Journey of Hearts

Chapter 1:

The Journey of a 1000 Miles...

Note: Despite what it may seem, this will NOT be a CloTi fic. This is a Kingdom Hearts fic, taking place at least 1 month after the events of Kingdom Hearts 2. All the chars belong to either Squeenix or Disney, except Jason (Myself), Charexl, and Alexi (My friends). That is all.


"WuNin is in place..." Said a girl into the small, barely visible microphone she was wearing. Her short black hear hung over her black, white lined headband.

"So's ABF!" Said a tiny blonde haired girl, flying behind a wall, also wearing an even tinier headset.

"Execute Plan Sweet 'n Salty..." Said a boy wearing glasses who's long brown hair was in a ponytail, also wearing a headset. The girl "ABF", who could've only been as tall as maybe 10 or 11 inches, swiftly flew around the wall and knocked over the tophat their unsuspecting victim was wearing. The old duck yelled something and scrabbled for it as ABF flew into hiding, giggling. Once the duck picked his hat up again and placed it back on his feathered head, WuNin appeared in front of him.

"Hey, Scrooge!" She said cheerfully. All was going according to plan. ABF created the initial distraction, then WuNin kept him occupied. The boy slinked around the corner silently toward the old man's stand.

"I suppose the weather's been a bit nice, but-" Scrooge McDuck was saying before something caught WuNin's eye.

"See ya later!" She cut him off and ran away.

"Mission success...!" The boy said into the microphone.

"Rendevous with King at the Bailey!" ABF said cheerfully, flying in that direction as fast as she could. Soon they were all gathered there. The boy wore a red trenchcoat with white designs on the back and wore a sword pendent around his neck. More importantly, he was holding their rewards.

"Here's to another successful theft!" He handed WuNin her Sea Salt Ice Cream, and held ABF's for her as he licked his own.

"Yeah, Scrooge'll never miss these...Besides, with all the help we do for Radiant Garden, we should get SOME kinda perk, right?" WuNin said, licking hers. ABF was too busy with her treat to say anything.

"Rikku, Yuffie, Jason!" An accusing female voice yelled out. They all turned to her. "Stealing, AGAIN?"

"Uh...Hey Tifa..." Said Jason, a.k.a. King, nervously. Rikku, a.k.a. ABF, and Yuffie, a.k.a. WuNin, rolled their eyes. They were Jason's closest friends and he had confided in them both his feelings for Tifa. They knew no matter how this turned out, the Ice Cream was going to be paid for. Tifa held out her hand.

"The Munny for the Ice Cream..." She said sternly. Jason sighed and pulled out a small pouch.

"But...That's all your Munny! You don't have to pay for us too!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Rikku chimed in. Jason held up his hand.

"It was my idea, my plan, AND...I'm your leader...I take full responsibility..." He handed the pouch over to Tifa, who nodded and walked off to pay Scrooge. Jason sighed.

"That was pretty mean of her! Taking all your money...I don't see why you like her..." Rikku said.

"Now, now...She's right...Stealing's wrong..." Jason said. Yuffie and Rikku stared at him in disbelief. Then to both their surprise, he smirked, "Too bad I'm a hypocrite, huh?" He said chuckling. Yuffie and Rikku giggled with them. That was something special they had found out about Jason. No matter what, he could always make you smile...And never seemed to stay down for long. He was really a great leader.

Yuffie licked her ice cream thoughtfully as she leaned against the wall of the Bailey. Reminiscing, remembering her first meeting with Jason. About a month ago he had shown up at the Radiant Garden Restoration Commitee's base, a.k.a. Merlin's house, requesting to join. He had the same kinda feel as Aerith almost. When you were around him you just...Felt good. Cid interviewed him, Merlin tested his magic abilities, then Leon tested his skill in battle. The interview went very well, he was very skilled in Fire magic, and Leon couldn't land a hit on him. They were all blown away by that last one. When he fought it was like he was a whole different person. They were all awestruck by it.

So needless to say, he was in! His only problem was, he seemed very shy. One reason he may have started his crush on Tifa was because she was the first to approach him. She complimented his battle skills and asked if they could spar sometime. It seemed like they were going to become good friends, if not something more. Then the actual match came. Tifa became furious at him because he was holding back and refused to go all out. Yuffie was too, at the time. You see, they thought it was because Tifa was a girl.

