A/N: I have to warn you (if you haven't noticed before) that Nobody's Perfect is big on parenthesis abuse. Sorry, but that's the way I do it. I do admit, however, that I've been inspired by a fic Disorganization by Esse. I recommend it, natch.
Disclaimer: That's why it's called disclaimer. Meaning you say that you don't.
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IX: Drownin' thy Problems
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"Sign...give me a frickin' sign!" Larxene muttered, walking briskly through the streets of South Port, Destiny Islands. How was she going to find Ashe if signs were apparently forgone in this place? She glowered at nothing in particular, the phrase 'I hate you Xemnas and Demyx' running laps in her mind.
"Kupo?"
She immediately whirled around, her kunais slipping instantly into the gaps of her fingers, expecting some Heartless ambush of some sort (Kupo was something she had heard before, in Castle Oblivion, and she supposed it was just some weird noise the Heartless memories made). Then she realized that (a) Heartless do not usually announce themselves, and (b) why the hell would Heartless come near her; she definitely had no heart to steal.
Instead, she faced empty air. Her eyebrows furrowed. "I swear I heard--"
"Down here, kupo!"
She looked down, and was faced with the cutest thing she had ever seen in her nonexistence.
Wait. Did I just think this overstuffed stuffed toy was cute? Larxene, get a grip on yourself!
She had to admit, had she been a normal seventeen-year-old, she would've gushed over it, but no, she was number Twelve of the Thirteenth Order, thus dubbed Savage Nymph, so the fitting thing to do was to (a) rip it into tiny little pieces, or (b) torture it a bit, watch it squeal in pain, then rip it into tiny little pieces.
Her fingers twitched, but not to kill, but to squeeze its tiny little pompom. She grimaced and retracted her kunais, ignoring the urge to pick up that---thing and just poke at it.
"Kupo?" It looked up at her with its tiny little squinted eyes, making the cutest (she bit her lip hard, drawing blood, and that snapped her out of her stuffed-toy fantasies) little noise as it hovered a few inches off the ground with the help of the cutest (aaargh) tiny little wings.
She wiped blood off her lower lip with her sleeve before staring back down. "Excuse me, but what are you?" (never mind if she sounded so insensitive; she was a Nobody, and that's what Nobodies are: insensitive), she asked tiredly.
The stuffed toy--well whatever it is--ruffled its white fur and peered up at her (hard to tell, since its tiny little eyes looked as if they were sewn shut) in a very offended way. "I am a moogle, kupo, and my name is Mog."
"Okay," Larxene sighed. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and asking flying stuffed toys for directions counted as desperate. "Mog, have you any idea where the Arcadia's house is?"
The moogle snorted (a/n: oh hell how would that sound...?) and made a derisive noise (a slightly higher pitch than the usual kupo-ing sound it normally makes after every sentence). "Kupo, you're standing right in front of it."
She could feel her eyelid twitch as she looked to her left. "Oh." She looked back down at the moogle (now scratching its tiny little pompom in the cutest way--and so she bit her lip again, drawing more fresh blood) and tried to narrow her eyes, but it was just so damn hard to do.
She reached down and squeezed its tiny little pink pompom.
"Kupo! Not the pompom!" it screeched, before flapping its tiny wings and flying into a side street and out of sight.
Larxene giggled before immediately shutting her mouth, her teeth clamping down painfully on her bloody lip.
This is not happening. I am not giggling! I just didn't squeeze its tiny little cute pompom!
"I give UP!" She said frustratedly. Pain shot through her nonexistent heart (so we suppose the pain is nonexistent, but no, why would she feel it in the first place?); being a Nobody sure wasn't a walk in the park, when you're feeling things you aren't supposed to feel because you can't feel in the first place, and especially when you're the Savage Nymph, for she had an image to live up to.
The mahogany door to her left creaked open, snapping her out of her thoughts. She watched, frozen for the first time in her tracks, as two blondes came out on the front porch, holding hands.
"Vaan, be sure to cast that perimeter spell, if something happened to you---"
Vaan (she supposed he was called Vaan, even though he looked kind of---girly) laughed sheepishly before putting a hand on the blonde girl's cheek. "Don't worry, I know you'll come saving me, anyway. Don't look like that, Ashe."
Larxene instinctively peered at the blonde girl, and opened her mouth to call her name, because the final piece was about to be played in less than ten minutes. "A--"
Her voice died in her throat as Ashe began to cry quietly. "Paladins are only expected to live up to twenty-five, you know? You're twenty-two years old, and I don't want to lose you any sooner. You have to take care of yourself--"
"You're not forgetting that you're a Paladin too, are you?" Vaan pulled the crying blonde into a tight embrace. "I know you'll guard my back, and I'll guard yours. We'll grow old together. I promise you that."
