"Even when our eyes are closed, there's a whole world out there that lives outside ourselves and our dreams." ~Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)
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Riku left for a couple more weeks. Meanwhile, a man with red bandages wrapped around his face and yellow eyes named DiZ transferred us to the Haunted Mansion in Twilight Town, because it was safer, since it was less likely that the Organization would search for us there.

Riku returned again but this time, he wasn't alone. A girl with short, raven hair, blue eyes, and in the Organization outfit was with him. She looked completely tired, like she had the energy inside her body was drained inside her. "Saki, this Xion," He said. He glanced at me nervously.

I smiled, walked up to Xion, and shook her hand. "Hello, I'm Sakura. It's very nice to meet you, Xion." I introduced myself to the shy girl.

"Nice to meet you, too," She mumbled, stumbling a bit and struggling to keep up her feet.

"Xion is here to recover from...a little accident she had," Riku explained as he lead her to a room in the mansion.

*~*~*~*~

Xion was pretty quiet. She didn't talk to anyone. She mostly stayed in her room and didn't allow visitors at all. As long we gave her food and water, she was happy. We were silent, too. Naminè as well locked herself in another room in the Mansion. I kept myself busy when I found a vintage camera around in the Haunted Mansion. It most likely belonged to whoever lives here last. It was old enough that it instantly produced the photo of whatever you had your camera pointing at. Not surprisingly, I became bored very quickly even with my new toy. There wasn't much to take a picture of in the mansion and it was not like I could just go outside and play around with my camera, since Diz and Riku wanted everyone to stay inside the mansion as much as possible to reduce being detected by the enemy. Which, made sense but after a while it's bound to drive you crazy.At least in Castle Oblivion, there was some entertainment of trying to get back up to the higher floors with the constant shifting if the lowers floors.

I fidgeted with the vintage camera I found in my hands as I watched Riku leave the grounds of the Haunted Mansion through a Corridor of Darkness. DiZ was nowhere to be found, which was great. I really wanted to sneak out of the mansion for just a few hours. Even if it was a brisk walk through the woods, I'd do anything to get out of this cramping, dusty old house.

As I was about to head out into the woods, I passed by Xion's door and froze, remembering that she was inside. See, that's how much Xion kept out of our lives-it's to the point of even forgetting she existed. I started debating of taking me with her. Naminè was so absorbed in her work which, made sense, since she's repairing the memories of an entire person, that she has rejected my offer several times even just to leave her work and her room for just a few minutes just to take a break. She's been working non stop since we came here. Poor thing. But Xion? Sure, she had to recover from whatever happened to her, I didn't get the details, but a week was enough, right? Even if we can't go far, I want to take her out so she doesn't start to feel cramped in her room like me. Plus, I'd like to get to know her better.

I walked back to the door outside her room and knocked. Outside, I could hear shuffling as I knew she was coming to the door. I had a mischievous idea as I took a step back, holding the camera over my eye as I aimed at her door. Once she opened it, I quickly snapped a photo before she had a chance to react or cover her face from me.

Once I out the camera down, the photo came out and I took it. It was a photo of Xion, standing by her door with a confused and slightly shocked look on her face. I put the photo down to look at her and she wore the same exact expression on her face. I giggled as I waved the photo teasingly in front of me to see if she would react. "Surprise!" I laughed.

Xion blinked before rubbing her eyes in disbelief. "Do...you need something?" She sighed.

It was my turn to blink at her. Did she not get that I was messing with her? Oh well, onto what I had originally planned for us. "How about... I rocked back and forth on my feet while standing in place. "We ditch this old place for a few hours?"

"E-Excuse me?" Stammered Xion as she blinked at me, still wearing that same confused look on her face. "Leave this place? We aren't exactly allowed to..."

"Oh come on!" I whined as I grabbed her arm. "It's just a few hours! I'm sure we'll be fine!"

"B-But..." Xion started. "I don't know if you know this, ut the Organization XIII often travels all over the place for missions. What if we get spotted?"

"That's why we get rid of these coats!" I tugged her sleeve. "I'm not wearing mine, so take yours off so we won't get recognized!"

Xion stared at me, still confused. "I-I don't have any other clothes besides this..." She sputtered.

"You're telling me that inside your Organization, you don't have any other clothes beside this coat?" Now it was my turn to stare at her with confusion.

"Never really had a need for any other clothes..." She mumbled.

"Okay then..." I sighed before grabbing her arm once more. "But still, please come out with me! I'd really like to get to know you better!"

"Why can't we do that in our rooms?" Xion asked.

"Come on," I pleaded. "Aren't you getting tired of this place just yet?"

