In which Namine's birthday comes

It is nearly midnight. The old barn owl that lives near the cemetery hoots in its usual deep voice and the crickets chirped in its usual chirpy way. I'm not a good describer but that will do. Oh, and if you're wondering what I'm doing, awake in the middle of the night, I'll just say that I'm waiting for the clock to strike twelve. Though those superstitions of what happens at the stroke of midnight still danced about in my head and I'm dying to try them out.

Nah, I'm actually waiting for my birthday. Yep it's tomorrow, the thirteen of April, on a Friday. And yes, it is the one and only 'unlucky day' as so called by people and I'm born on that day. Tough life. So, as I always make it out in my head a few minutes before my birthday, I'm unlucky from the start. It's almost like I'm born to be unlucky. How ironic. I got to share this with Yuna some times.

It is like a ritual for me to stay up until midnight and sing happy birthday to myself. As long as I don't wake up anybody, I can stay up as long as I want to.

I finally decided to try some of the superstition. Firstly, the see-your-future trick. Since I'm now fifteen, hey, why not try it out? I tiptoed to the toilet and stared at the mirror with an apple in my hand. I heard stories about people who did this and end up dying. But as it always happens, curiosity wins.

I put the apple near my mouth and at the stroke of midnight; I bite off a big juicy part and stared hard at the mirror. Then I screamed. What came out of the mirror is not me but a black silhouette of me with two red dots. A real life nightmare. Thank goodness the toilet is soundproof.

…………

"You saw what?!" Sora, with amusement, is still trying to digest what happened to me at the stroke of midnight.

"I said, I saw my shadowwww…" I stretch the end of the word with a strong implication that I'm not joking.

It is school day. Everyone is going to school as usual and Roxas is at the far end of the parade square with his crowd of adoring fans all shimmering with light and stars. The atmosphere there is choking me. I decide to discuss this a little off away from the crowd with Sora. But he didn't believe me. Great.

"I said, I SAW…" I began but he still has the amused expression on his face. So I shut my mouth. He began to laugh while I am steaming off some heat. He has been in unbelievable places and sees impossible things but he did not believe this!?

My pendant glows again. Guess that's another heartless for us to exterminate. I give a tiny punch in the air for joy. I got to miss school! Sora just nodded and does something; psychic communication, he says. Roxas turned his head towards us and give a slight nod. We're going to miss school!

"Hey…" I got struck with a sudden thought. "How do you guys get us out of school? I mean, the same excuse is not always working is it?"

"Oh, ummm…" That question apparently is one of the many mysteries that are not explained to me. So I try to take a wild stab.

"You hypnotise them?" If psychic communication is possible why not hypnosis?

"No."

"You double talk them?" He did not answer but I'm not fooled. I try another stab.

"You have somebody on your side in the school?" At that stab, Sora decided to change subject.

"Uh, hey, isn't today your birthday?"

"Ummm what if I say no?"

"Then you're lying to yourself."

"Whatever." To me, birthdays are just like any ordinary days. I did not celebrate them and nobody seems to care. The only present I got is my yearly supplies of art supplies placed on my desk. But I do feel a little jealous sometimes when I see others celebrating their birthdays. It almost seems like I don't exist, I'm not born yet.

"Hey, how do you know when is my birthday?" Sora turns red again. He seems to be turning red all over nowadays. I guess summer can do that to you.

"Hey." Roxas walks towards us. "Let's go."

…………..

"Tell me again; why am I hanging here while you guys fight them?"

I'm on top of a rickety old building and the two brothers are down there fighting. Sometimes, I feel like the baby of this group. It's just not fair. They say I would be really useful here but I'm not.

There's absolutely nothing here for me to do. This is the situation. A group of workers here is treated badly by their boss who is now worse than dead. They are the massive black cloud down there. The boss too turned into a heatless but he's dead. The two brothers calls them the undead heartless. I call it ewwwwwwwwwwww! His silhouette looks like those of a zombie!

"I wish something happens to me!" I muttered. It is granted. The undead heartless suddenly looms behind me in a perfect angle of pushing me to my death. Oh dear…

I feel disgusted. But I feel excited all the same. At least I get to fight!

