Archive of Our Own ^beta

“I'm the shadow you cast,”

Destiny was never left to chance—but, as Vanitas entered into a world of blue skies and clouds, he wondered if such a thing was honestly true. He heard nor saw anyone familiar. As he hung in the balance of life and death, Vanitas felt a pull and maybe despite himself, a feeling called 'regret'. He realized now that he was alone, he hadn't wanted the end...but he figured that it didn't matter—there was no other way. But, figures that it's still difficult for him to achieve peace—to move on.

He sniffed, derisively, if anything.

This wasn't new. Of course oblivion wouldn't alleviate his pain. There was still something that had connected him to the other world.

...He couldn't stand this—this silence, this waiting. This suffering.

It felt insurmountable, unbearable.

Then, a flash came before his eyes. A voice came through his head, the familiarity of it undeniable—

Connect the pieces—lined together, they'll light the way.

Once the blinding light ceased, the black—haired male saw a myriad images of himself. It was startling, but he felt an instinctive knowledge to reach out and touch—

The images dissipated at each touch, going away into nothing, causing him to stare a little each time before he would move onto the next.

He huffed in annoyance as he was forced to teleport or reach more than he should've had to.

Once he was finished, all of the blue sky and clouds dispersed, drawing back into an immense, all—consuming darkness. But, there was a sudden bright light that nearly blinded him, making him ask, “What the hell's your problem?”

He knew his inquiry would be met with silence, but it came out anyway—but to his surprise he saw that there was a figure in the light. There was some movement, and Vanitas was able to identify it for what it was—that figure reaching out a hand to him.

Vanitas scowled and asked, “And I'm supposed to just take that, aren't I?”

There was no answer, but there needn't be, because the being of darkness felt it was so all on his own. Probably for the better, really, because it enabled him to get over himself for a moment, and roughly snatch a hold of the hand.

He felt himself suddenly pulled forwards, until a light bright enough to overwhelm him assaulted his senses again.

With each choice that comes,

you must begin again;

the memories you hold,

are the key—

Once the clock strikes,

everything will start anew.

So will the pages turn,

And all that you knew,

will turn to dust—

'Til time trickles forward,

the sand building up,

and the water bursting forth,

painting a new sky.

A new memory.

A surge of concern burst through Vanitas, but it wasn't as if he had any chance to counteract what'd happen. All he remembered next was a male with spiky brown hair and blue eyes, smiling brightly.

Then, darkness.

…

Vanitas' eyes opened and scanned the area he was in rapidly.

He found he was in an enclosed space, with walls surrounding him, and a few others, within. They were literally all boxed in a wide area that seemed in absence of any exit points—though Vanitas couldn't even begin to fathom why this was. He also recognized literally none of the faces before him, though he felt like should know them.

Sand kicked up periodically and the sky seemed held in a perpetual dirty, murky orange color that didn't inspire this place as friendly. It made the black-haired male feel wary, if anything, and confused.

He saw the others wielding weapons and fighting someone who was nearby him. This person seemed to be of a large build and had white, short spiky hair. That wasn't the worst of it, however.

When Vanitas looked down at his gloved hands, he saw that a similar weapon to others' rest in his grasp. It looked menacing comparable to the white-haired man's own, though he couldn't discard the thought that his weapon felt familiar. So, maybe it was a start, even if he wasn't eager to be in a battle right off the bat.

A brunet amongst the fighters suddenly cast Vanitas a glance, looking a bit confused, and the suddenness made Vanitas stumble, stepping back hurriedly. Was he going to attack? He felt on-guard all of a sudden. The white-haired male nearby him seemed nonplussed at this, however, and shouted, “What are you doing? Stop sitting around and join the fight, Vanitas!”

...Vanitas? Was that his name?

A blond shouted, “Maybe he doesn't want to put up with you anymore! It's time to give Terra back!”

The white-haired man 'tsk'd' and asked, “Is that so?”

He forced something like a dark creature—a monster—out to attack as well as distract the others before he turned his attention on Vanitas, who felt his body tense. He said, “I'd considered my apprentice would turn on me, but not so late in the game.”

Vanitas asked, “...What? What're you talking about?”

“Oh? Were you just feeling contrary and standing around for show, then? I hadn't spent that time cultivating you to be useless.”

Anger coursed through Vanitas. He remembered nothing—or did he? Broken pieces of memories, of thoughts stirred in his mind, and he's unable to make sense of it. But the idea of being called 'useless' irritated him and he snarled, “Shut up.”

He rose his weapon in his hand, but the other was quicker, forcing Vanitas to block instead—his muscles seemed to remember even if his ability was lacking. It was sheer luck the older male hadn't knocked away Vanitas' weapon on the full swing given the power behind it and the black-haired male wasn't sure if he could hold it properly long enough to maintain an adequate defense. The man just said, “As expected that any apprentice of mine would be able to block such an attack.”

Praise. He felt his ego swell.

A blue-haired woman came swinging, forcing both to dodge—unfortunately, Vanitas' footwork was clumsy. She seemed to pick up on that, unrelenting in her own swings in every attack. He gritted his teeth in frustration as he tried to maneuver out of the way, and then—

“Aqua!”

She looked away and he let out a sigh of relief. But she'd done something right after, ice slamming into Vanitas, and causing him to crash into a wall, head first—hard enough that his helmet didn't help much in protecting him.

Lights out.

…

Vanitas opened his eyes to see the tall man who had white hair now had brown hair. He was with the blond and bluenette, along with the brunet. Maybe if he pretended to be dead, they'd leave him be.

Those chances were dashed when the bluenette turned to face his direction. He grumbled, both internally and externally.

Then, he rose shakily to his feet, and saw her approach, strange weapon appearing suddenly again in her hands, as if sensing the danger. He gritted his teeth, and found he still had his weapon with him so he held it up in front of him defensively. “Stay back!”

She paused, seeming perturbed before she hardened her expression. “Vanitas...don't think I've forgotten your role in this.”

He mocked, “Vanitas, don't think I've forgotten your role in this.”

She gave him the stink eye, and opened her mouth to say more but the blond put a hand on her arm and said, “Hang on...I'll talk to him. He's my responsibility.”

Great. There was only four of them against one of him.

As the blond inched closer, Vanitas asked, “What, wanted to finish me off instead?”

He hated how shaky his voice sounded..like he was afraid. But he couldn't help it!

The blond's features softened at that and he replied, “No. I don't want to hurt you.”

Vanitas paused, and eyed the blond more carefully, noticing that he had no weapon out anymore. Now that he thought about it, there was a sense of familiarity about him more than he felt with the others.

He lowered his own weapon in his hands, but only slightly. The blond still approached, making Aqua say, “Ven—“

“—It's okay. I don't think he'll attack.”

Vanitas' eyes narrowed, and—god, he needed to take this stupid helmet off. It was irritating, and so he did, shaking his head a bit. He could practically feel his face sweating.

He missed the way the blond's mouth parted in a soft 'oh' because the brunet obnoxiously exclaimed, “He...has my face?! Ventus did you see—”

Vanitas felt an eyeroll come on and glared at him before looking at the blond who'd come too close for comfort. He asked, “Alright. What do you want?”

Ventus asked, “I was wondering if you'd like to go with us?”

Hm. That was something he'd never expected...maybe he could use it to his advantage. They did seem to know who he was. Was it possible that the blond might've been friends with him at one point? He'd guessed that may have been why the white-haired man figured he didn't want to fight with him anymore.

Still, he felt an urge to smirk, so he did, and asked, “Why should I?”

“B—because—”

He laughed—the sound even surprised himself. But it did amuse him. “I'm kidding. I'll come...Ven. Just remember I'm putting my trust in you—don't make me regret it.”

Ventus nodded, smiling. Aqua finally approached, along with the two brunets. The shorter brunet smiled and held out his hand. “Good to have you with us, Vanitas.”

Vanitas stared at the hand for a little while...what was he even supposed to do with this? He hesitantly reached out to place his hand against the brunet's, resting it on it's top, and then silence came over them. The taller brunet looked at Aqua, who also looked at him, appearing perturbed.

The brunet even blinked and Ventus said, “He's probably never done a handshake before.”

Vanitas drew away his hand, as the shorter brunet said, “Well, that's fine. At least he didn't smack it away.”

Maybe he should do that next time.

The taller brunet asked, “What do you plan to do now, Vanitas?”

“Why should I tell you?”

Aqua asked, “You realize we have no reason to trust you, right?”

Vanitas felt his face contort into an ugly expression and opened his mouth, but Ventus quickly said, “Let's all just take a breath. We've all been through a lot.”

The shorty smiled and said, “Yeah.”

The tallest male then sighed and added, “I know it's hard to trust us, but I get it. I know what it's like to be used by Mast—by Xehanort, even if you were his direct apprentice. It's only because of my friends that I'm myself now.”

Vanitas paused and replied, “So, three people who probably won't slit my throat in a back alley. Impressive.”

Aqua rose a brow and asked, “Three?”

The black-haired boy correctly guessed, “You'd kill me, without hesitation.”

There was silence between the rest of them and the short brunet said, “I'd hope not. But, I'll go on ahead—we'll all meet up later?”

Aqua nodded and Ventus said, “I'll keep everyone here from...hurting each other.”

Vanitas laughed and Aqua sighed.

After the small brunet left, Vanitas allowed himself to sit down. His eyes closed as he let out a soft breath of relief from some of the tension leaving him. He can relax—his limbs were aching all over.

Maybe he could nap...

…

When Vanitas awoke, he found himself in a bed and his body felt like it still ached.

...Why does it hurt?

It was honestly a pain, but at least the covers were nice. He turned in bed and just let darkness claim him again—maybe if he slept long enough, the pain would disappear. So, once again, the black—haired boy fell asleep—it wasn't all that hard.

“You're really such a sleepyhead, aren't you?”

Golden eyes snapped open to see Ventus and he quickly sat up, an embarrassing, surprised noise coming from him. He frowned when he heard the blond laughing. “Ven...as if you haven't slept in from time to time yourself.”

Ventus smiled, though it was a touch sad for reasons Vanitas could not understand at the moment. “Yeah...”

Vanitas reached over and grabbed him by the nose, smirking as he watched the blond flail...he wanted to wipe the sad look off his face. It worked. “H—hey, cut it out!”

He let go, still smirking as Ventus pouted, and he asked, “So, where am I?”

“In Yen Sid's Tower. We've been recuperating and organizing all of ourselves after what'd happened so we could kind of clean up Xehanort's mess...oh, we basically put him to rest while you were out.”

Vanitas listened closely and determined that clearly, it was Xehanort's fault for everything. He asked, “When do we leave? Unless you want to live here.”

Ventus laughed and replied, “When we get some things in order, we'll probably leave and head back to the Land of Departure. Naturally, you can come with—I don't care what Aqua or Terra say.”

The black-haired male blinked and said, “Feeling daring, aren't you?”

That made the blond smile again, but this time without a hint of sadness. “Yeah. Want to go grab a bite to eat?”

Vanitas slid out of the bed. His body still throbbed, but whenever he was near the blond it'd subsided somewhat. He decided the solution was to stick as close as possible.

The black-haired boy followed Ventus, who headed into a large kitchen positioned in the tower. The brooms walked right out as soon as the two entered and Vanitas just stared at them as they walked off. However, in his moment of being mesmerized, he accidentally walked into the table, and stumbled.

Ventus caught him before he fell and said, 'Careful—don't worry though, I was weirded out when I saw them too.”

“Mm...whatever,” muttered Vanitas who felt warm at contact—it felt just right and even made him feel sleepy. His knees felt weak too, so he began to really slump against the blond, making Ventus exclaim, surprised, “H-hey! You need to stand up on your own—don't be such a lazy bones!”

Vanitas smirked and said, “Maybe I'll make you carry me everywhere because you said that.”

“Vanitas!”

At that, the black-haired male laughed—Ventus noticed it sounded rough, but...not as harsh as the ones he'd heard before. Then the other male finally moved and looked over at the table. There was already an assortment of food available...

Vanitas blinked and hesitated as his hand reached out.

“If you can manage a strike on myself, perhaps I might take you to a place that has comfortable amenities and scores of food. Anything you'd like, of course.”

The prospect enticed him despite his own suffering—a reward for being successful? Vanitas worked harder that day until his limbs failed him and he slipped unconscious sooner than usual.

He didn't succeed and the offer had been the only time Xehanort had indicated any sort of generosity.

The following day when he awoke, it was the last time he shed tears, but when he did, he sobbed until there was nothing left.

His hand was still trembling when Ventus looked over after grabbing some food. The blond frowned, noticing the beads of sweat sliding down the other's face. He began to say, “Vani—“

“I—I'm fine,” The black-haired male quickly said after Ventus' words snapped him out of his daze. He then managed to snatch some food with an attitude.

“Vanitas.”

