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Rauxlen

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I just read it, and it was awesome!
I hope you continue with that story, too :D
 

Princess of KH

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i'll continue w/ it. i've actually written quite a bit of it already, but i don't want to put it up here yet. i think i want to finish this ff here before i put that one up.
anyway, i should have the next chappie up later tonight or tomorrow. no promises, but it's about 70% sure that i will put it up, though.
 

Princess of KH

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Hey! i'm back with a new chappie! there's not a lot of action, but this is still an essential part of the story. enjoy! (i'm not saying much cause i'm tired & i want to go to bed.)


Chapter 82

“Dang it! Sora, I’ll be right back. Don’t let Shadow and his friend get away!” Riku opened a portal and told Selphie and Wakka to go through. Selphie was hesitant, but Wakka took her arm and led her through, seeing that they needed to get out of the way. Riku ran through after them and handed Anna to Wakka. “Do NOT let ANYTHING happen to her. When she wakes up, she’ll want to go back to the islands. Just let her leave. We’ll come back for you in a while.” Riku told them, and then he ran back through the portal.

“See what I mean, Kairi?! See?! Guys like him switch from good to evil whenever they like to! Whatever’s best for them at the time, they switch over to it! Can we just get rid of him now?!” Sora said as he looked at Kairi. “Sora, I…I didn’t mean to…” She looked a little hurt. “No! No, Kai, I didn’t mean it like that! I just…ugh, he’s almost over here. Promise me you’ll talk with me once this is over?” He pleaded. She nodded, though she didn’t look at him. He had called her “Kai”, and he only did that when he was really happy or if he was being serious.

Riku couldn’t hear their exact words, but he knew a rift had formed between them just then. “Guys, let’s get this over with. I have a feeling he didn’t come to finish us off, anyway.” Riku stated. Sora nodded and charged at Shadow. “Sora! No! He’s…” Riku watched as Sora went to slash Shadow with his keyblade. Kairi gasped as the blade went right through him. “…a Shadow.” Riku finished. “Kairi, stay out of this one if you can, okay?” Riku looked at her for a moment. “Sure.” She replied quietly. She ran a few yards away and stood there with her keyblade, ready to block if needed.

Shadow slammed the side of his spear into Sora’s side, which made Sora fall back on the ground. He rolled over just before the end of Shadow’s staff speared the ground. Sora scrambled up and tried using Fire magic, but it didn’t affect Shadow. He ran back to Riku and groaned. “How the heck are we supposed to fight him?!” “I don’t know yet.” Riku answered as he moved into his fighting stance. “We have to entertain him until we know how.” Sora mentioned as he charged at Shadow yet again. Riku looked behind Shadow and Sora and saw the other cloaked figure, standing still as if he were watching.

Riku thought hard about how to hurt Shadow. Shadow was obviously in darkness, but not even Riku could hurt him. “Shadow…is part of the darkness…but I’m the Prince of Darkness and I can’t even put a scratch on him! Part of darkness…darkness…” “Sora! You ever seen him get hurt?” Riku called out. “You can’t kill a shadow, kid.” Shadow laughed. “Yea! Melanie almost killed him once! She stabbed him with a sword! That’s it!” He replied as he dodged Shadow’s fist.

“Hmm…darkness…Melanie had to be the Princess of Darkness then! Why can’t I hurt him, then?! Think, Riku! Darkness…fight darkness with…light…” “Kairi! Kairi, come here!” Riku called to her. She ran up to him quickly. “Anna taught you how to use light as a weapon – kinda like magic – right?” She thought, and then nodded. “Could you try to use it on Shadow?” She froze. “I had Anna’s help. She has more light than even I do…” “Can you just try to hurt him? Even if it’s just a little bit?” Riku pleaded.

“I’ll do what I can.” She firmly replied. She was tired of being so dependant on others. Her friends needed her now, and she was going to do all that she could to help them. She closed her eyes, concentrated, and felt a surge go through her. She opened her eyes to see that she was glowing a little. Gripping her keyblade, she charged at Shadow with all the speed she had. He laughed when he saw a girl coming at him, trying to hurt him. But his laughter ceased when he felt pain emit from his side. The girl had actually hit him.

“You…are not a normal girl…are you?” He asked as he gripped her arm. “No, I’m not.” She answered as she glared at him. “What happened? Why are you doing this?” “Because it must be done.” He said as he threw her back. She flew through the air and hit the sand. “Kairi!” Sora yelled. “I’m fine, Sora!” She said, meaning that she didn’t want any help right now. He was shocked. Normally, she would’ve gladly taken the help. But now, she was acting different, like she was independent.

“Listen, Shadow. If you don’t stop, we’ll have to kill you.” She told him boldly as she stood up and brushed herself off. Sora and Riku were even more shocked now; they knew just as well as she did that when she said “we”, she actually meant “I”. She was actually ready to fight him by herself.

“Shadow! What the heck are you doing?!” Everyone looked farther towards the ocean as a yellow, glowing portal opened and Anna stepped out, keyblade in hand. The portal shut and she started walking towards Kairi. On the way, she passed Sora and Riku. “Use light to hurt him.” Riku whispered to her. She nodded and kept walking to Kairi. “Now, what’s going on here?”

“He came out of nowhere and tried to kill us all!” Sora told her loudly. She grinned. “Isn’t that what I all the evil people do? Seriously, though – Shadow, what do you think you’re doing? Do you have memory loss? I thought you weren’t ‘bad’ anymore. Do you even remember what happened with all of us – you know, Melanie almost died? I thought you were ‘good’. What happened?” Anna sounded sincere towards the end. “You think that I helped you because it was of my interest? I merely helped you because it saved my sister’s life. Just because I value her life, don’t think I value your lives at all.”

“You’re pretty indecisive, Shadow. I don’t like that. Either try to kill us or let us live. Don’t change your mind about whether you hate us or not all the time. It’s annoying.” Anna said as she made her keyblade appear. “Does it look like I care?” He asked mockingly. “No, but I didn’t ask your opinion, did I?” Shadow smirked at her. “You children are so naïve.” “You know what they say: Ignorance is bliss. So, did you come here to kill us by fighting or did you plan on talking until our ears bled?”

Shadow laughed. “You really wish for your death to come sooner?” “No, but I’m starting to wonder if you’re just trying to stall yours.” “I’ve had enough of you, Anna. If it were not for Maleficent’s orders I would’ve killed you by now.” “Of course, of course. But you just had to listen to the old hag, and look where that’s got you. Nowhere.” “Shut up.”

