Happy new year everyone!

Hope 09 has been treating you well so far! As a special gift (And a late Christmas one at that!) I bring you all a new chapter to start off the New Year! Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did writing it!

Read on and enjoy!

Lots of 09 love,

-NightRaven13

DISCLAIMER: Don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its associated characters….just this story…

"Wait!" he called out.

She turned another corner, Roxas barely reaching the spot a half second later.

But he was too late.

The girl was gone.

Roxas sat at the edge of his bed. Axel was busy in the next room getting ready.

"Are you done yet? I'm starving man!"

He could clearly hear Axel laughing from the next room, accompanied by the sounds of slamming drawers and urgent searching.

"I'll take that as a no…"

Again, Axel's laughter drifted over from the next room. Roxas couldn't help but sigh, with his luck he wouldn't be getting breakfast until sometime after lunch. He knocked his sneakers off and settled back into his bed, staring intently at the ceiling and counting the seconds as they ticked by.

"Don't worry man! I'll be a sec!"

"That's what you said five minutes ago! And twenty minutes before that!"

He frowned, his stomach grumbling as if agreeing with his previous statement. If he didn't get some food into himself soon, someone was bound to get hurt, most likely Axel for being so slow on this particular morning.

Hmm, probably from being out all night last night…

He frowned, it explained why he was first at getting up this morning and not Axel. Then again, sleep had nearly avoided him completely last night, and after a while he couldn't help but stay awake and wait for the rest of the ship to do the same. Last night had not been a pleasant one, especially after the odd encounter with the young blond girl he kept seeing.

Just who the hell was she?

He frowned once more, staring intently at the ceiling as if the answer was hidden somewhere within the pattern of the tiles. The girl had been clearly upset over something, but why she kept avoiding him and disappearing off into nowhere was what was really annoying him.

Argh, what am I thinking? She's just some rich girl who's probably being overly dramatic about something, why the hell should I care?

He nodded, it made perfect sense. As far as he was concerned, girls were just a weird bunch anyway, whether they were rich or not. He had had enough experience with Olette's odd mood changes in the past to know as much. How was this girl any different?

But she is different, and you know it…

Roxas shook his head, apparently food deprivation was getting to him. He sat up quickly, and jumped out of bed.

"Are you ready now! I'm starting to hear voices over here! That's how damn hungry I am!"

Axel poked his head out of their adjoining door, a smile on his face.

"Yeah…let's go then…I don't want you going crazy on my account!"

Breakfast was surprisingly good.

After a bitter fight over where they should grab a bite, Axel had managed to convince Roxas to head back over to the Sunset Lounge, despite all desire to do otherwise.

"See! Told you it wasn't going to be so bad! Most rich folks head down over to the tea room to grab brunch instead of coming over here. Marley told me so."

Roxas shoved the last bit of omelet on his plate into his mouth, content with just getting breakfast out of the way.

"Mhm…yeah…I can see…as much."

Axel frowned, a slight look of disgust forming on his face.

"Dude, eat with your damn mouth closed…have some class."

Roxas smiled, purposefully showing his teeth.

"You're one to talk."

"Yeah…but at least I don't smile like an idiot with bits of egg still stuck to my teeth!"

"Hmm…I would think about that carefully before giving such a sure answer."

Axel and Roxas turned, apparently someone had overheard their conversation and they were more than willing to let them know.

"Well look who's making a rare appearance out of the kitchen…if it isn't Marley himself!"

The pink haired chef waved, walking over and pulling up a chair next to their table. Roxas was slightly startled, he hadn't noticed how young Marley really looked without his hair tied away from his face and tucked into his hat. This morning, Marley had his hair loose and quite stylishly messy, with thick heavy pink waves falling over his shoulders. His style of dress was also more relaxed, with torn up jeans and a regular black t-shirt clearly seen underneath his regular apron.

"So I take it my breakfast platter was a success?"

Roxas nodded, taking a sip of orange juice along with his last bite.

