Hemisphere

by Classy-cat18

A new world. New people. A new life. So much to learn.

6. Fifth Movement

Pre-chapter notes: I know that symphonies are usually divided into four movements. Please don't kill me for that. The chapter comes from the opening song to .hack/Legend of the Twilight Bracelet. Oh, and I don't know if this story now qualifies as a crossover. I am using characters from another universe but that's all I'm borrowing from Bleach (and soon other anime and video games). Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach either.

Fifth Movement – New World

I had refused to let go of Demyx until he put a hand on my head, reminding me that I was clinging to him. I quickly let go and sank to the hardwood floor. "What… what happened?" I asked breathlessly.

Demyx groaned. "Roxas has a kind of link with you. If you're in big enough trouble, he can sense it."

That answered some of it, but that wasn't what bothered me. "I mean what was going on with that…" I couldn't put it in words so I used whatever popped in my head. "Energy."

He stiffened as his frown grew a little more. "That's what happens when he tries to use his powers for bad stuff."

My body chilled at the thought of it. "Bad stuff?"

"Assassinations."

BUM BUM

I clenched my chest as my heart thumped hard for a second. "You guys kill people?"

"Not all of us. Only some of us are supposed to take missions like that. Axel's the number one to go to."

No way. That redhead, who didn't look serious enough to take on those missions, as the number one? Then again, the way he switches moods so quickly makes it impossible to figure him out. He might really be the perfect one to go to.

Now the brotherhood Axel was talking about didn't sound so nice. "Why would we need to kill anyone?"

"We don't need to. We take jobs that other people give us because they don't want to dirty their own hands. Axel's perfect because he can do it with zero guilt, since all of his targets are bad people anyway."

Great, I was stuck with a bunch of assassins. Another chill ran through my body as I glanced at the goofy blond. "How about you?"

"Me? No! I'm no good at it! I do recon whenever it's needed. Otherwise I'm a complete freeloader!" He said that with a huge grin on his face, like he was so proud of it. I stopped myself in mid-facepalm only to get another look at his eyes.

So blue…

I got back to questioning him. "What will you have me do?"

"No idea, but I'm pretty sure that Roxas won't let the Organization use you for anything dangerous. Probably have you do housework here, like your mom did sometimes."

That I didn't mind. I just couldn't imagine myself fighting and I did housework back at Winter Town all the time.

We fell silent again, my body feeling sluggish after all that went on. Three days. They said I was asleep for three days after I collapsed in Winter Town. Why was I still tired? Maybe it's just lack of energy. I hadn't eaten in that time and I had a rough time after I woke up.

And I had dreamed during those three days, of life back in Winter Town. Only instead of being home schooled, I was in high school with kids that I met in elementary school. It felt so real that I thought the whole mess with Larxene and Roxas was the dream.

And the fact that it felt real made the surrealistic parts of the dream scary.

Every thing was black, white, and gray. Sounds were muffled and indistinguishable. Food was nothing but a lump of gray glop. And no one had a face, not even my dad. At the end of the dream, I looked in a mirror and…

End of dream.

Even though it felt so fake, I thought it was real. It was, in my current opinion, a nightmare.

A sudden pain in my abdomen derailed my train of thoughts. At the same time, Demyx snapped his head to me. Without thinking, I rushed to the bathroom and locked the door behind me.

I was so stupid. I kept ignoring the signs because I thought it was part of the heart sickness.

But the small red spot on my underwear said otherwise.

Someone banged on the door. "Nia-chan! Is everything alright?" Demyx yelled from the other side.

I only have it about four times a year, so of course I don't think of it that often. I threw the cabinet open but there was no medicine or anything that could help with my problem. Idiot, you're the only girl here. What makes you think they carry stuff like that?

My face was red again as I opened the door enough to stick my head out before Demyx could leave. It was impossible to tell him while looking at any part of it. "Um…"

"Are you hurt?" he blurted out.

I shook my head. Four words. I only needed to say four words, but it was so difficult to spit them out!

"Then what's going on? You looked like you were hurting!"

