Edit Sept 2016: If you remember the original draft of Dead Inside, then you'll remember this is the chapter where the "yelling" sequence started. If you for some reason wanted to read that conversation that spanned four chapters, you can find it filed in ASAS ch99. Obviously, we didn't need it or anything like it in these edits. Instead we have a lot of significantly better scenes imo.

Chapter 116: What Friends Do

"Hey, Joseph," Namine said, coming up behind him. He and Toby were sitting at the bookshelf again, which Namine supposed kept them out of trouble.

Joseph craned his neck backwards to look up at her, rather than just turn around like a normal person. "Yeah? You need something?"

"Well, I was thinking you should probably go back to Castle Oblivion pretty soon," Namine said. "I mean, someone has to pass a message along about Riku being… well…" Even saying the word injured seemed like too much, but Namine thought that was probably just because of the images that still flickered in her mind when she mentioned it.

Joseph made a face, and dropped his head back down. After a moment which he probably spent thinking, he turned around to face her, a no-nonsense look on his face.

"Ok, but, shouldn't that wait until after Riku's woken up and we're more sure about his condition and stuff?" he asked. "I mean, Riku's fine but needs rest for a few days, and Riku's out of commission for possibly forever are two extremely different messages to deliver and if I've gotta deliver that second one I wanna rehearse first."

"That's… fair," Namine conceded, nodding, laughing a little at Joseph's want to rehearse. (But, knowing Alpha and Amaryllis—not to mention Vexen—she couldn't say she disagreed.) "Hopefully he wakes up soon."

Joseph laughed and waved his hand through the air. "Eh, he's Riku! He'll probably be fine."

Namine laughed back, though not as enthusiastically. Joseph was probably right, but there was still a clench in her stomach that wouldn't go away. Images of how Riku'd looked when Tifa'd dragged him in played in her mind now. She pushed them away.

"29's not going to get too worried, is he?" Namine asked. If there was anyone's wrath she didn't want to face when they got back, it was his.

"Nah!" Joseph assured her, chuckling. "It's only been a couple hours. He probably won't start worrying for a couple more." Seeing that Namine wasn't totally reassured, he added: "I mean, once we explain what happened, he'll understand. It's no big, honestly."

Namine nodded. In reality, the face she was making wasn't about 29. It was about Riku still.

"Anyway, Kairi wanted me to watch Riku with her, so, I'm gonna…"

"Yeah! Go, go." Joseph waved her away, eager to get back to his book.

Namine headed up the stairs, and was surprised to find Tifa leaving the guest room Riku was in.

"Just, think about it, alright?" Tifa was saying. She must have been talking to Kairi, seeing as if Riku was up there'd be a bigger fuss. "Personally I think it's a smart move, but I can't make you do anything."

"Yeah. I'll think," Kairi answered.

Namine stepped to the side in the hallway to let Tifa through, smiling politely as Tifa waved at her. She slid into the guest room. It was sparsely furnished, only filled with the bed upon which Riku lay and a small dresser. The two chairs in here had been dragged up from downstairs.

"What was that about?" Namine asked, as she sat down in the open chair. Kairi'd taken the one by the window.

Kairi shrugged, her arms folded across her chest. She didn't look angry, just a little uncertain.

"You know how we were talking about looking for Sora earlier? Like, in other worlds," Kairi said. Namine nodded, and Kairi continued: "Tifa offered to take me with her when she left so we could look for him."

"Oh!" Namine lit up, a mixture of surprise and excitement boiling in her chest for Kairi.

"I'm not sure if I should, though?" Kairi said, grimacing hard. "Like, that isn't what we planned at all, and… I dunno. I'm still…" She swallowed, not meeting Namine's eyes. "I'm still nervous about seeing Sora again."

"Oh." Something about how Kairi shouldn't be bubbled in the back of Namine's mind, but she pushed it aside. Kairi was allowed to be uncertain. "Well, if it's me you're worried about, um, don't? I know it's not what we planned, and I'll miss you a lot, but… Me and Riku will be fine."

