Between Dusk and Dawn

by Rhino7

Namine had never been strong. She’d never been brave. She’d never truly stood her ground. Was she going to let it continue in that vein? Or was she going to grow a backbone and force this to stop?

Between Dusk and Dawn

By Rhino7

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This little one-shot is mine. It does lead into another full-length story I'm writing called Drums of War. Kind reviews are always appreciated!

..:--X--:..

It was raining in Twilight Town. The light, misty rain that drifts down from the clouds in a feathery haze. In the town of perpetual twilight, people went about their daily business, not bothering to pull out their umbrellas against such a light drizzle. They ignored the gentle mist of moisture against their faces as they pressed on, hardly noticing the beads of water gathered on every surface of the town.

Namine loved the rain.

She loved watching the little droplets descend from the heavens, splashing against the cobblestones or trickling down glass windows. The orange and pink colors of twilight caught in the watery prism, sending thousands of individual rainbows dancing through the air.

The colors sprayed across the white walls of Namine's room, splashing over her colored sketches, almost making the drawn figures look alive. She had to draw her own friends, create her own colors for her withdrawn, lonely existence. White walls, white ceiling, white floors, white dress, white shoes, all she had to liven her world were her sketches. And her sketchbook was running out of pages.

She often wondered how the people outside lived. How they greeted each other every morning, walking past the iron gates and brick walls of her mansion, her home, her prison. She didn't have the luxury of such common courtesies. She didn't have the luxury of anything really…unless you counted the mansion. The big, empty mansion.

Not today though. Today, she had a plan. Today was the day she escaped. Today, Diz would cease to be her master, and she would cease to be his slave. She'd planned it all out very carefully, so that she could fully utilize her small window of opportunity.

And now it was raining.

Namine glanced at the grandfather clock against the wall. It was a quarter after three in the afternoon. She had half an hour to sneak past the security system, through the mansion, across the grounds, over the wall, and through the forest to the open streets of Twilight Town. She had packed what few belongings she owned: her sketchbook, the sketches she'd tacked to the walls, her pencils and crayons, and a few changes of clothes. That was all she owned; that was all she would need.

The rain landed in soothing patters over the manor's roof tiles, and Namine calmed her breathing and eased her throbbing heart. She'd never been brave. She'd never been the one to dash through the danger, swords blazing, eyes defiant. She was the weakling, the pawn, the witch, as Diz liked to call her. Getting tossed around by Organization XIII hadn't helped her self esteem either. Still, you had to start somewhere, right?

Namine swallowed once, clutching her little rucksack in her arms, the strap hung over one trembling shoulder. Now or never.

She painstakingly turned the door knob to her room and pulled it open, peering out into the dimly lit corridor. It was completely empty. The faded carpet paved the way out of her room, out into the dark hallway, the mahogany banisters reflecting the light from the weak light fixtures on the walls. No one was in sight. That didn't mean they weren't there.

Silent as a hummingbird's wings, Namine crept out into the hallway, placing her steps very carefully, to ensure that no creaking of floorboards was heard. Glancing furtively up and down the hallways, she eased the door closed behind her, walking forward on light feet. She skirted around the banister to the sloping staircase. It took her twice as long to reach the bottom floor, because she moved so slowly, determined to make as little noise as possible. She was afraid her beating heart would trigger some sort of alarm.

When no alarm was raised, she inhaled her first breath since closing her room door. She hung close to the shadows as she snuck over to the large oak front doors. As she crossed, she kept her back to the wall and her eyes to the room around her. Nothing happened, no shadow moved, no one appeared to detain her.

After what felt like an eternity, Namine reached the front entryway. So far, no alarm had gone up, no Nobodies had surfaced, and no Diz had come to stop her. Was this actually going to work? The clock on the wall read half past three. She had just fifteen minutes left to make her escape.

Namine gripped the door handle, twisted it, and pulled it open. Distorted sunlight pooled into the normally dark interior. She blinked despite herself and let her eyes adjust to the light. She realized she'd gasped and exhaled slowly, daring one last look into the mansion's great hall.

Her pulse spiked. There, standing at the top of the second staircase was Diz. He was staring at her resolutely, a frown pulling at his lips, his eyes dark.

"Namine." His voice flowed across the room, carrying a warning, another threat.

She bit her lip, "You can't hold me here anymore. I'm getting out of here."

"You know that's impossible." He responded softly.

Namine hunched her shoulders, "Leave me alone."

