Chapter 4: Minuet in D Minor

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for a few characters.

At the castle they took the strange man in and found out that he was very sick. The physicians of the castle took care of him until he was at full health. After he was let out Ansem questioned him and Okari accompanied him.

"What is your name?" asked Ansem. The man seemed to be in a daze, his dark orange eyes distant.

"Xehanort," he answered.

"Now, Xehanort, can you tell me where you live so we can return you home?"

"No," said Xehanort flatly.

"Why not?" Okari asked out of nowhere. Ansem politely shushed her.

"I don't remember. I don't remember anything except for my name."

Ansem took Xehanort in as his apprentice. Xehanort seemed to have an affinity for science and almost everything about him intrigued Ansem greatly. Okari continued trainee work and often stayed around to talk with Laguna. It wasn't long until they became great friends. One day Okari noticed a lady was watching them practice. Afterwards, Laguna pulled Okari aside.

"I'd like you to meet someone," he said. He led her to the lady who had been watching them.

"Hello," she said to Okari. She was very calm person with light brown eyes and brown hair with a yellow headband in it.

"This is my girlfriend, Raine. Raine, this is Okari," Laguna said.

"It's very nice to meet you, Okari," Raine said.

"Nice to meet you too," said Okari. They shook hands.

"I was interested in seeing Laguna work, so I came today. Now I see that I prefer to be the peaceful type," said Raine.

Okari smiled, but it almost seemed impossible for Raine to be anything but the peaceful type.

One of Okari's favorite places in Radiant Garden Castle was the chapel. It was as old as the castle itself. Not only was it a beautiful piece of architecture, but it had an atmosphere of mystery that attracted Okari there constantly. There was one mystery about it that no one understood. If you listened hard enough, you could hear the faint sound of music.

Okari could always hear it clearly. It was an endless piece, or was it the same song repeating endlessly? It seemed to come from no particular place. Some speculated that it was an old spell cast by an ancient king hundreds of years ago. Others believed that it was caused by the ghosts of two talented twin brothers who were traveling musicians.

The legend goes that a very long time ago the twins came to play for the king of Radiant Garden at that time. The king was very pleased with their music and offered them a place in the royal orchestra. They declined the offer. The next day the brothers were found together in the chapel, dead from an unknown cause.

To Okari, she didn't care where the music came from, it was just there. The piece fit the atmosphere of the vast building perfectly. It seemed to be a balance between happy and sad, but mysterious at the same time. A flute led with a beautiful moving melody, accompanied with the haunting sounds of a string instrument that she hadn't been able to identify.

One day Okari came to the chapel, unaware that this visit would be different from the others. She walked slowly through the chapel, shafts of afternoon light coming down through the windows and shining down onto the floor. She closed her eyes and hummed the piece as it came to her ears. Suddenly, she heard something and she stopped her humming and opened her eyes. She had never been interrupted in her visits before.

"Who's there?" she said. She saw someone slink into the dark shadows caused by the light from the windows.

"You can come out, I see you," she told the shadow. She walked towards it and it came out into the light. It was a boy her age. He looked at her with tired dark blue eyes, actually with one eye: His unruly white-silver hair draped over one side of his thin face. She walked closer to him and realized she was a little taller than him.

"Hello. My name is Okari. What's yours?" she asked.

"My name is Ienzo," he answered

"Nice name. What are you doing here in the chapel, Ienzo?" Okari asked curiously.

"I come here when I have time and…" he said, his face flushing a little in embarrassment. "…I like to listen to the music."

Okari grinned and said, "That's exactly why I come here, too. This has become my favorite song, and I don't even know what it's called."

He didn't say anything to that.

"Hey, do you know what the string instrument is? I could never figure it out."

Ienzo closed his eyes for a moment, listening hard. Suddenly he opened his eyes again.

"Harpsichord," he said abruptly.

"I've never heard of that instrument before. You're smart," she remarked.

They were silent for a while, listening to the music.

Suddenly Okari asked, "Do you want to be friends?"

For a second a look of surprise came to his face but he promptly replaced with a frown. He crossed his arms and scowled at the floor.

"You ask a lot of meaningless questions," he said grumpily.

"That's no answer! Ienzo, is something wrong?" she said.

Ienzo let his arms hang to his sides. He was never one easily persuaded and he never talked much, but something about this girl made him spill it all out.

"Nobody has ever wanted to be my friend before," he admitted.

"My gosh, Ienzo, I wonder why. I think you're very interesting. I've only known you for about ten minutes and I know I like you," said Okari, full of concern.

"You do?" Ienzo asked, his tone a mix of doubt and astonishment. Okari nodded sincerely.

"Yes, I'll be your friend," Ienzo agreed.

Note: The song mentioned is also the name of the chapter "Minuet in D Minor" was composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. (don't own)