Oh, herro! I'm Rulisu! At least that's what they call me in my own little world where everyone loves me.
Basically, I suck at summaries! Hooray!
Summary: Demyx is new to Organization XIII, and everyone but a certain flamboyant redhead doesn't even acknowledge his existence. There's just something about Axel that Demyx can't resist. And while Demyx struggles with his feelings for Axel, a mutinous force festers in the heart of the Organization that threatens to destroy them all.
See? What I tell ya?
Disclaimer: I by no means own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters. If I did, Axel, Zexion and Demyx would be my cabana boys and Riku would serve me fine liquor on bended knee. And none of them would wear shirts. And since that is clearly not the case (much to my dismay), it can be rightfully assumed that I am making no money off of this, and I will give the boys back to their rightful owners as soon as I'm done playing with them.
A/N: I believe that art should inspire art. So I thought I'd take a moment to say that the songs "Sanctuary" by Utada Hikaru, and "I will follow you into the dark" by Death Cab for Cutie were the inspirations for this fic. And of course, I had "Zombie" by The Cranberries on repeat the entire time I was writing. I'd also like to add that yes, our foul language is now present in the world of Kingdom Hearts, as is smoking. Now that I'm done rambling...enjoy!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"The Organization's number IX"
The room was considerably brighter than one would expect, given the circumstances, but it was just as cold and had a creepy and depressing air to it that made Demyx sick to his stomach.
"This is where we spend most of our time." said a man in a black cloak identical to Demyx's. He walked beside him, motioning to the cavernous room around them, practically chirping as he served as a makeshift tour guide.
"And over there is Xemnas's quarters. If you value your existence, you'll keep as far away from there as possible unless he summons you." There was a mixture of fear and respect in his voice as his eyes flitted over the large white door adorned with jewels that sparkled dimly in the piercing light.
Demyx nodded, tendrils of his blond hair falling in his face, the metal around his neck clinking against the metal of the large zipper that ran down his front. It all seemed to glow in the unnatural radiance of this place. Most ironic. Demyx's pale blue eyes began to haze and his guide caught sight of the far off look.
"It can be overwhelming, but don't let it get to you. You're a part of something much bigger now. Much better. Much more important than you could ever hope to be before. You're a part of something great, a search for a purpose. For meaning. Your chance existance will no longer be a vain search for the other half of the whole you once were." sighed the man, as if his own words could make him swoon. Demyx winced internally. That struggle... that need to be. That un-slakable lust for purpose... he knew it all too well.
"Saix, your speech gets fruiter with each new member." a sarcastic voice floated into Demyx's small, delicately shaped ears...
It's sound was simply intoxicating. Like warm cream and honey, wrapped in velvet and dipped in the finest liquor. Every syllable spoken made it harder for Demyx to breathe. The words seemed to grab hold of every nerve ending in his body and tug with a hard, firm, delightful grip. Demyx felt goosebumps rise along the flesh of his arms, an odd sensation against the fabric of his robe.
"No one asked you, smartass." Saix remarked through gritted teeth at the voiced shadows up ahead. There was a soft, amused chuckle from the darkness, every bit as exquisite as the spoken words.
"When do they ever?" inquired the darkness. Saix heaved a sigh. From the shrouded corridor steppede a man, tall and lean with a broad chest and liquid eyes that would put the most beautiful emerald to shame. He wore the same robe as Demyx and Saix, but it seemed to flow from him, around him. His black leather gloved hands looked strong where they hung at his side. His lips were as perfectly shaped as the rest of him, strong, defined and effeminately beautiful. His hair was perhaps the most incredible feature. It was a deep, fiery red darkening to black near the roots. It was long and spiked in the most peculiar, though flattering manner. And below his eyes... oh those eyes... there were two upside-down teardrop scars. One for each glowing, apple-green orb. The muscles in the man's Adonis-like face now pulled the corners of his perfect mouth into a smirk and he now crossed his arms over his chest, looking expectantly to Saix who heaved a sigh of disgust, shooting a death-glare at the cloaked god to his right.
"This..." he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose with what almost looked like defeat and loathing "This is Axel, the Organization's number VIII."
Axel smiled proudly and extended a hand. "Welcome to Hell, number IX. Glad to have you on board!" he beamed. Demyx could only stare at Axel's hand, then back at his glorious face. He managed to speak.
"I...I was told there'd be more of us?" he asked feebly. Axel's face fell a little and he withdrew his hand.
"There will be more joining us shortly. In fact, I believe Luxord and another named Marluxia have already arrived." piped Saix.
"Who?" questioned Demyx blankly.
"Hand-picked ass kissers, compliments of Mansex. With more to come, no doubt." Axel said rather spitefully, closely examining the front of his robe.
