A/N: So...right. Haven't been around for a while...sorry.

Um, well, hm, excuses. I kinda went through a helluva lot of emotional shit this past year and on top of that I just got lazy and uninspired. But I'm sorta back to normal now. I guess. Writing is still like pulling teeth, so sorry if I dipped in quality. Hopefully this chapter won't be so bad, since I've basically had it finished since last year. I only really had to get the last two or three pages down before I felt comfortable stopping.

So, yeah. I have a request for everyone that would read this at the end. A request other than 'review please!'

Chapter Five:

For the next few weeks, I walked around the halls of the User's compound with the mental capacity of a zombie. I wasn't particularly sad anymore, but the residue of my feelings toward everything that had happened to me in the last month stuck for a lot longer than expected. But as a plus to the random, and often long walks, I learned the layout of my new home. I was never in danger of getting lost again. I also came upon people that I had never met before, like Yuna, Vincent, Yuffie, and Aerith.

Yuna was the pretty girl I saw sitting next to Tidus that day in the kitchen before practice. When I first met her, we chatted about the circumstances that brought me to the compound, and all while I told my story she consoled with 'oohs' and 'awws' and when I was done she took me in a delicate embrace. Unlike with the rest of the people that showed me pity, Yuna seemed truly genuine with her opinion and I felt, as I walked away from her, that she would quickly become like an older sister. Yuna was a Healer and an Elementalist, which came as a shock to me, I didn't know that someone could be more than one kind of User. She told me that being two different kinds meant that she wasn't as strong in the two as someone who just had one power, but she could manage on her own.

Vincent...well, there's not much I can say about him. I had wandered into the library--which was huge, I had never seen so many books on bookshelves that went to the ceiling--and decided to browse over the many titles. I had turned a corner into a rather shaded area of the library and ran my fingertips along the spines of the old books, and when I turned my view back to the front I was shocked to see an expanse of red and black in front of my eyes. I curled my arms up to protect my head and chest and let out a sharp squeal, but I quickly directed my gaze to the scary red eyes that looked down at me. I whimpered something that I couldn't even understand, but when I saw that I wasn't going to be harmed by him I calmed down. I asked who he was and he replied with a very curt "Vincent." I nodded and introduced myself, and my type of User and then asked what he was. He said he was a Shadow, which I should've been able to guess right off the bat. I watched as he faded into the darkness at the end of the bookshelf row, and then completely disappeared. That...was creepy, but I couldn't help but think that he had done it for my benefit, since I obviously didn't know much about Shadows. That thought made me smile slightly.

Yuffie was fun. She was doing errands or something when she ran into me, literally. She sent me sprawling to the ground while she threw armfuls of paper into the air. She apologized, but strangely enough, she scolded me for "being in the way." I looked up at her, shell-shocked as she went on this rant about how she was this amazing person with ninja-like reflexes --I doubted that greatly-- and I nodded at all the right times but it completely washed over my head. She stopped her talking, violet eyes ablaze, and asked me who I was, but barely gave me enough time to blurt out my name before she took the papers that I had picked up out of my hands and ran off saying that she was going to get chewed out by Leon for being late. As I stared into her dust, I wondered what exactly those papers were for. But I didn't get a chance to wonder too deeply into the mysteries of life, because a humble looking brunette was walking up to me.

She was looking back at the scrambling Yuffie, but when she turned her emerald green eyes toward me, she smiled. She introduced herself to me as Aerith, shook my hand, then politely asked my named. I told her, and yet again I was sucked into the story of my misfortune. She didn't react as much as Yuna had, but in the end she did hug me. She told me that many of the people in this place had come from backgrounds similar to my own, and not to despair. I asked Aerith what kind of User she was, and she replied with "I was just a Healer, but I wasn't very good." I found that to be an odd response, since she used the past tense, but I just shrugged it off and told her that I was heading over to training, and would see her again sometime. She waved at me as I left to go meet Riku.

During training--we were now doing more combat type stuff, since I had learned what Riku liked to call "a staggering amount of control" over my more mystical powers--I told Riku that I had met a lot of new people.

"That's good," he said. I got the feeling that he was still worried about my display of loneliness after that dream. "All the people here are really nice, and I'm sure they've all heard a lot about you. I know there are a few that have actually been searching you out, have you met Selphie yet?"

I shook my head. "Nope, I don't recognize that name," I said. I readied myself to attack him.

He smiled. "Hm, I wonder why she hasn't found you," Riku pondered as he deflected one of my punches. Damn him and his ability to focus under the weirdest conditions. I continued my barrage of attacks at him, and each time he deflected them. I mentally pleaded with him to let me land just one hit, just one!

I dodged a kick, and steadied back on my feet and one of my hands, crouching low to the ground. I looked up at him and realized that he left himself open after he kicked. I smirked and willed myself to run as fast as I could to just behind his right side and then threw one of my most sure punches.

I don't know exactly what happened then, just that I had connected with the wielding flesh of Riku's side, and that he was wheezing on the floor and wrapped his arms around his stomach before I knew what was going on. He turned his disbelieving face toward me, eyebrows knit in confusion.

