Running in Circles

10 years after the events of Birth by Sleep.

Honestly, there wasn't much to say about where I had spent most, if not all of my life.

The place I called home was a dead, desolate plane in the dull, annoying color of grey. It was neither darkness nor light, but a fog stretching as far as the eye could see. Farther, it seemed like there was neither a beginning nor an end. Maybe, over the time I had spent wandering, I was walking in circles. Circle after circle, aimlessly trying to find anything, but I had eventually cone to realize there was no one, nothing besides me in this place.

It had been this way for the last several years. Well, at least I assumed it had been a few years. Time was also an unknown concept without even a sun or moon to tell me when a day ended and another began.

Or, I had also thought time didn't exist here. Maybe I stood at the point between time and space with no way to escape, not even death. Or maybe, (and this was my preferred theory) there was a world beyond this one, and all I needed to do was find a way out of this prison.

But then again, I felt no hunger, no thirst, and no exhaustion. Real people felt these things, right? This led me to the third theory: I was dead. Maybe this was purgatory, or maybe I was roaming around the world blindly as a spirit. Either way, being here sucked ass. My misery was unparalleled.

I wanted to live, to breathe, to feel the soft ground and hear the sound of leaves rusting in the breeze. The memory of a life I once had laid vaguely in my mind. But someday, I knew I would completely forget everything. If I stayed here, I wouldn't know what being alive meant, that there was somewhere outside of this grey shell. The person I once was would die, and it would be just as empty as this place.

But there was something that always came back to me. A memory sharper than all the others that gave me a small hint to the life I must have had. I remember… someone.

I could scarcely recall sunset blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. There was also a voice… I think. I could almost hear it now. And a name. Ve-…Vanitas? Ugh, no, that was my name. (Thankfully, I could still manage to remember that still) But that boy's name was similar, I'm sure. If anything, he must have been the one who sent me here, the bastard. But if he did, why? Why was I sent to this numb grey hell? Maybe I had done something wrong in my past life… Maybe I was the bad guy myself.

Whatever it was, I couldn't remember. The amount of time I'd been in this shell was definitely great, after all, I'd forgotten everything that was and that I was. I could barely remember my own name, let alone my past.

Which lead me to theory number four: I had been in the grey abyss my entire existence, and this blurred memory of a life I had, of a blue-eyed boy, wasn't even real. Maybe I was going insane…

Then what is my purpose?

I do one of the only things I can and simply sit down along the hard grey ground. Jeez, this place could at least come with something softer I could rest my ass on. Not that I'm ever tired, or have anything to be tired from. Anyway, I stop to think about one of the only things I can, an idea I've wondered over hundreds and hundreds of times.

A way to get out of this place…

There were no walls to crack or any tools to break the hard floor beneath me, just me and this nothingness. But if there was a way I came inside, then there had to be a way to get out, right? For the thousandth time, I got up and decided to give it a shot.

Sighing, I stretched my shoulders before bolting forward into a sprint. I didn't know the sensation of fatigue, so I could run full speed for years if I wanted to. Of course, it was doubt that always made me stop. But if running didn't do anything this time, then I would only have one other option. That of course, made me feel like an even bigger idiot, since it seemed impossible.

Still, although the only thing I could really feel was my emotion, I was sick with wanting to break free. Whatever amount of years I'd been stuck inside this place was long enough for me. I wanted to see the world again. Feel again. See again. Be born again as a different person.

I didn't care… what it would take. I was done waiting for someone to break me out of here themselves.

. . .

In a short amount of time, a boy by the name of Sora unlocked his heart and became a heartless in order to save a friend. It was a great sacrifice that nearly cost him his life, but in a miraculous turn of events, the boy found his way out of the darkness and into the light of the world once again.

The strength of this small boy's heart was unparalleled. After a journey across different worlds in search of his friends, Sora was able to find his true power and break free of the darkness that tried to consume his heart.

