A/N: something a bit different for this one! Slices of life from each of the main cast over the following month or two. Next arc will have a lot more vanqua but seeing some of the other characters is important for setting up the plot threads going forward.
Lea
Lea wondered why he hadn't suggested moving to Twilight Town sooner. The air here felt crisper, less humid. Less full of lousy washed-out memories. More full of opportunities for new ones.
And, hey, there was an ice cream shop that didn't charge an arm and a leg.
"Morning, Margie!" He gave the owner of the open-air stand a two-fingered salute as he passed by.
"Morning?" She gave a crackling laugh and put out her cigarette. "Dearie, it's half past noon! You ever look at that clock when you're sitting up on it?"
She knew about that? Those half-moon glasses must have binoculars built into them.
"Kinda hard to do that without falling off." He grinned. "Anyway, I'm not heading up yet. I'm actually on the hunt for a job."
Roxas and Kairi were currently footing most of the bill for Scrooge's barely-livable apartments, since they were tearing through plenty of Heartless while searching for Xion. Lea could hardly keep up with them. He wasn't about to survive on child labor, though. Those kids deserved someone who would actually take care of them, for once.
"A job?" Margie's wrinkled brow furrowed. "Y'know, for all the times I seen ya, I never knew what you did. Not like beatin' up monsters pays very well, I imagine."
Yeah, he'd never been as good at stealth as some of the other members. Not when he was around Twilight Town, anyway.
"Eh, it pays better than most of the other gigs I've had." He shrugged. "Got a couple more kiddos to feed now, though. Figure I should try to line up something a bit more stable."
Soon they'd get his last kiddo back, too. Roxas and Kairi were searching everywhere, Isa was recording every shred of memory that any of them recalled, and Aqua seemed to have a few tricks of her own up her sleeve. With all of 'em working together, he was sure of it.
"Hmmm. I s'pose those monsters won't be around forever. Hope not, anyway."
"With Roxas on it, I bet this place'll be clear in a week."
Twilight Town was way more peaceful than it had been a year or two ago. The only remaining Heartless kept to the woods and the underground tunnels. Kairi was starting to complain about how hard it was to find any monsters to fight.
"You bet, huh?" She raised an eyebrow. "Well, how's about this, then? If we're monster-free by next Tuesday, your whole family gets a round of ice creams on me."
"Deal."
Lea grinned, but Margie wagged her finger.
"Now, that's only half a bet, dear. You haven't heard what happens if you lose."
He crossed his arms on the counter.
"Alright, I'll bite. What do you want? You gonna charge me double?"
"You lose, you work here at the shop. Fifteen hundred munny an hour."
"Fifteen hundred?" Lea gaped. "Are you fronting for the mob, or something?"
He'd barely made six hundred an hour at Starbucks. Which, granted, was Radiant Garden's minimum wage, but—seriously. Margie couldn't sell that much ice cream, could she?
"Ha! If I was, you'd know, hmm? All you black coated folks weren't payin' me off, though. I charged you just as much as anyone else."
Heh, she had a point—Organization XIII must have been as close to a mob as Twilight Town had.
"Oh, right, that reminds me. You haven't seen any more black coats around, have you?"
"Why, yours wear out?" Margie grinned. "Glad to see you in something else, honestly. Even if that somthin' makes my eyes hurt."
Lea glanced down at his green shorts and orange tank top.
"Everyone's a critic," he muttered.
Isa hadn't wanted to let him leave the apartment in it, either, but it wasn't like Lea had a whole lot of clothes lying around. Unless he wanted to go back to his black coat.
"It's alright, dearie. Not everyone can look as good as me." She winked. "I haven't seen any black coated folks, though, if that's what you meant. Not that I go wanderin' around lookin' for them."
"Heh. Fair enough."
If Roxas and Kairi hadn't seen anyone in their little escapades, then chances were the coast was clear. According to Vanitas, Marluxia—"Lauriam"—had said that the Norts were scattered. They were probably too scared to hang out on a world with five different keyblade wielders, and one of their own ex-members.
"Welp. Thanks for letting me know," he said.
"Mm-hm. Now you better let me know how that job search of yours goes. I'd say I'm rootin' for you, but I'd be lying. I could use a pair of hands without arthritis around here. Ha!"
She swatted his arm, and he grinned.
"Thanks for the confidence, Margie."
Now he just needed to convince Roxas and Kairi to lay off the Heartless for a few days. Lea had a very important bet to lose.
Isa
Isa was fine. He was calm. It was just a sink.
Just one rusted, gunk-filled sink that spewed murky water at him when he loosened the clogged pipe.
He hissed, shaking the filth from his arms as if it were acid. Perhaps it was. Who knew what toxins could have grown in this abandoned apartment before Scrooge purchased the property?
He wanted to check his inventory for a panacea, but the sink was still leaking. The puddle of murk inched dangerously towards the living room carpet. With a string of curses, he threw down a barrier of towels.
