In the Family Revised Chapter 2: Something, a kingdom hearts fanfic

.:Chapter 2: Something.:.

Author's Notes: I've decided to rewrite In The Family; something about the original write wasn't sitting right with me. I hadn't finished; but I felt the need to revise what I'd written so far because I'd hit a plot-block...I tried to move things along too quickly I think. And it was epic fail. Pairings in this fic are: Kairion (main focus), MarLarx (side plot), Zemyx (One-sided; Demyx), SoKai (one-sided; Sora)

The Revision is going to include some of the Final Fantasy characters too Just wait to find out who they are!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy, no do I claim to. All Characters belong to their respective creators. Kingdom Hearts (c) Tetsuya Nomura, Square Enix/Disney. Final Fantasy (c) Square Enix

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Kairi had fallen into a restless sleep, filled with nightmares. Several times, she had woken up with a jolt, forgetting where she was. It was hardly a restful night. At some point, hours later, Kairi didn't know the exact time as she had been denied the luxury of a clock in her captivity, the door opened. Kairi squinted.

"Good morning, Princess." Axel said, swaggering into the room and sitting down in the chair he'd been in the night before. "How'd you sleep?" he said, leaning backward, allowing the back of the chair to touch lightly against the wall behind him.

"You tell me." Kairi growled, pulling against the bonds, there was a nasty throb of pain but she ignored it.

"Awfully fiesty, aren't you?" Axel replied raising a delicate eyebrow.

Kairi bit her lip, looking away. Her wrists kept throbbing with pain, the rough bonds were starting to cut into her skin and with every movement, however slight, they seemed to cut in even deeper.

"You know, if you behave maybe you'll get out of this alive."

"Right!" Kairi growled, "I'd rather not know what 'behaving' would constitute!"

"Suit yourself." Axel muttered rising from the chair. He came over to her, kneeling down so that they would see eye to eye. He brought his hand to gently cup Kairi's chin. "But you're going to have to get used to just lying there. You're going to be here for awhile...Wouldn't you rather it be as pleasant as possible?"

Kairi shuddered, whether it was fear or slight disgust - or a mix of both she couldn't entirely be sure. The thick smell of cologne was burning her nostrils, there was a hint of smoke there too

"As if!" she hissed, "You act so friendly, but I can hear those veiled threats. If you're gonna kill me anyway, why should I try to make things 'better' for myself!?"

Axel laughed and stood up. "You've got a point there Kairi. But still, don't forget. You'll be here a loooooooong time before anyone's decided just what we're going to do with you .And while you're here, you at my mercy ." He added, walking toward the door. He looked over his shoulder, casting her a glance that sent a shiver of terror down her spine. "Just remember that."

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Zexion stood outside the room where they were keeping her, a tray of food in his hands, which wouldn't stop shaking.

Well THIS was awfully nice of them to force me to do. he thought bitterly as he fetched the key to unlock the door. The door squeaked as it opened and he saw the girl's head snap up to look at him. He walked slowly into the room, carefully closing the door behind him. He set the tray on the bedside table, and kneeled down beside her.

"What do you want?" The girl whispered softly, her voice shaking as though she'd been crying. And judging from her red and puffy eyes, to assume so wouldn't be far off the mark.

"I'm supposed to bring you something to eat." Zexion replied curtly, trying to keep any emotion out of his voice.

"What's the point of feeding me?" She snapped, glaring at him, "Aren't I just destined to be killed and dropped of somewhere with a warning note where my father can find me?!"

Zexion flinched slightly, that wasn't what he had been told. They were going to hold her for ransom. Right? "That's not what I was told." He said simply, "You're being held for ransom."

"Mm-hm." Kairi said in a know-it-all tone. "That's not what your associate Axel told me." She hissed.

Zexion sighed, why did she have to make this so hard? "Look, can I untie you so you can eat this, or are you going to try to run away the moment I do?"

She was almost resigned to her fate at this point, but if he took off the cords on her wrists, what would she do? Kairi could see herself pushing him out of the way and making a run for the door. But what would be the point? She didn't know where she was. She could be in the middle of nowhere, for all she knew. Even if Kairi managed to get out of the room - where would she go from there? Kairi had begun to examine the young man kneeling before her. He was small for his age, assuming he was a little bit older than her, pale and thin. But she realized something, the young man kneeling before her was the same person she had seen, looking out the window of the car. The same dark blue eyes beneath thick lashes. The same look of melancholy and regret.

"No. You can go ahead. I won't 'try' anything." Kairi replied, looking at him directly.

She let out a sigh of relief when the cord around her wrists had been loosened and slipped off. The young man grabbed the tray off of the bedside table and set it before her. He sat in front of her, keeping a close watch. Kairi noticed that his hands were shaking rather violently, despite the calm expression he was wearing...

