A/N: …and I present to you…Chapter 14!!

PLUS!!! There is a **major spoiler** of the new Kingdom Hearts game: BIRTH BY SLEEP (that will come warned!) But honestly, when I reread it, without the spoilers, the story just doesn't make sense…

My god… I realized I never explained what 'onee-sama' was in the previous chapter! Okay, for those who don't know, 'onee' means 'older sister' and '-sama' is an extremely polite honorific that you use towards someone of a higher rank or that you really admire (…or customers). Never ever use '-sama' after your own name! Or it's bish bash :O

Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own Kingdom Hearts because if I did, I'd be making game instead of fanfiction, but this time, I specifically don't own a certain quote Roxas says: "I can't…just look inside. But I figure…if there is something there—inside us—then we'd feel it, wouldn't we?"

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! I love you guys x)

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"I don't want to have you have to face the truth, but it's for the best."

"I'll go. It's okay as long as you're there."

He had a weird look on his face, as if he was trying to smile, but I didn't know. It was a little sad.

"Then let's get going."

"Alright."

…………………………………………………

"So you decided you wanted to learn about the truth?"

Zexion turned around from a large glass tube to face the two of us, who stood hand in hand before the Nobody.

The room was dark—the only light source coming from the tube and some screens that flickered around us. The room looked like the basement I came from. That time, the only people I saw were Roxas and Riku. There was also another person in another container—like me. But I never really found out who that person was. Before escaping, stupidly, I'd cut myself earlier and they'd tended to my wounds in addition to fighting off the members of the Organization XIII—one of them stood right before me at the moment. Looking down at my arm, it was there. Just a thin scar that I'd never really noticed ever since then. White mages did a lot of work to keep it unnoticeable.

"Yes, I did."

"I won't offer you any comfort after you learn everything. If you wish for me to stop, then do so. But that doesn't mean I have to respect you for not being able to face the truth," Zexion's words were harsh, but I knew that he really meant it.

"I won't. I won't ask for you to stop." I wanted to find out the truth.

"I ask that Roxas leave the room. I prefer that this conversation only be between you and me. Of course, he already knows about this, but still…," he turned to give Roxas an icy look. Roxas gave my hand a squeeze before he left the room. "Shut the door if you please, Roxas."

The door shut and Zexion turned to face me.

"Take a seat if you want."

I accepted his offer and sat down on a conveniently placed chair, ready to face whatever he'd throw at me. He paced around the room.

"You are not actually supposed to exist. In fact, you are not the daughter of Aerith and Shinra. I can't say that you're not blood related, but it was not you, but Kairi who was born from the two. In fact, you were…created from her."

"But Zack said—"

"He didn't know the truth," Zexion said. "Shinra used you in an experiment right after the birth of his first child to test his experiment about darkness. Roxas is also a product from the same experiment, however from a different person. He was created from Ven."

"Ven?" I wasn't surprised anymore. I wouldn't be surprised if in two days time they told me that I was actually a Moogle.

"You don't know who Ven is?" Zexion raised an eyebrow in slight disbelief. I shook my head, a little embarrassed.

(Spoiler Begin) …………………………………………………

"Ven is a Keyblade Master, like Sora, Roxas, and Riku. He was one of the greatest of the three during his time—just a little before Sora. However he fell into a comatose state after the experiment. Right now, his body lies in the Chamber of Waking, which is located in this building." Zexion explained. "Just imagine a Roxas-lookalike. Although to put it correctly, Roxas is his lookalike."

(Spoiler End) …………………………………………………

I nodded slightly

"Returning to the topic of you, Shinra used you as a tool, taking advantage of the abilities you were given—those that are capable of altering, viewing, or recovering memories. It is obvious that he planned to use you as a weapon, where you can wipe out a massive amount of the enemy with a single alter of their memories. Roxas, on the other hand, was the first in his experiment. When he was informed that it was a success, he continued to create the rest of us. He decided that soldiers were more difficult to control if they had feelings of their own, so he removed it from us. We were put through torturous ordeals that led to the collapse of our hearts. We became Heartless, creatures of darkness. However, our bodies turned into other creatures called Nobodies—which is what you see now. We cannot feel as we do not have a heart—we can only imitate from the memories of our previous selves," Zexion's last words sounded angry as he paced quicker.

