Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story.

What Wishes May Hold

By: ghostfox12

Day 356: Choices and Power

A black cat jumped and hissed in surprise when a dark corridor opened in a small, cramped alleyway. Out of the corridor stepped forth a small figure wearing a black coat will the hood covering her face. The cat was so startled by the being that it run away like a bat out of hell. The figure pulled back her hood letting her dark hair sway gently in the light breeze. Xion sighed and leaned against a brick wall for support. She was a fugitive now: she went AWOL from Organization XIII and now she was having second thoughts about Riku and "joining with Sora and Roxas." 'I can't go back to the Organization, because I don't what to be locked up and treated like a mere puppet,' she thought. 'And if I join with Sora… then it would be like…, like I never existed…'

A sudden noise startled her and she hid behind a trashcan. She peeked over the rim to see two humans passing by, talking to each other. A few seconds passed, and when Xion was sure that the humans were long gone, she worked up the courage and peered out of the alley. What she saw astonished her; streets that zig this way and that, cars speeding down the roads going to unknown destinations, and people, dozens if not hundreds of them, walking up and down the sidewalks. "This world is like Twilight Town," the girl said to herself. "But this world is more populated." Xion inwardly seethed, 'Why did I come to this world? I could have gone the Twilight Town, but nooooo, too obvious, I thought. Both the Organization and Riku would look for me there, I said. Besides, it was like this world was calling out to me.' The Organization taught her to be wary about making contact with people; after all, theirs was a secret organization.

Suddenly, a cold chill went through her and the keyblade appeared in her hand. She turned around a saw a Neoshadow with its antennae and limbs twitching like crazy. It focused its yellow eyes on the girl and charged. Xion dispatched it with one hit, not wasting any of her energy. "So, there are Heartless on this world too," she said aloud to herself. She decided that she needed to leave the alley; narrow pathways were no place to fight anything and any more battles could attract unwanted attention.

As Xion was leaving the alley, a security camera mounted high on a wall followed her movements.

KH-KH-KH

Kimihiro Watanuki was busy sweeping up Yuko's deck on a warm fall afternoon. He quickly adjusted his glasses and finished sweeping the last part of the deck. The teenager then sat aside the broom and straightened out his black school uniform. 'All I have to do now is fix Yuko-san's dinner and I can go home!' Watanuki thought. He was about to go inside when he noticed a girl his age walking through the front gate.

The teen girl had long, flowing, curly, black hair with a rich purple steak going down the middle of it. She was wearing a black dress with fishnet stockings, a spiked collar, with two spiked waist brands. Watanuki amused she must be goth and left it with that. Before he could say anything, she flashed her yellowish-green eyes at him. Seeing them made his blood run cold; a feeling he only experience when he is near spirits. Clearly, this girl has some kind of power to make him feel this way.

"You need to help me," the strange girl pleaded. "My brother is dreadfully ill and I was told that the people in this place could help me."

'She must be looking for Yuko-san,' Watanuki thought. He felt kind of silly for having to think that in the first place since the only people who could enter Yuko's property are people that wanted their wishes to be granted. "Wait right here, I'll go and get-"

Before Watanuki could finish the sentence, the girl rushed him and pulled him close. "You don't understand, my brother needs help. And only a strong person could help him." Her mood then changed from being worried to seductive. "You look like a strong man," she whispered as her heart-shaped earrings jingled. Watanuki tried to wiggle his way out of her gasp, but she kept pulling him closer. "What are you afraid of?" she gave him a hungry, toothy grin.

"How did you get in here," said a stern voice from behind them. The girl let go of Watanuki, turned around and came face to face with the witch Yuko. Yuko was wearing a black dress with red flower print all over it. Her long, dark hair tied to a ponytail swayed slightly as she stared daggers at the strange girl. "How were you able to get in here?" the witch asked again.

"Please, help me Yuko-san!" the girl politely bowed. "My name is Sayomi and my brother needs your help!" The girl fell on her knees and started to cry, "My brother is very ill, he will die if he doesn't get any help!" Sayomi reached out to grab Yuko's hand, but the witch coldly pulled away.

"Why come to me?" Yuko asked. "Why not a hospital?"

