To Reviewers of Chapter 2:

Gir is awesome: Well, I have a slight idea where I want to take this fic; you'll just have to stick around to see, hehe. And my pleasure for updating.

Dark-ranmaru: I'm hoping that my stories won't be too similar or have similar plot devices. Thanks for the compliment.

haretikers: I should probably explain this. I'm sure you know how originally Aerith was named Aeris in FF7. So I wanted to separate the two entities: the Aeris from FF7 and the official Aerith from KH/FF7. I think I made a bad decision in naming the Nobody Aeris, but I wanted to keep the names of the characters rather than introduce an outside name. Anyways, I do agree with the unfortunate fact that cures aren't found unless a celebrity has it... but what can you do when they're the poster"child"s of the disease? Heh.

Sky91: Thanks for the compliments. I will do my best to continue this fic. This idea's been sitting around in my head for awhile of course, haha.


Chapter 3 – The Kids' Island


When Sora woke up the following day after his birthday celebration, he was more than surprised by the presence of Roxas. It appeared that the Nobody had been standing at his bedside waiting for him to wake up. He looked at the young face with scrutiny and pondered if the Nobody had slept that night at all.

"Good morning, your Highness," greeted Roxas monotonously. "Breakfast will be ready in thirty minutes. Do you wish to dine in your room or with your parents in the dining hall?"

"With my parents," replied Sora as he got out of his bed. "Will Riku and Kairi be there as well?"

"Yes, your Highness," replied Roxas as he moved to help dress the prince. With the Nobody's quick hands, the prince of Destiny Islands soon found himself wearing a pair of navy blue breeches and a comfortable beige shirt with blue frills. His polished black shoes clicked crisply against the marble floor as he walked down the hallway toward the dining hall; Roxas followed him closely behind.

Sora took a glance at the Nobody as they made their way down the staircase and kept an impassive face. The Nobodies were so different from the normal servants that used to serve him.

Where the other servants might be slightly clumsy in their tasks, Roxas completed them to no fault and efficiently. Yet, he knew that Nobodies were no source for gossip or news from the town. For that, Sora slightly resented the fact that he had a Nobody. He wished to know about the town and his people. Without contact with the rest of the Islands, Sora felt alone. Still, a part of him remained optimistic that the Nobodies could be as lively as the rest of the servants.

"Roxas," called out Sora clearly.

"Yes, your Highness?" inquired Roxas.

"Any news from the town?"

"No, sir," replied Roxas. "I do not leave the castle for mere gossip."

Sora frowned with a slight nod. "I knew it," he muttered with annoyance.

The pair continued their way to the dining hall in silence.


"How were your nights here?" asked Sora as he cut into a slice of ham on his plate, looking at Riku and Kairi who were seated across from him in the dining hall. At the table also sat Leon, Lady Mulan and Commander Shang of The Land of Dragon, Princess Aurora of Hollow Bastion, Prince Seifer of Balamb, and Princess Selphie of Trabia.

"It was pleasant," replied Lady Mulan, "thank you for your hospitality."

"No problem," smiled Sora.

"It's too bad we have to leave today," grinned Selphie, looking at Seifer then at Sora. "But duty calls."

Seifer nodded solemnly, eying Leon with a hint of distaste. Sora understood Seifer's slight hatred of the brown-haired man. After all, Leon had swept Princess Rinoa of Timber off her feet shortly after the breaking off of her own engagement with the prince of Balamb.

"When will you be leaving?" asked Sora.

"My ship has not arrived yet," said Selphie. "I surmise it would be later this morning if not this afternoon."

"I see."

"You don't have to see me off," she said with a laugh. "We will see each other again soon enough."

Prince Aurora laughed softly. "You just don't want to cry in front of everyone," she said with a knowing smile. Kairi and Riku both laughed at the comment and Selphie's face reddened with embarrassment.

"What about you, Leon?" asked Sora. "Have you thought about when you will be leaving?"

"I think I'll stick with my original plan and leave today," said Leon. Sora's heart fell upon hearing the statement. Leon looked at him with a smirk. "But, Kairi can stay for a couple of days. Her parents don't have to know that she didn't come with me."

The brown-haired teen looked over to the red-haired princess expectantly. Kairi, in the mean time, looked at Leon with worried eyes.

