"So what're you thinking?" Riku asked.

"My butt is now completely numb," I replied.

He snorted, an expression of surprise and amusement glinting in the one eye I could see. "Because I needed to know that."

"Hey, you asked," I shrugged.

"Were trading seats now," he said, standing up.

I stared up at him from my position on the desk. "Sit down!" I demanded. "It's no big deal. I'm not that high-maintenance."

He grabbed my arms and tugged me to my feet. "I just can't stand the thought of you having no feeling in your hindquarters." There was a smirk in his expression as he turned me around, preparing to shove me into the chair, if necessary. I shivered, unable to help but notice that this was the first time his skin actually touched mine – and his hands were freezing.

"I didn't realize my hindquarters concerned you," I arched an eyebrow at him.

"You're the one who brought it up." He slid his hands to the top of my shoulders, pressing down.

"I'm sitting, I'm sitting!" I slapped his arms away and sat down, propping my feet against the desk and leaning back in the chair.

He crossed his arms, resting against the desk with his arms crossed, staring at me with a smug look. "I'll ask again – answer seriously this time – what are you thinking?"

"My butt seriously is numb," I said. "However, I was just thinking that maybe rebuilding my world won't be as satisfying as I thought."

He cocked his head a little. "What?"

I shifted a little, stretching my legs out across the desk and staring at my bare feet. "Well… I know I'm not going to find my parents." I uttered this last word in a hushed tone, as if it was something really embarrassing to say in front of the opposite sex. "So really all I'm going to find there is an empty house and a bunch of old memories I don't want to recall." I wiggled my toes.

"You're going to want those memories, eventually," he said quietly.

I nodded. "I know. I just feel like 'eventually' is going to be 'on my deathbed', so digging it all up so soon is sort of like opening this gash on my stomach…"

"That's nice and graphic…" he said. "It's preachy, but don't run away from your memories. It just doesn't work."

"I know," I whispered. "You take the option of confronting fear, every time it's presented to you." "I understand."

There was a pause, and he looked off at the other end of the library. "First thing I'm going to do when I get back to Destiny Islands – my home – is burn that damned raft."

I smiled. "So much for preserving memories."

"There are some that don't need paraphernalia to stay alive and well," he said.

Would you look back at me? I've never seen anyone with such a blue-green eye. "Even if this isn't a dream my seven-year-old self is having, sometimes I feel like I'm still just as naïve and lost as I was then."

"I know that feeling well," he nodded, still keeping his gaze from mine. "Sometimes I just… I was such an idiot. And I can't change any of it." He pauses before taking a sharp breath and spitting out words enveloped in self-resentment. "How do you not know what darkness is, and how it operates? How do you not know, after hearing so many stories? My world was perfect – my life was perfect – and I had to let darkness in."

"Why?" I asked quietly.

He looked at me, a sharp look in his eye. "What do you mean?"

"Why did you open the door to darkness?"

He snorted and looked away again. "I didn't know what I had. I was a spoiled, bored kid who wanted a more exciting life."

"You're still a kid," I pointed out.

He shifted his gaze to me. "But I'm not the same kid." I could hear the edge in his tone – he wasn't happy with that remark.

"You sure about that?" I arched an eyebrow, pushing it.

"Positive," he said tersely.

"Don't forget it," I nodded.

His expression softened; he snorted and shook his head, looking down. "You're too good to me."

I shrugged. "It's not your fault I'm so badass."

He smiled faintly, still looking down. "I wish DiZ would just tell you this," he mumbled. "It sounds so demanding, coming from me…"

My eyes narrowed at him. "So you were talking about me. What's the big secret?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, sitting down against the desk. He held one knee up towards his chest, stretching the other one out in front of him. "DiZ processed the data from your heart. That machine can track weaknesses and strengths, if you're open enough to the questions. He noticed that your heart was extremely sensitive to darkness, up until three days ago. Namely, the day we met." His pale skin turned a pinker shade as he focused on the floor in front of him. "When I tell you this, be sure to bear in mind that this is his theory." He took a deep breath. "Sora and Kairi's hearts are connected. No matter where they are, they'll find their way back to each other. DiZ figures, if it's possible that Kairi could rest within him… It's possible that if our hearts were connected, you could've lent me your strength when I was fighting the darkness inside my heart."

I stared at him blankly. "So… You stole my strength against darkness?"

"Essentially, yes. But now that we're together, and I've built up a resistance of my own to it, you're getting it back."

"And our hearts are connected…"

"That's what he said."

I stared at my toes again. "That makes sense," I shrugged. "We have the same dreams, I only started withstanding darkness when I met you… And according to Naminé, I'm the only one who can make you crack a smile." This made him stare at me confusedly; I kept my eyes on my feet.

"When did she say that?" he said.

