A/N: Well, here's the second chapter. Hope you enjoy. Please READ and REVIEW. This is my first fanfic and tips and how to improve my writing are greatly appreciated.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or it's characters.

HAUNTED

PART 2

The stench of burning homes hung in the air like a blanket of death. Woman and children ran for cover, screaming out of fear and despair of losing their loved ones in the flames that now burned from rooftop to rooftop. Families got separated, looking for any way out of the town that had long been home. The normally peaceful, quiet town was now overrun by heartless, they swarmed the streets, looking for anything,, and anyone they could destroy. Among the madness, one girl stood off to the sidelines, silently sobbing ,eyes burning form ash and her own tears, looking for her parents. Who had not been seen since that morning. One of the buildings near the girl collapsed, causing her to run in fear. In the distance, she could begin to hear someone call out her name.

"Izumi!'

The girl recognized the sound of her mothers voice. "Over here mama"

"Izumi, where are you? I can't find you!"

"Im here mama, right over here, please come and get me, im scared!"

The girl ran toward the sound of her mothers voice, once so calm and caring, now filled with worry. After what seemed like hours of running, she finally collapsed in the safety of her mothers warm arms.

"Oh, Izumi, I was so worried about you. Where on earth did you go!? Your father and I told you to stay in the house no matter what happened."

Izumi was fighting to hold back more sobs as she looked up at her mothers face.

"I-I was s-so s-scared! Y-you and d-daddy l-left me! And I h-had no idea wh-where you g-guys went, I th-thought you wo-would leave me"

Her mother took the girl in her arms and tried to give her some comfort "Shhh, it's ok now, everything will be ok. Don't cry. We're going to go find daddy now. Ok?"

Izumi looked into her mother's eyes and nodded. The girls mother gently picked her up and began carrying her out of town, towards the only means of escape.

"M-mommy? Where is daddy?" Izumi asked quietly

"It's ok, don't worry, he's waiting for us at the Gummi Ship, near the town entrance. We'll be able to see him shortly and go far, far away from here. Close your eyes and hold onto me tight now."

Izumi did as instructed, not wanting to see any more destruction, she buried her face in the softness of her mother's hair, smelling the sweet shampoo she always used.

Izumi was close to drifting off to sleep ,and almost to the Gummi Ship, when she heard her mother scream. Her eyes quickly snapped open, and she was met with the scene of her father, in battle with the biggest heartless the town had seen yet. Izumi's mother gently put her on the ground. The young girl couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight of her father, blood was slowly making it way done his shirt front, and his strength seemed to be fading fast.

"Izumi, look at me." Her mother jerked her face away until it meet her eyes. "I want you to go onto the ship, ok sweetie? Right now."

"B-but what about daddy? We can't leave daddy."

"I'm gonna go help daddy, and then me and daddy are going to find our own way out of here, and we'll find you. I promise."

A middle aged man came running out of the Gummi Ship, heading for the girl and her mother.

"Is everything ok Miss Kaori? We must leave in a few moments"

Izumi's mother stood up and faced the man.

"Yes. Aidan, I have a favor to ask of you. Take my daughter, and make sure she gets to safety, I have to go help my husband. Don't wait for us, just go. And make sure Izumi gets out of here!"

"But mi-"

"I have to go help him, dammit! Just do what I say!" And with that, she turned and started making her way towards the heartless.

"MOMMY!! NO!! DON'T LEAVE ME!!" Izumi dashed towards her mother, grabbing onto her leg in a last effort not to lose her.

The girls mother leaned down, giving Izumi one last kiss on the check. "It will be ok, Izumi, now go with the nice man, and me and daddy will be right behind you."

"Hey"

Aidan rushed to the girls side and picked her up, rushing her to the Gummi Ship.

"NO!! MOMMY PLEASE, I LOVE YOU!! DON'T LEAVE ME! PLEASE! MOMMY!"

"Hey, wake up."

Izumi continued yelling for her mother to return, a fresh stream of tears streaming down her cheeks, her voice growing hoarse. Aidan carried her into the ship and buckled her into one of the seats as gently as he could. Izumi stared out the window, still screaming for her mother to come back to her.

