I do not own Kingdom Hearts

Keiya reluctantly opened her eyes upon hearing a set of footsteps followed by the sound of windows opening. Sunlight came streaming into the room, and birds could be heard chirping just outside. Then, another set of footsteps entered the room. Keiya closed her eyes again and pretended to be sleeping. These footsteps also walked over to the window.

"Ah, what a beautiful day!" Exclaimed a voice. Keiya recognized it immediately as Yuffie.

"Yes. It seems that weather like this has a positive effect on everyone. Even Cloud and Leon were in better spirits this morning." Replied Aerith.

"Hmm…" She heard someone walk closer to her, but stop a few feet away. "Has he been here all night?"

"He must have been tired. Usually, he comes for about an hour or so before he goes to sleep to check on her. He's really worried about her after seeing the hold the darkness has on her. I guess he just fell asleep here instead."

"How sweet! Personally, I find the infirmary beds really uncomfortable. Anyway, should we wake them up?" Asked Yuffie excitedly.

"No, just leave them. They must be tired. I'm surprised Riku isn't up yet—he's always up early." They both started walking out of the room, still talking. As soon as the door closed and she could hear their voices traveling down the hall, Keiya shot up from her bed and looked around. Sure enough, Riku was sleeping on the bed next to hers, a few feet away. She suddenly felt like the temperature in the room had risen. He comes every night… because he's worried about me?

She wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, then stood up and walked over to where he was sleeping. She didn't want him to see her in her pajamas if he did wake up—she was only wearing a tank top and shorts that Aerith had given her. He was lying on his side facing her bed, and was wearing an old white T-shirt. He had a single blanket lazily thrown over him, and his hair was all messy. She sat at the foot of his bed and watched his chest rise and fall. Now that he wasn't awake, Keiya could actually look at him without feeling self-conscious. He didn't snore, which only added to his 'cool aura', and he was a very heavy sleeper. He didn't make any sudden movements or stir when Yuffie and Aerith were talking right above him, and now he didn't even seem to sense her sitting a couple of feet away on his bed. He was totally dead to his surroundings. She let out a small laugh and decided to get dressed before he woke up. She hopped up and tested her ankle on the wooden floor. It felt a lot better, and now she could easily run and jump without falling over. With one last glance back at Riku, she took some clothes from the closet she was using and entered the bathroom next to her bed.

"She's in Radiant Garden—if you had let me finish searching there, I would have found her."

Maleficent sighed and turned away from the council members she was talking with to face Sai. He knew he was supposed to wait for her to be alone, but he couldn't hold back his 'I was right and you were wrong' voice. The council members were wearing all black, and had the heartless symbol drawn over their chests. He recognized their faces—these were the people he and Keiya would be put in charge of commanding. So, his bursting in and acting like a child probably made them think less of him.

"What did you say?" She asked, clearly annoyed.

"I found Keiya. She's in Radiant Garden." He repeated, this time a little less haughtily.

"You're sure?"

He nodded his head solemnly.

"All right—you may go. But on one condition—you keep your distance. I have some new heartless for you to control, but if you don't prove to be able to handle this mission, I will take them back."

Sai nodded again and walked off, leaving Maleficent to go back to speaking to the council. But instead, she excused herself with 'urgent business' and opened a portal for herself. Sai paused before he exited the room to hear what the new council was saying.

"Hmph. That kid certainly doesn't have any manners." A man's voice said critically.

"He's going to be ordering us around soon, that brat." Another said.

Sai clenched the doorknob he was holding.

"And that other apprentice… the one they're looking for right now, she's going to be in charge too."

"A brat and a run-away—yeah, Maleficent's got herself some real shining stars." One of them said sarcastically.

"I-I dunno… I mean, the other one is supposed to be really scary. Did you know that she killed entire villages of people without a second thought? A-and she killed some of the old council members after the keyblade master had worn them down!" A meek voice exclaimed.

Sai smirked. A newbie.

"She's just a little girl—nothing to be afraid of."

They all started walking together, their voices getting fainter.

"But I'm telling you—I've heard rumors! She'll kill anyone; the sick, the elderly, infants…"

Sai opened the door when he couldn't hear them anymore and began walking to his 'heartless garage' as he referred to it. All his heartless were stored in there, then lined up in a training room for him to account for them before search missions like these. This way, he could tell when some were missing, like now. He opened a huge black door, inside of which was nothing but heartless. Darkness was pouring out of the room, and in the very back, Sai could make out some new figures—the heartless Maleficent had promised him. He stepped into the pitch black and shut the door behind him.

