Part 18

When we all looked back, the animal was gone, and we were all still kept intact.

"Kyaah! That was scary!" Roxas started to cry.

"Why the hell are you crying!?" Demyx shouted. I was surprised, because he was never one to use the word 'hell'. And somehow, his voice sounded deeper and…kind of like Axel's.

"Why am I seeing myself without a mirror?" Axel asked. He wasn't one to ask stupid questions like that, and now he sounded just like Demyx.

"Demyx! Don't hurt a poor child like him!" Larxene ran over and hugged Roxas.

"I'm not Demyx. I'm Axel."

"I'm over here, Larxene!" Axel (Demyx?) waved.

"What the hell is happening?" Marluxia asks.

"I think that bright flash of light made something go wrong with each of us." Vexen explained. If that was true, then what was wrong with me? We heard someone stomping on the floor. It was Xigbar. It was either he was mute, or I was deaf. He was mute.

"Finally! We don't have to listen to that lame surfer-dude accent of yours!" Demyx (or Axel?) said. Xigbar responded with taking out his guns.

"Whoa there Mr. Pirate!" Axel (Demyx) stepped in front. "No need to actually scar off my body. You can just scar up Axel's body right here!"

"I'm going to kill you first." Axel growled. (I'll just call the annoying one Demyx and the not-annoying one Axel.)

"You'll be killing off your own body then!" Demyx snickered.

"Fine. For the duration of time that I'm in your body, I'll just turn start cutting my wrists like an emo."

"Kyaah! Don't do that!" Xigbar looked puzzled. He was probably wondering which of them to shoot. I was surprised that Xunakiy didn't stop all this. Usually she would prevent any fights from breaking out.

"Xunakiy! Where the hell is she!?" I shouted.

"Our little angel has suddenly collapsed on the floor!" Larxene gasped. I was guessing that the nine-tailed beast caused her to act like a total goody-two shoes. I turned over to where Larxene was pointing. She was on the floor, but she looked perfectly peaceful while lying there. I walked over to see if she was all right—

"Zexion! What are you doing!?" I felt a sudden jolt and I had Hakuro in my hands and I had it against Vexen's shield. "Why are you trying to kill her!?" He yelled at me.

"I…what?"

"Something's causing him to do this!" Roxas yelled. Obviously.

"Hey, Zexion." Marluxia said.

"What—!?" He snapped his fingers and vines shot out from the wall and started pinning me to said wall.

"Sorry, but this is for your…and Xunakiy-chan's good." He glanced back at the sleeping white-haired girl. Vexen decided to carry her to her room. As soon as they were gone, Marluxia let me go and I felt normal again.

"What the hell were you doing that for!?" Demyx shouted.

"It wasn't my fault!" I shouted back.

"You're such an idiot!" Axel smacked Demyx in the face.

"Ouch! That hurt!"

"I'm glad it did!"

"You wanna start something!?"

"Be my guest!" They brought out their weapons. And they brought out the wrong weapons. Axel had Demyx's sitar, and Demyx had Axel's chakrams.

"This isn't going to work out." Axel sighed.

"Cool!" Demyx cheered. "I get cool new weapons! And I get to burn stuff!" HE started waving the chakrams around, he suddenly they caught fire. "Holy crap! Put it out! Put it out! I know! Stop drop and roll—"

"Demyx! Cut that out! It won't burn you!" Axel yelled. Demyx was already on the floor and he would've started rolling already if Axel hadn't gotten in the way. The fire continued burning and Demyx was just staring at it.

"I didn't know fire looked so cool!" Demyx yipped.

"What're you waiting for!? Christmas!? Get off the floor and teach me how to use this crappy excuse for a guitar!" Axel slammed said instrument in Demyx's head, and Demyx tried burning Axel.

"You no hurt my sitar!" Demyx yelled angrily.

"I don't give a damn!" Axel shouted.

I decided to leave the duo and go to my library and look up the tailed beast in the library. But before that, I wanted to pay Xunakiy a visit.

"What were you thinking when you tried to see her!?" Vexen yelled at me.

"I didn't know it would happen again!"

"Try not to think about it. So long as we're under this curse, you shouldn't see her. Ever. You'll try to kill her." Vexen walked away.

