DISCLAIMER: There are very few things in this chapter I don't own...but I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

Chapter 1

A Boy Named Gentai Tanaka

"Yo, Gentai, hurry up already!" a voice cried from the large building erected somewhere near the middle of the town of Epsilont. The boy from which the comment had issued was leaning next to the doors of the building, and next to him were the words Epsilont School of Higher Learning. The boy in question, Gentai, picked up his pace as he ran forward to meet up with the boy who had called for him.

Gentai, or Gentai Tanaka being his full name, was sweating at the temple from his exertion. He had never been a particularly athletic person. No, Gentai resided more in the world of facts and science. In other words, academia was his particularly strong suit and physical exertion was not. Not that Gentai wasn't a particularly attractive person, he just wasn't what one considered a jock. Regardless of that, many people in the Epsilont School System liked him. He was intelligent, but never flouted it. His parents were extremely successful business people, but Gentai never mentioned it. He always decided that he just wanted to be Gentai Tanaka and no one else. Not the child of Sonia and Ken Tanaka but his own man; one who would be able to shape his own story. That was why people liked him particularly: his modesty. True, the girls didn't fawn over him (although there were some who nursed a soft spot for him and tried to get "tutored" by him though he was focused on only work) but he was a likable guy what with his short brown hair and sparkling green eyes that conveyed a sense of life that some intellectuals just didn't have. No, the only thing Gentai didn't have (and was stated many times) was the physical capacity. He pushed himself forward at full pace and finally came to a heaving stop outside of the school doors, meeting up with the boy standing there.

As Gentai looked up, he looked over his best friend Tom's features. He had black hair, and it was shiny. It was so shiny in fact that if Gentai didn't know any better he would have said that it had been greased back. On Tom's face, and shimmering behind his wild azure eyes was a playful smirk that indicated to Gentai that he had gotten the better of him yet again in a situation. Gentai himself scowled at this but pressed no more on the subject. After all, Tom was his best friend in the whole world despite their massive differences. In fact, many would often say that you couldn't find any two different peas in the same exact pod anywhere else in the entire world of Agradar. The reasons for this were quite obvious.

Gentai was studious while Tom was a procrastinator in the highest sense. If there was an assignment, Tom would dilly-dally till the last moment and turn it in with a half-assed effort. Meanwhile Gentai was able to whip his paper out in two or three days max. he usually got the highest grades in class. But there was a flip side to that. Tom was athletic, even though he wasn't on any of the sports teams. He chose not to hang out with the jocks and stick by his friend Gentai. But, in his own immortal words "I could kick your ass from here to Parotarg and backing sports any day of the week." That always elicited a laugh from many surrounding him. But Tom was not nearly as likeable as Gentai. There was something about him that put them off. Perhaps it was his cocky attitude, perhaps it was his sneering face to all (even Gentai) or maybe it was just Tom himself. Even girls didn't go for his whole bad boy attitude which caused him to be slightly jealous of Gentai's attention. The only reason it didn't predominate his thoughts was that he knew Gentai didn't care at all.

"You know, Gentai, for all the brains you have up in your noggin, you have an awful amount of jelly in your legs." Tom said with a smile while shaking his head. Gentai merely stood up and brushed himself off, glaring at his friend. "Hey, you know I'm just looking out for you."

"Oh, why thank you Lord Thom-ass, the peasants rejoice and thank thee." Gentai said with a sneer and Tom laughed loudly, drawing himself away from the leaning position on the wall. He clapped Gentai on the back playfully and Gentai took a small swing of his fists at him which Tom easily blocked. Gentai withdrew his fists. "Yeah, well, I'd like to see you run from my house all the way here in fifteen minutes just so you could make it to class on time."

"Right, right…" Tom said nonchalantly. "Besides, if I had to run here in fifteen minutes I'd just ditch in the first place. No point in continuing onward." Gentai gave him a severe look of displeasure and Tom merely shrugged. Gentai was vaguely annoyed by the fact that his best friend didn't give a damn about school when school was practically Gentai's life. After all, he wanted to move on to the capital of the country of Agradar and become an economic advisor to the president there. That was his ambition, something his parents had instilled in him and something that he was determined to make happen.

"Tom, you keep going like that and you're gonna fail one day." Gentai sad, the thin line that was his mouth now becoming even thinner. Tom shrugged.

