So... who else was excited for Kingdom Hearts 3?
So, my buddy BloodWingdAngel and I beat the most recent game in the series at almost the same time. And boy did our imaginations go wild yet again. Already, I am having way more fun than the last time we tried this out, so we figured, "Why not try again?" We included some major tweaks to the story, including personality shifting, age fixes and similar stuff.
Disclaimer: I, personally, do not own Kingdom Hearts. The series is owned by Disney and developed by Square Enix.
The original characters of Tenmei and Yumi belong to The King of Emerald, and Hikari, Ren, and Shun belong to BloodWingdAngel.
XxXxXxX
In the days before the founding of our beloved Citadel, there was a tumultuous conflict. Light and Dark constantly raged over the world, the forces never relenting in their assault or never surrendering where they stood. The war between the stars and the shadows escalated constantly, damaging our world with every clash.
It was then, when it seemed the world was doomed to fall, a lifeless husk thanks to this eternal struggle, that the first King of Twilight rose. A master of the keyblade, who spent his life learning about both Light and Darkness, made a discovery; one could not exist without the other. Should one force claim hold of the world over the other, the land would be completely destroyed. So, with his strength and knowledge, he spent his life, keeping the world safe and balanced.
During his constant vigil, the king fell in love, and his beloved queen gave birth to two beautiful boys. As they grew, the world became calmer and quieter, and it was only when the boys became men, that the reason for this was revealed. The Princes had balanced hearts, ones that understood both Light and Darkness, as one understood a friend or a lover. They mastered the path of Twilight, in ways their father could never even imagine, and to commemorate their peaceful kingdom, two beautiful keyblades, made to balance the Twilight as their masters did, were forged and given to the Princes.
Alas, the king was a mortal, and soon, the title of King was passed to his older son, the Prince that wielded Twilight's Guardian, who believed that balance in their home was to be prioritized over all else. The younger twin, who bore Twilight's Balance, sought to bring his teachings to other worlds, and soon left the Citadel, to travel among the worlds and bring hope to those who needed it.
Since the day of the first two Princes, the keyblades have very rarely been seen. Only a balanced heart, the heart of the Princes, could possibly hope to call them ever again.
A red haired girl smiled as she traced her fingers along the last words in her book. A purple pen was plucked from her ear, writing down the last few words she needed for her history report, before she gave a sigh. Most other girls her age hated studying and history, but she found it absolutely fascinating. Her older sister thought her odd, preferring to do anything that wasn't deemed "girly", but they got along well enough.
A moment to staple the pages together, and she was done. Now, what was it she could do? The rest of the day was hers to do with as she pleased, but that meant little when there was nothing to do. She sighed as she looked out her window, towards the citadel, the namesake of her beloved world.
Twilight Citadel. A beloved world, balanced upon the edge of Light and Dark. The days and nights were both calm and wondrous here, but the real beauty of the world shown as the sun rose and sank below the horizon, on those beautiful moments where Light and Dark were equal. The citadel, a beautiful castle made of marbled stone, stood proud and tall in the center of the town, with four large entrances which allowed the guards to come and go as they pleased, whether to take care of trouble or to end a shift.
She looked down from her window, seeing the people bustle about. Another thought hit her; tomorrow was the coronation of the new Prince, wasn't it? She could tell why people were excited; until the day they were ready, the Prince (or Princess) would take serious dedication to their studies, molded to become the perfect ruler of their world. This meant that, unfortunately, they had no one to call friend other than family. In the past, the princes of the citadel would sneak out, making friends with the local children.
But this newest prince... either he had never been caught... or he had never left the castle.
No one knew what he looked like... only that his name was Tenmei. The curiosity that steeped in her heart whenever she thought of the name arrived once more in full force, and as she stared at the citadel, she only knew one thing.
She wanted to meet this prince.
Once the idea was in her head, she knew she wouldn't be rid of it; she was going to sneak into the citadel. Or, at the very least, try. She had the combat skills to get by, if need be. It would probably be a bad idea to bring any weapons, so, she only grabbed her trusty shield, large enough to cover her body should anyone try to strike her. Her parents were out; they wouldn't know of her disappearance until either she returned... or she was dragged back.
Oh well. Better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission, right?
The redhead smiled, walking over to her wardrobe. Soon, a sapphire blue tunic and a pair of leather boots covered her black leggings, and she hefted up her circular, smooth shield, before strapping it to her back. She left a note on her desk next to her homework, telling anyone that came looking for her that she'd be back, and she immediately set out, rushing down the stairs as she made a beeline straight for her door.
