Notes: Okay, I've been having just a little trouble coming up with how to kick off this chapter, but I finally came up with some ideas to move things along…feel free to start cheering for me. Anyway, as always, taking the time to read this is good, but reviews are just plain awesome…mainly because they're what keep me going and allow me to improve my writing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts…if I did, then there would have been a Pirates of the Caribbean level in the first game! (C'mon, who can honestly say they hate Jack Sparrow?)


Sora could feel it smothering him…the darkness was everywhere…it was almost like being stuck at the bottom of an ocean, only far, far worse.

All of his senses seemed to scream in agony, it was suffocating…he wasn't even able to feel his limbs…Sora could feel himself being dragged deeper and deeper into what seemed like a bottomless abyss…

"Wake up already, you lazy bum!" Sora jerked awake, suddenly aware of something being moved away from his face, the voice he recognized as Kairi's.

"Huh, what?!" The brunette jerked up as though he had just been stabbed, partially out of panic and partially out of habit. Cloud had managed to succeed in turning Sora in a semi-slight sleeper…that is, he slept like a log but if someone woke him up, then he tended to spring out of bed in an overly-energetic manner…

Kairi was standing next to his bedside with a mischievous grin and a pillow in both hands. There was no doubt in Sora's mind now about where his feeling of being smothered came from…apparently Kairi was even more of a prankster than he had given her credit for. Somehow, that thought was both relieving and troubling to Sora at the same time. It meant that Kairi probably had a sense of humor much like his…but at the same time, it meant that the brunette was going to have to keep his guard up…demons, even half demons like Kairi claimed she was, weren't exactly known for their fine senses of morality. The auburn haired girl might think poisoning his food was side splittingly funny.

"What, is something wrong?" Kairi asked, tilting her head sideways a bit as she lowered the pillow she had been using to smother him only a few seconds ago.

"Um, no, sorry, I was just-," Sora caught himself before he could say anything else. Why was HE the one apologizing?! She just smothered him with a pillow! Granted, Sora knew from Riku's frequent complaints that he could go on sleeping all day unless someone woke him up, which was an almost herculean task, but did it really give Kairi the right to stoop to smothering him with a pillow. Resolve filled the brunette as he looked the girl straight in her crystal blue eyes and braced himself for whatever was to come.

"…I'm still just a little sleepy…" Mentally, Sora winced and then wept. He simply couldn't look Kairi in the eye and then tell her off. Sora always did have a reputation for being overly-soft, something Riku never seemed to cease admonishing him for, he always just shrugged it off until now…apparently he really was a bit too soft for his own good. If he couldn't even tell off one girl for nearly smothering him with a pillow, then what did that say about him? Still, Sora was also known for one other semi-infamous trait…his almost blind sense of optimism. It was something he took pride in, no matter how many times the cynics he sometimes found himself working rolled their eyes, Sora always managed to at least cheer them up. There wasn't much that could crush his spirits and a little smothering with a pillow and not being able to get upset with the girl who did it wasn't even going to keep him upset for more than a few seconds at most.

"Alright then," Kairi replied with a grin, apparently she was in good humor after the prank she pulled on her guest, "I'll be waiting downstairs for you while you get dressed…unless you enjoy eating breakfast in those pajamas I loaned you!" Kairi giggled at the expression that had etched itself across Sora's face before turning around a leaving, obviously, she enjoyed messing around with him like this. He rubbed the last bits of sleep from his eyes before hopping out of his bed and walking over towards the wardrobe on the wall.

The bedroom that Kairi was loaning him for the duration of his stay was much like the rest of the castle in its overall atmosphere. It was seemingly ruined and old, but nevertheless luxurious and tidy. A number of red curtains decorated the walls, along with a red rug that had numerous golden patterns emblazoned into it. There was also a desk and a bookcase, though Sora hadn't bothered to examine either just yet, Kairi had given him a tour of the castle to get him familiar enough with it so that he wouldn't wind up lost that lasted the entire first day, not counting meals and the time Sora spent napping, so he really hadn't had much time to do anything.

