Chapter 1: Angel with a Shotgun

Dad pulled into our driveway and turned off the car. It was dark outside, and I, eight years old, could see my reflection in the window. We sat in silence, Mom, Dad, and I, until he spoke. "You're grounded." His voice was tired and strained, but firm and gruff. When I didn't say anything, he unbuckled and got out of the car, walking to the house. A few minutes after he left, Mom turned to me from the passenger seat. "He didn't mean what he said earlier," She said softly.

"Then why'd he say it?" I asked, looking out the window.

Mom looked down at my shoes. "Honey..." She said slowly, "...sometimes, when people are afraid, they say things they don't mean." I crossed my arms, angry. "He's my daddy. He shouldn't be afraid of me."

"He's not afraid of you, sweetie. He's afraid for you."

BANG!

The heartless in front of me dissapeared into black smoke as I reloaded. Annoying little bugger.

Heartless, a creature with no heart, like the name suggests. They could easily be mistaken for a giant ant, as they had round black bodies, antenae, and large yellow eyes. Along with not having a heart, they didn't really have that much of a brain. It was a common sight to see a heartless run randomly into things that are right infront of them. They're especially annoying when they chose to fight in groups, but a few rounds from my shotgun is more than enough to finish the job. Teenagers like me, as few as we are, are sent to take out any heartless on the streets near the main housing area. It was hard, but worth it; despite not having pay.

The world I lived in was called Nightmare City, a fitting name for a world inffested with heartless.

Only a few people lived in the city; two or three families and myself. Although our world was heartless-ridden, it was considered a check point for those going to other worlds, so we stayed here to help travelers. Many people came here, surprisingly, and there was always one who asked if we needed any help with the heartless. Oba, the oldest person with us and also the unofficial leader of this world, would always turn them down, which I thought was stupid since we needed the help. So, since we don't have any help, the teenage boys and I take out any heartless in the streets.

I tilted my neck, hearing a loud pop, and looked around the area I was in, Night Plaza. All the heartless were gone, for now, meaning I could head back home. Glancing up, I saw the sunset. Night was coming fast, and the heartless got too rough after dark. Normally, we only saw Shadows, the darkest and most common heartless, around during the day, but Neoshadows came out at night; as good as I was, even I couldn't take one of those out. Swinging the barrel of my shotgun onto my shoulder, I made my way across the plaza to the stairs that led up to the Main District.

I was a better hunter than most of the boys who also took heartless down. It's not like they can't fight, a few of them could beat me in a spar, it's juat that I was a bit more sensitive than them.

Anyone could sense a heartless and tell whether it has a heart or not; it's human reflex. That's why people get scared when they see a heartless, because their own heart can't sense one in a heartless. People make friends this way, too, when their heart connects with another heart. But my heart's different, in a way. I can tell if a heartless or a person is close by without seeing them, just by sensing their heart. My sense is stronger than most people, because I know where that person or heartless is by feeling their heart move. For heartless, it's a bit harder because they don't have hearts, but I could still sense them without seeing them.

I walked up the stairs, ready to sprint the rest of the way to my house, when I felt eyes on the back of my head. I slowed to a stop at the top of the stairs, my hand on the handle of my shotgun, and listened. The streets were silent, like always, but there was something...off. The sun had almost completely gone down, and the street lamps flickered to life, lighting the brick path. I tensed, alarms going off in my head. There's someone near me, but they aren't moving...

Turning around, I swung my shotgun in front of me, aiming for the darkkness behind me. "Who's there?" I asked loudly. There was no anwser. "I know you're there, so come out before I shoot." There was some rustling at the bottom of the stairs, and I heard the faint sound of footsteps. I backed up so I was in the light of the street lamp. It was pitch dark now, the only light coming from the posts. I concentrated on the figure as it stepped out of the dark, standing at the edge of the light. I didn't reconize the black coat it wore, and it's face was hidden under a hood. "Hands up," I said, still aiming. A chuckle came from under the hood. "Well, aren't you demanding?" He said in a careless voice, crossing his arms. He took a step forward and I felt a strange empty-ness in my stomach. I looked at him carefully, looking at his heart.

