Forbidden Love

Chapter 10: Together Again

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to the Kingdom Hearts franchise

The rain smashed against the paved streets. Aqua couldn't remember the last time it had rained so hard. It wasn't bothering her, however, since she and Zack had an umbrella. Even if she had to walk in it though, the girl wouldn't mind. For one reason or another, the rain never seemed to bother her. Most people hated the rain, but there wasn't anything bad about it. It was just a part of weather, like the sun, only most people viewed it as a bad thing. Just like how some people would view darkness. Just like how some people would view Vanitas.

If Zack weren't standing next to her, Aqua would just scream in frustration. No matter how hard she tried, the boy was ALWAYS on her mind! Why couldn't she stop thinking about him? Could they really be in love?

No. She wouldn't say it. She had to resist. How could they possibly know that already? Just yesterday they promised they'd spend time thinking. Two days were hardly enough time to figure out if she loved him. It couldn't be that simple, right?

Sometimes she tried to shove away her feelings. She'd tell herself that Vanitas was too short or that he wasn't the same age as her. But really, she didn't care a bit about those things.

"Well, here we are," Zack announced.

Aqua looked up to see they had arrived at the entrance to their castle headquarters.

The girl smiled at Zack. "Thanks for everything, Zack. I had a great time."

"I did too, Aqua," he replied.

Slowly, Zack was leaning towards her. Aqua began to panic. She knew he was going for a kiss, but she couldn't bring herself to accept it.

Sadly, the girl stopped him with her hand. "I can't."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why? What's wrong?"

The time had finally come. Aqua had to admit the truth…to herself and to Zack. "You're a wonderful guy Zack, someone who any girl would lucky just to meet. But…for one reason or another…I don't want to be with you. I have feelings for someone else."

Zack nodded, his arms now crossed as the stood under the roof covering the entrance. "It's Vanitas, isn't it?"

Aqua gaped in surprise. "WHAT? How did you know?"

He laughed at her reaction. "You two are always staring at each other. With those goo-goo eye gazes, I would have thought you were dating if he didn't tell me otherwise."

The girl blushed. "It was that easy to tell, huh?"

Zack smiled. "It's alright. People can't help it when they're in love."

She shook her head. "But I don't know if we're in love! I don't know what love is still. That's why we're not dating."

He tilted his head. "You promised not to date…because you can't tell what love is?"

The girl nodded. "That's right."

"Aqua, people don't usually date when they KNOW they're in love," Zack said. "They date to find out if they're in love. To spend time together and realize their true feelings for each other."

Staring in shock, Aqua couldn't believe what she was hearing. Everything he said made sense. Maybe she was approaching this situation with Vanitas the wrong way. Though she still wasn't sure how to figure out if she loved him.

"I still don't know if I love him though," Aqua admitted.

Zack rubbed his chin. "I always thought that love meant completely caring about someone. That someone means so much to you, you'd do anything to help them. I think it means caring about someone as much as you care about yourself…or maybe even more. Being in love isn't just about complete devotion, however. It also means you're always happy when you're around someone."

Everything clicked. That perfectly summed up how she felt about Vanitas. Aqua smiled, holding a hand over her heart. "I finally understand the truth."

The girl frowned. "But there's something you should know. Vanitas is a being of darkness. In fact, he's made of PURE darkness."

He simply shrugged. "Who cares? As long as he's not hurting people, I don't care if he uses darkness."

"I don't care either," Aqua said. "But I'm afraid of what the others might think if they find out. My master once explained to me how most people viewed darkness…"

As they often were, Aqua, Terra, and Ventus were gathered around Master Eraqus.

"If you ever travel to another world, my apprentices, you'll find that most people view darkness the same way I do," Eraqus told them. "They will see it as an evil power, as something that could completely consume you. And they should fear it, because that's all true."

Aqua, always curious, raised her hand. Eraqus smiled. "Yes, Aqua?"

"Master, why is the darkness so evil?" Aqua asked.

"Because it has the potential to destroy our worlds," he said. "If left unchecked, the entire universe could be destroyed."

"But doesn't light have the same potential?" she inquired. "You yourself have always said that light and darkness are equal in power, but totally opposite forces."

He crossed his arms, respecting his pupil's logic. "Fair enough, Aqua. But the emotions that fuel light would never lead somebody to destroy the universe. Those who use light are compassionate and caring people."

