A/N: I am SO sorry it's been so long since I last updated, I need to do that more...but here you go! It's kind of crazy that the entirety of this story so far, well at least ch. 2 1/2 to current, happens within the time span of 2-3 hours. Geez! Okay, enough of me rambling, here's the story!

As it turned out, Namine had moved into a quaint little apartment building near the clock tower, and to her luck on the west side where she could watch the sun rise and set each day. I grew a tad jealous of her benefit, as the view from my window simply viewed down into a cold stone alleyway. The walk there wasn't even a walk at all, so that helped avoid awkward silences. Axel had stated matter-of-factly that apparating would be quicker and more reasonable, and I had reluctantly agreed. I disliked apparating, I never actually got used to it back when...

Axel and I walked nonchalantly into what could have been the lobby, but seemed nothing more than an oversized living room with an oddly modern fireplace (that must have been built in long after the original building had been structured). The young man at the front desk looked up at Axel unsurely as we walked up to him, then shook it off and returned to reading his magazine as if this wasn't the first black robed man he'd seen poking around Twilight Town. The boy couldn't have been older than 16, as the bridge of his nose as well as underneath his lip was slightly covered in fresh acne. I stepped up to the counter awkwardly.

"Ahem." I cleared my throat suggestively. The boy looked up in surprise, as though he hadn't seen me walking up not less than twenty seconds ago, "Does a Namine live in this building?" I asked him, and his face immediately flushed color.

"Oh yeah. I mean, yes. Yeah. She does." He stuttered, trying to collect his sentences but losing them. I looked him in the eye frustratingly when he looked back down at the empty desktop for longer than five seconds.

"Can you point us to her room?" I asked. He looked back up at me.

"I uh, yeah I can do that." He muttered. Fiddling with the hem of his dress-shirt he mumbled something about a room 2-D then picked his magazine up again and continued to read. I stood there for a few seconds, expecting an apology for his rude attitude, but no apology came and I sighed in defeat.

"Yeah okay, 2-D." I grunt and Axel and I begin to head upstairs, when the boy calls after us.

"Uh hey, could you maybe, I dunno." He begins shyly, "Tell Miss Namine I said hi?" I looked up at both of us hopefully. Axel and I exchanged unsure looks then I shot the boy the best smile I could manage in the situation.

"Uh, heh, sure!" I said cheerily. He seemed to have bought it because he slightly smiled back then looked back to his magazine. I sighed silently to myself then headed upstairs.

xXx

The hallway was narrow. Extremely narrow. Axel and I had to walk in a single-file formation in order for both of us to fit through all the way to Namine's door. When we did get there, however, one could immediately tell it was Namine's room that laid behind it. The door had been painted white unlike the other peach-colored apartment doors, and Namine's name had been painted on the door in beautiful black calligraphy. I reached up and softly but clearly knocked on the door, and it almost felt like if I knocked any harder the door would turn fragile and shatter into a million pieces. The door did not shatter, it remained in place.

Soft pattering could be heard before clicking sounded from behind the door, most likely the locks, and soon the door slowly opened. It only opened far enough for Namine to slowly peek through the crack to see who it was, and her eyes widened when she saw us. The door swung open the rest of the way by itself, and I looked down do see a color-drained Namine like I hadn't seen he before. A pair of baggy red basketball shorts dangled off of her nearly absent waist as if hanging on for dear life, and a navy blue sweatshirt with the words "Twilight Town Annual Struggle" printed on it(along with the logo of course) had been sloppily pulled over Namine's head and now made her look like a coatrack. Barefoot and pale, her beautiful blonde hair had been pulled up into the most perfect messy bun I had ever seen. Strands of hair fell down onto her face and tickled her tiny nose, making it wiggle upon contact.

"Hey Namine. How goes it?" Axel smirked and gave her a little half-salute in hopes to break the ice. Yet this ice wasn't easily broken. I would know, I'm kind of an expert on ice. Namine's fingers wiggled anxiously, but for what I wouldn't know.

"Y-You're alive. A-And here. Both of you?" She looked up at us fearfully with her eyes taking turns locking on to either one of us, as though if she looked away Axel might gobble her up for dinner or I might cast a nasty spell on her that curses her children. I stepped forward towards her in an attempt to comfort her.

"Yes, it's us Namine. See?" She stared at my hands as I motioned towards Axel, "Here's Axel. Not dead. I'm not dead either, see?" I moved my hands and motioned at myself up and down. Namine looked at me doubtfully, and I realized I looked completely different from when she saw me last, "It really is me. I promise. It will always be me." I said softly. Namine's nose quivered again, then her lip. Soon her entire body erupted into shakiness and tears poured from her eyes as she leaned into me, grasping me in a loving hug. I hugged her back, knowing how she felt. I felt the exact same fear and confusion and happiness when…

The silence was tormenting. No sounds could be heard except for the occasional tweet from a bird outside or a tree knocking against a nearby window in the gentle breeze. Namine made the least sound out of all the surroundings. When Namine cries, she doesn't sob. She doesn't bawl. She simply trembles silently and allows the tears to fall from her eyes. She doesn't make a big deal about it, she's too kind to be self-absorbed. I rubbed her back softly, sensing she needed some more comfort, and Axel even stroked the hair on the top of her head gently.

"It's okay. It's really us. It's really me. I know I'm different, I know I look different but it's really me. I promise it will always be me. I'll always be the Xemera you knew."

(Bonus: The word "Namine" was used 16 times in this chapter. Wow.)