Stepsiblings, a Kingdom Hearts fanfic series by Raberba girl
Wind's Legacy (rough draft)
For Bon-Bon, one of my cherished (:p) ducklings. You're such a great young writer and a wonderful person to talk to! What would Isa, Ienzo and I do without our exuberant Lea? ^_^ It made me laugh when you were so hesitant about requesting a story about my OT4 from one of my favorite universes to write! I hope you like it, darling.
Summary: Xem does mind a little, but he's not the one they have to persuade.
A/N: Axel's POV, by request. ;) Picks up during "Marked Flesh."
o.o.o
"By the way, we're gonna go visit Dad's grave later, hope you don't mind."
Xem stares at me through the rearview mirror. "What?"
"You're welcome to come, Father," I say in my whiniest goody-two-shoes voice, even though the last thing I want is for McDoomgaze Senior to tag along and ruin everything. There's a reason I never wanna join Sai and Xi's family on any grave visit ever again...
"We have not discussed this."
"We're discussing it now."
"You can't just make plans without permission from me or your mother."
"What, you're gonna stop me from visiting my own father's grave?"
"For one thing, that is not the issue here, and for another, he is not your biological-"
This kind of thing always makes my BLOOD BOIL. Without even thinking, I rip off the seatbelt and surge up to grip the headrests, wanting to strangle Xem. The only reason I don't try is because I catch a glimpse of my twisted face in the mirror first - it startles me just enough to hold me back. "Ventus King was more my father than you'll ever be," I hiss.
His eyes narrow, and he starts doomgazing again. I barely even feel it. "Sit back down."
"I'm GOING."
"Sit down."
"You can't stop me."
He pauses. And I can see in his eyes that he'll go for Roxas next if I don't sit down.
I hate him.
Glaring hard enough to make his freaking head burst into flames if I had a real doomgaze, I edge back into my seat. Roxas is staring at me.
"Put your seatbelt on," Xem says in this calm, assuming-instant-obedience voice.
"What if I don't feel like it?" I challenge.
Roxas grips my arm tight until I have to lean down, and then he whispers in my ear, "It doesn't matter who my father is or your father is, we are brothers and always will be..."
His voice calms me down, the reassurance that the person in this car I actually care about is listening to me and on my side. I put my seatbelt back on and put an arm around my little brother, who leans back against me in a way that's more protective than tired.
I can see Xem watching us through the mirror again, and I glare back. Finally he says, "I have no objection to the two of you paying your respects, as long as your mother agrees to it."
I'm taking Sai and the kids to see Dad whether Mom's okay with it or not, but whatever; can't hurt to call and get Xem off my back.
Actually, turns out it can hurt.
"No," she says flatly.
I stare. Even though she's back at the house and there's nothing to stare at. "What?"
"I'm not letting that creep anywhere near my husband."
I finally realize her problem, and I want to punch her. "...Mom. He's your son. And Dad-"
"He's my stepson, stop calling him that, and I don't care! That freak's already stolen my treasure and got you fighting for him, as if I'd let him hurt any more of what's important to me!"
Oh, so now I'm important to her? Right, I feel soooo loved. "He can't hurt Dad, Dad is dead, and even if he was alive he would LOVE Saïx. Saïx would love him."
It feels weird to talk about Saïx like that, but... Saïx would grump along in his sulky shy way, and Dad would try to tease him except Dad was too soft-hearted to really tease anyone for long, and Saïx would keep grumping along in the background not-hiding, and Dad would be nice, and Saïx would be sarcastically insulting and Dad would see through it, and Saïx would be cluelessly rude and Dad would probably be too dumb to notice, and Saïx would be spilling warm fuzzy feelings from his eyes without realizing or cracking a smile and Dad would hug him and make him blush, and it wouldn't be long before they'd love each other to pieces.
"You just love ticking me off, don't you. You just think it's so hilarious to push my buttons and make me want to strangle you."
Well, sometimes, yeah, but I was not playing that game right now. "Mom, I'm not playing around. Saïx and Xion are Dad's stepkids too, you know." Kind of. Close enough. "They have a right to see each other!"
"Ven can't see anyone, he's dead," she whines, mimicking me.
"Gah!" Sometimes I think she loves pushing my buttons, too. "Why are we arguing about this? I'm-" I suddenly notice the way Xem is watching me. He's not going to let us go if he thinks Mom'll be against it. "Oh," I say, imagining my voice as honey. "I apologize for being rude, Mother."
"What?"
"No, you're right, as a good and loyal son I should obey everything you say."
"Are you on drugs?"
"It's just that I so very much wanted to take Saïx and Xion to pay their proper respects, but if you're against it..."
"I am! They're not going! Bring precious home and then take Saïx out to do something stupid like you teenagers usually do and keep him away from me!"
"What?" I gasp, pretending great astonishment and delight. "You mean you'll let us go after all?"
"I SAID NO!"
"Oh, thank you, Mother, thank you," I say rapturously. Roxas is kind of looking at me like I'm crazy, but whatever. "I'll let Father know right away. You have a lovely afternoon." I hang up on the sound of her shouting. "Mom gave me permission."
"..."
"She did." No, no, this is wrong, I keep forgetting sometimes that Xem is different, he doesn't take things the way I mean him to-
"Axel, I would like to believe you, but I regret to say that you have given me little proof of your trustworthiness in such matters. I'm going to have to call your mother to confirm it myself."
I slam my fist against the door, wanting to jump out of the car and shove it and Xem over a cliff. I hate feeling helpless like this...
While Xem's on the phone with Mom, I call Aunt Aqua quick, while I still have the chance.
"Hello?"
"They're not letting me see Dad."
"Pardon?"
"Mom's flipping out about Saïx and Xem's being his usual control-freak self and they're not gonna let me see Dad."
"Wait a moment, first tell me where you are and what-"
Xem's doomgazing me and I drop the phone, wincing. "You lied to me."
I curse silently. It hurts a lot more the few times I actually deserve it, but I try not to show how much it's bothering me. "I...just...it was kind of obvious-"
"You are 'grounded' for the remainder of the weekend." He's not used to the word and it'd be funny hearing him say it if I wasn't so freaking mad at him right now. Saïx and Xion have been bullied into being such obedient kiss-ups that he's never had to go as far as grounding them before I came along. Sometimes I feel a little guilty about that... "Once we return home, you are to hand over your cell phone, stay in your room, and not have any contact with your brother or with either of my children."
