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When she wakes up, she is asked how she feels. She answers to a name only out of instinct, answers most questions that she can.
There’s a man whose hair covers one of his eyes that asks a little too quickly, but still sincerely. The other one is older, blond hair framing his face. She’s more hesitant to answer his questions, but tries her best.
Yet the more she’s asked by the both of them, the more unsure she starts to feel. She's doesn't understand some of the things they ask her, she doesn't know what certain things mean. But with the way they look at her, it makes her feel like she's supposed to.
Only one person seems to catch onto this. Another man with blond hair, older than the other two and who wears the same white coat but with a scarf, steps closer. He falls to one knee in front of her, his expression almost...sad.
“Naminé,” he says the name slowly. “Does the name DiZ mean anything to you? Or Sora?”
Her head hurts at the question. She’s given more names and something pricks the back of her mind, like a rattling insistent noise. She tries to grasp at whatever it is, but it disappears before she can.
Her hands clench together on her lap. With a shake of her head, she says quietly, “I’m sorry. I don’t know those names.”
Naminé knows her name. She’s not sure how, but it felt right hearing the people here say it.
The one man, Ansem, asks her a few more questions.
How does she feel?
Tired. Confused.
She doesn't tell him about a strange sound she sometimes hears or the hollowness she feels, like something should be there but isn't.
What is the last thing she remembers?
A sky. A sky and water.
She doesn't tell him about a clear memory of seeing a boy in the water smiling up at her.
Does she remember anything else?
No. No, she can't remember anything.
The first people she meets is a tall boy with silver hair and a girl around Naminé's height but with red hair. When they walk into the room and see Naminé, the boy looks almost resigned when she gives no reaction to seeing them. The girl, however, lights up and runs towards her. Naminé, unsure what to do, can only stand there as she's suddenly embraced.
“You really did wake up! I'm so happy, Naminé, I was so worried, we all were, we-” the girl pulls away and her sentence cuts off. Guilt fills Naminé's chest as she watches that bright smile fade away. “You...you really don't remember...do you?”
The girl steps back, giving Naminé her space again. Ah. So these are people that knew her before...before. “No...I’m sorry, I don’t.”
“It’s okay. You don’t need to apologize,” the boy reassures her. “I’m Riku. This is Kairi. We...we’ve known each other for a while now. We’ve helped each other a lot.”
Naminé recognizes the names as some of the ones Ansem gave her. Beyond that, however, she can't make a connection to it. But this person said they know each other and they've helped each other, so that means-
“So we're...we're friends?” The word almost feels foreign on her tongue. It give her a strange feeling, hopeful but also something almost hesitant. Like she isn't sure she can use it.
Riku's eyes widen. He gives a small laugh, smiling softly. “Yeah. Yeah, we're friends, Naminé.”
Kairi reaches forward, holding one of Naminé's hands between both of hers. “We're definitely friends, Naminé. Nothing can change that. I promise.”
There's a weight to her words that Naminé doesn't understand. For some reason, they make her feel warm and her eyes tear up before she can stop it.
So she really does have friends.
Naminé finds out that Ansem asked Kairi and Riku here to see if they can jog her memory. They sit together in Ansem's office, trying to put together if there's anything to help her remember. When he brings up a place called Castle Oblivion, that sound returns again. That strange rattling sound, like metal hitting together. She sees flashes of white walls. There’s a pain again, but instead of in her head it’s deep within her chest.
“Naminé?” Riku frowns. He holds a hand out, unsure. “Are you okay? Did you remember something?”
“I...I think so.” Naminé says slowly. She presses her hand to her head, closng her eyes tightly. “It...everything was white. I think...I think there was people there but...but I don't know who.”
“Don't try to force it if it's too hard. There's no rush.” Kairi tells her. “You don't need to remember all at once. It'll come back eventually, I'm sure of it.”
That's what Naminé keeps being told, yet she feels like it's not enough. Like she has to remember soon or...
Riku hums, looking thoughtful. He's frowning at wall before saying, “Naminé...there’s a place I want to take you. It’s called Twilight Town.”
Kairi looks at him, surprised at the suggestion. The name rings familiar in Naminé's ears.
“Twilight Town?”
“You lived there before. With me and Ansem the Wise...well, his name was DiZ at the time, but you met him again as Ansem. I wonder if returning there may jog something in your memory.”