Keiya stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing a casual white dress that came down to her knee and had a low-cut V-shaped neckline. Another dress that Aerith had outgrown, but fit Keiya perfectly. She had gotten a lot of clothes like these—simple dresses in colors like white, blue, and pink. All she had ever worn before was black and dark purple. Not only were the colors different, but Maleficent had always had her wear things like long sleeve tight dresses that came to her knee (all in black, obviously) and leggings underneath. She didn't want her to show any skin—it would ruin her reputation, she'd say. Of course, it's not like she ever spoke to anyone or was ever seen by anyone, so it was kind of a waste.

What am I thinking? I can't wear something like this-- I'm not like Aerith.

She smoothed out the dress, turning to see how it looked from the side. Then, she did a little twirl, watching how it flared around her. She was a little uncomfortable with showing skin, but she had already worn the longer skirts and capris she was given, and would have to wait for them to be cleaned before she could wear them again. All she had left were short dresses.

I wonder what Riku would say if he saw me like this… would he even notice? Suddenly, she remembered that she had a pink dress in the closet that didn't come so low-cut, and had three-quarter sleeves. I'll wear that instead. It doesn't really suit the weather, and it's not a neutral color, but at least it doesn't show so much skin…

She did one more quick twirl in the mirror, sighed, then walked out of the bathroom to get the other dress from the closet.

Riku finally woke up when he heard Sora and Yuffie yelling in the hallway, along with the sun shining in his face. He sat up yawning and ran a hand through his hair. I feel like I've been asleep for days… this is probably the latest I've ever gotten up. It wasn't until he had already gotten out of bed that he realized he wasn't in his room.

This is… the infirmary? I could have sworn I went to sleep in my own bed… oh, wait. That was yesterday. He thought nonchalantly. He glanced at Keiya's empty bed with the covers thrown back. He immediately blushed upon realization that she saw him sleeping in her room. Well, next to her bed. Guess she's already up… might as well get dressed…

On his way to the door, Keiya stepped out of the bathroom wearing the white dress she was so reluctant about. They both stared at each other for a moment, startled.

"O-oh, hi. Good Morning." She said sheepishly, trying to cover her body by crossing her arms across her chest.

"Good Morning." He said, looking her up. He felt his face heat up, seeing her in such a short dress. He quickly shifted his gaze to her face to avoid staring at her body, but when he saw how open the top was, he just averted his eyes all together.

"You fell asleep here?" She asked, breaking the silence. She felt self-conscious as soon as she saw him looking at her.

"Yeah…" He started, trying to come up with something to tell her. "I, uh, had to check something with the monitors and… yeah. I fell asleep."

She decided not to press the matter further, keeping her newfound knowledge to herself. She brushed a hand through her hair nervously and made her way to the closet on the other side of the room. She had to walk passed Riku to get there, so she drew his gaze again. He was trying not to look at her, but when she crossed him, the scent of her hair was blown his way from the wind. He swallowed and followed her to the closet casually, keeping his hands in his pockets. "You're wearing a dress." He pointed out. She hid behind the door, pretending to be looking for something while in reality, the dress she needed was on the hanger right in front of her.

"Y-yeah, Aerith let me have it. I don't think I'm going to wear it though..." She murmured shyly. She felt Riku's eyes burning through her skin.

"No, you should." He said quickly. "It looks nice… I mean, you look nice in it…"

His comment was followed by an awkward silence, a blush, then by Keiya's continued rummaging through the closet.

"I'm going to go get dressed." He announced, making his way to the door.

"Okay, see you later…"

He looked back at her one last time, taking in her appearance. Her long orange hair contrasted surprisingly nice against the white dress, and since it was tight-fitting, he saw her figure for the first time—she was thin, and her body was delicately built. Her arms and legs were slender, and her skin was a creamy-off white. He had trouble tearing his eyes from her—he had never seen her looking so radiant before. He had always thought of her as beautiful, since the day he found her on the streets of Traverse Town. But she looked completely different now, and he couldn't place why. While he was still staring at her, she looked up from what she was doing.

"Do you need something?"

"Uh, no… I'll see you later." He said, finally walking out the door.

