Well isn't this a nice chapter~ There is a bit of romance between Namine and Roxas, but nothing too serious, so for those of you who aren't romance fans this chappy is 'safe'. XD For some reason I can't get through a story without putting in some romance. Don't know why. :P

Oh, yeah, and after this chapter there will probably be two more chapters and an epilogue.

Enjoy!

~Thursday, October 27th, Higuran Avenue, 9:37 p.m. ~

The skies opened up and showered down rain as Naminé flew down the store-lined sidewalk, the turn that led to Roxas's house not seeming to get any closer. Her heart beating one thousand times a minute and her hair flying behind her, she couldn't afford to stop now.

Kairi's crazy. And Roxas is with her. Oh please – please—

The sound of her feet on the pavement and the streetlights flying by were the only things that kept Naminé holding to a grip on reality; if she even let Roxas's face pass through her head, just once, she would have a complete breakdown on the street. And he'll be dead by then.

She almost tripped over a stray person leaning against a store door, but she gained her balance easily, the rain falling into her eyes filled with tears. If only she could go faster –

Wait.

Naminé stopped, whipping around, her eyes landing on the body her foot had barely grazed. Blood pooled around him as he sat there, shivering in the cold and rain, wearing merely ripped and bloodied pants.

The exact same designer pants Naminé had giving Roxas for his birthday last year.

"Oh, Roxas!" Naminé cried, running over to him and sliding onto the rough pavement, letting his limp body lean against hers. Blood stained her shirt, but she didn't care. This was Roxas, badly hurt, and the way his hair fell wetly on his forehead and how his eyes fluttered with weakness made her heart absolutely ache for him. "What – How – You—"

"Kai…ri…" Roxas muttered faintly, his voice near inaudible. Naminé was surprised and she wasn't surprised at the same time; from what she could feel as she held her best friend, his sister had done more than given little scratches.

She swallowed hard as the rain poured around them and blood soaked into her jeans. "What… what even happened, Roxas?"

"Do you really want to know?" Roxas groaned, sliding out of Naminé's grasp and he, painstakingly, sat up and tried to lean against the store window behind him. The girl gasped when she saw the reflection of his back upon the glass. His skin was near stripped from him, so much so that you could only see the bloody muscle underneath. Small sticks of aluminum dotted his back in random places… were those paper clips?

"Oh, Roxas," she repeated, in too much shock to comprehend anything else. Had Kairi really gone this far? Roxas must have been the 'him' she was talking about earlier. If only she had been a little more careful… "We need to get you to a hospital. Yes, that what we'll do." She reached for her phone, but paused when Roxas put a hand on hers.

He looked up at her, eyes near lifeless, with a wan smile on his face. "Not yet, Nami… My mom's not home from her night shift at the hospital yet and she'll find out."

"But, Roxas!" Naminé protested, feeling her face heat up. "You could… get an infection or something! And it's cold and wet…"

"Naminé."

She kept looking at him, trying to get him to see her logic. But those beautiful baby blue eyes had locked onto hers and made her heart melt. I want him to be well. But if this is what he wants…

"Stay."

She swallowed again and nodded.

Roxas sighed, closing his eyes and starting a story Naminé wasn't sure she wanted to hear. "When Kairi arrived at my house, she… was obviously at bit off. I was all ready to start our project, but she was like, 'No, I forgot my project folder at school. I know a back way to get in.' And I agreed, you know?" He shook his head in shame. "So we went to the school, and instead of going upstairs to the lockers, she took us downstairs to the basement. And before I could figure out what was happening, she'd taken me into an empty storage room and locked the door behind us."

"And then what?" Naminé urged. She could feel tremors shaking her body. I don't really need to hear this… but this could be vital to figuring Kai out.

Roxas tensed, still keeping his eyes closed. "Everything was already set up for what looked like a torture chamber. Paper clips were tied to leather strips like whips in the corner, wooden planks were laid in a cross shape raised parallel to the floor. And the way she looked at me with hatred, pure hatred, and tied me down to those planks so roughly, I wondered if the red-haired girl behind me was even Kairi anymore. I don't…" He started breathing a little faster, pinching his nose between his fingers. "I remember knives. Knives being sliced across my back. And those whips tearing into my skin. And what I think might have been alcohol being poured onto those open wounds. It hurt like hell, but after a while I got used to the pain. I didn't know why she was doing this. She kept calling me a 'liability', and 'a flaw in the plan'. But after a while she stopped. Like she'd realized what she'd done or something. She halfway untied me and left, and somehow I managed to escape and get as far as this street before my body gave out. I was trying to get to your house, Naminé. Even if Kairi was there, I trust you with my life more than anyone."

Paper clips. Rubbing alcohol. Wood. Leather. And the closed box – knives. Kairi had this planned well in advance. And Roxas trusts me. But he's near dead on the street. If I were to lose him because of Kairi—

Naminé put her hands over her face to cover the tears rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't help but cry, for Kairi, for herself, for Roxas. There were so many ifs going through her head. If she'd looked into what Kai had bought earlier—if she'd listened to Roxas when he didn't want to go with her sister – If only—

"Ssh, Naminé. Come here." Roxas, wincing as held his arms out, and Naminé flew into them, bawling terribly. He rubbed her back, cooing, "Don't cry, Nami. Don't cry for me."

How else can I show you how much I love you? Show how much I would miss you if you had died? Naminé screamed inside her head, unable to say those words. Roxas, from now on, wasn't just a best friend – he was more, and always would be.

She laid in his arms for a while more, wiping away her tears with her hand, listening to the rain pitter-patter onto the pavement before them. One by one, store lights shut off behind them, and soon they were left in total darkness with nothing but the moon as light.

Naminé felt her chin be lifted by Roxas's hand, and their eyes locked again. She smiled at him, and he smiled back with the renewed vigor she'd always seen in him. Very gently, he leaned down, and put his lips to her forehead, so softly, yet so sweet. When he pulled back, Naminé found herself crying softly again.

My first kiss…!

Though it was cold and rainy, Naminé felt as if she could stay in his arms forever.

~Thursday, October 27th, Ichiban Lane, 10:06 p.m. ~

The two walked through the wet street, dark houses and trees on either side of them. Naminé had finally convinced him to go home, and, her jacket draped around him, they strolled with Roxas's arm around Naminé for support.

"At least the rain has stopped," Roxas said, relieved, running his free hand through his hair.

Naminé nodded, looking up at the trees. Little higurashi bounced about in them in the night, making a distinctive 'kikikikiki' sound. "That's odd," Naminé said.

"What?" Roxas questioned, but then the higurashi started to cry from all around them, their mourning song penetrating the darkness. "Oh, the higurashi are out! That is weird. Normally they only show up in the morning or right after sunset." He shrugged slightly, wincing.

Naminé sighed. "Their sound is so beautiful, but yet so heartrending…"

"Yeah." Roxas stopped, looking up at the bright, round moon.

Naminé paused as well. "Isn't it weird how what was the worst night for both of us turned out to be the best in the end?"

"Weird, yes…" Roxas held out his hand and let a higurashi land on it, "But then again, fate is weird, huh?"

"Whatever you want to believe." Naminé giggled, and touched the cicada gently. "I'm just glad I got to spend tonight with you."

"Me too." He let the cicada go.

As the two kept toward Roxas's house, Naminé took her eyes off Roxas for a moment, and watched the cicada fly, higher and higher, aiming toward the moon to be free again.

Reviews are appreciated!

~Lukia