Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its characters.

"...ry, Aqua, but I simply cannot allow you to do that!" Naminé heard the innkeeper exclaim, rudely interrupting her slumber.

"I know, I know that, Marie-Anne, but I just... I just-!"

The air was suddenly filled with quiet, muffled sobbing.

"I-I m-miss h-him s-s-so m-much..." she whimpered, her lips uncontrollably trembling, causing her to stutter, "A-And I k-know h-h-he's r-right there, b-but..."

"Aqua, please, try t-to control yourself," the elder woman consoled, sounding a little choked up herself, "you're going to make me cry, too, and trust me when I say that I howl like a banshee."

"Y-Yeah, you're right," she heard Aqua say, imagining a broken smile spreading across her lips, "I'm sorry for losing control of my emotions like that."

"Oh, no need to apologize! I completely understand. I would do the same if I were in your position. Now, let's just wait until they come out to talk to them, okay?"

"Okay," Aqua concured, "Thank you so much for being there, Marie-Anne. I would be a blubbering mess if it wasn't for you and your constant support."

"Oh, you're making me embarrassed! It's nothing, really. I'm always happy to help."

With that being said, Naminé heard the bluenette walk from the lobby to her room directly across from theirs, the door creaking to a shut.

'We've got to leave. Now,' she thought, quickly sitting up as she tried as briskly as she could to check their supplies in case something was missing as she attempted to detangle her tousled hair. So far everything seemed to be in place, which greatly relieved her.

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes with her palms and silently yawned, trying to wake herself up.

She turned to the spiky-haired blond laying on his back on the other bed, his expression absent.

'Was it what I said yesterday? Maybe I should've been more... No, no, what I said was completely reasonable. I'm just trying my best to keep him from going on some kill frenzy just because someone bumped in to me while they were walking. He just needs to remember that every life is valuable.'

"Roxas."

He turned to her as fast as lightning. "Yes?"

"We gotta get goin'. They're already up, so we're goin' out through the window."

"Okay," he said, getting up. "I can carry the backpack if you'd like," he offered.

"Uh, yeah, thanks."

Making their way out the window and around the inn to reach the trail that lead them out of the forest, they began their journey to the next world.

"So, how exactly do we get to wherever we're going next?" she asked, trying to disperse the stiff atmosphere around them.

"There's a wooden door inside one of the caves in the outer mountains. I can't pinpoint the exact location, but that's our way out."

"Oh, okay," she said, not knowing how to make a conversation out of what he said.

'Why do I feel like I shouldn't say anything? It's not like we don't know each other. I can trust him... I think.'

She couldn't help but glance at the blond in question out of the corner of her eye from time to time. He didn't acknowledge the fact that she was stealing glances at him as he usually did, and based on his facial expression he seemed to be thinking, but about what?

'Maybe I'm overthinking it. I'm just a little nervous, that's all.'

As they approached the foot of the mountains, Naminé crane her neck upwards to see just how tall the rocky massif was. She squinted as the sun temporarily blinded her as her eyes continued to climb up the sierra.

"Rock climbing equipment doesn't seem necessary from what I can see, but there are a few narrow paths we may have to cross," he noted, his quick decisive eyes already mapping out the safest and fastest route.

"All right, let's go then," she began without hesitation, making her way up the bluish-gray rocks. Admittedly, her sandals weren't a huge help, but she pressed on nonetheless. It was going to be a long trip, and complaining wouldn't make it any easier, she knew that.

During their hike she tried to think of any sort of conversation starters, but for some reason her mind couldn't come up with any. Although she told herself she was overthinking the whole situation, her mind would always come back to the same question: should she really trust him...?

'Of course I can! His purpose is to literally make sure that I'm safe and sound. He's going to be by my side until the day I die I assume. There's nothing more trustworthy than that. But still... There's just something so damn... unnerving when he talks about hurting people or even killing people like it's not a big deal. Then again his main function is to protect me... Maybe he isn't capable of sympathizing with others, and I don't exactly know how to teach sympathy. It just sort of exists within us.'

Trying to get her mind off the troubling question, she looked around her environment to set her at ease. So far all she could see were rocks, rocks, and more rocks, but at least the sky was a refreshing change of scenery...

