Note from forevermagik13: Hey! ... Well... you can't tell... but I just tried to type five different things before realizing that none of them is a good enough introduction for this. So, I'll stop trying. Read, enjoy. Erm, check out my blog for lots of fun stuff (link in profile.) That's all!

Oh! Wait! Flightfoot! I never actually said that Namine thought she'd killed him when she'd shattered him. She'll explain it more here, but she never thought that.

"Enough!" Aerith screamed.

The Shadow, who had actually thrown up his hands in between himself and Namine as if it would stop her from getting into his head, lowered them cautiously. Namine's eyes flew open. Leon, who had been leaning back on the back to legs of his chair this whole time, jerked forward as he sat at-attention. Yuffie and Cid sat up straight as well. Xion flinched. Kairi looked up at Aerith expectantly. The look on Tifa's face was hard to read as she gazed up at Aerith from where she sat.

No one had ever seen Aerith this angry. Upset, yes. Angry, never.

"You barge into my house, you insult my guests, you insult me, you summon up Heartless, and now you're just antagonizing everyone like a…"

"Don't finish that comment, sweetie," the Shadow warned.

"Out!" Aerith screamed. "Get. Out. Of. My. House!"

The Shadow shrugged, though no one (except possibly Namine) could see. Then, in a puff of darkness that everyone but Yuffie could see, he was gone.

Aerith sunk down into her chair and buried her face in her hands. Namine hesitantly returned to her own seat. She was shaking, but she hardly even noticed it.

Imagine what would have happened if Riku or Sora were here… Kairi thought.

It would have been a mess. I'm almost glad they weren't… Namine replied.

"Thank you," Aerith said quietly. "For standing up for me."

"You're welcome," Namine said. "You would have done the same for me."

Aerith nodded.

"How much of his memories could you see?" Kairi asked.

"Enough to get an accurate picture of what he looked like, where he was standing, and a general grasp of what he was thinking at any given time. I could see his eyes…"

She shuddered.

"He sounded like Sora…" Yuffie said quietly. "Just a whole lot meaner."

Leon covered his face with a hand.

"Well o'course he does!" Cid stated. "He's his shadow!"

"But Sephiroth sounded nothing like Cloud," Tifa said quietly.

"I stan' corrected," Cid muttered. "Well anyway, that was quite the dinner and a show—haf' a show, anyways."

"We didn't even have dinner!" Yuffie argued.

"So? It's par' of the sayin'!"

"But that doesn't even make sense!"

"I'll go make dinner. Then it'll make sense. You gals stayin'?"

"If you don't mind," Kairi said.

"'Course not. I'll go whip something up."

"Cid, you don't have to," Aerith began.

"Nonsense," Cid interrupted. "You jus' relax. I'll take care of the food."

As he meandered into the kitchen, those closest could hear him add: "An' save some dishes…"

There was a silence at the table, no one wanting to speak first, not even Yuffie. Tifa quietly got up and went over to put an arm around Aerith. Aerith closed her eyes and sighed.

Then Leon spoke up:

"So, you're a Memory…" he paused.

"You can say it. You won't be the first." Namine's voice was quiet.

"I wasn't quite sure what to tack on to the end of that. Sorceress perhaps?"

"Where I come from, it was Memory Witch."

"That sounds as bad as the d-word," Yuffie muttered.

"D-word?" Xion asked.

"Defective," Yuffie whispered. "Riku almost chopped off my head when I said it."

Xion winced.

"He wouldn' have done so if you had been watchin' what you were talkin' abou'!" Cid called from the kitchen.

Yuffie chose not to respond.

"But yes," Namine continued. "I can chain, unchain, re-chain, and shatter anybody's memories. I've only ever done it to one person. And, you all know who that is."

"I'm going to voice this, since all of you are avoiding the issue," Tifa said, looking around at everyone. "Is the Riku that you supposedly shattered the Riku that currently exists in this universe?"

"That's what I was picking the Shadow's brain so hard to find out," Namine said. "I think…I think he is the same."

"But the Database…" Xion began.

"That information was either updated by Vexen or a Vexen Replica," Namine interrupted. "Yes, the Riku Replica fought Riku. Yes, Riku won. But, what if, what if something stopped the Riku Replica from completely disappearing?"

"So, what," Kairi said. "He lost a fight to Riku and then formed a corridor and ended up here because the universes are connected?"

Namine shook her head. "He wouldn't have been able to."

"Why not?" Kairi asked.

Namine raised an eyebrow. "This is Riku we're talking about. At the time, the Riku Replica would not have been enough of a match for him."

"So some other force would have had to," Tifa said.

"What if the Riku Replica is the reason why the universes are connected?" Kairi asked. "He's injured and hurt and then someone comes along and takes him someplace safe, which happens to be this universe."

"We might have found the victim of what is tying the two universes together," Leon said. "But that doesn't answer who brought him over here in the first place."

"Does it matter?" Namine asked, laughing in astonishment. "He's alive! The last I saw him, he said he'd deal with the fact that his memories were a wreck. Then, I thought, he went and committed suicide by going after Riku… but, he's alive. He is well, is he not?"

"Well sure, I would say," Leon said.

"He seems fine teh me!" Cid called. "So's Namine."