A drop of salty water trailed down her cheek, and Larxene shivered, scrubbing it away. It was her Other's memories acting up again; and emotion had no place in her nonexistent heart whatsoever (besides--it was a nonexistent heart, so emotions would actually have a nonexistent place, wouldn't they?). She was here to get Ashe and make her play in the stupid orchestra.
-you're just jealous---
"Ashe St. Ivalice?" She said loudly, taking a step forward.
Ashe jerked her head in her direction, eyeing her warily. "I'm sorry, but do I know you?"
"No, you don't, but you have to come with me."
"Why?" Vaan asked, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Cripes, the least you can do is play the last piece, Ashe, I've replaced you tonight at the Knighting, and you have only five minutes to get to Disney Castle before they play Hikari!" She gritted her teeth, because Vaan had no indication of letting his girlfriend go with some random person to who-knows-where.
"And how d'you suppose you two are going to make it in time?" He said suspiciously. "Gummi Ships to Disney Castle are available on appointment; and besides, it takes three hours to get there--"
"Frickin' hell, I'm talking to Ashe here!" She burst out, her kunais dropping down to her grip for the second time tonight. Both of their eyes widened; Larxene ignored them and walked up to Ashe. "You are going to Disney Castle, because right now, Shelinda's pissed off at me for portalling out---oh--"
Ashe's blue eyes went as wide as they can humanly go.
"Whatever you two are never going to see me again anyway---Vaan, back off---So Ashe, I'm getting pissed off right now, so if you please" --she held out a gloved hand and summoned a portal--" Step right through, that'll take you straightaway to the castle Gardens--get a grip, Vaan--and go play the final piece, the violin's with Shelinda right now."
She paused for air, and pushed a very bewildered Ashe into the portal. She then stepped aside as a very mad Vaan charged at her, so he went straight into the portal after Ashe. Larxene dusted off her gloves and watched the doorway vanish into the night.
That went okay. Now to kill Demyx.
If she hurried...she might get back in time for dinner.
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"Reflect!" Roxas yelled, saving Axel from a shower of broken ceramic plates for the third time. The pyro sighed in relief; he had already been hit by a flying bowl of carbonara (it was okay to be hit by that, but that was the bowl Vexen had been eating out of) and a salt shaker. He used a chakram to deflect another shaker headed his way.
"Demyx, you idiot!" He hissed as soon as the blonde-haired Nobody was in earshot (which was about .10 seconds, since he was busy dodging a certain berserker's lettuce-covered claymore). "You never learn, don't you!"
Demyx shot him a hurt look before grinning. "No, I suppose I don't---gah!"
A badly aimed spear lodged itself in the marble floor right in front of his face, cutting his sentence short. "Xaldin!" he yelled before portalling to the other side of the room.
If Axel wasn't so busy dodging food and cutlery he would've sighed. Fifteen minutes ago a tiny water form had dived right into Saïx's carbonara bowl, and he was certainly not happy (such an understatement, for Saïx was just a few snarls short from getting berserk) with a dancing water-man in his bowl of food (and besides-it was thinning the white sauce, and Axel supposed the white sauce was Saïx's favorite). The dining table (and most of the Dining Hall) was now splattered with pasta and tiny little bits of crumbled croutons (even the ceiling--seriously, Lexaeus should work better on his aim), and numbers II to XIII plus one wicked (sorry, he still hasn't forgotten Naminé blackmailing him, as if she'd ever let Axel forget) memory witch were either cowering under the table or throwing food.
Well, except for Zexion, who was still sitting at the table, calmly twirling his pasta around his fork, dodging the knives and food that came his way. Hell, if the world crashed around him, Zexion would take no notice and go on working on his beloved Sudoku puzzles.
"Axel, down!"
He ducked, someone in general had screamed at him to get down, and he was keen not to get hit by any more food or weapons. He stole a glance at the chair beside him and gasped; a kunai had been driven into the wood, and the remains of a white bowl were scattered on the marble floor below it. A white-sauce spattered blonde dived down beside him.
"Honestly, do you guys really have to turn every dinner into a food fight?" Larxene hissed at him as she threw another kunai, deflecting a wineglass that Roxas had bounced off with a well-timed Reflectga.
"Feh, I thought----" he raised an eyebrow ,"You do want to be my roommate, don't you?"
