Author's Note: Thank you so much for checking out my story. I'm having so much fun writing this. I'm sorry if it seems kind of slow-paced. I also apologize if there are any grammar/spelling mistakes. Sometimes I don't catch everything during the proofreading process.
"Xigbar?!" Reina gasped, finding herself completely alone in the ring of leering Heartless. There was no sign of the older man anywhere, and her stomach churned uncomfortably at the meaning behind his disappearance.
He wasn't going to help her out anymore. And why should he, after she tried so hard to push him away and refuse his assistance? She should have known better than to place her blind trust in a complete stranger. Just as she was about to give up hope that he was going to step in and help, she heard his voice calling out to her.
"They'll never stop coming until they steal your heart and vanquish your light. It's what I've been trying to tell you all this time. You don't stand a chance against the darkness, sweetheart. Your fate was sealed the moment you stepped out of the comforts of your own home. You should have never embarked on an adventure you couldn't handle."
She couldn't see him anywhere, but the echo of his voice was gliding through the area, bouncing from one corner of the area to the next to let her know he was still watching somewhere from the sidelines. Xigbar had intended to bring her insecurities to the surface and his plan was working; the confident façade she had been clinging to before had entirely evaporated.
"Wh-What am I supposed to then?!" Reina barked. "These guys are way tougher than me! Do I just run away?!"
One of the six Large Bodies took a step forward, his empty gaze settling on Reina's shaky form. Xigbar kept talking from the shadows even as it approached her.
"You can do whatever you want. You can run away back to your ship and fly back home where your friends are waiting for you," he suggested first. "Clearly you aren't cut out to be a fighter."
"I can't go home! I haven't even found what I'm looking for yet! You don't understand—I absolutely cannot fail my mission!" Reina never took her eyes off the six ginormous Heartless before her. They hadn't jumped in for the kill yet, but she was afraid to move even an inch from the spot she was standing in out of fear it would trigger them to attack.
Xigbar materialized behind the trembling brunette, hands stuffed in the pockets of his leather coat as he watched her struggle to come up with a solution. "Well, if you don't leave now, princess, Option B will be chosen for you. I'm sure you can guess what that be. I mean, come on. Those assholes are twice your size. You'll be flattened like a pancake before you get in one hit."
She knew he was behind her. He hadn't completely abandoned her just yet, but as to why he was even sticking around to watch whatever she was decided was a mystery. He was making it seem like her only choices were to run away like a coward, abandon her hunt for the First Key of Radiance and risk someone else getting to them first that could use their power for the destruction of all worlds, or she could just roll over and die. Neither of those choices sounded very promising.
"I mean, there's always Option C," Xigbar casually tossed out. "Option C would be team up with me and let me knock these chunks of lard away with nothing but a flick of my wrist. I wouldn't stop just there, either. I'd help you through your whole journey in Wonderland since I'm just such a standup guy. Of course, I'd expect a little something in return this time."
Whatever favor he needed from her, he was determined to get it one way or another. It would really help if she knew just what it was, exactly, that a man like him wanted from her, but she didn't get a chance to ask as the Heartless grew tired of waiting around and finally decided to make the first move.
The first of the Large Bodies swung its mighty fist in the girl's direction, and if Reina hadn't ducked, she would have gotten her pretty little face completely busted in. Just as she readied a retaliation attack, the second member of the fat Heartless group was trying to pounce on her and crush her underneath its weight. Another successful dodge had kept her from being flattened out, but with six of them all preparing different attacks at once, her luck was bound to run out.
The Keyblade had helped her deflect the third Large Body's punch in the nick of time as she held it up to block its attack, but she didn't see the fourth Large Body come at her from the side until it was too late. The menacing Heartless pummeled his fist into her gut, flinging her back a few feet until her back slammed against the ground. A painful crack of her ribs could be heard as soon as she hit the dirt, and Reina let out a strangled cry as pain shot through her whole body. As agonizing as it was to even move, she knew she couldn't lie there helplessly or else she'd be stomped flat by her enemies. She could hear their footsteps trudging towards her and her brain was screaming at her to just get up and run.
Even though her ribs screamed in protest, she attempted to roll over on her side to make it easier to push herself up, but the air in her lungs was restricted from the beast's punch and every movement she made caused her to gasp for breath.
