Omigosh it's been so long! This chapter is dedicated to BlueberryAbsinth, who sadly seems like she is the only person updating or uploading stories. She get a cookie!
ANYHOW, I hope you like this chapter. Please review?

Disclaimer: I own KH as much as I own Riku. Translation: I do not own KH even though I really really want to.

Roxas's POV

9:54

I walked home from work.

I had been doing that a lot.

It gave me time to think. And although thinking was a double-edged sword these days, what with most of my thoughts being about—

No.

Walking through downtown, I passed the sleepy lights from the houses that looked cheerful in the daylight, but now just looked empty, and…lonely.

But lately, to me, everything had looked lonely.

God, I had it bad.

I sighed as I looked up to the growing lights from the rapidly approaching shopping district of downtown. In seconds, it seemed, I was enveloped in a warm buzz of laughter and civilian shoppers.

I walked past brightly lit shop windows, taking in the sights, but really seeing very little at all. Someone accidentally bumped me against a store window, and I stumbled to crash into a Plexiglas window. When I turned to see who had pushed me, I saw a large woman with a idiotically colorful hat and many shopping bags walking past with an apologetic look on her face.

"Sorry!" She called as she walked past. I rolled my eyes, and began to turn in the direction of home before I caught a glimpse of something familiar in the reflection in the window.

I casually turned back to seem to look at the display inside the shop, and in the reflection of the glass, saw a young woman standing a while away, her eyes locked on me.

I blinked once, hard, and turned slowly to scan the crowd.

There she was, looking for all the world a college student on her way to meet friends somewhere. With her brown hair pulled up in a ponytail and dressed casually in jeans and a dark orange t-shirt, she looked completely natural—completely like Olette.

I fixed my eyes on a point about five feet to her left, keeping her firmly in view, and started walking in her general direction.

Her eyes widened, and she began to walk away from me—at a pace that was just above a normal walk.

She knew I had noticed her. And she probably realized that there was absolutely no way I was letting her go without a really good explanation—and maybe not even then.

I wove through the colorful crowd of nighttime downtown, always keeping Olette in view, although she did try to lose me. She ducked into an arcade, almost making me walk past.

But, hey, a guy has to play Pacman once in a while, no? At least, that's my excuse.

Eventually as the chase went on, we left the bright lights and cheery shops of downtown behind, to enter the darker realms of the residential districts with their tall houses and occasional streetlights.

I watched Olette as she picked up the pace into a fast trot now that there were no people about.

"Give it up Lettie," I called after her, matching her pace, "I know it's you."

She stopped and whirled about so suddenly, I had to skid to stop to avoid hitting her. I took in her stony expression, and took a step back.

"All right, this is better." I concurred, giving her a half smile. Her frown didn't waver, but I thought I saw a flicker of humor in her eyes.

That gave me hope.

"I can't stay," She said flatly, crossing her arms, and darting a glance at the watch that circled her wrist. "They'll be pissed if I'm late."

My eyes hardened as she said the last bit, and I snatched at her wrist and began to drag her in the general direction of home.

"I'm sure they can deal. You owe me a damn good explanation Olette."

Namine's POV

I idled Kairi's car in front of a familiar apartment building, and stared intently at one of the windows.

I was insane.

I was a masochist.

The worst part?

I didn't give a damn.

I slipped out of the car and walked through the doors to the building. Walking up the stairs to apartment 2B, I tested the door. It was locked, and I got my lock picks out.

I was a thief, after all.

Slipping into the dark apartment, I paused to let my eyes adjust to the darkness before moving onward.

From the darkness, it was pretty obvious that Riku wasn't here, even though it was past the hour that he would get home from work.

So what was he doing?

I walked through the whole apartment, looking for some clue to his whereabouts, before noticing a printed copy of some web article on his desk next to Riku's computer and an old coffee cup.

I frowned, and walked over to the dim light in the bathroom to read it.

Cloud and Namine Strife: Victims of Federal Failure?

My eyes widened, and even before I started reading I knew what the article would contain.

I let the article drift slowly to the floor as I stared at my dim reflection in the mirror, my thoughts in a whirl.

I knew where Riku was going.

I ran out of the apartment, barely remembering to lock the door behind me. As I ran to the car and slid behind the wheel, I prepared to go back to a place I had sworn to forget about.

But the home of a tracker and high-level operative in a illegal Organization is hard to forget.

Especially when that operative used to be your guardian of twelve years.

I shook my head to clear the memories, and pulled out my cell. Dialing a number one-handed, with one hand on the wheel, I concentrated on sounding natural.

"Hey, Olette, it's Namine. I'm going to be a little late…"

Riku's POV

I parked my car a distance away from my target, and slid out from behind the wheel. Shutting the car door, I took a casual look around.

