#i was playing earlier an i talked to olette and she said something like 'so im friends with hayner and pence in the other twilight town? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kessielrg · 4 years

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[Kingdom Hearts] Write What You Know

Summary: In which Xion tries to find writing inspiration from around Twilight Town. [sequel-ish to I Won't (Let Her) Be Forgotten][oneshot][post KH3]

Rating: K+

Word Count: 2,605 words

If you like this story, please give it a reblog or donate to my ko-fi!

- - -

"Xion, these are great!"

Xion could face heat up as she started to blush. "You're just saying that." she told Olette, sounding just as embarrassed as she looked. But Olette adamantly shook her head.

"I'm serious." she assured her friend. "You have some serious talent for this stuff."

"She's not wrong," Roxas added in, "And it's great seeing you smile while you write too! When you get into this serious groove, it's like you're in this really weird trance- but when you come out, you've written down this awesome story!"

Well, if the blush on her face wasn't evident yet, it was now. Xion even had to look away from her first friend. Of anyone, Roxas was the most excited that Xion liked writing. He never really said why, but Xion had a good feeling on the reason; they had both started their life as Nobodies. Almost in every sense of the word, really. Xion finding that she liked and was good at writing was her first branch of becoming Somebody.

Almost four months ago, Xion decided to become a writer. Nothing special, of course, just as a little thing to do in her spare time. Today was the first day she was letting her friends read through what she had written so far. None of her little stories really connected to each other; at first, she was writing from experience, using an author avatar to mask that it was truly her. But then she started to experiment a bit more. Sometimes her avatar knew more than Xion did. Other times she had someone else in story teach her avatar something Xion knew quite a bit about.

A lot of the time, Xion felt embarrassed by her avatar. She was almost too idyllic. But a part of her really... enjoyed that perfect version. A world where no one was really hurt, or was lost, or forgotten. Especially not forgotten.

"You should absolutely look into joining the school paper." Pence even encouraged. "One of the main column writers graduated last year- your stories about Ebba would be a great replacement."

Now her ears were starting to glow a bright red as well. "N-no... I don't think I should..."

But that was when Olette and Roxas started to eagerly agree with the idea. Hayner was the one who silenced them with a small, disapproving scoff.

"Well, I don't like them." he told them all. "There's no way a girl can do all of that stuff on her own. It's totally unrealistic."

"What are you talking about?" Roxas then wondered with a defensive raise of his eyebrow. "I've seen Xion do all of that stuff, and more."

"Besides, no one asked you." Olette agreed before chucking a pebble at Hayner's face. The boy was just barely able to protect his face from the attack. The pebble bounced off his arms and down to the ground below. A faint reminder -if any- of the danger in sitting so high up on the Central Station clock tower.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" Hayner whined. "That's a long way down, you know!"

"Then you better stop being mean to Xion." Olette informed him with a grin.

"I don't have to take this." came the return huff. Hayner carefully started to get up and crossed his arms in defiance. "I'm going home. Maybe in my absence you'll learn to stop bullying me when I'm only joking."

"We should all get ready to leave, actually." Pence decided as he got up as well. "It's getting close to dinner."

At the agreed nods from Olette and Roxas, the four of them started to make their leave. But Xion wasn't ready to leave yet.

"Are you coming back with us?" Roxas asked her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder and giving a wide smile.

"Not yet." she told him- meeting his grin with one of her own. "I wanted to write a bit more before heading back. It can get pretty loud with Isa and Lea when they're arguing about chores. I don't think Lea's done the dishes in a full week."

To this, Roxas laughed. "Fair enough." he agreed. "See you at dinner then!"

Xion smiled and waved him goodbye. Alone at last, Xion opened up her notebook. She reread a lot of what she had written down earlier. A smile crossed her lips as a sense of pride welled in her chest. It felt so great being able to create something that didn't exist before. Over time, she had developed bits and pieces of her author avatar, Ebba, that both reflected and deviated from herself. Now came time to do so again. But what was she going to write?

As she lightly brushed the end of her feather pen against her lips, Xion gave a thoughtful hum. Maybe this time she'd have Ebba on the clock tower as well? Yes, that sounded like a great idea. Write what you know was such a common writing suggestion, after all, and what did Xion know better than sitting here?

. . .

The breeze coming up the clock tower lightly tousled the bangs of Ebba's short black hair as the sun set in Twilight Town. The rest of her hair was pulled into two low pigtails that also danced a little in the wind. Ebba trained her blue eyes over the view from the train station with a curious tilt of her head. She wondered how many people were out there in this world she had decided to call home. A hundred? Maybe thousands? They surely didn't have the start on life that she had, that's for sure. Ebba's early life started without free will. For the longest time, she didn't make many of the choices that she thought were her own. But not any more.

For as long as Ebba had a free will of her own, she had decided that everyone deserved a second chance. Where would she had been without the second chance she was given? Today she was going to make it her mission to give him a second chance. Who was he, you may ask? Well, Ebba wasn't sure yet. Her contact had given so little description of her target that they might as well have said she was going to fight the air. Wouldn't have been the first time.

Regardless of who her target was for this mission, she was going to find them. If at all possible she was going to talk to them too. Ebba had seen enough violence and sadness to last a lifetime- it wasn't going to happen again for as long as she could breathe. But it still led the question; where was she going to start first?

. . .

Okay, so that last sentence was more to Xion than to her personification. Where was she going to take Ebba this time? The girl lulled her head from side to side in thought. But then she had it. Xion quickly put her notebook and pen away and started to hurry off of the clock tower. Once she took a back exit out of the train station, she made an immediate right to head into the underground concourse. Xion walked around for a bit- mostly to make sure no one else was there, and to also see if this was where she wanted to take Ebba.

A grin etched itself onto Xion's face. Yes, this place would do. She could see the scene play out before her with pinpoint accuracy too.

. . .

Someone had blown Ebba's cover. Getting into the concourse had been easy- but it had been too quiet for Ebba's liking. Someone knew she was coming. That someone also sent some creature after her as well. This creature looked a lot like a dragon with mostly dark red scales. Ebba barely had time to completely note its three toed feet, poised with deadly talons, and its wings that looked tattered the closer you got to the ends.

It had taken Ebba quite a bit of effort to distance herself from this creature in this rather cramped space. She found refuge behind one of the many pillars stabilizing the concourse. The young woman steeled herself, preparing her weapon to fight back, before leaning over the side of the pillar to aim and take the shot.

. . .

Wait. Was it even possible for someone to move that way? Curious, Xion got up and walked over to the pillar she had Ebba at in her story. She pressed her back against its cool stone, sighing a little as she moved her pen in her hand so it was roughly in the same position as a gun. Xion held the pen up near her face, then turned her body to lean over the side of the pillar. Her arm was outstretched- the fuzzy end of the pen faced toward where the enemy in story would be standing. Xion pumped her arm as if she had taken a shot.

"Pow." she mumbled under her breath. Xion unceremoniously dropped her arm after this. She looked down at her pen before giving it an amused half smile. The thing was so ridiculous, Xion wondered that if it was a weapon, it's accompanying sound would have been 'chu' not 'pow.' Too bad Ebba was more of a spy in this story, not a magical girl. Xion gave herself a bemused little chuckle before pressing her back against the pillar once more to sit and write again.

. . .

Sweat was starting to beat down on Ebba's brow. This enemy was a tougher one. It couldn't be reasoned with, and it surely wasn't going to listen, so she had no choice but to take it down. When she succeeded, the wyvern gave a departing screech before bursting into nothing more than smoke. Ebba noticed that a large, glowing heart came out from the creature at about the same time- the heart hovered for a moment before floating higher up into the air. She lost track of it when it phased through the ceiling, but she knew where it was going.

Ebba dusted herself off a bit before heading out of the concourse. Her work here was done. She was no closer to finding out what her real target was, however. This was going to take some time.

. . .

Heading home sounded rather tempting now. Xion wanted to add one more scene before retiring for the day, though. Where would she do it? She wondered rather aimlessly around Twilight Town as she thought it over. Where else did she want Ebba to go? The sandlot, while wide enough in area for a good fight or two, didn't seem like the place for a secret rendezvous. Le Grand Bistrot also seemed like a good place to meet someone, but there would be too many people.

