Chapter One:

Destiny Tied in the Stars

~XOX~

Closing one's eyes can cover up the things you don't want to see...

"Happy birthday!" everyone greeted the blond-haired teen the moment she stepped into the house. Her expression exhibited that of pleasure and glee as liquid beads of joy trailed down from her eyes. Today is only the sixteenth birthday of none other than Naminé which was intricately planned out by the closest people to her roughly about a month before. Only a few more days left until August replace the accustomed heat and mark in their young minds that high school life will only be a month away now, sadly ending the wonderful days of summer break.

Her eyes wandered straight to the strawberry-flavored ice cream cake held by her ever-chirpy friend and classmate, Selphie. Right beside her stood Selphie's own twin brother named Tidus. Behind them are her servants and their families gathered around with lively colored pupils glazing with excitement.

Normally, Naminé would shy away from everyone's fixed gaze, but the blond girl was too distracted to pay attention over that matter. She gasp at her surroundings: Her first sight went straight to the fairly decorated banner made artistically with the words "Happy Sweet Sixteenth B-day to our beloved Naminé" which was further fashioned with glitters that shimmers from the room's light. It was hanged against the rear wall. Pink pennant banners were stuck on the top edges of each three walls of the living room, surrounding three-fourths of the room's original perimeter. The entrance to the kitchen was centered on the backside. Not a wall separated the kitchen and the parlor since the house's construction allowed them to be one whole room. This conveniently adds more than enough extension for the area, giving room for certain occasions such as this. Along with these embellishments are balloons and other birthday party decor that further brightened up the atmosphere. Colorful presents were neatly stacked on top of a nearby table, waiting simultaneously to be exposed; presents just for the birthday girl.

Naminé wipes away her tears and looks up. "Thank you...everyone," she utters. It hardly seems possible to believe that it has only been just two hours ago when Naminé woke up bright in the morning on a seemingly typical day until she received a call from Selphie who insisted they go shopping "for emergency". The offer took long due to Naminé's lazy resistance, but she successfully managed to break that stubbornness. Naminé would have never guessed that it was all just a setup. While she was away, Kairi and Tidus prepared her house. So upon returning home—BOOM! Came the unexpected greeting paired with confetti, cheers, and not to mention the Rock-n-Roll music (in courtesy of Selphie) blasting all at once. Naminé had to admit: She was, indeed, surprised.

She shines them an appreciative look. "It must have been a lot of trouble to organize all of these. You guys didn't have to—"

"There you go again, Naminé, stop speaking so formally to us. We've been friends for three years!" Selphie pipes in, "You deserve to relax once in a while so we organized this party just for you. So, like it?" She took a few steps forward, halting about a foot away to raise the cake close to Naminé's face. The candles burn, causing more smoke to flow and mix up with the air. The white smoke slightly tickled the tip of Naminé's nose and then found its way through her nostrils. The smell of fuel left traces of that sweet scent of flowers.

"Y-Yes! Of course I do! I can honestly admit that you guys pretty much...um...p-pump the gas here?" stutters Naminé, embarrassed by the tiny humor she tried to pronounce. Taking note of the living room's changes once more, Naminé bows and gives her last thankful praise, "I really appreciate your hard work. I really do."

"I meant the cake." Selphie narrowed her eyes at the girl and playfully pretends to sulk for disregarding her hard work.

"Oh, I-I very much like the cake too. Sorry." Naminé bows apologetically. She can only imagine the long, tedious hours or days it took for the brunette to finally master the art of baking. The last time she did, she burnt the batter into a black, deformed crisp and messed up the icing to the point that it looked like a volcano on the verge of erupting. To see her hold a seemingly normal, rectangular cake is beyond Naminé's expectations.

Selphie shook in laughter and some spectators giggled, amused at Naminé's inability to recognize Selphie's tiny joke. She frowns knowing she still needs work at recognizing social cues. It seems to occur to Naminé just how hard fitting in could be when she's been accustomed to a different lifestyle even though it has indeed been three years since she moved to Destiny Islands.

"Don't be sorry, Nam. Selphie's just playing around. I mean, the cake was practically pre-cooked before she even got the chance to touch it, so technically, she only gets like ten percent of the credit," came Tidus' voice while slapping his hand three times against his sister's back. He earned her attention in the form of a glare. Selphie was secretly hoping no one would realize that she didn't actually made the cake herself, but then again, who in their right mind would think that the girl can even pass the first step of stirring the batter? Only Naminé. This made the blond girl feel even worse about herself, however, that's one of the quirks Selphie found adorable about her shy friend.

