A/N: Sorry its taken so long to get this out! This chapter was 4thespada-ulquiorra's and she was really busy so I had to wait for her to finish this. But anyway hope you enjoy!^_^
Disclaimer: We do not own Kingdom Hearts, just Lexi and Kurai.
"Riku is an... interesting child. He's usually really sweet, even if he's a bit harsh he's always got these noble ideals, but sometimes he can be a huge pain in the ass. He gets jealous sometimes I guess, shoulda seen 'im when Sora first got the keyblade, it was chaotic. When he's not being possessed by crazy heartless versions of old scientist guys he's really loyal and caring too, if he likes you-and it seemed like he's veering in that direction- then he won't let anything touch you, and he damn sure won't hurt you himself. Least he won't do it on purpose, he was pretty stupid when he was 15. Prob'ly not much better."
Lexi nodded slowly, watching Kurai with a perplexed expression that seemed to go unnoticed by the other girl. She was unsure if these comments on her silver-haired guardian were meant to be compliments or not, and as such was having a hard time deciding how she was supposed to be reacting to the information.
"Now," Kurai continued, stopping for a moment to stare at the blank walls of the Castle and to mutter something about poor interior decoration, "the only thing about him you really have to look out for is that he really requires patience. You've already seen his angsty mysterious-man act, so you've got the general idea-but he gets a lot worse sometimes. Personally, drives me insane, but after living with these guys you're probably used to annoying people."
Seeing the tall girl staring at her, Lexi realized she was supposed to reply to this. "Oh, I don't find them annoying... they can be pretty harsh, but they're my friends more or less." They were almost to the grey room now, and she reconsidered as they past the door of VII's room. "Well, most of them anyway."
Kurai shrugged, obviously not too interested in what she believed were just minor disagreements between her new friend and whoever lived in that room. "Yeah, whatever floats yer boat I guess. So, let me go over this again. Axel, Roxas, and Demyx we can count on, right?"
"Um-I don't know Demyx too well... He wouldn't want to help, and really we shouldn't let the others risk punishment either. If my father finds out..." Lexi trailed off as her companion waved her hand nonchalantly, scoffing before grinning at the half-nobody in a way that was worse in its own way than even Saix's fits of rage could be.
"Oh, trust me, we can count on the little brat." Formerly silver- but now with an unmistakable purple tinge- eyes glowing with a dangerous anticipation, she continued into the next room with a new bounce to her step that caused Lexi to smile, despite herself, at how unusual it looked. Kurai grinned when she saw her friend's small smile; she was so nervous about sneaking out that she seemed even more sober than usual, and it wouldn't do to have her like this for long. Far too boring. "See? Now come on, where'r Axel 'n Roxas?"
The grey room was unusually crowded- it seemed Saix was too busy dealing with his angered leader to hand out missions, and as a result nearly the entire organization had scattered throughout the room. Lexi had to search for a moment or two before spotting her friends over by one of the tables with Luxord. It seemed like the blond Nobody was attempting to teach Roxas poker while playing a game with Axel, who had a very small pile of munny remaining and was looking about as annoyed as someone without emotion could be.
"There they are. Oh, um... that's Luxord, he's-"
"One of you guys and apparently a compulsive gambler?" Not even bothering to check if Lexi confirmed this or not, Kurai nodded to herself and hurried into the room, leaving her friend to scramble after her. "Yeah, whatever. Not interested in blondie at the moment."
The conversation had mostly stopped when the two girls entered the room, only a few of the Nobodies decided it wasn't worth the time to either call out a sarcastic thanks to Lexi for Saix's absence (though some seemed genuinely pleased, which would have been amusing if it weren't so embarrassing) or to glare at Kurai as if they much preferred her locked in her room. Axel was one of the former, while Roxas simply waved enthusiastically at the sight of Lexi before freezing with his hand in the air, confused, to glance at the girl beside her.
Kurai ignored these things in their entirety while Lexi returned the greeting to her friends, and both girls made their way across the room. Luxord looked up at their approach, in the middle of showing Roxas what a full house consisted of, and not for the first time Lexi found herself worried about the logistics of the plan. How were they supposed to discuss anything with him around? The gambler was nicer than most in the organization, but he wasn't going to let them risk getting on Xemnas' nerves again. If the leader had any more cause for anger it would mean problems for everybody, not just those involved.
