I do not own Kingdom Hearts.

~…~

"Keiya? C'mon, Keiya—wake up," Riku called gently. He stood at the head of her bed fully dressed and had already met everyone in the kitchen for breakfast hours ago. He'd come to her room intending to wake her up, but was finding it difficult seeing how tired she looked. Instead of shaking her awake, he tried opening the shades to let in the sun. But she stayed fast asleep, and didn't stir even when he called her name. She was lying on her side, curled up in a loose ball beneath the blankets. Her hair was strewn all around her pillow, and her arms were huddled close to her body with one hand up by her face. Riku tried one more time, softly calling her name, but to no avail. He sighed and sat at the edge of the bed, looking down at her. She must have been up for a while last night to sleep in so late. She looks exhausted; I feel bad to wake her up. He suddenly noticed that the blankets were only drawn up to her waist. Her upper body was exposed, revealing a white tank top that hugged her body perfectly. His face burned as he drank in her figure; he couldn't tear his eyes from her. Her shoulders and slender arms were illuminated by the sunlight. There was not a single freckle or birthmark on her body, save for the grayish brand on her wrist.

Riku leaned over and brushed some hair from her face, then fixed the blankets so that they covered her shoulders. This is stupid… I have to wake her up soon anyway… he thought, looking over at the clock above her door. It read eleven forty-five in the morning. He sighed and stood up in front of her, then gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes didn't flutter open until he removed his hand, and the warmth it brought. "Keiya?" he said softly. The second she realized what was happening, she jumped up and quickly gathered all the blankets to cover her body. She brushed her hair back nervously, a little self-conscious about him seeing her after she had just gotten up.

"R-riku! G-get out!" she ordered hastily, blushing red.

Riku felt his own heart skip a beat since she had gotten up so quickly, catching him off guard. "Relax. I came to wake you up—it's a quarter to twelve," he reassured her, trying to keep his cool. He couldn't help but take amusement from her weak attempts to cover herself and fix her hair; he though she looked fine just the way she was. After thinking that, though, he mentally slapped himself for letting that slide into his mind under such suggestive circumstances (even if it was true.) She continued to hide herself beneath the blankets, and let her hair fall over her shoulders to shield her face from view. "I-I'll see you later, okay?" He turned around, his own face taking on a hue of pink, and walked briskly to the door, where he showed himself out.

Out in the hallway, Riku took a deep breath and recovered from his brief shock. She seemed different—is she usually so jumpy? I mean, I was in her room, but… it's not like it's the first time I've seen her like that… He brushed a hand through his hair and wandered back to him room. He was at a loss of what do to while he waited for her. Then again, she doesn't realize that I tuck her in practically every night…

Back in her room, Keiya let out a sigh of relief and threw the blankets off her. She felt overheated already, and she had just gotten up. She rubbed her eyes, trying to both wake herself up and wipe away the small tears that were already beginning to form in her eyes. She had spent the rest of her night sobbing in frustration with her face buried in the pillow. She wasn't sure when she finally fell asleep, but she did remember seeing the very start of the sunrise peaking over the horizon. She had a searing internal ache lingering in the back of her head from staying up so late. She grasped her head in her hands and drew her knees up to rest her head upon. She sat like that for a few minutes, her eyes clenched shut, tears now streaming down her face freely, in a continuation of the previous night. She felt horrible; she had been hoping and counting on waking up from everything, as if it had been just a weird dream. But here she was again, unfortunately wide-awake. And seeing Riku as soon as she woke up only served to re-stir her emotions and throw her into a state of confusion. Her heart was still racing (for multiple reasons.) When she heard the clock in the hallway strike twelve, she reluctantly dragged herself out of bed and began to get ready for a day she was sure would make her feel awkward and miserable.

