"What do you think he wants with her, Axel?" Roxas asked Axel the next evening when the day's duties had been completed and the Organization members were allowed to spend the rest of the day at their own leisure.

Leaning back against a wall in the Gray Area with his arms crossed, Axel replied, "Beats me. But still, for Xemnas to have the audacity to ask Aqua to dine with him makes me curious."

Vexen, who was overhearing the two boys' conversation while enjoying a cup of hot tea, said, "I'm sure it's nothing of great concern. Perhaps it's just a formality—to get to know more about her background, for instance."

"But why would Xemnas want to get to know Aqua? That's so unlike him!" said Axel.

"Maybe we shall learn in time," said Vexen as he took a sip of piping hot tea from his teacup.

…

"Are you nervous?" asked Naminé as she was finishing arranging the hem of the skirt of Aqua's new evening gown around her feet neatly. The gown was an off-the-shoulder gown made of yards of black and white lace. White silk rosebuds gathered the lace on the neckline and on the right side of her waist.

Aqua shrugged as she fiddled with a stray strand of blue hair that fell in front of her face. "I'm not sure what to expect," she answered in a tiny voice. "But I don't even want to see his face again—not after the way he treated me the other night."

"Neither would I if I were in your place," Naminé said thoughtfully. "Still, for tonight, try not to start an argument with him. I don't want another evening of yours to end badly."

Aqua pursed her lips together as she thought about her previous encounter with the Superior. "I didn't intend for things the other night to get out of hand. But he made me very angry."

"Well, try not to let it happen this time," Naminé advised. "You might as well make an effort to start off on good footing with Lord Xemnas if you'll be staying with us. Believe me, the last thing you want to do is make enemies here."

Aqua sighed. "I suppose you're right."

Naminé rose from where she knelt on the floor by Aqua's feet and brushed her hands together. She examined her handiwork and smiled contently as she found herself pleased with the results. "You look wonderful, Aqua," said Naminé. She gestured towards a medium-sized vanity mirror that stood atop a gray desk near the edge of Aqua's bedroom.

Aqua looked into the mirror. Her eyes softened as she looked at her reflection and saw a comely figure in black and white lace gazing back at her. She looked so splendid in her finery that she almost thought it was somebody else in the mirror she was looking at.

Naminé smiled. "I wonder if Xemnas will be impressed too," she mused. "After all, you make a pretty sight."

Aqua laughed hopelessly. "Nonsense, Naminé. After all, he'd need a heart for that to happen."

"It's a nice thought, though," said Naminé as she brushed her hands against the fabric of her pinafore apron. "Come on, let's get you to the Gray Area. Saïx is waiting for you."

…

Everyone froze the moment Aqua, accompanied by Naminé, arrived at the Gray Area.

Axel and Roxas, who were talking between themselves, paused in the middle of their conversation when they caught sight of her, smiling softly at her as she passed by them. Demyx, who was in the middle of strumming a string of his sitar, paused and the initial shock in his eyes gave way to a goofy, lopsided grin. Xigbar looked visibly shocked to see her in such formal attire. Vexen froze mid-sip while enjoying his tea when he saw Aqua come in. Zexion just looked at her with wide calm eyes. Luxord whistled suavely, Lexaeus didn't even react at all, Xaldin smirked, Larxene stared at her with her eyes green with envy, and Marluxia was ogling her with a look of deeply intense fascination.

"Wow," said Xigbar in a slow voice.

"Impressive," said Marluxia with a sinister grin.

Saïx approached Aqua the moment she and Naminé arrived to the Gray Area.

"You're early," commented Saïx.

"Oh? Is that bad?" Aqua asked, almost boldly.

"No," Saïx answered tartly. "But please, come with me. Xemnas is waiting for you."

With a wave of his hand, Saïx summoned a Dark Corridor only a foot or so away from where he was standing.

"Good luck, Aqua!" Naminé whispered as Aqua left with Saïx.

In return, Aqua bestowed one last smile upon the younger girl as the Dark Corridor engulfed her and Saïx and promptly disappeared out of sight.

"So…dinner with Lord Superior, eh?" remarked Xigbar. A spark of glee glimmered in his lone uncovered eye. "Now THIS should be interesting!"

Setting down his teacup on its complementary saucer, Vexen said, "Don't tell me you're thinking of …" he trailed off as Xigbar grinned at him slyly.

"Do ya even have to ask, Vexen?"

Vexen sighed. "Well whatever you're planning on doing this time, good luck. I daresay you'll need it."

Xigbar laughed. "Luck? Ha! As if! I don't need luck for this scheme! I'm the king of sneakiness!"

Demyx lifted his eyes up from his sitar strings and looked at his eye-patched friend nervously. "Uh, Xig?" he asked in a whisper. "Are you serious?"

Xigbar snickered. "Of course I am!" he replied. "And you're coming with me!"

"Me? Oh no!" said the sitar player, shaking his head. "Not this time!"