"Well that's good to hear! Glad you guys decided to come down here, normally I don't get many visitors at this hour so most food is up for grabs. You guys are welcome to show up here anytime before dinner from now on."

Axel nodded in response, pulling out his wallet as he did so.

"So how much do we owe you for this?"

Marley fixed Axel with a confused stare.

"Nothing! You guys work for me on a nightly basis from now on…why the hell would I charge you?"

Axel smiled, "Well that's awfully generous of you."

"Nah…consider it as one of the perks that come with working on a cruise ship…all meals are for free."

Roxas smiled, he liked the sound of that.

"Thank you very much Mr. Marley!"

"Actually, it's Marluxia…but everyone here calls me Marley for short. You have any idea how hard it is to work in a kitchen when waiters and cooks can't pronounce your name for shit?"

At this, both Roxas and Axel laughed. Apparently Marley was a much nicer character that he first appeared to be.

"By the way Marley, this eating disaster over here is my best friend for life Roxas." Axel ruffled Roxas' hair from across the table, "Excuse his table matters, he doesn't get out very much."

Roxas frowned, "Hey!"

"That's ok, I've seen richer people eat worse." At this Marley couldn't help but smile, apparently sharing a privet joke with himself, "Anyway, how's your stay onboard been so far? Seen any interesting people yet?"

Now it was Roxas' turn to smile. He was fairly certain that the blond girl qualified as someone interesting.

"Well…not really…"

Axel snorted, "Ha…I beg to differ."

Marley turned to Axel, a look of curiosity quickly rushing to his face.

"You beg to differ how?"

Roxas frowned, "Axel! You don't have to tell him that! It wasn't a big deal! Besides, we both agreed it was nothing!"

Axel turned to Marley, completely disregarding Roxas' comments altogether.

"Well you see, our little friend here claims to have had a little run in with this blond chick just last night."

Marley smiled, "Oh really? Do tell."

At this, Roxas couldn't help but interject, "It was nothing!"

"Of course it wasn't, it was weird!"

Marley smiled, "So your friend here ran in to a pretty little blond girl, how is that weird? If you ask me that happens all the time! I run into Larxene more times than I can count in one night."

"Yeah, but how many of them do other people actually see?"

Marley frowned, Roxas began to sink even lower into his chair before Axel broke in the news like the gossip he seemed to be this morning.

"What do you mean 'actually see'? I would say all of them, but do feed me the punch line Axel…I have a feeling this is going somewhere…"

Axel smiled, "Yeah well the girl I'm talking about was never there to begin with! Roxas claims to have seen her, but when I showed up there was nobody there to begin with."

Axel sat back against his chair, waiting for Marley's reaction to the tale. He was rather surprised when he was met with a somewhat knowing smile on Marley's face, rather than a disbelieving one instead.

"Roxas…what did the girl look like?"

Roxas sat up, slowly pulling himself up from the sinking position he had been in. He thought about the girl for a second, quietly going over the last encounter with the pale girl he had conveniently forgot to retell Axel that morning.

"Well…she was a bit shorter than me…and had shoulder length blond hair. She was also pretty pale, kind of sickly looking too…"

Marley smiled, "Did this girl happen to be wearing a long white dress? Somewhat old school looking?"

Roxas nodded, "How did you know?"

"Simple…nearly everyone who works on board has seen her at least once."

"Who is she?"

At this Marley paused, a very knowing smile creeping slowly onto his face.

"They call her 'The White Lady', but truth be told no one is really sure who she is."

Axel frowned, "Is she a frequent passenger on board this ship or something?"

"Not technically, more like a resident ghost you could say."

Both Axel and Roxas turned to look at Marley, a look of matching disbelief quickly gracing their faces. Axel looked about ready to laugh.

"You're serious?"

"Actually…I'm dead serious about this one. Nearly everyone that's work on board for more than a year has seen her. She likes to take her occasional stroll around the ship every once and a while. Hells, if you don't believe me go ahead and ask Larxy! She got quite a scare one night when she ran into her in the bathroom."

