Chapter six...::dances::...Hehe... I hope you all enjoy!!...

WARNINGS: angsty beginning…Sora and Roxas together shopping for clothes…Maho…

Disclaimer: the characters and worlds of Kingdom Hearts belong to Square Enix and Disney…

Chapter Six:
Costume Shopping…

He was alone. He didn't know why he was alone or what had possessed him to fly to such a high point on the mountain, but he was cold and that was all that mattered. He was cold and he was crying and he didn't know how to make it stop.

Why was he so cold? The Source was supposed to seep into his heart and make him feel warm, not dead and numb. Was it because he had willingly welcomed darkness into his heart when he had found Riku? Had he been…forsaken? No! The Source didn't do such things. It was the center of eternal love and happiness, spreading Its peace and joy to whoever opened their heart to It. It didn't matter what side they were on. It had forgiven Roxas, after all, and he had been part of Organization XIII itself.

Tears continued to roll down his face as he took a step closer to the edge. No…it didn't matter anymore. Even if he had the love of the Source, Riku was gone. Without Riku, his life was meaningless. He couldn't bear to live without his silver-haired love with him. He felt like he was betraying Riku in some way for breathing so long without him already.

Closing his eyes, he spread his arms out at his sides and took a deep breath. His silent goodbye was carried away on the breeze as he jumped from the cliff.

o-o-o-o-o

A loud and annoying pounding pulled me from my strange dream. I groaned and curled up in a ball on the floor, hugging my slightly throbbing arms to my chest.

"Sora Leonheart! Open this goddamned door right now before I fucking break it down! And don't think that I won't!"

I moaned and clenched my eyes closed. They were shouting so loud. Why couldn't they just be quiet? The sound of their voice was making my head split.

"Gods dammit, Sora! I hear you in there. I'm gonna kill you when I get this freakin' thing open!"

"Go away, Roxas…"

My eyes snapped open and I sat up, blinking wilding to adjust to the bright sunlight that flooded my bedroom. Roxas? What the hell was he doing here? How had he gotten inside? Had Mom let him in while I was sleeping?

I groaned and used my bed to help me get up onto my shaking legs. The world around me blurred and wobbled, threatening to knock me over at any moment. I closed my eyes and shook my head. When I opened them again, I almost collapsed at what I saw.

A deep, crusty copper color stained my carpet in blotches and the scent of blood lingered heavily in the air. Blood. So much blood. I slowly let my eyes move down to survey my arms, groaning quietly at the sight of my tattered shirt sleeve and the blood that stained it. This would never come out. I was going to be caught for sure.

A rather stupid idea popped into my head and I acted upon it. I gathered some dirty clothes and scattered them around my room until everything was covered. I smiled when I was done. It actually didn't look like I was hiding anything. Any usual guy would have a messy room, with clothes and other things scattered everywhere so you could hardly see the floor.

I pulled my shirt over my head and exchanged it for a long-sleeved light blue shirt from my closet. I changed my jeans too, just in case any of the blood had gotten onto them while I had been sleeping. I kicked my ruined clothes into the closet and slammed the door behind me, running a quick hand through my hair to try and fix the untamable locks in the way to the door. Fixing my best smile on my face, I pulled it open.

To say that Roxas was angry with me would have been the understatement of the century. His face was red and his eyes burned my bare skin. But it was gone in a second, replaced by surprise and worry. His eyes softened and he reached out to gently touch my cheek. His touch sent ripples of pain searing down my face.

"Sora…what happened to you? Are you okay?"

I kept my fake smile on my face and nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. I just had an…accident last night. It's okay."

He frowned and furrowed his brow, obviously not convinced. "What'd ya do? Fall down the stairs or something?"

"Or something…" I muttered under my breath.

He sighed and shook his head, but kept his mouth quiet. I was glad for that. I didn't want to talk about what had happened with Mom last night, and I really didn't think I would be able to keep myself quiet if Roxas, or even a stranger on the street, asked me what had happened. I felt vulnerable, almost like I wasn't in control of my mind.

