Draco: NEW NEW EDIT: DO. NOT. WATCH. THE. ROSARIO+VAMPIRE. ANIME. I have been receiving review upon review from people who have not heard of Rosario+Vampire and have been watching the anime as their first exprience. If you have any respect for plot and progress, READ THE MANGA. The anime sacrificed character development and shounen scenes for fanservice and panty shots. Trust me. I don't care if you're Ginei wolfhound Morioka. You'd rather see the shounen scenes. END NEW NEW EDIT
NEW EDIT: The cover image displayed is cropped due to size limitations. Those who wish to see the full image, please remove all getaround markup and copypaste this into your URL bar: h*t*t*p*:*/*/ sorasprincesss . deviantart / art / Keys - And - Crosses - 3*8*1*8*7*1*4*3*0 END NEW EDIT
Anyways, I'm going to go at a bit of a gamble and say this isn't quite a crossover because it is simply location, not characters. Anyone who likes Rosario+Vampire and Kingdom Hearts (guilty as charged) is going to love this. On terms of the relationships... SoKai, RiKai, light SoNami, RokuShi, RokuNami, Larxel, and (as promised, Guggi) SoXion. And no, this won't be a mainstream-esque love web, a- most of the triangles are going to disperse sooner or later until we have a RokuNami, a SoKai or RiKai, and a SoXion.
I am way too lazy to have come up with that many characters and I would never knowingly produce a love web that sticky. Kingdom Hearts copyright Disney and Square Enix. Rosario+Vampire copyright Akihisa Ikeda. Additional Final Fantasy characters copyright Square Enix.
Chapter 1: Arrival At Yokai
It wasn't that she was horrible at her studies, or that she was too lazy to do the work. She wasn't emotionally unstable, or quick to anger. But the amount of torment that her peers had landed on her, both physically and verbally, had pushed fifteen-year-old Kairi Chikai to request - plead, if you will - that her parents send her to another school this year.
And now, here she was, bags at her side, the only one on a bus to Yokai Academy, an easy-to-apply private school. Kairi hadn't heard of the name before, but that didn't mean much - she wasn't too attentive to many things outside of what she had to do now and what she had to do before then.
As the vehichle entered a tunnel, she heard the bus driver call to her.
"So, you will be going to Yokai Academy, correct?"
His voice was kind of slow, almost emotionless. Kairi pulled her gaze away from the window to look towards him. His silver hair was kind of a veil around his face, so she couldn't see him too well. He did, however, wear what appeared to be a uniform black cloak. "Yeah," she replied, delayed. "Figured a new crowd might do me some good."
"I should hope your old crowd won't miss you."
Kairi was taken aback by that. "Sorry?" she prompted. "What do you mean by that?"
"Once the darkness of this tunnel has left us, what you will see is Yokai Academy."
He turned towards her, and she saw his eyes were a bright gold.
"And consider yourself lucky... if it is not the last thing you see."
+x+x+x+
The tunnel emerged at an oceanside cliff road. The driver brought the vehichle to a swift stop near a leafless tree, and Kairi, in something of a state of shock, picked up her bags, got to her feet, and stepped off the bus.
"Watch your back."
With those ominous words, the driver closed the bus door, followed the road into something of a U-turn, and took his vehichle and his enigmatic self away.
As though on cue, a tear of lightning ripped across the sky, illuminating the most ominous structure Kairi had ever seen.
Kairi nearly screamed, but she managed to stop herself. "It's okay," she said to no one. "It's alright. He's just trying to scare me. He's probably paid to know those lines. This school might look creepy, but that's no reason to assume..."
"...of the way! Out of the way! Out of the way!"
The crimson-haired girl spun to see the most horrifying sight - a motorcycle was screaming right towards her, with its driver - a boy about her age with spiky brown hair - shouting over the nearly inaudible engine, scrambling around the controls without control of his vehichle.
Kairi screamed, paralyzed, causing the driver to raise his gaze.
For the briefest of moments, she could see his eyes, the colour of a cloudless sky.
Then something in the driver changed. His gaze narrowed, and with impossible dexterity he slammed his feet against the back wheel drum. He shot forward, his hands palming against the hood of the motorcycle, and he pulled himself over the weapon, flying through the air as though to attack Kairi.
Instead, he landed before her and spun back to his bike, raising his hand.
A flare of light surged from his hand, and in that hand formed a shape like a very large skeleton key. Kairi had zero time to observe, though, before he swept the weapon before him. The bike connected with the key and pulled a total frontal flip, arcing through the air and past Kairi, missing her right ear by a hair's breadth, before landing roughly on it's back wheels, whirling into a spin skid, and plummetting over the cliffside.
