Ahh sorry for such a long wait!! I had the biggest writer's slump ever, and fianlly managed to get my inspiration back this week. I spent longer that usual on this chapter, and it is quite a bit longer. There are so many things I want to accomplish with this story, so it took a long time to brainstorm.

Anyway. I wrote a one-shot the other night after working on this, and submitted it without reading it, and absolutly hated it. Is that bad? Oh well, it was just a bit to corny to me and lacked any dimension. Hopefully this isn't the same.

Thanks to all the reviewers!! If I didn't get a chance to reply to you, I'm very sorry, and will try to this time! Any feedback and comments are welcome!

Enjoy

People always say that if they were in a certain situation, they would handle it in such a way, usually the way most accepted by society. It always seems so easy to say you wouldn't make the same mistake as such and such person, when in reality, they probably said the same thing before. I would know, I'm one of those people.

In high school, I got my first taste of judgmental characters; those who look down on the sluts, the drinkers, the girls with the bad relationships. I would never let him push me around like she does,, or how could he just throw his life away like that? Is it really that hard to keep up the grades? In some ways we all do. We trick ourselves into believing we are stronger people than we really are. We seek out the flaws in others and compare it to our strengths. Well, her parents are divorced, and she has never learned how to deal with the pain, we say, because that makes it that much easier to suggest we would make better decisions.

It was the girls that fell guiltlessly in love with boys and gave themselves over completely that always struck me. It seemed to risky to trust someone like that, and when the relationships would end in a huge mess, this only made me scared further. Granted, I never had the lovey dovey parents that allowed me to learn the concept of trust. From a young age, I learned to never expect dinner to be on the table, and that when Ansem was angry I shouldn't even go near him. I began to push myself away from people, because every time I acted on my gut and not my mind, I was hurt.

The first time I told Ansem that I didn't like it when he was drunk( I was five), he proceeded to yell till my ears bled about the life he was giving me, and how fortunate I was to have anything at all. He risked his life everyday, he said, and that it was about time I started showing him a little more respect.

Being young and naïve, I took this speech to heart, and every time he came home in a rage for the time up until I was in middle school, I thought he had a good reason. Like I said, this was the false sense of trust I was given. I never trusted anyone after I found out what Ansem was really doing every night.

I had plenty of friends in school before I graduated early. We would go to the movies and shopping all the time, and gossip and laugh about stupid things. As time went on though, more and more of my friends got into relationships, and I dealt with my fair share of broken hearted girls. It seemed that every month one or another had some huge drama with their boyfriend/ex-boyfriend/boyfriend's best girl friend. It seemed pointless to me, and I vowed to never get into such a relationship. Eventually the violence from the Darkness got so fierce that they became the most feared gang in the city, and I was forced to keep a low profile.

I couldn't go out past nine because I had to be home to make sure every bit of evidence was kept secret were the police to find our location. Many days I would come to school exhausted or beaten, sometimes both. I grew apart from friends, and focused on graduating. So when I finally met up with the Nobodies, I found myself among the first real friends I'd had in a long time. Each day, a part of my protective wall was breaking down, revealing the Namine that had been hidden for so many years. This led me to my current problem.

This problem was in the form of a teenage boy with ridiculously stunning features and a personality that made most girls swoon. He was slowly beginning to chip away at that brick wall that surrounded my heart, delving into my soul like no one had ever before. And the annoying part was he didn't even seem to realize how much he was affecting me.

"Riku, get up."

I tossed a sneaker in his general direction, and smirked when there was an 'umph' from under his covers. Today was shopping day for the four occupants of our small apartment. We had very little food, as Axel and Roxas' bags of chips and soda had only held us over for so long.

"AXEL! STOP USING MY HAIRBRUSH!" Roxas hollered from the bathroom.

"I didn't!"

"REALLY?! Then please explain to me why there is LONG RED HAIR IN IT!"

"Oh, yeah, heh heh. Which hairbrush is yours again?" Axel responded sheepishly.

Roxas let out a frustrating groan and the bathroom door swung shut again with a slam. Riku popped his head up then, his hair sticking up in every direction.

