Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Akirame Norwen ❯ Nakineiri Itami ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: I made up the entirely original characters Red, Jerdania, Akirame and Vanna. The rest of `em belong to Squaresoft, even if it was my idea to make them older. Just wait till I get the hang of drawing Riku….his hair looks so darn cool! (I changed the style)

CHAPTER 10

OF DREAMS

I can feel the strong arms around me, holding me in comfort. I look up to see Erik's beautiful, deep brown eyes. Riku is walking away, joining a strange, dark figure. "Riku! Don't go!" I scream, trying to reach out to him.

Erik's hold on me grows tighter, holding me back. I turn to look at Erik's face. His expression tells of newly found passion, his half-lidded brown eyes gazing at me, telling me things I don't want to know. I am growing uncomfortable, but am unable to fight back and grow weak in his embrace. I can feel the smooth skin of his bare shoulder under my chin… what's happening?

I turn my head away and see Riku drawing his sword, swinging it through the air. His swing is met by a powerful, glowing weapon, shattering the Luna Luz. Riku kneels down, his head bent in submission.

A figure, obscured by fire, smoke and shadow stands over Riku, holding a weapon up in the air, ready to strike. The weapon plunges down into Riku's back, and he looks up, his eyes wild as he screams in agony, shattering my soul. The weapon is withdrawn, and Riku collapses to the ground.

I feel a hand begin to gently shake my shoulder, and the vision is growing blurry. I can hear Erik's voice. "Akira…Akira…"

"Akira…Akira…wake up! We're here!" Erik's voice and gentle shaking slowly woke me up. I felt overly sensitive to the fact that his hand was gently touching me.

"Where are we?" I asked, still foggy, and feeling ashamed of the sensations I had experienced in my dream.

"We're at Transverse Town! You've been asleep for two whole hours!" He told me as I tried to stand up.

I grabbed my head as a throbbing headache began to grow in my temples. I began to get dizzy and stumbled, feeling awkward when I fell forward into Erik's arms. He steadied me, patiently waiting for me to recover. "Was there something in that food?" I mumbled, my vision finally clearing.

"I don't think so. All of us are feeling great and ready to go. Wow. Look out the window." I followed Erik's pointing finger, trying to ignore the fact that his arm was still around my shoulder, how close his face was to mine. Transverse town was a huge city, full of signs, people and lots, lots and lots of neon signs everywhere, none of which had been turned on yet.

I was grateful that we were still in the safety of the train, and not outside. I slung my backpack over my shoulder, now fully awake. Erik stepped back and got his stuff. "Well, I guess you better go get Riku. He's in that room. He's been in there about as long as you've been asleep." He told me.

I raised an eyebrow and did as I was told, pausing outside the door for a moment, then knocked. No response. I knew that I might regret it, seeing as to how the curtain was drawn over the tiny window in the door, but slightly cracked it open and peered in. I opened it a little wider and could see that Riku was laid out on one of the couches. I silently walked in, careful to close the door behind me. "Riku?" I gently said, not really wanting to wake him.

Riku was asleep, but his face looked troubled, and he gently mumbled something. I knelt down in front of him, watching him, observing his face closely, secretly hoping his aqua eyes would open. I was hit with the images of my dream, and I could see the wicked sword piercing through his skin, greater effort driving it down, severing his spine. I could see directly into his eyes, full of pain and torment, reflecting pain, flooding with tears. I tried to shake them off, but they haunted me. Riku…reaching out to me as he screamed out my name in his dying breath.

Riku grew more troubled in his sleep, his arms beginning to jerk. One of his arms slid over and his hand brushed my cheek. His hand suddenly opened, like he was reaching for something. "…'Kira…" he softly mumbled, his eyebrows twisted with unseen pain.

I suddenly found myself gently taking his hand and putting it against my cheek, desperate to soothe him, not seeking my own comfort…or was I?…. Riku relaxed, and the hint of a smile, a real one, adorned his face, making him look so…peaceful and happy. His hand firmly wrapped my wrist and he pulled my hand to his face. He gently nuzzled my hand, making my heart suddenly burn with compassion. I began to feel so…strange. No, furious. Furious with myself, for being so double-sided, betraying both Erik and Riku. I couldn't get a handle on myself.