However, Kurai didn't seem to be bothered. "Heya guys, how's it goin'?" Ignoring the annoyed look on his face, she sat down directly next to Luxord, reclining comfortably. "Ya know, yer like the only guy here with facial hair, huh?"
Lexi tried to smother a giggle as she sat next to Roxas and returned his peppy "Hello!" The look on Number X's face was so confused it was comical. "Yes, but I don't see why that's impo-"
"Cool accent. Almost British, but not really." Kurai interrupted, studying the Nobody's face in such a practiced way that Lexi realized this girl was quite adept at making people feel uncomfortable, enough so that it seemed to be working despite Luxord not having emotion. "Nice earring, dude. You might want to move a few o' those to the other ear, otherwise yer never gonna get a girlfriend." She warned, leaning in front of the man to get a good view of his face. "Seriously, makes you look like a pirate, which is cool and all- but having a bunch on one ear is gonna make people think you like guys. Not that that's a bad thing... do you?"
Luxord looked as stunned as Lexi for a moment at Kurai's brashness, but rather than trying not to laugh (as she was) he looked annoyed. "Being a Nobody I can't "like" any gender, now can I? But-" He continued, seeing the raven haired girl open her mouth again, "when I could feel emotion, I was attracted to woman. Not that it matters or in any way concern you."
"No, it doesn't really." Sounding completely unconcerned by this fact, Kurai stretched and yawned loudly, obviously trying (successfully) to bother the older man as much as possible. "But you still told me, which means I got on your nerves, which means that's possible, so obviously you've got some form of emotion. You sure about the whole woman thing? I mean, the only girl besides Lexi is that one with the antennae hair-and she can hardly count as female- so I know you don't have much choice, but seriously-you'd think Xemnas would recruit more girls, it's like he wants a bunch of guys all trapped in a castle together to see what'll happen."
"I'll show you the game some other time, Roxas." Giving up on his attempts to deal with Kurai, Luxord stood up and summoned his cards (which had appeared smaller than usual for the game) and collected his winnings before walking away to join some of the others.
No longer able to control herself, Lexi burst into a fit of barely quieted giggles while Roxas and Axel both watched Kurai with mirror-image approving grins.
"You know what, I think I like this kid." Axel decided, reaching out to high five said girl, still smiling.
"Why thank you." Kurai leaned back against the couch, smirking contentedly and winking at Lexi. "See? No problems. Now we can talk in peace."
"He probably would have left if you just asked." Lexi pointed out, though she couldn't say she would have preferred that to the not-so-subtle teasing.
"Eh, that was more fun." Now the newcomer's eyes were an electric yellow, and there seemed to be an extra static charge in the air around her- enough for a few strands of Axel's-nearest to her- hair to frizz, luckily going unnoticed by the Nobody. "So, you guys are Lexi's friends no matter what, right? Want her to be happy and all that?"
Both boys nodded, and Roxas said, "Of course. Why, is something wrong?"
Seeing Kurai looking at her, Lexi quickly explained her problem, though rather than insinuating anything romantic between her and Riku, she merely pretended to be eager for a way out of the castle, some fresh air maybe. She was an awful liar, and it was a good thing her two friends were so unused to emotion-because the other girl was practically groaning at the unconvincing act.
"You want us to help you sneak out of the castle? Saix and Xemnas would be furious if we got caught." Seeming pleased by the concept, Axel smirked and nodded his approval. "Let's do it. What's the plan exactly?"
"Um... well..." She hadn't thought of this- it had seemed like Kurai had had a plan, but now she was worried that that had been her job. Luckily, the sly girl across from her obviously had this covered.
