Harlequin
He had no name. No family. No friends. All he knew was that he had awoken in a silent room, holding the hand of a slumbering girl who's name was his only link to the past: Naminѐ.
A/N: I don't know, I just felt like writing something for the two. So yay for randomness! XD And LOL, enjoy this third person perspective where the main character lives with only pronouns to refer to him. XDD Kind of AU too.
...
A leering face loomed above which was followed by him stumbling. There was a sickening sensation of falling and then miraculously, there was light.
The sunlight that had streamed in through the slits for windows had disturbed his sleep. Despite this, he attempted to ignore the light that conveniently fell upon his face, too exhausted to do anything besides continue resting. His efforts proved useless as the streams of sunlight were then accompanied by the unwelcome chirping of birds, their sounds entering the room through the windows and reverberating within the room. He gritted his teeth in annoyance, the sound acting like a bothersome alarm, slowly waking him up completely. As this happened, he gradually became aware of the dull ache across his entire body and mumbling in discontent, he decided that it was futile to seek any further chances of rest.
Slowly opening his eyes, he was greeted with the surprising sight of a slumbering blonde-haired girl lying across from him, sharing the double-poster bed. His hand lay intertwined with hers, with her expression serene as he observed her in her sleep. What was she doing there? And more importantly, he thought tiredly to himself, what were they doing together in this small room?
Forcing himself up a little off the bed with his free hand, he felt a wave of nausea pass over him, nearly causing him to slump back onto the bed. Shaking his head and gathering himself again, he surveyed the area around them, discovering that the double-poster bed they shared nearly occupied the entire room, leaving only enough room for the door to be fully opened.
Glancing back at the sleeping girl, he wondered whether or not it would be fine to leave her alone as he checked outside the door for any clues as to where they were. The more he thought about it, the more he realised that he wasn't even sure of who they were.
Ignoring his aching body, he stood and leapt off of the bed, landing before the only door leading out, opening it to find that it led directly into darkness. He paused, hesitating as he peered out into the dark abyss, seeing no end in sight. "Hello?" he called into the dark tentatively.
A sudden gush of wind rushed past him, throwing him back onto the bed and slamming the door shut. Pushing himself back up into a sitting position, he watched as the small amount of light that streamed in from the window began to flicker before vanishing entirely. Horrified, he leapt to his feet, standing on top of the mattress to see that it had abruptly turned to night outside, the moon and the stars being the only thing he could see through the slit.
Puzzled and wary, he leapt off the bed once more, heading cautiously towards the door. He touched the doorknob tentatively before slowly pulling open the door only to be greeted by blinding white light. He covered his face, the light shining harshly upon him before he stumbled backward, the door automatically slamming shut as he fell back upon the bed.
What was going on?
He sat up on the mattress again, contemplating what to do; unsure of whether or not to try to door again or to simple give up. Sighing in aggravation, he ran his hands through his hair before deciding to slump back onto the pillow on his side of the bed.
It was becoming unusually cold the longer he lay there but he attempted to ignore the falling temperature, allowing his mind to stray. Why was he here? Why could he not recall anything that had happened before the moment he woke up? Scratching his head as he thought, he turned on his side to face the sleeping blonde beside him and noticed goosebumps lining her bare arms.
Without a second thought, he sat up and stripped off his jacket, covering her with it before realising how cold it was without it as the cold night air embraced him. Noting that there weren't any bedsheets to cover themselves with, he lay back down, teeth chattering uncontrollably as he watched the girl continue to sleep peacefully across from him.
Shivering as the temperature continued to drop causing his breath come out in white wisps before his face, he edged closer to her. With trembling fingers and figuring that it wouldn't hurt considering that she was asleep, he slipped underneath the jacket as well. He huddled closer to the girl, the jacket too small for the both of them and leaving his back uncovered, sending shivers up and down his spine. He huddled even closer to her before eventually surrendering and slipping his arms around her, pulling her into his embrace and sighing at the warmth of contact. The jacket finally covering both of them, he sheltered his face from the cold by burying it in her shoulder. The girl shivered involuntarily and he mumbled an apology into her skin before drawing her closer, their bodies pressing against each other for warmth.