She charged at him, and before he knew it, her keyblade was stabbing through his left shoulder. “What’s wrong with you, Shadow? Make up your mind!” She told him. Gripping her keyblade tightly, she swung it around so forcefully that it caused Shadow to fly off of it and to land in the sand near Kairi. “Not so fun, is is?” Kairi asked with a raised eyebrow. He glared at her and started to get up, but she rested the tip of her keyblade on his neck. “You wouldn’t kill me. You couldn’t. You can’t kill someone…you don’t have it in you.” He told her, trying to sway her. She wanted to tell him that he was wrong, but he wasn’t. He was completely right. He slowly pushed the blade away from his neck, but Anna’s keyblade took it’s place. “She may not, but you know very well that I do.” Anna told him confidently. It silenced him.

“Tell me, who’s that person that came here with you?” Anna asked him. “What are you talking about?” he scoffed. With her free hand, Anna pointed to the figure, still standing still. “He’s not one of yours?” “No, Shadow, he came here with you. Right?” Kairi nodded. “You! Who are you?” Anna asked the figure.

“I’m the real reason he came.” The man answered. He threw back his black hood to reveal his identity. “Axel! What the heck are you freaking us out like that for?! I thought you were going to try to kill us!” Anna called out. “Well, if I just came out and told Shadow who I was, this whole fight would’ve been much more dramatic and pain-inflicting that it was. He came here to kill me. He’s been hunting me down. Old habits die hard, huh?” “Some habits are better kept alive.” Shadow retorted. “Yea, the habits like brushing your teeth and washing your hands, those are good habits. Hunting down your childhood friend and attempting to kill him is not a good habit.”

“Shadow, make up your mind right now, or this keyblade will have even more of our blood on it very soon.” Anna demanded. Shadow just glared at her. “Shadow…now!” She yelled as she pushed the keyblade up against his skin. “Old habits die hard.” He sighed. “And new habits are hard to start.” She mentioned. She stabbed his right shoulder with her blade. “Riku! Sora! What should we do with our new enemy?” She called out to them. They approached her quickly. “Should we kill him now?” Sora asked. “I’m not sure.” Anna said. “Get it over with. He’s an enemy; he’ll only cause more problems.” Riku answered. “Anna, you don’t have to kill him. One of us’ll do it.” Sora said as he pointed his keyblade at Shadow’s neck.

“Thanks.” She started to walk away with Kairi so they wouldn’t have to see. “I thought you had it in you! I thought you said you could kill me! Are you too much of a coward to kill your enemy?!” She glanced back at him and smirked. “Blood’s difficult to get off my blade. And I thought I wouldn’t embarrass you by letting me, a teenage girl, kill you, a twenty-something year old man.” She then kept walking.

Five minutes later, Shadow was dead. Axel had left to get Melanie. Wakka and Selphie were back on the islands, each at their own homes. Anna, Kairi, Sora, and Riku were waiting for Axel to get back. And Tidus was still nowhere to be found.
 

Rauxlen

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Yay! Update!
It was cool... and Axel was in it :D
And I was sad about Shadow...
 

Princess of KH

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thanx guys! ^_^
i'm sorry, but i don't have the next chappie yet :(
it's at my house (where i am not at the time being), so i'll have it next time i'm on here.
i'm glad you guys liked the previous chapter, though!
i'm about to do something i've never done before....give you guys a sort of spoiler! it doesn't spoil anything, though. it's actually a sort of cliffy. anyway, since some of you may or may not want to read it, i'ts in white letters! (i'm so smart! :p) just highlight between the words "cliffy!" & then you an read it if you want!

CLIFFY! i wouldn't be so sure about Shadow's death...Maleficent didn't die the first time, did she? CLIFFY!
 

Princess of KH

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ugh. i am SO sorry, guys. the laptop i'm on won't read the chappie off my USB. this is an older laptop im using, so it doesn't read the newest version of Microsoft Word. because of this, i can't post the newest chappie. So, SO sorry, guys. I'll try my best to get it up soon.

if it makes you gusy feel better, i've finish 2 pics of ppl from this ff. they're on regular notebook paper (i was practicing in class at school* & i realized that the pics were turning out really good, so i just decided to use them.) instead of art paper. but i might be doing other pics of them, too, which WILL be on art paper.
*who actually pays attention in physical science, anyway? lol
 
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Rauxlen

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ugh. i am SO sorry, guys. the laptop i'm on won't read the chappie off my USB. this is an older laptop im using, so it doesn't read the newest version of Microsoft Word. because of this, i can't post the newest chappie. So, SO sorry, guys. I'll try my best to get it up soon.

if it makes you gusy feel better, i've finish 2 pics of ppl from this ff. they're on regular notebook paper (i was practicing in class at school* & i realized that the pics were turning out really good, so i just decided to use them.) instead of art paper. but i might be doing other pics of them, too, which WILL be on art paper.
*who actually pays attention in physical science, anyway? lol

Aw D:
I'm sorry that your laptop's not working right...
And it's ok. If I wait, it will probably make the next chappie extra awesome!

And cool! Pictures!
I want to see them :D (But I could wait if I have to, lol.)

Hm... depends with me... Homeschooled and everything. But I could probably say... I don't pay attention to what my book says. I basically re-read the whole thing when I do my homework XD
 

Lectori Salutem

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Yay! Pictures! Wanna see!!! And don't worry about the chapters, you have a good reason, so we won't mind. I had a similar problem... A friend mailed a document I needed for school, but I couldn't open it. Unfortunately, teachers aren't so forgiving as we are^^ We managed something in the end, but still... ^^

Do physics the way I do them: more or less listen to the teacher (more less than more), somewhat make your homework (three weeks to late), talk with your classmates when you are supposed to be working and read the theory one day before the exam. That's how I usually do things, and I can't complain about the grades! Can't complain at all^^
 

Princess of KH

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ugh! WHY?!?!?!
my computer has the newest (i mean brand new, a new as new can get) hardrive in it. therefore, it has the newest type of Word Document (or whatever it's called) on it. the laptop i'm on...does not, sadly. i don't even have a new computer! it's actually a Windows 2000! but my dad is one those computer-genius-guys so he updated my computer & put different harddrives in it & all that good stuff. so now, every chappie i type on my computer is going to be useless on the laptop i will most normally have internet access to! WHY ME?! i'll figure out some way to get chappies up here, guys. i will.
but i'm terribley sorry about the delay. i make you guys wait so often, & i feel horrible about it.

however, all i have to do is scan my artwork, & then i can have it on this site. so, it should be here soon.
 

Princess of KH

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ok, i figured something out!
here's the chappie!
the chappies are getting longer, so i hope you guys don't mind.
i'll have the pics up asap - i just have to put them on my USB. i found a scanner!