"We tried all the hospitals!" she wept. "They couldn't help him and we are running out of money. So, I came to you for help! Please, if he dies then I will be all alone…"

Watanuki felt sorry for the girl. Sure, she was a little crazy and he couldn't shake the feeling that she was up to something, but she seem sincere about her brother. Also, he could relate to losing a love one; he lost both of his parents when he was young. "Lets help her, Yuko-san. Can't you see she's in pain?"

Yuko started at Watanuki for a second and then gave a heavy sigh. "You are too soft-hearted for your own good, Watanuki." She then looked down at the girl who was still on her knees. "I will grant your wish Miss Sayomi, but on one condition."

Sayomi's face lit up as she heard the witch's words. "Ready? Oh thank you Yuko-san, you don't know how much this means to me. What is the condition?"

"That I won't grant your wish until I see your brother. After all, this affects him too."

Sayomi nodded her head and looked glad that Yuko was going to grant her wish. "Then we should get going, my house is not far from here."

"Before we go, we need someone else to come with us. Watanuki, could you go and fetch Dômeki for us?" Yuko said with a slight smile.

"Dômeki!" the teenage boy yelled. As long as he can remember, Dômeki always got on his nerves. Dômeki was so calm, so collected, so reserved, so…ANNOYING!

"You are the one who wanted to help this girl," the witch simply stated. "You have no one to blame but yourself. And don't forget to tell him to bring his bow along."

Watanuki was flabbergasted for a moment then regain his composure. "Fine," he said as he stormed off. "I will fetch the creep."

"And I will come with you!" Sayomi said as she got up and took Watanuki's arm. "I want to get to know you more," she purred.

Needless to say, Watanuki blushed and did not know what to say, but Yuko did. "No, you stay here Sayomi," Yuko said in almost in growl. "Watanuki could handle getting Dômeki by himself."

Sayomi sighed and stared at the teen with forlorn eyes, and yet there was something lifeless in them. "Fine, but hurry back Watanuki-kun."

KH-KH-KH

Xion wandered through the alleyways and backstreets of this world to avoid detection. Little did she know someone from behind the scenes was watching her like a hawk through the eyes of various security cameras. Every moment she made was recorded and analyzed. Whenever she summoned the keyblade, all the cameras would zoom in focusing on the weapon. The girl didn't notice this however. She continued on, trying to solve the problem she was facing.

'What is the right thing to do?' she asked herself. 'Should I help Riku awaken Sora or maybe go back to the Organization? At least there I will be with Roxas and Axel…' Just then, something caught her eye. Lying on the ground was a brass keychain with an elegant Victorian design to it. She picked it up and summoned her keyblade. When she attached the keychain to her weapon it transform into a lighter, but slightly more powerful keyblade. The name Nostalgic Memory floated in her head. Before she could examine the keyblade further, a small Bad Dog Heartless came up and licked her in the face.

"Ewww!" she screamed. "Get away from me, you mutt!" Xion tried to attack the Heartless, but it easily dodged her attacks. The creature then taunted her by wiggling its butt in the air and blowing raspberries at her. Needless to say, Xion was shocked and disgusted. "You rude creature…dog-thing!" The Heartless then ran away and Xion pursued it. "Come back here!" she yelled. "There is no way you are getting away with this!"

In a dark room somewhere on this world, a young man with glasses watched one of his computer monitors. On the monitor was Xion chasing the Bad Dog Heartless. The man smiled wickedly as he saw that everything was going to plan. "A weapon powerful enough to destroy the Heartless…," he said to himself. "…That might come in handy."

KH-KH-KH

Watanuki and Dômeki were running to Yuko's shop so they could help Sayomi and her brother. Watanuki had to drag Dômeki out of archery practice and the taller teen wasn't too happy about that.

"This better be good," Dômeki said in a monotone. "Is her brother really sick?"

"With the way she was carrying on, of course he's sick," Watanuki spat.

"Is this Sayomi even human?"

"OF COURSE SHE IS! WHAT ELSE WOULD SHE BE?"

"You remember the time I had to save you from that spirit that was draining your life force?"

Watanuki didn't know how to respond. He remembered the event quite clearly and how he thought the spirit was a kind, sweet widow who lost her child. "Even so, we should help her and her brother. It's the right thing to do," he defended himself. "Even if she's a little strange…," Watanuki said under his breath.