Sighing contently, he closed his eyes, contemplating sleep once more, knowing it was too cold to even bother leaving the girl now. It was then that he realised that the girl was still shivering in his embrace and he looked down to find that her legs were bare because of the short pale dress she wore.
Pulling away, he felt the cold night air embrace him once more, trembling uncontrollably as he tore off the cover of his pillow, thanking whoever put them in there for giving the pillows covers. He grabbed her ankles and turned his face away, blushing when he glimpsed underneath her dress. Blindly, he slid the pillow cover over her legs, the cover reaching up to her knees before he quickly slipped back under the jacket, embracing her once again.
Her trembling slowly ceasing, he smiled to himself, burying his face once more in her shoulder, beckoning for sleep to finally take him.
Naminé.
His eyes flew open at that thought and ignoring the cold, he pulled back a little to gaze into the face of the girl who's name he finally recalled. "Naminé," he breathed, causing the hair framing her face to move gently.
Her eyes still closed, he studied her face as her blonde lashes fluttered with each breath she inhaled and exhaled. He sighed as she continued to remain unconscious.
Shuffling back into position and burying his face in her shoulder once more, he wondered how he could recall her name and yet not his own.
With his face pressed into her skin, the distinct scent of milk and strawberries registered in his mind.
Attempting to ignore the heat in his cheeks, he prepared himself once more for sleep.
...
It was supposedly morning when he awoke once more to the sound of birds chirping. Supposedly because he was unsure of whether or not it would remain morning time or change abruptly like it had yesterday.
Pulling shyly away from Naminé, he found her still asleep and scratched his head in confusion. Hadn't she gotten enough sleep yet?
Shaking his head, he noticed that the window had grown more depth, revealing a little more of the azure sky outside. Intending to end the confusion, he shuffled off of the end of the bed and stood, preparing to face the door once more and not knowing what to expect this time. He headed confidently to it, hand gripping the doorknob before yanking it open.
Darkness greeted him like yesterday, however, this time, at the end of it was a distant white room where, with squinting, he could see a white table and two chairs on either side in it. Encouraged, he began to rush forward before a violent gust of wind obstracted his path and blew him back onto the bed as the door slammed.
Disgruntled, he pushed himself off of the bed, prepared to launch himself at the door once more.
"Wait..." rasped a weak voice from behind him.
Surprised, he turned to see Naminé watching him from where she lay, eyes flinching as she struggled to keep them open. "Naminé!" he gasped, crawling back towards her.
She looked up at him, not moving any other part of her body. "I'm too weak... please... don't..." she struggled to continue, her eyes slowly fluttering closed, "... go out... yet... Roxas..." Once more, she was silent, her chest rising and falling evenly in sleep.
"Naminé!" Roxas called, grasping her hand as he searched her face. Realising she was asleep again, Roxas sighed, sitting back, his hand still holding hers.
What was he going to do? She had asked him not to leave the room and it seemed that the reason she was sleeping so much was because she was recovering. But from what?
It only occurred to him then that he now knew his name. Roxas. How could someone forget their own name and yet remember another person's? Roxas cringed as his head began to suddenly ache. He nursed his head as he lay back down across from Naminé, willing the pain to go away as he tried to wait for Naminé to gain consciousness once more.
He hadn't realised he had fallen asleep until he awoke once more to a sunlit room. He also realised a split second later that he had unconsciously drawn Naminé to his side with his left arm, her hair tickling his cheek where he had laid his face while he slept. Rouge covered his cheeks as he pulled away from her, mentally slapping himself.
The amount of light streaming into the room caught his eye and he glanced up to see that the window had gained more depth to it, allowing Roxas to view the landscape outside as well. A brick fence and gate were situated outside of the house, the sun resting above it in the clear sky. Had another day passed without him knowing?
"Roxas?" came Naminé's small voice before him, breaking through his train of thoughts.
Glancing back down, Roxas found Naminé's sleepy azure eyes gazing at him. "Naminé," he breathed, studying her carefully, "are you okay now?"
