"Yeah... the search was a bust," Roman told Saix back at the Grey Area in the Castle.

"Odd... Xaldin reported a huge surge of energy from that world."

"So he was the one who filed in the mission?"

Saix nodded and closed the corridor with a wave of his hand. As he did, Vexen walked into the Grey Area, unscathed unlike Roman's earlier gamblings save for a small rip on his left shoulder. "And you, Vexen?"

"Not today, I'm afraid. However, it seems that there is a dearth of the Heartless that normally inhabit the streets. The only resistance I met which resulted in this-" He pointed to the rip, "Was in front of the Skyscraper."

"Oh, don't tell me that we have to find another Leechgrave," Roman griped, adding, "'cept for that one world, with the 'Innocents.' I personally think that we should leave that world alone."

And with that, Saix shoved him across and out the Area. A loud crash could be heard accompanied by various farm animal sounds, particularly those of chickens, and the shouts and complaints of Demyx, the musician as Roman calls him at times. "Noooooooo! Man, I worked really hard to get those!"

"Oh, good lord," Saix said.

"Why the hell are you smuggling chickens?" Roman asked Demyx while holding one of his own. "I don't think this technically counts as work."

"Actually, it does!" he replied. "Well, sort of. I was shoehorned into saving them when a bunch of Heartless came and started attacking! Also, there was this white chick which kicked a Large Body into the sky!"

Roman gave Demyx a confused look at the chicken flapped its wings in protest and flew out of his arms only to fall to the ground and run off.

"Uh... so you were doing recon... and then Heartless threatened someone's chickens... and you left a Caucasian girl take care of them. That makes a whole lot of sense."

"Well, it's not that much better than the world itself," Demyx added as he stuck a chicken in a nearby Sorcerer's box. "It's what happens when some world's modern times have illegal sex with another world's feudal times!"

"Samurai on motorscooters?"

Demyx paused for a bit after his seventh chicken (there were, appropriately enough, thirteen) to think about it. "Well, that's one way to put it, I guess."

Roman sighed and went on to catch the rest of the chickens before they either ran off into someone's room or jumped off a high place, which there were plenty of in the castle for some reason. After catching all the chickens, the three of them (counting the Sorcerer) found themselves back in the Gray Area, where Vexen was writing various equations down on a piece of paper, which was one of several in a quarter-foot stack. Roman could barely hear his muttering above the occasional clucking of the captured chickens. "Maybe...no, that would kill her. Perhaps...yes, note tha... hm. That's odd. Oh well."

"Ooooookay then. Creepy," Roman said as he placed the chickens in the dark corridor along with Demyx. Suddenly, a bokken flew through the portal, narrowly missing Vexen and his papers, then spiraling around to be caught single-handedly by Axel. "Jeez, that's what they give you in that world for returning a bunch of chickens?" He looked at the inscriptions on the sword's handle. "Lake Toya... never heard of it." With that, he threw the bokken like a spear into the corridor before it closed.

Everyone present, save for Vexen who resumed his equation working, clapped their hands as enthusiastically as beings without hearts could. Roman clapped extra heartily, much to Saix's observations.

The laboratory again. Vexen went around the lab, pouring chemicals into tubes seemingly embedded in machines, following his equations from earlier that night. He also went back to the control console in front of the large metal unit to check vitals frequently. Still good. No faults in the equations. He then went to add one last ingredient before he left. From a storage cabinet, he took out a vial with a small amount of silver liquid. Technically, it wasn't a metal, but Vexen still wanted to be careful with its introduction into his project's systems. Too much would kill, he thought, but too little will delay the awakening. I have to add the right amount from this day forward until the final day, or else it won't be fit for the tasks it must perform!

He touched a graphic on the display, which prompted another integrated test tube to pop out. Vexen carefully opened the vial and poured whatever contents it had into the tube, and it retracted. He put the cap back on, then proceeded to a hole in the wall designated for chemical wastes to toss the vial. "I can't risk any remaining traces to be utilized. Also, it's just plain unsanitary."

The being in the unit stirred a little, though not seen by Vexen through the metal which was actually covering glass. He took one last look at the vitals. A new reading popped up: NM Status. It read, "10% Completion."

So, Vexen thought. Nine days, not including today. He noted this on a small piece of paper which he then promptly stuck in his pocket before leaving via dark corridor. But what if I miss a day? Well, ten total days shouldn't be a bother. However, I only have so much of the substance-

Then something occurred to him in his thoughts. Wait... I only have eight vials left! Think, Vexen... don't panic... I must find a way to procure more of that substance! Well, I don't know what it is, so I'll make up a name of my own... yes. It's perfect! "Those fools..." he said aloud.

