Disclaimer: I do not own the storyline, characters, or otherwise of Kingdom Hearts. I do, however, own the game, which I've beaten twice already.

Explanation: A few of you may have read my other story, Kingdom Hearts: Keybearer Trinity Plus One, which I may or may not have abandoned according to reviews. Well, as it just so happens, that story may have been published first, but this is the original behind it, written first before I even played Kingdom Hearts. I would have adjusted the other story, but I let it stay on since I got enough reviews. I found this story in a forgotten folder and decided to rewrite it, but it still has the same basic idea. So here we are with Kingdom Hearts: Bleach. Please Enjoy!

Summary: Somewhere between light and darkness exists the place called Kingdom Hearts. Now, Kingdom Hearts' own Princess of Heart has emerged, stronger than the rest and the only being needed to unseal it and release the eternal darkness upon the universe. Can Sora prevent this from happening, or will the Evil Ones reach her first?

Pairings: Mainly Sora/Riku and Ansem/OC. Hints of Leon/Yuffie, Cloud/Aerithe and Tidus/Selphie. Implied Maleficent/Ansem, Kairi/Sora, and Kairi/Riku.

Chapter One: A Creation born of Darkness (and Ignorance)

Part One: Darkness in Lucida

When you walk away you don't here me say

'Please, oh baby, don't go.'

Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight.

It's hard to let it go.

Kitsunaka dashed through the halls of the castle, silver-white hair flying behind her and dark blobs with yellow eyes- premature, undeveloped Heartless- at her heels. Her beautiful maroon eyes flitted from her surroundings to the ground; she did not want to be caught should a not-quite-complete Heartless rise through the floor. She was not quite sure where she was running; the castle in which she lived had many long, winding halls that seemed to stretch on forever.

All was dark., save for the occasional flash of lightning that illuminated all. The Heartless had long since doused all of the flaming torches that would have lit the castle on such a night to give themselves advantages in the darkness. When the sky was clear, the moonlight was enough to see by in the halls and rooms and the torches would have been unnecessary.

There was a sharp pain on her ankle and she dashed forward with additional speed, though her ankle screamed with pain from the scratch inflicted upon it by the Heartless. Kitsunaka screamed inwardly from fear, agony, and despair as she searched for any place to hide. However, the hall was empty and unfortunately there seemed to be nothing in it for her to tip over and block the Heartless's path.

Finally, Kitsunaka found a door at the end of the hall. She pulled it open and stepped into the library. She slammed the door behind her with surprising strength and rammed the spear of a nearby statue through the handles to lock it in place as the Heartless banged against it, trying to get in and consume her heart. Her parents had fallen to them and so had all of the servants. The Heartless had consumed them as her fear was swiftly consuming her. Kitsunaka tried to forget about them and lose herself in one of her favorite books, but she was too afraid. She was the sole survivor, and soon she may not even have that.

Just when she felt as though she were entirely alone, she could feel the presence of someone behind her. Lightning flashed as she turned to face a tall man with long, silver hair, dark tan skin, and piercing amber-gold eyes.

"Ansem, you're okay!" Kitsunaka exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his leg. She was only three years old and could only reach his leg. "I thought everyone was taken by the Heartless. I'm so glad that you're alive…"

"Princess," Ansem said almost sadly, "Please, don't be so glad that I am here."

"What do you mean…?" Kitsunaka looked at him questioningly, but he said nothing, "Ansem…?"

Another flash of lightning revealed to Kitsunaka what had happened to him and she stumbled backward.

"Run!" Ansem commanded as black, feathered wings slowly emerged from his back, "I can't hold it off much longer! Go, quickly! There's a backdoor- you can escape through there."

Wordlessly, Kitsunaka ran again, her muscles aching from fleeing for so long. But flee she must; she had seen. She knew what Ansem was. The lighting had enabled her vision, just for that moment, and that moment had been enough. She had seen the Heartless mark on his chest and the red stains on his gray lab coat and gloves.

The Princess was able to escape from the castle before the Heartless smelled her out again and came after her. She was far ahead of them, but one followed from the sky. It was a giant black bird, the only other color of it being its golden-amber eyes and the red of the Heartless mark upon its chest. It shrieked and dove down upon her, talons grazing her shoulder.