"You're a Nobody, a witch. You won't be accepted. You can't be accepted."

"I can try, can't I?" Tears sprung to her eyes.

"I can't risk that." Diz said.

He was always so cryptic. Namine tensed, readying herself before he crumbled her resolve for her.

"I'm going." She said firmly, in a shaky voice.

"I can't allow you to do that."

Before he had finished the last word, Namine was out the door. She flew into a full sprint, out of the entryway to the mansion, over the porch, down the porch stairs, and down the stone pathway, overrun with weeds and grass.

The plan was ruined. She had no back up plan. She'd just have to wing it and hope it worked. She pumped her arms, forcing her legs to move faster across the manor grounds, closer towards those black gates. Dusks began to materialize all around her.

No, NO, she would NOT be dragged back in there again.

She finally reached the gates and, by some stroke of luck, they were unlocked. Hearing the Dusks rushing to greet her, she shoved as hard as she could against the gates. One of them budged forward and she squeezed her little body through, stumbling and falling backwards to land across the moist grass and mud.

Looking up, she saw the Dusks floating over the gates, pursuing her. Panicking, she rolled to her feet, oriented herself, and ran full pelt into the forest. The trees let their canopies droop in a melancholy manner, swallowing any rays of light that would have offered a better visual of where she was running. The Dusks followed, gliding through the trees like ghosts.

A patch of light suddenly opened in the trees, and Namine altered her course to run more towards it. A stitch was attacking her side, and it was difficult to breathe. Not to mention her legs were about to go out. Still, she was determined to reach that light.

The light, it turned out, was streaming through a tall crack in the stone wall that ran around Twilight Town. She was getting close! A new surge of hope welled in her chest, and she reached the crack, wriggling through it, clutching her rucksack.

She burst out of the crack and out onto the cobblestone streets of Twilight Town. Panting and gasping, her lungs fit to burst, she looked back. The Dusks were following her. What was this? They hardly ever dared to enter the town. Diz was breaking all of his own rules to detain her.

Looking around furtively, she started running again, ignoring the screams of protest from her knees. She had assisted Diz in mapping out the false Twilight Town for Roxas; she knew this town like the back of her hand. Searching her memories for the safest hiding places, her legs carried her through the heart of the town, up a sloping alley and through the sand lot, where many people were gathered.

No, if the Dusks were going to cause a scene, she didn't want to expose all of these innocent people in her mistakes. Namine ran by quickly, ignoring the strange looks from the townspeople. She sprinted up another alley and found the place she was looking for. It was known as the Usual Spot, and it was the most remote and best hiding place she could think of with her frazzled mind.

Glancing behind her, she passed under the iron frame of the door and through the ragged cloth used as a doorway. She could hear the Dusks nearing, their barely audible cries reaching her ears. She backed up quickly, staring at the doorway. Her back knocked against another body and she tumbled to the ground.

Alarm raking her skin, Namine rolled quickly and ended up back on her feet, staggering and looking around in a panic.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" The boy on the ground said.

He must have been the one she knocked down. He had blond hair that stood up in a mass. There were two other people with him. One was a girl, with short brown hair and large green eyes, sitting next to another boy with a round face and black hair.

"Who are you?" The girl asked.

"Are you okay?" The black haired boy asked.

Another hunting call from the Dusks made Namine jump, turning to the doorway.

"You're bleeding!" The girl said, jumping up from her seat.

Namine looked down at her elbow, where an open wound was oozing bright red blood. The sight made her woozy. That, in addition to being out of breath and standing on legs of jelly, made her sway.

"Hey—" The boy on the ground reached out a hand to steady her.

"You have to—hide me—help…please…" Her vision was sliding out of focus.

Everything swirled in a mass of colors and abruptly faded to black. Namine was barely aware of her knees hitting the ground before consciousness left her.

..:--X--:..

Now she was starting to feel really stupid. Namine was on her back, her hands folded over her eyes, breathing slowly and letting the oxygen return to her brain and the blood return to her legs. The girl told her she'd passed out but woken up a minute later, although it felt much longer than that.

"You don't run very much, do you?" The boy with the blond hair was asking.

"Leave her alone." The girl replied sharply.

"You'd pass out too if you were as scared as she looked." The other boy said.

They kept arguing back and forth, while Namine tried to gather her wits about her. She couldn't believe it. They were here. She'd found them. Hayner, Pence, and Olette. The three orphans of Twilight Town that Diz had instructed her to recreate in the illusionary town for Roxas. Only these weren't fakes. She'd found the real three.

