A/N: Uhm. RoxasxNaminé fluffiness. PURE FLUFF. You've been warned.

Disclaimer: Don't own Kingdom Hearts, yeah, I don't. Don't own Wheel of Time either. Spoilers for Wheel of Time's..uhh, I think sixth book, Lord of Chaos. Or maybe seventh. Or maybe fifth.

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XVI: Remembrance

---------------------------

"Aww, Luxord!" Demyx whined, and he threw in a puppy-eyes look for good measure. "How come you always get twenty?"

The platinum blonde (slicked down by massive amounts of hair wax--Demyx knew that for a fact...Organization XIII always had a thing for hair-stiffening cosmetics) number Nine shuffled the cards, and dealt it once again. "I am the Gambler of Time, Demyx," he said bemusedly.

He pouted once again. Never mind if they had all grown immune to said pout. "Okay, fine. I was only letting you win 'cause you're sick..."

"Injured," Luxord pointed out, smoothing out the bedcovers.

"Whatever, you're still in the Infirmary either way." He stared at the cards that he had gotten. Uhh. Ace of spades. Six of hearts. He could risk it, yeah. "Hit me."

"Move a bit first, I can't see the screen."

Demyx sighed, and nudged himself a bit to the left, so that he himself could see the television. Cripes...why'd the Infirmary get to have a TV? Did you have to get injured or something just to be able to watch it? "Is this okay?"

Nodding, Luxord dealt him another card after glancing at the brightly lit screen (which was playing a rerun of that Wheel of Time soap opera--and had been playing that since the last five hours). Which, to his dismay, was the queen of diamonds.

"So, I take by the expression on your face that you've went over twenty-one," number Ten smirked.

"Obviously," he said, a little bit too loudly. "So I owe you how much now?"

"Seven hundred fifty-two munny. And two bottles of red wine. Chardonnay, mind you."

"Argh...I hate you," Demyx sighed, wondering how he'd get his money back from the now very gleeful Luxord.

At least the gambler was sitting up and talking animatedly now. Yesterday he had all been but comatose--and two days before that, he was all but dead. Sora had been losing control a lot of times now, ever since Roxas had started to go to school. Although the Wielder had apologized profusely for attacking them, the victimized...people had been taking out their revenge during training. Lexaeus did not hold back, while Marluxia 'accidentally' sneaked a sunflower into Sora's room...like Roxas, Sora was allergic to the huge yellow flowers. Wooh. In retaliation, Marluxia found blood all over his room's carpeted floor.

Luxord? He'd probably challenge Sora to a game of poker--and win. Betting insane amounts of money--Sora did have a Royal Treasury Account in his name, Antiform or not.

"Another game?"

Demyx threw a scorching glare at Luxord's grinning face. "What do you take me for, a--"

"We interrupt this program for breaking news--"

He heard the gambler curse under his breath--one of the characters, Moiraine, was about to kill Lanfear, the seriously beautiful villain (and so Demyx wondered why female villains was always so curvy and tall and layered with makeup). Poor, poor Luxord, missing his show.

"Heartless have attacked the world of Destiny Islands today," the ebony-haired reporter said (with a nametag of Ellone Leonhart pinned haphazardly on the lapel of her blazer) in an edgy voice.

"Huh? What? Heartless?" he asked aloud, and Luxord motioned for him to keep quiet.

"...the disputed source of the Neoshadow attack had been identified as Destiny Academy. Casualties have not yet been verified, but at least twenty students have been taken. We have live feedback from the Academy--Raine, come in."

The news programed shifted from studio to live, to a frightened reporter, clutching papers in her white-knuckled hand. "I-I read you, Ellone. W-We're here live from the Academy--"

Demyx couldn't help but gasp. Behind Raine, the school grounds looked like Saïx had taken out his anger on it..multiplied by ten. The school quadrangle was literally torn up, pieces of concrete lying forlornly among the rubble. Students were still sprawled on the ground, and older people --he assumed the professors--were sprinting around and administering Healing magic.

"--the Heartless had just been annihilated by an unknown force thirty minutes ago. Miss..." she motioned to one of the less-shaken looking students: a brunette with shoulder-length hair, bead earring, and mismatched sapphire and emerald eyes.

"Yuna," she said firmly, eyes darting around warily and hands white around a summoner's staff.

"Can you describe what happened here?"

"Well, there was a commotion right before the Heartless appeared...Professor Fujiwara and Kairi were demonstrating something and--"

"I can tell Superior's going to be pissed with Axel so much."

"Keep quiet!"

"All of a sudden all these Neoshadows burst up of the ground...we were fighting for a bit and we were almost losing and then," Yuna had to stop and catch her breath ,"all of a sudden this light streams out from the quad and all the Heartless simply vanished!"

"...this Kairi...Kairi Dalmasca-Leonhart?"

