Hello all, this is Shadowblade once again hoping to regale you all with fantastic stories. Since my only popular fanfic on here seemed to be this one, I decided to revamp it, getting rid of all the errors and plot issues that I didn't like in the first one. Hopefully, those who've read it will notice the minor changes. Anywho, enjoy.
Prologue
A young girl of about fifteen walked slowly down a sun-drenched beach. As she stopped to admire the beautiful, crashing waves of the ocean, a warm wind blew through her auburn hair. Her eyes grew distant as she began to remember the memories of the past. They took form in the shape of a young boy with brown hair, searing blue eyes, and a strong heart.
"Sora," she whipered, her voice as soft as a cloud. "You promised... You promised you'd come ba-"
"HEAD'S UP!" a voice called out, interrupting her thoughts.
“Wha…?” the girl turned around just in time to catch a ball with her forehead. She stumbled and fell to the sand.
“Kairi, are you all right?” A boy stood over Kairi with a concerned look on his face. He reached out a hand to help her up.
“What do you think Wakka?” Kairi asked, grabbing her friend's hand. She stood up, brushing the sand from her skirt, before giving Wakka a mock glare. "You know you could've killed me with that...that, oh what do you call it again?"
"It's a blitzball," Wakka explained patiently, picking it up. As he talked, he began twirling it on one finger. "Remember, I told you? About blitzball?"
Kairi nodded, not wanting to hurt his feelings. Usually, when he started talking about this new sport that he and his friend Tidus had created, she zoned out.
“HEY WAKKA, HURRY UP WILLYA!?” a voice called out impatiently.
“IN A MINUTE, TIDUS!” Wakka yelled back before turning to Kairi once again. “Are you sure you’re okay, man?”
Kairi looked at Wakka and smiled. “I’ll be fine, it’s probably just a mild concussion but I’ll walk it off.” Wakka grinned and ran back to join Tidus.
Kairi laughed to herself, about to follow Wakka and actually see what this blitzball thing was all about, but something caught her eyes. Curious, she walked down the beach to see what could be shining in the sand so brightly. She discovered that the glare was the sun reflecting off of a glass bottle with a key chain wrapped around it. She also noticed that there was a bit of paper inside of the glass bottle. The rest of the bottle and chain were half buried in the dug so she dug it out.
Kairi looked at the end of the key chain and gasped when she recognized the ornament attached to it. To any other person, it was a simple, metal flower. To Kairi, it was the symbol of everything she and Sora had together. It was the good luck charm she gave to him back in the other world.
“The paper must be a message from Sora!” she realized excitedly. She looked around for something to get the paper out but, finding nothing, she smashed the bottle open with a rock. There, on the hot sand, she began to eagerly read the message.
Kairi,
I send this letter to you with the confidence that it will reach you. Even though we’re worlds apart, out hearts will be connected forever. I made two promises to you in the past Kairi, one was to return your good luck charm, and the other was to return to you someday. I’ve fulfilled one but I don’t know if I can fulfill the other. The good new's is, I’ve found Riku and he’s doing fine, although he’s frustrated with himself for being taken by Ansem and punishes himself day in and day out. You know Riku. We have spent so long trying to find the door out of Kingdom Hearts but we’re running out of time. The Heartless are getting stronger while we are getting weaker. Riku is starting to lose hope and I don’t blame him. The only thing keeping me from losing faith is the hope that I’ll see your face once more. Take care.
Sora
Kairi read the letter again and again until her tears blurred it out of sight. The ache in her heart was so deep that she couldn’t breathe. Her tears dropped, unhindered, onto the good luck charm and it began to glow, but Kairi didn’t notice. She began wiping the tears away and screamed to the unanswering sky.
“I’m a princess of heart, my heart is the one of the purest lights there is! There has to be something I can do to bring them back!” Her only reply was the caw of seagulls and the distant crashing of the ocean waves.
She put the letter in her pocket and was about to do the same with the charm when she realized it glowing. She gasped as the ornament began to vibrate and transform. The light got so bright that she covered her eyes and when she lowered her hand, she saw it. A Keyblade…one of the weapons that had been able to take Sora to other worlds. Could it take her to Sora too?
Kairi knew what she had to do. She remembered talking with Sora about the Keyblade and how Heartless were always trying to destroy its master. If she was going to find Sora, she would need to become stronger. She would need to train.
