Inspiration

Demyx sighed in exasperation as he strummed the cords of his sitar, trying to find the perfect melody for a new song. He sat at the edge of his bed, deep in thought as he strummed a few cords every five minutes, attempting to finish his first song since the day before he had become a Nobody. He was unsure of how late it was in the night. It could have been three in the afternoon on his home world, or two in the morning. Judging by how all of his fellow members had gone to sleep a couple of hours before, Demyx could tell that it was a little past midnight.

He strummed another few cords before throwing his blue sitar onto his bed in anger. He had lost his inspiration since the night he became a member of the Organization. The three other members of his band had died alongside him…except he was the only one to be brought back as a Nobody. Demyx remembered how scared he was to be kidnapped and taken to this castle. He studied the faces of each of the eight members before him, trying to recognize them as his bandmates. He did the same with the members coming after him. After the final member of the Organization was recruited, Demyx knew that his bandmates had not been spared as he had been. Since then, the overwhelming sadness in his nonexistent heart was too strong. He had always written music pieces with his bandmates. Without them, he was lost.

He picked up his sitar again, and strummed. He had tried to create sad music pieces…music to reflect how sad he was feeling over the loss of his friends. That didn't even work. He strummed his cords angrily until the door to his bedroom opened up, and the Organization's Number III barged in angrily. This caught Demyx by surprise, making him drop his sitar on the ground.

"Could you keep it down?" Xaldin asked angrily. "Some of us are trying to sleep. Isn't that what you like to do best? Sleep?" Demyx stuck his tongue out at Xaldin and picked up his Sitar, continuing to strum, ignoring Xaldin. "We Nobodies must sleep so that we can restore the power we've lost during the day. I highly suggest you start acting like one of us." Demyx didn't look up at Xaldin. He just continued strumming. Xaldin marched out of Demyx's room angrily, slamming the door shut.

Night turned into day. Not that Demyx even noticed. He was too entranced by his sitar, despite his inability to come up with anything. Demyx heard a knocking at his door and in walked Axel. On his home world, Demyx would consider Axel to be the popular guy everybody both loved and feared. He'd be the one who got all the girls. Demyx looked up at Axel and said, "Sup, Axel?" Axel was a lot closer to his age than most of the other members. Demyx felt somewhat more comfortable talking to the redhead. "You need something?"

"Saix told me to come haul your ass outta bed," Axel said, scratching the back of his neck as he yawned. Demyx could tell that Axel did not want to be here. Demyx took his eyes off of Axel and began strumming a few cords on his sitar before ultimately giving up in creating the melody he had been working on. "You haven't slept, have you?"

"How can I?" Demyx said, falling back into his bed, head hitting the pillow. He sighed and continued, "Six months. I've been here six months and I still have no idea why. Why was I spared? Why none of my other friends? There's nothing special about me. And why did Xemnas have to choose this thing for my weapon?" Demyx pointed angrily at his sitar. He never understood why, of all things, would his weapon be the very thing that linked him back to his old life.

"You know what I think?" Axel asked, sitting down on Demyx's bed and putting a comforting hand on the young teen's leg. "I think it's Xemnas's sick and twisted way of torturing us. He took away everything from us, and just to torment us further he gives us one thing to remind us of the life we could never get back."

Demyx sat up and pushed Axel's hand off his leg. "I just wish I could have one day to myself without seeing any of the other members."

"Maybe you can," Axel said, quickly taking the ninth member's hand and yanking him out of bed. Before Demyx could shout in protest, Axel continued, "Another reason I'm here is because we've been chosen as partners for the latest assignment. We're going to Twilight Town. I'll make sure we stay there extra-long so you don't have to be around any of the other members."

"And what about your friend…Roxy?" Demyx asked. He didn't know much of the final member who had only appeared weeks ago. The thirteenth was always quiet.

"It's Roxas," Axel corrected. "And don't worry; you're not taking his spot as my friend. He's on a mission with Marluxia right now. So, are you ready for Twilight Town?"

"Do we have to go check in with Saix first?" Demyx asked. He really did not want to confront one of the scariest members of the Organization.

Axel just laughed and replied, "Trust me; I'd rather choke on one of Xaldin's spears or be frozen solid by Vexen or even get turned into a Dusk by Xemnas. Saix and I aren't on the best of terms right now." After he said that he looked sort of distant to Demyx. Axel quickly snapped out of it and held a hand out, a corridor of darkness appearing in the doorway of Demyx's room. "You first, Demyx."

