Who knows when this will be posted? I certainly don't...and the bloody slave-drivers have been at it again! So I apologise to everyone waiting patiently T-T

Maths is such a confuzzling topic too...takes meh twice as long to do that bloody homework than any other...SCHOOL IS EVIL! IT STOPPED MEH FROM THINKING UP A BETTER AND MORE SUITING NAME FOR THIS CHAPTER! Ookay, I'm going to stop now before I start ranting even more...

Disclaimer: Do I own Kingdom Hearts? Do I look like a really popular games company? No, I don't. SO DON'T RUB MY BROKEN DREAMS IN MY FACE! TIS NOT NICE!

Trust

"Do not stand in a place of danger trusting in miracles--" unkown.

I continued to stare dumbstruck at the keys, like they were alien objects. And for all I knew, they probably were forged by little green men from a distant planet. I was so busy looking at them, that I didn't hear the footsteps behind me. Nor did I hear them calling my name. Until...

"AORI!" That made me jump about six feet in the air. Rinkei really was the champion at snapping me out of whatever stupour I was currently in. "What did you do? The heartless...they vanished. How did you do that?" Her gaze drifted to the two keys clutched in my hands. "What are those? You didn't have them before, right? Am I talking to myself again?"

The truth was, she wasn't talking to herself. I just didn't have the answers.

"Heartless?" I asked her eventually, when she had stopped her ranting.

"Them. The black things that attacked us." Ah. So that was what they were so afraid of?

Before I could ask any more questions that had threatened to consume me in a flood of ignorance, Eirin and Benistepped in front of Rinkei.

Beni was the first one to talk. "That was incredible. Everyone here lives in fear of them, and yet you can destroy them." And then the deadly question. "How did you do that?"

Silence lasted for a few minutes, and when he realised that he wouldn't be getting an answer any time soon, due to his shock being smaller not bigger than, mine he gave up. After all, he would never understand what I had been through. But, I realised, he has probably been through worse before.

"Let's go back," Eirin said eventually, breaking the awkward silence.

Slowly we trudged back to Twilight Tower.

We reached the entrance, and Rinkei and Beni ran on ahead, but before I could join them Eirin grabbed my shoulder in a grip of iron and turned me around to face him. An awkward silence reigned for a few minutes. Then, something totally unexpected that surprised me was said.

"I'm sorry."

"What?" I couldn't comprehend what he had said. Sorry? The one that had been as cold as ice to me, saying sorry?

"I'm sorry," he repeated with emphasis. "I'm sorry for not trusting you, I'm sorry for not believing that you could be on our side, I'm sorry that I was too blind to see what was right in front of me. Alright?" He turned around to go, but before entering the tower he turned back one last time. "Thank you for giving us back our hope."

He disguised himself by being tough, but inside he really was a good person.

Panting and using the keyblades to help my ascent, I entered the room. Everyone was already seated in a circle, looking at me. There was an unoccupied crate, so I took my seat, aware that all eyes were on me.

"We've decided," said Beni ,"what has to be done."

Rinkei continued carefully. "We think that it's best for everyone, not just us, if you..." She trailed off.

"Kill the heartless here," Eirin finished.

"What?"

"Kill the black creatures that hunt us all. Everyone here is living in fear, fear that every day they will become one of them! There is no future for this town if something isn't done. If someone," Eirin pointed at me. "That has the power can help doesn't."

Another awkward silence.

Rinkei looked at me imploringly. "Please...we don't want to put you in danger, but if we don't be selfish...we'll all die."

When she put it like that, there wasn't really much of a choice, was there?

The sun had only been setting when we entered the tower, but when I exited again, it was twilight. I couldn't help shivering. It was just so cold now. And when it was dark...I didn't want to think about it so I moved on at a quickening pace. The light would be the only thing keeping them away. And what would happen when that disappeared? I didn't really want to go any further on that train of thought.

And...what if I fail? What then? They all have faith...believe in me, and yet...their hope could vanish as quickly as the sun.

The sun was almost gone now. I could swear that I could hear someone walking behind me, keeping pace with me. Yet whenever I turned around, no one was there. Paranoia then. Great. That was all I needed now, since in who knows how short a time it takes for the sun to set, there would be hundreds--thousands of heartless chasing after me. Not a pleasant thought. Maybe the paranoia had affected my thinking, setting me on edge perhaps? It was hard to tell.

Twilight seemed to last forever here. It could just be me being nervous, but I was sure it had lasted several hours. And somewhere in the distance I could have sworn the clock struck ten and then eleven. But I couldn't see it now. The buildings surrounding me blocked out the view of pretty much everything else, save themselves.

The tension weighed so heavily in the air, I could have taken a knife to it and cut myself a small slice. Never a good sign.

Something inside me began to panic.

Trust: End.

I am sorry for the cliffie...but I assume the people who read this do want to read it sometime in the near future, instead of during one of my holidays (very far off, I assure you). And the homework pressure seems to have let up (for now at least). So I hope this continues...because then I can update soon! Yayness XD!

So without further ado...the review replies!

icewolf9: Glad someone liked the name choice. I have a small feeling that they're Final Fantasy characters in reality, but what the hell! I don't know who they are, so these names are all I have. And as always, I apologise for the wait :)

WEIRTIU: So it is :)

Stuck in the Shadows: I feel for you. I really really really do. We don't have to take Pe admittedly, but still! Too much homework, up until the last couple of days...I wish you luck with your future tests and homework etc...And asylum? I GO TO THOSE ALL THE TIME! Well, sometimes...and I apologise to you for the wait as well :)

Okay...it you have anything to ask then review and I promise I'll answer as best I can. But I'm not a telepath, so I can't read th question straight from your mind (but admittedly that would be a rather nice skill to aquire).

Until next time!