"What am I?"
"A Nobody. Someone whose heart has been entirely consumed by darkness. The strong-willed, empty shells, who fight for their hearts back. Those who should not rightfully exist."
That is what Xemnas told you the day you were created and given your new name. It has stayed with you ever since.
As you walked down the halls of The Castle That Never Was, you think about the note you found next to your pillow this morning.
"Meet me in Twilight Town after work today. - Xemnas"
You wondered if you'd done something. Thinking back the past few days, you don't remember any of your missions going horribly wrong. Or, at least, nothing Saix couldn't handle. It had honestly just been, well, work. Nothing special.
"Hey, _."
You looked up at the mention of your name. The fiery red-head, Axel, looked down at you cooly. His arms were crossed, and a gentle smile was etched on his lips as he leaned against the glass of the windows in the main room. Outside, Kingdom Hearts glowed, lighting up a starless, eternal night.
"We're teaming up today. Get your stuff ready."
You just joined a few weeks ago and still weren't in a very talky mood. You didn't say much to anyone. The most you ever said was always to the author of your note, Xemnas. Even then, it wasn't a whole lot. But it made you feel like you could be happy, how he treated you like something other than the rookie. This feeling of non-talkiness applied to even the warm and friendly Axel.
"I'm already ready."
Axel, seeing your blank expression, sighed and heaved himself up off of the glass, opening a dark corridor next to you. "Ok, let's go." He walked through, frustrated that even his bright personality couldn't crack you open. You were about to follow suit when suddenly, someone grabbed your shoulders and twisted you around.
It was Demyx. He was probably the second-most chattiest person you were with. He had a panicked expression on his face as he began to lecture you.
"Ok, _, I know this is probably your first really mission-y mission, so if you get slaughtered, or they feel the need to turn you into a dusk, I will personally come and destroy you, ok?"
In the background, Xigbar laughed and said, "As if. Good luck, small fry."
Slightly frightened, you nodded at Xigbar, and hugged Demyx. "I won't be back for a while - I'm meeting someone after work. So I'll see you later, ok?" You then ran into the dark corridor, seeing it close around his confused expression. Apparently, you were the only one to remember hugs were a part of friendship.
You arrived to Twilight Town (you inwardly thought how convenient this was so that you'd already be here when Xemnas showed up) to Axel tapping his foot and looking annoyed. His nice, friendly exterior had melted into an icy babysitter mode. "What took you so long, _?"
Seeing his expression, you instantly feel guilty and look at your feet. "I... I just..."
"So? Out with it!"
"Demyx and Xigbar were telling me good luck..."
He sighed, and you couldn't see him relax slightly. "Don't make me wait so long. It irritates me. Got it memorized?"
You nodded and continued to look at your feet.
"Today, we'll be following a group of children. They've seemed to come up with a few local myths, and we need to figure them out and investigate them. Hey, look up when I'm talking to you, XIV."
You looked up, fearing the worst, that Axel was going to lose his temper, or make you do something you didn't want to do. He seemed to be getting extremely frustrated, for no apparent reason other than you weren't opening up to him. You wondered if something made him feel like this from his past. Xemnas had explained that most Nobodies remembered their pasts, but thought of it as baggage, or a pain.
"Do you know what we're supposed to do?"
You frowned and replied, "I'm not stupid, I heard you."
"May I remind you, XIV, that this is your first real mission. If you're having problems with anything, feel free to tell me and I'll do my best to assist you." He seemed to be feeling a little less frustrated. Maybe that was because you showed a little personality to him. "Now, where do you suggest we go first?"
You looked around, and noticed the high-fenced area with a door on it. You pointed there, and Axel asked you, "Why there?"
"That's where they hang out, isn't it?"
"We have to not be seen, _."
You looked at him and furrowed your brow. "But wouldn't it be easier if we just asked them about the myths?"
Axel thought about it for a minute, then struck his face with his open hand. "You're right. Superiors can be so dumb sometimes..." He smiled and laughed.
You suddenly felt a need to retaliate - wasn't Xemnas a superior?
"Not Xemnas."
Axel stopped laughing and looked you head-on. It gave you cold chills. "What did you say?"
You began looking down at your feet again. "...Not... Xemnas..."
He chuckled. "And why do you say that? Look up at me, please."
You looked up but avoided eye-contact. You looked anywhere but Axel's smiling face - the walls around you, the fence, the zipper on his coat, anywhere. After a minute, he asked again, "Why did you defend Lord Xemnas?"
Your lips formed a tight line. "I don't know."
"Look at me, please. Eye contact is appreciated between friends."
Friends? You hardly knew the guy! Was this his way of trying to get you to open up? To force you to believe you were friends?
