A tall slim figure in a long black coat with light blonde hair tore down a dark, empty alleyway, nobodies hot on her heels.

"Dammit!" Namine cried, as she found herself at a dead end. The invasion of heartless and nobodies had struck the Organization by surprise; what was once in their control was now attacking them in shear numbers. Namine quickly leaped onto a box and began climbing the side of the tall building. She had to find Riku before things got too out of control.

Suddenly, she felt her grip slipping on the windowsill of the 7th floor of the building. "Come on, hold on!" she shouted desperately to herself, while feeling her hands slip even more. Why did Riku have to run off like that? He bothered her so much, with his cocky attitude and his apparent annoyance in her. Sure she had told him she could handle the crowd of heartless for herself, but she hadn't expected him to take off and leave her there!

(Flashback)

"What is up with these things?!" Namine shouted as she tore through their bodies with her Oathkeeper. "I don't know!! They're like wild animals!" Riku responded, as he sliced through nobody after nobody.

"Namine, get out of here! They're to strong!" he hollered.

"Oh come on Riku, I can handle myself! Why do you treat me like a weak child?!" Namine shouted indignantly. Riku turned to her, anger apparent in his aquamarine eyes. "Why are you so annoying? If you're so great, take care of them yourself!" He looked at her expectantly.

"Fine!!! Leave!! Obviously I'm too much of a nuisance to you. Go, go kill a bunch of huge nobodies and save the world and INFLATE YOUR EGO A LITTLE MORE!" Namine roared, waving her keyblade wildly. Riku shot a nasty look at her, only to be returned by blazing anger. With a huff, he turned and ran towards the tower, furious enough to kill a million heartless.

(Present)

Namine felt the last of her strength leave her, and with a soft "Ohh" she tumbled to the ground, and the awaiting monsters.

Riku tore through the city with his keyblade in his hand, his coat flapping at his sides. They were too strong, he had to find Namine and get back to the house. She had been so stubborn, refusing his help when they found themselves surrounded by a small sea of nobodies, and when he caught sight of a larger crowd of the retched monsters scaling the tower, he had left her. Since, after all, she could handle it by herself.

Riku heard vicious ripping and a cry of pain in the alley up ahead. Namine! He sprinted to the alley, only to find a group of nobodies huddled in a circle, tittering and calling loudly. Furious, Riku tore through each one with malice, and watched in satisfaction as they disappeared into the dark. Where the nobodies once stood lay a crumpled form with blonde hair.

"Namine!" Riku gasped, bending down and shaking her. He could see cuts covering her body, large gashes from the heartless. He quickly scooped her unconscious form up, and began sprinting back to their home.

"Somebody help!! Namine!" was all he could manage as he burst through the door, before collapsing on the ground along side of her, his own wounds finally beginning to hurt. He briefly saw the faces of Axel and Roxas before he passed out.

(Namine's POV from now on)

When I woke up, I found myself in my bed, covered in blankets. I looked over to see Roxas sitting asleep in the chair beside the bed, snoring softly. I sat up with a start, only to feel sharp pain in my side, and pounding in my head. With a moan, I fell back onto the pillow.

"Whaa?? Oh, you're awake," Roxas grinned sleepily before sitting up. "How do you feel?"

"Oh just dandy. Really," I managed sarcastically, before sighing. "You're pretty lucky you know. Riku found you just before you were going to be eaten alive by those nobodies.," Roxas said as he walked into the joint bathroom to fix his outrageous hair. I snorted.

"Yeah, Riku's a real hero isn't he," I snarled before examining the bandages on my stomach. Roxas looked at me questioningly, and then sighed. "You know he feels pretty awful about that. He was a mess when he woke up and saw you all beat up," he said, plopping back down in the chair.

"He ought to feel bad. He almost got me killed," I snapped, before pulling the sheets over my head. I heard Roxas sigh, and then get up from his chair. "Well, why don't you sort this out with him, instead of snapping at me," he muttered.

"I'm sorry, Roxas. I'm just, I dunno, hurt." Roxas nodded, before walking out of the room. I pulled the sheets back over my head before falling back into a restless sleep.

