Pre-requisite: If you haven't read Aqua: Heart of Darkness. You will most likely be completely lost when reading this, as this is a continuation, and NOT a stand alone story. Go read book one before you start on book two.
Chapter 1: Ten Years later
Kairi sat in headquarters of the Guardians of Traverse Town in the first district, in the girl's bathroom, looking herself over in the mirror before she started her shift in the radio room. She'd rather be out on patrol, but, orders were orders, she was stuck with radio duty, keeping tabs on the various patrols that kept Traverse Town safe. She gave herself one final look over, adjusting her Guardian's uniform. Leon had told her once it was the closest they could get to being a replica of the uniform he used to wear in the Radiant Garden Military Academy. Formal, gray, and white buttoned. It came with white gloves, thick black boots, and a belt at the center to keep the top and bottom parts together. He said it used to be required to have a tie to go with the uniform, thankfully that part was never enforced. Not that most of the Guardian's wore the bland uniform anyway, most preferred their normal clothes that they arrived in Traverse Town with, not that she had any choice in that matter considering the age she had arrived here and the lack of fitting clothes she had...
Arrived...
She sighed to herself and left the room, making for the radio room and sitting down at the table with all the equipment and monitors, brooding to herself. It had been ten long years since she arrived in Traverse Town. Since her home world had been swallowed by darkness. Since then, so many worlds had followed her own into the black abyss. Kairi could remember, as a little girl, being able to look into the sky and see countless stars...
Now?
She'd be lucky to see a single star in the sky in the clearest of nights.
So many worlds had fallen to the shadow. Traverse Town had been flooded with refugees. The town could magically grow itself new districts to try and accommodate it's population. She knew someone kept track of that sort of thing, but, she had stopped counting the number of districts when it had gotten to be over one-hundred.
And that was years ago.
Traverse Town had become a city of refugees.
No...
That wasn't right...
Cities were supposed to be magnificent...
Traverse Town was not. It was flooded and overcrowded with people. It wasn't a city, it was a giant slum on the outskirts, barely livable on the inner portions. The energy it took the world to make new districts had taxed it heavily. Newer districts were far less pleasant and livable than the original few. One could notice the steady degrading of quality after the first ten districts. Food, if you weren't a guardian or in one of the various gangs scattered through Traverse Town, was scarce. What few hospitals Traverse Town had were flooded, and their few doctors overworked. There just wasn't enough to go around, it's why the Guardians had taken over managing food and space and protection. Though, their management wasn't always welcome...
Kairi sighed heavily. She had come to Traverse Town at the age of four. For two years, she had lived with her 'adoptive parents' Leon and Yuffie. More like distant guardians if one asked her, though she couldn't fault them for it. Leon was just naturally a distant man, and Yuffie had always been out trying to 'provide' for them by stealing instead of being at home. All that had changed one day when Leon had finally had enough, when one of his friends from their home world that had come to Traverse Town with them, Aerith, had been stabbed and almost killed for the few loafs of breed she had been carrying to a park to share with the children there.
Leon had formed the Guardians to try and bring order to the ailing town, right in Aerith's hospital room. Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, a man named Cid, and herself, had been the founding members. She gave a soft, weak giggle at that. A founding member huh? Honestly, it had been only in name back then, an attempt to bring a smile to her face after all the hardships they had been facing since arriving in this world. She could faintly recall not taking Aerith's stabbing well, at all. Becoming a founding member, the promise to make Traverse Town a better place, to be a hero, it had pacified her as a young girl and given her a sense of hope...
She still wasn't sure or not if that sense of hope had been false.
For two years, she had served as a little aid to the Guardians of Traverse town as they grew and their influence spread, until at last, at the age of eight, she had coerced Leon to actually teach her to use a weapon. He hadn't wanted to, but, Kairi could be very stubborn and relentless when she wanted to be. Leon had finally caved in when she had threatened to go on patrols on her own with nothing but her wooden toy sword. After all, it wasn't like he could lock her in a room and stop her. For one Leon wasn't that cruel, and for two, there was no lock she couldn't pick, Yuffie was a great teacher in that regard, among other very questionable things.