They want to drive me crazy, don't they. I hate, hate, hate when he does this; why can't they make me do extra chores or pay them money or take away my video games or even my driver's license? Why do they always have to go for my brothers and sister?
He's pulling the car over. "Move up to the front seat."
"No," I manage. Roxas's nails are digging into my arm.
"Move."
I hold out for a few more long, tense seconds. Then I fling the door open, storm out of the car, stomp around up to the front passenger seat, get in, and slam the door shut. I try to catch a glimpse of Roxas in the rearview mirror without looking like I am. He's staring at me with my phone clutched protectively to his chest. "...I get to keep Roxas for lunch," I manage to growl through clenched teeth.
"...You may sit with Roxas during that time," Xem says. "If you ask more politely."
"..."
He waits.
"Please," I whisper, wanting to set him on fire.
"Very well." Smug jerk, thinks he's won. He pulls back onto the road and keeps driving.
"Axel made Xem mad again," Roxas is telling Aqua. "He can't sit with me anymore except at lunch."
I stare out the window.
"No, I'm okay, I'm just all alone now."
Xem raises his eyebrows a little disbelievingly. His definition of 'alone' is different than ours.
Roxas talks to her a little longer as Xem and I both watch him through the mirror. "Okay. Yeah, I will. I love you, too, Aunt Aqua. Bye." He hangs up. "Aunt Aqua said you have to behave more, Axel, so you don't keep getting in trouble."
"I'll do what I want," I grumble.
"And she said hi to you, Xem, and to be nice to her nephews Or Else."
"Or else what?" he prompts curiously when he thinks Roxas hasn't finished. He really is asking, the idiot.
"Or else she'll come beat you up," Roxas invents. "She can, you know. She's a ninja."
"I highly doubt that. I do, however, respect her combat abilities, so I shall take her sentiment into account."
Eating with my family, cheered up by Xion's brightness and by Saïx being a good big brother and by Roxas's Roxas-ness, I forget to be mad for a while. And because Xigbar leaves right afterwards and Van has someone to meet up with so he can't hog Xion on the way home, I get to keep my family a little longer - Saïx in the front annoying his dad without meaning to and making me laugh, me crammed in the back with both kids who are energetically annoying Xem, too. Win-win.
'Til we get home. Then I'm mad again. I hug Roxas and Xion one last time and don't answer when she asks me what's wrong, and I don't look at Saïx when he watches me, trying to figure out what's up. I toss my phone at the couch, storm to my room, and slam the door. Holding the knob twisted so that it doesn't catch, and I can still hear their voices through the crack between the door and the frame.
"Axel got in trouble again?" Xion exclaims in disbelief.
"He lied so we could go see Dad, but we still can't see Dad," Roxas says sadly.
"You see," Mom says in this snooty way that makes my fists clench, "that's why children should never lie."
"So adults can lie?" Xion wonders.
Mom and Xem make backpedaling noises.
"Mom, can I get a tattoo?" Roxas asks.
"What?! NO!"
"Van has a tattoo. Lots of 'em. He got one when he was ten. I'm getting one when I'm ten, too, except I don't think Axel will let me. Maybe Saïx'll let me."
"I will not," Saïx growls.
"You will not be permitted to mutilate your body as long as you are a minor, living under this roof, or dependent on my money," Xem snaps in his this-discussion-is-over voice.
There's a pause. "Father," Saïx finally says, "may I speak with you?"
"Yes."
"Come on, precious," Mom says.
"Can I come, too?" Xion asks.
"Sure, sweetie." I think Mom might have hesitated, but she's laughing now.
The three of them go off somewhere and Saïx's voice drops to a murmur.
There's nothing else for me, so I go fall onto the bed and try to pass the time with my music player. So bored. And lonely. Mom sucked at grounding me before marrying Xem because she'd, like, forget, or not care when Roxas came to keep me company, so I'm...not used to this. Not having at least Roxas around. Whenever I wasn't with Roxas I was at school or hanging out with my friends or my cousins or something. I'm not used to being alone. I don't know what to do. I can't read like Saïx, I'd rather lie on my bed staring at the ceiling than read. I wish I was tired enough to sleep.
Xion's galloping loudly down the hall, the signal for brief contact. She pauses, and I can see a sliver of her through the crack between the door and the frame. We look at each other for a while. She won't say anything to me because she insists on following the rules that she's not supposed to talk to me, but she does blow me kisses, and I blow them back. She smiles sadly again and gallops on to her room.
A little later, Roxas comes wandering by, humming. I go to the door again and he pokes some fish crackers through to me. I don't really care about the fish, but I love that he's trying to look after me. "Thanks, Rox-my-socks," I whisper.
"Stop getting in trouble," he whispers back. "I miss you."
"Miss you, too, kiddo."
"Saïx says we can see Dad soon."
Saïx never makes any promise he doesn't mean. "Can't wait."
"He'll like Xion and Saïx."
"Yup."
Roxas suddenly gasps and runs off, yelling, "Mom, I love you! Let's go make Chi play fetch," to distract her from noticing that he was whispering to me.
A little later, someone else walks by and yanks the door completely shut. Gotta be Saïx; neither of the kids would have done it, and Mom or Xem would have come in to lecture me. It makes me smile when I hear Xem's footsteps pass by a minute later. Saïx doesn't approve of the three of us pushing our punishments as far as we can, but he still watches our backs.
So bored...
Every morning after being grounded, I usually wake up (or am woken up by the excited kids) a lot earlier than usual, so my brother and I walk Roxas and Xion to school rather than letting Xem drop them off on his way to work. Getting grounded always makes me miss my siblings, so since I can't have Rox and Xi, I follow Saïx to the library instead of hanging out with my fangirls.
"Why are you following me?"
"Because I'm bored."
"You are not the sort to find this place a suitable alleviation."
"Man, speak English."
"Go sit with your friends and leave me alone."
"They're not my friends. They're just pretty much the only people at this school who don't hate me."
"I'm not your friend, either."
"Yup, you're my little brother."
annoyance exasperation "You are only my elder by thirty days. I hardly think that warrants labeling me with such a title."
"You're just mad because you're not the oldest kid anymore. So whatcha readin'?"
He stares at me. disbelief hope wariness hurt anger
Those things really are important to him... I'll never understand. "Read it to me."
"What?" shock hope anger
"I mean it! I'm bored!" I put on a whiny little kid voice. "Read me a story, pwease."
