DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kingdom Hearts in any way shape or form. But I do own one character in this chapter.

Chapter 2

The Encounter

"Get up, now!" came the voice before the light thwack that came to Sora's head suddenly. He grunted before he shot up to see his best friend, Riku, standing on the side of his bed, holding a small wooden stick. At the door to his room stood his girlfriend Kairi who had a completely exasperated look on her face.

"Riku, don't hit him, you might cause a concussion!" Kairi scolded and snatched the wooden stick from the silver haired man's hand. He pushed some of his bangs out of his eyes and chuckled.

"Oh, I'm sure that Sora can take a hit, right Sora?" Riku said, facing his own best friend. Sora stretched, oblivious to Riku's comment, his naturally spiky chocolate locks bouncing slightly as he did so. Riku grimaced and flopped on the bed, drawing Sora into a headlock and proceeding to give him a noogie. Sora yelped in pain (albeit only slight).

"All right! All right! I'm up, but can't you let me get some extra sleep every once in a while!' Sora said and Kairi giggled, shaking her head. She then proceeded to put her hands on her hips.

"Sora, we let you sleep in almost every morning, lazy bum." Kairi said and Sora smiled sheepishly. His eyes moved away from his friends and to a small white box sitting on his mirror table. Not wanting them to see it, he pushed Riku off of him and got up. "All right, let me get dressed and I'll be with you two in a minute!" Riku snickered and he backed out of the room with Kairi preceding him. He smirked at Sora and Sora slammed the white door to his room shut with a snap. He got up and groaned as he proceeded to step over to his mirror.

He looked himself over in the mirror and shook his head at his features. He had changed in the past six years since his battle against Xemnas. His hair was still the same, still spiky, and while he branched out into wearing different clothing now and then he consistently wore his black and navy blue mission outfit that had grown with him through all these years. His face was older now though, and his muscles were toned. He was, after all, twenty one years old and only growing older. Still, at least he had kept in shape and he didn't look like he had been burned by flames running all the way up and down his body. Although, those Fat Bandits made it all come really close… Sora thought with a chuckle. Of course, at the same time, he realized that he would never have been so in shape if not for that first letter Mickey had sent years ago. Those letters that he would send subsequently pretty much became wonderful breaks from the life on Destiny Islands. It wasn't that they minded life, but adventure was what they needed to cure boredom. So they went on missions to clean out Heartless. It was especially helpful during the adult years as none of them went to college, instead, Sora and Riku ended up working at a fighting dojo for a few years. Their students were the ones who ended up the best. Meanwhile, Kairi actually took a job at a florist for some odd reason that neither of the boys understood.

Regardless, it had still been a very interesting six years of Sora's life. When he had returned home that day, after defeating Xemnas with Riku, they stayed the night on the islands, not willing to face their parents. That night, Sora had double duty, helping to cure Riku's back (which he knew left a scar), and spending time with Kairi. That night was the exact night they started dating. After all, there was no need to express any feelings but the formal asking on a date for they felt all the feelings had been expressed by that simple hug in the Castle That Never Was. But after that night, things returned to a monotonous state of living. Naturally, the boys' return sparked a fervor in the teen population of Destiny Islands (or more specifically Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie) and suddenly they found themselves being swarmed by rabid fans. The two got used to it through their last three years of high school (or in Riku's case, two) and soon decided to not go to college and instead find jobs. Eventually, it became a tradition for all three of them to go to the islands and for Riku and Sora to spar. Kairi would often watch, occasionally fighting (as Sora had trained her for years).

Sora smiled at that thought. Kairi had been his girlfriend for six years now (not counting the time they broke up). They would be going on a date later that night. Sora picked up the small white box and turned it over in his hands. Tonight would be the night. He would do it. He had to. He placed the box back on the table a stretched a bit more before walking downstairs. Riku was drinking out of Sora's orange juice carton. Sora smacked his head and snatched the carton away from him, shoving it back in his fridge with a glare.

"No touching my food!" Sora reprimanded him and Riku grimaced. Kairi giggled at this and the three made their way out of Sora's house. Sora quickly summoned his Keyblade and locked the door. There was no need for him to hide it, since now everybody kind of knew about the Keyblade's existence and the three adult's roles. After locking the door, the three set off for the beach to take them over to the other island. Sora and Kairi locked their hands and Riku whistled along beside them. He still wore very similar clothing to that which he had worn during the battle against Xemnas six years ago, although his silver hair had grown quite longer and he had to constantly push his bangs aside, a move that seemed to make the girls swoon in a heartbeat. However, his purple pants still fit nicely and his toned muscles stood out, even from Sora's. This designated him as the fastest rower in the islands and that annual boat rowing competition was probably one of the only things that Riku could beat Sora at anymore. Kairi was a different story. She had matured most certainly and had grown even more beautiful in Sora's eyes. Her red hair was still about the same length and her indigo eyes still shined brightly. However, gone was the old clothing she had begun to don in Sora's absence, now replaced with completely different (and magical) garments. She now wore a white shirt that was outlined with pink that fitted her form fairly well and was cut off at the sleeves for maximum movement. Below were royal purple pants that were enlarged near the feet but fit perfectly enough that it did not hamper her movements giving her the greatest mobility on the ground.

