The first time he saw her was an unremarkable thing. Tedious even, since he had been setting the limits for the missions and cataloguing everything in the crowded bazaar got tedious quickly.

Too many people, with too many trivial details hollering off in waves from each. That had to be it for Saïx, who had to avoid another beggar narrowly skiving off with some thieved item-

It trips. With him, in an awkward collision halted by Saïx's battle training a moment too late when they're tangled on the sandy floor. Or she is tangled- close quarters can reveal those details quite well, even if only with a face. Unless she is an exceedingly pretty boy- worlds know Saïx has seen one too many of those.

But it's the light. The beggar is positively swimming in light, beaming it off in dangerous beams that catch Saïx slightly unaware. Or set him off- it is of the utmost importance to put distance between him and this woman, and fast. Something about secrecy, and something about still being enough of a neophyte to be wary of the effect of concentrated light on a Nobody.

"Aren't you going to help me up?"

The nerve. She tripped because of her ungainly garments- a loose dirty brown robe, or it maybe was a cloak- but anyways, because of that and not of him.

"I am not going to be charged as an accomplice, much less for someone in no position to bargain with."

A moment of hesitation and Saïx begins to set off. Gets quite away even, before a gasp from a guard makes him turn. The first thought is Heartless, chased by a nagging tally that calls to set the threshold for completion higher. And to count the types, the strength and he's already seeing the small fiery bell-heartless chime flares into the indecently hot air.

He can't say he's disappointed when he sees it's the beggar woman from before. Or amused, for she is standing with a regal bearing, cowl off and hands on her hips. A heavy length of hair hangs down her back in an oily tail, and by the way the irate guardsman is cowering between responses, Saïx judges her to be of quite some power.

After he sends off Demyx to his mission- by the scruff of his neck and a claymore pressed to the small of his back- Saïx teleports to the record room, and flicks through rows and rows of text until he reaches the entries for the world.

He didn't think Agrabah would have such a long entry. After the first couple of pages, he began to feel it was justified, and that someone should get his- or her, if Larxene decided to undertake the task from the bottom of her hollow chest- hands on the wishing lamp. Seemed like an easier plan.

After the tenth or so, he decided that the world was sorely overrated.

And then, at mythical thirteen- because it just had to be that number, to rile coincidence- he found the beggar girl staring out at him. A likeness of her done not at all meticulously, in faded pen- but it was her alright. The caption for the picture reads Jasmine- no surname, which should be odd- and the title of Princess is given to her in minuscule cursive.

Saïx decides, after some tactical thought, that befriending the ruler-to-be might prove beneficial. If nothing else, it can clear some of the hassle with stealth, or free them from the monopoly on goods carried out by the Moogle in the Grey Area.

The second time isn't a successive event. It actually took some tries- or more accurately, it happened after the fifth mission, on an off-time from eliminating heartless. And even more accurately, it happened after said fifth mission, when Saïx was fixing up more barriers for another mission.

"More of those?"

The voice isn't particularly loud, but it rings out across the square all the same. To be fair, there had been Heartless in the place up until very recently, and Saïx was still sporting a couple wounds from the latest fight.

He turns around slowly to face her. From her perspective, he'd look like a faceless figure in a long coat, which suits Saïx well. He'd rather have one of the younger neophytes try their hands at consorting with this Princess Jasmine.

From his perspective, she looks like a young woman in a ridiculously short blouse and long baggy pants of some light fabric. Considering the weather- sweltering and plastering the leather coat to his skin and his hair to his neck- she might have a point. Hands on her hips, like she is in a position to chastise him, and head held tall. She'd cut an impressive image, if she reached higher than to his shoulder and if Saïx could feel impressed.

"I don't think they do much. I've gone through streets marked with those with ease, same as one hapless citizen too many."

A critical glare. There's still the same haze of light about her, though Saïx notes she was standing in plain sunlight both times. It might have just been a hallucination- although, if it is, the aura expands a little. In protection, maybe, or in reaction to some emotion.

"I have seen the heartless in droves between them though. If you're setting them up, you might as well make them of general use."