Keiya dropped to her knees as soon as he left, the feeling of relief sweeping over her.

Oh my God… I can't believe he saw me wearing this… but, did he say he liked it? She glanced up at the other dress she was thinking of wearing, then looked at her reflection in the mirror on the door. She stood up slowly, tugging at the dress to make it longer. When she saw that that only served to make the top lower, though, she fixed it back.

I guess I can wear it…it doesn't look that bad…

Out in the hallway, Riku was in total shock mode. He brought a hand up to brush through his hair and leaned against the wall. His 'stupid teenage hormones' were already driving him insane, and he had just woken up minutes ago.

'You look nice in it'? That was a stupid thing to say! She looked gorgeous in that dress! He thought, scolding himself. His faced turned bright red. I mean, not that I care, but still…And why'd I tell her to wear it? Obviously she wasn't comfortable in it…

He made his way down the hall to his own room, the image of her in the white dress burned into his mind. I wonder if she bought that bit about the monitors… I can't believe I fell asleep there. I probably shouldn't even be in there while she's sleeping—that's kind of weird. And besides, whenever it happens, there's nothing I can ever do about it… He thought, thinking of the dark aura that surrounded her almost every night. He would watch her lose her breath and struggle to fight it off, all the while wondering if she knew it was even happening. He couldn't do anything to help her, but he felt like he should be there in case anything happened to her. He wanted to be there.

And if I tell her about it, then she'll know I've been watching over her… God, between finding me asleep in her room—I mean, the infirmary, and then that whole incident this morning, she must think I'm some sort of pervert…

He reached his room and started rummaging through his own clothes, trying to keep his mind from wandering. When he saw the bathroom door open, though, he remembered how she had hid behind the door to stay out of view, afraid to show so much skin. The memory of her hair cascading down her back as she looked for something else to wear surfaced, followed by the light's illuminating effect on her and the simple dress and how it made her shine much brighter than he could have imagined. He slammed his fist into the wall angrily. Why the hell did I care so much about that dress?!

When Keiya got to the kitchen, everyone was just sitting down to breakfast. Sora was talking to Cid and Yuffie, so between the three of them, the entire kitchen was blaring with laughter that could be heard from the other side of the house. Aerith was making coffee and tea, and everyone else was quiet, since no one could talk over Yuffie's hyper screams. Leon looked up at her when she came in, and she suddenly remembered how unwelcome she felt there. Since everyone else had been out and she had been with Riku, she hadn't really spoken to anyone else other than Aerith.

"Good Morning, Keiya." Tifa said pleasantly.

"Mornin'!" Shouted Cid from across the table, already chewing his piece of straw.

"Good Morning." She replied, standing uncomfortably in the doorway. As embarrassed as she was this morning, she was hoping for Riku to come so she wouldn't be just standing there like an idiot. She reluctantly took a seat at the long table, trying to make as little noise as possible. Everyone else was wrapped up in their food or a conversation, so no one really paid her any mind, for which she was grateful.

"So what have you two been doing while we were gone?" Leon asked her out of the blue. He took a sip of his coffee—black.

"W-what?"

All around them, everyone stopped talking. There was a prolonged silence as Leon spoke.

"You and Riku. What have you been doing to keep busy?" He said again, gauging her reaction. She couldn't tell if he meant to sound intimidating, or if he always seemed to be testing people.

"Oh, nothing much. Just hanging out…" She said, trying to think of what she could say to get him to trust her more. She also needed to redeem herself for starting on the wrong foot a couple of weeks ago.

"A few nights ago your clothes were all dirty. Riku's, too. What happened?" He said, staring her down. She felt as if she would sink into the floor, the way he was watching her. Everyone hung their heads and ate silently, either just used to giving Leon the spot light when he spoke, or out of interest. She saw Aerith about to protest his questioning, but Tifa held her back.

"U-um… well…" So not your business!, she thought. She was trying her hardest to remain polite and not snap at him like she did on their first meeting. He was making it difficult, though. He made her almost as mad as Sai sometimes did.

"We were checking on the gardens. We got caught in the rain and fell." Said Riku from the doorway. "I know I wasn't supposed to let her out of bed, but it was the only way I could watch over her and still get the chores done."

Leon just nodded his head and went back to drinking his coffee. Aerith looked over, smiling at Riku. She was worried for them, too. The mood lightened up, and everyone started making conversation again.