There. Now he just had to address the source of the problem. It would be just like eliminating a poison-aligned Heartless. He could do this.
He reached back towards the guts of the sink, grimacing as water hit his gloved hands. Where was that wrench…?
"Lea?" Kairi's voice echoed from the living room. "I'm going grocery shopping. Anything you want from the store?"
Isa jumped, letting out a hiss when his head hit the underside of the sink.
"Lea's at work. Go ask Aqua," he called tersely. He didn't have time for distractions.
"You know she's never around," Kairi said. "I don't think she knows how to work a phone, either."
That was fair. She was usually at Castle Oblivion, when she wasn't with Vanitas. Isa would know, since he often accompanied her in an attempt to parse out records from the Replica Program.
"Then ask Vanitas. I'm—" he tried not to gag, "—occupied."
"Wait—are you alright?"
No, he wanted to snap back. But that would be counterproductive if he wanted any of Lea's friends to forgive him, much less trust him.
"I'm perfectly fine, thank you."
He finally found the wrench, under a glob of. Something. He did not want to think about that. But now the bolts were missing, swept away by the steady stream of filth.
Footsteps squelched on the towels behind him.
"Holy…" Kairi breathed a curse that Isa pretended not to hear. "What are you doing?"
"Fixing the sink." His voice sounded too petulant, even to his own ears.
"You're… alright. Okay." With an exasperated sigh, she knelt down beside him, not seeming to care that her jeans were getting soaked.
"What are you—?"
Her hands plunged into the rapidly accumulating water. He shuddered just watching it. But shortly she held up the missing bolts.
"Hold these." She passed them back. Thankfully, she was focused on the gushing pipe, so she didn't notice his grimace as he took them.
She picked up one of the saturated towels from the floor and the dish soap from the counter. She paused, staring at the faucet.
"You didn't turn off the water first?"
"The water wasn't running," he replied sharply.
She shook her head, letting out a snort.
"Roxas says you used to run the entire Organization. I wish I'd known that we could beat you by just clogging your pipes."
"Are you going to turn off the water, or are you too preoccupied with mocking me?"
"I can multitask," she said, finally switching off the faucet.
The pipe beneath the sink kept gushing for a moment before slowing to a trickle. Kairi nodded in satisfaction.
Then she squirted soap onto the rag, and stuck the whole cloth inside the pipe.
He wasn't going to gag. He was not going to lose what little dignity he had left.
He clenched his fists as she scrubbed the filth out of the pipe's interior.
"Trash can," she said.
He was more than happy to move away from the rancid smell. He brought her the plastic kitchen trash can—and looked away quickly once she started depositing clumps of unsanitary substance. She hadn't even put on gloves.
"Wrench and bolts." She held a hand out behind her once she was through.
He handed over the wrench and bolts.
After a few moments, the pipes were reassembled. Kairi tested the faucet carefully. Not even a drop leaked.
Of course, there was still the issue of the veritable flood that had collected on the kitchen tiles.
"There." Kairi brushed off her hands on her jeans and smiled. "Next time you have a plumbing emergency, you can call me instead of… whatever it was you were trying to do."
He crossed his arms, forgetting that he still wore his soiled gloves. They left dark brown streaks across the front of his apron.
"Thank you," he muttered through clenched teeth.
She was going to tell Lea about this. There was no way that she wouldn't. And then he would know that Isa could not, in fact, 'take care of a clogged pipe without issue.'
"You're welcome." She patted his arm with a grimy hand, looking entirely too smug as she did so.
He glared at the offending stain on his bicep, once again trying not to gag.
"You did that on purpose."
"Yeah. I think I deserve it." She grinned.
He shook his head. She took entirely too much after Lea.
"If I may ask… where did you learn to repair pipes like this?"
Perhaps her parents were plumbers. Perhaps this wasn't a simple skill that Saix had just failed to learn during his time in the Organization.
"My parents are a bit older. They have a hard time bending down and getting in cramped places." She turned on the faucet, washing her hands in the now-clear water. "I try to help them out when I can. And since our house is old, too, I've had a lot of opportunities to learn how."
Isa nodded, even though the embarrassment still weighed on his chest. She hadn't been obligated to help him, and he had still barely shown any appreciation.
"Your experience shows," he said without inflection. "I am… fortunate that you stopped by."
Kairi and Roxas technically stayed in the same two-bedroom apartment as Isa and Lea, but he had thought that the three of them were already out for the day. He had planned to do the grocery shopping himself, after this.
"I guess it's good to be appreciated by someone." She gave a grim smile. "Even if it's you."
He winced and looked away. The words stung, even if they were entirely deserved.
She forgave Lea, though. Why am I so different?
If Kairi, a Princess of Heart, couldn't be swayed to show him mercy, he highly doubted that Roxas or Xion could.
"Okay, that was mean," she admitted guiltily. "It's not you—I mean, it is, but—you're the only one I'm still allowed to be mean to."
Isa's brow furrowed.
