Spiral: Bond of Reasoning
Back in High School
Emerging from the corridor of darkness Sora and his friends found themselves in a hall. Sun shone in from one wall of windows and empty classrooms were seen on the other wall. The tiled floor was smooth and clean. They were isolated in the hallway, but a look outside foretold that the students would soon be arriving.
The group was back in their human forms, but they still wore a new wardrobe. The boys were in blue pants and jackets while the girls had white jackets with red pleated skits. Mog was the only one unchanged from the trip. He hovered in the air as content as can be.
"Hm, so what should we do now?" Sora asked.
Kairi tugged at his jacket sleeve, stating, "We should go to class, you boys could use the education."
Sora pulled back, almost slipping on the waxed floor. He caught the frame of a window and was able to support himself.
"What, we just walk into a random classroom? We're not even enrolled into this school! Wouldn't the teachers look at us suspiciously? Shouldn't we be looking for a way back home?" he rambled. Trying to change the subject, he looked over at Zefferia and continued, "So, uh, seen any ghost cats lately?"
"No," Zefferia breathed in a meow-like tone.
"Oh, how's the journal coming along?" Sora searched.
Zefferia shrugged innocently with her hands in the air.
"Non-existent; the thing is that I'm not real enough to touch or affect it, much less write in it," she sighed.
Zefferia heard a plop to her left while speaking, which she didn't take notice of until she was done speaking and perceived Sora's bewildered expression. She glanced to her side to see that the notebook was sitting on her hand.
"You were saying?" Sora pointed out.
"I meant to hit you with it, but your hand got in the way," said Riku with a shrug.
Zefferia brought the book in front of her and held it with both hands. She shifted it side to side and up and down, observing that it did move with her.
"Well I'll be," she said in awe, "I guess the book thinks I'm real now."
The natural response would be to question how a book could think, but before anyone had a chance to ask such, Riku felt a tug at his sleeve.
"Eyes-kun, what are you doing here?" a small, timid voice asked.
Riku looked down to see a short girl with gray pigtails tied with ribbons. Her bangs were cut over her eyes in the center while the sides grew down to frame her face. Her sleeves covered most of her hands and were significantly wider than her wrists.
Quizzically, Riku replied, "Yes I have eyes, that's how I see."
The small girl let go of his sleeve and covered her mouth.
"Oh, you're not Eyes. I was hoping he had come to bring me a Yubari Melon," she said to herself.
She then looked at the group starring at her. She raised her other hand and extended a finger. The others followed the direction to where she was pointing. Apparently, she had spotted Mog and Moogles were not native to this world like they were in the last.
"What's that?" She asked.
The others sweated. Mog inhaled, preparing to explain himself to the young inquisitor, but Kairi sprang over to him and grabbed him out of the air. She held him close with one hand over his mouth and the other keeping his body still.
"Uh, just a new toy I brought to show off. Pretty neat, huh?" Kairi made up.
"Oh." The girl tilted her head then turned to address Riku with a polite bow, "I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else."
The girl turned to run off but tripped on her own feet after a few steps. She let out a squeal before her face hit the tile. The others were taken aback, but before they could offer to help her, she got up with a groan and continued on her way.
Mog continued to struggle against Kairi's grip. When the girl was gone, Kairi let him go. The small, yellow creature huffed and turned.
"What's the big idea!" the Moogle fumed.
"I'm sorry, Mog," Kairi apologized, "but we can't stick out. The best thing to do is for me to carry you and you to be still and quiet so no one suspects."
Kairi looked at Mog with big, pleading eyes. She held out her arms. Mog's little wings flapped as he hovered up and down in front of her. He let out a huff and then flew into her open arms.
Just then, the sound of glass shattering resounded down the hall. Everyone turned to face the source then ran to see what had happened.
When they arrived at the scene, they saw a broken window and two teachers arguing with the little pigtailed hair girl in between them. The female teacher was accusing the student of breaking the window while the male teacher claimed she was being charged unfairly. The little girl had her hands together and looked like she was on the verge of tears while she insisted that she didn't do it.
"The rock came from the outside and broke the window," the girl timidly claimed.
"Don't lie to me! If the rock came from the outside, then why is there broken glass on the outside?" the teacher exerted.
The group looked on at the scene, feeling like they should help out, but not knowing how. A broken window did not seem something that the shy little girl was capable of, but the teacher did not seem like she'd be swayed by a testimony of the girl's character. Still, Sora stepped forward.
"Miss, I don't think she was the one to do it, she was talking with us down the hall a few minutes ago," he informed.
"Almost a solid alibis, but she did make it here before the window broke," snapped the teacher.
"But doesn't that alibis show she would have a lack of motive?" the other teacher piped in.
As the quad debated, the others heard a sigh beside them. Students had been gathering to see what the commotion was so this was the first they noticed who had taken Sora's place in the hall as Sora had joined the argument. It was barely a wonder they didn't notice the change beside them as the boy standing there also had brown spiky hair. His hair seemed to burst out from the right, front side of his scalp in long thin locks. He had an apathetic look on his face, framed by long sideburns.
"Glass is flexible," the boy said as if it was obvious, "When the rock hit, the glass retracted. It was curved at the time it broke, sending the shattered glass in both directions. That is why there is broken glass inside and outside the window. It's what they call the 'blowback phenomenon.' There's nothing unnatural about it."
Everyone stopped to look at the boy and take in the logic he had said. The prosecuting teacher turned red in anger and embarrassment. The other teacher smiled at the boy. Everyone else looked relieved that the debate had been finalized in the little girl's favor, especially the girl. The boy held up a notebook to rest on his shoulder, tapping it against his head as he resumed his course through the hall.