Then the idea clicked. She knew where to go now- she just hoped that it wasn't closed off for the night.

. . .

Ebba took a deep breath in as she leaned over the railings that surrounded Sunset Hill. A train horn snapped her out of her thoughts for only a moment- she waved to it as it went under the tunnel and smiled a bit to herself.

She still had yet to find her target. Every time she thought she had found him, he once more slipped through her fingers like string. He must have known her, or perhaps even following her; they were the only conclusions that made sense. She didn't have to tell her supervisor about this. They were not going to take it very well either.

But then someone said her name. Ebba turned around and was shocked to find a rather handsome man standing there. The two locked gazes, and with a horrible pit in her stomach, Ebba knew that this was her target.

. . .

For a moment, Xion frowned. A handsome guy just waiting there for Ebba? That sounded completely ridiculous, even if he was the villain. It was cliche in and of itself that he was handsome too. Xion grimaced as she scratched out the last paragraph with an extreme prejudice. There was no way on earth that she was going to let her author avatar have a secret infatuation with the villain. No way at all. She decided long ago that Ebba wasn't going to fall in love with any one ever- period.

Flexing her hand a little to ease some of her cramping muscles, Xion started over again.

. . .

She could deal with the loss- for disappointing her supervisors once more. They wouldn't like it, but one some days it just had to be done. She did fear what they would do to her once she got back though. There were rumors in their group that if someone messed up enough, they'd turn them into husks of their former selves. Ebba shuddered at the thought; she had her own free will now, and she was going to keep it, but when her target didn't show up? What else could she do? She could argue about that with her supervisors all she wanted. One of them had to listen to her. At least one.

Ebba's thoughts were broken when she heard the sound of a dog bark next to her. She turned and immediately smiled at what she saw. It was the king's yellow and black dog, Mercury. Ebba greeted the mutt with a grin before bending down to give him a good scratch behind his ears. Mercury was a good old mutt. He liked Ebba too- sometimes finding her when she had once thought herself lost.

Well, even if her mission had been a bust, at least she still had the comfort of a few good friends when she got back. Mercury would put a good woof in for her if her supervisors complained. And if that still didn't satisfy them, then the king himself would have given Ebba a pardon. He may even help her find her target next time, or put them on a special list to keep on eye on. All in all, this hadn't been a bad day. After such a long day, Ebba told Mercury that it was time to go, and so they did.

. . .

Xion held her notebook out as she reviewed her handiwork. She had a rather productive day too, come to think of it. She'd get Ienzo to copy her written words digitally so she could see how much she had written today. By the way her hand hurt, it must have been over 500. Xion once more stretched her hand and wrist muscles before getting off the bench to head on home. Maybe she'd show Roxas what she wrote- Lea and Isa too. Who else could she let read her new short story? Olette, Hayner, and Pence would have to wait until tomorrow. Maybe if she could digitize her work tonight, she could see if Kairi or Namine could get a copy? Would they even like Ebba? Xion couldn't remember if she's actually given them anything about her yet.

She may have to take a day of writing tomorrow though, or maybe just not use her writing hand at all; it really was starting to hurt now that she wasn't concentrating on writing everything. Roxas was right- once she started going, it was hard to stop. She absolutely believed the adage that the pen was mightier than the sword- writing felt more painful after finishing than taking down a Darkside. The only difference was the lack of bruises, really.

Even if Xion didn't write about Ebba tomorrow, she could still daydream about it. A writer never sleeps, after all, and Xion was just getting started.

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nadziejastar · 5 years

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Master Xehanort touched down in Radiant Garden and surveyed its surroundings. The ruler of this world was said to research the heart through different methods than the Keyblade Masters. Though the man's studies did interest him, it was not yet time.

Master Xehanort strolled around this world and found a lone man. He had a dangerous look in his eyes that concealed a darkness in his heart incomparably greater than that of anyone else in Radiant Garden.

No matter the world, one didn't have look far to find hearts infested with darkness. After all, no heart was entirely free of it. It all boiled down to proportions; a little nudge to a heart with more darkness than light, and everything would begin falling into place.

"You there." Master Xehanort had seen several people dressed in the same uniform as this man.

"...What do you want, ya old coot?" The man with dark, slicked-back hair turned around with annoyance. Master Xehanort's golden eyes regarded him.

Exactly. It really doesn’t make any sense how easily those two became apprentices. Since when can any random person just knock on the front door and talk to Ansem, anyways? Dilan and Aeleus were the guards. They knew Lea and Isa were trespassers. Plus, they had secret evil experiments they didn't want Ansem to know about. Why on earth would they ever grant those two kids an audience with Ansem the Wise? If they knew that those two trespassers wanted to talk to Ansem, it's more likely that they would have just kidnapped them on the spot and locked them up, rather than letting them get access to Ansem the Wise.

And so we stand before the castle gates today, not as trespassing children but in order to become Ansem the Wise's newest apprentices.

Ansem was apparently not someone who casually interacted with the general public. Leon, Yuffie, Cid, and Aerith had NO idea what the ruler of Radiant Garden looked like or how old he was. They all thought Ansem Seeker of Darkness was the real Ansem until Mickey told them otherwise. It didn't seem like many people knew much about him. In the novel, Axel saw Ansem the Wise on the Hollow Bastion computer screen and had no clue who he was. Mickey was able to see Ansem because he was a king from another world. Lea and Isa were just two school kids---nobodies.

Xehanort was never planning on losing his memory after gaining Terra as his new vessel. But he did plan on becoming an apprentice. And even then, he knew he couldn’t just knock on the front door and ask to become one. That’s weird and suspicious. It’s why Master Xehanort had to go through Braig. Without Braig, Xehanort would have never gotten anywhere near Ansem. And Xehanort was of particular interest to Ansem not just because he was a random unconscious person, but because he was discovered with Aqua's armor and Keyblade next to him. He was a very interesting subject to a scientist studying the secrets of the heart. What do Lea and Isa offer a KING other than an opportunity to babysit?

Subject was found in the central square shortly after dawn. Female, approximately fifteen years old. After seven days' observation, she spoke her first words, but could not provide a name. Subject exhibits signs of profound amnesia, and displays concern for which world this is. Her words suggest that she departed her home world with others, though she cannot recall the names of her erstwhile companions. All efforts to explore those memories have met with a rejection response.

After his initial experiments on me, Ansem the Wise ceased his research into the heart, his hand stayed by some fear I cannot fathom. Yet this new subject is like me: devoid of memories. She is the perfect sample upon which to continue my master's work. She, too, could benefit from it; by traversing the heart, we have a direct path into memory. I myself have begun to reclaim my lost past thanks to these very experiments.

Who is she? Whence has she come? These are questions no scientist could ignore. And the words she muttered, "May your heart be your guiding key"...

I still think the name "Subject X" was originally Isa, but now that I think about it, she kinda rips off of Terranort, too. An amnesiac from another world who was discovered in the central square? When Aqua was fighting Terranort, it was nighttime. So, when Ansem discovered Terranort, it probably would have been...shortly after dawn. Subject X departed from their home world with other friends, but can’t remember their names? Sounds like Terranort, too. He’d probably remember he had two important friends, but not their names. So Ansem wanted to help him remember his past. Man, nothing about Subject X is unique at all. She’s just a hodgepodge of different characters.

As noted in my earlier reports, I must solve the mystery of this "darkness of the heart." This paradise depends on it. I shall perform an experiment to probe the depths of a person's heart. One of my own apprentices, Xehanort, has volunteered to be a subject.

The young man has served me ever since I nursed him back from death's door some years ago. He had lost all his memories at the time, but later showed remarkable intellectual curiosity and readily absorbed my teachings, gaining deep wisdom. Any mental immaturity is surely due to his young age.

If I explore Xehanort's heart with psychological tests, I may be able to recall the past locked away within. My apprentice Even has also shown great interest in Xehanort's memories. But is he really the right subject? Xehanort does indeed exhibit extraordinary talents...Too extraordinary...Perhaps they are even superhuman.