As she held the Keyblade in her hand, she stared up at the sky where, just a year ago, stars had fell from the sky.
"Sora," she whispred, hoping that somehow, someway, he could hear her. "This time, I'll fight..for you..." She began to walk towards Tidus and Wakka.
Chapter One: The Search Begins
“It’s almost too easy now,” Kairi thought briefly as she dodged a wild sword swing from Tidus. Kairi had gotten stronger than Wakka, Selphie, and Tidus over the last three months and beating them was a cinch, even together. Her keyblade granted her newfound strength and the practice she had with her friends honed her skills.
She smiled as Wakka threw his blitzball at her, thinking she was too preoccupied with Tidus. She wasn’t. Just as the ball was about to hit her in the back of the head, Kairi sidestepped, ever so gracefully, to her right. Tidus eyes widened as he realized his fate.
“Aaarrggghh!!!” he cried as the ball hit him square in the nose. Kairi saw her chance and hit him across the chest with her wooden sword. Tidus fell to the ground and stayed there, curled up in a ball.
Wakka scratched his head, and shrugged. “Sorry, man, she’s a little too fast.”
“Not fast enough to dodge me!!” Selphie yelled as she swung her flail toward Kairi. Kairi smirked and grabbed Selphie’s weapon in midair. She pulled Selphie towards her, while swinging her sword low, towards Selphie’s stomach.Selphie let go and jumped back just in time to miss the quick swipe of Kairi’s sword. Wakka threw his blitzball again only to have it kicked back at him by Kairi. The blitzball hit Wakka in the chest and he collapsed to the sand groaning.
“Give up yet…?” Kairi taunted switching her sword from hand to hand. She had thrown Selphie's flail in the sand behind her.
Selphie, weaponless and partnerless, nevertheless attacked Kairi with her bare hands. Kairi dodged the punches with ease and pushed her jokingly. She then dropped down and tripped Selphie as she ran towards her.
“Alright I give…” Selphie pouted as she got up from the sand, wiping sand from her legs.
“Yeah man, you’re way too strong for us," Wakka grumbled, scratching the back of his head. Tidus just held his head up to stop his nose from bleeding, opting to give her a thumbs up instead.
Kairi grinned. “Maybe it’s you guys who need to practice?”
Wakka began to walk toward the dock, “No need to rub it in, man.” Tidus and Selphie followed. They got in their boats and began to row back home.
“See you later, Kairi!”, “Bye-bye!”, “See you tomorrow!” they all yelled.
Kairi waved and walked toward the Secret Place. While walking, she summoned her keyblade, christened the Promise Keeper, and began swinging it back and forth. She reached the entrance of the Secret Place and peered in, unable to see past the dark shadows.
As always a chill traveled down her spine. This is the place where it all started, where Sora met Ansem and where the door to other worlds opened. She crawled in.
Normally when visiting the Secret Place, Kairi would admire the pictures on the walls, especially the one of her and Sora. This time, however she felt drawn toward the door. The door that had transported them to other worlds and adventures. Kairi raised her keyblade and it began to glow. A keyhole appeared on the door and disappeared. The door opened and Kairi looked through. All she saw was darkness. She hesitated for fear that she would be swallowed by this darkness, the thought that she may find Sora made her cast aside her fear. She jumped in.
Kairi slowly came to on the cold ground of an unknown place. She looked around, panicked for the first time.
“Where am I?” she shook her head groggily. It seemed as if she were in a grassy plain, but everything was so dark. She stood shakily to her feet, hoping to find some kind of help or sign, or anything.
“Keyblade Master…” a cold voice emerged from the darkness.
Kairi jumped, startled, and turned to find a figure dressed in a cloak that seemed blacker than the night sky. He wore a hood and his silverfish-blonde hair covered his eyes, but the rest of his face was still visible.
“Who are you?” Kairi summoned the Promise Keeper and held it between herself and the figure. She was afraid, but showing her fear didn't seem like an option.
“Why should I give you my name so readily, keyblade master?” the figure asked. “You haven’t yet earned the right to know it.”
Kairi stepped back, Keyblade still held ready. "I asked you a question," she said, hoping she sounded tough.
