Setting: Destiny Islands, During Days
Genre: Adventure
Characters: Naminé, Riku
Rating: K+
Freeing
Naminé scribbled in her little sketchbook while she silently worked on restoring Sora's memories again, alone in her large, white room.
"You could probably use a break, couldn't you?" Riku asked, walking in to check on her.
"But…" Naminé looked up at him, but, failing to meet his gaze, chose to stare at the floor instead. "…my promise to you… and DiZ…"
"I wouldn't offer if I thought it meant Sora might not wake up," Riku stated, as if it should be obvious. Naminé nodded, understanding how important it was that she awoke his best friend. "Being trapped in here all the time isn't exactly necessary, though, is it? You need a little bit of freedom."
Naminé smiled a little. "So you learned something on your trips with Xion?"
"At the very least, until she returns, not much can be done, right?" he said, not answering her question. "I can distract DiZ for a while. You can explore for a few minutes, at least."
Naminé put down her sketchpad and stood up. "I would like that… Thank you, Riku."
"This doesn't mean you can run away," he added sternly. "You are going to fix Sora."
"Of course," Naminé nodded and smiled. She opened a corridor of darkness quickly and went through, for she knew exactly where she wanted to visit.
She stepped out and looked around at the beach bathed in rich sunlight and covered in trees. Luckily, no one seemed to be here, so she didn't have to sneak around. She sat in the sand and took off her sandals so she could feel hot sand under her feet and let the waves wash over her toes. She giggled at the strange new sensations as the wind blew her hair.
She abruptly stopped when she heard a sound of some sort and ran to hide behind a tree. She peaked out carefully to see who it was.
No one was there –no people, anyway. There was a small white bird whose leg was tied up in a tangle of rope.
Naminé walked over the bird shyly and reached down to help untie it. It squawked and struggled as it saw the girl, and Naminé recoiled. Then, she tried again, this time not backing down.
When she finally had freed the bird, she smiled as it took flight. Riku had freed her and she had freed the bird. She felt proud of herself for finally finding the strength to save someone. She didn't even mind the cuts she got while it pecked at her.
Naminé sat in her chair, alone in her big white room. She drew a picture of a bird taking flight as she recalled the previous day. One day, she would be that free. She knew it.