Mei's POV-
"Hey!" I turned my head upon hearing someone.
A girl with red hair and a blue school uniform on a larger island across from the small one I was on. She waved me over as another girl with light brown hair appeared. She was probably her friend. They both pointed to the side where a boat was docked.
Xion said not to let out the existence of other worlds, so I have to blend in.
I got out of the water, planning on meeting the two, and grabbed my shoes. I tossed my shoes into the boat and rowed my way over to the other island. Thanks to Xion, I have gained some muscle, but this rowing business was still pretty taxing.
The light brown haired girl ran over to me first when I got out of the boat with my shoes in hand.
"I've never seen you before," she said to me, putting her face uncomfortably into my personal bubble. "Kairi?"
The red haired girl looked me up and down. I supposed her name was Kairi as that's what this girl called her. "She looks familiar…"
"You're right. I get that feeling too, but she definitely doesn't live here."
I froze.
My cover was blown already!
"Where are you from?" Kairi asked me.
It seems like there are boats here so I can say I'm from another island that has a town called Twilight Town.
"I'm from a town called Twilight Town."
The two girls looked confused.
"We've never heard of it," the light brown haired girl said. "Maybe she took a boat here…but I don't see any boats in the harbor."
"She doesn't have any bag on her or anything," Kairi observed.
I stopped bringing my bag on missions once I learned cure. Okay! Time to test my acting skills!
"I don't really know how I got here. One moment I was in a lot of pain and in the next the pain was gone and I was on that beach over there." I pointed at the small island.
"So you don't know where you are?" Kairi asked.
I shook my head sadly. "What is this place?"
"Destiny Islands," the light brown haired girl said to me. "Kairi, we don't know where her home is so it's not like she can just go back… Maybe we should ask your dad…."
While the two were talking I put my socks and shoes back on.
"I agree. Let's go," Kairi and the other girl each grabbed a hand from me and dragged me along with them towards the residential area of the island.
This is kidnapping! Nooo!
We got to a house that looked nicer than the others. There were some weird symbols on this house too.
"I'm home!" Kairi shouted.
An old looking man walked into the room we were in.
"What do we have here?" he asked.
"Mayor, Sir! We found this girl on the beach of the kid's island and she doesn't know how she got there! Also, we don't know how to get her back home to some place called Twilight Town!" the light brown haired girl shouted, saluting with her free hand. I tried my hardest not to laugh at her comedic action.
Wait… Kairi's father is the Mayor?!
The Mayor looked down at me and his eyes widened. "What was your name child?"
"Mei… My name is Mei."
"A child of this island has returned!" he shouted, taking the three of us by surprise.
I-I'm from this island?! H-He seems to know me!
"W-What are you talking about? She's from some place called Twilight Town!" Kairi shouted. "You're scaring her!"
The Mayor crossed his arms and shook his head. "I'm positive."
The light brown haired girl rubbed her chin and narrowed her eyes at me. "She does give off this familiar feeling to me…"
"Do you two girls remember Molly? The one who moved nearly nine years ago," the Mayor said.
"Ah!" both girls said simultaneously as if some sort of seal was broken inside them while I just shouted out, "EH?!"
T-That's my aunt's name!
"U-Um, my aunt is named Molly," I commented feeling my heart beginning to race.
"I remember playing with you when I was four! I have the best memory in town! I think…" The light brown haired girl grabbed my shoulders. "Do you remember me? My name is Selphie and this here is Kairi!"
"Not exactly… What's happening here? I don't remember ever being on this island…," I said, looking up at the Mayor. "I don't remember my younger years all that well…"
"Let's all take a seat in the living room," the Mayor said, gesturing his arm to the couches.
Kairi left to get us all tea while the three of us sat down. I sat up with my hands in my lap, trying to hold in my anticipation.
This accident has turned out pretty good.
