AN: I have a cold. In all likelyhood, even though I am typing this a couple of days before I intend to post it, I will still have a cold when I post this chapter (and here I am a few days later, still sick) . Nevertheless, know that this chapter was written while in a feverish delerium and/or under the influence of cold medicine. Writing style is all over the place. The story line is getting a bit darker, and we're nearing the end (a couple more chapters, at most) . Let me take this time to say thanks to all of my wonderful readers and reviewers!! Thanks to all of you who have bugged me for updates, encouraged, critiqued, said hi, or rambled aimlessly. I wouldn't have to motivation to keep this going if it weren't for y'all!
Disclaimer: see the last thirteen chapters.
Much Ado About Nothing
Close Encounters
"…there's no denying it, his behavior is becoming problematic."
"He's starting to ask questions. He wants to know."
"I assume these questions are not being answered?"
"Naturally. But still, the point is, he's asking. We can't keep dodging his inquiries forever. He'll find out one way or another. Even if it means leaving the Organization."
"He wouldn't do that, would he? I mean, this is home for him!"
"The secrecy means that it's starting to feel less like home, Demyx. We've all noticed how he's changed. He's long since realized that we know more about him than we've let on."
"He knows how important he is."
Mutters broke out around the room.
"How much so?"
"The kid isn't stupid. He knows that he's indispensable. He knows that the keyblade releases hearts, and he knows that those hearts are what we've been using to build Kingdom Hearts. He knows how important he is, and that's why he hasn't worried about getting in trouble. He knows he's too valuable to us."
"…I suppose…this is a problem…We still cannot tell him. If he knew…"
"I think he already knows."
"It doesn't matter. We don't know Sora's whereabouts."
"It might be simple for Roxas to find him, though. After all, they are the same person."
"Keep him busy with work and perhaps he won't question it. In the meantime I will try to devise something to keep him busy. Some lie that will overturn his curiosity…Naminé would be so useful in this situation."
"I think she has something to do with this."
"She's dead. How do you mean?"
"He's not over her. Strangely enough, I think he's still mourning her."
"He hasn't the heart for it. How can he still miss her when he hasn't the capability to love her to begin with?"
"They both had somebodies who were and are still in existence…Maybe it had something to do with that."
Xemnas considered the possibility. "I suppose. That was what worried me most when he was seeing her. She knew too much, and if she were to divulge what she knew to Roxas…Their relationship could have had catastrophic repercussions for our mission."
"And Roxas's current activities won't?"
Xemnas laughed. "Roxas's current behavior is the result of teenage hormones and too little social interaction. If it satisfies his rebellious spirit without damaging the Organization's goals, then all is well. His relationship with Naminé was dangerous because it encouraged him to question what we had told him. He thought he could love her-after all we'd told him about nobodies being unable to love. Their connection to Sora and Kairi was simply too dangerous. What might we have done if Naminé might have somehow managed to put Roxas's soul in contact with Sora? All around a dangerous situation. It couldn't continue."
"And Roxas's current behavior?"
"Let him continue. It only drives him further into darkness. His 'feeling' of guilt is enough to push him further into confusion. The more confused he becomes, the more he will be driven towards the only stability he can find-that which the Organization offers." (AN 1)
XIII
Naminé stared at her reflection in the mirror. It had been a few days since her row with Riku and DiZ, and since then, she'd spoken not a word to either of them. She'd gone about her work diligently, ignoring every word that escaped from the lips of either Riku or Diz. Just to spite them, she would visibly slow down her work whenever Diz or Riku dared to tell her to hurry. It frustrated them to no end.
Sora was making more progress than Diz's computer was capable of measuring. In the grand scheme of things it didn't appear that she'd made much progress, but that was because the computer measured in terms of how many memories had been repaired over memories affected in total. It didn't take into account the importance of the individual memories, or the time it would take to restore each memory. In reality, Sora was almost done. The memories of the last two years made up the majority of the memories that needed to be restored (hence DiZ's computer saying that so much was left to be done) but they wouldn't take long at all to restore.
Naminé sighed. Her mind lately had not left Roxas. It was hard to believe that he might really be alive. It was…unbelievable. She couldn't wrap her mind around it.
"Parties at the underground concourse are getting really popular. You should check them out sometimes. You never know. Maybe you'll see Roxas there sometime. A lot of people show up at those parties."
