Aaand we're back! So, I'd say it's time for a well-deserved break, wouldn't you say? Yes, this chapter is a little bit shorter than the others have been so far, but it is a breather episode, so what do you expect?

In any case, I hope you enjoy it all the same! :)

Obligatory Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs.


Reconciliation

I slumped back into the chair, letting out a deep sigh as I ran through everything that had transpired in the last hour once more.

When the darkness had vanished, we'd all somehow found ourselves back on the ship. Getting our bearings hadn't been easy and what exactly had happened to us remained an elusive mystery, but it was agreed that we were all indeed still alive and kicking. The engineers, Chip and Dale, as I'd been informed, had sent out a message to Hollow Bastion at Sora's behest in order to clarify if everything was okay, and we thankfully got a reply only three minutes after that. According to someone named Leon, the Heartless army had withdrawn and the Nobodies, though still present, were far from numerous. In short, everything was fine, which took a huge load off of my chest. Everyone else's too, I'm sure.

Now everyone was off doing their own thing, most likely along the lines of getting patched up, eating, and/or resting. Something we all desperately needed. I'd retreated back to the small passenger deck once I'd snagged a couple of protein bars, since it was familiar and fairly out of the way so no one would bother me. Yes, I was alone. Mari had pretty much dropped off to sleep as soon as she hit the first chair she'd found, evidently far more tired than any of us had first thought. Which was good, for both her and me. I wanted some alone time to think.

I guess it hadn't really been addressed yet, but so far I hadn't heard any talk from the trio about dropping me or Mari back off in Hollow Bastion. Whether that was a good or bad thing remained to be seen. Especially since two of them were still upset with me . . .

With another sigh, I propped my legs onto the back of the chair in front of me, leaning back and holding up my right arm so it was silhouetted in the light above my head. The bracelet I wore hung there inoffensively, silver chain clinking softly as I moved.

And here's your start.

The boy's infuriatingly confounding words echoed through my head. Just what the hell did he mean when he said that? Obviously something to do with my bracelet, but what about it? If it had some sort of weird magical powers, I was pretty sure I would have noticed by now.

Hm, but what is it if it isn't magical and it has to do with something else? I thought, racking my mind for anything that could fit that description, Lets see. It's a fairly standard bracelet made of a silver chain. It has nothing on it except for the anvil charm.

My eyebrows furrowed. Could that have something to do with it? The anvil? Sitting back up so the light could hit it and bringing it closer to my face, I used my other hand to carefully hold out said charm in order to examine it. It was the same little emblem I'd always seen, a black anvil on a bronze plate. I turned it around, turned it back again, ran my fingers around the sides, but the only thing I got for my troubles was another headache. Aside from being a strange accessory for a girl, I couldn't find anything else that would point to it being unnatural.

Leaning back against the chair again, I blew a strand of hair out of my face and went back to ruminating, I've had it for only six months. Six months isn't very long, and I doubt the number is important, so what else? My mom was the one who gave it to me-

My thoughts crashed into each other like train cars on a broken track.

My mom. My mom. My MOM! Of COURSE! My mom was the one who gave me the bracelet in the first place! That boy had had a bracelet just like this one! I had never seen him before, but he clearly seemed to know my mom!

I slumped back into the chair, mouth hanging open as if I'd just been winded. Holy crap, was my mom part of some secret society, and the bracelet was their tell?!

Pulling my legs off the chair in front of me, I leaned forward and braced my forehead against the back, hands on either side of my head as I clutched the smooth edge in a tight and forceful grip.

Okay, okay, calm down. Calm down, and just think! I thought hastily, forcing my quickening breath to even out, Okay, so, my mom may have been involved with something a lot bigger than I originally thought. A lot bigger. But what? And . . . would it be the reason why she left? Was she . . . trying to protect me? But if she was, then why would she give me her bracelet? And why wouldn't she tell me about it? About any of this?!

Irritation, worry, and confusion were starting to take a toll on my psyche, and with a deep, deep intake of breath and an equally deep exhale, I forced myself to sit up straight and relax.

