Hello! So ever since finishing KH3 I've been itching to write a fanfic of what happens after, including a spin with some OC's! I hope you enjoy. :)

Chapter 1

"The beginning of a new light is what makes the brightest stars in the sky. When one fades away it becomes something entirely different, something much darker. This is known as the balance between light and dark. It's because of this that we are able to live freely in our normal everyday lives."

"But why? I don't understand." A young girl, almost nine years old questioned as she stared up at the older man sitting beside her on the edge of the bed. He chuckled and shifted is gaze to the open window just as a breeze blew in filled with the fresh night air.

"When you think about a heart what comes to mind?" he asked her, pointing to her chest. She pouted her lips and scrunched her face in thought.

"Hm…oh! Love. Right? Like you and mommy have." She said with a bright smile and the man nodded in response.

"Yes, there is definitely love. But there's also sadness. Happiness, and anger. Joy and fear. Do you see? In each of our hearts we have both light and darkness in us, and this can be easily seen through our emotions. But you must always remember that the light is the powerful brightness within us that must never be extinguished, okay?" He said gauging her reaction which immediately brightened with understanding.

"Oh, I see! Wow. Where did you learn all of this papa?" she said leaning into him with a hug and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder to pull her in.

"Hmm…it's a secret!" he said suddenly tickling her sides till she was rolling around in a fit of laughter. Once he stopped, they both sat back upright and the mans face grew somber.

"Listen, M, one day there may come a time when all these stories I tell you become relevant and I want you to understand the morals behind them and always follow your heart." He said cupping her face with one hand and caressing her check. She beamed a smile at him and hugged him.

"I love you daddy."

...

The image of a father and daughter sitting together grew dark as a black void enveloped the scene. What remained was pitch blackness until a bright light shone from beyond till it disappeared and all grew silent once more till the sound of a click could be heard echoing from somewhere far.

...

The land of Departure

Present time

"Look we can't stay here. It's best to move on, there's nothing more to do here." Axel grumbled, crossing his arms in frustration as Riku, Roxas, and Ventus stood nearby.

"Okay and where do you think we should go then? If we don't have a next solid destination, then we need to figure it out before we leave." Ventus said throwing a look at Axel. Axel sighed and frowned.

"Man, did we have to bring you along? I'm seriously getting whiplash over here between you and Roxas. Although it's obvious who the grumpier one is…" Axel said, muttering the last bit. Ventus threw him a glare.

"You know the only reason we had a lead here was thanks to Aqua, Terra and I for having information on Master Eraqus' library." Ventus said sounding exasperated.

"And yet we weren't even able to find the library, so how much help would you say you've been really?" Axel said to Ventus who looked like he was ready to tear him apart.

"ENOUGH. You guys fight like bickering siblings. We're not the only ones struggling here you know." Roxas said casting a look over at the Riku who was staring up at the white building. All three of them stared at Rikus back awaiting a response. Riku sighed.

"If we couldn't find it here. Then where could it have gone to?" he muttered to himself clenching his fist, when Roxas put a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll find it." He said with a smile and Riku smiled back.

"Okay so if the library wasn't here could it have been moved?" Riku asked walking toward Ventus and Axel. Ventus looked back at the building with a woeful look as the evening sun hit it's left side in shades of yellows, and oranges.

"Master Eraqus always keep his private library under lock down, there's no way he would've moved it so easily."

"Are you saying you think it could've been stolen?" Riku cupping his chin in contemplation.

"How does one steal a library exactly?" Axel popped in with a tilt of his head.

"Good question. Perhaps its one that should be asked towards someone who would know more." Ventus said with a look to Riku who immediately knew who he meant.

...

Moments later Axel was now sitting on the grass yawning while Roxas, ventus and Riku stood over the gummi phone in Rikus hand.

"So then, you don't know what could've happened to it?" Riku asked the small image of Aqua that appeared on the gummi phones screen.

"No, Master Eraqus kept his secret documents stored safely in that library. If he left it in someone else's possession via magic it wasn't me. If he was hiding the library, it would've been to keep it out Xehanort's hands."

"That would make sense. Who knows what master Eraqus could've kept hidden in there." Ventus said with a nod.

"Although I wouldn't say I know where you can find it, I do know someone that might have a better answer for you." She said and they all looked at each other and then to Axel who had just yawned quite loudly and was now stretching out on the grass. He stopped and looked at them.

"Does this mean I have to get up now?"

...

Cloudburst Town

Manaka's eyes fluttered open with a start as two bright yellow eyes stared closely at her face. With a meow the cat jumped down from the counter and onto the floor, purring and brushing himself against Manaka's leg. Manaka stretched with a yawn and stood from the kitchen stool assessing the bright flash of lightning outside and light rain hitting the against the windows glass.

"Stormy morning huh? It'd be nice to have some sunshine one of these days." She said picking him up and dropping a kiss on his head.

"You want breakfast, don't you? Yeah I know you." Manaka put him down and proceeded to grab a container from the cupboard full of cat food and poured it into his small bowl. After another yawn and a glance at the clock which read 9:23, Manaka went to the bedroom and changed into her everyday outfit, tying her long hair back into a ponytail.

"Time to get to work. Another day of grinding the mill, Taro. I'll be back later." She said with a wave as she briskly walked down the circling staircase to the first floor of the building, where it opened to a large room filled with shelved books. Manaka shuffled over in the darkened room as flashes of lightning occasionally lit up the room. Behind the front counter, she turned on the lamp near her and read the note scribbled on the post it.

