"Are you alright?" Naminé asked, bending down to his level. She realized at once that this was probably a stupid thing to say. Anyone could see that Axel was not, in fact, alright. She looked down, fixing her eyes on her feet, trying to hide her embarrassment. But presently she lifted her eyes again. He looked awful. Naminé had never seen him so... broken. Her eyes widened at her own realization. It was so strange to see Axel like this.

She knew she probably shouldn't have trusted him as much as she did in that moment. She could tell that Kairi and Sora stood off a ways behind her, not coming as near to Axel as she was. But she put that all aside when she saw how he looked. Maybe it was giving her a false sense of security, but she decided for a time to ignore any lingering doubts.

She heard some commotion behind her and peered around her shoulder to see. In other circumstances she might have smiled shyly at them, playing along, but she didn't... feel... like jokes right now. So she just nodded when to Sora’s uncertain questioning of Axel’s name. Yes, it was him.