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With time, Roxas had gotten used to this place; the way the breeze tousled his hair even further than was normal for him, the sound of waves rolling against the white sand beneath his feet and even the occasional cry of sea gulls that flew their rounds above this island.
None of this was real, he knew that. It was merely a projection of the place most dear to him, the place he called home.
But Roxas found that he didn't mind. It was a truly beautiful place after all and while he would prefer to be somewhere else, he couldn't deny that the soft orange color the sand was bathed in thanks to the setting sun reminded him enough of his favorite past time to make him feel at home himself.
However, as beautiful and comforting the place was, it was also lonely – lonely enough for his imagination to run wild. Sometimes, he thought he saw a mirror image of himself running over the bridge that lead to the paopu tree. Other times, when he walked along the shore on the look out for sea shells, they seemed to vanish in the blink of an eye, accompanied by a girl's laugh. It wasn't Olette's and it sure wasn't Larxene's.
A big wave crashed against the sand and the corners of Roxas's mouth curled into a small lopsided grin.
Actually, the laugh sounded a little like Naminé. But also not her. Maybe Kairi, though he had heard her voice only twice, so he might be mistaken. Or maybe it's been just too long for him to remember everything properly.
He yawned a little and stretched his arms out above him. It was getting late and so he flopped down like he always did – and ended up looking right into a pair of cerulean eyes.
“Woah!”
Roxas sat up with a start and turned around as quickly as possible.
“Naminé?!”
“Hello Roxas,” she replied with a soft smile, her hands resting on her knees as she was slightly bent over him. Roxas quickly scrambled back onto his feet, staring dumbly at the girl who straightened up and loosely interlaced her fingers in front of her.
Her white signature dress looked as pristine as always, but it now hugged her curves in ways it hadn't before. Feeling a blush threatening to creep up his cheeks, Roxas quickly let his eyes wander upwards, over her grown golden hair that was draped over her right shoulder as always and curled up prettily at the tips, to her clear blue eyes and timid smile that immediately coaxed a smile out of Roxas in response.
“How are you here? Am I dreaming?”
He raised his arm slowly, nearly hesitantly as he took a step forward to reach out for Naminé to make sure she wasn't something his mind had conjured up. To his disappointment, Naminé took a step back, just out of his reach, and her eyebrows furrowed as her smile turned into a sad one.
“You aren't dreaming. I followed the bond between Kairi and Sora,” she faltered a little as pink started to dust her cheeks, “and our own to find you here. I don't know what I am,” she admitted, averting her eyes, and relaxed her fingers to rub her right upper arm nervously, “I might be a ghost, a shadow of my true self that could disintegrate as soon as I touch anything here. I could have materialized, allowing me to properly interact with you. All I know is that I'm not a figment of your imagination.”
“It doesn't matter,” Roxas intercepted quickly as he restrained himself from taking another step towards her, “I'm just glad you're here.” To be honest, he was just glad to hear her voice – it was such a relief to find out that it sounded just like in his memory.
Naminé bit her lip.
“I can't stay for long, our time is limited. I came to warn you.”
“About what?”
She took a deep breath before answering. “Xehanort. You know that he tried to make Sora one of his Darknesses?”
Roxas nodded. That was around the time this world had started to be in perpetual twilight instead of midday as it has before.
“To make somebody one of his Darknesses, he puts a part of his heart into them, effectively trying to control their hearts with it. Thanks to Axel, he didn't manage to do that to Sora, but through all the preparation that went into making Sora that candidate, their hearts connected.”
Roxas's eyes rose high under his bangs.
“But that means-”
“Yes. Xehanort has set foot in Sora's heart. And it allowed me to follow their link.” Naminé clasped her hands together over her chest as a shudder overcame her.
“This connection is terribly dangerous, it makes Sora vulnerable to Xehanort and the Darkness. And not only him, everyone in his heart is in danger.”
Everyone in his heart? Roxas was about to ask Naminé, but she continued.
“Please, Roxas, you have to be careful. Xehanort still needs a Darkness and being the perfectionist he is, he won't settle for anyone. He wants one of you two. He's tempting Sora to bring you back and to use the Darkness to do so.”
His heart sank.
“He's gonna do it, isn't he?”
Another sad smile spread over Naminé's lips. “You know how empathetic he is.”
Roxas sighed and rubbed his forehead. He had no idea how it was possible, him being only a heart and all, but he felt a headache coming.
“With or without Xehanort's meddling he will be waiting for you to come back, either to use you against Sora or make you a Darkness himself. You need to be careful.”
“But how? I am barely aware of myself and just serving my time here. I don't even know whether I can summon my Keyblade and if I can, there is nobody to train it on.”
“That I don't know.”
“Great, that's reassuring.”
To his surprise, he heard a soft laugh. Naminé had raised her fist up to her lips and chuckled lightly and Roxas couldn't help it but smile along with her. He had had no idea how pretty her laugh sounded until now. He definitely liked it.
“An acquaintance of mine once said that strength of heart will carry you through the hardest of trials. Your heart is strong, Roxas. You'll find a way.”
“It's not like I have a choice, do I?”
“Not really, no.”
The two of them smiled at each other for a while before Naminé rocked around on the sole of her feet and averted her eyes once again.
“I should go.”
“No!”
Surprised, Naminé raised her head sharply and looked into Roxas's eyes. Blood rushed into hiss head. He had said that out loud, hadn't he?
“I mean – how are you?”
“Me?” Naminé looked confused at that, even bewildered.
“Yes, you,” he replied with a lopsided grin and grew closer to her without even realizing, “I haven't seen you in a long time.”
He loved how her face lit up at that.
“I'm good. Kairi's heart is a pretty place with lots of flowers. It's lovely.”
“Kairi, huh?” A small pout formed on Roxas's face. “Remember how she and Sora promised to spend time together so we could be together? They're not doing a good job at it.”
“They are forced to spend time apart. Sora is trying to protect the world and Kairi is currently training to someday join and help him. It's really hard on her. And Sora keeps thinking about her a lot.”
“He is thinking about her? So you're a mind reader now, too?” He asked her with a grin. Naminé put her pointer finger against her chin and grinned in return as her hair started to shine in the sun.
“No, he's just an open book to me. His connections to Kairi and Riku are the strongest and being inside of Kairi, I am extra sensitive to that side of his feelings.”
Roxas swallowed.
“And others' feelings?”
Naminé's eyes fluttered.
“I-I –”
The gleam of her hair spread over Naminé's skin and clothes and a disappointed expression flickered over her face.
“I'm sorry. I'll vanish soon. Remember to stay safe and be ready. We need both you and Sora, it's not an option to lose either of you!”
Panic washed over Roxas. Naminé had just returned, she couldn't leave now. Without thinking, he stepped forward and gently grasped her wrist. To his surprise – and apparently Naminé's, too, judging by her widening eyes – she felt somewhat solid underneath his touch, although she gradually seemed to soften into nothingness. Both teenagers looked up, into each other's eyes, and in a crazy impulse, Roxas leaned forward. Just as he had caught the corner of Naminé's lips, she vanished in front of him, spreading into a million of tiny glowing orbs that flew up into the sky and away.
His face flushed bright red. He had actually aimed for her cheek, but he couldn't really find it in him to feel bad about it.
Unbeknownst to him, far away inside of Kairi's heart an equally flushed Naminé touched the corner of her mouth gently, her lips curling into the softest smile.