Hey guys, I'm ba-trips and crashes into a nearby table. Well then, uh...I'll deal with that later.

Yeah yeah, the update took forever again. Sue me. It's not like I wasn't writing. I've done a lot of writing...just writing that'll never get posted.

In all seriousness, I've been writing lots of little drabbles for my friends on Discord, since we all have OCs and we talk about them and the scenarios we put them in. To be honest, I've thought about how I could incorporate them into the story. Whether or not that happens is still up for debate, but...yeah, that's where I've been.

Anyways, enough of my drabbling, here's the next chapter. Enjoy.


Chapter XI - Hearts and Minds


Play: At Dusk, I Will Think of You… - Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days


"All this fighting...I wonder what it's for."

Kirux stopped before he could take another bite of ice cream to look over at Roxas, as had both Axel and Xion.

Axel was the first of them all to respond, "Come on, you know what it's for. We have to complete the great Kingdom Hearts. You saw it too, didn't you?"

"Well yeah, but...what is Kingdom Hearts?" Roxas asked while looking toward Xion and Kirux.

"It's the gathering place of hearts...isn't it?"

"It's where all of the hearts wind up after they're released by you, minus you Kirux."

Despite the displeased look he got from Kirux, he continued, "Once we collect enough, we might finally get hearts of our own."

Xion looked back out in front of her, "Hearts be made our own…"

Kirux seemed like he wanted to speak, but Roxas did before he had the opportunity, "Is Kingdom Hearts really that important?"

"Are you crazy?" Axel asked in response.

"I just don't see why having a heart is that important, you know."

"Come on, you're worrying about that now?"

Roxas's eyes went down to his feet, "Well, I don't understand because I don't have a heart."

"Roxas…"

"But...shouldn't gaining a heart be what every Nobody wants?"

Everyone's eyes were on Kirux now, who was just staring at the bar of ice cream that he held.

"What do you mean by that, Kirux?"

"Think about it. We were created because our real selves lost their hearts, or...I guess in my case, it's different…"

"But, wouldn't you rather just...keep living the life that you have right now? Say one of us was to be destroyed. Where do we go, just back to our human selves? And what about our memories? Do they become part of the memories of our human selves?"

"If they don't, then...what's the point of even becoming human again? If everything we experience now is just gonna be lost to the wind, then...shouldn't we want to have hearts? So that we could end up becoming our own people?"

Xion noticed Kirux clutching his ice cream stick much tighter as he finished, "I may not know what it's like to have a heart, but...when I think about what might happen to me if I go back to my human self, then...I don't want to bear the thought of all of me disappearing forever. At least if I have a heart...I can still be me. We all can."

Kirux then rubbed the back of his head, "But, I'm probably just overthinking it."

"No, not at all."

The three other Nobodies then looked back up at Axel, "But we'll understand it more once we all have hearts. Remember: that's why we fight, to find out what it's all about."

"I...guess you're right…"

Kirux had decided to leave the clock tower early that day. The feeling of awkwardness he had felt after his whole schpiel about the heart was something he just could not shake. He had just descended the stairway and reached the ticket stand for the station.

"Way to go, Kirux. You had to go and make it weird. Brilliant."

He slid his hands into his pockets and walked towards the exit, continuously contemplating what he had said back there through his mind. Whether or not he should have stuck by it, or if he should have back-tracked and just followed what Axel had said.

Did it not matter to him? Maybe it was because Axel was older, and he probably would have retained some memories of being human. But Axel probably hadn't come face to face with his human self, so there was a part he just wouldn't understand.

And although his mind raced, he didn't get much time to think about it because he heard footsteps coming down the stairs and toward him. He stopped and turned to see Xion coming towards him.

"Hey," she said before stopping, taking a few seconds to catch her breath, "I'm…glad that I…caught up to you…"

"Uhhhh…okay…?" Kirux responded as his head cocked slightly to the side.

"Why'd she leave so early? Normally, she's one of the last ones out."