“Twilight Town...” Naminé repeats the name. She gets flashes of a sunset and more white rooms. She's not sure how to interpret the feelings that stir in her chest but it's not...unpleasant.
Without much further thought into it, she nods.
“Okay. Take me to Twilight Town.”
Outside, Naminé can’t help but stare up at the sky. It’s so blue and bright, the sun warm on her skin. When she thinks about the sky, it almost feels like something hollow lies in the corners of her heart.
“Kairi?”
“Yeah?”
“Who was Sora?”
Kairi whips around to stare at her, eyes wide.
“Why do you...Naminé, what's wrong?” Kairi hurries back to her side. “You’re crying.”
“Huh?” Naminé touches her cheek and realizes it’s wet. She doesn’t understand why. But when she thinks of the name, her chest hurts. Like something is pulling at her heart. “I don’t know why...I think of that name, and I feel so sad. Like I miss someone.”
She hears the way Kairi's breath hitches. Before Naminé can speak up, Kairi hugs her like she had before, only tighter. Like she was trying to hold Naminé together.
Or maybe it was herself she was trying to keep together.
“Sora...Sora was another friend. He was your friend, too,” Kairi pulls away after a moment. She keeps a hand on Naminé's shoulder, while her other hands wipes away her own tears that were starting to form. “A special friend. That's why you miss him. I know you don't...you don't remember, but your heart does. That's why you feel sad.”
“My heart misses him?”
“Even if your memories are gone, your heart remembers him. I'm sure of it.” Kairi takes a deep breath, steadying herself and smiles sadly. “I won't act like I'm an expert on memories. That was...that was your specialty. But I really believe even if you forgot, your heart still holds the feelings you have. Not just for Sora, but anyone else that was special to you.”
So Naminé had more people important to her. She wants to ask more about this Sora person. Why does she miss him, why isn't he here with Kairi and Riku? Why does Kairi look so sad when talking about him?
Naminé wants to ask many things. But something tells her now isn't the time for that.
Once they reach Twilight Town, Naminé was taken to a mansion hidden among an area of tall trees. She's told this is where she once lived for a year. Naminé feels something towards this place, a sort of familiarity but nothing else. Even if she's told this was once her home, she wonders if it ever truly felt like one for her.
Naminé looks around while Ansem and Riku discuss in quiet voices. Ansem had come along, saying he needed a look at the computers here. Kairi had gone off, saying something about seeing someone. Naminé wonders if it'll be another person she's forgotten and quickly pushes the thought away.
She soon finds herself standing in front of a door. When she looks inside, she's think for a moment that there's a glow in the room, only to realize the brightness came from how everything inside was white.
“This room is...” Naminé frowns. She walks towards a table where several drawings are. Some are more detailed than others. Some looked more like a type of concept than a full drawing.
When she turns to the ones on the walls, right away she feels like she knows who is who with some of them. She can tell Riku and Kairi are here. There's one that feels like it should be Riku but that doesn't feel quit right. When she looks at the ones with the blonde girl, Naminé feels a strong urge to look away, an uncomfortable feeling in her chest.
As she turns away, one in particular catches her eye. Someone with brown spiky hair and one with blond.
Naminé touches the drawing, dragging her hand over the brown haired boy.
“This is...Sora?” She mumbles. She's not sure why she knows this but it feels right. This was the friend Kairi told her about. She gaze falls to the dirty blond boy and something skips in her heart. “And this is...who?”
For some reason, it makes her think of the boy in the water. She knows him. She's supposed to know him, she does know him but-
There's a loud noise outside the room that startles her.
Naminé hurries to the door, but hesitates with opening it. When she does, the voices become clearer. While she was looking around, several people had shown up without her realizing it.
“Ironic, really. A witch of memories losing her own.”
“Don’t call her that!” Someone snaps. “Do you think this is funny!?”
“Roxas, calm down. And Isa, don't make this worse with the unnecessary commentary.”
A fourth speaks up. Just how many showed up? “So...why doesn’t she remember? Roxas and I kept our memories. Why didn’t Naminé?”
The next voice is one she recognizes and it's Ansem who answers, “I’m afraid that’s something we need to figure out.”
The person that made the witch comment spoke again. “But you have a theory.”
“I do.”
Naminé finally decides to come out of the room to see what's going on and leans over the railing for a better look. There are several more people here now, but her gaze zeroes on the boy with spiky blond hair in the black vest.
As if feeling like he was being watched, he turns in her direction and when his eyes lock with hers, Naminé feels her breath catch.
