Hello again. Ain't I so thrilled to be here now? (Note my extreme sarcasm...ahem) Okay, note: I'm putting this on hold after this chapter or chapter twelve. It depends. The question is, why? For more info, check out my LiveJournal. There's a reason, really. I don't know if it's good enough or not...Special thanks to punkiemonkie for the awesome review that made me want to post this and continue this story. I was feeling really emo about this, and her lovely review made me uber happy.

Anywho, in this chapter, we see Marluxia's side of the story. Oooh, yes, I know, right? And Axel has a main part in here, too. He is, let me tell you, a main character in this story, not just some humorous pawn to randomly stick in here. No, Zexion isn't in here. But Roxas is. Yayyyy...I actually like this chapter, too, but since it lacks Zexion...well, you know.

Pairings: Zexion/Namine, One-sided: Marluxia/Namine.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. All rights to Squeenix and Disney.

Rating of chapter: T. There's no language or anything, but you see Marluxia's distrubing view point on Namine. Ahem.

T e L L - M e - A - S t oR y

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Chapter Eleven: Life Isn't Fair At All

Standing in the center of the white room, the leader of Castle Oblivion stared listlessly at the vacant chair in front of him. His emotionless eyes had glinted momentarily when he had discovered the absence of the little white witch. She was missing and he was angry. Where did she go? Why wasn't anyone watching her? A surge of over-protectiveness went through him as he thought of her somewhere lost in the castle, or spending time with someone. Resentment filled his empty chest as he gritted his teeth.

She belonged to him. He owned her, he earned her. He was the one who found her, named her, fed her and clothed her. Why wasn't she grateful? He saved her from loneliness of a Nobody, and possibly death. It was merely a month ago when he noticed her in a dissimilar way. Her innocence, her purity he craved. She owed him that much. He deserved it. Most of all, he wanted it, and if he wanted something so desperately, he had every intention of getting it.

It was her sugary voice and accommodating personality that made him sick. He wanted to taint her, maybe even break her. It would give him a source of pride if he accomplished that. If he dominated her, controlled her, had her as his, maybe she would want to please him. A devious smirk played at the Graceful Assassin's lips as a scheming, manipulative plan crossed his demented mind. He would have to wait, though, and lay low for awhile until the time was right. Patience was the key.

His thoughts were interrupted by the action of portal opening nearby. Calmly, he glanced towards it to see Axel unceremoniously standing with his arms crossed. A small smile was etched in his sharp features as well as caution. The brunette twenty-five year old blankly stared at the inferno, not speaking any greeting of any sorts. Truthfully, he despised Axel, but he needed him to achieve his master plan to overtake the Organization. He would deal with him much later, though. Axel stepped towards him and gave him a little friendly wave, smiling even more.

"Hi, Marly," the red headed Nobody piped, making Marluxia flinch inwardly. He loathed the nickname that Larxene had first called him. How he tolerated that woman, he did not know. It was possibly a natural talent he had. Sneering at Axel, Marluxia's eyes flashed dangerously.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that idiotic name?" he snapped viciously. Axel simpered back at him and chuckled good mannerly, making Marluxia raise a questionable eyebrow.

"Sure, sure…" he rolled his eyes as he turned slightly, trying to avoid Number Eleven's glare. Marluxia remembered Naminè and wondered if Axel had anything to do with her disappearance. He was, after all, acting as if nothing was wrong. He knew that the flame wielder had compassion for her, which was clearly pity. Axel was aware about Marluxia's intentions for the witch. Maybe he knew where the girl was. Maybe he was hiding her from the Graceful Assassin. At that thought, Marluxia averted his gaze back to Axel, who was chewing on his thumb, trying to remove a hang nail.

"Where's the witch?" he demanded bluntly, trying to meet Axel's emerald orbs, but failed. Axel glanced off to the chair in the corner of the room, which was bare. A section on the wall was there for the witch to post her pictures up. Most of her pictures were of Sora and his comrades, but a few were of members of the Organization. Marluxia had allowed her a specific time once a week to draw a picture she would willingly draw. He thought he was showing mercy, but it was quite the opposite. Axel turned towards him.

