"Tali?"

"Yes, Riku?"

"I love you."

Tali giggled, "I love you too, Riku."

Bringbring

"Screw that phone." muttered Tali into Riku's shoulder.

"I'LL GET IT!" Oni called from the kitchen. "Hello?" she said into the phone.

"Do not test the extent of my patience." said a menacing voice on the other end of the line, "If we catch you with them past the limits, we will exterminate them."

Oni heard the other person hang up and her blood ran cold. She raced upstairs and started banging on Tali's door.

"TALI!"
"GO AWAY! WE'RE BUSY!"

"Tali, it's Them. They called." Oni heard her sister get up and saw her stricken face when she opened the door.

"What?" she asked. "What did They want?"

"They said that if we go past the limits with our boys, They will…will…"

"What?" she asked softly so that Riku couldn't hear them.

"Exterminate them." She said, before she broke down and started to cry.

"Oni, it's okay!" Tali said, kneeling down to comfort her sister. "We'll find a way to save them."

"Tali, we barely got out of there alive! How can we save them too?" said her distressed sister.

"We'll think of something! We can't lose them."

"You're right." said Oni after a few minutes, getting up from the floor. "But we have to tell them."

"Yeah. We should. You go tell Keta and Yuli and have them call Sora and Tidus. Then call Cloud. I'll tell Riku."

"Okay." Oni went downstairs shakily, and Tali turned back to face Riku. "Riku?"

"Yes, Tali?"

"I have something I need to tell you…" she sat down next to him and laid her head on his chest.

"What is it?"

"Remember when I told you about the house I used to live in?"

"Yes, you told me that you had a room that always faced the sunset and that you would sit there at the end of every day and watch the sun set and the moon rise." He said, stroking her hair gently.

"I lied to you." She whispered.

He pulled away from her and stared at her face. "What?" he asked in complete shock.

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"C-Cloud?" Oni said shakily into the receiver.

"Oni, is that you?"

"Cloud, I have s-something to t-tell you…" she said, the tears starting to come back.

"Oni, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" he asked her, shocked.

"It's nothing, but Cloud…"

"Wait right there. I'm coming over."

"Cloud, wait!" but he had already hung up the phone, and was no doubt speeding over to her house. Sure enough, in about five minutes, Oni heard the sounds of Cloud's motorbike roaring up the street, coming to a halt outside her house. She heard the door burst open and saw Cloud come into the kitchen. When she saw him, she broke down into renewed sobs.

"Oni, what is it?" asked Cloud, kneeling in front of her.

"Cloud…" she hugged him and held him tight, feeling a little better when he returned the embrace. He stroked her back.

"Chiquita, what's wrong?" he asked, using his little pet name for her, "Please tell me. It kills me to see you like this."

"Cloud…I lied to you."

"What?"

"I lied to you. It really hurt to do it, but I had to. I didn't want them to hurt you. But know they know about us and…"

"Who's they?"

"They is the people who had imprisoned us on Untaki Island. They gave me this." She turned around and took off her shirt, showing Cloud her back.

Cloud stared at her back in horror. Big angry welts ran crisscross across her back, cutting into the scabs of deep scratches. There were brand marks in the shapes of claws, and countless bruises from innumerable beatings. He put a cool hand on her back, and felt her muscles tense.

"They did this to you?" he asked softly.

"They did this to all of us." She told him. Cloud felt rage build up inside his chest. These people had imprisoned Oni and her sisters, they had tortured them, and now they wanted to hurt her again. "Chiquita, look at me."

She did, and was startled to see the anger that was burning in his sky blue eyes.

"T-They said that if we s-stay together, they will c-come here and kill you." She sobbed. "I c-can't let t-that happen, Cloud."

"And I can't live without you, Oni." He told her, cupping his hand around her chin. "I love you, Oni. And I swear, if those people come anywhere near you, I'll make sure it is the last thing they ever do. I refuse to stand back and watch them hurt you again. If they come looking for you, they'll have to take you away over my cold, lifeless body."

"Don't say that! They could kill you!"

"Then I will die, as long as I die protecting you." He said, planting a kiss of her trembling lips. They held this kiss for a long time, until both of their lungs were screaming for air. Then they broke apart, and Oni looked into Cloud's face, searching for any signs of uncertainty in his eyes. But she couldn't find any, so she decided to tell him her idea.

"Cloud, there's a way to make it so that we never have to live without each other." She told him. "It would make it so that we would always know what the other was doing, and you would be able to share my powers, but…"

"What do I have to do?"

She was surprised by the determination in his voice, but she pressed on.

"We would have to share blood." She whispered. There was a stunned silence which Oni broke.

"I understand if you don't want to do it. I know I'm asking a lot, but…"

Cloud put a finger on her lips, silencing her. Then he took out the knife that she had given him for his birthday, and coolly cut the flesh on his wrist. Then Oni took the knife from him and did the same with her own wrist. They held their hands together, letting their mixed blood run down their arms. A dim golden glow shimmered around the mixed blood, growing stronger the longer they kept their hands together. Then the glow faded away, and Oni faltered slightly. Cloud caught her and held her steady. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. But I know something that would make me feel even better."

"And what would that be?"

"This." She said, leaning in for another kiss, which Cloud happily gave her.

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"They have disobeyed us again!" cried the Second in Command, pacing in his study. "Not only have they told those boys about us, but now we have conformation that they are the Protectors as well! If we don't break their connection soon, they could achive their goals and be beyond our grasp within a matter of days!" he turned to the floating picture of the First in Command, "Sir, we must retrieve them now before it's too late!"

"Alright." Said the First in Command reluctantly, "Send for the Black Hand."

The Second in Command rushed to obey, and within moments, the group of gifted assassins known as the Black Hand were kneeling in front of the First in Command.

"You summoned us?" they asked in unison.

"Yes. We need you to retrieve the Elements. Bring them back alive. If the Protectors get in the way, annihilate them. If the Elements resist, you may use force, but I want the alive and functional." Then the First in Command smiled cruelly. "This should be an interesting way for you to get to know your sisters, isn't it?"