Chapter 7

"It's locked," Riku said, gesturing to the gate.

"Well aren't you the master of the obvious," she retorted bluntly, rolling her eyes.

"How do we get-"

"MICKEY!" she yelled in interruption, at the top of her lungs. Riku jumped a little, surprised at how loud she could actually be. "HEY DIZ! MICKEY!!!!"

"You're drawing attention to us."

"That's just the whole point of me doing this, isn't it?"

Riku just shut his mouth and folded his arms, thinking that perhaps he should be quiet. She was, after all, yelling loud enough for the both of them. He kept watch for enemies as Naminé rattled the gate and bellowed at the mansion.

Two circular ears appeared out of one of the top windows, soon followed by the head of Mickey Mouse. Riku's face broke out into a smile upon seeing his comrade.

"Your Majesty!" he said with a wave.

Mickey's face turned to look at them. His smile turned into an expression of worry at the sight of their tattered clothing.

"Hold on!" he squeaked. "I'll be right down."

"Told you so." He muttered to Naminé, who just shot him a withering look.

The enormous iron gates seemed to swing magically open, unhindered by any force. The mouse, true to his word emerged before the pair.

"What happened? Are you alight?"

"We're fine," Naminé assured him. "We're not hurt."

"But, Heartless don't bleed. How did you lose so much-?"

"I was careless," Riku said bluntly, cutting across him. "I promise it won't happen again."

"But-"

"Don't worry about it." Green-blue eyes gave him a look that told him not to ask any more questions. Sighing, he reluctantly granted him the liberty.

"Come on in then," he said with feigned merriment. "You've had a long journey."

Naminé and Riku allowed themselves to be led inside. The teen's head once again craned to take in all his surroundings. The garden was wide and expansive; several elegant statues and fountains grazed the lush green grass that swayed slightly in the wind. This bourgeoisie-style was continued into the mansion itself; light ceilings and expensive furniture adorned the expansive rooms, their extensive detail further adding to the overall majesty of the place.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Naminé said, nudging him. All Riku could do was numbly bow his head in nutation.

"What was your journey like?" Mickey asked.

"Oh, it was long, very long," Naminé replied cheerfully. "We had to walk for ages every day..."

Riku allowed their nonsensical small talk to drift out of his concentration and wondered about what they were going to do now that they were here. How was he going to find Roxas? When would he be able to see Sora? Was his friend okay?

"...and BAM! Straight into his chest! And then the glass..."

"Are you going to take me to Sora?" Riku asked. Naminé realised she was talking too much by his blunt interjection and blushed, bowing her head in a slight apology.

"Of course," Mickey replied, oblivious to their silent understanding. "But first we're going to see Diz." The mouse led them down to a secret laboratory from the library by completing a little puzzle. Riku almost laughed at how crazily cliché it was. Several monitors littered the room, though only two were switched on, acting as surveillance for the mansion. There was probably a very good reason for the other screens, but as of the moment Riku was standing there staring at them, he thought the myriad amount was both incredibly pointless and wasteful.

A tall, imposing figure strode in from a door in the corner of the room, distracting Riku immediately from his surroundings. Though his face was swathed in bandages, it made him no less recognisable. His golden eyes were unmistakable, enough to burn themselves into the boy's memory for as long as he would live.

"Hello Riku," he said. Somehow, his greeting held no warmth for him. Amber eyes looked the teen up and down impassively, and then turned to his comrade. Though she had never met him before, she involuntarily shrank away from his penetrating gaze.

"This must be Naminé," he stated. He wasn't looking for an answer.

"Um, hi Diz," she replied, uncomfortably raising her hand in greeting. She received no reply. The man turned on his heel and walked back to the door he had just emerged from. When nobody followed, he stopped.

"I assume you want to see your friend." Riku nodded and went after him. After a brief moment of vacillation, so did Naminé and Mickey.