"I do not have the capabilities to do so."

A lie, since Saïx thinks he can harness the spell to do that. If he's at fuller strength, he implies with a couple of staggering steps to affix the end of a chain to the wall.

He feels something cool spill down his back, over the leather. A soft fizzing, as a potion much diluted in water would do when regenerating tissues.

"Well, you now have my backing. Ensure that they can function for the general populace- they already think a bit highly of you."

"Do they really? It amuses me."

A strange humming sound- she is laughing, of all things, and at him. Saïx, while not caring for such a thing, returns to his previous job. The laughter stops- quite suddenly, he reckons- and she draws nearer.

Her hand phases through one of the black chains, and she stands a bit mesmerized by the dark links crawling along the air.

"And here I thought you weren't as arrogant… but yes. Long time since someone dealt with the heartless with any sort of success."

She takes a commanding pose- as if that would work, weaponless as she is- and stares straight up at Saïx's eyes. Or where they would be, had he dropped his hood.

"Come here tomorrow. I expect that there will be heartless around this area- always are around the bazaar. I wonder why."

Saïx sends Roxas over there, heavily hinting at the bazaar. The boy mindlessly sets off, barely checking his panel arrangement. He returns late- as always, and he really has to get to get Axel to curb that behavior.

Mission reports are handed in, Roxas's disappointingly thin.

But at least the added enchantments work, as Roxas reported having to duck out of sight too many times because of people banging against the barriers.

"You aren't any good at keeping promises."

The voice comes from barely outside the ornate door at the end of the street. Saïx really should stop getting in the habit of arriving with his back to her- it was a tactical disadvantage. And discourteous towards royalty, although she didn't act like one.

Then again, no princess in their records acted like such anyways, so Jasmine was normal by those standards.

"I have kept your civilians safe, haven't I?"

"I had to stay at your side for it to happen. And I didn't mean that- although, now that you mention it, thanks."

Saïx unwittingly cocks his head to the side. It's an easy pantomime for surprise he doesn't feel, and it lets his head follow the line of the shadows easier.

"Then what promise did you mean? I don't recall any other compromise being made."

"I meant coming yesterday. I am quite sorry to break it to you, but you aren't completely identical even with those on."

She is fiddling with the beads near the cloak's zipper. Off-handedly, and more curious than anything else- that Saïx is a non-existent one doesn't faze her too much. But she doesn't know so yet.

"And Roxas is also quite inept at stealth. Did too many people see him?"

"So he's… Roxas? Weird name. And yes, about half the bazaar merchants- he got showered with gold coins though. The heartless make away with many goods, and the thieves are usually faster at arriving there than the merchants are."

She says the last with the ring of a private joke. She hasn't ceased her toying with the dangling decorations in Saïx's outfit, which is a bit uncomfortable.

Physically. She's too close, and even thinking of additional heat is uncomfortable.

"About that, what's your name? That way, I can ask around for you."

"It is of no consequence."

"Of course it is. Unless you want, what was it, Roxas to be asked about it…"

"Saïx."

He states it before the fact that Roxas is still mostly unresponsive catches up to him. But he definitely doesn't want say, Axel or Xigbar to be asked, much less by Jasmine. They would become incredibly counterproductive.

"And I was commenting on unusual names… I'm Jasmine. A pleasure to meet you…"

She pulls on the hood, causing it to whip downwards. Saïx is relieved for that, in the sense that it feels a bit cooler and not having the leathery material pressing down on his head is comfortable.

Then he catches up to the fact that Jasmine has seen him, and he simply goes to throw his hood back on.

"Finally. And no, you aren't doing that- if you collapse from isolation, I am not aiding you. Immediately, that is. I still am requiring aid with the heartless."

Saïx shoots a pointed glare at her- it doesn't have much of an effect, barely making Jasmine falter before resuming her regal stance.

"Do not be concerned then."

Saïx still refuses to send himself more frequently to Agrabah. It proves too much of a tactical hassle, to leave the administrative duties to the others. He's considered it, weighing the capabilities of everyone, before determining that he'd rather have Jasmine mildly annoyed with him than the Castle in shambles.

