A/N: I just played 2.8 …. And…. Um… how can I say this? It was beautiful! Really! The graphics are so beautiful and awesome and Aqua's really pretty and words can't describe it!

But anyway… I found it both freaky and awesome that the story I'm planning for Aqua and Mickey in my stories are almost the same as 2.8, even before I played the game…

But nevertheless, I'll stick to my plot for them both and Hikari :D (with a little change)

Guest: Thank you so much! Oh haha really? Xd

c-guest: Stay away from Hikari you creepy men! Not at all ^^, it's Indonesian.

Lulu9814: Go Riku go! Lol. And here's the next chapter.

NyxStichez: Thank you so much!

AllSpark Princess: Here's the next update! :D

Guest: Thank you so much! I don't know why, but I don't like Vexen too lol! And yup! Nicknames, nicknames for everyone lol!

Thank you so much for everyone who has read, reviewed, faved and followed this story!

Kingdom Hearts © Square Enix, Tetsuya Nomura

Hikari © me

Chapter 4
Memory

"Ven, huh?" Hikari repeated, a smile appearing on her lips. She didn't know why, but she was feeling happy all of the sudden. It was almost like something heavy was lifted up from the bottom of her heart. There was something about this boy that made her feel relieved and happy at the same time, even if she doesn't recall ever meeting him before Castle Oblivion. "Nice to meet you. The name's Hikari." She introduced as she reached her hand out.

Ventus blinked. "That's funny… the kid that I'm looking for is named Hikari too." He laughed as he took Hikari's hand, shaking it up and down.

The brunette also laughed. "Wow… I guess the name Hikari is a little overrated, huh?" she grinned as Ventus returned her grin. It didn't bother her knowing that the kid Ventus is looking for has the same name as her. Once in a while, there's bound to be someone who will have the same name as her. Even at Destiny Islands, there are girls and boys who has the same name. "Well then, how about I help you find Hikari and—huh?!" she exclaimed in surprise when strange creatures suddenly appeared around them. "Are these new types of Heartless?!" she shouted.

The blond quickly moved in front of her. "Unversed! Stay back, Hikari! Let me handle this!" he lowered his body into a stance. His hand glow brightly before a familiar weapon appeared in his grasp.

"Is that a keyblade?! What's going on here?!" Hikari stared at the keyblade with wide eyes. She thought that there were only two keyblades! One is Sora's and the other one belongs to Riku.

"No time to explain! You have to find somewhere safe to hide!" Ventus ordered as he glanced over his shoulder.

Hikari frowned. "I can fight too!" she raised her hand and summoned her rod. She turned her head to Ventus who looked surprised for a brief moment before he nodded his head. The two stood back to back as they faced the dark blue creatures called 'the Unversed'. They dashed forward, swinging their weapons at the creatures, taking them out one by one. Hikari furrowed her eyebrows, glaring at the creatures. "Freeze!" She casted as she pointed her rod.

A blue ray of light was shot out from the head of her rod and hit the Unversed. She quickly swung her rod at the frozen Unversed, killing it off in one swing. She turned her head to another one of the Unversed and swung her rod at it when all of the sudden, it sinks into the ground, similar to what a Shadow Heartless would do. The brunette's eyes widened as she watched the blue blob move around the ground. Her blue eyes followed the blob, trying to pinpoint the location where it would strike her.

The brunette's eyes were averted to the right when she saw an incoming attack from the other Unversed around them. She raised her rod, blocking the claws that was about to strike her. She grunted when the claws made contact with the shaft of her rod. The held the head of her rod as she tried to push back the Unversed. She pushed the head of her rod at the direction of the Unversed, pushing it back. She held her rod with both of her hands, pointing it at the staggering Unversed.

"Fire!" fire was shot out from her rod, hitting her target. The surprise didn't stop. The Unversed that was similar to the Shadow Heartless suddenly jumped up from the ground, it's pointed claws ready. The brunette quickly jumped back, avoiding the attack. In mid-air, she quickly cast another spell at the Unversed. "Fira!" a bigger fire ball was shot at the Unversed, killing a few in the process.

Hikari landed on the ground with a soft thud, skidding to a stop. She turned her head to check on her blond friend. "Ven! Behind you!" she shouted as she pulled back her hand to throw her rod at the Unversed.

