Beginning of Destiny

[Ban Mido]

Originally Posted by Haku

Great chapter, you're really improving with each new addition.

Heh, thanks. It really is one of the only things I can take pride in. If I don't give it my very best, It'd would feel like cheatin myself and my readers.. I'm glad I'm improving.

[Ban Mido]

Chapter 12: Fare thee well Setzer, See ya later Rinoa!

As soon as Setzer landed, the audience cascaded into the street to mob the young teen hero as if he were the next big idol. Before he could react, he was surrounded by the crowd with no escape. They started asking questions that he didn’t know the answer to and started panicking, looking for an escape path. He kept looking back and forth for an opening, any opening.

PHWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!

The sound of a whistle blasted throughout the square, piercing the eardrums of the entire crowd. Covering their ears to protect their hearing, everyone looked in the direction of the source of the irritating sound to see Perez blowing on a brass referee’s whistle as hard as he can. Once he ran out of breath, and caught the attention of everyone in a three block radius, he returned it to his pocket.

“Okay, that’s enough. Break it up! Break it up!” Perez ordered, shoeing away the crowd with an annoyed look on his face. The crowd dispersed, groaning with annoyance for being dismissed. As the crowd left, Perez wandered up with a big smile on his face.

“Thanks for the save.” Buddy chuckled nervously, breathing a sigh of relief. Perez couldn’t help but laugh in amusement.

“No problem.” The elder man chirped, resting his fists on his hips. “I must say, that was amazing. You are deceptively strong.”

“Really?” Buddy replied. His thoughts momentarily went back to his experience with the Keyblade in the antique store. Now that he thought about it, it wasn’t something that would be considered ‘normal.’ He realized that he would have to think about it later.

“BUDDY!!” a familiar high pitched squeal screamed out in joy. He barely turned around to see the source, when he was glomped by an excited Olette, capturing him into a big bear hug.

’BUDDYTHATWASSOCOOLHOWDIDYOUDOTHATYOUACTUALLYBEATS ETZER!!” She squealed in one breath, her arms still wrapped around the exasperated Buddy, unable to free himself from the girl's grip.

”Olette…. you’re…..crushing…….me”. Buddy whispered, unable to take in air from Olette’s monster hug. Rinoa, as always, follows a step behind the girl.

“OLETTE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, LET HIM GO! HE’S STARTING TO TURN BLUE!” the educator shouted, catching the attention of the girl. Olette immediately released the blond haired teen, and he took in a deep breath, his lungs freed from the girl’s grip. This girl is detrimental to my health!

“Sorry!” She said shyly, tilting her head slightly in a show of innocence. “But I couldn’t help myself. That was just so cool!”

“That was impressive.” Rinoa stated, repeating Perez’s and Olette’s sentiments.

“Thanks!” he replied with slight embarrassment, his cheeks blushing slightly. But the red quickly faded from his cheeks as he stood around as if a slight thought was rolling around in his head. “But he really didn’t seem all that strong. What was the big deal about that guy?”

“Well…” Perez drawled, thinking back a couple years. “I guess you could say he’s a victim of his own success.”

“Huh?” The three chanted in unison, not sure of the meaning behind Perez’s remark.

“Back before he became the champion, he would train day in and day out, all to claim the Struggle championship. When he finally claimed it, challengers started calling him out almost daily. Eventually, as he started defeating more and more people, the challengers stopped coming, saying that it was a futile effort to Struggle against him, calling him unbeatable! With no one to challenge him, Setzer wasn’t practicing as much as he used to, and eventually he stopped training all together. Instead, he just spent all of his time showboating and gambling his life away, thinking that he was unstoppable.”

“I see…” Rinoa whispered loudly with a look of empathy on her face. “I guess it was only a matter of time before somebody brought him down. When he fell, he fell hard and fast. It makes me wonder if somebody like him could actually have the strength to recover.”

