Candy Corn .:RxX:.

The sounds of leaves crunching beneath her tall black boots caused the young woman to pull her gaze away from the dark sky and back onto the path she traveled. Physically, she had the appearance of roughly fourteen years old, but fortunately she was not wandering alone at such an age. By her side was a tall and silver-haired boy of nearly sixteen years. Even though the boy was so different from herself, take the fact that he was actually meant to exist for example, she was very grateful to have him by her side, despite the fact that his presence was like a constant reminder of her grim situation.

The bitter October wind pierced the back of the girl's bare neck, her raven-black hair reached only a little below her ears, and with a shiver she pulled the hood of her coat over her head. Then she spoke to the teenage boy walking alongside her, this was their first time speaking since first setting off that day.

"Riku, are we almost there?"

"What do you mean by 'there', Xion?" Riku made a breach of etiquette by answering a question with a question, but she knew that wasn't unusual for him.

"I'm not sure," she replied meekly, looking away from him and back to the dark field they walked through, "Just...Wherever we're going next."

Xion knew just as well as Riku did that there was no confirmed location for their next "home". None of the places they stayed where to be permanent, but Xion wouldn't have known the difference anyway, unlike Riku, she had never had a true place to call home.

Once upon a time Xion thought she might as well have been a princess, she had lived in a castle and had been perfectly happy spending her days working and eating ice cream with her two best friends. Then Riku came along and told her that she wasn't who, or what she had been told. Xion was, in fact, just a puppet and clone made by under the order of the castle's ruler, and now her very existence threatened that of her beloved friends. At first, she was reluctant to believe this, but Riku had managed to convince her to run away from the Organization she was apart of and stay with him, giving him to chance to attempt to convince her that what he said was true. Now they where constantly on the run from Xion's old companions, staying in one place no more than a day or two at a time. On top of all of this, the puppet-girl was slowly beginning to realize that Riku was right, her presence in their universe could not last much longer.

"Here might be as good a place as any," Riku said as they neared the crest of a hill. Once over the top, the pair could see a small, darkly colored town below.

Riku was a mysterious sort of person, he never told Xion more than was absolutely necessary, he even refused to tell her in plain words why he wore a pitch-black blindfold over his eyes at all times. Whenever she asked the reason for this, which she did every few days or so, he simply replied "To keep the darkness inside me in check."

The young man had become a little less hard-shelled in the past few days, originally being so harsh because he feared becoming too close to someone that would have to "fade away" before he could get his old life back. This stopped for a short while once he realized this so-called "puppet" wasn't so much like the her she was supposed to be.

On the other hand, a new challenge now presented itself; not befriending the bright-eyed young woman for who she really was. All it could possibly lead to was pain once the time came for her to go, and having a weakness like that just was not an option to Riku.

"Welcome to Halloween Town," Xion read from a sign, also at the bottom of the hill, before turning and asking her companion, "What's Halloween?"

"It's a holiday," Riku said, showing no emotion even as a flood of memories of dressing up and eating candy with his friends entered his mind, "Come to think of it, I guess it's today. I've lost track of time these past few months, who knows what other holidays have passed and I've forgotten."

"Holiday?" The raven-haired girl's blue eyes lit up at the word, "Luxord told me that's another word for vacation! And Axel told me vacations are a time when you get to forget all of your cares and do whatever you want! Oh, please Riku, can we celebrate? I could really use a holiday..."

As Xion trailed off at the end she began thinking of just why she wished to take a holiday. Maybe, she reasoned with herself, if she took just one day and forgot about all of the troubles surrounding her life, they would be easier to take on at a later date.

Riku, on the other hand, was a little taken back at her sudden excitement. It was rare for the girl to ever smile or act genuinely happy since leaving her friends, but who could blame her? Xion had just found out that she her life was hurting the people she cared about most, if anyone had ever been in need of a short vacation it was her.

"Sure, if you want to I guess it can't hurt anything."

---

Riku spent the greater part of that afternoon explaining to process of Halloween to Xion, everything from trick-or-treating to costumes and candy corn. The young man could hardly finish explaining one thing before she would come up with something entirely new to ask him, her face shinning with a light of fascination the whole time.

