I do not own Kingdom Hearts

Sai stood in the center of his new room. It was twice as large as his old one, and was twice as hard to find without using a portal. But that was okay—somehow, that only made it seem more important. It was on one of the higher floors in the castle, through numerous winding hallways and up several staircases. He had a feeling it was to encourage them to use the Corridors of Darkness, since Keiya's room would also be in this hallway, and she always liked to avoid using dark portals when possible. He now had a large, elaborate bookshelf in the corner of his room (which probably wouldn't see much use), a dark green sofa that looked like it would pull out into a bed if he wanted it to, and a proper set of drawers for storage rather than the cardboard box he had been using. He had a much more sturdy desk made out of deep cherry wood, and on top of it already lied several journals and books from the library, presumably what Maleficent wanted him to be reading in his spare time.

His box was already in his room, sitting in the center of the floor. He decided, now that he had gotten the promotion he had for so long desired, he could unpack a little. The first thing he pulled out of the box was the picture he had broken several weeks ago when he threw it against the wall—the one of his parents. It no longer rested in a frame with a glass cover, since he had destroyed that, so he put it on his desk to fix up later. He didn't even know why he kept it—it wasn't like he ever looked at it. He never really thought about his parents or what happened to them; he had been much too little to know the details. Maleficent had always taken it upon herself to encourage him to keep all his belongings, though. Now that he was older, he realized it was probably to promote anger and make him want to practice. But he had lost all interest in vengeance or whatever he had originally joined up with Maleficent for. He barely even thought about his parents anymore—he was always too preoccupied with training. He didn't hate them—he just didn't remember them. He had let that part of his memory slip into the deep corner of his mind; slowly but surely, as he got older, and he had hardened his heart to them. He still, like the day he broke the picture, became overwhelmed occasionally, but for the most part, he had erased his life prior to meeting Maleficent. It was much easier to work that way. Besides, he certainly had more important things to worry about than finding their murderer. To him, if it weren't for their deaths', he wouldn't have gained such tremendous power. He would have been nothing more than a village boy who was constantly talked down to by the adults and fellow children—he was 'too immature', 'too sensitive', 'too quick to fight his way through problems', 'never thinking things out' . But now, he could defend himself with powers they couldn't even imagine. He had the ability to travel anywhere in a split second, had earned his rank among men thrice his age, and had met a girl his age who he liked talking to, and who got herself sick and into severe trouble—something that made him feel a little superior, and like he belonged, when it came to things like obedience, which he had always been criticized for back 'home'. He could incur fear into the hearts of all those who opposed him. He liked to think that his parents would be happy for him. Maybe even proud, if they could understand what he was securing for himself as Maleficent's apprentice.

The next few things he pulled out of his box he immediately tossed aside. He found a wooden toy sword, a battered old sun cap, a shirt, a pair of shorts, and socks that he had worn when he came into contact with Maleficent, a watch with a worn out leather strap, and lastly, a packet of sunflower seeds. He scoffed at the contents of his box—he hadn't remembered what was in it, but he didn't think his stuff was this worthless. He remembered the story behind every one of these items—the sword he had already had in his backpack when he left, the hat and clothes he was wearing, the hand-me-down watch his father had given him, and the sunflower seeds he had foolishly brought along as food. He had left his house in a hurry, afraid that the people who killed his parents might come back. He just took whatever was in his sight and that fit into the minuscule backpack he had, which he had sold on the streets to buy more food a few days before meeting Maleficent.

But as worthless as these possessions seemed to him, he knew that he had to at least be grateful he knew where they were from and why he had brought them. When he was digging through Keiya's old room a couple of weeks ago, he saw that her belongings were so obscure—she probably would have no idea now what they were or why she had had them with her. He imagined she had been wearing the hair tie, (although here, she always had kept her hair down in a sort of rebellion, since it bothered Maleficent), but he didn't know what a six year old girl would be doing with such sophisticated earrings. Obviously they must have belonged to her mother or someone like that, but what he wanted to know was how she had managed to live on the streets for a year without them getting stolen. She had said on every occasion that he asked her that she didn't remember her family, so if she was telling the truth, there was no way she would remember where the earrings came from. He didn't even bother thinking about the origin of the bag of pebbles—small kids did things like that all the time, he guessed. He decided to ask her about it when she came back. He was certain that she hadn't looked inside the box herself in years, so maybe seeing these things would jog her memory. Or maybe she'd be relieved that he found them for her, and she would tell him what she had always kept hidden.