Namine laughed. "He found another Namine to protect."

"That's good, right?" Kairi asked.

Namine shrugged. "It would seem so. I'd have to see him myself to be sure. I wonder if he's angry with me…"

"Don't think like that," Kairi cautioned. "We just got Riku to stop being broody and guilty. Don't you start."

Namine tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Just food for thought."

"You could probably go see him," Yuffie said. "If you wanted to… he's in Castle Oblivion."

"But short of taking a Gummi Ship, there's no telling which Castle Oblivion they'd end up in," Leon said. "Using star shards and dark corridors could very easily lead them back to their own universe."

"I think we should probably be getting back home after dinner," Kairi said. "There's no doubt that Sora, Riku and Roxas are wondering how long it takes us to shop."

"We could always come back, couldn't we?" Xion asked. "Especially if the universes are connected."

Leon shrugged. "Chances are high."

"Dinner's up!" Cid called.

"I'll help him bring it to the table," Tifa said.

"Thank yeh!"Cid called.

"Oh, before I forget," Tifa said. "Do you have another pair of gloves for me, Aerith? Cloud bloodied my last pair beyond using them anymore."

"Oh," Xion said, digging into her bag. "Here!"

She handed Tifa a pair of gloves.

"They're Organization quality, nothing'll mess those up."

"Are you sure?" Tifa asked, taking the gloves.

Xion nodded and held up her own hands. "As you can see, I already have a pair. Plus I've got three more at home and know where to get dozens more."

"Thank you!" Tifa said, tucking the gloves into her belt. Then she went to go help Cid with dinner.

xx

The Shadow appeared in the Dark Margin. He came here because he knew no one else would. No Memory Witches who could destroy every Heartless he threw at her. No Kairi's that weren't his own Kairi. No blasted bright girls who could give him nasty headaches. No meddling people who had dabbled so far into darkness that they could see him and therefore be a nuisance. No one.

A bottle bumped up against his shoe.

"Another one?" he asked, picking the bottle up and bashing it against the ground to break it. Prying the letters out took too much time.

.

Sora,

I met a boy who said he knew you today. He told me you were doing well. I hope that is true. I miss you. You're missing the school dance. Selphie's trying to get me to go with someone else, but I don't want to go unless you're there. Not that I'm telling you that you have to come home for a stupid school dance, I'm just saying.

I really do miss you. Please come home soon.

Kairi

.

Out of sheer anger, the Shadow lit the letter on fire. He would regret that later. She still had yet to mention him though, which was both a good and a bad thing. Good, because if Sora actually stumbled upon one of these letters, he'd be screwed. Bad, because, well, she didn't trust herself or Sora enough to mention him.

It was a bittersweet feeling.

He hated bittersweet.

He also hated chivalry.

xx

"Thank you very much for dinner," Kairi said. "It was very good."

"Yes, thank you!" Namine said.

Xion merely nodded through a roll that she had shoved in her mouth the last second.

"Any time," Cid said. "Yer all welcome to come back an' visit."

"We just might," Kairi said. "From what you guys say of Heartless problems, you sound like you could use the help."

"For the most part, we've got it covered," Leon said. "But a little extra hand every now and then is appreciated."

"Why is Hollow Bastion so messed up?" Xion asked.

"Maleficent," Leon said.

"She's still around?" Kairi asked.

"Somewhere," Yuffie muttered.

"Sorry," Kairi said. "Once she's gone, things should improve."

"Good to know," Cid said, saluting them.

"See you around!" Namine said.

Everyone waved and then Kairi activated the star shard.

"Nothin's ever boring around here," Tifa said.

"Nope," Yuffie and Leon agreed. Yuffie frowned at that.

"Shall I get a bed ready for you?" Aerith asked.

Tifa laughed. "I think I can do that myself."

"But, you're a guest."

Tifa rolled her eyes. "I've known you for how long Aerith? Besides, you need sleep. When was the last time you slept?"

Aerith didn't have a response.

"Exactly. You, go, sleep."

Aerith laughed and excused herself from the table.

"Thank you," Leon and Cid both mouthed.

Tifa nodded.

xx

"So, now for the big question," Kairi said as they made their way up to their houses. "Do we tell the others?"

"I'm probably going to tell Riku," Namine said. "Mostly because he'd be interested to know the whereabouts of his replica. And we promised we'd tell each other everything."

"I'm afraid Sora will freak out. I mean, he did get a little upset just when Joseph was speaking about thing ambiguously."

"You should still tell him," Xion said. "We should let them know about why our universe is connected to their universe and why. Plus, if we tell them now, it'll save explanation later. Since we're bound to run into them again."

Kairi nodded, agreeing with Xion's logic. "That settles that then. We'll tell them."

"Tell us what?" Riku asked, suddenly behind them.

"Don't do that!" Kairi seethed.

"Hi!" Namine said.

"Hello," he responded, smiling.

"Tell us what?" Roxas asked, joining them. "Does it have anything to do with you being gone for like, a whole day."

"We weren't gone that long, were we?" Namine asked.

"I feel like girls could shop forever," Sora said.

"Time passes differently in different worlds, does it not?" Kairi asked. "Could not the same apply for other universes?"

"Say what?"