A/N – Sorry for the delay on the chapters; didn't expect to be such a delay... Been trying to tweak the plot a little to make this seem a little better; though, I'm not sure if it's any better or got a little worse than what I'd originally planned. Oh, well... And, sorry to yaoi fans (more of a shounen-ai level in this one), but this chapter is one of the lighter ones for this story (you'll have to wait for more if you want more lemons); however, this chapter does have some bit of violence in the later parts of it... :3;;;

Chapter II ~ The Calm Before the Storm

Eight hours later, the two Nobodies were still close together; the sheets wrapped around their bodies, making sure they were bound together. Not that, neither of them minded it. The moon was still outside, as in their world, there was no "sun" to brighten the day's morning. Kingdom Hearts alone served to the World That Never Was for both night and day.

Xemnas was the first to wake-up. With his arms around Saix's waist and shoulder, he inhaled deeply and stretched his shoulders; in result, making his dear second-in-command's back press against his body. Saix, still asleep, merely moaned quietly, nuzzling against one of the pillows, deep in his dreams reflecting of the night's activity.

"Last night must have really tired him out," the Superior thought, silently watching Saix sleep. Nothing appeared more sentimental to him than this morning sight. "If only I could get Luxord in here to halt time for me, just to see this, I most certainly would," Xemnas pondered, "However, then I'd be alone in stopped time without my Saix, and it would lose all its worth..."

Xemnas slowly lifted himself slightly, making sure he didn't disturb the sleeping Diviner. He supported his head with his shoulder and elbow, so that he could lean over Saix for a better view. With his other hand, his finger lightly traced along the edge of Saix's pointed ear; the strands of soft blue hair guided by the finger's direction.

Observing every minute's motion, it made Xemnas wonder how possible it was that such a precious creature in his eyes would have such a dangerous berserk behavior that could easily happen if the wrong sparks fly for his Saix.

"Saix..." he whispered calmly in the sleeping Diviner's ear, his lips trailing softly following where his finger had traced. The Superior's hand had moved down along Saix's neck and onto his shoulder. "If Nobodies like us cannot feel," he continued to whisper, half-aware that Saix would even be listening to his words, "Then why is it that I just—love you so?" With that, he nuzzled Saix just below his ear.

Within a second later, Saix slowly opened his eyes, his position unchanged; he enjoyed receiving such affectionate treatment from his Superior. Before letting Xemnas know that he'd awakened, he thought for a moment as his Superior obliviously continued to neck him. It wasn't long until he slowly turned himself around, facing Xemnas closely, their eyes meeting.

"Because such a true, deep feeling could never truly leave us, my Superior," Saix replied, his face gently resting by Xemnas', "No matter what happens or who we may become."

Xemnas pondered about it for a few seconds. "Hmm... I suppose you might be right, Saix" he agreed with a sweet smile. He cuddled Saix closer to him and chuckled. "The way you think is one reason why you're my most trusted member in this Organization," he joked, "Aside from our own personal one-on-one 'private' meetings, granted." Whether Saix viewed it as a little tease or as a slightly serious notation, he couldn't hide a rare little smile on his face. Only his Superior was able to make him so such a thing...

And it wasn't often when Xemnas ever remotely showed a more 'silly' side to him, but he knew that his second-in-command would be the last one to ever let it be known to anyone else outside of the two of them, and he mainly reserved displaying such behavior for just Saix alone. Besides, what would the rest of the Organization think if they noticed their very own Superior didn't act serious enough? Even if he knew that Saix was just any other member, he'd surely be the first one to remind Xemnas that 'business comes before pleasure,' and Saix has dealt with that from some of the other members already: Axel, Demyx, and even Xigbar (who outranked him by number, being under only Xemnas, himself)... Xemnas was just grateful for such a mutual benefit between them.

Xemnas pulled Saix closer to him, pressing his lips against the Diviner's forehead, just above his X-scar. "I wonder if anyone else is up for breakfast this morning," he said curiously. Saix glanced up at him. "Pointing blame at me?" he wondered. "Well, you were rather on the noisy side last night," Xemnas teased, giving him a reassured kiss on the cheek which quickly made Saix forget about the tease.

It wasn't long until the first scents of breakfast had reached them. With the giant size of the Castle That Never Was, the first signs of breakfast aromas to reach anyone's nose was actually almost ready to be served.

"Come on, Saix," Xemnas hinted, beginning to get out of bed, "Let's go get ready for breakfast." Saix stretched and nodded, gradually getting himself out of bed as well. He tried to ignore the slight soreness from last night get the best of him; however, Xemnas did notice the slight imbalance Saix tried to hide.

"Is everything alright, Saix?" he asked. He had the intuition that it was mainly from last night, but he still wanted to make sure his Diviner was optimal for the day.

