Burning Heart Chapter 2

[eiahmon]

Title: Burning Heart
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Disney and Square owns it all; I only wish I did. Why in the hell cant I come up with these wickedly cool characters and twisted plots? Why?
Summary: Nomura has stated that now that his Heartless and Nobody have been destroyed, Master Xehanort will be reborn. What if he is reborn, but not in the way everyone thinks?
A/N: For the record people, it's pronounced “Zavier” not “X-zavier”. That second pronunciation always irritates me.

2.

“Xavier!”

The young man with long white hair and sharp brown eyes looked up from the papers he had been writing on just in time to see a young boy with wild brown hair and sparkling eyes of the same color as he came running through the open doorway. He smiled a warm smile at the ever cheerful, bouncy ball of energy that he considered a little brother.

“What is it, Yuta?”

“Mama wants to know what you want for dinner tonight, since it's your birthday. And she also wants to know when you'll be home.”

Xavier smiled again. “She knows what my favorites are, and let her know that I'll be home in just few minutes.”

“Okay!” Yuta dashed out the door, and Xavier shook his head in amusement at the child's antics as he began putting things away in preparation to head home.

It was two years to the day that he had been found, unconscious and convulsing from a blazing high fever outside of town by Yuta's older brother Masa. Masa had managed to carry him to his parents' house, where he, Xavier, had lain for several days, unresponsive, before the fever broke. He had been as weak as a kitten, but Masa and Yuta's parents, Elissa and Jascha, had patiently nursed him back to health over many days and weeks. Despite everyone's best efforts though, his memory had not returned.

Unable to remember where he had come from or who he had once been, Elissa and Jascha had welcomed him into their family and home, gave him the name of Xavier, and soon everyone within the small world of Haven's Bridge considered him their adopted son. His age was estimated to be approximately 25 or so, which made him one year younger than Masa, and three years older than their second son, Akim. Their third son, Heras, was 19 at the time. Their fourth son, Jachin was 14, Yuta was 10, and Alexander, the baby of the family, was one. His new brothers had welcomed him with open arms, and they had dragged him off to join in their various forms of mischief making as soon as he had been able to leave the house.

Xavier, after making sure everything was in order, grabbed his jacket from the coat rack and slipped it on as he stepped out the door, locking it behind him. The short walk from the small building that served as the world's only hospital to the home of his adopted family was a welcome time to think and enjoy one last bit of silence and alone time before he stepped into the bright rowdiness of his new home. With all of their children, even the grown ones, still living at home to better tend to the family's massive farm, things were never quiet or dull in the house. Each person had their own room and space, but the rest of the house was often filled with laughter, jokes, and music.

Xavier had also helped out on the farm once he had been well enough, though he hadn't had a clue on what to do at first. After a short while, the family had quickly took note of his love of books and sharp mind, and within a few weeks he had been approached by Taylor, the world's only doctor, and asked if he was interested in an apprenticeship. He had jumped at the chance to work with the doctor that had helped save his life, and the following day he had began going with the doctor on his rounds, learning as he went. After two years, he was nearly done with the apprenticeship, but the two would continue to work together, and once Taylor passed on, Xavier would find his own apprentice to teach. But that latter part was still many years away. Dr. Taylor may be old, but he was far from being too old to work.

By the time Xavier reached the grass covered cobblestone path that led to the front door of the family's large farmhouse, he could already hear the merriment from inside. He opened the door and was greeted by the sounds of music from the den, laughter from the dining room, and cooking from the kitchen. Jascha was pounding out the tunes on the piano, and from the sounds of it, Masa and Heras were singing along. He could hear the clattering of crockery and conversation in the dining room, and he was able to pick out Akim and Yuta's voices as they set the table for dinner. He could also hear Alexander giggling in the kitchen; he was obviously “helping” Mama out with the cooking.

He stepped inside and shut the door behind him. “I'm home!” he announced as he kicked his boots off and hung his jacket up. He heard a squeal: “Xav'er!” and a blond haired, red clad blur came streaking out of the kitchen and collided with his legs. With a grin, he reached down and tickled Alexander's neck, making the child squeal in delight, before the boy ran back to the kitchen. Xavier followed him, and he stepped into the kitchen to see Elissa standing in front of the stove, cooking up a big pot of chicken and dumplings. He stepped up behind her and wound his arms around her waist before he planted a small kiss on her cheek. She smiled before she put her stirring spoon down, and he dropped his arms as she turned around to face him.

She stood up on her tip toes to kiss him on the forehead. “Happy birthday, child.”.

