Disclaimer: ...Me? Own anything? Pshaw.

AN: Same style, different plot. I've turned this into my random bin for KH fiction. Enjoy!

The Knight and his Lady

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts (Chain of Memories)

Pairing: Riku Replica X Namine

Theme Set: Delta

Rating: PG

Warnings: Spoilers, some mild violence

#01 – Air: He scoops her up in his arms and leaps from the window, grinning wide as her excited shouts are lost to the rushing wind.

#02 – Apples: She smells of apples, and the scent brings back a rush of memories: the two of them eating together, laughing as he bit down on a bitter seed, and all the innocence of children still within their reach.

#03 – Beginning: In the beginning, he struggles; he feels more terror than pain as he realizes each memory is being ripped from his head, and he writhes and shouts for it to stop...almost apologetically, one memory is allowed to remain (or has it been placed there?) —of blond hair and tender hands.

#04 – Bugs: Vexen expects his creation to be an obedient little doll—he never counted on the doll's own anger or doubt, and not for the first time, the Nobody finds a glitch in the system.

#05 – Coffee: It never occurred to him until she points out that he never sleeps, and that he is never tired.

#06 – Dark: He wears Darkness like a cloak, and never questions it.

#07 – Despair: Larxene is the worst— her words are the cruelest, her electric whispers linger longest in the frigid room while Namine is left to fight back tears.

#08 – Doors: There are far too many floors that divide them, too many doors that he has long since memorized, all of them obstacles to keep him from her if she ever needed him.

#09 – Drink: Axel heats the tea in his hands and hands it to the weeping girl; "Vexen was the one who made your Riku," he says after a thoughtful pause, "I'm sure he had a way to bring him back."

#10 – Duty: Vexen tells him that his first duty is to protect Namine, and the only way to do that is to kill Sora.

#11 – Earth: "This entire world can be ours for the taking," he tells her as they raced away from the castle, "And if we get tired of this one, then we can go to other worlds—hundreds of them!"

#12 – End: It isn't death itself that actually scares him (having never technically been born, dying can't be too big a deal), so Real Thing's sympathetic words do nothing to dispel his dread: what truly frightens him was the thought that his heart (he isn't real, after all, but he isn't a Nobody, either) could be forever cut off from hers after this.

#13 – Fall: As she weeps, he remembers knights and their ladies, and drops to his knees and kisses her hand, "I made a promise to protect you," he swears, wiping away her tears, "And I intend to keep it."

#14 – Fire: He loathes the idea of bowing to the Jester, but Namine's happiness is worth more than his own pride, and so he trudges to Axel's chambers and says, with all the humility he can muster, "I need your help."

#15 – Flexible: He comes back dejected; after scouring every floor of the castle, he hasn't been able to find the color Namine had wanted; she smiles and assures him that, naturally, trees look best with blue leaves anyway.

#16 – Flying: He is thrown aside like a rag doll, but suddenly he doesn't care about defeat or darkness—all he sees is Namine's face, her eyes welling into tears as he crumples against a far wall, and his last thoughts before awareness leaves him: 'I'm not finished yet...I won't...let anything...happen to you...'

#17 – Food: Lexaeus is a good cook, even if none of the castle's inhabitants need to eat; oddly enough, it takes little persuasion and not even a threat of violence to convince him to make a secret dinner for Namine...persuading Axel to hunt down and ignite several candles is a different matter entirely.

#18 – Foot: He races from the Organization in leaps and bounds, Namine still tight in his arms, and it isn't until Castle Oblivion has been reduced to a speck in the distance that he lowers her to the ground and they flee on foot.

#19 – Grave: He believed he was dead, and when he fades back into consciousness and sees her keeping silent watch over him, he believes he has finally reached heaven.

#20 – Green: Suddenly he sees Sora in a new light, tinged in jealousy: this is someone real, someone original, someone sincere—somebody who actually has a chance to win Namine's love; and in that moment his heart breaks and he crumbles to the floor.

#21 – Head: "You've succeeded this time," Vexen says, distastefully nudging the corpse before it splinters into Heartless and Dusk, "But don't get a big head."

#22 – Hollow: He can feel, of course, but his emotions reek of falsehood, and only his forged memories hold any sense of completion.

#23 – Honor: He has dreams that only she knows about (after all, it was she who illustrates them) about being a proud knight and doing deeds so great that some great king would bend before him and offer him a name of his own.

#24 – Hope: For nearly a year, Namine spends every spare moment and shred of strength (restoring Sora's memories is taking more out of her than she had imagined) rummaging through Vexen's dusty study for the restorative formulas; when she finds it, Axel will put it into action—but only if she opens up a way for him to see Roxas again.

#25 – Light: She sleeps, though she knows she doesn't need to, and he is amazed that she seems almost to glow in her gentle slumber.