"Ugh."
As always, the book itself is boring, but the interesting part is watching his eyes as he reads. It's cool, seeing all the emotions flowing through them, all in response to the ink on the pages instead of anything in real life. So, so weird, but...kind of fascinating, too. It's like he's walking through a whole different world that I can't even see. Makes me a little jealous - I don't like that he can go somewhere, that he likes being somewhere I can't follow.
I feel like I miss him even though he's sitting right next to me...but at the same time, hearing him read in his quiet voice, it's like he's connecting with me, too. He almost never reaches out to me, but the few times he does, the few times I'm not having to chase him down, it's such a relief. To get confirmation from more than his eyes that he doesn't hate me or just tolerate me, that he might actually like me.
And I'm seeing all this because of books. So, so, so weird.
The bell rings, breaking the spell. "Thanks, Sai. See ya later."
"Good-bye, Axel."
When the four of us get home from school, Aunt Aqua's car is in the driveway. Roxas and Xion burst in ahead of us, shrieking her name in excitement, and fling themselves on her where she's sitting on the couch with Aunt Ella. Both our aunts pause to hug them and greet us older two, but I can tell from their faces that they're up to something.
"Lea," Aqua says, "you're being ridiculous."
"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Mom says in this weird high voice, glancing at Saïx. He immediately takes the hint and walks off to his room. I stay quiet and let the ladies keep doing their thing.
"Why ever not?" Aunt Ella pretends, as if she didn't notice. "Lea, please understand, this is very important to us and to the children."
"Mom, can I watch cartoons?" Roxas asks.
"Hey, Rox," I say loudly, "let's see if there's any ice cream left in the freezer."
"YES!" Roxas gallops back over to me. Xion stares between all of us in confusion, like she senses something going on but can't figure out what it is. She finally follows as I get Roxas out of the way, and while we're eating our ice cream at the counter, I strain to try to hear what's going on in the living room.
Mom is talking in agitated whispers now, but the other two still sound normal.
"I may not live with him, but he's stayed overnight at my house several times, and there is nothing wrong with him," Aunt Aqua's saying. "He can even be sweet in his own way once you get to know him, and is certainly much more polite than both your sons and mine."
"I heard that," I call, pretending to be offended even though I don't care because it's completely true.
"Then take the hint," she calls back good-humoredly.
"I just can't stand it!" Mom's voice is climbing back into audible levels. "Have you seen him with Roxas? I can't stand it."
"But what's wrong with a little boy like Roxas admiring his older brother and wanting to be with him when he's a good role model?" Aunt Ella asks in this artfully puzzled tone.
"Roxas should feel like that about me! That person is not his brother!"
"Lea." That's Aqua again, sounding like she's nearing the end of her patience. "Perhaps you haven't noticed, but those four consider each other to be as close as full blood-siblings."
"Yeah, and it drives me-"
Aqua just keeps right on talking. "I don't think they even remember the technicalities sometimes. I know your feelings on this, but you've got to understand that they don't see each other the way you do, or even the way your husband does."
Roxas and Xion have finally picked up on all this and are now listening, too, forgetting about the ice cream melting in their hands.
"Roxas might be the only one with Ven's name on his birth certificate," she continues, "but all four of them claim him as their father at least to some extent, and I think they have every right to. You have to understand exactly what it is you're denying them."
Mom makes a frustrated sound. "I don't mind Xion seeing him, okay? It's stupid, but whatever; she can go see him if she wants! That's not what I'm talking about!"
"Xi," I say quietly, trying not to let my anger show, "Rox, go play."
"I wanna stay and listen," Roxas says, too loudly, and Xion shushes him.
"Go play."
"Mom still doesn't like Saïx?" Xion asks sadly.
"I am so serious, guys, go away until we figure this out." Roxas totally ignores me; Xion reluctantly climbs down from the barstool, but then just stands there and keeps listening.
"...not like he can harm anything there," Aunt Ella is saying.
"I've seen him, him and that delinquent cousin of his! I've seen them burn things! Those eyes are-!" Mom breaks off and yells at us, "Go play!"
Xion sighs and goes upstairs. Roxas stomps around, opens the back door and closes it again to pretend he went out, then tiptoes back and climbs into my lap to keep listening.
Mom's talking in heated whispers again, but we can still hear our aunts.
"Of course it's unusual, but it's only frightening because you've never taken the time to understand!"
"Axel and little Xion have explained it to me, and it does make sense. You have to find something to like or appreciate about him first. Lea, dear, have you ever tried that?"
More angry whispering.
"Oh, but that just isn't true! There is plenty."
"What about Xem," Aqua tries, "obviously you like Xem, don't you?"
Mom grumbles something that I think is, "I don't have to worry about Xem spontaneously combusting me with his eyes."
They keep on like this for a while until Mom's finally like, "It doesn't matter! I hate that my own son loves him more than me and I hate that I can't do anything about it, but I can do something about this and they're NOT GOING!"
There's a pause. Then a sniffling sound.
"Oh, Ella, don't cry," Aqua says in this overly concerned voice.
"I...I'll be all right," Ella tries to say, all choked up with her semi-fake tears, "it's just that it's so sad to me..."
"It's not sad!" Mom insists. "He won't die just because he can't doomgaze a tombstone!"
"Really, Ella, stop crying," Aqua fake-orders. "You know how upset Terra gets whenever anyone makes you cry."
Mom abruptly goes Very Quiet. I don't blame her - it's hard to get Uncle Terra really mad, but the few times it does happen, heh...
"Aunt Ella's really crying?" Roxas asks me in alarm.
"No," I whisper. "She's trying to get Mom to let us go see Dad. Roxas, we need your help."
He stares at me, anxious and businesslike.
"You have to go hug Mom and tell her you love her. Don't say anything about me or Saïx or Xion or visiting Dad, okay? Just show Mom that you love her a lot. She's not letting us go because she thinks you love Saïx more than her and she's jealous, so try to make her not jealous."
Roxas salutes me and starts to head for the living room before I catch him. "You 'went out to play,' remember?"
"Oh yeah." He tiptoes over to slam the back door open and shut, then gallops past me again, yelling, "Mom, it's cold outside!"
"Precious-"
As I watch, trying to keep out of sight, he climbs into her lap and hugs her. "Can I sit with you please?"
She frowns as she strokes his hair. "You're not cold at all."
"Ummm...I ran around a lot and got hot."