I stared blankly at the wall for a few moments before stoically saying, "Nope, not working."

And then I slammed my forehead against the chair once more, covering my face with my hands as I let out a frustrated groan.

That boy . . . that boy had the answers. If only I knew where he was now. My hands fell from my face and I snorted when a bitter insight hit me. Even if I did manage to corner him and ring his skinny little neck, he still probably wouldn't tell me. I 'wasn't ready', according to him.

What's your Keyblade's name?

My eyes narrowed at the remembered words. My eyes trailed to my right hand, and I slowly flexed my fingers. My Keyblade's name . . .

See? You just proved my point. To not even know such a basic bit of information like that means you aren't ready.

"Tch," I muttered, disheartened with everything at this point, "I don't get any of this."

Sitting up again, I braced my elbow against the seat and ran my fingers through my hair, sighing, "I don't get any of this at all . . . "

"Erm . . ."

I sat up so fast I almost threw my back out, head snapping to the door.

I relaxed when I saw Sora shuffling uneasily in the threshold, apparently undecided about entering or not. Realizing I'd seen him, he awkwardly waved his hand, "Uh, hey . . ."

I quirked an eyebrow at him, perplexed, "Uh, hey yourself. Did you need something?"

"Uh, well, not really," he said unconvincingly, apparently coming to a decision and quickly trundling inside. Pointing to the unoccupied seat next to me, he asked, "Is this, uh, taken?"

"Why yes, actually," I replied instantly. Gesturing to the empty passenger deck, I said, "By one of the many other passengers that are clearly onboard your ship at the moment. I believe his name's Alonzo."

"Ha ha," Sora laughed mirthlessly, realizing I was making fun of him.

"Hey, you make poking fun at you easy," I said in my defense, shrugging, "But seriously, it's empty."

"Okay," Sora then plopped into the empty seat and proceeded to do a whole lot of awkwardly shifting around, but no actual talking.

I methodically tapped my fingers along the back of the seat, chin cupped in my other hand as I watched Sora with a raised eyebrow. He quite obviously had something on his mind, but for one reason or another, he remained quiet. After about a minute of this, I decided to step in, "Okay, so, before we both drown in this cloud of awkward silence, would you mind telling me what's up?"

"Uh, yeah, I was, I was just getting to that!" Sora said rather cagily, looking the other way.

I crossed my arms, "Oh really? As you sit there twiddling your thumbs?"

He self-consciously pulled his hands apart, and I rolled my eyes," Come on, just out with it!"

That seemed to finally rouse from his tongue-tied lethargy. With a quiet sigh, he rubbed the back of his neck and finally spoke, "Okay, so, I've been doing a lot of thinking . . ."

He trailed off, and I posed the question, " . . . And?"

After a short silence, he continued "Well, it's . . . it's about the fight we had with that Organization member."

I fell back against my chair and threw my hands up, "Here we go-!"

"No, just!" Sora cut me off, holding his hands up in a pacifying gesture, "Just hear me out, okay?"

I dropped my hands into my lap and stared at him, but I kept quiet. Just where was he going with this?

Once he was sure I wouldn't interrupt, Sora continued, voice soft, "Back on Hollow Bastion, I was . . . I don't do well when other people get hurt, especially because of me. Things were already pretty bad and I just . . . well, I wasn't happy when you got hit."

"Yeah, you made that perfectly clear, Mr. 'I-Can-Take-Care-Of-Myself'," I said brusquely, crossing my arms.

"Yeah, about that . . ." Sora said slowly, idly scratching his cheek, "Now that everything's calmed down and I've had time to think about it, I . . ." he closed his eyes and let out a sharp sigh before he looked at me again, and his eyes were earnest as he let his words tumble freely, "I'm sorry about yelling at you before. You were just trying to help, and it wasn't fair of me to do that."

After a moment of silence, I blinked, "Wow . . ."

"Wow, what?" Sora asked nervously.

"Just . . . wow," I said again, "Of all the things I expected you to say, an apology was not one of them."

