"You walk too fast!"

"You walk too slow!"

"You're gonna get in trouble!"

"We're gonna be late!"

"Liseth!"

"Umi!"

I sigh in exasperation. "There's just no arguing with you, is there?"

She sticks her tongue out at me, smiling around it so that her face is twisted up in a goofy smile. Pieces of bright violet hair spill into her mouth, but she doesn't seem to care.

"Nope!"

I poke her in the shoulder. "Well, fine, then, you can run, but I'm walking. And when you get attacked by the Heartless, don't say I didn't warn you."
She laughs. "I'm not gonna get attacked by the Heartless, they only chase people who taste good."

"You are such a moron!"

"Nyah!"

"Mleh!"

We both laugh at this. Her wide grin pulls at the corners of her bright blue eyes, making them look mischievous and cocky.

"Pleeeease race me home, Umi? I'll let you eat half my first pocky box…" she pleads with me in an innocent little voice.

I shake my head, laughing. "No way. But I'll meet you there, and I'll eat half your pocky anyway."

Her eyes shoot open wide, and the expression on her face is one of mock-terror. Even for a ten-year-old, she's got an insanely expressive face.

"You will not!" she shrieks. "I'm gonna beat you there and I'm gonna eat it all! And drink all your Mountain Dew!"

With that, she's sprinting away down the street, breathing hard and fast as her sneakered feet slap the cobbles.

I laugh and shake my head as I watch her go, her hair flying behind her like a banner. Of all the people in the world who could be my best friend, I couldn't pick one like Liseth Yami. She's one of a kind.

And absolutely out of her mind, I remind myself. But I have to grin. Being out of her mind is just what makes Lis herself.

If it weren't for her, I'd probably be so sane I'd commit suicide, I think with a shudder. That reminds me; Mother scheduled me for etiquette lessons at five PM… oh well. I smirk to myself. Mother's etiquette lessons can go to darkness and stay there. If I'd had it my way, my family name would have been changed to Yami the day I met Lis. Her entire family is the exact opposite of mine; crazy, spontaneous, and prone to erratic behavior. I love them all.

As I walk, I stick my hands into my pockets, letting the light breeze play with the strands of my blonde hair. The tips, I can see, are still tinted bright violet from when Lis and I tried to turn my hair purple to match hers.

Look, see? If your hair's purple like mine, then people will really believe we're sisters!

A nine-year-old's logic and several months later, and the family resemblance still remains. I smile slightly. Mother was furious with me, as usual.

'For Oblivion's sake, Umi! So improper! A lady's hair would never be such an… unnatural color!'

She still winces every time she sees me.

I've only made it about halfway down the street, although I can see Lis's small house waiting for me on the corner. I can always tell which one is hers because the fence is painted with a crazy pattern of geometric shapes that her Aunt Luzaine did. Liseth's Aunt Luzaine is undoubtedly the craziest one in the entire Yami family. Lis's mom and stepdad are both fortune-tellers, but Luzaine is actually a sorceress. She shows me and Lis some magic on occasion, when she's not off traveling the worlds. I still have the bright crystal shard she brought back from the edge of Light and Darkness.

I'm just passing the small bookshop that marks the exact halfway point between the other end of the street and Liseth's house when, suddenly, I hear a loud and terrified scream.

I come to a dead halt, all my reactions kicking into overdrive. What in the worlds—

"Umi! Help me!"

The voice is high-pitched, and frightened, and horribly, shockingly familiar. I'd have to be an idiot not to know who it is.

"Liseth!" I scream frantically. "Where are you?"

There is only another scream to answer my call.

Desperately, I begin sprinting down the street, my head whipping back and forth to see into every side street, every alley. Mentally, I am kicking myself, over and over again.

Shouldn't have let her run ahead; should have gone with her; should have kept her back—

"Umi!" She sounds terrified, and now I can catch a hint of something else in her voice, something that sounds like… pain.

My lips tighten in fury. If they have hurt her…

All of a sudden, a shape comes flying out of an alley just ahead of me. I skid to a stop as the figure nearly collides with me, but we just miss hitting one another, and she trips on a loose cobble and sprawls headfirst onto the street. Her bright violet 'I Heart Anime' T-shirt is stained violently crimson with blood, and her already-ripped blue jeans are now almost torn apart at the knees. She lies very still in the street, and my heart nearly stops.

"No, no, no!" I drop to my knees beside her, trying to turn her over. She's still breathing, which is a relief, but the amount of blood covering her shirt is extremely unsettling. I wonder if she's been stabbed.

All of a sudden, her hands fly up, clutching at her face. "My eye!" she screams.

I feel a sharp twist in my gut. "Lis, it's all right, just let me see it!"

She gasps. "Umi?"

"I'm here, it's okay," I tell her. "Just let me see your eye, it's going to be all right, I promise."

She whimpers softly and turns to face me, slowly pulling her hands away from her face. I breathe in sharply, all my blood turning to ice in my veins.

Both blue eyes are still there, gazing at me in anguished terror, but a long, livid slash shatters her face from the left side of her forehead to the middle of her left cheek, right over her eye. The blood around the wound is already congealing, turning an ugly, disgusting dark black color, like a bruise.

"It hurts, Umi," she moans softly, sounding younger than I believe I have ever heard her.

"I know," I say. "We're going to get you home, it's not so far. What did this to you?"

Whatever it is, I'll kill it.

"Heartless," she replies shakily. "The ones w-with helmets."

A sickening lurch twists my insides.

When you get attacked by the Heartless, don't say I didn't warn you…

"Oh worlds," I mutter. "Oh worlds and Oblivion. This is my fault, Lis, all my fault. I'm so sorry…"

"It's not your fault," she protests weakly. "You didn't know—"

"But I could have held you back, or gone with you," I say raggedly. "And I… I didn't know the Heartless were so close, I should have done… something…"

She shakes her head. "Mm-mm…" and then her eyes squeeze shut in pain, the corners brimming with crystalline tears. "It hurts so much…"

I put my arms beneath her and lift her up, surprising myself with my own strength. She's so light, lighter than I'd expect a ten-year-old to be. She feels fragile and small in my arms, like a doll.

"I promise I won't ever let you get hurt again," I whisper. "I swear to protect you, forever. You're my best friend… I can't lose you."

Her eyes don't open. I walk faster.