Tattered Soul

Tattered Soul

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters associated with Kingdom Hearts or Kingdom Hearts II. I'm merely borrowing them.

Chapter 3

When Zexion woke, the first sensation he experienced was a splitting headache. He looked around at the unfamiliar bedroom he was in. The walls were pale pink and a slight smell of roses hung in the air. Marluxia. The said rose-haired man was nowhere in sight, however, he had left a note behind.

Zexion,

As much as I enjoyed our little romp last night, I realized that I made a huge mistake. I was drunk and horny and you were undeniably sexy. My body took precedent over my mind and I said and did things I didn't mean to. It was a mistake. That's all.

Marluxia

Zexion didn't know how to respond to the note. He was so confused. He couldn't remember anything that had happened the previous night. He sat up and closed his eyes. He concentrated and tried to remember. He could only remember flashes; the strip poker game, the roses, and Marluxia's lips all over his body. He got up and as the blanket fell away, he realized that he was completely naked.

Oh my god. He thought. We must have done it. We must have gone all the way.

He groaned as he stood up; he was incredibly sore. Slowly, he pulled his clothes back on., still trying to remember what had happened. He left Marluxia's room in a daze. He nearly ran into Axel outside.

“There you are. I was so worried!” Axel cried, running a hand through his red hair. “Why...why were you in Marly's room?”
Zexion didn't answer; he felt a huge wave of nausea. He bolted past Axel and into his own room. Axel heard him vomiting. He hurried into Zexion's room. It was empty. The bathroom door hung ajar, however. Axel went in. Zexion was hanging over the toilet, trembling.

“Zex?” Axel asked softly, moving forward. He could hear Zexion's breathing echoing off the walls. “Hey Zex, are you okay?” Zexion whirled around and Axel was surprised to see him crying. “Zex?”
“What have I done?” Zexion asked, choking back a sob. “I...I don't remember what happened last night. I woke up this morning in Marluxia's room naked. I...I found this note he left me.” Zexion handed Axel the note. “My head hurts like a bitch.”

“You slept with Marluxia?!” Axel demanded, reading the note.

“I..I didn't mean to!” Zexion sobbed. “I was drunk. I...” the rest of his words were lost as he turned and vomited again. Panting, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Tears dripped down his face. Axel had never seen Zexion so distraught before. He squatted down next to him and put a hand on his back. Zexion instinctively tensed up, but relaxed as Axel gently rubbed his back. He smelled Demyx before he heard him, that same rather soothing smell of the rain.

“What's going on?” Demyx asked. Zexion was silent.

“Ah Demyx. I'm glad you're here. I need you to do me a favor,” Axel said, turning around.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Go down to the kitchen and get me some saltines and a glass of water. Zex had a rough night.”
“Okay.” Zexion could hear the footsteps fade away and the scent fade away.

Axel went back to gently rubbing Zexion's back. It wasn't sexual in nature, just soothing. Demyx returned and Axel stopped rubbing his back. He got up for a moment and went to the medicine cabinet. It opened and Zexion could hear the rattling of pills. The medicine cabinet closed again. Zexion turned around as Axel squatted down next to him again, Demyx along with him. Zexion was first handed the crackers.

“Eat these,” Axel instructed. “The salt will help settle your stomach.” Zexion ate the crackers. Axel handed him the water. “Here, these will help your headache.” Axel held out his hand. There were two small pills in the palm of his hand. Zexion stared at them suspiciously. “Don't worry. It's aspirin.”

Zexion stared at Axel's face for a few moments, trying to determine if he could be trusted or not. Axel had always been kind to him, but he wasn't sure if he trusted him. He couldn't be sure he could trust himself. He let out a soft breath. He decided to trust Axel. He took the pills and downed them along with the water. He handed the glass back to Axel and struggled to his feet.

“Feeling better?” Axel asked as he Demyx rose.

“Not at the moment.”

“Well, the aspirin takes a while to kick in.”
“I know.”

“Why don't you take a shower?” Axel suggested. “I'm sure you'll feel a lot better if you clean yourself up. Dem and I will wait outside.”

