There was no place for him, and Vanitas knew that very well. He was lying on a bed, staring at the ceiling. This place was better than the previous one, that was for sure. When he was just the old man's apprentice, he slept on the dusty ground of the Keyblade Graveyard, waking up with sore back, bruises and headaches. The new Organization offered a decent bed, breakfast, bathroom, and even a coat that came with pockets. He had taken the habit of shoving food in them, remembering the times when the simple prospect of eating something was more of a dream than reality.
It came with a few downsides as well, though. Mostly, people. He didn't have to interact with anyone before, because there was no one to interact with. Now the rooms were brimming with noisy and annoying people, Larxene trying to pick fight with everyone, Xemnas muttering complete nonsense, Demyx playing his sitar so much Vanitas considered burning it and the musician with it, Luxord asking him almost kindly if he wanted to play cards, Vexen running everywhere with piles of papers and hazardous products while still managing to show how much he despised everyone. These people all hated each other. And yet, Vanitas hated them more.
Pretty much all of them were Nobodies, beings with no heart. The ones who were not were heartless, and had...no… heart? He had not really listened to the explanation. They could travel through space, summon weapons and use magic. And more importantly, they could not feel anything.
And that was why he was left out, different, not one of them. They hated one another, but they were alike, they were a group, they could relate to one another. They belonged together. He did not.
Space travelling, summoning, magic, he could do just as much as they could. But he could do so much more. They couldn't feel, he wished he wouldn't either. His whole existence was pain, hate, anger, doubt, worries, fear, jealousy. Ventus had kept all the nice things, and left him all the wrong ones. One more reason why he hated Ventus. If only all these messed up emotions stayed inside his head, perhaps he could deal with them, try to fit in, but of course, they had to take shape with his Unversed. He knew how much the other ones were disgusted by this. How much they rejected him, because they could see who he really was. A freak. An open book who would sometimes lose control and set free an army of Floods, of Scrappers, of Hareraisers, when he felt something too strongly. They would stay away from him because he was a monster, an anomaly they didn't want anything to do with. They made it clear he wasn't home.
They probably were jealous he had a heart. It was an incomplete one, a rotten one, and many times he had wished he had none at all, just like them, but it was a fact. He had that thing they were fighting to get back. At least, if any of them still believed in the old man's plain lie. They were many things, but they weren't stupid. They got fooled once, but they probably wouldn't fall for the same empty promise twice. Why would they come back? It made no sense. Why did he come back? To be fair, he had not really be gone. In his own referential, that was. Xehanort pulled him from this world's past, his present, and brought him here. He had not quite grasped all the subtleties of this time travel, but had heard what he wished for: "You will be given another chance to fight Aqua. Perhaps even Terra. And you will have another opportunity to return to Ventus."
And for these reasons, Vanitas would set worlds on fire, he would bring chaos and destruction, and he would even bear to stay in a place with people who weren't like him and made it clear to him every day.
Lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, he wondered if there was anywhere he would ever belong. But there was only one person like him, and that was him. He was the only freak, the one no one would understand. The half someone, not Somebody enough, not Nobody enough, and he would never be welcome anywhere. If there was a place he could belong to, that would be the Realm of Darkness, a place cold and dark and lonely no one wanted to think about. That sounded about right for someone like him.
With a sigh, he rolled out of his comfy bed, put on his coat that came with pockets and left his quiet room for a hall full of free breakfast food and people he despised. Such was the price to pay.
If you've read my other KH fics, you might know that Vanitas is one of my personal faves (I tend to like villains more anyway), so I do feel really sorry he only appears now, after 3 weeks, 22 days. Sorry bby Vani, I still love you though!
Twenty-third theme will be "Moon"!