Yuki sighed looking out across the ocean to the main island. The sea breeze blew in her face carrying its strange salty scent. The Palm trees all around her moved in the wind, the leaves brushing together filling the air with more sounds. The birds crying overhead fought against the sounds of the waves crashing on the beach.

"You seem to like it here," Tayressa said calmly from behind Yuki. Yuki turned to her and nodded slowly. Her bright blue eyes matched the color of the ocean.

Once again Yuki had been assigned to follow the Lady of the Shadows. There was no fighting involved, she just had to accompany the leader to Destiny Islands. Why this was Yuki didn't know. But she didn't ask. She liked being on the island. It seemed to resonate deep within her. Like she belonged there. It was calming, setting to rest the constant questions she had since being shown Kingdom Hearts. But it did bring out other questions. Like why the leader always brought her here.

"Is there a reason you always bring me here?" Yuki asked looking the back to the ocean. She laced her fingers together behind her back and rocked back and forth a little. Tayressa smiled a little at her question.

"It's because you are so important to us and so young. I feel you need a guiding hand to help you along." Tayressa explained. Yuki frowned, unconvinced.

"Really? Something as small as that?" She asked. Tayressa nodded and moved to where she was standing next to Yuki. She rested a hand on the younger Heartless' shoulder.

"Sometimes a teacher makes all the difference in the world. I've seen it countless times before." Tayressa said with a small smile. "One who would be unable to do anything becomes as strong as any prodigy with the right master." She continued. Yuki noticed her smirk. Yuki figured she had some specific example in mind.

"But you don't really teach me. Just ask me questions and stuff." Yuki pointed out. Tayressa nodded.

"Think of it as my way of connecting with you." Tayressa walked a few steps off to the side. Her red eyes gazed far off as if she saw something in the ocean that no one else could. "Sometimes a master is just there to answer questions. They teach how to think, not how to act." She continued. Her soft smile seemed to be one of reminiscing. As if she was reliving old memories.

"But why me?" Yuki asked. Tayressa looked at her with a calculating look. Yuki felt as if she was trying to get into her mind.

"You are far more important to us than you understand." Tayressa said simply. She looked away again. "You have more power than any of us ever anticipated. And something else. Something else that even I don't understand." She said. Yuki knitted her eyebrows together as she looked down towards the sand. None of what Tayressa was saying made sense. How was Yuki anymore important than Y? They were both keyblade wielders. Was it because Yuki had two keyblades?

"Isn't Y just as important? You need the keyblade wielders right?" Yuki asked. Tayressa nodded slowly. She was thinking of her reply.

"Y is important," Tayressa began. "But Y has already had a master. Her thinking is set in stone. You, on the other hand, we can teach our beliefs in hopes you can understand our goals. Understand though, in the end, it is still up to you." She said. Yuki nodded, taking in her words. Y had never said anything about a master. But she never did speak of her past. None of the ones who could remember ever did. Yuki glanced at Tayressa with a sudden thought.

"Why don't I remember being a Somebody?" Yuki asked. Tayressa didn't answer right away. She was silent, considering her reasons. Yuki watched her think, intrigued by the way her hair moved in the wind. It was nearing impossible to tell the red tips from the rest of her hair, making it seem as if the white was naturally spotted with red as the layers intermingled.

"It's impossible to know. It may have been the shock of losing your heart. Or someone may have interfered." Tayressa finally said. Yuki nodded, deciding not to press the matter farther. Even if Tayressa looked to know more than she was saying.

"Do you remember what it was like?" Yuki asked. Tayressa nodded and smiled. "What was it like?" Yuki asked hopefully. Maybe Tayressa would actually answer her. Tayressa smiled yet again.

"Really not all that different." She said. Yuki frowned thinking that was the only answer she would get. She was surprised when Tayressa continued her story. "Many of the Heartless were my friends growing up. But I did leave home to be taught to wield the keyblade." Yuki looked at her shocked. She had never seen the leader use a keyblade. And after everyone saying she and Y were special. She hadn't expected the leader to be capable of it as well.

"You can use the keyblade?" Yuki asked.

"Not anymore. When I became a Heartless I lost that ability." Tayressa answered. She waited a minute to let Yuki process her new knowledge before continuing. "But I do remember the training. I trained alongside two boys, Xehanort and Eraqus, they soon were my best friends. It was to help them I sacrificed my heart. But, I'm afraid it didn't have the effect I desired. It sent one too far into the darkness, and the other too far into the light."