It was in this moment, two beings were born from nothing. One, born as a piece of Sora's heart, took up the shape of the hero, Ventus. He would soon be known as Roxas, future member of the notorious Organization XIII.

The second took a similar shape to Sora's good friend, Kairi, whose heart she branched from. She would also fall into the hands of the Organization, nearly the same fate as the boy, Roxas, and would eventually be called Naminé.

The girl with no heart and the boy confined in a cage. Their fates would soon collide…

Formation at 12%.

Naminé's pale blonde hair fluttered in a non-existent breeze as she fell through the darkness, her very form being constructed from nothing. Connections were made and the girl was able to open up her sky-blue eyes slowly, blinking and looking around the dark space around her, her bangs waving gently in front of her gaze.

Who am I?

What am I?

Where am I?

These were just some of the questions she asked herself. Just coming into existence, Naminé had no understanding of the world she was about to enter. It would all come as a shock, but being a shadow of a girl already living, it would be easy for her to adapt.

For now, all she could do was fall further and wait.

Formation at 28%.

"C'mon!" There was suddenly a male's voice very far off, making the girl widen her eyes a bit. After a moment of listening, she confirmed to herself that it wasn't her imagining.

A banging, slamming on a surface. Naminé didn't understand what these sounds meant, or where they were coming from, but she was able to comprehend that there was someone out there in the darkness. "Break already!" she heard the voice shout.

Was this person trapped somewhere?

Formation at 36%

Naminé opened her mouth for the first time ever. "Hello?"

The banging came to a stop and a still silence followed before the voice spoke again. "H-Hello?" The male asked in a shaky tone, "Who's there?"

Naminé blinked. How was she supposed to answer that? She just came into existence. "I am…" she hesitated, "I'm a nobody." Yes, that seemed to fit. "Are you nobody too?"

Another silence, then what seemed like a laugh. "Yeah, you can say that."

Another like her? Naminé smiled at this. "Where are you? I can't see a thing."

"I should be asking you that. I hear your voice but this place is completely empty… It's the same grey hell I've lived in all this time." The boy explained, "You have no idea how great it is to hear someone's voice besides mine." There was a great lightness and honesty in his voice.

Formation at 49%

"You mean you're alone?" Naminé asked curiously after thinking his words over.

"I've been alone for as long as I could remember," he sighed, "So, tell me, are you an angel come to break me out?"

The girl gulped, a certain warm feeling creeping up along her cheeks at the word 'angel', "N-No," she breathed, "I mean, I would help you, but I don't even know where you are…"

"O-Oh," The boy sighed in disappointment, "But you're the first person I've talked to! There must be something," He said in a now dejected tone.

Formation at 68%

Namine bit her lip, "I might not be able to help you," she began softly, "But I can feel something in my heart, and it is very strong. Can you feel in too?"

A short silence. She could almost see the boy putting a hand to his chest. "Yeah…"

"Then, maybe they're connected somehow," Naminé continued, hoping she could reassure the boy somehow, "When two beings are destined to be together, their hearts connect in a way we can't fully understand. Someday, even if we are worlds apart right now, the invisible thread by which our hearts are connected will pull us together," she assured him.

Formation at 82%.

The girl looked up at the sudden light ahead, growing brighter and bigger as she continued to fall through the darkness. "I…I'm waking up."

"W-Wait," The boy shouted, his voice growing distant, "Please, don't leave me!" He cried out desperately.

"I can't stay," Naminé called to the nothingness sorrowfully, "But I promise we'll meet again soon. I might not know it's you, but I will be waiting!" A soft hum came from her chest, a subtle light glowing over her heart. "B-But please, what is your name?" She suddenly thought to ask.

Formation at 91%.

The light was getting brighter.

"My name?" The boy's voice could hardly be heard by this point, "Oh, my name is V-"

A cold silence followed as the blonde haired girl fell into the world of light. "No!" She screamed, reaching her hand to the fading darkness.

Formation complete.

V. The imprisoned boy's name started with a V…

AN: Don't think I'll be continuing but thanks for the read!