"I see," he said, even though he didn't. She almost made it sound like her anger wasn't personal.
She sighed.
"You're trying your best. Clearly. You wouldn't be doing stuff like this—" she gestured to the mess around the sink, "—if you weren't. And you're going to be around no either way, so. Truce?"
She held out her hand. Isa eyed it warily.
Truce didn't mean forgiveness. It just meant a temporary absence of retaliation. That seemed more reasonable, at this point.
"Truce," he echoed.
They shook, hand in grimy hand.
Kairi
"They tell me I'm too young to understand. They say I'm caught up in a dream…"
Music blasted from the arcade game speakers as Kairi's feet flew across the multicolored panels. Sweat clung to her bare shoulders, the smell just barely stifling the scents of popcorn and pizza in the air. To her right, Pence mirrored the game screen's instructions more smoothly, with the practiced ease of someone who'd been playing "Dance Dance Revolution" for years.
She clenched her jaw and focused back on her own movements. This wouldn't be the first time she'd been outclassed. At least Hayner, Pence, and Olette let her play, instead of forcing her to sit on the sidelines until she could score higher.
"So wake me up when it's all over, when I'm wiser and I'm older…"
She stomped the up arrow harder than necessary. She was older, and she was done being asleep. With the beat in her veins and her friends' cheers in her ears, she felt more alive than ever.
"Go, Kairi!" Olette called from behind her. "Crush him!"
Kairi let out a startled laugh. She didn't see that happening anytime soon, but she appreciated the confidence.
"No way! You can't dethrone the king!" Hayner said.
"Come on, it's about time there was a new king in town." Olette giggled. "No offense, Pence."
"None taken," Pence said without missing a beat. "It's nice to have a challenge for a change."
"Alright, that's it," Hayner grumbled loudly. She heard him punch his fist against his palm. "Kairi, take him down."
They said it like she actually had a chance. She didn't dare take her eyes off of the ascending arrows to check her score, but she couldn't imagine it was anywhere near Pence's.
That didn't stop Olette and Hayner from cheering for her, chanting her name to the beat of the song.
"All this time I was finding myself, and I didn't know I was lost."
Her earlier frustration faded with the echoing lyrics. She kept her steps quick and light as she hit the last few arrows.
Winning would be nice. But honestly, it was enough to just be with friends who cared about her. The only thing that could've made it better was if Roxas had come, too.
The song ended, the machine playing a victory trill. She turned to Pence, ready to congratulate him on his victory, when she caught sight of the score. They had both scored an A, but hers was—
776,050. Compared to Pence's 769,400. She squinted to make sure she wasn't mixing up any of the digits.
"Hey, nice work!" Pence grinned, holding out his hand for a congratulatory shake. "Looks like you're a natural."
"I… what? But you…" She didn't take his hand, instead pointing limply at the screen.
The scores eventually disappeared, giving way to the insert token screen. She could faintly see her baffled reaction in it—
She blinked. For a moment, her hair had looked blonde. Had Naminé been lending Kairi her abilities during the game? She had no idea if Naminé would be any good at Dance Dance Revolution, but the possibility still soured her victory a little.
Hopefully she was just seeing things. Naminé hadn't manifested herself since merging with Kairi, not like how Roxas had sometimes seemed to show through Sora. Kairi had no reason to believe that Naminé wanted anything to do with her.
She shook her head, and shook Pence's hand.
"Aww, man, you're too good a loser!" Hayner complained, flopping himself over Pence's shoulder. "It's no fun if you're not a little mad about it!"
"Why would I be mad? I had a great time." Pence smiled.
"You were amazing, Kairi!" Olette hugged her from behind, chasing off the lingering unease. "Are you sure this was your first time playing DDR?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "Maybe it was beginner's luck?"
"No way. You've got crazy good reflexes!" Pence said with a grin.
"It's gotta be from all that keyswinging." Hayner mimed swinging a sword and accidentally punched Pence in the cheek. Pence gently pushed him off of him.
"I… maybe." Kairi's face warmed from the praise. "Merlin threw a lot of furniture at us. I didn't expect learning to dodge would make me better at video games."
"He threw furniture at you?" Olette balked. "Do I need to break out my baseball bat again?"
"No!" Kairi waved her hands. "Merlin's great. It was fine. It was fun, I mean. And I got to see Lea get hit with a sink."
The three of them laughed at that. They knew that Lea was Axel, and even though they were all on okay terms now—"okay" meaning that Olette wouldn't beat him with her nail-studded bat—it was still fun to talk smack about him sometimes.
"If you're sure," Olette said, and Kairi nodded.
The sentiment was sweet, but it was hard to shake the itching annoyance at the thought that she still needed to be protected.
Hayner snapped his fingers.
"Hey, you know what? You should sign up for next month's Struggle tournament!"
"That'll test your reflexes for sure." Pence nodded.
"Oh, yeah!" Olette agreed. "And then you can kick Hayner's butt, too!"