Vanitas felt his face flush and he turned his head away—for some reason it felt so embarrassing and humiliating for the blond to worry about him. But, at the same time...he liked the attention, and he didn't know how to deal with it. He then felt a hand on his shoulder and this time, he wrenched himself away from Ventus...reluctantly. He felt an unbearable amount of conflicting emotions assaulting him and—

Vanitas dropped his plate by accident and he felt frustration and irritation reign king in his emotional space. This is when the Unversed crawled out of his shadow, from him and Ventus watched, eyes wide.

The black-haired male's own eyes were wide as he processed what was going on and thought, They...did they come from me?

He looked back at Ventus as a sudden realization came over him and he smiled, but in all the ways it looked so wrong. “You befriended a monster. No wonder I was Xehanort's apprentice.”

The blond's expression shifted from concerned to something tighter and determined. Something within Vanitas curled in distaste at Ventus' look.

I can't stand looking at him when he has a face like that.

But he didn't know why—and then Ventus said, “You know, I was Xehanort's apprentice too. Does that make me a monster as well?”

Vanitas' face grew hot and instead of the Floods, a Hareraiser popped up, making Ventus almost laugh, if it weren't so serious. He just gave the other a reassuring smile instead. “Vani, look, you're not a bad person, or a monster. Okay?”

A pause hung in the air as he took Ventus' words close to him, and he hesitantly concluded that maybe...just maybe he was right. But, he wouldn't lie to him, right? They seemed to have gotten along...and they're friends—not to mention he's the one who remembers everything. He sighed and said, “This is a pain, I still made a mess...”

One of the Floods he summoned began dancing on the table, making Vanitas snap, “Stop that.”

Vanitas went to grab a mop he saw and got hit in the face with it's small handle instead thanks to his hands deciding to have butterfingers. The black-haired male growled and Ventus reached to lightly pull on his arm. “Why don't we leave it up to them to clean up?”

The black-haired boy grumbled and snatched up some more food. He then glanced at the Floods, not knowing what to do with them, but as long as they don't hurt anyone he's sure it's fine. Naturally, they followed him and Ventus right out of the kitchen.

“...Hey, Ventus! Woah, are you guys starting a revolution?”

The brunet from earlier caught him, Ventus, and the following Floods. Ventus laughed and said, “Not really, no...Vanitas just summoned them and—well, here we are.”

The brunet asked, “Can I hold one?”

The black-haired boy shrugged, and then the other took it as permission to pick up one and hug it. As a result, Vanitas felt a curious warmth spread throughout him...it began to relax him from earlier.

“...I almost thought there was something going on with all this Unversed, but I guess I have nothing to worry about after all.”

The brunet turned towards a male with short white hair and said, “Riku! Glad to see you could join us.”

Riku nodded with a slight smile, and honestly, the picture was ridiculous—Sora and Ventus holding Unversed while Vanitas was eating, with a slight tint of red to his cheeks.

Vanitas then snapped at him, “What're you looking at?”

“A...lot of things, apparently.”

The honesty made the suddenly defensive male simmer down as he muttered, “...Nevermind.”

Riku then said, 'That aside, I'm here to bring Vanitas back to see Yen Sid. Apparently, there's something he wanted to discuss with you.”

Vanitas blinked and asked, 'Who's Yen Sid?”

Ventus smiled and said, “He's a retired Keyblade Master, but he's not a bad person at all. I'm sure it'll be okay.”

Vanitas gave a shrug, thinking that if Ventus said that, it was probably true. The black-haired boy let the other light-haired male guide him to Yen Sid's study, after Ventus and Sora agreed to...watch the Unversed.

...Look, he doubts bringing them all into someone's study would go over well.

As Vanitas wandered in after Riku, he concluded the study wasn't as large as he imagined it would've been. Maybe his imagination had gotten too close of a hold on him.

Riku closed the door behind him, and Vanitas felt his first twinge of hesitance. He forced it down—he had nothing to fear, because if they wanted to kill him, they'd have done it already (why is he thinking of it now?)

The old man folded his hands and spoke, “Vanitas, it's good you've decided to join us. That being as the case, you realize as Xehanort's apprentice, there have been some questions. I am hoping to ease such worries by asking you myself—”

“—Whatever, just get it over with.”

The old man seemed unperturbed and continued speaking. “Very well. Why don't we start off with why you left their side in the first place?”

Vanitas smirked and said, “Easy. Ventus said I could, so I did—we're friends, after all.”

A sudden silence came over the room and Riku coughed awkwardly. The elder rose a brow slowly and then let it fall back into place before he said, “...I see. And your plans for the future?”

“Traveling around the worlds with Ventus. Maybe helping him out so he doesn't get killed by his kindness.”

This time no raise of a brow occurred—Vanitas imagined what he said lined up with his expectations.

Then, he nodded, making Vanitas ask, “Can I go now?”

Yen Sid rose a hand to stop him, making Vanitas frown. “After one more question. Can you tell me what being under Xehanort was like?”

Vanitas scoffed and said, “Like hell, obviously. What a dumb question—”

“—And how much of it do you remember?”

Busted.

He stiffened and his lips tightened into a thin line. He knew, didn't he? He wracked his brain for answers—would they take advantage of his amnesiac state? He eyed the older man warily.

The elder continued, “From what I heard, you sustained a blow to the head. So I assumed that there was a possibility of memory damage—am I wrong?”

Vanitas huffed. “...No. I barely remember anything except a few memories of being with Xehanort himself. What of it?”

The sound of a loud chained item hit the table and the black-haired boy stepped closer, out of curiosity to see what it was. It looked like a wristband with chains embedded into it. It was black and gave off a strange feeling. He scrutinized it and asked, “...What's this?”

“A complex device. It was determined that due to your actions you were to take responsibility and allow us to monitor you for a year. This would also severely limit your capabilities and seal your magic.

As you have no memory of what you did, it'd be hard to say you could simply own up to your actions and be held accountable for them, wouldn't it?”

Vanitas felt the world tilt. What he did? What...that's right, he'd been under Xehanort's thumb for however long that was, but he didn't doubt he committed quite a few atrocities due to being on his side. Not to mention probably being one of those pretty close to him as his 'apprentice'. “...Yeah...”

With a wave of his hand, the chained wristband dispersed and he said, “You may leave now, Vanitas.”

Vanitas ran out the door and Yen Sid sighed, looking to Riku, but the other male had already left to follow.

The black-haired boy found himself on the outside, green grass easily beneath his feet. The wind felt nice on his face and so did the afternoon sun that gently filtered over from the horizon. He released a shuddering breath and saw one of the monsters – the Unversed – from earlier flickering around his feet. This time it was a Mandrake...how irritating.

He heard the door to the building open up behind him and he turned around to see Riku standing there. He said, “Hey.”

“What.”

The Mandrake shuddered and looked like it was about to leap up and attack, but Vanitas put a hand on top of it's head. Riku said, “I wanted to make sure you were alright.”

Vanitas turned around from him after scooping the Unversed up into his arms. “Ventus said I wasn't a monster. He was wrong.”

The other male spoke, albeit gently, “No, he was right. The real monster was Xehanort—he manipulated, used, abused, and killed so many people. No matter what anyone says, you deserve a second chance—you don't even remember your part in it.”

Vanitas still refused to look at Riku and stared past the trees to beyond the mountains. “And if I do remember?”

Riku insisted, “You'd still deserve a second chance.”

A silence came over the two of them and he whispered, “Something tells me that it's not true.”

“Oh really? We'll see about that. In the meantime, why don't you come with me for a little bit?”

Vanitas paused and then asked, “...Where?”

Riku said, “You'll see. It's a surprise.”

…

The familiarity of Destiny Islands wasn't lost on the black-haired male. The best time to come seemed to be in the afternoon, given how beautiful the islands looked in the setting sun.

“How come you—”

The rest of Vanitas' words were aborted into a surprised squawk. Though, he'd rather die before admitting it.

Water dripped down from his hair, easily falling into the sand below, near his feet. A look of irritance crossed his face at being splashed in the face by the other. He petulantly kicks sand right back at Riku, smirking when Riku raises his hands to try to shield his face.

It's what he deserves—maybe following the other out here wasn't a bad idea at all.

…

“We're leaving. Want to come back with us, Vanitas?'

Ventus' expression was bright and beautiful as always. Vanitas replied, “Alright; it's better than staying in this place.”

Aqua frowned and exchanged a look with Terra. However, both of them said nothing as they didn't want to upset Ventus and the circumstances surrounding his situation seemed to change due to word of his memory issues catching wind with them. Still, they were wary due to previous experiences, even though Terra had said what he had earlier, and no one could blame them for that.

…

Crack.

A dish had just met contact with the floor and shattered. It brought a certain brunet down into the kitchen; he'd been wandering around anyway due to a bout of insomnia and hoped stretching his legs would relieve his restlessness.

He peered his head around the kitchen's doorway, and was witness to an...interesting scene. There Vanitas was, kneeling in front of the broken pieces of glass. He reached to pick up some with his own fingers. This made the brunet frown and come into the room properly, saying, “That's dangerous; you know there's a broom and pan you could use instead.”

Vanitas stared at the brunet with a cautious look in his eyes. Even without memories, just thinking of him with white hair just set him on edge. “Why do you care? We're not friends.”

Terra sighed and said, “Because we're going to be living together, and I'm not eager to see cut fingers.”

“...Because it'll be a mess you have to clean up.”

The brunet shook his head. “Vanitas—”

Vanitas recalled what Yen Sid said to him and snapped, “You don't have to pretend to be nice to me!”

A couple of Flood and Scrappers appeared and Terra summoned Ends of the Earth to quickly dispatch them. The black-haired boy felt a spring of pain radiate from within him and fell to one knee, gritting his teeth.

What was this feeling? Why did it hurt? He asked, “...Why...does it hurt...?”

More Unversed appeared and the emotions that assailed him were relentless and worse than it felt than that feeling of “pain”, and it only generated something in him that's been sleeping like a giant. The feeling that something about this was familiar, and it feels like he can't breathe, being submerged in a wave of emotions. “Stop, it hurts—! I can't—I can't stop!”

Terra exclaimed, “What do you mean you can't—?!”

He paused, remembering what Ventus had told him about the other not recalling things.

“Just give him a chance, please. Yen Sid said he didn't even remember anything—that's all the more reason we can try to help him, right?”

But, in that case, the brunet froze, holding his Keyblade uncertainly—how could he help the other like this? Then he heard, “Terra, wait! Don't attack them—you'll hurt him!”

Luckily, the Unversed seem to freeze as well when the blond went to embrace the trembling Vanitas. Terra heard Ventus say softly, “It's okay. Just take a few breaths—”

Terra looked at the scene between the blond and black-haired male, almost like a deer in headlights. But, to Ventus' credit, his voice gave something to focus on for Vanitas, whose breathing became more controlled, though was still mostly unsteady. “...What're you doing?”

Ventus blinked and asked, “What do you mean?”

Vanitas paused and muttered, “...Nevermind.”

They just stood there for a bit and Vanitas' breath slowed to something more regular, though his body was tense, drawn tight like a bow string. Terra asked, “...Can we do something about all of this?”

There were Unversed racing around, Floods taking cookies and Hareraisers jumping up and down on a table. Vanitas blinked and said, “Yeah...whatever.

All of you, stop.”

They stopped, though one Flood went over to Vanitas and handed him a cookie. “...I think I've gotten it mostly under control.”

Yeah, mostly sounds about right, thought Terra and shook his head at the sight before summoning away his Keyblade.

Aqua stepped into the kitchen and gasped, looking at the mess. Vanitas said, “Uh—oh. Time to go!”

Then, the blond and dark-haired male scurried off, Vanitas tugging Ventus along and the score of Unversed followed. The blue-haired woman opened her mouth and then closed it, before turning to the brunet. “Terra! What happened...?!”

Terra rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “...I'm not sure, actually. But, Ventus seemed to calm him down.”

“He did?”

Terra nodded. “Yeah...”

Still, Aqua sighed, looking at this mess. “...If only he calmed Vanitas down sooner.”

And she had her worries—that it could be some kind of dangerous, insidious ploy, and it was up to them to keep watch. As well as apparently...clean up after their messes, and at that thought, she pinched the bridge of her nose.

Maybe she should teach Vanitas how to pick up after himself, at least. Threat or not.

…

Vanitas stuck close to Ventus as he was brought through Radiant Garden and asked, “Why are we here again?”

“Because, it's a nice place to be, and I think a breath of fresh air could benefit us both.”

“...Whatever.”

Vanitas wasn't really all that excited because there were an inordinary number of people in this place and he kind of felt nervous around so many. He made sure to keep sticking close to the blond and glared at anyone who seemed to glance his way as well as tried to mostly situate himself out of people's sights as possible to seem invisible.

Then, they finally entered a place where there was less people, making Vanitas breathe a sigh of relief. There were a multitude of fabrics hanging on the wall, many of which caught Vanitas' eye with ease.

He felt as if he was being swallowed up in their sheer volume and variety. Then, he heard Ventus ask, “...want some?”

