A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I've had this for a while but haven't had time to upload it. This is 4thespada-ulquiorra's chapter, so we both hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: We do not own Kingdom Hearts, just Kurai and Lexi.


Marluxia raised an eyebrow, glancing between Kurai and Cloud with what appeared to be genuine curiosity. "Who's this?"

Kurai ignored the question, focusing her cocky smirk on Cloud, whose glare never faltered. "What a rude way to treat your friend, Cloud. You look ready to cut me in half."

The older man did, in fact, look about ready to kill the younger girl-considering his hand was on his sword. "You're not my friend, Kurai, I put up with you at best. Where have you been, and what are you doing with them?" He didn't let go of his sword handle, but he tossed his head in Marluxia's direction for emphasis.

Pretending not to know what his meaning was, Kurai studied the pink haired boy for a moment. "Them? I don't know, I thought there was only one of him. Have you been hiding a secret invisible twin from me, Marluxia?"

The pink-haired Nobody smirked at the comment, but Cloud didn't seem to appreciate the humor behind it. "You know what I mean. Are you their guinea pig now that Maleficent and Ansem are gone? They'll end up being about as useful."

Kurai's lips remained in their taunting smile, but her eyes narrowed slightly as they began to slowly fill in with an eerie purple-red instead of the usual whiteness. "I was never anybody's "guinea pig". That crazy bitch was never stupid enough to think she could control me, and neither was Ansem. You and Xemnas are the only morons who think they're in charge of me." She replied, still in the same taunting tone as before, as if talking to a child.

Cloud's glare intensified, though his determined look seemed to have faltered momentarily in light of her disturbing behavior. Well, good. The troublesome creep was too full of himself for his own good anyway. "You never answered my question, Kurai."

"No, and I don't see why I should." She replied brusquely, moving her hand back to rest on the handle of her own weapon. "Now have you got any other crap to spout right now or are you going to leave anytime soon? I've got a job to do, and you're getting in my way." The pleasant tone vanished completely from her voice, leaving only the usual malice she felt around Cloud. Well, malice and the pressing desire to cut him open like a roasted pig, but with the boy's strength that wasn't going to happen in this century. At least not alone.

"Job? Murder, you mean." Cloud at last drew his sword, holding it in front of him in that goofy fashion of his with a glare that was anything but goofy. "Turning people into heartless isn't what I would call respectable work."

"We're fighting heartless, brat." Marluxia spoke up at last, his words coming out in a bothered huff, but Kurai noticed real anger-as much as she could expect from a Nobody- gleaming in his eyes. "We weren't ordered to fight you, but we will do it if we need to. Now we've got work to do, so either leave or see how long it takes to cut off that inflated head of yours."

The dark haired girl grinned at the idea, but possibly for the better Cloud didn't take the bait. "I'm not afraid of either of you. Leave the town, now, or you'll be the ones regretting it." He warned with an expression that indicated the threat was definitely one he was willing to uphold.

"You know, I think he might be serious." Kurai mused, tapping her chin as if in thought and smirking. "Must think we're afraid of him. Poor guy's delusional."

Marluxia mimicked the expression with a hint of laughter, increasing Cloud's impatience. "Well, that would explain the hair at least. Those spikes are ridiculous. Tell me, do you really need that sword or do you just stab enemies with your hairstyle?"

"Coming from the guy with Barbie-doll pink hair? I wouldn't talk." Kurai sneered, earning an exasperated look from the Nobody. "Anyway, I don't see what we're doing to bother you Cloud, but… well, I'll take any excuse to avoid this boring grunt work. Get us out of here, pinky."

"Pinky?" He let out a long-suffering sigh, probably having heard the nickname plenty of times before. "We're on a mission, we can't just-"

"All right, I'll give it a shot then." The dark haired girl grinned and whipped her axe off her back, holding it in front of her and staring at it for a moment with intense concentration. Both Cloud and Marluxia seemed momentarily distracted by the fact that absolutely nothing was happening until suddenly the weapon's veins began to pulse with the same purple that had taken over Kurai's eyes, though unlike when she had used her earth element before the entire axe was soon glowing, seeping darkness that began to swirl around the two partners. Number XI let out an involuntary shout of surprise as the dark tornado picked up speed and density, and even Cloud seemed momentarily taken aback by the strange display of dark magic.

