Oddly or not, things seemed to be going pretty smoothly. Zexion did the best he could to try to keep up with conversations, side commenting when necessary and laughing at the appropriate points. He was getting a little tired of smiling though.

As they settled down on a shady patch of grass, Akihiko laying out the picnic blanket as the girls pulled out the snacks, Zexion inched closer to his fellow nobody. "I don't know how you keep smiling with all the useless information they are giving us," he whispers subtly. "Quite frankly, my face hurts."

Demyx turned around and squished Zexion's face in between his hands. "That's because you rarely smile, Zexy," he replied. "And you used to say it was stupid of me to smile all the time!"

Zexion glared and swatted Demyx's hands away. "Do not touch me or you will find yourself in a world like you've never been to before," he warned before making his way next to Yukari who patted the empty spot beside her. He sat down and put on his happy face once more. "It's nice being able to bond with everyone," he said amiably.

Demyx shuddered slightly at Zexion's acting skills and sat down next to Fuuka who offered him a glass of orange juice.

Akihiko punched him lightly on the arm. "No kidding," he said and took the plate that was offered to him. "It's been years since I last saw everyone," he pointed his fork at Zexion. "You especially."

Zexion nodded. "Indeed," he replied while poking at the pasta that was given to him. It was an odd shade of blue (was it pesto?) and he grimaced slightly. "But I can't help but feel as if you're keeping something from me. . . "

Mitsuru cleared her throat. "Please be aware that that was certainly not our intention," she says when Yukari averted her gaze. The archer has always been emotional whenever it came to the topic of the dark hour. She lost two very important people in her life during those times. "We just want to make the most of the limited time we have together."

"Oh. . ." Zexion replies, a little dejectedly. How long was he going to have to play a goodie two shoes? Not only that, but he would never hear the end of it from Xemnas and the paperwork that would be waiting for him when he got to the castle will be much too tedious for him to do.

Yukari placed her hand over Zexion's, rubbing circles on the back of his hand with her thumb. "No, he has the right to know, Mitsuru-senpai" she said. "You know how awful we—No, I- felt when you kept us in the dark."

With an encouraging glance from both Akihiko and Junpei, Mitsuru nodded. "Very well."

Zexion did a little happy dance in his head. After he gets the information, he'll excuse both himself and his co-worker and leave. It was as simple as that.

And so the group formerly known as SEES told them, Zexion and Demyx, of Minato's past (little they knew) and how they became acquaintances. They took turns, Mitsuru and Akihiko doing most of the talking while Junpei, ken, Aigis and Fuuka added, but Yukari was oddly quiet through out it all. When Demyx would shoot her a glance, she'd just smile gently and shake her head.

As the story delved deeper, Zexion was starting to get a head ache. Bright flashed in his eyes as they continued and he saw memories that he didn't know he had.

A boy with dark blue hair, a sword, a gun.

The gun was what struck him the most. It was obvious enough that no one would shoot themselves in the head willingly unless they were emotionally unstable.

But then he saw it. A young boy, such a young boy, sitting at the edge of a building with his fragile little legs dangling off the edge was what he saw. With a melancholic look on his face, he wondered what was it that caused the boy to come up here.

Curious, Zexion found himself in an illusion. Was it one he created? He wasn't sure.

He approached the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Young man," he finds himself asking, "what in the world are you doing up here?" He sits down next to him and tilts his head to look at the boy. "What's your name?"

". . . Minato," the boy replied quietly.

"Well, Minato, what are you doing up here?" he asked again. "Isn't it dangerous for a boy such as yourself to be up here?"

The boy glances down and the city lights below them. Flashes of red and yellow zoom across the streets, busy people in their cars off to work despite the late night. "No one would care."

Zexion keeps quite, urging the boy to elaborate.

"No one would care if I died."

The world around him is shrouded in darkness briefly and then he finds himself in the sunny park yet again, all eyes on him. "I-I'm sorry," he says. "What were you saying?"

"You're crying," Aigis states quietly.

Zexion reached for his eyes, shocked to find tears streaming down his face. For what reason was he crying? He wiped his face with the palms of his hands, turning away from the group. "Ahaha, I don't know what's gotten into me," he says, flinching when he voice quivered.

"Minato, what's wrong?" Yukari asked, gently. Minato never cried. Not even when their friend Shijiro died (it was a painful experience for everyone).

Zexion shook his head. "It's nothing, really. I'm fine." Nothing was fine. Did the boy really want to kill himself?


A/n:

It's been TWO years, self. And this chapter is painfully short. I'm pathetic