Vanitas shook the clouds from his head and asked, “...What?”

The blond smiled brightly – always so bright, like the sun – and said, “I asked if you wanted anything in the store.”

Vanitas took a breath...taking in this moment—Ventus was always so bright, so patient with him. It stirred for the first time a warm, uplifting emotion in him—no maybe not the first time. Maybe the second time, something similar to when he'd been playing on the beach with Riku and seeing the male's smile as the afternoon sun's rays flitted all over him—

The black-haired male tried to wrestle himself back into reality, swallowing, and said, “You...shouldn't waste your money on me.”

Did Ventus have enough to do something like that anyway?

Ventus frowned and asked, “Why?”

Vanitas faltered and started with, “I...”

But, he couldn't finish. The blond's frown deepened and he reached to place a hand on the other's arm, making Vanitas flinch—his body remembered touch as something dreaded. Even if it was Ventus, he always felt something like his throat closing and apprehension intensify, but he couldn't even voice it to the blond. Because when he got close, it also drove away the pain...so he didn't want to even bother saying—that he flinched and tensed at being touched.

Because if he did, Ventus might stop, and he wouldn't know what to do if he did.

However, the blond seemed to notice his flinching this time and drew away his hand. Ventus spoke gently, “Come with me. Let's look around.”

Vanitas opened his mouth to protest but decidedly closed it.

As they were walking through the through the aisles, the raven—haired male's eyes landed on a necklace in a shape of a star.

An unbreakable connection.

It was a red. He raised his hand to grab a hold of it. There was also a red scarf and something about it felt nice, felt familiar—so he took it too.

He turned to face Ventus, who passed him a gentle smile that made him feel warm all over again as he held the charm in his hands.

He was embarrassed and it reached his face. After all the fuss he made...he'd found something he liked after all.

His hands trembled and his words got stuck in his throat. He heard the blond ask, “Found something you like?”

Vanitas still couldn't find the words, so he just nodded. But...he had no money and the realization struck him with a stinking feeling.

He began to put the items back, only to feel a hand gently laid upon his own, stopping him—soon he found himself looking into Ventus' soft, blue eyes.

“You don't have to put that away. I can buy it for you.”

Vanitas frowned and said, “But...I'll owe you, won't I?”

“What do you mean?”

The black-haired male replied, “I'd have to pay you back. It's only fair, right?”

Ventus looked thoughtful and then smiled. “Okay, I got the perfect payment in mind. I'll buy those for you and you'll do something for me.”

Vanitas looked at him skeptically and then said, “...Okay.”

When they went to the front of the store and purchased what they needed, Vanitas smiled slightly at the items in his hands. He put away the necklace and placed the red scarf around his neck.

Ventus said, “Alright, time to pay up.”

Before Vanitas could question what exactly he was expecting in payment, he found himself suddenly hugged close to the other blond. He tensed, his body seeming to react adversely still to being touched, but after a bit, he relaxed somewhat.

It was Ventus. He had no reason to hurt him, after all.

“...Doesn't count if you don't hug back,” Muttered Ventus and Vanitas felt his face burn but he returned the hug. It felt more...warm, and though his returning embrace was awkward, he felt it served its purpose—his eyes closed as he began to even relax.

Then, he heard, “Aww...”

Vanitas immediately pulled away from the blond—the black-haired male felt embarrassment as he realized the store clerk was there, the smile on their lips at the display evident. He heard Ventus laugh and that made the bashfulness color his cheeks red. A sprig of annoyance came through him at this and he said sharply, “Stop laughing!”

He didn't and Vanitas flicked Ventus on the nose, making the blond flail, almost falling over.

He definitely deserved that one.

…

“An outing? Why would I want to go...?”

Vanitas sounded grumpy, but it was mostly because he wasn't eager to be around so many people—especially those who might hate him. Even with his amnesiac state.

Ventus said, “Well, I just thought you wouldn't want to be left alone.”

Thoughts from a forgotten past came over him—

He felt loneliness, emptiness—only an all encompassing solitary existence when the old man left him on the desert ocean. But, it bred strength, and it would help him accomplish his goal.

How could he not find solace in it? But, at the same time, he...

He felt afraid. He didn't want to be alone again.

“No,” he gasped, falling to his knees, holding his head. He felt sick and curled in on himself, the words leaving his lips in a repeated, deranged mantra.

Ventus quickly was by his side and said, “I'm here, it's okay, I'm here.”

“...Don't leave me.”

The blond frowned in worry, and could tell Vanitas had summoned Unversed in the room, but held the other close. After awhile, the other managed to stand, roughly pushing the blond away and refused to look at Ventus. He felt humiliated that he broke down like that. Ventus said, “...Maybe later, then.”

Vanitas scowled. “I'm not interested in going, so don't let me hold you back.”

He felt jealous.

How could Ventus do such things so easily? He didn't remember anything and yet...he smiled and laughed like it was nothing. So many friends flocked to him—it wasn't fair.

“Vanitas...”

The other snapped, “They're your friends, aren't they? I don't want to give them another reason to hate me.”

Vanitas could feel an ugliness rise, bubbling in his throat, as if he might puke at the thought of being without Ventus by his side. Or the blond with the others, being so happy.

He hated it, he hated—!

The thought scared Vanitas enough that he halted it in an iron grip, ashamed to admit what had crossed his mind. He really was a monster.

Ventus frowned and said, “Vanitas, listen. I don't think anyone would be upset if I take some time away from them.”

A pause, and Vanitas felt guilty—happy—for the blond to choose him over them. “...Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

Ventus smiled, and Vanitas wanted to keep that smile for him.

Only him.

Ventus said, “There's something I want to show you and we need to talk about something too.”

The black-haired boy nodded and followed Ventus outside. He was led to a foresty part with a running river, which was evidently teeming with life.

When Ventus sat down with the other standing nearby, the blond spoke up. “Those guys you summon come from your negative emotions. They're the Unversed...but I think you already knew that.

It's hard to forget something that's basically yourself. It looks like hurting them seems to hurt you, though I didn't figure out that until...what happened in the kitchen and you looked in pain when Terra struck them down.”

“So, I'm a monster who summons monsters.”

Ventus frowned and the other male looked away. “You're not a monster, Vanitas.”

“...”

Ventus then blinked when he noticed something...and said, “Vanitas, look at your feet.”

Vanitas scoffed, crossing his arms and replied, “Nice try, Ven, but your pranks aren't getting me this time.”

A day ago, Ventus had played some pranks on Vanitas. Of course, the other did his best to get him back, but he was kind of amnesiac so it made it difficult. He wasn't about to fall for another one of the blond's, though. This time? He was prepared.

Super prepared.

...If Vanitas had chanced a look, however, he would've seen a Monarch Butterfly had landed on one of his shoes. But to make matters worse, another one had even taken residence on his right shoulder. Then another followed, landing on his left one.

Ventus tried to hold in his laughter, but it wasn't working. Vanitas frowned and asked, “What's so funny?”

“N—nothing...!”

“Ven, you're a terrible liar.”

Right as Vanitas said that, another butterfly landed on Vanitas' head.

Ventus burst out laughing and Vanitas tightened the arm cross, drawing his expression into something vaguely resembling a pout, which made the blond laugh again but manage to say, “L-look, the butterflies, they're—“

“...?”

Vanitas looked down on himself and saw a bunch of butterflies on him, causing him to yelp in surprise, jumping a little, before getting off-balance, and landing unceremoniously into the shallow water from the river nearby them with a loud splash .

He glared at Ventus who was now in fits, laughing the hardest he's ever in years, and then Vanitas had a Bruiser form, which picked up the blond and tossed him into the river right beside the raven-haired male.

Ventus let out a squawk of surprise as a big splash resulted. He was now looking like a wet cat, and Vanitas smirked as he said, “Nice look.”

Ventus rolled his eyes, but before he could say anything, Terra happened on the both of them. He snorted at their sight, saying, “...So that's where you guys went—and I'm sure both of you are having fun playing around but Aqua and I just finished making dinner. Want to head back and have some?”

Vanitas felt his face glow and kicked water petulantly at the brunet, making him hold up his hands. “Hey! What was that for?!”

Then the smaller male ran off, and Ventus snickered. “I guess that's a yes?”

“...I guess so,” sighed Terra, brushing at his wet trousers.

…

It was silent at dinner with the exception of Ventus speaking to try to lighten up the mood.

Vanitas put away his plate and when he was done, said, “Not bad.”

Then, he was off and Aqua blinked, wondering if she was hallucinating things. Ventus said, “See, he's not so bad!”

Aqua frowned and said, “We need to be careful, Ven. Even if Xehanort's gone, he could be trying to carry out his own goals.”

Ventus made a face at her and ran off after placing away his plates. She sighed at this and Terra spoke up, saying, “Aqua, I think it's good to worry, but I don't think it can hurt to give Vanitas a chance. We can watch closely, and...if I'm being honest, I know he wasn't treated well by Xehanort.

We were once in the same body, and there were things I saw I wish I hadn't.”

The blue-haired woman looked at him curiously and he just shook his head. “I know it doesn't excuse everything, but at least we know he had a reason. I'm not asking you to trust him or even forgive him—I just think it can't hurt to think things over, that's all.”

He wasn't asking her to blindly trust him, which was good. But honestly? Aqua didn't want to give him a chance...though her curiosity wanted to ask what he'd seen. Still, she supposed she must've thought that didn't warrant her poking into the privacy of others, no matter who it was, because she decidedly didn't inquire despite her curiosity.

She sighed. “We'll see.”

Terra smiled, though it was a little tired. They'd been through a lot after all.

Changing subjects, the brunet said, “So, what'd you think about the new ones that've arrived?”

Aqua finally placed her dish away and then she turned to face him with a smile—he must mean the new Keyblade Wielders, she supposed. “Well...”

…

Vanitas planted his face onto the bed of the room he'd been given. Ventus followed to sit down nearby him and said, “I think you did good.”

This just made the other scowl and say, “It doesn't matter. She'll always hate me.”

Ventus frowned and opened his mouth but Vanitas put up a hand to stop him. “I don't care that she does or anyone else.”

A small pause came as he said softly, “...All I need is you.”

Then, Vanitas paused, remembering the male with light-colored hair on the beach and felt a warmth in his chest. But, he didn't voice it—he didn't want to...it felt embarrassing. “Just me? Are you sure?”

“I'm sure. Who else would there be?”

“Hmmm...”

Ventus began sending messages to his friends and asked Vanitas, “Sora?”

Vanitas huffed. “Definitely not.”

“Riku?”

A silence came over the two of them. A sneaky smile found it's way across the blond's lips. “He said he's free tomorrow.”

Vanitas said, “I hate you.”

“Really?”

A hesitant pause. “...no, not really.”

“Knew it.”

The golden-eyed male snapped, “Don't push your luck.”

“Okay but offer's still open.”

Vanitas felt an urge to tackle Ventus, so he did just that, being treated to the blond's laughter again as they rolled around on the bed on each other. Soon, Ventus was trying to tickle Vanitas, who slapped at his hands, before letting out an embarrassing loud laugh when he wasn't able to ward off an attack to the armpits.

He couldn't help but think, I can't believe I sound like that!

Vanitas shouted, “Once I get my hands on you, that's it!”

Ventus just laughed again and they continued to fool around until they exhausted themselves playing around. The blond moved to wrap his arms around Vanitas, who tensed but then relaxed.

Ventus smiled when he felt the other snuggle up against him. He heard Vanitas ask, “...Why does it hurt unless I'm close to you?”

A sudden silence fell between the two of them. Ventus sighed and said, “A long time ago, you and I were split by Xehanort. He thought he'd get what he wanted if he had one of his darkness and the other completely light.”

Vanitas frowned and asked, “...How much did it hurt?”

Ventus answered quietly, “It hurt... a lot. So much that I know I almost died.

I don't know why you hurt, but...I'm taking a guess it has to do with what he did.”

The blond smiled sadly as he felt Vanitas' arms wrap around him tightly. “He's gone.”

As soon as he said those words, time seemed to stop—even Ventus' breathing.

Is he?

A voice echoed in his mind.

No one is ever really gone .

Darkness surrounded Vanitas, and he blinked, standing up, looking around. He felt apprehensive and a weight settled in his chest, noticing Ventus' absence. He asked, “Ventus? Where are you?”

The area opened up suddenly into a desert wasteland and there stood an old man facing him. He didn't recognize him—or wait, no, he did.

It was Master Xehanort.

Fear seized Vanitas' entire body and the elder spoke, “I thought you wanted to attain salvation. Your progress has been excruciatingly slow. Much more than I had endeavored for it to be.

You must be powerful—a formidable for Ventus beyond measure! Anything less is simply...unacceptable.”

Vanitas began to step back before he turned, breaking into a run. He didn't want this—he wanted to go back. To be with Ventus, in that room, talking and laughing with him again. But he didn't get far, as the old man had somehow appeared in front of him, stopping the black-haired boy short in his escape.

