Chapter 12

"Hey, Nami, it's time to wake up."

Sleepy blue eyes opened to see Riku sitting on the side of the bed. Seeing her finally stir, he stopped gently shaking her shoulder. Naminé, not knowing what to do or where to move, remained lying down.

"Hey, Riku," she said with a yawn.

"Do you want to go into town with me?" he asked.

"I thought you had training today," she said slowly, still getting her bearings after just waking up.

"Well, yeah, but Diz is going doing secret "Dizzy" things, so he won't be back until this evening. We'll be doing a crash course training session then."

"Oh," she replied, not knowing what else to say.

"I thought you were a morning person," Riku said jokingly.

Naminé sat up and rubbed her eyes. "I guess..." she mumbled.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked.

"Um, yeah," she replied. "Why?"

"It's nothing," he said, though he looked slightly disappointed by her answer. "We just haven't been able to hang out as much since I've been training and well, I miss our chats." Naminé looked at him properly, and though she couldn't read exactly what was going on behind his eyes, she knew he was telling the truth.

"Okay," she said. "Just give me a minute to get dressed, and then we'll go out."

It had been a while since they had gone into the town, and there seemed to be an exciting atmosphere around the place. More people littered the streets, and there was frenzied chatter amongst the Twilight Town youths.

"What's happening?" Riku asked, turning to his side deftly to avoid being shouldered by a group of kids.

"I'm not too sure," Naminé said, but her own questions were answered when she saw a poster crudely taped to a lamppost. "Here we go," she said, plucking it off the metal to read it properly.

"Skateboard competition today," Riku read aloud. "Prize: 2000 Munny."

"Look," she said, pointing to the bottom. "Entrants have to be aged between thirteen and seventeen." Naminé gave Riku a look, to which he knew what she meant. Whenever she was about to ask him something outrageous, she always had an evil glint in her eye that made him regret going anywhere with her. In saying that however, when he saw her like that, it made him insanely happy. Her sense of adventure was one of the things he loved about her.

"I'm not entering," he said bluntly.

"Go on," she prodded. "It'll be fun!"

"No!" he exclaimed.

"Yes!" she exclaimed right back. "You know how to do it, don't you?"

"No," he lied. "I don't."

"You're lying," she said immediately.

"I'm not!"

"You are!"

"Naminé-"

"I'll buy you something if you enter."

"Like what?" he said flatly. "You have no munny."

"Well, if you win, you'll have plenty of munny. I'll buy you something out of that."

"Naminé, I haven't skated in about two years."

"It's like riding a bike, you'll pick it up again in no time!"

"I'm not doing it!"

"You are!"

"I'll tell you this; there is no way you are going to make me enter this competition, and that's that!"

"Hi, can I help you?" The ticket vendor looked at Naminé and Riku with a warm smile. She was sitting behind a small table in the corner of the Sandlot. A small, piece of paper that had the word "Registration" scrawled across it was taped across the front.

"Hi," Naminé said. "This is my friend, and he wants to enter."

"Oh, really?" she said, looking at Riku expectantly. Naminé nudged him politely, but hard enough to warn him that if he backed out now, he was going to know what hell was.

"Yeah, I want to enter," he said, his voice a dull monotone.

"That's brilliant! Usually, entrants aren't allowed enter on the day, but unfortunately we only have about ten contestants this year, so we'll be taking anyone we can up to the last minute. You must be lucky."

"Hear that, Riku?" she asked, a beaming smile on her face. "Aren't we so lucky?"

"Oh yeah," he replied with feigned enthusiasm. "We're dead lucky."

"Okay then!" the vendor said. "My name is Michelle, and I'll be the adjudicator today, along with two others from the Twilight Town Council who have yet to arrive. What's your name?"

"Riku."

"Well, Riku, all you need to do is-"

Michelle's speech was interrupted by a small stampede of three teenagers who rushed across the Sandlot up to the booth.

"Aren't they-" Riku asked.

"Yeah, the people we helped before," Naminé finished.

"Hey, Michelle, is registration still open?" Olette said in a rush of words, spoken at a frightening speed. Riku didn't think the human mouth was capable of speaking that fast.

"Oh, hi guys," she said with a smile. "I was worried you weren't going to turn up this year. It wouldn't be a skateboarding contest without you!"

"We only just remembered it today," Hayner said, giving Pence a high five as they realised they were in luck. "It's a day we never usually miss."

"Are Seifer, Fuu, Rai and Vivi entering?" Pence asked.

"Vivi couldn't make it this year. He has a cold, the poor thing, but the rest will be there."

"Damn it," Hayner cursed. "I was kind of hoping Fuu wouldn't make it."

