Story: Valiant Hearts II (all chapters)

The sun had just risen over the town and it was still chilly out from the morning mist. While most of the townspeople were still sleeping, two particular were already awake and preparing to leave the town.

A blonde girl stood behind a window inside a mansion. The sun shone into the room, quietly bathing it in warm sunlight. She wore just a plain white dress, sandals, and had her hair falling over her shoulders. A worried expression adorned her face, and with valid reason.

They had found out they were hiding in this town. It wouldn't be long until they came and tried to take her away. She didn’t even know why they were after her. She didn't even know who she was and how she got to that place in the first place.

The girl wasn't alone in the room. A man with red, spiky hair was standing not too far away, but it was impossible for him to see outside as he stood in the shadows, untouched be the sunlight.

“We can't use the path of the darkness to another world. They all have been blocked. They know for certain where we are and where we want to go, Naminè.”

She nodded and closed her eyes. A lot had happened in the last few days.

Valiant Hearts

Chapter III – You and I?

Two entities in black robes were standing in a hall that was lined with lots of pillars and had not a single light in it. This was the private room of 'the Superior'. One of the robed figures seemed to stare into air while the other had his hood already removed and calmly reported in.

“Superior, Axel found on his patrol a weird girl walking around near facility number sixteen. He detained her and tried to question her, but apparently, she doesn't know anything, not even who she is or where she came from,” reported a man with an eye patch.

He hated this. The Superior wasn't one to like interferences, no matter how minor they were. On top of that, all signs pointed in the direction that she was indeed a Nobody. But one that young? And no memories at all? That was hardly possible. Not even one of the people in the Organization knew anything about their previous life. How could such a Nobody even exist?

The Superior looked at his subordinate and removed the hood of the robe. Dirty grey hair and a face sinister enough to make a child cry were his looks. When he opened his mouth to answer the man with the eye patch, it would seem as if the each and every of his words were like poison for the other man.

“Keep her restrained and bring her to Castle Oblivion. We do not know if she has any value to us. I don't have the time to deal with this right now, nor do I wish to deal with it in the near future. Axel will be in charge of guarding her, to prevent her from trying anything funny until I tell him otherwise,” ordered the man. He turned around and, walking further into the dark hall, vanished from the eyesight of the other robe-wearing man. Silence fell upon the hall.

“As you wish,” approved the remaining man.

What benefit could they possibly gain from the girl? From the looks of it, she had no special powers, like all the others, nor did she seem to be affiliated with any group that opposed the Organization.

Xigbar vanished on the spot into nothingness.

“What? Why I'm going to play nanny for the girl? Let Larxene do it! She is a woman anyway,” complained a man with red hair to Xigbar upon receiving his new orders.

He really wasn't pleased to stay put just to play guard for a girl that didn't even know where she came from. All he had gotten out of her was a name. Naminè. He wasn't even sure that it was her real name.

“Don't blame me Axel. Not like I think it makes any sense to imprison her. She doesn't know a thing. I never saw such a worthless Nobody. We don't even know who she originally was. Anyway, bring her to Castle Oblivion. You are there to guard her until you get other orders.”

Axel kicked after a stone and gave an annoyed “Pfft.” He should have just ignored that girl and let her be. Now he had to play nanny for her. How much worse could this day get?

While Axel was busy being annoyed, Demyx appeared and whispered something to Xigbar, just to disappear shortly after.

“I'm done here. I have work to take care of. You go, and don't make decisions on your own. The Superior will most likely take your head if you get yourself into some dilemma again.” The eye-patch wearing man waved to the redhead and vanished.

Axel was looking in the direction of where he had left Naminè. Why did she need a guard anyway? A locked door would probably have sufficed to keep her in a room for all eternity.

With a scowling expression, the man walked over to the temporary prison and opened the door. It wasn't even locked. She could have just run away, but Naminè was quietly sitting on a chair and staring into thin air.

“Get up. You're coming with me,” Axel ordered the blond girl.

Naminè looked at him for a short period of time, then smiled and stood up, ready to follow him. She didn't know where she was, who Axel was, or even who she was. All memory she had was that of an indefinable voice, calling her Naminè. She just took that for her name, no matter if it really was her name or not.

She tagged along without questioning his intentions. From how he had treated her previously, he didn't have any ill motive. Most likely, he would only bring her to a different place where she would be kept.

