Yo, sorry I've been on hiatus, but it was summer and I was busy doing nothing. Now, however, I made it into college! Woot! It rocks here so much. I'm having a great time. My roommates are actually playing Kingdom Hearts right now.

I like this chapter. It's good. More character development I think. It's good stuff.

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Chapter 6

Thanks

Kairi stared at DiZ blankly. Seifer, thoroughly confused, looked back and forth between the two. Something was going on and it was over his head. He hated that.

"How do we know we can trust you?" he said irritably. He didn't like being left out. Kairi broke her staring contest with DiZ and looked at Seifer, surprised. Why was he asking that? Was he looking out for her? DiZ turned to gaze at Seifer.

"You never really know if you can trust anyone," he said in his deep voice. "That's what trust is, believing in someone even if they could turn on you at any moment. Take away the uncertainty, and it ceases to be trust at all."

"Alright, so how can we be sure you're not working with that Axel guy?"

"You'll have to trust me."

DiZ smiled and Seifer's face darkened with anger. He wanted to say something in return, but the man had gotten him.

"In any case," DiZ continued, the smile dropping from his bandaged face. "It doesn't really concern you. You won't be coming along."

Seifer looked up, startled out of his anger toward the man. He wasn't going with her? Assuming this DiZ guy could even get Kairi off the planet, he wasn't invited along? His mind flashed back to the shadowy creatures he had fought in the tram common, the one that he had fought in the sand lot. That one had almost killed Rai. He couldn't stay here. He was endangering everybody. Kairi was his ticket out of here. It was the only way to keep Twilight Town safe.

Seifer opened his mouth to disagree with DiZ, when Kairi stepped forward.

"I'm not going anywhere unless Seifer can come too." To make her point clearer, she flung out her arms, like a barrier of sorts. Seifer looked at Kairi. She wanted him to come with her? But he'd been such an ass. He'd really tried to drive her away…but here she was, defending him.

DiZ looked from Kairi, then to Seifer, then back to Kairi. His orange eye flicked between the two of them several more times. Finally, he sighed.

"An old man like me can't possibly stand against the fire of youth." He chuckled. "I suppose it is fine. One more traveler won't make a difference."

Kairi let her arms down and jumped in the air. "Thank you so much!" She turned and grabbed Seifer's hands, taking him by surprise. "You hear that? You can come!" She looked him in the eyes with so much genuine excitement, Seifer blushed.

"Y-yeah. Great," he stuttered. When Kairi turned back to DiZ and let go of Seifer's hands, Seifer realized he had been holding his breath. He let it out and closed his eyes for a second. She had really surprised him. All that excitement? No one ever got that excited around here. Except maybe Hayner. But he was a jerk. Kairi had looked…well she looked cute, jumping up and down in excitement like that.

Wait.

"We'll leave immediately, alright?"

DiZ's deep bass voice interrupted Seifer's thoughts. He shook himself and looked up at the man. He still didn't trust him, but it was their only choice, it seemed.

"Yeah, I don't have anything to pack," he said. "And princess over here doesn't have any bags." He pointed a thumb toward Kairi, who scowled.

DiZ nodded. "Very well."

Without any warning, great plumes of darkness rose up all around Seifer and Kairi. Pitch black and deep purples mixed all around them. Seifer tensed up in fear and his hand shot to the hilt at his waist. He was about to pull the blade free when he felt a hand fall on his shoulder. An odd jolt of electricity shot through him and he could feel his ears burning. Kairi had grabbed onto him in the darkness. His hand fell away from his sword.

He felt her draw closer until she was pressed up against him. She was shaking slightly, probably out of fear. Seifer's own fear slowly slipped away and he straightened up, remaining alert, but now calm. The darkness pressed in around the pair until it might have crushed them, but Seifer didn't feel worried. Something about the girl standing next to him gave off a feeling of safety. She was like a light in the darkness. Seifer couldn't quite wrap his head around it.

Then all at once, the darkness disappeared. The suffocating blackness bubbled and dissipated and Seifer felt himself hit the ground with a jolt that nearly sent him stumbling. Kairi gripped harder onto Seifer's shoulder when she felt him jerk forward. Quickly, Seifer straightened up and turned to Kairi. He looked at her for a moment, not quite sure what he was feeling, let alone what to say.

"Would you let go of me?"

Seifer felt the scowl set on his face as the words left him. Silently he kicked himself. What the hell was that? He didn't really mean that. Although, he admitted to himself, he didn't know what he meant to say otherwise.

Kairi looked up at Seifer for a moment, her face thoughtful. After a moment, she let go and took a step backwards, still looking at her new traveling companion. It unnerved him, they way she was looking at him. It was like she knew something about him that he didn't."

"So…uh…where are we?" Seifer stammered, trying to break the silence. Kairi blinked and turned away. Had she smiled? Seifer thought he had caught a glimpse of a smile as she turned her back on him.

"Traverse Town."

Seifer looked at her curiously. "Is that right? You been here before, princess?"

Kairi smiled and pointed past Seifer. He turned to follow her direction and his eyes fell upon a bright neon sign that stretched over a large door. It read 'Traverse Town.' When Seifer looked back down, Kairi was beaming.

"Ah shut up," Seifer grumbled. "Let's going. Gotta find somewhere to stay unless you wanna sleep out here under the stars." He turned and began walking down the cobbled streets.

