"Are you sure you don't want to stay, Naminé?"
It was difficult to say no to Roxas, especially when he brought out his sad eyes, but still…
"I could get you a job at the bistro," Olette said.
Xion chimed in as well. "And there are plenty of empty apartments in Twilight Town still."
Axel tapped his head. "Guaranteed ice cream everyday."
Naminé giggled and folded her hands. "I'm sorry but," she paused and glanced back at the gummi ship where Riku and Kairi were waiting, "I can't settle down until Sora's back. To help the most, I think I'm needed in Radiant Garden for now."
Xion approached and clasped her own hands over Naminé's. "The offer always stands."
Naminé nodded with a smile. Their understanding took most of the burden of leaving off of her shoulders. It wasn't like the pathways between worlds were closing. She'd only be a gummi ship ride away from them all.
Pence laughed and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Hey, if anything, you can always stay in the old mansion again."
Naminé tensed, and Roxas quickly slapped the back of the boy's head.
"That might not be the...best idea," Naminé said.
"Right, sorry." Pence backed away, but she made sure to reassure him with a smile and a nod.
Roxas looked to her with concern. "Be safe. Don't let them run any weird experiments, okay?"
"I won't," she giggled. Having Riku and Kairi go to Radiant Garden alongside her eased that anxiety. As long as she wasn't alone, she'd be fine.
But whenever she thought of joining them, that strange tickling sensation returned to the back of her throat. Despite the several attempts to clear her throat, it never fully went away, and she wondered if it was just a consequence of getting a new heart. Luckily, Radiant Garden had one of the greatest healers, so she could just go to Aerith if it persisted.
She kept her goodbyes brief and was back on the ship before she knew it. The vessel was definitely more spacious with seven fewer people on board, and now there were enough seats for everyone.
The solemn atmosphere lingered throughout the journey home. When Riku called Ienzo, the scientist could tell something was wrong just by the drop in his voice and his forlorn expression. Riku assured that the details would be given in person, but Naminé sensed a part of him that wasn't ready to address it yet. Kairi kept spirits high by recalling her and Sora's time together - how invigorated she felt during their fight with Xehanort, and the dreamy sense of finally getting to see the worlds together. Riku responded in kind, reminiscing on their time in the dream worlds.
Soon enough, they landed in the same place they'd departed from. The sun was still new in the Radiant Garden sky. As Even led them into the castle, Naminé hesitated.
"Will...he be there again?" she asked.
Riku and Kairi turned to her inquisitively, but Even shook his head in understanding. "No, Naminé, he won't."
Naminé took that as the only answer she needed and proceeded forward. As she passed Riku, she briefly met his gaze, and it didn't take long for the realization to cross his face. She wondered if he'd held any similar hesitations, but his bravery had probably allowed him to overcome them more quickly.
Maybe one day she'd be ready.
It felt strange being back in the very same lab where she'd first awoken, as much as the presence of Riku and Kairi helped. Atleast she wasn't the only one being bombarded with questions and strange devices.
"I want to help," Naminé said, "but I don't know if I can still connect to Sora's memories."
"We did detect a faint magical source within you during your first visit, Naminé," Ienzo said. "Perhaps it just needs to be reawakened."
Naminé closed her eyes and searched for the power within herself. Before, it had been as easy as seeing the memory chains themselves, like they were a sixth sense of hers. Now, however, all she felt was the darkness behind her closed eyelids.
"How would she do that?" Kairi asked.
Even stepped in. "You could try revisiting places that are significant to your own memories…"
Naminé stiffened. The whole reason she'd avoided Twilight Town and the Land of Departure might actually be the key to helping Sora. She just didn't know if she could bear it yet…
"The mansion in Twilight Town still has my sketchbook," she said. "At the very least, I could...try to retrieve it."
"Are you sure, Naminé?" Ienzo asked.
"No," she smiled shyly, "but if I could regain my powers to help Sora, it's worth trying."
Kairi put her hands on Naminé's shoulders. "You've always been so brave, Naminé, but please don't do anything you're not ready for."
Naminé smiled. "Sora would've done the same. I have to try."
"Then I'll take you." Riku spoke up suddenly.
Her eyes widened with surprise. She wanted to ask him why, but instead she asked, "Are you sure? Finding other ways to help Sora might be more important."
"This is helping Sora," he said. "The three of us will come up with more once we're back."
"Anything helps." Kairi nodded. "I can look into my past here for answers."
Naminé glanced away from the worrying eyes on her. The thought of more travel, not to mention where she'd be going, sounded exhausting, but getting one-on-one time with Riku again didn't sound so bad. And maybe the annoying sensation in her throat would disappear by the time they returned.
