Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ The New Organization XIII ❯ Weaknesses ( Chapter 5 )

Mandy: Hiya!! Welcome to chapter 5!! (Yay!) And, give me a piece of the cake, PLEASE, Demyx? Pretty please?

Demyx: Well, alright... You did say please. -hands her a piece of cake from princessdarkfairy-

Mandy: -while eating cake- This one is a little more serious, too. I've felt like I've just had too much comedy in this story... now's time for the romance! I think you'll be quite surprised with what I made in this chapter...

Axel: YAY! And you should really not talk with your mouth full...

Vaxni: What?!?! No one told me this was a romance!

Marluxia: Mandy does not own any Kingdom Hearts characters, except Vaxni, and the creation of my wonderful garden, but would like to own the Organization, because we're the 1337ness.

Mandy: Also, to princessdarkfairy, I know what you meant, but there's a lot of people who saw that she was turning into a Mary Sue, and let me know. Thanks for telling me, though! This chapter really brings out another part of Vaxni that she's always been trying to hide. I made her like that in the beginning for a reason... Mwahahaha... -nibbling on cookie-

Vaxni: 0.o I'm scared...

 

Chapter 5: Weaknesses

I lounged on the couch, flipping through the channels on the LCDTV. Two hundred channels, with nothing to watch. I turned off the TV with my pointer finger, since my thumb had gone numb at channel 164 the eighth time through. Axel had gone to watch Sora for a while, Roxas had his own mission to do, Larxene wouldn't talk to me, and Marluxia was tending to his flowers.

Sora always needed a little hint or push. That was Axel's job. He didn't always like it (this actually goes for both of them), but he had to. Sora had to in order to gain his “memory,” and Axel had to or Xemnas would turn him into a Dusk. Nice choices, right?

The mission Roxas had to go on was more like an errand for Xigbar. Roxas was supposed to assassinate a gun store owner that was a Nobody that didn't want to join the Organization. Everything in the Nobody's store was to be brought and presented to Xigbar for “examination.” I sighed. Boys and their toys...

I really didn't understand why Larxene wouldn't talk to me. Shouldn't girls talk to each other behind the boys' backs? Maybe I acted unlady-like, or something. Whenever I saw her, she was either primping her hair or reading books with titles that had worn away from the covers and bindings. Once, I caught her staring lovingly at a picture, but she put it in her cloak so quickly I didn't see what it was. Ever since then she has been avoiding me like the plague.

Now, Marluxia... I sprawled out on the couch, my head propped up on the arm while my hands clasped behind my head. He was one strange cookie with bright pink frosting. Yes, I know the analogy's a little weird, but that's the best I could describe him. I never knew a man could be so feminine and yet still be a man. I wonder what his garden is like...

I sat up; I searched around to make sure no one saw me do this. I wasn't going to do mischievous stuff or anything. If someone saw me at the moment, that's what they would think, but it's not. That's why I had to sneak out, or I'd get caught and thrown back into the White Room With 200-channels-that-must-not-be-watched.

Stepping through the Dark Corridors, I ended up in the Castle Oblivion courtyard. I glanced around --- there was no one watching. I sighed, relieving that no one was there, and then took in the view.

There were all kinds of flowers and plants growing here. A small pond held lilies, and in it I saw the flickering tails of well-fed Japanese koi. There were only two trees growing here --- if there were anymore, it would block out the sunlight. One of the trees stood close to the pond: a weeping willow. The other was a tall, tall oak tree, placed in the opposite corner from the pond. There were stepping stones that created a narrow path through the garden, but, besides that, the ground was covered with all kinds of flowers.

Following the path, I stared in amazement at all the different colors and shapes. There were flowers that I didn't even know existed, and some I knew. Forget-me-nots, carnations, dragon snaps, magnolias, and roses of all the colors of the rainbow littered the ground, and in more colors than just the rainbow. And then there was the one unusual flower that caught my eye.

The petals were silver and reflected the sunlight partially. The two petals at the bottom were large, like the lip of a bowl. Two other petals came to the upper-right and upper-left of the larger ones on the bottom. The last petal was longer than the rest, and point straight away from the middle. There weren't many of these flowers, and they populated a small, almost non-existent piece of land. Some of them grew off of the fence next to them. Curious, I put my nose to one of them, taking a sniff. They smelled like dark, rainy nights, with a sorrowful-making scent underlying that.

I sighed, oblivious to the presence that suddenly appeared behind me. I sat there, carefully stroking the soft petals of this sorrowful flower. What kind of flower was it, anyways...?

“That's the Nobody's Flower.” Marluxia (I recognized his voice) said from behind me. I jumped up, turning around with wide eyes to look at him. “So, Little Ms. Annoying One has a weakness for flowers.”

Marluxia was wearing overalls, which was kind of weird. I hadn't seen any of the Organization members out of their cloaks and into normal clothes before. He had shovels and hoes in his pockets, and he carried a bucket of water with a sprinkler head, I can't remember what they're called. The overalls were covered in dirt stains, but seemed to have a well-lived life. A white t-shirt was underneath it.

“N-No!” I stuttered, but knew my secret was out. I tried to deny it, anyways. “I-I just knew that you had a secret garden, so I came to check it out.” Marly looked at me point-blank, knowing I was lying (at least partly).

“Ri—ight. And you have a flying chimp named Cheetos that breathes fire and can bench press Laxaeus's gummi ship.” He said, setting the bucket with the sprinkler head on the ground by the silver flowers. I raised a brow at him, and then started giggling.

