A Deal With The Devil

By Snare-chan

Pairings: None
Ratings: PG
Category(ies): General
Warning(s): None
Status: One-shot, complete
Summary: Sora, having just had the metalflare he'd found recently transformed into a summon, decides to say hello to his new 'ally'.

Notes: I'd contemplated Anime and Kingdom Hearts crossing over before, but being challenged to actually do it was a completely different matter entirely. I had to really think about how it was possible to happen without introducing an entirely different world to the game, and this is what I managed to come up with. I do hope it's original enough.

The idea for the metalflare was actually inspired by the other summoning gems found throughout the game, the first part having to deal with nature (fire, water, earth, and nature) and then with something having to do with 'light' (glow, gleam, shine, and spark). I got the idea for metal from both the Chinese elements and Bakura's Sennen Item (The Ring is gold, gold is a metal). Flare was brought to you by the Thesaurus, a writer's number one best friend.

Disclaimer: I dun own Kingdom Hearts or YuGiOh, wish I did like everyone else. They should put KH and YGO in stock, then I'd buy it all!

Dedication: To Ashenwings (Khaas), because she is just as amused at the prospect of being able to summon Yami Bakura on a whim as I am. Oh, and for challenging me to do it. Mwahaha.

Sora had never seen anything like the metalflare before. The usual magic trinkets the boy picked up were of stone or something similar, not anything like this. The one he'd found recently was a peculiar ball of misshapen gold, like it had been something else once, but had been melted down.

He'd almost mistaken it as nothing when he'd first set his eyes on it, but since Goofy had thought it most interesting, he'd kept it. Some time later, the Fairy Godmother had revealed to them that it was actually another summon, another unfortunate soul that had had their world destroyed just like the others and been cast out. A strong heart.

As he held the remains, the empty shell that had housed the character, his fingertips left nothing behind. The spotless gold glistened mischievously at him, as if knowing something he didn't and mocking him for it. This one was not like the others, the previous items having been more tranquil. There was nothing peaceful or innocent about any of it.

Shrugging though, he stood up, dismissing the piece of metal into one of his pockets. A summon was a summon, and he needed all the help he could get.

Summoning his Keyblade, the sleek black metal of the Oblivion coming to his hand almost gleefully, a bout of nervousness buried itself in his gut. He'd done this sort of thing before, but all the same, every time he thought about calling upon an otherworlder it made him a bit worried. Especially the first time he did it. Sora had always just been shy about meeting new 'people', and considering they were from worlds hardly even his own, it made him all the more unsure.

Concentrating, the spell began to come to him in whispers, telling him the motions required to pull the being he wished into his plane of existence.

"Courage!" In rapid succession, he crossed his blade horizontally across his chest and snapped it out to his right. With the flick of his wrist, he was holding it straight up in the same instant, and with one final motion he twisted his wrist again, as if he were unlocking a keyhole.

While he was doing this, a dark purple-and-black smoke started to cloud the Secret Waterway, covering the entire cavern in its thick fog. All of it billowed with power and age, disrupting the senses and freezing him all at once.

Ghostly spirits appeared and circled him in a flurry, their moans loud hisses of pain and screams of pure agony. When they rushed around and over him, they ruffled his clothes and hair, and almost made him have to close his eyes against their fury.

Then it was all over.

The shadows, the spirits, the cold… they all disappeared, drifting away as quickly as they had come. As the room slowly began to fade back, a figure began to come into existence. At first the man (or was it a woman?) was shadowed, their body appearing as wisps of gray and black smoke that whooshed past until their entire body was complete.

When all of the darkness had completely filtered out of the room, it was just the two of them. Though Sora knew he should probably say something, he couldn't help but just look first. It was actually a surprise that he had actually summoned a person… or at least something that resembled a human being. Long white hair cascaded down the back of whoever it was, the longest tip almost hitting the small of their back. A long black raincoat hung down to their ankles, just barely escaping from scraping across the cobblestone and puddles on the floor.

The person's head tilted slightly to eye him over his shoulder, causing Sora to almost start at being caught staring. He smiled meekly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Um… hi! I'm Sora."

Their head lowered a minuscule amount before they – no, he – turned completely around to face him. Now he had an even better look at the person; the guy was wearing a sailor's shirt that went well past his hips. It wasn't striped the usual white and blue though; instead, red and black stripes shot across it. Matching tight arm-socks went from elbow to hand, being cut off at the fingers – probably for easy grasping. On one side, his left, was a bleeding bandage on his upper arm, and on the other he sported a strange white contraption that was flat on top.

But what really caught Sora's eye was the golden item around his neck, a tethered strap attached to a rather large charm. It was circular with a big molded eye in its center and twinkled just like the golden mound in his pocket.

"Where am I?"

The question was barked in a harsh command, the tone almost causing Sora to flinch. Maybe this was why animals were only turned into summons and not normally people.

