Full Summary: A young girl named Kairi ended up in the world of Spira mysteriously, without any memories of her former life. She befriends a trio of sphere hunters, remaining blissfully unaware of the past. However, when a certain spiky-haired boy suddenly arrives in the same world and says that they are close friends and she's part of a group of Keyblade wielders who travel to different worlds, fighting Heartless as part of their mission to bring peace to the worlds, she finds that recovering her lost memories will be the first step to unlocking her potential and realizing her true destiny. NOT KINGDOM HEARTS CANON.
Hellooooooooooooooooooooo people of the Fanfiction universe! What is happening?! Lol, sorry, I overdosed on some caffeine today *cough cough* I probably should stop drinking so much Mountain Dew…anyways, my name is ElvenPrincess01. This is my first story, so I'm a little nervous about how it will turn out, but I'm excited to be writing my very own fanfic.
I've had this idea for a story since late 2012, and I've been working on it since then. The idea I first started out with is VERY different from the final version. I reworked most of the entire plot, but the original idea is still here, Kairi losing her memories and stuff.
I was going to follow Kingdom Hearts canon, but I decided against that and did something (almost) entirely different. I also reworked the characterization for some of the characters too, especially Kairi. Kairi is very different from how I originally depicted. She was a little too…grim, hardened, and almost dark, not like a Princess of Heart. She was almost like Riku in a way. So I changed her character to be more bright and cheerful. I'm quite pleased with how she turned out :)
A certain someone was supposed to be here to read the disclaimer…but I guess I'll just have to do that myself.
ElvenPrincess01 does NOT own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Disney in any shape or form. And if she did, she wouldn't put all the games out on different systems. Because she doesn't have a Nintendo 3DS and she is dying to play Dream Drop Distance.
Enjoy!
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Prologue
No one knows where Kingdom Hearts came from, but it has been here for as long as anyone can remember, acting as the heart of all worlds. Since all hearts, save for the Princesses of Heart, contain light and darkness in them, Kingdom Hearts can give someone the power of light or the power of darkness, depending on the affinity in the person's heart. But the only way this can be done is through the X Blade, the first Keyblade in existence and the most powerful one.
Using the X Blade, the user can unleash the power of Kingdom Hearts, bringing peace and serenity, or chaos and destruction. In order to protect the peace, there have been seven Guardians of Kingdom Hearts who protect the X Blade and keep it safe using Keyblades, designed after the X Blade. When a Guardian reached old age, he or she would pick a successor and the successor would become a new Guardian in their place. This tradition continued for many generations…until one fateful day.
Many years ago, one of the Guardians, hungry for power, betrayed the other Guardians and took the X Blade for himself, unleashing the power of darkness on the land. However, he unintentionally unleashed a new form of creatures, which seemed to come from the darkness he unleashed from Kingdom Hearts. These beings were later called Heartless. They quickly began destroying the world and traveled to other worlds to wreak havoc.
The other Guardians banded together to stop their former teammate and managed to get the X Blade from him. After they had defeated him, they used the X Blade to bring light back to the world. Some of the light from Kingdom Hearts was transferred to the Guardians through the X Blade, purifying them of all darkness in their hearts, turning them into the first Princesses of Heart, maidens with hearts of pure light. But the damage was already done to the world Kingdom Hearts was located above, and once a beautiful and lush paradise, became savagely destroyed in the battle.
To prevent something like this from ever happening again, the Guardians made sure to hide the X Blade, someplace no one could find so that darkness wouldn't plague the world again. The Heartless that escaped to other worlds needed to be stopped, so the Guardians, and now Princesses of Heart, traveled to other lands, destroying Heartless and finding new Keyblade wielders to continue the cause.
The tradition of seven wielders protecting the X Blade was broken, but wielders bravely went to battle against the Heartless enemies. After the deaths of the original Princesses of Heart, there would be a new generation of maidens with pure hearts, though they never became Keyblade wielders.
The cycle continued throughout the years, and Keyblade wielders continued to fight the Heartless, seeking to bring peace back to the realms…
Chapter 1: Memory Blank
Kairi POV
My name is Kairi. Don't bother asking me what my favorite memory is because I don't really have one. It's not because I'm depressed or anything like that. It's because I don't have any memories at all.