"Roxas-"
He leaps back to his feet and tugs at her arm. "Mommy, come play with me!"
"Ugh, no, it's cold outside!"
"I'll throw leaves at you," he says persuasively.
"No," she laughs. "In these clothes? No!"
"Well, wear some fun clothes, then, not stupid clothes you can't get dirty!"
While they're playing outside, Aunt Aqua calls Terra and I give Aunt Ella some cookies so she won't be bored, then go up to get some more ammunition. Saïx is working on what I assume is homework, ignoring the way Xion's spread ponies and Barbie dolls all over his floor and has hung a tied-up doll from his knee, with a dragon perched in his top desk drawer.
"Oh no! The dragon's coming out! Hurry, Maximilian, we've got to save Crystal before she gets eaten! Quick, Glimmerbreeze, come stand here at the foot of the cliff and lift us up, maybe we can climb up and save her before it's too late!"
"Saïx," I say, "take your computer to the bed."
"What?"
"And Xion, do something cute to him."
"Is it a new game?" she asks curiously.
"It's called Convince Mom That Saïx Isn't A Total Monster."
"Good luck with that," Saïx says calmly as he keeps typing.
I grab his computer, and he's too worried about damaging it to try to wrestle it out of my grip. I plop it back on his stomach once we've gotten him on the bed, and Xion happily climbs up and snuggles against him. With her pony, Dawncrest Tide. After having perched Moonwolf Crescent on Saïx's chest and stuck a bouquet of roses from the Barbie Bridal Set into his hair.
"Is this really necessary?" Saïx says in a pained voice.
"Couldn't hurt. Pretend you're typing."
He sighs hugely and does, and Xion pretends to be fascinated by whatever's on the computer screen, and I snap a picture of my brother and sister together. "Great! I'll show this to Mom."
"You did not tell me photographs would be involved," Saïx storms.
"Do you want to see Dad or don't you?" I say pointedly.
"I was trusting that to your aunts."
"Well, they need some help, okay? Just be glad you didn't have Roxas and his Ninja Turtles on your other side."
"The turtles would have been preferable," Saïx grumbles, glaring at the ponies.
As I leave the room with Xion's, "Whaaaat? You like the ugly turtles better than ponies?" echoing behind me, I get the photo back onscreen and hand it to my aunts in the living room. "Pretend to squee over this when Mom comes back in."
"Who needs to pretend?" Aqua laughs as she and Aunt Ella focus on the phone.
"That little girl is so precious," Ella coos. "And considering his personality, it really is kind of Saïx to tolerate those toys, isn't it."
"Hey, you're supposed to convince Mom, not me!"
By the time Xem comes home, Mom's grudgingly agreed to let us go. I want to dash off right away before she can change her mind, but now Xem's going on about how it's too late in the afternoon on a weekday and blah blah blah, and he wants us to wait for the weekend but I want to go now. I'd probably blow up and ruin it for all of us if Saïx and our aunts weren't keeping me in check. Still, I want to leave I want to leave I want to leave...
Xem compromises, so the next day, Terra and Aqua pick us all up from school. Just in case, Aunt Ella's taken Mom out shopping for the entire afternoon, so it's just the six of us heading out to FINALLY see Dad.
"It's pretty here," Xion says, practically glued to the window as we drive down the lane.
"All cemeteries are beautiful," Saïx muses softly. I don't really think he was talking to us. He's staring out the window on the other side so I can't see his eyes.
"I never thought about that, but you're right," Uncle Terra agrees as he drives.
Roxas looks dubious. "It's a lot of rocks and flowers." He looks out the windows for a while, too. "I guess the flowers are pretty. I bet all the dead people are happy to get so many flowers."
"I would guess they're happier when people visit," Aunt Aqua says.
"Well, that's what we're here for."
"Yup."
"Axel, do dead people get bored when no one visits them?"
Dad's next to a tree. I have never seen that tree stay still, even on days with quiet weather; its branches constantly seem to be tossing in a wind, almost like it's excited to see us. "Dad!" I yell, glomping the tombstone.
"Daaaad!" Roxas yells as he runs up after me, glomping the other side of the stone. Our eyes meet and we burst into laughter.
Saïx and Xion are still over by the car, staring at us as if we've just desecrated the Mona Lisa.
"Come say hi to Dad!" Roxas yells at them.
"Roxas, stop yelling!" Xion squeaks.
Saïx looks at my aunt and uncle, who are unloading the car and obviously not telling us to shut up. He wordlessly moves to help Aunt Aqua carry stuff, and I know he's not going to say a thing until he's figured out what's going on. He's so fun.
"Xi, come on!" I yell. I go over to scoop her up and bring her over, but Uncle Terra gets to me first and makes me carry things instead of him and Aunt Aqua and Saïx doing all the work.
"Is it okay?" Xion asks me apprehensively as we all gather under the tree.
"Is what okay?"
"Ummm..." She's standing holding Saïx's arms around her, with him going uncertainty anxiety wariness discomfort over her head.
"Axel and Roxas's family has never been very formal," he tells her quietly.
"I take it that the grave visits to your own relatives are different?" Aqua asks curiously.
"They make boring speeches. But we don't have to do that today." Roxas grabs Xion and practically drags her closer to the tombstone even though she's trotting to keep up with him willingly enough. "Hey Dad, we brought new people. This is Xion. She's my best friend, and my sister too because Mom married Xem and that means she's my sister now I guess. It's okay that she's a girl because she's not dumb like the other girls, except she plays with ponies and other dumb girl stuff but the ponies are still kind of fun because we shoot laser guns at dragons and bad guys and stuff except that sometimes the dragons are the good guys, and Axel says it's okay to play ponies, so it's okay. Xion's cool."
"Roxas, you're supposed to be nicer to girls," Uncle Terra scolds as he comes up behind them. He sweeps up Xion in his arms like she weighs nothing and smiles at his brother's memorial. "Xion isn't just 'not dumb,' she's very smart - she can see straight into people's hearts."
"It's harder when they don't have yellow eyes," Xion admits.
Terra smiles and smoothes her wind-whipped hair back from her face. "She is the sweetest, most beautiful little girl I've ever seen," he continues, then winks at her. "Though that's only because I didn't meet Ella until high school where she wasn't a little girl anymore."
Xion giggles. "You're supposed to say that because Aunt Ella's your true love."
He kisses the side of her head. "You're someone's true love, too."