"You were brought here by a man… Hm, I can't seem to remember his appearance, but I'm positive it was a man. He claimed that Molly was your aunt and your last blood relative. It seemed strange that she was to everyone and she seemed shocked as well, but then she admitted she was your aunt out of nowhere and that she would be leaving with you to start a new life by the end of the week. The older woman in town like to gossip and had…started a rumor that you were her illegitimate child that she abandoned until she had to take responsibility for you. They warned their own children to steer clear of you…"
"My mom told me to, but I just said yes to please her while I did what I wanted!" Selphie shouted out proudly as Kairi came in, handing us a cup of tea.
"As I was saying… You were a withdrawn child with reason of course. While your aunt was busy with the move, you were left alone. I don't know all of the details, but I was told that guardianship was moved to Molly because your parents died…"
Selphie and Kairi frowned, looking at me with sympathy. I didn't want their pity.
"I don't know how, but you opened up to all of us out of nowhere and we spent the remainder of your time on the island together. When you left, we all felt sad, but that went away with time," Kairi said. "It's surprising to see you after all this time has passed."
"How is Molly?" the Mayor asked me.
"She's fine. We live together in a house that's too big for the two of us and I have a couple of friends now… Why did you call me a 'child of this island' when I wasn't born nor brought up here?"
"Because you did live here for a period of time, long enough to form a bond with some of the children."
"Sounds surprising that I made friends after what you said about gossip…"
"My apologies for that even if it was beyond my control…"
"Do you happen to know where I lived…before coming here?"
He shook his head, frowning. "I do not."
The Mayor let me stay with him and Kairi while I waited for Xion to come for me. I told them not to worry about me getting home because someone would come looking for me. I still couldn't recall anything that would link me to this island other than that memory of my first meeting my aunt.
The next day, Kairi took me out to meet the rest of the kids I played with when I was younger. She let me borrow one of her yellow sun dresses to wear out. The other kids I played with were two boys: Tidus and Wakka. The two would talk about how they teased me and I would attack them with shells with the help of Selphie. I didn't remember, but I laughed at them reenacting the event.
Seeing the four of them reminded me of my group: Olette, Pence, Hayner, and I.
I miss them…
"What's wrong, Mei?" Kairi asked me, noticing me becoming withdrawn.
"I just miss home is all…," I replied. "…and I'm a little frustrated that I can't remember a thing from here."
Everyone looked down, sad about my predicament.
"Hey, look on the bright side. We can all try to help you remember!" Selphie said cheerfully, taking my hands in hers. "So don't look so sad. We're here for you."
I looked at her softly. "Thank you… Well, is this everyone?"
"No, we're missing Riku," Selphie said to me. "But…"
"He'll be back one day," Kairi said to me sadly. "He's off doing things only he can do." Something seemed off with Kairi as her face began to look strained. It was like she was trying her hardest to remember something that just wasn't coming to her.
"Don't worry though! We'll help you out starting right…now!" Wakka shouted.
"We have school, idiot!" Selphie shouted at Wakka.
"Why don't you come with us?" Tidus asked me kindly.
"Would that be okay? I don't attend or have a uniform…," I trailed off.
"I'll pull some strings, so it'll be okay," Kairi said to me, hopping onto my back with her hands on my shoulders. I gazed at Kairi's face for longer than I should have. "Is something on my face?"
"Eh? Ah, no. Sorry."
She reminds me of Xion…but livelier. Her voice and face match hers…
"You just remind me of a friend I got separated from recently."
School here worked roughly the same as it does in Twilight Town. The uniforms here were plain in comparison to ours though. After school we had lunch at Kairi's house and then went out to the beach to play. Tidus and Wakka were sword fighting with wooden swords while Selphie, Kairi, and I were walking down the beach together looking for seashells.
"Ah! This shell looks different from what I've seen before," I said, picking up a pale pink shell that faded to white.
"You can make something really nice with those kinds of shells," Kairi said to me happily.
"What?" I asked.
"A charm that works sort of like a paopu fruit. It's a fruit that grows native to Destiny Islands."
Selphie cut in. "Legend has it that if two people share one, their destinies become intertwined and that they'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what!"
No matter what… Can you just change destiny like that?