"Oh, she's just hanging out with Roxas in the kitchen."

Marluxia grinded his teeth and sternly sent him a glare. The thought of her becoming close to Sora's Nobody was threatening to his plan. He needed her to take a fancy toward Sora, even if just a little bit. But also the thought of her becoming close to someone besides himself drove him mad. He didn't want anyone else to have her. But maybe she and Roxas would be just friends. That would be pleasurable, yes…Besides, he was similar to Sora in a way.

"She better not develop false feelings for him. You know the plan," Marluxia warned the pyromaniac, who was scratching his nose thoughtfully. Axel scoffed.

"Yeah, yeah, she's supposed to think that she loves Sora and make Sora think that he loves her, yada, yada, yada, I know." Indeed, Marluxia wanted Naminè to think that she loved Sora, but that was the plan for much later on, when the Keyblade master came closer to the castle. That way, with the witch rebuilding Sora's memories, he would think that he adored her in return. It was a perfect plan, until up until a month ago. Marluxia did not expect to be drawn to the girl in that way, but he definitely did not expect for her to be hostile. He curiously gazed off into the distance, tapping his chin as he remained in deep thought. Axel noticed this.

"You're not going to…you know, are you?" he asked in a sullen tone. Marluxia looked up to meet concerned jade eyes. He smiled ruthlessly as the question quickly translated in his mind.

"We'll see."

"That would scar her pretty hard," Axel murmured softly and bowed his head to watch his feet. Marluxia smiled wickedly and would have laughed if not for the fact that he was having a bad day. Instead he stared at the red head in front of him through his bangs.

"I know. But why should you care?" he questioned, watching Axel nervously rub the back of his head. Axel suspiciously craned his neck towards him, a defiant expression in his features. He furrowed his eyebrows for a moment, as if in thought of something or someone in particular. His eyes glinted with concern, but not care. Then he shook his head simply, letting out a 'heh' like he usually did when he was half-serious about a subject.

"I don't. Sure, she's a cute kid and I don't want anything to happen to her, but I don't really care about her. Besides, I care more about succeeding our plan than the witch…" his voice trailed off on the awkward subject as he glimpsed away, still in deep thought, pondering on something important to him. Marluxia noted his hesitation and tilted his face, questioning of what was on the pyro's mind. It wasn't often that Axel actually wondered about something, especially the plan that they had concocted over the past few months. He didn't take it too seriously. Marluxia arched an eyebrow.

"Is there anyone who may just care about her?" he demanded quietly, noticing Axel's eyes glimmer for a momentary lapse, and then he shrugged.

"Nope."

"You're lying," Marluxia accused. Axel took a small step back and cautiously glanced at him, meeting his empty blue eyes. He smiled impishly as he looked away.

"Now, how would you know about that?"

"You won't look me in the eye when you talk to me."

Axel started for a split second, an unambiguous, sure sign that Marluxia was right. Nervously, Axel slowly lifted his gaze up to meet his, examining his eyes to determine what he might suspect. Letting out a silent sigh, the flame wielder stared down at his gloved hands and flexed them, cracking his knuckles as he did so, causing Marluxia to narrow his eyes. Axel quickly glanced back up and softened his expression, frowning slightly as he did so.

"There is one who seems to like spending time with her. Wait, make that two…" Axel knitted his brows together as he suddenly remembered the other Nobody. Marluxia blinked.

"Tell me." Swallowing thickly, Axel harshly bit his lip, apparently feeling quite guilty for sharing the information to Marluxia, but he had to do it. Marluxia was the leader of the castle, just like Zexion had said. And he was right; whatever Marluxia wanted, Marluxia got.

"Demyx is really close to her, and…Zexion likes spending a lot of time with her, more than Demyx," Axel solemnly stared at Marluxia, who clenched his jaw.

Zexion spending time with her? It was rather odd, but believable. Wariness arose, and Marluxia found himself plotting a quick plan to preclude the latter to happen anymore. Zexion could get in the way of his plan, but yet he needed him to help Vexen with an experiment that would be sure to help him prevail. Though Zexion was not aware of this, he would be helping Marluxia. If he spent his time focusing on the witch, possibly even attaching himself to her, it could get in the way. Although, Demyx was easy to figure out a plan. He was insignificant, and was not beneficial for the castle. Marluxia face gradually transformed into a cunning smile.