I was surprised and a little 'angry' too. He removed their hearts without their consent just so that he could have powerful soldiers. But why could they feel now? Was I really 'angry' according to what he told me?

"His experiment failed. Only thirteen of us survived to become Nobodies with human forms. The rest became beast-like creatures that we humanoid Nobodies could control. What was more, the massive creation of us created a massive amount of Heartless that plagued the cities. What he thought was a 'success', was just a mere glance. The scientists had been too frightened of their creation to spend more time on him. Anyways, he decided to have us removed and threw us away," Zexion spat, "However, as Roxas was cloned from the powerful Ven, Shinra decided to keep him. The rest of us escaped and killed the entire crew of those who created us. One of us stayed. Marluxia—you've met him. Since Shinra didn't hand-pick his selection and those who did were dead, Marluxia was able to stay in the castle and pretend to be a gardener. However he reports to us occasionally every now and then."

That's why Marluxia was there. That's why he could use the Corridors of Darkness. He was a Nobody too. No wonder he hid Aerith away from Shinra. Now I knew.

"Is Aerith a Nobody too?"

Zexion paused in his pacing and snorted. "Superior-forbid, no, she isn't."

"But Marluxia let her use the Corridors of Darkness…"

"Presumably, that would be when Shinra walks by and only once in an emergency. You should already know that constant usage of the Corridors of Darkness corrupt one's heart. It's preferred that she does not use it again without this cloak."

"Oh."

"Returning to the topic, after our failure, he created SOLDIER. They were all fused with Mako to enhance their abilities. They were strong, but it seems like it failed," he smirked. "Seven years ago, we captured you to keep Shinra occupied with searching. Vexen put you to an extended sleep inside a tube similar to this in a room similar to this room. He asked that I invent dreams for you to keep you occupied in your sleep. So I did."

"But I don't remember anything. I don't remember having dreams."

"That is simply because you did not wake up during a REM period—"

"REM?"

"R-E-M; it stands for rapid eye movement. It is a period of time when your brain is most active in sleep. It is during this period that you have the most vivid dreams. If you wake up during this period, then you will remember dreams. However if you do not, you won't. If you want to know whatever occurred in your dreams, then see me sometime later."

"Anyways, we had Roxas look for Kingdom Hearts," he returned to the topic, but with a look of my confused face, he proceeded to explain with amazing patience, "Kingdom Hearts is the heart of all hearts. Whenever we kill a Heartless, the heart returns to Kingdom Hearts. By fulfilling Kingdom Hearts, we will finally get our hearts back."

Will I get my heart back too?

"Unfortunately, Roxas was also sent on a 'find-Naminé-or-don't-come-back' mission, therefore he was delayed in his mission to search for Kingdom Hearts and returned to us to get you back. What we didn't know—with the exception of Xemnas and Roxas—was that Xemnas intended for you to be recaptured so that Roxas could continue his search for Kingdom Hearts. That is why we attacked your friends. If we knew, we wouldn't have been able to do so as fluently as if we didn't know. Therefore we were only informed of this afterwards, which annoyed us greatly. But we understood."

"Xigbar was wounded and Vexen was killed in this process, which was regrettable," Zexion's voice wavered a little although his eyes stayed firm, "Luckily Roxas found Kingdom Hearts a little while afterwards."

"Zexion?"

"What is it, Naminé?"

"Was Vexen…your friend?"

"Friend?" Zexion turned to eye me with a puzzled look. I said with hesitation, "Uhm…before the…experiment—or after."

"There's no need to hesitate so much, Naminé," he sighed, "We do the best we can to refrain from keeping secrets from one another, otherwise missions will difficult to operate. Of course, we don't expose everything…. But yes. Vexen was one of my good friends back when we were still apprentices under Ansem the Wise. There were five of us: Ienzo, Aeleus, Dilan, Braig, and Even."