About a week after the match, Yuffie finally approached him. She had started to suspect his feelings for Tifa after watching him for a couple days. She found out that at some point he had met Rikku and they had become friends. She currently resided in one of his coat pockets. His coat itself was a red trenchcoat with white lining. The collar was up and a strip of the coat reached from the left side of the coat to the right with a button across the neck. His shirt was black with a large red vertical line and a smaller red horicontal line. He also wore a sword pendent around his neck on a chain. His sleeves folded up at around mid-forearm and he wore fingerless brown leather gloves. His pants were black, baggy jeans, and his shoes were black and golden yellow.

She introduced herself and shook his hand. They soon found all 3 had a lot in common and they all became quick friends. She knew shortly after talking with him that he wasn't sexist at all. He said he was holding back for "other reasons". She knew even then very well what they were, but she waited. One night, she found him out in the middle of the street looking more down than she had ever seen him, and had yet to see him. That was the night he told them about his feelings for Tifa.

She was snapped out of her memories by Rikku.

"Yuffie, if you don't eat your ice cream it's gonna melt..." She said, stealing a lick from Yuffie's ice cream. Yuffie looked and saw her ice cream was making it's way to her hand. She quickly caught it with her tongue and finished off the rest of it way too fast.

"Gah!" She exclaimed, "Brain freeze...!" She held a hand to her head in pain and Rikku giggled and Jason chuckled. Jason's ice cream's stick hung from in between his teeth and Rikku's ice cream was half gone. Jason and Yuffie had both wondered how such a small fairy could pack away so much sweets. Jason once theorized that the sugar is instantly transferred into energy so she can stay her energetic, floating self. They had a good laugh over that.

"Alright gals, let's saddle up..." Jason said with a fake cowboy accent.

"But I still have half to go..." Rikku whined. Jason bit half that remained off, swallowed it, then the other and laughed, running. Rikku gasped.

"Not anymore!" He chuckled as he ran back toward Merlin's.

"Hey, that was mine, you meanie!" Rikku yelled, tho' there was a hint of a laugh behind it as she flew after him. Yuffie laughed herself and followed close behind.

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Tifa approached the ramshackle hut that was in the back parts of Radiant Garden. The beaten old hut had a badly painted sign that read "Kisse Creb Central". She had no idea what the nonsense words before Central ment and didn't much care. With this young girls help, she would be able to see him again. She held in her left hand a pouch filled with munny she had conveniantly received earlier that day. Tifa walked up to the door, barely on it's hinges, and knocked. The ut looked like it could only fit a single person. Maybe, some tools. Slowly the door opened and she walked inside.

It really could only fit one person. There were no tools or anything, the walls were just rotted wood. This was the address she had been sending the Munny to, so what the-? Her thoughts were cut off by a sudden drop in the floor.

"Woah!" She esclaimed as she kept her balance. She heard a few mechanical whirrs and the floor slowly began descending.

"An elevator...?" She thought out loud. After about a minute the elevator stopped at a gigantic underground room. All of the walls looked sterile and silver. The floor was cement, and all around there were tools and parts strewn about. In the center of the room was what she had been paying for. What she had commissioned. Her very own Gummi Ship.

"Hello...?" She asked to the seemingly empty room. Her voice echoed back to her. She saw feet sticking out from under the suspended ship and walked over to them.

"Charexl?" She asked. No response. She reached down and tugged on a leg, pulling out a very young looking girl with long black hair with red streaks. She wore a dark purple off the shoulder tank top, with a lighter purple one underneath. She also had on yellow short shorts and a blue belt. She had a linen straps around her right thigh and wore baggy purple knee socks, with light blue sneakers. On her left arm was a red work glove that was tyed at the wrist and went up to her elbow. On her right was a purple cloth bracelet. Tifa remembered hearing the girl was only 14. That is...If you consider Nobodies to have ages.

Charexl was a strange case. From what Tifa heard, upon further examination of the mansion in Twilight Town, they had found her sealed in the same type of contraption as Sora, Donald, and Goofy were. When they freed her, the first this she said was "Where's my brother, Axel?". It seemed she was like him. A Nobody with emotions, It was confusing, because a Nobody with emotions would mean a Nobody with a heart, and that's not possible...Right? Sora brought her to Radiant Garden for them to watch over. However, she soon found she had a gift for building machines and Gummi Ships, so she left soon and started this Gummi Ship business. No one got a chance to really know her...Tho' one person did seem to have caught Charexl's interest. Big time.

Tifa shook off the memories and was shocked to realize...Charexl was asleep! Tifa rattled the bag near her ear and she quickly woke up.

"Oh good, you're awake..." Tifa said pleasantly enough. Charexl scratched her head.

"I guess you're Tifa, right?" She said with a smile. Charexl jumped to her feet and stood up. Tifa nodded.

