Chapter 7

Hinata pushed open the black door that led into the dim lobby of the mechanic shop. She stretched her strained muscles; sore from combat class she had just finished before coming to visit her new friends. A week had passed since she first met the oddball siblings and she had been to see them every day to check up on the progress of her ship. As she walked past the front counter into the large factory beyond she could see bright sparks flying into the air behind a large metal frame in the center of the room.

"Hey Sam!" She called, once she was farther in the room.

The sparks stopped and within seconds, Sam's lavender head popped out from behind the metal with large goggles over her eyes. With a grin, she pulled off her goggles and made her way over to Hinata. "Welcome back, Hinata!" She chimed. "How did practice go today?"

Hinata smiled back and nodded. "Really good. I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of hand-to-hand." She clenched her hand in front of her and chuckled. "Don't tell Amelia that though, she would probably tell Colette to go harder on me."

"Hey, beautiful!" James greeted, walking up with an armful of paperwork. "Always good to see you."

With a sigh, Hinata simply inclined her head towards James with a strained smile. She watched him bring the paperwork to the desk against the wall and asked. "What's all that for?"

Wiping his hands once the papers were down, he told her. "I finished the list of parts we need for your ship."

Hinata's eyes widened. "You need to order that many?"

Sam walked past Hinata and looked over the papers on the desk. "Considering the size of it, this isn't actually that much to order. Plus with all that gold you paid, it will be easy to get all this." With a sigh she looked up and continued. "Now I just need to go into town and find the parts. We might have to end up ordering a few parts from the Space Port."

"Are you going now?" Hinata asked, crossing her arms.

Glancing back at the metal frame in the center of the room, Sam shrugged. "Might as well. I've done all I can with the resources we have."

Hinata nodded, "Alright, I'll come with you if that's alright."

"You sure you don't want to stay here with me?" James asked, stepping forward.

"I think I'll pass." Hinata told him. "For all I know, you would try to turn me being alone with you into some sort of date."

James sighed. "You know me too well." He shrugged. "Can't blame a guy for trying." He looked over at Sam. "Are you sure you want to do it? I don't mind running out to order everything."

Sam shook her head. "Nah, it's fine. I would like to get out of the shop for once." She swept up the papers and straightened the pile, before telling Hinata. "And you're welcome to come along."

Hinata smiled. "Great!" She reached to her side and pulled out her satchel, opening it. "Here, you can stash those papers in here."

"Thanks," She nodded, putting the papers inside. As she pulled back her hands she caught sight of a large book inside the bag. "What book are you reading?" She asked.

Looking inside the satchel, Hinata explained. "Oh it's not really a book. It's more of a photo album of sorts. Now all that most of the gold is gone, it freed up some space and I bring this along with me everywhere I go."

"You bring a picture book with you everywhere?" James asked, crossing his arms. "Why?"

Hinata shrugged, "It's just nice to have I guess. I haven't really thought about it." She closed her bag and swung it back over her shoulder. "You ready then?" She asked Sam.

Nodding, Sam turned to her brother. "Watch the shop while we're gone alright? We shouldn't be too long."

"Alright, sis." He answered. "Be careful."

"I always am!" Sam called behind her, already making her way to the exit of the shop.

Hinata half-smiled at James and waved, before jogging after her new friend. She followed Sam out of the shop into the bright planet outside. The sun was high in the sky at mid-day and the echo of the bustling market could be heard through the alley.

Closing the door behind them, Sam asked. "You didn't bring Jack with you today?"

They began to walk out of the alley and as they moved Hinata shook her head. "No, he's with Doc. They are checking on the progress of the rebuilding of the Benbo Inn."

Sam nodded in response as they continued to walk out of the alley and entered the busy streets of the marketplace. Hinata stayed close behind Sam as she weaved effortlessly through the crowds. Reaching back, Sam grabbed Hinata's arm and pulled her up to be beside her.

"I'll lose track of you if you stay behind me." She told her. "Just watch where you're going and you'll get the hang of it."

"I'll try." Hinata admitted, trying to follow her advice. Various aliens pushed past her, causing her to lose her way a few times before Sam finally linked her arm through Hinata's so they could keep track of each other. "Thanks." Hinata told her once they were together again.

Sam laughed and spoke loudly to drown out the loud surroundings. "You don't have much experience with these large crowds do you?"

Hinata shook her head. "Not really. I've never been somewhere that's filled with so many people."

"What planet are you from that doesn't have a lot of people?" Sam asked, leading the way through the market.

"A really, really far away one." She told her with a chuckle. "I don't think you would even recognize it."

"How did you end up here then?"

"Long story." Hinata said, before being harshly shoved by a large red alien.

She yelped surprised and stumbled forwards, causing her satchel to fall onto the ground. The top of the bag opened and a few of the papers fell onto the busy street. Hinata rushed forward to retrieve them while Sam scolded the alien.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" She yelled, holding out her fist. When the man simply ignored her, she shook her head exasperated and moved to aid Hinata in grabbing the spilled bag contents. She reached down and grabbed the satchel off the street and dusted off dirt from the bottom. The large book inside the bag caught her eye again and she reached her other hand inside to grab it. She stopped herself short when Hinata returned with the papers.

"Got them all, I think." Hinata told her, out of breath. "Sorry, I guess I wasn't paying attention."

