Beginnings

I don't own Naruto or Kingdom Hearts.


"Tenebrae, wait up!" called out Kairi as she approached the boy from behind.

Tenebrae, a boy with black spiky hair and blue eyes looked back at Kairi and frowned as they headed home from school.

"What do you want?" he asked depressingly, "Haven't had enough trampling on my feelings?"

"No," said Kairi, "I just thought… maybe I could at least walk home with you."

"Do whatever you want," said Tenebrae as looked forward again and started walking, Kairi coming up next to him.

Tenebrae had arrived on Destiny Island not long after Kairi. He'd washed up on the beach just like she had and just like her, he had amnesia as well. The only thing he could remember was his name. Over the years, he'd grown to admire Kairi from afar while she had spent her time with Sora and Riku, who Tenebrae hung out with on occasion. Eventually, those feelings had developed into love. However, hours earlier, Kairi had let him down as gently as she could and they now stood in an awkward silence as they headed home.

"Hey, wanna come to the island with me, Riku, and Sora?" she asked him, "We're building a raft."

"Why?" questioned Tenebrae.

"We want to see other worlds," explained Kairi, "There's so much out there to see and we'll never be able to see it all if we don't leave now. Plus, I want to find out where I'm from."

Tenebrae gazed as the scar on the back of his right palm, feeling it tingle.

"Alright," he conceded, "I'll go out to the island with you."

After stopping by their homes to drop off their stuff, they both got in their rowboats and headed to the island. Tenebrae fell out of his at the dock, causing Kairi to chuckle. Tenebrae began wishing he was back on the mainland as he got out of the water and walked with Kairi along the beach.

"Here it is!" proclaimed Kairi as she turned to Tenebrae once they reached the raft.

Tenebrae walked around the raft to examine it then stopped with his back to Kairi.

"What do you think?" she asked him.

"Pretty nice," said Tenebrae in the same depressing tone, "To tell you the truth, I want to leave as well."

"Huh?" asked Kairi.

"I've been having these dreams lately," confessed Tenebrae, "In them, I'm fighting all these small black creatures. Then I keep hearing this voice that I swear I know."

"Then come with us," suggested Kairi.

"That's just the thing," said Tenebrae as he turned to Kairi, "The voice told me several times that I could leave but I didn't want to."

"Why?" asked Kairi.

Tenebrae averted his gaze and Kairi caught the not so subtle message.

"Oh," she said as her face turned a little red.

"I couldn't leave because I wanted to be with you," confessed Tenebrae, "I know you don't feel the same but now… I… I just need to be alone."

He walked off and splashed some water on his face from the nearby waterfall. Taking several deep breaths, he stared at his reflection in the water. One of his eyes turned yellow, causing him to jump back in shock. He crawled back to the water to see his eye was normal. His gaze drifted to the nearby cave and he crawled inside. Once there, he looked at all the drawings but paused at the one of what appeared to be Sora feeding Kairi a Paupu Fruit.

Tenebrae gritted his teeth and roared in anger while destroying almost all the drawings in the cave. Once he'd calmed down enough, he placed a hand over the drawing of Kairi and cried. He pulled out the letter he was going to give her then crumpled it up, casting it aside.

"You have no idea the danger you're about to face," came a voice behind him.

Tenebrae spun around and came face to face with a person wearing a long black coat.

"Who are you?" he questioned.

"Having to be in constant conflict is taking its toll on you," said the feminine voice of the person as they went up to the wooden door, which now had a keyhole on it, "Just like what happened all those years ago, you lost someone you cared about."

"What do you know about me?" asked Tenebrae.

"I know many things," said the person, "I know who you are. I know where you come from. And I also know where you're going."

The person reached a hand out to the keyhole and a light flew out of it. It entered their hand and vanished.

"It will take several hours for this world to react to what has been done," said the person, "When that time comes is when we shall meet again."

They retreated into the shadows and Tenebrae ran toward them to stop them but came to just the plain wall. Tenebrae lowered his head and gazed at the tingling scar on the back of his hand.

"I've met that person before," he thought, "That person… I feel like I know her."

Tenebrae looked at the door one last time before leaving. He went to the Paupu Tree and sat down against it.

"Hey, Tenebrae!" called out Sora.

The boy looked around the tree and saw Sora and Riku standing at the bridge.

"What do you guys want?" asked Tenebrae as he stood up and turned to them.

"Kairi said you may come with us tomorrow," said Sora.

"Oh," said Tenebrae as he looked away, "I haven't actually decided yet."

"Well, we need to know in the next hour or so," said Riku, "See ya around."

He and Sora went off, leaving Tenebrae to his own devices. Tenebrae sat down again and started drawing in the sandy dirt. As he did, he thought about the earliest memory of his old life that he could remember. The voice of a woman.

"I know you're in pain," he muttered to himself, "But don't worry. Soon, we can be a real family for the first time."

He lied back on the ground and looked up at the passing clouds.

"Who are you?" he thought as he closed his eyes, "Are you… my mother?"