...W-what...? My eyes widened. There was no heart there. Nothing, not even a spec. My heartbeat sped up. T-that's impossible! Only heartless have no heart! I blinked, starting to panic, and looked at him again, only to see nothing. "What's wrong, sugar?" The man asked, amusement in his voice. I took a breath, unable to speak for a moment. "W-what are you?" I asked, hoping he wouldn't notice my stutter. "Oh, you know," He replied casually, "just Nobody. Why don't you put that gun down, sweetheart, and have a little chat with me?" I gripped my shotgun, trying to control my breathing. He has no heart...He has no heart. Okay, just relax...He can't be a heartless...No heartless is smart enough to speak...

"What do you want from the citizens of Nightmare City?" I asked, going into full hunter mode. "You're not a heartless, and you don't have a heart. Tell me what you are and why you're here." The figure suddenly pointed to me. "Aha! I knew it! You can see hearts!" He fist pumped and scoffed, muttering, "I told that stupid Saix she was real..." He looked back at me, "Man, you have no idea how glad I am to see you. Hey, can you come with me for a sec?" I blinked at his suudden outburst, not sure how to react. I made a face. "Wait, how do you know I can see hearts?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "...Um...I'm a great guesser?"

Click click.

"Alright, alright! Don't aim that thing at me!"

I felt a little braver now, though I was still panicing, and took a breath before speaking again. "Anwser my question. Why are you here?"

"To get you, of course! My boss's been wanting to meet the girl who sees hearts ever since the day you dropped that vase on my head!" He said, rubbing his head. "That actually hurt, you know." I frowned, trying to remember what he was talking about. It suddenly came back to me.

"Hey, don't play in the street!" I yelled through my kitchen window to the kids across the road. "Crazy kids..." I muttered, shaking my head and smiling. Turning to my mess of a kitchen, I sighed and began cleaning up.

"All done!" I smiled triumphantly at the clean kitchen. Looking around, I saw a grey vase sitting randomly on the counter top. "When did I get this?" I frowned as I picked it up. I didn't really need it, so I shrugged and and tossed it out the window. There was a crash right outside and a loud shout of pain. "Crap!" I exclaimed, quickly going to the window and peering out. "Are you o...kay? Hello?" Seeing no one, I frowned before turning away.

"...That was you?" I asked in disbelief, "What were you doing outside my window?" He shrugged. "That doesn't matter. Come with me, okay? Like I said before, my boss wants to see you." I took a step back warily, still aiming at him. He crossed his arms. "Don't make me use force, now." I didn't budge, eyeing him carefully as my heartbeat went out of control.

"Your choice." He lunged at me, and I stumbled backward, my finger squeezing the trigger.

BANG! He yelped and fell back onto his butt, giving me time to reload quickly. I aimed again, but my hands were shaking so badly I couldn't target him. I can graze his arm, but it won't be enough...I decided to be safe and run while I had the chance.

I turned and shot down the road to my house. I heard him shouting at me from behind, but didn't stop until I reached my front steps. Fumbling to get my keys into the keyhole, I kept glancing behind me, watching for him. Once my door unlocked, I quickly slipped through the door and slammed it shut, locking it back up and leaning against it. I slid down the door untill I was on the floor, trying to catch my breath. Clutching my shotgun in my arms, I put my face into my hands, my heart beating in my ears. W-what the hell was he? I thought, He didn't have a heart, but he wasn't a heartless...That's impossible!

A few moments past before I felt something soft rub against my leg, making me jump. A loud meow gave me a breath of relief; it was my cat, Pheobe. I stood up slowly and groped the wall awkwardly, looking for the light switch. When I turned it on, I saw Pheobe staring at me with hunger in her eyes. "Don't worry, Phebs, I'll get you something to eat." After checking to make sure the door was locked, and putting a wooden chair against it for good measure, I walked to the kitchen and placed my shotgun on the small table. Pheobe meowed at me from the floor and jumped on the counter as I reached into the cupboard and pulled out a can of cat food. "Maybe I should stop feeding you so much in one day," I said to the fat cat. She meowed and nudged me away so she could reach the now open can. I raised both hand in defeat. "Alright, alright, I get it."