"Say hi to Sephie for me, would ya?" Kurai's voice had returned to her usual mocking lilt, accompanied by a slight laugh and playful wink as the darkness finally hid her from view entirely, continued for a moment more to swirl like an ominous wind before dissipating at last, leaving only an empty space and eerie stillness where Kurai and Marluxia had been a moment before.

"What the hell was that?" Marluxia's voice echoed uncomfortably in the unusually empty gray room, the only area Kurai was familiar enough to take them.

"Shhh!" The girl glared so intensely that his eyes widened with surprise and he took a step back, cutting off any protests. "I switch elements, I told you already. I can't do darkness much, that's only when I'm really out for blood. Doesn't happen much, but… God dammit, I hate Cloud!" Ignoring her own warning for silence, the girl's voice rose to an angry roar as she swung her fist to the side, slamming it against the wall with a noise somewhere between a crash and the splitting of wood.

Seeming to realize that she was about to either break the wall or wake up a few higher-ups who would not appreciate the gesture Marluxia quickly raised a finger to his lips and put out a hand as if telling her to calm down. "Shut up! Do you want Xaldin to come running in here? He hates being woken up and I'm not going to be punished for your sake. What did that boy do anyway?"

Kurai rolled her still-dark eyes with disgust, crossing her arms over her chest and ignoring the possible threat of dealing with an angry Xaldin. "He's pompous and an idiot, it drives me crazy. The jerk's been on my case for a year now, it's driving me insane. I tried to get Sephiroth to take him out, but it didn't go too well even with me screwing up his sword first." She complained, glaring once more at the wall as if considering further abuse.

Marluxia looked as if he was about to say something that might further the girl's bad mood, but luckily a moment later both were prevented from speaking more by the sudden appearance of a dark corridor. Lexi, with a dazed look of happiness that was faintly comical, stepped through almost immediately and took a few steps further into the room before noticing her company and freezing, blinking in momentary confusion.

"Um… don't you two have a mission?" She wondered, apparently so dazed with leftover lovesickness that she forgot her usual extreme politeness.

"Yup, but Mr. Hair-cement crashed the party and said we had to leave, so there was a quick debate between pissing off him and pissing off Saix and I decided it'd be more fun to piss off Saix, so here we are." Kurai explained quickly, something in her stance warning Marluxia against going into further detail. "Have a nice time with Riku?"

Lexi snapped clearly and fully back to reality at the mention of the silver haired boy, nodding eagerly and thinking back to her earlier conversation-those icy blue eyes flooding her mind and meeting no resistance. "Of course! I can't thank you guys enough for-" Suddenly her voice broke off as she noticed Marluxia and she felt her heart plummet. Number XI wasn't exactly a kind person, if he came to the right conclusion here… "Um, I mean…. I was with Roxas, not Riku."

The Graceful Assassin rolled his eyes at the lie, which was somewhat confusing. She would have expected a cocky smirk, or maybe a laugh. "I already know, but don't worry. I won't go blabbing to your daddy any time soon." He sneered, looking at Lexi with contempt for a moment before turning on his heel and nodding once at Kurai before exiting the room.

"Wh-what?" Lexi blinked a few times in confusion, her mind working overtime to force back images of Riku long enough to think logically. "How did he find out…?"

"He was listening when we planned." Kurai shrugged, seeming unreasonably unconcerned by the fact. "Anyway, he won't rat us out, I'm too useful for that." She added with a playful wink, making it hard to tell if she was kidding or not. It wasn't like she was ever very modest, so chances were she wasn't.

"Useful…?" The half-Nobody shook her head quickly, realizing there was no way she was going to get information out of her friend. "Nevermind. Anyway, thank you so much, Kurai. If you guys weren't helping me…"

"I'm going to start keeping tally here. What, that's thirty times you've said thank you in the last two days?" The taller girl's lips twitched into her usual smirk, virtually translucent eyes bright with laughter. "From now on I'm banning those words, and any variations of them."

Lexi was about to apologize when she noticed Kurai turning and pacing after Marluxia. Apparently, the white haired girl thought with a slight smile, that was her way of saying good night.


