I do not own Kingdom Hearts

Today's the day…

Sai pulled on the coat of his uniform. He wore black pants and a grey shirt with a black jacket—a little more street style than his usual uniform. (Of course, people in Radiant Garden didn't usually dress like that). It was a precaution in case he was seen during the invasion—something he knew he could not let happen. Especially since he was seen the last time he was there. He had to be discreet and in control. He couldn't give into temptations to stray from his station. The job was to scare her, and nothing more. Even if he did see her there.

He had been psyching himself up for the mission all week long; it was the only thing he could do. The castle had been hectic and impossible to navigate through due to the hoards of heartless crammed into the hallways, the foyer, stairwells. The only place left untouched by the dark mob was the library, where Sai was able to find some peace. He had to mentally prepare himself for what he might see. Maleficent had warned him not to go after her if he saw her. No matter the circumstances. If she was alone, he couldn't approach her. If she was being attacked, he couldn't help her, and if she was with someone—anyone—Sai must restrain himself. He had been ordered to make sure anyone she was with was hurt, but not by him. The most he could do was send in his heartless to do some minor damage. He knew his first instinct would be to jump down off whatever building he was stationed on and beat the guy up himself—magic or no magic, he would be in a blind rage. But he had mentally played out such a scene in his mind so many times that he thought if he were to see something like that, he would be able to hold back. He constantly reminded himself of the consequences—she would never willingly come back if she saw him do that.

He had to wait until dusk, when the mission would start. Until then, there was nothing for him to do. He sat on a table in the library, counting down the hours on the grandfather clock in the corner. It wasn't as grand a library as Hollow Bastion's, but it had a large array of books. Sai wasn't much of a reader, though. Whenever he had visited the library in Hollow Bastion, it was so he could talk to Keiya, not pick out a book to read. He had tried picking out some of the same books as her, so that they would have something to talk about, but when he wanted to strike up conversation, she didn't really chime in as he had envisioned. So after two or three times he just gave up. Her books were never interesting, anyway.

He could hear racket out in the hallways where heartless were being lined up. It was to be a massive invasion—one that the civilians would never forget. When he closed his eyes, he could already see the faces of the terror-stricken people, hiding in sheds and alleyways, unable to escape his seemingly infinite army. But what really mattered was scaring her. Making her believe it would never end if she didn't some back. Making people suffer because of her presence. He was determined to make an impact—if Maleficent wanted her to be scared, then he would not hold back.

Another day…

Keiya sat with Riku on the grassy hills overlooking the town and the brilliant sun set that would be approaching. They had stopped talking a while ago, and were just relaxing quietly on the cool ground beneath the gathering of trees that had blocked them from the sun earlier. There was a light breeze that blew their hair and the long grass they rested on, and not a cloud in the sky. As usual, she and Riku had spent every day together that week. She had changed a little, though, from that first day when she could barely speak around him. Since she knew she couldn't ignore her feelings or deny them, she had decided to just get used to them. She could hold her head up a little more, although she still refrained from looking him in the eye, and she was able to laugh and smile with him the way she always had. It was just harder now—keeping her feelings secret, knowing that the dream she was living in wouldn't last. She had resolved to try and enjoy his company without beating herself up internally every time he looked at her and smiled (she still became flustered around him occasionally, though, for which Riku would tease her). There was nothing to be gained by staying upset, and she didn't want to worry Riku more; he could tell when something was bothering her. She was falling deeper and deeper in love with him as every day passed, and was also getting better and better at ignoring the thoughts of despair that nagged at the back of her mind. At least during the day, she could. Nights had become torturous and sometimes overwhelming—a combination of pain and bliss in dreams like the first that continued to haunt her. Not about kissing him, but about rejection and destruction. Neither one was worse than the other—the dreams in which he turned her away with a cold shoulder and hateful words, and the dreams that would start romantically, in much the same way the first one did, but would end in tragedy. Death, guilt, regrets... Riku had already seen tear stains on her face while she was asleep a few times, and finally confronted her about it one morning, to which she responded with a hastily made-up lie. Lying to him—that was something she knew she was getting worse at.

