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I know he knows something. Maybe he doesn't know the specifics, but he knows something is up. I think they all know. They just aren't privileged to know like I do. Too much information might cause a commotion. And I know if he tries to start something, he's not going to be around for too much longer.

Normally the neon glow of the town was exciting. The colors were so vibrant against the permanent black backdrop. Tonight they were just lights. They were my guidance to the exit. They were leading me out, getting me away from this place.

I knew I didn't have a lot of time. It was unfortunate that I had fallen asleep last night. I had intended to pretend to drift off and wait until I knew my Mate was sleeping, then slink out quietly. It would've been easy, too; he's such a heavy sleeper. I was all prepared. The letter I wrote to him was tucked away inside my journal where I could easily take it and place it on my pillow for when he woke up. But of course, exhaustion had creeped upon me and his presence was so soothing, I couldn't help but want to stay next to him for the night, forever even.

When I woke, I cursed silently, slid as smoothly and quietly as I could out from the hot, protective hold that was keeping me pressed up against the firm chest I'd been sleeping on. I left the note on my pillow and had to force myself to move. I couldn't help it if the tears started to spill. I didn't want to leave him, but I had to do it. This had all gone on too long, I was frustrated and beyond furious with everything. This Organization could rot and die for all I cared. They worked for the wrong reasons. They were all manipulated by one evil and cruel man. I didn't understand anything that was going on. They took my best friend from me. They were using me. Or actually, maybe not "they." More like "he" was using me.

I was tired. I was done. Being left in the dark by all of its members, by my Soulmate no less, just threw me for a loop and shoved me right out of their space. I couldn't handle the stress, I needed to get the answers myself. And if that meant leaving the one I loved most, no matter how badly it tore me apart, then so be it.

So I stomped down that paved road, wiping the angry and hurt tears away. I had had enough. I was gone and no one was going to stop me.

Of course that didn't mean no one was going to try.

The portal opened and inwardly I cringed. My major mistake, not leaving in the middle of the night, brought this on. I knew it, I saw this coming. And he was only going to make this ten times worse. I did what I knew I had to do. I gathered my resolve, eyed his nearly naked form and in my mind, I branded him; Traitor.

He physically winced when he heard that in my head, understood how annoyed I was with him. I needed to leave right away before he was able to even think of opening his mouth to say something to me. So I continued forward, walked straight by him, my eyes set on the path before me and never once did I look up to meet his eyes.

"Is that it? You don't even give me the chance to try and stop you?" He sounded so angry. He sounded so hurt, but to me, at this moment, he deserved it. He had felt my own suffering, yet he continued to fuel it. I had always been able to tell that he regretted what he was to do and what he had done, but I couldn't help but be so downright angry with him for not doing anything about it.

I continued on. I felt him closing in on me and I knew now that he wasn't going to let me go. So before he reached out to grab my arm and stop me, I stopped walking but refused to face him. My stomach boiled. I hated him so much at this point. He could have just let me go and have made this easier. He could just accept that I was furious, that I was confused and pissed and that I needed to get out. But he couldn't. Why? Because he loved me, that bastard.

He apparently decided that I needed to face him. I was forcibly whirled around, finally facing a seething Fighter who looked to be on the verge of summoning full flames to his hands. I felt the heat radiating off him and I instinctively squinted my eyes. I stared at his bare chest; he was only dressed in his pajama pants. He'd obviously been in a hurry to catch me.

"Heartless didn't overwhelm you, I see," I said, referring to him going through the dark corridor to get to me without the protection of his cloak. Why couldn't the creepy black things hold him off just a little longer? He scoffed but didn't offer any elaboration of his trip. A shredding pulse ripped through my chest, making my knees go weak. I held strong though, closing my eyes tightly against the tears. Fuck this connection with him! Screw his soul for making me its other half! I didn't ask for any of this! "Just let me go!" I shouted desperately. His frown seemed to deepen and he took a step toward me. I took a step back, out of reach of the hand that attempted to grab me. I glared at him, making sure to pour my hurt and anger into it, making it as icy as possible. He sighed.