"AXEL!" cried Saix angrily. Demyx only snickered.
"What?" he retorted. "They're bound to be ass-kissers to some extent." smiled the man with the flaming hair.
"Not that..." whined Saix. "The...'mansex' part." he said through gritted teeth.
"Oh he'll get over it." shrugged Axel.
"How we ever got stuck with the likes of you..." began Saix.
"Oh don't get your lacy undies in a bunch. We're all stuck here, we might as well enjoy it, right? And you know how you got stuck with me. I'm a bastard child of fate, just like you. We weren't meant to exist, so now we do our best to suffer through the days as heartless, soul-less beings longing for a purpose..." mumbled Axel, staring absently at the tile.
"You're so negative." groaned Saix. Axel gave him a piercing look over his shoulder.
"Yeah? And you're ugly." he quipped.
Saix was about to open his delicately shaped mouth to attempt to verbally reform Axel, but decided against it, settling for a frustrated grunt before he disappeared into a pillar of shadow. Demyx watched in amazement while Axel scoffed.
"Well that was rude." he chirped. "Looks like I'm your tour-guide now, buddy boy. Whaddya say to that?" Demyx felt a lead weight drop into his stomach though he was too blinded by the bright light of the hall and Axel's more than appealing features to fully comprehend why.
"Yay?" he responded on auto-pilot. Axel beamed ear to ear.
"Wonderful!" he cried eccentrically, pulling Demyx to his side. "Now... onward! To darkness and laughter and places of sleep and self gorging!" he continued as he began pulling Demyx along down the rest of the sparkling corridor.
Demyx wanted to go along with it, really he did. But he stopped in his tracks, feeling Axel pulling on him. He looked up at the man who was (sadly) considerably taller than he was.
"Did...did you ever know your other?" he asked in a sheepish tone. Axel resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"No." he sighed. "No I didn't. And way to kill the mood, newbie." he grunted, letting go of Demyx. Demyx instantly felt stupid for ruining something as wonderful as Axel's arm around him.
"Well there's uh...something in common." he attempted a smile. "So where do I sleep?" he asked with pseudo-cheerfullness. Axel quirked an eyebrow.
"Boy you just go from A to C without bothering to stop at B, don't you?" he asked, amused. Demyx blushed and nodded.
"I can't help it. I know it bugs people..." he almost felt like crying. Almost.
"Well, it doesn't bug me." beamed Axel, pulling Demyx to his side again. "Shall we?" he piped with feigned snobbery, motioning with a wide sweep of his arm at the hall laid out before them. Demyx smiled a small smile and nodded.
3 months later...
"Demyx!"Axel's unfailingly angelic voice drifted into Demyx's ear as he slept. Upon opening his tired eyes still stinging from a lack of sleep, he was met with Axel's own sparkling emerald irises, shining with a playfully malevolent fire that matched his powerful weapons.
"What? Waddya want?" Demyx mumbled sleepily.
"They're here!" Axel said excitedly. Nothing was sweeter than Axel's voice in his head when he woke up in the morning, but something about the high pitch and level of enthusiasm hinted at an impending early morning for Demyx.
"Who?" he asked, dreary.
"The last two members! They've finally arrived!" Axel seethed. Demyx sat up, scratching his head, the short strands falling into place beneath his fingernails. Beside his bed, Axel was practically trembling with excitement, fully dressed and smelling like a field of fresh lavender blooms after the rain. Demyx took a moment to examine his bed-raggled self, his hair uncombed and unwashed, sporting blue boxers and body oder, his robe flung carelessly on the floor. He stared up at Axel.
"You're way too happy about this." he winced. Axel shrugged.
"Well, DUH I'm happy about it!" his energy was through the roof. "We're officially one big, happy, slightly brain-damaged family! No more members need apply." Axel smiled.
"Brain damaged?" Demyx asked, offended.
"How much time have you actually spent around Laxaeus? He's the size of a wall and just about as smart as one." Axel murmured.
"Just because he doesn't talk much...unlike some people who talk too much." Demyx glared at the exuberant redhead hovering above him. Axel stuck his tongue out at him, then gazed at the floor thoughtfully.
"'Organization XIII'. That has such a nice ring to it." He smiled as Demyx yawned.
"Mhmm, fantastic. I'm going back to bed." he declared, smacking his pillow around to fluff out the ever-present dent.
"Nu-uh sleepin' beauty. Hate to break it to ya, but Mansex has demanded we all head out and meet the newbies. Something about number XIII being 'special'." Axel laughed. Demyx groaned and fell back against his pillow.
"But I'm tired." he whined. Axel sat on the edge of his bed and crossed his arms, giving Demyx a stern look.