Zexion nodded and Axel and Demyx left. Zexion took fresh clothes into the bathroom. He removed his old clothes and turned on the shower.

He stepped in. It was freezing, but he ignored it. It helped him to wake up. He let the water run over him and ran his fingers through his hair until he felt slightly better. He wasn't sure if he was ever going to feel clean again. He dressed in clean clothes and put his others in a hamper. As Axel had said, he and Demyx were waiting for him outside.

“Breakfast?” Axel asked.

“Fine.” Zexion sighed softly. He wasn't really in the mood to argue with Axel at the moment.

He reluctantly followed Axel and Demyx to the dining room. He quickly lowered his eyes; Marluxia was sitting at the table next to Larxene. They were holding hands. Axel gave a low growl.

“Axel please don't,” Zexion pleaded as Axel stepped forward. “I don't want a confrontation.
“But he deserves it,” Axel growled, cracking his knuckles.

Zexion paled as Axel walked forward, towards the rose-haired boy.

Marluxia looked up. “Well look who it is. What do you want, Axel?” he sneered.

“You fucking know what I want,” Axel spat.

“Axel please,” Zexion whispered.

“Oh, I get it. This is about that little whore.” Marluxia pointed at Zexion.

“Don't blame Zexion for this!” Axel snarled.

“I'll blame that whore whenever I want. He's just a worthless, pathetic slut.”

Axel's anger boiled over. He rushed forward and delivered a solid blow to Marluxia's cheek. Zexion couldn't watch. Angry tears burned his eyes and he looked away. Suddenly, he felt a warm hand on his shoulder and he flinched slightly. He looked up, surprised to see Demyx.

“Come on,” Demyx said softly. Zexion followed him out of the dining room. He was surprised to see Demyx trembling with anger.

“Demyx?” Zexion asked.

“He..shouldn't have said those things about you.” Demyx curled his hand into a fist, still trembling. “You are not a whore.”

“Am I?” Zexion asked himself.

The answer was yes. He was nothing better than a common whore, running to the first man he met for sex. And it was all because he decided to drink. How stupid could he get? He wanted to curl up in a corner and die. Preferably a slow and painful death.

“Zex? Are you okay?” Demyx asked.

Zexion blinked. “Huh?”
“Are you okay?” Demyx repeated, a worried frown flitting across his normally cheerful face. “You sort of spaced out there on me.”

“Oh...yeah. I'm fine.”
“Okay. Hey, do you wanna go and get some breakfast? I know this café not too far from here. It's a nice little place.”
Zexion nodded. He was willing to do anything to get away from the Organization and especially Marluxia. He had an easier time trusting Demyx; he knew that the blond was sweet and kind, too much so to ever take advantage or hurt someone.

Demyx beamed. The two of them set off for the café, which was only a couple blocks from the Organization headquarters. They sat outside because it was a beautiful day. The two of them were silent; Zexion wasn't very talkative to begin with and Demyx was always unusually shy around him. Zexion didn't mind the silence because it gave him time to collect his thoughts.

I have to remain calm. I cannot let this fluster me. Sleeping with Marluxia was a mistake. I have to be more careful. I can't let my guard down for even a minute. I must exercise extreme prudence and never drink ever again. That's not hard, right?

After breakfast, they walked back to Organization headquarters, Zexion purposefully walking slow so he wouldn't have to face what he knew was coming. His instincts were proved right; he was approached by Saix the moment he and Demyx walked into the doorway.

“The Superior would like to speak to you and Number IX right away,” Saix said in his mournful voice.

Zexion nodded.

He wants to know what happened. He thought. His fear must have shown on his face because he felt Demyx give his hand a gentle squeeze.

“Don't worry. Everything is going to be okay,” he whispered. “Just tell Xemnas the truth and everything will be okay.”