"I was up all night finishing your ship, Ms. Lockheart!" Charexl said happily, "Do you have your last payment?"

"Of course," Tifa said, "And please, just Tifa." She smiled and handed over the pouch. Charexl looked thro' and counted the Munny.

"Hmm...You're a little short..." She said, dissappointed. Tifa smirked.

"Well...I could let you keep the pouch too..." She said playfully.

"Well, that's not worth much..." Charexl responded.

"Even if I told you it belonged to Jason...?" Tifa said slyly. Charexl's eyes lit up.

"My Jasie's! Really!" She said excitedly. Tifa ndded. "It's a deal!" Tifa felt kinda bad about using the money for her own needs instead of paying Scrooge, but she secretly agreed with them. All the work they've done, and not even a discount on Ice Cream? That Scrooge really was nothing but a greedy penny-pincher.

"I'll bring it up for you!" Charexl said cheerfully. She ran over to a lever and pulled it. The ground shook, and slowly the ceiling began to open to the surface. The floor Tifa, Charexl, and the ship were on began to rise up as well. Tifa could barely contain her excitement. With this ship, she would be able to find him. She would be able to be with Cloud.

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Jason sat on the edge of a crevace in the back part of Radiant Garden. He'd heard some mechanical whirring before, but thought nothing of it. Yuffie was laid out behind him, staring up at the sky. Rikku was resting in Jason's pocket. Sudden;y the ground shook, and the was plenty of mechanical noise.

"What the hell!" Jason exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Yuffie sat up quickly as well.

"Wanna go check it out?" Yuffie asked, knowing the answer already. Rikku flew up out of Jas's pocket.

"Onward!" She yelled and flew off in the direction. Jason nodded and followed. Yuffie got to her feet and ran after them as well.

-------------------

"So you're leaving?" Cid asked. Tifa had come in to say goodbye to everyone.

"Yep." She responded, "I'm going to find Cloud..."

"Please..." Aerith said, "Bring him back..." Tifa had mixed emotions about Aerith. She was her best friend but...Also a rival in love. She tried not to think about it too much. Let Cloud decide.

"I will..." Tifa said, smiling with a determined look.

"Good luck and be safe" Merlin chimed in. Tifa nodded and left. When she finally got to Charexl's hut again, there was another girl standing beside Charexl. She had reddish brown hair to her lower back and wore a black tanktop and collar. She had a red plaid skirt on with two belts crossing to hold it up. She had white stockings and brown Mary Janes. On her left arm was a black arm warmer that went from below her shoulder to her wrist, her right arm was wrapped in linen from shoulder to wrist with a black bracelet with spikes on it.

"Who's this?" Tifa asked. Both girls turned to her.

"This is Alexi, my assistant!" Charexl said.

"While Charexl drives this thing, I'll be manning the guns." Alexi continued. Tifa nodded.

"I see..." The three of them entered the ship, which Tifa had already christened the Premium Heart. Charexl sat in front of the wheel and console, while Alexi sat in a raised seat surround by a bubble of glass that stuck out of the top of the ship.

"The ship's bigger than it looks," Charexl said, "There are several rooms and things in the back. A kitchen, bathrooms, shower rooms, bed rooms..."

"Good idea...This may be a long journey..." Tifa said, "But we're ready for it, right?"

"Yep," Charexl responded, "We have enough food rations for 3 people and we can restock in the different worlds if need be. Now then, let's go!" She pressed a small red button and the ship vibrated slightly then rose off the ground.

"Get ready..." Alexi said.

"Hold on tight!" Chimed Charexl. The ship suddenly shot forward, sending Tifa flying across the room.

"Woah!" She yelled, "Oph!" As she hit the wall. Strangely enough, she thought she heard more than one thump...

The ship suddenly stopped and she found herself skidding across the floor. There was a loud bang as the door to the back burst open and Jason slid out into the middle of the room. Yuffie was on top of him, and both looked shocked. Rikku flitted about above them.

"Are you guys ok!" Rikku asked, panicked. Tifa sat up and looks to them.

"What're you three doing here!" She asked surprised. Charexl turned around, her eyes lit up and she gasped.

"JASIE!" She squealed and lept out of her chair, glomping him and knocking Yuffie away,

"Eep!" Yuffie yelped.

"Oph!" Jason exclaimed as he was glomped. Tifa looked at the aftermath and felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. It was all ruined. Alexi just stared curiously.

"Cloud..." Tifa said, already feeling exhausted, then she suddenly felt angry at them, "...GET OFFA MY SHIP YOU THEIVES!" She cried in anger and frustration.