"How did you move that fast?" His raspy voice assaulted my ears, so unlike his normal tone. I cocked my head at him and shrugged, slightly afraid. Not only had he not deflected or dodged that punch, which before I thought would've been easy for him, but I had actually reduced him to a crumpled mass on the floor. A strange feeling gripped at my chest, somewhere between guilt and pride, and I stooped down to offer my hand.

He took it, but winced as I pulled him up. "You...teleported or something. I've never seen anyone do that," he said. He narrowed his eyes at me, calculating. "Though, if it was possible, I'd say it would be a Shadow technique."

He continued to stand there, arms crossed over his chest. He started to chew on his bottom lip thoughtfully. I honestly had no clue what to think. Was he implying that I could be part Shadow? But...they kept saying that I was a really strong Reader, so... My eyes widened as I came to the realization that if I was half Shadow, then, if I was full Reader, my powers would be enormous!

Riku shook his head. "I have to talk with Leon about this, it's really unexpected," he said. Then he waved his hand in the air, dispelling his more mature nature that had shown itself in this situation. He smiled again. "But I can do that later. I noticed you've been a little bored all cooped up in here."

"You wanna take me out of this place? Out into the real world?" I thought I wanted to make it sound sarcastic, but to my own ears it sounded honest. I had to admit to myself that I was getting really tired of seeing stone hallways and intermittent fire-electric lighting, and the earthy smell of dirt and moss. And my tan was fading rapidly. I was still darker than Riku, but that wasn't saying much.

He nodded at me. "I think it's time someone took you out," I couldn't tell if he got the second meaning in that, "but we're not just going to give you a breath of fresh air, I have to meet someone."

My shoulders slumped slightly at this, but the overpowering need to go outside again kept me from sulking. I had spent my entire life outside with Kairi anyway, I wasn't used to being cooped up like this.

Riku told me to go wash up and get a snack in the kitchen, to which I adamantly agreed. He said he would only be a little while and that I should wait for him there. I shrugged and nodded and walked off in the direction of our bathroom for a quick shower.

I basically stepped into the shower and let the water run over me before I got out again; I wasn't all that sweaty from practice and I wanted to leave so bad! I opened my wardrobe a crack and then realized that I only brought two changes of clothes. I frowned, preparing to see a mostly empty space, I pulled the doors of the wardrobe back all the way...

And there were clothes.

...Lots of clothes.

I stood there with my mouth hanging open for minutes, staring at the interior of the wardrobe. How...when...why...thoughts flooded my mind. I reached a hand out to touch the material of some baggy black pants with big red pockets to see if it was real and not just my imagination. It was real.

"Do you like our handy-work?" a high, pleasant voice called from behind me. I turned around and was faced with three squat women; one in green, one in blue, and the other in pink. And did they have faint outlines of wings behind them? I couldn't quite see in moderate darkness.

Noticing that they were expecting an answer, I cleared my throat. "Um, yeah, how'd you guys, um, girls...women, do this?" I turned back to the clothes and looked through them for something suitable.

The one in green walked over to my side. "We figured you would need some clothes, and with a little flick of our wands," she demonstrated this, "we made you some new clothes. By the way, my name's Fauna, the one in pink is Flora, and the one in blue is Merryweather."

"Hi, my name's Sora," I said. I pulled out that pair of baggy black pants and held them up. "Thanks, this is really great, I was wondering when I'd have time to go get some new clothes. Thanks to you three I don't have to anymore." I flashed a big, appreciative smile at them.

"It was our pleasure, dear," the one in pink, Flora, said.

"Yes, we can't have you walking around in rags," Merryweather nodded.

"Well, thank you...but, um," I paused. "Could you maybe leave? I wanted to get dressed." I smiled and felt a small blush creep onto my cheeks.

"Oh! Of course, dear, we'll just let you be." The three of them curtsied and poofed into thin air. I was left staring at the spaces they had once occupied, then I shrugged and slipped the pants on.

Fully dressed and in the kitchen with an apple in my hands, I sat on the long bench and waited for Riku. He never did say how long he was going to take, but I felt safe in assuming it wouldn't be too long. I tumbled the smooth, red apple in my hands before deciding to take a bite. It was crisp and juicy, and like with most the food I eat, it didn't take long to finish it. Then I was sitting in the empty kitchen with an apple core in my hands. Just as I was starting to get bored, Riku walked into the room.

"Finally," I muttered from my very slouched position. I sat up and smiled at him, but he looked distracted and worried. I immediately stood up and went over to him.

"Riku, what's wrong?"

He lifted his head to look at me, his eyes blazing. His frown deepened for a second, just long enough for me to catch it, and then he shook his head and closed the distance between us. He stopped just inches into my personal space and fixed me with a look. I couldn't quite tell what it was, but there was some stir of emotions swirling in his eyes. I was coming to realize that Riku was really good at covering up his emotions.

"Riku...?"

He sighed. "No, it's nothing," he said. "Let's go."

It was uncomfortable around Riku after that. There was something he knew that he wasn't telling me, and I didn't even have the courage to ask him.