Tidus could only chuckle. "Anyways, it's all thanks to Kairi here." He pulled the red head to the middle of the circle that has already formed around Naminé. She steps in next to him before passing a small nod and a tiny grin. "It's all her ideas in the first place," he continues.

"Thanks again..." Naminé made a mental note to get Kairi a present for her next birthday, which, she remembers is only a week away from hers.

After someone finally shuts off the annoying Rock n' Roll music in the background, everyone began to sing "happy birthday". It rang in Naminé's ears like bells jingling on Christmas carols. A few of them nodded their heads as soon as they finished the song, cueing her to disperse the dancing flames and Naminé immediately obliged..

"Before you blow the candle, make a wish," reminded Kairi.

"I wish...I wish to..." Behind the black curtains of her eyelids, two mysterious blue orbs flash. It is so vague; so tenacious that it hindered the young girl from concentrating so.

"Who does those eyes belong to? I can't...I can't remember..."

Images began popping in Naminé's mind; Unknown images passing by...or coming back. All of them contain the same, perpetual scenery: a glass wall and an inexplicable, dark figure behind it. But then, everything else are nothing but shallow abyss, like a black hole drifting freely in space, swallowing all the light that would dare attempt itself near.

"Who is he? Why can't I remember...?"

"I'm R—"

"...I can't remember..."

She could only wonder where these hallucinations originated. What are they trying to convey?

"…lost memories...?"

"My name is—"

"Naminé? Naminé!" a familiar voice and a constant shaking on her shoulders broke through her psychological turmoil. The girl quickly snaps her eyes open, and in a flash, she is back to where she last stood. The first thing Naminé registered was the azure color of Kairi's concerned look before glancing up at the rest of her visitors. They all stared at the girl with worried expressions marked on their pale faces. "Naminé, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Kairi asks as she took her hands gently off her friend's shoulders. Naminé answered with an assuring nod.

"You don't look 'okay' to me." The brunette girl steps in, suddenly handing the cake to her twin brother. Tidus responded back with a raised brow and simply placed it down on the floor. He murmured something behind his sister's back, which she easily ignored, before directing all of his attention to the exhausted girl up front. "What happened?" he asks, "One second you're all giddying up about how cool the room is, and then...this!"

There was a moment of silence except the sound of Selphie's tapping foot. Fortunately, accompanying her friends and family was the blond teen's private tutor, Tifa who breaks the silence and snatches their attention. "That's enough, guys. Let's not put the birthday girl on the spot. Come to think of it, we should all start eating. Come on, everyone!" While everyone followed suit, Naminé caught her tutor wink before parting off along with the others.

In the meantime, Kairi is still somewhat paranoid over her best friend's condition. When the two were finally left alone, Kairi took this chance to speak her mind. "Is it that blue-eyed boy again?" she asks, but her companion seems to have lost her tongue and did not bother answering. Kairi took this as a "yes" and sighed for the third time in a row.

"Naminé, I know how hard it is to ask for help, but I really think you should talk to a therapist. These 'memories'—if they really are memories—they're getting out of hand. You can't concentrate on school, the party. You doze off in seconds and that's not normal. It could be a sign of some underlying psychological problem."

In the background, they could hear a certain twin's argument: Apparently, Selphie had accidentally stepped on her precious cake. "Perfect," she exclaimed, "You just had to put this cake on the floor, you doofus."

Naminé was slightly stabbed by Kairi's choice of the words but nonetheless kept her sensitivity intact. "Kairi, I'm not crazy."

"I'm sorry, Naminé. I didn't mean to insult you. I'm just trying to figure this out with you. But, say these...'visions' are your memories, why, after all these years, are you suddenly remembering them now?"

The blonde teen furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't know exactly what's happening either, but…" she start to fidget with the edges of her white dress. "I want to know more. It feels like...he's someone important to me, you know? And, I'm ashamed that I can't even remember his name."

Kairi watches Tidus and Selphie banter, then after a moment, ask, "Are you sure you don't want to ask your tutor about this? Maybe even your Grandfather? They may know something that happened to you before you came to Destiny Islands."

"If my Grandfather finds out I'm thinking about a 'boy', he'll murder him. But I've asked my tutor and she said she knows nothing about it."

Naminé glances up at her auburn-haired friend and held her hand with both of hers. "Kairi, please keep this a secret from Selphie and Tidus. I trust them, but I'm just so tired of trying to explain things I don't even understand. I'm sure they'll overwhelm me with lots of questions. You understand me, right Kairi?"

Kairi smiled. "Yeah, of course. There are definitely...certain things we just can't say…"

"What…?" This time it was Naminé's turn to question her.