"It's not too hard, really. She's obviously going to be followed everywhere by a partner on each mission. Unlikely it will ever be one of us, but when it is we can try to handle the job ourselves while Lexi here goe and looks for some normal people to hang out with." Obviously proud not to be considered "normal", the happy yellow of her eyes began to shine again. "That's the easy part. Still, that's not enough time now is it? It'll be easiest to have her sneaking out at night, but obviously Xemnas will be nervous and might get paranoid and have someone check that she's still there. So, the three of us have easy jobs- two of us make sure no other organization members show up wherever she is, and one of us pretends to be her. That'll usually be me, obviously, but you two boys can do that more or less too. Well..." She glanced at Lexi and then Axel, noting the size difference. "Maybe just you, Roxas. You'll feel pretty damn stupid, but if you're willing to wear a wig or something and sleep in a different bed we're fine. I'd rather look at some of his other security or whatever, but honestly our only job is to make sure Nobody-pun intended- sees her out when she's not supposed to be."
"Pretend to be... Lexi?" Roxas looked confused at this, and mildly embarrassed by the idea of sleeping in her bed. "That seems a bit too simple."
Kurai shrugged, unconcerned. "Well so do you, so don't judge. I'd like to try it tonight, but I've got a problem- Xemnas' still got me on a tight leash. I think he's trying to send me off to work when everyone else is asleep to make sure I realize I'm not one of you guys. Really stupid, but I won't be getting much sleep either- no energy to rebel, probably his plan."
Axel and Roxas seemed to find the idea fine, if overly simple, but Lexi had other ideas. "Wait! You guys can't do that... I don't want you in so much trouble, if my dad finds out-"
"We'll deal with that if we come to it." Axel said, waving off the problem. "I've done worse things, and we could easily pretend the Amazoness over there kidnapped you or something."
"You'd be risking your own ass, but whatever, Hothead. See who's worse, me or Xemnas." Kurai warned pleasantly. The two grinned at each other- and Lexi could tell their similar personalities would make them become great friends.
Before they could continue Roxas raised his hand to his mouth for silence and pointed at the door. Saix had come back at last- and he was looking murderous. Lexi shrunk back instinctively, but the other three seemed mostly unconcerned except for the possibility of being overheard. Once Number VII had called a few people over to him and was busy angrily telling them what to do for the day, Kurai continued in a quiet voice. "So, since it really would be better to try this with three people, you guys can use Demyx as a guard or whatever tonight."
"Demyx? He won't do it, no way." Roxas whispered, glancing over his shoulder at the boy in question- who was looking very annoyed by whatever job he had been given.
Once again Kurai grinned, and the two boys shared looks that indicated they felt the same way Lexi did about the creepy smile. "Oh, trust me, he'll listen. Here, I'll get him now."
She stood up and briskly hurried across the room, ignoring Saix- who she interrupted mid sentence- and began talking animatedly with Number IX. "Rather... energetic, isn't she?" Axel mused, laughter in his eyes.
Lexi nodded, finding she couldn't think of many other ways to describe Kurai that wouldn't seem insulting. "A nice change from all the other members though... I don't think there's ever a dull moment with her around, huh?" This might not be a good thing, exactly- but if she wanted to see Riku she would have to trust the other girl entirely. And she definitely wanted to see Riku. The memory of the mysterious boy brought with it a mix of emotions: the sensation of butterflies flying in her stomach, longing, joy, even a little fear as she remembered how strong he had been, and how he could control the darkness the same way she did.
"What's she doing over there?" Roxas wondered, distracting Lexi from her nerves and calling her attention once again to Kurai, who appeared to be literally dragging Demyx away from Saix, who looked flustered but mildly amused, and as he had already given Number IX his mission actually didn't threaten the dark haired girl with punishment.
"Oh this is too good." Axel, always eager for anything exciting to happen, leaned against the edge of the chair and chuckled as Kurai returned, her terrified and annoyed load right behind her.
"That was really unfair- I was about to go finish a song on my sitar and you just dragged me off like that. Man, my hair's all-Ow!"
Demyx's hands flew up to his nose and, to Lexi's disbelief, a thin trickle of crimson blood was already streaming from between his gloved fingers, soaking the cloth- the result of a very well executed and very forceful punch from Kurai. A few of the members had turned at Demyx's shout and gave off mixed reactions; whether fury that she had dared hit one of their members or amusement at her actions, none of them actually spoke up.
"Told you I'd hit you after I got out of there, didn't I?" The tall girl smirked, looking down at Demyx and seeming very pleased with herself. "Now, unless you want me to see how much of your pretty little hair I can rip out with one pull, I suggest you sit down and listen to what I've got to say."