She knew Riku wasn't satisfied with the vague answer she had given him last week—about returning to the islands with him. She couldn't understand why he would let it bother him so much. He brought it up every day—always subtly. They'd come across a unique plant or stream in the woods, and when she pointed it out, he'd say something like 'Wait until we get back to the islands—there are trees that carry fruits twice this big', or 'This reminds me of a place on the islands I have to show you when we get back'. She didn't argue with him anymore about it—she just changed the subject, much to Riku's dismay. She constantly debated his offer, turning it into a theme for a recent nightmare.

"What do you think?" He asked, handing her a stick he had spent the afternoon carving with a small pocketknife. It was a small model that semi-resembled his keyblade—The Way to Dawn. It was too small for the details though, and if she hadn't already known what it was, it would have been impossible to guess. She laughed and handed it back to him, earning a smirk from Riku.

"What? You don't think it's good?" He joked, tossing a stick and the pocketknife in front of her. "Let's see you do better."

"I can't use that thing—I don't know how to." She said. She pushed the materials back to him.

"Oh, what a cold-blooded killer you are. Afraid to use a pocket knife…" He provoked, tossing his 'key-blade' to the side. She smiled to herself, deciding not to enter into his little teasing-contest. They had had enough of those for the day—she wasn't sure she could win this one, anyway. Sharp objects had never been her thing. He then held up another small wooden carving and handed it to her.

"Here. I made yours, too."

She examined it, twirling it around her fingers. It really was reminiscent of her blade—the one Riku had only seen once. He had made it surprisingly detailed. She gave it back to him, letting her fingers brush his lazily. She then turned away and faced straight ahead, feeling a small blush surface. His touch never ceased to send shivers down her spine, even though they always held hands when they walked—sometimes for hours on end, never once letting go.

"How do you remember what it looks like?" She finally had to ask, out of curiosity. He had picked up the knife and was now carving something else out of a new stick. He shrugged at her question, looking confident.

"I just have a good memory." He said nonchalantly. Keiya sighed and let herself fall backward on the cool grass. Right now, everything was perfect. There was no one else in sight—it was just them. There was no rain, no one calling for them, nothing to move them from this spot. She wished they could just stay out here the whole night. The only sounds were those of the trees blowing in the wind and Riku's knife cutting swiftly and smoothly through the soft wood. She let her eyes flutter shut.

Riku swallowed, unable to avoid watching her. He tried to keep his focus on the work in front of him, but every few seconds he couldn't help but look up. She was lying on the ground with her knees bent ever-so-slightly, and one arm across her torso. Since her eyes were closed, there was nothing to keep him from averting his gaze. She was wearing a purple, knee-length, casual dress that fit her snugly around the waist and displayed her figure perfectly. It had a large neck that dipped across her shoulders and short sleeves that hung a little bit on her arms, since the neck's cut was so wide. It was one of his favorite dresses on her simply because it was the same color as her eyes—a deep violet. He loved that contrast about her—orange hair and violet eyes. Normally that combination would seem awkward, but in Keiya's case, it made her look exotic. It gave her a unique beauty that tended to turn heads in town (since her hair was usually the brightest thing in sight), and caused Riku's heart to beat wildly in his chest whenever she looked at him. That was hardly ever, though, since she always seemed to keep her eyes averted. In the rare cases that they did lock eyes, his world would spin out of control and he would fall for her all over again. Even if she was mad at him while it happened. That was why he became so frustrated when she was afraid to look at him; it was like she was ripping his heart into two—the heart she still didn't know he had given to her. He continued to slice the wood away, more concerned with keeping the sound of carving steady than actually making something. He eyed her dazedly, her chest rising and falling so subtly it was almost impossible to notice at first. He noticed that over the past few days, she seemed to look much less pale than when he first met her. She had always appeared sick and fragile—now, while she still looked delicate, she seemed to glow much more. Riku smiled, laughing at himself inwardly. She had him entranced.