He decided to ask, "Is there something you wanted? If it's ice cream, I'll pay for you to get another one. Or three, depending on if the other guys asked for more as well-,"

"I didn't come for more ice cream, Ki," Xion said sternly, having finally caught her breath, "I came to talk to you."

"About…?"

"About what you said. About having a heart and all."

"Oh, that…look, I know. It was weird, I shouldn't have said all of tha-,"

"Ki, I didn't think it was weird."

"Wait, you…didn't?"

"No, not at all. I thought about it, and…I kinda agree."

He turned to face her directly, "Really?"

"Yeah. Also, I…saw what you were doing with your hands, as you were talking…it looked like this is something you've been thinking of for a while, huh."

Kirux took a deep breath and looked out towards the sun again, "To be honest…yeah. Ever since I ran into Riku-,"

"Riku? Is that his name?"

"Yeah, I ended up finding that out. But, ever since I ran into him, it's made me think about a lot. Made me wonder if…I'm even a real Nobody. Out of everyone in the Organization, my human self is the only one still alive…at least as far as I know."

He continued as Xion stared at him, "So if my human self is still around, then…should I even be around? Am I…supposed to exist?"

During that last part, he had pulled a hand out of his pocket, staring at it intently for a few seconds after finishing.

Eventually, he brought his hand up, pinched his forehead, and sighed heavily, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you leave early, and have to listen to all of that. I've just…had a lot on my mind lately."

His hand fell back to his side, but he was stunned when Xion reached out and took it, giving it a tight squeeze.

"Nobody or not Ki, you're still our friend. You're still my friend. And you are supposed to exist, and although I don't have the answers as to what's up with this Riku guy, we'll get our own hearts, and then you don't have to worry about becoming him again. You can be Kirux, through and through."

Kirux didn't know where it came from, what he was supposed to do, or how he was supposed to react, but this was certainly new for him.

"She's holding my hand. She is HOLDING my hand."

"Okay Kirux, chill out. This is normal, right? Friends hold hands all the time. It's cool and chill and nobody is being weird about it and…why is my face hot?"

His face was hot because of the giant red blush that was growing on his face.

"Ahh crap! She didn't notice that, right?"

His eyes quickly flashed to her face, and she had, indeed, noticed.

"Shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot-"

As Kirux continued to freak out in his mind, Xion just giggled at him.

She let go of his hand and said lightly, "I'm telling Axel about that."

"Please don't" was all he could manage to get out as he tried to hide his blush from her, and failed…quite miserably.

Xion just laughed even harder, patting him on the arm lightly.


Stop: At Dusk, I Will Think of You… - Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days


The sunset was nice today, as it always was.

He stared through the open window, listening to the wind howl through the trees as birds sang their normal tunes.

It was moments like these where he had time to reflect, and take his mind away from the current situation he had found himself in.

The view from the clock tower, the nature, and environment of the mansion, and the liveliness of the town during the day. It was moments like these that had given him his sense of adventure, the urge to branch out from the islands and explore what other worlds the realm of light had to offer.

He sometimes imagined what it would have been like, had their home not been attacked that faithful night. Would he have still fallen to the darkness? Would Sora and Kairi be in the situations that they were in currently? Would he have remained the chosen wielder of the Keyblade, and had it not been passed on to Sora? Not that Sora didn't deserve to wield it, but he very well may have stumbled his way into wielding one in the future had Riku not chosen the path he chose.

But there was a memory that Riku had kept in the back of his mind, of a man who came to the island when he was just a boy.

"So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking...its wielder you shall one day be." had been what he said, something along those lines. The rest was hazy.

"Guess I didn't have the makings, huh," he said to himself in his mind, the corner of his mouth tugging itself into a small smile.

He heard the door to the room open and heard the light footsteps of Naminé entering.

"What are you doing up here?"

Riku answered without looking back at her, "Just enjoying some fresh air."

