Chapter 5

CHAPTER 3 THE 3rd DAY IN DEEP BLACK DARKNESS STOOD A GIRL with pale skin and flaxen hair. “Who are you?” Roxas asked. But she only smiled, telling him nothing. And Roxas’s consciousness slowly returned from the dark back into the light. His awakening on the third day was gentle and serene. “Who was that girl…?” he murmured, sitting up in no particular hurry. Suddenly, he had the sense that someone was standing in the corner, and he turned— “Huh?!” She was there, the girl from his dream. That couldn’t be real. Roxas rubbed at his eyes, and when he opened them again, she was gone. “A dream…?” He felt like he’d had another long dream last night. And then, at the end…that girl had appeared. She had seemed familiar, somehow, and kind. There was a note left for him in the space below the tracks. Meet at the station. Today’s the day we hit the beach! And don’t sweat about the munny! It was from Hayner. Roxas tucked the note in his pocket and left to head for the station. As he was walking down to Market Street, he saw Olette and Pence. “Hey!” he called. They started to run over to him—but then his vision went funny again. “Huh?” Olette and Pence had simply stopped midstep, paused like a video. “Hello, Roxas.” It was the girl from his dream this morning, appearing in front of him while he stood there, stunned. He could see her more clearly now. Her light-blond hair—the color not too different from his own—fell a little past her shoulders, and she had blue eyes and a white dress. Her skin was so pale it seemed almost translucent. “Who…?” he began. She held her finger to her lips and tilted her head. “I wanted to meet you, if I could.” “Me?” “Yes, you.” Her gaze on him was so intense it almost prickled. Roxas looked away. And when he did, the world warped. “Huh…?” Pence ran up to him. “Olette dragged me along to go shopping.” “You want to come, too?” Olette smiled. “Um… Just now, there was a…” Roxas glanced at where the girl had been standing. No one was there. “Roxas, are you okay?” Pence said, worried. “No—er, yeah… It’s nothing…” Olette gave him a puzzled look. “Well, all right. See you later…” She and Pence went on toward Market Street. “That girl…,” Roxas murmured. She said she wanted to meet me. I want to see her again, too, he thought. He had the feeling that she could explain all these bizarre things that were happening to him. The strange dreams…the weird creature…and that girl. Roxas took off at a run. Naminé watched Roxas from atop a building. We came into being together, like twins. Our hearts are connected to the same place. No… All the hearts in all the worlds are seeking one single heart—Kingdom Hearts. But, Roxas, the most important part is…we were born from the same place, in the same way, and the same people are trying to use us. The organization and DiZ—they both want to use us. Because the way we were created is so special. And we are seeking the same thing. Although maybe you’ve forgotten by now… “Hey, Naminé.” She looked up at the sudden intrusion. “You…” Standing there was someone she thought had died in Castle Oblivion—a young man with a black cloak and red hair. “Looks like you and me just keep running into each other.” “…Axel.” Naminé met his gaze without backing down. She was sure Sora had put an end to him back in Castle Oblivion… “I’m not a ghost, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Axel said with a cocky grin and, along with her, looked at Roxas down below. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “Just following orders.” His expression went flat as he said this. “…I see.” Naminé frowned and looked away. “What about you?” “Me?” She bit her lip. Me… What do I want to do? What should I do? I don’t know. “You’re the only one who can save him.” “…What?” She raised her head. “Got it memorized?” “Axel…” He said nothing more, only gave her a faint smile and vanished. Looking for the girl, Roxas ran to the sandlot. Seifer and his retinue were loitering there as usual, chatting about something or other. Seifer saw him first. “Hey…Roxas.” But before Roxas could reply, something was swarming him—black shadows on the dirt around him. “Who dares?” shouted Fuu. The shadows rose up from the ground, taking shape as strange silvery creatures. “More of them?!” Roxas got ready for a fight. There were three of them surrounding him, the same kind of creatures as the picture thief. Seifer was ready, too. “Dunno who they are, but they already crossed the line! Here!” He tossed Roxas a toy weapon stocked for the Struggle participants. “Got it!” Roxas caught it and swung at one of the silver things—but just like before, his attacks couldn’t seem to hit it. “How—? What do I do…?” He gripped the toy sword tighter. “Roxas! Use the Keyblade!” a girl’s voice rang out. It was her. And then time stopped around him again. “Huh?!” He looked around, trying to find the source of the voice, and found her on top of a building. The creatures attacked. “Roxas!” Naminé called, and this time when he was about to fight back…everything shifted into darkness. “Wha—? Whoa!” Darkness swallowed him up, and he fell. But from above, he could