Unpredictable

“Xemnas.”

 

Xemnas looked up from the desk, cluttered with papers. The papers were filled with cramped script and diagrams all about Darkness and the Darkness of the Heart. Xemnas had been staying up for hours on end looking over these, determined to unlock the mysteries of the heart.

 

“What, Saix?” Xemnas replied, a bit irritably. He had currently stayed up for five days straight hunched over the diagrams and cramped script of Ansem the Wise.

 

“Its condition has changed. It’s started to become more violent. Your assistance is required, Superior.” Saix responded, no trace of emotion at all in his voice.

 

Xemnas didn’t reply. He simply gathered the papers into a folder, stood up and walked past Saix, out of the room. Saix followed him.

 

In Vexen’s lab, Xigbar and Xaldin were restraining a Heartless-looking girl. Axel kept throwing ignited chakrams at the girl to slow her down while Demyx used his water to shield the other Organization members from Axel’s fire barrage and the girl’s clawed hands. Luxord was on a mission, so he wasn’t there to help.

 

The girl was a bit strange. She looked like a Heartless, but she still had a humanoid shape and human looking eyes, the color a little off from the norm. They were a molten gold, not a sickly yellow. Her neck length hair flapped about as she struggled violently against Xigbar and Xaldin’s grip on her. She raked Xigbar’s arm as she thrashed around, letting out cries of fear.

 

Xemnas suddenly walked in the open door and continued towards the girl. He ignored Demyx’s shouted warning and walked straight up to her. She ceased struggling and stared at Xemnas, sensing that this man was not to be angered. He put his palm on her forehead and looked passively at her glowing yellow eyes. The glow flickered and died as she fell limp into Xemnas’s arms. He stood up and walked over to the rectangular pods on the other side of the lab. As he walked close to one, light shone from invisible cracks in the surface and it jerked apart, revealing the inside. Xemnas laid her down inside as it closed up, the surface slowly becoming translucent. He stood up and faced his comrades.

 

“She will sleep until the pod is opened.” Xemnas said with a curt nod to Saix. “You shall watch over her in shifts. Notify me if her condition changes at all. Oh, and be sure to give her names. We wouldn’t want her to feel out of place, now would we?” Xemnas walked out of the room, a worried look on his face. Or, as worried as he could get.

 

He had sensed the turmoil within the girl’s mind, and it troubled him. She could mature into a monster and kill them all. She certainly had potential, and if all went well, she would be the Organization’s loyal Heartless hit man. She could think for herself and plan strategies. She wouldn’t even think of betraying them, because Xemnas would control her, body and soul. In the end, she would look like a normal fourteen year old girl, but her eyes would stay the molten gold color of now.

 

Of course, if it all went according to plan.

 

And when working with the Heart, everything can go drastically wrong.

 

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Axel stared after Xemnas as he walked out of the lab. So did the rest of them.

 

“So, anyone have ideas for a name?” Demyx asked. He wasn’t too good at brainstorming.

 

“She isn’t a Nobody, so we don’t have to follow the Anagram rule.” Xaldin pointed out.

 

“How about ‘Hanabi Hinomi’?” Axel suggested.

 

“’Masaaki Ritsuka’ sounds cool.” Xigbar put in his two cents.

 

“Ok, any other suggestions?” Demyx prompted. The others shrugged.

 

“Who wants ‘Hinomi’?” Axel asked. He raised his hand, and Demyx raised his. “Now, who wants ‘Ritsuka’?” Xigbar, Xaldin and Saix raised their hands. “All right, Ritsuka it is.”

 

“But what about her other name?” Demyx asked.

 

“Huh?” Xigbar was confused. “Other name?”

 

“Superior said to give her ‘names’. He meant another name.” Demyx elaborated.

 

“I have already talked with the Superior.” Saix interjected. “He said her second name is… ‘Loveless’.”

 

“She shall become a good experiment for those to follow.” Xaldin spoke cautiously.

 

“Yes, she shall. When Ritsuka matures, she shall become our devoted slave.” Saix looked wistfully at the pod that held Ritsuka within it. He walked out the door, Xigbar and Xaldin following, leaving Axel and Demyx with Ritsuka.