Kairi and the cyclist were quiet for the longest moment, gazing where the bike had vanished.
Then the boy turned towards Kairi. "Sorry... about that," he insisted. "I'm borrowing my friend's bike and I'm still not used to the steering controls."
"It... It's okay," Kairi insisted. "I... I should have tried to move." She held out her hand. "I'm Kairi. Kairi Chikai. You?"
"Sora Kingdom," he replied, taking Kairi's hand hesitantly. "Are you-"
He came to an abrupt stop mid-sentence, stumbling back as though struck, his hand slipping out of Kairi's like soap. Kairi was taken aback at the way he reached for his helm like he was dizzy. "Is something wrong?"
"It's..." Sora cut himself off with a grunt. "Are you hurt?" he asked.
Kairi winced. "I don't..." She stopped and reached for her shoulder, feeling a sudden, sharp pain as her hand connected with an open wound near her neck. "What..."
Sora reached into his pocket with his free hand. "The tire... It must've... skinned your shoulder..." He cursed, switching to a different pocket. "There were some... bandages in... the bike, why..."
He gasped, cutting himself off, and started to fall forward. Kairi reacted instinctively, catching him with both arms and ignoring the fact that he was now connecting directly with her wound. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Why are you..."
The sudden movement as Sora caught her arms cut her off. "I'm sorry," he murmured into her ear.
Kairi was surprised. "What do you..."
Sora pulled himself off her shoulder just long enough to breathe three words into her ear.
"I'm a vampire."
Then his head fell, and Kairi felt a sudden puncture, a sensation of something being drawn out as Sora bit into her skin.
Kairi gave a faint yelp, but she didn't move - she couldn't move - her body wouldn't obey. Sora pulled away suddenly, the draw fading - and Kairi didn't hesitate to land a massive shove that pushed him away from her, reaching for her neck.
"You..." Kairi gasped. "Did you... You just... You're...!"
"I'm sorry!" Sora insisted. "I tried, but... the scent, it... I shouldn't have, but..."
Kairi didn't let him finish. "But you're a vampire," she exclaimed, her body shuddering.
Sora winced. "I'm sorry!" He turned away and took off, towards the structure in the distance.
The crimson-haired girl didn't move for the longest time. Then, slowly, she reached towards the wound where the motorbike had ripped into her skin.
The wound's gone...
+x+x+x+
Kairi would have liked to believe that nearly being runover and subsequently having blood sucked out of her was the weirdest thing to happen that day. Indeed, for a moment, she did believe it.
And one could not blame her.
She made her way to the school to hear a bell going off. Under the rather understandable impression that she may be late for class, Kairi quickly located a map on the wall and a pamphlet in her backpack that told her where she needed to go. She showed up in the classroom to find it crowded with students already and found an empty seat just as another bell went off.
A sigh escaped her lips as the teacher got to his feet. He looked like something of a ladies man - hair that was at once tidy and untidy, a leather jacket lined with white fur - and the scar that crossed between his eyes did little, if anything, to hinder the impression. As he cleared his throat with a light cough, Kairi caught sight of a curious figure on the wall above - it looked like a sword, but the hilt and handle were formed from an oversized revolver.
"Welcome, freshman class," the teacher called. "I'm your homeroom teacher, Squall Leonheart. Leon will suffice if you happen to be forgetful. Now, down to business." He set his hands against his desk. "Yokai Academy - the name speaks for itself." His gaze raised.
"Welcome to a school for monsters."
Kairi started suddenly. Though most of the class - including Professor Leonheart - didn't notice, some of the nearer students did, causing Kairi to look around, not only to take a good look at her classmates but to cover as though someone had kicked her forward. Figure her luck to have chosen the seat in front of the only empty desk.
Professor Leonheart was speaking again. "As you all know," the teacher stated, "our world is yet run by the human kind. Without other choice, we must live within that society - peacefully, carefully. Yokai is here to help you with that.
"And so, first rule of the academy: you will retain human appearance at all times. Understood?"
His gaze swept from left to right, seeking anyone who might object. Kairi tried to act inconspicuous, but her breathing was heavy, and her mind and lungs were running a marathon against each other. Her mind was winning.
Monsters. Monsters. He's kidding, right? This is all some huge prank. Right? Right?
"You see, there's nothing more crucial to life within a society of humans than the implication that we are the same." Professor Leonheart must have seen some shifty looks. "You will reveal yourselves to no one - not your teachers, and not your classmates."
