A/N: Typing, typing, typing. Only one review and twenty-two hits, but I'll update anyway.
Next to Nothing:
Chapter One:
"A Patchwork Soul"
I was still panting when I reached Leon's house.
I had been staying in Radiant Garden for some time now, over a year. I had gotten to know the wide assortment of residents, but Leon and Co. had met me with open arms, something I wasn't really used to. Aerith in particular had taken me under her wing, myself being the troubled little child I was. It was only Leon and his friends that knew about, my, well, my condition.
Give me a moment to be blunt. I was a wandering soul, in the most literal sense of the phrase. A mind, a soul, a heart separated from my body, the empty husk of my Nobody. Somehow, I had managed to retain my human form. However, I was totally bleached of color, my skin, my eyes, my hair, and even my clothes appeared in shades of gray. As well, my vision was reduced to grainy, black and white visuals, like watching a movie on an old TV. When I stopped to think about it, I kinda found it strange that I had lived here for a year, but still didn't know exactly what color Yuffie's eyes were, or the colors on Aerith's dress. But when I didn't stop to think about such things, I could easily continue with a fairly normal life.
I had returned from Between barely alive, but nonetheless reunited with my other half. I was whole again, if I managed to survive. I knocked weakly on Leon's door, shortly before collapsing to my knees. Even as I was dying on my neighbor's doorstep, it was nice to see my blue bangs again. For a moment, my thoughts flashed back to the journal lying on my own bed, where I had written my numerous childhood memories. My eyelids drooped shut, and I slipped in and out of consciousness. I heard the sound of a door opening, but it was a distant sound, as if I were hearing it from far away.
"Larissa, what have you gotten yourself into?"
I opened my eyes again, to see Leon standing above me, his scarred face a mask of disapproval. Using the last of my strength, I said, chuckling slightly, "I'm only a teenager, Leon. What more did you expect?"
I closed my eyes again as Leon picked me up and took me inside.
"Larissa, dear…"
"Larissa, wake up."
"C'mon, Rissa, you're okay, right?"
I shot up as I heard Yuffie use my nickname. It had been my parents' pet name for me, and I half-expected to see my mother shaking me awake and telling me how it was time to get up for school, and how I was going to be late again if I didn't get moving.
Leon, Yuffie and Aerith all seemed to be examining me, as if they had never seen me before. Aerith spoke first.
"I always thought you had green eyes, Larissa."
Hers are green too, I observed, They're like giant emeralds. Just like Axel's. I nodded slightly, then looked down and gave my head a small shake. Who is Axel, anyway?...Avery's Nobody, of course. It was a bizarre feeling, as if I were having a conversation with myself.
"Of course!" I slapped my forehead in realization, the action sending a wave of pain through my head and little stars erupted in my vision. "I have all of Larxene's memories now, too!" I still couldn't decided if this was a good thing or not. I now had two conflicting sets of memories spinning around in my head, because I had been in two different places for the past two years.
"Was Larxene your Nobody, then?" Yuffie asked timidly, almost cautiously, for fear of upsetting the newly delicate balance of my being.
"Yeah." I replied, shortly, bluntly, clearly stating that I had the last word on that subject. I didn't want to talk about it. So Axel was Avery's Nobody... A pang went through my stomach as I remembered the constant hatred Larxene had harbored for Axel, right up until she was destroyed. And, deep inside of me, in the back of my mind, where the true Larxene now resided, I still hated him, for all that he had done to me (my Nobody, really) in the past two or so years. A part of me realized that I always would resent him, slightly, for Axel had essentially caused Larxene's death, though in a different way than Avery had caused my own. Axel had betrayed Larxene to Namine and the rest of the Organization, revealed her as a traitor, and, without really meaning to, betrayed her to Sora and allowed her to be killed. Some accident. "I think I can make it back to my house, guys." I stood up, but I swayed and my vision blurred.
"Absolutely not." Aerith commanded, in the familiar, maternal way she often cared for me, while simultaneously pointing to the bed. "You can't go all the way back to your house, in that state." At that point, I wondered how she coud be so gentle, yet so firm at the same time. "After all, it's nearly midnight. I had best be going." Aerith's cute little house was situated in the Marketplace, across town.
"Would you like me to walk you home, Aerith?" Yuffie offered.
"No, thank you, though." Aerith replied with a sweet smile. "Good night, Leon, Yuffie."
She paused and turned to me. "And please, do be careful, Larissa."
As my body repaired itself from my ordeal, I fell into a deep sleep, and drempt deeply as well. In my dreams, the Gatekeeper approached me, in the endless abyss.
"Are you the girl they're calling Larissa?" The Gatekeeper's voice was not old, dry cracked with age and lack of use, as I would have expected. It seemed that the voice belonged to a young man, smooth and oiled, like the unused edge of a knife; you always knew the sharp, serrated edge was just on the other side.
"Yes." I replied, my voice strong and confident.
"Is it also true that you are the soul of the Nobody, Larxene?"
"Yes." I replied, losing my confidence as I realized where the Gatekeeper was going with this. All of a sudden, my own lies seemed to bind and choke me.
"Surely, you must be mistaken." The Gatekeeper pressed, with a note of humor in his tone, suggesting that he knew that he was not mistaken at all, "For the soul of Larxene goes by the name of Relena, correct?"
"Not-not anymore." I stuttered, completely losing my confidence.
"You lied to the Organization? How interesting." The Gatekeeper said, sounding genuinely amused. This guy was really starting to annoy me. "But you, Larissa/Relena, are unique, at least, for now."
"What?"
"You are the owner of a, sort of, patchwork soul. You have a soul, you have a body, you have a heart and yet you are still not whole. Your heart, your body, your soul, the pieces of your being, essentially, have been—haphazardly—stitched back together. How will you use this newfound state? That is up to you, I suppose." I continued to gape, and though I tried to speak, no words came out. "I hope to hear from you again, Larissa/Relena." He paused. "There is someone within Between that would like to speak to you."
"Axel?" I whispered, nearly inaudible. "Is-is-it the Nobody Axel who wishes to speak with me?"
And then, the dream shifted and changed, and my best friend's face swam before my eyes.
"Larissa? You're gonna be okay, right?" Catássa said, her eleven-year-old voice sounding even more childish, because she was concerned. Even though I didn't speak, she answered. "Good. I left something for you in the bailey. A birthday present. Just like before, right?" She smiled through the concern, a worried, painful smile. "Because it's the morning of your birthday now, Larissa. Now wake up and go get your present, okay?"