White Knight: Fifty :Acuity
Naminé collapsed at his feet, feeling as though the wind had been knocked out of her. She had no idea what had just happened. But she felt… much lighter. Like a pressure on her brain had just been lifted. Everything around her seemed brighter, and sharper. The white wood beneath her cheek felt smooth, as if it had just been polished. Vanitas's pair of dark dress shoes looked completely new, and untouched by any foreign element. They didn't seem to fit the boy's rather disheveled appearance.
He stepped over her, ignoring her heavy breathing, and he scratched the back of his head. "Hey," he said turning his head back, and down at her. "This doesn't change anything. I'm still going with the plans."
Naminé digested his words, but they seemed to float in her head like air. She tried to reply, but she was too winded. She could barely moved, really.
The dark haired boy left the room, leaving her to ponder over whatever had happened. The crystal clearness was so new. She didn't know if she liked it. She couldn't think about what had happened before… anything… It was all too focused now. How was she supposed to look into her memories? Everything got blurry when she thought about years before… maybe even months before… she wasn't sure.
But she felt so… good.
"Naminé really likes you," Roxas said, as he pulled on a slightly wrinkled white button-down.
Ven blinked, looking up at his twin. "I'd hope so," Ven grumbled, fumbling with his tie. "I mean, I've been her servant for years."
Roxas laughed, and shook his head. "Yeah, I guess you have." He looked up.
Ven grinned, and jumped to his brother's side. "But, hey, look! Riku's parties are always super interesting. Like, the first one I went to, Riku pushed Terra into a table. I forget why. Riku was probably mad at him about something. And the year after that Riku wasn't even at his party. He got really sick, and was confined to bed for a few weeks. No one saw him for a month. It was actually kinda scary…"
"I remember that…" Roxas murmured.
Ven looked to his brother, finally tugging his tie into a sloppy bow. "You remember what?" he asked, blinking curiously.
"Riku going missing."
"How do you remember that?" Ven asked, peering at his twin with squinted eyes. "You were in the Light Region."
Roxas froze. "Uh…" The older twin turned, looking sheepish. "Yeah… Riku's actually like an honorary Light Region citizen."
Ven looked at his brother, confusion settling deep into his features. "I'm sorry," he said, leaning back against his bed, "but what?"
Roxas sighed, and shook his head. "Look, it's weird," he said, buttoning up his shirt. "Riku's been coming to the Light Region for a while. He's like a part of our family."
Ven stared at him, his eyes widening. "Oh…" he murmured.
Roxas swallowed. "Yeah," he muttered, letting go of his shirt.
Ven sat for a minute, before straightening up. "Well, that's good!" He grinned. "Riku's got friends! I mean, now I know he's not a total loner. And where he goes when he's not watching Xion."
"Xion…" Roxas said slowly. "He's talked about her, I think. Isn't he her bodyguard?"
"Yep!" Ven said, throwing a vest over his shirt. "He's to Xion what I am to Naminé."
"Oh. Is she insane too?"
"Not quite," Ven laughed. "No, um, she's just kinda like… calm. Quiet. Shy? I dunno. Don't really talk to her that much. But she's the complete opposite of Naminé."
"Well at least Riku doesn't have to worry about suicide attempts," Roxas muttered, fiddling with his own tie. He was much more adapted to the art of tying a tie than Ven, so it was quite easy to form a bow.
Ven shrugged. "Xion isn't the type to try suicide," he said, grabbing his suit coat.
"That's good." Roxas laughed, pulling his own vest on.
"She'd probably be too scared to." Ven shrugged, walking toward the door.
Roxas looked at him. He had no response to this.
It was odd, talking to his brother like this. There was an obvious wedge between them, but with all the things that had happened… it should be much worse.
But Ven just wasn't like that.
Roxas grabbed his own suit coat, or Ventus's version of one. It was weirdly cut, but rather fitting considering his brother's style. It was similar to his own.
He quickly followed his brother out the door, ever so curious on the details of Riku's party.
By the time they got into Naminé's hall, however, Ven pulled him abruptly to the side, hiding behind a wall.
"Wha—" Ventus's hand quickly muffled his confused cry.
"Vanitas," he whispered, peering over the corner. "He's coming from Naminé's room."
"Vani… what?" Roxas whispered back.
"Vanitas. The one Naminé hurt."
"Full recovery?"
"Looks like it."
"Lemme see."
"Ow, that's my head you're squishing!" Ven's whisper came out more like a hiss.
"Sorry… oh."
