Yang Xiao Long was on another boring mission. So far, team RWBY hadn't gotten an official mission together. Yang was mainly just exterminating Grimm that were threatening local towns and whatnot, and her teammates had practice missions of their own of a similar nature. That meant Yang was dealing with more grunts. Beowolves and Ursa were the only enemies she'd seen for a while that weren't on diagrams, diagrams which she didn't even pay attention to anyway. She walked along the forest road, going back to the ship that would take her to Beacon and end her boredom. She could probably have some fun with Ruby afterwards, assuming her younger sister hadn't been sent on any small training missions. The blonde sighed and slammed her fist into a tree, shattering the bark. So far, after initiation, Beacon had failed to impress her. She muttered a curse and kept walking. However, something stopped her. She had passed a tree with shattered bark, but she knew it couldn't have been the one she'd hit. The blonde paused and looked around.
"If you're another Beowolf, just go away," Yang sighed. She got no answer. The Beowolves would have responded to her voice and tried to attack already.
"And don't think any Ursa get a free pass. You can all piss off too." Again, no reply. The trees above her suddenly became imposing, and Yang grew more aware of the shadow they cast. However, the trees shadows weren't the only ones in the forest. Small creatures with claws, antenna, and yellow eyes stalked out of the shadows cast by the trees.
"You know what? I really would have preferred a Beowolf," Yang muttered. She lazily kicked the first monster that hurled itself at her, and it knocked into another. One jumped for her face, and she immediately shot out her arm. Ember Celica passed through the dark being and disintegrated it. Another pounced at Yang, but she grabbed it and threw it into its companions. Shadows burst as the impact destroyed the monsters. She looked behind her, and a larger version of the small shadows appeared, with longer antenna and a muscular figure. It ran at Yang, and she grinned.
"Maybe this won't be so bad," she said, ducking under the monster's first swipe. She then shot her fist into its stomach and knocked it off of its feet. However, it was still relatively close to the ground. With a mighty punch, she knocked away the monster and it disintegrated into shadow as it hit the dirt. Behind her, another attacked, but she twirled into the air and kicked it into a tree. She then shot herself at it with Ember Celica and elbowed it in the face, quickly turning to grab the monster and slam it into the ground. It disintegrated like the others.
"Really? And I got all excited, too! Let's end this quick so I can get back to my adorable little sister," Yang said, charging at a group of large shadows. She kicked and twisted, her leg catching at least three of the monsters. She kicked them away and turned to punch another with a straight jab, then crouched and preformed a sweeping kick on one that attacked from the ground. It tripped, and as it fell, she punched it into the three she'd kicked. They disintegrated. Yang turned to find one flat on the ground, like a piece of paper. She stomped on it, and nothing happened.
"So you can do more than get punched in the face, huh?" She snarled, angry at how her time was wasted. She jumped back as the monster sprung from the ground, and only lasted for a second before she punched it in the face. Yang clanked her gauntlets together to signify that she was done, and walked away from the monsters. At least, she tried to.
Sora was smiling broadly, walking about in this strange new world. Donald and Goofy had opted to stay at the Gummi Ship and try to get it working again. He promised he'd be back soon, and he intended to. There were no Heartless in sight, but he just wanted to see what this new world was like. So far, all he'd seen were forest roads. They were calming, but it wasn't anything new. The spiky-haired teen walked with his hands resting on his neck, happily looking into the sky. It was nice, just being able to relax and focus on just being in the present, as opposed to being constantly worried about his friends. It could get tiring to worry so much, especially for a generally carefree boy like Sora. As he walked, he closed his eyes. That was a bad move. He heard a snap and felt a shadow pass over him, but didn't have time to get out of the way as a tree fell on the poor keyblade wielder with a loud crash.
"Ow..." He groaned, pushing off the tree. He summoned his keyblade in a flash of light, a simple gray and yellow oversized key. He ran towards the forest, when he realized that part of it wasn't a forest at all. A green Heartless with trees growing out of it rampaged through the trees. Vines fell from its arms and legs, and it had feet and legs made of stone. On top of it, he could see a blonde girl punching it repeatedly in the head. The vines on it shot at her, and she flipped back.
"Don't try anything funny with those vines. I know how this stuff goes down in anime!" Behind her, Sora ran.
