Chapter 3: Welcome to the Shire

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a while, school and life have been a little bit hectic and it prevented me from updating. So now that Hikari has agreed to help Gandalf, all that's left is for her to head to Middle-Earth! What shall await for Hikari as she steps into the most famous world in literature?

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or the Hobbit; I just own my oc's.

Enjoy!

/

Waking up the next morning, Hikari slowly sat up in bed. Her mind was still wrapped around what happened last night and that she agreed to help Gandalf with this quest. She was so set about going on this journey that she forgot to tell her mother about her decision. Taiyouko went to bed after she showed Gandalf to his room so it was obvious she was out of the loop.

Hikari felt bad about making plans without her mother knowing, but this was something she had to do.

Getting dressed, she processed what she was going to say to her mother and how she was going to break it to her. She loved her mother dearly and she didn't want to leave her on such short notice.

She looked across her room to see Ankoku still sleeping. She made it clear that she didn't want any part of this journey and that she was staying on the islands.

Walking up to her bed, she gently placed her arm on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"Take care, Ankoku" she whispered.

"I'll miss you"

She left the room, leaving her Nobody to sleep.

Reaching at the bottom of the stairs, she found her mother in the kitchen getting breakfast ready. She hummed a random tune as she went through the cupboards getting the things she needed for cooking.

Biting her lip, Hikari walked into the kitchen,.

"Moring Mother" she said.

Taiyouko stopped what she was doing and looked surprised.

"Oh, you're up early this morning" she said.

"Did Ankoku keep you up with her snoring?"

Hikari shook her head.

"No, not this time. It's about Gandalf"

"Oh? You mean that wizard from last night? He went into town earlier to get supplies for that journey he mentioned before"

Hikari sighed. Her mother was making this difficult.

"Um, about that…you see I kind of thought it over last night about what he said" she said.

"And let me guess? You've decided to go and help him?" Taiyouko asked.

Hikari looked at her mother surprised.

"How did you know?"

Taiyouko smiled and placed her hands on her hips.

"I'm your mother. I know how you think…that and I heard you talking it over with Sora and Riku last night"

Hikari looked at the ground before looking back at her mother.

"You're not mad?"

Taiyouko shook her head.

"I know what you're like, Hikari" she said.

"I know you've been feeling out of place lately. It's your duty to protect the worlds from danger, no matter what it's from. As long as you carry the keyblade, you'll always be on the go"

Hikari sighed sadly. She felt bad that she was always leaving because of the keyblade. It prevented her from having a normal life.

"I'm sorry" she said weakly.

"Don't be" Taiyouko insisted.

"I'm proud that you want to help others. If you didn't agree to help Gandalf I would be disappointed in you"

She grabbed her shoulder's in a motherly way.

"Don't worry about what happens here. I'll keep the islands safe. You just make sure Sora and Riku don't get burnt to a crisp by that dragon"

Hikari snickered and hugged her mother.

"I'll miss you" she said.

"I'll miss you too, but I know you'll be alright. You're a smart girl and know when to get out of trouble" Taiyouko said.

She pulled away and retrieved a backpack that was filled with supplies.

"I figured you might be needing this" she said.

Hikari gave her mother a grateful smile and accepted the pack.

"Thanks mom" she said.

"Well, I should go. Don't want to keep Gandalf waiting"

Taiyouko nodded in understanding.

"Tell Sora and Riku to stay safe"

"I will" Hikari said.

She ran out the door just as Tsukiko came into the room.

"You're not honestly letting her go off on her own, are you?" she asked.

Taiyouko laughed as a playful smirk appeared on her face.

"Of course not" she said.

"What kind of mother would I be then?"

/

Hikari ran through the many streets. She honestly didn't know where Gandalf would have gone off too but she figured he couldn't have gone far since the island was so small. She eventually found him near the docks. Sora and Riku were there as well, both packed up for the adventure.

"I'm here!" Hikari called.

Gandalf nodded in approval.

"And right on time" he said.

"Although I thought your sister would be joining as well"

Hikari's smile faltered thinking about Ankoku.

"Well, about her…it seems that she won't be joining us" she said.

Gandalf frowned in disapproval.

"That is very unfortunate. I figured she would want to join this quest"

"Ankoku is a complicated person" Riku said.

"She does whatever she feels like"

"We tried to convince her, but she won't budge" Sora added.

Gandalf hummed in thought.

"Very well. We can't force her to come along, although her help would have been needed. At least you three agreed to join"

"We're here to help in any way that we can" Hikari said.