Well, she didn't have anywhere to go at all, so it wasn't too bad that way.

“Say, what is your name? And where are we going?” asked the blonde.

“Axel. Just call me Axel. I'm going to have to look after you to prevent you from escaping. Don't think you would escape anyway. So it's more of a stay put and nothing bad happens to you,” replied the man without looking back.

This would take forever. How long was the Superior going to hold her captive? And how long did he have to play guard? Why did the Superior decide to keep her anyway? Alright, Naminè appeared to be a Nobody, but whose? And why did she have no memory at all?

With those unanswered questions, a boring daily life began. Axel had to guard her, and instead of just standing in front of the door, he sat most of the time on a chair in the room.

It was a plain white room. Marluxia had them given this one, because it was in a separate tower and he didn't have any use for it. Only a bed, a couple of chairs, a big table and a window featured the room, all plain white.

The days went by without anything exceptional, and Axel grew slowly but gradually bored of this job. How much longer would he have to continue this? Naminè was a quiet girl, that didn't talk much, also because she didn't knew what to talk about. Most of the time, she just sat on her bed, staring into thin air, lost in her thoughts.

The blonde was not as bored as it seemed. For her, who had no memory of anything at all, the time passed as a prisoner, didn’t bother her that much. It gave Naminè time to think over what she saw in her dreams.

Those didn't seem like they were memories she regained slowly nor were they visions, as far as she was concerned. Where did she come from? Naminè was sure she didn't belong here, and, for some reason, when she was thinking about 'home', a view of a rough town and a gorgeous castle came to view. It was the one from the dreams she had now and then.

However, Naminè had a bit of pity with her guard, Axel, who seemed to be incredibly bored. But about what should she talk with him? He didn't seem like the kind of guy that was interested in dreams. And so, they just continued to remain silent.

Another few days had passed by, and Marluxia had come by twice, telling Axel that the Superior would examine the girl soon. It was then that Naminè came to Axel and sat down right beside him, starting to talk.

“Sometimes, I have weird dreams. I walk around in a foreign town, with lots of people looking at me. They all seem to know me and I seem to know them. I wave at them, greet them with an unknown voice. But, when I look into a mirror, I'm not myself. It's a girl with reddish hair. Maybe it would be nice if I could do that too one day. Since you're always there, it’s not so bad, but from time to time, I wouldn't mind seeing other people,” the blonde girl told her guard.

Naminè decided to leave some information out. Such as, the girl she was when she walked around in that foreign town had the name Kairi, and she even knew the names of other people there. Also, Kairi seemed to be that what those people called the 'Chosen One of the Keyblade'. Naminè had felt that it was the right thing to tell Axel about that. Not sure why, but never the less, she told him.

Axel was quite puzzled. Why the heck did that girl have such dreams? Sure, this wasn't the best place to be, however, such detailed dreams were no ordinary thing. There was something really fishy about this. On top of that, why did she suddenly tell him all that?

“Sounds like another world to me,” said Axel, more or less unheeding. He didn't have any special interest in the dreams of someone else.

“You think I can go there?” asked Naminè with a curious expression.

“Maybe. Maybe not. Depends what the Superior has for plans with you,” said Axel and waved around. Hopefully, this little play would end soon and they could just set the girl free.

Naminè didn't ask any further questions. That man, the Superior didn't sound like someone she wanted to meet.

Just as Axel had said, two days later, Marluxia came and took the blonde away, and brought her to the Superior as he was ordered. He had his own plans. Using the girl would be easy. All he had to do was to make her interesting for Xemnas, to focus his attention on the worthless girl. It was the perfect time to set his evil plan in motion.

Marluxia had reported false information to Xemnas. Told him, that the girl had a link to the Chosen One of the Keyblade they were searching for. The stupid plan of the Superior was doomed to fail, and once he had taken over, things would go another way.

“Go in there,” said the man with the dirty pink hair, and he couldn't suppress a disgusting smirk. “Good luck.”

Naminè entered the room, and it was so dark in there, that she couldn't see anything at first. Slowly, her eyes adjusted to the light circumstances and there was a man waiting in the middle of the room.

“Come here at once,” ordered the man with a voice that gave the blonde chills.

