Bored, simply bored. There was nothing to do on this stupid island. But Master Xehanort wanted me to come here anyway to meet him for something. So here I am, sitting on a tree, watching the ocean, bored. I mean, come on! I'm freaking evil incarnate, I can't just sit here twiddling my thumbs waiting for Master Xehanort to take his sweet time to get here! My face was beginning to heat up, so I made the decision to take off my helmet. Nobody was here anyway, so it didn't seem to matter whether my face was exposed or not. I couldn't have been more dead wrong. As soon as I took off my helmet, relaxing as the cool ocean breeze hit my face, I heard a little voice behind me ask,
"Who are you? I don't know you from the main islands."
I turned quickly and couldn't believe it. There was a little girl, no more than five years old, standing there looking up at me. She had short brown hair, blue eyes, wore a light blue shirt, tan shorts and sandals. My first thought was she was crazy, yet she didn't seem afraid. I just turned around and scoffed.
"Didn't your parents ever tell you not to talk to strangers?"\
"What's your name?" she asked.
I closed my eyes in frustration, Apparently not, I thought. I opened my eyes again and was startled to see her standing in front of me this time, waiting expectantly for me to answer. I sighed trying to control my anger,
"Vanitas."
The girl smiled then,
Okay, she really is crazy, I thought.
"My name's Rachel. It's nice to meet you Vanitas." she replied.
All I could do was stare back in awe, unable to respond to her boldness.
"Now that we know each other, we aren't strangers. So it's okay to talk together now." she spoke again with that dumb smile.
Why does she even want to talk with me? I thought.
The girl, Rachel, walked around to climb up the tree and sat down next to me. I still sat unmoved.
"So, if you're not from the main island, where did you come from?" Rachel asked.
I looked to the sky, there were stars beginning to appear in the darkening atmosphere. Apparently I was quiet too long for her, for she began to speak again.
"You're from another world aren't you?" she seemed rather excited.
I smirked and glanced at her, "Smart kid."
A huge grin crossed her face, then she looked to the stars as well.
"What's it like in your world?" she began, "Is it an island like this one?"
My gaze followed hers, "No, it's not an island." I replied, "It's much like those stars. Full of light. Too bright for my taste. I prefer the dark worlds."
I grinned at the thought of my Unbirths filling all the worlds in total darkness. It was quickly dashed when Rachel spoke once again.
"I don't think a world should have complete darkness. The world couldn't survive without the light."
I looked at her from the corner of my eye, something about her expression told me I shouldn't have said what I did. Then she looked at me with a brighter look.
"My mom once told me, that light and darkness work together. You can't have one without the other. So even if you did find a world filled with the dark, there would still have to be some source of light to balance the darkness of the world."
I cocked an eyebrow at her, it bugged me to know that she was right. "Maybe you're too smart."
She giggled, it was a sort of musical, childish giggle. It was kinda hard for me to not smile. We suddenly heard a voice from afar call Rachel's name. She turned around and looked toward the dock at the far end of the beach, where we could see two small figures standing there.
"It's my brother." she said, "I guess this means I have to go."
I watched her as she carefully climbed down the tree, then walked over to stand in front of me.
"Will I see you again Vanitas?" Rachel asked.
For once in my life, I think I blushed. I didn't think this girl could get anymore crazy. Quickly regaining my composure, I glanced away, "Probably not." I replied.
"Oh," she mumbled and glanced down.
Crap, I thought. I glanced down at her and saw her eyes begin shimmering. All the happiness that shone through her a moment ago seemed to have disappeared instantly. As she walked away, I saw something glisten down her cheek. I cursed inside my head and slid off the tree.
"Rachel, hold on." I called.
She turned to face me and I got down on my knees so I was eye level with her. For some reason I wanted her to be happy when she left. I waited until she was just an arms length away from me, before I raised my hand and lightly brushed away the couple tears that escaped her eyes.
"There's no reason to cry. I'm not the kind of person you want to be seen around with." I explained.
"It's just," Rachel started, trying to hold back her tears, "I don't have many friends, and I thought it would be cool if I had at least one friend from another world."
I had about five full seconds of cursing in my head. She was already thinking of me as a friend? Well, I couldn't send her off like she was now. I may be the darkness, but I wasn't entirely insensitive. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out an exact replica of Ventus' Wayfinder. Being the darkness of his heart, it didn't surprise me that when he received his, I got one just like it. I took hold of Rachel's hand and placed the Wayfinder in her palm.
"This is for you." I told her as she stared at it in awe. "It's called a Wayfinder. If you hold on to this, then it will be like I'm still here."
I groaned in my head, What am I saying? I sound like an idiot.
Rachel seemed happy though. She took the Wayfinder and put it around her neck.
"Thank you Vanitas, it looks beautiful."
I lowered my head and looked at her from behind my bangs. Once more I felt heat flood my face as I smiled at her. What was it about this girl that made me start feeling this way? We heard Rachel's name called again, closer this time. She responded to it saying she was on her way, then she turned back to me. I thought she was just going to say bye and leave. Instead she gave me a huge hug, causing me to sit back in shock. More warmth filled my face as my body began to shake from the light I felt around me. I couldn't move, I was completely frozen.
"Thank you again Vanitas. For everything." Rachel whispered.
She let go and stepped back, waving at me as she began to leave. Once she was out of sight, I let out a huge sigh and lay on my back. My eyes were closed and I focused on breathing for a few minutes. When I had calmed a little, I thought back to Rachel's visit and couldn't help but chuckle.
Who would've thought a little girl could make me open up to the light?