~…~

Sai wandered around the castle watching some of Maleficent's councilmen run around frantically to set up for the upcoming invasion. She had ordered them to start building their own armies consisting of a specific number for each specific type of heartless, and assigned everyone a sector to cover, so she would know who's heartless were killed and in what area. It was proving to be a challenge, though, because there was only so much room in the castle, and some of the henchmen had resorted to gathering their armies in the main foyer. Since the machinery was all the way upstairs and the men couldn't summon the heartless themselves (something Maleficent had made sure to do differently with this bunch,) they were constantly running up and down the stairs to use the machinery on the top floor. Sai enjoyed this chaos, despite the gruelingly long wait until the invasion date actually came. He could conjure up an army in a heartbeat. Well, it seemed like a heartbeat compared to how slow the process was going for everyone else.

He had been given a much larger area to cover than his subordinates—the entire civilian village. He knew this was more of a test than a mission for him; Maleficent obviously wanted him to prove he could search the town without being seen (or making a scene.) The other chosen members to accompany him would search the outskirts of town and the bailey area, where there was no civilization whatsoever. There were even people assigned to search the ruins of Hollow Bastion—their former 'home'. As much as he hated to admit it, he would have liked the chance to see the castle again. When he'd come to Maleficent when he was eleven, she had already taken up residence at Radiant Garden years before. He'd lived there for four years, during the most complicated adjustment period of his life. He was pretty sure it was Keiya's first home too.

After the key-blade master 'defeated' Maleficent, he and Keiya had had a set of strict orders to follow. They both had known her death wasn't final, and at the time, things had been too dangerous for Keiya to run away. What with the loser who had awakened the parasite Ansem and had taken over their castle, and the Organization of nobodies that had started to act up, there would have been no safety in abandoning their mistress—she would've come back with or without their help, and Sai had been the one to realize that unless they wanted to be pursued by all sorts of creeps, they had better just wait for her. After everything became settled and their mistress reawakened (and it had taken a good year,) they'd been constantly moving from site to site, looking to rebuild their headquarters. Since Maleficent hardly ever had deemed a castle suitable, they hadn't ever stayed in a place for more than a week or two. It had kept Keiya from wandering off on her own, though.

Now, they were settled in an old abandoned castle in a forgotten world. It had undergone various 'natural disasters' over the years, she said, and was left virtually lifeless. It was a pretty dreary place, not like the vivacious and elaborate Hollow Bastion, with its lifts and secret passages. There was no color in this castle. (It was almost worse than the king's castle when Maleficent thought to make it hers; almost.) He was still particularly fond their old home, though. The largeness of their old castle had fascinated him as a child; when he was small, he'd been able wander the underground levels and climb to the very top when he'd needed something to do. Since Maleficent always had spent more time with Keiya than with him, he had had a lot of free time as a child. It was when Keiya would run away that he'd have the most tiresome training days. Things had changed when he'd started improving, however, and he'd eventually learned to practice on his own to gain recognition. Also, since back then the council had had their own worlds to attend to, they'd been around only once in a while for meetings. Their current council boarded with them.

Once Maleficent had hired those greedy accomplices back then, things had become a lot more hectic. And then that guy who had suddenly moved in—he'd got even more training and power than Sai had had at the time. And he'd seemed to be able to do whatever he wanted. From what Sai had heard, this guy had gone all over to different worlds on his own, and he had kidnapped some of the Princesses of Heart on his own (which Sai would have done, had his spot not been stolen.) Sai rarely had seen him—he hadn't even known what his name was until a year later, when he'd apparently rejoined his group of friends (coward, Sai had thought. He couldn't even finish what he'd started.) But back then, even Keiya seemed to have known more about him, and she hadn't even seen him (she hadn't been allowed to, for which Sai had been grateful. It was one less thing he would have had to compete for.) Luckily, he had turned out to be unsuitable apprentice material, since he'd hungered too greatly for power, and had lost his flesh to some demon. Sai had felt like taking that guy out right away when he'd heard what had happened. He hadn't had even half the power or freedoms the new kid had had, and he'd still wanted more.

There's still so much time before this invasion… I don't what do until then. I wish there could be some guarantee that we'll find her—the suspense is driving me crazy. But even then, I can't approach her, so it doesn't make a difference. I just want to know who the hell she's with. That's enough to satisfy me.