"Cause you hate getting your ass kicked by a girl?" Olette teased, earning a scowl from Hayner. Naminé smiled to herself. Apparently she had hit a nerve.

"And we have a new contestant this year," Michelle said, gesturing behind them.

Slowly, the trio turned to see Naminé and Riku standing quietly, sharing the same bewildered look. Olette, recognising them instantly, grinned.

"Hey, it's the two that helped us before!" she said happily. "Thanks again for that! Which one of you is entering?"

Naminé pointed her thumb towards her friend in a small, surreptitious gesture. Riku wanted the ground to swallow him more than anything at that point.

"Well, why don't you go with Pence and Hayner?" Olette offered. "They've entered plenty of times and they know exactly what to do, so you'll be in good hands! To be honest, I'm awful at the sport, so I'll take your lovely lady friend and we'll watch from the sidelines!"

"I, uh, don't want to impos-"

"Don't worry about it!" Hayner interrupted. "Hell, man, it's the least I could do after all your help!"

"I-" he said, still unsure.

"Go on," Naminé replied, pushing him towards the boys. "It wouldn't kill you to make some friends while you're here." She turned to Olette.

"I'm Naminé, and that's Riku."

"Nice to meet you properly," she chirped. "I'm Olette, and those two are Pence and Hayner." Naminé shook Olette's hand and waved at the other two.

"Hi," Riku said sheepishly, shaking Hayner and Pence's hands respectively. "Naminé-"

"Not now, Riku," she argued. "You have a contest to prepare for!" Naminé took Olette's hand and the two of them ran off, giggling.

"Don't bother with those two," Pence said, giving Riku a hearty slap on the back. Riku wheezed and flew forward, totally unprepared for such a violent, but nonetheless friendly gesture.

Hayner looked down at Riku with a smile, but then his brow crinkled questioningly.

"Hey, dude," he said. "Where the hell is your skateboard?"

Riku looked in turn at his empty hands. All he could do was laugh and shrug helplessly.

"No worries," Pence said. "We'll give you Olette's. All she does is use it to keep up with us; it's in pretty good condition."

"Thanks," Riku replied gratefully.

"Um, why did you enter anyway? Is it for the prize munny?"

A faint tinge of red graced Riku's cheeks. "I, uh....did it cause Naminé made me."

Pence and Hayner started laughing hysterically. Riku, folded his arms defensively.

"Whipped!!" they chimed together.

"So, how come I've never see you guys around town?" Olette asked. Since both girls had started talking, they had just clicked; becoming instant friends.

"Well," Naminé replied. "We live on the outskirts, so we only come in about once a week for shopping.

"Whereabouts?" she questioned, her curiosity piqued.

"Um, near enough to the mansion," Naminé answered, somewhat enigmatically.

"Ugh," Olette said with a shiver. "That place gives me the creeps! How do you live near there? Do you even know any of the stories about that-" Realising what she was saying, she stopped. "Um, I probably shouldn't say. I don't want to scare you away, you know?"

"I like it," Naminé said. "It's very silent. I can almost hear the memories of the people that used to live there. When I see it, I think of all the people that raised their kids, or the weddings that might have taken place. It makes me really happy to think that people found love in those walls."

Olette gave her a look. "When you hear the stories I heard, you're not going to like it anymore!"

"Well, you're not going to tell me, so I'll look at it my way for a little while longer."

"I like you, Naminé. You look at life a lot more differently than other people."

"Thanks. I guess I've a lot to be happy about."

A comfortable silence stretched between them while they crossed the Sandlot. The contest wasn't due to start for another hour, so they were early enough to grab some seats right at the front. The main square had been transformed into a gigantic skate park, complete with quarter pipes, grinding rails, fun boxes, and every other skater's dream when it came to performing tricks.

"So," Olette asked. "Are you and Riku related or what?"

"What?" she exclaimed. "No!"

"Are you...?" she pressed, a knowing glint in her eye.

"No, we're not that either," she replied, curling a lock of hair behind her face. She did, however have a smile that suggested otherwise; one that Olette could pick up on instantly.

"Do you want to be?"

Naminé laughed shortly. "I guess you could say it's complicated."

"Every relationship is complicated," Olette said with a shrug. "All you have to do is wade through the crap to get to the good bit. A good relationship has to have its share of baggage."

"It sounds like you're speaking from experience," Naminé noted.

"Is it that obvious?" Olette said with a laugh.

"So, you and..."

"Yup." She gave Naminé a friendly wink.

"And...?"

"It was awkward at first, but he learned to live with it. I'm glad that we can all still hang out together."

"But, how did you get past that?"

