Ikurx - Ch 46 Part 1 of 2

Ikurx
By Kitteh and NeoFox
Rating: PG - 13
Warnings: Language, violence, romance
Pairings: Riku x Sora, Axel x Roxas
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and characters belong to Square Enix and Disney
Summary: After the defeat of Organization XIII, Sora and Riku find happiness in the simplicity of a normal life. A year later King Mickey sends a summons that the fight with the Organization isn't truly done yet. Light. Dark. As long as either exists the battle is never over.
Beta: NeoFox and Kitteh

Chapter
Part 1 of 2

The walk away from the desolate town and back to the ship was taken in silence. Neither Cloud nor Zax were still in the best of moods at having to drag along a Heartless on the trip, but they refused to argue over it anymore if Ikurx was so determined to let him into the group. The most Cloud did was scowl the entire way back while he continued to hold the tired Nobody in his arms.

As soon as the door to the ship opened to allow them inside Cloud had set Ikurx down on his feet and made sure he was steady before he pulled his arms away completely. The teen was still filthy and they would have to leave soon to find somewhere for him to get cleaned up, but for now it was just obvious that he needed some type of rest. "There's an extra bed and such through there." Cloud pointed a finger further down inside the ship. "You won't be bothered in there if you want to rest up." His eyes moved quickly to Demyx and he got some satisfaction in the way the Heartless flinched back from his gaze before he looked back at Ikurx. "Zax and I need to check in on the rest of the crew we're with. Will you be okay for now?"

Ikurx gave a few small nods, his actions languid from fatigue. His hand still weakly clung to Demyx's hand, toting the Heartless in tow like a small child would a comforting teddy bear.

Though, Zax was less subtle with his authority than Cloud. He took a few steps over to Demyx as he crossed his arms. He gave the Heartless a once over and when he looked Demyx in the eyes again he was less than impressed. "Try anything funny, Heartless, and I won't think twice- if you catch my drift." He gave Demyx a poke in the chest. "He's a good kid, and we're going to keep him that way."

Demyx stuttered a bit at the sudden threat. So far he had felt less then welcomed the few seconds he had stepped foot on the ship and things weren't turning out any better. Unconsciously his hand tightened around Ikurx's own as if Zax would rip him away from the Nobody in just that moment. "I wouldn't dream of it..." He spoke the words quietly while he tried his best to meet the man's gaze with his own narrowed eyes.

"He won't dream of it." Ikurx quietly cut off anything else Zax had to say. The squeeze to his hand had him at the Heartless' defense, despite how little energy he had to expend. He rubbed his eye with the cleanest part of the back of his hand. "Don't worry anymore Mister Zax, Mister Cloud. I'll be okay." Ikurx gave them a weak smile that was nothing more than the smallest perk of lips. He then turned to head down further in the ship to follow Cloud's direction to the extra bed, dragging Demyx with him.

Zax watched the two disappear down a corridor. He glanced over at Cloud unsurely. "It seems we've missed a lot of in-between with the kid." He ran a hand through his hair with a long sigh. "I can't believe we let a Heartless into the ship. The rest of our 'crew' isn't going to like this one bit."

Cloud kept his eyes on the part of the ship that the two had left through before his gaze fell away to the floor. "Tell me about it. It's just going to make the whole trip a bit more unbearable then it already is." He shook his head and finally looked at Zax. "I'm still trying to figure out how we're going to explain this to them. It was hard enough for us to take in."

Further in the ship Ikurx did his best to find the spare room. Even if it was just one hall, Ikurx was tired enough to get lost. He tried a few doors but found them to be storage spaces, it was the third door that finally rewarded him for his efforts. It wasn't a very big room, just big enough for a bed and some minor storage in the form of cabinets and drawers along the walls.

Ikurx didn't even bother with the bedding, and just walked over to the bed and fell on it. He didn't move after, content to be as a skewed on it as he was. It was much more comfortable than floors or alleyways, or any of the other places he'd woken up before. He'd only slept on a bed once in all of his existence. It wasn't as squishy as this bed, made out of the same material the entire strange ship was. It had a long exhausted sigh leaving the Nobody. He was quite content to leave his problems with his consciousness.

Demyx had let go of Ikurx's hand just as soon as the Nobody fell onto the bed. Even though the two of them were no longer in the presence of Cloud and Zax he still felt oddly out of place at the moment. He knew that Ikurx needed his rest after everything that happened, but being a Heartless, Demyx didn't need any sleep and suddenly felt very bored. If anything he just felt emotionally drained, but that would go away over time he hoped.

With a sigh, Demyx moved over to the wall that was closest to the bed and slid down it to settle. After everything he had done before they had been found he didn't want to move in on Ikurx's personal space any longer and figured it would be best to keep off the bed. He would have only been a disturbance anyway with how restless he felt.