Voices... I hear voices.

Can't really tell who they are. Too echo-y. I know one's male and one's female.

Hey... what just happened? A scream? Did something just happen? Well, obviously, but...

Running footsteps... and calling out. Wait...

"Whatever you do, don't look ba-"

Roman's eyes bolted open, though not his body. He was panting as if though he had been running for a while. He sat upright in his bed and looked out the window of his room. Why do I always do that? The weather or even the time of day never changes here, he thought. He looked at his clock, which was his only reliable way of telling time in the castle. 11:01 PM. Wow, I dream easily, he thought. Only been like... three hours? I never knew, but I guess that's what happens when your memory beyond three months ago is blank.

So what was that all about? She never finished her sentence...

Without warning, Roman found a drop of water streaming down his cheek. He wiped it up with one hand, and blinked out a few more water drops from his eyes, which he also wiped away. "What the hell...?"

Next day. The world is known as Amanto Edo, which, according to Saix, is where Demyx got those chickens. Today's task: Team up with Xion and eliminate an Emerald Serenade. Roman always hated them and their tendency to never stay in one place unless frozen. That's why he valued Xion on this fine day: she had magic left as opposed to Roman, who only stocked up on currently useless Fire magics. They get too fast to be caught. "These things are bitches," Roman commented. "They don't really do much, either, so why kill them?"

"Every heart is supposed to count, they said," Xion said to him. "So why would the Heartless have such a breed? The Creepworms in Innocent Europe are one thing..."

"But these bastard things are another," Roman finished, throwing a rather large rock at the Serenade, making it spin. The same bokken from the day before also hit it into a spinning frenzy, and for the first time that ANY Organization member had seen, it stopped in place.

The two Nobodies took the initiative and rushed it while it was in place. Roman jumped off a strange creature's head to get to an awning, and from there, he jumped at the Serenade and pulled it down for Xion to finish off. They watched as its heart floated off into the sky, to Kingdom Hearts, when a Creepworm flew directly at it, pulling it down, but destroying the worm when it landed with a squish. The Nobodies cringed at the sight. "Ugh. Even without anything to clean up, that's not a pretty thing to look at," Roman said, disgusted.

"I think it's mostly the noise, though..." Xion said.

"Anyway, mission complete. Let's hit Twilight Town before the day ends."

"Well, wait," Xion said to Roman, looking around the area. "We finished in a short amount of time, less time than what it usually takes someone to take out an Emerald Serenade, so why don't we explore the city while we're here?"

"You sure about that? I appreciate our mystery help, but we better not meet our assistant for this one. Secrecy and all that."

"Oh, right..." Xion said.

Roman thought for a brief moment, but then dismissed his thought. "Nah... Twi's tower is scary enough as it is."

Xion gave Roman a quizzical look. "If you're afraid of heights, why do you always come to the tower with the three of us?"

"Note that unlike you guys, I sit away from the edge."

"Oh... got it," Xion said. She went over to pick up the bokken from the ground a few feet away. "Lake Toya... where's that?"

"Beats me. Must be the same bokken that nearly smacked Vexen last night," Roman said, laughing a little. "Man, if it actually connected..."

"Uh oh. Don't look ba- Oh, God," Xion said. When she did, Roman looked at her as if though she reported the worst news possible.

However, realizing it was Xion, he regained his composure and asked, "What is it?"

"You of all people don't want to know..." she replied weakly. "I'm gonna hurl."

She stumbled over to a nearby trashcan and lifted the lid. However, she found a silver-haired man crouched in there. "Hey, this one's taken. Wait a minute; you're not going- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! What the HELL!"

Roman facepalmed and walked past the stomach-sick Nobody to the dark corridor. Curious to what had her disgusted so much, he turned around before he entered the portal and Xion walked feebly in. What he saw made him hurl his small breakfast of a package of peanut butter cracker sandwiches in the dark space between worlds.

[Journal Entry]

Yeah, I threw up. A): I saw something that'll take a lot of yuri to unsee, and B): I threw up in the dark space between worlds! I wonder if anyone else will find that. I really hope not, because having to mop up hurl in the midst of shadow matter doesn't sound like an affair for the already weakened stomach.

Also, last night's dream was really odd and surreal. Nothing to see, really, and what I heard was mostly unintelligible, save for the very last sentence, which wasn't even finished for some reason. Maybe it's a past thing coming back to me. In all honesty, it's about time, but what about other parts I forgot? I've got a big-ass blank where anything before three months ago should have been, and it's really starting to mess with me on a minor, yet secretly important level. Wait, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Great, now I'm writing crazy shit. Thanks, Sandman.

[Author's Notes]

Amanto Edo - My name for the Gintama world.