Axel had pretty much decided that wherever Roxas was, it wasn't in the hotel. After realizing that everyone was trapped on the sixth floor he'd spent a busy morning navigating through the crowds and hoping to spot him, because if any time was the time to find him decisively, it was now.
He'd been bitterly disappointed though, and was convinced now that Roxas was gone. Taken back to their world, or somewhere else, and that crushed some tiny spot inside of him but he didn't think about it. Anger was better, and he could be angry at Roxas for being a jerk the days before he disappeared.
He stepped out into the hallway, wondering if Sakura would actually come and see him, especially given the trauma she'd had to deal with the past week. Axel felt left out, but he wondered if she'd actually have the gall to walk out and about and trust him. That was an odd word, trust. It wasn't something he engaged in often and something he didn't know if she'd be able to give.
He spotted her almost immediately though, and she was coming toward him, but from the ceiling. Axel raised his eyebrows in surprise as she neared him, putting one hand on his hip and smirking up at her.
"Yawn, I expected you to actually be able to do something impressive," he drawled, "leave it to me to overestimate people."
Sakura laughed at Axel's greeting. Yes, it was definitely good to see that some things hadn't changed, after all. At this time, more than ever, Sakura needed something stable that she could count on, and it seemed that Axel was it.
"I don't see you walking on the ceiling, now do I?" she replied with a smile, and then smirked, mumbling something that suspiciously sounded like 'You haven't seen anything yet.'
"So, when do I get to see your Katon jutsu?" Sakura's eyes lit up with curiosity and anticipation. Maybe it would even give her ideas for a few of her own Katon jutsu, provided that Axel let her monitor how he uses his chakra while summoning fire.
"I don't walk on the ceiling because I don't want to make you jealous," Axel said, still casually. "There are already too many things to be jealous of, wouldn't want to harm your self-esteem anymore than it already is."
He waited for her to jump down, but evidently she was content to be carrying on this conversation while looking at him upside down. Whatever, Axel flowed with it. "Katon jutsu? Why the fancy words, babe? It's just fire." He realized that she did seem just a little bit curious about his abilities, so he smirked, faking another yawn.
"Right, well, you took so long to get here and whatnot and I'm not quite comfortable having this conversation with you looking up your shirt," he said, as though it was the most common thing in the world. "Well, maybe I am, I mean, I was you, at one point in the time, but, the situation is, you should get down and then I'll blow... well, I'll set the wall on fire, how about that? Unless you want your hair gone. Doesn't matter to me."
"Uh-huh, suuuure," she replied light-heartedly, "Fine, I'll get off of the ceiling. I don't really like the idea of getting my hair burnt to a crisp." And with that she jumped down from the ceiling, and ignored Axel's comment about looking up her shirt because she was sure it was zipped up all the way, stepping away to give him some room, and waited for him to reveal how he used his ability.
After a moment had passed, a rather important thought occurred to Sakura. "Can you put out the fire that you summon, or will I have to take care of that? It wouldn't be good if half of the hotel went down in flames because of you..."
"Why not? Pink is such an unbecoming color for you."
She appeared to be focused though, and so Axel started to focus as well, relishing the feeling of his hands starting to warm up. It had been far too long, he reflected, since he'd felt them warming internally. He'd tested them lightly so far, after realizing that he had his abilities back, and had been disappointed that his flames were nowhere near as powerful as before.
He stopped short when he heard Sakura say something about putting the fire out, and he cocked an eye at her skeptically. "What, you think burning down the hotel in its current state would be a bad idea? I thought it was the smartest plan we had." He made a deal of shrugging, and then smirked. "No, I can control it myself. We won't set the wall on fire... yet."
With that he let his warm hands flame outward, letting them simply burn there. It wasn't too impressive like this, he thought, but it was better than he'd had all along. He didn't think his abilities were back enough so that he could propel across the floors like he'd been able to before, but this was enough for the moment. He held his hands backward a little, not expecting Sakura to be impressed, but pleased with himself nonetheless.
"You sure you don't want to set the hotel on fire?" he asked, gazing wistfully at the wall, making a vague move with his hand toward it.
