JennyBlu: Hi guys! I'm terribly sorry that it took me long to update! But I'm here now and ready to pass this chapter to you. I must warn you though, this might kind of be a little mature, but just a little so I hope you don't mind. It's nothing serious I promise you. And also I must remind you that Ventus looks at Aqua as his sister, and that's it! On with the story =)

Disclaimer: I don't own KH, I'm not smart enough to think of the twists and shockers that were inserted in the game =(

Chapter 3

The blue haired woman rested on her bed, holding the rose and the note tightly. She had locked all her windows and covered it all with her white curtains, letting not a peek of sunlight inside. This time she locked her door with both locks; she would usually use the top lock only.

She had a little altercation with herself in the living room. She was deciding whether or not to call the authorities, but what can they do? This cold killer just waltzed in here without her knowing and attacked her, like it was a walk in a park. How did he get in here? She did lock the door and he couldn't have entered from the window; it was too high to climb up all the way to her apartment.

If she did call for help, would he find out? He could just walk in here and slit her throat the minute she saw his glassed face. She had no choice; she had to face this man alone, with no one caring if she screamed, with no one knowing that she was crying for help. She grabbed the box from the coffee table and ran to her kitchen to throw it out, along with the rose and note.

As she took off the lid, she hesitated for a moment. What if he wanted her to keep this? He did send it to her personally so she had to hold on to it, or else. She grabbed the plant and note only and threw away the box. She shuffled to her room and locked it too, imprisoning herself once again.

And now she was lying there on her bed, gaping at the "present" he had given her. Just thinking about the killer being at her front door terrified her. He could just be few feet away from her and she wouldn't even notice. Last night he was in her home, the place where everyone should feel safe. She touched her neck, remembering how he had choked her to the edge of death. The grip felt so real, and it was.

She took the note and read it once more, "Remember now?"

What was she supposed to remember? Last night? She refused to recall the pain that he impacted on her. What the hell was wrong with him? She didn't want to play this game anymore; he had made her trapped inside herself. She had done nothing to him, so why torture her?

She placed the rose on her nose and inhaled the sweet aroma. The feeling of the petals on her lips made her feel nostalgic. It seemed so familiar to her. As that feeling increased, she felt her brain popping with sharp pains. She let go of the plant and rolled to her side. As she placed her hands to her head, she dug her nails in her scalp, trying to reflect the pain inside. She shut her blue eyes and started to whimper in torture.

"Stop it!" she cried.

A sudden flash appeared in her eyes, stingy with brightness as she went blind.

Flashback

"Keep this, it's yours," the teenage boy gave her the rose. She began to blush as she grabbed the red rose. She couldn't see him clearly; it was too difficult since the atmosphere was shining bright. She caught a glimpse of the older boy's grin which made her even fluster more.

"You said you like red roses, so I got you one," he explained.

"W-why?" she whispered with her child-like voice.

"It reminded me… of you."

End of Flashback

Her blue orbs flashed open as the pain and the small memory stopped. Tears formed as she actually remembered something. Was she supposed to remember that? Why was it happening now? It had happened twice; when she grabbed the rose from the killer and now. What the hell was happening to her?

Her cell phone started to vibrate on her nightstand which had startled her a bit. She needed to talk to someone, to have someone around, so she decided to pick it up. She rose from her mattress and grabbed her blue cell. She flipped it open without looking at the caller id.

"H-Hello?" she whispered, trying not to sniffle.

"A-Aqua!?" a male voice spoke back at her.

She was surprised to hear that warm familiar voice, "Ven!?"

"Oh my gosh…" the blonde uttered, her was surprised that she picked up. He was so shock and happy that he had heard her voice once again. "You haven't answered your phone in days! You know how worried I was about you?"

"Ven…"

He started to hear her cry through the phone. She tried to hold in the tears but after she heard his words, she wanted him to be with her.

"Aqua, are you okay?" he asked with his sweet tone that she had missed.

"Ven," she cried, "C-can you please come here? I-I need someone right now."

"Where are you?" he huffed out. She heard him starting to run to her, the phone shaking against his ear.

"At my apartment," she sniffled, "Please hurry."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," he replied, "I promise!"

Then, she heard a beep sound which gave her the message that the call had ended. Cold tears were streaming down her warm cheek. The coldness started to make her sniffle louder and louder. She was breaking down; the memory had caused her emotional damage. Familiar feelings had started to develop, and it made her heart ache. She was… sad; the boy that gave her the flower made an impact on her.