"And where are you going at this hour, Yumi?" a voice suddenly rang out.
The redhead, now named Yumi, winced, flinching back from the door. Slowly, she turned her head, and spotted her older sister. "H-hey, Hikari... I thought you were out with your friends?" she asked, smiling nervously as she turned her back, trying to hide the shield on her person.
Hazel eyes met the violet ones, as Hikari swept some of her strawberry blonde hair from her face, "Ren had to take care of something for his father, and Shun got in trouble with the local guards, so I decided to book it before they got me involved as well." A deep sigh escaped her lips before she looked Yumi up and down. "Shield only?"
Poor Yumi could feel her heart beating a mile a minute. If she came up with a lie, it was highly likely her responsible older sister would catch it. She needed to give a very convincing reason why. "Yeah! I mean, I don't need a sword or knife with me all the time, right? If anyone messes with me while I'm out, I can just whack 'em with this and make a run for it." She gave Hikari a look, quirking an eyebrow to add that last bit of sassy flavor. "You did say you thought I was dumb for lugging a weapon around with me everywhere I go. Now you think I'm weird for only bringing a shield instead?"
"I definitely think you're acting weird right now, that's for sure..." the blonde said, crossing her arms over her purple tunic, and tapping her foot so that her grey pants bounced, her brown boots making the floor boards echo. "Don't lie to me. Tell me what you are doing."
Yumi swallowed nervously. She was already wary of her. That meant her chances of successfully pulling off a lie had plummeted greatly. She gave a frustrated groan, pulling on her hair a bit. "Grrr... fine, I'll tell you, but you have to Twilight Promise you won't tell Mom, Dad, Grandpa Hiroto or anyone! Got it?"
"Yeah, yeah I got- ...Twilight Promise? ...well whatever, I promise." Hikari raised her eyebrow, wondering what in the Light's name her sister could be up to that had her this flustered.
Yumi walked over, looking out the windows a bit to make sure that no one important could hear her, and then looked at her sister. "I'm going to sneak into Twilight Citadel and meet the Prince."
Hikari blinked, looking at Yumi for a moment before uncrossing her arms, tugging a bit on her hair in deep thought. This caused Yumi to flinch a bit, recognizing that her sister was processing what she had said, before Hikari looked at her sister with a bit of a smug grin, "Do you even know how you're going to get in?"
Yumi blinked, not expecting that answer at all. "Uh...?"
"The castle is guarded day in and day out by multiple guards in a three window shift," Hikari explained. "Each section of the castle is watched like a hawk, no 14 year old is going to just be able to waltz in like 'Excuse me, Mr. Big Scary Guard Man, I'd like to meet your prince please!'"
Yumi blinked again, unsure of what to say at first, but soon shook her head in a huff. She was teasing her. "I thought this through! The best way in is through the northern garden! Guards rarely ever walk past there, and if I use Aero, I can use my shield as a glider to catch the wind and land safely inside! I'll be too heavy with a sword, so it's shield or bust!"
That was when she realized she had blurted her entire plan to her older, responsible sister, and began to panic inside. There was no way that Hikari would let her do that; the slightest hint of her getting hurt usually meant being grounded for a week and her sister being rewarded for tattling on her. Ah, crapbaskets... she thought, flinching and closing her eyes in realization to how dumb she just was.
Hikari sighed to herself, shaking her head for a moment before giving a small smile at her sister. "Fine... see if it works, but that's how Shun got caught today and I'm not coming to bail you out. If you really want to get in, instead of gliding though the air, there is a crack just outside of the outer wall of the garden you MIGHT be able to get though... provided maintenance hasn't patched it yet. I noticed it when I was coming back home."
Yumi blinked again, looking up at Hikari. Confusion and awe glistened in her purple eyes. "You're... not gonna tell Mom and Dad? Why?"
"Because it is time you stop being treated like a child," Hikari said honestly. "You're 14 now, and you need to take responsibility for your own actions... if they get you hurt, arrested, or whatever. The guards aren't going to kill you, worst they'd do is rough you up and drag you back. Plus, as long as I lie, I get off trouble free, so why should I care?"
Yumi stared at her sister, convinced that wasn't the whole story. Then, like a lightbulb going off in her head, she realized why her sister knew all of this. "... You tried to sneak in and meet him too, didn't you?"
