Lexaeus wanted an explanation as to why I ran away.

I didn't have one.

Well, I had one, but I couldn't tell him.

So he told me to run 150 Laps around the outside of the entire Castle That Never Was.

I said, "You're joking, right?"

He said, "No. Start running."

000000

That was over an hour ago. I think I'm on lap 84, but I lost count a long time ago. I just figured that if I ran all day until dinner, then he'd let me off the hook. After the first 20 or something Laps, my legs began to hurt. After about 40 Laps, my legs were on fire. But I didn't dare stop running. All it would take is for Lexaeus to see me stop for just once, and he'd have me run another 100 Laps!

Running…running…durn, this is so—

I stopped suddenly and fell to my knees, breathing hard. My breath hindered for a moment, and I began to cough.

NO!! Not NOW!!! Please, wait a little longer!! At least when I'm finished!!

I only coughed harder.

C'mon!! NOT NOW!!!

Luckily, I stopped coughing, and I began to breathe easier again.

I sighed, relieved. These things are becoming more frequent…

Right now, I didn't care if Lexaeus saw me sitting on the ground. I was tired, and if he made me do 100 more Laps, then I'd do them. But right now, I'm resting.

I sat down in a more comfortable position, and looked up at the sky.

Odd, I've never really had a chance to see what The World That Never Was really looked like. Then again, I've only been here for about a week.

In the pitch-black sky hung a large, bright moon, shaped like a Heart. I couldn't help but chuckle at how odd it looked. But then again, I was living with no Heart, and was a part of an Organization of powerful people with no Hearts either.

Not too much classified as 'odd' to me anymore.

Taking a look around, The World That Never Was was more like a city than a world. All around me stood tall buildings and skyscrapers, some dark and mysterious, others highlighted with neon colors. Some of the buildings were crushed to the round and some were so high up, I couldn't see the tops at all. It was like the sky had eaten the very tops, or something.

By now I'd caught my breath, but still didn't get up. For some reason, the Darkness of the city was very calming. There was no noise except the distant roll of thunder (rain was soon to follow), and the light tip-toeing of Heartless and Nobodies that harbored in the dark alleys. But they didn't bother me. If they stepped out of line, I'd show them a thing or two with my…

A sudden thought interrupted my previous train of thoughts.

I still didn't know what my weapon was!

I placed my hand out in front of me, and, after waiting a second or two, my weapon came to my hand.

I don't know why, but I loved how it felt. I could feel the magic and energy flow through the Key and into my body. It was such a beautifully crafted weapon. When wielding it, I could feel both Darkness and Light within my grasp.

"A Keyblade?!"

Shocked by the sudden voice, I gasped and turned around to see who it was.

A white cloaked figure. Hood up.

Naturally, I jumped to my feet and clutched the weapon in my hands tighter.

"W-who are you?" I stuttered, kicking myself mentally for doing so. I don't really think I was supposed to show that I was scared. The figure stepped back and put up it's hands in front of it.

"I'm sorry!" It apologized, chuckling nervously. "I didn't mean to scare you. I was just taking a walk around, and I saw you had a Keyblade too."

"A…Keyblade?" I said repeated, relaxing a bit and looking down at the weapon in my hand.

Now that I think of it, it does seem a bit familiar…

I looked back up at the figure before me, cocking my head ever so slightly to the side.

"Who're you?" I asked.

"My name's Kuxir." He said, pulling down his hood to reveal his face. He had raven black hair, short and spiked down so it barely touched his shoulders. His skin was pale, and he had striking golden eyes that were more friendly than menacing. He was a bit taller than me, and looked about my age.

He wasn't half-bad looking.

Actually, he was sorta cute.

I smiled.

"My name's Xedramon, but Xed works too." I introduced. He nodded and walked over towards me.

"I couldn't help but notice you're with that Organization XIII group." He said, pointing to my cloak.

"Yeah. What's with yours?" I pointed at his in return.

"I'm with The Disorder."

"Come again?"

"Your Organization is one made of Nobodies. Our Organization is one made up of the Heartless of the Nobodies from Organization XIII."

"I see."

"You're a Nobody, are you know?"

"Duh. What's with all the questions?" Kuxir seemed a little surprised, but smiled.

"It's just that we've received a new member, recently." He said.

"Oh. How does that concern me?"

"She looks just like you."

Now it was my turn to be surprised. I had know that, when a Nobody is created, a Heartless is created too, but it never truly occurred to me that I had a Heartless.

"I see. So you're a Heartless?" Kuxir nodded. I frowned and crossed my arms.

"What's wrong?" he asked. I shook my head, smiling.

"It's nothing, just that…you remind me of someone. But the name keeps slipping my mind—"

"I remind you of Riku, don't I?

Riku.

"Y-yea…" I said, trailing off at the end. All of the old feelings and memories I had of Riku came rushing back. How we'd had so much in common, how we'd promise to become Twilight together, how he had ditched me…

"Xed?"

I looked up to see Kuxir looking at me with an odd expression, sort of a cross between curiosity and concern.

"Huh?" I said dumbly.

"Oh, you just looked…I don't know. Like you were thinking of something bad."

"Oh." I said, chuckling lightly. Then something returned to my attention. "What's a Keyblade? And why," I held up my 'Keyblade', "do you know what this is?" Kuxir smiled.

"Because…"

He threw his hand out to the side, and in a flash of light, he too, was holding a key-shaped weapon.

"…I have one too."

"Woah!" I shouted, utterly shocked and surprised. His Keyblade was amazing! It was all black, the handle being intricately engraved with unreadable symbols, and the blade sharp and graceful.

"That's awesome!" I breathed, taking in the sight. He laughed.

"Yours is amazing too." I looked down at the Keyblade still in my hand. Some how, it didn't seem so special anymore.

"In fact," he continued, "I've never seen one quite like this. What existence do you represent?"

Existence?

"What are you talking about?" I asked. He opened his mouth to say something when all of the sudden—

"XEDRAMON YOU HAD BETTER STILL BE RUNNING!!!!"

Both of us frozen in surprise and fright.

"Who was that?" Kuxir asked, after a moment or two of shocked silence.

"Oh no…" I groaned unhappily. "Lexaeus…"

"Who's he?"

"He's the guy that's training me to fight." I looked at the ground and smiled sheepishly. "The other day I sorta left my training early, and now he's making me run like a million laps."

"Ouch." Kuxir said, smiling. He then crossed his arms. "Well, I could train you too. I'm pretty good at fighting, and there's someone else I'd like you to meet."

"I don't know…" I sighed, rubbing the back of my head.

"I promise there'll be no running." I laughed and nodded.

"Sure, I'll give it a try." Kuxir smiled brightly.

"Great! Meet me here tomorrow, then, same time, and we'll start your Keyblade training!"

"Okay, but I had better get going, or Lexaeus may never let me stop running." I made my Keyblade disappear from my hand, and started to run. I turned back around and waved.

"Be seeing ya, Kuxir!" I shouted.

"See ya, Xed!" he shouted back. With a smile I turned back around and kept running.

Kuxir…

Maybe he could help me find him again…

Riku…