Kairi slowly nodded. "Yeah, okay. I'm still not sure if I wanna go with Tifa or not, but… thanks for telling me that."

"Uh-huh!"

"Uuungggg….."

A distinct, low, pained groan came from the bed. Namine turned to it, heart in her throat, and found Riku pushing himself upright, grimacing.

"Riku!" Namine gasped, rushing to his side.

"What…" Riku looked around, clutching at his side, though only the slightest of a cringe rested on his face. "Kairi? What are you doing here?"

"Namine brought me," Kairi said, matter-of-fact.

Riku turned his confused squint to Namine now.

"What?" Namine said. "Did you really think I was going to go see her and then not bring her along?"

"I," Riku began, then seemed to rethink. "Okay, that's… fair," he admitted. "I just. I wasn't exactly…" He couldn't seem to find the words to say whatever it was he wanted to.

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Wow," she said, sarcastic. "I feel so loved."

"No, Kairi, I didn't mean it like that," Riku said hastily, pushing himself more upright. It seemed to take him some effort to do this, and Namine thought about telling him to lay back down (or going and getting Aerith) but she didn't get the chance. "I just—"

"I get it. You didn't want me around."

"No that's not—"

"You sure didn't want me around before now," Kairi said. Namine opened her mouth, then closed it, not really wanting to interject. Riku and Kairi could figure this out on their own.

Riku's nervous face fell immediately into a scowl.

"That's because Castle Oblivion sucks," he said, a dark note in his tone. "It's awful and you'd hate it and I didn't want you to have to deal with it when you didn't have to."

"You let Namine stick around," Kairi argued.

"Well, yeah, but—"

"Why's Namine any different than I am?" Kairi continued. "I'm your friend, aren't I Riku?"

"Yes!"

"Then why didn't you—"

"I didn't want to burden you!" Riku shouted, swinging his feet out of the bed and pushing himself forward. He barely cringed. "I didn't want to drag you into- into this mess with the Rebellion, and make you put up with Castle Oblivion, because it wasn't your problem."

The anger passed from Kairi's face, and she slowly leaned back in her chair, shaking her head a little bit.

"You should have gotten me anyway," she said, voice completely steady, face like stone. "Maybe I would have hated it, maybe I would have complained, but I would have stuck around and put up with it for your sake. For both of your sakes. That's what friends do."

"I…" Riku began, but now he seemed to be at a loss for words.

"I know you're still kind of new to the friend business, being a Replica, so I guess I'll let it slide, but… come on Riku." Kairi sighed. "Friends look out for each other, and they stick with each other no matter what, especially in hard times."

Namine nodded in agreement, absently. She'd wanted to say something, but all words died in her mouth as she watched something like a revelation break across Riku's face, watched him sink back into the bed, watched him stare at Kairi like she wasn't quite making any sense.

That was weird.

Namine remembered well enough the times in the past where Kairi and Sora had to explain things like this to her and Riku both, because friendship wasn't exactly something they'd had programmed into them, but watching Riku now…. Namine wasn't sure what to think. Did he still not get it? He would have had plenty of time to learn this by now. So why was he still gaping at Kairi, mouth working for words, like he didn't…?

Was… this why he'd never listened when Namine'd used much the same arguments when it came to getting Kairi? Because he didn't honestly believe it?

"Riku…" Namine began, quietly, but Kairi got to her feet.

"ANYWAY, I should probably go get Aerith, seeing as that's we were supposed to do when you woke up," she said, and headed out the door.

"Wait, what for?" Riku asked, but Kairi was already gone.

"She wanted to check up on you, since you got injured," Namine explained.

"I… oh," Riku said. "Right."

Namine opened her mouth again to say something else, but… No. Kairi'd be back with Aerith in only a minute. That definitely wasn't enough time to talk about anything she wanted to. It'd have to wait.