She bit her lip, shifting her gaze away. "A little... I'm still not fully recovered," she admitted with a sigh as she closed her eyes.
Silence filled the room as Roxas watched Namine breathe quietly, unsure of whether or not she had fallen asleep again. "Naminé?" he called hesitatingly.
"Mmm...?"
He sighed, relieved that he wouldn't have to endure some more loneliness. "Where are we?"
There was a brief pause before Naminé managed a slurred reply, obviously still sleepy, "Within my spell..."
Oddly enough, despite his lack of memories, Roxas was not entirely surprised by this piece of information. "Why?" he asked, his memories still clouded. Receiving no reply, he reached forward and took Naminé's hand. "Why are we here, Naminé?" he asked once more, praying that she would reply.
Naminé squeezed his hand gently in return before breathing out drowsily, "I'm protecting... you..."
It was all Roxas could find out before Naminé fell back asleep.
...
Roxas had grown used to losing consciousness without him even realising. However, he certainly was not used to being awoken by Naminé herself. He sat up abruptly, hurriedly rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he turned to the panic-stricken Naminé. "What happened? What's wrong?" he asked quickly, noting the amount of dark circles that lined her eyes.
Coughing suddenly, Naminé gasped for air before quickly replying, "We have to leave! My spell won't keep us safe much longer! They've discovered our location! We have to get out of here!" she cried tugging weakly at Roxas' sleeve.
Seizing his jacket and throwing it on, Roxas grabbed Naminé's hand and leapt off of the bed, trusting her word despite the lack of information. Who was after them? Where were they headed now?
Shaking off his questions for the moment, Roxas quickly threw open the door to find that they were in the room that he had glimpsed the other day before Naminé's spell had forced him back. Somehow, he understood that as he hurried across the room towards the door.
Naminé weakly pulled against him. "Not the door. They're coming from there," she spoke quickly, coughing some more as she stumbled backwards. "To the window," she directed, her knees giving in beneath her as her body shook uncontrollably as she coughed up blood.
"Naminé!" Roxas cried, falling to his knees beside her.
"Hurry!" she rasped, continuing to cough. "The window!"
Without hesitation, Roxas scooped Naminé up into his arms before charging headlong for the window, bracing himself before leaping through it, the sound of smashing glass reverberating in his ears as they fell forward through the air.
Hurriedly scrawling something across Roxas' chest, Naminé chanted quickly before slapping her hand against his chest, causing feathery white wings to spring out of Roxas' chest, allowing them to soar above the earth, passed the surprised black hooded figure at the gate.
"Up!" cried Naminé, holding tightly to Roxas as he obeyed and automatically steered them upwards into the sky and high above the forest that they passed over.
They soared over a town that Roxas could not remember eventually reaching the coast where Roxas' wings abruptly gave way. Both Roxas and Naminé yelled as they plummetted towards the ocean water below them knowing that at the height they were at, they would perish. Before they hit the surface, Roxas listened as Naminé hurriedly chanted under her breath, slowing them down right before the water rushed up above their heads.
Holding Naminé close with one arm, Roxas flailed in the water with his other whilst kicking madly in an attempt to resurface. Slowly and painfully, he finally brought them both up to the surface where a wave crashed over them, sending them tumbling forward, Roxas losing his hold on Naminé in the process. Disoriented, he peered around himself in the water, the salt stinging his eyes before he squeezed them shut and resurfaced, desperate for air.
"Naminé!" he shouted, glancing about himself. "Naminé!"
Fear gripped his heart when he could see no sign of her, so he dove into the water, swimming about as he forced his sore eyes to peer around himself in the water, hoping to catch a glimpse of her.
He spotted her lifeless body slowly floating up to the surface of the water.
Swimming rapidly towards her, he held her in one arm before proceeding to use the other to push them up towards the surface of the water, his leg kicking numbly below him. Breaking the surface, he quickly paddled towards the shore, struggling painfully to get to it. Another wave rose above them and this time, more prepared, Roxas hugged Naminé to his chest, ducking his head as he allowed the wave to push them closer towards the shore. A successive wave crashed over them, forcing them into the shallow water where Roxas stumbled to his feet, struggling against the pull of the water as he ran for the shore.
