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Entry tags:
KH ficlet collection
I need to archive what I'm writing, so... Here's some stuff.
She sat alone in the dead of night, in front of the big mirror, staring at that other girl, all pretty, fine and pale, who wasn't her.
"I will never pass for a perfect bride," Mulan whispered to her reflection and hung her head. She screwed it up big time. Why couldn't she be like all the other girls, cute and soft...?
She sniffed and began to wipe off the white powder from her face.
But suddenly, something moved in the shadows; an even darker, tall human form merging out of the darkness like a ghost. Mulan gasped and jumped to her feet, crouching low, eyeing the nightly visitor suspiciously. "Who's there?"
"Somebody, who's much the same as you," a soft, melodious voice replied and the girl blinked. The cloaked figure stepped forward slowly, clearly not wanting to intimidate her. "Don't let he black cloak fool you. I'm not what I seem, either." He let he hood fall back and Mulan's eyes widened. The almost glowing blue eyes and the blond hair were so... foreign.
"Who are you?"
The stranger smiled. "I'm the spirit of the pond you like to frequent. Countless times I listened to your words and your songs, and I like them."
"A spirit..." Mulan tilted her head to the side in suspicion, but when a few water-sprites emerged around her and spun her around once in a graceful dance move, she was willing to believe. "And what brought you here, noble spirit?"
"I know that you're in trouble," the blond creature nodded. “And I wish to help you in my humble ways to ease your mind a little. I have a song for you. I'd like to sing it, like you sang to me before many times." In a spiral of sparkling water drops, an instrument appeared in his hand.
Mulan was awed. "How could I refuse your generosity? Please, sit, and play."
The spirit nodded. His long, slender fingers began to dance on the strings and his beautiful voice curled around the girl like steam, or morning mist.
"Look at me, you may think you see who I really am; but you'll never know me..."
Mulan wiped off a teardrop from her cheek. The song was an advice, a warning, something that reflected her innermost thoughts and desires. She felt that there was something more waiting for her, that perhaps, she could find another way to make her family proud.
When the song ended, she smiled and bowed her head. “Thank you, noble spirit. You indeed eased my mind."
The creature smiled back. Go now and rest, it is late. May your dreams be pleasant."
As the girl left, he stood as well. With a flick of his wrist, the instrument was gone and he pulled his hood back before vanishing in a dark portal.
The royal messenger will arrive tomorrow. Mission accomplished.
Chest heaving, arms aching, knees trembling he stood, chakrams almost falling to the ground. He was tired and desperate, so desperate, sad, sad, sad...
Roxas looked back, his sky-blue eyes soft and finally, filled with that light from before. The same light.
Axel smiled, despite his exhaustion and the lingering bitter taste of defeat. Something ached in him as if there had been a heart in his chest, and not just the echoing hollowness – Roxas always made him feel... better. The pain wasn’t the pure, sharp agony of the sure loss – no hearts, after all – just a dull throbbing.
They reached the point, where they will part, and perhaps never meet again. Roxas was about to accept his ultimate destiny and merge with his Other and Axel couldn’t stop him. He tried. Of course he tried, furiously, recklessly like fire but he failed. His flames were extinguished by that sea-colored gaze and the KeyBlade.
But the blond dark angel granted him with a last gift: he remembered. Axel could see the boy he grew to love, no matter how he denied it for so long. The way Roxas was looking at him, head cocked a tiny bit sideways was something he believed he’ll never see again.
"Let’s meet again," Axel spoke up, "in a next life."
"I’ll be waiting," Roxas nodded, radiating firm belief, a promise.
"Silly," the redhead chuckled lightly. "Just because you have a next life..." The darkness took over him, embracing him as he let himself fade into the portal spell.
Roxas stared at the spot, where the other Nobody had stood. Memories were flashing before his eyes but the call, the vibes of his Other, the yearning for to be whole... was too strong.
Roxas tilted his chin up. He had to go.
"See you at the crossroads."
The new kid is scrawny and twitchy with long limbs and a delicate face. His blue eyes are wide open as he curls up on the bed, clutching the cover to his chest – he has absolutely no clue what hit him. Xigbar finally sighs – he has the impression, the kid will faint if they just continue to play stare down.
"Welcome in the Organization XIII, kiddo," the Freeshooter says. "Say bye to your old life and start to get used to the new one as a Nobody."
"N-nobody?" the blond youth blinks. "What... is a Nobody? What happened to me?"
Xigbar snorts. "A body, a soul and a heart together equal to a human, kiddo. A Nobody equals to a body plus a soul. Do the math."
