… Lexaeus is one of the founding members of Organization XIII, but that’s not really indicative of how important he is to the plot.
Okay so this is going to be difficult because in Reverse/Rebirth, Lexaeus only has about 7-8 minutes of screentime, and his personality in those 7-8 minutes can be summed up as “strong, quiet, and smart”. That’s it. He goes along with Zexion’s plans and is pretty much his muscle, but he doesn’t really do anything important until he fights Riku after he completes his second set of Disney Worlds, which results in his death when he succeeds in pushing Riku into the darkness, and then almost immediately gets killed by “Ansem”. Just about all we get is him lamenting that he fought Riku, which doesn’t really give him much depth since the battle resulted in his death.
He’s faced as an Absent silhouette in Kingdom Hearts 2.
In Days, he teaches Roxas how to use Limit Breaks by hitting him in the face hard enough to almost kill him in what is perhaps the funniest scene in the game and one that I and many other fans will forever be mad about not being included in the Days Movie.
Next time, we will be talking about an infinitely more interesting character, DiZ!
Ienzo was “around Ventus’ age in BBS. He was just small. He was at youngest. 14 in BBS. By KH1 he’s like 24. Fucking please learn Canon.
Okay as someone who’s pretty good with the canon. Can I get a link?
Edit: Are we dealing with an interview which is definite canon or a manga/novel which is relative canon? Or something else?
Still waiting on proof. I would like some.
Okay this took me quite a bit to put together because I couldn’t find a reliable source for the BBS novel and ended up purchasing a physical copy and reading through it myself to avoid any misinformation. I believe this is the line that OP is referring to:
“a silver-haired boy dressed in white, not much younger than he (Ven), was surrounded by a pack of unversed”
There are a few things to note here.
First is that this is a translated novel, in the same way that the games are translated. I don’t speak or read Japanese so I have no way of knowing for myself whether or not the translation is true to its Japanese version. Just something to keep in mind.
Next is that it seems like this quote is coming from Ven’s perspective (granted the point of view in this book is… strange…) rather than being an actual narrative description of Ienzo, so should be taken with a grain of salt in general. Ven looked at Ienzo and thought “he doesn’t look much younger than me”, but his knowledge of Ienzo doesn’t go any further than that. One could even argue that Ven was running into a battle and wasn’t fully focused on Ienzo, or that in the games he comes up from behind Ienzo and so wouldn’t be able to fully see him anyway. Or you could say that the KH novels are written with pretty matter-of-fact wording and the author/translator most likely didn’t think that deep into it and just stated what they thought was a brief and efficient enough description of him.
On a broader note, there is a lot of disagreement on whether or not the novels are considered to be a part of the canon. I couldn’t find a single primary source (such as an interview) stating one way or the other if they are or not (and I looked pretty hard ngl). Even the major news sites like KHInsider and KH13 made statements one way or the other without sourcing anything. With absolutely no direct mention of the novels from Nomura, whether or not the novels should be treated as canon is up to the individual consumer. (That being said, they are known to have gone against the game canon from time to time, so I would personally suggest considering them a very loose canon at best.)
It is also difficult to know how deep Nomura’s involvement with the novels runs. Again, I couldn’t find any primary sources saying whether or not he oversees them. Some sources say he has a hand in them, and others say he doesn’t, but again there is the issue of absolutely no primary sources to trust. The novel itself credits Nomura only as producing the original concept, so it shouldn’t be assumed that his involvement reached much further than that. While the author, Tomoco Kanemaki, actually helped with script writing for Days and is credited for her work on it, she did not have any noted involvement in BBS or the development of younger Ienzo as a character.
Going a bit further, a lot of people accept Ventus as being 16 years old. This comes from Nomura himself during the Square Enix Presents section of TGS 2018. The full panel can be foundhere with the interview in question starting at about 3:02:00 (Nomura himself does not appear in person, but rather is speaking through a voice call). Granted, this is all in Japanese, but a fan translation of the section in question can be found here. It reads as follows:
Q: Terra, Aqua, and Ventus as well as Xehanort- we want to know their ages.