By this time, Setzer had gotten up and had already walked over to where his coat laid. Feeling like he should say something, Buddy walked over to him as Setzer kneeled to retrieve his coat, stopping a few feet away.

“Uh, hey Setzer…” Buddy muttered nervously, scratching his cheek slightly. Setzer paused as he kneeled down, his hand on his coat. He didn’t bother to turn his head and look the youth in the face. Buddy couldn’t think of exactly what to say to consol solemn champion. He improvised and thrust out his fist into the air, thumb sticking straight up, and gave a wink with his with his right eye. “Good match!”

“You…. You beat me.” Setzer said in a hushed, almost whisper like tone as the reality of what happened slowly sunk in. He slowly retrieved his coat and stood back up.

“Yeah… I guess I did.” Buddy replied, a little uncomfortable at the moment. He fidgeted slightly. I hope he doesn’t carry a grudge.

“I… I feel… humbled.” The champion lamented, still not looking towards the boy, now joined by the others, observing silently. Setzer quietly returned his coat over his shoulders, still not facing the group.

“Hey, it’s not like the match meant anything! Don’t take it so hard!” the teen replied. He stuck out his right hand, palm open, in a gesture of friendship. “Bygones?”

Setzer paused for a moment, and then quickly turned around and grabbed the boy’s and pulled nervously in slightly, looking deep into the boy’s eyes. Buddy gulped nervously as Setzer glared at him with intensity.

“It’s up to you now.” He dictated with authority. “I’m leaving it to you to represent Twilight Town. Don’t lose.” He then released Buddy’s hand and quickly walked away.

”Wait!” Buddy called out after him through cupped hands. ”What do you mean?”

It was too late though, as Setzer disappeared into the crowd. All Buddy could think to say was “You forgot your Struggle bat.”

He then noticed an envelope in his right hand. Setzer must have slipped it in when he grabbed it. “What’s this?”

Why don’t you open it to find out?” Olette stated, a little curious as to what it could be.

“Okay, okay…” Budd said. He noticed that the top of the envelope was already cut open. He reached in and pulled out a ticket with the words ‘Special Pass’ emblazed on it, followed by a lot of fine print.

“GAH!” Perez gasped, taken back by the sight of the slip of paper. “That’s a pass to go straight past the preliminaries matches and straight into the first round of the Struggle Slam!”

“NO WAY!” The two females said loudly in disbelief. ”WHY WOULD SETZER GIVE AWAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT!”

“This may sound stupid…” Buddy muttered, once again finding himself out of the loop. “But what’s ‘struggle Slam?’ Is it some kind of tournament?”

“Only the biggest Struggle tournament EVER!” Olette explained loudly. “It’s the only thing that Struggle junkie Hayner has been able to talk about all summer!”

“It is?” Buddy replied, not seeing the significance of the statement. Rinoa, who noticed that really did nothing to alleviate the boy’s confusion, decided to step in.

“Vague much Olette?” Rinoa scoffed, and then turned towards Buddy. ”Basically, it’s a tri-annual tournament, attracting Strugglers from across the continent. The first round is a free-for-all battle against all the qualifying Strugglers, Taking a whole day with the ring being a entire section of Dawn City, the largest on the continent! At the end of the day, the eight Strugglers with the best scores remaining are the winners and move on to the final rounds.”

“Wow, really?” Buddy gasped, impressed with the sheer scope one tournament could have. “And I suppose that since he was a champion, he was given a free pass into the first round without having to go through the prelims?”

“Yep.” Perez replied. “The champions of all of the major areas are given such a pass. Most of them tend to use it to stake out the first round area, Downtown Dawn city, and find places to pick off other contestants one by one.”

“But why would Setzer give me something like this?” Buddy inquired, staring at the ticket. Perez had a look of contemplation and wonderment about him as he looked on in the direction of Setzer’s departure.

“It’s because you reminded him of why he became a struggler in the first place.” Perez stated with his hands held behind his back, sounding almost like a scholar imparting ancient wisdom to a new generation.

