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While breathing heavily, Lea lay on his back on a stone floor. His grey tank top was covered in sweat and his long red hair was pulled back into a ponytail. The adult man eventually sat up and stared at the teenage girl in front of him. Kairi glared at Lea with eyes full of excitement. Her mouth was wide with a proud grin.
"C'mon, Axel!" Lea could hear Sora yelling words of encouragement from the sidelines. Usually Lea would correct Sora for getting his name wrong yet again but Lea was currently too distracted.
He rose to his feet with his keyblade in his right hand. Kairi's body position shifted into the defense. She raised her floral keyblade level with her chest. Lea couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the sight of her keyblade. It was so feminine and dainty looking but it packed a powerful punch. Much more powerful that Lea's keyblade, in fact. The redheaded man's keyblade had the magical ability to shoot fire while Kairi's keyblade relied mostly on brute strength. Kairi's small and quick body could easily dodge Lea's fire attacks and Lea kept finding himself getting repeatedly bludgeoned by her weapon.
Lea didn't care that he was losing. He LOVED to fight. Ever since Lea became a guest at Yen Sid's Tower, their training sessions were Lea's favorite part of the day. Back when he was a Nobody he could barely feel any thing, let alone the excitement that came with a good fight. Now that he was a human, any emotion was enjoyable. Even if it resulted in him getting his ass kicked.
It wasn't long before Lea was knocked onto his back again. Everyone in the room could tell that the battle was over. Even Kairi, who barely had a scratch on her, was completely exhausted.
Kairi walked over to help her opponent onto his feet.
"I think I kind of miss when you were the damsel in distress," Lea joked as he caught his breath.
"Oh? When was that?" Kairi replied with a smile.
"Great job today, you guys!" Sora exclaimed as he came running over. Riku silently followed behind his friend but had a pleasant smile on his face.
"Great job?" Lea repeated. "What fight were you watching?"
"You did good, Axel," Sora reassured, "Kairi's just a tough opponent."
Lea sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
"Yeah, I'll beat her one of these days," Lea vowed as he playfully punched at her arm. Kairi pretended to take a swing at him with her blade and Lea dramatically flinched. They all laughed, including Riku.
"Once you guys are done washing up, I have a treat for you two!" Sora happily announced. He lifted a plastic bag into the air.
"Ta-da!" the teenage boy cheered.
Sora didn't say what was in the bag but Lea instantly knew what it was. It was a bunch of ice cream for them to enjoy all together. Lea cracked a smile even though his chest had begun to ache.
"It is a reward for all your hard work these past couple weeks!" Sora explained.
"Well isn't this deja vu..." Lea thought.
"I thought we could all go somewhere fun together too," Sora added.
Lea knew that he meant Twilight Town. They were currently in the sparring room hidden deep within Yen Sid's Tower. Twilight Town was only a short train ride away.
"Oh boy, does that sound like a great idea," Lea thought, "Going to hang out in Twilight Town and eat ice cream with Mr. Not Roxas. Well isn't that just a whole lot of NOPE."
"I think I'll pass," Lea said. Sora's face instantly dropped.
"Sorry, I'm just exhausted. Kairi really wore me out. I think I'll just go back to my room and crash for the rest of the day," Lea explained. As he spoke, he avoided eye contact.
"That's alright, Axel. Take it easy, okay?" Sora said. His expression looked happy again, but Lea could tell that the boy was disappointed.
Lea quickly left the room without saying another word. He didn't look behind him but he could feel the three teenagers staring at his back as he left.
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Lea walked out of the shower room that was attached to the sparring room. He had washed away all the sweat and had changed into fresh clothes. Kairi was waiting for him outside with a concerned expression on her face.
"That girl is too perceptive," Lea thought. He gave her a fake smile.
"What's up, Kairi? Aren't you going to miss out on all the fun?" Lea questioned.
"What about you, Lea? Aren't you missing out too?" Kairi asked.
Lea didn't bother lying again. He knew that Kairi was too smart for that.
"It... just wouldn't feel right, okay?" Lea said softly as he walked past her. Kairi quickly followed after him.
"Wait, Lea!" Kairi called after him. Lea didn't stop walking so Kairi jumped in front of him.
"Tell me what's wrong," she begged.
Lea let out a deep sigh.
"Listen... when I became a human again I didn't know what to do with myself. I came here to become a keyblade wielder because my heart told me that it was the right thing to do," Lea placed a hand over his chest, "And not only that, I thought that it would be what Roxas would have wanted me to do too."
Kairi solemnly nodded.
"I thought that it would bring me closer to Roxas somehow," Lea closed his eyes, "But I was wrong. That boy-- he's not Roxas."
"Lea..." Kairi said.
"Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Sora," Lea continued, "There was that point when I would do anything to get Roxas back, even if it meant hurting Sora. But I'm a different person now. Sora is my friend, too. I want to help him."
Lea turned his head to look away from Kairi.
"But I just can't get too close, you know? It just doesn't feel right."
Lea slightly flinched as Kairi took one of his hands into her own. She gently placed his hand on top of her chest. He could feel the girl's heart beating.
"Namine is here with me. When you are with Sora, Roxas is with you too," Kairi explained with a warm smile on her face.
Lea harshly pulled his hand away.
"It's not good enough for me!" Lea exclaimed as he backed away from the girl. "Sora isn't Roxas!"
Lea jabbed his index finger at Kairi's chest.
"And I don't care what you keeping telling yourself to help you sleep at night, but you're certainly not Namine either!"
Lea stormed away as Kairi called for him, although she did not follow him. Lea immediately went to his room. He tried to sleep, but his mind was keeping him awake. Kairi's pained expression was etched into Lea's mind for the entire night.