"Shut it, I already played."
Axel crawled on his elbows into the sanctuary the area under the table offered, having narrowly missed a shard of glass, before turning back to Larxene. "But I think the Knighting lasts all night, and it's not even the twentieth hour!"
"Xemnas said nothing about playing the entire night, didn't he?" she said triumphantly, standing up and grinning. Too bad the image was shattered when a bowl full of Caesar dressing hit her full on the face, thrown by a now very wide-eyed Marluxia.
"L-larxene?" Axel carefully peeked over the table and stared at a spluttering number Eleven. "I-i thought y-you were---"
"Obviously, I'm not!" she snapped, showering the brunette with kunais (all of which Marluxia had either blocked, dodged, or caught---yes, at least someone had better aim than Lexaeus). "Now look at what you've done!"
"I-I'm sorry Larxene!" he yelled, making the ruckus stop.
Xaldin stopped trying to stab Demyx (whose water forms were preparing to give number Three a shower he'll never forget) with his spears, Xigbar and Roxas froze (cutlery in both hands; sporks in Xigbar's, and chopsticks in Roxas'; why are there chopsticks? They're leftovers from the memorable Oriental dinner Xemnas himself had cooked up), Vexen and Lexaeus stared (eyes down from ceiling, where Vexen had made a spectacular bulls-eye on the lettuce number Five had thrown), Zexion finally looked up from his pasta, Naminé emerged from behind her marble chair (from which she was cheering on Xigbar and Roxas' cutlery duel), Luxord stopped playing Go Fish with a solitary waterform (Deck no. 286, waterproof, with colorful moving fish design on the back), Larxene stood with her mouth open, and more importantly, Saïx had stopped swinging his claymore.
Why? Never in the nonexisent history of Organization XIII had Marluxia apologized, ever. Not even for almost choking Demyx to death (not that he'd die, you know, he'd just fade) with one of his 'special' vines, not even for accidentally handing Roxas a sunflower (knowing for a fact that Roxas had an unusual allergy to sunflowers; he'd fade of shock within a few minutes of holding one), not even for Castle Oblivion (no explanation needed for that).
It simply wasn't Marluxia to apologize.
"What?" a now very bewildered Marluxia asked. "I--"
"To take advantage of this moment of silence," Luxord cut him off, ignoring the glare the brunette had just shot him. "I would like to propose a...temporary solution."
Ten pairs of eyes and two single ones turned to stare at the gambler.
"What solution?" Vexen asked wearily.
"I propose a game."
"Of course he does, when did Luxord ever think of anything else?" Axel threw up his hands in frustration, glaring at number Ten. Larxene hissed at him to be quiet, a kunai hovering dangerously near his face. He fell silent; he'd rather not have any more marks on his face.
"A drinking game," Luxord continued, his hands reshuffling his deck again. "Winner gets to pick another contestant to be his--(he gulped visibly, Larxene had just thrown a kunai at him as a reminder) or her-- personal slave for a month--"
"I'm not joining," Xaldin crossed his arms stubbornly, all his lances pointed directly at Luxord.
"--and, ten thousand munny," he grinned, most probably at the stunned looks on their faces.
"10 grand? Where'd you get that kind of munny?" Axel exclaimed, staring unbelievingly at Luxord (at least he wasn't sputtering, much like Demyx and Zexion was doing now).
"Oh, I'm a gambler, Axel...Munny comes from the most...unusual of places," he replied, almost leering at him gleefully.
"From blackmail, more like," Xigbar suddenly snickered. "You got that video of Xaldin doing aerial ballet, didn'tcha, dude?"
Xaldin immediately lunged at the eyepatched Nobody, but stopped when Vexen wisely told him that doing so would actually confirm what Xigbar was insinuating. Axel vehemently shook his head (not only him, but Roxas, Larxene, and Demyx as well); the image of Xaldin in leotards was a life (non-life?) -scarring one.
"Soooo..." Luxord said brightly. "Any takers?"
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"Don't say anything."
Xemnas settled back into his marble chair, resisting the urge to laugh. King Mickey had burst into the Library, looking like he had actually crawled all the way from the Audience Hall. Meaning, the Plan had failed. But he hadn't heard screaming or any of the other things that would indicate that the two Wielders had dropped dead; that was a relief, he can't reclaim Kingdom Hearts with its Key dead.
The King leant the Dark Keyblade on a shelf and was now pawing frantically through books (from only the third shelf from the floor, 'cos that's the only scope of his reach), scanning one this moment, and then throwing the rest haphazardly behind him.
