Missing [Ansem, Xehanort, PG]
Title: Missing
Author: igrab
Characters: Ansem, Xehanort
Written For: iwantasoda and kingdom100, prompt 2 - Key
Rating: PG
Ansem stared at it.
He fancied it just might have stared back.
He frowned. Bent down in his chair, so he could regard it on a level surface. Was this a trap? A reminder? Something one of his apprentices had forgotten?
But he'd only been doing system maintenance for... fifteen minutes, at the most. And he'd thought the door to his study was locked.
Well, there was one other who had the key.
"Xehanort," he said, tapping the crystal on his desk. "I need to see you in my office. Now."
Punctual as ever. He didn't have long to wait before the door angled open silently, and his white-haired ward peeked through.
Xehanort. The biggest mystery of all.
Ansem could remember when he'd first discovered him, all those years ago. He'd been nothing more than a living doll, then - eyes unfocused, unresponsive, no motor skills to speak of and completely unable to communicate. How far he'd come since then.
"Yes, Master?"
Ansem frowned and pointed at the duck. "I do not find this amusing, Xehanort."
He looked at it with wide orange eyes. Dutifully. His expression didn't falter. "Is it supposed to be?" He did sound genuinely confused.
"I'm more concerned with how it got here. You're the only one with a key. I'd like an explanation."
It was eerie, it was unnatural, how blank his eyes were. Ansem prided himself on his patience and dedication. He had long since ceased to flinch whenever he looked at his apprentice. But every now and then - times such as these, when any normal young man would show some emotion - surprise, or guilt, or amusement - he simply showed nothing at all. "I'm afraid I don't have one. The key in question has been missing for some time."
"...." Ansem could not possibly keep the shock and outrage from his voice. "Missing?"
"Whether stolen or misplaced, I haven't been able to determine."
For god's sake, he sounded like he was making a report, like this was just another interesting experiment. "Xehanort! Why did you not inform me sooner!"
"You didn't ask, sir." Now, finally, there was a twitch in his eyebrows - a concerned crease, like he couldn't understand what Ansem was so mad about. "I have been attempting to locate them."
And that was it, wasn't it. He didn't ask, and it only served to remind him that this man, whoever he was - whatever he was - he was not human. He couldn't possibly be. "...Never mind, Xehanort. I'll change the locks and have a new set made. Don't lose them again, and if you do, tell me about it."
"Yes." And he would. Ansem watched him go and had the crawling, insidious, traitorous thought - what else was Xehanort placidly not telling him?
Author: igrab
Characters: Ansem, Xehanort
Written For: iwantasoda and kingdom100, prompt 2 - Key
Rating: PG
Ansem stared at it.
He fancied it just might have stared back.
He frowned. Bent down in his chair, so he could regard it on a level surface. Was this a trap? A reminder? Something one of his apprentices had forgotten?
But he'd only been doing system maintenance for... fifteen minutes, at the most. And he'd thought the door to his study was locked.
Well, there was one other who had the key.
"Xehanort," he said, tapping the crystal on his desk. "I need to see you in my office. Now."
Punctual as ever. He didn't have long to wait before the door angled open silently, and his white-haired ward peeked through.
Xehanort. The biggest mystery of all.
Ansem could remember when he'd first discovered him, all those years ago. He'd been nothing more than a living doll, then - eyes unfocused, unresponsive, no motor skills to speak of and completely unable to communicate. How far he'd come since then.
"Yes, Master?"
Ansem frowned and pointed at the duck. "I do not find this amusing, Xehanort."
He looked at it with wide orange eyes. Dutifully. His expression didn't falter. "Is it supposed to be?" He did sound genuinely confused.
"I'm more concerned with how it got here. You're the only one with a key. I'd like an explanation."
It was eerie, it was unnatural, how blank his eyes were. Ansem prided himself on his patience and dedication. He had long since ceased to flinch whenever he looked at his apprentice. But every now and then - times such as these, when any normal young man would show some emotion - surprise, or guilt, or amusement - he simply showed nothing at all. "I'm afraid I don't have one. The key in question has been missing for some time."
"...." Ansem could not possibly keep the shock and outrage from his voice. "Missing?"
"Whether stolen or misplaced, I haven't been able to determine."
For god's sake, he sounded like he was making a report, like this was just another interesting experiment. "Xehanort! Why did you not inform me sooner!"
"You didn't ask, sir." Now, finally, there was a twitch in his eyebrows - a concerned crease, like he couldn't understand what Ansem was so mad about. "I have been attempting to locate them."
And that was it, wasn't it. He didn't ask, and it only served to remind him that this man, whoever he was - whatever he was - he was not human. He couldn't possibly be. "...Never mind, Xehanort. I'll change the locks and have a new set made. Don't lose them again, and if you do, tell me about it."
"Yes." And he would. Ansem watched him go and had the crawling, insidious, traitorous thought - what else was Xehanort placidly not telling him?