Chapter 26 – Starting Off the Day

Xigbar emerged from his room and started down the hall, grouchy and disgruntled. As he passed, dusks and Nobodies alike would stop and stare, acting as if a monster was lurking. However, this morning, his temper was nothing short of monster-like. As he proceeded to the Grey Room, he muttered bitterly to himself.

"I can't believe I let Demyx trick me. I probably missed a perfect story! Poppet and kiddo haven't returned yet, who knows what wild things they could be doing!" the Freeshooter exclaimed.

"Pervert," a passing-by Dusk commented.

Not even looking to see who had spoken, Xigbar swung around and shot his Arrowguns, obliterating the dusk. "That Demyx will pay, I'll see to that," he said, continuing on. "I could have had a master of a story! Maybe even got some award, like the Gossiper of the Year! But no, instead I had to write about the time Demyx's puppy buried his grandma's slipper next to David Bowie's grave! Though…I don't think that dude is even dead!" He had been talking to himself so much that he hadn't realized that he had arrived in the Grey Room. He turned his head just in time to see a flash of a blue sitar behind one of the couches. A smirk appeared on his face as he walked over to the couch. "I see you Demyx," he said.

There was a moment of silence before number II heard a squeaky voice say "No one here besides us dust bunnies!"

"Dust bunnies?" came an appalled voice. Luxord walked over to the couch, a duster in his hand. "I'll have you know, I just cleaned this couch, and there isn't a single dust bunny I haven't eliminated!"

Xigbar smirked with satisfaction. "Busted."

"Darn," Demyx said. He stood up and revealed himself. "Um…hey…Xigbar…"

Xigbar furrowed his eyebrows. "Demyx…you…made…me…miss…" he began in a low tone of voice.

Demyx knew that messing with Xigbar would mean big consequences, even though he was his friend. He started to panic, his mind overflowing with possible punishments. "Twenty years in prison without my sitar or David Bowie CDs? Front row tickets to a Hannah Montana concert? Going on a blind date with his grandma? Eating soup out of the same…can?" He had to act fast. "Uh…look! Larxene and Axel are eating breakfast together!" He pointed over to the couches where indeed Axel and Larxene sat.

At the mention of a possible new gossip topic, Xigbar turned his head toward the other couches. Now was Demyx's time to escape! The Melodious Nocturne flew out of the Grey Room as fast as he could, making everyone who saw him think he had had too much cheese.

"Hey get back here!" Xigbar exclaimed. But Demyx was already out of site. The Freeshooter let out a groan and walked up to Axel and Larxene. "Hey…you two have been hanging out recently, haven't you?"

Axel quickly put his coffee down a scooted away from Larxene a bit. "We were discussing…the international situation," he fibbed.

"As if," Xigbar said, not believing him. "You aren't falling for that love junk like Poppet and kiddo, are you?"

Larxene shook her head quickly, trying to think of something that was 'in character' for her to say. "Ew, like no way! Love is stupid! Pain is what matters! Pain! Pain!"

"Sadist," Axel mumbled. "Yeah, we're much too smart for that childish stuff. We're just…colleagues. Got it memorized?"

Xigbar looked at them for a minute, trying to decide whether or not to believe it. "…All right, whatever. So have Poppet and kiddo come back from Twilight Town yet?"

Axel shook his head. "No they haven't." His expression then became suspicious. "Do you have anything to do with this?"

Xigbar shook his head. "Nope, for once, I don't." He then glanced away for a second. "But I'm about to." The Freeshooter opened the dark corridor and disappeared before Axel or Larxene could stop him.

"I hope he finds them, but I hope he doesn't hurt them," Axel said, staring at the empty place that the dark corridor once stood.

Larxene slammed her fist into the palm of her hand. "If he does, he'll pay!"

Xion had dozed off a couple times during the time that had elapsed, but Roxas remained awake, gazing contently at the sleeping girl. He touched the back of her head gently and said to himself, "Hm, I wonder where her ribbon is…"

At that moment, Xion opened her eyes sleepily, being reminded that she was face to face with him. The warmth of his body sent a tingle up her spine as she realized she was in his arms. She made a soft murmur as people do when they're first awakened.

"Hey, you, awake again?" he asked, chuckling. Number XIII reached under her chin and gave it a little tickle, causing her to squeal a bit. "Xi-Xi, you're the one who's cute when sleepy."