(Dream)

"Come on, Namine. Let me show you what happens to your friends when you don't follow my orders," Ansem smirked as he pulled me to a computer. There, I could see Roxas, and Riku, and Sora, one by one, being robbed of their hearts, their bodies cast mercilessly aside. Then I saw my mother and father, my two sisters and brother, all being taken from our home, only to be brought to the heartless, and mercilessly killed.

"No!! I'm sorry! This isn't fair! You can't make me destroy Sora's memories at the expense of other people! I don't want to ruin his life!" Ansem turned to me and began laughing cruely.

My eyes flew open at a sharp pain in my side, and I found myself tangled in my sheets on the floor. I let out a cry of pain as my full weight rested on the nasty wound, and struggled to get my weak body in a better position.

Suddenly I felt strong arms lifting me into the bed, and I saw Roxas and Riku leaning over me, Zexion, apparently a master healer, right behind them. I glared at Riku as Zexion pulled at my shirt, trying to get a better look at the wound.

"Namine, what happened?!" Roxas asked, concerned. "Bad dream," I managed to gasp, before letting out a cry of pain. Zexion gently pulled the bandages from my torso, and revealed three long, deep slash marks in my side, bleeding badly. He worked quickly, placing his hands above the wounds, and chanting until a green glow emitted from his fingertips. Instantly I felt the pain lessen, and saw the wound grow smaller. Zexion fell back into the chair, exhausted from the exertion, his silver black hair falling in his face.

"Thanks," I managed weakly. "Sorry I woke you guys up," I added, before falling back against the pillows. Just then, Aerith, recently moved here to help keep us "under control" as she put it, rushed in. "Oh my gosh! I'm sorry, I didn't hear anything, but I saw the light on, and…..what happened?"

"She fell out of bed during a bad dream," Riku answered. I glared at him. Who was he to accentuate my embarrassing moments? I did notice he had dark circles under his eyes, and a bandage on his arm, but I didn't feel bad. No way...at all... "Well, we wouldn't have this whole problem if someone hadn't LEFT ME to go be some hero!" I spat, glaring daggers at him. For a brief moment, I saw a flash of guilt in Riku's eyes, which was immediately replaced by annoyance.

"You're the one who said you could handle it," he snapped back. "You guys, come on. Let's not fight about this now," Aerith managed cautiously, before ushering a seething Riku and a nervous Roxas out the door. Zexion still sat in the chair, silent as usual, his hand resting on his forehead. Aerith gently nudged him, and he reluctantly crawled out of the chair and shuffled from the room.

Aerith turned to me with sympathy in her eyes. "He felt so bad for it, he really did. While you were unconscious, all he did was sit in here with you," she said quietly. I frowned. How come he hadn't apologized to me, then? Why did he insist on arguing with everything I had to say? I nodded, and with a sigh, Aerith left me with my thoughts.

Riku and I had a connection on a different level than most people. We had both been possessed by darkness, and had lost things dear to us. When I joined the Organization, Riku and Roxas helped me train to be a better fighter, and we became even closer. It hadn't taken long for my feelings for Riku to develop onto a level higher than friendship. He seemed so broken, just like me, so shattered and completely lost.

Lately though, Riku had been acting strange. He almost seemed to push me away with his snide remarks and cold attitude. He never wanted to go train anymore, he was always off doing something by himself, and whenever I asked him if something was wrong, he would turn me away. This new Riku was far from appetizing, and his attitude towards me almost seemed selfish. He was too wrapped up in his own turmoil to realize the pain he caused me.

I felt sick thinking about it. Since I was too awake to sleep, I reached onto the bedside table, grabbing my sketchbook and pencil. I opened the book and began to sketch. At first, the picture was a simple outline, some lines that formed a face. Then as I became immersed in the drawing, those simple lines developed into heartbroken features, cold and shamed, that formed his face. Riku's face. After drawing mindlessly for a number of hours, a dropped the sketchbook from my hands, and looked at the figure on the page before me.

