Kingdom Hearts

re: Venture

I honestly don't know how to start.

Seriously.

Some writers are gifted with great ideas and great people to write their intros for them, but since I have neither, you'll have to settle with this, a meager introduction that actually explains nothing at all, and doesn't provide any insight into my story.

Sorry.

Hello! My name is Vacurai. This remake-story is a chronicle of Lilith's, Leal's, and my life. We were three friends who were separated for good and for evil, but we'll get to that part in a few chapters. For now, I have to have a beginning (which, as you clearly see, I suck at) to get the bouncing ball rolling, so that's where we'll start for once.

Oh!

Oh oh oh! Wait. I've think I might have a prologue sitting around here…

Hearts Intertwined:

Written by Lilith Arverica

"Do you ever wonder what stars are, Lilith?"

The red-headed boy had asked me that question a million times, but I smiled anyway. We were sitting on the vertical palm tree on Destiny Islands while watching the sunset. Leal had excused himself for a minute, giving Vacurai yet another chance to be alone with me, which he always somehow made the best of. "Well, they say...that every star up there is another world. The light is their hearts, and it's shining down on us like a million lanterns, and whoever basks in the light shall be enshrined in happiness."

"That's a new version." He swung his feet absentmindedly, as if he was thinking about something that troubled him. "Is it like the paopu fruit, or does is it just..." We sat there for a few billion years while I waited for Vacurai to finish his question, and then the red-head spoke again. "Lilith...wouldn't you actually like to find out what the stars REALLY are instead of sitting here talking about them? Couldn't we go, just the two of us?"

I gasped. The way he'd said that, excluding Leal...it was almost as if he liked me...

"I know we don't have a way off this world, but we could come up with something and just...leave." Vacurai glanced at me, and I noticed that his eyes were full of sincerity and concern instead of their normal jocularity. "Think about it, okay?"

I nodded. Nervously, I brushed my hair back behind my head and swallowed. I have to admit, the thought of eloping enticed me. "I'll think about it," I said, but I knew we really had to take our blonde-haired friend.
Vacurai turned back to the ocean "So...what's been going on lately? We only meet here every once in a while, and you haven't said anything about life other than the fact your father made a new kind of cherry cola."

I hesitated. I'd had bad dreams about shadows, my mom had been fired from her job as a schoolteacher, dad's company was going bankrupt thanks to the fact that someone was swindling money from his business...I said the only thing I could.

"Everything's fine."

The boy reached over and put his hand in mine, squeezing it once. He always had a way of knowing when I felt uneasy or unhappy, and it made me realize that Leal had been gone for far too long; but I didn't care at the moment. I just wanted to sit like this forever...hand in hand with Vacurai...staring out at the sea...

"Hey, you two! What have you love-birds been talking about while I wad gone?" Leal reappeared and climbed onto the palm tree on my other side.

We blushed and withdrew our hands. "Not much," I said. "By the way, what took you so long?"

Leal tossed two cans of soda our way. "Here. 'Dewdrop Skyline Infusion.' A few cans washed up some four or five days ago." He shrugged. "Thought I should save 'em for a night like this."

We popped open the drinks and sipped in silence. Life couldn't be more perfect, I thought. Well, little did I know I was wrong. Vacurai put his arm around my shoulder and Leal did the same, and a thought occurred to me: "Hey, do either of you know why the sun sets red?"
"Because red travels the farthest."

"Because yellow tries not to show red up."

"Hey! What do you mean 'show up?'"

I laughed.

Everything would be okay.

Now that you've got a taste of our dull life, here's the main course, and possibly even the desert.

I hope not…I was going to eat that Choco-Bar!

Oh, go away, stupid subconscious alternate me!

But without me you can't exist.

I'm not going to fall for that the second time!

The Daily Things:

Written by Vacurai Torrenson

Getting startled can become violent.

There I was, walking along through Plaza Garden, each footstep resounding on the shiny tiled floors that were slightly slick. Ornate ceramic fountains sprayed water miles in the air, people sat on tiled benches surrounded by pottered shrubbery, and the glass-roofed café that spanned half of Plaza Garden was packed full of patrons today.

