Keyblade of the Dark One
"So, Xehanort is it?" Yuko purred, sliding her shop door open and stepping forward. The man who stood before her looked upon the Time Space Witch with bewildered eyes. Who was this woman? Where was he now? And most importantly, how had he come to this shop in the first place?
"I'll assume your silence means you are the one and only 'Seeker of Darkness.' I shall also assume that your presence here means you have a wish to be granted. Is this an accurate assumption?" Yuko's words seemed to make the young lab coat-clad man uncomfortable. After moments of hesitation, Xehanort nodded. "Good. I love it when I'm right!" Yuko chirped.
"What do you want! Who are you?" Xehanort demanded, beginning to lose patience.
Yuko looked mildly offended, bringing her hand to her lips. "Don't act as if it's my fault for you being here. Your arrival was hitsuzen." Xehanort raised an eyebrow, not understanding in the least what she meant. Yuko sighed impatiently. "Hitsuzen: A pre-ordained event, a state in which all other outcomes are impossible. In short, the inevitable."
"Shut up and tell me who you are!" Xehanort growled.
"Please introduce yourself first." Yuko replied flatly, her drooping eyes belying an inner intensity.
"Why would I need to do that? You said yourself you know who I am." Xehanort snapped.
"I assumed you were Xehanort, I never said I knew. Besides, it's rather inappropriate to conduct business without being properly introduced."
Xehanort sighed loudly, rolling his eyes. "My name is Xehanort."
"Yuko, pleasure to meet you."
"You said something about a wish?" Xehanort prompted, deciding to try listening rather than yelling.
"Yes…that is the reason for you being here. What is your desire?" Yuko queried, gazing intently at Xehanort.
"What I desire is no business of yours." Xehanort spat.
"Oho? Well, the question you should ask yourself is: if it weren't my business, would you even be here to begin with?" Xehanort paused, unable to give an answer. "Now tell me, what is your desire? Contrary to what you might believe, I do have other clients."
Xehanort hesitated. He wasn't certain how or why, but something inside him compelled him to tell Yuko his wish. "Power over rage and sadness, hatred and pain...everything my heart is made of..."
Yuko smiled knowingly. "So, you wish for the power of darkness? Quite a manageable wish really, but fair warning…" Xehanort looked at Yuko curiously. "I expect equal payment."
"Payment?"
Yuko nodded. "In order to fulfill your wish, you must sacrifice something very important to you."
"All right. What is your price?"
Yuko approached Xehanort, looking at him up and down. Then, she raised red right hand, pointing her index finger towards his heart. "This will be your price…your heart." She stated, lowering her hand.
"My heart!" Xehanort repeated.
"Need I repeat myself? Your heart is the most important thing you have, so that shall be your payment. Besides…" She paused, and Xehanort suspected she was hesitating for the sake of dramatic emphasis. "…your heart will simply get in the way of your quest for power. Think of its removal as a way of shattering the barrier."
"So you're saying if I give you my heart, you can give me the power of darkness?"
"The means of obtaining that power, yes. Is this what you want?"
Xehanort, after a few moments of silence, nodded. "It is."
Yuko smiled. "Very good. I like your attitude." Without another word, she reached out to him and spread her fingers. Xehanort felt as if someone were driving a hot blade into his chest. His arms jolted outward, and black energy boiled and surged around him. Yuko drew her hand away from his chest as a black crystal fazed through Xehanort's flesh, its sharp edges gleaming. The crystal then dropped out of the air, into Yuko's delicate palm.
"Your price has been accepted." She stated. Xehanort knelt on the ground. His skin had darkened significantly, and his eyes flared open…a pair of fiery orbs that now boiled with darkness. He said nothing as he stood up. His body faded into the shadows that now flared about him as Xehanort released a wicked peal of laughter.
Yuko stood still for several moments. She stared at the spot where Xehanort had previously been. Her attention was then drawn to the crystallized heart she held. The heart had begun to glow, its form giving off a violet radiance. In a blinding flash, the crystal took on a new shape. When the light faded, Yuko found herself carrying a sword of unusual design. The overall shape of the weapon resembled that of an enormous key. The hilt of the weapon was carved into the shape of a butterfly, and the blade was rather long, the end of which displayed the shape of a blossoming rose. "So…this is a Keyblade." She said to herself, looking back where Xehanort had been. "Only a fool would possess such a weapon without knowing…such a fool is doomed to oblivion." With that, Yuko turned back to her doorway. She held her new Keyblade in front of her as she glided back into her chamber, sliding the door shut behind her.