I do not own Kingdom Hearts

Keiya sat beneath a tree on a low hill, avoiding the sweltering sunlight. It was cloudless and the air was dry and warm. She drew her legs in, resting her head on her knees. She was wearing another one of Aerith's short dresses today—light blue with short sleeves and a neckline that cut across her shoulders. Down at the base of the hill, Riku was teaching some of the local boys how to fight. He showed them how to hold their swords, take a stance, swing, defend, and all of the basics. Keiya had been watching him all morning—it was now noon. All of the kids looked up to him, longing to eventually use a blade like the one he had.

Riku makes the perfect role-model… He's strong and brave and… handsome… she thought shyly, suppressing a blush. …He can fight really well… I can't believe he's not tired yet…

She watched as Riku asked a boy to step forward and swing at him to demonstrate defense. He then turned around and put his sword down and out of attack stance. The boy looked nervous to have been called out. He shut his eyes and took a hesitant swing, straight down from above his head. Riku flawlessly and gracefully turned around and lifted the sword up right before the boy's weapon could hit him. He then pushed it forward and the boy's sword was knocked out of his hands to the ground. The other kids 'awed' the stunt and paired up to try it themselves.

Keiya couldn't help but smile watching him. For some reason, she found the whole scene a little charming. He was so suave, yet carefree at the same time. She almost couldn't get over it. She buried her head in her arms to hide her smile, but then noticed something on her left wrist and lifted her arm up to get a closer look. The insignia printed on her arm was lighter. She ran a finger over it, trying to figure out if it had truly changed its shade, or if she was just losing it.

Maybe I'm just imagining things, but… there's no way I'd mistake something like this. It was much darker yesterday, wasn't it?

She was reluctant to acknowledge any sort of change. She didn't want to get her hopes up—this wasn't something she took lightly. While she was examining her wrist, Riku had walked up the hill to join her, leaving the boys to practice on their own. She didn't even notice him until he was a few feet away from her. She quickly put her arm down and sat back nervously.

"Hey," he smiled at her, sitting down. "Is something wrong?"

"N-no, nothing. Are you having fun showing off?" she asked nonchalantly.

"It's not 'showing off'—it's 'teaching'," he retaliated, a smirk evident on his face. But his eyes weren't smirking- they were smiling. Keiya swallowed and looked away. Lately, she had been finding it difficult to make eye contact with him. She was a little afraid to, for some reason.

"I think I'm going to go take a walk," she said suddenly, hopping up.

Riku followed suit, his eyes still on her. "Will you be okay by yourself? I can go with you, if you need."

"I can take care of myself," she defended, picking up her denim bag and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Can you now?"

"Yes, I can. I'll see you later, okay?" she said, letting herself glance back at him just once. His expression was hard to read. He was either confused or worried. She turned to leave and had started walking off before he stopped her again, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Keiya, are you sure you're alright? You seem a little… troubled."

She turned around to face him, her right hand clutching her left wrist. "I'm fine-Really," she said, giving a reassuring smile. "I'll catch up with you later."

"Alright," he sighed. He watched her walk off, then forced his attention back to the children who were now play-fighting, and walked down the hill.

Sai stood leaning against the wall in a corner as Maleficent explained to her council some plans with the heartless and what-not. He couldn't care less—he was sore at not being allowed to relay the information himself. Ordinarily, that would have been one of his tasks, but due to his many screw-ups, she had decided to show up in person to this meeting. The whole time, he was shooting dirty looks to the council member who had crossed him a few days ago. He had a tendency to hold grudges; he didn't forgive easily, if at all.

Aside from the recent promotion which was so quickly slipping though his fingers, he hadn't gotten any new training or advances in his powers in a while. Maleficent had taken back the heartless she had lent him to search Radiant Garden, and was currently suspending the meek army he had to his name. He had gotten a rude awakening; she had poured a ton of responsibility and power on him, and he had let old habits interfere. Now everything was on hold until he could earn it back.

Maleficent had also halted the searches to find Keiya, much to Sai's frustration. Searching for her himself was, of course, another restriction he had earned. Maleficent had put aside the search missions and was already focusing on future tactics to take over worlds-something Sai knew she wouldn't be able to do successfully without Keiya's help. He couldn't comprehend why she would make all these elaborate plans if she had no way of achieving them herself at the moment.