At the same time, Ventus saw the Unversed sneaking behind the younger girl. "Hikari! Get down!"

The two threw their weapons at each other and leaped forward, avoiding each other's weapons. They ran to the middle and dodge rolled to avoid the Unversed's attacks. They crossed each other as their weapons spun back into their hand.

"Take this!" Hikari shouted as she cast Blizzard.

"It's over!" Ventus leaped forward, slashing the Unversed. He took a deep breath when he finished. He straightened his posture and summoned his keyblade away. He turned around just in time to see Hikari finishing the last Unversed. He walked towards the girl, stopping behind her. "We make a pretty good team, huh? Even though we've just pretty much met today." He smiled.

Hikari summoned her rod away, turning around to face him. "Yeah." She nodded her head in agreement. Her smile was replaced with a small frown when she noticed something a little off about the forest. Her eyes glanced around, examining their surroundings.

Ventus tilted his head when he noticed the frown. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

The brunette placed her hand on her chin. "This place… is where the dwarves live, right?" she asked turning back.

"You know them?" Ventus asked, surprised.

"Then that means…" Realization struck Hikari when a thought came to mind. Her eyes widened slightly when an image of Snow White flashed before her eyes. "We have to get to Snow White!" she spun around in her heels, dashing towards where the cabin is.

"Huh? Wait!" Ventus quickly ran after the younger girl, trying to catch up with her. It didn't take him long to reach the girl's speed. He ran beside her, staring at her with a small frown. "Snow White's fine. The one we really need to worry about is the kid! The Masked Boy is after her!" he reminded, afraid that Hikari had forgot.

The brunette nodded her head. "I know, I know. We can ask Snow White if she has seen the kid or not. I know this is all in my head, but I want to at least try and protect her here when I can't in the real world." She replied as she ran faster. She remembered clearly when Riku indirectly told her that he kidnapped Snow White for Maleficent. It was during the time she was picking the dwarves up from the mine. This time she has the chance to stop Riku, even if it's just a remake from her memories. "We have to get there before Riku—," she slowed down when she noticed that Ventus stopped running.

"Riku? Who's he? The Masked Boy?" Ventus asked as he panted, taking a few deep breaths to calm his heart.

"No…" Hikari huffed out, wiping the sweat from her forehead. She averted her eyes away from looking at Ventus' eyes. Her eyes stared at the ground as a deep frown appeared on her lips. Memories of Riku flashed through her mind. Starting from they were kids to the time when she fought his version of Ansem. "He's… He used to be my friend." She answered quietly.

Ventus heard her. "Used to?"

Hikari turned around, looking down. "He sided with the wrong people and now my brother's missing. It's all because of him." she gritted her teeth, balling up her hands tightly. "I can never forgive him."

"Hikari…" Ventus reached his hand out to place his hand on the girl's shoulder. He patted the girl's shoulder, giving a smile. "Maybe if you—!" he stopped when he heard a voice.

"Hands off!"

The brunette blinked and turned her head to the direction where they heard the voice. "That sounds like a kid…" she trailed off.

"C'mon! That has to be her! She's in trouble!" Ventus quickly sprinted off to the direction of the little girl.

Hikari turned her head one last time to the direction where the cabin is before shaking her head. Snow White will have to wait, right now she has to help Ventus find the little girl who shared her name before The Masked Boy finds the little girl first. It was all strange to her. She never recalled meeting Ventus, or finding a little girl, or racing against the Masked Boy in Dwarf Woodlands. All she remembered from the world is that she brought Jasmine and Riku there, passed out, meet Snow White, find Kairi, help the dwarves and then fight Riku before the Star Shard zapped her to Traverse Town.

The brunette pushed back all of the thoughts when a clearing came to view. Ventus was a little ahead of her as he summoned his keyblade. Hikari did the same, summoning her rod into hand when she saw the Unversed surrounding a little girl. She quickened her pace, overrunning Ventus as he slowed down. The blond boy quickly wrapped his arm around the little girl and pulled her back as Hikari swung her rod at the Unversed in front of them.