Demyx happily obliged, making his blue sitar vanish into the palm of his hand, and he dashed into the dark portal. He would want nothing more than to leave that terrible castle with all of those terrible people. Some of those people, like Axel or Roxas, weren't terrible. At least, not from what Demyx had seen. Demyx was never going to get used to flying through space within the dark corridors. It reminded him of the giant jumbo water slide he jumped into headfirst on his twelfth birthday. Except this time he wasn't getting soaked in water, and he probably wasn't going to fly out and get another concussion. The dark portal deposited him on his feet.

He had been to Twilight Town only once before—with Zexion—on his third day in the Organization. He was standing in the center of what the Twilight Townsfolk called the Sandlot. Axel appeared right behind him, the dark portal closing and vanishing into thin air. Demyx cocked his head to the side and told Axel, "So what's the mission here?"

"I'll worry about that," Axel said, using Demyx's head as an armrest. It was really frustrating how Axel was so much taller than him. "You said you need a break from the Organization? Well, until I'm done with the mission, you do whatever you want. Oh, and, not to offend you but, you're a little lazy and don't do much heavy lifting in any of your missions. Isn't that right?"

"I get it," Demyx said, putting his arms above his head in defeat. "You're just like all the others who think I'm just a pathetic weakling. Ha ha, very funny, Axel. You can return to the castle without me."

Demyx attempted to walk away in anger but Axel held him back. "Hey, hey, I was just joking!" Axel screamed back. "And you are going back with me. I'm responsible for you right now. If you don't return to the castle, Xemnas will—"

"Turn me into a Dusk?" Demyx snapped back. "Are we even sure Xemnas can actually do that!? We've never even seen that happen before." He looked to the ground and sighed. "Look, Axel, just go. You don't understand. You don't understand anything."

"Demyx—" Axel started.

"I said go!" Suddenly a wave of water materialized out of the ground and slammed into Axel, sending him flying into the concrete wall behind him. The water vanished. Demyx held a hand in front of his face. He had never realized how powerful he could actually be. He walked to the fallen Axel and helped the man up. "I'm sorry, Axel…I was just upset is all."

"Nah, I'm sorry," Axel said, looking towards the sky. He changed the subject by quickly saying, "You wanted a break from the Organization. Now you got it. I have to go do recon at the mysterious mansion near the outskirts of town. Do whatever you want, but please don't run away. Xemnas will just find you. Trust me, I've tried running on the first few weeks I've been here." Demyx nodded. Axel gave Demyx a quick pat on the back before walking away, disappearing into an alley on his way to the mansion.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" came a voice from behind Demyx. Without turning around, Demyx started shaking, closing his eyes and biting his lower lip. He didn't recognize the voice. One of the things Xemnas and Saix had drilled into his mind was that he could not interact with anyone from any world unless it was part of a mission. "Are you deaf?"

Demyx quickly turned around to see someone he had only seen on his first visit to this world. Seifer. Zexion had told Demyx that Seifer was in charge of some sort of disciplinary committee. Demyx never understood what that even meant. "Uh, hey," Demyx said, trying to sound casual. It didn't sound casual.

"This place is my turf," Seifer said, putting a hand on his hip and scowling at Demyx. If this was Demyx's homeworld, Seifer would be considered the school bully. The guy everybody hates but for some odd reason they would admire and respect him. "Judging by those drab duds you've got on, I'd say you're an outsider."

Demyx raised an eyebrow. His first thought was: Did he just insult my cloak? Demyx held a hand in front of him. He didn't want to make conversation with anybody. He was so tempted to summon his sitar, bash the living crap out of Seifer, and then run off hoping Seifer would have gotten knocked so hard that he'd have all but forgotten Demyx. Demyx quickly decided against that thought. Demyx remained silent, hoping Seifer would just walk away.

"Now I'm starting to think you really are deaf," Seifer said, getting into a strange battle stance, drawing a weird toy sword—which looked more like a bat than a sword—that was strapped to his back. Demyx couldn't believe his eyes. A toy sword. It looked pathetic. Even the toy swords in Demyx's world were pointy and sharp, but this looked like something you'd get out of a box of cereal. Demyx couldn't help but chuckle. "What? Why are you laughing?" In one leap, Seifer lunged forward and jammed the tip of his sword into Demyx's stomach.

It wasn't the foamy material of the sword that hurt Demyx. It was the force Seifer used to drive it into his stomach that sent Demyx to the ground. Demyx gripped at the ground and shakily got to his feet. Before Demyx could do or any anything to get out of this situation, Seifer slammed the bat into the back of his head, causing Demyx to fall again. Demyx couldn't reveal his powers or how strong he probably was, so his only option was to take the beating.

