Chapter 6

Riku wasn't sure if he wanted to drop to his knees or scream in relief now that they had arrived. Both he and Naminé stared silently at the gates of Twilight Town.

"We're here," he said sombrely, fully knowing he was stating the obvious.

"Yup," she replied with a nod. If things had been awkward before, it was now where it became most apparent. They were here. Their journey was over.

"What happens now?" he asked.

"We've got to go to the mansion across town."

"Sora's there?"

"Yes."

"Do you think King Mickey and Diz will be there too?"

"Probably."

They lingered at the gates a little while longer, before Naminé finally decided to grab his hand and guide him forward into the town.

"No point in staring at it all day," she said with a smile. Riku wasn't quite sure if he was supposed to reply or not, so he kept his mouth shut and let her lead the way. The place was beautiful, and as he walked through it he often slowed down to take in the sights only to feel the tug of his hand to tell him to keep up. He was fascinated with the town, from the small, narrow back-alleys to gigantic clock tower, its shadow looming above them like a great harbinger of mystery. The buildings were strange but eye-catching, and though some of the residents gave him some strange glances they seemed friendly enough. After a while Naminé looked back at him.

"What do you think of the place?"

"I like it. Reminds me of Traverse Town, though it's more peaceful."

"I've never been there," Naminé said with a shrug.

"It's nice. Full of lights."

"Night time here is wonderful. The stars are really bright, and there's an amazing view from Sunset Hill. Maybe I'll take..." Naminé stopped suddenly. Once they were at the Manor, Riku wouldn't want her company anymore. All he wanted was to get to Twilight Town. She wasn't naïve enough to think that they would stay friends. He wouldn't want her showing him around.

"Naminé?" Riku asked. She let go of his hand.

"It's nothing," she replied quickly. She went back to her explanation of the town. "Anyway, during the day, it always looks like Twilight, hence the name. People who come here find it hard to tell the time of day when they first arrive."

"Are they not fond of new people?" he questioned.

"No, in fact they love when they come. It gives them something to gossip about."

"So, in that case, why are they giving us these weird looks?"

Naminé hid a smile with her hand. "Have you forgotten about the state of your clothes?"

Riku looked down at his torn and tattered garments. He cringed. Obviously he had forgotten completely of his battle just days before.

"I wonder what Mickey will say," she wondered aloud. "It'll surprise him anyway."

"I don't want him worrying unnecessarily," Riku said bluntly, looking around.

"I'm sure he'd worry even if you weren't covered head to toe in blood."

Riku gave her a crooked smile. "I suppose he would. But that's the problem."

"He cares about you, Riku," she pointed out. "He's only thinking about your safety."

"The King has better things to be doing than worrying about me, Naminé, and you know that as well as I do."

"He needs you. You're his ally."

"I'm the thorn in his side."

"Don't say that."

"You know it's true."

Naminé had heard about King Mickey from one of the Organisation Members, Zexion, or had it been Zexius... She was never sure of his name. He would tell her things from time to time, because he loved showing off his intelligence more than anyone. By the sound of it, Mickey seemed to be a very influential person in the world and was respected by many people. He'd written many reports about the relationship between darkness and light. He was one of the chosen keyblade wielders, and people in the grey and dark feared him for his unrivalled power. She had to admit, she was curious as to why he took such interest in Riku, a fallen keyblade master. There was no doubt that he was powerful, but, when it all came down to it, Riku was just a boy. Was he interested in him because he was a human that lived in grey, or was it something else? It was an aspect of his character that was undeniably attractive. It drew people to him without reason. It was what drew her to him in the first place.

Three teenagers whizzed by on skateboards, laughing. Riku smiled, his expression a mixture nostalgia and regret. He briefly wondered when he had lost that innocence and ability to be so carefree. It seemed like the days building the raft to explore new worlds was so long ago...

But now was not the time to open that door to his past. Though he could feel the memories welling up inside him, the happy ones, the sad, and the ones that haunted his dreams, he could not deal with it. He had to persist. When this was all over, maybe he could open that door and sort out his feelings properly. Sometimes he wondered if that time came, would he even know what he was anymore, or even where to begin. Would they overwhelm him? Would he be able to handle the tsunami of emotions that he had kept locked away for so long? Or had he become so desensitised to it all that nothing would bother him? Did it even matter anymore? Pushing the thoughts furiously away for now, he turned his attention to Naminé.

"This town is so...normal."

"It's never been invaded by Heartless. I guess that's all thanks to you, Sora and the King."

That day was another memory Riku never wanted to remember.

"You make it sound so heroic," he said bitterly.

"Don't lessen what you did. You saved a lot of people."

"Yeah, yeah." He waved his hand in dismissal. "Forget about it. It wasn't that great, honestly."

Naminé hid a smile. "Okay, Riku."

A cry erupted from in front of them. One of the boys was lying in a heap on the floor, unmoving. The two others jumped off their skateboards to tend to their friend. Riku ran to where they were situated.

"What happened?" he asked, addressing the girl. She had long hair that fell to her shoulders. Her panic-stricken face was unmistakable.

"Our friend, H-Hayner," she stammered. "He fell, he's really hurt." Riku nodded whilst lifting the boy's limbs, checking for breakages.

"He's just knocked out," he said. "Naminé!" Riku waved the blonde girl over.

"Could you use a cure spell on him? He'll probably have a slight concussion otherwise."

