I felt something wet and rough run over my face. Reaching my hand up, I felt a head full of hair. I ran my hand through it, and the person purred.

"Akio? Is that you?" I asked sleepily. Why was she licking my face? And...purring? I know I'm hot, but damn. I felt something heavy on my chest, losing my breath. Now she's sitting on me? Okay, I need to see this. I opened one eye to see..

A saber-tooth tiger.

The memories from before came at me from all directions. Plummeting from the sky, getting attacked by the creature sitting on me, and Akio falling into the jungle.

Shit.

I groaned as I pushed the tiger off of me. I stood up, brushing myself off. The tiger sat happily, staring at me with adoring eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. I know, I saved your butt," I said. "Do me a favor and get lost, huh?" It seemed content with staying with me, so it sat on my feet. I patted its head. Looking around, I saw that I was in a secluded area. It was pretty small, with a tree behind me and bushes surrounding us.

"I should probably give you a name, huh?" I asked. "How about...Smilodon? Milo for short, eh?" Milo licked my hand in response. "Hope you're a boy, Milo." I heard voices suddenly, and Milo growled. He ran off, and I sighed.

Classic Milo.

Peeking out of the bushes, I watched as Sora, Donald, and Goofy entered a large tent with a half-naked man. Thank goodness for loincloths. Looking around, I saw that it was a campsite in front of me. Large crates were stacked on top of each other, towering over the large tent. A table was set up with beakers and flasks on the wooden surface.

That's when I saw Akio emerge from the bushes near the science table. Her face was flushed, either from the heat or her anger towards me. She was walking with a slight limp, taking in the campsite with her hungry eyes. I keep forgetting this is the first time she's seen the world through her own eyes. It was adorable.

I heard voices come from the tent, and Akio did, too. She crept towards the tent, but was in arms reach of me. I grabbed her, covering her mouth as she started kicking her legs. I pulled her into the bushes, but let go once she nailed me in the shin.

"Akio! What the fuck, that hurt!" I yelled, hopping on one foot. I grabbed my shin, glaring daggers at her.

"What the hell? You know what hurt more? Me falling a good fifty feet to the ground, that's what!" Akio exclaimed, returning the glare.

"Would you shut up? They can probably here us right now!" I hissed. I lowered myself to the ground, grimacing in pain. "You're not the only one who fell hard today," I muttered under my breath. Akio crossed her arms, and I leaned back. Maybe by not moving, I could stop the pain. I felt her eyes glued on me as I took in each breath.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," I mumbled. She huffed in response, and I sighed. So far, this little adventure of ours is only tearing us apart. Not the way I wanted things to go. Looks like I'll have to be the bigger person and make things right. Before I could say anything, a gun shot rang out through the entire jungle.

I sat up, and our eyes met.

"Let's go," I said, jumping up. Bad idea. I stumbled, and Akio grabbed my arm. She pulled my arm around her shoulder, wrapping her arm around my waist. We made our way out of the bushes, heading towards a bamboo area. As we walked through it, I saw Milo laying on the ground, almost as if he was...

"Milo!" I yelled, pulling away from Akio. I landed on the ground next to him, watching as he took shallow breaths. I rested my hand on him, staring in disbelief. He was cut deeply, and looked as if a Keyblade was the cause.

Sora did this. I know it.

"I'm sorry, Milo," I whispered. Milo's tongue licked my finger tips before his heavy eyes closed. Akio walked up behind me, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"Vanitas, I'm so sorry," Akio said softly. "I had no idea you guys were so close."

"Yeah. I saved his life from some gorillas."

"...."

"......"

"So...."

"Yeah, we should probably go see what the gunshot was about." I stood up, walking in the direction of fighting. Akio followed after me, and we watched as the three heroes and the loincloth guy were fighting a middle-aged man with a gun on top of a large iguana. As if this was normal.

Sora casted a fire spell, shooting a fire ball out the tip of his Keyblade. It hit the large reptile, knocking it to the ground. He swung his Keyblade, making the final hit. The lizard disappeared in a burst of light, and a large heart floated up towards the sky. I narrowed my eyes at Sora.

He probably used that same technique to kill off Milo. The little bastard.

"Are you sure you guys aren't related?" Akio asked. I growled, glaring at her. She kinda looked taken aback at my hostility, almost hurt. She looked down, and I felt kind of bad. I opened a dark portal, gesturing for Akio to head in first. She headed inside, and followed after her.

No. I had to make things right.

I grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks. Akio looked back at me, and I lost my words. Her gray eyes were too stunning. Too beautiful. Too powerful. I looked down, swallowing. I searched my mind for the right things to say.

"Akio, listen, we... need to talk," I managed to say. "I hope you know that I do care about you. No matter how hard-headed you can be, or annoying, or-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Akio said. "So charming, right?" I smiled a little before continuing.

"I know Xehanort is forcing you to do this, but I just want you to know that after all of this, I'll always be there for you."

"Uh, kinda random, but okay." Akio bent down so she could look up into my golden eyes. "After all of what?"

"The Keyblade War, and everything leading up to it. I might have to do some things that you probably won't like. And you might be forced to hurt the ones you care, or cared about." I finally met her gaze. "I just want you to be ready for that."

Something changed. Akio's eyes seemed to soften, and she seemed to see me as someone she could trust. Someone who cared about her. Maybe even as someone who loved her.