"Oh?" Ven asked, looking up at his brother, who was peering around the corner as well.
"Oh… he… looks a lot like Sora."
Ven blinked at the older twin. "Oh." He turned his head back to the dark haired boy. "Sora…"
Roxas flew past his brother, making him shout in surprise. Roxas ran into the hallway, looking rather determined. Ven bolted after him, feeling uneasy about his twin facing Vanitas.
"Hey!" Roxas shouted, and Ven stopped in his tracks, a few feet away from his brother. He looked a little frightened, his eyes darting between Vanitas and Roxas. He was swearing in his head, trying to find a way to reverse whatever had just happened. But it was too late. Vanitas turned around, a little reluctantly, to glare at them. But he was obviously not expecting to see two Vens.
His eyes widened, showing off the brilliance of the golden hue. Roxas seemed shocked as well, getting the full impact of his resemblance to a certain brunet. He stumbled back, his shoulder brushing against his brother's.
Vanitas looked between the two boys, his mouth opening, like he wanted to say something. But no sound came out.
Ven looked at his brother, the boy's obvious shock proving the resemblance between Vanitas and Sora to be great. The boy took Roxas's arm, and pushed him toward Naminé's door.
"Make sure she's alright," Ven said, his eyes not leaving Vanitas's.
Roxas gave him a look. "Ven," he muttered, his voice lowering. "Who is this guy?"
Ven look at his brother, and gave him a weak smile. "Go check on Naminé, kay?"
Roxas gave a short, dry laugh. "I'm not leaving you out here alone," he whispered, glancing at Vanitas.
"Sorry," Ven murmured, pushing him a little more forcefully toward Naminé's room. "Just don't worry about it."
Roxas looked at him, his mouth dropping open. He looked at Vanitas, then at Ven, and very, very slowly he backed toward the girl's door.
He entered the room, glancing back into the hallway, confused. He wasn't sure what exactly Ven was going to say to the boy, but he was extremely interested in questioning the resemblance between him and Sora.
His thoughts were cut off, however, when he spotted the tiny blonde on the ground.
"Naminé!" Roxas shouted, dropping to her side. She wasn't very far from the door. This scared him a little.
Roxas checked her pulse quickly, before noticing that the girl's eyes were open. He stared at her, but she said nothing.
"Shit," Roxas hissed, pulling her into his lap. "Naminé, what's wrong? What happened?"
She stared at him, blinking slowly. She raised her hand, placing it on his face. "Ventus…?" she murmured, closing her eyes.
"No." Roxas shook her a little. "It's Roxas, Naminé."
She opened her eyes, and looked up at him. "Oh…" she said quietly. "Oh. I'm sorry."
"Don't be!" Roxas gaped. "Are you okay? What did he do to you?"
Naminé looked at him. Her eyes widened, and she sat up straight. "Oh!" she gasped. "Vanitas!"
"Yeah…" Roxas said slowly. "What did he… hey!"
Naminé scrambled to her feet, nearly tripping over herself, and ran to the door.
"Naminé!" Roxas shouted, trying to catch her by the arm. But she was already out the door.
"Vanitas!" she cried, sliding to a stop in the hallway. "Vanitas! Wait!"
Roxas tumbled after her, throwing a glance down the hall. Vanitas had his back turned to them. Ven was looking at Naminé, seemingly confused.
Vanitas glanced back at her, and rolled his eyes. He said nothing as he made his way down the hall.
"Please wait!" Naminé gasped, running down the hall. "Please!"
Ven made no move to stop her, while Roxas quickly sprinted to his side. "What's she doing?" he muttered, his eyebrows furrowing. "I… don't get it…"
Ven blinked at his brother, and shrugged. "Waiting to see is the fun part." He smiled a little. Roxas just gave him an incredulous look.
Naminé reached Vanitas easily, grabbing his arm to pull him to a stop. "Vanitas… I didn't mean to…"
Slap.
Naminé stumbled back, cupping her now bright red cheek. Vanitas had backhanded her, his back still turned to her and the twins.
Ven's eyes widened. "Nami—" he shouted, before getting cut off by Roxas.
"Don't." The boy grabbed his brother's arm. "Don't get him mad."
Ven gave his brother a look of utter despair. But he slumped, and looked back at Naminé and the raven haired boy.
Naminé's head was bowed. "I deserved that," she said, her voice breaking.
"Yes you did," Vanitas growled, spinning to face her. "Don't you think before you act? Ever? Because really, I think you should've at least considered the consequences before you did this."