Riku mumbled something and his long, dark eyelashes slowly parted and blinked open, his piercing turquoise eyes first spotting my arm, then slowly traveled up to my face where he met my furious, inward glare. "Akira?" He said, quickly coming to reality. "What?"

"You grabbed me in your sleep and wouldn't wake up." I half-lied. Well, it was a half-truth too.

Riku seemed to buy it, but still held my wrist, as if…he didn't really want to let go of his dream. "You have to let go now." I softly told him, still wanting to comfort him.

Riku somewhat reluctantly complied, taking longer than necessary to let go, his fingers running along my hand as he let me slip from his grasp. My heart began to feel heavy. I didn't want to wake up. The sound of knocking at the door broke my/his/our? Dream-like reverie like a bucket of water in the face. "Coming." Riku called, now sitting up and moving to the edge of the bed, his eyes taking me in for just a second, then he got up and grabbed his stuff, abandoning the brief fantasy I had just experienced. I felt so…screwed up. Augh…what had happened to the Snow Queen? I searched my mind and felt her slowly rebuild herself, grateful as my normal, curt, sharp mannerism returned. But then I took a fall. "So…did you have a good dream?" I heard myself ask. I had jumped off the bridge, and now I was watching the ground come rushing up to meet me.

"What?" Riku asked, looking confused as he shoulder his duffel bag.

"Um…I was just curious if you slept okay." My parachute opened, saving me from certain death. The Snow Queen wins round 1.

"Not really." He said, not looking at me anymore as he headed out the door.

Something that felt almost like hurt hit me. Would I really be there to witness his destruction? Or was it all…just a dream? Another throbbing headache made my thoughts fuzzy. I would never eat that much pizza again. Junk food is bad for you.

Erik was there to greet us. "What took you so long, Akira?" Erik asked in his usual, cheerful manner.

"Riku sleeps like a rock." I said. Hmph. The truth is overused.

Erik shrugged and followed us out of the train. The rest of the group was waiting for us. "So, Vanna, do you really know this place as well as you say?" Riku asked as he approached the group.

"Yep. Is there something in particular you're looking for? We gotta find it now before it gets dark and the weird people and monsters start coming out. This place is almost as bad as Midgar at night." Vanna said.

"You wouldn't happen to know a Cloud Strife, would you?" Riku asked.

"No…I don't think so. If you want, we can find a telephone booth and use the directory."

"Sounds like a plan. Let's go."

We followed Riku out of the train station and entered into the city. I was confounded by how big the city was, but how…calm it seemed during the day. "Where's all the people?" Kairi suddenly asked.

"They only come out at night. This city is a nocturnal city. Everything happens at night. Parties, drinking, running around, then the monsters come out to pick on the drunks and the homeless." Vanna said, her voice full of distaste.

"You really hate this place, don't you?" Erik asked, admiring the tall buildings and the various screens advertising different things.

"I used to live here as a child. This is the very city where I learned one of the hardest lessons in life." Vanna said, her fists starting to ball into fists.

Erik dropped the subject as we crossed the wide, empty street over to a phone booth. We waited and sat on a long bench while Riku stepped into the booth and began to fumble with the huge phone book.

I found myself caught between Erik, who sat at the end, and Kairi. At the other end was Irvine, who hemmed in Jerdania and the rest of us. Suddenly Erik gave Irvine a sly smile and a wink. Oh no…a challenge. Erik then bumped my shoulder, while Irvine did the same to Jerdania. I bumped Erik back, and got another bump in return, this time knocking me into Kairi. Kairi then helped me ram Erik, who managed to stand his ground. Irvine was now shoving Jerdania into Vanna and Red, who both shouted in protest and pushed back.

Before long, the entire group of us was desperately battling Irvine and Erik, who were now getting a little more resistance than they expected.

Riku stepped out of the phone book, and stopped in his tracks when he saw the now chaotic shove-match taking place on the bench. With one great shove Irvine managed to push me and Erik off of the bench, while the others then shoved back and ended up falling to the ground. I just sat on the ground on top of Erik where I had landed, laughing hysterically. Riku sadly shook his head at us, then looked to the heavens for help. "Why? Why me? I leave them by themselves for only five minutes, and they've managed to start World War 4 on a city bench!"