 

“You want to do this in pairs?” Demyx asked the redhead.

 

“Sure.” Axel smiled. “There would be no one to talk to if I were down here alone.”

 

Ritsuka stirred in the pod and her molten gold eyes opened at the sound of Axel’s voice.

 

“Lo…ve…less….” she choked out.

 

Demyx turned around and looked at Ritsuka. Axel, noticing Demyx’s expression, turned around too.

 

“Axel… Demyx…” she spoke their names while pointing at them.

 

“Loveless….” She pointed to herself.

 

“Ritsuka.” Demyx said and pointed to her.

 

Ritsuka’s eyes widened as the darkness surrounding her exploded off of her, starting with her neck length black hair swept in bangs that framed her face. She, Axel and Demyx were surprised when the pod burst from the darkness being forced against the walls of the pod. Ritsuka sat up in the wreckage of the pod, staring at Axel and Demyx’s shocked faces. Axel nudged Demyx and pointed to Ritsuka, then the door. Demyx scurried out of the room, while Axel helped Ritsuka up and out of the broken pod. She stumbled a bit then fell over and landed on top of Axel. Her cheeks flushed as she hurriedly got off of him. He looked at her and smiled as she stared at him, cheeks burning.

 

“Ritsuka…?” She pointed to herself and but a hand over her chest.

 

“Yeah.” He smiled at her.

 

Ritsuka gasped. Her molten gold eyes closed halfway and she fell to hands and knees. Axel helped her sit up.

 

“Xemnas… is trying… to control me…” she said.

 

Axel took one look at her face and saw that she was resisting his commands, but she couldn’t hold out for long. She looked like she was about to pass out. He then realized that she had spoken a complete sentence, and not just names or phrases.

 

It was at this point that Xemnas came into the room, followed by a nervous as hell Demyx. Xemnas walked right up to Ritsuka and tilted her head up gently. He smiled at her and spoke soothingly.

 

“Are you all right?” His voice sounded odd to Demyx and Axel, this wasn’t the cold eyed Xemnas they knew.

 

Ritsuka nodded dreamily, his tone having the desired affect on her mind.

 

“Can you tell me your name?” The soothing tone he was using put her right into the palm of his hands. She was getting sleepier and sleepier just listening to his voice.

 

“Ritsuka…” she replied.

 

“What about your other name?” Xemnas asked her, kneeling down and looking into her half closed eyes. His orange eyes transfixed her and put her almost completely under his control.

 

“Loveless… I am Loveless…” she near-whispered, her eyes dimming and nearly asleep.

 

“Good, good…” Xemnas said, his soothing tone multiplied tenfold. “Relax, and sleep. I’ll take care of you…” He brought her close to him and she fell asleep in his arms, a small smile on her face. Xemnas picked her up and walked out of the room.

 

Demyx and Axel just stared wide eyed after him.

 

“What the hell was that?!” Axel cried after Xemnas was out of earshot.

 

“I have no idea.” Demyx shivered. “I just hope he doesn’t do that to any of us.” He shivered again.

 

“Yeah. That would be hell, to be at the beck and call of the Superior 24/7.” Axel agreed. “Good luck, Ritsuka. You’ll need it, it seems.”

 

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Ritsuka woke with a start, shimmering gold eyes snapping open at the rustle of papers in the room. She started when she saw Xemnas in the room, sitting at his desk, resting his torso on the surface of the desk, snoring softly. Ritsuka used this time to get off of the bed she was on, probably Xemnas’s, and dash out of the room.

 

“Loveless!” Saix called after her. Ritsuka froze. “Loveless, come.” Saix’s hand was outstretched, and Ritsuka found herself walking towards him and stopped herself halfway. She saw that they used her other name to control her. She also saw that Axel was behind him and smirked a bit.

 

“I’m Ritsuka…” she muttered under her breath.

 

“What was that, Loveless?” Saix asked, a bit amused. Axel came up behind him, watching with interest.