But these changes ultimately meant nothing, now that they were six years down the road. The three finally reached the boats and each got into their respective ones and rowed off towards the other set of islands. It was true that it was mostly the kids that played there but Sora, Riku and Kairi couldn't forget about it: it had been the place they started their adventure. It took them little time to reach the islands and thankfully they found it to themselves: there was only one boat tied to the dock. It was a little odd but as it was still early they knew they shouldn't have expected many kids to be there at this point. They tied up their own boats and stepped out onto the sand. Sora then turned and gleamed at Riku, stretching his muscles out while Kairi sighed.

"And here we go again…" Kairi said while shaking her head and Riku snickered, stretching his own muscles menacingly towards Sora. Kairi rolled her eyes at the boys' antics and walked over to lean against the stone wall. "I'm not refereeing this time…so just don't kill each other."

"Kairi, Kairi, why on earth would I smash Sora-Wora's pretty wittle face in?" Riku said, his voice dripping with mock sympathy. Sora let out a gleeful laughter.

"Oh, well I doubt it would hurt as much as it would hurt when I pulverize pretty boy here." Sora said and his fingers started drumming in midair, leaking in anticipation. Riku brought his arm up and held it to his side, near his head. All Kairi had to do was snap her fingers and it was on. Sora and Riku's Keyblades sprang into their hands and the two leapt at each other. Sora made the first blow downward which Riku immediately blocked, pushing Sora upward and off him. Sora spun around for an attack at his side. Riku blocked that blow off and kicked at Sora, causing the Keyblade Master to leap backward. Sora wasted no time, kicking up a small cloud of sand as he dashed toward Riku who fired off a dark fireball at him. Sora swiped his Keyblade down, cleaving through it like butter before switching the hold on his Keyblade and swiping upward. Riku blocked it but their Keyblades grated together. Riku finally forced Sora off before Sora came at him once again. In a quick instinct, Riku summoned a Dark Shield and Sora was forced backwards. Sora whirled his Keyblade around and two turrets of flame came spitting out at Riku, which he leapt away from, sending a three tiered barrage of dark fireballs at Sora, which he easily bat aside. Kairi merely quirked an eyebrow at this exchange until her vision caught sight of a young brown haired girl emerging from the door to the cove.

"Hey Kairi!" the young girl called out as she walked over and Kairi waved back before ducking as one of Sora's rogue blizzard shards came hurtling her way. Kairi looked the girl over with her brown hair and green eyes, a smile alight on her face.

"Demora, what are you doing out here…don't you have school?" Kairi asked in confusion and the girl, Demora, laughed loudly, her brown hair shimmering in the sunlight.

"Yes Kairi, I decided to ditch school today." Kairi cast Demora a brief look of incredulity before Demora gave her a stern look. "It's a Saturday, Kairi."

"Oh…well, you see, when you get older all the days and weeks kind of jumble together and really don't matter much." Kairi said, covering up for her lapse in reasoning. She still gave Demora a confused look. "What were you doing over by the cove so early in the morning though?"

"Just watching the waves. It's kind of a past time of mine." Demora said with a smile before she turned, watching Sora and Riku continuing on with their sparring. Now one was hurling fireballs and the other was hurling lightning and it seemed that the entire beach of sand was beginning to stand on end. "They're at it again?"

"I don't think there's ever a time they're not at it." Kairi giggled at as she stared fondly at Sora. Demora caught this and chuckled a bit.

"You really love him don't you?" Demora asked with a smile on her face and Kairi nodded gleefully.

"I wouldn't have him any other way. And I know he loves me back…I just wonder when he'll pop the question." Kairi sighed out and Demora laughed gaily. Kairi then turned to Demora with an interrogative look on her face. "And what about you Demora Suwara, any love find its way to you as of yet?"

"No." Demora stated simply while shaking her head. "I mean, a lot of boys have been asking me out but none of them have seemed right to me…you know? I think they just like me for my looks." Kairi nodded in understanding. Demora was quite pretty so it was no surprise there. "I don't know, I'm sure I'll find him soon. Who knows, maybe I'll be like you and fall in love with someone from another world!"

"Don't remind me…and I rather doubt it." Kairi said and Demora simply gave her a pouty look. "Oh don't give me that. Now how about your job? How's it going?"

"What is this, Kairi? Twenty questions?" Demora said with a laugh and Kairi laughed back. "It's been going fine. Delivering papers is pretty easy with a bike and I've got the strength to handle it. After all Sora and Riku did train me in the fighting dojo." Kairi smiled and nodded her head. They both looked towards Sora and Riku who were locked blades with one another. They finally broke off.