"Of course it doesn't need any romantic relationship like how Selphie likes to think it does," Kairi said, waving off Selphie's dreamy look.
"Eh?"
I wasn't even thinking of it like that!
"How does the charm work then?" I asked, trying to change the subject.
"Well it's assumed that if you make a charm that looks like a paopu fruit and the people you care for do, you will, in theory, all stay together. It's the same as the legend, but without eating the fruit," Kairi explained.
I feel like getting a lot of fruits and making a lot of charms to ensure that all of my friends stay in my life. Ah, but these guys were my friends in the past too…even if it was for less than a week and I can't really remember…
"I'll teach you how to make one if you want," Kairi offered.
"Thank you!" I said quickly. I grew embarrassed at how fast I responded causing the two girls to laugh. That night Kairi kept her word and helped me start out the charm so I could make it by myself. It wasn't that hard once I got the hang of it.
The next day, after school Tidus was teaching me how to sword fight, or at least the way he did it. I didn't have a lot of arm strength so I had to use two hands which reduced my speed apparently. After that, we all played with Wakka's ball. By play I meant him throwing his ball at me and telling me to dodge with a smile on his face as I failed. I was close to popping his ball with thunder, but I refrained from using my magic even if it was super cool.
The next day, while waiting for the others to get back home from school, I went searching for sea shells I could bring back with me to make charms. I didn't go with the others because I felt so restless this morning having been here for three days now. In these three days I usually stuck close to Kairi since she reminded me so much of Xion that her presence calmed me.
I've been thinking at night about how I would confront my aunt about everything I learned these past few days about her life on the island and her taking me away from here. I don't understand why we left and how. Everyone just assumed that she took a boat out to Twilight Town, but Twilight Town is its own world.
Where is Xion…?
As if I summoned her here, a corridor of darkness appeared behind me.
"MEI!" Xion tackled me to the floor in a hug as I was crouching to get sea shells when she found me.
"XION!" I shouted, hugging the girl back. "What took you so long?!"
"I'm so sorry I left you alone in there! I don't know how you got out, but I'm glad you weren't lost in the darkness. You don't know how many world I went to looking for you!"
"It's alright Xion. You were trying to save me from getting found out, right? It's fine. This actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise, but I'm about ready to go home now."
"Let's go," Xion said as we both got up.
"Let me get my things and return these clothes. Meet me there," I said pointing at the small island the others called 'kid's island'.
She agreed and we parted ways. I carried the shells I've collected to Kairi's house and changed back into my old clothes. I took out a handkerchief and wrapped the shells in it. By the time I got back to the beach, I spotted Kairi and the others.
"You're in your clothes?" Selphie questioned.
"I'm going home now. My friend came for me," I said happily.
"You're leaving…?" Kairi said sadly.
"We didn't get to help you remember yet…" Tidus said.
"It's alright. I'll remember one day. What really matters is that we all met again and I won't forget you all again, so please don't forget me."
I gave everyone a hug and waved, promising that I would be back to see them again one day. I didn't know how true that promise would be, but one could hope. I wasn't one for goodbyes after all. I took the boat over to the small island and circled around to find Xion admiring the ocean.
"This world is beautiful," Xion commented.
"It is," I said in agreement, taking her hand. "But let's return to my beautiful Twilight Town."
I took a deep breath, tightening my grip on her hand as we stepped through the corridor of darkness.
Xion's POV-
"I lost Mei in the corridor of darkness… I know I told you this for the past two nights, but this time, I come with good news. I found her! She wasn't lost in the darkness, but in another world like I had hoped. The world I found her in was new to me. Roxas, I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. I hope that you can join Mei and I next time," I said to the sleeping Roxas. Before I forgot, I dug into my pocket and took out a beautiful yellow and pink shell Mei gave me to give to Roxas from her time on Destiny Islands. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Roxas."
Ever since I learned of his coma, I came to him every night to tell him of my time with Mei and what we've been up to and how Mei was going through a hard time coping with all of this. I tell him of the missions we go on and the games I play with her and her friends. All of these precious memories that I have gained from being with Mei makes me feel whole when I feel like I'm nothing.