The dim light of twilight was just starting to settle over Radiant gardens when Lexi, with Roxas and Kurai as her escorts, appeared at her usual meeting place. Riku-oddly- hadn't arrived yet, so she sat impatiently on the nearest rock, frowning at the floor for a moment before her eyes opened with surprise when Kurai, a moment later, sat beside her.

"Huh. Brings back memories, right?" The girl mused, looking around the sight of her first confrontation with Lexi and Marluxia not long ago with little interest. "Yeah, me neither. Roxas what are you doing? You're going to make me motion sick or something, sit down."

Roxas glanced up, halting his pacing at the sound of his name and smiling sheepishly. "Sorry… just a bit antsy I guess. Shouldn't we be looking around in case the others show up?"

Lexi had been thinking something similar, but wouldn't dare risk insulting her friends by saying so. Still, she looked up hopefully at her friend-wishing she would at least be gone by the time Riku appeared.

Kurai, it seemed, had other ideas. "Nah, thought we'd wait around a bit. I'd like to get something set up with Riku, fill him in on the plan and all that. Set up better places to meet too, not to mention different times. Same thing every day and you're bound to get spotted or something." The girl explained casually, her cocky smirk making it obvious her intentions had nothing to do with concern for the almost-couple. "So sit your ass down and wait for a few minutes."

"Um… it's okay if you two don't want to just wait around." Lexi piped up nervously, taking care not to sound annoyed or at all insulting. "I can plan something different with him, if you want."

The raven haired girl beside her seemed to sense her anxiety and smirked, happily piping up. "Nah, it's fine, I can wait. He won't be long." As if egged on by her words a dark corridor suddenly flashed into being-or unbeing?- not far from where Roxas was standing, prompting a wider grin to pass over her features. "See? Here he comes now."

Riku, of course, appeared a moment later-no longer wearing his blindfold to Lexi's immediate delight. Kurai didn't take much notice of that, but she did note the boy's suspicious expression when he saw the two unwelcome guests waiting in his usual romantic retreat. The fact that one of these guests was a psychotic friend of his and the other pretending to date his semi-girlfriend probably didn't improve his mood in the slightest.

"Lexi, what are these guys doing here?" The silver haired boy asked, pointedly addressing her and not the subjects of his question, something Kurai didn't miss for a moment.

"Thought we'd have a little talk, Riku." The girl piped up, sounding much too cheery surrounded by all the annoyed or miserable faces of her friends. "We need to get a few new places to meet and all that. If Xemnas thinks Roxas and Lexi are dating he's going to expect them at different places. Chances are someone'll run into you here soon."

Riku scowled at the mention of Roxas' false relationship with Lexi, turning his frustrated gaze to the boy in mention. "Right… I hope you're not getting any ideas about Lexi. Just because Xemnas thinks you two are a couple doesn't mean you are-I don't want you touching her, even for show."

"Wh-what?" Roxas' eyebrows shot up in comical surprise, obviously shocked by the accusation. "I wouldn't! Lexi's just my friend."

The girl in mention lit up scarlet, turning to Kurai with a desperate plea clear on her face. It was obvious from Riku's expression that the boy was in a bad mood, or else just held negative feelings towards his friend's Nobody, and the last thing she wanted was a fight.

Kurai, however, seemed to have different ideas. If she noticed her friend's look she ignored it, instead opting to grin as she witnessed the rising tension between the two boys. "What's wrong, Riku? Upset that you and your little girlfriend won't be able to go public? Don't worry, I'm sure Xemnas won't be suspicious unless those two decide to have a fake-break up and she keeps sneaking out… though he seems to think Roxas is a nice fit for his daughter, so I don't think that'd be necessary." Her eyes glinted innocently, as if she were unaware of the effects her words would have.

Riku's eyes narrowed at the insinuation, turning his angry gaze on the black haired girl for a moment before glaring once again at Roxas. "What, him? I can't see a Nobody being a good match for anybody, let alone for her. He can't even love Lexi, he shouldn't even bother pretending."