"Mister Demyx?" the Nobody's words quietly spoke up. And soon Ikurx was peeking over the edge of the bed at the Heartless. "Aren't you tired?" He was a little surprised and perhaps a little disappointed that Demyx had chose the floor over sharing the bed with him. His mind was too cluttered with the day's drama to worry about minor details like feeling awkward.

Demyx quickly looked up and blinked both eyes before he stared at Ikurx. He hadn't expected the question from the Nobody and thought that he had already fallen asleep. "N-No, I'm not tired." He gave a bit of a shaky laugh as he tried to explain himself. "I... uh... well, I'm never really tired to tell the truth. It's one of the perks of being a Heartless I suppose. We have a lot of energy." He looked back down and rubbed at one of his arms. "I'm okay..."

"I'm tired," Ikurx quietly spoke up again. "I feel like I'm always tired," the quiet confession left his lips, before he could really think on it. "Even though I probably spend as much of my time unconscious as I do awake. It just never feels restful." He poked at the blankets. "Except that one time, kinda. You were asleep too." His hand stilled as he recalled how everything had just fallen apart after he woke up. Ikurx shut his eyes as he gripped the bedding. "... I'm sorry."

Demyx turned his attention back on Ikurx and was soon shaking his head. "No, Ikurx, don't apologize." Without thinking much about it he was soon moving towards the bed to climb up and sit beside the Nobody. "You have no reason to apologize. You've been through a lot, you know. None of this is your fault. You don't have to say you're sorry for anything you say or do." He gave the teen a small smile while his hands fidgeted in his lap.

Ikurx slowly opened his eyes to see Demyx's smiling face. Despite what heavy thoughts rolled around in his mind, Ikurx couldn't help smiling just a little back. But just as quickly the smile was lost. "... Ignorance isn't a very good excuse not to be sorry." He rolled a little on his back and looked up at the orange gummi ceiling. "It's like having a split personality that's running amuck." He gave a small wet sniff. "It's you, but not you, and you can't do anything." Ikurx rubbed his eyes with the wrist warmer, keeping it there after. "That's me... the real me."

Demyx let out a sigh and turned his attention down to his hands. They twisted around in his lap for a few seconds as he tried his best to think of the right words to say. Not being good at confrontation only meant he was even worse at talking things through. "You should just be more focused on getting better. You shouldn't be fretting over what's happened in the past. You're on this ship, back with your friends. Things are looking up for you now, don't you think?" He glanced back at Ikurx once again.

"... I'm bad luck. I'll only bring that bad luck on them again." Ikurx let his arm fall back on the bed. "Riku might try to find me again. What if it starts up all over again? Mister Cloud and Zax are only human." That thought alone brought new energy in the form of adrenaline and Ikurx forced himself up to sit. He wasn't in his right mind anymore. Panic crossed his face while his eyes remained emotionless. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come back with them."

Demyx was quick to reach a hand out to push it on Ikurx's chest to try and force the teen back down. "Ikurx, everything is fine. Riku let us go, remember? Besides, even if any of that were true, Cloud and Zax, they know how to fight perfectly well. They can take care of themselves. You have nothing to worry about." He placed his other hand on Ikurx's shoulder while he moved a bit to settle even closer to the teen. "They weren't going to leave you all alone. They're determined to bring you with them. They care about you." He tried his best to give a small smile once again, but it was weak at best.

Ikurx was reluctant to lie back down, but Demyx was so much stronger. All Ikurx could do was stare up at the Heartless with such distant worry in his glazed eyes, while the rest of his face was plainly distraught. The Nobody blinked his eyes forcing a small tear out, but it wasn't from emotion, just excessive moisture in his eyes. "... But I can't care back," the small words left him matter-o-factly. It was a disturbing thing to say but more disturbing to realize. It had Ikurx's eyes widening. "No... I don't mean that." He looked away, though he knew the anger at himself was only skin deep; aesthetic purposes only.

Once Ikurx was rested back on the bed, Demyx took it upon himself to lie down as well. He kept himself propped up on his side so he could still look down at Ikurx as best he could to continue consoling the Nobody. "You're a very kind individual, Ikurx. The fact that you're worried so much over their well being shows that you care. You can't let the fact that you're a Nobody continue to haunt you so much. It will eat away at you." His eyes narrowed in his own show of worry.

Ikurx blinked his eyes slowly before he turned his head back to look at Demyx now beside him. All of what the Heartless said rang true in his mind. True enough, good enough. Without another painful word or argument Ikurx rolled over to cling to Demyx's front. How much Ikurx just wanted to cry, to let the aching weight of his trauma out. To just let out the hopeless misery that was constantly swallowed up by the offending nothing in his chest, that's all he wanted right now. But all that came from Ikurx were a few whimpered sounds and then silence.