"Ienz…"

"Those were our names before the experiment. After becoming Nobodies, we inserted an 'X' into our names and I became Zexion. Aeleus became Lexaeus, Dilan became Xaldin, Braig became Xigbar, and Even—Vexen."

"Oh…I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what? For Vexen's death? Don't be," Zexion waved a hand, "it's probably better for him this way."

"How is it better for him? He won't have a heart?"

"It's better that he won't have to be plagued with knowing that he doesn't have a heart."

"I see…"

It really seemed terrible that they didn't have hearts. Of course, I was included. But in a sense, I always thought I could feel. I blushed whenever Roxas came into a close proximity; I cried when I met Kairi, I was happy when I met Axel, Hayner, Pence, and Olette. I was thrilled when I was with Zack, Cloud, and the rest of SOLDIER. I felt wanted when I was with Aerith. Did I really not have a heart? Or was this only the imitation from memories that I reacted with?

"How is…Xigbar?"

Xigbar—he must have been the man who jumped off the balcony in the mansion. The last I saw of him was him clutching his wounded stub of a hand, black mist enveloping the wound. That had to be him…Aerith's brother—that was Lexaeus. Mickey had directly addressed him last time. The only other person who was really injured was the one who who pierced Sora—Lexaeus had called him Xaldin.

"Xigbar?" Zexion gave a low chuckle. "He's fine. We have quick regenerative properties. Plus it's useful to pack a potion or two for things like that."

"Oh…that's good." I still felt that I had to apologize to him for the damage.

"I think it is fine for you to meet them after this. For now however, do you have any questions?"

"Well, you did say that when our heart collapses, our body remains to become Nobodies, right? Why are Kairi and Ven still here rather than Roxas and I replacing them, like the rest of you?"

Zexion almost smiled.

"That's a good observation. Kairi is what we call a Princess of Hearts. That means that she has no darkness in her. Therefore, she does not become a Heartless. Usually you would not have memories of your past, because she never became a Heartless, but because it is your ability over memories, you are able to," he explained.

(Spoiler Begin) …………………………………………………

"Roxas on the other hand, is a…difficult case. We actually do not know what really happened to Ven, but it seemed that something happened to him that resulted in his darkness being taken away. Therefore he was not whole when they made Roxas from him. And it seems that his heart currently resides inside Sora, which is why his heart is so strong. "

(Spoiler End) …………………………………………………

There was a low scowl.

"I prefer to think of myself as an individual being."

I spun around in my seat to find Roxas standing beside me again.

"Roxas," I breathed.

"I thought I told you to leave," Zexion rolled his eyes.

"I did. But I came back," Roxas replied. "It's been half an hour already, so I told myself, 'Zexion should be faster than that'."

"Keep your mouth shut, you impudent boy," Zexion snapped, "But I see that, Naminé, we are in fact done, so there is no need for me to stay in this room any longer. Do not forget to make your report to Superior, Roxas. I trust that you haven't reported to him since you left the castle."

"Yeah, sure."

"Do not prolong it."

Roxas looked more than a little miffed. I was a little surprised. Why was he so angry? Then I remembered what he'd said earlier. I prefer to think of myself as an individual being. Truth to be said, I wasn't very happy to know that I was created from another being with the intent that I be used for a tool.

Zexion swept out of the room and I gave a slight nod to him as he passed me and made a sharp turn out of the room.

When he left, I immediately turned around and was about to ask Roxas if he was alright (of course he wasn't), but he turned to me at the same moment and our mouths parted to speak. I hastily pressed my lips together and waited for his words, but he had shut his mouth too.

"What were you going to say?"

"It's okay, what were you going to say?" Roxas said as he ruffled the back of his hair. My lips pressed into a thin line as I wondered whether or not I should let him speak first or ask in concern for his wellbeing.

"Well…I was just about to ask if you were alright…."

"Oh. Well, yes, I'm fine." His eyes were full of concern and I blushed—not used to being worried about. His 'I'm fine' sounded like words coming from a person who had just been beaten with iron rods by a mob of gangsters and was trying to bluff it off, sustaining four broken ribs and missing a whole row of teeth.