Axel laughed, Roxas couldn't help but snicker. The thought of Larxene running scared out of a bathroom seemed priceless.

"So what's the story behind this ghost babe everyone's been seeing?"

Marley smiled, surprised that Axel even seemed interested in the topic.

"Well, like I said, no one really knows for sure. There are legends about it though…"

"Like?"

"Well, some say she was just some rich girl who accidently died from food poisoning."

At this, both Axel and Roxas couldn't help but simultaneously stare at their empty plates. Marley, however, went on completely unaware of the action.

"Others say she was just some girl that drowned in the first class pool, apparently not a very good swimmer according to those stories."

Roxas frowned, "Well, that sucks!"

Axel nodded in turn. "Tell me about it! Imagine, dying because you forgot how to doggie paddle!"

Marley merely shrugged his shoulders in response, "Well, that's just how that particular story goes. But I've heard other people say otherwise, according to their versions there's more to the story than just simple food poisoning or bad swimming skills."

"Oh really? And that would be?"

"Well…some say that this girl got caught up in some bad situations. Meddled with the wrong people, then got killed and thrown overboard for it."

Axel frowned, "Well, that's harsh."

"Yup…or at least that's how the story goes…"

Roxas stared, carefully playing with his empty glass as he let the information Marley just shared sink in. Well, at least now he knew he wasn't completely crazy! Apparently, half the crew on board was too.

"What else do they say about her?"

Marley turned and stared at Roxas, slightly startled at the fact that Roxas had actually said anything after remaining quiet for so long.

"Well…that's just about it. The girl got involved with the wrong guy, and then paid dearly for it."

Roxas frowned, "You mean some guy had her killed just because she liked him to much? What an ass…"

Marley laughed, "Yeah…I suppose so…"

"Excuse me! Could I have a bit of service over here?"

All three turned in the direction of the voice. Apparently a new customer had decided to settle himself in while Marley had been in the middle of his ghost story.

"Be right with you sir!" He turned back to Axel and Roxas, "Sorry guys! Duty calls…"

Roxas pushed away from his chair and got up along with Marley, "Let me take the order down for you man, it's the least I can do after you fixed up breakfast for us."

"Alright, suite yourself!" he leaned down next to Roxas and whispered carefully, "Do me a favor and try not to write short hand like Axel does, it's so terribly hard to read!"

Somewhere behind them, Axel grumbled.

"Hey! I heard that!"

Roxas smiled, taking the pen and small pocket book that Marley offered him. He sauntered over to the table, trying his best to sound like a waiter.

"Hello sir! Sorry for the long wait…what can I get for you?"

The man turned, his odd red eyes fixed completely on Roxas. It was enough to send anyone running, but Roxas couldn't help but stay firmly in his place.

"So…what…can I get you?"

He continued to stare, silent the whole time. His odd eyes clearly taking the moment to study him, Roxas couldn't help but do the same. The man was obviously older, although not quite elderly to say the least. He looked to be about middle aged, with light blond hair slicked neatly back all the way down to his shoulders. His sharp face was framed by a beard of the same color, neatly trimmed and not a white hair on it as far as Roxas could tell.

All in all he seemed like a normal well kept man, except for the eyes. The eyes were downright creepy, and they didn't seem to fit all that well with the rest of the man's appearance.

Finally, the man spoke, addressing Roxas in a very deep yet wise sounding voice.

"I will have a Spanish omelet young man…and a cup of coffee if you were to be so kind."

Roxas nodded, quickly taking the order down before he forgot, "Anything else for you sir?"

"No…that will be all for now."

Roxas turned, ready to run away from the creepy man's presence, when his voice called his attention back.

"Young man, you are not a regular member of the crew…are you?"

Roxas turned, "No…not really sir…I normally just bus the tables here during dinner…why do you ask?"

The man stared, a slight smile gracing his face. Rather than soften the man's features, it only served to further press the creepy vibe he kept emanating.

"Oh…just curious I suppose…"

Roxas nodded, very slowly making his retreat back into the kitchen and away from the man's presence.