"Please," he pleaded. He sounded so sincere and desperate it was painful. Apparently he thought being softer would help. "Just…just come back with me. We'll sort this all out and-"

I shook my head angrily, growling in frustration and turned from him, walking once again, intent on getting away from him. But he was on me quickly, grabbing my arm and pulling me to him. I couldn't stop, it was instinct as I spun and back handed him hard enough to throw his head to the side. Immediately an irritated red mark from my hand formed on his cheek. His skinny tail had dropped pathetically, hanging down to the ground. His eyes, those beautiful eyes, were closed at first, but when they opened, I couldn't believe the sight I saw. The tears…he wasn't supposed to cry! But his tightly locked jaw and heavy breathing made distinguishing just what kind of tears they were harder. I backed away, unable to stop looking at him. It hurt…it hurt so much. When I hit him…I felt that slap. Everything was slipping, falling apart. The bonds were stretching and becoming weaker.

He looked at me, so soulbroken. He couldn't be heartbroken, it was impossible. I wish his heart was the one to break. It would've been harder to feel the absolute anguish. I wouldn't be so close to doubling over in such splitting pain. I choked on a sob and continued to back away. He stumbled forward after me, arm reaching out.

It just happened. My emotions flared up. With a 'ching!' the Keyblade was in my hand. I cried hard, tears rolling over the panes of my cheeks. I worried my bottom lip between my teeth, slowly raising my arm to point my Keyblade at him. "Just l-let me g-go," I sobbed. He stopped, feet cemented to the cold ground. By the look on his face, he was wishing the ground would open up and swallow him.

The heavy clouds began to cry fat tears upon us. Quickly it began to downpour, matting our hair to our heads as we just stared at each other. My ears twitched as they were pelted with rain. His ears were already down turned sadly, turning a dark auburn as they were soaked.

I took a step back. "I release you," I whispered, though he could easily hear. His head jerked up at my words, eyes melting from recognition of what I was doing and begged me to stop what I was saying, to change my mind. I couldn't though, this needed to be done if I was to fully break away from all of this. "I-I release you of your duties as my…as my Fighter." I choked on my sentences but forced them out anyways. "I severe the bond, free you of my command-"

"Don't!" he shouted. I sobbed harder, crying out from the unbearable pain. He fell to his knees and I was fighting the urge to do the same. I had to finish.

"I release you!" I shouted and my chest exploded, feeling as though everything inside of me burst out, feeling like my body had been turned inside out. I cried uselessly, eyes blurring. I saw him screaming in pain before going silent, slumping forward slightly before falling to the ground unconscious. I whimpered pathetically.

"A-Axel…?"

On my knees, I tried to crawl up to him, weeping to myself as I too, fell onto my side. The rain cooled my cheeks, washed my tears away. I couldn't do it. I broke our connection but in the end, I couldn't get away. I was teetering back and forth in my mind right now. I wanted to be right next to him, curled up in his arms, cocooned into his comforting warmth. I stretched my body, hoping to get in contact with him. I couldn't reach him though, no matter how hard I tried to get my fingertips to reach his sleeping face. The blackness began to consume me, pulling me into unconsciousness.

The sky continued to cry.

Opening my eyes seemed like it would take an extraordinary amount of energy out of me. I was a little afraid of waking up and seeing my mother's worried face. I didn't like it when she worried over me. Like that one time over the summer when I had collapsed and was out cold for almost three days. The poor woman got out of work a few extra days, despite my arguing against her, just to take care of me.

I could see her furrowed brows, hair mussed from being ignored, worry shining in her pretty eyes. I saw her face reflected off the back of my eyelids. I didn't want to open my eyes to see her biting her lip in turmoil.

How in the world could my father ever leave her? She was such a beautiful woman, on the outside and the inside. But he walked out on us. He must have been a heartless man, that's for sure.

Somewhere above me, someone was humming. It wasn't my mother's voice. It was a man's voice, so clear and melodious, amazingly beautiful.

"Hold on, Dem," someone else said and the humming stopped. There seemed to be a weight in my stomach right then, suddenly jerking me from what I thought was real and back into what I had hoped to be a dream. Now I really didn't want to open my eyes. "Babe, I know you're awake."