The brunette paused as he opened the wardrobe; it had his armor and clothing in it, as well as several other sets of clothing.

Somehow, Sora got the impression that Kairi had been busy "acquiring" them from the village that had sent him here in the first place…she had already show that she was quite adept at sneaking around, and being in the castle did seem to give Kairi borderline omniscience within its confines.

Once again, Sora's thoughts turned to his rather unusual situation, even as he exchanged the pajamas that Kairi had loaned him without specifying where (or who) she got them from.

The truth was, he didn't know what to think of her, or even how he was going to explain all of this when once the three days were up, assuming Riku didn't come storming into the place once he found out what happened.

Sora abruptly froze.

Riku…he had been totally forgotten about Riku! Sora knew that the silver-haired boy wasn't the kind to dilly dally, and he was a very fast rider. What was he going to do when Riku started asking questions in the village? The villagers would undoubtedly tell him how his chocolate-haired friend ran off into the creepy, abandoned castle and didn't come back…and Riku wasn't quite as prone to try and talk things 

out as Sora was….Kairi's heritage was unlikely to help matters either. Even if her claim of being only half demon was true, it wasn't likely to help calm Riku down when he found out what had happened…

A wave of panic began to take over Sora as he rapidly got dressed in a simple white tunic and a pair of brown pants. There didn't seem to be any way out of this, Riku would eventually storm into the castle, sword drawn, and Kairi would no doubt do the same thing to him as she did to Sora…though Riku probably lacked the sense of innocence that the brunette possessed…actually, he was too prideful to apologize at all, even to his best friend!

Of course, he could try warning Kairi ahead of time since he couldn't contact Riku and the silver-haired youth wasn't likely to listen to him once he found out about Kairi's true nature, and if he did warn Kairi ahead of time, then he'd be betraying Riku…there seemed to be no way out!

Sora's stomach picked that moment to complain loudly, causing the brunette to put both hands on top of it out of reflex….he'd probably be able to think better on a full stomach anyway!


Sora took a deep breath as he mentally readied himself for breakfast with his host, even though his subconscious knew there was simply no point in trying. Slowly, the brunette entered the dining room, instantly spotting Kairi at the far end of a long table adorned with food.

The rumbling in his stomach seemed to stop instantly…and it wasn't because of the food.

Kairi was beautiful even as she held her head in her hand; her elbow was resting on the table, looking bored and even a bit miserable. Time seemed to freeze for Sora as she looked up; her previously bored expression seemed to instantly change into one of sincere joy at seeing him.

"Sora!" she called out cheerfully before she seemed to notice that he was practically stunned. "What's wrong? I thought you were hungry?"

Instantly, Sora shook himself from his daze, thankful that Kairi hadn't realized that he was stunned at her.

"Oh, um, I am, I am…I was just…thinking!" he chuckled nervously while Kairi raised an eyebrow and shrugged a bit. It wasn't exactly the smoothest response he could have uttered, but at least it could have been worse…

"You know, I really didn't figure you for the kind who thought a lot…" Kairi said, playing with a spoon between two of her seemingly delicate fingers. "What exactly were you thinking about….or did something just capture your attention and cause your jaw to slacken?" Sora tensed and froze as Kairi smirked in satisfaction before turning her attention to her food.

Okay, so it was indeed the worst reply he could have used…

Still, despite his now-heated ears, Sora had more important things to deal with than his overwhelming sense of embarrassment… like how he was going to fix his current predicament.

It seemed to be an utterly impossible situation…simply trying to escape from Kairi was more or less impossible because of whatever magic seemed to permeate the castle and aid her, and he didn't want her to be harmed either. It was nearly impossible for Sora to explain but…even if she was a demon-spawn and was obviously looting the village near her castle in order to sustain herself, he couldn't help but feel a sense of attachment to her…Kairi just acted too nicely to be a monster!

The brunette began to poke unconsciously at his food as he struggled to come up with a solution to his dilemma…

"Alright, what's bothering you?" Sora jerked up from his plate to see Kairi hovering over him with an expression that was both concerned and curious at the same time.

How on earth did she teleport like that?! Either Kairi was very, very good at sneaking around, or she could literally glide across entire rooms at will.

