Title: Black, White, Shades of Grey
Author: breathless_dawn
Rating: PG should suffice
Characters: Namine, Riku, Axel, Roxas, Sora; implied Riku/Kairi.
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Kingdom Hearts, which is really rather unfortunate.
A/N: I wrote this about a while ago and just never got around to posting it. A collection of four drabbles featuring our lovely KH boys and Namine :) No real pairings. Unbeta'd and all that. The first two take place in a post-CoM, pre-KHII verse, while the last two take place in a sort of AU KHII verse.
I
When Riku walks into her blindingly white room, he keeps his cloak on and his hood up, noticing grimly that he is the only darkness there. He can’t see even a hint of a shadow lurking under the tables or in the corners.
Everything is light.
Even the girl. With her blonde hair and white dress and porcelain skin. She lifts her eyes from the sketchbook in her lap and he nearly gasps out loud. She looks too much like her.
“Hello, Riku,” she says, as if she has known him her whole life.
Riku doesn’t say anything, forgetting to wonder how she recognises him in this form because he is mesmerised by the colour of her eyes and curves of her mouth.
“I thought you would come soon.” She smiles.
“Who are you?” he asks finally.
“I’m Naminè.” She extends her hand.
He simply stares for a moment before leaving. She looks too much like Kairi.
II
When Axel visits her, he welcomes the fact that he does not match the endless white. He’s come to despise the colour; it reminds him too much of the Dusks, which Xemnas has threatened to turn him into too many times for his liking.
So he doesn’t bother trying to be inconspicuous. He leaves ash on everything he touches, earning him reproving looks from Naminè, to which he simply smiles beatifically and runs a hand through his flame red hair.
“I know we don’t have hearts, Axel,” she says, “but we can still have manners.”
He only laughs and makes a fireball zoom around the room, watching her with amusement as it gets dangerously close to a picture she’s taped to the wall. She makes a noise of protest and with a snap of his fingers the fireball disappears.
“For not having a heart, you’re awfully sensitive,” he says teasingly, getting up to leave.
Before he can reach the door, she pushes a new drawing into his hand and he notices the corners of her mouth have pulled down. He knows better than to ask why - she can never seem to give a straight answer, and so he doesn’t bother. “Thanks,” he says, with a hint of sarcasm, and leaves.
He walks down the hallway with every intention of burning the piece of paper in his hand - because he’s accumulated too many of them as it is - until he realises it is a picture of Roxas.
III
Roxas is surprised when he enters the room at the end of the hallway. Nearly everything is white except for the colourful drawings taped all over the walls.
He sees a shock of red in one of them and walks toward it, gazing at it with mild interest. When he reaches it, his eyes widen. “This is me,” he says. “And Axel is here too.”
“You are best friends.” Naminè appears behind him and he turns to face her.
“Hayner is my best friend,” he says a bit coldly.
“Of course he is, Roxas,” she says placatingly, “but you lived another life, too.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Naminè. A person can only live one life.” A frown flits across her face but it is quickly replaced with a smile. “I’ll help you to understand, Roxas. It will all make sense soon.”
Before he can open his mouth to speak, the world dissolves in blinding white light.
IV
As soon as Sora enters the white room, he is overcome with a strange sensation that he has been here before.
He examines the pictures on the walls, is drawn to one of a boy with blonde hair and a black cloak. He cocks his head to the side. He seems familiar but Sora can’t remember anything about him - not even his name.
“Roxas,” someone says from behind him.
Sora startles and spins around to find a tall man with blood red hair and striking green eyes leaning against the opposite wall. “What?” Sora asks cautiously.
The man’s black gloved hand points to the picture Sora has just turned away from. “His name’s Roxas,” the man says, walking closer to him. “And that would make you Sora. Am I right?”
Sora looks at the strange man, his eyes wide in surprise. “What? How do you know that?”
He simply ignores the questions and says, “Funny. You look nothing like him,” as he conjures twin chakrams in a burst of flame.
“Whoa!” Sora says, taking a step back. “What are you doing?”
“Well,” the man says, grinning, “I haven’t quite figured that part out yet. Either way, you’re -” He is cut off by the sound of Donald and Goofy calling Sora’s name, and the man looks over his shoulder anxiously. A moment later, he is grinning again. “I’ll be back, Sora, don’t you worry.”
A dark portal suddenly appears and he walks through it, disappearing into the darkness. The portal vanishes a moment later, revealing a blonde, smiling girl who looks oddly transparent.
He opens his mouth to say something to her, but before he can, the door opens and she disappears.
“Whatcha doin’ in here, Sora?” Goofy asks, and Sora doesn’t trust himself to speak because he’s not sure if any of it actually happened in the first place.