"Now, I'm leaving Sai in charge of you all—one more mishap on either side and I'll see to it that contracts are torn up. I can take away everything I've given to each of you, so keep that in mind before you do something reckless," she said sternly. Sai pushed off the wall and took a few steps forward to face the council as a whole. Maleficent opened a portal and disappeared into the black and purple swirl of darkness, but not before sending him a heavy glance that demanded obedience and sent a shiver down his spine.

As soon as she left, the tension in the room disintegrated and the council members relaxed their shoulders a little bit. Sai clenched a fist and just took a breath, trying to keep himself from starting an argument over something so trivial. He would have preferred the same atmosphere of reverence for himself as with his mistress. He scanned over the council, keeping a straight posture—something Maleficent had bothered him about since he was a little kid.

"Are there any questions?" he offered, trying to call a truce.

"Uh, yeah. I have one," someone said, stepping forward and scratching his head. He was a bit more informal than the rest. Some of the other members snickered, but Sai let the informalities slide and calmly asked, "What is your question?"

"Well, I was just wondering whether or not we should expect that other apprentice to be joining us soon. 'Cause, you know, we have plans to make, and if Maleficent doesn't find her soon, we'll have to alter everything and that would be such a pain. I'd rather have one set of circumstances and be able to stick to them."

The rest of the council nodded in agreement and Sai let his anger go—he couldn't tell whether the guy was trying to start something or not, but he wanted to try to be the bigger person for once.

"That's classified, unfortunately. I'd like to know the answer myself. Either way, though, that's not something for you to be concerned with."

"But we really can't set anything up definitely until we know whether or not we'll have her help," another man said, pressing onward.

"You heard Maleficent before. Her current plans include getting Kei—getting the other apprentice back. That means yours should, too. If something changes, you'll be notified," he said coldly, correcting himself mid-way.

The same man from before looked back at the other members and let out a long sigh. "Aw man, this sucks. I hate plans like these, where we're missing an important factor but we have to continue anyway. Half of the time, everything gets messed up."

"Hasn't Maleficent ever cracked open a history book? Planning a mission this way never works!"

"The other day you said you knew where she was. Why don't you just go and drag her back here? If she were here, we could get started right away—otherwise we'll be delayed again," someone spoke up, taking a huge risk. Instead of blowing his top, Sai continued to listen to their complaints; he kept reminding himself of the trouble he'd be in if he let these guys get to him. Don't get worked up. It's not worth it. If I can get through these meetings without a fight, I can get my heartless back.

"Why is she even allowed to behave this way? If I were in Maleficent's shoes, I would never have given such a disobedient apprentice such freedoms. She needs to be punished—we can't always be making plans that accommodate her excursions." Everyone began chatting amongst themselves, criticizing their boss. Sai knew his head was on the chopping block if he let something like this continue; complaints turned to anger, which turned to mutiny. This is not good…

"She won't listen to any of us—I have real military experience to offer, but she just sticks by her plans that never work."

"How does she propose to keep several worlds full of people in line when she can't even stop one spoiled girl from running loose?"

"That's enough," he finally said, shoulders back, gaze straight. He walked to the other side of the room, eying each of the members personally. "These are Maleficent's decisions to make—not yours. Just do your job—that should be your only concern. I can assure you, though, that something like this won't ever happen again. When she comes back, we can put our plans into action immediately. Everything will work out the way Maleficent says it will."

Another member stepped forward, obviously taking advantage of Sai's talkative mood.

"And what is this other commander like? Should we all be as afraid of her as the boss implies we should?"

Sai's composure faltered for a minute after the implied term of respect. Just hearing himself associated with the term 'commander' made him feel that much more in charge, even though he was allowing the council to speak to him casually. He straightened up and decided to try and put a decent distance between him and them. However, he couldn't help but want to have a little fun.

"A few years ago, Maleficent had her take out a few council members who weren't being useful enough. Their mistakes cost them their lives."