He gets a message back of sorts though.

Roxas gets sent back with obscene amount of money, sending the moogle prices up the roof for synthesis. And making one of the fridges burst over with sea salt ice-cream messily boxed and shoved inside.

Demyx gets harangued for a week straight after the missions, half because of his minstrel-like nature and half because he reportedly looks like the hooded man who's kept the heartless restrained.

(Oh, the people are truly ignorant and in bliss- if Demyx was really on the job, the world would've fallen in a week at the most).

And Xigbar- of course, it had to be Xigbar… he got sent back with a literal message, writ on a dainty scroll and declaimed in the middle of the Grey Area at top volume.

Saïx had cleared out everyone but Axel (who was sleeping like the near-dead on one of the couches, and therefore rendered unimportant) by that point, but it didn't stop him from silencing the Freeshooter with a doom-filled gaze.

And the beginnings of a berserk battle when that failed. More accurately, just the idea of Saïx about to lunge at him with murderous intent and a great power boost, but the idea worked.

After that, Saïx had to capitulate.

"You're reminding me of the visiting princes."

The comment is said idly, with the requisite annoyance. Why, Saïx doesn't know or much care. He's more concerned about however Jasmine managed to coerce him into sharing a large jug of water in one of the Palace gardens, with a large tiger prowling at their feet.

"In what manner?"

She looks pensive for a while, counting off thoughts on her slim fingers. She lets the hand drop over the tiger's head then, smirking a bit before answering.

"You cannot hold a promise; neither can you act reasonably humble or accessible. You've sent your subjects to do your work, you've been there barely for token acts and you've taken-"

"Almost none of the credit. Neither are they my subjects- they are just too scattered to deal with administrative duties. In fact, I can't get them to accomplish basic duties such as reconnaissance or dealing with your heartless problem."

Jasmine's look is curious now. Maybe at the fact that Saïx let loose with an outburst of anything- which he isn't supposed to do, but he didn't come all the way here to hear the near-useless be lauded.

"As for the arrogance…"

"I cannot feel overconfidence." It's a gross overstatement, Saïx knows, but Jasmine doesn't and therefore it is acceptable.

"I can't say it's time to change that… but something should be done about it."

Demyx whoops the loudest when a vacation day is called out of the blue. Axel just pulls a couple of sneaky jokes about the tigress in Agrabah who has him in line, which earns him a sharp glare from Saïx.

"Oh, liven up. You need a vacation more than I do."

"Because I've worked, you mean."

The event can't be called a festival really- it's just another sultan wannabe strutting around the town with too much of an ego and a garish amount of riches.

"This Ali is just like all the others…"

"I think that there is something different…"

Saïx takes a long look, disregarding the rambunctious parade and trying to focus on the small-ish figure of this Prince Ali.

"Just seems to have the same overblown self-image of the others. With the same pride issues and the same little tricks that they think work so well."

"Speaking from personal experience?"

Saïx thinks instantly of a boy with flame-red hair and throwing disks. Getting into too many squabbles and managing to win a fair number of them because he was at his side. It isn't exactly what Jasmine is getting at, he supposes, the boys being exceedingly different as of the current times.

"You might say so."

"Well, I'd say I've had more than enough experience dealing with these men already."

Saïx makes a deal with Demyx, of all people. He's lazy enough to not spread rumors, however that works, and when offered a way out of risking his own skin out in the field…

Well, setting him to peruse the records is a much easier feat than expected. He only gets the obvious arguments, about setting Luxord or even Zexion (the nerdy kid, as Demyx can call him) to the task. They even love reading, Demyx says as he reclines on the couch.

They also can let some information leak easily, Saïx knows, in too many riddles and mental sleights. And they also aren't in the red with missions and challenge sigils- but Demyx might just be, and the punishments are-

"Okay, okay, I'll do it! Just don't…!"

"I won't, provided I get all the required information by dusk today."

For once, Demyx doesn't prove too disappointing, even when the notes are sloppily written and redundant in most cases.