"Uhm, Kairi Dalmasca, yes."

"...and so they go on about things nobody understands," Demyx sighed, lacing his fingers behind his head and yawning. "Pssh. Bet there'll be lots of Dusks now..." he peered once more at the brightly lit screen, and noticed a familiar blonde number Thirteen poking around the bushes behind the brunette girl, shortswords in hand. He stifled a chuckle, Roxas had been all too adamant to the idea of parting with his Keyblades, but it was either that or the wrath of Xemnas...no choice there.

Luxord tapped his chin with a card. "Hmm...but you do have to wonder how the Heartless got in? I have heard that strong fighters make sure Heartless and Nobodies are barred entry from that school..."

"'cause they've got both a Wielder and a Princess, Luxy," he said, snatching the deck from number Ten's hands and shuffling them himself. Luxord took the deck back, frowning.

"But why only now?"

"Do I look like I can answer--"

"BREAKING NEWS Good heavens, viewers," a visibly shaken Ellone Leonhart stammered out, "We have just confirmed that King Mickey Overseer of the Worlds has just been attacked viciously--His Majesty has already been placed under the care of Disney's Healers. We have no word if he is still alive--"

Demyx blinked, and shook himself out of his frozen state of surprise. "Cripes, who'd attack the--"

Sora.

"Meeting. NOW!" Superior's furious, apprehensive, and just plain loud voice roared throughout the halls of the Castle That Never Was.

Luxord shrugged, and shuffled his cards once more. Apparently, Sora mauling the King was old news to him.

-----------------------

"...how much did you take?"

Roxas furrowed his eyebrows, and stared at the blonde girl peering at him curiously. "Five thousand munny."

Naminé sighed, heaving her suitcase up on her feet. "You'd let me borrow some, wouldn't you?"

The corners of his mouth twitched. Irritated, he took the leather suitcase from her hands and clutched it tightly on his own. Really. Why did girls always have to pack ten times heavier than boys?

"I can carry my suitcase on my--" she began, annoyed, but Roxas cut her off.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but it'll take you ten million years before you can lug it to the Gummi Ship," he drawled, walking slowly to Terminal III. Pouting, the blonde girl fell into step beside him, another handbag clinging to her curled fingers. Roxas resisted the urge to roll his eyes; he had brought only a backpack. It was only overnight! Besides, if they forgot anything, they could just as easily portal back to the Castle without anyone seeing. Pssh. Girls. "...what did you pack, Nam? Rocks?"

"Shut it," she huffed, stomping her foot cutely. Yep. Sixteen years old, and still stomping her foot. Aww.

"Hikari, Dalmasca, hurry up!" Larxene said sharply once they were within earshot. The rest of the people going on the trip were already there, bored looks plastered on their faces. "Here's your seating arrangements, two to one seat--they're alphabetical, boys with girls...Aelfinn, Alexandria... Alcaia, Antonioa..."

Today was the scheduled Twilight Town trip--it had pushed through as planned, simply because the school had no other alternative date for the trip; Twilight was celebrating its festival today, and their sister school, Twilight Academy, was more then willing to accomodate them.

The number of those who were going had been halved, as expected. Hysterical parents were still calling up the school (or so the rumors went). The school had taken extra precautions; Paladins had actually been brought along, and all the students (which were composed of both Year II and Year III) were required to bring a weapon of choice, and to have a good supply of Ethers and Potions at hand. Of course, Zexion and Larxene had found a way to come along, still noticeably shaken by the events yesterday.

Axel had declined, seeing that the trip had Kairi in it. He said he was better off searching in the Library for a way to reverse the Knighting. However, the pyro had taken Roxas aside and made him promise that he'd keep an eye on Zexion and Larxene, just in case they did anything...well, Axel had left it at that.

Ew.

"Fialandi, Braska... Florence, Caraway..."

Roxas was still apprehensive about going, though--the meeting the Superior had called had seen to that. Sora needed his control more than ever; the brunette had brutally attacked King Mickey last night, and he only grinned toothily everytime they asked him whether he left the King alive or not. However, it was Sora himself who told Roxas to go and not worry about him, since he's satisfied his bloodlust enough for at least two days--which made him think about what Sora had done to the King...the palace Healers had refused to comment on the King's condition.

On another note, Roxas had found Sora's journal, and was much too apprehensive to return it. Apparently, Sora had not realized he had lost it at all, in Destiny Academy. There it was, a small notebook. The temptation to read it was almost too great. It gave an insight to what was left of Sora.

Xemnas had assigned one Organization member to keep tags on Sora at all times whenever Roxas wasn't around.