He heard Naminé slowly close the door behind her and walk closer to him, "DiZ is worried about your plan. He doubts that he's going to come willingly, you know."

"Of course, he doesn't trust the plan. He never does."

Riku sighed and stood from his seat.

Just like that, back to reality. Back to work trying to get Sora's memories back.

"Maybe he won't, but I have faith in him. He may not realize it now, but he's going to need to help us, for his and his friend's sake."

"And…what if he doesn't? What if he stays on their side?"

He noticed she was holding her sketchbook, where she had scribbled a new drawing. He saw two figures, both in black robes, one of which had long silver hair…much like his. The other had hair in a similar style, although brown and much shorter. Different yet the same.

It was him and Kirux.

"I only fear that…if he doesn't go along with this, then…we may never get the memories back."

Riku sighed, picking up the blindfold that was resting on the windowsill and putting it back on, "If things come to that…then I'll do what needs to be done. And if he gets in the way…well, I hope he makes it."


Play: Hollow Bastion - Kingdom Hearts: Re: Chain of Memories


"So you guys saw those boats over there?"

"Yeah, they were by the river. We don't know who put them there or where they're coming from."

"Well, that's what we're here to find out, right?"

Kirux nodded, standing up straight, with Roxas standing up with him. Saïx had sent him with Roxas instead of Xion today, as she was needed in some other world or…something. To be honest, Kirux wasn't paying attention outside of the "Xion isn't coming with you" part, in which he was trying (and failing) to hide his discontent.

Even then, they still had a job to do. And even if Xion wasn't here, Roxas was still perfectly capable, and a Keyblade wielder to boot.

"I say we sweep the area, try and find any signs of people nearby. If there's a camp or something, we can report it to Saïx when we get back. We'll just need to be careful not to run into anybody."

"Sounds good."

With that, the two of them walked away, further into the mountains of blue rock and crystal.

"So, I gotta ask," Roxas said, as he was helping Kirux up from a cliffside, "What's up with you and Xion?"

"Whaddya mean by that?"

"Come on, don't think I haven't noticed."

"What is there for you to notice?"

"Come on man, you two go on missions together more than anyone, she took care of you for those three weeks you were injured and wouldn't let anyone else do it, and from what I can tell, you two are clearly way better friends with one another than with Axel and me."

Kirux felt a singe of embarrassment begin to well up, but he did his best to hide it and try to answer his question.

"Well, the mission thing I can't help. That's Saïx's decision, not mine."

"True, but I saw your face when you found out it was me and you and not you and her. You didn't look too happy."

"I…have no idea what you're talking about."

Roxas laughed, "Sure buddy, but anyways, back to the question. What's up with you two?"

"I dunno, we're just…good friends."

"Yeah, like he's gonna believe that one." His mind said to himself.

"Suuuuuuure."

"Told you."

"Look man, I don't know what you want me to say. Besides, this whole exploring outside of the castle grounds was her idea, so…I was upset on her behalf."

"Well, what about the thing when you were injured? She was adamant about nobody else handling that, by the way."

"Take that up with Xion. I didn't get to choose."

"But you also didn't object."

"Would you have?"

"Heh, you got me there."

They slid down another cliffside into a gorge, while still keeping the river in sight.

Roxas then continued with his interrogation, "So, you're telling me nothing is going on between you and Xion."

"Nothing"

"Nothing at all?"

"Zilch."

"Positively, one-hundred and ten percent nothing?"

"Cross my nonexistent heart."

That last one got Roxas to laugh, and he responded with, "Okay, I believe you."

"You don't sound convinced."

"Just because I say I believe you don't mean that I necessarily do."

"So…do you?"

Roxas looked back and grinned at Kirux, "Hehe, wouldn't you like to know."

Kirux sighed and shook his head, causing Roxas to laugh again.


Stop: Hollow Bastion - Kingdom Hearts: Re: Chain of Memories


Eventually, after enough exploring and circling the river, they made their way back to their original destination. The lift control was still shining on the ledge, waiting for its next passenger, while the sounds of the river could be heard from where they stood.

