Desire For the Devil

It had been raining for two days now, and you were bored. The night before, you had gotten back from a solo mission, only to find that everyone else had been sent off while you were gone, leaving you alone in the Castle That Never Was. Not even the quiet Saix was in his customary place in The Grey Area, though you weren't sure if this was because he had been sent out as well, or if he was simply in a different part of the Castle.

First, you had gone to the common room, thinking that someone might eventually show up there. You waited for a while in the quiet, the only sound coming from the rain tapping against the windows. Soon, the vast sense of emptiness began to press in, and you couldn't stand being in the large room alone anymore, so you retreated to your bedroom, planning to take a nap to recharge from your assignment. You had been stretched out on your bed for an hour before you realized that sleep was not an option. The mission hadn't been overly tiring, so you couldn't make your body sink into unconsciousness.

At last, you got up with a sigh, leaving your room. You considered for a moment, thinking. Well, if you weren't yet tired, you could remedy that easily enough. Making your way through the corridors, you finally found yourself in a massive room that was at least twice the size of The Grey Area. Through the windows that made up the far wall, you could see the faint glow of Kingdom Hearts in the sky. Unable to help yourself, you walked slowly over to them, placing your hand against the cold glass. The moon was pretty, you had to admit, even if you weren't sure what exactly it was.

You turned away, retreating back to the center of the room, and held out your hand. Jagged black light in the shape of thorny vines surrounded your arm, and a black whip, more than twice as long as you were tall, appeared, spiraling to the ground and pooling at your feet. It had been four months since Xemnas had forced out your ability, called Fading Corrosion, and subsequently given you your Organization title of Manipulator of Dissolution. You controlled the power of disintegration; whatever your whip touched would rot away, from flesh to inanimate objects. However, you could decide whether to activate this particular ability. If you chose not to utilize it, your weapon would be a simple whip; still dangerous, but not necessarily deadly.

Languorously, you flicked your hand to the side, and the whip responded. As it swished through the air, it began to shimmer, minute black particles rising from it to vanish into the air as it was activated. You spun in a tight circle, and the weapon broke apart into three, six, then nine, blossoming like some sort of writhing flower. As you came to a stop, you froze, the soft, almost-invisible down on the back of your neck rising in warning. You weren't alone.

Before you could turn around to see who else was in the room with you, a gloved finger trailed slowly, almost intimately up the back of your neck, parting your hair and caressing the delicate skin there, making a shiver run up your spine. How had they gotten so close to you without you noticing? Snapping your arm sharply, you sent Fading Corrosion lashing out...into thin air. Whoever had touched you was gone. Impossible. The room was huge; no one could just disappear like that.

Unless...

A soft laugh confirmed your suspicions as the Organization's Number II, Xigbar, stepped out of a rift in the air a few feet away, his trademark smirk in place. He had used his spatial distortion ability to let his arm get close enough to touch you – only his arm. He must have known that you would retaliate like you had, and he didn't want to be in the way of it.