She had started out with daggers and stuck with them for a few years. After all, she had been a scrawny little girl for awhile. It had taken a lot of patrols, fighting, and exercising to get her to the point where she could lift a short sword at the age of ten. Some of the other girls she used to play with called her freaky, what with her powers of light, her growing muscles, her 'obsessive' desire to train, to be a hero. Needless to say, she had stopped playing with those children, with any children at all to be honest, and had fully devoted herself to her duties as a Guardian of Traverse Town.
It was also during that time that the taxation of the world's energy had really become apparent, and food and space had started to dwindle. The Guardians had been forced to take over the resources of the districts they guarded and ration them out while waiting for the various gardens to produce food. That hadn't gone over well with the populace. It... had been a really bleak day when the Guardians had been forced to fight for control of the core of Traverse Town, from the gangs and from the unwelcoming citizenship...
Kairi reached for her short sword that rested against the desk, and brought it to rest on her lap. She stared at it silently, and sadly. Until that day, all she had done on patrols were break up fights, help people out, and destroy Heartless. That dark day, had been the first time she had ever killed someone, a living breathing sentient person. It was an awful sensation, one she hadn't wanted ever repeated...
But...
Life was cruel in that regard, wasn't it?
Since then, from ten until now, at the age of fourteen, she had served as one of the core and founding members in far more than just name. Though, it was only in the last two years that Leon had really let her off the leash. After all, he couldn't really afford not to. They were to stripped for resources, had not nearly enough people to watch over and guard Traverse Town. She had finally been allowed to go on solo-patrols, without someone watching over her like a hawk at Leon's insistence.
Not that she had really needed the protection to begin with once she had a weapon, and even before that. She had a gift few others had. She could call out to the light, it was her power. Where other's focused on weapons, or magic, she had the light, it was always with her. Conscious effort and control of it had been weak at first. The only times back then, well... even now... that she showed really impressive displays of heavier power was when she or people she cared about were in severe danger, it kind of just happened. She had once wiped an entire district clean of Heartless with a nova of light after a particularly brutal outbreak of them. However, the only reliable things she could do was cast little spheres of light she liked to call 'pearls', heal people with a touch, and could cloak her sword in a light that REALLY hurt Heartless when it bit into them.
Her eyes narrowed and her fist tightened over her sword handle at the thought of the Heartless. How she loathed those creatures, the ones who had stolen her world, stolen her... grandma... from her. They preyed on the hearts of the innocent and the guilty alike, consuming them and turning them into more Heartless. They lurked in the darkness, in every dark alleyway, in every unlit room, and if anyone ever went into the sewer system alone, they were probably not coming out as a living person again, the hordes rumored to live down there would eat them alive.
The constant patrols of the Guardians of Traverse Town kept the Heartless presence down in public places, and was one of the reasons that the citizenship had finally accepted their protection. The ability to freely walk down a street without getting jumped by a heartless and having their hearts ripped out of their chests was a pretty good motivator after all.
She had seen it enough times... that look of utter terror and despair... as a heartless killed its victim, taking their heart out to be consumed by darkness. People would do anything to not have that be their fate. Accepting rations, limited housing, and a curfew was hardly a bad deal in comparison to the lawlessness of the uncontrolled outer districts, and the constant threat of death and being turned into a mindless heartless that would attack their former friends and loved ones.
It was one of the most sickening things, to see a newly turned heartless turn on those it had once held dear. She had seen turned mothers kill their children and turn them into more heartless. She had seen lovers beg and plead, only to be consumed. There was NO reasoning with the Heartless, as much as they tried to explain to the populace. If someone turned, they had to run to a Guardian immediately for help. Some listened, some didn't. They just tried to keep arguing with those they had cared for... e-even as the heartless t-tore i-into them...
She ran a shaking hand anxiously through her hair, trying to banish the horrific memories...
*crackle*
"Hey! Who da fuck's on radio duty tonight? Da hell is it so god damn quiet?"
Kairi was thankfully broken from her thoughts, and reached out for the radio. "Kairi here Mr. Wallace."