Demyx's hands immediately lifted up away from Ikurx as soon as the teen clung to him. He hadn't expected such a close encounter so suddenly. Demyx couldn't help feeling a little awkward about it after what happened much earlier. It was how tight the teen's hands were on him and the whimpered sounds which had Demyx giving in. Slowly his arms fell down to wrap around the Nobody, but didn't cling very tight. "It's okay..." He couldn't help the comforting words despite the sudden silence while one shaking hand moved up to run through pale hair.

The Nobody kept still in Demyx's arms. It was hard to tell if Ikurx was drawing comfort from the Heartless' nervous attempts. He didn't speak again, so it was hard to tell if his worries were quelled. Though as the seconds ticked into minutes the Nobody began to relax, his shoulders untying their tension as his death grip on Demyx's shirt lessened. Ikurx’s breath slowed to a more relaxed pace and every so often he would give a wet sniffle.

Demyx's shaking had stopped over time and only fingers still moved through hair while he continued to comfort the body against him. He noticed that Ikurx's tight grip had weakened and it had him looking down at the Nobody with concerned eyes for a moment. In the back of his mind he thought that maybe Ikurx had fallen asleep and would feel horrible if he woke him, but he wanted to make sure he was feeling better. "Ikurx?" He spoke the name softly as his hand moved away from hair so fingers could move back down to a shoulder. "Are you feeling better?"

Ikurx gave a small nod. He felt better to keep his silence. If he kept quiet he wouldn't scare away the already nervous Heartless. He didn't want the Heartless to leave him just because of something stupid leaving his mouth.

"Good." Demyx managed a small smile because of that one simple nod. Just to know that he had helped Ikurx in some way was enough for him. He pulled back a bit so he could finally catch a glimpse of the Nobody's face and his smile weakened when he saw how Ikurx's face still seemed so strained. He was quick to move his hand down to touch the teen's face, pulling at a corner of Ikurx's lips with a finger to force half a smile on his face. "So cheer up."

Ikurx gave several blinks at having his mouth pulled up. An aged memory flickered in his mind, old and fuzzy, of Sora laughing, pulling his mouth wide; Riku! --Hey cut it out! -I'm not dreaming this time, right? I hope not, it took forever to find you. It wasn't Ikurx's, but something about Sora's young smiling face made him feel better. It brought a little bit of that strength that had been waning from him.

Ikurx gave a weak laugh and pulled Demyx's hand from his mouth. "I'll try." He kept Demyx's hands between his, finally relenting from his clinging hold on the Heartless' shirt. "I mean- I will." It was so much easier to bounce back from trauma when there weren’t any real emotions to hold you back. It was easier to move on, ignoring the echoes of hollow feelings haunting inside like little phantoms.

"That's good enough for me." Demyx tightened his other arm that was still around Ikurx while his eyes fell down to look at their hands. He couldn't help staring, amazed at his own self that he hadn't pulled away yet, but he really didn't want to. It was his own selfish wants that seemed to have taken over for that small moment and he let them for just the time being as he turned his attention back to Ikurx. "You've been through enough. It's about time you just relaxed, don't you think?"

Ikurx gave small nod. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He unconsciously tightened his hold on Demyx's hand with both of his. "... So much has happened. It's a little strange to be at a stand still. It's nice though, to see Mister Cloud and Zax. To see they're okay." He blinked up at Demyx. "I never expected them to be looking for me. I mean, not looking for me because they want what I can do, but looking for me because they want me. Ikurx the person, not Ikurx the No-one." He managed a small smile. "You're right, they do care... They wouldn't be giving you such a hard time if they didn't." Ikurx looked down at their hands. "It's nice. Feeling wanted, I mean. It's nice to forget the labels and just be who we thought we were." His smile fell a little. "... The church was so beautiful... I didn't know then that my gift was how they found me. But, when I brought Mister Zax back to Mister Cloud...-that's when Vexen took me. Larxene destroyed the church before then, while Mister Cloud and Zax tried to protect me." Ikurx pulled their hands to tuck them under his chin. "It was a nice church. The first place I can ever remember. So peaceful... The sun was so warm. I remember flowers when I first woke up. Flowers all around me. You would have liked it there, Mister Demyx."

Demyx looked down to watch as his hand disappeared under Ikurx' chin. The way the Nobody described the scene really did sound like something peaceful that he would have enjoyed hiding away in. It reminded him of his beach. A place where he felt safe away from the cruel fact that he was indeed a Heartless and at some point would have to join the battle going on around him.

"I'm sorry Larxene and Vexen did such horrible things." Demyx felt the need to take the blame for two people that had once been members of his own group so long ago. "They made your life difficult right from the start. If they hadn't of found you then maybe you could have just stayed with Cloud and Zax and been happy not knowing the truth." His eyes moved back up to look at Ikurx's face. "I'm sorry you had to be around such cruel Heartless."

