Aug 28, 2006 20:59
Xigbar strode through the empty hallways of the old manor house, his mood as black as the inky robes that billowed out around him. Not even the Nobodies dared to approach him so Xigbar was alone with his thoughts and the sound of his boots throughout his dubious ‘guard duty’ over the dilapidated manor.
“Guard the house,” he snorted to himself, his voice echoing in the too-still quiet. “My ass. Guard it from what? The dust-bunnies?”
He was going bat-shit crazy stuck here in backwater nowhere while the rest of the Organization got to fuck shit up all over the fucking galaxy. He was tired of this dusty old house, full of mindless Nobodies and far too much sunlight even with half the windows boarded up. He was tired of this boring, sleepy little city, full of boring, stupid little people who had no idea about anything that was going on outside of the Struggle arena. And goddammit, if that bird out there didn’t stop chirping in the next five seconds, he was going to blast a hole straight through its fluffy little forehead. The Superior might have been worried that the manor could get broken into but Xigbar could’ve told him that not even the local brat populous would bother exploring this place. It was dead boring.
“Stupid, boring waste of my time,” he grumbled, stalking down the stairs to the main lobby for what felt like the fiftieth time in the last hour. “That’s the last time I let Luxord throw dice for our assignments.”
Shaking his head over that particular idiocy, Xigbar glanced out the dingy French windows into the place’s overgrown back garden, more for something to do than any real interest in the scenery. He supposed the view was nice enough - with sweeping, low-hanging trees framing a cobbled walkway and a central fountain that was still filled with mostly-clean water despite the dilapidated nature of the rest of the building - but he wasn’t a big fan of peaceful quiet. It was far too dull.
Still squinting absently through the grimy window, Xigbar suddenly found his attention caught by a suspiciously person-shaped shadow lounging on the far side of the stone fountain edge.
“Well now,” he murmured, an anticipatory grin spreading across his face. “That’s more like it. Bout time I had something to do in this shit-hole.” Never taking his eyes off his prey, Xigbar opened a path of darkness in the air beside him, melting through its shadows into the garden as if the wall between wasn’t even there.
The figure was clearer now without the obstruction of the dirty glass, but Xigbar didn’t bother paying attention to the specifics. The moment he emerged into the garden, he flung a laser blast as long as his arm straight towards the oblivious intruder, watching with satisfied pleasure as it arched unerringly across the yellowed grass towards its target.
Then he had to gape in surprise as the figure leaped suddenly sideways, twisting neatly out of the way as the bolt sizzled straight through the empty air where their head had been only a moment before.
…only to lose their footing and fall directly into the fountain with a yelp and a resounding splash.
Xigbar blinked, nonplussed, but recovered quickly and was already gathering more energy between his gloved fingers when a voice called out to him across the yard.
“W-wait! Time out!”
At the words, Xigbar sighed heavily and dismissed the second laser bolt with a thought, his feet carrying him across the grass towards the fountain. He’d recognized the voice, garbled though it was, and, even if he hadn’t, there was only one person - Nobody, whatever - who could be that efficient and that incredibly hopeless at the exact same time.
“Demyx,” he greeted as he stopped at the side of the fountain, shaking his head in disgust. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Demyx coughed, choking on air and water. “N-nothing really, Xigbar. Honest. Was just - gasp! - just looking for a quiet… place to sit and work on a song.”
“Well, it’s certainly that, but you didn’t think to tell someone first? Fuck Dem, I could’ve blown your fucking head off.”
When Demyx did nothing but flail in response to that, Xigbar sighed again and grabbed one of the thrashing arms to pull the idiot out before he drowned himself. “You know, for someone whose affinity is with water, you’re not doing very well here.”
“Oh, shut up,” Demyx groused, sounding more like a sulking kitten than a member of an Organization of supreme darkness. “I didn’t mean to fall in the fountain - you surprised me.”
“That was kind of the point.” The hand in Xigbar’s own was unexpectedly bare, the fingers rough with calluses that he guessed probably came from playing that funny oversized guitar. Demyx’s coat was missing too, and Xigbar caught sight of it rolled up in a neat little ball on the edge of the fountain, next to the missing gloves. Nitwit had probably been using it for a pillow, Xigbar realized, leaving him in the non-uniform blue shirt he always wore underneath his coat and a pair of soft black pants, both of which were clinging like a second skin thanks to all the water.
He hauled Demyx out of the fountain roughly, setting him down on the edge before stepping back to a distance that would hopefully keep him dry if Demyx decided to fall in again. Demyx coughed roughly, leaning heavily on his knees for a moment before straightening and offering Xigbar a sheepish smile.
“Um, thanks. Yeah. Sorry to interrupt your patrol, next time I should probably let someone know where I am before I get too involved in my… what?”
Xigbar realized he was staring, but didn’t particularly care. “What the hell happened to your hair?” he demanded bluntly.
“Huh?” Demyx asked intelligently, one hand reaching up absently to brush the dripping strands away from his face. “Oh, I guess the water did that. Man, I really need to get a heavier duty gel.”
“Is that how it usually looks after it gets wet?” Xigbar couldn’t help but persist, the sight of Demyx’s usually fairly upright hair hanging in blond spikes of varying lengths all around his face one of the strangest sights he’d seen all day.
“If I don’t put anything in it, yeah.” Demyx paused and tilted his head thoughtfully, the long locks on either side of his face swinging forward into his eyes and brushing along his chin. “I think I wore it kinda like this when I was… y’know.”
Xigbar did know. But that wasn’t what interested him right now. “Why don’t you leave it like that, then? Seems like a lot less work.”
Demyx blinked as if the thought hadn’t even occurred to him. “It gets in the way when I’m playing,” he answered simply, making Xigbar chuckle at the sheer Demyx-ness of that statement.
“I suppose it would at that,” he conceded. He inspected Demyx’s dripping hairdo thoughtfully for a moment longer, then turned away with a wave. “Later.”
“Hey!” Demyx called, his clothes making a wet squelching sound as he stood up. “Where are you going?”
“Take over for me here, kay?” When Demyx stared back at him, uncomprehending, Xigbar offered him a grin that made the blond Nobody take a hurried step back. “I’ve got the sudden urge to throw a bucket of water at Axel.”
~owari
fandom: kh,
pairing: none