"Aww shucks kid, I told you, it's Barret."
Barret Wallace was one of the leaders of the outer branches of the Guardians. They had buildings located every ten districts or so to serve as bases of operation. Barret was a... curious man. The first time she had met him, she had been shocked. She had never seen a man like him before, with darker skin and that rather up-front and rude cussing personality. Of course though, she had seen right through him pretty quickly. He could act as gruff as he wanted to, deep down he had a heart of pure gold, especially towards his little adoptive daughter Marlene. He and his small group, he liked to call AVALANCHE for some reason, had situated themselves in the outermost portion of the Guardian's control, right in the thick of things. To her chagrin, it often led to that one little quirk of his she really disliked, that he always had his radio on when...
RATATATATATATA!
Kairi jumped a little, THAT, he always had his radio on when he fired that gun arm of his. "Jeez Mr. Wallace, you scared the shit out of me."
"What, do ya want me to smack the Heartless with my gun instead?"
Leon's voice crackled into the radio. "Kairi, swear jar."
Kairi rolled her eyes. "Aww come on Leon..."
"Now," was his reply.
Kairi sighed and reached over to the side of the radio table, turning on the radio, holding the jar, and dropping a single munny into it with an audible 'tink'. There was a roar and chorus of laughter through the radio, making her face burn with embarrassment. The swear jar was Leon's attempt to 'counter' Barret's 'influence'. She scoffed a little to herself, it wasn't like she swore often anyway...
Ah well, anyway, might as well get started. "Alright then, roll call. Sound off."
Leon's voice came in. "Leon reporting, districts one through ten appear clear tonight."
A female voice came in. "Rapunzel here, pretty quiet in eleven through twenty. Only had one fight I had to break up. I promised them that if they stopped fighting I wouldn't have to set em' straight. Shame they didn't remember that I DON'T break my promises..."
"Hey! Let me go you crazy broad!" came a voice through the radio.
"...the instigator is kind of tangled at the moment," finished Rapunzel.
Kairi smirked, knowing full well what was meant by that. That young woman's ridiculous hair was one heck of a weapon when it came down to it.
The radio cackled to life again. "Hiro and Baymax here, twenty-one through thirty are looking good."
Kairi waited patiently for the next voice to come in, but when nothing happened she grabbed a clipboard hanging off the wall to check who was scheduled to...
She groaned and then clicked the radio on. "Mr. Sparrow, check in please."
"Hide the rum!" was the reply, followed by the shattering of glass and the roar of tavern laughter.
She sighed. "You know in my opinion, boozers are losers!"
"Now that, fair damsel, is rude. The Heartless may kill me, but at least they never insult me," was the pirate's curt reply.
Leon's voice clicked in. "Just give a report Sparrow."
"Fine fine, thirty-one through forty were not on fire, nor out of rum, last I checked," finished Jack, before the very audible and obnoxious noise of someone drinking something loudly was heard.
"Why is he part of the Guardians...," muttered Kairi under her breath.
"I dunno m-miss Kairi," came a polite young voice cackling through the radio.
Kairi smiled briefly, recognizing who was talking. "Everything fine Arthur?"
"Ahuh, d-districts forty-one through fifty are f-fine," stammered the boy.
"Oh that's lovely, the boy gets first name treatment," came Sparrow's mocking voice.
Kairi rolled her eyes. "Well, if you were as nice as Mr. Pendragon, didn't drink all the time, and had a sword like Excalibur, I'd consider calling you Jack, but we all know better."
There was a chorus of laughter through the radio.
"Don't know why little 'Wart' has a sword that big," muttered Sparrow.
"Some of us have reports to give if you are all done holding up the line," came a curt female voice.
"Ah, hello Miss Lockheart, care to join me at the pub?" asked Sparrow.
"Only if Cloud comes with me so he can show you the sharp end of his sword up close," came a cold reply.
Owch. Shutdown!
Kairi smiled mischievously at that. "Anyway, Report Tifa."
"Districts fifty-one through sixty are fine, were some of the emblem heartless here earlier, but Cloud and I took care of them," was her reply.