Ikurx shook his head. "It was bound to happen, one way or another. All of it. I don't regret bringing back Mister Zax. I'm sure Mister Cloud prefers Mister Zax over a dilapidated church. And they did end up finding me." Under his chin he knitted his own fingers together to keep Demyx's hand cocooned in his. "I've learned it's a Heartless' nature to do bad things. It can't be helped sometimes. But there are good people who fight against their nature for things that matter most to them." Ikurx blinked his tired red rimmed eyes back up at Demyx with a rather curious expression. It was Demyx's blank glowing eyes that he seemed interested in a rather random turn. "What colour were your eyes?"

The sudden switch in the conversation seemed to throw Demyx for a loop. He hadn't expected such a thing from anyone, least of all Ikurx. Of course the Nobody had a rather curious nature about him if given the opportunity. Demyx couldn't really help indulging it even if the topic was about himself. "W-Well... um... kind of a mix between blue and green, I think. I never paid much attention to my eye color as a Nobody." He gave a shaky laugh after his words and dropped his gaze back down. He suddenly felt a bit strange about the glow his eyes gave. "They're a bit weird now I suppose, but it's what happens to most Heartless."

Ikurx gave a long quiet sound of acknowledgement. "Is there a difference with the eye types? I remember Axel's wasn't glowing. I would imagine the glow would help you see in the dark." He tilted his head as he watched Demyx's eyes curiously. "Does the world look different from the eyes of a Heartless than it does from the eyes of a Nobody?"

"Uhh... well." Demyx tried to pick out each question as he thought over them in his head. "The glow is just proof of how much the darkness has really taken a hold of us as Heartless, or, possibly how much we've allowed it to control us. Axel probably has better control over himself then most of us I'd assume. He'd have to if he plans to hang around Roxas all the time now that he has a heart." Demyx turned his attention back on Ikurx and his expression turned solemn. "It's difficult, not wanting to corrupt a heart that's so close to your fingertips; torture." His fingers twitched despite Ikurx having no heart at all. "In that sense, the world really does look different..."

Ikurx's hold on Demyx's hand loosened as he thought about what the Heartless said. It made sense. It was all so very sad, though Ikurx held no pity for the Heartless, or Demyx, or Axel for his torture now staying with a heart that he had given everything for. Curiosity only took the place of feigned emotion. Curiosity was in-between emotional and state of mind. Curiosity was real and his to keep; a cheat in the game, but real.
He then placed Demyx's hand in his on the left side of his chest. "Then I guess I am lucky to have no heart. You'd never want to hurt me. And I don't have to torture you." Ikurx gave a weak smile. "But I won't let you be a Heartless long."

Demyx slowly shook his head. "No, Ikurx. As of right now I'm fine just being a Heartless." He gave a weak smile. "I don't want you to be forced into running away again. They'll try to come after you once more and I just want you to have some kind of peace however long it is. Even if it means I have to stay like this." His fingers curled around Ikurx's shirt while he continued to speak. "The thought that you would put me before anyone else makes me feel more wanted then I've felt in a while." He bit his lips after those words, but tried to shrug off his sudden nervousness. "I just want you to be safe..."

The Nobody watched Demyx's expression for a moment. Despite Demyx's selfless choice Ikurx didn't look away. It was touching in a way Ikurx had never experienced. No one had ever told him not to use his gift when they wanted it. If life was torture as a Heartless at times, to fight instinct, it truly meant something to Ikurx to know that Demyx chose suffering over endangering his safety.
Even still, Demyx didn't want him to worry about it.

"Demyx..." Ikurx's voice fell quieter, though it kept the same curious tone. "What colour are my eyes?"

Demyx's attention snapped right to Ikurx's eyes and he couldn't help but stare. For seconds he kept his mouth shut as he was reminded of those cold dead eyes that belonged to the Nobody's other. He almost couldn't bring himself to answer until he remembered that the two weren't at all one in the same. Ikurx was far more kind. The eyes he looked into would never hold such hatred. "They're... green." He stopped and shook his head. "No... more like aqua. They're really unique." He finally gave a real smile instead of something nervous. "Very pretty."

Ikurx pursed his lips for a moment and then gave a small laugh. It felt like years since he'd laughed, when it probably had only been hours or days. "You think I'm pretty?"

Demyx's eyes shot wide open at such a question and he began to stutter. "N-No..." He realized that only sounded worse and had to cover that mistake up as well. "No, I don't mean no. What I mean is... I was talking about your eyes... but... um... I don't mean you aren't. Uhh... you're very um... well..." He quickly clamped his mouth shut. He knew he was only making things harder for himself and looked away in embarrassment.