It's the boy in the drawing, the boy that smiled at her from the water. A boy she remembers looking down at once before from a greater height. Naminé's feet move on their own before she can think it through. She runs down the stairs, almost tripping down the final steps. The boy moved the same time she did, and was there to help steady her at the bottom of the staircase.
“N-Naminé?” he says her name hesitantly.
This boy is so familiar to her. She feels warmth and a giddiness inside when she looks at him. There’s a bittersweet ache but a relief also as something in her heart skips again.
“You...” Her head hurts. The sound is back, worse this time but she pushes through. “Did we....know each other? Before?”
The boys expression crumbles into a sad, self deprecating smile. Naminé wants to do something to bring that other look back, the one he had when he first looked at her, but she doesn't know how.
At the mansion, Naminé meets more people.
A tall red haired man that goes by Axel or Lea, he's okay with both. His friend Isa makes Naminé feel the same caution that Ansem first did, but is reassured it's okay. There's a girl that looks like Kairi but with bluer eyes and black hair. Naminé is told she knows them all, but the girl, Xion, seems more understanding about Naminé not remembering.
The boy Naminé ran up to is Roxas.
The name repeats over and over in her head, like it's trying to engrave itself in her mind. So she won't forget it ever again.
“Roxas,” She says the name quietly. She presses her hand over her chest. She doesn't want to forget this name. No one comments on how this is the only name she repeats.
“Are you sure you want to stay here?” Kairi asks her. Naminé nods her head with a small smile.
“It feels...right. Like I'll...” she trails off, unsure. She doesn't know if staying with help her accomplish anything. But she understands the feeling inside her telling her to stay. “Ansem said he'll be coming back and forth to here and Radiant Garden to see how I'm doing while doing research. Riku said he will also. So even if I don't get my memories back, maybe I'll...I'll get some answers.”
Naminé wondered if that would be enough for her. No memories, but only answers. It's not something she wants to think about, but she might have no choice.
“I see. That makes sense. I guess you feel more comfortable here than Radiant Garden, right?” Kairi guessed. “Then...until you find what you're looking for, can I stay here with you? I don't want you to think you need to face this alone.”
The question surprises Naminé. A warmth fills her chest as she smiles. She likes being around Kairi, it makes her feel whole. Like there's something there connecting them. “Yes. I'd like that.”
Her first night in Twilight Town, Naminé dreams.
She dreams of sand and water, everything dark around her. Someone in black helping her stand and leading her into more darkness, before she surrounded by nothing but white.
Somehow, the blankness of everything around her was no different from the dark.
Naminé spends her first days at the mansion. She doesn't go out, instead exploring. Kairi walks with her, sometimes asking questions to see if she remembers anything. But for the most part, Kairi's the one answering instead.
The first real breakthrough is when Naminé draws the things she see's around the mansion. She draws her room and the entrance way. She draws the library and the lab underneath. She draws the strange pods.
It all means something. She gets flashes of things, hears voices and sees faces more clearly. She starts to remember certain things, even if she doesn't know what it all means yet.
But with these memories slowly resurfacing, there's some that don't feel right. Like they're not really hers. When she tells Kairi this, Kairi's smile is a little off. She squeezes her hands and asks if Naminé is ready to hear more about herself.
And Naminé finds out about her connection to Kairi and the boy named Sora.
Her dream is a bittersweet farewell and promise made with a too kind, soft hearted boy. A peaceful acceptance of returning somewhere in the heart of someone just as kind and sincere.
She's smiling at someone else, but when she looks at him she can't-
More days pass, and she gets to meet more people. These ones she didn't really know before, so it makes her less anxious meeting them. Hayner, Pence and Olette seem like a kind group and she hopes she can spend more time with them.
Pence and Olette are careful to avoid commenting on her circumstances. When Hayner accidentally slips up, Olette subtly stomps on his foot and talks a little loud asking if Naminé and Kairi would like to check some of the shops with her.
They mean well and it's makes Naminé smile a little to know they're trying.
She had expected them to spend more time with Roxas and those other three more, but it doesn't happen right away. Instead, it's like in steps.
She see's Xion first, then Axel. Then both of them together.
“I'm glad you're doing okay remembering things, Naminé,” Xion tells her. “This must be really strange for you, huh?”
“A little. Or a lot, I guess.” Naminé admits. “It's like I remember but then it slips away. Or I remember clearly all the sudden but I can't process it.”