Pulling her hand back, Sam smiled and told her. "Don't worry about it, that guy should have been more careful." She waited for Hinata to place the papers back inside the bag before handing her the satchel.

Hinata placed the satchel back onto her shoulder and linked her arm with Sam's again. "Alright, let's keep moving. I'll try to watch where I'm going."

Sam smiled and led the way through the crowds until they finally reached the shop she was looking for. The front of the shop was plastered with colorful posters advertising different sales on ship parts. A tall lanky alien with green fleshy wings on his back stood in front of the shop with a large grin, showcasing his sharp set of teeth.

"Ah, welcome Samantha." He greeted them as the girls approached. "I haven't seen you here in quite some time. I was starting to think your shop had gone finally gone out of business."

"You won't be getting rid of me anytime soon, Lars." Sam retorted, "I'm building a whole new ship. Thanks to this girl, my shop will finally put my family back on the map."

Lars looked over at Hinata and eyed her with his large glassy eye, before asking. "Where would a human get enough gold to commission a custom ship?"

"I keep getting asked that." Hinata noted, not appreciating his tone. "Is it that uncommon for a human to be doing well around here?"

"On Montressor it is." Sam answered her, pulling her into the store and calling behind her. "I just need to buy a few parts, Lars. Can you have them delivered to my shop?"

"Of course, after the payment is paid in full." He replied, returning his attention to attracting more customers.

Sam led Hinata further into the shop; a small brick room, with tools lining the walls awaiting purchase. Across the area was an opened doorway that led outside to a long dirt walkway with larger ship parts spread out along the ground.

"Come on, back here we should be able to find most of the things we need." Sam motioned her head outside. "Can I have the list of parts we need?"

Hinata nodded and reached into her satchel, pulling out the pile of papers. Handing them to Sam she asked. "Does this guy have all the parts we need?"

"If not all of them, he should have most." Sam told her, looking at the list. Checking off a few pieces she spotted she commented. "My dad used to work closely with Lars and he would always save a few extra parts special for him."

"Does he still do that?" Hinata asked.

Sam sighed and shook her head. "No, when my dad left, whatever good connections our shop had were lost. You heard Lars; everyone is just waiting for us to go out of business."

"Things should change now though, right?" She asked.

Nodding, Sam replied. "Yeah…" She checked off a couple more pieces before asking. "So, I've been dying to ask. Why are you buying such a large ship?" She glanced back at Hinata and continued. "I mean, I get that you had all that gold and could get whatever you wanted; but you specifically said you wanted more than one bedroom. What are you planning on doing with the ship when it's done?"

Hinata remained silent for a moment as they continued walking through the parts field, figuring out what to say. When Sam looked back at her, she admitted. "I… I don't really know. I mean, I have places I want to go and people I want to see; but even with this ship I don't really have a way to get to them." She clasped her hands in front of her and finished. "I guess I just want a ship in case I ever get the chance to leave."

Sam stopped walking and turned towards Hinata with a look of confusion plain on her face. "Okay, whatever you just said made absolutely no sense."

"Really?" She asked, her cheeks flushing. "I guess I just don't really know how to explain it."

"Well then, first off, what do you mean you don't have a way to get to the people you want to see?" Sam asked. "If you have that ship you can go anywhere in the galaxy."

"But this isn't the galaxy I want to be in." Hinata cut in.

Sam looked at Hinata in bewilderment. "What?"

Hinata sighed and placed her palm on her forehead. "Look, it's really complicated."

Crossing her arms, Sam offered, "Just tell me, I'll try to keep up."

Eyeing her with uncertainty, Hinata resigned and began explaining. "According to Doctor Doppler there is a barrier around this galaxy, separating it from the rest of the universe. A few months ago the barrier was somehow broken and people could travel freely between this galaxy and the next. Make sense so far?"

Shrugging, Sam admitted. "No, but go on."

Hinata chuckled before continuing. "While the barrier was down, a ship I was on somehow made its way into this galaxy but right around the moment that the barrier was reinstated."

"How?" Sam interrupted. "Why was the barrier down in the first place?"

"There were these creatures called Heartless that were breaking the barriers to different worlds and destroying them." Hinata explained, rubbing the back of her neck. "That's actually what happened to my home planet." Seeing the saddened look Sam gave her, she quickly added. "But anyways, there were these two people, Donald and Goofy; they were going around trying to stop the Heartless. I helped them a little bit to and so did my boyfriend, Riku… well, he sort of did but also didn't… it's complicated."

"Did you guys stop them?" Sam asked.

"I'm not sure." Hinata admitted. "I got into a bad fight and was left unconscious in my ship. Then when I regained consciousness my gummi ship was crashing and my ship's computer told me that the barrier had regained integrity. So I guess that means they stopped the Heartless."

"Damn…" Sam muttered. "Where did you crash?"

Hinata laughed lightly. "Treasure Planet."

Sam's eyes widened as she pieced everything together. "No way! So that's how you met the Treasure Planet expedition?"

Nodding, Hinata told her. "Yeah, I was there for about a month before they showed up and I've been staying with Doc and Amelia ever since."

Sam let out a large breath of disbelief and took a moment to gather her thoughts. "Wait," She said, pointing a finger towards Hinata. "What happened to your boyfriend… uh Riku, I think you said his name was."