In the next moment, Xehanort thrust an imposing weapon straight into his stomach—the strength behind the swing wasn't obvious until the hit landed.

It hurt.

Vanitas fell to his knees, holding his stomach, and he puked up his dinner. He heard the man above say, “...Pah, you couldn't even manage to dodge that?”

How could he? He didn't even know it was coming!

He gasped, wiping his mouth. “But—”

Then he felt a large pain on his back, making his body slam against the harsh ground. He heard the man, “Expect the unexpected. The only way to evade is to react properly and promptly.”

He moved to get up but the Keyblade came down on his back, again and again, making golden eyes widen as he felt intense waves of pain that shocked him at first. He was stunned and felt helpless until he somehow managed to roll out of the way of an incoming blow.

Vanitas got up and Xehanort had already swung, hitting him in the side. He was learning quickly that despite the elder's age, he didn't have a weak swing.

He was faster than Vanitas could've ever imagined—his own reaction time was good, but poor in the face of Xehanort's onslaught.

He was caught in the chest and then he felt another blow land into his abdomen, blood dripped down his lips. An explosion of pain brought Vanitas to the ground.

Vanitas coughed some blood up, but he realized it looked darker than anything red...like how it was supposed to be—it was black. He noticed it even with his blurry vision, and he heard the older male 'tut' and saw him prepare to strike. He couldn't take anymore!

When the Keyblade landed, Vanitas screamed .

“Vanitas! Vanitas, wake up!”

The black-haired boy snapped awake, blinking back tears in his eyes, and then went to touch is own mouth which was wet...with something. Maybe he really did cough up his dinner—he felt gross and ashamed. He couldn't look at Ventus, who had his hands on his shoulders.

But because he couldn't, he noticed Aqua on alert along with Terra standing in the room looking tense...and there was a bit of worry in his gaze.

Vanitas drew harsh breaths and covered his mouth, feeling sick. He pulled away from the blond who reached out to him. Why does Ventus want to touch him? He can't help but feel filthy...feel so weak.

Terra gently asked, “...Nightmare?”

The black-haired male gasped, “...He's here. Xehanort's—”

Aqua shook her head and said, “He's gone.”

Vanitas felt like the room was too small. He was feeling too much all at once, and then there was a Hareraiser along with a Mandrake in the room. He asked, “Are you sure?”

The blue-haired woman nodded stiffly, eyes on the Unversed. “We made sure of it.”

Terra added, “And he's not coming back.”

After that, a sigh escaped Vanitas, and he then muttered, “I need...to clean up.”

He brushed past the two and headed into the bathroom, with Ventus throwing the other two a thankful smile as he followed.

As expected, Vanitas was at a loss on how to use anything in the bathroom until Ventus led him on how. Then he paused and said, “...I need to find a way to take these clothes off somehow. But, I don't know how.”

He'd...stained the front of it when he apparently passed out and had the nightmare, and – and it was gross, honestly. Ventus looked at a loss until he asked, “Maybe...just imagine it peeling away into nothing?”

Vanitas nodded, and once he did, he found it worked, leaving him mostly naked, except the tips of his fingers were dark and had sharp nails not unlike claws.

Ventus then quickly closed the bathroom door and said, “Here, let me show you how to uh...use the bathtub.”

Surprisingly, that went okay. The blond did his best not to stare at least, but the scars made it difficult not to.

…

This time when Vanitas fell back asleep, he dreamed of himself seated next to Ventus, both of them, with their feet over the cliff as they watched the sun set over the horizon. They were joined by Terra and Aqua from behind—the brunet placed a hand on Vanitas' shoulder and Aqua on Ventus', a soft smile on their faces.

The sun's bright light blinded Vanitas all of a sudden, and he found himself sitting on the dusty and sandy beach ground instead. A male with short gray curly hair stood in front of him and smiled as he held his hand out to him. “Come on, you can't join everyone if you're sitting all by yourself here.”

Vanitas' fingers touched the other's hand lightly and he felt his chest filled with an warm and indiscernible feeling—nostalgia. But, how?

Before he could linger more on the thought, darkness immediately spread and obscured the male in front of him.

You've got to be kidding me. You can't seriously think this'll last forever.

Vanitas looked around—his own voice sounded as if it were being parroted back at him. “...What do you mean?”

You'll see.

Ventus won't treat you—or rather I— as the same once the memories return.

Silence followed and Vanitas swallowed thickly. It was true, wasn't it?

Three days and the magic will wear off at midnight.

Better make them last while you still can.

…

When Vanitas awoke, he found the blond's arms tight around him. He pat Ventus' head and then rolled out of the bed. There was a mirror in the room and he looked into it.

Still in the weird red and black outfit, he looked nowhere near the appearance of his friends' wear. An outcast.

He raided Ventus' drawer for clothing and found a black shirt and pants. He then heard the blond stir and turned to see Ventus had sat up, rubbing at his eyes as well as blinking out the sleep in them. He asked, “Van? What're you doing?”

“...I need more clothing.”

The blond smiled sleepily and said, “Then let's go shopping—we haven't really gotten you much in terms of clothes, anyway. I can tell Riku that's what we're planning on doing today.”

Vanitas opened his mouth and then closed it, putting the clothes back. The blond nudged him into the kitchen for breakfast right after.

Aqua had finished it up and Vanitas felt uneasy just sitting there. He muttered to Ventus, “...If she didn't make enough for me, I don't mind. I'm not really hungry anyway.”

After he said that, Aqua set food down in front of him and looked slightly amused. That only made Vanitas swallow thickly and heat rise to his cheeks. He felt kind of embarrassed and forced down the feeling he's come to recognize as an Unversed attempting to escape him.

Ventus smiled slightly and asked, “You were saying?”

“...Shut up, you stupid idiotface.”

Aqua said, “Vanitas, language.”

He pouted after she said that.

…

Riku arrived alongside Sora, and Vanitas thought it was strange how they seemed to share his face, but always seemed so happy all the time. It kind of...disgusted him and he didn't know why.

Riku's own light was immense, but seemed hidden in the collection of bright individuals. His golden-eyed gaze lingered on the other some more, marveling at the darkness he also sensed from Riku. It was if his presence felt almost in complete harmony with light and darkness.

“...Vanitas, were you listening?”

Vanitas blinked out of his daze and looked at Ventus. “What?”

The blond snickered and said, “Sora, why don't we look around together? Riku and Vanitas could probably handle themselves.”

Sora blinked, seemingly in a daze of his own and then smiled, replying, “Yeah, okay. Let's get going—we'll meet up again around lunch time, alright?”

Vanitas opened his mouth to protest, but the two had gone off in a hurry and he grumbled, “...Traitor.”

He heard the other ask, “Something wrong?”

He looked up at Riku and turned his head away in a huff. “...No.”

Riku rubbed the back of his head and said, “If you say so. Where do you want to start first?”

They soon found themselves hanging around shirts and it probably was with little surprise that Vanitas was drawn to black shirts and black long sleeved shirts. Soon, he had black pants to put in the cart too with red shoes. He eyed a skirt and quickly put one in there as well. “...I think I'm done.”

“Don't forget about some nightwear.”

Riku showed Vanitas where some pajamas were and the black-haired male picked out a pair. As he examined them, with a little smile, he heard the other say, “Nice to have something of your own, isn't it?”

Vanitas blinked and just nodded. But he realized something soon after—he'd need money...something he still doesn't have. He asked, “How am I going to pay for all of this?”

“You're not.”

Vanitas released a shuddering breath and muttered, “...it's not going to last.”

Even though he didn't want to say it, it was true. He just couldn't understand why they would try knowing he could cause them so much trouble.

Riku, on the other hand, looked perturbed. “What do you mean?”

Vanitas gritted out, “Someday, my memories will return and none of you will have any reason to treat me with your kindness.”

The light-haired male didn't even hesitate to refute it. “Even if you do remember what you've done, it doesn't mean everyone will abandon you. Everyone that I know has done something they've regret, and even I wasn't a saint.”

Riku hadn't spoken about it much lately—or even to others outside of those who knew. But, at the moment he couldn't help but have those words slip out.

He wondered if it was because Vanitas shared Sora's likeness—no, not just that. But the idea of him not being able to be forgiven for what he did...maybe that struck a chord even deeper than his appearance ever could, and that was saying a lot.

“If I hadn't had Sora willing to forgive me and Kairi who didn't mind still being my friend, I wouldn't even be who I am today.”

Vanitas sighed and then muttered, “...What if Ventus doesn't really forgive me?”

Riku placed a hand on Vanitas' shoulder, albeit awkwardly, and drew it away when he noticed the other tensed. “I'm sure that somehow it'll work out. He kind of reminds me a little of Sora, so I wouldn't be surprised if he did forgive you. Just remember that even if he does, what might end up being the hardest is you forgiving yourself.”

Vanitas said nothing, but when a single Hareraiser appeared, Riku frowned, watching as the creature withered underneath the black-haired boy's feet. He then suggested, 'Want to go out somewhere to eat? Just the two of us?”

The smaller male looked up and repeated, “...Just the two of us?”

The Unversed made a noise and hid behind Vanitas' legs before peering its' head out.

Vanitas huffed. “Fine, if that's what you want.”

Riku smiled. “Then it's a plan. Let's go and finish up—I'll shoot off a quick text to the others while we're cashing out.”

“...Okay.”

…

Vanitas kicked his feet as he sat in a comfy seat at a nice restaurant; he kept also peering over his menu at Riku. His companion's turquoise-colored eyes were beautiful, he noted, as focused they were on the menu in front of him. He could get lost in them.

A soft warmth tinted Vanitas' cheeks and he placed his face in his hands, fighting to keep back a smile. Why was he feeling so...so stupid?

When Riku looked up, the other quickly ducked his head down to peer at the menu, feeling the warmth increase almost phenomenally.

There were honestly also a lot of choices in front of him, and he didn't really know where to start. He heard Riku ask, “Having trouble?”

Vanitas wrinkled his nose. “Maybe.”

He had a difficult time admitting to his own weaknesses, and wondered if it was because of the scraps of memories he'd managed to retain. It always made things so difficult, even when he wanted to say things straight out.

Riku said, “Try the teriyaki chicken meal—it's pretty good.”

Vanitas nodded slowly and then the waiter came on by, murmured his order. Riku gave his and the waiter was off, taking away the menu he couldn't hide behind anymore. Noooot that that was what Vanitas was doing, nope. No sirree.

The black-haired male asked, “What's the deal with these Keyblades and why do I have one?”

The blue-eyed male replied, “They're weapons to protect the balance of the worlds. I don't know how you received yours, but that's basically the reason they exist, and they choose who wield them.”

Vanitas hummed to himself and said, “So, I failed. Figures.”

Riku just shook his head., saying,“I'm not surprised,” And those words made him receive a nasty look from Vanitas before he could finish with, “You were under Xehanort, and despite what he insisted, I doubt his true goal was fixing the balance between the worlds. Or maybe I just really don't like how he went about it.”

At that, Vanitas muttered, “...It was still me who helped him do horrible things, wasn't it?”

The words had been said so quietly that Riku hadn't quite heard them well and asked, “What?”

Vanitas scowled. “I said 'it was still me'! I made my own choices at the end of the day. I know what I deserve.”

Riku frowned and asked, “Vanitas, do you even have any idea what you did?”

“I...I—whatever! I don't want to talk about this anymore.”

The light-haired male's frown deepened. “...Did anyone make you feel like you were responsible for the things you did? For being on Xehanort's side?”

It was almost dead silent between the both of them—Riku received no answer from the other, who just took the moment of the waiter returning with their food as a chance to stuff his face. Vanitas then began to talk and it sounded muffled, making the light-haired male shake his head.

It really was going to be a long evening.

...When they finished, however, Vanitas murmured something—once again, he couldn't hear what he said. But, Riku had developed the patience of a saint over the years, so he just asked, “What did you just say?”

Vanitas huffed, a slight flush tinting his cheeks. “Forget it.”

Riku raised a brow before the other sighed loudly and said, “T...thanks...”

“Hey, it's no problem at all. You don't even need to thank me.”

Vanitas smirked and replied, “Alright then, I take it back.”

“...Hey.”

A snort came from the dark being's lips at Riku's words, but the other easily realized Vanitas teasing, and that's why he found himself smiling slightly soon enough.

After they left the restaurant, the two met up with Sora and Ventus, who were chatting and holding bags from their shopping spring. Ventus said, 'You guys look like you had a great time...together.”

Vanitas felt a sudden, overwhelming urge to put an end to Ventus' existence. Before he could say anything, however, the brunet swung an arm around the blond's shoulders and added with a grin, “Yeah! You two look like peas in a pod!”

The black-haired male put his free hand that wasn't holding a bag into his face for a bit, and then there were two Flood alongside the Hareraiser from earlier. Great.

Sora picked up one of the Flood, which tried to claw at the other's hands but stopped when he hugged it. Ventus took one of the remaining ones and asked, “Aren't they cute?”