Naminè followed the order, standing in front of the man who was almost twice as tall. He looked down on her, a weird sparkle in the eyes, suddenly slapping her hard enough to send her flying to the ground. The pain was unbearable. Naminè held her cheek in agony when she looked up, seeing the man standing above her.

He grabbed Naminè brutal by her hair and pulled her up. That man did not know any mercy.

“Tell me what you know. Where is the Keyblader? Which world? I want a name, and you're not getting out of here unless I get what I want girl.”

That was no ordinary human, and he had certainly ill intentions. And what was worse, Naminè felt that it was all but good to tell him about Kairi. Also, she really didn't know the name of that world. And she had never told anyone about this.

Naminè just kept quiet, bearing with the pain. Clutching her eyes shut, to avoid looking in the eyes of the gruesome man, she was hoping that he would believe her.

However, after another order to tell him, she still kept quiet and therefore was sent flying again. Charging a dark ball of energy in his hand, Xemnas asked her again, this time not as calm. When Naminè still kept quiet, he sent the ball flying at her, making her squeak from pain.

Almost an hour and many cruel acts later, Naminè had lost consciousness and Axel was called to take her back.

He knew that the Superior was a powerful man that didn't accept any opposition. But this was just over the top. Naminè had injuries all over the place and looked quite rough. That was definitely not necessary.

Axel took her back to the room, and she didn't even move for a few hours. He was worried. Maybe he really shouldn't have brought her along. Unlike Larxene, she was just a girl without power, and if this continued, the Superior might even kill her.

Naminè had endured it until the end. It made her strangely satisfied. It was like she had protected Kairi, the girl she didn't know but from her dreams. But Naminè didn't know if she could endure this a second time. The pain was just too much to bear.

He didn't want to turn against the Organization, but on this point, it was more or less his fault that the girl had to take this. Feeling a little bit guilty inside, he tried to think of a way to get her out of this misery.

His chance should come soon.

---Valiant Hearts---

Two more times had Naminè to go through hell under Xemnas’ questioning. She was at her limit. She couldn't stand another questioning. Naminè tried to sleep, but wasn't able to. Her whole body was hurting from the last time Xemnas had interrogated her. And for the first time in her life, Naminè felt the emotion hate.

About a week later, Naminè seemed to be ok, although she was even quieter than before. It was then that Axel decided this couldn't continue. Orders from the Superior or not, he couldn't watch this anymore. If she really knew something, she would have spilled it.

He had gotten information that they had found the Chosen One of the Keyblade. So Naminè had no use to the Superior anymore. It was only a question of time until he would decide to kill her. He didn't accept any witness.

Marluxia entered the room, looking over to the girl that had undergone quite some torture, and with a disgusting smile, he told Axel of this new orders.

“The Chosen One of the Keyblade will come to this place soon. We are to stay guard for this place and to ambush them. We are to kill everyone but the Keyblader. I doubt she will find this place, but just in case, kill Miss Little Dream over there before they meet,” spouted Marluxia. If there was one person that was even more abnormal than the Superior, it had to be Marluxia.

Axel was about to rush at Marluxia and take his head. There was a limit to everything, even cruelty. He would not follow that order, no matter if it meant turning against the Organization.

However, he couldn't tell Marluxia that. He gave Marluxia a short nod and a freezing glare.

The man just laughed and vanished. Poor Axel. If he followed this order, Xemnas would kill him, for disobeying his orders. If he would not follow this order, he would probably be killed by that group from Hollow Bastion. Xemnas had him ordered to bring the girl to another place, to avoid being seen by the Keyblader. Axel, one way or another, was about to fall into Marluxia's trap.

It was this night, this dream, that she found herself as Kairi again, and it was the first time that both of them were sleeping.

When Naminè looked around, she was still in her room, but Axel had vanished. Instead, Kairi was standing there, apparently unable to see her. There was just one thought on her mind. Naminè took the hand of the redhead and looked into her eyes.

“Help me, please!” that was her most sincere wish.

Whatever it was, whatever just happened, Naminè was thrown out of the world of thoughts, back in the room, awake and quietly gasping for air.

What in the world had just happened? Did Kairi hear her? Was that all just a dream? Only her imagination?

But what if Kairi really was real and she had been just linked to her thoughts all the time? From what Naminè knew, she was a nice girl, that wouldn't hesitate to help someone in need.

Would... Kairi come for her? Save her?

