Chapter 9

"Naminé!!"

Hearing her name being called, she turned towards the origin of the voice. There stood two young girls, one holding a sketchbook and some crayons, the other holding a sunflower.

"Naminé, how do you draw these so well? Ours don't look half as good as yours."

"It's not all to hard really," she replied. Gently taking the pad from her hands, she sat down on the grass and started drawing.

"See, the flower has an energy. It moves in the wind, and its petals respond to the sun. Once you can figure out what kind of energy it has, it's really easy to draw its shape." She finished, sweeping the yellow crayon across the page. "There," she stated, showing the picture to the two girls. "No problem."

"You say that," the girl replied, looking at the flower in gloomily. "But we can't do it at all." Naminé laughed and ruffled her hair.

"You'll get it eventually. Just keep practising for now."

"How about we get some sea-salt ice-cream?" Naminé suggested to Riku whilst passing the stand. "You haven't lived till you tried it."

"I just can't see how ice-cream made with salt is nice," he replied sceptically. "And thinking about it, what man would mix vanilla and sea-salt as it is?"

"He was a genius," Naminé said solemnly.

"I can imagine you," Riku said with a laugh. "'And so, we salute you, Mr Sea-Salt ice-cream inventor!'"

"You're terrible!" she exclaimed.

"But I look good, so it cancels it out, right?"

"I knew it would suit you perfectly. You just don't have my vision."

"Why didn't you pick something different for yourself?"

"Hey, white looks good on me. If there's nothing wrong then there's no point in trying to fix it. You end up making a complete mess." Naminé stepped into the queue for the ice-cream.

"Why?" she said innocently. "Does my butt look big in this?"

"Ooooh no," Riku replied quickly. "You're not drawing me into that kind of conversation."

"Ah, snap. You're no fun!"

"Why were you out so late, Naminé? We've told you before, eleven at the latest on a week night."

"Look, I wasn't hanging out with them," Naminé argued. "Can't I go for a walk on my own at all?"

"Not at three in the morning!" Noel retorted angrily. "Don't you understand that it's dangerous at that time?"

"Dad, it's a village. No one is going to jump out and murder me."

"That's not what I'm worried about," he murmured. Naminé, however, just about heard it. She sighed angrily.

"Oh, I see. You're afraid of what I might do, right?"

"Enough, Naminé," Lillian said sharply. She was caught immediately in her mother's piercing glare. "You know the rumours going around. You can make your drawings real, make things happen. They're calling you a witch. If this behaviour continues, you'll be forced to leave this village. You'll be alone, ostracised by the world. Is that what you want?"

Naminé didn't reply. Lillian took a sharp step forward.

"Is it?" she repeated. Naminé let her eyes fall to the floor.

"No."

"I can't believe how nice this is," Riku stated in shock. The ice-cream was no longer held gingerly between his fingers. "It's amazing."

"Pretty good, eh?" she replied with a smile, one that was currently conveying to Riku that she told him so. The teen ignored it for the sake of the ice-cream.

"So, you were showing me around then?" he offered in an attempt to change the conversation.

"Yes, I need to take you to the train station, Sunset Hill, and...oh! I'll show you where the Struggle Tournament it held. It's coming up soon, you should enter. You would win for sure, Riku!"

"Struggle?"

"You get to hit people with Styrofoam bats!"

Riku hid his face in his palm. "Of course. Cause all I want to do with my life is hit people with Styrofoam bats. That's my ideal day, right there."

"It's fun. Give it a try. You might actually enjoy yourself."

"And you say I'm terrible?"

"Lillian and I have come to a decision, Naminé," Noel said. His voice was sad, yet held firm. "We think it's time that you quit drawing."

"No," she replied. "That's not going to happen."

"We know this is hard for you honey," Lillian interjected, laying her hand on Naminé's shoulder. Naminé looked at it in disdain, but made no attempt to move it. "We understand how drawing is an important part of your life. But it isn't what makes your life. You have friends, family, people who care about you. We want to protect both them and you."

"You're not worried about protecting me," Naminé said. "All you care about is your own reputation; what the neighbours might say."

"That's uncalled for," she spat.

"I'm not giving up drawing," Naminé said flatly.

"It's not a request," Noel replied. "As long as you live under this roof, you'll follow our rules and do what we say. No exceptions."

"You don't know how easily I can fix that," Naminé muttered, grabbing her sketchpad and storming out the door.

"Sunset hill!" Naminé proclaimed. "Isn't it beautiful? You can see the whole town from here."

"It's really something," he said wistfully, taking in the spectacle that was Twilight Town. It was nearing the end of the day, and the mixture of tones in the sky deepened, becoming more prominent and bold. Amber, pink, violet and red fused together, creating a canvas of colour. He wasn't even here a day, yet this place made him feel so comfortable, so peaceful.

Or maybe it was her.

He looked at her; hair golden in the waning light, eyes sparkling with a warmth that eased any worries he had away. She twirled about in the open space, laughing at the ability to just throw her arms wide and spin, loving the sense of freedom it gave her. To Riku, it seemed like she had an ability to embrace life, embrace goodness. Over the past few days, he had felt himself changing. He smiled more, he talked more, he had more patience, he was having more fun than he had had in a long, long time. No one could change that quickly in that short a space of time. It had to be her influence.