"Now, friends can tell each other anything at all. Why were you so quick to defend Xemnas?"
You shook your head and looked down again. He chuckled and stood outside the door to the usual spot, looking in and listening.
The rest of the mission continued with jabs from Axel about why you defended Xemnas and trying to tell you that he was going to be hurt if you didn't tell him. But each time you told him to drop the subject. When he finally said, "Ok, I guess it's time to RTC," you couldn't have been more relieved.
"Here, I'll walk you to the dark corridor. I'm staying here for a little while longer."
You turned to him and said, "I have to meet someone here, so I won't be going in for a little, too."
"Ah... who are you meeting?"
"Why are you staying here?"
At this, Axel turned away, and you could hear the pain in his voice. "Nostalgia." After a minute of just standing there, and you being unsure of what to say, he turned back around with a grin on his face. "I'm going to go and get ice cream, do you want to go with me?"
You looked around, wondering what to say. Would Xemnas approve? What if he got here and didn't see you? "Uh, no thanks..."
Axel's mood fell. "Really? You don't have to stay with me... I'll buy you one anyway! C'mon. You deserve it after all of my rude questions."
So he didrealize how rude he was being? Before you could think further, he grabbed your hand and began to run to where you realized was the train station. You remembered an ice cream shop being built into it for tired parents with fussy children.
Axel bought you and himself a sea-salt ice cream pop. He grinned as you took your first bite. "Good, huh?"
"It's salty... but sweet, too."
Something in him clicked. "Someone I know said that, too." You were about to say something to try and get him off that feeling when he continued, plastering a fake smile once again on his face. "Well, you have to meet someone, and I have to go somewhere, so, I'll see you tomorrow, huh?"
You chuckled nervously. You'd rather not. "Uh... right."
He waved as he left you in the lobby and dashed to a door labelled "Employees Only." You cocked your head and wondered how a Nobody got that much personality without a heart. Were his memories of emotions really that strong? Or was he really just not a Nobody at all? Axel was one odd fellow, you knew that much.
But now your mind turned back to Xemnas. What did he want? Had you done something wrong? Had you done something right? Or was he just checking in on you?
You figured that if he wanted to check in on you, that he'd just call you into his office back at the castle. It wouldn't make sense for him to just want to randomly meet up with you after work in some random place to ask you how you were doing and just leave.
If you had done something wrong, it was likely that he would call you into his office as well. On top of that, you hadn't done anything, so you thought.
If you had done something right... maybe he had a reward? It's probably this option, because the others just don't seem right for a meeting in Twilight Town. But what had you done? Were expectations so low that everyone had expected you to fail the first few weeks? That thought made you angry, or so you thought, but, no... Xemnas wouldn't do that. He expected the best from everyone, even you.
"Excuse me ma'am, are you in need of assistance?"
The sudden voice startled you. You turned around and assumed a fighting stance instinctively, but dropped it when you realized it was just the woman running the front counter.
"You've been standing here for quite some time... would you like directions?"
You blinked a few times. Why had you been startled by such a scrawny little thing? From the corner of your eye you noticed melted ice cream on the floor that you had accidentally flung when you assumed your position. You reminded yourself to eat it before it melted.
"No, I'm sorry... I'm waiting for someone. I'll meet them outside."
Without another word, you sped out the door and sat on the brick steps outside the station, looking around at the peaceful, tranquil setting. You licked the ice cream... yes, it was still as delicious as before. Your thoughts wandered, and you found yourself smiling as you thought of Xemnas.
Soon enough, a dark spot opened up and Xemnas walked through it, spotting you sitting on the steps leading to the entrance of the train station. A bouquet of roses were held in his hand (were those your reward?) but he frowned. "How long have you been waiting?"
You popped the stick from your long-gone ice cream out of your mouth and replied, "Not long."
"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting." He looked down sheepishly at the roses. "I got these for you." He walked forward and stuck them forward towards you, offering them. You could have sworn his face had taken on a slightly reddish tint... Wasn't that called blushing? You'd only seen real people blush before.
You stood up and accepted them. Sniffing them, they smelled wonderful, and you made a mental note to put them in a vase when you got back to the castle. Xemnas scratched the back of his neck, chuckling nervously with his deep, manly voice. You hadn't seen him act like this - not ever. Most of the time, he just smiled a lot when he was around you, and made you laugh a lot. But you'd never seen him be so shy.
"You like them?"
You nodded. "Yes, they're wonderful. Thank you."
He smiled and said, "I'm glad." He looked around, and when he looked up, he stiffened. "Great..."