The place was surreal. Though it passed as a normal white room, a haze seeped through it from an unknown source, which blurred his eyes and made everything seem like an illusion of sorts. Riku's hand reflexively reached for the wall to steady himself, and his gaze remained locked on the crimson colour of Diz's fluttering cape. He was so absorbed in fighting vertigo that before he knew it, the person for whom he had been searching for so long was right in front of him.

"Sora." His mouth barely dared to utter the word. He looked at him; unable to choose if what he was seeing was horrifying or not. The white pod that encased him was unearthly and downright alien to everything he had so far experienced. He wondered if it had any power to restore Sora, or was this memory alteration but a premise for another, more sinister motive. Common sense begged to differ, as the King was willingly involved in this whole mess also. Nevertheless, doubts forever niggled their way into his mind. Perhaps mistrust was now a firm trait of his.

Sora had gotten taller since they had last met. It was evident that his clothes were now far too small. Riku absently thought that they would soon be the same height.

"You fool," he muttered. "You shouldn't have done this to yourself. You were supposed to take care of Kairi for me, right?"

It was in that little, insignificant sentence, he finally felt the weight of his burdens over the past year. The darkness, his journey, all the worry had just become too much. Desolation and despair flooded Riku's mind and heart. He could feel the shadows of his nefarious self returning; the shadows that never allowed him solace, but sought to drag him down to nothingness.

"Stop worrying about me!" he screamed at his friend's sleeping form. His fist curled and pounded frantically at the glass. "It's not your job, I'm not worth losing your memories over...Sora..." Exhaustion crept into Riku's limbs and he sank to his knees, his head resting against the cool glass of the white capsule. Angry sighs escaped his worn body.

"You idiot," he whispered. "You stupid idiot."

Diz and Mickey quickly exited. Only Naminé remained, unsure of what to do, yet feeling immeasurable guilt. She was, after all, completely responsible for Sora's state. Which meant she was also responsible for this moment. Why did she forever fail to think of the consequences to her actions? It had happened then, not even a year ago, and here it was again.

Naminé took a trembling step forward, and another, and another until she stood next to Riku. Chaos swirled in his eyes; a mixture of shame, fear and love for his friend harshly fighting for prominence. The conflict only brought confusion and darkness. Was this the real Riku? She had never seen him look so...vulnerable. He reminded her of a small, scared boy, not the strong, stoic and resolute young man she had come to know.

Her whole body shaking, she reached out to place her hand on his head. Though Riku did not want this sort of attention, he felt far too weak to tell her to go away. Well, he could tell himself that all he wanted. What he really was looking for was some sort of comfort, any sort of comfort. Not receiving any sort of protest, she knelt down and gently pulled his head to rest against her chest.

"Shh," she said, trying to give him whatever support she could to ease her own aching guilt. "It's okay, Riku. It'll be okay."

The boy did not reply, but his fingers raised up to curl tightly around the material of her dress, locking them in an unintentional embrace. Naminé, though surprised, did not show her initial reaction; instead rocked his body soothingly back and forth. Tears spilled from her eyes as she cradled him.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "It's all my fault." No more words left her mouth. They would be unnecessary now, and for some reason she thought Riku would not want or need to hear them. She gratefully let silence envelope them both.

Riku lay against her, desperately clutching the white fabric. What did he think he was doing? If he had been anyway sane or logical, he would not be here, opening himself up so much to this woman. Why was his brain not listening to reason.

He guessed that his sanity had flown out the window, logic was irrelevant and reason had fallen out of his pocket somewhere back along the road to Castle Oblivion. Oddly enough, he didn't feel like retreating them all too much. Besides, he kind of liked where he was now. He felt protected, safe. Something had stirred inside him; it was like someone had squeezed his insides really quickly, sending a pang through his whole body. He wondered what it was; he had never felt anything like that before.

Riku's silver-head lifted up to look into Naminé's tear streaked face. Her eyes held no pity. She wasn't judging him. He felt strangely grateful for that.

