So here it is, the second chapter of this little drabble series. I'll probably consider writing a longer story about Naminé and Riku in the future, once I finish up some other projects. For now, enjoy this story. I'm back to working on Marvelous Misadventures after this so stay tuned.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Kingdom Hearts series or its characters. All credit for the game and characters goes to Disney, Square Enix, Tetsuya Nomura, and all other involved parties.

Chapter 2: Will You Remember Me?

Silence pervaded the dark city, the streets were clear to the point of appearing sterile. The perpetual night was illuminated only by windows, neon signs, and the large heart-shaped moon that floated above the castle in the distance.

A swirling portal of darkness opened in an alleyway, two figures stepping out before it closed behind them. One was a tall man in a hooded black coat, the other was a blonde-haired girl in a white sundress.

"We finally made it." said the girl.

"Yeah…c'mon Naminé."

The pair walked in silence through the empty roads, not particularly worried about the hostile intent emanating from every shadowy corner. Countless yellow eyes watched the duo closely, content with observing from a distance rather than challenge the hooded man. The two eventually reached a small lot, but only made it halfway across when the hooded man stopped abruptly.

"Riku, why'd you stop?" asked Naminé, after almost walking into him.

"I see you two made it here safely." said the voice of a man stepping out of the shadows.

The man approached the pair, carrying a strange mechanical device at his side. He wore a long black cloth that covered his legs, with a diagonal strap holding three brown pouches. His upper body had what appeared to be some kind of segmented armor with beige sleeves, mostly covered by a long red cape and black scarf. His face was covered in red bandages secured to his head by a pair of black belts, leaving only his mouth and a single orange eye exposed.

Naminé moved herself closer to Riku as the imposing figure advanced, knowing full well he would not be pleased to see her. The man, known only as DiZ, had made his hatred of her kind quite clear and had even attempted to have her killed when he had no further use for her.

"So, here we are," he said, "we stand on the road to the final battle. What will you two do now?"

"Isn't it obvious? We're going to help Sora." responded Riku, firmly.

DiZ nodded. "Well, I suppose this is where we part ways. I have my own objectives here, so I'll be going on ahead. Before I go, however…"

Riku and Naminé tensed up as the enigmatic man put his machine down and stepped closer to them. Both shared the same thought, that he was going to try and attack Naminé, but were surprised when he lowered himself into a bow instead.

"It has been an honor working with you." he said. "I know it does not excuse my past actions, but I truly am sorry for what I have done to the both of you."

After his apology, DiZ collected his machine and began to head towards the massive grey castle.

"Wait." said Riku, stopping him. "Before you go, I'd like to know one thing. Who are you, what's your name?"

DiZ looked back and smiled. "It's Ansem." he said before walking off.

Riku remembered the King briefly mentioning an old friend of his called Ansem the Wise, and that he would be able to help them defeat the Organization. Since then, Riku had had his suspicions that the vengeance-driven DiZ was actually this Ansem, but was unable to confirm it until now.

"Riku." said Naminé, breaking the young man out of his thoughts. "C'mon, we should get going."

Riku nodded and the pair continued onward, noticing that Ansem the Wise was already long gone. They walked past the seemingly innumerable skyscrapers, letting the tension of their meeting with the man wear off.

"Well, that was pretty unexpected, running into DiZ like that." said Naminé, trying to make conversation.

Riku nodded. "Yeah, didn't think he would actually come here himself. You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." she said with a reassuring smile. "So, what's the plan?"

Riku looked up at the slowly approaching castle. "Well, DiZ seems to be doing his own thing, we should catch up to him later if we get the chance. Other than that, nothing's really changed."

"Sora and his friends should be arriving in this world soon."

"The King will likely be with them too. Before they get to the castle, I'll scout the place out, then-"

"I'll rescue Kairi." Naminé said firmly.

"Right…you'll find Kairi and get her out of there." he replied, solemnly.

Their conversation settled into uneasy silence. Riku lowered his head while Naminé rubbed her hands against her cold arms.

"Are you alright?" asked Riku. "This place is close to the darkness, and you don't have one of these black coats."

"I'm fine," she answered, quietly, "the darkness isn't affecting me. Not like it really matters, I'll be gone soon anyway."

"You shouldn't say things like that."

"Why not? It's the truth. I'm a nothing, even among other Nobodies. My whole existence is unstable, as soon as I touch Kairi I'll start to disappear."

Riku looked down at his companion. She was trembling and had lowered her head to try and hide the bitter expression on her face. Her hands were clenched around her sundress.

"Are you scared?"

"Nobodies can't feel fear."

" Naminé." he said, sternly.

She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and unclenched her hands. She looked up at him with a determined look on her face, a mask that would convince almost anyone.

"I am returning to Kairi, I am committed to making her whole again."

"Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?"

"I'm not convincing anyone," she responded, vehemently, "it's the truth. This is what I want to do."

"Alright…I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize."

"Maybe, guess I just felt like it."

"Thank you, by the way."

"For what?"

"For not killing me when DiZ ordered you to. If you had, I wouldn't be able to return to Kairi on my own terms."

"Yeah well, I was getting pretty sick of taking orders from a bitter old man."

Naminé laughed a little, some bitterness of her own in her voice.

"Besides, for these past several months you've been my closest friend, sometimes my only friend. I could never bring myself to hurt you."

Naminé's breath hitched. "Yeah well, good thing you'll be back with your real friends soon."

Riku shook his head. "You're just as real a friend to me as Sora and Kairi. All those days we spent just sitting around, all those little talks we had in that white room in the mansion; all that time will always be important to me."

"Dammit Riku, you're just making this harder!" yelled Naminé, turning away to hide her tears.

"You don't have to go through with this y'know."

"Yes I do, it's the right thing to do. It's just…"

"Just what?"

"You're right…I'm scared…I'm terrified…I don't want to disappear." she cried as she grabbed Riku's coat and buried her face into his chest.

Riku was taken aback at first, but eventually placed his hands on Naminé's back. "Shh, it's alright, it's alright."

"No it's not, nothing is alright." she said, her voice muffled by fabric and sobs.

"I know, it's not fair."

"I've finally built up all this confidence, I can finally stand on my own, and here I am breaking down again."

"It's alright to have second thoughts, it's not easy to sacrifice yourself for someone else."

"I guess you could relate, huh?" said Naminé, now drying her tears.

"Yeah."

"Thank you…thank you again for understanding."

"You don't need to thank me."

"I know…I guess I just felt like it." she said with a weak smile.

"Funny. Feeling better?"

"A little bit."

The two stayed together for what felt like an eternity as Naminé regained her composure. The Heartless seemed to perk up at the moment of apparent weakness, but Riku's hostile intent kept them at bay.

"So…what do you want to do now?" asked Riku.

"…I want to return to Kairi." replied Naminé, noticeably calmer than before.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm ready."

"And you're not scared?"

Naminé shook her head. "I'm still scared, but I have to do this. It's the right thing to do."

"Alright then, I'll support your decision."

The two continued their walk towards the castle in the distance, even more motivated by Naminé's renewed resolve.

"Riku."

"Hm?"

"Do you know what really scares me about disappearing?"

"What?"

"As someone who truly understands the value of memories, what scares me the most is being forgotten."

"I see, I never thought of it that way."

"Tell me, Riku; when this is all over, will you remember me?"

"I will."