It's still so bizarre to hear his old human name, especially coming from Sora. Even stranger to hear it in the context of Sora wanting to be his friend. It really seems like only a few weeks ago that the two of them had duked it out in Castle Oblivion, and while it's certainly true that Axel hadn't really been interested in actually hurting Sora, the kid sure hadn't pulled his punches in return. He guesses he can't really blame him, all things considered, but... this 180 just seems so sudden, even if it's apparently been a much longer span of time since then for Sora.
"Man, this time paradox crap is giving me a headache," he complains, rubbing his brow and shaking his head. "I guess bein' friends sounds like a way better option than the alternative, though," he says, giving a weak laugh. "You hit hard. I remember that very clearly." He looks kind of put on the spot when Sora asks about his name, though, and for once in his life, Axel legitimately isn't sure how to respond. "I... Uhm."
He's quiet for a long moment, then looks at Sora, something perhaps oddly sincere in his eyes, and shakes his head.
"It... it's Axel," he says, and lifts a hand to stave off any potential rebuttal Sora might have in the moment. "For now," he amends, lowering his eyes and frowning at the table. "I'm not sure what I think about all this, but if you know that name, then what you say has to be true. The only others who would know that name... you wouldn't have heard it from them, so you must have heard it from me. Which means I do get my heart back at some point, and..." He hesitates, then blows out a sigh before lifting his eyes to look at Sora again. "That name... goes with my heart," he says, his expression grim for a moment before he breaks into his more trademark crooked grin. "Better wait 'til I deserve it, got it memorized?"
When Sora looks utterly baffled then, though, the grin fades almost instantly.
"Wh... whaddaya mean 'who's Xion'?" he asks, shaking his head. His tone isn't angry, it's just completely flabbergasted. He searches Sora's eyes for any hints of deception, but he already knows there won't be any. Sora probably couldn't lie if his life depended on it. "She's..." Axel's voice just kind of fails him for a moment as the gears in his head turn. He knows, he realizes. He knows why Sora doesn't know who she is. Xion was created to be the vessel for Sora's memories of Kairi. She was literally made of Sora's memories. It only serves to reason that once she became a part of him again, those memories would reintegrate and... essentially disappear.
He just hadn't actually expected that to actually be the result, he guesses. Why... why does his chest feel so tight all of a sudden?
/o/
"Man, this time paradox crap is giving me a headache," he complains, rubbing his brow and shaking his head. "I guess bein' friends sounds like a way better option than the alternative, though," he says, giving a weak laugh. "You hit hard. I remember that very clearly." He looks kind of put on the spot when Sora asks about his name, though, and for once in his life, Axel legitimately isn't sure how to respond. "I... Uhm."
He's quiet for a long moment, then looks at Sora, something perhaps oddly sincere in his eyes, and shakes his head.
"It... it's Axel," he says, and lifts a hand to stave off any potential rebuttal Sora might have in the moment. "For now," he amends, lowering his eyes and frowning at the table. "I'm not sure what I think about all this, but if you know that name, then what you say has to be true. The only others who would know that name... you wouldn't have heard it from them, so you must have heard it from me. Which means I do get my heart back at some point, and..." He hesitates, then blows out a sigh before lifting his eyes to look at Sora again. "That name... goes with my heart," he says, his expression grim for a moment before he breaks into his more trademark crooked grin. "Better wait 'til I deserve it, got it memorized?"
When Sora looks utterly baffled then, though, the grin fades almost instantly.
"Wh... whaddaya mean 'who's Xion'?" he asks, shaking his head. His tone isn't angry, it's just completely flabbergasted. He searches Sora's eyes for any hints of deception, but he already knows there won't be any. Sora probably couldn't lie if his life depended on it. "She's..." Axel's voice just kind of fails him for a moment as the gears in his head turn. He knows, he realizes. He knows why Sora doesn't know who she is. Xion was created to be the vessel for Sora's memories of Kairi. She was literally made of Sora's memories. It only serves to reason that once she became a part of him again, those memories would reintegrate and... essentially disappear.
He just hadn't actually expected that to actually be the result, he guesses. Why... why does his chest feel so tight all of a sudden?