"How strange?" Dômeki demanded to know. "What are you not telling me?"

Watanuki silently cursed Yuko for having him bring Dômeki along. "She is very… eccentric," he put lightly. "One minute she's crying, then she's flirty, and the next minute she's happy. It's like she-"

"Like she has no control over her heart," Dômeki finished the sentence.

"That's not what I was going to say, but yeah. Like I said, very strange."

They arrived at Yuko's shop soon after and noticed Yuko was talking to two strangers. The first stranger was a man with graying hair, horn-rimmed glasses, and dressed like a college professor. However, he didn't act like a professor, but has a demeanor more akin to a CEO of a large corporation. The second stranger was a woman with medium-long brown hair, green eyes. She was wearing a dress filled covered in earth-tone colors with a flower in her hair. Both strangers looked very distraught.

"You have to help us Yuko," the man pleaded. "We have searched for months now and we still can't find our two sons."

"Please Miss. Yuko," the woman begged. "We don't know where else to turn. Grant our wish so we can find our sons!"

Watanuki looked around for Sayomi, but could not find her. He finally spotted her hiding inside the shop, staring out the door with her eyes fixated on the man. 'What's with her?' Watanuki thought. 'Why she looks so afraid of that man?'

"I can't grant you your wish," Yuko said to the couple. "The price, I'm afraid, is too great for you to pay."

"After all we been through together, you can't grant us one tiny wish!" the man yelled. "You, me, and Clow Reed trained together! Out of respect of our past and our brotherhood, grant me and my wife this wish!"

Yuko was silent for a moment then spoke. "First of all, I, Clow Reed and Yen Sid renounced that title and its weapon long time ago. Second, even though we were friends in the past, doesn't mean I can waver the price. A fair price is nothing to be trifle with."

"Then at least tell us if our sons are alright," the wife begged. "It is torture not knowing…"

"That wish I can grant," Yuko solemnly nodded. "That locket, give it to me."

"But it's the only thing that I have to remind me of the boys," the woman clutched the locket with her left hand not wanting to part with it.

"It's the price you have to pay," the witch said simply. The woman reluctantly agreed and gave Yuko the locket. Yuko placed the locket close to her heart and the trinket started to glow. "Your eldest son, Zackary, is safe, but wandering through the worlds, searching for something. Your other son, Trevor, is also safe, but living on a far-off world."

"Which world?" the father demanded.

"I can't tell," Yuko said. "It's strange, but the world is clouded… It's almost like it doesn't even exist."

"Then we will have to find him," the man said with renew determination. "I have one more wish Yuko."

"What is it, Matthew?" Yuko said mentally bracing herself.

"If Trevor ever needs a wish to be granted, I want you to go to the world he is on and grant it for him; whether he likes it or not."

The witch rubbed her chin for a bit, "An interesting wish… One with a steep price, can you pay for it?"

"Whatever it takes," the husband nodded.

"Very well, your price is a portion of your power."

"Done," Matthew said summoning a keyblade. The keyblade then burst into small fragments of light and reformed into a new keyblade in Yuko's hand.

"I forgot what it is like to hold one of these weapons…," the witch said reflecting on days long past. "Watanuki, place this in the storage room."

Watanuki obeyed and went over the grabbed the weapon. When he held it in his hands a strange feeling came over him: it was as if the weapon felt and sense his own emotions. Once the weapon was safe in storage, he came outside just in time to see the two strangers going into a portal.

"Who were they?" the teen asked.

"That was Matthew and his wife Ginger. I knew Matthew back when I was a teenager," Yuko said flatly.

"What did Matthew-san meant when he said you and him were in the same brotherhood?"

"Long ago, I was part of an order of warriors whom wielded weapons known as keyblades. However, I gave that up; the price for wielding such a weapon was too high for me to bear."

Before Watanuki could press Yuko any further, Sayomi came out of the shadows nervously rubbing her hands together. "Can we go now?" she asked in a quiet voice. "We need to go to my brother immediately."

"Of course," Yuko nodded. "Let's go."

It took them fifteen minutes to reach the house…; well it was more like a three-story mansion. It took everybody by surprise, even Yuko seem impressed.