Xehanort was a very unique person. He was an amnesiac that needed to be nursed back to health, but he also just happened to be mysterious and brilliant. Ienzo was an orphan whose parents were friends with Ansem or Even. They are exceptions. That doesn't mean anyone could just knock on the front door and become an apprentice. Why would Ansem just take on two random kids with no scientific background?

Not to mention that Lea and Isa apparently asked to become apprentices after Subject X was discovered by Ansem, since she was gone already. At that point, Ansem would have been aware that his apprentices were kidnapping people and that there were Heartless in his castle. He just experienced the worst betrayal of his life by the last apprentice he took in. Why on earth would he allow two suspicious kids in his castle at that point? I’m sure the other apprentices would have informed Ansem that they were trespassers.

“Most kids spend the time just messing around with their friends. They put off the homework until the end and then help one another finish it.”

He was apparently speaking from personal experience. Was Axel referring to his own memories of summer vacation as a human?

“It’s not a bad way to spend your time. I hadn’t really thought about it since I became a Nobody…,” he murmured, almost to himself, before turning the conversation back to Roxas.

Also these are two underage kids who are still in middle/high school. How are they just going to become apprentices when they are still in school? They don't have any credentials. Ansem would need their parents’ permission, right?

“Stop changing the subject!” Olette scolded them.

“All right already…” Hayner stood up with a sigh. “You win. We’ll do the homework. Today’s the day for a pain-in-the-butt independent study project.”

Roxas had completely forgotten that there were any vacation assignments until now. Only three more days, and then it was back to school.

Since Isa was in such a hurry, I almost wonder if he was thinking Lea wanted to sneak into the castle simply as a way to put off doing their homework.

“We’d like you to tell us if anything’s changed in this town. There are heaps of weird things here, right…? Like, the strange stone steps, for example…”

Roxas watched Axel and Pence’s exchange. For him to think of a question like that, when he’s only seen the map…

“Ohhh… So you guys are investigating the Seven Wonders of Twilight Town, too?” said Pence.

Roxas’s summer vacation was heavily based off of Axel’s memories. And the novel made it seem like Axel had experience with looking for the various wonders of the town.

The castle was a wonderland to us children. Within its walls, Ansem the Wise conducted his research, and the fruits it bore allowed everyone outside to live in peace and happiness. That alone was enough to stoke our interest, though not all of the rumors that escaped its walls were so benevolent. By night, the muffled sounds of human wails emerged. There was talk of dangerous human experimentation. Lea and I couldn't help but hatch a plot to steal inside and sate our curiosity.

The point is, these are just innocent KIDS who like to play, eat ice cream, and explore the "wonders" of their town. They’re not secret agents. The castle was a wonderland to them. It's probably similar to how the haunted mansion and ghost train were for Roxas's group.

Lea---A likable, upbeat boy who tends to jump into things without consulting anybody else-sometimes with disastrous results. He seems to be hung up on other people remembering him, and taught Ventus the importance of making friends. He and his own best friend, Isa, have bigger plans.

Isa---A quiet and cool-headed youth. Though he does come out of his shell when talking to his best friend Lea, toward others he is distant and untalkative. He also often scolds Lea, who has an opposite (though complementary) personality.

I just don’t buy that Lea and Isa successfully convinced the KING to make them apprentices and infiltrated a group of criminals, all as part of some grand master plan. Two sheltered kids pulled off something like that and somehow didn’t get locked up and become test subjects themselves? Highly unlikely. BBS said that Lea always came up with plans that he’d jump into without thinking, with disastrous results. The journal seemed to be hinting that sneaking into the castle was something that...wasn’t a very bright idea and would lead to something very bad happening. Like getting kidnapped, locked up, then experimented on. And that’s a lot more believable of a scenario. Lea would do things without consulting anyone. Probably why Isa scolded him often.

“Don’t sit on that.”

“Then put another chair in here.” He let his legs swing, the way he would sit at the usual spot.

“Somehow, I doubt that would stop you,” said Saïx.

Judging by the way Saïx and Axel interact in the novel, Lea didn’t pay much attention to Isa’s scolding. I like the one little mini-comic where Axel was the accelerator and he called Roxas the brake. But he remembered that Roxas wasn’t actually the brake. It was “the other guy”. Isa was the brake. He’d try to reign in Lea’s hotheadedness. I definitely see it being Lea’s idea to sneak into the castle, not Isa’s. Lea probably didn't even consult Isa when coming up with the plan. They got caught trespassing multiple times, but Lea was always undeterred. Those aren't the actions of someone who knew that dangerous human experiments were going on.

Axel followed after him. “No, it’s just that there’s something about Riku I’m interested in. I want to check up on something, but I thought I’d just get your permission first.”

“Hmph… Even without my permission, you’ll go looking as you wish, won’t you?”

I'm sure Lea never imagined that anything bad could ever happen to them by sneaking into the castle. He seemed like he was very protective of Isa. If he knew there was loud wailing and rumors of dangerous human experiments going on in that castle, I HIGHLY doubt he would have brought Isa anywhere near it. Lea had a habit of jumping into things, but he was still a caring friend. I can't imagine that he would knowingly put Isa at risk like that. And I definitely don't think Isa would ever go along with that plan, either. He cared about Lea's safety and would have put the brakes on that plan REAL fast if he heard rumors of human experimentation.

“He worries too much. Thinks he has to help Sora do everything…” Axel grimaced in irritation.

“But, Axel, aren’t you the one worrying about Riku and Sora?” Naminé giggled softly.

“Me, worry? You think I need to be worried about those two?” He stretched backward and rocked the chair back and forth, like a restless child.

Axel probably blamed himself for what happened to them. He is obviously emotionally stunted in certain ways. He could be quite ruthless. But at the same time, he is hung up on things like having a best friend and eating ice cream. Bottom line is that these were just KIDS. They were naive. They didn’t know what they were getting themselves into. Didn’t sound like Lea was EVER prepared for the possibility that breaking into the castle was dangerous.

#KH #kh meta #kh lea #kh isa #kh aqua #kh axel #kh braig #kh saix

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nonopiimagines · 5 years

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gardenias alive

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts Pairing: Hayner x Reader Warnings: graphic depictions of coughing up flowers; blood Word Count: 5713 Author Notes: A hanahaki au/soulmate au requested by anon. I started writing both, this one got done first.

---

It was easy to deny the feelings at first. He had never experienced them before. All he knew was that he wanted to be around you all the time. He would make up dumb excuses just to sit next to you at school or to have you meet him at the Usual Spot before Pence and Olette got there. You would always laugh and nod your head, giving him an “Okay, Hayner” in a teasing voice, like you already knew what his intentions were and you were just playing along until he finally understood what it really meant.

But he was just content to be around you.

It was enough. At the time.

Looking back, he could so easily pick out the turning point. You both had entered the Struggle Tournament and you had been practicing together for weeks at that point. You had spent so much time together that you knew every move he was going to make. He could’ve said the same for himself, but you were always a little bit quicker.

He remembered the way his heart jumped in his throat when you knocked him over, the struggle bat flying out of his hand. Your figure appeared above him, leaning over him as he laid there on the ground, your eyes staring into his. He recognized what he saw there, a mixture of fear and wonder. The announcer called out your name in his loud, booming voice but you didn’t move and he so badly in that moment wanted to congratulate you, hug you, kiss you so you didn’t have to look at him that way anymore.

“You beat me,” he hoped he said it as softly and gently as he imagined he did.

You nodded at him, a small smile appearing for a brief second on your face before you bit it away, your teeth digging into your bottom lip.

“Don’t just sit there,” maybe his voice wavered, but he didn’t want to believe it did. “You earned this.”

“Thanks, Hayner,” he only got to see your face for a moment more, before you were helping him off the ground to the cheers of the audience encircling the struggle ring. He thought he saw relief and a moment of bliss on your face, and he remembered the way his heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. He was so proud. If anyone was going to beat him, it deserved to be you.