Kairi frowned intently. There were differences in the type of Heartless. Pureblood as Leon had called the first type, had no special symbol on them. They were basic looking, and didn't come in that many shapes or sizes. They acted mostly on instinct, and the smaller variants were moderately easy to handle so long as they didn't come in bulk. The more powerful ones were rare in Traverse Town, though, refugees often brought word of more powerful ones from the last days of their dying worlds. Invisibles... Darkballs... Dark Sides... and more...
Emblem Heartless however were different. They were smarter, acted with coordination, and always came in groups. They came in FAR more shapes and sizes than Purebloods, with a variety of abilities. They acted with purpose, which was usually the consumption of hearts and replication, before surprisingly, fleeing. They made Kairi nervous, because as much as she loathed ALL Heartless, the Purebloods felt like natural creatures of darkness. The Emblem Heartless did not.
Kairi flicked the radio. "Alright Tifa, you and Cloud keep your eyes pealed. I don't like Emblem Heartless being on the prowl."
"Agreed," she faintly heard Cloud say.
Kairi considered sending in someone to help them from another district, it was well within her role and abilities to do so tonight, but... she'd trust them to handle things. "Alright then, nex..."
RUMBLE SHAKE
Kairi gripped the radio table as the building briefly shook before she sighed, a number of others doing so through the radio as well. They all knew that rumble. Another district had just been born. It seemed like it happened every other day.
"Alright, whose closest?" asked Kairi.
Barret's voice crackled in. "Fuck, just my god damn luck. I almost miss the days I lived under that fucking pizza dome. I'm going."
"Say Leon, when do we get HIM a swear jar?" joked Kairi.
There was the cocking of a gun through the radio. "I like you kid, but I'd love to see you try."
Kairi grinned at that. "Maybe I will one day. Alright, go check it out Barret, direct any new arrivals to the first district for 'orientation' and..."
"Yeah yeah yeah, I know how it's done!" was his reply.
"Leave your radio on," she added in.
It was one of the easier ways to spread news of the outside world between all members, by having them listen in to the stories of the newcomers.
"I know I know, what are you, my mother?" he replied.
Kairi rolled her eyes and started to brood. Orientation, or rather, 'Hi, sorry your world was eaten by the Heartless, welcome to Traverse Town', was the brief run down they gave all newcomers before assigning them to a district. It was, to be absolutely honest, one of the roles she HATED the most. To just lay it on people that their world was gone, dead, and that most of the people they had ever known were gone as well. It was also the one she got assigned the most, because apparently she made people 'smile' and feel 'comfortable' to be around.
"ALOHA!" suddenly came through the radio, making Kairi jump.
What the heck...?
"What the fuck is that thing? Looks weird as hell," came Barret's incredulous voice.
"Also cute and fluffy!" came an absurdly cheerful response.
There was the cocking of a gun before a little girl's panicked voice cried out, "Wait wait! Don't shoot Stitch! He's okay, he's my friend!"
"If that little fuzz ball so much as touches me, I will hit it!" warned Barret, sounding strangely skittish.
"Blue punch buggy?" was a response from this 'Stitch'.
"No Stitch, no punch buggy!" scolded the little girl.
Kairi stared at the radio in her hand. Okay... something weird had just arrived in Traverse Town if she had to guess.
"Anyone else with you kid?" asked Barret.
"No... I don't know where Nani is... we were running from the shadow thingies, and then the ground got all crackly and started spewing black smoke out of it," came the girl's scared reply.
Kairi sighed quietly. It was always the same story, the same death for each and every world. Sounded like they had another orphan to put in the orphanage.
"But I don't get it, Nani said the Mouse with the Key sealed the Keyhole thingy, she said we were supposed to be safe," said the girl, sniffling.
Kairi froze and suckered in a breath.
Key.
The girl JUST said Key, just said MOUSE with the Key...
As in...
The Keyblade.