Hinata let out a deep breath and clasped her hands together in front of her. "In the other galaxy… I think."

"That's why you want the big ship." Sam pieced together, her voice back to normal tone. "You want to get back to your galaxy to find Riku and your friends."

"And my sister." Hinata mumbled and nodded. "Yeah, but there's no telling when I'll ever be able to get out of here. Doc says that the barrier around this galaxy is back up and I have no way of knowing if it will ever go down again."

"How does he know it's back up?" Sam asked. "Have either of you gone to check?"

"He said that when the barrier was down there were new stars in the sky and now they are gone." She explained. "Plus, I don't really have a way to go check myself."

Placing her free hand to her chin, Sam thought for a moment and suddenly her turquoise eyes lit up. "Okay, I have an idea but I need to finish up ordering the parts."

Hinata gave her a quizzical look but nodded her head in response. She followed Sam around the lot as she check off more parts for the ship. Within the next hour Sam had made her way through the entirety of the list and walked back up to the front of the shop where Lars was still standing.

"I trust you found everything you need?" Lars asked, as he noticed the girls returning to the front of the shop.

"Almost," Sam told him, walking up to his counter with the list of papers in her hands. "I still need a few key electrical parts but I'll just order them from the space port."

"Why not go to one of the shops down the street?" Lars told her, walking behind his counter. "They will be just as surprised as me to see you still in business."

"You kidding me?" Sam snorted. "Those sleazebags charge triple the price they should. I only come here because of dad."

Lars shrugged and took the list from Sam, to see all the parts she was going to purchase. "I'll have these delivered to the shop by tomorrow morning." He told her once he was done transferring the data. "Of course, that's if you really can pay for them."

Sam reached into a small zipped up bag on her belt and with her hand clenched; she dropped a pile of gold bars on the counter. "I trust this will cover it."

Lar's glassy eye widened as he stared at the gleaming treasure in front of him. He looked up at Hinata and asked. "Where did you get this?"

"My business." Hinata strained a smile. "Will it work?"

He eyed her, still unsure, but reluctantly nodded. "Yes, it will do. I'll have everything delivered tomorrow."

"Thanks." Sam told him shortly before turning away and waving. "See ya then."

Lars didn't respond as he reached and snatched up the gold from the table, stuffing it into his pocket. Hinata glanced back at Lars, but then fully turned around to follow Sam.

"Is there anywhere else we need to stop?" She asked Sam, jogging up to be beside her.

Sam shook her head, "Nah, I can order the pieces I need from the Space Port from the shop. So we can head back now."

Hinata smiled, "Cool. Now what was that idea you mentioned earlier?"

Smirking, Sam told her. "You have to wait until we get back to the shop."

"Oh, fine." Hinata sighed, lightly nudging Sam's shoulder.

They quickly walked back through the busy crowds, making their way to the alley. Within a few minutes they were back at the shop and Sam pulled the door open. As they entered the lobby, they saw James sitting bored at the front desk. Hearing the door open, he perked up and his turquoise eyes immediately lit up when he saw the girls walk in.

Jumping up from his seat he jogged over to them and greeted, "Welcome back!" Placing his hand on Sam's head, he asked. "Did you find everything you needed?"

Sam giggled and waved her brother's hand away. "Almost; Lars had a lot of the big stuff but I still need to order some of the smaller electrical parts from the Space Port."

He nodded and looked over to Hinata with a sweet smile and a wink but didn't say anything to her. Turning around, he motioned his hand towards the factory room beyond the lobby. "Things have been pretty quiet around here. We did get a call for a small job from Jenkins."

"Did his battery die again?" Sam sighed in exasperation. "I keep telling him that he needs to buy a better quality one…"

"So… the plan?" Hinata spoke up, reminding Sam.

"Jeez you're impatient!" Sam laughed, before jogging into the factory. "Alright, wait here while I get it ready."

"Get what ready?" James asked as Sam ran off.

"She won't tell me." Hinata informed him. "She says she has some sort of plan to help me out."

"Help you out with what?" He asked, before smirking. "Are you having guy trouble? Cause I could always help you out with that."

Hinata sighed. "I'm sure you could. But no, not guy problems."

"I'm still waiting for you to bring your so called 'boyfriend' here." He crossed his arms. "For all I know you just made him up to get me off your case."

With a chuckle, Hinata replied. "I promise you, I didn't make him up. We aren't exactly in the same place right now."

"Long distance then, huh?" He concluded. "Jeez, that must be tough. I had one of those once; didn't last long."

Hinata nodded and sighed. "I'll admit it hasn't been easy…" A small smile crept onto her face as she admitted. "But he's worth it."

James noticed her smile and his cheeks lightly blushed. With a small laugh under his breath he muttered. "He must be some guy."

"What?" She asked.

"Oh, uh, nothing…" He stammered before remarking with a smirk. "I was just thinking that you look beautiful when you smile; even more than usual."

Hinata scoffed. "Oh please, you never quit do you?"

"I can't help it!" James laughed, before examining her face. "That shiner you got last week seems to have cleared up."

Hinata reached up and lightly touched her face. "Yeah, it still hurts a little when I touch it, but the bruise is finally gone."

James smiled and nodded. "Well good. I still can't believe you're learning hand-to-hand. Does your long-distance boyfriend know about it?"