When he went back to that moment, it always brought the flowers up. He felt the tickle of the petals in the back of his throat and as much as he was tired of letting it overcome him, tired of letting the coughs wrack his body, he had no control over this. His trash can was already full of white petals sprayed with flecks of red, he had now moved to a large bowl. It too had petals, but larger and larger bunches were coming up now.

His mom had come up earlier to check on him, her cool hand on his forehead, always saying, “They’re not full flowers yet, baby. There’s still time.”

He’d just grumble in response, but it gave him some peace of mind. There’s still time.

And he wasn’t planning on giving up yet. Today was the one year anniversary of that moment, the day of the annual Struggle Tournament. Pence and Olette agreed to take him there to watch. It may be the last time he ever gets to.

As he lay back down, with the floral taste in his mouth, he closed his eyes, trying not to think of you, but it always came back to you. Always. Always.

He wasn’t ready for the petals when they first came. He didn’t even know what was happening. He remembered it being the first week back at school. You both shared a lot of classes and he had honestly thought that this might be the one year of school that wasn’t going to be a drag the whole time.

The last bell rang for the day, you had told him you had to stop somewhere before going to the Usual Spot. He tried to catch up with you because maybe this one moment of being alone together in the thousands of moments of being alone together, would be the one where he finally told you how he was feeling. He thought about it too often. How he would want to grab your hands and hold them tightly, and look into your eyes as he said something too simple like, “Hey, I like you.” If it was so easy in his head, why could he never actually do it?

It was his biggest regret. He never admitted to having any regrets, but in reality, in the deepest, darkest pits of himself, he knew. He regretted never telling you.

Because when he finally caught up to you that day, rounding the corner, waiting for the tram to pass, he saw you. Standing with your back toward him, holding hands with Seifer, as you talked animatedly to him. Hayner stopped dead in his tracks. He thought he felt the familiar overwhelming sensation of his heart jumping into his throat, but it was something more sinister this time. A soft but uncomfortable sensation. His eyes welled up in pain as he held it back, making a dash for the Usual Spot where he sat and coughed relentlessly until one or two white petals spilled out of his throat, his chest finally able to breathe.

He didn’t think it was the fact that you were holding hands with Seifer that triggered it, it was the fact that you both looked so happy. The way he was looking at you, that was the way Hayner looked at you. He knew it because he felt it too. He was undeniably happy when you were around. But now, it was different.

And he remembered the next part so vividly because it hurt both of you in a way that couldn’t be fixed so easily. As he sat at the Usual Spot with his head in his hands, the only thing he could focus on was breathing. In and out. In and out.

He heard you approaching. He heard you set your bag down, your shoes crunching on the gravel that littered the floor, but he couldn’t look at you. He didn’t look at you. So you did the thing you probably felt was right. You put your hand on his back and leaned over to look at his face through his fingers.

“Are you okay, Hayner?”

Fuck. Of course he wasn’t okay. Your hand felt like fire, burning through two layers of cloth, into his skin, leaving a mark there that sunk into his core and ignited a fire in his lungs. He coughed briefly, jumping up from his chair, eager to get away from your touch.

“Don’t touch me,” his voice was just a croak before another cough bubbled up out of him, this time bringing a petal with it. He spit it out of his mouth, into the dirt. He rubbed at it with his shoe, eager to reduce the brilliant white petals into nothing. He wanted this to be nothing. He didn’t want to like you anymore.

But when he finally brought his eyes up to look at you, he knew that wasn’t true. Everything you were to him, you still were. Seifer couldn't tarnish it. Even if he tried. But it still hurt, it still ached, it wouldn’t stop. And your face was a reflection of that.

“Can I get you some water?” you asked again, taking a few tentative steps toward him.

But he backed away, toward the exit. “Of everyone, why him? Why does it have to be him?” He had to know. His voice felt stronger in that moment. He felt stronger. It was probably the last time he felt close to normal.

He remembered it like it was yesterday. The way your eyes lit up in realization and then your frown turned your face somber. You brought your hands up to rub at your arms as you looked away in uncertainty. “I don’t have an answer for you.”

And in that moment, Hayner didn't hesitate. He wanted you to hurt like he hurt. “Then don’t come back here. Don’t talk to me, Pence, or Olette ever again. You were never our friend.”

That was the last time he spoke to you. He stormed off after that, leaving you with tears streaming down your face, petals coming up his throat in wet, heavy coughs the entire way home. It only took his mom a few minutes to understand what was happening and explain it to him. Hanahaki.

“It’s only because your so passionate, Hay.” His mother, always the optimist. Even as she watched the days go by, her son slowly suffocating on love and flowers.

Now he lay in bed, drifting in and out of sleep. Some memories, some dreams, triggered the coughing fits. The memory of that day at the Usual Spot only filled him with regret, but it didn’t cause the flowers to tickle at his throat. In some ways it was worse. The regret would lull him to sleep and his brain would conjure up what-ifs. What if he had kissed you when you beat him in the Struggle Tournament? What if he told you his feelings right then and there? What if you burst through his bedroom door and sat with him, your hands holding his in your lap, your sad smile hoping he would get better, and maybe you would leave quietly with a kiss on his forehead? Those thoughts, those wishes, those hopes, they brought the flowers to bloom ever bigger. His coughs getting worse, more blood and mucus covering the delicate white petals as they erupted out of his throat, tears streaming down his face at the exertion.

After he was calm again, his mom would bring up tea with honey, as she was doing now.

“Lots of honey for my honey.” She presented him with a large mug, a tea bag string drifting around the handle.

“Thanks, mom.” The heat and honey felt soothing, though he knew it did little to quell the coughs.

She nodded, only letting the sadness and pain seep to the surface just briefly. For that he was grateful, he was grumpy enough for both of them.

“Olette and Pence are downstairs when you’re ready.” She put a hand on his blanket-covered leg for emphasis. “Just be careful, okay?”

“Yeah,” though his voice was gravelly and croaky, it was the most firm and confident it had been in awhile. He wanted her to know it would be okay and he proved it with a long slurp of tea.

She laughed as she got up to leave, giving him one last look over before leaving him alone in his bedroom. He took a few more sips of tea, trying to invigorate his body for the journey it was about to embark on. Showering and dressing was the easiest part. It was staring at his bedroom door that was the hardest. He left is room so little now, spending most of the day sleeping. He tried not to look over at the trash can filled with petals, some stray ones laying on the floor nearby. It was easier if he didn’t think too much. Just do, don’t think.

So he grasped the door handle and yanked it open. He padded softly down the carpet-covered stairs to the living room below, where Pence and Olette were waiting on the couch talking. They looked at him as he approached, looking hopeful but ultimately realizing the state of his sickness in the bags under his eyes and the sickly tone of his skin. He saw the brief flash of pity on their faces and decided to act. “Let’s go.”

He was out the front door before they could say anything. The last thing he wanted was pity. He wanted to think he had some control over what was happening to him, that this was partially his fault for choosing you. He didn’t want to be pitied for liking you. For wanting to be around you. For wanting to be happy. For wanting to feel.

But Pence and Olette caught up and stayed by his side the entire time. They talked about the match-ups and how it was looking to be you and Seifer in the final again. Pence pointed out that Sora entered this year too, so he might mix up the standings. Olette just scoffed and explained that Sora fighting with a Keyblade is different than wielding a struggle bat. Hayner vaguely listened as they talked, at least a little happy that they were trying to make things seem normal. Hearing your name brought a tickle to his throat, but he tried to cough as little as possible to make himself seem healthier than he really was. The last thing he wanted was Pence and Olette to drag him right back home before he even got to finish watching one struggle match.

When they finally arrived at the tournament, Hayner’s gaze immediately gravitated toward you practicing some swings with your bat up on the struggle stage. There was something in your eye that hadn’t been there before. A determination that ran deeper, something verging on revenge. Seifer was on the other end of the ring, talking to Fuu, Rai, and Vivi.

