Disclaimer: Really now, do I have to spell it out for you? I'm writing fanfiction, what do you think?

Author's Note: Sorry, sorry, sorry. i am so very sorry for taking so long to finish this, it's just that i didn't have any inspiration for it and i'd given up hope on it too. But now this is COMPLETE!! take that people i've FINISHED this annoying story!! For me this chapter counts as my christmas post cause i was going to do you all a christmas fic. but i've had no time so you've got this instead.

This Last and Final Chapter is Dedicated to The Wonderful Giseisha because without her I wouldn't have finished this. thanx for making me get off my butt Giseisha

28th September:

This is the last of the changes made (took me way longer than expected (just checked it's been a month)) – I think I rewrote most of the start of this chapter. Now I can go do something else – yay.

T.O.Y Version 2.0 Is Dedicated To All Those Lovely People Who Read This The First Time Round. And to Giseisha because there's no way I would undedicated this to her.

CHAPTER THREE

"Let me get this straight. You're here to do some research, right?" Tifa sighed and leant against the table. Zexion scowled at her question, hadn't he already told her that, "Yes, that's what I said."

The brunette standing across from him just shrugged in response, before proceeding to tell him the basic rules of the castle before wandering off to finish reading a book. Apparently, there was no end to visits from those wanting to use the resources Radiant Garden had to offer and this brunette had become the acknowledge librarian, because she was always here. Zexion glanced at her from the corner of his eye, taking the woman by surprise was in no ones best interests, as he had found out earlier and the way that she easily went from throttling a person to acting as it had never happen made him weary of her too. He rubbed his raw throat at that thought, certainly not to be trusted.

He began to browse the shelfs, every now and then, picking up a book to flick through it in case it held what he was looking for. Zexion may have agree to Xemnas' request but in all honesty he had no idea where to start looking and with Tifa's eyes watching his every move there was little action he could take. This is going to take some time. Perhaps he could kill her and save himself the trouble of playing this game of pretend; he could knock her over the head with a book or even just summon some minion nobodies to do the dirty work for him. Then he could just disappear after getting the notes plus whatever else he wanted and no one would ever know he was here…yet it all seemed so wasteful.

"Is there a problem?" Zexion turned to see Tifa looking straight at him, her eyebrow raised in curiosity. "You've been glaring at that bookshelf for a while."

He just glared at the said books, wondering what he had done wrong. "Y'know," the brunette rambled on ignoring the lack of a response, "if you would just tell me what you're looking for, we could save those books from combustion." A smiled played at the edge of her mouth, the thought of this small, silver-haired man glaring so hard that the bookshelves caught fire was certainly interesting.

"Human anatomy."

The stranger had interrupted her thoughts. "What?"

"I'm looking for notes on human anatomy." His response was clipped and held an icy tone. His violet eyes were glaring directly at her. "If you find any it would save me much time." He moved towards the door.

"Umm…I'll try." Was all Tifa could manage before he disappeared out of the room.

I've said too much, Zexion scowled as he paced down the halls. He couldn't return so soon to the World That Never Was, and certainly without even bothering to even look for the collection of notes. Xemnas would kill him – whether or not he was already non-existent – doing it, letting the information slip from his mouth. Damn it! He shouldn't have let such a thing happen, let alone warm up to a stranger so quickly. He was the Cloaked Schemer, known for being tight-lipped and never letting on to anything he knew. Yet one conversation with that girl, Tifa, and he starts talking as if he has diarrhoea of the mouth – disgusting.

He stopped by a window overlooking a small alcove coming off one of the larger courtyard. His fingers tapping a soft tune on the wooden edge and he watched a golden leaf flutter from a branch of a tree, leaning over the wall, to the rough pavement below.

A sigh was emitted from his lips. "I guess I'll just have to work with what I've got."

This meaning he had to suck it all up and get on with what he was meant to be doing, looking for Xemnas' precious notes. Maybe he should destroy them when he found them instead of handing them straight over to the Superior or better yet just burn the whole library down and save himself the trouble of actually finding the notes in the first place. But then the problem with Tifa would arise from the ashes, she knew who he was, well not really, she had met him and Zexion was sure that she wasn't so dumb as to not make the link between him and the fire he might have created but won't because it looked like it was going to cause him more trouble than necessary…again.

That left him with one choice.

Zexion was not impressed that it had been brought to this but there was no other option and if Axel ever heard of this, or any other nobody for that matter, he would never hear the end of it, because Zexion had to be nice and…and friendly to Tifa. Urggg. How more embarrassing could this get? But the challenge was set and he was going to succeed. No matter what.

And so Zexion "moved" in to continue on for the sake of finding lost research. He wasn't exactly the friendliest of nobodies, but much to his surprise he got along fairly well with Tifa and both were happy to sit in silence and not talk.