Xemnas' eyes narrowed. He ducked and narrowly avoided a thick hardbound volume that came flying (Hundred Acre Wood--the fact that the boy looked familiar was eerie, but the fact that the bear was familiar was downright terrifying). "I assume then I don't have to say I told you so" he snickered, "Your... Highness."
"You just did, Xemnas," the King replied in the most irate voice, he supposed, that a mouse could muster (which didn't sound very irritated).
He wisely kept silent, he had long manipulated others to know that the best way to get information out of people was to make them think you weren't interested in what they had to say. Soon enough, Mickey stopped dismantling the neatly catalogued arrangement of books and sat down on a stray pile of books (thus adding about five inches to his height). "One...one of the Princesses' touch has been tainted by darkness---"
Xemnas vaguely heard the King say something else, but he was too stunned by Mickey's first statement to comprehend what. He leant forward, letting his hood fall back.
"Wait. A Princess of Heart does not have darkness in her heart." He should know, since his Other and Ansem (he grimaced again) had experimented on hearts before, and they had come across a most unusual one; a very unstable heart belonging to an auburn-haired child living in Radiant Garden. Said heart was completely free of darkness, and would not accept it. They had dubbed the child a 'Princess of Heart', and found out that there are legends of six others. Xehanort then did a little experiment: he sent the child away from Radiant Garden, willing her to land where she was fated to go, and if she died, that was not his problem.
Such was the lengths Xehanort would go to in pursuit of science. And Xemnas thought Vexen was crazy enough.
"Apparently, she does. Nobody is immune to darkness," King Mickey's voice snapped him out of his trip down his (dark, dreary, and Sea-salt ice cream infested) memory lane. "Something must have happened for darkness to get a grip on a Princesses' heart."
A thought (induced by the dramatic scene he had witnessed the night before) occured to him. "Which Princess are we talking about here?"
"The seventh one."
Xemnas worked his expression into a very patronising one; the Key had very deep connections with that Princess, and a single letter had (judging from the hysterical sobs Naminé was emitting, and the yells Roxas had screamed) shorn those connections like one of Larxene's kunais through Axel's hair (inspired by a true-to-nonlife-scene, he had to keep those two away from each other for at least a month). "I think you might have had a hand in this, King Mickey, considering that it was you who sent a certain letter."
The King's (we should say eyebrows, but seeing that no mouse has eyebrows, we'll just say it's his forehead) forehead furrowed. "And so?"
Xemnas sighed; he remembered Roxas muttering something about having hearts and breaking them, and not even caring whatever happened...and hell yeah, he remembered something else, this time from Xehanort's memory, something that made the statement for the greater good painfully real. Ansem had once forced one of his own faithful followers to send away his own daughter from Radiant Garden, because she was a sorceress. What was her name again---? He shook his head and stared at the King.
"You have even less feelings than a Nobody."
"Nobodies don't have feelings."
"Exactly my point," he said, leaning back in his chair and interlacing his fingers, ignoring the murderous gaze the King was currently giving him, as if he was just considering taking out his Keyblade and stabbing him with it (not that Mickey would succeed; Xemnas would just jump on the table where the King couldn't reach him).
"You are treading in dangerous waters, Xemnas."
"I am just telling the truth."
"I don't have time for this!" The King suddenly burst out, his voice coming out in a sort of high-pitched squeak. "I need a way to reverse the binding right now!"
Xemnas raised an eyebrow. What exactly, other than the two Wielders dying, would elicit such a response from the normally calm Overseer of Worlds? "Tell me what the Keyblade did, then."
"It has absolutely no effect on Riku; his heart has withstood much more difficult calls to darkness, and he has even taken control of the darkness inside him. But on Sora...," he shivered slightly but visibly, "You should've come forward earlier, Xemnas. I would've figured out another way..."
He leant forward slightly in his chair. " What?"
"I would've known that Sora and Roxas had already unmerged--"
"Roxas?" (he almost exclaimed, but he was the Superior, and he never had outbursts, even when confronted with two very mad Keywielders)he asked unbelievingly. "What does Roxas have to do with this?"
King Mickey stared at him for a full minute before answering, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Roxas is half of Sora. He controls light; it was him who controls the unbelievable darkness in Sora's heart. Did you really think Ansem would sacrifice Roxas only for revenge?"