"How did you get in, anyway?" I asked.

This managed to get a smile out if him. "Well…I knocked on the door and no one answered so I tried the handle. It was unlocked so I figured that someone had to be home. And I was right."

I frowned. "But how did you know which room was mine?"

He smiled again. "All the other doors were open. I heard moaning or something from in here so I figured it was you sleeping, but the door was locked." His voice saddened. "I was really worried, you know. I pounded on the door and shouted for you but you never answered me. Were you just ignoring me?"

I smiled and shook my head. "I'm a really heavy sleeper. I didn't even hear you until you threatened to kill me."

He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah well, at least it got some kind of reaction out of you, I guess."

I shrugged. "I guess. Anyway, why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be at school?"

"Been there, done that," he muttered. "Haven't you even looked at the clock? You overslept again. It's four o'clock. And I'm here to take you costume shopping, on Riku's orders and with his credit card of course."

"Costume…shopping?"

He nodded. "You've gotta get a good costume for that party, right? Unless you've got something here to make a costume out of." His eyes surveyed my room cautiously. "But I wouldn't wanna dig around this place unless I was forced to. I always thought that you'd be a more organized person, Sora."

"Meh…" I shrugged. "I usually am. I just…lost something last night and tore my room apart looking for it. I passed out before I could pick it all up again."

I knew that he sensed my pause from the slight frown that flashed across his face, but he didn't question me any more on the topic. I really liked how alike the two of us were. He understood me and I understood him without having to say anything. There wasn't as much chemistry as there was between Riku and I, thank the gods, but there was enough for me and Roxas to have a good friendship.

I really don't want to know where I would be if it wasn't for Roxas being in my life. I probably would have been a hole six-feet-under a long time ago if he hadn't been there for me all of this time. True, I never told him about my mom or my cutting, but he was still someone I could rely on…someone I knew would be there for me when no one else was. Because Roxas was Roxas and that's just how he worked.

"Hey, Roxas," I muttered.

His ears perked and he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah?"

"What are you doing for Halloween?"

He frowned and thought for a second before a strange expression crossed his face and a knowing smile formed on his lips. "There's no way in hell that you can get me to go to a party, Sora. Especially one that Axel's going to be at."

"Oh, come on. Please? It's not like you have to talk to him. Just stay with me." I tried on my best pout but he just shoved it aside with a chuckle.

"Not gonna work, Sora. Anyway, you'll end up going off with Riku to fool around or something like that and I'll be left alone. I hate crowds, especially when it's a crowd of people I've never met before."

"I'M NOT GOING TO FOOL AROUND WITH RIKU!!" I shouted, getting a chuckle out of him. "But it's not like I want to go to this party, either. You know how I feel about people. They…"

"…annoy you? Yes, I know this already." He sighed and shook his head. "But, since there seems to be no way out of it without making you upset, I guess I'll go."

I smiled widely and jumped on Roxas. He sputtered a few curses and lost his balance, sending us both tumbling to the floor.

"Geroff of me!" he cried.

I giggled and let him go. "Thanks, Roxas," I muttered and pushed myself up from the ground.

While he restablized himself, I checked my face out for the first time in the mirror that hung on my closet door. It wasn't as bad as the pain had made it seem. A pale black and blue bruise had blossomed across my left cheek overnight and my eye refused to open as much as it usually did. The worst bruises were around my neck, like they usually were. That bitch had a better grip than what one would think. Ugly black and purple blotches covered my throat. These ones were too big to be covered up with the usual necklace I wore.

"Tell me what really happened, Sora." A gentle hand patted my shoulder and I looked at the reflection of Roxas behind me in the mirror. "You didn't fall and you didn't have an accident. What happened?"

I sighed and shook my head, closing my eyes. "I fell down the stairs," I said between slightly clenched teeth.

He sighed and draped his arm across my shoulder, squeezing me gently. "Don't wait too long…"

I nodded and turned to face him with a weak smile on my face. "So are we going costume shopping or what?"

