Journeys

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Kingdom Hearts series. Except for Nami, since she is my OC.

Author's Note: I'm trying something new here. Normally I don't like to write this type of fic, with an OC as a romantic interest for one of the main characters of the game, but I had this idea for a story and I just had to write it. It just so happened it fit into Kingdom Hearts perfectly. Journeys will be a piece not just about my OC and Riku, however. I also would like to delve into some of the back stories behind the other characters in the game. For instance, what happens to the Final Fantasy characters as time progresses? Please comment, so I can know if this story is worth continue. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Summary: My name is Nami. I'm nineteen years old and a Keyblade Bearer. It wasn't always this way. Four years ago, I couldn't have even told you what a keyblade was. That was before my life was changed completely.

It started with a boy and ended – no, it hasn't ended yet. Because this is my story, and it won't end until I let it. It won't end until I find the boy who started it all.

Chapter One: Radiant Gardens

Upon awaking, the girl with brown hair and hazel eyes had found herself in a strange world. Although it reminded her of the cities in her home world, she knew it couldn't possibly be. Pushing herself up off the wall, she noted that she seemed to be in an alleyway. She ran a quick check through her memory to make sure she wasn't missing any important memories other than where she was and how she had got there.

My name is Nami, I'm nineteen, and up until now, I was back home and normal, she thought to herself, frustrated that she couldn't remember more. Sighing, and hitting the wall with her closed fist, Nami decided that she wouldn't find any information about where she was if she didn't at least explore.

Leaving the alleyway she was in, Nami spotted a fairly young woman with short black hair and a band tied around her head. The woman appeared to be yelling at a tall man with brown hair and a black jacket with a red symbol on it. Nami wasn't sure if she should interrupt, but when she saw the woman laugh, she decided that the woman couldn't be that mad at the man.

"Excuse me, I'm new around here and was wondering if you could give me some directions," Nami said, walking up to the pair. They looked over at Nami, and the woman grinned widely at her.

"Hi there! I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie, at your service! Welcome to Radiant Gardens!" the woman said, throwing her fist in the air energetically. "And this is Squa-"

Before Yuffie could finish speaking, the man cut her off. "It's Leon." Nami barely saw Yuffie roll her eyes and hit Leon lightly on the shoulder before the fog on her mind cleared to allow recognition. "Yuffie!" Nami exclaimed, gasping.

"Yes, have we met?" Yuffie replied, looking very confused.

"You… you came to my world once or twice… my name is Nami," Nami blurted quickly. Yuffie's eyes widened with recognition.

"Oh yeah, you're friends with that ol' stick in the mud! Hey wait, is that why you're here?" Yuffie exclaimed excitedly.

"I… I'm not sure," Nami said, her voice trailing off as she realized whom Yuffie was talking about. Yuffie tilted her head slightly, hearing the disappointment in Nami's voice, but didn't say anything.

The silence was finally broken when Leon cleared his throat. "Someone want to fill me in on what's going on?" he asked with a tone that suggested he expected an answer.

Yuffie's eyes lit up. "Squall! We should take her to see the others before she tells her story!"

Nami was already being dragged towards a small house among the buildings before Leon could say with annoyance to Yuffie, "It's Leon."

"Everyone, we have a visitor!" Yuffie burst through the door of the small house, and the people there looked up, not because Yuffie had burst through the door, but because she had mentioned there was a visitor. They were used to Yuffie's energy, but every time a visitor came, they hoped it was Sora coming back to visit again.

Instead, the people found themselves gazing upon a girl they had never met in odd clothes. "Everyone," Yuffie said loudly, "this is Nami."

Nami gave a small wave, although all she really wanted to do was hide. She didn't really want to be the center of attention.

"You should stop scaring the townspeople, Yuffie," a woman with long black hair and an all-black outfit said gently.

"Hey! I'm not scaring anyone, Tifa!" Yuffie said, stomping her foot to emphasize her point.

"Well, you are scaring people, but not townspeople, that's for sure," Leon said, walking in behind the two girls. "Now, Nami, do you want to explain how you got here and what you're looking for?"

Nami couldn't find any words to say. "Umm…" she mumbled, looking down at her feet.

