Authors Note –This chapter is… pretty good, I think. But I still have writer block cries Oh well, I will conquer all! evil laugh ok, I'm done…

Disclaimer – I own nothing to do with Kingdom Hearts.

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Riku woke up in the middle of the night, his trained ears picking up the quietest noise in the night. If he hadn't opened his window before he fell asleep he probably wouldn't have heard it at all. Pushing back the covers Riku put his bare feet onto the cool wood floor, taking a second to pull his organization coat on over his boxers and bare chest he headed down the stairs. When he passed Amarantha's room he peaked in, noting that she was nowhere to be seen.

Walking silently in the darkness Riku made his way to the back yard, the noise he heard growing louder as he walked. In the light of the full moon Riku could make out a figure sitting in the hammock that was held between two giant palm trees. Sitting down softly on the hammock Riku put his arm around Amarantha's shoulder.

"What's wrong?" He asked, taking her hands away from her face.

Through her tears Amarantha saw Riku, he was a wet blur, but he was there, a symbol of strength.

"I… I killed them." She said, looking down at her hands in disgust and disbelief.

"Who?" Riku asked.

"My family, my friends, the whole town." Amarantha answered. "They were only trying to help me."

"Why did you kill them?" Riku asked, it was then that he realized how little he knew about Amarantha.

"He told me to; he told me… that only then would I be able to embrace the darkness." Amarantha put her head on Riku's chest, her tears flowing a new. "I didn't want to, I didn't mean to." She said between her sobs.

Riku patted Amarantha on the back, holding her close as she cried, she needed someone to lean on, and Riku was going to be there for her, even when others wouldn't.

"Here, let's go for a walk." Riku said, standing up and handing Amarantha her coat.

Amarantha took the coat and stuck her arms through the sleeves, wiping her eyes as she did so. Riku led the way, walking at a slow pace toward the beach, Amarantha following a few paces behind.

"I'm sorry… for what happened back there." She said into the silence.

Riku shrugged. "What are friends for?"

Amarantha was quite.

Riku stopped once they reached the beach, the water was reflecting a perfect image of the moon, casting everything in shimmering silver light. He turned toward Amarantha, a friendly smile on his face, that smile made something in Amarantha stir, but she couldn't place the feeling, it was something she had never experienced before.

"Aran, weather you want me to or not, I'm gonna be your friend, and I'm going to help you through what ever might be troubling you. But I'm going to need your help."

Amarantha looked up into Riku's eyes, their soft, clear blue sparkled in reflection of the moon's light. He was looking straight into her eyes, his gaze soft and compassionate, yet there was a firmness to it that told Amarantha he meant everything he said. After a second of looking into Riku's eyes Amarantha looked back down at the sand, she wasn't used to being this open to a person, and it was starting to scare her. When Riku's fingers touched the bottom of her chin Amarantha felt her heart jump. He pushed her chin up so that she was once again looking into his eyes.

"You have to trust me." He said softly.

For some unknown reason Amarantha felt herself drawn into Riku's gaze, slowly, inch by inch, they got closer to each other. When their noses were about to touch Riku tilted his head to the side ever so slightly, Amarantha closed her eyes, her heart beating a crazy rhythm in her chest. They were so close now Amarantha could fell Riku's soft breath on her lips, but just as their lips were about to meet a noise on the beach caused Riku to pull away, looking around in alarm.

Out of a cluster of palm trees came Sora and Kairi, Sora with his arm around Kairi's waist and Kairi's head on Sora's chest. At exactly the same time the four people saw each other. Sora and Kairi stopped dead, looking like deer caught in headlights. Amarantha blushed such a deep red color that she was sure it could easily be seen, even in the lack of light. Riku coughed softly and moved even farther away from Amarantha, they had still been a bit closer than normal friends would have been. Sora pulled his arm from around Kairi's waist and looked off to the side, his face turning a deep shade of red as well.

"Umm, hi." Riku said lamely.

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Authors Note – Wow, I like this chapter. ROFL! I know it's kind of short, but it was such a perfect place to end it. I'm going to be going to my dads tomorrow. (Going to be going! Is that grammatically correct?) So I'm going to try to post at least one more chapter before I go, but I should be able to get a few chapters up while at my dads, if not, then I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you. Much love to all reviewers!