"In Traverse Town, in uh…well, the Secret Passageway, though I don't think it's really secret anymore," he laughed at his own joke, though the other didn't seem hardly as amused. "So…uh…?"

At the polite request for a name the other merely grunted, his arms crossing over his chest as he eyed him up and down. The boy only offered him a kind smile despite the obvious sizing-up he was receiving.

Instead of answering him though, he only got another question. "How did I get here?"

"I'm not…really sure," Sora answered honestly as he tucked his Keyblade on his back, not yet ready to put it away just in case, but tired of holding it. "All I know is that well…hm."

He had to pause, having never actually been asked that question before. That was probably more or less because animals can't talk, so he'd never had to explain this to anyone before. It almost made him wish Donald was here, because at least then he wouldn't have to do all of the thinking and explaining.

"Whenever a world is destroyed, the strong hearts – ya know, people kind of like you – are kind of put into this thing…" Sora paused, pulling out the hunk of gold from before and flashing it at him, "and are safe until the world is either restored or they find a new one. In this case though, I have a friend who can sort of release strong hearts temporarily…I think."

The brunette started to trail off as he realized what kind of stare he was receiving. A mixture of shock and denial flashed across the once emotionless and cold face of the person he'd summoned.

"That's impossible."

"What is?" Sora asked, confused. Had the other not known that the Heartless had already consumed his planet?

"My world can't be gone, not yet! Why, I was just fighting that be-damned Pharaoh when…"

And now it was the other's turn to trail off, a realization seeming to come to him as something clicked. With a snarl he suddenly kicked out at a wall, causing Sora to flinch once more.

"I'm sorry, I guess I should have-"

"Save it, brat!" the other spat.

Hoping to calm the man down, Sora ignored his cold tone and held up his hands in a peace offering, trying to make it clear he didn't want to have to fight the other.

"Hey, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. You see, I'm kind of on this um…journey, quest type of thing, and I was wondering if you could help me."

His words seemed to have finally gotten the other's full attention, the white-haired man pausing in the process of kicking his foot against the wall once more to instead wait. Slowly all the tension eased from his muscles before he raised a brow in Sora's direction.

"Help you? Why in hell would I want to help you?"

Sora bit his lip in thought, deciding not to say that he could help him out of the kindness of his heart. It was obvious that the stranger wasn't that nice.

"Well, I'm this… ok, don't laugh, but I'm a Keyblade Master. I'm trying to restore all the worlds and stuff and, well..."

"Now let me get this straight… your name is Sora," and here he stopped, waiting for a confirmation before continuing, "and you come from a completely different world than mine?"

Excited to know that things were finally progressing and that the other had actually been listening Sora nodded his head, "Yep!"

"And you're a 'Keyblade Master,' and you're trying to put the planets back together like jigsaw puzzles?"

"You got it!"

For a moment all he received was a blank stare, then suddenly he burst out laughing. The spontaneous laughing fit left Sora terribly startled, and the younger of the two took a hesitant step back.

"What's so funny?"

"You are what's so funny, you dolt. What's your little stunt got to do with me?"

Shifting from foot-to-foot Sora shrugged slightly. "If you help me, it will definitely go faster, and maybe I'll even find yours and help you put it back together! And who knows, if you come along, you might see some of your friends."

"I have no friends," the man scoffed, though it wasn't nearly as harsh as before. An intrigued sort of look crossed over his face, Sora taking this as a sign that the other was considering his offer. He seemed to notice this and replaced his curious look with a scowl, trying to discourage him even though it wasn't working. Hanging around Leon had prepared Sora for almost anybody.

"All you would have to do is help me fight from time to time, and in return I'll help you look and restore your world. Sound cool?"

"You are restoring the worlds already, aren't you?" Despite the question the other sounded almost amused, a smirk crossing his features. Absently, he waved a hand at him. "Fine, I'll help you, but on one condition. I don't care about my world, it can go to hell in a hand-basket for all I care, but there is… someone I'm interested in finding. Find the one named Yami Yugi and I'll call it a deal."

Hesitantly, Sora nodded, seeing no reason not to try. They shook briefly on it, the boy raising his blade and dismissing him before he realized he still didn't have the other's name.

"Hey, you never told me your name!"

As the other's body began to fade out he smirked, the look almost sending shivers down his spine.

"They call me Yami Bakura."

Fin-

A/N: I know the ending sounds a bit rushed, but I couldn't figure out what to add to it without making it sound like I was just slapping unneeded details in there that would disrupt the flow. All in all, I really liked this challenge and am glad I got the chance to write about Bakura and Sora actually sharing a conversation, though I wish I could have done more with it than what I did.

And why does Bakura sport a different look in this story? Why, if Final Fantasy characters can get a makeover, then I see no reason to leave him out of the loop! Personally, I think I gave the guy a major improvement. I mean blue, white, and black? What was that man thinking in the beginning of the Ancient Egypt Arc?