Kitsunaka yelped with pain but continued to run. She would not fall prey to this Heartless, nor would any other have her. She could feel that this Heartless was different, though, as if it had consciousness. It was holding back, it was trying not to hurt her.

Still, fear drove her to the village, where men, women, and children alike were attempting to fight off more Heartless with dying torches and sharp weapons.

But the Heartless were winning.

The people were not prepared for such an attack, as was the peaceful way of Lucida. The terrible Heartless Phoenix dove upon them. It did not show the restraint for them that it did for Kitsunaka. It tore them to shreds with its talons and hooked beak, staining its dark feathers with their blood.

Kitsunaka kept running, searching for anywhere that she could hide. But there was no hiding from Heartless; only running, and run she did.

Talons raked her back and she shouted with shock and pain. The claws locked around her and she was lifted from the ground. After that, she knew no more…

Chapter One-

Part Two: Running From the Truth

You're giving me too many things.

Lately, you're all I need.

You smiled at me and said:

"Don't get me wrong I love you,

but does that mean I have to meet your father?

When we are older you'll understand what I meant when I said

'No, I don't think life is quite that simple.'"

Twenty Years Later

"Kitsunaka, look what I found!" fourteen year-old Sora said, waving his balled hand wildly. Kitsunaka, now twenty-three years old, sat patiently on her porch as he ran up to her. "Lookit, lookit!" he said childishly, "Look at the pretty feather I found!"

Kitsunaka sighed. Sora had brought her a feather almost every day for the past eleven years, and she had fashioned from them dream catchers, headdresses, costume wings, and more. If he found them on the beach, they were usually just seagull feathers. If they came from the forest, then they were more exotically colored parrot feathers. Seagull feathers were used in headdresses, both were used for dream catchers, and costume wings were completely parrot feathers, sometimes with a few seagull feathers at the ends.

But the feather that Sora brought her this day was different. It was all black with purple shine. It seemed a soft, warm feather, but it was hard like stone and burned like ice that sticks to one's skin. It did not belong to any of the island birds. Kitsunaka fingered it with trouble and asked, "Where did you find this?"

"By the waterfall," Sora said, "I don't see birds there often. This feather is special."

"Yes, it most certainly is," Kitsunaka said. She felt something about the feather, knowing that it was different, a feather in every aspect, yet not a feather at all.

"Good morning, Kitsunaka! Hi, Sora!" a bubbly red-headed girl bounced toward them, "I haven't seen you all morning, Sora. You're supposed to be gathering supplies for the raft."

"I'm sorry, Kairi, but I had to give Kitsunaka her feather," Sora flashed his trademark goofy grin to get on Kairi's good side.

"Eleven years and you're still giving her those things," Kairi sighed, "But you are good at finding them. That's at least one skill."

"I have other skills!" Sora protested, "I have loads of other skills! I have more skills than anyone I've met!"

"Oh, and what would those be? Wiggling out of chores, maybe, or sleeping until eight o'clock in the evening?" Kairi said slyly. Sora pouted cutely and Kitsunaka laughed at them good-naturedly.

"So there you two are," Riku said as he approached them, "I've been looking everywhere. Oh, hey, Kitsunaka, I guess that Sora brought you another feather…?"

"Yes, and most peculiar one at that," Kitsunaka held the feather in the sunlight, as if this motion would reveal some secret, "It seems familiar to me."

"Do you remember anything about your world?" Riku asked.

"I'm afraid not," Kitsunaka replied, "I was only three years old when I arrived here… even younger than you, Kairi."

"You don't remember anything at all?" Sora inquired, cocking his head cutely.

"I've told you before; my memories of my world have long since been lost," Kitsunaka smiled, "But I'm sure that they'll return one day. I think this feather might be a clue."

"Do you ever want to go back?" Kairi asked.

"Well, I'm just fine where I am on the islands," Kitsunaka said, "But I wouldn't mind going to see it, just for a day or two."

"I want to see it too," Riku said.

"Yeah, along with any other worlds out there," Sora said, "All three of us do. We're going to see them all!"