Dark, forbidding houses loomed on either side of the street, while dim yellow pools of light were cast onto the sidewalk from cold metal streetlamps. I began to walk towards the last house on the block—297 Nobody Ave, home of Larxene Milona, former guardian of Cloud and Namine Strife.

However, she had gone missing, and strangely enough, her home hadn't been sold. Someone was paying to keep it as is. And now I had a pretty strong idea of who it was.

Namine's POV

I drove the car at the very limits of the speed limit, skidding around the increasingly tight corners and through the dark streets.

As the dark houses and dim streetlights flashed by, I gripped the wheel until my knuckles were white, memories flashing in my head—

Flashback

"I don't believe you." I crossed my arms with all of the conviction of a stubborn six-year old, and turned away. "There is no way my parents were the bad guys in this."

I heard a low growl as the gray-haired man stood and stalked over to me, pulling me off of my seat by the collar of my shirt. I struggled, trying to dig my nails into his hands, and failing miserably. I looked up into his icy gray eyes furiously, hiding my fear.

He gave me a cold smile, "Tough little tigress, aren't you?" He said with a mocking smile, tugging me over to the window, "You don't take lies from anyone, and fight back." He gave me a sidelong glance as he forced me to look out at the street, the city, and in the distance, the thin streams of smoke rising from a place I once called home.

"Let me go!" I hissed, trying to jerk away. He tightened his grip, and pushed me down onto his chair. I slammed painfully down, and tried to push back the tears that immediately sprang to my eyes. "I know you aren't the good guys! Mommy and Daddy weren't friends with you!"

The man rolled his eyes—he obviously couldn't care less what I thought.

"Listen up girlie," He said softly, leaning down to get in my face, as I cringed back, "All you need to know is that I'm the head Panther around here, and you're a little girl who'll do exactly what I say." He gave me a smile that was all teeth. "I'm Xehanort. But call me Chief." He waited, and as I saw his expression grow darker, I finally choked out,

"Yes Chief."

He gave me a smile and patted my hair as he stood up. "Good girl," He told me, looking up as the door opened, "That's progress."

A blonde woman in her twenties walked in and smiled poisonously, her green eyes sparkling as she looked me over.

"Hello Chief," She said, her eyes flickering up to Xehanort, "Is this the girl?"

I guess Xehanort nodded, because the woman's smile grew to a grin, and I noticed that her eyeteeth were sharpened into deadly-looking fangs. My eyes drifted down to her hands, and my stomach turned as I noticed that she had metal points coming discreetly out of the space between each knuckle.

She noticed my gaze and flashed those pointed teeth again. "Don't worry about the claws, dearie," She said, "I don't use them."

I heard Xehanort snort.

"All right," She sighed, "I don't usually use them." I glared at her, and shrank even farther back in my chair.

"Don't terrify her just yet Larxene," Xehanort said with a slight hint of humor, "Leave that for training."

"Training?" I ventured, getting a nervous feeling in my stomach.

Larxene gave me another dangerous smile, and said, "Nothing to worry about yet."

Yet, I thought, Meaning I'll have to worry about it soon.

"Namine," Xehanort said, shoving me to my feet, "Meet Larxene Milona, your new guardian."

Cloud, I thought nervously as I was led from the room, Where are you?

End Flashback

As I came up to a familiar house, I shook off the hold of the memories, and parked the car. I locked it, and then started to walk towards the house, looking warily for any security systems.

Finding none, I sprinted to the door, and picked the lock. I slid inside, finding the light in the hall already on. Looking around, I realized that the décor of the place hadn't changed much—it still had the tan paint, almost-too-low ceilings and wood floor with thick rag rugs.

As I took a tentative step forward into the house, and then stiffened as I heard a rustle coming from upstairs. Soft footfalls followed the rustling noise, and I slid through the shadows of the hall, moving for the stairs.

Black Panther Operative's POV:

I growled softly as I quickly scanned my gaze over the old neighborhood of older houses. I had lived here before, and had been glad to get out and do something more interesting—like moving to DC and infiltrating federal offices.

Today, though, I had a job. As I looked down to see the satisfying flash of silver metal near my hands as I neared the house, I grinned.

Dealing with intruders was so much fun.

Olette's POV

Roxas and I didn't speak during the long walk to our—his—apartment. I saw him give me sidelong glances and we walked, but he didn't make eye contact—even though I knew him well enough to know that he wanted to.

I was also pretty sure that he wanted to shake me hard to put things back the way they were.

As I watched him open the door to the apartment, I was pretty sure I loved him for that.

He turned back to me, and held open the door.

"Thanks," I mumbled, walking past him and turning on the light. I heard him close the door behind me, and waited for him to pass me in the front hall. Instead, I felt his hand on my shoulder, gently but firmly propelling me through the kitchen and into the living room.

He waited until I had settled into an armchair before collapsing onto the sofa.

"I'm not going to make a break for it Roxas," I said with a slight smile, "Don't worry about it…yet."

