Wow, thanks to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciated it! I put some tidbits of background information in this chapter, a hint of things to come. I also made it a little longer. I hope to have chapter four up by at least monday.
Let me know what you think!
The club was packed, to say the least. The dance floor was filled and all the stools were occupied. I rushed around, frantically taking orders and cleaning up. Tifa mentioned the busiest night was Friday, predictably, but busy was an understatement. The door constantly chimed and the doorman was doing his best to sort out the line that formed outside.
"Ooy! Riku!" I heard someone shout, and I glanced up in panic. There he was, in a tight black jacket and dark jeans, a smirk on his face. He was followed by the red haired man that was with him the night he followed me, and two blondes, one with a mullet, the other with hair that looked like he just climbed out of a convertible.
I casually made my way to the other end of the room, and to my annoyance, they followed me. Well, there was only one booth left. Yeah, that justifies the stalker attitude. I cleaned up the booth, turning away as they sat down. I spotted Riku gesture at me to the other three, and I did my very best to disappear into the crowd.
"Namine! We need more dishwashing soap! Git your ass to that little shop! I ain't gonna have no dirty mugs, ya hear?!" Cid shouted while juggling five different drinks in his arms. I laughed and nodded, heading out. At least I could get out of Riku's sight.
The only people I shared the street with were a few bums, and the occasional shopper. Most stores had closed down, so I cut through an alley to reach one I spotted with lights on.
"Found you, bitch!" Just like that, I was being grabbed from behind by a man as I recognized as Saix, who happened to be affiliated with—guess who? Ansem. "I should kill yeh now, for running away. You know what we call that? Treachery."
"I'm no member of your gang. I am bound to you by blood only," I gasped under his grip. His thick arms tightened around my neck, and I shoved my elbow into his groin.
"Fuck!" His grip loosened, and I yanked myself free, turning around to slug him. My fist never reached his face, as it was yanked by someone behind me, and I found myself thrown against a wall. Pain exploded in my back and head, and I struggled to stay conscious.
"You think you can get away that easy, do ya?" came another voice, Marluxia. I growled and kicked out at him, causing him to curse. "Oh, you're gonna get it now!"
A boot headed for my face, and I ducked, and it came in contact with the top of my head. I let out a shout of pain. Come on, Namine. You've fought off these men for your whole life. Show them what you are made of. I rolled to my feet, and landed a punch squarely in the jaw of Marluxia, and then took off.
The street was one big blur and everything swam before my vision. I pushed on, faster, faster, with no idea where I was going. Something snatched the hood of my shirt, and I gasped as I was pulled into a side alley; my back was pressed against the chest of someone much taller than me, and a large hand clamped over my mouth.
"Quiet."
I struggled, throwing my head back to contact with his face. I heard a groan and felt the pain shooting down my spine. The hand came off my mouth, wrapped around me, and pulled me to face the stranger on the ground.
I found myself face to face with Riku. He continued to hold me tightly against his chest and had his head craned toward the entrance of the alley where we were hiding. I froze when I heard footsteps go pounding by, and clutched Riku's jacket.
The footsteps disappeared, and Riku let out a sigh of relief. I keeled over suddenly, the rush of pain in my stomach suddenly unbearable.
"Hey hold on, hold on…" The last thing I saw before I blacked out was those beautiful eyes.
"Move! Move out of the way! Get out of the way, dammit!"
Ow ow ow ow. I moaned in pain as I came to, buying my face into that warm jacket. Riku carried me through the bar, one hand under my back and the other hooked beneath my knees. He laid me down on what I assumed was an empty booth. I heard the sound of frantic voices, recognizing Tifa.
"What the hell happened?! Namine!?" She prodded me with her hand, and I swatter her away.
"She was attacked. Do you have a first aid kit?" I heard that amazingly smooth voice answer. I struggled to open my eyes, and saw that Riku was leaning over me intently, his hair falling in his eyes. Behind him, the red haired man was studying me.
"Was she…?"
"Yeah. Fuckers." Riku shook his head, and lifted my hair from my forehead. His hand was freezing, and I shied away from the touch. Tifa appeared then with a first aid kit, and I felt the bottom of my shirt being lifted up.
"Holy shit. What the hell are those?" I heard the red haired guy ask, and I winced. They must have spotted the bruises and scars from living in Ansem's household. I tried to roll away from their stares, and found a hand on my shoulder. Riku held me still before pressing a wet cloth to my head. The pain was unbearable, and the world went black once again.
"Daddy? Daddy, why are you crying?" A three year old me peered into the face of the man I trusted with my clean clothes and oatmeal with the raisins in it every morning. His head was in his hands, and he glanced up at me.
"Baby, sometimes even grown ups are sad sometimes."
