C18

LOCATION: Simulation room of Organization XIII headquarters, The World That Never Was
DATE: Friday, December 14th 2X60
TIME: 1603 hours

Naminé stares at Hiro, who stares back at her and Sora.

Finally, she speaks.

"How?"

Hiro shrugs nonchalantly. "We do have random Nobodies that show up in our world. So far, we've just avoided them and were able to dodge any conflicts. But the next time we find one, we could have you two try fighting it and see if Synergy works."

Naminé pauses to think through what Hiro just said. He wants to send Sora with her, a largely untrained field agent, to fight a supposedly invincible enemy using a strategy that may or may not even work?

What the fuck is this suicide mission?

Just as she's about to open her mouth and protest, Sora beats her to speaking.

"Hell yeah, let's do it."

She whirls to stare at him with widened eyes. "What the hell?"

Sora at least has the decency to look taken aback. "I mean, isn't the whole point of this to apply it to fighting Nobodies? This is our last chance before our mission ends!"

"Of course I want to figure out a way to defeat the Nobodies," Naminé says, reminding herself to remain calm and rational. Sora's always been the type to jump the gun. "But that means we figure things out before blindly charging into a dangerous situation. You don't know that Synergy will work on a Nobody."

"You don't know that it won't," Sora returns.

Naminé stares. Where is this blind optimism coming from?

"You're willing to bet your life that Synergy will work against Nobodies?"

Finally, Sora falters a little. "Err, why are we betting our lives? I mean, this is like every other trial and error we've tried this mission. You gotta take some risk for any reward."

Oh. It then clicks.

"You've never fought a Nobody before," she realizes aloud.

Sora shrugs. "No, not personally. I've heard the reports and everything. You haven't either, right?"

Naminé slowly lets herself recall the memories—everything from that OATS room where she first learned about the faceless monster. Even now, knowing what Nobodies look like, she dreads the thought of facing one again.

"No, but my team has. A team I supervised." Naminé pauses, reluctant to go into the details. Because that means explaining what happened on the mission, the mission she screwed up, the time she utterly failed everyone and her superiors saw it happen and that one agent who may or may not still be at the hospital—

"Naminé? Naminé!"

The loud exclamation of her name breaks her out of her spiraling thoughts. Hiro is looking at her confusedly, and when she turns her head, she sees Sora's concerned eyes.

"...I'm fine," she mutters. "I've had a rough experience with Nobodies in the past and I really don't think we should be charging into this blind. Is there some way we can test things out beforehand?"

"I wish there were," Hiro says. "I think we're at the point where there's no way to figure things out without trying. You guys have the strongest Synergy I've ever seen between two people, so if this doesn't work, we'll have to scrap the project."

Hiro's whole research is riding on this? The stakes have never felt higher.

"I understand that you feel like you're going into this blind," Hiro says. "We can do our best to isolate the enemy and provide backup plans as well as escape routes for the worst case scenario. I know that doesn't solve the problem, but hopefully it helps. My bosses are quite interested in this project. It's really because you two are doing a lot better than we'd expected."

"We're doing a good job?" Naminé repeats the compliment confusedly.

"Well, yeah. From a researcher's standpoint, you two have taken something that was mostly just theory and have proven that it has value in real life application. Hell, I'm more than happy with the results."

"Really?" Sora raises a brow. "It always felt like we were a chore for you to take care of. You literally left us to do team-building exercises."

"Yeah, I can probably think of some better activities for fostering Synergy now," Hiro concedes. "But it helped you two bond over me as a common enemy, right?"

Namine blinks. "Are you saying...you were rude on purpose?"

Hiro shrugs nonchalantly, and Naminé has to remind herself that this is just a 14-year-old kid. Well, a 14-year-old kid who's discovered an entire new battle method that may potentially alter the war against Heartless.

Hiro's pretty impressive.

"So," Hiro chirps, "what're you guys thinking? Do you wanna try fighting against a Nobody? Obviously we're gonna need you two to agree here."

