Kingdom Hearts 1. I'm Right Here

RokuDem - romantic or platonic

Movie night with Roxas had quickly shifted from Disney movies to a horror movie. While this wasn't unusual, it was unusual for Demyx to stay the night after a movie night.

Normally when it was over, he helped Roxas clean up the popcorn bowl, candy wrappers, and empty soda cans that littered the table and the floor around the couch before he yelled good night and walked back to his house. But tonight it was storming. Not the kind of storming where the only reason you knew it was there was because of the quiet rumble in the background, but the kind of storming where the world smelled like ozone because of the lighting arcing down from the clouds and the windows rattled from the loud, angry rumbles of thunder.

Roxas was on edge from the movie to begin with, and the lighting that seemed close enough to singe the tree in his front yard made him decide that there was no way in hell Demyx was walking home tonight.

And this was how Demyx ended up staring at the ceiling and listening to Roxas quietly snore beside him. Only when the snoring stopped and was replaced with short, panicked breaths did Demyx look away from the ceiling and towards the person who he was sharing a bed with.

Roxas's face was the picture of pure, nightmarish horror. His eyebrows were drawn and his mouth was opening. Half mumbled words could be heard, but not understood.

At a loss for what to do, Demyx rolled over and shook Roxas's shoulder, trying to wake him up. Roxas's eyes snapped open and quickly filled with tears of leftover terror. "Roxas?" Demyx questioned, slowly reacting out to pull the smaller blond into a hug. A muffled sob sounded from where the blond had his face buried in Demyx's shirt. "Shhh, it's okay…I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." Demyx murmured as he rubbed a hand through Roxas's hair.

Eventually Roxas calmed down enough to sleep, and Demyx decided to never watch a horror movie on movie night again.


	2. Ever Wonder?

AkuDem - Platonic

"Ever wonder if the world would be better off without you…?" Demyx didn't have any prompt for asking this question. Before they'd just been sitting around, wasting the free time they had between missions on video games and junk food.

Now the video game was paused, and Axel was twisted all the way around, giving Demyx a strange look. "Everyone does, but what brought that up?"

Demyx averted his eyes, idly playing with the chains that hung from his coat. He shrugged, mumbling something quietly as he did so. "I just feel useless.. I heard someone talking earlier about how much of a screw up I was because I can't fight. Because all I've got is a sitar that can't do anything useful. I'm not cut out for this." None of these words were his own, just words that he'd heard while wandering around the castle.

Being as focused on his chains as he was, he didn't notice the way Axel's face hardened and the murderous glint formed in his eyes. "You're not useless. You're good at recon, and in a real fight, I wouldn't stand a chance against you." He paused, giving Demyx a chance to look up at him. "Now, are you going to tell me who said all that?"

Demyx refused to respond, not wanting to get anyone in trouble, but the small smile he gave Axel said that he was feeling better. Axel just sighed, and turned back to the game. A few minutes later, Demyx sat beside him, one hand buried in a potato chip bag, and the other fumbling to turn on a controller.

"C'mon Ax, it's time for multiplayer!"

Axel just grinned, secretly vowing that he'd find out who told his friend that.


	3. Memory

Demyx knew this tune by heart. He'd heard it since he was a child. He could play it without focusing, allowing him to dwell into the memory that came with it.

He was young. It was before he ran away, before the Heartless found him. He was seven and his mom was reading him a bedtime story while his dad hummed a soft tune. For the life of him, he couldn't remember the story (or their faces), but he could always remember that goodnight hug his dad gave him.

It was soft and warm, and he always remembered the comforting hum of his father's chest and the way he had wanted the hug to never end. He'd held on for as long as he could, but finally his dad pried him off and tucked him in.

That night and nearly every night since, he'd fallen asleep with that same tune in his head and the ghost of a warm hug surrounding him.


	4. First Thoughts

The sky was made of metal and concrete and it was raining, dripping onto his forehead and waking him from what felt like years of sleep. He sat up, and then stood, realizing that he was under a bridge and it really was raining. Something moved in the shadows and he panicked, mind immediately flashing to bug like shadows with glowing yellow eyes. When the shape revealed itself to be a simple cat he calmed down, breathing slowly returning to normal.

Blinking slowly, he realized that he hadn't felt panic like that since he lost his heart and became the Nobody known as Demyx. Only then did it cross his mind to look around and figure out his surroundings.

If he took a few steps forward he could see a store of some sort. He decided to avoid that place, unsure of how he looked or of how to interact with people without sounding like he was crazy. Turning around, he began walking in the opposite direction, accidentally kicking a can and noticing, for the first time, that he wasn't wearing the standard Organization coat anymore. He took one more step and emerged in the rain. There he stood, letting it hit his face and soak into his clothes. No longer was he Demyx. With his heart back, he could dispose of the 'x' that had marked him as a member of Organization XIII. He was Edym now.

His knees his soft mud as a sob choked its way out of his throat. It anyone had seen him in that moment, they would never know that tears ran down his face or that joy swelled in his newly returned hurt.