"Wouldn't your parents tell my parents that I didn't go with you?" she inquired with concern. Leon shook his head.

"They too believe that your parents are overprotective," he replied. "If somehow they found out, I'm sure Riku can accompany you to Traverse Town while he's on his way back."

"But Traverse Town is out of the way," said Kairi softly.

"It's fine," answered Riku. "I don't mind. I'd like to visit Traverse Town again anyways."

"So that's settled," said Leon. "You should have some fun while you're here." Kairi's face reddened like Selphie's had just a minute ago.

A guard entered the room and saluted the members of royalty.

"Your Highness," he reported, "His Majesty, Prince Seifer's ship is ready for departure."

"I'll take my leave then," the blond-haired man said tersely. "It was good to see you again, Sora. Thank you for your hospitality and I apologize for my abrupt departure."

"It was no problem," replied Sora. "Good to see you again."

"Good-bye, Seifer," said Selphie with a wave.

"Farewell," said Commander Shang as the others too waved at the prince. Seifer waved his good-bye and quickly left the room. Just as he left the room, the monarchs of Destiny Islands entered the room. Sora quickly stood up to greet them.

"Father, Mother, good morning."

"Good morning, Sora dear," said his Mother. Her eyes landed on Roxas, who stood demurely behind the prince and smiled happily.

"Sora, I hear you wish to go to the Kids' Island today?" asked his father as he and the queen took their seats at the table.

"Yes, Father," said Sora with a nod. "Riku and Kairi will come with me, with your permission."

"You have your own Nobody now," the king replied. "You no longer need our permission for small journeys such as this."

Sora blinked with surprise at his father than looked at Roxas, who remained unmoving in his spot. He frowned slightly at the thought that he would have no privacy now that he had a Nobody of his own.

"I see," he said softly. "Thank you, father."

"You should take the gods for providing you with a Nobody."


The beginning of the voyage from the main island to the Kids' Island was short and pleasant. The sea was calm and the air was crisp with sea salt. Sora took a deep breath of the slightly salty air and smiled widely.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" said Kairi as she breathed in the crisp air as well.

"The last time we went to the Kids' Island was the day after your birthday like today," said Riku.

"Ahh," replied Sora. "I wonder if anything's changed."

"I hope not. I like the way the Island is," smiled Kairi.

"We should duel when we get to the Island," said Sora with a grin.

"With the wooden swords? We're not kids anymore, Sora," said Riku with a teasing smile as he ruffled the brown-haired teen's hair.

"What would you suggest then?"

Riku grinned widely and stretched his right arm out. A swirl of blackness manifested within his hand and elongated to form a black-red blade. Roxas recognized that blade from his studies of the Keyblades; it was the Way to the Dawn.

"With Keyblades, huh?" said Sora. "When'd you get it?"

"Last year," Riku replied, swinging the blade through the air in front of him. "You have one too, don't you?"

Sora nodded. "Of course." With that, a sparkle of white light manifested in his hand to reveal an elegant silver blade marked with blue and yellow. The wielder of the Ultima Keyblade set it on his shoulder before swinging the magnificent sword at Riku, who easily parried the swing. The two princes grinned at each other with fire in their eyes. Kairi could only hid her amused smile behind her hands as she watched her best friends rising up to their competitive spirits.

Meanwhile, Roxas and Naminé continued their tasks in navigating the small skiff toward the small island.

Soon, the two Nobodies sailed the skiff up to the small wooden dock and tied the boat to the dock. Roxas helped the three princes and princess off the skiff while Naminé further secured the skiff to the dock. She also retrieved a basket of food from the boat and followed her mistress onto the sandy beach of the Kids' Island. They walked across the white sand cheerfully and ran toward the wooden shack on the island.

Sora pulled out a rusty iron skeleton key that fit into the antique lock on the wooden door and unlocked the door, opening it to reveal familiar materials of the raft that they had planned to construct but never got around to building it. Set in front of the wooden logs were two wooden swords, well used but still in good condition. Beside the swords was a bucket full of chalk that had been used already with broken pieces and chalk dust settling on the bottom of the old bucket.

Kairi gave a quiet giggle and pulled out the bucket of chalk while Riku pulled out the two wooden swords.

