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Aros gave a bit of a start when he heard the familiar sound of a Corridor of Darkness opening behind him.
”It’s about time…” he grumbled, turning around to see who it was. Kiera emerged from the darkness, but she was not alone. Beside her was another girl, one with an emotionless expression on her face. She had black hair and red eyes, and she looked like one of the light-bearers he’d seen today, the one Kiera seemed so interested in. His eyes widened slightly in realization; had she done to that girl what he’d done to Riku? Of course, stealing Riku’s darkness, which was generally controlled and extremely powerful, was more of a feat than taking it from just anyone -- at least, that’s how he justified it to himself -- but it was still impressive to see that Kiera had the power to do that as well. She introduced them, saying that her name was Tesqux, but called her Tessie in passing. A wry smile appeared on the male ravenette’s face as he stepped forward and offered a hand.

”It’s quite a pleasure, Tesqux,” Aros greeted smoothly, shaking her hand. He wasn’t really doing this to be polite, but rather to gauge the amount of darkness inside of her. With that quick touch, he could feel the darkness pulsating out of her. There were two parts to it, one that seemed liked it fit with her, another that was more of a foreign feel to it. It was as if the second part weren’t as welcome, but was there because it couldn’t be removed. He figured this was the darkness Kiera had put in her to complete her, much like he did to Ruxik. So she probably had complete control over her. Speaking of which…
”This is Ruxik,” he announced, letting go of her hand and gesturing to the violenette. He listened as she asked if they were waiting for the others, then nodded. ”I’m guessing Kiera already told you about the plans for tonight, then.” He turned his eyes to the other dark girl. ”Right, Kiera?” His tone suggested that if she hadn’t, she was going to be the one to do so, since he didn’t want to have to explain everything again for what would feel like the hundredth time that day. He was tired of just talking about it. He wanted to finally put his words into action.

All our memories are never forgotten.....
They are only locked behind a door....

Quest felt excruciating pain in her chest and doubled over in pain. She felt something, something dark, moving in her chest, and then it gave a painful yank, making her cry out and fall to her knees. She didn't notice the shadow that left her, but she passed out briefly next to the fence.

Quest jerked awake, finding herself in the same position as she had been in when she passed out. She pressed a hand to her chest in wonder. What had happened? Why did she feel....So light? The pain was gone now too....She shook her head in wonder. Oh well. She looked at her wrist watch and her eyes widened. Was it nearly time already?! She scrambled to her feet and quickly ran home to change. She really couldn't afford to be late. Maybe Roxas was there too.

==Time Skip==

Quest pulled at her dress and quickly walked into the school building, looking around for a familiar face. She had pulled her hair from it's headband and the real length of it surprised herself. She hadn't realized that her hair had grown so long. She ran a hand through her straightened hair, which was now in a ponytail, and frowned slightly, wondering how it got that long without her noticing. Oh well. She never really cared for beauty stuff anyways. This was a one in a lifetime thing. She wondered if anyone would know it was her.....

Aros smirked as Kiera grinned a little and told him that of course she’d told Tesqux everything. He looked over to the Nobody as she told him the same after she commented on his job on Ruxik. He was quite smug about that, so he just sneered and said nothing. His attention was diverted as he saw Tesqux shift her gaze to Kiera, who was looking out over the cliff. Was something happening? Were Sora and the others finally getting to the dance. Eager, he looked over the edge as well. However, he didn’t see anyone he recognize. He squinted at the ant-sized people below, but none of them really looked familiar. He looked back at Kiera to try and follow her eyes, but she wasn’t looking down there any longer. About to give up, he looked at Tesqux. Her eyes were fixated on the high school, an amused glare within them. The same type of look he usually had when he was looking at Sora… The male ravenette followed her eyes this time, and saw that they were gazing at a girl with long red hair. At first, he thought it was Kairi, but upon a closer look, he realized he was wrong.