"What is it?" You followed his glance up to the top of the clock tower and noticed a black dot sitting on the top of it. You squinted as you tried to focus and see if it was who you thought it was, but they suddenly got up and ran around to the other side, and Xemnas cursed under his breath.
"Let's go take a train - we're being watched here. I want to go somewhere private."
This thought made your stomach flip for some reason. It had felt uneasy before, but now... you were a nervous wreck. "A... train...?"
Xemnas nodded. "Yes. Come with me." His natural, stoic figure took over as he grabbed your hand and rushed you inside. He bought two tickets hastily and ran for the train as it was about to leave. From the corner of your eye, you saw a red streak - so it wasAxel. He called out.
"_! Superior!"
Xemnas turned his head to look, but continued on. He stepped in the train, and pulled you in just as the doors shut. Axel, huffing and puffing, looked in through the glass at you two.
"What are you doing, _?"
You didn't know what to reply, but you stood there dumbly, looking at him. He pounded on the glass.
"Why do you open up to himand not me!"
Silently, Xemnas brought his hand around your shoulder and pulled you tighter. You looked up at him briefly and saw he was angry. Your hand that still held your flowers shook, and the thin plastic protecting the roses from the elements made rustling noises. You felt your face pale. What was happening? Why was Axel so angry?
Axel happened to notice the flowers then, and he pounded on the glass. "Dammit, XIV! What do you think you're doing? He's just going to - " the train whistled once, " - and then he'll just - " the train whistled again, and started to move, Axel moving with it, " - it's no good!"
You called out, "What did you say?"
Over the roar of the engine, he shouted, "I said, he's just going to -"
He ran into the station walls. The train was out of the station and moving to wherever you and Xemnas were headed. Shaken, you trembled, and Xemnas pulled you in for a hug.
"What... what did he say?"
Xemnas just petted your hair. You sat down and continued to be petted like that, shaking, trying to keep the roses quiet. Once you reached your destination, Xemnas pulled you up and walked with you outside of the station to reveal a few little houses and a large, grassy hill that overlooked the sunset. You both headed there.
"I think he's just upset."
As you plopped down and set the roses beside you, you asked, "Upset about what?" You had calmed down significantly by now. Being around Xemnas seemed to have that kind of effect on you... you just wanted to feel happy. But you couldn't shake this feeling.
"I while ago, someone Axel felt close to became rogue. We haven't been able to track him down. He was much like a parent to him, raising him from the time he came into the organization to the time he left."
"Axel was close with another Nobody? But I thought we couldn't feel like that?"
Xemnas chuckled. "That's sort of a thing I'm starting to think isn't possible. First there was Axel and... that boy. And then there's me and you."
You smiled. "And also me and Demyx."
Xemnas' eyes widened, and he looked away, at the orange and red sky. He swallowed and said, "Right."
You turned, not knowing about how crushed he felt, and looked at the sun. You smiled and giggled.
Depressed, Xemnas asked, "What?"
"I'm just glad to be here for some reason. I'm happy to be with you."
Xemnas was silent for a while, but he smiled. Eventually, he turned to you again, and, noticing it, you turned to face him, too. He was smiling. His eyes, complimented by the last few slivers of sunlight left in the sky, glowed, and his skin seemed to have paled in the now-apparent moonlight.
"Yeah?"
Without a word, he leaned in and pressed his lips to yours... Were you being kissed? The smell of his skin heavy in your nose, you pressed back gently and closed your eyes. His hand reached to your hair, petting you, but differently than what it was like on the train. This time, it wasn't supposed to be comfort... it was love.
This sudden thought snapped into your mind and your eyes flew open and you jumped up onto your feet. Xemnas pulled back as well, face paler than before, still laying on the soft grass.
"I'm sorry, _... I'll leave you - "
"We can't feel love, can we?"
Xemnas, startled by the question, sat back on his hands. "We aren't supposed to... but that was what I was talking about before. I don't think it's true... I think we can feel love. Because when I'm with you... I feel things." He pulled one hand in front of his face, flexing it, turning it over. "I feel... happy. I feel... anxious." He looked up at you. "I feel love."
You stood, looking down at him. It was unusual for you since you were ordinarily towered over. "Is love when your stomach is doing flips and is uneasy?"
Xemnas looked away. "That's one way... it's different for different people." He looked back up at you. "When I talk to you, my head feels light, and I just feel like I'm going to explode if I don't do something... but I don't know what."
You sit back down, fearing you may topple over if you don't calm down. "Did you... kiss me?"
Xemnas looked down. "Yes..."
You leaned forward on your hands towards him, and decided it was your turn to kiss him. You pressed your lips against his, and he eagerly pressed back. You noticed that that feeling in your stomach escalated, the flippy feeling, but you liked it. When you finally pulled back, your face felt warm. You took off your glove and felt your own cheek.