Zexion nodded again, swallowing hard. He followed Demyx into Where Nothing Gathers. It was deserted except for Xemnas and Saix. Nervously, Zexion moved forward, still holding onto Demyx's hand. It was soothing; Xemnas was a very intimidating man. Older than any Organization member and its creator, he sat proudly in his throne-like seat in the very center of Where Nothing Gathers. He was the type of man who demanded respect from everyone around him but rarely gave it in return.

“Do you know why I have called you here?” Xemnas began in his usual melodramatic tone.

“Yes sir.” Zexion nodded.

“And why is that?”
“You want to know what happened this morning between Ax...I mean Number VIII and Number XI.” Zexion hastily corrected himself, knowing that Xemnas hated it when they referred to each other by name instead of by number.

“Yes. I have already spoken to Numbers VIII and XI to establish the events that occurred earlier this morning but I want to know from your point of view what happened. Start with the events that happened last night.”

“Okay...” Zexion took a cleansing breath and he felt Demyx's fingers curl around his. “Last night...um...was the party. I drank way too much and ended up in a strip poker game with Numbers VIII, X, and VI. I lost against VIII and completely stripped first. I...felt Number XI's eyes on me. Searching me. I felt flustered so I put my clothes back on and went upstairs to the back porch to get some fresh air. Number XI came out and we kissed and...that's pretty much all I can remember.”

“Your story collaborates with Number XI's. Go on.”

“This morning, I woke up completely naked in Number XI's room. I got up and fond a note that Number XI left me.”
“Number XI did not mention a note,” Xemnas said with interest.

Zexion took the note out of his pocket and handed it to Saix, who handed it to Xemnas. Xemnas's eyes slowly scanned the note. After he had finished, he handed it back to Saix, who handed it back to Zexion, who pocketed it.

“Then what happened?”

“I ran into Number VIII outside Number XI's door and he wanted to know where I'd been. I started feeling sick and ran to the bathroom to throw up. Number VIII followed and he and Number IX took care of me, gave me saltines and aspirin.”
“Why saltines?” Xemnas interrupted.

“The salt in them helps to settle your stomach. Then Number VIII convinced to me go down to breakfast where Number XI was eating with Number XII. They were uh...holding hands. It was as if last night didn't exist. Number VIII got angry but when Number XI called me something...unpleasant, he lost his temper and hit him.”

“What did Number XI call you?” Xemnas answered.

Zexion stared at the floor and shook his head, unable to speak.

“He called him a whore. A worthless pathetic slut,” Demyx spoke up angrily. He added as an afterthought, “I was there. I heard it.” He lowered his eyes. “Forgive me for speaking out of turn, Superior.”

Xemnas waved away the apology. “Where did you take Number VI after you left the dining room while Numbers VIII and XI were fighting?”
“I took him to a café down the street for breakfast,” Demyx answered truthfully. “I thought it was best if he got out of the Organization headquarters for a while so he could have time to clear his head and so that Numbers VIII and XI would have time to cool off. I thought that if they saw Number VI so soon after their argument that their tempers would just flare up again and we'd be back to square one.”

“Indeed,” Xemnas said. Zexion could tell that he was at least slightly impressed with Demyx's train of thinking. “You were very wise, Number IX, to do such a thing.”

Demyx flushed and didn't say anything.

“Number VI, am I correct in assuming that you do not wish to pursue a meaningful relationship with Number XI?” Xemnas asked.

“That's correct sir.” Zexion's voice hardened. “To quote Number XI, if I may, 'it was a mistake. Nothing more.' I have no interest in Number XI. He's a cold, heartless jerk.”

“Very well. I do not place the blame on you or Number XI for what happened last night. Both of you were not in the right state of mind and hardly knew what you were doing. Therefore, neither of you are going to be held accountable for that. We'll simply call it a mistake and move on.”
“Yes sir.” Zexion nodded.

“And as for the events this morning, do not blame yourself for the behavoirs of Number VIII and Number XI. It is common knowledge that Number VIII has a hard time controlling his temper and Number XI goaded him into responding. A mild punishment will be sufficient for them. You and Number IX are dismissed.”

Zexion and Demyx hurriedly left Where Nothing Gathers.

To be continued...