Usagi: welcome back loyal fans and to the rest of you… if you haven't read Lost in Darkness you should probably read that one first or you might get confused.

Sora: they'll probably get confused if they read the last chapter of that one too.

Usagi: do you want to become a heartless again?

Sora: …do continue.

Usagi: good boy. I've been looking forward to writing this fanfic, (as well as the third one...coughs) and I hope you have been looking forward to reading too… and that it doesn't suck so bad that you'll stop reading after the first chapter (don't do that, I know there isn't a lot of action in this chapter but it's the first chapter for goodness sake. There wasn't much action in the first chapter of Lord of the Rings either).

Anyway, for the story.

Darkness of the Heart takes place two years after Lost in Darkness (and KH2 in case you wondered) We're not getting into much of the plot in the first chapter, but there's hinting of some of it;3

Zakura: meaning, more suspense around one of the un-answered questions asked in Lost in Darkness, what is Zexion up to?

Zexion: zzzzzz

Axel: sleeping it seems.

Usagi: enough yapping on with the fanfictioning:

Sora: that's not even a word…

Usagi: (shows a picture of Sora as a shadow)

Sora: …(takes out a dictionary and scribbles something in it) well what do you know…it is.

Usagi: Lost in Darkness 2: Darkness of the Heart, starting now!

Chapter 1

First Day of Summer

It was a beautiful summer day on Destiny Island; at least it would be, as it was the last day of school before summer vacation.

Just now it was just plain boring.

The teacher seemed convinced it was possible to teach her students something despite it being the last day of school, but as she stood with her back turned writing on the blackboard she didn't notice not one of the students were paying attention.

Pretty much every student sitting by the window was staring out of it; the others were sleeping, chatting or simply not paying attention.

A seventeen year old girl was the only one reading a book, however it wasn't a school book, it was a book about cats.

Another girl bent over her shoulder.

"What are you reading Kairi?" she asked.

"Just a book on cat-health, Zexion's been acting odd lately and I've been trying to find out what could be the cause" Kairi replied.

"Why don't you just ask?" a boy sitting by the window asked.

"I have tried Sora, but he keeps saying everything is fine" Kairi said. "It's almost like was depressed or something."

"He's a nobody, he can't get depressed" Sora reminded her.

"Little Zexy is feeling sick? Too bad, he's sooo cute! I just wanna cuddle him" said Selphie. "But he won't let me."

Kairi couldn't help but giggle a little.

"Don't forget he's not an ordinary cat, and he's got bad experience with "cuddling". I don't think anyone's even been able to touch him since he came to the islands" Kairi said.

"I know" Selphie said. "But he must have been dreamy as a human…"

Both girls suddenly started staring at Sora.

"What? I didn't know him back then, ask Riku" the boy said.

"Didn't Roxas know him?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah, but it's not like I've got photos" Sora said, when something suddenly came up from his backpack.

"He looked pretty much the same, minus the fuzz" said Axel the ottsel, whose head was currently sticking out of Sora's backpack.

Axel must have spoken a bit too loud, as the teacher turned around and looked towards the back of the classroom.

"Is there a problem Sora?" she asked.

"No, not at all" Sora said, quickly pushing Axel back into the backpack. "Just…looking for a new pencil".

The teacher only turned her back on again, not caring to ask the students to stay quiet; despite looking like she wanted to educate some more, it was clear even she just wanted this day to be over so she could go home. Sora opened his back pack again.

"Axel what are you doing here?" he whispered.

"I got bored, there's nothing to do when you leave me home alone and Trixi is no fun to play with" Axel complained. "Can't you finish of school a bit sooner?"

"Its school, I can't just go. My grades are bad enough as it is" Sora said.

"But what if the fire alarm went of?" Axel asked.

Before anyone had time to answer, he teleported away.

"He's not going to burn down the school is he?" Selphie asked.

"Nah, come on, even he's not that dumb" Kairi said.

"Oh I wouldn't be too sure about that" Sora sighed.

--

The fiery red ottsel was sneaking trhough the school building like a cat hunting for his prey. In fact that was a rather accurate description, as he had noticed earlier how Sora's cat Trixi was able to sneak up to any mouse un-noticed by doing this, so he had taken to copying her.

Of course red wasn't exactly a camouflage colour, but it did help that the halls were empty.

After only a couple of minutes he found what he was looking for. A smoke detector.

Just a tiny cloud of smoke would be enough; Axel wasn't stupid, he knew he didn't have to set fire to anything to make it go of, they were in fact very sensitive.

--

It only took a couple of minutes after Axel's disappearance before the fire alarm went of.

"Oh my, I guess we should get out of the building everyone" the teacher said. "Remember, nice and calm, and wait outside the school building".

The whole class was gone before she could even finish the last word.

"They're not waiting outside the school building" the teacher muttered.

Sure enough, every student at school decided that the unreliable fire alarm just signalled an early summer break. At least this gave the school a replace the old thing. It had already gone of 4 times during the last semester without a single sign of fire, and once when Axel accidentally set fire to the desk he was hiding under.

Selphie decided to just hurry home, while Sora and Kairi met up with Riku just outside the building, who was holding a squirming ottsel by the tail.

"Hey, I helped you get out early; shouldn't I get some praise at least?" Axel asked.

"Oh don't get me wrong, I appreciated that, we had math" Riku said. "I only hold you like this because I hate you."

"You're welcome."

"Don't mention it" Riku said and dropped him at the hard concrete floor. Luckily Axel was prepared (this happened like 3 times a week anyway) and quickly got to his feet. "So, you two have any plans after school that doesn't involve candlelight dinner for two?"

"It's a bit early for dinner don't you think? I think I should better get home, you can come if you want to" Kairi said.

