Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix, Tetsuya Nomura, Disney and other respective owners.

Warning: grammatical off, and any other mistakes.


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MISSING AND SEARCHING

~ Seeing You ~

Chapter summary: A day off doesn't mean that she can't see him. It's not like he's going away after all. EphemeraxSkuld

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Valentine's day – basically a day where you and your lover going on a dinner date, giving chocolates or flowers, and many more to convey your love. It wasn't a big deal for Skuld. So she went asleep again. She was tired because of mission collecting Lux like every day. However, the sunlight hit the girl's eyes through the slit of curtain, forcing her to wake up.

From the window of her room, she saw many wielders on streets. Well, of course they would. The Foretellers had declared this day as a holiday. They just went off and celebrated it with their lovers. Unlike those wielders on streets, she NEVER cared about it. It wasn't because she didn't have significant other. Well, probably, that's one of her reasons. It didn't make any sense since non-couples also celebrated it with their friends. She just… wanted to grab her blanket tightly and lay on her soft bed. For the long black haired girl, it was a good opportunity to take plenty of rest. Better to spend the Valentine's day with her number one OTP: she and her bed. With that in mind, she closed the curtain then covered herself with her blanket.

"Skuld!" remembering a certain someone's voice, she got up. It was like… something struck her head. What was it?

Wondering about it seemed pointless. As she couldn't force herself to sleep, she dressed quickly then ran to Fountain Square where she assembled her party before going off on a mission. She scanned her surroundings but only found Keyblade Bearers. Out of all people, there was no sign of that fluffy dandelion head.

Wait, was she expecting him here? Was she nuts? Okay, she didn't realize why she needed to find him out of blue. That didn't have a good reason for it. But, she had to find him. Or else— Skuld shook her head to regain her focus and forget those clouding thoughts.

Anyways, she kept waiting there, still no sign of his presence for an hour or two. Then she decided to sift through the town and asked his whereabouts. No one had spotted him in the entire day either. She ought to visit his house but she had no idea where he lived. At the end, she returned to the square and waited. Even the sky had reddened, and yet he's not here.

"Hello." a soft feminine voice called. The black haired girl turned to the source of the voice. The figure was wearing pink robe and fox mask. "You are Skuld, are you not?"

"M-Master Ava! Y-yes, that is my name."

"You look worn out. Are you alright? I saw you wandering here and there." Inquired Ava.

Skuld let out a sigh before asking, "Ephemera… do you know where he is?" That's right! Ephemera was fond of Master Ava. She might know something. After all, Skuld witnessed them talking yesterday after yesterday's mission.

"Ephemera? Ah, yes, he said that he's going out of the town for a day. I think he will return later at night." Ava responded, recalling the conversation she had with him yesterday.

"Oh," was Skuld's reply. If he's going to return latter at night, Valentine day might be over by then. Still and all, that was a relief for learning his whereabouts.

He's just gone for a day, but her heart was tingling. She already missed him this much for him disappearing one day. What if it grew into days, or weeks, until forever?

Ava studied Skuld's expression, "Are you really okay?"

"I'm fine, Master! Really!" Skuld convinced her with a fake smile and giggles. She gazed to other direction afterward. Ava realized the meaning of her pained expression.

"When he comes back, you'd better tell him directly."

"H-huh?"

"When there is someone who is important with all your heart," the pink robed girl put her hand on her chest. "you should convey how you truly feel before he's gone far away." Her voice softened with the mixture of pain and sadness. "If you're just waiting and never telling, you might lose him one day. He'd distance himself until you can't reach him anymore, no matter how close he is, just like me." Ava tried not to break down as she uttered her words. "It feels... like he's no longer there. You'll wonder whether he's going to come back or not. That's why... you should tell before he's gone, so you wouldn't have any regret."

"Master Ava," obviously Ava was talking about Ephemera and Skuld, Skuld herself was aware of that. However, she sensed the Vulpes's leader sadness. From the way she spoke, was she referring someone? Or was she mentioning her fellow comrades and her disappearing Master? Either way, she had to thank her for the advice. "Thank you, and I'm sorry."

"It is okay. Now you know that you shouldn't let go of the person you cared the most." the Vulpes leader suggested. "In any case, you should go back home. It's getting dark."


"Skuld, what's wrong? You're up and disappearing early in the morning then returning back home this late. Where have you been?" Chirithy who had been sleeping on the entire event questioned its wielder.

"Master Ava has been through something like that too." whispered Skuld. Chirithy was confused by her behavior. She has been curling up on her bed as soon as she returned home. She gripped the blanket that covered her body and holed up on her pillow as she came up with a realization, "Me too. She's right; I let him go, and… he is beyond my reach."

"W-what? What do you mean? D-did something happen? You've been weird. Also, you haven't eaten anything today. C'mon, let's get something to eat. You'll get sick at this rate." The cat spirit pulled its bearer's blanket "Skuld— c'mon!"

Her eyes were filled with tears, "Nothing. Just leave me alone." That's right, she didn't need supper. She needed rest to clear her mind.

"Okay…" with that Chirithy left.