But who was he? It seemed that he was really important to her if that certain memory had appeared in her mind. She wanted to know so badly; who was he, who was she? Her brain felt abused with so many questions and it had enough.

She really needed her best friend, to comfort her and tell her that everything was alright. Ventus would always give her the warmth that calmed her down and he would embrace her in the process. In his arms she felt protected, the way she only liked it. He gave his time to her, just for her, to be happy again and not upset. She loved Ven for that, period.

A banging on the door shot her thoughts aside. She felt anxious, so she ran to the door where Ventus was hiding behind. She unlocked it and flung the door open to see that it was actually him, her dear friend. Tears started to swell up as she saw that sensitive, worried face of his. She observed him carefully; he wore a soft, grey coat that was attached to him tightly and black jeans that did the same.

His thick lashes swung down and up, blinking to see a sad Aqua crying. She was in a horrible state; she had grown paler and thinner, which was clearly not how she was the last time he saw her. He really just wanted to hug the fragile woman, but he grew afraid that he might break her. But apparently, she didn't care.

"Ven!" the blue haired woman swung her arms around his body, causing him to almost lose his balance. She hid her face in his chest and clutched her hands on his strong back. He felt her shiver, begging him to embrace her so that she could feel warm. And he did; he put one arm around her waist and one around her skinny back.

For just one minute, they held each other, happy that they saw each other once again. And as she predicted, she felt safe when he gripped her tightly within his arms.

"Come on Aqua," he breathed close to her blue hair, "Let's go inside."

As she sat with Ventus on the couch, her legs on his lap and her head rested on his shoulder, she explained to him everything that had happened. She would pause for a moment due to some details that made her want to cry, but Ven would pet her blue hair to ease the pain she had been through. It was harder for him to listen to her story; he wanted to erase every pain she felt. He would clench her arm tightly whenever he heard that the man hurt his weak friend.

And she would do the same; she would dig her nails in his chest whenever she recalled the pain that the guy had caused her. Ventus felt her wet lashes brush on his neck and he told her to wipe those tears because she was okay now. The only thing that she left out was the delivery that she had received moments ago. She knew that Ven would call the police for protection, so she slipped through that small detail and just skipped to the questioning from the detective.

"I got questioned to today," she sniffled. She was finally going back to normal.

"And how'd it go?" he continued to comb through her hair. She loved how he did that; he knew that was one of the most important things to do when he caressed her.

"I'm telling you right now, it was the most awkward experience ever," she chuckled.

"Go on," he smiled, amused to hear what she had to say.

"I opened the door and right there was a tall stranger," she began, "and let me tell you, he was so good-looking."

"Aqua, this isn't the best time to be focusing on how cute a guy is, let alone the man who is trying to help you," he sighed.

"Anyways," she rolled her eyes and continued, "I embarrassed myself by not realizing that I had no pants on and he was the one that told me."

"Well that's punishment for you," he teased, "instead of focusing on his looks; you should focus on wearing pants."

"Are you still on that?"

"Uh, yeah," he scoffed, "I hope that taught you a lesson."

"Aw, is little Ven jealous that I met a guy?"

"Ha, a guy that was probably in his fifties!"

"He was actually pretty young, maybe around my age."

"Hmph," was his response.

"Well, he gave me his card in case I needed to talk to someone," she smiled.

"And you called me instead," he smiled, "You always crawl back to me."

"Actually you called me, so it's the other way around," she mewed. "He actually had a nice name, Terra."

"What?" the blonde pondered as he gripped her arm too tight. She removed her head from his shoulder and looked at the now serious Ventus. His tone made her flinch and the way he was staring at her was scary.

"What's wrong?" she blinked.

"… Nothing," he sighed, "it's just that… you shouldn't be involved with a detective."

She can tell he was lying; his voice was still cold as he answered her. She glared at him really hard, observing his poker face. He desperately tried to not grit his teeth so instead he pushed Aqua off him and stood up.

"Look," he spoke, "I gotta go."

"Ven!" she exclaimed as she stood up as well. He turned around to face her, which literally killed him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he ruffled his golden spikes, "I just really have to go, okay?"

"Please Ven," she grabbed his hand, "stay here. I really don't want to be alone right now."

Her face went to happy to desperate. The last thing she needed was to be alone in her dark apartment. She wanted him to stay with her, to make her feel safe like he usually does. She regretted ever mentioning the detective since it caused Ventus to be angry for no reason. Aqua didn't like him like that, when he stared at her so coldly, actually he never glanced at her like that.