"Option C sounds pretty good right now, doesn't it, princess?"
Xigbar's voice came from right above her, letting her know that he had been watching the entire time, waiting for her to verbally request his assistance before he offered any actual help. She had been too distracted trying to force herself to sit up to even notice he was outstretching his hand right in front of her, ready to help her to her feet. "Just say the word and I'll make all your problems disappear."
'As if, you creep!' was what Reina would have liked replied with, to use his own catchphrase against him, but that one singular punch from the Large Body's fist left her incapacitated. Her ribs cracked with every move she made, making it hard to even the find the strength to speak as she looked at the hand outstretched towards her.
"Xigbar-" She could barely utter his name before she coughed out a wad of blood onto the floor in front of his boots, making a nasty, gross sound from her throat as she did so. If Xigbar was disgusted or even concerned, there was no hint of it on his face as he continued to wait for her answer.
"Are you trying to say something, princess?" He joked, tapping the toe of his boot against the side of her head. "You'll have to speak up."
She coughed again, this time her hand clutching her stomach tightly where the source of her pain emitted from. Her ribs were broken, and yet he somehow expected her to form a coherent sentence when even breathing normally was proving to be an impossible feat. Something told her she was going to regret her next sentence, but there was just no helping it at this point.
"X-Xig…I…"
"Yeeeeeeeeeees?" The grin on his face couldn't have possibly gotten any bigger as he cupped a hand around his ear, encouraging her to speak louder as he bent forward to lean directly over her.
Reina finally managed to reach out to let her hand fall right into his palm before giving it a squeeze. Her chestnut hair was falling down in front of her face in tangles, but she managed to give him a steep glare of unbridled intensity even through the thick strands blocking her face.
"Just help me already, damn it!" She choked out, her voice already hoarse. "I pick Option C!"
That was all Xigbar needed to hear as he nodded his head. "Your wish is my command." Reina was soon slumping over again, her hand falling out of his grasp, as Xigbar stepped in front of her to block the path of the Heartless.
His Arrowguns soon appeared in his hands, their sharp edges gleaming in the light before he steadied his aim at his first target and hooked a finger around the trigger.
"Eat shit!" The Freeshooter cackled loudly before firing a few rounds into the face of one of the Large Bodies, firing through its helmet so he could snipe it right between the eyes. He deftly avoided hitting its stomach to prevent any ricochets, and soon the heavy creature was melting away into a cloud of smoky darkness. He reloaded his weapons before shooting through the head of one of the other fat Heartless to knock their numbers down to four, and just to show off a little more, he zipped through one of his portals to appear behind the remaining three only to blast them all away at once with the same round of sharp, fatal lasers until they were all exterminated.
With ease and impeccable shooting accuracy, Xigbar had taken out all of the Large Bodies until nothing but green health orbs were left scattered in their wake. He avoided all contact with the glowing orbs, not wanting to touch them and absorb their health boosts since he wasn't the one in need of healing.
He looked over to see Reina trying to clumsily stand on unsteady footing, a look of pure agony stretching across her whole face as she kept clutching onto her bruised side. He had underestimated the strength of a Large Body Heartless against a feeble pipsqueak who had little experience in combat. While receiving a direct hit from a Heartless of that level wouldn't have done that much damage to someone like Xigbar, it shouldn't have been surprising that one punch was more than enough to knock a young female flat on her ass. It was a miracle she was even able to stand with her shattered ribcage.
"Shit, doll. Can you even stand on your own right now?" He was already reaching in his pocket to pull out another potion bottle as he approached her.
Knowing that the bottle he was offering was his last one, Reina shook her head as to silently protest his assistance any further. Xigbar wouldn't hear of it as he opened the bottle of the concealed healing magic and held it open towards her, enveloping her in a warm, neon green light that immediately alleviated some of her pain.
"You told me earlier you only had two of them on you. You shouldn't waste your Potions on me and save them for yourself," she told him, her voice reduced to a low grumble.
As soon as he had used the Potion on her, Reina could feel the cracked fragments of her ribs begin to repair themselves inside of her body. The pain was fading and she could finally breathe normal again. The magic of healing never ceased to amaze her, and she gradually felt the muscles in her body relax without the need to tighten from the soreness in her side.