A voice from nearby interrupted him. "Can I get an answer?" Everyone turned - including Kairi, though only her gaze - to see the questioneer was a figure who looked kind of dark. He had black leather garments that looked battle-ready, and his hair drifted over his face rather obscuringly. "We're so much tougher than humans - why don't we just tear 'em all down?"
No no no no no! Kairi was screaming at herself mentally own mind. This isn't a joke! This isn't a joke! How did I get myself into this?!
The teacher huffed at that. "We have power - and they have numbers," he elaborated. "Sooner or later, things would turn sour - on us." A smirk rose on his face. "Don't worry, though," he added. "No human alive has so much as seen this academy, let alone known what it's for."
He beckoned to the blade Kairi had noticed earlier. "Or did you think that was just decoration?"
Kairi's heart was beating like a drum solo. I'm screwed. I'm screwed! I knew I should have done my reasearch! If they find out I'm human, they-
Her mental rambling was cut off as the door was thrown open. Kairi didn't even bother to turn - but if she had, she would have seen a boy in multipocketed garments standing there, water dripping from him. He had a bag in his hands that was completely soaked, and his garments had not been spared - although they looked as though the water had been applied after whatever dive had soaked their wearer. His face was also absolutely exhausted, like he had just been beat up and had done an excellent job at hiding the bruises.
Professor Leonheart raised an eyebrow. "Late on the first class, Mr..." He glanced towards a listing on his desk. "Kingdom?"
"Sorry, sir. I crashed my bike in the water, and - well, okay, I shouldn't say mine, but..."
"Never mind," the teacher insisted. "There's an empty desk behind... Ms. Chikai, there. Take a seat, and try not to get anything too wet."
The newcomer nodded. "Yes, sir." Wet footsteps caused Kairi to raise her gaze, not wanting to get dripped on by...
Her body went still as she found herself locking gazed with Sora Kingdom.
Then the biker looked away abruptly, stepped past, and sat down awkwardly behind her.
+x+x+x+
After a rather horrifying school briefing, first period ended with Professor Leonheart telling the students to all wander around and familiarize themselves with the school. Sora had pulled a quick maneuver in picking up his bags and leaving before Kairi had time to reach for hers.
Wandering was not Kairi's most natural way to find her way around a building, and before long she had located a small map hand-out for student use.
She had just made her way into a huge hall that appeared to serve as a mass intersection when a voice behind her called, "Hey, firehair!"
Normally, Kairi wouldn't have responded, but she was the only one in the hall. She turned to see the silver-haired figure from Leonheart's class stepping towards her. Doing her best not to give herself away, she prompted, "Excuse me?"
"I'm sorry, Chikai, was it?" Now that she had a look at him from the front, Kairi could see he had features that implied him to be quite young. His eyes, however - they were an unnaturally intense blue that seemed to pulsate. Not to mention, hooked on his belt, on his left side, was what looked like the sheath for a katana.
"I'm Kadaj Jenova," he introduced. "Leon's class was talking about you. I heard you looked smoky, and I figured I'd see for myself." With a brief chuckle, he added, "Looks like I don't give rumours enough credit."
Kairi was now somewhat shocked, and that wasn't considering that she had noticed it was two seperate sheaths on his belt - and one hilt over them. "Uh... thanks?" she prompted.
"Yeah, you don't see many coverups like yours," Kadaj mused. "Didn't think a girl could make a human guise look that fiery, but... Guess I was wrong."
He thinks it's a disguise! I need help! She looked around for a familiar face and caught sight of a head of spiky brown hair walking by. The owner of the head of spiky brown hair saw her gaze and sped up his pace, but Kairi wasn't letting him get away. "Um... Hey, Sora!"
Sora flinched and came to a stop as Kadaj followed her gaze towards him. "Oh? Who's this? You're that later from Leon's class."
The biker turned towards him and stepped forward. "Nice to meet you, too, Kadaj," Sora mused. "Kairi, you wanted me?"
"Yeah," Kairi prompted, "I was hoping you could lend me a hand making my way around the school." She gave him a meaningful look, beckoning with her head ever-so-slightly towards Kadaj.
Sora understood. "Sure thing," he replied. "Come on."
He took off in the direction he had come from, with Kairi following.
Behind them, Kadaj only chuckled and hooked his left hand over the katana sheathed at his waist.
+x+x+x+
"Why'd you call my name?"
Kairi expected the question. "You were the only one I could see," she admitted. "And I know your face - it was a little easier to call on you." She shuddered, glancing over her shoulder as Sora led her out of the main school building. "Who was that guy?"