Which is why, when Ali is still in her good graces some days-weeks-months later, Saïx is near astounded.

"Proving less troublesome than usual, I suppose."

"Or more, since I might end up taking a liking to him."

Have ended up taking a liking to him, Saïx corrects under his breath. It is obvious, in the way she holds herself and even acts. A lot dreamier, a bit absent in thought even when conversing with him about any and everything.

"So, when did you meet?"

"Long enough ago, although he eluded my mind for a while. Re-encountered ourselves sometime in this year… and there might be some truth to old wives' tales, if I stop to think about it."

"Which ones?"

"Where there was fire, ashes remain."

"It is overly literal, Jasmine. And I am fairly certain you don't intend to associate this Ali with…"

"I meant the memories, Saïx. You took it literally."

"Personal experience, as you said."

She leans a bit into him, teasing him with a smile.

"I'd like to know, if it isn't too much to ask for…?"

"It sadly is."

The conversation is cut off much too abruptly for even Saïx's liking.

"Hey, Saïx, looking down?"

"Axel, your mission is in Agrabah, take out heartless, the rewards are-"

"Your girlfriend quizzing me on why you've chosen to take extended leave from the tropical world of-"

"Sudden change. Deal with the Antlion in the desert, and watch out for the Slasher variety of heartless-"

"Aw, come on… you don't have a heart to have sentimental problems with!"

"I'll make it two Antlions if you keep wasting my time-"

Axel drags him through the portal, simply by running through with all the missions in hand.

Far off, still in the Gray Area, Demyx lets loose a triumphant chord on his sitar.

Jasmine catches sight of the two figures walking in her general direction. Rajah follows her, growling at the pair of long black cloaks.

"Oh, don't tell me you don't remember Saïx… he has eyes like yours. Come on Rajah…"

"Hey! You're Jasmine, right?"

She nods slowly, signaling to Rajah that he's to prepare for a pounce. The first time this happened, a long time had drifted by unremembered.

She's not falling a second time and-

"Axel, if you continue to make a fool of yourself, it will be the tiger who punishes you. I will simply watch- I've approved of its methods."

"And you took ages to do so, Saïx!"

"Had to ascertain that Rajah would be appropriate against more than pampered princes, didn't I?"

She laughs, long and wavering like a bird. Axel joins in, too raucous, and Saïx plain smirks. He can really look like a tiger, placid smile and golden eyes.

"Good job there then. Now, what business do you have in Agrabah today, and I request you stay in for longer. You still owe me those tales of… Isa, I believe."

He doesn't return every day. Jasmine tries to cajole or order him around, but Saïx always ends up doing as he pretty much wishes.

It might just be because now Aladdin- or Ali, as he still insists on calling him- is a near permanent fixture. But that's to be expected, things being as they are.

And yet, the visits are more frequent than just the first times setting barriers barely in the shade of the city walls. Now he stays for long enough to narrate a small fragment of a story, or to finish a jug of water between two.

Rajah still doesn't like him too much, not even when Saïx passes a hand over the feline's head with a sedate look in his eyes.

But Jasmine deems this good enough, and settles a truce when she sits between them, and spins one of her own little stories about a girl sneaking out-

"You really are in need of visiting new worlds, if that's the only tale you know."

"And you'll be the one to show me?"

Saïx doesn't live up to that challenge. But by now, Jasmine has stopped expecting him too.

Doesn't mean he isn't chided for that.

A.N. – the plot bunny just wouldn't leave my head :P But now it's written, and I'm quite happy with how it turned out…

Okay, except the timeline. It just plain doesn't make sense, but I tried! Or something… and they might be a bit OoC, but… hopefully, it isn't too much.

As always, the characters are copyrighted to Disney and Square-Enix, whichever is appropriate in the circumstances, and the pairing is credited to Raberba-Girl (plus the tiger eyes detail)… the thing masquerading as plot is of my own creation though. Not sure why would anyone else want to steal that though.

So, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, and reviews are appreciated but not demanded. See you around!

-Mirae