Fortunately the further they ascended, the more wildlife she began to notice lurking in the seemingly inhabitable, desolate landscape. What she really found odd were the goats that effortlessly trotted sharp rock to sharp rock like it was nothing. She even saw a few headbutting each other near cliffs, loud cracks ripping through the still air like thunder. She could even hear the faint bleats and baas of multiple kids and other does and bucks fill the empty mountain air.

She also spotted several chinchillas sleeping inside the crevices of the mountain, their fur camouflaging them, making them hard to distinguish from their background.

Suddenly Roxas, who was ahead of her, abruptly stopped walking, causing Naminé to nearly walk in to the backpack.

"Here's that path I was talking about earlier," he informed, turning to her. "Please be very careful."

"Got it."

"All right," he said, turning to the dangerous trail ahead.

At first they were doing fine, moving at a slow, cautious pace as they hugged the stony wall to their left, taking care not to look downwards. Naminé bravely fought her curiosity off all throughout the time they were on the bumpy, narrow trail, resisting the urge to take a quick peek down.

When they were nearly almost all the way across, she heard Roxas say something to her, but the loud wind in her ears blocked out most of his words.

"Say that again, but louder this time."

"I said we have to jump!"

"Jump?!"

"Yes. The ledge dosen't connect to the other side."

"How big's the gap?"

"Admittedly it's a rather wide, but..." He launched himself off the rocky edge and rolled as he hit the rough ground slightly below them. He quickly got up and turned to Naminé. "I'll catch you," he finished.

Naminé got a good look of the gap herself. She couldn't quite tell if she would be able to make the jump. Maybe if she really put enough force in to her leap, then she could make it.

"I dunno if I can do this..."

"Just relax until you feel ready to jump, and when you do don't think about what you're doing, just do it."

His words did little to boost her confidence. "I dunno... I was never really that athletic..."

"That doesn't matter. As long as you can jump you can make it."

He saw that she still had doubts about her capability, so he changed his words.

"All right, if that doesn't help, then maybe this will: you know my main objective is to keep you alive, correct? And you know that I intend to fulfill that agenda to the best of my ability. I promise I will catch you. Trust me, I won't let you fall."

'Trust you, huh? Is that really such a good idea...?'

'Of course it is!' she chided herself, 'Why am I doubting him so much? If he says that he'll catch me, then he'll catch me. End of story.'

"...All right, I trust you," she replied, backing away from the ledge to add some velocity to her leap of faith. She let out a heavy sigh, clearing her mind of any doubts and dismissing the tension in her muscles.

'Just jump. All you have to do is jump.'

Her heart rampaging inside her like a wild animal caged, she trained her eyes to where Roxas was. A flicker of fear appeared inside her mind, but she brushed it off and courageously ran along the slippery edges of rock, propelling herself off at the very last second.

Just for a moment, she felt a sudden burst of riotous excitement and vitality surge through her veins as time slowed down for a split second. The adrenaline rush was like nothing she's ever felt before. She felt strong, powerful, invincible even! Like she could take on the entire world-no, every single world at once! It was... intoxicating...

All too soon, the sensation was cruelly snatched out of her arms as time resumed and she felt her body begin to rapidly plummet to the ground. With all the courage sucked out of her spirit, she closed her eyes out of fear and hoped to God that she'd make it.

She felt his arms wrap around her small waist as she fell, stopping her from splatting into the ground. When she peeked out from underneath her eyelids, she found herself mere centimeters away from his face.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, his grip on her just barely tightening.

Naminé vehemently shook her head, choosing not to talk as she felt just the tiniest bit bashful at the moment.

"Good," he smiled, letting her down. Naminé quickly pulled down her dress as the hem was hitched directly above her hips as he caught her, exposing her shorts for a few seconds.

Smoothing out the crinkles, she forced the blush on her face to recede and they continued onward.

"Thanks by the way. I dunno if I say it often, but thanks," she said, briefly turning to him then looking straight ahead.

"For catching you? I hardly believe that's anything to be thanked for."

"No, no, I meant thank you for when you were motivating me-rather when you tried to. I appreciate the effort is what I'm trying to say."

"Oh. You're welcome."

"Hey, I'm actually getting kinda hungry. Let's take a quick lunch break and then keep going."

"Sure."