Sakura stared in wonder and smiled; he was using fire just like she would use her medical chakra, and it was beautiful, and slightly saddening. It reminded Sakura of home; of missions, and having to sleep under the stars around a small campfire; of Konohagakure's night life, and colorful festivals; many things that she had left behind upon being brought here, and she gave the fire a sorrowful look before looking up at Axel and smirking. "I'd love to burn the hotel down, but I'd rather not see what the Host's alternative living space for us would be."
On a spur-of-the-moment thought, Sakura then focused her chakra into her hands- just enough to prevent them from burning, and still let her feel the fire- and placed her hands over the fire Axel was emitting, and closed her eyes with a small smile. It was good to be near a fire again. It was warm, reassuring, and familiar, and one of the things they'd lacked while in the hotel, just like the sun, moon, weather, and natural elements that composed a 'live' environment. Maybe she'd organize a room that would have a small campfire of sorts every once in a while...
When he saw that she was smiling, he smirked again, but there was no real malice behind it. "Impressive, I know," he said, "but that's the way I roll, babe. Hey, what are you--?"
Before he could do anything or try to move his hand away she had placed her hand perilously close to the flame from his hand. He made a startled noise and nearly pulled his hand back because honestly, who the hell did that? But he saw that she wasn't in pain, and seemed to be enjoying the warmth.
He made a quizzical face at her, cocked his head, and then shrugged a shoulder, not moving his hand. "And they call me a pyro," he whistled, and placed his other flaming hand on his hip. "So what, can I set the rest of you on fire too?"
When she saw Axel's surprised response, Sakura laughed sheepishly and pulled away her hand- maybe this wasn't the best idea, after all. "I'd rather you didn't. I'm not sure I have enough chakra to keep myself from burning..."
A small wave of embarrassment washed over Sakura, and she looked away from Axel for a moment. Really, to do something like that without warning him was stupid. Sakura looked back at him, and gave a small, uncertain smile and before speaking. "Sorry if I startled you." She looked to be on the verge of explaining her actions, but thought better of it, and stayed quiet.
She seemed embarassed and that made Axel grin. What he lived for, really. He didn't really expect her to be that embarassed but another look at her face told him that she really was. He wanted to laugh but he still just smirked that cheeky smile at her.
"Startle me? Who do you think you're talking to? You can't startle me, babe. Impossible." He could still see that she was embarassed though, so he couldn't resist goading her. "It's okay, though, I understand. You just want to touch me. I have that affect on people. You don't have to be ashamed. Lesser people than you have succumbed to it."
He nodded knowingly, holding his hand back out. "Come on now. I know you're an inner pyro. Feast away."
Sakura snorted at his reply- touch him indeed. That was one of the farthest things from her mind. "You couldn't be farther from the truth, Axel. I just want you for your fire," she replied with a laugh as she put her chakra-protected hands in the fire. Of course, that wasn't true, either, but Sakura was in a good mood and was inclined to play along with Axel's teasing. Who knew when they'd be able to banter so lightheartedly again?
He'd been bitterly disappointed though, and was convinced now that Roxas was gone. Taken back to their world, or somewhere else, and that crushed some tiny spot inside of him but he didn't think about it. Anger was better, and he could be angry at Roxas for being a jerk the days before he disappeared.
He stepped out into the hallway, wondering if Sakura would actually come and see him, especially given the trauma she'd had to deal with the past week. Axel felt left out, but he wondered if she'd actually have the gall to walk out and about and trust him. That was an odd word, trust. It wasn't something he engaged in often and something he didn't know if she'd be able to give.
He spotted her almost immediately though, and she was coming toward him, but from the ceiling. Axel raised his eyebrows in surprise as she neared him, putting one hand on his hip and smirking up at her.
"Yawn, I expected you to actually be able to do something impressive," he drawled, "leave it to me to overestimate people."
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"I don't see you walking on the ceiling, now do I?" she replied with a smile, and then smirked, mumbling something that suspiciously sounded like 'You haven't seen anything yet.'
"So, when do I get to see your Katon jutsu?" Sakura's eyes lit up with curiosity and anticipation. Maybe it would even give her ideas for a few of her own Katon jutsu, provided that Axel let her monitor how he uses his chakra while summoning fire.
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He waited for her to jump down, but evidently she was content to be carrying on this conversation while looking at him upside down. Whatever, Axel flowed with it. "Katon jutsu? Why the fancy words, babe? It's just fire." He realized that she did seem just a little bit curious about his abilities, so he smirked, faking another yawn.