~...~

By the time Keiya was showered and dressed, most everyone was out and about. She was still scatter-brained from that morning, and had decided to wear capris again, with a simple top that didn't come too low. The only people left in the house were Sora and Riku, who were engaged in an intense car-race on Cid's computer. When she walked into the room, Riku put down his controller to greet her. (This angered Sora, who was left standing there with the game still running.) He smiled at her teasingly, causing her to flush scarlet and start away from him, toward the kitchen. He followed.

"So someone slept in this morning," he commented, watching her fill a clean glass with water from the sink. She was embarrassed to get something to eat for some reason, even though Riku already knew her secret and Sora probably wouldn't notice anything different.

"Yeah, sorry... I was up pretty late…" …because of you…

Riku cocked his head, a little confused because she had been fast asleep when he'd checked on her. He watched her stand over the sink and sip the water as if she were conserving it, and then he gave a quick laugh and motioned toward the refrigerator.

"There's food in there, Keiya. You can eat it," he explained. She glanced over at the living room, where Sora was now playing single-player mode since Riku had abandoned him. He didn't seem to have overheard. Riku reached for a plate then set it on the counter in front of her.

"I'm not hungry," she lied, putting her glass in the sink. He smirked and stretched his hands behind his head, then walked back to the living room.

"Fine, fine, I'll leave," he called over his shoulder jokingly. "Let me know when you're finished."

Keiya stood by the sink until he was out of sight, then sighed and looked around the kitchen. She didn't feel comfortable just taking food, even if Riku and Sora had done the same. She felt famished and hypoglycemic though, since she had skipped dinner the previous night for the same reason, and now it was around twelve-thirty in the afternoon. She shyly reached for a small piece of bread—one of many that had been sliced from a large loaf—and placed it on the plate. Sora and Riku had begun racing again—she could hear them arguing as they played. She stood at the counter and took small bites from the bread, washing it down with water from the sink. She tried as hard as she could, despite her hunger, to eat as slowly as possible. She knew Riku would want to go out today, but she also knew that he would notice her acting different. She felt in the wrong to be around him, since she couldn't think of him as a friend anymore. If he knew, he wouldn't want to hang out with me anymore—it would be so awkward… she though miserably. I can't blame him. I mean, anyone would feel that way... Maybe I can play sick or something… or maybe he'll decide to hang out with Sora today…

"Nuh-uh! You cheated!"

"How could I cheat? It's a computer game," Riku said smoothly. "And I don't need to cheat to beat you."

The boys wandered into the kitchen, where Sora immediately attacked the refrigerator. Keiya glanced at the clock—she had been just standing there for a while, and still had half a piece of bread sitting on the plate. Riku strode over to her, wearing a confident smile, as Sora continued to blabber away at how Riku had distracted him during their race, so they had to have a re-do to determine who really won. Her gaze automatically shifted downcast as he approached, and she turned away from him, refilling her cup with water. Sora pulled out a few containers of food from the fridge and began pressing buttons on the microwave to heat them up. Meanwhile, Riku settled himself next to Keiya, leaning comfortably against the counter.

"Is that all you're eating?"

"U-uh, yeah…" she murmured. Riku lifted an eyebrow, and then watched as she discarded the contents of her plate into the garbage and carefully placed the plate in the sink. Sora continued heating up endless containers of food (presumably from the previous night's dinner,) and began to take out plates from the cabinet above—one for each of them.

"Y'know what, Sora? Keiya and I are going out to town now. We'll grab something to eat there," he announced, taking Keiya's hand. She jumped a little, too flustered to argue. Sora looked up in disappointment.

"What? After I heated up all this food?" he complained. Riku led Keiya to the door and took both their light jackets off their hooks. He was about to help her put hers on, but she took it from him without a word and stepped closer to the door, then put it on herself.

"You should have no problem finishing it," he replied. "Kairi should be getting back soon, anyway—I wouldn't want to get in your way." Before Keiya could hear Sora's sure-to-be-lame come-back, Riku pulled her out the door behind him.

"W-where are we going?" she asked, trying to keep up with him as they swept down the hill. It was sunny, but very windy, so her hair kept getting in her eyes and she had to count on Riku to steer them in the right direction. They had to speak over the roaring winds.

