A/N: Before anyone gets hopeful, this is an unusually fast update, for me. u.u I generally try to update once a week. Just so you know. :3
Encounter 2- Hunger
…interesting that the strength of one's heart matters so much in the life of a Nobody. Why should we be affected by something we lack? Perhaps it is because a stronger hearts is equivalent to stronger memories, and memories are the most essential element in the half-life of a Nobo
"Yes?"
Marluxia was impressed at how well Zexion managed to sound annoyed. It was typical, he had notices, for the newer members of the Organisation to be better at pretending they had emotions than the older members. Of course, the first six had more practice, which may have compensated for their fading memories. As it was, Marluxia supposed that any of them would have made the same reaction if he had intruded into any of their personal quarters as he had into Zexion's.
He realized that Zexion had been waiting for an answer and blinked.
"Ah," he said, backpedaling while he tried briefly to remember his purpose here. "I…" He regained his footing and let his face fall into a relaxed smirk. Suave. Confident. Yes.
"I just wanted to speak with you… unless, of course, your work from the Superior—" He frowned inwardly. I won't have to call him that for much longer, at least. "—is too pressing?"
"Very well. My work is too pressing," Zexion replied, without missing a beat. Marluxia chuckled.
"In that case, I order you to take a break," he said, moving closer. It was impolite to lurk in doorways, after all. Zexion's eyes narrowed and his nose flared as he glanced up from his work, turning halfway in his chair to face Marluxia.
"Nice try, Number Eleven," he said dryly. "But my orders come from the Superior: researching the importance—"
"—of memories, yes, yes, I know," Marluxia interrupted, waving a hand in the air impatiently. "Yes. But what if I volunteered to help you?" A crease appeared between Zexion's eyebrows.
"I'm sure that you have other duties to attend to," he answered. "And I need no help, besides."
"Whose memories are you using?" Marluxia asked, drawing a bit closer.
"Sora's, of course," Zexion said. "Naminé is helping me."
"How perfectly boring," the Assassin responded, faking a gentlemanly yawn. Zexion's frown deepened.
"I see nothing wrong with using the Keybearer's memories for our research," he contradicted. "since we have Naminé to sort through them for us."
Marluxia was pacing now, closing in slowly.
"Shouldn't we be concentrating on something that will actually help us?" he asked. As Zexion opened his mouth to argue, he added, "That is to say, study the memories of a Nobody."
"Then Naminé won't be able to help, unless we use Roxas, which would be a fairly pointless exercise, since we have Sora in our hands already.
"We don't need Naminé," Marluxia reminded him. Zexion looked for a moment like he had a good argument ready.
"Besides Naminé, there is no one with the ability to find lost memories," he said, but he sounded uncertain. He glared at the taller Nobody. "You can't mean that…"
"Have you forgotten already, Zexion?" Marluxia asked quietly. He stood close enough to reach out and touch the Schemer now, close enough to look down on him. "You found my memories. You showed me things I didn't even remember."
"That…" Zexion faltered. Then he scowled. "That was an accident. And besides, I don't know of any Nobody who I could—"
"Me."
Zexion hated having to crane his neck to look into Marluxia's face… the Assassin wasn't even all that tall, for goodness' sake… but he wasn't going to show any signs of discomfort.
"You," he confirmed flatly.
"Yes, me," Marluxia repeated. Zexion shivered inwardly at the hunger in Eleven's eyes. "Use me in your research. It was you who gave me the first taste, and it should be you who…"
"I told you," the smaller Nobody said evenly. "That was an accident. I don't know how it happened, and I can't simply reach into your mind and find things that you can't remember. It isn't that simple."
Marluxia bent down to be at his eye level: another teasing poke at their current relative heights. For a moment, Zexion considered standing, if only to enjoy a few seconds of being taller than someone who wasn't Roxas. But he knew the other Nobody would just straighten, and then it would be worse.
"You know better than to lie to your superiors, Number Six," the Assassin said softly.
"What do you mean?" Zexion replied, not flinching at the frivolous disregard of his rank. Marluxia smiled, flashing perfectly white teeth.
"When Larxene first joined the Organisation, she couldn't even remember her name when the Superior asked. Yet somehow, just a few seconds later, you were able to tell us what it was," he said. "Two accidents? You're too much of a perfectionist for that, Zexion."
Zexion scowled. He had forgotten that Marluxia had been there when he had discovered Larxene's name. Eleven leaned closer, still giving him that predatory grin.
"It won't hurt to try again, will it?" he asked. "Just to see if you can manage it? Consider it research, hmm?"
"Please, Mama? Just this once?"
"No, Ara. I'm sorry."
"But, Mama!"
"I can't run this family on my own, Ara!" she insisted… the same thing every year. "I need you here. I need your help!"
She would never, never admit to her blindness, never confess that weakness.
"It's only for three days, Mama. Couldn't I just—"
"Three days is too long, Ara. I'm sorry. I wish you could go, but… ever since your father—"
He screamed as they injected another infection into him, and this one burned, and it hurt so much…
"There," Zexion said, turning back to his work with a shudder. "Now leave me alone."
Marluxia stood staring at the back of his head for a long moment, still paralyzed in the aftermath of the vision. He hadn't expected Ienzo's memories to interfere again.
"That's it?" he asked at last, summoning the memory of anger. "That's all you can give me?" he demanded, gripping Zexion's shoulder and pulling the smaller Nobody around to face him, chair and all. The Schemer's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Unhand me, Eleven," he hissed. "It's not as simple as it seems to reach into your memory. I can't do it on a whim. Leave me alone."
Marluxia did not let go.
"I want to know," he said, and he couldn't keep a bit of desperation from entering his voice. "About my family. My father, my homeworld. I want to know how Aramuil lost his heart. I want to know everything.
There was no emotion in Zexion's visible eye. Of course not, Marluxia chided himself. With no heart, he can't feel pity.
"Unhand me," Zexion repeated softly.
"Can you even feel want?" Marluxia wondered aloud. "If I am a Nobody for as long as you have been, will I lose that too?"
Zexion impatiently tried to brush his hand off, but the larger Nobody persisted.
"You understand, I know you do," Marluxia said insistently. "I know you do. Ienzo wanted to know about his own past, didn't he?"
The Schemer stood, wrenching his shoulder out of Marluxia's grasp.
"Don't say that name," he growled. He pointed at the door. "Leave."
He knew he really shouldn't take such an order from someone who was supposed to be his subordinate, but right now, Marluxia realized it would perhaps be more prudent to leave. He summoned a portal, but did not step through.
"Ienzo would have asked the same thing," he said. Zexion bared his teeth and struck at him, but Marluxia had already stepped backwards and disappeared. The portal closed behind him with a whisper, leaving him alone once more.
A/N: Reviews make happy writers. Happy writers come from California. XD Just kidding...
But seriously, please review... or Zexion will give you nightmares for a week. X3