"Need a hand?" He asked. The girl looked at him as he charged. Sora propelled himself in the air and twirled his keyblade. Fire swirled around him and caught the Heartless in the head. It roared and Sora fell behind it. He dashed between its legs and slashed, twisting and turning with the keyblade as his enemy tried unsuccessfully squash him. He did a good deal of damage to its stone armor, and then he slammed the key into it. Stone shattered and its leg broke. Sora jumped back and aimed the keyblade at it.
"Blizzard!" He shouted, and a large ice crystal shot out from the key and slammed into the Heartless' other leg. He ran towards it, but the vines shot at the keyblade wielder. He slashed up and then slammed the key down, cutting through two, but more wrapped around his arms and legs. Behind him, the girl fired a red orb at it from her gauntlets. The vines exploded and Sora was free to escape.
"The ice is cracking!" He shouted.
"I'm on it!" The girl ran towards the ice and, with a powerful punch, shattered it. The Heartless fell and she continued to punch it. Sora ran in and struck with the keyblade, and the two dashed and flipped around it, attacking every area they could get to. The Heartless tried getting up, but succumbed to the onslaught. A strangely colored heart rose from the disintegrating Heartless, and the two warriors high-fived.
"So...what's your name?" Yang asked with a hint of seductiveness in her voice. Whoever this boy was, he was quite attractive, even if his hair looked ridiculous. However, he didn't seem to pick up on her signals.
"Sora."
"What's with the giant key? What is that even for?"
"Fighting the Heartless."
"And what are they?"
"The things you just fought."
"And?"
"The manifestation of darkness in people's hearts." Yang frowned.
"But those things look like Grimm." This time, Sora frowned.
"Grimm?"
"Creatures hell-bent on destroying humanity."
"Wait...do Grimm have emotions?" Sora asked. Yang was puzzled by the question.
"No. They just kill." she answered. The spiky-haired teen looked confused.
"That sounds like Heartless to me."
"Yeah, well, they're not Heartless or whatever you call them. And how'd those things get here, anyway? Heartless don't exist in this world. I didn't even know they existed in the first place until they started attacking me in the woods."
"...So you don't know about other worlds?" Yang blinked.
"Other what?"
"Other worlds. The Heartless invade other words and destroy them. It's my job to stop them," Sora said proudly.
"Huh. Say...do you want to go somewhere with me?" She asked. Sora shook his head.
"I have friends I promised I'd get back to." Yang smiled.
"They can wait, can't they?" Sora put his hand to his chin and looked contemplative while Yang waited for his answer.
"How about we just go see them first? Maybe they can come with us." The blonde nodded and Sora ran ahead. Yang followed.
"Score," she muttered happily under her breath.
The ship was smoking. Made of largely red and yellow blocks, Yang thought it looked like a child's toy. However, it had clearly been used to get Sora and his friends to Vytal.
"Donald! Goofy! Where are you guys!?" Sora shouted. Yang almost chuckled.
"Really? Their names are Donald and Goofy?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" A high-pitched voice shot out from the wreckage of the ship. Yang resisted the urge not to strangle who the voice came from.
"Gawrsh, Sora, you've been gone for a while! We got worried something might've happened to ya!" Another voice said. This one was slightly more tolerable than the other.
"I'm fine. And I've brought a friend. Her name's...uh..." Sora, in his friendship-induced stupor, had forgotten to ask his new friend's name.
"Yang Xiao Long."
"Right. Yang...whatever. Anyway, guys, are you gonna come out and meet her? We're going to a place called Beacon Academy." Sora was unable to pronounce Yang's surname. With a grudging sigh, Donald stepped out. He was followed by Goofy. The two were covered in soot and grime, but that wasn't what surprised the blonde. What surprised her was that the two were fauna.
"Sora, you said you didn't come from this world."
"I don't."
"But if that's true, then why do you have two fauna traveling with you?" Donald made an annoyed clicking noise with his tongue.
"We're not fauna," he said.
"What's a fawn-uh?" Goofy asked.
"Fauna. They're people with...animal parts," Yang explained bluntly. She wasn't feeling ready to explain the racial tension to Sora and his friends, but she knew, in the back of her mind, that Sora, Donald, and Goofy should know about the state of Vytal.
"Guys...in this world, fauna are discriminated against by humans because they look different," Yang said simply, unwilling to explain further. The issue of race could make even her tense and awkward.
"Can't humans and faunas just talk it out?" Sora asked. In that instant, Yang was reminded of her sister. She didn't know anyone else who was that wonderfully naive.