There was no coincidence, it was one of the Keybearers. Newcomers sometime came with news of those fabled warriors. There was rumored to be six of them, three men, two boys, and a mouse. They fought against the Heartless. She had heard stories that a single one of these Keybearers could take on legions of Heartless alone, or as a pair if it was the boys. They fought as hard as they could, forestalling the fate of the worlds for a time, but they couldn't be everywhere. When they left, darkness was quick to return, and then the world's fell in their absence. It was a endless struggle, one she sorely wished she could help in. Regardless, it was great to hear more about the Keybearers... but...
She closed her eyes, a tear sliding down her face. But there was never any news on Master Aqua, never any stories of anyone described to resemble her...
Kairi shook her head, coughed, cleared her throat, and flicked on the radio. "Leon, could you send Yuffie to cover me? I'll give our newest arrivals orientation."
"Kairi...," came Leon's stern, rising tone.
He knew she hated orientation, knew full well what she was doing. He did not like her being 'lost in the past', and did not like news of the Keybearers, or anything she could relate to Master Aqua. He'd rather she focus on the here and now, and what she could do to better herself and her life rather than dreaming for what was lost. She could admit... she had gotten into quite a few arguments with him that ended in a rough sparring session over that, because like hell would she ever give up on that dream. If she did... what honestly would she have left? Without her dream of finding Master Aqua... she'd have nothing left. Things certainly weren't getting any better in this world... there wasn't a day that went by that it didn't get worse in some way, shape, or form, and it was only a matter of time before IT came and consumed their world...
"As I said, I'll handle orientation," she answered calmly, "You can send Yuffie, or you can have the radio unmanned for awhile."
There was a grumbled before a 'Fine', came over the radio. She knew she was going to hear it later, but she didn't honestly care. She lived for the moments where she could hear about the Keyblade, about what Master Aqua had promised her...
In your hand, take this Key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, it's wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me, friend—no ocean will contain you then. No more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love.
Kairi shivered as Master Aqua's words echoed through her mind. Even ten years later, she could still so readily recall them with perfect clarity...
One day Kairi, when you're older, I'll come back for you. I'll be your master, and you'll be my apprentice, I'll teach you all about being a Keyblade Wielder. About the worlds, about yourself, about the light and the darkness.
Kairi answered the memory quietly. "Y-you promise?"
I promise.
She could still remember the feeling of Master Aqua ruffling her hair...
Kairi violently shook her head to throw off the memory and sucked in a ragged breath, forcibly calming herself. She waited patiently as the radio roll call continued, not paying as much attention as she should of. Yuffie walked in a few minutes later, rolled her eyes and thumbed the door behind her, and Kairi walked out, strapping her short sword to her back. She walked to the courtyard of the first district, starting at the massive doors that never opened, waiting patiently. Finally, half an hour later, they arrived.
"Go talk to the girl down there, she'll take care of you kid," came Barret's voice.
"Okay...," came a little girl's response.
Kairi turned her head, catching a glimpse of Barret's torn up leather jacket before he rounded the corner to return to his patrol. She lowered her gaze to a small girl in a red and white flowery dress. She had long black hair for someone that young, and beady black eyes. Next to her...
What the... was that the 'Cute and Fluffy' thing?
Next to her was a little entirely blue furry creature with huge ears, huge eyes, and a huge nose. It's hands and feet were clawed. At first glance, it didn't seem strong or imposing, but to Kairi, she could feel that the little furball actually had a rather impressive amount of strength. Curious... and moderately adorable, but she wouldn't be caught dead say that aloud.
"Hello, I'm Kairi, welcome to Traverse Town, what are your names?" she asked.
The little girl smiled meekly at her. "I'm Lilio, and this is Stitch!"
"Aloha!" said the creature, waving a paw at her.
Kairi smiled softly at the creature, it was rather cheery for something that had just lost it's world.
"You said this was... Traverse Town?" asked Lilo.
Kairi nodded, took in a breath, let it out, and braced herself. "Yes, it's a special world where people come after their worlds have been destroyed by the Heartless."
As she expected, Lilo's eyes went wide with panic and tears before she threw herself at Stitch, crying into it's shoulder. Kairi wanted to look away, but forced herself to watch, she... she had to be impassive and strong for newcomers. They often needed something or someone strong to ground themselves on until they got themselves situated. Especially children. She couldn't stop her eyes from softening and appearing completely detached like Leon could, but, she could come relatively close... she had had years of practice after all...
