"Aw, I can't believe it! We gave up sleeping in a nice hotel to sleep on the ground AGAIN!? I hate this…" Saiyoku crossed her arms sulkily, sitting cross-legged on a wall in the Land of Dragons. Riku smirked, "Then what do you suggest we do? I don't think you can get a hotel here."
"You could at least find SOMEPLACE for us to sleep other than the hard earth."
"And where do you suppose that place would be?"
"I don't know."
Saiyoku was not in a good mood ever since they had left Twilight Town. She hadn't slept since the night before… terrible planning on Riku's part. By now, he should've realized how much sleep meant to her… she was so going to kill him.
She leaned back on the wall and put her hands behind her head, "Well, we're not sleeping here out in the open. You made us sleep here; you're finding a better place."
Riku sighed and pushed himself away from the wall, straightening up from leaning against it, "C'mon, we go and rest up in the Mountain Trail."
"What about the Village?"
"MOUNTAIN TRAIL."
"Grr…"
--
She stood on the sandy shore, a complete transformation compared to the snowy mountain… but, why was she on Destiny Islands and not in the Land of Dragons?
"Saiyoku…" A voice called behind her, a stranger's voice. She spun around to wherever it was coming from to see a tall girl with blue hair, kind of like Kairi's. She was standing next to two other people. A boy with spiky brown hair that was long in the front and sides, but almost like a dragon's spikes on its neck in the back, was standing next to the other boy. He looked exactly like Roxas…
"Roxas?" Saiyoku asked, confused with his change of clothes and a different expression, as well as a change of companions. All three of them laughed.
"No. My name's Ventus, but you can call me Ven for short." The Roxas look-a-like said. Saiyoku looked closely at him, "You're saying you're not Roxas? But you two could be the same person!" She looked at all three of them, making sure she wasn't confusing them with anyone either. She noticed that all three of them had the same Heartless like symbol somewhere on their clothing.
"No, I'm Ven. But… Roxas… well, we'll get to that."
"So who are you guys?"
"I'm Aqua." The girl said, and the brown haired boy cocked his head, "I'm Terra."
"Water, wind, and earth. Just like Riku, Sora, and Kairi."
They all three looked at each other before nodding, then Aqua spoke up, "Saiyoku, we need to talk about… about you. What you're really doing on the island."
Saiyoku cocked her head to the side, "Excuse me?"
"What she means is, we need to talk about what you are." Terra said, skipping the blunt details and getting straight to the point.
"Sorry, but, I don't get what you're doing. I'm a human person and Keyblade Bearer as well."
Ven's face seemed to sadden, "No, you don't get it…"
"That's the thing Saiyoku. You're not completely human." Terra did it again, growing impatient with his friends.
"What? What do you mean I'm not completely human? Of course I'm human, what else could I be?"
Aqua sighed, "Saiyoku, when you're body was taken over by the Darkness… did it dissipate?"
"No."
"Did you go to Kingdom Hearts immediately?"
"No."
"Were you still conscious?"
"Yes."
"Where are your parents?"
"Wha—I don't know, but why bring them into the subject?"
"How much of your past do you remember?"
"About around my fifth birthday. Before that, I can't remember a thing."
"How did you get a Keyblade?"
"Um… well, this is going to sound strange, but this weird disembodied voice gave it to me… sort of."
"Are you in Light or in Darkness?"
"Both. I'm in the Road to Dawn, same as Riku. Now, why are you asking me all these questions?"
Aqua stopped paying attention to her and was muttering something to Ven and Terra. Saiyoku was so confused. Why was she here, who were these people, why did Ven look like Roxas, and what the heck was going on?
Aqua turned her attention back to Saiyoku and sighed, "So he was right… Saiyoku, have you figured it out yet?"
"Um, NO! And who is this, 'he' you're talking about?"
"Saiyoku, like we said before, you're not completely human. Our hypothesis was just confirmed… Saiyoku, you're um, special. You look, think, and act exactly like a human. But, the reason you didn't fade when you lost your heart was because, you're a Heartless and a Nobody at the same time. In a way, that makes you whole."