With a laugh, she informed him. "About hand-to-hand, no; but we used to spar together with swords. So he knows I can fight."

"Sparring?" He repeated, before smirking. "Did you just get into it so you could get close to him?"
Hinata glared up at him and bit. "What? Of course not! I've been into sword fighting my whole life. I didn't even meet Riku until I was fifteen."

James put up his hands in surrender. "Yikes, okay I'm sorry; didn't mean to hit a sore spot. It's just you don't meet many girls who know about swords."

Crossing her arms and letting out a breath, Hinata nodded. "It's fine, sorry; I didn't mean to blow up like that."

They stood in an awkward silence for a couple minutes until James spoke up. "So, his name is Riku?"

Hinata glanced over at James and smiled. "Yeah"

"What's this Riku like?" He asked, leaning against the lobby desk.

Hinata opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by Sam. "Okay! It's ready!" She called from the factory.

James and Hinata shrugged and each other and walked out of the lobby to meet up with Sam. They entered the vast room where they saw Sam waving them over past the large trench in the center of the area. Once they finally reached her, she stood in front of a metal ship. It was small in stature, only enough room to fit four people at the most. It seemed to be a mishmash of parts from different ships all put together to form a single vessel.

"Ta-dah!" Sam exclaimed, pointing towards the ship. "This is my very own custom ship. The first one I ever built."

Hinata looked it over as James crossed his arms and looked quizzically at Sam. "Why are you showing her this, Sam?"

Taking a couple steps forward teeming with excitement, she explained. "Hinata needs to check the galaxy border but doesn't have a way to get there; so why not use my ship?"

James put his arms down and cried out. "What? Are you crazy?"

"You would really do that?" Hinata asked, turning towards Sam. "I mean, wouldn't it take a really long time to even get there?"

Sam rushed over to a nearby deck and rolled out a large piece of paper on top. Hinata went to her side to see that a map was printed on it. It was a large circle with a grid over the top and small circles speckled inside.

Pointing to a small circle near the left edge of the map, Sam explained. "This is Montressor," Moving her finger to the edge of the large sphere map she continued. "If I had to guess, this edge represents the barrier you were talking about. I've never gone there myself because I never really had a reason or care to… but now."

"How long would the trip take us?" Hinata asked, getting excited.

"On a regular ship, probably a few weeks," She informed her, before quickly adding. "But with my homemade-girl we could get there and back again in a week tops."

"Really?" Hinata asked.

"It looks small, but the engines and power-plant were taken off an old capitol warship." Sam explained quickly, motioning her head towards her ship. "Doesn't leave a lot of room inside, but this thing has got some crazy power behind it."

"Wait, seriously," James interrupted, grabbing Sam's arm and pulling her to face him. "There is no way you are going out on that thing." Sam was about to object as she glared up at him, but he continued. "Neither of us has flown without dad coming along."

"Well dad isn't here anymore!" Sam bit, pulling away her arm. "He left us remember?" Motioning her hand towards Hinata, who was standing uncomfortably in silence, Sam pointed out. "We finally get someone who can turn our lives around and she needs help! I'm going to do everything I can to help."

"He didn't just leave Sam, you know that." James responded, trying to stay calm. "What if the same thing that happened to dad happens to you and Hinata, huh? Pirates are all over this quadrant and that ship of yours doesn't even have a plasma cannon." Placing his hand on Sam's shoulder he softly told her. "I don't want anything to happen to you, sis."

Sam glared and pushed her brother's hand off of her. "I'm tired of just sitting here, scared that pirates or something is going to kill us if we ever go outside! This ship has just been sitting here since dad helped me build it. It's never gone out for a flight once! I live here working on all these ships but never get to fly them. Do you have any idea how irritating that is?"

"Sam…" James started.

"No, I'm going to take this ship out to the border." She cut him off. "And if pirates really do attack that's fine; beats staying in this hell-hole the rest of my life!" With that, she abruptly turned around and stormed off.

James sighed once she was out of sight and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "She can really be hotheaded sometimes."

"James…" Hinata started. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to get in the way."

Glancing over at her, James half-smiled and told her. "Don't worry, maybe she's right. It's been almost a year since dad died; maybe it is time for us to leave. Sam can handle herself on a ship…" He took a deep breath. "I just don't think I could handle losing someone again. I know my mom definitely couldn't."

"Look, we won't go anywhere." Hinata shook her head, "I'll find some other way…"

"No, you two should go." James interrupted. "I might not like it, but Sam belongs in space. She was born to fly. Keeping her grounded is only going to make things worse."

Hinata smiled. "Thanks."

James smiled back and they stared at each other in silence for a moment before James cleared his throat and asked. "So, why exactly are you wanting to go to the galaxy border? I'm not even sure that type of thing exists."

Rubbing the back of her neck, Hinata explained. "It's a long story. Basically, I'm not from this galaxy and I landed on Treasure Planet by mistake; but even that I'm back in civilization I still can't go back to my galaxy because the borders are back up. So Sam suggested we go check to make sure the borders are actually up." She paused for a moment before asking. "Did that make any sense?"

With a laugh, James shook his head. "Not a word."

Hinata joined in laughing and shrugged. "Yeah, well like I said, long story."