Vanitas felt a strange warmth begin to well up inside of him and Riku reached for the Hareraiser, but the bunny Unversed whacked at his fingers with one of it's ears, making him draw away, rubbing at his hand a bit. Then, it hesitated, looking at the Floods in the two boys' arms before looking back at Riku and leaping at him—in surprise and confusion, Riku caught it in his arms.

Vanitas then gave a shout, “That—cut it out! It—it feels weird...”

Ventus blinked and sat down the Flood, asking, “Oh. You could feel normal touches from the Unversed?”

So it wasn't just when Unversed were destroyed...?

“...Apparently.”

Sora set his down and looked a bit sheepish. Riku tried to set the Unversed he had back down, but it had its' ears wrapped around him. “...Uh.”

The others didn't notice. Ventus asked, “Where do we go next?”

Sora looked thoughtful. “Maybe we could go and see a movie together?”

Vanitas crossed his arms and said, “I thought we were only supposed to be shopping today.”

Ventus a little. “Why not? We still have a lot of time in the day.”

“...It's already late in the afternoon, Ven.”

Ventus made pleading eyes at him, and easily, Vanitas withered. “...Fine..”

Sora pumped his fist, saying, “Alright! Let's go, then.”

“...Guys?”

The three turned to face Riku, who looked helpless as the Unversed clung to him. Vanitas snorted and said, “Looks like a nice look for you.”

He received a 'look' from Riku, and then he said, “Guess I need to cuddle this guy real close, then.”

“On second thought...”

…

When they returned home, Vanitas felt kind of tired. Enough that he skipped dinner...and it kind of helped that they ate out enough so he wasn't really hungry anyway.

Ventus followed him to bed, and as they got ready, the blond asked, “Today was pretty fun, wasn't it?”

“Yeah...”

Ventus caught the distant tone in the other's voice and looked over, some concern showing on his face. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” muttered Vanitas.

“Really?”

He nodded and the blond frowned, but didn't press. He then moved to leave the room and Vanitas wanted to tell him to stay—at the same time, though, he wasn't sure if it was normal for friends to sleep next to each other. He wasn't sure what normal was anyway.

He sighed as Ventus said 'good night' and he gave him a sullen one, which made the blond pause to say, “If you need anything, my room's right down the hall, alright? It has my name on it too so...yeah!”

“...Okay.”

When Ventus left, Vanitas felt so alone. It was dark and isolating, with just him in here, and he curled up on the sheets, swallowing thickly as he tried to chase away a familiar feeling from a time he barely even remembered.

…

Vanitas watched as Ventus trained, sparring with another blond who looked so similar to him but wore different clothing. The only other difference seemed to be that this blond used more of a ruthless style in battle as well.

There was a black-haired girl also watching and for the most of the part, he said nothing to her. That is, until she decided to speak to him. “It's been awhile, hasn't it?”

Vanitas asked, “Been awhile since what?”

The girl blinked and said, “Since we saw each other.”

“...I have no idea who you are.”

“Oh.”

Terra came over sand said, “Vanitas lost most of his memories, so he really doesn't remember anything recent. Kind of like how it used to be with Ven...though I don't think he even ever remembered a thing when he came to us or recovered much of them.”

Vanitas blinked and asked, “Ven doesn't remember either?”

The brunet shook his head. ”And he didn't—for the most part, anyway. There were some things he did recall, but the damage was done after Xehanort split him in half.”

Xion said, “...I didn't think you really forgot anything, but it looks like you did.

My name's Xion, nice to meet you, Vanitas.”

Vanitas stared at the hand held out to him, remembering last night when he snuck out of his room to ask Aqua about his own actions. “...Even though I've forgotten, I've been told about what I am, and what I've done. Don't bother making hand contact with a monster.”

Xion frowned and protested, “But, Vani—”

Before she could finish the other growled and stalked off—she made to follow, but hesitated. She didn't know what she could say, if anything.

Roxas and Ventus walked up, covered in sweat, and with their clothing clinging to them. The former spoke up, noticing Xion's distress, “What's wrong?”

The Nobody hoped Vanitas hadn't said anything cruel to her. If he did, he'd...

But, when she explained to him while Terra looked Ventus over, Roxas sighed. “I'll talk to him.”

Ventus turned to face him and said, “Roxas, he's not the same guy either of us might've seen on the battlefield, he—”

Roxas interrupted, “I know. But, I think I can help.

...I'm not going to yell at him for things he can't remember—that'd be just stupid. And...it wasn't like he was saying anything rude to Xion either, so I don't have any issues with him there.”

Then, before anyone else could say anything, the blond was off.

Ventus frowned, fretting in his mind about all of this still and said, “Maybe I should go after him just in case.”

Terra placed a hand on Ventus' shoulder. “I'm sure if something goes wrong, he'll come back and ask for help.”

Xion nodded. “Have faith in him, Ventus. I'm sure it'll work out.”

“I hope so.”

…

Finding Vanitas proved to be a bit difficult considering the castle was large and unfamiliar to Roxas. But eventually he found him, with the help of some Dusks, who seemed to ever be loyal to him no matter what's happened.

The blond happened upon Vanitas in this large library and found the black-haired male behind a bookcase. He sat on the ground with a few books surrounding him. By the looks of it, they were fairy-tales. One of them said something about the 'age of fairy-tales'.

Vanitas looked up and asked, “Ven—? No, you're...who're you?”

Roxas said, “Roxas. Everyone back there was wondering where you went, but I told them I'd come instead.”

The black-haired boy was...admittedly confused. “Why? I don't remember you, but—“

Roxas sat next to him, silencing his words in further confusion. “You don't need to. When I was first born, I didn't remember anything and I worked for someone who was basically Xehanort but in a different form.

But I had people with me – my friends – who helped keep me from continuing on working with that guy. Anyway, what I'm saying is that you don't need to let your past define you. Especially one you hardly even remember in the first place.

Sure, you did terrible things and you were probably a jerk back then, but I know plenty of other people who did and ended up with us. Some people will also be wary of you, but some will want to be your friend. So, why not start somewhere new?”

Vanitas put the book down and asked, “...Even you'd want to be my friend?”

Roxas shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

“I'm surrounded by weirdos.”

“Wow, rude?”

Vanitas cracked a little smile, which made the blond smile in turn. The blond asked, 'What're you reading?”

At this, the black-haired male looked sheepish. “...I can't actually read these. I wanted to try, but...I figured out that these are just nonsense to me.”

Roxas asked, “How about we read it together, then?”

The blond picked up one of the books about 'Neverland', and Vanitas nodded, which made Roxas scoot closer, leaning over to press his shoulder against the other. Vanitas didn't even flinch.

…

When Vanitas and Roxas came back, Ventus hurried over to the two, before bringing Vanitas into a sudden hug—this generated a stumble from the black-haired boy and caused his golden eyes to become open wide in surprise. He didn't think his return would spark this kind of reaction.

He carefully placed his arms to rest his hands against Ventus' back. “Hey, what brought this on?”

Roxas smile and said, “He was probably jealous I was hogging your friendship time.”

The other blond sputtered and said, “Was not!”

“Whatever you say,” replied Roxas in a 'yeah right' tone as he caught up with Xion, who he left with soon enough.

Ventus huffed and said, “It's not like that...”

Terra laughed a little. “Trust me, it's a natural thing—just don't let it get out of hand.”

That caused the blond to give the brunet a stink-eye before he let go of Vanitas and smiled a little. “Okay, uncle .”

“Uncle?!”

Vanitas snorted.

Then the blond asked, “Where's Aqua? I haven't seen her around much.”

The brunet replied, “She's been conferring with Yen Sid and I suppose making sure things are alright...you know with the balance of the worlds.”

Vanitas made a loud, fake yawn. “In other words, boring stuff.”

“Stuff that I'm looking forward to doing one day,” Ventus retorted and then paused before adding, “Maybe.”

“See? Boring stuff.”

…

The afternoon sky looked beautiful on a world like this—and Vanitas soon found himself staring as the sun set over the horizon.

“Hey, you're going to hurt your eyes if you keep looking into the sun like that.”

Vanitas turned to face Ventus and blinked. “Don't worry, for someone like me...it seems the light of the sun doesn't affect me. Maybe it's because, I...well, I don't know.”

Ventus smiled and asked, “Because your eyes are like the sun?”

Vanitas blushed and said, “You know how embarrassing that sounds?”

“I know, that's why I said it.”

Ventus laughed as Vanitas shoved him—and then before they knew it, they were on the beach thanks to a two certain someones and the sending of some text messages. The black—haired boy didn't join in the activities, though, because he was too busy building a sand castle with Xion.

...Though, he thinks it's mostly due to her efforts that it doesn't come out terribly. After that, Vanitas feels so relaxed, he closes his eyes and falls asleep.

“Hey...Vanitas.”

He doesn't stir.

“Vanitas! Hey...Vanitas!!”

Vanitas gasped and sat up before blinking and looking at Xion who giggled and said, 'You totally took a really good snooze. The others too scared to even wake up.”

Vanitas grumbled. “Good, because they know I'd end them.”

After that, he heard the others around him laugh.

With days like these, Vanitas wished they could last forever.

Maybe...he'll never remember.

…

When the clock strikes twelve,

All will be as it was before.

When Vanitas opened his eyes, he rolled over in bed, and saw Ventus lying right next to him, arms spread out, snoring, still clad in his day-wear. He reached out to the blond and carefully laid his fingers against Ventus' throat before carefully wrapping them around his neck. Just like this, he could put an end to the hapless blond's life, and he'd hardly have known who'd done it. A sort of twisted smirk painted itself across his lips as he gave a squeeze.

Ventus didn't even stir, it was completely and utterly pathetic. He pulled away his hand—just in time too because the door opened and revealed Aqua. She smiled and said, “It's time for breakfast. Why don't you wake Ven up?”

Vanitas smirked and asked, “If I don't, does it mean I get his portions too?”

The blond immediately sat up in bed but looked quite out of it. “Hunh...?”

Of all to things...Vanitas couldn't help but shake his head in disbelief.

Aqua said, “...That worked.”

Then, she left—clearly none the wiser. But, Vanitas felt not even inclined to tell or alert them otherwise. It was borne mostly out of curiosity, along with a hope he could keep what he had experienced yesterday and the days before.

While he still could, at least.

Vanitas pulled Ventus by the hand and said, “Come on, make yourself useful and move .”

The blond sleepily muttered and decided to drape one of his arms over the black-haired male, who tensed and looked irritated as he heard the words, “Carry meeee...”

Vanitas scowled and let go of his hand before shoving him off the bed, hearing a small 'oof' after he landed with a thud . Ventus immediately rose to his feet, looking at Vanitas with a frown that turned into a pout. “Hey, what'd you do that for?”

Vanitas smirked and said, “Woke you up, didn't it?”

Ventus just continued to pout until Vanitas went over and extended a hand out to him. The blond smiled and reached for it, only for the other to pull it away last minute. The result was the blond losing balance and falling on his face.

Vanitas laughed and Ventus grabbed him by the leg, pulling harshly. This made the other male fall on top of the blond with a grunt.

Aqua peered in to see the both in a heap. “...Somehow I'm not even surprised.”

Ventus muttered, “I tried and that's what matters.”

…

“Training?”

Ventus nodded with a smile as the two headed towards the courtyard. He then said, “It took awhile to convince Aqua, but you can use your Keyblade, so it'd be good to start training! So, you know, you could use it in a fight!”

Vanitas opened his mouth and closed it. Can he even fake not knowing where and how to swing properly? His muscle memory is so good that his instinct would be actually detrimental—he's going to be so frustrated if he ends up getting caught on accident . “...How about I just watch you guys train and fight for awhile until I feel comfortable?”

Ventus looked a little surprised, but nodded. Then he stopped and placed a hand on his shoulder, saying, “It's not going to be like anything you saw in the final battle, but it might look close to that. So, don't worry if it looks dangerous—it's just like a spar between me and Roxas, really.”

Vanitas huffed and eyed the hand until Ventus removed it—he can't forget the feeling of warmth it left behind, however.

True to the blond's words, Ventus and Terra didn't force Vanitas into training. He just watched the two fight it out like idiots.

He heard someone beside him ask, “Not interested in becoming a Keyblade Master?”

He paused and replied, “I don't know if I am or not.”

As strange as it was, it was never something Vanitas thought about much. He was far too busy spending every waking moment in pain or trying to seek oblivion. It was only due to the stubbornness of one person he was even here right now.

Sora, apparently, who seemed like he was never going to address it.

Or maybe...more than just Sora, but he can't exactly say he understood the entirety of what'd happened.

Aqua said, 'That's fair. Being one isn't easy.”

Vanitas snorted and asked, “Attempting to dissuade me?”

She blinked and was about to say something, but he beat her to it. “I'm kidding. I can't really say that anything would change. Not for me.”

He then paused, looking thoughtful. “Or actually, I could gain more power. That's something that could happen.”