She glances at Sora again. Just from his wide pleading eyes and small pout, she knows he's trying to think of how to change her mind.

She starts with a sigh. "It's not like I don't want to find a way to defeat Nobodies. You know that."

"I know," Sora agrees.

She takes a moment to think of the Nobodies again—pale slender bodies, no eyes, ferocious mouths with razor sharp teeth that could very easily tear through human flesh. How is she supposed to fight it?

"We don't have any guarantee, and we could be risking our lives. I can't—just the thought, I can't even process it," Naminé continues.

"I know," Sora says, voice growing softer as he takes a step towards her.

What does Sora know? Does he know that she's never joined a real mission as a field agent? Does he know that there'd be too many variables for her to account for both their safeties? Does he know that his blistering confidence in her is only burdening her?

"I'm scared," she confesses, voice barely above a whisper.

I'm scared I'll screw up, and I'll ruin everything for both of us.

"You have every right to be." Sora places his hands on her shoulders, putting himself smack in front of her gaze no matter where she looks. Nervously, she lifts her head to meet his gaze. "Don't worry, we'll be fine. We have Synergy, and we'll try and see if we can solve this problem and protect everyone we care for. That's what we're doing this, aren't we?"

Naminé inhales deeply.

Sora smiles.

"Trust me."

She feels her heart swell at his words, threatening to burst out of her ribcage. Despite her self-doubt, it's so easy to place her trust in someone else. There's a sense of peace at the thought of trusting Sora, trusting their Synergy. Flipping her pessimistic mindset on its head, she imagines trusting that they'll be alright. She's seen how potent their bond can be, and surely it can withstand one measly Nobody.

(There's also something pricking at the corner of her heart, like a sharp reminder of reality that a feeling like this can't last. But if there's one thing Naminé's good at, it's compartmentalizing what she wants to feel and what she doesn't.)

It feels like a slip of the tongue when she answers.

"Okay."


LOCATION: Gym of Organization XIII headquarters, The World That Never Was
DATE: Monday, December 17th 2X60
TIME: 1005 hours

Turns out the biggest challenge of testing Synergy on a Nobody? Finding a Nobody.

Sora's never liked the idea of being on call. The thought of an upcoming mission has him revved up and ready to go—he just doesn't know where exactly they're going. According to Hiro, Nobody sightings on The World that Never Was aren't uncommon but rather sporadic. There's definitely a few of them roaming the world because Organization XIII just leaves them be. But they come and go as they please, and their migration patterns haven't been well characterized yet.

"So they're out there, but who knows where they actually are," Sora grumbles. He twists his arms and hips a little to stretch out his body, still sore from a solid night of sleep. Planting his feet on the ground, he crosses his arms over his chest and exhales deeply. He then pauses.

"Naminé? You good?"

Somehow, he just knows that Naminé's a nervous mess behind him even without looking. It's like she constantly exudes this frazzled energy, despite how put together she tries to look. He gives her a few seconds, but the unsettled feeling still remains in his stomach so he turns around to check on her.

"Yo. You ready?"

Naminé looks up to meet his eyes. "Are we really doing this?"

"Of course! Trust falls are a classic team-building exercise. Even Hiro said so!" Sora whirls around again, ready to initiate his fall. "Plus, if anything, I should be the one nervous that you won't catch me."

"Of course I'll catch you! I'm right here!" Naminé insists.

"Okay, then let's do this," Sora says.

"Wait!" Naminé exclaims. "But what if...what if you fall at an angle, and I fumble or something? Or if you hit my finger weird, and I break a bone and then I can't catch you? Should I be positioning myself right under, or should I be extending my arms to mainly catch you in front of me so I can balance with my center of gravity—"

"Look, you're fine, I'm fine—we'll be absolutely fine. We're on a gym mat for a reason." He steps on the soft mat for reassurance. "Let's do this."

"But I don't know if—wah!"