"I heard Kadaj is something of a preyer," Sora replied. "If he sees a girl he wants, he wants her. No questions asked."
"No questions asked," Kairi murmured. She had seen preyers at her previous school, but Yokai looked like a whole 'nother kettle of fish.
Sora nodded. "I'd normally never go around a guy like that, but..." He hesitated. "I... kinda owe you."
Kairi narrowed her gaze. "You..." The memory of him biting into her skin was still fresh in her mind
"I'm sorry," Sora insisted. "The scent of blood... It's draws me. My entire body goes weak until I get so much as a drop."
"So you really are a vampire," she murmured. "Like... crosses, silver, and garlic?"
Sora hesitated. "Garlic reeks like wet dog," he admitted, "so I try to avoid it at all costs."
Kairi shook her head. "I just... I mean..." She looked straight at him. "You don't... really... look like you could be a bloodsucker."
Her choice of words caused Sora to wince. He looked like he wanted to object, but instead he simply sighed and reached for his chest. Kairi watched as he pulled away a charm - it was a silver crown, with two chains looped between points. The chains joined halfway to a necklace - a choker ring of jet-black around his neck.
"I disguise it as just a charm," he admitted, "but look a little closer."
Kairi squinted slightly - and then she saw it. There was a cross carved into the crown's surface, and a small gem shining out at the center. "What's this?"
"Some call it 'crucifix' or 'rosary seal'," Sora replied. "The real term is rosario. It locks down the dark in me." He sighed. "Problem is, it locks and it stays locked. I can't just loose it willingly."
"You can't?" Kairi was surprised.
"Nope," Sora replied. "But I still need to defend myself, right?"
He held out his hand, and a flare of light emerged from his hand, forming the same weapon that Kairi had seen before. Now that she had a good look at it, she could tell it was definitely based off a skeleton key - the loop of the key formed a guard around his hand, bright gold, and the lenth formed a sword-esque shaft. The tip of the key was a crown, not unlike that on Sora's rosario.
"What the...?" Kairi had seen weapons before, but nothing like this.
"It's called a Keyblade," Sora elaborated. "It's kind of... tricky to get the hang of, but one gets used to it."
Kairi ran her hand along the shaft and found it pretty smooth - although the jagged tip wouldn't make a bad cut, it didn't exactly look efficient. "Kind of a strange sweetspot, don't you think?" she prompted.
"You don't strike with the teeth of the Key," Sora prompted. "The shaft works fine." He swung down to sample. "It's also easy to keep track of, because it's only ever in my hands when I need it." Just to prove his point, the weapon vanished.
A nervous chuckle emerged from Kairi. "A lot of power about you," she murmured.
Sora sighed. "A lot of penalty, too," he admitted.
Kairi gave a hesitant smile. "This is going to sound kind of ironic," she admitted, "but... I do read a few vampire books."
That didn't get the reaction she was expecting. "Oh, hell, no," Sora muttered. "Don't tell me you're expecting me to sparkle."
"No, no, no," Kairi replied. "More like... a tattoo around your face, by the time we're done here."
"Lovely." Sora raised his gaze to find a structure looming up before them. "Hey, I think these are the dorms."
Kairi looked away from the vampire to see a looming structure before her. It was a multifloored, structure with a few balconies on the upper floors. Not bad - if you ignored the fact that surrounding it was a set of petrified trees and a swarm of gravestones.
A sound like a scream that was being strangled on its way out emerged from Kairi. "Did you just say... dorm? They can't seriously expect us to spend a few years in there... can they?"
"What?" Sora prompted. "This is awesome! I could die happy in that thing!"
Kairi looked at the gravestones. Dying looked like a very real possibility. "We're looking at the same hellhole, right?"
Sora chuckled. "What'sa matter, Kairi?" he prompted. "Scared of a little decor?" He thought a moment. "Speaking of which... You never told me what you are."
The question caused Kairi to yelp. He thinks I'm a monster! Like him! He thinks I'm a monster! "I..."
Before she could come up with a valid retaliaton, Sora raised a hand defensively. "Damn it! School rules. Never mind. Forget I asked." He looked away nervously.
There were a few moments of awkward silence. Then Kairi coughed nervously. "I'm... I'm going to... look around the school, a bit more... alright?"
She turned and started back towards the main building.
"Hey, uh, Kairi?"
Kairi turned to see him still looking towards the dorms. "Sora?"