"There, all done!" Xion took a step back from a large piece of polished metal she'd been looking into, admiring the handiwork she'd done in painting her own face, "How's my costume look, Riku? Wait, I suppose that's a silly question to ask someone in a blindfold, isn't it? Oh well, I'm sure it looks fine! I wish you could see it!"

The young man simply nodded in reply, partly in fear that if he spoke again the girl might start getting overly excited for the holiday once more. This must have been what she was normally like, when she was content. A bright and curious personality, maybe even a little shy and naïve, and it was just amazing how she had been able to forget all her troubles at the word vacation, just like that.

Xion quietly admired her own reflection in the dim metal, she certainly did not wish to be vain, but it had been so long since she had even seen her own face. Did she look any older? If Riku could see her, what would he think?
Suddenly, Xion felt a strange warmth rise to her face when she wondered of Riku's thoughts about her. The girl couldn't recall ever having her face feel that way before, unless it was hot outside, and here it was, a cool autumn night.

Shaking her head, as if to dislodge the thought that had made her cheeks feel so uncomfortable, Xion took to finishing the adjustments on her costume, a black cat. A costume such as that had been easy enough to find and buy cheep material for, (Riku, allowed her to break their usual rules of an extremely low-profile, just for her first holiday) and it not only meant she could continue wearing her Organization coat, but her raven-black hair fit the "disguise" perfectly as well.

The young woman then glanced toward the small town nearby, street lights revealed young people of all ages in costume already running to and fro, from house to house.

"They're starting!" The girl exclaimed, with a tiny skip of excitement toward the town, "C'mon Riku! Let's go before they give away all of the good candy!"

"Me?" Riku gave her a quizzical look from beneath the black clothe concealing his eyes, "Oh no, I'm not going trick-or-treating this year. First of all, I'm too old for that stuff, and secondly, I don't even have costume!"

"I think in this town everyone goes trick-or-treating," she replied with a smile, "As for the costume, just pull up your hood!"

"What's that going to help?"

"Just trust me, okay?"

With a light sigh, the young man did as his companion requested, and was given a small laugh for his troubles.

"There," Xion tried to keep her giggle as muffled as possible, "Now you can go as the Grim Reaper."

Rather than ask what in the world was funny about the Grim Reaper, Riku questioned a different matter, "The Grim Reaper who lost his scythe?"

"Sure, if that makes it work," she replied brightly, "Now come on, we've got to hurry!"

The whole way into town, Xion walked with a spring in her step and tried to encourage Riku to loosen up as well, treat the day like a real vacation!
As they stopped at the wrought iron gate of the first house, Xion's expression quickly changed to one of much less confidence.

"We have to walk up there?" Shivering only a little, Xion pointed toward the old and dimly lit, but obviously still occupied, house.

Oh boy, this was the nicest looking house on the street, if Xion was scared of this...Riku knew he was in for a long evening.

"It's not that bad," he said, trying his best to comfort her while remaining true to his usual distant nature, "Think of it like a big joke. People want to be scared on Halloween."

The girl didn't say anything in reply, but rather gave a half-hearted nod, meaning she was going to act like she trusted him, though she wasn't truly certain if she should.

"Really, Xion," he tried once more, "I promise it's all fine. Besides, either way I'm right here, got that?"

With that, the look in Xion's eyes soften a little and she nodded again, a little more meaningfully this time. She even offered a little smile as she looked up and him and replied, "Yeah, I got that."

Within a few moments the pair was walking back down the sidewalk away from that house and on toward the next one; Xion was completely ecstatic once again.

"I mean, whoever came up with this idea is GENIUS! Free candy just for dressing up and saying 'trick-or-treat'? Best. Holiday. Ever!"

---

"I wish everyday was Halloween," Xion said thoughtfully as she removed her fake cat ears and sat at the base of a large oak tree next to Riku.

"Sure," The other youth mumbled, preoccupied with dividing his candy "bounty" into two different piles.

"What's with the big pile of that orange and white stuff in the bags?" The girl asked while eyeballing the treat, she had just recently found it to be her new favorite.

"You mean the candy corn? Hate that stuff, always have," Riku replied, picking up one of the bags, full to the brim with candy. The boy looked toward it thoughtfully as he held it in his palm. "For as long as I can remember I've always given any candy corn I got on Halloween to Sora and Kairi, they both loved it."