Xigbar didn't let the relief show on his face, but it was reassuring to see she was no longer doubling over in pain. "I don't normally get injured during missions, so I didn't think to pack more. If you need more health rejuvenation, collect the HP Orbs and you should get back to normal in no time."
"Actually, I think I'm doing pretty good," she turned to face her savior as sparks of hostility gleamed from her bone-chilling glare. "In fact, I'm going to make you wish you had kept your Potion for yourself!"
Not giving him any time to decipher the meaning behind her words, Reina slugged him as hard as she could right in his gut. While her punch was nowhere near as powerful as a Large Body's, the fact it caught the older man off guard had done more damage than she could have ever expected.
Xigbar's golden eye had widened from the shock, and soon he was the one keeling over from a burst of unexpected pain in his stomach. "Hey! What the fuck was that for?! I just saved your life!"
Seeing him hunched over did wonders for the girl's self-esteem, and she couldn't resist blowing on her knuckles as if she were blowing away imaginary smoke. "That's what you get for messing with my head! You knew I was in trouble, but you waited until after I was injured to step in. I may be a lousy fighter, but you're the one who's a lousy hero if you think it's cool to watch a girl get roughed up a bit before you actually decide to help. My punch was nothing compared to getting your damn ribs crushed by one of those things!"
Xigbar shook his head as he snorted, hands rubbing the spot where her fist had been moments prior. "As if. I waited until you decided to stop being so damn stubborn and admit you needed my help before I stepped in. You seem to be so against people helping you, and I got tired of dealing with your cocky attitude. But holy shitballs, you can throw quite a punch, princess."
"You think I'm the one with a cocky attitude?!" Her fist was itching to slam back into his stomach for that remark, but she attempted to keep her temper at bay for a little longer. "I'm not against people helping me, I'm against you helping me! All this time I had a weird gut-feeling about you, and I now know it was right! This whole time you weren't helping me out of the goodness of your own heart or because you're my knight in shining armor. It's because you wanted something from me, isn't that right?!"
Finally regaining his composure, his shoulders straightened over and he stood at his usual height. She had thought that maybe her outburst would have pissed him off or something, but the softening of his expression surprised her. He was cracking a smile again, letting a few sly snickers escape.
"You really aren't what I expected, 'ya know," he told her, continuing to find amusement in the whole ordeal as his face continued to wrinkle up with his heavy laughter. "Here I was expecting to find some sweet, serene, dignified young lady, and I end up with a feisty brat. Serves me right for thinking I'd get the same exact girl as before."
Reina wondered if maybe she had hit too hard since he was now spouting out ridiculous nonsense. "What are you blabbering about now?"
"Nothing, nothing," he rubbed the back of his neck before letting all humor dissolve so they could finally have a serious conversation. "I'll tell you everything you want to know, but first, grab those damn HP Orbs before they disappear. They only stick around for so long after an enemy is defeated, and I can only guess you're still in a bit of pain."
She had just sucker punched him and yet he was still worried she wasn't in prime condition? He wasn't wrong, though; her whole body was still aching even though her ribs were no longer broken thanks to the effects of the Potion. The amount of concern and care he was showing for not only her safety but her entire well-being, too, was baffling. His actions just didn't make any sense.
Without saying anything, the brunette approached the orbs lying on the ground. As soon as she touched one, she absorbed its healing powers and felt her body revitalize once more. Her Keyblade was also still lying on the ground, having been knocked out of her hands the moment the Large Body punched her. Still in its full weapon form, Reina bent down to take hold of it but chose to not return it to its jewelry form just yet.
"You good now, kiddo?" The man asked her, waiting for her to give him a nod before he could finally gave her the explanation she had been craving.
"Much better now, thank you," she replied in a haughty manner. The Keyblade was down by her side but still ready in case she needed it. What came next would depend on whether or not she would need it. "Now, Xigbar, tell me who you are, why you've been following me, and what you want from me."
There was a lot she wanted to know at once, and he gave a resigned sigh as he realized there was no point in beating around the bush anymore. Well, at least not this bush. They'd handle the other bushes in the way down the road.
"All right. Fine. I admit it. I'm not your knight in shining armor. I'm sure you could guess by the eyepatch and scars that I'm not your typical "good-guy hero" type. I'm not supposed to stick out my neck for anyone during my missions, but I made an exception for you since I thought helping you could be beneficial to me for today's mission." When he saw that she was neither shocked nor disturbed by his statement, probably due to the fact she had been suspicious of him and his good deeds from the very start, he continued on.