About a few weeks ago, I woke up in this world called Spira without being able to remember a thing. I couldn't remember anything, save my name. When I awoke, my body felt sore all over, like I was in a battle, and had taken one too many hits.
My head was pounding like a bell, and I couldn't remember how I had gotten where I was. Everything looked foreign to me. I didn't recognize my surroundings at all.
I was on what appeared to be an island, surrounded by tall palm trees and wooden huts and bordered by an body of water. The sun was starting its descent into the west, the sky a brilliant mix of reds, oranges, and yellows.
My body still ached all over, so I remained there on the boardwalk, waiting for the feeling to come back into my legs. While I was doing so, I was found by three girls around my age as they were passing by. Their names were Yuna, Rikku and Paine. They saw me on the ground and came over to ask me if I was alright.
After explaining my plight to them, they resolved to help me find my memories and get back to my old life, the life I couldn't remember. They thought that I must be from somewhere in Spira, so they suggested that I should travel around with them, in hopes that someone would recognize me. I've been with them ever since.
Yuna is a very adventurous and somewhat impulsive person, but very polite and ready to lend a hand. She was the one in the trio who found me first, and was the one to suggest that I come with her and the others. Her determination always shines through and she always stands tall in the face of danger, even if the odds are against her.
Rikku's happy-go-lucky and energetic, a bit of a chatterbox who isn't afraid to speak her mind, which is something I admire. She's the glue that holds everyone together. Rikku's also a very optimistic person and truly believes that I will be able to regain my lost memories; her belief is contagious.
And then there's Paine. Unlike Yuna and Rikku who exude cheeriness, Paine bears a tough exterior. She's the rational and level-headed one in the group, knocking the other two Gullwings (as they call themselves) back into reality when their ideas are out of this world. She doesn't do a lot of talking, but when she does, her sarcasm and bluntness are never far off.
However, despite all this, Paine has a caring and kind heart and truly cares for the people around her, even though she doesn't really show it. Cool, calm and collected. She kinda reminds me of someone, though I can't imagine why since I lost my memories and I never met anyone like her on Spira. Strange…
Yuna and Rikku are cousins and Paine is a good friend. All three of them are sphere hunters, traversing the wide and unique world of Spira looking for spheres. Spheres are items that serve a variety of purposes, depending on which ones you find. There are Dresspheres that allow the user to change accessories, Search spheres, which contain hidden treasure, and other kinds of spheres.
The most interesting ones I think are Movie Spheres, in which people can record images, sounds, and thoughts for later viewing. I think that's really cool.
Yuna, Rikku and Paine are looking for the Search spheres, the ones that contain hidden treasure. They're somewhat zealous for treasure and they want to find all the Search spheres they can.
Paine is more interested in the Movie Spheres, curious to learn more about the events that occurred on Spira. The trio has been in the sphere hunting business for a while, but they haven't been able to find many.
While looking for spheres one day, they were separated from their airship, the Celsius, and the rest of their crew while locked in a battle with some LeBlanc Syndicate or something. They've been trying to find them ever with no luck. No sign has come up of them in the few weeks they've been separated.
But in the meantime, they're looking for spheres so that when they reunite with their friends and return to the ship, they'll be able to have them analyzed. Yuna and Rikku are fervently hoping for treasure in this one we're hunting down now.
We are in what is called Macalania Woods. It's a beautiful place, with thick, lush trees and a multitude of springs that litter the landscape. The whole place seems to glitter magically, and the fading rays of sunlight that seep through the trees illuminate the water.
But for all its beauty, the woods don't come without confusion. It's like a maze in here and how Yuna, who is leading the way, is able to find her way around is a mystery to me.
We pass by a pond and I stop to look at a giant, towering tree in the center of the pond, its thick foliage spread out in grand fashion. The trunk is as thick as steel. The roots must extend deep underground. It's a sight to see, a tree in the midst of a pool of water.
I'm startled out of my reverie by the sound of RIkku's ever-so-chipper voice. "Kairi! Come on!" I turn to my right to see her and the others up the path, waiting for me.
"Oh, sorry!" I say, having temporarily forgetting we're on a mission. I jog over to them, my sneakers treading over the soft dirt of the forest floor.
Rikku rubs her hands together as she smiles excitedly. "Oh, I hope it's treasure!" She giggles happily. A spring enters her step.