"Right, well, you took so long to get here and whatnot and I'm not quite comfortable having this conversation with you looking up your shirt," he said, as though it was the most common thing in the world. "Well, maybe I am, I mean, I was you, at one point in the time, but, the situation is, you should get down and then I'll blow... well, I'll set the wall on fire, how about that? Unless you want your hair gone. Doesn't matter to me."
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And with that she jumped down from the ceiling, and ignored Axel's comment about looking up her shirt because she was sure it was zipped up all the way, stepping away to give him some room, and waited for him to reveal how he used his ability.
After a moment had passed, a rather important thought occurred to Sakura. "Can you put out the fire that you summon, or will I have to take care of that? It wouldn't be good if half of the hotel went down in flames because of you..."
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She appeared to be focused though, and so Axel started to focus as well, relishing the feeling of his hands starting to warm up. It had been far too long, he reflected, since he'd felt them warming internally. He'd tested them lightly so far, after realizing that he had his abilities back, and had been disappointed that his flames were nowhere near as powerful as before.
He stopped short when he heard Sakura say something about putting the fire out, and he cocked an eye at her skeptically. "What, you think burning down the hotel in its current state would be a bad idea? I thought it was the smartest plan we had." He made a deal of shrugging, and then smirked. "No, I can control it myself. We won't set the wall on fire... yet."
With that he let his warm hands flame outward, letting them simply burn there. It wasn't too impressive like this, he thought, but it was better than he'd had all along. He didn't think his abilities were back enough so that he could propel across the floors like he'd been able to before, but this was enough for the moment. He held his hands backward a little, not expecting Sakura to be impressed, but pleased with himself nonetheless.
"You sure you don't want to set the hotel on fire?" he asked, gazing wistfully at the wall, making a vague move with his hand toward it.
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"I'd love to burn the hotel down, but I'd rather not see what the Host's alternative living space for us would be."
On a spur-of-the-moment thought, Sakura then focused her chakra into her hands- just enough to prevent them from burning, and still let her feel the fire- and placed her hands over the fire Axel was emitting, and closed her eyes with a small smile. It was good to be near a fire again. It was warm, reassuring, and familiar, and one of the things they'd lacked while in the hotel, just like the sun, moon, weather, and natural elements that composed a 'live' environment. Maybe she'd organize a room that would have a small campfire of sorts every once in a while...
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Before he could do anything or try to move his hand away she had placed her hand perilously close to the flame from his hand. He made a startled noise and nearly pulled his hand back because honestly, who the hell did that? But he saw that she wasn't in pain, and seemed to be enjoying the warmth.
He made a quizzical face at her, cocked his head, and then shrugged a shoulder, not moving his hand. "And they call me a pyro," he whistled, and placed his other flaming hand on his hip. "So what, can I set the rest of you on fire too?"
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"I'd rather you didn't. I'm not sure I have enough chakra to keep myself from burning..."
A small wave of embarrassment washed over Sakura, and she looked away from Axel for a moment. Really, to do something like that without warning him was stupid.
Sakura looked back at him, and gave a small, uncertain smile and before speaking. "Sorry if I startled you." She looked to be on the verge of explaining her actions, but thought better of it, and stayed quiet.
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She seemed embarassed and that made Axel grin. What he lived for, really. He didn't really expect her to be that embarassed but another look at her face told him that she really was. He wanted to laugh but he still just smirked that cheeky smile at her.
"Startle me? Who do you think you're talking to? You can't startle me, babe. Impossible." He could still see that she was embarassed though, so he couldn't resist goading her. "It's okay, though, I understand. You just want to touch me. I have that affect on people. You don't have to be ashamed. Lesser people than you have succumbed to it."
He nodded knowingly, holding his hand back out. "Come on now. I know you're an inner pyro. Feast away."
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Sakura snorted at his reply- touch him indeed. That was one of the farthest things from her mind. "You couldn't be farther from the truth, Axel. I just want you for your fire," she replied with a laugh as she put her chakra-protected hands in the fire. Of course, that wasn't true, either, but Sakura was in a good mood and was inclined to play along with Axel's teasing. Who knew when they'd be able to banter so lightheartedly again?
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