"And I'm sure you'll laugh your ass off the day that happens. Now come on Gentai and lighten up and act cool. I gotta impress Alissa today." Tom said while striking a pose that he thought made him look cool. Now it was Gentai's turn to snicker and shake his head.

"I've never even heard of this girl and you're going on about impressing her. Honestly…Tom, get your head out of your pants and start thinking higher." Tom turned with a look of mock incredulity to Gentai while pointing to himself.

"Oh Gentai, you act like I'm the worst guy to be with in the world." Tom said with a pouting look and Gentai laughed loudly. "Anyway, you study for the test today in Bio?"

"Yeah…I, er, 'studied' if you can call it that." Gentai said while shifting his eyes around causing Tom to roll his eyes. Gentai never had to study. It was his blessing for being such an intelligent child. Of course, not that Tom ever studied either but that was for a completely different reason.

"Honestly Gentai, you keep going on like that and you're gonna end up president one day." Tom said in a mocking voice of his best friend. The two shoved each other and quickly started to laugh loudly before a figure different from the students passing by them came into view and Tom abruptly stopped laughing while Gentai still had the creases of laughter on his face. "Oh look who it is, Old Man Hikaru."

Gentai stopped his own laughing and surveyed the man. He was always the same, an old man, probably about fifty years old…maybe forty who wandered around the school in Epsilont telling stories to the high school students who would take the time to listen to them. That occurrence was in and of itself very rare as most of the students in Epsilont thought he was a crazy old whack-job who should have been carted off to the asylum almost fifteen years ago when he had first taken to haunting the school of Epsilont. He always looked the same and never seemed to age. His frazzled red hair, that, while light in color seemed to put off an air of un-cleanliness. He was always dressed in the traditional old brown tunic with brown pants and white shirt under the tunic. But his blue eyes were the only think that conveyed a sense of life, often bubbly and bright. Gentai wrenched his gaze from Old Man Hikaru and saw Tom and his eyes crinkling in anger underneath. It was no surprise to any of the school that Tom had a vendetta against Old Man Hikaru…after all, one time he was caught coming late to school and Old Man Hikaru gave him such a telling that even those who merely heard the conversation were scared for their lives.

Gentai himself didn't mind the old man, whenever he wasn't late for class or anything. In fact, often he'd tell the most interesting stories, Gentai's favorite of which revolved the epic tale of an old king who found himself wronged by his apprentices and was banished to a realm of nothingness where he spent his years until at last emerging and plotting revenge on those imprisoned him. What made it most interesting was that Old Man Hikaru told it through the eyes of the son who was separated from his father at the time of the betrayal and then, through an investigation of many years found his father had strayed from the path of revenge and sacrificed his own life. Gentai truly enjoyed that story because, after all, wasn't that what fiction was supposed to do: entertain? And today, Gentai figured he would receive another one of these treats as Old Man Hikaru seemed to be waltzing over to them.

"Well, shouldn't you boys be heading off to class?" Old Man Hikaru admonished them and Tom scowled, the left corner of his mouth twitching. Gentai smiled at the old man who stood taller than him by a few inches.

"We were just heading there, sir. Got kind of sidetracked." Gentai said. "But we still have a few minutes so we were just hanging around outside." Gentai could see Old Man Hikaru's eyes already beginning to twinkle.

"Oh, you still have a few minutes, do you?" Old Man Hikaru said and his face stretched into a smile while Gentai nodded. "Then you wouldn't mind to hear another tale, would you lads?"

"We don't want to hear your pathetic stories today old man!" Tom snapped and Gentai looked at him exasperatedly. Old Man Hikaru however, seemed to completely ignore the fifteen year old boy's outburst, his gaze instead being expectant towards Gentai. Gentai sighed.

"Sure, we'd love to hear a story. But could it please be short, we do have a class to get to." Gentai said with a smile and Old Man Hikaru sat down on a nearby bench, straightening out his pant creases while the two teenagers just looked at him. The old man cleared his throat.

