AN: Long ago, I had a crush on a fictional character. Long ago, I grieved and felt sorrow for her fate. Long ago, I wrote an OC of my own Nobody - Let's face it, we probably all imagined our own Nobodies - whom I paired with this character. And now, it's time to let that 14-year-old past me get some closure after so long.
Screams. Screams. Oh so beautiful screams.
From the old-fashioned village, citizens fled in terror and panic over the the mass Shadows pursuing them for their hearts. The valiant fighters of this small, inconsequential village quickly fell, their weapons useless to the power of darkness. Observing with a casual posture, Kcxja grinned, leery yellow eyes glinting in amusement, head leaning down, sitting on the edge of a burning roof. Watching people lose their hearts was a favourite pastime of his; he bore no shame in admitting that.
Why wouldn't he? He was a Heartless, he could get away with enjoying this.
Oh, a woman tripped on the floor. Easy prey the following few seconds afterwards. The Heartless were here to, what else, consume and consume. You might think it'd be Kcxja's fault, ordering the Shadows and Emblems to attack the native village, but you'd be wrong; these Heartless were currently being controlled by a Hun warlord. Kcxja was just here to sit back and enjoy the show.
He just wished he brought some popcorn for the ride. Caxkj would be scolding him for mildly entertaining something normally horrific.
Speaking of, where was the man? Kxcja hasn't seen the man in weeks. Usually the Nobody didn't trust his Heartless self to behave without checking every damn five minutes. Standing upwards, Kcxja cracked his fingers casually and opened a Corridor. He can always watch these people across the world be eaten by his own kind later anyway.
Mostly because he never liked the Land of the Dragons to begin with.
Greeting his vision upon exiting the darkness was the stone bridge leading to a decaying castle. The Heartless wasted no time in extending his senses, reaching out to his other half...
Who wasn't here.
Great.
Curling his tanned lips in annoyance and bemusement, Kcxja snapped his fingers and summoned some Neoshadows before departing to search elsewhere. Give that Beast something to do other than please his captive with Stockholm Syndrome.
The Underworld. Nothing.
Halloween Town. Still nothing.
Agrabah. Even more nothing!
Now this was just getting ridiculous. Kcxja was growing more and more amused yet irritated at the lack of presence to his Nobody 'brother,' standing over the edge looking over the small unpleasant-welcoming town. Then again, what business would Caxkj have to be in Port Royal? But where else would the serious-minded, tender-'hearted' Nobody be?
Did the Organization discover something? Nah that can't be it, Caxkj was far too cautious about these things.
Where else would the man be...? Traverse Town? Hollow Bastion? Disney Castle? Atlantica? Kcxja outwardly snorted at that last one, briefly entertaining the image of Caxkj having some 'finny fun,' if ya know what he's saying.
Wink wink.
That redhead Princess was around the Nobody's physical age anyway, although she'd be Kxcja's type more than Caxkj's. Besides, his all-work-and-no-play other self was far more interested in that Sora puppet...
Aha!
Kcxja knew exactly where his Nobody brother was.
Called it!
Emerging just outside the town station, Kcxja immediately sensed the nearby signature of his other self. You'd think Nobodies would have no scent because they're, by all means, a form of nothingness itself. But even they have an uncanny scent for Heartless to track down. You know that smell of something new and freshly packaged?
Imagine the package being trodden on by a herd of elephants, and that's what Nobodies smell like. Caxkj was no exception. Taking a gander, Kcxja glanced upwards to correctly guess where exactly the other teenager was. Yep, just as he thought. A lone figure sat atop the edge of the clock tower, where the three Organization stooges normally sat upon themselves, according to what Caxkj shares with his Heartless self.
Time to go say hello. Folding his arms, a smug Kcxja started to ascend through the air, taking his sweet time upwards. The ever-setting sun shone against his long black hair, by the time he reached up to the level of his Nobody counterpart. If Caxkj sensed him, the man made no acknowledgement. In fact, Caxkj was staring at his own cloaked legs with hands clasped together resting on his knees, making no movements whatsoever. Long white hair hid half the man's pale features from the amused Heartless.
What's with him? "I was wondering where you were." Kcxja started casually, grinning. "A whole week without you pestering me? I was beginning to think something happened to you."
No answer. That's fine.
"Now here you are, acting like an emo again." Floating towards the man, Kcxja playfully tapped the Nobody's temple. "What's got you in dreamland this time? You tried out that sea salt ice cream? That stuff sounds awful... Need to try some myself, thinking about it."