I almost cringed when he said that. My eye twitched a little and I took a deep breath before slowly blinking my eyes open. Instead of the panicked face of my mother, I found the relieved face of my Soulmate looking back down at me. He smiled, such a sweet smile, and brought his hand down to stroke my cheek. And the only thing I could think of at that moment was the flashback that had knocked me out. I flinched, unable to hide it this time, as he touched my face. He suddenly hesitated and the smile was gone.

"What did you see?" he whispered to me. I didn't answer right away. I looked to my other side, finding Demyx sitting at the edge of the bed, looking at me with eyes full of sympathy. I hated that look and I was quick to avert my eyes to the ceiling above. At least I was still in the bedroom, someplace that was a little familiar.

"I saw-" What did I tell him? My gut churned with the idea of telling Axel that I had seen such a horrific scene that had happened between us. It'd probably upset him further. "I saw Sora. And Donald and Goofy. They were in some world…some place I don't remember. It's hard to recall, but there wasn't much to it."

"Must have been some memory to have knocked you out," Demyx commented, looking down at his hands. "You feeling okay?"

My head hurt and I felt like a pile of jell-o. That didn't exactly classify as 'ok' but that didn't mean I couldn't act like I was fine. I smiled despite how numb my face felt. "I'm totally fine, Dem. Something like this can't knock me out." I'm sure that's what he wanted to hear. Sure enough, the musician smiled back at me. "Good to hear," he said.

"You think you can get something from the kitchen, Dem? Something light, like salad or something. He needs to eat. Some water too, please."

Demyx glanced up at Axel, received a look that I couldn't determine and nodded before exiting through a portal. Alone with Axel, I started to feel nervous.

"Don't lie to me, Rox. You didn't have a memory of Sora, did you? I can tell you're lying." He wasn't looking at me, instead he looked down at the hands folded in his lap. He looked so distressed, just how I pictured my mother to look. I felt terrible, felt the overwhelming need to comfort him, hold him, kiss him until he smiled again. I wanted his warmth all around me, I wanted to make his hurt go away.

I gulped but didn't move.

"What do you mean?" I asked innocently. He could see right through it, I could tell. And by the pulse of annoyance I felt from him, he wasn't happy with my little show. He did know I was lying, and he wouldn't be satisfied until he got a truthful answer from me.

"You passed out," he stated calmly. I felt like he was struggling to keep himself in check. He turned his head slightly, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. "Right in front of me, you just blanked. If I hadn't caught you, you could've seriously hurt yourself. I just barely stopped your head from smashing into the ground."

I recognized the tone of his voice, chocked up when I realized he'd been scared.

"I'm fine Ax, see." I motioned to myself, moved my arms and tossed my head side to side a few times to show him I was okay. Sadly the motions just rattled my brain and made my stomach turn. He didn't look convinced and rubbed his face. Throwing the crimson comforter off my body, I crawled over to my Fighter and wrapped my arms around his neck from behind, placing my chin on his shoulder and touched my cheek to his. "I'm okay, there's no need to worry."

"Tell me what you saw," he whispered. My breath caught and there was no way he couldn't hear the hitch. He turned his head back and kissed my lips gently. Too soon he broke away. "I just want to know what was powerful enough to knock you out. You've been out for four hours. I was going a little crazy."

"A little?" I asked, hoping to bring out his joking side. He didn't take my bait, instead breaking away from my arms and standing up off the bed. He went over to the desk where my journal sat. He flipped it open, studying one of the pages and grimacing. His mouth moved, whatever being said so soft I wasn't able to hear it. My only guess was a curse word.

With a little more force than necessary, Axel yanked open one of the drawers and extracted a second journal. His journal, I figured out as he opened the book that was more weathered than my own. He opened it, flipped a few pages then opened the center drawer and took out a pen which he uncapped and touched to the paper, scribbling away.

Still feeling a little woozy, I decided to let Axel mellow out and I sank back against the pillows. I closed my eyes, seeing various images; my mother fussing about the kitchen. Axel, eyes full of tears, his head whipped to the side after I slapped him. Hayner, Pence and Olette at the Usual Spot, Axel lying in the street, rain drenching his ears, his hair, his cloak. My own hand extended out before me, trying desperately to touch Axel in some way.