"I don't know," he said nonchalantly. "Hey, is something wrong?"

"N-no, why?"

"You know why. You don't seem yourself today. Did something happen?" he called over his shoulder. They reached the bottom of the hill, where it was flat from there on, and automatically began the trek into town, Riku's hand still intertwined with hers.

"Of course not," she started, trying to fix her hair single-handedly. "Like what?"

"I dunno. It's just that you seem really shy today. It's only Sora—you don't have to be embarrassed around him," he said jokingly. He wanted to try to cheer her up; he didn't like seeing her so uncomfortable. She had been fine when he'd spoken to her yesterday. "And you don't have to be embarrassed to take food either," he added. She nodded her head and kept her eyes on the ground.

"Anyway, I'm hungry, so I'm taking you someplace to eat," he said firmly as they entered the busy marketplace. Keiya looked up at him and was about to protest, but he pulled her off course to a small grouping of hot-food vendors selling everything from snow cones to meat dishes. "Now, what do you want?"

"Nothing," she stated solemnly, determined not to let him buy her anything. He let go of her hand and smirked, trying to read her expression. She crossed her arms to keep warm against the wind, and pushed her hair back, all the while avoiding Riku's challenging gaze. He finally, to her terror, brought a hand up to her face and lifted her chin gently to make her face him. Her eyes involuntarily locked with his for a moment, sending another rush of weakness throughout her body.

"That's better." He finally released her and folded his hands into his pockets. "Now I'm starting to feel like it was me you were avoiding this morning," he commented, trying to come up with a diagnosis. It was really starting to bother him. "Did I say something wrong?"

Keiya shook her head, fighting back a blush to keep her head up. "No, don't worry about it. Nothing's—"

"Oh—it must be because I was in your room this morning," he concluded. A more relaxed expression surfaced on his face, and he smiled at her awkwardly. "I'm sorry if I scared you—I was only trying to wake you up. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"R-really, don't worry about it."

"But just so you know, I do check up on you every night. It's not like I've never seen you asleep before," he stated with a smirk, as if to torment her. She was taken aback for a moment, but then relaxed when Riku started laughing and began browsing through the stands for food.

"I'm going to get something to eat. For both of us."

Keiya stood in the same spot, watching him wander into the crowded food market. She felt so speechless around him—she couldn't think of anything to say that would seem normal. She couldn't even remember how she would have acted. She was grateful that he had come to a 'conclusion', though. She didn't want him to be worrying about it all day. What was really bothering her—what was weighing her down—was the one big difference between Riku and herself: the darkness that he had overcome, but that resided inside her night and day. She felt small around him; now not only as a friend, but as the most important person in her life. He had helped her through everything, had saved her more times than he knew, and was still watching over her, whether or not she deserved it. She felt like there was nothing she could do for him. And there was no way she could ever live up to being worthy of him; her faults were too much of a burden. I wish he would stop spending so much time with me… It only makes it worse…

Riku crept up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to gasp sharply and jump a little. He laughed and held out what looked like a pancake folded in half in a napkin.

"It's a crepe. Ever have one?" he asked. She shook her head and took it from him hesitantly.

"T-thanks, but are you sure—"

"Keiya, it's alright. You don't need to be so polite around me—we're close, aren't we?" he asked, unable and unwilling to use the word 'friend'. Their relationship was torturing him—he could hold her hand and even hold her, but she wasn't his. Not by her consent, anyway.

"Y-yeah, of course…" she murmured, a little confused by his word choice. He smiled and motioned for her to follow him. They made their way to a small area in the back of the market with scattered benches and tables, and sat at a bench in the far corner of the square against the cement wall of a shop. Riku had almost finished his crepe by the time they reached their destination. Keiya had only nibbled on hers a little bit.

"Guess what? We've been here for almost a month and a half."

"Already? I guess it sounds a lot longer than it is… That means you're only here for six or seven more weeks…" she said, trying her best to keep the conversation flowing so there wouldn't be an awkward silence.

"You too, right? Aren't you going to come back with us?" he asked hopefully. They hadn't really spoken about it much after he mentioned it the first time a couple weeks ago.

