Hey there, faithful readers! I can't believe I almost forgot to publish this tonight! Sorry about that; life has been crazy hectic lately. I'm sure you all understand how that is as your school semesters come to an end. Still, thank you so much for all the reviews for the last chapter! (Angie-ange, Luthien Eriol, SSBTMM, Crystal4458, and Naivette). You guys are seriously encouraging. And if you other readers want to be encouraging like these guys, review! It only takes a minute, and like I said before, if I have time to pop out chapters, you have time to pop out reviews. ;)

Alright, enough of that. Here's the new chapter!

Chapter Eight: Conflicting Hearts

Riku promised to come back the same day that he left, but he didn't. By the time nightfall came around, I realized that I only had one choice on where to stay the night: My old house.

It was so creepy approaching my former home as the sky dimmed and the night approached. No shadows appeared around me as the clouds covered the moon. Houses filled with light were sheltered from the darkness of night, and the dark of night was sheltered from being exposed to the light due to blinds and shades keeping the light inside. Light and Darkness weren't meant to mingle. But here I was, dwelling in the darkness of the night when my heart was full of light. Life didn't make sense. The air grew cold and the wind burned my skin. But not as badly as the memories burned a hole in my heart.

If Riku was here right now and he knew my thoughts, I knew what'd he say. He'd tell me that my past memories could only hurt me if I wanted to. I could focus on the good memories instead of the bad if I wanted to. But I couldn't. I couldn't just ignore the bad memories now that they resurfaced and were right in front of my face. It was all thanks to the person I once called my mother.

But tonight I found some comfort in a person I once called my friend. Could I call him that again? Yes, I believed that I would. John was my friend. Nothing more, obviously, since he just said he was letting me go. He never had a hold on me in the first place. We had the same friends and became friends ourselves somewhere along the way but nothing more. Even if he said me loved me…and now I realized I may have loved him in return.

But I already shared true love's kiss with another. How could I have even let John kiss me? Or better yet, how could I have kissed him back? Even if Riku and I were only dating a few months (and in secrecy), I couldn't ignore that he and I shared a special connection. He was my knight in shining armor and I was his princess. At least I wasn't the damsel in distress. I could take care of myself most of the time, like I was taking care of myself now. I wouldn't depend on people needlessly and be a burden to them.

Collapsing on my bed was only easy because of the exhaustion. Memories flashed before my mind the moment my head landed on the pillow. Last time I slept here, it was because I was knocked out by Isabella. I woke up because of Riku speaking to me. I could never forget those kind words of his.

"You think I'm strong, but I need to see your eyes right now…I need to know I haven't lost you completely," he had said to my unconscious form. At that time, I knew his worry was sky high. He found me unconscious as Isabella cast spells on me earlier and he hadn't known how bad the damage was. And it was bad, but that wasn't what I wanted to focus on right now. I wanted to keep listening to his voice in my head.

"Listen, I don't let many people into my life. Most people have to force their way in. But you, you just suddenly appeared in my life and ever since then, I've been the one trying to get into you. And I just—There's so much more I still have to figure out. I want to know you more, and I want to be with you. "

Instead of cheering me up, the thoughts made me depressed. Riku and I were closer now than we were at that time and yet I found I was happier with him then than I was now. He was a terrific guy; I realized that. I just…I missed the times where he was honest and gentle instead of sarcastic and overprotective. Things had changed. And not for the better. What happened to us?

Eventually, after much tossing and turning, I managed to fall asleep.

*…*…*…*…*

The next morning I woke up to the sun shining through my window. It washed over my entire body until the warmth made me want to suffocate. Or crawl into a fetal position and stay in the light forever so that I'd always be so warm. Not cold like my heart had been lately. I had to force myself out of the bed though so that I could keep searching for my dad. I had the clues; now I just needed to follow them to him. It was possible for me to do this, wasn't it? It had to be. He wouldn't have left the clues unless he trusted me to find him. I couldn't let him down…

I held back a groan and rolled over on the bed so that I was facing the rest of the room instead of a wall. Time to get up. I pushed myself up into a sitting position as my feet hit the ground, a yawn leaving my tired lips. I hung my head and kept my eyes shut, weary and alone.

When I lifted my head and looked across the room, I realized that "alone" couldn't describe me anymore. Riku had arrived at some point to change that. As he leaned against the wall with arms folded over his chest, he kept doing what he had been doing all along: staying silent and staring at me.

But the silence didn't last long, especially when he saw my facial expression. "…Sorry I was late," he said quietly.