"I work for a group called Organization XIII. It's our job to investigate other worlds using portals that help us hop from place to place without the need of a ship. For the most part, our boss wants us to get intel on the various worlds, but sometimes we're assigned the task of eliminating the different kinds of Heartless that pop up. I'm here today in Wonderland to track down a Heartless called the Drainer. It's been causing trouble in all kinds of worlds, and we haven't been able to wipe it out until now since it's always on the move. We finally tracked its location to Wonderland. My job is to find it and take it out so it stops causing so much damn trouble for us."
Reina listened to his explanation, but there were a few things that didn't quite add up. "Wait…If you're not a "good guy hero" type, then why are you trying to kill the Heartless? That actually sounds pretty noble and heroic to me if you're traveling to different worlds to eliminate the threat of these monsters."
"I guess it depends on what way you look at it," Xigbar shrugged. "But I'd say we're more like assassins than heroes. We're not here to save anyone or really get involved in the matters of the worlds we travel. We just take out the Heartless and RTC."
"RTC? What's that?"
"Return to Castle. It's what we call it when a portal opens up for us to return back home."
Reina's eyes lit up. "Your home is in a castle?"
"You're asking too many questions, sweetheart. I'll tell you everything you need to know but nothing else. The Organization likes to keep things hush-hush." He was walking over to where she had left her bag, a bit amazed that she hadn't been more adamant about keeping it at her side considering how important that stupid journal seemed to her in the beginning. He guessed maybe the excitement of the battle and everything else had distracted her. She was not only clumsy, but airheaded as well.
As soon as Xigbar handed her bag to her, Reina couldn't help but want to know more. "So you only saved me because you saw I had a Keysti—I mean, Keyblade—and thought it could be helpful to you since you said the Heartless are drawn to the Keyblade."
"Bingo. You catch on quick. I can't go home until I complete this mission, but how can I kill something I can't even find? The Drainer doesn't want to be found, but not even something as persistent as that thing can ignore the lure of the Keyblade's appeal." He pointed to the weapon at her before raising his finger to point to a nearby tree towards their left. Reina turned her head to see another Solider Heartless peaking out from behind the tree's trunk, but she didn't get to stare at it for very long before a bullet whirred through the air, destroying it on impact.
Reina flinched as she watched how easily Xigbar disposed of it, and she shifted her gaze back to see a very smug-looking Xigbar twirling one of his guns around like it were a baton for a parade.
"That's seriously the reason you've been following me? So I could help draw a Heartless to you for you to kill?" Reina had to brace herself for her next question as she watched his Arrowguns disappear from his hold, their assistance no longer needed for the time being.
"It's not an ordinary Heartless. This thing means trouble. One of the other Organization XIII members tussled with it a few months back before it vanished out of sight and hopped to another world. He was in awful shape after it, too. It's given us a real run for our money, and I only hope I can take it out on my own. Its main power is to steal, or drain, its enemy's magic and abilities, which is why we've been referring to it as the Drainer. Fucking Annoying Leech is what I'd have personally called it, but I guess there's a reason they don't ever let me give names to the Heartless." There were no signs that he was joking about anything he had said about the Drainer which made Reina shudder uncomfortably at the thought of a monster so horrifying simply waltzing around the various worlds, stealing the powers of those it encountered. If someone as skilled and quick-footed as Xigbar was concerned about handling the Drainer, then it must have been one of the stronger Heartless out there.
"It makes sense why you need to get rid of it, but I wish you would have told me that from the start. I would have helped you if you had been honest with me from the get-go instead of making me think that—" Her voice trailed off as she looked away from him and down at her feet. "Oh, nevermind. It is what it is and can't be helped."
She didn't mean to sound so disappointed, but it was kind of hard for her to not be at least a little bummed about everything. Despite how suspicious he was, she had always secretly hoped that he really was just trying to help her and keep her safe from the Heartless strictly out of the goodness of his own heart, and that maybe he really was the cool, rough-around-the-edges male protagonist she had read about in Aerith's romance novels. Not that Reina had hoped she would be the female protagonist in the story by any means, but just knowing there were valiant, genuine heroes out there who rescued damsels in distress without expecting anything in return had been a bit, well, exciting, dare she say it. She should have known to listen to her gut and that his actions were too good to be true. It wouldn't have made sense for him to want to help her as badly as he did without a good, solid reason to do so, especially when he had technically told her from the start that he was on a mission of his own.