"N-no!" he stuttered, surprised and embarrassed. Kairi seemed to posses the unnatural ability to read him like an open book, a trait that did little to ease Sora's mind when he was around her.

Her blue eyes scanned him, looking deeply into his eyes before she sighed and pulled back, turning around to return to her chair. "…I don't mind, Sora…I haven't told you everything about myself either…"

The Sora felt a knot for in his throat as Kairi spoke; her tone was depressed and almost resigned in contrast to her typically cheerful and teasing voice. A wave of guilt came over him as Kairi unenthusiastically poked at her food in a manner that mirrored his. As silly as it sounded, seeing her like this was agonizing…Sora couldn't bear to see anyone so depressed, and the fact that he was responsible for Kairi's change of mood didn't help things either.

Silently, he pushed himself away from the table and stood up. Kairi didn't even seem to notice.

Part of him was disappointed, it would have been so much easier if she had just asked him if something was wrong a second time, but it seemed he would have to be the one to start the conversation. Sora just couldn't decide whether it was God punishing him or the devil tormenting him.

The brunette steadily and soundlessly walked towards Kairi with a gulp even though she didn't even glance or up acknowledge his presence.

Finally, he found himself standing directly next to her chair…and there was still no response at all, she just keep fiddling with her food while supporting her head with her arm, which was no resting elbow-first on the table.

He hadn't thought that his evasiveness was going to get her THIS upset…but then; Sora probably would have acted the same way if someone he was trying to befriend was openly keeping secrets from him…assuming that Kairi was indeed trying to befriend him! Treating someone who had invaded your 

home to either kill or capture you as a guest just because they apologized sincerely was something that not even Sora was naïve enough to do, yet Kairi was doing just that. The notion was paradoxical and seemingly without explanation in the brunette's mind…unless…maybe she was just lonely?

A slight shift in Kairi's position snapped Sora out of his thoughts instantly. She was now looking at him, apparently finally noticing his presence. Panic rose in his chest as Kairi looked him over with her beautiful blue eyes, though she did it in a half-hearted and depressed manner, as if it were merely a habit that she had yet to break. It was as if Sora's insides had suddenly been frozen, robbing him of breathe while forcing his mouth open regardless of his wishes. Before, he had acknowledged and even been stunned by Kairi's unnatural beauty, but it had been from a distance…now that he was this close to her...

Even in her current state, she was still shockingly beautiful, it was almost unnatural.

Kairi said nothing, absolutely nothing, though something in her eyes changed…but Sora was unable to determine what it was. Was she upset, entertained, or merely curious about Sora's expression and the fact that he had been standing there, staring at her, for about half a minute with his mouth hung open like a fish out of water?

"K-Kairi…I-I'm…sorry," Sora finally managed to stutter out after taking several deep breathes. Just approaching her like this was enough to send shivers that weren't entirely unpleasant down hi s spine, much less staring so intently at her before making a poor attempt at an apology. He mentally braced himself for some kind of negative reaction that would indicate that he had failed, that she was insulted by his pitiful attempt to make up. Perhaps Kairi would just quietly leave the room, or maybe she would tell him to leave her home right then and there?

…Perhaps she would berate him, or even make good on her threat to either kill or imprison him for life!

Sora closed his eyes tightly out of reflex before his brain could even protest against the stupidity of such action, it wouldn't change a thing and it just made him look even more ridiculous to Kairi!

Two seconds passed…then eight…then ten…

Slowly, the brunette cracked his eyes open and slowly opened them to see Kairi still sitting in her chair at the table, she hadn't budged one inch! At first, Sora was dumbstruck. Had his apology meant absolutely nothing to her? The only thing worse than Kairi reacting negatively to him, was not reacting at all. At least she saw him as worth her time to torment if she hated him, but if Kairi ignored him, then he wasn't even worth the air or energy it would take to be rid of him!

For some reason, that notion stung Sora far worse than anything he had ever experienced beforehand had.

Slowly, Kairi stood up out of her chair and turned to face him…there was definitely something about her eyes that had changed, of that much Sora was sure.