"Yup. And my true love is strong like you and smart like Axel and fun like Roxas and he'll help me like Saïx. And he's rich like Daddy and pretty like Uncle Zack was and he'll buy me a real pony of my very own and I'll feed her apples and strawberries-"
"That's all you have to say about my husband, that he was 'pretty'?" Aunt Aqua pouts.
"Well, he was," I point out. "Is." Zack Fair and his wife definitely keep in shape - he still turns plenty of heads at age fifty, and she turns even more.
"All you boys from both families are handsome, it doesn't count," she grumbles.
Uncle Terra lets Xion down again, and she pats the tombstone in a friendly way. "Hi, Roxas's dad. Roxas is my best friend, too, so I hope that's okay."
"Duh it's okay." Roxas turns and goes to grab Saïx's hand, and I've already sidled up on Sai's other side, so together we pull/shove him over to join Xion. "And this is Saïx. So I have two big brothers now. He's all scary with yellow eyes so it's really cool 'cuz whenever anyone's mean, I just tell Saïx and he comes and looks at them and they run away and leave me alone, and that way Axel doesn't get in trouble and I don't have to punch them and get in trouble, either."
I stare at them. "Wait, what?"
"I'll tell you later," Saïx mutters.
"Wait, WHAT?!"
"Well," Uncle Terra chuckles, "it shouldn't be much of a surprise. You two are sharing the Big Brother job now, Axel."
"But...but...!"
Aunt Aqua sets her hands encouragingly on Saïx's shoulders to make her own introductions. "My new nephew is a very responsible and well-mannered young man, which I quite appreciate since we definitely need more of those around. Sometimes I think I'll lose my mind before my boys grow adults brains and stop being stupid..."
"Gippal's not too bad," Terra muses. "And Demyx is a lot more lazy than actually stupid, I think..."
"Well, why should I have to put up with them in the meantime when I've already got a perfect candidate right here?" Aqua huffs, her arms sliding around Saïx's shoulders in a hug.
His cheeks are just a little flushed. "I would have loved to have you for a mother," he says, very quietly. I don't think he meant for the rest of us to hear, but he happened to say it in a lull.
There's a long pause, and the color in his face deepens.
"Aunt Aqua's hair looks like yours," Xion laughs. "Maybe she can be your third mommy. So you'll have three mommies just like me."
"Aunt Aqua's hair's way better than Saïx's," Roxas points out.
"Your one flaw," Aqua laments playfully, trying to comb out Saïx's hair a little with her fingers. "This is so dry, love. I'm going to take you out later and get you some better hair products."
"I have no desire to spend hours on my hair like some of us do," Saïx growls. Meaning me. But, hey, I have great hair, why shouldn't I take the time to make it look cool instead of a shaggy mess like his?
"Hey, Dad doesn't care about hair," Roxas says impatiently. Which is true. Dad spent about as much time on his hair as six-year-old Roxas does. Just like his father, Roxas is lucky if anyone remembers to get his hair combed in the mornings so that he doesn't go around all day with it sticking straight up at crazy uneven angles - though a lot of people seemed to be under the impression that that was Ven's deliberately-chosen hairstyle, so maybe it's actually a stroke of genius rather than laziness. "He's hungry. And he wants his flowers."
Aunt Aqua gets out the bouquets we'd beheaded earlier and hands around all the stemless blossoms.
"I'm going to count to three," Roxas warns considerately.
"And then what?" Xion asks.
"We're gonna make a flower rain."
"Throw your flowers in the air when he gets to three," I explain.
Saïx is staring at us like we're aliens.
"One, two, th-!"
"Wait, Roxas, they're not gonna throw them!"
He stares. "What?"
"Look," I tell our slightly freaked-out-looking brother and sister. "We do this all the time. There's no built-in vase here like there is for your mom, and it's more fun to leave the flowers this way, and you're going to MESS IT UP if you don't throw them at the same time we do. Okay?"
"We can really throw the flowers?" Xion asks breathlessly.
"Of course. Up in the air, by the way; throw them high so that they come down like rain. Saïx, don't mess it up."
resentment anxiety
"It's all right," Aunt Aqua tries to reassure him.
"Okay, Roxas, one!"
"Two!" he yells eagerly.
"THREE!"
Sai's armful is a little late, but only by a couple of seconds. Roxas laughs, and Xion spins with her arms out as the blossoms all come tumbling down again.
"Reminds me of when Aeris was little," Terra murmurs.
"Ohhh, I miss my babyyy!" Aqua wails good-naturedly.
Xion stops spinning and stares. "Where's your baby?"
Aqua laughs. "Your cousin Aeris, I meant."
"She's not a baby, she's big," Roxas objects.
"That's right, she's not my baby anymore..."
"Your children will always be your babies," Terra says, hugging his sister soothingly.
We spread out a picnic under the wind-tossed tree and unpack the food. Roxas insists on setting out a sandwich for Dad.
"He's not eating it," Xion observes after a little while.
"He will," Roxas says confidently. "It's always gone when we come again."
Saïx looks at the interested birds clustering nearby and nicely doesn't say anything.
"That's right," I chuckle.
"Hey," Xion says, "I wanna hear stories about Dad."
Roxas puts his sandwich down. "I don't have any."
Seeing the look on his face, Aunt Aqua shifts closer and pulls him into her lap. "I have plenty. Which one would you like me to tell, Roxas? Or do you want a new one?"
"Tell 'em the Power Rangers one."
Terra laughs, remembering.
"Well, that one started when Ven was about fourteen...I was a senior in high school, Terra was home on vacation." She's stroking Roxas's hair, gazing at him as he nestles contentedly against her, and I know she's looking at him and seeing her little brother. I've seen pictures of Dad when he was a kid... He and Roxas could be twins, it's amazing how much they resemble each other. "The boys went to a convention, and Terra dressed up as some sort of samurai but Ven wanted to cosplay Void Gear from that silly old TV show, I forgot what it was called."
"Revenge of the Unversed," I supply, and Terra high-fives me appreciatively.
"You ought to tell it," Aqua chuckles, "since I wasn't even there."
"True," Terra says easily. "So we're walking around as Saitou and Void Gear, and these little kids run up thinking Ven's a Power Ranger."
"The outfits are pretty close," I realize, laughing. "Except for the skirt part, I think Unversed had Power Rangers beat on that one..."
