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Zexion had always been the youngest member of Organization XIII, having only been a boy at its inception. Even to Axel and Saïx, the next closest in age, a 9-year-old seemed miles away from a couple of streetwise teenagers.
So Zexion got used to being the only child in an adult’s world, that’s how it had been with Ienzo as well. To be fair, Zexion hardly noticed. He had never really felt like a child, his intellect and maturity being well beyond his years, and the years of most of the other members as well. Only when they would demonstrate a certain protectiveness over him did he feel a difference and he had always chalked that up to more of a size thing. But he supposed he had never seen Ansem the Wise walking hand in hand with, say, Even eating sea-salt ice cream before.
Even if Zexion didn’t give it much thought himself, some of the other members couldn’t help but feel he was missing out on something. Namely Lexaeus, the only one who had continued to demonstrate any feeling for him (or at least the remnant of one) and the one who had taken it upon himself to act as Zexion’s personal bodyguard. So it was with a kind of subdued excitement that Lexaeus had come to him one day, saying that another kid had joined the Organization who was the same age as Zexion.
They had been Nobodies for about 4 years now, making Zexion all of 13 and he had not yet been hit with the inescapable force that was puberty. This meant he was completely free of distractions and could dedicate all of his time, effort and considerable mental faculties to his work. So he couldn’t understand why Lexaeus had insisted on dragging him away from said work to meet this new recruit. Surely this would be the kind of thing Xemnas would call a meeting over. But Lexaeus rarely asked anything of him so Zexion went along with it, following him into the dark corridor and stepping out into the Grey Area.
Xigbar was standing there with his usual relaxed, cock-sure posture, fingers always itching to get his hands on something. In front of him stood a boy, taller and lankier than Zexion, looking quite wild with bright eyes and a messy mullet.
“Here’s the other squirt now.” Xigbar said, earning him a glare from Zexion to which Xigbar had long been immune. “Zexion, meet Demyx, our new recruit.”
Demyx, for all of his ferality, actually seemed happy to see Zexion. Apparently, he was taking the transition into Nobodihood rather well. Zexion remembered his own experience and he couldn’t say he had come close to anything even remotely resembling happiness.
“Hi! I’m Demyx!” He said too loudly, jabbing a thumb at his own chest like there had been any room for doubt.
Zexion just stared at him, not sure what to make of this curious, new creature and woefully ill-equipped in the ways of social niceties.
Lexaeus gently nudged him from behind, murmuring softly, “Introduce yourself, Zexion.”
Zexion almost turned around to glare at him too. They had already said his name, after all, why did he have to say it again? Surely, Demyx had heard it. He wasn’t an idiot. Biting his tongue, he said, “I, as you have already heard,” he said, throwing a little side-eye at Lexaeus, “am Zexion.”
“Woah! Cool name! Very metal.” Demyx raved, as if hearing it for the first time and not, in fact, the third. Maybe he was an idiot, Zexion thought. Demyx proceeded to punctuate his point by flashing some hand gesture involving his pinkie and pointer finger that—try as he might—Zexion could find no discernible relation to metal whatsoever.
“Well, we’ll leave you two to get acquainted.” Xigbar said disinterestedly, waving Lexaeus over to join him. Lexaeus hesitated for a second, offering Zexion a small, encouraging smile before looking warily at Demyx (who was blissfully unaware) and reluctantly followed the other man over to the couches.
Zexion was left to fend for himself, growing silently resentful of Lexaeus and Xigbar for orchestrating this. He stood there staring at the other boy, not knowing the first thing about starting a conversation with a stranger or even that this was a situation that warranted it.
Demyx did not have the same problem. “So this is pretty cool, huh?”
“What is pretty cool?” Zexion asked flatly.
“All of this—” Demyx said, gesturing to the room at large, “the castle, the uniforms. They said I’d be getting powers soon, too.” He said cheerfully, placing his hands on his hips.
“Yes, that will usually reveal itself in time as you start training.” Zexion said, recalling how it had happened for the rest of them.
“Wow! I can’t wait!” Demyx said, making a fist. “What powers do you have?”
“I can weave illusions and trap people inside the pages of my book, called the Lexicon.”
Demyx’s eyes went wide. “Woah, that sounds brutal, dude.”
Zexion looked offended. “I tend to think of it as being rather more refined than getting your head bashed in by a heavy object.”
“I dunno, dude. They both sound pretty bad. I hope I don’t have to do any of that.” Demyx scratched the back of his head like he was finally starting to see the downside of becoming a Nobody. Luckily, he never dwelled on negative thoughts for long. “They told me I’m number 9.” He stated proudly, pointing to himself again. “What number are you?”
“I am number VI.” Zexion said dully.
“No way, are you serious?!! We’re 69??!!! That’s awesome, dude!!” Demyx laughed boisterously, holding his palm up to Zexion with a level of excitement that once again left Zexion puzzling at.