Tormented by sudden hope and doubt, Naminè had a difficult time sleeping.

Axel had his plan. He would hand over Naminè to the group from Hollow Bastion and ask them to beat him up a bit. That would look like he was beaten. It was a perfect plan! At least, for his standards.

And the day came. News traveled fast, and Axel knew immediately that they were there. Initially, he had planned to lure one of them to Castle Oblivion and hand Naminè over. But things tend to go other ways than people intend.

Naminè was standing on the top floor of the castle, looking outside the window. She could feel that Kairi was there, was on her way to this room. She really had heard her. She really had come for her!

The blonde felt a single tear escaping her eyes. It wasn't a dream. It wasn't a dream!

Simply overwhelmed with relief, Naminè was hoping that she now could escape from this terror. Escape from Xemnas and his brutal questioning.

Naminè's guard was waiting outside the room, to explain Kairi what he had in mind. However, the second earthquake forced him to go inside. Just when he thought the girl would withdraw from this crumbling castle, he saw her for a brief moment on the window, which immediately after that, crumbled and fell down, along with a big part of the remaining wall.

“Axel! Help her! She is going to be crushed on the ground, please!” yelled Naminè.

This whole place was going to hell. Axel had no choice but to jump after her, to prevent the girl from hitting the ground and dying instantaneously after that.

The man jumped from parts of the wall, with an immense speed towards the ground, catching Kairi about midways. He managed somehow to get back to the top floor before the girl opened her eyes.

Naminè was watching the girl she had seen every so often in her dreams. But this was real. She stepped aside when Kairi got up and started wandering around.

When Kairi reached the window and asked the obvious, Naminè smiled and answered. “A friend did.”

The Keyblader looked around, apparently not putting up a show. She really couldn't see Naminè.

Kairi wondered if this was a dream. She said it out aloud, and Naminè just answered her truthfully.

“It’s very real. You almost died. You would have died if I had not asked my friend to save you,” said the blonde and she had to smile. It was weird to talk with some right in front of your eyes that couldn't see you. Also, to describe Axel as her friend was probably not the wisest of all things, but it was too complicated to explain everything to her now.

Apparently, it was exactly that what made the girl really agitated. Kairi had started to wander around the room. She passed Naminè twice and almost ran into the place Axel was standing at.

The next question was who she was. Who Naminè was, who her friend was, where they were.

Naminè couldn't hold it in anymore and started to giggle. It was kind of funny to have Kairi so close to her and yet she couldn't see her.

“Who I am, I don't know. But you can call me Naminè. And I saved you because I felt that it was the right thing to do. My friend's name I can't give you, I'm sorry. But... I'm right here...” said the blonde and stood directly in front of the redhead.

Kairi seemed to feel that she was there although she couldn't see and reached out with a hand. Initially, she would have grabbed air, but Naminè walked a bit to the right, and the other girl reached her cheek.

It was a very warm feeling, something she would have been longing for if she had known it would feel like that. Eager to know, she also reached out, laying one hand on the cheek of the girl. It felt even better this way, and for the first time since long, Naminè was truly smiling of happiness.

She was about to say something, to ask her a thousand questions, but an earthquake shook the place again. Naminè was startled, first trying to cling onto Kairi, who jumped away. Axel reacted within a second, taking her hand and pulling her along in the darkness.

Kairi seemed to be ok; Naminè could feel it.

The Keyblader looked around, then asking. “Naminè… Are you alright?”

As much as the blonde wished to have stayed longer with her, there was no time. Castle Oblivion was about to be shattered to pieces, and there had to be a reason for the earthquakes.

“I will bring you to another world. From there, we can plan how to get to her,” said Axel.

This wasn't the time for a big good bye scene. He had to hurry, before the others caught him.

Naminè was thinking of Kairi and focused on the feeling she had experienced for the first time. She just wanted to let Kairi know that she was ok and would see her again.

The blonde looked at her guard, asking the impossible.

“Axel, please save her. Just bring her down; she will be able to escape on her own.”

They were already in one of the corridors the Organization had used in the past to travel between worlds, when her guard vanished to follow her plea without a word.

Naminè tried to tell Kairi that Axel would take her down but lost the other girl’s thoughts halfway.