The water elemental may have been lazy and cowardly, but he wasn't stupid and immediately sat when instructed to do so, looking around as if hoping for help, and though Lexi would have liked to scold Kurai and help Demyx fix what was sure to be a broken nose, the raven-haired girl had begun to speak once again. After about twenty minutes of threats and explanations, plans had been made for their first break-out attempt, and the half Nobody was so excited at the idea of seeing Riku again that she didn't even notice the blurry pink image just within her peripheral vision's range until it had swept out of sight.
"God damn, as if this place wasn't dark enough." Axel muttered, peering around a corner and squinting to see as best he could with the small fireball he was using as a light source to lead Lexi and Demyx around. "Pretty creepy with all the lights turned off, huh?"
Lexi nodded, once again turning over her shoulder and finding nothing but the faint lightness of the white walls slowly sinking away into darkness further down the hallway. "Can't we just open a portal?"
"Not in here." Axel replied, continuing on once he saw the hall was empty. "I think Xemnas can tell or something if we use them in the castle, I've never managed to sneak in or out of here using one of those things without getting caught. Come on, we're almost there."
Feeling like some kind of spy or criminal, Lexi followed her friend through the unusually dark halls of the castle for another five minutes before he finally stopped, the fire in his palm lighting up the exit.
"Free at last. Come on, cry baby, you first." Number VIII turned to Demyx-who had been jumping at every slight noise for the last twenty minutes- and made a sarcastic sweeping bow in front of the door.
"Man, this is creepy..." The water boy whispered, hurrying along and looking sorry for himself; which wasn't entirely unexpected, considering the mess of bandages covering his nose. "I told you I'm the wrong guy for this."
"Yeah, too bad. Come on, Lexi." Axel waited until she had followed Number IX out the door (with a sympathetic look and another apology for Kurai's earlier behavior) before closing it as he followed them into the oddly bright World That Never Was.
"It's so strange that it's as bright at night as it is during the day." Lexi whispered, staring up at the ever-present Kingdom Hearts moon with a sort of awe. "If not for going to the other worlds it would be impossible to tell what time it was."
"Speaking of which, where are we going?" Her red-haired friend had extinguished the fire in his hand and was looking expectantly at Lexi, ready to open a portal.
"Um..." She hadn't thought of that. Where could Riku possibly be? She didn't know him well enough to assume, and there was always the chance he'd be out fighting some heartless, like he had been when they met in Wonderland. "Radiant Gardens." She had replied without much thought, the answer just seemed right to her.
"All righty then." Shrugging, the Flurry of Dancing Flames flicked his wrist casually and a dark corridor appeared, which he and Demyx stepped through almost immediately, followed by Lexi-who only just managed to make it through.
The world was just as beautiful at night as it had been when she came during the day with Marluxia not long ago. There were, surprisingly, more people out at this time- though luckily Axel had taken them behind one of the buildings and they didn't attract too much attention.
"Okay, none of the others would risk coming into town, so Demyx n' I'll look around outside of this place for the most part." He was saying, rolling his shoulders and grinning at the look on Demyx's face. "Don't worry too much- just avoid anybody who looks like they could kill you, because they probably want to, and you'll be fine. See ya in an hour, Lexi."
"See you." Lexi smiled and returned her friend's wave, trying to give Demyx what she hoped was a grateful and at the same time reassuring look as he too waved, though without much energy. "Do we meet at that castle?"
Axel considered this for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, but not right near it- try the clearing farther away. Xemnas likes to send us to the castle sometimes."
Demyx whimpered at the idea of being caught, and Lexi once again felt the urge to ask her friend just to send the unwilling boy back to the castle, but she had a feeling Kurai wouldn't be too happy to see him when she got back from her mission and decided he was safer here. "All right, I'll be careful."
Once more waving good bye, both boys set off on their own, leaving Xemnas' daughter to look around for any sign of Riku and wondering where the best place to look might be. Maybe he was at the castle himself- but she couldn't risk going over there, and the chances were pretty slim...