He continued, "This girl didn't do it. Now that you get it, you should clean up this mess and apologize to her."
"See how smart you guys would be by taking your studies seriously?" Kairi whispered to Riku.
"Smart nothing. That one teacher seemed stupid compared the kid's logic, he's just brilliant," Riku defended.
With the problem solved, most the other students moved on to their classes. The girl bowed and thanked the boy before she left, but tripped again as she turned to go. Like before, she got up and ran down the hall before anyone could check on her. The boy shrugged then continued down the hall with Sora and his friends following behind.
Sora exclaimed, "Wow, that was amazing how you figured that out!"
The boy stopped and looked as Sora questioningly with a hint of annoyance.
"It was nothing," the boy replied.
"Don't be so modest Narumi-san!" exclaimed a girl with big, brown pigtails that popped out from behind him, "You need to give yourself more credit!"
The boy sighed, "Shouldn't you guys be going to your classes before you're late?"
"Narumi-kun, can I speak to you for a moment?" asked the teacher who had defended the girl.
He shrugged and went over to talk with the teacher. The others looked at each other, wondering what they should do next. The girl that had appeared straightened up and pointed at the group, eyeing them suspiciously.
"I haven't seen any of you around here before!" she accused.
The group looked guilty at the accusation. While Sora was thinking up an excuse, the girl whipped out a notebook and pen and began writing furiously down in her notebook.
"Uh what are you doing?" asked Sora.
"Entering your data," the girl replied with her pen unwavering, "Those tags on your shirts have your names and homerooms in them."
The group looked down at their school uniforms and noticed she was right. The boys had gold ovals with their names and a letter-number combination under their left breast pocket while the girls had similar nametags holding their neckties under their collars.
"I am curious as to how you transferred to Tsukiomi Private High without my knowing, but within the week that will change. I'll know where you live, your blood type, and what you eat for breakfast!" an evil snicker escaped her lips with an accompanying chuckle, "There isn't a student that gets by the school newspaper president, Yuizaki Hiyono!"
The group sweated under the sudden influence that came over the seemingly innocent girl. She was rather cute when she was smiling before, but now that had melted into malice. The group searched for a way out, or at least to change the subject in hopes of the dark aura passing away.
The girl brightened up with a sweet smile again, singing, "But you can just call me Hiyono-chan!"
"Um, so you know what is going on with that Narumi kid and the teacher?" Sora asked.
"Oh, that's Narumi Ayumu who is talking with Imazato-sensei, probably about…" Hiyono replied, flipping through her notebook, stopping, and pointing to a page, "…the incident he just solved for Takeuchi Rio, the poor misjudged defendant."
While the others marveled over how Ayumu had deduced the situation, Zefferia marveled at how Hiyono seemed to have so much information at her fingertips. The What-if jumped towards the reporter, falling to her knees with her head bowed and her journal held above her head.
"Oh sempai! Train me in your ways! Teach me the art of journaling!" she exclaimed.
Hiyono's brown eyes sparkled at the sight of a fan. Her smile curved almost to resemble a kitten face. She adapted an air of regality as she waved one hand by her ear and picked up the outstretched journal with her other. She tapped the book on Zefferia's shoulders as if dubbing her an apprentice.
"Fear not," Hiyono expressed, "From now on, you are under the intense Hiyono-module of journalism, young Zeffy-chan."
Zefferia jumped up with her hands clenched under her chin, assuming a similar kitten-like expression that Hiyono showed a moment before.
"Ah! She called me '-chan!' That means I'm small and kawaii!" Zefferia squealed, especially high on the foreign word. She then brought a hand to her mouth and whispered to the others, "That means cute."
"She seems to blend in real well," Sora whispered to Riku and Kairi, observing how much she could resemble Hiyono in such a short amount of time.
"Well she is very adaptable," Riku confirmed, having seen how she had adapted to his wants in the past.
Ayumu passed by the group. Hiyono spotted he was done conversing with the teacher so she followed him, continually chattering in his ear while it appeared that he attempted to ignore her. Zefferia trotted behind, eager to learn how she would properly fulfill her appointed task. The others were at a loss so they shrugged and followed.
Ayumu and Hiyono reached a door that was labeled as the newspaper room and went in. The others came in as well. Inside, there was a computer on a desk, shelves of research materials, and a table with four chairs. Hiyono had taken the swivel chair at the computer while Zefferia propped up on the counter beside her and began braiding her hair into pigtails to match Hiyono's style. Ayumu dropped his stuff on the table and plopped into the nearest chair. Sora, Kairi, and Riku took the three remaining chairs at the table. Kairi set Mog on the table, and signaled for him to remain still.
Ayumu looked questioningly at the new students, but Hiyono introduced them and reminded Ayumu that he couldn't complain since he shouldn't be in the office either. In response, Ayumu shrugged and leaned back with a cooking magazine in hand that he began to study.
"So did you have a good talk with Imazato-sensei?" Hiyono winked at Ayumu.
Ayumu scratched his chin with his free hand as his eyes looked away in thought.
"I'm going to meet with him later," Ayumu explained, "He knows about the Blade Children."
Mystery of the Blade Children
"The Blade Children?" Sora asked nervously.
Sora wondered if these two knew about Keyblades, but the way Ayumu had said "Blade" was very distasteful, implying the "Blade Children" were enemies. If Ayumu was referring to Keyblade wielders, it was best for Sora and the others to lay low and not reveal their true identities.
"This really isn't something students like you should be involved in," Ayumu eyed the newcomers.
"Relax Narumi-san, these guys will be a big help, I can tell" Hiyono reassured.