Walking down the hallway, I went into my room to change. I was still a little shaken up from before, but I had plenty of ammo and lots of experience with a shotgun, so I figured I was okay for now. Tomarrow I'd go to Jeff, the police chief and tell him. I was a bit worried that that guy would break in, but Jeff lived next door, so all I had to do was scream and he'd be there. That, and I could just throw Pheobe at the guy. She was fat, but she had claws.

I finally decided to go to bed. After changing into some shorts, I went and turned off the kitchen light before crawling into bed. I couldn't ckeep my eyes closed for a moment, but eventually I fell into a dreamless sleep.

THUMP!

The loud sound drove me from my sleep, making me fall off my bed. Rubbing my head, I groaned. What's going on now? I stood up, shivering as cold air hit my legs. There was another loud thump coming from the kitchen. I sighed, yawning as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Break-ins like this were common; small heartless were always getting into people's houses in the middle of the night. It wasn't the first time a heartless broke into my house, and I'm sure it wouldn't be the last.

I glanced around my room for my shotgun; the moonlight from the window helped greatly. Seeing that my gun wasn't in my room, I remembered placing it on the kitchen table and nearly face palmed. Good going, Laney. Just leave your weapon in another room, it's not like you'll need it or anything. Looking around for a possible weapon, I reached over and grabbed the first thing to my right, feeling my hand close around something heavy and solid. Picking it up, I saw it was a book. Well, I could always just papercut the heartless to death.

Exiting my room, I slowly made my way down the hallway, stopping at the end near the door to the kitchen. Glancing inside, I saw a dark figure moving around near the table. Quickly flipping on the light, I chucked the book at the shape. There was a loud thump as the book made contact, and I took the chance to grab my shotgun before aiming at the figure sprawled on my floor. Now that I could see better, I realized the heartless was actually a person. A person that was wearing the same coat as the guy that chased me earlier.

The guy started to sit up, rubbing his head, and I moved around so I was near the hallway door. "Get up," I said. My voice must've startled him because his head snapped in my direction, though his face was hidden under the hood. I motioned upwards. "I said get up." He slowly stood up, staring at me. This made me painfully aware that all I was wearing was a tank top and shorts, but I ignored it, instead focusing on the guy in front of me. I couldn't tell if it was the same person from earlier, but I wasn't taking the chance. "Take off the hood, now," My voice was shaking slightly, "Let me see your face." He didn't do anything, just stood there. Does he think I can't see him or something? I spoke again, my voice a little more aggitated than I'd like. "Take off the damn hood before I put a bullet through it." I hadn't ment to bite his head off, but it was one in the morning and I was tired, scared, and freaked all at the same time.

Appaerently seeing that I was serious about shooting, the guy said, "You don't have what it takes to shoot me; you're shaking." His voice was somewhat younger than the other guy's, a bit softer, but firm, like he knew whether I wouldn't shoot. It wasn't the same creep as before, but since they wore matching coats, they probably knew each other. I raised my gun again, this time aiming at his head. "Try me, and I'll shoot holes in you. Take. Off. The. Hood." He sighed before reaching up and pulling the hood down. Silver hair spilled out over his shoulders and long bangs framed a pale face, a black bandage covering his eyes. I glanced away, glad his eyes were covered so they couldn't see my face grow red.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" I asked once my voice returned.

"Nobody you need to worry about." He paused. "...I'm looking for someone. A girl who can see hearts; I was told she lived in this town, and I need her help." Alarms went off in my head, and I quickly reloaded.

Click-click.

"I knew it! You're with that creep in the coat, aren't you?! Get away from me, and tell your boss to buzz off!"

A confused look crossed his face before he became serious. "So they've already found her...Your name is Alina, right?" I slowly nodded, unsure of his motives. He said 'they've'...Who is this guy? "Yeah, and you?"

"Riku. Come with me."

Great, I get to do this some more? I shook my head, "Oh, no, I'm not going anywhere. Not untill you tell me why. Why you want me, and not someone else." Riku was silent before speaking. "...I can't explain it right now. But you're safer where we're going than you are here. Those guys will hunt you down until they've gotten their hands on you, and then you'll wish you followed me."