"I-I don't know. I mean, it's your home—yours and your friends'. I can't just—"

"Keiya, I want you to come back with me. We've been through so much. I can't just leave you here—where'll you go?" he pressured, trying to get her to agree for good.

"I don't know…" she admitted. She didn't like to think about what would happen when Riku left—she really wanted to go with him, but if Maleficent found her, he and his friends would be hurt and his home destroyed. She couldn't do that to him—not just so she could be safe. She didn't know where she would go when he returned home—she definitely wouldn't stay with the Restoration Committee. She'd have to find somewhere else.

"You wouldn't… you're not thinking of going back to Maleficent, are you?" he asked quietly. There was a long pause before she answered, making Riku very anxious.

"Of course I'm not thinking about it… I don't want to go back, but every other time…"

"Make this time different. Come back with me," he urged, taking her hand. She looked up on instinct, meeting his pleading face. She didn't know how to respond.

"I… I don't know, Riku…" she repeated. She had no definite answer for him. He continued to eye her intently, trying to think of something to say to get her to change her mind. He couldn't go back without her—he refused to. He'd fallen too deeply in love with her to let her go so easily, no matter what she wanted. He couldn't stand the thought of her returning to Maleficent's lair—he needed her to come back with him. Just thinking of the harm that was sure to come to her if he couldn't protect her made him sick.

"…You'll get hurt if you go back. I can't let you do that…" he murmured sadly, seeing the indecision on her face. She pulled her hand out of his grip and crossed her arms.

"I never said I was going back. Don't worry—I'll think of somewhere to go. Anyway, let's just enjoy the time we do have. That's still two months away," she suggested, causing Riku's heart to sink further.

I don't want you to go just 'anywhere'—I want you to come with me.

~...~

"Have you heard about the new kid that Maleficent found wandering around the front of the castle?"

"Yeah, what about him?"

"Well, she gave him the power to control the heartless!" Sai exclaimed angrily. Keiya stood with one arm across her torso, her hand over a bandage that covered her other arm, while Sai vented by pacing back and forth across the top of the building they were stationed at. It was her first day out of a week's long isolation for defiance, and already she was on a mission to wipe out the structure of a city, along with whatever civilians got in her way. Sai waited for her to answer, but she kept her eyes fixed on the roof of another building across from them to await the signal.

"Well? Doesn't that bother you at all?" he pressed. She glanced back at him casually and shook her head. Sai ran a hand through his hair and turned around to pace in the other direction.

"He's catching up to us! I can't even do that yet, and I've been here four years longer than he has! What if Maleficent starts sending him on your missions?" he asked, trying to get her to agree with him.

"That would be a relief. I hope she does," she replied vaguely.

Sai was becoming frustrated—he knew she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of agreement. "But you'd have to work with him. He would probably try to take charge of the missions himself—he wouldn't listen to you! He's supposed to be a real jerk!"

"Says who, the council? If he wants my job, he can have it."

Sai dropped the subject and took a deep breath. He couldn't fathom why she would want to give up her rank—she didn't seem the slightest bit pressured or worried. He was sure Maleficent was using this new kid to make him jealous and work harder—and it was working—but it seemed to be having the opposite effect on Keiya. She was hoping he would be sent on her 'classified' missions instead. That was just one more thing for Sai to worry about—not only was his rank as the second apprentice up in the air for grabs, but if this new kid did surpass him and if Maleficent did send him on more difficult missions, he would probably have to accompany Keiya once in a while—to train or to do a joint attack. And that would mean he would be spending more time with her than Sai could. Worse case scenario: they might even become friends.

"I don't want you to hang out with that guy—he's a bad influence," he commanded in a rather whiney tone. Keiya looked at him condescendingly.

"Why are you so worked up over him? He's not even an apprentice. And how do you know what he's like? You've never met him," she reminded him. Sai looked shocked that she would defend him. "And you can't tell me who I can and can't talk to," she added, (even though it wasn't her decision either.) From the building farther away, a dim red light flashed three times, then disappeared. Keiya turned back to Sai, who was speechless and angry at Maleficent's new 'pet'—especially because Keiya was on his side.