“What do you mean?” The youth inquired. Perez heaved a sigh as he went off on a tangent to the conversation. The three others listened intently.

“When I first met Setzer, struggling was his dream. He wanted so much to improve, to become better than he already was. I saw something in the lad that I knew could be the potential for something grand. Back then, he wasn’t anything like he is today. He was considerate, kind, and valued fairness above all else. It seemed like he was doing all the right things. But then…”

Perez turned around, and with a solemn look on his face, he shook his head in disappointment.

“But then he finally managed to win Twilight Town’s Championship. And as I’ve said before, that was when everything went sour. He stopped practicing, started gambling, and began carrying that god awful ego around with him where ever he went. I still can’t believe how it could have gone so wrong.”

Perez walked over towards Buddy and placed his hand on the youth’s shoulder and looked in the boy’s eyes with a smile on his face.

“But you reminded him of something very important. He thought he was the strongest there was until he lost to you. It helped him realize that the old saying was true: ‘There is always someone better.’ Someone who is better Struggler, a better fighter, and a better person. If he remembers this, then I have no doubt that there’s hope for him. As long as he carries this in his heart, I have no doubt that he will make that ‘someone better’ himself.”

Perez looks back down the street, a look of certainty on his face.

“When he returns, I have no doubt that he will be a stronger opponent.”

“Anyways…” He said as he turned back towards the three. “It’s time I got back to my wife. If she comes out of the store and notices that I’m gone, there will be hell to pay!”

He grabbed the struggle bat from Buddy and replaced it with the munny sack, already containing the roll of fifty thousand munny.

“You should really consider fighting in Struggle Slam.” He encouraged, grinning like the fanatic that he is. “I would love to see more of your moves. And don’t worry about the Struggle bat! I’ll make sure it gets returned to Setzer.”

He walked off, leaving the three standing in a dumbfounded silence until Olette broke it, saying “Man, Hayner is going to be sooo pissed when he finds out.”

“I’d… imagine.” Rinoa replied, not really paying attention. Buddy suddenly snapped out of his amazement, and rummaged through his munny sack.

“Rinoa?” He said, catching the teacher’s attention. He plopped the roll of munny into her hands. Rinoa’s jaw immediately hit the floor at the astronomical amount for a teenager to have.

“B-B-B-BUT HOW!? WHY!? WHAT FOR!?” She stuttered in exasperation. Olette was stunned silent to see some who she knew didn’t have a munny to his name suddenly had more munny than her, even if she saved up for a year.

“Setzer said I had to ‘bet’ to play. All I had was the munny you gave me. It wouldn’t be right for me to keep it”

“That’s nice but…” Rinoa drawled uncomfortably, trying to resist the temptation of pocketing the munny, she grabbed Buddy’s hand and placed the roll in, closing the hand into a fist. Sometimes, it just doesn’t pay being a good citizen. “I gave that munny to you. It was yours to keep and do with what you wished. I couldn’t just take it back from you.”

“But—“

“No buts!” She said sharply and with a slight glare. Buddy could see that there was no way for him to win, so he turned to Olette and opened his munny pouch containing eighty-one hundred munny.

“How much do I owe you for the clothes?” He asked the brightly dressed girl. Olette tilted her head slightly and crossed her arms in a pose of mock thought.

“Tell you what…” She said slyly, leaning towards him slightly. “You treat me to sea salt ice cream, and we’ll call it even okay?”

“Fine…” The youth conceded, realizing that arguing with her would be equally pointless. The two girls giggled at the defeated youth.

“Well, I’ve got to get going.” Olette said with a smile. “It was nice meeting you Buddy. Olette, remember what we talked about!”

“I will! See you later Ms. Heartily!” Olette called out.

“Nice meeting you too!” Buddy replied after the woman.

“See you guys around!” she called out with a wave as she walked away into the crowd.