"I'm… a Heartless!? AND a Nobody!? Are you crazy!?"
"You don't know where your parents are… that's because they never existed. You were still conscious because what you were inside Riku was your true form. The Heartless that took him over later then saw you for what you were and kicked you out knowing you would be a problem. You don't remember anything about before you were five because you never existed before then."
"Wait, how did you know I was inside Riku? I never told you that!"
"The thing is, you have a heart. That's what makes you human. You have all the properties of both a Heartless and a Nobody but you still have a heart. You have the special ability to see people for what they really are. You will never be deceived by appearances again. You were created this way for a purpose… which will be revealed to you after you defeat the Organization."
"Um… okay… am I dreaming?"
Ven laughed, "Te—"
Terra nudged him to shut him up and looked around, as if hearing something, "It's about time we left. Hurry it up Aqua."
"Right," Aqua nodded, and then she turned to Saiyoku, "Do you wish to see what you really look like?"
"Huh? Um, I see what I look like every day."
Aqua shook her head and stepped closer to Saiyoku pressing her forefinger and middle finger against Saiyoku's forehead. She held still for her, but was really confused. Nothing was happening. Then, Saiyoku was blinded by white-hot light as white tattoos erupted all over her, her eyes glowing white with the patterns on her skin. Her skin darkened to a black as dark as Darkness itself, a deep contrast with the tattoos.
The patterns began to burn themselves into her skin, and she could feel herself rearranging on both the inside and out, and she screamed in pain, "Stop! No!" She tried to move, but something was holding her still. Who were these strange people that were doing this to her?
"Stop!" Saiyoku flew upright, drenched with sweat even though it was freezing out on the Mountain Trail. Her body was on fire, the patterns still felt as though they were burning into her skin. A wave of nausea came over her and she fell backward, feeling strong arms catch her. It was only… a dream? But it felt so real…
"Are you okay?" Riku asked, still holding her so she wouldn't fall over. Saiyoku couldn't answer—though it seemed strange enough that in her state she heard his familiar voice and not Ansem's. Her heart was pounding in her head and she was gasping for breath. When she didn't respond, he pulled her closer, holding her against him to help calm her down. She was still in so much pain, even down to the marrow. She couldn't help herself—tears rolled down her pale cheeks and she buried her face into his chest, wrapping her arms around him tightly.
"Relax… whatever it was, it's gone now." He ran his hand soothingly through her short chocolate hair. She breathed a sigh of relief into his chest and looked up at him, her eyes still wet with tears. Through them, she no longer saw Riku as Ansem, but as his normal self, without the blindfold. "You have the special ability to see people for what they really are. You will never be deceived by appearances again."
She remembered what Aqua had said, and she understood. Even though Riku still looked like Ansem to everyone else, he looked like himself to her. He glanced down at her, his expression suggesting confusion, but his face was still the softened protective look. "What is it?"
She hugged him around the neck, "I missed what you looked and sounded like."
He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Missed?" He asked softly, his right hand playing with her hair.
"Yes… I don't know why, but… I can see you as yourself and not Ansem. To me, you're not even wearing your blindfold," She smiled softly and whispered, "I missed your clear ocean blue eyes most of all."
He smiled and whispered against her ear, "You can really see me?"
"Mmhmm."
They stayed in each others arms a little while longer before he pulled her away slowly, looking her straight in the eye and caressing her cheek, wiping away the few tears still left on her face. A sharp wind blew through the cold air, surprising Saiyoku. She yelped and sank herself into his chest again, welcoming the warmth. Riku laughed softly, "C'mon, we need more sleep. You haven't slept much lately either way." He laid back and kept her against his chest, wrapping one arm around her and the other behind his head.
She fell into sleep quickly, snoozing softly in his arms. Riku smiled and kept looking up at the cold sky before touching his lips softly on her head and whispering,
"I love you."