"That was the signal. You ready?" she asked, tying her hair up into a high ponytail. Sai nodded solemnly and they jumped off the building into the dark streets.

~…~

Riku and Sora were at Cid's computer again, having the re-match that Sora had insisted on. Everyone was cleaning up after dinner and getting ready for bed, including Cid, who was not present to witness the abuse his computer was going through. Sora smashed loudly on the keys one-handedly, choosing a new race for them to try, since the last one 'had glitches'. Riku sat back on the couch and stretched, too tired to play another round, but too stubborn to quit and give Sora the satisfaction of a forfeit. Besides, Kairi was watching too, so he couldn't let Sora win in front of his girlfriend.

Keiya hadn't joined them for dinner that night—she had stayed out later and sent him in, insisting that he go back by himself. She said she would catch up later, but he hadn't seen her come in yet. He was hoping she had climbed through the window and was in her room—he didn't want to have left her out in the dark in town by herself. He hadn't wanted to leave her by herself in town period, but she'd said she wanted to be alone for a while. He was still caught up in their first conversation—even after they had changed topics. She hadn't said 'yes' or 'no' to his request, just 'maybe', which was driving him insane. He wanted an answer now, so that if she did say 'no', he'd have two months to change her mind. His plans didn't include leaving her in Radiant Garden when he left—especially since he knew she wouldn't stay with the Restoration Committee, which would be the next best thing, second to her going back to the islands with him. He was determined to bring her back with him, but since she had no answer yet, there was no way for him to know how he could convince her. He had asked Aerith before, since she was the easiest of the adults to talk to, but she'd turned out to be of no help. She'd just served to reassure him that he had nothing to worry about, that she was simply too embarrassed to say 'yes', and that she would go with him when the day came.

"Riku, are you okay?" Sora asked, waving a hand in front of his face. Riku blinked and turned to face him.

"Yeah, just tired," he said nonchalantly, yawning. Kairi looked at him quizzically from the ottoman she was seated upon.

"I'll say. You've been staring at that wall this whole time." Sora sighed in disappointment. "Just go to bed—I want this rematch to be fair and square. I'll beat you tomorrow," he said jokingly. Riku nodded and walked out of the room slowly. When the door shut behind him, Sora and Kairi turned to Aerith, who was in the kitchen drinking tea. All three of them sat in quiet agreement for a minute, and then Kairi spoke up.

"Poor Riku... He sure looks tired…" she commented, waiting to hear what Sora and Aerith had to say. She already had an idea of what might be the cause of it, though—Yuffie talked about it every time he wasn't in the room.

"He just has a lot on his mind," Aerith replied vaguely.

Sora smirked. "Yeah—Keiya. He ditched me before, too. To go into town with her."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Aerith defended. "They can do whatever they want."

"But he completely ignores us now! If he can't stand being away from her, why can't they both hang out with us?" Sora complained. Kairi giggled at Sora's ignorance, as did Aerith.

"Silly—he wants to be alone with her. You can't interfere!" Kairi whispered. Sora blushed awkwardly, his eyes torn between the two girls' giggling faces.

"But he doesn't look happy! He looks miserable!" Sora pointed out. "He didn't even say more than a few words at dinner!"

"You were talking the whole time, Sora…" Kairi murmured.

"Maybe they're just having problems—give him time to work it out," Aerith suggested. Sora groaned and sunk back into his seat. "You haven't lost your friend—don't worry."

"They're always having problems."

~…~

Keiya sat on her bed, wearing a pair of old sweatpants and a sweater over a T-shirt. She did not want Riku to see her in pajamas again—even if he was used to it. (She blushed at the thought of it.) She had decided, after a very long, grueling internal debate, to keep her door unlocked. She didn't like the idea of Riku coming and seeing her asleep, but she didn't want to seem like a jerk and lock him out. She knew he would just climb through her window again, and then she'd be even more embarrassed in the morning.