“What do you remember anyway?” Axel asks curiously. “Remember Castle Oblivion at all?”
Xion flinches slightly at the name. Axel look apologetic, reaching over to squeeze Xion's shoulder in comfort.
“I do. For the most part.” Naminé presses her hands together. “More than I did before. I remember you and...others. A blonde women and a man with pink hair.”
“Larxene and Marluxia.” Axel nodded.
“Those people I met before, back in Radiant Garden, were also there. I remember...I remember Sora and some others there. And Riku. I see their faces clearer now. I remember...I remember some of it. But I'm not really sure why I was there or why I...I did...”
Her voice trails off. She still couldn't process it all. But the conflicting feelings in her chest twist at her heart as the metal sounds inside her head rattle, and it makes her wonder if she truly wants to remember it all.
“Don't worry, you'll remember eventually.” Axel tells her, seeming to take her mood drop for something else.
Naminé tries to smile at the reassurance, but she doesn't know how well she succeeds.
“Um, can I ask you both something?”
“Sure,” Xion nods eagerly at the subject change. Naminé wonders if Castle Oblivion is a sore subject for her.
“Why...Why isn't Roxas with you? He said we knew each other before but I haven't...I haven't seen him since that day.”
“Ah, well, Roxas is...” Xion glances at Axel, unsure.
Axel lets out a deep breath. With a wave of his hand, he says a little irritated, “He's just sorting something out. Trust me, it's nothing you've done. He's just sulking and-”
“You do know each other, he wasn't lying about that, if that's what you're worried about,” Xion cut him off. “You two...it'll be okay. I'm sure you'll get to see him soon, once he's figured out what he wants to do.”
It feels like a polite way of them avoiding having to say he's purposely avoiding her. And probably angry she forgot. Naminé isn't sure how she feels about that and instead asks if there's anything else they can share with her.
The Axel she knows now is different from the one she dreamed of. The harsher, more sarcastic one letting her run away from something. She feels better being near this Xion than the one she dreams sitting across from her and feeling sad when she looks her.
There's another dream she has. One where she dreams of saying there was a place she wanted to go to and someone she wanted to see, but doesn't know who she was talking about.
Yet she still feels that longing to see him when she wakes up.
The first time Naminé sees Roxas again, it's when Riku comes back with Ansem.
In the lab in the basement, Ansem has more questions for her, asking how her memory is and how she is feeling. He tells her he thinks he understands what has happened to her memory, why it shattered in the first place.
When Naminé is told her memory shattered, she doesn't react. She's too surprised to. Even Kairi, standing next to her, stares. Then she jerks in place, like she realized something and looks at Riku.
“Wait, you mean...it literally shattered?”
“Yeah. We think it happened when you...” Riku trails off, his expression twisting. His eyes get bright and he blinks rapidly before carrying on. “When Xehanort did what he did, Naminé was still inside you. Ansem and the others think that's when it happened. Between then and when Naminé was brought back, her memory got affected. Her heart was kept safe, but the memories broke apart.”
“So if it's shattered then...” Naminé feels something drop. “Then it can't come back?”
“That's not true, right?” Naminé is startled when Kairi takes her hand, looking distressed. “It can't be gone for good, can it?”
“Do not worry, I don't believe that is the case.” Ansem reassures her. He turns to Naminé, continuing. “Naminé, you once described to me how memories worked for you. You said it was like a chain. One thing connecting to another and another. That a memory never really disappears, it just gets rearranged and sometimes even locked away without someone realizing it. But that doesn't mean it's gone.”
Naminé thinks about the rattling sound in her head, the one like pieces of metal hitting against each other. A chain. That...that sounds right. It's a chain rattling that she's been hearing at the back of her mind and in her dreams.
“So...so what does that mean?”
“From the sounds of it, you've been remembering stuff slowly on you own. I think your heart is trying to repair that chain on it's own. It just needs time piecing it all together.” Riku says, “You know about when you fixed Sora's memory, right?”
Naminé nods. “I do but...I'm not sure if I still have that ability.”
“Well, I believe you still do, even if you don't realize it. When you were repairing the memories, it took about a year. I don't see why it wouldn't be the same for you.” As he speaks, Riku's smile grows. “Even if it's subconsciously, I think your power is trying to reconnect things for you. You just need time.”
“That's great!” Kairi cheers. She turns to Naminé, smiling widely. “Isn't that great, Naminé? Your memory will come back!”