"I know, and I'm so, so sorry!" Naminé looked up at him. "But I didn't know what to do! It was just an option that I had to choose. I couldn't ignore it!"
"No, you couldn't, could you?" Vantias asked in the coldest voice either twin had ever heard. "Well that's just fine and dandy, but I don't want this. At all. So take it back."
"I can't…" Naminé shook her head, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I… I'm so sorry, Vanitas, but I can't. You… I…"
Vanitas spun around, and stalked down the hallway. He left the air cold and dry, and Naminé looked completely heartbroken.
Ven shook his brother off him, and quickly ran to her side. "Naminé!" he gasped.
Her eyes flickered up at him. They were wide, and sparkling with tears, and rather piercing. Like she was seeing him for the first time. It was almost unnerving.
"Please don't ask," she said, her voice cracking. The tears fell over her lashes, and stained her cheeks. "Please…"
Ven stared at her. Then, rather quickly, he wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her closer to him. "I'm not going to ask about anything," Ven said, holding her head to his chest. "Don't worry."
She didn't say anything. She didn't even settle into the hug, like he expected her to. She just… stood there.
"Are you okay?" Roxas asked slowly as he walked toward them.
Naminé turned her head toward him, and nodded a little. "I'm sorry… that you two had to see that," she murmured, pulling away from Ven.
"We don't care," Ven insisted, leaning toward her. "Do we, Rox?"
"No." Roxas said, looking at the tiny blonde. "But I still really want to know why that guy looks like Sora."
Naminé looked up. "So… ra…?" she murmured. Her eyes widened, and she toppled backwards into the wall.
"Naminé!" The boys gasped in unison.
"You should come with me!" Sora cried, grabbing her hands. "Kairi's the only girl. She'd be so happy to have someone to talk to!"
"Sora…" the young blonde murmured. "Don't waste your time on me. Just run while you can."
"And leave you here?" he asked, looked horrified. "No way! Who knows what icky experiments they'd put you through!"
She looked down. She brought her hand up, and rubbed the back of her neck, maybe self-consciously. "It doesn't matter. You need to go."
"No!" Sora cried, tugging her toward the door. "I can't just leave you behind! I would never be able to forgive myself!"
"Lower your voice!" she gasped, throwing a look over her shoulder. "Please go."
"What's your name?" Sora asked, looking down at her.
She looked up at the ceiling. "It's Naminé." she said, taking a deep breath.
"Naminé." Sora grinned. "Pretty."
"Remove the 'a' and 'm' and you get nine." The girl tugged her hands from his. "Not so pretty."
"What?" Sora asked in a confused tone. "Nine?"
"Please go," Naminé whispered. "Hurry before they come—"
"Naminé!"
"Oh, no…"
"What…"
"Run!"
"Hey, wait, I…"
The world came back into focus. The sharpness stung her eyes.
"Naminé!" Ven shouted, taking her hands. "Naminé, are you okay? Should we take you to Aqua, or—"
Naminé ripped her hands from his, looking absolutely terrified. "No." She pushed past him, and ran into her room, leaving the other two boys very confused.
Author's Rant
Huh. So, the next chapter was weirdly hard for me to write. Because it's a filler? I dunno. It's the shortest chapter in the story though.
Lalalalalalalalala. So I started reading KH1 Manga, 'cause I made one of my friends read this (because she wanted to read a story of mine, and hey, this story is the basic definition of Alternate Universe), and now I'm trying to get her into Kingdom Hearts (Sorry, hun. There's gonna be some differences. But, um, most of the characters have the same personality. Except for Nami. ^/^). I should get her into Fullmetal Alchemist too. GOD. I never realized just how much I need people to be into the same thing I am. It's all well and good with online friends, but when you actually talk about stuff in real life it gets it off your chest. So, basically, READ THE MANGA, sweetheart. Or else I'll go even more insane.
AMNESIA. WANT. Have you guys ever seen anything for it? I want to play it so badly! I watched a Let's Play of it, and the dude was SCOTTISH. I should subscribe to him, because even though he insists he shat his pants whenever a monster came around, HE SOUNDS SO CALM.
But I'm probably not going to play the game any time soon, because it did stuff to my head. One of the reasons I had trouble writing the next chapter, me thinks... XD
Something about the KH1 Manga... OH, um, it's hilarious. XD Sora's faces are like O.o all the time. AND THEY CURSE. Donald Duck says EFFIN. Like, HUH? I love you, whoever drew the KH Manga. *Armstrong tears*
Next Chapter: Thump Thump (because Dani got unorignal)