Saix never liked ever showing any remote sign of weakness; be it from furious fights or the roughness in bed, especially in front of his own Superior. "It's nothing," he lied, "I suppose it's just from getting up from bed a little too quickly..." With that, Xemnas simply took his word as he briefly glanced over at Saix and continued to ready himself for the day.

Xemnas was the first to fully dress himself up for the rest of the day. Saix, on the other hand, was still just finishing up by putting on his boots, unaware that his Superior was watching him.

"Are you ready now, Saix?" Xemnas asked as his blue-haired lover pulled the last boot up his leg. "Yes, sir," Saix said, standing up from sitting on the edge of the bed. "'Sir'?" Xemnas thought, "Especially when we're still by ourselves in here? I've never witnessed him like that in this type of situation..." He gently narrowed his eyes and walked over to Saix for an embrace. "A little too early for such formalities, Saix," he whispered, "Do you think someone else is watching you beside me?"

With an arm around Saix's shoulder, Xemnas led him to the door. "But for now," he continued to tease, "It's time for breakfast. Then you can kiss my ass all you wish afterwards." Both of them chuckled as they left the room and began their way to the dining room.

With each step, the appetizing aroma of food grew thicker. The scent of it all was just so tantalizing to the two Nobodies, especially since they've burned off so much energy from the previous night.

Saix almost lost his more refined and dignified self in front of his Superior, light-walking forward to breathe in the delicious smells that filled their surroundings. Luckily for him, Xemnas didn't truly mind his off-beat behavior; at least when they were simply alone. Any other member would've surely been reminded of how to behave in front of him; it was a benefit for Saix to be the only exception to that rule.

Saix deeply sniffed the air and sighed deliciously. "Pancakes, eggs, and sausage for today, Xemnas," he said, turning back to face the silver-haired man. Xemnas grinned, "Impressive." He glanced back at his Diviner.

"Now then," he teased, "If you can tell what's for breakfast, how about you inform me of who's the one cooking it?" Saix stood with a deep pause, his hungry smile turning into a frown. He knew he didn't have that strong of an olfactory sense; if anyone in the Organization owned anyone with a strong nose, it'd be Zexion; both he and Xemnas knew this fact. "Or perhaps I should get Zexion to be my second-in-command every morning?" Xemnas continued to tease after waiting for Saix's response.

The blue-haired Berserker slightly jerked his body in shock. He wasn't one to accept being replaced so easily on the spot like that, especially if it was something between him and his Superior. He held his ears back. "But—I doubt Zexion could ever be as good as me, Superior," Saix reasoned with a hint of jealousy in his tone of voice, being as refined as much as possible, "And I assume you know what I mean by that..."

Xemnas chuckled. "I bet he couldn't," he said, walking over to Saix. He held him close to him and the two of them continued on their way to the castle's dining room.

Within moments, the two Nobodies arrived to the grand dining room. Most of the Organization was already there whereas some of the usual others were late, while Xaldin and Zexion were bringing in the trays and dishes of everyone's breakfast.

Xemnas sat at the end of the table as Saix sat on the side, next to him; he viewed it as a way of establishing his rank of second-in-command to Xemnas, regardless of being "Number VII" in the Organization.

Zexion brought out the dishes and presented them to Xemnas, then to Saix. Everyone else came after them.

"Who made breakfast today?" the Superior asked.

"Xaldin did," the Schemer replied, beginning his way to go back into the kitchen, "He's been cooking some pancakes and sausages with a side of a few eggs this morning."

Saix tried to hide his little smirk, knowing he was right about the guess on breakfast. He however tried to hide it by pretending to be smiling over the food presented in front of him. Although, Xemnas could see right past his acting and leaned over to the Diviner.

"I know exactly why you're smirking, Saix," he whispered with a soft glare, sipping on cup of coffee that came with his breakfast, "Don't think you can hide it from me." Saix glanced over to the silver-haired Nobody for a second before returning attention over to his breakfast. "Hmm," he plainly responded, taking a bite of a forkful of pancakes to prevent himself from speaking any further on the subject. "Touché," Xemnas thought to himself with a minute chuckle and continued on with his breakfast.

Zexion soon walked out of the kitchen, carrying out another tray to the table.

"Oh, and Xaldin also cooked some bacon strips and hashbrowns this morning," he commented, opening the tray to display the food right in front of Saix's surprised view.

Without even turning his head, Saix merely glanced over at the smirking Xemnas, who was disguising a chuckle with a mouthful of food. After a moment of embarrassment, Saix just scoffed quietly and muttered, "So I missed naming a couple things..." And with that, he scooped a forkful of eggs and ate.

--

After breakfast, Axel and Xigbar were stuck cleaning up the table and kitchen since they were the last ones to arrive to breakfast. Everyone else was assigned on their missions for the day. Xemnas had stayed behind to try and organize more reports before the day's end.