Zexion didn't want this to end up badly. First off, if she did try to escape, there was no way he could know what to do. And if she DID escape, there was no telling how his family would react to his failure to keep a young girl from getting away.

"Your hands are shaking." The girl before him muttered, she had practically torn into the food she'd been given.

"Are they?" Zexion muttered, almost to himself. Yes, they were shaking, he'd felt that they were. He hated being nervous, the flighty feeling never suited him.

"Yes." The girl said, seeming to force a laugh, but the smile on her face seemed genuine. She sighed and hung her head slightly, "I..." she paused "I wanted to ask you something."

"Yes..? What is it?"

She stopped, as if she was afraid to ask the question. "What's your name?"

"My-My name?" Zexion stuttered in reply. He couldn't possibly answer that question - if she knew his name. Well, he could surmise that knowing only his first name wouldn't really do any harm but...Then again, it wasn't a very common name. He racked his brain, he could give her a false name; would that do? That would work.

"It's...It's Evan." he said quickly, looking away from her.

Kairi frowned and tilted her head slightly. "Evan?" she said softly. It was a nice name, but a part of Kairi knew that wasn't the real name of the young man. But it was good enough, at least now she had a name to go with the face. And maybe she thought maybe someone to talk to... He seemed to a point kind but lonely, maybe sad. As if no one really understood him. But then, a lot of teenagers seemed like that.

"Evan," Kairi said, looking up from the now empty plate in front of her "why, why didn't you do something?" she muttered.

Zexion blinked and shook his head "What are you talking about?"

"Please, don't play innocent with me." She seemed to be quite upset. "You were in that car when they kidnapped me. I saw you." She whispered. "Why didn't you do something?"

Zexion sighed softly. "What could I do?" he said "There was nothing." he muttered. "There was nothing I could do to help you."

"But you wanted to, didn't you?" she whispered, turning so that she was looking directly into his eyes.

He cleared his throat. "That's not important now."

Kairi rose up, "No." she snapped "It is important now! You wanted to do something, to stop them from kidnapping me but you did nothing! You stood idly by while something illegal was happening! "

Zexion bit his lip. "I couldn't do anything! That was my family! I couldn't--" Zexion stopped. He shouldn't have said that...

She raised an eyebrow, tilting her head inquiringly "Your family?" She whispered in shock.

He cringed and stood up. "I shouldn't have told you that." he whispered to himself, turning toward the door. "I...I have to go." he opened the door and left, locking it after he'd closed it again. He let out a hiss of breath.

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Kairi sat there, staring blankly at the door after he had left. The way he spoke left her with a lingering feeling that she'd somehow done something wrong. She didn't know why. He had been the one not to do a thing when he could have helped... But could he have helped me? she thought suddenly. She understood loyalty to one's family, she understood that those were bonds not easily undone. Kairi sighed. Evan seemed so...he seemed so upset by what they had done though. She shook her head sadly.

She stood up and stretched, looking at her wrists. They were swollen and rubbed completely raw. She resisted the urge to touch the raw skin which stung enough already simply from contact to the air. But there was only one thing on her mind now. Evan. She didn't know why, but there was something about him that pulled her toward him. Something that made her feel as though she weren't so alone, as though she weren't doomed. He gave her some sort of vague hope.

Kairi decided that it would be for the best to just sleep some more. After all, there was nothing else she could do, and sleep was the one place where she could feel safe, feel comfortable. And perhaps now, her dreams wouldn't be so unnerving.

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"What do you MEAN no one's seen here?!" Sitting in a small kitchen, one of Kairi schoolmates, the young brown haired boy with the broad grin slammed his hands down on the table, rising from her chair. He looked around him "How could no one have seen here?!" he shouted "People don't just disappear of the face of the earth!" He looked around the room, everyone around them hung their heads.

"Sora..." whispered his best friend, a silver haired young man who was standing away from the rest, leaning against the wall. "They're doing everything they can."

"They could be doing more!" Sora shouted, tears glimmering in his eyes.

Everyone in the room winced, Sora was normally so optimistic and good-natured.

He bit his lip, "They'll find her, right?" he whispered softly. "They've GOT to find her..."

But, it seemed no one had answer. There was silence that was suddenly broken by a soft sob...

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"Why do you keep coming in here?" Kairi asked. Over the last three days, Evan had been coming into the room where she was kept, the pair of them talked for short amounts of time, and always he was jumpy and nervous.

"There's..." He paused "There's no one else to talk to." He shrugged slightly. He seemed less nervous today than usual.

"What about Axel?"

Evan scoffed. "What about him?" he sneered.

"Couldn't you talk to him?"

"No. It'd be completely useless..." He seemed all-too able to say these sorts of things, Kairi took note of that; he didn't like the people around him at all. "He's..." he sighed in a resigned matter. "There's not a word for what Axel is." he added.

Kairi nodded, she hated Axel too but then, she didn't know anything of him but the face he showed to his enemies...but from the way Evan talked, that was almost all there was to him.