"Tenebrae!" called out Kairi.

Tenebrae opened his eyes and sat up as Kairi came up behind him.

"So, are you going to come with us?" asked the young girl.

Tenebrae sighed and looked out at the vast ocean.

"I don't know who I am," he stated, "I don't know anything about myself. I don't know if I have a family out there or what. My mind is telling me so many things that I just don't know."

"Well, what does your heart say?" asked Kairi as she took next to him.

"It says to find out who I am," he stated after a long pause, "But I'm afraid of that very thing. Was I a good person? Or was I someone that hurt others for my own entertainment?"

Kairi put her arms around him and gave him a gentle hug.

"Maybe you were good and maybe you were bad," said Kairi comfortingly, "But all that matters right now is who you want to be. Even though our feelings are different, I'll always be your friend."

Tenebrae reached up to feel Kairi's hand before she pulled back.

"Hey," said Tenebrae nervously, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," said Kairi.

"If… if I am a bad person, would you still consider me your friend?" he asked her.

Kairi just smiled and nodded. Tenebrae smile and closed his eyes again.

"I'll go with you and the others," he conceded.

Kairi smiled and gave him a hug before running off to tell Riku and Sora.

The person that spoke to Tenebrae earlier watched this unfold from afar but felt a presence behind her.


"You should really learn to mask yourself better," said the person as they turned to someone wearing a tattered brown robe with a hood over their head.

"I never thought I'd see the day that you would fall," said the deep voice of the man under the robe, "Did saving him actually cause you to enter the state you are now?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business," said the woman, "Why are you here?"

"I came to deliver this world to darkness but it would appear somebody else already did my job," stated the man.

"Tenebrae will return to how he once was," said the woman, "Once he does, your plans are at an end."

"Are you sure?" asked the man, "You failed the last time you tried to stop me and it ended with him like he is now."

"Don't worry about that," said the woman as she went back to watching Tenebrae, "We both have different ideas of how to obtain it. However, your foolish ambitions prevent you from realizing what caused it to be created in the first place."

"And you know this?" asked the man.

"Unlike you, I've traveled further into Darkness and found the answer," stated the woman, "I have already selected my pieces. Let us see who can win this game of chess first."

(That Night)

Tenebrae got off his boat and went onto the small island just off the main one to find the woman in the black coat waiting for him.

"So, you came," she said calmly.

"Just who are you?" questioned Tenebrae suspiciously.

"I am a friend," said the woman as she turned around and held up a star shaped charm.

Tenebrae staggered back and grabbed his head as it began throbbing. He then fell to all fours and began taking deep breaths.

"As long as you and your friends carry good luck charms shaped like it, you'll always find your way back to each other," he whispered.

"Tenebrae!" called out Kairi as she hurried over to him.

"Kairi?" he asked as he looked back at her.

She helped him up and he gripped her arms.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I felt something was wrong here so I hurried over," she explained before she saw the woman in the black coat, "Who's that?"

"So, the Princess of Heart joins us at last," said the woman.

"Princess?" asked Tenebrae, turning back to the woman, "Kairi's a princess?"

"The Princess of Radiant Garden, yes," said the woman, "Or rather Hollow Bastion as it is now called."

"Tenebrae, something's going on with the sky," said Kairi as she looked up.

Tenebrae looked up as well to find the sky was covered in ominous black clouds.

"Each world has a door that leads to the heart of that world," said the woman, "If that world's heart were ever to be removed, that world would die."

Tenebrae tensed at those words and glared at the woman.

"You killed this world!" he shouted.

"All necessary for you to grow," said the woman, "If you want to save your world, then defeat the Heartless."

A black portal appeared behind her and she started to back into it.

"You're not going anywhere!" shouted Tenebrae as he ran toward her.

The woman entered the portal and it vanished just as Tenebrae made a jump for it. He landed flat on his face, grunting in pain.

"Tenebrae!" shouted Kairi as she looked around at the small black creatures with glowing yellow eyes surrounding her.

"Kairi!" shouted Tenebrae as he hurried over to her and pulled her out of the swarm of creatures.

They started to head for their boats but were cut off by more of the creatures.

"What are these things?" questioned Tenebrae.

"We need to get help," said the scared Kairi.

"Help?" thought Tenebrae, "How can we get help when we can't contact anyone on the mainland?"

The creatures jumped toward them and Tenebrae pushed Kairi down to shield her when several humanoid blue creatures appeared out of nowhere, striking down the black creatures. They both look up at the creatures protecting them, both wondering what was going on.

"I'm not sure what these things are," thought Tenebrae as he got up to his feet, "But I need to protect Kairi."

A wisp of black and white smoke appeared in his hands and all the creatures, as well as Kairi, stopped to look at the two giant keys Tenebrae now had in his hands.

"Void Gear…"

"Void Gear?" questioned Tenebrae as he examined the keys before looking up at the creatures.

"Order…" came the voices of the blue creatures into his mind.

"Order…" whispered Tenebrae in thought before raising his voice, "Protect us!"