"I will, or, well, I hope I will," Akio whispered. "But, I'm grateful you care." Akio suddenly leaned forward, her soft lips leaving an invisible imprint on my cheek. I looked up at her in surprise, but smiled. She returned the smile, blushing a little. We continued to walk down the dark tunnel.

••••••

Something was wrong. The air was hot and my throat was scratchy. I broke into a coughing fit, and Akio covered her face. We both took in shallow breaths as we neared the entrance to the new world. It seemed to be hotter than the jungle, if possible.

Akio was the first one to step out of the dark corridor, her boots sinking into the peachy sand. She started to move through the blazing hot desert, fighting against the sand that was only slowing her down. I put one foot in the sand, keeping the rest of my body in the dark portal.

Fuck this.

"C'mon, princess! We don't have all day!" Akio yelled. I thought she was moving pretty far for being in sand, but in reality, she was just a few feet in front of me.

"I'm coming! Let me get my footing!" I hollered. Suddenly, an invisible wind blew, sand flying with it. I turned around, getting back in the portal. I saw Akio being pushed back, and she turned to run back to me. She jumped inside, knocking me over and landing on my chest.

Akio used her hands to hold herself above me, but our chests were still touching. I felt her heartbeat quicken, but she kept her eyes closed tight. I realized how close our lips were to each other, but I instead acknowledged the fact that she was covered in sand, therefore, covering me in sand as well.

"Akio," I said calmly.

"Yea?"

"Can you not tackle me with a whole bunch of sand? Any other time would be fine, but now's not a good time."

"Would you rather me drown in a sandstorm?!"

"At least I wouldn't be covered in sand, too!"

"Really?"

"Really."

Akio pushed herself off of me, rubbing her eyes. She blinked a couple times before she started shaking her hair wildly, showering me in more sand.

"Hey, I was gonna give you a scarf!" I exclaimed, holding my hands up in defense.

"Oh, thanks!" Akio said sarcastically. She shook he head some more, but I grabbed her shoulders so she would stop. She pushed the hair out of her face, smiling at me. Her eyes were twinkling, and I couldn't help but return her grin. Why did she have to be so damn cute?

I almost kissed her, but instead pulled out a blue and gray scarf, handing it to her. She wrapped it around her nose and mouth, and I did the same with my own. It was red and purple. Akio hooked her arm through mine, and we stepped into the desert together.

•••••

"Look, in the distance," Akio said. We had been walking in this bowl of sand for what seemed like an eternity when we finally saw a golden, spiral top. "Is that a palace?" Akio asked. I nodded my head, and we continued out trek towards it.

As we got closer, I realized that a wall was surrounding a small town where the palace was located. The buildings were the same color as the sand, but seemed to be made out of brick. Finally, we reached the entrance to the desert town.

"That took forever long," I huffed, letting go of Akio. We leaned against the wall.

"No kidding," Akio replied, fanning herself. She met my gaze, laughing a little. Looks like she was being positive about the situation. Suddenly, something whizzed over our heads. I turned around to see a carpet heading into the desert. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were sitting on it, and they soared over the sand dunes. Wish we had a magical carpet to ride.

Akio grabbed my hand, pulling me into the town. She dragged me into a storage area that was filled with barrels and even more carpets. They were purple and blue with gold stitched into the fabric. Akio still hadn't let go of my hand, and I looked her in the eye. She seemed to be having a mental panic attack.

"Wha..?" I asked, and she covered my mouth with her other hand.

"The dog saw us," Akio whispered. "He looked me in the eye. The EYE!" I raised an eyebrow, and she dropped her hand.

"Okay, so the dog's not worthy enough to look at you?" I asked, confused.

"No! He's not supposed to notice us! No one is! It's just a memory!" Akio exclaimed, running a hand through her hair. I leaned against the wall, sighing.

"So, what's happening?"

"I don't know. I think we're becoming apart of the memory."

"Wait, so if anyone sees us in a memory, they'll remember us when we go to the real world?"

"Maybe. Probably. Definitely."

"Great," I muttered. I guess traveling in memories needs to have its own rule book, too. Rule number one: Don't make contact with someone who will remember you. "Hey, how about we kill them? Then, they won't know we exist!" I blurted out.

"Once again, it's a memory, not time travel. It wouldn't make sense if they remember dying and are still alive," Akio answered. Oh. Right. That's what I would do. Y'know, if I still had my powers. Honestly, sometimes I'm such a baka.

"Look, let's just go. This world is a bust, anyways," I said, removing my scarf. I unwrapped Akio's scarf from around her neck, her face seeming to grow red from how close I was. Either that, or the intense heat of this world. I opened a dark portal, and we headed through it.

"So, where to next?" Akio asked. Before I could answer, the ground beneath us suddenly disappeared. As if the portal had just broken, the connection to the next world destroyed. We fell into the endless space, the lack of oxygen not helping the situation. I was smart and held my breath, but Akio started screaming.

I quickly clamped my hand over her mouth, pulling her closer towards me.

Looks like I'm not the only baka here.

I noticed her eyes start to close. I tried to open another portal, but nothing was working. That's when a huge whale came out of nowhere, swimming through space. I watched in bewilderment as it got closer to us, opening its mouth. I started to fall unconscious, my lungs burning and my grip on Akio loosening.

All I know is that we got sucked into a large whale's mouth.