"It's such a lovely day! Why don't you and Keiya get out and see the town? You two have been stuck here for over a week…" Said Aerith, setting some plates of toast on the table.

Riku took a seat next to Keiya, flashing her a quick smile. "Do you want to?"

"Sure." She replied softly, "If you want to…"

After breakfast, the only ones remaining in the kitchen were Aerith and Leon. Everyone else had gone their separate ways for the day. Aerith was cleaning up the table, while Leon proceeded to lean against the wall with another cup of coffee.

"I don't see why it's necessary to push them into a relationship. When she ends up leaving, Riku will be heartbroken." He said. Aerith continued washing the dishes, her back to him.

"What makes you think she'll leave him? She seems happy here."

"You know that's what's going to happen. She always went back before—why should this be different?" He said, his voice pessimistic and monotonous.

"Because she's never had someone like Riku to help her. I think that he can save her. Think about it. If negative feelings like loneliness, depression, and hopelessness are what fuel the dark, then positive feelings can chase it away. Up until now, she's only had those kinds of feelings. But if Riku can teach her to be happy, to have hope and to love, then maybe she'll overcome the darkness that's been plaguing her."

Leon didn't say anything, and continued drinking his coffee.

"He watches over her every night." She continued. "And even though he can't physically do anything to stop the darkness from trying to devour her, he still stays by her side. I've seen him around her—he's already enamored. It just hasn't hit him yet."

"And Keiya?"

"Riku has obviously made an impression on her—leaving them alone for a week has allowed him to weave his way into her heart. She doesn't know how to react. For her, everything is happening fast."

"It has only been a couple of weeks." Leon pointed out.

"But I think that she's falling faster than she can come to terms with it. She's never felt any sort of attachment before—she may not know how to identify what she's feeling as 'love'." She paused, thinking. "I think… I think she knows that she's attracted to Riku. I think she just hasn't labeled it yet. Or maybe… she's afraid to think too hard about it, because she's afraid of what she'll realize."

Leon gave a satisfied grunt. "That's amazing. The way you can tell how their feeling."

"It's written all over their faces—they just don't know how to read it."

"So where do you want to go?" He asked, leading her into the town square. Everyone was outside today—there were numerous children playing with toy swords, people haggling at markets, and elderly sitting on their rocking chairs, telling stories to the kids who will listen. Everything was bright and colorful—the town was bustling with action.

"Anywhere. Somewhere that Leon isn't." She said; finally free to voice her opinion. Riku gave a short laugh.

"That bad, huh?"

"You have no idea! I mean, if he didn't ask questions so… so intently, it wouldn't be a problem. But every time he talks, everyone else stops to listen, and he acts as if he's some sort of king or god!"

Riku continued laughing throughout her rant, his arms stretched behind his head. He walked alongside her about a foot away. They continued making their way through the town, passing up booths full of fresh food—fish, fruit, poultry, dairy, everything you could want. Artisans were selling woven carpets and hand-made bowls, and children were offering to help the adults with errands in exchange for money.

"Hey, Keiya. Look over here." Said Riku, walking over to a group of children sitting on a towel beneath a shady spot. They all looked to be around ten or eleven, and had rocks and gems scattered around along with different tools and chords. Sitting with them was an old man in a rocking chair, acting as supervisor. Keiya and Riku walked over to get a closer look.

"What're you guys making?" He asked, bending down to their level. Some of them looked up from their work, observing them curiously.

"These kids are learning how to carve gems into necklaces." Explained the old man.

Keiya sat down next to Riku on the towel, drawing even more curios eyes. the old man smiled at them and leaned forward in his rocking chair. "You two are with the Restoration Committee, is that right? I heard about you from Leon and Tifa the other day."

"Yeah, that's right." replied Riku. Keiya felt slightly nauseous—they had been talking about her to the civilians? She couldn't imagine what they were saying about her. Especially between Leon and Tifa.

"They talked very highly of you. Good fighters, they said. And good kids, too. We need people like you to protect this town form Maleficent and her heartless. When they attacked this town, there was a boy with them about your age. He was walking through the streets with a hundred or so heartless following after him—I've never seen anything like it before!" He exclaimed, waving his hands in the air. A woman came up behind him holding a bowl of freshly sliced watermelon. "Aye, it's true. I heard from a friend that Maleficent is training an apprentice now, but I though it was supposed to be a girl. This kid didn't look so tough, so I have to wonder if this is who all the commotion is about."