Axel found the other redhead lying on the ground. Apparently, she got hit by a rock on the head and lost consciousness. There was no helping it. He carried her away, and not long after, he encountered two women, looking for someone. Axel just handed her over and vanished into the dark.

Naminè was left alone in the darkness and was thinking. It had been a unique sensation she had felt. There was something about Kairi that gave her a special feeling. However, for now, they had to part ways. At least, Axel had promised to bring her to the world Kairi was living at. When she was thinking of her, something glittered in the darkness. Right below her, it must have been clinging to her dress, lay a key ring pendant. She immediately recognized what this was. Picking it up, holding it between her hands, she thought of Kairi. Did she give it to her on intention? Or did she lose it? While she thought of the girl, a mental image emerged.

Right behind her was some kind of portal, while Kairi apparently looked in the completely opposite direction. When the redhead made the attempt to run in exact towards that way, she warned Kairi in her mind.

“Don't go there. I'm safe. Hurry through the portal!”

It worked, but right after the Keyblader had jumped through the portal, she couldn't see anything. It was all blank. Back in her own mind, she continued to examine the pendant.

While Naminè was examining the key ring pendant, Axel came back and didn't make many words to explain that they had to get out of there.

“The next world is an artificial town. When we get lucky, Xemnas will just think we're dead and as flat as a flounder,” said Axel taking Naminè's hand and dragging her along into the darkness.

It didn’t take them long to reach the other world. It was a quite lively but peaceful town, bathed in warm sunlight. No one seemed to notice those two, walking through the streets.

“Over there is a mansion. We can hide there. I was here before, and I know that mansion is abandoned now. It's a safe place,” explained Axel and started walking in direction of the mansion.

Naminè stayed behind for a moment, thinking it over. A lot had happened today. Not only had she met Kairi, but she also had experienced happiness for the first time. After a short look over her shoulder, she followed Axel.

The front gate was blocked by a huge lock on it, and even Axel didn't want to forcefully destroy the door. It would certainly attract the attention of the townspeople here. They had to avoid standing out for now. Xemnas had certainly marked him as traitor and ordered the others to search for him.

“Stay here, I'm going to look for another way in. Don't do anything rash,” were Axel's last words before he vanished into the darkness. He couldn't get in through the paths of darkness either. There was a weird barrier around the whole mansion.

Naminè was lost in thoughts. Was Kairi ok? Did they all make it back to their own world? Which world was that anyway? She had to ask Axel later. Naminè absolutely wanted to go there, wanted to meet Kairi again. There was so much she wanted to ask her. So much she wanted to tell her. It was as if she was her lost twin she hadn't seen for years. Naminè couldn't put into words how she felt about Kairi, but it was definitely a warm and welcome feeling.

Closing her eyes, and recalling the moment they both had touched each other’s cheeks and smiling, the pendant in her hands started to take another shape. Quite surprised, Naminè opened her eyes and witnessed how the pendant took the shape of a sword. It was over and over gray, and kind of looked like a clock had been the model for it. A massive ring was around the handle, three spikes on the blades upper end, and two on the lower end. That was one of the weapons Kairi had carried around, but why?

The Keyblade was light and well formed, but Naminè had never held a weapon before. She tried to swing it around and promptly landed on her bottom. That wasn't as easy as it looked when Kairi did it.

Once, in her dreams, Naminè had observed Kairi how she opened a lock with the Keyblade. There had to be a way to use this thing. But how did she get it in the first place? Was it because she cared for Kairi and it was originally hers? Or did it react to just about anyone?

Hoping that it would work the same way as with Kairi, Naminè stood up and directed the Keyblade directly on the lock and waited. That was how the redhead had done it. But it refused to work for her. Well, there hadn't been much of a chance that it would work the exact same way it did for Kairi.

Still trying to figure out how it worked, the blonde walked closer to the lock and examined it. It seemed normal. Although the one Kairi had opened wasn't as big as this one, it should work. At least, in theory.

Naminè tried to put the blade itself in the lock’s keyhole, but that didn't do anything either. A little disappointed, she walked a few feet back, and tried to think of a different approach.

There wasn't much of a lead for how to use Keyblades to open locks of any kind. It seemed absurd, but in her current position, it was worth a try.

“Keyblade, open the lock!” commanded Naminè the blade and directed it at the object.

“Unlock the lock, Monochrome, please,” was her next try.