"Hey guys, Demora is here!" Kairi said but they didn't look her way, still trading blows.

"Hey Demora!" they yelled out and Demora giggled while shaking her head. Kairi observed the scene of the two fighting before she quickly murmured a "duck!" and pushed Demora down as a rogue barrage of fireballs from Sora sailed overhead.

"And on that note…I'll be going." Demora said, waving goodbye to Kairi as she ran off towards her boat. Kairi glared at Sora for the close call and he smiled sheepishly. Kairi saw the quick gleam in his eyes and knew that this battle was about to end. He raised his Keyblade in the air and created a vortex that drew Riku in without having a chance. Sora used the trees as pole vaults and slammed down onto Riku, forcing him down to the ground. Before Riku could scramble up however, Sora had disarmed him.

"I win." Sora said with a smile and Riku grimaced.

"Cheater." Riku said but he grabbed Sora's outstretched hand and hoisted himself up. He summoned his Keyblade back before banishing it as Sora did the same. Kairi walked over to the pair of them, clapping lightly.

"Now that you two have taken care of your testosterone's need to fight each other, shall we get going to Twilight Town. We did promise Hayner, Pence, and Olette that we'd visit them and Olette said she was dying to tell me something." Kairi said with a shrug of her shoulders while Sora adopted a curious expression.

"Interesting…Hayner said the same thing…" Sora stated and he and Kairi locked eyes. Their faces lit up and Riku scratched the back of his head.

"Great discovery guys, now let's go before we're late." Riku said as he clasped both of his friends on their shoulders and the two nodded. They turned to walk towards their boats when a different voice pierced the sound of the surf.

"I would cancel that meeting." came the voice and all three froze, the hair on the back of their necks pricking up. Riku immediately started sniffing around the area and he sensed it: darkness. But where it was, he wasn't yet able to discern. Suddenly a black portal formed on the shore in front of them and out of it stepped the man who had spoken the words, fully cloaked and hooded. Without even stopping to think, all three summoned their Keyblades in preparation for a fight.

"Organization XIII!!" Sora cried out and the man chuckled, holding out his hand.

"Did you expect any different?" he said with laughter. "I find it odd that you're so surprised to see me since it's only been six years. Surely you didn't think that all of us were gone." Riku snarled. Something was familiar about this man but he couldn't quite place exactly what it was.

"Why are you here?" Kairi cried out but the man didn't answer, almost as though he was not planning on acknowledging her existence. Sora and Riku closed ranks around Kairi.

"What do you want?" Riku snarled out but the man made no response. "Is it Kingdom Hearts again?"

"That's part of the plan. But I won't tell you everything because that would ruin the plan." the man said and he started pacing along the shoreline. "Although, perhaps the most important thing that I want…is revenge." Their hearts stopped cold as they stared into the unrevealing and merciless black hood. He chuckled darkly. "Oh? You don't seem all that concerned. Well, then maybe this should set you on the right course!" Without a moment's hesitation he lifted his glove hand into the air and curled his fingers into a fist. All at once, bolts of plasma seemed to sear from the sky and hit every inch of the islands. The trio covered their eyes and when they emerged they found themselves standing among a ruined form of the island. Trees were upturned and wood was splintered everywhere, only the docks seemed unperturbed.

"You monster!" Kairi cried out and Sora ran at the man. Riku sensed something was wrong a moment before Sora's blow hit.

"No Sora!" Riku cried out but it was too late. Sora's Keyblade whipped through the form of the man but it disappeared before he felt a sharp hit to his back, sending him sprawling into the water. The man scoffed and soon disappeared in a black portal. Sora scrambled up to see that he was gone. The three stood in their ruined island in silence.

"So…what now?" Kairi asked.

"I would ask the same thing." the man's voice came and they glanced around but he didn't appear at all, his voice just ringing eerily through the area. "If you wish to seek me then come to Radiant Garden, everything starts there. Until then, I would bid you farewell but do understand there is no stopping what I've set in motion." Then the voice winked out. Riku snapped his head upward.

"We go to Radiant Garden." Riku said and Sora nodded. The three turned away and quickly ran towards their boats. They would get to their Gummi Ship and from there they would find the black robed man. Sora glanced out towards the destroyed island and felt a faint tweak that something was wrong. That not everything here was as it seemed. But he paid no mind to it and instead rowed away from the island and back into the quest that had started seven years ago.

Author's Note: Well, there you have it. Quite a good introduction if I do say so myself as well as an intro to a very important character: Demora. Still no guesses as to who our Organization XIII member is. Fear not, I'll give more clues and you have plenty of time to guess. Please review on this chapter in good detail and PLEASE REVIEW…I don't understand why no one thinks this story is good enough to review a week after posting. Oh well, just remember, Dare to Be Silly.