Chapter Nine

The remnants from the battle were obvious. The tattered curtains, exploded walls, glass littered everywhere. It was a battlefield. The enemy had fallen back and all we were left to do was retrieve the wounded. I was in shock at this point. The adrenaline had worn off and I finally started to feel the pain from my injuries. Sora had handed me off to Roxas so he could run ahead and help the wounded. Roxas had his arm around my waist, walking me to his father's room.

"You shouldn't have left. You could have gotten killed." He said to me, not making eye contact. I wish I could have replied. Even if I could talk, I was in too much shock to voice myself. "You worried me."

I looked up at him, but he didn't look back at me. Sighing, I looked ahead again to see us coming up to two large double doors. They were oddly elegant standing out in the disaster around us. Pushing the doors inward, I saw many civilians sitting on the floor, not injured at all. On a bed in the back of the room was Cid Raines, speaking with someone in a suit. Over in the corner was the girl I was looking for the whole time.

Kairi.

I let go of Roxas and pushed through the pain to tackle her into a hug. She was unharmed and that was all that mattered to me. She wrapped her arms tightly around me and squeezed the life out of me.

"Namine! Oh dear god, you are alright!" She sounded on the verge of tears. "I was so worried."

I nodded my head in her shoulder to let her know I felt the same as her. Once we were done embracing, the doors opened again to see Sora helping Hayner into the room. He was injured. Kairi walked over and hugged Sora just as tight as she held me, and then she stepped away, facing the boys.

"Why did you rush out there on your own!" She screamed, attracting the attention on bystanders. Roxas and Sora looked confused. "I could have taken them!" She shouted, pacing in her dress. "Really!" She was in perfect condition compared to me.

"Sure Kairi." Sora rolled his eyes.

"Just give me a gun and bang! Off would have went their heads, those bastards!" She made a gun with her hand, pointing it at Roxas.

"Why me?" He said.

"I thought it would be funny. Guess not." She was trying to lighten up the mood, but it wasn't working well. Sora and Roxas excused themselves and walked over to their father, who was lying in bed. The news was true. Cid Raines really was sick. I don't know what they were really talking about. They pointed to Kairi and I a few times before I blanked out. I don't even know how I made it home and into my bed, but I did.

I shot up from my bed the next morning, drenched in sweat. I had had a nightmare about yesterday's events. My wounds were wrapped up, though I had no idea how. It was like I was suffering from a bad hangover. I walked to my closet and pulled on a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt and met Kairi in the kitchen; she was drinking coffee, her hair in disarray. She smiled at me, exhausted.

"Morning. I take it you didn't sleep well." She said to me. I shook my head. "You were crying in your sleep. I'm so sorry." She said to me. I shrugged it off. I had dealt with so many traumatizing experiences before, I could deal with this. A nightmare doesn't scare me. "I'd hate to leave you, but I need to run out to the store really quick. I'll be right back."

I nodded and watched her leave. It might seem like Kairi was unaffected by all of this, but that is how Kairi dealt with things. She tried to deny it even happened otherwise she would probably slip into a deep depression, like I was. I knew she would break eventually, probably in the shower or where someone couldn't see her.

Rubbing my shoulders from the coldness, I walked back into the bedroom and laid down on the bed, curling myself into a ball. The tears poured out my eyes. I was terribly affected by yesterday's events. How could I be a strong girl like Tifa if I couldn't help but sob over last night? Not only that, but it resurfaced some memories of my past. All I could remember was someone who I thought was my father and a gun. It brought a terrible headache to my head.

I zoned out for a while until a doorbell jerked me out of my catatonic like state. It wasn't Kairi, since she had her own set of keys. So I walked and pushed the buzzer, allowing them in and waited by the door until they knocked. Upon opening the door, I noticed it was Roxas. He looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep and I couldn't blame him. He lived at the epicenter of the destruction.

"You don't look so good." I bet I didn't. I felt my eyes all swollen and I knew they were bloodshot. My hair was a mess and I was dressed poorly. I shrugged and walked away, back towards the bedroom. I heard Roxas kick off his shoes and coat and follow me. I laid back down on the bed, burying my face, but I felt him sit down on the bed.

"Namine…" He trailed off, putting a hand on my shoulder. The comfort just made me sob. Although there wasn't much noise, my body was shaking. My hands flew up to my face, covering it and I turned away from him, curling into a ball. He placed his hand on my waist, his head resting on my shoulder. I could feel his breathing in my ear. "I'm so sorry." The breath tickled my ear and sent butterflies down my stomach as I cried even more.

He positioned himself behind me and pulled me into his chest, rubbing his hand through my hair. He tried to get me to stop crying.

"Here, I'll tell you a story." He said softly. "When I was a boy, maybe around 11 or 12, as you know my mother was sick. I would visit her in the hospital, and she made a friend there. A young girl who liked to draw. Because she was friends with this girl, I played with her a lot and we became good friends. We had conversations about what we wanted to be when we were older, and who we wanted to be like. We even said we would get married when we were older. She never told me why she was in the same hospital as my mother though. I never found out. After the disaster at that hospital, I never saw her again. I stopped going to the hospital and I didn't know where she was transferred to. But that girl left an impression on me. She helped me learn that I should fight for things that I want in life. And that I should be strong and that I can overcome anything. You remind me of her a lot." By that time, I had calmed down and the crying stopped. I turned over and looked him in the face. He gave me a small smile.

"Don't cry anymore. It just doesn't suit you." He brushed hair out of my face and kissed me on the forehead and looked back at me. My lip couldn't help but quiver. I nodded fiercely, causing him to laugh. "Don't worry. I won't get you involved in those sorts of things anymore." I shook my head, causing my hair to hit him in the face and pulled away, quickly looking for a piece of paper.

I wrote, No! I want to help you.

He smiled. "It's too dangerous. You can help me by being safe so I don't have to worry about you." I sighed. He pushed me gently back down onto the bed. "Go to sleep now. I should go before Kairi finds me in bed with you." He joked. "I'll see you soon."

I watched him leave.

And for the first time, I never felt a stronger urge to speak than I did in that moment.

IM SO SORRY THIS IS LATE. I've been going through a ton, so I never had the urge to write. But, I got it out tonight, so I hope you all are happy with it. Please review and tell me what you think. There will be no chapter preview here, since I need to plan out the next chapter.

Thank you for sticking with me!