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[KH] Fire and Moonlight: Spaceman (theme 95)

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Fire & Moonlight, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork:  101 Theme Challenge by Wishing-Fire, written by Raberba girl
Spaceman (theme 95) [rough draft]

Summary:  Saïx is understandably jealous.

A/N:  This is sort of an "AU of canon."  The way the Stepsiblings AU stories are.  ...You'll see what I mean.  (For example, the lower members show up in this fic, but they're not numbered Organization members here.)

o.o.o

"...and the heart collection numbers are up by 20% from last month," Saïx finished.  "At this rate, Kingdom Hearts will be completed within the year."

"Excellent," Xemnas said in his slow, ponderous way.  "Organization XIII, your performance this quarter has been commendable - particularly yours, Number VII."

Saïx showed no expression in his face or voice as he said, "Thank you, Lord Xemnas."  On the inside, however, he glowed.

"Why is it called 'Organization XIII' if there's only seven members?" one of the Keybearers asked.  Everyone ignored him.

"If there is no more business to discuss, you are all dismissed."

After the meeting, the Keybearers caught up to Saïx in the hallway and started their routine.  "Please, pleeaase, Saïx, can we please go for ice cream today?"

"Pretty please?"

He sighed.  "You both know how busy I am...."

They stared intently at him with huge, beseeching eyes, as if trying to will him into complying with their wishes.

"I simply don't have time."

"You never have time."

"But you still always come with us, anyway."

"Only because you're so insistent...."  He sighed again.  "Very well.  We will go to Twilight Town."

"Yay!"

"But not for long.  I cannot be out late."

"Fine, c'mon, let's go!"

They all went to sit on the clock tower and eat sea-salt ice cream together, then Saïx returned home and got to work on processing mission reports.

A week later, Xemnas summoned them all to another meeting.  Roxas and Xion trotted along at Saïx's heels, happy at the reprieve from work.  Larxene, one of the guardians, winked and patted Saïx's butt as he passed her, earning a fierce glare in response.

"Oi, Sai!" Xigbar called from down the hall, "Thanks for the tip, it saved me a lot of work!"

"Why do I have the feeling that you did not take my advice as intended...?"

Saïx paused when a book was held out to him.  "Thank you for the loan," Zexion said quietly.  "It was most helpful."

"You're welcome," Saïx said, accepting the book back.

"Saïx," Vexen said briskly as he pushed past them, "I'll need to discuss something with you after the meeting."

"Very well," Saïx said.

Nearby, Xaldin snorted.  "You're certainly popular."

"For the lowest member, you mean?" Saïx murmured, careful to keep the grumbling tone out of his voice.  He knew he was Xemnas's most valuable subordinate, but it would do no good to either flaunt that fact or seek acknowledgment.

"Let's go to Twilight Town after the meeting, okay?" Roxas said.

"Yeah, you have to," Xion insisted.  "We haven't gone for a whoooole week!"

"Sometime soon, I am going to have to discuss the term 'addiction' with you two...."

The meeting, as it turned out, was an introduction of the Organization's newest addition.  "Number VIII:  Axel, the Flurry of Dancing Flames," Xemnas announced.

Xigbar whistled in what could have been anything from approval to mockery.  "You been practicing your title-assigning skills, boss?"

"Cooool," the Keybearers chorused softly, staring at the newcomer in admiration.

Saïx glared down at the figure in the center of the room, who had just thrown back his hood with a dramatic flourish to reveal a mane of vivid crimson locks.  'I don't see what's so special about him.'

"Glad to be here," Axel declared with a grin, a picture of self-confidence in the midst of whatever circumstances must have landed him in this strange life.  "I'm guessing that's my chair, huh?"  He transferred into it as if he'd been using dark corridors all his life.

"Impressive," Zexion murmured.

"Saïx, why does he have those dots on his face?" Roxas whispered, too loudly.

"Hush, boy."

"Aw, the kid's just asking a question," Axel broke in, at full volume.  He grinned at the children.  "These are special tattoos - I got them when I became a Nobody.  When I'm human again, they'll disappear."

"Human?" Xion said breathlessly.  "But I thought Nobodies could never...?"

Axel winked and held up a finger, posing as if he knew some secret that all the veteran Nobodies didn't.  "Have faith, sweetheart.  We're all gonna get our hearts back someday, I promise."

"He called me 'sweetheart'!" Xion squealed.

"Axel," Saïx spoke up, putting disapproval into his tone, "you are new here, so let me explain to you that it is the Superior who runs this Organization and these meetings.  You will not speak out of turn."

Axel raised a crimson eyebrow.  "Like you're doing right now?"

Xigbar gave a snort of laughter, and Saïx flushed.  "That is--"

"Interruptions will now cease," Xemnas ordered.  "Axel, you will accompany Zexion during your first week here, and consult him about any questions you may have.  He shall instruct you in your duties."

'Not me?' Saïx thought, taken aback.  'I'm more knowledgeable about rules and procedures than Zexion is....'

"For now, we shall move on to the next order of business."

Saïx was not supposed to have emotions anymore, but he found that he was quite displeased with the changes he was forced to deal with as days passed.  Such as Zexion and Vexen constantly gushing about the rookie's battle prowess.  "It's incredible, his average heart point count is even higher than Xaldin's, and his tactical skill rivals Saïx's in some respects."

"Do you think he had some sort of former training?"

"Perhaps, but a good percentage of it is evidently natural talent."

"It certainly doesn't hurt that he's a fire-wielder, either.  We've been needing one for quite a while."

Speaking of which....

"That is so awesome," Demyx crowed alongside the shining-eyed Keybearers, as all three watched Axel showing off.  "We totally have to come up with a routine for that!  Fire and water, you know.  And we've got the kiddos to make everything sparkle.  Hey, can you sing?"

