Bait, Chapter 6

He had seen the disgustingly smug demeanor Xigbar let off upon leaving the room. He also knew about the man's equally disgusting sadistic mannerisms. He only hoped he hadn't gone too far with the prisoner, not when he wanted to try and gain his trust.

The kid had sparked his curiosity ever since he had been brought in, unconscious and with blood dripping from a gash on his head. He had lurked near the dungeons trying to find out as much about him as he could. Just who was he, and why did he look so much like him?

He knew he was only a creation of the organizations, intended to be an artificial vessel for Xeanhort's heart, yet they had not even bothered to give him an identity, calling him "fake" and "replica" when they had to address him. He had served the Organization loyally, but it wasn't enough to earn their respect.

He was ultimately abandoned and left to himself when it was discovered he was not a compatible vessel. Now the only key to learning his identity was with the prisoner. He had met the boy once before, in the sleeping worlds, and he doubted he would trust him now, remembering how startled the boy had been by the sight of his own form on a different individual.

Xigbar had barely reached the end of the corridor when the replica grabbed him and held him against the wall.

"What did you just do to the prisoner?" He asked angrily.

"That is no business of yours, fake..." Xigbar replied icily. "Though I'm not surprised you'd show concern for the little wretch. Dont worry, I'm sure he enjoyed it as much as I did."

The replica's eyes widened, a flash of rage crossed his heart as the full meaning sunk in.

"You didn't...just RAPE him?!" he exclaimed in disgust.

"Once again, that is not your business." Xigbar repeated, becoming more and more impatient with the brat treating him so brazenly.

"It is as much my business as it will be yours, you know the superior said to keep him alive and uncorrupted. He will have your head when he finds out what you did to him!"

"Say one word and I will end your worthless life here and now! Don't think I won't!"

Xigbar had been out to see the replica's head on a platter ever since he was brought into this world. He wouldn't put it past Xigbar to murder him in cold blood, even if it didn't settle well with Xemnas. Best to humor him than become his newest target.

"Leave him alone from now on and your secret will stay a secret."

"Fine, just make sure you leave me alone from now on too!" Xigbar stormed off.

The replica walked off in the other direction, grabbing a spare blanket from one of the closets, then proceeding to the dungeons and the room the boy was locked in.

The boy was a wreck, dressed in a torn tunic and bloodstained shorts, the rest of his clothing cast aside to an empty corner of the small room. The left leg was swollen and lay at an odd angle, and he had sustained internal injuries from what Xigbar just did to him: he was still bleeding, even as he studied the boy a fresh spurt of blood tracked down his legs and pooled under them. He lay shivering on the futon, dead to the world, silver hair slightly obscuring wide, bloodshot eyes that suggested he had been crying.

The replica seized a knife from his cloak and cut a rag-sized length of cloth from the hem, dampening it with water from a bottle he had brought with him. He cautiously approached the boy and tried to clean the tear stains from his face. Naturally, he responded by bolting upright with a cry and backing against the wall, alarm evident on his face. The replica laid gentle hands on each of the boy's shoulders, easing him back onto the futon, and spoke to him as quietly as he could so he wouldn't startle him again.

"Easy, you'll only hurt yourself worse..." The replica approached him and tried again to clean the prisoners face, which he seemed not to resist this time around. "I'm not like the rest of them, I don't want to hurt you..." He lowered his hood, exposing his face to his counterpart as though to affirm his statement. The other boy gawked at him, the familiar startled expression starting to form on his face.

"You...you're..."

"I just want to know who you are, and in turn who I am." The other boy gawked at him again, confused. "What is your name?" The replica asked.

"I'm Riku. What do you mean 'who you are?'"

"Riku, an unusual name..." The replica had clearly been distracted by this new information.

"The organization never revealed anything about my history, they were quite content with calling me 'the fake' all the time."

"Sounds like a pretty lousy life- OWW, CAREFUL!"

The replica had proceeded to clean the blood from his lower body, which was still quite sore from recent events. Riku wouldn't have been surprised if he found bruises on his hips in a few days, considering how rough Xigbar had grabbed them. His leg was in the worst shape however, the slightest movement seemed to trigger flaring waves of pain to travel across the injury.

The Replica chuckled darkly. "Consider it a trade-off, since it was me you kicked in the stomach during that escape attempt." The Replica was trying to hide the fact that he was blushing and had to remind himself that what he was doing was not much different from bathing himself. Still, the idea of touching another boy so intimately, even to treat an injury, felt awkward.

"Hehe... sorry about that. Though to be fair I didn't know I was attacking an ally." Riku answered, wincing as the Replica's ministrations moved closer to the still-painful injury on his leg.

"Here, let me take care of that..."

The replica summoned a glow of green energy into his hand, which he placed over the injured leg. The sensation of his bones knitting themselves together like that were unpleasant but were not nearly as bad as the pain had been. He then moved his hand to his lower abdomen and healed the internal damage Xigbar had caused.

"There, I wouldn't use put too much strain on the leg for a few days, but at least it shouldn't cause you any more pain.

"Wait, you mean I could have summoned magic in here the whole time!?" Riku asked in indignation.

"Not exactly, they've been drugging your food, suppressing your powers. Even without the drugs, you've just been injured and are clearly in no shape to use magic now. If you could manage to summon even a mild spell in your current state, i'd be impressed." the replica replied apologetically.

Riku stared at his counterpart, unsure if he had just insulted him or warned him.

"But you shouldn't have need to use it. I made a deal with Xigbar, he shouldn't bother you again, not if he values his life." He draped the blanket he brought over Riku's shoulders and stood up. "Just leave everything to me." He turned and left the room.

This is worse than I thought. The replica thought to had been disturbed by what he witnessed, not just by the broken leg and rape injuries, but by the fact that Riku was showing signs of undernourishment. The kid's skin was cold and clammy to the touch, and he could easily make out the bones in his chest and hips while he performed his ministrations. They clearly weren't feeding him enough. How he had not noticed before now? He had been the one in charge of bringing him food.

Sadly, the rules of living and working with the Organization made it impossible to smuggle more food to him.

The kid is in pretty bad shape right now as it is, The Replica thought to himself. If his friends don't pull through for him soon, things could get even worse in the coming days. The conditions the Organization are subjecting him to, they make it easy for exposure sickness to set in...

End of Chapter 6.