"Now…where should I begin…ah yes, I know. Nearly a decade ago, or so it is told, there was a young boy who, dreaming of outside worlds, was eventually whisked away in a storm that consumed his world. He awoke on a transient world with a mythical weapon in his hand, and, together with two brave warriors fought shadows that threatened to consume the hearts of many worlds. Together the three friends fought through villains who conspired against them and friends who had betrayed them to the very ends of the earth, eventually defeating the greatest shadow of them all. Then, he fell asleep for a year and when he awoke things were not as they thought it would be. So they set out once more on a perilous quest to defeat a shady Organization. Eventually they succeeded in stopping its leader from obtaining godhood and they at last returned home. And that…was the end of that." Gentai nodded at the old man's story. He enjoyed but for the fact it lacked the detail Old Man Hikaru's story usually had. Tom, however, did not think so.

"And so what?" Tom snapped at the old man who looked serenely into his eyes. "What are we supposed to take from that? Oh, I know, don't fall asleep for a whole damn year because things could change. Well, no duh, anyone could have figured that out. If I fell asleep for a year of course something would have changed. For one thing, I'd have to repeat a whole entire year of school!" Old Man Hikaru closed his eyes and sighed, standing up rapidly. Gentai could feel the waves of cold disappointment coming from him.

"Well then, as you don't appreciate the true value of stories, don't blame me when shadows suddenly consume this world." On that note, Old Man Hikaru turned heel and walked away from the duo, and away from the school in general. Tom looked smug at the deed he had just performed while Gentai's face adopted a scowl on it.

"What was that for?!" Gentai asked, thwacking Tom on the back of the head. "That wasn't a very nice thing to say to Old Man Hikaru. You should apologize to him." Tom gave him a look of pure exasperation.

"You're kidding me, right? Apologize to him?" Tom said with a scoff. "Maybe in another life." The warning bell rang from within the school and Tom just motioned for Gentai to forget about it and follow him inside. Gentai shook his head in disbelief and followed Tom to first period Math.

But the thought of how severely Old Man Hikaru had been treated began gnawing at him throughout the day. It thankfully did not affect any aspect of his school life and he had done perfectly on his biology test. But school was not nearly as fun of an experience as it normally was for Gentai. Throughout the day he was tormented with those thoughts of disrespected. He barely paid attention to what Tom was saying during lunch and, in fact, he was so preoccupied that he didn't even really eat anything at all. This spaciness he experienced throughout the day almost got him into trouble in gym when he accidentally bumped into the school bully while running pacers.

"Hey, Tanaka, when did you get two left feet?!" the guy yelled. Gentai finally snapped to reality at this and looked up at him. Rio "the cruel" Yamamoto. He quickly shoved Gentai as he started to stammer out an apology. "You think you can walk into my territory and personal space while expecting to get away with it?!"

"I told you, I wasn't paying attention. I just spaced out, it won't happen again. Sorry Rio." Gentai said, backing off of him but he found he was being hemmed in by a sudden and blossoming group of spectators. Rio shoved him again and the ring shoved him back.

"I don't believe that pathetic excuse Tanaka." Rio said and was about to punch Gentai in the gut when suddenly Tom's voice split through the air.

"Oi, Yamamoto, pick on someone with your own intelligence." Tom said, parting the crowd and cracking his knuckles a bit. Rio looked at him with a severe look of displeasure.

"Oh yeah, Tom, what're you gonna do about it?" Rio said, cracking a smile of crooked teeth from the number of fights he got into.

"This." Tom said quickly and uncorked a punch to Rio's face which sent him sprawling to the ground, clutching his nose in abject pain. The ring at last parted as Gentai and Tom walked out. A small distance away the gym teacher was laughing loudly, commenting that Tom had guts. "Geez Gentai, spacing out much." Gentai smiled sheepishly and apologized as the two left the gym with the rest of the class to get changed and go home. But as Gentai and Tom reached the exit of the school Gentai realized that it was either now or never for him to give an apology to Old Man Hikaru.

"Hey, I'll see you later Tom, 'kay? I got some stuff to do." Gentai said and Tom nodded his head a bit in confusion as Gentai tore off, away from the school. All he knew about Old Man Hikaru was that he lived slightly northwest of the school, a little bit into the Market Sector of town. But after what seemed to be an hour of fruitless searching he decided there was only one quick way to get to where the old man lived. He asked a nearby vendor who quickly pointed him towards the forest that was settled on the north edge of Epsilont. The man said that he lived in a house somewhere in the center. Gentai thanked the vendor and set off for the forest. He figured that within the course of an hour and a half he could deliver his apology and get home.

