Holding Half of my Heart

Five

        “Oopsy-daisy!” Xigbar shouted while sparring in the Hall of Empty Melodies.

        Axarhs gripped her shoulder and glared at The Freeshooter, stupid Arrowguns, she thought. “Getting tired yet, old man?” She taunted.

        He laughed, “Now, do you think that’s polite?” He said while sending another barrage of lasers her way. “You can talk all you want, but that won’t change a thing.”

        “Like I’m goanna lose to you?” Axarhs smirked while dodging the incoming lasers, occasionally flicking some back toward him and building a shield around her.

        “Gee…I just don’t-" Axarhs had wrapped him in ice and pointed several ice-made spears at him. “Clever little sneak,” he grumbled.

        “Can’t teleport your way out of this one!” She laughed.

        “Fine, you win-just get this stuff off me! Stupid brat.” He mumbled the last two words.

        “Old fart,” Axarhs whispered a little too loudly while letting Xigbar go.

        “You’d be dead if I wasn’t holding back-you should be grateful!” He spat. “I won’t go easy on you tomorrow!”

        Axarhs smirked, “didn’t you say that yesterday?” Xigbar answered with a glare before leaving. Sparring was her favorite time of day-she loved riling up Xigbar-or anyone in the Organization for that matter. Not because she could get away with it, but because she liked it and served as some form of entertainment in the castle. She still wasn’t allowed to leave and see the other worlds.

        She sighed and headed off to meet the only person in the Organization she hated and-believe it or not, it wasn’t Axel-she hadn’t seen him in a few days. No, she absolutely hated Saix-Xemnas coming in a close second. Their creepy factor was through the roof-not to mention Saix’s “special” father daughter and Saix alone time-where she was headed now. He just had to make the name of this “special time” sound like it should be taking place in the back of a rickety van. It was just two hours of her lying on a table in a robe while Xemnas and Saix poked her with needles and asked her stupid questions-she hated it.

        Look who came back, she smirked at the red head leaning against the wall pretending not to notice her. Deciding to have a little fun, Axarhs walked past and blurted out, “you stink, go take a shower.” It wasn’t what she planned on saying, but it needed to be said. He smelled like a skunk had been rolling around in ash and sprayed with bad perfume.

        “I just got back and you’re already trying to make me mad with those stupid comments of yours!”

        She crossed her arms, “and it looks like it’s working, but you really do stink. Go take a shower before you kill everyone here with that stench.” A provoking remark played through her head, “or is the big strong pyromaniac scared of a little water?”

        Axel’s seething anger boiled over, “shut up ice princess or I’ll strangle that pretty little neck of yours!”

        “Aww you called me pretty.”

        “That’s not what I meant and you know it! Besides you stink too! Xigbar’s so pathetic-does fighting with him really make you sweat?”

        “You were watching me spar?!” That made her angry. Sparring with Xigbar was her time to strengthen and discover new abilities so she could leave the castle without having to worry about being attacked. Axel was watching me. What if he figures out a way around my ice and tries to burn me again? Like her father’s Ethereal Blades, spears of ice shot out of Axarhs’s palms-pointing them at his throat-she spoke, “you are not allowed to watch me.” All the playfulness in her voice gone.

        Obviously not getting the hint, Axel rolled his eyes and continued, “How scary. Why do you need to do all this anyway? Aren’t Xemnas and Saix your personal bodyguards?”

        “I don’t need to be protected-I can take care of myself! I won’t let you burn me again!” Her angry shouts bounced off the blank walls.

        “I’ve never burned you!” Axel screamed in her face and drew his chackrams, “I’m tempted to try it though.”

        “Axarhs,” a deep voice startled her. She turned around slowly and stared into the gold eyes of her father. “You’re late,” he growled and grabbed her coat. “Let’s go,” he said and shoved her into the dark portal behind him-sending a death glare toward Axel.
--

        “I hate this so much,” Axarhs crossed her arms and waited for Saix to finish gluing the last of the heart patches to her chest.

        “Deal with it,” he mumbled and turned on the heart monitor she was connected to. Unlike a hospital heart monitor, this machine tracked both her emotions and her heart rate. “Finished,” Saix said and stepped back.

        “We have something to talk about first,” Xemnas-who was standing in front of her, finally spoke. “I thought I made it clear that you are to stay away from Axel.”

        Axarhs grit her teeth and balled her hands into fists, “that idiot was watching me and started yelling when I tried to walk past him!” She told her first lie since joining the Organization. She’d started their argument when she could’ve walked past him without saying anything.

        “Liar,” Saix said with his eyes glued to the monitor. “You started the fight and were afraid to tell us, correct?”

        “No!” She lied again. “Besides, how do you know what emotion or non-emotion is showing up on that stupid thing when you don’t have a heart too feel them with?”

        Axarhs assumed it was supposed to be a chuckle coming from Saix, “we remember what it was like. Your facial expressions and speech also change when certain words or names are said.” He emphasized names. “The monitor is to make sure we don’t miss anything.”

        She narrowed her eyes, “so you’re making me angry on purpose-that’s stupid.”

        Xemnas drew his Ethereal Blades and pointed them at Axarhs, “Anger is the easiest emotion to get out of you-next to fear. Seeing the same reaction gets boring-let’s see what other feeling we can extract from you.”

        Extract. She did not like that word. Saix joined Xemnas in front of her-the creepy and uncomfortable feeling skyrocketed as the Ethereal Blades stayed dangerously close to her skin. This is ok, this is normal. Axarhs continued her mantra for the next two hours.
--

        Axel was walking toward his room when he noticed Axarhs shuffling in his direction. He braced himself for whatever stupid comment was going to spill out of her mouth, but she passed by him silently-keeping her gaze toward the floor. What? “Hey, ice princess, now you don’t have anything to say?” She ignored him and continued down the hallway. He chased after her, “I’m talking to-"

        She stretched her right arm out-a block of ice hit Axel in the face and covered his mouth-shutting him up. Halfway through his list of muffled threats, he noticed something very wrong. Crying? Axarhs wiped her eyes and left Axel to deal with the frozen liquid covering his mouth.