Xion

Xion is the Rank XIV member of the original Organization XIII, and appears in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days as one of the main protagonists and antagonists. She is not a normal Nobody, and is only a nominal member of the Organization. Because of this, she does not have a throne in Where Nothing Gathers, nor does she have a title or a type of Nobody to control. Instead, she is an imperfect Replica of Roxas created from Sora's leaked memories as a fail-safe in case both Sora and Roxas proved to be useless to Organization XIII's plans. While this enables her to use the Keyblade, Xion's existence also halts Sora's progression of regaining his memories to fully awaken while in his pod, something which Naminé, DiZ, and Riku recognize. As Sora's memories are the basis of her being, Xion initially resembles Kairi, who was Sora's strongest memory at the time of her birth, though her physical appearance eventually changes depending on who is viewing her and who they have connections with. Roxas, Axel, and Riku see her as Xion (and later as Sora), Xigbar sees her as Ventus, Xemnas sees her as Sora, while Saïx (and also Axel, initially) sees her only as a hooded doll. As Naminé stated while talking with Riku, Xion's face was originally blank, until Sora's memories found their way into Xion and she gained an identity. Xion's name was coined by Tomoco Kanemaki, one of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days's scenario writers and the writer of the Kingdom Hearts novels. Tetsuya Nomura took a liking to it and notes that it has many meanings. Xion's name contains the Japanese words for "tide" (潮 shio?), fitting the oceanic naming theme of Kairi and Naminé, and Aster tataricus (紫苑 shion?), which, according to Japanese floriography, means "I won't forget you" or "remembrance". It is also revealed within the Secret Reports that her "original name" was "No.i", her ID as an experiment of the Replica Program. The "i" used here is in fact the imaginary number. Xion was voted "Best New Character" in the 2009 Nintendo Power Awards.