Chapter 12: Fare thee well Setzer, So long Rinoa: End
-----
Author's Notes:
Sorry about the double post.

Anyways, I decided to let Setzer go with his Dignity intact. I figured what's left of it could get destroyed in KH2. I did plan on him returning later, but figured that having him go bye bye would work better for the story, and be easier overall.

And we will be seeing Rinoa again, but not for a while. She still has a part to play.

If things work out like I intend, we should be out of Mall Street in the next four chapters at the least. I feel like I'm spending too much time here. But some cool stuff happens before they leave, and I'm getting really antsy about this one cool seen about-- Well you're just gonna have to find out.:sneaky:

And another quick announcement: I decided that I should update on a weekly basis, on a specified day. I'm not sure which though, so I'm leaving that decision up to you guys! post the day that you think would work best!

Until the next chapter, Let's keep doing our best!:thumbup:

[Dantés de Divinity]

O_o nice dude!
bowchickawowwow

[Merlin326]

good chapter there. a story like the one you gave for Setzer never gets old in my book. as far as what day you should post, i say midweek (Wednesday) would be good.

with all due respect,
Merlin326

[Ban Mido]

I am considering wensday, but I want to hear what some of the other readers think first.

[Dantés de Divinity]

Whatever dude take your time.
bowchickawowwow

[Roxi-chan]

WoOoOoW.Coooooool. Roxi-chan likie a lotie. Keep up the good work!! Also, posting midweek sounds good to meh.

[Ban Mido]

Okay, I'm guessing I'll be updating mid week from now on! Although, I don't think I'll be able to have the next chapter by next wensday. But it'll be up the wensday after!

Edit: Holy Crap! 8 votes! Still 5.00! WOO! THANKS ALL!

[Nelo Angelo]

excellent chapter my friend. setzer has left the building. loved it.

[nojerom_14]

whoa. nice. and i'll go with Merlin, post Wednesday, that would be nice.

[Ban Mido]

Nine votes! Sweet!

And now, you're regularly scheduled fan fic.
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Chapter 13: Side Stepped Side Story #II: Wind blowing through Space

In Traverse Town’s District three, the sounds of battle ring out. Black creatures crawl over the confined square, all poised to attack an odd trio of adventurers. They dissolved into dark wisps of vapor as they were struck. One of them, a mage, cast spell after spell to cover the two warriors, magically induced lightning and fire crackling in the air.

“WATCH OUT FOR THE HEARTLESS ON YOUR LEFT SORA!” A large dog like being called out to his colleague, defending from the attack of creature wearing a helmet and some a strange heart shaped mark on its chest. He swung the same shield he brandished in defense against the creature around and struck it down.

“I SEE IT GOOFY!” A brown haired youth hollered back. He brought his weapon, which appeared to be a Keyblade, back and threw it at what looked like a large balloon type creature with a mouth. True to what it resembles, it popped, releasing black vapor when it was struck.

“THUNDER! FIRE!! BLIZZERD!!!” A duck like being called out in a scratchy voice, waving his wand in the air violently. The corresponding lightning, fireball, and ice blast flew out of the wand and blasted away the black creatures.

As the battle raged in the square, a lone spectator watches quietly from the roof tops. Wrapped in a dark leather cloak, he has his right arm resting on his left knee, which he has propped up on the edge guard of the building. He looks on, analyzing them with scrutiny. He seems interested particularly in the brown haired youth, paying the other two no mind.

Suddenly, a burst of air came out of nowhere and nailed him in the face, catching him of guard. It knocked off the individual’s hood revealing a man in his late thirties. He had an eye patch over his right eye and a large scar coming up from under the left side of his chin, up his cheek, and stopping just under his remaining, piercing yellow eye. His greasy, unkempt, black hair was tied back in a pony tail with a rubber band. He stumbled back slightly before managing to regain his footing.

“You know how dangerous that is Xigbar. Standing so close to the edge like that.”

