CHAPTER 3 - A SPY AMONG US

A/N: Sorry for the delay, though it doesn't really look like anyone cares. And here's a new break format, I hope you like it. I spent hours coming up with different ones that are usable on this site, and now I'm gonna try to see which one from the SIX FREEKING PAGES looks the best. -shrug- Oh, and you also get the chapter title with the actual chapter now. Huzzah!

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"It's like he said," Riku mumbled to himself. "Everything's just how I remember it. Even this room. . ."

"It must be nice being back in your old bedroom," the Voice said, the slightest hint of mockery evident. "Think of all the memories."

"You again," Riku said, tinging his voice with only a small portion of the annoyance he really felt. "Sorry, but these memories I could do without. Maleficent gave me this room."

"So she did," the Voice conceded. "And you lived here, tempted by the darkness she offered. You cast away your home, your friends, everything. . . But at least they gave you a nice room."

"Shut up," Riku snapped. There was a slight snicker, and Riku felt the presence that usually heralded the voice withdraw.

"I really hate this place," Riku growled to himself.

He took one last look around his old bedroom and left, searching for the next room he would find. It wasn't all that difficult to locate, save for the Heartless ambushing him every few feet.

When he got to the next doorway capped with a white-blue marble crown, he pulled out the heart-marked card. On closer inspection, it didn't have the gold crown that Mizu's pendant did, but Riku still felt the inscription was important somehow. He payed the door's price, and entered another familiar room.

"No one here, either," he growled under his breath. "There's nothing but Heartless in this castle."

He looked up at the ceiling, scowling, and quite ready to lash out at the first available target.

"Voice!" he yelled. "I know you're watching - so explain this.Where are the people from my memories? Tell me!"

"Are you sure you want to see them?" was the mocking reply. Riku hesitated a moment, biting his lip and looking out at the room again.

"Of course I do," he said, voice quavering only slightly.

"But you cast them aside," the Voice pointed out. "To reach the outside world, you passed through the door to darkness. Behind you, you left family, friends, home - everything - all in persuit of darkness."

"But I cast that aside, too!" Riku snarled, clenching his fists.

"Then what do you have to show for it? First your home, then the dark. Your heart only knows how to throw things away. It's empty, like that room. Like your memories. That's why no one is in the castle with you. Your heart is hollow except for the darkness you couldn't quite shake off."

"You're full of it!" Riku yelled. "I rejected the darkness!"

A deep-throated chuckle met his words, and Riku could almost see the mocking grin behind the laugh.

"Ha ha ha. . . Did you really, now?"

"Yeah, he did," snapped a voice from behind Riku. He turned to see who it was, and his face lit up in a grin at the sight of Mizu, still bandaged from his attack. When Mizu drew up even with him, she turned a glare to the ceiling and snarled, "You gotta problem widdat?"

The Voice chuckled again, and Mizu's scowl deepened, her brows drawing down to a fierce point over her nose.

"Ah, wadda you know, ya putz?" she snapped. "You ain't met the kid, you ain't got no right ta judge him. Leave that ta those who know 'im best. Gottit?"

"I know him well enough to judge him, Mizu," the Voice drawled. "And despite your beliefs, his heart is still steeped in darkness."

"Ya don' know 'is heart," Mizu mocked, her scowl turning into a smirk.

"And you do?"

"Better'n you, I'll wager. Yeah, I know 'is heart. An' yeah, there is darkness there. But it ain't your darkness, a'ight? Leave 'im be. He's no pawn of yours."

The Voice chuckled again, then seemed to leave them alone. Riku couldn't help himself, and pulled Mizu into a fierce hug.

"Thank you," he whispered, releasing her.

"Ah, yeh didn' need my help," Mizu said, though she blushed slightly. She opened her mouth to say something else, then paused, blinking a few times before pressing her face into her hands. "Oi, my grammer's shot again, huh? Goin' back t' my street accent."

"I thought you sounded different," Riku teased. Mizu took a deep breath, eyes closed, then let it out in a long sigh and grinned up at him.

"Sorry," she said, sounding more like her usual self. "That happens a lot when I'm angry. But what about you, are you okay?"

"Fine," Riku said. "Why?"

"Well, it's this whole 'memory' fiasco," she admitted, waving her hand vaguely to indicate the entire floor and the halls. "I think I know what's going on; they were planning it the last time I was here. Or something like this, anyway. It was before Sora got the Keyblade, and I don't know if Mickey had his at the time or what, but it was a bit over a year ago. Anyway. . ."

Riku let out an undignified yelp as Mizu grabbed him around the head and pulled him down to kiss him long and hard. He had barely gotten over his surprise to return it when she let him go.

"Sorry to do this to you, but I gotta go," she said. "Will you be okay on your own for a while?"

Riku sighed, as he had been hoping he wouldn't have to go through the rest of this place alone, but nodded.

"I'll have to be, won't I?" he asked.

"Basically," Mizu admitted, still with a firm but gentle grip on his head. "But it's not like I've never disobeyed orders before, so I could stick with you for a while. But you are supposed to finish most of this on your own. At least until back-up comes, but I gotta be actin' the spy for a while. Huh, maybe I shouldn't have said that out loud. . ."

"I don't think anyone heard us," Riku admitted. "And unless you're supposed to be spying on that voice, I don't think anyone could hear you but me."

"Well, that's a plus," Mizu admitted with a shrug. "I gotta call up an old buddy of mine. Well, an old contact, anyway. I can't make heads or tails of this guy."

"What - ?"

"Never mind. Before you can ask, yes it'll be dangerous, and no, you're not coming with. Frankly, I need you to be the bait for a while. Makes it easier for me to slip in to my old niche if they're distracted."

"Do I even want to know?"

"Nope," Mizu said with a mischevous grin. "Less worry that way."

"What?"

"Hah! I know that tone! Don't worry, it's nothing I can't handle. In fact, if I wind up with problems, I'll know everything's goin' great. There was always some friction between some of us."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing at all!" She kissed him again, then skipped - merrily skipped, which was a really rare sight - away, waving back at him. "I'll see you in a bit, love!"

Riku stared after her for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head. He had only known her for a year, but he was used to the way she could go from serious to skipping like a kid in under a second. That girl didn't have mood swings, she was a mood swing. Shaking his head again, Riku walked out of the room, looking for his next destination and the door that required the final key.

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A/N: Yup, it's official. Mizu's weird.