The Dusks were gone. They hadn't attacked her here. Diz wouldn't want to make a scene of dragging her back. That worried her. That meant he was back in the mansion, coming up with a dark, sneaky way of imprisoning her again.

"Did she pass out again?"

"Hey." A hand nudged her elbow.

Namine jerked, moving her hands from her eyes, "What?"

"You were lying really still. We thought you were asleep." The girl, Olette, asked.

The blond boy, Hayner, was leaning against the wall, regarding her with concern and a hint of suspicion.

"Are you okay?" The other boy, Pence, asked.

Namine realized he was talking to her. "Oh, yes."

"What were you running from?" Pence asked.

Namine bit her lip hard. This could get complicated. "N-nothing."

"Must have been a lot of nothing then. You were white as a sheet." Hayner remarked.

Olette shot him a glare and then said to Namine, "All that matters it that you're okay. My name's Olette." She offered her hand.

Namine knew full well her name was Olette, but she decided to play dumb, "I'm Namine." She shook the girl's hand.

Olette smiled kindly, "That's Pence, and this is Hayner."

Namine nodded to each of them in turn, "It's nice to meet you all."

Pence stood up, "It's starting to get late. Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?"

Namine turned, looking out at the orange and violet glows of the horizon. There was no way to depend on the sun for time, but these kids had lived here all their lives. They probably could tell when it was getting late.

"Oh…um, no." She replied, feeling even more stupid. She hadn't thought of where she'd go after escaping Diz.

Hayner solved that problem for her with an exasperated sigh, "Well, you'll just have to come home with us, then."

That's right, they were orphans. That was why Diz had been so keen to use them as Roxas's 'friends' in the alter-Twilight Town. Their designs were fairly simple. Hayner was the attitude problem of the group, the punk, and the most over-reactive, but also a very loyal friend. Olette was the responsible one of the group, the student, and the most collected, but also the shy one. Pence was the kindest and most thoughtful, the funny guy, but not the bravest. Namine knew all of this, of course. They couldn't know that. Basically, in order to gain their trust, she had to lie to them.

Namine grimaced, "Okay. Where do you live?"

"We all live together at the orphanage." Pence stated as they left the Usual Spot.

"Oh? Really?" Namine inquired.

Olette nodded, "Yep. Pence and I have been there since we were really little. Hayner came later. He still remembers his parents." She spoke the last part in a whisper.

Namine didn't press the conversation. She didn't need to, plus it wasn't appropriate for her to know all of their pasts at this stage. She just settled for nodding as the conversation shifted to a more pleasant topic: sea-salt ice cream.

..:--X--:..

"Are you serious? You've NEVER had sea-salt ice cream?!" Pence exclaimed.

Namine offered a shrug, "I'm sorry."

"What planet have you lived on? Are you serious?" Pence rambled, incredulous.

"Pence, she had never had the ice cream fifteen minutes ago. I doubt asking her about it for fifteen minutes has changed that fact." Hayner remarked irritably.

Olette giggled as Pence made a face at Hayner's back. Namine smiled softly.

The orphanage of Twilight Town was nestled between two other buildings by the junk lot. It was no old abandoned manor like she was used to, but it gave off an air of welcoming and hominess. It was a brick building with a lot of windows and was three stories tall, though Namine could see how deep it lay.

"Come on, I'll show you where the girls' rooms are." Olette said, tugging on her arm.

Namine allowed herself to be guided along, "Okay."

They left the boys and headed up the steps into the building. Olette led her up two flights of winding stairs and onto the third floor. The wallpaper was plain and starting to fade, and the wooden banister was chipped in a few places. The third floor was just as plain. There were vases of fresh flowers at either end of the hall, someone's attempt at giving the place more color. There were four doors on either wall. All but two were covered in drawings, paper chains, and marker boards covered in doodles, paper name plates and pictures of smiling kids.

"This is my room." Olette was saying.

They had stopped outside the third door, which was only half covered in ownership.

"You're in luck, my roommate moved out just last week. It's been kinda lonely." Olette chirped, opening the door and walking inside.

Namine hesitated, and then followed. "Was she adopted?"

"No. She turned eighteen so she was legal to leave. We had her birthday party one day, and the next, she moved out." Olette said, a sad undertone coloring her voice.