He lead me to the tunnel that would eventually end in the alley, and outside.

"Where are we meeting your friend?" I asked.

"He's not my friend," Riku chuckled. "And where meeting him in the park."

"Okay," I said. We walked further in silence, Riku in his own mind. I wasn't feeling too swell, not with Riku all preoccupied about my weird abilities. Oh well, Kairi always did say I was too sensitive to other people's emotions, and that one day it would get me in trouble.

I spotted a light in the distance, very slowly growing. Even with my apprehension, I was growing giddy. I was going to be outside again, in the fresh air with wind and birds and sun. And people. I always was too social for my own good. As the light grew, I started to get more and more excited. Once I actually got outside it would essentially dissipate, but getting there was the interesting part. Finally I could see the dark alleyway and the back facades of buildings. The first thing I felt was a cool, gentle breeze along my cheek and it made me smile. I looked over at Riku and saw that he was smiling softly at me. Probably because I looked like such a dork for getting so happy about being outside.

"So Riku, how far away is this park?" I asked as I turned around to face him. He lifted his arms up to the back of his head and thought.

"Oh, it's only one district over, in First," he said, thoughtfully, "I imagine it wouldn't take us too long to walk there." He looked to me considerately. "Would you like to get something to eat after I meet with this guy in the park? There's a little cafe in First District that's pretty good."

"I'm always willing to get something to eat, you don't even have to ask," I said. "So, why are we meeting this non-friend of yours? If you don't much like them, what other business could you have?" I was more than curious, first Yuffie with her armfuls of paper that Leon, who seemed like the leader of this little band of miscreants, would need to see, and then Riku, meeting with someone in a park that he didn't consider a friend. It all seemed a little unusual for just a group of Users trying to survive in the world.

Riku stopped walking and crossed his arms over his chest, deciding if whether or not he should tell me the answers to my questions. Apparently he decided it wouldn't do any harm to shed some light on the situation.

"Well, this person I'm going to meet...he has some information for us. Some information that could prove very useful for..." and that's where the information became less pertinent for me to know. I guess, since Riku just stopped talking. He shrugged and then motioned for us to start walking again. "It's really nothing for you to worry about, since you just got into this business."

Hm, business, I thought. I wondered what kind of business and then realized that we had made it outside of the alleyway and into a busy plaza. There were little tents set up on the lower level of the plaza and I went over to the railing to look down on the commotion. People were walking from tent to tent with bags of produce. It was a Farmer's Market.

"You like the look of the market?" Riku asked as he came up beside me. I nodded, silently reminiscing my past.

And then a thought hit me; what if someone from my village was here? I knew they came to Traverse Town occasionally to sell some of the harvest. I very quickly backed up to the wall of the nearest building and slid down to make myself as small as possible. Riku came up in front of me and crouched down, looking at me worried and curious.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I...Riku, I just wanna get out of here, can we get to that park?" I asked, looking over his shoulder to the people walking by.

"Yeah, sure," he replied. He stood up and held a hand out for me. I took it and he pulled me up, held me close to his side, away from the market. We reached the large double doors that lead from the second district to the first district and Riku gently pushed me through them as he turned around to see if anyone was following us.

"Ah, there's the park," Riku said, pointing in front of us.

To the side of the main road there was a park; a large park. The trees were like giant broccoli stalks and there was a river that went along the side of the main path. Riku lead me on the path, passing couples holding hands and people walking dogs.

The sun was just starting to warm my skin when Riku stopped and tugged on my sleeve to get me to as well. He turned me around and looked carefully into my eyes.

"Okay, Sora, I need you to find something to do while I talk to this guy," Riku said. I shot him a skeptical look. "Look, just for a while, you can't be there."

"Alright," I said. We continued walking and the river dumped right into a lake complete with ducks and a fountain right in the middle. We treaded right over the soft grass toward a bench where a short blond boy was sitting. He must've heard us coming because he turned and glanced at us. Recognition dawned on his face as his bright blue eyes widened almost imperceptibly. Then he stood up and walked the short distance to us.

"Riku," the boy greeted. He couldn't have been much older than me.

"Thirteen," Riku replied, with a nod of his head.

I stared at Riku, and then to the boy, and back to Riku. I was kind of glad I wouldn't be there for the talk. The tension between those two was thick.

A/N: Okay, so that's the next chapter. Yeah, exhilarating. Not much happened...actually, quite a few things happened, I guess I just get bored with it now because I've read it ten trillion times worrying about grammar and dialogue.

Which brings me to the request I had. I would really, really appreciate an imaginative person with relatively good writing skills to help me out with this story. And in fact the other Kingdom Hearts story I have but have yet to post too. ...And the like, three other ideas I have for stories. You know, just someone to bounce ideas off of and stuff. And to calm my freakish OCD/paranoia down so that I don't have to read my chapters millions of times just to feel comfortable that it's not horribly written and I can post it.

So if you're interested, PM me or something.

Thanks so much to all of you that read this and haven't given up! I will get my muse back, even if I have to go to some more shady tactics.

Thank you thank you thank you!