During his long recovery, Elissa had been a constant presence at his bedside. Jascha had also been a frequent visitor, but Elissa had rarely left his side, even if it meant sleeping in the rocking chair in his room. She had sat with him through the fever dreams, the nausea, the pounding headaches and excruciating muscle aches, and the long nights where he was simply too uncomfortable to sleep, even as his body cried out for rest. It was also she that held him and soothed him as tears of frustration ran down his face as he struggled to remember anything about his past and came up empty time and time again. She was also the one that had told him that he was her son in all but blood, and, if they never found his family or home, he would always have a home and family with them.

She gave him a tight squeeze and then shooed him out of the kitchen, where Yuta and Akim pounced on him and dragged him to the place of honor at the head of the dining table. Normally Jascha sat there, but on their birthdays, or anniversary in Xavier's case, they were allowed to sit there for the day. The fine china was set out – which seemed to only be used for birthdays and major holidays – and Yuta returned in short order with the mashed potatoes, while Alexander proudly carried the bread and butter. A moment later, Elissa appeared with the main course. As if my some unseen, unheard signal, the music in the den stopped, and a few seconds later, Jascha, Masa, and Heras appeared and sat down around the table.

The meal was simple, yet filling, and everyone took second helpings, and Akim would have taken a third helping if his mother hadn't reminded him to leave room for cake. No one objected to that; Elissa's cakes were legendary throughout Haven's Bridge, and she was often commissioned to make specialty cakes for some occasions.

“The faster the table is cleared, boys,” Jascha said with a grin as he leaned back in his chair “the faster your mother can bring Xavier's cake out.”

Xavier had to laugh as he watched Masa, Heras, and Yuta clear the plates and uneaten food away in record time, and in short order, Elissa brought the cake out and sat it down on the table in front of him. The candles – 27 of them – were lit, and “Happy Birthday” was sung.

“Make a wish!” Yuta shouted in excitement, and Xavier grinned at him, before he closed his eyes -

I wish I knew who I really was.

- and blew out all the candles in a single breath. The rest of the family clapped and cheered, and Elissa wasted no time in cutting and handing out the cake, which was chocolate with cherry filling. Xavier was given the biggest piece, and he wasted no time in doing it justice, as did the others.

Once there were only crumbs on their plates, the rest of the cake was put away for later, while Yuta and Heras cleared the table. Then it was time for presents. In honor of his nearly completed apprenticeship, all of his gifts were medical themed.

Yuta proudly presented him with a stethoscope that he had saved up for for “an entire month!”, while Alexander shyly gave him a glass bottle that was filled with different layers of colored sand and affixed with a label that said 'Remains of problem patient.”. The rest of the family had clubbed together to buy the materials to make him a really nice lab coat, which Elissa had then sewed together by hand.

“Try it on!” Masa called, and soon he was joined by the others “Try it on! Try it on!”

So he stood up from the table, and slipped the coat on over his clothes to the applause of his brothers and smiles of his parents. He couldn't keep the wide smile off of his face as he stood there.

“We'll make a doctor out of you yet!” Akim yelled, and everyone had a good chuckle as he sat back down. Alexander immediately claimed his lap, and they all sat around the table talking for a bit longer before they started to trickle off to bed. Alexander refused to go to Elissa so she could put him to bed so Xavier ended up carrying him to his room, dressing him in his pajamas, and tucking him into bed.

“G'night, Xav'er.” the toddler said sleepily “Luv you.”

Xavier smiled and gently brushed the child's blond hair back from his face and kissing him on the cheek. “I love you too, Alexander. Good night.”

With a soft sigh, the child's breathing settled into the easiness of sleep, and Xavier turned around to leave the room, when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. Frowning in puzzlement, he turned towards the window and walked towards it. What had he just seen?

There!

“What in the world?” he breathed as he stared through the mullioned glass as the pair of bright yellow eyes that were staring back at him from the shadows by the barn. He could see no body attached to them eyes, and he shivered in sudden cold as they blinked and then vanished as if they had never been there. He spent an anxious few minutes looking for them before he was interrupted.

“Xavier?”

He turned from the window to see Elissa standing there. “Is everything all right?”

“Everything's fine, just...” He looked back out at the barn and saw nothing. “I guess I was seeing things.”

Xehanort....

He shivered as he walked away from the window, and Elissa caught him for a hug at the door, before he went off to find his own bed. The day started early on a farm, and he had his own chores to do before heading out to meet Dr. Taylor for the day.

Still as he laid down in his bed and nestled down under the blankets, he could not forget those eyes, staring at him, and he was suddenly overcome by a sense of dread, that things were about to go horribly wrong.

Chapter 1 – Chapter 3
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