"It sure is hot out, huh?" Riku commented, picking up another long stick of wood to be brought to the town's carpenter. It was day two of reconstruction, and they had been out in the blazing heat all day and all of yesterday, trying to rebuild some of the large apartment buildings and hotels that had been burned down. This way, families who had lost their smaller houses would have someplace to stay while they rebuilt. The streets were lined with ash—you could stand on the edge of town and look straight through to the other side with nothing in your way. Even the foundations had been eaten up by the flames. Everyone in town pitched in, and the Restoration Committee rotated jobs so that there was always a group out helping in town, someone at headquarters to answer phones, and someone watching over the population of small children that were too young to help.

"You can't complain—you brought this upon yourself." She reminded him dryly. He looked over at her, breaking into a smile. She hadn't spoken to him during the two days they had been cleaning up the town. She had started ignoring him the morning after the town was attacked—he couldn't say he was surprised. They had been assigned to work together in the same neighborhood, so she hadn't been able to escape him. He followed her around, trying to get her to speak to him—"spotting", he called it, in case one of them got hurt. He even carried on one-sided conversations, giving her pauses to join in. But she had decided to not speak to him as a sort of revolt, since he seemed to have the idea that her anger would diminish and he would be off the hook for what he did. They were out all day walking the streets of the town that she could have saved, and that Riku had selfishly let burn to ash before their eyes. Her silence should have caused a rift to form, but Riku decided to just let her fume. So she had—she couldn't let him think a few kisses would change her mind.

Now, though, it was starting to get boring.

"That's the first thing you've said to me all day—are we on speaking terms now?"

She said nothing more, but silently hoped he would say something to give her a chance to respond. She wanted to end the charade she started, but she couldn't just give in out-right.

"Y'know, even if you had put out the dark fires, people would have still been trapped in the buildings. The ordinary fires had weakened the foundations. Anyone who died in those buildings—and I'll tell you right now, there aren't many—died from the smoke from the regular fires, or when the buildings clasped." He informed her, keeping his back toward her so she would say something. She continued to keep her mouth stubbornly closed. "The dark fires burnt down the buildings, but the regular flames were doing their part too, and you couldn't have put those out. People would have died regardless. Nothing you could have done would have made much of a difference at that point. If you think there's blood on your hands—"

"Your hands, Riku." She snapped automatically. "And either way, the entire town still needs to be rebuilt."

He sighed and stretched his hands over his head. He wanted to try and keep the conversation light, even though it wasn't such a simple topic. He knew if he pushed it too far they would end up in another all-out fight instead of this awkward, one-sided one. But he was definitely winning—even she was getting tired of this ridiculous game.

"And we are rebuilding it. Right now. And we're making it better and more secure than before." He said, knowing she was starting to run out of excuses to stay angry. He had abandoned his work for the time being, and was standing behind her while she swept up the ash in a section of land to be built upon. She continued working, all the while racking her brain for something irrefutable to say. He walked around her and planted himself in her way, but she just continued sweeping the area around him, leaving a circle of ash where he was situated. He tried again, this time just to mock her, and continued to stalk her around the area until finally she shoved him backwards and out of her way in frustration. The heat and humidity were starting to get to her. Riku pulled the broom away from her, then used it as an arm rest and looked at her expectantly. She shot him the best glare she could while baking under the flaming sun. They stood there for a moment in a sort of contest, until Riku finally began walking away, her broom still in hand.

"H-hey, I need that—"

"Oh, so now you want to talk?" He asked her teasingly. He strode around the area lazily while she tailed behind him, too hot to put any real effort into it. He kept the broom in front of him and out of her reach as he walked.

"I just want my broom back." She said coolly. She knew he was just playing with her, but she couldn't bring herself to give in and just make-up like her wanted her to. She did want to make-up, even though she was still upset—standing here in the midst of destruction—but because he was waiting for it with that confident smile, she couldn't give him the satisfaction.

He stopped abruptly, causing her to walk right into him. She gasped and took a couple of steps back, rubbing her eyes. He turned around smiling and watched her. Her posture was slouched a little bit and her eyelids were heavy.