Much to Zexion's relief Tifa didn't question him much on where he was from or how he got into the castle, satisfied with the answer "researching" he had given on their first meeting, days before.

Everything was going well except for the fact that he still hadn't found the notes he was looking for and ­that frustrated him greatly. Tifa wasn't much help either; she had just stared at him before waving her had round vaguely saying they would be somewhere.

Sighing Zexion turned the page of his book. At least the silence was a blessing and he didn't have to contend with the other twelve members being around, but…

"What are you doing here Xigbar?" Zexion snarled, annoyed that his peace had been disturbed.

The cloaked figure who had been trying to sneak up on him sighed, flicking back his hood to show a face covered with scars and an eye patched. "Damn," he swore, "forgot you could smell us."

"You didn't answer the question?" Zexion said in an annoyed tone. He hated having to waste words.

"Well, Dude," Xigbar began dramatically, "Xem sent me see how you're going with the mission, oh, and he also wants you to hurry up." He concluded waving his hands around for extra measure.

"Like it matters how long it takes. When it's done, it's done." Zexion snapped from behind his book.

Xigbar winced, "Ouch, forgot you had that attitude, too."

Tifa picked her way down a corridor towards the private library behind the laboratories. Zexion had mentioned that he was looking for a collection of dairies and notes done by the scientists who had lived here once. Now, Tifa didn't like sharing stuff that had once belonged to Ansem and the rest but she trusted Zexion, so she had gone deep in the jungle known as the library to find said books and was now on her way to Zexion and to hand over the collection.

Rounding the final corner she found the door to the private library ajar ever so slightly and as she lifted her hand to the doorknob, Tifa caught the sound of voices on the other side and it wasn't Zexion talking to himself.

Now some people would walk away and mind their own business, others would be curious but leave and ask about it later, and then there where those who would eavesdrop until their curiosity is satisfied. Tifa was, for an understandable reason, quite prone to take the third action and listen in. So crouching down next the keyhole she did just that.

Inside the room Xigbar and Zexion continued to converse unaware of the fact that someone was now listening in on them.

"Hasn't changed one bit since we were last here."

"No," Zexion whispered softly, "things haven't stayed the same. People have grown older and moved on without us."

"True," Xigbar said, lifting a book off the shelf and began to leaf through it lazily. A silence descended on the room as the colleagues within thought carefully about what next to say and the listener in the corridor shifted her weight to her other foot carefully.

"What do you think happened to them?" Xigbar asked, placing the book back on the shelf and picking up another one.

"To who?" was the cool response.

"Don't tell me you don't remember." He laughed, "I thought you would be the most likely to recall them."

"Do enlighten me" Zexion said sarcastically, a twinge of a warning went off in his mind as he spoke.

"Well," Xigbar began, smirking to himself, "there was a lady, Sandra or something like it, who would come up to the castle to clean it. She used to always say that she was here to make us eat because if she didn't we wouldn't." He chuckled to himself.

"Like I'd rememb-," was a Zexion started to say.

"I haven't finished yet," Xigbar interrupted, wagging a finger at him, "there was her daughter, y'know, little kid with black hair 'bout so high (he held his hand about a metre above the ground), I'm surprised you don't remember her."

"What do you mean Xigbar?"

Xigbar flashed his trademark grin, "I mean that she would follow you everywhere like a little sister does to an older sibling. Not that you minded, you used to love getting all that attention and certainly enjoyed playing the older brother."

Xigbar chortled at this comment and scratch his head thoughtfully, "What was her name? Ah…yes, I remember, I do believe she was called Tifa." Zexion stiffened, was she? She couldn't be…

Xigbar swung round from looking at the bookshelf to look Zexion in the eye, Zexion didn't batter an eye-lid, just continued to give Xigbar his blank, but cold, stare back. The tension in the air was broken by another chortle from the opposing party.

"But y'know," Xigbar began, stepping away from the smaller figure, "I can't see you ever being so caring now, Ienzo."

Outside Tifa muffled a gasp, what did that man, Xigbar, mean? Could it be that Zexion is actually… she rubbed her temples vigorously before going back to listening in on the conversation to catch the reply of, "…don't call me that, Braig, My name is Zexion."

Her eyes widen as Xigbar laughed, "Practice what you preach Zexion, you know very well that Braig is no longer my name."

Tifa rose from her crouching position slowly, before softly creeping down the corridor away breaking into a sprint as she rounded the corner, her head as confused as her heart.

When Xigbar had finally left Zexion with a "see ya later dude" as he disappeared into a portal, Zexion went in search of Tifa padding softly down the halls in search of her. Finding her no where inside Zexion began to wander through the series of courtyards circling the base of the castle, always making sure there was nobody in the next courtyard since no one beside Tifa knew he was here.