Gandalf nodded.

"Right, well we should move along then. It'll be afternoon in Middle-Earth so we need to hurry"

He held up his staff and ushered them towards him.

"On the count of three, I need you to hold onto me tightly" he instructed.

They nodded and stood close to him while he raised his staff.

"One…two…thr-"

"Wait!"

Everyone turned around to see Ankoku running towards them. She carried her bag within her hand as she reached then at the docks. Catching her breath, she gave Gandalf a serious stare.

"I'm coming too" she said.

Sora, Riku and Hikari looked surprised. Ankoku made it clear that she didn't want to come last night, so why the sudden change of heart?

"But you said last night that you weren't" Sora pointed out.

Ankoku rolled her eyes.

"I changed my mind ok?" she said.

"I don't want to be left behind while you guys go off to a different world. Just don't expect me to take orders or anything"

Gandalf chuckled.

"Oh, it won't be me you'll have to listen to" he said.

"That will be the leader of our company"

"We thought you were in charge of all of this?" Sora questioned.

Gandalf shook his head.

"No, that will be Thorin. I'm merely the messenger. Now we're wasting enough time as it is. Let's get a move on"

Everyone went back to standing close to Gandalf as he raised his staff.

"One…Two…Three!"

With a slam of his staff, they were engulfed in a white light and taken away from the islands.

/

When the light faded, Hikari found herself standing near the outskirts of an old looking village. Everything looked so old and rural that she felt like she was looking in a history book.

People were walking around, selling local goods while horses were seen everywhere acting as modes of transportation.

"Wow" she breathed.

"This is amazing" Riku said.

Gandalf enjoyed watching their reactions to his world. It was always refreshing to see someone appreciate Middle-Earth in all its glory.

"Where are we?" Sora asked.

"This, Sora is the town of Bree" Gandalf explained.

"It's just a little away from where we have to go"

"Why arrive here and not at the spot we're needed?" Ankoku asked.

"Because you will all be needed a new wardrobe for this expedition" the wizard said.

"It is obvious that you four are not from this world judging by your clothes. People will be drawn to that and we can't afford being noticed"

"Is no one supposed to know about this journey?" Riku asked.

Gandalf nodded.

"If people knew where we were going, they would try to stop us" he said.

"Or they would try to reach the mountain before we do and try to claim the treasure. No one must know about this"

Hikari nodded in understanding.

"If we needed to blend in then we'll do it" she said.

"Every little bit of detail can help with this trip"

The wizard seemed happy with that answer. He told them to stay put while he went to get them some clothing.

"Well this is just great" Ankoku said.

"Our first trip to another world after months and we already stick out like sore thumbs"

"It's not that bad" Sora said.

"It could be worse"

Ankoku blew the hair out of her face and looked at the sky.

"As long as I don't have to wear a dress then I won't fight" she said.

"Since Gandalf isn't here, I thinks it's safe to ask why you suddenly changed your mind about coming" Riku said.

"You were very persistent on not coming and yet here you are. What brought this up? I highly doubt it was because you would be alone on the islands because you would have had Kairi to hang out with"

Ankoku looked mildly annoyed at being interrogated.

"I don't need to answer to you, pretty boy" she spat.

"But if you must know, something told me that I needed to come with"

"Something told you?" Sora repeated.

Ankoku nodded and placed a hand over her heart. It still freaked her out whenever she felt a heartbeat.

"I felt this pressure in my chest whenever I thought about staying. It was as if it was telling me if I didn't go, then I would regret it, like I needed to be here"

Hikari smirked slightly.

"That's probably your heart telling you to do the right thing" she said.

"It's possible that you might play an important part in this journey. Who knows?"

Ankoku scoffed and crossed her arms.

"Highly doubt it" she said.

Gandalf came back with a satchel full of clothing.

"These should probably fit you all" he said.

"As soon as you're all changed we can continue on to our destination"

Gandalf was clever enough to find them outfits that would help them fit into this world yet resembled their old clothes in some way.

Hikari wore a red loose fitting shirt with a maroon corset wrapped around her waist. Tan riding pants with matching brown buckled boots and leather fingerless gloves that went up to her elbows. And to match her outfit, she braided her hair into a ponytail, using the ribbon Riku gave her to tie it off.

Ankoku wore a similar outfit only her shirt was dark blue and wore a full bodice black corset with black riding pants, black boots and her two long fingerless gloves from her original outfit. She took the ribbon out of her hair since she didn't want to look too girly on this world.

