Oh God how long has it been...

I'm extreeeemely sorry for no updates, but I have a valid reason! Basically, my computer broke, and then I got my brothers laptop...but then that broke too. And no other computers in my hosue have Microsoft Word so I was pretty much stranded. I couldn't do my coursework for school either... but now my computer is fixed and I am back! Weee! Enjoy!

Lots of love from
Nai x

The vinyl crackled as it spun on the gramophone, the label turning around and around, again and again. Soft piano drifted out from the brass horn that curled from the side of the mahogany box, as the two figures moved clumsily in the centre of the chequered dance floor.

A little girl giggled, her feet clad in patent cream leather plimsolls and small white socks as she stood atop her partners feet, hands clasped around his scarred fingers as he span her in obscured circles. The rose pink skirt of her button up dress billowed with the movement and she held upon her face a bright smile, her unusual eyes sparkling as she laughed freely.

The man smiled down upon the young blunette, his eyes wavering at her innocent happiness.

#

The bedroom was quiet and still as morning light filtered through the gap in the thin curtains, the rest of the room bathed in a reddish glow. Faint voices could easily be heard from the kitchen beyond as a group sat down to breakfast, leaving the girl in the bed to lie sleeping comfortably amongst the thick vermillion blankets.

A soft double-knock on the door disturbed her light sleep slightly and she snuggled deeper into the blankets, her eyes closed and mouth slightly parted. Probably after realising he was getting no answer, Sora pushed open the bedroom door and looked upon the sleeping girl in amusement, still dressed in the black boxer shorts and white t-shirt that made up his pyjamas.

"Ghost, wake up – we're going into Radiant Garden before we leave."

The girl barely stirred, except to sigh quietly and turn over so her face was concealed. Sora rolled his eyes and closed the door behind him, walking over to kneel on the side of the bed as he held himself over her curled up body.

"Helloooo? Ghost?" He asked, grabbing the top of her arm and shaking her roughly. Her skin was burning under his touch from the heat of the covers, and he couldn't really ignore the fact that she was actually incredibly soft. He was interrupted in his thoughts, however, when she groaned into her pillow and stretched out, arching her back in the air like a cat and coming dangerously close to Sora before he jumped back slightly. Her eyelids fluttered to reveal her drowsy peach irises, and she brushed her fringe up off her forehead, blinking.

"Go away," she said simply.

He flashed a crooked grin at her and pushed off the bed, grabbing her arm and pulling her out of bed so she stumbled on the cool floor in her bare feet.

Before he even had time to process where exactly she'd gotten it from, he was distracted by the silky nightdress wrapped around her small curves; the dark grey material resting neatly on her slender hips and loosely draping against the top of her thighs before it stopped a good few inches above her knee. It was decorated with an edging of black lace around the hem and bust line, with a small black bow in the center of her chest and black spaghetti straps. Sora really couldn't help being a typical teenage boy – his face had turned pink and he was staring religiously at her body until her hand came in abrupt contact with his face.

"Pervert. Go away!" She growled, dragging him to the door and practically kicking him out before slamming it behind him. She sighed to herself and crossed her arms across her small chest self consciously, before getting dressed in her new clothes.

Sora, meanwhile, was picking himself up off the floor, cradling his stinging cheek as he stumbled into the kitchen, where Donald and Goofy were polishing off a plate of pancakes. He dived for the freezer and popped a few ice cubes out before wrapping them in kitchen roll and holding them to his cheek.

"What did you do?" Donald sighed, hopping off the stool as Goofy took the plate to the sink.

"Nothing! But I really don't think Ghost is a morning person," he mumbled, wincing. "She slapped me and it'll probably still bruise."

Donald shook his head before he waddled off to the bedroom to change. Goofy shrugged but chuckled at his pathetic expression, following his little duck friend.

Sora pouted to himself and sat down at the breakfast bar, pulling his plate of pancakes back over to finish them off. He whimpered every time he moved his jaw a little too much and stretched the red skin, but still managed to wolf down his food in record time. Grinning mentally at this feat, he turned to jump off the seat and get changed – but Ghost was stood in his way, her expression guarded, her hair every bit as unruly as it was that morning.