"And what about us? Is there any reason for her to take any of us out?" he said in a joking manner. Another member added, "Yeah, have we all been good?" In reality, though, most of the members were eager to hear the answer to this question. They hadn't been given even a percentage of the power that these kids had—especially the runaway who, according to gossip that somehow flowed around, could wipe them out in a heartbeat. Sai suddenly felt smaller after these statements. They were afraid of her, not him. And they had never met her.

"That's up to Maleficent, not her," he said flatly. He was beginning to see just how much more respect Keiya had than he did without even being present. "Of course, I wouldn't cross her. I don't know if she'd stand for such informal talk. She can get away with doing certain things around here herself, so I wouldn't count on Maleficent to hide behind."

He walked out the door trying to suppress the knowledge that he had been childish, leaving a few of the members in a stunned silence.

I need to take a walk…

"I'm so bored! We've done everything we could possibly think of!" Sora exclaimed, yawning. He reclined back in the sofa. He, Cid, Yuffie, and Kairi were all sitting in the living room with nothing to do.

"Why don't we go outside? The rain cleared up," Kairi suggested, motioning toward the window. Everyone else groaned; they had already been outside.

"And do what? There are no heartless to fight, and the ground is too muddy for us to play anything," Sora whined.

"Quit complainin'. I'm sure you kids have plenty to do inside, with all your gadgets and video games… messin' up my computer…" Cid trailed off from behind his newspaper.

"Say, has anyone seen Riku lately?" Kairi asked. "I'm sure he'd think of something."

"Riku? No, I haven't seen him in a while…" Yuffie said thoughtfully. She was hanging upside down off the arm of the sofa, her head touching the floor.

"Yeah, he hardly hangs out with us anymore. He's always out with Keiya. We don't see either of them until dinner," Sora noted in observation.

"Say, what's going on between them, anyway?" Yuffie asked curiously, sitting back onto the couch and flopping over onto her stomach. "They seem pretty… close."

"What do you mean?" asked Sora. Yuffie perked up and her mouth turned into a sly smile. She loved to gossip.

"Can't you tell? Ever since a few nights ago after that whole to-do with the heartless, they seem..." she made a gesture with her hand, holding up her pointer and middle fingers touching.

"Oh! I noticed it, too! It's Riku! He's been acting weird lately, from what I've seen of him," Kairi interjected.

"Yeah, I hafta agree with ya there. Not that I know the kid well," Cid added, flipping a page.

"I don't know what you guys are talking about. Riku's the same, isn't he?" Sora asked naïvely.

"Maybe around us, he's the same," Yuffie said quietly, as if she were telling a secret behind someone's back. "But watch him around Keiya at dinner tonight—he's a completely different person." When she saw Sora's blank expression, she added, "They're always out together… What's the only thing that could mean?"

Sora thought for a moment, trying to add up Yuffie's words. She, Kairi, and Cid were all staring at him, waiting for the epiphany. Upon realization, he shouted, "Oh… Oh! Are you saying he—!"

"That's exactly what I'm saying!"

Suddenly, the back door opened and all of them became quiet, turning to face the entryway. Riku emerged from around the corner and was greeted by four faces, each one wearing a teasing smirk.

"Uh… hi?" he said awkwardly, raising an eyebrow. He was taken aback by the attention.

"Haven't seen you in a while. Where've you been?" Yuffie inquired suggestively. Riku continued to eye each of them suspiciously, half expecting some kind of prank or trap set up for him; they seemed too happy.

"Training. Has anyone seen—"

"Keiya?"

"Yeah…" he trailed off. Everyone was so quiet and focused, like a classroom. It made him uncomfortable.

"Nope, haven't seen her," Yuffie said mock-innocently.

"Okay." He started to walk down the hall, careful of where he stepped in case they had set up some elaborate scheme, born out of boredom. He noticed when he turned a corner that Sora was hot on his tail, running to catch up to him from the living room.

"Hey, Riku! Wait up! We never get to talk anymore!"

"What do you mean?" he asked, pausing at his bedroom door.

"I mean you're always out with Keiya. We never see you," he stated.

"Oh, yeah. I guess that's true," He said, scratching his head. He had a vague idea of where the conversation was going. Sora continued to press further, wearing a smile that Riku found to be a little creepy. "So?"

"…So what?" he finally had to ask.

"So why are you always hanging out with her?"