"Wait a second," He turned to face Hinata. "Where is Riku then? Is he in another galaxy?" When Hinata reluctantly nodded, he sighed. "Yikes, that's really long distance."

Hinata laughed bitterly. "Yep, I wasn't kidding."

"And you're going to wait for him?" He asked in near disbelief.

"What do you mean?" She asked, giving him a confused look.

"I mean, he's in a completely different galaxy," He explained. "If that border thing you were talking about really is up… then how are you going to get back to him?"

Hinata tightly clasped her hands in front of her and admitted. "I'm not sure. I guess I'll just wait for when the borders go down again."

"Does that type of thing happen often?" He asked, "I've never even heard of this border."

With a deep sigh, Hinata explained. "According to Doctor Doppler, the first time it happened was several months ago. It was down for almost a year, but then three months ago it just closed up again. And that's how I got here."

"Like the first time happening in history?"

"That's been recorded… yes." She admitted.

"How do you know if it's ever going down again?" He asked.

Wrapping her arms uncomfortably around herself, she confessed. "…I don't."

"So you could potentially be stuck here forever…" He pieced together. "How long are you going to hold onto this Riku then?"

"I don't know why it matters." Hinata replied, small bits of anger lacing into her voice.

"Well, you're still really young to be linked to one guy the rest of your life." He told her, crossing his arms. "Especially a guy you probably won't see again."

"Could we stop talking about this?" Hinata pleaded, "I really don't want to think about it right now."

James sighed, "Yeah, sorry, I got a little carried away. I just don't want you to get hurt, pining for some guy that…"

"James, stop." She cut him short. "I'm not your sister or some girlfriend. In fact, we are barely friends; so this isn't really a subject of my life that you should even have any say in." She turned around, about to leave; but she clenched her fists and told him. "And Riku isn't just some guy, he's…" Tears threatened to well up in her eyes, but she shook her head and muttered. "Gah, just forget it. I'll be back tomorrow morning to leave with Sam."

"Hinata, I'm sorry," James reached forward and gently grabbed her arm. "I didn't mean to upset you. I didn't realize just how important Riku was to you. I'll drop it from now on, I promise."

Brushing his hand off her arm, she whispered. "Thank you." Without looking back at him, she walked away and left the shop.

She hurried back to Doc and Amelia's home in silence. Barely paying mind to the busy market place and surrounding people as she walked. Soon she reached the long stone walkway that led to the large mansion like home. She breathed a sigh of relief as she pushed the large doors open to reveal the warm fireplace aflame in the study; with the soft murmur of friendly voices chattering away further inside. Placing her satchel on the floor next to the front door and taking off her shoes, Hinata could hear Jack's faint bark as he realized she was home. Within seconds her small ghost dog was floating towards her bobbing up and down with his tail wagging rapidly behind him. He bombarded her with happy dog kisses and she waved him away with a giggle.

"It's good to see you too, boy." She whispered to him, scratching behind his ears.

"Hinata, my dear, is that you?" Doppler called from the other room.

"Yeah," She called back, "I'll be right there."

"There's a fresh pot of tea in the kitchen if you are interested!" Amelia informed her.

"Of course there is," Hinata quietly chuckled to herself as she made her way to the kitchen with Jack in tow.

She poured herself a small glass of tea and carefully carried it to the study. As the entered the warm room she saw Doppler and Amelia sitting next to each other on the couch across from Sarah, who was sitting in a velvet armchair with a small blanket around her shoulders. Her long brown hair was done in a bun behind her head and her tired blue eyes brightened as she saw Hinata enter the room.

"Miss Hawkins," Hinata greeted with a smile. "It's good to see you."

"Oh Hinata, I've told you to call me Sarah." She smiled warmly. "Did you have a nice day?"

Sitting down on the couch next to Amelia, Hinata slightly shrugged. "I suppose you could say that, it was pretty eventful." She took a sip of her tea before asking. "How is the rebuilding of the Benbo Inn coming along?"

"Great, actually," She smiled. "It should be up and running within a month."

"That's amazing," Hinata replied, taking another drink. "It's only taking a little over three months to completely rebuild it?"

"Well, with the amount of gold Jim was able to pay, we were able to get it built quicker than usual." Doppler explained. "Speaking of Jim, will he be getting shore leave from the Interstellar Academy for the reopening?"

Sarah nodded, "Yes, thanks to Amelia, he is getting a full month leave to help out with the reopening."

"Great!" Hinata chimed. "I haven't seen him in a while. That will give us some time to catch up. Where is Ben by the way? I've barely seen him these past couple of weeks."

"He has been working away at the Inn." Sarah explained. "He has been incredibly helpful with getting the building plans worked out and organizing where things go."

Hinata chuckled, "It's amazing all he can do now; now that he has his mind again."

Sarah laughed, "Yes, he talked about that a lot."

"Oh, Hinata," Amelia spoke up, changing the subject. "I have been meaning to tell you, Colette will be gone on a mission starting tomorrow. She'll be gone for seven days so we will have to temporarily pause your combat training."

Hinata's eyes lit up, "Actually that works perfectly."

"How so?" Doppler asked.

Placing her tea cup on a nightstand, Hinata tried to find the right words to explain. "Well… you know how I've been getting a custom ship built with the gold I got from Treasure Planet?" When the others nodded she rubbed her hands together uncomfortably and continued. "Well, Sam, the girl who's building it, found out about how I'm not really from around here. And she suggested that we take a trip to the galaxy border to see if it really is… you know, closed."