"Ugh," he grunted, before stumbling out of bed. He snatched some clothes from his dresser and shuffled out of the room.

"Hey Roxas, hurry up in there!" he yelled, pounding on the bathroom door.

Axel turned the corner into the bedroom, scratching his stomach with a lazy smirk on his face.

"So how is it?" he asked, plopping himself onto my bed.

"What?"

"Oh you know, sharing such close space with the chum?" I paused my laundry folding and looked at him.

"Nothing weird."

"Oh really? No late night fights over alcohol and hidden guns?" I blushed red, and bent over to retrieve the sock I had dropped.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Axel raised a thin eyebrow, which was quickly covered by a piece of white cotton.

"Ew nasty! These socks could have fungus!" he exclaimed, holding up the garment with a disgusted look on his face. I snickered.

"Yeah, ha ha, laugh all you want. Just wait."

"OHMIGOD! I love these things!" Axel shouted, brandishing a brightly colored box of cookies. The random innocent shoppers nearby scattered and muttered to each other. Roxas glared at Axel, and snatched the box from his hands.

"No."

"Are you serious!? These are the best cookies ever invented! Its heaven in the form of sugar!" Axel insisted, gesturing to the skies.

"Yeah, and empty carbohydrates and saturated fat," Roxas stated, shoving the box back into its place on the shelf.

Axel looked at the abandoned box, back at Roxas, and then at the box again in disbelief. As soon as Roxas turned around, he snatched the box back and mimicked Roxas behind his back. Riku and I snickered.

"Seriously guys, can we please just get this done?!" Roxas fumed, shoving the cart down the aisle.

So far we had spent a good forty-five minutes in the store, fighting over which cereal or bread we were going to get. Roxas, I discovered, was a health junky, to the point of annoyance, while Axel tended to go for anything that was colorful and sweet. Riku and I had a heated debate over ice cream, and then we both fought with Roxas when he suggested we get sugar free popsicles instead. Needless to say, the workers and shoppers around us were as ready as we were for us to scram.

"Okay, we just need eggs, milk, and lemon tartar," Riku stated, peering at the list we had. "What the heck is lemon tartar?"

"I need it for the lemon vinaigrette with diced radishes we're having for dinner tonight," Roxas muttered, scanning the shelves.

Riku, Axel and I all glanced at each other. Who the heck came up with that recipe? We followed the determined veggie lover with frightened looks on our faces.

Another hour later and we finally managed to get back to the apartment. Riku helped unpack while Axel searched feverishly for the lemon tartar, apparently to hide it. Finally, Roxas shooed us all out of the kitchen to whip up his masterpiece, and we gathered around the phone to call Leon.

"Hey guys," he said when he answered.

"Anything new?" Riku asked into the speaker.

"Well, there was another report of gunfire down the road a ways, but nobody was injured. I suspect they are trying to scare someone."

"Did you find anything when you checked it out?" Axel questioned, his face inches from the receiver.

"Nope, nothing. Just be on your guard, you don't know when they may make a move. I was going to have everyone meet up tonight, but I figured it would be a better idea to hold off for a couple of days. Hey Namine, you there?"

I jumped slightly when he said my name. My mind had wandered off, thinking about what the Darkness were really up too. It was definitely different to look at the situation when I had no idea what they were planning, and when I was very likely to be one of their next targets.

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Well, tonight I think you should have someone go with you when you go to the club."

I frowned when I heard this. I didn't care how much danger I could potentially be in, I didn't like the idea of having to be guarded.

"Fine," I sighed, and we said our goodbyes. Riku sank back into the couch, and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'll go with you," he said. "I need to talk to Tifa, anyway."

I nodded, looking down.

"Well, heck. I'll go too. God knows I could use a drink right about now," Axel stated, jerking his head at the kitchen where a sour odor was spreading.

We made a pathetic attempt to sneak by the kitchen, but unfortunately Roxas saw us.

"Hey, where are you guys going? Dinner is almost ready," he called. Grudgingly, we turned back to the kitchen. Ten minutes later I held a heaping pile of vegetables on a paper plate. I plopped down in the middle of the living room floor.

