Author's Note: Reworking this chapter took more time than the previous ones, mainly because it just had more typos. Pacing wasn't as much an issue, though. Actually, I don't think chapters with Tai are as difficult to pace, for some reason. Probably because she won't let me mess her up. Oh, yeah, if you're reading this for the first time, you probably have no idea who Tai is. Sorry, you'll find out.

Disclaimer: Should've, could've, would've – I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters. Tai, unfortunately, is mine, and I must ask that you not endanger the lives of yourselves and others by messing with her without giving me fair warning. Looks can be deceiving, but that doesn't mean they have to be.

Chapter Five

The smells washed over Riku before his head could even clear – smells that reminded of sea spray and nighttime rain, smells that reminded of the Darkness – and he knew that he was not alone. The scent was familiar, but only now was it sharp enough to identify. "I know you're here," he rasped. "Come out!"

"Behind you."

Riku whirled to face the speaker, nearly losing his footing. A girl stood in the corner, watching him with cool eyes, the irises like liquid silver. "Who are you?" he demanded.

The stranger took a step forward, wiping black hair – very much in need of brushing – back from her young, weary face. In the better light, he could see that she was around his age and perhaps an islander herself; she was rather dark-complexioned and, her bare waistline and sleeveless top suggested that she came from a warmer climate. The dark red wrap she wore around her waist over her black pants and boots was also common in traditional clothing on many islands. She studied his face a moment longer, one corner of her lips twitching slightly. "I was about to ask you the same question." The barest edge of amusement echoed in her voice.

"Too bad." She might have looked like an islander, but Riku's suspicions of anything and everything in his personal Hell wouldn't give so easily.

She laughed wryly. "Okay." She shook her head as if abandoning a thought, dark tangles brushing her face. "Man, you look familiar. Name's Tai."

Riku stared at her; he certainly didn't know her. "Riku," he answered finally. His voice sounded gravelly in his own ears. "You seem pretty unconcerned, Tai."

Tai sighed heavily. "I see you've met the hooded figures, too. But all the ones I've seen were perfectly fine. You've obviously been through Hell and back. I doubt you're one of them. Besides, you came out of one of those worlds." She inclined her head toward the door.

Riku pursed his lips. It made sense, but that wasn't enough to convince him. He knew he wasn't one of them; he didn't know about her.

"Look, if you think I'm gonna off you, I would've done it while you were almost falling on your face a minute ago. I've had trouble with those hooded crackpots, too. Anyway, you're an islander, too, right?"

Riku grinned in spite of himself, the sense of a common bond relaxing him, however slightly. "I knew you were an islander."

"Yeah, I figured. We all look alike – though I don't think islanders usually have hair like that." She moved in closer, tilting her head back to see him better. She was rather curvy about the waist and hips, like a native dancer, but she was very short. "Anyway, you're hurt. Lemme help you." When Riku hesitated, she continued insistently, "You'll be sorry when all those gashes start turning black and green."

"I guess I'm not in any shape to argue," the youth relented. He had enough problems without worrying about infection.

Tai flashed a wicked grin. "Thought so. Now sit down."

Riku obeyed carefully, seating himself on the marble floor with a strong regard for his wounds, though he really felt like collapsing and never moving again. Tai sat before him, dropping a beaten leather bag from her back beside her. The pale-haired islander caught sight of a mean-looking spiked ball, attached to a long, iron chain, but his new companion seemed uninterested in hiding the weapon. She dug through the pack, removing a pair of long, black leather gloves – most likely meant as protection from the chains – a tattered blanket, and finally some bandages and healing supplies.

Tai, herself, was not without injuries, Riku noticed as he observed her. Despite the gloves, bruises that obviously resulted from the heavy, continuous pressure of chains laced her forearms, and it appeared that her bottom lip had split open a day or so before. Her left shoulder was bandaged tightly as well.

"Now, lemme see that arm," she commanded quietly.

Riku obeyed, holding out his left hand wordlessly. As flesh met flesh, he abandoned caution, seizing the islander girl's shoulder with his uninjured arm and clutching her wrist with the other hand. His heart leapt to his throat and a strange relief washed over him as his hands connected solidly with another human being.

Tai jerked back, her eyes wide with alarm, and Riku released her, returning to himself. "Sorry," he murmured awkwardly. "I just needed to be sure you were real." He laughed nervously. "I'm losing my mind."

