Valentine of Destiny

Alright, guys and girls, since everything is picking up, including school, work, and tempers (some more than others, understandably and respectfully speaking), I thought I'd start this story a little early to help relieve some of the stress. This story takes place after 'Sora's Christmas':

*DIIING...DIIING...DIIING...DOONG...DIIING...DIIING...DAANG...DOONG*

As the school bell sounded and the sun starting to set a little, Sora landed face first on the dirt road ground with a loud THUD, his book bag sliding a good pace ahead of him. Dirt clouds formed and settled around and on his blue school uniform. While lying there, he coughed, spat out dirt and wiped the small line of blood coming from his mouth. He turned a little to face the group responsible. They were taking a big risk in doing this in the woods just outside the school, but the group didn't care.

There were three of them altogether. The one who threw Sora was a good three heads taller than him, and about twice as wide. His head was shaved and his black sunglasses reflected a good deal of light the sun was emitting towards. His blue school uniform barely fit him, while his custom, black, fighting gloves fit him rather well. Rude was a guy of few words, but then he barely needed to talk anyway.

The second guy was about as wide as Reno, but only two heads taller than Sora. His unusual bluish-purple hair hung down in large spikes/dreadlocks. Although he was almost as strong as Rude, Seymour was more the brains of the group rather than brawn. He didn't talk that much either, since their third member did almost all the talking for everyone.

The third member was looking down at Sora, smiling coyly at him. He was only a couple of inches taller than Sora, and his unkempt, brilliant red hair extended to a ponytail from behind him. Reno could never resist shooting off his mouth, and whenever he smiled, it only showed that his pride and arrogance was as large as the sky itself.

Reno walked a couple of steps towards Sora, still smiling coyly and playfully taunting, "Well, Sora, you certainly didn't spend a year away from us to train. You going to tell us why you were gone, really, or are you just going to continue to cause trouble?" Reno raised an eyebrow a little, "Keep in mind that if you decide to keep it a secret from us, Rude will have to give you a few swimming lessons out on the beach." Rude cracked his knuckles, while Seymour rolled his eyes. Why am I here? Seymour often thought these things whenever kinds of situations appeared. He certainly wasn't needed...

Still on the ground, Sora stared at them defiantly, calmly saying, "I already told you guys why I was gone."

Reno tossed his head back and laughed, "I can't believe you! What makes you think I'd believe something so stupid as that story?!" He lowered his head back down and shrugged, "Oh well, you had your chance. Let's prepare him for his dip, Rude." Rude slightly smiled, cracked his knuckles. He started to proceed to Sora, when Sora's book bag flew and hit Rude in the head. Thing is, Sora didn't throw the bag. The three of them looked to where the bag flew from, a shadowed area just outside the trees next to the road they were on.

Riku stepped into view. His uniform's jacket was being held one-handed, over his shoulder, while the other hand was holding his book bag. The white sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows, and one of his eyes (the only one visible) showed an erie calm through his long hair. Riku set his book bag down, and began rummaging through it, looking for something, "You guys having a party without me?"

Reno's smile faded just a bit, "Stay out of this, Riku. This is between us and the kid. Besides, you can't take on all three of us!" Riku didn't even look up as he continued his search, "I beat you guys, both at 1-1 and 3-1, just the other day at the beach. Did you get smacked so hard that you don't remember, Reno?"

Reno's coy smile was now replaced with an angry glare. He snarled, "The only reason why you won was because we just got done with our training! We had been going at for five hours straight with no breaks!"

Riku found the white, arm guard he was looking for and pulled it out of his bag, "If by 'training' you mean 'napping', then, yeah, I can believe that. Can it, Reno!" Riku snapped as Reno was about to object again, "You've been making excuses for as long as I've known you, whether it's about training, homework, or bullying. You three have been gone for the last five years at the Shinra Military School, or as I like to call it 'Shinra Bootcamp', and the only thing you've accomplished is losing a few pounds."

Riku slipped the arm guard on, and placed his jacket down, "Since I've returned, I've been deemed the hall monitor of our grade, and this is still technically school grounds. You say I only won on a technicality? Well, the teachers have all left for the day, and you three seem to be brimming with energy. So here's your one chance, Reno," Riku assumed a defensive stance he often used on Sora, "either put up or shut up."

Reno grinned again, and simultaneously the three of them pulled out large, wooden batons and charged Riku, Reno leading the charge. Riku ducked as Reno took a swing at him with the baton, and kicked Reno so hard that he flew back, leaving the baton behind, and collided into Seymour. The two of them flew back a few more feet and then landed hard, both knocked out. Rude turned as the two flew by, and when he turned back, Riku jumped in the air and landed a good kick to Rude's head.

Proving to be made of a little stronger stuff than Reno and Seymour, Rude wasn't knocked out by that kick, but instead was a little dazed. Riku picked up the baton, jumped in the air again, and broke it against the stunned Rude. Rude fell to the ground with a loud THUD, everything shaking as he landed. Now he was out.

Riku shook his head, picked up Rude's leg, and dragged him to where Reno and Seymour were laying, and placed him next to the two of them. Riku thought for a moment, then said, "Oh, what the heck?" He rearranged the positioning of Rude and Seymour, so that the looked like they were hugging Reno in their sleep. Riku rubbed his hands a little, "That ought to keep them out of trouble for awhile," he turned to Sora, a little annoyed, "You alright?"

Sora's head drooped a little. He looked away, "...yeah. Thanks, Riku."

Riku sighed, "Come on. The others will be worried about you." The two of them started walking down the dirt road, which led the way to their homes. Riku spoke up again while they were walking, "Why are you letting them push you around? You can beat them a lot faster than I can, so why aren't you fighting?"




Cnc?

 

Wow.

Woah. There's already a good start to this. Sora... man, I hope he can beat up those jerks and show them what he's truly made of. Good job. ;)

 

poor poor Sora! He not only gets beet up but has to get rescued by RIku!!!!!!

 

Good job! I like it. I hope Sora can beat those guys. Keep it up! ^_^

 

Trust me, those three are going to be the least of Sora's problems. Give me a few days. I'm going to give you guys a small sneak peak of a new character in this story.

 

Lovely! Even if I'm unfamilliar with the FF characters, you described their personalities well. (and to think, I once got Reno in a personality quiz)

I'm very sure there's a reason why Sora won't fight - I just don't know if it's a stupid reason. :> *if I know him right, it could very well be that*

 

Okay, the pic's taking a little longer than intended, so here's the next chapter:

"Seriously, Sora, what's up with you?" demanded Riku as the two of them walked to town, "Why didn't you fight them? I know you're a lot stronger than them!"

Sora stared at the road ahead of them and shrugged, "It wouldn't have mattered whether I fought them or not, Riku. They would've tried again the next day (I mean, seriously, is the concept of a 'keyblade' so hard for everyone to understand?). Besides, I've got magic in me: I would've ended up hurting them pretty bad."

Riku shook his head, "Sorry, buddy, not buying it. We both know that you can turn those attributes of yours on and off like a light switch." Riku sighed, "And while we're at it, why are you keeping your relationship with Kairi a secret to everyone in school? I can't say telling them the truth about where you've been the last year was the smartest move you've ever done, but making sure they don't know you two are dating makes about as much sense as you not fighting."