Chapter 83

Wakka’s cell phone rang. “Who the heck is calling me at midnight?” He picked it up and flipped it open. “Wakka? It’s Selphie.” “Hey. You alright?” “Yea, but…I’m worried…and I don’t feel good. I’ve got a headache.” She mused. “Don’t worry about it. Go get some sleep okay? You sound tired.” “I don’t think I can sleep.” Wakka sighed. “Then go watch a movie. It’ll make you feel better.” “Which one? I have a ton.” “The funniest one you have.” “Funny?! You want me to watch a comedy while Tidus is missing and a man just got killed on the beach by our friends?!” She almost shouted into the phone.
“Selphie, calm down. The guy was about to kill them. They had no choice. It’s over, so don’t worry about it. I’m sure Tidus is fine. You know him; he’s not going to go down easy. He’s probably just sulking somewhere. He’ll get hungry and come back tomorrow. Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Anna are fine, too. What they did on the beach is just part of their life. They deal with that stuff so you don’t have to. So just let them deal with it, and don’t worry. Now, go watch your movie.” She was silent for a moment. “Uh…o-okay. Thanks, Wakka.” “Anytime, Selphie. If you need anything else, just call.” “Okay. Bye, Wakka.” “Bye, Selphie.” He shut the phone and flopped on his bed. “Why is looking out for my friends getting harder and harder?” He thought out loud.
“Maybe because four of your friends would rather you didn’t even try.” Wakka shot up and saw Tidus in his doorway. “What the heck are you doing?! Did you just sneak in?! Where have you been?! Selphie’s worried sick over you!” He fumed. “What four friends are you talking about?” He then asked, soaking in Tidus’s words. “Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Anna…they don’t need people to look out for them. They’re used to looking out for each other. They don’t want you to worry about them like you do.” “Okay, but where the heck did you go?! And why the heck did you go?!”
“I, I don’t know. I’ve never been there before. But I met someone…who knew Sora, Riku, Anna, and Kairi. I don’t really know what happened. I was just there, and then, I wasn’t.” Tidus mused, looking off into nothing. “What are you talking about? Did you get knocked out or something?! None of that makes any sense.” “Does anything make sense right now?” “Well, no…not really.” “Exactly. Something strange is going on, and we’re getting wrapped up in it.” “You, you’re right. Okay, explain as much as you can about where you went, and how you got there and back.”

“What are we supposed to do with him?” Kairi asked, referring to Shadow’s body. “Maybe we should just take him to another world. Maybe…some place that has – wait. Sora, you killed him, didn’t you?” Anna suddenly asked him, sounding urgent. “Uh, yea. How’d you know? You weren’t even looking. You were way over there, by the road.” “I just knew that, like I was told, you could only hurt Shadow with light. Out of you two – you and Riku – I knew that you’re the only one who can use light at all. Riku can’t. He doesn’t have any light. I just wanted to make sure.” She replied, as if she were relieved. “Well, okay. But we really need to get his body out of here. Someone open a portal and we’ll take him to another world. Maybe that world that’s almost covered in water; the one that we almost died in?” Sora said as he thought about it.
“The only place Shadow is going is back to my house.” A familiar woman’s voice told them. They all turned around and saw Melanie and Axel approaching them. “Hey, Melanie.” Anna said; she didn’t mean to sound upset, but she was a little mad at Shadow. “Um, why do you want his corpse at your house? Did we miss something, here?” Sora asked. “You actually might’ve missed something big. I’ll explain in a moment. Axel opened a portal for everyone. Riku picked up Shadow’s body and followed everyone into the portal. They walked out inside Melanie’s house in Twilight Town.
Riku dropped Shadow on the floor, walked to a wall, and leaned up against it. Anna immediately noticed that he carried a different air than he normally did. She came up to him and leaned against the wall beside him, hoping to somehow ease his emotions for the time being. “What’s going on? Why do you want to keep his corpse so bad?” Kairi asked Melanie. Melanie kneeled on the ground beside Shadow and felt his wrist, trying to feel a pulse. “He may not be a corpse just yet.” She calmly answered. “What?!” Sora and Riku both exclaimed.
“Don’t worry; he won’t be waking up anytime soon. That’s if he’s still alive. I don’t know. I can’t feel a pulse, but that doesn’t mean much right now. Shadow’s never been normal. Ever since he was a kid, he was different. He could use magic in ways that no one else could. He once talked about trying to build up a reservoir of magic inside his physical heart, so that if he were to ever be killed in battle, the magic would activate and revive his heart, thus reviving him completely. As far as I know, he never accomplished that. But, we’ve been apart for years. That was plenty of time for him to develop that skill and to use it.”
“She just always just says the whole story…never just little parts. Just spills it all out when she’s asked.” Axel thought to himself. “So what if he is still alive? If we just kill him again, he’ll be dead for good, right? Let’s just get it over with.” Riku said as he let his keyblade appear. He started walking to Shadow’s body. “Riku…” Anna wanted to say something like “Riku, stop. Don’t kill him.” But she couldn’t bring herself to say it. He was evil. He’d certainly proved it. But she didn’t want him to die, for some reason.
Riku lifted his keyblade up, but in an instant, Melanie’s sword met his blade. She was standing up now, and had the most serious look he had ever seen her with. “What are you…” He murmured. “If you try to kill him, I’ll be forced to wound you so that you can’t move.” She threatened. Everyone could tell that she was entirely serious. Riku let his keyblade disappear and stood there, almost glaring at her. It shocked Anna.
“If his heart is punctured while the magic is acting, it could cause an explosion of the magic reservoir, ultimately killing us all.” She informed them. “Stabbing a heart isn’t the only way to kill someone.” Riku replied coldly. “Riku…please don’t try to kill my brother. I can’t let you do that. If you try, Riku, I’ll personally wound you so that you won’t be able to move for a week.” She told him, pointing the sword at him. “Guys, please. Riku, we don’t have to kill him right now. Maybe there’s something we can do.” Kairi said, hoping to temporarily settle the dispute. All she did was intensify it. “Kairi! What else can we do to change him?! He’s the only one that can change himself! We can’t do anything! If we let him live, he’ll only go around, causing darkness to spread over the worlds, causing deaths, or whatever he feels like doing! He could come back and try to kill us! I’m completely useless against him; Sora can do very little; you, Kairi, can do some; and only Anna would have a chance of killing him again!” He seethed.
“Stop. Riku, c’mon. Don’t be like this.” Sora said, starting to get upset that Riku was almost yelling at Kairi. “Sora…do you not understand what I just said?!” “Riku, stop. Now.” Axel demanded. “He’s not going to jump up from the floor and kill one of us. Relax. We’re going to make sure he can’t hurt anyone if he’s alive.” Riku looked at him, then walked out the front door. It slammed behind him. “I’m so sorry, Melanie.” Anna told her quietly. Melanie nodded. “Don’t worry about it. I understand what he means entirely. It’s just that…this is…my brother.” “I know. I don’t want to kill him either. I can get back home on my own, so don’t worry about me or Riku, okay?” She then walked out the door and ran down the street after Riku.
“I don’t know what came over him. He’s not usually like that.” Sora said, trying to explain something that he didn’t understand. “Shadow probably hurt Anna once; maybe even almost killed her. Riku doesn’t want Shadow to hurt her any more, nor to have a chance to kill her.” Axel told them. “He is quite protective of her, isn’t he?” Melanie mused. “He really likes her.” Kairi mentioned. “That’s good. She’ll be able to talk to him. Maybe she can make him understand my side of this situation. As for right now, though, I’ll need silence for the next ten minutes. I still haven’t detected any life signs.”