"Oh right, Axel mentioned Zexion's been some problem, what's the matter?" Riku asked.

"Maybe he got dropped from a metres height onto a hard concrete floor?" Axel suggested.

"No that's not it, he's just seemed a bit down lately" Kairi said. "And yes Riku I am perfectly aware that he can't get depressed so don't point it out" she added as Riku looked about to say something. He shut his mouth and let her continue.

"A couple of weeks ago I found him looking trhough my picture book, and well… the next time I came too look at it one of the pictures were missing" Kairi explained.

"Is it the picture of me right after I fell into the sea outside the island?" Riku asked.

"No. That one's still there."

"Aw…"

"I don't suppose any of you guys remember the oldest picture I've got?"

"You mean the smeary greasy thing we picked up on the beach the day you came to the island?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, that one, it's gone" Kairi said sadly.

"Aaand…you think Zexion took it? Why would he take that? It has nothing but sentimental value and you can't even see what's on it" Riku said.

"I don't know. It's just a hunch" Kairi said. "But I guess it's nothing. It probably fell out when he put the album back or something. I've heard him complain several times how hard it is to hold a book with cat-paws, and the glue was old so for all I know it might still be under the bed or something."

"We'll help you look. After all it's the only memory you have of your old family right?" Sora said.

"You make it sound more serious than it is, I can't miss someone I don't remember. Besides I've got you right?" Kairi said, and Sora couldn't help but blush. "But thanks anyway" she added and kissed him on the cheek.

The two had been going out for two years now, ever since their last adventure, which none of them really liked to talk about, Sora least of all.

Kairi's house was the one closest to the school of the trio's homes, and the place they usually went when they didn't have anything else to do after school.

"I'm home" Kairi said the moment she opened the door, her mom…or stepmother more precisely, came out of the living room.

"You home early?" she asked.

"Yeah, you know, last day of school you know" Kairi said shrugging. No need to tell her Axel threatened to set fire to the school…again.

However Kairi's mother wasn't stupid, the moment she saw the little ottsel creep in the door she cast him a suspicious look, as he tried not to attract any attention to himself, but decided not to say anything.

"I guess you haven't had lunch yet, do you want anything? Sora? Riku?" she asked.

"Maybe a small bite thanks" Sora said.

"Where's Zexion?" Kairi asked.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him all day" her mom said. "I looked under the couch, all the beds, on top of the kitchen cupboards and even inside the washing machine."

"Wow, he's like the total opposite of Trixi" Sora said. "If you want to find her you'd just as well look…well, right in front of you really."

"Have you ever considered looking in the couch? You'd think after he's hidden so often he'll just hide somewhere completely obvious next time to trick you" Riku said. "Like in front of your feet maybe?"

"Oh come on Riku, like I wouldn't notice that" Kairi's mother said and walked towards the kitchen when she almost tripped in something. A silver-coloured cat, who had in fact just come running in from the living room, where it looked like he had been "hiding" in a grey chair.

"There you are Zexion, how are you today?" Kairi asked smiling.

"Hungry" Zexion just replied and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Wow… that was a short reply, even for him" Axel said.

"If he's eating then he should be fine, shall we go look for that picture then?" Riku asked.

"You're right, let's go" Kairi said.

They all walked upstairs towards Kairi's room.

As they left up the stairs none of them noticed the cat sneaking after them.

Kairi's bedroom wasn't very big, and very tidy.

She had a desk, spotless, next to a large closet and a bookshelf on the other side.

On the other side of the room was her bed, next to it again, a cat-bed, next to a pillow. Zexion had refused to use the bed, so he just took out the pillow and slept on it, directly on the floor.

Kairi immediately pulled the photo album out from under her bed and examined the area around it.

"Well it's not here" she said.

"Okay, so that rules out that possibility" Sora said. "Maybe it's blown of somewhere, Axel, you check under the closet".

"Why me?" Axel asked.

"Cause Riku, Kairi and I won't fit under there, come on" Sora said.

There was no arguing against that, so Axel went over and tried to squeeze himself under the small space between the closet and the floor, it was tight even for him.

There weren't many places in the room to look, so Riku just decided to lift the cat basket and Zexion's pillow, just in case the picture somehow ended up over there, as Sora just peeked into the paper bin.

"Kairi, look" Sora said suddenly.

The others came up to him (minus Axel who had gotten stuck under the closet) as he picked up the picture from the paper bin.

A part of it was missing, the face…or what would have been the face…of the second-smallest person on the picture had been cut of, and it almost looked as though it had been bitten of by an animal.

"A cat-bite" Riku said.

Kairi turned around towards the door and saw nothing but the end of a bushy tail, as Zexion ran back downstairs.

"But why?" she asked.

Usagi: D: Someone's been a bad kitty-cat

Zexion: how do you know it wasn't Trixi?

Usagi: she lives at Sora's house.

Zexion: oh.

Demyx: where was I in this chapter?

Usagi: … at a Smash Mouth concert.

Demyx: rly?

Usagi: no. You just weren't there. You were probably off somewhere playing your sitar.

Demyx: kay…

Mysterious Stranger: Where was I in this chapter?

Usagi: in the Netherworld…where you were in LiD chapter 29 AND the Epilogue.

Mysterious Stranger: rly?

Usagi: rly.

Dolores Jane Umbridge: where was I in this chapter?

Usagi: IN HELL! (Shoots her)

Zakura: who let her in?

Sora: (sneaks out of the room)

Usagi: Well I hope you like it…and that a certain someone will stop begging me to upload a new chapter immediately seeing as I pretty much uploaded both the second last and last chapter of LiD not too long ago and now this. Yay me.

Please review, and don't let Umbridge back in.

Zakura: you just killed her.

Usagi: then don't let her ghost in.