The blue creatures got back to fighting the black creatures while Tenebrae joined the fray. However, as he did so, he found something interesting.

"I know how to fight…" he thought incredulously, "How do I know how to fight?"

He struck two of the black creatures, not noticing one coming at him from behind.

"Tenebrae, behind you!" warned Kairi.

Tenebrae turned around, looking into the eyes of the black creature, before he was pushed out of the way by one of the blue creatures. It was torn in two and Tenebrae grunted loudly in pain.

"This is just like those dreams," he thought as he staggered it his feet and hit the black creature that had tried to jump him, "When those blue things die, I feel pain."

He grabbed Kairi by the hand and pulled her toward the cave with the door inside. Several more blue creatures appeared and awaited their orders.

"Guard the cave and make sure none of those things get in," ordered Tenebrae.

The blue creatures hurried outside and Tenebrae helped Kairi over to a wall. He helped her down into a sitting position before hurrying over to the door, which had a black smoke coming out of it. A small opened was in the middle of the door and he pushed against it to try and keep it closed.

"That's not going to work," said the woman as she appeared out of the shadows.

"Stop this now!" shouted Tenebrae.

"That is beyond my power," said the woman as she walked between him and Kairi, "There is an old friend of ours that can't wait to meet you."

She held up her hand and sent out a wave of Darkness. Tenebrae grunted as he felt himself knocked off his feet and all he saw was black.

(?)

Tenebrae heard an echo as he grunted. He slowly opened his eyes under the helmet over his head, looking out at the large plateau desert he was in. He moved his arm, seeing he was wearing a black and white bodysuit, then pushed himself up off the ground. He caught sight of his black gloved hands before using a Void Gear to push himself to his feet.

"What is this?" he asked himself as he grabbed a hold of the battle skirt he was wearing before looking around, "Where am I?"

A dirt storm appeared out of nowhere and a kneeling figure appeared in the middle of it. Once the storm had passed, it revealed someone in a suit of armor that was different shades of brown holding onto a Keyblade that was lodged in the ground. A strange metallic sound came from the armor but somehow, Tenebrae understood it.

"Aqua… Ven… and…"

"Uh, excuse me," interrupted Tenebrae, "Do you know how I got here?"

He suddenly felt danger and two Void Gears appeared in his hand.

"A Keyblade? Who are you?"

Tenebrae grunted as a sharp pain entered his head at that instant.

"Have I… seen this person before?" he thought.

"I know you. We met way back when."

"If you know anything about me, please tell me," begged Tenebrae.

"No. That wasn't you."

"Oh, I guess we didn't meet before after all," said Tenebrae.

"This darkness… Van… itas…"

Tenebrae felt anger from the person as they stood up and pulled the Keyblade out of the ground.

"Vanitas!"

The person closed the distance faster than Tenebrae could react and knocked him into a stone pillar.

"I guess we can't just talk this out," commented Tenebrae as he got to his feet.

He ran at the person and swung but they just raised their Keyblade to block it. Tenebrae went in for a second attack with his other Void Gear but felt his feet getting knocked out from under him and fell onto his back. The person placed one foot on top of Tenebrae and pointed their Keyblade down at his head.

"I don't think so," said Tenebrae when one of the blue creatures from before jumped on the person's head.

The person staggered away and threw the blue creature aside. This caused enough of a distraction for Tenebrae to close the distance and land a shallow blow to the person's shoulder. The person looked at their shoulder before shaking it off. He began running and threw his Keyblade forward. It turned into a sort of glider before the person jumped on it and sped toward Tenebrae. Tenebrae rolled out of the way of the glider when a thought entered his mind.

He ran toward a cliff and jumped off. Hundreds upon hundreds of Keyblades flew up out of the ground and created a wave for him to ride on. Look back and let out a sigh of relief when he saw the person wasn't following him. The instant he looked forward, he was knocked off the Keyblades by the person and landed hard on the ground. He rolled for a good while before hitting the side of his head against a cliff. Tenebrae struggled to get up but felt something at his head. He looked up at the person with a pained looked when the person paused at the sight of Tenebrae's blue eye under his partially shattered helmet.

"Tenebrae?"

Tenebrae finally collapsed from exhaustion and hunger and passed out. The person rolled Tenebrae over and removed the broken helmet. He reached down to grab a hold of Tenebrae's shoulder when he was suddenly pushed back by a barrier that materialized around the young boy.

"Looks like you weren't ready," said the woman from before as she walked up to Tenebrae.

She stopped when she felt eyes on her and looked at the person in the suit of armor.

"It has been a long time, old friend," she said as she picked up Tenebrae and put him on her back, "Don't worry. He'll be back to normal in no time."

She walked into a portal of Darkness, leaving the person in armor alone in the desert. He got down to his knees and stuck his Keyblade in the ground with his head hung.

"Goodbye, old friend."


If you know who the woman in the coat is, please don't say in the comments. It just ruins the story for everybody else.

Also, got a poll up on my profile to see who you guys want in this story. Please go over there an vote in it.