Kirux kicked a rock down into the valley, watching as it fell into the river, "Well that was a complete waste of time."

"You think we're not looking in the right place?"

"Where else is there to look? We checked the whole area around here, and there's nothing."

"Well, uhh…yeah, that's a good point."

Kirux rested a hand on his hip and turned back to Roxas, "So, what should we do? Stay longer and hope somebody or something comes around…or go back to the castle and tell Saïx that there's nothing here?"

Before Roxas could respond, he noticed something.

Behind Kirux, pools of darkness had started forming in the ground. A second after, Shadows started to pop out of the ground and start meandering toward the two of them.

"Look out, Heartless!" Roxas called out, immediately summoning his Keyblade while Kirux turned back to face them.

"Well, at least we found something today."

Roxas had started to run towards the Heartless and Kirux was about to join him, but just as he had passed, somebody new called out to them.

"Knew someone was watching us, but I didn't think it would be you."

Roxas stopped and he and Kirux both turned back, and Kirux thought recognized who it was.

"Wait a minute…that guy…"

It took him a second to think it over, but he did say out loud, "You. You were trailing Xion and me that one time when we were in the castle."

The man nodded his head, "Didn't think you would come back, especially not with your Keyblade wielder friend."

"Hey, Xion can wield a Keyblade too, y'know!" Roxas blurted out without thinking.

"Didn't know that there were two of you."

The next part the man whispered, but Kirux could faintly hear it. He said, "I'll have to let Riku know about this…"

That got Kirux's attention, and he then blurted out loud, "Wait…you know Riku?"

The man didn't say anything, but he was eyeing the Heartless behind Kirux and Roxas. Kirux noticed, turned towards Roxas, and said, "You take care of the Heartless. I'll deal with this."

"You sure?"

"You've got a Keyblade. You're the one that should take them out."

Roxas looked back at the Heartless quickly and then nodded to Kirux, giving him a "Be careful" before turning and running at the Heartless.

There was a tense silence. The only sounds could be wind blowing through the rocks, the river crashing into the banks, and the ruckus of Roxas dealing with the Heartless that had appeared. Kirux stared at the man with narrowed eyes, while he received a blank stare from the man.

"How do you know Riku?" Kirux asked, finally breaking the silence.

"He and I are…loose acquaintances. He needed a favor, and I was willing to oblige."

"So that favor involved spying on me and my friend?"

"You two, moreso you, have been snooping around the castle and disrupting my team's work. If anything, you're trespassing."

"You have a "team"?"

"Yes, and they're of no concern to you."

Kirux scoffed, "If you're involved with Riku, then it is a concern of mine. So if you don't mind…"

He put his right arm up, summoning his sword to his hand, spinning it around, and setting his stance.

"What was your name again? I believe the girl you were with said it was "Squall"?"

"Leon."

"Right. Leon. So "Leon", you gonna tell me what you're doing with Riku…or am I gonna have to beat it out of you?"

Leon grinned, "You've got guts, kid. I can see why he's got his eyes on you."

"That's great. Now answer the question."

Leon pulled something from his belt, which almost looked like a grip from a gun of some kind. He then pressed a button, and a sword appeared out of nowhere out of that grip.

Kirux kept up the stern face, but in his head, he was thinking, "Holy crap, gunsword. He has a gunsword. Kirux, what have you gotten yourself into?"

"If it's a fight you wanted, then I guess I'll oblige."

Leon lifted his "gunsword" onto his shoulder, and although Kirux took a step back, he was at the ready.


Play: Scherzo di Notte - Kingdom Hearts: Re: Chain of Memories


Kirux acted first, charging up a blast of dark fire and shooting it at Leon. Leon, who looked all too casual for what was meant to be a fight, simply just took his sword and slashed through the blast. He then followed by shooting his own fireball at Kirux, without the darkness.