"Of course! We're going to find the creepiest costume ever! Maybe Riku will finally leave you alone if you dress as some gruesome, bloody thing." A mischievous smile graced his lips.

I sighed. "Will you make up your mind already? You either hate him or you don't. Which is it?"

He shrugged and smiled innocently. "We have our days."

I rolled my eyes and let myself be dragged out of my room and downstairs by Roxas. Surprise filled me at the sight of the entry way to the house. It seemed that Mom had cleaned up the mess from last night before heading off to work this morning. The table was now upright but the lamp and glass candle holders that she'd shattered the night before were gone. The white doily and iron pumpkin candle holders were the only things that had survived and she had placed them back onto the table as if nothing had ever happened. Everything looked perfect.

Without seeming to catch on to my hesitancy, Roxas pulled me out of the house and led me to a car. He shoved me into the passenger seat and climbed behind the wheel, smiling cheekily at me.

"Since when does Maho let you drive the car without her?"

He shrugged. "It's supposed to rain or something like that later on and I didn't know how long we were going to be. She really wanted to come along but I figured it would be better without her."

"It would be nice to have a female's opinion. It's hard for me to picture the two of us shopping for any kind of clothing that needs to match and look nice." I closed my eyes and an image of me in a bright Hawaiian T-shirt and a pair of Bermuda shorts popped into my head. I laughed. "Yeah…it's quite humorous."

I really wished that Maho had been able to join us. She had started as Roxas' foster mother, but wound up adopting him after a few years. Roxas had never caught on to calling her Mom, but she still spoiled him to no end. She was wacky and fun to be around. Plus, she had impeccable fashion sense, even for a woman.

Roxas pulled the car into one of the community parking lots and turned to me with a smile. "I know what we can do! If you want, you can come over to my place when we're done shopping and we can play some videogames or something. Maybe Maho will order some pizzas."

I nodded and gave him a halfhearted smile before climbing out of the car. Hell, I was more than excited to spend some time with Roxas and Maho, I just didn't want to face the wrath of my mom when I got home that night. Maybe I could just accidentally "fall asleep" at his house and not have to worry about going home until tomorrow. But then I'd have to deal with Mom then. I sighed to myself. I would never be able to win!

Roxas seemed to sense my distress and he put a comforting hand on my shoulder. It was strange how that one gesture seemed to calm me. It was nothing like a warm embrace from Riku, but it helped to pull me back into the reality of the moment. I didn't have to worry about dealing with my mom until later. Now I had shopping with my best friend to look forward to.

I followed Roxas in silence while he jabbered about animatedly about something or another. Even though I was barely even listening to him, his excitement was infectious. I found myself walking with a goofy smile on my face more often than a frown. It felt nice to smile, if only for a little while.

Roxas stopped outside of a shop named Horner Novelty. They carried different supplies for all seasons, but their largest collection was always at Halloween-time. They had everything from costumes and accessories to home decorations.

Roxas smiled broadly, his hands propped on his hips. "This is as good a place to start as any, huh? I bet they'll have almost everything that we need."

I sighed and rubbed my temples gingerly. "They better. I can already feel the headache coming. This is going to be interesting."

Roxas rolled his eyes and held the door open for me to walk in. "Ladies first," he said with a wink.

I rolled my eyes and walked through the door. The moment I looked around, I felt like I had walked into the dressing room for the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Black leather, lace, and accessories the color of blood decorated the walls and aisles of the store. What surprised me the most, though, was that I found some of the ensembles to be rather sexy. I always had had a soft spot for tight leather clothing somewhere in my heart, though I didn't own any myself.

I heard Roxas chuckle beside me and he elbowed me in the side. "I'm glad we came when we did. There'll be nothing left this time next week."

I nodded weakly and let him lead me away when he grabbed onto my hand. One aisle was full of make-up, while another was overstocked with fake accessories. I felt like I was lost in a cross dresser's heaven.

