A/N: I probably could have made some better use of the prompt I suppose, but coming up with something for this particular theme turned out to be pretty hard.

Thanks: ZalelTribal, and Killya008. :)

~ And then there was Vanitas' strange reaction to the nurse's entrance, almost as if he knew her… ~

92) Terror

Aqua's health was as good as ever, but what hadn't changed was that she still couldn't choose between Terra and Vanitas. And then there was Vanitas' strange reaction to the nurse's entrance, almost as if he knew her…

Aqua could only think of one explanation; could the nurse have been… Xion, his ex girlfriend? If only Kairi had been there in the room too. She was the only one who knew what Xion looked like.

The bluenette had picked up Stitch from Aerith earlier today, but she had realized that she had forgotten to ask for Stitch's favorite toy. Aerith probably still had it somewhere in her apartment. Stitch couldn't stay calm without his Lilo toy, so Aqua had to go and visit Aerith again. The bluenette couldn't help but smile when she thought about her beloved pet; it was so cute how Stitch had jumped from Aerith's lap upon seeing his owner, throwing himself in Aqua's arms to lick her face. It was nice to be missed by someone like that.

Fortunately for her, the shops were open till late today. Aqua looked at her mobile screen and saw that it was a quarter to nine in the evening, which meant that Aerith was nearly done working. Aqua figured that she could wait for her until she had closed her flowershop, and then walk to her apartment with her to pick up the toy.

With that thought in mind, Aqua stopped at Aerith's flowershop. Marluxia, a rather polite gentleman who worked there as well, told her to wait for a bit, because Aerith had gone out to buy new flowerpots. Aqua nodded, trying not to look directly or too often at Marluxia's long, bublegum-colored hair. After all, she knew exactly what it felt like to have an anusual haircolor; you would question every glance towards it, wondering timidly what hateful things that particular person was thinking about your hair.

She took in the different scents that stemmed from the flowers, as she watched Marluxia's deft hands make a beautiful and festive garland. It was peaceful to look at, kind of like how Bach's work always managed to calm her down and make her feel recharged. Once Marluxia was done with arranging more garlands, he put his hair in a low ponytail, away from his face, and started cleaning the shop.

Soon enough, Aerith entered her shop again, holding new silver-colored pots. When the brunette woman noticed Aqua, she greeted her bluenette friend warmly.

"Two visits in one day? That has to be a record," Aerith noted.

At that moment, her mobile phone rang.

After taking it out of her pocket, she slid it open and answered the call. "Aerith Gainsborough speaking?"

Suddenly, her emerald-green eyes widened in horror. Aqua knew that was a bad sign; Aerith was not one to get startled easily. The pretty brunette had to lean heavily against the counter, just so she wouldn't fall on the floor. Fortunately for her, Aqua was quick to react; she swiftly walked over to where Aerith was standing, while Marluxia fixed a chair so that Aerith could sit on it.

"What's wrong?" Aqua asked, as soon as a pale-looking Aerith hung up the phone.

"Z-Zack... He has been stabbed by someone. He's in the hospital. He... He managed to throw a punch at his attacker, so they have to be walking around somewhere with a bruised face… But it was too dark for him to see who it was, and the culprit was wearing a hood," Aerith said, looking at her hands.

All color had drained from her face.

"Let's go to the hospital then!" Aqua said quickly.

"But the shop…"

"I'll lock everything up today. You go visit Zack," Marluxia said with a solemn nod. "Go quickly, I have everything under control here."

Aerith nodded, still looking rather dazed from the bad news. She handed the keys over to Marluxia, before heading to the hospital with Aqua.

One thing was certain: someone dangerous was terrorizing Radiant Garden at night.

A/N: Next chapter: Aqua had decided to pay a visit to Vanitas to talk to him. Perhaps it was time to choose. It was better to get it over with now, even though she had no idea what to tell him. Maybe she would know as soon as she saw him.