"I-I dunno. I want to, I guess. We're friends," he said simply. "Why? Is that weird?"

"It's not. It's just that everyone's wondering why you're so close to her," he said truthfully. Then his lips curled up into a teasing grin again. "You don't liiiiiiike her, do you? You're not ditching your friends for a girl, are you, Riku?"

Riku's face flushed slightly, and he turned away from Sora, one hand the doorknob. "Of course not."

"Well, why don't you two hang out with us a little more then? Unless you'd rather be alone. We'd completely understand—"

"No, it's fine. In fact, we can all do something after dinner tonight," he came up with, trying to get Sora off his back for the moment. He opened the door and stepped into his room, signaling that he wanted to be left alone. Sora did a victory punch into the air, which Riku missed, and wandered off back down the hall. "Don't forget!"

Riku's room had become more cluttered since they first moved in. He had clothes lying in piles on the floor and books scattered around on his desk. He was normally a lot neater, since he lived by himself, but being in 'vacation-mode' had made him lazy. He yawned and picked up some clean clothes from a laundry basket, then walked into his bathroom and started running the shower.

God, it hadn't even occurred to me that Sora and everyone were wondering where we were. I guess it's kind of hard not to notice. I think that might've been the first time I even talked to Sora alone in a couple of weeks.

While the water was warming up, he removed some of the dirty clothes on his bed and put them in an empty laundry basket of stuff to-be-washed. When he picked up a second pile, a small steel-woolen bag that had been underneath fell to the floor. He tossed the clothes into the basket and picked up the bag, weighing it in his hands.

No wonder I couldn't find it last night. I thought I'd have to start over…

He plopped down onto his bed and opened the little sack, then poured its contents into his palm. Out of it fell a thin silver chain with a toggle, and a separate little crystal of an amethyst color with ragged edges—a work in progress. He reached for a few tools scattered on the nightstand and picked up a small, sharp knife.

Let's see… cut away, and cut layer by layer… was that what he said to do?

Keiya wandered around the forest, every few minuets checking her wrist obsessively to judge its shade. She thought of going into town, but it felt awkward to go without Riku. He was the one who was able to talk to the townspeople; she would feel lost trying to get around by herself. She stayed along the outskirts of the forest so as not to get lost. The trees surrounding her provided a dark and cool, but safe atmosphere. Even though she didn't want to admit it, she really was relieved about the change of color in her mark. She had remained hesitant for a while, trying to tell herself to ignore it and that nothing had changed—that it was just wishful thinking. But when she couldn't deny the definite change in hue, and finally let herself accept the change, she felt light enough to float off. Ever since she had started staying with the Restoration Committee, new emotions had been seeping into her little by little, and this small alteration in gray-scale brought about a whole new feeling of achievement.

I don't understand how this could have happened. Just a few days ago I was completely messed up—I almost feel like this is a mistake, she thought excitedly. I should tell Riku—

Her mood changed abruptly as her mind swerved to a new topic. She halted in her steps and leaned heavily against a tree.

Riku… what would Riku say…? Would he be happy for me? Would he care? Her smile faded and her heart felt heavy. I know we talk about this kind of stuff a lot, but… could he relate to something like this?

Suddenly, she heard the crunching of footsteps on fallen leaves a little ways off. She jumped up immediately and started surveying the area. She could hear someone coming closer, but still walking a straight path that didn't cross hers. The steps were harsh and occasionally kicked stones or twigs in their path.

Not fighting… check.

Not losing temper… check.

Calmly taking questions… check.

Sai walked briskly with his hands in his pockets, sweeping back and forth to avoid hitting trees. He was still wearing his uniform, so he couldn't walk in town. Not that he would be so welcomed there anyway. And he'd get in trouble again.

Keeping a distance… half a check. I guess I should subtract some points for nonchalance. Threatening them with Keiya was probably a bad idea, too. But it'll do her good when she comes back. They'll already be afraid of her. She should thank me, he thought smugly.

He continued walking through the woods, scaring off small rabbits and birds as he towered over them. Meanwhile, in a small cluster of trees, Keiya stood watching. She was very careful not to make any sudden movements, and kept one hand over her mouth.