Mei's POV-
When I got home, my aunt embraced and scolded me for leaving without telling her anything. She was genuinely worried and it broke my heart to have made her worry like that. Even if she wasn't my mother, she was the closest I had to one.
That night we both went to sleep. I was keen on interrogating my aunt in the morning.
"Aunt Molly, do you believe in the existence of other worlds aside this one?" I asked during breakfast.
Earlier this morning I woke with a fluttering in my chest from a dream that I could vaguely remember, but it had to do with going to a new world alone.
Her posture stiffened. "That's silly. What are you and your friends up to now? Pretending you're space cadets?"
"No…"
She's acting like I'm crazy.
"When I went missing I went to a place called Destiny Islands. Ah, rather than a place I should say a world."
My aunt's jaw dropped. "H-How did you-" She stopped herself and pushed her breakfast forward so that she could prop her elbows on the table and lean her forehead down against her hands so she could think of what to say next.
I sat on the edge of my seat in anticipation. Today was the day I would finally get answers. I would finally find out the reason why I have been feeling so off lately.
Just as my aunt was about to speak there was a knock at the door. Neither of us moved an inch hoping that whoever was at the door would just give up and leave.
They didn't leave.
I made my way to the door and swung it open with the most annoyed face I could muster. "What do you want Hayner?"
He didn't look any happier than me. "Come on." He grabbed my wrist and pulled me through the doorway. He closed the door behind him and pushed me out to the woods. Once he was satisfied by how deep in the woods we got, he gave me one last shove forward.
"What the heck Hayner!" I growled.
"Don't what the heck me! What have you been doing these past few days? Your aunt came to all of us asking if we saw you or heard from you."
I bit my lip considering my options here.
I can't let him know the existence of other worlds.
"I just took a small trip out of town."
"This is what you call a small trip? Are small trips not worth telling anyone about?"
"I'm sorry."
"You're sorry! You're sorry?"
"What do you want me to say?!"
"I want you to tell me why you left!"
"I can't!"
"Why not?
"Just…trust me alright?" I held myself as I looked to the side, not wanting to meet Hayner's disappointed gaze.
He took a deep breath as I concentrated on the wind lightly blowing at the leaves. "You haven't been around."
"It was just three days-"
"It may have felt like three days for you, but for me it- Look if something is going on it would be nice to know as your friend, but if you can't tell me then I get it. We all have our secrets, but…" He walked by me and stopped so we would be shoulder to shoulder. He put the hand closest to me on my head and ruffled my hair a little. "…rely on me a little at least if you need help. We are all here for you if and when you need us."
Why does he keep going between himself and the gang?
I reached up to grab his hand on my head, but he quickly retracted it. He stuffed both his hands into his pockets and turned away from me so I wouldn't see his face.
When I got back home I found my aunt reading a newspaper in the living room. I crossed my arms and stared at her until she put down the paper.
"Just what has been going with you? You used to be so well-behaved. Is this that rebellious teen stage the other parents warn me about?"
"It's not!" She gave me a look for shouting like that at her. I bit my lip and sat down on the couch across from her. "I just want you to be honest with me. When I was in Destiny Islands the Mayor said you used to live there. So then we moved from Destiny Islands to Twilight Town?"
My aunt rubbed her temples as if the time she has wanted to avoid had finally come. "Yes, we moved from one world to another."
"Why did you keep this from me?"
"I was told not to tell people of the existence of other worlds. It would disrupt the balance and not to mention put you at risk if you were too curious about other worlds."
Could Aunt Molly also be in league with Organization XIII? She can't be since she would have recognized Roxas in his uniform. Then again even I don't know everyone in their organization.
"Who told you not to tell people?"
"The man who brought you to me did. We couldn't stay in Destiny Islands because it wasn't safe enough for you to be raised. We were transferred here to start a new life together where we would both be safe."
Now I should have questioned what we needed to be safe from, but I didn't.
"Then you must know about magic!"
"I do know it exists, but I can't use any myself."