"Period," I mouthed.

"Huh?"

"I'm… having it," I tried to clarify in a soft voice.

"Having what?"

My face and neck were burning. Tears were coming again. "It."

"What?" His voice was getting high-pitched with panic again.

"My period!" I hissed while forcing myself to look at him, although it was still loud enough to give Demyx pain.

More silence. His jaw dropped. Okaa-san used to live here so hopefully he would figure out what I meant. He did, once his gears started moving again.

"Holy ssssssugar honey iced tea," he whimpered. I cocked an eyebrow while figuring out what he meant.

He started flailing his arms in a cartoonish way. "Crap crap crap crap crap! I gotta get Axel! Don't leave that room!" He took off down the hallway toward the stairs to the basement.

I pulled my head back in the bathroom and locked the door again. Some mess I got into. Stuck with a bunch of shady people, and not one woman in the bunch. "Sugar honey iced tea?" I asked myself. "Sugar honey iced… oh."

Third Person POV

The basement area contained a lot more than Zexion's quarters. Another large room was used for practice; the walls were both very resistant to magic and soundproof. Both were good for "talking it out".

Roxas wasn't listening to reason at first, so his mentor resorted to burning all of his energy first and then talking it out. But then he found himself "talking it out" while burning all of Roxas' energy.

The younger Nobody was now leaning against the wall, his energy not the only thing that was burned. His chest heaved as he caught his breath and healed his injuries. "Good thing he didn't use his weapons," he muttered to himself. "But why couldn't I use mine?"

Axel hadn't even broken a sweat, but he was a lot calmer than he was before. He stood on the opposite side of the room and stared at Roxas. "You scared Nia," the redhead stated.

"You said that already," Roxas replied. "I'm sorry. I let myself lose control again."

"I could see that by your sloppy fighting. Usually we're both on the floor and gasping for air."

Roxas nodded and fanned himself. The air was still heavy from the rise in temperature and it was getting too much for him. Finally he tossed aside his ruined black cloak and shirt. "Did you lose control too? My burns are still healing."

Axel chuckled. "You know I have to, for anything to get through that thick skull of yours." Roxas laughed along with him.

The heartwarming moment was abruptly stopped when the door flew open and hit the back of Axel's head. The young man glared at Demyx. "Knock first, will ya?" he yelled.

"PERIOD!" Demyx shrieked.

That one word was all they needed. Roxas silently stood up and grabbed his cloak. "We should've seen this coming," Axel sighed. "Kaori was temperamental when she was…"

"Floating on the crimson tide?" the water wielder finished.

He nodded and scratched his head. "And it might actually explain Zexion's change in behavior. Remember when he wouldn't even leave his room during those three or four days?"

"He didn't leave because Kaori would seal him in his room," Roxas clarified. "It's why he had his own food supply down here."

Axel snickered. He was the one who had to remind Kaori that Zexion had no bathroom in there. "Remember when her eyes would have two different colors? One brown, one yellow?"

"Like Nia-chan right now?" Demyx cut in.

"Huh?"

"Only it's one reddish-brown, one yellow."

"Oh boy. At least it's temporary." Axel glanced back at Roxas. "Please tell me you got something to help her while you were in Winter Town."

Roxas nodded slightly and teleported in a cloud of black smoke. The remaining two people looked at each other. "So she can have babies too," Demyx confirmed quietly. "You told me that Nobodies can't do that."

"We didn't know anything about Kaori. But just like her, Nia is now off limits to the old guys." A puff of smoke escaped his nostrils as he looked at his teammate with a hard stare.

Nia's POV

The feeling of something dripping out was growing. I know it sounds gross, but that's why I didn't want to tell any guy, let alone one who acts like a kid. To make things worse, I was staring at my reflection in the mirror and wondering why my left eye was now yellow. Just when I was unlocking the door to peek outside, someone knocked. "It's Roxas," a voice said from the hallway.

I kept my hand on the doorknob still. Last time I saw him, he was a little unbalanced. But he sounded calm now, and there was no pain like earlier. I opened the door for him, not looking at him at first. "Did Demyx tell you?"