Hikari stood in a fighting stance, narrowing her eyes at the Unversed. "Picking on a kid? How much low can you get?" she clicked her tongue when the Unversed seeped into the ground, the blue blobs moving around quickly. "I was being sarcastic!" she glared.

"Ven, you have to get the girl out of here! I'll handle the Unversed!" Hikari ordered, her back facing the two.

Ventus nodded his head. "Right! Please hang on until I come back!" he lifted the little girl up into his arms as he turned around, running away from the battlefield.

An Unversed ran past Hikari, heading straight for Ventus and the girl. The brunette quickly spun around, narrowing her rod at the Unversed.

"As if I'll let you!" she shouted as she casted Fire. The spell hit the Unversed, killing it off, successfully preventing it from attacking Ventus and the girl. "Leave that girl alone! What did she ever do to you anyway?!" she shouted as she lowered herself to a fighting stance.

Once Ventus and the little girl disappeared into the forest, all of the Unversed turned their attention to the only person in the field. The brunette's shoulders stiffened when the Unversed's red eyes were fixated on her. Her grip around the rod tightened, her eyes narrowing.

An Unversed lunged forward and she drew back her rod, swinging her rod like a baseball bat. Her rod made contact with the Unversed and it went through, killing it. She pointed her rod to another and cast Fire at it.

"Fire!" Hikari didn't wait for the fire ball to hit the Unversed. She turned her attention to the other Unversed. There were still more Unversed that she has to deal with. She trusts Ventus, she really do, but she also knew that Ventus will be too busy protecting the little girl than coming back to help her. Besides, she doesn't really need help with these Unversed. They were just like lesser Heartless, easy to take care of. "Is this all you got? I can do this all day!" she smirked, spinning her rod.

The brunette jumped back when an Unversed leaped from the ground. She threw her rod at it, killing a few in the way. From the corner of her eyes, she saw a larger Unversed sneaking up on her, she turned around and raised her hand to cast a barrier around herself. The barrier repelled the attacks and she dispelled the barrier a second after. She leaped up and caught her rod before she pointed it down at the Unversed bellow.

"Thunder!" Hikari casted, electrifying the Unversed to immobilize the bigger ones. She landed on the ground with a soft thud and quickly strike the nearest one, using the time she has left before they began to move again. Her eyes widened when a spinning keyblade passes right in front of her, taking out a few in its way. She turned her head to see the blond boy running towards her, the little girl nowhere to be found. "Why did you come back here?! The girl could be in trouble now!" she said as the boy stood beside her, facing the enemy.

"Don't worry, she's safe!" Ventus said as he glanced around, counting the numbers of the Unversed left around them. "Besides, I told you that I'll be back to help." He grinned.

Hikari sighed before lifting her chin up, a determined grin on her lips. "Alright then! Let's finish this!"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"This place… isn't it…?"

Riku glanced around, his eyes scanning the dark forest. Right after he passed through the door, the whole scene changed drastically. It was bright and white at the castle, but now it was dark and cold. His footsteps made a squishing sound because of how damp the place was. Blue-green eyes narrowed when he saw a figure standing a few feet in front of him.

"You again?" Riku clicked his tongue as he summoned his keyblade. It was one of the Organization members he encountered a few floors before. Encountering them in almost each and every floor was really getting into his nerves. He didn't want to deal with them knowing that his friends are in danger. "I don't have time to deal with you, so make it quick." He raised his keyblade, positioning it above his head as he stood in a fighting stance.

The long-haired man gave a smirk. "Oh? Are you sure you don't have the time?"

Riku growled. "You're already wasting my time! Now get out of the way before I make you!"

As if Vexen's smirk could widen, his lips twitched up as his eyes gleamed. "What… an interesting development." He said, rubbing his chin. Just a few floors before, the boy was calm and collected, albeit a little snarky. "I assume you sensed her as well. It seems that you've changed when that girl arrived in the castle."

Riku's eyes widened. "So Hikari's really in this castle…" he mumbled under his breath, a small smile on his lips. He lifted his chin up and furrowed his eyebrows at Vexen, his eyes showing determination. "All the more reason why you should just get out of my way."

"With pleasure." Vexen took a few steps to the right, moving away to show something to the teen.