“Yeah,” Naminé smiles back. She's happy. She really is. It's more than she's had since she first woke up in Radiant Garden.
But something pricks the back of her mind, a worry she doesn't want to acknowledge. Not yet. Not when the ones before her seem so sure it'll work out.
Naminé returns to her room, wondering how she can sort out these mixed feelings. She wants to feel confident Riku is right, that her power-whatever it is-is helping her.
Sitting on the bed, Naminé holds her hands out in front of her. If she doesn't remember...if it never returns then what if-
There's a knock on her door, cutting into her thoughts. Kairi steps inside and with a small smile, she points at the window.
“There's someone here to see you. I think he wants to talk to you really badly.”
Naminé rushes to pulls her curtains aside to see who she means. When she catches a glimpse of dirty blond hair, her feet move without her thinking about it. She thinks Kairi says something as she passes her but doesn't stop to see.
Once she's outside, Naminé can't help but smile when she see's him. He's leaning against of the broken beams, kicking at the dirt on the ground. He hasn't noticed her yet so she says, “Hello, Roxas.”
Roxas turns around, startled. He starts to smile before looking away. The reaction makes Naminé wonder if she did something wrong with that simple greeting.
“H-Hey,” Roxas looks back at her with a strained smile. “How...how are you feeling? Um, Riku and Ansem came to see you, right? Everything okay?”
“I'm...” Naminé isn't sure how to answer that. She's been asked that a lot lately though and her response is starting to feel a little automatic. This time, she changes her answer. “Everything's a little overwhelming actually.”
“I'd be surprised if it wasn't.” Roxas' lips quirk in a half smile. He scuffs his shoe against the ground again, rubs the back of his head looking awkward. “Listen I...sorry. I haven't come to see you. I don't know if it means much now but I...I really do want to help. I didn't...handle this properly. I'm sorry.”
“It's okay.” Naminé smiles weakly. Part of her was hurt by feeling like she was being avoided, but she understood if that was the case. “I don't...expect everyone to be okay. With me forgetting them like this. Even if I'm remembering some stuff, it's still...”
“You're starting to remember?” Roxas gives her a curious look. Had no one told him that?
“Some stuff is coming back to me, but other things is like...a strange dream.” Naminé presses her hands together, trying to figure how how to explain. “But I don't know which parts...”
“Which parts are the dream?”
Naminé's eyes widen. Roxas stands a little straighter. His expression isn't exactly closed off, it's more thoughtful than anything else now.
“I...” He hesitates. “There was a time I forgot a lot of stuff. And a lot of people. I started remembering, but I didn't know what those memories were. It took awhile for me to realize they even were memories, and not just weird dreams. You...helped me with it. You told me stuff about myself that I wanted to know, even when I forgot I wanted to know it.”
This isn't the first time someone's told her she's helped them somehow. Still, it's not something she really understands. How is it possible she's helped these people in some way?
“How did I help you?”
“Well, you got a little blunt on certain stuff. Or I guess really blunt. You...you always tried to get straight to the point, even if it wasn't in the best way,” Roxas has a small smile. Like he was reminiscing something. “You felt bad about it, but...but it wasn't a bad thing. Not exactly. You were honest. And that's what I needed at the time. Just...just simple honesty.”
So Naminé could be a blunt person. She wondered what she could have said to Roxas back then. Whatever it was, it was something that made her feel bad even if it was something Roxas didn't hold against her.
Hesitantly, she asks, “Did I...Did I hurt your feelings?”
“A little.” Roxas admits. “But then...I don't know. It bothered me and then it...didn't. Like I said, you told me the truth. That's what I wanted. I still don't really understand my feelings about it, but...I'm still grateful that you told me. I know that for sure.”
It was a little comforting. Knowing someone else had forgotten at some point also. That someone else seemed to understand how confusing it gets remember what is what.
And in the end, it seems like Roxas remembered everything. So doesn't that mean Riku and Ansem are right? Naminé will one day also remember? Yet that thought brings on her worries earlier.
“...can I ask you something, Roxas?”
He's surprised at the question but nods anyway. “Sure.”
“What if...what if I don't remember anything?” Naminé's voice gets quiet. “Or what if I do and...and I'm not the same person as you remember me? Or how anyone else remembers me?”
Roxas looks away. He doesn't say something for awhile. It makes Naminé afraid of his answer at it goes on and clenches her hands together anxiously.