When I finally tried to make eye contact with him, my heart pounded again. He wasn't wearing any top, and there were a few small bruises and burns on his torso and face. And wrapped all around his body was a tattoo of gold and silver chains as if he was bound.

Gold…silver…he's in color…

"Did you hear me?"

I blushed and looked up at his blue eyes. "Uh-uh," I squeaked.

He held out a familiar box of tampons and a box of Midol. "I found these in your drawers while taking out some clothes for you back in Winter Town." He dropped it as well as a clean pair of underwear in my hands and promptly left the room.

I just settled for putting on one of the tampons and changing underwear, then stashing the rest in the cabinet after swallowing a Midol. "Done," I announced as I walked out.

Roxas nodded and shifted from one foot to the other. He spent a minute doing this while working his mouth like a fish out of water. "Um, well, you need anything else?" he spit out.

"No, I'm fine."

"You're talking more."

"Huh?" Oh yeah, I was giving everyone the cold shoulder for the longest time. But I wanted answers to questions that had begun filling my mind. My eyes darted to the tattoos again. "What's with those chains?"

"Your mom made them, to seal my powers."

Demyx's words made a lot more sense. Those chains were like the seal that I had. "Why would Okaa-san seal them? You need them for whatever you do in the Organization."

He sighed and fidgeted more. "I'm not supposed to use my powers for those guys at all, especially not for killing. It negatively affects them."

"What is your power?"

"Um… I have light-based powers. Like the others, they're versatile."

But that wasn't light I saw leaking out of him. It was more like black smoke. "So when your powers get corrupted, it's more like—"

"Miasma. That's what Axel described it as one time." He rubbed his own shoulder. "It fits, doesn't it? How it would threaten to swallow and poison you."

That's exactly what it was. It used the thread that connected us to get to me. Roxas lowered his head and mumbled something inaudible. "What was that?" I asked.

"Nothing!" he replied a little too loudly and high-pitched. "Uh… I'm sorry!" He bowed deeply.

"Okay," I replied.

He shot back up, seemingly very shocked. "That's it? You're not angry at me?"

That confused me too. Maybe it was the medicine, or maybe it was because he had been going through a lot too. I made him worry. Who knows how often he's like this? How good is the link between us? How far does it stretch? Then my lips twitched a little, giving him a small smile.

"Wh-what?" he asked me shakily.

"I figured it out. I'm too curious to be angry right now." Questions kept streaming into my head. Questions about my new companions, about my new home, about everything. Anger wouldn't give me answers. "If I keep snapping at you, I won't get my answers any quicker."

He grinned. "You're smiling."

"Yeah, and?" Like it wasn't a big deal.

"How often do you do that? A real one, not the fake one you gave me when I was scaring you."

I didn't have an answer for that. How often do I smile or laugh?

"What else do you want to know about?"

"Where am I?" That was one question that I had thought about, probably even asked, but never got a proper response for.

"We're on another world from yours. Like another Earth, but with a lot of differences. But on another plane of existence, another dimension." He blushed a little and held out his open hand to me. "Do you want to go outside?"

Outside? I haven't even thought of going outside, probably because I assumed that there was nothing special about it. But now the fact that I was on a new world made it so interesting. "Yeah."

I still didn't take his hand. His gloves were in shreds and I was hesitant in touching bare skin. Besides, I wasn't a little kid. After an awkward moment, he pulled his hand back. "Do you like holding my hand?" I asked in an unintentionally cold voice.

He laughed nervously. "No, just that…"

"That what?"

He blushed again. "You're like a little sister… and that's what big brothers do, right?" He averted his eyes and laughed again.

Disbelief flashed, then a slight annoyance. Big brother complex. Perfect. "I'm seventeen, not seven."

"I'm over seventy," he said with a smirk. "Old enough to be your grandpa."

And it keeps getting better. This time I facepalmed.