"Hiya!" I bring down the keyblade hard on it, making it squirt black stuff all over me. Uggh. I lean over the edge.

"Can I go down now?" I'm a bit scared as the building is high and as I mentioned, the altitude makes me cranky.

"No! Not yet." Roxas is fighting off a large heartless and managed to fling it away. It landed in a pile of barrels which burst out black liquid. The black liquid runs down towards the building. I spotted something unsettling. Nearby is a big tank that says 'Caution! Do not put flammable objects nearby.' The black liquid looks suspiciously like oil. It is flowing towards it. Uh oh.

"I really need to go now!" I yelled.

"Not yet Namine!" Sora yells back, sweat glistering on his forehead as he hacks off two heartless at once.

"I really need to go now…"I started fidgeting and pace about aimlessly. Then I heard a very horrible sound. It is the sound of fire, burning fast. I lean over again.

"Hey, you guys, I REALLY NEED TO GET OFF!" Both look simultaneously at the source of flame that is licking the oil hungrily and it is speeding towards the building. Towards me.

"Can I get off now?" I ask tiredly.

"Sure," Sora replies weakly. I huffed and blew the fringe off my face. I then head off towards the stairs but horror soon engulfs me as I realize something. The fire has spread to the stairs! I have to jump.

"No, no! I can't do this!" I can't jump and something tells me that the pendant won't give me those strange athletes' abilities now. They just randomly pop out, Sora says.

"Namine!" Roxas' voice echoes in the midst of my terror. "You must jump!"

At that moment, something took over me. Damn the automatic change. But it helps a bit sometimes. Just a little bit. I found myself running towards the edge of the building and leap. Time seems to slow down as float in the air and it returns to normal as I heard a blast behind me. The impact blew me forward and I got tossed into Sora. He caught me in his arms and turns red.

What is with these brothers that made them turn red? Roxas looks at him with no expression for a split second. At least I thought he did. Sora looks at his expression and gently place me down. But something sinister is happening. The heartless all revive themselves in the fire even the undead one! They all turn into a big lump of fire and their eyes all look evil livid red. They extended their fire arms and block our way out!

"Damn it. Fire elementals."

Sora and Roxas leaps into action and is in position to attack and defend. I, meanwhile, try to find a way out. Something struck me.

"Sora, Roxas, I have an idea. This heartless is easily distracted. I can distract them and you guys go run to that road. That's the only opening not blocked."

Now, the buildings around us are falling down, licked by the flames and wither away to black hideous objects. They are falling apart around us and if we did not escape soon, we will be trapped with the heartless plus an undead one.

"No, we're fighting with you." Sora refuses to go an inch away from me. Roxas agreed.

"We cannot let you die."

"Go, please. I have an idea." Both look at me in surprise. "Now, go! HIYA!"

I poked one of them with the tip of my blade. It jumped and blasts a fire ball which grazes my shoulders. Now, the brothers look doubtful.

"Please, trust me." The heartless shifted slightly, making the opening wider. "Go NOW!"

My commanding tone took everyone by surprise including me. The brothers nodded slightly, Sora with hesitation, and they bolt off towards the opening. The movement attracts the heartless and they take a few steps towards them. But I wave the keyblade around, taking their attention back.

"Hoi you scally wags, land lubber!" I love insulting them with words that they don't know. All of them look confused. "Come and get ME!"

At once, all of the fire heartless lunged at me, their fiery arms wide apart, ready for a mass attack. I panic. In actual fact, I haven't got a clue how to escape. Me and my heroics.

I widen the gap between my legs, put my body low to the ground and catapult upwards, spinning with my keyblade spinning along too. It is effective and most of the heartless vanish into unconscious workrers. But they are instantly revived again! Looks like I need a permanent wipeout. I need water.

The heartless now is closing on me like a ring of fire, making my chances of survival low. I hate this moments. The're too close now. I'm dead.

Not. My keyblade began to pulsate light and the glow has now spread towards every inch of it. It morphs into something…

"Miracle tears?" Those words are the first thing that came to me when I see the brand new keyblade. It is no longer key-shaped but more like a sword. A water element one. Perfect.

Those heartless are wary of it. They inch backed a little.