But I couldn't help but laugh as Roxas held up a tight black corset with hot pink ribbons on it. "Whaddya think about this sexy little number?" he asked and pressed the corset against his body. He tried to pose with a sexy look on his face, but we ended up laughing and ruining the mood.

I picked up the same corset with red ribbons and held it up to me. "I dunno. It's a little risqué don't you think?"

He frowned thoughtfully and nodded. "Yeah. A pair of short shorts and knee-high boots with this thing and Riku will most definitely want to explore your secret spots."

"Roxas!!" A warm blush crept up my face and I quickly turned away from him, hanging the corset back on the shelf.

Roxas laughed heartily and followed me out of the aisle. "I was only kidding, ya know. I mean, you must obviously have strong values if you haven't let him take you for himself yet."

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "I am so totally not having this conversation with you right now, Roxas. Who are you, my mother or something?"

"I'm only concerned for you. Call me your mother if you want, but I think of it more as an older brother thing."

I snorted. He wasn't my older brother. We were born on the same day in the same year, maybe even at the same time given how weird it already was. I mean, how many people were born on February twenty-ninth? I didn't think that it was that common of a birthday, but I could have been wrong.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. He laughed.

"Let's go shopping!"

We continued our aimless wandering through the novelty store, trying on a few costumes here and there. I was a pimp, a rather alive looking zombie, and a pirate for a grand total of about a minute each. Roxas tried on a mummy costume that took him five minutes to get into and ten to get out of. In the flurry of laughs and frustration, my previous shopping blues were lost.

Roxas stumbled out of his dressing room with the mummy costume draped over his arm and his hair a wild nest of yellow atop his head.

"Goddamn costume!" he muttered under his breath as he shoved it back onto the rack.

Sometime during my costume changes, I decided that I wanted to be something with wings. This store had every kind of wing you could imagine. Good faerie wings, dark faerie wings, Gothic wings, demon wings, black and white angel wings, rainbow colored wings that wouldn't go with any costume… It was crazy. Roxas called me plain, but I chose a shining pair of white angel wings from the rack. They weren't too big and they were actually very pretty. Roxas grabbed a pair of black wings from the shelf and smiled at me.

"I have an awesome idea!"

My ears perked and I arched an eyebrow to get him to continue.

"We can both be angels. You can be the 'good' angel and I'll be the 'dark' one. Even better, it'll be the truth, just no one will know it."

I frowned. "I dunno…"

"Oh come on, Sora. And we can dress as opposites, too. All black and white, but whatever you wear that's white, I'll wear as black." He closed his eyes and smiled. "It's awesome. I have it all planned out in my head. I wish you could see it. But we can't get the rest here."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the cash register. We quickly paid for our wings with a swipe of Riku's credit card, and he dragged me out of the store. We were halfway down the street when I was finally able to pull myself out of his grasp. He turned back to me with a frown on my face.

"What is it, Sora?"

"Where are we going? And I can walk too, ya know? You don't have to drag me around like a rag doll."

He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry. Overzealous, I guess."

"Ya think?" The words came out harsher than I had intended.

His smile turned into a frown and he crossed his arms over his chest. "I said that I was sorry. What do you want me to do? Go and rewind time and not drag you out of the store this time?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Why don't you tell me? You're the one with all the special powers, remember?"

His face grew cold and hard, but his eyes were saddened. "Sora, I…"

"Don't, Roxas. If you can't tell me why the hell all this crazy shit you've been telling me feels like the truth then I don't want to hear it."

"It feels like the truth because it is the truth, Sora. That's all there is to it."

I shook my head and stomped my foot hard on the ground. I knew that I was acting like a child, but I was too far along to go back. I wanted answers, dammit! And I wanted him to give them to me in a way that I could believe, and not in some whack story that said I was an angel or something equally as unbelievable.

"No, it's not the truth. It can't be the truth. There's no such thing as angels or demons. They're all fake! Why can't you all just tell me the truth instead of coming up with a story?"

