Betwixt + Between

[Takushi Rena]

These last few days... They've been kind of crazy.

This journey; this adventure. It ended now and I thought everything from it was just going to disappear. Even my friends left! I didn't need the keyblade anymore and it was just back to normal island life. It's really hard for anything to be 'normal', though.

I ran back home and my mom wasn't even a little mad at me. I almost drowned because of Nobodies. Kairi said she was worried and we actually kissed because of a paopu fruit. But then, Roxas showed up.

And so did a letter. That damn letter.

I came here, thinking that the King would be there, and Riku and Kairi even snuck along behind. I wish they've would've stayed back on the island. They wouldn't have to suffer through this...

The thought was... vicious. Every single time I remembered it, it bit me in the face.

I watched them disappear. I wanted them disappear from my eyes. I watched their agony. Their pain. I saw it all...

But, I couldn't move to save them. I was frozen. I was scared. I was horrified. I couldn't bare to see them in that sort of pain, but I couldn't move either.

Now, I was in that swell of pain. I was standing alone. I was standing alone in the darkness...

Why do I feel so empty? I lost my friends... They're gone now! They're all gone. I try to hold back tears, but they come anyways. Because I couldn't move my feet fast enough.

I can still hear their laugh. That horrible, sadistic laugh. It's still echoing in my ears...

I'm all alone now. I have nothing. Because...

The darkness is going to eat me alive. Yet, it will never hear my screams, because I have none.

Until now.

HELP ME!!

_ transmit: kingdom - epilogue

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Well. Um. I think I can finally post this now. D: If stuff gets delayed, it's 'cause I'm horribly impatient and don't write fast enough. XD;

Umm... backstory, I guess? This takes place right after KH2 ends, though the next chapter is like taking a sharp turn left and going somewhere else. YOU SHALL FIND OUT MWAHAHA. It's also going to be alternate universe, as there are things of the 'what if' scenerio and things might happen that either haven't been confirmed in a KH game or something like that.

I also have another chapter I want to post, if anybody's interested. It's not part of the main story, hence why I'm not sure if I should post it up. xD; Anywho, I'll start posting up chapters soon! Probably on Thursday or Friday or something. I hope you enjoy my story! :3

[TwilightRiku_13]

Awesome, you reposted this story!!! I really like this story, and I cannot wait until your next update.

[Takushi Rena]

Thank yew for the comment! :D

And I'm actually going to make regular updates this time. xD; I might actually do a NaNoWriMo-esque thing for just getting all/most of the chapters done...

Ack, might as well spark up a discussion. D: Umm... for this, would a character be more interesting if they weren't living on the streets or were kept in that icky wandering-the-streets thing? I'm trying to figure out if I should change a character a bit before I post a chapter or not. xD;

[TwilightRiku_13]

I don't think it will really matter. I think it might be more interesting if the person in question was living on the street. That character could be like an eccentric homeless person who offers really good advice or some kind of life lesson. In the end, you're the writer, and it is ultimately your decision, so whatever you do is fine with me.

[Lectori Salutem]

I'm quite sure you have posted this before^^ It's still very good!

Really looking forward to the next chapter, your writing makes me curious!!!

[DarkHeart63]

I must say, this first chapter has pulled me right in!
Looking forward to more! -becomes official fan-

[Takushi Rena]

Thank you so much for the comments! x3; *gives cookies*

Originally Posted by TwilightRiku_13

I don't think it will really matter. I think it might be more interesting if the person in question was living on the street. That character could be like an eccentric homeless person who offers really good advice or some kind of life lesson. In the end, you're the writer, and it is ultimately your decision, so whatever you do is fine with me.