"That sounds awful," Yuki said. Seeing friends go in opposite directions from each other must of been hard. But how could they have such different thinking in the first place if they had the same master? Tayressa had said masters were to guide thoughts. This master must have been bipolar or just really bad at teaching to get such opposites.  "How come their thinking was so different if they had the same master?" Yuki asked.

"Our master believed heavily in self-sufficiency and left us to make our own decisions often. He never supplied us with answers. We had to find them on our own." Tayressa explained with a laugh. Yuki nodded again thinking.

"What happened to them? Your friends?" Yuki asked. Tayressa's smile turned sad.

"Eraqus was killed by his own pupil. And Xehanort followed a foolish path that led to his downfall. Yet he still fights, though he does not truly exist." She answered. It took Yuki only seconds to figure out what she meant. A Nobody. After spending as much time befriending the ones she had she understood. They were said not to even exist, but they were still there, fighting to gain back their right to existence. It was something she admired about them. They didn't go down without a fight.

"If he has a Nobody, doesn't that mean he has a Heartless too?" Yuki asked. Tayressa regarded Yuki with an expression of sudden interest. Like she hadn't expected her to figure it out so quickly.

"He did. But just recently that Heartless was killed." She said. She again looked away from Yuki to the ocean.

"Oh," Yuki said softly. She looked down at her feet trying to think of the right thing to say. "Was he one of the little Heartless?" She asked. Tayressa chuckled and shook her head.

"No, he was like us. But just barely underneath our level." She explained. Yuki nodded still looking at the sand. The waves were just barely reaching her feet. The water just touching the toes of her boots before receding. It repeated over and over again at a smooth pace. Yuki smiled to herself for no reason.

With the next wave, a strange star-shaped fruit brushed against Yuki's feet. Yuki reached out and picked it up curiously. It was bright yellow, making Yuki think of a star even more. The tips were rounded with green leaves at the tip of one of the star's legs. It was familiar to Yuki for some strange reason. She had definitely seen it before.

Yuki gasped realizing where she had seen the fruit. It was on her charm. Tayressa glanced over at her. She had heard the gasp and thought there might be something to it. She was surprised to see the fruit in Yuki's hands. Yuki glanced over at her.

"What is this?" Yuki asked. Tayressa tipped her head to the side thinking.

"It's a paopu fruit. They grow around here." She answered calmly. "There's an old story that if you share it with someone, your destinies will become intertwined. You'll remain a part of each other's lives forever."

Yuki frowned. Sure the story was cute. But that sounded dangerous. What if you ended up hating each other? You would still be tied to each other. You might end up killing someone who was once your best friend. But it still had a small bit of warmth to the idea. That you would care so much for someone you'd be willing to risk that. It must have taken a great deal of friendship to decide to share one.

*<3*

Y pouted staring at her brother's door. After his mission had been completed he retreated to his room and hadn't surfaced since. He hadn't been at the clock tower yesterday either, and he hadn't spoken to Y at all since yesterday morning. Y didn't think she had done anything to anger him, but she could never be too sure. Yuki didn't seem set off yesterday, so maybe X hadn't shown he was irritated. He probably just felt like hiding.

Y knocked on the door softly. "X?" She asked. She waited, listening through the door. She heard a small bit of shuffling but otherwise nothing else. Y rolled her eyes and knocked again. "X, I know you're in there. Do not forget I have a giant ass key that can unlock anything. So answer this door before I open it myself."

There was a small pause before Y heard footsteps and the door unlatch itself. X opened the door and leaned against the door frame. His blonde hair was really messy and his eyes had dark shadows underneath them. He looked like he might have just woken up. But Y knew better.

"What's going on with you?" Y demanded, crossing her arms. X rolled his eyes and turned his back on her, going back into his room. But he left the door open letting Y follow him in.

"What makes you assume anything is going on with me?" X asked as he sat down on his bed. He yawned and stretched. "I'm just tired."

"Right, and Xehanort was completely sane." Y countered. X glared at her, holding back a grin. He looked away from her thinking. Y just watched him with crossed arms not saying anything, just waiting for the truth.

"Yesterday Yuki was asking questions that reminded me a little too much of the old days, and some of the things he was expecting of me." X explained. Y frowned at her brother.

"I didn't know he had any real expectations for you." She said, more to herself than to X. X looked at her and smiled, if only a little.

"Just one thing really. Something I would much rather forget." X said calmly. Y looked up at him. Her eyes filled with a replication of worry.