He gulped and tried to take a step back, but found his legs unwilling to move, it was as if they were made of lead! Sora realized that he was now uncomfortably close to Kairi, not quite close enough to feel her breath or anything, but it was enough to start alarm bells in his mind. Then, at that moment, Kairi did something that Sora didn't that she'd ever do, even in a dream!

She took a step forward and hugged him…Kairi had HUGGED him!

Almost instantly Sora felt heat rush to his face as her bare arms wrapped themselves around his back. He could feel the warmth of her body as it was pressed against his, the feeling of her breath on his neck nearly made his knees buckle. It was unlike any sensation he had experienced before, the hug was just as terrifying as it was exhilarating, it was truly indescribable.

And yet, Sora found himself unable to move. Half of him wanted to return the hug, to wrap his own arms around Kairi and draw her closer, but the other half wanted to draw away out of sheer shock…neither side, however, got what it wanted. Sora just stood there, barely able to comprehend what had just happened. "…Thank you, Sora…" he stiffened as the auburn haired girl whispered into his ear as she slowly drew back. Shockingly, Kairi actually seemed to be embarrassed by her actions as she backed away, looking down at the ground.

Sora was inwardly pleased by this, despite not being in much better condition…it was nice to finally see her getting a taste of her own medicine! Still, his moment of silent triumph was quickly ruined when Kairi seemed to regain her composure almost instantly. "What's wrong, Sora? Aren't you going to ask WHY I thanked you or even say 'you're welcome'?" The smirk on her face was enough to snap Sora back into reality almost instantly.

In reply, Sora simply crosses his arms and looked away stubbornly. He may not have been a particularly prideful person, but he did have his dignity…and there was o way he was going to let Kairi take that! Still…he was curious, and he was pretty sure that Kairi got the message anyway…

"…Alright, why did you thank me?" he asked in a reluctant tone as he slowly looked back at Kairi's still-smirking face.

"Well…I think I'll let you take a guess…"

"What?!" Sora exclaimed, genuinely surprised. "I thought you said you were going to tell me!" Kairi simply giggled to herself and shook her head as she walked past him, apparently intending to leave the room.

"No, I just guessed that you were going to ask, I didn't make any promises!" Kairi paused a moment and then turned around. "But if you really must know…well, you're the first human to actually care about me…" Sora recoiled, visibly taken aback at her realization.

"Wha-?! Well I…uh…" How was he supposed to answer this? There didn't seem to be a way he could say anything and not be teased by Kairi in one way or another, she had already shown that she enjoyed toying with him in such a manner, and there was nothing to stop her from continuing.

"Don't worry your secret's safe with me," Kairi said with a smile as she turned around once. "I'm not really hungry anymore, but I'm willing to bet you are…just call for me when you're done, I'm pretty sure I'll have found something for us to do by then…"


Maleficent couldn't have possibly been more happy than she was right now one of the many recently burned and abandoned villages. The creatures her benefactor called "heartless" had proved to be far more effective than she had ever dared to dream, and they seemed to be growing more powerful with each person they "converted". It had been easy for Maleficent and her benefactor to overtake the numerous villages and towns that surrounded the part of the kingdom they were in. All they needed to do was lead the heartless through what the dark entity called "corridors of darkness" and unleash them upon the citizens.

The only thing that really did serve to affect Maleficent's otherwise perfect mood, was the fact that her benefactor wouldn't let the heartless simply "convert" all of the people they came across…he was taking a fair number of them as what seemed to be prisoners even though they had no real sanctuary yet. Of course, she could do little to protest, the heartless and her new-found powers were owed to the armored entity. As much as Maleficent hated to admit it, she was currently a puppet for the armored figure… an indispensible and free-willed puppet, but a puppet nonetheless.

Still, is she had to curb her ambition for just a little longer…the black witch had managed to keep her pride under control before, and she could certainly do it again. Still, she was quite curious as to what her benefactor wanted prisoners for. Maleficent quietly walked towards the massive armored figure, who was surveying the numerous villagers who were under the guard of a force of shadow heartless.