Finally, Roxas says, “I think...even if that happens, you'll still be Naminé. At least, the one I remember.”
For some reason, those words make her heart skip.
“How do you remember me?”
Roxas takes his time before answering. It doesn't take as long this time and when he does, it's the most sincere thing Naminé has ever heard.
“I remember you as a shy person, but with a strong will. It seemed like, once you set your mind on something, you were determined to see it through. You could be blunt, but you...kinda hesitated a lot, too. You answered questions directly and admitted when you didn't know something. You wanted to help people.” Some emotion flickers in Roxas' eyes, but it's gone before Naminé can identify what. “You believed...you believed even if promises were forgotten, they'd still be kept somehow. That connections aren't lost, even when the memories are gone. That's...that's how I remember you. So even if your personality is different, or some things change...I think that part of you never will. Because that was the type of person you were. Memories or no memories...I don't think that will fade away.”
Everyone tries to reassure Naminé that her memory will return eventually. It's the first time anyone's really reassured it that it's okay even if it doesn't.
The fear inside eases a little. Maybe...maybe everything won't be so bad after all.
“I see myself the way you remember me. And you see yourself the way I remember you.”
She smiles, pressing her hands together as a pleasant warmth spreads through her.
“So, we can be together again!”
She receives a nod as the person goes to stand next to her. “Yeah-”
Naminé blinks up at the ceiling.
Quietly, she murmurs, “The way you remember me...”
Things are a little easier after that. Sometimes she'll say or do something, and someone-usually Axel or Kairi or Riku if he's there-will give her a look that's both amused yet bittersweet.
She's not trying as hard anymore to force her memory. She continues to draw and if it makes her remember something, then it does. But she won't make it her only priority now. When she told Kairi this, her friend understood.
“So...you're okay if you don't remember right away? Or at all?” Kairi gives her a searching look, trying to understand if this is what she wanted.
“I am. I think...if I do remember, it will happen eventually.” Naminé holds Kairi's hands in her own. “And besides...you have something you have to do also, right? I know you're worried about me. But...there's someone else you're worried about, right? You and Riku?”
Naminé knows their priorities are divided. When you care about so many people, you don't know what to focus on first.
“You're right, but...Sora would have wanted us to make sure you were okay first.” Kairi gives her a sad smile. “He always...put everyone else before him. That's why he did what he did. But now...”
“Now it's time you repay him, right?” Naminé guesses. “Go do what you have to. I'll be okay here now. I know I can't help with how I am now but...but please, stay safe. Both of you.”
When she leaves, Kairi hugs her tightly. Quietly, she says to her, “Thank you, Naminé. Even if you don't remember, I hope you'll be happy here. Tell me everything when we see each other again.”
Naminé discovers what Struggle is and thinks it's odd, if fun to watch. She tries sea-salt ice cream and whatever her expression was, made everyone laugh and Olette reassure her she'll get used to the shock of the salt at first.
The more she's around him, the more Naminé realizes she really likes to be with Roxas. He could be awkward but sweet. She liked that small smile he would give, sometimes looking unsure but always trying to be honest.
Naminé was starting to understand what he meant, saying she could be a little to blunt with things. Sometimes she wasn’t aware of it until someone would give her a surprised look, and she’d realize she should have changed her wording better. She’s never sure of what to do in these moments but if he’s with her, Roxas will help her out. She’s wants to do better and he knows it.
She finds it funny how when he’s playing Struggle, he has no problem throwing playful jibes back at his friends. He can get very sarcastic at times, and she laughs at the baffled look he gets when she comments on it.
Naminé still has her dreams. She get's flashes of things when she draws or hears certain things. She wasn't sure what to do when she remembers certain things. There's a brief time she's not sure how to approach Isa, something Xion understood and helped her get comfortable with. People change, relationships with them do also.
In the end, Naminé finds herself enjoying being with everyone.
“I want to spend some more time with you.”
Rpxas says it so simply one day and the ease in his words is clear. But then a moment later, a noticeable blush appears and he’s running a hand through his hair, turning away slightly.
“I mean...if that’s okay with you.”
And Naminé can’t help but smile.
She likes this part of Roxas. How hand in hand his straight forwardness and awkward side mesh together in unexpected ways. He’s always sincere in what he says.
“I’d like that.”
Naminé hears the voice of someone wanting to protect her. Someone she feels guilty and sad towards. She doesn't know why this person wants to protect her after everything that happens, but they do.