"You look tired. Why don't we head in?" He offered.

She shook her head and took the broom from his hand while he wasn't looking, then started back toward the area she had been working in. He followed behind her, stretching his hands above his head. "Everyone else already went home." He stated, "I know you want to help out, but it's starting to get late."

"You can go inside, then." She said, picking up her work where she left off.

"And leave you out here in the dark? I don't think so. We're done working for today—come on." He said firmly. He picked up their bags and gently took the broom from her again, then placed it in a pile where everyone else had deposited theirs.

"I haven't seen you working in a while," She commented flatly. She took her things from him reluctantly and watched as he blew out the lanterns they had lit a while ago when the sun started to set. He finished cleaning up quickly and held out his hand to her.

"I'm finished. I can't continue without tomorrow's load." He explained. She stared at his hand for a moment; her own was lifted up slightly, unsure whether or not she really wanted to take it. Riku smiled at her kindly, offering her a quick, peaceful reconciliation. She sighed internally and outstretched her hand just far enough for Riku to take it. "You're doing unnecessary work. The wind is going to blow all that dust around tonight. Don't make yourself crazy with this—it's a team effort."

"Whatever…" She murmured.

They walked back to house in a comfortable silence, finally on better terms. The streets were lined with tents and hastily constructed huts that would be dissembled when they got to rebuilding the houses. People were sitting around fires and lanterns, using blankets to keep warm. It was surreal, how much damage there was. It was so much more to swallow while walking through the streets. But people seemed comfortable. Attacks were nothing new to them—there had just never been anything quite this devastating since Maleficent claimed this world as her own years ago. There was a sense of optimism in the air—everyone understood that it was the only feeling that would get them through this mess.

When they made it back to headquarters, Riku and Keiya headed straight to their bedrooms. Both were too tired to be hungry—everyone else had felt the same. They dragged themselves slowly down the long wooden-floored hallway to their rooms at the very end. Keiya's bag was hanging limply on her shoulder, swaying back and forth with each step, while Riku had his sack tucked loosely under his free arm. All they carried with them was water and some first aid supplies, but the burden of carrying anything at this point was almost unbearable. They paused in between their respective rooms, with the silence from before still hanging over them. Keiya rubbed her eyes again, as she had been doing during the entire walk to keep awake. Even though it was still early to be going to bed—only eight thirty—she decided to just sleep in her clothes and change tomorrow. She was ready to collapse, as was Riku, who suppressed a yawn.

"So are we okay?" He asked gently, gazing down at her. She kept her head sleepily downcast, half-gone. Riku anxiously awaited her answer, hoping she wouldn't start up again and go back to ignoring him. After a minute, she gave a short, shy nod, finally worn out enough to end the stupid game she had started. A small smile surfaced on his face, showing relief and optimism. He lazily leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her forehead, knowing that if he tried her lips, she might snap at him out of either exhaustion or lingering stubbornness.

"Goodnight." He said softly, letting go of her hand. She was too tired to feel flustered; she just stayed still.

"Yeah… goodnight…"

He reluctantly turned and entered his room, leaving her in the hallway. He grabbed his sweatpants that were draped on a chair, changed drowsily, and plopped down on his bed. He was exhausted. The humidity in the air that day had made work extremely uncomfortable—especially since he was carrying large pieces of wood back and forth as they were cut down and dragged into the town. He would stay up a little bit so he could check up on Keiya; it probably wouldn't take her so long to get to sleep tonight. He was worried that she might have trouble fighting, though, since she was so out of it. So he definitely couldn't doze off while he waited.