We went back to the circular sitting room, where the windows showed that the sun was down and the overhead chandelier was lit. Axel was back upstairs and lounging in one of the chairs. "Taking Missy out for some fresh air? While she's wearing her cute PJs?" I glared at him and my new nickname. "Oooh, you can just forget about your special treat."

My glare disappeared. "What special treat?"

"The one you get after you complete your special initiation." He gave me a wide, toothy grin. "Scare away the human that has sneaked into our yard!"

"Huh?"

Roxas growled. "Someone's trespassing? Why didn't you tell anyone earlier?"

The redhead rolled his eyes. "Because this one caught me off guard. You'd think after you ran after the last one with your swords, they would've taken the hint. Besides, it's Missy's turn."

"Don't call me Missy," I snapped.

"Make me."

I couldn't stop it. "You… you… NITWIT!"

Axel winced in pain even as he glanced at the large window. "Not a scratch. How interesting."

It was interesting but I had other questions. "Why would they trespass? How did you know they were here? How am I supposed to scare them?"

"So many questions! Like a little kid, this one!" He took out a piece of folded paper and handed it to me. "Tips from the master."

"Instructions?" I unfolded the paper and read:

How to Deter Unwanted Human Intruders

Show no fear.

Show no emotion at all.

Speak in a condescending tone. They are ants. We are demons.

Don't be afraid to use threats.

Demand for offerings are optional.

"There's more." I read the name at the bottom. "Demyx?"

"Yeah, he wrote this. He got it from me." He showed another silly grin. "If you're going outside, at least put on some clothes. They're on the bed you were sleeping in."

I don't know why I even took on that stupid assignment, but I really wanted to know what his treat was even if it was something idiotic. I changed into the jeans and T-shirt that were lying on the bed and ran back to the sitting room.

"Okay, you're almost ready," Axel continued before tossing my sneakers to me. Roxas caught and handed them to me. "Go get 'im, champ!"

Roxas led the way to the front door, a wooden one with vine-like shapes carved into it, and opened the door to the night air. This was it. My first steps outside. I walked down the front steps onto solid dirt that formed a circle in front of the mansion and trailed down a hill in a narrow road. The clearing around the mansion was surrounded by budding trees. It's almost spring here. Wish I had a cloak like the others; it's a little chilly.

"Does Axel know where the intruder is?" I asked Roxas as we started walking down the dirt road.

He hushed me. "You need to be quiet so you can hear him."

I glanced at him again. There was enough moonlight to show his smirk. "You're enjoying this," I whispered. This must be like cowtipping to them.

"Shh. I can hear him."

I listened closely. Sure enough, I heard footsteps and even a voice. Whoever decided to trespass wasn't very good at it. Roxas stopped and gestured for me to keep going. "Try to sneak up on him," he advised.

I nodded and stepped off the dirt road, following the voice. It didn't show any sign of noticing me, and soon I could hear with the boy was saying.

"Oh man, why did I choose to do this? I'm not going to get outta this alive. There won't even be a body to bury or cremate! They're going to eat it all and pick their teeth with my rib bones!"

I stopped momentarily. What did this guy think we were?

He was walking towards me, and now I could see him. He looked about high school age. The moron was even carrying a flashlight to show where he was. A messenger bag hung from his shoulder. He definitely wasn't trying to stay hidden. "I think now is a good time to show myself," I muttered.

The light shone on me, forcing me to blink and shield my eyes for a second. The intruder yelped and moved the light. There was a thump; he had thrown the thing away in fear! My lips curved upwards in another smile. This is a little fun.

You'd think he would run, but he stayed there. Your typical horror movie victim. "You're trespassing, human," I told him in my boldest voice. It wasn't even scary; I sounded like a feminine girl even when I was angry. Good thing my power made up for it.

Despite my not-at-all intimidating presence, the kid fell to his knees shielded his face with his arms. "Forgive me, O Great Demon!" he cried out. "I beg of you to spare my life!"

"Demon?" A ticklish sensation rose in my throat. I almost laughed at him.

"Demon, ghost, goddess, witch, whatever you are! I beg of you to spare my life!"

He didn't even know what I was supposed to be.