"What, are you bummed I'm not as selfless as you thought I was?" Xigbar chuckled. He was able to analyze the meaning behind her sullen body language and disappointed expression, and Reina's eyes snapped back up to his meet his as he drawled on. "Don't get me wrong. Sure, I only helped you because I had hoped you would help me in return, but that doesn't mean I can't be the guy of your dreams, if you let me."
Now he was definitely toying with her and Reina's heart gave an uncomfortable squeeze at the sharp glint in his gaze. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of a flustered response, Reina just rolled her eyes at his comment.
"Don't be like that, babe. You are also smokin' hot, might I add. What guy in his right mind wouldn't want to rescue a damsel in distress that's as stunning as you? Of course, most sweet, helpless maidens don't have an attitude as bad as yours, but beggars can't be choosers, I guess." Xigbar couldn't help but want to tease her a little bit to lighten up the mood upon noticing her obvious disappointment on her face after realizing the truth. Well, at least his dimmed down version of the truth. "I meant what I said before, though. I couldn't just sit back and watch you get torn apart by the Heartless the first time. Keyblade or not, I was going to step in that first time."
"You don't have to butter me up anymore. I get the picture now so there's no point in flattering me to win me over." She mumbled, finally allowing her Keyblade to return to its spot on her neck as a necklace seeing as there was no immediate threat of any Heartless around. She tried to push his compliments about her looks towards the back of her mind, knowing he was just messing around and didn't actually mean it, but her heart betrayed her and gave a little jump without her permission nonetheless.
"For the record," Xigbar continued, "I was initially just going to stay out of your way and wait for it to come after you and your Keyblade, but you weren't going to last out here in the woods more than five minutes if I hadn't have stepped in. Have I mentioned how damn pathetic of a fighter you are?"
Reina gritted her teeth at his words, the embarrassment settling in again. "Once or twice."
"Well, let me say it a third time. You fuckin' suck at fighting, Ms. Keystick Wielder. You'd have been of no help to me dead. I thought if I saved you once you'd be overflowing with gratitude and be more than willing to help me use you to lure out the Drainer, but you're no average chick. You're stubborn as a fucking ass and as thorny as a bush. You make helping you very difficult." He reached out to flick her forehead with his finger to let her know he was still joking around despite the heaviness of his words. Reina didn't need to have a lie detector to know he was telling the truth about his overall intentions, but it didn't make his harsh words any less insulting.
"Hey! I'm doing my best here, okay?!" She stomped her foot angrily like a child throwing a tantrum as he pushed all the wrong buttons. "You think I want to be useless in battle?! You think I want to get my ass kicked by a bunch of monsters and have to rely on a creepy old man dressed in black to help me?!"
He folded his arms over his chest, rewarding her sass with a toothy, charming smile. "As if. You were so damn adamant on proving to me you could handle yourself. I only let you get hurt in this last fight so you'd realize that you're not as invincible out here as you may think. You needed that reality check, sweetheart. I needed you to see that you're dead meat out here on your own so you'd let me help you, and in turn, you would help me."
This guy was giving her a major headache. It would be easy to just walk away and be rid of this annoying pain in the ass once and for all, but he was right. She was good as dead out here on her own, and it was probably a good thing she was realizing it now than at her own funeral. "That's a lot of words for saying you only wanted to help me so I would be live bait for a big, scary Heartless. If you had still told me that from the start, I would have been inclined to help you. No world needs a Heartless like that roaming around."
"As if. If you didn't trust me even I when I saved your life, so what makes you think you would have trusted me if I popped out of nowhere and asked you to be my live bait?" He waved a dismissive hand before sighing, ready to cut straight to the chase now that everything was out in the open. "But you know I can help you find what you're looking for. I know you're trying to find something really important buried here. Some kind of Key of Excellence, or whatever."
"Wh-What?! You mean you've known about my secret mission this whole time?!" Reina shrieked, her voice loud and shrill like fingernails on a chalkboard. "No one is supposed to know about their existence but me!"