I heard him sigh and his feet fell hard against the cement of the sidewalk as he walked to my side. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me to a bench, where he pushed me down and made me look at him. His face was still hardened, but his eyes were softer though still sad.

"Fine, if you won't believe it, I'll tell you what you want to hear. You're not an angel. You're a human. And your dreams? Well…they're just weird dreams. As for Riku…you're just attracted to him. I mean, everyone and their mother has been attracted to Riku at some point or another, so there's nothing wrong with you being attracted to him, right?" He sighed. "That better?"

"You could have said it with more feeling," I pouted.

Roxas rolled his eyes and sighed heavily but the smallest hints of a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "You're freakin' impossible!" he shouted. "What do you want me to tell you?"

I flicked him on the arm and smiled at his answering glare. "Thank you, Roxas, for at least trying."

He frowned but shrugged anyway, and my smile broadened. We were back with the Roxas I knew and loved. Brooding and quiet, though fun and kind at the same time. The loud and obnoxious Roxas was really starting to get on my nerves. But, then again, almost all loud and obnoxious people got on my nerves. I was really surprised that I had been to stand Selphie for as long as I had, even though I only had to see her in school.

"Come on," he muttered. "There's a store down the street where we can get the rest of our stuff."

I nodded and followed his lead as he pushed himself up from the bench. More shopping…great…

o-o-o-o-o

"Are we done yet?" I moaned.

Our arms were laden with bags and my feet were starting to hurt. I was starting to get really annoyed and I just wanted to go home.

Roxas sighed. "Yeah, we got everything that we need."

My knees almost gave out beneath me in relief. "Thank you, Roxas! I would hug you if my arms weren't full of clothes and shoes and…wings."

"I would kill you if you hugged me so you should be glad that those clothes are saving your life." And the small glint of something that flashed behind his eyes made the little person inside my head scream and run away.

"Yeah…good thing." I laughed. I didn't think that Roxas would actually kill me, but whatever had flashed in his eyes made me just a little edgy.

All of a sudden, Roxas doubled over in a fit of laughter, holding his arms over his stomach. I jumped back from him in honest fear, my eyes wide and my body ready for action if he tried to do anything weird…well, weirder anyway.

"Um, Roxas… You're really starting to creep me out there, buddy. What's so funny?"

He straightened out and wiped tears from his eyes, pointing at me. "You should have seen the look on your face! It was priceless! You really looked like you thought I would honestly kill you." He spat out a few more chuckles and shook his head. "That was great."

"Well, you didn't see your eyes! You looked like a mass murderer there for a few seconds. Don't blame me for being scared."

He just rolled his eyes and shook his head and started to head down the street. I jogged to catch up to him, but kept just a little bit of a distance…just enough so I could react if I had to. I think he sensed my uneasiness because he stopped in the entrance of the parking lot and turned back to me with a frown on his face and his brow wrinkled.

"Oh, come on, Sora. I'm not going to hurt you. You're my best friend."

I sighed heavily and hung my head. "I know. I'm sorry. That look you gave me just scared me a bit."

He laughed quietly and put a hand on my shoulder. "Come on. Let's go back to my house and play some video games and hang out. You can stay over if you want, too. I've got clothes you can wear."

A smile bloomed across my face and I nodded vehemently. "That would be great."

He returned the smile and led the way to the car. He popped the trunk so we could deposit our purchases and then we climbed into the car. Roxas started the car and pulled out immediately. The drive to he and Maho's apartment lasted barely even five minutes. He pulled into a small parking garage and into the spot marked 127. Silently, he cut the engine and popped the trunk. We silently got our things out of the car, and he silently led me up the stairs to his apartment. He silently unlocked the door…and was attacked by a mass of messy brown curls.

"You're home! I was scared because you all took so long. I thought something might have happened to you!"

"We weren't kidnapped, Maho. We're fine. We just took a little longer than expected, is all."

Roxas managed to pry himself out of the woman's grasp with a loud sigh. She smiled brightly at the young man, her green eyes brightening when she caught sight of me.