	5. Music

For as long as Demyx could remember, music had been part of his life. As a child it was a simple past time that had eventually grown into a necessity. He had to play to survive. Even then he didn't mind doing it. Music was in his blood. It was in the way his footsteps corresponded to the beat in his head, the way his fingers were always itching to play just one more tune, one more note.

Music had come naturally to him, and from the time he got his hands on his first instrument to the day he 'died,' the music never stopped.

As a Nobody not much changed. Music was still everywhere, but it wasn't the same. A vital piece was missing, and without it, music just wasn't music. It was hollow and empty and wrong. To truly be music, it need heart, soul, passion. Something to fill it up and add to the notes and the beats and make it more than just a simple playing of what was written on the paper.

Nobodies happened to be lacking that one key thing. Heartless, unfeeling beings such as them could never hope to create any form of music, not without it sounding like it was missing something. Yet that didn't stop Demyx. Everyday he filled the Castle with his music that was hollow, and he would continue to do so until his fingers stopped moving.


	6. Breathe, Pain, Joy, and Relief

Every blow felt like being hit with a hammer. A hammer that left bruises and scratches and cuts. Blow after blow, unrelenting, never giving him the chance to rest, heal, or escape. He was stuck here in this fishbowl made of cliffs, and he was going to _die. _Demyx should've been relieved. He no longer had to carry out this miserable life, no longer had to not feel (or feel and pretend that it was all fake.) No longer did he have to worry about being turned into a dusk, about Saïx, about everything. It was supposed to be a release.

Instead it was pain. Unbearable agonizing, breath taking pain. He wanted to cry, to scream, to call it quits and have an easy death. No more fighting or bruises or broken bones. No more agony.

His wish was granted with one final slash across his midsection. There no blood, there was nothing. Just a black mist that started at his feet slowly worked its way up. He should've been happy, but he wasn't. He was scared. He didn't want to die again, to fade into nothingness _again_. Once was bad enough.

He let out one final disbelieving yell. "No way!" Then he was gone and the yell echoed as if he wasn't.


	7. Colors of the Rainbow

_Red_

Demyx didn't remember much of his first days as a Nobody. Too much hustle and bustle, not enough time to remember names and faces. Few things stuck with vivid clarity, except one thing.

A red so vibrant against the grey castle walls it almost hurt to look at. Number VIII, Axel, his mentor.

* * *

_Orange_

A popsicle set down on a table, melting into a bright orange puddle as Demyx left it behind to the summer heat.

Small, slightly sad sighs are heard when Demyx returns to find nothing left of his orange treat but a sticky puddle and a wooden stick.

* * *

_Yellow_

Their eyes glowed. The shadow's eyes _glowed_. A bright, gleaming yellow that suggested a sickening hunger lurked inside their quivering bodies.

Their eyes captured Demyx, distracted him for just a moment. All the time they needed to pounce and take the heart they hungered for.

* * *

_Green_

This new world was covered in greenery and water, a perfect place to relax in Demyx's opinion. However the pirates were a bit troublesome, as was the boy with the green outfit and red hair that insisted on antagonizing them.

All it took was one cannonball landing a little too close to Dem's spot to convince him that this world was definitely not a good relaxing place. He stepped through a portal, leaving the green outfitted boy and his plants and pirates behind.

* * *

_Blue_

The last color Demyx ever saw was blue. Blue tile turning black, blue cliffs, blue eyes that used to see him as a friend, not as an enemy to be taken down.

Blue. Blue. _Blue_. Oh how he _hated_ the color blue.

* * *

_Indigo_

There are some things that no one notices until they're face to face with it. Like the color of the floor of the coffee shop they've frequented for the past 3 months.

A voice, belonging to the man who had accidentally knocked Demyx down, asked if he was okay. All he responded with was, "The floor is indigo."

* * *

_Violet_

It made Demyx proud to see his little sister all dressed up and excited for the dance. She'd spent weeks trying to find the perfect dress, and finally, she had.

"That purple really suits you, Nam," Demyx said.

"Thanks, but it's violet," she teased, artist side showing.


	8. Tears

"Hey, kid, where's your family?"

Edym scoffed and ignored the question. Family. He didn't even remember what that word was supposed to mean. What was a family? Parents and grandparents and siblings? He didn't have any of that. No, he had his spot under the bridge, his ratty blue jacket, his battered but well loved sitar.

Could that count as a family? If it could, then his family was right there with him, always.


	9. Past

The spot under the bridge wasn't the best. Wasn't the nicest, wasn't the driest. Certainly wasn't the safest. There was no telling what could show up down here. Bugs, rats, people who were high or drunk, not in their right mind. Edym hated it, but he had no where else to go.

He had just curled up, trying to sleep huddled under the only jacket he had. A beat up, ratty blue thing that was three sizes too big. There was a hole in the elbow, and a pocket was missing. Edym loved his ratty blue jacket.

A man came staggering in, and Edym could smell the alcohol from where he was laying. Suddenly, a black shape formed behind the man, and he vanished. Edym screamed, a loud, echoing, terror filled scream. The thing looked at him, bright golden eyes gleaming with a sick intelligence, before sinking into the ground. Edym sat up and moved closer to the wall, kicking his sitar backwards as he did so.