Ikurx gave another soft laugh. "It's alright. You don't have to say it. I'm sure I look a lot like Him. So I guess in retrospect you're complimenting him." He gave a weak shrug of shoulder. He could already tell by the way Demyx was hesitant to talk about his eyes that Riku had crossed his mind. For Ikurx it would never leave. "... No one likes him except for Sora. So, it's understandable."

Demyx shook his head back and forth a good many times. He still couldn't figure out what to say, especially in response to all of that. He suddenly felt horrible for his hesitation on the subject. He didn't want Ikurx to be upset all over again. It seemed so counter productive when just seconds ago the Nobody had been laughing. Before Demyx could stop himself he leaned forward to stop any other words Ikurx had to say by placing his lips on top of the Nobody's own. It was all he could think to do to make Ikurx's doubts go away and much like before his hands started to shake.

It was only a quick touch of lips and Demyx pulled back almost instantly to look at Ikurx with wide eyes. In seconds they lowered a bit, but it was easy to tell that he was still nervous by the shaking in his voice when he finally spoke up. "You're nothing like him. You're so much better then him."

Warmth was quick to spread across Ikurx's cheeks. His third kiss ever and it was in the span of the same day. It stopped all the other swarming thoughts in his mind, causing them to melt together, filling the hollow in his chest with something warm. He almost missed Demyx's shaky words. "I... um..." Ikurx couldn't think of anything to say. He opened and closed his mouth but could only look shyly away. "Oh. Okay," the agreeing words left him just as shyly.

Demyx kept his eyes on Ikurx for a few seconds as he watched the Nobody deal with the situation as well. What he had just done seemed to hit the Heartless head on and he quickly averted his eyes as he realized where it was he had just kissed the Nobody for a third time. The two humans that were so protective of Ikurx could have walked in at any moment and it would have been the end of Demyx. He suddenly felt like he had a death wish and it caused him to let out a nervous sound in the back of his throat before he looked back at Ikurx. "S-Sorry..." He couldn't help the apology. It was automatic by now.

"I-it's alright," Ikurx quietly consoled. He shyly looked back to Demyx, though the Heartless was now the one looking away. "It doesn't hurt. There's nothing to apologize for." He seemed to realize something. "Though, you're shaking a lot. Maybe it hurts you." From behind Demyx's hand he twined his fingers with the Heartless', his other hand kept on top to hopefully quell the shaking. "... Maybe my lips are broken too."

Demyx was quick to shake his head at such words as his attention went right back to Ikurx. "No, of course not.” He couldn't help letting out a quick laugh at such a thing, mostly because of how his own nervousness had been taken. "You're not broken, Ikurx. I'm just nervous, that's all. After everything that's happened I just feel like I'm going to do something wrong at any moment." His smile slowly faded and he looked down at their hands. "I mean, I screwed up so badly with Axel... it would only make sense that I'd probably screw up just the same again. I don't want to mess anything up, but it's hard not just going on impulse and taking what I want."

Ikurx made a small acknowledging noise. A thoughtful noise soon followed after. "If you didn't fight the impulse, where would you take me? There isn't much place we could go. And there isn't much to do with me once we get there." He was quite naive at times, but his personal experience in the world was limited. "You can't hurt me. I doubt there's anything you could do that would hurt me worse than what I've experienced so far." He gave a weak sound akin to a chuckle. "So unless you plan to steal me away and poke me with wires, I’ll be alright, Mi-- Demyx."

Ikurx lifted his one hand on their twined hands to slip his arm around to run a few fingers through the dark mane of hair that fell down the back of Demyx's head. The action was small and he rested his hand at the back of Demyx's head to pull it down so Ikurx could lift his own head to place a lingering kiss to the treble clef symbol center of the Heartless' forehead. Afterwards Ikurx let his lips brush down to the bridge of Demyx's nose. He quietly whispered, "You can't screw me up."

The one bold action had something fluttering inside Demyx that he couldn't quite place. Just the simple fact that it was Ikurx that had kissed him instead of the other way around, despite it being elsewhere on skin, made it even better then the few he had placed on the Nobody's lips. Especially when pressed to the lone symbol on his forehead. The words whispered near his skin had him blinking his eyes slowly before he gave a bit of a crooked smile. "You don't know that." He spoke quietly in response. The earlier questions to his own words were moving about in his mind and he tried to stay focused. "If I went on impulse then I wouldn't have cared at all about what you said or thought the first time I kissed you. My instinct as a Heartless tells me that I shouldn't care about you at all...but...I do know that I don't want to hurt you like the others have. I'd rather ignore everything I am..."

Despite what Demyx said Ikurx still smiled, the Heartless could feel it against his skin. "You'll be whole soon, sometime. I promise. And you won't have to worry about those instincts anymore." His fingers lazily toyed with Demyx's dark hair, petting down the trail down to the back of his neck. "Then you can tell me what it's like too. I'm sure you can describe it better than Roxas."