“Xaldin!” The Xigbar said with slight annoyance as he looked up. Hovering in the sky, there was a man roughly the same age as he, wearing the same attire as he, standing on a spear that was floating in mid air. He had his hood over his head and held his fists behind him in a posture of strict discipline.

“I never get tired of seeing you ride those spears of yours through the air like that.” Xigbar said, ignoring the rather rude and spiteful hello his colleague gave him. “And you approached without making a sound. Simply amazing.”

“It’s nothing.” Xaldin replied coldly. The spear he was riding on vanished in a gust of air, dropping him straight down. He landed with his hands still behind his back, not breaking his posture even to bend his knees slightly to lessen the impact of the landing. He removed his hood, revealing a stark contrast between his appearance and his colleague. His hair was done in several perfectly braided strands that he wore from a top knot on the back of his head. His features were well kept, and he had an air of class about him. He looked at the scruffy looking Xigbar with his blue eyes filled with disdain. “It is only a fraction of what one is capable of when they know everything there is to know about their element, and have spent the time to train in the ways to properly use that knowledge. You are wasting your talents and your element, Xigbar. If you would only apply yourself, you could be capable of so much! Why, ripping open a black hole in the fabric of space wouldn’t be beyond your abilities.“

Xigbar listened to Xaldin’s lecture haphazardly, cleaning his right ear with his pinky. Once Xaldin was finished, the two stood silently for a moment, Xigbar examining his pinky.

“HEY! Didn’t you hear anything I said!” Xaldin snarled in demand. Catching Xigbar’s attention, he shrugged his shoulders with a big grin plastered on his face, as if to dismiss Xaldin’s speech.

“That’s easy for you to say!” He chided, not taking the notion seriously, much to the annoyance to his cohort. Getting on Xaldin’s nerves was Xigbar’s favorite past time. Lucky for him, it was pretty easy. “Do you know how many areas of study where space can be a factor? There’s astrology, astronomy, quantum physics, just to name a few. My brain would fry from all that scientific nerd speak! No thanks! Besides, I have my own way of doing things.”

“Whatever.” Xaldin droned, not even bothering to argue with the Nobody.

“So, did you catch a whiff of the Kahuna’s breath?” Xigbar asked, changing the subject.

“Ugh, don’t remind me of that stench! Something that rancid shouldn’t come out of that end. And he had to have a surprise inspection of the castle. It’ll take months for me to air out the castle and be rid of that smell.” Xaldin complained.

“It got into my hair. I couldn’t stand the smell so I had to wash it.” Xigbar whined
“You should do that more than once a year, you know.”

“Come again?”

“Nothing. Shouldn’t we get down to business?” Xigbar asked. The two walked towards the edge overlooking District three, and looked down at the trio below, still in battle.

“Is that him?” Xaldin asked after returning his hands behind his back, starring down at the brown haired boy.

“Yep.” Xigbar replied, joining his gaze with Xaldin’s. “That’s got to be him. The new kid’s other.”

“What makes you so sure that there is even going to be a thirteenth anyways?”

“I like to keep my “ears” open. Listen in on the lesser’s conversations. Paying attention to the Saix’s and Big Kahuna’s behavior helped too. It’s pretty easy to piece it together once you have all the facts.”

“Intriguing.” Xaldin said silently.

“Between you and me, it’s sort of a letdown.” Xigbar moaned in disappoint. “I mean, I got all excited to hear that there was a new Keyblade wielder, and it turns out to be some kid who can’t even swing it properly!”

“Are you comparing him to those three from ten years ago?” Xaldin guessed as he glanced at Xigbar for a moment. “We should be considering ourselves lucky. Wielders of their level could be… problematic, for us.”

“I guess…” Xigbar groaned, still sounding disappointed.

“Why would Xemnas and Saix keep a possible thirteenth a secret?” Xaldin inquired, a hint of anger in his voice.

Xigbar turned around and walked into the building a little before turning back around. He gave a shrug.