Ayumu shrugged skeptically, explaining, "The Blade Children. Two years ago, my perfect older brother disappeared to find out about them. We have had a few run-ins with their kind so far, and they seem to be my only link to finding my brother."
Hiyono pulled out her notebook back out to explain some of these cases, with the occasional nod to Zefferia who was observing the fruits of journaling labor. She ended with their latest findings that most of them were around the same age, and are missing a certain rib.
Sora breathed easier at the last bit, since he had all his ribs. Still, this meant that there was a mystery to be solved. What could these Blade Children be and what was their goal?
As it appeared the group was caught up with the situation, Ayumu stood and set his magazine on the table. He left through the door as he stated that it was about time for him to meet with the teacher.
"As a reporter, I should go along with him to observe this new information," Hiyono instructed Zefferia, "but there is a mystery more pressing in this very room!"
Hiyono looked very serious. Her darkened eyes caused the others to break out in a cold sweat. She turned to face Kairi's direction and raised her finger accusingly. She was pointing right at Mog.
"That creature right there…" hissed Hiyono. There was a tense silence for a moment. Suddenly her face transformed into cute sparkles as she squealed, "…is the cutest thing I have ever seen!"
Hiyono hopped in front of Mog to get a better look at him. She poked his belly and ruffled the red pompom on his head. Mog could no longer compel himself to be silent and flew up from the table in a fit of rage.
"Watch where you're touching, kupo!" squealed Mog.
Hardly taken aback from discovering him to be real, Hiyono innocently tilted her head to the side and replied, "But you're so cute!"
With the blown cover, Sora sighed and explained to Hiyono that Mog was a Moogle and that Moogles were known for their shops and synthesizing items. Hearing this, Hiyono smiled devilishly and brought her hand beside her mouth as if to make an underground deal with the little Moogle.
"If you set up shop here, with your craftsmanship and my information network of consumers, together we would be an unstoppable team!" she laughed.
Before Mog could reply, the door swung open. Ayumu stood panting in the doorway. He looked pretty shaken up, even though he still kept his composure.
"Narumi-san, what's wrong?" Hiyono asked.
"It's Imazato …he's been murdered."
"What?" screamed Hiyono.
"The culprit is a student who is still on the school grounds, near the scene of the crime during the time of the murder, which happened about the same time I left here. She is a girl who is under five foot one," described Ayumu, "How far can you narrow down the potential suspects?"
"Are you testing my abilities?" Hiyono asked.
"I'm asking for your help," stated Ayumu.
Hiyono thought then looked up, stating, "I'll use all my information networks to narrow it to under twenty people…but now you owe me a triple chocolate strawberry banana soy milkshake!"
Hiyono winked as she went over to get research materials from the shelves. The others watched, still stunned at the fact that someone they had seen earlier that day was now gone for good. Ayumu, however, did not look phased at just seeing the corpse of one of his teachers. Instead, he held a serious composure. His quivering was not of shock or fear, but of fierce determination.
"The murder was committed by one of the Blade Children who did not want Imazato to talk to me," Ayumu asserted, "We will catch her."
Hiyono rushed back to her chair at the computer, handing the gathered materials to Zefferia then grabbing some discs that were in a box below. She piled them beside the computer then bustled bringing up files and programs to search the student database.
"Now you get to see where my records come in really handy," she commented to Zefferia, "With these floppies, I'll compile the measurements of all the students, then I can isolate all the females under five foot one. That will probably narrow our search down to over fifty suspects, but then that's where I'll really shine because I'll carefully examine all their activities and map out their movements to see who would have crossed paths with Imazato-sensei within the time frame. Then I'll do a breakdown of all the remaining suspects' personal information."
"I swear, your info-gathering skills are incredible," Ayumu said in awe, "Even the police don't compare."
Hiyono calmly replied, "If you say that, then you should know you were pretty incredible too. You were able to quickly decipher so much about the criminal from the crime scene."
"That was nothing," Ayumu shrugged off, "He had been stabbed at close range and there were no signs of a struggle. Considering how wary Imazato was before of being killed at any moment, he had to have let his guard down. So that means the culprit was likely someone who wasn't out of place and seemed incapable of murder."
"Aw, so that's how you figured out it was a student?" Sora interpreted.
Ayumu nodded.
"How about the time?" Kairi asked.
"The coagulation of blood: the density of blood changes in a matter of seconds, so based on its constitution when I arrived, gave me the time of death," Ayumu explained.
"So what about the height?" Riku asked.
Ayumu continued, "The culprit discarded the knife on the back of the body. Based on the law of inertia, the blood would be cast off before the knife as it was thrown. The spatter made shows the direction, elevation, and manner of how it was thrown, giving me the height. At 61 inches, it's hard to imagine a male did this."
"I guess that makes sense," Sora said, scratching his head, "but how do you know all that?"
Kairi incriminated, "See? That's why you two need to go to school!"
Sora blushed, "Well, it's not like you would have figured all that out either."
Kairi sighed, "That's true, but at least I'm trying."
Riku stood up and joined Ayumu looking over Hiyono's shoulder to see her work. She had already filtered out the students by physical description and was going through their lists of activities to see who would have been in the area at the designated time.
"The list is narrowing quickly, but how do you plan to find out which of the remaining suspects did it?" Riku asked Narumi.
"We'll feel for which one has a missing rib," stated Narumi.
At that moment, a timid knock came from the door. The door slowly opened and in popped the head of the little girl from before that Hiyono had identified as Takeuchi Rio. She inched her way in the room and looked around at everyone. Her hands clutched a small cat doll near her chest as she tried to stop shaking.
