Episode 7: Beach Day:

Destiny Islands – Seashore

August 7, 2015

Namine smiled as she leaned back in her beach chair on the sands of the small island where Sora, Riku, and Kairi spent all their time as kids. After spending so much time fiddling around with those three's memories of this place, it was nice to be able to actually experience it for herself. Her pencil practically flew across the page of her sketchbook as she rapidly drew Roxas, Xion, Lea, Hayner, Pence, and Olette playing around in the water. Once they'd gotten settled into their new house, Roxas had suggested finally going to the beach like the trio had been planning to do back when they were in the Organization.

She giggled as Roxas splashed Lea while Xion tackled him into the water. She was happy for them, and yet, while they were all adjusting to living together just fine, she still felt like a third wheel in the group. Everyone had already been together for years and despite repeated assurances that she was part of the group, she still felt like she was intruding on something she didn't deserve to be a part of. Between living under the thumbs of both DiZ and Marluxia, she exactly have the highest self-esteem.

After she finished the sketch, she decided to take a walk around the island, and soon she found herself standing on the deck of the tree house behind the entrance to the Secret Place, looking out at the ocean as Lea came out of the water to dry off. He looked up and waved at her, his eyes telling her the same thing the others had been telling her for ages now. You don't have to isolate yourself. You're part of the group. But while she was still friends with all of them, she felt that she felt left out because they had all been in their own tight-knit groups for years now.

"Not used to being part of a group, huh?" a familiar voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She turned around to find a teen resembling a younger Sora with black hair and gold eyes, dressed in black shorts with a black and red shirt. Though she hadn't met him in person, she'd heard enough from Lea, Roxas, and Xion to know who he was.

"It's not that," she told Vanitas as he walked out of the tree hollow and leaned against the railing beside her. "They're all great friends. I just feel like what they all have together is something special, and I…"

"You feel like an outside because you weren't there when they all came together," he finished. "I know the feeling. Ventus and his precious friends can accept me all they want but it's not like we're all one big happy family. They're like they're own little trio, and I'm the expendable extra."

"But they all seem so nice," Namine protested. "They wouldn't treat you like that."

"No, they spend all their time holed up in their castle not caring about anyone outside their little family," Vanitas retorted sarcastically. "Of course they're too nice for that. It doesn't change the fact that with all these little groups of three, we're always the odd ones out." Despite his cynicism and sarcasm, he wasn't wrong. She nodded her head in agreement as sketched the waves. As she drew, she had an idea.

"What if…" she began, then stopped. He'd probably think it was stupid she thought to herself.

"What if what?" he asked curiously.

"It… It's nothing," she said meekly. It was a stupid idea anyway. Vanitas only raised his eyebrow as his curiosity grew even more.

"You don't have to bottle things up, you know," Vanitas replied. "Take it from someone who spawned Unversed just by feeling. Bottling things up just makes a situation worse." Reluctantly, Namine let out a deep breath as she explained her ideas.

"I was thinking maybe we could start our own little group," she answered sadly. "I know it sounds stupid, and we've only just met…"

"It doesn't sound stupid," Vanitas replied reassuringly. "A club for outcasts… I kinda like the sound of that. Fly around the worlds looking for one more member and we've already got our own little trio right here." Namine smiled at that. The acceptance of that idea started rebuilding a tiny bit of the tattered remains of her self-confidence. She chuckled as she looked out at the beach. Lea was walking towards the tree she was in while Roxas, Xion, and the others dragged themselves out of the water for lunch.

"I should probably head down and get lunch now," she said as she closed up her sketchbook. "Lea's probably heading over to either ask me if I'm hungry or bring me the sandwich I packed." Vanitas nodded as he opened up a Dark Corridor with a snap of his fingers.

"A little bit of advice," he replied before he stepped through. "Don't push people who want to be nice to you away just because you feel like an outsider. As charming and optimistic as I may be, I wouldn't dream of taking Ven and the others' sappy kindness for granted. Take it from me, Namine. Even when we're outcasts, we're still lucky to have people looking out for us." With that, he vanished into the darkness as the Corridor closed behind him.

Namine chuckled as she folded up her sketchbook. As cynical as Vanitas was, he had a point. Roxas, Lea, and the others, they all cared about her. She climbed down the ladder just as Lea walked up carrying the sandwich she'd ordered from the shop in Twilight Town before they'd left for the beach. While Lea had expected she'd want to eat alone, she happily accepted her sandwich as they walked back down to the water together.

As she sat down on the sand eating her lunch with the other five teenagers, she couldn't help but feel at peace for the first time in ages. Between being treated as a puppet by Marluxia and a disposable tool by DiZ, it was nice to finally be herself for once. To finally be around people who treated her as a person instead of a weapon. Sure, Lea and Riku had been nice to her but they had been the exceptions rather than the rule. Now, after years of being told what to do and what she was, she was finally free to figure out who she was as a person, and despite feeling like she was always intruding on other groups' bonds, her long-destroyed self-esteem was finally beginning to rebuild itself.

When planning these one-shots, Namine having self-esteem issues made sense given the way that Marluxia and DiZ each treated her. Sure, DiZ may have realized the error of his ways, but it's not illogical to assume that DiZ's whole anti-Nobody attitude took a toll on Namine's self-confidence before KH2.

Now Vanitas' cynicism and deadpan snarker tendencies are starting to show. I was reading different Kingdom Hearts fan forum threads regarding the possibility of Vanitas pulling a Heel-Face Turn and one poster brought up the idea of a little friendship between Vanitas and Namine. I thought "hey, that's a really neat idea," and ran with it. As for whether I'll be shipping them together, the answer is maybe. I haven't made up my mind on that front yet, so for now, they're just friends.

Up next, we check back in with the dead duo in the Reaper's Game.