I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Bleach, which are the property of Tetsuya Nomura and Tite Kubo respectively. I do own the two OCs featured.
The stars weren't out that night.
A sparse, white, desert, locked in nighttime, with a crescent moon as the only source of natural light. Winds blew the pale sand through the quartz-crafted twigs for trees, as the sounds of devouring souls crying for help resonated in the distance.
Suddenly, a dark blue oval appears out of thin air; swirling darkness in a sea of white. Out steps a bald man, hunched over, in a black overcoat and knee length boots and white gloves, hands crossed behind his back. Following him is a teenager in a red organic suit, with a frayed purple skirt held by three criss-crossing belts and a black mask with a silver neck-brace, hiding all his features from view.
The old man chuckles as he takes in what little sights and sounds the location has to offer. He looks back at the still swirling portal. "Nice to have you accompany us on this venture, Flintlass."
The dark oval disperses, revealing a twenty-something woman with sand-coloured hair, wearing little more than a black tank top, heeled boots, a brown vest stopping at her rib-cage, and a skirt fashioned the same way. She too was looking to the horizon.
She faced her crimson eyes to the old man, putting one hand on her hip, slightly frowning. "I'm just here to make sure you don't get eaten by Hollows," she said, her voice as smooth as a sheathing sword, but as harsh as flint striking steel.
The old man smirked. The teen said nothing. The woman just glared.
And off they went, with no exact "where" in mind. Flintlass would occasionally stop and look in every direction, then change course. The others didn't ask why; they just followed.
Hours passed.
"We're almost there."
The old man closed his eyes and nodded, a ghost of a smile tugging his lips. The red-clad teen wiped sand off his mask.
"How do you know this?"
Flintlass stopped. Her eyes widened just a bit at the teen's comment; she hadn't heard him speak since before they left (by a good few months, actually). Her eyelids quickly settled as she looked back at him.
"I just do." She turned back and continued on her way.
Eventually, something new came up on the horizon. Aside from a jagged boulder, a white figure knelt to an armoured figure lain down.
"Is that her?" the old man said.
"It better be." the teen said, slightly annoyed.
"It is," came Flintlass' cool reply as she began to walk ahead.
The teen sighed in frustration. "This is nothing but a wild goose chase. How do we know you're right?"
Flintlass laughed as she looked back, and said "I haven't been wrong yet, have I?" before she disappeared with a whoosh, leaving lopsided footprints in her wake.
*
"There, there, it's going to be alright…"
The white clad woman gently stroked the blue hair of the fallen knight. Her armour glistened in the moonlight, save for three parallel gashes running through her side, lined with deep red. A faint green glow covered the scar, as flesh visibly reconstructed itself beneath.
Her saviour had blue-green hair and a horned skull on her head, as well as a sword with a green hilt at her side. Her head was bent down, obscuring her features from view.
She then stroked her paling cheek, still yielding no response other than a light groan.
Whoosh.
Flintlass appeared at the armour's feet, crossing her arms. The healer lightly gasped, keeping her head down.
"What are you doing?" asked Flintlass, rather harshly.
"I'm not looking for a fight. I'm just healing her," came the timid yet strong reply.
"Yeah, well, I don't think that's necessary," she said as she put her hands on her hips. "She's coming with me."
Finally, her head jerked upwards, trace tears forming. "She was attacked by a Hollow, so what would you-huh?"
Her anger became surprise as she saw her face. Flintlass followed suit.
Apart from the pink tattoo stretched across her face and the olive grey eyes, the healer's face was identical to Flintlass'.
Slowly, she stood up, never taking her eyes off Flintlass' as the green glow on the armour faded, leaving the clean flesh to brave the elements.
Neither their faces lost their surprise.
"I'm…" Flintlass' brow furrowed, tilting her head sideways and slightly pouting. "sorry."
The healer smiled. "That's alright. I'm Nell; nice to meet you." she said in a happy tone as she extended her white gloved hand outwards.
Flintlass found herself smiling just as warmly. She let go of her elbow and took Nell's hand. "Flintlass; nice to meet you, too."