Xemnas made a sputtering noise, but King Mickey ignored him and continued speaking, apparently enjoying the stunned look that he had on."Roxas wasn't only to restore Sora's memories, but also to act as a safeguard! Sora's most powerful Form, which brings down the chances of him Driving into Antiform accidentally, is powered by Roxas; the Final Form is a testament to Roxas' control! "
"The brightest of flames cast the darkest of shadows..."he trailed off, momentatily left speechless by this piece of information. So that was Roxas' role. He berated himself for not thinking of it sooner.
Mickey nodded. "The Key's heart acts as a balance between the colossal darkness and blinding light of Kingdom Hearts, and to control those, you need an exceptionally strong heart."
"Well then,I am confident that somebody with the boy's iron will can stand anything." It was true, if there ever was a stubborn being in existence, it would be the spiky-haired brunette Wielder.
"I am, too."
He could feel his eyelid twitch rapidly; if he wasn't the Superior, he would roll his eyes. "So why are you so intent on finding a reversal for the binding? If Riku's heart can stand unscathed, how much more Sora's?"
"Kairi's tainted touch somehow twisted the light and---"
"Yes?"
"The darkness in Sora's heart has been...shall we say, asleep. Ever since Roxas has awoken, however, he has no knowledge that he is supposed to regulate the incredible dark side of Sora's heart. Once they merged again, the control returned, but not absolutely. His Antiform still finds ways to show itself."
Xemnas' gloved hands itched to place themselves aroung the King's neck. Do all leaders have to ramble on like this? (And so another random thought occurred to him, making him realize that he himself was actually a prime example, but, as usual, he had a reputation to defend, so he just ignored the thought). "The point, Majesty, the point."
Mickey sighed and ignored him, pressing on. "Now that Sora has once again unmerged with Roxas, his Antiform once again struggles to break free. Fortunately, Sora's will is strong enough to hold it back. But tonight, with the tainted Keyblade..."
"It is already tainted, you idiotic mouse!" He muttered under his breath, careful not to let the King hear (who knows what a King could do if insulted). He wanted to scream right in his face that it was King Mickey's fault that the Knighting had failed, it was his idea to go with the stupid Plan in the first place. Noticing the King staring at him (he supposed he was making all those 'funny little grimaces'--supplied eloquently by Roxas and Axel--again), he waved his hand and motioned for him to go on.
The King stumbled on his words, and made Xemnas' patience wear impossibly thin. "R-reversal. The darkness in Sora's heart, his Antiform... The Keyblade was supposed to bind. With Kairi's touch--"
"For the love of the Creator, King Mickey, the damn point."
King Mickey, for some reason, put on a terrified face. Xemnas' throat ran dry, and he suddenly regretted pressuring the mouse to go faster. The King cleared his throat and spoke a single sentence that most certainly will land in the Never Forget area of his memories.
"Tonight, I have set Sora's Antiform free."
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"Why you little---"
"hic It was hic you who started insulting me in the hic first place hic..."Naminé trailed off, her cerulean eyes unfocused, her face sprinkled liberally with pink. She hiccuped again; sporadic breathing interruptions released in a cute sort of way.
What? Roxas mentally kicked himself. He threw a glare at Luxord, who was now shuffling his cards contentedly.
"Luxord!" he hissed at the gambler (who threw him the most innocent look a Nobody could possibly manage; Luxord was good at that). "You're going to pay for this!"
"hic Roxie hic why're you yellin' at hic Luxord hic--"
He felt like banging his head on the table but decided against it; since Larxene was currently doing just that.
"Larxene, if you would please stop that," Axel said sharply. The blonde looked up at him, hiccuped twice, before downing the contents of the shotglass in front of her in one swallow. The gambler, looking quite pleased with himself, immediately refilled it.
"She ain't gonna win hic this round, no she won't," Larxene threw a drunken glare at Naminé, who deflected it right back. They both drank at the same time again, setting down their glasses with a loud clunk on the marble table.
Luxord did have many takers, obviously, the chance to get a fellow Organization member as a slave for a month had peaked their curiosity (Saïx eyed Demyx and grinned toothily in a very disturbing way). Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, and Lexaeus had all declined to join, seeing that they didn't need some drinking game to make lower digits their slaves. And besides, none of them wanted to see how Vexen looked like drunk. So the four older members sat at the front end of the table, watching them amusedly. Lexaeus had volunteered to take down anyone who had too much to drink, he did so with a knowing grin on his face (who knows why there is said grin in his face---and who wants to know?).
What Roxas didn't know before joining---they were drinking from Luxord's special secret whiskey stash, which (as the gambler had lovingly described) wasn't actually pure whiskey, but rather a more potent mix of whiskey, rum, a generous splash of vodka, a bit of orange juice, and a part of sparkling white wine. Hard as it was to believe, it was actually some kind of...addictive, but the heat that had rushed up Roxas' face after the first two shots made him think otherwise. Whatever. He was Thirteen, so technically, it would be so much easy to make him do things, because of the stupid seniority thing.