Pence snickered as Hayner tried to wrestle Olette into a headlock. Kairi felt something light bubble in her stomach.
"You'll have to teach me what 'Struggle' is, but why not?" She grinned.
"Yeah! You're gonna love it!" Hayner let go of Olette to clap Kairi on the back instead. "Seifer's gang won't stand a chance!"
The bubbles multiplied, until they boiled over as laughter.
How long had it been since she'd felt like this? Since she'd felt like a part of something, instead of apart from everything?
"You guys can work that out later. We still need a rematch at Sugar Rush!" Olette took Kairi's hand, eyes bright as she tugged her further into the arcade.
Kairi glanced over her shoulder to see if Pence and Hayner were following—when out of the corner of her eye, the Dance Dance Revolution screen glitched. Where it had been cycling between the menu screen and the leaderboard, it now only flashed three words.
SORA
RIKU
HELP
"Unless you don't want to," Olette said when Kairi froze.
Kairi blinked rapidly. The message disappeared—if it had ever been there at all.
(Why should she care? It didn't ask for her.)
"Kairi? Are you okay?" Olette's head tilted.
"You need a water break? I could go for some, myself," Pence offered.
They didn't look overly concerned. Not like they expected her to break down at any minute. Just like friends who wanted her to feel comfortable.
"That would be nice," she agreed with a smile. "And Sugar Rush sounds good too. Um, but after, can we… check out that one?"
She pointed to a massive game with four bulky guns racked in front of it. HERO'S DUTY was written in bold purple font at the top.
"Huh?" Hayner looked over his shoulder at the game. "Oh! If you're willing to spend eight tokens on it, it's a blast."
Kairi grinned. It was a good thing she'd loaded up on Heartless munny in a few nearby worlds this week.
"It's got the craziest lore, too," Pence said, leaning in to whisper conspiratorially. "I've read that if you can get to the higher levels, you unlock a cutscene where the Cy-Bugs eat the main NPC's husband alive. On their wedding day."
"Wow." Kairi nodded, pretending to look impressed. It was probably best not to point out that her and her friends had lived through similarly dangerous scenarios.
"Well we're never gonna get there if you guys keep standing around! Come on already!"
Hayner tugged on Pence's arm and led them towards the snack bar. Kairi didn't look back.
Roxas
Roxas stared up at the distant apartment window, watching the sunset and clouds glide across the reflective glass. He shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Of course it would be this place." He snorted.
"You're starting to remember?" Vanitas asked, stepping up beside him.
A train drifted along the high-rise tracks, cutting off Roxas's view of the apartment for a minute. He turned to Vanitas instead. Vanitas's frown gave away how uncomfortable he was to be back here, too.
Of course, Vanitas had ten years of memories of this place. Roxas only had seven days.
The ghosts of those days haunted him, though. The tram he and his friends used to climb on top of. The sandlot where he fought Seifer and passed out for half a "day." The mansion he avoided like the plague. Those memories felt as real as any of the days he'd spent here in Organization. Maybe more real, with how many holes Xion's disappearance had left behind.
"That's the room DiZ gave me. In the data Twilight Town," he said.
Vanitas gave an ironic laugh.
"Sure. That makes about as much sense as anything else." He rocked back and forth on his heels. "So, uh. Does that mean that you—did you see… her?"
"Xion?" Roxas frowned, and Vanitas shook his head quickly.
"No, uh. You know, our… mom."
Vanitas's voice was quiet. Strained. Roxas could practically feel the anxious Scrappers Vanitas was holding back. The contrast made Roxas feel more like a Nobody than ever.
How could he feel anything for a mom he couldn't remember?
He shook his head.
"It was just me. I don't know if DiZ didn't want to program our family, or what. It's not like I knew what I was missing."
The closest person to a mom he remembered having was… well, Aqua. He wasn't about to tell Vanitas that, though.
"Oh." Vanitas swallowed. "Makes sense."
"Do you want to, um… see if she still lives there?" he asked awkwardly.
He didn't want to. He'd rather do just about anything else.
"No," Vanitas said quickly. "I'm not—it wouldn't matter. Just be a waste of time."
"Okay." Roxas tried not to show his relief.
"I said no." Vanitas spun on his heel, striding off without waiting for Roxas.
"Yeah, and I said okay?"
Vanitas stopped.
"Oh," he mumbled. "Uh. Good. Because that was your house. Not mine."
Roxas shook his head. He'd thought this tour might help him figure out who he was. Instead, it had just convinced him that these memories didn't belong to him. Each step he took into "Ventus's" past felt like intruding on a funeral.
"What do you want to know next?" Vanitas asked before Roxas could say anything else. It seemed like his way of apologizing. "I've been remembering more since we moved here, but there's not a whole lot else to go look at. Not a whole lot that's still here…"
"That's fine," Roxas said quickly. "I was, uh, actually thinking we could try someplace new. There's an arcade Kairi told me about."