"Does it matter?" Paine says in a monotone voice. "We won't be able to figure out until we find the Celsius and have Shinra analyze it." Yep, Paine is the voice of reason.
Rikku pouts at her. "Hey! Why do you have to ruin my fun? Couldn't you try to be a little more excited?"
"No," Paine says simply.
"Well I think you should—oh!" RIkku suddenly loses her step and goes tumbling into a thick area of foliage, disappearing behind it.
"Rikku!" We shout, quickly running over to where she vanished.
"Rikku! Can you hear us?" Yuna asks with worry and concern written all over her face.
It's a few worrisome seconds before Rikku responds. "Guys, I think we found it!"
I share looks with the others before Paine pushes back the vegetation to reveal a small cave, hidden behind the shrubbery. Rikku's standing in there, looking up at something. She points forward, gleeful. "Look! It's the sphere!"
We walk into the cave to see what Rikku is talking about. The cave is about the size of a large bedroom, so plenty of leg room. It's a good thing there's still light outside from the fading rays of the sun to shine some light into the place, because without it, we wouldn't able to see a thing. The only real thing I can see is the front of the cave, where there's a pedestal with a sphere perched on top.
"Wow," I say. "I guess it's a good thing you lost your step then, Rikku."
She grins wider as if she had planned it all along. "I guess it is, huh?"
I approach the sphere to get a better look at it. It's a blue, almost transparent orb, encircled in a thick gold band. There's a red jewel embedded in it.
Yuna steps up to the pedestal and picks the sphere up into her hands. She stares at it for a second before turning around to face us, raising the sphere up into the air in a victory pose.
"All right, guys, we got a sphere!" She beams.
I reciprocate her smile while Rikku jumps in the air, cheering.
"Looks like it's a Movie Sphere!" I see Paine crack a rare smile before glancing outside the cave door.
"It's going to be nighttime soon," she says. "We should get back to the camp before night hits."
"Right," Yuna agrees, and sticks the sphere into the tan leather pouch on the left side of her hip. "Let's go."
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While I'm sleeping later that night, I have a dream.
I've been having some weird dreams lately. I can't remember where I was in this particular one, since I'm not very good at remembering the fine details of my dreams. But I was standing in the center of a horde of some weird-looking monsters, tall black things with antennas and yellow eyes, no pupils.
I think I was fighting them. I mean, I had some kind of weapon in my hand and I was slashing through them, like they were paper or something. They disappeared like ash upon contact with the mysterious weapon. I don't remember what the weapon looked like at all. And I have no idea what those black creatures were.
And that's not the only dream I've had. I've had a recurring dream for a while now.
Not much goes on in it but it's always the same. All I see is whiteness all around me, just a piercing white background. At the farthest point where I can see, I can see a blurry figure with their back facing me. I can't tell if it's a boy or a girl, but I can tell he is she is wearing black. And…I think they have what looks like brown hair.
I struggle to catch up with the person, but it seems the more I run, the farther they get from me. I try to open my mouth to call out to them, but then I realize I can't speak. I try to form words but nothing comes out, no matter how hard I try. This is when I wake up.
I sit up slowly up in my bed, trying to recollect my thoughts. The others are sleeping away in the tent. Rikku is snoring quietly. And she claims she doesn't snore. I smile a little.
Getting out of bed, the idea to visit a spring back in Macalania Woods just pops into my mind. It's an idea I decide to act upon.
I tread back into Macalania Woods under the nighttime sky, not too far inside, and sit by a spring. The place appears even more beautiful at night. A calm serenity drapes over the place, something that only a peaceful night outside can achieve.
I sit there for about ten minutes in quiet meditation. It's so quiet here that the silence puts me at ease. The moonlight shines upon the water and I gaze out at it, trying to relax my mind.
I can't make any sense of the dreams I've been having; the black creatures, the elusive figure. It's all a mystery to me. But I keep having the same dream over and over. So it must be important…right?
A cool breeze blows through the trees and I shiver. Unfortunately, my pink strapless mini-dress doesn't provide the best comfort for cold weather. I lament not having a jacket, and I have to rub my arms vigorously in an effort to stay warm.