"You can't just talk out a problem this big. It's been going on for a long time, this discrimination. And, for your own safety, I'd appreciate it if you two stayed at the Gummi Ship," she said to Donald and Goofy.
"What?!" Sora exclaimed in protest. Donald made a loud yell of surprise, but Goofy said nothing.
"...I'm sorry about this. I really, really am. But this is for your own good. You'd be mercilessly taunted and be the butt of a lot of jokes. And some...extremists might even go beyond words. Most people have a hard time accepting fauna who only have animal ears. For you, who look completely like animals, it'd be a nightmare," Yang said. Sora sighed, and threw in his opinion.
"If what Yang says is true, then it's best if you stay. Please." Donald scoffed.
"Don't we get a say in this?" He asked testily. Yang smiled slightly at his straightforwardness. However, Goofy calmed him down.
"They're right, Donald. We don't wanna mess with this world. We should stay here," he said. Donald sighed, and the walked over to Sora. The three embraced in a group hug.
"Stay safe out there, Sora," his friends said.
"I've got Yang with me. What's the worst that could happen?" He asked confidently. Yang puffed out her chest to try and look impressive.
"Maybe I could get you two to come in a different ship. You know, so you could get there without any trouble," she said. Goofy smiled at her.
"Alright!" He cheered. As Sora and Yang walked away, Donald called out.
"Sora!"
"What is it?"
"Don't meddle too much! We have to get out of here soon." Goofy laughed.
"Ya mean muddle, Donald!" The duck sighed.
"Goofy...the word is meddle, not muddle!" Yang and Sora laughed, making the blonde feel all the worse about leaving Donald and Goofy behind.
Yang was downcast. She felt sad for having to part Sora from Donald and Goofy, especially considering how close the three were. She looked down and tried to think of something to say, but for one of the few times in her life, Yang Xiao Long was confused, and now, more than ever, hated the racism of Vytal. In a feeble apology, she tried to alleviate some of her guilt.
"I'm sorry about back there," she said. Sora grinned and put a hand on her shoulder.
"I forgive you...under one condition: No sad faces! The Friendship Train runs on happy faces, so give me your best one! Come on, let's see that smile!" He cheered. Yang grinned, despite herself. She knew now, more than ever, that she had found a friend in the spiky-haired teen.
"You really are something."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Sora answered. Yang then brushed the hair out of her face and smiled, her mouth taking the shape of a banana. Her eyes seemed to bug out of her head as they rolled around in their sockets. Sora doubled over with laughter.
"Wha-What is that?!"
"It's my happy face. Take it or leave it," Yang said, pretending to be offended.
"I'll take it," Sora replied.
The two made their way to the small gray ship. They clambered into it and found that despite its small stature, it was very spacey to make room for passengers. In the cockpit, there was a small, skinny man sitting at a control board. He looked back and his eyes found Sora.
"Ms. Long. This ship doesn't allow passengers that aren't registered for flight. I don't think this young man is even a student at Beacon," he said. Yang smiled sweetly and walked over to the pilot. As she neared him, her hand shot from her side and grabbed the man's shirt collar.
"Listen up. You might have the training and the fancy control panel, but I'm the one in charge of this ship. What I say goes. And I say that this young man is going to Beacon with us. Are we clear?" She asked with a dangerously quiet tone. Her lovely smile only added to her frightening appearance. Yang wasn't trying to hide anything. She didn't say anything threatening, but anyone watching could tell that she was directly warning him not to mess with her.
"Y-Y-Yes, Ms. Long! Of course!" The pilot hastily got the ship started and it flew into the air. Yang walked back to Sora, who was gaping at her.
"Wow."
"I know," she said. Sora smiled.
"You must have a lot of friends," he said.
"Of course I do. Why do you figure?" She asked him.
"Because no one wants to be your enemy," the spiky-haired teen replied.
"Hell yeah."
Beacon lay on the horizon, standing stoically like a proud warrior, of which it had trained many. The tall, imposing castles reminded Sora of Hollow Bastion, and like Hollow Bastion, it was one of the grandest sights he had ever beheld. He felt the familiar feeling well up in him, the feeling he got whenever he visited a new world. The feeling of excitement, thrill, and hope. This time, however, was different. This time, he had Yang Xiao Long with him.
"Beacon's pretty impressive, right? It's the greatest school in the world, where's the harm in looking like it?" She asked. Sora kept looking out the window. Yang knew he wasn't even listening, caught in a trance brought on by the scenery of Beacon Academy. She snapped her fingers in front of his face and he blinked before turning to look at Yang, smiling sheepishly.