"Sora!!" She pushed her way past Roxas and gently held my face in her hands. "What happened to you? Are you okay? Were you in an accident?"

I chuckled and pulled my face out of her hands. "I'm fine, Maho. Thank you. It was just my own clumsiness."

Roxas glared at me and pulled my bags out of my hands. He went deeper into the apartment and I tried to follow, but Maho intercepted me and led me to the living room where she shoved me into the couch.

"I'm so excited to have you over! It feels like it's been forever!" She clapped her hands together and jumped up and down.

I groaned mentally. I was beginning to see where Roxas had gotten his random outbursts from. But, for some reason, I wasn't all that bothered by it. I knew that Maho had always been worried that Roxas would be a loner. I could see where she would get the idea. He wasn't the most social person in the world. The only other people I ever saw him talk to outside of Naminé and me were Hayner, Pence, and Olette at lunch.

"Will you be spending the night?" Maho asked, pulling my attention back to her.

"He hasn't decided yet." Roxas walked into the living room and plopped down into the couch beside me, handing me a cold can of Coke.

"Thanks," I muttered and took a sip before turning my attention back to Maho. "I'd like to spend the night, if you don't mind."

Her face seemed to glow with happiness. "Of course I don't mind! I'll go order some pizzas for you guys!" she exclaimed and skipped off to the kitchen.

Roxas sighed loudly when we heard her speaking to the pizza place over the telephone.

"I'm surprised you want to spend an entire night with that after being free for so long," he muttered. "I won't feel sorry for you later on tonight when you realize you missed your one chance to escape."

I laughed and took a long drink from my Coke. "I like her. Sure, she's a bit hyperactive and overexcited, but there's nothing wrong with that."

He rolled his and laughed.

"Come on," he said and put his Coke on the table. "Let's play some videogames."

I nodded and pushed myself up from the couch. Roxas went to the TV and turned on the PS2, selecting some random game from the pile on the floor beside the armoire. By the time we got comfortable on the couch with our controllers the door bell rang and signaled the pizza delivery boy's arrival. Maho skipped to the door and paid the boy, tipping him generously. She carried the boxes to the bar in the kitchen and dug some paper plates out of the cabinets.

"Soup's on!"

Roxas rolled his eyes, but dropped his controller and almost ran to the boxes, his stomach growling loudly along the way. I laughed as my stomach growled even louder. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until the smell of the pizza filled the apartment and I had my plate loaded down with slices of cheese and pepperoni.

The three of us gathered in the living room to eat. Between shoveling down the pizza and mouthfuls of Coke, we shared easy conversation. Even Roxas loosed up a bit and joined in on the fun. We joked about things that flashed across the television and got chuckles out of Maho's lame jokes. She asked me a lot of questions and I answered them as well as I could, but it seemed good enough to satisfy her.

Roxas and I dove into the videogames when we were done eating. We started out playing Star Wars Battlefront 2, getting kicks out of hunting down Ewoks, Wumbas, and Wookies. Somehow, though, we started playing DDR. Maho even joined in on our dance-off and she was fierce. It wasn't very surprising, seeing that she was such an energetic person, but I never would have thought her to be so graceful. I had to catch myself to keep from falling every few seconds, but it only added to the fun.

Eleven o'clock came around and we were all exhausted. We were sitting in zombie-like states on the couch, the preview of "Captain Jack" playing over and over and over again until I was about ready to throw the entire console out the window. Finally, Roxas got up and turned the PS2 off. He stretched and yawned and turned to me with a smile on his face.

"I'm gonna bathe real quick and then you can go, okay, Sora?"

I nodded and snuggled into the couch, sighing in peaceful content. I hadn't been so happy in a long time. It had been forever since I had spent time at Roxas' house. Before Dad died, I had spent almost every weekend with Roxas and Maho, but Mom had changed that the day after his funeral. It was nice to be in a loving house for once.

Maho laughed quietly and I opened my eyes, turning them onto her. She smiled at me when she noticed that she had my attention.