"I think it's time for a new schedule."

-x-x-x-

Naminè grinned happily as she sprinkled pieces of peppermint candy over a batch of thin cookies that had just been dipped in dark mint chocolate. The sweet aroma tickled her nose, causing her mouth to water hungrily. It was tempting, but the cookies had to dry. Beside her was the golden haired Nobody, who was dipping more crackers in a pot of melted chocolate, which was on the stove. She and Roxas had decided to make desert together for the other members of the Organization, who possibly would only show their gratitude by shoving cookies down their throats. Naminè didn't mind that her work would go unappreciated; she was having fun.

"How many should we make?" she quipped with curiosity etched in her voice. Letting out a dry, short laugh, Roxas paused to look over at her. A coy smile was gracing his lips, causing him to look eerily similar to his Somebody. It was not abnormal for a Nobody to resemble his other. Naminè had realized the other day that she and Kairi shared the same facial features. Their hair color and length seemed to be always different between a person and his or her shadow. Naminè stared at Roxas as his eyes, identical to Sora's, twinkled in good humor.

"Enough for twenty, at least," he stated with a cheery attitude. "Axel eats five times more than everyone else!" Naminè smiled and tittered at the funny, yet true statement. The red-headed inferno ate a lot, so when hunger hit the castle, he was the first one to go shopping for a month's worth of groceries that would normally last a week. Roxas, pleased that the girl enjoyed his joke, beamed at her.

Naminè admired Roxas, she really did. But she couldn't help but miss the Cloaked Schemer's company. This fifteen year old was not the same as her friend. Instead of sharing information and writing stories, Roxas wanted to play video games and talk about the latest drama between Axel and Larxene. Instead of being honest and critiquing her art work, Roxas praised her. Roxas was very friendly, caring and bubbly. But that was the problem. Though he was unique and Naminè's newfound acquaintance, she wanted to spend more time with Zexion.

Naminè's thoughts shattered as she noticed Roxas dip the last cookie of the batch in the chocolate pot, which was nearly empty. He carefully placed it on a clean sheet of wax paper. Taking in the message that needn't be spoken, Naminè grabbed a handful of peppermints and spreaded them across the surface of the newly made mints.

After the last crumb was on the cookies, she flexed her hand and let out a relieved sigh. As she relaxed, she whirled around, only to meet face to face with a popsicle. Clueless, Naminè stared at the ice cream, which was in Roxas' hand. In his other hand he beheld an identical ice cream. A light pink colored the boy's cheeks as he bashfully smiled and handed the girl the popsicle. She accepted it graciously, but looked at it as if it was alien.

"What is it?" she asked, noting the odd blue color to it. The only ice cream she had seen were the vanilla and chocolate flavored. Never had she seen blue ice cream before. Roxas smirked mischievously as he took a lick of his own.

"You've never heard of sea salt ice cream?" Naminè's nose cringed at the sound of the flavor and looked at her popsicle in disgust. Roxas shook his head pitifully, "No, it's not gross. It's actually very good. It's sweet, but salty. C'mon, try it!"

Skeptical of the teenager's words, Naminè warningly stared at the ice cream in her right hand. It wasn't every day that she got to try something new. There was nothing to lose, and something to gain; either a new favorite ice cream or a note never to try sea salt flavored ice cream ever again. Shrugging casually, Naminè raised the ice cream to her mouth and opened her mouth. However, she was not able to take a lick.

"Hey, kids, what's going on in here?" The voice made Naminè and Roxas jump in surprise, but quickly overcame it when they saw Axel standing in the doorway. His arms were crossed across his broad chest and a defiant smirk was fixed upon his sharply angled face. He glanced at the ice cream in Naminè's hand before stepping into the kitchen.

"I need to take you," he pointed at the girl, "back to your room. Marluxia was getting a bit worried." Naminè couldn't help but scowl at the remark. She knew that it wasn't true, but she couldn't argue. Handing the ice cream to Roxas, she nodded at him as a quick farewell and made her way towards Axel. He waved at the fifteen year old boy and grasped Naminè's small hand, turning away before summoning a dark portal and stepped inside.