Oh my God… what's he doing here? she panicked, her heart pounding so hard it made her nauseous with fear. She ducked low and quickly scooped her hair up and over to the side so she wouldn't stand out. He was still a little ways off, but was moving in her direction.

Ugh, this is so frustrating, he thought. She's somewhere in this town, and I can't—

Sai came to an abrupt halt when he felt a portal open up just behind him. He clenched his eyes shut for a moment, swallowed his pride, and turned around. Sure enough, Maleficent stepped out of the portal, right away flicking away a bug that was in front of her face. Her robes dragged on the dirty ground as she walked forward. Sai didn't make any gesture to acknowledge her, but stayed completely still with his back straight.

"You certainly picked a filthy place to vent your anger," she said disgusted, waving branches and twigs aside.

"Then why are you here?"

Keiya sunk lower and backed up into the cluster, watching to make sure she didn't walk over any leaves. She was shaking slightly, trying not to breathe too loudly. She didn't even want to swallow, for fear they might hear her. This is not good… I need to get out of here, but… they'll see me. Why did they come here, of all places? If they see me, it's all over. I'll have to go back, or else they'll find out where I was staying. They'll hurt Riku… and the others… oh God, if she knew I was staying with Riku…

"I came to ask how your meeting went. I assume it was alright?"

"Yeah, but you listened in on the whole thing, didn't you?"

She let out a short laugh. "Of course," she said flatly. "I just wonder why you would allow such a laid back attitude."

"I just wanted to make everything go smoothly. I can still command them this way—they have to listen."

"It's not your reputation to set—it's mine. I thought I made myself clear that you two are a reflection of how I'm running these operations," She said coldly. "Don't feel obligated to answer all their questions. They can be nosy all they want, but in the end it's your choice to feed them the information that relaxes the atmosphere. You shouldn't go around telling stories to gain respect—especially if they're not about you. I'll decide what's to be done about Keiya—they have no opinion in the matter, and neither do you."

Sai kept his mouth shut, deciding that he would try to demonstrate how well he had kept his cool all day long. Suddenly, Maleficent began surveying the woods. He looked at her awkwardly and glanced around too, unsure of what they were looking for. He just wanted her to leave.

Keiya felt her stomach drop. She's going to see me… she knows I'm here… Everything—it's all over…Riku…She thought, trying to keep still as a statue. She even stopped breathing whenever they looked her direction.

"What's wrong?"

"There's someone else here—I can feel it," she remarked, moving forward and peering around a group of trees. Sai crossed his arms, waiting for her to leave. "Ugh, what a filthy, backwater place..."

"I'm sure it's nothing. There's a ton of squirrels and rabbits here—it's probably just a rodent," he said impatiently.

She laughed and turned back toward him. "Relax, I'll leave you alone for now. You can never be too careful, though," she said, and with a snap of her fingers, the entire forest was engulfed in a pitch black fog. Sai stood unwaveringly as she opened a portal to the Corridor of Darkness. "Just to make sure our conversation remains private." She explained over her shoulder. "I would rather you remain at the base from now on. It's a pain to have to keep tabs on you like this." As soon as she was gone, Sai rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. Finally. She doesn't need to check up on me like this—it's annoying! Now this whole forest is ruined, he thought, looking around. Animals were choking on the dense black fog and plants were wilting. All the life was being drained out of them. He violently kicked a nearby log, just close enough to be seen through the thick mist. All the anger he had been holding in all day came out at once as he continued to kick whatever was on the ground in front of him, his hands still in his pockets.

Keiya strained to see in front of her—everything was pitch black and freezing cold. Even the light that would be coming down from above the trees was filtered out by the darkness. She moved swiftly and weaved her way in and out of the tree trunks and away from where Sai was standing. The darkness singed her eyes and made it difficult to breathe. Anyone who wasn't already used to it and got caught in there would have suffocated to death.

That was much too close. It's a good thing Riku didn't come with me—I wouldn't want him to have heard all that… I'd have to tell him about Sai... and if she saw both of us, he'd be hurt… I don't even want to think about what would happen… she thought in disgust.