"E-excuse me," Rio stuttered, "But this is the newspaper office, right?"
Hiyono turned in her chair to face Rio, asking, "That's right. Is there something we can do for you?"
"Well, I found this doll downstairs, it had a note attached, saying to bring it here," Rio shyly explained.
She gave a little gasp as she raised the doll suspiciously to her ear. Ayumu froze as if he knew what was going on and dreaded it. Before he could react however, Zefferia sprang off the counter to Rio and grabbed the doll, holding it high in the air.
"Kitty!" Zefferia exclaimed.
She twirled around as the shocked Rio tried to jump up and get it back. However, Rio's hops could barely reach Zefferia's shoulders, much less the doll as she spun around the room. Zefferia's smile then disappeared as she donned a thoughtful expression.
"Hmmm…what is that ticking noise? It's kind of catchy," Zefferia thought out loud and then started chanting 'Zef-Zef-Zefferia! Zef-Zef-Zefferia!"
Zefferia bobbed the doll side to side in beat with her chant. Oblivious to Rio's continuous attempts to retrieve the doll, Zefferia cuddled the gray cat doll to her face.
"Oh wait, I found the source of the ticking!" Zefferia announced.
But it was too late. While Zefferia was extending the doll to explain that the ticking was coming from the stuffed cat, the bomb concealed within went off. In an instant, Zefferia was thrown back while the window on the door shattered to the explosion. Smoke filled the room and causing everyone else to have coughing fits.
Desperate Alliance
When the smoke cleared, the head of the cat doll lay scorched on the table with stuffing poking out of the bottom of it. The walls were darkened from the smoke while the rest of the room now appeared dingy. Zefferia's body lay sprawled on the ground by the outside wall. The arm that was holding the doll laid cast over her head. The hand and most of the lower arm were now gone.
Seeing the wounded Zefferia, Sora, Riku, and Kairi ran to the unconscious body. Hiyono and Rio looked on at the terrifying spectacle. Ayumu gritted his teeth and glared at Rio.
"Zefferia! Speak to me!" shouted Riku.
He rolled her onto her back and lifted her under her shoulders, checking for a pulse with his free hand. His head bowed forward, his hair drooping down the sides to conceal his face, signifying there was nothing. Rio trembled and looked like she was about to faint. She brought her hand up to her face, her wide sleeve covering her mouth.
"Oh dear, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was an explosive," Rio apologized.
"Don't blame yourself," Hiyono comforted, "It's not like you could have known. But we better call an ambulance, quickly!"
"Oh, right. I'll go do that at once, it's the least I can do," Rio volunteered.
"You can quit the act," Ayumu pressed her, "I know who you are."
Rio gasped in shock and confusion. She shook her head as she replied, "What are you talking about?"
"You are one of the Blade Children" Ayumu accused.
Sora and Kairi stood and joined Hiyono and Ayumu staring at the small girl with silver pigtails. She looked so small and frail. Her voice was too light to be that of one of the sinister murderers that the Blade Children were described as. Then again, she did match the characteristics Ayumu had identified the killer to have.
"A what-children? What do you mean?" Rio questioned.
Ayumu explained, "I figured that with us closing in on the criminal, an attempt to get rid of Hiyono before she finalized the suspects would be made. That bomb was too small to kill, however. You came in, clutching the doll to your chest. I never imagined that someone would be insane enough to blow their own chest up to hide the fact that they are missing a rib!"
Kairi approached Rio. She turned to run, but found Ayumu was blocking the door. Rio looked around and shivered like a frightened little animal being cornered by a predator. Kairi reached out, grabbing Rio's side and feeling up her rib cage.
"You're right, she is missing a rib," affirmed Kairi, retracting her hand.
Rio's eye darkened as she looked down and her voice took on a sinister tone as she said, "You still don't have any solid proof that I killed anyone."
Before Ayumu could reply, a dark portal appeared near the wall. Sora and his friends recognized what it was while the other three looked on in awe and wonder. From the dark opening emerged a lady with jet black hair and bronze skin. Crimson linen drooped down from her shoulders to the ground. Loose, split sleeves hung around her crossed arms. A velvet, violet ribbon strapped around her midriff, accenting her developed figure. Under her collarbone on the left side was a brooch with a swirled design on it. Her oblong, gold earrings dangled as she glided towards the group.
"It seems like you got yourself caught, little one," The lady's voiced oozed towards Rio, "Have you rethought my offer?"
"Bashira!" Rio remarked snidely while frowning at the lady, "I told you my answer yesterday! I won't help you!"
The lady that Rio referred to as Bashira laughed in reply, "But the others have already joined me. Would you rather stay cornered here?"
Rio gasped, "Wait, you mean Eyes-kun is with you too?"
A sly smile broke from Bashira's pursed lips. She took a step closer and extended her hand to Rio. Rio looked at her hand hesitantly then back at how she had little option if she wanted to escape. She lifted her hand, but then retracted.
Sora sprung to intercept the two. He held his arms out to the sides as he looked down at Rio.
"I don't know what's exactly going on here, but you don't have to take that path!" said Sora, "Going with this stranger is probably a bad choice."
Bashira hissed towards Rio, "Do you really think he has your best interest at heart? Or does he just want to imprison you to your cursed fate?"
As she spoke, she bent over and placed her hand on Sora's shoulder. A Heartless in the shape of a cobra slipped out of her sleeve and wrapped around Sora's neck. Sora spun around as he tried to get a hold of the slippery serpent. Bashira took the opportunity to grab Rio's hand and leave through the portal. She paused however, as she witnessed Sora grab the cobra, throw it off of him, and instantly pull out his Keyblade to extinguish the small foe.