I only shook my head. "It's fine."

The silence lingered in the air again for a few seconds as Riku stared at me, reading me. "You had a rough night," he said, not stating it as a question. It was obvious that was true.

"Yeah, I did," I agreed.

"Did something happen? Or are you just upset you had to stay here last night?"

"Nothing happened." That was a lie. John kissing me wasn't "nothing".

Riku believe the lie even if I wasn't a good liar. He must have had something else on his mind. And when he spoke, I realized that my assumption was correct. "The King kept me tied up in Disney Castle for a few hours."

I nodded faintly, humming as well. That was okay. I knew that Riku was going to Cadia and then Disney Castle…and then to the Realm Between. I didn't want to ask about how that went, since it could have been bad.

"…On the bright side, I'm as sure as you are that your dad is alive now."

"Wait, what?" I asked. Seriously? "What made you come to that conclusion?"

"Isabella said so."

But she said so before, I thought. Why didn't you believe her then? And why didn't you believe me? I ignored the questions and asked Riku another one about the same topic. "Did she say where he is?"

Riku shook his head.

"Great," I sighed. I fell back down so I was laying on my back, staring up at the ceiling in silence. Of course I had the clues to follow so that I could find my dad, but I was stumped with those. And Riku would probably nag me while searching, since he had been doing a lot of that lately. I had to wonder what was going on with our relationship. This wasn't where I pictured us to be…I thought we'd both be happy, but we weren't really. My life was practically a fairytale story with how I met Riku and yet we didn't have our happy ending. But…reality didn't always end well.

"Sorry," Riku said quietly. "I tried finding out more, but I couldn't."

"That's okay," I murmured.

"…No, it's not," he disagreed softly. "I basically left you alone for nothing yesterday. And something clearly happened, since you're so down in the dumps."

He saw through my act after all? I tried not to let that show as I attempted to cover it up. "It was a rough night," I stated truthfully.

"Maybe, but there's more to it than that, isn't there?"

Drat, I thought. I lifted an arm to cover my eyes, a sigh leaving my lips again. "I'm just frustrated, Riku. Extremely frustrated."

"How can I fix it?" Riku asked. And that response ticked me off for some reason.

"I don't want you to fix anything," I said in agitation. "Because you can't."

"W-what? What makes you say that?"

"Logic. I know you're used to facing a situation and having the power to change things, but you can't solve all the world's problems! You don't have the ability to and that's not what you're supposed to be doing anyway."

Taken aback by my harsh tone, Riku hesitated a second before responding. "What am I supposed to do, then?" he asked quietly.

"I just want you to be by my side, Riku. Help me. Don't try to remove me from the situation anymore, because I need to face this whether you want me to or not." I paused before adding another comment, on a roll. "And don't act so cynical towards me, my thoughts, or my actions. I managed to live nearly eighteen years without you by my side and I did just fine."

"Geez Steph, why don't you tell me how you really feel?" Riku grumbled.

I sat up and stared at him, seeing his bitter expression. "Seriously? You're not even going to take what I have to say to heart?"

"Not really," he said honestly. "Because you did survive those seventeen plus years just fine. But things are completely different now, so you can't even judge your ability to face the future right now."

"That's bull," I spat. Now he was getting me angry. What was his deal? "I know what I can and can't handle and how I cope with situations. You can't tell me you know better than I do how to face this."

"Actually, I can. I've faced situations like this in the past and coping with them isn't easy. I'm just trying to look out for you."

"I don't need you to look out for me! I need you to be a friend and support me."

"I still don't believe that's true, no matter how many ways you keep rephrasing it!"

"Well why not?" I practically hollered. "In the past, you praised me for how strong I was to face such uncertainty. And now you take it all back? Is that it?"

"You're the one forcing me to!" he spat. "You're acting totally immature and reckless. You don't even listen to a word I say anymore-"

"You don't listen to a word I say!" I interrupted. "You're so thickheaded. You think you can fix everything and fix me, but you can't. I have my flaws whether you like it or not. One of them is that I am my father's daughter." I shook my head, building up the courage to keep speaking. "My father…He taught me to never give up hope. And I won't! Even if I have to do something crazy and sink into the Darkness to save him, I will."

"Don't talk like that!" Riku roared. He took a few quick steps forward and knelt down in front of the bed, grabbing my upper arms and pulling me up so I was standing. "You don't know how bad the Darkness is."

My eyes stung with tears. "And you don't know how bad it is to be separated from your dad when you know he's alive but out of your reach."