"I think I have a fever."
Xemnas took off his gloves too, and delicately touched your cheek with the back of his hand. "No... that's just you blushing." He smiled.
You turned away, and covered your face. "Oh, no! Don't look!"
He chuckled. "Calm down. It's cute." That just made you blush more, but you ignored it, hoping it would go away.
By then, the sun had completely set, and the stars were all around, with a full moon. You leaned back to lay down on your back, looking up at them. Xemnas followed suit. He grabbed your hand, and you two lay there like that for quite a while.
Next thing you knew, you were awoken to a kiss on your cheek and being lifted into the air. Xemnas was picking you up. He whispered in your ear, "Come on... let's go home." A dark corridor opened up and he stepped through with you in his arms. You fell back asleep, knowing you were in good hands.
The next morning, you awoke and found Demyx waiting for you in the main room. "Hey, _! You're alive!" He rushed over to you with that same goofy grin. You smiled. "We're paired together today, so you have to tell me why I ended up sleeping on the couch last night waiting for you while we're out. Tell me everything that happened. Who were you meeting anyway? Did you stay with Axel? We had this one kid who used to do that but he's not here anymore and - "
Demyx continued. You sighed as you summarized things he was saying in your head. His back hurt because he fell asleep and woke up on the couch waiting for you. His sitar was dirty because he fell asleep without cleaning it because he was waiting for you and playing it at the same time. He wanted to know who you met. He wanted to know what happened to one of the vases from the cabinets in the kitchen - did you get flowers? He wanted to know why you looked so tired. Demyx was smarter than he let on to be.
"I'll tell you later, Demyx. After our mission we'll hang out, ok?"
He pouted. "Why can't you tell me now?"
You smiled. "Because you haven't earned it! You have to work for my information! Now where are we going?"
He sighed, defeated. Slumping, he replied weakly, "Wonderland."
"Alright." You opened a dark corridor and you both stepped in.
The day continued, and throughout it, you told Demyx about the day before, and Xemnas. As the day pulled to a close, you both RTC'd, and he continued interrogating you, sitting in your bedroom. He sat backward on a chair and you laid down on your bed, smiling, looking at the ceiling.
"But I thought us Nobodies couldn't feel anything?"
"Xemnas thinks that we can feel when we feel love."
"But how can we feel love if we can't feel it when we don't feel love?"
Confused, you looked up at him, and saw him grinning at you. You simply stated, "Doofus," and laid back down, chuckling. Becoming serious, you replied, "I really don't know. I guess it just... happens."
Demyx smiled and laid his chin on his knuckles. "That's odd, _."
He was about to say something more, but a knock was heard at the door. He looked up, disheartened, and you looked at it, too, and called, "Who is it?"
Muffled, you heard Axel's voice reply, "Your fairy godmother."
You looked at Demyx, who was already looking at you, shocked, concerned. He asked softly, "You want me to talk to him?"
You shook your head. "Come in, Axel."
Axel opened the door slowly and stepped in. He saw Demyx and said bitterly, "I thought you'd be with our superior."
You looked down at the ground. Before you could say anything, Demyx stood up and approached Axel.
"Hey, man, you know, you really got her upset. What did you do that for? Look at her. She can't even look at you without wanting to leave the situation right then and there! She wants you to leave her alone." Demyx poked Axel in the chest with his index finger and mocked him. "Got it memorized, dude?"
Axel glared at him. Demyx kept up the tough act until Axel grabbed his wrist, kicked the door shut behind himself, and flung him into the nearest wall. Your face drained of all color. You stood up to go and see to Demyx, but Axel stood in your way.
"You're setting yourself up for failure. He's telling you false things, he's going to use you. You act just the way Roxas did, and I know that you have emotions, or at least, he's fooling you into you thinking you have emotions, he's just going to hurt you and leave you on high grounds at low tide. I wanted to warnyou, but obviously, you've got your other little thing on the side here to show me I'm not welcome. So I'll just let you crash and burn. When things turn wrong, don't come crying to me, Rookie."
And with that, he stormed out, leaving you to stare at where he was just a moment ago, burning bright in the darkness. You thought about what he said - was he right? How did he know what Xemnas was going to do to you? How did he know how Xemnas felt? Just because that kid (didn't Axel say his name was Roxas?) left him high and dry in a time of need didn't mean he was some genius when it came to foreseeing bad things in love. Roxas... you feel like you've heard that name before...
You snapped out of your trance and ran out into the hallway, about to shout to him, tell him to come back and answer your questions, but he was already gone. You looked back into the room and saw Demyx passed out, slumped against your wall. You ran to him and kneeled beside him.