"Oh? And why not? You chicken?"

Demyx scowled. "No!"

"So then what'll it be? Are you in or are you out?"

Demyx growled under his breath as he made his sitar disappear before getting up from his seat and following his partner-in-crime out of the lounge.

"I have a really bad feeling about this," Demyx muttered.

"Oh, come on, man! How can you not be looking forward to our little caper?" exclaimed Xigbar. "Xemnas has practically asked Bluebird out on a date! This is something I so do not want to miss!"

…

"She is here, Lord Xemnas," said Saïx as he arrived at the darkened dining room where Xemnas was waiting.

Xemnas straightened up in his seat as he carefully watched Aqua daintily step out of the Dark Corridor. Aqua caught a smile creep up from his lips as she entered the room.

"Thank you Saïx, you may leave now."

Saïx promptly disappeared in a Dark Corridor upon Xemnas' command.

"Lady Aqua."

Aqua looked up when she heard her name being called. She saw Xemnas, clad in the black uniformed attire of the Organization, sitting the head of a small rectangular table where several plates with small food portions lay on top of it. Noticing this, Aqua guessed Xemnas favored light meals. Tall silver candelabras were also placed on the table, which had a damask cloth draped over it.

Xemnas gestured towards the empty cushioned wooden chair on the opposite side of the table across from his. "Please," he said, "Take a seat."

Aqua obeyed.

"Xion."

The small black-haired girl, who had been standing quietly at the corner of the room, stepped forward and approached the Organization leader. "Yes, Lord Xemnas?"

Xemnas nodded towards an empty glass sitting in front of him. At this gesture, Xion picked up a glass pitch filled with ice-cold water and filled the glass. She didn't stop there; she walked over to where Aqua was seated and filled an identical glass in front of her.

"Thank you," Aqua murmured.

Xion snuck a tiny smile that only Aqua could see as she filled her glass with water before retreating back to her tiny quiet corner.

"At least Xion is here," Aqua thought to herself. She was relieved that for the moment, she would not be left alone with Xemnas. As she picked up her glass and took a tiny quiet sip of water, she peeked from over the rim and saw Xemnas watching her silently with sharp eyes. The weight of his intense gaze was so strong, it sent a shiver down her spine. Aqua tried to ignore it.

"You look lovely," he commented.

Aqua's eyes stilled as she looked back at Xemnas in surprise. She hadn't expected such a compliment from a man so unfeeling and cold as him.

"Oh … thank you." Aqua sounded wary in her gratitude as she reminded herself that the Lord Superior hadn't a heart to sincerely mean what he had said. She began to wonder if Xemnas was still thinking about what had happened between them the other night, and if he was holding it against her. It was precisely for that reason that Aqua thought it odd to be in Xemnas' presence tonight.

Neither of them said much during those first few minutes. While Xion was present and always ready to serve Aqua her dinner, Aqua noticed that she barely attended to Xemnas. The only time she served him was to fill his drinking glass with some red liquid that Aqua guessed was some sort of wine. Other than requesting a drink, Xemnas did not even touch any of the food from any of the small platters on the table. All he did was watch Aqua as she slowly consumed her own meal in petite, dainty bites.

"Your eyes look distracted," Xemnas finally said, breaking the silence in the room. "And by observing your features, I can only assume that there appears to be something in your mind."

Aqua looked up from her plate. "Oh?" she asked, caught off-guard. She hadn't been prepared to hear him speak to her so suddenly.

Xemnas bowed his head. "Perhaps you would be so gracious as to permit me to ask you what thoughts are there that are wandering inside your head at the moment?"

Setting aside her lingering thoughts about what had happened during their first meeting, Aqua remembered the advice Naminé had given to her as she had prepared to meet with Xemnas tonight.

"… Make an effort to start off on good footing with Lord Xemnas … the last thing you want to do is make enemies here."

Putting down her silver tin fork on the damask-covered table, Aqua answered him, "Why did you summon me here? I'm your captive, am I not?"

Xemnas chuckled lightly. "Captive you are, yes. But, even so, what other reason is there for me to ask you to join me at my table tonight but than simply to learn more about who you are?"

Aqua looked at him in astonishment. "Do you?"

Xemnas gave her a curt nod in reply.

"What kind of a captor wants to know about his captive?"

Xemnas quietly laughed again. "Who wouldn't?"

"I'm not entirely sure I understand what you mean, sir."

Xemnas laid his drinking glass down on the table and leaned back in his chair. Resting his fingertips against one another as he set his hands on the tabletop, he said, "Forgive me, Lady Aqua, but now that you are a resident of this castle, I only desire to know who you are."

"And why is that so important to you?"

It was then that Xemnas rose from his seat and slowly walked towards where Aqua was sitting on the other side of the table. As he approached her, Aqua felt her heart begin to race.

"Because, Lady Aqua," he began as he walked behind her chair and stopped there in his tracks. Lowering his lips closer to where her ears were such that they almost touched the shell of her ear, Xemnas murmured, "You intrigue me."