Vanitas pretended to be oblivious to how Aqua tensed at his words. She asked, “...Ven asked you to train with him, didn't he?”

“Yeah, but I said I'd rather watch for awhile. 'Til I was more comfortable.”

She looked surprised and he held in a laugh, just barely. He said in a teasing tone, “I'm not anything like you guys, just swinging around your weapons just because you can.”

Aqua flushed and asked, “This isn't about the final battle, is it? For the past … decade or so, you've been an enemy to us all. How could I be expected to have reacted differently?”

“Whatever you say, Aqua.”

He smirked, amused at her small 'hmph!' but then she rose. “Might as well give them some variety.”

Vanitas asked, “And a real challenge?”

Terra put on a show of looking offended at hearing that. “What's that supposed to mean?”

Aqua smiled and replied, “We have an obstacle course now, don't we? A little competition never hurt anyone.”

They built that awhile ago in order to have an alternative to sparring; plus the fact that a few new Keyblade Wielders had arrived to be trained at the Land of Departure and it'd make it easy to make it happen.

Ventus found he had little trouble getting Terra or Aqua to fight against him for a match. However, the other two were often reluctant to cross weapons with each other specifically.

Ventus said, “I don't know, I think I'd have you all already beat before we even started.”

As they were all joking around, Vanitas rose and made his way through the course. He crossed the small tightrope last without falling into the carefully constructed net below.

Then, he walked up to the three and said, “Looks like I've got you all beat.”

Ventus pouted and exclaimed, “Hey, no fair!”

Terra rubbed the back of his head. “...Not sure if that should even count.”

Aqua sighed and said, “I'm afraid it just might.”

…

“...And then they just stood around like idiots as I went around their pathetic 'obstacle course',” Finished Vanitas as he spoke to Xion—he'd been strung along to go with the black-haired girl and Roxas again, but of course Ventus had also tagged along on their drop in into Radiant Garden.

Speaking of which, Vanitas had to reach out to catch a bag of chips Ventus threw his way. “Real mature of you, Ven.”

Roxas laughed at that and said, “I think it'd be a different story if I were there.”

The black-haired male scoffed. 'You're just all talk.”

Ventus said, “Since it didn't really count, I bet I could you without a single sweat!”

Xion then said, “Actually I'm pretty sure I'd leave you all in the dust.”

That one made Vanitas laugh so hard he nearly fell to ground, and Xion frowned, daring to reach over to pinch him in the shoulder, making him let out a noise of surprise. She's lucky that he's pretending that he doesn't remember anything or he swears...well, maybe it's not so much as big as a deal anyway.

He just said, “Can't imagine any of you beating me. Ever.”

Roxas stopped walking. “We'll see about that. Ventus, Xion wait for us here.

We're going to race each other in Radiant Garden.”

Vanitas smirked lazily and said, “No powers. Teleportation counts as a power.”

The Nobody rolled his eyes and replied, “I know that already.”

Xion said, “Hey! What about us?”

Ventus nodded and asked, “Yeah, why can't we race against you guys now?”

Vanitas huffed and said, “Because we said so. Now be good and stay behind; you'll each get your chance once we're done.”

When the black-haired boy turned around, he missed the way Ventus' expression shifted as his blue eyes landed on Roxas, who said, “Let's start on 3.”

On the count of three, they ran off.

…

As the two were running through Radiant Garden, they passed through some parts that've seen better days, Roxas tripped over something, and Vanitas stopped—he didn't know why he did. But, something told him to and so he did.

When the blond rose to his feet, the two found themselves surrounded by people who came crawling out of the shadows. They looked completely and utterly unfriendly—the men holding smirks and grins that made Vanitas summon Void Gear without even thinking.

Roxas said, “I'll take care of them if they try something funny. You don't remember much, right?”

Vanitas scoffed as he replied, “I know how to swing around objects at least. That doesn't take much skill.”

The blond frowned. “You'd think it wouldn't, but against this amount of people...”

The black-haired male heard something drop and his eyebrows furrowed as his eyes searched for the sound. Then, he looked down—there appeared to be a bottle of some kind, and he opened his mouth, “Roxas—“

An explosion of gas covered the two from sight and Vanitas summoned his helmet. To think that it'd be useful for something after all of this time was particularly amusing. He imagined that maybe it was to blind them from being rushed, but once it cleared, and the blond was lying on the ground, he figured that maybe there was something else to it.

Vanitas liked to pretend he didn't feel anything as he checked Roxas for a pulse, but his heart raced, only calming slightly when he determined the blond didn't die just from getting caught off guard. He was simply knocked out cold—it was probably some kind of sleeping gas.

One of the men said, “Hand over your money...or else we'll find another way to take something from you as compensation.”

Were they immune to the smokes' effects? Not that it mattered, since he shifted the Keyblade to rest lazily over his shoulder and said, “You can try, but I guarantee that you'll regret it.”

They just laughed and one of them said, “Look at this kid, thinking he's hot shit. Let's teach him a lesson, shall we, boys?”

Fine by him if they wanted a death wish. The first one that came running was sent flying into a couple of boxes lying nearby an abandoned alleyway as a result of a well—placed swing of Void Gear. Two came running at him at once, throwing a fist at him at once, and Vanitas leap over their heads, landing behind them.

He got a front row seat to two men punching each other in the face and knocking themselves clean out. The leader looked irritated and said, “Idiots! He's just one kid, everyone attack him at once!”

The remaining five charged at him, before making a leap and for the record seemed to grab a hold of him for a moment. One of them said, “I've got his arm! Hold him down...”

Except, they realized soon enough that Vanitas had moved so quickly that they ended up grabbing only parts of their friends' limbs. They were now a mess and squirmed, making the apparent leader of the group facepalm.

Vanitas smirked as he kicked the remaining standing male into a pile of tangled limbs. Before they could retaliate he lept right ontop of them, keeping them stuck there, and soon Roxas rose to his feet, rubbing at his eyes.

One of the men started to get free, only for Roxas to walk up to him and whack him over the head with Oblivion, putting him unconscious easily. He said dryly, “Nice to see you handled it just fine...”

Vanitas sat down on the pile, ignoring the protests from the men underneath. “Sounds like you had a good nap. What do you want to do with them? Knock them all out?”

Roxas summoned Oathkeeper and replied, “...Yeah, yeah I do. Maybe leave a few bruises.”

He's decided he doesn't think hanging out with him was a bad idea at all.

…

When they returned, the two were chatting calmly, with Ventus and Xion hurriedly approaching them—the former noticing that their clothes looked quite ruffled and Roxas' dirty. He asked, “What happened?”

Vanitas shrugged, casing the visor that made up his helmet to fade as he replied, “Just met some idiots who thought they'd thought they could take us. Naturally, they were wrong.”

Ventus released a sigh of relief. “I'm just glad you guys are alright.”

Xion nodded and asked, “Maybe we can table the race for later and just hang out?”

Roxas replied, “Yeah. We didn't get a chance to even finish ours, so we could do a rematch later.”

“Yeah,” Vanitas agreed, before punching the blond lightly and Roxas cracked a smile before nudging him in return.

At the sight, Ventus' lips pressed into a thin line.

He didn't know what was wrong with him. He should be happy that Vanitas was making friends, and yet...here he was, feeling uncomfortable whenever Roxas got close with him. It was embarrassing too since he looked like him; he didn't want to even so much as tell anyone.

So, instead he just fell quiet for a bit, eyes diverted towards the ground.

Not noticing the fact golden eyes lay lingering on him as the four chatted.

…

Ventus sighed as they came back home, and Vanitas watched him carefully when they filed into the hallway. He then asked, “Something wrong?”

“...No, it's not.”

Vanitas raised a brow. He could tell when the blond was lying—he could still feel what Ventus felt even if it was less strong now, after all. So, he wondered why he was hiding it?

He reached out, fingers curling around the blond's wrist to keep him from moving away from him. He couldn't think of what to say exactly for a moment, so the movement was impulsive, if anything, but it made Ventus finally face him instead of away like he had for most of the day. Vanitas asked, “If nothing's wrong, then why won't you look at me?”

Ventus' blue eyes finally flickered up to look into his and he muttered, “...Sorry. It's just, something stupid, and kind of unfair. I know I'll be able to get over it, so...it's fine.”

“No, it's not, so just tell me already!”

The blond shook his head.

Vanitas gritted his teeth, and opened his mouth, except his words were interrupted by a certain blue—haired woman who said, “If he doesn't want to tell you anything, he doesn't have to, Vanitas.”

“Stay out of this!”

Aqua's expression remained nonplussed as she said, “He's my friend—“

She said other things, but something ugly stirred in Vanitas as he was too focused on trying to pry out whatever Ventus was trying to hide from him. He turned away from her and glared at Ventus and growled, “Just spit it out. We don't have any reason to hide anything from each other, right? We're supposed to be friends—if you keep secrets, then you can hardly call yourself a good one, can you?”

Ventus tensed and looked guilty. The blue-haired woman snapped, “That's enough, leave him alone! Besides, there's something I needed to talk to you about. Ven, you don't have to worry about this, it'll just be between the both of us.”

Vanitas said petulantly, “If Ven leaves, I'll block whatever you say out and refuse to listen to whatever you want me to do.”

Aqua sighed, rubbing her temples, and the blond just smiled sheepishly. “...I don't mind staying, Aqua.”

She nodded and said, “...Master Yen Sid said he wanted to see you. We wanted to check your progress with your memories, that's all.”

The black-haired boy huffed. “It's not happening now. Ven and I just got back.”

“Of course. It can be tomorrow.”

Vanitas wanted to spit on her shoes. His grip on Ventus' wrist tightened, and he said, “Whatever. I'm going to my room.”

...Except he kind of dragged the blond with him who said, “See you later, Aqua?”

She nodded....while also wondering what she was going to do with them.

The two entered Vanitas' room, and he closed it tightly behind him. “You're coming with me tomorrow, no ifs or buts about it.”

Ventus replied, “That's fine. I think I'd prefer it that way, to be honest...”

“...Speaking of honest, are you going to tell me what you're hiding from me?”

“No. Sorry.”

Vanitas sucked in an irritated breath and tore his hand away from Ventus' wrist, snapping, “Then leave.”

“Vani—”

“Just go! I can't stand looking at you right now, you insignificant, pathetic, and terrible excuse for a miserable existence.”

He ignored the hurt look on Ventus' face. “...Why would you even say something like that to me?”

“Because it's true. You're practically disgustingly useless when it comes down to it, I bet.”

The blond's face scrunched up and he said, “No it's not! Fine, just be a huge jerk, I don't care!”

He left the room and shut the door tight. Well, it got him out of the room.

Vanitas didn't care. He was just using all of them until he let them know he knew all along—maybe he'd put an end to Ventus' life too when they least expected it. That'd be the cherry on the top of this messed up punch line.

Still, he wondered at this uncomfortable feeling in his chest. It made the food he ate feel like it was settling wrong.

Whatever, it didn't matter. Tomorrow did, however.

…

When he got up in the morning, Vanitas was surprised to see Ventus at his door, but the blond looked kind of upset. He didn't say anything to him but he followed the black-haired boy to the outside of the castle, where Aqua and Terra stood.

Terra frowned when his eyes landed on Ventus and asked, “Did anyt—”

“No,” Said Ventus and Vanitas too quickly and kind of short.

Aqua also looked kind of displeased, but seemed to know she was going to get nothing from the pair of boys. “Alright, are you ready to go?”

Vanitas nodded and Aqua said, “Ven, stay here with Terra. You don't need to go.”

“I'm coming.”

She just sighed again. “...Alright then, let's go.”

She didn't really want to argue with the blond, so if that's what he wanted, then that's how they were going to do things. Terra said, “Good luck guys. I'll keep an eye on things here while you get everything squared away, alright?”

Aqua nodded and gave him a small smile. “Thanks, Terra.”

Ventus said, “I know everything'll be okay if you're watching while we're out!”

Terra smiled at the faith they had in him and bade them goodbye while Vanitas opted not to participate in any of the farewells.

When they arrived in the Mysterious Tower, it was quiet—a marked difference from the last time it'd been when more than a few had been occupying it following Xehanort's defeat.

It didn't take long for them to enter into Yen Sid's study, where there was a familiar blond haired older male there as well, along with Roxas, Xion, and Riku, who passed Vanitas a smile. It made his chest twist in a strange way and he had to look elsewhere than at that nice smile.

It just made him think of what he said last night to Ventus and when he looked at the blond, he noticed that his eyes were a little red. His stomach twisted uncomfortably. “...Ven.”

“...What?”

“No, nevermind.”

Ventus frowned and opened his mouth but then decided to close it shut.

The Keyblade Master said, “This should only take a moment.

Vanitas, have your memories returned in full as of yet? If they haven't, I suppose we could consider the idea of their fully recovery something that may not occur, and if it does, only partially.”