"Roxas, if I die, you aren't allowed to come to the funeral," I said, holding up a forkful of the stuff. Roxas glared, already halfway done with his meal. Axel laughed and sat down next to me.

I closed my eyes and took the first bite. I peaked with one eye when I didn't shrink or blow up, to find Axel looking at me anxiously.

"Not bad," I admitted, taking another bite. "How did Roxas get into cooking anyway?" I asked Axel, who was nibbling at his food.

"Well, we both used to work at a restaurant, his dad owned it and we were waiters. After hours, he would always be coming up with different creations while I was washing the dishes."

"What happened?" I asked tentatively, watching his face carefully. Axel shrugged, leaning back on the palms of his hands.

"Roxas and I have known each other since we were in diapers. Sooner, probably," he said with a laugh. "His mom and my mom were best friends, and they did everything together. Naturally, we became good friends, like brothers."

I nodded, urging him to continue.

"My dad wasn't as cool as his. He dealt drugs a lot, and eventually he got caught. We lost everything, my mom and I. We ended up moving in with Roxas and his family while my dad was in jail.

"Eventually, my mom got fed up with having to rely on other people, and went looking for a job. She became a journalist for the newspaper, and wrote a column called 'The People's View'."

I gasped. 'The People's View' was the most controversial column in a long time. It targeted violence specifically, and the Darkness was brought up more than once. I could still remember the first time the police used the column to track one of Ansem's men.

…

"Goddamn that bitch! How dare she write about something she knows nothing about! I should kill that woman." Ansem hollered, throwing the paper into the trash, before taking the entire can and slamming it against the wall.

I was twelve, and had just returned from my spelling bee. I placed runner up, and even had a fancy trophy. I guess tonight wasn't the best night to show it to him.

"What happened?" I asked, quietly.

"Oh, there is just some awful woman spreading lies about us, kid," he muttered, kicking the smashed trashcan.

…

Guilt washed over me like a tsunami. Ansem had stalked the writer for days until she was forced to flee from the city.

"Oh, Axel.. jeez," I mumbled, picking at the carpet. I felt a large hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see him peering into my face, chuckling.

"Its not your fault, Nami," he said softly. "My mom left and moved back in with my grandparents. I stayed with Roxas and his family because I didn't want to leave. She was furious, of course, and I haven't talked to her since."

My mouth open, a question ready on my tongue when Riku peeked into the room.

"Hey guys, we should get going. It's almost time for your shift, Namine," he said, looking at me. I snapped out of my sad state and stood up quickly. Axel climbed to his feet behind me, and poked me in the ribs when he passed. I squeaked and smiled slightly when he grinned.

It was a much farther walk to the club than I realized. By the time we arrived, I was freezing and my feet were aching in my tight shoes. Riku and Axel both glanced around before we ducted inside the back door. They both disappeared to presumably find Tifa, while I pulled on my work shirt.

Out at the bar, it was absolutely packed. I was in the middle of filling orders for a man when a voice rang out in the crowd.

"Namine?"

I turned around and almost dropped the drink in my hand. Standing before me was the older brother of one of my good friends in high school. Hayner was his name, and he had headed off to the police academy shortly after he graduated. Hayner had always been super protective of me.

"Hayner!" I exclaimed, setting down the glass and pulling him into a hug from over the bar. When he pulled away he gave me a raised eyebrow.

"What are you doing working here?" he muttered, gesturing to the tipsy civilians around him. "I thought you graduated early. I figured you would be heading off to some amazing college or something."

I passed the drink to the man next to him, and stared down at the counter.

"I'm just working to pay for my bills and rent, you know?" I said quickly, trying desperately to look convincing. He still appeared skeptical.

"Where are you at school?" he asked.

"Oh, I have a few classes at the… art school. Twilight Springs Academy." I breathed a sigh of relief with my lie. It could be true, I had always loved drawing and had things been different, I definitely would have pursued it. Had things been different.

"So, what's up with you?" I asked, trying desperate to shift the topic of the conversation. Hayner smirked and leaned back on his stool.