Aqua narrowed her eyes. "And what about the darkness?"

"Darkness is fueled by anger and hatred," he explained. "Those who use darkness are often envious or cruel people."

Aqua still seemed unsure. "I was reading a book in the library. It spoke of how someone could control themselves and use only the power of darkness."

The man raised an eyebrow. "Really? Did it mention how a person could do this?"

She nodded. "According to the book, someone could fight to protect another person and still use his darkness. It even went on to say that darkness wasn't only fueled by negative emotions. With enough willpower, someone could use darkness and still be a good person."

Eraqus shook his head. "I've never met a user of darkness who could do that. Do you know who wrote this book, Aqua?"

"I think his name was Lurec," said the girl.

Strangely, her master began to laugh.

"Lurec was a soldier of the forces of darkness in the Keyblade War," he told her. "Ironically enough, this same man was consumed by darkness and became one of the most despised Keyblade Masters in history."

"So…he was wrong?" Aqua asked.

The man sighed. "I know you try to find the good in everyone, Aqua, but try to understand. There are some men who are purely evil…people who couldn't be good and wouldn't WANT to be good. Those who are made of only darkness could never show any positive emotion."

Aqua stared at the ground, and looked up at her master. "What about love?"

The question caught Eraqus off guard. "Love? Well certainly not love! A person of pure darkness could NEVER feel love. Such a concept is…is forbidden. Not by moral standards, but by the laws of nature. Abominations of darkness would never be able to love."

"In his book, Lurec said he fell in love with someone," Aqua claimed.

The man nodded. "Yes, and later on he brutally killed her."

The girl's eyes widened in shock, realizing how wrong the author was. She nodded. "I understand now, Master. Thank you."

Eraqus put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm not saying love exists, however. Those in the light have always fell in love."

The girl smiled at him, completely believing all that he had said.

Zack stared at the girl, understanding where she was coming from. "No wonder you're worried about the darkness. Your master sounds like he was paranoid about it."

"I always thought he was right," Aqua admitted. "Every villain I met used darkness, and they were all hateful people. But then…I met Vanitas. At first he was just as evil…but now he's different. He's changed somehow, and even though he still uses darkness, he's managed to be a nice person."

Zack grinned. "Sounds like that guy's theory was right after all."

Aqua smiled as well. "That's what I think."

The man's expression turned serious as he saw something in the distance. It looked like a Heartless, only it was blue and had red eyes.

"What is that thing?" he asked.

Aqua looked and widened her eyes when she saw it. The creature was an Unversed, one of Vanitas's servants. But why would it be here?

"I'll take care of this," Aqua said. "Be back in a bit, Zack."

As she ran after it, the creature ran away. Zack noticed Cloud, Leon, and Yuffie approaching him from another direction.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" Zack asked.

The group stepped under the roof and Leon walked towards him. "Well before we got soaked, we were fighting off a Heartless invasion. I've never seen so many Heartless at once!"

Zack widened his eyes. "Really? And you still fought them all off?"

Cloud nodded. "We did."

The black-haired warrior frowned. "Did you find, Sephiroth?"

"There was no trace of him," Leon said. "He didn't show up AT ALL during the battle."

Zack crossed his arms. "Then I guess I was wrong. Anyway, we should stop discussing this. You guys look like you went for a swim. Let's just go in and dry off."

The group headed inside, and Zack peered off in the distance, seeing no sign of Aqua. Knowing she'd be alright, the warrior stepped inside.

No matter how hard the blue-haired girl ran, she could barely keep up with the creature. It paused, turned back, and motioned Aqua to keep following before running again.

"Why is it going so fast?" she asked herself. "And why would Vanitas send one of these things for me? This thing IS trying to have me follow, isn't it?"

The creature began leading her out of the town, down a twisting path that curved back and forth. Finally, it seemed that they were approaching the end of the road, because the creature was headed towards a cliff. Strangely, someone was lying on the ground near the edge. It was Vanitas.

Aqua raced over to him, sat next to him, and looked in horror to see blood on his chest. "Vanitas! Can you hear me? Say something!"

The boy made no reaction, not even the slightest twitch in facial expression. Aqua cast her Curaga spell, and the blood faded away. Though he didn't seem to be breathing.

"Get up!" she yelled. "Please get up!"

