For writing this, my sister drew me a picture of Luxord and Xigbar, with a nice, um, heading to it. They look suitably sad. I like it! Even if my sister was convinced I'd cry in disgust at the sight of it. Though she didn't draw it to congratulate me finishing this first part. Now I owe her a lot of 411 stuff. Which will hopefully be my next project.

This story which is told from Xigbar's point of view, is a side story to my other story, Passion. I planned to write it a long time ago, but only just got inspiration for it some time ago. It feels good to be writing again.

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is the property of Square Enix and Disney.

Spaces in Time

Chapter One

0.
As he walks towards his position, where he will wait for his opponent to arrive and do battle with him for one last time, Xigbar thinks of all the things that have become important to him; he thinks of all the moments that, once upon a time, he would never have given a second thought to.

He can still remember exactly how it started, and he knows, or at least he thinks he knows, how it all will end.

1.
Day One:-

Subject appears to be a tall, fair-skinned blonde. Male. Appears to be maintaining human shape.

No sightings of abnormalities yet. Subject is capable of social interaction but displays all signs of typical Nobody behavior. Condition is stable.

Day Two:-

Subject continues to retain human form. Still no sign of natural magicks or other enhanced physical capabilities.

Subject has been sighted to spend three quarters of his time in taverns. Circumstances suggest familiarity with the current with the art of gambling. Current record: all wins, no losses (or so I've heard). Habit may or may not lead to impulsive risk-taking in a later part of time. Behavior should be noted.

Day Three:-

Still no signs of magicks or unusual manifestation of darkness. Subject continues to spend the majority of his days gambling.

Subject seems to have a preference for coffee over all other drinks.(I did like Vexen and followed that scientific method thing we learned, except for the experiment part.)

Number of meals had, including breaks between games in a day: 7
Number of times coffee was ordered: 5

Conclusion: Subject has an innate preference for coffee.

May either be signs of addiction to caffeine or an unconscious return to old habits. Could also mean innately low energy level in the morning. Subject's Other might have spent the majority of his life during nighttime. Behavior should be noted.

Subject was almost caught in a tavern brawl earlier today. A fellow gambler accused him of cheating (not that you could blame him. It's should be impossible to win that many times in a row) and the situation turned slightly sour. However, the subject smoothly talked his way out of it. Natural elements may be related to luck. Possible magical property and easy handling of difficult situations should be noted.

Subject appears to be passively searching for something, possibly more signs of the Organization. He could be curious about the information given a few days ago. It is possible that he will give in soon, either tomorrow or later this evening.

Other than that, the subject's physical condition continues to remain stable.

P.s. Throughout the entire time I've been here, he seemed to be avoiding giving out his name. There were a few times he did, but I have a feeling it wasn't his real name or anything. That shows extremely cautious behavior, should be noted. Social interaction is kept to the barest minimum. Behavior may have been carried over from his previous life.

P.p.s You know, this whole observing from the dark is pretty fun. Way better than sticking around the castle. Guess I'm saying thanks for the mission, Xemnas. And I think he really is addicted to coffee. I tried the stuff they serve at the inn he's staying at and it tastes horrible. You have to need it to be able to drink it.

2.
Xigbar wakes up the next day feeling only mildly rested. Parts of him are still complaining of tiredness even as he gets up from bed.

When he reaches the kitchen, Xaldin is already sitting at the table, nursing a half-empty mug. The lancer lifts his hand in greeting and says, "How did your mission go?"

Xigbar pulls open the refrigerator door and stares at its contents, hoping to find something he's willing to eat. "Okay, I guess. There wasn't any trouble from the Heartless or the locals so things went pretty smoothly." He closes the door and flips open the cabinets, thinking to find better luck there.

"Did you get him to come with you?" is the next question.

"Yeah. We got back here last night." After going through a few more cabinets, he randomly picks out a packet snack and casually rips the plastic open. "He had a short talk with Xemnas, and then I showed him to his room. Probably still asleep."

When he sits down at the table with his choice breakfast, Xaldin scrunches up his face in a disapproving look. "Anything I should be forewarned about?"