"We're all tired, but there are no exceptions." He said regally. Demyx kept his eyes closed.
"But why? What's so special about these new freaks, anyway?" he groaned. He felt Axel's weight shift as he shrugged, heard the metal around his neck brush the zipper running down the full length of his robe.
"The one's a chick and the other has some kind of all powerful weapon?" Axel volunteered.
"How absolutely wonderful for them both." Demyx said sarcastically, still not opening his eyes.
"You don't think that's cool?" asked Axel.
"Axel..." began Demyx. "I control water...with a frickin' sitar, ok? A sitar. You have flaming chakarams and..." he let out an exasperated sigh. "Need I go on?" he asked of the redhead, who shrugged.
"You prove a valid argument..." said Axel, agreeing. Demyx nodded.
"Thank you." he sighed.
"But you still have to go." Axel smiled deviantly.
Demyx rolled over and began loud, fake snoring noises into his pillow. Axel laughed and slapped his back playfully.
"C'mon, don't be such a baby. I can go start a nice, cold shower for you if you'd like." he offered.
Demyx propped himself up on his elbows and stared at Axel.
"Are you implying that I smell?" he asked, offended. Axel's eyes gleamed.
"That, and I thought a shower might cheer ya up, waterboy." he grinned.
"Oh, go...blow something up." Demyx mumbled, waving Axel away.
"Hmph..." chuckled Axel, plucking Demyx's robe from the floor and tossing it at his fellow denizen of darkness. "Get the lead out, DemDem." he smiled, heading for the doorway. Demyx watched as he moved like liquid silk through the door. He waited until he could no longer hear Axels booted footfalls on the slick tile before he let out his breath. Every time Axel left his sight, he seemed to take Demyx's stomach with him. And a little piece of the heart he didn't even posses. He bit back the pain of knowing he'd never, ever be able to tell Axel that. Demyx searched blindly on his night stand until he wrapped his tired fingers around a slightly crushed pack of cigarettes. He pulled one out and placed it between his soft lips. Demyx was just about to light the tip when a pillar of shadow erupted in the corner of his dark room.
"You want to not do that?" came an irritated voice. Demyx didn't bother to look back.
"Shut your face, Saix. I'm not in the mood for one of your lectures." Demyx snapped, lighting his cigarette. Saix moved forward to stand beside Demyx's bed.
"I could really care less about your pointless habit. By all means, smoke your brains out. I was talking about the absolutely ridiculous amount of time you spend thinking about...him."he sneered, motioning to the doorway with a jerk of his graceful head.
"And just how is that any of your business?" Demyx questioned, the words slightly muffled by the cigarette in his mouth as he pulled on a pair of black pants, still in bed.
"Your petty yearning. The pathetic attempts at feelings your memories conjure...it gives me a splitting headache." contempt crawled along the edges of Saix's smooth tone. Demyx pulled a tight-fitting black shirt over his head, but said nothing. "Did you hear me?" Demanded Saix. Demyx swung his legs over the side of the bed and began pulling on his boots.
"Stay out of my head and we won't have this problem." he mumbled coldly.
"Do you think I want images of the waste of space running through my head? I can't stand Axel. And I've told you before, I can't control that... aspect of me." Saix complained.
"Sounds like a personal problem..." mocked Demyx, refusing to look at the blue haired man in front of him.
"But I must admit...being the only other person to know about your sick little love interest is... amusing." Saix said, his voice like ice. "What must it be like? Knowing you can't tell him? Knowing that even if you did tell him, the sentiment wouldn't be returned because..." he let out a faux gasp "we don't have hearts!"
"We will someday..." Demyx whispered to the floor.
"Even so, he'll never want anything to do with you. Mark my words." Saix said, pompously. Demyx felt the wet sting of tears behind his glacier-blue eyes.
"One day..." he said, looking up at Saix with pure hatred "One day your malice will come full circle. And I'm going to be there to see it." he said, his voice laden with poison. Saix smiled wickedly.
"I look forward to that day...'DemDem'." he whispered. Without another glance, he disappeared the same way he entered.
The room was silent, save for the whisper of burning tobacco as Demyx took a long drag, and the spatter of a teardrop as it landed between his feet on the cold tile.
--
End of chapter 1! Wahooo!
So yes, it started out slow, but I like my stories to have a bit of meat on their metaphorical bones. It'll pick up, I promise.
Review this and I'll love you forever and a day. Seriously. Your opinion is needed.
I've treated this story like my own dysfunctional, dearly loved child since I began writing it months ago on paper when my computer crashed. I'd like to know how I'm doing so far.
Chapter 2 will be posted when I can will my over-worked digits back into motion.