A whimper escaped my lips, catching Axel's attention and in a flash he was beside me, cradling me in his arms, rocking our bodies to and fro. It wasn't until he was cooing in my ear that everything was okay and that there was no need to cry did I realize that there were indeed tears streaking down my face. I hurriedly wiped them away, taking a deep breath to steady myself. But just as I reached the peak of my intake did I crumble and sob pathetically, burying my face in my Mate's chest. I saw a glove drop in front of me before feeling heated fingers running through my hair. A kiss on the crown of my head made me close my eyes.

Why was I crying? I didn't really know. There was so much to cry about, I wasn't sure what had really started the water works within me. No, that wasn't true. Because I knew that the memory that had made me pass out was what had really affected me. And now the images were lingering behind my closed eyes like a haunting reminder. I couldn't help but think that if I had more memories like that one, then I never wanted to remember the past life I lived.

Minutes passed by and I calmed down. Pulling away from Axel, I assured him once more that I was just fine and told him that he could keep going with whatever he was writing. He looked unsure so I kissed him quite chastely, the only way I knew he'd accept what I was saying. He was reluctant, but eventually he returned back to his desk to work. Not long after listening to the scratching of the pen on paper did a now familiar presence return.

"So I forgot to tell you," Demyx said as he emerged from the portal, "that Lexeaus took the rest of the your favorite dressing at dinner, Ax, so it's substituted with the vinaigrette you like." Demyx placed the bowl on the desk beside Axel who momentarily looked up to look at his food curiously. "Vexen didn't make it this time, did he?" the redhead asked skeptically.

"Nah, Marly made it this time. The herbs are from his garden." Looking more reassured, Axel plucked a tomato slice from the bowl and stuck it in his mouth. "And just for Roxas. Greek dressing straight from Olympus. I even made sure to keep all tomatoes away from your bowl." Demyx handed me a smooth black bowl that held a silver symbol on the side. It looked familiar and it dawned on me that I've seen the symbol before. It seemed to have been on heavy display wherever we went around the castle.

The veggies all smelled fresh and really good. I hadn't eaten since breakfast, and even that had been scarce. My tummy rumbled hungrily and any nausea I had been feeling seemed to dissipate and was replaced by hunger pains. I picked out a cucumber and bit the edge. "Where do you guys get all your food?" I asked Demyx. He chuckled and my cheeks heated up.

"Most of the time we have Dusks get everything for us. Anything that can be grown, Marluxia is normally responsible for unless he decided to be a complete Queen and fuss about having to do everything for everyone. And the stuff that he can't grow or that we want specifically for ourselves-"

"Jalapeño potato chips," Axel interrupted, sighing with want.

Demyx made a grossed out face. "Yeah, things like that, we generally get for ourselves. There's a bunch of different things in different worlds. Exotic fruits from Destiny Islands, wine and olives and cheese from Olympus, sweets from Disneytown-"

"Port Royal has some pretty good rum," Axel interjected once more.

"Keep writing," Demyx huffed.

"You go out and buy everything? It seems so…domestic."

Demyx laughed at my comment and I even heard Axel chuckle a little. "Some of us buy the things we want."

"Why pay for something you can easily get for free?" Axel said from his seat, still not looking up from his work.

"Yes, some like you and Marluxia and Luxord don't have the same morals as some of us, obviously. Besides," Demyx said, turning back to face me, "just because we don't have hearts doesn't mean we don't need to live. We still have souls and minds that make us who we are. We still need to eat and live like anybody else does. We need to keep things clean and shower and sleep just like normal. We're just…a little different from the rest of the worlds "normal" people." I didn't say anything back, knowing that what he said was completely truthful. I felt like I was being prejudice by considering all the Nobodies completely inhuman things that didn't need the basics of survival. A hand nudged my own that was gripping my fork. "Eat," Demyx said. He jerked his head back towards Axel. "That guy will roast you alive if you don't eat regularly."

I nodded and placed a forkful of lettuce in my mouth. Axel was glancing back at me and when we made eye contact, he nodded his head approvingly.

