Part 3
Today is the day before Valentine's Day and this time I'm not going to start off with Xunakiy waking me up. Instead, I'll just start off with phase one of Operation: Valentine (I'm not very creative with these kinds of things). I wanted to make Xunakiy a special Valentine's Day gift.
Okay so phase one of this operation is to take roses from Marluxia's greenhouse. Unfortunately, no one has been able to take ANY flowers from Marluxia, not even Axel. But that fact is what made it sound like fun.
"Everyone in position?" I asked as I spoke into the headset.
"We're all set." Vexen replied.
"This is so cool! This is like one of those spy movies!"
"Shut up Demyx!"
"Okay, we all remember the plan?"
"You bet."
"Umm…not exa—"
"Okay! Phase one starts…now!"
I had a feeling this was going to be a disaster. Demyx forgot his part in the operation and he was supposed to distract Marluxia while Vexen and I tried to swipe the flowers. Vexen and I accidentally went at the wrong time, so we ended up getting caught.
"What are you two doing with my roses?" Marluxia said with a calm-sounding but not friendly-sounding voice.
I had to think fast! It was only mere seconds into phase one and we're going to fail this thing. I had to say something!
"We were going to use them to err…pull a prank on Axel!"
"In that case…"
We were in for it. At least I thought we were.
"…Go right ahead and use them!"
We were safe, for the moment. Marluxia let all three of us go. We got the bouquet ready and phase one was complete. Now it was time for phase two. And phase two was getting a stuffed animal from Larxene's room. I know having a collection of stuffed animals isn't what you'd expect from a Savage Nymph, but just used them for target practice instead of displaying them somewhere and letting them collect dust.
"Okay, Larxene's killing off a few of her stuffed animals right now, but she's going to come back at any minute. So we have to make this fast."
"Copy that, bookworm."
"I'm not a bookworm, science freak!"
"Ooh! Is this the part when we give each other codenames!? I want to be…umm…let's see…"
"I know. How about bubble-boy!"
"That's mean, Vexen!"
"FOCUS YOU TWO!" And that made the headset make that high-pitched sound that usually kills your ears.
"That hurt, bookworm."
"I'm…not…a…bookworm. Now let's just get this over with."
"What are you three doing outside my room?"
Holy crap! Another part of the operation gone wrong! And this time ALL of us didn't time it right. As usual I had to think up something.
"We are…umm…going to help you get rid of the stuffed animals stuck in your room? Yeah! That's it!"
"…Alright! Thanks! Okay, you can take these." And she handed us all of these plushies. Twelve to be exact—four plushies for each of us. And Larxene took another set out of her room.
After Larxene left, Vexen let out a sigh of relief.
"Nice one, bookworm."
"Shut up or I kill you."
"Then what's your codename then?"
"Enough with the codenames!"
We decided to just destroy all those plush except one of them. It was a small pink rabbit that was huggable and not one of those plushies that are as hard as a brick. Time for phase three: getting one of the already-wrapped chocolates out of the kitchen without Xunakiy noticing.
Xunakiy was actually cooking today's lunch and we had to sneak past her without noticing us. "Us" as in Vexen and me because Demyx didn't want to be in on it anymore. So, Xunakiy was chopping vegetables and stirring a pot full of who-knows-what.
" Okay, Vexen, on three, we go okay?"
"Okay."
"One…two…three! Wai—I said 'three' already!"
"Is it 'one, two, three', or 'one, two, three, go'?"
Once again, we got the timing wrong, and we made a racket and knocked over something into the pot. Xunakiy didn't notice that though.
"Zexion-kun, Vexen-sensei? What are you two doing here?"
"We're just, you know, hanging around."
"Oh okay. Hey, Zexion-kun?"
"Yeah." I suddenly noticed that Vexen slipped off somewhere.
"I'm making a special lunch for the both of us! It's a bowl of noodles! Want to join me?"
"I'd love to." I guess I could put off the "Operation: Valentine" until later today.
We both sat down at a nearby table, said thanks for the food, broke our chopsticks, and started eating. As usual, her cooking was top-notch, but there was something that tasted funny with the soup. And for some reason, I felt sick when it all hit my stomach. Then I blacked out.