"Why do you think Shun is in trouble?" HIkari muttered, rolling her eyes. "Guy got me and Ren off though, said we were just dragged into it... then he called me his girlfriend again... anyway, me, Shun and Ren tried, failed, so if you do it then... get a picture or something."
Yumi gave a big, toothy grin. She wasn't completely sure why, but if her sister was willing to look the other way, this was special. "If I manage to do what my perfect older sister can't, I'll have dirt on you for years. Oh, I can see the mileage I'll get off of this already..."
Hikari narrowed her eyes at that, "Call it even for the Padding Incident, got it?"
That made the redhead blush so much, her face almost matched her hair, but she nodded. "Fine. I get a picture, you promise to never bring that up again."
"Done deal," Hikari said, turning away and approaching the kitchen. "Oh, I should get to making desert... looking away... don't know my sister is leaving... think she's just in her room!"
Yumi couldn't help the soft smile that formed on her face. "See you later, sis", she said softly, before turning to the door, making her escape.
XxXxXxX
It didn't take long for Yumi to find the crack her sister had mentioned. True to her word, it was just big enough for her to slip in undetected. "Gonna guess this is where she, Ren, and Shun got caught... I don't think she'd fit in here, even if she tried to get past this." She then grumbled to herself, mentioning her sister's "curves" a couple times as she sidled through the crack, getting stuck once but managing to pull herself and her shield through the wall's breach. She looked around, noting that she was in a garden with quite a few flowers, all a brilliant shade of white that reflected the sunset's glow beautifully.
"Wow... pretty..." She then caught herself, shaking her head to remind herself of what she needed to do, and looked around. "No guards... I guess they don't know about that crack yet... or they're in the middle of shifts, so it might be safe here for a bit."
The sound of wood striking against metal caught the redhead's attention, and she turned to the east, away from the sun. Following the path through the garden, she came across a clearing, and spotted the source of the commotion. A white-haired boy, probably a year older than her, was practicing against a mannequin dummy, dressed in metal armor. He wielded a wooden blade, so as to not damage any real weapons she assumed, but his strikes were so fierce and accurate he might as well actually be attacking with a real sword. There were plenty of dents in the older armor, and the helmet had been knocked away some time ago.
The boy himself was quite a sight. His white locks were long and straight, traveling along to the small of his back. His bangs framed his face perfectly, stopping just at his cheek bones, while a tuft in the back poked up a bit. His red eyes were focused solely on the mannequin in front of him, and she could see from the sweat on his fair skin that he had been practicing for some time now. He wore only a black tank top as he practiced, with a pair of white shorts with black decals and a black belt keeping him decent. His shoes were black, etched with white decals that reminded her of vines.
"Whoa..." she whispered, watching him spar for a moment. "He's... really good."
"Thanks", came the sudden reply, and Yumi jumped, realizing who had said it. The boy turned to her, his red eyes piercing into her very soul. "It's nice to receive a complement every now and then."
Yumi stepped out from her hiding spot, by the white flowers, grabbing her wrist nervously. "Heheh... caught me, huh?"
"I knew you were here the moment you stepped through that crack", he told her. "You were 'caught' a while ago... I simply chose not to alert the guards to your presence." He motioned for her to come closer. "Now, if you want to keep it that way, you will tell me your name and why you are here."
Yumi flushed a bit, hearing that he had heard her step through almost immediately. Had he heard her griping about her sister? However, she decided to at least try to keep something secret from him. "Why should I? I bet as soon as I tell you, you'll rat me out to the guards."
"That's based on your intentions", the boy stated calmly. "And I can tell you mean no harm to anyone in this castle. So, unless you have a knife strapped to your thigh underneath that tunic, I have no reason to have you arrested." He held his hands up in a nonthreatening way. "What do you have to lose? It's no skin off of my nose."
The shield-maiden only stared warily at her "friend", but she did know what he said was true. She wasn't here to hurt anyone. Hell, if a guard had caught her, she would have cooperated right away, in the chance that it would get her out of this unharmed. "I... I want to meet the Prince of Twilight Citadel."
That gave the boy pause, and he raised a brow. "You risked getting caught by the guards and possibly arrested... just to meet the prince?"
"I mean.. yeah. No one knows what he's like, right?" Yumi countered. "I don't wanna wait until the coronation... I want to meet Prince Tenmei."
"And why should you be the one to meet him first?" he stated. "There are at least a dozen teens like you who have tried and failed to sneak in here. Why should you be different?"