“Would you please open the lock, Monochrome?” followed that, and, since really nothing happened, the blonde took a deep breath.

There was only one thing left.

Naminè tightened her grip, and started to run onto the gate, swinging the Keyblade with all her power and hitting the lock.

The backlash made her trip, and she fell again to her bottom. That was definitely the wrong method.

The blonde stood up, looked around to see if anyone was watching and closed her eyes. Her thoughts were a mess, confused by what all had happened that day, and how she had felt when she finally meet the girl she had been dreaming about.

Naminè had wanted to tell her, to show her gratitude. She hoped deep down in her heart that Kairi wouldn't forget her, no matter how long it would take to meet her again.

Her thoughts became clearer when she focused more and more on the redhead. She knew so much. The names of her friends, where she lived, and how she was searching for her childhood friends, and yet, the other way around, Kairi knew nothing about her.

Naminè was a bit sad that they had to part so soon after they meet, but was sure that this wasn't the end. From here, the blonde wasn't able to get a hold of Kairi's thoughts. It must have been because of the special circumstances in Castle Oblivion that she could have seen through her eyes.

When she opened her eyes, her thoughts were clear once again. She focused her will on the Keyblade, and held a clear picture of Kairi in her mind when she directed the Keyblade at the lock. For a moment, nothing happened, and in her mind, Naminè asked the Keyblade to help her.

A slight ray of light emerged from the peak of the Keyblade, flowing into the hindrance that blocked their way in the mansion and unlocked it. When the huge metal lock fell to the ground, Naminè started and took a step back. It really had worked.

It was then that Axel came back and saw the girl standing in front of the now opened gate, holding this weapon, similar to what the Keyblade girl had been using.

“How did you get that?” asked the man and scratched his head.

“Kairi must have lost it. I found in on the path we were using after you left,” said the girl smiling.

It was a precious keepsake from Kairi, and no matter what, she would not give it away to anyone.

The rest of the day was spent in peace. The Organization wouldn't be able to catch up that fast, and so Axel was quite at ease, mostly sitting around and thinking over what to do now. He didn't have much success with that and fell asleep all the time, much to Naminè’s annoyance.

There wasn't much to do, and so Naminé wandered around and looked at the mansion. It was very old and run down, but it was much better than Castle Oblivion. She was free to look at whatever she found. In one of the rooms on the first floor, she even found a block of white paper and a few various colored pens. The Keyblade had returned to the shape of a key ring pendant. She didn't really know how to change the shape of it; it was more an intuitive kind of thing.

Naminè was sitting in the living room, on a small stool, watching outside the window and drawing the scenery, when Axel came to her.

“Naminè, I don't know how long I'll be able to protect you from the Organization. They most likely know I made a run for it with you, and they won't tolerate that,” said the man and scratching his forehead.

How the hell should he explain this? Or, even worse, what the hell was he supposed to do if she just declined that idea? But he had to try nevertheless.

“Naminè, I don't know how to say this, but you got to learn how to defend yourself. I don't know if that's going to be an easy matter, but it's just irresponsible otherwise,” said Axel and sighed.

Naminè was all but excited. She made it finally away from Xemnas and Marluxia, and now she had to learn to fight? She didn't like that thought and was about to object when she remembered that she now had a Keyblade. Kairi would certainly be happy to see she could use it at least a little.

“But I'm not really cut out to run around and swing a Keyblade, Axel. I can't do that like Kairi,” said Naminè and looked at the former guard.

“Well, it’s not like there is only the direct confrontation of the enemy. Like, Larxene uses electric knifes and Demyx. ah, you don't know those two... um.... lets see... if you're weak in physical combat, you got to beat the enemy by superior tactic or intelligence. I'm pretty sure you can do that,” explained Axel and grinned.

Naminè wasn't really sure if that was such a good idea. She had never, not once, really fought against anything. And now, out of the blue, this? However, on one side, she somewhat wanted to show Kairi she wouldn't be a hindrance. On the other side…, it was not fair to rely on others all the time.

She gave the redhead a short nod and focused her mind again on her most precious moment with Kairi in Castle Oblivion. It didn't take long and the Keyblade she had found with the name 'Monochrome' engraved on the hilt, had taken shape. Naminè looked expectantly at Axel, who was still amazed that the girl could use a Keyblade. As far as his knowledge was concerned, the Keyblade refused to work for Nobodies.