"Hi there!" cried someone. I lurched to a halt, but for some reason I skidded on the tiles and fell flat on my stomach. When I looked around, I realized the speaker wasn't even talking to me. She was waving to someone behind me who clearly was an idiot because he slipped and fell on his stomach…like….me…eh heh heh…

"Vacurai!" A young woman about my height with long brown hair and wearing green shorts, a yellow T-shirt, and a green backpack walked up to me. She held a latte in one hand and a pencil in the other, the second which she tucked behind here ear. "I see you're still setting trying to set a world record in stupidity."

She gave me her free hand and helped me up. "Give me a break, Lilith." I ran my hands through my now soaked hair—the fountain had chosen the moment I'd fallen to drench me—and smiled. "I don't see you being careful. You know what caffeine does to under-aged girls."

Lilith rolled her eyes. "Ugh. I wish I'd never told you that my mom thinks alcohol is actually a lighter brew of coffee."

I smiled deviously as we started walking in no particular direction. "Maybe it is a lighter brew. We'll never know…unless you start acting normal, that is."

Lilith fake-slapped me and pulled a notebook out of her backpack. "On an actually important note, we've got practice again today."

"Really? I thought we usually waited until Sunday."

She stopped and gave me the look. "It IS Sunday."

"Oh, well that it explains it."

We made our way to the other side of the Gardens, where Leal was waiting for us. While the three of us met at school and on Destiny Islands very frequently, we only had Sunday to ourselves, and boy did we take advantage. On Sundays we did all kinds of things: sneaking into the Royal Armory (we usually were discovered and sent home with a discouraging frown), harassing the Balton Street Kids, taking and losing challenges issued to us by the Balton Street Kids and ending up having to run from the Balton Street Kids…the list goes on and on. Lately, we were preparing for the Keyblade Tournament by dueling each-other with Keyblades that Lilith's uncle Zeke had made for us to reflect our interests. (If you're interested, mine had a magic wand for the blade, a hexagon of cards for the hand-guard, a top hat for the teeth, and a dark heart for the keychain. Lilith's was a silvery, flourishing curve with the outline of a red heart for the teeth, sparkles for the hand guard, and a Wayfinder for the keychain, while Leal's had a column for the blade, something called a Nobody Emblem for the teeth, a dark circle of thorns for the hand guard, and a Wayfinder for the keychain.)

Today, Leal was already waiting for us when we got to our favorite dueling place. He was dressed in dueling gear and had his weapon out, beating up our straw dummies with a vengeance. "Whoa, whoa, Leal. Take it easy," I called. "What did those things do to you?"

"Rrgh! Nothing…just…having a bad day."

"Well, if you don't leave some for us, then we might have to spar instead." Lilith smiled at him deviously. "And you know how easily I can kick your butt, right?"

"Just go get ready!"

We showered and put on protective armor, foam-and-rubber padding that kept us from doing too much accidental damage to ourselves while fighting. Aside from Lilith forgetting her towel while in the locker room showers and me having to hand it to her with my eyes closed, and me remembering that I'd forgotten the combination to my locker and having to break into it instead, everything went absolutely fine. In a little under a half an hour, we met back at our battling circle with swords in hand, ready to beat the living daylights out of stuffed dummies…

Oh, that's right.

Getting startled can become violet.

There I was, striking at the main target, slicing through it, now throwing my weapon like a boomerang. "Hey, losers!" The shout was so vigorous it broke my concentration. When I turned to see who was speaking, the Keyblade struck me upside the head, knocking me down.

"Raleigh!" cried Lilith, referring to the leader of the Balton Street Kids who was at least three feet taller than me and Leal. He and his gang of lackeys were facing us (I noticed when I got up), decked out in protective gear with swords in hand and smug expressions on their faces. "Look what you did, you idiot!"

"Ah, he'll be fine. He's got a thick skull." He advanced, swinging his Keyblade menacingly, stopping just in front of us and grinning. "So Vacurai! Up for a chance to be humiliated in front of your friends by means of a one-on-one duel?"

I laughed and flourished Full House. "Well, don't you think I should be asking you that?"

He growled. "Oh, I can't wait to wipe that smug smile off your face."

If You Never Understand:

Written by Leal Moritil

Vacurai and Raleigh took up fighting stances in the middle of the circle. For a moment I wasn't sure who was going to strike first, but Vacurai dealt the first blow by braining him across the head. He parried Raleigh's attack and rolled behind him, trying to sweep the bully off his feet but instead getting dropped himself. The two clashed, faces inches away, growling at each-other, while our two groups shouted encouragement:

"Get him!"