Hayner tried not to look for too long, already feeling a coughing fit come up his throat. He quickly grabbed a honey candy his mom had given him earlier and popped it into his mouth. She said it could help soothe his throat like the tea. It seemed to help a little as he coughed a few times into his hand, trying to catch the petals that were spilling out, his head throbbing from his inability to breathe. He tried not to dwell on the pain as the coughing subsided.

“First match of the day! Seifer versus the reigning champion, Y/N!” The announcer called from beside the stage. There were cheers from the crowd at the sound of your name, and he couldn’t help but smile, a familiar burn beginning in his lungs.

“Ready! Steady! Struggle!”

The memories bubbled up again, from when this all began. After you beat Hayner, after you stared into his eyes, after he didn’t kiss you, you were pitted against Seifer. You won against him too. He remembered you smiling as you accepted the trophy, how he and Pence and Olette came up to hug you and congratulate you. How you all bought sea-salt ice cream after the fanfare was over and how you sat on the clocktower in the twilight sky. You had sat closer to Hayner than usual, your knees occasionally brushing each other as you talked with Olette about having a sleepover that weekend. He kept staring and staring at the contact until he realized you were looking at him, your eyes wandering over his figure, a big smile plastered to your face.

“What are you looking at?” He tried to be nonchalant and flippant, but he was sure his face betrayed him in that moment.

“You. Hayner.” You poked him in the arm after each syllable, wanting him to understand but he wouldn’t until it was too late.

Instead, he just made a noise and looked away, trying to cover the blush heating up his cheeks. He didn’t understand then, but he understood now.

And as he watched you landing strike after strike on Seifer, backing him into a corner, a fire in your eyes that he had never seen before, he looked at you truly. This was the closest he had been to you in a long time. You were fast, you were strong, you were smart, you were beautiful, and you looked at him too. A momentary glance, your eyes flicked up to meet his and it was over. Seifer wasn’t beaten yet but it didn’t matter. The match was null when you jumped off the stage as Hayner was falling over, the honey candy falling out of his mouth as he coughed and coughed, on his hands and knees, his gasping breaths trying to bring air into his lungs but there wasn’t enough room amidst all the flowers. The bunches of petals fell uncontrollably from his mouth, sprayed in blood and mucus and saliva, looking beautiful and tainted but unbound. They were full gardenias now. And the last thing he felt were your hands on his shoulders as he fell further and further, the world going darker around him. You burned him inside and out.

---

He didn’t want to wake up. His mouth was bone dry, his chest felt heavier than ever before, and he was cold for the first time in a long time. He refused to open his eyes, he knew where he was but acknowledging it meant that it was all downhill from here. It meant that the end was approaching. The flowers would kill him soon.

And it wasn’t fair.

If he could love life more than he loved you, would it be over? Could he get up and walk out of here? Go back to the Usual Spot like nothing had happened? Pence and Olette there to greet him like they had before, no flashes of pity crossing their faces when they thought he wasn’t paying attention?

But what would happen when he saw you? Would he feel nothing? Would he carry on like you never meant a thing to him? Like you never spent all summer training together, laughing together, <i>being</i> together? Like you never made him feel so differently than he had with anyone else? And what would you do? Drift away and forget everything? Carry on with your life and never see Hayner as anyone more than just a stranger that maybe you had known in a different time?

His eyes shot open and he was coughing again. Disoriented and confused, he sat up holding his arm to his mouth as the coughing continued, his other hand looking for a bowl, a bucket, something to hold the petals that were beginning to spill out.

In a split second, his mom came rushing into the room with a nurse following behind her. Her soothing hands were at his back in an instant, rubbing circles, encouraging him to get it all out. “Just breathe, baby,” she whispered, a familiar mantra that she had learned early on in his sickness, but it was calming all the same.

The nurse eventually pushed a plastic bin into his lap, where he coughed up the remaining petals and full flowers, though there were still plenty scattered on the bed now. He didn’t want to look at them as he handed the bin back to the nurse. He didn’t want to see how much of his body covered those flowers, how it was trying to fight back but ultimately failing. As his head started throbbing from the exertion and lack of oxygen, he let his body fall back into the bed, his eyes closing, trying to focus on his breathing. In and out. In and out. Don’t focus on the heavy, wet feeling that plagued his lungs. In and out. In and out. Just breathe.

“Have a drink, Hay.” His mom’s hand was already back in his, holding it tight. Anchoring him there.

He opened his eyes again, the nurse holding out a cup with a lid and straw near his face. He grumbled, bringing up his free hand to grab the cup from the nurse instead of him feeding it to him like a child. The water did little to soothe his aching throat, but his mouth felt less dry, allowing him to lick his chapped lips to try to rehydrate them too.

“It’s good to see you up.”

He glanced briefly at his mom as he was setting his empty cup on the bedside table. She looked like she wanted to say more, but was holding back.

“It’s good to be up,” he croaked out, his voice had never sounded this bad before. Perhaps it was because his body knew it was a lie. At this point, this was all that was left for him. Sleeping and coughing. And if he had to choose, he knew which it would be.

It was silent again for a few moments as Hayner watched his nurse take his vitals and fill out paperwork before attaching it back to the end of the bed. He wondered what it said about him. Disease is progressing at a normal rate. Flowers are full-sized, flecked with blood and mucus. Paroxysmal coughing lasted for three minutes before tapering off. Fluids are normal. Oxygen absorption at 95% with assistance. It sounded legitimate in his head.

When the nurse left, his mom sighed and shifted in her chair. Hayner knew she was getting ready to say something that bothered her. He turned his head in preparation, wanting her to feel like he was unafraid so she didn’t have to worry so much, so she could speak freely. He would do anything for her, even if it hurt him in the process.

“Do you remember what happened before you passed out?” She was sliding her thumb against his palm as she asked it, rubbing away the tension.

“I don’t want to.” Maybe he said it too quickly, because her eyes hardened, as if she were going to scold him. So he changed his answer. “I don’t need to.”

“Okay, then we’ll talk about what happened after.”

“I don’t think I need to hear that either, mom.”

He tried to look away, to end the conversation, to prevent the memories from causing another coughing fit, but she held his gaze and squeezed his hand in a way that scared him.

But her voice was clear and even. “I think it will help you, Hayner.”

He was beyond the point of help. But the way her eyes were shining, made him pause. He trusted his mom more than anything, why would this time be any different? So he nodded.

“When I first got here, there were three people in the room with you. Olette, Pence, and someone else. Someone I didn’t recognize.”

Hayner’s heart stopped. He was forced to remember the way Pence and Olette stood behind him, the comfort he felt at having them there at the Struggle Tournament with him. He was forced to remember the way he felt when the flowers started pushing their way up and out of him, the way he couldn’t breathe, the way he fell to the ground gasping for air, wishing he could be anywhere else. And he forced himself to remember the last piece of consciousness he had: the way you had jumped off the stage, the way you held onto his shoulders, the way your eyes looked so scared and sad, and how badly he just wanted to be alone with you in that moment. He would die happy, in that way.

And he clutched his mom’s hand, waiting for the coughs to erupt out of his body, for the flowers to make their painful, beautiful appearance, but they didn’t. He could feel the hesitation in his body, both him and his disease waiting for the next piece of the puzzle to reveal itself.

“Y/N?” He felt the taste of hope on his tongue, being able to say your name aloud for the first time in a long time.

“Y/N.” His mom confirmed with a slow nod, keeping her eyes trained on her son. “And Y/N came back every day asking about you. Wanting to see you.”

He was frozen, not knowing what to do or say. He was unafraid to return to his memories now, even the painful ones. He left you that day after saying those hurtful things to you, after seeing you with Seifer, after feeling his heart twist in his chest in frustration and disappointment that he couldn’t understand at the time. But you still cared. You still came back to see him. Every. Day. All he could do was look at his mom and wait for her next words.

“Is Y/N… <i>the</i> person?” Maybe she didn’t put it so eloquently, but he understood what she was asking.

“Yes.” He wasn’t afraid to say it. There was only one person he wouldn’t freely admit it to.

“Do you love Y/N?”

To that, Hayner rolled his eyes and gave her a hoarse chuckle. “Look at me, mom.”