“Who knows? I’ve never really understood how Kahuna thinks. And since Saix is his bitch, so he wouldn’t tell anyone if the Kahuna said not to.”

“He looks pretty normal. Not like a Heartless at all.” Xaldin said in observation as he turned back around to face Xigbar. “Are you sure he has a Nobody?”

“Oh, I’m sure.” Xigbar retorted with certainty. He dug through his pocket and pulled out a memory card. He flicked it at Xaldin at an amazing speed. “Check it.”

Xaldin caught the speeding storage device and stared at it momentarily without a word. He retrieved a handheld computer from his own pocket and inserted the memory card into one of its slots and accessed his contents. His eyes went wide as the statistics of the boy they were discussing came up on his handhelds screen, some sort of coded language flashing back and forth, relaying and listing information. He looked up toward Xigbar in slight shock. “This is…”

“Yep.” Xigbar said triumphantly. He held his hands behind his own back, partially to mock Xaldin, and started to pace back and forth. “That boy is a walking, talking Heart, or to be more precise, a Heart that is being protected by some false form, duplicating the most his appearance. He has no real body to speak of, and what little of his ‘soul’ he does have is pretty close to nada.”

“How is this possible!?” Xaldin said in disbelief. Xigbar gave a loud, sinister chuckle.

“This coming from an walking impossibility!!” He said with an evil grin. “We’re Nobodies, remember? Our very existence is impossible!”

Xaldin calmed himself down. He hated it when Xigbar was right.

“So, do you think this was brought about by the power of the Princesses of Heart?” Xaldin asked coldly with a scowl.

“How the hell should I know? This type of thing isn’t my specialty!”

While the two argued, a bright light flashed from the square, catching both of their attentions. As the light faded, the two returned to the edge to see what the cause was. The Heartless that had been crawling all over the square, and the brown haired boy was on one knee, holding onto his Keyblade, which was sunk into the concrete floor. The two dark clothed individuals stood on the roof top dumb struck as the youth retrieved his weapon and proceeded with his compatriots to the entryway Of District two.

“Well, that was… unexpected.” Xigbar muttered, still caught off guard of the youth’s attack. Xaldin, however, started glared at the boy, his thoughts racing.

This is bad. I think we gravely underestimated this boy. If he is capable of this only after such a short time with the Keyblade, if left alone, he’ll be a problem for us later on. The time to kill him…

”Wings of the Sky Lord!” Xaldin yelled with his arms stretched out. In an explosion of air, five spears appeared, hovering around him in a circular formation. Just as he summoned his weapons, the duck and the dog like beings entered a house next the door, the brown haired youth right behind them.


…IS NOW!

And with that thought, he threw his arms forward, and with a blast of air, the five spears followed suite, cutting through the air like missiles. Just as they were only a couple feet away from striking him down, about a fraction of a second after being launched, five portals opened up in their path. As each of the spears disappeared into the portals, five more appeared behind them, a lance launching out of each one, cracking through the roof and creating a large hole in the abandoned building’s topside, and several floors below, impaling themselves on the foundation of the structure. Before Xaldin could react, another portal opened right in front of his face and a hand appeared holding a gun like weapon with a large needle, the tip only inches from his face. It had a large circle top, and needles adorned the guard of the gun’s grip. He instinctively froze in his place.

“Hold on a second sparky!” Xigbar said snidely. He walked over to the immobile Xaldin, and hung himself on the man’s right side, draping his left arm over Xaldin’s shoulder, giving him the view of Xigbar’s hand disappearing into a portal. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“Xigbar…” Xaldin seethed in anger. “You have a lot of nerve, waving your Twin Satellite in my face!”

“Not as much nerve as you!” Xigbar said, hissing into Xaldin’s ear. “Don’t you remember what Kahuna said? The kid at the moment is verboten at the moment! You’re not exactly acting in the Organization’s best interest.”