Finding a flat, wide rock to sit on, Naminé scarfed down a can of soup and a few handfuls of tree nuts, washing it all down with a bottle of water. With her body refueled, they made sure they didn't drop any supplies before heading off.

Hours later they encountered their first cave just before the sun disappeared behind the horizon. Unfortunately, this wasn't the cave the were looking for, but it would instead serve as their resting place for the night.

Feeling a little chilly, the blonde slipped on her blue hoodie that she had tied around her waist for the longest time, retracting her arms and legs inside to conserve heat.

As Roxas gathered the components necessary to start the fire, Naminé sat cross-legged near the entrance of their temporary shelter, silently watching the various hues flaming red, casual orange, boisterous yellow, and graceful pink merrily dance across the firament.

The spectacle was over once the sun left; midnight blue curtains flecked with tiny white polka dots almost invisible to the naked eye confirming its end.

When she finally looked over at Roxas she saw he already the fire up and running, quiet pops and crackles enacting from the wooden fire.

"Well that was quick," she remarked, plopping herself next to roaring fire and drawing the backpack closer to her. She pulled out the rolled up sleeping bag and spread it out just far enough from the fire so it wouldn't ignite, but also to warm the sleeping bag to a toasty temperature.

Snuggling into the burgundy sleep sack, she made a makeshift pillow with her arms and sighed with content.

"G'night," she murmured before drifting off.

"Good night."

Roxas picked up the inaudible sound of soft paws prowling near the cave's entrance, alerting him of an intruder. He stood up and silently made his way to the entrance, the fire meekly burning behind him.

As he was just approaching the opening, he was warned to keep his distance by a sharp bark emanating from the hostile animal.

It moved closer to the cave, revealing itself to be a fulvous coyote with its lips curled back in a tight snarl. Its amber eyes burned wih intense hunger, and upon closer inspection he could clearly make out the ribs sticking out against the fur like its skin was too tight for its body. The coyote had its ears pinned back and its back arched, ready to pounce at any moment.

Roxas tried the same tactic he used for the rabid dog, humming at just the right frequency to hopefully drive it off. The noise only further irratated the already agitated animal, giving it the incentive to launch itself at Roxas, its razor-sharp teeth aching to sink itself into his neck and rip off his succulent flesh.

With an uncanny speed far beyond that of man, he quickly seized the coyote by the throat, stopping it mere inches from his face. Then, before the poor animal could even react, he forcefully clamped down on its neck, severing the carotid arteries and crushing part of its spinal cord and windpipe instantly.

Dropping his hand but still holding on to the coyote, he dragged the body out of the cave and onto the cliff outside. He impassively tossed the carcass over the edge of the precipice, not even bothering to watch it fall as he turned on his heel and made his was way back to his post next Naminé.

He resumed his duty of standing guard, his eyes occasionally drifting over to the sleeping girl unaware of the swift but brutal execution that just occurred a few feet in front of her. For the time being he'd keep that to himself. Telling her would most likely result in her becoming deeply upset, even if it did want to make her its next meal.

Roxas noticed the fire beginning to diminish and debated whether or not to collect more wood. He decided against it as she already had enough warmth from her body's heat reflecting inside sleeping bag, and by leaving she'd be highly vulnerable to more attacks. It wasn't worth the risk.

By the time Naminé woke up the fire was nothing but a small ring of stones, a few twigs, and some ashes. She stretched her arms out in a wide arc as she yawned.

"Good morning," he greeted as per usual.

"Morning," she murmured, sitting up cross-legged. She yawned once more and rubbed the sand out of her eyes.

"You seem a little more tired than you usually are. Did you sleep well last night?" he asked, taking note of how exhausted her eyes looked.

She drozily nodded, mumbling an 'uh-huh'.

"There's no harm in getting some extra hours of rest if you need it," he encouraged, unconvinced by her sluggish demeanor.

"I'm good," she assured, crawling out of the bedroll and rolling it up to stuff into the backpack.

"If you say so..."

After another handful of nuts Roxas carried the backpack once again before they were off to recommence their quest to find the mysterious wooden door, the reticent blond staying alert for any other animals they might encounter.