His eyes fell on the blonde number Twelve, emerald eyes reading names boredly. Her waist-length hair (Larxene finally had the control to cut her hair back to its original length, and Zexion had silently watched--and he burst into laughter the next day when her hair just grew back immediately. It just didn't want to be cut, therefore. Axel had been in a particularly sour mood that day) was tied back in a loose ponytail, and it contrasted sharply with her ebony-black, long-sleeved turtleneck. Miraculously, Zexion wasn't by her side today--number Six was probably inside the Gummi Ship already, checking for its safety.

"...Grandia, Clydis... Haltamis, Daaxien...Hendo, Dalmasca..."

"Elazul?" Naminé said slowly, turning to him, cream white sundress fluttering slightly. "...I'll have to switch with Pearl, then. She's his girlfriend, after all. Or he switches with whoever sits with Pearl. Or..."

Roxas' eyebrows furrowed. "Naminé, you're the second Dalmasca in this class, 'cause K comes before N."

"Thank you, teacher Roxas," she said sarcastically. He swatted his free hand at her, and she dodged it, giggling.

As long as I don't sit with her, we're safe. I won't fall in love with her more, and--

"Hikari, Dalmasca... Ivalice, Ginfah..."

"...I just had to think about it," he muttered darkly, stealing a glance at the flabbergasted girl next to him. Naminé was staring at Larxene (who Roxas swore he saw give them a small, knowing smile) with a mixture of surprise, anger, and amusement. Roxas knew she felt the same. Cripes, and it was a three-hour trip!

Well, he did have the same room as her in the Castle, but Naminé usually was out all the time. Roxas knew she was trying her best to avoid him, and he did the same. However, that didn't prevent him from occasionally sneaking a goodnight kiss or from placing her blankets over her or from whispering a fervent prayer for someone up high to protect her or from just wishing her a good night's sleep. And, Roxas realized, the girl had never failed to return the favor. He had always woken up smiling whenever he felt her lips brush his forehead the night before.

Naminé was nice to have as a roomate.

How he hated DiZ right now.

Something poked him in the ribs, and he recoiled. He looked up into the face of a disbelieving blonde Naminé.

He hesitated, tuning out number Twelve's voice as she rattled out arrangements. "Soo...d'you want me to trade seats with somebody else?" he asked.

She bit her lip, and stared at the ground, but answered in a firm voice all the same. "No."

Roxas jerked his head up. "Nam?"

"...I missed having you around," she said softly, shuffling her feet.

He blinked, blushing, as he stared at his fingerbands instead of her face. "That's nice to know."

"Dude! Roxas, Naminé!" Tidus yelled. "Hurry up!"

They were the only ones left standing in front of the Terminal. Yelling, they sprinted to the Gummi Ship and boarded it, sparing a passing glance at the departure screen.

"Commercial Gummi Ship no. 374 special flight to Twilight Town, now boarding."

---------------------

"Naminé, argh, what did you pack in this thing?" Roxas asked frustratedly as they threaded their way through the throng of people crowding the middle aisle of their Gummi Ship.

She shrugged, finally spotting her assigned seat. "More things," she said simply, gesturing to the seat.

"Girls," he pouted cutely, proceeding to try and place her suitcase properly at the foot of the seats. Naminé watched him struggle for a minute or so, before trying to get her suitcase and place it herself. She ended up almost banging it open, and Roxas sighed in irritation.

"...hey guys."

She looked up, and found her Other staring at them bemusedly from behind the seats in front of theirs, probably kneeling on the chairs.

Roxas nodded. "Hey Kairi."

"Hi, Other," she bit her lip, as she met the Princess' gaze. All she could remember whenever she saw Kairi was her duty to control her Antiform--and that was a memory she didn't really want to remember. She knew sooner or later she would have to snap Kairi out of whatever had forced her to let Riku become her Knight or something--Naminé still felt attracted to Roxas, so that must mean that Kairi's heart still had very deep ties to Sora's.

Kairi broke eye contact, and rounded on the bedheaded blonde instead, who was kneeling, still trying to shove her suitcase under the seats. "Nice seating, huh, Roxas?"

She felt her eyes narrow, as she stared at the top of Roxas' head, who answered, "...yep. Just don't go all PDA on us."

"It's not PDA!" the redhead protested vehemently. "And no, Riku's not my seatmate."

Naminé sighed in relief when he straightened up, meaning he had succeeded in cowering the suitcase into submission. She brushed past him and sat down on the seat nearest the window. Naminé liked windows a lot.

"He's not?" he asked, running a hand through his hair. "Didn't you swap or something?"

She shook her head. "We're going to spend the day together, in any case. And absence makes the heart grow fonder, anyway."

Naminé couldn't help but stare increduously at her Other, and she exchanged a disbelieving look with an equally flabbergasted Roxas. If absence made the heart grow fonder, then that meant she missed Sora very much, because Sora had been out of commission for almost a year now.

"...what about you two? Am I supposed to expect PDA from you two?" Her voice broke then out of their reveries--Roxas actually choked on his own spit.