Nomura: We didn’t really have set ages. Terra is around 20, Aqua is about 18, Ventus is 16, and Xehanort is uh…Young Xehanort is 18-20, Master Xehanort is like 80 or something.
So yes! Nomura did say that Ventus is 16! He also said, however, that they didn’t really have set ages while making the game (this interview is coming 10 years after it’s release and is actually part of KH3’s promotion, so a question about the BBS trio is honestly a bit out of left field), so take that as you will. So this bit of information attached to Ienzo being “not much younger” than Ven could certainly point to Ienzo being 13-14 in age.
And… that’s really it. I had hoped to find more primary resources to stick in here and provide any more clarity, but there really aren’t any that I could find. As far as the novels go, they unfortunately aren’t discussed much by Squeenix or Nomura. I also wasn’t able to find anything else that OP may have been referring to other than this line from the novel so I’m inclined to believe this is what they were trying to reference, but of course if there’s something that I missed I’m happy to admit when I’ve misevaluated something and learn new things in the process.
So this is a very long-winded way of saying that there is basis to believe that Ienzo could be a (very small) 14 year old in BBS, however, it is not canon and does not need to be treated as such. One of my favorite things about Kingdom Hearts is that a lot of the characters only have vague ages, which makes them more relatable to more people. That’s part of what makes the series so beloved and why so many of us love Ienzo in the first place~
________________________________________ Zexion as Billy Kaplan from the Young Avengers I was going to draw all of the Organization as characters from other series but this is the only one that turned out decent :/ Thank you @larxdems for hosting this event; it was a lot of fun! :D
Ice cream, a soft frozen food made with sweetened and flavored milk fat. A treat that is popular amongst children and adults. A sweet treat shared by lovers, friends, and family alike. A magical treat that chased the blues away. A magical treat that made you feel happiness.
Zexion stood in front of the candy shop in Twilight Town. Remembering when he was little, a Somebody, Ienzo, would go to the shop in Radiant Garden with Ansem and buy an ice cream to eat. Lord Ansem always used Ienzo as an excuse to take a break from his work to get sea salt ice cream and the young boy didn’t mind. He liked spending time with his father figure and tasting the salty but sweet ice cream.
From what he remembered he liked it.
Zexion looked around to make sure there was no one around and went into the shop.
“Hello, welcome.” An older husky woman said, giving him a bright smile.
The teen blushed awkwardly and looked away shyly, he wasn’t used to people talking to him outside the castle, mostly because he was supposed to be hidden from the public. He quickly looked around, avoiding the cookies and candy around him before finding a small freezer that had all sorts of ice cream. Zexion spotted the one he wanted, the sky blue popsicle. He took it and went to the counter to pay for it. When he left the shop he had a memory of holding hands with Ansem while they walked back home to the castle, eating their ice creams. The teen knew he couldn’t do that anymore, there was no one here for him to walk with or to hold hands.
The Nobody then sighed. He supposed he was too old for such things, or didn’t deserved it rather. Nobodies had no right to little moments of happiness such as those, only Somebodies could.
But… He looked at the cold treat. He really wanted to experience that little bit of happiness again.
A chiming bell was heard throughout the town, signalling the new hour.
“Maybe I can eat this by the bell tower..?” He thought to himself as he headed towards that destination.
Civilians walked by him, one in particular caught his eye. A little boy holding his mother’s hand as they walked down the sidewalk. Zexion could’ve sworn that he saw his younger self and his deceased mother, but it was only his imagination. He watched them walk away before heading to the tower. He found a staircase that led up to the tower.
When he climbed he saw Master Ansem walk in front of him before turning around and reached his arm back, “Need help catching up Ienzo?”
Zexion’s eyes widened as he reached for the man’s hand, but he disappeared. The Nobody’s mind played tricks on him again. He just sighed and continued up the stairs till he reached the top. The view from the tower was rather nice, a perfect place to watch the sunset.
