A/N: OK, the goal for me here is to get the last chapter up by V-Day. This story is almost finished already, since it was meant to be short but have large chapters. This particular one demonstrates a sincerity and heart that I found that I put in huge doses. XD After all, this is supposed to be a romantic fic, after all.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts...or Riku. DX Hahaha, oh well!

Chapter 5: Materia Addictions and Romantic Exploits

Two days later, due to lack of anything better to do, Leon wandered off to explore the premises around the abandoned castle by himself. Also, the fact that Aerith lightly mentioned that their overall materia supply had drastically lowered since two years ago provided Leon with something to do. He could serve a purpose again to his once ragtag group of refugees. To his satisfaction, he discovered roughly a thousand or so materia orbs in a cool cavern, where he collected enough for everyone back at the townhouse. He distributed five orbs to everyone, even to Riku, the one boy whom he had been at odds with for a while. However, despite the not-so-friendly relations between them, Leon settled on being generous by giving out free materia. Why not? The kid couldn't possibly be as evil as he used to be on that fateful year last year. But, he remained wary, considering his nature basically insisted on being cautious until fully knowing someone.

Meanwhile, Yuffie's materia addiction that had lain dormant for all this time returned with a vengeance. She figured that five orbs was nothing compared to ten, twenty, fifty, or a hundred of those sweet, shiny things. Even the approximate half she carefully concealed in her near-exploding closet (thus why the overall supply diminished in the first place) could be hardly considered sufficient. She wanted more materia; she needed more materia, desperately so. If she ignored her craving, she would become obnoxious. So, later that night, she used her ninja stealth to skulk the townhouse to get more orbs. Despite the fact materia had no scent, Yuffie went so far as to sniff the air. No good, no precious materia, she thought as a pout puffed out her lips. Still, her skills were keen, since she managed to pilfer some from the living room couch cushions.

"Nice try, Cid," she cackled in an almost maniacal fashion, assuming that the pilot would be so stupid to try a stunt like that. "You can't hide the good stuff from me."

Like someone deprived of poisonous drugs, she thoroughly checked each and every room for materia. For the most part, she came up mostly empty, though what few discoveries she did stumble upon made her rejoice. Kleptomania wouldn't be the right word for her, because her mania was more like a disease, comparatively. Lusting for even more materia than the estimated two hundred orbs she had in possession, she tiptoed up the stairs to Riku's room. As much as she normally hated to go to such extremes, she was sure that maybe his kindness would compel him to donate his materia to her. At least Squall had been nice to him this time.

Yuffie hoped this door wouldn't creak as she cautiously opened it, but luckily, no sound was to be heard...apart from Riku's calm breathing. Wow, one of the few guys who didn't inadvertently snore while sleeping—could he be more this out-of-this-world unbelievable? OK, she had to cut to the chase regarding this issue. Where did he keep his darn materia? Just as she prepared to crawl under his bed, she heard an abrupt gasp that emerged from him, a sound that spoke of such obvious fear that it unnerved her. In all these weeks of knowing Riku, she expected him to be fearless, cool and calm about everything. What could torment someone like him to the point of displaying the slightest hint of discomfort? For once disregarding her nagging obsession of more materia, she lifted her head from under the bed.

Sweat had broken out on his brow, trickling down his temples to disappear under that ridiculously long yet beautiful mane of silver hair. He winced from the pain that his haunting nightmare caused him while he kept grabbing at the sheets. Totally concerned at this point, Yuffie touched his forehead to wipe away the beads of perspiration. Poor kid, he's probably been through more than anyone of his age should suffer. She noted that a miserable groan escaped his lips before his beautiful eyes fluttered open.

"Yuffie," he whispered, those captivating eyes narrowing. "What are you doing here?"

She nearly fell backwards before recoiling like a spring. "Oh, um, I was just searching for materia. It's nothing big. Well, I'll leave right now if you really want me to."

Before she could trip out of the bedroom quickly, Riku's hand gripped her wrist tightly to prevent her from leaving. A red blush spread across her face right then and there.

"Don't go," he huskily breathed, sitting up in bed as he did so. She noted that he wore the same clothes from today, so he must have been asleep before he realized it. As Yuffie leaned over him to hear what he might have to say, he gently pushed her on the bed. In a somewhat affectionate manner, he cupped her cheek, and she gazed at him. She couldn't believe the expression on his face, which looked so vulnerable, so...sad practically.