So with heavy hearts, Naminé and Riku set off the next morning for Twilight Town. To visit the very place that had kept her away.
When they landed, they went straight to the mansion. Downtime could come afterwards. If it wasn't for the place they were visiting, the stroll through the woods on its own would've been quite pleasant. Leaves crunched underneath her sandals as they made their way through the woods. The canopy of trees blocked out most sunlight, but splotches of golden light peppered the forest floor and provided a warm ambience to their excursion.
Atleast until the mansion gate obstructed her view. The structure actually blended in with its surroundings beautifully, but memories from the past were louder in her head than the scenery of the present.
"Are you sure you're ready for this, Naminé?"
Riku stared back at her from the open gate to the abandoned mansion. She clasped her hands in front of her chest, wishing she had her sketchbook to hide behind. Her foot inched forward hesitantly before retreating back to where she'd started.
She cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and nodded. "Yes. I need to do this."
She walked alongside him until they reached the door. He opened it easily enough with Braveheart, yet her own mind kept her feet from moving forward once more.
He turned around, sensing her hesitancy. "It's okay." His hand extended to her all-too familiarly. "You're safe."
Safe.
She was safe.
Her hand found his comfortably, and she followed the gentle pull into the foyer.
It hadn't been that long since she'd been in the mansion, so she didn't know why she expected it to be more run down. The interior was still dusty and partially destroyed, but no differently than she remembered.
"Where should we start?" She asked.
"Wherever your heart leads you."
Her heart. It was strange to even think that she had one of her own now. According to some, she'd had one all along. A heart that DiZ had constantly reminded her didn't exist. She could practically hear his voice now, echoing in every room of the mansion.
A Nobody cannot have a heart.
She must have made a noise, because Riku turned to her with concern. "Did I say something wrong?"
"No, no," she fought back tears at the memories. They hurt so much more now. "DiZ told me…"
"DiZ was wrong," Riku wouldn't even let her finish her sentence. "Remember that whenever his voice pesters you."
She nodded and summoned her courage to proceed forward. Her eyes glanced towards the white room, and before she knew it, she came face to face with the white door. It had been left closed as always.
"I'll go in alone," she said.
Riku didn't protest and merely nodded. "Remember, I'm right outside, 'kay?"
Naminé took a deep breath before pushing one of the double doors open. The room looked nearly identical to the way she'd left it, with her sketches strewn about the table and walls. No internal light had ever been needed within, for the sunlight reflecting off of the white curtains, walls, and furniture had always been bright enough.
She jumped when the door closed on its own behind her.
I'm safe, she repeated to herself.
She quickly found her sketchbook and pencil on the table and retrieved them. She got what she came for, but the voice in her mind told her it wasn't time to leave yet. So her eyes travelled along the table, up the walls, to each drawing she'd made while piecing Sora's memories back together. A new voice joined the reassuring one in her mind.
A Nobody cannot feel anything.
Kairi held a large paopu fruit in one of Naminé's earliest drawings. Even then, Naminé knew what the fruit meant. She'd felt it by proxy.
A Nobody cannot exist.
In another, Roxas and Axel stood side by side against the Organization. They existed. They still do.
You are only deceiving yourself and everyone around you.
With blurred vision, a drawing of Naminé standing between Sora and Riku's replica came into view. She'd deceived both of them, yes, but it had never been her choice. She'd felt pain for them too. Sorrow. Regret. What were all of those, if not emotions?
"You're wrong!" she yelled and tore the pages from the walls. Her eyes closed as tears began to gather within them. All the shaking and begging wouldn't make the memories leave. Pain surged in her throat with every gasp, like a lump had formed in the very center.
Suddenly, a hand on her shoulder was pulling her from the wall.
"Naminé!" Riku's voice beckoned her back to reality, "You're safe. It's just us."
She peeled her eyes open, and through the blurry tears caught him standing before her with both hands on her shoulders.
"Riku, he-" she choked out. "He said so many horrible things to me."
His face softened. "I know."
"And I believed him."
"...Yeah."
"And I- I repeated the same things to Roxas." She ducked her head. "I thought I was doing the right thing by being honest, but all I did was spread the lie that I was fed."
After a few moments of silence, a gentle tug pulled her forward, and her head collided with his chest. Warmth she'd never felt before engulfed her.
She'd felt a hug already, and a group hug at that, but this was new.
It worked wonders, though the stiffness of his posture told her he hadn't given out many of these. She reached around and grasped at the back of his jacket. He was so much taller than her that he nearly encased her entire body. His arms held her close enough that she could barely speak, but still loose enough for her to breathe and break free if she wanted.