"Why did you stop the heartless from simply consuming them?" Maleficent asked, mentally wincing at the apparent heavy-handiness of the question, though she could think of no other way to phrase it.

The black armored figure turned around to face her, still looking somewhat transparent. He, for the entity's voice did sound masculine, seemed to regard her for several seconds underneath his helmet, making it impossible to even guess at what he was thinking or even feeling.

…Not that Maleficent was particularly good at judging facial expressions…

"If you must know, I require them for some…experiments. As you may know, darkness can have very…interesting effects on you humans, though not even your order was able to even begin to understand that concept." Maleficent barely managed to stop herself from making some kind of indignant remark at her benefactor's apparent dismissal of what she knew of manipulating darkness, but stayed her tongue. It was the truth, apart from calling upon one or two of the shadow heartless and infusing herself with darkness and hoping that it didn't overtake her, Maleficent truly didn't know much about how darkness could interact with a human.

"I could accomplish much with just a few subjects…and this world of yours isn't as defenseless against my kind as you may think…"

Maleficent couldn't help but visibly express her surprise at the idea. Yes, her little order of mages had been dismantled and hunted to near-extinction despite wielding the power of darkness, but the truth was that they were mere dabblers when it came to the dark arts. Still, even that small amount of power was enough to send an entire kingdom into panic, the capabilities of her unnamed benefactor must have been borderline infinite. If a being that clearly had a great deal of influence in the actual realm of darkness was worried about some kind of hidden power in this world, then it must truly be an awe-inspiring force.

Before the black witch could actually ask anything about whatever the being of darkness was worried about, he suddenly turned away from her and faced the prisoners. "Hm, is something wrong?"

She didn't even get an answer to that question as the armored figure simply walked toward and literally through the prisoners taking advantage of his incorporeal state. He walked straight up to a boy in his mid-teens who was kneeling on the ground, hands tied behind his back like all of the others that were corralled into the center of the ruined village by the heartless.

There didn't seem to be anything particularly special about the boy…he was dressed in typical clothing for a humble villager and his features were fairly unremarkable as well. He had dark blond hair and blue eyes…not much else worth mentioning, although his face did seem familiar, somehow…

Maleficent walked up behind the black armored figure in curiosity as he kneeled down to examine the youth closer. The boy certainly seemed frightened by the towering figure as he seemed to stare intently at him before signaling for one of the shadow-heartless to come to him.

"You…what's your name?"

The boy seemed as surprised as Maleficent was at the sudden and seemingly random question. "…Ven…" his tone was understandably apprehensive and wary; Maleficent could clearly see his eyes glancing at the heartless's claws.

"Really?" The being of darkness seemed surprised by this and made another motion to the heartless. It instantly clamped its claws into Ven's hair and pulled it up into a messy, spiky, and even gravity defying position. "Because right now you look like a little boy I once…met…his name was Roxas…"

Maleficent quietly gasped in surprise.

"Roxas?! You mean Lord Ansem's son?!" Ven exclaimed, he seemed genuinely surprised. Maleficent had to admit, it did tickle her twisted sense of humor to imagine him being slain or converted into a heartless for having the misfortune to look like someone else that he'd probably never even met.

"Yes…" The armored figure replied curtly, releasing Ven's hair and standing up once more. "That expression expression 'the sins of the father' would be appropriate…Maleficent, tell me, how long did that boy last before he succumbed to that…condition he developed? Last time I checked his father was someone very important to you humans; surely you know when the boy died!"

A few moments of awkward silence passed between Maleficent, Ven, and the being of darkness before the black witch finally managed to bring up the courage to talk...he probably wasn't going to like what she was going to say, but there was little she could do…lying simply wasn't an option.

"…Actually, the boy's father managed to find a cure for his son's sickness shortly after his wife died...are you saying you had something to do with that affair?!" Maleficent could remember it as though it was yesterday, even though the incident in question had happened fifteen or so years ago….it was difficult to keep track of the passage of time when calendars required a small fortune to purchase. At the time she was just a young and foolish girl who had yet to have her eyes opened…

She had lived in a walled town in the part of the Kingdom of Radiant Garden she was currently assailing; it was a fairly plain location for someone to grow up. One day, a messenger came and spread news of how the lord and master of the entire region, Lord Ansem's, son had fallen desperately ill with some kind of disease that seemed to be immune to anything and everything his physicians tried. In short, since medicine had failed, Ansem had begun to turn to magic…he was searching for mages, or anyone or anything who could save his little boy at that time.

