Riku heads to Merlin's House to meet up with the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee with a hesitant Naminé in tow, who is currently wearing one of Riku's jackets due to the cold, Yuffie's Moogle cloak sitting forgotten somewhere inside the Castle.

Knocking on the door, the duo is ushered inside by a smiling Aerith.

"Glad you could make it, Riku!" Aerith addresses Riku and then turns to look beside him. "Oh! And you must be Naminé! I'm Aerith; it's nice to meet you!"

"Oh-um... Hello, Aerith, it's nice to meet you too."

Aerith motions for the pair to sit down and claps her hands together before speaking up once more, slowly wandering around the place as she does so. "So! As I told you this morning, Riku, Cid's got some data from Ansem on our computer that we're hoping to decode. None of us are computer whizzes-" Aerith stops abruptly and turns to look at Riku and Naminé. "Cid doesn't count; he's only good with- um... what'd he say it was..." She trails off, tapping her chin with her index finger.

Trying to help, Riku offers "hardware as opposed to software?"

Aerith excitedly snaps back into position, slamming her right fist onto her open palm, then pointing at Riku. "Hardware! Yes! Anyway, as I was saying, Cid isn't that good with 'software', so we need all the help we can get. We're currently waiting on-"

Aerith is interrupted once more, this time not by her own doing but by the front door suddenly, and loudly, opening. From it springs forth a haggard-looking Yuffie and an annoyed Leon follows behind.

Not even registering the guests' presence, Yuffie shouts, "Aerith! Help me! Leon isn't letting me do anything- Oh! Hi Riku, hi Naminé!" instantly forgetting her 'woes', she happily greets the two. "It's great to see you! Especially you, Naminé, it's been a while!"

"Hey, Yuffie." Says Riku, already used to the ninja's tempo.

"...Hello, Yuffie," Naminé adds, a bit later. Yuffie's sudden entrance had stunned her into silence.

Leon, already having made his way inside while Yuffie greeted everyone, leans on the wall near the computer, and settles in with a barely noticeable wave to Riku and Naminé. "You're Naminé, then? Call me Leon."

"Nice meeting you."

Aerith clears her throat, calling attention to herself again, and continues her earlier sentence, "...waiting on those two."

"Waiting on who what now?" Replies Yuffie, completely out of the loop.

"Don't worry about it." Smiles Aerith

Riku turns to Yuffie and explains, "Aerith was telling Naminé and me about the data you guys have on the computer."

Yuffie blinks.

Riku adds, desperately, "You know, from Ansem?"

"Ohhh... Oh! That!" exclaims Yuffie.

"Good! Now we're all back on track!" Aerith resumes her explanation: "As I was saying, we'll need all the help we can get. Getting into the data is already hard, but even if we do, we only know some of the terminology Ansem uses." Looking at Riku and Naminé, she continues, "I was hoping you two could help us make sense of it once we get there."

"Me?" Naminé asks, confused.

"Well, I don't claim to know everything that happened during Sora's last disappearance, but you and Riku worked together, right? And you both have special connections to Sora, don't you?" Aerith looks Naminé in the eyes and adds, "We need all the help we can get."

Yuffie, somewhat angrily, complains, "I mean, yeah, we do! Because we need to do regular Committee stuff as well since those guys up in their Castle won't help us-"

"Yuffie," Leon warns.

"Yeah, yeah." Yuffie dismisses him.

Naminé quietly speaks up, "Could I... have some time to think about it? I mean- I'd love to help, but I don't know how much I *can*. I'm also not much of a fighter..." she trails off, unsure of herself.

"Just you being here is enough, Naminé," Aerith reassures.

"Yeah! You can come over, like, every day!" Yuffie exclaims with a wide smile.

"Aerith is right." Riku turns to look at Naminé and reaffirms, "We... couldn't have brought Sora back without you, and I'd really appreciate your help."

Surprised, Naminé nods to herself and says, "Okay. But... I'd still need time."

"As much as you need," Aerith replies, putting a hand on Naminé's shoulder. "Now! Before any attempts-"

Yuffie interjects, "Let's eat!”