He was gone again, off on yet another one of his missions. And again, like any other day, Naminé was left in her pure white room, sketching with the few materials she had. Right now, she was working on a simple sketch of something that would probably never be.

On the page was herself, her blonde hair represented by the yellow crayon she had, almost worn to a nub. Next to the drawing of herself was another person, with silver hair. His normally bright aquamarine eyes were covered by a black line, meant to be his blindfold. In the picture, both these people were hand in hand, both of them smiling at the contact.

Riku.

Naminé sighed as she placed down the sketchbook. What was she even thinking? He was a somebody, with friends and hopes and even a future, no matter how much he denied it. But she... she was nothing. The shell of the girl that happens to be his friend, destined to fade away once she was no longer needed. She was a nobody, and a nobody was not allowed to be thinking such things. They couldn't. That is at least what DiZ continuously told her.

But how nice would it be to be her own person? To actually have a future, something to look forward to. Not constantly waiting for the day, where she will no longer be needed and return to the oblivion whence she came. If she were her own person, she could have met him under different circumstances, and maybe... just maybe...

No. She shook her head, trying to clear it of these impossible thoughts.

I can't think about that now.

So caught up in her treasonous thoughts, Naminé neglected to notice the door opening, as well as the silver haired teenager that stepped in.

Finally hearing the footsteps approach, Naminé turned to see the cloaked teen approach her. Even with his blindfold on, he seemed to stare directly at her.

She stood. "Riku, you're back."

His head shifted slightly to the side; the only movement he made.

Noting his silence, Naminé spoke again. "Did you do what you needed to?"

Riku turned to face her again. "I didn't really need to do anything. I just needed to get away for a while." Noticing Naminé's questioning silence, he continued, "I just needed to think, that's all." He then turned to one of the chairs and sat.

Naminé sucked in a breath before asking, "What did you need to think about?" She too sat down, in the chair next to him.

He faced ahead and was silent for a moment before responding. "Things."

Naminé began to nod before she noticed what caught his eye; her sketch from earlier. Blushing furiously, she seized the sketchbook, slamming it shut and clasping it tightly to her chest. Riku was stunned by her sudden movement.

He then grinned mischievously, "You realise I can't really see anything, right? But now I'm really curious about what you have to hide."

Naminé nearly slapped herself. Of course, he couldn't see! She had gotten so used to seeing him in a blindfold.

Turning away she managed to get out, "Oh, it's nothing." Naminé thought she was probably red as a tomato. Maybe it was a good thing that he wore that blindfold.

A moment of silence passed before she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him. Her eyes widened as she starred into the gentle aquamarine pools that she had to admit, missed dearly. His blindfold lay discarded on the table. Riku regarded her with an unfamiliar expression and gradually lowered his gaze to the sketchbook she had clasped against her. Feeling defeated, Naminé loosened the hold on her book and slowly handed it to the cloaked boy. Once it was in his hands, she lowered her head, blushing furiously as she starred at the table. Only the sound of pages turning could be heard. After a while, they stopped. Naminé winced as she awaited what he would say about the picture.

"Naminé."

She opened her eyes; she wasn't expecting such a gentle tone of voice. As she started to turn, she felt his arms wrap themselves around her tiny frame. Her eyes widened as he buried his face in her hair. She could feel his breath on her neck.

"Do you want to know what I had to think about?" His voice was slightly muffled by her hair.

Unable to respond verbally, Naminé instead responded by wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder.

His arms began to tighten as he spoke again, "I had to think about what I would do, about... my growing feelings for you."

Naminé wasn't sure her eyes could get any wider. As his words began to sink in however, she reluctantly pulled away. She barely managed to gather the strength to look at him again.

She began to speak, "Riku... you're probably just confused. I know you used to like Kairi, but you shouldn't confuse that with your," She took a deep breath, blushing immensely before she continued. "...supposed feelings for me."

Riku said nothing for a while. Looking away, he continued, "I may have liked her once, but that was a long time ago, and it has nothing to do with what I feel now." He now faced her, with a heartbreaking expression on his face. "Listen, you need to stop putting yourself in Kairi's shadow. You have your own amazing qualities. You're kind, smart, beautiful; you just refuse to see that because of what DiZ keeps telling you!"

Naminé was close to tears now. Did he really think that she was beautiful?

Riku looked away again. "Just tell me now. Do you feel the same? Or do you still refuse to acknowledge the possibility?"

Tears were falling down her pale cheeks now. She couldn't possibly return those feelings; she was a nobody after all. But why did she feel so conflicted? Had all she'd been taught her entire life, been a lie? But... she couldn't jump to conclusions.

Apparently the silence was enough of an answer for Riku, who left without another word.

Riku avoided her for the rest of the time spent restoring Sora; nothing but the occasional greeting exchanged between them. After his fight with Roxas, Riku only went near her to follow orders from DiZ, too ashamed to even face her.

But now, all was done. Sora was restored and now, it could be any time when she is erased. But Riku set her free, to act on her own, pretending it was because he didn't want to dirty his hands. But Naminé knew better. Now maybe she could reunite with Kairi, that way, when everything was over, she would still be able to see him, even if he couldn't see her. Maybe it was better this way. The dream of them holding hands would remain just that.