Eventually, he found someone, some witch of no real significance, that somehow managed to cure Roxas, though he still required medication to the current day…still, the fact that the boy had reputedly been able to best most professional soldiers showed that he was hardly crippled by the entire affair. Still, the fact that such an influential and powerful noble nearly lost his one and only heir did send ripples throughout the entire land…now that she thought of it, if Roxas had died, the consequences would have been…dire, to put it mildly.

The being of darkness said nothing for several seconds that seemed to last an eternity, he just stood there, seemingly mulling over Maleficent's words.

The witch couldn't help but wonder what was going through his head as she simply stood there, waiting for his reaction…she would have given much to learn what exactly her benefactor was thinking…

Finally, the armored being moved and extended a hand in front of it, summoning another corridor of darkness. "Come…I have a bit of a…history with "Lord" Ansem, as you call him…I would very much like to see how his offspring has been doing of late as well…"

So, Lord Ansem and her benefactor had somehow made contact before she even joined her little order of dark mages? This new piece of information was instantly absorbed an archived in Maleficent's mind for later use…it may have been an unimportant fact to her benefactor, but to her, such knowledge could prove incredibly useful…

She was just about to enter the dark door when another one opened up behind both her and the armored being of darkness. A single shadow-heartless came running out of it, it ran straight up to her benefactor, who took a knee, seemingly to listen to some message that escaped Maleficent's ability to decipher…the heartless obeyed her verbal commands, but they seemed to have a completely different way of communicating to each other and their master…

The being of darkness seemed to nod and then glance at Ven, who hadn't moved or even said a thing after his "conversation" with him and Maleficent. The hulking black entity stood up once more and walked up to the Maleficent, apparently with yet another plan in mind. "…Fascinating…" he murmured, seemingly out of habit before turning to Maleficent to address her directly. "It would appear that we shall be witnessing one of the may possible outcomes that can result when darkness is mixed with a human very soon…come, you'll understand what I mean soon enough…this portal leads to the city and fortress that Ansem calls home." The being motioned with his clawed hand to illustrate, did he take her for some kind of fool, or was it just a habit of some sort? Regardless, Maleficent resisted the urge to say or do anything that could tip her benefactor off to her irritation. "Something very…interesting has begun to develop and it requires my personal attention…I trust you'll enjoy using that power I gave you without restraint?"

Maleficent's eyes almost instantly lit up at the thought as a wicked smile crossed her face at the mere thought. "Of course…" she replied in a cool manner, though her inner wickedness burned within. Now was her chance for vengeance, to show all of the fools that had rejected her true power and just why they feared the darkness….

"…You may do with Ansem as you wish, but do not harm his son or the one who currently tends to him…they may prove vital if this world is to be embraced by the eternal night…" With that, the being of darkness spun around and entered the portal that the lone shadow heartless had created, fading into it instantly.

Maleficent laughed wickedly before motioning to the portal in front of her, signaling her heartless to begin the attack. As they swarmed past her, she was already picturing how to redecorate Ansem's castle once she was done with him and all of those who refused to submit to her…the black witch had always did have a fondness for plants…particularly ones with thorns…


Okay, I know it's not a very exciting chapter, but we're getting there! Riku's going to make his first direct appearance in the story in the next chapter, and possibly Roxas and Namine as well.

Oh, and for those of you who don't know, "Ven" is the name of the Roxas look-alike from Birth by Sleep…those of you familiar with my very first KH story probably can take a guess at what his presence in this story means…don't worry, the spotlight's going to stay on Sora, and the main cast, but they just won't be the only ones suffering from all of the horrendous stuff I have planned…

Please don't forget to review; I don't mind criticism as long as it's constructive and helpful.