“Melanie, there may not be any signs of life to detect.” Axel told her quietly. “No. He has to be alive.” She confidently refuted. Axel didn’t say any more.
 

Rauxlen

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Yay! Another chapter!
Gah, come on Shadow, LIVE!
XD
Cool chapter (once again).
And I can't wait to see those pictures :D
 

Princess of KH

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glad you liked it!
i have the pics now! i'll try my hardest to upload them before i have to leave, k? (going to school's state tournament in an hour...it's a 6 hour drive! i hope my mp3 will last long enough to get me through...)
here's the next chappie - i feel like i owe it to you guys to put another one up while i can. so, here it is! oh, & it's SUPER long! think of it as a 'sorry for the constant chappie delay' present. (though i didn't plan it like that; the chappie just turned out really long & i didn't think it should've been cut in half.)

Chapter 84

Anna walked into the stone street. She looked around, but didn’t see Riku anywhere. “Riku?” She said loud enough for someone close by to hear. No one answered. She looked further down the street and saw a figure standing there. It looked like Riku. She started walking in his direction, but stopped when she saw a large, black portal appear in front of him. She panicked. He was leaving. Leaving for a little while, leaving for a long time, or leaving forever, she didn’t know. She didn’t know if he was just going back to the islands, or if he was leaving for good. Fear struck her heart that he was going to do the latter of the two options she thought of.

“Riku! Riku, stop! Don’t go!” Anna called out to him, panicking. Riku, almost to the end of the street, turned around upon hearing her voice. He didn’t want her to see him after having acted like he did, and he especially didn’t want her seeing him try to leave. He didn’t want to have to face her, but he knew it would only hurt her more if he tried to brush it off. He walked up to her shamefully as she ran towards him. Behind him, the portal closed. “Anna, I…” He didn’t know what to say next. “Riku, please…please tell me that you weren’t leaving. Please tell me you’re okay.” She breathed once they were close enough for him to hear her. Her eyes looked watery. “Anna, what’s wrong?” “No, Riku, answer me right now. Please – are you okay or not? Were you leaving?” She begged. “I’m fine…I just don’t know what happened to me in there. I…” He left his sentence trailing when he saw a tear form under her eye. “I was leaving, Anna, but it’s just because I was mad. I wanted to go somewhere and calm down. I’m not leaving you.” She seemed slightly relieved, but a tear fell down to the brick street beneath them. “Anna, tell me if you’re okay.”

“I, I thought…that maybe…something happened…to you, since you never…really act like that...get that mad…” He tilted her chin up with his fingers and looked her in the eyes. “Anna…that isn’t it, is it?” He knew she was trying to hide the real reason she was upset. She didn’t say anything, but more tears rolled down her face. “Anna…tell me the truth. Please?” She gave up. She knew she couldn’t mask what she felt around him right now; he saw right through the mask. “This is all my fault.” She breathed, trying not to cry. “What are you talking about?” He was confused.

“If I had never…if I had never come here…if I had stayed on Earth…” “Anna, don’t -” Riku was cut off. “You know it’s true! If I had never come, you guys wouldn’t have been separated; you wouldn’t have had to go through half of what you did go through; Tidus might not have left; Shadow wouldn’t have ever hurt me, so you wouldn’t act like you just did; my parents and friends would have whole memories; Earth would be safe; and my parents and friends wouldn’t have their lives put in danger because of me! My family and friends! It’s probably best if I just go back to Earth before I make things worse! Even if they don’t remember me…” She said as she cried. She pulled back from him some, making his fingers leave her chin, and she covered her face in her hands. “Anna, please…please don’t say things like that.” “You know they’re true! I feel so selfish; I get a happy life and look at what it’s cost everyone else!” She refuted. “Tidus’s leaving had nothing to do with you. Trust me, you are not the reason he left. It would not be best if you left. It would make me miserable. And you are not selfish; not in the least. If you were selfish, you wouldn’t have risked your life so many times just to save others. You’re not selfish at all; you deserve a happy life, Anna. And, even if the rest are true…I don’t care. If you never came here…I’m not sure I’d still be living. And I know…that if you left…” He paused to move closer to her, pull her hands away from her face, and gently hold her head up in his hands so that he could look her in the eyes. “…I wouldn’t be whole anymore.”
He kissed her on the forehead and then wrapped his arms around her. “I don’t want you to say things like that ever again, okay?” He whispered in her ear. She nodded slightly after burying her face in his chest. “Promise me you’ll never leave me. Please. I need you.” He begged. For some reason, he felt needy. At that moment, he realized that he didn’t just want her there; he needed her there. He needed her. “I won’t leave you, Riku. I just…I miss them so much. My own mom…dad…brothers…they don’t even remember my name…my face…my voice…me. They don’t know me anymore. I lost them. If they saw me…I’d be a stranger to them. I’m a stranger to my family! I just...I miss them so much! So much…it hurts!” Her muffled voice gave indication that she was starting to cry harder. She took a sharp breath and a short, desperate cry escaped her mouth. Riku felt hot tears soak through his shirt onto his skin. Anna broke into sobs. Her knees gave out on her; Riku’s arms around her were all that kept her from collapsing onto the street.

She gripped his shirt with both fists and buried her face into his chest again. Despite the fact that she was sobbing so hard that she had to inhale large, quick breaths, her crying was quiet. In fact, the loudest thing was her sharp intake of air. It sounded painful to Riku. He could almost feel her pain; as if it were soaking into him. Her pain…hurt him also. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t even know if he could find the voice to say anything. If he opened his mouth, he didn’t know what would gush out. He didn’t want her to hurt so badly. He wanted her to be happy; happy were she was. He didn’t want her to mourn over her family’s forgetting her. He wanted her to be happy without them; to not need them. He was jealous. Entirely jealous of her family; the one last thing that might persuade her to leave him and go to Earth forever. She had only promised not to leave him. She never said that she wouldn’t leave him later on. He couldn’t stand for her to go.
“It’s okay, Anna. I’m right here…right her for you. Always. I’ll always be here.” He whispered to her softly. “You don’t need your family. You’ve got me now. Please…need me. Need me.” Her sobs kept coming. He knew he couldn’t stop her from crying, but he wished she didn’t have a reason to cry. Her family was the reason she was crying. All the more reason for Riku to dislike them. “It’s okay. I’m here for you. It’s okay to cry.” “R-Riku?” “Yes?” “D-Do, do you think…they’ll ever remember…me?” She asked in a near silent voice, pausing to gasp for air. “I…I’m not sure. But even if they don’t, you’ll be okay.” She let out another short, hopeless cry. “You…you will be okay…right?” He asked nervously. “I…don’t know. Don’t…think so.” She answered.