"So are you going to go to Vexen about the whole fainting thing?" Demyx asked, falling back onto the bed and lounging with his hands behind his head. "Maybe he knows something."

"I'm thinking about it," Axel replied. I decided to sit back and listen to this conversation instead of asking questions. Those could wait till later. "It's just hard to trust him with something like this. I'm afraid he'll steal Rox away and start performing a bunch of tests and start poking and prodding and asking questions. That's not really something we need to deal with."

"Hm." I glanced to Demyx as I slid a piece of cucumber in my mouth, finding it surprisingly crisp and sweet. "Maybe we can ask someone else? Well, Vexen would be the best choice, but what you said is totally true." He hesitated and I studied his face. He looked like he was debating something. "I guess, maybe…"

"Just spit it out Dem," Axel grumbled, still focused on whatever he was writing in-between bites of his small dinner.

"Well, I'm just saying that maybe we could ask Zexion. He's been a researcher and he's just as knowledgeable as Vexen. He just doesn't want to experiment on everything that moves." Demyx's adams apple bobbled as he swallowed and he began to chew on his lip, brows furrowing. He almost looked like he was wondering why he would ever suggest such a thing.

I didn't even notice that the scratching of the pen had stopped until Axel spun around in the chair. "I'm sure he'll jump right on that," he snorted sarcastically. "And while we're on it, we'll ask him join us in a game of strip poker. Come on Dem, you really think he'd waste his time on something like this?"

Demyx almost looked frustrated at himself from having opened his mouth and I felt my own annoyance bubble a little. "He was just suggesting Axel, give him a break. I don't see why we shouldn't try, maybe Zexion will help."

I waited for him to turn his sarcasm on me like he did with Demyx, but he frowned at me instead. I could easily read him; he wanted to say something sarcastic, but he didn't want to upset me. He cared for Demyx on some level, but his feelings for me were completely different, and making me upset was the last thing he wanted to do. "Fine," he finally said. "But you get to ask him, Dem. I'm not dealing with him."

Suddenly the whole idea seemed to be entirely too distasteful for Demyx. "I'll uh, run it by him them." He shifted and moved, sitting up. With a small smile thrown my way, he got up and off the bed. "I think I'm just gonna go to my room. I'd rather be in bed and sleeping before Zexion gets in. If he gets in," he emphasized.

"Did he go to bed last night?" Axel asked. He was finished with his journal and had put it away and was now finishing his food.

"Well if he did, I was already asleep when he got there, slept through him getting into bed, and he was gone before I even woke up. So simply put, I have absolutely no idea."

"Then you're golden!" Axel half cheered in an upbeat attempt. Demyx didn't looked as thrilled which I found odd. I figured he'd enjoy not having to be conscious for when he shared a room with the rather stoic member.

"I guess that's true," Demyx said. "I'll see you both at breakfast tomorrow. Night." He was swept away by his portal, leaving a few bubbles behind, before Axel or I could even wish him a goodnight.

After a moment I realized I'd finished eating and set the bowl on the table beside the bed. Axel was quick to join me, sitting right in front of me and taking my face in his hands before leaning down to lick the corner of my mouth. He laughed at my perplexed expression. "Salad dressing," he explained. My stomach turned pleasantly at his happy expression.

"So tell me why we all share rooms." This was something that I had thought of in the back of my mind and with the words before Demyx's departure being said, I found myself thinking about it once more.

"Units that are together more frequently build a stronger bond. Bonds are extremely important in determining a Unit's strength. Since Xemnas normally doesn't pair up True Partners, he figured that having all Units share a room will help start a very basic Physical Bond. Hence the reason we all share a bed."

"Physical Bond?" I asked, confused.

Axel fell back into the same position Demyx had previously been in. "There are three types of bonds," he explained. "A Physical Bond is the least connecting and easiest to break. It's one of those that tends to build up on its own through a pair being close to each other. It gets stronger when a Unit is intimate."

I touched my lips, body heating up as I remembered the kiss Axel and I shared during my training, the odd sensations that had brought about. "Like what happened when we kissed," I said and immediately my cheeks heated up.