She'd had a great time there with Hayner's gang last weekend, apparently. She'd invited Roxas too, but… it was just too much. He wanted to be their friend—but without any pre-programmed memories, would they like him at all? Would he seem creepy for knowing so much about them—or would everything he thought he knew turn out to be wrong?
He'd hung out with them once. They'd played Grandstander on his vacation day. But that was one day, over a year ago. He didn't expect them to remember it.
It was just… ugh. He loved Twilight Town. It felt like home. But trying to dodge the pangs of nostalgia was like walking across broken glass. He wasn't sure how many cuts he could handle.
Vanitas had walked in front of him again. Roxas jogged to catch up. It was weird—of all people, Vanitas was one Roxas didn't really have memories of. Him and Kairi. And while Roxas would much rather be spending time with Kairi, he didn't mind Vanitas's brashness. At least Roxas always knew where he stood.
"Arcade's not new. Have you seen that place?" Vanitas asked. "The games were old even when I was—when we were a kid. Used to hunt for tokens under the machines and sell 'em to losers at recess."
"Really?"
He tried to imagine the scene, but all he could picture was a younger Vanitas sticking his arms under the arcade cabinets. He might as well be hearing anecdotes from a stranger.
"I know what you're thinking. Sounds just like Vanitas to rip off a bunch of kids, right?"
Roxas paused.
"Huh? What are you—wow." He laughed a little. "We're really not connected anymore. You've got no idea what I'm thinking."
Vanitas spun to face him, a snarl on his lips.
"Then maybe you should start telling me."
"What do you want me to say?" Roxas asked, exasperated. "I don't remember anything. You have all these memories, and I… don't know myself at all."
He knew he had two hearts. He knew that deep down, no matter what name she called him, Aqua still hoped that he was just Ven. If "Ven's" heart had been separate, though, it would've reacted to the things Vanitas said. Right?
"That's why I'm trying to help you, idiot. I didn't have to spill my guts to you."
Roxas frowned. He knew how Vanitas felt—it hurt to see all the places he remembered from the data Twilight Town. All the places he no longer belonged. Maybe he was an idiot to think it wouldn't bother Vanitas.
"Sorry."
He didn't know what else to say. Shouldn't it be easier to understand someone who had literally been a part of him?
"Whatever." Vanitas shrugged. "Tour's over. So… go do whatever it is you do, I guess."
Whatever it is was typically killing Heartless or eating ice cream. There weren't any Heartless left in Twilight Town, though, and he didn't feel like getting ice cream by himself. Kairi was training for the Struggle tournament, Aqua was who-knew-where, Lea was at work, and Isa was… well, Isa.
"Wait." Roxas caught his arm before he could walk away. "I am sorry. Really. I don't know who I am, or who you are… but it wouldn't hurt to try finding out, right?" He smiled a little. "Not who we were in the past. Who we are now."
"You want to get to know me," Vanitas deadpanned.
"I told you I was looking forward to it." He smiled a little. "It's your fault if you didn't believe me."
"Yeah, but that was when you first woke up. Wouldn't blame you for saying some stupid things."
Roxas let out a frustrated sigh. Maybe getting to know Vanitas was more trouble than it was worth.
He let go of Vanitas's arm, deciding to just go home and write in his journal. Maybe that would help him clear his head.
"...I was just gonna go climb some trees," Vanitas finally mumbled. "You'd probably get bored."
Roxas perked up. It felt like lifetimes since he'd last climbed a tree.
"Bored? You're talking to the tree-climbing champion."
Aqua and Terra had never been able to keep up with him. Not for lack of trying. He remembered Terra crashing through the limbs one time, and Aqua barely catching him with a Barrier spell.
Those memories… they were good. Even if those simpler days were gone forever.
"Yeah, 'cause you're so scrawny." Vanitas jabbed him in the side, jolting him out of his thoughts. "Bet all the flimsy branches didn't have a problem holding you up."
Despite the scorn in his voice, Vanitas was grinning.
"So you bet I can beat you too, is what I'm hearing." Roxas grinned back.
"Don't put words in my mouth. I'm gonna kick your scrawny butt all the way to the Clocktower."
Roxas stuck out his tongue and raced Vanitas to the woods.
Aqua
The seasalt-blue bat in Aqua's right hand felt off balance. Too light. Too soft. Of course, that was on purpose—Struggle was just a sport. She wasn't here to hurt anyone. She'd only joined the tournament because Kairi had been polite enough to invite her.
Roxas hadn't. Aqua hadn't even known he'd entered until now, when he stood across from her in the ring. He gripped his bat two-handed in front of him.
Her chest felt tight. Hopefully it was just the velcro-covered vest constricting her lungs.
"Our first match of today's Struggle Tournament will be between two newcomers, Roxas and Aqua! Let's give them both a warm welcome!" the announcer called.
Cheers rose from the crowd surrounding the raised arena. Chants of ROX-AS! ROX-AS! came from Kairi and her friends, and Aqua tried not to scowl. Aqua was the one who'd trained with Kairi. She could've at least cheered for both of them.