faintly see a light. He flailed his way toward it. A small white hand reached out for him. The moment he took hold of it, wispy light glowed all around. “…Who…?” Roxas began. The girl was floating with him, holding his hand in empty space. “My name is Naminé.” She smiled softly. “Roxas… Do you remember your true name?” He shook his head. True name… What does she mean? “That’s enough, Naminé.” A man in a black cloak suddenly appeared from behind her and grasped her arm. The man’s voice sounded familiar to Roxas. “But if no one tells him, Roxas will…” Naminé looked up at the man’s hooded face and trailed off. If no one tells me…I’ll what? “It’s best that he doesn’t know the truth.” That voice, it was the same as… “Can you feel Sora?” …the voice that had asked him that question. “Hey! Give our money back!” Roxas shouted. The man turned away, unhurried. Roxas couldn’t quite see his face, but…it seemed like he was laughing a bit. “Wh-what gives?” The man let go of Naminé and silently waved his hand. In the dim space behind Roxas, a hole of even deeper darkness opened up. “Huh?” The man shoved Roxas hard in the chest, and he fell back into the hole. He yelped… And then…he came to in the dirt, and the sandlot looked the same as usual. “Seifer, you should strike a pose, y’know!” Rai was cheering. “How’s this?” “Awesome!” After Rai and Seifer’s voices came a flash and the click of a camera shutter. Apparently they were taking pictures with Roxas passed out on the ground. “One more, y’know!” Roxas sprang up and rushed at Rai. “Hey, what’re you doing?!” “Keepsake,” Fuu said. “Those freaks in the white jumpsuits are gone, y’know!” Rai told him. …Gone? “What…were those things?” Roxas asked Seifer, who was staring at him. “That’s what I wanna know.” Seifer nodded decisively. “And if they don’t wise up to the rules around here, I might have to take disciplinary action.” “Yeah, Seifer’s always looking out for the town!” Rai crowed, as Fuu turned back toward the entrance to the sandlot. Hayner, Pence, and Olette were there, watching the proceedings. “Hmph…” Hayner frowned and turned away. Pence and Olette exchanged glances and followed suit. “Wait up!” Roxas hurried to catch them. “Hey, no chickening out of the tournament tomorrow!” Seifer called after him. Roxas pretended not to hear. When Roxas got back to their hideout, the mood dropped. “…You hung out with Seifer’s gang today?” Pence said, looking a little upset. “No, it’s not like that…” A moment later, Roxas redirected the conversation with a nervous question. “Oh yeah, how was the beach? You guys went today, right?” “Well…,” Olette replied with a glance at Hayner. “It wouldn’t be the same without all four of us.” “Sorry…” Roxas hung his head apologetically. Hayner wouldn’t even spare him a glance, so Roxas jumped up and approached the other boy. “Hey, what if we go tomorrow? We could get noodles, and—” Hayner bluntly turned his head away. “I promised I’d be somewhere.” “Ohh… Oh!” Then Roxas finally remembered—Tomorrow was the Struggle tournament. “I’m outta here.” Hayner got up and walked away. Heavy silence settled in after him, and Olette gave a tiny sigh. “Roxas…,” Pence started. “Sorry.” Roxas hung his head again. —Restoration at 48%— He was there with DiZ in the shadowy room. The computer made faint whirring and clicking sounds. “Was that Naminé made of data?” he asked. “No,” DiZ replied, staring at the screen. “Naminé hijacked the data herself. Look what she’s done now—completely beyond my control!” His clenched fist slammed down on the keyboard in frustration. The computer beeped softly. “Calm down,” he told DiZ, deflating slightly. That’s the first time I’ve seen him show any emotion. “It doesn’t matter,” DiZ said. “As long as Naminé fulfills her purpose, we needn’t worry about what befalls Roxas.” At that, he spun on his heels and began walking away. “Where are you going?” He left the room without answering. Naminé gazed at the sleeping Sora inside the pod. We have to do this for you to wake up…and for the worlds to wake up, she thought. Even if we have to sacrifice someone else…Sora must wake up. Is that really okay? Is it…right? We aren’t supposed to exist. We never should have been born. I know that…but I still have a wish. I want to exist here. And I want to remain in someone’s memories. Hey, Sora… What would you do? Would you tell us the same things you told the fake one, the puppet—the Replica? That we’re ourselves and no one else? That we have our own hearts inside of us? And yet…we have no hearts. We seek out hearts because we don’t have our own. Is it so wrong to seek out something we’ve lost? We have no hearts… But what is a heart, anyway? I can feel… I feel you. I can think… I think of you. We can want things… We want hearts. But doesn’t that mean we already have hearts? Or is a heart…something else? DiZ says that we are “anomalies.” Then what about Axel? Or Ansem? What about the others from the organization who died in Castle Oblivion? What is a heart? I don’t know. Sora… Do you know? The mystery of the one great heart…Kingdom Hearts. It doesn’t make sense to me. Hey, Sora… Can you tell me?