"I'm not going to lie, Naminé. It was tough. We really hard to work on it. But in the end, we realised it would be better us staying friends than us not being in each others' lives anymore. But you know what? I'm really glad I told him rather than him hearing it from someone else like Fuu."

One question kept surfacing in her mind, but she was afraid to ask it. Naminé bit down on the end of her lip nervously.

"I think I know what you want to say," Olette said. "And it's alright."

"Do you love him?" she asked.

Olette looked up at the sky with a genuinely happy smile. It looked like she was someplace very far away, but it was a place with infinite happiness.

"I think I do," she replied. "But, you know, I could just be smitten!"

They laughed; the beautiful sound only adding to the friendly chatter that was growing louder in the rapidly crowding area. The skateboard competition was only minutes away, and the excitement was almost palpable.

"So..." Olette asked. "What exactly is so complicated between you two anyway?"

"He....he thinks I'm something I'm not," Naminé answered. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure how best to put that..."

"Ah, don't worry. Did you lie to his face, or was it something you just decided not to tell him yet?"

"The second one," she said miserably.

"Well, is it that bad?"

"No, not really. I'm just-"

"Afraid of what he'll think of you," Olette finished.

Naminé sighed. "Exactly."

Their conversation was cut short as a member of the Twilight Town council walked into the middle of the skate park. A joyous cheer erupted from the crowd, and the man raised his hands to quiet the audience so he could speak and be heard.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you, our FOUTH ANNUAL SKATING COMPETITION!!"

The crowd went mad, and Naminé and Olette exchanged an exasperated glance before shrugging and joining in. The man continued with his speech until he called the first contestant which was a person neither Olette or Naminé knew.

"I had a peek at the line up," Olette whispered. "Riku is third, Hayner is sixth and Pence is seventh. Should be a bit of fun to see how your boy does!"

"He hasn't skated in over two years," Naminé whispered back.

Olette snorted so loudly that the contestant became startled at the noise and tripped at the top of the fun box, earning a big "Oooooooooooohhhh!" from the spectators.

"No way!" she half-whispered, half-giggled. Naminé only replied with a nod and a grin as wide as the Sandlot square.

The second contestant was Seifer, as Olette pointed out to Naminé several times. His skateboarding was basic and not very skilled, but he had one or two impressive tricks up his sleeve. He left the park with moderate applause.

It was then that Riku came out. Naminé and Olette both jumped to their feet and cheered loudly.

"That's my skateboard!" Olette proclaimed proudly, adding a wolf whistle to further deepen Riku's embarrassment.

"Do your best!" Naminé called. Riku saw her and smiled, nodding. Then he began.

For a person who had not skated in over two years, Naminé had to admit that he wasn't bad. Not amazing, but he was alright. She knew he wouldn't win, but she also knew that he had at least tried. She made sure to cheer extra loudly as he finished and walked off.

Fuu was fourth. Naminé didn't think skateboarding could be so spectacular until she saw that woman move. Her tricks were unreal, her speed was off the charts and her flow, balance and poise were simply perfection. She finished to a standing ovation, followed by roars for an encore by the crowd.

"No one's going to top that," Olette said. "Looks like Fuu will have three in a row this year."

She was right. No one could possibly outmatch Fuu's skill. Even though Hayner and Pence's performances were of high quality, they couldn't hold a candle to what came before them.

The last contestant finished in the late afternoon. Riku came bounding up to Naminé and Olette.

"Hey, Riku!" Naminé greeted cheerily. "You were great!"

"Thanks," he replied. He handed Olette her board. "Thanks for letting me borrow it."

"Hey, anytime pal!"

"Nami," he said, taking her aside. "I've got to go. I have training with Diz in a half an hour."

"Oh, okay," she replied, slightly disappointed. "You won't get to see the results."

"I don't mind. You know, I actually had fun today. Hayner and Pence are really cool guys." He pulled Naminé into a quick hug. "Thanks for pushing me into doing it. I like when you get me to do crazy things like this."

"Oh, hey, no problem," she replied.

"I'll see you at home?"

"Y-yeah."

"Right, gotta dash, Nami, I don't want him to blow a gasket for me being late!" He waved quickly to Olette before running off.

"Hey," Olette said, walking up to stand beside Naminé as she watched him go. "You know what I love most about my man?"

"What's that?" she asked.

"He doesn't love everything about me. And to be honest, I wouldn't want him to, not when there are parts to me that I don't like myself." She put her hand around Naminé's shoulders.

"Maybe he won't hate you. He might not like that aspect of you, but he likes everything else that you've let him get to know. Why trade in all those good things because of one bad thing?"