I feel so stupid… I hope he isn't upset with me about earlier… I kind of just left him hanging…

Riku had allowed her to change the subject, but she could see in his face that he was still uneasy with her vague reply. She couldn't understand why he would let it bother him so much—he wasn't leaving for two more months, and anyway, it's not like she could impose and just go live at their home. She ought to find her own place to stay—that's what anyone else would do. To be honest, Riku was the only reason she was even still at headquarters. Not that she didn't like everyone; she just felt uncomfortable. She would rather find someplace to stay on her own, but things just kind of fell into place, and she'd ended up as a summer resident along with them. It was widely and silently accepted that she would go to Destiny Islands with Riku—no one thought anything else of it. She seemed to be the only one hesitating. Did no one else think it was a bad idea? She had the worst feeling about going back with them, but everyone seemed to see no harm in it.

Thoughts of Maleficent destroying the islands clouded her mind. She felt bad about staying even here for so long. She had been so caught up in spending time with Riku, she had almost forgotten the danger her being there posed for him. They could all be seriously injured because of her.

But she didn't want to leave.

Her life had been turned completely upside down, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, she really liked it. When she thought about her life just a few weeks ago—living either on the streets, or as a tool with no one to talk to—and compared it with the one she was living now, she felt like a whirlwind of events had swept her up into a dream. And Riku was a dream. He was her savoir—a keyblade knight who had overcome the darkness—the kind of person she was risking her life to be with; and unfortunately, if Maleficent found out, his, too. At this point, since she had been gone for over a month, she was sure there would be consequences when… if she returned. But what worried her were the consequences for the people involved—they weren't people she'd just met on the street. They were the ones she should be fighting. She wasn't allowed to speak to anyone to begin with—if she was seen with Riku, and he was hurt because of her, she could never forgive herself.

Suddenly, she heard Riku's door across the hall creak open. She glanced at the clock—it read twelve forty-five. He was coming, and she was still awake. She silently panicked and did the first thing that came to mind: she pretended to be asleep. She quickly sunk under the covers and lay on her side, facing away from the door. Luckily, she had turned the lights off earlier. It was only when she was safely under the covers that she realized what a terrible idea this was. Riku entered softly, making sure to turn the knob of the door when he shut it behind him. She knew she was blushing—she hoped it would be too dark for him to notice. Ugh—what am I even thinking? I'm a terrible actress—there's no way he'll think I'm asleep. I should have let him just find me awake… it's too late now…

Riku crossed her room and took a seat on her bed, causing her to panic internally. She was still facing away from him, but she could feel his eyes on her. She was frozen with fear; she was afraid to breathe too deeply. Riku didn't make a sound—he just sat there, presumably staring at her, because she could feel his gaze penetrate her skin. She stayed where she was, not moving, trying not to breath, unsure of what to do or how long he would stay there. She had butterflies in her stomach and felt absolutely restless. She was sweating as it was; the blankets and heavy clothes didn't help. She could swear he would be able to tell she was pretending—she would feel so awkward trying to explain to him her motives—especially since she had none.

Finally, she felt Riku's weight shift a little bit. For a second she though he might leave, and allowed herself to relax. But the next thing she felt was Riku's hand brush the side of her face, trailing from the skin beneath her earlobe down her jaw line, then her neck. Her heart gave a sharp jump, and she felt her face heat up significantly. She couldn't tell if she was even lying still anymore. Her mind was in total lockdown-panic mode, and adrenaline and nerves pulsed through her blood at a sickeningly quick rate. He continued to brush her hair back gently and let his hand lightly run over her neck, trace along her collar bone, sending concealed shivers throughout her body. She was in a state of both bliss and panic.

After a while, she felt Riku lift himself up from her bed and, after letting his hand linger in her hair, still lightly brushing her skin, withdraw and make his way toward the door. As soon as she heard him close the door and begin to cross the hall, she sat up sharply and threw the heavy blankets from her body. She felt feverish and excited—there was no way she would be able to get to sleep now. Her hand automatically reached up to the area along her neck and face that he had caressed. It still burned from his touch. Her face felt hot, but she had goose bumps. She had practically melted under his touch. She didn't know what to think; Riku had, once again, left her completely speechless and thoughtless. One thing kept running through her mind, though—it was about the only conscience thought she had at the moment.