Reaching it, he placed Naminé carefully on the floor before resting his head against her chest, praying for a heartbeat. He could only hear the roar of the ocean behind him and the crash of the waves, the tide rushing in over his shoes.
Automatically his lips found hers as he breathed air into her mouth. He did this twice more before his hands flew to her chest, pressing down upon it. He counted each compression, sea water droplets dripping off of his chin as his hands continued to press down on her chest rhythmically. He had reached fifteen compressions when a pair of hands seized his arms and wrestled him away from her.
He had been so consumed with CPR that he hadn't realised the arrival of another person on the beach. Even so, as he looked down upon Naminé's still figure, he struggled violently against the person restraining him, realising he didn't care who had come to separate them, as long as she was still breathing. As long as she looked at him again, her eyes filled with life once more.
Roxas tore his arms away from the person behind him and fell at Naminé's side once more, hands continuing the compressions. "Go away!" he bellowed madly at the person behind him, anger emanating from him as he felt hands seize his arms once again. "GO AWAY!" he yelled, darkness beginning to shroud the area around him.
The hands were removed and he continued to focus on the compressions, sweat dewing his forehead. "Don't die. Don't die on me. NAMINÉ!" he cried as suddenly a mix of blood and water spewed out from the pale blonde's mouth as she coughed uncontrollably.
The darkness faded away without Roxas' notice as he exhaled in relief. She was alive.
"R-Roxas?" she choked as he was suddenly pulled away from her side, two pairs of arms flinging him onto his back on the sand.
Stunned and disoriented, he attempted to push himself back up only to be kicked back to the ground in the stomach. Winded, he struggled for breath, his head feeling like it was rolling in its place.
"Roxas!" he heard Naminé cry as she crawled across the sand towards him, one of the hooded figures kicking her violently in the ribcage. She shrieked as she fell onto her side, clutching her ribs as the water swept around her body. She gurgled up blood, muttering a curse directed at the hooded figure that had attacked her before the hand holding her side was trampled on, evoking a scream from her.
"Don't touch her!" Roxas yelled threateningly, blood boiling as he sat up abruptly, the darkness beginning to seep out of him once more.
He launched himself suddenly with an unsuppressed growl of rage at the hooded figure that loomed over Naminé, sending them both crashing into the sand. He pulled himself back up as he straddled the figure, hitting him across what he assumed was his face with his fist. The figure reached up to push him off, but Roxas seized his wrist, the darkness seeping out from his fingers closed around it, the pressure snapping the figure's wrist bones out of place.
Punching the figure roughly in the gut, Roxas instinctively rolled off of him as the other hooded companion attempted to hit him from behind. Leaping back onto his feet, he rushed at the hooded companion, pivoting to the left to narrowly avoid a punch directed at his face before slamming his fist into the stomach of the man. Not giving the figure time to recover, he held his hands together above his head and slammed them into the top of the man's head, sending him straight into the sand at his feet.
Spinning around, Roxas caught the hand of the other hooded figure who had attempted a sneak attack on him. He was breathing harshly due to his broken wrist, the effected arm hanging uselessly by his side.
Swiftly pulling his arm back, Roxas punched the figure in the face, sending him sprawling backwards. He turned around and kicked the other figure into the ground once more before finally turning back to Naminé who lay gasping on the shore as she clutched her side.
Heading over to her, he carefully scooped her up into his arms, murmuring quietly in her ear as she winced at the sudden movement before turning and walking away from the shoreline. He had reached the roadside next to the beach when he heard a hooded figure yell from the shore.
"Roxas! Come back to us!"
Glaring over his shoulder as darkness began to bubble along the frame of his body, Roxas growled menacingly, "Come and get me then."
Without bothering to check if they would follow or not, Roxas continued along his way, carefully walking so as not to hurt Naminé any further.
...
A/N: Woo, that's chapter one for you folks. 8'D Just to let you know, I only have a vague idea of where I'm going. Hmm... that sounds promising. XD Please kindly leave a review! :D