Sora rubbed the back of his head, looking abashed, "Yeah, well, I guess even I know when I'm wrong . . . sometimes."

I shook my head, "It's not that you were wrong, really. I get why you acted the way you did, I really do. I just don't regret my actions," I looked at him, "I guess you can say I don't do well when other people get hurt, especially when I could have done something about it."

"I hear you on that," Sora agreed, nodding, "Oh, and one more thing."

"Hm?"

"During that fight, when I got hurt?" Sora said, and I nodded to let him know I knew what he was talking about, "I didn't say it back then, but I was in pretty big trouble there. If you hadn't stepped in, it probably would have ended a whole lot worse than it did. So . . ."

For the first time since walking into the room, he smiled, "Thanks."

Well, that . . . this conversation was taking a really dramatic turn from where I had thought it was going to go. Here I was thinking I was going to get chewed out again, and instead I was getting an apology and a thank you! Will wonders never cease?

Sora looked at me inquisitively, "Hikari?"

"Oh, uh . . . " I stuttered stupidly, shaking my head as I realized I'd been staring at Sora this whole time. I leaned back against my chair, squeezing my folded arms a bit closer to my body, "Nothin'. It's, nothing. And, anyway, uh . . . you're welcome, I guess."

This was getting too awkward. Quick, divert subject!

"So, Mr. 'I-Can-Take-Care-Of-Myself' is admitting he actually can't?" I added, smirking coyly and hoping he would take the bait.

At this, Sora's cheeks began to glow a faint red, "N-no, that's not it all! I'm just admitting that you . . . probably saved my life."

"Someone had too," I teased relentlessly, "Not a lot of knights in shining armor for the knight in shining armor."

"Wait, now I'm a knight in shining armor?" Sora asked, eyebrow raised.

"Hm," I pretended to give it some thought, index finger pressed against my cheek, before I quipped, "More like a damsel in distress."

"Hey!"

He shot me an offended look, and I couldn't stop myself. Maybe it was the fact I'd finally had some down time and I was getting a good rag out of someone, but I just couldn't hold it in anymore. Placing a hand over my mouth, I sniggered uncontrollably into my palm, stomach tying into knots. It was the closest I ever came to 'girly' laughter, as Mari had once happily informed me, but damn if it didn't feel good!

"M-man," I chuckled, smiling, "You just make this so easy!"

Sora was staring at me with wide eyes, and I quirked an eyebrow at him, voice still laced with mirth, "What?"

"You're laughing," he stated dumbly, still staring.

"W-what? Yeah, I guess I am. Ten-ten on observation," I teased.

"I don't think I've ever seen you laugh before," Sora said, but the dumbfounded stare was slowly being replaced by a warm one, "It's kinda weird."

"Why sir, are you implying my laugh is strange?" I taunted, faking offense, "How ungentlemanly."

"No, that's not what I meant!" Sora defended hastily, waving his hands in front of his face, "I meant it's just . . . not like you . . ." he dropped his hands, sighing, "That doesn't sound much better, does it?"

"No, but points for trying," I replied, amused, "And it's kinda not surprising you haven't heard me laugh, since I haven't exactly been in the laughing mood. Had a lot on my mind, ya know?"

"Yeah, I know," Sora said softly, and his eyes shone with understanding.

We sat in silence for a bit, and in the quiet solidarity of the moment, I found myself wondering just how Sora was feeling. I may not have understood everything that went down, but it had been obvious at the time that whatever that blue-haired freak had said had really shaken him up. Not to mention his worry over Kairi. And 'Riku', who I discreetly added to the ever-growing list of names I needed to ask about.

We spoke up at exactly the same time, "Hey, Hikari?/Hey, Sora?"

"What?" we asked as we simultaneously looked at each other.

"O-kay, that was odd," I said, frowning, "Normally that only happens in cartoons."

"Y-yeah," Sora agreed, "Anyway, what did you wanna say?"

I shrugged, "I was just gonna ask how you were holding up. I didn't understand most of what was happening back there with that blue-haired guy, but I could tell it was hitting you pretty hard. So . . . you okay?"