Finally, finally, Riku heard what I had to say. His eyes softened as he loosened his grip on my arms to something more gentle. "No I don't," he agreed softly. "But Steph…I know how other troubles will rise up from this. I know trouble when I see it and I just want to keep you as far away from it as I can. …I'm sorry to say this, but I don't know if you can handle it all."

You don't have faith in me anymore? That hurt to hear…a lot. I thought he would always be on my side, always backing me up… "What did I do to make you lose faith in me?" I asked weakly.

"Nothing," Riku said quietly, lifting a hand and wiping my bangs out of my teary eyes. "I just…I just know you more now than I did before. And you're so…naïve. Innocent. And I adore that about you. You don't get pleasure from putting anybody down; you always want to do the right thing. You act like you can face every problem in the world and not have serious consequences from it…It's like a child trusting in God that things will always work out in the end. And I believe things do work out, but I'm afraid to see what will happen to you in the mean time. I don't want you to lose that side of yourself."

My eyes softened at Riku's response, my face reddening because of his compliments. Many could view innocence as bad, but he didn't. And neither did I. "So that's it then?" I whispered. "You've been so overbearing lately because you're scared for me?"

"Yeah."

That simple response made me feel pathetic for insulting him the way that I had. "I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner," I whispered. Everything around me was just so overwhelming that it was hard to see the positives. I thought Riku was just being a jerk for no reason…But he was really trying to shelter me because of his own fears, not my own abilities or inability.

"No…I'm sorry you had to suffer because of my fears," Riku whispered. He leaned down and connected his forehead with mine, his hand still on my cheek as we stood in very close proximity. "We both got wrapped up in ourselves…We should have tried gaining each other's perspective."

"Agreed," I said quietly. "I'll try harder from now on."

"Diddo."

A small smile appeared on my lips as I faintly shook my head. My bangs got tangled with some of Riku's, but I didn't care, especially since we were so close and not separating right away. "'Diddo'? That's all you have to say?"

A small laugh left Riku's lips, the sound heavenly to me. "I guess I have a few more things to say," he said softly. "I know you don't want me fixing anything, so what do you want me to do?"

"Just stay by my side," I whispered. "Support me. And have faith in me. You may think my innocent, naïve nature will shatter easily, but I know it won't. I survived Isabella, didn't I? As long as I have hope, I can face anything."

"You make it sound so simple," Riku said in a hushed tone.

"Some things in life are simple, believe it or not," I stated quietly. There wasn't much out there that was simple, but I preferred to keep my faith that way. I believed that things would work out in the end. Somehow, some way. As long as I knew I'd make it out okay in the end, I could stand in the shadows and await the Light that will appear and save me.

"I wish I had simple faith like you do."

"You can."

"How?" he asked softly. "How can I always have hope? What is there to have faith in?"

"Destiny," I responded quietly. "Fate…The Light…Some greater power is watching out for us. I know I'm chasing shadows in the dark right now with my search for my Dad, but I have faith that because of some governing principle out there, things will be okay. Even when I really find myself questioning things, I've never really lost faith. Not completely."

"It's so hard to have faith in the unknown. I'm not good at that kind of thing…"

"I don't think anyone is," I said with a weak laugh. "It's easier to have faith in people, but people can't fix everything. But somehow things always seem to fall into place, so I'll put my faith in whatever makes that happen."

"And I think I may do the same."

"Mm," I hummed with a small smile. "I'm glad to hear that."

Riku hmphed softly, running his thumb over my cheek again as he lowered his forehead to go against mine. "You really are something," he murmured.

"Something good I hope," I stated quietly in response. Despite the closeness of Riku's face, I still kept my eyes opened and gazed at his. In their aqua depths, I saw more compassion than I had seen in a very long time. This was the Riku that I grew to know and care about. He was finally back.

"Of course," he said with a small smile. "You know, I'm glad you're not afraid to put me in my place. Everyone else was always too scared to say anything to me."

"What, because of your size?" I asked with an arched brow.

"Something like that," Riku said, laughing softly. "I'm pretty intimidating, don't you think?"

"Maybe at first. But you're a big softy on the inside."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Nuh-uh."

I laughed, faintly shaking my head against Riku's. "Yes you are," I stated softly. "You care for every friend you've ever met, especially Sora and Kairi. I didn't get to see you much with Kairi, but you act more like Sora's big brother than just a friend." When I saw his half-defeated expression, I held back another small laugh. "Don't try to deny it."