Tai's eyes gleamed with what might have been sympathy – or maybe just pity. "You've been here a long time," she whispered, some of the tension leaving her shoulders.

"Yeah," agreed Riku, "at least, I think so."

"I understand what you mean, though. When I first realized someone else was here, I thought I was just imagining things." She took hold of his injured arm again. "I'm real, I promise… But please don't lunge at me like that again. I thought you were gonna choke me or something." She began rubbing a strange oil over the wound – some sort of disinfectant, Riku supposed.

"I won't. I'm really sorry." He winced as the sharp sting confirmed his suspicions.

"I'll let it slide this time." She frowned at the gash, examining it closely, then bit her lip hesitantly. "This really needs stitching, but I don't have anything for that," she apologized as she began spreading a thick ointment over the injury.

"Well, thanks, anyway."

"'Welcome." The reply, Riku noted, was an afterthought. Tai wasn't one for formality. Wiping her hands together she reached for some of the cloth strips that she had taken from her bag, selecting some of the longer, thinner ones. Taking his arm once more, she wrapped the wound and tied it securely, working with a speed and a dexterity that indicated a great deal of practice. "One down." She rose up on her knees, looking him over. "A whole lot more to go. Don't do this again.

Yeah, because I go out and ask for people to wipe the floor with me, just for the enjoyment of bleeding. However, Riku judged civility to be the better response. "Wasn't planning on it," he stated simply.

Tai nodded as she examined the burn on his shoulder. Her eyebrows knit together, and she wet her lips tentatively. "The nasty ones are really new, aren't they?"

"Yeah," Riku replied, wincing as she went to treating it. "Why?"

"Parts of them are half healed," the girl explained. She paused. "Do you use healing magic?"

"No. It's a long story." Don't ask me about it, he commanded silently.

Tai, thankfully, appeared to have a knack for reading between the lines. She shrugged dismissively. "Well, no matter. I won't bug you about it, now. You can't feel well."

"Not really," Riku agreed. He grimaced as Tai tugged the bandage around his shoulder tighter. "How do you know all this stuff, anyway?"

"My mom's a professional. She taught me it." Tai laughed softly. "I was really talented at injuring myself when I was little."

Riku chuckled shortly through the burn in his throat. "Yeah, I had my scrapes, too."

"I can see that." She looked him over. "Anyway, I need a look at that nasty one on your back. Take off your shirt and lay on your stomach."

His compliance broke here, his head snapping around to look at her directly. She seemed serious enough, but few things made the concept of cold marble against bare skin agreeable. "What? No way! This floor is freezing." His protest, however, was a half-hearted one. He couldn't shake the feeling that he'd already lost this argument.

"Don't be such a baby! You could barely stand a little while ago. Sprawling out oughtta feel good."

"It's cold." Riku folded his arms, suppressing a wince.

"Look, I was enjoying our little chat, but if I have to end it by wrestling you onto the floor and out of your shirt like a cheesy scene in a bad romance, I'm not gonna be happy."

Riku failed to suppress a laugh, making his battered ribs and raw throat ache. She would've been a perfect match with the rest of his friends back home, though her curtness sounded far too much like his mother. "Fine," he relented, working his way carefully out of his shirt," but do I really have to lay on the floor?"

"'Fraid so. If you don't, I might not be able to clean the wound as well. Oh, wait." She grabbed the blanket and spread it beside him. "Better?"

"Thanks," the silver-haired islander grunted as he positioned himself carefully on the worn cloth, and, though he doubted she planned on harming him at this particular moment, he watched her carefully out of the corner of his eye.

Tai whistled, grimacing as she set to work. "You're black and blue everywhere," she remarked with a hint of sympathy. "They must've trampled you."

"We're not gonna talk about it." Riku couldn't keep the weariness from his voice any longer.

Tai laughed. "Well, you need to sleep, anyway." He could practically hear her smirk. "Don't worry; I'll still be here when you wake up."

Actually, he was pretty sure that her being there while he was sleeping was half of what worried him. But, sleep sounded wonderful. In fact, he couldn't think of what he would rather be doing.

Riku suddenly realized that he couldn't hold his eyes open, and he no longer cared how uncomfortable the stone floor was. Any worries about Tai's intentions vanished. He couldn't really remember what they had been, anyway. It doesn't feel… But sleep overcame him before he could complete the thought.