"But Daddy, why are you sad? Did someone take something from you?"
"Yes, Nami. They took something very important to me."
&&&&
I was laying on the ground, my hands clutched around my head in fear. The shouts of men upstairs made me shake with fear. There had been another raid, the police's attempt to round up my fathers men, for a reason that was still unknown to me at the tender age of six.
"Let's check down here," came a voice, and then footsteps on the stairs that led to my hiding place. I crouched down farther behind the heater in the basement, trying my best to still my breathing.
Even though my father yelled and hit me, at six years old he was the only family I knew. I breathed a sigh of relief when the footsteps retreated.
&&&&
My thirteenth birthday, something that was supposed to be exciting. I, however, found myself in the attic of yet another home, or hiding place, as I called.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. The rhythmic sounds of my fist contacting with the punching bag brought a sense of calm. I repeatedly jabbed and kicked, because I wanted to be ready for the next time my dad came home drunk or from a close fight.
That night as I laid in my bed listening to the sounds of drunken men in my living room, I couldn't help but wonder what other kids did on their thirteenth birthday. Did they get cake, and presents, and a party filled with matching plates and hats? Or were there kids out in the world who spent their thirteenth birthday like me, hiding?
&&&&
School for me was a break. Most kids despised waking up early and coming; for me it was a chance to get away. I had plenty of friends at the start of high school, girls to giggle with at lunch, and guys to stare at longingly when they weren't looking. These friendships had unfortunate limits though. How could I ever hope to get close to someone when I couldn't even bring them to my house for fear of finding out my secret?
My teachers were clueless to say in the least. The questions I commonly got when they pulled me aside in the hallways were "Are you getting asleep, Namine? You look like you stay up all night." I would nod my head and smile, because how could I tell my teachers that no, in fact, I was not getting enough sleep? That I spend nights making sure that when my father comes home drunk or drugged, he doesn't go outside and create a ruckus? That it's impossible to sleep after you have been kicked in the stomach repeatedly, because it feels like your torso is going to explode?
No. There was no way I could say these things. So I nodded, and smiled.
&&&&
"I can't believe you brought her back here! What if she is part of them? What if she runs away and tells them how to find us? We could be done for!"
I moaned and rolled over, covering my ears with my hands. I recognized the voice of the red haired man.
"Axel, what were we supposed to do? Chill out man, the first place she is going if she seems suspicious is jail." This second voice was one I didn't know, it was young and calm.
"But! But, what if they find some way to talk to her? Roxas, this is so dangerous! Urgh, I can't believe this. You guys are sooo stupid!"
A third voice caused my heart to skip. "What if, Axel, she was trying to get away? Are we supposed to just throw her back onto the streets?" It was Riku, I knew for sure, and I struggled to lift my heavy eyelids.
"She's waking up, guys," came a quieter, deep voice. My eyes fully came into focus, and I saw Riku sitting in the chair next to the bed I was laying in, and a very irate Axel standing behind next to him. A blonde, who I figured was Roxas, leaned casually next to the silver haired man who had spoken.
Riku turned to me, his eyes hard. I sat up quickly, wondering where I was, only to promptly fall back onto the sheets, clutching my head.
"Who are you?" Axel asked me harshly, and Roxas shot him a dirty look.
"Tell me who you are, and then I'll talk," I said weakly, my head spinning. Roxas smirked, and Axel raised an eyebrow.
"Christ, she's feisty. Just what we need right now," he said. Riku rubbed his face with his hand.
"Guys, why don't you leave for a minute, and I'll talk to Namine," he said hoarsely, as though he hadn't had sleep in a while. Axel let Roxas pulled him from the room, and the silver haired teen followed silently.
I examined my fingernails nervously as Riku turned those eyes on me again, running a hand through his hair.
"You have some explaining to do." I looked up at him, and felt as though he was reading right past the confident look I kept on my face into the pain of my heart.
"I won't tell you anything until you explain some things to me," I said, my voice shaking. Riku rolled his eyes to the ceiling, and took a deep breath.
"You know the Darkness symbol." He turned to me then, a skeptical expression on his face.
"So do you." I let out an exasperated sigh then, there was no way I was going to get anything straight from him.
"Are you guy's part of the Nobodies?" I asked finally, making sure to keep my eyes on him. I read his expression carefully, he looked as though he was thinking his answer over carefully.
"Because," I continued, "Only the Nobodies know about the black heart."
He laughed then, bitterly. "You seem to be quite the expert yourself on the gangs of this city."
"That's what happens, when your father is a gang leader." I looked at his eyes sharply, challenging him to believe me. He looked away finally, to the window. I tried to ignore how his hair sparkled in the sunlight of the new morning.
"So now that I've explained myself, it's your turn," I stated, watching him.
This was going to be a long day.