He sighed, weaving his fingers into my brunette locks as he closed his eyes. "I think it's time we changed the subject."

"No way," I said in good nature. "Not when I'm right."

"Who said you were right?"

"I did. So take that, mister-"

My response was interrupted by a distraction, one that was definitely meant to take me away from the topic. Riku had leaned forward and connected his lips to mine in a kiss, and for the first time in a long time, we would actually be able to kiss without fear of interruption by castle servants. Fighting the urge to smile, I closed my eyes and set a hand on his shoulder to return the affection. Even during the kiss, though, my thoughts were wandering.

Riku may have insisted he wasn't a softy, but he couldn't deny that he was a lot of the time. He loved his friends, and even if he didn't show it too often by words, he showed it through his actions. He was fiercely protective and devoted to Sora and Kairi. And I liked to think that he was that devoted to me as well even if we hadn't known each other our whole lives. Regardless, he had a reputation to keep as a tough guy, so I wouldn't ruin it.

Those weren't the only thoughts in my head, though. Unfortunately, this kiss reminded me of another. John's. He kissed me and I kissed him back. It was a satisfying kiss, but it was very different from this one. Honestly…I didn't know which one I preferred. That terrified me.

My boyfriend withdrew from the kiss and kept his hand partially on my cheek and partially in my hair as he spoke. "Guess we should get back to searching," he stated softly.

"I'd love that," I whispered.

I felt Riku's head move in a nodding motion against my forehead as he gently pulled back and took a small step away so that we could focus on our discussion. Hopefully it'd distract me from thinking about John. "So, did you make any progress yesterday?" he asked.

"A little. I found three clues, and I'm fairly certain that that's all I'm going to get."

"Only three? How come?"

I shrugged. "A few reasons. One is that my dad always liked the number three. Another is that those clues should be enough to lead me to him. But…"

"…But you can't figure out the clues," Riku finished for me. Humming, I nodded. I should have been able to figure this out, but I just couldn't! The three clues should have meant something to me, but I blocked out most of my childhood because of all the bad times where my mom yelled at me and my dad wasn't allowed to comfort me properly because of her. Riku soon interrupted my thoughts by speaking again. "I'm guessing the clues are connected to you so that only you can figure it out…"

"I guess," I agreed with another shrug. "I don't even know. They're so random. I found three photo albums that were supposed to have family pictures in them, but instead, they were each filled with different pictures. But each book had pictures of the same items, you know? Like one book had all pictures of rocks, one had pictures of all sunsets, and the other had all pictures of shovels."

"Rocks, sunsets and shovels?"

"I know…It's so random. I know it's supposed to mean something to me, but this isn't making any sense to me at all."

Riku hummed, glancing at the doorway before he looked back to me. "Can I see those photo albums?"

"Yeah…they're downstairs in the living room," I said, turning and starting out of the room. I slipped on my shoes when I was by the doorway and walked down the hall while hoping that I wouldn't have to come back to that room again. Too many bad memories.

As we walked down the stairs and entered the living room, I remembered that I had three of the pictures in my back pocket. They were probably a little crumbled, but those were the pictures that had my dad's writing on them. Were they significant for some reason? I kept them with me just in case they were. I couldn't afford to lose the clues that would lead me to my father.

When we walked into the living room, I stopped dead in my tracks and gazed at the empty floor.

"What? What's wrong?" Riku asked upon noticing my expression.

"The albums…they're gone!" I gasped. "I left them right there!" I was absolutely sure about it! In my rush to get a shovel and go to Sunset Hill before anybody would catch me there, I left the books on the floor in front of the couch. Were they there last night when I got home from talking to John? When did they vanish?

"Are you sure you didn't misplace them?"

"Positive. They were right there…" What did this even mean? I didn't touch them and clearly Riku didn't either. He acted like he hadn't seen them at all, but maybe he wasn't in the room before. It didn't make much of a difference because I knew that neither he nor I would take them. Somebody else came into this house, whether I was here or not.

Is somebody else looking for my dad?

A sudden knock on the front door jolted me out of my panicked thoughts, making Riku jump faintly as well. Did anybody even know I was here? Who would be at the door? I glanced at Riku but then started towards the door with him right on my heels.

I cautiously opened it and saw the person on the other side, though I was confused about why he was here. "John?"

"Hey," my friend John said, a little breathless and excited as he stood right outside the front door on the porch. "I was up for a while last night trying to figure out the clues that your dad left for you. I think I know where he is."