I woke up in my bed for some reason and when I looked at my bedside clock, it was actually 5 o'clock. I wanted to jump out of my bed and see what happened to Xunakiy if the lunch she made got her sick too. Unfortunately, my head was feeling as if a train hit me. Then I noticed a dish with a few small fruits beside my clock with a note beside it. I read it, and it said:
Dear Zexion,
Apparently, you and Xunakiy had some sake out into your lunch and you both got drunk. It was chaos with almost everyone being out for missions and the both of you were causing havoc. Fortunately, I found a sickness book that Xunakiy had in her room and I was able to stop your rampage without harming you too much. The cure to being drunk was actually sour pickled plums. Be sure to eat some more when you read this. And you should probably walk it all off by strolling around the castle.
-Vexen
I heeded the advice of the note and ate some plums. And it was no surprise that it was called sour pickled plums. I had to run to the kitchen and rinse out my mouth with water, but I knew I wouldn't make it before the taste settled in my mouth. I decided to finish up my Operation: Valentine before the day ended.
I took a wrapped chocolate and put the gifts together in my room. I put it all in a small basket and I was practically done. And I decided to walk around the castle as instructed. I walked two steps outside of my room and Xigbar was there to greet me.
"Hello—"
"Don't talk to me. I just want a quiet stroll around this castle and I don't want it to be constantly interrupted by you."
"Umm…I don't have anything else to do. Mind if I take that stroll with you?"
"Feh. Why not?"
"Thanks!"
We walked, and walked, and walked, and to change the pace we walked some more. We were silent for a while, which I found surprising due to Xigbar's personality. Finally we spoke up after forty-five minutes.
"So, umm…what do you want to talk about?"
"I dunno."
"Oh."
"How about out me being drunk a few hours ago?"
"Are you really sure you wanna get into that?"
"Positive."
"Okay, well, you and Xunakiy started off fainting in your seats at a table and I wanted to see if I could wake you guys up, but when I tried to shake you, you took my arm and threw me on the ground."
"I did that?"
"Yep. And you got out of your seat and started attacking me with all these wild kicks. Soon, Xunakiy got out of her seat and she started attacking me too. I ran as fast as I could away from you two, but then I ran into Larxene and soon she got into the battle."
"Are we that destructive when drunk?"
"Hell yeah!"
"Are you guys having fun?" Someone said behind us.
It was Xunakiy but it seems she only just started with her stroll.
"You feeling okay, kiddo?"
"I'm fine Xigbar-sensei. What were you two talking about?"
"We were just talking about how much havoc you two caused by getting drunk."
"Havoc? Drunk?"
"Yup."
"…"
"…?"
"AAAAHHHHH!! I CAUSED TROUBLE TO EVERYONE JUST BY BEING DRUNK!! I COULD'VE INJURED SOMEONE OR WORSE, I COULD'VE KILLED SOMEBODY!! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!"
"That hurt my ears woman!"
"AAAAAHHH! I SCREAMED IN YOUR EARS! I COULD'VE DEAFENED YOU TWO! WAIT! I'M DOING IT RIGHT NO—"
I had to cover her mouth to make her stop and I just had to tell her something.
"Xunakiy, it isn't your fault we had a bad lunch. It was probably just an accident. You don't have to blame yourself for what happened. Oh yeah, you should probably stop screaming."
I put my hand down, hoping she quieted down, and she did.
"Okay, Zexion-kun!" And she hit me with one of those heart-warming smiles. It would be heart-warming if I actually had one. "Zexion-kun, I was wondering if you could be my…umm…valentine."
My mind was racing. I didn't know what to say. My mind suddenly went back to that dream I had two weeks ago. Two Xunakiys fighting over whose valentine I would be. Would Xunakiy suddenly switch to her violent side? Or will we have a peaceful Valentine's Day tomorrow? I made up my mind and told her:
"Xunakiy, I would be honored to be your valentine tomorrow."
"…"
"…?"
"Yatta! Yatta! Yatta! You said yes!"
Xigbar slipped away somewhere when Xunakiy and I met up with each other in the hallway. I was about to say something when I heard two people arguing. I was expecting it to be Axel and Marluxia, as usual. But this time…
"You just had to ruin my experiment!"
