Post KHII. "If two halves desire to be separate unto themselves, they must become one." A riddle posed to Roxas by a mysterious cloaked figure could prove the key to unlocking his heart, or could leave him stranded in darkness. Roxas x Namine. Prolog and Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V "Why the hell should I even consider helping you?" Riku raised one silver eyebrow and tapped his sneaker impatiently against the floor. "Because, all I want is to be free from darkness, forever!" Larxene held out her hands, turquoise eyes wide and pleading. "You had friends when you attempted to redeem yourself from the things you had done under the dark influence. I have no one," she finished softly, lowering her eyes, then glancing back up. "Won't you help me?" "Sorry, Larxene, I'm not buying it. Contrary to your belief, I am not as naïve as Sora here," he jerked his head toward the Keyblade Master asleep in his bed. "I do believe in redemption, but not from the likes of you." "How cruel, Keyblade wielder," Larxene purred, her voice changing from the anguished victim back to someone completely in control. "Yes, we will find much use for you." She took a single step forward and vanished. Riku took a deep breath and looked at his two sleeping friends. "It's a good thing she's gone," he told them. "I was almost about to believe her." -xXx- Roxas and Naminé sat next to each other hand in hand, watching the water spill through the opening in the ceiling. "I hope the rain stops soon," she noted. "How come?" Roxas asked. She held up her free hand in a 'wait-for-it' gesture. The lightning flickered overhead, then almost immediately there was a huge explosion of thunder. Naminé flinched in spite herself. "That's why. It's like reflex; I can't stop it." She gave a small laugh. “I guess that’s pretty weak of me.” Roxas looked at her, mouth open. “No, it’s not!” he protested. “Fear is one of the few emotions us Nobodies can feel!” “What do you mean? You know we can’t feel anything; this is just some kind of weird reflex.” He shook his head. “Fear is one of the few emotions we can truly feel,” he repeated. “You should appreciate the fact that you can feel it at all.” “What are you talking about?” her look was of purest puzzlement. “I’ve never heard anything like that.” “Vexen ran some tests.” Roxas put his hands behind his head and gazed up at the cave roof. “He said that organic emotions such as fear originate from the body, rather than the heart, so there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to feel those, well... feelings,” he finished, looking quite at a loss without a proper word to end the sentence. She nodded slowly and rolled over on her side to face him, resting her head on one hand. “So that’s why you and Axel always did such dangerous stunts,” she said softly. “Like beating each other half to death during weapons training, or skateboarding on the edge of the roof of the Castle.” He returned the nod. “The fear and adrenaline made us feel alive,” he admitted, “almost like we had hearts.” He then paused. “Wait. How’d you know about the skateboarding thing?” “I made a point of observing everything that was going on around me.” Naminé gave him a small smile and a shrug; then she went back to his earlier subject, asking so softly that he could barely hear her. “And what are the other emotions Nobodies like us can still feel?” Roxas rolled over on his side to face her. “I don’t remember,” he said finally. “He said anything that was created by the body; the only two I can remember are fear and lust.” He kept his deep blue eyes focused on hers, but she sat up, not looking at him. “Oh,” was all she said, flinching as a blast of thunder echoed overhead. This explosion sounded louder than the previous; it echoed from the cave walls, and she clapped her hands over her ears with a small outcry. He hesitated, then sat up and loosely wrapped his arm around her waist, giving her the opportunity to wriggle out. To his surprise, she leaned against him with a sigh, resting her head upon his shoulder and laying her hands in her lap. Roxas could barely breathe; despite the chill outside, her warmth against him was almost too much to bear. He finally breathed in, the soft scent of vanilla filling his nostrils. "You smell nice," he murmured, tightening his grip when she didn’t make any move to break away. Naminé giggled softly and poked him, blue eyes sparkling. "You don't." "What? I try to give you a compliment and you insult me!" He grinned to let her know he was joking and poked her back. "Hey!" She pulled out of his grasp and poked him again, harder. "That hurt!" "Ow! And that didn't?" He jabbed her in the ribs. "Stop poking me!" She clutched her side and leaned back, a small laugh escaping from between her lips. "What, are you ticklish?" He glanced at her with a mischievous sparkle entering his eyes. "No!" she protested defensively, not trusting that look. "I don't believe