"I'd... I'd appreciate it, if... you didn't mention... you know..." He raised a hand over his shoulder and made a claw gesture.
Kairi was quiet for a long moment. "I'll consider it," she replied finally.
She started off, not giving him another chance to speak.
+x+x+x+
Kadaj saw Kairi walking back towards the school from a mile away. Her bright red hair made her easy to pick out, and it was evident that that Kingdom kid wasn't with her. With a light smirk, he turned away and flipped open his cell phone.
"Hey, Yazoo. You where I need you? Yeah, get the place ready, will ya?"
Kairi saw Kadaj facing away, with a cellphone in hand. He had his left hand dangling on his sheathed sword, and Kairi saw the silvery white outline of an angel's wing on the right side of his jacket.
"No," Kadaj snapped into his phone, "I don't care what flavour it is. Just don't let Loz touch it." As Kairi looked for - and found - a roundabout route into the school that would take her into the school, she heard Kadaj muse, "If he's gotta do something, get him hauling wood. If we need to light a fire, I don't want to have to wait."
That was what got Kairi moving.
"Good. I'll see you there."
He flicked his phone shut and spun to see Kairi gone. A curse escaped his lips, but he caught sight of Sora making his way towards the school. "Hey, Kingdom!"
Sora spun. "Kadaj."
"I saw you and Chikai spending time," he mused threateningly. "What're you hooking her onto?"
"Do I look like a drug dealer?" Sora prompted.
Kadaj's left hand closed around his sword's grip. "Look, Kingdom. You got no good reason to be talking with her. What are you after?"
Sora sighed. "I'm going to make something relatively clear," he prompted. "I'm not after Kairi. If you want her, want her. But stop treating me like a threat."
"Maybe if you stop acting like one, then I will," Kadaj threatened.
"Are you asking for a clash?" Sora held out his hand as though to catch something. "Because I'll give you one."
Kadaj narrowed his gaze. "If I see you with Chikai again..."
His irises pulsated, and he drew his sword just a few centimetres from its sheath.
"Understood?"
Sora turned away and started back towards the dorms. "Don't waste your time."
+x+x+x+
The next day, Kairi was on her way to the main buildings. Her bag was dangling from her hands, and she had her map in hand, looking for a fast route to where the bus had dropped her off.
"Hey, Chikai!"
The voice was definitely not Kadaj, nor Sora. Kairi turned to see a girl in what, at a glance, appeared to be casual black clothes. However, as she got closer, Kairi could tell that there was something beneath. She had a black jacket that trailed low to the ground over a black t-shirt, and black stilletto heels under a pair of black capris. She had hair the colour of photographed lightning, and it was arced into a pair of antennae.
Kairi was confused. "Do I know you?"
"You'll wish you did by the time I'm through with you," the girl stated. "The name's Larxene. And I want to know what you're doing."
That put Kairi immediately on guard. "What...?" If she knows what I am, I'm done for!
Larxene raised her hand to Kairi's neck, and Kairi could hear sparks jumping between her fingers. "First Kadaj Jenova. Now Sora Kingdom. You're just trying to spin a web of boys, aren'tcha?"
The confrontation was starting to draw a crowd. "N-No," Kairi insisted. "You've got it all wrong, I..."
She didn't get a chance to finish. The next thing she knew, something had slammed into her arm, and Kairi gave a shout as she felt it pierce her skin. It wasn't like Sora's bite - this was a sharpened edge. Larxene grabbed kairi's unstruck arm and arced into a spin, slamming the red-haired girl to the ground with enough force to send her vision spinning.
Larxene raised her hand.
There were edges like knives emerging like claws between her fingers.
"You're high, and mighty, and in denial," she snapped. "So... what are you? A succubus? A snakehair? A watergirl looking to drag them off the cliffs?"
Kairi didn't recognize any of those terms. "I... I'm a... vampire, or something..."
That was the wrong thing to say. Larxene's eyes flared, and Kairi saw lightning spearing across them as she raised her hand. Without even thinking about it, Kairi rolled out of the way, letting Larxene drive her knives into the ground - but she only swept her hand towards Kairi, and the knives ripped up arcs of earth as Kairi stumbled to her feet and out of the way.
The arcs struck a tree.
The tree split in two.
"You?! A vampire?!" Larxene was livid. "The vampire is a force beyond nature! An immortal! A nobody like you, a vampire?"
Kairi's eyes were wide. She tried to speak, but her body wouldn't obey.
Larxene glared. "If I see you with Kingdom or Jenova again, you'll go to hell seeing sparks."
She turned away, and Kairi saw her release her clenched fist.