We all began to get up and pick up our stuff, still laughing. "So, did you find it?" Vanna asked.

"No. Sorry guys. Looks like we'll have to pitch here tonight. We can't leave until I find what I'm looking for." He told us.

"Well, I know of a pretty good hotel." Vanna offered.

"Sounds good. Show us the way."

Vanna's knowledge of the area proved invaluable to us as she easily found the hotel building amidst all the other things. We walked into a somewhat shoddy lobby and waited while Vanna set us up with rooms. "All right…let's see… there are…8…no, wait… a good number of us. She has five rooms available, and in each room there are 2 beds. I guess one of us will have our own room."

I knew I couldn't stand to be alone, not in a place like this… I looked at the partly-worn carpet, the out-dated wallpaper that was faded and starting to peel. There was a slight draft, making me shiver. "I'll take it. I need the privacy so I can continue planning things out." Riku said.

Vanna consented, and then took the keys and prepared to hand them out. "Now, just share these among yourselves, and--"

Riku cut her off. "Hang on…I don't think that's such a good idea. Erik is with Irvine, no…never mind. Irvine is with Sora, I'll trust Erik with…oh…I guess Kairi…"

Erik was completely confused and interrupted him.

"Look, none of this makes sense! Why don't we just pair up with our partners?" he suggested, getting nods of approval from us.

"Good idea. The only problem is that Akira is my partner, and I need privacy so I can work on my stuff."

"Oh, Geez, get over the anti-social thing for a change Riku and just board up with someone. That way it all works out, plus the extra room can be Vanna's." Irvine said.

I had the sickening feeling that Irvine was trying to push the relationship between me and Riku, which ticked me off. Why wouldn't these people just leave us, especially me, alone?! "Well, whatever works for you." Riku said, holding up his hands.

I looked at Riku's face. He looked worn and tired, about to collapse. The group agreed with Erik's suggestion, and happily set off with their assigned partners to their rooms. Riku and I silently headed down the hall with them and came to our door. He quietly unlocked the room and opened the door. The room was simple, two small beds, a bathroom, a window, a desk with a lamp. The room smelled of…I deeply inhaled, trying to identify the scent that seemed so familiar.

"Strange. Smells like paopu fruit in here." Riku mumbled to himself as he dropped his bag next to the floor and made a bee-line for one of the beds.

Just to be sure, I sniffed the air again. He was right. The tangy, sweet scent was paopu. I found it rather…unnerving. On our island the paopu fruit was fabled, and it was said that if you shared one with someone you cared deeply for, like a friend…or for all intensive purposes, your true love, the fruit's magic would cause you and that person's destiny to be eternally intertwined. Thus the name for our island home, Destiny Islands.

However, the fruit was indigenous to our island, and even there it was extremely rare and highly valued, never to be picked unless it was to be shared. How in the world had someone found the scent to freshen the air in our room? I mulled over the question as I put my bag on the floor and sat down on the bed across from Riku, who had flung himself face-down on the bed. "How could you be so tired after that nap you had on the train?" I asked.

Riku turned his head to look at me, his eyes a little dull. "I don't know…I just feel sapped." His voice sounded a little dry.

"You need some water or something?" I asked, reminding myself not to let myself sound too general in my offer.

"I could really, really use a good massage right now." Riku said, now setting his chin on his arms.

I threw a pillow at his head for good measure, and went to dig through my backpack for…and realized I didn't have anything to look for, other than an excuse to not pay attention to the guy in the room with me. Riku gave a loud sigh and I turned to see that he was watching me. "What now!?" I asked, giving up my search for an excuse in my backpack.

"Oh, I was just getting ready to have a board meeting with the voices in my head."

I laughed to myself at Riku's wit as I pulled out two different shirts and compared them…hmm…black sleeveless tank top with the blue Jean jacket…or the or the other black sleeveless tank top with the blue Jean jacket… "I like the black tank top better." Riku said.

I turned to see him now sitting up and watching me. What was it about me that kept finding so captivating. "How long have you been watching me?" I asked.