”YOU ARE THE LAST ONE WHO SHOULD BE LECTURING ME ON THE ORGANIZATION’S INTEREST!” Xaldin roared.

“Hey! Settle down for a minute! Let’s just talk this out like civilized monsters, alright pal?”

“Xigbar…” Xaldin said under his breath, remembering the hatred he had for Xigbar back when they were both still under the apprenticeship of Ansem the Wise. “You have no idea how much joy it brings me that I am not, nor will I ever be, your ’pal!’”


After he hissed these words, Xigbar felt a sharp at the back of his head.

“Ah crap. I forgot about the sixth one.”

“Yes. Yes you did.” Xaldin cackled with a sneer. “Now you listen to me you uneducated, uncultured piece of excrement! Everything I do, I do for the Organization! What we just saw that boy do is an adequate example of his power. If that is what he is capable of as an incomplete being, and after such little experience with that weapon, if he is left to his own devices, he could become a genuine threat to the organization, even if he never realizes his true potential with the absence of a body and a soul. Is that meager pebble of a brain of yours grasping this so far?”

Xigbar just stood silently, the two of them frozen in a genuine standoff. The smile he had on earlier had disappeared.

“I’ll take your silence as a ‘yes.’” Xaldin continued. “Now combine that with your little theory. Bar none, the strongest chain that keeps our Organization together is the Sheer impossibility it is to locate our others. Our Hearts lost amongst the sea of Heartless, picking one out of the lot is a futile effort. Even a fool can see that. But it won’t apply to the thirteenth. If he were to ever learn of this boy’s existence, he’ll seek him out, compromising us in a way we’ve never been before! Don’t you understand what that means?”

Still, Xigbar remained silent.

“IT MEANS THAT NOT ONLY DOES THIS BOY THREATEN THE ORGANIZATION ‘S EXISTENCE, HE THREATENS THE ORGANIZATION’S STABILITY AS WELL! I REFUSE TO LET SOMEONE AS DANGEROUS TO US AS HIM LIVE JUST SO A BATTLE JUNKIE LIKE YOU CAN HAVE YOUR KICKS!”

Still, Xigbar remained silent.

“Xigbar…” Xaldin sighed. He continued onto a more serious topic. “Leave the Organization.”

His demands gave Xigbar a jolt. His eyes started to twitch slightly.

“I told you this before back when we were both apprentices. You don’t belong with us. You had no interest in the subject matter, you repeatedly skipped out on you studies, and you would leave for days on end. You were a lay about then, and you’re a lay about now. You are scum of the lowest common denominator. You don’t belong with the Organization. Release me right now, and never return to the Castle.”

“…”

“Well, don’t just stand there like an idiot! If you’ve got something to say, then say it and leave.”

“I say: you forgot that I have two hands!” Xigbar cackled. A shot rang out of the air, and a blue bolt struck the side of the lance, knocking it away. Another portal had opened up from the side, and Xigbar’s other hand held another gun like weapon. The portals disappeared, Xigbar’s hands returning to their proper place.

“It seems…” The Freeshooter hissed under his breath, clenching The Whirlwind Lancer’s chest tightly. “That number three needs to be reminded that, although Saix is Xemnas’s right hand, I’m still his number two!”

With that, Xigbar pulled down Xaldin violently, kneeing him hard in his back with such force, it would cripple anybody else. He then kicked him up in the air, once again grabbed
Xaldin by his chest, and slammed him into the paved roof, sending stone shards flying as the concrete spider webbed out from under the hurting Xaldin. Xigbar brought his gun straight under his captive’s chin.

“Have I got your attention?” Xigbar chided, continuing without even waiting for a reply. “Good. Now before I begin, I’ll concede to you this: You are right. I am crap. The scum of the Earth, scrape your boot on the sidewalk type of crap. But you know something?”

Xigbar brought his face up close to Xaldin’s. He looked deep into his eyes and spoke softly and with malice in his voice.

“I’m the kind of crap that gets shit done.”

“What do you mean?”

