I looked up into his golden eyes. They were so calm, but so frightening. He looked like a loving father and an evil dictator at the exact same time. Luckily we didn't bump into each other, or the plate in my hand would've gotten all over him. Something tells me I would've surely died in that instant if that ever happened.
"Are you finding your stay enjoyable, Saix?" He asked, looking down into my eyes. I nodded, deciding not to try and speak. "I hope you don't mind, I stole some of the coffee that you made. Would you care to join me?" I looked at his hand, and sure enough he had a mug of the coffee I brewed moments ago. I noted interestingly enough that it was pitch black. There wasn't an ounce of sugar or cream in it. I usually didn't use much sugar, but I was never tough enough for a solid black brew either. I looked back into his eyes, and nodded; as if I would dare defy him this early. I couldn't even speak for crying out loud!
He walked around me, pulling out my own chair, and a chair for him. I found this gesture very peculiar; it was very kind of him. He sat down, and I set my plate on the table, across from him. I sat down, and looked at the silverware. There were so many forks and knives; I just didn't know what was for what! I didn't want to make an ass of myself in front of this man though, so I decided to start by sipping my coffee. He mimicked my action, and took a sip of his own concoction. I watched as he swallowed it; it seemed to rejuvenate him in a way.
"You must be wondering 'what all has happened to you, 'and why? You and Axel are the first outsiders that we have detected." I looked down at my food then back at him. I chose to nod, as it was the only thing that could give him any form of feedback. "I don't suppose either of you is familiar with a man named Ansem?" I shook my head. "Well then, let me tell you a story."
"Ansem was a wise man. He was a scientist, but more so, a philosopher. He ruled my hometown, the Radiant Garden. He lived his life looking for answers, for a meaning to everything. Well, one day he found a young man named Xehanort, on the brink of death, in the aftermath of a great battle by those who used Keyblades to fight." I looked at him oddly. What on earth was a keyblade? "As such, Ansem nursed the young boy to health, and he became Ansem's apprentice."
"However, as time went by, Ansem worried that the darkness of people's hearts would one day swallow his home. In order to understand and counter it, Ansem began conducting tests on Xehanort's heart. But, the more he probed, the more he became worried about Xehanort's well being and his strange superhuman abilities." I sipped more of my coffee, taking in the superior's entire story.
"Still, Ansem eventually constructed a large laboratory in the basement of his castle, encouraged by Ienzo. However, Ansem's six apprentices, under the leadership of Xehanort, used the laboratory in order to conduct inhumane experiments on the human heart and the darkness within it. Ansem immediately ordered his apprentices to cease their experiments and sealed the chamber. But Xehanort, secretly continued his experiments alone, now that the others wouldn't continue without Ansem's permission. When one of Ansem's six apprentices, Dilan, caught Xehanort sneaking back into the sealed chamber, they all went down together to stop him. But it was too late."
I was now munching on my french toast, totally engaged as if this were a movie, playing in my head.
"Inside of the lab, was a yellow eyed black creature, resembling a bug." I dropped my fork, remembering what happened, and nodded furiously. " I see, you recognize them. Today, we call them heartless, but, you can thank Xehanort for their existence. Anyway, the heartless attacked them all, pulling the darkness from their insides, and springing them to life. You see Saix, when a heartless attacks, it feeds on the purity of the heart. What's left manifests as darkness, which then becomes another heartless. And the body that is left behind, is called a nobody. The body however, can sometimes resemble the original body, depending on how strong the original heart was."
I put my hand on my heart, and realized at once, that I had to be a heartless.
"Yes Saix, you've guessed it. You and I are one in the same. We are all nobodies." Close enough. "And as you may have also guessed, I was Ansem. The other five you've recently met were my subordinates, other than Xehanort. Our names are simply anagrams of who we once were. If you take the X's out, you can guess our real names." I immediately began thinking of who everyone was before they were nobodies. Some of them were really hard to guess. I mean, it was obvious that Xaldin was Dilan, and Vexen must've been called Even, but who the hell was Lexaeus?
" I have taken it upon myself to try and restore nobodies, like you and I, back to who we were before. We cannot live like this, it is inhumane. And I believe I have found our solution in the mystical Kingdom Hearts. I urge you to join our side Saix, and maybe we will all be able to feel once more." He looked down, and I gazed at him. Some part of me wanted to believe in everything that he said, but all of this was so sudden. And besides, what made him so paternal and loving? Last I checked, we didn't have hearts, so I don't know where he gets all of this compassion from.
Just then, beneath his cloak something began to beep. He pulled back and looked at his watch. " I beg your pardon Saix, I must be going. I hope these next two days are pleasant for you." He immediately grabbed his coffee and glided away back into the kitchen. I watched him gracefully sweep away, and then looked back at my food.
"…..Nobody…." I said. Suddenly, I wasn't quite so hungry anymore. I took my food and threw it in the trash, draining the coffee down the sink and cleaning off my plate, trying to make it as spotless as before I used it. I reset the table to cover my own tracks, and left. I walked up the stairs, in the direction of our dorm rooms. As I entered the hallway, I knocked on Lea's door. No one came, so I figured he was still off doing fieldwork. I wondered why he'd awaken so much faster than I did, and then I remembered that Lea hadn't met the wrath of Xaldin's backhand. I walked onward, and thought of a question for Zexion, so I knocked on his door.
"Who is it?" I knocked again. "I asked who is it?" I knocked again. He finally came to the door. "Oh, Saix. I'm sorry, I forgot you can't really talk yet, can you?" I shook my head.
"How…..speak……normal….?" I felt like such a caveman.
"I suggest reading. My former self, Ienzo, took much pleasure in reading books. When I became a nobody, I immediately read out of habit. I was able to speak again upon my fifth day of my afterlife. Do you remember where the castle's library is?" I nodded my head. "Good, is that all you needed?" I nodded my head again. "Ah, well then, farewell Saix." I waved goodbye, and walked off to the library. I needed the ability to speak again.
When I opened the door, I was amazed. This library had to have every book imaginable. It was so vast I could easily get lost in here alone! I immediately headed straight for the fiction; anything to keep the pages turning. I found a horror thriller, a story about pirates, and a romance novel about a teenage girl and a vampire. According to the rules that Zexion explained, I just had to bring them back at some point. After that, I went back to my own room to read them.
The rest of my day was like that, occasionally breaking to feed the green monster in my belly. I ripped right through the first book like toilet paper, and once I put it down, I went to go see if Lea was back. I knocked on his door. He answered.
"………….Sai……." He said.
"Hi….Lea…" I said. I smirked a little, because I was getting faster. "How….was…..field….work?" I managed! Zexion was right! Lea was jealous that I could speak now.
"How………..you……..?" I knew what he was asking.
"Read…." I replied. I then walked into his room. It had been the same that I remembered to. I could only come in when his mother wasn't home, but it was nice. It even smelled the same! But, like my room, everything was grey.
I spent the rest of my time, trying to converse with Lea, until we both agreed that this was too much work. After that, I went back to my room, and read myself to sleep. I repeated my actions for the next two days, although I didn't come across the superior again. The books really did help. I still wasn't quite up to speed, bur for a little while I was considering sign language. But, the next morning marks my first day of field work.