"Excuse me, are you lost?" Lexi started at the feminine voice and turned around suddenly, almost expecting it to be Larxene taunting her, but instead saw a brown haired girl with chocolate eyes wearing one of the most impractical-albeit very attractive on her- outfits she'd ever seen.
"Um, sort of." The girl seemed to be staring at her cloak, and for a moment Lexi was worried until the stranger looked up and met her eyes without mentioning the outfit. "I'm looking for a boy... he's got long white hair and dresses like I do, with a black cloth over his eyes. Do you know where I could find him?"
To her surprise the girl's face lit up with recognition. "Riku? We've been looking all over for him ourselves, actually. Sora thinks he saw him a few days ago, but we can't really be sure. How do you know him?" Now her voice held suspicion, and the half-Nobody decided it was better not to mention having met him on a mission where she was supposed to kill him.
"We met in Twilight Town a few days ago and we've talked a few times, but I haven't seen him for awhile." Not too long, but to Lexi an hour away from Riku was "awhile".
The girl stared at her in surprise. "You've seen him? More than once? Jeez, he must be avoiding us then. Sorry I can't be much help, but make sure to tell him Tifa's looking for him if you see him, okay?"
"Tifa, right." The white haired girl nodded, earning a smile from the stranger, apparently "Tifa". "I'll tell him if I find him."
"Thanks." With a friendly smile she turned to leave, and Lexi was about to do so herself when she suddenly stopped and looked back once more. "One more thing. I'm looking for someone too, a girl with short black hair and silver eyes that change color? She's pretty tall, hard to miss, have you seen her around?"
Kurai! This girl was looking for her new friend, and for a moment she was about to tell her about her whereabouts when she realized her father would be none to happy to have friends of the raven haired girl storming their castle. Glad it was dark so her face couldn't be seen well, and her lie identified, Lexi shook her head. "N-No, I'll keep a lookout for her though."
"Oh well. Thanks again." Tifa turned once more and, this time, disappeared around a corner.
This wasn't good. Someone was out looking for both Riku and Kurai, and they knew someone from the organization had seen at least one of them now. But did they know she was in the organization? Riku wore the coat too, and Tifa hadn't seemed too suspicious after talking with her. Maybe it was obvious she had emotion and, therefore, wasn't a Nobody? Or maybe she just hadn't seemed to be doing anything evil at the time. Either way, it didn't look like she'd be in any trouble...
"You've been looking for me, have you?" For the second time that night Lexi jumped at the sound of a voice behind her- though this time the voice was familiar, and definitely welcome.
"Riku!" She spun around to see the silver haired boy watching her-or maybe not, his eyes were still covered- with an amused smile on his face.
"I thought you weren't supposed to be sneaking out anymore." He said, glancing around. "You could get in trouble again, you should get back to that castle."
"Oh, no, it's okay. Kurai came up with a plan and Axel and Demyx are watching to see if any of the others come by." She assured him, though he didn't look very reassured, so she continued. "Listen, I think a girl named Tifa-"
"I know they're looking for me, and they'll find me when I want to be found. I can't be around them right now." Offering nothing more than this cryptic answer, Riku continued in a cautious voice. "Listen, if Kurai came up with this plan you've really got to get back. She's sadistic, getting you in trouble would be a laugh for her, trust me. She'd love to rub it in Xemnas' face that she had managed to sneak you out at all, and she can't do that if he doesn't know you're here."
"I trust Kurai." Lexi replied, though she was unsure herself how true the words were. "Don't worry, with Axel and Demyx here and Roxas at the castle, I'll be fine. I'm going back in awhile, I just want to talk with you."
Her voice had lowered to a shy whisper, and now she bowed her head, feeling uncomfortable under Riku's obvious scrutiny. For a moment she feared she would have to return to the castle, but then he shrugged and said, "Fine. Come with me."
Deciding not to ask questions-for she rarely got answers from the mysterious boy- she hurried after him as he walked away, turning once to make sure she followed. For a few minutes they walked in silence, until at last Riku stopped just outside the city beside what seemed to be a winding path of rock and crystal that she and Marluxia had travelled through the day after their first meeting. He sat on one of the rocks and beckoned for her to do the same, smiling when she did.
"So, I'm curious, how did Xemnas have a daughter? I thought Nobodies had no emotion." He wondered, for once starting the conversation himself.