"Ah, so the Keyblade has come to this world too," Bashira observed with a chuckle, "Well, that will make things easier. You shall hear from us soon enough."
With that, she waved her hand, causing many cobra-like Heartless to emerge from the floor, leaving the others to fight while she and Rio escaped through the dark portal. Sora fought his way through the Heartless, but they fulfilled their purpose in blocking him from the portal before it closed.
The height of the moment over, everyone was able to settle down and think about what just happened. Ayumu growled in the back of his throat then swung his arm, hitting the wall.
"She got away! I was so close," snarled Ayumu.
"Don't worry, you did your best. And it sounds like we'll hear from them again soon," Hiyono comforted.
Sora pitched in, "Yeah, that was amazing how you deduced Rio to be the culprit."
The words seemed to have little effect on Ayumu. As he stewed, an inhaling breath could be heard where Zefferia was. Riku opened his eyes to see Zefferia's head stirring in his arms. Sora, Kairi, and Hiyono gathered around her. She looked up and smiled.
"Good morning," she yawned.
"Hang on Zeffy-chan, we'll get an ambulance right away," assured Hiyono.
"What for?" Zefferia questioned quizzically.
"What for?! Goodness sake, you're arm is gone!" Hiyono cried, "Doesn't it hurt?"
"Hurt? What's hurt?" Zefferia asked as though she had never felt pain.
Riku grabbed her elbow to bring the remains of her arm into view. Indeed her hand and most of her lower arm was gone. Zefferia gazed at the damage thoughtfully, then looked at Riku.
"You can just imagine it back, you know," she explained.
"So much for being discreet," Riku sighed, flashing a look over to Hiyono.
Riku closed his eyes as he wrapped his hand around the stub. He recalled how her arm felt in the darkness as he slipped his hand up to where her wrist would be and continuing over her hand. Imagining her arm present, it resumed its appearance to the others.
Hiyono shrieked, "Wha-! You're arm was gone just a second ago and now it's back like nothing happened! Something is not right about that! Are you a demon, a ghost, or an alien of some sort?"
"I'm not a real person," Zefferia confessed, "Forgive me for deceiving you, sempai."
"But that came in handy just now," reassured Sora, "Because of you, no one got hurt by the bomb."
"I suppose I can let that slide then," Hiyono thought out loud, "But, only if you give me an exclusive interview over deluxe fermented beans pumpkin and squid ink strawberry parfaits…Narumi-san's treat!"
"Shouldn't we be worrying more about what just happened?" Kairi reminded.
Zefferia sat up and said, "Oh yeah, did I miss anything important just now?"
They all stood up and Sora explained Zefferia what just happened as she went over to the counter. She kept eye contact to show she was listening as she reached for the journal with her repaired arm. Turning back towards the group, she gave a brief glance down to see the journal was in her hand, but did a double take to find it wasn't there. She looked back at the journal and reached to grab it again. This time, she saw her hand go through it. She brought her right hand up to double-check her regression. The book stopped this hand so she was able to slide it with her right. She picked the book up with her right hand before turning back to the group.
"Oh great," Zefferia moaned, "I guess the bomb did effect my tangibility. This will make the record keeping difficult."
Riku commented, "At least you can still write."
"Yeah, but you'll have to hold the book steady or something while I do," Zefferia sighed.
"Narumi-san, do you think the 'Eyes-kun' that Rio-san mentioned could be the Eyes Rutherford that we met earlier?" Hiyono asked Ayumu.
"That world-renown prodigy pianist? I suppose it would make sense that he is one of them too," Ayumu theorized.
"'Eyes-kun?' Isn't that what that girl called you when we got here?" Sora asked Riku.
"Ah-ha! I thought you looked familiar! You do look like Eyes Rutherford, so that must be who Rio-san was referring to!" Hiyono deduced, "But don't worry, I don't think you're him in disguise or anything. After all, you guys traveled a lot farther than he did to get to this town!"
Sora gasped, "How did you figure that out?"
Hiyono giggled, "That's…a trade secret!"
"Oh, so you'll tell me?" begged Zefferia.
"Not on your life," Hiyono countered, "…But as a hint, you did keep the journal unattended here on the counter for some time."
Zefferia hung her head in shame and walked back over to Riku. She plopped the book open next to him and attempted to write the recent events inside. The book wobbled with her hand so she tried to steady it with her opposing elbow as now her lower left arm was superfluous. Her elbow only gave the book a pivot point as her pen scratched up and down along the paper. Riku sighed and gave in by placing his hand on the top of the book to steady it.
"Still, that woman that took Takeuchi Rio is also not from this world," Ayumu inferred.
Sora nodded, "She was controlling creatures called Heartless, so either she is a Heartless herself, or a Nobody, or…"
"Or something else entirely," finished Riku, "She was different than the others that we've faced in the past."
"Like that mysterious man from back home," Kairi said, "He controlled Heartless, but he also had another type of creature that came out."
"Come to think of it, he was wearing red too, wasn't he?" Sora recalled.
"It looked like he was sending the Heartless to find the Heart of our World; do you think that would mean that lady is trying to get the Blade Children to help her do the same thing here?" theorized Kairi.
"That would mean this world is in danger," Sora exclaimed, "We'll do what we can to help while we're here!"
The next few days were unexpectedly uneventful. No clues could be found about the elusive Blade Children or a key to open a new gateway. This gave the group time to attend classes at Tsukiomi Private High. Sora and Kairi were in a junior class together, while apparently Riku and Zefferia were placed in senior classes.