It really was simple; whoever downs the most shots, wins. But nothing is ever simple in Organization XIII.
Surprisingly, Saïx was the first to bow out of the game, saying that no matter how much he wanted to get Demyx as his slave (said Nobody's eyes widened in horror and revulsion at the mere thought), he was one who had...erm... very violent tendencies whenever he gets too much of a good thing, and he'd really rather no more bloodshed, because his cloak's already too much bloodstained as it is. He still leered at Demyx for a good hour, however, before portalling out to the Addled Impasse.
Roxas was the next one. He had no intention of getting drunk, because from what he's seen from Luxord, when you're drunk, you do things that you will most certainly regret for the rest of your life---or nonexistence, as the case may be. Besides, at the rate Naminé was drinking, he was getting worried about the massive hangover she would inevitably have the next morning.
Why did Naminé join? He had no idea; maybe it had something to do with the glance that she had exchanged with Larxene earlier, and they were sober back then. He shook his head slowly, girls were something he could never understand.
"Another one! Namie you're goin' down," Larxene held out another shotglass, and Luxord happily obliged.
"Oh hic no you hic don't," the addressed blonde hiccuped. "Me hic too---"
Roxas groaned, he had tried getting Naminé to stop at least twenty shots earlier, but she was even more stubborn than a Wielder, and that was saying something.
Demyx had stopped drinking after his eleventh shot. Roxas suspected that Demyx really had no intention of drinking himself silly, but he only wanted to prove to the four older members that yes, he wasn't a kid anymore, and no, whatever happens, he will not be Saïx's personal slave. He somehow got carried away (self-control was something of an issue with him) and a horde of concerned waterforms had to splash him with cold water to bring him back to his senses (for a few minutes anyway--then Axel had set his hood on fire, making the waterforms literally flood poor number Nine with ice water). Demyx had then taken to just sitting forlornly in his marble chair, fingers over his Sitar, and striking a wavering chord every ten minutes or so.
Axel and Marluxia had both stopped drinking after their fifteenth shots, and they did so glaring at each other. They didn't get drunk like Demyx (twang went his Sitar just now, and the two girls downed their twenty-fifth shot), and Roxas had a suspicion that the two had experience of nights like this (either that, or they both had extremely high tolerance levels of alcohol---or maybe alcohol had no effect on them in the first place). The glare that they shot each other (Axel usually reserved that glare for a certain berserker) and the fact that they had backed out at the same time had Roxas puzzled; the two were the most competitive pair he had ever seen.
"Larx, c'mon, get a hold of yourself," Across the table Marluxia was coaxing, trying to pull the shotglass out of the blonde's grip. For some reason the pyro shot the brunette a glare before joining a hopeless cause.
"Larxene, stop drinking already---Roxas, stop staring, you should get Naminé to stop drinking, she's only fifteen, for crying out loud--"
Roxas pouted at his best friend before turning his attention on the other blonde sitting beside him. "Nam... too much alcohol is bad for your health---"
"Rox hic tell me hic how exactly hic am I goin' to hic get sick when I'm hic not even hic alive," Naminé said forlornly, tracing her shotglass' rim with a precision unusual to those as drunk as she is right now. Her words stung Roxas; she had a point there---how could they get sick if they weren't even alive, they were just 'existing', and--
His brows furrowed again. "You're not alive, but you sure are drunk."
"Whaddya care hic go away hic hic I won't let hic Larxy beat hic me---"
Zexion was now sleeping contentedly, he had drunk quietly through twenty-one shots without much fanfare before falling asleep. At first they (well, mostly numbers Two to Five) had teased him about not being able to handle his liquor, since he was the youngest of the Upper Six (as they called it, Xehanort's little posse), but they had to eat their words when he wordlessly downed ten shots one after another, only pausing after the fifth for some air. After the eleventh, however, when Axel and Marluxia had started glaring at each other, and when Naminé had begun hiccuping, Zexion actually laughed at Naminé's drunken expression. Roxas heard Xigbar whisper to Luxord that they should get Zexion drunk more often, because being emotionless was certainly bad for your health---or nonhealth, as they case may be.
"Naminé, you may not be alive, but I don't want you to have a huge hangover tomorrow," Roxas pleaded as she drank her twenty-eighth shot.
"But hic I want hic to win, I want hic to get hic you as hic my slave for hic a month."