Suddenly, in one clean slice, the knife Riku was carving with struck his palm, which had gotten in the way while he was preoccupied. He dropped the knife and the stick with a sharp gasp, causing Keiya to jump up. Luckily, it was only a minor cut. His knife wasn't very sharp, since it had been cutting through wood all day, but it was dirty.

"Riku? What happened?!" She called, walking over to him. Riku was trying to clean his hand off on his pants, leaving blood marks. She knelt next to him and motioned for him to let her see the wound. He reluctantly complied, and she lightly held his wrist in place.

"Don't worry about it—it's just a scratch." He said.

"But it could get infected if we don't clean it off." She pointed out. She hesitantly let his hand go and reached for the bag she had brought with her (Aerith was always bothering her to carry it, even though she didn't really have much to put in it). Inside, she had a white bandana she had brought with her in case her hair got in the way. She then grabbed one of the water bottles they had lying around and motioned for Riku to show her the cut. He was about to fight her, telling her that he could do it himself, but then let that thought slide when she took his hand again. She ripped a piece of the bandana off and poured some water on Riku's wound. She then proceeded to gently wipe the cut clean of dirt and pieces of wood, clouding Riku's mind of the cut completely. She was looking down, facing the wound, but she was only a few inches away. The wind blew the scent of her hair toward him in small, teasing waves. When she finished, she took the rest of the bandana and wrapped it around his hand for as long as it would go, then tied it in place. A little bit of blood could still be seen beneath the white cloth, but for the most part, the bleeding had stopped.

"Thank you." He said, smiling at her. She returned the smile shyly and glanced up at him for a brief moment, then let her gaze fall and his hand go. His grin disappeared immediately and he took her hand himself. She was doing it again.

"Keiya…" He started, a little sadly.

"I know, I know… sorry." She said, looking back up at him and smiling apologetically. He let her hand go and instead let his fingers trace the side of her face lightly. She had to fight back the urge to turn away—she was always so quick to avoid him like that. Lately, he had been on her case about it. At least once a day, he would catch her avoiding him and would make her lock gazes with him, if only for just a minute. It was the hardest part of the day for her; she didn't even know why he insisted on it. It wasn't like he had anything to gain. Nevertheless, it seemed to make him happy, so she always complied.

His azure eyes were beautiful; they were so bright that they intimidated her from looking for too long. He held her gaze for a while—longer than usual. When he finally released her, she felt as though she had regained her breath and balance, which she didn't even know she had lost. Usually, his expression after such an event was pleased—sometimes even verging on teasing. But today he just looked a little distant. She felt a pang of guilt hit her heart; she hadn't meant to hurt or insult him. He watched her thoughtfully for a minute, and seemed to be debating or thinking about something. After a minute, though, he stood and stretched, abandoning the knife and stick he had been working on. Keiya followed him, nervous that he might be upset with her.

"The sun is about to set." He announced, his smile returning on both his lips and in his eyes. She let out a quiet sigh of relief and stood next to him on the hill.

"Yeah… it looks so pretty from up here…"

"Alright! Everyone to your stations! No one leaves until Maleficent gives the signal—do exactly as we went over yesterday!" Sai commanded as the 'troops' set out for Radiant Garden one at a time, via Corridors of Darkness. He was the last to enter, eager and impatient. Maleficent watched him leave from above on a balcony, giving him one last look that clearly said, 'if anything goes wrong, it's your fault'. He nodded to her and swept into the dark portal¸ his whole army trotting behind him.

Radiant Garden was already in a panic when Sai arrived. Heartless had been found by one or two civilians hanging around the edge of town near the bailey, and they had spread the word in minutes. He immediately took his position on the balcony of a dark, abandoned building where he could hide in the shadows. His heartless were already on the rampage, harming whoever was in their path. Men, women, children, it didn't matter. People would die tonight, if need be. Anything to get her to return home. He watched as a small girl was almost trampled by his defenders—he was particularly fond of those. Another man was wielding a shot gun, trying to protect his family. He nervously pulled the trigger twice at a group of shadows, but the bullets went right through them. Sai smirked. This mission was already proving to be worth the wait.