Vanitas schooled his expression into something neutral—it's been two weeks since he's seen the old man last. But, he's sure he could conjure a decent lie. “If I have to be honest...I remember some things vaguely, of my time spent with Master Xehanort, but nothing more.”

The old man asked, “Is that truly so?”

The black-haired male nodded. “Yeah. If I remember more, I'll let Ven know. After all, he's someone I can trust.”

He smirked as he saw Ventus smile a little and rub at his own cheek bashfully with a finger.

Aqua asked, “...Is that really true?”

Vanitas rolled his eyes. “If I say it is, then it is.”

She gave a pause and then said, “Alright, I understand.”

The blue-haired woman summoned her Keyblade and let out a few shots of electricity, forcing Vanitas to back flip, dodging clear out of the way. He asked, “What's your problem all of a sudden?”

Ventus moved to stand in front of Vanitas, hands outstretched as he said, “Stop it Aqua! There's no need for anyone to fight!”

Roxas hurried over to join the other blond, effectively stopping the fight. Xion followed suit, just in case.

Aqua said, “There wouldn't be, if Vanitas had decided to be honest.

Look at him, he called on his helmet, and not only that, but I doubt he could move with as much grace as he had if he didn't remember everything or mostly during the obstacle course.”

She was right. He'd summoned his helmet on instinct to protect his face and cursed inwardly. “You're so irritating, you know that?”

Ventus turned to face Vanitas, blue eyes looking into his as he asked, “...Vanitas? Is that true?”

“Tch...”

Riku opened his mouth, but Vanitas grabbed the blond and before anyone could react, he disappeared with him into a portal of darkness. Roxas sighed and said, “I think there was a better way we could've gone about doing that.”

Aqua's hand was still outstretched to where she'd reached out to Ventus but to no avail. She shook her head and said, “No, there wasn't. He would've come up with some kind of plan and use the trust he gained against us.”

Xion asked, “Does it have to be that way, though? We've been around him for awhile, so it had to have count for something.”

Ansem said, “He's nothing but a creature of darkness. There is no redemption for something like that.”

Riku replied, frowning, “I don't think you have any idea what you're talking about.”

In an instant, Roxas had summoned Oathkeeper, pointing it at Ansem, letting off a fire spell that sailed past him.

Yen Sid spoke up, “Roxas, that's enough.”

Roxas snapped, “I'm not sorry. Let's go, Xion.”

She nodded, and the blond walked out, with the black-haired girl following but giving the rest an apologetic smile.

Ansem sighed and said, “I deserve that, I suppose. We don't have a good history with each other.”

Aqua had been flabbergasted; she'd never seen Roxas act like that. And seeing someone with Ventus' face hold so much hostility was kind of surprising in the first place.

But more importantly, Aqua spoke up voicing her worry, “We need to find Ven, now. I'm going to let Terra know what happened.

And hopefully, the worst hasn't happened.”

Riku said, “I'll let Sora and the others know so hopefully if they see him...somehow, they'll have an idea of what happened.”

The light-haired male ran out of the room and Aqua moved to follow, but Yen Sid said, “Master Aqua, I believe there's something that bares mentioning.”

She turned to face him and he continued, saying, “...None of this needs to come to blows, if you go about this in a way. Perhaps there needn't be any worry about Vanitas' old ties either.

But, that is all up to you.”

She frowned and turned away. “That sounds almost too idealistic, but at this point...I'm tired of being on guard. I don't think he has any good intentions if he's stealing away Ven like that, though.

So I'm going to bring him down and bring Ven back.”

“Very well. If that is what you believe is the only way, then it seems I'm not in a position to stop you.”

Yen Sid knew he could lecture her all he wanted, but he believed that wouldn't be necessary. Time would truly tell but...

Aqua said nothing else, as she felt her heart stir with some conflict before shaking it off. Ansem was right; there was no redemption for someone so full of darkness.

But, she couldn't help but think about the hopeful golden eyes staring up at her when dinner came.

…

The foliage beneath their feet easily gave in under their weight whenever they passed on it—Vanitas practically dragged the blond along until he forced him against a tree and then pressed his hand against his throat to hold Ventus there. He sneered as the visor opened to show his face, and asked, “Any last words, you insignificant speck?”

Ventus rose a hand to rest on the one that held his throat. “Vanitas, you don't have to do this. We don't have to be enemies anymore.”

“Shut up! It's too late. There's no other way to go about this,” Refuted the other male and he increased the grip around his neck, beginning to choke the blond.

Vanitas said in a sickeningly sweet tone, “I don't get my happy ending means you don't get yours. Simple as that.”

“Van...itas...stop...”

The blond's gasps were music to his ears, and he ignored any other emotion rising up in him as he increased the pressure on Ventus' throat. Vanitas could hear his own heartbeat in his chest as those blue eyes looked at him desperately.

Why hadn't he summoned his Keyblade yet? He could fight back if he did, but he didn't—

And then Ventus' eyes began to glaze over before a sort of sad, resigned smile reached his lips, before tears fell down his cheeks.

The blond fell to the ground, gasping for breath, and looked up to see Vanitas stepping back. After a second of gaining his breath he said, “We can talk to them, I'm sure they'll understand. You're still a friend, even with your memories back.”

Vanitas swallowed thickly and said, “I just tried to kill you, idiot.”

“They don't have to know.”

The black-haired boy gave Ventus a look and then turned his head away from him. He honestly felt disgusting, and it was taking all it could not to summon an Unversed—worst of all that he also had an urge to retch on the ground. It was a very unpleasant feeling.

He released a shuddering breath. “You're out of your mind. Even if we did get along, I can't go back to them—not like this. They'd just imprison me and then take my powers away.

I'd rather die then experience that.”

Ventus shook his head and said, “I'll vouch for you. Just...”

“..Just what?”

The blond smiled sheepishly. “...You need to actually apologize.”

Vanitas blinked, as he slowly registered what he was saying and Ventus continued, saying, “When friends hurt each other and are in the wrong, they apologize.”

“...You think of us as friends?!”

Then, he couldn't help but laugh, the sound continuing onwards because of how hard the golden-eyed male was laughing. “Oh man, that's rich . Listen, I literally just tried to kill you—the only reason I didn't is because it'd be pathetic to kill someone who didn't even fight back...”

“But, that didn't stop you from trying before.”

Vanitas snapped, “Shut up. You're so irritating, you know that?

I hate you. I can barely stand to look at you everyday with that ugly smile of yours. If you want to do me a favor, you could go off and die for all I care.

We weren't friends, because I couldn't even remember properly how I felt about you. And we'll never be—get it through that thick skull of yours!”

Ventus' lips were parted open in surprise and he fell silent at hearing the abuse from the other, not even saying a word as Vanitas turned on the heel to walk off, leaving him in the forest. He felt rain began to fall, as tears slipped down his cheeks again, and he moved to sit down in front of the tree.

The blond didn't even so much as answer the texts coming in on his phone.

Why should he?

He had no reason to. He didn't feel like doing anything anymore. It felt like nothing mattered, even if after everything Vanitas hated him so.

The rain fell harder and he just gazed vacantly out at the trees in front of him, feeling hardly like he was there at all in the first place.

Some amount of time must've passed, but Ventus doesn't know how long—what he does know is that he can't face his friends like this. Or anyone.

Shadows begin to drift closer to the blond, and he closes his eyes, feeling himself relax into the embrace of darkness.

…

Ventus opened his eyes to see that he was lying in some kind of bed, and saw a blond-haired woman along with a brunet looking at him—they turned to face him, before the blond said something to the brunet, who left. She smiled and asked, “Are you alright?”

The blond-haired male blinked slowly. “...What happened?”

Then, he gave a little bit of a cough as he sat up. He felt...awful, like his head was aching and he was burning up. She said, “Your friend alerted you to us when we were on our way back to the town. I almost took him for someone I'd met before when he dispatched the creatures surrounding you.”

Ventus asked, “Where did he go? Did he say?”

She replied, “He went to collect some items to help with your sickness. My parents said it's been awhile since we've had the medicine in stock...but I believe he'll return soon with what we need.”

He blinked, looking surprised. He didn't want to get his hopes up, so he asked, “Did he tell you what his name was? Or can you tell me what he looked like...?”

…

Vanitas pushed past the crowds in the bustling castle town, looking irritated at the bunch of people hurrying around.

He honestly didn't know what had gotten into him, but here he was, looking for a way to save Ventus. He briefly looked down at the phone Ventus had given to him a few days back, lips turning into a deep frown as he scrutinized it. He'd left the organization up to the blond but...

“You should have one too, right? You're now a part of us, Vanitas. Or, well...you'll always be a part of me in some way even if things changed but you know what I mean!”

Vanitas took it with a slight smile. “Yeah, I get what you mean...nerd.”

“H—hey!”

Vanitas tried to ignore the warm feelings stirring up in him but it was hard. Especially since it did and didn't make him feel like dirt, all at the same time.

A man said, “Ah, ah, ah! Where do you think you're going?”

The black-haired male grunted in annoyance, seeing as the man had suddenly blockaded his path off with some items his...accompanying men seemed to place in the middle of the road. “I won't let you pass unless you buy some of my wares!”

Vanitas growled. “I'll give you on the count of five to move out of my way.”

The man laughed and then said, “Trust me, you don't want to cro—”

Before he could say anything more, the black-haired male swung his Keyblade through the barrels and boxes, decimating some of the items in his way. The dark-haired elder man let out a cry of dismay and then shouted to his attendants, “Get him!”

In the next moment, he laid them to waste, and pointed his Keyblade at the cowering man. “I don't have all day. Consider yourself lucky I don't feel like taking a life today.”

With that, he left, and the man watched the boy slip away. His hands clenched tightly into fists and as he muttered darkly, “You'll regret crossing me, boy!”

Vanitas couldn't believe how irritating this place was. He'd never made a point of coming to Arendelle and he's glad to find out he didn't miss much.

Now, from what he heard, the type of flowers he's looking for apparently grew in some kind of cave in the mountainous region. He easily slipped by the grassy paths and found himself nearby one of the caverns.

It was then he took out the map the blond-haired woman had given him and scrutinized it. This...might be it, but he couldn't really tell.

As soon as he stepped in, that's when all hell broke loose.

The path behind him suddenly had rocks fall in behind, blocking his way out, and when he turned to face it, he saw a strange glow surrounding them. His eyes narrowed and he looked forward, summoning Void Gear. “Who's there? Come out and show yourself, now!”

Nothing answered him and he cursed. But, he wasn't about to leave now...he felt that this place had what he wanted. So, he continued on forward.

He looked around the area, which was pitch black, though hardly an issue for him given he was a creature of darkness. It was easy to see the edges and slopes inside the deep cavern.

Vanitas traveled deep along the road in front of him, looking for flowers but saw little of them. His little trek came to a stop when he saw a crossroads.

He went into the right one and walked down to the end of it—it looks like he chose the correct path, seeing as the flower sat in front of him. It was golden, with a red center, and glowed a little in the dark. He reached out to take it in his hands, and the floor gave out beneath him—luckily, his reflexes were good and he had time to leap from the falling spot.

However, all around him seemed to be crumbling and even his quick reaction speed didn't give him enough time to run out of the path and not fall into the abyss below.

Before he knew it, he hit a body of water beneath him, falling deep into the water. He didn't have much experience swimming, but he did know how to move to the surface in a basic maneuver, so it didn't take him long to pop his head out of the water. He then gravitated towards one of the rocks that seemed to surface above the water and pulled himself right on top of it.

When he stood up, he saw a sudden lighting in the darkness—there were spots of glowing flowers like the one he'd been forced to let go of before.

The irony isn't lost on him, of course and he snatches one up.

He follows the line of glowing flowers until it leads out into a pond—like area that he can step into and reach the outside. He easily caught the night sky and smirked to himself.

Looks like he made good time. Not bad.

…

Vanitas returned, stepping out of a dark portal and perhaps he should consider it lucky no one saw him do it in the middle of the hall. He was still dripping wet, though, and mourned the fact he hadn't summoned his helmet when he fell—usually he'd been good about that. Maybe he was getting rusty, and at the thought, he grimaced.

When he caught one of those medicine...people, presenting the flower to them, Vanitas wasn't surprised that they ended up handing off the broth when it was done to him. In his hurry, he hadn't even properly dried himself, but it mattered little.

It'd taken awhile to properly make the medicine, and though Vanitas did nothing to help the process besides bring it, he was wide awake throughout the entirety of it, pacing outside of the medicinal room, not even stopping once daylight shown through. He supposed that contributed to their decision to just hand it to him.

The black-haired boy made his way to the room Ventus was staying in. His hand hovered in front of the doorknob, hesitating, but he willed himself to pull it open.

He noted that the door seemed to not be fully closed, and maybe that contributed to the fact it was deathly silent when he did open it.

The people standing around Ventus' bed and speaking to him wasn't something he expected—his appearance was … much better than he'd seen it and he looked so happy. Still, when he was speaking to Terra and Aqua, he felt out of sorts—like there was no room for him anymore.