Sora blushed a little, but still didn't look at Riku, "You saw how everyone reacted when I told them about where I was! I'm now the high school freak who daydreams like a geek! Can you imagine what they'd do to Kairi if everyone found out we're dating?! I may not be a genius, but even I know high school girls are more vicious than Reno and his punks! I just...I can't do that to her." Sora lowered his head.

Riku understood that part, "Okay, but that still doesn't explain, let alone excuse, you not standing up for yourself against Reno and-"

Sora interrupted, "Look, Riku, I just can't explain it very well," he sighed, "but for now, promise me you won't tell Kairi about the fight with me and Reno. Promise!" he said as Riku looked like he was about to object.

"Alright...I won't tell her you got into a fight," Riku said as the two of them saw Kairi running up the hill to meet them.

"Sora! Are you alright?! Did Reno's gang do anything to you?!" Kairi demanded, and began to examine him.

Sora reacted with surprise, then looked at Riku in a mixture of anger and confusion. Riku smiled a little and shrugged, "I said nothing. She's the one who told me you might be in trouble, since you've been in your little slump." Sora gently moved Kairi's hands aside, since she was examining his face, "Yeah, I'm fine. Riku got there in time before anything serious happened. I'll see you tonight at the island, alright?" Sora gave Kairi a peck on the cheek, and jogged back to his home.

Kairi, frustrated, shook her head a little, "He's really starting to worry me. Did he tell you anything?" Riku shrugged, "Well, he's not going public with his involvement with you because he's worried high school girls will tear you up. That aside, nope, nothing we didn't already know."

"That idiot. He knows Yuffie trained me in fighting. I might not be a full-fledged ninja, but that still doesn't mean I can't hold my own now," Kairi shook her head, and sighed, "I don't believe it. There's got to be more to this."

"Well, I don't know any other way of finding out. Let me know if you have any better luck. I'd like us to have our sparring matches again." Riku started walking back to his home, waving to Kairi as he left.


It was about 11 o'clock. Kairi snuck out of her home through the window, thanking her lucky stars that the Mayor was such a loud snorer, otherwise he'd hear the window open and shut. She walked to the beach, then the docks, where her rowboat was waiting. She smiled a little at that old boat. She, Riku, and Sora would have adventures alone while rowing along the way, before they got to the island. How did all of it change so fast between the three of them? First it was Riku having a small crush on her when he was 13 and she was 12, but he eventually got over it when he saw how well Kairi got along with Sora. She giggled a little while rowing. Now that she thought about it, it was because of Riku that a lot of these things happened. While they were building the raft, he did seem to push her and Sora together quite a bit, especially to get supplies. True, he opened the islands' World Door, but through that the three of them had the start of the greatest story they've ever read. They were separated the first time because of it, and then grew even closer together, in more ways than one for her, when Sora was forced to find everyone.

Kairi stopped rowing for a second. Now that she thought about it, Riku never has been in a relationship like she and Sora are in. She realized that it was dangerous for her to stop rowing in the middle of the ocean, and started up again. He had been gone for a little over a year, sure, but all the girls talk about him at school, even the seniors. Yet, he hasn't asked any of them out.

I guess he has his reasons, she thought as she finally reached the island, seeing another familiar rowboat tied to the dock. She got out of the boat and proceeded to the secret cave, where Sora was waiting.

Even though she didn't like waiting all day for night to spend time with Sora, Kairi had to admit, there was something rather romantic about sneaking out in the middle of the night to see her boyfriend. She could still hardly believe they had been seeing each other for a little over a month. It felt like so much longer.

She emerged through the small hole to find a small campfire going on inside. Sora was poking the fire with a branch to make sure it was still going, looking as though he made a complete recovery from the fight earlier. He looked up when she came in and smiled, "Hey, beautiful."

Kairi blushed in surprise. No matter how many times he said that, it always seemed like somebody else was talking instead of Sora. She appreciated the compliment, but still.

She walked to where Sora was sitting, sat down next to him, and leaned on him, "Hey...feeling any better?" Kairi asked.

Sora nodded, "A little bit, yeah. My head's not pounding anymore, at least," He could see what Kairi was about to ask next, so he quickly added, "Have you heard from Namine lately? I got something from Roxas earlier today." Kairi quickly closed her mouth, then sat up a little, "Yeah, I got this letter."

She reached into the purse hanging from her side and pulled out a letter with castle stationary on the front. She opened it up, "Namine said a few things, that they found a few hidden catacombs beneath the castle, probably from when Xehanort and his apprentices did their first experiments on the heartless, and a few other things that the program they used brought back. Also, Zack and Aerith got back from their honeymoon three weeks ago."

Sora smiled at that, "Yeah, Roxas mentioned that, too. Leon's doing pretty well with training the soldiers, but they always have to end early. Something about Yuffie's shurikens always hitting explosives," Sora stretched a little, "He also wants to know if it's possible for us to visit when we have some free time. He says Namine wants to see us again. Oh, and to see Mom also." Kairi smiled also, "Funny, Namine says it's Roxas who wants to see us again...oddly enough, she wants to see your mother again, too." They laughed at that. Memories of the last Christmas the group spent together came flooding back, especially the time when Sora's father found out he had a 'second son'.

"Think it'd be alright?" asked Sora, who was still smiling, "Riku and I both have some free time coming in a couple of days, plus I'm sure we could all use an excuse to get away from here." Kairi raised an eyebrow at Sora's thoughts. Sora responded to the look, "Don't get me wrong, I love this island, I love the friends I made here..." he hesitated, then leaned in and pressed his lips against Kairi's, "I love you...but I kind of need a break. Most of the people here...they aren't quite as I remember them." Kairi tried to force her heart to quit acting like a jackhammer from the kiss, and tried to think.

"It sounds okay to me," she finally managed, "we can do it during our trip next week. I'm sure nobody would notice our slipping away right before it was time to leave. I'm sure I can get the Mayor to give us an excuse , too, for good measure. I'll have it say there was something he needed help with, that only the three of us could do." They both smiled, and simultaneously got up and proceeded to leave the cave.

As soon as they left the cave and got to the pier on the island, they looked at each other. Sora started, "Tomorrow's Saturday, so I'll try and come up with something so we can see each other all day." He leaned forward and kissed her again.

"Sora...," Kairi weakly said, "Please don't kiss me like that again. At least, not for awhile." Sora was surprised, then frowned, "...I'm sorry...I thought..."

Kairi started giggling, "No, I don't mean that!" Her giggling picked up a little bit, "I don't think I'll be able to get back to shore if you kiss me that way again!" Sora, relieved and surprised, breathed a huge sigh of relief, then started laughing with her, "Okay, fair enough." They both got into their rowboats and proceeded back to shore, failing to notice the large storm cloud starting to appear.

 

Lawl Kairi.. X3 I especially like the part about why Leon's training had to end so early everytime..

Just a minor nitpick about one sentence by Kairi:
"I might not be a full-fledged ninja, but I can still doesn't mean I can't hold my own now,"
I think it's just something you missed as you were writing, happens to everyone.

*awaits moar*

 

Now this, is what I wanna see. And oh, O hope that they won't get stranded in the middle of the ocean! And also, I hope Sora will use his keyblade and kick some ass in front of those bullies so they will like OMGWTFBBQ! HELL YEA I LOVE THIS!