She pursed her lips, ignoring Roxas spluttering. "Shut it, Kai," she said evenly, folding her hands on her lap.

"Touchy, touchy. Proves that you're guilty," Kairi teased in a very annoying sing-song voice. She cringed.

"Am not."

"...you are," the redhead countered in an infuriating knowing voice.

Naminé felt her cheeks heat up, and she was suddenly very aware of Roxas staring at her bemusedly. Oh, how she'd like to pummel him until he begged for mercy...gritting her teeth, she forced herself to stare out of the window. "Am not."

"Yes, you are."

"Hey, sit properly."

Kairi twisted around in her seat. "You don't tell me what I do, Sir Riku."

Thankfully, she didn't see Naminé's lips twist in disgust, as she watched Riku smirk behind her Other.

It was just wrong.

It was supposed to be Kairi and Sora...and it wasn't Kairi and Sora, because Naminé was not there to supress the hatred in Kairi's supposed-to-be pure heart. Oh, she hoped they found a way to restore control--she did not want to be the cause of Sora going berserk again.

Even as half-Heartless, and whether the brunette Wielder would admit it or not, he was still very touchy when it came to the subject of the seventh Princess of Heart. Either he'd attack the person who dared to ask, or he'd clam up and refuse to speak for the rest of the day.

...thus returning to the fact that she had to remerge.

She hated existing.

"...and I thought I could get away from you," Kairi was saying, giggling as Riku placed his arm possessively around her shoulders. Naminé shut her eyes discreetly, opening them only when she was facing the window, staring at the takeoff strip of the Destiny Islands Gummi Ship Terminal. She felt like throwing up, and it wasn't because of motion sickness.

The platinum-haired Wielder kissed her on the cheek, pulling her closer. "Now you know you can't."

"Ah," Roxas said sarcastically, mock-covering his eyes. "It buurrrns!"

"Eh?" Riku smiled broadly. "You want to be left alone with Naminé, Rox? Did I read the sarcasm right?"

Naminé didn't know whether to smile, blush, or mess up Riku's memories so bad he'd never know what hit him.

The blonde boy behind her spluttered vehemently. "I never said--"

"This is Professor Larxene, people. Sit down and put on your seatbelts, please, until the Gummi Ship takes off. Secure all weapons and items properly. Trading seats may be done once more when we are in flight. People who have motion sickness--say something before you hurl. The trip is going to last approximately two hours and fifty-two minutes. Be safe, and let's take off."

Riku smirked once more, helping the redhead back down onto her seat, and disappearing from view.

Naminé started to reach under for her suitcase, but Roxas grabbed her wrist as the Ship started to taxi down the runway.

"Put on your seatbelt!" he hissed, collapsing into the chair beside her. "Do you want to get thrown back?"

Blushing, she quickly wrenched her hand free of Roxas' grip, and snapped her silver seatbelt buckle shut. She heard Roxas do the same, and the little metallic snaps of people doing the same thing filled the cabin.

"This is Captain Barrett, and I shall be yer pilot for this trip. Buckle up, kiddies."

The Ship lurched backward, and she felt herself sink into the seat's back as the force pressed her back. They suddenly tilted upward, and Naminé felt something she had not felt for a long time.

Fear--this is why she preferred portalling; Portalling was faster, not to mention safer. For her, anyway.

She involuntarily clutched the nearest thing she could, squeezing it for comfort as the Gummi Ship took off, blue sky and sea disappearing into orange mist into finally black space. They deftly maneuvered between the various Heartless Ship debris--which Sora himself had cleared long ago. Heart pounding, her jaw dropped in awe when she saw Destiny Islands from afar--a ball of land and sparkling sea among the stars.

"...ehm, Nam, I think my hand's losing blood."

Naminé blinked, and her eyes traveled to where her fingers were curled around. Unsurprisingly, they were around Roxas' hand. She immediately released his fingers, and he massaged them ruefully.

"For a girl, you sure are strong," he said, wincing as he wiggled his fingers.

"...I whupped your butt in training yesterday, remember?" she muttered, picking up her handbag and placing it securely on the armrest between her and Roxas.

"'cause I let you win...and..." his eyebrows furrowed at the sudden intrusion of the white handbag. "What are you doing?"

She rummaged around the bag, and took out a book. "Making sure you don't get any ideas."

"Don't worry," he said confidently, "I won't."

"...suuure you won't," Naminé said mockingly, not even bothering to look at Roxas. She'd probably blush scarlet if she looked at him, anyway.

Shrugging, the blonde number Thirteen undid his seatbelt, jumped over the seat closest to the aisle, and started talking away with Tidus, who was on the other side of the walkway. She placed her handbag in the middle seat, half-hoping Roxas would come back and sit next to her again; she really had missed having him around.

This was going to be a long three hours.