Naminé contemplated Olette's words. Sure, Olette had warned that the parties in question could occasionally get a little…sketchy, but if there was a chance she'd see Roxas…Olette had said the parties usually happened every Saturday night after midnight. At that time, townspeople preferred to use other modes of transportation to get from place to place, so it was guaranteed that the underground would be empty of non-partygoers.
What did she have to lose? The worst that could happen was that Diz would get ticked off again. Naminé smiled. She rather liked the idea of making DiZ mad. If he thought he could control her, he'd have to put up with her malicious annoyances.
XIII
Naminé pushed her way through the crowd of people. She was beginning to wish she hadn't decided to attend this… 'party'. It was more of a rave, actually. Naminé was quickly discovering that she was not a party person. Lights in the underground had been dimmed significantly; it was a bit surreal to discover a place in Twilight Town that was actually dark. Colored LED lights lit the corridors and music blasted throughout the tunnels. It made Naminé wonder how anyone who lived above didn't hear it. People who she'd never before seen around town were now packed into the concourse, and the claustrophobia of it all was beginning to annoy.
Naminé was getting slightly annoyed by the looks boys were giving her. Sure, at first it was kind of nice to realize that she was attractive enough for boys to check her out, but after a while it began to make her feel uncomfortable. "I'm not here for you to look at!!" She wanted to yell; not that they'd have heard her over the blasting music. Naminé had long since given up on seeing Roxas. There were too many people for her to see the walls around her.
Naminé sighed and turned to try to find her way out of the packed arena of dancing teens. Suddenly, as she approached a wall (finally, she thought, something I can use as a guide!) she was frozen in her tracks. Through the dancing teens around her she could she him.
But he wasn't alone.
It broke her non-existent heart to see Roxas, pinned as he was to the wall by some anorexic-looking girl with long, wavy hair that was definitely not naturally blonde (like Naminé's naturally beautiful blonde locks). The girl's dark chocolate roots were blatantly obvious, but they only seemed to fit with her overall skanky appearance. The girl's clothing (or lack thereof) consisted of a magenta spaghetti-strap belly shirt and a mini-skirt which Naminé assumed was actually a navy scarf wrapped around her hips masquerading as an bona fide piece of clothing, completed with tall, knee height navy boots with heels that looked nigh impossible to walk in. Naminé felt anger welling up within her tiny form. Who did this…this tramp think she was?! Pinning Roxas to the wall, mashing those full red lips to his?! It made Naminé sick to watch Roxas's hands gripping the girl's eating-disorder-skinny hips. Even the unnatural lights of the concourse couldn't hide the fakeness of the girl's tan. What was Roxas thinking?!
Naminé should have been happy to see Roxas alive. She should have been thrilled. She should have wanted to run to him, throw her slender arms around him and press her pale lips to his. But someone was already in that position. Her anger overwhelmed her happiness at seeing him alive.
Suddenly Roxas broke off the kiss with the blonde girl, and for a moment his and Naminé's eyes met. Naminé glared as Roxas's blue eyes widened with horror at the sight of her. And then the blonde girl pressed another kiss to his lips, and Roxas seemed to forget all about Naminé. His blue eyes closed and he went back to making out with the fake-blonde girl. Naminé squealed in frustration before turning and shoving her way back through the crowd. (AN 2)
-
Lindi broke away for a moment and Roxas gulped in much-needed air. His eyes strayed from her face for a moment and caught onto something he'd never expected to see. His eyes widened as they landed on a face he hadn't seen in over a year. Naminé was standing in the crowd, glaring at him. Roxas gasped, sucking in air as his head started spinning. Naminé…Suddenly Lindi's lips were again against his, and his eyes rolled back into their sockets as he lost himself in her passion. But even as he closed his eyes, the image of Naminé glaring at him so disapprovingly wouldn't fade from his mind. He pushed Lindi away, much more roughly than he had intended to, and looked around wildly for any sign of Naminé.
"Roxas, what the heck?" Lindi was glaring at him. "What was that for?"
Roxas was searching the crowd desperately for Naminé's face. Had he merely imagined it? "I thought I saw-" he broke off and took off through the crowd, ignoring Lindi's angered shouts. He pushed his way through the bodies, looking around for any sign of Naminé. He finally managed to push his way all the way outside of the concourse, and shielded his eyes as they re-adjusted to the fading light of the sunset.
"Roxas!" He ignored Lindi as she finally caught up with him. "Roxas! What's gotten into you?! Everything was fine, and then all of a sudden you just take off! Gosh, Roxas, what's your deal tonight?"