"You deserved it you old goat!"
"How did I deserve it?!"
"You destroyed the book I was borrowing from Zexion the other day!"
"That was an accident!"
It was actually Vexen and Lexaeus. I didn't understand why they were arguing because we were all good friends with each other. I wanted to step in, but they took out their weapons and were about to fight.
"I'm gonna knock you into next week!"
"How are you gonna do that, rockhead!?"
"You two should stop!" Xunakiy yelled. "You two are supposed to be friends, right? So, why are you fighting like this? I'm pretty sure whatever was happening was just a misunderstanding!"
Once again, Xunakiy worked her "magic".
"…"
"…"
Soon both of them calmed down, withdrew their weapons, and they stayed quiet.
"Guys. Since you two are done arguing, why don't you tell me what you were arguing about?"
"Umm…I don't really remember why we were arguing. Heh heh. Now I feel like an idiot."
"Same here."
"You two don't remember?"
"Nope."
"If that's the case, you two need to relax! Maybe you two are just stressed out."
"I guess so." And the both of them walked away.
"I wonder what happened…"
"I'm wondering too."
We both slept and I didn't end up with a weird dream that night. Surprising, I know, but maybe something would happen tomorrow…
"Zexion-kun! Ohiyo!" Xunakiy greeted me. I had a feeling that "ohiyo" meant good morning.
"Good morning, Xunakiy."
"Happy Valentine's Day!" She said as she took out her Valentine's gifts to me. But, she was actually holding two small wrapped chocolates.
"Why are you holding two?"
"Well, me and her mulled it over last night, and we agreed that I would give your both of our Valentine's Day gifts!"
"Well that would explain it."
"I'm going to give everyone else their chocolates! Bye-bye!"
"Wait!"
"Huh?"
"I have a Valentine's Day gift for you too."
"Really?"
"Yep. Lemme get it…"
I closed the door behind me so she won't see what I made for her. I felt somewhat giddy at the time, but that all changed when the basket wasn't on my table.
"GAAHH! WHERE THE HELL IS IT!?"
"Where is what Zexion-kun?"
Xunakiy was actually behind me the whole time and she heard my yelling.
"What are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for your Valentine's Day gift!"
"Oh. In that case, why don't we look for it together?"
"Alright."
We were walking out of my room so we could start our search for the thief. But I suddenly heard a strange sound, as if scissors were cut something in one snap. And then I felt really weird, as if I was really frustrated and I wanted to take it out on the next person I see.
"Zexion-kun! You didn't even get me a Valentine's Day gift did you!?"
"I did get you one woman!"
"No you didn't! Then how could someone take it when you opened the door when you woke up!?"
"Someone must've taken it when I was sleeping!"
"You're just using that as an excuse!"
"No I'm not!"
We were both furious and we started trudging off in opposite directions. I was so angry and I didn't have a way to channel it out if I wasn't arguing with someone. Wait! Why was I so angry? I needed to apologize to Xunakiy, someone must've taken it when I was talking to Xigbar and Xunakiy. But I guess that's my fault for not keeping an eye on it.
And so I ran back to Xunakiy, but when I spotted her, I just turned around and started running back again. That frustrated feeling came back when I looked at her again. I just kept walking and the feeling went away again. I decided to check up on everyone else to see if they saw my basket, but everyone was bickering with each other. Everyone fighting was not a coincidence. I had to report this to Xemnas.
"Xemnas! Xemnas! Xe—what?!"
"All I'm asking for is a break! I can't even remember the last time I took a day off!"
"I asked you just a few days ago if you needed a break or not, but you said no! This is your fault because you didn't take that chance!"
"If you were a good leader, you'd give me a day off right now!"
Apparently, Xemnas had his hands full with a fight with Saïx. So, it was my job to find out what is responsible for this turn of events. And finding who took Xunakiy's gift.
"Zexion-kun! Zexion-kun!"
"Huh?"
"Zexion-kun! I got over fighting with you!"
"You did?"
"Yeah! Now we can find out who's responsible for this!"
"Okay. But, where do we start?"
"Hmm…I know, we interrogate the victims of this occurrence!"