Sora and Riku wore similar outfits consisting mostly leather jackets lined with fur and tons of buckles. Riku wore all black while Sora's contained a lot of dark grey's and bits of silver. Riku's outfit came with a black hood attached to it and thick heavy arm guards while Sora's outfit consisted tons of pockets and pouches to keep stuff in. (A/N: Their outfits pretty much look like Fili and Kili's outfits).

Gandalf looked pleased with their appearances and felt that they would fit in nicely.

"Now then, our next stop is in the next town called the Shire. That is where we'll all be meeting and where we'll find the next person for our journey"

"You mean you haven't gathered everyone up for this trip? I thought we were the last people that you needed?" Ankoku said.

"There's no need to get snippy with me, Miss Ankoku" Gandalf said.

"I have everything taken care of. I simply need to see if this person is good enough to join this quest before I do anything else"

"Who exactly are we looking for?" Hikari asked.

Gandalf smiled and winked.

"That you will have to see my dear"

The wizard ushered the four of them to follow him out of the town where they spent the next half hour walking by foot.

Hikari was amazed by the scenery of this world. Everything was so open where fields of grass and crops could be seen miles and miles ahead. It was a total contrast to the islands yet it shared the same qualities: peaceful.

Ankoku groaned when her stomach grumbled. Since she joined the group last minute, she forgot to eat breakfast.

"Are we there yet? I'm starving back here" she whined.

Riku rolled his eyes, having heard her say that for the past fifteen minutes.

"If we were there yet, Gandalf would have said something. And since he hasn't said anything yet, that must mean no" he said.

Ankoku glared daggers at him.

"I wasn't talking to you, pretty boy. And if I wanted your opinion on something, I would ask your girlfriend"

Riku glared as well at his girlfriend's nobody.

"You know, you're really getting on my nerves right now"

"What a coincidence? You're getting on mine as well" Ankoku retorted.

Hikari sighed sensing an argument was about to start between these two. It didn't matter how much she love her twin and her boyfriend, they always seemed to hate each other.

Sora groaned as he looked up at the sky. He was getting hungry as well and not enjoying the bickering.

"Mr. Gandalf, are we almost there?" he asked.

Gandalf looked annoyed as well with the bickering coming from Riku and Ankoku.

"We'll get there when we get there, Mr. Sora" he said sternly.

"Now unless you want this walk to go slower than it already is, then I suggest you all hush up, otherwise you can find your own way to the Shire"

That caused Riku and Ankoku to go quiet. They would rather follow Gandalf at a slow pace instead of being left behind and lost.

Hikari spotted a village coming up in the horizon.

"Hey, I think we're almost there" she said.

Ankoku pumped her fist, knowing she would be able to stuff her face soon.

"Yes! Finally I can get some food!"

Gandalf rolled his eyes grumbling.

"Children" he muttered.

When they made it to the Shire Hikari was amazed by what she saw. People were walking through the market area like the people in the town of Bree. They were getting supplies for their breakfast for the day and chatting with one another to see how they were. While that may have appeared normal to others, there were a few things Hikari noticed right away about these people.

For starters, they were rather small and secondly they had large hairy feet!

Hikari had seen her fair share of unusual things from her travels. She had witnessed talking houseware from Beast's castle to walking bathtubs in Halloween Town. Heck, she was friends with a mouse! She had thought she had seen it all, but she was very wrong.

"Whoa!" Sora said.

"What the hell are these things?" Ankoku asked.

"These 'things' my dear are Hobbits" Gandalf said.

"Hobbits are one of the many races that you'll find here on Middle-Earth. They're very humble, quiet folk who are content with living here in the Shire. They don't venture far from here and don't enjoy people from beyond the borders of the Shire"

"You mean people like us?" Riku asked.

Gandalf nodded.

"Hobbits can be very cautious" he explained.

Hikari raised an eyebrow.

"If that's the case then why are we here? Surely a Hobbit wouldn't want to go on this trip"

"True, but that's where you're slightly wrong, my dear" Gandalf said.

"There is one Hobbit that I know of who is a little different than most Hobbits. I remember he always had a knack for an adventure when he was little"

"And you think this Hobbit will willingly join us?" Riku asked.

Gandalf nodded.

"I have yet to see. I need to see if he's up for the challenge. While I do that, I want you four to stay here and stay out of trouble"

"You mean you're ditching us?" Ankoku asked annoyed.

