All right, let's get this started then.

First up, the legal stuff. It's pointless and has no real weight, but it's here anyway.

All characters and locations are the properties of their respective copyright holders, be it Square, Disney or whoever else. Whilst no-one reads my stuff, it's unlikely that I'm gonna get sued over it, and I'd be flattered either way, but please don't.

Second, content warning. This fic contains definite Self-Insertion/Sue and probable Canon Defilement, along with the occasional minor sporking from continuities outside KH canon. If any of this offends you, stop reading NOW. Although why are you reading fan-fiction if you get offended by Canon Defilement?

Third, this is a sequel to my earlier KH Fic, Blank Slate. Read that first, if you haven't already, so you actually know what's going on.

Anyway…

Kingdom Hearts – Tabula Rasa.

Chapter One – Discovery

World – Destiny Islands

Kazé was sat on the beach again. For the last few days there had been a voice echoing around in his head. A voice he didn't recognise. It was a lot like the voice he'd heard in his dreams before being released from the virtual world, but still different.

And then there was the pain.

It had started a few days ago, after he lost control and shouted in anger. It sent a wave of searing pain up his arm from the wound he'd received in the coliseum. A wound that had re-appeared as a thin ink-blue line on his fore-arm. Now, it was starting to grow, with the dark blue expanding outward like veins, making a bizarre pattern on his skin.

A couple of Shadows popped up out of the sand. It was now so common that he was almost getting used to it. But for whatever reason they were ignoring him.
Strange...
Whatever the reason was, he wasn't going to keep them around long enough to find out. He levered himself into a standing position, and slid out the Raven's Wing. Doing so caused some discomfort in his left arm, as if the corruption was reacting to it. Either way, it wasn't important right now.

Given how weak the Shadows were in comparison with the other types of Heartless he'd faced on his journey before, it was no surprise that he made relatively short work of them. His skill had definitely increased as well. Suddenly, something in his head started burning
Impressive.
It was the voice again.
What?
You have grown in strength. Maybe it's almost time.
What are you?
All will become clear in time.
Kazé was vaguely aware of his left hand twitching slightly on its own, before everything went black.

He woke up to find himself laying on his bed.
Huh. Maybe it was all just a dream...
Except it wasn't, a point demonstrated when he lifted his arm to see that the corruption had spread even more.
"Oh good. You're awake." His father was sat a few feet away.
"What happened?"
"Sora found you collapsed on the beach. I don't suppose you're going to tell me why."
Kazé lifted his arm.
"I don't know for sure, but I think this may have something to do with it."
"What is it?"
"I don't know. But I've been hearing voices since it appeared. I think it might be trying to take control."
His father's expression changed. He knew what was coming next.
"So you're leaving then."
"I have to. It's too dangerous for everyone else if I stay." Kazé slid open a drawer. Inside was the black robe he'd taken from his replica. "Maybe I'll find a cure, maybe I won't. Until then, I won't risk everyone by staying here. I'm sorry to have to do this to you again." He slid on the robe, altering the rest of his clothing.
"All right. But there is something I want to show you; something that might be of some use to you."

The pair were stood out on the beach. Kazé's father snapped his fingers once, spawning a portal than resembled a shimmering pool of water.
"Amazing. I guess this is a portal of light or something?"
"Correct. The Paths of Light are one of the many ways of travelling the universe. Just concentrate on where you want to go, and it will take you there. Try it for yourself." He snapped his fingers again, closing the Path with a high-pitched whine. Kazé focused on a world he'd been to before, and snapped his fingers, the sound muted slightly by his glove. At once, another portal opened with a sound like a geyser erupting. Kazé raised his hood.
"Well, I guess this is it then. For now."
"For now. But what do you want me to tell everyone?"
"The truth, I guess."
"So where are you going first?"
"To find someone I think might be able to help."
Then he stepped into the portal, which absorbed him with a brief sucking sound. And then it closed, leaving his father alone on the beach again.

World: Radiant Garden

Kazé stepped out of the portal, which closed behind him. Behind him, the castle towered up above, and the town was sprawled out in front of him. Thankfully, the defence system didn't react to his arrival.
Guess my signature's still in the system.
However, almost immediately he was surrounded by Shadows, which did set off the system. Ignoring the building discomfort in his arm, he slid out the Raven's wing and charged at the closest one, even though it seemed to be ignoring him. However, destroying this one got the others' attention. The first lunged at him and missed, the second tried to take out his legs and a third leapt straight for his throat. Kazé swatted the jumping Heartless away, and half spun, half ducked to take out the one trying to hamstring him. Just as he smashed the last one into the ground, something in his left arm began to tingle again, and suddenly he blacked out.

He woke to find himself stood on a stained glass platform.
Not this again...
This one was different to the ones he'd been on before. It was green, and rather than the three symbols there was an image of himself, asleep. Above it was a group of four circles, each carrying a picture. Sora, Riku, Kairi and his father. Around the edge was the same style of dragon that was on his pendant.
So where am I?
"Inside your mind. Where else?"
It was the voice again.
Who are you?
"Who I am isn't important right now. However, you are in more danger than you realise."
How?
The voice laughed. It was an incredibly high pitched, cutting laugh, of the sort usually reserved for a villain too far on the wrong side of sanity, but even creepier.
"You'll see soon enough."
Then a white light engulfed the platform.

He came round slower this time, and was vaguely aware of what people were saying.
How did he get there?
I don't know.
Does Sora know?
I think so. He knew he'd left, and guessed he'd ended up here. He came to find someone who might be able to help him.
But what's the story behind that?
He opened his eyes. From the looks of things, he was in Merlin's house again. Someone had pulled back his hood, and he was propped up on a chair. His left sleeve had been pulled up, and he could see that the corruption in his arm had spread again, where it was starting to permeate the flesh between the veins it had already formed.
"I can't really say. It looks Heartless, but I've never seen anything like it before." Merlin was musing on the nature of the corruption in Kazé's arm.
"Wait, seriously?" That little revelation piqued Kazé's curiosity.
"Ah. You're awake. Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing, but it seems like the best conclusion. But that's not the only thing about it."
"It's spreading. It grew from one line..." Kazé traced the original wound with his right thumb "... out to all this. Which means..."
"...Eventually it'll reach your heart, and that'll be it." Leon was leaning against the wall behind Kazé. The teen was genuinely shocked at this conclusion.
"I guess that all makes sense, given how I think it may have happened. So what happened out there?"
"We found you unconscious on the floor by the castle after responding to the alert. Although we didn't know who it was at the time; you were hooded, after all. But you said you knew how this happened?"
"I think it may have happened after I was slashed in the arm by an Air Soldier. That's how my Replica ended up being created from tainted blood, after all."
"I see. Well, I think I was able slow the corruption, but I have no clue how to eliminate it entirely. For now, I guess you'll just have to cope with it."
Kazé stood up and went to leave.
"I think you can see why I chose to leave. I'm going to keep searching until I find a cure, however long it takes." He opened the door, reaching to pull up his hood with the other hand. "For now though..."
"Good luck."
The sound of a geyser echoed in the street outside, followed by a sucking noise and a high pitched whine.