Meanwhile a drowsy Naminé struggled just to keep her eyes open and keep her head up while walking. All right, so maybe she lied just a little bit about feeling okay. She only had a minor headache, it was nothing she couldn't handle. She's powered through these before. She was sure it'd go away with time.

As for the lethargicness, she had no idea where that came from. She wasn't lying to him that time when she said that she slept well, and she couldn't recall any strange dreams or nightmares either. Hopefully the sleepiness would wear off as the day went on.

It didn't. As the day dragged on the somnolent girl found it increasingly harder and harder to keep up with her companion. He noticed the strain she was putting on herself and insisted that she stop and rest but she refused as she knew she could go on a little bit farther. In addition she's been uncharacteristically quiet for an unusually long period of time, which meant that there was something on her conscious that she wasn't telling him about. He didn't force the issue, but it was definitely another ingredient added to the stew he was in.

After coming across six more caves (all free of doors), Naminé's movements had become heavy and uncoordinated, bumping into Roxas several times and almost losing her balance on multiple accounts like a drunk. This time when he urged her to rest she finally gave in.

After she put on the knapsack, he got down on one knee with his back to her so he could carry her piggyback style. Once on, he gripped the underside of her milky-white thighs and stood up, resuming their trek as she slept.

Fortunately, they haven't run into any other animals yet, but he was sure that when the sun went down they wouldn't have that luxury anymore.

A bag of dried fruit and half a bottle later, Naminé climbed onto his back and within minutes fell asleep. As Roxas continued, he tried to think of reasonable explanations as to what caused her weariness.

The most likely scenario was that she lied to him about having a good night's sleep, or perhaps she was stressed out over something and she wasn't telling him. He thought that by now she would've told him what was bothering her, but it seemed like she'd rather keep her problems to herself for the time being. The thought troubled him. Keeping to herself like that wasn't healthy. She was only making it harder for herself. He wanted to help her, but she wasn't letting him.

At that moment Roxas heard rocks shiff behind them, forcing him to put his thoughts on hold as he whirled around to face whatever made the sound. Seeing nothing, he listened intently for any movement, but heard none and apprehensively resumed walking. He had to remain vigilant and alert, not engrossed in his thoughts.

By the time Roxas found the next cave the moon was already high in the sky, its full beauty visible from their rocky shelter. Carefully, he gently pried the sleeping girl off himself and rolled out the sleeping bag. Slipping it over her, he sat down next to Naminé with one leg extended and the other bent.

As he stared at the entrance he noted that their supplies were low. They'd last a couple more days if Naminé skipped eating every other day or so, although he didn't necessarily like the idea. Considering how weak she seemed today, he wanted her to eat as much as she could to regain her strength and stamina. He could hope for her condition to improve, but he knew that was just wishful thinking.

He looked over at the girl and noticed her staring at the ceiling.

"You should be sleeping."

"I'm not tired," she stated, her eyes still trained on a particular spot above her.

"You should still try to get as much rest as you can," he suggested, turning back to the opening. He heard her shuffle through the backpack, taking out the half-empty bottle of water.

"We're gonna need to get some more food soon..." he heard her murmur before she took a sip. She fell back asleep after finishing the bottle.

He stared at her for a little bit, wondering just what was racing through her mind. What was bothering her so much? More importantly, why wasn't she telling him about it like she usually did? It wasn't only stressing her out, but him as well. Maybe she thought that she could tough it out on her own? Whatever it was, he just wanted her to tell him. He needed to know what the problem was so he could try to help.

He just wanted her to be okay.

After putting on the backpack, Naminé automatically latched herself onto his back, knowing that she didn't have the energy for the journey ahead of them.

Finally, Roxas decided to ask the blonde what was the matter.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?"

She shook her head and buried her face into his shoulder. "Just a little tired, that's all..."

"No, that's not all. There's something else you're not telling me," he stated accusingly, her sleepy mind not even registering his abnormally harsh tone.

"It's not a big deal," she yawned.

"Maybe not to you, but to me, it is. What's wrong?"

"I told you, I'm just tired."

"I know you're lying."

"Fine, I've had a small headache for a day or so, now can I sleep?" she impatiently asked.

"Exactly when did it start to hurt?"

"When I woke up yesterday," she drowsily replied, already beginning to close her eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? I could've helped you," he asked, growing frustrated at her off handed replies.