A few people with real weapons eventually burst into town and began fighting off his hoards of heartless from hurting the people. It was no matter, though. He had plenty more waiting to join in the fun to tire them out. Fires broke out in homes and buildings and the fire extinguishers erupted from their posts, letting the water flow freely into the streets. Trees began burning down, the cobblestone paths began coming apart, and people began rushing out of their homes as heartless shattered their windows. The 'heroes of light' continued to battle even though they were hopelessly outnumbered, and there was no way for them to attend to each and every disaster that occurred. Their potions would run out, and then he would have them.

While he oversaw his masterpiece, he made sure to keep an eye out for Keiya. Half of him wanted to see her, but the other half was still afraid of who he'd see her with. Not that there was a guarantee that she was with anyone, but the possibility remained. He thought she'd be easy to spot with her hair, but since fires of the same color were popping up left and right, he had to squint to see through the crowds. His heart leapt each time a new fire broke out in the streets, thinking it might be her.

Okay, just relax… the night's still young. I will find her. She's here, somewhere…

Riku wrapped his arm around her waist as he spoke to her, hoping stupidly that she wouldn't realize it. Or at least, not mind it. The sun set over the town really was a sight to behold—the sky was filled with pinks, yellows, reds, and oranges—keeping his thoughts on her. She stepped closer to him, unable to hide the smile on her lips. They looked out at the horizon, watching the sun turn into a sliver of light.

"What's… what's that over there?" She asked cautiously, pointing to a black dot far away in the horizon. All of a sudden, three or four dozen shadow heartless popped out of the ground all around them—they were completely surrounded. They broke apart instantly, each one summoning their weapon and surveying the area. Riku called to her to get behind him, but instead she stepped forward and slashed at a heartless that was closing in. Riku sighed and kept alert, slashing at whatever heartless dared to enter the circle of grass that separated them. It was the easiest way to finish off a good portion of the heartless before diving right in, so he had learned. They continued to fight back the heartless and had almost the whole group knocked out in only fifteen minutes. Riku constantly looked over his shoulder to make sure Keiya was alright, but she turned out to be even more proficient at it than he was, given her experience. Riku smiled and kept on fighting until, finally, they were left alone on the hill, panting and sweating from the exhausting fight. It was now dark out—the last sliver of sunlight had disappeared below the horizon. They slowly walked toward each other, watching for reinforcements. They both knew the drill. Riku was about to say something, but Keiya cut him off.

"Behind you!"

He turned around sharply, coming face to face with a defender. They jumped into action again as more closed in on them, but this time, the fight wasn't so easy. The defenders, armed with heavy metal shields, fought them relentlessly and sneaked in hits here and there, scraping and scratching them. Keiya had wandered a few yards away from Riku, and when she finished first, the first thing she noticed was the dark cloud that seemed to be marching through the town's streets. Fires, floods, everything could be seen from atop the hill. She panicked, her weapon falling to the ground. There had no be hundreds—no, thousands—of heartless in the town. She could hear far away screams and crashes—sounds of desperation. Then, before her eyes, the large apartment building that housed at least forty families caught fire. Dark fire. So she did the first thing that came to mind. She started to call out the darkness in her heart.

Riku looked over at her since she had been steered into fighting behind him. At first he wondered what she was doing, but then as soon as he saw the faint outline of darkness just beginning to encircle her, his stomach turned.

"Keiya!" He called desperately. He quickly slashed his way right through the last heartless, dropped his weapon, and ran to her, then grabbed her firmly by the wrist and pulled her backwards. She gasped sharply, falling back into him and sending them both to the ground. The darkness she was trying to conjure up faded away and whatever magic she had been trying to use was canceled. She landed on his chest, his hand still gripping her wrist tightly. She tried to get up while he recovered from the fall—he had hit his head—but he forced her back down and grabbed her other wrist with his other hand, keeping them both locked behind her back.