They shook, then let their arms return to their sides. Nell's hand cupped the base of her sword's hilt.
"Nngh…"
They both looked down. The armour clanked and creaked quietly as the woman inside sat up, pushing down on the sand with her hands for support. Her head instantly flopped forward.
"Aqua!" Flintlass quickly knelt down as Nell rushed around to her side. Flintlass tilted her chin up; her face was covered with cuts, bruises and dirt, and her skin was extremely pale, almost green. Her bloodshot eyes only brightened her cerulean irises, despite the fact they were cloudy and mostly hidden by her drooping eyelids. Her hair, covered with sand, lacked the luster it once had.
Nell bent over, placing her hands on her thighs.
"Are you alright, Aqua?"
"Flintlass…" Aqua said, her voice as dry as her skin, "there was this…monster…with a mask…I couldn't…"
"She actually fared better than I thought she would," Nell chimed in, "not many, other than Soul Reapers and Arrancar, can face a Hollow for as long as she did, or get as minor injuries as she did!"
"Oh, did she?"
The three turned their heads as the old man and teen approached them.
"Master…Xehanort…" Aqua managed to get out, "And…you…"
The teen inclined his chin, filling his visor with moonlight.
Master Xehanort smirked. "I'm glad we found you, Aqua. A great deal of Keyblade warriors tend to get themselves lost when piloting their Rides."
Nell's' head cocked to the side.
Flintlass, wrapping her arm around Aqua's back, lifted her up into her arms. "Thanks for the help, Nell. I can take it from here."
Nell smiled. "It's no problem. I'm always glad to help. I hope I'll get to see you again someti-"
"Can we just go already?" The teen had his fingers laced behind his helmet.
Flintlass frowned. "Such a fuss. It's not like you had anything better to do."
"I bet I could have thought of something…"
"Vanitas…" the old man warned. The teen slumped his shoulders, exhaling warily.
Master Xehanort waved his hand off to the side, yielding another swirling black oval. He started towards it. "A pleasure, Miss Nell. Thank you for the assistance," he said as he disappeared into the darkness. Vanitas followed, mumbling something about hormones.
Flintlass stopped at the portal's edge. "I hope to see you again too, Nell." She stepped in as the ebony cloud dissolved, leaving nothing in its wake as the wind picked up a bit.
Nell pouted slightly, cocking her head to the side again. She thumbed the hilt of her sword. "Keyblade…hmm…"
Suddenly she smiled again. Lightly humming, she picked her journal off the boulder, sat down, and began to write.
*
"Hueco Mundo again?"
The black oval faded, leaving Flintlass in the white room. On the bed was a brown-haired man in a white overcoat with red lining, reading LOVELESS. He eyed her through his glasses, one leg crossed over the other.
Flintlass put her hands on her hips. "Is there a problem with feeling a little nostalgia every now and again, Nathaniel?"
Nathaniel's brow furrowed. "If brushing with death is your idea of nostalgia, then you should be the captain of Squad Eleven."
"Har dee har har. Always the comedian." Flintlass hopped onto the bed, much to Nathaniel's chagrin, and mimicked the position of his legs, folding her arms behind her head. She then tilted her head towards him and pouted slightly.
Nathaniel looked back and chuckled, snapping the book shut and tossed it to the side. Flintlass went into a kneeling position beside him as he sat up.
"Should have used a bookmark," Flintlass said as she draped her arms across his shoulders.
"The goddess descends from the sky, wings of light and dark spread afar," he took his glasses off, "She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting."
"Always the beginning, isn't it?"
His arms wrapped around her back. "Always." They pulled themselves toward the other and kissed, slowly leaning back onto the bed. By the time they made contact, they rolled away from each other, lightly panting. Nathaniel ruffled his hair with his mechanical hand. Flintlass picked her hat off the floor and dusted it off, hanging it on the bed's headboard. She sighed dreamily.
"That was a while ago, wasn't it?" Nathaniel posed.
"Yeah. I miss her."