Author's Info: My first non-Yu-Gi-Oh fanfic to go on this site. I've had some parts of this story floating in my head and finally decided to write a cohesive one. I need something other than just Yu-Gi-Oh, and what better than my favorite game? It's been my obsession during vacations, and I haven't played in a while. This begins pre-Kingdom Hearts.

The "what"s: For those of you who know me already, this is music and thoughts. Listening to Lady Gaga's Bad Romance and Poker Face. I've been thinking about how I've not played Kingdom Hearts in months, and I want to play. Won't have time until tomorrow night at the earliest, but that's ok.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, or Final Fantasy. I do own Aaname and all of her personal plotline, as well as most characters she meets along the way. I hope you like this departure! Tell me what you think!

The Void Between Our Worlds

"Anna, where do you think you're going?"

"Where am I going? What does it really matter?" Aaname asked, glaring at the boy who had yelled at her with her dark green eyes. Her dark brown hair, long enough she was forced to braid it, had decided to leave tendrils that kept creeping into her vision and marring the desired effect. She didn't care that he was taller than her; she was certainly more than average in height, and her stature more than made up for any shortcomings. "I don't know why you need to know what's going on, Akira. You don't dictate my life; therefore, I see no reason to tell you every little thing I plan on doing."

"What is your problem?" he said angrily. "Look, I really need your help with this. You don't have to get angry with me. Besides, I thought you liked living this life. Chewing my head off because you're bored isn't going to make something exciting spontaneously occur, nor is it going to get you the attention of them." He noticed her gaze had drifted while he was speaking to her to a group of two guys and a girl.

"Who said I wanted their attention?" she snapped, eyes flashing dangerously as she looked at him. "They're nobodies, and that's how it ought to be. They can stay in their little threesome, just as they have always been. Why should I feel the need to be accepted by them?"

"Come on, Anna," he said, rolling his eyes. "You've lived next to Sora ever since you first came here, and you love that little island where they always hang out. I've seen you put down your book and just watch them goof around, especially Riku. Don't tell me you don't notice them at all because I know that's not true."

Aaname sighed. Sometimes Akira knew her far too well, and other times he didn't know her at all. He was right in that she sometimes she had wished to join Sora and his friends, but that had been some years ago. She remembered when she had first arrived and met Sora; he had seemed rather goofy, and the two hadn't exactly had the best start. He hadn't known what to say to her, and she had just come fresh from her home, a home she hadn't wanted to leave, a home that still had someone she loved dearly and had been forced to leave behind. A few days later, she met Sora's best friend, Riku.

She had been sulking in her room, and her parents had finally had enough. They forced her out, telling her to explore. After convincing them to allow her to bring her favorite book, she complied. She ended up going on a small island with a single palm tree that seemed rather quiet and opened up her book. It wasn't long after she had finally gotten engrossed in her book and felt comfortable that she heard voices and the clashing of wood on wood. She looked up to see Sora with a boy she did not know and immediately tensed. Sora had too when he saw her there, but the boy hadn't.

"Who're you?" he asked. "I haven't seen you around here before."

"That's the girl, Riku!" Sora said.

She remembered Riku staring at her long and hard before looking to Sora with a smug expression and saying, "I don't see what the big deal is, Sora. She's just another bookworm, nothing to be scared of." She had glared at Riku, ready to make a sharp comeback, but he turned to Sora and said, "Ready to get beat, Sora?" That fully distracted Sora, and they began fighting.

After that, they exchanged a few words, but they were rare. At first, she would leave whenever they arrived, but over time she came to just watch them fight. They had learned to ignore her as she sat there, reading her book and staring out at the horizon. Even when Kairi asked her from time, she rarely ever interacted with them. In fact, the few times she had, it hadn't been because they had asked her at that time. She sighed and waved away the memories at last before turning to Akira once again.

"Believe me, Akira. I do not have any desire to spend my time with them. It's because I've known the three of them for so long that I happen to notice when they pass by. No doubt they're going to the island to have one of their precious 'adventures,'" she said, scoffing at the final word. They knew nothing about adventures, or the amount of sacrifice required to venture on them. She had overheard them many a time talking about going on an adventure, seeing a new world, meeting new people, but they had no idea what that truly meant. She hoped they never would.

"Anna, there's no harm in wanting to see a new place," Akira scolded, only to fall silent at the unusually cold look she gave him. He knew she had come from a different world, and that she never talked about it, but he never did understand why. What he did know was that she always fought with Riku about it. Sometimes it would get so bad she would refuse to speak at all afterward. There was just something about the topic that set her off.

"Akira, you wouldn't understand," she said, struggling to control her emotions. Even though it had been years now, she still remembered everything from her home. She had always hoped to return, but she knew it wasn't safe for her any longer. That didn't mean she wanted to get attached to this place, though. This place was far from the darkness, or so her parents believed. She wasn't so sure, not that it mattered. She would leave here soon enough; she had no life here, no future. That was why she had to find them, the people she had left behind. She would find them and finally build a life for herself; maybe then everything would finally fall into place. Maybe then she would finally belong. "I'm sorry for getting angry; you don't deserve it. I promise to make it up to you tomorrow."

"Alright," Akira said, smiling. "Have a good day, ok? Read that book you just got, go to that island and stargaze, just do something you enjoy, alright?" He waved goodbye to her and went his own way, hoping that she wouldn't be too frustrated by the day's events. Fighting with Riku was bad enough, but there was always something about this week that always had her in an unusually foul mood. He just hoped things wouldn't get any worse before the festival.