“I know, I know.” She was smiling now, really smiling. And Hayner couldn’t help but smile back at her. “Y/N is here, out in the waiting room. If you’re ready.”

Was he ready? He probably looked like shit. His breath probably stank from how dry his mouth was. He might fall asleep in the middle of their conversation because of how tired he felt. But he had nothing left to lose. Just seeing you and being around you might make things clearer.

So he nodded. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

His mom gave his hand one last squeeze before she left the room to go fetch you. Hayner suddenly felt very aware of the IV needle in his arm, the breathing tube attached to his nose, and the weird open-back hospital gown he was wearing. He felt a lot less confident and a lot more vulnerable than he did a few moments ago. But this was bound to be a conversation that he could never be prepared for, he would have to accept that.

“Well, you’re a sight for sore eyes.” There you were with a smile on your face, softly closing the door behind you. He watched you unabashedly as you walked around the room, assessing the bland art on the hospital walls and the dismal amount of sunlight seeping in from the one window in the room. When you finally took a seat on the chair next to the bed, you met his gaze fully for the first time in a long time. “What’s with that dopey smile on your face, Hayner?”

“I’m just… happy,” he immediately looked up at the ceiling, to hide his blush before he finished his thought. “Happy to see you.”

“I’m happy to see you too.”

You took his hand in yours and he swore he felt his chest lighten just a little, his throat only feeling sore but the tickle that normally accompanied a coughing fit wasn’t there. The thought flashed across his mind that maybe pushing you away was the worst thing he could’ve done. Just having you there seemed to soothe the flowers from blooming in his chest.

“Hayner, when I saw you pass out, I was really scared.” He could feel you looking at him but he was afraid to turn his head. He didn’t want to have this conversation. He didn’t want to see fear or pity in your eyes. The last thing he wanted from you was obligation. He didn’t want to force you to be here because you felt bad, because you felt you had to.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” was all he could think to say, to stop you from sacrificing yourself for him. He wasn’t a charity case. He was ready to shutdown. To turn around and tell you to get out. He could feel the flowers moving again, the tickle threatening to rip his mouth open and cough until he produced a bouquet that he could throw at your feet.

“Fine, but can you at least look at me?” you pleaded, leaning over to put your hand on his cheek, gently nudging him to face you.

He relented, knowing what he expected to see but not finding it there in your eyes. He wasn’t sure what you were going to say next, so he held his coughs back as best he could, sure he was going to pay the price later.

You held his face for a moment, your eyes moving and studying him until you decided to speak. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you since that day that at the Usual Spot.”

“Look, I’m sor--” Hayner began to say, ready to apologize and explain his actions but you wouldn’t let him.

“Shut up. Let me talk.” You paused for emphasis, hand still on his cheek, warmth seeping through them into his cold, clammy skin. Your words weren’t as forceful as they sounded. “I kept thinking and thinking about you. About us. I think I was always waiting for you, Hayner.”

Waiting for him? Waiting for what? You paused again, moving from the chair to sit on the side of the bed, closer to him, so you could drag your hand through his hair and settle on his neck. Maybe it was his exhaustion or maybe it was the fact that he had never been so close to you before and feeling you touch him, comfort him, it was overwhelming. His desire to cough was replaced with the feeling of his heart jumping out of his chest but he didn’t want to break whatever chain reaction was occurring, so he laid there, as still as possible, hoping that you would continue.

“But that’s the thing with waiting. You don’t always get what you’re waiting for. And sometimes distractions come by and they make you think that the waiting’s over, but you always come back. You were always waiting for a reason, whether you knew it or not. I was waiting for a reason, whether I knew it or not.” You paused again, looking toward the ceiling, finding the right words as Hayner waited silently, watching you, completely enamored by what you were saying because at the end of it would be the real answer. “But then I realized that I don’t have to wait. I don’t have to wait for you, Hayner. I can just come get you on my own. And it only took you passing out in front of me for me to realize that.”

You laughed at the last part of your sentence but Hayner was still too focused on the meaning. He clutched your hand tightly, wanting you to just say the words straight out in front of him. No more of this metaphor bullshit. Say it plainly so this can be over, whatever the outcome may be.

“What are you saying?” he croaked out, wondering if you would understand everything he was trying to ask in this one question.

You just smiled fondly in return and took a deep breath. “I like you, Hayner. Do you like me?”

All at once it hit him. It was the last thing he expected to happen in a moment like this. All he wanted to do was say one word. But he was overcome with coughing as soon as he opened his mouth. It was more painful than he had ever felt before, his throat constricting around the multitude of petals and flowers trying to break towards the surface of his body. Was it too late for him?

He vaguely registered you saying words to him, your hand still clutching his but your weight wasn’t on the bed anymore. His head throbbed violently as he kept coughing and coughing, but nothing was coming out of him, but he could feel it at the back of his throat, maybe stuck, maybe waiting for the end. His eyes could only show him a blurry world where he could only guess that his mom had rushed toward the bed beside you, the weight of her hand covering both yours and his. Two other blurred figures moved around on the other side of the bed, maybe a doctor and a nurse. Why weren’t they helping him? Why did it seem like everything was at a standstill around him while these terrible flowers held his life in the balance?

Hayner decided he couldn’t wait for them. Maybe that’s what you were talking about the whole time. Solve your own problems. Go towards your own solution. Don’t let other people decide your fate. So he waited for a small break between the coughs wracking his body and he reached with his free hand into his mouth, his fingertips brushing the soft, moist petals before gripping their woody base and pulling. He had never felt more scared in his life as his throat convulsed, trying to accommodate the intrusion while he slowly, carefully pulled the flower from his mouth followed by the wooden stem, another smaller flower, and a few deep green leaves. It felt agonizing. It felt like an eternity. The flowers were pillowy and light, but the stem and leaves left scratches in their wake. He didn’t know if the taste of blood was from his mouth or from the usual smattering that accompanied the flowers.

But when he was finally done and he held the sturdy stem in his hands, the flowers and leaves shining wet with mucus and spit, he fell back on his pillow and gasped for breath. There was no weight in his chest anymore. There was no heaviness, no wetness to his breaths. He could breathe even and deep and the only thing that ached inside him was his throat and his mouth and the desire to look over and see your face again.

Though his head still throbbed and his vision was still a little blurry, he turned his head to see you and his mom, hands still holding his, standing so close together, both smiling at each other and at him. He felt so relieved and so incredibly lucky in this moment.

Somewhere in the room, the doctor and nurse were speaking to his mom, who nodded enthusiastically to what they were saying. But all he could focus on was you standing there, looking at him with a sweet smile that glowed like nothing he had seen before.

Slowly, you leaned down to wrap your arms around his neck and whisper in his ear, “It’s over, Hayner. It’s over.”

And though he felt exhausted and thoroughly beaten down, he gathered the last of his strength to hug you back.

#kingdom hearts fan fiction #kingdom hearts imagines #kingdom hearts reader inserts #fan fiction #imagines #reader inserts #requests #gender neutral reader #haynerxreader #nonopi new fics

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oveliagirlhaditright · 5 years

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Night Light: A RokuNami fic. Chapters 1-3

In a future, where the Master of Masters has already been dealt with by Sora-and Kairi dies once more, making Sora lose it for a while-Roxas and Naminé must now contend with the similar to Roxas, Gula, going bad.

Chapter One

Roxas blinked—for what felt like the millionth time—as Naminé tried to tell him why this night light in their room was a good idea.

They were still young and innocent, so they weren’t living together in the same room because they were having sex. But because they needed comfort after everything they’d been through.

He wanted to ask her why she thought it was safe to do this, when she’d recently whacked her eye on the lava lamp thing and had nearly gone blind in the eye because of it.

But then again… if one were to really close themselves off to anything that hurt them, Roxas supposed they’d never grow and live.

He’d come into life as a fourteen-year-old, so he had no true basis for this: But he supposed an example of this, was when a kid was burnt by fire when they were young. If they let that affect them forever, they’d never learn to cook, play with sparklers, or anything like that.