 

Lol! Like I mentioned earlier, Reno and his goons are the least of Sora's problems. I promise, you guys won't have to wait as long for the next chapter as you did for this one. I just gotta finish up a few touches on the sneak peak first.

 

What a way to end it 0_0; talk about suspense.


I have been reading your work for a while I will admit, but it never ceases to amaze me xD you have really good control over your use of language and the flow is brilliant. I am a sucker for effective imagery as I like being able to paint the picture in my mind, you do that very well.

Keep up the good work

8D​

 

Okay, guys and girls, thanks for being patient with me. First off, here's the sneak peak I promised:

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t166/darkcloud_XIV/Kingdom Hearts/Hiashi2_edited-2.jpg

Her name is Hiashi. Some of you will like her, some of you won't. It'll become clear why later.

Second, here's the next chapter:

Kairi yawned as she woke up. She looked around her room and frowned. It wasn't what she was dreaming about. She raised her left hand and touched her lips with her first two fingers, and put her right hand over her heart. It was still acting like a jackhammer. Even in my dreams, she thought...

She got dressed and quickly went downstairs to get some breakfast. She found a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast where she normally sat, along with a note from the Mayor saying he was going into town, 'Urgent business', it read. Nothing new there, she thought, he was always gone this time of day, business or not. She appreciated him making her breakfast, though. Smiling at the man's kindness, she started to cut into her eggs. As she took her first bite, with stars suddenly appearing and swirling around, a letter appeared a foot above the table, and floated down into her hand.

Kairi's smile appeared again, a little larger than before. She loved receiving Sora's letters, but couldn't stand his timing. The last time she received a letter from him, the same entrance as just now, was when she received detention for passing a note to her friends (she didn't pass the note though; the teacher had it in for her). As she was sitting there, writing 'I will not pass notes in class' on the chalkboard, one of Sora's letters landed right in front of her. Thankfully nobody else saw it's entrance, but she had to do some fast thinking as to how it got in her hand when nothing was originally in it, and her desk was a good ten feet away. Good thing, if not also unfortunate, that her friends were no brighter than Sora. Regardless of the trouble, though, it was nice of Roxas and Namine to share this with them, as a way for them to keep in touch. Shaking her head at the strange memory of detention, she opened and read the letter:

I'll be waiting for you by the cherry blossom tree across the street at 9:30 a.m.

Kingdom Key.

She chuckled. 'Kingdom Key'. Riku chose Sora's name, hoping it would be simple for him to remember. She took a napkin, wiped the words off the letter with one swipe (another good use, recycling magic letters), took a feather pin out of the purse she was carrying with her, and wrote down:

I'll be there. Pure Princess

She paused a moment, and then added underneath:

P.S. Wear something nice, Kingdom.

She put the letter back into the envelope, wiped the name 'Pure Princess' off the envelope, put the letter back in the envelope, and scribbled 'Kingdom Key' on the envelope. She sealed the envelope, and threw it into the air. It disappeared in shower of stars.

Kairi looked over to where a clock was sitting: 9:15. She quickly finished her breakfast, gathered a few things, and made a quick run out the door. It was a bit of a walk from where she was to where they agreed to meet (compared to Sora, anyway; he meant across 'his street' in the letter), so she had to hustle it a little bit.

By the time Kairi got to the tree, it was 9:25. She was early, and it appeared that Sora was nowhere to be seen. She breathed a small sigh of relief; her hair was a mess from running. She quickly pulled a compact out of her purse and worked as fast as she could to fix the damage the wind had done. She finished it just in time to see her beau from the mirrors reflection. She quickly closed it and turned around to see him, and smiled at what he was wearing.

Sora walked up to her wearing normal shoes (well, normal sized shoes, anyway; they looked like smaller versions of his yellow and black shoes), a pair of blue jeans, and wearing a backpack, along with a long sleeved black shirt with two buttons just below the collar. Although his clothes looked nice, his hair, spiky as ever, made him seem a little ridiculous. Kairi smiled anyway, "Hi."

Sora smiled back, "Hi...you want to go for a walk into the forest?" Kairi nodded. They simultaneously grabbed each others hand and walked behind the cherry blossom tree, where the 'forest' was. They went through a few more trees before they reached the cherry blossom orchard. Since they found it when they were six, they've been calling it the 'forest' ever since. They walked into the middle of the orchard,where both each tree had petals just waiting to start falling off, and where a good sized pond was.

"So what does Riku say about the trip?" asked Kairi. Sora shrugged, "He's all for it. He wants to try some new recipes that Roxas says he found in the catacombs. Something about a new lance in case some more nobodies ever show up." The two of them sat down at the base of the cherry blossom tree, and started to get close to each other. "Hold on a second," he said. Sora reached out with his right hand, the Keyblade materializing in it. He pointed it up towards an opening upon the trees and whispered, "Aerora." A small whirlwind appeared for just an instant, but it made its effect. A small storm of cherry blossom petals began to fall from the trees, gently moving to and fro, as the wind blew them. Kairi smiled at the sight, and kissed Sora on the cheek.

"So, is this pretty much you're plan for the day? Sit here and talk while it's raining petals?" Kairi asked, slyly. Sora shrugged a little, while grinning, "Is there something you think is missing from the plan?" Kairi raised an eyebrow, "Well...now that you mention it..." She turned so she was facing Sora, cupped his face with both her palms and pressed her lips next to his. She leaned back, and started laughing, "That was for last night!" Sora clutched his heart with his right hand, "Wow...is this how you felt before, when we were about to head back to the mainland?" Kairi, having the time of her life, nodded. Sora managed, "Huh...Didn't know I was that good a kisser." He started laughing as Kairi started punching his sides. She would've kept it up all day, too, if another letter hadn't appeared. "Ow, Kairi, wait! This is from Riku!" She stopped, but didn't take her eyes off him. The moment he put the letter down, the onslaught would begin again.

Sora's smile slowly started to turn to a frown, "No way...is he serious? Riku wants us to take a look at the island, says something about a storm coming. He wants me to see if I...recognize it?" Kairi was also confused, but said, "Riku wouldn't joke about anything he thought was serious. Come on, lets check it out." Kairi got up, dusted some petals off her, walked a few feet, then stopped, waiting for Sora. Sora hesitated, then got up, "Okay, we'll go together." The two started running to the beach.


When the two of them reached the beach's shoreline, they found Riku waiting for them, staring at the island, and the large storm cloud hanging over it. It was making it's way for the mainland rather fast.

Sora stopped next to Riku, "Okay, what's up?" Riku didn't look at them, but instead pointed at the cloud, "Take a look, Sora. Doesn't that cloud look familiar to you?"

"What do you mean 'does it look familar'? A cloud's a cloud, storm or not!" Sora said. Riku shook his head, "Look around it, though. There isn't any wind from it, and there aren't any other clouds to darken the sky. The sky's still blue." It was true. There was just that one storm cloud, coming closer, with lightning starting to show. Sora looked again, "Okay, but I still don't see the..." Sora's eyes started to widen. He recognized it now, "Oh no. Please tell me it's not that." Riku nodded, "I think so. It's the same one that invaded our home a little over a year ago."

