Thank you for being so patient! :D

I felt a tad schizophrenic, stomping through the town square and muttering to myself.

"Doesn't even make sense. He's so stupid. Of course I've got darkness in my heart. Everyone does. That doesn't mean we run away from people with more darkness than others. It definitely doesn't mean we go around slapping it in people's faces that their dad died and they couldn't do anything about it. I wonder if he's sorry? He better be sorry. I'll make him sorry. …No. No I won't. If he doesn't feel sorry on his own, it's not worth it. What an asshole. I just wanna punch him in his stupid face again."

The sun was setting deeper behind the horizon – soon, the plazas would be barely lit, and the alleys nearly completely black. Not caring for the idea of some psycho pervert feeling me up in a dark alley, I wandered to a well-lit, open area – the station plaza.

I halted at what I saw and hid myself behind a pillar of the archway.

In the Organization's robes, Roxas knelt in the middle of the plaza, Xion laying limply across his lap – and from Xion, what looked like thin shards of glass were gliding upwards. Her feet looked frozen, though I was sure it wasn't from a blizzard spell.

"You're both my best friends. Never forget… That's the truth." She cradles his face with one hand, and after a brief moment, her hands slips. He catches it in his own, more pieces of her shaking off and slipping to the sky.

"No!" he cries, his voice cracking. "Xion… Who else will I have ice cream with?"

Her entire body is crystalized. She's giving herself back to Sora. She shatters into shimmering pieces of light, drifting away from Roxas. Something small sits where she used to be – Roxas picks it up.

"…Xion…" Tears slide down his face.

I cover my mouth and step away.

That's… They were friends. She did nothing to deserve that, and neither did he.

My heart was pounding in my ears – I couldn't catch my breath.

Who gives a shit about having a heart? They have feelings, whether it makes sense or not! Everyone has feelings! Even no one!

I want to step out – offer a hug, a tissue, anything – but I knew it wouldn't make a difference. Another friend would just add to the pain, and a kind word wasn't enough to make it worth it.

I stepped away from the plaza, Roxas wiping his face on his sleeve, oblivious to my presence. I turned and ran down the street, eyes blurred by my own stupid tears. I kept thinking I saw a black hooded figure in my peripheral vision, but ignored it. It was probably my imagination, and even if it wasn't, I didn't care to talk to anyone who wore that coat right now.

I stopped in the sandlot, standing in the corner, trying to stop myself from crying.

"It's not fair," I hissed in a cracked voice, talking to myself. "That shouldn't have happened. It's wrong."

I wiped my face as best as I could, but bare hands didn't make very good tissues.

I'm an idiot. Of course it's wrong! Did I think it'd be all sunshine and rainbows when Xion died?

I just can't stop thinking; What if that was me? What if I had to hurt my friends and attack them, so that they could hurt me and kill me, then watch me die?

Not that I have any friends. The only friend I've ever really had just made some dumbass remark about my dead father and I punched him in the nose. I shuddered. I should go back to the mansion. It's not fair to leave based on one stupid statement. Everyone says horrible things. I swallowed. Besides, he thinks I should be gone and "safe". If I really want revenge, I should stalk him.

I sat down on the bench, slowly tugging myself back to relative sanity. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something move – I turned to see a shadow waddling towards me.

"N-Nemo?" I stammered, wide-eyed. He nodded and leapt at me, wrapping his arms around my neck. I laughed softly, a last batch of tears welling up in my eyes. "I guess you forgive me, huh?" Even if he likes me for the wrong reasons, he's pretty freaking dedicated. I can't help but like him. I wrapped my arms around him and leaned my head on his. "You are so sweet," I mumbled, closing my eyes. I took a deep breath. But, oh, I wish you were Riku right now…

Nemo untangled himself from me and I stood up, holding his hand in mine.

"It's getting late," I said, smiling at him. "We should go home." Whether Riku likes it or not.

By the time I reached the door of the mansion again, it was completely dark. Rain clouds were moving in, covering the moon, threatening to pour on Nemo's and my head at any moment. A short peal of thunder rumbled across the sky as I opened the door and walked upstairs, to my room.

I wonder if he's told DiZ and Naminé that I'm gone? Oh, well. If he has, I'll just explain that I was blowing off steam.

Which, really, was the real reason I left – I wanted to get away from him and vent somewhere I wouldn't be bothered. I washed my hands, didn't bother to change into the clothes Riku had forgotten to take back, and after taking off my shoes, slid into bed.

I laid there, silently staring at the ceiling, trying to clear my head of the bitter thoughts surrounding what I saw of Roxas and Xion.

I'll think of something else… I'll think of… of fighting my darkside. That was kind of cool, actually. My darkside doesn't look half bad, for a heartless. It had a weird scream though. I wish it didn't have vocal cords. There was a sudden, loud crack of thunder, startling me to the point that I sat up. I stared across the room at my window, which was being pelted with rain. Nemo waddled over to the window, grabbed the sill (which was a bit high for him) and stood on his tiptoes, peeking outside.

"What's the situation?" I whispered with mock-seriousness.

There was a bolt of lightning – natural, blue-white lightning that doesn't come from spells – and Nemo scrambled back over to me, gripping my arm in both of his. Another bolt of lightning lit up the room, and I looked over to see Riku standing in the doorway, arms crossed.