Long story short, I opened the door, I nearly attacked Xunakiy, but luckily Vexen froze me in my tracks. Literally. I just HAD to break this curse. If I couldn't see Xunakiy ever again, I would feel my non-existent emotion of sadness. But if I saw her, I would end up killing her, and then I would probably end up killing myself. Bah.

"Oooooooh! Zexion got'n twouble!" Demyx yelled.

"Demyx. If you don't want me to persuade Axel to destroy your sitar, I suggest you to comply with two words. The first one, 'Shut'. And the second one, 'Up!'"

"Alright already." He walked away with something of a smile. It was sort of awkward, seeing as Axel never really smiled that much.

I decided to go back to my original plan and pay a visit to my library. When I was almost there I heard gunshots being fired off in rapid succession. Xigbar. I raced over to wherever it was coming from and the room was basically trashed.

"What the HELL Xigbar!?" Xaldin shouted.

"We were just—" Luxord started snickering and then he just took a breath and grinned. "We're just so lucky to not have your annoying accent accompany your immature attitude!"

Xigbar smiled an evil smile, and then he went all out on the room we were all in. I was able to shield myself by hiding inside one of my books, so I escaped unscathed. On the other hand, Xaldin and Luxord were just as lucky, with them taking odd positions, as bullet holes were on the wall behind them, lining up with their figures. I gave off a smirk at that because this reminded me of the Kimaru incident a while ago.

"You have no reason to be laughing you, you—"Luxord was about to finish, but Luxord jumped out of the way of an oncoming bullet, and if he didn't, the bullet would've gotten him right in the forehead. "Oi! I was in the middle of something! Couldn't you shoot me after!?"

Xigbar shook his head.

"I guess not." Xaldin commented as he went back to having two feet on the floor. "Anyway, Zexion, what are you doing here?"

"I was just seeing what was going on." I replied.

"Yeah well, there's nothing to see here anymore, so do your own thing somewhere else!" Luxord snapped at me. A bullet landed near one of his feet.

"I'm guessing you three aren't done quite yet. Have fun." I waved and walked away.

"WAIT! DON'T LEAVE US HEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!" Luxord screamed.

In the library, I found out that the creature we were supposedly attacked by was a pipe fox, or a kuda-kitsune, which was what it was called by people of Xunakiy's language. Other than the name, I didn't find out much. It said that foxes had various powers and that they could curse humans in different ways. The book I was looking through also said it could possess people. Scary.

"So that's what we're supposed to be chasing after?" Axel asked behind me. I nearly jumped, but I was able to stay on my chair.

"Yes…"

"So…all we have to do is beat this thing and we go back to normal right?"

"That's right."

"Anyways…what's up with you and our white-haired maiden?"

"Say what!?"

"There totally is something!"

"It's nothing much."

"C'mon, I'll keep quiet about this. I'm not like Demyx or Vexen."

"Are you being absolutely honest about this?"

"Of course I am!"

"Alright, fine."

"…"

"…?"

"Go ahead and start! I'm almost about to burst with anticipation!"

"Fine. The truth is, I actually kind of…"

"Like her."

"Yeah, that. And it's just that…well…seeing as we don't have any hearts…"

"Finish your sentences!"

"Alright already! We don't have hearts, and that's the most of it."

"Most?"

"Well, after years of waiting, we could actually get our hearts back, but I don't think she would need someone like me."

"…"

"Axel?" I felt really stupid at this point. Here I am, pretty much saying how I would've felt about Xunakiy if I had a heart, and I'm telling this to a person who probably doesn't even care. But Axel's actions proved otherwise.

"She totally wants you!" He just suddenly shouted.

"Didn't you say you were going to keep quiet about this?" I was surprised.

"Oh yeah. Well, you know how she's all happy about everything?" Axel went back to using an inside voice.

"Yeah."

"Well, even someone like her could have misfortunes."

"And?"

"Not everyone can see that."

"So…"

"Everyone thinks she's practically the happiest girl in the universe, but maybe she knows that you're one of the only people who can see that."

"I'm not that special. Really."

"But she thinks otherwise."

"I guess so, and I also guess that there's nothing we can do to change that."

"Well maybe you can change it by screwing up your relationship, but I'd bet anything you wouldn't go there."

"Of course I wouldn't. This is practically the only form of connection I have with someone other than myself. I…don't want to ruin it."

"So…you're saying that Xunakiy's the only friend you've had?"

"Pretty much."

"That must really…suck."

"Until now, it did."