However, he seemed to brush off this sorrow, since a smirk touched his lips. "You can have my materia. I don't need it."

Nearly squealing, she practically jumped up and down before Riku promptly showed her the orbs, which she eagerly took back to her room.

The next morning, when Yuffie awakened with her newly acquired materia (she was set on protecting it last night), she suddenly remembered Riku and how scared he appeared in his sleep last night. All of those facial contortions showed how much in complete anguish he was. According to what Aerith told her once, he was emotionally tortured by the repercussions of his dark past. He betrayed both Sora and Kairi to gain power, though that hadn't been the original intention. Sora must have told the flower girl this, so Yuffie assumed that maybe he considered her too excitable to inform her of this. She wished that he would have, though, so she could help Riku placate his fears. No danger would come to him if he stayed in the lighter side that represented good and avoided the vile darkness. When she proudly emerged from her room wearing the kimono that he liked so well, she discovered he wasn't even there to eat breakfast as usual.

Worried for his sake, she ran outside in her robe without even wearing her ninja garb but only her underclothes under the kimono instead. Riku was way more important than fashion right now. She searched throughout the town first, but all she found were the confused glances of people who thought her weird for wearing these light, thin clothes. So, she tried searching for him on the outskirts of Radiant Garden until she espied a lone figure standing on the jutting cliff of the Dark Depths. His familiar silver hair stood out for her in that instant.

"Riku!" she called out his name, and he turned to face her. Aquamarine eyes brightened considerably upon recognizing Yuffie standing there. Previously, they had been glazed over in thought, contemplation over the past.

"Yuffie," he murmured warmly in a tone that set her heart in a passionate blaze.

She had never heard him say her name with such...ardor before, showing for certain that he valued their friendship. These past four weeks weren't all for naught after all. The two of them had become so intimately close that she realized that maybe this could escalate to so much more. Offering his hands to her, he took hold of her own and squeezed them. Something in his eyes glowed exuberantly then, the sunlit rays playing off the very color perfectly.

Almost dazed by his affection, Yuffie stated seriously, "I need to talk to you."

His light colored eyebrows furrowed. "About what?"

"Anything and everything," she replied airily, her famous (as well as infamous) smile returning. Riku readily agreed to the offer, perching on the cliff as he patted the spot next to him.

Nothing but vivid azure sky stretched endlessly above them, looking extremely inviting for deep conversations such as theirs. To start off, though, they remained quiet to enjoy this peaceful Sunday summer morning. Sighing, Yuffie stretched her legs out before tilting her head to Riku, expecting him to say something. He appeared as though he wished to yet something inevitably held him back. And since she would hate to pressure him, she resumed gazing out into that stretch of barren wasteland.

Just as she thought he would stay silent for five more minutes, he muttered, "You know, something happened this summer before we came here. It bothered me for a while, but I realized that those two crazy kids were meant for each other. Who was I to think otherwise?"

Riku grinned regarding Sora and Kairi and the memory of his learning not to interfere with fate itself.

Somewhat disappointed as she managed to figure out that he once had strong feelings for Kairi, the dreamy smile that established itself on Yuffie's face disappeared. She should have known that a kind, impeccable guy like him would have a heart that belonged to someone else. The redheaded girl looked like a supermodel that would compliment his sex godliness nicely. Why hadn't she had the common sense to think of the possibility before? Oh, that's right...

"You loved Kairi, didn't you?" she spoke in a voice she couldn't discern, so small and timid.

Unbeknownst to her, he glanced over at her tenderly. "I thought I did before Sora accidentally brought me back to reality."

Guessing the implication of these words, Yuffie smirked while playing with a strand of her hair. "You saw them kiss, didn't you?"

Recollecting that flashback that at the time felt so ludicrous, Riku chuckled at the make-out session he unintentionally witnessed that night. "To say the least, they were going at it."

She joined in his laughter, so that both of them enjoyed each other's company. However, hearing of Riku's rejection brought back hurtful memories for Yuffie, who quickly sobered.

"I was like you once...about a year ago," she said softly, almost so that only he could hear her and nobody else. "You know Squall, right? Or that ugly Leon name he likes to be known as now. Well, I had a...a bit of a crush on him for a while. Then, once Hollow Bastion became Radiant Garden again, the phone lines randomly worked. So...after that, when I thought he liked me back, it turned out he still loved Rinoa. I heard him talk to her on the phone, too."

