Hello everyone! Welcome to the second installment of the "Interludes of Shadowy Light" saga.
Let me explain: While this is in fact a sequel to my story "Nobody, Nothing, No Matter", it is only one of many (at least 4) stories branching off of the original. This one follows Ienzo's story (yes, Ienzo, not Zexion—see 3NM), while the others follow other characters. These stories may or may not end up crossing over with one another, so by all means, please visit my profile to see the others!
Also, a little mini-disclaimer: I do use a real-life song in this chapter, but this is not a songfic!
Alright…here we go!
Ienzo loved everything about his new home. He loved being able to go to the beach whenever he wanted. He loved having a new family—Sora and his parents had helped him find tons of books to replace the collection he'd lost. He even loved sharing a room with Sora, though he knew no self-respecting teenager besides him would ever admit something like that. But he couldn't help it; the room was perfect. With the round lavender rug he'd insisted on putting in, the little blue bed that fit perfectly against his wall and the beautiful mahogany desk Sora's parents had put in for their studies, the room was one of the few places where Ienzo really felt at home.
And the view! The window that split the boys' room between them had an amazing view, looking over the market place and out to the sea. In the early mornings like this one, Ienzo couldn't resist dragging the desk chair across the room and resting his head at the bottom of the window frame, gazing out at the rising sun. Today was even prettier than usual—the sun was still red as it rose from the sea, its brilliance fading to a warm orange that spread across the sky, and the water below positively dazzled in a field of diamond lights…
"Ienzo! Honey, it's time for school! You don't want to be late on your first day!"
Back to reality: Ienzo jerked out of his seat, his eyes snapping out of their dreamy daze, and set about gathering his supplies off the desk for school. School…how did he let himself get roped into this? Even before Zexion, the boy had never taken a class consisting of anymore than himself and his professor, whoever that adult was at the time. He had never needed public school—he had aced every test shoved under his nose, completed every exercise, followed through every experiment. So why was he being through into the lion's den now…?
Oh wait, that's right…he'd volunteered.
"Ienzo! Sweetie, please come down, your breakfast is getting cold!"
"Coming Mrs. Nomura!" Right, so…he'd grabbed the reading list, the books on the reading list, the grey shoulder bag to carry the books on the reading list…pens, pencils, his trusty Book of Retribution (just in case, he always told himself)…yep, he had just about everything he needed. Now he just needed to check on one last thing…
He had the ritual down to a science at this point—the self-imposed routine helped keep him in the safe, rational mindset of his scientist days. Step one, check the lock on the door. Step two, close the blinds, no matter how good the sun felt on his still-pale face. Step three, sit down in the middle of the rug, cross his knees, hold his hands close to his chest…and prepare for the latest test.
Ienzo had a secret, one that he had picked up from a new friend shortly before arriving on the islands. The minute he realized it was there, he had clamped down on it and studied it, practicing ways of coaxing it out into the open. The process had taken weeks—it was an unpredictable secret, and it was not always cooperative—but the last three days he had finally found a way to consistently trigger its rise to the surface. To be honest, he was surprised he hadn't thought of it sooner. It was such a simple solution: a song, a few lyrics that struck a chord somewhere deep inside his heart. Taking a deep breath, he cleared his mind of all thoughts...and slowly, quietly, began to sing.
"There's-a fire, starting-in-my heart…reachin' a fever-pitch and it's bringin' me-out the dark…"
Nothing yet…not unusual, but still concerning. The last few times there had been a wisp of something by now…he focused on the timber of the song, closing in on what it said. He remembered why he'd chosen the song—For Axel, and he had gone through so much pain to find Roxas again. For Spectro, who'd lost so much and still had the strength to carry on. Even Sora, with all of his courage and optimism in the face of so much darkness…this song, to him, encompassed everything they meant to him. It was a trigger: a perfect conduit to bring the secret out into the real world.
Ienzo brought them all into his heart's focus, trying as hard as he could to make their stories resonate with him the way they had when he last saw them. Then, only once he was sure that they were there, at the core of his heart, he began to sing again.
"Finally I can see-you-crystal-clear…Go-ahead and sell-me-out-anda-I'll-lay-your-shi'-bare…"
Yes, it's coming—that cool, peaceful wave, flowing through his arms and out his hands…he kept going, eyes closed, not wanting to peek for fear of breaking the spell:
"See-how I leave with every-piece-of-you…Don't-underestimate the things that I will do…
There's- a fire, starting in-my heart…reachin' a fever-pitch and it's bringin' me-out the dark…"
There…that was enough. He opened his eyes, and he gave a small smile of approval—the light coming from his hand meant that the song had definitely been a success. Ienzo's hands were cupped around each other, close to his chest, cradling a small, glowing, dark-blue orb. He held the orb away from himself to get a better look, and even more of the inky light began to shine, this time from the palms of his hands. The light grew from his palms in smooth tendrils, like living water, joining with the orb and expanding its shape into that of a long, rounded rod.
This was it; this was Ienzo's secret. As little as he knew about this power, he definitely knew what it was, and what to call it: not blue, but the indigo light, a shade of fractured light accidentally bestowed upon him by the guy who had mastered every shade. And now he could study the indigo however he wanted.
"Ienzo? C'mon Ian, I know you don't wanna be late—let's go!"
Uh-oh, time to go—Sora was calling for him now, and Ienzo was really running late if that guy was telling him to hurry up. He jumped up, panicking, trying to find a good way of hiding the bright staff…when he noticed that it had changed. He couldn't say exactly when it had happened, but at some point, by the time he had turned his attention back to it, the glowing pole had lost its luster. In fact, the more he looked at it, the more he began to wonder why he had been so worried about it standing out. After all, it was just a long stick basically, heavy in his hand, but otherwise fairly unremarkable. Just a long, brown, wooden stick…
Wait, no! It suddenly changed in his hand, back into the bright staff from before, and he almost dropped it out of the shock. The surprise was even enough to knock him off balance, and he had to grab a hold of the bedpost just to keep from tripping over his own feet. Once he had his breath back, he stood tall and held the thing out in front of him. It was amazing…right before his eyes, the indigo rod faded back to a dull brown, twisted at the head and shank into itself to form tiny grooves along its surface until it looked indistinguishable from the average hiking stick. This could work, he thought…the perfect disguise for his little secret. But how did it do that? Was it a part of the indigo's power, or…had the staff pulled from his own illusionary talents? He certainly hadn't cast any spells over the stick himself…
Well, that would have to be pondered another time—he had other plans for today. Picking his bag back off the floor and slinging the strap over his head, Ienzo passed the staff to his left hand, pulled Retribution out of his back with his right, and opened the door to head down to the kitchen.
Well, that's it for now! I'll post the next chapter as soon as I get at least one review, so please read and review!