"Are you sure?" I pressed.

"Are you alright?"

I paused momentarily.

Was I fine? I was just told by one of the people who kidnapped me seven years ago that I was actually cloned from the daughter of the king of Gaia and a SOLDIER's wife and that I wasn't supposed to exist. I was also told that I was cloned through a torturous process that led to the collapse of the heart of my original being.

And that was Kairi.

"I'm…fine." I clasped my hands together and stared at the ground. "Right." He sighed. My 'fine' wasn't any better. "I thought I told you to let me know if anything's bothering you. I'm here for you."

My face heated up at the memory.

"From now on…" His arms wrapped around me and I was caught with a sudden flutter of butterflies in my stomach, "don't keep any discomforts from me. I'll be there to help you. Cheer you up. Yeah."

"It can't just be one-sided either." I mumbled. He smiled slightly. "You're right."

"What's bothering you?"

I reached out to touch the back of his hand. It was warm. He looked down at the contact but didn't say anything. Nor did he pull away.

"First, let's not stay in this room. It's…cold."

I laughed, but complied. The room was pretty cold, and I was only wearing a white dress—sleeveless. The fact that it ended right above my knees didn't help with the temperature of the room. Under Roxas's short sleeves, I could make out (slightly) goose bumps on his arms.

My hand went back to my side and he turned around, noticing.

"Ah," he said suddenly. "Are you cold?"

I rubbed one hand over my upper arm. Sure enough, there were goose bumps too, giving me away.

"Not really."

"Sure doesn't look like it." To my surprise, he took my hand into his warm hands. His skin was so smooth and I couldn't help but curl my fingers around his. Like a leech, I clung to him. I didn't want to let go. To be honest, I felt comfortable around him.

He gave a quiet laugh before leading me back into the bright white corridors.

…………………………………………………

"Didn't expect you to be back, you little squirt. Finally didn't want to stay with darling daddy now did you?"

I fidgeted a little under the gaze of the tall blonde girl who was seated in a couch and she gave a high pitched laughter that sent shivers down my spine. Roxas and I stood in a large grey room with a wall of glass before us. On the left and right of the room were couches—three on each side. Roxas called this room the Grey Area.

"Quit it, Larxene." A tall man leaned against the wall of glass and I recognized his wavy, rust-colored hair immediately. Lexaeus—he was the brother of Aerith.

"Oh? Defending her now is it?"

Lexaeus sighed in annoyance but also gave me a slightly unpleasant glance. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be noticed, but it made me cling tighter to Roxas. Even though I wasn't the direct biological daughter of Aerith and…Shinra, he still didn't seem to like me.

"Be quiet."

A slight look of relief crossed over Lexaeus's face as another tall man strode over. I didn't know this man from previously or I just didn't see him in the mansion. He had long blue hair and a scar on his face that I didn't want to know how he'd gotten it. His expression was slightly frustrated and it didn't seem like he had any other. With his posture and stride, he seemed to hold the authority here. Was he the Superior?

"Saïx." Roxas and Lexaeus greeted him respectfully. It seemed like he was in charge.

"Have you made your report yet, Roxas?"

Roxas shook his head. "I'm on my way. But I'm dropping Naminé off with Kairi first."

Saïx didn't say anything but nodded slightly before turning to Larxene. "You have a mission to go to Neverland today. Your mission is to destroy any Shadow Globes you find. Do not forget to report to me by the end of the day, especially about any irregularities about the Globes."

Larxene rolled her eyes. "Mission schmission."

Saïx's eyes narrowed and he opened a Corridor of Darkness.

"I want fifteen Thunder Shards for this," she traced his jawbone lightly with her finger as she disappeared into the portal. Saïx's expression was blank as the portal vanished. He turned to face me.

"Let go of the boy, girl."

I released Roxas's hand in surprise, but he didn't let go, even when Saïx glowered at him.

"Roxas…" Saïx frowned.

"There's nothing wrong with this." Roxas said.