He walked to the ledge and sat down, letting his feet dangle over. He felt small again, like when he was Ienzo sitting on a bench with Ansem.
Now was the time he was waiting for. The taste of happiness.
He unwrapped his ice cream from the wrapper, revealing slightly melted ice cream from not being eaten right away. Zexion moved it towards his mouth, he wanted to remember this emotion, and took a bite.
…
…
…
He spit it out, it was nothing but a salty flavor. He looked at the ice cream frustrated as hot tears streamed down his face.
Disgusting!
He then threw the popsicle as hard as he could off of the tower and gave out a scream of frustration. When he was Ienzo, he loved eating that ice cream.
Zexion heaved and sobbed some more.
Why couldn’t he enjoy it now? Why didn’t it give him happiness?
It only made him feel terrible.
“Oh…” The teen mumbled as he realized, “I cannot enjoy it because I am a Nobody… Of course.” He then stood up from the ledge as his tears stopped, “Nobodies can’t enjoy human pleasures. That is one of the reasons we strive for a heart…” He wiped his tears away nonchalantly.
“Yes… That’s it…”
Zexion then lifted his hand up to summon a dark vortex so he could return to the castle and left the clock tower behind with the bitter ice cream.
Zexion’s footsteps echoed in the Castle that Never was as he walked up the steps. Everything was silent till he heard Vexen’s voice call out to him urgently.
“Zexion! Zexion!”
The teen watched as Vexen rushed down the stairs and calmly answered, “Right here. What is it?”
“Where is lord Xemnas?” The blond man asked dramatically.
“His usual spot.” The teen simply said.
In response, Vexen gave a disgusted expression and sneered, “The Chamber of Repose?”
“Yes. Go and see for yourself.”
Number IV’s face became even more displeased, “THAT ISN’T FUNNY.” He then turned to face away from Number VI, “I suppose I have no choice but to wait. But the clock is ticking. Time is running out. What to do?” He said avoiding eye contact with the teen and walked away, “Why is he never around when I need him? It’s almost as if he knows I’m looking for him!”
Zexion kept eye contact on the man till he was out of sight and his frustrated mumbling unheard. The teen then continued his way to the stairs before abruptly stopping, hearing a voice.
“You know, I don’t like that place either.”
Number VI turned around and narrowed his eyes upwards towards the ceiling, to see his higher up, Xigbar, once known as Braig, wearing his hood covering his face and sitting on the pipes above him.
“What about you, Zexion? What do you think?” He added.
Zexion wanted to avoid Xigbar’s questions, “I think eavesdropping is intrusive. Why are you even here? You and Xaldin were tasked to recruit new members.”
Xigbar then hopped off the pipes and landed on his feet gracefully, before standing up at his full composure.
“Have you forgotten, or were you procrastinating?”
Xigbar answered coolly, “As if! I’m doing my job. I’ll have you know, I found one just yesterday. ‘Mar–something’.” He scratched his chin, “That puts the Organization’s count at eleven!” He shrugged to himself, “And since I’ve been working so hard, I had Lexaeus take my place for the day. I want to rest up for tomorrow, so I can wake up feeling nice and refreshed.”
The young man didn’t care for Xigbar’s excuses, “Is that so? Well then, I will leave you to it.” He waved his hand nonchalantly, “I have work to catch up on. Good day.”
Zexion then turned his back to the man and walked over to the staircase. He heard Xigbar’s feet echo behind him, trying his best to ignore it, until the man wrapped his arm around Zexion’s shoulder and pulled him in closer like they were friends.
They are not.
“Oh don’t be like that.” Xigbar said as Zexion looked away, avoiding eye contact. “Come on. Stay and talk!” The older man moved his face closer to the younger one, “Isn’t it about time you told me about Xemnas’ secret?”
Zexion’s crystal blue eyes then glared at Xigbar.
Xemnas’ secret or rather Xehanort’s?
