The Glowing Moon and the Shining Sun

Chapter 1- Newcomers

Eternally unchanging. That is the way to describe the sky overhead in this composition of a world. A black, endless expanse overhead, littered with thousands upon thousands of stars. But, to the untrained eye, if one looks closely, several stars blink out in a single day. To an ordinary civilian, very little changes. But he was told by his brother that when a star blinks out, there was always trouble. He was always told to prepare for the oncoming darkness, which became more and more apparent every single day.

In a world that provides shelter for refugees, Traverse Town was their only salvation from the darkness. He did not know why he was standing on patrol in an area of the town where the dark creatures hardly ever appeared. "Any vigilant protector takes every necessary precaution." That was the one idea that his brother lived by, but while he understood why he thought that way, he didn't necessarily agree with it, as the district he patrolled was the safest by far.

To anyone, he seemed like a regular fifteen year old boy: an average height teenage boy, dressed in rather simple clothes, consisting of a short-sleeved black T-shirt and a jade collared short-sleeved shirt on top, blue jeans and black and white sneakers. He also wore a single black sleeve warmer on his left wrist and an unusual shaped gold pendant around his neck, that resembled a straight-edged heart placed on top of a cross. His most defining trait was his medium length darkish-red hair colour, and chocolate brown eyes. While he was not exactly handsome to look at, he was by no means ugly either. But, what made him seem different was strapped to his back at an angle behind his left shoulder: a white-bladed sword, with a hand-guard styled as a crescent moon and a chain protruded from the hilt with a crescent moon charm.

His name was Sairu Leonhart. And right now, he was bored beyond all recognition. He was only assigned this because the others felt he was too young to handle large numbers of those dark creatures, despite that he had been training in martial arts and sword-fighting since he was seven. At first it seemed it was going to be another empty night of pointless patrol. That is until, he sees two figures (anthropomorphic duck and dog) and a dog, off in the distance looking at the sky. Sairu follows their gaze and sees a star blinking out. This was not unusual for Sairu, but it still worried him a great deal. It only signified how much more powerful the darkness was becoming.

Concluding that he hadn't met the two figures before, he decided to speak with them, being suspicious of their intentions. "Hey, you two. What are you doing here?" he asked in an interrogative manner. The duck stopped and looked ready to blow his top: "What's it to you?" he exclaimed loudly. "Uh, we were just passing through. Say, have you seen a key around?" the dog asked rather cheerfully. "Goofy, we don't have time! Let's go find that key!" the duck said furiously. Sairu sighed exasperatedly and said, more politely "Sorry, didn't mean to ruffle your feathers. I'm afraid I don't know what you mean by a 'key'". The dog called Goofy said, "Well, sorry for wasting your time. Say, do you know someone called Leon?"

That got Sairu's interest. Why would two strange creatures be looking for his brother, if not this key? He then responded in a surprised tone "Actually, that happens to be my brother. He went on patrol in the Second District. Just follow the steps till you find a big door on your right." "Thanks" said the duck sarcastically. Clearly he was still angry at Sairu's rude introduction earlier, but seemed glad for that information nonetheless.

Feeling he was being rude to them, he then said "Guess I should introduce myself. My name is Sairu. Sorry about earlier again; just never seen you guys around before. I'm on patrol here in the First District, where new arrivals appear and you seemed suspicious so..." "Oh, we understand. Name's Goofy. And this is Donald", gesturing to the duck next to him, "and Pluto", referring to the dog on all fours. "Thanks for the help, Sairu. Come on, Donald, let's look in the Second Distract." "District, you big palooka!" said Donald angrily. Sairu couldn't help but chuckle: clearly Donald had anger problems yet they were pretty humorous to watch. Donald gave him a glare but then said "Well, thanks anyway. See you around". Sairu nodded politely.

Soon, Donald and Goofy took off up the stairs where Sairu directed them to. Then, Sairu noticed the dog Pluto going past the triplets' Item Shop, not following Donald and Goofy, instead into the alleyway. Curiosity setting in, Sairu decided to follow him and was quite surprised when he found a boy of his own age asleep propped against the wall of the Item Shop. This boy was a sight: spiky brown hair that shot in each and every direction, wearing a red jumpsuit with a large zipper down the middle with a blue belt loosely wrapped around his waist. He also wore a white and black short-sleeved hoodie, which was also blue inside, with white fingerless gloves adorned with black, blue and yellow straps and silver discs. He also sports a pair of abnormally large yellow and black boots. Finally, he also had a crown charm around his neck, and a chain comprising of crowns on his left leg.

Seeing as how Pluto was sniffing the boy curiously, Sairu deduced that it explained why he came here, and not following his masters. Feeling this complied with his duties on patrol, he decided to wake the boy up so he could help him adjust to his new home. He then shakes the boy lightly and says in a concerned tone "Hey, are you alright? Come on, wake up." Slowly but surely, the boy began to stir and regaining consciousness, but he didn't wake up completely until the dog jumped on his chest, and he came to as if he had been jolted by electricity. The boy then gets up and looks around with a shocked expression on his face.

He then says "Where am I?" He seemed rather frightened to be in an unfamiliar place, but that was to be expected for newcomers. Sairu then spoke up in a reassuring way "Don't worry. You're safe." The boy then looks behind him and sees Sairu. "Did you wake me?" said the boy. Sairu then smiled and said "It wasn't just me. The walking defibrillator here woke you up for real." Just as Sairu said that, Pluto took off and fled the alleyway. Sairu and the boy looked on confused, then Sairu turned to face him and the boy asked "Do you know where I am?" Sairu then put on a serious expression and said "You're in Traverse Town, a world that acts as a shelter for people who lose their homes to the darkness." Upon hearing those words, the boy suddenly looked shocked and about to faint. Thankfully, he didn't.

"Wait, does that mean my island's gone!? My home... my friends..." the boy then said, looking really depressed. Sairu then looked sad as well: he himself knew that feeling all too well: he had arrived in Traverse Town in despair over his own friends when he was much younger, but he learned to cope and hope that he can go and look for his friends someday. Sairu then put a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder and said "Don't worry. I'm sure your friends are alright. I know what it's like, what you're feeling now. But always hope to be reunited with your friends, and you're sure to find them someday." He then removed his hand and offered a soft smile. The boy perked up when he saw that and smiled. "You're right. Thanks. I'm Sora, by the way. What's your name?" he said while putting his hands behind his head.

"Pleasure, Sora. My name is Sairu. So Sora, if you're that worried about your friends, you want to go look for them? If I go with you, I can guide you through the town so you don't get lost." Sairu replied. Sora seemed happier when he heard this and said "Really? But how do you know my friends are even here? Maybe they landed in another world?" Sairu was a little taken aback by this, but responded "Well, there's no guarantee they're here in this town. But still, it's possible they're here somewhere. If they're not here, that doesn't mean they can't be in another world somewhere." Then an idea struck Sairu like lightning.

Sairu then said "I know. There's someone I know who can arrange transport to other worlds, but for now, I can take you to him so he can look out for you if I have to go somewhere. How does that sound?" Sora then crossed his arms and thought. After half a minute, he uncrossed his arms and said "Sure. That sounds OK." "Kay, let's go. I'll take you to him. His shop is just around the corner" said Sairu enthusiastically.