Roxas continued looking around; finally acknowledging that he must have imagined it. But why did his hallucination age Naminé a year? How could…
"I'm sorry…" he muttered distractedly, still trying to process what had just occurred. "I thought I saw someone I knew."
"Well, you didn't have to take off like that!" Lindi scolded, hands on her bony hips. "What's up?"
"Sorry!" Roxas said angrily, still not looking at her.
Lindi didn't take well to his sudden frustration. "No need to be mean! What did I do?!" She turned and started walking back toward the entrance to the concourse. Roxas was suddenly seized with fear of being alone.
"Lindi, wait! I'm sorry! I was just…anxious about seeing someone…I'm sorry." The girl stopped and turned. Roxas knew he had her feeling better. Lindi was as lonely and desperate for love as he was. She sighed and turned around to walk toward him. She smiled seductively as she placed her hands on his shoulders.
"Oh, Roxie, you're all tense," she murmured, drawing closer. "I can fix that," she cooed, still smiling. She leaned closer and whispered into his ear. "You know, Roxie, my brother's out of town."
"What about your parents?"
Lindi dropped her coy manner for a moment. "They're dead, remember?" she stated matter-of-factly. She quickly reapplied her seductive attitude. "Which means, dear Roxie, that it would just be you and me…"
Disgusting little tramp! Naminé watched Roxas's exchange with the blonde girl, apparently named Lindi, from the shadows in between two buildings. How dare she call him Roxie?! That's my name for him! Only I get to call him Roxie!!
Roxas shoved her away. "Lindi, no! How many times do I have to tell you?"
Lindi was not deterred. "Roxie, c'mon! I know you want to…" She leaned in, attempting to kiss him. Once again Roxas pushed her away.
"Lin, really, stop it. My answer is and always will be no." Roxas tried to walk away. "I need to get home anyway."
Lindi watched with a frown on her heavily-make-up-covered face. Naminé watched with a smirk on hers. "It's okay if you're a little scared, Roxie. But I promise, I don't bite."
Roxas turned and frowned. "I'm not scared, Lindi. But I'm not stupid, either."
There was silence for a moment. Lindi glared at him through her mascara. "…Fine…I see how it is."
Roxas immediately felt regret. "Lin, that's not what I meant."
She didn't seem to care. "No, I know exactly what you meant. You think I'm an airhead, just like the rest of them. Fine…I don't need you. If you don't want to, it'll be easy as pie for me to find someone who will."
She turned to walk away. "And then what?" Roxas called after her. "You find someone who'll pretend to love you for one night, only to leave before you wake up tomorrow morning. Then next week you'll come running back to me because I'm the only guy who ever treats you like you're worth more than your body?" Lindi paused, but remained silent. "You're not a fool, Lindi. I know you aren't, so stop pretending that you are. You want love, but you want respect. But the way I see it, you don't care how little respect a guy has for you as long as he claims to love you!"
"Shut up!" Lindi cried, whirling on him. "You don't know me!"
Roxas glared at her. "Maybe we'd better keep it that way."
Naminé wanted to smirk. She wanted to point a finger in the fake-blonde girl's face and yell, "Ha ha!" She wanted to flaunt her victory to no end. But she couldn't. Despite herself, Naminé felt sorry for the girl. She was as broken and battered as any nobody Naminé had ever encountered, and she even had a heart. Naminé suddenly became somewhat happy that she didn't have a heart; she'd never have to feel the pain when it got broken.
Naminé watched Roxas walk away, turn a corner and disappear into an alley. He probably portalled from there, she thought. She turned her attention back to the girl. She was still standing there, looking at her feet. Then, she started to cry. She collapsed on the cobblestone and started to bawl, right there in the middle of the street. Naminé felt her non-existent heart go out to the girl. She wanted to help her; even though she had taken Roxas from her. But then, Roxas turned her down, didn't he? Naminé suddenly felt proud of her boy. There was some decency left in him, after all. Naminé reached down into her bag. She was certain there were some in there somewhere…
"Here, I think you need these more than I do." Lindi looked up. An extremely pale girl of about her own age was smiling down at her, holding out a packet of tissues. The girl had shoulder length, pale blonde hair that framed her pale face. She was clearly a natural blonde. Lindi felt a stab of inadequacy at her own natural hair color. Lindi smiled and took the Kleenex from the girl.