"Oh no you don't!" In a thrice, I manage to vanish the lot of them. Actually, all of them. The slash is so powerful that it cuts through five at once. I am now standing in a pile of bodies. (None of them dead).

But my only way out is blocked too as a big chunk of debris became loose and falls in front of the opening. Help!

"Hey, need a hand?" What?! I turned around and bumped into Sora.

"You didn't leave do you?" He grins and scoops me up like before and jumped. Boy, I hate those trips! The instant I leave the burning place, I can feel the cool air wash over me. I look down. The workers now are going out of the burning area. At least they don't die.

……………..

"So, how did this happen again?" Roxas examines the sword with great interest. (A/N: I'll give you the picture of it at the next chapter.)

"It just… transforms!"

"Yeah. I saw it morph with my own eyes." I add in.

School's out. And everyone is now filtering out of school. Roxas' fans are all talking at the top of their voices on what happened to Roxas. Their predictions are worst then terrible I tell you this.

We are hidden in a tucked away part so nobody can see us. I'm really tired now. Worrying makes me run down. I stand up.

" 'kay guys, but I gotta go now." My keyblade turns back into the pendant. I take it back and put it around my neck before walking away.

……………….

Sora looks at her retreating back. "Do you think that she knows what this means?"

"Ahh forget it. It's not important now."

"Oh? I forgot to tell you." Sora begins to pour out Namine's tale of the superstition. "And she said she saw her heartless form!"

Roxas paled. "It seems that her shadow is nearer than we thought. It will come to her soon."

"Should we tell her?"

"Not yet." Roxas replies softly.

………..

I was feeling normal and happy as I recounted the fight to myself, in my head of course. People who see me talking to myself might sign me up to the IMH.

I reached home as usual but I have a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Papa is the first thing I see when I step through the door. He is wearing his working clothes and he has a shovel in his hand. The first thing that flashes through my mind is Sora's warning.

"Ready for another round?"

………………………

We arrive at the graveyard as usual at night. We stood there for a moment and finally went through the gate. This is bad.

"Who died?" I ask him cautiously, looking around. No wolves so far…

"Mr Gravil, the person who works 'ere remember?I remember those darn fickle dapple days when we work together as those who create 'ter coffins. He is as young as a beetle and as strong as any old cow. Great man, Mr Gravil."

"How did he die?" By Papa's view, he's strong and can live for a few more years.

"Taken by 'er devil he did. Slash wounds all 'ver his body, turned inside out 'yer should see it. Lately," Papa continues. "Many people 'ere is gone the same way. I've seen 'er bodies I did. People 'ere says that a devil haunts 'ere but it's beside the church!" He snorted. "It musta been 'er animals. Bad things, those beasts."

"So, people who have been here at night died? How did you know it was from animal attacks?"

He rummage in is overalls and pulls out a few silver hairs. "As ya know, silver wolves lives 'round 'ere. You do the maths. 'ese 'airs has been all over 'er bodies."

Uh oh. Papa looks at me concerned. "Ya youngin' don't worry. I'll protect ya." I'm the one who should protect him, not vice versa!

"Wolves, could they be heartless too?" I tried to remember what Sora had told me. Heartless exist in things with emotions. The wolves can be one too. But I remembered about how each victim dies. Vicious ones they are.

"Well… you can go 'ere, I dig over there." It's too far apart! I need to think of something fast!

"Ummm Papa, I'm scared. Can I follow you?" He chuckles.

"NO need. Ya need to find 'yer back bone laddie! Now go!"

I can only watch him helplessly at a distance as he goes away farther from me. I reckon, if I finish fast, I can be with Papa faster. So I did.

I dig like a dog, the earth raining down on the other side like rain and me, digging as viciously as I could. But I'm not fast enough.

"Aaarooooo!"

"Pendant, please give me speed." I prayed, hoping that I'm in time.

"Arrroooo!" I can see their figure, in front of the moon, their claws and teeth glinting in the moonlight. Then… they disappeared.

"ARGGH!" That blood-curdling scream will forever be etched to my mind like a disease. I fling down my shovel and leap over the mounts and trenches, racing towards Papa. But I'm too late.