Did he… could he tell I was awake?

~…~

"How do you even get out of here? Aren't there guards?"

"…No…"

"But where do you go? What do you do?"

"Nothing, really…" Keiya replied. She walked over to the other side of the library, hoping he would just leave her alone. He followed eagerly and took a seat atop a desk. He wore a uniform of black and dark blue, pants and an under-armor shirt that covered his neck. She also had a uniform—a black and dark purple dress with leggings—that clashed wildly with her bright orange hair, which she let flow freely for precisely that reason. Maleficent had said it bothered her on more than one occasion.

"That sounds boring," he exclaimed obnoxiously, as most twelve year old boys behave. "There's much more interesting stuff to do around here—like exploring. Why don't you ever come with me?"

"I'm not allowed."

"You're not allowed to leave, either," he pointed out, his arms crossed. Keiya was groping for a book on a shelf that was just out of her reach. Sai watched her for a moment, then got up and stood next to her, pushed her aside a little so that he could reach, and then pulled it off the shelf. He held it out to her, but she didn't take it. Instead, she continued down the aisles of shelves and skimmed more titles of books. He sighed and threw it aside carelessly on the desk, then followed her.

"Y'know, I heard that it's dangerous for girls to walk around at night by themselves. They say you could get kidnapped," he mentioned. Keiya didn't looked phased and continued browsing through book spines, trying to get him off her back. She didn't even know what genre she was in anymore. She had circled the library several times to bore him, but he proved to be very persistent. She had only known him for one year, and they spoke only on occasion, maybe once a week, (because they had opposing training sessions,) but whenever Maleficent had meetings going on, she was cornered. Normally, that was the only time she could wander freely around the castle, but this past year with Sai around, she had started dreading these kinds of days. His company, while sometimes enjoyable to kill the silence, could easily become bothersome.

"Hey, when do you think I'll get to go on secret missions and stuff?" he asked. Keiya sighed, her back turned to him. She took a few books off the nearest shelf and started walking to the table on the far end of the library.

"I don't know," she said truthfully. Sai tailed behind her, hands in his pockets. He was always asking her this kind of stuff, even though it was the same answer each time. "If that's what you want, you should go train."

"That's what Maleficent says, but I don't like how she's teaching me. I can fight really well—I don't need this dark magic stuff she's teaching me," he said naively. "Is that what you use?"

"Of course."

"And if I get better at it, she'll send me on missions?"

Keiya nodded, then sat at the desk and opened one of the books she had chosen to a random page. Sai looked convinced enough and headed for the door to exit the library. "Alright then—but I still want to practice sparring," he murmured as he walked away from her. When he had closed the door behind him, Keiya put the book down and slouched a little bit in her chair. For now, she had some time to herself. Maleficent's meeting would end soon, though, and then she'd have to go back up to her room. None of the council members ever used the library, but Maleficent still insisted that she stay isolated upstairs, just in case. She was allowed to bring books up there with her whenever the council was in session, but she had to use portals to get to and fro her room, since the hallways were always in use. Sai, her new teammate, however, was allowed to walk the halls. Maleficent had no problem with the council seeing him every so often; indeed, she wanted to make sure they all knew she wasn't just bluffing. Keiya was to stay out of their sight, though, until she was much older and ready to command them straight on. Maleficent didn't want to spoil her plans by allowing her first apprentice—the more powerful one—to be viewed at the council's leisure.

A little ways off from the library, in a dimly lit room with targets on the walls and heartless standing lifelessly along the perimeter, Sai repeatedly threw weak blasts of dark energy at a large red target. He hit it once every few tries, occasionally hitting a heartless on accident. He had scuff marks on his face from falling backwards from blasts that he couldn't control properly, and a few bandages dotting his arms, which were now visible beneath his rolled up sleeves. He didn't get discouraged, though. Because in his mind, each try was getting one step closer to hitting his own personal target: his own mission.

~…~

Author's Note: It's June seventeenth, twenty-ten, and I've just finished editing this chapter. I changed a few things with the flashbacks—probably nothing noticeable. Feedback is greatly appreciated, and please enjoy the rest of that story!