her chest.

"I don't know. He was holding a bag from the ice-cream shop, though. What's wrong?"

Kairi turned around. "No time to really explain, but he's my friend now. I'll explain later."

She ran away as fast as her legs allowed her to. Her lungs burnt, her feet were painful. She tripped a couple of times, scratching her knees, but she couldn't stop. She had to find him.

The Station Plaza was empty. She was about to turn around and look somewhere else, when she looked up. He was sitting on the edge of the clock tower, staring somewhere in the distance. Never before in her life did she climb stairs that quickly.

"Axel, I heard about… I'm so sorry… Are you okay?"

He turned his face to her, and she could see how much he wasn't okay. His eyes were empty of any kind of feeling. He suddenly looked a lot like the Axel she first met. Desperate. Broken.

"Let me see your head. Did she hit hard?"

He didn't even react as she carefully inspected his head. If anything, he tensed a bit when she touched the area where Olette probably hit. She let out a relieved sigh. "At least it's not bleeding. Does it hurt a lot? We can still find a doctor."

"They were right, Kairi." Even his voice was lifeless. She shook her head, carefully sitting next to him, worried she might fall.

"I fail to see in what way." His turquoise eyes quickly burnt with anger, but as soon as she noticed it, it was gone.

"I hurt you before."

"And you saved me later."

"I didn't care if you got hurt."

"But now you do, don't you?"

"And you got hurt."

"I'm fine now."

"I don't deserve you."

She sighed, pinching his cheek. "We've been over that before, remember? You did some bad things. But you did them for a good reason. You have apologized. I have forgiven you."

But Axel averted his eyes. She frowned. "Axel? There is something else, isn't there?" He didn't answer, and she put her hand on his arm. "You know you can tell me. Please."

"They can't remember that, of course, but you aren't the first one."

"Excuse me?" She could see how tensed he was. How sad he looked. He looked so desperate she feared he might jump anytime, and she tightened her grip on his arm.

"They told me to stay away from their friends. You aren't the first of their friends I've taken away. I guess they are… Better friends than I'll ever be."

She gasped, understanding what he was talking about. "The Data ones…. They were friends with Roxas, weren't they?"

His silence was enough of an answer. All that Axel ever did was for Roxas. He had kidnapped her for Roxas. He had started talking to Sora for Roxas. He was undertaking the Keyblade Apprenticeship for Roxas. He had come back to Twilight Town for Roxas.

"Every friend that I had… They ended up being hurt. Because of me. Isa. Roxas. You."

She could feel his sadness. She felt sad too. She wanted to find the right words, but she couldn't. She sighed, trying to smile at him.

"But that's why you're here, right, Axel?"

"Here? Sitting on the clocktower, regretting all I did in my life? I guess you're right."

"That's not what I meant, and I think you know it. That's why you are training. You want to make up for your past mistakes. You want to be someone Roxas will be proud to call a friend, don't you? You know, I remember that at first, you wanted to be called Lea, because that used to be your name. But suddenly, you started saying that Axel was fine. Is that for Roxas too?"

Axel summoned his keyblade, staring at it in silence for a while.

"He will be so confused when he gets back. I don't even know if he will still want to talk to me. If he remembers me. But I want to make things easier for him, you know? Same name. Same clothes. Same routine. Maybe that way, he will remember."

"I'm sure he will." She laughed, and suddenly kissed his cheek. "You're always making sure you are unforgettable, right? Roxas is your friend, and he loves you as much as you love him, and I know he will be proud of who you have become. He will understand what you've been through. So no matter what, don't ever think low of yourself. Stand tall, be proud of yourself, and be ready to welcome him with a warm smile. Because that's the Axel everyone loves."

He gasped, and she grinned at him. After a short moment, he finally relaxed.

"No wonders you're friend with Sora… You both are good with cheesy stuff."

"Cheesy?" She pretended to look indigned. "I'm doing my best to cheer you up and you call that cheesy?"

He grimaced at her, pulling an ice-cream from his grocery bag. "Here, take that, Princess. Sorry if that melted a bit, though. We could have shared this earlier if your friends didn't try to murder me!"

Kairi laughed. "After this break, I think it's time for some proper introduction with them. Olette deserves you an apology."

"What? No way! I don't want to go there! Why does she even own a baseball bat with nails?"

"Don't be a child now. We are going to meet them. No running away. Got it?"

He pouted until she took a bite of his own ice-cream, and they started bickering, laughing. They stayed there for a long time, and Kairi was glad to see he was smiling again.

She knew how it felt to be lost. For a while, she had forgotten about Sora, and had felt a hole inside her chest. She had forgotten about him, and yet she couldn't completely forget. That was why she knew Roxas would remember Axel.

Some memories couldn't be lost forever.

Axel deserved true happiness.

And she would make sure he'd find it as soon as possible.

Taah-daaaah! The idea came up to me when I saw Olette owning a nailed bat in the KH mangas. I wonder if they'll try to protect Kairi again... I mean, they didn't get much updates I think, so they must believe Axel is still a villain. Oops.

The Advent Calendar will be starting in 5 days, Dec 1st! Hope you're excited, I am :D I only have a few more prompts to write and the calendar will be complete!