Okies, then I guess I'll keep it like that. xD; I kinda seemed to me like that was a wee bit clique or maybe didn't fit the character so well. I dunnoooo. D:

ahsdofiahs ZOMG I HAVE AN OFFICIAL FAN. D: You're awesome, DarkHeart! *tacklehuggleglomp*

Ummm... Since this is sitting here, I'm gonna go ahead and post up the next chapter. 8D; It's kinda long [to me anyways :c], so I'll post up the second part in a few days or so. I'm also trying to decide if I should add a part back in or not... *shrug* I dunno. Anywho, HAVE A NEW CHAPTER! :D

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_ transmitting: pieces - of - heart

001 + ATLANTIC

It's funny what happens when you're frozen.

Falling. Deeper and deeper into black. Ice cold water grabbing my skin; its freezing arms dragging me closer and closer to the black bottom. Water was all around me. Strange thing was that I could breathe. But... why was I... asleep?

Then, it hit.

The lightning blazed. Seeping rain. It felt so real.

But, it had to be a dream!

A dark, clouded sky. A tall, lone skyscraper pointed upwards. Buildings gathered around. That lonely building reached up for a single thing:

A giant heart-shaped moon in the clouded night sky.

TWO DAYS.

"Hm?"

I turned around, hearing a voice booming in my mind. And let out a gasp.

My eyes were shut. I gasped for air. My heart pounded. I was suffocating! A black gloved hand thrown across my face. The darkness was trying to swallow me!

And, I could just hear you whisper in my ear.

That voice slid into my thoughts like a poison.

"I guess I'll give you a head start then..."

The hand disappeared. Yet, everything was black.

Was this a nightmare?

If darkness had teeth, would it swallow you whole?

The darkness wasn't just trying to swallow me.

It was trying to eat me alive.

As those teeth curled, I couldn't help but...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

--------

"Shizuka."

They never looked up, but the voice knew it was heard.

"It's here, isn't it?"

The black haired girl gave a small, barely noticeable nod; a frown curled on her pale face.

The figure over her also frowned.

"We better hurry, then..."

--------

You could see their anxiety. The heavy breathing, the beads of sweat, and their lost and terrified expression.

A quick jolt can lead to so many things.

"AH!" a high-pitched scream hung over the dark, dusty alley, before quickly dissipating cautiously. A bare hand covered their mouth as a pair of deep blue eyes swept back and forth across the horizon.

Still alert and stiff, they lowered their hand from their mouth and gave a sigh of relief.

"...I hate it," a child-like spoke as she hugged her knees with her arms. She gave a sniffle.

Long, brown bangs covered over the young girl's face, especially the bunch pointing slightly outwards that covered over her left eye. Only one deep blue eye shimmered through the darkness, making the girl seem rather eerie if you were just walking past. She had a small frame and a round, child-like face. She looked like a ten-year-old, but that was an easy mistake: she was thirteen, not ten!

Her clothes were simple: a black t-shirt with a turtleneck, a black wristband, a pair of khaki cargo shorts, and a pair of black skater shoes. The only strange thing was the pair of goggles around her neck and the two twin yo-yos safely tucked away in her pockets.

Suddenly, the girl jumped to her feet; it was as if the sound of waves were a wake-up call.

With haste, she exited the alley and made a march down the sidewalk. The smell only made the growl grow louder.

This was the marketplace and bay side of the city. It was like the suburbs, only there was an ocean standing right next to it. People lived and worked in these shops, using the money from the sales to live and thrive.

The thought of what was coming next, though, made her feel very guilty... She hadn't done this before; she ran so many times, but this wasn't the same thing.

But, other people had to do this, too, right?

As footsteps came closer to her standing point, she quickly let out a yelp and twirled into a nearby alley, this one with a musty and mildew-y smell within it. The girl stood by one of the many shops, her nose and mouth tightly covered by her hand as she looked rather green and pondered what to do next.

The shop next door, though, was a bread shop...

She was having second thoughts about this. She could've just gone to that lady's shop, the one that was so nice to all of the refugees! But, she didn't want to be a burden; she had other people to worry about, too.

The girl started to ignore the guilt when she sniffed the air.