"Hmm?"

"When I was still whole, I lived a rather lonely life…just to keep it short. Sure, I was always around others, but I never bothered to interact with them. I didn't know how to be 'myself' other than sitting in a corner and reading books all the time. But now…she's making me see my life in a new light. I don't feel lonely anymore."

"Yeah well, if you didn't want to be lonely, you could've just hung out with Demyx."

"I don't think that would've worked. He can play his sitar all day, and it wouldn't make me move an inch."

"You say that now, but look what happened to me."

"Well, you didn't have a life like mine."

"Who gives a damn?"

"Well, if you actually did have my lifestyle, you would envy everyone that was having fun with others. Being lonely for years would take its toll on you."

"What was that?"

"Should we change the topic of this conversation?"

"GAAAAH! ALL THIS TIME IT THOUGHT YOU WERE MORE OF A GENIOUS, BUT NOW YOU'RE MORE LIKE A NATURAL IDIOT!"

"What the hell!?"

"Look, just give me the long-story-short version here."

"Fine. It's just that…if both of us…got our hearts back…I would say that…"

"What? What? What?" Axel leaned forward in anticipation.

"Hello my dear, dear friends!" Larxene greeted while skipping in. "Are you having a nice conversation?"

"I think it was nice, until you came in." Axel said.

"I don't see how I can be a problem."

"You have no idea."

"So what were you guys talking about?"

"Um…something…painful?"

"Painful!? Who got hurt!?"

"Disregard that."

"Okay! I'll be going now!" She skipped away.

"That was awkward." Axel said flatly.

"For some reason, I feel like I just puked." I added.

"Just for seeing her? Damn, you have a weak stomach."

"Not that. Maybe it's because I just told all my problems to someone." That was true. Sure, Axel's not the best listener, but telling everything to someone like him would make the pressure I have on me right now a lot lighter, even though I wasn't able to finish. If we did get our hearts back, I would've said…'I love you.'

"Hell, for me, I just burn up the next thing I see to relieve myself."

"That is so like you."

"What? You have a problem with that—"

"MY FLOWERS! I JUST HAD THEM PLANTED!!" Marluxia.

"Want to check it out?" I asked Axel.

"Hell yeah! I would love to see the look on Marly's face!"

"I just finished growing them…and now…all that work…burned and tossed into a pile of ashes…" Marluxia said to himself. Axel was laughing his ass off. Turns out, the curse that the fox put on Marluxia was that of killing every plant he touched.

"HOLY CRAP! I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING! THIS IS JUST HILARIOUS!" Axel was laughing while gripping his stomach and lying on the floor.

"I wish I could kill off that redhead, but unfortunately…I've lost the will to live…" Marluxia sighed. "What is the point of having gardening as a hobby if whatever you touch dies?"

"Um…cheer up?" I suggested.

"I'm afraid I can't…" Axel was still laughing on the floor, and this time he was hugging Kimaru.

"FINALLY! I CAN'T HEAR YOUR GAY-ASS VOICE! HAHAHAHA!" Now Axel was pounding on the floor, with Kimaru looking a tad bit scared. I decided to shut him up before he passed out, but…

"IF THERE'S ONE THING THAT I CAN'T STAND MORE THAN MY DEAD FLOWERS IS THAT STUPID OBNOXIOUSNESS OF YOURS YOU DIMWIT OF A PYRO!" Marluxia just took out his scythe and struck it down beside Axel's head, hacking off a strand of hair. Axel slowly inched away, terrified.

"To tell you the truth, I wanted him to shut his trap too."

"I'm glad you share my views."

"How will we get him off the floor?"

"Why ask m—"

"Oh my!" Someone shouted.

"Wait. Why are you here again?" Axel asked.

"I wanted to see what the problem was, and now I have!" Larxene said.

"I'm in no mood for your insults." Marluxia hissed.

"Insults? I absolutely loved your garden! It was so beautiful! Who did this?"

"Apparently, I did."

"Why would you destroy your own flowers?"

"Why the hell would I do that!? It's that frickin' curse! The frickin' frickin' curse!"

"What curse?"

"Apparently, being a goody-two shoes would make you a natural idiot." I said to myself.

"I guess Xunakiy would know all about that!" Axel got up, apparently fine.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked angrily.