"I love him, you know," Naminé said. "I think, I've loved him for a while now."

"It's a great feeling, don't you think?" she asked.

Naminé nodded silently.

"Well," Olette said. "I think you have your answer."

She paused, letting the realisation flow through her. Olette was right, she knew her answer, and she had known it ever since they had been walking together on that road to Twilight Town.

"I'm glad we met each other, Olette."

"So am I," she replied. They gave each other a big hug.

"I need to go," Naminé said.

"You're not going to stay for a while?"

She shook her head. "No, I need to tell him before I chicken out. I don't want to find a reason to keep it a secret any longer."

"Alright Naminé," Olette conceded. "Good luck, okay?"

"Thanks, Olette, I'll see you soon!"

"Get up."

Riku was sprawled on the floor. Taking deep breaths, he dragged himself to his hands and knees. He shook his head. There was no way; it was impossible. Riku thought he was a good fighter; his senses were fantastic and he could hear the pitter-patter of a mouse's feet if he was in a room, but Diz moved silently, and when he spoke, his voice was everywhere but nowhere at the same time. There was absolutely no way to detect him, not unless he took the blindfold off.

"I told you to get up," Diz said, landing another blow to Riku, who rocketed to the floor.

"I can't," Riku breathed, clutching his torso, nursing his newest bruise. "I need my eyes."

"No, you don't. Now get up or I'll make you get up."

Shakily, he stood on his feet. His head swam, but that was nothing new. Over the last few days, Diz had made that happen quite often.

"Now, I want you to call your sword."

"What?" he asked, thoroughly surprised. Until now, they had only been using their fists to fight.

"If you're not willing to learn, I believe it's time we added some danger to give you incentive." Riku heard Diz draw a sword with those words. It sounded slim, like a sabre.

"If you can't learn to see me, then you're going to die."

"WHAT!? You're insane!"

"But the difference is, I can fight blind. And you're wasting your time."

Riku heard the tell-tale whistle of a sword slicing through the air. Panicked, he threw himself out of the way. He reached for his blindfold.

"You won't have time to do that," Diz said. Suddenly, Riku felt the sword pierce the arm that was trying to remove the cloth from his eyes. He let out a strangled cry, completely taken aback by how serious the situation had become.

Riku did his best to do what he had been told and called his Soul Reaper fourth. So far, he could picture the mass of black surrounding his vision, but he failed in letting it fall to the background. Everything, to him, was darkness.

Hearing another stroke of the sword, he stepped back wildly and tried to block using his own weapon. There was a clumsy clang as the two connected.

"Find me, Riku. I'm right here. You can see, you just choose not to."

Riku concentrated, and concentrated harder than he had ever done in his life. It just wasn't coming, and Diz was on the warpath. He wished he was back at the skateboarding tournament, back with Naminé. Things were so much easier when all he saw was her smiling face, it was like nothing really else mattered....

With that, his mind emptied, and Riku was plunged into a dark world. The ground was black, but it was solid. He could see the regular white lights of the machines, something he hadn't seen before. They were so bright they were almost blinding. It seemed to be the only thing that was white though; everything inanimate took a blurry, black form. The world was eerily quiet, but somehow, he knew where everything was and what it looked like.

And there, right in front of him, was a small, grey, blurry shape. It wasn't much to go on, but at least he had a target now. With a grin he ran towards it, Soul Reaper ready.

"I can see you now!" he yelled, his sword flying down. This was the get him back for all the snide comebacks, all the times he had put him down during training, all the times he had made him feel like he didn't matter.

"RIKU!" Diz bellowed.

He was brought back into his blinded world, stunned and confused. His sword smashed against Diz's sabre with such force it made his bones quiver. Diz ripped the cloth from his eyes. Riku looked up to see Naminé, petrified, drop to her knees.

"W-why are you grey?" he asked, but he already knew the answer.

Author's Notes

Whoa. Long chapter. To be honest, I would have liked to separate some of this out, but, I think it works well enough as a whole. And may I say, less than two weeks and I'm updating already! I RAWK! No, in all seriousness, I've had a huge burst of creative energy in the last week. In fact, I think I've written more in the last three weeks than I've written in the last year, and that's saying a lot. So, well, we'll run with it while we have it I guess!

I do know I never specifically mentioned which boy Olette was going out with, and yes, that intentional. This is a story about the growing relationship between Naminé and Riku, and well, I don't want to detract from that. So, you can have your guesses, and I have my assumptions, but I'm not going to say....haha!

Reviews are appreciated as always, and thank you all so, SO much for reading!! I hope you enjoyed this latest instalment of Riku x Naminé drama!!