 

“I’m Ritsuka.” Her voice was stronger and carried across the hallway. “Masaaki Ritsuka!” she nearly screamed. Shimmering waves of energy pulsated from her, filling up the hallway, making it almost hard to breathe. Axel put up a flame wall to block the energy, but it exploded.

 

“Don’t call me Loveless!” she cried.

 

The windows lining the hallway shattered, any door in sight was wrenched off of its hinges, and anyone that stood in her way was mowed down like grass before a lawnmower. That included Saix, but strangely, Axel was left standing, unharmed. He took off after her as she started running.

 

“Ritsuka!” Axel shouted after her, finding that she could run like hell if she needed to. Luckily for him, she froze after hearing her name called.

 

“Ritsuka…” Axel said, wondering about the enigma that was the girl in front of him. “Ritsuka, what happened?”

 

“I… I don’t know…” she said truthfully. “I just got angry at him… I’m not Loveless… I’m Masaaki Ritsuka… I will never be Loveless.”

 

“Ritsuka, just calm down.” Axel said, trying to comfort her.

 

“I can’t.” she answered. “I’m going to Twilight Town. Maybe I can actually start a life there.”

 

Axel stood there, debating on what to do. He got an idea and decided to go along with it. He stretched his arm out and a dark portal appeared before him.

 

“You’re different than the rest of the people, Ritsuka. You’re going to have a hard time fitting in.” he explained.

 

“It’ll be better than here…”

 

Axel looked downcast.

 

“But there’s one thing I’ll miss here…”

 

“And what is that?” he asked expectantly.

 

“You.” she smiled. “And Demyx. You were nice to me and you’re helping me now. I’ll never forget you.”

 

“I know you won’t.” he said, and made a fatherly move. He kissed her forehead and handed her 5,000 munny. “Get yourself an apartment.”

 

She stared at him, then smiled and hugged him. “I’ll miss you, Axel…” She took the munny in his hand, letting her hand slide into his.

 

“I’ll miss you too. Come back and see me again, ok?”

 

“I will, I promise.” She dashed off into the portal and found herself in Betwixt and Between. Axel had stepped through the portal with her. He made another portal for her and she hugged him one last time before running through it. Axel looked at the spot where the portal vanished, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to see her again unless she came back to him.

 

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Ritsuka found herself waking up on the floor of a dimly lit room, surrounded by kids. She started and backed herself up against the wall, scared that the kids were going to hurt her or something.

 

“Hey, don’t be scared!” the blond kid said.

 

“You came flying out of a hole in the wall!” the brown haired guy shouted.

 

“Don’t crowd her!” the girl chastised the boys. “She’s really scared.”

 

“W… Wh… Who are you…?” Ritsuka asked uncertainly. She didn’t know if they wanted to hurt her or not.

 

“Oh sorry we forgot to introduce ourselves!” The girl turned to her. “I’m Olette. Pleased to meet you!”

 

“I’m Pence.” the brown haired guy told her.

 

“Hayner.” the blond said. “Nice to meet you.”

 

“I’m Ritsuka…” she introduced herself. “This is Twilight Town?”

 

“Yeah.” Hayner answered her.

 

“Thanks for helping me!” She waved and dashed out of the curtain covered hole in the wall called a door.

 

“…She was weird…” Pence observed.

 

“Pence!” Olette slapped him over the head.

 

“But she was!” Pence whined.

 

“Yeah. There’s something going on with her, and I’m going to find out.” Hayner vowed, and he rushed after Ritsuka.

 

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Ritsuka was currently buying a furnished apartment with the munny Axel had given her. Hayner burst into the door, nearly crashing into her. She acted quickly and relaxed her body so neither of them would fall.

 

“Are you ok?” Ritsuka asked him, helping him to his feet.

 

“Yeah, fine.” he said, trying to reclaim some dignity and brush himself off.

 

Ritsuka finished buying the apartment and went up to check it out. She opened the door and looked around. It looked perfect. Simple, yes, but perfect. On the right there was a small kitchen and table, to the left was a small bedroom. She checked her pocket. She still had about 2,000 munny left. She didn’t need to eat or drink, so she could spend the remaining munny on other things.

 

She smiled. The beginning of her life had started.

 

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Chapter end.