She struggled to breathe, feeling the weight of the dark-drenched air around her. She was running fast, even though she couldn't see where she was going. Why did they have to come here to talk, of all places? And at the worst possible time… She completely destroyed this forest… What am I going to tell everyone? She continued ahead until she came to a bright light—the exit. As soon as she emerged from the forest, her lungs filled with clean, fresh air and the sun caused her to squint her eyes. She looked back at the forest, taking in its new appearance. It looked haunted now—like some freak accident. A chilly air radiated from it and sent an eerie shiver down her spine. All around her, people were beginning to gather around to investigate. As far as she could tell, no one had noticed her exiting the forest. She walked away slowly, rubbing her arms to try and get warm. As she walked, she scooped her hair over her shoulder and brought it to her face. I smell like darkness now, too… What do I tell him? He's going to notice…

As soon as she got back to headquarters, Keiya circled around the outside of the house until she came to her window and snuck through. She didn't want to risk being seen while she was still disheveled from her near-encounter in the woods. She brushed out her hair and changed her clothes after a really fast shower. The dark scent in her hair and skin was only a little stronger than it always was, and she doubted anyone else would notice. She now wore a casual, sleeveless, dark green dress that went knee-length, and had tied her wet hair up on the side. She flopped onto the bed, still letting everything she had heard sink in.

It seems like she gave Sai some sort of promotion. I never would've guessed… she though vaguely. And from what I heard, it sounds like he's not handling it very well. How can she expect him to run meetings? He still has trouble controlling his heartless, let alone other human beings…

She brushed her fingers through her hair, trying to wring out the smell. They were talking about me… I wonder if they know I'm here. Probably, since they sent all those heartless to attack. I don't even want to think about what she would do if she knew where I was. Just like that forest…

"Hey, Keiya? Are you in there?" came Riku's voice from behind the closed door. Keiya hopped up and quickly grabbed the towel lying next to her, then vigorously wrung the water out of her hair. She kicked her dirty clothes under the bed and made sure the sheets hung over the side so no one could see.

"Y-yes?"

"Everyone's hanging out in the living room and they want us to join them. Are you coming?" he asked, mild suspicion present in his voice.

"Yeah, just go ahead! I'll be there in a minute!" she called, closing the window and curtains. She waited a moment for Riku to leave before she went out into the hallway. She was sure no one would be able to tell—they'd have to be sitting really close to her to notice. And anyway, she thought, most of the people here wouldn't even be able to pick up on it—strong or not. But Riku…

When she got the living room, she took an empty seat at the end of the sofa next to Riku. He smiled warmly at her, looking up from his spit game on the coffee table with Sora. Instead of focusing on the cards, he turned back toward her after a moment, catching her gaze with a wary look. She self-consciously flicked her hair back and edged to the end of the seat away from him.

"Keiya, what's—" he started quietly so no one else could hear.

"Nothing."

"…Are you sure?"

"Of course. W-why? Does something seem wrong?" she answered quickly, trying to feign curiosity.

He shook his head, but kept his eyes on her for a few more minutes, trying to decipher her expression. Sora quickly took advantage of Riku's distraction and finished piling his cards on a stack. He smacked his hand loudly on the table to claim the smaller pile.

"Ha! I win! Finally!" Sora exclaimed, throwing a victory-punch into the air. Riku reluctantly turned back toward Sora and blinked back to reality. All eyes were on him at the moment.

"No, I wasn't watching. That round didn't count," he proclaimed. Keiya sat quietly under the gazes of Kairi, Yuffie, and Cid, who were sitting on the other side of the table. She kept her eyes on the cards that Sora and Riku were playing with, because every time she looked up, one of them was sending her an awkward smile.

"You're just a sore loser—I won. If I were in your shoes, you wouldn't re-do the match for me."

"But the whole point of the game is to put our cards down at the same time. If I wasn't watching, it's a re-do," Riku continued to argue.

"Do you have a good reason for not watching?" he pushed, trying not to let his hard-earned victory slip away. "You never called a time-out."

"I was just talking to Keiya—I'd let you have a re-do if you were talking to Kairi!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Oh-ho, are you comparing yourself an' Keiya to Sora an' Kairi? Our favorite couple…" Cid teased, making Kairi blush pleasantly. Keiya felt herself sinking into the seat. Wait—what...? What are they talking about? she thought dizzily.