Namine looked around the room. The fading wallpaper was completely covered by drawings, pictures, doodles, and a giant bulletin board, which was also covered in lists and charts. Well, Olette's side was covered. The other half of the room was empty, void of any sign of inhabitance. The twin bed was made with a plain beige blanket and pillow. The same wallpaper hanging in the hallway adorned these walls, the ceiling was white, and the floor was wooden, although worn shag rugs spotted it in places.

Each side of the room had a twin bed, a bedside table with a lamp, a desk, and a dresser. There was one closet, which was small. Olette's roommate's lamp had a crack running down one side. Olette's lamp was covered in seashells and had a poorly drawn dolphin sketched around the body. The shade of the lamp was weighed down by different colored rhinestones.

Olette saw her staring at it. "Do you like it? I know it looks childish, but I hated how it was so plain before. The guys, Hayner and Pence, took it one day and did this. They really spruced it up and gave it to me for my birthday."

"Really? That's so sweet." Namine said.

Olette grinned, "Yeah, especially because my birthday wasn't for another two months."

Namine nodded, looking at the lists hanging helter skelter from the bulletin board, "Looks like you're a busy person."

"I try to stay organized. The guy's make fun of me for it, but at least MY homework is always done on time." She explained.

Namine sat slowly on the empty bed, "So, how long have you been friends with Hayner and Pence?"

"Oh, forever. Like I said, I've known Pence since I can remember. Hayner came here when we were all six or so. We've all been friends since."

"That's great." Namine said.

Olette tilted her head, "Where are you from?"

Namine tensed, rubbing her arm, "Well—I'm—uh—"

Olette lifted a hand, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

Namine winced. At the orphanage, everyone had a sad history. That was her cover. She was just another sad story. No one needed to know the terrible things she'd done or that she was a witch, what Diz called her at least. No one needed to know she was a Nobody.

Ever since the downfall of Organization XIII, the worlds had been prejudiced against all Nobodies. Not just the Dusks or the Snipers or the Dancers or the Lancers or the Samurais, but the humanoid ones like herself who could think and could feel, however primitive and half formed their emotion processes were.

Namine snapped out of her reverie, "It's okay."

Olette sat on her bed, swinging her legs, "Do you want to talk about it?"

No, not now, not ever, Namine thought. There was no way she wanted to burden Olette and her friends with her past evils. The blood started rushing to her cheeks at the mere thought.

"No. Not really."

"Okay."

..:--X--:..

The matron of the orphanage had no problem with Namine staying with Olette for a while. Her name was Andrea, but the boys called her General Andy when her back was turned. Namine considered this was mostly because Andrea was a rather large woman, with a stern face and a low tolerance for mischief. Namine was sure she was a very nice woman; it was just unfortunate that Hayner's profession was based in mischief.

The day after her escape, Namine walked along to the Sand Lot with Olette, Pence, and Hayner. She easily found Seifer and his gang, Rai, Fuu, and Vivi, showing off in the Struggle ring. Hayner was foaming at the mouth to engage in battle, but a swift whack on the head from Olette kept him in check.

"We're not here to pick fights, remember?" Olette pointed out. "Summer break ends in just a week and HOW much work have we gotten done for our project?"

Hayner rubbed the back of his head, "Not a lot."

Olette rolled her eyes, "Not a lot is an overstatement. We have zilch."

Pence smirked, "Ya'know, the General just got the recipe for this new dish called Zilchette. It sounds French."

"No, it sounds like a Tupperware brand." Hayner muttered.

Olette snorted and quickly clapped a hand over her mouth. "Seriously, guys. We should just be getting done with that project and we've—"

Namine stopped listening, her legs locking as her eyes locked onto the shadows. The sightless faces of a group of wayward Dusks glared at her, swaying dangerously, but not advancing.

"Namine?" Olette asked.

"Oh, I have to go." Namine forced herself around, walking in the opposite direction as the trio.

"Go? Go where?" Pence asked.

"I just have to go. They followed me. Why? What does he want?" Namine rattled to herself, picking up her pace as she strode away from the Sand Lot.

"Where are you going?" Olette called after her.

"I knew something was weird about her." Hayner muttered.

You could never know how right you are, Hayner, Namine bit her lip.

"Wait—What's wrong?" Olette called again.

A sudden impulse rushed up Namine's spine. It was a familiar sensation, but she fell prey to it all the same. Hot tears sprang to her eyes as a shudder passed through her body.

I have to go back to the mansion.

No! No, I don't want to—

Yes I do. Go. Go home.