His body lay in the hole he dug, mangled and oozing with blood from the slashes. He is still breathing but I knew he will die soon if nothing is done.

But I cannot do anything. I have no experience in treating wounds and I have no phones to call a hospital. Yet, if I leave him, the wolves might as well eat his body. All I can do is to cry.

The worst emotions crashes all over me scarred my heart and filled me with misery. I cry, the tear blurring my vision and trickling down my cheeks, some pelting softly in the ground and some, on Papa.

"Don't die…" I whispered. The sight of him dying reminds me of Mama, how she died years ago. I last saw her in that state, dying.

I clutch my head, willing for the memories to go out, leave me. I shake my head, as if I can shake the memories out, out of my sight out of mind.

"Namine!" Sora? I look up, tears still staining my face. The next thing I know, his arms circled around me and pulls me close. I can feel his warmth, hear his heart beating and I feel comfort for a while.

"Don't worry, he's healing." Healing?

"But how?"My muffled voice asks as I curled tighter into a small ball as I buried my head deeper.

"Look." I turned around and my eyes widen in surprise. He looks intact, the scars already look like it have been a few years old and recovered.

"He's…alive?" I croaked.

"Miracle tears." Those words answered my unasked question. The keyblade is laid beside him but a bit of it is broken off and vanished.

……….

Roxas is looking at the two figures as they embraced each other, the same feeling coursing through his veins. Jealously. Hurt. Relief.

"I'm not worthy of her." He whispered to himself but why does it hurt so much? He can't remove her image from his mind and yet, he doesn't allow the feeling to take over.

"I…just can't" He is not a real human anymore. He can't love like he used to be.

………

"Sora?"

"Mm?" He and I are still looking at Papa and the broken keyblade.

"Thanks for being there for me." I know it's cheesy but that is how I exactly felt.

"I'm always there for you, remember?" I smiled a bit.

The sun is rising up, the scenery is becoming beautiful too as I see the splashes of color, streaking across the sky. We too look at the sky, for me, feeling deep at peace.

"Um? Sora? You can let go of me now."

He blushes deep red and releases me. He scratches his head again in the same casual way.

"We have to send him to the hospital."

"Roxas has already taken care of that. The ambulance will be arriving soon."

I walk over and take the broken keyblade in my hands. "Why did it break?"

"Well, your keyblade too depends on your heart. The original word its Soul blade but then, it changes overtime 'cause it is in other words, the key to the heart. A connection. So it turns into a keyblade."

"It must have been broken when I broke down." I said softly, tracing the broken edge with my fingers.

"It will heal soon. In time." Sora smiled. "You better go."

………………

"Daddykins what!" Avaron yelps in horror as I told her what happened. She throws on any old outfit and rushes off, not caring that she haven't yet shower or not caring if her outfit looks odd. She must have cared a lot for Papa.

I slumped into my bed, and slip my hand under the pillow. Mama's picture stared back at me, smiling. Then I notice something at the back.

Happy fifteenth birthday Namine. The present is in the time capsule under your bed.

Under the floor board? I manage to find it in a heartbeat. There is a card attached to it too.

Dear Namine,

If you are reading this now, I am long dead. Sorry that I must die in such way but I don't want to die, making the family in debt. So I killed myself. I'm dying anyway so why not? I'm not wasting my life and I have no regrets on dying like that so please don't mourn for me. Happy birthday!

I opened the time capsule and saw…many things. And each of them has a note attached to them. I take the nearest thing out. It looks similar to the heart shaped pendant but it is colorful.

This has been passed down since it is first made in 1778. It is crafted by you great grandmother's sweetheart. His name is Sorax and maybe in the future, you might meet somebody too. PS. BTW the presents are for each year when your birthday comes since I died until you're 21! You can open them anytime you like!

"Thank you Mama and happy anniversary to you too." I know that her death anniversary is on my birthday. So we celebrate for each other. I already put a fresh bunch of flowers on her grave.

"I love you Mama."

…………………………………

Aha! Ummm shadow is coming and thx to poohbearlover95 and Animelover09 for reviewing. And... R and R! BTW how do people do the wriggly line on top of the e in Namine? Anybody can tell me?

~SeraphineKH