It wouldn't be long now.
Even when he was playing his loudest, Demyx could only hear the faintest tones, the echoes of notes. It was - just barely - still enough to keep him satisfied, but he knew the end was near. Time to start thinking about how exactly he was going to do it - he'd decided against throwing himself off a balcony as too easily thwarted. Sleeping pills had the appeal of being painless, but he wouldn't necessarily just go to sleep and not wake up; he might start puking his guts out and choke to death on his own vomit, which was a really nasty way to go. And then there was the problem of actually getting his hands on them.
As long as he could still hear the music, he still had time to decide. Right now, he had something else to do. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on Roxas's door.
Axel answered, not entirely surprisingly. Roxas was still sitting on the floor with a video game controller in his hands. (Hi, Demyx - you coming in?) Demyx shook his head. (What's up, then?)
Demyx took another deep breath, fidgeting with the sheets of music in his hands. "I'm giving a concert in about five minutes, and I need an audience."
Axel blinked at him, then shrugged. (That's worth an interruption.) He turned his head and said something to Roxas, who hit a few buttons on his controller and put it down. (Okay, lead the way, maestro.)
Demyx half-smiled and opened a portal to the Hall of Empty Melodies. "There should still be some excellent seats available...seeing as I've only sold two tickets. And those, I practically had to give away." Axel laughed as he went through the portal.
Roxas hung back for a few seconds. (Is there some special reason you're doing this?)
Demyx shrugged. "I wanted to. Isn't that good enough?" Roxas shrugged and went through the portal. Demyx followed, and closed it behind him. He took a seat on the stage and summoned his sitar, as Axel and Roxas tried to decide which were the best seats in the Hall. "They're all equally good," Demyx told them. "I checked." They didn't pay attention, which gave him some time to get his music in order and make sure his sitar was properly tuned. By the time they were satisfied with their seats, he was ready to begin.
All the music he'd written and collected, since well before he'd started losing his hearing - it was all spread out in front of him. He started with the oldest piece, one he'd written while watching the rain - Roxas would never have heard it before; it had been written before he arrived. Demyx couldn't hear any of the soft, pattering melody, at least not with his ears. In his memory, it was as clear and beautiful as it had been the day he wrote it, almost as beautiful as the music of the rain itself.
He didn't look up until the song was over, and he was retuning his sitar for the next song. Axel and Roxas were looking up at him in anticipation, almost as if they were a little mesmerized. He couldn't help but smile.
All that I have to offer is the music...it's my last gift to you, before I die. I hope you like it.
AN: Number 92, All That I Have.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, got it memorized?