"I don't think I like your tone very much." The figure smirked and summoned a keyblade to each of his hands.
Kairi gasped, “You’re a keyblade master too?!”
The smirk on the figure’s face widened into a smile and, with a swiftness that stunned her, he attacked. Kairi jumped back and unleashed her own attack to counter that of the figure’s. The sound of the three keyblades clashing together sounded like thunder and, as if on cue, the heavens parted and rain began to fall.
Although Kairi would never admit it, she was terrified of this hooded figure. As she dodged one of his attacks, she thought about how strong he was. She could feel his strength through her keyblade and feared it. The figure swung one of his keyblades towards her legs and she instinctively jumped. Big mistake. He slammed his fist into her gut and sent her flying to the ground. He then jumped into the air and brought the keyblades down toward the ground looking to end the battle quicly. Kairi knew she couldn’t defeat this being and closed her eyes to accept her fate.
You’re just going to give up, after all of that?
That voice…so familiar.
Come on Kairi. I thought you were stronger than that.
“Sora?” Kari whispered, her eyes till closed. “Please, give me your strength.” She opened her eyes and saw the figure dropping from the sky. She got up and performed a move she had seen Sora do before. She threw her keyblade at the figure with lighting speed and jumped into the air. The Promise Keeper hit its mark and the figure’s attack was stopped and she flew past him, propelled by her powerful jump. She grabbed her keyblade and threw it again at the falling figure’s back. It slammed into him and sent him crashing to the ground below. She dived and grabbed the Promise Keeper on the way down. She landed and stood in her fighting stance ready to go again.
The figure got up and smiled. "Well that came out of nowhere, didn't it?" He dismissed his keyblades. "Sorry about attacking you, but I had to make sure you were the real keyblade master and not some fake. My name is Yuyami. Yuyami Tsubasa. I came because I sensed the power of another Keyblade Master."
Kairi began to relax, “I’m Kairi, I’m here looking for two more keyblade masters named Riku and Sora…you haven’t seen them have you?”
“Nope," Yuyami said, shaking his head. "You're the only one so far." Kairi's face fell and he grinned, "Don’t worry, we'll find them. It's my duty anyway."
"Your duty?" Kairi asked, curious. "Why is it your job to find us?"
Yuyami shrugged. "I don't really know, actually. When I got the Keyblades, the Voice said something about finding all of the Keyblade Masters and protecting them."
"You're supposed to protect us?" Kairi asked. "From what?"
"From the ultimate dark force," Yuyami answered, his smile disappearing. "That's what the Voice said. The ultimate dark force.
Chapter Two: The First Test
“The ultimate dark force?” Kairi repeated, staring at Yuyami with wide eyes.
“Yes…the source of all Heartless, the entity craving to devour every world’s heart," Yuyami answered. “I don’t have any details myself, I just know that my job is to help the other Keyblade Masters destroy it before it destroys us.”
Kairi shivered, not knowing whether it was because of the cold or fright of this new enemy. Yuyami had the grace to assume the former.
“This land is always dark, and always cold.” He picked up a backpack that had been hidden in some bushes and began rummaging through it. “Here, this coat will keep you warm.” He handed her a trenchcoat similar to his.
Kairi held it for a moment and put it on. "Thank you," she said, grateful that she was finally warm. She was about to leave the hood off but Yuyami told her to put it on.
“Our faces our better left unseen due to the importance of our mission," he explained. "It's hard to believe, but not everyone likes Keyblade Masters."
Kairi did what she was told, pulling the hood over her head. It hung low, pushing her hair into her eyes. “So what now?” she asked, eyeing him curiously.
Yuyami looked up at the sky. “In this world, when the grey moon is up, it’s nighttime. When the white moon is up, it’s daytime. Even though this world is always bathed in darkness, there is a difference between night and day,” he added as an afterthought. “Right now we should probably get some sleep, I’ll start a fire.” He pulled a couple of sleeping bags out of the bag and laid them on the ground.
“I’ll just go get some wood for the fire, I’ll be right back,” he said, walking away.
Kairi nodded and laid down on the sleeping bag. “I’ll just stay awake until Yuyami comes back,” she thought, laying back.
She walked slowly down an empty street as the Heartless emerged from the shadows. However, she continued unhindered and unafraid. The Heartless wouldn’t attack her. How did she know? She just did. They just…watched her. Waiting...
