[KH] Bound by Fire omake: Saix and Jasmine

Bound by Fire, a Kingdom Hearts fanfic series by Raberba girl

Omake - Saïx and Jasmine (rough draft)

Summary:  Axel's little brother gets engaged.

A/N:  Modern AU.

o.o.o

They thought it was a fight at first, the sudden commotion by the fountain and the way everyone started swarming over there.  "Axel," Saïx warned.

"I just wanna look!"

"With your track record, you'll end up in the principal's office, too."

"I wouldn't have punched that guy if he hadn't said anything about Demyx!"

"Which you would not have heard if you hadn't been running over to see what was going on in the first place."

"But this time I--"

The reactions of the crowd were a little odd.  Puzzled laughter, excited whispering that was more confused or incredulous than gleeful, some kids even wandering away in disinterest.

"It's not a fight," Axel suddenly said.

"Ax--"

Too late, the redhead had already taken off.  Saïx sighed and got up to follow him.

The teachers had gotten there by this time, Ms. Taft staring, a little wide-eyed, as The Girl raged imperiously at a taken aback Mr. Klein.

Saïx thought of her capitalized like that at first, she was so...distinctive.  Soaking wet, for one thing, like someone had dumped her thoroughly in the fountain she was still standing in.  Thick raven-black hair hanging past her waist; turquoise pants made of a fabric that would probably billow when dry but clung sheerly to her legs and left little to the imagination when wet; a matching top that could not possibly comply with any school's dress code; and gorgeous almond-brown skin, marred only by gooseflesh.  She was shivering.

And speaking what sounded like gibberish to Axel, though Saïx could make some sense of it.  He stepped forward and said in (what he hoped was) the same language, as soon as she paused again to draw breath, "They are only trying to help."

She stared at him, abruptly silent.

"You can understand her?" Mr. Klein said in surprise.

"A little.  She's speaking Agrabahti, I think."

"Someone go get Mrs. Darzi," Ms. Taft ordered.  A couple of excitedly gossiping girls trotted off in response.

Saïx shrugged out of his uniform jacket and stepped up to lay it over the girl's shoulders, but she moved back and raised her hand again in an aggressive warning gesture.  "Don't touch me."

"Why not?" he asked.

She gave him a long, slightly disbelieving look.  "Unless you are female."

Axel laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.  "What'd she say?"

Saïx realized that his face had colored.  "...Essentially, she called me a girl," he said dryly.

"Hah!  I told you you should get a haircut."

Saïx shook his head.  "Please take the coat."

"You were wearing it," she exclaimed, as if he had gravely insulted her.

"I'm clean," he said, trying to stay patient.

"You're a man, and perhaps a fool as well," she said hotly.

He stared at her.  She seemed genuinely affronted, or else she was a fantastic actor.  It was almost like she really was from some country, social class, and era that had different rules of propriety.

His Agrabahti teacher arrived around then, immediately engaging the strange girl in a flurry of conversation almost too quick for Saïx to understand.  He was barely able to keep up, much less translate for the insistent Axel.

The girl, whose name turned out to be the Agrabahti word for "jasmine," was apparently stark raving mad.  She claimed she was a princess, kept asking for her palace and her father, and refused to answer when they tried to find out her phone number and address, or even the name of said father (whom she claimed was the sultan).  She would not let any males touch her, spent quite longer than necessary in the girls' locker room, and came out with dry hair, clad in a P.E. uniform, and going on about the land of fairies.

Axel whistled appreciatively.  "Man.  Even in those ugly gym shorts, she's still hot."

"Shut up."  Saïx was pretty sure that it was genuine (and growing) distress beneath all the girl's arrogance and nonsense.

They were all gathered in the front office now - Saïx had not been sent back to class since, as Mrs. Darzi's best student, he was potentially useful, and no one had thought to send Axel away yet.  Mrs. Darzi actually had a class right now, and even though someone else was covering for her, she was clearly unhappy.  "I am sorry," she finally apologized, "but I go teach.  Saïx, he help you, he good boy."

"Teacher's pet," Axel smirked, earning a kick in the ankle.

"Saïx," the principal said unhappily once Mrs. Darzi had left, "tell this young lady that if she does not start giving us some solid information soon, we're going to have to call the police.  She's not even enrolled here.

"Your Highness," Saïx sighed.  She had nearly bitten his head off correcting his manner of address earlier.  "Please cooperate and answer the questions properly, or the police will come for you."

"You can't frighten me with your...with your 'police,'" she said, the word sounding uncertain on her tongue.

"...Do you know what 'police' means?"

She gave him a haughty glare.

"When people break the law where you come from," he said slowly, "who punishes them?"

Her face paled.

Funny how it hadn't until now, when he'd explained what he suspected was unfamiliar vocabulary.  'Where is she from?!' he thought in amazement.