"So the kids are like, 'Ahhh, you have to come fight Lord Zedd, you have to come fight Lord Zedd!' and poor Ven's like, 'I can't fight Lord Zedd, I'm supposed to fight the Key Masters,' but they're like, 'You GOTTA come fight Lord Zedd!' So we follow them halfway across the hotel and people keep stopping us to take pictures because our costumes were pretty awesome-"
"I'm gonna show you the pictures when we get home," Roxas says. "You're gonna be like, 'Where's Dad and Uncle Terra?' and I'm gonna be like, 'They're right there!' because you're gonna think it's really them because they're costumes are so awesome. Everyone thought they were really them and made them fight."
"You wanna tell the story?" Uncle Terra teases.
"No, you do it," Roxas commands. "You're supposed to do it."
"All-righty. So we finally find this guy dressed like Lord Zedd, with the brain and everything; his costume was pretty awesome, too."
"You couldn't see his face," Roxas prompts.
"For you non-Power-Rangers fans, yes, you couldn't see his face because he had a helmet," Terra says with a wink at Saïx. "So we have this epic Nerd Battle, Saitou & Void Gear vs. Lord Zedd, and people are taking pictures like crazy-"
"And you guys won," Roxas jumps in eagerly.
"And we won," Terra confirms proudly. "Then we parted ways and enjoyed the rest of the convention and didn't think we'd see that guy ever again. Well, so then two years later Aqua's in college, and she's started dating this guy called Zack Fair, maybe you've heard of him."
"That's Uncle Zack!" Xion cries in delight.
"Yup, except he wasn't an uncle then."
"He wasn't?"
Saïx sighs a little. "To be a uncle, one's sibling or sibling-in-law must have a child. And obviously one must also be male."
"Don't be confusing," Roxas orders. "Be quiet and listen to the story."
Saïx rolls his eyes, and Xion snuggles close to him.
"Soooo," Uncle Terra continues, "one day Zack's telling Aqua and Ven about this convention he went to once where he had an epic Nerd Battle against these guys in awesome Saitou and Void Gear costumes..." He trails off and grins at Xion, while Roxas leans forward on his hands and knees to stare at her as if trying to will the realization into her brain.
Xion gasps. "Uncle Zack was Lord Zedd!"
"Exactly!" Terra cheers as Roxas whoops. "So in a total coincidence, Ven and I actually met Aqua's future husband before she did."
Xion thinks this is the funniest thing ever, Roxas is getting a kick out of someone new hearing the story, and I notice that Aunt Aqua's got the same smile on her face that I feel on my own as we watch them.
Saïx glances at me. "What about you, Axel?"
"Huh?"
"From what I gather, you and Ventus seemed to get along well. I would like to hear a story from you."
It's real quiet all of a sudden, except for the wind. Roxas crawls closer to me, looking curious. "You don't talk about Dad a lot."
I hadn't really thought about it, but I guess I don't. It's not like I try to avoid the subject or anything, it just... I dunno. Sometimes with Terra and Aqua, yeah. But not with Roxas. It's just...he's still so young, and he didn't...know Dad the way I did...I dunno. Maybe I should try to talk about Dad more with his own son. It's just... Well, I don't know.
I don't realize how long the pause has gotten until I glance up again and notice the kids staring at me a little worriedly, Saïx and our aunt and uncle studying me carefully. I try to grin at them all, even though I'm a little annoyed. "Quit staring at me, I'm thinking."
"Think faster," Roxas says. "I wanna hear the story."
"Okay, fine, here's one. Mom and I had this game, when she was dating. She'd-" Suddenly I realize that I don't want to tell this story, because Ven was the only good part about it. Sometimes I hate my mom, but...she's my mom. She's part of me. Especially when I was a kid, before Roxas came along, I was the most important thing to her, and we actually got along, like, half the time. (Instead of never, like we do now.) So watching her get rejected because of me, over and over and over and over again...
By the time Ven came along, I was so sick of it and so horrible to him, I don't like feeling this way when I remember it. "Never mind, I'm gonna tell something else."
"Whaaat?"
"No, Axel, tell the first story!"
"I went with Mom and Dad on their first For Serious date, okay? Boring."
"That's not boring, I wanna hear it!"
"You know, Roxas, I didn't always love you," I start anyway.
His mouth drops open and he stares at me with these huge shocked eyes. I look down because I can't bear seeing him look at me like that, but I can still feel myself grinning as I start shredding pieces off the edge of my paper plate. "Before you were born, I was jealous. Because I thought Mom and Dad would love you more than they'd love me."
"What? That's stupid," Roxas scoffs, but everyone else is completely silent. I'm still looking down so I can't see it, but it sounds like even the tree has actually gone quiet for once.
"That's what Dad thought, too. He tried being nicer to me than usual and talking to me, but I kept calling him names and wrecking things and getting in trouble. Finally one day, when we were supposed to go shopping for baby stuff or whatever for what was gonna be your half of the room, I pitched this huge fit because it was supposed to be my room and I didn't want that Roxas brat or any of his crap in here blah blah blah."
"You called me a brat?" he says indignantly.
This time I'm able to meet his eyes as I grin at him. "Yup. I called you worse things, too, actually."
"Heeeyyyy!"
"Don't worry, Mom got me back for it. So we were supposed to go shopping, but I was pitching my fit and Mom was getting super-mad, and finally Dad just grabbed me and marched me outside and shoved me in the car and drove away." Oh, wait, they wouldn't know. "He'd never done anything like that before, by the way."
I don't think he'd ever touched me roughly in his whole life except for that one time, unless we were wrestling or something which didn't count. "So at first I was kind of nervous, but when he didn't say anything I started mouthing off again, and he didn't say a word. He didn't say anything that whole car ride, even when I turned the radio to the kind of music he hated. Finally I got so bored I just went to sleep, and when I woke up we were bouncing down this dirt road by the lake. He parked and turned off the car and just got out and left me there."
I'm flashbacking to that afternoon, seeing Dad in my mind sitting down by the water with those horrible hunched shoulders, feeling awful myself. I finally couldn't stand it anymore so I'd gotten out of the car, and it had occurred to me to run away, but that was stupid and not what I wanted at all. I wanted to be with my dad. I wanted him to tell me he still wanted me, but I knew he was so angry in his quiet way and he wouldn't even look at me, and it was my fault I'd made him like that, but I couldn't bring myself to apologize but that was so stupid of me because I wish I could go back now and tell him how sorry I am about everything and how much I loved him, still love him, miss him so much...