"Who are 'those guys'?" I asked, determined to get some anwsers, "How do I know you're not with them?"

"Do you always ask a lot of questions?"

"Do you always sneak into girls' houses in the middle of the night?"

"Touche." Riku hesitated, and I could tell he was debating whether to tell me or not. "'Those guys' are an organization, one that takes down heartless and collects hearts. Since you can sense hearts, they probably want you to find heartless, more heartless than their members could find alone. I'm not one of them, trust me."

"The guy in the black coat that chased me earlier, do you know him?"

Shaking his head, he said, "Probably not. I've only seen a few of their members, and the ones that I saw where taken out a few months ago."

I pondered over this for a minute, taking in the small amount of information I was just given. So, he isn't one of the organization guys. But he's wearing the same coat, so does that mean he was one? And if the organiztion guys want me for sensing hearts, he might want the same thing. I looked at him carefully, checking to see if he had a heart. It took me a moment or two, but I found it; a small little speck of light surrounded by darkness. I wasn't an expert, but something told me that wasn't natural. Dispite this, the fact that he had a heart was beyond relieving. I lowered my shotgun slowly, but still kept a grip just incase he tried something funny. "So, why do you want me to come with you?" I asked, more relaxed than before.

"...I've come to make you an offer. A friend of mine is recovering, and those guys in the black coat are the reason why. It's important that they don't get what they want, and since they're coming after you, someone who can speed up their plans, it's important for you to be safe from them."

I swallowed, my throat dry after hearing this, and spoke. "...And your offer?"

"Come with me, and you'll be kept safe until my friend wakes up. After that, you can return here and live peacefully."

That hit me like a stack of bricks. I didn't even know these people; how did I have anything to do with their problems? Something told me not to go, that I could take care of myself, but another part of me said that I couldn't, that there was no way I could deal with this alone. I had no idea when I became involved in these people's fight, but it seemed like I was, and I had no way of getting out of it.

I didn't really have any family to miss me, aside from Pheobe, and surely the other boys could handle the heartless for a little while. And as much as I hated to admit it, the whole thing scared me. People who I'd never heard of before were coming after me for something I had that I couldn't control. A boy I'd never met until now was offering to keep me safe until his friend woke up. I wasn't needed by Riku or his friends, but they still wanted me with them to slow down their enemy. It all scared me so badly I couldn't hold my shotgun, so I placed it on the table and burried my face in my hands.

"Are you alright?" Riku asked.

I didn't anwser. This was all too much; just this morning I was taking out heartless, and now I was being targeted.

Do I really want to do this?

"...Alright. I'll come with you."

I placed what I could of my shotgun and ammo in a backpack I'd found in my closet, changed into what I normally wore, a white tank top and ripped jeans, brushed my hair, slipped on some shoes, and walked back into the kitchen, where Riku was waiting. I grabbed a peice of paper and a pen, and began writing a note incase someone came looking for me. "Will you tell me everything when we get there?" I asked Riku, placing the note on the table.

"Maybe. It's safer for you to know as little as possible." Was his anwser. I nodded, letting it go. Slinging my back pack on, I picked up my shot gun, and turned to Riku. "By the way, how did you get here? My door's locked, and the only way to travel between worlds is by Gumi ship." Riku turned away and held up his hand. A black and purple portal opened, swirls of blue and green inside. "It's called a Dark Corridor. It's the fastest way to get to different worlds." He explained, "Do you have everything you need?" I nodded, but hesitated to step into the corridor. There was something about it that I didn't like. Whether it was that I was absolutely terrified of what I was about to do or the fact that I was going to be in a dark space with a stranger, I couldn't tell.

"The darkness won't hurt you badly if we hurry through." Riku said, seeing my hesitation. Strangely, that didn't help me much. I took a shaky breath and quickly walked into the Dark Corridor.

Cold air washed over me like a wave. The sudden force of it caught me by surprise, and I rubbed my bare arms, looking around. The walls were black, with swirls of dark blue, purple, and green that made me dizzy. My stomach suddenly felt hollow, and I tried to restrain from throwing up.