A sweet, dough-like smell eclipsed over the sour, musty odor of garbage and reeled the tomboy in. She carelessly stepped through the door and into a shower of the hypnotizing scent. Her stomach growled louder and louder with each step.

Finally, a voice snapped her out of the trance.

"Hi! What can I get you this morning?"

"...Um..."

She started playing with her grungy hands nervously, her eyes lit up as she stared. There were so many different things, even weird ones that no one could even imagine! Only one sparked her interest.

"Erm... one melon bread... please..." she spoke timidly as she put her hands on the top of the counter.

A moment later and the baker placed a tightly wrapped, round ball of baked dough on the counter. The girl snatched it into her grasp with haste.

"That'll be 20 munny, please!"

She froze. Her eyes grew wide.

That was the point of this, right? But, this guy had to be sixteen or seventeen and they had such a sweet smile. They looked so happy. She didn't want to shatter it! Just put it back on the counter and...

"HEY!!"

She slid out of the bakery with careless haste, while being chased by the young, but furious, baker. She felt horrible as she ran. She wouldn't stop. She couldn't stop. As much as she wanted to scream 'I'm sorry!' right in his face, she didn't.

Then she went tumbling after slamming into them.

"Ow!" she exclaimed. She sat on the sidewalk as she rubbed her nose.

"Caught ya, you stupid little brat!" the baker snarled. A hand curled into the girl's turtleneck collar. The victim merely gave a gulp.

She looked up at the figure towering desperately, her deep blue eyes wide with panic.

She whispered, "Help..."

"...This is amusing, to say the least..."

"Mind your own business! This kid stole from me!"

The figure raised a brow, their female voice querying, "Really. What they steal? Munny, gol--"

"Food! What else?"

The teenaged girl gave a pause. Then came a chuckle, "Are you serious? Food... of all things! You're going to lock up a kid because they snitched food?"

"Well..." the boy growled. His face was crimson, "I worked hard on those!"

The girl frowned, placed her hands in her pockets and leaned her head to the side. She tugged her beanie hat and glanced down. That girl was trying to wiggle herself out of the baker's grasp.

"It's not art, blonde... You can make more, right?"

He let out a growl, "So what? They're for customers, not punks!"

The girl shrunk out of sight after the boy unintentionally relinquished his grasp. She now hid behind the other girl.

"I didn't steal anything. I swear!" the tomboy exclaimed in a whisper, her arms hiding behind her back.

"...Look. You want me to pay you back?" the older girl queried. She shoved a hand in her pocket, "Or would like like to consider yourself delusional?"

"Shut up!" he snarled.

"The kid didn't steal anything. Screw off, idiot."

Finally, with some coaxing, the stupid teenaged boy stomped off in a huff, slamming the bakery's door behind him.

"...Thank you," the younger girl's face was red.

"Did you really steal that?" Her purple eyes were half open as she glanced down at the tomboy behind her back; she really looked like one of those 'popular' kids with sort of attitude and expression.

She glanced to the side nervously. "...No..."

Footsteps clicked.

The brown and white-haired girl gave a sigh, turning her gaze around to spot the tomboy sprinting off into some nearby alley.

Her feet followed with that same sort of click, though these were much slower in beat. Though these footsteps weren't nearly as fast, it still caught up. And curled a fist around the young girl's shirt.

Immediately, the tomboy let out a surprised yelp as she was drawn backwards towards the other brown haired girl. Yet, the yelp was rather muffled. This was due to the round, baked ball of bread that was now in mid-bite. The young girl stared up, with wide eyes, at her catcher.

The teenager merely raised a brow, a rather sour frown perched on her face. The tomboy gave a gulp and once again tried to pull herself away from being captured.

"...Such a liar."

The bit of food fell to the grimy ground when the child tried to open her mouth to speak. She gave a whimper while staring hopelessly at the ground.

"Not that he's going to care now..." the grip was now relinquished, cueing a chuckle from the teenaged girl. Shoving her hands into her wrinkled, tan capri pockets, she quickly turned her tail in the opposite direction.

