"After the Funeral"
Ienzo left his room and wandered down the hallway. He soon caught sight of Aeleus and hurried after him. He reached up and gave his sleeve a tug to get his attention. Aeleus stopped and looked down at the boy sympathetically. "Hello, little one," he said.
"Mom and Dad aren't coming back, are they," Ienzo murmured sadly. "What will I do now?"
Aeleus knelt down to talk to him with less disparity in their heights. "It's okay. Master Ansem plans to adopt you. You'll be able to remain here with us."
Just then, Braig turned the corner and happened upon them. He tried to back up but it was too late as they had already looked up in his direction. "Oh. Hey, kid," he greeted with a grim smile.
"Leave him be, Braig," Aeleus warned, knowing full well the prankster that Braig was. "He's been through enough today."
Braig did his best to look insulted. "As if. I don't do funerals." With that, he turned on his heel and walked back to where he had come from.
Satisfied that Braig wouldn't pick on the kid (for a while, anyway), Aeleus turned his attention back to Ienzo. "Don't worry. I'm your older brother now, and I promise to protect you." He stood back up and held Ienzo's hand as they continued to walk outside to the front gate, where Aeleus had guard duty with Dilan.
Dilan turned around and noticed that Aeleus had brought company. "I'm sorry for your loss, kid," he said sincerely. As his dreadlocks blew in a sudden gust of wind, he added, "It feels like it's going to rain."
Before long, Ienzo walked off with another goal in mind. He picked some flowers and brought them to his parents' gravesite. By the time he got there it had already begun to rain, but he continued standing there all the same.
"Ienzo!" Even yelled sharply as he strode toward him, slightly irritated. Startled, Ienzo was brought back to reality and turned around to look at him. "Oh, for- you're soaking wet! Come back inside before you catch a cold." Grabbing him by the hand, Even dragged him back in the direction of the main gate.
Once inside, Even toweled him off with agitation. "I've got enough to worry about as it is," he went on complaining. "With your father gone, I have more work on my desk. I could do with some help, but Ansem is plenty busy himself. Not to mention we have you to look after..."
"I can help," Ienzo spoke up.
"What?"
"I can help," Ienzo repeated. "I've read my dad's notes and I can understand what he was trying to do. Let me give it a try."
Even regarded him for a moment before replying. "We'll see."
It was at that moment that Ansem entered the room. "There you are. You had Aeleus and Dilan worried," he said. "The paperwork is all in order. I know I'm no replacement for your real father, but I hope that you can be happy here with us."
"Yes, sir," Ienzo replied shyly.
Ansem hugged him despite his being drenched. "Let's get you changed into some dry clothes."
"Bedtime"
Ienzo was inconsolable for about a week or so. He had nightmares and cried himself to sleep every night. Eventually he stopped talking altogether. Ansem was worried about him and tried to give him as much normality and consistency as possible. He read to him every night before putting him to bed, and sometimes the boy fell asleep while sitting on his lap; he didn't try to wake him. When that happened, he realized how much the boy needed him, needed all of them; it takes a village after all. He would hold the sleeping child and whisper over and over again how sorry he was. However, he still could not get him to speak again for a long time. He couldn't stop the nightmares either; all he could do was care for him as best he could and asked the others to do the same. And so they did.
Following the master's example, Dilan tried to do the same thing. If he could wake him up, he'd get him a glass of water if he asked for it; if he couldn't wake him up, he'd carry him and put him to bed. Braig claimed to do the same thing, but then Dilan found out he was playing pranks on the sleeping child. Braig was not allowed to put Ienzo to bed anymore after that. Even wasn't comfortable with the whole parenting thing, but he tried to be as gentle as he could when waking Ienzo up. He'd complain about having to do this whenever it was his turn. He'd immediately feel guilty afterward and made sure to tuck the boy in tightly so he wouldn't fall out of bed. If he woke up crying, it was usually Aeleus who would have to come in and comfort him. Aeleus always carried Ienzo to bed without ever bothering to wake him up. Only he could assuage the boy's fears and promise to protect him. He drew the line at sharing a bed, though.
From the day Terra-nort arrived, Ienzo seemed suspicious of him. Terra-nort only remembered the name Xehanort and nothing else about himself. Inevitably, however, it became Terra-nort's turn to put Ienzo to bed when he found him sleeping in the library one night. Unsure of what to do, he asked Braig. There was nothing Braig could do since he was banned from the task; all he offered was to point out which room was Ienzo's and wished him luck figuring the rest out for himself. Terra-nort picked the kid up without him waking and took him to the room Braig specified as his. Not knowing what to do, he put Ienzo down on the bed and considered just leaving him there. After realizing Ienzo was cold, however, he wrapped him up in the sheet he'd put him down on instead of actually putting it over him to start with. Ienzo woke up the next morning wondering how he'd gotten like this and realized who could have possibly done it. Terra-nort was strange, but at least he tried.
"Affect"
Ansem was worried that Ienzo's psychological scars would have a lasting impact on his development. Although the boy had started talking again, his seemingly flat affect was been cause for concern. He tried telling him jokes or reading him funny stories to get him to laugh, but nothing he did seemed to work. When he was finished, he looked at Ienzo and sighed.
"What's wrong, master?" Ienzo asked.
"You never laugh. You hardly ever smile. I just don't know what to do with you," Ansem replied sadly.
Ienzo hung his head. "I'm sorry. I'll try harder."
"It's not your fault. I need to know if you're happy here. I'm worried that I'm not a good enough parent..."
"Of course you are. You make me so happy. I promise I'll do a better job of showing it." Ienzo hugged him. "I love you, master."
Ansem held him close. "That's all I really wanted to hear. I love you too, Ienzo."
Suddenly Ienzo started giggling. "Your face tickles."
Ansem laughed in spite of himself. So it was just his personality? I was worried about nothing. "I'm glad we had this talk."
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