He couldn't help but laugh at the way her jaw dropped to her floor. Before she could question how he knew about them, he tugged on his earlobe to remind her of his impeccable hearing. "If no one's supposed to know about their existence but you, then why did you tell the Cheshire Cat about them? And before you throw a fit, I wasn't purposely trying to listen, princess. Don't blame me that you're such a loud-mouth."
At this point, she knew it was no one's fault but her own for him finding out about the Keys of Radiance. She had told the purple cat exactly what she was looking for and that her father was the one who buried one of the keys here. Instead of snapping at him for eavesdropping, she needed to be kicking herself instead for ever mentioning the keys to anyone.
"Look, just forget you ever heard anything about the Keys of Radiance, okay?" Trying to play it cool, Reina straightened her backed and licked her lips to moisten them in preparation for her next lie. "The keys are not important at all. You don't need to look for them yourself or try to get to them before I do. They're just pieces of junk that hold no importance to anything whatsoever. I just want them because they once belonged to my father. You know, like a family heirloom that would be useless to anyone but members of the family. I don't even think you can sell them for a high price or anything so finding them would be a waste of your time."
If Xigbar's grin were to get any bigger, the skin of his cheeks would have started to split. His eyes pinned her to the spot as he saw right through her lies, but he found her attempts to trick him into being disinterested about the hidden keys as kind of cute.
"Hey, dollface, did you know that every time you're lying, you blink rapidly four times in between your sentences?"
His smug expression made Reina swallow hard. She wasn't sure if she should laugh it off or keep trying to bend the truth. "W-What? I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm not lying!"
Her remark only made him shake with laughter. "See?! You did it again just now! You always blink really fast when you're in the middle of a lie. It's how I knew your name wasn't Mary earlier."
Reina's cheeks turned pink again. If she tried to deny anything else, she'd only be digging an even bigger hole for herself. He could read her like a book, and considering the fact that the fate of the worlds rested in her ability to keep him, and anyone else for that matter, away from the Keys of Radiance, she really needed to work on being able to successfully lie.
"Okay, fine. You caught me. I can't lie worth a crap." She grumbled, her bitter resentment towards him running deeper than ever. "But I still need you to forget about the Keys of Radiance. They're none of your concern, okay?!"
"Whoever said I was interested in them in the first place?" His expression didn't change as he stared her down. "As if I have the time to worry about silly shit like Keys of Excellence, or Radiance, or whatever. You jumped to that conclusion all on your own. If you're worried I'm going to snatch your little keys up when you're not looking, you can go ahead and take a chill pill."
Her gut was twisting uncomfortably as she struggled to believe whether or not he was telling the truth. "How can I trust you?"
"That's up to you, princess," Xigbar shrugged in return as he gave another resigned sigh. "Look, I'm just here in Wonderland to blast away the Drainer and get back home. My boss is always piling assignments on me and I'm pretty beat. I seriously just want to get my mission over with and go back to my room for a nap. Call me a lazy sack of shit or whatever, but I only ever do what I'm specifically told to do. If my boss didn't specifically tell me to look for some keys, I'm not going to go out of my way to find 'em. They don't pay me enough to do any long-winded side quests, and unless my boss directly tells me to go on a scavenger hunt for some lame keys that may or may not be important to anyone else but some chick lost in the woods, then I frankly I don't really give a damn about them."
That…was a solid excuse. If anyone knew anything about laziness, it was probably Reina. She was the type to find any excuse to get away with doing the bare minimum, especially when it came to things like schoolwork or magic lessons with Merlin. Even without her royal title, Reina was still a spoiled princess, she supposed, and she hated how she could relate to Xigbar's desire to not go out of his way to find something that was probably not even beneficial to him, as far as he was aware. Was it enough for her to trust him, though? She wasn't sure. This could all be some well thought out plan to get her to trust him long enough to lead him to the key, but something about the way his singular golden eye softened in her direction made her want to believe him. She wanted to trust that he was telling the truth and that he didn't plan on double-crossing her to snatch up the Fifth Key of Radiance that hung around her neck, and then the First Key of Radiance that was securely stashed in the Bizarre Room somewhere in Wonderland.