Her quiet words hit Riku hard. “But…why now? You’ve been fine all this time…and now…you suddenly miss them so badly?” “Anna…how long…have you felt like this? How long…have you hurt like this?” She didn’t answer. “Anna…c’mon. Answer me, please?” “Disney Castle.” She muttered. “What?” “Disney Castle? Does she mean…that long ago?” “Since Disney Castle. But…it’s sorta…built up…to being this painful.” “Anna…you…you’ve been…” “…You’ve been suffering…so long…and I never even knew. Suffering…because I stole you away…from them…” “Why…why didn’t you tell me, Anna? Why didn’t you tell me that you missed them this much?” “You…I thought…you’d be…upset…at me for…missing them so much…” “Anna…what have I done to you? Did I…did I cause all you pain?” “You thought I would be mad at you for missing your family.” She nodded slightly. Her sobs had died down back to just crying.

“You never…never…have to keep anything from me. Never. And if I’m mad because I think you’re wrong, I’ll know what you’re probably the one who’s right, and I’ll try my hardest to change. I couldn’t stay mad at you for long, anyway…not even if I wanted to. I don’t want…” He stopped to put his mouth right by her ear before finishing, “…us to think we can’t tell each other everything…no matter what it is.” “Okay…” She whispered. He looked down and noticed her legs were hanging limp, with her feet just resting on the ground. She couldn’t even stand on her own. He carefully picked her up and started walking down the street in the direction he had originally been going.

She didn’t resist. She didn’t say anything. All she did was stop crying. She didn’t know where they were going, or why they were going, or when they would come back. But she didn’t care. All she could think about was her family…and Riku. “He said he didn’t want us to keep secrets from each other…and he meant it, right? So…why do I feel like he’s not telling me something about how he regards my family?” “Riku?” “Yes?” “Are…you mad at me for missing my family?” She asked quietly, still sniffing some. He was silent for a moment, which vexed her. “I’m not mad at you, Anna. I’m…I’m mad at myself, actually.” “Mm? Why is that?” She asked as she looked up at him. “I..um…listen, I’ll try my hardest to change, okay?” He answered as he glanced down at her. She didn’t smile, yet she didn’t frown. She simply put her head back against his shoulder and said, “Okay.”

Riku hated himself for what he’d done to Anna, for how he was so jealous of her family. He’d let Anna suffer for so long, all because deep down, he never wanted her to wish she could be with her family. She was painfully aware of that jealousy, even though for the longest time, he wasn’t. It made her afraid to let him know how much she was hurting. He had let his jealousy worsen over time; it’d been eating away at him, growing more and more every day. He wanted Anna all to himself; he didn’t want to lose her to her family, or even to have to share her with them. He’d been so jealous, so selfish, and he hadn’t realized it until it caused the person most precious to him to break. “I’m going to change. I mean it. It may take a while, but I’ll change. I will, Anna.”

“Riku?” “Yes?” “You don’t have to love my family. You don’t even have to like them. I’m not asking that of you. All I ask is that, eventually, you’ll learn to tolerate them. I know you think they’ve caused me so much pain, but that’s only because I love them that I miss them so much.” “And you wish that they loved you back?” “Yea.” “They do love you, Anna. Deep down, in their hearts. They my not remember it, but that love is still there, in their hearts. All they need to remember is their memories of you. And even if they never get those memories back, I’m sure that if you somehow spent time with them again, that feeling would start to emerge. I know that they love you, Anna. Love that strong doesn’t just fade away as fast as memories do.”

Anna thought about it. “How do you know that they still love me?” “It’s practically impossible to know you and not love you in some way.” “I wonder if he realizes what that sounds like…coming from a guy holding me…I hope I’m not blushing.” “I know you wish you had confirmation that your family loves you…but…would it be enough for now if I told you that I love you?” Anna was stunned. “…Yes…” “Anna…I love you.”

Anna’s heart pounded. Riku had mentioned a few times before that he liked her, but this was the first time he’d ever told her that he loved her. She could hear his heart beating rapidly; the rhythmic noise melted away her past worries. It made her smile. But then a new thought entered her mind. “He…loves me. Not just likes, but loves me. This…the way he feels…it’s real. The way I feel…when did I start loving him? How long have I felt this way? Now…all of the sudden…it feels so real. So…alive.”

“I guess you’re wondering how long I’ve felt this way – how long I’ve loved you.” Riku mentioned, seeing her look off into the distance as if she could see her thoughts in the air; the way she looked when she thought deeply about something. “I wasn’t, but I am now, since you mentioned it.”

“If I knew how to keep my mouth shut around her…if only I could do that simple task…I wouldn’t have to spill about all my feelings. Why is it that guys completely lose their cool around the girls that they love? Why can’t girls do the same?! Then we could look stupid together. That would be so much better than me looking like an idiot by myself! Wait – could she even do that? Could Anna even be an idiot? Sure, she has her blonde moments, and she’s really random, and she laughs even more than Sora does…but those traits aren’t stupid. They couldn’t be stupid – they belong to Anna. They’re cute. So…I’ll just have to be an idiot by myself while she’s perfect, since she can’t be anything but that.”

“Riku?” “Huh? Oh, sorry. I was just…thinking. Um…so, when I fell in love with you. Well, I don’t really know how it happened. It happened so silently…so slowly, but so fast at the same time. It was like one day, you were my friend, and then you were more than a friend. Then, you were much more than a friend, and before I knew what was going on, I realized that I loved you. I don’t really know when I fell in love with you, but ever since Atlantica, it became real to me. I guess I’ve loved you for quite a while now. It’s just that now, it feels so…I don’t even know if there’s a word for it. My feelings for you…how I love you…now it’s so…alive. Does that make sense?” He looked down at her and saw glistening tears rolling down her face. “What?! I made her cry?! What did I say wrong?!” Then he noticed her mouth was in a little smile.

She nodded, showing that she understood what he meant when he said his feelings were alive. She understood because she felt the exact same. Riku didn’t know why she was tearing up. “Anna, are you…” He couldn’t finish; she looked up at him and gazed into his eyes, which caused him to lose all train of thought. All he could do was gaze back into her eyes, and he slowed walking until he had stopped in the middle of the streets dimly lit by the street lights. The dusk sky was slowly getting darker.

“Riku, I…I love you too.” She said softly. He melted. His heart was beating erratically, and he was sure she could hear, since her head was leaning against his chest now. “You hear that, don’t you?” He asked with a smile. “Mm?” She asked innocently; but her tiny smile was growing. “My heartbeat…it’s pretty crazy right now, isn’t it?” She didn’t say anything; she just broke into a large smile and laughed a little. Riku grinned. “It’s just great how I look like a nervous, stupid little kid each time I talk to you like this.” He mentioned. Anna laughed again. “You really think you look like that right now?” “Pretty much.” “Well, if it helps any, I think nervous, stupid little kids are cute.” Anna was still smiling at him. “Really…So I do look like a dorky little boy. Great. I’m sure that’s attractive.” Anna laughed again. “You’re not dorky, Riku!” “So you’re saying that I’m not attractive because I’m not dorky.” He teased. “I didn’t say that! And you can put me down now; I can walk.” “What if I don’t want to put you down?” “Don’t say that too loud! People might think you’re a perv!” “I don’t care what they think. Only what you think.” “I don’t think you’re a perv. But I do want to walk.” Riku looked down at her again and stopped walking. “What’s so bad about me holding you?”