After one particularly drab morning of lessons, Riku went by Sora's and Kairi's class during lunch. He looked in the room to see them both in the back, eating at their desks. They were sitting by each other, and talking to each other, and laughing with one another. They failed to notice Riku waiting for them outside.
A small group of girls, however, did. They began talking in hushed tones and frequently glancing over to Riku. He silenced their giggles with one look before continuing down the hall.
Riku made his way to the roof, where it was quiet and peaceful, or at least devoid of people. Obnoxious, selfish, superficial people. People who went about day by day in their own little worlds, despite the problems that surrounded them. People who wouldn't notice or care if one person disappeared.
Riku found a spot to lie down and watch the clouds overhead as he thought. He thought about Sora and Kairi and if he really meant anything to them. They seemed to get along just fine without him. Perhaps he should just let the darkness take him so he wouldn't be in their way. He had already been freed from it, but his thoughts made it seem easy to return. Return to the darkness. Return to the seclusion. Return to where life was comfortable. If only Kairi was there with him.
His thoughts were interrupted with Zefferia popping her face over his. He remained unfazed at her appearance. She analyzed his dejected demeanor then walked around to lie on her side next to him, propping her head up to look down at him.
"Okay pussy-face, what's wrong?" she asked.
Riku looked away as he sighed, "Kairi and Sora seem to be secluding me a lot."
Zefferia soothed, "Well, at least I'm here. Isn't that good enough?"
She nuzzled her head on his shoulder, under his cheek. She laid her surreal arm across his chest. Worldly objects still did not acknowledge its existence, nevertheless Riku could feel it. He bent his outside arm to place his hand over hers. Her thumb brushed up and down over his fingers. His chest expanded then a deep sigh escaped his lips as he gazed longingly up at the clouds.
The Contramind's Carnival
Days turned into weeks at Tsukiomi; still there was no sign of Heartless or Blade Children. They were seeing it as the calm before the storm, but had no clue of when the storm would hit or what they could do to prepare for it.
Ayumu was eating his gourmet lunch that he had made that morning on the roof. Normally he'd be by himself, but that day Sora, Kairi, Riku, and Zefferia decided to join him so they could review what they knew about the Blade Children and the Heartless and what their alliance could mean. No matter how many times they went over what they knew, they could not find a connection or a clue to what the group would be planning.
"Narumi-san, Narumi-saaaaan!" shrieked Hiyono as she burst through the door.
Finally finding Ayumu, Hiyono ran up to him. She grabbed his shoulder and began to violently shake him back and forth as he sat apathetic to her entrance.
"Narumi-san! So this is where you've been hiding! This is terrible, are you listening to what I'm saying! This is absolutely awful! It's an emergency!" she continued screaming.
"Calm down, will you? Don't make such a racket while I'm eating." sighed Ayumu.
"Calm down? I am calm!" she yelled, "We've got a serious situation here about the Blade Children and all you can do is sit there and…wait! Is that one of your homemade obentou lunches that is just too good to eat by yourself?"
"Wait, did you say something about the Blade Children?" Sora exclaimed.
"Oh, right," Hiyono explained, "I was heading to the newspaper office to get some stuff done for the next issue. When I got there, everything looked normal and such, so I turned on my computer and got the materials ready like I usually do. But instead of booting up, a strange message greeted me on the monitor! Somebody's hacked my computer!"
The group rushed to the newspaper office to see. The computer screen was blue with white text. The message read, "From Bashira and the Blade Children: Narumi Junior is to come to the school at midnight. No one else is accompany him but the Keyblade bearers or else."
"What do you think this means?" Sora analyzed.
"They've made their move," explained Ayumu, "You girls should stay at Hiyono's tonight."
"I have resources at home too, just call if I can help," Hiyono offered.
Kairi interrupted, "No way! I'm coming too! I can use a Keyblade and you could use an extra head around."
"But Kairi…" Riku began. He was cut off by the determined look in her eyes and knew she was too stubborn to back out by hearing how dangerous it would be. Zefferia gladly agreed to stay with Hiyono like Riku had hoped Kairi would. But the arrangements were settled and they prepared for that evening.
That night, Ayumu stood in front of the school gate with Sora, Riku, and Kairi backing him up. Most of the street lights were off for the late hour. Setting in the west, the first quarter moon dimly lit the school yard behind the gate. Ayumu reached for the gate to inspect it. It eased open with a little bit of pressure. He looked at the hole where the deadbolt would have secured the gate closed then stuck his finger in it, maneuvering a crumpled piece of paper out.
He flattened the paper out and read, "Enter through the front doors, none other."
"Is it a trap?" Sora asked.
"With the time they've had to prepare, they probably have traps everywhere else so they can keep track of us going along the one path that they've predetermined," Ayumu theorized.
The group followed him across the school grounds to the main entrance. They found the doors unlocked and went in. As they entered they could hear music echoing through the hallways. Scattered lights had been left on as well. There were desks stacked to block off the left hallway so they turned right. The music grew louder as they continued.
"Where do you think this will lead?" asked Sora.
"To the source of the music, I'd wager. It sounds like it's coming from a music room up on the fifth floor of Wing C," Ayumu said, "This piece is familiar…it's Franz Liszt. 'Poetic and Religious Harmonies #3' labeled, 'The Blessing of God in Solitude.'"
They turned into Wing C to find the remainder of the hallway blocked off with desks, leaving the stairway to be the only way to proceed. But in front of the landing, stood Rio with a desk and two glasses of what appeared to be water in them. Ayumu's eyes narrowed at the sight of her.
"Welcome, Narumi Junior," Rio greeted.