"Demyx... Demyx, wake up!"
You shook him, and eventually, he came to, groaning.
"Ugh... _... What happened...?" He clutched his head and winced. Suddenly, he got up and screamed, "Axel!" Looking around and seeing he was gone, he turned back to you. "What happened?" You recount the entire speech to him, and he starts to run when he falls to the ground.
You picked him up and put his arm around your shoulder, helping him walk. "Here, I'll take you to your bedroom. I'll go to the infirmary and grab a few - "
"No, take me to Axel."
"Demyx, if this is what he'll do to you when you're completely healthy, imagine what he'll do to you in this state! The only place you're fit to go is to bed."
"_, I have never before in my life enjoyed a fight. But right now, I am about to show Axel a piece of my mind... He won't get away with it!"
You stared at him, concerned. "Demyx, not now. Let me handle this. You'll get your chance once you're healed up."
"But - "
"No. No buts."
Suddenly, Demyx pulled off of you and stuck his hind-end in the air. "No, asses everywhere!"
How did he know how to make it awkwardly hilarious around this joint?
You and Demyx laughed loudly on the way to his room. You continued to support him, and when you got to his door, he limped on in, you two still giggling. No matter what happened with Axel, or Xemnas, or whatever, you always had Demyx. Demyx would always be your friend, you knew that.
You sat by his bed to make sure he didn't run off when you weren't looking. This was your fight, and yes, it was sweet that he wanted to stand up with you, but it just wasn't what was supposed to happen. He wasn't involved yet, but if he kept up the way he had when Axel had intruded, he would be soon enough. And it wouldn't be pretty.
"Hey, _?"
Demyx's thick, sleepy voice sucked you out of your thoughts. You focused back on this world, not just the world of your thoughts, and you replied, "Yeah, Demyx?"
"Take care of yourself, kay, Rookie?"
You smiled. "Yeah, sure, Demyx." You reached over to brush a little hair out of his face, but he turned around to face the wall, and soon enough, you could hear his breathing deepen and slow down, and every once and a while, a soft snore would escape, and you knew he was sleeping peacefully.
Standing up now, you knew you had a bone to pick with Axel. You gentley shut Demyx's door behind you to find Axel standing right by the door. You jumped, and he began to talk, very loudly.
You hissed out, "Shhh! Jesus, Axel, he's asleep! You're lucky he doesn't have brain damage!"
Axel mumbled something under his breath.
"What was that?"
Axel glared at you. "Nothing."
You glared back. "We need to talk. Where do you want to go?"
He heaved a sigh. "My room's closer. Follow me."
You nodded once and stared darkly at the plain white halls as you followed him obediently. After a few minutes, he exhaled and scratched the back of his neck. "This honestly wasn't how I was hoping to get you to open up. But you've become less zombie-ish after all of this... You say more than three words to anyone."
"That's something I wanted to talk to you about. What is your deal with trying to get me to open up? I mean... Why do you specifically have to get me to be more open with my personality? Does it have something to do with Roxas?"
You could cut the tension with a knife. Axel stiffened, but continued to walk.
You reached his room, and he still hadn't replied. He turned around and opened up the door. With a flourish, he ushered you in, saying, "Rookies first." His face was icy and cold, a glare set in stone that wouldn't budge. You just nodded and allowed yourself to do what he told you to do.
His room was dark. You reached for the light, but he said, "No, please leave it off... I have a headache." You just sighed and groped for a chair to sit in. Axel flung himself at the bed and stared at the ceiling.
You sat in the darkness, waiting for an answer to your questions. To any of them... As you were about to open your mouth, he finally spoke up. "So, what do you want to know?"
"There's a lot I want to know. But what to ask first..." You stared off, thinking. "Why do you think Xemnas would lie to me about his feelings? Or his lack of feelings? Let's start there."
Axel flipped over on his side so that he could look at you while he was talking. You avoided his eyes and looked down at your feet, nervous. You really thought that you could feel... but what if Axel was right? What if you were just fooling yourself? What if Xemnas was fooling you to take advantage of you?
"Lord Xemnas is as emotionless as it gets. If you haven't noticed, most of us still seem to act like we have emotions. It's just a way to go through life. We instinctively go through the motions, the more so we do it, the more it's to cover up the real numbness. When Xemnas speaks to us about anything, he rants, uses angry gestures, waves his arms around. It's a desperate attempt to feel whole again."
You stared back in the gloom. "Or maybe he actually feels now, and has the urge to be outspoken about it."
Axel shook his head. "If that was the case, he'd keep it a secret... he'd use it to keep power over any of us. He wouldn't go around spouting this nonsense to everyone. You've only been here a few weeks, so you don't know the real Superior. It's just a ruse to get you connected to the Organization, so that you'll never want to leave, as long as he keeps this facade up."