Suddenly, Yuyami appeared in front of her. “You are the source of all heartless,” he pointed at her.
Kairi stepped back, araid. “Who me...?”
“You are the source of all evil, of all pain, of all misery.” Yuyami summoned his keyblades. “You must die.”
Kairi realized that he wasn’t talking to her, so she turned around. There, in the shadows, lurked a dark figure. Kairi strained her eyes to make out who it was. He looked so familiar. The figure raised his and hand all of the Heartless attacked her. She screamed and the only thing she could see was the inky blackness of oblivion.
Kairi woke up screaming only to have water thrown in her face. “What the hell!?” She spit out water and dried her face on her coat.
“Sorry.” Yuyami sounded embarrassed. “I didn’t know how to calm you so I reacted on my first instinct.”
“Where’d you get water!?” she asked, incredulous. They weren't even near a brook or river.
“From my bag,” Yuyami answered with a shrug.
Kairi peered into it. “What is it, bottomless or something?”
Yuyami smiled. “Have you ever met a wizard named Merlin in Traverse Town.”
Kairi thought for a moment, the name sounding familiar, before nodding. The wizard from Traverse Town. “Actually I have, why?”
Yuyami picked up the bag. “I helped him out of a tight spot one day and he enchanted this bag. It can hold more room than it looks.”
“How'd you help him?" Kairi asked, curious.
"He had been trying to summon a suit of armor from the past," Yuyami explained. "But he sneezed during his spell and ended up bringing back a dragon instead. He couldn't defend himself because he was in one of those sneezing fits, you know? The one's that you think will never stop?" Kairi nodded, so he continued, "Well, anyway, he was pretty much defenseless and that's where I came in. I was just strolling along, and saw the old man about to get devoured. So I whipped out the Keyblades and took the beast out. Merlin was so grateful, he taught me some spells and enchanted my bag."
"Wow, how interesting," Kairi said, stifling a yawn that came out of nowhere.
Yuyami smiled, "Not interesting enough, eh?"
"Oh, no," Kairi shook her head. "Your story was very interesting. I'm just really tired for some reason.
Suddenly, Yuyami stood up. “I’ll be back," he said, walking away.
“Where are you going?” Kairi didn’t like the thought of being on her own when the Heartless could attack at anytime.
“I’ll be back,” he repeated and walked through some bushes.
Kairi hugged her knees to her chest and thought about her dream. Who was that figure? Why did he look so familiar to her?
Kairi was suddenly jerked out of her thoughts. “Wha, what was that?” She thought the ground just shook for a moment.
She stood up and summoned the Promise Keeper. Whatever was coming was in for a rude awakening. She looked at the ground in horror because the ground was turning as black as a raven’s wing. Heartless began sprout from the ground like mutated plants.
“There must be hundreds,” she thought looking at seemed to be an endless sea of shadows. She stood, waiting for an attack, but afraid to launch one herself for fear of their numbers. The Heartless stood, waiting for an attack, but afraid to launch one because of their fear of the Keyblade.
Suddenly, all of the Heartless’ heads snapped up as if they heard a voice she couldn’t. She thought that this could be her chance to run if she wasn’t surrounded. Without warning, all of the Heartless attacked as one. She found herself beset from all sides. She dished out major damage but it seemed like whenever she destroyed one Heartless, three more would take its place. She was getting weary already and there were still hundreds of Heartless left to kill. A few jumped at her and she destroyed with with them one swipe of her Keyblade. She then jumped in the air and a few jumped with her. She swiped upward with the Promise Keeper and destroyed five more but more appeared out of the shadows. She landed back on the ground and performed Strike Raid with all of her might. The keyblade passed through many Heartless foing away and many more on its return. She grabbed it and began slashing at more Heartless, her arms beginning to feel numb.
But suddenly, she felt another presence. She looked over her shoulder and saw Yuyami running toward her. He jumped and brought his keyblades crashing to the ground with fearsome force. The ground split open and most of the Heartless fell into the chasm.
The rest of the Heartless were just cleanup and when they were done, Kairi swung her Keyblade weakly at Yuyami. He ducked laughing.
“Where the heck were you!?” she demanded, furious. "I could've been killed!"