Riku walked by me, grabbing my arm as he did, and said, "Let's go." Looking up, I saw that he had pulled his hood up, hiding his face. He began to pull me along with him, his grip tightening on my arm as we went. I struggled to keep up with him, half jogging, half tripping as I kept a hand on the strap of my backpack to make sure it didn't fall off. "Hey, I can walk!" I snapped, trying to tug my arm away from Riku, but his grip was too strong. He didn't anwser me, instead walking faster. I opened my mouth to say something else, but was interrupted as the wind was knocked out of me. I felt Riku's hand on my arm slip as I fell forward.

"Alina? What's wrong?"

I tried to anwser, but it felt as if something heavy was pressing down on my chest. I didn't know what was going on; there wasn't anything there except Riku and I. Panic spead through me like wildfire.

"Hang on, we're almost there." Riku's voice was echoed, and it made my head hurt. I felt something wrap around my waist, lifting me up. Looking up, I saw a little bit of light before everything went black.

My head felt like someone was stomping on it. I groaned, opened my eyes, then closed them tightly as light painfully blinded me. I heard a girl's voice from somewhere near me.

"DiZ! She's waking up!"

There was some shuffling, then a man's voice, deep and gruff. "Namine, give her some water."

"Alright."

I tried opening my eyes again, and luckily, I was able to do it. I struggled to sit up, my eyes adjusting to the lights. My back and legs were burning, like I'd had just ran a race. I shook my head slightly; the pain had receded some, much to my joy. A glass of water was handed to me, a hand holding mine to make sure I didn't drop it. "Are you alright?" It was the girl from earlier. Looking at her, I saw a girl with pale blonde hair and blue doe eyes in a small white dress. I took the water, swallowing a little bit so I could speak. "...I'm fine." I said eyeing her warily. Glancing around the room, I saw that it was a library.

She smiled and stood up, turning around to the other man. I peered at her back, and saw nothing. No heart. My heartbeat picked up a bit, my muscles tensing as I stood. I knew it. That lair.

The man, dressed in red with most of his face covered with red cloth, turned to me. Seeing my glare, he glanced at the girl. "I suppose you've seen that Namine here has no heart." He said. It wasn't a question, but a fact. I nodded slowly, trying to control my breathing. The man chuckled, "So it's true. Check my heart if you wish; you're in good hands." Hesitantly, I glanced at his chest. Like Riku, it took me some time, but eventually I saw a speck of light. I calm down, but still didn't relax, seeing as I was with two strange people.

"My name is DiZ," The man said, "I'm sure Riku has told you why you are here."

I nodded. This could be my chance to get some anwsers. "...Somewhat. You guys just want me to stay away from the guy in the black coat, right?"

"To put it simply."

"How am I involved in this?"

DiZ blinked. "Pardon?"

I shifted my weight, feeling braver than before. "Riku said a friend was recovering. Where do I fit in?" DiZ shook his head. "It is a very long story. Things happened and certain circumstances lead us to where we are today, and it's best that you're kept safe and in the dark, so to speak." I crossed my arms. Looks like I'm not getting anwsers from him either. A question burned in the back of my throat, one that I'd been hold back. "When can I go home?" I blurted out. DiZ didn't anwser quickly, making me nervous. When he finally spoke, it wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear. "That all depends on how quickly Namine's work progresses."

I felt dispair bloom in my stomach. "...What are the chances? I mean, that I'll get to go home soon?"

DiZ thought a moment. "Considering that the Organization has already found you...Maybe forty-five percent."

My stomach dropped. I shifted my weight, looking at the floor as I began to regret my decision. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up. DiZ spoke in a kinder voice. "Don't trouble yourself over this, Miss Alina. We are working as hard as we can; this fight will be over in time," He said, walking past me out of the room. I sighed and crossed my arms, the gut-wrenching feel of homesickness slowly washing over me.

"You're awake."

I jumped and turned around. Riku was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, hood down. The black bandage still covered his eyes. "Did I scare you?" He asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. I huffed, my face warming up. "Yeah right. I'm just nervous. It's not every day a creep in a black coat sneaks into my house in the middle of the night."