After Riku had disappeared behind his door, Keiya stumbled into her own room and immediately went to her bed. She didn't even bother with blankets or pajamas. The day was finally over, as was her 'vow of silence', as Riku had referred to it once. She felt anxious about tomorrow. Hopefully, things could return to normal. She didn't want anything to change between them. They had always had a unique friendship—she didn't want it to be replaced now that their feelings were out in the open. Ugh…The thought brought a blush to her face. On the way back to headquarters a few days ago, when the town was first attacked, she had been too overwhelmed to think anything through. The town's destruction, as well as Riku trying to telling her that he had been in love with her this whole time, was too much to swallow. She was shaken up that night, coming down the high hill they had been resting on, which was shown when she kept squirming away from him when he tried to keep his arm around her waist. She wasn't sure what to think about anything. When Riku finally asked, after countless attempts to start a new, unrelated conversation, if she didn't believe that he loved her, she had retaliated that he could just be playing with her like he always was. It seemed likely to her at the moment, in her mixed up state—he had been deliberately frustrating her for his own amusement the whole walk back, and she had been so sure he was going to reject her. In her mind, his kissing her didn't seem to prove anything, given the circumstances. He was always teasing her every chance he got. She was just so mad that she didn't bother to control what slipped out of her mouth. But he replied that if he was just making fun of her, why would he 'waste' all his time with her, and that, since she was 'so much more powerful than he', he wouldn't risk his life to play a fast trick. He was trying to get her lighten up. She hated his stuck-up-ness.

But she knew he would never do something as cruel as that. She buried her face in her pillow, waiting to fall asleep. Tomorrow would be a new day, hopefully a better one. They could pick up where they left off, talking about nothing and taking walks in the secluded areas of town, (although they would be fixing up the market for a while before that could happen). They were making rapid progress, though, and with the combined effort of the civilians and the Committee, they would have things up and running in no time at all. They had heard that morning that other worlds had been attacked too, other worlds scattered all over the universe. So they were just one of many—Radiant Garden hadn't been singled out. So maybe Riku was right. Maybe things weren't as bad as she thought after all.


Sai stood in the center of the meeting room, watching the council file in from outside. They each found a spot to stand, some of them against the wall in the back. They all looked kind of like coming to this meeting was a waste of their time. When every last one of them was present and ready to listen, Sai stepped forward and eyed some of the ones who were shooting him annoyed looks. Everyone was waiting to hear whether or not they could move on with their plans.

"As you all already know, the invasion a few days ago was a success—"

"A success? Did we get the girl back?" One of them asked sharply, already willing to bet on the answer.

"No, but—" He was cut off by a drone of disappointed sighs and grunts. "We did maximum damage to the town. Everyone played out their role perfectly. All that's left to do is to wait."

"But how long?! We have agendas to stick to—we can't sit around here waiting!" One of them groaned, for the umpteenth time. Sai felt the control he had over the group start to slip a little with each passing second.

"Yes—this is Maleficent's problem, not ours. If she can't keep an eye on her apprentice, she had better not get us involved in looking for her."

Sai looked around the room at the angry faces—none of them were even looking at him anymore. They were all talking amongst themselves, venting at how they were still delayed, despite the grueling preparations they had made in order for the invasion to be perfect. He could sense mutiny in the air—there had never been so much tension in the room. No one paid him any more mind as they talked their situations over to each other. Before he could try to step in, however, Maleficent did so herself. Her portal opened up in the corner of the room, and she gracefully stepped out into the midst of chaos. When she emerged from the shadows and took a place next to Sai, everyone finally looked over, the whole room falling silent.

"I have heard enough. Anyone who thinks they are better off without my help may leave now." Her voice bellowed threateningly. No one spoke or made any move to leave. "Be warned, however, that the heartless spare no one."

Sai was relieved that she had decided to step in—he wasn't sure what he should say. No one looked like they were ready to leave anymore; they were all terrified of Maleficent's threats. Especially since everyone knew she was withholding part of their plan from them. She didn't trust anyone, and likewise, they didn't fully trust her. But they were too afraid of what would befall them and their worlds if they didn't cooperate. And the stories that circulated of what happened when the last council didn't follow Maleficent's plans only served to confirm their fears. That would be the only positive side of 'that girl' not coming back.