Kairi was still confused, "What? What is it?" Sora looked at her, "That's the same cloud that carried the invasion of heartless to our island last year! I can't believe I didn't recognize it at first! They look exactly the same!"

Kairi's eyes widened, "Are you sure?" As if on cue, the three heard a 'BRAWMP' right behind them. They turned around.

A small squad of Shadow heartless had appeared, then almost as suddenly as they appeared, they turned towards the direction of the town, and disappeared again. Simultaneously, Riku and Kairi began to run towards town, but then stopped to see that Sora wasn't following. Kairi called out, "Sora! Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to fight this time?" Sora was reaching into his backpack, and pulled out the jacket to his magic clothes. He put the jacket on and closed his eyes. His clothes flashed in a brilliant white light, and in the place of his regular clothes, his magic ones were in their place. Sora opened his eyes, "I don't have much choice this time. I'm going to fight!" Sora started running and followed Riku and Kairi into town, all three of them hoping they weren't too late...

 

For once, I don't mind watching the fighting over Heartless or Nobodies all over again.

 

Okay, folks, here's the next chapter:

Sora, Riku, and Kairi arrived in the middle of the town's square. The square was filled with heartless, mainly shadow and soldier types, and they were terrorizing any and all people they could find. A large group of people , mainly a bunch of high school kids the trio went to school with, were surrounded by a large group of armored-knight-heartless. "Okay," said Riku, "I can get the that large group free if you guys can take care of the heartless until I'm done. Try and hold back on magic and powers until I've gotten the people out of here." Sora and Kairi nodded, and then the three separated. Sora and Kairi started punching and kicking the heartless, as ridiculous as it looked, to get their attention. Aside from that, the only thing they were accomplishing was getting the heartless annoyed. Riku, on the other hand, started throwing things at the armored knights to get them to follow him. His plan worked a little too well.

From behind, about three or four armored knights jumped Riku and started piling on top of him. The rest of the armored knights that were guarding the people followed. The majority of the prisoners started running, but most of them had to try and drag some of the others. Ironically, they were Riku's fans, trying to shout their support, "Riku, NO!" and "Don't give up, Riku!"

It seemed to have it's effect, because the next thing those people saw was an odd wing shoot straight through the knight heartless on the very top. As soon as that wing became visible, the rest of the heartless erupted in black flames, with Riku jumping straight up through them and still going, his Keyblade, the Way to the Dawn, leading the way.

"Sora! Kairi! Forget what I said earlier about no weapons!" Riku yelled, "There's no way around that now!" Again, Sora and Kairi nodded, and prepared.

Sora punched a soldier heartless, but in an unusual way; his punch looked like a thrust, the end with his thumb leading the way until it connected with the heartless. His intentions became clear when his Kingdom Key keyblade materialized and ended up spearing through the heartless' head. Kairi, however, chose a much more obvious approach. She reached into the bag behind her, pulled out a handful of shuriken, and threw them all at once, each one hitting its intended target.

"Kairi!" yelled Riku, starting to fall from the air. He reached behind and grabbed something, like an invisible sword, drew his hand out, and another keyblade, one decorated with flowers, from materialized in his hand. He threw it at Kairi, "Catch!"

Kairi turned as the keyblade was hurled towards her. She smiled a daredevil smile. She caught the keyblade and started to cut any heartless that came towards her in two. Although the Pure Intentions keyblade was new to her, she could see why Sora and Riku would never part with theirs: It was like fighting with another person just like her.

The battle, as soon as their weapons were drawn, quickly turned in favor of Sora, Riku, and Kairi, with all the people they were trying to save looking in awe. Was that geek they were making fun of telling the truth all this time? Did Riku actually leave with him? Did we actually make fun of Sora for being so weak? All of those questions and more raced through their minds and more, but only two things were certain for everyone who made fun of Sora: His popularity grew almost to Riku's level (especially among the girls), and that they deeply regretted putting him through that grief.

At last there was only one Shadow heartless left. The three stood in battle positions, ready to attack. The heartless quivered, then disappeared, leaving a speechless crowd. As soon as the three of them turned around, they received something they didn't expect: applause. The three of them were surrounded, but this time by fans. They were bombarded, not by attacks, but with praises and questions: "Man o' man, you guys rock!", "How did you all get that strong?", "Where did you get those cool weapons?", "Will you go out with me?"

"Easy!" Sora yelled above the crowd, "We'll try and answer all your questions in a moment, but we need to know something first: Did any other...umm...of those things go off from here to somewhere else?" One girl spoke up, "I saw some of those weird things with swords head off towards the school." Sora nodded, "Okay, thanks. All of you, get to somewhere safe. We've gotta hurry!" He said to Riku and Kairi. The three of them took off, with the crowd of people cheering them on as they left.


It took them three minutes to dash to where their school was, and what they saw wasn't exactly pleasing. Tidus and Wakka were back to back with Reno and Rude, fighting for their lives against a bunch of armored knights. They were doing surprisingly well, all things considered, but at the rate of more heartless materializing , two taking the place of each one that fell, it was only a matter of time before the small group fell. Tidus and Wakka saw the three of them first. Tidus spoke while cutting a knight in two with the sword his dad gave him, "Hey guys! Did you come for the party, too? We could sure use the help!" Reno looked up from the heartless he was fighting to see Sora, Riku, and Kairi, "Oh great, now we've got three more to worry about!" Sora ran and jumped over all the knights, and threw his keyblade at one of the nearby school-grounds walls. The keyblade hit the wall, hit the ground to where it was along the ground like a wheel moving forward, spinning like there was no tomorrow. The blade moved towards Riku and Kairi, clearing and cutting through the heartless, making a path, until it hit another nearby wall, and went high into the air. It rose high until it landed clean through the heartless that Reno was fighting. The blade stuck all the way through it and into the ground, leaving a heartless to dissolve and a surprised and stunned Reno. Sora landed with the keyblade in-between him and Reno, picked it up, and said, "Shut up, Reno."

As soon as Riku and Kairi made it halfway through the path that Sora made for them, the walls of the school began to crumble and fall. More and more armored knights began to pour through. As good as they were, there were too many to take on and, at the same time, make sure that Tidus, Wakka, Reno, and the now-unconcious Rude, were safe. "Well, it's been nice knowing you guys," Wakka said. The armored knights began to charge.

A beam of light from one direction and a gun shot from another direction cut a good quarter of the army, down to a more sizable number. A man with blonde hair, dressed in black, landed in the heart of the army, stabbing his sword into the ground and making a good number of heartless fly into the air. Another man with brown hair fired another shot with his gunblade and took out about ten heartless at once. Riku, Kairi, and Sora smiled in surprise and joy. Sora called out, "Cloud! Leon!" Cloud nodded, while Leon replied annoyed, "It's Squall now, Sora!"


Cnc?

 

Thanks for your support so far, guys. Here's the next chapter:

“So, I take it you know these two, Sora?†asked Tidus, while back to back with Sora, cutting through another heartless.

“Yeah, these guys helped me a lot while I, I mean, we were traveling. They’re pretty tough…except Cloud. He just scowls a lot.†Wakka tried to suppress a laugh, but failed.