He went back to the bushes and brought back the carcass of a small boar. "Breakfast," he said. At the burning look of Kairi, he shrugged. "Hey, we gotta eat right?"
Prologue
A young girl of about fifteen walked slowly down a sun-drenched beach. As she stopped to admire the beautiful, crashing waves of the ocean, a warm wind blew through her auburn hair. Her eyes grew distant as she began to remember the memories of the past. They took form in the shape of a young boy with brown hair, searing blue eyes, and a strong heart.
"Sora," she whipered, her voice as soft as a cloud. "You promised... You promised you'd come ba-"
"HEAD'S UP!" a voice called out, interrupting her thoughts.
“Wha…?” the girl turned around just in time to catch a ball with her forehead. She stumbled and fell to the sand.
“Kairi, are you all right?” A boy stood over Kairi with a concerned look on his face. He reached out a hand to help her up.
“What do you think Wakka?” Kairi asked, grabbing her friend's hand. She stood up, brushing the sand from her skirt, before giving Wakka a mock glare. "You know you could've killed me with that...that, oh what do you call it again?"
"It's a blitzball," Wakka explained patiently, picking it up. As he talked, he began twirling it on one finger. "Remember, I told you? About blitzball?"
Kairi nodded, not wanting to hurt his feelings. Usually, when he started talking about this new sport that he and his friend Tidus had created, she zoned out.
“HEY WAKKA, HURRY UP WILLYA!?” a voice called out impatiently.
“IN A MINUTE, TIDUS!” Wakka yelled back before turning to Kairi once again. “Are you sure you’re okay, man?”
Kairi looked at Wakka and smiled. “I’ll be fine, it’s probably just a mild concussion but I’ll walk it off.” Wakka grinned and ran back to join Tidus.
Kairi laughed to herself, about to follow Wakka and actually see what this blitzball thing was all about, but something caught her eyes. Curious, she walked down the beach to see what could be shining in the sand so brightly. She discovered that the glare was the sun reflecting off of a glass bottle with a key chain wrapped around it. She also noticed that there was a bit of paper inside of the glass bottle. The rest of the bottle and chain were half buried in the dug so she dug it out.
Kairi looked at the end of the key chain and gasped when she recognized the ornament attached to it. To any other person, it was a simple, metal flower. To Kairi, it was the symbol of everything she and Sora had together. It was the good luck charm she gave to him back in the other world.
“The paper must be a message from Sora!” she realized excitedly. She looked around for something to get the paper out but, finding nothing, she smashed the bottle open with a rock. There, on the hot sand, she began to eagerly read the message.
Kairi,
I send this letter to you with the confidence that it will reach you. Even though we’re worlds apart, out hearts will be connected forever. I made two promises to you in the past Kairi, one was to return your good luck charm, and the other was to return to you someday. I’ve fulfilled one but I don’t know if I can fulfill the other. The good new's is, I’ve found Riku and he’s doing fine, although he’s frustrated with himself for being taken by Ansem and punishes himself day in and day out. You know Riku. We have spent so long trying to find the door out of Kingdom Hearts but we’re running out of time. The Heartless are getting stronger while we are getting weaker. Riku is starting to lose hope and I don’t blame him. The only thing keeping me from losing faith is the hope that I’ll see your face once more. Take care.
Sora
Kairi read the letter again and again until her tears blurred it out of sight. The ache in her heart was so deep that she couldn’t breathe. Her tears dropped, unhindered, onto the good luck charm and it began to glow, but Kairi didn’t notice. She began wiping the tears away and screamed to the unanswering sky.
“I’m a princess of heart, my heart is the one of the purest lights there is! There has to be something I can do to bring them back!” Her only reply was the caw of seagulls and the distant crashing of the ocean waves.
She put the letter in her pocket and was about to do the same with the charm when she realized it glowing. She gasped as the ornament began to vibrate and transform. The light got so bright that she covered her eyes and when she lowered her hand, she saw it. A Keyblade…one of the weapons that had been able to take Sora to other worlds. Could it take her to Sora too?
Kairi knew what she had to do. She remembered talking with Sora about the Keyblade and how Heartless were always trying to destroy its master. If she was going to find Sora, she would need to become stronger. She would need to train.
As she held the Keyblade in her hand, she stared up at the sky where, just a year ago, stars had fell from the sky.