Kairi waited the crying out before she walked over and placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. "It'll be okay. We'll take care of you, here in Traverse Town, we look after one another."
Lilo sniffled. "I want Nani..."
"Whose Nani?" asked Kairi softly.
"My big sister," mumbled Lilo.
Ugh... even worse for the poor girl, losing family was the worst... she knew from personal experience...
"I'm sorry, maybe she'll show up one day though," Kairi lied through her teeth, "You'll just have to wait for her, okay?"
Lilo sniffled and nodded, giving her a small smile. "Okay."
Kairi hated doing it, hated giving people false hope, but, they needed something to hold onto...
Kind of like her and Master Aqua...
She closed her eyes and took in a ragged breath, slowly letting it out and banishing the thought. "We'll get you to an orphanage in a bit..."
"C-can Stitch come with me?" asked Lilo.
Kairi nodded. "Of course, friends shouldn't be separated from one another, but... I have a question for you..."
"About what?" asked Lilo.
"You mentioned a Mouse, a Key, and a Keyhole?" asked Kairi.
Lilo grew confused. "How'd you know that?"
"I heard you talking through our radio," Kairi explained.
Lilo blinked. "Oh... well... Mickey stayed awhile at our place while he was looking for the Keyhole thingy awhile back..."
Kairi's eyes grew wide, the girl had actually MET a Keybearer, had she just learned a name of one of the Keybears?! "Mickey? Is that the mouse with the Key's name?"
Lilo nodded. "Ahuh, he's really nice and funny, but really serious when the shadowy things attacked us. He beat em all up! Then he locked the Keyhole thingy and said we were going to be safe."
The girl's face fell. "But we weren't... Stitch said the icky feeling was coming, and then... then..."
The girl trailed off, tears in her eyes, unable to continue.
Kairi glanced over at Stitch. The icky feeling huh? She had a hunch Stitch was strong and strange enough that it could feel IT, feel the dark presence from the sky. The darkness consuming all worlds. So... the presence had personally devoured their world. These two were lucky to be alive, very very lucky...
Still...
"What is a 'Keyhole'?" asked Kairi.
"Mickey said it was the path to the 'heart of our world', and that locking it would keep us safe," said Lilo.
Kairi contemplated it. This was the first time she had ever heard about a Keyhole. If a Keybearer said locking it was supposed to keep a world safe, then she trusted in those words.
But...
It appeared doing that wasn't enough, not anymore, not against IT...
And that was a terrifying thought, the realize that something the Keybearers had apparently been relying on the keep worlds safe was no longer enough.
She sighed and decided to ask her one last default question, the one she asked every single person who had news on the Keybearers, "Did either of you see a blue haired lady with a Key like the mouses on your world by chance?"
Lilo shook her head. "No, what about you Stitch?"
Kairi turned her head, noting that Stitch seemed to be deep in thought. The creature stood like that for a minute, as if trying to recall a memory, before it turned, reached a paw into a side pocket of Lilo's dress and pulled out...
Kairi let out a strangled gasp. It might have been made out of junk, but she KNEW that shape ANYWHERE! It was... it was just like Master Aqua's good luck charm...
"Fren-circle, frens Terra, Ven, look for lost fren, look for Ah-koo-wah," said Stitch slowly.
Kairi froze, she completely froze up. Ah-koo-wah... Aqua... Master Aqua...
Stitch KNEW of her!
Kairi stared at the creature, not having a clue how to react. Not once... not once in ten years, had ANYONE ever brought her news like this of Master Aqua, had never once given her any kind of hope...
Kairi reached over and grabbed it by it's shoulders. "W-when... when did you... meet your friends that were looking for 'Ah-koo-wah?"
Stitch counted on it's paw for a moment. "Ten bits."
Kairi's eyebrows furrowed. "Bits...?"
"Orbits," said Lilo, "He means years."
Kairi's face fell. She felt utterly crushed. It wasn't recently... it was ten years ago...