Lea was only cheering for Roxas too, but Aqua expected that. He held up a poster board with "WE WILL ROX YOU" written in thick red stood stiffly next to him, wearing a Struggle-themed baseball cap that barely fit over his fluffy hair.
"GO AQUA! YOU COULD BEAT UP VENTUS IN YOUR SLEEP!" Vanitas shouted from the sidelines. She nearly wheezed at the sight of him waving a blue foam finger.
Maybe the match itself didn't matter, but the fact that she had someone in her corner did.
"Hey, Aqua—" Roxas started before the announcer interrupted.
"Ready? STRUGGLE!"
Roxas opened his mouth again. Aqua didn't wait for him to speak.
She rushed forward so quickly, the wind knocked a few of the fuzzy Struggle orbs off of her helmet.
She didn't care. Her bat came down in a heavy overhead strike. No magic, nothing flashy.
His bat blocked hers easily, shaving a few orbs off her vest with the motion. He expertly kicked them into the air with one foot, catching them on his velcro shin guards.
"You've got sixty seconds," Roxas said calmly. "I hope that's long enough for you to get all this out of your system."
"You could have told me you were competing," she snapped, swiping towards his legs. He hopped over her bat like it was a jump rope.
"I just decided yesterday. Wasn't sure I was up for it."
She blocked his next strike, but it was just a feint to get under her guard. Pink orbs went flying as he struck her back.
It didn't hurt. Was it bad that she wished it did?
"We live in the same building. You had plenty of time to say something."
She resisted the urge to use magic, instead slashing recklessly, the way she never could with her keyblade. Blue orbs scattered left and right.
"I had time to say something? You've barely been home!" Roxas rolled, collecting orbs on the back of his vest before springing back to his feet. "You don't tell me where you're going! I know it's not with Vanitas, because he's at the restaurant. It's not with Kairi, because she's with me. I thought you finally decided you wanted space!"
"You thought I—when did I ever say that?"
She'd half been trying to give him space, but more than that, she'd been trying to find out what had happened to his friend. To Xion. The girl that he talked about like she was his sister.
A sister he actually wanted.
"How am I supposed to know!" he asked. "You never say anything!"
She growled and charged him again, and for half a second, it was just like one of their rare spats in the Land of Departure. Usually it had been Terra she clashed against like this, but when Ven got on her last nerve, their fights exploded like thunder. Graceless, underhanded hits, scratching nails and tugging hair. At least the helmets protected her from that.
"I wasn't going to get your hopes up! I've been searching the Castle for months, but I can't make heads or tails of anything, and Isa can only read so much before getting a migraine—"
"You've been doing what?"
His rage-fueled hit knocked her flat on her back.
I thought that's what you wanted! she would've shouted, if she'd had any air left in her lungs.
"You told Isa before telling me that you're—are you looking for Xion?" Roxas's jaw dropped.
"I'm trying to," she gasped out.
She rolled sideways, collecting a few orbs while she was already down. It wouldn't make much of a difference, probably. She hadn't been playing to win.
She'd just been playing to hurt.
Roxas's scowl hardened.
"If you were actually trying, you would've told me. We could've worked together. I don't know why I keep thinking… forget it."
He turned away, picking up some of the fallen pink and blue orbs.
She chucked her bat at him. A few orbs fell from his back before the buzzer rang out.
It wasn't enough, of course.
It never was.
Vanitas
Vanitas stared down at the order slip Hayner had dropped on his counter. The Drizzles and White Hot Chilis flitting about the fancy kitchen shuddered at his spike of annoyance.
"What the heck is this."
Hayner's sloppy handwriting was hard to make out. Vanitas squinted to read Crêpes Suzette, Bouillabaisse, Chocolate Mousse x2, Filet Mignon Poêlé, and… Burrito?
Le Grand Bistrot didn't serve burritos.
"To-go order got called in. I ran it by the boss, and he said to figure it out. Sorry, man. If it helps, the guy said he won't be here to pick up 'til around ten." Hayner gave him a sympathetic grimace before disappearing back into the main area of the restaurant.
Vanitas caught a glimpse of the crowd as the door swung open—a pretty high volume for a Thursday night. At least he wasn't waiting tables like Kairi's friends.
Still, he wanted to shake Scrooge by his stupid feathered neck. He wished Aqua was here, because she'd do it for him. But she was too busy pouring over disjointed notes from Castle Oblivion. Hopefully she'd take a break long enough to eat whatever food he brought home after closing.
"Do you know how to make burritos?" he asked the rat on the counter.
Remy, he'd spelled his name once, when Vanitas had a handful of Drizzles hold up letter cards that the rat could point to. Now those cards held cues like "chop," "sautee," or "simmer," so Remy could give Vanitas instructions without tugging on his hair. He wasn't interested in being anyone's puppet.
Though with the ridiculous requests he'd been getting from Scrooge, he might as well be. Just because Vanitas could technically pull ingredients out of thin air, didn't mean he could pull every ingredient out of thin air.