"Thanks." She choked out, blowing her nose. "Great…"she muttered, wiping at her eyes, "my make-up's ruined." Naminé smiled and sat down beside the girl, sympathy and curiosity her motivation.
"So…"Naminé began, twiddling her thumbs, "Was that blond boy your boyfriend?"
Lindi laughed ruefully. "No…if he was that would make me the most unfaithful girlfriend in the world. No…we just sort of…hook up every once in a while."
"Oh."
"By 'hook up' I don't mean-"
"No, no, I know."
"He's the nicest guy I've dated in a long time. But…he's right. Everything he said to me tonight…He's right." Naminé decided to feign ignorance rather than alerting Lindi to the fact that she'd heard the whole conversation. "Maybe…maybe I'm going about this all the wrong way…" Lindi sighed. She stood up. "I should head home…Hey, thanks."
"You're welcome." Naminé told her, smiling politely. "You can keep the tissues, by the way."
Lindi smiled. "Thanks. I'm Lindi, by the way."
Naminé nodded. "Naminé. Hey, good luck."
Lindi frowned. "With what?"
"With whatever good comes out of this."
"What makes you so sure good will come out of this?"
Naminé shrugged. "It has been my experience that life never hands you struggles without also handing you the strength you need to overcome them. So…good luck; in whatever comes your way."
Lindi smiled. "You're a nice person, Naminé." She turned to leave, and then stopped, turning back around with a confused look on her face. "Naminé? Right?" Naminé nodded. Lindi opened her mouth, paused, closed it again, and then proceeded to repeat the action a few subsequent times, each time appearing to be on the verge of asking something, and then thinking better of it, closing her mouth again. Finally, she seemed to decide against making whatever comment she'd been planning on making, and simply waved goodbye.
Naminé returned the gesture, albeit a tad bit confusedly, and turned toward the alley, where it would be dark enough to portal away unnoticed. Lindi shook her head as she walked away. Surely there was more than one Naminé in the world, right? And what would this one think if Lindi were to inform her that, according to Roxas, she was supposed to have died a year ago? (AN 3)
XIII
"A…day…off?"
"Yes."
"Like, a whole day?"
"Yes, Roxas, a whole day."
Roxas furrowed his brow and stared questioningly up at his superior. "Okay, so…what's the catch?"
"Catch?" Xemnas watched the young nobody puzzle over his offer, while he puzzled over Roxas's confusion. "I do not understand."
Roxas scratched his head. "Y'know, what do I have to do in order to get this…day off?"
Xemnas laughed. "Nothing! Number XIII, I am trying to be gracious. You should accept this reward without question!"
Roxas still didn't look convinced. "So…I really don't have to do anything to get my day off?" Xemnas shook his head. "Like, nothing? I just really, seriously get the whole day to do whatever I want, wherever I want, whenever I want? No chores, no missions, no training, no strings attached?"
Xemnas attempted a fatherly smile. The result was a bit frightening. "Of course. You are young, Roxas; I understand this. You should have some time to enjoy your youth every once in a while. You are too young to be constantly working!"
Roxas raised an eyebrow. "So, you're serious? I really get the whole day to myself tomorrow? No supervision, no heartless to kill, no nothing? Just me? And no work?"
Xemnas nodded, and then proceeded to ramble about Roxas's unmatchable work ethic (which in reality was basically nonexistent, he just needed to butter the kid up), and all the reasons why Roxas deserved the day off. Roxas stared at his shoes and contemplated the offer. It simply seemed too good to be true. "…so, you see, I think it best you have a day all to yourself. I simply ask that you notify us before leaving, and that you get home early enough to get a good night's sleep. You'll have to get back to work the day after, you understand."
Roxas snapped his fingers. "Hah! I knew it! You're giving me a day off because the day after you're gonna make me work ten times as hard as normal, is that it?"
Xemnas swallowed hard. If he wasn't trying to get Roxas into a good mood he would have chastised the boy for his impudence. Patience, Xemnas, patience. He is young, after all. "Now, now, Roxas. I simply mean that you will have to get back to work. Not that your work will be anymore difficult!"
Roxas furrowed his brow and puzzled up at his Superior. "So…you're really serious? I really get this whole day off?"
"I'm serious. Unless, that is, you don't want a day off-"
"No, no! I do, it just…seems too good to be true, that's all." Roxas stared at his shoes for a minute. A whole day off…that didn't happen very often.