"Yeah, sure." Naminé concentrated slightly for a moment before releasing the spell. Hayner blinked and his eyes opened. Both his friends faces fell into expressions of relief.

"Thanks bud," the other, slightly chubbier boy said, slapping Riku on the back. The girl helped Hayner up.

"Thanks Olette," Hayner said gratefully. "Appreciate the spell," he continued, giving Naminé a wink.

"Pence, grab his skateboard," Olette ordered. "Bye guys, thanks again!"

The pair watched them walk away before proceeding through the town. Naminé's thoughts continued to lie on Riku. He was such a nice person, always thinking of other people. She wondered why she hadn't realised that until now, seeing him with those people. Sure, he acted tough, but when it came to helping a person in need, he would be there instantly. He never looked for thanks or gratification, it was just his nature to be kind. She hoped that someday she could be half as selfless as he was.

"Were, you, Kairi and Sora like that?" she asked offhandedly, referring to the teenagers they had just met.

"I suppose," he replied. "We were very close. The only thing that was ever able to separate us was our world getting swallowed up by darkness."

"I'm not sure if that was a joke or not," she said.

"Afraid to laugh?"

"Very much so."

"I don't mind, go ahead if you want."

"A day will come Riku, when you'll be back at home together and this time will be nothing but a distant memory. You'll be able to laugh all you want then."

"Same goes for you. Are there people waiting for you back at your hometown?" Naminé shook her head and let out a short, rueful laugh.

"No, there are some places you can never return to."

"Why? Because of your guardians?"

"...I suppose you could say that." Her voice had a distant quality to it; a tone he couldn't possibly understand.

"Naminé?"

"It's nothing, it's just still a bit of a touchy subject, that's all. Can we talk about something else?"

"Okay." Riku thought for a moment before posing his question. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you join Organisation XIII in the first place?"

"I guess, I was trying to make amends for some of the mistakes I made. All I did was create more trouble for everyone."

"Hindsight's twenty-twenty," he said. "If we could tell the future, we'd be much better off."

"Here we are," she interrupted. Riku could only speculate as to how more blatant she could be at avoiding his question. His eyes turned a gaping hole in the wall that ran through the main square of the town.

"Forgot to keep up with the maintenance?" he noted with a laugh.

"No actually," she replied, grinning at his comment. "The kids of the town love to play in the woods beyond, and though the wall's been fixed four times, they break it down again in the space of a week." She ducked her head and stepped through. Riku followed her into the wood. He stopped and inhaled sharply. This was not a safe place to be. The air held an aura of malice, and a scent that was akin to darkness, yet not like it at all.

"What is it?" Naminé questioned.

"The smell," he muttered. "It's different, dangerous. I don't like it." His whole body became tense, ready to fight. His senses heightened from adrenaline, even the faint rustling of the trees made him uneasy.

"Oh, that. It's not dangerous. It's a special type of pollen secreted from a tree called the Rebra tree. This wood is filled with them. The pollen repels Heartless. That's why children can come and play here safely.

"Rebra," Riku repeated pensively. "Wait, darkness sleeps in me. Why haven't I been repelled?"

"You're uneasy, aren't you? Then I'd say it's working." Naminé gave her partner a lopsided grin, to which he sighed exasperatedly.

"You're in the grey, Riku, that's why. That's also why Nobodies appear from time to time. In this forest, there's also another tree, the Berra, which acts in the opposite way. But its pollen has to be extracted, as it's not secreted."

"Has it ever been used?" he asked. He wondered who would ever want to repel light, besides the Heartless, obviously.

"Well, I guess so. We wouldn't know about it otherwise. I haven't heard any stories of it being used though, sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he said dismissively. "I was just wondering, that's all." Riku took a few steps into the wood, trying to shake off his anxiety. It wasn't working. No matter how hard he tried to avoid it, the air in the place was suffocating to him.

"Hey," Naminé said, putting her hand on his shoulder worriedly. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Can we just get through this place quickly? It's not right to stay here."

Naminé nodded wordlessly. Together they walked until the trees thinned and revealed the image of a gigantic mansion. Riku craned his neck to take in the view. Naminé hung back apprehensively.

"Is this it?" Riku asked.

"Yes, this is it," Naminé replied, though her words held a distinctly different meaning. She sighed. How had she been so stupid? This day had been coming ever since they had set out.

"This is it alright."

Author's Note:

Um...wow. Hi everyone, it's been a while. I can't give excuses for the lack of an update, I'm just a terrible, terrible person, that's all. Sorry. I can't believe it took me six chapters to finally get them to interact with other people. In a way, I'm glad they're here now as I can change the scenery, lol. This fic still has a bit to go, so please bear with me as I think of where to bring it. Thank you everyone for your wonderful encouragement, reviews and favourites, I'm so grateful for every single one. I know I sound like a broken record, as I say it at the end of every chapter, but reviews do mean a lot to me. The fact that people read my stuff means a lot to me also.

This fanfic is a difficult one for me, as I'm trying to get them to develop their feelings for each other slowly. With Cloud and Aeris, it was easy. They already did love each other; it was clear from the very beginning and I didn't have to build on that. That's why this fic can be the most painful thing in the world, but writing some of the scenes has at the same time been the most rewarding fun I've ever had. That's why I'm glad if you stick with it.

I hope you all enjoyed reading,

LastCetra.