Ventus quietly snuck through the halls in the early morning hours in his short-sleeved grey and green pajamas. Small rays of light fell through the windows, illuminating the hallway. A small shiver ran through his body as the cold tiles of the floor touched his bare feet, but it was going to be worth it as he needed to ensure he didn't make a sound. Up ahead was his target, but he still had to enter inside.

He slowly opened the door, trying to keep the hinges from groaning and giving him away. With an opening large enough he snuck into the darkroom, though some light broke through the small cracks in the blinds. With the small amount of light, he could just barely see shapes throughout the room, but his main focus was the blanket mound on the bed in the far corner of the room. He quietly moved through the room, thankful that the items inside were put away on shelves and organized. Stopping at the foot of the bed he slightly crouched down, a grin beginning to form on his face before pouncing onto the bed.

"GOOD MORNING VANI!"

A loud yelp rang through the room as he landed on the mound, laughter escaping from his throat. The lump underneath him began to squirm, trying to escape the blanket confines, grumbles, and mumbled cursing could be heard through the fabric. After a couple of seconds had passed a head full of disheveled black hair popped out, sharp red eyes sending a small glare to the grinning blond boy on top of him.

"Really?" The other boy grumbled pushing himself up into a sitting position, the blanket falling to show black and red sleeveless pajamas.

Ventus just continued to grin up at his brother.

"Come on Vani." He said. "You're always a grump in the mornings."

Ventus paused and gained a thoughtful look on his face before smiling up at the dark-haired boy.

"Actually, you're always a grump, especially during the day. I think the only time I've seen you not be grouchy is when it's night. Is that why you're always grumpy during the day? Because you stay up all night?"

Vanitas rolled his eyes before giving the blond a shove off of the bed, causing the other to go through another round of laughter. Vanitas chose to ignore the laughing idiot on the floor as he pulled himself out of the bed and stalked his way over to the wardrobe on the other side of the room, hitting the light switch as he passed.

With the room now full of light nicknacks throughout the room could now be seen, ranging from small crystal collections to wooden carvings. A couple of shelves held books from spell books to history.

Vanitas pulled open the wardrobe's doors, looking through for a clean set of clothes for the day.

"It's not my fault that I tend to find more energy at night, just like you are abnormally obnoxious in the mornings." Vanitas grumbled.

Ventus simply stuck his tongue out at the other boy.

"Well maybe if you didn't stay up all night, then I wouldn't have to do this every morning." He smirked as Vanitas quickly turned around to glare at him.

"'Have to'?" He asked. "I doubt that the Master specifically tasked you with this job."

Ventus just began to laugh at the glare his brother sent his way, turning his back to the other.

"Maybe he did, or maybe he didn't," Ventus replied in between laughter. "But you can't deny that it helps get you up and ready for training."

Ventus continued to laugh, imagining the annoyed pout that would most definitely be beginning to form on the other's face. A quick slam of the wardrobe doors quickly caused him to stop laughing and turn to look at Vanitas, his face full of worry and curiosity. Did he take the joke too far? The sight that was before him made him question what was happening even further.

Vanitas stood against the wardrobe's closed doors with a nervous grin on his face, his left arm holding them in place.

"Is… everything okay?" He questioned carefully.

"Yep, everything is a-okay." Vanitas quickly said.

Ventus raised an eyebrow. Now he knew something wasn't right. Vanitas would never use phrases like that unless he was nervous about something.

"Are you sure?" he asked again as he stepped towards the other boy.

"Yep. Nothing wrong here." Vanitas said, putting his whole body in front of the doors.

Ventus was about to question his brother further when some soft bangs came from the wardrobe, causing Vanitas to tense and his eyes to widen. Ventus froze as the bangs continued.

"What…are you hiding in there?"

"Nothing!" Vanitas answered suspiciously fast.

Ventus raised an eyebrow but before he could say anything else a knock at the door caused the two boys to quickly look over. Eraqus stood in the doorway, fully clothed, looking between the two boys with a raised eyebrow and a small smile on his face.

"Dare I ask what happened this early in the morning?"

Ventus gave a sheepish grin.

"Just making sure that Vani was awake for training and ready to go." He answered.

"Uh-huh," Eraqus said raising an eyebrow at the two. "Ventus, why don't you use your awakening skills to aid Aqua in waking Terra before getting dressed."

Ventus quickly straightened up as his grin widened. He gave a quick nod before running out of the room but paused when Eraqus stepped further into the room and closed the door. He slowly moved closer to the door where he could hear a quiet conversation between the two residents.

"I don't know how long I can hide this." Vanitas said, his voice full of panic.

"Calm down Vanitas," Eraqus replied. "You know what happens when your emotions are strong without focus."

There was a brief moment of silence before Eraqus spoke again.

"Good, just keep breathing slowly and you stop floating around our heads."

What? It should just be the two of them in there. Who was the Master talking to? Did this have something to do with whatever Vanitas was hiding in the wardrobe?

A couple more seconds of silence had gone by before Vanitas began speaking again.

"I don't know how to control this. How can I keep this hidden?"

Another couple of seconds of silence before Eraqus spoke up.

"Maybe that is why you are having a hard time controlling their summons. Your panic about hiding this may be a key factor in your control."

More silence.

"You know what I am suggesting."

Silence.

"Vanitas. I believe that it would be for the best to tell the others about this, especially Ventus."

What? What was Vanitas hiding from him? They had never kept secrets from one another.

"No! I can't tell them!"

Small thumps quickly appeared inside of the room. Eraqus sighed.

"I can't tell him." Vanitas quietly continued, sounding like he was trying to control his panic. "If he knew the truth it would break him. You saw what happened when we tried to tell him the truth of how we came into your care. I can't put him through that pain again."

Ventus froze. What were they talking about? Weren't Ventus and Vanitas always under the Master's care? He carefully backed away from the door before the two residents inside could continue. This was too much. What was happening?