I could've just told him to leave and never return but no one told me that I couldn't question him. First I picked up his flashlight and pointed it at him. Brown hair, average height, scrawny build. Not a threat at all. "State your name," I commanded while remembering the instructions.

"A-Asano! K-K-Keigo Asano!" he answered without moving. Funny how he didn't mention why a demon would ask for a lowly human's name.

"And why have you come here, human?" I didn't have to refer to him by his name.

His voice got even squeakier. "On a dare! I didn't want to do it but the others said they've done it too!"

That was why the others have had to chase humans out. They were probably all kids. "Why?"

"Because we're foolish virgins!"

"Eh?" I covered my mouth in embarrassment. Don't break the image, stupid!

"If they have done it too, then why are they foolish enough to do it again and again?" I demanded in a louder voice.

"We're sorry!" There were sobbing noises while he shook in fear.

"THIS IS SACRED GROUND!" I gasped and covered my mouth again. I had gotten carried away, but there were no visible signs of pain from Keigo.

My powers must be affected by my mood. Fake anger, no pain.

Keigo did scream when I took a step forward. "DON'T KILL ME!"

I was also allowed to threaten. "Maybe I should hang your corpse where everyone can see! That would be more effective!"

"D-DON'T KILL ME!" He sat up and rummaged through the bag he brought with him. "H-How about an offering?"

Offerings are optional. I nodded slightly.

With a shaky grin, he pulled out a chocolate bar. Feeling tired of this charade, I cocked my head to the side. "A candy bar?"

As if sensing my curiosity, he grinned and brightened. "Gourmet chocolate! Y-You c-can't get this nearby! I have to take the bus to Twilight Town to buy it! It's all yours! It's much more enjoyable than me! I'm lousy as a meal and as a virgin sacrifice!"

What the hell? I facepalmed again, which wasn't likely a demonic thing to do.

"Not enough?" he questioned, sounding scared again. "It's all I got!"

I snatched it from him. It was supposed to be a simple task, to scare him into running away. Keigo was too stupid and scared to even do that! I was bored with him now. "Don't ever come here again," I warned.

"KEIGOOOO!" a voice bellowed.

The two of us gasped and turned our heads downhill. A friend?

Rushing footsteps and heavy breathing. I moved my flashlight from Keigo to the source of the sound, dropping it in surprise when I found it.

Orange...

Orange hair and a fierce look that was the complete opposite of Keigo's. I stayed where I was, not sure if I was supposed to scare him away too.

Keigo looked back too. "ICHIGOOOOO!" he cried out joyfully.

"Ichigo?" I repeated quietly.

The new guy stopped on the other side of Keigo, his amber eyes and my mismatched ones meeting for an instant. That was when any courage I had dissipated. He's not afraid of me at all. He might even attack.

Keigo clung to his leg, sobbing again although this time in relief. "Ichigo! You came to save me from the demon!" Then he got on his knees and stuck a finger in my face. "You're in sooo much trouble!"

At first Ichigo was silent, but I caught his right eye twitching. Then like a flash—

WHACK!

His leg shot out and connected with the back of Keigo's head. Both Keigo and I yelped, the former's head slamming into the ground. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, YOU DUMBASS?" Ichigo yelled while grinding said idiot's head further into the dirt using the same foot he kicked him with.

I was too surprised to do anything besides watch these two. He attacked the idiot first?

The orange-haired kid only got off of him when the muffled sounds started. Keigo took a sharp breath of air before speaking again. "I said I had to! My sister lost something over the fence and she'd kill me if I didn't get it back!"

I raised an eyebrow. I thought it was on a dare.

Ichigo's glare intensified until I swore it would burn a hole in Keigo's head. "Did you get it?"

"Uhh… yeah, but this demon stole it from me!" He pointed to the chocolate bar in my hand.

I could only gape in shock. That little liar! Once again, Ichigo's attention was on me. Against my better judgement, I hid the "offering" behind my back and looked up at him in defiance. "He gave it to me," I countered in a soft voice. Now I couldn't be demonic to save my life.