------------------------

Roxas yawned.

He had been talking for at least thirty minutes now, and it was pretty hard when the guy you're talking to was too distracted with having his crush sitting next to him. "Dude, you exchanged seats for her," he chided Tidus. "It wouldn't harm you if you two just talked."

"...I can't," he said helplessly, yawning widely himself. Roxas peered over him; sure enough, Yuna had already fallen asleep, hands folded perfectly over her half-skirted lap, bead earring heaving up and down slightly with every breath she took. In fact, the once-lively conversations were now hushed and carried on in half-sleepy tones.

It was something about the atmosphere of the Gummi Ship; it seemed to induce everyone to fall asleep. The seats were cozy, the cabin was airconditioned, heck, you could even ask for a pillow if you wanted to. The fact that they had to leave at five in the morning didn't help. It was impossible not to fall asleep.

Roxas snickered. "Shove her a bit so that she leans on you," he instructed, much to Tidus' mortification. Ignoring the blitzball player's objections, he continued ,"She looks pretty uncomfortable just sitting there. Don't worry, I guarantee you Yuna will be grateful for letting her use you as a pillow."

"But!"

"Do it," he said firmly, cutting Tidus off.

"Fine," he whispered sleepily, nudging Yuna. The girl then shifted positions, reaching over her armrest and curling her arm around Tidus', falling asleep once more. A few minutes later, Tidus fell asleep too.

Sighing, Roxas relaxed his neck and sank into his own seat. Why did it have to be so comfortable? He stole a glance at the blonde girl beside him; Naminé's eyes were already heavy-lidded with sleep. The book she had been reading had slipped on the floor at her feet. Roxas, being the gentleman he was, scooted over and picked it up, and slid it inside her bag.

Was it just him, or was Naminé shivering?

...yep. He had told Naminé to wear something thick, 'cause he knew for a fact Gummi Ships were notorious for their temperature--it may be scorching hot outside, but it was deathly cold inside.

Oh, I hope she forgives me.

He shrugged off his cream-colored polo and wrapped it around her shoulders, feeling her skin almost frozen underneath the woolen fabric. She was going to end up with a very nasty cold, that was a very probable possibility. Roxas picked up her white bag and placed it on the seat nearest the aisle, and he sat down in the seat next to hers, adjusting the polo gently. His own zipped black undershirt was warm enough--as a Nobody, he could stand much more extreme temperatures than this.

Roxas yawned again, and he contented himself by watching Naminé's head loll around lazily.

He smiled. Asleep, she looked positively angelic. Borrowed feelings or not, he sure was lucky Naminé had not decided to swap places with anyone else.

His eyes closed of their own accord, and he nodded off, sleepiness taking over him. Why not? He did have two more hours to kill, anyway.

---------------------

"You know, I can take care of myself," he said nonchalantly, lacing his fingers behind his head.

Axel snorted. "Sorry to be blunt, but I'm not babysitting you--I'm making sure you don't go berserk on us."

Sora sighed as he continued walking down the white marble corridor, his footsteps light. "...I didn't mean to, really."

"You're only saying that because Roxas has just gone. Pretty soon you'll go all violent."

The brunette Wielder stopped walking, and looked over his right shoulder. Axel could see hurt reflected in his sky-blue eye, and he swallowed painfully. "...I guess everyone thinks that of me, now."

"You did attack the King," the pyro pointed out.

"You don't understand how I feel, Axel," he countered, turning around fully now, leaving ribbons of darkness trailing from his arm and hand. "If you were in my place, you'd do the same."

Axel hesitated; Sora was right--he had no idea what the Wielder was going through. There was one thing he was sure of, though. It hurt when the girl you cared for was happy with someone else. Well, it was Arlene who was inlove with Ienzo, but he could see day by day that Larxene was slowly losing her hold over her Other. When that day came when Larxene was completely--ugh, he didn't want to think about that.

"Sora, you left King Mickey alive, right?"

He nodded, and looked away. "I had to. I couldn't get his Keyblade if he died."

"So you're really set on having his Keyblade, eh?"

"Yep. Never got the feel of the Dark Keyblade, anyway."

Keyblade Masters were something Axel had never bothered to understand, since there were only four of them in existence right now. All he knew was that being one required a massively strong will, but not necessarily a heart--Sora was proof of that.

He also knew that this particular Keyblade Master needed a pure heart right now, to counter Roxas' loss of...

Hey!

Axel forced down a gasp, and Sora stared at him quizzically. If he and Kairi got together once more, maybe the light of the seventh (and reputedly the most powerful) Princess of Light would balance out the darkness in Sora.

Yeah. And it would do the same for Kairi--but the girl had her own Antiform to speak of. That was a problem. But it was worth a try, right?

"I've never seen you space out like that," Sora commented.