Saix was originally set to patrol the castle, making sure nothing amiss happened and keeping any stray nobodies in line. However, Xemnas summoned the Diviner to his office. As punctual as Saix was, he was just where his Superior wanted him within moments.

"You called for me, Xemnas?" the blue-haired man asked, standing before Xemnas' desk.

The Superior glanced up at Saix as he ruffled through a handful of the reports before placing them down for a moment. "I need you to run a little errand for me," he said, showing Saix a copy of a mission. He took it from Xemnas' hand to skim over it. Before Saix could say anything, Xemnas continued, "It's only a short mission for you... I know you are more suited for more of a challenge, but just how you seemed to be this morning; I'm not taking any chances..."

"I'm fine, Xemnas..." Saix defended.

Quickly, Xemnas looked up at him; with the amount of paperwork to do, he wasn't in any mood to discuss his final decision to Saix. "I'm not counting that as backtalk," he warned and looked back down to the papers, "You'll be back before you know it, and maybe then I'll have a bigger challenge for you."

Saix could sense the sternness in Xemnas' sarcastic tone, so with a sneer, he quietly growled and turned to leave the office. Once he was out the door, he looked over his mission sheet more thoroughly. "'Number VII: Saix; Head out to the world of HalloweenTown to observe recent abnormal behavior from the world's heartless. Take notes and report back once the happening's discovery has been made.'" he read. Deep down in him, he found the mission rather odd; however, he'd heard stranger missions from the other Organization members, so he shrugged his intuition off and headed out to the destined world.

--

Once in HalloweenTown, Saix became cautious as he ventured around. He kept his eyes open on the alert. The entire atmosphere gave a sense of uneasiness, beyond how things usually were in that world. No one was even outside; it was only Saix who walked solely out in the open. He wasn't aware of a faint rustling noise that seemed to be following him.

It wasn't long before Saix knew that he was no longer the hunter but the one being hunted instead. With every couple of steps he took, he paused to carefully look around him. Although, whatever's stalking the Diviner, remained still, hoping not to be caught and waiting for a perfect moment.

Saix then turned to continue on his way. "Nothing's here," he thought, "I've been sent here for nothing but a goose chase..."

And just before he could finish his thoughts and begin leaving, he found himself quickly being tackled to the ground. Instinctively, he rolled himself over on his back and scratched his attacker off him. As soon as he was free, he backed away a few feet and took a look at the creature.

The creature was a heartless, but it didn't appear to be of the local variety; more of a demonized Neoshadow. It glared at Saix, hissing and snarling fiercely, and wanting nothing more than to pick a fight to the death with the Diviner. Saix was beginning to think he got more than he could handle in the mission as he faced the heartless, but he never allowed himself to ever back down on a battle.

Unlike in the World That Never Was, the moon in HalloweenTown had no effect on him, so he wasn't able to simply call on the world's moon's powers and go berserk on the creature.

"Nothing more than a mere heartless..." Saix reassured himself and lunged at it. The heartless, in return, attacked him.

The battle between the two was intense; constantly scratching and biting each other. It wasn't long before the ground below them became heavily speckled with blood from both of them. Within five minutes of the fight, Saix began to show signs of exhaustion, panting deeply as he kept his eyes on the heartless, who wasn't half as exhausted as he was and was able to fight even longer if necessary.

The heartless knew the advantage it had in the situation and swiftly attacked Saix in less than a second. Its claws grasping and tearing the skin on Saix's shoulders as it locked its jaw in a powerful bite on the scruff of his neck. "Ahh!" Saix cried in agony. The pain was just too much for the Diviner, defenseless to do anything; all he could do was rear and collapse his body on top of the heartless.

Fortunately, the shock of being sandwiched between the bloody ground and the injured Saix forced the heartless to let go of its bite and grip. Once freed, Saix rolled off and quickly smacked the heartless away from him the second it tried another attempt.

The heartless then halted from attacking Saix, simply glaring at him; Saix doing the same, plotting his counterattacks. It knew that it wouldn't be able to finish off the Diviner right now in its condition. It hissed a roar and skittered through the dark depths of the woods.

It was only when Saix knew he was no longer in the strange heartless' interest that he finally realized his injuries. His entire weakened body shook terribly from the dangerous amount blood lost during the battle. How he was coughing out blood only made conditions worse for him. He could feel himself quickly losing his orientation and balance at the spot. "I—I desperately need to—to get back..." he panted deeply, trying to hold onto himself for even a while longer. Then he struggled to force a portal to open before him back to the castle. And once opened, he took the remainder of his low strength to crawl on all fours back to the other side.

A/N ~ Not a good day for Saix, isn't it (just wait till Xemnas sees a dying Saix on the castle grounds)... D: Not going to spoil you (especially since I tend to write details on the spot! X3;;;); sorry. Hopefully I won't be taking so long on the next chapter. :B I'll be writing it after this submission.