He was unneeded, rejected. It was nothing new.

Figures, it was what he deserved. It was his fault that Ventus had been in such a state, hadn't it? He didn't have a place beside him anymore.

He took a step back, and of course Ventus seemed to register his presence, head turning to face him.

Then, he heard from behind him, “It's him! The man who terrorized me and attacked my poor attendants! He nearly killed us!”

Vanitas felt a heap of annoyance well up in him, and held back Unversed from coming out...except for one Flood that slipped through the cracks. But it was enough for Terra and Aqua to summon both of their Keyblades—the sound of which turned the black-haired boy's attention from the irritating man in the halls who so happened to stumble upon him...to the actual threats.

He felt so flustered he could only start with, “I—”

Terra shook his head, cutting him off as he said, “I'd thought there was a chance that you might've changed, memories or no. But, it sounds like I was wrong.

Master Yen Sid had a device that we could use to at least keep you in check. I doubt that you'll come along quietly, though.”

The black-haired boy grit his teeth and he said, “I didn't nearly ki—”

Aqua interrupted, “No excuses! You're the reason Ventus was lying in bed, aren't you?”

It was there Vanitas faltered, because it was true, wasn't it? His expression looked uncertain at what to say, still holding the mug in his hands, which was trembling. Ventus said, “Guys, cut it out! You're not giving him a chance to explain anything!”

The blue-haired woman said, “There's nothing for him to explain. Even that cup right there is poison, isn't it?”

Of all the times, Vanitas couldn't force the words out because he had a hard time admitting to helping anyone for whatever reason. So he said nothing for a moment, feeling his face flush as he fought to keep his emotions under control, and then that bit of silence he tried to speak again to refute her words. “No it isn't, you imbecile. Killing someone outside of battle is too stupid for me to try.

He was sick and needed something so he wouldn't die a pathetic death, that's all there is to it.”

“He's lying!”

Vanitas growled and turned on the man behind him before grabbing him by his collar with one hand, and slamming him right through a wardrobe, knocking him clean out as well as damaging furniture. Terra approached the black-haired boy and said, “You didn't need to do that. Why knock him out if you were telling the truth?”

All these emotions inside of him felt overwhelming to the point where he was sick to his stomach. “B-because...he wouldn't shut up!”

The brunet sighed. “...If you come with us, we won't fight you. Can we agree to that?”

The black-haired boy snapped, “I'm not coming with you!”

Ventus got out of the bed and Aqua was by his side but he shook his head.

Vanitas then dashed around Terra, who had nothing on his speed and shoved the mug into the blond's hands. The blue-haired woman tried to snatch it, and the other male slapped at her hands each time, which looked utterly ridiculous considering the situation – she couldn't just swing her Keyblade because of how close he was to Ventus, either. Then there was the issue of spells, even with target locking.

In what Aqua assumed was a fit of defiance, Ventus just downed the whole thing and she just paled. She reacted instantly and punched the black-haired boy in the face in a fit of anger—for what it's worth, he did drop on his behind from it so she felt supremely satisfied in that at least.

Terra grabbed Vanitas roughly by the shoulder, hauling him up to his feet, and the black-haired boy didn't struggle—maybe he should be lucky the other didn't hit him with his Keyblade instead, since he was sure he had more leeway than Aqua from where he was standing. It didn't keep him from being punched in the stomach—which did hurt—but what might've prevented Terra from striking again was spotting a black substance managing to drip down the side of Vanitas' lip.

Before the brunet could possibly even begin to reconsider, Ventus had somehow squeezed himself in between the both of them, wrapping his arms around Vanitas to protect the other from another attack.

“STOP! Guys, stop...please. I don't even feel like dying—I even feel better now,” The blond said, his voice pleading as he held onto the male who was still in a damp black shirt and pants. “...And he's not even striking back. He never even summoned his Keyblade.

If he was really trying to poison me, he'd have been fighting you guys the whole entire time. I didn't get to say since you'd just arrived, but he's the one who brought me here in the first place and went off to help grab some medicine make me feel better. Just knowing he went to do that in the first place even helped me want to get better at all.”

The two looked surprised, before Terra looked guilty and said, “...I'm sorry. I—”

Vanitas wiped his lip and said, “Whatever. I don't care. It's not like I didn't deserve it.”

For nearly killing Ventus the day before, but his words are cut short due to the blond making eye contact with him. He seemed like he was really going to try to go for him to hide it after all.

That he didn't understand at all.

Aqua sighed. “...No, you didn't. I...we were just worried; I'm sure you'd understand you're not the most trust worthy pers...”

She paused as she looked back at Vanitas to see him mouthing her words in mockery, and she resisted the incredible urge to slap him.

Vanitas then jerked a thumb in the direction of the unconscious man, “Oh, by the way, that ass gave me trouble down town and got in my way—he even had his goons ready to try to attack me if I didn't buy anything from him, so I beat the crap out of his entourage.”

At that, a familiar blond-haired princess poked her head into the room and asked, “Everything alright in here?”

Aqua smiled and said, “Yes, everything is fine, Rapunzel.”

“...Then why is there someone through a wardrobe?”

The blue-haired woman's smile turned sheepish at that. “It's a long story...”

Vanitas looked down at Ventus and said, “...You probably didn't need it after all, did you?”

The blond shook his head. “My fever broke over the night and I felt much better in the morning. But I wanted to drink it to prove them wrong.”

At that moment, a few others came into the room—Sora, Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Xion, as well as Donald, and Goofy.

Goofy asked, “Gwarsh, is that who I think it is?”

Sora nodded. “Yep, and now he's one of our friends. See?”

The duck looked at first like he found the idea unbelievable until he noticed that Ventus was holding Vanitas tightly against him, and the black-haired boy was resting a single hand against the blond's back but trying to be inconspicuous about it. So, for the most part, it had gone unnoticed. “Oh, I see it alright.”

The red-haired girl covered a giggle at the display.

At that moment, Vanitas pulled away, a flush on his cheeks as he spat, “If I hear anything from out of your mouths, I'll end the rest of you. Don't think I won't.”

Roxas smiled and said, “Whatever you say. So, anyone got a photo of the moment?”

Ventus had to hold back Vanitas from grabbing the smart-mouthed blond, who just grinned like he won the lottery as Xion giggled.

Riku then said, “Now that we're all here for the most part, I think I'd like to state that we won't need an object to keep Vanitas' powers in check. It'd be best to look for a way to help him out as one of us.”

Vanitas held his breath, waiting for opposition to what the Keyblade Master said...from maybe the other Keyblade Master in the room, but there was nothing. Riku even cast a glance at Aqua who returned the gaze and said, “You're right. If there's anything we can do to help you Vanitas, please let us know.”

She doubted it would be easy and she had her own reservations, but it was a start. Especially after he'd helped Ventus.

The black-haired boy blinked...not sure what to say of this. “... I doubt fixing the way my heart is going to be easy, so don't...don't even waste your time.”

The light-haired male said, “But it's something we can help with, if you let us.”

“...fine.”

Riku smiled as he came over to ruffle the smaller male's hair, missing the way a soft blush came to Vanitas' cheeks at that, and the smaller male ducked away, before heading towards Sora. He reached out to grab his arm, dragging him away as he said, “We need to talk.”

Sora smiled sheepishly as it got the others to look in their direction. “Be right back, guys!”

The brunet found himself soon on one of the lookouts on top of the castle, where no one else was at the moment. Vanitas asked, “Why did you do it?”

“...Do what?”

“You know what!”

...Except he looked genuinely confused at what he was saying, so Vanitas rubbed his temples and asked, “You know, bring me back? I just want to know what you were thinking at that time—what was your reason for doing that and actually giving me a second chance?”

Sora put his arms behind his head and moved from side to side, looking thoughtful as he replied, “I don't remember doing that, though. But, if I did, I'd probably have thought that you were worth it?

The 'me' at that time is probably different than how 'I' am now, so I can't say I know what happened exactly either. Maybe there's a reason for that too.”

The words hung in the wind as Vanitas' brows furrowed. “...What do you mean?”

Sora gave a shrug and the other sighed, but then looked outward, at the land in front of him.

…

When they get back, Vanitas is surprised he still has a room, but Ventus insists that they share the bed that night, and since he's been unable to refuse the blond now, he couldn't find it within himself to say no. As he comes out of the shower, dead tired since he's been up for almost two days (but it's not like he hasn't been through worse ), clad in only a towel, he spots that Ventus has already changed.

The black-haired boy opens the drawers and puts on pjs with little fanfare, oblivious to the blond watching him closely. “...Why did you come back for me, Vanitas?”

Vanitas turned to face the blond, and came closer until he was sitting on the bed. “Because...I remembered all that you did for me, when I couldn't recall much of anything. And when I thought about it, I imagined what would've happened if I just left you there.

You...probably would've just died. There were some Heartless hanging around, and... I couldn't let them kill you.

I don't think I knew what to do, when everyone found out, and when you tried to act like things would be fine—that things could continue as they were, I had doubts. And...even if I did what I did under Master Xehanort, I didn't want to be treated like a caged monster. Despite what I am.”

Ventus moved to place a hand on his arm and said, “You're not a monster, Vanitas. Despite what anyone thinks or what they said, you're still a person deep down inside.”

Vanitas laughed bitterly. “You're the only person who thinks that.”

The blond shook his head. “What about Riku, Roxas, Sora, and Xion? They don't think that.”

At that, the other boy paused and muttered, “Because they're insane...or whatever.”

Ventus smiled softly at him and Vanitas had to look away. It made him feel so warm that it was honestly gross. “Vanitas, can you look at me?”

He looked back and before he knew it, the blond had tackled him into the sheets. It was something stupid he could see coming, so he didn't bother to avoid it. He looked up as the blond placed his hands on either side of him. “...The reason why I didn't want to tell you what bothered me was because I felt so embarrassed about it.”

Vanitas' brows furrowed and he assumed the reason it was being brought up was because he wanted to tell him. “...What was it? If you don't feel like avoiding it again for whatever reason.”

At least the blond could say the black-haired boy was trying, in his own way. He leaned closer until his head rested against the other's shoulder. “I was jealous, and I know it was stupid. But, for some reason I was afraid you would be taken away from me by someone else, because he looked like me, and I don't know, seemed much more cooler than I was—it'd be unfair for me to drop that on you, though.

Especially when you were just making friends.”

The black-haired male laughed, though it was less harsh than his previous ones. “Jealous, of me? That sounds ridiculous. There's nothing to be envious of—my existence is—“

Ventus interrupts to finish it with, “—something that completes me.”

Vanitas can't even find the words for a moment when Ventus pulls back, giving him another one of his gentle smiles. “You're important to me—more than I can ever hope to put into words.”

Golden eyes widen, mind short—circuiting at hearing this from the blond. The blond pulled away, cheeks flushed as he said, “I know, it's a lot to think about, but—”

“—I feel the same way.” Vanitas released a sigh, this time sounding tired.

Then, he said, “Are you really sure about wasting your time on me? I'm not the most stable person and I...I'm going to try, but it's not going to be that simple. I can just see it now, hurting your feelings or...or worse. Ripping you a new one instead of this going the direction your naive thoughts are.”

Ventus frowned a little at the insult but when the other looked away, he smiled weakly. “...You don't want to anymore, right?”

It's at this moment that the black-haired male falls quiet, taking an evaluation of his feelings. All he can think of is the past few weeks where Ventus looked at him with eyes so full of love and treated him with kindness he didn't deserve. Where the blond even tried to help him make more friends.

There is still some bitterness in his heart, and he's admittedly fearful that it might transform into that hate Xehanort had instilled in him, and then he'd do something he couldn't take back. He recalls Ventus' still form against the tree, blue eyes with life steadily fading underneath his hands, and it chases the hate away. He swallows and answers in a negative so quiet that Ventus has to strain his ears to hear.

But the blond's relief and happiness at hearing so is palpable—it's like he just told him he became Keyblade Master or something like that. He made a small 'oof' when Ventus suddenly jumped forward, putting his arms around him. “I knew it...”

The blond quickly pulled back a little, cheeks flushing. “Um, so as I was saying...if you really don't, I think that'll help keep it from getting too bad, at least. We won't know unless we try, right?”

“...I guess so.”

A small beep went off on Vanitas' phone and he looked over at it, seeing a few questions from Roxas, Riku, and Xion. He looked kind of surprised. “...Those idiots messaged me asking how things were. And the big oaf sent me another apology.”

Ventus rose up completely, smiling down at him. “Yeah, because they're your friends.”

The black-haired male muttered, “...Friends, huh?”

Then, Vanitas looked up at Ventus, smiling in a way that took away the blond's breath as he spoke again, “Doesn't sound so bad after all.”

“Oh yeah...just let me know if you need any help with Riku. I'm all for you two—”

Vanitas shoved a hand on the blond's face.

The two then later fell asleep together and this time, no nightmares plagued them, as the light of tomorrow approached, brightening even the darkest shadows.