"I was just thinking." He grinned, and walked up to the brunette Heartless/Nobody.

Now, how to get rid of Riku...

---------------------

Flash.

Naminé opened a sapphire-blue eye halfway, vision still hazy with sleep. She could make out the a black-clad figure gliding past her, blonde hair fluttering behind. She moaned slightly, yawning, before burying herself back into the deliciousness of sleep, and the softness of her seat.

Uh?

She blinked sleepily, finding that she was actually nestling herself in the crook of Roxas' neck, and that the boy had fallen asleep, leaning on her head slightly. An arm was wrapped around her waist tightly, while the other hand was settled lightly over her own hand, his banded fingers filling in the space between her own. She found her own two arms wrapped tightly around Roxas' torso, and for some reason, her ribs hurt.

Grunting, she raised the armrest backwards--it was digging into both their sides.

There. She wrapped her arms around the boy once again, even tighter this time. Their knees were touching, and her foot was crossed over his. Naminé then felt an unusual warmth around her shoulders...strange, she didn't fall asleep wearing an overshirt--

Oh. It was Roxas' cream shortsleeved jacket. The boy had wrapped it around her.

Right now, she felt she should be flaming mad; Roxas taking advantage of her like that. But she was just too damn sleepy to be mad, or to even care.

Number Thirteen tightened the grip around her waist, and on her hand, holding her closer, the armrest out of the way now. Closing her eyes, Naminé nuzzled her forehead against his neck, taking in his cologne, and lost herself to the darkness of sleep once more.

----------------------

It tickled.

"Uhhh," Roxas murmured, still in a state of half-sleep.

The cabin was completely quiet--people had either fallen asleep, or was about to fall asleep. He could spot Larxene and making her fifteen-minute routine walk down the cabin, checking up on everyone. Number Twelve had something in her hands--it looked suspiciously like a camera to him. What the heck for...?

Naminé grunted slightly, and snuggled closer, her breath hot against his neck.

What the heck!

He blinked; he had fallen asleep with no bodily contact with the pale blonde girl whatsoever. Now they were more tangled than Roxas had ever dreamed of doing. Cripes, Naminé is going to be so mad...

"Nam," he said gently, nudging the girl awake, wondering how he'd get out his arm from around her waist. "Wake up."

"Nam."

"Naminé."

"Hn?" she asked sleepily, raising her head from his shoulder and staring at him with unfocused sapphire blue eyes.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "You fell asleep, and..."

"Shut up, Roxas, I know," she slurred out, nuzzling his neck once more, making shivers race down his spine. "...right now, I'm too sleepy to care. So whether you like it or not, I'm using you as a pillow."

"But--"

"Told you," she breathed, her eyelashes tickling the skin on his neck slightly, "Shut up."

Her breathing then slowed down once more into the even breathing of deep sleep.

Girls were something Roxas had never really understood. He pondered that thought as he kissed Naminé's forehead, and fell asleep anew.

---------------------

"People, this is Prof Larxene again--we'll be landing in Twilight Terminal in ten minutes. Wake up, and make sure you leave nothing that you're not supposed to."

Naminé blinked sleepily, yawning as she did. Mmhm. She was pretty well-rested, in fact, she was positive she had had more than enough sleep--she'd probably not fall asleep later night. "Roxas, wake up, you lazy bum."

!

She quickly clamped her mouth shut--she sounded like Kairi too much for comfort. The blonde boy stirred, and looked around blearily, withdrawing his hand from her waist. She reluctantly let her hands drop from around Roxas. Blushing, she leant on the window railing instead, staring at the massive orange world of Twilight Town below them. The Clocktower was perfectly visible from here.

"...get enough sleep?" a voice snickered from the aisle, and Naminé looked over her shoulder. Larxene was smiling knowingly at the two of them--it was getting annoying.

Roxas blushed deeply. "Well, I did."

She settled for nodding mutely, fearing that if she opened her mouth to speak, she'd blurt out that she wished it lasted longer--that was the last thing she wanted to do.

"cause you two looked pretty cozy," Zexion drawled. Naminé raised an eyebrow; how did number Six manage to get here so fast...?

"What do you mean, cozy?" she demanded, tearing her gaze from the window.

Larxene procured a white square of glossy paper.

"You did not do that," Naminé said unbelievingly, eyes following the picture. She could make out her and Roxas' figures as they were asleep.

The blonde laughed, emerald eyes sparkling with amusement. "What's wrong with it, Naminé?"

She bit her lip. "Nothing, but..."

Roxas stared at her blankly, cerulean blue eyes curious.

"...it was fine, really, but he's--"

"Prof Kisaragi and Alcaia, we land in five minutes. Please proceed to the Ship bridge now. Barret out."