Considerably humbled by the mere thought of this, Yuffie dabbed at her eyes with her kimono sleeve.

Sincerely believing that she needed a reliable person at the moment, Riku draped a strong arm around her shoulders to comfort her. Appreciating the benevolence of this gesture, she leaned against his shoulder and compulsively touched his arm. Wow, he had some muscles! Of course, fighting through various Heartless and Nobodies as well as probably play fighting as a child would cause him to get this toned.

"So we've both faced rejection, haven't we?" he asked softly, rhetorically while playing with her black hair. She loved the way he did that, as though he could spend hours doing this. When she was starting to relax into his touch, he slowly, reluctantly removed his arm from her shoulders. It was then that Yuffie decided to bring up an entirely different topic, noting, "You know that ruined old castle over there? I heard the King and Queen of this place lived here. They had a daughter, who was raised by the Queen's mother when the parents were busy with royal duties."

The silver haired boy stared at her curiously out of the corner of his eye, feeling doubtful over the fact that this hideous castle once served as a residence for a king and queen. And the Princess of Heart must have lived here...

"Kairi must have lived here," he told himself thoughtfully before looking back at her unsurely. If she knew that, then she probably knew of when he fell into the nearly inescapably darkness. Aware of his uncertainty to reveal his alleged secret, Yuffie laid her hand on top of his and squeezed it. Sympathy radiated in her dark eyes as she did this as well as an entirely new emotion.

Slightly anxious that she would anger him, she informed him, "Riku, I know what happened to you. Aerith told me."

Shocked, Riku practically spluttered out, "Wh—What?"

She returned her stare to the castle, thoroughly ashamed that she would end up having to admit this to him. Now, this might totally upset the balance of their companionship.

"Yeah," she murmured, still afraid to look at him. "She told me everything. She said she didn't know how it began, but she's confident about the ending. Riku...I don't think less of you for this. I actually admire you, about how brave you were. Great Ninjas like me aspire to be like that."

Riku couldn't understand why she wasn't beating him up or condoning his prior actions. "I wasn't brave, Yuffie. I was a coward—I still am. That nightmare I had last night proved it."

"Nightmare...?" she breathed out, though he confirmed her suspicions.

"It was about him," he answered stolidly, the mere mention of Ansem haunting him again.

He could never forget the cold sensation that was being possessed, worse than the kiss of death.

Forcing Yuffie's head to turn so that their eyes locked again, Riku added, "That's what I wanted to tell you about last night, but I didn't think you would want to hear it. I just ignored my instincts and decided to humor your materia obsession instead."

He smiled once bringing up the materia and her skulking, which made her dryly return the smile. "You know, that only started because my life at Wutai was less than perfect. So, for a while, I was a materia thief so I could forget about my stupid dad and his greedy dreams. Since I mainly did it because of that, I was a full-fledged klepto by twelve."

Funny, how she surprised herself. She never discussed her past so candidly before, and Riku looked like he was happy that she confided in him.

He proceeded to resolve to take his turn, to tell the contents of his horrific nightmare, so that she could gain a better understanding of him.

"My nightmare's been recurring lately. It's Ansem chasing me, trying to get me to join his side again. I know he's dead, but...he could return."

Yuffie placed her hands firmly on his shoulders. "He won't come back. I'll make sure he won't. I'll—"

To signal that he hadn't finished, he held up his hand. "But, then, I felt your hand on my face, and everything disappeared. He was gone and not just gone...He basically drowned in light. It was because of you, Yuffie. You saved me in an unintentional, crazy sort of way."

Weary of being serious, she beamed from the fact that she could do so much. "I'm glad I could be of service, Mr. Knight in Shining Armor. I guess I gave you my ninja stars."

He chuckled gently while he dug the purple silk headband out of his pocket. "That you did. And I'll give you this as your reward."

Gasping from sheer joy, Yuffie took the headband with quavering hands. "Oh, Riku, it's beautiful! I never even told you that purple is my favorite color."

Riku smiled, seeing how much she truly loved his gift. "It's the least I could do."

Enfolding her in his warm embrace, he kissed her very close to her lips but not quite. As he tucked stray hairs away from her face, he whispered, "Thank you."

He then mysteriously left her, and she sensed the heat from his lips for five more minutes.

A/N: I'm thinking this is probably the most romantic chapter I wrote for anything. I don't know, but I remember really liking the way this one turned out.

Last chapter out tomorrow, guys! XD