The crackling fire was the only sound filling the room once Hinata finished explaining.

"And this Sam… is she trustworthy?" Doppler spoke up, after a few moments of silence.

Hinata nodded, "Yeah, her and her brother run their shop by themselves and I've been going to see them every day this past week. She ordered the parts for my ship, but some of them are going to take a while to get to her so she suggested we take one of her ships to the border while they get in. She says it should only take a week to get to the border and then back here again."

Worry was plain on Sarah's face, but she remained silent, knowing it wasn't her place to cut in. Amelia and Doppler exchanged glances, seemingly having their own silent conversation while Hinata waited in anticipation for their thoughts.

"If you think you can trust Sam and are ready for it, I think you should." Doppler nodded his head.

"Really?" Sarah spoke up. "I must say Delbert; you have really changed since returning from that trip."

Doppler chuckled, "Yes, it was quite the life-changing experience; but I know that returning home is one of Hinata's top priorities." He looked over at Hinata. "And even though I think the border to this galaxy has regained integrity I cannot be certain. As a result, going to check for yourself is a valid reason to go on this trip."

Hinata smiled warmly at Doppler and inclined her head. "Thank you. That really means a lot to me."

The rest of the night went on in a relaxing tone. Sarah stayed for dinner and they continued to chat by the fire until the sun had set. As the stars began to appear in the sky, Sarah sighed, "I suppose I should be getting home. There is a lot to be done at the Inn tomorrow." She got up from her seat and asked. "Hinata, this just came to mind, but I was wondering if you had any experience with waitressing."

Hinata shook her head. "No, actually I have never had a job before. Why?"

"Well, with the Benbo being rebuilt I thought it might be a good idea to hire a few extra hands to work." She explained. "If you end up having to stay on Montressor, I wanted to offer you a job at the inn."

"Really?" She asked before replying, "Oh… thank you. I guess I've never really thought about it; but a job probably would come in handy." She looked up at Sarah, "I'll think about it."

"Alright," Sarah smiled.

"I'll drive you back on the carriage." Doppler told Sarah, grabbing his coat, "Let me just get Delilah ready to go." He left the room and hurried to a back door that led to his garage.

As he left, Sarah walked over to Hinata and asked in a quieted tone. "I don't mean to pry Hinata, but Delbert mentioned that you have been having trouble sleeping."

Hinata's cheeks lightly flushed as she admitted. "Yeah, a little bit; but Doc got me some medication and it's really been helping."

Sarah smiled. "I'm glad. I had a similar problem after Jim's father left."

"Really?" she asked. "How did you get past it?"

"I still haven't if I'm honest." She confessed with a sad smile. "The important thing to remember is to keep moving forward. Things will always get better, no matter how bad they get." She laughed under her breath. "Jim is a living testimony to that. The young man he was before he left on that expedition would be unrecognizable today." She placed her hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Basically, what I'm trying to say is that whatever happens, you can't lose hope that things will change for the better."

Hinata smiled and placed her hand over Sarah's. "Thanks."

"Alright, the carriage is ready if you are ready to depart." Doppler spoke up, entering the study again.

"Yes, I'll be right there." Sarah responded before removing her hand from Hinata's shoulder. "Be careful on your trip Hinata."

"I will be." Hinata told her with a smile.

With that, Sarah turned and followed Doppler out of the home. Hinata listened to the wheels on the carriage bump along the stone road as it sped away. She let out a long breath once it was gone and turned around to see Jack fast asleep on Amelia's rounded stomach as she sat on the couch.

Hinata walked forward and stifled a laugh. "Sorry, I'll make him move."

Amelia chuckled, "No need, I'm not planning on moving any time soon; so his company is most welcome."

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"The children are definitely active." Amelia told her with a smile, running her hands along the sides of her stomach. "I can barely believe there are four of them in here."

"Me neither." Hinata sighed. "If it's alright with you, I think I am going to go pack my things for tomorrow's trip. If you need anything I'll be in my room."

Amelia simply smiled and nodded as Hinata turned around to head up the stairs. She pushed open her bedroom door and immediately plopped down on top of her bed. Taking a deep breath, she finally allowed herself to relax from the long day. After several minutes of silence, she sat up and looked around the bare room. She reluctantly got up and went to her dresser; grabbing whatever clothes she had inside, even though they only amounted to three separate outfits. Putting them under her arm, she then grabbed her journals on her desk and a few extra pens. Once her arms were full she placed everything on top of the bed and made her way out of the room to grab her satchel that was still downstairs. She opened her bag as she reentered her room and began folding her clothes to put inside; stuffing them at the bottom. She took out her Journey Journal to make more room for the clothes and glanced at the cover before setting it down to continue packing. Once all the clothes and journals were stuffed inside, she closed the bag and once again sat on top of the comforter. She reached over and grabbed her Journey Journal as she leaned onto her back. Holding the book above her she began going through the pages. She had seen the pictures dozens of times; but she always felt a small rush of comfort whenever she saw her friends' faces. She stopped at a picture of Kairi and slightly frowned.