Gone out. Be back soon.

-Dad

Manaka sighed and slumped down into the chair. Suddenly, with the clash of thunder and a strike of lightning, a loud thud sounded from somewhere in between the shelves of books. Manaka bolted upright as she stared out toward the dark room. Slowly through the flashes of lightning she made her way past the book shelves to the spot where she heard the noise. Rounding the corner she looked down at the ground and found a book had fallen out of its place. Manaka leaned down to pick it up and observed the book's title.

Opium's Letters and Scribes

Volume 1, 1st edition

No author was written anywhere along the white books spine or front and back covers. Manaka opened the book to reveal blank empty pages. Confused she flipped through the book but found no writing or any indication that the book was authentic. She closed the book with a snap and felt her back prick with sensation as she turned swiftly around, having sensed that someone was behind her. As she walked back down the corridor she felt the sensation of someone following her and immediately ran towards the door and front desk lamp only to turn around and find nothing behind her. Feeling slightly tense now she reached for the overhead light switch and flipped it on but it wouldn't turn on. She tried flipping it again but it appeared to be broken. As she clutched the book to her chest a bolt of lightning struck quietly along with the rain and there down the corridor of shelves something stood in the dark. It retreated downward into the ground and slithered its way towards her swiftly. She shrieked and another bolt of lightning turned the lights back on.

"As she opened her eyes and glanced around the brightly lit book shop she saw nothing out of the ordinary. Abruptly the door behind her opened and she let out a brief scream and so did the person who opened the door. The short tawny haired girl walked through the door looking surprised by Manaka's scream. She held an umbrella over her head but put one hand on her hip.

"Are you trying to scare me to death!?" she said with a large exasperated sigh. Manaka breathed a sigh of relief as she looked back toward where she had previously seen the shadow. There was nothing there now.

"What are you looking at?" the girl asked peering over Manakas shoulder, startling Manaka once more. She stepped aside to let the girl in.

"Shizu, what are you doing here?" Manaka asked sounding relieved. Shizu eyed her suspiciously.

"I had to come deliver some parcels to you on my mama's orders. Are you okay? You seem…shaken." Shizu said putting her hand on Manakas arm.

"Yeah well…" Manaka said looking back over her shoulder.

"You're not wrong there."

...

An hour later

Upstairs in the kitchen

"What!? You mean you saw like a gh-ghost or something?" Shizu stuttered as set the white book down unto the counter. The rain continued to pour hard outside as Manaka set the kettle down from pouring into two teacups.

"No, I'm saying I don't know what I saw. It could've been anything. You know I basically live in a magic bubble." She said grabbing the cups and setting one down in front of Shizu.

"Oh right. You guys run a magic book store, probably anything could've caused it. and then there's your dad, He's like the only one in this town that can be known as a master mage, everyone else just acts like they know what magic is but your dad is the real genius…and he's taught you really well." Shizu said taking a sip from the hot tea. Manaka gave her a look.

"Shh Shizu." Manaka glanced towards the staircase. "You know I don't talk about it. If my dad was to find out that I was still practicing everyday he'd get so mad." Manaka said sitting down, across from Shizu on a stool.

"Oh yeah, why did he make you stop again?" Manaka's face crumpled into confusion.

"I don't know." Manaka shrugged. "He never gave me a reason, he just didn't want me practicing anymore. Even though he himself is a magic user, we run a magic book shop and most of the town learns magic anyway!" Manaka said hurriedly clearly sounding upset about it. She gave an apologetic look to Shizu.

"It was sometime after mom died too. It's like once she died, he didn't want me practicing anymore. It really wasn't easy on either of us, but I think dad took it hard. My only real thought as to why he doesn't want me doing magic anymore is because it's dangerous, maybe he thinks he'll lose me like he lost mom."

"But you're still doing it." Shizu put in and Manaka looked out the window watching the rain drops wither down the window.

"But, I love it. Learning it, practicing it. It just feels right. I couldn't stop even if he wanted me to. I just vowed to be careful and everyday when dad leaves to who knows where, I take the time to set about practicing." Manaka said and Shizu could see the spark in her eyes. Clearly her friend truly found her passion.

"So, what's going to happen in the future?" Manaka whipped her head around at that and quirked her head.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, when are you going to tell your father? You're going to have to tell him at some point." Manaka sighed at that and dropped her head into her palms.

"I don't know. I can't even imagine how he'd react. I feel like he probably would never speak to me again." Shizu sighed this time and shook her head.

"Manaka. It's okay. I'm sure he wouldn't do that." Shizu said laying a hand on Manaka's arm with reassurance. Manaka smiled in response.

"You know, I've actually gotten better without the use of the stick, instead I've been using a small dagger."

"Dagger!?"

"Yeah so, when using magic, staff's or wands are often used in giving the caster a precise channel to send the magic spell through. However, since my dad can't know about my magic, I can't obtain a staff so I read that people have used weapons as a form of conducting the magic through." Manaka said with excitement bubbling.

"You mean you're using a knife for magic!?"

"A dagger is much more than a knife, its like a small sword. It's perfectly safe! It's actually helping me stay better balanced with my magic ability, or MP. Plus, it helps me practice my self-defense." Manaka said and Shizu looked amazed.

"So, then tell me, because I know you're probably the most advanced at magic than anyone in this dull rainy town." She leaned in as if to whisper to Manaka.

"What have you been working on?" Manaka looked at her then gave a small smile.

"I'll show you."