"You're gonna fall off the couch and hurt yourself even more if you keep thrashing around like that."

Izumi's eyes snapped open, she sat up abruptly, causing her head, and everything around her to spin. She groaned and put her head between her knees in an effort to make everything stand still.

What the hell was that? I haven't had that dream in... I don't know how long.

After a few moments, her head felt clearer, and she was able to look up and notice the curious faces peering down at her. An awkward silence filled the room, Izumi blushed slightly, trying to find words to say.

How did I end up here? I don't even know where here is! I wish someone would tell me what's going on, I don't recognize any one, and I don't remember what I was doing before I ended up here either-

"Um, excuse me, are you alright? You still look kind of pale, maybe you should rest some more. I don't want you to end up in worse shape than you already are."

Izumi looked up into the kind face of the woman talking to her. The woman's hair was pulled into a long braid that went down her back, held in place by a pink bow resting near the top of her head, her outfit also consisted of mainly pink garments, including a light pink skirt, with a darker pink top. The only thing that didn't include pink were her boots, which reached to just above her ankles.

"I-I'm fine, just a little surprised. Um, not to sound rude, but could you tell me where I am?"

"Of course! You're in Hollow Bastion. My name is Aerith, this is Yuffie."

Aerith pointed to a teenage girl in dark shorts, a tank top that reached just above her stomach covered with a black jacket, and a black headband.

"Hiya!" Yuffie said cheerfully.

Next, Aerith introduced a man named Cid, who wore simple blue pants tucked into dark brown boots, and a white shirt, with a large orange belt across his waist. And Cloud, who was leaning against the far wall with his arms across his chest, he wore all black , the only thing that made him stand out was the blonde hair sticking up in all directions, and the blue eyes that reminded Izumi of the ocean. Both Cloud and Cid muttered simple "hello's".

After Aerith had introduced everyone in the room, she turned to Izumi, smiling gently.

"So, you haven't told us your name yet, what is it?"

"Izumi. My name's Izumi"

"Such a pretty name. Well Izumi, I don't mean to pry, but how did you wind up here? Don't you have a home to go back to? I'm sure someone must be looking for you."

"I-I don't remember how I got here, the only thing I can remember is how my town was destroyed, but that was when I was little... I can't remember anything from then until now."

Izumi looked at Aerith, then lowered her head so the only thing she could see was her hands.

"So you don't know where you're home is?" Aerith asked.

Izumi shook her head, eyes fixed on the hands in her lap.

"Well, would you like to stay here for awhile? We have extra rooms."

Izumi looked up at Aerith "But you have all done so much for me already, I don't want to impose, I can just find somewhere else."

Aerith just smiled. "It really wouldn't be any trouble, and I would feel guilty if you left and then something else happened to you. And as I said before, we have the extra room, please at least consider?"

Izumi looked at Aerith's kind face, and then at everyone else's. Silently debating whether to stay or go.

Everyone looks so kind, but they've already done so much for me. How can I accept their generosity?.. and what happens if my memories come back? What if I have a family?.. I guess I could stay for a couple days at least. But after I get my memories back, I'm leaving.

Izumi looked up at Aerith once more. "Alright, I'll stay. At least for awhile, until I get some of my memories back."

Aerith broke out into a huge grin "Wonderful! We'll get you settled, and then I'll make some breakfast, you must be starving."

Aerith rose from the chair next to Izumi and looked over at Yuffie. "Yuffie, why don't you show Izumi the spare room , and that way I can go ahead and get some food ready?"

"Sounds good." Yuffie replied with a grin "Come on, just follow me!"

And with that said, Yuffie bounded out the living room with Izumi following close behind.

"Well, here's your room." Yuffie said as she led Izumi into a semi-large bedroom painted light blue. "There's a bathroom through the door over there... that's pretty much it really. I'll bring you some spare clothes in a little while, if you need anything else, just ask one of us and we'll help you out. Well, I'll leave you to get settled then, Aerith will either call or send someone up to get you when food is done. Until then, make yourself at home!"