"Hikari?!" The keyblade wielder's eyes were wide when his eyes landed on the girl hunched over the ground, her hair covering her face. His eyes went back to Vexen, anger flashing in his eyes. "What did you do to her?!" he demanded.

"Oh no, it's more like what you did to her." Vexen replied, stressing the word out.

"What?" Riku shook his head before he rushed forward, his keyblade drew back. He thrust his keyblade forward and Vexen avoided his attack, jumping into a safe distance. "Stop telling lies!"

The silver-haired stood in front of the brunette protectively, his keyblade raised high. The teen narrowed his eyes at Vexen, catching a glimpse of the man's sinister smirk. A few seconds passed and the man didn't move. He was only watching, as if he was waiting for something to happen. The teen decided it was safe to check on his friend for a minute or two. He gave a frown before he turned his head, looking over his shoulder to the girl behind him. He kneeled down beside the girl.

"Hikari?" Riku called out softly, giving a small smile. The brunette didn't reply. "It's okay now, I won't let the Organization hurt you." He placed a comforting hand on her back.

"Riku…" said boy stared at his friend, waiting for her to continue. His blue-green eyes widened when he saw the broken look across the girl's face. Her eyes red from how long she had cried. "Are you blind?" she said hoarsely as she summoned her weapon.

"Hikari—!" Riku quickly moved, blocking Hikari's attack with his keyblade. He jumped back, staring at the girl with shock. Even when Hikari was positioning herself for a fight, he didn't position himself for one. He didn't want to fight. He didn't want to fight his friend. "What's wrong? What did you do to her!" he demanded, turning to Vexen.

Vexen chuckled as he walked closer to Hikari, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Get your hands off her!" Riku shouted, anger in his tone.

"You see, Riku, the answer is quite obvious." Vexen began. He stood his ground, standing beside the brunette. "You were the one who did this to the poor girl." He continued.

Riku growled. "Lies! I would never hurt her!"

"Oh, but you did," Vexen raised his hand, motioning his hand for Riku to look at his surroundings to which he did. "You were the one who chose the path to work for the Dark Mistress and threw away all the friendship you had with this child. It is you who hurt her the most, or have you forgotten, Riku?" the scientist grinned.

"That's…" Riku's eyes widened in realization. He remembered this place now. It was the world where he left Hikari alone when she needed him the most. His heart suddenly felt heavy when he recalled the memories. He remembered how he raised his keyblade against her, how they fought and now he realized how heart-broken his friend was back then. "Hikari… I…" he placed his hand on his chest. He was lost at words now.

What Vexen said was right.

Vexen smirked and leaned down. "Are you really going to let this act deceive you, child?" he asked and Riku snapped his attention back to the cloaked man. "He's just trying to warm his way back to make you tell where Kairi is." He continued, his eyes averting to Riku.

"That's not true! Hikari! Don't listen to him! He's—,"

"I… I won't let you take Kairi!" Hikari lifted her chin up, facing Riku.

"Defeat him, child, and protect the girl who is important to your brother." The man beside her gave another smirk.

"Why you—!" Riku shouted at the blond man and clicked his tongue in annoyance. He turned his attention back to Hikari, summoning his keyblade away. "Hikari. I know what I did was wrong. I'm sorry. I really am." He took a step forward.

Hikari gritted her teeth. "I won't fall for your tricks again!" she shouted as she dashed forward, swinging her rod dangerously at the silver-haired teen. Riku easily dodged her attacks, refusing to summon his keyblade to fight. Hikari jumped back and pointed her rod at him. "Blizzard!" she shouted.

Riku jumped away, avoiding the magic. "Hikari! Listen to me, I'm not going to hurt you. I will never hurt you." He said softly.

"Lies! You're just saying that because you want to take Kairi away!" The brunette narrowed her eyes as she quickly moved, swinging her rod to hit her friend. This time, Riku had no time to dodge the attack. He summoned his keyblade and blocked the attack. Their weapons clashed and Hikari wasn't going to give up anytime soon.

The silver-haired teen stared at the girl. "…you look like her, but you're not Hikari." He said as he stared into her blue eyes. "Even so, I don't want to fight you." He pulled back.

"Riku…" Hikari stared wide-eyed at the boy.

"Are you really going to believe the boy's words? He's looking down on you, child." Vexen suddenly said, reminding the brunette.