"Sora," she whispred, hoping that somehow, someway, he could hear her. "This time, I'll fight..for you..." She began to walk towards Tidus and Wakka.
Chapter One: The Search Begins
“It’s almost too easy now,” Kairi thought briefly as she dodged a wild sword swing from Tidus. Kairi had gotten stronger than Wakka, Selphie, and Tidus over the last three months and beating them was a cinch, even together. Her keyblade granted her newfound strength and the practice she had with her friends honed her skills.
She smiled as Wakka threw his blitzball at her, thinking she was too preoccupied with Tidus. She wasn’t. Just as the ball was about to hit her in the back of the head, Kairi sidestepped, ever so gracefully, to her right. Tidus eyes widened as he realized his fate.
“Aaarrggghh!!!” he cried as the ball hit him square in the nose. Kairi saw her chance and hit him across the chest with her wooden sword. Tidus fell to the ground and stayed there, curled up in a ball.
Wakka scratched his head, and shrugged. “Sorry, man, she’s a little too fast.”
“Not fast enough to dodge me!!” Selphie yelled as she swung her flail toward Kairi. Kairi smirked and grabbed Selphie’s weapon in midair. She pulled Selphie towards her, while swinging her sword low, towards Selphie’s stomach.Selphie let go and jumped back just in time to miss the quick swipe of Kairi’s sword. Wakka threw his blitzball again only to have it kicked back at him by Kairi. The blitzball hit Wakka in the chest and he collapsed to the sand groaning.
“Give up yet…?” Kairi taunted switching her sword from hand to hand. She had thrown Selphie's flail in the sand behind her.
Selphie, weaponless and partnerless, nevertheless attacked Kairi with her bare hands. Kairi dodged the punches with ease and pushed her jokingly. She then dropped down and tripped Selphie as she ran towards her.
“Alright I give…” Selphie pouted as she got up from the sand, wiping sand from her legs.
“Yeah man, you’re way too strong for us," Wakka grumbled, scratching the back of his head. Tidus just held his head up to stop his nose from bleeding, opting to give her a thumbs up instead.
Kairi grinned. “Maybe it’s you guys who need to practice?”
Wakka began to walk toward the dock, “No need to rub it in, man.” Tidus and Selphie followed. They got in their boats and began to row back home.
“See you later, Kairi!”, “Bye-bye!”, “See you tomorrow!” they all yelled.
Kairi waved and walked toward the Secret Place. While walking, she summoned her keyblade, christened the Promise Keeper, and began swinging it back and forth. She reached the entrance of the Secret Place and peered in, unable to see past the dark shadows.
As always a chill traveled down her spine. This is the place where it all started, where Sora met Ansem and where the door to other worlds opened. She crawled in.
Normally when visiting the Secret Place, Kairi would admire the pictures on the walls, especially the one of her and Sora. This time, however she felt drawn toward the door. The door that had transported them to other worlds and adventures. Kairi raised her keyblade and it began to glow. A keyhole appeared on the door and disappeared. The door opened and Kairi looked through. All she saw was darkness. She hesitated for fear that she would be swallowed by this darkness, the thought that she may find Sora made her cast aside her fear. She jumped in.
Kairi slowly came to on the cold ground of an unknown place. She looked around, panicked for the first time.
“Where am I?” she shook her head groggily. It seemed as if she were in a grassy plain, but everything was so dark. She stood shakily to her feet, hoping to find some kind of help or sign, or anything.
“Keyblade Master…” a cold voice emerged from the darkness.
Kairi jumped, startled, and turned to find a figure dressed in a cloak that seemed blacker than the night sky. He wore a hood and his silverfish-blonde hair covered his eyes, but the rest of his face was still visible.
“Who are you?” Kairi summoned the Promise Keeper and held it between herself and the figure. She was afraid, but showing her fear didn't seem like an option.
“Why should I give you my name so readily, keyblade master?” the figure asked. “You haven’t yet earned the right to know it.”
Kairi stepped back, Keyblade still held ready. "I asked you a question," she said, hoping she sounded tough.
"I don't think I like your tone very much." The figure smirked and summoned a keyblade to each of his hands.
Kairi gasped, “You’re a keyblade master too?!”