I pull the black hood attached to my dress over my head. I heard somewhere that if your head was warm, the rest of your body would become warm too. Time to see if the rumors were true.
As I sit there shivering, I suddenly hear a rustle in the bushes behind me. I spin around, my eyes wide with fright.
"Who's there?!" I ask in fear.
Oh man, I don't even have a weapon, I think. Great, just great, Kairi.
Desperately, I search around on the ground with a hand and my fingers find a medium-sized rock on the ground. I'm not sure how effective it's going to be if I am pitted against a monster like the ones Yuna, Rikku and Paine told me about, but I'm ready to give it my all. I wasn't going down without a fight.
There's another another rustle in the bushes again and…out comes Paine. I breathe a sigh of relief, my fingers releasing the rock back onto the ground. My rapidly thumping heart is still going even as my brain recognizes Paine.
"Hey," Paine speaks quietly. "Did I scare you?"
"A little bit," I lie. She nearly freaked me out. My heart's still going a mile a minute.
Paine slowly strides over to take a seat next to me on the ground. She stares out at the glistening spring with seriousness imprinted on her face. I wonder what she's thinking about.
"Couldn't sleep?" She finally asks.
I shake my head. "No. I keep having these strange dreams. I'm not sure what they're supposed to mean," I reveal to the silver-haired girl. I feel that the recurring dream I've been having must be important; after all, why would I keep having it? But I can'tthink of why.
Paine thinks it over for a minute. "Maybe it's your memories trying to come back to you."
"You think so?"
She shrugs. "Why not? I don't think your memories are completely gone. I think they're hidden deep somewhere and you just have to make them resurface." She looks at me. "Don't worry. They'll come back to you at the right time."
I smile to myself, inspired by Paine's words. Paine's been a really good friend to me these weeks, always acting as a beacon of support and wisdom. It seems that she had led a troubled life, but became stronger from her ordeals and gained a lot of knowledge from it. She really is an amazing person.
"You're right. Thanks," I say.
"Don't mention it. You wanna head back now?" She jerks her head back towards the camp.
"Yeah." I get up, smoothing out the wrinkles in my dress. As soon as the two of us get back to the camp, I go right back to sleep. I have no more dreams that night, falling into a dreamless slumber.
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A couple days later, the four of us arrive at the Calm Lands. However, I think they should be renamed the Calm Plains, because that's all I see. Plains. Plains, plains, and more plains. It's just a bunch of grass with towering hills rising up out of the ground.
Off in the distance is a village. As we drift closer, I can see dozens of people milling about. There are also some Chocobos roaming around harmlessly, free from their pens I assume. One of the pecks at something in the grass.
I turn this way and that, marveling at everything I see. There's so much to take in. I've never been to this side of Spira before, and I'm curious to investigate it.
Yuna must have seen my face because she says to me," You can go have a look around. I just need to pick up some items and equipment."
"Really? Thanks!" I beam, appreciative of the chance to explore.
"Don't stray too far off," Rikku sings.
"I won't," I promise. "See you!" And with that, I'm on my way.
There's a lot to do around the village. I enjoy playing several different games around the tiny village, and I even get to ride a Chocobo. I was a little apprehensive at first since I never rode anything like one in my life, but the experience is breathtaking and thrilling. I laugh as we breeze over the ground at a brisk speed, the wind blowing through my hair. I feel like I'm on top of the world.
After playing a couple more games, I think I've had enough excitement for one day. I lie down away from the village, still close enough where I can hear the noise from inside the village. I know I told the others I wouldn't go far, but I can't help myself. They're nowhere in sight, so they must still be busy doing whatever it is we came here to do.
Laid spread-eagled on the ground, I close my eyes. The sun warms my face and my skin. I'm totally relaxed, living in a paradise. The only thing missing is the gentle sound of the waves lapping against the beach. A smile creeps onto my face. If only I could stay like this forever.
While I'm basking in the rays from the sun, I hear a sudden whooshing noise. Frowning, I sit up, and my eyes widen into saucer plates as a black, shimmering portal materializes roughly thirty yards away from me. Black tendrils shimmer all around the edges.
Out of the portal emerges what looks to be a large and round anthropomorphized cat, standing over six feet tall with black fur.