Yumi pouted at that question. "Well... I think, personally, it'd be really cool to be the first person to meet Tenmei. But..." That was when her face fell. "He's never been seen outside of the castle. I don't know if he even has any friends... even if it's not me, wouldn't it be alright if someone tried?"
The boy's expression was hard to read, but soon he nodded. "Alright... then how about a deal?" he asked. "You spar with me. I win, you give up. You win... I introduce you to him personally. How does that sound?"
That gave Yumi a reason to pause. Something told her she should just leave now, while she had a chance. But her pride and stubbornness got the better of her. "Challenging me to a spar when I don't have a weapon? That seems fair, doesn't it?"
"What do you mean you don't have a weapon?" he countered. "I have a stick. You have a shield. I think you have the advantage here."
"... fair enough." Somehow, him pointing that out did not make her feel better, but she had gotten so far already. This was probably her only chance to meet the prince. "Fine. Any rules?"
"If you disarm me, I lose. If I knock you down three times, you lose. Deal?"
"Deal", she said, grabbing the shied off of her back. Once she was in position, she crouch a bit into her stance, staring him down. "Alright, come at me."
The boy let out a smirk, flipping his sword a bit, before rushing forward. His speed was incredible, faster than anyone she had met so far. A loud THUNK filled the air as his wooden sword struck against her shield, and the force of his attack knocked her off balance. With a startled yelp, she actually did a backflip in the air, landing on her gut with a grunt.
"That's one", he said. His smirk was gone, a look of boredom gracing his visage.
Yumi growled, getting back up. "That's the last one you'll get! Try again!"
He only shrugged, jumping back a bit. He lunged forward again, slashing upward and knocking her shield out of the way. He kicked forward, striking her in the gut and knocking her onto her butt, making her wheeze a bit.
"That's two", he stated. "You can still give up, you know."
"N-no! I'm not giving up!" Yumi growled, standing up again, though seriously panting.
What in the Darkness am I doing?! I can't take this guy! He's way stronger than I am! Oh, what I wouldn't give to be able to use anything besides Aero!
"Fine then", the boy said. "Last try." This time, he lunged from the side, swinging his sword in a sweep, aiming for her legs.
Yumi wasn't fully sure of what happened then. It seemed to her like time was slowing down, as she raised her left foot up. With a single stomp, she pinned the wooden blade down to the ground, and curled back her right fist. With a loud cry, she punched the boy in the face, knocking him back and forcing him to let go of his weapon. As she did, she lost her balance once more, and she found herself tumbling to the ground again, both herself and the boy hitting the ground at the same time.
There was a moment of silence, as both fighters processed what exactly happened. Then Yumi heard him... laughing. He started out with a soft chuckle, then it grew into a warm, true laugh, and she felt her heart grow just as warm. She couldn't help the smile and gleeful giggles that escaped her as well. Before she knew it, the boy was up again, standing above her and offering his hand.
"Well, a deal's a deal... you beat me fair and square", he stated, smiling down.
"I don't think so", she replied, taking his hand and sitting up. "I got knocked down three times, too. I lost."
The boy gave a chuckle at her logic. "How about we call it even, then? But, as a show of good faith... I'll still help you meet the prince."
Yumi nodded, grateful. "That was... fun. I don't think I've ever had a sparring partner like you before... it's too bad I won't be able to come here later." She tilted her head, smiling still. "My name is Yumi. What's yours?"
The boy only chuckled in response. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Yumi. My name... is Tenmei."
The last word hung in the air for a moment, as Yumi could only stare at him. Silence echoed around them for what seemed to be an eternity.
Then, in one fluid motion, Yumi took out her phone and quickly snapped a picture of him.
"Um... care to explain that?" the prince asked, raising a brow.
"Oh... uh... something I promised my sister", Yumi said, blushing as she realized how hasty she had been. "S-sorry, but... YOU'RE Tenmei?!"
"The one and only", he said, smiling. "Sorry I wasn't honest about it right away... can't let everyone know that I was fighting a girl who kicked my butt with only a shield, can I?"
That mention had Yumi blushing again, this time at how she acted. She just picked a fight with the Prince of Twilight Citadel. Nothing was going to top this in how weird this was.
"Say, Yumi... how would you like to have free access to this castle whenever?"
Yumi's eyes widened. "R-really? W-why would you do that?"
"Well, I can't have my bodyguard showing up through a crack in the wall every day, can I?"
That bit of information was just a bit too much for the redhead to handle, and all she knew, suddenly, was darkness.