"Riku—! Let me go!!" She ordered frantically, trying to get up. He switched over one of her wrists, holding both with the same hand, and wrapped his free arm around her stomach, holding her from behind. She was completely locked in. In front of them, the building, along with all the other fires in town, began burning to the ground faster than usual—the dark fires could destroy a town in a quarter of the time a regular one could. She kept fighting to be let go, crying out as the last of the town continued to burn to ash before her. Riku kept his tight grip on her though, no matter how much she pleaded. And since she kept fighting him, he had to grip her wrists tighter, hurting her. It hurt him too, to see the destruction of the peaceful village they had spent so much time at. All the families and people they had met, they were all losing their homes, if not their lives. But what hurt the most were her painful cries to be let free, to try and save the small portion of the town that was still intact, and the fact that he couldn't listen to her. He felt like the bad guy. He was holding her back against her will, and she was fighting and cursing him for it.

Finally, when every last fire was out and every last building had been burned to the ground, he released her. She jumped up and away from him violently, her body shaking and tears streaming down her face. Riku had known she was going to be angry at him. He braced himself for the worst.

"What the hell is your problem?!!" She cried, holding her wrists that were reddish from his hold. She was doubled over a little bit, her side in pain from fighting to be let go. "That whole town… I could have stopped that whole town from being destroyed!!"

Riku stood calmly and made sure not to walk toward her too fast, for fear she might run away from him. He was definitely more nervous than any other time they fought. She had never looked so worked up before—he didn't want to lose her completely. He was already worried about how he would make amends with her later. "Keiya… calm down, I can explain—"

"Explain what?! So many people are either dead or homeless! They're all hurt! Why would you do that?!!"

"Because I didn't want you to get hurt!" He shouted, trying to make her hear him. "I'm sorry—you can think I'm heartless if that's what you want, but I wouldn't be able to stand seeing you get hurt again!"

"What are you even talking about!?"

"Don't you remember? Last time you did something like that, you were so upset and in so much pain…"

"So what?! Now all those people are in pain!" She snapped, pointing to the remnants of the village. She stumbled backward, still clutching her side. "I'm just one person—do you know how many people are hurt now?! I could have managed one night of pain!"

"Well maybe you don't care, but I do." He said smoothly. He was trying his hardest to keep a few feet distance between them; she looked like she would collapse any second.

"That doesn't give you the right to stop me! I can decide for myself what I want to do!"

"Well, I'm sorry for caring about you, if that makes you so upset!" He shouted, distress in his voice. "I'm sorry for falling—never mind."

He continued to watch her cry, his heart breaking with each tear that slid down her face. She didn't seem to have caught his slip up. He couldn't even tell whether or not his words were reaching her; it might have been a better idea to just explain to her later, when she had cooled down a little bit. She took a few steps back and leaned against a nearby tree, almost tripping on a loose rock along the way. They were both exhausted from the battle and from yelling, and by the looks of it, she had gotten hit in the upper arm with one of the defenders' shields. The scrape was thin and it wasn't bleeding, but it did sting. She crossed her arms, trying to keep warm against the cold night breeze that swept over them. Riku saw her shivering, and picked up her jacket that was lying on the grass a little ways off. When she felt his hand touch her arm, she immediately pushed it away and took a few steps back.

"Don't touch me!" She snapped, feeling him draw near to her again. She was about to walk away from him, but Riku pulled her back sharply by the hand.

"Don't run away from me." He said. She shook his hand away again.

"I'm not running!"

He sighed, then caught sight of the scrape along her arm again. "You're hurt." He murmured, reaching for her again. She stepped back and placed her hand over the cut defensively.

"It doesn't matter." She said stubbornly.