Axel's chuckling only embarrassed me further. "Exactly like that. Kissing and such. But the real bond forms during serious intimacy." He looked away. I knew he was talking about sex. His sudden aversion told me he was trying to avoid the subject of his missing ears which only made me want to question him more.

Sighing, I said, "What about the other bonds?"

"The next bond is a Heart Bond which is stronger than a Physical Bond." He reached up, touching my chest and he rested his open palm over where my heart was. I surged with warmth as I stared at his hand. I bit my tongue as pulses of energy shot through his hand and into me. "This is a bond that we cannot have," he stated dejectedly. I could tell this upset him greatly. His eyes narrowed and he took his hand away. I almost fell forward as I had started to go limp and had been leaning into his palm for support.

Axel was then up and moving around the bed, speaking as he started to unzip his cloak. "A Heart Bond requires a small ritual which doesn't entail much." He pulled his gloves off and tossed them on top of the dresser as he walked by it. He continued on to the bathroom where he disappeared, his voice floating out of the attached room. "The pair says some pretty words, exchanges a bit of blood and bada-bing! You've got a Heart Bond."

I frowned at what he said. "Blood?" I asked, speaking up so he'd be able to hear me. He poked his head out the bathroom door, his hair now pulled back into one awfully spiky ponytail. I could hear running water.

"Yes, blood," he said. "Because to be anatomically correct, all beings have two hearts. Well, with the exception to the worlds, that is. There is the heart that supposedly supplies us with our emotions and the core of our beings. But there is also the heart that gives us life, that pumps blood through our bodies and keeps us strong. I have a heart, but it's just a normal beating heart that keeps my blood moving. It's the scientific heart, as Vexen would say. And the exchange of blood is looked at more as a symbol of two hearts meeting and entwining"

"So we can't ever have a Heart Bond?" I asked. "Then what is it that makes us so close? What's the last Bond?" The water shut off in the bathroom and Axel walked out after a brief moment. He was almost fully naked now except for his boxer briefs which hugged him nicely. My eyes, which had widened when viewing the nice body suddenly on display before me, were glued to his chest before roaming over the lightly muscled arms and down to his legs. He was nicely tanned and had muscle but lean muscle which worked perfectly with his slightly lanky body. I unconsciously licked my lips.

The redhead slunk up to the bed, smirking devilishly as he laid down before me. "Now, wouldn't it be a shame for me to put more clothes on for bed?" he teased. I shook my head and closed my eyes. "Put some pants on," I said and forced a scowl. He pouted which knocked the wind out of my chest.

"Fine, fine," he said. "You should take your pants off." He went to the dresser and opened the bottom drawer, pulling two black pairs of soft looking pants out then he opened the middle drawer for a blue shirt. He tossed the shirt and one of the pairs of pants at me.

"Blue? You mean there's actual color in this place?" I asked, voice laced with sarcasm. Our room was colorful but that was about it. Every other place in this castle had been white or black or silver. All of our clothes were black, so seeing an article of clothing that was not black was a bit of a shocker.

"Har har." Axel rolled his eyes. "Clothes are not our decision. We take what we're given. Now, you can strip for me here, or if you want to be more conservative, you can head into the bathroom." I frowned when he said this and rolled off the side of the bed, walking towards the bathroom. "Well there is no need to be embarrassed about changing in front of me. I've seen you in a state of undress many times."

If I had something other than my clothes in hand, I would have more than likely thrown it at his head. I ignored him instead, feeling a joyful bubble of laughter in my chest which most definitely belonged to Axel.

In the bathroom, I shut the door behind me, contemplated locking it to ensure the redhead wouldn't come in after me, but figured I could trust him to respect my privacy. After setting my night clothes on counter, I began to unzip my cloak. When it was off, I felt not only the coolness in the air, but also a whirlwind of energy sweep around me. Much more clearly, I could feel Axel in the next room. His presence was strongest, but I could feel others as well. They were more distant though, far more garbled for me ever to be able to comprehend who was who. I swallowed and grasped the counter to steady myself from the sudden onslaught. After a deep breath, I stripped from my pants and stood before the mirror. I inched my face forward, taking in the slightly healthier look. The bags under my eyes had lessened considerably and I wasn't as pale as I had been the past days. I most definitely didn't feel at my best, but I was pushing through the consistent headache that plagued me.

