The Incident.

Ever since that day Naminé had been raring to see Roxas again. It didn't matter if she never got the chance to speak with him - all she wanted to do was look at him. As odd as it sounded it was the truth: there was something about the quiet blond that made her want to just sit and stare in awe.

Apparently she wasn't the only one who thought the same way: the Organization couldn't stop talking about him. The small artist made a habit out of wandering the castle hallways after her daily experiment with Marluxia and Larxene, and sometimes she would catch a few words of the conversations the Organization members would be having (she would be well-hidden from them when this happened, of course). Most of them were curious and speculative: they questioned his abilities and his odd behaviour. A few were nonchalant: one of them - Demyx, she thought was his name - expressed how he seemed like a cool kid, but nothing else seemed to be of interest to him.

She would always take a quick peek into the lounge room - which she eventually found out was called the Grey Area - to see if Roxas was there, but she came up empty every time. The Organization was probably distracting him with things to get him to speak, or at least look like he was in the same universe as everyone else. While it was understandable it wore down her hopes in seeing him again; by the time a week had passed she was doubtful she was ever going to see his blond spikes and blue, blue eyes a second time.

Naminé waited patiently in her seat, her fingers drumming without rhythm against the white wood of her table - Larxene and Marluxia were supposed to be here by now. In all honesty she just wanted to get the experiment over with so she could walk around the castle - it was the only part of the day she looked forward to - but if they weren't here yet that meant she couldn't go out. The thought frustrated her - she was getting frustrated a lot these days, she noticed.

After waiting for another half an hour she concluded they weren't coming - or maybe she was just beginning to grow impatient. It felt like there were a million little bugs jumping around in her stomach; she needed to get out of this room, and fast. She could feel those bugs' tiny little legs and feelers scratching against her insides as she bounded towards the door. The moment she wrenched it open and stepped outside the irritating scratching sensation halted, and she exhaled in relief.

The day took an even stranger turn of events when she realized how empty the castle seemed - well, the castle seemed empty all the time but usually she'd run into an Organization member or two. Today it seemed like they were nowhere in sight.

Was there something important going on?

She continued to roam the hallways, tugging harder on her hair whenever she passed an unoccupied room. She peered into the Grey Area and frowned in disappointment when it was completely empty. Where did everyone go?

She rode the elevator to a random floor and walked down yet another empty hallway. The only thing she could hear was the clopping of her sandals.

Wait - what was that?

She strained her hearing a little, and sure enough she could hear the muffled voices of a conversation. She shuffled closer towards the source of the noise - two large, white double-doors that looked so heavy she wasn't sure if she had the strength to open them. She knew it was best not to try, anyway, so instead she pressed an ear to the door and listened intently. She couldn't make out the words since the door was too thick, but it sounded like the entire Organization was in there. She took a step back and glanced up at the doors - was this the room with those tall thrones?

Naminé pulled on her hair some more as she mulled over her thoughts: what were they talking about? It must've been important if everyone was in there - was it about Roxas? Sora?

Frowning, she shook her head and resumed wandering the castle: if the meeting was as important as she thought it was she doubted they would be leaving any time soon. She knew Marluxia and Larxene wouldn't even bother to tell her what happened so she had no choice but to find out for herself. Some of the Organization members would probably be in the Grey Area after the meeting, so she figured she'd waste some more time by walking around.

After fifteen minutes she grew bored of seeing the same things over and over again; she really should've brought her pencil and a couple pieces of paper…

A shuffling sound was heard from around the corner and Naminé squeaked in surprise. She frantically looked left and right, searching for a place to hide, and scrambled out of the way. She ducked behind a thick grey column, but remembered to poke her head out just a little bit to see what was going on.

A handful of Organization members were walking and talking together; some she recognized, like the blond man and the shorter man with droopy hair, and some she didn't. Her head tilted to the side in curiosity and she strained her ears to listen to what they were talking about.

"So what are we gonna call ourselves now? Organization XIV doesn't sound as cool as Organization XIII…"

"Well, we'll have to see if she's capable of joining our ranks first."

"She's even more lifeless than Roxas was."

She? There was another new recruit?

"I wonder what sort of powers she possesses…"

A flash of red appeared; Axel was trailing behind the group with one hand on Roxas' back. The blond boy looked a little more lively than the last time she saw him; his brow was scrunched in confusion, but his lips were the same emotionless straight line from the first time she saw him.

"So, d'you mind tellin' me what happened back there?" The redhead chuckled, and the blond looked up to acknowledge him, "You spaced out for a second."

Roxas ruffled his hair; Naminé curiously tilted her head to the side. "N-nothing…" He mumbled; his voice was low and somewhat husky-sounding, "Just...I was just thinking."

"Heh, maybe that's why you've been so quiet," Axel reached up to cross his hands behind his spiky head, "Well, you better start warmin' up your vocal chords 'cause tomorrow will be a big day for you!"

The shorter boy looked up at his companion again. "Why?"

The redhead chuckled again. "'Tomorrow you start working. You're finally gonna be of some use to us! Doesn't that sound like fun?" When Roxas didn't reply he sighed. "Well, I guess I can be excited for the both of us." He clapped the blond's back and veered around the corner. They were walking in Naminé's direction, and if she had a heart it would've been pounding at this point.

She realized she had to keep ultra quiet or else they would hear her, but she was so nervous her hands were shaking. What if they found her? Would Axel get angry? Would he turn her over to Xemnas? She shook off the frantic thoughts and kept as still as she could behind the white column, pressing her palms against the cold metal so they would stop trembling. Axel and Roxas were walking closer; it almost felt like their impending footsteps were thudding in the very centre of her chest. She swallowed hard and shifted behind the column, trying to conceal herself as much as she possibly could.