Naminé literally yelps—she sounds like a cartoon character—as he leans back and lets himself fall against gravity. There's a split second of genuine fear that Naminé's gonna entirely miss him and his butt will fall straight to the ground. But that fear quickly fades and a fundamental trust takes its place—trust that Naminé hasn't failed him yet, and she's not gonna fail him now.

Sure enough, he feels a pair of arms tuck under his armpits, bracing his fall almost a little too soon. After exhaling, he jumps back to his feet and turns around to face Naminé.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" He snorts. "Why am I saying this—you should be comforting me."

Naminé shoots him an annoyed look, but it's the look she uses when she doesn't have the words to scold him for whatever reason. "Why're you so good at this?"

Sora shrugs. "Guess I just trust you!"

Naminé grumbles about something under her breath—did she say 'dimwit' or 'don't get it'? Oh well, it's really not his problem.

"Okay, your turn!" Sora chirps, extending his arms towards her. Naminé doesn't look very impressed by how sturdy her catcher is gonna be. But when is Naminé ever impressed?

"I know you think this is gonna be easy, but that doesn't mean you can get let your guard down," Naminé says with crossed arms. "Make sure you plant your feet in the ground and kneel a little to lower your center of gravity. That way, when you suddenly have to carry an additional weight, you can steady yourself—ah, what're you—?"

Sora places his hands on her shoulders to turn her around. "Naminé. You don't have to teach me how to catch someone. Just trust me." He pauses, just realizing something. "Naminé. Do you not trust me?"

"..."

"Naminé!"

"What?" she exclaims, turning back to face him. "It's not that—of course I trust you! You told me to trust you, and I—I do."

"Okay, so we're fine?"

Naminé sighs. She then does that thing where her brain is obviously running at 10,000 thoughts a minute, but she doesn't voice any of them aloud, so how's he supposed to know what's on her mind?

As he's learned, the easiest thing to do is to ask.

"Naminé. What're you thinking?"

He can almost hear the gears pause their churning in her mind as she looks up to meet his gaze. "Why do you trust me?"

Sora shrugs. "Why shouldn't I trust you?"

Naminé rolls her eyes. "Okay, 'why not' is no longer a valid argument."

"I think it's valid," Sora grumbles under his breath but notes Naminé's glare and hastily tries to think of a better answer. "I mean, you haven't given me a reason not to trust you. Everytime I have to count on you for something, you've always been there for me."

"Really?"

"Really," Sora confirms. "That's Synergy in a nutshell, isn't it? I'm literally relying on you to be able to fight, and everytime, I can count on you."

Naminé nods slowly, as if processing his words. He's not sure where all her doubt is coming from. "Look, you said you trust me, right?" he points out. "It's the same thing. Why do you trust me?"

"Well, you're you," Naminé says, as if that explains it all. But of course, she has actual supporting evidence to bring up. "You've enlisted in Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. You've been an active recruit for the past three years, and you've completed countless missions. You can hold your own in a fight against Heartless, and you have the reflexes to adapt to sudden situations."

"Well, I didn't know I was getting an ego boost today but thanks," Sora says with a grin. Naminé's returned smile doesn't quite meet her eyes. Oh, he recognizes the situation. After a heartfelt confession, there's always tension left in the air because…

"But?" he prompts.

Naminé sighs. "But...I'm just me."

"...and?"

Naminé shoots him a stern glare. Is that not the right thing to say? He's not good with reading between the lines—Naminé needs to just tell him what's on her mind.

She opens her mouth and rushes out her words.

"I'm not athletic—I've never been. I have absolutely zero coordination skills. There's a reason why I'm an OATS operator, you know. I have zero endurance, I still can't summon my Keyblade sometimes, and I—" she stops abruptly and looks him in the eye.

"I don't get why you trust me because I don't even trust myself sometimes."

Sora runs her words through his mind a few times. "Oh. Okay, I think I get what you're saying." He props his hands on his hips, and Naminé looks at him expectantly, as if he can solve all her problems with a few well-chosen words.

...pfft. Who does she think he is? He's just Sora.

"Yeah, that's rough."

"...yeah," Naminé says, perhaps waiting for him to say something more. She eyes him curiously, and he looks back with the same expression. Finally, he speaks.