Ephemera…


The sky had darkened. The raven haired girl didn't turn on the lights. (She's still gloomily thinking of Ephemera.) With no lights in her room, no one would bug her. Not long, Chirithy entered the room without warning, despite the warning Skuld had given. "Skuld?" called the Dream Eater, then whispered, "She's still like that, huh?"

Besides Chirithy, another person stepped in and stated, "Hey, Skuld— Whoa, your place is creepily dark!" The guest turned on the lights in her room. But this voice sounded familiar. It was also the voice she wanted to hear. He was always like that – playful and too nice for his own good. "I guess you are taking a siesta for the whole day." He sat by the side of her bed.

"Why're you here?" questioned she, pouting.

"Eh? I thought you need some company for today." And then, he realized something, "So-sorry. Someone told me that you were waiting for me." He scratched his cheek with his finger before putting smile on his face. "Actually, I want to meet you too. There are a lot of things to share from today's adventure. I want us to do it next time."

Skuld teared up, "Ephemera, you—" but her growling stomach ruined the atmosphere, much to her embarrassment.

The silver haired chuckled, "Y'know, it's okay sleeping for the day but you still need to eat something. Can I borrow your kitchen? I'll cook you something." He was right. Skuld felt like an idiot than he was at some point.

"S-sure. I'll help you with the cooking."

"It's okay, let me do it. Besides, I'm confident with my cooking."

Before Ephemera replied, Skuld finished, "But it will be done better if we do it together." She then grinned. "After all, you always say that to every to everyone, don't you?"

The silver haired boy had finally lost to the black haired girl just because she attacked him with his own quotes. "Ouch! Okay… you win." He stated with his usual small laugh.

Skuld smiled as she walked the kitchen, helping him out. "You—Dandelion head." Teased she. He gave a chuckle as he sweat-dropped.

With so many ingredients in the fridge, they sure prepared a lot of foods. Skuld helped him with the cooking but he didn't let her made the drink for an unknown reason. As the foods were ready, they prepared the table with help of their Chirithy. Now everything's prepared, the dinner was ready to serve.

While they were chewing those foods, Ephemera talked about his adventure to the neighboring town and its ruins. It wasn't wrong to share the information since he promised to take her there next time. Added to that, there are so many Heartless spotted there. It would be a perfect place to collect Lux and do their own little adventure – just the two of them.


"Oh man," Ephemera noted, once they heard the sound of pouring water outside. It rained hard than they expected. "I'm gonna end up soaked at this rate!" the girl giggled. Imagined his soaked hair would like.

Her laughter soon faded as the thunder crashed. She covered her ears as soon as it was heard. Before Ephemera comforted her, another thunder rumbled, causing a blackout. Skuld could barely catch a sight what's in front of her. It was so pitched black. In spite of that, she could perceive a small light from the candle on his hand.

Wait, why did he have candle on his hand? This case was truly unanticipated. How could he have it on his hand? Anyhow, it lit the room a little. Also, it really came in handy.

"Thanks, Ephemera."

"It's really a perfect timing." He grinned from ear to ear. Eh? What does he-? "Today is Valentine's Day. I'm glad that I get to celebrate it with you. At first I'm afraid if I didn't make it just… because some explorations I'd want to do with you later."

Despite his excuse, Skuld's cheeks were flushed (though at the same time she was glad to learn the reason of his disappearance for the whole day). She grabbed her mug to cover her red face even it was still visible. Good thing she wasn't drinking when he said it (or else she'd get chocked). What she just realized was the drink, it was hot chocolate. She had wondered why he didn't let her preparing the beverage but now she knew. It was useless to confirm it because he would say 'it's Valentine' or somewhere along the lines. It was totally obvious from his words. She recalled Ava's words – "When he comes back, you'd better tell him directly." He felt the same way as Skuld thought of him. She smiled as her gaze met his, then expressed how she truly feels, "me too. I'm glad that you come. I'm glad that I patiently waited for you, not putting a false hope. On top of that, I'm glad you are here."

True, it was indeed a delightful atmosphere. They hoped that their joyful days would always be continued like forever. Therefore, they could be together – just the two of them and make more memories together before he was far from her sight.


A/N: ugh… my brain hurts. Finally, I finished this. Actually I planned this to be published on Valentine's Day but I hate waiting (and idk whether I would be busy on that day). Tbh, the first thing that came to my brain when writing this were 'holiday; they don't meet because of holiday that's why Skuld is so gloomy; Ava's advice; the candlelit scene'. It turn out so fancy than I first imagined. In the same vein, I'm glad I was able to finish this. I try to add more vocabularies since my writing skill are kind of out of practice (it kinda failed too, ouch!). I was gonna say an AU fic but it's not an AU since chronologically occurred before Ephemera's disappearance.

Tbh, my first intention was having Eph saying "I don't know when I have to leave you someday, which is why I want to treasure our times together" I should have keep it. But it was scrapped because uh… you know… what happened in KHUX so far (as in July 2018).

As for Ava's quotes, it is based on my draft fic. I leave it ambiguous (though Skuld interpreted it as her loss of her friends/Foretellers and her Master).

A little spoiler of this read at your risk!: if you wonder who told Ephemera that Skuld was waiting for him, it is the fox leader and the spirit.

[Edited 10/02/2018]