"Sq- I mean, Leon," Yuffie corrected herself after Leon glared at her, "if anyone is being scary here, it's you. Look, Nami is shaking!" Squall sighed and leaned up against the wall. "Anyway, time for introductions!" Yuffie started pointing to people around the room and introducing them to Nami. "That's Leon, as you know; the girl in all black is Tifa; the guy with blond pointy hair is Cloud; the girl in pink is Aerith; and that old guy by the computer is Cid. Also, that guy in the pointy hat is Merlin, and he owns this house. There are a few others in town, but they're not here at the moment. Now for you!" Yuffie turned to Nami smiling.

"Ummm… I… I'm not sure how I got here. Or what I'm looking for. I'm just here," Nami said, hoping that this answer would suffice.

"But how did you and Yuffie meet?" Leon asked, not even looking at the two girls.

"Oh, I can answer that!" Yuffie said, jumping with excitement. "You remember those times I disappeared? I went to her world, and we met there. She's the gi-"

Nami had clapped a hand over Yuffie's mouth to warn her not to talk too much. "Yes, Yuffie came and visited," Nami said coolly. "However, that doesn't change the fact that I don't know how I got here. So sorry."

"What about that stick in the mud Yuffie mentioned? Who's that?" Leon said, and Nami glared daggers at him for bringing it up, even though Leon wasn't looking at her.

"Stick in the mud? That sounds like Yuffie's nickname for Riku," Tifa said, laughing quietly. Nami's face flushed, and she quickly looked at her feet. She let her hand drop from Yuffie's face.

"Yeah, she's Riku's girlfriend!" Yuffie exclaimed. Several gasps went up from the others in the room.

"I thought that might be it," a tiny voice said from behind Nami, and she turned around, startled, to see who the newcomer was. She had to look for a moment before looking down to see three small pixie-like creatures. "Hi, Nami, isn't it? I'm Yuna," the one with brown hair who had spoken before said.

"I'm Rikku!" the blond pixie girl said with about as much energy as Yuffie.

"Name's Paine," the pixie with short gray hair said.

"Hello," Nami said, a little surprised. Her home world wasn't like this at all, and though she had learned about the other worlds from her boyfriend, she had never really considered what it would actually be like. "It's nice to meet you."

"So you're Riku's girlfriend," Yuna, who appeared to be the leader of the trio of fairies, said, grinning. "That's great!"

"I mean, I was, I guess. A while ago," Nami answered, feeling a hint of blush crawl to her cheeks again.

"That's not the way he sees it!" Rikku said giggling.

"That guy is a total sap," Paine crossed her arms as she said this, and sighed.

"What are you talking about?" Nami asked with astonishment.

"We saw him just a bit ago!" Yuna declared proudly. "He's back on his home world. I'm sure he would be thrilled to see you. He's been pining for you every day since he left your side."

"Hey, when did you guys go see Riku?" Yuffie asked, pouting.

"Shh. Top secret reconnaissance mission!" Rikku said, winking and holding one finger to her lips.

"So, Gullwings, what can you tell us about Riku, Sora, and Kairi, then?" Aerith said, and Nami nearly jumped out of her skin when she realized the woman had walked up beside Nami without her noticing. Aerith has such a soothing presence, Nami realized, that I didn't feel threatened at all when she came near me.

"All is well!" the three pixies replied all at once.

"Anyway, Nami, you should go see Riku as soon as possible. Oh! I know, we'll bring you there!" Yuna said, grinning.

"Yeah, that would be fun! And maybe we'll find some treasure!" Rikku continued Yuna's thoughts.

"Treasure is always a good thing," Paine said, keeping her cool while the other two pixies seemed ecstatic with excitement.

"Now what are those three up to, do you suppose?" Cid said in his gruff voice.

"I'm not sure, but they are being devious, aren't they?" Aerith answered with a bright smile. "Well, Nami, while these three may have their own agenda, you don't need to worry about being safe with them there. They will take care of you. If you want to see Riku, you should go with them."

"I don't even know if I want to see him," Nami mumbled quietly. Aerith looked at her with concerned eyes.

"That's fine too. Just think it over some. If you need time, you need time," Cloud said, walking over to place a hand on Nami's shoulder. "Don't let anyone else control your life."