"Ah, who says a master can only have one apprentice. I've got plenty right here!" Said the man, gesturing towards all the kids. He turned back to Riku and Keiya and smiled. "Of course, now that the town's on alert, something like that wouldn't ever happen again."

Keiya felt sick to her stomach. So everyone had heard of her. She couldn't even face the adults as they were talking. These were the kinds of people she had killed—innocent, trusting people. All the worlds she had helped to destroy, they were all like this one. Full of kind, happy people.

Riku sensed her discomfort and steered the conversation to a new topic. "Is the town back in order now?"

"Oh, yes. Thanks to all the teamwork, we've managed to tie up all loose ends." Said the old man. "Luckily, no one got hurt, and that's the important thing, right, kids?"

All the kids were still starting excitedly at the committee members, each one disregarding their work. "Hey, can you show us how to fight?!" Asked one of the kids to Riku. "I wanna be able to slash the heartless, too!" All the boys started to gather around Riku, talking about how they wanted to learn to wield a sword. "And punching, too! Can you fight with your hands, too?"

Keiya regained her composure, deciding to push the depressing thoughts out of her mind for later. She couldn't help but laugh as Riku was swarmed by the five or six boys. He reacted surprisingly well. He knew how to talk to the kids, joking with them, but still managing to keep his cool attitude up—causing the kids to look up to him even more.

She had scooted backwards when one boy demonstrated swinging an imaginary sword, bumping into a girl the same age as the boys. "O-oh, I'm sorry." She started, still laughing at Riku's new friends. "Big sister, can you fight too?" she asked rapidly. Three other girls approached her as well, all of their eyes gleaming with excitement. "Yeah, Aerith said you can use magic! Can you teach us?"

"I don't know, we'll see…" She answered all of them, staying vague to avoid promising. The kept talking in excited voices until, finally, the woman from before chased them off.

Riku and Keiya walked off after saying goodbye to the old man, and continued walking down the streets. It was already dusk, so people were starting to close shop and head inside for dinner.

"I can't believe how well you handled those kids." She said. "Are you really going to teach them to fight?"

"I think it's a really good idea—I'll take it up with Leon. After all, they're the future of the town and the Restoration Committee. They should learn how to fight. You had some followers too, didn't you?" He teased.

"They said that Aerith told them I could use magic, so that's what they want to learn. I can't teach them that, though." She said, suddenly starting to remember the conversation the adults were having about her. Well, who they didn't know was her. "I can only use dark magic."

"But you wield a weapon, don't you?" He asked. They passed up a few more booths before reaching the end of the marketplace, then decided to head back. They began walking back the way they came. "Hey, that's right. I don't know how you fight at all—we haven't talked about it yet." He observed out loud.

"I don't have a weapon. I mean, I've used blades, but I usually fight with magic. I don't need a blade to use it." She said, her voice slightly hushed so no one else could hear. She wasn't accustomed to talking about herself, and doing so in public like this made her nervous. "Actually, I do have my own blade not given to me by Maleficent, but I haven't used it in years. I actually had forgotten all about it until you brought it up."

"Probably would've come in handy back in Traverse Town, huh? Y'know, when I saved you the first time?"

"Yeah, I know. Don't let it get to you." She said hastily. They were heading towards the steps to leave the marketplace, when suddenly from behind them came an ear-piercing scream. They turned around sharply to see a woman who had fallen to the ground backing away from a shadow, which was gaining upon her. Riku quickly charged forward and slashed the heartless away with his weapon, which he had summoned in an instant. All around them, heartless started coming up from the ground and began lurking and trailing people. Keiya rushed over to Riku who was already starting towards another heartless. He slashed relentlessly, destroying them in bunches. Townspeople were panicking all around them, running every which way and locking doors and windows.

Keiya was a loss of what to do. She couldn't use her own power to destroy them—not in front of all these people. That would only cause more alarm. Besides that, the heartless were after her, so if she didn't fight, everyone would know they were targeting her.