The fingers that moved down through his hair had Demyx's eyes nearly slipping shut. He was sure that if he actually needed sleep he would have been quick to doze off because of such actions. Instead he used them to help himself finally relax. Still, he heard Ikurx's last few words and even with his eyes closed his curiosity was obvious in his voice. "You talked to Roxas about being human?"

Ikurx nodded but in the end it turned into a small nuzzle, and he rested his head against Demyx's. "I did," his words fell quieter. "When we thought Axel didn't make it I woke up and heard him attacking the wall. So I tried to help him feel a little better by talking to him... About Axel, about being human... if it was all worth it." His hand stilled as he remembered the moment; so many tear streaks on Roxas' dirty face. "He said it was. Even if Axel was gone, he could now feel what he was suppose to now. He could properly mourn him. Cry for him." Ikurx ran his fingers along a lock of hair, gently twirling them between his fingers. "I asked him what crying was like too... He said it felt good, because it gets his sadness out and lets others know he's suffering too." His smile went sad and he shifted to move closer to Demyx, just needing to needed; feel like some semblance of a normal human being. "I can fake any human emotion except for tears. ...The tears seem to know that I'm lying."

With all the words said Demyx felt a little bad for his outburst at Roxas in that small alley. The former Nobody had obviously been devastated and Demyx had fallen back on his jealousy, finding it so much easier to blame Roxas for what happened. He didn't dwell on the thought too long as his attention turned back on Ikurx, his eyes opening back up to try and glance at the Nobody that was so close. "I wish I could help you." He freed a hand to move it up, resting it on top of Ikurx's head. "I used to remember some things about being human, but those memories feel like they're missing now." He gave a thoughtful sound before he went on. "Heartless can cry, but it feels so shallow and empty when we do it. It just makes the pain worse." He clung a little to the teen and held him closer. "I'm sorry that these things are troubling you so much. It's hard...I know..."

"I'm not troubled. As long as I have someone to talk to I don't feel bad." Ikurx made a soft sound. "It's hard to describe how I feel sometimes. It's kind of like... well, standing outside a circle. And in that circle are the people I've met. I can talk to them, touch them, and hear them. I can even bring people they know back into the circle with them; to laugh, to smile, to be apart of their lives again. But I can't ever enter the circle." He made a small thoughtful noise. "I can move around the circle. I can even mimic the smiles and laughter... But I know that I'll never be able to step over the border."

Demyx kept silent for a long while after the small explanation. His hand had stilled and fallen down to rest on Ikurx's back, making no other move. Finally, a cold touch was placed near the Nobody's temple as Demyx brushed his lips near to place a quick kiss right before he spoke. "I'll try my best to help you feel like you're part of that circle... no matter what..." He pulled back so he could look down at Ikurx's face and managed a small smile even after such bold words.

Ikurx felt his chest tighten with those words and that small kiss. It felt like such a waste, all of Demyx's efforts, when there would be nothing wholly substantial he would ever get in return no matter how much he tried. Still, Ikurx felt so touched, he wanted to believe every word. "Really?" His small smile came back. His hand had fallen from Demyx's hair to trail fingers along the Heartless' face since it was so close; just small curious movements. "How will you do that?"

Demyx's smile turned a little shy, mostly because of the sudden touches to his face. He was still so hesitant to be too close to Ikurx for fear of doing something wrong, but the Nobody was willingly near him and had kissed him. That made it better. "Well, I don't want you to feel left out or worry over things so much." He drummed his fingers idly on Ikurx's back while he continued to speak. "I told you that you're my reason now, remember? So, I want you to know how special that makes you. I'll try my best to help you see how important you are, not because of who you are, but just how important you are to me." He stopped drumming and kept his hand still once more.

"O-oh." Ikurx gave a small nod; he hadn't forgotten. "Yeah." The colour darkened across his cheeks at such words; natural instinct working with conscious thought. "Then I guess I am in a circle. Your circle." His finger traced a circle around Demyx's cheek. It followed over the bridge of Demyx's nose and divided his lips, following around to end under his eye.

Demyx scrunched his face a bit at the touch. It wasn't unpleasant; he just wasn't used to it. The words had him grinning and every nervous feeling that had been left inside of him finally settled as he gave a slow nod. "That's right and I plan to keep you there as safe as can be." He let out a quick laugh. "Uh...I don't think your friends would be very fond of what I'm saying right now. They'd probably be happy just keeping you very far away from me."

"They can't worry if you're human. And you will be." Ikurx let his hands fall away in favour of being cuddled closer. He didn't seem to mind nor notice that Demyx wasn't warm to the touch. "Then it won't matter, right? Mister Cloud and Zax have nothing to fear then, and you'll be whole again. No more torture." Ikurx glanced at Demyx's face. "Mister Demyx? ... Which is the lesser of two evils? Being a Nobody or being a Heartless?"

