We follow where her finger points and turn our heads. Outside the cafe windows it looks like a multitude of people are standing around. Except they're not. Humanoid in appearance, yes, but their skin is as black as the streets we plowed through and what compensates for hands rises up, claws scratching at the glass.

All outside, all staring. Blank, bright, and yellow eyes the size of my thumb piercing into all of us. But after a few more seconds they zero in on me.

Won't you come outside, Kairi?

Please, come out.

We're all waiting for you.

I grip Sora's hand as tightly as I can, then finally follow Aqua into the hidden hallways, hoping with everything in me that no one else heard those soothing, persuasive voices.

A subconscious part of me senses the danger, acknowledges the fear. In this world I guess we'll always be watched.

Don't Be a Gentleman: Avoid Light

My heart beats in sync with my feet, thumping. Pound, pound, pound . . .

I feel the beat everywhere, throbbing vigorously. I swallow back the nausea in my throat and keep my eyes on Aqua's bouncing hair. The hallway stretches on and on. A headache blossoms above my eyebrows and I clutch my head, fighting the urge to moan.

Aqua stiffens, sending me a single apathetic glance. "Don't throw up. I just finished cleaning."

I nod quickly and control the bile. Sora is still holding my right hand. He squeezes reassuringly, though with all the negative emotions surrounding me his grip hurts more than anything. But it's also a distraction so I squeeze him back.

Aqua stops in front of a room, pushing me through the door quickly. "Sorry boys, she'll be staying with me for now." She winks at Riku and Sora before turning to Terra. "Make sure they look presentable. This one," she gestures towards me, "will take some time."

Terra smirks darkly. "Think you're up for the challenge? She is very . . . bright."

"Oh yeah, it's going to be hell. But you know me." Aqua laughs once before speaking in a serious tone. "Don't mess this up though. Just don't do," she makes another discreet hand gesture that I don't recognize, "well, what you usually do."

"Right." He kisses her on the forehead. "Good luck." He starts laughing, and I mean hard obnoxious laughter, before shutting the door.

"Bastard." Aqua snorts then looks at me, eyes narrowing. "Now, where to begin . . . " She follows the dark (well, it sounds ominous to me) statement with a head tilt while placing a single hand on her hip.

I swallow. She was already an intimidating person without Terra, but now that I'm stuck in a room with her by myself? Her posture displays grace and cunning. It's a strict pose, she obviously isn't in the mood to deal with any foolishness, but there's something teasing and, dare I say, erotic about it.

It's pretty pointless to say by this point but, if you haven't caught on yet, her whole stance is making me feel uncomfortable. As if staring were enough. "Um, what exactly are you going to do to me?"

Aqua's smirks, looking me up and down. "Well, first we need to trash your clothes." She walks around me, tapping her fingers against her chin. "Hmm, and your hair needs some work too. Darker, yeah, I should make it darker. Probably have to dye it. And . . . let's see, what color would look good on you . . . "

I yelp as she pinches my arms. "Hey!"

"Yeah, definitely going to have to hide most of your skin. Gosh, you've got one sexy tan." Aqua chuckles. "Going to need a lot of make-up."

I huff, crossing my arms and stepping away from her. "Look, no offense, I don't know you. I'm going to need some answers before you even think about touching my hair."

Aqua's eyes darken but the crooked grin is still plastered to her face. She stands straight, rubbing her fingers. "Right, answers. Not like I have more than a few hours, but sure. Let's waste time and put your life at risk." Her smile disappears and she points to a salon chair behind her. "Now be a good girl and sit."

I tilt my head and just stare, not moving at all.

Aqua blinks once. She sighs, looking at her fingers. "Don't make this harder for me, Kairi."

"I never told you my name," I mumble, trying to hide the fact that I'm freaking out. My bruise flares briefly, and I fight hard to keep myself from scratching it. Aqua's smile suddenly grows and she stares directly at my neck.

The pain is instant. I scream and cover it, falling to the ground on my knees. Electric nails plunge into my bruise and my teeth rattle in my mouth. I gasp, horror rising as I see a mixture of saliva and blood dripping onto the floor from my mouth. Tears sting my cheeks and I cry out. "Please, I'm sorry," I grunt, barely able to get it out as I accidentally dig my nails into the bruise.

"Come on, you're just making it worse." Aqua's laugh barely reaches my ears. "Tough it out. You have a pretty face after all."

I keep coughing blood and hiss, digging my nails in deeper. I feel my body shake and I close my eyes. "Mmmph," Is all I can say.

"We can do this the hard way where I drag you by the roots and give you this makeover. Or, you can come over here in a mature fashion and let me answer you at my own pace while I wash your hair. Okay?"

Ugh, that sweet tone she's using makes me want to gag. "Fine," I tremble and mutter incoherently.

The pain disappears as quickly as it came. "Wonderful." She offers me a hand but I don't take it. I grit my teeth and stomp over to the chair, sitting in it quickly. Aqua's smile gets wider and she walks over, lifting blue fingernails through my hair. "Thank you."