He could hear the thing slithering around, and as he trembled, he could hear more and more joining in. It sounded like a thousand snakes. Slowly, one by one, they started to pop up, caging Edym against the wall. He breathed, they lunged, and the ratty blue coat was turned red.


	10. Heat

A new world a new mission. Another place to explore, to scout out and make sure was suitable for the Organizations 'needs'. Suitable meaning brimming with heartless for Roxas to take out. There were never enough hearts for Kingdom Hearts.

The world in question was a sandy place named Agrabah. According to Roxas, who had been sent to explore it first, it was sandy and dry. That was about all the report said, and Demyx thought his reports were vague. With the word 'dry' swimming in his mind, Demyx placed an extra bottle of water in his pocket and set out for this new place.

Heat. Dry, unrelenting heat was the first thing that hit him when he stepped out of the portal. This wasn't humid heat, no, this was the kind of heat that sucked the moisture from his breath every time he breathed, Demyx had to hurry or else he'd be left defenseless.


	11. Shark Demyx

Demyx loved to spend his spare time lurking around the reefs. He could always find some nice, tasty fish there and occasionally a nice human to talk to. Of course they always seemed a little off put by his rows of razor sharp teeth and shark like tail. He never could get one to stay around long enough to find out why.

Eventually while exploring the reef he was caught by a fisherman, and sold to the local museum. Once there he was thrown into a glass tank where humans and their grubby little children would tap on his glass all day long. He thought his ears were going to start bleeding after the second day.

Day after day it was the same thing. Humans humans humans. No live fish for him to chase, no fun in his too small glass tank. He began to loathe his captivity, and longed for the open waters of the ocean. It wasn't necessarily that the tank was bad, but the ocean was better.

Demyx began to fight back when the scientists came to examine him. He would writhe and wiggle, leaving them no opportunity to get a grip on him. He flailed with his human arms, hoping to land a lucky hit and smack one of them in the face. When they began to try and force feed him, he snapped at their they gave up, and someone finally helped him. A young boy, no older than 15. He had stayed in the museum after closing, and upon seeing how distressed Demyx was, decided to help him escape. And escape they did.

Demyx was finally back in his true home, his ocean, his reef.


	12. Lazy

They called him lazy, and to be completely honest, he was. Missions hardly ever got finished, paperwork was just one more thing cluttering his schedule that was obviously already so full. If he could, he would lay in bed all day long and stare at the ceiling.

It worked for him. He stayed off the higher up's radar. He wasn't good enough to be noticed for anything, and that was just fine. He didn't want to end up like some of the others who had started off with so much promise and then burnt themselves out in a matter of weeks. Sometimes he thought he could recognize their Dusks as they crossed his path in the halls.

Lazy he was, and lazy he would always be, but he would never be stupid. His laziness was just a mask, hiding his true intentions. He lurked around the grey room like he did to gain information like the good recon agent he was. Demyx's laziness was the thing that was going to help him stick around until the tail end.


	13. Fate

Maybe it was fate that lead him to become a Nobody, because it certainly wasn't some strange coincidence that put him under that bridge that night. He was okay with blaming that one on fate. That day had been a weird day to begin with, and it just happened to end the way it did.

But while he did believe in fate, he knew for a fact the reason he was in this spot wasn't because of fate. He was here because Xemnas had sent him here. He was here because Xemnas had found out he knew too much and wanted him gone. Couldn't have more members defecting and ruining his plans.

So here Demyx was, standing on the edge of a cliff just waiting for the merry trio to show up. Something in the deepest part of his mind told him he wasn't going to get out of this alive, and when the keyblade wielder showed up, that whisper in the back of his mind was proven to be right. Xemnas had won.


	14. Night

He was the Melodious Nocturne. Night was pretty much in his name. Even so, he hated night. With night came darkness and nightmares and monsters that lurked in the shadows left by the moon.

Xemnas would turn him into a dusk, and Xigbar would scoff at him if they ever found out that maybe, just maybe, Demyx was afraid of the dark. It stemmed from his somebody, he knew it did. The remnants of bad memories and too many negative emotions associated with the dark had slowly mixed and produced the fear he felt now.

Only when the stars were shining, and not winking out one by one, and the moon was full did he feel remotely safe in the dark. He was darkness now, and yet he didn't trust it. Demyx knew he never would.


	15. Chocolate

The first time Edym was in trouble with a police officer was when he was 6. There was a toy in that store he really really wanted and he knew that his parents wouldn't be able to get it for him. So he'd taken it, just plucked it off the shelf and stuffed it in his pocket. They didn't know he'd taken it till he tried to walk out the door.

The management had confiscated the toy and taken him to the back. Police arrived a few minutes later, summoned by the alarms placed around the door. Apparently, they were expecting someone else, and not a blubbering 6 year old boy. They kneeled down in front of him and began asking all sorts of questions. "Why'd you take that toy?" was the one that was repeated the most.

Edym sniffed a few times before he answered. "I just wanted a toy to play with. All the other kids have one and my parent's can't afford one." Something in his tone made the officers believe him, and by the time his parent's found him, he had a couple new toys, a chocolate bar, and a smile on his face.


End file.