"Don't get too far ahead of yourselves," Kitsunaka said cheerfully, "You might just find one that you want to stay on, and you wouldn't want to wander too far away from it and then become unable to find that world again. Now run along, children, I'm certain that you want to get to finish that raft and get going on your grand adventure. Be sure to write everything down so I can read all about it."

"Okay!" Sora nodded, "See you later!"

He left, Kairi following him swiftly. But Riku stayed behind with Kitsunaka.

"Riku, aren't you going to go with them?" Kitsunaka asked.

"No," Riku shook his head, "I was wondering if you want to come, too… then you could see your world and meet everyone; maybe even your parents!"

"I'm afraid I can't go," Kitsunaka frowned, "I've got a lot of things I need to take care of here. Who else is going to make sure that Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka don't hurt themselves practicing? Who else is going to make costume wings for you children at Halloween? I would love to go, Riku, but I'm not an adventurer… I'm not brave like you and Sora and Kairi."

"Okay," Riku said after a few moments of silence, "But if you change your mind, let me know." And with that, he ran down the beach to help Sora and Kairi on the raft.

Kitsunaka looked at the feather again. "So strange…" she whispered to herself. Sighing softly, she pulled out her needle and thread and set the black feather aside before beginning work on a pair of wings for Tidus.

A breeze came in from the ocean and tugged at the feather, calling it back into the air. It answered the call and was lifted by the breeze.

"Oh!" Kitsunaka exclaimed as she realized that the feather was floating away. She set the macaw-feather wings down and tried to grab the feather, but it had flown out of her reach. She felt empty without it, but quickly set back to her work. Halloween was coming soon, and she needed to finish before then.

"I think something's troubling Kitsunaka," Kairi said suddenly.

"It's Halloween time," Sora shrugged, "She's stressed out from working so hard, probably."

"No, I don't think that's it."

"Well, whatever it is-" Riku interjected, "-it isn't and business of ours. We should just leave her alone for a while and let her sort things out for herself."

A breeze drifted to them, and on that breeze flew the feather. Sora was the first to notice it.

"Oh, Kitsunaka must have accidentally lost her feather in the breeze. I should go take it to her," Sora said.

"Well, don't take too long," Kairi shouted after him as he ran down the beach and caught the feather out of the air.

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon!" Sora shouted back to her.

The young, spiky-haired boy bounced to Kitsunaka's hut. He could hear muffled sobs, and, immediately curious, he stepped over to the source of the sobs. He was shocked to see that the tears were streaming from Kitsunaka's eyes. This was very strange to him; she never cried. She was always cheerful and happy and helpful and caring. He had never seen her this way.

"Hey…" he said quietly, "Are you okay? You didn't hurt yourself with the needle, did you?"

"Oh, Sora…" Kitsunaka sobbed, "I… I lied. I do remember something; it haunts me e-every night in my dreams. I never told you or Riku or Kairi… because… b-because I didn't want to d-di-discourage you from leaving to find other w-worlds."

"You can tell me," Sora said. "Honest. I won't tell Riku or Kairi if you don't want me to."

"You're a good person," she said, wiping away the tears with a delicate, white-gloved finger, "It happened when I was a little girl, the night before I woke up here. My world was being attacked by evil, black creatures called Heartless. They killed everyone but me, and…" she broke out into another fit of sobs.

Sora patted her back, "It's okay. Just let it out."

"Ansem…"

"What about Ansem?" Sora asked, "Who was Ansem?"

"He was my c-caretaker. He always looked after me b-because my father was too busy, being King and all…"

"So you're a princess!"

"No, not anymore. Back then I was, but now I've nothing to be princess of. That night, I ran to the library and took cover there. Ansem was there, and he told me to run away because he'd been attacked, too, and he'd lost his heart. He started transforming after I ran. It's been twenty years, but my heart still weeps for what became of my world and its people. I was able to escape somehow, but I don't remember how I got here…"

"I'm sorry, Kitsunaka," he said, "About everything. I didn't know… I had no idea."

"It isn't your fault," she replied, "I was bound to tell someone sometime, and I'm glad that it was you. You're an easy person to talk to… so understanding. Now, Kairi and Riku are probably missing you by now… let's keep this our little secret."

"Okay… that reminds me!" Sora said, "I brought you your feather. I think it blew away."