There was a smoky and rather seductive timbre in his deep voice that made a tingling sensation in Aqua's skin. Her eyes briefly shut close, and she gasped under her breath. While her nerves shivered in intimidation, her heart seemed to skip a beat as she absorbed the momentum of Xemnas' soft-spoken, yet unexpected response.

"I … do?" she asked, her voice a half-whisper, half-trembling.

Xemnas nodded and looked at her with keen scarlet eyes. "Indeed."

Aqua did not know whether or not she was supposed to be frightened, worried, or flattered by his words. His lack of a heart made him hard to read. "He's so enigmatic … a truly mysterious man," she thought.

The dark silhouette of Xemnas' shadow danced across the candlelit, damask-covered tabletop as he returned to his own seat. As he settled back down in his chair, Xemnas asked, "So then, tell me again, Lady Aqua, where exactly do you come from?"

"I come from what is known as the Land of Departure, sir," she answered in a small voice.

Xemnas briefly scratched his chin. "I've been to many worlds," he mused, "but this one world whose name sounds unfamiliar to me. Please, if you will, tell me more about this Land of Departure."

Aqua soon found herself starting to sink in nostalgic thoughts and she began to describe her home world fondly. "It's a very beautiful place, and maybe the most beautiful place I've ever known. During the day, the sun is always high up in the sky and its golden rays touch every corner of the land. Even in the nighttime, the land is still so pretty. The sky becomes a deep dark blue and millions of tiny stars twinkle across it. And, every so often, I have witnessed a meteor shower from my bedroom window, but it looks even more amazing if you watch it from outside the Master's castle—"

"Castle?" Xemnas inquired, interrupting her. "Are you of noble birth, Lady Aqua?"

Aqua shook her head. "No sir, I'm not. The castle was my home only because its master took me in."

"And to whom does this castle belong to?"

"The caretaker of the land, Master Eraqus. He was my guardian and my teacher."

Xemnas nodded understandingly. "Now, this master of yours, what did you learn under him?"

Aqua hesitated. She wondered whether or not it would be worth telling Xemnas that she was supposed to learn how to wield the Keyblade. Maybe not anymore though, for she was here and Master Eraqus was not.

She spoke carefully. "I learned much from my master," Aqua began, "I know literature, philosophy, and magic. I also know poetry, the history of this universe, the sciences, the arts, and wise sayings. I also know much about the worlds and realms, of Light and Darkness, and of the nature of the heart."

Xemnas became seemingly interested by her response. A brooding smile crept from his lips. "Is that so?"

Aqua nodded. "Yes, sir."

…

"I'm telling you, man—this is a really, really bad idea."

"Shh! Shut up!"

"I'm serious, Xigbar! He'll kill us if he finds out we're here!"

"Demyx, not if you shut up, he won't! Now, less talking, more eavesdropping!"

Demyx anxiously paced up and down by the door of the room where Xemnas and Aqua were dining. Xigbar, meanwhile, hade propped himself by the door and placed his ear against it, hoping to catch snippets of the conversation that was taking place on the other side.

The sound of Demyx's pacing provoked Xigbar to lift his head off the door and shoot an annoyed look at the restless sitar player. "You know, it's really hard to concentrate on eavesdropping on someone when you're moving like that!" he hissed.

"Sor-ree!" he said with a cringe. Then he groaned. "This plan of yours is suicidal! Why, oh why, did I ever listen to you?"

Xigbar snickered. "Relax, Mullethead, you'll still be alive by the end of the day!"

Demyx grimaced. "You know what, I just remembered something! I forgot to write a mission report for X-Face! I'd better go and do it before he gives me the ax again! Ta-ta!"

Quick to respond to Demyx' attempt to abandon ship, Xigbar's hand shot out and snatched the sitar player on the back of his cravat before he could desert. Demyx winced.

"Oh, don't you go and chicken out on me now!" Xigbar said warningly. But then he smirked and added, "However, if you really are scared like a wuss and want to run away like the sissy girl you are, then please, be my guest and—"

Demyx glared at Xigbar. He tightened his hands into fists. "I am not a chicken, I am not a wuss, and I am most definitely NOT a sissy girl!"

Xigbar cackled. "Really? Well, then man up and help me out here!"

Throwing his arms down in defeat and scowling, Demyx dragged his feet towards the door. "Fine. But I swear, if we get busted, I'm blaming you on this!"

"Whatever. Now stop griping and get over here!"

Begrudgingly, Demyx obeyed.

A/N: The moment you've all been waiting for: Xemnas and Aqua's first "date"! I bet you'll all want to find out what's going to happen in the next chapter, no? As for Xigbar and Demyx ... Heaven help them.

Once again, thanks for all the faves, views, reviews and whatnot and more of them are truly appreciated! All of your support and feedback is what really keeps me running and motivated to keep on writing this fanfic and I hope you'll be craving for what is to come!

-gt²