Remy shook his head and gave a little shrug.
"Figures." Vanitas sighed. "Guess we can deal with that later. Let's get the fish and scallops on the stove before we get any more stupid orders."
After a month of cooking at the Bistrot, Vanitas liked to think he was pretty efficient. His Inversed could do the work of a dozen chefs—provided they were given one simple task at a time. Considering Vanitas was the only human working in the kitchen, this was a necessity. There had to be more chefs, since Vanitas didn't work here every night, but he'd never encountered them during his own shifts. Maybe Scrooge knew he didn't exactly mesh well with others.
Or maybe he was just a greedy idiot who didn't want to pay anyone he didn't absolutely have to. Either way, it was nice to use some of his Inversed without drawing suspicious looks.
Remy scuttled between flashcards on the counter, assigning each Inversed to a task. Chilis got to slurp up broths and boil them to perfection. Chrono Twisters made sure each dish cooked for the proper amount of time. Prize Pods and Vitality Vials provided any ingredients that the stockroom was low on. Drizzles and Inversed Scrappers—which he still hadn't come up with a good name for yet—did just about everything else.
And Vanitas? He got to do the fun stuff.
Chopping vegetables with sharp, precise motions. Digging his hands into buckets of raw shrimp and mussels. Searing fish atop an open flame, hearing the soothing sizzle and feeling the comfortable heat. Smelling the blend of all his minions' work brewing together.
Scrooge himself might be a pain, but Vanitas couldn't complain about the job. He didn't have to work with anyone but Remy. He got to snack on whatever he wanted, so long as the duck didn't find out. He'd learned more recipes than he ever knew existed.
But he hadn't learned how to cook burritos.
"How hard can it be?" he mumbled to himself. "It's just a bunch of stuff thrown in a tortilla, right?"
Remy chittered something that sounded unconvinced.
"Yeah, get back to me when you know how to cook a burrito."
If the idiot ordering hadn't realized burritos weren't on the menu, then that was their problem. They'd get whatever Vanitas managed to throw together.
And they'd better like it.
Xigbar
Xemnas stood on the mansion's balcony, his broad form silhouetted by the moonlight. Somehow he managed to look imposing even in gray sweatpants and a too-small black t-shirt. None of the clothes they'd dug out of the mansion's rubble quite fit them—which made sense, since Xigbar was pretty sure it was just Riku, Naminé, and their old boss who'd holed up in this dump before.
Xemnas hadn't noticed him yet, so Xigbar let himself stare a bit longer. Funny, how Xemnas still stared at the sky like this, when there was nothing up there for him. Then again, nothing was his thing, Xigbar guessed. Heh.
"Cool moon." Xigbar stepped forward and leaned against the railing, balancing three to-go boxes on his fingertip.
Space was his thing, which meant he got to pull off cool tricks like that. Xemnas was too busy staring at the full but very normal moon to notice, though.
Slowly, Xemnas turned to give him a dry look.
"This world's moon is perfectly ordinary."
"Yeah. Not exactly as picturesque as our old one." Xigbar made a heart with his hands in front of the low-hanging moon, leaving their food floating in midair. That got a soft snort out of Xemnas, at least.
"It is as it is." His gaze drifted back to the sky, as if pulled by gravity.
"Ain't it always."
Xigbar yawned and plopped down cross-legged, leaning back against the balcony's metal bars. Not the most comfortable place, but it didn't look like Xemnas planned on coming inside tonight.
Not like Xigbar really wanted to be inside that creepy place in the pitch darkness, either. Larxene was working on getting the electricity back up, but that wasn't an easy task when you were trying to power a secret basement lab. At least she could keep the replica pods powered with her magic alone. If those four broke down, Xigbar had no idea what the old coot would do.
He suppressed a shiver thinking about it. They were being left alone, for now. Ansem could handle all the technical details. Larxene could handle the electricity. Demyx could handle picking up take-out without getting recognized.
And Xigbar could handle this. Making sure Xemnas didn't waste away into a Dusk.
"C'mon down. Concrete's fine." Xigbar patted the spot next to himself.
With a sigh, Xemnas lowered himself gracefully to the ground.
Xigbar popped open two of the styrofoam boxes. Some funky seafood dish for Xemnas, and for himself—
"Ha! I knew they could figure it out." He rubbed his hands together.
"...You ordered a burrito." Xemnas's brow furrowed.
"Hell yeah I did. What, you expect me to eat that fancy garbage you like?"
"Bouillabaisse is not garbage." Xemnas unwrapped a plastic set of silverware with the delicacy of a socialite.
Xigbar took a bite out of the burrito, and his face scrunched. Man, that was a weird flavor. Almost like…
He ripped open his own silverware and scooped a spoonful of Xemnas's fishfood. He nearly laughed it back out of his mouth.
"I thought you wanted me to invest in my health," Xemnas said evenly. "Helping yourself to my nourishment seems counterproductive."