"Stop crying," he said. "Please stop crying."

Naminé hiccoughed and nodded, letting go of him to furiously wipe her eyes.

"Sorry, sorry," she replied. "I'm such a baby." Riku said nothing, but slackened his grip and straightened himself up. His cheeks reddened, slightly embarrassed by how he'd acted.

"We'd um, better head back," he said.

"Yeah."

Taking one last look at Sora, they both vacated the room. Mickey and Diz were talking in low voices. The mouse glanced at Riku furtively, but held his tongue.

"It's time you got some rest," Diz deadpanned. "Riku, I'll show you to your room."

"I'll take you to yours, Naminé," Mickey squeaked. Naminé started to follow him out of one door, and Riku looked to where Diz was walking in the opposite direction. And before he knew what he was doing he shouted it.

"Wait!"

The blonde girl stopped instantly, her bowed head snapping up. She turned, and they stared at each other silently, unsure of what to say or do. Riku lingered; now that she was leaving he realised that this would be the first time they would be apart in almost a week. He should have been feeling happy, elated almost, that she would no longer be in his company, and pose the burden that she did.

But she had saved his life, helped him, talked to him, made him laugh...

"Um," he said, scratching the back of his head. "I'll, uh, see you later?"

Naminé's eyes softened, and her mouth formed into a little 'o' of surprise.

"Yeah."

Bliss had never come so easily. Naminé had never thought that a simple shower and a soft bed was all it took for supreme happiness, but as she lay on the bed, she had never felt so good. Now. Her matted hair was brushed, its original colour now plainly visible. She was wearing an oversized shirt as a nightdress Mickey had rummaged out for her from the wardrobe. It was a little musty, but it was clean at least.A soft knock on the door interrupted her reverie.

"Come on in," she called. A silver head poked inside.

"Hey, Naminé," Riku said.

"Riku! Hi!" Naminé groaned inwardly at how high pitched her voice sounded. She coughed. "How are you?"

"Clean," he remarked, looking at his outstretched hands. "I'm very clean. It's amazing."

"I know. For a while I wondered if my skin was always that colour."

Riku laughed. Naminé stared briefly at his hair. No longer dirty, it shone magnificently in the dim light from her bedside lamp. How in the worlds was he able to get such a shine from simple shampoo? She looked down ruefully at her own tresses and scowled.

"You alright?" he asked.

"It's nothing important," she said. "Really."

"Well, okay." He raised his hand to his forehead. Gloves removed, it was the first time Naminé had ever seen his fingers. They were small, pale. They raked through his hair as he sighed.

"I'm tired," he said, though it seemed like he was talking to no one in particular. He paused, as if he were unsure about something. "Listen, Naminé. About earlier..."

"Already forgotten," she replied automatically, raising both her hands in defence.

"No, that's not it," he said, shaking his head from side to side. "Just, thank you, okay?"

"Yeah, no problem," she replied with a smile.

Riku nodded. For a second, he looked like he was about to say something more, but he didn't. He turned and left, closing the door quietly behind him.

Author's Notes:

No, I'm not going to make it that easy! Even if Naminé was a sleeping beauty that could only wake up from a kiss by Riku I don't think he would till he "got to know her better." And yes, I am aware of the paradox in that last statement, so shoot me. Ahhh, they'll get there eventually, I promise!

This was rushed, cause tonight was my only night off from work all week, so it's not proof-read. Any mistakes spotted I would be glad to hear of.

Thank you everyone for all your kind reviews, I love reading them, so keep them coming if you have the time. Sorry for the three month delay. Work and college can be hard to juggle sometimes. Right now, I'm writing this when I should be writing an essay on Beowulf. NOT AS FUN AS IT SOUNDS. All in the pursuit of the English language people!!

Anyway, thanks for reading, and hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Muchos love.

LastCetra.

EDIT: Blatent forgetfulness on my part, thanks to Riku no Kage for the heads up!