Eager to talk with him but unsure about divulging too much about her father-even he deserved his secrets- she spoke carefully. "I'm not sure. He seems to love her, but he doesn't talk about her a lot. I think she must have just been such a good person that even he couldn't help but have feelings for her." It was a lame answer, but dwelling too much into the situation would have been rude to her father, and she wasn't sure herself.
Riku, however, seemed to understand just from that little bit of information. "I've seen Nobodies expressing emotion during... extreme situations before. Usually it was anger, but I've seen others. Triumph, hatred, fear..." He didn't seem to be enjoying his memories, whatever they were, and continued on a moment later. "What do you think of your father?"
Now Lexi smiled herself, looking at him slyly. "Oh no, you asked a question already. Now it's my turn." She would have liked to ask about the blindfold again, but knew he wouldn't answer, so she thought for a moment first. "What's your favorite color?"
He looked surprised, much to her amusement. "My favorite color? That's your question?" He watched her for a moment and she nodded, so he shrugged and thought for a moment. "Red, I like red. Not too dark, but not as light as pink either, sort of..."
"Like a rose? That's a nice color." Lexi's smile reached her eyes now. She was glad to know anything about him, and he wouldn't answer personal questions, so it was nice to gather tiny details. Things she could think about, remember him by...
"So, since you asked me, I go now." Riku seemed to be enjoying himself more or less, and instead of inquiring about Xemnas again he decided to ask a less personal question. "So, on the topic of colors, what's your least favorite?"
That was easy. "White."
Pretending to be offended, the boy raised a hand to his silvery locks of hair, and Lexi laughed at the mock indignation on his face. "It looks good on you. It's just that I see too much of it at the castle. It's such a stark color, whenever I look at the walls or the floors or anything in that castle everything seems so empty and impersonal. It's like not only the Nobodies have no emotion, but that the building is absorbing it."
Riku frowned now, likely thinking back to his time at C.O. "Yeah... I see what you mean."
Lexi felt bad now-she hadn't wanted the conversation to get too serious, it was nice seeing this lighter side of the boy. "So, my turn now. Have you ever had any pets?"
And they continued like that for so long, learning so many pointless but at the same time cherish able things about each other, that an hour had long since passed by the time a flustered Axel approached her, claiming that he and Demyx had been looking for hours and by the time Lexi had apologized and explained Riku had vanished when she turned to ask where he would be tomorrow. But for some reason she didn't need to. Smiling, she followed her friend to find Number IX, who was still searching reluctantly, and knowing that her silver haired friend would be waiting for her here soon.
"Hmph. Night missions, what a stupid idea. Can't see what Xemnas was thinking." Kurai muttered, kicking a small rock out of her way and turning over her shoulder to look at her mission partner- or rather, temporary guard to make sure she didn't escape. Not that she was afraid of Marluxia, he had beaten her on a fluke last time, and she was pretty sure she stood a good chance against him in a battle, not that she was interested in running away anymore. "Your boss is an idiot, offense fully intended. What's the point of sending us off to Neverland in the middle of the night to kill some flying bird thing?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. I always say he's the worst thing about this organization." Marluxia's voice was much more bitter than she would have expected, which brought an unexpected grin to the girl's face.
"Oh yeah? Bet he wouldn't like to hear that." She grinned slyly, knowing she wouldn't mention it but liking that this obnoxious pink haired man wasn't entirely stupid. "Or about your trouble at C.O. Axel told me." She explained in response to his wide-eyed stare.
He swore quietly under his breath, probably vowing some kind of revenge against the red haired Nobody now, and it was a moment before he spoke again. "Nor would he like to hear what you've planned with his daughter." They were climbing a not too-steep set of rocks now- neither willing to do so but knowing it would be impossible to find the heartless at ground level- and he had expected some sort of reaction along the lines of slipping or otherwise stumbling comically, but Kurai just shrugged.
"So you were listening. Thought so. But you know," She smiled at him in a way that made him shiver-much to her delight- and shrugged. "My thing is bad, but you wouldn't dare tell him. He would kill you, no, torture and kill you if he found out about your little plot against him. Half the organization would be gone by the time he tracked everyone who had sided with you and trust me, I would like that very much."
