Kingdom Hearts:The Next Life 1

"...Let's meet again... In the next life..."
"...Yeah. I'll be waiting..."



"So... this is the mansion?" A black haired girl said out loud, though, more to herself than anyone else. "Well, I didn't want to come, but at least now I get to see Naminé." she smiled at the mention of her cousin. Two boys, one redhead and one blonde, were by the front gate talking. The redhead had packed bags and a military uniform on. Sadly, he was the one of the two Xion recognized. As she approached, the blonde whispered something quickly to the redhead, who replied with a, "She's Nami's cousin. Trying to stay out of the crosshairs." "Hi, Axel." Xion greeted, smiling. "Hey, Xion. Good to see you again." he replied, hugging his younger cousin. Though the two weren't related by blood, they had grown up together, so the fact that Axel was adopted about ten years ago had almost faded into time. "Who's your friend?" Xion asked. "Oh, sorry. This is Demyx. He's a neighbour." Axel told her. Demyx smiled and gave a small wave, "Nice to meet you." he said. "Nice to meet you too." Xion replied. Her gaze drifted to Axel's packed bags and uniform, "So... You're going too?" she asked sadly. Axel tried to smile to cheer her up, "Don't worry. I won't get myself killed, Xion. I promise. Okay?" "But..." Xion began. "She has a point. It won't be the same around here without you, Axel." Demyx chimed in. "Hey, relax! I don't even really want to go." Axel tried again. "Then why go?" Xion asked. "It just... Feels wrong to be sitting around while others are fighting. Call it pride, but I don't want to be defended by some half-assed soldiers." The three laughed at that comment. Demyx clapped a hand on Axel's shoulder, "Well, if that's how you feel, we won't stop you. Just do us a favor, alright?" "Sure. What?" "Come back alive." Demyx told him. "Don't worry. I couldn't face you all if I came back dead. I mean, what would I say?" They laughed again and a drab, dirty olive green truck pulled up. "Well, here's my ride." Axel hugged them each again and grabbed his bag. He tossed it to one of the other soldiers in the truck and climbed in. "Bye, guys! Tell Naminé I'll miss her!" he waved. "Axel! You'd better come back or I'll kill you!" Xion shouted as the truck drove off. She heard Axel laugh, and soon, the truck was gone in a cloud of smoke. She felt like crying, but she simply sighed. She turned back to the house and took her bags. "You're staying here?" Demyx asked. "Yeah. My branch of the family's in Austria, so they sent me here." She replied. "Ahh. I see. Much safer here than in Austria." he said, nodding. "Yeah.." The following silence lasted a few seconds, "Well, I'll... See you around then?" Xion asked. "Oh! Of course. I don't live far." Demyx replied smiling. Xion smiled as well, "Alright then. I'll be seeing you." and with that, she walked in the front gates. "Yeah." Demyx said quietly to himself before also leaving.

A figure, small in stature, stood at the front door. As Xion drew closer, she called her name, "Naminé!" "Xion!" Each girl ran to her cousin and they embraced each other, "I've missed you so much!" Naminé said, smiling. "I know! But we're together now!" The two were much more like sisters than cousins, despite how little they saw each other. Inside, Naminé showed Xion to her room, "So you met Demyx?" she asked. "Yeah.. Oh! Axel says he'll miss you." she said, trying to smile. Naminé smiled sadly, "He's a good brother. You wouldn't know if you met him out of the blue, but he is." Xion laughed, "His goals are a bit odd, yes. Anyone would think he's a complete ass. But we know better." "Yes, we do. So, this is your room. I'm next door, so if you need anything, don't be afraid to ask." Naminé told her. Xion nodded, then raised an eyebrow at her cousin, "Are you alright?" "Yeah, I'm fine." "You look nervous about something." Naminé didn't reply and simply glanced down at the floor. "oh, this isn't about Axel, is it?" Xion asked hugging the blonde, "He'll be fine, don't worry, Nami." "I just... Have this feeling." Naminé said meekly. "Oh no.. Not a 'feeling'. That's not good." Xion said, growing a bit more worried, "Is it a bad feeling?" Naminé simply nodded. "About what?" Xion asked further. "I don't know.. I never do until it actually happens." she replied. Whenever Naminé said she had a 'feeling' about something, it usually meant trouble, and she hadn't been wrong yet. But there's a first time for everything, so hopefully, this would be that first time. "It's probably nothing. Don’t' worry about it, Xion. Okay?" Naminé tried to smile. "Alright, alright. I'll start unpacking." Xion said, smiling as well.

There was a knock at the door. "I wonder who that could be... I'll be right back." Naminé said, leaving her cousin to unpack. She went downstairs to the door and opened it. Two soldiers stood in the doorway, towering over her. "Y-yes? Can I help you?" "We have been given an anonymous tip that you are harboring Jewish fugitives. Surrender them and you will not be held accountable." "I'm sorry sir, but there's no one here that fits that description." Naminé told them, though her voice sounded nervous. "Then you won't mind if we take a look." One soldier tried to enter, but Naminé stood in his way, "Again, I'm sorry sir, but I'm not harboring anyone." Right then, Xion came down the stairs, "Nami, is everything okay?" her eyes widened and she gasped at the soldiers. "Everything's fine, Xion, go-" "'Xion'? Well if that doesn't sound Jewish, I don't know what does." one soldier said. "Named after David's palace, are you? Well, we're placing you under arrest." The first soldier stepped into the house, but Naminé grabbed him. "Stop! She's my cousin!" "You two don't look alike at all. Step aside." The second soldier grabbed her wrists and held them behind her back. "No! Let me go! Xion! Hide! You know where!" Xion dashed back up the stairs and the first soldier gave chase. There were sounds of a scuffle, something smashing, and then all was silent. The first soldier came down the stairs, his hand bleeding and definitely angry. He grabbed Naminé's shoulders and shook her, "Where did you send her, you little witch?!" Naminé stood there and didn't reply. The soldier backhanded her in the face, "Where did she go!?" he repeated. Still no answer. "Very well. We are placing you under arrest for harboring a Jew." The second soldier placed handcuffs on Naminé and led her outside to a waiting truck.

She didn't resist, but was surprised to see Demyx being restrained by two other soldiers at her front gates. He was equally shocked to see her as a prisoner, "Naminé! Where is she?!" Demyx called. "Narnia." Naminé said and couldn't help but smile. Demyx knew exactly what she meant, but pretended he didn't, "What are you talking about?!" he shouted, though she said nothing further. A blurry call came in on the truck's radio. The soldier driving nodded to the soldier who slapped Naminé, who in turn, beckoned to his partner and the other two holding Demyx, who all immediately got into the truck. He turned to Naminé, "Looks like you're not going to jail. You're gonna have to be a war prisoner. We're attacking some Americans. So you're coming with us." he smirked, "Don't worry, you'll be treated extra special." Naminé was obviously disgusted, but held her tongue as the other soldiers snickered and one whistled. The truck drove off quickly, leaving Demyx in a cloud of dust.