The smirk on the figure’s face widened into a smile and, with a swiftness that stunned her, he attacked. Kairi jumped back and unleashed her own attack to counter that of the figure’s. The sound of the three keyblades clashing together sounded like thunder and, as if on cue, the heavens parted and rain began to fall.
Although Kairi would never admit it, she was terrified of this hooded figure. As she dodged one of his attacks, she thought about how strong he was. She could feel his strength through her keyblade and feared it. The figure swung one of his keyblades towards her legs and she instinctively jumped. Big mistake. He slammed his fist into her gut and sent her flying to the ground. He then jumped into the air and brought the keyblades down toward the ground looking to end the battle quicly. Kairi knew she couldn’t defeat this being and closed her eyes to accept her fate.
You’re just going to give up, after all of that?
That voice…so familiar.
Come on Kairi. I thought you were stronger than that.
“Sora?” Kari whispered, her eyes till closed. “Please, give me your strength.” She opened her eyes and saw the figure dropping from the sky. She got up and performed a move she had seen Sora do before. She threw her keyblade at the figure with lighting speed and jumped into the air. The Promise Keeper hit its mark and the figure’s attack was stopped and she flew past him, propelled by her powerful jump. She grabbed her keyblade and threw it again at the falling figure’s back. It slammed into him and sent him crashing to the ground below. She dived and grabbed the Promise Keeper on the way down. She landed and stood in her fighting stance ready to go again.
The figure got up and smiled. "Well that came out of nowhere, didn't it?" He dismissed his keyblades. "Sorry about attacking you, but I had to make sure you were the real keyblade master and not some fake. My name is Yuyami. Yuyami Tsubasa. I came because I sensed the power of another Keyblade Master."
Kairi began to relax, “I’m Kairi, I’m here looking for two more keyblade masters named Riku and Sora…you haven’t seen them have you?”
“Nope," Yuyami said, shaking his head. "You're the only one so far." Kairi's face fell and he grinned, "Don’t worry, we'll find them. It's my duty anyway."
"Your duty?" Kairi asked, curious. "Why is it your job to find us?"
Yuyami shrugged. "I don't really know, actually. When I got the Keyblades, the Voice said something about finding all of the Keyblade Masters and protecting them."
"You're supposed to protect us?" Kairi asked. "From what?"
"From the ultimate dark force," Yuyami answered, his smile disappearing. "That's what the Voice said. The ultimate dark force.
Chapter Two: The First Test
“The ultimate dark force?” Kairi repeated, staring at Yuyami with wide eyes.
“Yes…the source of all Heartless, the entity craving to devour every world’s heart," Yuyami answered. “I don’t have any details myself, I just know that my job is to help the other Keyblade Masters destroy it before it destroys us.”
Kairi shivered, not knowing whether it was because of the cold or fright of this new enemy. Yuyami had the grace to assume the former.
“This land is always dark, and always cold.” He picked up a backpack that had been hidden in some bushes and began rummaging through it. “Here, this coat will keep you warm.” He handed her a trenchcoat similar to his.
Kairi held it for a moment and put it on. "Thank you," she said, grateful that she was finally warm. She was about to leave the hood off but Yuyami told her to put it on.
“Our faces our better left unseen due to the importance of our mission," he explained. "It's hard to believe, but not everyone likes Keyblade Masters."
Kairi did what she was told, pulling the hood over her head. It hung low, pushing her hair into her eyes. “So what now?” she asked, eyeing him curiously.
Yuyami looked up at the sky. “In this world, when the grey moon is up, it’s nighttime. When the white moon is up, it’s daytime. Even though this world is always bathed in darkness, there is a difference between night and day,” he added as an afterthought. “Right now we should probably get some sleep, I’ll start a fire.” He pulled a couple of sleeping bags out of the bag and laid them on the ground.
“I’ll just go get some wood for the fire, I’ll be right back,” he said, walking away.
Kairi nodded and laid down on the sleeping bag. “I’ll just stay awake until Yuyami comes back,” she thought, laying back.
She walked slowly down an empty street as the Heartless emerged from the shadows. However, she continued unhindered and unafraid. The Heartless wouldn’t attack her. How did she know? She just did. They just…watched her. Waiting...
Suddenly, Yuyami appeared in front of her. “You are the source of all heartless,” he pointed at her.
