The Flurry of Dancing Flames and The Graceful Assassin (KH 1x1 bwtween Suikakitten and I)

[Sepdemonium]

"from nothingness comes nothingness, into nothingness all things must fade. All things are tied to the darkness, and one day the light must fade as all things must."


the graceful assassin mumbles this to himself over and over as he sharpens his scyche. He now and then looks up and casts his gaze around, wondering where everyone is. Castle Oblivion seems more empty then normal. 'it must be something to do with that brat, Roxas..Roxi.. whatever his name is." the pink haired man thinks sullenly. 'what's so special about him? Am I meant to be impressed?'


the more he thinks of that boy the more enraged he get's, HE is the one who everyone should be running around. He is destined for greatness, not some whelp of a boy who's only talent is a keyblade. Marluxia's lips quiver in distaste, in jealousy. He feels more lonely then ever now, it's not like he was really liked in the first place by the others.. even The Callous Vixen doesn't like him and she knows about his plans and assists him, though the only reason why she does help him is for her own gain. He sighs sadly. "I have no friends." now that he's actally voiced his situration he feels like crying- and if he could shed tears he would.


"no.. that's not true.. I have you, don't I? Graceful Dahila?" he whispers, tracing his thumb across the sharp steel that has torn and taken life. He is rewarded with nothing but silence and the sound of his own breathing, he puts down Dahila in disgust and walks out the room slowly. He continues to mutter to himself.


Suddenly he hears a voice behind him shout. "Marluxia, man!" he sighs and turns around and sees Demyx running over waving a piece of paper back and fourth. "you've got a mission to do!" The Graceful Assin's face lights up and he all but snatches the paper of the other man, he scans through it quickly. "this seems simple enough..wait..partner? Why do I need a partner!?!" he hisses, the sitar lover shurgs in response. "don't ask me, man.. I'm just the messenger.." Marluxia's eye tics. "and who is it?" he asks just above a whisper.


Demyx starts to edge away before saying in a quiet voice. "Axel.."


for a moment there is silence before Maluxia screams. "WHAAAAAAAAAT?! WHY HIM?"

 

[Suikakitten]

Axel had always had trouble waking up once he had fallen asleep. It was so bad that he had slept through his 10th birthday. His friends couldn't wake him up, so they had the party in his room while he snored. There were some pretty hilarious pictures from that day. Its a shame he didn't own anything from before he became a nobody. It was one of the few things he regretted, even though he would never tell that to anyone. Wouldn't want them to think him sappy and nostalgic, or god forbid, weak.

Axel wasn't the type of guy to let his past stop him anyways. He liked to live in the present and often didn't give much care for the future, which was one reason why he was in such a pickle now. He had had a late night with Luxord, playing cards. It was just so hard to stop playing when you lost every time and just wanted to win once. Now he wasn't waking up when his alarm clocks went off. He had known that he had a mission in the morning with Marluxia and he knew that if he didn't show up, the pink haired nobody was sure to be more pissed than he usually was. Even so, the red-head had neglected to go to bed at a decent hour and now his snores were competing with the raucous chiming of the clocks.

Without any warning, a loud scream entered, coming from the common area, just outside of the unconscious nobody's room. The yelling must have woken Axel up, because a minute later he was walking out the door with a pair of pants and a t-shirt thrown on. His body moved even though he was still very groggy, but by the time he had gotten to the source of the noise, he was at least a little cognitive. He saw that Marluxia looked like he was about to tear poor Demyx's throat out and positioned himself so that it would be easier to block him in case he happened to lunge. "The hell happened here?" He murmured casually as he rubbed the sleep out of one eye.

Now that Axel was here Demyx seemed even more scared. He wasn't sure why, but it might have had something to do with Marluxia's earlier outburst. "Oh yeah, that's right, we have a mission today. Wheres that at, Twilight Town?" He leaned forward to look at the paper in the Assassin's hand, unaware that the anger had been directed at him.

 

[Sepdemonium]

The Graceful assassin was even more enraged at the sight of Axel as he walked over, he looked as though he'd just woken up. Marluxia clenched his gloved hands as he reflected. 'the idiot probably has just woken up, why does he even bother being here if he's only going to sleep in.. WHY AM I STUCK WITH HIM? WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?!" Demyx moved behind Axel as though he could sense the pick haired man's rage and internal screaming. Demyx wasted no time, he started to edge away from the two men while he said. "h-hey, I'm just gonna leave you guys to it.."


Marluxia blinked and his eyes swerved to Axel as the red haired man took the paper from his hands, which Marluxia instinctively loosened his grip on so the paper wouldn't tare. Axel's tone of voice made the other Nobody's eye twitch, and it took ever ounce of willpower to keep his voice steady as he spoke. "yes, Twilight town.. and thanks to YOU I might end up being late for the first time of my life, late on a mission!" The Pink haired man started to breathe quickly and wring his hands together in a rare display of outward agitation. "m-my perfect record will be tarnished, soiled, filthy!" he stammered before adding in a voice of smothering anger. "and it's all your fault.."