Sora's face fell, "Oh yeah . . ." he shook his head, and although his voice sounded slightly strained, his eyes held only gratitude, "I'll be alright. Thanks for asking."

I nodded, satisfied enough with that answer. After another moment of silence, I asked, "So, what'd you wanna ask me?"

"Oh," Sora said, "Right."

He looked at me, interest appearing in his eyes, "So . . . how are the Islands?"

I blinked, "Huh?"

"The Islands?" Sora leaned back against his chair, "It's been awhile, a year, since I've seen them, and I just wondered how everything is now."

Oh. Oh. I bit my lip as I struggled to think of how to proceed with this. Ah, what do I say?!

Sora lifted an eyebrow, a troubled look stealing over his face as he saw my hesitation, "Hikari?"

I looked away from him, suddenly feeling very self-conscious, "Um, I can't really be the one to answer that. You'd want to ask Mari."

"Well, why can't I ask you?" Sora inquired, sounding genuinely puzzled, and of course he would be! He didn't know that I wasn't an actual islander. How could he?

"It's . . ." I started, then stopped. Damn, I really didn't want to answer, because I knew as soon as he found out he'd ask all sorts of questions that I wanted to answer even less!

But there was no avoiding it now, was there? Maybe . . . maybe if I did this right, I could give him an answer without sparking his curiosity. Maybe . . .

"I'm . . . not actually from the Islands," I said slowly, "I've only lived on them for, like, six months actually."

"Really?" Sora asked, looking surprised. Then I saw the gleam appear in his eyes, "Then, where are you from?"

"I'm not really comfortable with answering that," I told him bluntly, deciding to be truthful, "It's not that I don't trust you, I just . . . don't want to talk about it."

"Oh . . ." was his quiet response, and I could see the curiosity still burning in his eyes.

"To answer your question, though," I said, trying to tease the subject away from my origins, "For as long as I was there, they were pretty normal. Blue sky, blue surf, and of course the islands themselves. Nothing really changed."

"Even the small island off the mainland?" Sora asked. It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about; the little island right off the coast.

I nodded, "Yeah, even that. Mind you, I've never been there myself, but it's been there for as long as I have."

Sora however seemed satisfied with my answer, smiling nostalgically, "That's good to hear."

A sudden thought hit me, and I said, "Kairi once told me that she had had friends who used to run laps around the island. Would that have been you by any chance?"

"She told you that?" Sora asked, cheeks glowing a faint red as he rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, I guess we did, huh? Me and Riku, I mean . . ."

His eyes clouded over then, no doubt thinking of the person that name belonged to, and I couldn't keep quiet anymore, "Yeah, who is Riku, by the way? I heard you talking about him before."

"Riku's my best friend," Sora explained, "I'm looking for him too."

"So he's missing as well?" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Sora nodded, sounding a bit discouraged. Placing his elbows on the seat in front of him, he sighed, "I hope he's okay. I hope they're both okay . . ."

I leaned forward as well, chin cupped in my hand, "Well, if Riku's anything like you, I'd reckon he's fine. And Kairi's spunky and smart. If anything, she's probably giving those Organization chumps a harder time than we are."

He seemed to contemplate my words for a moment before a small smile appeared on his face, "Yeah, you're right!"

He sat up again, and his smile got a little bigger, "And now that we've got even more help, I'm sure finding him and Kairi will be a lot easier now!"

"Hm?" I questioned involuntarily, eyebrows furrowing together at his words. He couldn't be talking about me and Mari, could he?

Could he?

Sora gave me a puzzled look, "You and Mari. You're coming with us, aren't you?"

Well, apparently so!

I dropped the hand that was holding my chin back against the seat, a smile making it's way to my face, "Well, now that I have confirmation that you aren't kicking us off, hell yeah we're coming with you!"

"Why would we kick you off?" Sora asked.

