A/N: Hello, hello! Tempura here with chapter seven. It's time for some action! But before then, allow me to thank the Guest and readingchameleon for leaving reviews, and thank you to everyone who's been following the story so far. Your support is much appreciated.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter.


Re-sketch

Chapter 7: The Third District

"So, what happened while I was out?" Sora asked as they rushed down the stone steps outside of the hotel.

"Not much. We just took you to that room and talked a little," Hikaru said, panting as they ran. All this running and fighting was taking its toll. The elixir had helped a lot, but it couldn't completely restore her strength back to full. She didn't want to run down her potion inventory either, and Yuffie had told her that drinking too much at once could cause a serious stomachache anyway. "They explained the Heartless and the other worlds…" Not that it had offered much comfort. It was like the story Mom used to tell her, but with a nightmarish twist.

"Are you okay?" Sora asked, thumbing his cheek in the same place a faint reddish-purple bruise had already begun to form on Hikaru's face.

"Yeah, just a little sore," Hikaru said. A bit of an understatement, but at least it didn't hurt that much whenever she spoke. They ran through the doors below the hotel, slipping into a dimly lit alleyway that smelled of stagnant water and wet cardboard. They found Leon by a drainage canal, slashing away at those knight-like Heartless.

"Don't bother with the small fry," Leon said, glancing over at them. "With this many Heartless running around, there must be a powerful one lurking nearby. Find the leader!"

"Right!" Sora sliced through one of the helmeted Heartless that jumped for him, a pink crystalline heart rising up from the fading remains and disappearing into the sky. He was getting good at wielding that weapon, Hikaru noted. Probably all the sword fighting he'd done on the islands…

In a way, he reminded her of someone. One of her brothers, maybe. Akihiko? No… More like Tatsuya. Playful and innocent and always trying to smile. Yeah, that sounded about right.

"This way," Sora said, following the canal down the alley. Hikaru hurried after him, swinging her staff and knocking down the Heartless that crept towards her. One lashed out with its claws, scraping at her staff, but it barely left a mark. Hikaru smashed the Heartless into a wall, leaving it to slump over in a daze.

They reached a door, Sora shoving it open and shutting it behind them before the Heartless could reach them. Hikaru hadn't expected it to be a house, but she looked around at the couches and lamps, the curtains at the window, and the coffee table.

"Are we supposed to be in here?" Hikaru asked.

"The dogs don't mind," Sora replied.

"Dogs?"

They passed through a couple rooms before coming out to the piano room where two Dalmatians were watching over a whole pack of faintly-spotted puppies. The puppies rushed over at their approach, stumbling over the carpet and barking their high-pitched and absolutely adorable barks.

"Shortcut through the house," Sora said. "Mr. and Mrs. Radcliffe live here with their dogs. I met them when I was looking around the district.

"That's a lot of puppies," Hikaru said, smiling lightly as the clumsy puppies tumbled over her boots and sniffed at the buckles.

"15 of them," Sora said with a nod.

"Wow, that many?" Hikaru looked to the two Dalmatian parents. She kneeled down, letting them smell her hand. Once she was sure they wouldn't try nipping at her fingers, she checked their collars. Pongo and Perdita were their names.

"It must be a lot to clean up after," Sora said. They left through the front door, Hikaru lingering behind just a moment to pat the two dogs on the head and wave goodbye to the energetic puppies. They wandered into the empty Second District square, weapons ready for anything.

"Nothing here," Hikaru said. "Have any idea where the boss could be?"

"The Third District is somewhere around here," Sora said. "Let's go there."

They hurried through the winding alleyways, Heartless appearing in swirls of darkness and chasing after them. Bucket Heads and Ants, Hikaru had started to call them. Sora slashed through them with his Keyblade, and Hikaru bashed them with her staff. She'd never expected it to be this helpful when she'd picked it up the other day—and it was hard to believe it had been just the other day that she'd nearly fallen off of the tree trying to get a paopu fruit.

"Could I come with you guys?" she'd asked Riku during their conversation on the bridge. But now, everything had changed.

They reached the door after mowing down a line of shadow ants and knights, and they were both panting and exhausted by the time they reached the Third District, a place lit with neon lights and overlooking an empty plaza.

"I don't see anything," Hikaru said.

"Let's go down and get a better look."

They rushed down the stairs, scanning the square for any other Heartless that might appear, or any big bad boss that might decide to make its appearance. But they didn't look up.

"WAAAAAH!"

"W-whoa!"

"What the—OOF!"