"Here. A reinvestment." Xigbar dropped his burrito into Xemnas's to-go box. The makeshift tortilla—a thin crepe—fell open to reveal more of the soupy seafood that already filled the styrofoam.
"Xigbar." Xemnas frowned. "I am not in such dire straits that I require your food. You must take care of yourself, as well."
"I am takin' care of myself. You couldn't pay me enough to eat that poison."
Seriously. Who put clams in a burrito? He could still feel the slimy stuff stuck between his teeth, no matter how he tried to free them with his tongue. At least they were shelled, unlike the clams in Xemnas's meal.
"I believe it is pronounced 'poisson,'" Xemnas said primly.
Xigbar groaned.
"Great, now I gotta deal with puns, too?"
"You do not have to. You could enjoy your meal inside with Number IX."
Xemnas still called them all by their original numbers—except Ansem, of course, who didn't have one. Xemnas seemed to avoid talking about Ansem at all, though. Couldn't be real fun to suddenly have another guy walking around with your face, Xigbar guessed. Didn't help that the old coot had put Ansem in charge of the Replica Project Two-Point-Oh.
That left Xemnas with nothing but, well, nothing. It didn't suit him as well as Xigbar liked to joke.
"And pass up a view like this? Nah." Xigbar winked, clearly not looking at the sky beyond them.
Xemnas hummed softly.
"Ever the flatterer, aren't you?" he asked, raising a brow.
"Only every six to seven buisness years."
"Is that so." Xemnas stirred his 'booyah-base' absently. "Well then, I will expect a thorough encore when 'six to seven buisness years' comes to pass."
Xigbar laughed, lungs light with relief. If Xemnas was even considering that he could be around that long, then that was something to celebrate. Maybe all he'd needed to replace his beloved Kingdom Hearts was a hot hunk of handsome like himself. And some disgusting food.
"Guess I'd better practice my close-up, then, huh?"
He opened up the last box—a chocolate mousse for dessert. He'd planned to split it with Xemnas, but if Demyx could eat one for dinner—well, no. Xigbar wasn't gonna take Demyx's example for anything.
"That does not appear to be pie." Xemnas frowned.
"You're lucky it's not, after what those morons did to my burrito. They'd probably make it outta shaving cream. Or worse. More clams."
"Hmm. I suppose that would not be ideal for a pie. A quiche, perhaps…"
Xigbar laughed and shook his head. Where did Xemnas come up with this stuff?
He dug his plastic spoon into the cube-shaped dessert. The mousse was sweet and familiar. No fancy fish food—just creamy, chocolatey goodness.
Not as good as a burrito, of course. But it was pretty close.
He'd chowed down on about half of the mousse when he felt Xemnas's warm gaze on him.
"What? Jealous?" Xigbar flashed a chocolate-stained grin. "You already got my burrito. Can't go givin' away everything."
Xemnas looked back down at his meal, carefully prying a clam apart with his fork and spoon.
"No, we cannot," he replied quietly, amber eyes flashing a warning.
The words weighed on the back of Xigbar's neck. Right. They both knew what had happened to Marluxia and Larxene when Xehanort had seen them getting too chummy.
"If you want some, we can always make Demyx swing by again tomorrow night. Not like we got anything better to do."
Xemnas nodded, suddenly quiet.
Nothing better to do. Nothing the old coot seemed to want from them, but no power to leave. Not until the last few vessels were up and running, at least.
"Got any big plans for the rest of the night?" Xigbar says. He's never been a big fan of awkward silence—Xehanort eavesdropping or not.
"...This was my plans." Xemnas gazed up at the moon.
Heh. Some things never changed. It would've been reassuring, if not for how melancholy Xemnas's voice sounded.
(It shouldn't sound like any emotion, though, should it? Not with nothin' but the old man's sliver-heart knocking around inside them.)
"Well, I'd hate to interrupt such a busy night," Xigbar licked off his spoon, "but if ya have some free time, I dug up an old gem while poking around the house today."
"And what could that be?" Xemnas slowly asked.
"Never thought you'd ask!"
"...Do you intend to answer me, or should I assume you are weaving tales for your own entertainment?"
Xemnas would have asked for answers more directly, in the past. While Xigbar enjoyed their game of back-and-forth, it was still weird that Xemnas no longer used his authority as Superior to get to the point.
He wasn't the Superior, anymore. The old man called the shots now—when he deigned to speak to any of them.
Xigbar wondered if Xehanort could turn them into Dusks, if he wanted. Or if what he could do was even worse.
Xemnas had been close enough to destabilizing into one of the Lessers without Xehanort needing to do anything at all. The old man hadn't stepped in to give his precious vessel a new purpose, give him any reason to cling to sentience.
Xigbar had.
He just hoped the small distractions would be enough in the long run.
"Xigbar?"
The concern in Xemnas's voice pulled him back into the moment.
"Trust me, you're gonna love it," he replied with a grin, as if he hadn't been staring off into nothing. "You ever see High School Musical?"