"I just graduated from the police academy. My first shift for the station starts on Monday."

"That's awesome!" I exclaimed. Hayner totally seemed like the type to be a police officer, with his protective nature.

"Yeah…" he remarked, trailing off, before leaning in close to me. "If you ever need help, you know who to call," he said quietly, smiling. I tried not to look suspicious at this.

"Like always," I grinned. Hayner opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off by a loud bang form the front of the club. The sound was quickly followed by screams. I hopped over the counter quickly, my heart pounding, while Hayner shoved through the crowd.

"What's going on?!" I heard Cid shout from the other side of the club. Up front, the doors were swung open and shouting could be heard.

"What do you think you're doing here?!" I recognized the voice instantly as Riku's. He was standing by the door, staring down a man in a black coat. My stomach dropped.

"Oh, you know, just checking out the area. I was looking for someone, actually. Have you seen her? She's a skinny blonde thing, about this tall…" he gestured, looking around wildly. It was Luxord, another one of Ansem's men. Riku frowned.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I suggest you leave, now," he said firmly, his eyes darting around the room. He stiffened when he spotted me in the crowd, but quickly averted his gaze.

"Yeah, get your asses down here now. I don't know how many of them might be scattered around," I heard someone mutter, and turned to see Axel pressing a cell phone to his ear. He spotted me, and pulled me to him.

"We have to get out of here," he whispered, trying to yank me back through the crowd.

"Oh, but I think you do know where she is, Riku. Oh? Surprised I remember your name after all those years? You were such a young boy the first time I met you, barely ten, right?" Luxord smirked horribly, and Riku's jaw clenched. I fought against Axel's grip, my anger rising.

"Namine, no," he said, but he was pulled away from me by the rushing crowd heading for the opposite exit. Tifa was quickly ushering people through the emergency door. I struggled through the throngs of people until I was a few feet from the pair.

"Yeah Luxord, I bet you do remember me. I hope my family's face haunts you every night," he snapped, his eyes glinting dangerously.

"Oh yeah, I still remember those faces, so sad," he said with mock hurt, and before I knew it, Riku was lunging at him. They crashed to the floor, Riku punching Luxord in the face viciously.

"Riku!" I shouted, and ran towards them. Luxord shoved Riku off him with sudden strength, and Riku crashed into a nearby table.

"Ah, there's my little princess," Luxord sneered, coming towards me. "So it is true, you ran off with the little crime fighting teens, huh? Well, I think it's high time you came home."

He stepped closer, and I scowled.

"Home? I hardly call the dump I grew up in a home. And you people," I said, pointing a finger at him, "certainly didn't treat me like a family."

Luxord laughed, an evil cackle of a sort, sending shivers up my spine.

"So sorry, Princess. I promise to go easy on you when we get back," he taunted, now close enough that I could almost touch him. He reached into his pocket, and I reacted.

SLAM! My fist connected with his face before either one of us knew what was happening, and I winced at the stinging pain.

"Argh, bitch," he muttered, reeling back in pain. He lunged at me and slammed me into the wall, before the doors burst open. Before I could blink, Leon had yanked Luxord away from me and shoved him to the floor, and Axel snatched his gun as it clattered from his pocket.

"Oh, you brought reinforcement," Luxord gritted out from his position underneath Leon. "I did too."

Suddenly, I was being pinned around the neck against a tall, strong body. I felt the cold tip of a knife pressed to my temple.

"You're coming with me," a voice said quietly, and I stiffened. Ansem. I struggled against him, crying out.

"Let go!" I shouted, desperately pushing against him.

"Now now, lets be a good little girl for Daddy," he murmured, pulling me to the back door. Leon and Axel both looked up when I screamed, and their eyes widened.

"Ansem," Leon snarled, climbing slowly to his feet.

"Ahh Leon, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Ansem drawled, his knife still pressed against my skin. Leon scowled even more deeply, and began to advance closer.

"You haven't changed a bit, I see," he said, pure hatred in his eyes. Ansem only chuckled, the action making his chest rise and fall against my back. I tried desperately to pull myself as far away from his body as possible. In response, he tightened his grip around my neck, restraining my breathing. My heart rate sped up, and I felt my face burning with fear and rage.