"Thank you for staying, Sora," she said with a sigh. "It makes me happy to know that you and Roxas still hang out so much."

I gave the best smile I could in my exhausted state and shrugged. "What can I say? Roxas and I are too much alike to not get along. He's like the twin brother I never had."

She chuckled and pushed herself up from the couch, stretching her arms high toward the ceiling. "Well…I'm gonna turn in. I didn't play nearly as hard as the two of you smelly boys so I'll take a shower in the morning. I'll see ya then."

I nodded and smiled when she ruffled my sweaty hair on the way past. She rapped on the bathroom door and shouted to Roxas that she was going to bed, and then the apartment was filled with silence except for the quiet sound of the water running in the bathroom.

I must have fallen asleep on the couch because Roxas shook me to let me know that he was out of the shower. I sat up and blinked wildly to remember where I was. Roxas stood next to me with a smile on his face, a towel draped over his shirtless shoulders. A pair of pajama pants hung loosely from his hips.

"You gonna take a shower or what?"

I yawned and nodded. I followed him back to his bedroom so I could get a pair of pajama pants and a T-shirt to wear to bed. I don't remember most of the shower, but I was out soon and making my way into Roxas' room. He was laid out on his bed when I walked in, his eyes closed and his face peaceful. He looked almost angelic. I couldn't help but smile.

I hung my towel on the door handle where he had hung his and threw my things on the floor next to my bags, then climbed onto Roxas' futon and curled up under the blankets. Comfortable warmth stole over my body and I snuggled deeper into the blankets with a sigh. I was almost asleep when Roxas broke the silence.

"You know that you can talk to me about anything, right?"

I opened my eyes and glanced at him with a frown. "Yeah, of course I do. You're my best friend."

He laughed quietly and rolled on his side so he was looking at me. "I just…" He sighed. "I'm not blind like everyone else, Sora. I didn't need to see it to know that you were doing it. It was obvious just from the way that you acted."

My frown deepened. "Didn't need to see what? I don't understand…"

"Your arm, you moron," he muttered. "I've known for a while now, but didn't want to say anything about it because you seemed to be getting better, but you're not, right? You had a relapse last night, didn't you?"

"Dammit…" I groaned and closed my eyes, running a hand back through my hair.

"You can lie to me, but I'll know if you are. I'm your Futago, after all. Just because of that, my powers go beyond the boundaries of Kairi's. You're dealin' with a whole new thing here."

"Fu…tago…?"

He laughed. "Yes. It means twin in the Speech, but it goes deeper than that. What is it that they call it now?" He closed his eyes and tapped on his temple with a finger. "Ah-ha! Twin Souls! That's what it is." He laughed and shook his head.

"Anyway, centuries ago, even longer ago than our past lives, everyone had two sides. There was the light side and the dark side, but they each presided in different areas. Akari, home of the light, and Kurai, home of the dark. But over time, people started to be born whole and lived in the kingdom of their parents. But, for some reason, two sets of Futago were born in our generation, which was about a hundred years after the last set of Futago passed away. You and I were the first ones to be born, though no one knew of our connection outside of ourselves until I went to Ansem for his assistance. You were the light and I was the darkness and together we made a whole person. Once we were together, we were never separated." He sighed quietly. "Can you remember who the other set was?"

I frowned and closed my eyes to think…to let what he had just explained sink in. It made sense to me for some reason, but there was that one small part of my mind that refused to believe it. It screamed louder than anything else that what he had said was completely irrational and that there was no way that it could be true, even though it had filled in a lot of blank spots in my mind.

But who could the other set have been? I couldn't remember reading about it in the book, but a quick flash of Kairi's face jumped in front of my eyes before disappearing again, followed by Naminé's perpetually thoughtful face. The two stood side my side in my mind, their hands joined and their eyes closed, smiles gracing their lips as they sang a song in a language that I didn't understand.

"Kairi and Naminé…?" I whispered.

"Wow, you're quicker than I could have imagined," Roxas said with a laugh. "Yes. Kairi was the light and Naminé was the darkness, but they were never given the opportunity to meet and work together. They were never face-to-face until it came time to battle against one another."