"You'll make the right decision, Nami," Tifa said, following Cloud and wrapping her arms gently around Nami in a hug. Nami felt tears coming to her eyes. In just a half an hour, she'd been given the chance that she had wanted for so long: to see Riku again.

She could remember the days they had spent together, though they had been fleeting. It had been a fluke that he had come to her world in the first place, but one neither of them had ever regretted. At the end, she had told him to go without knowing how to ask him to stay and believing it would be asking for too much anyway. It had been two years since the day she had watched him leave.

Now that she was being offered the chance to go see him again, she almost couldn't believe it. It was too good to be true. Something had to be wrong. What if she saw him and he didn't love her the same way he had back then? What if he had moved on? She wanted to scream. It had seemed so simple in her daydreams, but how could she see him again without him realizing how dark her heart had turned?

"Thank you, but I need some time," she whispered to Cloud and Tifa, and then turned to walk out the door. She could hear Yuffie's loud voice through the door and Tifa's calm one telling Yuffie to stay.

Nami wandered until she came upon a balcony looking out across a gorge towards a castle. "That must be Maleficent's castle," she said softly to herself, remembering the story Riku had told her about the green villainess who had deceived him.

"Yeah, that is," a voice said from behind Nami. She turned quickly to see who had approached. "Figured you'd come to the bailey," Leon said. He walked out onto the balcony next to her and leaned on the railing, looking out across the land. "You know, this is the second time this world has been named Radiant Gardens. There was a time in between where it was called Hollow Bastion."

Nami nodded. "Riku told me."

"You seem to know a lot for someone Riku has never mentioned to any of us here," Leon said, sighing. "But I guess he had his reasons."

"Just like you have your reasons for going by Leon instead of Squall, right?" Nami asked. Leon looked over at her with a surprised look on his face. "Yuffie let it slip, remember?"

Leon looked at Nami for a moment longer before nodding. "Right. I wasn't able to protect someone I cared about – this is my punishment for that."

"Changing your name?" Nami tried to hold back her laughter. "She must have really been something. To make you want to change your name only because you couldn't protect her."

"How did you know it was a girl?!" Leon exclaimed, looking at Nami suspiciously.

"Really, it's not that hard to tell," Nami answered. "But tell me. What's the real reason that you changed your name?" She looked at him expectantly, and Leon knew that he couldn't lie to her, and that for the first time since he had lost his right to protect that girl, he didn't want to hide the truth.

"I wanted to forget."

"Everything?"

"Everything."

Nami sighed and leaned back against the wall of the balcony. "Trying to forget isn't worth it," Nami said, brushing a stray piece of hair from her face. "Fighting to get that good thing back is worth it. Because in the end, would you rather have the memories of the good times and the knowledge that you did everything you could to keep those good times, or… nothing?"

Leon thought about this for a second before replying. "So if you already have that answer for me, then what's taking you so long to decide about going to see Riku?" Nami blushed. "It's the same thing, isn't it?" Leon continued. "You have to fight to keep the good times. It may be hard Nami, but it's worth it. Isn't that what you're trying to say?"

"I guess you caught me," Nami said smiling. "But if I take my own advice, will you follow it too, I wonder?"

Leon shrugged. "Maybe I will. I've got some serious thinking to do. It's been a long time since I last saw… Rinoa." The last words hung in the air for a moment like the end of a song, and Nami smiled.

"You're already that much closer. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you," Nami said. "I think my mind's made up. Can we go back to Merlin's house?" Leon nodded and started walking, Nami trailing him with a new hope in her heart.

"So, are you ready to go?" Rikku asked, tugging gently on Nami's hair to get her attention.

Nami looked down at her new clothes that Yuffie had let her borrow and smiled. "Yeah. I think so."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Paine asked, with the slightest trace of annoyance in her voice.

"Gullwings and guest, to the Gummi Ship!" Yuna said, and the Gullwings flew towards the ship that would take them to Destiny Islands. Nami paused for a moment to turn back to the new friends she had made.

"Everyone, thank you so much," she said, bowing slightly. Before they could say anything in response, Nami turned, and chased after the adventure-loving pixies.