"But you know my parents could use magic; otherwise, why else would they leave me this pendant that lets me use magic!"
By now Xion and I have noticed how my pendant glows whenever I casted. She couldn't find any information on it in the Organization XIII's headquarters.
"I…I didn't know your family could use magic. I don't know the origins of your pendent aside from the fact that it was left aside for you by your birth parents."
The grandfather clock in the hall began to ring. I looked at the hour and stood up. "We're not done talking about this, but I have somewhere I need to be."
"And where is that?"
"That is traveling to other worlds to fight Heartless with my friend Xion."
"I forbid you from going then. Heartless have always been around and they lead to nothing good. You're putting yourself at risk by going off to different worlds! Did you not listen to me when I said we came here to be safe? We need to keep a low profile." She stood up and grabbed my arm to stop me from leaving.
I took her hands in mine, begging her to let me go. "I made a promise to meet her at this time and I'm not going to back down from it. If I continue down this path, I think I can learn more about who I am."
"You're Mei. What else do you need to know about yourself other than that fact?"
"Aunt Molly, I have the ability and will to do this so please let me go. If I come back all bruised up just be there to tell me things will be all right."
"I can't change your mind… Just hurry back home and remember to be cautious." She gave my hands a squeeze before lightening her grip on them enough for me to slip out of her hands and out the door with a premade backpack.
"Hey," Xion said to me when I met up with her.
"Morning." I put my hands together and bowed. "I'm so sorry I can't go with you today. My aunt got really mad at me and told me to stay home. I wanted to tell you though so you wouldn't get worried."
"I understand."
"Be safe."
Xion left through the corridor of darkness, but before the portal could close up, I hopped in. I watched as Xion walked along, not suspecting a thing as the portal closed behind me. I waited until she left out of another portal before I used my magic to rip through the darkness and create a tear.
I couldn't explain it if I tried, but something in me told me to see a new world today.
I jumped through the tear and landed in the new world.
I guess there are worlds that go from day to night, worlds that are stuck in forever twilight, and so on. I wonder what kind of sky this world will have.
Roxas' POV-
I woke up; hearing a voice that sounded like Xion's telling me that they were sure they would find me here snoozing. No one was in my room when I opened my eyes. There were a bunch of shells beside my pillow that I didn't remember leaving there. I stretched and walked out of my room, wondering where everyone was.
I didn't really remember ever coming back to my room after the mission.
I wandered around Twilight Town, looking for Mei since I couldn't find anyone, let alone Saix for my daily mission. I saw her friends running around, but not her. I thought about going to her house, but decided against it since I didn't want to risk being stuck with her aunt. She seemed like a nice person, but the situation would be awkward for me.
I decided to just wait at the clock tower in hopes that she'll at least come for our routine sea salt ice cream.
I feel like I haven't been up in ages.
I stretched, trying to liven up my stiff muscles.
Mei's POV-
Let's just say I've gotten into a lot of trouble in the past few hours and now I'm stuck helping someone named Cid pack up boxes to be moved into a weirdly shaped ship called a Gummi Ship.
"Why are we putting all these things in here again?" I asked.
"It's none of your fucking business, but we're moving to a place called Hollow Bastion."
"We? You can't mean the beautiful and kind Aerith and the jerk-faced you?"
"Why I-" While Cid was getting ready to beat me down while I laughed at him, Aerith came out with a tray of drinks.
"Are you guys getting thirsty?"
"You really know what to do at a time like this, Aerith!" I said happily.
"Thank you for helping us. This isn't a quick move. We've been trying to get everything ready and together for weeks now. Little by little though we'll be done."
"I would have helped regardless if you asked me to. I don't need Mr. Woke Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bed over there conning me into helping."
"Shut up you pint-sized midget!"
"Geez, what a foul mouth…" I twirled my fingers towards him, smirking as I used thunder to make a small string of lightning strike the cigarette in his mouth so that it would disintegrate. "Don't you know how bad second-hand smoke is?"
Cid had a dark look on his face as if he was plotting how he would kill me.