Behind her, a group of kids were screaming and were being backed into a corner by a group of defenders. The image of her old weapon of questionable origin surfaced in her mind, since she had just been reminded that she had one. Acting on instinct, and silently thanking Riku for bringing the subject up, she ran forward and pictured the weapon in her mind. She reached the defenders, still weaponless, and with a surge of hope, wielded an imaginary weapon and slashed downwards upon them, eyes closed. When she opened them, she was face to face with some five or six children—the defenders gone—and in her hands was a thin white staff that looked like it was carved out of wood with intricate carvings all over it. It had a sharp edge on the end like a sword, and a handle made of crystal. The kids in front of her looked at her with awe. It was the same group that they had seen earlier that day.

I can't believe it… I haven't even seen this thing in so long… I can't believe I never used it…

After a quick look over of the weapon, she turned and ran out of the alley to join Riku in fighting off all the heartless. The kids ran out of the alley behind her, eager to watch more fighting. After saving an elderly couple on their front porch, she caught sight of a woman about to push her children in the house and lock up. "No! Stay out here!" She called to them. "They'll break into your house and you'll be locked in! Stay outside where we can protect you!"

The woman nodded her head along with a large group of people about to hide in indoor shops and the houses near the marketplace. Riku, who was fighting a little ways off, turned towards her and nodded his head, then ran off to spread the word to people further down. Little by little, they were getting rid of the heartless—obviously a limited number. With all the townspeople outside, it was a lot easier to find the heartless. However, this meant that all eyes were on them. After a half-hour or so of constant slashing and running back and forth saving people, Riku and Keiya had managed to clear out all the heartless on the block by themselves. After Keiya had taken out the last heartless, the crowds watching them began cheering, and some of the kids ran up to them, expressing how awesome they were and how cool their weapons were. Riku walked back over to Keiya smiling whole-heartedly, letting the kids ramble on while he talked to her.

"That your weapon?" He asked nonchalantly. She nodded her head, returning the smile.

"I guess you can fight, after all." He said, starting to walk forward.

"What do you mean, 'after all'?" She called, running after him.

Amid the cheers and laughter of the crowd, a huge crash went off in the direction of headquarters. However, no one but Riku and Keiya seemed to notice. When she looked over in that direction, all she could see was darkness. There was not a spec of light.

"Did you hear…?" She started.
"Yeah, c'mon!" He said hastily. They ran through the streets, climbing up the staircase and finally exiting the busy marketplace area. Everyone in town began cleaning up the mess in the streets, still unaware at why their heroes had run off in such a hurry.

"Ugh… this is so boring… I can't do anything…" muttered Sai to himself. "What a waste of time." He paced back and forth on a rooftop above a neighborhood. Below him, heartless were being slaughtered by a duo—one wielding a gigantic gun blade, the other a sword that came apart into pieces. They ran around the neighborhood bringing relief and safety to the surrounding civilians.

How boring…

He hated these kinds of missions. When he and Keiya were assigned to do scouting work or small invasions, it was her presence that kept him from joining in the fun. He couldn't fathom why Maleficent would rather watch from the sidelines than join the fight—to him, that was the whole point of training day and night. Keiya never complained about it, though, and kept her mind focused on the task at hand. So, naturally, he restrained himself and tried to live up to her composure.

"This is a search mission, Sai. You're not out to kill any of these people. Not yet." Came Maleficent's voice behind him. "There will always be a troublesome few who think they can outshine the darkness with their light. This is just foolish—let them fight for now. Their time will come."

"You still don't trust me? I can take care of this myself." He said sternly. He was bent on getting something right after his repeated failures these past few days. If he could search this town, along with whatever neighboring worlds Keiya could possibly be on, and bring back a successful report, then he might be able to go on some of the more exciting, dangerous missions. Standing on a rooftop while his heartless did all the work was not 'thrilling' by any means in his book.

"As you wish." She said, laughing pitifully. She turned and opened a portal, then stepped through. Sai could never tell what she was thinking-- she could have given up on him already, for all he knew.

This is getting nowhere… these guys are going to kill all my heartless... Maybe, I should try out those heartless Maleficent gave me… just as a distraction so my heartless can keep searching…

When Riku and Keiya finally reached headquarters, the others were already fighting. Yuffie, Cloud, Cid, Sora, and Tifa were all attacking a gigantic Behemoth spewing darkness. It stayed stationary, but shone a bright yellow, symbolizing its invincibility. From it, darkness was flooding the surrounding area. Everything was beginning to drown in darkness, and it was beginning to spread to the city as well. Riku and Keiya charged forward and began to help, but no matter how much they attacked, it didn't budge or weaken. The beast gave a loud roar, causing everyone to fall back.