"Roxy…" she began, breathing in the morning air. "I really do hope you're all right…"

Roxas flashed one of his adorable grins. "Of course I'm all right, Xion! I'm with you, aren't I?" He only had to lean in a tiny bit before he locked lips with her, saying what else he was meaning to say through the kiss. Xion instantly closed her eyes, thoroughly enjoying the contact. After a few more moments, Roxas hesitantly ended it.

"Roxas…" Xion began, meeting his gaze. "I feel so close to you right now…and not just physically. I…I never knew Nobodies were capable of such emotion."

"Neither did I," Roxas replied, soothingly rubbing her back. "But apparently it's possible."

Xion nodded, and for a few moments, it was silent. Her mind was swirling with thoughts; one in particular was bugging her. "Roxas…does it disturb you…that I'm a replica?"

Roxas looked up, somewhat startled by the question. He had always thought the answer was obvious. "Of course not, Xion! I've told you many times; to me you're not a replica! You're Xion! And you're…mine." He tightened his grip around her. "Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise. Especially Namine."

"Namine actually hasn't confronted me yet," Xion realized. "But I'll be on the lookout."

"Good girl," Roxas said, kissing the top of her head. "Oh, that reminds me…" He reached for his pocket, which wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do when you're that close to a person. When he finally managed to do so, he took out the flyer that the man had handed him yesterday. "Look Xion. I've won two tickets for the movie theater tomorrow. Do you wanna go with me?"

Number XIV looked a little surprised at the sudden proposal, but she was excited at the same time. "I've never been to the movie theater before…" she began.

"Neither have I," Roxas told her. "That's what'll make it more fun! Please please please go with me! I'll kiss you ten million times if you do!" As he waited for her response, he put the flyer back in his pocket for safekeeping.

Xion giggled. "Of course, Roxy, you don't have to beg! I'll go with you anywhere!" She started to playfully tickle his midsection. "We'll have to ask Axel first, I mean we don't want to hurt his feelings…"

"Definitely," Roxas agreed. Suddenly he noticed that Xion had been tickling him, and he started to squirm. "Hey, Xion, quit it!"

"No!" Xion replied through laughter, continuing the tickling. "Make me!"

All of a sudden, Roxas tightened his grip around her even more and pulled her up against him. "Oh I will," he said in a whisper. A chill ran down Xion's body at the tone of Roxas' voice. She was waiting anxiously for his next move when suddenly an all-too-familiar voice was heard.

"Well, well, well, Poppet and kiddo. You've outdone yourselves this time, really." The two quickly stood up to see Xigbar appear from around the corner. Their faces immediately turned a bright shade of red. "And this time you have no right to be angry at me for spying – you stayed here overnight and I came looking for you. Not invading your territory at all. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

"There's any easy explanation to all of this!" Xion spoke up. "Namine…" The girl suddenly realized she was talking to Mr. Gossip himself, so she shut up.

Xigbar raised an eyebrow. "Yes? What about Namine?"

"She meant to say Marluxia!" Roxas interrupted. "Easy mistake. You see, Marluxia gave her gardening detail yesterday evening so she couldn't come to the clock tower right away. By the time she finally got here, I fell asleep waiting for her."

There was a moment of silence; Roxas and Xion had their fingers crossed. "Then why didn't you just wake him up and go back to the castle, Poppet?" number II inquired. "Even though that isn't as juicy."

"Well…" Xion began, trying to think up an excuse.

"Give it up," Xigbar said. "I've heard enough false stories for two days. The truth was: you wanted to try sleeping with him, right? To see how it felt to be under that blanket with him, so close to him…"

The blush on Xion's face deepened. "Well…" she said quietly. "Maybe…"

"But is there anything wrong with that?" Roxas asked, defending her.

Xigbar crossed his arms and leaned back against the tower. "No, but there could have been," he told them. "But we Nobodies don't have that kind of instinct, so be thankful."

Roxas and Xion exchanged confused glances. "What are you rambling about?" number XIII asked.

"Rambling? As if," Xigbar said with a shrug.

Roxas looked up at the man for a minute, but then turned away. The glare of the Freeshooter's yellow eye made him nervous. He instead picked up the blanket and returned it to Xion. The moment of awkward silence was interrupted when Xigbar spoke again.

"You two should be really grateful I'm not going to report this naughty behavior," he said, pointing both index fingers at the two. "I'm letting you off with a warning this time. And besides, I know you two will do something sometime today that'll make for a juicy story."