"Did you hear that?" Axel's head lifted, and Naminé's eyes widened. Roxas looked up too, and he glanced around but did not say anything. Axel shrugged his shoulders and rubbed the back of his head. "Heh, guess I'm hearing things. I thought I heard shuffling, like someone was moving around or something."

Roxas stopped walking for a second; he stood still in the middle of the hallway, looking straight ahead. Axel, who was a few steps away from him, was looking back at him with a confused expression on his face. Naminé's expression was no different.

Then, all of a sudden, the blond turned over his shoulder and glanced past the column and right into Naminé's wide, shocked blue eyes. Another string of images and sounds ran through her head.

The boy with spiky brown hair and vivid blue eyes - Sora. "Gimme a break, K-"

"Sora, you lazy bum. I knew that I'd find you snoozing down here." A girl around his age with short red hair and soft violet eyes.

"Even if we're apart, we're not alone anymore...right?"

Shells tied together to form the shape of a star. "It's my lucky charm. Be sure to bring it back to me!"

"Don't ever forget: wherever you go, I'm always with you."

She gasped and pulled back into the shadows; Roxas jerked back a bit as well, blinking rapidly. She was sure he saw and heard the same things she did.

"What in the worlds are you doing?" Axel called exasperatingly, and the shorter boy turned to face him.

"Sorry…" Roxas shook his head, "I...I thought I saw something." He jogged to the redhead's side and continued walking. They disappeared around another corner, leaving Naminé on her own.

She was pressed up against the wall with her hands crossed over her mouth, and her eyes were still wide. When she could no longer hear their footsteps she shook her head and stepped out into the hallway, absently tugging on her curl of hair. She suddenly felt very weak, and she had to lean against the wall for support; today's turn of events wore her out. There were just too many things to think about.

Why didn't Larxene and Marluxia come today?

Who was this new recruit?

Why did she get strange flashbacks when Roxas and her met eyes?

The small blonde pondered over these things as she made her way back up to her room. She kind of expected Larxene and Marluxia to be there, but when she opened the door and faced nobody she breathed a sigh of relief; there were too many things on her mind to deal with them today.

She sat at her usual spot by the head of the white table and grabbed a blank piece of paper; she wearily eyed the other pieces strewn all over the wooden surface and made a mental note to bind them together, or something. It bothered her how they were just lying all over the place.

She reached for her crayons and immediately began to draw Sora and the strange redheaded girl. She thought about the memories - their memories, perhaps? - she saw when she and Roxas looked at each other, and wondered if they were all connected somehow.

Maybe Sora and Roxas weren't the ones who were connected; maybe it was that girl and Sora.

But if it was just them, why would she and Roxas have their memories?

And if Roxas and Sora weren't connected, why did they have the same eyes?

And just who was that redheaded girl? What part did she have to play in all of this? And that silver-haired boy from earlier…

A dull pain began to throb at the back of Naminé's head and behind her eyes, and she groaned and pressed her forehead against the desk. She had been doing way too much thinking lately, and it was all because of this boy.

She wondered if this was normal.

She shook her head and sat up straight, sighing and reaching for a red crayon to colour in the girl's hair. She scribbled slowly, taking in the details of her face: she eyed her small nose, dainty lips and pale skin. When she coloured in her eyes she felt a strange stirring inside, but it wasn't like how she felt whenever she thought of Roxas or Sora.

It was more of a...closer feeling, like she personally knew this girl. She had a familiar feeling with Roxas and Sora but it wasn't as intimate as this. Naminé was more than certain she was connected with this girl, somehow.

Maybe they were connected like how Sora and Roxas were connected.

Roxas…

She tapped the end of her crayon against her chin; he supposedly couldn't remember his past either. That meant that the memories they 'shared' earlier were foreign to him too.

Maybe her and Roxas were connected somehow…?

Her headache suddenly flared up again and she pushed the paper away, sighing in frustration as she rose to her feet to prepare for bed. She had been thinking so much her own brain was telling her to stop.

Her head was hurting even more by the time she crawled into bed. She groaned again and pressed her pillow over her head, hoping the pain would subside soon. She clamped her eyes shut and forced herself to think of nothing so it would be easier to fall asleep, but as hard as she tried the only thing that came to mind was Roxas and how they met eyes today.

His eyes were so blue.

Since it had been a few days since she had last seen them, the impact it had on her was just as strong as it was when she first saw them. She thought about the strange dream she had, the one with the swirling colours, and she felt heat rise to her face. Roxas was special, she knew that, but she didn't know why.

But she wanted to find out. She felt like she had to.

Despite her headache, Naminé smiled to herself as she relaxed against her mattress. Tomorrow would be another day, and maybe tomorrow will be the day her and Roxas will finally get to talk to each other. If not, there was always the day after, and the day after that and the days after those. They weren't going anywhere; this was where the belonged. This was their home. They had all the time in the world.

Right?

--

Day 7.

It's been a week since I got here. Saïx told me to keep a diary, but he said nobody would check it. What am I supposed to write about?

Well, I guess there were a couple interesting things that happened today. First they told us to go to the Round Room, where we met our new member, No. XIV. I couldn't really see the person's face since it was covered by a hood, but they weren't talking much - actually they didn't talk at all. Was I like that when I first got here? I think I was, but I don't remember too well.

Secondly, when Axel and I were heading to the Grey Area after the meeting I saw something strange. Axel told me he thought he heard something moving around, and for a second I thought I heard it too. When I turned around to see if anyone was there, I saw someone! It was a girl with blonde hair and big blue eyes. What made things even weirder was when I turned to look at her a bunch of strange pictures and voices came into my head, but it only happened for a split second. When I tried to tell Axel about it he laughed and called me crazy. I was pretty sure I wasn't imagining anything, though.

I wonder who she is?