Hey again! Here is chapter one for you all! I hope you enjoy it, because it took me a while to write. We get to see a little bit of everyone in here - Sora, Roxas, Riku - and its (mainly) just a "Let's introduce everyone" chapter. By the end though... Sssh, can't tell! ^^

~Lukia

~Chapter One - The Sketch~

~Monday, October 17th – Mizu residence~

The doorbell woke Naminé up, just like it did every typical Monday morning. With a smile on her face, she rolled the covers down to her feet and murmured, "Roxas is here…!"

Every school day since the blonde could remember, Roxas Hikari – her best friend since third grade – had faithfully walked the two blocks to her house just so he could wake her up and they could walk to school together. He always had a drink for her, usually a vanilla cappuccino or lemonade depending on the weather. With a squeal, she tucked the worries about Kairi away that threatened to penetrate her good mood, flung her legs over the bed, and checked the clock on her nightstand.

Seven a.m. … Right on time. She flipped on her bedside lamp.

"Nami? You there?" Roxas's voice, muffled by the front door, carried up to Naminé's ears.

"Just a second!" She called back loudly, going to her drawer and flinging it open, hurriedly pulling on a pair of comfortable jeans and a curve-fitting long-sleeved white top. She'd checked the weather yesterday; a chilly fifty-two degrees, just as she had expected. Maybe, she figured, the cold would numb her thoughts, just a bit, so she could focus on her schoolwork and not on her sister, like she'd been doing all night. A necklace? I would've expected a… healthier obsession, she thought, pulling on a hoodie and grabbing her hot pink bookbag from beside her door before walking out her room and shutting the door.

At the top of the steps, Naminé looked down to see Roxas pressing his hands against the front door's glass with a goofy grin on his face. She shook her head. Roxas was just so… Roxas-ish.

She held up a finger to tell him to wait and then continued down the dark hall to Kairi's room. The door slightly ajar, the room appeared, and sounded, dark and empty. But, knowing Kairi, Naminé figured she might be feigning having gone to school to keep her sister out. Curious, she peeked her head around the door.

A perfectly normal teenage room. Bed unmade, floor covered in stray clothes – but everything Kairi would've taken to school was gone. Probably including that necklace, Naminé thought, staring at her twin's nightstand, where Kairi normally kept anything important to her, regardless of value. It was void of any objects.

Knocking on the door from her waiting friend made Naminé turn around, and when she did, metal was alerted to her sense of smell.

No, not metal…

Blood.

The girl's eyes widened. The smell wasn't coming from her room – she'd closed the door, as she could see, even in the almost darkness– but Kairi's room…

She turned back around. The door was closed, despite her not remembering closing it. Maybe she did. She was sure she didn't. Did she? She hoped she did.

I'm paranoid. I'm paranoid, that's all!

"Nami! I'm cold, let's go!"

"C-Coming, Roxas!" Without bothering to look back at the door, she flew down the steps, heart pounding a little faster than usual, unlocked the front door with the key under the rug, stepped outside, and shut the door quickly. She tried to hide her trembling from Roxas as she secured the lock again, but she failed miserably.

"What's wrong, Naminé? You look a little shaken up."

She tucked the key in her pocket, looking up into Roxas's warm, inviting blue eyes. "Nothing, just a little rushed this morning."

"Well, don't let me rush you!" He replied brightly with a small smile, holding out a steaming travel mug for her.

She took it gratefully and let the warmth fill her hands. "Thank you."

They started down her driveway as Roxas wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "No prob."

It was a gloomy, cloudy and cold morning; Naminé shivered despite Roxas's warmth. As she ran a hand through her hair as a method of styling, she lifted the mug to her lips with her free hand and sipped slightly. Vanilla, she crooned in her mind, the scare she'd had this morning slipping from her thoughts. The house they'd stayed in over the weekend suddenly popped into her mind; she realized she hadn't sketched it yet. I'll start at school, she decided. And maybe I can talk to Kai and see –

"So how's Kairi?"

Jolted from her thoughts, Naminé jumped a bit as they turned onto the sidewalk, the wind pushing head on against her face. Squinting slightly, she replied, "Fine." But the word felt foreign on her lips. Fine would not be the word to use for Kairi at the present moment.

Roxas took his arm from around her and nudged her with his elbow. "Cat got your tongue?" He joked.

"No, I mean…" Naminé's thoughts were scrambled, leaving her helpless to form any sentences. Roxas was right, she was shaken up. "Kai's fine. I mean, her grades aren't all that great, we still get in fights a lot, and… well, she's fine." Smooth, Naminé, she chided herself, suddenly not cold anymore. She closed the travel mug and slid it into her pack.

"Oooookay, then~!" The spiky haired teen sing-songed, walking along at a brisk pace, glancing at the passing cars every so often. "Was your weekend good?"

"Yeah." Naminé said, "We rented that house out by the coast, remember?"

"Oh, yeah! That's right." Roxas stopped as the two reached a crosswalk, jamming his finger on the button that made the 'stop' signal change to 'walk'. The school was mere minutes away, the proud blue flag on the roof waving in the sky. "Was it nice? I hear the weather is beautiful down there these days."

Naminé tugged at the collar of her shirt nervously. Even the casual mention of the house sent cold sweat down her back. It scared her. "It was… pretty…"

"Mm. Wish I could've gone with you guys. But nooooo, Mom made me and Sora go camping…" The boy's face turned down into a scowl as the cars stopped to let them cross. He started across the street first, Naminé following behind silently.

