Chapter 1 Warnings: None

Pairings: Demyx/OC (others may emerge)

Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing but the plot and my OC Rose.

Chapter 1: A Mention of Memories

It was raining, but then, it was always raining in Starbeacon City. The raindrops were thick icy little droplets that would light an icy fire on the skin of whoever was left to them until their skin finally numbed. Rose Berrick was on of those people. She lay on a bench facing the sky, staring up into the rain.

Her clothes were soaked through, as was the backpack that rested under the bench in some small attempt to save it from the weather. The girl was lost in a world of her own, one filled with memories of the past and visions of the future she had planned before the world decided to crash down around her. Only the cool blue that tinged her lips hinted that the rain was having any real affect on her at all.

Her coal black eyes were fixed on the sky, but unseeing even as her hoarse voice rose above the sound of the rain. " -Just another candle/ Just another candle/ my guiding light/ through endless night/ Is now an angel lost to me/ Do you watch over me?/ Or have you left forever/ …Just another candle/ Just another candle/ Just another candle…" (Thank Flaming-Fox-Spirit for the lyrics. Luv ya!)

"I'm telling you, it's weird, Axel. It's like …it's like I've been her before."

"Shut up and let's get out of the rain. I hate the rain."

Rose slowly sat up, brushing a bit of her tangled, dirty brown hair out of her face. 'That voice…' She stood on shaky, numb legs grabbing her bag out of sheer habit and following the voices timidly.

"No, really!"

"Yeah, yeah… Damn it! I HATE the rain!"

Suddenly growing painfully aware of her dirty, bedraggled appearance, Rose put her hood up before she dared move any closer to the two cloaked boys. She just wanted to see the one

"Calm down and give me a second."

She was now close enough to be sure-even with the rain in her eyes-that there was no detail to really be made out about them being that they were dressed alike and had their hoods up. However, she was also close enough to see a sitar appear on one's hands. (Heh, she could tell what it was too, not common knowledge, but being a well educated musician herself, she knew quite a lot.) Her eyes widened, followed by a small gasp as he strummed it a few times and the raindrops seemed to find themselves facing off against the invisible bubble that now seemed to surround the two. "Wow…"

"About time you did something."

"Will you listen now? This city, I seriously think I've been here before."

"Maybe you have."

"But you said this world was unexplored."

"Well…it's a long shot, but maybe your other was from here. You don't remember your past after all, right?"

The harsher one who had just spoken, Axel? turned and looked at Rose-or so she guessed-with his hood up, she couldn't see his face, but she felt his eyes. "Is there any particular reason your following us?" he asked bordly, crossing his arms.

Rose glared, clenching her fists; something about these two seemed…off somehow. "Who? Me? Pfft, why would I follow two losers like you?"

"Losers? Right…" Axel sighed, shaking his head. "I'm not in the mood for this."

Rose flipped him the bird before storming off supremely pd. Honestly, why did she even get up and follow them? Just because that one guy's voice sounded kind of like Edym's? Edym had been dead for a long time, she was just an idiot.

"Hey, wait a minute!" it wasn't Axel, it was the other one.

"Demyx! Come on, we need to finish up this mission, I have better things to do." Axel complained.

"This will only take a second." Demyx said, half-jogging to catch up to Rose.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

He seemed to hesitate. "Let me see your face."

"What? Why?"

"I feel… I feel like… I know you…"

Rose felt a wave of bittersweet emotions roll over her, making her dazed and about half nauseous. "I… no… I've got to go." Truth be told, this guy was making her realize just how ashamed of her looks she was. She knew her hair was knotted and dirty, that her face was hollow from lack of regular meals, that her eyes looked dead and were darkly ringed by lack of sleep, and frankly… she was horribly ashamed.

He grabbed her shoulder lightly, turning her around; his hood was now down (perhaps to persuade her to show herself?). "Please?"

"Demyx, let's go." Axel called impatiently.

"Just a second." Demyx called back, annoyance slightly evident in his voice. "Please, I just want to see your face."

His eyes… his voice… they were both just like Edym's, and that was the only thing that kept her on that spot. It was the only thing that kept her from punching him and running when he pushed the hood of her pull-over back. That kept her from looking away as his aqua eyes searched hers.

"Demyx! Now!" Axel shouted.

"I… what's your name?" Demyx asked quickly.

"Rose… its Rose…"

"Rose… look, I-"

"DEMYX!"

"I'll be back."

Rose blinked. What? "When?"

"One day soon, I promise." Demyx answered with a reassuring grin.

The girl just stood there, looking after him as he ran back to Axel and they both left. She was so caught up in trying to figure out what had just happened that she didn't notice that the rain had stopped fully for the first time in two years…