"It's no use." Exclaimed Yuffie. "We've been attacking it forever!"

Aerith and Kairi came forward with potions and such, handing them out quickly.

"Leon and Sora are still out in the village… even with their help, this would be impossible… It's starting to leak darkness into the town!" Tifa said hopelessly. They had to practically yell to be heard over its snorts and grunts. It stomped its feet, shaking the ground and spreading the darkness faster down the hill. Everyone began panicking as the black shadowy substance approached the edge of the town.

Keiya looked up at the creature. It reeked of darkness so heavy that it could only have been Maleficent's own. This isn't working… we can fight all we want, but… the only way to match this kind of power is to match it… And the keyblade master isn't even here…

"Well, c'mon, somebody think of somethin'! The town's gonna go down any minute now!!!" Yelled Cid over another roar.

"What'll we do?" Riku muttered beside her. Finally, she gave in. Keiya dismissed her weapon and stepped back a few feet. Everyone was so caught up in watching the monster that they didn't even notice. She took one last look at the town, which was on the verge of being completely swallowed, then summoned the darkness that had been lying dormant in her body. It surged through her both internally and externally, and covered her in a black aura. She could feel it running through her bloodstream and soaking into her heart. The feeling made her nauseous with resentment, but the voices and panicking screams around her pushed her forward with her plan. After taking a few more steps backwards, she began gathering the darkness in her hand, and when she had a ball about a half a foot in diameter, she swung her hand forward and sent a shocking wave of darkness towards the Behemoth. The attack was simple, yet devastating. Upon impact, the Behemoth was swallowed up completely and disappeared into the pitch black. The darkness it had been leaking disintegrated after its defeat, as well as the darkness from the attack. It all evaporated right before passing through the town's gates.

The power of the attack had forced Keiya to stumble backwards and almost fall over. The darkness from the attack had disappeared, but the darkness in her body remained. It was still all around her and inside her, flowing so freely in made her sick. To add to her displeasure, Leon and Sora had returned, and were both facing the place the Behemoth was just standing at. They had arrived just in time to see the attack. She could already feel Leon's eyes upon her. She let her hair cover her face—she didn't want to be seen. Even she was disgusted by her appearance. The smell of the darkness hit her hard; she automatically felt tears starting to surface at the thought of facing everyone like this. She looked up a little bit, facing Riku's back. He was right in front of her, along with everyone else, still gawking at how the heartless had just disappeared along with its darkness at the hands of her attack. Before anyone else could see her, she silently turned and ran into the nearby woods.

"So she is there, isn't she?"

"Yes." Admitted Maleficent reluctantly. She didn't seem thrilled or pleased that they found her location. She seemed indifferent. "No one else could have used so much darkness to defeat that heartless."

"So we can go in and get her?" Sai asked anxiously, seeing the serious and calculating expression on her face. Her tone wasn't exactly like he had imagined it would be, with such promising news.

"No. We will not."

"W-what?"

"She won't be on our side if we take her back by force—she'd hate that. She wouldn't cooperate. We have to let her come back on her own."

Sai stood in disbelief, completely shot down. He couldn't believe what he was hearing-- why would they let her wander around when their plans were on hold? "After all the trouble of finding her, we're not going to bring her back here?!"

"She's always came back on her own. Give her time. I'd rather her come back by free will. If I see fit, I'll speed things up myself."

After a minute, Sai left the room, fuming. He was half-expecting her to be joking, but then again, Maleficent wasn't one to kid around. Especially not about something so important to her precious plans. He had had his hopes up that when they found her, they could go in and get her. Why else waste all these days searching and sending out heartless? Causing such a commotion had always been against her principles, which is why Sai had been getting into so much trouble on his missions, and why he was completely baffled that they were letting Keiya stay in this poor, undistinguished village of merchants.

Wait a minute-- thought Sai, That was where Hollow Bastion is... or was... Could she be there, in the ruins? Is that why she went to that world? He sighed and scuffed his shoes on the cold marble floor in frustration. Well, it doesn't even matter, since I can't go down and look...

"That… was… awesome!" Exclaimed Cid, throwing his hands in the air. Yuffie joined him in the laughter.