Hikaru and Sora were slammed into the ground by the two bodies that fell out of the sky. Dazed and disoriented, Hikaru craned her neck to get a glimpse of the new arrivals. "… What the…?"

The anthropomorphic duck and dog blinked the stars out of their eyes and narrowed in on the Keyblade that Sora still clutched in his hand. "The key!" they exclaimed.

Darkness opened up all around them, spitting out a dozen little knights that closed in on them, twitching and clanking around the square. The duck and the dog jumped off of Hikaru and Sora's backs, pulling out a staff and a shield respectively, while Hikaru and Sora pushed themselves back up to their feet. All four of them backed away until they stood in front of the fountain, weapons out with their eyes on the Heartless.

"Let's take 'em out!" Sora called, thrusting his Keyblade into the air before charging into the fray. Hikaru ran after him, holding her staff low and swinging up, catching one of the Bucket Head knights in the face and sending it flying backwards. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the duck flailing around his staff, and the dog threw his shield like a disc and smacked a Heartless in the face.

One of the Bucket Heads raced forward, pivoting around and slamming into Hikaru's leg. She fell to one knee, pulling her staff up before her as the Heartless jumped at her. It lashed out with its claws, just inches from her face.

"Fire!" the duck shouted, casting a blast of fire that knocked the Heartless away. "Cure!" A faint spring light shined down over Hikaru's head, glowing leaves of light fluttering down around her and fading into nothingness. The pain in her leg faded away too, and the fatigue that weighed down her shoulders lifted. She patted down her body to make sure she was still in one piece. What was that? Was that… magic? Where could she learn to do something like that?

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Y-yeah," Hikaru said, pushing herself back to her feet. "Thank you."

"No problem!"

They worked together to take out the Heartless, bashing them, slashing them, and setting them on fire. One by one the dark creatures fell until the last was finally destroyed in an explosion of black smoke, and Hikaru and the others were left exhausted.

Had they really defeated all of those Heartless? She looked to Sora to see him grinning, like he couldn't believe it either. Well, admittedly she had only taken out a few, and it was mostly the other two who had done the heavy lifting. The duck and the dog exchanged glances with each other, and it seemed like the smiles were infectious.

And then a giant suit of armor crashed into the ground before them, making them scream. It rose up with a clatter, bobbing its body, flexing its claws, and stomping its feet into the ground. Disembodied pieces of purple and black armor floated around, held up by some unseen force, and on its breastplate was a thorny black and red heart symbol like the ones that the Bucket Heads had on their chests.

"Looks like we found the boss!" Hikaru said.

"It looks dangerous," the dog commented, scratching his head.

"It's four against one. Won't be a problem," Sora replied, forcing a confident grin.

"Chaaaaarge!" the duck shouted.

The giant armored Heartless slammed its foot into the ground, the shockwave knocking Hikaru and the dog off of their feet. Sora jumped to avoid the attack, and using the momentum, he slammed his Keyblade into one of the creature's clawed gloves. The duck lingered just out of reach, jumping and ducking to avoid the slashing claws and stomping feet while casting fireballs at the creature's chest.

"Look out!" Hikaru shouted. She scrambled out of the way as the Heartless smashed through the neon lights overhead and sent a shower of sparks and broken glass raining down on them. Electricity burst across the Heartless's metal body, making the floating suit of armor tremble and seize. Hikaru took her chance, turning around and pulling back with her staff. "Take this!" She swung, sending one of the boots hurtling into the other.

"I got it!" the dog cried, swooping in and slamming his shield into the boots. The boots exploded apart with a rush of shadows, and the dog shook out his hand. "Ahyuck, you alright?" he asked, looking to Hikaru.

"Yeah, I'm fine—run!" They sprinted away just as the Heartless slammed its torso into the ground, creating another shockwave that knocked them off their feet once more. "Oh, my head…"

Sora charged, raising his Keyblade over his head and catching one of the hands with it, slamming it into the ground where it exploded into dark wisps. Behind him the other claw came down, aiming to slice through his back, but the duck sent a blast of fire that destroyed the last hand. "It's almost done for!" Sora shouted, backing up and charging once again. He sprang, pulling his arms back to swing, but the armored torso rocked forward, knocking him into the air. He gave a cry, flailing his arms and plummeting fast back towards the ground until he rolled in the air, gripping his Keyblade in both of his hands, and plunged the blade into the chest of the Heartless, right through the black and red emblem.

The armor's helmet shuddered as a crack appeared in the torso, spreading out from the place the Keyblade stuck. The helmet rolled off, slamming hard into the ground without bouncing, and the entire torso shattered into a hundred pieces as a crystalline heart floated from the debris and disappeared into the sky.