"Hmm…since I first saw you." Oh….how sweet…

"Didn't have anything better to do?" Must…resist…

"Than watch you, are you kidding?" Gah!

"Gah!"

"What?"

"Geez."

"Oh."

I rolled my eyes and took my clothes with me into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. When I had changed and walked back out, Riku was staring at the floor, his hand once again absently tracing something on his palm. What was with him? Riku might be pretty…aloof, but not that bad. "Uh…Riku, you `kay?"

"Hmm…." Yep. Perfectly uncertain.

"That must be your favorite phrase."

"Yep. By the way, I…uh…hmm…"

Riku was starting to look a little…bashful? "Riku, just cough it up." The last thing I needed was to feel my heart melting as I watched the faintest hint of blushing spread across his lightly tanned cheeks…

"I was wondering…if…you…wanted to…you know, just hang out or something…we might be able to pick up some clues on Cloud."

"Riku, I'll never understand you. You have no problem with trying to kiss me, but you get shy when you want to hang out with me. Riku, we're friends. There shouldn't be a problem there."

"Is that a yes?"

I sighed. "Well…what about all the others?"

"Yeah, I guess maybe some of the others could tag along…" I could hear the aggravation hidden under his breath. I would never let that guy get me alone. Not after the beach incident. I hadn't bothered to even look at my wallet since he had returned it…

"Okay then. Let's go."

Riku and I headed out of the room and walked down the hall, knocking on doors and talking to our friends. In the end, we headed toward the lobby followed by Jerdania, Kairi, Irvine (of course), Vanna, and Sora. Erik and Red had decided to go out and do their own thing instead.

Riku stopped in the lobby and approached the receptionist. "Um…excuse me. You wouldn't happen to know anything about…a Cloud Strife, would you?" he asked.

The woman cocked an eyebrow and thought. "Hmm…don't think so." Oh well.

Riku shrugged and lead us outside into the city street. The sky was getting dark, and more people were beginning to walk around, shouting, laughing, heading somewhere. We all instinctively stood close together, and I felt…weird when Riku stepped as close to me as humanly possible. The street lights began to come on.

"We need to stay close together, especially to our partners." Vanna said, now stepping out in front of us. "I know this two people, Tifa and Barret, both are good friends of mine, and they run a dance club called the `Mei Tenshi'. They both have a lot of connections, and could probably help us."

"I don't see why we shouldn't check it out, then." Riku said, crossing his arms.

"All right then, just follow me. I suggest you keep a good hold of the person next to you once we get to Fira Street, that's a major crime area." Vanna warned us, now leading us down the busy sidewalk.

I tried to think of something to think about as we made our way through the slowly growing stream of people. I kept my eye on the street signs, and felt a little scared when the name Fira St. caught my eye. Riku grabbed my wrist, and Jerdania behind me caught hold of the back of my jacket. The faces of the people around us began to change from easy-going to hardened stares. I began to hear the low pounding beat and saw the neon glow as we approached the good-sized club. There was a growing crowd outside the entrance. Vanna approached the tall, muscular man standing next to the door, checking I.D's.

"Vanna! Long time no see!" The man happily said as he let a group of people enter.

"Great to see you, Barret!" Vanna replied.

"So, `sup at Balamb?"

"Not a lot…" Vanna lifted her hand and showed him her ring.

"Woo, girl! Who's da guy?"

Vanna smiled and whispered something in his ear.

"No way! `Grats! So, what bring you here?"

"We're trying to dig up some info."

"Hmm…you with the group behind you?"

"Yeah. They're some friends I'm helping."

"They all `bove 16?" I bit my lip…would he let us in?

"Yeah."

"'Kay then. I trust you. Come on in." Barret stepped aside the door and walked in with us, talking to someone else who went outside to take over the job of turning people away.

The club was…a little overwhelming for me. The whole place was dark, lit up by neon signs and black lights. We walked onto a catwalk that ended in stairs that led down to the dance floor and a bar. The place was starting to get crowded. Irvine and Jerdania seemed to be enjoying the experience. I never thought that Jerdania would be the party-type. Hyne, let her stay out of trouble.

