The Six Nobodies had temporarily abandoned their posts for needed rest and refreshment. Four of them lay peacefully asleep, while another amused himself with target practice in the training arena.
One, however, was missing.
The boy's even breathing lulled me into a half-waking delirium. Forgetting that I was in a tribal, uncivilized village, I stumbled around the room in search of a clock. Realization hit me when I almost tumbled into the fire pit.
Sighing deeply, I stepped out of the hut to check the position of the moon.
"You're taking your time, Seven." A silky voice whispered in my ear, "Why is that?"
I whirled abruptly, coming face-to-face with the last person I expected to see.
"Superior, you need not worry." I answered shakily, gathering my senses and composure, "I will deliver Ela's Nobody to you no later than tomorrow evening."
"So you have made progress?"
"I'd like to think so, Superior."
Xemnas smirked. "Have you given any thought to what you will name him?"
"Name him…?" The thought appalled me. I took a step back. "He is no animal, Superior. Should he not choose his own name?"
"The name must be his own, rearranged and combined with our symbol, the variable 'x'." The stoic Nobody crossed his arms and laughed at my confusion. "Did you really believe that you chose your own name?" his mirth ceased and was quickly replaced by cold realism. "I named you, Seven, because I recovered you. Therefore, it is your task to name Eight."
I leaned against Ela's hut, blinking to sort out the swimming colors in my eyes. "So my name is…"
"Think about it. Think long and hard about why I sent you on this mission. Then, you will understand." Xemnas glanced to the sky. "Dawn approaches. You must not be seen by the villagers." He pointed over my shoulder. I turned, noticing to my horror that the cloth door-flap on one of the nearby dwellings was being pulled to the side. I ducked into the shadows, glancing frightfully to the Superior. He was gone.
A cold shiver ran from the base of my neck to the ends of my toes, an anomaly for the fact that it was at least eighty degrees on the island. Xemnas's words bit into me like ravenous beasts, yet would yield no answers.
The name must be his own, rearranged and combined with our symbol, the variable 'x'.
The value of a simple variable would be a device that the dramatic Xemnas would exploit to its furthest extent, but its use puzzled me. Nobodies were the only sure constant in the chain of body, heart, mind, and soul. So then…why incorporate a symbol holding no definite meaning? The question set fire to more of my previous thoughts of the mysterious Number I.
I began to wonder…if the Superior had indeed named me as he claimed, then my original name must have been an arrangement of the letters S-A-I. i returned to the human's hut, sitting beside the sleeping boy and crossing my arms.
Sai, Sia, Isa, Ias, Ais…
An exhale caught in my throat.
Asi.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Suddenly, I found it rather hard to breathe. Incoherent pieces of thought created aimless circles in my mind, fighting to make sense of themselves. I stood once more and stared at the boy, sincerely and sorely regretful of my mission and my entire afterlife. For the first time, his fiery hair meant something to me; somewhere in my being, I knew that I had held those locks in passion, some time in my former life. I shook his shoulders gently.
"Ela," I whispered, "Ela, wake up."
Emerald green slits eyed me groggily. "Is it morning?"
"No, but I need to talk to you." A twinge of guilt knotted my stomach as the human stretched drowsily. "I can wait until morning if you like."
Ela shook his head and sat up, smiling. "It's fine. What do you want to talk about?"
I bit my lip nervously, piecing together sentences in my mind. "Ela…before all this happened…we were lovers, weren't we?"
He nodded slowly, a slight smile teasing the corners of his mouth. "Yes, we were. That is why you were exiled, Asi. Such a difference as two males marrying was not taken well by the elders."
"Married?" I covered my face with my hands. Suddenly, all of my confusion organized itself into unbridled rage.
He had known. Xemnas had known all along.
A cry escaped my throat.
"Asi?" the human half-yelled the name, wrapping both arms around me. "Asi, what's wrong?"
I cried out again and again. I cried for my life, both of them. I cried for Ela and what I knew he must become. I cried until I felt my throat would tear, and then I cried again.
When finally my voice was hoarse from it, I collapsed onto the bed and lay there motionless, staring blindly at the bark ceiling.
A single drop of sadness woke me from my trance. Wet and warm, it landed alone on my cheek and trickled down my neck. I glanced to the side. Ela was bent over me, jade eyes glittering with tears and gazing worriedly into mine.
"Ela." My voice was raspy and raw.
He took my hand and kissed it, placing it over his heart. "I do not know what troubles you, Asi, but I hope that I can help you recover from it."
Steady beating coursed through my fingertips, which had not experienced the sensation in a long while. Something inside me smiled, though it was not reflected on my face. I knew that no matter what I did, this innocent and pure soul would become as cold and heartless as I, and nothing I could do would stop it. If I refused to gather Ela's Nobody, Xemnas would.
Such a painful choice had never before existed.
With shaking arms, I took Ela's hand in mine and kissed it, placing it over the span of flesh where a very important organ should have been.
His heartbeat quickened and his face grew pale. He felt around my chest for a pulse, finding none and looking to me, bewildered, for answers.
"This is what troubles me." I said as loudly as my damaged throat would permit. "This is what happened to me after the elders left me dying in the forest. I lost my heart because I felt that I had no more use for it."
Ela was silent for several moments before the tears began to fall. Once more, he buried his head in my shoulder and wrapped both arms around my neck. I mentally cursed the Superior, cursed him into the deepest depths of nothingness for his cruel decision.
"Asi, I do not care what you have given up. If we are strong, then surely the gods will grant you your heart back." He kissed his finger and traced my x-shaped scar with it. "Maybe they will even remove your mark of an outcast. Then, you can live freely in the village again."
Over and over I was reminded of the primitive environment I was in. "No, Ela, I do not believe that the gods will ever reward me with such a prize." I stroked his long hair. "And I do not wish to live in this village. My place in the world, and my view of it, has changed."
The boy's gaze turned to the standard-issue Organization XIII coat that I was once more wearing, then back to his own rough animal skin leggings. "I see. So, the purpose of your visit was to say goodbye?"
"No-" my voice cracked and I swallowed hard. "No, Ela. The purpose of my visit is quite different than that." His face brightened. I felt less than worthy of such jubilance. "I came to ask you to join me."
"Well, finally." Xaldin smirked. "I was beginning to think his emotions got the best of him."
"They did." Zexion's quiet voice emanated from the doorway. "Before, Seven was driven by his need to prove himself through completing the mission. Now, he is trying to reclaim Ela's Nobody because the two used to be in love."
Vexen scowled. "That's ridiculous. Without a heart, Seven could never rediscover his love for the human. What's more, if he is successful, Ela's Nobody will not retain any memories of Seven or his past life."
Zexion nodded but remained standing. "I think Seven knows that. He also knows that he must finish this mission, because if he does not, another from the Organization will be sent in his place."
"Whatever the situation, Seven has proven that he is far too emotional for further missions of such importance." Vexen replied dryly.
"Really?" Xemnas grinned, jumping nimbly down from his throne. "I disagree, Four. I think he's perfect."