Riku turned his head to glare at the man. "Shut up." He turned his attention back to Hikari and his eyes widened when she suddenly swung her rod at him. He quickly summoned his keyblade and blocked her attack. Out of instinct, he pushed her back and slashed his keyblade across. His eyes widened in realization as he watched the young girl fell to the ground. "No!" he summoned his keyblade away and quickly went to the girl's side.

"How tragic… even after you said that you won't raise you weapon against her." Vexen stared down at Riku as he cradled Hikari's head close to his chest. He smirked when he saw the glare Riku was giving him. The man clapped his hands together. "Well done, Riku, well done. I'll give you a reward because you're one step closer." He pulled out a card and flicked his wrist, throwing the card to the boy.

Riku couldn't care less about the card that landed in front of them. "You'll pay." He glowered.

Vexen smirked before he disappeared in a portal.

The silver-haired teen turned his attention to the girl in his arms. "Don't worry Hikari… You'll be fine." For a second, he forgot that this was a part of his memories. He summoned his keyblade and placed it over the girl to cast a cure spell. "Heal—," he stopped when a hand was placed over his.

"Don't." Hikari said, opening her eyes to meet Riku's worried blue-green eyes.

"Hikari!" Riku shouted in relief. "I'm sorry. I—,"

Hikari grinned. "Don't, Riku. You don't have to apologize." She laughed a little. "What you said was right, I'm not Hikari… I'm just a figment of your memories."

"But—,"

The brunette cut him off when she handed him the card Vexen threw. "I think it would be better if you apologize to the real one instead to the one who's just a memory." She smiled.

Riku stared down at the card before he lifted his gaze up to look at the girl in his arms, only to find that she had disappeared. He held the card tighter between his fingers and stood up.

"I will."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"That's the last of them…" Hikari panted as she finished the last Unversed.

It took them longer to finish the Unversed. It almost seemed like one appeared after one died. Almost like a never-ending cycle. Hikari sat down on the ground, resting for a few minutes. She never knew that she would be so tired out after fighting a bunch of Unversed. Her blue eyes stared at the hand being offered to her. She followed the arm and gave the person a grin before taking his hand to pull herself up.

"You did great." Ventus praised.

"You too," Hikari smiled. "I hope we won't be fighting those Unversed anytime soon… I'm super exhausted!" she sighed, slumping her shoulders.

Ventus laughed, nodding his head in agreement. His laughter died down as he looked at the brunette. He opened his mouth, hesitating before deciding to go with it. "Listen Hikari… about your friend." He began.

Hikari gave the blond a small frown, but let him continue.

The blond stared into Hikari's eyes, "Maybe… it wasn't his fault. You should go talk to him and listen to his side of the story. Who knows? Maybe you two can work things out and forgive each other. Friends always forgive friends, right?" he grinned, crossing his hands behind his head.

The brunette averted her gaze to the ground.

"Ven!" the two turned their head to the source of the childish voice. Hikari's eyes were wide as plates when she saw the little girl running towards them. Ventus on the other hand, grinned and kneeled down to the girl's eye-level. The little girl excitedly rocked back and forth on the heels of her shoes. "You were so cool! You were like, zap, zap, whoosh, and them bam!" she explained with sound effects.

Ventus laughed. "Oh really?"

"Yeah! And…" the little girl trailed off when her eyes landed on the brunette staring wide eyed at her. "Huh? Did you make another friend?" she turned to face the blond.

"Oh yeah!" Ventus snapped his fingers in realization. "Hikari, meet Hikari."

"Nice to meet you!" the little girl smiled widely.

Hikari's eyes widened when she saw the mini version of her. "How—!?"

"Still talking to yourself, Hikari?"

The brunette's eyes widened as she spun around after hearing another voice. Her whole body stiffened when she saw who the person was. His silver-hair and blue-green eyes didn't change one bit. The distasteful look was still evident in his eyes. He stood a few feet away from her, his keyblade already summoned and in his grasp.

Hikari turned to look over her shoulder, only to find that both Ventus and the younger version of her had disappeared.