“OK, that was random.” I said, shrugging my shoulders, raising my arms, “And I give up. I surrender; you win. I came to see the flowers. Happy?” Marly gave me a suspicious look.

“Not as much as I'd like to be.” He replied, “And how come you're so nice all of a sudden?”

“Well, I don't have much to pick on you about, unless your weapon is a garden tool.” I said. Marly frowned at my words. This made me break out into a grin. “What's your weapon?”

Marly hesitated, but then said with reluctance, “...scythe.” He winced, thinking he knew it was coming.

“Cool.” I said, surprising him, “At least it's not a stupid-looking tool, like a shovel or a hoe.” Marly blinked a few times, staring at me with wide eyes. He shook his head, chuckling gently. “What's so funny?”

“You're something, you know that, Vaxni?” He walked past me, and I turned to watch him. Marluxia squat down by what he called the Nobody's Flowers, doing as I had done. “I remember when I first discovered these.” He began, as if talking to himself, as if I wasn't there. “There was only one, and it was starting to fade in the crevice of a rundown building far from the castle. I was delighted to find this rare species of flower, taking it to my garden and planting it here.

“The flower was easily supported on such unfertile soil. It began to grow again, and its petals shined like musty glass. The more I tended to it, the more I ignored the other flowers. They paled in comparison to this beauty.

“My favorite magnolia died a few days later. It made me realize that all of them needed equal amounts of caring, and I had forgotten that. I am still disappointed in myself for making that mistake.

“The next day, another of these silver flowers appeared. It seemed a little on the unhealthy side, but I had to take care of the others, first. When I got to it, the flower seemed fine, as if it could grow in worse conditions.

“That was when I started calling it the Nobody's Flower, since I'm a Nobody, and I discovered it. But I grasped that maybe that name was appropriate in more ways than one. Every time one of my own flowers died, another of these silver flowers would pop up.”

Marluxia looked up at me, and I finally understood that he hadn't just been talking to himself. These flowers were obviously one of his favorite kinds, and even I was starting to like them. “Do you know what that means, Vaxni?” He questioned. I shook my head. His eyes were on the flower again. “It means these flowers are like us. They are literally a Nobody's Flower. They are born just as Nobodies are.”

“That's quite a discovery.” I said, but couldn't think of anything else to say. He got up, meeting my eyes. I glanced away from those light brown eyes, the color of soft wood. There was something in them that I didn't want to see.

“Which flower is your favorite?” Marluxia asked. My gaze landed on a wild-looking red rose bush nearby. I didn't even know I was actually telling him without saying anything. Before he could figure it out (hopefully), I stared down at my feet. My hands felt sweaty. Maybe I shouldn't be out in the sun while wearing a heavy black cloak...

“So, red roses, huh?” He said, striding over to the bush that I had been gazing at. “A romantic at heart, are you?”

“I'm afraid I don't know what you mean.” I told him.

“Only romantics, hopeless with thoughts of true love, make the rose their favorite flower. I, too, favor the rose...” Marluxia gestured his right hand to me, a red rose appearing in it. The rose's head was pointed at me, as if this was Marluxia's way of pointing. “Here, for you.” He came over to me, picking up my limp hands and setting the rose between them.

“Um...” I didn't know what to say. I blinked at his hands clasped over mine, the only things separating our skin being his garden gloves. “Thank you...” I managed to say it without making it seem like a question.

“You're more than welcome to come back at any time.” Marluxia said, bending down to brush his lips against my knuckles. “Just don't tell Axel.” He added in a whisper that I barely caught. He let go, and I stumbled backwards, gazing at him for a moment. Then I turned and ran into the Dark Corridors.

I didn't know where I teleported, but I landed on a bed with red sheets. Hmmm... Now, where was I...? So hard to guess, but, luckily, Axel wasn't there yet. I'm sure he would've been pleased if I caught him just getting out of the shower, no towel on. I cradled the rose to my chest like a baby, gazing at it.

What in the hell was wrong with the Organization? Why, all of them were perverts! Maybe it was the fact that I was the only female besides Larxene, and I was “new meat.” It wasn't one of those dominance things, was it? You know, like males are better than females, no matter what, blah blah blah. If it was, I was going to be pissed, and I was going to trample every single one of Marluxia's dear flowers.

Okay, maybe I wouldn't. I could tell that most of them have lasted for years, since I learned from Roxas this morning that there are no season changes at Castle Oblivion. Marluxia would murderlize (which is a fancier way of murder) me. Alright, maybe I wouldn't because it's my weakness. Are you happy now? Because I'm not.

 

Mandy: Sweet... I'm finally done with this chapter. I wasn't sure on Marly's eye color, so I made something up. Also, I learned that Marly's name is pronounced “Mar-loo-sha,” not “Mar-l­­uks-a.” Hence Marly instead of Lux. Lux is Luxord, not Marluxia.

Vaxni: Let's cut all of the damn technicalities! That's Mar, that's Ax -pronounces it like ass- and that's....

Axel: What d'you just call me?

Vaxni: You know what I called you. So take the drama to your mama.

Mandy: OMG. You just did NOT rhyme.............. -angry eyes-

Roxas: RUN! She hates it when people rhyme stupidly! -everyone runs, he comes back- Please, read and REVIEW! Or she just might murderlize us!