"Wipe the floor with him!"

"Kick his butt!"

"Come on, Raleigh! You aren't going to let a girl beat you, are you?"

Vacurai scowled. It was a favorite past time of the Balton Street Kids to call Vacurai a girl, partly because he had semi-long hair, and partly because…well, it was a good insult. It always got him angry. But in this case, it worked against them. Vacurai twisted his weapon and disarmed Raleigh, flinging it away. The bully feinted, dodging past the red head and retrieving his Keyblade. They went at it again, and I thought I saw a strange flash of something in Raleigh's pocket.

By this time, a crowd off people had gathered around the circle to watch the duo fight. They cheered along with us, betting money on who would win and who would lose. At one point an official D.R., a Dueling Referee, started marking points off on a holographic Battle-board. Battle-boards were ways of keeping track of who was winning in a duel by having each contestant start at 100 HP and docking five points every time someone was hit. The more you dueled the more HP you got, and so therefore a better chance at winning. Vacurai started at 300 and Raleigh at 400, but they were each down to 75.

Suddenly, with a smile and a shout on the bully's behalf, a bolt of lightning struck Vacurai out of nowhere, dropping him to his knees and taking his HP down to 10. Magic was the most powerful weapon duelists had, but they had to announce it beforehand otherwise they could be disqualified. For some reason the referee didn't notice, and several people pestered him until he shook his head and said that "only in Tournament fights was using undisclosed magic illegal."

Raleigh pointed his Keyblade at the exhausted red-head. "Any last words?"

Vacurai half-smiled. "None but 'you lose.'" He stood up and raised his empty hand to the heavens, calling down a torrent of rain. Thunder suddenly crackled overhead, and Vacurai assumed a fancy pose.

Lilith gasped. "I didn't know he knew a Limit! Did you?"

I shook my head. Raleigh started to back away, glancing at our friend for a moment before steeling his nerve and charging. Sadly, that was what Vacurai wanted him to do. The red-head smiled, called "Stormfall!" and then charged through his opponent with blazing speed, knocking Raleigh down and winning the match.

My ears practically exploded thanks to the cheering.

Don't Go:

Written by Vacurai Torrenson

The next few hours blazed by. My fans held a party, the referee entered my name into the Keyblade Tournament, Raleigh slunk off and vowed to get revenge; and in the midst of all this, Lilith, Leal and I snuck off for some peace and quiet. I was exhausted and victorious, and both meant wiped out.

"I can't believe you won, Vacurai," said Lilith quietly. We were sitting on one of the rare plots of grass in Plaza Garden. The stars were really brilliant tonight, and my friends and I were stargazing, thinking and talking quietly so as to not draw any attention.

"Yeah, I was just as surprised." Leal was silent for a moment, before pointing at the sky. "Is it just me, or are those stars shining brighter than usual?"

I looked where he was pointing. Three stars, one blue, one green, and another red, stood out amongst the rest, and they seemed to be right above us. I hadn't noticed them until tonight, but they were there now. "I think they are brighter than usual."

As we sat there, I noticed a girl walking across the plaza. She noticed us, let out an exclamation of happiness, and ran over and knocked me onto my back. "Oh, thank goodness! I almost thought that was going to be the end of my journey…" She rolled off me and helped me up. Lilith and Leal clambered to their feet also, and I frowned in confusion.

"Um, okay? What do you mean?"

The girl sighed. "I've been looking for you. You're my last hope." She looked around nervously for a moment, the said, "I'm not supposed to be here. I'm not even supposed to exist!"

I grasped her by the wrists. "Hold on! What are you talking about?"

She looked me dead in the eye. "I'm a Nobody. I'm not supposed to exist."

"Don't say that!" I exclaimed.

"Nobody. With a capital N. We're beings who live betwixt light and dark." She pulled away. "My name's Xion. You don't have to introduce yourselves, because I already know who you are."

"Wha-? Come on already! Just explain yourself!"

The raven-haired lady started walking away. "Come on, you three. If you want an explanation, you're going to have to follow me."

"That would be the last night we ever spent beneath the same stars."