"You should pay more attention to your surroundings rather than talking to yourself." Riku chided in a mocking manner. He dragged the tip of his keyblade across the ground as he walked closer to the girl. Hikari turned her attention back to him and summoned her rod to prepare herself for battle. "I guess some habits can't be out grown… You still talk to your imaginary friend." He sneered.

The brunette gave him a look. "Looks like someone's head is still high up in the clouds!" she retorted, lowering herself to her fighting stance. "Don't worry, I'll help you put your head back on your shoulders!" she lunged forward.

'Ven and little me will have to wait.' The brunette thought as she charged at her ex-friend.

Their weapons clashed and everything suddenly glowed white, engulfing them in light.

The scene switched back to the white room, but neither of the two paid much attention to the change. The two pulled away and continued to attack, swinging their weapons against each other. Hikari raised her rod, casting Thunder to slow Riku down, but it didn't as he easing maneuvered his way through the lightnings. He jumped up and brought his keyblade down to slash the brunette, but she was quick to raise her rod to block the what-could-be-fatal attack. The two battled with strength before they both jumped away from each other, distancing themselves.

Hikari huffed tiredly. This wasn't fair. Just right after fighting the never-ending Unversed, now she has to fight Riku too?!

"Very good!" A slow and a mocking clap echoed through the room, along with an amused laugh. Hikari eyes darted around the room, trying to find where the feminine voice came from. Her eyes quickly focused on the black portal appearing behind Riku and in front of the door to the next floor. She raised her guard. Fighting Riku alone is almost impossible, but now she has to fight another enemy plus Riku. A heavy feeling was suddenly put in her heart. She had to bear with it for the moment and try to survive. "I'm impressed, kid! I really am! You attacked him without a second thought!" a figure of a woman came out of the portal.

"Wha… you're really a girl!? I thought it was that pink dude acting as a girl!" Hikari shouted, staring at the blonde woman with her jaw dropped. "They have girls in that Organization!?"

The blonde woman laughed, "What? Never expected a woman to be evil?" she looked down at the brunette, a smirk on her face.

"…There's Maleficent, but that's not the point!" Hikari stomp her foot on the floor before turning her attention to glare at her silver-haired friend. "So now you're working for Organization XIII, huh Riku? It took you that fast to switch evil groups? How un-loyal." she mocked.

Riku clicked his tongue. "Like you'd understand anyway. Unlike you, I have my own reasons to help them." He pulled something out from his pocket and showed it to the brunette. He held the item by the strap, letting it sway left to right as he held it high. It was a star-shaped charm. "I'm not going to let you take Naminé away." He pocketed the charm back into his pocket, his eyes glaring daggers at the girl.

Hikari blinked, giving Riku a look. "Huh? What? Who's Naminé?"

The woman burst out laughing. "Oh, now that just plain mean! You've forgotten your own friend? That's mean, even for a Nobody's standard!" she continued laughing behind her hand.

Hikari remained quiet. She didn't know what they were talking about.

"Come on! Think harder! Who's the girl who your brother has a crush on?" The woman placed her hands on her hips. "The girl who you'd promised to always protect for your precious brother?"

"Kairi?" the brunette tilted her head. "Are you holding her hostage too?!" she pointed her finger accusingly at the two in front of her.

The woman narrowed her eyes, a frown on her lips. "Oh… Oh… I see it now." She leaned back and reached her hand out. She flicked her wrist, throwing two cards at the younger girl who caught them. The blonde woman summoned a dark portal and frowned. "Have some fun with those cards, I'll deal with you later. I have a few words that I would like to share to our…hostage." Her eyes gleamed as she stepped inside the portal.

Riku turned around to follow the woman inside, but before he stepped inside, he looked over his shoulder, a cold look in his eyes. "Next time, I won't be going easy on you." He said and he stepped inside the portal, disappearing.

Hikari sighed, summoning away her rod. She raised the cards to take a better look before she looked back at the door behind her, the door that once lead her to Dwarf Woodlands. There were still many questions going through her head and she wanted answers. She raised her hand to place her fingers on her temple, a frown on her lips.

"What… did really happen when I was a kid?"

A/n: I know, I know… You all have a lot of questions about why didn't Mickey and older Hikari meet? Why is there no Mickey here, but in Little Adventure there is? I promise that as the story progressed, it will all be explained.

So, at the meantime, what do you guys think of the story?