"Miyuki," he said scoldingly.

"Riku," I replied in the same tone, glaring at him.

"Are you this ridiculous?" he hissed, walking towards me.

"You're the one who's staring at me from my bedroom door until I notice you," I snapped. "Get out of my room, creeper!"

"No, you get out of the room. Nothing in the mansion is yours."

I snorted. "What about that thing in your chest? I thought we agreed we're connected." He just stood there, three feet from my bed. I realized the awkwardness of laying in bed while talking to him, and stood up quickly. "Just because you throw in comments about my parents, doesn't mean I'm going to let you win the argument."

"There's no argument!"

"Fine then, discussion."

"No discussion. You have to leave!"

"No! I'm not leaving. Firstly because you're the best friend I have. Secondly because I'm not scared of you and your stupid darkness. Thirdly because, when you fought the darkness in your heart, what good did it do you to run away from it?"

"You don't know what you're up against," he said, and I could hear my logic weakening his argument.

"Neither did you," I replied.

He clenched his jaw. "Fine. Whatever. I don't care." He turned and headed for the door. I gripped his shoulder and he stopped.

"Really mature," I said sarcastically.

"Let go of me. I'm tired," he turned halfway towards me, his tone unemotional.

"You're pissed, and I want to know why."

"You know why. I've told you thousands of times."

"It's not like being around you is going to kill me, Riku. If anything else, you have to be around so that, if the darkness spreads, I can bum some strength off of your heart so I can beat the stains you got on me."

"Distance has nothing to do with borrowing strength, and you know that," he snorted.

"I'm not leaving you alone until you tell me what's got you so ticked! I'm going to be fine, so—"

"It's going to haunt you, Miyuki," he snapped. "You have no idea the hell you'll go through if that darkness spreads."

"Hello? I've been through several hells already, remember?"

"So why go through another?" He shook his head. "Know what? I'm done. Goodnight."

I hung onto his arm with one hand and followed him out of my room. "Nice try. I already told you, I'm going to stalk you until you spill the beans."

He rolled his eyes so dramatically I saw his head move and he spun around to face me. "You're making the wrong decision. You need to go find a safe place to stay, away from darkness, until you can go home."

"What place is safe when the darkness in inside me now, Riku? Darkness will always find its way to lurk somewhere – maybe harmlessly, but still there. I'll run into it again and it'll spread. There is no escaping it."

"Are you not getting this? You may not be totally safe anywhere, but you're risking your entire life hanging around someone who's heart is drenched in darkness! We'll be separated permanently soon enough, anyway. Just wait somewhere safe until you can go home."

"That's not home!" I shouted, dropping my hand from his arm. I reached towards his face – he flinched – when he held still, I tugged one side of the blindfold up and looked him in the eye. I spoke quietly, but clearly, staring at that eye intently. "If it was home, I'd want to go, wouldn't I? I'd feel some attachment. But I don't. That world is not my home."

He started to say something, but shut his mouth again, dropping his gaze from mine.

"I don't feel comfortable anywhere, except for here. Because you're here." I bit on my lower lip. I had to say that, didn't I? I just had to make it awkward. Crap, it's all so jacked up… I stared at my feet, considering how long it would take for them to listen to me and actually take me back to my room. There was a long peal of thunder.

"I screwed you over," he said quietly. "I screwed you over the moment I met you. I'm sick of myself, and I don't want you being effected by my issues anymore."

I exhaled sharply in relief. That response is so much better than what I expected. "It's not like the problems we have are doing me serious damage. I feel awful for you, because it's an awful situation. It's not like I was in a perfect little bubble of happiness to begin with, either." He looked back up at me and we stared at each other through a long pause, the thunder steadily rolling in the distance as rain beat against the mansion.

"So… Are you mad at me for staying here?" I said quietly.

"I'm not mad at you. Myself, quite a bit. But not you."

I nodded slowly, biting my lower lip. I took a step forward, leaned up and hooked my arms around his neck, resting my head on his shoulder. He inhaled sharply, his shoulders tensing. "Good, 'cause I don't want to leave," I mumbled.

"Miyuki…" he whispered. "I am so sorry. I never should've said…"

"You talking like I haven't forgiven you," I snorted, my face going red. I felt awkward, keeping myself close with no response, and was trying to figure out how to run into my room inconspicuously, when his arms pressed against my back.

"I… I'll never talk about your dad, okay?" he said quietly.

I exhaled. "You know that's a promise you can't keep. I'll piss you off again and neither of us will think about what we're—"

"I won't," he said decidedly.

I smiled. You're such a little kid sometimes…

I hung there a long moment, my cynical side expecting him to push me off and politely tell me he wasn't interested. But I could feel his heartbeat against mine – I could feel his hair brush against my neck – his hands resting lightly on my back. My cynical side insisted it was a stupid hug – the rest of me said I was being held.

We sort of mutually shifted away from one another, and I gripped my left arm with my right hand, stepping back towards my door.

"I… er…" I shook my head and my eyebrows knit, frustrated at my lack of casualness. "Night."

He smiled faintly. "Goodnight."

Thunder cracked and I walked back into my room, laying on my bed and continuing to stare at the ceiling. Nemo snuggled against my side.

I told him this was home because he was here… He said he'd never talk about my dad again…

I hoped desperately that what just happened hadn't been a dream.