"YOU LIVE HERE?" Watanuki yelled. "This place is huge!"

"We inherited it, when our parents died," Sayomi explained. "Let's go in…"

They entered the mansion and as they passed room by room, they saw that it was filled with expensive furniture and knick-knacks. Finally, they entered an empty room with no furniture or windows in it. The two doors in the room shut suddenly, closing off all the exits. Sayomi just started to laugh like a maniac, throwing her head back in mad laughter.

"Sayomi-chan, what's going on?" Watanuki yelled in confusion.

"Isn't it obvious?" Dômeki said. "This is a trap."

"And all of you fell for it," the goth girl laughed. "How pathetic is that?"

"Quit messing around and show us your true form," Yuko said patiently. "Cast off that human disguise."

"So there was no fooling you, witch," Sayomi said turning around to face them. "Well then, Yuko are you ready to become one of us?" Sayomi's eyes started turning a dull, lifeless yellow.

KH-KH-KH

Xion followed the Bad Dog Heartless into a mansion without realizing it. By the time she caught up and disposed of the Heartless, she was deep within the manor. Before she got a chance to absorb her surroundings, several Heartless appeared in front of her. She readied her weapon and charged them, giving them everything she's got.

KH-KH-KH

Watanuki could only watch in horror as Sayomi slowly transformed into a Heartless. In many ways, she looked like a female version of a Neoshadow with a few exceptions. The Heartless' face was more human like and the skin had a dark shade of purple. Her antennae stick up more than a regular Neoshadow and it was wearing a black kimono while hovering several feet in the air.

"Yuko…" Watanuki said trying to keep himself from screaming, "What is that thing?"

"A Heartless, a creature from the deepest shadows," the witch replied. "A being who's only propose is to rob the hearts of others. But the question is; what does it want from me?"

"I WANT YOU TO DIE!" the Heartless screamed at charged straight at them.

"Dômeki, now!" Yuko ordered.

Dômeki raised his bow and fired an arrow at the Heartless. The arrow shined like a beam of light due to the teen's natural exorcist abilities. The arrow pierced the Heartless and the creature cried out in pain as it dissolved in black smoke.

It was only then did Watanuki realize why Yuko wanted to bring Dômeki along; for protection. "You knew that Sayomi was that thing in disguise, did you Yuko-san."

"Of course," the witch said simply. "She was able to change her appearance, but she couldn't change her dark aura. That's why I didn't let her go with you to fetch Dômeki-kun. Heartless are attached to strong hearts and strange powers. Because of your cursed blood Watanuki, I have no doubt she wanted to steal your heart. Leaving her alone with you would be like asking a fox to guard a chicken coop. But what I am worried about is that she was not the mastermind behind her plan; Heartless usually don't think for themselves."

"I feel insulted…," said a voice that wavered in the air. Black smoke swirled and filled the room forming a miniature twister. Out of the whirlwind came forth Sayomi in her Heartless form with murder in her eyes. "We higher Heartless have minds of our own," she hissed.

"How did you come back!" Watanuki yelled. "You are proposed to be dead!"

"Fool, only if my heart is release can I be defeated!" it boasted. "And only a keyblader could do that! So all of you are out of luck."

"I wouldn't count us out just yet," Yuko warned. "Not with Hitsuzen on our side."

As soon as those words left the witch's mouth, Xion burst into the room with her keyblade. For the past ten minutes, she had been fighting Heartless all over the mansion looking for a way out. "Great, another one," she cursed as she saw the floating Heartless.

The Heartless shrieked and cast Aeroga on the girl keyblader causing her to spin uncontrollably in the air. Dômeki readied another arrow and fired at the creature. The Heartless was ready for the teen this time and caught the arrow in its hand. Unfortunately for it, Dômeki's pure essence was on the arrow causing the Heartless' hand to burn. The foul creature and drop the arrow, inadvertently releasing Xion from the Aeroga spell. Xion then focus all of her power to charge her keyblade with light, and then released a series of barrages against the attacking Heartless. The Heartless known as Sayomi gave up the ghost and released its giant crystal heart.

"Is everyone okay?" Xion asked. She felt a bit awkward since she did not know anybody in the room. "My name is Xion by the way," she said to break the ice.