"I really hope you're doing alright Aiko." She whispered, "I wish I had realized who you were when we were together." She looked over at Riku next to her in the picture and sighed. "And I wish I knew where you were."

She glanced over at her bedside table and caught sight of a small plastic container. Sitting up, she reached over to the container and pulled it towards herself to see three berries sitting at the bottom. They were the only remaining berries she had kept from Treasure Planet. They stayed at her bedside, but she had refrained from eating them. She looked at them almost every night but Riku's warning kept ringing through her head every time she considered the thought of eating one. With a sigh, she put the container back on the night table and instead got up from the bed to head towards the bathroom. She took a steaming shower and when she was dressed in her pajamas, she grabbed a small white bottle of pills. Opening the container, she plopped two of the blue pellets into her palm and tossed them into her mouth before quickly swallowing them. She kept the bottle in her hand as she exited the bathroom and went back to her room; placing it into her satchel once she was there.

Looking one more time through the Journey Journal, she felt her eyes get heavy and soon drifted off into a nightmare-less sleep.

The following morning, she was up before the sun had completely risen. Jack was at the foot of her bed, having gone up to her sometime in the night. Hinata yawned as she stretched and got out of the bed. She patted Jack on his back, causing him to reluctantly awaken.

"Hey, sleepy head," She whispered, kneeling down to his level. "I'm going on a weeklong trip with Sam. Did you want to come along?" Jack immediately perked up and barked happily, causing Hinata to laugh as she stood. "I see that you're just as eager to get out of here as I am."

Jack yawned but then quickly floated up to be beside Hinata. Grabbing her stuffed bag, Hinata swung it over her shoulder and then reached to grab her Journey Journal. She opened her bag and squeezed it inside. Then she went over to her desk where her gauntlets and the black chained necklace lay.

She picked up one of her gauntlets. "I doubt I'll need my hook shot on this trip. But maybe I should bring them anyways…" Shrugging, she placed her gloves over her hands and looked down at the necklace. "We'll get that charm put on a collar for you when we get back, alright?" She told Jack, getting him to bark in response.

Heading out of the bedroom she got herself ready for the day and grabbed a few more essentials to pack before getting ready to head out the door. She rushed down the stairs to get a quick breakfast and found Doppler and Amelia already having their morning tea.

"Good morning," She chimed to them.

"My, you are quite chipper this morning." Amelia noted with a smile.

Hinata giggled. "Yeah, I haven't done anything really exciting in a few months. And who knows, maybe the border is down and I can go home!"

Amelia and Doppler exchanged glances. "Now Hinata," Doppler got up from the couch and walked over to Hinata. "I don't mean to be discouraging; but perhaps it may be wise to not have high expectations for this."

Stopping mid-walk, Hinata admitted. "I know Doc, you're right. I just can't help myself. It would be so nice..."

"I understand." He agreed. "Just… try not to be too disappointed if it's still up. If it is, we will find another way to get you back." Placing his hand on Hinata's shoulder he assured her. "I promise."

Taking a deep breath, Hinata nodded. "Thank you. I will try." Going back to being cheerful she added, "And who knows, even if it is still up; starting a new journey isn't so bad. I mean, going on a weeklong space adventure is pretty awesome!"

Doppler chuckled, "Yes, I suppose there is that. Do you need anything before you head out?"
Hinata shook her head. "No, I mean I don't think so."

"You should bring some food." Amelia called from the study. "Even if this Sam had food, it would be civil to bring your own as well."

"Well alright then, I guess I need some food." Hinata shrugged with a grin.

Doppler nodded and headed to the kitchen with Hinata in tow. Once there, he began packing various items for her inside a large black cooler. She helped him pick a few things, particularly things she found to be tasty.

"It's good to see you in a positive mood." He commented, as he placed a few pieces of fruit in the cooler.

Hinata nodded, "It's nice to feel this way again for once."

"Is Jack tagging along with you?" He asked ducking as Jack rapidly whizzed around the room.

Laughing, Hinata reached up and snatched Jack's tail, causing him to slow to a stop. "Yeah, sorry he's a little excited."

Doppler smiled and then slightly frowned, "Are you sure you'll be alright? Traversing space with someone you barely know?"

Hinata smiled reassuringly. "I am; I need to see this border for myself and Sam is actually a great person. I'm surprisingly looking forward to getting to know her a little bit better."

"Is her brother coming along as well?" He asked.

Hinata scoffed, "Not if I have anything to say about it." She broke into a chuckle. "But if he does, that will be fine too."

"Well alright," He nodded. "I wish you safe travels."

"Thanks." She smiled before remembering, "Oh, I better go say good-bye to Amelia." She rushed to the study to see Amelia sipping her steaming tea.

Amelia lightly laughed when she saw Hinata coming towards her. "My goodness, you are akin to a child on Christmas morning!" She placed her teacup on a nightstand and pushed herself to stand. She reached out and attempted to give Hinata a short hug; but her round stomach got between them. She laughed and looked down at her stomach. "I suppose I will have to hug you at a later date."

Hinata stifled a laugh. "I hope everything goes well here while I am gone. Make sure not to overdo it."

"I will try my best." She smiled back at Hinata, before lowering herself back down to the couch. "Do be on alert on your travels. Space can be a dangerous place."

"I will, I promise." Hinata assured her. "Well, I best be off then."