The two looked nervously at the ground, wondering how to respond. "Thanks…" Xion said quietly. "Because I probably wouldn't even understand those big words you would use to pervert this."

Xigbar chuckled. "Probably not, Poppet. Well, I think you should RTC now and get ready for your mission."

Roxas let out a sigh. "And the morning was going so well…" he muttered. He then started down the tower, Xion following behind.

As number XIV walked past Xigbar, the Freeshooter reached out and spanked her on the rear. She let out a yelp, causing Roxas to immediately turn around.

Xigbar just laughed. "That was for the naughty things you do, Poppet."

Xion continued on her way slowly, feeling ashamed. Roxas stopped and glared angrily at him. "Don't EVER hurt my Xion!" he exclaimed.

Roxas' tone of voice just amused number II more. "Hurt? As if. You're the one that's going to hurt her… with this love junk. Take my advice and forget it. Nobodies can't love."

After Xigbar accompanied Xion and Roxas back to the castle, number XIII and XIV waited for their missions to be assigned. They had their fingers crossed, hoping that they would be together, as Saix read off the mission roster.

"Today," said number VII. "Everyone is going to work in pairs, except one will have to go solo, because of Marluxia being excused from duties." There were a few moans among the members because they knew the one who went solo would have to do double the work. "I will now read off the missions. Xaldin and Lexaeus: your mission is to track down an unknown Heartless in Beast's Castle." The two burly Nobodies idly started to get their gear together. "Luxord and Xigbar will be sent to Wonderland to defeat all six Pink Concertos."

"Piece of cake," Xigbar remarked, collecting a few potions. He then let out a groan, noticing where his partner was. "Luxord, don't gamble Moogle for potions! Just buy some and let's go!"

Saix's face remained emotionless and he continued on. "Zexion and Axel are being sent to Twilight Town to track down the Tailbunker."

"C'mon, emo kid," Axel said with a smirk. Zexion just rolled his eyes, picked up his Lexicon, and followed the Flurry of Dancing Flames through the dark corridor.

Saix cleared his throat before he read off the next team. "Larxene and Roxas are going to Neverland to eliminate Heartless and collect hearts."

Roxas glanced over at Larxene. "Oh boy, I hope she's as nice as Axel says she is…" he thought apprehensively as he watched the Savage Nymph equip herself with magic.

"Xion and Vexen are going to perform a recon at the Olympus Coliseum," number VII announced.

"A mission with the replica," Vexen mused. "Could prove to be quite useful in my experiments." His train of thought was interrupted when he felt someone tugging on his sleeve. He looked down to see Roxas standing there.

"Take good care of her and don't let her get hurt!" Roxas instructed.

Vexen let out a laugh. "Number XIII? Ordering around number IV? I'll do what I want!"

At that, Roxas summoned his keyblade. "Don't let her get hurt!" he repeated, this time with more anger in his voice. "Unless you want a keyblade imprint in your head!"

Vexen responded with another laugh. "How could she get hurt on a recon unless she tripped over her own feet?" he asked, placing his hands on his hips.

"You could bore her to death with your boring lectures!" Roxas retorted. "So just watch it!" He then left to get ready for his own mission.

At that moment, a horrible thought came into Demyx's head. "Wait a sec…everyone else has a partner…so does that mean…I'M GOING ALONE?"

"And Demyx will have no partner on his Heartless mission to Halloween Town," Saix finished, putting down his clipboard.

"Heartless indeed," Demyx muttered. "He knows I'm not cut out for that kind of thing! I'm not a fighter, I'm a pacifier!" His eyes scanned the room in a panicked sort of way. "Xigbar! Help me!"

Xigbar already had one foot in the dark corridor as he looked back at Demyx. "Heh, no way," Xigbar replied. "You're getting what you deserve." And with that, he disappeared.

Demyx looked around the room again, becoming even more anxious. "Who else is my friend…Zexion?" But there was no reply. Zexion had already left. "Hm…Roxas!" He threw himself at Roxas' feet. "Buddy you've gotta help me! I don't want to go alone! Especially to Halloween Town! I'm afraid of ghosts!"

Roxas gave Demyx a weird look. "Well…" he began. Suddenly he met Saix's gaze, which seemed to say 'if you help him out you'll never see your precious Xion again'. He picked up his potions and headed for the dark corridor. "Sorry, I can't help you."