"Hello Xion, my name is Yuko," the witch introduced herself, "and the two gentlemen over there is Kimihiro Watanuki and Shizuka Dômeki. You are pretty skilled with the keyblade."

"The keyblade…so that's what it is called…" said a voice that filled the room. Everyone look for the origin of the voice, but could not find it. "When I first saw the keyblade I wanted to destroy it,… but now I want its power…" Is was then, they realize that the voice was coming from a hidden speaker implanted somewhere in the room.

"I take it, you're the mastermind," Yuko said to the voice.

"I guess you could say that," the voice said with faux modesty.

"So what are you planning," Yuko pressed on. "Why are you after me and Xion?"

"Find me and maybe I will tell you," the voice said before cutting out.

"How are we supposed to find him?" Watanuki asked.

"By going to the place where all rats hide," Yuko said, "the attic."

Several lower-level Heartless appeared surrounding the group. "It looks like he's not going to make it easy for us," Xion said as she readied her keyblade.

The group fought their way out and ran into the hallways looking for the stairs. They were on the second level, so the entrance to the attic must be on the third floor. It did not take them long to reach the third lever, but they encounter several Heartless there. It took a while, but they defeated the Heartless and found the attic. When they entered the space, they saw it was a huge room filled with computer monitors and equipment. On every monitor was an image taken by a security camera from around the city. Finally at the center of the room was a man with long hair, glasses, sitting with his hands folded in his lap.

The man's hair covered most of his eyes and he look weak and scrawny. "You found me," he said in a cool voice. "Kudos."

"What do you want will us?" Xion demanded as she pointed her keyblade.

"What I want?…. I want power," the man said. "The name's Kaito by the way. In my many travels, I found out about the Heartless on this world and by controlling them, I learned many interesting secrets, such as the existence of other worlds. I also found out that if a powerful person becomes a Heartless then their Heartless would too be powerful. I want to control the most powerful Heartless this world has to offer and I found one person who can give that to me."

Yuko sneered, "So your plan was to turn me into a Heartless so you can control me and my power."

"Exactly," Kaito nodded. "Your ability to grant wishes is…well, amazing. Now imagine a wish-granting Heartless in my control. I will be unstoppable, especially with that keyblade of yours child."

Xion clutched her keyblade tighter and stared daggers at the man. "Well, you can't have it. I worked too hard trying to get this thing."

"The choice is not yours to make," Kaito continued as dozens of Heartless appeared. "With that weapon, I will be able to travel across many worlds and conquer them. NOW MY PETS ATTACK THEM!" he ordered the Heartless. The Heartless however, did not attack, but stared blankly at him. "What are you waiting for? Attack! Listen to me!"

"The Heartless take orders from no one," Yuko said as the Heartless started to close around Kaito. "The Heartless only fed on the dark will of a person, making one's heart even more corrupt and open to the darkness. They were only fattening you up for slaughter."

The creatures of the dark drew nearer towards Kaito as he started to panic. "No! Don't come any closer!" It was too late; the Heartless ganged up on him and stole his heart.

Yuko just shook her head, "Those who forsaken themselves will soon find themselves as puppets to the very forces they were trying to control."

Once the Heartless was done with Kaito they turned and faced the group will a hungry look in their eyes.

"What are we doing to do?" Watanuki dreaded.

"I got a few arrows left," Dômeki said drawing back his bow.

"I fought tougher Heartless than them before," Xion said as she readied her keyblade.

"That won't be necessary," Yuko said as she pulled out a paper talisman, "This should be enough." As the Heartless charged, Yuko threw the talisman in the air where it burst into flames. The flames grew bigger and lunged at the creatures of darkness incinerating them leaving nothing left.

"You could have used that from the get-go!" Watanuki yelled.

"What fun would that be?" the witch laughed.

"Excuse me," Xion meekly asked, "but can you really granted wishes?"

"That depends on the wishes, my dear," Yuko said. "But yes, I can grant wishes that the heart and soul desire. I sensing that you have a wish."

Xion bit her bottom lip, afraid that Yuko might not like her wish or worse; grant it. "You see…it's just that…I wish I knew what the right choice to make is." She dropped her head down and looked at her feet, scared that she made a fool of herself. Then she felt something inside, she did not know what it was, but she guessed it was determination. "No, what I really want is the courage to do the right thing."

