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[4 months prior...]
A lone girl walked along the sidewalk, her raven hair braided and pulled over one shoulder, her nose buried deep into a book. All of a sudden she stopped, looking up from the book. Her deep violet eyes scanned the area, one hand slowly moving towards her shoulder bag.

"I can hear you out there..." she murmured. Out of the shadows came an all too familiar shape to her. Another female figure all in black approached her, smaller shadows forming from the ground and spazzing around her ankles.

"You know, Saki.... we really should stop meeting like this."

"You are the one who approaches me. None the less with your minions..."

"They are just assurances... nothing more. Now... it is time the tides of balance shift. I have my so called minions. The question is, do you have yours?"

"They are not my minions. They are companions." She walked up to the other woman, her dark eyes glaring into the other woman's veil covered pale pink eyes. "And you will fail this time...."
*********

[Present day]
To the average human eye, it was an ordinary town, that had access to at least five different academies and schools, but at night, the true terrors would make themselves known. Doors and windows would be locked and bared, and few dared to roam the streets, save for one girl.

Saki Hanajima and her brother, Megumi, were strange ones in the town. Saki attended the high school furthest away, her brother attending a middle school in the opposite direction. But, there was something else about these two that set them apart- their magical abilities.

As the sun began to set, Saki came to a stop outside a small house still a fair distance away from her home. She knew one she was looking for was there...

Saki

Zeke sighed in the darkness of his home. He always kept it dark, the lights off, the blinds and shades on his windows closed. It never bothered him, in fact he loved it. Not to mention it hid his aura from the others... Here he could live peacefully away from the constant fight. He was the only one, that he knew of, of his kind. A Heartless that could control it's form. Well, mostly anyway. His left arm, which was always sleeved, no matter the temperature or weather, was as black as the darkness that birthed him. Ont eh palm was the mark that haunted him. The one that reminded him every day of what he was. A creature of darkness. One that couldn't reach the light. But he didn't mind it too much. The dark was always comforting to him. He couldn't even remember how long it had been since... His accident. Years? Decades? Centuries even? He couldn't remember.

He put his glove back on his left hand. He knew someone was here. No... Two people, he could sense them. He rose and walked to his door, opening it to greet the two of them, his two yellow eyes scanning them. Ah, it was Saki and Victor from his school. He had been absent today, a particularly bad migraine had claimed him. "Saki and Victor.. Can I help you?" He asked, his left arm behind his back as it often was.

Zeke

" Well I would be happy to help as long as he is willing to learn. Too many people expect me to just pile the answers on their plate..."

He sighed raising an eyebrow at Zeke's arm and Saki's bag. He froze for a bit adjusting his hands in his pockets, the wind blowing softly against his hoodie.

" Right...so I suppose we should get started on the tutoring?"

He stared at the two his look more indifferent than anything else but he couldn't help but shake the feeling something odd was going on with Saki and Zeke.

Saki entered the dungeon like living room, taking a seat on the worn couch, pulling a rather large book from her bag, the light having faded.

"Well, there was a pop quiz in trigonometry. Sensei said he would let you take it when you return to class since it could make or break your overall grade in the class. Perhaps we should go over that. Maybe re-affirm some of the answers given..." She set the trig book down on the table in front of her. Her eyes, however wandered to Zeke's gaming station and few games for it. Forcefully, she turned her gaze back towards the book.

In their heads, the boys heard what sounded like a faint heartbeat or two...

Zeke nodded as he listened, His yellow eyes looking at the book as it was placed on the table. Math... A subject that was never too kind to him. "Oh great. A pop quiz. That'd be great to go over actually, I could use some assistance in that area." He said to the two. He turned to Victor as the boy asked him the questions. "Yes I do. I have for quite some time now." He said trailing off into thought for a few moments before he shook his head, returning his attention to Victor. "Ah yes, sines, cosines, and.... tangents? Right? Yeah I got the homework done for them. It may not have always been correct though." He said.