Riku's cool expression faltered and his face heated up. "I-I was just saying that if—"

"I dunno—that sounded a little suspicious to me!" Yuffie sang.

"Look, forget it. If you want to win this round, fine. Let's play a different game," he said briskly, sacrificing his perfect twelve-to-nothing score. He tossed the rest of his cards on the table like a child. Sora brightened immediately and began shuffling the cards again. Keiya just stayed uncomfortably in her seat, hiding behind her hair; Yuffie and Cid were still eyeing her suspiciously—more so now that she was flustered.

"Now, let's play something together. Is everybody in?" Kairi asked.

Everyone nodded their heads except Keiya, who stayed disconnected from the conversation. She could feel Riku's eyes on her; he knew something was up. As Sora began to deal out the cards, Riku got up from the table and pushed his cards into the middle. "On second thought, I'm going to sit out on this round," he said. He touched Keiya's arm, causing her to jump up a little nervously. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" She nodded reluctantly, following him out of the room, trying to ignore the looks they were receiving from Yuffie and Cid.

Out in the hallway, Riku pulled her into an alcove that couldn't be seen from the living room. He took her hand gently to ensure that she wouldn't walk away from him.

"What happened? You…" he struggled to find words. "You don't… smell the same."

"What?" she said quietly, feigning ignorance. Her mouth went dry.

"You smell kind of like… darkness," he finally said. He gauged her reaction, keeping a firm grip on her hand.

"I-I always smell like darkne—"

"No, this is different. It's not your darkness that I sense," he said with certainty. Keiya faced away from him, unable to look him in the eye. She was at a loss of what to tell him—she knew he'd freak out if she told him about what happened in the woods. But she couldn't lie to him, either. She stayed quiet, trying to think of something to say, but she only drew a blank. The silence rang in her ears obnoxiously.

"It must just be your imagination…" she trailed off.

Instead of answering, Riku stepped forward, forcing her to make eye contact for a second, and leaned in close to the side of her face. Keiya froze in both body and mind. His head lowered slightly to the crook of her neck, just barely touching her. All she could feel was the heat from his breath tickling her skin. Riku closed his eyes and took in the scent of her skin and hair, letting himself linger a few extra seconds. Beneath the strong scent of darkness that radiated off her skin, he could still pick up traces of her. Her skin was soft and warm; he had to resist the temptation to rest his head in her neck. After a few more seconds he pulled back slowly, letting his lips almost brush her collar bone. This was the closest he'd ever gotten to her, not counting contact due to injuries or attacks. As he lifted his head, he felt an overwhelming urge to touch his lips to hers—they were that close. He swallowed hard. Their foreheads were almost touching. All he'd have to do was pull her closer.

I don't want to scare her away… but I want to… If I could just...

He finally opened his eyes, meeting her dazed ones. He loosened his grip on her hand then let go and stumbled back a few steps, listening to his better judgment which was screaming at him in the back of his mind to stop while he was ahead. Keiya blinked her eyes a couple of times and nervously crossed her arms across her chest. She looked down again, completely flustered. She knew she was blushing—she didn't even bother trying to hide it. She should have pushed him away, but for some reason, had found that she couldn't. She hadn't wanted to.

"U-uh, W-what was I saying again?" she finally managed to say, her voice shy. She adjusted to the absence of warmth now that he had drawn away. She slowly began to feel grounded again.

Riku watched her as she turned her attention to the floor, making him feel a little down for some reason. "The darkness?" he said after some hesitation. She nodded her head. "It's not my imagination. Are you going to tell me what happened?" He had recovered his cool attitude quickly, despite the heat and embarrassment that had built up while he was trying to prove his point.

"It was…" she started softly. She still felt dizzy as she tried to come up with a story to tell, but nothing came to mind. She couldn't lie to Riku—she knew she couldn't. "It was just…"

Riku opened his mouth to say something, but right before he could, Sora turned the corner looking for them with an expectant look on his face. Riku had his hands in his pockets, letting the conversation come to a halt. Keiya didn't budge at all.

"Well? Aren't you guys going to play?"

"Not tonight, Sora," he said. Sora must have noticed the serious atmosphere, because he just nodded and went back to the living room without a word. Riku sighed and strolled out of the alcove to the main hallway. Keiya turned, her eyes following him.