He had opened his mouth to make a retort, a smirk growing on his face when my new cell rang. The smirk dropped off his face.

I stood up and walked into the kitchen, and took the call.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Olette? I'm going to be late."

I had braced myself for a scolding. Looking at my watch, I had guessed that it was about three minutes after the hour deadline. Hearing that, I stiffened with surprise,

"Oh…all right Nami…" I lowered my voice as I noticed Roxas turn his head slightly to listen, "It's fine anyway, I sort of…" I sighed, "It's complicated."

I heard her groan, "That makes two of us…is it him?"

I looked over my shoulder, where Roxas tilted his head and gave me a smirk at my gaze. I flushed and looked away. "Um…yes." I refocused on the conversation, "Wait a second…what do you mean, that makes two of us?"

Namine chuckled without humor, and replied, "I'm attempting to track my ex. Good luck with Roxas."

"Thanks a lot, Namine," I growled, and snapped the phone shut.

"New friend?" Roxas asked, with no expression in his voice as I returned to my armchair, "Or one of the bitches?"

I flinched at his careless nickname of my team, and retorted, "A friend, actually. And they aren't bitches."

"So they just steal you away and keep you from friends and family." Roxas said coolly, lids half closed over his blue eyes,

"Roxas…"

"But, of course, they are not bitches."

"Damn it Roxas," I swore, and stood, hands balled into fists, "Will you stop it? Yes, they took me away. But they really thought it was for the best!"

"The best, huh?" Roxas stood too, glaring at me, "What do you think Olette? Do you think this is for the best?" Under his cutting words, I heard underlying hurt, and softened.

"I don't like it," I said carefully, "But I had to. You don't get what we're up against, Roxas."

"Then tell me," he challenged

I rubbed my temples, and started quietly, "We have to do this—most of the operatives in the lesser branches of the Organization don't want to have that life…they've either been threatened into it—"

"Like you," Roxas grumbled, and I caught his gaze.

"Yes," I said evenly, "Like me. And once they know you, Roxas, they have you. You can try to run, but eventually the higher-ups will find you."
"Cloud ran."

"Yes," I said, smiling, "And he was one of the only people who managed to get away. But that was only because they thought he was dead. They still think he's dead."

Roxas sat on the arm of the sofa. "I'm not going to let you go back." He told me.

I smiled, and said warmly, "I love you for that. And my ride isn't here until she back from wherever the hell she went, so unless you want to drive me back into the lions' den…"

"No," He immediately answered, shaking his head. I grinned,

"In that case, I'm stuck with you for a while."

He grinned, and moved to sit on the arm of my armchair. "Good."

Riku's POV

I glanced around the dark study before moving to study the old papers on an equally old-looking desk.

I was inside Larxene's old house, now, and searching for any information that might have been connected to Namine or Cloud in any way.

So far, though, the only thing I had uncovered was that Larxene Milona was a special operative for one of the higher branches of the Organization, and had some kind of special weaponry when dealing with enemies.

The other thing I had discovered was that the Organization had killed Cloud and Namine's parents specifically to get to the kids.

Whether they did that a lot, I had no idea.

I straightened up from the desk when I heard a slight noise on the carpet outside. I automatically checked to make sure I had all weaponry.

The door slid open slowly, and I braced myself for a fight.

"Are you insane?"
I relaxed as I saw Namine slide through the door and cross her arms.

"No," I said, turning back to the desk for a final check for anything I had missed, "Sorry to disappoint you."

She slipped her fingers around my wrist and pulled me away from the desk. "Riku, what are you doing here?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Investigating," I said simply,

"Are you pissed at me?" She demanded, looking irked at my one word answer.

I jerked away from her and growled, "Now, why oh why would I be pissed at you?"

She flinched, "I'm sorry," She said pleadingly, "Really, Riku, I just…I'm sorry."

"Yeah," I said, letting out a breath, "I get why you didn't tell me."

"You do?" She asked, surprised. "That's…good."

"Yeah."

It was quiet.

She finally broke the silence. "You shouldn't have come here."

I shrugged, "I wanted to know what happened."

"You didn't just ask Cloud?" She asked, looking at me curiously, "He knows—"

"He knows what happened to him," I said, looking at her directly now, "I wanted to know what happened to you."

"Fair enough." She said. I nodded.
"But I'm still mad at you."

She flushed. "What would it take for you to understand that I'm sorry?" She demanded, shaking her head wildly, making her blonde hair go everywhere.

"This," I said, and brought my face to hers.

She relaxed and kissed me back.

"All right," She breathed when we broke apart, "I can deal with that."

Suddenly we heard a mocking chuckle, and we both straightened up to see a thin woman pointing long, thin metal claws at my throat.

"Nami dear," She purred, glaring daggers at me, "Didn't I tell you not to date until you're thirty?"

Hope u liked it! Pleeeeease review! Pretty please?

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