"It does matter. Now let me see—"

"There are hundreds of people down there that have more than just a small cut!" She yelled, still too fired up to let him help her. She moved to walk away from him again—the only thing her mind could register to do.

"They don't concern me right now, Keiya! Just let me—!"

"I said don't touch me!"

She hit his hand away from her arm once more, but he quickly retaliated and forced his arm around her waist, then pulled her into him. She tried to slip away, but he wrapped his other arm around her, too. She felt overwhelmed with frustration and beat against his chest, her hands forming weak fists. He was holding her so close to him that there was barely any room for her to hit him or move her arms. Her cries continued and her hair fell over her shoulders and into her face. She kept trying to push away from him, forcing him to hold her even tighter to his chest. He released one arm from her waist and moved it to the side, then grasped her shoulder with his hand, trying to get her to look up at him so he could talk to her. But she kept struggling and squirming to be let go.

"Keiya—listen to me! Just look at me—Keiya!"

"No! Let me go—!! Get your hands off me!" She shrieked, trying to push off from his chest. She was so much smaller than him; there was no way she could get away herself, but she continued to put up a fight. "Riku—! Let go of me!!"

She won't listen… He thought, frustrated and desperate. In one swift motion, he slid the arm he had wrapped around her waist up a little to her back, moved his hand from her shoulder to the side of her face, and claimed her lips with his own. The reaction was instant. Adrenaline and electricity pulsed through his body, and his hand shifted to the back of her head, already getting lost in her hair. Keiya went rigid in his arms; all her struggling ceased upon contact. She was frozen for a moment, unable to feel or think of anything other than Riku's lips caressing hers. His grip on her had loosened a little bit from the captive hold he had had her in, but she couldn't move. Her mind was completely numb with shock and disbelief. Instinctively, she let her eyes flutter shut and rested her hands on his chest where they had frozen from beating against him.

Whatever plan Riku had come up with to get her to hear him had melted away the second he put it into action. All the longing that had been pent up inside him for weeks had been released, and completely took control. When he felt her give in, he pulled her face closer to his and tilted his head, deepening the kiss. Her hands shifted shyly from his chest up to his neck, then to his face. His lips were soft and warm, and touched hers passionately but gently, without noise, always tugging at her lips. She shivered in his arms, starting to feel weak, and kissed him back. Riku, reluctant to let her go, pulled back very briefly for air a few times, his lips always still brushing hers. He continued to kiss her, and let the hand in her hair slide slowly down her neck and then her shoulder, which was exposed from the wide-necked dress. Her skin was as soft as velvet, and only served to further intoxicate him. Keiya had her hands back on his chest, after trailing them down from his face. Riku pulled away a little bit again for air, keeping her face close to his. They were both panting, eyes still closed. Keiya felt completely breathless. She had never felt so dizzy in her life; she didn't even know how long they had stood there, just kissing.

"Are you alright?" He finally managed to whisper against her lips. His voice was like silk. Keiya struggled to remember what had happened—everything had melted away so quickly.

"I'm… I'm still mad at you…" She murmured, with half of her mind still lost in outer space. She felt Riku smile, still breathing heavily. With a surge of either courage or hopeless addiction, she moved her hands up to his neck and pulled him back down into another kiss.

Sai scanned the ash covered streets. There were people everywhere; they were trying to find family members they had been separated from during the attack. He had called the heartless back and sent them home—he had done more than enough destruction to incur fear into her heart. But he hadn't seen her. He was waiting until the very last possible second to leave this world—everyone else had gone already. The group of heroes had defeated many of his heartless and those of his comrades', but they couldn't stop his dark fires from eating up the large buildings that threatened to hide families from his view. The flames had licked the streets clean of most of its buildings—all that remained were the small houses on the outskirts of town that were out of the way and not worth their own fires. He had gotten the trill of his life from the invasion—it was the first mission he had led on his own, without Keiya. But his personal goal had not been reached. Ironically, he had surpassed Maleficent's expectations for him, partially because he hadn't found her. If he had seen her, there was the chance that he might lose self-control and try to approach her. Especially if she wasn't alone. So in a way, he was both grateful and disappointed. He sighed and entered the dark portal that waited for him.