I kept as close to Riku as I could as we walked around the dance floor and headed toward the bar. The loud, unfamiliar trance beat made my head feel a little dizzy. Barret walked around the back of the bar. "You guys just chill here. I'll go get Tifa."

We stood next to the bar and waited. I looked at the crowd that was in the room. There was absolutely no dress code whatsoever. People wore mostly casual clothes, but there was an increasing number of…strangely dressed people in the club as well, and they seemed to be the most skilled dancers, pulling off twisted break-dance moves. I enjoyed the music and the beat…but this wasn't really my scene…I didn't know how to dance worth a darn.

Irvine suddenly smiled at Jerdania. "You wanna go out there for a while?" he asked her.

"If it's okay with Riku."

Riku shrugged, then looked at my watch. "It's 9:00. Be back right here in fifteen minutes."

"Woohoo!" Irvine joyously dragged Jerdania out and disappeared into the mass of people, Sora and Kairi following after.

Riku was quiet, as usual, but still stayed as close to me as he could, warding off the guys who approached me by giving them a steely look and putting an arm over my shoulder. Good ol' Riku, always there when you need him. And also when you don't. My heart skipped a small beat when a familiar beat began to play. It couldn't be. My heart flipped when the lyrics filled the room. They were playing my favorite song in the whole world. "I can't believe they're playing Utada Hikaru." I said.

"Hmm?" Riku turned to look at me.

"This is Utada's song, Hikari! Well, the remix anyway. I love this song."

"I think I've heard it once or twice. Didn't they play it when we walking past the Golden Paopu?"

I shifted my gaze as I remembered the time we had out late, and on our way home we had to pass by the island's bar. It had been only me and Riku. I could still smell the smoke and alcohol pouring out the door when the inlander had walked out and spotted me, his head slightly weaving in his drunken state.

Riku had single-handedly defended me, as well as nearly killed the abusive drunk. "Yeah, I remember." I said under my breath.

The exact same song had played the night before we left, when I was in my room, trying to fall asleep. I had left the radio on, trying to drown out the sound of my heart's beating. When the song came on, my mind was flooded with thoughts of…Riku.

My thoughts were broken when Barret came back out, followed by a somewhat skimpily dressed woman. "Hey Vanna!" Woah! Vanna was still here?

"Heya Teef!" The two girls happily exchanged a special handshake.

"So, I heard you need some info."

"Yeah. Riku here's looking for a Cloud Strife."

Tifa bit her lip and searched her mind. A spark of recognition lit up her eyes. "Oh yeah! I think I've seen him here once or twice here, but the guy seems to be pretty shady. He lives in town, but he refuses to say where."

Riku nodded. Well, at least we knew he was a local. "Do you think he'll show up tonight?" Riku asked.

"Yeah, I think he might. He seems to be looking for someone."

I looked at Riku. Pieces of a puzzle were starting to form, but they didn't really fit together. "What time does he show up?"

"I imagine about an hour."

"Great. A whole hour. Now what?" I said, looking to Riku.

"Well, I guess we got some free time." Another guy approached and leaned against the bar next to me.

"Hey there." The guys said, looking friendly.

Riku didn't like it. He put his arm around my waist and pulled me close. "Do you mind If I dance with her?" The guy asked.

"Yeah, I do."

"Whatever." The guy said, now leaving.

"Riku, what was that for?" I asked as he let me go.

"Look at his back pocket."

I looked over and saw the edges of a plastic bag sticking out. "Oh." I didn't even want to imagine what was in that bag. Drugs? Something worse?

I shivered and hunched over the bar. This wasn't home. I was beginning to miss things, like the friendly (well, mostly) people, my bed, the tree-bench. I looked at my watch. Still another 45 minutes. I was a little surprised when our friends rejoined us, all smiles and laughs. "You're not going to believe this. They have a paint war going on in another room!" Kairi laughed.

"We have another 45 minutes." I said.

"How cool! Come on you guys! You have got to try it out!" Jerdania excitedly told us, pulling on my arm.

"Sounds like…fun." I said, reminding myself that I was the outgoing one, and that Riku was the introvert.

"I gotta stay here." Riku simply said.