The knives retracted into her palm.
+x+x+x+
"She split a tree! With dirt! She split a tree with dirt!"
Kairi was in full panic mode. "What the hell, what the hell, what the hell!" That's it! I'm out of here! She hoisted her bag over her shoulder.
"Okay, I swear, you're trying to keep me around."
The voice caused Kairi to react, leaping away halfway through a spin. The lack of balance on the landing caused her to stumble back a few steps, during which time she saw it was Sora. "What the..."
"Kairi?" Sora prompted. "You're... you've got your bags with you."
Kairi shook her head. Larxene's threat was vivid in her mind. "Sora, I'm sorry, I need to get out of here. This school is dangerous to me. I need to get out of here. I need a human school."
Sora reacted to that. "No!" he exclaimed, a horror in his voice. "You can't!"
The shout caused Kairi to pull back.
"Kairi, human education has tormented me my entire life," Sora gasped. "Jackasses trying to find a fight turn me into a laughingstock the moment I so much as mention the word 'vampire'." He glanced at the earth. "They're always insulting me, laughing at me. 'It's just a story! There no such thing as a vampire! What're you gonna do, shine on us?' It took me months to get that glitter out of my hair!"
He shook his head, wincing at the memory.
"Humans have brought me hell for as long as I can remember," he murmured. "And the moment I meet another monster, they doubt what I even am. They assume I'm competition."
Kairi was quiet as Sora raised his gaze.
"But then I met you," he murmured. "And... you don't question me. You don't insult me. Kairi, you're the only one who's ever shown me kindness."
His words caused Kairi to hesitate.
"You asked me what I am. Didn't you?"
Sora was surprised at that. "Yeah, but-"
Kairi cut him off with a dark look. "Sora, what I am... really... You're looking at it."
A look of shock appeared on Sora's face. "Kairi, what...?"
"Sora, listen to me," Kairi said firmly. "I'm not a monster. I don't belong in this school. I got here by mistake."
"That's insane!" Sora insisted. "You..." He fell quiet, and his eyes widened as he reached for his mouth. "No..."
Kairi nodded. "You can tell the difference, can't you?" she prompted. "Sora, I'm human. I don't belong here. You do." She turned and started to walk away, her body tense.
Sora tried to stop her. "Kairi, wa-"
"You sucked my blood, Sora!" Kairi shouted, whirling towards him. "How do you know I don't hate you for that?"
She didn't give him a chance to respond.
She turned away and ran, not looking back.
+x+x+x+
"Kairi, you're the only one who's ever shown me kindness..."
Sora's words were ringing in Kairi's ears as she made her way towards the bus stop. "This isn't the place for me," she murmured to herself. "This is a world beyond me. I don't belong here."
She arrived at the tree and sighed, hoping the bus would show up.
"What're you doing here, Chikai? You're gonna be late for class."
Kairi started at that, looking around for the source. "What..."
A chuckle. "Look higher, there, firehair!"
She did.
Kadaj Jenova was standing between the branches, his hair swaying in the breeze. "Not sure why you'd come all the way out here," he called, "but it works for me!"
He leapt up, arced through the air, and landed swiftly nearby. Kairi stepped back, her body tremoring. "What are you...?"
"Didn't Kingdom tell you?" Kadaj prompted, grasping the sword dangling on his belt. "If I see a girl I want..."
He drew the sword with a scream of steel on steel, and his eyes pulsated as his pupils became catlike slits.
"...I want her."
Kairi was paralyzed. In Kadaj's hands was a katana. But it was a katana with two identical blades, running side by side before meeting the hilt at one end and tapering to points at the other. He had it in a backhand grip, but with a flick of his wrist the weapon whirled to a forehand grip.
"No... questions... asked."
Kadaj levelled the blade on Kairi. "Now, you can hold still, and cooperate..."
Something dark began to blaze about his right side.
"Or... we can do this the hard way."
With a surge of energy, there was something draped over Kadaj's shoulder.
It was a wing.
It was a jet-black angel wing!
Kadaj glanced at the addition. "Sorry," he prompted. "Anticipation makes a hold on my human form a little... difficult."
He stepped forward.
+x+x+x+
The fact that Kairi was leaving was enough of a shock to Sora.
But when Kadaj was missing from the class rush, he had full reason be suspicious.
Sora started running full-throttle towards the bus stop. Preyers were never a good deal - if things went bad, there was going to be a quarrel. Sora had experience in stopping preyers before, but a weapon like Kadaj's was going to be dangerous.
And if Kairi really was a human...