I really didn't do much wrong in the first place. I just tripped down some stairs just as he was walking by the foot of the stairs with some boxes in his arms. You can guess the rest of what happened: I crashed into him, things went flying, he got mad at me for not being careful and made me help him pick everything up and then help with the rest of the job.
"Careful, someone might accuse you of child abuse," I said, calmly sipping the iced tea Aerith made for me as Cid was trying to crush my head with one hand.
Cid may act like he hates me, but Aerith told me earlier that if he was keeping me around, he must like me. So the logic here is that he acts rude and keeps me around so he must appreciate me. He just doesn't show any of this or admits it.
"You can use magic, Mei?" Aerith asked me.
I nodded. "I've been learning from one of my friends, but eventually they'll run out of things to teach me." I held up my palm as a small gust of wind swirled into a ball. "And I'm always curious for more knowledge."
In this world people actually know about the existence of other worlds and magic. Apparently this place is like a sanctuary for those who have lost their worlds due to something called the Darkness. Again, I wasn't in the naming committee when this all went down.
"Maybe you can ask Him for some help with magic," Aerith recommended.
"Him?" I questioned.
"Oh no, I'm not done with this little shit yet!" Cid complained.
Aerith put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "She's been working all day. I'm sure she didn't come here on her own accord."
"I mean…I don't really mind helping." I was ignored as Aerith scolded Cid, who was too weary to really fight back. I was then escorted to some place called the Mystical House. Aerith knocked on the door, but no one answered.
"Maybe they stepped out?" I suggested.
POOF!
I screamed as I felt a hand on my shoulder followed by a popping sound.
Roxas' POV-
She should have been here already…
Mei wasn't at the clock tower yet. It's only been a day, so maybe she was mad at me for some reason or maybe she got into a fight. It didn't seem like she was with her friends, but her friends didn't seem to be concerned either.
"Roxas!"
"Xion…" I figured she would know what was going on. "What happened?"
Xion walked over and sat beside me. "You've been sleeping for a long time and Saix said there would be no telling when you'd wake up. But I'm glad you did wake." I looked to Xion, my face lighting up slightly.
I decided to make a joke. "I kinda feel like a zombie right now though." She laughed as she pulled out a seashell from her pocket.
"I brought you this." I took the shell from her. "It's a seashell. Mei and I have been picking one up every day since we found out about your coma. It was her idea. I thought it was strange at first, but it is pretty fun. Put this one up to your ear. You can hear the ocean in it."
That explains the shells on my bed.
I closed my eyes and put the shell up to my ear hearing waves crashing to the shore and seashells and seeing a scene of a boy and a girl watching the sunset.
Wait what?
I put away the seashell, thanking Xion for it. "Where is Mei then if you've been working together to get them?"
"She told me she couldn't come with me on my mission today because her aunt got mad and told her to stay home."
"I see…"
So she was home the whole ti- Wait. Did Xion just say 'come with her on her mission'?
"Xion, I think I heard you wrong. Where exactly do you and Mei get these shells?"
"From each world we go to for a mission! Wonderland, Halloween Town and so on. She doesn't come with me on every mission since she also needs to spend time with her friends, but for the most part she does."
"Xion, do you know how dangerous that is for her!"
"I know that it puts her at risk for getting caught…and that nearly happened, but we avoided it! Then again I did lose her in the corridor of darkness for a few days and later found her in a new world. Well the world was new for me to go to."
"…"
I didn't know how to react to everything Xion was telling me. There was so much wrong in what the girls have been up to since I've been sleeping. On the bright side, they seemed to have gotten close.
"Why did you start letting her come with you on missions? You know she's defenseless."
"I didn't see a problem with it… I thought it'd be a good idea to get someone to help me out. I'd finish a lot faster and she's not that defenseless anymore. I've been teaching her how to use magic."
"Use magic? Mei can't use magic and if she could she wouldn't have a lot of power to cast."
"She is actually a natural! I've never seen her hit a limit unlike at first when she would pass out. Plus, she said she wanted to impress you when you got back since she had a lot of doubt that you'd ever teach her."