"We… we did it," Sora said. "I can't believe it. We beat that giant Heartless!"

"Good job, Sora," Hikaru said, standing up on wobbly legs and helping the dog up. Today just wasn't her day, but she was damn glad she stuck with Sora. "That Keyblade is sure something else."

"The Keyblade!" the duck squawked, snapping to attention. He scrambled over. "That's right! Goofy, we found it!"

"What?" Sora blinked. "Wait, were you looking for me? Or, er, this?"

"Ahyuck, that's right!" the dog nodded.

Footsteps clacked against the ground behind them. "They've been searching for the wielder of the Keyblade too."

"Leon! Yuffie!"

"Nice work dealing with that Heartless," Yuffie said, grinning as she and Leon came down the stairs. "You guys are some team."

"But what do you want with me?" Sora asked, looking to the duck and the dog.

"Our king wanted us to find you," the dog said. "He said that the key would help us figure out the business with those Heartless and the worlds. It's a good thing we found each other when we did, don't you think?"

"Yeah, you guys have great timing," Hikaru said. "But your entrance could've used a little work." Her back still hurt from being the cushion for their fall.

"Sorry 'bout that," the dog said sheepishly. "Those Heartless caught us by surprise."

"Anyway, we found the key," the duck said. "Now we just need to tell the King."

"Hm… How do you suppose we find him?" The dog rubbed his chin as he thought. Then he blinked. "Oh, I know. Why don't you come with us?" he asked, looking to Sora. "We can go to other worlds on our vessel. That way we can stick together, just like the King said to."

"Me?" Sora paused. "Well, I don't know about all this Keyblade stuff, but maybe we can find Kairi and Riku out there somewhere. And your family too," he added, looking to Hikaru.

"Sounds better than just sitting around and waiting," Hikaru said. "I'll back you up, Sora." As best as she could, anyway.

"Sora, go with them," Leon said when Sora seemed to hesitate. "Hikaru too—stick together. Getting out there is your best chance at finding your friends. Plus, you'll be putting that Keyblade to good use."

"Yeah, I guess," Sora muttered, looking down at the giant key. "Well… If there's a chance we'll find everyone again…"

"I'm sure you'll find whoever you're looking for if you come along!" the duck said.

The dog blinked, leaning over to whisper into the duck's ear.

("Do you really think so?")

("Bah, who knows," the duck whispered back. "But we need the key—even if we have to take both of them.")

"But you can't come along looking like that," the duck said, turning back to Sora. "Understand? No frowning. No sad face. Okay?"

"You gotta look funny, like us!" the dog said cheerfully.

"This boat runs on happy faces!"

"Happy?" Sora asked, eyes still facing the floor. He paused, a long moment passing before he lifted his head and made a face that reminded Hikaru of the horror movie they'd watched at Kairi's house. "Uh… er…?" The grin slipped. He looked around at everyone else.

The duck and the dog cracked up laughing as Yuffie stifled her snickers, and Hikaru gave a little snort too. "That's one funny face!" the duck said. "What about you?" he asked, looking to Hikaru.

"Huh? Me?" Hikaru scratched her head. Silly faces were not her forte—not intentionally, at any rate. She crossed her eyes and curled her tongue like a straw with a strained grin.

Now it was Sora's turn to laugh with the others. Hikaru giggled as well, rubbing her sore face. Sometimes laughter was just the pick-me-up a person needed.

"Okay, sure. I'll go with you guys," Sora said, nodding.

"Donald Duck."

"The name's Goofy."

"I'm Sora."

"Hikaru."

"Well, it's good to have you two aboard," Goofy said with a smile. He held his hand out, and Donald mimicked the action. Sora grinned, putting his hand in, and he gestured for Hikaru to step over and do the same. "All for one, and one for all!"

Hikaru could hardly believe that this was happening. Everything seemed like real life and hurt like real life. And these were real people—human and animal—she was speaking to. But it was too surreal—it felt like a dream.

They left the Third District after that, intent on finding somewhere safe to rest. The door that Leon and Yuffie led them through went back to the First District, which seemed a bit more lively than it had before—people lingered out in the square, wandering around to do some shopping or practice their fighting skills. Hikaru watched a strange creature with little bat wings and a red pompom on its head walk past them.

"I'm a little hungry," Sora said. "I didn't get to eat dinner."

"Me neither," Donald said.

"I lost my dinner," Hikaru said. She paused, however, reaching into her bag. "Oh, that's right, I have some fruit. Do you guys want some?" She pulled out the guavas, tossing one each to Sora, Donald, and Goofy. "Yuffie, Leon?"