"Can I ask what it was?" She asked tentatively, not wanting to upset X anymore. X sighed looking away from her again. If anyone else had asked he would have snapped. But since it was his sister it was only right to tell her. Yet the truth wouldn't surface.

"It's, a long story. But he thought I could control the darkness in a way no one else could. And that to restore order to the world I would..." X trailed off unable to finish his cover-up. It was mostly true. Just leaving out several key details. Details that made this something much greater.

"You would what?" Y prompted. She wasn't focusing very much on his behavior, crediting most of it to the stress and trauma that dealing with Xehanort must have brought.

"I would have to kill you." X said quietly. Y stared at him shocked for a moment. She was silently considering what he had said. What Xehanort thought he would achieve by killing her, she didn't know. But X obviously knew and just didn't want to say. It was probably better not to ask any more about it.

"She didn't mean any harm. And it's all in the past now." Y said sitting down beside him. She smiled at him peacefully. Trying to encourage him. X forced a smile back. If only she really knew. Then she would never say it was in the past. They could never escape their fate. But he couldn't destroy her hope. He wasn't that cruel.

*<3*

Yuki arrived at the clock tower to see the three Nobodies were already there. She sat down beside Xion with a wave. Roxas and Xion smiled and waved back.

"Little late there Snowy," Axel commented in a joking manner. Yuki rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"There's no specific time we're supposed to show up here." She said grinning. "Unless you all are making decisions without me." She suggested, looking at the Nobodies with an accusing look. Roxas and Xion chuckled.

"No, Axel's just making things up," Xion said smiling. Yuki nodded looking to the setting sun.

"Figured." She said. Axel glared at her still grinning.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked. Yuki shrugged deciding not to answer. Axel was the smart one of the group when it came to reading people. He should be able to figure out what she meant.

They sat silently for a while. Just thinking about their own problems. The silence though wasn't pressuring. Just comforting. Nothing need be said amongst them. Yuki glanced to her left. X and Y weren't there for some reason. She hoped nothing had happened to them. Maybe X was still mad and Y was dealing with him. Or maybe Y was mad too. Yuki sighed closing her eyes. There was no way to tell until she saw them again.

"I hope we always have each other," Roxas said suddenly into the silence. Yuki looked at him confused. Xion and Axel were both looking at him curiously.

"Yeah." Xion agreed. She smiled at Roxas, easily understanding his meaning. Yuki smiled at the thought. Them together forever. But a small voice in the back of her head told her it wasn't possible. Nothing lasted forever, especially for her.

"What's gotten into you two?" Axel asked confused. He shot Yuki a look that seemed to ask, 'can you believe these idiots?' Yuki shrugged in reply.

"I just want these days to last forever. Hanging out, the ice cream, the sunsets." Roxas said looking at the ice cream in his hands.

"Nothing last forever man, least of all a bunch of people that shouldn't exist." Axel said. He looked to his friends so they knew he meant them. "But you know, we'll still have each other...even if things change and we can't do this anymore." He continued looking away from the others now.

"How?" Yuki asked leaning forward to get a better look at the red-haired Nobody.

"As long as we remember each other, we'll never be apart." Axel said. He looked back towards the group and tapped his temple. "Got it memorized?"

Yuki smiled holding back a laugh. Though that was really touching it sounded so unlike Axel who avoided anything that vaguely resembled emotions. It was odd to hear him say such things. Roxas and Xion, however, weren't as kind.

"Wow, Axel. That sounded ridiculous." Roxas said through a laugh. Xion was giggling beside him. Axel frowned.

"What?" Axel asked. "I thought it was pretty deep." He said with a pout. Yuki couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed with the other two.

"It was deep, just so unlike you." Yuki said through her laugh. Roxas and Xion nodded, agreeing with Yuki. Axel laughed a little and shrugged.

"Guess you guys are rubbing off on me." He said. The sound of their laughter sounded through the air. Strange that they could still laugh without hearts. But all the same, it sounded pure and real.

*<3*

Day 96- Paopu Fruit,
I was taken to Destiny Islands by Lady Tayressa again. We talked a little about a bunch of different stuff. She told me a little about what she remembers from being a Somebody. But that's not what interested me. I found out the charm on my coat is a paopu fruit, they grow on Destiny Islands. If you share one with someone your destinies become intertwined. Kinda scary, if you think about it.
I haven't seen X today. I hope he's not still mad at me.