Maleficent led the rest of the meeting swiftly and everyone was dismissed within the half hour. She wanted to make sure they didn't start more trouble if she left, and Sai was still, according to her, inexperienced, and not suitable to deal with problems such as mutiny. When everyone was gone, she gave him the order to put the heartless on patrol, just in case. She had enough to deal with at the moment; she didn't need any up-risings now. Things were behind schedule already, so if anyone decided to quit on her, she'd have a lot of rearranging to do. She had become very annoyed with Keiya these past couple of weeks—unnecessary problems were arising every day because of her, on top of her plan being delayed—the plan she had worked on to perfect for years. She was ready to resort to more drastic measures, if need be. Possibly a follow-up with the work that Sai had done. She wanted to avoid using force, but if she let things go by for another month, her whole operation could fall apart into pieces. She was already looking into alternative plans in case things didn't work out right, and had found other people she was sure would be willing to do work for her if this council slipped away. Sai was of no help in matters like these; she didn't trust him to go off and find new recruits or routes for their plans. He might make a scene or make himself known. And she certainly couldn't leave now, not with the council ready to overthrow her. And with this drawn-out excursion Keiya had taken, she wasn't even sure she would trust her to go out on missions. She would have to send her and Sai, to make sure they kept each other in line. Sending two people on the same mission just increases the odds that they'll be seen…Ugh, and Sai's never been on such classified trips before, so he doesn't know how to behave… She thought, trying to figure out a way to reorganize things for when they could get moving with the operation. At this point, we'll still be delayed even when she returns—it'll take at least a week to break her. But I can't let this go unpunished…


Riku walked into the hallway after pulling on a T-shirt. He was going to check on Keiya as always, but first he wanted to pay a visit to Leon. He strolled into the kitchen where, sure enough, he and Aerith were digging through papers. Cid and Tifa were there too, working on the computer with some diagrams of the building to be constructed. It was pretty lively, but then again, it was only nine-thirty. He and Keiya had been out much later than everyone else, so they were probably the only ones ready to get to bed. Everyone looked up from what they were doing when he entered, but continued to talk and carry on their work. He leaned against the counter casually near Leon and Aerith. They seemed to be more involved in the reconstruction than the town's officials, who were still terrified. Everyone here was used to the heartless.

"What's wrong, Riku? Do you need anything?" She asked.

"No—I just wanted to thank you guys for before. For saying that other worlds were attacked... I think it helped a lot." He said. Leon looked up from his diagrams and nodded. Riku had asked him to say so earlier before—he knew the thought was bound to crossed Keiya's mind eventually, and he wanted to make sure she didn't get any ideas about leaving. "I was afraid of how she'd react if she knew it was just here." He explained.

"It's no problem—we think everything's better this way, too," Aerith said. Riku smiled and took leave, heading back toward Keiya's room. He felt bad, keeping yet another secret from her, but all these things he was hiding would devastate her—he'd rather tell a few white lies than let her fall into a depression. Back in the kitchen, Cid and Tifa brought some printed papers over to Leon, who was highlighting and making side notes on the town's construction plans.

"Well that was nice of you, Leon." Tifa said sweetly. "I was wondering what you were talking about earlier."

"It would do no good if she tried to run away from us now—I'm sure there would just be more trouble coming for us." He said practically.

"Oh, you know you wanted to help them out. Think of how upsetting it would be to Riku if she left." Tifa pressed. Leon kept his eyes on his work in front of him.

Aerith giggled and pushed Leon's papers aside. "He doesn't like people to think he's kind. Heaven forbid he have a soft spot!" She teased, joining in the fun.

"Well, now we'll have to keep a close watch on the city." He said, changing the subject before Cid could say anything. "Maleficent knows she's here—that's why she sent the heartless. To scare her. We're going to need top-notch defenses to keep our own against any further invasions."


"Riku, you're going the wrong way…" Keiya said, looking over her shoulder at the town. Riku pulled her onward down a completely different road, flashing a smile to the few old women who they passed up, going the opposite direction. They nodded, blushed, and returned the smile shyly. They recognized the two of them immediately. Riku, at least, had become well known around town as one of the Restoration Committee, as well as Sora and Kairi. Keiya didn't talk as much to the townspeople, but they knew her since she was always with Riku. And she knew they liked to talk about them in their gossip. They continued down the path around the perimeter of a hill until they lost sight of the town completely.

"Riku, seriously—where are you going?"

"It's our turn to take a day off, remember?" He said, not surprised that she forgot. They were rotating breaks, and would get one day off a week.

"What are you talking about? We haven't even worked through a whole week yet!" She protested, wondering why no one had said anything about a break to her.