When they arrived at the thirteenth floor, Naminè quickly withdrew from Axel's touch and went over to her chair, immediately settling down onto it. Axel patiently strolled over to her, standing beside her as he watched her gather her sketching supplies from the floor. She flipped open the book to a certain page and grabbed a black pencil, hurriedly scribbling as soon as the lead met the page. Curiously, the inferno came up behind her and leaned over her shoulder, taking in the rough sketch that was on the sheet of paper.

"Wow, you're better than I thought you were," he mumbled, almost to himself. Naminè hurriedly glanced over her shoulder, noting how close Axel was to her. Nervously, she bit her lip as Axel smirked mischievously down at her. She didn't feel too comfortable when people stood behind her, nor when people spied on her sketches. She wanted this one to be a surprise for someone special to her. Hurriedly, she flipped the page over to a new sheet of paper and started drawing.

"Sure, hide that picture from your best friend…" Axel grumbled to himself as he turned around on his heel. Naminè looked over her shoulder and bit her lip.

"I just feel uncomfortable with someone watching me draw from behind me," she explained hesitantly as she gripped onto her pencils. Lazily, the red head crossed his arms and nodded once. A small smile lit his face as he arched an eyebrow.

"I see. Well, little Nami, I have something pretty darn important to talk to you about." The said girl watched him with interest. For a moment, she could have sworn that she saw a hint of sincerity in his eyes, but that quickly vanished without another thought. Instead of becoming solemn, Axel placed his hands on his hips and straightened his stance.

"We're doing a new schedule!" Naminè froze. What did he mean 'new schedule'? Did he mean something to do with the shifts? Who would watch her now? Then again, he could have been meaning her eating schedule, or her bed schedule. Maybe she would have someone watch her at night. How nice would that be? A series of false mixed emotions rushed through her as she pondered over this statement. She was curious, that was for sure.

"What do you mean?" she asked with suspicion. Axel shrugged.

"From now on, only Marluxia, Larxene and I will be watching you!" he raised a hand and pointed his index finger in the air. "Since the schedule has been rather…confused, we're assigning Zexion and Lexeaus to help Vexen with his experiment in the basement, and Larxene and I are going to chill out with Marluxia and you. Got it memorized?" Axel then used that single finger to tap the side of his forehead. But instead of giggling like she would usually do, the memory witch stared in horror.

"But! But!" she panicked and clutched her sketch book close to her desperately. Axel blinked twice and smirked.

"But what?"

"Will I see Zexion again?"

Images flashed through the inferno's mind. Why, oh why did she ask that question? Sure, he knew Zexion spent a lot of time with the girl, but he wasn't aware of the fact that the girl enjoyed his company. It raised the question to mind; what if it was something more? Maybe just friends, yes, but it was the way Naminè had desperately begged that made Axel think otherwise on her part. Then again, who would like a dull, book reading emo like the Cloaked Schemer? Unless it was by outward appearances, which, Axel had to admit, was plausible. No, he didn't swing that particular way, but Zexion was far from unattractive. But who wouldn't resist a hunk like Axel? If the girl had a crush on him, now that would be more understandable.

But no.

"Well…the schedule will kick up in about a week," Axel stated slowly, but surely. Naminè stiffened at first, and then relaxed. She turned back to her sketch book and pencils, picking up a thick lead utensil and scribbling it on the surface. For a moment, she chewed on her top lip and made her hand stop. It seemed that she was in deep thought until she began to draw again.

But was the little artist hiding something from her fire wielding friend? What secret was kept behind her perfect lips? It was clear that there was a friendship budding between her and the bookworm. It was clear that she had false feelings for him, either friendly or more.

(A/N): Le gasp. A new schedule. Whatever will happen next? Like you can't guess, pssh. Anywho, the next nine chapters takes place in, I think, a week. Ooh, my gosh, we're about to enter the main crisis of the story. Well, not really...chapters 16-20 are the most important, but ah well, you didn't need to know that, right? Special thanks to all the reviewers from chapter ten. You're awesome.

Next chapter: All her hard work diminished.