"...You're cruel," the tomboy scowled. Without any other clue of what to do, she turned her gaze. A moment of standing there and she grumbled, turning to walk into the back of an alley.

But, she seemed to recoil back, letting out a small 'Ahh!' as the wind rushed past her. She saw that teen girl give a grin.

She was being dragged! A hand grasped her wrist and she was forced into a run down the sidewalk.

"Hey!" the thirteen-year-old exclaimed. She tried to get that hand to let go, "Lemme go!"

She struggled and struggled, pulling on the girl's fingers. No avail.

"Lemme go!"

The girl gave a chuckle, "No."

"Why not!?"

The girl started humming, ignoring the annoyed tomboy.

"Let me go--!"

Suddenly, they came to a stop. The brown and white haired girl smiled.

"Two sea-salts, please."

The young brown-haired girl simply blinked, standing there looking completely lost. She was soon holding a strange blue ice cream on a stick before being forced to sit on the edge of the sidewalk.

"So, what's your name?" the teen questioned, sitting down on the sidewalk as well.

"Umm..." Still staring at it. "...Rena," the brown-haired girl said. She was actually afraid to try this...

"Oh. My name's Figgie." she paused, glancing over at Rena, "...It doesn't bite."

Rena didn't say anything.

"And it'll melt if you stare at it all day..."

Finally, after a grumble, Rena pushed it towards her mouth and gave it a lick.

Weird... It tasted... salty and sweet. It was pretty good, actually. When it slid down her throat, it made her stomach growl more. Immediately, she started biting and gulping it down, even if it was terribly cold; she looked like she hadn't eaten a thing in weeks.

Figgie gave a smile and turned her gaze off to the side.

"Why me?" the young voice questioned. Figgie looked back at Rena, who was wiping melted ice cream off of her face with the back of her hand, and looked confused.

"Why you?" she shrugged, "I dunno..."

Rena frowned. Why was this 'Figgie' girl doing that? The whole 'being nice to her' thing. She met a random kid in the street, made her lose the only food that she had, and then dragged her off to get some strange ice cream. She was kind of thankful, but she didn't get it.

"I'm just trying to be nice, I guess." Figgie gazed off to nowhere. She started messing with a wrinkle on her tan capris, simply out of boredom. Rena actually noticed what Figgie looked like when she turned to look at her.

"But why me?"

"Well, I found you first."

Rena gave a grumble. Not really a straight answer...

The two became silent; Rena was perfectly content with that ice cream and Figgie looked rather... blank. The teen was staring down at the street, as if she was pensive.

"...Hey."

Rena perked up, glancing over with a bar of ice cream in her mouth.

"I have to go see a friend of mine..." Figgie was still staring at the ground, "You wanna come with?"

"...Why?"

Figgie wore a grin and turned her gaze, staring Rena straight in the eye; she almost looked like she was smirking.

"Well, if ya do, I can show you around the city..."

Rena nearly choked and sat up straight.

The city? For every single person in the slums, it was the one place they wanted to go, but the government wouldn't allow them in. Saying there were filth; they even went so far to put up a gigantic gate to separate both parts of the bay. However, if someone from the city came in with a friend...

"Really?" she looked ecstatic, but tried hard to not act like that; she still sat on the sidewalk, eating her ice cream as a hand wrap itself around her knee and she leaned forwards a bit.

Figgie straightened, now simply smiling; she placed her hands behind her as a popsicle stick sat on the concrete.

"Yeah, just as long as we see my friend first..."

"Umm..." It sounded boring, but if that was the only way to get to the city...

"Okay..."

Rena looked rather taken aback. Figgie had jumped up, grabbed her hand, and the two were off, though it was more like Figgie was dragging Rena along. Rena didn't look too happy about seeing that ice cream fall to the ground either.

[TwilightRiku_13]

That was a really good chapter. I really like the Rena and Figgie characters, especially Rena. I cannot wait until your next update; I really like where your story is going.