Roxas' eyes widened. She wanted him to ber her slave? "What did I actually do this time to deserve that?" he asked.
"Nothin' hic I just want you because hic you're hic I dunno hic maybe you're hic just so cute when hic you're annoyed and hic b'coz hic I like hic you..." She abruptly stopped and buried her face in her arms, tipping her shotglass over. He looked up; Larxene had thrown her shotglass across the room at exactly the same time as Naminé had stopped, and both Axel and Marluxia were now eyeing her concernedly.
"That settles it then," Luxord said, clapping his hands. "Nobody, uh, I mean, no-one wins!"
"I've got the funniest feeling that Luxord just set us up," Marluxia murmured, his eyes narrowing at the sight of the gambler, who was now smiling widely and saying something to number Two. Xigbar's only visible eye now was eyeing Luxord malevolently.
"Axel, Roxas," Lexaeus boomed out, startling Roxas," I suggest you two bring the ladies back to their rooms and let them sleep---no excuses, Axel, Larxene is your roommate, after all (the pyro was now staring murderously at Lexaeus)---I think they've had enough to drink for the rest of their lives."
For no apparent reason Xaldin, Vexen, Luxord and him burst out in laughter.
Axel got to his feet, a resigned expression on his face. "I hate you Nobodies---Larxene, c'mon," he shook the blonde roughly by the shoulder. Either Larxene ignored him, or was just too preoccupied with staring drunkenly at Marluxia (either him---or his hair) to notice.
Marluxia sighed. "Larxene, for your own good, you'd better go to sleep," he said gently, helping her up from her chair and handing her to Axel.
"M-Marly...? Okay..." she slurred before leaning heavily on a very surprised Axel, clutching the front of his coat for support. "Thanks Marly---"
"Try anything funny, and your head comes off," the brunette suddenly hissed at the pyro. With that he spun on his heels and portalled away. Roxas stared at the spot where Marluxia had portalled out; if he hadn't known better, he'd say that Marluxia actually liked Larxene, and from the looks of it, was jealous of Axel.
Wait. It was the only plausible reason.
"Roxas, you better go and take care of Naminé," Axel said loudly, snapping him out of his thoughts. Roxas stared; if his hunches were right, Larxene was stuck in a very unfortunate...what was that term--? Love triangle. Ew.
"Oh yeah, yeah, go on--"
And with a drunken Larxene staring up at him and clinging onto his coat like one of the leaves of lettuce to the ceiling, Axel portalled out.
"C'mon, Xigbar," Luxord motioned to the eyepatched number Two, "We'd better go...check that they don't do anything funny---"
"Yeah, take a camera," Xaldin snickered. "Send copies to me, Lux. Idiotic boy, thinking he can blackmail me---"
Luxord, dragging a strangely reluctant Xigbar with him, portalled out to, Roxas supposed, Axel's room.
"You do remember you still have to take care of Naminé, don't you?" Demyx suddenly asked, grinning at the Look Roxas shot him. "She's drunk, Rox, you can--"
Roxas blushed furiously as he helped Naminé to her feet, one hand on her waist, and the other holding her hand over his shoulder. "You pervert, I'd never do anything like that!"
Ignoring Demyx's high-pitched laughing fit he opened the Corridors and stepped into his and Naminé's room.
---------------------
"Larxene, you can let go of me now."
"Nuh-uh," the blonde shook her head stubbornly, her bright blue eyes boring into his own. Axel suddenly felt his cheeks heat up as he remembered Marluxia's warning.
Try anything funny, and your head comes off.
He was not about to try anything funny, not with a drunken Larxene. The thought sent shivers up his spine. (What kind of shivers? That was another thing altogether, one that Axel had no idea what, and one that he'd really rather not know)
"Get off."
His nonexistent heart started pounding a lot faster as Larxene stared up at him imploringly. Imploringly? Alcohol had gotten rid of her violent streak, and Axel thought that he liked Larxene a lot more when she was in a peaceful disposition.
Larxene suddenly released her deathgrip on the front of his coat and latched her arms around his waist instead.
She certainly was drunk, and Axel felt a little...disappointment, because for some reason, he'd really like Larxene hugging him when she was sober. But she was drunk, and that was it, she'd probably try to kill him in the morning for not trying to stop her from drinking too much.
"Axel..." She mumbled, her voice muffled in his coat. "Don't leave me alone here...please?" Her eyes peered up at him again, and they were growing shinier by the minute with unshed tears.