“And you were accusing me of being slow!” Xigbar barked. “Let me say it in words you understand. I work my but off! That’s the only reason that I’m not rotting in that god forsaken pile of rubble they are calling Castle Oblivion! Don’t you get what’s happening? The Kahuna is placing the useless ones off to the side, and keeping the ones who actually Work! And let me tell you friend, from what I’ve read on your performance report, you’re this close to joining four, five and six, snacking on leftover instant ramen! Do you understand me?”

“Yes.” Xaldin answered solemnly. I hate to admit it, but he’s good. Although, I’d never tell that to his face.

“Good.” Xigbar said, removing his gun from Xaldin’s chin and dismissing it. He stood back up as Xaldin crawled to his feet. “Just so we’re clear.”

“So, aren’t you going to prove to me how ‘wrong’ I am?”

“Yes. Yes I will. While it is true the brat is a danger to us, there is another, more immediate danger lurking about.”

“Which is?”

“The Kahuna’s Heartless.”

“I knew that already!”

“Well, since the Kahuna decided he not wanting anything to do with it, it’ll be dangerous for us to let it do whatever it pleases.”

“Now you’re just restating the obvious. What’s your point?”

“The POINT is, the boy with big Keyblade down there has decided to destroy the heartless and rescue his friend, which coincidentally, is currently in the clutches of Kahuna’s Heartless.”

Xigbar’s eyes flared, coming to a rather obvious revelation.

“You don’t mean…”

“Good lord he can be TAUGHT!” Xigbar sarcastically called out, throwing his arms into the air. “This is what we do! We let the brat keep going on his merry way, and let him take on the big bad Heartless. Even if he and his friends can’t beat Xehanort, they’ll at least weaken him enough for us org members to finish him off without any effort. And best case scenario, our two little problems finish each other off, and we won’t have to lift a finger.”

“And if he should win?”

“You saw the information on him. You know as well as I do that a body like his won’t last forever. Sooner or later, that false form of his will run out of steam, and when it does…”

“He’ll pop like a balloon.” Xaldin said with a smile.

“Exactly. All we have to do until then is make sure the new kid is too busy to ask questions. It’s as simple as that.”

“I hate to admit it…” Xaldin conceded. “But it’s a good idea.”

“I knew you liked me.” Xigbar chuckled.

“No I don’t.”

“Yes you do.”

“Stop it.”

“Stop what?”

“Existing.”

“Oh honey! Don’t be that way! What will the children think!”

And thus the two went on into the break of dawn.

Chapter 13: Side Stepped Side Story #II: Wind blowing through Space: End
---------
If you don't know what they are talking about near the begining of the chapter, check out chapter 3, part 4.

[Merlin326]

good chapter there. reminds me of Sora's quote "not a very orginized Orginization.

also, Xigbars "Good lord he can be TAUGHT!" line reminds me somewhat of Aladin when they first meet the genie

Genie: "that's right! he CAN be taught!" while magicly making diploma and collouge cap appear on Aladin.

is this intended, or am i merely seeing coincidence? anyway, good story.

with all due respect,
Merlin326

[Ban Mido]

Coincidental, actually. I actually thought of somethnig that Xigbar would say that could be sarcastic when somebody realizes something he would consider obvious. But now that you mention it, it did seem familiar when I was writing it, but I couldn't place where I heard it. Thanks for reminding me!

[Merlin326]

lol, glad to be of help then. the only reason i remembered the quote then was because i had just happened to watch said movie eariler today.

also (forgot to mention this earlier), i am interested in what other mischief (sp?) we will see Orginization XIII (or is it XII at the moment? lol) members get into.

with all due respect,
Merlin326

[Ban Mido]

Don't worry. I'm far from through with Org XII. You'll be seeing a lot more of those yahoos before the fanfic's through.

And on a seperate note: I LOVE MY NEW AVATAR!!!!

No reason as to why I did that. I just really, really, like it.