“Nothing, but I just want to walk.” “So you have no other objections besides that?” She grinned. “Actually, I’m tired of listening to your erratic heartbeat.” “What was that for?!” He acted like he was about to drop her and she instantly clenched her eyes shut and flung her arms around his neck. Riku laughed. “Riku!” “Revenge is as sweet as they say it is.” He grinned. “Just put me down already!” She said as she glared at him. He moved his arms to where he was holding her waist and let her legs fall. She stood up and started to walk forward, but she forgot that Riku’s arms were still holding her waist. She jerked forward, and then Riku pulled her back.

“Ack! Riku! Stop it!” She said with laughter in her voice as she struggled to get out of his hold. “Ugh! I give up.” She slunk back and slouched. Riku was still laughing. “Sorry, you can’t run away from me like that.” He grinned. “Whatever…” She muttered as she kept slouching in defeat. “C’mon, at least smile.” He begged. She kept slouching, still. He lifted her chin up with his hand to make her look at him. She looked at him with pitiful eyes. “Anna…what…” She grinned. She quickly freed herself from his other hand on her waist and started running down the street. “Catch me if you can!” She laughed. “What?! Anna!” He instantly ran after her. He could still hear her laughing. After running down many different streets, she slowed down and stopped. Riku caught up to her and turned her around. She was still laughing. “You are a devious little girl, Anna. Y’know that?” He smiled. “I know!” She smiled back. “Why’d you stop running?” “I can’t run fast when I’m laughing. I run out of breath too quickly.” She explained as her laughter died down.

“Ooh. Riku?” “Yea?” “I’m hungry.” “Didn’t you eat just a few hours ago?!” “It was too long ago! Three hours! I need food; I’m starving!” Riku couldn’t help but smile at her. “You’re a hopeless, devious little girl, Anna.” “Guess I am.” “What are you craving?” “Ice cream!” Riku laughed. “You sound like a little kid.” “Really?” She asked him with big, playful eyes. “Yea. Like a devious, hungry little kid who can barely stop laughing.” Anna smiled. “It’s cute.” He told her softly. She blushed.

“And I love that devious, hungry, little girl so much.” He wrapped one arm around hr waist and pulled her closer to him slowly. He brushed the side of her face with his other hand as he gazed into her eyes tenderly. Her expression changed; she took on the look of complete innocence. The one word that entered Riku’s mind when he looked at her, the one word that embodied her, was “beautiful”. The way she looked, her smile, her eyes, her laugh, her personality; everything about her was beautiful to him. Inside and out, she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

Riku moved his hand on her cheek to the back of her neck. His fingers tingled on her warm skin, and the feeling spread throughout his body. He gently pulled her in and kissed her. She unconsciously put her hands on his chest. When they pulled apart, they were both blushing, but neither of them noticed. They simply hugged each other for a little while. Anna was so happy she almost couldn’t stand it. Then she felt something different. It took her a moment to identify what it was, since she was a little dazed. It was hunger.

“Um, Riku?” “Let’s go find some ice cream.” He smiled, knowing what she was thinking. She returned a bright smile and took his hand. They walked down the street in hopes of finding a place that sold ice cream that was still open. It had become nighttime while they were roaming the streets, and they hadn’t noticed until they started walking again. “So, what kind of ice cream do you want?” He asked her. “I dunno. Maybe sea salt. How about you?” “Whatever you’re getting.” “Why?” “Because it takes me an hour to decide what kind of ice cream I want, and no one wants to wait that long.” Anna laughed. “Is ice cream very expensive here?” She asked just as Riku spotted an ice cream shop that still appeared to be open. “I don’t know. But if it is, you’re buying.” He grinned. Anna did the same and replied, “Sorry. I seem to be broke, so you’ll just be forced to be a gentleman and buy me all the ice cream I want.” She stuck out her tongue at him a little and kept walking. He laughed, and then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll buy the devious, hungry little girl all the sea salt ice cream she wants.”
 

Haku

<3
Joined
Mar 27, 2007
Messages
8,181
Haven't been here and awhile so as such I've missed quite a bit, but wow didn't quite expect what has turned out lately that's for sure.
 

Rauxlen

I've posted once since 2010
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Jan 30, 2008
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Aaaaaawww :D
That was so sweet :3
I really liked it! (As always... lol.)
*waits for next chapter/pictures*
 

Princess of KH

New member
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Jul 3, 2007
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my inner universe
glad you guys liked it. ^^
i'm 6 hours away from home now...so i most likely won't get the pictures up till next week (that's when i get back). i almost got them uploaded to the internet, but i had to leave right before they were done loading. :(
i'll try to have the nexy chappie up soon, k?
 

Princess of KH

New member
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Jul 3, 2007
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my inner universe
i'm back with a chappie! sorry (again!) it took me so long to get it up here. different progams...stuff complicated things.
anyway, here's the chappie. it's more of a fun one - no action. i felt like the characters deserved to relax a little, & i simply wanted to have fun. Enjoy! (ps - the pictures just have to be loaded onto the internet, & then i'll post a link!)

Chapter 85

“Hey! Misther! You seen my kitty?” Riku and Anna both looked behind them and saw a little boy in the street, farther away. “Um, no, I haven’t.” Riku answered after a moment. “Are you sure, misther? Cause I losth her in this sthreet.” “Sorry, but, I haven’t.” Riku persisted. The little boy ran up to him and Riku and tugged on the bottom of Anna’s dress. She looked down at him. “Lady? You seen my kitty?” She shook her head. “No, I haven’t. I’m sorry.”

Riku and Anna were on their way back to Melanie’s house. It was almost completely black outside, but the street lamps lit the brick road. Anna was still finishing her ice cream, although Riku finished his five minutes earlier. “It’s pretty late. Shouldn’t you be home?” Riku looked at the little boy curiously. “NO I SHOULDN’T CAUSE I GOTTA FIND MY KITTY!” The little boy shouted. “Okay, okay! Don’t shout; you’ll wake people up.” Riku told him. “There’s people sleeping outh here? Why?” The boy asked. Riku sighed and shook his head. “Nevermind…you really should get home, though. It’s not very safe for you to be out at night alone. You’re only, what, three?” “I’M FOUR AND A HALF, MISTHER!” “I told you not to shout!” “Riku, you’re not helping.” Anna murmured only loud enough for him to hear. “I’m just trying to make him go home so he doesn’t get himself hurt out here in the middle of the night. I mean, his parents are probably worried about him. He can find his cat tomorrow. If it’s been gone for a while, it’s probably dead by now, anyway.” “Riku!” Anna scolded. “What?!” “You said that out loud!” “So?” “What do you mean, ‘So?’ Look at him!” She whispered and pointed to the little boy.