No! It was a trick. It's always a trick!

Go back to the mansion.

Diz had never told her, but she had figured it out. He had developed a special wave emanating device. It sent out special energy waves that were the equivalent of catnip to a cat. Nobody's went crazy for it. Another cruel reminder of Namine's inhumanity. He was luring her back to the mansion by psychological force. No, he wasn't even forcing her. She was going to run right back into danger's arms like a child that needed consoling.

Before her brain could snap out of the wave-induced stupor, her legs had turned themselves around and were steering her towards the forest, facing Hayner, Pence, and Olette, all of which were looking at her like she had two heads.

The longing building inside her overpowered her mind and her legs threw her into motion. Namine ran forward, past the three again, and towards the tall crack in the wall that lead to the forest. She didn't mind their gawking expressions. The only image plastered across her vision was the mansion, calling, beckoning, coaxing her to return.

Come, my dear, come back to Hell where you belong.

Tears burned her eyes and she almost scoffed at their presence. Nobody's could never shed true tears. Her eyes were wasting their time. She picked up her pace, transitioning from a rapid walk to a run.

"Hey—" Hayner called out.

Namine blocked their voices, running full pelt. Then she was through the crack, and the sunlight was ripped from her skin. She staggered and nearly tripped over tree roots as she flew into the forest. The waves were stronger here, with shorter wavelengths so they hit her repeatedly. It was a painful longing sensation, desperation raking through her veins.

She bumbled through the trees before finally finding the niche that opened into the clearing in front of the manor gates. Out of breath, scratched from running into trees and with scuffed knees from falling over roots, Namine stumbled over to the wrought iron entrance to her prison.

So, this was it then? She fought so hard to escape for so long. She finally managed to get free and she goes crawling back? Her shoulders trembled. She imagined this was what a druggie would feel like. Always trying and trying to escape from the substances, but always being dragged and dragged back.

Shame overthrew the longing in her bones and Namine trembled harder. She only had an echo of what real emotions felt like. The echo of shame she felt now was unbearable. What would real shame feel like? She wouldn't be able to survive that.

The impulse returned. Diz could see her, and he could see her hesitating, and he was giving his little torture box more juice to lure her in.

Namine had never been strong. She'd never been brave. She'd never truly stood her ground. Was she going to let it continue in that vein? Or was she going to grow a backbone and force this to stop?

More tears spilled over her eyelids and trailed down her cheeks in helpless streams. She hated being weak like this. She didn't wipe her eyes. She just dropped her head and fell to her knees in the grass.

The sky was still low and overcast on this side of Twilight Town. It was as if nature didn't even want to smile on her anymore. She was an outcast…and now she was angsting.

A rueful, dark laugh gurgled in her throat and Namine fell forward on her hands, hunching her shoulders in a silent sob, a cry of pain and helplessness that wouldn't come, that couldn't come, that wasn't real.

Her fingers were brushing against something hard and rough. Despondently, Namine lifted her gaze. A large rock, the size of her fist, lay provocatively against her pinky. Pondering, she picked it up and spotted two more rocks of the same relative size near her other hand. Gathering them up, Namine got slowly to her feet.

Maybe it was her prison, maybe this was her fate, to be doomed to forever be outcast by nature and prejudiced by those blessed with true hearts. Maybe. But she'll be damned before she let Diz drag her back into his world.

Biting her lip, Namine drew back one arm and then flung it forward, hurling a rock as hard and as far as she could towards the manor.

The rock cleared the bars of the gate and hit the brick wall of the manor with a harmless smack. There was no movement in the windows and no doors opened to reprimand her. For all appearances, the mansion was deserted.

Undeterred, Namine pulled back a second rock and threw it harder. This time the rock bounced off the roof tiles of the gable before clattering into the garden. With still no response, Namine took up her last rock, took a step forward, and threw it with a slight grunt.

The final rock sailed over the gates and crashed through the glass of what used to be her bedroom window. There was a satisfying shattering of glass and the jagged hole in the window filled Namine with a deep sense of accomplishment.

Sure, Diz wasn't going to lose sleep over a broken window. He might, however, lose sleep over the fact that his 'witch' was the one who did it. And the fact that the 'witch' wasn't going to return to him. The idea of causing Diz discomfort caused glee to balloon inside Namine where the sorrow had been moments before.