"That creep saved your life."

I hugged myself, a shiver shooting down my spine. "They're really that dangerous? The organization guys?" Riku hesitated. I frowned, "I want to know. It's me they want, after all." He sighed, turning his head over to the bookshelves. "Yeah, they are that dangerous. There's a good chance they wouldn't kill you, though, since you can see hearts. But they'd turn you into something that would make you wish you were dead."

"What would I turn into?"

"A Nobody."

"Oh, you know," He replied casually, "just Nobody."

I blinked. "The guy from before mentioned something about being nobody when I asked him what he was. That's what he ment?" Riku nodded. "Probably," He said, walking over to the book self. He pulled out a thin book and handed it to me. I looked down at the cover. 'Nobodies; Born Between Light and Dark'. Sounds interesting enough. "That's all the information there is on Nobodies," Riku explained, "Read as much as you want, just don't tell DiZ. He doesn't want you to know too much."

"Why?"

"It complicates things further."

"So...why are you giving this to me?"

"I thought you should know what's after you," He smirked, "That, and you'd just ask anyway." I glared lightly at him, snatching the book from his hands. Without warning, a yawn escaped my mouth, making Riku smirk again. "What time is it?" I asked, yawning. "About four in the morning." Riku anwsered, "Come on, I'll show you where your room is." I nodded and followed him out the door and into the hallway. It was completely pitch black in the hall, making me slam into Riku's back when he suddenly stopped right outside the door. "Ow! Is there any reason you decided to break my nose?" I asked, rubbing my nose as I stepped beside him. Riku frowned, "The lights were on when I went into the library." I shrugged. "So? Maybe DiZ turned them off." He shook his head, the frown still on is face. Something shot through my chest, and I quickly turned to the darkness before us. There's someone nearby! Riku must've seen me tense. He grabbed my arm and pulled me back, "Get behind me," He said, "Alina, can you see anyone?" I peeked over his shoulder, but saw nothing but darkness. Dispite this, I could still feel someone close. "No...but there's definetly someone there." Where's my shotgun?! I thought, panic begining to snake it's way through my body. Is it the guy from earlier? How'd he find me?! Riku tensed as footsteps aproached. His arm shot up, a black bat-wing looking sword forming in his hand as he pointed the sword at the intruder.

Namine stared back, wide eyed. Riku lowered his sword, "Namine? What are you doing up?" She blinked apologetically. "I-I'm sorry, I came to get a drink of water."

"Did you turn off the lights?"

"No...I thought you did."

I saw Riku frown again. "Alright. I'll take you back to the drawing room." Namine nodded, falling in step with me as Riku lead us through the hall. I glanced at Namine warily. She smiled at me. This calmed me down a bit. I guess she's alright, I thought, relaxing some.

Riku lead us to a white door, which seem to glow against the moonlight from the window across from it. Namine turned and nodded to us. "Thank you, Riku. It was very nice to meet you, Alina!" I nodded silently, smiling back at her. The door closed, and Riku turned to the brown doors next to Namine's room. "There's your room. I'll see you in the morning, Alina." I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly. "Uh, yeah," I mumbled, glancing away, "see you later." Riku chuckled.

"What?"

"Your face is red."

"N-no it's not!"

"Just go to sleep."

"R-right!" I quickly opened the door, stepped inside, and shut it. I could feel heat radiating off my face. I took a breath and looked around the small bedroom. My shotgun was on the bed, luckily. The drastic events of the day finally began to weigh on me, and I felt my eyes droop. Yawning, I sat on the bed, placing my shotgun on the floor. I really wanna read up on the Nobodies, but I don't think I can keep my eyes open. Riku seems pretty serious about the whole protecting thing, but I don't want to just sit around while he and DiZ work...And from the looks of it, Namine's working, too. I didn't try to stop myself as I slumped over, the book slipping from my fingers and landing on the floor with a loud 'thump'. I'm sure there's something I can do for them...like wash dishes, or clean laundry. And with that final thought, I slipped into a strange dream of being chased by heartless and guys in black coats.