The blue eyes light up with understanding then fade to a horrified frost-gray from the shock. Xigbar almost feels for the newborn.
Arithmetic or arithmetics (from the Greek word αριθμός = number) is the oldest and simplest branch of mathematics, used by almost everyone, for tasks ranging from simple daily counting to advanced science and business calculations. In common usage, the word refers to a branch of (or the forerunner of) mathematics which records elementary properties of certain operations on numbers.
"Holy Cow, what are all these papers doing here...?"
Lexaeus looked up at the sitar player who was eyeing the sheets covered with calculations scattered all over the table with an almost horrified look. It was an amusing sight.
"Zexion gave me a math problem to solve," he explained.
"And it took you a whole notebook to get through it?" Demyx pressed a gloved hand to his cheek. "Oh, brother. You scientists are a strange folk indeed."
Lexaeus gave a short, low chuckle and started to gather the papers. Demyx plopped down and snatched a clean piece of paper for himself and a pen.
"I was never particularly good in math," he said, "Though numbers are nice things. They are there in music as well, in the rhythm, and it’s fun to play with them. For example..." he began to scribble then slipped the paper to Lexaeus with a triumphant grin. Demyx drew a funny face – and it was constructed solely of numbers.
"How old is he?" the musician asked, practically bouncing. The taller Nobody eyed the picture then nodded "Thirty-two."
Demyx quickly re-counted and nodded. "Yupp. Will you try it?" He was literally beaming. Lexaeus hesitantly took the pen and began to draw.
A mere fifteen minutes later, the sheet was covered with amusing doodles – a few of them resembled certain Organization members. With a chuckle, Demyx grabbed the pen, and drew a '2', then another, just mirrored.
They looked like a heart together.
"If only everything would be so easy...!" the musician sighed wistfully. "We could have as many hearts as we just wanted."
Lexaeus tapped his chin thoughtfully.
***
Zexion raised an eyebrow, as he studied the problem on the paper Lexaeus handed to him. "N plus –N equals to... a heart?" He looked up but the Silent Hero still seemed to be serious.
"When I add any number to its opposite, the result will be zero. But as the heart hardly equals to zero, I suppose, the problem cannot be solved with the usage of mathematic knowledge alone."
"Quite right," Lexaeus nodded. "Actually, it’s more of an arithmetic problem, maybe with a bit of art added."
Zexion’s lips slowly curled up into a smile. "I smell a challenge."
She sat alone in the dead of night, in front of the big mirror, staring at that other girl, all pretty, fine and pale, who wasn't her.
"I will never pass for a perfect bride," Mulan whispered to her reflection and hung her head. She screwed it up big time. Why couldn't she be like all the other girls, cute and soft...?
She sniffed and began to wipe off the white powder from her face.
But suddenly, something moved in the shadows; an even darker, tall human form merging out of the darkness like a ghost. Mulan gasped and jumped to her feet, crouching low, eyeing the nightly visitor suspiciously. "Who's there?"
"Somebody, who's much the same as you," a soft, melodious voice replied and the girl blinked. The cloaked figure stepped forward slowly, clearly not wanting to intimidate her. "Don't let he black cloak fool you. I'm not what I seem, either." He let he hood fall back and Mulan's eyes widened. The almost glowing blue eyes and the blond hair were so... foreign.
"Who are you?"
The stranger smiled. "I'm the spirit of the pond you like to frequent. Countless times I listened to your words and your songs, and I like them."
"A spirit..." Mulan tilted her head to the side in suspicion, but when a few water-sprites emerged around her and spun her around once in a graceful dance move, she was willing to believe. "And what brought you here, noble spirit?"
"I know that you're in trouble," the blond creature nodded. “And I wish to help you in my humble ways to ease your mind a little. I have a song for you. I'd like to sing it, like you sang to me before many times." In a spiral of sparkling water drops, an instrument appeared in his hand.
Mulan was awed. "How could I refuse your generosity? Please, sit, and play."
The spirit nodded. His long, slender fingers began to dance on the strings and his beautiful voice curled around the girl like steam, or morning mist.
"Look at me, you may think you see who I really am; but you'll never know me..."
Mulan wiped off a teardrop from her cheek. The song was an advice, a warning, something that reflected her innermost thoughts and desires. She felt that there was something more waiting for her, that perhaps, she could find another way to make her family proud.
When the song ended, she smiled and bowed her head. “Thank you, noble spirit. You indeed eased my mind."
The creature smiled back. Go now and rest, it is late. May your dreams be pleasant."
As the girl left, he stood as well. With a flick of his wrist, the instrument was gone and he pulled his hood back before vanishing in a dark portal.