Kairi simply shook her head and smiled, "I'm just worried about you, Naminé. For now, let's put these all aside and enjoy your birthday, okay?"

"Okay, I'll...try. I'm sorry for making you worry." The red-haired girl nodded, and they dismissed themselves to join up with the others. Still, Naminé's heart is not within reach. She floated in her own world towards that peculiar glass room...

-xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox-

That night…

Naminé was just about to lie on her bed when Tifa steps inside her room. Hours before her current position, her birthday party came to a fulfilling end, yet memories of those sweet smiles plastered on each of their faces still lingered in her heart and hope that it will stay there forever.

Tifa closes the door behind her and smiles upon seeing her student. "Still up, I see," she commented. Naminé nods and sits up on her bed, her hands involuntarily roam the top of her white blanket. At the same time, her tutor walks motionlessly towards her and sit beside the younger girl.

She beckons Naminé to lie down to which she immediately oblige. "Ms. Tifa?" Naminé calls out. The hushed air caressing her words like a floating leaf noiselessly descending to the ground.

"Yes?" her tutor whispers.

"I was just wondering... during my party, Grandfather wasn't there. It's my most special day today and he's the only family I have. He didn't come."

"Shh...Your grandfather is a busy man. You know he has a lot of important matters to attend to in Twilight Town."

By her means of "matters", Naminé knew it is something related to the vampires that lingered around that area for centuries. The chaos caused by those creatures is common news over there, so the vampire's existence is already exposed all over the world.

"That excuse again…" Naminé pouts, "He never has time for his family; for me. Is work so much more important to him? Vampires here, vampires there; all I ever hear him say are vampires!" she almost jump up in bitterness. "I wouldn't be surprised if one day he turns into one—"

"Naminé! Don't say that." Tifa blurted, her hands forming a fist. She takes a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Naminé, you're a good girl. You don't need your grandfather; we're all here: Kairi, Selphie, Tidus...me. You have a big family that continues to care for you even without Master Ansem."

Naminé could only sigh. After all, it's futile. The debate will simply run around in a circle with the same old excuse. There has never been an end to this issue. It's not like Tifa takes Ansem's side just because she answers to him. Sure she understands that Ansem is a busy man, but surely he could have spared a few moments of his time to visit her instead of neglecting his duty as a grandfather.

"She's right," Naminé thought in defeat. "I should just focus on what I already have, instead of the things I don't... all I really ask for is for Grandfather to care more about me." Such depressing conjecture caused tears to gather in Naminé's eyes but she managed to prevent it from falling.

"Anyway, you're sixteen already. When I met you, you were only seven years old." Tifa reminisces the years they've spent together. "Time flies faster when you get older" The birthday girl don't really see anything special about it. Her current age is just a reminder of her lasting days in Destiny Islands. "Did you know? In the old times, sixteen was considered a coming of age for young girls. It marks the special day when a young flowerbud officially blossoms into a full-fledged woman."

"R-Really?"

Tifa nods. That at least took her mind off the depressing subject. She kisses her on the forehead and stand. "Sleep well."

She switches off the light on her way out but immediately stops and turns around. "Oh, four days from today, your grandfather will be coming back to pick you up. He's taking you back home to Twilight Town. Now that you're of age, it was time for you to start your study in the Kingdom Hearts Science Corporation. In no time, you'll be taking Sir Ansem's place, so it's best you start...preparing." Tifa gives her a solemn look. "Your friends at the very least deserve a proper goodbye." Then, she shut the door.

"You're growing up. Someday, you'll find someone more important than your friends, your family, and even your own life," the tutor said, referring to the oblivious girl behind the lifeless door, "You're about to face a life full of tragedy." "And I could only wish for your safety..." The long-haired beauty began to walk away. "You've finally reached that age, huh."

Deep inside, Naminé knew that even if she grumble about it for the next five-hundred years, she could never escape her responsibility to run the family business, one way or the other. It is inevitable-such is the fate of the sole heiress of the great vampire hunter of this generation.

Similarly on fairy tales she had read in the past: The king can do whatever he wants. He can order as many people to do his bidding even if it's cruel or not cruel so long as it brings him closer to his goal. These "slaves" include the princess. A weak, little princess who is nothing more than a feeble flowerbud, compared to the mighty King whose very hands hold power over the whole throne.

-xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox-

Caliginous, somber, except for the flashing blur of lights he could barely make out around him. The air felt too thick that it is almost painful to breath. How difficult it is to even move a millimeter, to be constrained in the same position for the past several hours. In fact, everything is extremely excruciating that he could not even tell which part of his body has been severed from the series of tests. Needles varying in sizes seem to pierce every inch of his skin and his muscles refuse to function at the moment.