"What do you Blade Children want with me?" demanded Ayumu.
Rio snickered, "We will see if you deserve to know that."
Rio's demeanor was different from the shy and frail girl they had seen at school before. Now her voice carried a malicious undertone while her eyes were serious. She grabbed a couple of sugar packets and tore off the tops, dissolving one packet in each glass.
She continued to explain, "We'll see if you can win against fate. One of these is ordinary sugar and the other is two times the lethal dose of the poison, strychnine. Not even I know which is which, so we'll each choose a glass to drink from. We both have an equal chance of dying. You can go ahead and pick first, I don't mind taking the other, that way it doesn't matter even if I knew which had the poison."
"Who would accept such a stupid challenge," Ayumu scoffed, "The law will get you for the murder you committed without me risking my life."
"There is no solid evidence against me," Rio reminded him, "Little brother, you want to know about the Blade Children and our connection with your brother, Kiyotaka-sama. You have no way to go but forward. It's the only way to change fate. The conviction to not loose will decide this game. Do you have the power to believe in yourself?"
Ayumu glared down at the glasses. After some thought, he picked one up.
"I don't care about fate, but this needs to be settled here and now. The power of belief won't change anything. This is only a mind game making me think that there is poison in one of the cups. Because you attempted to blow up your chest to hide you're missing rib, you'd think that I'd buy that you'd easily put your life on the line again when you really don't have to. All you would have to do is drink first and live, making it appear that my glass would have the poison, which I would not drink because it would kill me. In reality, both packets you used were plain sugar. These glasses only hold slightly sweetened water in them."
Ayumu pressed the glass to his mouth a tipped it to drink. Immediately his eyes grew big. He slammed the cup back onto the desk as he dropped to his knees. Sora and Kairi hunched over him to make sure he was all right. He seemed shocked beyond words.
"Well that settles it," stated Rio.
She gulped down her glass and returned the emptied cup to the desk. Despite her lack of height, she looked down at the team in front of her. It appeared that behind her determined expression, she was trying to conceal disappointment.
Rio said, "How pitiful, little brother. You gave a bold speech, but in the end, you only sampled a little bit of the water for the bitter taste that strychnine would give it. You didn't ingest enough to kill you, so you'll probably be fine, but running from fate like that is no way to survive."
Having confirmed that Ayumu would live, Sora stood up and looked straight into Rio's eyes.
"I may not know much, but I have learned on my travels that sometimes you just have to believe," stated Sora, recalling learning how to fly in Never Land with Peter Pan to get out of a tight situation, "What Ayumu explained stands to reason. I believe him; this cup isn't poisoned!"
Sora picked up Ayumu's cup and chugged it down. He winced as he swallowed, but he wiped his mouth and replaced the cup on the desk. He grinned as he stood tall instead of killing over from strychnine. Ayumu gazed up at Sora in wonder.
"See? There was no poison after all. Now let us move forward," Sora demanded.
"True you found me out, but only after you forfeited to your fears," Rio rationalized.
"But you tricked him! That's not fair!" Sora spluttered.
"If life was fair, we Blade Children wouldn't have been born in the first place," Rio paused then continued in a dark tone, "How can anybody believe in you when you can't even believe in yourself? Can you save anybody, Narumi Junior?"
Ayumu stood up and directly asked, "What is it you want of me?"
Rio averted her eyes and sighed, "Kiyotaka-sama gave us hope, and said that you're the key. But then Bashira showed up, offering to help us. It doesn't feel right to work with her, but we haven't heard from Kiyotaka-sama in a while, so we don't know what to do."
"Who is this Bashira?" asked Sora
"She says she's a Contramind. She offered to free us from our curse if we helped her get Narumi Junior and the Keyblades," Rio explained.
"A Contramind?" Sora repeated, "I don't know what she wants with our Keyblades, but it's probably not for good, and I have a feeling she won't help you the way you want."
"So what are you going to do?" Rio pressed Ayumu.
He thought over the predicament, "My brother…has a very clear mind and see the outcome of any predicament. If he say's I'm the key, then everyone is being played by him…but I'll continue to see what he is up to."
Rio looked past Ayumu and Sora to Riku. Her look softened as she gazed upon him. She then turned and waved the group to follow her up the stairs. As they ran up, the music that had been playing since they arrived grew louder.
When they reached the fifth floor, they found Bashira waiting for them along with a teenage boy that had spiky reddish-purple potato colored hair and small rectangular glasses.
"So you've chosen them after all," jeered Bashira as if it was not loss.
"That's okay, I can take them all out," the boy sneered.
"Then I'll leave this to you, Asazuki Kouske" Bashira said.
Bashira retreated to shadows while inconspicuously leaving a few small pink creatures that held the shape of scarabs. They were barely visible as they scurried across the floor as the attention was now focused on Kouske who smirked with folded arms.
"Kouske-kun! What are you doing?" Rio screamed.
"I'm taking my fate into my own hands," Kouske replied.
Sora warned him, "You shouldn't trust that lady; she's likely to destroy you before saving you!"
"And why should I trust you? You could be another hunter that wants to see us dead," said Kouske.
Rio began to reason, "They're with Narumi Junior. I feel they're more likely to help us than Bashira! Remember last time what Kiyo-"
"I'm through listening to what that jerk, Kiyotaka, says. If Narumi Junior really is the key, then he can survive anything I do to him," interrupted Kouske, "Bashira has already granted me some power for me to save myself!"
With that, Kouske thrust his arm to the side. From behind him, black bumblebees the size of watermelons buzzed towards the group.
"More Heartless! I knew she couldn't be trusted!" Sora exclaimed.