Reaching down, she took up three more, smaller rocks. They wouldn't do much damage, but at least she'd be throwing something in Diz's general direction. She threw them all rapidly, one right after the other. She threw too much into the last one and her foot slipped on the grass, still wet from the previous day's rain.

Namine swiveled around without balance and fell to the grassy, muddy ground, catching herself on her hands, which sank a few centimeters in the mud.

"Namine!" Olette cried out.

Namine looked up. At the edge of the clearing, Olette stood with Hayner and Pence. They must have followed Namine. Well, after the way she'd reacted back there, she would have been concerned too.

"You scared us back there. Are you all right?" Pence asked.

"I told you. She's a few sandwiches short of a picnic." Hayner remarked dryly.

Namine sat up, but remained where she was, in her muddy dress, on the grass. "I-I'm sorry I scared you." She murmured.

All three of them walked over to her.

"So…do we sit in silence for a few minutes or can we just ask what's wrong with you?" Hayner asked nonchalantly.

Olette slapped his arm, "Cut it out."

Pence pouted at Hayner, "Yeah, leave her alone." Then to Namine, "Are you okay?"

Namine looked up, opened her mouth, closed it, and shook her head, "No."

"What's wrong?" Hayner asked, dropping his apathetic air.

Namine shook her head again, "I'm not okay. Nothing about me is okay. I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't apologize. What's not okay?" Olette knelt down beside her.

Namine bit her lip, "Okay. Just so you know, after I tell you, if you never want to talk to me again, I'll understand."

Hayner rolled his eyes, "Out with it already."

Namine closed her eyes briefly, "Okay. I'm what you call a Nobody…"

..:--X--:..

Two hours later, Namine finished her story and fell quiet, gazing carefully at the three sets of round eyes that stared back at her.

"So…that's it?" Pence asked slowly.

Namine blinked, taken aback by his cavalier tone. "Uh…yes...that—that's it."

Hayner stood up from the position he'd taken up between Olette and Pence. "Well, if that's your story, stick to it."

Namine sat back, hugging her knees, "You don't believe me."

"Would you?" Hayner offered.

Olette lifted a hand, "It's not that we don't believe you, Namine. It's just—that's a LOT to believe."

Namine lifted her shoulders, "Well, that IS my story, so I WILL stick to it."

Hayner shrugged, "All right then."

Olette got to her feet and vainly tried to dust off the grass stains and mud clinging to her kapris. Pence followed suit, offering Namine a hand.

She smiled sheepishly and took his hand. He pulled her to her feet. She didn't bother trying clean herself off, that cause was lost.

Olette threw a glance at the manor behind them, "Why don't we get out of here? That manor has always creeped me out. Now I have a reason for it to."

Pence nodded fervently, "I'm up for that. What is there to do?"

The vein throbbed in Olette's temple, "Oh I don't know…HOMEWORK perhaps?"

Hayner and Pence gave audible groans and hung their heads.

Pence glanced back at Namine, "You coming?"

Namine ogled, open mouthed, at them. "You're not mad?"

"Mad? For what?" Olette asked.

"I-I lied to you. I'm a-a monster. That doesn't bother you?" Namine gaped, breathless.

The three exchanged looks and shrugged in unison.

Pence tilted his head to the side, looking at her strangely before straightening again, "Why don't we go get ice cream?"

"That sounds like a plan to me." Hayner shoved his hands in his pockets.

Olette snorted, "What about homework?"

Namine blinked and stared after them, "But—this—you—wha?"

Olette flashed her a smile, "C'mon, Namine, ice cream."

Pence waved her on, "Yeah, I still can't believe you're a sea-salt ice cream virgin, so let's fix that!"

"Please rephrase that." Hayner remarked.

Namine stammered, "Uh, guys?"

"What?" Pence asked.

Namine fidgeted with her fingers, "I'm—uh—I'm glad, and slightly shocked, that me being…what I am…doesn't bother you. But—some—well—most people really don't care for Nobodies…since the whole…Organization XIII thing so—"

Hayner lifted a hand, "We aren't going to blab to anybody."

Namine felt a weight lift from her shoulders so fast she almost stood on tiptoes.

"Really? I—er—that—"

Olette laughed, "Namine, lighten up. I don't know what kind of 'friends' you've been keeping, but real friends won't turn on each other like that. Promise."

Namine stopped stammering. Her only friends before now had been the two dimensional sketches that cluttered the pages of her sketchbook. And her sketchbook was running out of pages.

Hopefully, though, she wouldn't need the sketchbook from now on.