"Want to go draw first?" suggested Kairi, "Or did you guys want to fight first?"

Sora and Riku looked at each other with grins on their faces. They turned back to Kairi, who shook her head with amusement.

The brown-haired teen linked his fingers and placed his palms on the back of his head. "Be our referee?"

"Alright, alright," the red-haired princess said and the three made their way back to the wooden dock, where Kairi sat down to watch the match. The two wooden swords sat next to her, the princes having decided to use their own Keyblades instead.

"No kicking, punching, or any sort of hand-to-hand combat allowed," Kairi said. "No tricks, now."

The two princes nodded without turning their eyes toward Kairi; the princess gave a soft snort before raising her hand with her handkerchief. She waved down with a shout. "Begin!"

Instantly, Riku dashed forward to Sora and brought his Keyblade down in a vertical arc. Sora quickly parried the attack with his Keyblade and deflected the attack to his left before swinging his own Keyblade rightward horizontally. The silver-haired teen quickly jumped back to avoid the slash and grinned.

In the meantime, Roxas watched with eyes that easily recognized the pattern of attack each prince utilized in their battle strategies. Riku, who held his Way to the Dawn Keyblade with one hand, obviously relied more upon agility and speed while Sora, who held his Ultima Keyblade with two hands, relied more upon power and strength. Yet still, Sora was agile considering his usage of the two-handed stance and Riku was powerful considering his usage with one hand.

Kairi took a glance at Roxas and then back at Sora. An idea came into her mind and she turned back to Roxas.

"Roxas, would you mind going back to the shack? I believe there is a map of the Island in there."

The blond-haired Nobody looked up at Sora and then back at Kairi.

"As Prince Sora's Nobody, I am obligated to stay at his side," he replied simply.

The princess frowned then turned to Naminé, who gave a short curtsey before rushing off gracefully to the shack to search for the map that her mistress had desired. The two other spectators returned their attention back to the duel just as Sora fell into the salty ocean with a splash. Roxas hurried over to his master and helped him out of the water.

"Cheater!" sputtered the brown-haired prince as he stood sopping wet on the other dock. Riku, in the meantime, had collapsed onto the sandy beach laughing uncontrollably.

"How can you say I cheated? You tripped," he replied after he controlled his laughter.

"We need to get you out of these wet clothes, your Highness," said Roxas. Sora sighed and nodded. Roxas then returned to the skiff and drew out a package wrapped in butcher paper and tied up with twine.

"We'll be back," said Sora as he walked towards the other visible building on the Island – a straw hut. As they departed from the area, Naminé returned bearing an old scroll tied up with a blue ribbon. She presented the map to Kairi and looked after the two teens.

"What happened?" she asked quietly. Kairi looked up from the unbound map and giggled.

"Sora fell into the water," replied Riku.

"Oh," a small smile appeared on Naminé's face. She looked back down at Kairi.

"What do you think about Roxas, Naminé? Truthfully."

"He's kind," the Nobody replied truthfully. "I didn't really get a chance to know him while I was at the Castle. I think he was the only one out of all of us who's truly lost his heart though."

"I see," said Kairi sadly. "Sora will have a hard time trying to bring Roxas back huh?"

"Yes," replied Naminé. "Roxas was so spirited too."

"He's never known about the rest of you guys who steal out of the Castle for some normalcy?" asked Riku.

Naminé shrugged. "I don't know. I think Axel's tried to get him to join us, but somehow it never happened. I think he knows, but he never cared."

"He's the perfect Nobody."


After a relaxing lunch, the three along with the Nobodies found themselves in the Secret Spot with the bucket of chalk in Roxas's hands. They ended up in front of the numerous chalk drawings the trio of royalty had created and Sora blushed when he saw the childish drawing of himself handing a star-shaped item to a childish drawing of Kairi.

The newest addition to the royal motley crew watched blankly as the three heirs of their respective kingdoms began their chalk mural, starting with their individual pictures.

As the three continued with their mural, Roxas watched Naminé began her way deeper into the cave, looking at the various pictures drawn. The blond-haired boy turned his eyes back to his Somebody, who turned slightly to look at Roxas. He nodded silently and Roxas made his way over to the other Nobody, who was currently looking at a picture of a Keyblade.

