Hi everyone. This is my first Kingdom Hearts story. This takes place right after the event of Kingdom Hearts 3D - Dream Drop Distance.

I, as many others, am looking forward to the release of Kingdom Hearts III. Because of this, I decided to make a story about what could happen. I don't know what the story is going to be, but I decided to make my own. I hope you enjoy the first chapter. Make sure to review if you did and if you have any advice or suggestions.

Enjoy!

After defeating Xemnas in The World That Never Was, Sora and Riku were brought to Yen Sid to undergo the Mark of Mastery exam to test their worth of becoming Keyblade Masters. They were pitted against a young version of Xehanort, who sought out thirteen Seekers of Darkness to combat against the seven Guardians of Light in an attempt to recreate the X-Blade, the most powerful Keyblade ever. He sent into a coma in Ventus, forcing Riku to brave a battle against young Xehanort to reawaken Sora. Riku succeeded and thus was deemed a Keyblade Master. Sora, meanwhile, travelled back to Traverse Town to make sure some special friends of his were okay…

Sora searched around the empty city. There was something that felt empty inside him, but he couldn't quite place it. Was he hungry? Tired? No way, he thought. He had just woken up from the deepest slumber.

Maybe that was it. He was probably just drowsy from waking up.

Then again, he thought, there was something deeper than simple lethargy. He still couldn't figure out what it is.

… what was it? … where? … why? …

Suddenly, "*squeak!*".

Sora heard the distinct sound and recognized it almost instantly. He turned and saw his friend bound toward him in clear excitement.

Sora instantly smiled as more of his helpful companions, the Dream Eaters, leaped toward him in ecstatic joy. He embraced every single one of them in relief and appreciation.

"Thanks. You're the best!"

Riku stood outside Yen Sid's tower. He had been sent out by Yen Sid while Sora was gone to bring his wise master a "guest." Yen Sid had given almost no details as to why, but Riku figured he would find out soon enough. Donald, Goofy, and Mickey had long since headed back inside to finish their tea party, which they had started just as Sora had woken up.

The silver-haired teen was starting to grow weary himself, wishing Sora would just return. Where was he, anyway?

However, was Riku bored. "Ha! As if," he thought to himself.

The newly-appointed Keyblade Master had a lot to think about during his "errand" of sorts for Yen Sid. All sorts of questions swirled around in his mind, as random and scattered as snowflaked in a blizzard spell. Well, certainly not random. The boy's thoughts definitely all connected back to his new title of Master.

Riku knew he was nowhere near as experienced with the selective weapon as King Mickey, or even Sora, for that matter. Sora had over two years of combat under his belt, while Riku was in hiding. He certainly hadn't had the time to practice dueling while Sora was asleep, getting his memory put back together. He had spent all that time trying to suppress the darkness that had plagued him ever since he stepped into that door, way back on that one fateful day on Destiny Islands.

But did that matter? That he wasn't as experienced? Neither him nor Sora had even received much formal training. They both had had to go straight into battle many times with their blades, relying only on what they already knew and their hearts and minds to defeat their enemies, and both of them had survived against a number of dark foes. They were certainly skilled.

Riku shook his head, trying to shake these feelings. He and Sora had performed admirably, Yen Sid had told them. They didn't do so because of technical ability. They did it because of bravery and courage.

Riku figured he could talk to someone about this soon enough. For now, though, he had to find the one Yen Sid requested.

King Mickey stood in almost comically small stature compared to Yen Sid, who towered over the tiny mouse even when sitting down. It was rather amusing to imagine that he was a master of a weapon as powerful as the Keyblade. Of course, all those who fought against or alongside the King knew of his power. It was still somewhat amusing. However, his and Yen Sid's conversation certainly proved them both to be equal at least in intellect as they lamented Xehanort's return, the possible imminent destruction, and the concept of the X-Blade.

"The Keyblade wars of yore plunged the true Kingdom Hearts into darkness, and the X-Blade was shattered," Yen Sid explained. "But the light still shining in the hearts of children rebuilt the world we know today."

The King contemplated all this in deep thought.

"And the light from the broken X-Blade was then divided into seven, to protect the number of pure hearts in the world," Yen Sid continued.

Mickey thought about all of this: "Seven pure lights… They're the Princesses of Heart!"

Yen Sid nodded. "Indeed. Those seven pure hearts from the very source of all light in the world."

Alice, Belle, Aurora, Cinderella, Jasmine, Snow White… and Kairi.

Sora had managed to rescue all of them some time ago, returning to them all of their hearts, before Kairi's light managed to save him from becoming a heartless permanently. True bravery, the King thought.

"If they are lost, the world will again give way to shadow." Yen Sid definitely sounded concerned about the probable conflict. "Thus, even if we deliberately avoid finding our seven lights to avoid another Keyblade War, Xehanort will still target the seven Princesses in order to forge the X-Blade."

Mickey felt grim and worried, "So there's gonna be a clash between seven lights and thirteen darknesses.." he sounded fascinated, but at the same time, slightly gloomy and grim. "And there's nothing we can do to avoid triggering the Keyblade War?"

Yen Sid sat in total silence for a moment with his eyes closed. It was only a few seconds, but to the King, it felt like an eternity.

Yen Sid opened his eyes and spoke with total clarity, "To protect the seven pure hearts, we will need seven lights strong enough to stand against the thirteen darknesses."

The King knew their seven would need to be powerful and faithful to the light to have a good chance in their battle. He counted to remember who they had so far: himself, Sora, Riku, Aqua, Ventus, and most recently, Lea. But that was only six. They needed another.

"So we're missing one guardian of light…" Mickey said.

Before he could continue, let alone try to figure out who their seventh could be, the King heard the door open and almost instantly shut behind him. The tiny mouse turned around and exclaimed in joy and surprise, "Riku! You're back."

The young man addressed Mickey for only a second. "That's right." He turned and addressed his wise master. "Master Yen Sid, I brought you the 'guest you asked for, but you never said why."

Mickey was astonished when he saw the identity of this aforementioned "guest. Yen Sid, meanwhile, seemed pleased as he said, "I have come to learn that you, too, can wield a Keyblade. I am glad you are here."

Kairi stood before him, in clear confidence and fascination, quickly figuring out why she was brought to this tower.

Sora was on his way back to the tower, calmly strolling along. He had certainly had a good time reuniting with the Dream Eaters, and felt much better knowing they were all safe in Traverse Town, but his feelings still had not left him. It was something complicated, he knew that much.

He had only felt like this once before, and that was when Phil at the Olympus Coliseum had proclaimed him only a junior hero instead of a full hero after his defeat of Cerberus in the Games. But why was that so bad, anyway?

Sora thought back to how he had protested against not being a full-fledged hero.

*** "You rookies still don't understand what it takes to be a true hero," Phil had lectured Sora many times about not understanding "what it takes." ***

… What does it take? …

Sora felt exactly the same now, once again being denied a title he strived for such a long time to attain. And once again, he was told he was missing something. He thought about this for a bit, trying to reach some sort of answer. The spiky-haired boy always sought answers.

Longing. That was what Sora was feeling. Longing for the full title- the full power- the full proof that he was worthy. But was he?

Sora walked a little bit easier after he figured this out. He hadn't reached any full conclusions, but at least he had some idea of what the issue was. He strode on to the tower, not wanting to keep Riku and the others waiting…

And that concludes my first chapter to this story. Once again, I hope you enjoyed and hope that you will review with your thoughts and suggestions. Stay tuned for the next chapter soon. Have a nice day!