[Lectori Salutem]

Rena is still very cute!!!

And it's not that long, not for you at least. You have written longer ones^^ I think this is a very good lenght for a chapter.

[Takushi Rena]

Thankyewthankyew for the comments! :D And Rena ish cute and kewl... I'm very happy to hear that! xD; [ugh i've been stressing over her so bad >.<; thank you for saying that! *gives cookie*]

Annnnd I'm gonna go ahead and post the other half of this chapter. Ahhh. I have a question about that, too: do you think that it would be better to post up the first few chapters in halves [they're a wee bit long to me D:] or just post up the entire thing at once?

There will definitely be one chapter that will be in half because it's reallyreally long, but these first few don't necessarily have to be posted in parts.

And here's the rest of the chapter! :O

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To the people of the slums, it's always been a mystery why they've never been allowed to enter the city. To the people of the city, they knew exactly why.

There were boundaries between the filthy streets and the massive buildings. These streets could be seen only with another citizen of the massive metropolis. The gates didn't allow the refugees to come inside and she stood, day after day, in front of those iron gates, wishing she could go inside and see how amazing it was.

"Wow..." Rena said, awestruck as her jaw seemed to drop to the perfectly paved sidewalk. She stared up at the gigantic buildings towering above.

Unlike the bayside and the slums, this place was nowhere near deserted. Cars streaming everywhere, people streaming besides those cars, and millions of lights that could be seen quite well in the daylight.

The tomboy knew exactly why she was upbraided by simply giving a quick gaze at this place: it was perfect. Spotless, flawless, and sparkling. If some filthy person stepped foot into the city alone, they would've been thrown elsewhere before their spot became scrubbed with some sort of powerful, bleaching cleaner; but, that's probably just an exaggeration.

While Rena looked in awe at this place, Figgie look at it with resentment. Sure, the place was flawless, but so were the people. You had to be perfect to live in this place. But there were also the underground sort of people...

"C'mon," she snapped. Figgie now was dragging Rena along once more, but they weren't in the least bit of a rush. The two were just walking down the sidewalk, all while Rena glanced around in awe. She couldn't help but look over at Figgie nervously, though.

They went to see that friend like she said and the whole thing was just... weird. Whomever it was was just sitting in an alleyway, a dark one at that, and Figgie was talking to them in something that wasn't 'normal'; there was stuff like 'nan da yo?', which wasn't considered normal. However, while they were talking, Rena walked up to the girl in the alleyway and said 'Hi'. For some strange reason, Figgie hated when that happened and now seem ticked off.

No wonder Rena looked nervous.

"So... why'd you do that?" Rena timidly queried, now looking forward. She fiddled with her wristband nervously.

Figgie glanced down at the tomboy as she walked forwards, "What?"

"You know... Being nice to me. Of all people, you have to pick a worthless kid like me..."

"You're not worthless!" the teen gave a scoff, "Don't say that... Nobody is worthless."

Rena begun to whisper, "But, I'm just a stupid slums kid! Nobody cares about us, everyone obviously thinks we're trash. Everyone keeps on glaring at me, so..."

Figgie also whispered, "They're just pompous jerks with way too much money. They think half of this place is dirt, because it's not up to their standard."

"Wouldn't you be one of those... uhh... jerks?"

Figgie froze for only a mere moment; she looked blank. Suddenly, her voice lowered.

"My parents have tons of money. They're stuck-up just like everyone else here. I, on the other hand, am so sick of treating everyone like trash and being so uniform... So, I'm pretty underground... or at least some sort of rebel... And, unlike everyone else, we actually don't mind any in the slums. We'd actually rather be nice to them than be 'nice' to pompous asses."

"...So that's why you're being nice to me!" Rena exclaimed, "You could've just said that in the first place!"

Figgie's expression was priceless: she looked dumbfounded and even started to give a growl after a moment, glaring with a grin.