"The Kingdom Key," muttered Roxas softly, recognizing the crown-shaped tooth of the giant key. He continued his way down the cave, looking at the chalk drawings of each Keyblade and softly said the name of each blade to himself.

"Sweet Memories… Hidden Dragon… Star Seeker… Rumbling Rose… Sleeping Lion… Decisive Pumpkin… Guardian Soul… 13 Mushroom… Fenrir… Ultima Weapon." He stilled upon seeing two familiar images beside the "Bond of Flame" Keyblade.

"Oathkeeper and Oblivion," he blinked.

"Those are your Keyblades, are they not?" inquired Naminé softly. The boy turned and nodded silently at the former. They turned their attention back to the images and Naminé smiled softly as she looked at Roxas's bewilderment. Suddenly, both Nobodies tensed as they sensed a strange presence near them.

Sora's Nobody summoned Oblivion in his right hand with a swirl of darkness and slowly turned around to see several strange blobs beginning to emerge from the shadows of the darkened cave. Yellow circles glowed unnaturally.

"Heartless," whispered Naminé. She then rushed back to the three royal heirs while Roxas stood between the Shadows and the Somebodies.

His eyes scanned the shadows in front of him and found some ten pairs of glowing eyes peering back at him hungrily. Then, all of a sudden, a Heartless lunged at the Nobody and he quickly sidestepped the attack before spinning to bring his Keyblade across a second Heartless that followed. He then quickly turned to face the first Heartless and thrust the obsidian Keyblade into the body of the shadow creature. Both Heartless exploded with white light before dissipating into clouds of black dust.

Roxas huffed triumphantly before summoning the Oathkeeper Keyblade in a flash of light. He twirled the silvery Keyblade in his hand and lunged headfirst into the mass of Shadow Heartless that faced him. The two Keyblades made quick work of the Heartless as he slashed diagonally across the air in front of him. He remained still with a blank face before closing his eyes as the Heartless dissipated into dust. A clear sound of metal against metal snapped his attention back to the royal heirs, who were engaged in a battle with Neo Shadows.

The blond-haired Nobody prepared himself to join the battle when Sora and Riku grinned at each other and waved their Keyblades through the air, releasing a whirlwind that easily battered the nearest Heartless. The magical attack continued with Keyblades slicing vertically around them before they tossed up their Keyblades for a final attack that filled the entire cave with white light.

Roxas shielded his eyes from the bright light and struggled to see what was happening. When the light receded, the cave was empty save for the five teens. Sparkles from the two princes' combined attack lit the area.

"Show off," jested Kairi.

"Are you hurt, your Highness?" inquired Roxas monotonously as he scanned across the body of his master.

"I'm fine, Roxas," replied Sora. Roxas's eyes confirmed the statement as they picked up no visible injuries on the surface. "Even if I did get a scratch, I'll live."

"Very well, your Highness," replied the blond-haired Nobody. Sora frowned deeply at the lack of emotions in the Nobody's voice. He wondered if the man cared for anything at all.

"Perhaps it'd be best to return to the main island," suggested Naminé softly. Her mistress nodded.

"It's been a long day," she added. "It was fun to visit this island, but I would like to visit the town sometimes today too."

"Alright, let's go back," said Sora. He pivoted on the balls of his feet and was about to take a step when Riku laid a hand on his shoulder. The prince of Destiny Islands looked up at his friend, who smiled weakly at him.

"You have to get used to it," commented Riku. "Be patient."

Sora's shoulders visibly slumped, knowing perfectly well that he couldn't hide his irritations from either one of his best friends.

"What say you to another round of dueling when we get back? We'll use foils this time and I won't cheat," he grinned.

Sora's eyes sparkled with his love of competition. "You're on."


Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts and associated characters, places, items, etc. I wish I owned Sora, Roxas, Riku, Kairi, Naminé, etc. etc. of course. But I don't, so don't sue me.

A/N: So, as promised, here's a longer chapter. In fact, it's at least twice as long as each of the previous chapters, haha. And oh gosh, I hope I'm not going to take a really long time to update. But between upcoming tests and Intrigues, it might take me two weeks to get the next chapter out. I apologize in advance and will try to make the next chapter longer and well worth your wait (I hope).