"Why would he want to keep me here?"
Axel shook his head. "I wouldn't know. If anyone does, it's Saix. But I wouldn't approach him about it, because he's a loose-lips when it comes to the Superior."
"Alright... then tell me about Roxas next."
Axel turned back onto his back and stared at the ceiling for a while. He obviously didn't want to talk about it. You took his silence as a, "Stop bothering me about that."
"No... you don't have to talk about it... here... just tell me... Why did you call Demyx my 'little thing on the side?' What does that even mean?"
Axel flushed. "I was just being..." He searched for a word.
"... A jackass. Stupid."
"I still don't know what it means. What does it mean?"
Axel's face got even brighter. "You're close. Too close. Like two little kids in grade school that have crushes on each other and play side by side all the time. An innocent love."
You wondered silently if that's what he had had with Roxas. An innocent love... Maybe you'd just ask Demyx about it. But you went on with your next question, getting off of Roxas, who you didn't even know what looked like. "Why did you feel the need to connect with me? To get me to open up? I remember last night you screamed, 'So you open up to him and not me.'"
Axel continued to stare up at the ceiling. He folded his arms behind his head. "I act as a mentor most of the time. Or at least, to our past few members, I was. I'm the kindest, friendliest guy. The others are too cold, unconcerned, or just plain ugly with rookies like you, Rookie." He turned around to face the wall. There was a drawing taped onto the wall, the only thing that decorated the room at all. You couldn't tell what it was of, but apparently, Axel was very fond of it, staring into it until you cleared your throat.
"I'm tired, _. I'm going to bed."
You stood up, feeling bad, seeing Axel sink into a pit of lonely memories. Whatever happened to Roxas must have really effected Axel, to make him fall into this kind of depression whenever he thought about him.
"I'll see you tomorrow, VIII."
Axel waved his arm and continued to stare at the wall. You opened the door with a creak and shut it as quietly as you could.
After a few glorious weeks of work, then Xemnas, then Demyx, and just being happy in general, you were sitting under a very large leaf in Wonderland with Xemnas, rain pouring, but you are sheltered and warm with the company of each other.
Suddenly, a stray heartless came along, spotting you two as easy prey. Xemnas scoffs at the puny thing. "That thing thinks it can take me? Lord of Darkness? Hah!"
You giggled alongside him and curled up into the warmth of his chest, where you thought that if you could listen hard enough, you'd hear a beating heart somewhere. Xemnas played with your hair and you stayed like that for a few moments, lost in your love. In the back of your mind, you thought, Axel, this is true. This is genuine. I don't know how... but it is. It just is.
Xemnas stopped playing with your hair, but you didn't mind. He sat with you there for a few minutes more, looking around, but you didn't notice the stressed expression on his face.
You looked up at him, "Xemnas, what's wrong?"
He placed his finger on your lips and shushed you. "Look."
You looked back out onto Wonderland, and saw that the one puny Heartless had gathered up a sea of others, and together, they all stood, staring at you two, looking ready for a fight, clicking and clacking about like the insects they resembled. Their beady yellow eyes glowed in the rain, standing out from their black bodies.
"Oh my god..."
Xemnas stood up, helping you up in the process. His hair brushed against the bottom of the leaf you had found shelter under for the downpour. It was heavy under the weight of pooling rainwater, and that gave you an idea. You turned and whispered to your Superior.
"On the count of three, we'll hit the underside of this leaf and it should send water everywhere."
Xemnas looked unbelieving at you. "But you'll get wet!"
You frowned. "I'd rather be wet than dead."
Xemnas' face got red, but he nodded.
"One... two... three!"
You jumped up and hit the leaf just as Xemnas smacked it as well. A waterfall of clean, purified water poured, and the Heartless scattered like cockroaches, trying to find their bearings. You and Xemnas stepped out from underneath the leaf, already drenched and not caring. You both quickly noticed that that only got them angry as they began to swarm again and form a tight circle around the both of you.
Xemnas stepped in front of you, the torrential downpour making his cloak stick to his tall form. "I'll handle this."
"Are you kidding me! There's got to be at least a thousand!"
He looked over his shoulder at you. "Hurt yourself and I'm killing you."
You sighed. You'd have to fight your way back to the dark corridor that you two opened, because these heartless weren't going to be going away without what you learned to be a keyblade. Apparently, Roxas had been the only member to ever have a keyblade, and without him, the organization's main mission was to track down his Somebody, Sora, who could wield a keyblade, and turn him to work with us.