Yuffie winked and then headed back downstairs, leaving Izumi alone with her thoughts.

She looked around the room, noticing the faint smell of vanilla.

Well, since I'm here, I should probably make the most of it. Taking a shower sounds like a good way to start.

Downstairs, Aerith and Yuffie were busy cooking in the kitchen, and discussing how much things have changed in Merlin's house in the past day.

"Hey Aerith?" Yuffie asked, "have you seen Leon? I haven't seen him since yesterday."

"I saw him last night, before you brought in Izumi, but I haven't seen him this morning." she sighed, "He'll turn up when he wants to."

Yuffie nodded in agreement and then went back to mixing the chocolate chip pancakes she was making. After a moments silence, she turned towards Aerith again.

"How do you think he'll react to Izumi?"

"Honestly Yuffie, I don't really know."

Silence passed over the kitchen again, and both Yuffe and Aerith were lost in their own thoughts. The front door opened quietly, and Leon walked in. Aerith peered around the corner of the kitchen and smiled at him, and he waved back in reply.

"Hiya Leon! Where have you been all morning?" Yuffie asked loudly. Almost dropping the bowl of pancake batter.

"I was busy"

"Doing what?"

"None of your business"

Yuffie pouted "Awww, why not? You can tell me."

"...Whatever."

"Leon?" Aerith asked tentatively.

"Yeah?"

"Since your on your way upstairs, could you leave these outside the door to the spare bedroom please?"

Aerith handed him a set of spare clothes. He looked down at them, confused.

"We had some unexpected company last night. They're staying in the spare room, and she needed some spare clothes." Aerith informed him, noticing his confused expression.

Leon looked at Aerith and nodded, turning to head upstairs.

"We'll call you when breakfast is ready."

He gave another wave of acknowledgment and continued up the stairs.

I wonder who this guest is anyway, why didn't they bring their own clothes?

He paused before leaving the clothes by the door, his hand outstretched and ready to knock At the last minute he thought better of it and walked down the hallway to his own room.

Izumi had just gotten out of the shower when she heard the slight sound of footsteps outside the bedroom door. After a few moments of waiting to see if someone would knock, she walked over and peered into the hallway.

Hmm... I thought I heard someone out here, maybe I was wrong.

She peered downward and noticed the bundle of clothes by her door, she smiled to herself, then picked them up and retreated back into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

Just after Izumi finished dressing in a plain black tanktop and jeans, she heard Yuffie calling to her from downstairs.

"Hey Izumi! Breakfast is done!"

"Thanks Yuffie, I'll be down in a minute."

Walking out into the hallway she noticed someone else heading towards the stairs as well. She waved slightly, hoping to get a better look at the person. The unknown person stopped when he saw her wave, and their eyes locked. The first thing Izumi noticed was the scar going across his face, reaching from the bridge of his nose, to in between his eyebrows. He also had a pair of black, leather looking pants, with 4 different crisscrossing belts hanging off his waist. A plain, white shirt covered his chest, and Izumi noticed what looked liked a lion pendant dangling around his neck. After what seemed like hours, Izumi finally broke her gaze, instead choosing to look at her feet.

Leon's first thought when the young woman stepped into the hallway was that Rinoa had somehow appeared in Hollow Bastion. But after taking a better look, the woman didn't look like Rinoa hardly at all, they both had the same dark, black hair, but that was where the resemblance stopped. This woman had longer hair, that reached past her shoulders. She also had a cut going across her cheek, and her skin seemed paler than Rinoa's ever did. The thing that really caught Leon's attention was the young woman's eyes, they were a deep bluish greenish color, and they seemed full of sadness and something else Leon couldn't place.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't mean to stare..." The young woman stuttered, looking at Leon once more.

"...whatever"

Izumi's face swam with a mixture of shock and hurt at Leon's words. He however, continued on his way toward breakfast.

I wonder what the hell his problem is, I was just trying to be friendly.

