• The next day was even stranger, and I was left alone to face it. Hayner, Pence, and Olette had made earlier plans to go to the beach, but I opted out, not at all feeling in the mood to do anything thanks to the past day’s encounters. Struggle season wasn’t around yet, so things were quite boring, and all that there really was to do on a weekend was to just take a stroll.

    Nothing seemed awkward in any way at first, except for the fact that I kept feeling as if I was being followed. Apparently everyone else had decided to close shop and take a small weekend vacation, for I didn’t see anyone else roaming the streets. I was lucky enough to realize that Seifer and his gang weren’t around either. This would usually be considered a blessing; an actual day without the so-called ‘Disciplinary Committee’ would be considered a gift from the gods. That was, if you had someone to share the day with, otherwise it would be the same as any other torture filled day.

    Suddenly I stopped my walk to nowhere after circling a small area of the town for the fifth time when a small activity popped into my head: go to the mansion…

    The thought had just randomly come into my mind without even a warning, but I followed it anyway and started for the gaping hole in the wall that led into the woods. I easily found my way through the winding mass of trees until I could see the towering building. No one had lived in it for years, and it clearly showed. The lawn inside the gate was an overgrown mass with marble pieces strewn out around the crumpling statues from which they had fallen. The mansion itself was also in bad shape, but not as bad as expected.

    The paint was chipped in places, mainly from years of weather experience. Several windows were cracked, allowing wind to blow into the large house itself and rustle the old curtains, giving it the famous ghost theory. “This place looks bad on the outside, but the inside is sure to be worse. Come on, Lexa. You’ve faced Seifer, you can face this place.” I reassured myself, then stepped through the large metal gates and toward the doors.

    “Hey! What are you doing here?” I froze, not daring to turn around to face whomever had spoken. “Who are you?” It was a male voice, but not too old, probably about fifteen or sixteen. I dared myself to turn around and found myself face-to-face with a boy with long silver hair. He stood about five inches taller than me, and a black blindfold hid his eyes, so I couldn’t tell whether he was angry with me or not. His face held a smile, though, and I knew that he found me quite interesting; it was also a sign that he could easily see through the black cloth covering his eyes.

    “What are you grinning at?” I challenged while trying to fight off a smirk that was starting to form on my own face. It had been one thing that I had learned from Pence after being friends with him for such a long time: smiles were contagious. The smile vanished, though, as quickly as it had come. “Who are you?” He repeated. His tone was now serious, not a trace left of his happier attitude he had shown moments ago. I started to take his appearance into my thoughts again, all the while completely ignoring his question. He was the third person in just two days that she had come across and had no idea who they were.

    “I think that I should be the one asking questions. Who are you? Do you know Roxas and Axel?” I saw him tense up at Roxas’ name, but he quickly did his best to hide it. He hung his head as if in defeat, then answered, “My name is Riku. I’m sure that you’re highly curious about other things, but it’s best that you know as little as possible. As for your second question, I don’t know of an Axel, but I know who Roxas is…. Or at least who he is supposed to be. You’d better leave now, before Diz finds you here. Don’t come back here. It isn’t safe.”

    Without another word, Riku walked past me and into the mansion, quickly disappearing behind the doors of the house. I waited until I could hear his fait footsteps any longer before I took off running, away from the mysterious boy, away from the mansion, and away from the questions that continued to well up inside of my head. I didn’t stop until I had made it back all the way to The Usual Spot, where Hayner, Pence, Olette, and I usually came to just relax and hang out together. I flung the curtains closed, and then fell to the ground. “I just don’t understand!” I wailed, not caring if anyone heard me or not. “Things are so confusing! Why is my life like this?” I wanted to just scream to the world, to just let it all out right then and there, but I knew that I couldn’t. I had to cope with it some other way. I balled my hands into fists and pounded the ground until I was sure that they would almost bleed from it before pulling myself into a standing position and brushing myself off.

    Only then did I see a flash of black out of the corner of my eye. I whirled around, afraid to miss what had just been there watching me, but whomever or whatever was gone though. As proof of someone being there, though, the curtain was swaying unsteadily, as if being carried by a non-existent breeze. “Please! Come back!” I pleaded. Tears started to stream down my face as I thought of the three boys I had met recently. The black could have been any one of them, but I wanted it to be Axel most of all.

    I waited a few seconds for anything to happen, just some small signal that I had been heard. After nothing happened, though, I trudged past the curtain and into the open alleyway. I had my head down, staring at the ground. I froze, though, when I saw a pair of black boots just a few feet in front of me. I quickly looked up, wanting to know if it was anyone whom I had met, but my excitement melted quickly, and was replaced by fear. The person in front of me wasn’t Axel, Roxas, nor Riku, but yet another man in a black coat. He had long blue hair that was spiked up in the back, and the ‘X’ shaped scar on his forehead made me wonder just how dangerous he was. His yellow eyes held nothing but pure and utter anger and rage.

    I wanted to turn around, to run as hard as I could to get away from this unfriendly man, but I couldn’t move. He seemed to notice that I was scared, and he was pleased. “Wh-who are you?” My voice cracked as I asked the question. I realized now that who I had seen inside The Usual Spot wasn’t one of my ‘friends’, but this man standing right in front of me. He had been watching me, and then had been waiting for me out here. “That is not for you to know.” He replied. I didn’t like the tone of his voice, and I could tell that he was irritated at me.

    I had to do something though, to stand up for myself. “What did I do to you to make you so pissed off with me?” I asked him, taking a step closer. He didn’t seem to like this, and I heard a barely suppressed snarl come from the back of his throat. Without saying anything else, he turned around and walked toward the nearest alleyway exit, a sign that our crude conversation was over. In return, I started in the opposite direction. If I never see him again, it’ll be too soon…