I shrugged my shoulders. The girls, led by the boys, eagerly took me through the crowd and over to another room. The mess inside was classic. People where running around in full-body jumpsuits, carrying squirt guns and spraying paint that had a neon glow in the black lights, then running and reloading from paint cans that were spread out everywhere. It was a war zone, complete with all sorts of junk to hide under, climb on… "Oh yeah!" This would be fun.

I quickly walked over to a rack that held jumpsuits and pulled it over my clothes and grabbed a squirt gun. "You're all going down!" I told my friends, pulling my hair back and putting a shower cap over it.

Thus the war began. The girls and boys formed a team when the supervisor of the paint zone signaled a new war by sounding a loud buzzer. All havoc broke loose….the next thing I knew, Jerdania had Irvine in a corner, Sora was chasing after me while being chased by Kairi…and I was tripping over a…rather occupied couple who evidently didn't want to be found. I apologized and quickly hid…some where else. "My goodness…I hope no one else finds them there…what a way to make a peace treaty between warring tribes." I muttered under my breath as I spotted a paint can across the room and planned to dash across.

I held my breath and ran, but was stopped by a squirt of paint in the face. I felt the paint drying over my face, and found that it had covered my eyes and mouth as well. I couldn't open either. I frantically backed up and clawed at my face to no avail. I heard one of the other girls running over to assist me. "Come on, Kairi. Let's go get her to a bathroom." Jerdania's voice said.

"What about the boys?"

"I'll get them. Stay here with her and help her get the jumpsuit off."

I was led over to another spot and patiently waited as Kairi helped take the suit off. Later I heard the voices of the boys. "Woah! I thought hitting the face was against the rules here." Irvine's voice.

"It is." Sora.

"I'll strangle the guy who did this." Irvine again.

"We'll get her to the bathroom and see if we can't scrub it off."

I was then lead blindly out of the room and suddenly felt someone bump into me. "Woah, I was just coming to tell you guys that Cloud'll be here any moment. What the…. We don't have that color here." Tifa?

"Really? Do you think someone would bring their own?"

"No. In fact…I'm not even sure that's paint. You'd better get her cleaned up."

Oh great. Now what? I kept bumping into random people, and finally I heard the sounds of a bathroom, running water… "Um….it's not coming off. Try more soap."

"It's still not working! What is this stuff?"

"I don't know. Go get Riku. He should know what to do."

"In a girl's bathroom?"

"Oh, right…get Tifa!"

One of the girls left to get Tifa, leaving me here to continue clawing at the stuff on my face. Later I heard the girl returning. "Here, let me see if this works." Tifa's voice.

I felt something being sponged on my face, and the paint was corroding away. At last I opened my mouth and coughed up the bits that had gotten into my mouth. "What was that stuff?" I asked, taking a breath.

"No idea. I've never seen stuff used like that in the paint zone before…hmm….I'm going to have to see who Barret left in charge of security…"

This was bizarre. We left the bathroom and decided to head back to the bar where Riku was waiting. Riku was disturbed when he saw how aggravated we looked. "What happened to ya, Akira?"

"How could you tell it was me?"

"Cuz when something bad's happened to you, you tend to bite your lip and knit your eyebrows."

"Riku…stop knowing everything. Secondly, some one in the paint zone plastered me in the face with something other than paint."

"You want me to hunt them down and kill them?"

"Nah…too messy a job for you. The last thing I need is a head on a platter." Well, other than his, of course…

"Excuse me." A male voice said from behind me.

I turned to see a tall-ish blond with spiky hair and penetrating blue eyes staring at me. "Who are you." Riku to the rescue, hand now on my shoulder…a grateful change.

"You're Riku?" The man asked.

"Yeah."

"Good. I need you to come with me. Bring your friends as well."

We silently followed the mysterious blonde out of the club and back into the street. We were confused, but remained silent as he led us away from the noise and people and down an empty alley, stopping in front of a door in the side of a building. With some effort the man managed to open it, and led us down a small catwalk to a room. Once the lights were turned on, I realized that this was the man's…well, home. It was furnished with a bed and shelves loaded with books and various chemistry sets. What in the world?…

The man sat down on the bed and had Riku stand in front of him. "I need you to take off your gloves." The man ordered.