Naminé shoved her hands deep into her pockets as the wind nipped at her cheeks. A small smile played at her lips as she thought of Roxas's equally energetic twin, Sora. He never ceased to have a bright smile on his face. Even the gloomiest day couldn't bring Sora down. Like today. Naminé was sure that Sora would be the ever eccentric, bubbly teen he always was. Maybe he'd help her get out of this creepy feeling she'd had today. He might have already helped Kai feel better too. Tell her that obsessing over necklace was weird. But Sora wouldn't do that. He'd just make her sister happy, like always. Naminé was glad that Sora was there to do the little things that she couldn't do… her heart leaped at the thought. As long as Kai was happy, she was happy.

Before long they had reached the school. Students poured into the opened, inviting doorways, chattering about their weekend and other various things. Roxas took Naminé's hand and started toward the two-story, many windowed building. "We don't wanna be late, Nami," he warned, glancing back at her.

She nodded and fell into step with him. She could feel it in the air; Kai was here, and, thankfully, not skipping school. Maybe her twin felt it too – the need to get away from each other and relish in the comfort of their respective friends-who-were-boys. Things would be fine. She shouldn't worry.

Swallowing hard as she shifted closer to Roxas, Naminé weighed her thoughts and came to a shocking conclusion – not worrying was what scared her most of all.

~Destiny Islands High School, First-year class 13B,7:15 am~

When Roxas and Naminé entered the classroom, the setup was as it normally would be on a Monday morning in homeroom – Students straddled across and on desks, loud chatter, paper strewn everywhere. It wasn't too particularly Naminé's favorite scene, but oh well. As long as she wasn't the one who got in trouble.

"Nami! Rox! Over here!"

The aspiring artist turned her attention to the back of the room near the supply cabinet. She grinned when she saw Sora waving frantically back at her from sitting on a desk, and Kairi leaning against that same desk, staring at Naminé with cold, hard eyes.

Undaunted, Naminé started toward them, Roxas sprinting ahead and clasping his brother on the shoulder. She hopped on the desk next to Sora, listening to the twin boys' idle chatter about the Sunday football playoffs and other stuff she could care less for. Sitting in the chair next to the desk she sat on was Riku Kagayami, otherwise known as Mister I'm-Too-Cool-And-Smart-To-Be-Talking-To-You. He was smart, she'd give him that. He rubbed it in everybody's face… except Naminé's. She always said hello to him every morning, and he was generally cordial to her. Naminé hoped today was no different.

"Hey, Riku," she said, looking down at him and into his silver eyes framed by his long silver hair.

Arms crossed, he glanced up at her briefly before studying his palms. "Hey."

"Did you have a nice weekend?"

"Yeah. You?" He flashed one of his rare smiles at her.

"It was okay," she replied, smiling back.

Riku nodded and pulled a book out of his backpack, signaling the end of their daily conversation.

At least something is normal today, Naminé thought, taking off her backpack and pulling out her sketchbook. There was at least twenty minutes until homeroom was over, and she had plenty of time to sketch the house.

"Nami."

She glanced up, seeing her twin in front of her. "Yeah, Kai?" she asked, trying to keep the shake out of her voice. After what had happened – ugh, she didn't even want to think about it – she felt weary around her twin.

"You don't have to come with me to the store today," she said, implying about the twins' weekly grocery trip. "I'm going alone so we can start rotating shifts, okay?"

"Um." Naminé glanced at her sister's shorts pocket. The gleaming necklace's chain dangled from it, bright in the overhead lights. "Sure." She wanted to reach for her pencil and start sketching, but her eyes just wouldn't remove from the necklace.

Cold sweat started on her neck and the room suddenly grew warm. Am I sick? She asked herself, scary whispers suddenly ringing in her ears. A wave of slight dizziness washed over her. Stop staring at it, Naminé!

With effort, she blinked, turning away, and the world stopped spinning. Kairi gave an audible hiss. As Naminé glanced at her, she noticed her sister's eyes had become angry slits.

"Don't. Touch. It," her sister restated, putting emphasis on each word.

The blonde nodded furiously. "Y-Y-Yes. I u-u-understand." The shake in her voice returned, and Naminé had no control over her trembling. She gripped her sketchbook tighter and her knuckles turned white. Kairi didn't have to worry, she wouldn't be anywhere near that necklace ever again.

Her twin turned on her heel and walked away, as Naminé scrambled through her bag until she found a pencil. Drawing would help clear her mind, she was sure of it. Her legs crossed, she put pencil to paper and furiously started to sketch, starting with the body of the house.

Skritch-skritch went the pencil, as Naminé drew the sides, the tattered roof, the upstairs windows and sills. Shades of grey pierced the page as she shaded the door, the intricate patterns of the walkway. Before long, Naminé had begun drawing scenes inside the windows. Upstairs two parents slept in their bed. The guest room was empty, void of any object. In the kitchen the stove lights blinked faintly. In the downstairs bedroom, in the lower left corner of the house –

She stopped abruptly, hands shaking.

I can't draw that room. What's in there, it's scary. Her heartbeat went at a wild pace as she stared at the drawn window just waiting to be filled with a scene. There's – There's - No, no –

Just as the bell rang signifying first period, she drew that window with the curtains closed, the scene just behind that barrier hidden from anyone's view.

How was it? Reviews are appreciated!