Kairi stepped back, araid. “Who me...?”
“You are the source of all evil, of all pain, of all misery.” Yuyami summoned his keyblades. “You must die.”
Kairi realized that he wasn’t talking to her, so she turned around. There, in the shadows, lurked a dark figure. Kairi strained her eyes to make out who it was. He looked so familiar. The figure raised his and hand all of the Heartless attacked her. She screamed and the only thing she could see was the inky blackness of oblivion.
Kairi woke up screaming only to have water thrown in her face. “What the hell!?” She spit out water and dried her face on her coat.
“Sorry.” Yuyami sounded embarrassed. “I didn’t know how to calm you so I reacted on my first instinct.”
“Where’d you get water!?” she asked, incredulous. They weren't even near a brook or river.
“From my bag,” Yuyami answered with a shrug.
Kairi peered into it. “What is it, bottomless or something?”
Yuyami smiled. “Have you ever met a wizard named Merlin in Traverse Town.”
Kairi thought for a moment, the name sounding familiar, before nodding. The wizard from Traverse Town. “Actually I have, why?”
Yuyami picked up the bag. “I helped him out of a tight spot one day and he enchanted this bag. It can hold more room than it looks.”
“How'd you help him?" Kairi asked, curious.
"He had been trying to summon a suit of armor from the past," Yuyami explained. "But he sneezed during his spell and ended up bringing back a dragon instead. He couldn't defend himself because he was in one of those sneezing fits, you know? The one's that you think will never stop?" Kairi nodded, so he continued, "Well, anyway, he was pretty much defenseless and that's where I came in. I was just strolling along, and saw the old man about to get devoured. So I whipped out the Keyblades and took the beast out. Merlin was so grateful, he taught me some spells and enchanted my bag."
"Wow, how interesting," Kairi said, stifling a yawn that came out of nowhere.
Yuyami smiled, "Not interesting enough, eh?"
"Oh, no," Kairi shook her head. "Your story was very interesting. I'm just really tired for some reason.
Suddenly, Yuyami stood up. “I’ll be back," he said, walking away.
“Where are you going?” Kairi didn’t like the thought of being on her own when the Heartless could attack at anytime.
“I’ll be back,” he repeated and walked through some bushes.
Kairi hugged her knees to her chest and thought about her dream. Who was that figure? Why did he look so familiar to her?
Kairi was suddenly jerked out of her thoughts. “Wha, what was that?” She thought the ground just shook for a moment.
She stood up and summoned the Promise Keeper. Whatever was coming was in for a rude awakening. She looked at the ground in horror because the ground was turning as black as a raven’s wing. Heartless began sprout from the ground like mutated plants.
“There must be hundreds,” she thought looking at seemed to be an endless sea of shadows. She stood, waiting for an attack, but afraid to launch one herself for fear of their numbers. The Heartless stood, waiting for an attack, but afraid to launch one because of their fear of the Keyblade.
Suddenly, all of the Heartless’ heads snapped up as if they heard a voice she couldn’t. She thought that this could be her chance to run if she wasn’t surrounded. Without warning, all of the Heartless attacked as one. She found herself beset from all sides. She dished out major damage but it seemed like whenever she destroyed one Heartless, three more would take its place. She was getting weary already and there were still hundreds of Heartless left to kill. A few jumped at her and she destroyed with with them one swipe of her Keyblade. She then jumped in the air and a few jumped with her. She swiped upward with the Promise Keeper and destroyed five more but more appeared out of the shadows. She landed back on the ground and performed Strike Raid with all of her might. The keyblade passed through many Heartless foing away and many more on its return. She grabbed it and began slashing at more Heartless, her arms beginning to feel numb.
But suddenly, she felt another presence. She looked over her shoulder and saw Yuyami running toward her. He jumped and brought his keyblades crashing to the ground with fearsome force. The ground split open and most of the Heartless fell into the chasm.
The rest of the Heartless were just cleanup and when they were done, Kairi swung her Keyblade weakly at Yuyami. He ducked laughing.
“Where the heck were you!?” she demanded, furious. "I could've been killed!"
He went back to the bushes and brought back the carcass of a small boar. "Breakfast," he said. At the burning look of Kairi, he shrugged. "Hey, we gotta eat right?"
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