"Well," I started, "For starters, Mari and I are still pretty new to this and need a real break-down as to what's going on so we can, you know, understand things. In short, we're newbies. And there was also the small fact that I was under the impression that you and Donald didn't want me around because of my 'reckless behavior'," I finished, using my fingers to air quote the last two words.

Sora cringed, "Oh."

"Now, before you start feeling too bad," I cut in, holding up a hand, "Please note that my main concern was, and still kinda is, Donald. You were just upset. He, on the other hand, was pissed and looked ready to throw me off the cliff."

"I don't think you should be worried," Sora replied, shaking his head, "I mean, I know sometimes it seems that way, but that's just Donald's way of showing he cares."

I nodded my head in his direction, acquiescing, "Well, I guess you've known him longer than I have, so I'll take your word for it."

Sora smiled, "He'll warm up to you eventually, don't worry. Besides, I think it'll be cool to have another Keyblade wielder with us!"

Another Keyblade wielder with us. The words reignited the urge to ask another question I had, a question I sort of dreaded inquiring about.

But a question I needed to ask all the same, "Hey Sora? Mind if I ask you something?"

"Hm? Sure, what is it?" Sora asked, curious.

Now how to word this . . .

"When you first got your Keyblade, did you . . . did it have a name?" I asked slowly.

Sora blinked, head tilting to one side, "Well, yeah, it did. The first one I got is called the Kingdom Key."

"Ah. Was that the one you were using in Hollow Bastion," I inquired, my curiosity getting the best of me.

"No, that one's called Oathkeeper," Sora corrected me.

"I see. And . . . does it just, I don't know, tell you what it's called?" I asked, hoping he wouldn't ask too many questions.

"Yeah, it kinda happens like that. You kind of just know," He looked at me, "Your Keyblade has a name too, right?"

Oh shit, "Uh, yeah, it does. I just wasn't sure of it was . . . normal, to know like that."

What am I doing? He's going to ask even more questions now, and I won't be able to give him any answers! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

. . . Unless . . . it didn't have to be the right name, right? Any name would do, just so long as I remembered to call it that and no one asked any questions. But what name would do?

"Trust me, a lot of weird things happen when you have a Keyblade," Sora informed me, smiling slightly, "So, what's your Keyblade called?"

My mouth seemed to move for me, and a name flew from my lips before I even had time to register what I was doing, "Dawnstar."

"Dawnstar? That's a pretty cool name!" Sora said.

"Yeah, it is . . ." I half-heartedly agreed, mind elsewhere. Just where had that come from? One second I'm panicking over a suitable name and the next it just comes out like nothing at all! But . . . Sora was right. It was a pretty cool name, and the more I thought about, the more I liked it. It did suit my Keyblade, didn't it? Even if it wasn't it's correct name . . .

"So, I'm really the first Keyblade wielder you've ever traveled with?" I asked, wrestling the subject away from names.

"Yeah, you are," Sora nodded, "There aren't exactly a lot of wielders out there anymore, from what I've been told."

"Hm, so we're a dying breed," I mumbled to myself, keeping my voice low so Sora wouldn't hear me.

"Huh?" Sora asked.

"Nothing," I replied. Turning to him, I smirked and asked cheekily, "So, you sure you're ready to travel with someone as reckless as me?"

"Hey, everyone on this ship has been reckless at some point, trust me," Sora admitted, grinning.

"Well, that's good to hear," I said, closing my eyes and holding up my hands, "Wouldn't want to feel left out now, would I?"

Opening my eyes again, I was surprised to see that Sora had extended a hand, obviously waiting for me to take it.

"Um?" I inquired, pointing at his hand for some elucidation.

"Welcoming you aboard!" Sora explained, "For real this time."

I stared at him for a moment more. Handshakes weren't really my thing . . .

Ah hell, what's one more time?

Smiling softly, I reached out and accepted, holding it in a such a way so that our palms pressed together and our thumbs were interlocked, "Glad to be aboard. For real this time."

Whatever Sora would have said next would forever remain a mystery, because right at that moment a loud and intrusive gasp of utter shock from the doorway grabbed both of our attention.

Oh no, I thought in dread as I turned to look.