Aros was confused for a moment. Tesqux would only give that look to her Other, which was Quest. He’d seen Quest before, right before he’d taken Riku’s darkness to create Ruxik. She’d been with Sora and the dragon-girl. But then, she had had short, red hair. Now, the girl down below that Tesqux was staring at had red hair, but it was much longer than he remembered Quest’s being. He looked away finally, switching his attention between Tesqux and Kiera.
”That’s not her, is it?” he asked, feeling stupid for he once wasn’t the one with all the answers. ”I thought her hair was shorter than that. What happened?” He was kind of hoping that they would look at him like he was crazy, and then ask him who he was talking about. That way, he would know he wasn’t crazy (at least not in that respect) and seeing Quest with long hair. But he could’ve sworn the look that Tesqux was giving that girl was one that only an incomplete being would give their Other. So he couldn’t be wrong, but at the same time, he was wondering how he could be right. He wished that Rikia or someone else would show up, so they could discuss plans and he wouldn’t be worrying about petty things such as this.

~Thinking of you, wherever you are.

As the crimsonette thought about the possibility of her having a Dark Other, Sora questioned why his darkness would leave, and if it would be enough to make a person. Finally he asked what they should do. Kairi had been thinking that as well. Naminé answered, saying they wait. There was nothing much they could do at the moment. As much as the Princess didn't like the sound of that, she knew her Other was right. The petite blonde looked at her and told her it was possible that darkness could have stolen into your heart when it had taken refuge within Sora. When the Keyblade Master had stabbed himself with the Dark Keyblade to free her heart, the darkness that had taken home in her heart was freed. It couldn't stay tied to her heart when it returned to her because her heart is pure. Naminé finished saying it was possible that there is a darkness out there that could have taken shape from the red head, and that she had been feeling something like her but wasn't her. That thought made Kairi very worried, and the fact that Naminé had sensed something as well made her feel like it was very likely.