The royal messenger will arrive tomorrow. Mission accomplished.
Chest heaving, arms aching, knees trembling he stood, chakrams almost falling to the ground. He was tired and desperate, so desperate, sad, sad, sad...
Roxas looked back, his sky-blue eyes soft and finally, filled with that light from before. The same light.
Axel smiled, despite his exhaustion and the lingering bitter taste of defeat. Something ached in him as if there had been a heart in his chest, and not just the echoing hollowness – Roxas always made him feel... better. The pain wasn’t the pure, sharp agony of the sure loss – no hearts, after all – just a dull throbbing.
They reached the point, where they will part, and perhaps never meet again. Roxas was about to accept his ultimate destiny and merge with his Other and Axel couldn’t stop him. He tried. Of course he tried, furiously, recklessly like fire but he failed. His flames were extinguished by that sea-colored gaze and the KeyBlade.
But the blond dark angel granted him with a last gift: he remembered. Axel could see the boy he grew to love, no matter how he denied it for so long. The way Roxas was looking at him, head cocked a tiny bit sideways was something he believed he’ll never see again.
"Let’s meet again," Axel spoke up, "in a next life."
"I’ll be waiting," Roxas nodded, radiating firm belief, a promise.
"Silly," the redhead chuckled lightly. "Just because you have a next life..." The darkness took over him, embracing him as he let himself fade into the portal spell.
Roxas stared at the spot, where the other Nobody had stood. Memories were flashing before his eyes but the call, the vibes of his Other, the yearning for to be whole... was too strong.
Roxas tilted his chin up. He had to go.
"See you at the crossroads."
The new kid is scrawny and twitchy with long limbs and a delicate face. His blue eyes are wide open as he curls up on the bed, clutching the cover to his chest – he has absolutely no clue what hit him. Xigbar finally sighs – he has the impression, the kid will faint if they just continue to play stare down.
"Welcome in the Organization XIII, kiddo," the Freeshooter says. "Say bye to your old life and start to get used to the new one as a Nobody."
"N-nobody?" the blond youth blinks. "What... is a Nobody? What happened to me?"
Xigbar snorts. "A body, a soul and a heart together equal to a human, kiddo. A Nobody equals to a body plus a soul. Do the math."
The blue eyes light up with understanding then fade to a horrified frost-gray from the shock. Xigbar almost feels for the newborn.
Arithmetic or arithmetics (from the Greek word αριθμός = number) is the oldest and simplest branch of mathematics, used by almost everyone, for tasks ranging from simple daily counting to advanced science and business calculations. In common usage, the word refers to a branch of (or the forerunner of) mathematics which records elementary properties of certain operations on numbers.
"Holy Cow, what are all these papers doing here...?"
Lexaeus looked up at the sitar player who was eyeing the sheets covered with calculations scattered all over the table with an almost horrified look. It was an amusing sight.
"Zexion gave me a math problem to solve," he explained.
"And it took you a whole notebook to get through it?" Demyx pressed a gloved hand to his cheek. "Oh, brother. You scientists are a strange folk indeed."
Lexaeus gave a short, low chuckle and started to gather the papers. Demyx plopped down and snatched a clean piece of paper for himself and a pen.
"I was never particularly good in math," he said, "Though numbers are nice things. They are there in music as well, in the rhythm, and it’s fun to play with them. For example..." he began to scribble then slipped the paper to Lexaeus with a triumphant grin. Demyx drew a funny face – and it was constructed solely of numbers.
"How old is he?" the musician asked, practically bouncing. The taller Nobody eyed the picture then nodded "Thirty-two."
Demyx quickly re-counted and nodded. "Yupp. Will you try it?" He was literally beaming. Lexaeus hesitantly took the pen and began to draw.
A mere fifteen minutes later, the sheet was covered with amusing doodles – a few of them resembled certain Organization members. With a chuckle, Demyx grabbed the pen, and drew a '2', then another, just mirrored.
They looked like a heart together.
"If only everything would be so easy...!" the musician sighed wistfully. "We could have as many hearts as we just wanted."
Lexaeus tapped his chin thoughtfully.
***
Zexion raised an eyebrow, as he studied the problem on the paper Lexaeus handed to him. "N plus –N equals to... a heart?" He looked up but the Silent Hero still seemed to be serious.
"When I add any number to its opposite, the result will be zero. But as the heart hardly equals to zero, I suppose, the problem cannot be solved with the usage of mathematic knowledge alone."
"Quite right," Lexaeus nodded. "Actually, it’s more of an arithmetic problem, maybe with a bit of art added."
Zexion’s lips slowly curled up into a smile. "I smell a challenge."