"What?"

"What?" Naminé parrots.

"What are you waiting for?"

"I'm waiting—aren't you gonna say something else?"

"No, that's all I have to say."

"...that's it? 'That's rough'?" Naminé repeats.

"Yeah. It's rough when you don't trust yourself. And I highly doubt anything I say is gonna convince you otherwise."

"You could try," Naminé insists, to which Sora shakes his head.

"Nah. I mean you might feel better if I give you an ego boost by listing all the things you're good at. But the point is you can tell yourself all those things! You don't need me."

Naminé stares at him boggle-eyed, like she's trying to decide whether she should let him be or smack him sideways. It's a 50/50 gamble, and Sora's holding his breath when she finally sighs quietly to herself. Well, at least there's no smacking.

"You make everything sound so easy," Naminé says.

"Nah, I know it's not always easy," Sora says. "But it doesn't have to be hard."

Naminé narrows her eyes. "Are we talking about the same thing here?"

Sora blinks in response. "I think? We're talking about you trusting yourself more?"

"Yeah. Wow, I'm surprised you were following the conversation and gave some heartfelt advice. Even if it wasn't very helpful."

"Yeah—hey! I tried!" Sora insists.

"That, you did. Thanks," Naminé says with a small grin.

"No problem. You ready to fall?"

"You ready to catch me?"

Naminé turns around and assumes her position. She still looks a little tense to Sora, with the way her feet shuffle and her head twitches from side to side. Finally, he hears her take a deep breath, go still, and then—

She falls.

Sora catches her.

He looks down at Naminé in his arms, remembering again that Naminé is in fact tiny. Despite all her bravado and detailed plans and logical reasoning, she can still be unsure and scared. Sora doesn't doubt that those feelings probably drive her accomplishments to some extent. He could probably benefit from being a little more self-conscious.

"If only I could trust myself blindly like you do," Naminé grins.

"What? I mean, I guess you're not wrong," Sora says sheepishly. "I just...have to trust myself, cause who else am I gonna trust?"

Naminé nods. "You're right. I wish I were more like that."

Sora grins, helping her back to her feet. She turns to face him, and he can't help reaching over to bump his hand against the bottom of her chin. She looks almost scandalized.

"Chin up!" he exclaims. "You deserve it."

"You mean, like actually?" she says, leaning her head backwards.

Sora laughs at her exaggerated interpretation. "Hey, if that's what it takes."

Sometimes, there are moments of lightness that help him forget the actual circumstances of reality. Really, it's these moments that keep him going. Sora's never been really good at seizing the day and all that, but with the imminent countdown towards this mission's end, he's becoming more aware that he's really gonna miss this strange world and his huge dorky partner. What a break that he never knew he needed.

The moment of lightness, like all moments, is cut short by someone shoving through the entrance of their gym studio room. It takes Sora a few blinks to realize it's Hiro racing towards them with a frantic look on his face.

"Hey, you okay?" Sora asks, just a little concerned for the kid genius. "If that's your second cup of coffee of the day—"

"We found a Nobody!" Hiro exclaims.

Sora's heart almost drops. Finally. So they actually have a shot at this after all.

He turns towards Naminé excitedly, holding out an open hand. Naminé hesitates for a moment, looks at his palm and then him, before placing her hand in his. Grabbing onto her tightly, he drags Naminé along as they follow Hiro out of the gym to prepare for their mission.

Finally, they're going somewhere with this.


A/N: Oh wow, look who's still alive! This chapter is so overdue, so a big thank you to anyone who's still around for Sora and Naminé's tale! I'm gearing up for a big next chapter, hopefully with just enough action as well as space for some emotional reflection and grounding. AKA I have a lot to fit into 2 more chapters. Hopefully you're as excited as I am to reach the end! I would love to hear any thoughts, questions, or comments you have about this fic. And I promise I will do a better job of updating lol it can't get much worse than this after all.

I hope you're taking care and have a wonderful rest of your day!