"Where do you come from?" Seifer asked, poking the foam bat into Demyx's chest to keep him on the ground. "You're face isn't familiar. I haven't seen you on the town roster. And your outfit..." Seifer pressed his foot against Demyx's chest to really keep the boy from moving. "Looks to me like you're nothing but a criminal."

"Criminal?" Demyx asked, chuckling. Demyx laughed at how even he recognized himself as too lazy to commit crimes. Demyx got his game-face back on and quickly said, "Let me up, Seifer. I was just passing through." Seifer took his foot off of Demyx and allowed the boy to stand up. Demyx quickly said, "But wow, are you strong."

Seifer chuckled and Demyx thought he could see the faint tint of a blush appearing on his cheeks. Seifer liked being buttered up. That bit of information could help Demyx out somewhere along the line. "Thanks," Seifer said, lowering his sword. "But wait…how do you know my name?"

"Who doesn't know your name?" Demyx quickly replied. This made Seifer smile. Just as Demyx hoped. He was quickly making Seifer like him. Mission accomplished. "And listen, Seifer, don't be so quick to judge someone based on how they dress, or how different they are. If I wasn't skilled in combat, you'd have seriously hurt me."

"Skilled in combat?" came Seifer's quick reply. Shit. Demyx had said something he didn't mean to. This was not good. Demyx felt himself shaking again. He had to think of something quick. Before he could, Seifer tossed him his sword. Demyx raised an eyebrow. "You mind showing me just how skilled you are, newbie?"

Demyx stared at the toy weapon . He swung it through the air. It wasn't as light as he had originally thought it would be. Seifer picked up another identical weapon from the ground a few feet away. Before saying another word, Seifer leapt through the air, swinging his weapon. Demyx deflected it with his own almost instantly. Training with the Organization really did pay off.

"You really wanna fight?" Demyx asked, a little unsure. He'd always known he was lazy. People would say he'd never admit it, but truth is, even Demyx knew he was lazy. What changed today? Being away from the Organization had given him some time to think. What Axel said…made him furious. Truth was, he wanted to be a stronger member. He wanted the other members to respect him. He had to learn how to build confidence. Seifer nodded at Demyx's question. Demyx smiled and swung his bat, barely grazing Seifer's shoulder.

Seifer swung low at Demyx's ankles, tripping him and sending him falling on his butt. Demyx quickly got up and jabbed his weapon outward, hitting Seifer square in the stomach. Seifer backed away, breathing a little heavily and sweating. Demyx felt himself to begin to sweat himself. He wished he could cool down. Fighting was a lot of hard work. And then, just like that, Demyx felt something hit his head. Something wet. He felt his head and put his palm in front of his face…water.

Demyx and Seifer both looked up to see dark clouds forming in the sky. A few more drops of water fell down before it began to pour, soaking the two. "Whoa," Seifer said, stretching his arms out, tilting his head back and opening his mouth, allowing the rain to fall upon his tongue and face. "It hardly ever rains here. I love this!" Demyx chuckled at Seifer's enthusiasm towards the rain. Seifer held a hand out to him. Demyx was almost unsure of what to do with his hand, so he cautiously took it. "You know, you're alright, uh…"

"Demyx," Number IX replied with a smile, and the two shook hands. Demyx's mullet was dripping with water. He had begun to think that it was none other than himself that made it start raining. He knew he possessed the power of water. Conjuring rain wasn't too big of a stretch. "I don't know how often I'll be in town like I was today. But maybe when I am, we can spar together." Demyx always chose to be lazy whenever people would ask him to do something like going on a mission or finishing a task. But nobody told him he had to do the things he did today. He wanted to spar with Seifer, if only for a short time. If nobody pressured him, maybe he wouldn't be as lazy.

"Well come to town whenever you want," Seifer said with a smile. He immediately frowned soon after and asked, "Who's that?"

Seifer pointed to behind Demyx. Demyx turned around to see a man in the Organization's cloak, hood shielding his face, running straight for the two. The man passed up Demyx and went straight for Seifer, slamming his fingers into the back of Seifer's neck. Seifer immediately dropped to the wet ground. Demyx was about to scream in protest when he saw the face beyond the hood. It was Axel.