Over the next week, the visits from Evan continued and Kairi began to understand what kind of a person he was... She found out that he couldn't stand his family, what they did made him sick.

"But then why don't you just go?" Kairi asked. "Why don't you just get out of here and never come back?"

Evan looked at her"Because I can't. I hate them but I can't just leave, I can't just run away. They're my family. " he said. Kairi could hear the regret in his voice, the guilt. He didn't like hating them but he couldn't help it. And for whatever reason, he still felt loyal to them... For the most part, at least.

Kairi also came to understand that Evan was sick a lot, it was some sort of immune disorder, nothing he could do about it. She found out that the last time he was sick, he'd spent a week in the hospital. Why is he telling me all of this? she asked herself. What good does it do?

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Zexion stood outside the room. He didn't know why but when he was around her, he felt like he could tell her anything, that she would understand. Like she wouldn't mock or ridicule or think less of him. No matter what. He shook his head and laughed bitterly. What a joke. He hated that they had to meet under these circumstances, maybe some other way, some other place they could have been...Friends? Maybe even lovers? It was stupid. He knew it was stupid. They wouldn't have met otherwise, and they way they'd met ensured nothing could ever happen.

Besides, he thought she probably only talks to me because she has no one else to talk to. 'Stockholm Syndrome' .

He was jarred suddenly out of his thoughts by the sound of someone clearing their throat. He looked up to see Saix standing there, and the look in his eyes told Zexion he wasn't very happy.

"What is it?" Zexion asked quietly.

"You know what it is. How much have you told her? What does she know?" Saix growled.

Zexion's heart plummeted. He knew. He knew he'd been talking to her, every day. Saix knew. "I-- Nothing. Nothing that could be used against us."

Saix narrowed his eyes at Zexion, as though looking for some indication that he was lying. He crinkled his nose. "You could get us thrown in jail, Zexion. Is that what you want?"

Zexion scowled. "Of course not!" he cried. "Why the hell would I want that?!"

Saix sneered. "Don't speak with her again, don't go into that room again. Do you understand me?" he said in a commanding tone his yellow eyes watched Zexion closely.

Zexion bit his lip. "I won't."

"Good." Saix hissed, turning on his heel and heading down the hall. Zexion watched Saix disappear into the living room, then leaned against the wall and closed his eyes...

This girl... He thought She's going to tear everything apart, isn't she?

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"So, Saix is pretty pissed at you, huh?" said a young teen, teal eyes glittered from under a few stray strands of light brown hair, the style of which could only be described as a mix between a mullet and a mohawk.

Zexion nodded sullenly. "Yeah." He muttered, looking over at Demyx.

Demyx and Zexion were sitting on the front porch of Demyx's home. They'd been friends since they were little kids although the only reason they were friends at all was probably because their parents were friends. Otherwise, the two probably would never have spoken.

Demyx frowned. "Well...Did you tell her anything you shouldn't have?"

Zexion shook his head. "No, not really..." he sighed "Not anything that could have been tracked back to the family."

"Huh. That's weird, why's Saix so upset then?"

"He didn't believe me." Zexion replied, looking away at the street. The setting sun glimmered on the cars parked at the curb and in the driveway.

Demyx scoffed. "What an ass." he shook his head. "Like you've ever told a real lie to them in your life."

Zexion cringed at the words. "Yeah..." he rose from the step and looked back at Demyx, "I'm gonna head home. I'll see you around." He waved slightly and headed down the walk,

"All right," Demyx called "See ya."

As Zexion walked down the quiet street, seeing only one or two people the whole way home, he started thinking... What if...What if he helped her get away? He didn't like the idea of his family getting thrown in jail, even though he knew they deserved it, being completely alone like that would kill him...But at the same time, he didn't want her there anymore. Every visit to talk to her made him so upset. He loved seeing her, talking to her, hearing the sound of her voice but he didn't want her to be stuck here until her father paid the ransom or in the end, his father decided that she was useless and had her murdered.

He shook his head, stupid idea. Really stupid idea. She'd probably implicate me too... But then you could always testify, said the other said of him, they'd put you in witness protection and you'd get back at them..But then he'd never see her again, at least if they lived in the same city there was some chance, however slim... A car passed, blaring loud music out the windows, a cold breeze blew. Zexion wrapped his arms over his chest, as though to shield himself from the cold. The bitter metallic scent of winter was already in the air. Well, it was October already, wasn't it?

She'd probably be gone by the end of the month. His family would kill her whether literally, or emotionally.

Maybe...maybe I should. He thought. Zexion wanted to... More than anything it seemed suddenly, that he wanted her to be happy, what happened to him didn't matter. He sighed again, now THAT was stupid. But there was just something about her.

He couldn't let her suffer.

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Final Notes: God. This chapter took forever, sorry! I just got hit with some major writer's block! Forgive me!