"Then just do it," Dômeki said flatly. "If you know what the right choice is, then you should do it without hesitation."

"I would…but…," Xion was on the verge of tears, but tears just will not come out; a price one pays for having no heart. "I'm just so afraid what's going to happen to me if I do…"

Watanuki placed a comforting arm around the girl. "You shouldn't be afraid Xion-chan. I don't know what this choice is, but if it's truly the right choice then things will work out in the end."

"The boys are right," Yuko added, "If the opportunity of making a right choice presents itself, then one should take it. And for you Xion, the first step is making this wish."

Xion wiped her eyes even though there were no tears. "Yes, all of you are right," she nodded. "Miss. Yuko, could you please grant me my wish?"

"Yes," the witch smiled. "The price for your wish is the keychain that is on your keyblade."

It was then Xion remember that she used a new keychain for her keyblade. She pulled it off, watched as her weapon turned back into the Kingdom Key, and gave the chain to Yuko. 'It's a shame,' she thought. 'I really like that keychain. I was hoping I could give it to Roxas before I go… I guess that was a pipe dream…'

A portal with the light of crimson, setting sun appeared. Looking into the portal, one of Sora's memories awakened within her. She saw in her mind's eye a blue-hair young woman telling a young Sora to protect Riku if he walks a dark path. Experiencing the memory it was then Xion knew what to do. Just as if Sora would have to protect Riku, she would have to protect Sora, even if it means that she will fade away forever. "I'm ready to go now," she said full of resolve.

Xion slowly disappeared into the portal not turning back once. Watanuki watched her and could have sworn her appearance was slowly changing to that of a brown-hair teen boy.

Day 357: The Other Side of Tears

It was the end of a long day and Yuko was enjoying a drink of sake in her backyard while watching the cherry blossoms bloom. It was a beautiful sight, but she could not help but think about the future. 'So many events would have to happen before the worlds can become one again…' She looked at the keychain Xion gave her as payment, 'This keychain can become a formable weapon in the right hands… Matthew's youngest son…, he could have the power to awaken its full power.'

Watanuki came out in the backyard and start serving Yuko some Teppan. "Today was a beautiful day wasn't it?" the teen rejoiced.

"Yes it was," the witch agreed.

"I didn't see any spirits today, we didn't have any weird customers; today was perfect. Although, I'm feeling like I'm forgetting something." Watanuki paused to think about. "It's weird; I can't remember what happened yesterday. I mean, I can recall certain things like the couple that was looking for their sons, Sayomi, and that weird man that controlled all of those monsters. However, I feel like there was someone else…someone that needed our help and we helped her. The more I tried to remember, the more the memory slips away."

"I'm pretty sure you will remember it one day Watanuki-kun," Yuko said as she took another sip of her sake. The teen nodded and left Yuko alone to check on the dessert he was baking. Once alone, Yuko smiled to herself and said, "So, was it the right choice?"

"Yes, but everybody is starting to forget about me. Even Watanuki has trouble remembering me." A faint silhouette of Xion appeared before Yuko. Even with all of her powers, the witch had trouble seeing her and Xion was slowly fading out. "Roxas has defeated me and now there is a chance that Sora can be whole again. I just wish…that I was real for one second…so I can truly know what it is like to have a heart and memories of my own."

"But Xion, you are real," Yuko said shocking the girl. "You may have Sora's memories, but you formed your own memories with Roxas and Axel. You don't have a heart and yet you were able to form connections with people who care about you, and that is the basis of a heart. There will come a day Xion, where everything will be set right. And on that day, Sora will come for you and you will be your own person. Also, even if everyone in the universe forgets, I won't forget you. I couldn't even if I tried."

Xion felt a warmness in her chest where her heart should be and was shocked when real tears fell on her cheeks. "Thank you…," she said quietly as she was fading. "Thank you for everything," and with that, Xion faded from this existence.

Yuko poured another round and held her cup up high. "A toast to you Xion," she proclaimed, "and the beautiful day you left us. May you return someday." She finished her drink and sighed deeply, thinking about what needs to be done. "By the way DiZ, if you're out there listening you still own me payment for delivering Xion in your hands."

The End

The story continues in: Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom Volume One