Once again, her mind didn't pick up the anger in his voice as anything out of the ordinary. "Jesus, can't you just relax for a second? I didn't say anything 'cause it was nothing worth mentioning. Would you tell everyone that a storm's coming when there's only a single tiny cloud in the sky? No, so why bother telling you?" she pointed out, less considerate of his emotions than usual as she felt extremely cranky and just wanted to sleep the day away.

"Because I wouldn't have had to worry about what was making you act so different! It worries me when you keep things to yourself even though it's clear that something's bothering you! You're only making it harder on yourself, and you know that, but you do it anyway! I can't do anything to help you, and it's infuriating but at the same time it-!"

His eyes widened as he was suddenly aware of the words he was saying and he immediately began to apologize for his behavior.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mea-"

"No, no, you don't have to apologize. Don't you see? This is progress!" she eagerly exclaimed, all traces of sleepiness suddenly gone like it never existed. "The fact that you didn't mean to say it means that you're relying less on the chip or whatever tells you what to do and more on the way you feel!" She wrapped her legs around his hips and squeezed him in excitement. "You're becoming human!"

"Naminé, you're missing the point. If something's wrong I want you to tell me, even if you think it's not worth mentioning. It'd make it easier on the both of us," he said, seeing as how she was more focused on his tone of voice rather than the actual words he said.

Her mind was still buffering a little while he talked, and as soon as she processed his words she felt a hot wave of shame wash over her. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I'm such a fucking idiot! I didn't mean to make you feel like that at all! My mind was just all over the place and-" She sighed. "Sorry..."

"It's okay, but for now, I'd like to see if there's any medicine in the first-aid kit for your headache."

"Okay, hold on..."

"Hey, so this now just occurred to me, but that was probably the first time you felt angry, huh?" Naminé asked as they walked side by side, the Aspirin she took earlier working its magic, enabling her to walk without complaint.

"Yes."

"I know I've said this a thousand times, but I am really sorry."

"It's fine, but next time I'd rather you tell me that you don't feel well."

"I will."

The pale blonde soon spotted a cave to spend the night in and sprinted towards it, ready to snuggle into her sleeping bag and sleep.

Just as Roxas entered the cave he was suddenly attacked by Naminé, who practically threw herself onto the blond, hugging him for the second time in a day.

"WE FOUND IT!" she squealed, pointing towards the very back of the cave where a large misplaced door was embedded into the rocky wall.

"I know you're very excited, but I think it'd be best if we go tomorrow," Roxas suggested.

"Mm, but I really wanna go now..."

"We'll have more energy if we go in the morning."

"Ah, fine, but we go first thing tomorrow," she avidly demanded, unzipping the backpack and pulling out the sleep sack, laying it down directly in front of the door, wanting it to be the last thing she saw before she slept.

Making herself as comfy as possible, she let out a satisfied sigh and settled her eyes upon the tall door.

"Night!" she called over to Roxas, the enthusiasm in her voice resembling that of a child's.

"Good night," he replied, shrugging off the knapsack and zipping it back up, settling down in his usual post next to her.

"We're almost there..." she murmured to herself, smiling as she closed her eyes, the thought of their new home being just a few worlds away filling her with an almost foreign sense of belonging before the sleepiness eventually outweighed the joy she felt coursing through her veins.

A/N: And so we get a glimpse of the hot-headed Roxas we all know and love. Damn, these chapters are getting a lot longer than I expect them to be, but hey, more is better, right? Right.

Oh, and another little thing to celebrate besides character growth. We just hit 10 chapters, the big 1-O! Whether or not that's something to celebrate is all up to you, but the way I see it, it's the little things in life that counts.

I think that about covers about everything I wanted to go over for this chapter. I know there's a multitude of other things I could talk about: what happens with Aqua? Is Ven still out there? What lies beyond the door? But that'll all come in good time, especially that last question.

So, as expected with your Author's Notes, feel free to review, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. A lot of bottled up feelings associated with this one, especially towards the end, so for those who just eat up drama-myself included-hopefully you've had you're fill.

Until the next update. :)

EDIT (9/16/2016): Just fixed up a minor detail that I realized didn't make sense. I also worded a sentence just a teensy bit different and substituted a word.