you." A sudden grin crossed his face. "Roxas, don't..." she warned, scrambling to her feet. "You started this," he noted with a smirk, jumping up. "Payback." Naminé shook her head, backing away. "Don't you dare- Roxas!" she shrieked as he lunged at her, knocking her right back down to the ground. He landed with both hands on either side of her, his own azure eyes sparkling. "What?" "You're hurting me," she said softly. "Sorry!" He hastily picked up one hand to move, and she tackled him. "Ha!" Naminé shoved him over onto his back with a triumphant laugh, jabbing him in the ribs and pinning him to the ground with her thighs. "You weren't expecting th- Roxas!" she shrieked again as he grabbed her wrists and pulled her on top of him. "You started it!" he reminded her, laughing. "You shouldn't start something you know you can't-" His eyes widened as she kissed him swiftly on the lips, and he released her wrists, only vaguely aware of her planting her hands on either side of his face. "Ha," she breathed, blonde hair falling from behind her shoulder to hang over his face. "I win." Roxas laid there in shock, unsure how to retaliate against that particular attack. This had come completely out of nowhere. A look of sudden uncertainty flickered across her face, but there was something else he could see in her eyes... He reached up to push her hair away from his face, then roughly seized the back of her neck, bringing her back down until her nose was just barely grazing his. He hesitated and closed his eyes, pressing his lips gently against hers. He felt her stiffen with surprise and he almost let go, then she melted against him, twining her hands through his blond hair. Finally, needing to breathe, he pulled back. "I don't think so," he whispered. Her azure eyes reflected the same passion he felt coursing through his entire body; he couldn't stop grinning, feeling almost drunk with the pure exhilaration that threatened to overwhelm him. She moved her head down until her lips grazed his ear. “Fear and lust?” she whispered huskily, warm breath tickling the side of his face. “I think I can live with that.” Roxas rolled over to face her, hand gently tracing the side of her face, marveling at the softness of her skin; he fought to keep himself from trembling as she leaned into that hand. “I think... this is the part where I recite something profound and romantic,” he murmured. “About Nobodies and souls and-” Naminé brushed her lips against his. “Roxas,” she whispered. “Shut up and kiss me.” -xXx- Roxas sat next to Naminé, wishing that he could remember, just for a moment, how love was supposed to feel, but then he realized; if he had to wonder whether or not he was in love, he ostensibly was. It sounded almost like something Axel would have said. Roxas took a deep breath and plunged in, knowing that by morning, he probably wouldn’t be able to see her again; though they could be together when Sora and Kairi were asleep, he doubted they’d ever be together like this again; he had to express himself before he completely lost his nerve. "I think I love you, Naminé," he said softly, forcing himself to look into her eyes instead of more comfortably training his gaze on his shoes. He expected shock or surprise or a logical statement that, without hearts, they were incapable of love, but she simply smiled. "You're a hopeless romantic, aren’t you, Roxas?" His face fell and he glanced away. She placed a single finger over his lips, forcing him to keep looking into her eyes. "But you’re my hopeless romantic." He looked up, cautious hope filling his azure eyes. "So that means-?" Naminé kissed him gently. "I love you too." Roxas grinned, barely noticing a twinge in his chest. He stuttered over a few words, but was interrupted by a harsh voice. "Finally." There was an explosion of darkness, and the cloaked figure appeared. Roxas and Naminé scrambled up, the former drawing Oblivion with a growl and shoving her protectively behind him. "What do you want, Zexion?" he bit out, a grimace crossing his face as he felt a definite painful something stab him. "You two may have forgotten about the riddle, but I haven't. Turns out you two reached the conclusion without any prodding on my part." Zexion sighed at the blank look on both their faces. "Are you complete idiots? Look at yourselves. You've managed to separate completely from your others." "What?" Roxas looked down at himself and froze. He cautiously raised his free hand, almost afraid to look. He felt... whole. There was no better way to describe it. "What... how...?" He warily patted himself down and looked at Naminé to see her staring at him in awe, then realized that he could actually see her, not see the cave wall behind her. He suddenly felt as though a blade had cut deep into the space where his heart would have been, puncturing some huge bubble inside him, releasing more feelings than he could ever remember having. Roxas fell to his knees from