"Nothing yet." A thought occurs to him and he gets up again to find himself a mug of his own. As he sets it down on the counter, his eyes fall on the coffee maker, three-quarters full still and he feels his mouth tug into a grin.

There is a brief moment of silence before his friend's voice comes from beside him. "Xigbar."

He tilts his head in the other man's direction, keeping his eyes trained on the glass pot in front of him. "Yes?"

"Why are you smiling at the coffee maker?"

Xigbar can feel his grin tug itself wider even as he looks to his right to meet the brunette's curious frown. Then, he lifts the pot and pours himself some coffee, feeling the warmth of the liquid against his hand. "No reason."

3.
Throughout the entire period of their search, Xigbar talked about all kinds of things. He didn't know why but it felt natural to talk. Maybe it was something about the curious way the other voiced his words or the silence between them; Xigbar just felt compelled to talk.

So he talked.

He filled up the silence with his words, telling the new recruit about the other members, the differences between the Heartless and their own kind, the state of the castle and the city, omitting certain parts of his story. Luxord seemed attentive enough and IX was proving to be more than a little difficult to find, so there really was nothing stopping him. It was almost like he felt…relaxed.

He is still pondering the thought as he sits up on a roof, watching the training session below him unfold. It's a strange way to describe the feeling, but all the other words fitted just as oddly.

Xigbar watches the newly-christened X work out a way to channel his element, whatever it may be. He is still unsure just what Luxord's innate magicks are and judging from the other man's hesitant movements, so is he. Perhaps some time would help shape the element more clearly.

The two Nobodies below stop for breath, with Demyx calling the break. He leaps down, landing silently on the ground and walks towards them. As he gets closer, he claps his hands at Luxord, saying, "Luxord, bravo. I seriously didn't think you'd get the hang of it so fast."

The blonde doesn't say anything, and Xigbar can almost swear the other is glaring at him. He turns to Demyx, seeing the blonde open his mouth to speak. "Am I doing this right?" the musician asks.

Xigbar shrugs his shoulders. "I guess so. You two made some amount of progress back there."

"We did, huh?" and Demyx smiles, expression easily slipping on as he lets his sitar go. The instrument immediately dissolves into water, joining the miniature sea on the city ground. "That's good to know. What do you think hid um, element is?"

"Who knows?" is his response. "Only time will tell."

Suddenly he hears a choked gasp from behind him. As he whirls around, he finds Luxord leaking against the wall before slowly sinking to the floor, his features strained and his eyes wide, seeing invisible things. Xigbar rushes over, crouching next to the blonde and grabbing him by the shoulders. He sees Luxord sink into unconsciousness even as he calls the blonde's name, and then his body goes limp.

Behind him, Demyx is mumbling sentence after sentence in a form of panic, asking if Luxord is alright or not. "He's fine," he finally answers. "Just unconscious."

That seems to calm IX down. Demyx watches in silence as he carefully maneuvers the other Nobody, slinging one of the blonde's arms over his shoulders before standing up, pulling Luxord up with him. "Is that what happened to me?"

Xigbar glances briefly at IX before returning his attention to the Nobody he is carrying. "Something like this, yes." After making sure he had a firm grip on the blonde, he opens a path into the castle, deciding to settle for Luxord's room as the destination. "I'm going to take him back to his room. You can go back to the castle or to whatever it is you were doing just now."

Demyx nods. "Okay."

"See you around," he says before stepping into the darkness. A second later, he is standing by Luxord's bed, in his room. Xigbar slowly lays the other man on the mattress, positioning the Nobody's head on the pillow before sinking into a chair nearby. He sighs, thinking about what had just happened and wondering about what might have triggered it.

For a moment, he watches Luxord sleep, taking in the way his face is slightly strained as he stirs restlessly, eyebrows frowning, mouth down turned.

Then, he silently gets up and leaves, closing the door as silently as possible behind him.

End of 1st chapter

We thank you for your time! Constructive criticism is very much welcome. To whoever it is that reads this, I hope you enjoyed it, even if only a little.