“What is the numerical significance of 69?” Zexion inquired, his scientific curiosity asserting itself as he raised a hand to his chin thoughtfully. Talking about numbers? Now this he could handle. “I suppose it is quite an interesting number when you think about it. Is it the fact that 69 is the only natural number whose square and cube use every digit in the decimal system?”
Demyx gaped at him like he was the idiot, lowering his hand when Zexion left him hanging. “You don’t know what 69 is?!”
Zexion was at a total loss. He had been able to count since before he could even speak but other than what he had just mentioned, he couldn’t think of why 69 was so special. “Clearly, I am not understanding your meaning.”
Demyx glanced around, making sure the adults weren’t listening. He leaned over to Zexion, holding a hand over his mouth to whisper in his ear. After a moment, Zexion’s eyes widened in shock and continued to bulge out more and more with every passing word.
He gasped, finally pulling his ear away from Demyx like he had been scalded, looking utterly scandalized. “People actually do that?!”
***
Back at the adult’s table, Lexaeus couldn’t keep his eyes from wandering over to Zexion, his proverbial heart in his stomach. It had to be lonely growing up in Organization XIII as the only kid. It was good for kids to have friends their own age, someone to play with, someone who could understand them and were going through the same stuff they were. It was an important part of a person’s social development, even if they weren’t people, strictly speaking. Lexaeus knew this would be good for him in the long run, he just hoped it was going well. Zexion wasn’t exactly your average kid.
“Don’t sweat it, Rocky. Demyx’ll normalize him.” Xigbar said as if he had been reading Lexaeus’ mind. “That kid could talk to a wall.” He put a cigarette between his lips and held his Arrowgun up in front of him. The arrow glowed red and Xigbar tilted his head and pressed the tip of the cigarette against it, lighting it while he inhaled.
Just then, Saïx appeared out of nowhere. “Xigbar! What did I tell you about smoking in here?!!” He reprimanded, causing Xigbar to flinch and almost blow his own face off.
“Sorry, Mission Control, must’ve forgot. You know how it is getting old, always forgetting things.” Xigbar said without a trace of guilt as he motioned to put the cigarette out.
“Only when it seems to be convenient.” Saïx hissed in his usual, menacing monotone. “If I catch you doing it again, I’ll have you reporting to Vexen for lab duty.”
“Geez, you sound like my ex-wife. I promise, you won't catch me out of line again.” Xigbar held up a hand like he was giving a solemn oath. “But personally, I don't know why one little spark is such a big deal when your boy Flamesilocks is always in here torching the place up.”
“Well, when Heartless start dying of emphysema, maybe I'll reconsider it.”
Xigbar smiled. “There’s that biting wit we all know and love. You know, if you weren't so uptight you’d probably be a pretty fun hang.”
“If you test me again, I’ll show you just how uptight I can be.”
“Looking forward to it.” Xigbar smiled congenially at him before Saïx scowled and disappeared into a dark corridor.
“I swear it’s his time of the month.” Xigbar muttered as he put the cigarette back in his mouth. Seeing the look on Lexaeus’ face, he shrugged. “What? It’s already lit, may as well enjoy it while it lasts.”
Lexaeus looked past this transgression in favor of a more pressing one. “What were you thinking recruiting a child?” For all the good he thought this would do Zexion, it wasn’t lost on him that for one kid to gain a friend, another kid had to lose a heart. He couldn't help but call into question the morality of that decision.
Xigbar held up his hands. “Hey, I didn’t pick him. Boss Man said he’s a part of some keyblade legacy.”
Lexaeus was about to respond but at that moment, Zexion stormed up to them like he had been assaulted. Lexaeus jumped to his feet in alarm. “Don’t ever make me talk to him again!” He said before turning around and exiting through a dark portal.
Lexaeus glared at Demyx, who came trailing behind like a guilty puppy. “What did you do?!” His voice was like thunder.
Demyx cowered before the giant, holding up his hands. “Nothing! I just told him what our numbers meant.”
Xigbar snickered from behind and Lexaeus turned to look at him, furrowing his brow. Xigbar simply said, "69."
Understanding dawned on Lexaeus’ stony features and he gave Demyx a look of disgust before brushing past him (which almost sent the kid sprawling) and portaling away after Zexion. “Hey, he was the one who asked!” Demyx cried before turning to look imploringly at Xigbar, the only adult left in the room.
“Ahh, don’t worry about it, kiddo. Everyone starts singing a different tune when they hit puberty.” He waved a dismissive hand and motioned for Demyx to take a seat. “Wanna smoke?”
Demyx just blinked at him but took a seat anyway. “No. I’m 13.”
“Never too late to start.” Xigbar shrugged and took another drag. He kicked his feet up on the table and reclined back, blowing smoke rings up to the ceiling. Before they could make it very far, Xigbar opened a spatial rift above him to vent the smoke in there. He turned to look at Demyx who still seemed a little bummed out. “Ever shot an arrowgun before?”
Demyx just stared at the floor and shook his head dejectedly.
“You want to?”