"What are we supposed to do about breakfast?"

Hikari rolled her eyes. Why did her twin have to be so insensitive at times?

Gandalf grumbled and produced and pouch full of coins.

"Get yourselves something to eat and stay out of trouble" he said.

"I'll be back shortly"

Ankoku and Sora cheered when they were able to eat and didn't hesitate to head to the nearest food vendor.

Hikari sighed and looked at Riku.

"Might as well follow them before they hurt themselves" she said.

Riku offered his hand to her and strolled through the little market place of the Shire with his girlfriend.

/

Hikari was amazed with the little village of the Shire. She agreed with Gandalf at the fact that Hobbit's were very fascinating beings. They lived in little smalls houses that were built within the earth and had round doors instead of rectangular ones. It was a fascinating village in a fascinating world.

"This is so amazing, isn't it, Riku?" she said.

Riku smirked as he watched little Hobbit children running past them, laughing as they chased one another.

"It is. I never knew places like this existed"

Hikari giggled and snuggled close to him.

"Well you never knew other worlds existed until you met me" she pointed out.

"It amazing how there's so much out there yet so few know about it. Makes you feel special to be a keyblade wielder"

Riku nodded in agreement.

"That's true, and it's a plus if your hot girlfriend is one of them"

Hikari smacked his arm playfully.

"You're such a tease sometimes" she smirked.

Riku just laughed and bent to kiss her on the lips.

"You wouldn't have me any other way" he said.

Hikari smiled and leaned in to kiss him. She sighed contently when she felt his lips press against hers. She always felt fireworks whenever Riku kissed her. It was like living a fairy tale where she was being kissed by her prince.

"My, what a cute couple you two make" someone said.

The two of them broke away from their kiss when they were spoken by one of the people selling goods. A young female Hobbit smiled as she watched the two of them blush.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you two" she said.

"I just thought you two were so sweet together"

Hikari blushed as she tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear.

"T-thank you" she said.

The woman smiled and nodded.

"I'm Rosa Gamgee" she introduced herself.

Hikari waved at Rosa in a friendly manner.

"I'm Hikari, and this is Riku" she said.

Riku nodded with a smile on his face.

"Pleasure to meet you" Rosa said.

"I don't think I've ever seen you here before, are you travelers?"

Hikari nodded.

"Yep. We just came here to the Shire and it's very lovely here"

Rosa smiled.

"That it is. You'll never find a more peaceful place in Middle-Earth"

"We can see why" Riku said.

"Makes us wish our home was like this"

Rosa seemed to smile even more at that. She grabbed a flower from one of the many baskets that were on her table and gave it to them.

"For the lovely couple visiting the Shire" she said.

Hikari accepted the flower and smiled.

"Thank you" she said.

Rosa smiled in return.

"Enjoy your visit in the Shire" she said.

Riku and Hikari smiled and waved as they left.

"What a nice lady" Hikari said.

"I wonder if we'll bump into her again?"

"I have a feeling we will one way or another" Riku said.

They finally managed to catch up to Sora and Ankoku who were busy eating their breakfast. Sora was stuffing rolls into his mouth while Ankoku was munching on an apple.

"Well, looks like you guys are enjoying yourselves" Riku said.

Sora wiped the crumbs from his face and smiled.

"You should try their sweet rolls, they're so good" he said.

Ankoku tossed them a piece of fruit, still munching on her own.

"Can you believe that this place doesn't have ice cream?" she asked.

"You would think they would with all the food they sell here"

"Not every world has ice cream, Ankoku" Hikari pointed out.

Ankoku snorted and tossed her apple core away.

"Well they should" she said.

"I mean, everyone loves ice cream. It's the threat that brings people together. Not to mention it's the most delicious dessert in the world-or worlds in this case"

"It's a shame that you didn't bring your supplies of sea-salt ice cream" Riku said dully.

Ankoku pouted and crossed her arms.

"I didn't have time to pack them so they wouldn't melt" she said.

Riku rolled his eyes.

'Why do I even bother?' he thought.

Sora looked around, trying to spot their wizard friend.

"Hey, where's Gandalf? I thought he would be back by now?"

"Maybe it's taking him a while to talk to his friend?" Hikari pointed out.

No sooner did she say that, did Gandalf appear. The wizard looked a little annoyed as he approached them.

"What's the matter, gramps? You're little talk didn't go as planned?" Ankoku asked.

Gandalf gave her a glare at being called 'gramps' and sighed.