It’s been ten years since that day. How Xehanort was just brought to the castle in Braig’s arms, while Dilan followed with armor and a legendary keyblade. King Ansem just let him in without a problem. Xehanort claimed he had amnesia and Ansem the Wise believed it, oh how too trusting he was. Xehanort just slipped his way into the castle and Ienzo’s family without a problem. He also slipped into Ansem’s precious research of the heart as his student. He did this all too easily. Ienzo never trusted him because he saw what happened.
When sneaking out of the castle to play in the town square. The sky was covered in dark clouds, it made it look like it was nighttime. He saw two people at the square. Xehanort choking a blue haired woman with one hand. The boy was scared and hid behind one of the trees. He could not hear what they were saying, just watched the scene unfold. Xehanort dropped the woman to the ground and in a flash of puffy darkness pulled out a legendary keyblade. A weapon he only heard from Ansem the Wise. Ienzo gulped, he knew what kind of power it had. It can steal hearts and make you fade away forever.
The woman then summoned her own keyblade out of light and two started fighting. Everything grew darker and the smell of sulfur filled the air. Ienzo covered his nose. Was this the smell of darkness?
He couldn’t stand the smell anymore so he hurried towards the staircase leading to the castle, before tripping on his shoe laces. He quickly got up and continued up the stairs, ran through the gates, ran down the hall, and locked himself in his room.
Ienzo pulled his clothing off of him, the smell of darkness was on him. It was intense and disgusting. He felt so dirty and tainted. He hurried to his private bathroom and turned on the water on full blast. The boy quickly got into the tub and scrubbed his skin roughly, but the smell wouldn’t go away. Maybe it was in his hair? He poured shampoo on top of his head and scrubbed, tears running down his face as the soap entered his eyes. Oh the smell wouldn’t go away.
He started sobbing in the tub and laid down on the cold porcelain surface, he just wanted the smell to go away.
After an hour in the tub, Ienzo turned off the water and climbed out. Finally it was gone. He dried himself off, wore his pajamas, and climbed into bed. He stayed in bed the whole time till Evën went to check up on him and determined Ienzo was ill.
The young boy stayed in bed for two more days before he was eventually okay enough to go out for sea salt ice cream with Ansem. Ice cream with the king always made him happy. After they had gotten ice cream and headed back home, they were walking down the hall when Ienzo smelled a familiar scent. He stopped and turned his gaze around and saw him, the man from town square walking with Braig.
Ever since that day, Ienzo’s life had changed.
The man Xehanort never spoke to the young boy, only looked at him with those cruel orange eyes. Speaking of eyes, no one noticed that Braig’s eyes were no longer brown, but yellow. Evën would be in his lab for hours, Dilan and Aeleus also, which concerned Ienzo because they were indeed not scientists. Everyone became different when that man came in, his family began to crumble apart.
There was one time when Ienzo tried to talk to the king about what he saw Xehanort do, but he would ignore him in favor of his research. Oh his research… So many children were experimented on. Xehanort somehow convinced Ansem into doing it.
Everyone around him changed. No one heard him so he became quiet. He never told what he saw on that dark day. That Xehanort had a keyblade.
And eventually they all lost their hearts. Became part of a cult with Xehanort putting himself on top. Another kicker was that Xehanort took Ansem’s name for his own research, changed everyone else’s name, and gave them numbered ranks.
Ienzo became Zexion, but he kept quiet about it. Xehanort had too much power and would destroy him if he ever stepped out of place.
So Zexion kept to himself while Xigbar rambled about Xemnas. If he revealed any secrets, he knew there would be consequences for him.
“Da-ru-ma-saaaaaan GAKORONDA!” Braig said, turning away from the castle wall to see Ienzo frozen in place in the hallway.
The man chuckled and looked back to the wall, “Darumasan-ga-koronnnnnn-DA!” He turned his head to see Ienzo standing on one leg, a bit closer to him.
He looked back to the wall, “Daaaaaa-RUMASANGAKORONDA!” He turned as Ienzo tripped onto the carpet. “You moved!”, Braig went up to him and picked the little boy up. “You’re my prisoner now!”
Aeleus walked down the hall with Dilan. Ienzo noticed them and reached out to them, “Heeeelp mee! The oni has me!” The small boy’s voice was soft and wasn’t loud, it was very rare for him to speak.