When Naminé wakes up, there's tears in her eyes. She's not sure who that person was, just that they reminded her of Riku. She wants to thank them for looking out for her, but she doesn't feel like she'll be able to.
When she's taken to Sunset Terrace, she finds herself standing on a hill with a couple benches and tall clock. She thinks she's been here before, but she's not sure how.
“You know,” She startles when Axel suddenly walks up beside her. She looks up at him, but he's staring at the clock instead. “You said something here before. That there was a place you wanted to go, and someone you wanted to see.”
Oh. It was the same as her memory.
“Do you think you've found all that? Even with how things are?” Axel asks her. But before Naminé can answer, someone calls their names and they see their friends come over.
Naminé laughs when she see's Hayner and Roxas playfully shove each other. Axel joins in until Isa smacks him upside the head.
When Roxas see's her, he smiles and waves her over. When she goes to join them, she remembers Axel's questions and knows how she wants to answer it.
One day, Roxas takes to the top of the clock tower. It's not her first time up here, but Naminé still gets a little nervous up here. It fades aware soon, though, once she takes in the sight. It helps that the sea-salt ice cream distracts her from her nerves.
“There was something you told me. Not long after we first met. Some things happened and we didn't know when we'd be able to see each other again.” Roxas smiled slightly. “You said that we’ll meet again, but we may not recognize each other.”
She said that. And yet, in the end, Naminé was the only one to forget. She starts to apologize, but Roxas shakes his head.
“No, it's okay. I’ll be honest. I was sad at the beginning. And angry. But not at you, just at...everything else, I guess. When we first reunited, we had to return to our original selves. We couldn’t be together unless Sora and Kairi were. And then when we met again as our own people, your memory was gone. It was hard, realizing you couldn't remember me.
“I don’t know why your memory disappeared, Naminé. I don’t even know if there’s a right way for me to help you.” He said honestly. “But even if your memory doesn’t return, you can still make new ones. Happier ones and with more people. When we're all together, you've been having fun, right?”
“I have,” Naminé smiles. “I've had a lot fun.”
Naminé liked being with so many people, even if it felt strange. Like she wasn't used to it. She liked meeting more people and how kind they were.
“Roxas. If I decide to go see Destiny Islands, where Kairi and Riku and...and Sora are from,” Naminé pauses. “When everything if okay again, will you come with me?”
“Yeah.” Roxas agrees with no hesitation and takes her hand with a smile. “You don't have to ask twice.”
Maybe her memory won't ever fully repair. Or maybe it will. Naminé finds it doesn't bother her as much anymore. Roxas was right. She can always make new memories.
She hopes this person next to her will be a part of most of them.
When they walked about the steep walkway, wondering if everyone was in the Sandlot or usual spot, Naminé's steps slowed down. She watched as Roxas walked ahead of her, frowning.
She's seen him hear before this time was different. She knew this spot for a different reason. This spot was...he was running and she stood in front of him. This was where...where-!
“Roxas!”
He turns around just in time to catch her when she crashes into him. Naminé could feel her heart in her throat when she feels his arms around her, stumbling back from the impact.
“Na-Naminé, what are you-!?”
“This is the spot!”
“Wha-What?”
He looks so confused. Naminé didn't blame him and could only laugh.
“I wanted to meet you, at least once,” she says. “And this is where I met you.”
His eyes widen. When he doesn’t say anything, Naminé begins to fear she got it wrong. That her memory is still fractured.
But then Roxas is holding her tightly, so tightly she can barely breathe.
“You-you remember...!”
“Not everything. A lot of things are blurry. I can’t...I can’t connect it all yet. But the pieces...” Naminé pulls away so she can press her hands together, like she’s trying to attach the chains in her mind. Because she can picture it clearly now, the links that hold it together. Even if she doesn't kow how they fit together yet, she can see it now. “They’re there. More clearly than before. I don’t know how they all connect but...I can feel them. In my heart. And you. You...you’re there. You're what makes it all clear. There isn't many, but they're in my heart. You're in my heart, Roxas.”
She didn't know Roxas when they met after her memory loss, yet she still knew him in a way. Her heart recognized him long before she did.
From the day they met, he's been in her heart.
Roxas smiles so widely, his eyes too bright in the sunset light. When he hugs Naminé again, Naminé returns it just as tight.
Naminé dreams of sand and water again. She's smiling at the boy in the water, able to see him so much clearer now than ever before.
They really were able to be together again.