Cloud shot Sora a look, “Maybe I’m not that strong…but I know I wasn’t the one screaming for his mommy during our last match at the Coliseum!†Sora froze in embarrassment, while Reno started laughing his head off. That cost him, however, as an armored knight heartless took advantage and dealt a good blow to Reno in the head. Reno stood, dazed and confused for a second, and then returned the favor to the same heartless. Reno asked, “Do we know why these…heartless thingies are here? Aside from wanting to pick a fight, that is?†Wakka asked, "Don't they have something to do with traveling from world to world?"

Squall spoke up after cutting three heartless into two, “The heartless are naturally attracted to hearts and seek them by instinct, no matter what world they are in. As to why they’ve come to the Destiny Islands a second time, I’m not sure.â€

Reno looked at Squall, “A second time?â€, but then Sora frowned and slapped his forehead, “Aw, man…I think I know why…I never sealed the keyhole to the islands!†Everyone, except Reno, turned to Sora from whatever heartless they were fighting and said, “WHAT?!â€, Reno replied, instead, “A key what?â€

“You’ve got to be kidding me!†said Kairi, shaking her head.

“Sora, please tell me you weren’t absent minded enough to forget something like that!†exclaimed Riku.

“Hey, I’m sorry, all right? I’ve kind of been busy since I’ve returned!†Sora said defensively while trying to shake off another heartless, “Besides, it’s not like we don’t know where the keyhole is! I can go seal it up right now and we won’t have to deal with these things anymore!†Reno had no clue what was going on, but he just knew Sora had messed up again. He asked, “Does that mean these uglies will disappear when this…hole…thingamajig is closed?â€

“Most likely,†Riku answered, using his dark aura attack on a heartless. Reno bashed another with his wooden baton, “Well, what’re you waiting for, kid? Go seal this thing up then! Where’s it at?â€

“Ha!†Sora landed from jumping, cutting a heartless in two, “On the island closest to the beach.†Kairi knocked a heartless into another, stunning them both, “That’s about ten miles from the school! How are we going to get there with this mess in front of us?â€

Sora destroyed the two heartless Kairi stunned, “There’s a cliff not too far from here. We can reach the island from there.†Kairi looked at Sora like he was crazy, “That decreases the distance by about 30 yards, Sora! None of us can swim that far either, especially with the tide coming in!â€

“We won’t have to, but only you, Riku and me are going. Cloud, Le- I mean, Squall, can you guys (and Reno) take care of the rest of the heartless on the mainland while we do this? Tidus, Wakka, will you guys make sure everyone at the town square's safe? We had to deal with these things over there earlier.†Sora asked while looking at Reno, on the ground next to Rude, but conscious, watching Squall in awe as his gunblade started glowing with energy and getting bigger. As soon as it was twice it’s normal size, Squall swung the blade, cutting through about ten heartless, while Cloud swung his sword into a thrust position, shouted, “HAO!†and started using his ‘Sonic Blade’ technique. They did all that while Sora was asking his question, and by the time he was finished, the heartless they were fighting were defeated. Tidus and Wakka gave Sora the thumbs up, while Squall turned his head towards Sora, “…Yeah, I think we can take care of this. Hurry up, though. I’m pretty sure this was just the first wave.†Sora, Riku, and Kairi nodded, and started running east into the woods, towards the cliff Sora mentioned. As soon as they were out of sight, Rude started to come to. Reno heard him moan, and started laughing, “Morning, Sunshine. Feeling any better?†Rude glared at him, “…Whatever, Reno. What’d I miss?â€


Sora, Riku, and Kairi raced as fast as they could to the cliff. After running about twenty-five yards, they could see an opening in the woods, and the cliff visible in view. As soon as Kairi saw the cliff, she asked, “Okay, what do we do once we get to the cliff?â€

“We jump,†Sora said simply.

“What?!†yelled Kairi. Sora has lost it!

The cliff was coming close really fast. “No time explain it now! Just hold on!†Sora grabbed Kairi and Riku’s hands, and together they jumped off the cliff.

“AAAHHHH!†Kairi started yelling.

There was a flash of light, and Sora started gliding towards the island, the keyblades from his final form leading the way as propellers.

 

That final form gliding, too bad no one sees it or else Sora's popularity will be higher than Riku :P

 

wait, so Sora used Kairi and Riku to do Final Form? Cool.

 

Here's the next chapter:

AAAAHHHHHHH! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

Will you stop yelling?! Calm down, Kairi!, said Riku.

Barely stopping, Kairi tried very, very hard to figure out where she was. She couldn't see, with everything pitch black. She couldn't feel anything, other than the fact her body felt like it was in a skydiving position with her arms and legs straight out, and not able to move. Needless to say, she was not happy.

What...what's going on here?! Riku?! Where are you?!, Kairi said frantically.

Kairi, seriously, calm down. Everything's fine, I've been in this position before. Can you see anything? Riku asked.

NO! The last time I checked we jumped off the cliff, there was a flash of light, and now it's completely dark! Seriously, Riku what's going...wait, where's Sora?

Okay, Kairi, close your eyes. A lot of your questions will be answered this way. said Riku. Where was his voice coming from, Kairi just realized as she started to close her eyes.

...oh, wow.

Everything was flying by. Straight ahead, the island that they were trying to get to was coming closer and closer, the sea going past them fast. Kairi tried looking to her left. She couldn't move her head, but somehow her vision let her see a little bit of a keyblade, spinning. She looked to her right, and nearly started yelling again: Sora's head, as big and large as a boulder, was on her right, facing straight ahead towards the island.

Riku, what's going on? Where are you...and more importantly why is Sora's head so large? asked Kairi, starting to get frantic again.

A small orb of light moved from Sora's right to a more visible view, I'm right here, Kairi. You'll have to forgive me for not waving. said the orb.

Kairi opened her eyes, seeing darkness again. She closed them slowly, and she still saw the same thing. She tried looking down to see her body...she didn't see it. She looked so far she was seeing upside-down, but still couldn't see her body. This didn't make any sense. If her body wasn't here, then how come she felt like she was...

...flying...Riku...what happened? Kairi asked, an erie calm about her now.

Sora used our bodies for something called a 'form change'. Don't worry, our bodies are fine, just in another dimension, said Riku, When he does a 'form change' the partners he's with are sent to another dimension where there strength goes to him, and several abilities of his increase in power.

Whether she'd been spending waaayy too much time with things most people would consider enough evidence to be deemed legally insane or not, this made, strangely enough, sense to Kairi...either that or she was too irritated to argue with some of this stuff. This was getting weird, no matter how much it made sense...wait...what's this pounding she was starting to feel?

Okay...then...why do I feel like my arms are...Whoa!, Kairi started. Sora turned a little in the air, making sure the islands were straight ahead. Kairi felt like it was her arms that were moving instead of Sora's. But how did...?

You're feeling what Sora's feeling, began Riku, I'm not sure how this works, but since our bodies aren't here, we're feeling what he feels. I know, it takes a little bit too get used to.

So...what's all this...pounding that I'm feeling? Is it his...?

Yeah, answered Riku.

Wow, Kairi thought. This didn't sound quite so bad now. It wasn't everyday that a girl could feel her boyfriend's heartbeat like this. It was actually kind of cool...if it were under better circumstances, that is. Kairi would've smiled if she could.