Mari was standing completely stock-still in the threshold, hands pressed against her reddening cheeks as her hazel eyes gazed at us with unabashed astonishment. No, not quite at us, but rather . . . our hands.

Oh shi- I didn't get to finish my thought, because Mari suddenly shot forward and practically dove between me and Sora, and the two of us just barely managed to pull out of the way in time.

"Whoa!" Sora cried in alarm, "Mari, what're you-?"

Mari cut him off as she glared at me, "Hikari, what do you think you're doing?!"

"What-?" I started, but as it turned out Mari wasn't actually looking for an explanation from me.

Because apparently she'd already come up with one herself, "You can't date Kairi's boyfriend!"

"What?" Sora exclaimed, looking between Mari and me in absolute bewilderment.

"Oh my god, Mari-!" I started to yell, feeling agitation and embarrassment swell up as my cheeks began to burn.

Mari wasn't done soap boxing, however, as her eyes suddenly turned to Sora, "And you! You're supposed to be Kairi's prince come to sweep her off her feet! Unless . . ."

She stood upright once more, one hand going to her lips as her eyes filling with overdramatic disbelief, gasping, "Could it be that your heart no longer beats for your childhood sweetheart?! Have you fallen instead for the mysterious dark haired beauty that now sits beside you?" She pressed the back of one hand against her forehead and held the other over her heart, "Has the flame of forbidden love been lit in the aftermath of war, sparked in the heat of battle? Will such a passion last? Oh, tragedy abound for such a star-crossed love!"

I didn't need to look in a mirror to know that my face must have resembled a tomato by that point, and I gave an uncomfortable glance to an equally red-faced Sora and mouthed, I am so sorry.

And if I thought things couldn't get any worse, hoo boy, did the universe decide to prove me wrong!

"Hey fellas! Uh, what's all the ruckus about?" Goofy's voice asked us from the doorway, and my forehead slammed hard against the back of the chair.

"Oh no . . ." I heard Sora moan.

"Goofy! Donald!" Mari cried, and I cringed. Not the duck too . . .

"You will not believe what I have just discovered taking place within the halls of your ship!" she continued excitedly, and I could imagine her eyes practically glowing, "These two were-"

Okay, that was enough! Reaching up, I locked my arm around her neck and held her fast, choking off any other incriminating words she could have said.

"Silence," I hissed into her ear.

Donald gave her and me a perplexed look, frowning as he placed his hands on his hips, "What is going on in here?"

"Gawrsh, are you two feelin' okay?" Goofy asked, giving Sora and I a concerned look, "Ya both look a little red."

"Just fine," I replied snappily as Sora buried his face in his hands.

Mari suddenly decided to get wise, and she twisted her body just enough to reach around and dig her fingers into my side. I reflexively jerked away from the touch, but that momentary lapse in concentration was all Mari needed. Wiggling out of my grip, she bounced away and dramatically pointed at the two us, and before either of us could stop her, she cried, "These two were having affaire de coeur! A liaison, a dalliance! Of the romantic sort! I saw them! Holding hands, that's what they were doing!"

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she pulled her balled fists up to her neck, passionately proclaiming, "Oh, whatever am I to tell dear Kairi? The sorrow, the inevitable heartbreak! Oh, it's all so sad!"

The situation having been (very wrongly) made clear to them, Goofy and Donald both stared at us, wide-eyed and unbelieving, and I felt my face burn even more. God damn you Mari . . .

"What?!" Donald shouted, casting bewildered glances between me and Sora.

"Gawrsh, is that true?" Goofy asked, placing a hand against his chin as he looked to us for confirmation.

I ignored the two completely in favor of sending my best death glare to the blonde-haired girl, stating flatly, "I will kill you. You will die."

Sora looked up once more, furiously shaking his head and his hands as he declared, "I was here just to apologize, I swear!"

"Then what was with 'the holding of the hands'," Mari demanded, eyes narrowed in suspicion as she flexed her hands together for emphasis.