"M-My father will never stand for this.  If he finds that you've hurt me, he'll have all your heads."

Saïx considered a moment.  "What does your home look like?" he tried.

He eventually coaxed a picture from her of a vast white palace shining in the desert sun, empty rooms and balconies and courtyards stretching out for the sake of sheer luxury of space, a beloved tiger "with eyes very much like yours," she finished, gazing curiously.  "I just noticed that."

"...Right."  He turned back to the principal.  Either this beautiful, bizarre girl was mentally unstable and in need of sensitive care, or something was very, very wrong on what was possibly on the level of science fiction.  Either way, Saïx did not want to get the police involved.  "...She described how to get back to the institution where she lives, but I don't trust her to get there safely on her own.  I'd like to escort her."

"Well...."  Being an Honors student with no marks on his discipline record definitely came in handy for Saïx sometimes.  "All right."  The principal finally noticed Axel.  "What are you still doing here?"

Axel raised his hands.  "Just helpin' out.  You go on, Sai; I oughta get to class."

Saïx watched him saunter out, not pointing out aloud that Axel had never actually stated he was going to do what he should be doing.  Saïx turned to Jasmine instead.  "We cannot stay here anymore, Your Highness.  I beg that you allow me to lead you somewhere safe."

He found that he was holding his breath as he submitted to her scrutiny and waited for her to reply.  Then he expelled it in a relieved rush when she decided, "You please me.  I will accompany you."

"Thank you."

Sure enough, Axel met them down the street from campus.

"This one does not please me.  His hair is an obnoxious color."

"She doesn't like your hair," Saïx relayed with a smirk.

"Hey, I have awesome hair.  She does, too, actually."  Axel reached out as if he was a fascinated small child, but Saïx quickly moved to block him.

"Don't touch her.  She is under the impression that she is royalty, hence she considers the touch of most males to be a grave insult."

"Seriously?"

"What are you talking about?" Jasmine demanded.

"How to not offend you.  Your Highness--"

"You're so brave," she said.  She was walking on the grass, as close to the fence as she could get, eyes fixed on the street.  He realized belatedly that she was flinching every time a car passed by.  "How tame are those beasts?"

"...They are not animals, they are--"  What was the word for 'vehicle'?  "--wagons.  People are driving them."

"I don't believe you."

"Look."  They had reached the intersection, and he pointed at the car approaching the stop sign.  "In the front, behind the glass."

"...Ohhh...."  She watched intently until the car was out of sight.  "They are very skilled."

"Does she not know what cars are?" Axel said incredulously.  "What, she's been living under a rock all this time?"

"Jasmine," Saïx asked.  "How did you come to this place?"

"I can't remember.  Just that I fell in the fountain, and when I climbed out again, I was here in the land of the fae."

"Do you have any idea how to get home?"

"You would be the one to know, not me."

"Hmm."

"'Sup?" Axel asked.

"...I think she's clinically insane."

Axel studied him.  "No, you don't."

"What?"

"You think you know what's up with her, but you don't like it, so you're lying to make yourself feel better."

"Stop reading my mind," Saïx grumbled uneasily.

"So what's her deal?"

"...She is not a time traveler.  She belongs in an institution where trained professionals can properly care for her."

"She's a time traveler?!"

"I didn't say that," Saïx wailed.

"What spells are you casting?"

"We're not doing magic, we're just talking.  Your Highness, my home is very small and humble, but it is the only place I can think of where you will be safe.  Please...."

"Very well."  Yet she was still shocked at just how much smaller the house was than her own home.  "What do you mean there's not anymore?!"

He sighed and explained again.  "That is where we cook and eat, that hallway there leads to where we bathe and sleep, beyond that door is where our wagons stay, and these two rooms are for everything else.  The grass inside the fence is ours, too.  There's no more."

"No!  This is a closet!"

It was Axel's idea to feed her junk food to get her to calm down.  The potato chips made her grimace, but the taste of dark chocolate was savored as she closed her eyes and held it on her tongue.  She also seemed coolly impressed by the refrigerator, stove, television, and indoor plumbing, as if the 'magic' made up for the lack of space.

"Man, time travelers are supposed to be more blown away by our l33t technology than this," Axel pouted.  "It's no fun when she plays it cool."

"She's a princess.  She'll lose face if she lets herself look awed about anything."

Having a royal guest was inconvenient but interesting.  Jasmine changed into some of Mrs. Acerbi's clothes and then made Saïx explain how everything in the universe (so it felt) worked, all while seeming to expect him to wait on her hand and foot.  Axel left at one point to pick up his younger brother from school, and returned with both said brother and Saïx's own younger sibling.

"Sai-Sai!  I didn't have to ride the bus today!" Xion crowed, glomping him.