When Izumi walked into the kitchen for breakfast, it looked like complete chaos had broken out. Yuffie was arguing with Cloud about heartless while shoving pancakes into her mouth. Cid and some girl named Tifa were having a very heated discussion about what gummi ship functioned better. And Aerith was going back and forth from the stove to the table making sure everyone had enough food. The only one at the table who didn't seem to be involved was the man Izumi had run into on the way downstairs.

"Hello Izumi, do you enjoy your room so far?" Aerith asked, realizing she just entered the kitchen.

"Yes, very much. Thank you."

"Well sit down and have some breakfast. What would you like?"

"Pancakes are good, thanks."

"No problem."

"Oh, Izumi this is Leon." Aerith said, setting a plate of pancakes in front of Izumi.

"Yeah, we met briefly on the way down here. He never told me his name though."

Aerith looked over at Leon.

"Well Leon, this is Izumi."

Leon nodded then went back to his own pancakes.

Aerith looked from Izumi to Leon then back again. "Leon, Sora called to let me know that there were some heartless down by the dark depths, do you think you could handle them? Sora would but he's taking care of stuff in Atlantica right now."

"Sure, I can handle them." Leon looked over at Cloud, "Hey Cloud, you want to come with me?"

"Actually Leon.." Aerith began hesitantly, "I was hoping you'd take Izumi, maybe show her around a little bit?"

Izumi choked on her orange juice.

Why is she asking him that?! He doesn't even seem to like me very much! Surely she can see that?

"Sure. I think I'll go shower first though." He turned to Izumi. "Make sure you're ready to go in 20 minutes."

Izumi nodded. Leon stood from the table and made his way back upstairs.

For a few moments, the table was unusually quiet, with everyone looking after Leon while he made his way out of the room. Cid, Cloud, and Tifa followed, leaving the remaining girls in the kitchen.

"YAY! Leon has a new girlfriend!" Yuffie squealed.

Izumi choked on her orange juice again.

"What do you mean he has a new girlfriend, you can't mean me can you?"

"Why of course silly, Leon usually doesn't take guests with him when he goes heartless hunting, you should feel honored!"

Izumi blushed and looked down at her plate.

He seemed so mean on the stairs though, he can't actually like me can he?.. of course not, he was just acting on Aerith's orders. He doesn't really want to drag me along with him.

"Hey are you ok? You're really quiet all of a sudden."

Izumi looked up to see Yuffie peering down at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about stuff."

"You're thinking about Leon weren't you?"

"What?! Of course not." Even as she said the words, she felt a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Ahhh, you were to. Look, you're even blushing!"

"Now Yuffie, give her a break, she still doesn't even know him that well. Don't start jumping to conclusions." Aerith said, coming to Izumi's aid.

Thank you Aerith

"I think I'm gonna go wait in my room, so I'll see you guys later."

Yuffie waited until Izumi was out of hearing distance before turning to Aerith, a chesire cat grin plastered on her face.

"She likes him, I'm telling you. It was love at first sight." Yuffie sighed dreamily, lost in thought.

"You don't know that for sure. Just wait and see what happens, you know how Leon is with new people after...Rinoa. Just give him time. If they hit it off, great, I just don't want him getting hurt again. Izumi either, for that matter." Aerith said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Can I help out though? Maybe trip one of them so they end in the other's lap or something?"

"No"

"Aww. You're no fun."

Izumi paced in her bedroom, waiting for 20 minutes to pass, thinking of all the things that could go wrong.

What if he really doesn't like me and pushes me off a cliff? Or if he locks me in some old, abandoned house. Why did Aerith suggest he be the one to show me around? Couldn't she or Yuffie do it?

She sighed then walked over to her bed and fell backwards onto it.

Oh god! What if they're trying to set us up? Not that I would mind, Leon is kinda cute, with those pretty eyes, and that scar... No, NO. Don't think those kind of thoughts.

She sighed again and turned on her side, burying her face into a pillow.

After all, you don't know how long you'll be here.

A sudden knock on the door snapped Izumi to her senses. Opening the door, she say that is was none-other than Leon himself.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yes."

Izumi followed Leon downstairs and out of the house. Hoping that everything would work out and that she'd be able to come home in one piece.

A/N: Well, that was the second chapter. Hope you liked it. Please R&R.