"A handshake, it was just a handshake!" Sora shouted defensively, so dismayed by the situation that he'd dropped his head back into his hands once more.

"One more word, Mari," I threatened, holding up my index finger for emphasis, "Just one more . . ."

"Then why-?" I didn't give Mari the chance to finish as I shot up out of my seat and practically flew over Sora, who just barely managed to duck in time to avoid getting clocked in the face by my boot. With a squeal of terror, Mari turned peeled out of the room as I followed hot on her heels, leaving behind two very confused sidekicks and a flustered Sora to sort out the misunderstanding by themselves.

{******}

"-Then Mari walks in, starts waxing poetic, and that's where all the confusion happened," I finished crisply, holding a whining Mari by the collar "There, I've explained myself, now stop giving me the evil eye, Donald!"

"So . . . it was all just a misunderstandin'?" Goofy asked, scratching his head.

"Guess so," Donald said, arms folded over his chest.

"Yes, that is exactly what I've been trying to say this whole time!" Sora cut in, exasperated.

I'd run Mari down and dragged her ass back to the passenger deck some time ago, where Sora had been trying (and failing) to get the other two to comprehend what had gone down. After settling everyone down, I made it very, very, very clear that no 'star-crossed love' was happening, which thankfully they seemed to finally understand.

I turned to Mari, glaring, "So shut it."

I let her go, and she quickly scampered away from me like the imp she was, whining babyishly, "Weeeell, what was I supposed to think?"

"Anything but that," I told her tersely, annoyed.

"So, uh . . ." Goofy started to inquire, and we both turned to him, "Does that mean you ladies will be comin' with us, now?"

"Unless someone has a problem with it, then yeah," I stated clearly, glancing at Donald.

To my amusement, everyone else glanced at him as well, and the duck held up his arms, "Hey, what're you looking at me for?"

"Well, of everyone, you would be the most likely to have a problem with it," I explained, folding my arms of my chest.

"You don't have a problem with us coming along, do you Donald?" Mari asked sweetly, lacing her fingers together in a prayer-like fashion.

Donald stuck a finger up in the air and opened his mouth as if to begin to argue, only for nothing to come out except silence. He stayed like that for a good ten seconds before finally dropping his arm with a huff, shaking his head, "No, I guess I don't."

"See, I told he'd warm up to you!" Sora said to me, grinning.

"Wait!" Donald interjected sharply, walking up to me, "If you're coming with us, there are two conditions you have to follow."

I pointed to myself, "Who, me?"

Donald nodded, then held up a finger, "One. You're learning magic from me, no exceptions. Okay?"

I forced myself to not roll my eyes as I nodded, "Yeah, I kinda figured that would happen anyway. And the other?"

"The next one is for both of you," Donald said, pointing to both Mari and me.

"Ooh, I get one too?" Mari asked excitedly, beaming.

Donald nodded again, and held up two fingers, "The second condition is . . ."

We both leaned in a little closer (Mari exuberantly and me a little less exuberantly) as we waited for him to finish.

Then Donald smiled and said, "No frowning or sad faces!"

Wha . . . ? I wondered to myself, staring at the duck like he'd grown two heads.

Sora's eyes suddenly lighted up with memory, and I sincerely wondered if that was a good thing or not. With a smile, he leaned forward and said, "Yep, this ship only runs on happy faces!"

"And they've gotta look silly too, like us!" Goofy chimed in, placing his hands on Donald's shoulders and grinning, "So show us your best silly faces, ladies!"

"And no holding back!" Donald instructed, still smiling.

Oh . . . oh dear. I don't do stupid faces, yet here they were, all staring at me expectantly, waiting! Crap, they really expected me to do this, didn't they! This was all just a part of some revenge scheme, wasn't it? They'd planned this ahead of time, waiting for the perfect moment, and now-

Two fingers suddenly looped around the corners of my mouth and pulled my lips back hard.

"Ack!" I cried, flailing as I almost lost my balance.

"Silly face, silly face!" Mari cheered before pressing her cheek against mine and sticking her tongue out at the assembled audience, giggling like a maniac.