Ventus saw her blues orbs be enveloped with despair. It begged him to stay; she needed him to comfort her. It was his job, and he must do so. Seeing Aqua scared was enough to make him stay.

"Fine," he smiled, "I'll probably stay until bedtime, is that fine?"

She put on a happy expression and rushed to him for another embrace. He gave a simple "Hmph" as he held on to her once again. He was right; she would always crawl back to him.

"You're the only person I need right now," she whispered happily.

"Are you just saying that to make me feel important?"

"…Yes," she joked.

Ventus had stayed until bedtime, just as he promised. Throughout the day, they had chatted in her room, discussing what she had missed during the days of her absence. He explained to her that Olette was doing alright and that Hayner had been looking after her every day. It was funny to see how he blamed himself for everything that had happened, but it wasn't his fault. The news got better though.

Olette had decided to call in someone to look after her café, which Aqua was thrilled to hear. Ventus suggested checking it out tomorrow and she agreed. The killings had stopped but they still hadn't caught the culprit yet. Aqua already knew the answer to that. Aerith had also called in for help due to Aqua's situation. She was content that Aerith had someone there to help run the shop.

The blue haired woman couldn't wait to get out. She felt ready to leave this prison and breathe fresh air. With Ventus by her side, she felt secure to step out. But the fear was still there, hiding in her heart. She had to do this though; she was going to show him that she wasn't scared and that she was tough to take him on again (which was a lie). But she couldn't stay here forever so might as well leave tomorrow.

The two friends stayed on the bed until it was nightfall, a cue that Ventus was waiting for. He checked to see if his blue haired friend was asleep and to his luck, she was. He carefully stepped out of the bed, trying to not make any noise as he walked to the door. He took one last look at her before he left. She was sleeping peacefully, probably thinking that Ventus was still beside her. He softly smiled and left her alone in her apartment.

"Ven?" she murmured. She had fallen asleep early and didn't even know that her friend was gone already. She stretched her arms and legs, giving out a small yawn as she checked the time. It was 4:00 am, still dark out. She still had time to rest a bit but she wasn't sleepy anymore. So she decided to get up and take a hot shower because for the last few days she hadn't done anything but cradle herself on the floor.

She got up and shuffled to her bathroom. She stripped out of clothes and stepped inside the shower. As soon as she turned the faucet, she felt the hot water smash to her skin. She enjoyed the water cleansing her body which caused her to stay there for half hour. As soon as she finished her routine, she turned off the faucet and stayed in the steam.

Aqua let out a long sigh, pleased that her skin felt so much cleaner. As she tried to grab her towel, she felt the white soft fabric being handed to her. As she clenched it, she felt a strong hand. She shoved the curtains away and gasped as she saw the unexpected. He was here once again, the man in black.

She backed away and tried to hide her naked body from him. She trembled in fear, shocked that he had found a way in… again. He stepped closer to her which made her bite her lips in fear. Was she going to kill her or torture her? It was none of those options.

"As much as I like seeing you naked, can you wrap yourself around the towel?" he asked, handing her the white towel.

She blinked a few times, wondering if this was for real. She must be really dreaming this time. She stood there, shock that he wasn't going to kill, well not right now. He gave out a tired sigh, still waiting for her to grab the white fabric.

"Hey, I can wrap it around you if you like?" he offered.

She widened her eyes and in an instant she took it. She did as she was told to do and covered herself. She clutched the towel closer to her, knowing that he was still looking at her even if she couldn't see behind that dark mask.

"We need to talk."

The guy dressed in all black led her out of the bathroom which was hard. He had to convince her that he wouldn't hurt her this time so he left the bathroom first and called her out. She had no choice; she followed him out there, clenching the towel. As she stepped out, she saw him lying on her bed, as if he owned it. She stayed very far away from him which made him laugh, telling her that he wasn't going to bite unless he got really bored.

"What's that supposed mean?" she wondered to herself, "Am I supposed to entertain him?"

"So," he began the conversation, "Did you find my friend?"

"Huh?"

"Did you find her, my friend that I mentioned before," he recalled. As he said that, she knew what he was talking about. The night he hurt Olette, she asked him why he was killing people. His response:

"I'm looking for someone that's lost, can you help me?"

Was he talking about that same person that was lost? Was she even supposed to look for his friend? She didn't know that she had to! He was sure going to kill her now.

"Well?" he waited for her to respond.

"I don't know who this person is," she lowered her gaze to avoid his glassed stare.

"Sure you do," he retorted back, "it's just that you forgot all about her."