"I tell you Axel! That man was just plain creepy!"

Axel laughed, too busy with an ice cream bar in his mouth to retort to Roxas' comment.

"Gees man…the guy gave you a ten dollar tip! What the hell are you bitching and moaning for?"

Roxas frowned, "I don't know! For all we know the guy is some kind of sexual predator…"

"Yeah, and you're his next victim I take it?"

"Hey! You never know!"

Both boys laughed, comfortably walking down the first class deck. The ocean beyond them seemed very pleasant today, and the warm summer breeze floating around the ship was enough to send even the sickest of passengers out on deck and around the ship. Roxas and Axel were just a few of the people who were out and about, many exploring the ships' many facets for the first time today.

"Hey! How's about we check out the pool up here? I heard that lots of lovely ladies like tanning up here!"

Roxas smacked his face, the last thing he wanted to do was go pick up chicks with Axel.

"Do you ever quit?"

Axel smiled a wolfish grin, his green eyes glinting with a promise of devious plans behind them.

"Nope! Now come on!"

He pulled on his arm, Roxas couldn't help but follow.

Roxas sat with his bare feet over the pool and his back against the lifeguard tower, Axel was at it again.

Roxas hated to admit it, but he was very good at gaining attention from the fairer sex, just not very good at keeping it.

He sat and watched as he made conversation near the pool area. This was the fourth girl Axel had approached in the last five minutes, and again she looked about ready to run for the hills.

"So how about it hun? Interested in a little party action tonight?"

The petit brunette smiled uneasily, her little troupe of friends behind her obviously found the encounter amusing. Every time the poor girl turned to look for some support from her friends, they were too busy giggling at her to care.

"Um…well…."

"Aww come on…you can even bring your friends along! I won't mind one bit!"

At this, the giggling troupe of girls stopped their laughing. They were now caught in the same predicament their friend was in.

Roxas just laughed as he sat in the sidelines, it was getting more and more amusing by the second. Each time Axel got himself into these sorts of encounters, it always seemed terribly annoying to the opposing party and very much amusing to himself. Axel cared less, however, if one girl shot him down, he just simply moved on to the next set of girls he could find.

All in all it was quite an amusing way to spend the afternoon.

Roxas sat near the pool, kicking the water with his bare feet every few minutes or so. All the children were over on the other side of the pool, leaving Roxas to freely kick as much as he wanted in the deeper end of the pool and not cause trouble. The only annoying side to the whole thing was having to deal with the constant whistle blowing of the life guard on duty above him. It seemed like every other minute or so he would startle Roxas, rudely pulling him out of his thoughts and back into reality.

"Damn it you kids! No splashing in the pull area! I won't tell you again!"

Roxas sighed, he was about ready to get up and head back to his room, when something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He turned, and was startled to see the blond girl from the night before. She stared intently at Roxas, fixing him with her sad gaze from across the pool. No one else seemed to notice this, except for himself.

"No freaking way…"

He slowly stood up, about ready to run, when he suddenly collided into someone and fell head first into the pool.

Roxas kept his eyes shut, slowly falling and colliding with the bottom of the pool. He turned, then slowly began to swim up, only to find that he could not reach the surface.

What the hell…

He continued to kick, to push like any normal swimmer would, but no closer was he to reaching the surface. Panic began to seep into him, and the more he tried for the top, the quicker his air seemed to escape him.

Oh crap! What the hell is going on?

On he swam, his feet slowly being dragged down by something he couldn't see.

Why isn't anyone helping me?

He reached his hand out, so close was he to the surface, but darkness began to seep into his vision instead.

No! I'm going to die…aren't I?

His hand grazed the crystal clear top, forming more ripples and distorting the world outside. Air quickly left his lungs, then darkness completely took over.

The last thing he saw before he went under was the girl, her figure slightly distorted by the water above, but ever present and clear in Roxas' eyes.

And there you go! Hope you all liked! Please do review and tell me what you think! I appreciate comments very much from those that have enjoyed the reading thus far!

Lots of love,

-NightRaven13