the shock of all that emotion flowing through him all at once, hearing Naminé fall beside him with a muffled outcry. "So, what's it feel like, having a heart?" Zexion watched with detached interest. "You'd forgotten most of those feelings, hadn't you?" "It's... too... much," he gasped. "My heart... it's- ah!" He clutched at his chest and shrieked in anguish. Naminé put a weak hand on his shoulder, and he saw on her tear-stricken face the same pain and exhilaration he imagined on his own. Pain, sorrow, anger, hatred, love, joy; all melded into one continuous outpouring of emotion. "Roxas!" she gasped, then bit down on her lip to keep from screaming. "It was all in the riddle," Zexion announced, stepping closer to observe the two with barely concealed curiosity. "If two halves desire to be separate unto themselves, they must become one. Your love," his voice reflected his distaste of the word, "was stronger than the darkness. It's very complicated, and I don't expect one of your intelligence level to grasp the specifics, so listen carefully. I will not repeat myself. Understand?" Roxas looked up and nodded weakly, hand instinctively reaching to Naminé's for support; he felt dizzy and almost collapsed, but he was determined to hear him out. "Kairi is a Princess of Heart," Zexion explained. "Therefore, there is no darkness inside her. When her heart was lost within the Keyblade Master, he used an artificial Keyblade to unlock both her and his own. Unlocking a heart via Keyblade is a very imprecise business, mind you, so it only logical for some pieces to be left behind, in you," he pointed at Roxas, "and you," he gestured to Naminé. "Those pieces were left in the darkness inside each of you. All that was needed was the proper stimulation for those pieces to join together to form a real heart- in your case, love." He crossed his arms. "Expect things to be very different now. Since you held half of Sora's power before you joined, when you separated, you took that half back. You two will need to find a way to get back to full power, and soon." Zexion raised his hands, about to clap. "Wait!" Naminé held up a hand, struggling to her feet. "Why? What's going on? Who are you working for?" "Sorry. All I was required to do was separate you two from the Keyblade Master and the Princess. I don't need to do anything further here." Zexion’s tone was clearly mocking. "And what about Axel?" Roxas interjected, grabbing Naminé’s hand and pulling himself up to stand next to her. "You said he's alive!" "Did I, now?" "Where is he?" he growled. Zexion laughed and clapped his hands together sharply, disappearing into the explosion and leaving Roxas and Naminé standing there alone, side by side. Roxas turned to Naminé and felt a rush as she took his hand. "We don't have to pretend anymore," she whispered. "We can feel." "Yeah." He pulled her close, resting his chin on her soft blonde hair, and now, when he held her, he knew without a doubt that this, indeed, had to be love. "I meant what I said, you know." She sighed and pressed her face into his chest. "You don't smell so bad after all," she mumbled with a tired grin. Roxas didn't reply to that, grabbing her hand and leading her outside the cave. "The rain's stopping." He squinted up into the sky to see the clouds thinning and the sunrise slowly coming up in the distance. "Look." "It's beautiful," Naminé whispered. Roxas looked at her, with her dirty, ripped white dress and knotted hair. "Yeah," he answered softly. "It is." -xXx- Riku looked down as he heard Kairi gasp next to him, breathing in deep. Her eyes started to crack open as the clouds parted overhead, then she shut them again, falling back to sleep. He looked back out the window to see Larxene perched there, sitting on the sill. "Things will be very different now," she told him. "Your Nobody friends have permanently separated from the Princess and the Keyblade Master. Oh, and don't worry about her," Larxene pointed at Kairi. "She'll wake whenever she feels like it." "What about Sora?" Larxene raised a hand to her lips to conceal her smile. "He's stronger than Kairi. He was perfectly fine; he could have woken at any time." Riku looked to her in disbelief. "You mean he slept through this whole thing, when he could have woken up and helped me?" He sighed and muttered; "somehow I'm not surprised." He met her blue eyes. "So what did you get out of this, Larxene?" She laughed quietly. "The pleasure of your company, Riku," she mocked him. "Trust me, he got what he wanted out of you all." Larxene absently waved a hand, and the Black Dusks outside disintegrated into the blowing wind. "Who's ‘he’?" he asked suspiciously. "You'll see," she told him with a mysterious smile that didn't quite reach her cold blue eyes. "And believe you me, it will be fun. I like you, Riku, so I'll leave you with this parting advice. The enemy of your enemy is not always your friend. Remember that about your fellow