This idea was quickly stifled as he thrust within the forest. The branches were thick and the forest was very deep. Soon, Gentai was getting whipped by branches all over the place and he just wanted a break. It was a miracle that within the humid and thorny forest that a clearing would soon appear with a rock upon it where Gentai quickly stationed himself to relax. He reached within his backpack and pulled out his uneaten sandwich from lunch and took it out of its plastic wrap. He bit into it and savored its taste, thinking this clearing looked truly beautiful. Then he heard it. It was faint at first and Gentai merely thought it was a branch falling from a tree. It was just a simple clicking noise, no more, no less. So Gentai paid it no heed.

Then he heard it again. He quickly stood up and placed his sandwich down upon the rock and stared around consciously, his breathing heavy and shallow as he wondered what was out there. He wasn't sure if there were any animals in the forest, but he figured that there had to be. So what could be coming towards him: a squirrel? A chipmunk? A bear? His question was soon answered as a ring of them emerged from the trees surrounding the clearing. But they weren't any animal that Gentai could ever remember. In fact, they seemed to be something more out of a nightmare than anything else. Their bodies were pure darkness, black and wispy and hollow. But what freaked Gentai out the most were the eyes…the unnatural yellow eyes. Gentai thought they had come for the food and he moved away from it. But they moved with him, as if keeping tabs on the young boy. His heartbeat became even quicker in fright now and he realized that he was enclosed in this clearing with no way out. Then the shadows leapt at him and he held his hands in front of himself in hopes to protect himself from the blow.

He had hoped it would be quick and painless. It wasn't. That was because it never came. The next thing Gentai heard wasn't the sound of these creatures or the rustling of the wind through the trees in the forest. It was more a hollow sound of wind blowing through the confines of this strange space. Gentai removed the hands from his face and slowly opened his eyes and gasped. The space was strange. He seemed to be standing on a strange podium made of stained glass…and yet his weight was not breaking it. Beyond that space of the stained glass he saw nothing but darkness stretching in all directions. Gentai chanced a glance at the stain podium at his feet and saw that on it was a picture. It was strange too. There was a young man on it, one eye closed and the other eye open, a strange weapon held in his hand. He had long brown hair and a slight smirk on his face. Gentai was about to bend down and examine the picture when a bright light suddenly filled the air. Gentai quickly brought his hands up to shield his eyes from the intense light.

But when they receded, something had changed. Gentai no longer felt empty nothingness in his hands but a very solid something. He gasped in shock and stumbled backward as he saw it. For one thing, it was a very strange object and for another, it was the exact same weapon as was depicted in the man's hands on the stained glass podium. It was of fairly simple design, albeit it looked strangely like a key. Gentai's hand was holding onto the handle which was surrounded by an intertwining black and white circle adorned with wings at its side. Those wings stretched up the side of the handguard before setting off into a twisting black and white formation of tendrils that snaked up the shaft of the weapon. They continued up until at the tip of the weapon they branched off, one black, and one white. In the middle between the two was the pearlescent form of the rest of the shaft: a strange cream color of marble that comprised it. Then came the blade itself, attached to the end Gentai thought it looked to be a crown, gold in its color. Gentai also noticed that there seemed to be something of a keychain hanging from this weapon: a keychain in the form of a strange symbol that Gentai knew nothing of.

After finally considering himself having examined this strange blade enough he looked up and saw a walkway of stained glass suddenly stretching from his own podium to another. Gentai didn't say a word, but walked forward, curious and hoping it would be his ticket out of this place. Soon his pace picked up into a light jog until he reached the next podium. There he saw the strange form of a silver haired man, both his eyes open and his long hair seemingly whipping around his face in the still picture. The podium was half dark and half light in its composition and this man also seemed to be holding one of those strange blades: one with half an angel wing and a demon wing. Gentai saw that the podiums kept extending and appearing and Gentai pressed on. The next podium had a familiar but unrecognizable form but the appearance on the stained glass was so muddled he couldn't figure out who it was. He never had much of a chance either. When he stepped onto the podium and into the middle, suddenly those strange shadows with yellow eyes appeared and began advancing on him. Gentai's heart seized up as he saw their advancement but also saw a faint glimmer of hope in the four podiums still ahead of him.