“What are you doing Braig? You should be at your post.” Dilan stated, crossing his arms, “What kind of captain of the guard are you?”
“I don’t know who Braig is.” Braig said, putting Ienzo down but held his hand, “I am Daruma-san! If you wish to save the little boy, you must play!”
The man with the dreadlocks scoffed, “Nonsense.”
Aeleus then placed a hand on Dilan’s shoulder, “Dilan. We have to save Ienzo.”
“… What?”
“It is our sworn oath as castle guards to protect the castle and everyone who lives in it.”
“Save meee Dilan.” Ienzo said reaching out.
Aeleus smiled, “Let’s go save him!”
Dilan rolled his eyes, “Fine.”
Ienzo made a childish giggle and pointed, “You start at the end of the carpet.”
The two other guards walked to the end of the carpet and waited for the game to start. Braig smirked and looked at the wall.
“Daruma-san ga koronda!” Braig said, turning his head to see that the two men were already halfway towards him. He then moved his face back to the wall, where Aeleus started to move towards Ienzo.
“Darumasankoronda!” Braig said quicker, turning his head to see Aeleus stumble, “You moved!”
“Oh no! You’re his prisoner!” Ienzo said as dramatically as he could.
The large man chuckled and held Ienzo’s hand and reached out to Dilan, “It’s up to you Dilan as a soldier, to save us all.”
“Oh please, you are dramatic.” Dilan said, rolling his eyes.
Braig moved his sight back to the wall, “Daaaa-ruuuu-ma-saaaannnn kooo-RANDA!” He turned to see that Dilan didn’t move from his spot.
“Dilaaan.” Ienzo whined.
“You’re almost there.” Aeleus stated.
Dilan sighed.
Braig looked at the wall. Dilan crouched down to the floor.
“Daru-ma-san—”
The black haired guard then leaped into the air and glided to the other players and gracefully reached the ground.
“Koran–”
Dilan then chopped Ienzo and Braig’s hands gently to make sure he didn’t hurt the boy, “You’re free.”
Hearing that, Aeleus picked up Ienzo and ran the other way. Dilan was confused for a moment as Braig yelled.
“Daruman-san koronda stop!”
Then they froze and Dilan was still confused.
“How many steps Dilan?” Braig asked, smirking.
The other man blinked in confusion, “Three?”
“Big or small?”
“Small?”
Braig then took a step, “One.”
He took another, “Two.”
And another, “Three.”
He then grabbed Dilan’s arm, “Now you’re the oni.”
Dilan protested, “I am not play—”
“Hurry Braig! You have to start at the beginning with us!” Ienzo shouted.
“Don’t need to tell me twice!” Braig stated as he rushed over.
Dilan who did not want to play this childish game any longer changed his mind when he saw how excited Ienzo was. Out of the months Ienzo lived here in the castle, never did Dilan see the boy so excited for anything. He supposed playing one more game wouldn’t hurt if it was making Ienzo happy.
He turned around and faced the wall. Ienzo ran as fast as he could towards the guard.
“Daruma… san.” He then felt someone hugged his leg. He quickly gazed down to see Ienzo smiling almost ear to ear.
“I caught you!”
Dilan smiled, “You caught me.”
“BORING.” Braig shouted, “That was a quick game!”
Dilan then narrowed his eyes at Braig, “Then we will play another round!”
“I want to be the oni!” Ienzo stated going to the wall and shooed Dilan away, “Go go.”
The man smiled and nodded before heading towards his fellow guards so they could start the game over.
“Daaa-ruuuma-saaann.”
The guards took a few steps to start the game. They played again and again that day, till the sun set and Ienzo was tired. It was a day like this that made the fondest of memories.
…
…
…
So that’s why they fight to get their hearts back.
Lanyard art for the Seeker Saga tarot card bonus merch. We are so close to reaching our next stretch goal! Pre-orders end in 3 days, so order yours by December 10th! Iink in the comments.