Keyblade wielder... and I don’t mean Sora." Riku nodded slowly and gave her a one-fingered salute. "Been real. You know, we should do it again some time." Larxene laughed. "I'd like that, Riku." Without another word, she vanished into the air. Kairi shifted against him and woke slowly. "Riku...?" She blinked several times, becoming fully awake. "What are you doing here?" She glanced around. "Why am I in Sora's room?" She looked at herself and blushed, pulling her blanket to her chin. "More importantly, why am I wet and in my pajamas?" Kairi glared up at him, waiting for his answer. "It's a long story," he told her, smirk gracing his lips. Riku got up and clapped his hands several times over Sora's face. “Wake up, you sorry excuse for a hero.” The Keyblade Master groaned and pulled his pillow over his head, muttering something that sounded almost like “Junior Hero.” He sighed and knelt down next to his friend's bed. "You're going to be late to school," he tried. No response. Riku looked around to make sure she wasn't behind him and whispered, "Kairi’s wearing a bikini!" Sora pulled his pillow away from his head and opened one eye blearily. It focused on Riku’s face then closed again; he slammed the pillow back down over his head and snored. "This is pathetic," Riku snorted and got up. "Fine, keep sleeping, then." "Let me try." Kairi stayed where she was and cupped her hand over her mouth. "Sora, you lazy bum, you're going to miss breakfast!" she called. "Breakfast!" Sora leapt out of bed, stuffed turtle flying through the air to land in Kairi's lap. "I'm coming!" Riku collapsed to the ground in a fit of laughter. "That's even more pathetic," he choked out. "Ah! People in my room!" He summoned his Keyblade, then blinked. "Riku? Kairi?" He scratched his head and sat back down. "So I guess this means no breakfast yet," he mumbled. "Hey, you took my turtle," he accused, pointing at Kairi, then flushed. "Not that I sleep with stuffed animals," he added hastily. "He's cute," Kairi cooed, hugging the toy. "You think so?" Sora grinned. "I love my turtle." He yawned and waved his hand absently, rolling over. "You can hold him for a while, Kairi. I'm gonna-" "Oh, no you don't." Riku grabbed him by the ear and dragged him out of bed. "You've done more than enough sleeping for one night. We've got problems." Sora yawned and looked out the window. "The sun's barely even risen- hey, look! Hi, Roxas!" he yelled out the window, then paused. "Roxas?" he repeated incredulously, vaulting out the window to land with a thud. "Ow! Sharp pointy thing under my window!" "Long story," Riku repeated to an obviously confused Kairi, leaning out the window to see Sora staring suspiciously down at the model that he had placed beneath the window earlier during the night. Then he looked out to see Roxas and Naminé coming up the beach, looking wet and dirty, but none the worse for the wear. "Very long story." -xXx- "Great. So we've got two Organization members running around, working for some unknown enemy." Sora thought about it and shrugged. "Looks bleak," Riku noted. "No it doesn't!" The Keyblade Master gave him a strange glance. "What did I tell you about negative thinking?" Riku sighed and reached across the table for another piece of bacon. "He can't help it, Sora," Kairi stated with a grin. "He's just a pessimistic guy." He grunted. "I'm just being realistic," Riku reiterated. Roxas mumbled something incoherent, shoveling pancakes into his mouth. Naminé smacked the side of his head. "Don't talk with your mouth full!" She turned to Sora and translated. "He agrees with Riku." "Wow, Roxas, someone who can actually speak your language!" Sora gasped and grinned. The boy gave him a hand gesture that needed no translation. "Mmph-mmhee." "He's hungry," she translated with a sigh. "You know, if you start to choke, I'm just going to sit here and laugh." Roxas looked at her and pouted, wounded. "You'll get over it," Naminé told him, turning to the others. "So we have Zexion's presence confirmed, and you're sure that it was Larxene? Not just Zexion shapeshifted as her?" She blinked inquisitively at Kairi, not missing her other’s sudden pause as she looked down at her food mouthing “Zexion?”; Naminé frowned but turned back to hear the response. Riku nodded. "I'm sure." "Well, this sucks," Sora noted, peering into the fridge. "Kairi drank the last of the orange juice." He looked up with a goofy grin to see everyone hit his head off the table. "No, seriously, though," he continued, sobering. "What are we going to do?" "Nothing, as of yet," Riku answered. "We'll get word from the King if he needs us." Roxas reached across the table and grabbed a slice of melon, swallowing his mouthful of pancakes. "So basically we sit around waiting for orders? I say we start investigating now," he poked his finger against the table. "It's called preemptive striking." "And where do you propose we start?" Riku asked. "From what I've