To my unending chagrin, the three in front of me burst out laughing, nearly doubling over. I imagine Donald was finding this particularly funny . . .

"T-that's a pretty silly face alright!" Sora crowed, and I shot him a glare.

Mari's fingers were still in my mouth, and since I couldn't ask her to remove them, I did the only polite thing I could have done otherwise; I bit them.

"OUCH!" Mari yelped as she pulled her hands back, nursing her now stinging fingers.

I wiped my mouth as I glared at her, "You better have washed your hands before you did that."

Mari stuck her tongue out at me this time, but I ignored her as I turned to face the still chortling trio, "So, are we apart of the team now or is there something else to this bizarre initiation?"

The three shared a thoughtful look between themselves, eyes narrowed and lips pursed, and it was all so theatrical I was willing to bet money on the fact they were probably just toying with us. And I guess I bet right, because after a moment of silence, the trio all broke out into wide smiles and gave us a synchronized thumbs up and overlapping chorus of different affirmative responses.

"I guess that'll do," Donald said unenthusiastically, though the 'disinclined-to-have-us-join' effect was ruined by the upturned corners of his bill that revealed a small smile and thus his real feelings. Which I guess meant he finally tolerated of us. I hope.

"Those sure were some funny faces alright! Hyuck!" Goofy laughed.

"Welcome aboard, you guys!" Sora said, beaming brightly.

"WOO-HOO!" Mari yelled, throwing up her arms victoriously, "WE'RE IN!"

I smiled as I watched her enthusiastic dancing, "I guess we are, huh?"

And we were, weren't we? Sure, it had taken some time and it had been one hell of a bumpy road along the way, but we'd finally gotten the acceptance of the dream team in front us and now finally had a chance to do something about our situation! And now I had a better chance of finding Kairi and fulfilling my vow.

And maybe . . . maybe even a better chance at finding my mom and some well-deserved answers, as well.

"Okay, okay, okay, now we make it official!" Mari cried out, jarring me out of my thoughts.

We all stared at her, perplexed, though Sora was the first to put a voice to it, "Uh, what do you mean?"

"Team circle, duh!" Mari explained as if it were obvious. Pulling me closer to the trio and grinning brightly, she eagerly stuck her hand out away from her body and said, "All in!"

Goofy was the first to respond, reaching and placing his own hand over hers. Mari smiled approvingly at him, and he smiled back at her. After that, everyone seemed to simply fall in line. Sora smiled and added his own hand to the mix and, after letting out a short sigh, Donald did as well.

Then they all turned to me, and I glanced at the ring of hands pressed together at the center of the circle. A team. Our team.

It had a nice ring to it, I decided.

"Alright," I said softly as I placed my hand at the very top of the pile, "Let's do it."

{******}

"Alright. Let's do it."

The words echoed throughout the dark space, heard only by the lone figure who stood upon a dais of stained glass.

The figure looked up to the black void above it, sighing, "And so it has begun."

Taking a breath, it thought back to the last time it had seen Hikari. She had said many troubling things then, things that could spell disaster for everyone if left unchecked. But alas, finding answers on it's own was beyond it's power now. That burden now rested on Hikari's shoulders, and Hikari's alone.

"So many things have changed in the worlds," It whispered, "So many new uncertainties and pitfalls that could lead her astray."

Looking back to the glass below it's feet, the figure gazed at the painted face of the woman whose image was imprinted upon the glass, asking, "What would you have done differently, I wonder?"

The stained glass provided no answer, of course.

"Well, in any case," the figure continued, "I have done all I can, for now. I just hope that Hikari is ready to face the evil that will come her way. Whatever that evil may be . . ."


Oooooh, ominous ending. What could Cloak possibly mean? And also, isn't Mari just the cutest? :3

So, I totally incorporated the scene from the first Kingdom Hearts game where Sora first joins the two here, I admit, but I have always imagined it as some sort of cute initiation ritual that I was just dying for the chance to use. And use it I did. I hope it's written satisfactorily.

Rate & Review, if it pleases you.