"Why not?"  Saïx frowned at Axel, who shrugged.

"Well, I was coming back anyway, figured I might as well."

"Is this the princess?" Xion asked interestedly.

"Her name is Jasmine, and she doesn't speak English.  Leave her alone."

"Who is the little girl?" Jasmine asked.

"My sister, Xion.  She is insufferable, so please don't encourage her."

Jasmine held out her arms and Xion flew into them to be cuddled, leaving Saïx rolling his eyes.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Roxas asked.

"No, she's not."

"She's pretty."

Axel quickly stopped Roxas from reaching out.  "She doesn't like boys, Rox."

The five-year-old's eyes lit up.  "She doesn't?"  He reached out again and poked her.

"Roxas!" Axel burst out.  Obviously laughing, which was useless.

"He laid a hand on me!" Jasmine cried indignantly.

"Is that a secret Princess Language?" Xion asked.

"Your Highness, he meant no harm, he's only a child."

"I have been sullied!"

"You're fine," Saïx grumbled in English.

Roxas laughed and went to poke her again.

"I will never forgive you," Jasmine hissed, though she made no resistance this time.

"Roxas, I told you, keep your cooties to yourself."

"I don't have cooties!  Only girls have cooties!"

"We do not," Xion protested.

Roxas wrapped his arms around Jasmine's neck and stuck his tongue out at both his brother and his best friend.

"You don't seem to mind his touch now," Saïx observed.

"Well, of course my lord may do as he pleases with me," she said bitterly.

"...Your lord?"

"My new betrothed, though I doubt the insolent peasant will be allowed to live until our wedding day."

'Sacred moon,' Saïx realized.  "Roxas, I told you to leave her alone.  Now you have to marry her."

"EW!" Roxas shrieked, fleeing into the kitchen.

"That's why she didn't want any dudes to touch her?" Axel said incredulously.

"Roxas and the princess are gonna get married?" Xion said with shining eyes.  "Can I be a bridesmaid?"

"Sure!"

"They are not getting married, it's a misunderstanding."

"But...!"

"C'mon, Xi, let's go see if there's ice cream in the freezer," Axel said, and the two of them wandered off to join Roxas in the kitchen.

Saïx sighed and turned back to the princess.  "Jasmine.  We do things differently in this place.  No one is forced to marry when they don't want to.  Roxas is only a misbehaving child, he did not mean to disrespect you or lay a claim on you."

She was staring at him.  "Women in this land choose their husbands?"

"Yes.  Both men and women are allowed to choose.  They can choose to not marry, also."

Now the princess's eyes were the ones shining.  "I don't want to marry that boy."

"Certainly not."

"I don't want to marry Prince Adil, either, or Prince Haidar, or Prince Ilham, or Prince--"

"Then don't.  You are not just a prize to be won, you are a human being with a human being's dignity."

She reached out very hesitantly.  Then, to Saïx's astonishment, she wrapped her arms around him and whispered, "I don't want to marry you, either."

He knew it was not an insult.  "Although I value your company, I am in agreement with you."

"...This feels nice."

Even more hesitantly, he raised his own arms to hug her back.

To Xion's great disappointment, the princess disappeared later in the evening, when Saïx's concerned mother opened the bathroom door during Jasmine's overly long bath to find the tub overflowing and the girl gone without a trace.  Well, except her clothes.  Xion used them to play dress-up with when she got older and they fit her better.  Saïx would sometimes feel the silky fabric sliding between his fingers, and remember the girl whose final smile was one of the most memorable gifts he had ever received.

o.o.o

Author's Notes:  I wasn't able to work the backstory in.  Back in canonish Aladdin, before the time of the movie, Jasmine comes across Jafar doing some sorcerous experimentation and accidentally gets caught up in it, time traveling to Sai & Axel's modern AU.  While bathing in that world, she falls through the portal again or however it works, and ends up back home (Rajah finds her in the courtyard fountain late at night, there's no one else around).  She doesn't have any real memories of the whole thing, just a vague uneasiness about what Jafar's been up to.  The idea of being transported between worlds via water is from an anime I don't want to name. *sweatdrop*

So anyway, it occurred to me that Jasmine's feminism in the movie is pretty odd considering the setting, even taking into account how shockingly indulgent her father is for his circumstances.  I don't think it's realistic for a woman in that time period and in that sort of society to be so outspoken about the "I am not chattel!" thing, and ESPECIALLY for everyone else around her to go along with it.  She had three adult males cringing sheepishly in one scene!  In the context of a modern Disney movie, it's humorous and admirable (and make no mistake, I support Jasmine's stance whole-heartedly); but again, not realistic at all.  This story isn't a full remedy or anything, but I was just trying to play around with ideas to try to make it even a little more plausible.