He's donned in blue and purple armor on top of a red, short-sleeved shirt. His pants are navy blue with purple lower leg garments and there were two large purple pouches on either side. Navy blue and white sneakers are on his feet and purple gloves are on his hands. There's an extremely large zipper going down the front of his outfit and stretching across to the back side of his pants.
Huffing like he's running out of breath, he runs to the side, not even noticing me. He's so intent on getting away from whatever he's trying to get away from that he fails to notice an auburn-haired girl nearby. I ogle at him before I see another figure emerge from the strange portal. He only takes a couple steps before he collapses to the ground onto his knees. The portal disappears a second later.
Seeing someone in need of help, I quickly get to my feet and scurry over to him. I tuck a piece of my hair behind my ear as I lean over him.
"Are you ok?" I enquire in concern. I'm not sure what exactly is supposed to be going on, especially with the other guy (or animal) that ran out earlier, but I can worry about that later.
The person remains on their knees, breathing deeply. "I'm fine. I just—"
He stops in the middle of what he was about to say when he looks up at my face, gawking noticeably.
"K-K-Kairi?!"
I gaze back at him in confusion. I don't recognize him at all. He appears to be about my age, with a somewhat lanky body, spiky chocolate-colored hair and bright, shining blue eyes.
He wears a black and silver overjacket and a baggy black jumpsuit. On his feet are large black and yellow shoes. There are black fingerless gloves on his hands and a silver crown necklace hangs from around his neck. Two large red pouches hang from both sides of his hips and yellow straps crisscross across his legs. Zippers cover his entire outfit, like he's got a zipper fetish. The outfit does look pretty cool though.
"Uh…" I start, unsure of what to say. His sudden utterance of my name catches me off guard. I'm very certain I'm never met him before. But he seems to be sure he knows me.
A wide grin shows up on his features and he's on his feet in a second, despite being out of breath just a moment ago.
"Kairi! I can't believe it's you! I've been looking for you forever!" He sounds as if a heavy burden has just been lifted from his shoulders.
"Uh…" I start again.
"The others and I have been looking all over the place for you. I was really worried about you. I thought something bad happened to you. But it turns out you're ok," he beams.
"Uh…Do I…know you?" I am beyond confused. Who is this guy?
He laughs. "Ha ha ha, that's funny, Kairi." He studies his surroundings. "But seriously, how'd you end up here? I've never been to this world before…"His forehead crinkles in confusion.
I stare back at him. "No seriously, who are you?"
The boy in question turns his attention back to me, a smile still on his face. "You can stop joking now, Kairi. I know it's you."
"I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are. I've never seen you a day in my life."
"What…what are you talking about?" He seems slightly upset and baffled. The happiness slowly drains from his eyes.
I smile grimly at him. "I don't know who you are. Sorry."
"Come on, Kairi!" The boy pleads with an imploring look in his eyes. "Don't you remember me?"
I tilt my head at him, squinting as I try to get a better look at him. Nothing comes to mind. "…should I?"
"It's me! Sora! We're best friends, remember?"
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And that's a wrap! Some things in the story played out differently than how I imagined them in the story, but I like how it turned out. Sora has appeared on the scene, but Kairi doesn't remember him at all. So he's going to be working on trying to get her to remember him.
But thanks for reading! Things are going to start picking up soon, so stick around for future updates. I really appreciative of anyone who might be reading this story. Like I said, it's my first fanfic, so I'm hoping for some feedback. It would be nice if you could leave a review, but I won't hold it over your heads if you don't.
As I said before, thanks so much for reading and subscribe for more—
Sora: Hey, am I late?
ElvenPrincess01: Sora? What are you doing here?! You were supposed to be here at the beginning of the story to give the disclaimer! *sighs*
Sora: Wait, where are we now?
ElvenPrincess01: We're at the end. I just gave the final words to the readers.
Sora: Ohhhh…So do I still get paid?
ElvenPrincess01: …
Sora: Sorry, I meant to be here earlier, but I got caught up in sword fighting with Riku, and well—
ElvenPrincess01: Show up next time on time, please?
Sora: *salutes* Sure thing, captain! Can I give the closing remarks?
ElvenPrincess01: Why not? You already missed your cue at the beginning.
Sora: OK! Thanks for reading, Fanfiction people! Please subscribe for more from ElvenPrincess01. She really would appreciate it! Stay tuned for more!
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