"It would appear that it our Hobbit friend is a little bit more stubborn than I remembered" he said.

"Let me guess, he doesn't want to come?" Riku asked.

"It seems he's more concerned about missing super that going on an adventure" Gandalf retorted.

Ankoku snickered finding it hilarious that people could be so obsessive with food.

"So what happens now? Do we just continue with your plans?" Sora asked.

Gandalf shook his head.

"No, we need this Hobbit but I need to get the others. I don't know how to convince him otherwise except to just force him, but I feel that won't work"

Hikari thought it over on how to fix this problem. She probed at Gandalf's memories trying to see how his encounter with the Hobbit was. She could see that Gandalf was rather brash as he spoke about the adventure and really didn't explain what it was he wanted from him. The poor thing looked flustered when Gandalf spoke to him and hurried back into his house.

Shaking the memory away, she figured a gentler approach would be a better way.

"Maybe asking him in a different way would help" she suggested.

"Instead of just flat out asking him to join us, why not suggest it and get him interested?"

Gandalf raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh? And I suppose you can manage that?"

Hikari smiled and placed her hands on her hips.

"I've been known to persuade people from time to time" she said.

"I think I can convince him"

Gandalf hummed in thought. The offer was tempting and he could get the rest of the dwarves without having to think of a backup plan.

"Very well, you try to convince him while I gather the others" he said.

Hikari pumped her fist.

"You can count on me!" she said.

"But what is his name so I don't look foolish?"

Gandalf smirked.

"His name is Bilbo Baggins and I marked his door with a symbol so it should be easy for you to find him"

Hikari nodded.

"Got it. Well I'm gonna have a little chat with our Hobbit friend while you get everyone else"

"Try not to scare him" Ankoku said.

Hikari snorted.

"Of course not. That's your department"

She walked away with confidence in her step while her friends watched her.

"That Hobbit has no idea what he's in for" Riku said.

/

Hikari hummed as she passed hobbit hole after hobbit hole. She tried looking for the mark that Gandalf mentioned but so far she didn't find anything. All the doors were different from each other. Some were painted a simple color while others had little deigns on them. Some looked new while others looked old and were painted in every single color she could imagine.

She sighed as she near the edge of the Shire, placing her hands on her hips.

"I should have asked what color the door was instead of going on a goose chase" she muttered.

Spotting a hole up ahead, she decided to see if this hole belonged to Bilbo Baggins.

'20th time is the charm' she thought.

She saw that this hole was very well kept and looked very homey with its little garden and little bench for a Hobbit to sit and enjoy the view. She looked at the dark green door for any markings and sure enjoy found a glowing symbol near the bottom of the door.

"Jackpot" she said.

The door swung open as a Hobbit came out and shut the door behind him.

This had to be Bilbo.

Watching the Hobbit hum a simple tune and picking up a basket, she decided now was the best time to approached.

"Morning, Sir!"

The Hobbit nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard her and pressed a hand to his chest. Hikari smiled sheepishly when she saw she scared him.

"Sorry about that. Didn't mean to frighten you" she said.

The Hobbit calmed down as he cleared his throat.

"T-that's quite alright" he said.

What a morning he was having today. First he was approached by a wizard who wanted him to go on an adventure and now he was scared by a young girl.

Hikari watched as he studied her like he had never seen a human girl before. She probably figured he didn't since Gandalf said Hobbits didn't like strangers and tended to avoid them.

Bilbo looked uncomfortable with Hikari standing just outside his house saying nothing. This was not how he wanted to start his day.

"Um, can I help you?" he asked.

Hikari shook her head and decided to work her magic.

"Oh no, I was just taking a stroll and couldn't help but notice how lovely the day was" she said.

"And I guess I got carried away when I wished you a good morning"

Bilbo cracked a smirk, finding her smiling to be infectious.

"It rather is" he admitted.

He shook his head when he realized he was being rude.

"Where are my manners?"

He held his hand out for her to shake.

"I'm Bilbo Baggins"

Hikari accepted his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Pleased to meet you, Bilbo. I'm Hikari"

It was with this shake that Bilbo and Hikari would form a friendship that would stay strong for years to come.

/

A/N: Yay! We made it to Middle-Earth! I hope you guys enjoyed it! I even started adding little references to Lord of the Rings too! I'll be doing that from time to time.

So Bilbo has met Hikari, but will she be able to convince him to join them or just make it worse?

Please review and tell me what you think!

Ja ne!