That cracked Xion before she sighed reluctantly as she slowly stepped out, expecting for some punishment to come at her if she dared tried to leave her room. When nothing happened, she began to take normal-sized steps for a human being and together we exited the mansion. "Do you have a place in mind you want to go to?" Xion asked me. "It's not far from here, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded as I skipped, the camera that I had put around my neck with a strap bouncing against body with each step, as I was glad to be freed from that prison. "I heard Twilight Town is just on the other side of these words! How about we go there and explore the town a bit? "

"I-Isn't that a bit far though?" Xion stammered. "We may get caught if we go out too far and can't go back home..."

"It won't take us too long," I assured her.

We entered town and Xion put her hood up to hide her face in town, which made me roll my eyes. She looks even more suspicious with that thing on rather than off. "Hey," I nudged her with her shoulder. "You look like some gangster with that hood on."

"I know, but...it makes me feel safer," Xion pleaded.

"You won't feel any safer if people stare at you," I told her.

She sighed from underneath the hood and reluctantly slipped it off. "Any place in mind you want to go to?" I asked.

"Well..." Xion tapped her chin, deep in thought. "Every evening, after we finished missions, my friends and I would get ice cream. I'd always like to know where they got them..."

"Then it's settled!" I grabbed her arm and yanked her forward, causing her to yelp with surprise. "Let's go and find that place!"

*~*~*~*~*~

Xion and I sat inside an ice cream shop, eating ice cream. Xion introduced me to this ice cream she and her friends would eat every day. It was this sky-blue frozen treat on a wooden stick that when you bit into it, it tastes salty but if you let it sit on your tongue for a bit, it becomes sweet. It was an interesting flavor combination but it tasted good.

As I finished mine, I decided to take another picture of Xion with her ice cream. As Xion was about to take a bite of her ice cream, I quickly snapped another picture of her. As the photo was produced, I took it and examined it. In the picture, she had noticed me out of the corner of her eye, as she was seen glancing to the side when she spotted me and her ice cream was on its way into her mouth.

She sighed when she saw the picture. "Could you...stop taking pictures of me?" She asked. "There's many other things you can take a picture of that are not me."

"What do you dislike about it?" I said tauntingly as I put the picture in my pocket.

"I'm already looking over my shoulder for the Organization," She stated. "I don't need to be looking over my shoulder to look for you."

"Okay, okay," I threw my arms in the air as i shrugged., "You got me. I'll stop."

"Thanks," She muttered as she finished her ice cream and we left the shop.

"I...actually missed eating ice cream..." Xion admitted.

"How so?" I asked, glancing as her as we walked, no destination in mind really.

"I'm so used eating it after my missions that ever since I came to the Haunted Mansion, I have to keep reminding myself that I can't go out and eat ice cream with my friends," Xion explained. "I feel like I'm on withdrawal."

"I see..." I nodded, glad Xion was starting to open up to me, even if it was a little bit.

The two of us had arrived in front of the train station and she sighed. "We probably should head back," Xion said. As we turned around I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. Xion jumped back and summoned her Keyblade. "Heartless!" She cried. "Sakura, get behind me!"

As I moved behind Xion and looked to see what kind of Heartless it was, it was just a small group of four twitching Shadow Heartless. The weakest Heartless out there. Xion swiped left and took out a Heartless with one strike and swiftly moved onto another one, taking it out with one strike as well.

I wanted to help, so as Xion went on to take out the third, I approached the fourth one and drew my dagger from underneath my skirt. As soon as Xion annihilated the third Heartless, she noticed me. "Sakura wait--" She cried, running towards me.

"Hi-yah!" I cried as I raised the dagger in my hand high up and brought it down on the Shadow Heartless, striking it between its beady yellow eyes.

The Shadow Heartless froze for a bit and I thought it waa going to retaliate and attack me but instead it poofed into a cloud of dark smoke. "That...actually worked," Xion blinked in disbelief.

I started giggling before it turned into a cackle. "What's so funny?" Xion asked.

"Nothing, really!" I laughed as I doubled over, wrapping my arms around my stomach as I cried through laughter. "It's just that I was pleasantly surprised that it worked!"

"I guess it is a bit funny," Xion gave me a tiny smile.

"But you're right," I calmed myself down as I wiped the last few tears away and sheathed my dagger back on my thigh band underneath my skirt. "We really should head back. But let's do this again!"

"Fight the Heartless?" Xion tipped her head to the side, as if she couldn't believe I'd enjoy doing that.

"No, silly!" I playfully clonked her head. "Sneaking out! Let's do this again tomorrow and explore some more! Who cares if we get caught? I had fun? Did you?"

"I...did, actually," Xion admitted before smiling at me.

"Great!" I skipped in my steps. "Then it's settled! We're going back tomorrow!"