Larxene tossed her the photograph, snickering. Zexion linked hands with her, and they proceeded to the bridge. People had already buckled their seatbelts, and nipping the picture's corner in her mouth, she buckled her own with a little snap. Roxas whipped the photo from her lips and stared at it, blanching.

"Wow. It looks, uhm, uh, more intimate," she stammered, leaning closer to see the photograph. Number Twelve had taken a picture of them asleep, when Naminé had her arms tightly around Roxas' waist, and the boy had done the same.

"Intimate?" Roxas said unbelievingly, eyelid twitching. "For crying out loud, Naminé, it looks like we're together or something! It's even more than what Kairi and Riku would pull off!"

"What won't we pull off?" Kairi asked curiously, head peering up over her seat.

Naminé shook her head vehemently. "Nothing, nothing."

"Huh?"

"Kairi, sit down."

"Okay, okay already."

"...but on the bright side, that was the best two hours of sleep I've ever gotten," Roxas said cheerfully, tucking the photograph into his backpack.

She suppressed a smile, and turned back to the window, observing Twilight Town as it came closer. Orange-hued clouds shrouded the World, and she could almost hear the Clocktower bell ring. She wondered how Roxas would take it, being back in his supposed hometown.

Her Plan would soon be set into action.

------------------------

"Wow. Roxas. You look...toned," Tidus complimented, staring at him up and down. Roxas subconsciously rubbed his hands up and down his arms.

"Dude, you want to ask me out?"

The blonde blitzer scrunched up his face. "Sorry, man, I'm straight."

They burst into laughter together.

They had already landed down on Twilight Town, and here they were, on the way to the Terminal. He had realized that this was the first time he had taken off his overshirt, thus being the first time anyone other than Naminé seeing him sleeveless. It revealed his arms, which, he should say so himself, had been shaped by grueling months of Keyblade training.

Uhm. That made for a lot of fangirls, who were now following him stealthily in a manner comparable to rabid dogs.

Tidus was carrying Yuna's small overnight duffel bag, and Roxas stole a glance at it enviously. Ugh. Why did Naminé have to pack so many things? Don't get him wrong; he's not carrying her bag because she's his girlfriend or something--all the boys were supposed to carry their seatmates' bags; that's why they were seated that way.

Speaking of Naminé...where was she...?

"Go through gate five, people," Larxene called through the crowd, not a piece of luggage in sight. It was so unfair; the two had probably agreed that they'd portal back for their things.

Pouting (not even realizing that he was pouting), Roxas lugged Naminé's suitcase through gate five, and was immediately smothered by a camera flash. He blinked hazily, staggering back. Ow, that hurt his eyes pretty bad. "Did you really have to do that in my face?" he asked irritatedly.

Pence stared back at him, camera in slightly pudgy hand. "Sorry."

"Agh, it's okay," he waved a hand dismissively, blinking the spots out of his eyes. "s long as I'm not blind."

Pence continued to stare at him. Uhm. Roxas had remembered Pence staring like that, but that particular stare was reserved for some camera the photographer revered, and had proclaimed he'd buy someday.

"...stop staring," he squirmed uncomfortably, luggage heavy in his hand. "Whoever you are..." he added in what he hoped was a convincing voice.

At that moment, Naminé had appeared out of the crowd, her pale visage standing out against the warm sunset colors of Twilight Town. To his horror, the blonde Nobody was beaming and leading an equally happy Olette to where he was. It hurt enough to be in this town, knowing that his circle of friends would never remember him, but did she really need to rub it in?

"Roxas," Naminé greeted happily, his shirt still draped around her shoulders.

Scratching his head and trying his best to look new to this town, he held out a hand to Olette. "...I think I've met you before. Olette, right?"

Jade green eyes narrowed in bewilderment, and the brunette took his hand, shaking it slowly. "Yes...and you're?"

"Roxas!"

Even more bewildered, Roxas looked around a still-beaming Naminé's shoulders. Hayner was running up to them, and skidded to a stop beside Olette. Pence had moved close to Hayner, and Naminé scooted over next to him, that infuriating smile of hers still pasted to her face.

He never had much of acting skills. Gritting his teeth, he prepared to lie his way out. "Hey. Yep, that's me, Roxas, " he paused, hoping he was convincing. "Who're you?"

Sienna eyes narrowed. "..."

Smack!

Roxas reeled backward, clutching a hand to his jaw. He felt Naminé support him, her hands pushing upright at the small of his back. Argh. Simulated or not, Hayner could sure pack an uppercut. "What the hell was that for?" he asked angrily--people were starting to gawk at them.

Olette and Pence were trying to restrain a heaving Hayner, visibly straining from the effort.

"You are the biggest idiot I have ever met," he spat, hands clenched into iron fists. Roxas wondered how Hayner would look like sporting a bloody nose--he decided it would look spectacularly painful.

"Say what?" Roxas yelled, dropping Naminé's suitcase on the floor and pulling out his shortswords from his backpack.