But Naminé was still afraid of the darkness… And if this gave her some relief from it, Roxas would happily oblige (he would just hold Naminé, and make sure she wouldn’t fall off the bed to smack herself again)… Even if he didn’t like light very much...

Naminé grinned, as she pushed the night light into the outlet and it painted the room in pinks:

Naminé had been hoping for pinks—to make her think of her sister Kairi—but oddly enough, there had been no night lights in that color that they could find.

Nami had then opted that they go for red, because maybe it would be faded and look rose-colored… and she had been right.

Sometimes Roxas really thought with Naminé’s powers, that she may be psychic. But with as self-conscious as she still was, after everything she’d done, Roxas dared not bring it up.

“There, Roxas. I promise I’m done with the home improvement now. So if you want, we can go meet our friends now. And so they did: After Roxas dropped a quick kiss to Naminé’s lips, to let her know that he had no issue with helping her at all.

…

As always, Roxas met Hayner, Pence, and Olette on the clock tower (and he would have met Lea, Xion, and Isa, if they hadn’t been busy right now): This was their true Usual Spot, after all, and hell or high water Roxas was sure that this was what they’d continue to do.

Things were a little different now, though: Pence and Olette had just gotten married at the young age of eighteen, and Olette was already pregnant: So Olette had to be very careful when she did this now.

And Hayner, after he had made it big as a basketball player had—sadly—twisted his ankle and lost his career (so now he ironically painted like Naminé did), so getting up here was also a trip for him:

And yet they still did it, because they wanted to make up for every memory they didn’t have from the Digital Twilight Town and more. And how Roxas loved them for it.

“So, have you heard from Sora?” Olette asked—as she made sure to hand Naminé the fruity kind of ice cream that she would want (that Olette was now trying because of her), whilst Hayner handed the boys sea salt bars. “It sounds like Gula’s gone evil.”

And in hearing this, Roxas almost threw up. He didn’t know Gula very well, but from what he did know of him the man had always reminded Roxas of himself.

So, to hear that he was capable of this kind of thing made Roxas begin having doubts about himself, and everything that he thought he knew.

…He’d been just a hair’s breadth away from turning evil in the datascape, perhaps, so did this really mean if he’d been given the proper push there, he would have gone on a rampage?

Sensing how Roxas felt about this, Naminé squeezed his arm softly as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

“You and Gula are very different, Roxas. Don’t worry about it. …If anything, he’s more like when Sora went to the dark side after… after Kairi- than you.”

This instantly struck a chord with Roxas… Naminé had been in love with Sora for so long, and she’d idolized him. Roxas was sure she’d still adored him even while they’d first dating… So, to hear Naminé speak of her belief in him now—even over Sora—spoke to Roxas well of Naminé’s feelings for him.

Olette looked like she wanted to say something to that—and Roxas had no doubt that she did, since she had tried to woo Sora after Kairi had died—but seemed to think better of it, and stopped herself.

“Well,” Hayner began—already trying to be the diplomat, Roxas could tell by his tone—“as much as it sucks to have someone trying to conquer the world again, or whatever, at least you guys have the foreknowledge about it this time: It’s not like what happened with the Xehanorts, the Master of Masters, or when Sora went insane for a little bit. You should easily be able to go find him and beat him. Right? Or go talk some sense into him.”

Hayner wasn’t completely wrong. After their first journeys, Naminé had done recon missions on every world and now knew them like the back of her hand.

Furthermore, she’d implanted devices in each and every location that told you what people were there.

Given that Gula hadn’t come up with a way to get rid of them—and so far, no one else had—they should be able to find him easily. It was true. But this was only if he didn’t world hop and world hop, which was what he probably was doing.

…But it still left a bad taste in Roxas’ mouth, to turn against an ally like this. Yes, Gula had now done it first. But still.

Despite the fact that Roxas had only felt a little safe with the night light Naminé had earlier put in their room… With this new knowledge, even that feeling had completely disappeared.

Chapter Two

The obvious thing Roxas could have done, after finding out that Gula had fallen to darkness, would have been for him to go home, take a look at the picture of his former friend, and brood....and perhaps even lose himself. But Roxas didn't do this. No.

Instead, he decided to pretend that things were normal by going to the store with Naminé. His girl had recently wanted to buy a strawberry cake mix? Well, then, Roxas was going to buy it for her! And it was the first thing on his agenda, as it should have been. And as Roxas pushed Naminé around in the cart—as he now looked for fresh strawberries and some icing of that same flavor—she ended up asking him the question he'd been too afraid to consider himself. "Gula also has a connection to Sora, Roxas? Do you- do you think this is all happening as punishment for him, in 'getting Kairi back' in such an inhumane way?" Right... Kairi was really dead. Roxas almost didn't believe that himself (he didn't want his dear friend to be that way), and the only way Sora had her in his life at all, was when he'd found traces of her in the Datascape and put a new her together brought it-her into the real world. Roxas knew that Xion, Naminé, Vanitas, Xemnas and himself were all exceptions to the normal rules of cloning and Nobodies, so maybe what Sora had done with Kaitwo was different... But he couldn't help feeling this copy of Kairi was exactly that: a copy, and Sora was only fooling himself to think otherwise... and the real Kairi might even be watching on from above in a heartbroken manner. "After all Sora's been through, I don't think he needs to be punished for nothin', so I genuinely hope you're wrong, Naminé."

“I… know, Roxas,” Naminé said sympathetically, as she reached up and put a hand atop Roxas’ own. “I do, too. I also think he’s suffered enough, and that’s why we’ll try to handle this ourselves… and not get him—them—involved.”

And with that idea planted firmly in their heads, Roxas and Naminé got the rest of their supplies, went up to the cash register and paid, and headed back home.

And once they’d made their cake there—because, hey: Roxas and Naminé were retired. And though they were still okay with helping the world when it needed them, they’d enjoy themselves a little bit first—Naminé opened up the Book of Prophecies and set to work.

“You think that has something to do with it?” Roxas asked, as he popped a maraschino cherry into his mouth: In the end, they’d gone a little too crazy with all the strawberry stuff and Roxas had realized he needed some cherries in his life to cut through the taste.

“I know it’s a stupid question, Nami… since everything the Foretellers did was tied to the book. But ever since the Master of Masters was defeated, I thought the whole thing had been rendered null and void.”

Unless, of course, there were some secret passages in the tome that most no one knew about. And of course, if any of the copies of the book were to contain something like that, it would be Gula’s: which Naminé fortunately had on hand, because Gula had given it to her in trying to impress her once.

Naminé sent Roxas a look at his question—that seemed to say that ever since she’d become her own person, and therefore not connected to a Princess of Heart’s power, she’d become weaker and couldn’t know much anymore… And that she’d mostly been keeping her nose out of this kind of gossip for years, too, so forgive her if she was a little rusty.

But Roxas couldn’t help it: He was just so used to Naminé having the answer to everything where he was concerned. And it was part of the reason he loved her so much.

And he was about to hug her tense shoulders and to tell her just that, but he was interrupted from it as Xion and Lea quite literally broke into Roxas and Naminé’s home.

Roxas glared at Xion as it happened, since he knew full well she had a key and had only kicked the door in to make an entrance.

Sure, they had magic that could fix this toot sweet… but it didn’t make it any less annoying to Roxas.

“So, I thought you guys would like to be the first to hear that Gula’s gathering up the Princesses of Heart… Which is just wonderful. Though call me crazy… but I don’t think he’s using them to unlock the Final Keyhole or to create the X-Blade. We never get lucky enough to have villains repeat old plans that we’ve already exploited. No, he must be doing something else with them…”

And at her explanation, Roxas felt his anger at Xion cool down some.

Roxas hadn’t expected that Gula could possibly be going this crazy yet… but if it all really was as dire as Xion was saying, time truly was of the essence and they had no time to wait on anything.

“How do you know this, Xion?” Lea was the one to ask, with his hands on his hips. And he kept clenching and unclenching his fingers, so Roxas could only guess he was fighting to remain calm in this situation and to not summon his chakrams or his Keyblade this very second.

A beat passed, as Xion seemed to only stare at the bluish-violet faux-fish tank that Roxas had.