+x+x+x+
Kairi hit the ground roughly. Kadaj was drifting in the air over her, necrous lightning sparking around his body as his single wing flared out around him. His twin-bladed katana was in his hand, and his eyes were shining menacingly, trapped in catlike slits.
"Damn!" he called. "You're a feisty one, you know that? You talk up a lot of storm, but you won't even raise a hand against me!" He chuckled, arcing low to the ground. "Or did you put too much into your disguise?"
Not this again! Kairi glanced towards the tunnel she had come through. Come on... any day, now!...
Kadaj flew higher. "If you won't cooperate," he threatened, "I can always make it painful, Chikai!"
He surged down with his weapon in hand...
Only to be stopped with a clash of metal.
Kairi raised her gaze to see Sora suspended in the air against Kadaj. His Keyblade was in his hand, and Kadaj seemed surprised to see him. The lock was only for a brief moment, though; then Sora arced past, rolling as he hit the ground, and Kadaj pulled higher into the air.
"Kingdom!" he exclaimed. "You got a lot of nerve, showing up here."
Sora glanced back at Kairi, who still lay there, shocked. "Kairi..."
"Sora?"
"Run."
Then he turned back to Kadaj as the necrous swordsman dropped towards him, blade backhand; and Sora caught his strike against his Keyblade once again. He leapt away from the next strike, leaping back towards the school as Kadaj tried to strike him again and again.
It was then that the bus emerged from the tunnel, coming to a stop near Kairi, and the door opened, revealing the same driver that had brought her to Yokai.
"Not many people have ease to return home from Yokai Academy."
Kairi glanced at him. "Yet you figured I'd come."
"Step in. I would not like to still be here when they come back."
The driver's words caused Kairi to hesitate.
Her bags fell to the earth.
+x+x+x+
Sora caught another blow against his Keyblade, but Kadaj was starting to wear him down. He had driven Sora into a graveyard setup, and as the katana shot towards him again Sora didn't react fast enough.
The double blades ran across Sora's shoulder, and he gave a shout, falling back as the wound started to bleed. His own blood didn't give him the same reaction as Kairi's had, but the wound was on his sword arm, and that gave him a serious hinderance.
"Come on, Kingdom!" he shouted. "Get up! You can't quit on first blood!"
Sora raised his gaze. Kairi... please, tell me you've left already! Weakly, he struggled to get to his feet, using one of the gravestones as a support.
Kadaj surged forward, whirling his katana into a backhand grip as he dropped low to knock Sora into the air.
The next thing Sora knew, a blur with bright red hair had grabbed him and pulled him out of the strike range, and the winged monster was swinging at air as he arced past.
"Sora, are you alright?"
Kadaj spun. "Chikai!"
"Kairi, what are you doing here?" Sora demanded. "You said..."
"I know what I said, Sora," Kairi assured him. Her voice dropped. "But... when I saw you arrive, and you lured him away... I knew I couldn't just leave you here. It's my fault if your hurt for defending me."
She looked into his eyes. "So I'm not going to let that happen."
Sora was about to reply. Kadaj beat him to it.
"You!" he roared, causing both of them to turn towards him. "You spiky-haired freak! How dare you?! I told you to keep your hands off!"
His eyes were turning a necrous blend of emerald and lapis as he arced low towards them, blade braced to strike.
Kairi's eyes widened, and she turned to Sora.
Without even thinking about it, she reached for Sora's chest and hooked her hand through the loop of Sora's crown.
"Sora, save yourself!"
She pulled.
The chain came off, without resistance, before Sora had time to shout.
And as Kadaj came near, there was a flare of energy that caused him to pull back, wing flaring, hand before his eyes.
When Kairi could see again, Sora was on his feet, standing before her. But his hair - his hair had turned a bright orange, darkening to black at the tips of his hairstyle. His sky-blue eyes were now a dark bloodred, with a ring of gold connecting iris to pupil. His teeth were sharpened into fangs, arcing over his lower lip. And his fingernails had lengthened, turned into claws.
But those claws were jagged, spiked like keys.
Kadaj looked like he wanted his eyes to be decieving him. "No... Eyes of blood... and force beyond nature..."
Sora took a few steps past Kairi, his fluency almost dark.
"Are you looking for a clash?"
His voice was dark; and now he dropped into a low stance that looked almost feral.
"Because I'll give you one."
Kadaj was seething. "You... dare?!" he roared. "I don't care if you are a vampire! I'll cut you down!"
He brought his twin-blade katana back and surged towards Sora, intent on impaling him through the heart.