Before slipping into my nighttime clothes, I took to running my fingers over the XIII tattoo on my hip. If this was the mark that was given to each Organization member, then the rest obviously had one. I wonder where Axel's was and what the number was. Then I started to wonder if we got to chose where the tattoo was placed. I'm not exactly sure if I would choose my hip as a place to put it, and if the choice was our own, why did I choose such a place? It seemed quite…provocative. Which wasn't me at all.

So I was supposed to start my real training tomorrow. Hopefully Axel would explain more to me about the Organization's purpose. I was still a little miffed about what they were doing and what I was supposed to do. Fighting that weird Nobody that Axel sent after me had been thrilling, sure, but why?

Splashing my face with some cold water, a shiver went through me. I dried my face off, wondering vaguely if I'd be able to sleep at all. I'd passed out and slept for what, four hours? How was I supposed to sleep now?

When I dressed in the clothes I was given, I regained a feel of having the cloak on, but it wasn't as strong of a feeling. I felt more comfortable without the cloak on, but Axel had said it was necessary, so I guess I was left without a choice. I just didn't like the way it seemed to mute everything around me. It was too uncomfortable for me.

I left my clothes in the hamper in the bathroom, finished up in there and went back into the bedroom to find Axel under the blankets, eyes closed and if I couldn't feel him, I'd have assumed the he was sleeping.

"Ax," I spoke, gaining his attention. He opened one jade eye to peer at me. I don't know why, but instead of going around the bed to climb in, I clambered up and over Axel, tumbling over his body and rolling onto my side of the bed with a small chuckle. A growl caused my ears to twitch and flick towards the redhead who sat up and tackled me to the bed before I could move.

"You want more information, yes?" He spoke into my neck, his hot breath tickling me. I pushed at his chest and forced him to his side of the bed. Snuggling into the very warm blankets, I nodded. "Of course," he said. "How about I leave you with one last piece of information for the day and I'll get into other things during training tomorrow, okay?" I nodded again. My eyelids were growing heavy with sleep. My head was still aching and despite having been passed out for a few hours, I felt exhausted like I never actually rested well.

"The last bond," Axel spoke, "Is known as the Soul Bond." He yawned and arched his back slightly in a stretch. "This is the deepest of all bonds and only accessible by Soulmates." Beneath the covers, Axel took my hand. His skin was so hot it almost burned.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean that only Soulmates can forge this bond. It's the complete union of the souls that are destined to be together. It's fragile at first, extremely susceptible to breaking. But over time, it becomes stronger than even the most connected hearts and bodies. This is the connection between the very essences of two people. And eventually, it becomes unbreakable."

I stared out the glass wall. No pink hearts were floating up to the large heart shaped moon. After hearing of the final bond, I didn't feel much different, no wild flare of power or magic or anything. What I did feel was a sense of want, craving and need coming from Axel. I turned my eyes to him to see him staring intently at the ceiling.

"Does anyone here have a Soul Bond?" I was thinking of Xemnas. Surely someone like him would want the power of the most powerful Bond.

Axel, in turn, scoffed. "No one here is brave enough to even think about creating such a Bond. Gaining too much power means defying Xemnas. And defying Xemnas means treason. Treason leads to death. You catch my drift?"

I most certainly did.

"The last thing with these bonds is that those rare Sacrifice and Fighter Units to achieve all three bonds are known as Trinity Units. Rare specimens they are and more powerful than any of us could dream of being. But there has to be complete devotion, unquestionable trust and love between the Sacrifice and Fighter."

At this point, my head was starting to spin. I sunk down into the blankets and burrowed my head into the soft pillow beneath my head. The blankets were a little uncomfortable, thanks to Axel and his natural space heating ability, but it wasn't completely unbearable.

"You need rest for tomorrow. Sleep, okay?"

The hand that was holding mine unlaced from my fingers and moved to my waist, pulling me closer to my Fighter. I smiled as he embraced me, spooning up against me and holding me tight to him. His presence exuded such comfort that I had no trouble falling asleep.

TBC…

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The next update may take me a while School and all. But it WILL get posted, no worries. Thank you all!