-God Help The Outcasts - Songfic-
-One of Tora's experiences during her imprisonment within Organisation XIII-
Soft footsteps echoed around the hallway down which each member's quarters resided. Being shaken from their slumber, each of them cursed the footsteps, narrowing it down to the Superior on a moonlit walk because they were under the impression the guy was an insomniac, and fell back asleep. Well, all that is, except one. Behind a pale blue door with a silver 'IX' on it, the Melodious Nocturne lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about their prisoner. She hadn't been herself lately, and it was starting to affect him for unknown reasons. The footsteps passed his door, accompanied by a small sob. Now that didn't sound like Xemnas...
"Tora?" Demyx sat up and stared at his door. Another sob confirmed his previous assumption, and he crept to his door. What would the Toxic Mage be doing awake at this time of night, anyway? Opening the door, he saw the gold-eyed woman shuffling down the hallway, her borrowed black robe hanging off her shoulders to protect her from the cold wind of the night. Slipping on his own robe, he crept out of his door and followed the woman down the hallway, picking up snippets of what she was whispering to herself.
"They're not...they're as human as you are, Ryu..." she sniffed, wiping her nose on her sleeve. No-one was around; she didn't care. She turned a corner, not noticing the black-clad musician following behind her as stealthily as the water he employed to attack with. Demyx watched her wrench open a large door with ease, then slip through the crack, forgetting to close it behind her.
"What's wrong, Tora?" he whispered to himself, following her through the door. By the time he had slipped through the crack, she had crossed the hall and had begun walking out onto the balcony. Kingdom Hearts shone down brightly over the World That Never Was, its lunar glow paying particular attention to the stripy haired woman beneath it.
"Kingdom Hearts, it's not true. These people are the sweetest I've met. Ryu's wrong." she said firmly through biting back more tears. She fisted her hands on the balcony rail underneath them. Is she talking about us? Demyx thought. Two weeks ago, Tora had returned from visiting her twin brother Ryu and her friends with unshed tears in her eyes and a bite to her words. When asked about it, she turned into a PMS-ing Larxene and began throwing acid and toxic sludge at anyone who tried to get close to her. Number IX rubbed his arm thoughtlessly at that particular memory where he knew a sludge burn resided on his bicep. Tora heaved a sigh and looked up at the heart-shaped moon. A Shadow Heartless appeared beside her on the rail, and she petted it on the head.
"How dare he accuse these people of what he did. They're human, and this is their family." she said firmly. The little shadow looked up at her with his glowing gold eyes and rubbed his feelers along her cheeks, drying her tears. Demyx couldn't help but feel a slight pang of jealousy in his chest. Well, at least he supposed the feeling he had was jealousy. The feeling eased when he recognised the Heartless; it was Tora's little shadow Venom, her own materialised darkness.
"Should I sing?" she asked it. The feelers that were rubbing at her cheeks now ran around the delicate shape of her mouth, as if coaxing the music out of her throat.
"Sing..." Demyx breathed. Tora released a small breath, the chilly air turning her warm breath to vapour before their eyes, and smiled at Venom.
"Alright, Venom. It might make me feel better." she said to the Shadow. They both looked back up at the heart-shaped moon, and she began to sing.
"I don't know if you can hear me, or if you're even there
I don't know if you'll listen to a humble prayer
They tell me I'm just an outcast, I shouldn't speak to you
Still I see your ace and wonder, were you once an outcast too?
God help the outcasts, hungry from birth
Show them the mercy they don't find on Earth
Lost and forgotten, they look to you still
God help the outcasts when nobody will" Aqua eyes widened as he heard the lyrics to the Twin of Touch's song. They suited the entirety of the Organisation, right down to Number XIII. Venom the Heartless sat down on the stone rail, looking up at Kingdom Hearts, his feelers twitching in the wind. Demyx just watched on, completely awestruck. He never knew that Tora cared so strongly about the Organisation; similarly, she didn't know how much they cared for her. She'd read with Zexion, muck around with Axel pulling pranks on other members, sit and eat sea-salt ice-cream with Roxas, help Marluxia in his vast gardens, and even assist Vexen in his laboratory, creating new toxins to use. Heck, she'd even sing along with his sitar music. The little Heartless beside the Toxic Mage disappeared, and she pulled her robe a little tighter around her shoulders, continuing to sing.
"I ask for nothing, I can get by
But I know so many less lucky than I
God help the outcasts, the poor and down trod
I thought we all were the children of God
I don't know if there's a reason why some are blessed, some not
Why the few you seem to favour
They fear us, flee us, try not to see us" There was a small tug at the Melodious Nocturne's pants, and he looked down into Venom's glowing yellow eyes. The little shadow just stared up at him, what seemed to be curiosity filling his normally blank expression.
"She's pretty, isn't she?" he commented quietly. Venom gently raked one of his claws down the musician's leg, silently urging him to go out there and talk to his mistress. Demyx felt a tickle across the bridge of his nose and looked back at Tora.
"Let's wait until she's finished singing." he said. Both watchers' attention was now on the Toxic Mage as she continued to sing.
"God help the outcasts, the tattered, the torn
Seeking an answer to why they were born
Winds of misfortune have blown them about
You made the outcasts, don't cast them out
The poor and unlucky, the weak and the odd
I thought we all were the children of God" As the last note died on her lips, Venom scurried out to his mistress. She turned around and saw the spotted Shadow walking up to her, followed by an applauding Melodious Nocturne. Gold eyes flashed with slight anger, and an angry flush crept across her cheeks at the smile on his face.
"How long have you been standing there?" she demanded.
"Ever since you told Kingdom Hearts that your twin brother was wrong." he replied truthfully. Tora looked at the ground, where Venom looked back up at her, the flush across her cheeks darkening to a deep red.