"Why us? Why were made as only half of a person while everyone else was whole? It doesn't seem fair…"

He laughed. "You're right. It doesn't seem fair, but if you wouldn't have existed if I had been born whole, then I'm glad that I was born as half a person. We were born as more than half a person in this world, but there have always been three holes in our hearts. One could only be filled by our meeting, and another only by reuniting with our mates. When the last hole is filled, the other two are filled along with it, and that one can only disappear when we regain all of our memories."

"So they are memories…"

"A scattered dream that's like a far off memory. A far off memory that's like a scattered dream…"

I opened my eyes and watched as a small smile flashed across Roxas' lips.

"…I want to line the pieces up. Yours and mine…" I finished.

"You remembered!" His smile grew and he clapped quietly. "Not surprising… But isn't that what it feels like? Your dreams feel like something more, but they're too fantastical to be anything but dreams, right? Angels…demons…wars… Nothing like that can ever really happen in real life."

"Not today…"

"No, you're right. Not today. But you'd be surprised how thin the wire is between Akari and Kurai today. Each land is in relative peace, but the moment your memories return…" He let his words fade off and he shook his head. "But, never mind about that. I'm tired and you're tired, so let's go to bed and think more about it in the morning."

I nodded and snuggled up in the blankets.

"Just remember that you can talk to me…"

I sighed and muttered the first thing that came to mind. "Oyasumi (1), Roxas-chan."

He laughed quietly. "Oyasumi, Sora-chan."

My eyes fluttered closed and I laid myself out defenselessly, letting the dreams take me away when they came for me.

TBC…
---------------------------------------------------------
A/N: Okay…before someone freaks out on me about the whole Source thing… I'm not speaking of God, per say, but of the Source of Universal Love and Light in Angelkin and Angel Incarnate lore. It is who Humans recognize as God, however…

Before anymore questions are asked, I don't consider myself to be Angelkin. I am Human. But I am fascinated by Angelkin, as well as the other races of Otherkin in the world. If you're interested in fantasy and the like and you have a minute, you should search Otherkin. It's very interesting…

The Twin Souls thing doesn't work the way I described it, either. There isn't a "light" and a "dark" side...Here's the definition from http://www (dot) otherkin (dot) net/articles//soulbonds (dot) html...

Twin Souls: Souls can also "split" into two or more parts, and if those parts are well developed enough to continue to exist independently, they can go on as separate souls, incarnating down through the ages. That is what some people call "twin flames" or "twin souls." Some souls do this more than once, creating more than two individual parts of the original soul...Such twin souls have the sense of connectedness and awareness available from a SoulSpace connection, but to a greater degree of depth. These connections often seem to be impossible to close down or sever. There can be a significant pull to be together, although that is not always the result...These connections also last past death, but are, at least somtimes, "forgotten" when reincarnating. Even when "forgotten," the individual may be aware that something or someone is missing...This type of connection is often mistaken for a romantic attatchment - which may or may not be correct. Because Twin Souls have chosen different developmental paths, they may be incompatible as romantic partners, even though they may feel an intense pull to be together romantically. This is one of the types of connections that is called a soulmate or soulbond connection...

Hopefully that helped to explian it...if it's still confusing, you should check out the website. Anyone who wants to know more about Angelkin or Otherkin and wants some links, e-mail me or message me and I'll happily send you some. I have plenty so share...Hehe...

Alrighty…to come…
Sora's mom returns…the Pumpkin Festival…Halloween party…secrets are revealed…"awakening"…lemon?…separation…NeoAkari and NeoKurai…

Translations:
(1) Futago: twins, though it has a deeper meaning than that…used in context of Other…
(2) Oyasumi.: Goodnight…

Okie dokie…I think that's all for this AN. ::hugs everyone who reviewed last chapter:: You're all amazing and I hope you had a fantabulous holiday!! Hehe…

Ja matta 'til next chapter…