"Well, it's just that Xunakiy's always acting so gullible and all happy-go-lucky—GYAAACCH!" I was choking Axel as hard as I could. Even though it was a joke, I didn't like it.

"Oh no! You shouldn't choke people!" Larxene fretted.

"HE. HAS. CRAPPY. JOKES." I said while gritting my teeth.

"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to stop this. Oh well, bye-bye!"

I was finally satisfied with my punishment for Axel, so I let go, and Axel plopped onto the floor.

"WHAT THE HELL WASTHAT FOR, MAN!" Axel yelled at me as soon as he caught his breath.

"That was for making fun of Xunakiy."

"That does it. You two were made for each other!" Axel said.

"Oh my! When I even hear the mention of love, it fills me with bliss!" Marluxia cheered. "I know a good romance when I see one! I have a feeling you two will make the best of couples—"

"XUNAKIY-CHAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Someone yelled.

We both rushed over to the site, with an injured Demyx on the floor.

"Holy crap! What the hell happened here!?" Axel shouted.

"It's obvious they were attacked." I replied.

"I know that!"

"Just who attacked them?" Marluxia asked.

"Guys! Look!" Axel pointed. He was pointing towards Xunakiy, with a knife in hand.

"Xunakiy! What are you doing!?" I yelled. Apparently I was temporarily freed from the curse, but that didn't matter right now. I was worried about Xunakiy. She was just staring blankly.

"What do you think is wrong with her?" Marluxia asked.

"Do you have to ask ALL the questions?"

"You just asked one."

"Never mind—GYAAAH!" Xunakiy nearly slit Axel's throat. Luckily, he was able to step backward before he got hurt.

"Xunakiy! Snap out of it!" I yelled. She paid me no mind. She just kept going for Axel, and then she went for Marluxia. He did a backflip and unfortunately, he ended up getting cut in the leg.

"Crap!" Marluxia yelled as he held his thigh. Xunakiy was about to gouge his eye out, but fortunately, at least for Marluxia, I grabbed the knife. Well, that finally got her attention, but then she nearly stabbed me in the stomach.

"Xunakiy! Stop this!" I tried to yell at her. I grabbed the knife again when she almost brought it to my eye. I noticed something. Her shadow was replaced with a nine-tailed creature. The fox. She was possessed.

"Zexion! You can't reason with her! Try knocking her out!" Axel yelled out.

"But, I can't hurt her!"

"Either you do it, or I will!"

My hand started bleeding and dripping to the floor. Xunakiy looked at me and then to the blood. She dropped the knife, and then she dropped on her knees, her hands on her head, and she was shaking. I wanted to help her up but then she quickly got up, took the knife, and slashed at my arm. I jumped back, and then she ran straight for me.

"Zexion!" Marluxia and Axel shouted simultaneously.

I really couldn't think of anything better. When she stabbed me in the stomach, I hugged her. It hurt…a lot. But I would bet anything that she was hurt in the same way. The fox was dragged out and Axel just whacked it on the head with the sitar. It turned back into the small snake-like creature, and it slinked away.

"Zexion! Hang in there!" Marluxia shouted as I dropped to the floor.

I woke up with my insides feeling they've been ripped apart, sewn together, frozen, and then microwaved. Which is to say that my stomach hurt.

"Are you okay?" I heard someone say.

"Xunakiy?" I was able to say, although it was barely audible, even to me.

"Oh, so you are okay!"

"Well, I'm glad you're alright too."

"Thanks. But I think you should rest."

"Fine."

I wanted to jump out of bed and hug her tightly, but my stomach hurt badly, so I ended up falling asleep right away.

The next morning, I went straight for her room.

"Good morning!" I greeted.

"Ohiyo gozaimasu!" She greeted. "Oh, um…how's that wound healing up?"

"I'm doing fine."

"I'm glad to hear that! Oh, um…"

"What?"

"I was being really rude yesterday, um…"

"I'm sorry, but could you please finish your sentences?"

"It's just that…well…I felt really worried about you."

"How is that rude?"

"Well…it's just that we've never met before."

"..."

"My name's Xunakiy. What's yours?"

((Zexion finally admits that he would love our heroine if he had a heart, but unfortunately, she's had her mind erased! I also have some bigger plans for Xunakiy-chan's loss of memory in the story. Also, I am getting off of school this week! Woohoo! Look forward to some more updates. Hopefully. Please review, and thank you for all the support you've been giving!))