"So he left you there forever?" Roxas asks in this resigned kind of way.
Oops. I'm supposed to be talking. "No," I laugh. "Sorry, I forgot. Um... Oh yeah, so he got out and sat down by the lake for a while, and finally I got bored and got out and went over to him. There wasn't a single person or boat or anything, it was just me and him. And I was like, 'So why'd you drag me all the way out here, loser?' like I was a tough guy or something. Idiot.
"He got up again so he was taller than me and put his hands on his hips and finally looked me straight in the eye. And he was like, 'Well, Axel, I'm thinking maybe you're right about the place being too small for both of you. So I figured I'd bring you out here and kill you and hide your body in the woods where no one will ever find you, and then we'll have plenty of room for the new kid once you're gone.' And I just looked at him. Because, like, it wasn't even Dad talking. I looked at him and said, 'You'd never do that.' And he said of course he wouldn't." He'd started crying then, actually, but I'm not going to tell that part. "He said he'd sooner do something like that than stop loving me, and since he wouldn't ever hurt me like that, then, well, duh."
I'm not telling this very good at all. It's hard to tell a story when I can practically see it all happening again in my mind, feel him shaking as he hugs me, pouring all that anger into grief instead of the other way around like I always do. "I just...I can't explain it, but I kind of got it, then. I still wasn't exactly looking forward to getting a brother, but I stopped hating it." Stopped being afraid. "And we got back in the car and drove up the lake until we reached the bait-and-tackle place, and we went fishing."
"Did you catch anything?" Xion asks.
"Heh, nope. Neither of us had any clue what we were doing. But it was fun anyway, just hanging out with Dad all afternoon." And finally, finally not being mad at him anymore, and finally getting to see his awesome smile again, the smile that makes you feel like nothing's wrong in the world anywhere. Even Roxas doesn't quite have that smile. "Then we went back home and Mom had bought all this awful junk for your room, Roxas, but I liked it because every time I looked at that horrible crib and the mobile and whatever, I knew it was there because Dad hadn't been there to stop her and make her get better ones. Because he'd been with me instead."
"Were you still mad at me after I was born?" Roxas asks.
"No way. I loved you as soon as I saw you, and I never stopped."
"Okay." Satisfied, he goes back to lean against Aqua and be cuddled again.
I'm watching him...seeing Dad's face, Dad's blue eyes, even his hair's the exact same shade of honey-brown, the same uncombed spiky mess. "Man, Roxas. You look so freaking much like him."
"That's what everyone says," he answers in his Duh voice.
I can't see. I've gone blind and I can't see a thing, because suddenly there are freaking tears in my eyes and I quickly get up and walk away before anyone notices.
I'm trekking past stone after stone and so many flowers, aimlessly determined, I haven't cried over Dad in so long, it caught me off guard. The breeze has grown stronger, rushing past my skin and tossing my hair in and out of my face and making my clothes flap wildly around me. 'I miss you...so...much.'
I've been leaning against one of the trees for a while, trying to see if I can go back now or if the tears will start up again if I try. There are footsteps behind me...I tense up, can't tell whether it's my uncle or my aunt, and I wish they'd go away because I'm not up to talking to anyone yet.
Whoever it is leans against the other side of the tree, and I wait resentfully. Then he says in Saïx's quiet voice, "I've always liked their names. Ventus means 'wind' in Latin."
The tension immediately seems to drain out of my body. I wonder why I don't mind at all that it's Saïx. "Huh. I didn't know that." I glance back over my shoulder. Past the strands of wind-teased blue hair drifting across his shoulders, I can see Terra and Aqua and the kids still hanging out with Dad. "I wonder if that tree has anything to do with it."
"Hm?"
It kind of feels dumb telling him... "Even when there's no wind, its leaves and branches still move like there is."
"Is that so," he murmurs thoughtfully.
"Yeah. It's really weird."
"...Just as strange as the scent of vanilla rising in a place where no such plants grow." He pauses, then adds a little self-consciously, "Perhaps."
I smile. "I wonder how Dad would get along with your mom."
He doesn't say anything for a while. Then, "It was a good story you told."
"Pffft, except for the part where I burst into tears at the end and ran off."
"...It's all right to grieve with us, you know."
"Says the guy who's been my brother for a whole year now and hasn't cried even once that I know of."
He makes an unhappy, slightly annoyed noise. Then finally says, "I'm not ready."
It might be a little awkward somewhere else, but here in the cemetery it feels like the most natural thing in the world to come around and throw my arm over his shoulders. "Well, one thing at a time, huh?"
He doesn't shrug me off, which I guess is his way of hugging me back. "I think that would be best."
o.o.o
Author's Notes: Some of the Power Rangers stuff was inspired by Taliax and Infamousplot. ^^
...This story is gonna have to double as my August 4th fic, because I'm likely going to have to give up on Pairing Days for at least the rest of the summer. I had no idea how much time and energy they'd consume, and since June and the first half of July were pretty much eaten by Pairing Days, and the second half of July by family matters, I need to just give it up for August so that I can get more important stuff done (and so I can keep my sanity). Time is ticking, summer vacation is passing quickly. I really, really wanna do Riku/Naminé Day for some reason (December 8th), I'll be mad at myself if I don't succeed with DemXig, and I'll be gnashing my teeth if I miss LARXENE SUPER-DAY THAT WILL NEVER COME AGAIN EVER, but I'll probably just post the other Pairing Day plunnies as regular fics whenever I get a chance to finish them.
I had a lot of trouble coming up with pony names for Roxas & Xion - Taliax ended up figuring them out first and gave me permission to use them. Rox is Sunset Keyblaze, and Xi is Dawncrest Tide. X3 And dang it, I still haven't been able to post the draft I finished a long time ago that I originally needed Rox & Xi's pony names for!
To Silence (again, did my best to avoid spoilers, not sure how successful I was): No problem - and, heh, at least you had plenty to read when you came back, right? ^^ And of course I answered such a long and heartfelt review, I was very happy to read it!
Ohhhhh, crap, now you've scared me. XD I'm still not sure if I wanna post Kay's story when I'm able to write it, for the exact same reasons I didn't want to write it in the first place...