"Leon said." He defended childishly. He wasn't going to give up this day off—he was happy to help the town, of course, but if a chance arose for them to hang out alone rather than in the midst of the chaotic reconstruction, he would snatch it up. He led her around a bend into a small, young woodland area that was untouched by the heartless and tucked away from the town. He wanted to get her mind off the invasion for a while; especially since she had been bent on working overtime. When he felt like she was about to say something, he started, "It's just one day— they can manage without us. We haven't gotten to hang out together in so long."

"'So long' as in, a few days?" She stated as they entered the infant forest. He shot her a smirk. They walked hand-in-hand deeper into the woods until finally, Riku seemed pleased enough and let her go. They stood there for a minute, taking in there surroundings. The trees were a good deal shorter and thinner that those in the other woods, and the leaves were a much lighter yellow-green, since this forest didn't get as much sunlight. The leaves would rain down with each strong gust of wind, since the trees weren't strong enough to hold on to them yet.

"There." He said, observing the horizon, "No town in sight."

"I can't believe you."

"I don't see you complaining." He commented smugly.

Riku's taunting aside, she liked the forest. It was very shady, but still had a lot of open space, as opposed to the more crowded forests they had explored. She wandered over to a tree and took a seat beneath it, Riku following close behind. In a way, things had worked out sort of well. She had run out of capris and had to wear a sundress while they were being cleaned, so at least she didn't have to work in it. She sighed and let her hair out of the ponytail she had hastily put it up in for the day. Riku plopped down lazily next to her.

"So…" He started, thinking of a topic for conversation. Keiya turned to him, already interested. She could never guess what he would bring up to talk about. "Where's your favorite place to travel to?"

"My favorite place? I don't know." She said nonchalantly. She twirled her fingers around the long, cool grass subconsciously.

"Well, do you like Traverse Town? That's where I found you." He offered.

"I just couldn't think of anywhere else to go."

"Well, what kind of weather do you like, then?" He asked, as if going down a mental list. She looked at him curiously, with an idea of where he was heading. She sighed in silent dread.

"Cold. The dead cold." She said flatly. Riku groaned and rolled his eyes. He slumped down against the tree, his legs carelessly outstretched and his arms crossed.

"What would it take to convince you to come home with me?"

"Riku…I'm thinking about it, alright? I really have been thinking about it…" She stressed helplessly. In truth, she thought it over almost every single night. She was completely torn between doing what she wanted to do, and doing what she knew was right. But whenever Riku brought it up, she felt bad to say no. So she evaded the question all together. Riku pushed away from the tree and crawled over in front of her so he wasn't facing a different direction.

"No—you're just trying to get me to leave you alone. Just give me an answer." He pleaded. "Either 'yes' or 'no'."

"And what if I say 'no'?" She asked, a little taken aback at his desperate request. "Will you leave me alone?" He nodded un-convincingly, waiting for a response.

She sighed, defeated. "Fine, then. No."

Riku looked shot down for all of half a second, then smiled a little sadly. She drew her legs up and buried her face in her arms. "Okay." He said, ready to drop the subject. He relaxed a little bit in his position and scooted next to her so he could rest against the tree again.

"What?" She asked in confusion, lifting her head up. Riku let a real, sly smile cross his face for a moment when he saw how he had contradicted her expectations.

"It's really nice here, isn't it? I'm glad the heartless didn't find this place." He commented, squinting and shielding his eyes with one hand to look up at the sky. Keiya suddenly felt guilty—he really was going to let her change the subject. His smile was a little off, but she could tell he was trying not to show it. She hating having to say 'no' to his request—of course she wanted to go with him. He looks so sad now… I think I liked it better when he kept bothering me… and if I say 'yes' and then decide against it later, things will only be worse… What am I doing?

"Sorry…" She murmured after a short silence. Riku turned to her, an unreadable expression on his face. "I don't mean to avoid you, Riku… I promise you, I'm thinking about it…"

He smiled at her genuinely and removed a fallen leaf from her hair. "Don't worry. You're not off the hook. I'll bring it up some other time." He informed her lightheartedly. "I'll convince you to come back with me—you'll see."

She inwardly let out a sigh of relief, and relaxed her head on her knees. "So what do you do on the islands?" She asked curiously, entering un-chartered territory. It always surprised her how much she still didn't know about him, despite the endless weeks they had spent together, just talking. "How do you make a living?"