Demyx was really starting to get anxious. He flew over to Xion just when she was about to follow Vexen through the dark corridor. "Please, Xion, you're my only hope!" he wailed. But before the Melodious Nocturne could do any more pleading, Xion was pulled away by Vexen. That was when he realized that he was alone in the room, save Saix. As Saix gave him a stern glare, he felt himself shrink. "Um…I have to go potty…" Without waiting for Saix to say another word, he rushed away.

As number IX ran down the halls, he formulated a plot for getting out of his assigned mission. "Hmm…well…I could drop a safe on Saix…nah, too messy. I could change the name on the roster. But…that would be hard to do and everyone else has already left. Hmm…hmm…" He was so busy trying to think that he almost ran over Namine. As Namine let out a shriek, he immediately stopped. "Oh, sorry, Namine! I didn't see you!"

"It's all right," Namine sighed, trying to regain her composure.

There was an awkward moment of silence in the halls, each trying to think of something to say. "So…" Demyx began. "Where's Marly?"

"Marluxia? Oh, he's out in his garden," Namine replied. "Trying to think up a pla- er…something. He doesn't want to be disturbed."

Demyx nodded. "Oh, well what are you going to do?" he asked.

Namine thought for a moment. "Just walk around I guess," she shrugged.

"Hmm…" Demyx mused. "Hey! Wanna play a game?"

"I'm not a kid, Demyx," Namine replied, laughing a bit.

"I know…" Demyx said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "But you always look so lonely and I thought maybe you need a friend…"

At that, a small tear formed in the corner of Namine's eye. She wished Roxas was the one who had said that to her. "Well…we could both walk around I guess," she suggested, trying to sound optimistic.

"Great!" Demyx cheered, a smile appearing on his face. The two started to walk down the hall. "So…I'm sorry things didn't work out with Roxas…"

Namine sighed, getting a pain in her chest. "It may…" she said softly.

"Well, Xion got to him first," Demyx said with a shrug. "Those two are pretty cute together. But poor things, they have to go through a lot of red tape because they're the first Nobody couple. I wish I could play them a lullaby on my sitar…"

Namine let out another sigh, trying to hide her disgust. "They won't be for long," she muttered.

"Huh?" Demyx asked.

Namine looked up. "Nothing," she told him quickly.

There was a moment of silence before Demyx spoke again. "Maybe you could try to be their friend…" he began. That immediately got the white witch's attention. "They would want to be your friends, I bet."

She shook her head rapidly. "No, I don't want to be their friend. I…I want Roxas…"

Demyx blinked a couple times. "Well…I read that in Xigbar's magazine but I didn't know it was true. Well…good luck I guess…" He was about to say more when a booming voice was heard.

"DEMYX!" Saix yelled.

The Melodious Nocturne immediately picked up his pace. "Gaah! Well, see you later, Namine!" He then headed for his room. When he got there, he flopped down on his bed and thought. "Hm…how can I get out of this?" His eyes wandered to a tissue box he had lying around; an idea hit him. "I know! I'll play sick! The schoolboy's classic excuse!" He hopped off his head and removed his coat, revealing his water-droplet-studded pajamas. He then strewn some tissues about his bed and got under the covers. When the expected knock was heard, he answered in a miserable voice. "Come in…"

Saix opened the door and was shocked to see what he found. "Why are you in bed, number IX?" he asked.

Demyx faked a cough. "Is that you, puppy? I don't feel too good," he lied. "My nose is all stuffed and runny at the same time…and…oh, I didn't know you had a twin…"

Saix sighed. "I know you're just acting, Demyx. Come, get out of bed and head to Halloween Town."

"Now there are triplets," Demyx said weakly, squinting his eyes. "What a big family you have."

Saix scratched his chin, not sure what to think. "Hmm…" he thought. "Maybe he isn't faking…Wait, I have the perfect test. Demyx never likes to have his sitar touched." He reached over and ran his finger down the strings of the instrument. "Number IX, do you mind if I play?"

At the sight of his sitar being touched, number IX cringed. "Um…sure…but please do it outside. I don't want my headache to worsen."

Saix grumbled and walked to the door. "I'll have to see what the superior thinks." With that, he left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Whew," Demyx said, relieved. "That was a close one. Now when ol' Xemny gets here, my breath will smell so bad that he won't be able to check my throat." He reached under his bed and took out a couple chili peppers, some garlic, a bowl of buckwheat, and some pickles. "This is going to be great!"