AN: Exams suck. They seem to suck the life out of me. On another note, here's what's so far my favorite chapter.

Disclaimer: Still don't own...

Insomnia

Namine lay in her white bed. She couldn't sleep, but it was to be expected. After all, she had nothing to do but draw. If she remembered anything, she knew that being sedentary would cause one to stay awake. It was incredibly dark, but the pale walls seemed to give off their own dim light.

For the last few nights, Namine just could not sleep. Lying in bed was boring. An idea clicked into her head. Everyone else would be asleep, so it would be the perfect time to find a way out. After Saix forced her back into her room once, she realized she was a prisoner. There was no way should could beat a bunch of Nobodies, but if they were all asleep, maybe a miracle could happen.

Namine fumbled to her door in the dark. Half expecting it to be locked, she was pleasantly surprised when it swung right open. The castle was still lit up. Namine gulped; maybe they had unusual sleeping schedules. The constant darkness could have messed up their internal clocks.
She sighed and continued walking along. There wasn't any time to be thinking about things. If they found her, something told her they wouldn't just send her back.

Pausing at what seemed like a way out, Namine stepped towards the door. It was unlocked. That made her a little anxious, if it was the way out she doubted they would leave it open.

Namine exhaled the breath she didn't know she had been holding. It wasn't the door out, but it wasn't someone's bedroom. She walked onto the large balcony. There was no moon, but it remained light enough to see. The floor seemed to illuminate the area.

"What are you doing here?"

Namine jumped at the voice. She frantically turned around and let out a small groan when she realized she was not alone. Sitting on the edge of the balcony was a large man. He had come into her room once. It was fuzzy, but she remembered him snarling and storming out.

"I…I couldn't sleep." Namine gazed away from him. He was one of the people she wanted to avoid.

"Hn…" Xaldin didn't move from his position on the edge.

Now Namine was intrigued. Wasn't she obvious? Timidly, she walked over to the ledge. She did a double take when she realized how high up they were.

"Scared of heights?" For the first time, she saw Xaldin smirk.

Namine bit her lip and avoided the long drop. "No…"

Xaldin's smirk slowly vanished and he didn't say anything for a long time. It made Namine uncomfortable in a way. His presence was very imposing. She wondered if it was power she felt. In the dim lights, Namine could make out what appeared to be weapons. Not one, several.

"Is it regular?"

Namine turned. "What?"

"Do you have trouble falling asleep often?" Xaldin seemed annoyed.

"Oh, yeah." Namine twiddled her thumbs.

Sighing, she sat down. Normally, she would be nervous about doing that next to Xaldin, but sleep was overcoming her. Xaldin noticed and leaned away reflexively. Everyone knew not to disturb him when he was having trouble sleeping, but obviously, the girl didn't get it.

"You too?" Namine turned to face him.

Xaldin was careful to avoid her eyes. "At times. Although it doesn't affect me like it would you."

He moved his hands behind his back. Namine winced, she wouldn't even let her legs dangle off the ledge, and she was still holding on with both hands. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged a mask of indifference on his face. "I've experienced insomnia since I was whole. I'm used to being tired."

"It never goes away?" Namine asked alarm. While she eventually got some sleep, it certainly wasn't enough.

"Not for me. I don't know about you." Namine tensed, but Xaldin didn't care. There was no point in hiding facts.

Namine sighed and looked at the empty sky. Although there were not any clouds, there were not any stars. It was depressing in a way.

Xaldin turned in the direction of the sigh. He gazed at Namine. She was looking at the sky and had no idea he was looking at her. Xaldin rolled his eyes. Some were too unobservant. He looked closer and noticed the purple circles under her eyes. The shadows made them worse, giving her a raccoon like appearance.

Xaldin made a face. He hated weakness. There was no use of it the Organization. If the girl was going to get exhausted so easily, then it was good she was going to be gone. In a way, he still felt bad. He knew exactly what she was going through. If it had not been plaguing him for years, he'd probably be just as weak.

"As you already know, if you wait long enough, you'll go to sleep." Xaldin spoke emotionlessly. Namine turned to look at him. "However, waiting that long isn't always desirable. If it becomes too difficult, take this."

Xaldin reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a purple vial. Namine stared at it cautiously. "What is it?"

A small smirk formed on his face. "At least you're more suspicious than some members… It's a potion that'll make you go to sleep. There are two doses in there."

Namine took the glass vial from his hands. It was so small, she wasn't sure half of it would be enough. "Why don't you take it?"

The truth was it was incredibly hard to make. Xaldin just wasn't skilled at things like that. Unlike Vexen, he didn't waste copious amounts of time in the lab. Also unlike Vexen, he would never admit a weakness, even one as simple as insomnia. "It puts you to sleep for over ten hours. I don't have enough time for that."

"Oh…" Namine stood up. She cradled the potion in her arms. It wasn't a lot, but two nights of uninterrupted sleep was better than none.

Xaldin became restless. He wasn't used to being with someone for such a long stretch of time. "Saix often stays up at night, along with several others."

Namine cocked her head to the side. Her face lit up as the warning dawned upon her. She inched her way to the door. "Ok, goodnight."

Xaldin huffed. The girl made no move to leave. "Go before I tell Saix you were trying to find a way out."

Shock made its way to her face. Soon she replaced it with a smile. "Goodnight again. Thank you."

Namine yawned as she approached her room. It seemed she would be able to save his gift for another day. Tucked in bed, her only thought was that she hadn't caught the man's name.