Demyx blinked his eyes at the question. He found himself turning around to lie on his back so he could look up at the ceiling as he thought it over, but made sure to stay close to Ikurx as he did. "Well, from what I remember time as a Nobody was harsh. You were told that you felt nothing so you had to fight to get those feelings back or else you would never be complete again. Nothing else mattered, not even your own opinion on the matter, only the Superior's words. As a Heartless I have emotion and I do have a heart. Even if it doesn't beat I know it's there."

Demyx continued to stare ahead as he thought over his own words that he spoke for a couple of seconds. Finally, he turned his attention to the side to look back at Ikurx and smiled softly. "I guess it's not as bad being a Heartless. Even if I can feel everyone's pain along with my own it's still not that bad. I answer to myself now instead of someone so obsessed with their own agenda that he would put others in danger that wanted to be whole just as badly."

Ikurx gave a slow nod. He could truly understand why Roxas would want his own heart so badly. Pretending that you felt something, when others gave you their true feelings, it just wasn't enough. Wordlessly Ikurx crawled closer, resting his head on Demyx's chest as he hugged one arm around the Heartless. It truly wasn't fair that Riku could feel and still he chose to let the Darkness manipulate him and hurt the one he cared so much for. Axel had fought hard against who he was and Ikurx had never witnessed any harm that came to Roxas. It was a strange mirrored relationship each pair. And here he was, Riku's Nobody, with a Heartless from the Organization as well; with one that had Axel no less.
All of that had Ikurx's mind spinning again.

"... So I guess Riku is the lucky one," Ikurx spoke quietly. But it wasn't that thought that he dwelled on. "Mi--m, D-Demyx? Whatever happened to your Nobody?" He glanced up at the Heartless from where he lay.

Demyx easily tensed up at that. It was a question he had been trying to avoid for however long he could manage. He feared the reaction he would get if he told Ikurx the truth; that he had been sent by Xemnas to be rid of Sora. Demyx didn't want the teen to be angry with him, so he tried to be as subtle as possible with his answer. "He died on a mission." He spoke the answer while he looked back up at the ceiling.

Ikurx's hold tightened and he clung to the Heartless, as if the news of the death was recent instead of years old. Even if he had no heart, something felt like it had plummeted into his stomach. He pressed closer to Demyx's side. "... Did it hurt?" the small childish question left Ikurx. Even if the death happened long before his existence, the worry was there for his fellow Nobody, and simply because it was Demyx's Nobody. All he could hope for was that the past was quick and painless, as terrible as that thought was, it was the most merciful.

Demyx hummed a thoughtful sound in his throat. Even if the memory belonged to his Nobody and wasn't his own, he could still remember the moment so very clearly. The splash of water and the way he felt every bit of power just fade as the darkness twisted around him in coils, taking him away. "Not really." The words came out weak and his eyes narrowed. "Nobodies can't bleed, so, in turn they don't feel a lot of pain, but I still felt very defeated. Broken in a way I guess." He blinked his eyes and gave a weak laugh. "I mean he did, not me."

Ikurx made a small sound of realization. "Can't bleed... No. I- I guess I haven't." He gave a shaky breath as he remembered all those wires in his skin; not a drop of blood trickled from broken skin. Ikurx shuddered and clung tighter to Demyx as he buried his face in the Heartless' chest. The Heartless had Darkness, but the Nobodies? What did they have? The idea of oblivion, it was terrifying. "I'll bring him back. I'll put you back together, Demyx."

Demyx moved a hand up to scratch fingers up and down Ikurx's back. Despite the Nobody's lack of heart it wasn't hard to tell the conversation was causing distress between them both. "Thanks, I know you will." It was the most he could say to such words. He really was grateful that Ikurx would put him above anyone else and the most he could do was try his best to offer protection and keep the Nobody safe for such a gift. It felt like such a weak thing to give in return.

---

"Cloud Strife," Zax uttered the name a few volumes louder than speaking voice, "are you eaves dropping?" He smirked wide as he took a few steps nearer to peer at Cloud who he'd caught with his ear pressed to the thick gummi door to the spare room. "I was wondering where you'd slipped off to like some kind of ninja. I never expected you to be here of all places." He, Donald and Goofy all crossed their arms and tapped their foot as they gave Cloud a rather accusing look; of course Zax was grinning between them.

Cloud jumped and turned around in a quick second to stare at Zax with wide eyes. He hadn't expected to actually get caught trying to listen in on what was going on between the Heartless and Ikurx. Of course he hadn't had much luck anyway with how thick the door was. He thought that he would be safe, but it seemed as if Zax decided to bring along the entire crew to catch him red handed. The simple thought caused him to scowl a bit before he looked away. "I wasn't eaves dropping. I just thought I heard something, that's all. You can all stop staring at me like that."