Riku looked at me for a moment, then slipped off the black rubber gloves off of his hands, then showed them palms up. I gasped when I saw the strange Japanese markings scarring his hand. "What?"

The man closely inspected them, then paused for a minute before touching them. The man's eyes involuntarily closed.

A horrifying vision filled the man's head. Visions of his previously lost love, the wicked sword that had slain her. Fire filled his mind, and a shadowy figure stood among the flames. A dark voice rang through his mind. "I'm baaa-aack." It mockingly told him before releasing him from the vison.

The man's eyes opened, now filled with fear and anger. "No! It can't be!!! I thought I had KILLED HIM!!!"

We all stepped back, looking at each other for answers. "Woah…who's back?" Irvine asked.

"That wretched Sephiroth!!! He's alive somehow!!!"

"Sephiroth…" The name was familiar… of course! Nearly everyone had heard of the villainous Sephiroth…the crazed SOLDIER… but hadn't he been killed?

"How could he possibly be alive? And why?" Kairi asked, looking frightened.

"I don't know…he must have met someone in the Lifestream…some one with enough power to raise someone from the dead…"

"But…how does this involve us?" Riku asked, now looking at his hand.

"Hmm….that could be nearly impossible to tell…the markings on your hands…they translate into something in an ancient language that hasn't been used for centuries… It says…Nakineiri Itami."

"Naki-whatie?" Irvine asked, looking at the scar.

"It's pronounced Nah-kee-neh-ee-ree Ee-tah-mee. Both words mean different things. Nakineiri can mean…crying oneself to sleep…giving up in frustration….accepting meekly or being compelled to accept a situation. Itami can mean pain….ache…grief or distress….so I'd say that Nakineiri Itami was meant to mean something like being forced to accept pain or grief."

"Real encouraging, eh Riku?" Irvine said.

"But…she said something about `it holds the key to the future'." Riku said, gazing at his palm.

"Hmm….almost like a riddle, in its own way…I'd hate to tell you this…but it looks like it might mean that you will have to accept some sort of pain in the future." Cloud said, his face somewhat hardened.

Riku had fallen completely silent. This was even too much for me. Hmm….Riku….Nakineiri Itami….was there some sort of twisted connection? "So…how does this involve any of us?" I asked, trying to dig deeper.

"Well…I'm not entirely sure….by any chance have any of you run into any scrapes lately?" Cloud asked.

"Let's see…there was me and Riku in the training center when we ended up fighting a real monster…that Anacondaur in the field…the thing that attacked us on our way to Balamb and when somebody squirted that stuff in my face in the paint zone." I summed up.

"Those are of no coincidence. He is obviously after particular members of your group for some reason…but why?"

I was just as confused. All of this was going way over my head. I really, really needed to just…sit down and think. "I need to sit."

I was grateful when cloud offered me a spot on his bed. I sat down and put my chin in my hands. Sephiroth was alive…he was after us, or rather me and Riku, it seemed…being forced to accept grief or pain…what was going on?! "Perhaps the dreams of tonight will help you." Cloud suggested.

I looked at my watch. It was 1 a.m. "Woah! How'd it get so late so fast?" I yawned.

"I can escort you back to where you are staying."

We accepted his offer, and the shortcut through the alleys was fast, but included a couple close encounters with drunks and the monsters eating them. Once back at the hotel, Cloud stopped to say something. "All of you need to stay on your guard. If Sephiroth wants something, he won't stop until he either gets it or is killed trying. Take all precautions. Riku, meet me in the city library tomorrow at around noon. Bring your friends as well."

Glad that he was finally finished, I silently opened the door and started to enter the lobby. I took a quick glance back to see that Cloud had disappeared…a shiver ran down my spine. The air seemed to be a mite cold. We hastily walked to our rooms and were instantly relaxed by the sight of our beds. I quickly beat Riku to the bathroom and changed, cleaned up and leapt back out in record time, then jumped into bed and turned off the lamp next to my bed, welcoming the dark of the room. "I'm gonna take a shower. That okay with you?" Riku asked me.

"What do I care." I said, my eyes blissfully closed as I buried my face into my pillow.