"Hey, Toast," Sora greeted civilly, keeping the ice to his face.

Her gaze was stuck on the damp kitchen roll he held against his cheek. "It was only a slap," she drawled, overlooking his terrible rhyming nickname. "Can't have hurt that much."

Sora raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Have you been on the receiving end of your slaps?" He asked her, having to look down a bit into her face. She squirmed and shook her head, looking at the floor.

"No… I'm sorry, really. I got a bit carried away," she mumbled. "Guess it's just a reflex."

The brunette looked at her quietly as she fidgeted nervously under his gaze. It was only then he realised how much he'd grown – physically and mentally, of course. Over the months he'd been back home on the Destiny Islands, he'd seemingly shot up a good few inches in height; so much so that he now rivalled Riku and Kairi seemed like a midget, only reaching his shoulders.

He noticed, however, that Ghost was quite a bit taller than his childhood friend – her pale eyes were level with his nose, but her body didn't seem as developed as the pinkette – rather, she looked a lot more childish. But it suited her, in a strange way. He felt he had to protect this little girl standing before him – and without realising, he had reached up to ruffle her messy white bed hair with an unrestrained smile, reminding himself of whenever Riku used to do that to him.

"Chin up, Toast. All is forgiven."

Ghost smiled at him and rolled her eyes, bumping his arm with her fist. "You deserved that mega slap anyway. Just Ghost? Look after her? What was that Mr. Smooth? 'Cause I'm thinking you were trying to show off a bit to your little girlfriend."

Sora turned bright red at this and pushed her away, scoffing as he went to go back to his room to change. "Please. You do need looking after; you're just a little kid."

"Ahem, I'm sixteen, thank you very much!" She shouted happily before she paused suddenly, her face slightly drooping after saying so. "Uh, well, at least I think so… it feels right saying it…"

Sora shook his head at her with a sad smile and ruffled her hair again before disappearing behind his bedroom door, leaving Ghost to frown to herself in the vivid yellow corridor of the Gummi Ship.

#

"Gosh, sure has changed around here since last time. Leon must have been busy!" Sora smiled happily, glancing at the buildings that now looked much sturdier than they used to, the streets adorned with flower boxes hanging on the walls and small water features. A new layer of paint had been given to things that needed it, metal pipes replaced with shiny new ones that blended with the stone.

Ghost had never laid eyes on it before, so she could only follow and wonder what they were talking about. Still, she marvelled in the city's intricate design, taking a distinct shine to the miniature waterfalls that tumbled from the brick walls.

"Leon and the rest of the committee. I feel bad for not being here…" Donald grumbled, pulling out a long forgotten Honorary Member card from his Court Magician's jacket. Sora noticed and checked his pockets frantically, his spirits dampening.

"…It must have been in the other clothes. Flora will have it now," he groaned, folding his arms across his chest. Goofy patted him awkwardly on the back and moved to lead the group forward, until a small but rather cute house came into view, a girl with long brown hair tied in a braid working in the garden outside.

Sora couldn't remember this being here.

"Is that…"

"Aerith!" Goofy cheered, jogging forward as the other two musketeers followed. Ghost was slightly delayed in her reaction, ambling behind them looking slightly alienated.

Aerith looked up from her flowers into Sora's eyes, her mouth dropping when she saw him before blossoming into a smile. "Sora! Donald, Goofy! You came back to visit!"

"Hey, didn't we say we would?" Sora grinned waving sheepishly.

Aerith chuckled, nodding. "Hey, guess who's here! Come outside!"

Ghost watched with interest as a few heads popped around the side of the door, their expressions flicking between shock and happiness as they ran out to see him. Well… the girl did. The two men simply nodded in greeting before following the black-haired ninja like female.

"Sora! Glad to see ya remember us, huh?" The girl joked, slapping him on the back forcefully.

"Yuffie, give the guy a break…" the brunette man sighed at her, holding his forehead.

"Oh hush up Leon you spoilsport. Sora doesn't mind if I'm rough with him, does he?" She nudged the now crimson Sora, who was old enough now to understand the ulterior meaning behind that sentence. He gulped and shook his head, the rest of the group smirking at him.