The sound of the heartbeat struck a chord in him, having not heard that sound in such a long time. He looked around for the source of it for a couple of moments before abandoning the search as to not look TOO weird in front of his 'friends'.

Victor raised an eyebrow at the seemingly sudden trip out experience. Once he returned to reality he stared at Zeke and Saki.

" Uhhh...what was that?"

Victor stood up and held his head for a few moments trying to re acclimate to Zeke's dismal house. He shook his head a few times before returning to his place on the couch.

" So yeah anyways. Yeah Zeke you will be going over your sines cosines and tangents but also you need to know your proofs as well."

She comes out of the trance and her eyes darkened back to normal.

"Ah... yes. I am alright. Do excuse me... I need to use the restroom." She stood and made her way down the dark hall towards the intended destination.

Closing the door behind her, Saki leaned towards the mirror, supporting herself on the sink. Feeling a little weak, she looked up into the mirror and saw not only herself looking back, but another woman over her shoulder.

"You're not going to make this easy, are you...?" she asked softly of the other woman's reflection. The silver haired one just grinned and vanished in a wisp of darkness.

Meanwhile, as both boys continued the laborious work of going over trigonometry, the darkness of Zeke's home seemed to close in on them. It was not threatening, but it was startling to say the least. A veil of the darkness began to separate them.

As Zeke was surrounded, yet another strange weapon appeared before him in mid air, just within reach. The skull like feature mounted on the tip of the blade twisted and turned, letting out a silent roar. The weapon spun then came to a stop, the pommel facing towards him, waiting...
A quiet, indistinct voice reverberated within his mind:
'A chosen who fell is not alone in his fight. He need only rely on his strength and drive, as well as those closest to him and once again may become whole. Should he choose...'

With Victor, the darkness did not fully engulf him; there was a hint of light shinning on him from behind. Before him hovered a reflective shield. He could see his own face and near full reflection as the shield glowed also with the light behind him. The object spun 180 degrees to where he could grip the handle, should he choose.
The voice also whispered in his head:
'To one who defends himself from the world, unsure of whom to trust. He will find those to rely on and in turn protect them with his mighty defenses. But, a time will come to be on the offensive as well. It is time to choose...'

Zeke nodded as he listened to Victor's instructions, listening very carefully as he memorized what he needed to know for the quiz. That was when the darkness settled in. At first, Zeke didn't notice it. But when Victor's voice faded, Zeke looked up and noticed that he was surrounded in darkness. He stood up and immediately took a defensive stance, afraid the Darkness had finally found him and they were here to get him. "You won't get me you little cre-.. What the..?" He was cut off and his eyes widened in surprise as he saw something he had not seen in hundreds of years. It was a Key Blade. The creature roared at him and spun back, the handle facing him, just within his reached. He wondered for a few moments if this was a trick the Darkness was playing on his heart to finally break him... But he paid that worry little mind. He had been away from the light for so long... Something like this just had to be true.

The voice spoke and confirmed his belief. He wanted so desperately to become whole once more. To feel the light flow through him like it did so long ago. "Strength, Drive, and those closest to me.. You had me at hello." He said as he grabbed the handle of the weapon. Wielding one of these was like riding a bike, you never truly forget. It felt so natural in his hand as he swung it around a couple of times. He held it in his right hand, his left hand pulsing deeply, as if it wanted to be let out. So much so, in fact, that the sleeve that Zeke wore around his arm melted away into the darkness, leaving only a few straps near his shoulder and on his forearm around his black arm. The symbol on his palm glowed deeply, with a couple additions to it. He looked curiously at it and chuckled to himself, his yellow eyes glowing slightly. "Perhaps I have been forgiven by the light." He held the weapon against his forehead and closed his eyes. "Thank you. Thank you for returning my hope." He said softly as a smile came to his face and he swung the weapon a few more times.