A flash of light blinded you for a moment, and then, what you saw from Vexen's notes and observations, there was indeed a keyblade on the ground in front of you. You typically used a bow and arrow, but... was there a keyblade wielder nearby?
You looked around, and Xemnas was staring in disbelief at the keyblade lying in front of you, and he too was looking around to see whose it might be.
Out of morbid curiosity, you picked it up. It was black, with a red handle, and fancy script in a different language writing on the side of it in gold. You looked around you at the rain-soaked forest.
"Whoever owns this keyblade, come out now!"
You looked around, and the only thing moving was the Heartless, who seemed to be just as shocked at the sudden predicament as Xemnas and you. They shifted uncertainly, not sure what exactly would happen. But, they began to realize you weren't doing anything, a still-target, and you tensed for battle, keyblade clutched tightly in your hands.
"_, how can you wield that!"
"I don't know... but right now, I know there's an ass-ton of Heartless that messed with the wrong Nobodies!"
"Heh... got that right."
You fought your way through the sea, side-by-side with Xemnas, until there were none left. You stood, panting, and you turned to face Xemnas. He smiled widely, but before your mind could register any of the sinister-ness behind it, your knees gave out, your head became dizzy, and your vision clouded. You collapsed in on yourself, the keyblade lying beside you, blending in with the dark muck of the forest floor. Xemnas gasped, and you shut your eyes. He was beside you, and he turned you over and held your head in his lap. He looked down at you, looking you over, seeing for any damage.
You groaned and grabbed Xemnas' shoulder, trying to get up. "I just over-worked myself... I'm fine..."
Xemnas protested, "No, _, you're not fine. You just fought an ocean of Heartless with a weapon you've never used before and then collapsed."
"I'm fi - " Before you could get the word "fine" out of your mouth again, your legs caved in again, but this time Xemnas was there to catch you. He commanded you to grab onto his neck, and you did, feeling like Jello. He then scooped up your legs and reached for the keyblade, to have it disappear into white light again and appear on your limp figure. He simply accepted it and, in the still-pouring rain, walked back to the dark corridor with you in his arms. The bladed end of the keyblade pressed against your cheek, but didn't actually pierce your skin - it was more of a club than a sword.
"_, you've got to be more careful. And now that you have the keyblade, you're irreplaceable, so don't go getting yourself into situations like this!"
"But wouldn't you want that... if I can collect hearts?" You reply weakly, taking deep gasps of breath.
"I'm more worried for your sake... Kingdom Hearts will finish at some time, and now that we have you, it's guaranteed that it will finish and we'll all get our hearts eventually, but for right now, you're the best heart I have, and if anything were to happen to you, I'd never forgive myself."
You smiled and rolled your head towards his chest, listening to the rain patter against the leather of both of your coats. Your fingers were becoming numb with the cold, but you kept them pressed against the back of Xemnas' neck, which kept them warmer than before. He didn't mind, it seemed. He smiled, but your eyes were closed, and you couldn't see the sinister glow to it reappear as it had before you had collapsed.
Once on the other side of the dark corridor, you could hear the others around you stop what they were doing. The sound of Demyx's sitar was quickly cut off.
"Just put me on the couch, please, I'll be fine."
"You need to go to bed, _."
Axel was the first to speak from the other members. "Rookie, what happened?"
You took in a deep breath again. "I fought a bunch of heartless with the keyblade..."
There was silence, and then you heard Axel's footsteps approach you. His shoes were the only noise other than your breathing. You felt him touch the keyblade, heard him gasp, and ask, "Where did you get it?"
Xemnas spoke up before you could. "She's pretty exhausted, we should let her rest."
"Put me down on the sofa, Xemnas. I'll go to bed soon, but let me talk to everyone." He looked down at you. "I'll try and get out of bed if you put me in."
He snorted, but figured it would be better to not have you falling out of bed and displeased. Demyx and Xigbar moved from the couch, Xigbar and Luxord having abandoned their card game. Demyx sat cross-legged on the floor by your head; everyone else assembled a circle around the white couch, peering at you curiously. Axel, Demyx, and Xemnas seemed to be the most concerned. Larxene was flat-out annoyed, but seemed to still be curious as to what was happening.
You recounted the tale to everyone, and half the room seemed to want to vomit at the romantic stuff, the other were jumping out of their socks with excitement - a new keybearer had been found for their purpose of filling Kingdom Hearts. Axel was the only one who looked down in horror at the black keyblade and your face filled with love and excitement. When Xemnas looked over at him, he was neat to hide it, but you saw everything.