It showed Riku in his darkest hour, his face turned from the viewer, his silver bangs shielding his features. His eyes, those gorgeous eyes, appeared so remorseful, I felt heartache just looking at them. His mouth, beautiful lips were turned in a slight smile, made his whole face appear so….tragic. The picture startled me. Never before had I created such an emotional drawing, and it almost scared me to look at it. I snapped the book shut, and laid it on the bed beside me, before drifting to sleep.

I woke up to the sounds of our house eating breakfast and getting ready for the day. The shower was running across the hall, and I faintly heard the clatter of dishes in the kitchen downstairs.

"Axel," came Roxas' whine from down the hall. "Give me back my conditioner!! My hair will be an absolute mess without it!"

"As apposed to what?" Axel's taunting voice replied. I could practically feel his smirk from down the hall. Suddenly I realized I had to pee. Really really bad. I hurriedly shuffled out of bed, and very cautiously made my way to the bathroom, my side aching the whole way. With a sigh of relief, I closed the door and sank down onto the toilet.

When I limped back into the bedroom, I found Riku standing there, his hands jammed into his sweat pant pockets, his tight wife-beater showing off his toned body. I shook my head to rid myself of the though, and glared at him.

"What are you doing here?" I snarled, before dropping onto the foot of the bed. "I…I brought your breakfast," he stammered, before gesturing at the tray on my bed. I glanced at it, a muffin and bacon. The sight of food made my mouth water. Nonchalant, I reached for the slice of bacon, before gobbling it down pathetically. I saw Riku's shoulders start to tremble as he held back a laugh, and I promptly picked up the muffin and chucked it at him.

"Hey!" he cried, picking the muffin up off the floor. I glared at him before huffing, and turning away. I heard him sigh. "Look Namine, I……you….god, why are you so stubborn?" he managed finally. I turned back to face him, disgusted.

"Stubborn?? That's how I am Riku, live with it. It's kind of hard to just let it slide when you practically told me I was too weak to fight."

"Well, you sorta were.." he muttered.

"Argggh! You know what, just get out of my face. I really don't want to talk to you" I flopped down on the bed, and pulled the covers over my head. I heard his retreating footsteps and stayed under the covers, content with not speaking or seeing anyone. My side throbbed painfully, and my head was now pounding.

"ARRRGGHHHH!!! ROXAS!!" I heard a shout from the hallway. I slowly pulled the sheet off my head to hear, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I wasn't paying attention!!" Riku and Roxas came stumbling down the hallway, Roxas holding onto a small plastic fan that was currently wrapped around a few locks of Riku's hair.

I suppressed a laugh. The bastard deserved it. Aerith rushed up the stairs and appeared before the struggling boys. "Oh give me a break, Roxas. I don't have time to get that thing out of his hair!"

"Just cut it," Roxas suggested, still clutching the fan. "NO!" Riku shouted, yanking the fan out of Roxas' grasp. He helplessly tried to detangle the contraption. Aerith spotted me then, sitting in bed with a smirk on my face. Oh no. No nonono.

"Oh Namine," she purred. "No. Let him figure it out himself." "Oh come on. You have nothing better to do, and I have to run to the store." "No." "Namine," Aerith said in a warning tone, before shoving Riku into the room and smiling sweetly. "Thank you!" With that she took off.

"But! Urgh! Sit down," I gestured to the floor in front of the bed. Riku looked hesitant at first, and slightly pathetic with that fan stuck in his hair, but he sat down facing away from me nonetheless. I snatched the fan from his hands, pulling his hair a little, causing him to whimper a bit.

"Don't be such a baby," I snapped, "After all, think of the pain I'm in." I began slowly unwinding the fan from his smooth hair. Riku muttered something before leaning back against the bed more comfortably. I worked my fingers through his hair, not so gently pulling the soft strands from the fan. I could feel Riku wince every time I tugged particularly hard, but other than that, he said nothing. My fingertips brushed his scalp, and I felt him shudder. Blushing madly, I tugged at the knots again, finally getting the fan free.

"You have a hell of a knot there," I said idly, combing the strands with my fingers. As I worked the knot from his hair, I felt his neck and shoulders relax against my knees, and his head ever so slightly leaned against my touch. My face felt in flames, and I struggled to keep my hands steady, as the knot slowly became smaller and smaller. Finally, it gave way, and Riku's hair fell back into its smooth texture, but I continued to stroke it softly, marveling in its feel.