"Look—I'm not trying to corner you or pressure you." She looked up at him, picking apart his words. "Well, alright, maybe I kind of am, but I'm only doing it because I'm worried about you, okay? You don't have to be afraid to tell me anything. And please don't lie to me," he stressed. "I need to know."

Keiya leaned against a wall and let herself slip down a little bit. "I don't want you to misunderstand…" she said quietly.

"I won't."

She took a breath. "I was walking… in the forest behind the town. While I was there, I saw Maleficent talking to her apprentice," she began, talking softly so no one else in the house could overhear. Riku's eyes widened and he wandered back over to her.

"I-I don't think she saw me. But she destroyed that entire forest. That's the darkness you sense..."

"Keiya, this is serious—were you going to try and keep that a secret from everyone?" he said severely, but as gently as possible. He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Do you know what could've—"

"Yes, I know what could've happened. But I hid from her—she didn't see me," she said again.

"But she could have," he insisted. "If you had let me go with you—"

"If you were with me, then we really would have been in trouble. Riku, if she knew I was staying here with you, how do you think she'd react? There's no way we both could have hid—"

"I mean, at least I would've been there to protect you."

Protect me? Does he seriously think we could fight? After a few seconds of silence, she took a breath and started again. "Riku… I don't think you understand how dangerous this is right now—just talking to you. If she knew, everyone here would be…"

"We could stop her. Keiya, after so many attempts to escape her, haven't you thought about just getting rid of her for good? She's a shadow in your life."

"It's not that easy! Look, she didn't see me, so let's just drop it and leave it at that!" she snapped, starting to lose her temper.

"Why are you so afraid of her?" He finally said.

Her voice came out as a hoarse whisper. "W-what? I'm not afraid—"

"Yes, you are! I thought you were trying to break away from her—don't let her control you like this! You shouldn't have to live in fear; you're—"

"What do you know? You don't understand! I knew you wouldn't understand!" she said harshly. She shook his hands from her shoulders and jerked herself away.

"You aren't giving me a chance to understand! You can talk to me—if I'm not getting something, then fill me in! Why do you insist on keeping everything about yourself a secret?"

"Why do you even care? It's not your business!" she spat out, sending him an uncontrollable glare.

Riku clenched his fists in frustration. They now stood a few feet apart. He turned to the door down the hall that led to the foyer and living room, knowing that everyone could probably hear them arguing. She's making this so difficult—why can't I talk to her seriously without starting a huge fight?

"Why won't you let me help you?" he said as calmly as he could manage, letting her simmer down for a second. He was dying to get her to open up—just to be honest with him and explain things that she kept hidden. He wanted to know everything about her, but she always waved things away as if they weren't important, as if they would only bore him. She didn't seem to understand just how important she was to him, and sometimes, it got frustrating. Couldn't she see that she had been manipulated into thinking she wasn't good enough- that she couldn't fight back, that should just give in? It was disgusting—almost like she had been brainwashed.

Keiya walked toward him—he was between her and the exit—and started for the main hallway. Before she could pass him, Riku grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. She just stopped in her tracks, too tired to fight him. She was annoyed at herself even more so than at him; she had actually thought for a second that he would be able to understand—to see where she was coming from. But their circumstances were too different. He had been able to come and go as he pleased, to make his own choices. She was bound by heavy chains; she couldn't just do what she wanted without paying the price. She wanted to protect him—she didn't want him caught in her mess. Why was he always so insistent on butting in? He couldn't possibly care as much as he claimed he did, right? And anyway, even if he did, he still didn't know the half of it, why she couldn't, as much as she wanted to, just walk away.

"Just forget it, okay? It's not your problem, so just leave it," she said harshly. She pulled her hand free and walked briskly down the hall and around a corner where Riku lost sight of her. He sighed and leaned against the wall. His head ached from yelling. He heard people in the living room moving about—dishes being washed and chairs being moved.

I can't believe this… she's so stubborn… I hate when she gets like this! It's impossible to talk to her. He sunk to the floor, clutching his head. She'll never believe that I care about her, or that I want to help her; that's why she's so upset now… God, what a mess…

AN: It's June sixth twenty-ten. Just fixed up some typos.

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