D: I hope you're not using anything about this fic for schoolwork! Everything I've learned about this kind of thing is as a complete amateur. :/
Heh, I don't like Lea, either, but I do feel sorry for her now that I've gotten to know her, and...well, everyone else disliking her so much has kind of made me like her more. *sweatdrop* The thing I absolutely hate the most and can't stand is her name. DX DX DX DX It's far too late to change it, but I'm really kicking myself now for being so flippant about giving her a canon name when she turned out to be such a horrible OC. Ugh.
Anyway, I'm still actually trying to work all this out, and your review gave me some food for thought (so thank you for that!) - part of it is that Xem didn't know most of the things that were going on. He started realizing that there was something wrong, and reluctantly (because it's a difficult thing for him to reconcile in his mind) started taking steps to try to deal with it, but he didn't find out about some things until after her death. Even now, Xigbar and especially Van actually know more than he does. Well, and Xehanort, but Xehanort doesn't count because that jerk knows everything. Kay also quickly started schooling her speech depending on whoever she was talking to; there were only three, perhaps four people she was completely honest with, and Xem wasn't one of them. Oh, and because I realized that I never actually clarified this in any of the stories yet, Kay is the only person who still experiences the "doomgaze" effects even after "unlocking" it.
"character is so fleshed out" But I haven't finished rounding out Kay (and Xem) yet, and I've only done a little of Lea! :O Thank you for the compliment after that, though; that was really sweet of you. ;;
I shall take note of what you said about the poll! (You can vote for up to two choices, btw.) I put it up mainly to help me figure out the order I should post the 'parent' stories in when I've finished them (I'm hopefully going to shove them all up in one sitting, since they'll all probably be too freaking cringe worthy to post alone), but I think I know how I'm going to do that now.
Yay, a review! XD
I've been trying hard to show the good sides of all the parents, since they're usually so horrible (except Ven, of course) and I don't like how the bad side of their personalities seem to be over-emphasized. They all have serious faults, but I didn't want any of them to be total monsters, either... (Xehanort is the only one in this universe who is.) With "Ferris Wheel," I was at least attempting to balance it out just a little more. (And then the pre-"Hoof Prints" story is going to undo all my work on Kay because it's going to be posted later than it should have been, argh.)
... *deletes paragraph of writer-angst about how OOC Saïx is in "Ferris Wheel"* It...it's just...in this universe he's so different because he has a heart and he's a teenager and I'm working backward from canonSaïx rather than working forward from canonIsa, and I'm adding some interpretations of my own as well, but there's still a line that shouldn't be crossed for his characterization, and I think I crossed it in this story...there's just a limit to how nice Number VII can be. X(
Urk, I never meant for this series to be so depressing, it was all supposed to be cute humorous fluff, yet it turned into this horrible angsty soap opera. *covers face* I'm glad that you still like it so much...if people like it, then it can't be as horrible as I think it is, I just can't seem to convince myself of that.
I'm glad it was apparent enough that Saïx wanted his brothers with him! ^^
Kay's actually the one who creeps me out a lot more than Lea does...but then, there's stuff about her I haven't posted yet, either.
Heeee, AkuSaiRokuShi makes me gooey, too. X3 That's why they're my OT4 (I honestly cannot decide if I like them or my OTP better), they're all just so friggin' adorable together, and it's not the same if any of the four are missing.
Yussss, MLP ftw. I swear, I don't even like the show all that much and have only seen less than twenty episodes, but I LOVE referencing it, it's absolutely hilarious. X3 Heheh, Xion, Axel, and Roxas have been doing their best, but Saïx still hasn't budged on his anti-pony position. :p
"I imagine the stuff they do at Ven's grave would make Xem go into cardiac arrest, it's so disrespectful." XD
"Hoof Prints" is pretty much the only Stepsibs story I truly like and still enjoy reading, even though it's been a while since I wrote it. I should feel really, really bad for Saïx, but...I keep laughing too hard to feel sorry for him. *sweatdrop* His entire thought process as soon as he saw the prints was pretty much a loop of, "MUST GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE," hence the rambling to try to justify it and cover it up... ^^; Helps to have an extremely understanding and cooperative little sister.
Btw, what Kay and later Xigbar did/said to Saïx to make him afraid of Santa Claus will probably come off as anticlimactic - I was supposed to have posted that story before "Hoof Prints" (it was supposed to be Van's debut, too; argh), but I haven't finished writing it yet. :/
"Axel throwing his Frisbees at Santa's face screaming " FOR MY BRA(Bro)!"" XD XD XD This needs fanart so bad... If you draw it, I would very much love to see it! :D
DX DX DX Still haven't decided whether or not I'll post the hostage story yet (still haven't finished typing it, either; gah). (I swear, I don't try to write stuff like this, it just comes to me. And the thing I hate most about it is that it was conceived as a humor fic, which is incredibly disrespectful. *concussion-inducing headdesk*) The only thing I'm certain about is that there's no way I'll ever let the full version see the light of day, so anything that makes it into public will be heavily censored. (Plus, it's stupid. I mean, the plot/setup/etc. is just stupid, there was no good reason for me to write it except to make it stop writing itself in my head.)
There you go complimenting me again. ;; On the one hand, I love that you love these stories so much, it makes me really happy, but on the other hand, I can't stand it because I'm so self-conscious... Every time I re-read most of my own stories, including the majority of the Stepsibs ones, all I see are the mistakes and, just, all the evidence that I'm getting it wrong and have no idea what I'm talking about, so it simultaneously shames me that people are reading this horrible stuff yet makes me really happy that it seems to mean so much to other people in a positive way. So...thank you...I really am glad you like them. And of course this is fanfiction, the reason I so enjoy writing in the Stepsibsverse (ftr, I LOVE writing in the Stepsibsverse, I just don't like re-reading what I wrote XD) is because I adore this group of characters so much. They, and Kingdom Hearts in general, have a lot of meaning for me, too. This is just my way of being more of a fan, of trying to articulate some of what touches me so much about these characters... Even when I make them horribly OOC and the real Saïx especially is worlds away from how I've come to write him, it's still an experience for me, too, as a fellow KH fan. :)
Holy cow, you almost forgot about KH3D because of this? XD *spoiler warning?* But AkuSai's only got ONE SCENE in that game, and it's a stupid angsty one. *pouts* Stupid Nomura, stupid canon, why can't my boys be happyyyyy?
:O :O :O 8D OH-EM-GEE THERE'S AN AKUSAI KEYBLADE? *must have picture* Or do you mean Bond of Flame from KH2...? Saïx didn't have a Keychain, though... *wants*