Again, no answer. Kcxja raised a brow, this time leaning downwards to get a proper look and- Huh?
No way.
No way in the Underworld were those dry tear marks! Must be the sun playing tricks on him.
"Trouble in paradise?" Kxcja guessed with a smirk. "Did that puppet reject you?" At last! A reaction! The man's pale features grimaced, gloved hands gripping tightly onto each other. "Aww is that it? Did she refuse your advances regardless of how subtle you were? Or did Roxas get to her first-?"
"Enough."
One word, quiet but authoritative. Caxkj always had that skill of putting power to any word he uses, despite adopting the kind part of their original self's nature. That command would work on anyone, you know, if they weren't Kcxja. "Telling me to shut up, Caxy? Guess it went worse than I thought. Well, your big bro's here to help get you over your crush-"
"Kcxja."
"- And find a woman who isn't the byproduct of a grinning idiot and an air-headed Princess-"
"Kcxja." This time, the Heartless paused, blinking somewhat at the force behind that command. Was that grit teeth? Caxkj was usually the most composed person he knows. Just had badly did the puppet's rejection impact his Nobody counterpart?
"Huh, was it her time of the month when she said no-?"
"She's dead, Kcxja."
"I'd be too if you were coming on to me- What?" The Heartless cut himself off, finally seeing Caxkj's face completely since he got here. A pale expression, long white hair covering one green eyes, but the other one reflected everything Kcxja needed to be told.
Pain... Pure pain. Caxkj wasn't lying... He was grieving...
"Dead...?" The Heartless whispered in genuine surprise. Rarely anything could catch him off-guard, but this? This was unexpected. Not to mention, for once, Caxkj was holding nothing back; hurt and depression echoing on the Nobody's features. A contradiction to the man's nature as a creature with no heart. But Caxkj was unique among Nobody kind, having taken the light side of their original self's personality whereas Kcxja adopted the darker side. "Are you sure, bro, it's not just...?"
With a heaved sigh, Caxkj twitched his mouth in pure pain. "Not this time... I saw it, and I couldn't prevent it..." Oh dear Kingdom Hearts, tears were starting to emerge at the corner of the man's eye. You can't fake these things. Caxkj stared at his own lap again, voice trembling in sorrow, "I could've stopped it. I should've... Should have... Xion..."
Now, Kcxja was a Heartless, but he wasn't heartless. At least, not all the time. There's no denying he was a jerk at the highest natures, entertaining himself through the pain and bad luck of others. He was a trickster, a Master of Darkness, the King of Dark Comedy. But there were those times, those very, very few rare times, where he would restrain himself for others he cared about in the slightest.
And this would be one of those times. He can revel in the suffering of others, but the closest thing he had to a brother? That was another story entirely.
Because, instead of feeling amusement at the Nobody's clear pain, Kcxja felt a cold sensation of dread, disappointment... And anger. He knew, even a little, collaboration with that Organization and getting close to Sora's puppet would only spell doom for his fragile Nobody self. And now, with what happened, Kcxja was enraged.
"Tell me what happened." Kcxja ordered, serious for the first time. And, slowly, as Caxkj managed to compose himself enough to recount the events of what occurred leading up to the puppet's demise, it confirmed the Heartless's suspicions.
Even Xehanort's Nobody was good at ruining lives. Kcxja wasn't fond of Xion to begin with, seeing her only as a tool of the Organization and will be disposed by them when they felt like it - 'Felt,' ha ha - often teasing and sometimes discouraging Caxkj from getting close to the puppet, and by extension Sora's Nobody and the Organization's top assassin. But Caxkj was insistent, believing Xion was deserving of being a person in her own right, and opted to help her however he can.
And look where that got him now...
"It's all my fault..." Caxkj mumbled, a lone tear spotted streaking down his face. For the first time ever since his birth, the Nobody looked nothing else but vulnerable.
And Kcxja, for all his japers and capers, opted to say nothing at all. Because, sometimes, silence was a comfort enough, and he knew his counterpart enough that the other would appreciate it. So, the Heartless placed a gloved hand on the Nobody's shoulder, the Darkness comforting as the Light grieved.
AN: Considering of adding a second part to this, depending on my own interest and if others like this enough for it to continue. I won't fool myself into believing many people will bother even reviewing this story, but I hope for the best!