He finally found her, in one of the small courtyards, sitting on the grass under a lone oak tree. She was staring up at the sky with a slight frown on her facing. "What's wrong?" Zexion asked hesitantly as he approached her spot, smelling the scent of confusion that clung to her.

Tifa shrugged, "Nothing," was her terse reply. He nodded, knowing better than pushing it and leaned against the tree, waiting.

Finally without taking her eyes off the blue sky Tifa whispered softly, "He called you Ienzo."

Zexion blinked rapidly, shit, "You heard that?"

"Yeah," was the dull response.

Come on Zexion think fast, "It's an old nickname." Well done. He congratulated himself silently.

"Oh." Silence befell the courtyard. "I knew an Ienzo once." Tifa said bluntly breaking it.

Where is this going? "Once?"

"Don't know him anymore." Tifa continued to watch the sky.

"Oh." Silence returned with style. "I'm leaving soon." Smooth Zexion, smooth.

Tifa didn't even batter an eyelid, "When?"

"Earliest I can." Zexion mentally winced as he said it, turning to look across the courtyard. Harsh.

"Oh…guess you'll want these." Zexion looked back to Tifa surprised as she stood up and shoved a pile of books at his chest. Zexion glanced at the book on the top of the pile a small black notebook, the notes? "How?"

She shrugged once more, "Found them this morning. You said you were looking for them."

And with that she walked across the courtyard and back into the castle. Zexion weighed the books in his hands thoughtfully, "Guess that means I'm leaving then."

Finding Tifa a second time was much harder and even more awkward. The conversation went the same as the previous one, sharp and short from both parties. Zexion told her with out emotion he was leaving the day after the next and Tifa's only acknowledgement of the whole thing was a curt nod of her head before returning to avoiding him until his departure.

When Zexion's time came to leave he didn't go straight from the library but made his way to the hill over looking the whole of Hollow Bastion. Tifa, who had avoided him completely until now, followed behind silently in his shadow.

Arriving on the hill neither spoke, preferring to stand in silence and admire the view, for a long time they were like this. Zexion gazing blankly at the town below while Tifa worked up the nerve to speak.

"So," She faltered, finally breaking the silence on the hill, "I…guess this is goodbye."

Zexion inclined his head to the side, watching Tifa as she wriggled under his gaze, "You want to say something?" She flinched after hearing these words. Obviously, Zexion had guessed correctly, what's new?

"Umm…well I…was wondering…if – that is you don't have to, of course," she stuttered, fumbling with her hands as she spoke.

"Get to the point."

"Oh, um…sorry. Well…I was wondering if ever in your travels you meet someone called Ienzo could you tell him I say hello – actually tell him he's a total bastard for leaving his sister without warning and she wants to kick his arse." The words were rushed but Zexion caught every one of them and for some reason they left a twinge of sadness where his heart ought to have been.

"I'll try," he whispered softly, the need to leave stronger than ever.

Tifa flashed a small smile followed by a tentative hug, "Thank you." She murmured, before stepping back glancing over him once more as if committing the sight of him to her memory.

With one last smile and a half-hearted wave she took a few more steps back before turning around and began to walk back to town. Zexion watch as she disappeared over the horizon, before he looked away. He summoned up a portal with ease and without a backwards glanced stepped though into it. The shadows licking round him as he closed his eyes and let a lone tear fall.

Now he understood. She wasn't waiting for a Nobody called Zexion, She was waiting for a brother…for Ienzo.

Sad really, that she would be waiting forever…because, he was never coming home.

And Cut. The End

28th Sepember: So now you've read the second version what do you think? Do you love it? Hate it? Please let me know. In a vague way I wanted this to explain Tifa's determination to find Cloud in KH2, ya know that fact she already lost someone and couldn't find them – or at least that was the purpose at the beginning of the revising

Woot! It's Done! Over! Finally! chucks story in box, burns it, puts ashes in the closet, in the basement wait, I don't have a basement, whoops.

Arg, I've had enough of this. Remind me never to write anything other than One Shots again. These stories are too much effort and if I ever think if doing another one hit me over the head. With a book. War and Peace should do it.

So, you can start hitting me now cause since T.O.Y is all over I'm starting on another project – A Naminé centred fic. most likely. (AN 28th: am still planning on doing it – might actually start it soon)

Oh yeah, thanks to anyone who read this, I don't expect reviews cause it's so bad. What? I don't like this story? What could have ever given you that idea? smiles sweetly Hopefully my next one will be better fingers crossed Apologies if brains exploded from crappiness of fic., mine did /points to splattered mess on wall/ guess I should clean it up, might need that brain later.

- C.Pess