"It did, but you can keep this one," Kitsunaka smiled, wiping away the last of her tears, "Keep it safe."

"I will," Sora dashed back to the raft, tucking the feather into his pocket.

He made it back to the raft quickly.

"What took you so long?" Riku demanded.

"Oh, nothing," Sora said.

Chapter One-

Part Three: A New Kind of Darkness

The daily things (like this and that and that)

That keep us all busy are confusing me…

That's when you came to me and said:

"Wish I could prove I love you,

But does that mean I have to walk on water?

When we are older you'll understand,

It's enough when I say so.

And maybe some things are that simple."

Sunset soon fell upon the islands and parents patient tucked in their protesting children. Kairi, Sora, and Riku reluctantly left their nearly completed raft and said their goodbyes. Kitsunaka continued her work, however, averse to go to sleep. She did not want to relive that night; she did not want to be chased through the halls again by a mass of black-blue globs or see Ansem begin a long, painful transformation. She did not want to accept that it had really happened.

It was growing late. Kitsunaka was only kept up by the sharp pinpricks upon her fragile hands. The stimulus was most painful, but effective nonetheless. But finally, after many pokes, she put away her day's work and settled into her bed.

Sleep beckoned her, and in the late hours of the night (or the early hours of the morning) she was finally forced to submit, despite her attempts to simply lie awake in bed. But this night was different.

She was not visited by images of that night, but was instead led through darkness by the sharp screeches of a hawk. When she finally did reach the light, she found that there was nothing there.

The princess woke to a high-pitched scream. She dashed outside to see that the scream had come from Kairi, who cowered behind Sora and Riku. The boys each held two wooden swords and were trying to repel black creatures that crawled out of the sea foam.

Kitsunaka knew what the creatures were, though it took her a moment to recognize them. No longer were they simple black blots. They had grown and advanced; evolved. Their heads, arms, and legs were defined. The two wiggling antenna that had not existed before moved at all angles to find hearts. She knew that it was her they were after, and that they would devour anyone in the way.

And there, flying high above them all, was the black bird that Kitsunaka had seen so many years ago. It had not changed in shape nor size, but its feathers were longer and the Heartless mark upon its chest was more defined.

"These things just keep coming!" Riku shouted, "How can we get rid of them?"

"I don't know!" Sora called back, "Riku, I'm scared!"

"Take Kairi and go to Kitsunaka," Riku ordered, "I'll fend them off as long as I can. But if I don't make it…"

"Don't say that because you're going to make it!" Sora yelled at him, "I'd wish you good luck, but you don't need any! You're the best fighter on the island, Riku, and no evil bug-things are going to kill you!"

"Sora…"

But the brunette was long gone with Kairi by then, running up to Kitsunaka's hut near the top of the waterfall, leaving Riku to face them all alone. Needless to say, the silver-haired teen didn't pull and punches. He let the Shadow Heartless have it, knocking them back to the ocean and into each other.

As he fought the Heartless on the ground, Kitsunaka was fixed upon the Heartless in the air. It swooped down upon her several times, and every time she managed to dodge nimbly. Talons did not rake her, nor did beak pierce her.

The trees lashed in the wind and struck the Phoenix Heartless's wings. With a shriek, it fell to the ground as the trees continued their assault and coconuts flew, landing cruelly upon it.

Kitsunaka approached it as Sora and Kairi neared her. They watched with wonder, unseen and unheard.

"I knew, even on that first night…" she said, extending her arm slightly, "I knew what you'd become… what your life had become. I knew also that we would meet again… and that the feather was yours. I must say that I'm still glad that we did meet one more time, even if you're like this."

The bird crooned slightly as she knelt beside it and patted its feathery head. "I've missed you… Ansem."

You know the drill. Click the review button.

Ansem: I'm a HEARTLESS?

Riku: Ha, ha.

Sora: It's not so bad once you get used to it.

Kairi: Sora, you didn't get used to it.

Sora: Oh, yeah.

Ansem: I'm a HEARTLESS? You are evil!

Don't listen to Ansem. I'm just a cute, innocent, Angel Wings cough, cough, Heartless cough, cough, cough.

Riku: Figures. Now REVIEW!