"...I'm seriously going to punch you."

Rena merely grinned widely, looking childish.

Yet, her grin dropped momentarily, "So, why were you so mad when I was trying to talk to that weirdo girl...?"

"No more questions."

"Huh? Why not!?"

"Because..."

Rena glanced up and did a double take. She came to a stop and stared around in awe.

"That... is so cool..."

Figgie didn't get it. It was just a store with a lot of bright lights on it!

"C'mon..." Figgie growled. She grabbed Rena's shirt sleeve and dragged her along the sidewalk.

This went on for hours. Figgie still didn't get it; why this kid was fascinated with buildings and bright lights. It was getting dark and Figgie gave a grumble.

"I gotta get home!"

"But I'm not done yet!" Rena protested. Yet again, being dragging along after just standing in the middle of the pavement.

"There's this one cool, really tall building that looks all old and freaky and I thought I saw freaky green flashies and--"

The teen's hand covered over the blabbering tomboy's mouth, forcing her to shut up, "You know you can see it later, right?"

Rena looked perplexed as Figgie lowered her hand.

"...Huh?"

Figgie had briskly walked off in the other direction, and the tomboy hurried to catch up.

"Hey!!" she exclaimed, "What'd you mean see it later? I gotta get back..."

"Who said you had to go back?"

"...Um..." she twiddled her thumbs, "I dunno..."

"Then what would happen if you didn't have to go back?"

"I... dunno..."

Figgie pulled to a halt, "...Don't you get it yet?"

"Get what?" Rena tilted her head to the side.

"...Wow. You're clueless..." She rubbed her temples. She took a step closer towards Rena after she lowered her hand.

"What if... someone wanted to let you stay with them? Instead of going back to the slums..."

"I would... umm... be pretty happy, I guess..." Rena looked blank, staring down at the ground.

"Then, would you want to stay with me?"

"...Huuuuuh?"

"My parents won't care! They can just deal with it!"

"But... uhh--"

Figgie looked Rena straight in the eye, bending down to her level.

"Look, I don't care if my home is your's, too. My parents shouldn't care, because they're stuck up snobs and they'll just have to deal with it." She gave a scoff at the thought but then grinned, "So, if someone offered to give you a home... would you take it?"

Rena froze for a moment. She remembered earlier when she didn't trust Figgie one bit. Sure, she helped her, but...

That small little smile decided to say otherwise. Rena completely forgot all about what happened before when she saw it. Excitement rushed into the thirteen-year-old.

"...Really?"

Figgie nodded.

"Really!?" So much happiness and excitement was etched onto that one word.

Then, it shattered. Into a thousand, tiny, irreparable pieces. Onto that same tan, cracked sidewalk.

No! How did this happen?

Rena stared wide-eyed at the world around her. No longer was she standing in the midst of a vast city. No longer was she standing under orange and crimson clouds. And, no longer was a friend nearby.

The tomboy dug her shoes into the strange ground beneath her feet as the wind rushed through her messy hair.

"Figgie!!" she cried helplessly, "Where are you!?"

Her deep blue eyes glimmered with a powerless gleam. This place was no longer familiar. There was no way to jump out of it back into that city where she once stood. After all...

[DarkHeart63]

Originally Posted by Takushi Rena

ahsdofiahs ZOMG I HAVE AN OFFICIAL FAN. D: You're awesome, DarkHeart! *tacklehuggleglomp*

Haha, it's okay!
By the way, those last two chapters were really cool! Can't wait to see what happens next!

[Lectori Salutem]

Well, I prefer them in halves, but only because my account keeps loging out when I´m reading a long chapter in one go...

And nice chapter! Poor Rena, all alone...

[TwilightRiku_13]

My goodness, what just happened? How did Rena end up alone? So many questions. Anyway, great job again, and I look forward to your next update.

[Sahrvergnugen]

Wow, those are good stories you got there

[Twilight_Path]

*is so awesome-ified there are no words to say*