"You still need to keep your end of the bargain." I try to look away from her face, but it's sort of hard when your hair is being washed and the only place left for your eyes to wander is the other person's arms and chest. "I don't see what the big deal is."

"Then you weren't paying attention." Her laugh is high and cold. "So, have you always been this oblivious?"

"No. I'm not," I growl. "Sheesh, you haven't said anything."

"You're right. I haven't." Her face morphs into this sad shape. "And, honestly, I don't think you want to know."

"Really? Because I don't want people to think I'm oblivious." I stare into her eyes. "I'm not just some little kid."

"Age doesn't matter here. Ignorance is bliss after all." She wets my hair, moving cold hands through it, scratching my scalp. "Even if I tell you the truth, it's beyond your control. At least, right now."

"Well, I still want to know." It's hard to control my voice, but I don't want her to do that weird-stabbing-pain thing with my neck. How did she even know about that bruise anyway? And my name? "This place isn't just some random world, is it? You guys seem to know a lot about us."

"You mean me and Terra?" Her hands pause. "Well, that's to be expected. We're all connected after all."

I narrow my eyes. "I never met you."

Aqua smiles back at me. "Actually, you have. I'm surprised you don't remember me." She points to her heavily made-up face. "But I guess I don't resemble my old self."

"You have an old self?" I raise my eyebrows incredulously at her. "So what I'm seeing now isn't the real you?" I smirk.

"In a way." Aqua frowns and slaps my cheeks. "Quit moving your head."

"Ow."

"Please, that didn't hurt."

"How would you know?"

Aqua gives me the most serious look I've seen from her, then she scrubs my head faster than before. The soap reeks of lavender and cherries. I sniff once as she rinses it off.

She wraps my hair up in a towel then gets me out of the chair by the arm, pushing me towards a spinning stool. She dries it fast then picks up a blow dryer and attacks my hair, bouncing it with her hands while walking in semi-circles.

Sheesh, she really wasn't kidding about the time limit apparently. I've never had my hair done this fast. "Hey, um, you're not really going to dye it, are you?"

"Probably won't have enough time." She furiously combs through my strands, wincing. "I'll come up with something."

Great. "Do I really look that bad?"

"It's not that you look bad. It's the aura you give off, your atmosphere."

"Aura? I'm confused . . . "

With a disgruntled sigh she turns me towards a mirror. "You're too bright for this place, you all are. If we don't prepare you fast enough then the ihjancat will consume you."

What the heck? "Ihja . . . what did you just say?"

Aqua's eyes widen and she looks straight at me, face becoming pale. "Oh no . . . no, it's already sunrise? That can't be! We should have two more hours." She grips her own hair. "Can . . . Kairi, can you still understand me?"

"I . . . what? What do you mean?" I sit up, shaking. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying lyh oui ihtancd-ugh!" She turns her head away. "My speech . . it's starting to lryhka." She shakes her head again.

"Aqua," I sigh, "You're not making sense."

Instead of answering she holds a finger up, eyes narrowing. Then she runs to a closet and starts pulling out random gothic clothing. She mutters under her breath but everything she's saying is lost to me now. Just a jumble of words.

Is she speaking a different language now? Things just got so much weirder. "Um, I appreciate the help, but perhaps I should . . . " I point to the door.

Aqua's eyes burn holes into me and she stomps over, grabbing me by the arm. "Naymmo? Oui lyh'd mayja oad!" Nothing makes sense, but from her tone I can tell she's exasperated.

"Okay, I'll put on the clothes." I pull my arm back, rubbing it where her nails left red marks. "Sheesh."

Aqua rolls her eyes and shoves the shirt into my hands. It has stripes, white and black. The skirt she brings out is black also, long enough to reach my knees. I sigh and start stripping. It's a little uncomfortable with Aqua staring at me (like if I take any second longer a bomb will go off or something) but I ignore her and get everything on.

She nods once then pulls out a long pair of black knee socks and white flats. The moment I get everything on I shiver. The clothes cling to my skin tightly and its even colder than before now. I bite into my bottom lip to keep my teeth from chattering and glare at Aqua. "You happy now?"

She shrugs, as if that's the best she can do, while dabbing this dark powder on my cheeks. She applies maschera, purple lip balm, and then starts rubbing something around my eyes. She finally finishes this weird do-over with a small, black hair band. She pushes it into my hair.

After this she stares at me for a good five minutes walking around. She makes another one of her disapproving grunting sounds before holding up a pair of scissors. "Lyh E lid ouin ryen?"

I blow my bangs out of my face. "Still not getting anything."

She quickly grabs a few locks of my hair, raising her eyebrows. I growl. "No."

Aqua chuckles darkly before placing the scissors back on the counter. She proudly waves her hands towards the door.

I walk out of the stuffy room and look up and down the hallway. I see Terra down the way we first came but this time he's dressed in a tux. I timidly go up to him. "Where are Sora and Riku?"

He smiles at me, looking me up and down. "Ah, jano hela, Kairi." He winks.

Great, he's speaking that way too? I look away, rubbing my arms absently. Why is it getting colder? This outfit isn't shielding me from anything at all. It feels like I'm not even wearing anything.