The chattering began to develop into excited story sharing right there in the garden, as Ghost fidgeted silently, her fingertips stroking the skin on her opposite elbow. Her eyes were downcast to the small cobblestone path that led up through the garden to the house, lashes fluttering as she blinked.

Another awkward introduction was heading her way, she could feel it.

"You're looking a little left out."

She looked to her left, eyes widening as she saw one of the men standing beside her. He had blonde hair that fell in all directions and the prettiest powder blue eyes she'd ever seen – but also… he possibly had the clearest most blemish-free skin ever too. She frowned, envious, but nodded nonetheless.

"Not a fan of these social things, huh… me either," he sighed. "I'm Cloud. Cloud Strife…" he trailed off, looking at her expectantly.

She shrugged and looked away again. "Ghost."

"Ghost," he repeated, nodding. "Nice to meet you."

"New kid, huh?" The energetic girl piped up, jumping towards the two. "Well, I'm Yuffie! Welcome to the family, Ghost!" She grinned, pinching Ghost's cheek.

The white-haired girl blinked and pushed her hand away awkwardly, her smile resembling a desperately concealed grimace. Leon chuckled and shook his head.

"You never learn …"

"It's ok," Ghost mumbled, trying to smile again and succeeding this time. Yuffie nodded, satisfied.

"See, Squall? A little bit of happiness can go a long way!"

Aerith looked at the group with an eyebrow slightly arched, as she pushed them towards the house. "Why don't we all go inside for a cup of tea…"

A unanimous 'yes' meant the group trudged inside and into Aerith's living room, seating themselves in the squashy cream sofas as they continued their quiet conversations. Aerith disappeared with Cloud, and the two returned shortly after bearing trays of teacups as they handed them out. A blonde, middle-aged man walked in and sat down on the floor against Leon's chair, opposite Sora.

"Pleasure to see you again, kid," he smirked, lighting a cigarette.

"Hey, I'm not a kid anymore!"

The man ignored him and continued smoking. "Uh huh. Anyway, let's get down to business. What're ya here for? It can't be just a visit – I know you too well."

Sora sighed and looked into his teacup, nodding. Ghost perked up in her chair, sipping her drink with alert eyes as Sora readied his story. Even she hadn't heard this yet, and she was travelling with them.

"Well… the King sent a letter explaining that Yen Sid had a new mission for me, and not long after that Donald and Goofy kidnapped me and took me to his home." Here he paused and glared at the two animals, who smirked. "Apparently, there's a new organisation on the rise. The problem is, they don't know what it's for or what exactly it's doing – only that ever since they became slightly known, Nobodies and Heartless have been popping back up again every now and then in the worlds. The group's name is Soul… we can't really tell anything from it, though.

"However… Yen Sid did mention one man. The leader, apparently. He has grey hair and blue eyes, but we don't know his name. All I know is that I have to find some people to help go against him."

The blonde man nodded in understanding, dragging on his cigarette before blowing the smoke out. "So who are these people? Anyone specific?"

Sora shrugged. "I dunno. He said something about Ghost being one of them, though."

The girl in question felt the entire room's eyes land on her, and she turned bright red, trying to hide behind her teacup.

I'm… someone he was looking for? I don't understand, I don't know anything… what the hell is he going out about…

"U-Um… I don't really know why you'd be looking for me," she mumbled, looking up at Sora through her bangs. He sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I figured you wouldn't know anything unless you got your memory back."

"So what are we gonna do?" Goofy spoke up, asking the question everyone was thinking. Most people shrugged, including Sora, but the blonde middle-aged man shook his head.

"Well, we can start by fixing up that ship of yours so it can travel further. I came across some new parts while we've been busy fixing up the city, so you can have 'em… as long as that ship stays in one piece. Ya hear me?" He asked sternly, his eyes narrowing at the travelling group. All four of them felt compelled to sit up straight and nod violently. "Alright… it'll take a few days. In the meantime, enjoy the new Radiant Garden."

"Thanks Cid," Sora grinned up at him.

Cid stood up and walked to the door frame, turning his head back to smirk at Sora as his cigarette hung from his lips. His eyes flashed, his smile was threateningly happy.

"No problem. But you've been warned – one scratch on that pretty yellow hull and you're dead meat."