Kairi screamed. "Sora!"
Sora only smirked as the weapon neared him.
With inhuman speed, his hand rushed forward - and suddenly, he was standing there with his hand clenched around Kadaj's grip, and he was standing eye-to-eye with the one-wing.
His middle finger was between the blades of his katana.
"Don't waste my time."
He spun into a whirl, sending Kadaj hurtling into a distant tree. The katana was still trapped between Sora's fingers, and now he grabbed that with his left hand and arced it into his right.
Then he flicked it down, impaling it in the ground until the hilt met earth.
Kairi was in total shock as Sora turned towards him. There was a darkness around him, a force she could not comprehend, and as he walked his posture did not so much as waver from straight up. Kairi scrambled to her feet, the crown dangling from her hand.
What she was surprised to see was that there was a single chain dangling from Sora's choker - Kairi only had the loop that met the crown.
"Don't tell me... you're afraid of me?"
Sora grinned, and as Kairi stepped back his hand rushed forward.
It closed around the crown.
"Save yourself the torment," he insisted. "I don't know how long its been since I was released. I'm not even strong, not yet. That fool just didn't know enough to run." He stepped forward again, bringing his face inches from Kairi's. "I'll strive to remember your face."
He smirked, running his empty hand along the side of Kairi's face. "And I'll be sure to remember your taste. That's something we can both agree on."
It was then that he raised the loop of the chain to the single set of links dangling from his neck, and a tremor of steel emerged as he lowered his hand.
The crown was tied back to the choker around his neck.
The darkness in his eyes started to fade. "Take care of Sora for me. Can you do that, Kairi?"
Before Kairi had a chance to respond, his eyes closed, and Sora wavered in place as his hair faded back to brown. His teeth vanished behind his closed lips, and the key-claws around his hands retracted until they were normal fingernails.
Was Sora sleeping... on his feet?
Kairi was quiet for a moment, her gaze towards the ground.
"I left my bags at the bus stop."
+x+x+x+
As Kairi arrived, she found her bags dangling from a low branch of the tree. After making sure Kadaj wasn't lurking again, she picked up the bags and started back towards the Academy.
"Decided to stay, did you?"
Kairi stopped at the voice behind her. "You're really creepy, you know that?" she prompted to the bus driver she knew stood behind her.
"Say what you will. As I said before: Not many have ease to return home from Yokai Academy."
The observation caused Kairi to hesitate... and then shrug.
"Ah, well," she mused. "Guess you're not omniscient after all."
+x+x+x+
As she started back towards the school, Kairi found herself intercepted by Sora.
"Hey, Kairi!" he called. "Where'd you go?"
"To get my stuff," Kairi replied, raising her bags. "Hey, tell Leon I'll be in class ASAP, alright?"
Sora nodded. "No problem."
"Thanks." Kairi turned away and took one step towards the dorms.
"Um, Kairi?"
This caused her to turn. "Sora?"
"Thanks for... you know..." He pulled at the chain around his neck.
Kairi only smiled. "No problem. Thanks for taking care of Kadaj."
"My pleasure." Sora's smile fell slightly as he looked at her.
That caught her off-guard. "What?"
"You've got... you've got a really light... scratch..." He traced one finger around the side of his own face. "Right there."
Kairi reached for her face to feel the faintest of marks there. Sora's claws when the 'inside' Sora had said goodbye must have caught her without her knowing. "It's nothing," she assured him.
Sora watched her turn and race towards the dorms.
A smile rose on his face.
+x+x+x+
By the time Kairi had arrived at class, it was already halfway through the period. "You're late, Ms. Chikai," Professor Leonheart mused as she walked in. "That makes three students today."
"I'm sorry," Kairi insisted. "I won't make this a regular thing."
As she made her way to her seat, she saw Kadaj in his. He had a bruise across the side of his face, and as she passed he gave her a dark glare.
"Well," Leon mused, "I should at least hope that you, Mr. Kingdom, and Mr. Jenova have made a few friends by now."
Kairi sat down. Behind her, Sora leaned forward and whispered, "You might say that."
Slowly, a smile rose on Kairi's face, and she glanced over her shoulder at him. "Hey, fangs off."
Draco: Damn it, I can't do short chapters anymore if this is what my Chapter 1 is going to be like! Sorry if this seemed a little too... close to the real one, but I swear things are going to get more original starting with Chapter 2!
Alright, I'm done ranting. I'll be running this a chapter or two more before I start jumping between this and Wind and Water. Read, review, etcetera, yada yada, blah blah blah.