The Heartless flew straight towards Ayumu, who instinctively jumped back and hid behind Kairi. Her Keyblade appeared as she whacked the creatures out of the air. Sora and Riku joined the fray of fending off the over sized bugs.
"Um, you do realize you're hiding behind a girl, right?" Kairi asked Ayumu, slightly irritated at being used as a shield.
"It's all for good reason," Ayumu assured, "When I faced Kouske before, he already knew of my anaphylactic shock, which means one sting and I'm dead."
"Let's see how you get through this," Kouske laughed as he watched them swat at the swarm of bugs, "There's no way Narumi Junior can survive this! Especially if he touched the note we left in the gate since it was coated in a powder that these bees are drawn too!"
As the Heartless were all coming from the same direction, the group devised a plan to use the Keyblade wielders at the head of the group and try to go far enough down the hall that they could escape into a classroom. With dozen after dozen of Heartless flying at them, the group progressed slowly while Kouske continued to mock their endeavors.
While they focused on keeping the Heartless bees from stinging Ayumu, they failed to notice the pink scarabs that had snuck up to them and were climbing up the legs of Sora, Kairi, and Riku. They didn't even feel them when they scurried along their arms. The one on Kairi reached her Keyblade first and attached itself securely. The ones on Sora and Riku began to do the same, but before they could secure themselves on the Keyblades, the motion of taking out Heartless flung the little creatures off. However, the one on Kairi's blade gave of a miniscule glow as it branded a little seal on the underside before it was flung off.
Finally the group made it to the music room that Rio assured would be safe to enter. She opened the door and the group turned to rush in, slamming the door behind them.
After they calmed down from the encounter, they noticed that the music they heard was no longer playing. When they looked across the room, the piano at the front of the class was vacant, but staring at the cloudy night sky through the tall windows was a tall boy with shoulder length silver hair. He turned towards the newcomers to reveal his forlorn blue eyes and a face very similar to Riku's.
"Eyes-kun!" exclaimed Rio to the boy.
Eyes glanced over the Keyblade wielders then started to approach the group.
"So you are the ones that wield the Keyblade? The key to end the Blade Children's suffering. Children of the Keyblade, set me free," his voice rang slowly with an accent that indicated he had been raised somewhere else.
"And how are we to do that?" asked Sora.
Eyes brought a hand to his chest as he explained, "Our missing rib is the mark of our curse. Use your key in this void and set us free."
Sora relaxed his arms and let his Keyblade phase out. Kairi and Riku also relinquished their Keyblades. Knowing what striking another human with the Keyblade would really do to them, Sora shook his head.
"If I did that, you would not be free but turn into a monster," Sora explained.
"Eyes-kun, we can't trust Bashira, we should wait for Kiyotaka-sama to contact us," Rio pleaded.
"He already has," Eyes said, pointing to the flower in a vase that sat on the piano.
"An iris," Ayumu recognized, "My brother's favorite flower. He said it meant the joy of the believer."
A dark portal appeared on the other side of the piano and Bashira slid out.
She soothed, "Yes, he has seen the grand scheme of things and knows we need the minds of the Blade Children, so if you wish to survive, you better fulfill his request."
"Ugh, it's you again!" Sora exclaimed.
"Are you sure my brother made that request?" Ayumu pressed.
Eyes responded, "Are you saying that the message I got was false?"
"I think Narumi-san is on the right track!" sounded the familiar voice.
"Hiyono!" Kairi shouted.
Everyone looked at the back of the classroom where the source was and saw Hiyono and Zefferia stand up from behind a desk. Hiyono gave a thumbs up to her friends.
"I've been checking into the matter, and Kiyotaka definitely did not send that flower and message!" she revealed.
"Meddling brats, you'll pay for not heeding the warning in the note!" hissed Bashira.
Hiyono pointed out, "Tut, tut. We came here on our own, by ourselves, on our own time. We did not accompany them!"
Sora smiled, "Well, Blade Children, it looks like we can help you out after all by ridding you of this counter-mind person!"
The Keyblade bearers focused their attention on Bashira. Realizing she was outnumbered, she opened a portal and slipped away.
"I'm in no mood to fight today, but you will fight for me soon enough," she warned as she departed into the darkness.
The threat gone, Rio jumped to give Eyes a hug.
"Oh, do tell me you brought a melon for me today!" she exclaimed.
As Eyes fell back from her embrace, he bumped into the piano, causing the vase to wobble and fall to the ground. It lay shattered with water and the iris that was inside. Ayumu walked over and picked it up, thinking about his brother while he examined it.
"How did you know it wasn't from your brother," Sora asked.
Ayumu sighed, "My brother and I are a lot alike. So much that it's sickening. And with the working with those dark creatures and such, I wouldn't trust her, and I don't think my brother would either."
Riku gazed upon the flower as he pondered, "The joy of those who believe."
Then the iris began to glow and levitate from Ayumu's hand. Recognizing this to be another gateway to other worlds, Sora brought his Keyblade out again to connect the pathway.
Sora smiled at Ayumu, "We have to go now, but we'll see you around, okay?"
Slightly confused, but not too phased, Ayumu nodded back as the travelers departed.
Bonus: OMAKE!
Zeffy Poppins
Sora downs the glass Ayumu had chosen in one gulp.
"See, no poison!" he proves to Rio.
Standing up, Ayumu deduces, "So the bitterness I tasted…it was cold medicine and not strychnine after all? Both cups held diluted medicine while both packets were just plain sugar!"
Zefferia pops up, exclaiming, "So with a spoon full of sugar, the medicine went down!"
"This was nothing after Aerith's lemonade," Sora adds.