His once rigid structure felt no more than a mere liquid mud. He pictured thousands of large cracks forming on his body that, at any given moment, he knew he could just as easily crumble into millions of pieces. However, he cannot afford to let go just yet. There is still something keeping him there. But...what is it? Who is it?

Oh yes. A girl. With blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes. He forced himself to remember again, and suddenly the dark vision of himself became filled with healing white light. Ah…Now he remembers. Why he is still fighting. What he has to live for all these time.

He wanted to see her.

But, how long has it been since he started waiting hopelessly for this person to come back? "Thirty-six full moons," he thought.

The last thing he wanted right now is to lose count of that time when he committed a horrible act. It made him suffer way more than the torment he is undergoing right now. But, that's alright; he deserves it after all.

He began to remember how suffocating it was, alone in obscurity back then. Yet, for the first time after one particular night, he met a "somebody" who was able to disperse the all-consuming darkness. How can one mere mortal have the power to banish the darkness he himself cannot drive away? He needed to know. Was she a witch? No, an angel? Absurd. If he had any emotions left, he'd have laughed at himself.

While her face is no longer as clear as it once was, her scent still lingers in his degenerating memory. Time is running out! The images are on the brink of decay. Yet he clings to it…

no matter what…

He is able to peel his eyelids slightly, catching a glimpse of two white figures standing behind the dreaded glass wall. He didn't have the time nor the mental strength to consider who they were before he passes out into the bottomless abyss of unconsciousness.

"So...how is he, Professor Hojo?" questions a blond-haired elder. The beard that matches his hair shook from his chin's movement. Large, over-worked hands were positioned upon his back like a chain.

"Ah, yes. He is still fighting as we speak, Master Ansem the Wise," came the reply of a middle-aged man with long black hair and spectacles hanging at the bridge of his nose, "There is no doubt about it, the genetic genealogy test confirms his DNA matches that of an earlier ancestor. Of course, that is to say if we have the right test sample to compare—Uh...Master...Ansem?"

But the man's statements were easily thrown away as Ansem walked closer to a certain glass wall. His attention focused on whoever is inside.

"No. XIII..." He whisper. Ansem caught the fist of the figure inside the glass room begin to tighten.

"No matter what..."

-xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox-

The window sill is just beside Naminé's bed which positions her for a perfect view of the large blanket of night up ahead with its millions of miniature holes—more accurately, the "stars" that dominated the darkness despite being millions of light years away. How their light reach home despite the massive space between them is beyond Naminé. Back then, the young girl had wondered how those light travel in that spacious distance. The young, more innocent version of herself in the past had imagined that each little light were actually fairies that rode on a rocket that quickly reach Earth in the blink of an eye. Or maybe they just walked; took their time because they know that every step of the way brings them closer to their sanctuary, even if in reality, they are still far from succeeding.

"I envy those stars," Naminé thought, "How can their light be so strong? To spread out in such colossal lengths and be able to touch those that are thought to be impossible to reach."

The moon, on the other hand, is almost full. Its current phase is a Waxing Gibbous; day one. Her eyelids begins to weigh heavily and soon the rest of her surrenders to the silent night. Then, she remembers her imprisonment in her grandfather's building three years ago. Half of her refuse to go back to that "hell", but the rest are so eager to return. "Perhaps something or someone is there waiting for me—besides my white room, of course. How I miss that room."

That thought immediately brought her previous prospect about "him".

Like glaciers, the world around her swiftly melted, and the next thing she knew, she found herself standing on the side, watching a younger version of herself sitting alone amidst the darkened room. In front of her is her reflection and then immediately realizes that she is actually staring at a flat structure made of…glass. Suddenly, she felt another presence. She is not alone…

"Hey, I've visited you for the fourth time now and you haven't told me your name," The thirteen-year-old Naminé said to the dark figure behind the glass wall. She waited for his response, but, as usual, he never said a thing. She frowned.

"What's your name...?"

"I'm sure everyone has a na—"

"I'm Roxas."

"Ro...xas...?"

"My name is...Roxas."

~XOX~

...But you can never cover up one's heart to things you don't want to feel.

Author's Note: There it is you guys! After a long thought, I decided to continue the story using a third person POV and I am now sure to change this to rated M, but not at this early stages of the story.

*TRIVIA: Professor Hojo is a secondary antagonist in Final Fantasy VII. I'm not good at coming up with minor original characters so I try to use characters from other Square Enix games just to take on the role of minor characters in this story. Then again, he might just take on a major role in the future. Who knows.