Roxas' confused expression slowly morphed into a narrow-eyed glare, his fists clenched at his sides in what seemed to be an involuntary manner. "I sure as hell care about her more than you do! You barely know her, I've been her friend for almost a year. I've been the one protecting her during your stupid little romantic get togethers, all you ever do is risk getting her in trouble again!"

"He doesn't!" Lexi was quick to cut in, turning to Riku immediately with a pleading expression, begging him not to become any angrier. "You don't, I promise. Please, let's just go somewhere else-"

"I never got her in trouble, I saved her life!" The white haired boy's anger was oblivious to her pleading, as focused on Roxas as he was. "And I know all I need to know about her. I know I care for her, and I know I'll treat her better than some brat like you would."

"What are you talking about?" The blue-eyed Nobody's question might have been rhetoric with how little confusion accompanied it, not to mention his narrowed eyes expressed only dislike. "I never talked about how well I'd treat her or anything, I'm her friend, not her boyfriend."

"Though you'd like to be, wouldn't you Roxas?" Kurai's voice was sweet, pretty, and chilling. Lexi actually had to suppress a shiver at the sound, turning to face her dark haired friend with an anxious curiosity. She didn't notice, her gaze fixed on the arguing duo who had both turned to her with varying degrees of confusion and her lips curled up into a satisfied smirk. "What, didn't you know? Roxy-boy here's got a bit of a thing for his would-be-girlfriend over there."

"N-no I don't! That was only so Xemnas wouldn't know about this jerk." Roxas defended quickly, stammering slightly and with a redness to his cheeks Lexi was sure hadn't been there before.

"Cut the crap, Roxas." Kurai said bluntly, not seeming to care much even as she spoke. "I've seen you staring at her, blushing when she touches you, jumping to her will… you're a regular old puppy dog. You like her, clear as day."

Lexi wasn't sure how much to trust her friend in this respect, but it seemed like Riku believed everything he was hearing. His fury intensified, which hadn't seemed possible, and he took a step towards Roxas with a renewed vigor. "You stay away from her. I'll break your neck if you so much as touch her, understand?"

Roxas' embarrassment lasted only a moment longer, shifting almost immediately to the same frustration as before. "Don't act like you own her or anything! Lexi doesn't need your permission to talk to anybody!"

Lexi's own thoughts were fairly similar, but she knew Riku was just angry and decided not to mention anything that would only make the situation worse. Instead, she rose her voice just as the white haired boy opened his mouth to talk and shouted for the first time in a long while. "Shut up! Both of you, stop fighting!"

The two boys momentarily forgot their anger in their shock at hearing the usually docile girl raise her voice like she had. There was a second of silence during which they both stared at her with shock and mild confusion, broken almost immediately by the startling sound of very feminine laughter. Lexi, startled, turned her head toward the sound to see Kurai shaking with genuine laughter, one hand held against her mouth as if to smother it. "Sorry, sorry, but you guys are being really pathetic right now." She apologized before laughing once more in a way that may have been genuine if not for her eyes.

Bright yellow was a color generally associated with happiness, and likely the emotion the girl was feeling at the moment. The color, however, was not what bothered Lexi. What was so unsettling was the sparkling glow of a very cruel joy hidden in their depths, a genuine amusement that spread all the way to her lightly curved lips. For whatever reason, she was loving watching the two boys fight and loving seeing her friend in emotional turmoil as she tried to prevent it. The look in her eyes was one Lexi had never seen before, not even when around the other Nobodies. It was the slightly crazed look of someone who found no better pleasure than causing others pain, and even on such a small scale it was terrifying.

The half Nobody forced herself to clear her head as Kurai's laughter stopped, staring at the other girl for a moment before turning to Riku and stepping forward, gripping his forearm urgently. "Come on Riku, let's go. Please."

For a moment it looked like he was about to argue, but something in her expression must have convinced him. With one last glare for Roxas, Riku nodded, opening a portal and leading her through in a way that was borderline possessive. It was taking all of Lexi's energy not to cry or yell once more, and though she might have complained about his manner before now she felt no reason to. He was holding her tightly, as if by doing so he could keep her there forever.

And right then, despite everything, Lexi knew she wanted him to.


A/N: 'Kay well that's all for now! I'll try and get the next one out soon! Please review and let us know what you think!