Ten years ago when everything went wrong...
Kairi closed her eyes and forced herself to stand. "A-alright... let's get you two to the orphanage."
She opened her eyes and led them to the second district orphanage, her thoughts lost in her head, her body trembling a bit now and then. She dropped them off without another word, and while she knew it was cold not to say goodbye... she just... she just couldn't...
Kairi backed away from the orphanage door, turned, and ran. She ran to the house she lived in with Leon and Yuffie, to her room and slammed the door behind her. She crawled to the corner of her bed and pulled up her knees to sob into them. It had been so long... it had been so long, and now she finally had an answer as to what might have happened, why Master Aqua never came for her. That this 'Terra' and 'Ven' had been looking for her... that Stitch said that Master Aqua was said to be 'lost', told her so much, and yet so little at the same time.
"I knew it...," sobbed Kairi, "I knew Master Aqua wouldn't have abandoned me... something happened to her..."
She didn't honestly know if that was relieving or terrifying. To be frank... as much as the thought deeply disturbed her... she'd rather Master Aqua have abandoned her and been okay, then be 'lost' and potentially hurt out there somewhere... she REFUSED to even consider the woman being dead...
That of course, turned her from sad, to frustrated and furious. "Yet, I can't do a damn thing either way! I don't have a way to leave, I'm stuck on this world! I can't go out and find her!"
She slammed her fist into her bed in anger. "I... I should have been out there... Master Aqua should have been teaching me... and together, we could have fought whatever is destroying the worlds. Fought the presence..."
Slowly, she rose to her feet and to her window and looked up into the starless sky. It was ever present, since the day Radiant Garden had fallen. That foul, evil, oppressive, disturbing presence in the sky. Normal people without magic or access to the light were lucky. They didn't feel it, couldn't sense it grow stronger day by day as star by star blinked out of the sky. The people who could had to find ways to ignore it, lest they be lost in it and give in to despair. It felt... beyond powerful... to acknowledge the presence was to give up hope...
Well, for most people...
She personally wanted to fight it, she wanted to find Master Aqua, get a bit of training, and then go fight it at her master's side. Like a hero... a hero she had been promised to become...
Kairi walked over to her bed, set her short-sword down against the wall, climbed into bed, and curled up, feeling tired and drained, and closed her eyes to sleep despite the early hour, whispering quietly to herself, "Master Aqua... what happened to you? Where are you..."
Author's Notes:
Welcome to the next 'book' in the Road to Dusk series.
The clothes Kairi describes herself as being in are meant to resemble the clothes Aeleus and Dilan wore as guards in Radiant Garden. Bit different than overly pink clothed Kairi we know, or rather the KH1 white top purple bottom Kairi.
I tried, in this opening chapter, to show Kairi's outlook on life and the situation she lives/lived through. It was a bit strange/difficult, to try and write a 'different' Kairi, one who grew up under much different circumstances than the one in the real Kingdom Hearts. This Kairi VS Normal school-girl Kairi.
My focus was to try and describe a girl who acts strong (and certainly is, to a degree), but is disillusioned and a bit hardened towards life, yet still clings desperately onto an old memory despite a very interrupted and unpleasant childhood, borderline traumatic if you consider her watching her grandma's heart get ripped out of her chest by the Heartless back in book one among other things. I still wanted portions of her original personality to show through at times though.
You all can tell me how I did with that.
Also added in some shout outs/allusions to other Disney/Final Fantasy heroes (Barret!) and put some into the radio chatter segment. It also serves, along with the lack of a starry sky and the huge # of Traverse Town districts, to show just how widespread the catastrophe is, how many world's have fallen.
People should realize just what the 'IT' or 'the presence' Kairi is referring to (Aqua's Heartless), and recognize the bitter (or sad?) irony of Kairi wanting to fight it alongside Aqua. :sadface:
Kairi's also slightly off in her internal timetable in regards to Stitch, as Terra and Ven were looking for her in the 'Deep Space' world prior to the fight at the Keyblade Graveyard, but, I needed a way to set Kairi up for what's coming next...