"I'm fine," Leon said, shaking his head.

"Well, I'll take one if he's not having," Yuffie said cheerfully.

"Leon, Yuffie!"

"Oh, Aerith!" They turned to see a woman in a pink dress running down the steps to greet them. Yuffie waved. "Guys, this is Aerith. Donald and Goofy met her already, I think."

"Hello," the woman said. "I'm glad you all finally found each other."

"Hi, I'm Sora." He grinned.

"I'm Hikaru." She bobbed her head. "Would you like a guava?"

"It's nice to meet you," Aerith said. "And yes, if you don't mind, that sounds delicious."

"Now, you'd better make sure you're prepared for the journey ahead of you," Leon said, crossing his arms as Hikaru handed Aerith the last guava. "We don't know how far the Heartless have spread, but we can say for certain that they're out there."

"Check out the shops here. They've got some pretty neat stuff," Yuffie said. "Cid runs the Accessory Shop. You can get some equipment there. And the Item Shop sells things like potions and ethers for when you run into a tough situation."

"This is from all of us," Aerith said, handing over some munny to Sora. "Use it to stock up on supplies. It might get a little dangerous out there, but I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Good luck," Yuffie said with a grin.

"Look out for each other," Leon added. "If you need any help, just find us." The three walked off, heading towards the Second District.

"They're pretty nice guys," Sora said, lacing his hands behind his head.

"It's good to have allies around," Donald said. "Well, anyway, do you two know any magic?"

"Nope," Sora said, and Hikaru shook her head.

"Magic is strong against certain foes," Donald said. "It's a handy skill to have. If we're going to be fighting off Heartless, why don't I try to teach you something basic?"

Hikaru and Sora exchanged excited looks. "Really?" they said in unison.

"Of course! Now, go stand in front of those crates over there," Donald said, pointing towards an alley were a few broken wooden crates were stacked up. "Clear your thoughts. Imagine that there's a fire inside of you. Imagine your target burning. Then direct it out towards your target and shout 'Fire'!"

Sora closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and pointing his Keyblade out at the crates. Hikaru hesitated before she did the same with her staff—or rather, she tilted her staff forward, as it was a little too big to hold like that. She took a deep breath, imagining a fire somewhere in the pit of her stomach, warm and flickering. When she breathed, it would dance, whip around, try to find a way out.

"Fire!" she and Sora shouted, and while the fire that rushed from their weapons may not have been as impressive as Donald's, it hit the crates and left smoldering marks in the wood.

"Whoa!" Sora said, looking back and forth between his Keyblade and the crates.

Hikaru blinked. "That was easier than I thought it'd be."

"Magic isn't as hard as people think," Donald said. "At least you have the potential. Not bad for a couple of beginners."

"Ahyuck! Well, if we're going over battle moves, I got something to show you too," Goofy said. "If you ever need to dodge out of the way of an attack or something, you have to roll a certain way. Don't wanna hurt your shoulder, right? Watch!" He reared back a bit before, with a bit of momentum, he rolled across the ground and fluidly jumped back to his feet. "Handy, isn't it? How about we practice some?"

Learning the dodge roll was admittedly much harder than learning how to cast a rudimentary Fire spell. Sora caught on pretty quickly, but Hikaru had a hard time getting back to her feet without hurting her shoulder.

"You'll get it soon, just watch," Sora said, helping her up when she landed on her butt for the tenth time.

"Yeah, I guess…"

"I'm still a little hungry," Goofy said. "Do ya think we can get something to eat before we go?"

"That sounds like a splendid idea!"

"Who said that?" Hikaru asked, looking around.

"Jiminy Cricket is the name!" the voice came from somewhere down. Hikaru saw a little cricket wearing a suit and hat standing on the ground before them. "Hello, sorry if I missed anything," the cricket said.

"Gee, Jiminy, we were beginning to wonder where you'd gone off to," Goofy said.

"Sorry, I was making a map of the town for my journal," Jiminy said, holding up a small brown notebook. "So, is one of you the key, then?"

"My name's Sora, and I have the Keyblade," Sora said.

"I'm Hikaru. I'm the Keyblade wielder's backup," Hikaru added.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance," Jiminy said. "Now, for food, I would suggest Café Crossing."

They made their way over to the outdoor café near where Hikaru had first woken up. It wasn't particularly busy, but unlike before it was open and a waitress was wiping down the tables. Inside, someone was playing a standup piano, offering a bit of atmospheric music that floated out through the open window. Hikaru stared at the piano, wondering for a fleeting moment if they would let her play. But then she remembered that it would mean a performance job and her cheeks heated up.