She got me there…
"Don't be mad at her Roxas… When I told her about what happened to you and Axel…it broke her. I got to know her pretty well these past weeks and I've learned that everything she does is with meaning. Her making up the idea to get you a seashell everyday was her way of being there for you and doing something rather than sitting down and feeling powerless. She got over it faster than I thought she would though and started to focus more on improving her magic so she could show off to you. She really cares for you, Roxas. I don't think she ever goes a day without thinking about you."
"…"
"Even though we may not have hearts, she does and she decided to have you in it. You told me once that Mei makes the impossible feel possible, but I think the opposite. She makes the impossible possible. She doesn't give up and she doesn't single-out anyone. If she has a problem with someone, she will talk it out. She's mindful of those around her like me. She knows that I'm not the most open person in the world, but makes an effort to get me involved. I really admire her positive personality so it hurts me a lot when I see her so down…"
They really did get along well… Have I hurt Mei with my actions? My absence? I'm nothing though. How can a Nobody like me affect her, a Somebody?
"I made sure I was careful. I convinced her that going to the Castle That Never Was would be a bad idea when she wanted to see you. We still did our best to keep up the tradition of eating up here, but sometimes we went out and played games or ate out with her friends. When I asked her why she was trying so hard to include me, she just told me that she didn't want me to feel lonely. I really really like Mei. I was tempted to tell Xemnas once and convince him to let her join us as a support, but I knew she would be put in more danger. I just wanted to be around her more and when she doesn't go with me on missions I feel lonely-"
"I understand." I patted Xion's head. Her voice was starting to strain emotionally. "I'll talk to her as soon as I can."
When Nobodies disappear, we leave nothing behind. If Xion and I were to…Mei would be lonely.
"She might not come because she was told not to leave her house… It's my fault for losing her…"
Ah, Mei has her friends and her aunt still. She will be okay if we all have to part one day.
"It was an accident right? It sounds like she's okay so there's no reason to feel sorry about it."
Xion left ahead of me while I stayed to think about all the new information Xion had left me with and that was probably only the tip of what I've missed out on.
"Day 26 - How Long?'
'I only remember part of this day. I heard somebody sent to Castle Oblivion was terminated. Saix said it may have been Axel.'
'I tried to ask Xigbar about it on the day's mission, and he said nothing's left of Nobodies once we're gone, because we have no hearts to leave behind. I don't remember much after that. They say I collapsed and wouldn't wake up…'
'I wanted to end things with Mei. I remember Axel telling me not to lead her on, but I never got the chance to speak to her.'
"Day 50 - Xion and Mei's Seashells'
'I must have missed a lot. It's like I had the longest dream. I woke up to find a bunch of seashells by my pillow. I counted them. There was one for each day they said I was asleep.'
'I was wondering who left them there, but then when I got to the clock tower, Xion gave me another. I held it up to my ear, and I could hear the ocean… Why did it sound so familiar?'
'The stuff I dreamed about felt strangely familiar too. I remember being in a white room with somebody the same age as me wearing red clothes…and then he sort of disappeared into the white.'
'And there was a girl's voice—she said I knew I'd be "snoozing." Why would she know that? The voice was a little like Xion's.'
'After hearing what Xion and Mei have been up to…I wanted to rethink hurting Mei any more than I apparently did while I was in my coma. I just can't keep her holding on to me when one day I could disappear with nothing left for her to hold on to."
The next day I came to the clock tower after my mission and waited. Xion didn't show up oddly enough and neither did Mei.
Maybe Mei went off with Xion and they're not back yet…or she's still stuck at home….
After waiting a few more minutes I made up my mind to go to her house. I didn't want to jump around hurdles anymore. I rang her doorbell and her aunt answered in a panic.
I was surprised by her face as it lit up and then grew dark upon seeing it was only me.
Did she expect someone else?
"Is Mei home?" I asked as she let me come inside.
"She hasn't been home since yesterday… I thought you were her…" She walked into the living room and fell into the couch, hunching forward with her hands cupping her face.