"Well, maybe if you can describe her for me-"

"Jeez, I guess you need to remember more," he cut her off. He stood up from her bed and stalked closer to the pale woman. As she tried to back away slowly, he grabbed her face and stopped her from doing so. She looked at him but not his face. Actually, she looked at her own reflection.

He laughed a bit and raised his other hand to tug the top of her towel a bit. He wasn't pulling it off, but he was teasing it to make her aware that it was grabbing his attention. She flustered a bit and fought back by gripping it harder.

"Change," he commanded her. He let go of everything and stepped away for her to take action. She gave him a death glare and went her way to her closet. She picked out a black tight sweater with floral lace patterns all around and blue skinny jeans. She came out, expecting the man to leave to give her privacy, but that wasn't going to happen.

She waited there, all nervous, until he made a move to leave. He just stood there, waiting for her to change. She grew irritated, so she decided to say something.

"I need some privacy, so leave," she demanded him.

"It's not the first time that I saw you nude," he revealed with a sneaky sneer.

She stared angrily at him; what the hell did her just say? It wasn't his first time that he saw her naked? Since when did he ever saw her in the open? Her head boiled in rage, finding out that he had saw her nude was such a violation.

"You did what?!"

"Whoops, did I just say that?" he teased with such a sarcastic tone.

"You…" she paused, "you creep!"

She ran towards him and started punching him, letting go of the towel. She didn't care much of being in the nude anymore; he did saw her like this before right? Her punches didn't cause any pain to him, it actually didn't bother him. He laughed at her attempt to hurt him; he actually enjoyed it.

"Cute," he simply uttered. He took her wrist into a grip and pulled her closer to his body, towering over her. She tried to get out of his tight grasp but he didn't budge, he was too strong. Whenever she tried to slither out of his grip, he would tighten it more, causing her whimper as she felt the bruises developing under his fingers.

He made his move by pushing her to the bed, trapping her under his heavy weight. She grunted, trying to kick him off to escape and run as far away as possible. She cried as she couldn't get away. The only thing on her mind now was what was he going to do to her now? It was clear to her that this guy could have the intention of touching her inappropriately. As he straddled himself on her, she knew that it was all over.

"What do you want from me!?" she rasped.

"I want her," he whispered, "I want her to be with me again, but she's lost."

"I can't help you with that!" she yelled at him to get the picture. She didn't know who was his friend so how can she find her? Why did she need to search for her in the first place?

"Yes you can," he told her, "I know you can."

He slid his glass helmet a bit, just enough to show his mouth. She gasped as she saw his grin, that grin that looked so… familiar. Her head started to hurt as she started to remember something. A quick flash appeared as she stared at someone with the same grin as the killer has. She couldn't peek at the face, just like she couldn't peek at the killer's face. But what she could see was someone with amber eyes and skin as pale as snow.

The flash had stopped and she was back to the matter at hand. He was still on top of her, getting into her personal space. He placed his hand on her soft cheek and caressed it gently. He lowered his face to hers, breathing her beautiful scent. She shut her eyes and moaned as he licked her neck up to her cheek. After, he started to sniff her as if he couldn't get enough.

"You're the only one that can find her," he emitted softly to her ear. With that said he kissed her warm cheek and got off of her. He slid his mask down and grabbed the fallen towel for which he threw at her body to cover herself. She took it and wrapped herself before he could take another glance at her. She trembled ridiculously, not believing that his actions weren't as sick as she thought it would be.

Aqua's eyes followed him as he walked out towards the balcony, opening the double glass doors which blasted in the cold morning winds. Before he was going to jump off the balcony, he took one last look at the shaken woman.

"I'll be watching you," he spoke, "… Aqua."

She gasped, witnessing that he walked to the edge and fall out of her sight. She ran towards the outside and looked down the streets. He was out of sight, nowhere to be found. She stood there in the cold, awed that he had just said that he would be watching her. The way he said her name was revolting, he had no right to call her that.

There was one thing that he was useful for though; whenever she was near him, she would remember something. Maybe, it wasn't from her past but maybe it was something that helped her gain her memories. One thing was for sure, she had to continue to see him, she had no choice or say in this. But, it was okay; maybe he could help her… just a bit. But, was it a cost for her life?

I'm so sorry if that was short but I will make up for it in the next chapter! Can anyone guess who this guy's friend is? I bet you can't hahaha! I'm starting to miss Terra so I hope I get to put him in the next chapter! Thank for reviewing and for reading: YOU GUYS ROCK!

YOU KNOW THE DRILL NOW; REVIEW PLEASE AND I WILL SEE YOU SOON =)