"I dunno," Kairi responed cheerfully, skipping to catch up with Seifer. "That sounds pretty romantic to me." She batted her eyelashes comically. Seifer felt something give a slight jump in his stomach.

"Quit kidding around," he said with a sneer. "You ain't worth sleepin' out in the cold."

With that he turned once again and stormed down the cobbled streets. Kairi followed closely behind him, smiling cheerfully. He didn't seem as angry as he had been before. She felt like he might be warming up to her. She wanted to be his friend, so she was glad his insults weren't quite as sincere as before.

After wandering around the central area they had arrived in, Seifer soon found that the houses were all closed. Most of them were shops, and judging by the stars in the sky, they would probably be closed. He wondered where the residential area was.

"You know," Kairi said slowly. Seifer stopped and turned to look at her. "I have been here before, you know."

Seifer twitched. "So why the hell were you letting me lead us around? I have no idea where I am."

Kairi grinned. "I dunno, you like to be in charge."

Seifer frowned. "Well then I'm ordering you to stop messing around and get us some place to sleep."

Kairi smiled again, enjoying the banter. There was no question anymore as to whether or not it was friendly. Seifer wouldn't admit it of course, but Kairi could tell. Without responding to him, Kairi skipped forward and took the lead. Seifer trudged along behind her, his hands now thrust into his trench coat pockets.

With Kairi now leading the way, they moved quickly toward a large door across the square. A large sign indicated that through the doorway was the second district. Seifer followed, his annoyance grudgingly transforming into interest. They pushed through the enormous doors which, to Seifer's surprise, gave way with little effort.

They walked out into a larger area with houses lining all sides of the street. Below them appeared to be a more open area where the sound of a fountain was just barely audible. Seifer spotted what appeared to be a hotel along one of the lines of buildings. At the other end of the district, a large clock tower rose over head. It wasn't as high as the one back in Twilight Town, but the dials still moved the same.

Without warning, Seifer felt something drop inside of his stomach. He was hit with an immense feeling of sadness that he had never felt before. Looking up at the clock as the minute hand ticked one spot further, Seifer thought of home and of the clock there. It hadn't been long ago that he had written a summer assignment on the clock tower.

Kairi was talking to him.

"What?" he said and cursed himself as he heard his voice catch.

"I was just saying that the hotel would be good to stay in." She looked curiously at Seifer. "You feeling ok?"

He wasn't. A lump had formed in his throat and he felt dizzy. He wasn't home anymore. He wasn't even on his own planet. He didn't even know if he was in the same universe. Everything was so strange and foreign. The streets, the buildings, the clock tower. This wasn't his home anymore. How could he be sure he would ever get back to Twilight Town again? Was he ever going to see Fuu and Rai again? He could feel his eyes beginning to grow wet.

"Yeah," he croaked. "Sure." He turned quickly as he felt a tear drop from the corner of his eye. "Let's just…the hotel…yeah." He began to move toward the hotel.

Something grabbed him by the shoulder. He struggled against the restraint for a moment until he realized it was Kairi. He felt her pull him back and he went willingly. The hand slipped off his shoulder and around his stomach. Her other hand joined it here, embracing him and pulling him close to her. He didn't try to escape her grasp, but he didn't turn to encourage her either.

Kairi let her head rest on Seifer's back, listening to his staggered breathing. She didn't understand why she was doing this, but it felt right. He needed it. She knew he did. It didn't matter that he probably wasn't going to thank her for it, or that he might even insult her later. He needed this.

Seifer knew it too. He didn't move, he didn't hug her back, he didn't move away from her, he just stood there, feeling the warmness of the girl behind him. He shook slightly as silent sobs racked his body. Something like this had never happened to him before.

They stayed like that for a long time, Kairi holding Seifer and him simply accepting it. Eventually, Seifer felt his sobs dissolve into heavy breathing and then he was calm again. He remained still for a moment longer and then gently pulled away from Kairi's embrace. Her hands fell away and returned to her side. Seifer, unsure of what to do, didn't turn around. Now that he was calm, his face was burning, but he couldn't bring himself to say something rude to Kairi. Whatever it was she had just done, it had really helped. What kind of person would he be to turn back on her for it.

"We should…get going," he finally said.

"Yeah."

He took the briefest of glances back at Kairi. He could feel his heart jolt sharply in his chest again and he quickly turned away. They walked in silence and Seifer got a room with a bed and a cot for the two of them. In silence, they fell into their respective beds and Seifer blew out the candles that lit the room.

In the darkness, Seifer listened only to the sound of breathing, both his and Kairi's. Within time, he could hear hers grow more even and rhythmic. He stared up at a ceiling he couldn't see and thought about everything that had happened to him in the past day.

"I guess…" he whispered in the blackness. "I guess I owe you an apology, huh?" He listened to the soft sound of her breathing. "Shit…I can barely say this when you're asleep." He laughed softly at his own incompetence. "You're stronger than I am…leaving your own world and not batting an eye." He rolled over on his side and faced the quiet breathing. "Sorry I'm such an ass sometimes. I can't help it." He sighed and shut his eyes, shaking his head and smiling.

"Thanks…Kairi."

He opened his eyes to look toward the girl across the room.

Pale yellow eyes stared back at him.