Most people went back to what they were doing before the two soaking-wet figures stepped into their main room, the smell of fresh rain in their hair, Xigbar and Luxord taking their game to the kitchen table on the other end of the castle. Saix would occasionally glare at you, but you didn't mind. He was just jealous of how close you were to his Superior with only being here a month or so, and now that you held the keyblade, you were sure to be his favorite, if you weren't already. He'd get over it eventually.
Demyx was all smiles as you groggily proclaimed, "Ok, I'm going to bed," and attempted to get up.
"Here, _, let me help you." Demyx pulled your arm around his shoulder. He looked over to Xemnas who drifted over and pulled your other arm up around his shoulder. Shakily, the three of you began walking to your room.
Demyx chatted happily, his mouth going a mile a minute. "You're doing great, Rookie, you know? Geez. Who would have known you'd ever be able to wield a keyblade? Kinda odd how it just kinda appeared though, don't you think? And now you've gotta get good at it even after you got good with your bow. I thought you looked pretty cool with the bow, but the keyblade's even cooler. But never as cool and my sitar and me! My sitar is bad-ass, and everyone knows it. Heheh. And so are Superior's light sabers, too, of course."
A faint smile showed up on Xemnas' lips as you kept walking. With the occasional nod of the head or "mmhmm," you kept Demyx happy with his jabbering. Your body felt less like Jello at this point, and more like it had a structure again.
When you reached your room, with the crudely drawn sign on it saying, "_'s Room," Xemnas left you to Demyx. He opened the door and Demyx walked you to your bed, where your soggy hair hit the pillow, and you felt like you were going to fall asleep at that exact moment, but Xemnas carried on with a typical rant of his: You should be more careful, sleep better, blahblahblah, you're going to work yourself to death, blahblahblah, you're very important. Blahblahblah. Blahblahblahblahblahblah.
In the middle of one of his sentences, you sighed. He sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just keeping you up."
You smiled. "And pissing me off."
"Ah. That too." He stooped down and kissed your forehead. "Good night." He turned to Demyx. "Don't keep her up too much longer. I know you're going to want to talk, just don't make it an hour."
Demyx nodded. "Of course, Lord Xemnas."
Xemnas nodded back and left the room.
Demyx pulled up a chair and sat on it backwards, like he had before when Axel threw him against the wall. So far, Axel hadn't shown his face, but you supposed he'd show up soon enough with lunatic predictions and whatnot.
"Rookie, you're getting good." He smiled as he pulled some of the hair out of your face. "Now we know that Xemnas won't turn you into a dusk if you break up."
You snorted. "Thanks for the words of encouragement."
"Awww, shoot," he smiled and leaned back, "you know what I'm saying. You're really, really important now to all of us. We don't have to go chasing around Sora anymore. We can allow him to do his thing and you do yours and we still finish Kingdom Hearts."
You smiled at him. Demyx chuckled and returned the chair to your desk. He stood back around, and you, your eyes barely able to stay open, requested, "Demyx, what do you know how to play on your sitar?"
He looked confused at the random question. "Lots of stuff... why?"
"I dunno. I've never really listened to you play... I've just heard you tune it and the noise the strings make when you clean it."
"Want me to go and get it?"
You nodded. "Just don't take too long, I might be asleep when you get back."
He shook his head and dashed out of the room to go and get it. You rolled around onto your back and stared at the ceiling, wondering if you'd be able to stay awake? Hopefully the light on would help you. It was weird, but you suddenly had this weird urge to listen to Demyx play his sitar.
You closed your eyes but kept your mind working, as best you could. Occasionally you'd drift off, but managed to jerk yourself awake each time. The one time you heard your door open, your eyes were shut. Demyx exhaled sharply and spoke softly to himself.
"What am I gonna do with you?"
Even though you made no efforts to show him you were awake, he shut off the light and pulled the door ajar, leaving just a little crack of light from the hallway to light the darkness. He dragged the chair over, and you heard him start plucking away, and softly singing.
"_, your eyes like stars in the sky,
To complement Kingdom Hearts.
You who makes my heart fly
Soar up high in the clear blue sky.
It amazes me, _, how I
Could have a friend as great as you
It's a friendship no one could buy
Because it's priceless to me, ooh.
Axel might try to rip you apart
But I'd piece you back together
Although I'm afraid your heart
I'd never be able to turn back into a heart
I'll probably never sing this to you
If I do I'll probably sound terrible
I hope that doesn't make you blue
Because I'd be blue, too.
I just want to tell you,
You mean so much to me
I hope I mean a lot to you, too
But I'd never get the courage to tell you."
He plucked a few more strings and let the last note fade into the dark walls surrounding you. He sighed, put the chair back, and left. Your mind told you that yes, Demyx has a heart, too. He has a good, strong heart. You finally let yourself fall unconscious, letting the last note simmer in your brain, the last note from the heart.