She was taking too long to speak up so Xigbar was the one to break the silence. "I don't really care if you fully trust me or not, but when it all boils down to it, you and I both need each other's help right now. I can take you to the Mad Tea Party and keep any Heartless from impeding on your mission to find that key you're looking for. All you have to do is stand there and look pretty, and I'm sure the Drainer will come out of hiding. I kill it, and wham, bam, we're done. I'll be able to complete my assignment and RTC, and you can grab your key and get back to your ship in one piece. Honestly, there's no downside for you. Hell, you won't even have to do any fighting."
Reina thought for a moment. When he laid it all out like that, it really did seem like this was nothing but a beneficial deal for her. But what if there was a catch? A slimy, wiggling, dangerous catch that would end up biting her in the ass if she simply went along with what he was offering?
"What happens if I turn this generous offer of yours down and choose to go off on my own?" She asked, giving him a skeptic glance.
"Well I'm not gonna kill 'ya if that's what you're wondering," Xigbar snorted. "But I won't lie and say it wouldn't piss me off, especially after everything I've done for you so far. I also wouldn't help you from here on out with any more battles. Hot as you may be, I'm not going to keep stepping in to save a chick who won't even help me find one single Heartless. Although it might be a shame watching someone as pretty as you get their heart stolen, it won't be of any real consequence to me. Is that the truth you wanted to hear?"
His answer was a lot more coldhearted than she expected. She subconsciously reached up to twirl a lock of hair around her finger. After getting into so many battles with Heartless that day, she didn't even want to know how frizzy and untamed her hair had gotten. The fact that she was even thinking about how her hair looked at that moment wasn't a good sign, but there was no denying the fact that she didn't like how little she mattered to him in the grand scheme of things.
"So you're saying you never cared one way or another about me from the get-go. You just wanted me to be of service to you." Speaking the words out loud made the reality only sting more. She shouldn't have been surprised that all of his flirtatious remarks, all of his concern over her injuries and overall safety, was only just for show to get her to trust him enough to offer to help him. He was clever, she had to admit.
Xigbar knew he had offended her, but there wasn't much he could offer her to console her. She had no idea who he was, what he was, and he couldn't really fault her for sounding disheartened that her knight in shining armor had only been trying to woe her so she'd trust him enough to team up with him. "Look, sweetheart, for what it's worth…" He took a deep breath and scratched at the scar that covered most of his left cheek. "I wish I had a heart to legitimatelycare with. But it is what it is."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Don't think too much into it. It's just an expression," he brushed her question off and continued trying to convince her of what her best option would be. "Either we both agree that we need each other to finish our own missions, or we both get royally fucked in the ass. If I don't have you help me find the Drainer, my boss string me up by my neck. If you don't have me to help you against the Heartless, you won't live to see another day. Get the picture?"
She hated that he was right. She wasn't sure what kind of a boss he had, but it did seem like a serious ordeal if he was willing to go as far as pester a girl in the woods to lend him a hand. Plus, something that dangerous and scary didn't need to be roaming freely around the worlds, right? It would be better if someone did hunt it down and kill it before it hurt someone. That is, if it hadn't already.
And yet, there was a lot of hesitance to trust him. She didn't know this guy from Adam and everything about him was, well, weird. But wouldn't it better to risk trusting someone who had not only saved her life moments before, but also even healed the small injury she had than to just parade off on her own, get lost again, and probably get bombarded by another hoard of ruthless Heartless? She had already proved to herself that she was totally and completely inept at using the Keysti—damn it, Keyblade—and this guy was undoubtedly an expert marksman that could easily wipe out an army of Heartless with one round of bullets. If he was offering her directions and protection, she'd be downright stupid not to accept his help.
There was just not getting around this. She did really need him as much as he needed her. She just had to have faith that he wouldn't end up stabbing her in the back and run off with the Keys of Radiance.
"Okay, fine. You have a deal. Let's be partners," Reina decided with a nod of her head. "I'll help you find the Drainer, and you protect me from Heartless until I find the First Key of Radiance." No deal was finalized without a handshake, but she could only hope that he wouldn't try anything sneaky like press his lips against her knuckles like he did last time.
There was no dramatic kiss to her hand, thankfully; just a simple shake that symbolized the beginning of their new partnership. "Nothing would make me happier." Xigbar flashed his pearly whites at her and gave her a wink. Well, she could only guess it was a wink since she could technically only see one of his eyes.