The little boy’s bottom lip started to quiver. He started sniffing. “Oh.” Riku breathed. “Great. He’s going to start crying.” Riku thought to himself. Anna squatted down in front of the small child. “When did you lose your kitty?” She asked. “I losth her yestherday and nobudy’s seen her and what if she’s hungry and what if she got hurt and what if she’s thirsthy and I’m never gonna find my kitty!” The boy wailed as he started crying loudly. Anna rubbed his arms softly and repeated “Shhhhhh” a few times.

“What’s your name?” She asked in a soft voice. “Elros.” He said in between sobs. “Elros, what’s your kitty’s name?” “Her name is Fluffy-sparkle-muffin-sprinkles-kitty!” He cried. A snicker escaped Riku’s mouth, but one look from Anna told him now was not the time to laugh. The little boy’s face was red and puffy from crying so hard. “Elros, we’re going to help you find your kitty, okay?” Anna told him. He rubbed his eyes and sniffed. “Really?” “Of course we are!” Anna assured him softly. “YAAAAAAAAAY! Thank you, lady!” He shouted enthusiastically and hugged her. She hugged him back, smiling.

“Okay, lady, where’s my kitty at?” Elros asked in a rushed voice. “I don’t know where…your kitty is. That’s why we’re going to look for her.” Anna answered. “What color is your kitty?” “She’s black and white and pink!” “Pink? Are you sure?” Riku asked. “Yea! Wait…she’s black and white and orange! Not pink!” “Okay. What’s your kitty’s favorite food?” Anna asked Elros. “Um…cake! No, that’s not her favorite…maybe cookies! No…donuts! No…maybe…” Elros scratched his head as he thought hard. “Okay, Elros, that’s good. Come with us; we’re going to go buy some cookies.” Anna told him as she took his little hand and turned towards the part of the town that had the most markets. “We’re buying cookies for a cat?” Riku whispered to Anna. “Well…actually, you are, since you have more munny than I do right now.” She smiled back. Riku rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say…”

When they found seemingly the only bakery shop open at night, Anna told Elros to pick out five cookies. “Five? How much does this kitten eat everyday?!” Riku said as he watched Elros excitedly look at cookies. “I don’t know, but I know I’m going to eat one of the cookies.” Riku looked at her with an expression that said he felt like laughing. “Anna, you just had ice cream. I mean, only a few minutes ago, you finished it. Now you want a cookie? Are you even hungry?” She thought for a moment. “Well, I do like cookies…and I eat slow, so that’s no excuse for saying that I had ice cream only a few minutes ago…and I’ll be hungry sooner or later.” She answered, counting each thought on her fingers. Riku smiled at her and shook his head. “What?” She asked with innocence. “Sometimes, I wonder if you eat more than I do.” “Uh, no. That’d be impossible. You eat like you’ve never tasted food before; at every meal. At least you can make a sandwich…” She said as she glanced over at Elros to check on him. “Okay, it’s not a big deal if I can’t make anything else besides a sandwich. I can make other food, anyway. A bowl of cereal, a bowl of ice cream with…stuff on it, a…” He stopped and sighed. “I’ll show you how to cook when we’re back on the islands, after this is all over.”

“I found seven cookies!” Elros told them as he pressed his face against the glass display case that caged in dozens of cookies. “Can you narrow it down to five?” Riku asked him. “Yea! Gimme three minuthes!” “Okay. Three minutes, then we’ll go find sparkle-muffin…um…your kitty.” Anna said. “That cat has the most ridiculous name I’ve ever heard. Can’t even remember what the full name is.” Riku laughed quietly. He waited for Anna to laugh along, knowing she would undoubtedly would. But she didn’t. She looked at the floor underneath Elros. “Anna?” “After this is all over…those words scare me now.” “Hey,” He paused and waited for her to look at him. She slowly moved her eyes to look at him and he finished, “Why are you scared?” She bit her lip and looked hesitant to answer. “I…this is all I’ve ever known since I left Earth. Just this. Fighting, running for our lives, fending the worlds…in one word, chaos. But, I don’t know what’s going to happen to me when it’s all over. I, I won’t be needed. I was brought here because I was needed to help finish this mess, wasn’t I? So, what’s going to happen to me when it’s all over?”

Riku looked at her silently for a moment. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. You are needed for other reasons besides fighting, okay? Just because we don’t have to have the Princess of Light to fight with us doesn’t mean that we’re going to throw her away. You want to know what’s going to happen after this is all over?” She nodded. “You’re going to come back to the islands with us. You’ll find a place to live; probably with Kairi. We’ll all spar whenever we feel like it. We’ll travel the worlds if we feel like it. We’ll eat ice cream, watch movies, play video games, go swimming, or whatever we want to do. You’ll enroll in our high school, and you’ll help me pass chemistry class, and you’ll help Sora pass art class.” Anna laughed. “Doesn’t sound all that bad, does it?” He whispered in her ear. She smiled. “Nope. Not at all. But I was hoping you would help me pass chemistry class, and any math class. That is, when I have to take them.”

“Not sure I can help you with that much.” He grinned. “Then we can both flunk together.” She grinned back. “Are you married?” They jerked over to Elros, who was staring at them. “Um, no.” Riku answered flatly. “Are you suuuuure? You guys look like you’re married.” “Um, no.” Riku repeated. “Oh. Is three minuthes up?” “I don’t think so, but if you’re done, show me the cookies you want.” Anna said as she left Riku’s side and walked over to Elros. He stared at the glass for a moment and then pointed to one of the cookies. He started, “I want that one, and…”

Riku watched Anna and Elros as they stood together. His head didn’t even come up to her waist. He had short, brown hair and tan skin. Riku thought his eyes were green, but he couldn’t remember. Anna put her hand on the back of Elros’s head and wove her fingers through his hair; to Riku it looked like something a mother might do. Elros then looked up at Anna with big, playful eyes and a toothy smile, and she looked down at him with a sweet smile and gentle eyes. Riku didn’t know what they were talking about, but he could see they were laughing about something. Anna turned back to him, and he snapped out of his daze.