"You know that you do not have feelings as you have no heart. You cannot love," Saïx's voice was harsh, "You do not need love, and it is a weakness. So I suggest that you do not try and imitate something that your past self would do."

"Love isn't a weakness!"

"Regardless, you cannot love." He pulled my hand out of Roxas's. "Be a proper Nobody." He shoved me behind him. "Now go, and make your report to the Superior."

Roxas stood where he was, his feet firmly planted to the ground. "Who says I can't love? Just because you're convinced that we can't feel without our hearts doesn't mean that you're sure. What am I feeling now then? Give me an explanation—no, not that. Give Naminé back to me."

"Or what, Roxas? Do you really plan on threatening me?"

"He won't go without her," Lexaeus grunted. I jumped at the sound of his voice beside me. "Keeping her away from him won't get things done."

"And what? Let them continue this pathetic façade?"

"It is better than not reporting to Xemnas."

"'Superior', not Xemnas, Lexaeus. Respect our leader."

Saïx shoved me roughly back to Roxas, and I blinked in surprise. He gave up? Roxas's hand was over mine in an instant as he took off immediately, livid. I stumbled after him with a glance backwards to see Saïx glowering back at us, though I couldn't tell if it was Roxas or me that he was glaring at. Perhaps it was both. Lexaeus was walking in the opposite direction that we were without a glance back.

"What a bastard. Just because he thinks that when Superior's around, he's in authority doesn't mean he has to boss us around to the smallest details like holding hands." Roxas muttered under his breath as he quickened his pace. "I mean there's nothing wrong with holding hands! He didn't lecture Larxene when she touched him like that."

I couldn't really keep up as we turned another corner. "Roxas…please…slow…down!"

"Oh. Sorry there." His pace slowed a considerable amount and I took a deep breath in relief.

I took this chance to organize my wildly buzzing thoughts. Back there with Saïx, Roxas really took me by surprise. I didn't expect him to defend me so much although I should have—when he tried to keep me safe from Genesis's attacks. He did everything he could to keep me safe and I had doubt in his actions? Naminé, you know better than to do that!

"Did…"

"Oh, sorry, did you say something?"

I fidgeted a little, nervous of my words. It wasn't very comfortable at all saying what I was about to say.

"Did you…really mean that back there?" I really was curious, but mentally slapped myself. Don't those words still doubt him?

Roxas hesitated in his steps. I blushed furiously and kept my eyes to the ground. We were a little close to Kairi's room, but I was glad that from this distance, no one could hear us. We were alone in the entire corridor.

"I…of course I meant it, Naminé." He said with a hint of confusion.

"O-oh. Thank you." My voice sounded stupid and I was suddenly so embarrassed. Well now you have your answer, Naminé. Stop asking him questions. The corridor couldn't have gotten several degrees warmer.

"Naminé, I wasn't lying back there about what I said to Saïx." His voice was suddenly quieter and he sounded unsure about his decision in his words. His eyes were still cast to the ground before him. "I know we have feelings. I mean…I can't…just look inside. But I figure…if there is something there—inside us—then we'd feel it, wouldn't we? He can say what he wants, but I know I can love."

I was taken by surprise at his words. Of course I would believe that. If he said he could feel, then I would be sure that he could. If he said he could love, then I would trust him that he could. Now there was an example of trust. "I believe you, Roxas." His name felt good on my lips and I wanted to say them to myself over and over. "I believe you."

"You're not getting it."

I gave him a look of surprise.

"What I mean to say is that…" he turned to face me and I felt a shiver go down my spine at the sight of his eyes gazing into my own, as if trying to read my mind—predict my reply. I couldn't look away from him, stunned by his intense gaze and words. Our hands dropped to our sides.

"Naminé, I'm…" he covered his mouth with a hand, unsure. I tilted my head slightly to the side, at a complete loss. He'd never been so tentative before.

"What it is, Roxas?"

"I'm in love with you."

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A/N: End of chapter 14! …I have a slight feeling my eyes might be clawed out for ending this here ;) Please review!