Kirux dodged it with ease and started to run toward Leon. He readied himself to swing, all while Leon…just casually walked towards him. As Kirux got close, Leon did prepare to swing his sword to parry Kirux's attack.

Well, Kirux attacked, and their blades collided. The ricochet made Kirux stumble backward, while Leon was fairly undisturbed.

"Holy crap, he's strong." Kirux was thinking, "This is alright, just try to keep your distance. Use more magic and be quick."

He then got an idea and went back in to attack. Leon saw it and was preparing to swing at Kirux.

He did swing downwards, and Kirux was able to dodge, with Leon's sword getting stuck into the ground. Kirux then took this opportunity, pointed at the sword in the ground, and yelled "Freeze!" before shards of ice (with little strands of darkness sprinkled in, for flavor) shot out of his sword and enveloped Leon's sword, encasing it in ice and trapping it in the ground.

Leon looked stunned and tried his hardest to pull his weapon out of the ice and ground, but Kirux was right on it. He swiped at Leon's hand, causing Leon to let go of the handle, followed by a kick to the gut from Kirux, causing Leon to stumble back.

Despite the kick, Leon was smiling and laughing, "You're better than I thought. I'm impressed."

Kirux didn't respond, and just watch as Leon stood back up, walked back to his sword, and, almost with too much ease, pulled it out of the ground and shattered the ice holding it down.

"Riku was right about you. Using Blizzard magic in that way? Clever."

"Are you trying to gain brownie points or something?"

"Just giving credit where it's due, kid."

And just like that, Leon…started walking away.

"Wha-hey! Where are you going?"

"I've seen all I've needed to see. Although…I'll say that if you want an actual fight, then come back another time."

"No way, man! This isn't how this works! I'm not done with you!"

Leon just waved his hand, saying, "See you later, Kirux."

"Oh, of COURSE, he knows my name!"

"Oh no! You're not getting away that easily."

Kirux then ran at Leon, jumping towards him and swinging to strike. Leon just turned, swung back, and knocked Kirux back, watching as he landed and slid backward away from him.

Leon just smiled, "Still got a lot to learn…"


Stop: Scherzo di Notte - Kingdom Hearts: Re: Chain of Memories


Kirux's sword dispersed from his hand as he didn't bother to try and chase after Leon.

His mind was whirling, thoughts like "What was that all about?" and "What was the point of him showing up just for him to leave?".

It all ended when he said, out loud, "Man, why is my life so weird?"

He heard footsteps, and then Roxas entered his eyesight.

"You doin' good, bud?"

Kirux shut his eyes and sighed, "I don't need this right now, man."

"Hehe, well…you got a good few hits in, I'll say," Roxas said as he put a hand forward for Kirux to take.

Kirux did take it, and Roxas helped him back to his feet.

"Did you have any problems with the Heartless?"

"None at all. Did you have any problems with…that guy?"

"Fighting him? No. Everything else? Well…I don't even know anymore."

"He's gone though, right? So at least there's that."

Kirux shrugged, "If you say so."

"So, what are we gonna tell Saïx when we get back?"

"We did get spotted by locals…"

"True, but that's happened before with me and Xion. It happened when we were in Agrabah once."

"Really? Huh."

"Yeah, it was weird, but…kinda cool."

"Well, maybe if we tell him, he'll stop sending me here every other day."

"I'll let you deal with that. So, clock tower?"

"Sure. Wonder if Xion and Axel are done."

A grin appeared on Roxas's face, "Wanna bet on who's first?"

"What's the wager?"

"Loser has to buy ice cream for the winner for the rest of the week."

Kirux contemplated it, but then said, "Deal. My bet's on Xion."

The two shook hands and then entered a dark corridor to Twilight Town.

Sure enough, Kirux won the bet, and Roxas paid for his ice cream that day.

Unfortunately for Kirux, he forgot that it was Saturday and thus, the last day of the week.

He was not happy when Axel told him that later.