Yet her words had no effect. The figure lied there, as still as a rock. Aqua felt her heart beat faster as she feared the worst. Cure spells could heal ANY injuries on a body. But if the person was already dead, it was useless. Since Vanitas was completely immobile, it seemed that was the case.

Aqua tried to feel his pulse, yet her hands were so numb she couldn't tell what state he was in. In one of her rare moments, Aqua began to cry.

She had lost her master when Xehanort destroyed her world.

She had lost Terra when, as Vanitas said, Xehanort took over his body.

She had lost Ventus when he went into a coma after the X-Blade was created.

And now, Vanitas, the person who meant more to her than anyone else…the one person she could relate too…was gone too.

As tears streaked the make-up on her face, Aqua closed her eyes, trying to hold back the tears. "Vanitas, you can't die now. You're the most important person to me! I can't start living without you! You're the only one who's made me feel this happy. I'm in LOVE with you, Vanitas!"

Crying even more than before, she buried her head in her arms. Strangely, she felt something touching her face. Opening her eyes, she saw Vanitas, wiping away her tears with his hand.

"I'm sorry for breaking my promise," he apologized.

Still crying, Aqua threw her arms around the boy. Surprised at first, Vanitas hugged her in return. Ignoring the harsh rain, Aqua felt herself smile, grateful that she hadn't lost everyone after all.

Vanitas lied down on his bed, surrounded by Leon, Yuffie, Aqua, and Cloud.

Leon nervously scratched his head. "Sorry about that, Vanitas. We thought you just found your way back here after the battle."

"Yeah," Cloud added. "After the way you took down that Behemoth, I didn't think anything could stop you."

The boy weakly smiled. "Sephiroth almost did."

"I'm impressed you finished him off," Zack admitted. "But that saves me the trouble, I suppose."

Vanitas chuckled softly. "Anything to help."

Aqua and Vanitas stayed in the room, while the others left. Aqua sat next to him.

"I heard what you said back there," Vanitas told her.

She blushed a bit. "Yeah…I was getting worried."

He frowned. "So you didn't mean it."

The girl shook her head. "No, I did. Completely."

Vanitas looked at her in surprise. "Really?"

"I know we promised not to date each other," Aqua said. "But I've realized how I feel. I care about you so much, and I couldn't stand the thought of you d-"

Aqua widened her eyes, as Vanitas kissed her, cutting her off. Completely giving in, Aqua kissed back, lying down next to the boy. The two broke the kiss, but kept their embrace.

"I feel the same way, Aqua," he declared. "I've never been this happy before. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

The girl was astonished by his statement. "Oh, Vanitas…you really are sweet."

He grinned. "Well, you know me. I've always been a sweet guy."

Aqua laughed. "Yeah, like when you tried to stab me with your Keyblade."

He gaped at her. "I was just sparring with you! How is a Keyblade Master supposed to improve without fighting another Keyblade wielder?"

The two laughed, now comfortable with joking about Vanitas's past. If nothing else, that really showed the boy how much things had changed.

Vanitas grinned. "So, we're in bed together. And we KNOW we're in love. Why don't we just skip right to the sex?"

Aqua glared. "NO!"

"I'm joking, relax!" he exclaimed. He slowly grinned. "Besides, you're the one who wanted to do it."

"Stop talking!" Aqua said.

The two laughed, and faced each other again. Strangely, Aqua began to frown. "We still have things to worry about."

"Like what?" Vanitas asked.

"Well, for one, Ven is still asleep," Aqua said.

Vanitas shrugged. "I don't know how to wake him up. And it could mean I'd have to join with him."

The girl guiltily looked at the floor. "Oh. But the worlds are still in trouble."

"Sora will take care of that," Vanitas said. "Listen, just relax for now. We're in love and living in a peaceful setting. And if things grow worse…we'll worry about it then."

Aqua smiled. "You're right."

The two stared deeply at each other. And both knew, that whatever challenge lied ahead…whatever opponent was waiting in the shadows…they'd face it together.

Author's Note: Thank you all for reading my story! I feel like it's improved over time, and I hope you enjoyed it. Now, I'd be fine with leaving THIS chapter as the ending. But people don't always have the same judgment. So what do you guys think? Should I keep going? Or should it end here? If most of you want me to keep going, I'll continue this story for at least a few more chapters and do another ending.

EDIT: Due to overwhelming support, this story WILL be continued.