I think I know the answer to this one, but why is Sora's heart beating so hard and fast? Kairi asked, trying not to giggle.

Riku chuckled, Yeah, I think you know why, too.



After about ten minutes of flying, Sora landed on the docks of the island. He went as far as the sand on the beach, and then he closed his eyes. In a small shower of stars, Sora's clothes changed back to normal, and Riku and Kairi appeared right beside him, also in a shower of stars. "Sorry about the quick change," Sora said, "I didn't really have time to announce it or-" Sora stopped when he saw Kairi. She was giving him a strange look. She was smiling, like she was almost happy to have been through that. A little odd, considering most people he used to form change with hated it, even Donald and Goofy.

Riku spoke up, "I'll go on ahead, and make sure there aren't any heartless in the secret cave." Riku left, smiling at the moment those two had as he went. It was always in times of trouble that those two got closer together...

"So...umm...why are you smiling, Kairi?" asked Sora. Kairi tilted her head a little, still smiling, "I never realized that we'd be doing this, Sora."

Sora raised an eyebrow, "Huh? Do you mean us...dating?"

"Yeah, that," said Kairi, "and us having an adventure together. After all thats happened to us so far, it always felt like 'another trouble shows itself, you and Riku leave, and you'd have to leave me behind again'." Kairi started walking around the beach, "But now...the adventure's here, so this time I can actually help. Yuffie helped me train some while on Radiant Garden during..." She paused for a second, forgetting what happened. She looked at Sora.

Sora rolled his eyes, "...yeah. During the time you were training to be a queen," Sora started walking with Kairi, smiling, "You were really great back in the square, Kairi. You guys trained for only a couple of weeks and you mastered shuriken and kunai knife-throwing. You're off to a pretty good start."

Kairi could see where this was going. She sighed, "But you don't think I should go with you if it turns out you have to leave again?"

"Kairi, you know how I feel about this," said an exasperated Sora, "I-"

"Sora, please,"Kairi said, firmly, "I know what the risks are. I spent the first adventure in your heart, I know . I'm going to make sure I'm not going to be a burden to you or Riku: If I'm not on the ship with you two, then I'll be on Radiant Garden, training with the others."

Sora ran his fingers through his hair. She wasn't going to give up without a fight. Maybe that was why he loved her so much... in any case, he began, "I don't understand. Why won't you stay here?"

Kairi looked at him sternly. Sora recoiled a little; he was in trouble again. Okay Sora, think. What'd you say that earned you the 'death look' and how can you make it better before she kills you?!, Sora thought. Kairi held up her right index finger, "One: I've waited for you and Riku to return for a year after the islands returned. I've tried waiting, and it just wasn't good enough. Second," she walked up to him, and kissed him on the lips, "...I nearly lost you once. I don't think I'd be able to live if that happened again. Besides, do you remember what Roxas and Namine said? Whatever happened next, they'd always be together? I kind of realized something...,"Kairi looked in Sora's eyes, smiled (a little sheepishly), and said, "...I kind of want that, too."

That did it. He did not deserve this girl. Sora hugged Kairi as close as he could, "Do you promise to do whatever any of us tell you? No matter how odd it might seem, especially if it's to leave a fight?"

"Mmm-hmm," Kairi hummed, hugging him back. Sora let her go, "Alright, you can come with us on our next adventure. We'll see how this goes." Kairi smiled again, "Thank you, Sora." Sora nodded, "Okay, let's go catch up with Riku."




Sora and Kairi emerged from the entrance of the secret cave, hand in hand, to find Riku, sitting on one of the rocks, staring at one of the walls full of scribbles. He looked at Sora holding Kairi's hand. Riku sighed, "I take it this means she's coming with us to Radiant Garden?"

Sora blinked, "Well, yeah. We were planning some time off to go there, so why shouldn't she come with us after this adventure?"

Riku shook his head, "No, Sora. I meant during this adventure. The heartless suddenly invade our island, Cloud and Leon show up to help without our calling for help, and now everyone knows about the heartless? Something's up and I'm pretty sure we need to go to Radiant Garden to find out what's going on."

Sora looked at Kairi, she nodded, and then Sora looked at Riku again, "...Okay. She's still coming with us. We've got a plan."

Riku said, "Okay, in that case, let's seal up this thing." Sora and Riku walked towards the door. Riku pointed his key to the door. A yellow glow, and the keyhole appeared. Sora pointed his keyblade at the keyhole, and a beam of light emerged to lock the keyhole. The sound of the keyhole being locked, and it was done.

"Okay, let's go catch up with Leon and Cloud," said Riku, and the three of them started running again.

 

And here I thought he was doing a Peter Pan thing again jumping off that cliff.. :3 I actually never thought about the keyhole in Destiny Islands remaining unsealed, but you have a point there.

*awaits next update, it's getting interesting... :D*

 

Okay guys, this one is long, but a lot happens in this one, so:

You know, this isn’t so bad once you get used to it... said Kairi. From Riku’s point of view, it sounded like she was enjoying being an orb of light. ‘Maybe it’s because she’s getting closer to Sora…’ thought Riku. Oh well. Whatever the reason, the three of them needed to hurry back to the mainland, by any means necessary. In this case, Final form was the way to go.

‘Something about this just doesn’t feel right, though,’ thought Riku, ‘The worlds have been restored to peace, and there wasn’t any disturbance for almost three months. Why are the heartless attacking again, here most of all?’ Another thing was Squall and Cloud showing up, uncalled and geared for battle. This went against everything the King worked hard to maintain…but then so did the trip that the three of them were planning, going back to Radiant Garden. The three of them shouldn’t be doing this either…but it’s to see our friends, not to cause harm, so this should be okay…shouldn’t it?

‘What’s wrong with me?’ thought Riku, tired and troubled, ‘Why am I so on-edge?’

…Hmm? Did you say something, Riku? said Kairi.

Riku’s vision turned towards Kairi. Did she hear any of that? His vision turned a bit towards her. She was bouncing about happily near Sora’s head. Riku started to feel a little sad when he saw the two of them next to each other. ‘Why, though? I want the two of them to be together! So, why do I suddenly feel angry when I see them so happy together?!’ Back on the island, he went inside the secret cave first mainly to clear his head if the heartless weren’t there (thankfully, there weren’t), and to try and figure out why this was starting to bother him so much… ‘Apparently, no such luck,’ he thought.

Riku? Kairi tried again.

…Umm…No, I’m fine. Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind, is all, said Riku, trying to sound normal.

Oh…okay. Do you want to talk about it?

…We’re almost at the cliff. Be prepared, Kairi, Riku said, in a very serious tone. Kairi said nothing after that.



“Hmph!â€

Sora landed on the cliff and reverted back to his normal form, with Riku and Kairi returning back as well.

Sora looked around. Nothing but trees and the path to school visible, a few animals making noise, and the sky was clear. No heartless were visible at all. “Well, it looks clear,†he said

Riku looked as well, “…a little too clear. Where’s Squall and the others?â€

Kairi looked at Riku. He appeared rather upset to her, “They might be in the town square. We did ask Tidus and Wakka to check things out there. Maybe they went there to help out?â€

Sora looked at Kairi, “I hope so. If there were any heartless left over, I’m not so sure the two of them alone could handle it…hey, wait a sec, what about Selphie? I haven’t seen her at all since this mess started!â€

Riku turned towards Sora, the familiar ‘fighting look’ in his eyes again, “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Seymour with Reno or Rude today, either. Let’s not waste any more time. We’ve got to get to the square!†The three of them took off again.