That's a lot of podiums…he found himself thinking but he had to make a run for it. Without even thinking, instead relying on his instincts he slashed outward with his blade and ran through the strange shadows in front of him. Amazingly, a number of them vanished in smoke. Gentai was surprised at this notion, but quickly pushed aside his shock and began to run. It was a strange thing that some of the shadows behind him were vanishing just as they ran but Gentai paid it no attention instead making it to the next podium. The picture that he briefly glanced passing over was of a chocolate haired boy whose hair stood up in every direction possible to man that it didn't look natural. At his side was also a Key-like weapon that looked more like a key than any of the ones previously with its silver shaft and blade and yellowed handguard. Still, Gentai was forced to pay it no mind continuing to run on. The next two podiums he passed over each contained a red-haired girl holding another key ordained with flowers and a blonde haired boy holding two of those keys, with three pictures of individuals on the edges of his podium (specifically a girl with blonde hair, a girl with black hair, and a man with red hair that was unnaturally spiky). Still, Gentai ran and his body was beginning to lose its energy. He at last reached the last podium and ran to the middle. But nothing happened as the shadows came at him. It was the end of the road. Gentai took a glance at the podium, maybe it would contain some sort of clue. The podium had eight crystals surrounding it, each a different color, while three other indistinct and shadowy globs surrounded them. There was a light shining from each of the crystals.

The shadows were closer and Gentai hugged himself together, the strange blade he had been holding pressing against his stomach. He didn't want to die here. He had a home, his family, his friends, his school…everything he cared about. He didn't want to leave them all just yet. Then a bright light shown and Gentai was pulled from the top of that podium and into the forest again where his eyes snapped open and he saw the shadows advancing on him. Gentai quickly attempted to calculate a way out of this mess. He felt those things were like bugs and the only thing he could think of was burning them off with some kind of fire…the only problem was that he didn't have any fire. At the thought, a strange and sudden warmth flooded up through his hands and the blade he was still miraculously holding. Out of it, suddenly raged a glorious fire that consumed the shadows and some of the trees in the area. The fire finally ceased and Gentai felt his limbs grow heavier than they had been. Some of the branches of the trees in the forest fell off and suddenly Gentai fell forward onto the ground. His vision became blurry as his eyes began to close though he thought he saw a man running up to him before consciousness slipped from his grasp.

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It was a very slow start when Gentai began to awaken. At first he thought he was still in the burning forest, but the touch of bed sheets underneath him convinced him he was elsewhere. Where elsewhere was he didn't know…but hopefully it was somewhere safe. There was some clanging around in a room adjacent to the one he was in and Gentai finally managed to open his eyes and sit up. He was in a room that he had never been in before. It was a simple room with cream colored walls and no adornments of any kind hanging on them. The bed he was it was made of simple wood with beautiful white sheets. It seemed that whoever lived in this house lived quite simply. There were two windows that looked out into the woods that seemed to surround the house and had a patch of pale sunlight streaming in through the window. Gentai grunted slightly and turned his head over in the pillow and noticed a bedside drawer that was also made of wood that looked almost too perfect to be handmade. But what intrigued him most was what was lying up against the drawer. It was the strange key-like weapon that he had used earlier. Gentai sat up rather quickly and banged his head against the headboard, grunting as he did so.

The sounds coming from the room adjacent stopped for a moment and footsteps were heard as another person came ambling into the room, carrying a cup of tea with a saucer under it. He looked at the young boy, who was filled with fear. The man paused in his movements and Gentai quickly discerned his features. He seemed to be a young man, roughly twenty-six years old with vibrant red hair that was a little light. He had blue eyes and a stature that almost seemed fit for a king. He smiled as he looked at Gentai, nodding his head.

"You're awake, I see." the man said, sitting down in a chair beside the table. Gentai stopped struggling as it appeared that the man wouldn't attack him. "I was hoping you would soon…ever since I found you in the forest, collapsed."

"Who-" Gentai attempted to say but his breath got caught in his throat. The man looked at him patiently and waited. "Who are you?" The man let out a light and airy laugh, though Gentai was unable to catch the heaviness behind it.

"Hikaru." the man said. Gentai furrowed his brow. Was this the old man he was looking for? He certainly didn't look old…It seemed strange to him and he couldn't help but voice this concern.