-really she's just drunk as hell-
"I never want to be alone ever---not since---"
"Larx," he said firmly, prying her off him. "You're drunk, and I don't appreciate you yelling at me in the morning for hearing things that you shouldn't be saying. If you talk any more, we'll both regret this." He swallowed, there was that lump in his throat that he can't get down.
"I--I--but I want to say this!" she burst out. "I've stood a lot more alcohol before, and for your information, I can still think straight! I only pretended to get drunk so that Naminé would get really drunk, so that her and Roxas would just get close together! My Other's acting up again, and her memories are telling me what to damn do! I hate her for doing it! I hate everything because I can't do anything about it because I'm just a Nobody!"
"You are drunk," Axel said warily, stepping back and sitting on his bed on the other side of the white room. "Get some sleep, I'll stop listening to whatever you have to say so that you won't regret saying anything."
Larxene stared at him, her mouth working but no words coming out.
-drunk as hell, she is-
"So you think I'm drunk..." she backed away and collapsed on her bed. "Maybe I am drunk, because I really thought you'd listen to me..."
From his vantage point, he could swear Larxene was crying.
"You're lucky," her voice came out and floated across the room to him. "You have Roxas for a best friend..."
"Shut up and go to sleep."
Something that sounded suspiciously like a sob echoed off the walls. Larxene shifted so that she was facing the wall, and Axel stared at the back of her head.
-ah when you're drunk the things that you do-
The fifteen shots were getting to him, and his head was starting to hurt in anticipation of whatever Larxene would do to him tomorrow morning (technically, later, since it was already past midnight, as proclaimed by the luminous wall clock he had stolen from Space Paranoids). He closed his eyes and let sleep come.
"Y'know, you make me feel like I have a heart. I just don't know how to show it."
His eyes snapped open. Larxene had mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like-- "What?"
"Oh, go to sleep, Axel," she said, her voice wavering. "I'm sure you won't care anyway."
He sat up. "What did you say?"
"You won't care even if I did. Shut up then."
He crossed the room and stood beside her bed. He bent over and peered at Larxene's face. Teary blues met wide teals as he saw that Larxene was indeed, crying, and that tears were still pouring down her face and soaking her pillow.
"I'm not crying, because I can't even feel," she croaked ", So just go back to sleep and leave me alone."
-she's just drunk, she'll try to kill you in the morning-
"L-Larxene..."
"Go away. I'm drunk as hell, leave me alone."
He sat down on the edge of her bed and stared at her, half expecting a kunai to come his way. Larxene instead resolutely avoided his gaze. "I'm asleep now, Axel, happy?" she sobbed, burying her face in her tear-soaked pillow. "Don't mind me, I'm just a drunken pissed off girl with absolutely no emotions whatsoever..."
Without thinking, Axel grabbed her roughly by the shoudlers, leant forward and kissed her. Her tears felt warm against his skin.
--------------------
"Aha!" Luxord murmured gleefully, peering around the open door. "Hand it over, Xiggy!"
Xigbar cursed fluently under his breath as he handed the gambler two stacks of ten thousand munny each.
"I told you I could get them to kiss!"
"Shut up."
Luxord turned to face him, rubbing his hands thoughtfully. "So... wanna bet again?"
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Okay. Fluffiness and drama. Uhm...-shivers-
Review replies! Yay!
Chyio-Chan I am such an evil person. Yes, I am. -bares fangs-
hikari-aozora Don't worry about the Trinity one, I'm already working on it. Haha. X3
Skitty 2004 Thanks for pointing that out, yeah. It's Castle That Never Was, not Castle Oblivion, natch. So sorry for the huge typo.
darkdude71 I know. I know. XD
Namine's Heart It is a Nobody, isn't it?
Ellie 0223 Okay. Let me explain then. Kairi loves Sora, that's a known fact. But she can't love him because he can't get too attached to anybody because he has to go around sealing Keyholes and stuff. And she knows that Riku has a crush on her, so what the heck, she falls back on Riku, since she can't love Sora. Besides, she kinda hates Sora now, because he chose his duty over her love. -o-.
Teh Pwnful Kiwi That's Demyx's job, you know. To annoy people. He's stereotyped that way.
Question! What exactly is the color of Marluxia's hair anyway? Most of the times people refer to him as a brunette, but his hair looks kinda pink to me...
Quote for Chapter 10:
"What the hell have you done!"
Sure, given Organization XIII's violent disposition, it's anyone's guess...
Read, review, want to flame me, go ahead! And if any of you guys have questions about the storyline, feel free to ask. Just no 'Who's gonna die?', okay...?