Marluxia glared at her, which only served to improve her mood. She was pleasantly calm tonight, with a rarely seen green shine in her eyes, and nothing he said could bother her.
"Now, play nice and maybe I'll give you a ride."
"A ride? What are you talking about?" He raised an eyebrow suspiciously, pausing to wipe some blood of his hand where he had cut it on the stone.
Grinning again, though for once more in a pleasant than frightening way, and winked. "Just watch." Laughing at the annoyed and impatient look on his face, she gripped her axe-strapped to her back and now laced with glowing green lines- and grabbed his hand, nearly causing the Nobody to fall. "Hold on tight."
A moment later the rock beneath them had begun to shoot upward, causing Marluxia to shout out in surprise. He looked over the edge as they rose, eyes wide, and turned to her with a renewed interest. "You collect hearts and control multiple elements. Interesting."
Kurai shrugged, slowing the rock's ascent as they neared the altitude of the other raised pillars, and wiped some sweat off her forehead. Elemental work was always more tiring for her than combat. "Not at the same time. It all depends on my mood. When my eyes change my element changes, but I can't use it too well until I pick up my axe. See those lines?" She pointed to the green veins on her weapon and he nodded. "They help me channel my energy to do some really cool stuff. Usually the most I can do is trap someone's foot in the floor or something, so I like having this baby around at all times."
"No wonder Xemnas has taken such an interest in you." Marluxia mused, standing up and brushing off his dust-coated cloak, looking around and noting that the pillar they had been climbing was now beneath them. it was almost like she had shifted and raised the rock all at once, creating an upward escalator effect of sorts. "If he sees too many of your tricks he'll never even consider letting you leave."
Kurai shrugged, searching with her eyes for her target in the dark sky around them. "Doesn't matter. I'm already the organization's dog."
Marluxia glanced at her again, and she could feel his eyes on her back even though she wasn't looking at him. He was silent for a moment, studying her. "You don't seem bothered by the fact."
Kurai shrugged, her black hair shining in the intense moonlight that graced over Neverland. It was a nice world, she noticed, full of trees and plants and life, and as she watched the stars on the ocean far below she realized how much the cold interior of the castle was effecting her after only a short time. "I'm not, not really. I had a pet dog once. The thing never listened to me, I couldn't get him to sit, roll over, beg, or even go on walks. He bit, barked, growled and did whatever he damn well pleased." She turned over her shoulder and grinned at Marluxia, who was watching her with an unusual expression, apparently hanging on her words. "I may be Xemnas' "dog", but he can't train me. He thinks that if he loosens my collar and lets me run around in the yard every now and again he can tame me, make me loyal to him. Like I said, he's an idiot."
He was still watching her. For a moment she held his gaze until something in her eyes made him look away, then she turned back and began to watch again. "I don't understand you. I don't think I've ever met a girl quite like you, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing."
Kurai turned fully away now, her back to the cliff, and smirked. "Just be careful now." She warned, counting slowly in her head. "Dog's bite."
A moment later she had stepped back and fallen off the edge. Wide-eyed, Marluxia rushed over and peered down, only to see the black haired girl firmly on the back of a very large and very angry heartless, gripping it around the neck as it tried to buck her off. He stared at her for a moment, stunned, until she looked up at him, winked once more, and let out a loud, playful howl.
Despite himself, the Graceful Assassin found he was smirking in a way almost identical to the girl below him. He had definitely never met anyone like her, and doubted he ever would again.
For the next week or so Lexi and Kurai were both in a daze of sorts. Kurai was adjusting to her life at the castle and slowly but steadily making friends; almost everyone either trusted her, liked her or relied on her strength now-and she was especially popular with Xigbar, who would make sure to ask for her as his partner whenever he left to Port Royal and both would return far past the expected time, holding empty bottles of an unknown substance and singing loudly until Saix become so furious he kicked them out to sober up. She was definitely enjoying herself, but she seemed distracted by something that neither she nor Lexi could quite figure out. Lexi herself was rather distracted; never a moment passed without thinking of Riku. They had met many times since that night at Radiant Gardens, and while they had begun to ask personal questions they had never mentioned the blindfold again, despite how desperately she wished to see it.