"But you can't be Old Man Hikaru. He looks at least ten times older than you." Gentai voiced and Hikaru once more laughed. He nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"True, true…I merely appeared as I wanted to. After all, nobody would fear anything from a harmless old man." Hikaru said and when Gentai gave him a look he decided to answer further. "Don't you think if I looked this way and lived in the woods past town that the villagers might just get a little suspicious? So I used magic." Gentai gave a start at these words. Magic? It existed?

"But I don't understand…" Gentai said and Hikaru put his hand up. Gentai stopped talking as Hikaru sipped from his tea and placed the saucer on the bedside table. Gentai waited as Hikaru cleared his throat.

"I'll explain everything to you Gentai Tanaka." Hikaru stated and Gentai flipped out, his eyes widening a great degree. Hikaru answered his silent answer. "Yes, I know your name. I know quite a bit about everybody in the town of Epsilont. Years ago, I was told by the master who taught me magic that a very important person, a special person would be here on Agradar, born but a few years prior to our conversation. So I came back here, to this world, and settled down in these woods to avoid questions and took the guise of who you know as 'Old Man Hikaru'." Hikaru took this moment to muse to himself and he chuckled. "To believe that after all these years it would be you."

"What are you talking about? There are other worlds? There's such a thing as magic? What's that weapon? And what do you mean that I'm the one?" Gentai said, his curiosity firing into overdrive. All the realms of logic and knowledge that he had so adored had suddenly been shattered to pieces by the words that Hikaru spoke. Hikaru once more fixed him with a stern look and he quieted down.

"Yes, there are other worlds. Every star in the sky is a world and each world…well, that's a story that's best for another day. What is important is that." With his words, he pointed to the strange weapon settled by Gentai's bed and Gentai's gaze was drawn to it once more. "That, Gentai Tanaka, is a Keyblade, a mythical weapon. The Keyblade is a blade which is often used by saviors of the worlds. You know those stories and tales I told you? They're not fiction but fact. A boy named Sora, whose deeds I heard of but a few years back, used his own Keyblade to defeat the darkness. I wasn't lying. You, Gentai Tanaka, are clearly a chosen wielder of the Keyblade. I sensed it the moment I saw the flash of light in the forest. I ran out and saw you use that spell of fire. It was a foolish thing to do, you could have killed yourself…you lacked the proper control. But all of your remedial combat skills can be remedied with time."

"So you're the one who saved me…" Gentai breathed out, looking down at his unmarred self. "Thanks."

"Yes, you should be thanking me. For three days I've taken care of you. That fire spell took more of a toll on you than usual." Hikaru said. But Gentai had already flung himself up in haste.

"Three days?! Oh no, I need to get to school and go home. Everybody must be worried about me. Did you tell my parents? My friends?" Gentai said quickly but Hikaru merely looked at him with a pained look on his face.

"I'm sure by now they know you're missing but I didn't tell them…and I won't." Hikaru said and Gentai stopped in the middle of getting up to stare at him.

"What do you mean?" Gentai asked, the fear and concern holding sway over his voice. Hikaru sighed a deep and heavy sigh.

"I told you before Gentai Tanaka, that you are the one I've been waiting here for." Hikaru said and he turned his back on Gentai. "Gentai Tanaka, I am afraid you will not be returning home again."

Author's Note: And that is where I'll end the first chapter. Pretty intriguing if I do say so myself. As for what all of it means you'll have to stick through this story and pretty much the rest of the trilogy. Interestingly enough, the conversation in my original draft of this story before The Existence Trilogy was ever conceived was very different. Granted, this was originally the second in a series of three, rather than a prequel. But I like what I've newly churned out. I'm sure you newcomers wonder what connection Gentai Tanaka has to Sora, Riku and Kairi. That will be discussed over the course of this novel. In either case, next chapter will bring in said heroes. So PLEASE review. I've gone long enough with praying for a mere one review per chapter…I'd really like more because I think my story's pretty good but no one reviews. If you like it, or think it has potential then review and tell others about the story, especially since this is a story that requires no further reading of my other stories. But as a note, if you are new do NOT read Tales of Existence or you'll spoil the fun. So please review on all the myriad of stuff in this chapter (not just "great story" or "It's good"; be specific please) and Dare to Be Silly.