“Can you go ahead and pay for the cookies now?” “Yea.” He answered simply, then walked up to the counter to pay. However, no one was there. He knocked on the counter. A teenage boy came quickly. “Sorry. I have to clean the kitchen tonight.” He explained as he counted Elros’s cookies, and then took Riku’s munny. As he opened the munny register, a soft buzzing noise went off. “Oh! Sorry, that’s my phone.” He quickly got Riku’s change out of the register and then took his phone out of his pocket. He looked at the screen to see who was calling. When he noticed Riku and Anna were still looking at him, and smiled sheepishly, then answered the phone. “Hey…No, I’m fine, I’m just a little busy…No, I called and the theatre said the movie wasn’t playing tonight…I have to clean the place tonight…Yes, I’m at work…All right…See ya tomorrow.” He smiled as he put his phone back in his pocket. When he noticed Anna and Riku were still waiting at the counter, he looked confused. “Do you need something else?” “The cookies.” Anna mentioned as she motioned towards the bag containing their cookies. “Oh! Sorry.” He apologized quickly. He handed her the bag and said “Bye!” as they walked out of the store.

“Okay, Elros, where should we look first?” Anna asked. “In the sthreeth where I losth her!” They followed him back to the street where they met him, and started searching for his kitten. Anna took three cookies out of the bag and gave them to Elros. After seeing his expression of joy, she told him, “You can eat one, okay? Use the rest for your kitty.” He smiled from ear to ear and started eating the cookie happily.

Abruptly, Elros took a deep breath and then started yelling, “FLUFFY-SPARKLE--”. Riku covered his mouth before he could finish. “You can’t go around at night yelling, okay?” Riku told him. “How else am I supposthed to find my kitty?” Elros asked as Riku took his hand off of his mouth. “We put a cookie in the street, and maybe your kitty will come after it.” Anna suggested. She took one of the cookies and tossed it farther away from them in the middle of the street. It landed on its side, rolled to the edge of the street, and rolled down a sewer drain. Riku and Anna stared at the drain. Riku turned and looked at Anna blankly. She covered her mouth and started laughing as quietly as she could. “That took talent, I’ll admit.” Riku said as he shook his head, though he couldn’t help but grin.

“Hey! It’s my kitty!” Elros shouted excitedly as he ran towards the drain. “Can he fit through those bars?” Riku asked Anna. “Probably not, but he could get his arm stuck in it.” She replied as they ran after the little boy. When they reached him, he was holding a dirty kitty with a dirty cookie in its little mouth. “Is this your kitty, Elros?” Anna asked as she broke the cookie in half so that the kitten could eat some of it. “Yep! This is Fluffy-sparkle-muffin-sprinkles-kitty! Yaaaaay! Thanks, lady!” Elros happily said. Anna smiled. “Let’s get you and your kitty home, okay?”

Elros led Riku and Anna to his house as he skipped excitedly, holding his kitten. “That’s one energetic little kid.” Riku sighed. “All little kids are energetic.” Anna mentioned. “Guess so.” “This is my house!” Elros told them as he ran up to a tall house with every light on inside. He knocked on the door furiously until it opened. A short woman opened the door and gasped happily. “Elros! Sweetie, where have you been? Daddy’s been out looking for you all night!” She bent down and hugged him. “I see you found Fluffy. Where you out looking for her?” “Yep! That lady helped me find her!” Elros pointed back to Anna, who was a few feet behind him. The woman stood up and shook Anna’s hand gratefully. “Thank you so, so much. I’ve been worried sick. He does adore that kitten. He must’ve snuck out when I was cooking diner. Thank you so very much. I don’t know how to repay you.”

“Don’t worry about it. Really, it’s okay. We’re just glad he found his kitten and that he’s home.” Anna told her with a smile. “Well, we should get going now.” Riku mentioned, attempting to make an opportunity to leave. “Yea, I guess we should. Well, bye, Elros. I’m glad you found your kitty.” Anna said to him as she bent down to him. “Thanks, lady! For helping my find Fluffy! And for the cookies!” He replied as he held out his little arms for a hug. She hugged him and then stood up. “Thank you, again.” The woman told Anna and Riku. “Hey, mommy, did you know that lady and that guy are married?” Elros suddenly told her. She looked strangely at her soon, and then looked up at Anna and Riku. They both had shocked expressions on their faces. “It’s not--” Anna started. “Mommy, they were thalking close a bunch and they held hands and lady smiled reeeeeally big at the guy and he smiled reeeeeally big at her and they laughed--” Elros ranted. “Elros, sweetie, that’s none of your business. I’m sorry, miss. He can’t keep quiet about people he meets.” His mother said.

“But we’re not married.” Anna insisted. “Oh. I thought you two looked a little young. I should know better than to believe Elros about that sort of thing! I’m terribly sorry. Well, thank you again. Elros, go get ready for bed, okay?” Elros ran off into the house and disappeared around a corner. “Goodbye.” The woman said kindly as she closed the door. Riku and Anna repeated it back to her.

“Well, if that wasn’t awkward, I don’t know what is.” Riku sighed. “She seriously thought we were married! That’s crazy! I mean, we don’t even look like we’re old enough to be engaged!” Anna was still surprised. “It’s late. Maybe she’s tired; maybe she’s a little delirious. Who knows? She should’ve looked to see if we were wearing rings. Is this the first time someone’s mistaken you for being married?” He asked. She shook her head. “I was walking in a store with my aunt and her two kids once; one kid was a baby girl and the other was a guy who’s older than me. My aunt walked off in a different direction. Then some random lady came up to me and my cousins, told me my daughter was adorable, and asked us how long we’d been married. It was embarrassing.” Riku laughed.

“It is really late though. We should get back to Melanie’s house.” Anna mentioned. Riku went rigid. “Don’t worry about Shadow, Riku. He’d be an idiot to try to hurt one of us with all of us there. If he did, he’d just get hurt or killed. He’s not that stupid.” She tried convincingly. Riku wasn’t buying it. His fists were clenched tightly and his mouth was in a hard line.

Anna abruptly stood in front of him and put her hands on his arms. “Riku, stop it. You’ll worry yourself sick over me and I’ll feel horrible about it. You don’t think I’m that bad at fighting, do you? To let a man like Shadow beat me? C’mon Riku, we both know I’m better than that. If push comes to shove in a fight, I’ll just go ’Princess of Light’ on him. Okay? I can handle myself. Don’t underestimate me just cause I’m a girl. That’s like asking me to kick you.”

He looked at her momentarily before sighing. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.” “Yea, and I don’t want you to get hurt, either, but you still get hurt. I still get hurt. We’re gonna get hurt now and then. We signed up for this. Pain comes with the job, and you know that. If I fall and break my arm or something, you can’t just panic and blame yourself. It’s inevitable; we’ll get hurt in fights. You know what they say: it happens to the best of us.” She smiled at him.

“Yea.” He smiled back, then took her hand and started walking. “And one more thing. Don’t break down the door and shove your keyblade into Shadow if he’s alive, okay?” Anna joked. “No promises.” He joked back. He couldn’t shake off his nervousness, though. The man who almost killed Anna was waiting for them back at Melanie’s house, alive or not. Riku decided he’d have to simply trust Anna. She was skilled. She could handle herself against Shadow, just like she said. At least, Riku hoped with every cell in his body that she could.
 
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