Set in Disney Town.

Thank you very much for reading my story. This is the last Chapter.
It is far shorter than the others, but that is only because this whole series was never supposed to be a multi-chapter.
I was just forced to cut it to awkward bits because of its annoying length.

I did consider and begin writing other endings, but I wanted the beginning and end to remain as true to canon as I could make it.
So, yeah, before and after this story, the events proceed as they would in-game.

Truth about this story is it's one of my attempts at a happy, in-universe VanitasAqua.
That is why I chose Disney Town as the setting.
Obviously, attempt failed. Hahaha! Not surprising.

DISCLAIMER [I do not own Kingdom Hearts] DISCLAIMER

ESCAPE

A way to break free from destiny…

He walked away from her with a scowl on his face. What happened with Aqua, it meant nothing. It should mean nothing. It meant so much more than it should have. He felt as though his heart no longer belonged to him. It was pounding against his ribcage, trying to escape. Not that he had full ownership of his heart in the first place – it belonged, in a twisted sense, to Ventus. But he had never felt this way before. His heart had never acted so... dissatisfied and rebellious like this, as if it suddenly decided that it no longer agreed with his mind.

And he could not understand.

Clenching his fists, he walked down one street, and another, and yet another, trying to wrest control of the frantic beating of his heart. And because he was looking at his feet the entire time, he had a Ventus moment – smacking right into a pole.

"Damn it!" he groaned, rubbing his forehead. "Who put that pole here?"

It was a stupid question, but he was angry. He kicked it and the entire booth to which it was connected shook a little bit.

"Oh," a duck said, stepping out of the booth to see who had caused the shaking. "Are you here to vote?" she asked nicely.

Vanitas blinked. "Vote?"

"For the Million Dreams Award, silly," the duck said. "You're just in time! I was just about to close the booth! Come on in."

And before he could protest, the duck in the purple dress – which, he noted, was about as disgusting as the pink one the mouse wore – pulled him into the booth. She plopped him down on the only chair in there, separated from the rest of the tiny box with a small partition. Then she gave him a piece of paper and a pen.

"Good thing you came right when you did," she told him. "You're going to be the last voter."

"Wait, who am I supposed to vote for?" he suddenly asked just as the duck was about to turn away. He mentally punched himself for sounding like such an idiot and he wondered if being with Aqua so long made him stupid. Not that Aqua was stupid… Just that she made him so…

He slapped his forehead, frustrated with himself. And he groaned immediately afterwards, because it was still sore from when he hit the pole. Yes, he had definitely become stupid.

"Whoever you want, silly," the duck was answering his question with a smile. And Vanitas thought it was a miracle that she could smile with that giant, yellow bill of hers.

"Whoever I want…" Vanitas mumbled.

"Yes, someone who made your year extra special. Someone who you want to show your appreciation to because of all the good things they've done for you."

Vanitas smirked. He flipped the cap off the pen and wrote. Aqua.

The following day, Aqua stood among the crowd gathered at the Main Plaza. She scanned the faces of everyone around her, searching for a shock of black hair and a pair of golden eyes, but her search was futile. She sighed sadly, her hand over her heart. Had she upset him somehow?

"The Million Dreams Award goes to… Ventus, Aqua, and Terra. All three of you!"

Aqua looked up at the mention of her name, and the names of her friends, a surprised expression on her face. Everyone had begun cheering, and they were all looking at her with happy smiles and grins. But she still could not find that one smirk she really wanted to see.

Seated along the edge of a rooftop, watching the scene, Vanitas scratched at his arm. He already missed the black button-up shirt he was wearing yesterday, and the loose shorts, and the sneakers. He was glad to have his mask over his face, but that was little consolation against the discomfort of having to wear his usual suit again.

He was humming as he watched Captain Justice try to steal the spotlight, and fail of course. "A penny for a spool of thread, a penny for a needle… That's the way the munny goes…"

He stopped singing, focusing as Aqua walked onto the stage. He felt a craving for ice cream when she received one, but he fought it down. He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. He wondered if she was looking for Van. He wondered if she would be sad if she found out that she would never see him again.

Van no longer existed. He had his day, and Vanitas could only pretend for so long. He reached for two things that he kept in a small pouch at his belt. The first was the photo of them that she let him have. The second was the white handkerchief that she never took back from him. He would allow himself to keep only one. And even that, his mind argued in futility, was already too much.

He stared at the picture. That was Van, with Aqua. Vanitas could never smile like that; sincerely, honestly, happily. Those eyes, shining rather than glinting, did not belong to him. And Aqua would sooner die than touch her cheek to his, or wrap her arms around him with her hands over his heart. If she had known who he was…

Applause sounded from the Plaza below and Vanitas watched as Aqua began to make her way off the stage. With a blank expression, made further emotionless by his mask, he set the picture aflame. His heart screamed, watching the crimson blades burn the strands of her blue hair, sear her soft cream skin, and blaze across the twin oceans that were her eyes. He let the ashes slip through his fingers, carried by the wind.

And by the hand of fate, the ashes blew in her direction. She touched her cheek where they landed, like tiny black butterflies, bidding her goodbye.

Vanitas did not linger, just in case she looked his way. He leapt across the rooftops, looking for a place where he could open a dark corridor in seclusion. In his hand, he held the handkerchief tight. This, he intended to keep. That picture was of someone else, of Van, not him. But when Aqua was kneeling beside him, her hands gently wrapping that little white cloth over his wound, he still knew who he was. And for a moment free of malice, enmity, and hatred, Aqua was with Vanitas.

END

Thank You

~Alacquiene~