The brunette girl shook her head frantically. "Roxas! No!"

"Can somebody tell me what is going ON!" he roared, dodging Hayner's fist--his two friends' restraining hold on him had finally failed. Roxas twirled a shortsword, and prepared to hit Hayner in the forehead squarely with the hilt.

"I'll tell you what's going on," Hayner breathed angrily, straightening up. "How dare you pretend like you don't know your best friends. How dare you act like you've never stepped foot here in Twilight before. How dare you just freakin' disappear for only God knows how long, Roxas! How could you leave us hanging in the air like this!"

Roxas blinked, and stared, stunned. He was unable to think of anything to say, except,"You remember...?"

"Like hell we do!" Hayner said angrily, seeming to calm down. "When did we ever forget, anyway?"

He felt warm fingers pry both shortswords from his hands, and place them securely back in his bag.

"Naminé..."

The blonde girl continued to fuss with his bag, refusing to meet his gaze. However, one could not miss the small smile that graced her lips as she did.

"Roxas," Pence said loudly,"Where have you been?"

"I...I..." he stammered, at a loss for words. Naminé smiled even more. "I...I'm sorry, uhm, I had to move to Destiny Islands. Sorry for not telling you," he scratched his head.

"You. Had. To. Move." Hayner muttered disbelievingly, hands balling into fists once more. "That. Is. Not. A. Valid--" he stopped as Olette whispered something in his ear, pointing at the blonde girl who had just finished tinkering with his backpack, and had picked up her suitcase herself. "Ohhh..." he trailed off, face smoothing into a smirk.

"Naminé, I told you, you can't lug that bag around," he said firmly, shard of heart still pounding. The girl refused to look at him as he took her luggage gently.

"...it was for a girl..." Hayner said loudly.

Roxas' face burned, and Pence took a picture of it. Naminé giggled. Gah. He turned to her, and placed both hands on her shoulders. She resolutely looked at the cobbled ground. "Naminé..."

"Happy birthday, Roxas," she said quietly, shuffling her feet.

"I don't have a birthday."

She licked her lips, and pursed them. "Yes, you do. Today is exactly two years since you unmerged with Sora."

"How'd you know?"

She blushed furiously--even her ears were slowly going red. "I keep track of time, Roxas. It is my birthdate too, you know."

"So...?"

"It took me almost a year, but I finally managed to unchain their memories of you," she explained quickly, still, annoyingly, looking down at her sandalled feet. "It's the least I can do."

"You could've told me first," he said ruefully, rubbing his sore jaw.

"...sorry, but I wanted it to be a sur--"

He cut her off, pulling her into a fierce hug as he fervently murmured 'thank you' over and over again, tears threatening to spill. Oh, they finally remembered him, they finally did. Naminé sighed against his chest, and he felt warm liquid seep through his shirt--she was crying.

"Roxas, I don't want you to be sad, ever again," she sobbed softly, voice muffle in his clothes.

Olette squealed happily, and Pence, once more, took a picture. That was probably the one picture he'd have to have.

"I knew it!" Hayner threw his hands up in dismay. "It was a girl! I can't believe you exchanged us, for a girl!"

"Shut up, Hayner!" Olette said dreamily. "Oh, one would do anything for love..."

Roxas gently eased his grip, and Naminé pulled back of her own accord, scarlet painting her cheeks. Agh. And he wasn't supposed to fall in love with this girl. She finally looked up, and sapphire-blue eyes sparkled at him. "I--"

"Hikari, Dalmasca, there you are," Zexion's voice suddenly spoke up, seemingly appearing from nowhere. And knowing number Six, he probably had appeared from nowhere.

"Yeah, professor Zexion," he said, still a bit overwhelmed from what Naminé had done. So that was why she was rarely in their room late at night--she stayed up in the Old Mansion, rechaining Olette, Pence, and Hayner's memories. She did it all for him.

"The general assembly's at ten," Zexion said boredly, looking down at the Twilight Town students, and at the circle of yellow pinned on Olette's shirt, proclaiming her as a 'Student Guide'. "I do believe you know how to get there, Miss--"

"Olette," the brunette bowed her head quickly. "Olette Winhill."

"Well, Winhill," he nodded. "Make sure these two get to your Academy."

With that, he spun on his heels, and walked away in the general direction of Terminal Five.

"Before that, " Hayner grinned, tapping his foot. "Let's meet your girlfriend, Rox."

Roxas spluttered, almost dropping the suitcase on his feet. "S-she's not--"

"I'm Naminé Dalmasca. Pleased to meet you."

He could hear Hayner smirk.

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'cause I want to write fluff. So sue me.

sad to say, but the ending's on the horizon, kiddies.

It shall be quick, and painless, ne...?

...review please? I'll reply to you.

The purple button needs some love...