Alright, sorry the past chapters have been so short, but I'm having troubles finding appropriate spots to stop….on my notepad, it's all just one long story written out with no breaks…ehe….oh, an if it seems I'm being mean to Marluxia, I am. Ever since a certain somebody made a certain picture (coughcrisiscough) I've had it in for Marluxia……
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Marluxia burst into the office. The Superior looked up from his desk, and blinked. Marluxia's coat hung tattered and torn on his body, his bare chest showing dark bruises and gashes. Blood trickled from his temple, his hair tangled and frizzy. His pants were a total mess, the knees worn right out. His arms were bruised all the way up, and his ribs showed bruising as well, as if the brunette had been kicked across a floor. His eyes shone with hatred. The Superior calmly shuffled the papers he had been looking at to one side, before he folded his hands and addressed the beaten man. "What happened?"
Marluxia growled, storming to the desk and slamming his fists onto it. " That little brat! HE JUMPED ME!" he roared angrily. Removing his hands, he looked at the dents he had left, slightly satisfied.
"And just who is he?" the Superior asked, trying hard to stay calm.
"You damn well know who! The one who just had to know that Namine remembered him! The one that has been tricking us into thinking he was weak this whole time. The one who snuck up behind me and attacked as I was coming back upstairs! With not one, but two keyblades!" His voice dripped with hatred.
"Ah. I see. And you were able to beat him into submission, right?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Marluxia looked down, growling, but a slight blush spread across his face. "No. He… got away."
The Superior frowned. "Well, then I suggest you get the others, and go out and find him," he said calmly, "before he finds Namine." Marluxia blinked, his anger disappearing. He had expected the Superior to get furious. "What, was I not clear enough for you?" the Superior said, his voice getting cold. Marluxia just nodded, and turned to make his leave. "And Marluxia," the man called after him, "If you don't find Ten, then I will have to look myself. And you don't want that. You already lost Namine; don't let this be your second strike." Marluxia gulped, and nodded again, leaving the room. He thought about who he could ask for help. Not Axel, he was already after the girl. Larxene and Vexen. They could be useful. But he needed to clean up first. There was no way in hell he was going to allow them to see him like this.
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Namine backed into a wall, surrounded on all sides. A heartless jumped forward, and she brought an arm up in defence. It swiped, and Namine felt a sharp pain shoot up her arm. Letting out a yell, she dropped to her knees. She held her arm to her chest, blood dripping down, leaving red stains against the drenched white. She closed her eyes, gulping. This was it. She was about to have her heart stolen. Why had she run? Why had she left the safety of the castle? Despite the Organisation members taunting her, it had been a safe place to live, she was rarely hurt. Ah, yes, she had left because Marly destroyed her picture. It was just a picture, what a stupid thing to lose her life over…right?
Wait… where was the final blow? Why hadn't the heartless attacked yet? Maybe they had; maybe she was dead and hadn't realized it yet. No, she still felt the pain in her arm, still felt the hot blood running down her arm, mixing with the cold rain. She opened one eye, expecting to see the heartless horde… and saw black. It was the back of a black cloak; someone was standing between her and the heartless. She looked up. No, the hood was there, she couldn't see anything of her protector. Wait… the cloak. It was the same as the one the organisation members wore. But the person was too small to be one of the male members, and it wasn't the curvy body of Larxene. Then who? She could only think of one person it could be.
"Riku?"
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"Riku?"
Ten tensed, knowing Namine had finally opened her eyes. After beating Marluxia (which yes, maybe he had overdone a little, but hey, it had been fun), he had dashed out of the castle, somehow knowing Namine wasn't there. When he reached Deep Dive, he had heard her scream. And now he was here. With her. He wanted to tun around, take her hand and make sure everything was alright. Help her remember it all. But… she didn't remember him. It had all been a trick on Marluxia's part. He shut his eyes, upset. Riku. That's who was important to her. Finally, the heartless attacked, and Ten completely forgot about his problems, intent on one thing; protect Namine.
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Axel rushed into the square, weapons ready. He had heard Namine's scream as well, and if she got hurt, the Superior would kill him. Well, if Marluxia didn't get him first. He took a step forward, looking around. There, in the corner of the square, a patch of white. Surrounded by heartless. He took another step forward, before he saw the flash of a weapon. Somebody was in front, protecting her. And they were in an organisation members coat. Marluxia, maybe?
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Namine's head was feeling light, her vision getting fuzzy. She glanced around. The heartless were getting larger… but Riku was keeping them back. It was Riku, right? Why hadn't he answered her. She started swaying side to side, letting out a small moan. Just as she tipped, the hooded figure whipped around, catching her as she fell. She saw one more thing before she blacked out. Blonde hair, blue eyes.
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Ten swore under his breath as he caught Namine. Blood loss. Not to mention she wasn't used to physical exertion. He watched the heartless come closer, and lashed out with Oblivion, holding Namine with his other hand. He didn't want to let her go; didn't want to place her on the ground. He felt so happy being near her again. And despite his doubts, he had seen the flash of recognition when he caught her. He looked down at her arm. The cut was deep, bleeding badly. She needed medical attention, fast. The heartless, however, continued to swarm, slowly getting closer to the pair.
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Axel blinked. There was no way he had just seen blonde hair. But as Oblivion lashed out, he knew he was wrong. Ten was free. And he had Namine. Axel growled, ghosting away and reappearing in the shadows behind the two. Dismissing his weapons, he strode forward, making sure Ten didn't see him. He needed the girl, she was still too valuable to have her memories coming back now. In one fluid motion, he reached out, grabbed Namine, tore her away from Ten, and ghosted a few feet away, the unconscious girl hanging from his arms. Ten whipped around, staring angrily at Axel. "Give her back!"
Axel shook his head, smirking. "I don't think so. Besides, I'd be more worried about yourself right now," he said, as another heartless launched itself at Ten's back. Ten turned, taking it out with Oblivion before summoning Oathkeeper and taking out a few more. When he turned to face Axel again, he was gone.
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Axel hid around the corner, Namine limp in his arms. He held her close, her warm body a sharp contrast against his cold one. Her arm hung down, blood still dripping. Axel looked away, checking over the rest of her. It seemed that it was just her arm that was hurt. His face suddenly went as red as his hair. Namine was soaked… in a white dress. Hastily placing her on the ground, he took off his cloak, wrapping it around her. Making sure she was decent, he picked her back up, clutching her tightly to his bare chest. It wasn't that he was embarrassed for the girl. But if he had arrived that the castle with her like that, Marluxia and Larxene would have been shooting him dirty looks for weeks. Smirking, he ghosted off to the castle.