"A bit," Axel said modestly.  "I'm better at playing the piano."

"Perfect!"

'I can play the piano, too,' Saïx thought resentfully, 'and sing MUCH better than I'm sure he could ever hope to.'  Yet he said nothing, because he did not want to seem interested in the conversation.

He was also very not interested when he once saw the newest member stealing away from Larxene's post with lipstick smeared on his chin and a silly grin on his face.  It was Xaldin's job to oversee the guardians, and Saïx had more important work to do.

It wasn't just the scientists or the pawns, either.  Axel had a natural charm and magnetism that got the Moogle showering him with discounts, Xigbar acting like they were best friends, Lexaeus actually holding conversations, and Xemnas giving him all the best assignments.

"I must protest, Superior!" Saïx burst out, unable to endure it anymore.  "I was...under the impression, after our conference, that I would be responsible for the new world's mission prep."

"I have deemed Number VIII to be more suitable for the task," Xemnas said with no expression.

It shouldn't have taken this much effort for Saïx to remain calm.  "With all due respect, sir, Number VIII is still inexperienced, he does not have the track record to prove his dependability, and--"

"Do you really go totally berserk in moonlight?" Axel interrupted.  "They say there's zombies in the new world.  If you take the job, mind if I tag along to film it?  I think it'd be funny seeing you go nuts on a bunch of undead pirates....  I can make a movie and call it Wolf Man vs. the Zombie Buccaneers!  Actually, that'd make a pretty good name for a rock band, too."

'I am PERFECTLY CAPABLE of maintaining self-control, even in challenging environments!  I will throttle him for this insolence if he keeps it up!!!'

o.o.o.o.o

Saïx had never thought that he actually cared about spending lazy afternoons in Twilight Town with the Keybearers, but lately, he'd had an inexplicable craving for sea-salt ice cream.

Of course he couldn't find them when he actually wanted them.  His search finally ended in Axel's room.

"STOP with this spaceman thing!" Woody demanded on the television.  "It's getting on my nerves!"

"What is this?" Saïx said coldly, surveying the sight of Roxas and Xion sprawled comfortably with Axel in his room, all three eating ice cream as they watched a movie.

"Toy Story," Axel said, as if that answered the question.  "Wanna join us?"

"He won't," Roxas said before Saïx could answer.

"Saïx is always busy," Xion said dismissively.  The children had barely glanced up upon Saïx's entrance, and looked completely uninterested in his presence.

"Maybe he's not busy today," Axel suggested.

"No.  I am."  Saïx marched back out of the room and went to eat ice cream on the clock tower alone.  For some reason, even the taste of sweet sea-salt did not alleviate his craving at all.  "I hate him...."

Not for long, though.  Saïx soon couldn't take it anymore and tried to turn Axel into a Dusk, but failed.  Instead, the two of them got horrendously lost in Wonderland and had to work together in order to make their way back home.  By the time they finally returned to the castle a few days later, they were best friends.

Some time later, at the meeting to introduce the Organization's ninth member, Saïx noticed Axel drumming his fingers restlessly on the arm of his chair.  He pulled out his cell phone and texted, "The great Flurry of Dancing Flames, nervous?"

"no way!! r u?"

"Of course not.  Who could we possibly get who is worse than you?"

"very funny"

Number IX flung back his hood and fired a blinding grin up at the gathered members.  "Hi!  I'm Sora!  I've been using a Keyblade for years!  I've killed oodles of Heartless, and I can even dual-wield now!  Merlin trained me in magic so much that I don't really use it anymore, because the bosses die too fast and it's kind of boring, but I can use magic, just so you know.  I've got complete collection and synthesis lists for both of the Moogle guilds, and I've flown Gummi Ships all over the place and found so many Gummi Blocks that I've got, like, 50 different ship models now.  Also, I'm friends with EVERYONE IN THE UNIVERSE!  Let's be friends, too!"

Saïx closed his eyes in exasperated resignation, and all Axel could manage was a helpless laugh.

o.o.o

Author's Notes:  The thing about random phrases being good names for rock bands is one of Dave Barry's running jokes. :p  He's a humorist who's written a lot of newspaper columns and books.

This drabble is another pretty old one that I finally got around to typing.  It also makes way more sense if you've seen the first Toy Story movie! XD

I kind of like this "post one new fic each day" thing I accidentally started...I'm gonna see how long I can keep it up.  I've got so many completed drafts that need to be typed, and I'm in a "write challenge drabbles on the computer" mood, too.  In particular, I've got a couple more WTOW VanSo stories finished, the first installment of a StepsibsAxel drabble collection and a drabble about StepsibsSaix & Roxas's son are both ready to post, and I've been buckling down on the StepsibsSaix challenge, which I can't start posting until I finish (or at least have plunnies for all the themes).  Speaking of which, do you guys want to see the Saïx/Roxas's-son fic first, or the Axel's childhood drabble collection first?

I burned my arm in the oven the other day...we're out of ointment, so after the scab peeled off (much sooner than I expected it to), I cleaned the wound with hydrogen peroxide (which really hurt X'D) and put a bandage on it. Yesterday when I pulled off the bandage in preparation to take a shower, I was surprised to see the burn (which is narrow and roughly .6 inches long) start bleeding ._.  The blood washed off in the shower of course, and I also used regular liquid hand soap to clean it (which also really hurt, though not as much as the peroxide X'D), and I put another bandage on it afterward...should it still look this raw even though it's had a couple of days to heal? :/  I'd intended to buy ointment yesterday after church, but I ended up not going grocery shopping after all because it was so freaking cold (and windy DX it was torture trying to make my way across the church parking lot), so I wanted to go home ASAP....

Complete:  65/101
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