"Oh?" Goofy and Donald spoke up in unison.

"Like what?" Zax finished with a grin. "Must have been several something’s to have you pressed up against the door like that." He pointed.

Cloud shot his eyes back over to Zax and tried his best to glare harder, but it just wasn't cutting it. "It was nothing." He nearly gritted the words out between clenched teeth before he tried to calm down. "Just a noise."

Donald was quick to move forward and nearly knocked Cloud over in the process to press the side of his head up against the door. "What kind of noise? I don't hear anything. Should we go in and check?" He glanced up at Cloud before he turned his attention back to the door, trying his best to listen.

Cloud had caught his footing and turned his annoyed look down to Donald, feeling the need to yank the duck away from the door. He didn't and instead looked back at Zax, and frowned at him for causing such a sudden problem.

Zax gave an apologetic grin as he shrugged and was soon bowled over by Goofy as the dog soon rushed to the door to listen too, nearly squishing Donald against the door below.

"Lemee hear, lemee hear." Goofy lifted a limp ear to press his head to the door too to listen. "Hmmmm." He closed one eye as he strained to listen. "Um, nope. I don't hear nuth'n either."

Zax stumbled over to stand by Cloud. He gave a small nervous laugh when he only got a glare at his follies. "They wanted to meet Ikurx. No harm no foul."

Cloud turned his attention back on the two that were pushing and shoving at each other to get a better listen at what was on the other side of the door. Of course Cloud couldn't help still being a little curious himself. After everything they had heard in the small town, learning the truth about the teenager on the other side of the door and catching the quick glimpse of the name written on a dirty window before they left for the ship, there was no helping the need to know more. Cloud kept himself right beside Zax though, despite how hard he wanted to bust the door down. "He's been through enough. He doesn't need a bunch of animals crowding around him."

"Hey!" Goofy started.

"We're not animals!" Donald finished with a quack.

"Uhuh." Zax looked back to Cloud. "Well, as much as he needs to rest, I'm surprised he let the Heartless stay with him." He crossed his arms playing as innocent as he could over saying the 'H' word.

The innocent act wasn't fooling Cloud at all. "Look, I know it bugs you. It bugs me just as much, but Ikurx doesn't want any of us fighting about it." He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't understand why he's so buddy-buddy with that Heartless. It seems so counter productive at the moment."

Donald jumped away from the door at just the smallest mention of a Heartless. His eyes narrowed on both Cloud and Zax as he looked back and forth between the two men. "What are you two talking about? You never said anything about a Heartless before. What's this about?" He looked about ready to throw a fit if either of the two didn't answer him.

"Heartless?! Where?!" Goofy jumped from the door much like Donald but stumbled into the shorter duck and nearly toppled over him.

"Ikurx's new friend." Zax tried to speak as casually as he could, knowing he was baiting the animals. He wanted a reason just as much as everyone else to go peeking on the other side of the door. "He's in there." He pointed to the door they had all been trying to listen through. "With him," he added as innocently enough; fuel to the fire.

Donald pushed at Goofy to try and get some of his own space back since his clumsy partner had tripped into him. He had nearly fallen on his face, but managed to look back at Cloud and Zax as soon as he had Goofy away. "Is he crazy? Heartless can't be our friends! We have to go in there and do something! We have to get him away from that thing!" He turned and was about ready to run back to the door to try and knock it over, but was stopped when he was picked up by the back of his shirt by Cloud. "HEY!"

Cloud ignored Donald's loud protest and just kept the duck held out at arm's length. "As much as I want to go right in there and do something about that Heartless myself, we can't. Ikurx has explained to us that we're not to harm him and vice versa. We're stuck out here." He shook Donald a few times before he let go of the duck's shirt and didn't even pay attention when he fell.

Goofy barely managed to catch Donald, and nearly fell when he leaned much too forward. He staggered back with the duck in arms. "Well, I don't know 'bout you, but I know that a Heartless isn't ta be trusted." He and Donald shared a glance. "They aren't called 'Heartless' because they're friendly, y'know."

Zax tapped his fingers along his arm. "I think the dog and duck have a point there." He tapped the air with a finger. "Maybe we should have a peek," he added quickly.

Donald jumped out of Goofy's arms to stand on his feet. "Yeah, just one little peek. That way we'll know if everything is alright and if not we can go in there and get rid of the problem." He gave a quick nod at his own words.

Cloud looked back and forth at all three. It seemed they were all against the thought of just letting Ikurx and the Heartless have their peace, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't want his own small check in on the two. It would put his own mind at ease if he could just see if everything was okay. With a heavy sigh he nodded. "Just a peek."

Zax gave a wide grin. "The power of peer pressure." He was quick to head to the door, all three following his lead.