"I can see why, it's wonderful! How can you not like it?" Xion smiled and snatched one of the other small bags of candy corn from Riku's "throw-away" pile.

"Did I say you could have that?" The boy replied, his slight smile and playful tone letting Xion know that he was only teasing her.

"If you're just going to waste it anyway, why not let me have it?" The girl replied, the smile on her own face growing a little bigger as she stood to her feet, "Fine, if you want it, come get it!"

With that, the girl took off and ran clockwise around the other side of the large, old tree, letting a genuine laugh escape as she did. Riku almost laughed too, jumping up and going around the tree after her, he then stopped and paused for a short moment, realizing he couldn't recall the last time he had been so childish.

The feeling of sentiment quickly faded as Riku changed course and began going around the tree counter-clockwise, colliding with the raven-haired girl as he did.

Even if he couldn't see her, it was near painfully obvious Xion stood inches away from him, nearly frozen with embarrassment. The girl was completely unsure what she was supposed to do or say, and also wondering if the strange feeling she got from standing so close to Riku was at all related to the one she'd felt earlier when thinking of him.

"Got cha'," Riku softly smiled and stepped back, his calm attitude breaking the sudden tension, "But go ahead and keep the candy corn, not like I really wanted it anyway."

"Of course," the girl mumbled, sweeping one foot behind the other as if preparing for a step backwards, "Riku?"

"Yeah?"

"I...I wanted to say thank you, for this holiday. If what you've told me is true, this will probably be my only Halloween, and it was the best day of my life, really. And..." Xion became quite and whispered the very last part of her her thanks, "I'm glad I got to spend it with you."

Quickly, Xion cast her gaze toward the ground, questioning her reasons for saying just what she had been thinking. A firm hand on her shoulder startled her, causing her to jerk her head up and gaze into a blindfold, wishing she could see a pair of emerald eyes instead.

"Hey, the day's not quite over yet, you've still got a few hours of worry-free holiday left. So stop being so pessimistic and eat your candy corn before I change my mind," even with the emotions drained from his expression, Riku's intentions to make her smile where evident in his tone of voice.

"Of course, you would," the girl said teasingly, a small smile tugging the corners of her mouth.

---

"Sora, I think something might be wrong with Riku," Kairi whispered to her friend as they walked the streets of Halloween Town.

One year, three hundred and sixty-five days, a lot of time had passed since Xion's first, and last, Halloween. Even her light wasn't bright enough to keep the memory of her life alive in the minds of those she loved for more than a few hours after her departure. Still, from distant time to distant time, something in Riku's mind told him he was missing something. Like a long lost puzzle piece, even if there didn't seem to be a proper place for it to fit in his life.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Why don't you ask him?" The brunette boy replied, looking over his shoulder at their mutual friend as he did.

It had been Sora's suggestion that the trio spend Halloween in the town named for it. After the defeat of Xemnas, the remaining ways to worlds other than their own made it relatively easy to make that plan a reality. All evening the three teenagers had collected candy and been greeted by some of Sora's friends from his adventures, but the entire time Riku had seemed even more distant than usual. Now he had even begun hanging a few steps back as the group walked.

"I would, but he might be more willing to talk to you, Sora. You ARE his best friend," the redhead reminded him.

No arguing with that, Sora decided, and with a quick "Sure thing," to Kairi he fell back a few steps and began walking with his childhood friend.

"Hey Riku, everything okay?"

"Huh?" The older boy suddenly blinked and seemed to be coming out of a deep thought, "Oh, yeah. I'm fine, Sora. Let me guess, Kairi sent you to check up on me?"

Sora smiled at his friend's educated guess "She's just worried about you, but if you're sure everything's cool..."

"Of course it is," Riku replied, munching on a small amount of his Halloween candy as they walked.

"I thought you hated candy corn?" Sora raised an eyebrow, now further unconvinced that everything was "fine" with his friend.

"I did," Riku replied, looking at an orange, yellow, and white piece of candy in his hand, "I guess someone must've changed my mind."

"Someone?" His friend questioned once again.

"Yeah, someone," the older boy replied thoughtfully, glancing at a strangely familiar old oak tree across the way as he did.

My Sweetest, Forgotten, Memory...