Back in the castle, heartless were being shoved into a large empty room that contained not even a glimmer of light. Maleficent waited for him amidst the henchmen and heartless, ready to hear his report. Around him, everyone was exchanging stories—mostly about how no one was around when their heartless attacked, how it was one big waste of time, and how the heroes of light had wiped out their numbers in minutes. He strode over to her confidently and handed her a small piece of wood—part of a building that had been burned by his dark fires. She smirked, pleased, and handed him something in exchange—something he had not expected. A copper key, engraved with an elaborate design. He stared at it for a moment and then smiled. It was the key to his new room.

"Riku… I… I love you…" She finally breathed out between pants. Her arms were still around his neck, and his around her waist. Her head was hung down, though, so she didn't get to see how his face lit up. He held her gently, his face in her hair. Her head rested on his chest—she could feel his heart racing.

"I figured as much." He said confidently, running his fingers through her hair. He was relieved and happy beyond belief, but that didn't mean he would stop messing with her.

"Jerk…" She murmured against his chest. She made no motion to move, even though she could easily slip out of his arms now. She was all mixed up inside—she was still upset with him about the town, but her heart was overflowing with passion.

His lips touched her forehead and hair in soft, lingering kisses. "But just so you know, I love you too." He admitted, feeling overexcited, but trying to remain calm. "I've been in love with you… for a long time now."

She suddenly pushed away from him, her face a whole shade darker. She crossed her arms and fixed her hair so that it hid the growing blush. "I'm still mad at you, though." She started, causing Riku to smirk and follow her over to the spot they had dropped their stuff off at.

"Are those tears? Did I make you cry?" He teased, trying to turn her around while she put her things back in her bag as an excuse to look away from him. She shook him off and stayed stubbornly bent over on the ground, taking her time closing the water bottle and folding her jacket up. She had small water droplets forming in her eyes—she had no idea why, but they were there. Riku sat next to her, unable to see her face. He helped her pack up, even though they hadn't formally decided to leave yet, then brushed her hair back behind her ear, revealing a small tear rolling down her cheek and a pink blush covering her face. He laughed, wiping the tear away.

"What's wrong? Don't you believe me?" He asked, trying to get her to loosen up. "Are you really still mad at me?"

"I just wish you had told me sooner!" She blurted out. "I've been so worried that—never mind." She stopped what she was doing, trying to regain her composure. "And yes—I am still mad at you." She added. Riku smirked, scooting closer to her.

"You didn't seem so angry while I was kissing you." He pointed out, his voice like silk. "If I continue, could I earn your forgiveness?"

He reached for her face, but before she could give an answer, Sora and Cid came running up the hill, calling for them. Riku dropped his hand and helped Keiya up, greeting Sora and Cid casually. They told them to start heading back to headquarters—that Leon needed to talk to everyone, and then started down the hill. Riku picked up their jackets—Keiya's was folded from her attempt to keep herself occupied against his gaze—and held hers open to help her put it on. She didn't fight him this time, and let him play the role of the gentleman. He snaked an arm around her waist as they walked down the hill to catch up to Sora and Cid.

"You can get back to me on that offer later…" He started; his voice low so only she could hear. Luckily, their friends waiting below were looking the other direction.

"Don't hold your breath." She snapped. She lightly pushed him away, but he just gravitated back toward her and slipped his arm around her waist again. Up ahead of them, hundreds of lanterns lit up the battered town, creating a star like pattern that disappeared behind the trees as they descended the hill top.

AN: Finally, right? It took eleven chapters… so please review and continue to read throughout the New Year! (I'm really surprised I'm even getting this up for 2009). Also, I re-wrote parts of chapter five, because it hurts to read my old work. I explained it there better, but I'll be doing the same for chapters one through four and six whenever I have writer's block (I didn't go in order).

Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing and supporting this story!