It was then, for the first time, he really looked at her. He looked at her as more than just another person. He looked at her as more than just a friend. Riku looked at Naminé and saw possibility. Endless possibility.

"Don't be so glum when you look at me," she laughed. "I'm not that ugly!"

"I'm sorry," he replied. "I was somewhere else."

"Did you like the place?" she asked. Her face could not conceal the grin. Riku smiled back.

"Yeah."

His words faded into the background and they stared at each other. Tension ran high between them at his cryptic words, and his failure to explain them. Something different was stirring between them, something they couldn't explain but couldn't possibly deny either. Feelings, actions, words: each fell away, useless. Only one thing remained, the only thing that could be processed by rational thought.

Connection. There was something that had brought them together, and though they could have left each other by now, it wasn't happening. It was like a string was tied to each of their bodies and they could only move so far away.

"Thank you," he said. "For showing me this."

"My pleasure," she replied quietly.

A strong wind started to pick up. With nothing to shelter them on the high rise, cold set in quickly. Naminé shivered.

"It gets like this when night time is coming. We'd better head back." She walked swiftly past him to the winding road that would lead them down to the train station. Stopping, she turned around to face him.

"It's...been a good day, Riku," she said. "I'm glad we could do this together."

Riku did not reply. Instead, he walked up to her and slipped his hand into hers. They looked at each other, only briefly, before they took off. They walked down to the train station in a comfortable silence, but constantly aware of the feel of the other's hand in theirs.

They entered the station. Many people were milling about, trying to get on the last train home, so, patiently, they stood at the end of the queue. Riku looked around as he usually did; scanning the area for potential threats.

"Hey," he said in a low voice, and gave Naminé a nudge. "That guy, leaning against the train. He looks strange, so keep your guard up, alright?"

"Where?" she asked, standing on her tip-toes to see over the crowd.

"There." He gestured towards him surreptitiously with his free hand. "Spiky red hair."

Naminé stiffened. Riku felt her hand curl around his, tighter and tighter.

"What?" he asked worriedly. "Who is it?"

The man looked up and saw them. A grin came over his face, giving Riku a feeling that this guy was simply insane. He pushed his flaming-red hair back to reveal emerald eyes, decorated underneath by two thin red scars.

"It's Axel," she breathed.

Naminé awoke on a hill, the same hill she always went to when she wanted to draw. Usually, she was alone, but this time a man stood a little ways away from her.

"Good morning, little Missy," he said cheerfully. "Or should I say good night since it's dark and all?"

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"I'm Axel," he replied, pointing his thumb to his chest. He grinned as he turned it around to give her a thumbs-up. "And I must say, you're one powerful lady!" He whistled as he looked down at the town, surveying the damage. Her own eyes turned to the flaming house below.

"How did I get here?" she asked. "I, fainted..."

"I brought you here," he said. "We can't have you dying, you're a precious commodity to us. You really did a number on that place, you know that? I knew you were angry but, oh man, that was just carnage! And here I was, thinking I was the only person who could start a fire that well."

"I didn't mean-" she protested weakly. "I wasn't, they weren't supposed to be there at the time!" Her hand fell down to her side, coming into contact with her sketchbook. And there it was, exactly what was below. Her hands came to her mouth, feeling the gravity of what she had just done.

"Are they...?" her voice couldn't finish the word.

"Dead. Of course."

"How can you be so calm!?" she screamed. "You saved me, why didn't you save them!?"

"Because they were dead when I got there," he said, unruffled by her outburst. "Don't try to pin their death on me, or blame me for your mistakes. You were stupid, so face the consequences."

"They're dead, what else can be worse?"

"The whole town is after you head now. They think you're a witch, out to kill them all. You'll never be able to come back here."

"Don't you think I know that?" she yelled. "How do you think they'd feel, me acting like it never happened? Noel and Lillian were good people! Things can never be the same as they were before." She curled up into herself. They were dead. The life she had, the friends she had...

"I can't change the past, Axel."

"No, you can't change the past," he replied. "But your powers, Naminé, they can do so much more than bring images into reality. I work for an Organisation with people like us. Nobodies like us."

Her head snapped up. "How did you know?"

"I'm one too. We're not unlike each other, Naminé. I knew what you were right from the beginning. There are more of us. If you come with me, we can help you. We can't bring your parents back, but we can show you how to do other things."

"Like what?" she asked, eyes glistening, hanging on desperately to what seemed like her last hope.

"We can change their memories. Make it like it never happened." He smiled, a twinkle could be seen in his eyes.

"Make them forget."

Author's Note:

Damn, this chapter was hard. The style is choppy and uncoordinated, but it's the only way I can think to write this one. Sorry if I bored anyone with the back-story. I need to get it out of the way so that I can move on. But YAY, Axel's been introduced!

I. Need. A. Day. Off.

Thank you everyone for you constant critique and encouragement! I more than love you, I wuv you! Next chapter will be up as soon as possible! Thanks for reading!

LastCetra.