Still, both girls were very happy for once, something Xemnas didn't fail to notice.
Lexi strolled through the halls with an uplifted air. Yes, she had been summoned to her father's room and that was never very good, but she would be seeing Riku tonight- and maybe, just maybe, he would be ready to confide in her. Her mood didn't last, however, when she walked inside the Superior's room to find him wearing a grave expression and staring at her mother's picture with something very close to sadness. He looked up when Lexi entered and quickly schooled his expression, so she pretended not to notice.
"Ah, Lexi, come here." He waved her closer and she listened obediently, sitting in a chair and feeling bizarrely like a schoolgirl in the principal's office. "Now, I've noticed you've been... er... perkier than usual."
Unsure what this could be about, Lexi nodded silently and he continued, looking... embarrassed? "I've been thinking... you've looked an awful lot like your mother since you've begun to smile more often. I keep forgetting you're not a Nobody, Lexi, something she would have scolded me for. It seems that you are.. well you look almost like..." It was strange, and fairly amusing, seeing Xemnas at a loss for words. This had, in her memory, never happened before. "Well, you seem like you're in love."
Uh oh. Lexi froze, eyes wide as her father continued, taking her shock as confirmation. "Now, I obviously do not know how a teenage girl... I don't know how... your mother would have been much better at this. I just want to know, Lexi, who the boy is."
Crap. She couldn't mention Riku's name, he would be furious both with him and her. She would have to make something up, say the first thing she could- but who could she say? He was going to be so angry no matter what... Then she had opened her mouth before she knew it and was whispering, "Roxas." Almost immediately she gave herself a mental kick; Roxas? Why had she said Roxas? This was going to be a disaster!
Xemnas looked about as shocked as she had ever seen him, which would have been funny in another situation. "Roxas? Well I suppose there are worse people here... I would warn you that he feels no emotion, but..." He glanced at the picture again, and Lexi felt awful. Of course he wouldn't protest her supposed romantic feelings for the boy, he himself had fallen for a "Somebody", hadn't he? "Well, I won't stop you, and I want you to be happy, so... I should call Roxas." He must have taken the horror in her expression for embarrassment, because he shook his head. "Never mind. You may leave."
Relieved, and mildly terrified, Lexi stood up and turned to exit, but her father called her back. "Though, Lexi, I will be talking with Roxas. I've noticed the way he looks at you sometimes, and I'd much rather the boy knows how to treat my daughter."
Smiling meekly, Lexi forced herself to thank him quietly before rushing into the hallway and closing the door behind her. She ran for a bit, making sure she was far from Xemnas' room, and collapsed on the ground, her back against the wall. This couldn't be happening- he was going to talk to Roxas? She didn't want to give him any wrong ideas, and this could ruin her friendship with both him and Axel! Then there was the possibility of Riku finding out... Before she knew it she was crying, not just teary-eyed sniffles but loud head-buried-between-the-knees sobs that gave her a headache and would have been horrible if anybody saw her, but she couldn't stop.
"Hm? Now that aint something you usually see here." Lexi recognized Kurai's voice, but rather than hoping for her friend to comfort her she only cried harder. The black haired girl was about as sympathetic as Xaldin.
"Hey, girl, what's wrong?" Kurai bent down next to Lexi, somewhat concerned but somewhat amused to see someone crying in the castle. This much emotion wasn't common here. Then the younger girl looked up at her, opened her mouth, and threw her arms around her larger friend's shoulders, still crying. "Oh crap... If Riku hurt you, I swear I'm gonna break his arm."
"N-no..." Embarrassed, Lexi shook her head and attempted to wipe off her face. Taking a few deep breaths she blurted out the story then bit her lip to prevent crying. It wasn't something she did often, and as such she had a hard time restraining the tears-something that made her feel silly next to her strong friend who had probably never so much as teared up in her life.
But Kurai was sympathetic to this plight. In fact, she winced visibly and shook her head. "Well, God damn. That f-ing sucks." She whispered, and Lexi nodded, feeling miserable.
What a way to ruin a week, Kurai thought grimly.
A/N: Well that's all for now, please review and let us know what you think!