Riku got to the square first, followed by Sora and Kairi. All three of them were surprised: It appeared nothing had changed since they left, and not in a good way. Another crowd had been captured by heartless, and Squall and Cloud were dealing with the majority of the heartless army that was being summoned to fight them. It was taking its toll on them, too; their movements were starting to become sluggish. Tidus and Wakka were trying to help, but they were just too slow. They’ve been training more for blitzball games underwater than sword fights on land, thought Riku. If nothing else, the mystery of Selphie’s location was answered, and how: Her familiar jump-rope had been abandoned by a new, shiny, black pair of nunchaku, and she was dealing more damage to the heartless than Wakka and Tidus were!

Reno and Rude were doing better than Selphie, though: After that humiliating defeat the two of them had in their last fight, it looked like they were trying to redeem themselves with as much gusto as possible.

“Can you use ‘Final form’ one more time?†asked Riku to Sora. Sora nodded, “Yeah, but I need to do this first.†Sora reached into one of his pouch-pockets, and pulled out a large orb with lots of swirling yellow and orange lights in it. Sora squeezed the High-Drive Recovery item until it cracked and burst, the lights going into his arm, causing it to glow and then gradually fade. “Okay, now I’m ready!†said Sora. He crossed his arms and concentrated again. In a flash of light, Riku and Kairi disappeared, and Sora stood in his final form once more.

Sora began cutting heartless into two with the two keyblades he possessed, swinging them around like a madman, using every technique he could to end the threat as quickly as possible. Finally, though, Squall and Cloud noticed that he had returned, stopped fighting and leaned on their blades. Reno and Rude collapsed again, but this time remained conscious. Wakka and Tidus, seeing how well Sora was doing, sat down back to back. Selphie, although having a lot more energy than the others, sat down next to Tidus and Wakka.

“About time you got back!†gasped Reno, “I was starting to think…you guys…had forgotten…about us!†Wakka was trying to keep up with Sora’s movements, “Man, look at him go! It’s almost as if he had a motor boat loose in his boxer shorts or something!â€

Tidus laughed, “Well, if nothing else, he’d make a great pinball machine! Ow!†Selphie knocked him upside the head with her nunchaku, a vein starting to appear on her forehead, “Please! No talking! You’ll appear more intelligent that way!†Tidus rubbed his head with a ‘What’d I do?’ look on his face.

Sora’s actions seemed much more impressive, at least, from the point of view from the crowd, if not unreal. First the kid manages to show…unnatural abilities by saving them from the first monsters that show up, then he does a quick costume change and now he’s practically Superman! Is he even human at all?

Finally, Sora eliminated the last heartless with a ‘Ground Cross Swing’. With yet another flash of light, he reverted back to normal. Sora was starting to breathe hard, and he was sweating. How many more attacks were they going to have?

“Phew, that’s done,†Sora turned to the crowd, and called, “Is everyone all right over there?†The crowd examined each other, and various nods and ‘yeses’ were made. Sora nodded in response, and then turned to Squall and Cloud, “What about you two?†Squall and Cloud had long since recovered and straightened up. Cloud nodded, while Squall said, “No problems, other than that last wave. Did you seal the keyhole?†Riku nodded, “Yeah, which brings up a few questions…†he started. Reno interrupted, “Hey, what’s going on here?! I thought you said those ‘heartrate’ thingies would go away as soon as you were done closing the keyhole! How come more of them showed up?!â€

Kairi rubbed her head from the headache Reno was giving her, Sora groaned at how loud he was getting, and Riku’s eye twitched. They reeealllly didn’t like Reno. Squall, however, calmly spoke, “We were just discussing that, but first we need to make a few things clear,†he turned to where he was completely facing Reno, a stern look on his face. Squall was a good head taller than Reno, so it was clear to the redhead who had the authority. Squall raised one hand, index finger extended, “One: They are called ‘heartless’, not ‘heartrates’. If you’re going to barge in on a conversation this important, at least get the names right, if nothing else. Second, and probably most important: Shut your mouth and listen more often. If you did that, you’d learn more often.†He didn’t raise his voice towards Reno; it was all a steady monotone, but you couldn’t tell that from the look on Reno’s face. He thinks he can order me around?! “Listen, you-,†Reno started. Cloud cut him off, “Not the best idea, kid. Besides, we don’t have the time. Listen to what we have to say, first, and then maybe he’ll ‘talk’ to you some more.†Reno’s eye was starting to twitch. He just couldn’t believe how these people thought they were better than him!

Squall spoke up again, before Reno could object again, “I’ve got a pretty good idea why more heartless appeared after the keyhole was sealed, but first we need to-,†Leon, once again, was cutoff, but this time not by Reno.

An explosion occurred in the middle of the square they were in, about thirty feet away from them. The explosion caused all of the townspeople who were recovering to run, going to who-knows-where, leaving Sora and the other fighters at the square.

“Tidus! Wakka! Selphie! Go after them, and make sure they stay safe this time!†yelled Riku. He didn’t really need this right now. They nodded, and left with “Good luck, guys!†from Wakka, “Give ‘em one for us!†from Tidus, and a “Don’t do anything risky!†from Selphie. As soon as they left, everyone geared up, and waited for the inevitable.

As the smoke cleared, it became clear that the ‘many’ that they were all expecting was actually the ‘one’. Finally, when the smoke cleared enough, everyone had a good look at what they were up against, and it wasn’t at all what the gang expected.

She stood at about 5’11, very slender, and had a slight tan. She had blonde hair that was slicked back almost all the way, except for two long bangs that hung over her forehead and past her eyes, all the way down to her mid-torso. She had a coy smile on her face, but her blue eyes suggested something deadly about her. She stood in an innocent looking stance, arms out in the open and most of her weight on one leg.

Despite a slight difference in the way he remembered her, Riku recognized the lady, “Larxene?!†Sora reacted in surprise, “One of the Organization members?! Have they returned?!†Sora demanded.

The girl smiled a little bit more, “Yes to one, no to the other…I’ll let you decide which. I have to admit, though, I’m surprised that you found out what I was planning with the heartless this fast. The data that was recorded over you and your chummy playmates wasn’t anywhere near accurate compared to your performance so far! Well done!†She started clapping, but her tone of voice was completely mocking, “I should have guessed that the keyhole would be in an island away from here. Oh well, that’s what I get for being careless, I guess,†She walked forward a little bit, then looked off towards the distance, between a space between a couple of buildings. She spied an island in the distance, “Is that the island the keyhole was in?â€

Sora spoke up, “Yeah, but it’s no use to you now. Only a keyblade can unlock it, and there’s no way you can use any of ours!†Reno grinned. It was always a good thing whenever the good guys had an edge against the enemy.

The girl’s face changed to that of sorrow and worry, “Oh no! That’s terrible! You might just make me cry…I guess I’ll just have to return the favor to you, you meanie!†She raised her hand towards the island, and then made a sharp turn with it.

CRACK!