"Sorry," he said, rubbing his neck.
"Stay sharp, Sora. You're gonna have to impress some powerful people." The boy twirled his keyblade, which appeared in his hand with a flash of light.
"That shouldn't be too hard," he said without worry.
"It's not. Just a word of advice: If you see a guy with a coffee mug and gray hair, don't mess with the mug. Just don't. Not even if your life depends on it," Yang warned him. He grinned.
"I'll try to remember that." As he spoke, the ship began to land. The hum of the engine ceased as it touched the ground. Yang waved at the nervous pilot, who jumped in his seat. Sora followed the blonde out, and the ship flew away immediately, the pilot being very eager to get away from Yang.
"Wow. So this is a school? I wonder if I could enroll," Sora mused.
"How old are you?" Asked Yang.
"15."
"The enrollment age is 17. Of course, if you're badass enough, you could get in early. That's what happened to my sister, Ruby." Sora twirled his keyblade again.
"I'm a keyblade wielder, what could be cooler than that?"
"Sora, no one knows what that is."
"Fair enough. So, how about we meet these powerful people you were talking about?" As Sora started to walk, Yang grabbed his hood and spun him around.
"Hey!" He shouted, startled.
"So we're friends, huh?"
"Of course." Yang leaned in closer to Sora. He could smell her hair product from the short distance they stood from each other.
"Being just friends doesn't really...satisfy me," Yang said. Her tongue ran over her lips, and Sora's eyes widened. She let him go and walked on ahead, leaving the boy to stand there, shocked.
"What was that?" He muttered to himself, rattled. As he followed the blonde, he noticed that his mind kept drifting to how close she had brought her lips to his. Yang smiled as she looked behind her.
"Got him," she said.
A hooded man stood in the shadows of Vale. He was a ghost, a nobody. He was someone who, as far as Vale was concerned, didn't exist. But he was all too real, and so was the danger that followed him in his wake. Not that anyone would have known by looking at him.
"I can't believe they changed orders on me again! What am I, their whipping boy? And what's with them sending me out all the time? I keep telling them they're picking the wrong guy for this stuff, but no one every listens to little old Demyx, do they? No. Axel's all like 'it builds character.' But does it? No! Man, I could really use a massage. Maybe Vale has some good spots. Yeah, the keyblade wielder can wait! It's not like he's going anywhere," the man said, stepping out of the shadows. People were unnerved by his black coat, but he simply smiled and turned to the nearest person he could find.
"Excuse me, miss. Where could I find a clothing shop? You know, to get normal clothes?" Demyx asked.
"T-That way. Just go straight and three shops to the left, you should find one that sells clothes," she replied.
"Thank you!" He said happily, strolling off to where the woman pointed.
"Today is gonna be a good day after all," he noted.
I HAD A LENGTHY CONVERSATION WITH ANOTHER USER, WHO INTRODUCED ME TO THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF SOYANG, WHICH IS BASICALLY A SORA/YANG PAIRING. I WAS ORIGINALLY GOING TO DO RIKU/YANG, BUT AFTER CHECKING OUT TUMBLR, I DECIDED THAT MY FAVORITE BLONDE BADASS AND MY FAVORITE SPIKY-HAIRED KEYBLADE WIELDER WOULD GO VERY WELL TOGETHER. BUT DON'T EXPECT PURE ROMANCE! I WANT AN ACTUAL PLOT TO GO ALONG WITH THIS STORY. EXPECT TO SEE ADAM, ROMAN TORCHWICK, AND (AS YOU ALREADY KNOW) DEMYX, MY FAVORITE ORGANIZATION 13 MEMBER. I JUST REALLY LIKE HOW DIFFERENT HE IS FROM ALL THE REST OF THE ORGANIZATION. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT DEMYX IS MOSTLY ALONG FOR THE RIDE, AND HE'S THE ONE MEMBER WHO JUST LIKES HANGING OUT AND HAVING FUN AS OPPOSED TO GETTING A HEART. HE'S NOT CONNIVING AND SCHEMING, HE JUST DOES WHAT HE'S TOLD. HIS REAL PASSION LIES WITH RELAXING WITH HIS SITAR.
I'D REALLY LIKE TO THANK KEYS OF FATE, THE USER WHO GAVE ME THIS WONDERFUL IDEA. HOPEFULLY, THIS'LL BE A GOOD STORY.