He looked back down in Keigo. "Is she right?"

"No!" the liar replied.

"You liar!" I accused.

He whimpered and covered his ears, which was strange since I wasn't even that loud that time. Ichigo also showed signs of a little pain. "Get out of here," Ichigo told Keigo in a "that's final" voice.

The coward got up and started heading downhill. "Exorcise the demon!" he shouted over his shoulder.

Now it was just me and Ichigo. No sign of the other Nobodies. Maybe it was a sign that he was no threat. I gathered my courage and spoke to him again. "Human—"

BONK!

"OW!"

Right after the first word, he had smacked the top of my head with his fist! I fell on my knees and whimpered pathetically while rubbing my sore spot. This guy definitely isn't like his friend! He's probably too stupid to know who I am, or too smart to be fooled!

"Didn't I tell you guys to cut that crap?" Ichigo shouted at me. "Do you know how annoying it is to save stupid kids like Keigo during school nights?"

I froze in realization. He's done this before? HE KNOWS ABOUT US?

"That hurt!" was what I said instead.

"Good, it was supposed to!" Without warning he scooped me up and put me in a headlock so he could grind his fist in my scalp. "Apologize right now!"

I refused to! My hands clawed at him in a futile attempt to be released. "Axel told me to do this!" I defended. "How was I supposed to know it was wrong?"

"Great, the bastard must be taping the whole damn thing!" He started dragging me in the direction of the mansion. "I'll have to kick his ass this time! Yours too, Roxas!"

"Roxas?"

Out the corner of my eye I could see the blond walk out of the shadows, wearing his black cloak. This time he was carrying something in his hand. A sword?

"We'll stop scaring those morons when you stop letting them trespass," Roxas said scathingly.

"They wouldn't be trespassing if you'd stop being so secretive!" Ichigo retaliated.

"Oh sure, like immortal heartless beings can fit in so well. Now let Nia go."

"Nia, huh?" He let me go and ruffled my hair, snorting when I slapped his hand away. "It'd take an idiot like Keigo to think someone like her is a demon, especially with her wearing casual clothes."

I looked down at my white shirt and blue jeans. "Demons can't go casual?" I questioned.

"You look pretty young," he said to me. "What are you, twelve?"

"I'm seventeen," I corrected through gritted teeth.

"You look as old as my twin sisters and they're twelve."

"I stopped aging, okay?" I groaned when he flicked my forehead. "Stop that! I'm not a child!"

"If you don't want people to treat you like a child then don't accept chocolate as a bribe, O Great Demon."

Was he here the whole time? I ignored Roxas' chuckle and threw the candy bar at Ichigo, who easily caught it. "There, take it."

He tossed it back. "Lighten up, I was just kidding." Then he gave me a half-smile. "I was starting to think that female Nobodies didn't exist."

"Don't you have homework to do?" Roxas interjected before I could ask any questions. His hold on the sword tightened.

The carrot-top was unfazed. "Already finished. Think you could call Axel out here for me?"

"I'm not your errand boy!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me to his side. "And he's already on his way down here!"

A bright flash diverted my attention from the arguing duo. At first I thought that it was Keigo's flashlight but that thing was still lying on the ground and shining light in another direction. Axel was walking down the dirt road, pushing along something big.

"A motorcycle?" I mouthed as I got closer to look at it. A sleek black one, with a seat big enough for two. Two helmets were being balanced on the seat.

Axel saluted to Ichigo. "Yo!"

Ichigo snorted. "Figures you'd be heading out when I want to talk to you."

"If it's about the dirty e-mail, I can explain that."

The boy instantly turned a bright pink as he sputtered half-words. "Dir… y-you…"

"Ha!" I quickly fell silent again. It sounded so weird coming out of me, but I couldn't keep it down and started laughing again. "This world is crazy! OW!" I rubbed my head after Ichigo smacked me again. "You're taking advantage of my healing factor, aren't you?"

"Is this your way of introducing me to the new member?" my attacker asked Axel. "I'm supposed to believe that Keigo just happened to decide to sneak in during her first day here?"