"What time is it?" she asked, turning back to the sky outside.

"Um… Almost midnight," Goofy said.

"Nice night life."

As the waitress walked over to take their orders—they decided on burgers—Jiminy pulled out a pencil and his notebook. "Now, I've been keeping an eye on the Heartless around here. I have the large ant-like creatures down, as well as the helmeted soldiers. Have you seen any others?"

"Well, there was that big suit of armor that attacked us," Sora said.

"Hmm… Maybe we should give them names," Goofy said.

"Names?" Donald asked, raising an eyebrow. "If it helps us keep track of them, I guess."

"I say we call them Shadows and Soldiers," Sora said. "Shadows because those ant-looking ones can sink into the ground like they're shadows. And the others are called Soldiers because they look… like soldiers."

"That beats my name," Hikaru said, cheeks flushing a little. "I was calling those soldiers Bucket Heads."

Donald snickered. "That sure is a silly name!"

"Silly isn't so bad," Hikaru said. "But, no, I like Shadow and Soldier. It's short and easy to remember."

"All in favor of Shadow and Soldier?" Sora asked.

"Hear, hear," came the chorus of replies.

"Then it's settled!" Sora said, nodding. "I wonder what other kinds of Heartless there are out there, though…"

As the waitress approached with their drinks, it almost seemed like a normal dinner between new friends, no worries to encroach on their thoughts. They could talk and laugh and enjoy a good, hearty meal. But Hikaru stirred her soda, watching the fizz pop and bubble to the top, and couldn't keep her mind away from their troubles: missing friends, missing family, a lost world, the horrific news about the Heartless…

"Why are you just sitting around?" The thoughts in her head came like a second voice, like someone breathing over her shoulder, a hiss in her ear.

… And as the conversation lulled and a somber silence fell over the table, Hikaru saw by his darkened expression that Sora couldn't keep his mind off of their troubles either.


"That little runt actually took down that Heartless! Who'd have thunk, eh?" Hades asked as they watched the flickering image on the table before them. "Maybe this'll be interesting."

"You give him far too much credit," Jafar said. "Such is the power of the Keyblade. The child's strength is not his own."

"Then why don't we turn him into a Heartless?" Ursula laughed. "That'll settle things quick enough."

"You forget that the brat's friends are the King's lackeys," Hook snarled. "Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats by the looks of them."

"You're no prize yourself, Cap," Oogie said with a cackle.

"Shut up!" Hook snapped.

"Enough," Maleficent said, gliding over to the table. At once, all chatter fell silent. "Regardless of all appearances, the Keyblade has chosen him. We'll observe for now to see whether or not he and his allies pose any threat to our cause." She allowed herself a careful sneer as she looked at the four illusions standing on the table. The Keyblade bearer, the king's soldiers, and the girl with a broken heart. "Either way, he could be quite useful…"

"And that boy you found in the rising falls?" Jafar asked, glancing over to her.

"He's settling into the castle," Maleficent said, a wide smirk crossing her face. "Perhaps he could be of use to us as well."


Where… Where am I?

The shadowy figure wandered down the darkened hallway, past the glass cases and blue flames.

What happened?

It glided up the steps, following the tendrils of darkness that beckoned it deeper into the hall.

"Don't let go… Don't let go… Don't let…"

It stopped before the heart-shaped gate, looking up at the lights that flashed red, blue, and green.

Where are you…?


A/N: Hmm... Well, isn't this an interesting turn of events?

Fun fact: in the original draft of this story, Hikaru knew about the Disney element of everything going on, because in her world (Earth) they were popular movies as they are to us. This eventually changed because of the storyline in the second game; several of the Disney worlds followed their movie storylines too closely, and it made it hard to draft out Hikaru's role (particularly Port Royal and Pride Lands). Eventually, things were adjusted to remove that aspect of the story. Now Hikaru is just another wandering soul in the world of Kingdom Hearts, set adrift in the wake of disaster and left at the whim of choice and fate.

So, did you enjoy the chapter? I'm working on making edits to the story so it doesn't follow the game's path so closely, though the plotline is largely the same as the game. Challenging to find a balance, and I'm still trying to edit these chapters, but it's pretty fun too. Some of the later chapters are my favorite (no spoilers, but Olympus Coliseum Visit 2 and Neverland stick out in particular) so look forward to that.

I had another little bonus thing for my profile, but it seems like the link isn't working. I'll figure out how to fix that eventually.

Thanks for reading!