Amelia waved and returned to her tea as Hinata turned to head back to the kitchen. Doppler closed the lid of the cooler before handing it over to Hinata as she entered the room.

As she grabbed it from him he asked, "So, I don't mean to pry; but have you considered that Sam might be a good person to talk to about everything that's happened?"

Hinata balanced the container in her hands and nodded. "I've thought about it. I mean, she's willing to go to the end of the galaxy to help me out with something; so I think she would be willing to listen… I feel like I'm about ready to talk about everything."

"I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that." He responded, turning to walk with her towards the door. "It's good to see you on the road to recovery. Those sleeping pills seem to be helping as well… are you bringing them along?"

"They have been helping." Hinata told him. "And yeah, they are in my bag. Last thing I want is to wake up screaming and scare the living daylights out of my new friend." She laughed as Doppler opened the front door. She stopped and looked outside as the sun began rising into the sky. With a sigh she said. "Well, I guess I'm off then."

Doppler smiled. "I wish you safe travels. And I hope everything goes well."

Hinata smiled and glanced over at Jack, who was floating next to her. "Thanks Doc. We'll be back in a week."

Readjusting the cooler in her hands, she left the home and made her way outside. The cool morning air brushed past her bare arms as her and Jack walked down the long stone pathway. They walked in silence, enjoying the early morning and soon approached the market place. It was early enough in the day that the usually busy streets were only filled with a handful of aliens; most of them making their way to their shops to open for that day's business. Without trouble, they turned into the brick alley and found the old mechanic shop. Hinata struggled to open the door as she tried to balance the cooler in her arms. Finally getting it open, she walked into the lobby to find James sitting at the front desk leaning forward on the wooden top; seemingly asleep.

Hinata stifled a laugh as she approached and placed the cooler on top of the desk. She rubbed her hands together and glanced towards the back factory room to see if she could spot Sam. Jack went straight to James and floated around him, going forward and lightly licking his cheek.

James sleepily smiled and quietly moaned as he waved Jack away, before mumbling. "Hinata, stop."

Hinata's cheeks immediately flushed and without thinking she shoved James's shoulder, causing him to fall off his stool. Awaking abruptly, he yelped in surprise as he suddenly lost his balance and tumbled to the floor.

Scrambling to his feet, he glared at Hinata. "What was that for?"

"Pleasant dreams?" She asked, uncomfortably taking a couple steps back.

His eyes widened and his cheeks burned with embarrassment. Rubbing the back of his neck, he stammered, "Y-yeah, they were alright." Glancing over at Hinata, he asked. "I wasn't talking in my sleep, was I?"

Averting her eyes, she avoided his question and asked. "Is Sam awake?"

They stood in an awkward silence until James shook his head. "What? Oh… uh, yeah. She's waiting for an order from Lars."

"Alright," She shortly replied, reaching to grab her cooler.

"I'll take care of that for you," James told her, leaning his hands forward.

Seeing him approaching, Hinata abruptly retracted her hands and took a couple steps back. "Okay, fine. Make sure that gets on Sam's ship." She told him, before scurrying past to head into the lobby. "I wish Riku were here." She whispered to Jack as they made their way into the factory. "He would set James straight." She smirked at the thought.

They continued walking, until they passed the large trench in the center of the room and approached large wooden boxes stacked around an open garage door that led outside. Hinata placed her hand on one of the nearby boxes and looked around the area.

"Ah, there you are!" Same greeted, popping up from one of the crates. "Are you ready for our adventure?"

Hinata grinned, "Sure am! I can't wait."

Sam jogged up to her and patted Jack on the head, before commenting. "Hey, thanks for talking to James after I stormed off yesterday. If it hadn't been for you he might not have had a change of heart to let me even take the ship out today."

"I didn't really say much." Hinata admitted.

"Well whatever you said worked." She told her. "And for that, I'm grateful." She looked Hinata over and asked. "Is that satchel all you brought?"

Hinata nodded, "Well this and a large cooler full of food. Amelia insisted I bring some along, just in case."

"Great, I didn't buy a lot of extra food, so that will help." She replied, before asking. "Where's the cooler?"

Pointing behind her, Hinata answered. "Back in the lobby… Your brother isn't coming along is he?"

"Nah, at least I didn't invite him." She told her, shaking her head. "Why, did he do something?"

"Oh, it's nothing…" Hinata told her.

Sam shrugged, "If you say so." She motioned her hand towards the large crates around them. "I just need to sign off these parts from Lars and then we can get ready to go."

"Great!" Hinata beamed, smiling over at Jack.

With a skip in her step, Hinata turned and began to walk towards the ship she and Sam were about to embark on. Jack floated beside her in excitement, ready to face the new adventure.

*** Author's Note: Hi everyone! I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Just to let everyone know, in the Kingdom Hearts Timeline we are in the middle of 358/2 Days. When Hinata was on Treasure Planet we passed through the Chain of Memories (Riku and Sora were only there for about a month... what did they eat while they were there? I've always wondered) Anyways, I wanted to thank you guys for being patient as Hinata goes through this time. I don't want to give much away, but I promise that we will be getting into the thick of Kingdom Hearts again very soon. I am looking forward to it just as much as you guys are I'm sure. If we are feeling impatient, imagine how Hinata must feel! Anywho... thank you guys for reading! Let me know what you think! ***