#26 – Lost: "I don't think I can take much more of this," she sobs into his dark shoulder; he squeezes her gently and whispers into her hair: "Then let's escape, just the two of us."

#27 – Metal: The oddly shaped sword feels cold and brutal in his hand—it is a blade created to leave no survivors in its wake, and it seems strangely poetic that such a cruel weapon be used to protect somebody so pure.

#28 – New: He wakes as though from a long slumber to see Namine leaning over him; "Welcome back," she says with a grateful smile, "You're real now—not a copy of anyone...and I'll call you whatever name you want..." she breaks down into relieved tears and collapses into his shoulder, her small form heaving with sobs, "Just...please...don't leave me again."

#29 – Old: He finds himself rocking her gently, nearly overwhelmed by the surge of emotions that are so much stronger and clearer than anything his old self could have felt, and whispers into her hair: "I won't leave; I'll still be your Riku."

#30 – Peace: Namine races between them and both warriors freeze in their tracks, each staring confused at his lethal adversary and at the girl who risks her precious life to end their battle.

#31 – Poison: Fake, fake, fake: the word surges through his mind, numbing his body, and it is all he can do to stare up at Namine—demanding an explanation and dreading what could be the truth.

#32 – Pretty: It's only natural for him to be attracted to her, after all...or at least, that would have been his excuse, had he been human.

#33 – Rain: The darkening sky should have been their first warning, but freedom makes them too dizzy to glimpse that tall, hooded shadow in the distance.

#34 – Regret: "It was wonderful while it lasted," she says to him on that long march back to their prison, and inwardly he wonders if leaving Oblivion is even possible anymore.

#35 – Roses: Marluxia gives him a strange look when he asks for the rose, but finally the Nobody acquiesces, and Riku races back, triumphant, to his Lady's room.

#36 – Secret: He can never be sure if she knows how he feels, but he can't quite bring himself to confess, either.

#37 – Snakes: Despite the horror that he might get hurt, there is something hypnotic about watching her Riku fight: the fluid grace of his muscles, the refined speed and power, the precision of his every strike...he's almost serpentine; and she can't help but wonder how long snakes have been her favorite animal.

#38 – Snow: She reminds him of the princess from Marluxia's books: the one with skin like fresh snow, the one who was trapped in a glass prison while the ones who loved her most were forced to watch.

#39 – Solid: The castle is a massive garden, all of its flowers frozen in perfection within unyielding marble while a menagerie of bizarre not-real creatures prowl among shards of illusory memories.

#40 – Spring: After he returns Namine to the safety of her room, the austere walls seem a little less oppressive, the marble flowers become a little less eerie, and not even Larxene's glare can dampen the spring in his step.

#41 – Stable: He apologizes in every way he knows, promises her it will never happen again—he swore to protect her, and he will never again let his own instability put her in danger.

#42 – Strange: He races to her room with his treasure cupped safely in his numb hands, and she cries out in delight when he bursts through the door...even half melted and diminished, the snow is beautiful and cool and pliant and so wonderfully strange that it's all she can do not to give him a kiss for his wonderful gift.

#43 – Summer: She grins at the dinner, she laughs at the charred candles, but when she sees the rose, the expression on her face transfigures even the icy chamber into summer.

#44 - Taboo: It's his own fault for never telling her how he felt, but with every new report ("Your hero is coming," "Your knight has arrived,"), he realizes more thoroughly how impossible his dream really is.

#45 – Ugly: She recoils from his anger, and suddenly he sees himself for the first time, clashing against her: his darkness against her light, his tainted power against her pure sweetness; and he wants at once to flee from her presence and to shield her beauty from the world that so disfigured him.

#46 – War: "She'll be the Organization's tool as long as they're around," Axel says, toying with his Chakrams even as he speaks, "I can get rid of them for you, but you'll have to do exactly as I say; got it memorized?"

#47 – Water: That first time he drags himself away from the battle he cannot win, to stand sentry before her door in case someone (likely Larxene) decides that Sora's progress is somehow Namine's fault, and he's gasping from injury and exhaustion by the time he arrives; it is Namine—the angel, the goddess— who thanks him for his bravery, who urges him to rest, and leaves his side only to bring him potions and water.

#48 – Welcome: He tries to regain his feet, to fight, but Namine gets there first, meekly welcoming her attacker and offering herself to be taken back to her hellish chamber in the castle, but only if Saix promises not to hurt him.

#49 – Winter: Axel sent him on a rare mission from the Land that Never Was ("I have this thing with being cold, ya know?") and for the first time, Riku sees snow up close.

#50 – Wood: He is running, running, pulling his precious refugee behind him, when suddenly he finds himself rooted to the ground by two feline eyes, and he can barely hear Saix saying "I think it's time for our little witch to come home."