"I hope you have a lot of time on your hands because everyone is a victim."
"We might as well start!"
To speed things up a bit, let's just say that everyone started arguing with each other when they were walking around the Proof of Existence room.
"Zexion-kun! This place is scary! It looks as if we're looking at our own graves!"
"Don't worry, as soon as we find out how to reverse this whole mess, we'll continue on with celebrating Valentine's Day."
"Okay! Wai! I heard a slicing sound!"
"Where!?"
"Ah!" She took out her megaphone. "Stop right there!"
The culprit stopped right in its tracks and we finally saw it: a small beetle-like heartless. It's horns were probably the cause of the scissors-like sound.
"It looks adorable! It's sad that we have to kill it though."
"Yeah."
"Oh! Can I do it?"
"Sure."
"Time for you to go bye-bye! Huh? Where'd it go?"
"Don't worry. We'll find it."
"Okay!"
Once again, I heard that slicing sound. And again, I was filled up with that frustrated feeling.
"You let it get away!"
"YOU let it get away! You had it right there and you could've stopped this!"
"And let me do all the work!?"
"You're just being la—GAH!"
The heartless attacked us and now our anger was directed straight at it.
"Hey! That was rude! We were in the middle of an argument! Leave us alone!" Xunakiy was yelling. She was screaming into her microphone and the notes went flying at the heartless, destroying it.
"Hey! I don't feel so frustrated anymore!"
"Me neither! You did it Xunakiy!"
"Yatta!" She gave me a hug and I blushed. But then I spotted a ripped-up basket where the heartless used to be.
"My basket…"
"That was supposed to be your gift to me?"
"Yes…"
"Don't worry, Zexion-kun! Let's just make a promise!"
"A promise?"
"Yeah! Do you still have your gift from me?"
"Yes, I have it with me right now."
"Open it!"
"Umm…okay." I did what she instructed and opened up the gift. It was one of the chocolates that we made nearly two weeks ago and a small bracelet with black and white beads. And one bead had a strange marking on it.
"What's this?"
"It's my friendship bracelet for you!"
"A friendship bracelet?"
"I have one too!" And she pulled back her sleeve, revealing a bracelet that looked just like mine. "And that marking is actually how I used to write the word 'friend' back home!"
"Oh. I see."
"Okay! Our promise will be that even if we are far apart, or if we forget each other, we will always stay friends. And this bracelet will remind us of that!"
"Thanks. Oh, aren't you supposed to give everyone else their chocolates?"
"OH NO! I FORGOT!"
"Xunakiy, you might wanna calm down."
"O-o-okay…umm, Zexion-kun, would it be okay for you to deliver everyone's chocolates for me?"
"No problem."
"Arigato!" And she skipped away.
I finished delivering the chocolates and I went back to my room. Then I heard a knock on the door. Was it Xunakiy? Unfortunately, it was Marluxia and Demyx.
"Zexion! We brought you some Valentine's chocolates!" They both said simultaneously. Immediately, I slammed the door on them. Unfortunately, they opened the door and went into my room.
"We are not leaving until you take these chocolates!" They said. I took the chocolates and tried to push them out of my room.
"But Zexion!" Demyx started. "We just wanna celebrate Valentine's with you!"
"Do you know how wrong that sounded!" I replied.
"You're just being rude you know." Marluxia said with an annoyed tone.
"You two are the ones being rude! You just barged in my room without permission!"
"Zexion-kun?"
"Out! Out! Out!" And I finally got them all out of my room. Was Xunakiy with them? Holy crap! And I flung the door open.
"Yay! Zexion is letting us in!"
"I didn't open the door for you!"
"Zexion-kun? You forgot your chocolate at the scary room."
"Oh, I did? Sorry, Xunakiy."
"It's okay!"
"You left the chocolate Xunakiy made for you? How shameful, Zexion! To trample on her feelings like that. Tsk tsk tsk."
"Oooooh! Zexion is being a meanie!"
"You two shut up!"
And after that, I forced the two to go back to their rooms, and Xunakiy went back to hers. I'd say that this was a good experience for me to celebrate my first Valentine's Day, and I'll be waiting for whatever surprises will happen next year. That is—if I don't go mad with the insanity of this Organization first.