seen when I was with the Organization, you guys seem to just go through worlds at random until you find something weird. I know how these guys think." Roxas looked around the table. "The second you start getting close to their base of operation, they'll just move to one of the worlds you've already investigated. We know we have at least Zexion and Larxene, and they're too smart to just wait around to be killed like Xemnas did. “You had it easy when you took on the Superior. Now that Zexion, Larxene, and whoever else is still alive aren’t worried about the constant infighting that was plaguing Organization XIII even after I left, we are going to be facing a united front. Don’t expect this to be like before." He paused. “And don’t forget- both Zexion and Larxene insinuated that they’re under orders from someone else.” "What do you suggest?" Kairi got up and checked the refrigerator again. "Sora, there's more orange juice in the back." She grabbed the carton and plopped it down in front of him. "We don't have a means of transport off this world." "Wait, wait, wait." Sora looked up from pouring his juice, alarmed. "What do you mean, ‘we’? You can't come!" he sputtered "Why not?" "Bad! No! Dangerous!" “Wow,” Roxas observed, leaning over to Naminé. “Sora used a multiple-syllable word when talking to Kairi.” "If you're going, I'm going," Kairi continued. "But-" "No buts." Kairi sighed. "And that, Sora, is why we never have any orange juice." "Huh?" He looked down to see his glass overflowing. "Ah!" Riku casually tossed him his napkin, and the Keyblade Master began frantically mopping up the mess. "We need each other,” the silver-haired boy added. “Whenever we split up, we always end up wasting time looking for each other." "We'll be able to watch each others' backs," Kairi nodded in agreement. Roxas looked to Naminé with his mouth open, and she shushed him by putting a finger over his lips. "If Kairi's going, I'm going, and you have no choice." He shut his mouth and turned back to his breakfast without putting up a fight, flushing under the others' laughter and shoving another slice of melon into his mouth. "But Kairi isn't going!" Sora protested frantically as the attention had turned away from him. "Sora," she said dangerously. "Remember what happened when you left me on the island the first time? You went and got yourself put in a coma." Naminé shifted uncomfortably, but Kairi didn’t notice. "That wasn't my fault," Sora stated defensively. Riku started laughing, then Kairi rounded on him. "And you went and got yourself all stuck in the darkness again!" That shut him up. "And then I get kidnapped by Organization XIII, so I'm not waiting here again!" She slammed her fist against the table. "So there!" Sora and Riku were cowering in their chairs. "Okay," the Keyblade Master said weakly. "You win." She shared a grin with Naminé. "And that's how we get things done!" she announced triumphantly. A/N: What can I say? I'm a sucker for Roxas/Namine. All that's left is the epilogue. This was almost painfully long, so I'll save the epilogue for another post. Oh, and to know why Kairi recognized the name of Zexion (whom I absolutely love)... read "Darkness Falling", the companion to this that I'll be uploading on kh-vids later today. Epilogue
No replies that I can annoyingly quote? NOOOO!!! I love my Rikky-cub... I wanna touch him. *pout* Riku: ... Random: *pokes* YAAY! :D :p
Gah! You left me behind. I feel lost... and now have security issuses. xP I have always been stuck between this chapter and the last as my favorite. But I think I'm choosing this one. SO many good parts I can't even chose... actually I can. ::giggle:: For starters.I'm not a big Roxas/Namine fan but wow- That was so Amazing. And WAIT A MINUTE!! I found my new crack!shipping..... LARXENE/RIKU!! Wow. I really need to lay off the sugar. xP Ahem, Riku's attempts at waking up Sora was Prolly the cutest thing on the face of the planet. And then there goes that stuffed turtle... again. God, I love that Turtle. I'd qoute my favoirt parts of the breakfast scene but then I'd end up qouting the whole thing. xD But I do have one thing to say before I go! "Ow! Sharp pointy thing under my window!" EDIT: Ahem I apologize for the comple and total spazziness of this reveiw. I was on SO much caffine and suger and STRESS. >.<
Since when have I, Jade Rhade, felt the need to have someone apologize for spazziness? 'TIS I! Or in other words, don't worry about it. :D Oh dear... Larxene/Riku *shudders* I'm sorry, but that's a 'ship I will never be able to write... for starters, there's too much Riku in it! >_< :p The "Ow! Sharp pointy thing under my window!" was actually added in only as part of the final draft; I had to go back and add in something just so I could have Sora yell that, hence why the scene where Riku gets the model and drops it under the window was so jerky compared to the rest of the story's flow. Glad you liked it! ~Jade