A huge lighting bolt fell to the island. Everyone could see a great deal of it fall in on itself. Everyone turned from the scene the girl caused back to the girl herself. Her annoying coy smile back on her face, she tossed a pair of binoculars to Squall, “Here, I’ll let you see what I’ve done, so you can fully…appreciate it.†She started giggling a bubbly giggle.

Squall looked at the island, “…Okay, it doesn’t look like that much was damaged. Just some trees…wait…It looks like she destroyed a cave that was in the island…I’m not sure what kind of cave, but there’s a bunch of…I think drawings in it. It looks like most of them are on fire.â€

Sora, Riku, and Kairi stood there, pale and frozen. She destroyed the island that they were practically raised on! Just what were they dealing with here?! What kind of monster would flick a wrist, and make so possibilities disappear and turn them into unknowns and memories?

One thing was for certain: She wasn’t going to get away with such a move.

Before anyone could say anything, Kairi was the first to react. She covered thirty feet between her and the girl. Kairi jumped and gave a good kick to her head. The girl flew back a few feet, crashed, but quickly recovered. Her smile was gone, replaced with an expression of pure anger and hatred, “You witch!†she yelled. She moved as quickly as Kairi did, only instead of kicking her, she grabbed Kairi’s throat and held her in the air, a good foot above the ground, “How dare you kick my face?!†She started to squeeze. Kairi started bashing the girl’s arm, and tried kicking her sides, but there just wasn’t any way out of her death grip. Kairi’s vision was starting to go dark.

“KAIRI!†yelled Sora.

*SHING*

“AAAHHH!â€

Kairi fell, coughing, into Sora’s arms while Riku began hacking and slashing at the girl like a demon. Finally, he got her pinned to the ground, with his keyblade a few inches away from the girl’s face.

“If you ever do that again, whether it’s to her or any of my friends, it will be the last mistake you ever make,†Riku snarled at her. Whatever peace of mind he had was destroyed by this girl.

She smiled her coy smile again, a ‘puppy-eyed’, innocent look on her face, “You’d really try and hurt me? But I’m just an innocent woman!â€

Riku narrowed his eyes, “I don’t know who you’re talking about. The only thing I see is an old bat!â€

BLAM!

Riku was sent flying past Sora and Kairi. Thankfully, Reno and Rude caught him before he landed. A good thing, too, considering how fast he went: Nobody wanted to know how many bones would’ve been broken if he wasn’t caught. Squall and Cloud ran past Sora and Kairi, but stopped a short distance, their intention to make sure she didn’t get to the now-vulnerable Sora, who’s focus was trying to make sure Kairi was still breathing.

The girl’s smile grew just a little bit more at the sight of Sora and Kairi, “Aww, isn’t that cute? Are you two lovers or something? Or are you just dating? Whichever it is, it’s just adorable for you two. In fact…†She disappeared in the space of a second, and reappeared right in front of Sora. As quickly as she appeared in front of him, she planted a quick kiss on the hero’s cheek, and then appeared back in the position she was in originally.

A horrified Sora responded, “What’s you’re problem?! You try to kill us, then you go and…and…â€His face was turning scarlet, “I’ll make sure you won’t get away with hurting Kairi!†His face was the angriest out of everyone, and his rage probably matched Riku’s.

The girl closed her eyes and giggled again, “Well, I don’t know about that, but it looks like you have plenty of energy to burn, so…†She snapped her fingers again, and another group of heartless appeared, this time a bunch of Neo-shadows. “By the way, handsome, you’re friend, Riku, wasn’t far off. My name is Elanore, and you’re going to have to do better than him if you want to beat me.†She raised her hand in the air, then lowered it forward towards the group, signaling the attack.

The heartless didn’t even take two steps forward before they were all cut in two from one attack, an ‘energy slash’ of some sort. Everyone looked east, towards the source of the attack. A figure, a good distance away, stood on top of a lamppost, the sun behind him…or her, it was too hard to tell with the sun setting directly behind the figure’s red cloak, with a hood that covered the figure’s face. The sword appeared to be a normal katana, but the blade itself was midnight black, and the hilt was in red bandages. The face wasn’t visible, except for the eyes, which were fierce and narrow, staring first at Kairi (wide-eyed, as if surprised), then at Elanore (with an intense anger). The figure jumped from the lamp post and landed a good attack at Elanore, cutting a little bit of her arm.

Elanore staggered back, examining herself, both in surprise and amazement. No one could hurt her like that in just one attack! Even that kid couldn’t deal damage like that! Trying to hide her pain, Elanore smiled again, “I think it’s time I left for now. Bye, handsome!†She winked and blew a kiss at Sora as she disappeared behind a dark portal.

Riku, starting to recover, saw her starting to vanish, and tried to speak, “We’ve…we’ve got to go…after her…can’t let her escape…Ungh!†He tried to get up, but was having a hard time keeping steady. Reno and Rude tried to stop Riku from moving, “Keep still already!†said Reno, “You’re not going to be a match for me, let alone her if you attack right now!†Riku hated to admit it, but Reno was right. He watched helplessly and in anger as Elanore disappeared back through the portal. The figure with the sword watched also, making sure that Elanore actually was leaving.

Squall straightened up, “Hey, thanks.†The figure turned towards him, a questional look in his/her eyes. “We appreciate you helping us out,†He extended his hand out for a hand-shake. The figure looked at Squall’s hand, then at Cloud, Sora, Kairi (slowly stirring, but still unconscious), Reno, Rude, and then Riku. His/Her eyes widened in anger when she saw Sora’s keyblade. The figure dashed past him, drew her sword in attack position, aiming at Sora.

*CLANG!*

Riku intercepted the blade with his own keyblade. Geez…this guy’s good! I wish he wasn’t our enemy, Riku thought, He’d be a pretty good sparring partner. Riku quickly used as much force as he could to throw this person’s sword back with his own blade. In doing so, his blade slipped, and cut the hood in half, revealing the figure’s face.

“Wha?†managed Riku. As the hood split, everyone saw what the figure looked like: Dark, crimson hair which formed spikes as the bangs went down, except for the thin ponytail at the back of her head. There were some soft features on the face, despite the angry look on the face, but what grabbed Riku’s attention the most was the eyes: They were exactly likepe and color. Scratch that, Riku thought, She’d make a good sparring partner!

Riku tried to manage a defensive stance, “I don’t know why you’re attacking us after helping us, but I’m not going to let you harm-,â€

“Wait…†a weak voice managed. Everyone turned towards Kairi, as she tried to get up.

“Kairi, hold on! Don’t try to move!†said Sora, but Kairi raised her hand and smiled at him. She turned her attention towards the new girl.

The red-head cocked her head a little, confused, “Kairi…,†her eyes widened, “Kairi! Are you alright?! Did these people do this to you?!â€

“Hiashi…please…don’t…they’re my…friends…,â€Kairi fell forward, but Sora managed catch her, “Kairi!†Sora turned her over so she was facing him, “Kairi! Kairi! Please, say something!†He tried to feel for a pulse…she still had one, and was still breathing. Sora breathed a sigh of relief.

Riku turned from Kairi to this… ‘Hiashi’ girl, “Just who exactly are you?!â€

The girl narrowed her eyes at Riku, a little shamefully, “My name is Hiashi…,†she hesitated, “I’m Kairi’s sister.â€