When I heard the sound of the bathroom door opening, I opened my eyes just for a second. In the slightly yellow light, Riku's hair looked…pale. I decided to check it out. "Riku…could you hang on for a minute?" I asked, now getting up.

"What is it?"

"Hold still." I grabbed the back of Riku's neck and pulled his head down so I could see it better. Indeed, not only was his hair pale, but… "Riku, did you know that the roots of your hair are actually gray?" Well, a white-ish-gray anyhow. Like the color…an elderly man would have.

"So you noticed, huh?" Riku sounded a little depressed.

"What's the big deal?"

"It kinda scared me, the first time I noticed that my starting turning gray so fast. I've been having to dye it at a good pace to keep it from showing."

"Well, I could see why it would scare you. When did it start getting that way?"

"I'd guess about…several months ago. Surprised it took so long before someone finally noticed, except for your mom." Riku looked eager to get his shower over with. So I let him go.

"Strange." I said to myself as I settled back into bed. "First he was a brunette, then chrome blue, and now silver…how weird…"

I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of running water. Strange, how it seemed so comforting to hear the sounds that let me know that Riku was nearby. All the little things about him, his familiarity, brought a sense of peace to my mind. Well, except for his newfound passion for teasing me relentlessly. Hopefully it would get old with him.

After what seemed to be an eternity the bathroom door finally reopened and I took a quick, forbidden peek to see him coming out in a black tee-shirt and grey shorts, his hair wet. It would be a mess by tomorrow morning. Rooming with him just to see his hair all screwed up just once was worth it.

I decided just to watch him for a while. He walked over to the window, drawing the blinds and making sure it was shut, then picking up his sword and leaning it against the wall close to his bed. He finally settled under the blankets with his back to me, and I quickly closed my eyes when he rolled over to face me across the short gap between our beds. After a minute I peeked at him between my eyelashes. He was still looking at me, but a look of complete peace had taken away the cold attitude he had been tormenting us with. He looked just so….so darn cuddly. I clenched the mattress to resist the sudden urge…I was losing…oh no… I got up and knelt down on the floor in front of him. "Hey Riku." I said, now having lost complete control of myself. "You look kinda cute when you're not trying to freeze things with your ego." I was ashamed of myself, but I couldn't seem to get a grip.

"Thanks. Is that all you had to tell me?" his voice was soft, but humorous. Perfect.

"Yeah. And I wanted to give you a hug." My carefully checked reputation as a Snow Queen was going down in flames.

Riku sat up a little and wrapped his arms around me. My heart skipped a beat and I tightly squeezed him before…*sigh*…reluctantly letting go. I got up and snuggled back into my bed, feeling like a five year old in a candy store. I had no idea that Riku would feel that warm…or smell that good. Mmm…kinda like lavender… "Thank you." I suddenly heard him say.

"You're welcome." The smell of paopu seemed stronger. So warm…so gentle…like a big….soft…teddy bear. I had actually felt his heart beat against my chest for that brief moment…so perfect. The warmth…like sunshine…spring had come and the Snow Queen had melted…heck, it was just a hug! But then again…I hadn't hugged Riku for nearly….five years. No…maybe longer.

I smiled as I felt myself drifting off, relishing the sound of Riku's soft breathing. I peeked through my eyelashes at him one last time. Yep. He was still looking at me, but now…his lips curved in an actual smile, like the kind a child finding peace in his mother's arms would give. Riku looked so cute, especially the way his eyes seemed to softly glow. But deep down inside, I knew that the sudden, "fluffy" feeling everything had suddenly taken on wouldn't last beyond tonight. So warm. I smiled. December was just around the corner, and the Snow Queen would rebuild. Just for a brief, but ever lingering moment a thought crossed my mind. Would hugging Erik feel that good too? Maybe I would find out…I heard Riku finally switching off his lamp. I opened my eyes. He was still looking at me.

The dark figure muttered curses under his breath as he sat on top of the building, watching them through his mind's eye. They seemed impossible to separate, even when they were caught off guard and alone. This was going to be much harder than thought.

He stopped for a moment and whisked a long strand of hair out of his face. Even harder now that they had the help of the blonde. His lips spread in a wicked smile. He remembered the blonde. His revenge would take time, planning for sure. "What goes around comes around…"