"Namine," I heard him murmur. "What?" I said a bit harshly, yanking his hair a little. "I think its out," he managed finally. I dropped his hair instantly, and sat back, my arms folded.

"Well, I guess you can leave then," I replied. He turned from his position on the floor, and looked up at me through his bangs, those eyes piercing. "What?" I asked, turning away as I felt my face heat up yet again. He let out another heavy sigh, and stood up.

"Thanks. And sorry to bother you," he added with a hint of sarcasm.

"You should be," I shot back, my temper rising. His eyes narrowed, and he stood up. "You can be so annoying sometimes," he muttered before turning away. "Gee thanks, because detangling your hair from a fan is a real annoying thing to do." He snorted. "Well, I'm surprised you had it in you to help someone. Considering you have ruined quite a few people's lives."

That stung me like a thousand knives. I was distraught for having erased and manipulated Sora's memories a year ago, and he knew it. I felt tears sting my eyes, and hurriedly blinked them away.

"You weren't exactly a hero either, you know!" I cried. "You broke people's hearts, you even stole them. How dare you accuse me of ruining people's lives."

"Yeah, well at least I have people that loved me. What do you have? You're just a worthless nobody," he snapped, and then his eyes widened. I gasped. How could he say something like that? With strength I didn't realized I had, I got up, and brushed past him out of the room, before running down the hallway and out into the pouring rain. I didn't know where I was going, but all I cared about was getting away from him.

I finally lost my breath and sank to the ground in an alley, my hair and clothes drenched. I felt tears mix with rain as I sobbed. I was worthless, a nobody, a nothing, without a family or apparently any friends. I let my head fall onto my knees, and cried.

"Namine," I heard a voice in front of me. I looked up to see Riku standing there, his hair plastered to his face from the rain, his eyes sad. "What? Back for more?"

"Nami, I…" "No!" I interrupted, "You know what, I've had enough of you! All you do is rag on me and cause me pain! I don't understand why you put so much effort in hurting me when I'm just a worthless nobody!"

I stood up and got in his face, fuming. "I'm a worthless nobody? Then what, tell me, are you? You were possessed just like I was, you caused so many people pain, but I guess that's what you're good at. Hurting people and pushing them away! My family, my home is GONE, Riku!" I pounded his chest with my small fists uselessly. "Can't you just give me a break, huh? Is it so hard to be nice to the first person who actually understood what you were going through, who understood you? Why do you push me away---"

"Because I was afraid!" Riku interrupted, looking into my eyes, his own shining with hurt. I gasped at the sight. "I was afraid, afraid that maybe I would hurt you, like I hurt so many other people. So…. I pushed you away."

"And you don't think that hurt me?!" I screamed, shoving him away from me. "You don't think it hurt that you made me out to be some weak pathetic person, you don't think it hurt when you told me I was worthless?! If you were trying not to hurt me, than what the hell were you doing?"

I stood there, staring at him with his head down, his wet bangs covering his eyes. He looked up slowly, his eyes glowing through his hair, his face laced with angst.

"Because I love you! I love you and I didn't want to loose you like I lost Sora and Kairi! I didn't want to get too infatuated that you may leave me, like they did!" He cried, stepping forwards so that my back was against the wall, his body pressing up against mine.

He loved me. He loves me. I looked at his face, his beautiful eyes, those pouty lips, as he pressed his forehead to my own, looking down at me. My breathing hitched as he leaned his mouth towards my ear, his lips brushing it as he murmured, his voice husky, "I was afraid that you would turn me away, just as they did."

"No, never," I managed as he brought his forehead back to my own, his eyes staring into my own, which were laced with tears. Slowly he brought his mouth closer to mine, his breath hot on my face, water droplets on his nose. Then his soft lips were on my own, his hand buried in my hair. I leaned my face up and brought us closer together, deepening the kiss. We separated for air, before he was kissing me again, this time harder, his tongue tracing my lips, asking for entrance. I opened my mouth and our tongues connected, dancing in a slow, toxic rhythm. I brought my hands around his neck.

This I definatly didn't mind.