I didn't pay much attention to it at first. I thought it was just my imagination, seeing that lone dark figure lurking in the shadows. Kairi told me to stop kidding around; Riku told me I was being paranoid.

They were wrong, I knew that. I just didn't have the heart to tell them.

"Do you fear the dark?" The cloaked figure asked. A gloved hand slowly made its way up to unveil the man behind the hood.

I held my breath. This wasn't possible. Riku and I killed him; we saw him fade away. I felt the dark presence surrounding him… There was something off… Was this really him?

The hood came off and he gave me a predatory grin. I felt sick. "Hello, Sora." He said calmly, silver locks glistening in the moonlight, golden irises staring at me intensely. "Are you surprised to see me?"

"Whoever you are, get rid of that disguise. It's making me sick." I told the impostor. "It's a pretty cool disguise though. If I didn't see Xemnas die right in front of my eyes I would've believed you." I told him, sitting don on the beach's shore. The water felt nice.

The figure chuckled. "You saw right through me, as expected from a warrior of light." He commented, snapping his fingers. A dark mist surrounded his body, concealing him from my vision. I waited.

He looked different now. Black polo, white suit, white tie and a matching fedora hat as the icing to the cake. I have to admit, it was stylish. He sat next to me, fingers threading through the sand. He picked some up and watched as the small grains escaped through the gaps in between his fingers, a gentle look encompassing his features. He looked like he was in his early twenties.

"Mind if I ask who you are?" I questioned, absentmindedly drawing circles in the sand with my finger. It felt colder than usual tonight…

He didn't stop playing with the sand. "Would you be surprised if I told you that I was Death?"

I thought about it. The tide was rising. "No. I think… I was expecting you."

He turned his head to me and grinned. "I figured as much."

I pull my knees closer to my body and hugged my legs. It really felt colder. "Why dress up as Xemnas though? What If I was my usual impulsive self? You would've been a bloody pulp by now." I told him in a joking manner. Heh, who would've thought it would be easy to joke around with death?

He shrugged lightly then leant backwards, using his arms for support. "I get tired of people running away from me." He explained. "So I thought I'd try a different approach."

"So is this your true form? I always thought death would be like a skeleton dude… with the scythe and everything." I said conversationally.

The smile was still on his face. "Yes, my true form is really the 'Skeleton dude' you mentioned but I think I kinda like this look too." He cupped his chin with his hand, and I noticed that the only thing that didn't change from when he was Xemnas was the fact that he was still wearing the black gloves. "Besides, I'm much more attractive like this."

A breeze passed by; minutes ticked on.

"…How much?"

His hands were in the sand again. "I beg your pardon?" he asked.

I played with the sand too. "How much time do I have left?"

"Not very much, Sora. Not very much."

I started making a small mountain with the sand. It was pretty neat. "Could you be a little more specific?" I chuckled.

He grabbed on of my wrists gently and made the palm of my hand face the sky. He placed his own hand on top of mine and slowly lifted it up. It looked like something was coming out of his hand. There was a wooden hour glass in my hand and I looked at it with curious eyes. Etched on a little gold plate at the base was my name in fancy lettering. It looked pretty. What was even nicer was the sand. "Is that diamond dust?" I asked.

He leaned back again. "Aye, it is. Rare stuff you know. Really hard to find." He told me.

I turned it upside down but the sand was still flowing to the original bottom, defying gravity. "I found some of it before…" I said. "It was a pain in the neck to find but I was finally able to synthesize my Ultimate Weapon."

He shook his head. "I didn't mean it like that." He said and I listened, curious. "The quality of the sand represents the quality of your soul. It's rare that I come across a person such as yourself."

I flipped the hourglass right side up. The contents inside shined brilliantly. There was a little sand left before time was up. "I get to keep this?" I asked.

He smiled at me but the smile didn't reach his eyes. I didn't think Death would feel empathy for one of the many souls he had to reap. I stared at those eyes; they were a magnificent shade of red. They looked like rubies. "You're going to give it back to me eventually."

I looked away and stared at the moon. It was full and so bright.

"…Right."

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts but I love how I picture Death :D