"She hasn't been home? She's not at a friend's house or anything?" I remained standing.
"She told me she had to go with some girl named Xion so they could fight off Heartless…and she hasn't been home since. She was gone for three days without a word, and then she comes back and the next day she leaves again without telling me when she'd at least be back by."
"Xion said you were making her stay home."
"I would have preferred her to, but the look in her eyes… I couldn't deny her after seeing them…"
"If she's not here then she's not with Xion… Xion said that Mei went home after telling her that she couldn't go."
"She's not here… Where is she?!" Mei's aunt came up to me and grabbed me by my shoulders. Her hands were shaking and her voice sounded desperate. "Please! You must know what's going on. Please find Mei. She is all I have… I was supposed to keep her safe."
"… I understand." I put my hands over hers.
"Once Mei comes back… Please…if you know that Xion girl, you two must be working to fight those creatures… Get out of Mei's life for her own good…"
Axel said something like that before…that involving Mei in our lives would only put her in danger…but…
"I-"
The door opened followed by a loud thud of someone dropping something heavy on the floor.
"Ah! That was tiresome! I'm going to sleep like a log tonight!" Mei's voice sounded throughout the house.
"She's…home…" Mei's aunt let go of me and ran out into the doorway where Mei was. "You rotten girl! Not telling me anything and lying to me!"
"What?! Does this make us even?" Mei asked. I walked out to the doorway where I saw a large leather-bound book and Mei's backpack on the floor.
"How could you tell me you were going off with that Xion girl, but really go somewhere else?"
"Ah! How did you find that out?"
Mei's aunt turned her head towards me and Mei followed suit to meet my gaze. Her eyes widened. She rubbed her eyes as if I was just a vision and broke out of her aunt's arms. She walked over to me hesitantly as if she was still seeing things.
"Rox…as?" I nodded and she jumped, wrapping her arms around my neck as I wrapped my arms around her waist to keep her steady. "You're awake." Her body shook. "I-I'm happy." I turned my head to look at Mei's face to see her tearing up. "I swear I'm happy. I didn't know when I'd see you again… One day you just stopped showing up and I found out later that you fell into a coma and there was nothing I could do and-"
I put a finger up to her lips to silence her as we separated. "I'm sorry for worrying you, but to be fair, you also stopped showing up yesterday."
"Ah…that… You've missed out on a lot…"
"Xion already filled me in on the big things."
"Oh good then I won't be scolded as much. Heh, I just had a gut feeling that I needed to be somewhere and that feeling was right."
Something changed in this moment and I had no time to collect my thoughts.
I looked over Mei's shoulder to see her aunt eyeing me as if to tell me to break the news to her. I frowned and shook my head, wrapping one arm around Mei's shoulders, pulling her into me so that her head was hovering over my shoulder. "I can't leave Mei's side. I vowed to protect her and I will now. When I think about her not being in my life anymore…that's not the kind of life I want to live."
"You…are for her?"
"Yes."
I felt Mei's body temperature heat up before she pushed me away from her. Her face looked like a tomato. "Hold on you two. None of us are on the same page here! I wasn't planning on Roxas being here and saying weird stuff, so please leave for now! Ah, no. That's rude. Just sit down there and listen. I don't have anything to hide from yo-" Mei's stomach growled. "I never got around to eating yet…" She pointed at her aunt. "You sit down too while I make dinner. You both seemed to have not eaten yet anyways."
Mei's POV-
For the past day I've been learning under Merlin the wizard who was rather fond of me for a stranger. He asked me what my purpose was and that I couldn't progress after a certain point in time if I couldn't answer that question. He lent me a book on magic and gave me a silver scepter with a gold crown at the top that would enable me to better use weapons as a medium for magic.
I finished helping Cid with the next shipment of belongings that needed to be put in his Gummi Ship so while he was on his way to drop them off in a world called Hollow Bastion, he dropped me home.
And now here I was, ready to talk to my aunt more about the past when Roxas shows up, bringing back all these emotions I've been feelings for the past few weeks and especially the ones I had the day he went missing.
Where to start…?