"Kairi."

I snap my head up upon hearing Sora's voice. He smiles lightly at me but that's the only part of him that I recognize. His hair is completely blonde now, almost platinum. He has on a black shirt with crossbones on the front and his pants are also black. His eyes are outlined in black eyeliner and his cheeks are slightly grey, it's probably that strange blush Aqua put on me. It's very simple attire but it makes him look even more serious than normal. "You look nice," he says softly.

I chuckle awkwardly. "Nah, I probably look like a mime."

Sora laughs. "Yeah, you're right. Do I look that way too? There wasn't a mirror in our room."

No, you look pretty sexy actually. Whoa, stop yourself, Kairi! Sheesh, what am I thinking? "You're fine."

Riku walks up beside Sora, elbowing him in the side. "Quit smiling. You're already messing this up." I don't focus on what Riku's wearing for too long because, to be honest, it's seriously creeping me out. Basically, it's a leather jacket, ripped up black jeans, and the eyeliner and stuff. His hair looks a little darker too, but more of a purple shade instead of his natural blue. But like I said, I might have missed something because I looked away almost immediately.

"Oh, right." Sora turns to me, smile instantly gone. "We can't think of "happy" things at all for the next twelve hours unless we're asleep or something."

"It attracts the enemy to us." Riku gives me a sharp look. "You know, the creatures trying to claw into the café earlier."

"Creatures? Are they heartless?" I frown.

Sora closes his eyes. "Not them. Something worse."

"Terra was trying to tell us something else about them, but . . . " Riku tilts his head towards Terra (who has stared at us with a small smile throughout this conversation), "Now we can't even understand a word he's spouting."

"Oh, that happened to Aqua too." Right as I say that Aqua steps out from behind me, effectively scaring the crap out of me.

She jabs a finger into Terra's chest, speaking fast. Even though I don't know exactly what she's saying anymore, I can tell from Terra's apprehensive expression that he's in trouble. He raises his hands over his head, responding in a calm manner but this just seems to make Aqua more pissed. She huffs loudly then pulls me back towards the front of the cafe and into the kitchen.

She picks up a dish in the sink and scrubs it hard, eyebrows firmly angled down and her cheeks turn red, showing past the make up. Her hands turn red too as she scrubs and I flinch as she slams a plate to the side.

I sigh and turn towards the counter. After staring at the black surface for a few seconds I pick up a rag and start cleaning, just to have something to do. Terra walks in soon, still looking guilty, leading Sora and Riku in and sits them at a table across from me. Sora isn't really paying attention, staring at me now with haunted eyes.

Hmm, I wonder what he's thinking about? Guess it can't be too good, if we're supposed to keep our minds in the negative anyway. What's that thing Riku mentioned? Positive emotions draws us towards the creatures . . . or whatever Aqua called them earlier.

I frown, mulling over everything that's happened. As my mind takes a darker path I start remembering things I wanted to forget. Sora's scratched up face, magenta eyes, Keyblade stabbing me in the back, purple strings . . .

I stop rubbing and let my eyes wander, wishing I could drink something hot at least. I freeze and stare at the window.

Instead of the creepy, dark swarm of humanoid figures only one stands out there now. His eyes are still big and yellow and his entire body is black, but his form is the closest to a human out of all the figures I saw earlier. Even his claws are smaller, more hand-like. His hair is spiky and wild, it reminds me of . . .

I gasp, turning my head towards Sora then back towards his dark look-a-like. "No . . . " I mutter.

It's him. God, I swear that's him. The one who terrorized Sora before, the one pulling the strings, the one who tried to kill-

Terra turns as Sora's puppet master knocks on the front door, claws relaxed in a polite gesture. He takes off a top hat and then that's when I see him smile; sharp jagged teeth, white against ebony skin.

Everything slows down. Sora's eyes widening, Riku shoving him in the shoulders with a confused expression, Terra a few feet from the door with his hands on the knob, Sora's look-a-like outside staring at me now with that mocking smile.

Aqua's speaking next to me, tapping me, but I barely hear it. Instead I twirl around, shoving past her and run down a different hallway in the store, breaths heavy as my heart expresses fear in my chest.

That evil monster is back. By the light, no!

I keep running, running, thinking negative thoughts, shaking with each second as everything inside me slowly transforms into ice. Cold, I've never felt so cold in my entire life.

The scary thing is that I know it won't work. All the running, all the fears, all the cautious thinking and planning.

None of it matters because he already found me.

Alright, yes! Another chapter completed!

Okay, so for I have some pretty cool stuff planned for the next chapter in Riku's POV if you guys are up for another POV switch. Seriously, I sort of have this pattern where if there is a POV switch then in the next two chapters there's another switch before we return to Kairi for five chapters or so.

Anyway, let me know what you thought of this chapter. Criticism is always appreciated and welcomed!

Until next time.

Justice T.

(P.S. If you can read Al Bhed, you'll understand what Aqua and Terra are saying and may catch a few other things. Also, apparently the alphabet I was using was slightly off. But all is well since I have gone over and corrected everything. However, if there is still a mistake please let me know).