"She's been sleeping here for the last three days," the redhead clarified. "And yeah, you are supposed to believe that."

Truth or not, I never did find out what happened.

"Whatever. I got the other e-mail you sent me. He said he's able to see Nia whenever you're ready."

Who's 'he'? And why does he want to see me?

"After the rest meets with her, which is in two days. So the day after that." He smirked and motioned me to come over. "But right now, we were going for a little joyride."

I glanced at the motorcycle. I had seen a few in Winter Town but only during the warmer months. The strange thing is that it sounded quieter than them, and it was lacking an exhaust pipe. What wasn't strange was that it had one of those covered basket things attached to the back end of the seat.

"Don't do any crazy stunts while you're out," Ichigo warned before ruffling my hair again. This time I just stood still while getting a good look at his hair. It didn't seem to be possible to have a color like that without some kind of dye.

"You're so colorful," I whispered as I vocalized my thoughts.

His eyebrows shot up. "What did you say?"

I yelped and hid my face with one of the helmets sitting on the motorcycle seat. Axel chuckled and patted my shoulder. "Yeah, he's a pretty colorful guy. You can talk to him another time, okay?"

That was okay with me. He had more of a connection with the Organization than I thought, which didn't coincide with the legend about us. Feared and mysterious. But Ichigo wasn't afraid of us and sounded pretty familiar with Axel. Unlike Roxas, who was standing nearby with a faraway look on his face like he was tuning the whole thing out. "I guess I'll talk to you later," I told Ichigo.

Axel waved and climbed aboard the cycle. "I'm pretty sure you've never ridden one of these," he told me before putting on the black helmet, keeping the visor up. I shook my head to confirm it. He waited for me to put on the other helmet and then adjusted the straps. It was different from his, more like one would wear while wearing a scooter.

It took strategy to safely swing my leg over the seat without falling off or getting anything caught. The vehicle rocked a little, prompting me to wrap my arms around his waist. With one last look at Ichigo and Roxas, I tapped the driver's side to tell him I was ready.

The cycle steadily rolled down the hill toward an iron gate that was part of a brick wall parameter, trees lying on the other side of the road. I could see Axel's hand pressing a button, and the gate swung open automatically. "Cool," I commented.

He revved up the engine, a soft hum or purr unlike the roar I was familiar with. Then we took off, and I had to scream.

The acceleration… from 0 to who knows how fast almost instantly! I almost flew off the seat and I would've if I hadn't held on! To make things scarier, the road outside the gate was a t-section so we had to do a ninety-degree turn! And it curved along the circular brick wall so we were leaning! Everything was a blur at first but I wouldn't have seen anything anyway because my eyes were closed! That jerk probably did that on purpose!

We slowed down to a stop. Axel tugged on my hands until I let go of him. Since we weren't moving I could get a good look at where we were now. It was a small rural town, with virtually no traffic and a few dim streetlights. The road that we were on went straight ahead, with buildings lining it. It resembled towns that you'd run across in Japan. It's peaceful and quiet. I wonder where's the school?

A rev of the engines had me hanging onto Axel again, but this time he started slow. This showed that the previous time was on purpose. I kept my head still and looked down one side of the road. The cars looked pretty old, sorta like from the sixties, not to mention small as well. There weren't a lot parked either. They made the motorcycle stand out.

We stayed at a low speed until we came to the end of the road, and I was surprised to see that it also had a gate even though it was wide open. And the whole town looked like it was surrounded by a stone wall that was about twenty or thirty feet high.

Axel started to speed up. There was nothing outside the outer wall. It was just a wide open field with no trees. An endless starry sky stretched to all sides. Overhead shone the bright crescent moon. And if my ears heard things right, there was even a train nearby.

This world was amazing. The sights, the sounds, the colors, the people. They were all colorful. In my dream, everyone including me were the exact opposite. All the same.

Now I feel like someone has put me on a canvas and started painting colors on me. I smiled and tightened my hold on Axel, wanting to tell him to go faster. This is an entirely new world. I want to know all the colors.