And the former wielder got the sense that Xion was staring at the purple there in particular: The same color as Naminé and Kairi’s eyes.

And it made Roxas think that maybe when Kairi had died, she’d passed her powers onto Xion and this was why his best friend knew what she did: Not because of the surveillance that Naminé had set up in the worlds, but because Xion had a direct connection to the Pure Lights in now being one herself.

But whatever the real answer here was, Xion wasn’t giving it.

She just crossed her arms over her chest self-consciously and barked, “Because I just do, okay?! …And if I’d known I was going to get the third degree, I would have gone with Isa to check on what, if anything, is happening with the moon.”

And that was as much a cry for help as Roxas had ever heard. And thankfully, Naminé seemed to hear it, too:

And so, she ushered Xion over the threshold, sat her down with a blanket around her shoulders, and offered her a piece of cake: something she happily took.

And upon seeing it, Lea was then running to the kitchen to get a piece himself—with the explanation that “an army marches on its stomach”, of course.

“So, what do we do?” Naminé asked the obvious and looked pointedly at Xion as she did so: which seemed to hint to Roxas that she had figured out exactly what he had about her. “Do we try and contact the Princesses and tell them to give their abilities to others, so Gula has to start the search again? It might save the world, for the time being, but-”

But there was no guarantee that Gula wouldn’t kill the Princesses if they attempted to undermine him like that, if he truly had gone over the edge here. And Roxas wasn’t willing to risk it.

At least if Gula was using the Lights’ powers right now, he couldn’t dispose of them until he had them all, and they’d fulfilled their purpose—which would at least give the Guardians of Light some time to work with.

“No,” Lea cut in—surprising Roxas, because since he was still the newest in trying to protect Kingdom Hearts and so Roxas hadn’t entirely been sure he’d been able to yet keep up with all the rules about summoning it. “We try and find Gula. And we all split up and do so. We have a better chance of managing that kind of thing now, than we would have ever before—since some of the worlds went back to being just one after our last fight… And even if Gula is jumping from world to world, what Naminé set up should be able to tell us where he is… We just need to get there before he leaves.”

That certainly sounded like a plan to Roxas: The only one, really.

…But though they were doing it for the best, Roxas had to wonder if it was a misstep to not tell Sora.

Chapter Three

Naminé’s PoV

While Naminé was, of course, okay with going on this quest with Roxas to stop Gula… she couldn't help mourning—of all things—the nightlight that she and Roxas would be leaving behind. And she even tried to explain that to Roxas, when—with her hands clasped together in front of her, as she stared at their room for the last time--she said "I'm just going to miss it, you know? The sense of safety it provides... Granted, we didn't have this place and these decorations for long. But Roxas, it made me feel safe in Twilight Town. And now we're going on a new mission, away from this sanctuary. And if I can only feel okay here just now... how can I experience that in more dangerous worlds?"

Naminé knew that this was pretty craven talk, for someone who had been to all the worlds and set up security there… but that had been before Kairi had died a third time—taking a part of Nami with her—and she could feel the experience. So that—combined with the fact that evil never seemed to end, and that even any of them could go dark—had Naminé feeling depressed again.

And perhaps in sensing this, Roxas tried to reassure her."Because we'll always come home to it, Nami. In fact, the nightlight will be a beacon leading us here."

Naminé smiled in a slightly forced way here and turned around so that she was in Roxas’ arms.

Hugging him just once, she rested her chin on his shoulder and tried to just breathe for a moment.

And then she disentangled herself from him, picked up her bag, and resolutely went to face this task at hand.

…

Naminé was feeling a lot better, despite everything, when she and Roxas landed on the new world.

She remembered this world well. How could she not? It was home to a sweet, retired elderly lady—with refined taste that Naminé couldn’t even begin to match—with a butler named Edgar, who waited on her so caringly.

Naminé had always admired people much older than herself. For on the few times she had ventured out into the World, despite DiZ’s orders, those were the ones who had treated her best: even with her being Nobody.

And the woman here in particular was very sweet, and had taught Naminé how to do art with paints rather than crayons.

So, the artist in her alone, wanted to go and meet Madame Adelaide again. But there were other parts of her that of course wanted to as well.

And all of this together made Naminé as giddy as she’d been when she’d realized Roxas truly did love her.

That was why she grabbed Roxas’ hand as soon as he appeared by her side—and jumped up and down as she did so, making him do the same action with her.

“Naminé, what-”

“Oh, Roxas! This is one of my favorite worlds I visited! Let’s go visit the best place in it right now!”

To Roxas’ credit, he was quick to comply. He seemed about to voice the word “okay”, but he was cut off when Naminé began dragging him along.

It was a good thing she had a photographic memory that she’d developed with her witch powers. Because otherwise, she might have tried to open a Corridor of Darkness to teleport to the house.

But instead, she realized they had landed on the world fairly close to where the manor was located.

So, they just walked a few blocks, keeping up some nice idle banter as they did, and finally they were at one of the places of Naminé’s dreams.

And it became even more that, when Naminé noticed that there were all these cats in front of it! Maybe they had even lived here all along, and she’d had no idea.

Naminé ignored her aching feet, and ran up to the white kitten that was trying to climb a beam with ivory crawling up it.

The white witch couldn’t help admiring her, since the kitty’s siblings—and father?—were all content rolling around in the grass, or trying to climb trees:

So Nami loved the go-getter personality this one had. Maybe a bit selfishly, it reminded her of how she had gone above and beyond the call of duty, in sending Lingering Will to the Guardians’ aid while she’d essentially been dead.

This would have been a happy moment—and Naminé might have thought Kingdom Hearts had sent them to such a wonderful location, to hint that Gula wasn’t really up to too much bad at all—if at that moment, the orange boy cat (that Naminé would later learn was named Toulouse) didn’t come darting to her, to cry that his mother “Duchess” had been kidnapped.

Roxas looked between Naminé and the kitten and then back again, before settling his glance on his hands: Something that spoke similarly to how Sora had reacted upon seeing Roxas leave him for the first time. And Naminé would have appreciated it, if she hadn’t been busy freaking out.

Gula was apparently after the Princesses of Heart again… But the Seven Pure Lights had the ability to pass their powers onto another: Belle, Jasmine, Alice, Cinderella, Aurora, and Snow White were all proof of this.

And what if the new Princesses—such as Elsa, Anna, and Rapunzel—had given up their abilities… but this time they had been given to the animal royalty in the worlds, like perhaps Nala that Naminé had heard about? …Or moreover, Duchess here?

Sora, on a later adventure, had met a villain named Cruella de Vil, and in Naminé’s mind she had been the cruelest person to ever exist. Because attacking humans was one thing, but pure and defenseless animals? It was too much. Especially anthropomorphic ones that seemed to exist in most of the worlds. The Moogles were like that, and Naminé had bonded with them during her time in Castle Oblivion. So, she couldn’t. She just couldn’t!

What if Gula was now standing over this Duchess, and telling her she had served her purpose the way that Ansem had Kairi?

Naminé, just a few hours ago, had been almost against leaving her nightlight… but now she realized she was more than willing to be that for others, if the World would let her.

“It’s okay,” Roxas whispered kindly to Toulouse, seeming close to tears himself. “We’ll find your mom. Naminé in particular really wants to.”

And she would, because madame Adelaide was coming over to her, needing support from Naminé now, too, and she gave it.

She also called Xion on the gummi phone, informing her to leave Kuzco alone and to go check on Nala instead…

Author’s Note: If any of this has weird mistakes, I apologize. I’m posting this while being half-asleep (but I wanted to post it now, since I know I’ve left this story for a while).

Also, just so it’s known… Kairi isn’t dead in this story because I hate her or dislike SoKai or anything like that. The opposites on both counts, really. Kairi’s my favorite character ever and SoKai’s my ultimate OTP… but somehow it just came to me while writing the first chapter of this that Kairi’s dead. And I tried to fight against it… but I sadly couldn’t: this story/plot seemed to demand it, for some reason. And it will be a plot point later, since Sora will be showing up and all. Yeah.

#rokunami #night light

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