Take a Walk with Me

By LastCetra

Chapter 1

I was always alone. I was nobody.

So, why? Why did he…?

How could he change the impossible?

The soundless footsteps of a woman in white travelled slowly but purposefully through a pearl-white, alabaster hall. A silver haired teenager followed her just as silently. His eyes were clouded by a deep darkness pulling inside him; a darkness he thought he had defeated but realised would never leave. He feared that it would soon tear him apart. The dark devil that had claimed his soul would return, and when that time would come he wondered if he would be strong enough to keep it at bay. He might actually hurt someone he cared about this time.

The woman stopped to look at him, pulling a lock of golden hair behind her ear.

"Are you alright, Riku?" she asked. Her voice was soft, but held a melodious quality. He nodded distractedly, looking around.

"I'm fine," he said in a perfunctory manner. "Where's the end of this place?"

"We're almost there," she replied. "Just down this hall at the end is a door. Then we're out of here for good." Riku didn't answer. He just followed her down the hall. It seemed to take forever to get to the end but in reality it didn't take too long. The young woman's blue eyes brightened as she saw the door.

"This is it!" she chirped, reaching for the handle."

"Naminé," Riku called. She turned, her gaze questioning. He continued. "What's on the other side of that door, really?"

"The exit," she answered, her brow crinkling in confusion. "What else would be there?"

"A trap." He stated it bluntly. She cringed, hurt by his caustic tongue.

"Why would you say such a thing?"

"I don't trust you. You messed with Sora's memories, and you impersonated Kairi to fuel your own agenda for Organisation XIII."

Naminé sighed and nodded. "I know, but I only did it because they-"

"Cut the crap. I don't want to know if it was against your will or not, but you helped them. Take some responsibility for your own actions."

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Don't misunderstand. The reason you're getting this chance is because you saved my life, and Sora obviously trusts you. I'm not interested in being friends. Let's just get to Twilight Town, and get this over with." Naminé's head bowed, and she nodded.

"Okay," she said. "Let's get going then." The door handle turned and opened out to reveal a long road. For the first time Riku realised what kind of journey awaited him. The path was lit by an eerie light, but everything else was blanketed by darkness. There was no view. Riku felt subdued, numbed from the immensity of it all.

Naminé looked at the road as well. It had been weeks, months maybe, since she had seen the outside of that godforsaken castle. There had always been someone watching her, monitoring her whereabouts so she wouldn't escape. Larxene, Marluxia, Axel…

He was the strangest of them all. He didn't have the steely lust for destruction, but neither did he have the drive or determination for it. There was no denying his power though. It was always just masked by how calm and carefree he was, as if nothing would ever ruffle his feathers. They had talked often; about his life, if you could call it a life, his fighting style, and about Roxas. It was always about Roxas. He'd never shut up about him. "Roxas and I did this, Roxas and I did that, Roxas and I went here…" She had always listened, interested in his stories. When Axel would talk about him he would pace a lot, as if talking alone wouldn't be enough. He always had a smile on his face and his green eyes lit up with a sparkle that resembled something of a normal person. There were times during their conversations that Naminé almost felt a kind of warmth radiating off him. Not once had she ever seen Roxas, though she knew he existed within the Organisation. It was strange, but the more she heard of him, the more curious she was to meet him…

"Naminé, let's move." Riku's voice shattered her nostalgic thoughts. She nodded and followed him down the road. They walked in silence. The minutes ticked by, then hours, and still neither one spoke.

"What is this place?" Riku asked eventually. It was so sudden, Naminé thought she was hearing things and almost didn't answer. His expectant face however, told her it wasn't just her imagination.

"It's the road to Twilight Town from Castle Oblivion. It's a few days walk at least. The road is pretty direct though."

"Why do we need to go there? You didn't say."

"That's simple. Sora's asleep there."

Riku stepped in front of her. She stopped, trying not to bump into him.

"What are you trying to pull?" he growled. "Where's Sora? Who was-" Naminé silenced him with a shake of her head.

"That was Sora. I'm not trying to 'pull' anything, as you said. Castle Oblivion is a world made up of people's memories. What you saw were my memories of Sora asleep. We need to go to Twilight Town so we can meet up with him again." Riku looked at her for a minute, as though he were trying to decipher if what she was saying was true or false. He sighed angrily and continued walking. Naminé hesitantly followed.

It seemed endless. The path and scenery stayed the same even hours later; he wondered if he would ever see something different in front of him than the twisting road. Be that as it may, Riku kept his eyes in front, only concentrating on the horizon where the path was obscured by darkness. It was either that or look at Naminé. The two hadn't spoken since their brief exchange of words earlier. He was perfectly happy with that. She was… an annoyance, at best, his potential enemy at worst. The only reason he had stayed with her was the fact that only she could save Sora, and Riku would go through any hardship to help his friend. He didn't think he was being overly cautious. She had done plenty of things to make him mistrust her. It was true she had reasons for her actions, and she didn't seem evil, but neither did Maleficent. He wasn't going to make that mistake again. She was pretty quiet though, what harm would it be to be civil? "Would you like to stop for a rest, Naminé." "Are you okay with this pace, Naminé." "If you want to have something to eat you can." They were all perfect questions to ask without saying "I trust you."

No! That was the first step down a road he would not be able to double back on. He wasn't going to try to be polite, even if it was the way he was brought up to be. But still…

Reluctantly, he looked back. Naminé had fallen far behind, but was still doing her best to keep going, putting one foot in front of the other. He sighed and stopped, waiting for her to catch up. Why hadn't she said something? It took her fifteen minutes to reach him. Naminé noticed his pained look and huffed, turning her head the other way.

"Don't look at me like that," she said, continuing to walk forward.

"Sit down and rest," he deadpanned.

"I'm perfectly fine," she insisted. Riku nudged her shoulder slightly and she toppled onto the ground.

"You can't even stand," he snapped. "If you don't rest you'll just slow me down even more." His voice was horribly cold. Naminé glared at him from her place on the ground, but didn't rise. Instead she turned her back on him. She didn't want him to baby her, think of her as a helpless little girl. She just wanted to get to Twilight Town as soon as possible and get Sora back the to way he was. She had done enough damage already.

Naminé's hands fumbled around in a bag she kept on her shoulder. They soon found a sketchbook and a pencil which she placed on her lap. She opened it and started drawing where they were now; the darkness, the road, and the sole two people on it. She drew herself sitting down, and stopped. Where was Riku standing? What was he doing? Her curiosity was burning, but after the point she had made turning her back on him, she was not going to turn to see where he was and find out. She didn't want him to know she was interested in anything about him, even if it was just a stupid drawing.

She was being proud now, and she knew it. It didn't please her to know she had too much of it for her own good. But she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of him being able to say it. Naminé thought for a moment before putting pencil to paper again. The Riku in her drawing had his back to her; his arms folded and head bowed, enveloped in a rage of swirling thoughts…

"Naminé, put that thing away and get some sleep. We need to be rested for tomorrow." The blonde girl's head snapped up at his interruption. She stared at him for a few seconds and smiled wistfully, as if remembering something. It had been a while since she heard those words.

Riku shifted uncomfortably. She noticed this and gathered herself quickly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear as a way to hide her embarrassment.

"R-right." The sketchbook was snapped shut.

Author's Note:

Hi everyone, I'm back from hibernation! Well, I played and finished KH2 in September when it came out in Europe, and the idea of these two together is something I really like. However I only thought of these two as a pair when I watched "Whisper of the Heart," where the two protagonists who get together are actually Riku and Naminé's voices as well! Small world I guess. shrugs Reviews greatly appreciated, and thanks for reading!

LastCetra.