"Thank you," she muttered.
"I'm sorry Naminé," he said. "For letting that happen to you."
She reluctantly left the warmth of the embrace and pushed herself back. "It wasn't your fault, Riku. You weren't always there."
"No, but I should've - I don't know." He glanced away. "Said something? Intervened somehow? Anything would've been better than sulking in my own problems."
"I doubt DiZ would've listened to reason anyways." She folded her hands and smiled.
"You're not wrong there." He met her with a smirk. "Come on, we've got the rest of the mansion to see, if you're ready."
For the first time that day, she felt sure of herself when she answered, "More than ever."
Soon enough, they both stood in another bright white room, only this one lay beneath the mansion. Though it was significantly larger than the room that had been Naminé's home for a year, it seemed much emptier, especially now that the large pod in the center of the room itself was vacant. It stared down at both of them.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
She approached the pod and ran her hand up its smooth sides. "Still angry, but better. More peaceful."
"I can give you time to yourself...if you need."
She turned, fearful that he'd leave her alone right then. When he remained in place, she sighed in relief. "You're okay, Riku," she smiled. "Believe it or not, your presence brought me comfort back then."
"Oh," he said. "Really?"
"Of course. We shared the same goal, did we not? To save Sora?"
Riku laughed and scratched his head. "I guess times haven't changed that much, huh?"
He was right. Sora was in trouble again and needed their help. Only now his body wasn't safe and comfortable in a pod, and no one knew where any part of him had gone.
"Let's just hope that this time around, no one will have to wear any blindfolds."
Riku sighed and turned away, hiding his face behind his hand. Naminé giggled and circled around. "Hey, come on, I'm just joking. You pulled it off."
He shook his head and chuckled. "Hey, do you remember our first conversation in this room?"
"Of course," she said. "You chose to keep your memories of Castle Oblivion, of Ansem and the Darkness in your heart."
He continued, "I know I made the right decision, even if I had to wear that ridiculous thing for a while. I would've hated to forget about the Organization, about my replica, about you."
Naminé's heart startled. "That's...very touching," she barely said before the tickle in her throat turned into a light cough. Now it was she who was turning away in embarrassment.
When she opened her eyes to face him again, however, her vision had altered. No longer was she beneath the mansion in the vast white room with Riku. Now, the sky above her was open. Day had turned to night, and massive skyscrapers towered over her on every side, not unlike the World that Never Was. One thing was for sure: this was not Twilight Town.
Just as quickly as it entered her vision however, it was gone, and she was back in the pod room. She looked to Riku, who watched her with concern, the same as when he'd pulled her from the wall of the white room.
"Naminé, are you okay?"
She didn't answer, but immediately fumbled for her sketchbook and pencils. They both fell from her grasp, but she dropped to the ground along with them and began drawing. Her drawing hand, though out of practice, worked frantically as if the vision would fade like a dream.
The focus of her sketch was not the big picture, but the building that her vision had spent the longest time on. A cylindrical-shaped structure, with a bright red number hung across the top.
"104?" Riku spoke. She hadn't even noticed him sitting across from her, fixated on her work with anticipation.
The edges of surrounding buildings completed the drawing, along with the dark pavement and the peppering of raindrops. She held up the messy sketch for him to see.
"Riku, I-I think I still have access to them." When he still sat frozen, she elaborated. "Sora's memories."
His eyes, usually so calm and collected, blew wide with surprise. A genuine smile graced his features for the first time that day, and the thorn in her throat grew sharper.
"Naminé," he breathed, "you're incredible."
For the second time that day, muscled arms encased her, only now it wasn't for awkward comfort but a tight desperation, like how Kairi had first hugged her. Naminé still held her sketch between herself and Riku's torso, but sighed and relaxed her shoulders anyways. She could get used to receiving hugs everyday.
Sooner than her liking, however, the moment was cut short when her coughing uncontrollably resurfaced. Riku tensed and pushed her shoulders back. "Ah- sorry. I guess Sora's rubbing off on me more than I thought."
She recovered as best as she could. "It's okay, I'm not complaining." She smiled brightly and turned to look at her sketch again. It had become a little smudged, but the image was still as clear as day. "Does this look familiar to you?"
Still seated across from her, Riku looked over it intensely before meeting her inquisitive gaze.
"So last night, I had this dream…"
A/N: Thank you so much for reading and for the support! The more I write Riku and Naminé, the more I love them. They're just so earnest and sweet, yet somewhat awkward a the same time, haha. Looking forward to sharing more!