Chapter 7

Xemnas blinked awake. It wasn't time to get up yet, but he didn't want to sleep anymore. The dreams were too bizarre. He wanted to take a walk. He slid down the rope and into the Dark City.

On the air was silence, nothing more, nothing less. Not even the rain greeted him as he walked through the City without a robe. He felt unsafe without the solid, nameless material, but he knew that the worst thing to encounter here was Saix.

Speaking of Saix...

Xemnas heard a shuffling noise in the nearest alleyway. Curious, he walked over and peered around the corner. An inhabitant, or at least what was left of it, rested beneath Saix's clawed fingers. The Diviner looked down at his kill and snarled, not seeming hungry. He caught Xemnas' scent and charged at him, snarling savagely. Xemnas slammed him against a wall with an Aerial Blade, seeing its red energy course through Saix's body. The Diviner's eyes flickered and the rage subsided and grew with each flash. He broke away from the Blade and smacked Xemnas to the ground.

Xemnas moved behind Saix, creating an image, then moved behind the first image, creating a second image. Saix bit into the second image, so Xemnas powered a spinning kick with nothingness to take out Saix's legs, then tackled the unbalanced Nobody into a wall with sickening crunch. He saw Saix's eyes flicker again, but the calm didn't last. The Berserker threw Xemnas off and thrust him into the ground.

Xemnas saw that he had gone down in elevation and squirmed a little beneath Saix's iron grip. His first instinct was to grab the arm and tug it off, but he wasn't running on instinct. He clubbed the Diviner off with a Blade, then nil-kicked him down the alley. He moved behind Saix and kicked him upwards, then moved above him and slammed him with a spinning-slam attack with his Blades. He landed next to Saix and saw the glow of his Berserker state disappear.

Saix was bewildered. "Thank you, Superior."

"You're welcome," Xemnas muttered. He stood up and looked around. "Fighting you is like fighting the petty Unversed."

"Unversed?" Saix asked. Xemnas had said the word before, but he never had an explanation.

Xemnas shook his head. "I meant Heartless." No point in confusing his right-hand man with words even he himself didn't understand. "Speaking of Heartless, the City is quite empty tonight."

"Indeed." Saix rose to stand at his superior's side. "Not a single one appeared to fight me."

As though waiting for this precise moment, a Neoshadow rose from the darkness and leaped at Xemnas. Before he could react, Saix smacked it out of its intended path. The creature snarled and leaped onto the bluenette. The two hit the ground and rolled about in a fight, all teeth and claws and kicking feet. The Neoshadow burst and the Diviner snarled, his eyes tinted golden.

Xemnas kicked Saix harshly, sending the weaker Nobody sprawling. "If you lose control one more time tonight, I will turn you into a Dusk and banish you from the Castle," he threatened sternly.

"Understood, Superior." Saix stood back up, rubbing the area where Xemnas' blow had connected. He finally seemed to notice Xemnas' clothes. "Uh...Why are you wearing those?"

Xemnas nodded. "I know. May I borrow your coat?"

Saix nodded and stripped off his coat, revealing a black outfit beneath. His hair was really a few inches longer than what was on the outside, and a crescent moon pendant dangled from his neck.

Xemnas struggled with the coat; it was too tight around his deep chest and the sleeves were looser than he liked. He finally wrestled the zipper shut and took a moment to practice breathing through his stomach. "How can you wear this?"

"I have a narrow chest," Saix said plainly. He glanced around nervously. "I don't really think being a Dusk is pleasant, so I'll be heading back to my quarters."

Xemnas nodded as Saix snapped open a dark corridor and hustled through. He was alone, and his coat probably couldn't be less comfortable. Oh well. He continued his walk to Memory Skyscraper. Pictures flashed across the screen, pictures of Heartless and humans and the Keyblade and Axel and Xion, who looked like Ven to his eyes.

How he longed to see the worlds again. He wasn't supposed to leave, because of a rule developed by the other five members and himself. They expected him to stay in the World that Never Was, and if he didn't obey, the others had the right to usurp and imprison him for an agreed upon time. He had to sneak away to go anywhere, and when he got lost in the City, they sent out a trusted member to find him.

Going to the beach was risky business.

He attempted to laugh, but the jacket was constricting his chest too much, so he just wheezed a little. He ran to Nothing's Call and panted. Bad idea.

Xigbar was sitting on one of the moving panels. "Trying to escape, Terra?" he joked.

Xemnas growled low. "I don't know who that is."

Xigbar laughed. "As if. You threatened to take my eye, like you did before."

"Xigbar," Xemnas muttered, "I'm sorry about your eye, and I'm sorry about threatening you, but I don't know what you're talking about, so shut up. I still have that photo."

Xigbar sneered, "I know you were trying to get away. I still guard at night."

"If I were trying to leave, wouldn't I take a dark corridor rather than climb down the rope?" Xemnas retorted. "I'm not going to let you chain me in the dungeon." He stood up and held up his hands. "I haven't left."

Xigbar narrowed his eyes, then dropped the facade and laughed. "I believe ya. Saix hasn't left either."

Xemnas shook his head. "Never speak of this."

Xigbar teleported over next to him. "You look like you're in pain. C'mon, back to bed, spiky silver." He swept Xemnas off his feet and teleported into his room, then set him on his bed.

"Was that necessary?" Xemnas asked as Xigbar wound up the long rope and threw it over his shoulder.

"No," the Freeshooter answered, "but you shouldn't strain yourself after a chloroform nap."

Xemnas raised an eyebrow. "Chloroform- oh." He shed Saix's tight coat and snuggled up under the covers.

Xigbar was about to leave when- "Xigbar. Could you stay with me? I couldn't sleep."

Xigbar smiled. "Okay, spiky-white." He sat down on the bed next to Xemnas.

After about thirty minutes, Xemnas finally fell asleep. Xigbar quickly teleported to the Hall of Empty Melodies to mess around.

Yeah, short chapter. Don't get used to it. Chapter 8 is long... Needed an explanation for why Xemnas never leaves the Castle, so I made one. R&R appreciated. Thank you.