"Just remember to alert us before you leave, and to get home at an hour conducive for getting a good night's sleep and-" Xemnas wasn't permitted to finish his thought. Suddenly, to his surprise, the young nobody had flung his arms around the Superior's torso in a gesture so strange, and yet somewhat familiar. The boy's uttered "Thanks!" seemed congruent with this strange gesture which he was bestowing upon his elder, but for the life of him, Xemnas could not remember what the gesture was called.
A hug. Xemnas blinked as the memories rushed back. A…hug. Yes. The boy was…hugging him. The action was sometimes used to show thanks. Xemnas hesitantly patted the boy's head with his hand.
"You are…welcome?" It came out sounding more like a question, but Xemnas wasn't used to such…emotion. It was strange; foreign, yet somewhat familiar. Like a dream forgotten after being awoken, yet still slightly remembered, and tangible still. Xemnas wasn't sure what to make of it.
The boy finally released him, and grinned up at Xemnas. "Thank you!" He said again, and then turned and hopped on the skateboard he'd leaned against the wall during their conversation, and took off down the hallway, still grinning. He leapt into the air, grinding the board momentarily on the stair rail, and then continued off down the stairs and out of sight. Xemnas didn't even bother reprimanding the boy's destruction. He'd long since given up on curbing Roxas's skateboarding addiction. He snapped his fingers and several dusks appeared.
"The paint is in the second floor closet marked 2G. Please fix where Number XIII has damaged the stair rail."
XIII
"I'm going out tomorrow."
"No, you are not. It's out of the question."
"It wasn't a question." (AN 4)
The face-off currently at hand rivaled that of most Wild Western movies. Naminé had decided to take a day off to go gallivanting around Twilight Town in an attempt to relieve some stress, and of course Diz was denying her that small freedom.
"I don't care, Naminé. Sora isn't getting any better with you out and about all the time." Diz refused to even acknowledge that she was in the room. He continued the conversation while staring avidly at his computer screen. Naminé frowned.
"I need more art supplies."
"I just bought you those new oils. You should be all set."
Naminé rolled her eyes. "You know nothing about art. I have oil paints, but I don't have paint thinner. Oils aren't water soluble. My brushes will be ruined after one painting. Neither do I have canvas. So I can't even ruin my brushes because I don't have the proper surface to ruin them on. Also, oil paint takes forever to dry. And oil paintings can take forever. That sort of medium will have me working on Sora for the next ten years. I need a faster medium. That's why I work with crayons and colored pencils. They are much faster." Naminé smirked. Diz couldn't argue with art-speak. He wasn't fluent in it. He would understand the part about time consumption, though; that she could be certain of. He wouldn't dare argue with that.
Diz sighed. "…Fine. If you must, you may leave tomorrow to go find your supplies." Naminé smirked. True, she'd have left with or without his permission, but having him know where she was made life a little bit easier. "…as long as Riku goes with you."
Naminé's smirk dropped off her face as if it weighed as much as a Large Body. "What?" she asked. Diz turned to her, a smirk of his own fixed onto his face.
"You heard me. Riku will accompany you. That way I can be certain that you won't get into trouble. Besides, you two seem to be feuding. This might be the perfect opportunity for the two of you to resolve you differences."
Naminé glared. "I hate you." She spat bitterly. The old man frowned at her.
"I can assure you, my dear, that the feeling is entirely mutual."
"Pedophile."
"Witch."
Oh, the love.
XIII
A/N: I blame those last three lines on the cold medicine.
AN 1: Blackrogue123, I hope that answers your question. I honestly don't know how better to describe why Xemnas cared about Roxas dating Namine but not random girls. It makes sense in my mind, and it seems I am simply incapable of getting my point across otherwise.
AN 2: Yes, that would be Lindi. Lindi has a purpose. It will make sense eventually. And Roxas is in trooooouuuble...
AN 3: The plot thickens. Or thins. Hm. Whatever. I promise this horrid OC Lindi will end up being very important, in a very roundabout sort of way. She ends up being an important influence on Roxas, shall we say.
AN 4: Yes, I totally stole that line from Pirates of the Carribean, At World's End. It just fit, okie day?
Like I said, it's getting darker. So, what is Xemnas really doing with giving Roxas a random day off? What will Namine do now that she knows for a fact that Roxas is alive? What purpose does this random OC of mine serve in the grand scheme of the story? (Because I promise, she has a purpose here) Next chapter is already written. It will be posted next week. I'm guessing that after that there will only be about two or three more chapters, so I'm trying to stretch out the length in between updates.