Kairi's Nobody then said that they for now should just carry on with their original plans for tonight. That's when the Princess remembered about the dance. She had completely forgotten about it because of recent events. Kairi turned to Quest as the other red head said that there was something she needed to do. The crimsonette waved in return as Quest waved and told them she'd see them later. Sora told everyone to keep their guards up, stay aware, and stay together if something happened. He then grabbed Kairi's hand and led her away, Kairi waving goodbye to the others as they left Naminé's house.

~~~~Time Skip~~~~

Sora took Kairi home, which she had no complaints about. Her parents were a little surprised to see her home earlier, but she quickly made an excuse. The red head hated lying to them, but it was for their own safety. The crimsonette then went up stairs, threw her school bag on her bed, and jumped into the shower, hoping to wash some of her worries away. The shower did help, and by the time her mom came up stairs to help her with her dress, hair, and makeup she had brightened up. Kairi loved her dress. After Sora had asked her to go to the Christmas Ball on Halloween, she and her mother spent the next two months designing and making it. Kairi was a Princess of Heart, but she never really felt like a Princess. As she put on the dress and the heels though, she did. With her mom's help, Kairi was ready. Well almost. She reached into her jewelry chest and grabbed the paopu fruit hair clip Sora had given her and snapped it into her hair. She then took her Thalassa Lucky Charm and attacked it to the front of her dress like a broach.

When she was finished, her mother beamed and called her father up, both of them saying how beautiful their little girl was while they took pictures. Kairi blushed, embarrassed, but smiled none the less. That was when she heard a knock on the front door downstairs. The red head looked at the clock to see what time it was, and saw that it was already thirty minutes into the dance. She had been so busy getting ready she had completely forgotten about the time. "Ooh! That must be Sora!" the crimsonette exclaimed, some of the excitement she had this morning returning. The Princess kissed her parents goodbye, pulled up her dress a little so she could run, and hurried down stairs. When she reached the door she dropped her dress and smoothed it out, fixed her hair one last time, put on a bright cheery grin, and opened the front door. "Good evening Sora," Kairi beamed as she saw her boyfriend on the porch. She then blushed a little, seeing how dashing and handsome he was in a suit.

We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope that our hearts will blend.~

Aros’s eyes narrowed at Tesqux as she started laughing after he’d asked his question. That was not the response he’d wanted to get. He’d thought he was going to like Tesqux, but was beginning to figure out she was going to be more of a burden than a trusted ally. But that was probably because she was a Nobody, and not under his control. Ruxik wouldn’t be a problem, because if he dared to do anything against the male ravenette’s wishes, he knew he would pay dearly for it. Tesqux was at the disposal of Kiera, and due to that girl’s attitude, he had a feeling she was going to be able to get away with a lot. He could probably assert himself and make her fear him, but since she was a Nobody that wasn’t completely created -- rather, freed -- there was a chance she could join the light-bearers if he treated her badly. And that was something he did not want. So he would just have to suffer through having her among his ranks.

Anyway, Aros raised a brow at Tesqux as she explained that he obviously didn’t really notice Quest.
”Well, no, I didn’t,” he snapped. ”I was a little busy with something else.” He threw a meaningful glance at Ruxik to imply that was exactly what he’d been working on at the only time he’d ever seen Quest, not to mention he was more upset about seeing Sora just a few yards away instead of some girl he considered to be a minor threat. Tesqux continued, saying that Quest used to have shorter hair, but it grew out. She just wore a headband to make it look short. Her attention was turned from him as she spoke to Kiera, stating how much the girl had changed, since darkness had a tendency to do that to people. He just let out a dark, short laugh. ”She’ll just be that much easier to break, then.” He took one last glance at Destiny High before backing away from the edge of the cliff to look at his little entourage. Emphasis on the word “little”. Where were Enid, Rikia, Kurayami, and that hooded woman? He supposed that Enid was probably doing something related to the dance, but the others really didn’t have an excuse. If they didn’t hurry up, it would be unfortunate; the ones that were present would get to hear a tirade or two from Aros if he had to wait much longer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxSoraxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxMy first real date, my first real dance...


Sora smiled to himself mostly when Kairi told him that she had lost track of time as well. That was good to hear, so that meant she wouldn’t get angry at him. Not that he thought she would. The most he thought she would do is scold him jokingly, so this response was even better. The two continued walking, and the brunette felt his date struggling to keep up with the long dress and heels she was wearing. So he slowed back to a normal pace, hoping to ease some of her complications. He felt her slip her own arm around his waist, and she leaned her head into him. He looked down at her for a moment, almost forgetting to walk forward. Somehow, he managed to keep his legs moving in a normal manner, so he didn’t stumble or do anything embarrassing as Kairi said she liked this and didn’t want the night to end. He smiled.
”I don’t think you need to worry about that for a while,” he told her. ”The night’s hardly even started. We’re not even at the dance yet.”

That was when something occurred to Sora. This was a dance. A dance. Which meant he would have to dance! He couldn’t dance! Not only were his feet abnormally large -- though this was a poor excuse since most people in his world and pretty much the entire universe had rather large feet -- but he might as well have had two left ones. When it came to fighting, he was swift and agile, but his dancing was like watching an ape try to do ballet. His face reddened slightly as he thought of himself as a big gorilla dancing around, throwing his big, hairy ape body around with absolutely no grace. He was going to totally embarrass Kairi! He tried to calm himself down so that Kairi wouldn’t notice and question him, because he was really not looking forward to explaining his ape-thoughts to her. He took a deep breath. Maybe it won’t be so bad, he attempted to convince himself. And if Kairi’s with me, what does it matter? As long as we have a good time, who cares if I look like a gorilla-- oh, why a gorilla!? He groaned a little, but stopped, having not meant to do that aloud. He decided to find something to talk about so the crimsonette wouldn’t question him about it.
”Tonight’s gonna be so great,” he said a bit shakily, but gained confidence as he kept talking. ”It’ll be cool to see all of our friends with their dates, too. Like Riku and Naminé, Lakayna and Axel…” His voice trailed off, hoping Kairi would get the idea and pick up the conversation from there.

((Oh that was fun to imagine... Sora = Gorilla, which = LULZ))

Nothing could ruin this moment... right?

All our memories are never forgotten.....
They are only locked behind a door....

Quest wandered around the dance, smiling at faces she vaguely remembered, looking for people she knew she did. She had politely declined a dance to someone, as she was a bit too focused on finding Roxas right then. She sighed, not finding him inside, and quickly stepped outside for some fresh air. She caught sight of a pair of heads walking towards the school and was quick to realize them as Sora and Kairi. They looked like they were already having a good time together, they didn't even have to wait for the dance. She smiled as she wistfully thought of someone to have come with her, but she knew that it was only wistful thinking. It could never come true. She raised her hand and waved to pair, hoping that they would see her.