"Let go of me!" I screamed again, elbowing him hard in the ribs. He barely flinched, but his grip tightened. Sirens could be heard in the distance, and Ansem loosened his grip.

"Saix, Luxord, lets get out of here," he called, and Saix appeared out of no where, and held a gun out to Axel, while Ansem released the knife at my head to pull out his own gun, pointing it at my face.

"It would be wise for you to not chase us," he murmured to Leon as Axel stepped away from Luxord. I wanted to scream in frustration. Since when were we so unprepared?! Then the grip around my neck was release, and I stumbled forward before spinning around.

Ansem and his men were already fleeing for the back door. I turned to run after them but Leon's arms wrapped around my waist.

"No," he commanded quietly when I struggled. "Just let them run away for now. We don't know how many of them there are around, and we're outnumbered."

"So we're just going to let them run away?! Just like that?!" I was practically shouting now.

"Yes," Leon said firmly, "For now."

I slumped in frustration and he let go of me. Axel was hoisting Riku to his feet, and Leon and I ran after them out the front door just as the sirens turned the corner.

Leon went back with us to our apartment, and stayed until he was sure all the police were gone from the scene. Riku wasn't badly hurt, he just had a few bruises and cuts. Roxas seemed slightly disappointed to miss out on the action, and Axel simply slumped to the floor in defeat. Leon looked around one last time, running his hands through his hair tiredly.

"Get some sleep for tonight and don't leave here. I'll call in the morning," he murmured before slipping back out into the night.

"This is so fucked up," Axel muttered, his head in his hands. I nodded, still fuming. It didn't seem fair that they could just come into our 'territory' and wreak havoc, and then simply leave. Seeing Ansem again tonight had stirred up emotions I hadn't felt in a while. Being with the Nobodies had brought the realization to me at just how much the Darkness had messed up people's lives.

"I'm going to bed," Roxas murmured, and Axel followed behind. Riku was already on his way to our room, limping slightly. When I got to the doorway he was laying face down on his bed. Cautiously, I sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, looking at the back of his head. He sat up, his eyes tired and mouth turned down.

"It's not your fault," he grunted, leaning back against the wall. I looked down at my hands.

"I know, but it just makes me so mad," I said, before looking back up at him. "Are you okay?"

Riku shrugged, examining a cut on his arm.

"Hey, it looks like smiley face," I said suddenly, grinning. I poked the cut lightly and Riku raised an eyebrow at me before looking back at it. His face broke into a grin.

"You are so weird," he stated. I frowned.

"Well it does! I'm trying to cheer you up here, cut me a little slack."

Riku's smile disappeared as quickly as it came, his eyes becoming troubled once again.

"I told you, I'm fine." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, sure. You look just fabulous to me," I muttered. Riku looked back at his arm again, before shrugging.

"Okay, so maybe I'm not fine, but I don't need to bother you about it," he murmured, and I couldn't help but notice how sad his full lips looked.

"Bother me?" I scoffed. "Its going to bother me more if you get all cold and angry like you were for so long." At that, Riku looked back at me.

"Says the girl who broke down over a bunch of burnt eggs," he shot back, a light smirk on his face. I blushed, and examined my feet.

"Shut up," I muttered.

"Aw, no hard feelings," Riku said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me against him suddenly. I stiffened, and my face heated up even more. Riku let go quickly, a small smile on his face, something that was rare these days. He stood up quickly, before turning back to where I still sat, frozen.

"Sorry 'bout that," he muttered. "I'm going to take a shower." He walked out of the room quickly, leaving me sitting there.

Before he got back I was in bed with the lights off, pretending to be asleep. Riku climbed into his bed quietly and I pinched my eyes shut. I was immediately greeted by the horrible images of Ansem and his men, and I shuddered. Riku froze and I heard him inhale as if to say something, but I was greeted with silence.

That night, sleeping was rough. Not only because of the events that night at the club and the constant fear of what was going to happen, but also because of Riku and the others. We were a very complex group of individuals, the Nobodies, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

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