"I work in a shop. It's nothing special—like you said, it's a living." He said nonchalantly, his face still lit up. Keiya smiled; finally she got to question him for a change. As he continued talking about what kind of work there was to do on the islands—how people fished and make boats and navigated from isle to isle—a thought crossed her mind.

"Say, Riku—Have you thought about opening a school? For self-defense?" She asked, thinking of how he enjoyed demonstrating to the town's children how to fight and defend. Classes were postponed for now, while they were rebuilding everything, but he seemed to really like being an instructor. She had to admit—the position suited him.

"…No, I guess I haven't..." He said, trailing off into thought. "But do you think I could do that?" He questioned, concealing his excitement at the idea. It had never occurred to him that he could take this summer thing and bring it back to the islands with him.

"Of course—don't tell me you're losing your self-confidence now." She teased, trying to encourage him. Riku really did seem pleased with the idea, a little to her surprise. She wasn't sure if he'd take it seriously.

"What about you?" He asked suddenly, "What do you like to do?"

"I don't know." She replied, shrugging.

"Well, how about something outdoors? You seem to like things like that." He observed. She tried to picture the types of jobs that involved working outside, but none of them suited her, and she didn't really know how to do anything other than fighting. "Y'know, on the islands, almost everything involves working outdoors."

She laughed at herself for falling right into his trap. "You said you wouldn't bring it up again." She reminded him lightheartedly. He crossed his arms and shrugged indifferently, as if he had forgotten.

"You brought it up. I was just carrying on the conversation." He said silkily.

"Whatever."

They sat in silence as a strong gust of wind blew over them, sending leaves falling down everywhere. Keiya sat upright and tucked the hem of her dress underneath her knees. It was still humid out, and the wind was warm and moist, but at least there was some circulation of air. The tree they were sitting under poured leaves upon them so that their hair was completely decorated with them. They were small and similarly shaped like droplets of water, and reminded Riku of the trees around the stream that Keiya had pushed him in. Revenge immediately crossed his mind, but unfortunately there were no streams in sight. He stored the thought in the back of his mind for next week, on their next day off. After a few minutes when the wind died down, they starting picking the leaves off their heads.

"I guess this is when you wish you had short hair, huh?" She commented, watching Riku have as much trouble as the leaves as she was. He shook his head and quickly brushed through his hair to finish before her, messing it up, but making a point. Keiya laughed, flinging all her hair over one shoulder to try and pick the leaves out that way. Riku let her struggle for a while in amusement, then, instead of helping her, picked up some of the leaves on the ground and dumped them over her head. She flung her hands out to try and stop him when she realized what he was doing, and crawled away from him before he could continue. He stalked her to another tree, throwing handfuls of leaves at her carelessly.

"Having trouble?" He asked cockily. She shot him a mock glare and finally stood up to walk away from him. "Wish your hair was a little shorter?"

"Oh, is that what's bothering you?" She laughed in disbelief. "I guess I finally struck a nerve."

"Don't complement yourself." He said, rising. He dropped whatever leaves he was holding to the ground and wandered over to her, starting to feel hungry.

"Why not? You do it all the time." She continued picking leaves from her hair, and Riku began helping her from behind. Luckily, her hair was straight, so most of them fell right out when he brushed a hand through. Her hair was soft, even with the dirty leaves intertwined with it.

"I'm starving—let's go get something to eat." He said, changing the subject. Keiya didn't say anything more, amused at how quickly both he and Sora tended to postpone competition if it meant food.

"Alright." She agreed, letting him lead her back out of the woods.


AN: I rewrote chapter one and combined it with chapter two, but neither are ready to be posted yet, because I have to rewrite chapters two and three first. (Otherwise, the second half of the new chapter one and chapter two would be the same thing.) So it'll be kind of a project, but there will be all new scenes and stuff… I think I added some new parts to chapter one, too. But don't go looking for them, because they aren't up yet.

Admittedly, I have some time to waste before future chapters. Actually right now, its just chapter thirteen that I need to fill up. So I'd rather not use the term 'filler', but if anyone would like to see more of anything for chapter thirteen—flashbacks, things in town, scenes with Sai, etc., you can suggest it and I'll see what I can come up with!

There's a new poll on my profile, if anyone's interested. Thank you for reading and please review!