"What was he wrong about?" Demyx asked. The Twin of Touch mumbled something incoherent underneath the curtain of hair that had fallen around her face, a few tears plinking onto the cold stone below.
"What did you say?" he asked.
"Ryu was wrong about the Organisation!" As she looked up, Demyx noticed the angry tears spilling out of her gold eyes. Replacing the supposed jealousy from earlier was the feeling he was sure Tora felt now: anger. He wanted to visit her brother now and submerge him in all the water he could summon, then make him listen to his sitar playing as torture.
"He was wrong...about all of you...he said that you...that I was brainwashed...that you were being cruel to me..." she continued, falling to her knees and holding her face in her hands, sobbing. Venom stood beside his mistress and looked up at Number IX, his expression as blank as it will ever be. The musician walked forward slowly and knelt down in front of the Toxic Mage, placing his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him.
"D-Demyx..." she whispered. Tears still fell from her eyes, and he couldn't tear his eyes away from her face then. Finding some of her inner strength, Tora pushed herself up off her knees and threw her arms around his neck, sobbing into his shoulder. The little shadow watched interestedly as Demyx slowly put his arms around the gold-eyed woman, feeling how cold she was. She shivered with all the cold she felt; after all, he was shivering slightly, too. Tora gripped the black material and pressed her face further into his shoulder.
"Don't do what Ryu did to me...promise me you won't let go..." she sobbed. Demyx put a reassuring hand on her head and closed his eyes, feeling water trickle down his cheek from his eye.
"I promise." he whispered. If Venom could've smiled then, he would've.
-
Organisation XIII woke up the next morning to a delicious, yet curious scent wafting through the castle. They all opened their doors and looked down to the door that had 'III' inscribed on it. It wasn't Xaldin; he was too busy wondering what that scent was himself. So, mumbling and raising their eyebrows, they all shuffled into the large dining hall, where the sight that greeted them forced them to do a double-take. A large breakfast buffet had been laid out along the table, including things like bacon, eggs, juices of different varieties, and toast. A large bouquet of roses sat in the centre of the table, their perfume filling what the scent of the food didn't.
"Morning everyone!" Out of the kitchen came Tora, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. Everyone stared at her incredulously.
"Um, Tora...did you...do all this?" Axel asked, pointing. She just shrugged with one shoulder.
"I couldn't sleep last night, so I went for a walk around the castle-" So her footsteps were the ones they all heard, "-and then I came in here and cooked all this. It's my apology for behaving like an impertinent child for the past two weeks. I hope you don't mind me using your roses, Marluxia." she replied.
"I don't mind at all, Tora." the Graceful Assassin said, gently plucking a blue rose from the bouquet. Demyx caught a tiny flush spreading across Tora's cheeks as she glanced his way, then dashed quickly into the kitchen. The members sat down and began to eat, occasionally making small talk about upcoming missions or whether or not certain rooms of the castle needed refurbishing.
"Number IX, can you please go into the kitchen and ask the Toxic Mage for more apple juice?" Saix asked, pushing the empty jug into the musician's hands. The Melodious Nocturne stood up and silently walked into the kitchen, where he saw the Toxic Mage running her hand under a tap, red liquid mingling with the water.
"Are you alright, Tora?" he asked. She looked at him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Damn knife slipped as I was cutting the orange." she replied. Turning off the water, she lifted her hand, and he saw the offending gash that ran the length of her thumb. Tora ran a finger along the open skin, and it joined itself together, no scar left to prove its existence.
"I always wonder how you do that." Demyx said absently, placing the jug on the counter.
"I'm the Twin of Touch; it's second nature." she replied, raising an eyebrow, "By the way, did I thank you for last night?" The musician raised an eyebrow at that question. Thank him for what? All he did was hold her until she stopped crying then escorted her to her room. He shook his head mutely.
"Then I guess I'll have to." Tora put down the knife she'd recently picked up and stood in front of him. Standing on her toes, she pressed her lips to his in a chaste kiss, before turning around and filling the jug he'd brought in. Demyx stood there, stunned, before turning and leaving with the apple juice.
"Thankyou, Demyx." he heard her whisper. The tickle across his nose from earlier began to creep further across his cheeks and down his neck as he sat back down, all previous thought abandoned. Did she do what he think she just did?
"Wonder what Demyx is thinking about?" Roxas asked, sipping some orange juice.
"Demyx thinking is a new concept." Axel replied, chuckling. For his comment, he received a glass of water upended over his red spikes, courtesy of one pissed off Melodious Nocturne. He quickly excused himself from the table and silently walked out of the hall, hands unconsciously clenched.
"Demyx, are you okay?" It was Tora.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine." He unclenched his hands and turned around. Tora stood there in front of him, her eyes reflecting her worry. He turned his head away to hide the red tint on his face.
"You sure don't look it. Must've been something you ate. Did you sleep at all last night?" Oh, now she's beginning to worry too much. She reached out a hand to his face, gently turning his eyes to hers.
"I was up last night after I left you, thinking." he replied. Well, it was the half-truth. The other half was that he was thinking about Tora, but it's not like he'd just up and tell her that. She shrugged.
"Okay, I'll take your word for it. Anyway, I'm going to go to bed. I can feel the lack of sleep kicking in already." She pressed another gently kiss to his lips, then disappeared in an Organisation portal. Demyx gently ran his finger around his lips and smiled gently.
"God help the outcasts, is it...heh, if we're outcasts, then Tora's the angel that we've all been wishing for." he whispered, heading toward his room.
DISCLAIMER: The disclaimer applies to the characters and settings of 'Kingdom Hearts' – SquareEnix and Disney – the song 'God Help The Outcasts' – Bette Midler – and Tora and the idea of her being the Twin of Touch – me.