“Well, for starters, try to make a horizontal and vertical swing with it,” said the man, starting the combat lecture.

Naminè was right. She was definitely not cut out for close combat. The first swing made her trip, and she almost crashed into an old table. Axel had to facepalm and tried to think of something different.

If the girl was indeed a Nobody, she must have the ability to use magic. That was the one thing the stronger Nobodies had in common. Although Larxene and Demyx were much, much better than he was, he had to suffice. Magic was not something you had to have a strong body to use it efficiently. The mind was much more important.

After the second try, the vertical swing, Naminè almost fell and Axel called her off. There was no way this girl would ever learn to fight properly with a weapon.

“We’ll try something different. Focus your mind on the... Keyblade, and try to imagine a flame as hot and wild as possible. The bigger the better,” explained the man and waited for Naminè to follow the instruction.

First, nothing happened. Absolutely nothing at all. While the blonde tried with all her might to imagine a flame, her thoughts drifted over to Kairi. Naminè immediately relaxed upon that, and swiftly opened her eyes when Axel shouted something.

“Uh, who would expect her to get a grip of it that fast? Gah, hot, hot, hot, shoot,” yelled the man and tried to put out the fire on his robe. Apparently, Naminè had used intuitive a fire spell and set Axel on fire.

“Oh, I- I'm sorry Axel,” giggled the girl. It was just too funny watching how the man tried desperately to erase the fire from his robe.

“Alright, alright, it seems you got it. Now, I'm gonna go and take cover while you try to do that again. This time, aim at that almost ancient candle over there. That won't burn even if I were to put an inferno on it,” said Axel and took cover behind an armchair.

The lecture continued for almost another thirty minutes before Naminè finally had managed to hit the candle with a fireball. There were several scorch marks on the wall, the ceiling, and another armchair had lost its life upon her tries.

In the end, Naminè knew how to do it in theory. First, you had to focus on the magic self. Second, was to focus on your target, and last to channel your mind force through the converter, in this case the Keyblade.

“That's way more than enough for today. But that's long not enough to hold off someone of the Organization. But you got talent, for real. Now, please, put away the Keyblade, and don't try to burn down the house, ok?” sighed Axel and after, looking around, he left the room.

Naminè was proud. She had managed to use fire magic, and for someone that had never even been interested in fighting that was a big deal.

Finally finished with the 'lecture', Naminè picked up the block of paper and continued to draw the outside. The sun was already deep on the horizon and bathed the room in a warm, reddish light.

“I wonder what Kairi does right now,” said the blonde to herself.

The day ended without any further events. While Axel was sleeping in the last unburned armchair, Naminè had found herself a bed that was still in pretty good shape on the first floor.

The night was, at least for the girl, a restless one. Her thoughts about Kairi just wouldn’t vanish, and she still looked every now and then at the key ring pendant that was laying beside her on her pillow.

Two blue eyes were fixed on the ceiling, unable to rest and let the girl sleep. When would she meet Kairi again? Was she even okay? She had to explain a thousand things. And even if Kairi only followed her call for help out of curiosity, she still had come, regardless what her reason had been. She even climbed that ridiculous Castle, and then, there was that moment.

“I wonder if she noticed that one of her pendants are missing. I wonder if it wanted me to find it on purpose. Couldn't be, right?” giggled the girl as she turned around. It was still there.

But what if Monochrome really had decided to stay with her? Had such a key ring pendant really a mind of its own? And why would it want to stay with her anyway? She wasn't a fighter, and even if she had learned fire magic today, she was still far, far away from what Kairi was being able to do.

“So, why?” pondered the girl, fixating her eyes on the Monochrome pendant.

Maybe it was to bring her back to Kairi. Maybe there was really something such as fate? She had no explanation for what happened, and probably

Chapter 4

Title: Peaceful Lives... right?

[End notes:

it was ONE HELL OF PAIN IN THE ASS to find a satisfying grammar beta. a monumental kudos for doing the work goes to Vainya on fanfiction.net

also, if you like the story, please leave a review. it will lure more people into reading. hur hur hur~ don't expect chapter V very soon as i dont know how fast Vainya can work. however, chapter V will have HARDCORE action.

Chapter 5

Title: Clashing Destiny

[Author's notes:
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