"Keiya…Keiya, that was amaz—" Started Riku, turning to face her. He looked over just in time to catch sight of her entering the forest, his smile fading. He instinctively ran after her, dropping his weapon and leaving everyone else behind. Aerith and Leon were the only ones to notice. Everyone gravitated towards each other, talking about what they had just witnessed.

"Did you see that?! Did Keiya do that?!" Asked Sora, his face in disbelief.

"Man, she had that Behemoth in one hit!" Exclaimed Cid.

"I don't think this is something to be excited about." said Tifa. While everyone else talked over the recent victory, Aerith and Leon drifted over into their own conversation.

"She just ran off… I wonder if she's okay…" she said, her hand over her mouth in worry.

"Riku went after her, so I'm sure everything will be fine." Said Leon.

Riku ran through the forest, brushing aside branches and vines. He was about to call out her name, when he came to a clearing. There, he found Keiya huddled in a ball next to a tree. Her body was still engulfed in darkness, so she almost blended in with the trees. He came up behind her, walking softly. He knelt down next to her and tried to place a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it away.

"Don't…don't touch me…" She pleaded, her head still buried in her arms. "Don't even look at me!"

Riku smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder again, this time wrapping it around her tightly so she couldn't shake it off. "Why not? You look beautiful." he said, trying to coax her out. She tried squirming out of his grip, but he just held onto her tighter. Finally, she threw herself forwards and away from him, landing on her knees with her back to him. She let her hair fall into her face.

"Just leave me alone!" She shouted, her voice breaking with sobs. Riku just laughed and stood up. "No, I don't think I can do that." He walked over to her new spot and sat in front of her so that they were almost touching. She kept her head down and held one hand up to her face, shielding it from view. Her body shook weakly from crying and from the attack. "Y'know, the score's two to one now—we're almost tied." He said, bringing a hand up to her face. She rejected him again, pushing his hand away. Riku sighed, frustrated. "You're really stubborn, you know that? Will you at least talk to me?" He was answered with complete silence.

"Fine. I'll talk. I know you were scared before—when those townspeople were talking about you. But you saved them, Keiya. You're a hero. If they knew the circumstances, I think they'd understand." When she still didn't answer him, he continued. "Darkness isn't all bad. I learned that a long time ago. It doesn't have to be used for evil—it can be used for good, too. It's just another form of strength. A dangerous one, but when used correctly, a powerful one." She kept her head down, unable to look at him, and began wiping the tears from her eyes, eventually letting her hand down altogether. Riku smiled, knowing he had he attention.

"This power is yours, and once you rise above it, you can bend it however you want. You don't have to hurt people with it. You can save people, too, like you did just now." He brought a hand up to her face again, this time without her pushing him away. He tucked some hair behind her ear so he could see her, and then cupped the side of her face gently, feeling wetness on her face from tears. She avoided his gaze and tried to ignore his hand now softly caressing her cheek. "Don't be ashamed of your power. It's part of who you are. Don't think you have to be like Maleficent."

"I already am!" She blurted out, shaking his hand away. She brought her own hand up again to wipe fresh tears away, but Riku stopped her and did it himself. "I've done so many terrible—"

"But you've changed. You saved this entire town just now. It's never too late to change, remember? Just don't deny who you are."

Keiya remained silent, distracted by Riku's thumb which was softly stopping the tears in their tracks. His words penetrated her mind; she didn't know what she should say to him. Suddenly, she felt the darkness disintegrate off the surface of her body. The aura went away, and the darkness inside her became dormant again, back under her control. She felt just as she always did—in control, but constantly suppressing the power inside her.

"Better now?" He asked, brushing back the hair in her face.

"I didn't want you to see me like that." She murmured.

"You think I haven't been through anything similar?" He joked, trying to lift her spirits. "Let's go inside. We'll have to face everyone sooner or later." He removed his hand from her face and pulled her up.

"Riku…" She started, letting him pull her towards the exit of the woods by the hand.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks, I guess… for coming after me, I mean. I wouldn't have come back." She said quickly, feeling her face burn up. Riku smirked, taking pride in her embarrassment.

"No problem."

AN: It's… December twenty-ninth, 2009, and I re-wrote parts of this chapter. It was painful to go back and re-read some of my old work—especially Tears. But since re-writing these chapters is a much smaller project, I'll try to get it done first. This is in no specific order—I definitely want to rewrite parts of six, and then one to four. So I'll date the rewrites and mention it in the new chapters, which I'm still working on.