"Does it matter?" I arched an eyebrow at him. "As far as I can tell, it's true. You're always really serious with DiZ and Naminé." I paused. "How are we connected, if I've never met you before?"

"I really don't know."

"What does DiZ think?"

"He never mentioned it."

"Hm…"

Riku shifted towards me, close enough that he could rest his head against my leg. He looked sort of nervous. "What do you think?"

"My butt isn't numb anymore," I said.

"Miyuki…"

"I think you suck for borrowing my strength against darkness for so long. Don't think I won't charge interest."

He snorted and shook his head. "Why didn't I see that one coming?"

"You will pay," I said ominously. "You're going to buy me stuff. Lots of stuff. Candy, and shiny things, and a pony."

He snorted. "What are you going to do with a pony?"

"That's not for you to question, Thief."

"Loan shark," he retorted.

"Pirate."

"Pirate?" His eyebrows knit.

"You've got an eyepatch thing going on. And sharks pester pirates."

"The eyepatch thing is your fault, you know."

"Well the inability-to-move-in-the-dark-corridor thing is your fault, so I don't want to hear it," I scoffed.

He smiled faintly. "Fair enough."

There was a pause. I bumped my shin against the side of his head. "So what the hell are we supposed to do when we're in our own worlds?"

The smile wavered, and I could tell it was fake when he forced it back in his expression. "Your heart'll have its strength back. Things will be even. You won't have to worry."

I pursed my lips. It's not my strength I'm concerned about. "Even," I echoed.

"Even," he nodded.

"But unfair."

"What do you mean?"

"If DiZ's theory is right, and our hearts are connected, we'll still have to find our way back to one another."

"So you think his theory's correct?"

My face got hot. "It makes sense to me."

"Me, too. I just didn't want you feeling like you're being pushed into something."

I snorted. "If I felt like I was being pushed, I would push back, believe me."

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, and he laid his head against the desk. "I'm sorry I stole your strength."

"Don't worry about it. I'll make you pay one way or another," I grinned, bumping my shin against his head again.

"You worry me," he laughed softly.

"You mean I scare you," I pursed my lips and narrowed my eyes at him.

He rolled his eyes. "Hardly."

"Then what's that bruise on your arm? And your neck? I bet you've still got that nasty bruise on your side."

"You really want to start comparing bruises?"

"The worst bruise I have is on the back of my leg – and it's only as big as my thumb!" I hiked the sweatpants leg up to my knee and pointed to the back of my shin. "See? That was a lame counterattack."

"That 'lame counterattack' knocked you on your ass."

I grabbed his chin and pushed it up. "And who was doubled over for a good five minutes, trying to catch his breath from the strike to his throat? I see that bruise is still nice and purple."

"It is not," he scoffed.

"Yeah, it is," I laughed.

He glanced across the room. "It's late," he said quietly.

"Don't change the subject," I said.

"We need to rest," he said, smiling a little. He was serious, but might be persuaded to bum around the library with a little prying…

"Resting is for losers," was the first argument out of my mouth.

He stood up. "Nice try," he held his right hand out towards me. "Come on."

I gripped my hand around his and pulled myself to my feet. He dropped my hand, in my opinion, far too soon, and we walked side-by-side out the library and through the foyer. We stopped in front of my door, the only light coming from the moon shining through the window.

"Night," he said.

I wavered. This is probably going to be so awkward… Really, really awkward… So it's probably wiser to… "Oh, screw it," I muttered, and wrapped my arms around him, pressing my ear against his chest.

I… I can hear your heartbeat…

He was frozen for what felt like a long moment, and just when I thought I'd better run into my room and hide under my covers until I died from embarrassment, his arms slid around my shoulders. He took a shaky breath, my head lifting as his lungs expanded. "Goodnight, Miyuki." His voice was just above a whisper, and was almost as shaken as his breathing.

"Goodnight," I mumbled into his shoulder.

Our arms untangled from one another – we stepped back – he smiled a little, his face going red. His eye was glistening with an expression I couldn't decipher. He tugged the blindfold down and stepped back towards his room – I opened my door. We laughed awkwardly as I stepped into my room and he disappeared down the hall.

I laid on my bed, staring at the ceiling.

This is a bad idea. We'll be in different worlds. It'd be so much better to just nip it in the bud and not go there. I snorted. Yeah, right. My head can tell me that all it wants – my heart still wants to be as close to his as possible.


Okay, I normally don't do a spiel at the end of this stuff, but I thought some well-deserved thanks needed to be thrown out here to everyone who's reviewed lately.

THANK YOU! It makes my day every time someone posts a review. I had a fit of squee-ing the other morning. Best way to wake up EVER. So to The Misaki Sisters, PyroScorpion, Kanika Meskhenet, and stifledcreativity, YOU'RE MADE OF WIN. Thanks so much!