But that was not the only reason of his agitation, the true reason was one that no one would have thought. Marluxia actually liked going to Twilight tone, he liked to walk around the streets. He liked to watch people go about their lives. Even though he knew the others had being there, he considered the town to be his special place.. his sanctuary. He even had a special hideaway. Marluxia was agitated because not only would he be going through the area with another person, which would ruin his day.. he was also losing time, every second counted to him.


His shoulders slumped when the raged drained out of him. "get dressed quickly and do whatever you need to." he said in a quiet and almost sad tone of voice. "the sooner we get there, the sooner the mission can be done." he turned around so his back was to Axel. "next time I get a mission and you show signs that you're going to be late, I will leave you behind and damn what happens." he said as he started to walk away. "I'll be by the portal to the town, try not to keep me waiting."

 

[Suikakitten]

Axel glanced over the paper in his hand, only reading what information looked useful. The mission documents were always so long winded and overly detailed. All that needed to be done was to pick out the important points. Plus, he had never been that much of a reader. It was just something that took so much concentration and patience, none of which he had much of, and he would rather be out doing a mission or something where he didn't have to sit still for long periods of time. 'Well, I guess having some sea salt ice cream and hanging out on the clock tower is pretty good too', he thought to himself. It was one of the few activities that he enjoyed that didn't involve much activity, maybe because it was time he got to spend with Roxas.

Roxas had been very busy lately, so they hadn't gotten the chance to hang out in what seemed like ages. Now that he thought about it, he kind of missed going to the clock tower and watching the never ending sunset with an ice cream in hand. 'Oh well, it doesn't matter now. The mission is at hand'.

Axel looked up at the other nobody as he spoke. Suddenly it became very apparent as to just how upset Marluxia really was. The man so rarely showed any sort of emotion that it was easy to forget that, even in his heartless state, he could be provoked to show some sort of human feelings. It was a little unnerving to see him act this way, but it also reminded Axel that he was more than just a two dimensional being capable of nothing more than movement and sound. Marluxia could experience the same hollow feelings that he himself felt as well. He took a small step back at the outburst, but said nothing. There wasn't enough time to before he was dismissed and the pink-haired man turned and started walked away. "Marluxia, you know you're being unfair. Its not my fault we're partners!" Axel called after him, fully aware that the other could care less if it was his doing or not.

He sighed and shook his head as he went back to his room. "This is going to be the best day ever." he sarcastically said out loud. Even though he and Marluxia had never had much of a relationship, he couldn't see why the other was so angry. Axel hadn't even really done anything to him lately. As far as he could tell they hadn't even really had any sort of interactions. Obviously there would be no way to tell what had set the nobody off without asking him, and quite frankly, he wasn't ready to set him off again. The mission was going to be difficult as it is without Axel making him any angrier.

He silently pondered this as he put on his leather cloak, gloves, and tidied his hair up. It didn't take him long to get ready and he really didn't want to keep the grumpy Marluxia waiting any longer. So, he hurried up and picked up his pace towards the portal to Twilight Town. "Alright kiddo, lets get going. You were in such a fantastic flurry that I even rushed for you. That oughta make you feel special." Axel chuckled at his little joke, hoping to lighten the mood even just a little.

 

[Sepdemonium]

Marluxia watched the red haired man as he glanced through the paper, convinced he was barely reading it. The graceful assassin was even more enraged by that. 'why is he so regarded when he can't even be bothered to read the damn thing?! Why.. why am I so hated when I do my job well?! Why do I always lose out to people like him and that key wielding brat?!' various insecure thoughts ran through the the Nobody's skull as he stood there, face impassive. Maybe it was for the best that Axel could not read minds, since Marluxia's thoughts were enough to drive anyone mad.


The root of Marluxia's insecurity was his lack of friends, which was something he'd never admit. Axel was almost the embodiment of friendship and seemed to get along with most of the other Nobodies as far as the pink haired man could tell.


Marluxia stopped walking when Axel called after him, he clenched his fists tight before he shouted. "I KNOW!" he turned his head and gazed at the red haired man for a few seconds before his shoulders slumped down. "I know it's not your fault." he said quietly before he resumed his walk, he listened to the sound of his footfalls.. hollow, empty and alone. Just like him. He was reminded of the reason why he always preferred solo missions, because he couldn't be reminded of the fact that he was isolated. But was the isolation his own fault? "no!" he hissed out loud. "it can't be!" his walk became quicker and more brisk, as though he was trying to out run his thoughts.


Marluxia stopped his walk once he reached the portal and gazed into it. Many nights he had lain awake and thought about deserting the organisation and forging a new life for himself, making a future that he would be happy in. But Marluxia was fearful of being dragged back, of being hunted down like a wild animal.. then there would be the punishment for deserting. The pink haired man shuddered and felt his mouth turn dry just at the thought of it. He shook his head quickly in an effort to banish such thoughts.


Marluxia glanced up at Axel and narrowed his eyes a little at the unfamiliar term. "kiddo?" he asked flatly, with his head tilted in a slight sign of curiously. Axel's joke sparked a smile that flickered on his lips, but the smile was gone as quickly as it had came. "I suppose I feel somewhat special, though I wouldn't know what it was like to feel that way in the first place." he said stiffly, before he glanced at the red haired man for a few seconds. "let's go." he declared as he stepped through the portal.