Axel conjured a portal of darkness and shoved Demyx into it, jumping in behind him soon afterwards. Demyx felt the sensation of flying once again. The corridor deposited him and Axel on their feet with Demyx's bedroom. "What was that about?" Demyx asked, wiping the rain from his dripping hair.

Axel pulled off his hood, his red spiky hair drooping from being soaked in rain. "Well, I finished off the Heartless problem that was right outside the mansion. Didn't expect that Darkside to come and…you know what? That's not the issue here. Then it started raining. I hate rain! You wanna know the weird part? I've gone to Twilight Town almost every day since my first day here, and not once had I ever encountered rain. You wanna explain something to me?"

"I might have caused that somehow, when I was fighting Seifer—"

"You fought him?" Axel asked. "You know how easily it could have been to expose yourself? You're lucky I arrived when I did. The Dusks floating around town could have reported back to Xemnas and then you'd have him to deal with." Demyx hung his head down, suddenly feeling ashamed of what he'd done. "I knocked out Seifer…let's just hope he'll forget all about this little mess."

"I'm sorry," Demyx said, plopping down on his bed and kicking his boots off. "But Axel…for the first time in six months…I actually had fun today. More fun than I've ever had in this stupid Organization."

"Have more fun like that and I won't always be there to bail you out," Axel said. "I'd be afraid of Xemnas and Saix if I were you. Have a good night, Demyx. I'm tired." And with that, Axel left Demyx's room. The door closed softly.

Demyx picked up his sitar and started strumming. His heart was beating fast. He had actually made a friend today. Maybe even two, counting Axel. Axel was quick to give Demyx an opportunity to relax and stay away from the Organization, but immediately freaked out when Demyx met Seifer. Demyx never quite understood Axel. Then again, from what Demyx could gather, none of the members did.

After a few minutes, Demyx smiled as he began to create a melody. He repeated it over and over and over again. He actually liked the sound coming from his sitar. Demyx even started laughing as he continued strumming. He had never made anything sound half as good as this in six months. Everything that happened today…was his inspiration—not only for his music, but for giving him motivation to stand up and be stronger than anyone in this Organization says he is.

The door opened and once again, Xaldin barged in demanding, "Shut that contraption up!"

If this were any other day, Demyx would ignore the Whirlwind Lancer. But today was different. He looked up and into Xaldin's violet eyes and smirked. "You're just jealous because I'm better at playing music than you are." Xaldin stared back in shock. Demyx was pretty sure that Xaldin had never experienced backtalk from anyone other than probably Axel or Larxene. Xaldin probably assumed Demyx would be scared of a higher member such s Number III. Not anymore. "Now get out. You're trespassing on private property, Dreadlocks."

Xaldin growled, turned around, and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut. For a guy who didn't want emotions to hold him down, Xaldin sure had a lot of anger. Demyx chuckled triumphantly and strummed away to his heart's content. He was really looking forward to his next visit to Twilight Town. He had to remember to thank Axel. Demyx got that thought memorized.

And so he continued playing throughout nightfall, passing out a little past midnight. He had his first good sleep since he'd gotten there—which is odd since he loves to sleep—and woke up early enough to get into the Grey Area before most of the other members. The only two in there with him were Luxord and Xigbar, who were too busy playing some card game to notice that Demyx was actually there. Demyx sat down on a surprisingly comfortable couch.

"Someone's up early," came the voice of the wicked witch herself. He looked up to the entrance to see Larxene stepping through, wearing a nightgown and rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Not long after, Axel stormed out of the hallway and into the Grey Area, pushing passed Larxene. "Watch it, Red!"

Axel ignored her and sat right beside Demyx on the couch. "I went straight to your room to see how you slept," Axel said, sounding out of breath. "But here you are…seven in the morning? What's wrong with you?" Demyx laughed at that. "Did you sleep good?"

"Yeah," Demyx replied, suddenly making his sitar materialize in his hand. "I finally found the perfect melody, the perfects song to reflect…myself. Here, listen." And Demyx began playing his music piece. Axel looked impressed. Luxord, Xigbar, and Larxene looked over to watch Demyx play. He continued playing as other members began walking into the Grey Area. Demyx smiled as nobody had told him to stop playing. Maybe he could learn to like it here.

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Did you like this chapter? So here we learn a little about Demyx, we share a few moments with he and Axel...sorry but I just love the idea of those two as friends. I know he could never replace Roxas but seriously. Also, guest starring in this is Seifer. Don't ask why I added him in. I needed someone, and he's who I picked. Get over it. Anyway, I hope the next chapter comes a little sooner than this one did. See you then!