Correspondence with a Demon

Chapter 10 – The Heir Appears

Naminé and Olette needed a break from all the fun and games. They couldn't keep up with the boundless energy the kids had, and it looked like the game was still going on. So they sat at a bench that was a little ways off from the group. It was close enough to watch them continue their play but not enough for their snowballs to hit them.

After they sat, they watched the kids play. Olette clicked her tongue in disapproval at Hayner when he threw another one of the huge snowball at the girls, who yelped and got away before it destroyed their fort, much to their dismay. But Yuna and Rikku quickly gathered snow to make a new one while Paine fired snowballs one after the other at Hayner. One of the snowballs hit his face, and he fell onto his butt. His allies watched in amusement, not wanting to be hit with one of Paine's snowballs. The little silver-haired girl had good aim not to mention powerful. The younger blonde boy – Naminé was told that his name was Tidus – fell over while laughing and clutching his stomach.

"Did you know," Olette said quietly, "That Hayner, Roxas, and I are childhood friends?"

Naminé blinked. "I guessed that you and Hayner were, but Roxas, too?"

Olette laughed. "There's one more. His name's Pence, and you might meet him later. But yeah. We're all close friends. We used to play like this every time it snowed, so doing this was a bit nostalgic. Well, Hayner still plays with the kids whenever he's free, so I guess it's not that nostalgic for him," she looked at the spiky blonde boy with a smile that told Naminé that the maid held some sort of affection for him. Even if they did bicker a lot.

"I don't think Pence or even Roxas take a break from their work either. Both of them are so busy nowadays that it's a little sad when we all can't get together and talk like we used to," she said with a small smile. She sat back, looking at the sky. "Come to think of it, if Pence ever takes a break, he's most likely going to be down in the kitchens." She chuckled as if she knew something, but she didn't voice it aloud.

Naminé felt someone staring at her and looked up to see Yuna standing a few yards away, looking like she wanted to say something. Her blue and green eyes widened when she was caught staring. Then she turned her head and ran off towards Rikku and Paine. It seems like the girl was avoiding Naminé. She didn't speak to her at all during the snowball fight.

"What were you guys like when you were little?" Naminé asked as she stared at Yuna's retreating form. She was curious. She wondered if demon children were any different from human children. Then again, after playing in the snow with them, Naminé wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

"Hm…I guess you can say that I was a little more fussy when I was little. I used to chase after the boys, telling them to do their homework or to practice their morphing. Hayner was like he is now, although I think he's gotten better at controlling his temper. Pence…?" Olette tilted her head to the side. "He used to be a pushover, but now he's quite stubborn. He won't listen to what I say anymore."

"And Roxas?"

Olette looked to the ground.

"Roxas changed the most out of all of us. When he was little, he was curious about everything. He was very…how should I say this? He was pretty philosophical, but he was just as mischievous as Hayner. He was also very considerate of other people, asking if he could help with other things after he's done with his chores and doing little things to cheer people up. One time, he made me a paper lantern that lit up because when I was younger I was afraid of the dark," she smiled sheepishly.

Naminé's eyebrows rose. Roxas? Philosophical? Considerate? She couldn't see it.

"I know what you mean. It's hard to imagine someone like him being such a sweet kid. But he wasn't really this…cold when he was younger," Olette explained. "He used to be very nice and approachable. He used to team up with Hayner and play jokes on me and Pence, but he didn't go overboard like Hayner did. He was always the one who apologized in the end." Her saddened eyes held something.

"What happened to him that made him change so much?" Naminé said. Olette shook her head.

"It's not really my place to say," Olette said. "Some things happened which made him more…withdrawn. More reserved and a little bitter about life."

Both of them sat in silence for a few minutes. They looked up to see that the snowball fight already ended and watched as Hayner throw one of the kids into a big snow pile. They were startled by it until they saw the child emerge, laughing and asking Hayner to do it again. Then the other boys started to crowd around him. Meanwhile, Yuna and Rikku were trying to continue making their snowman while Paine was inching over towards Hayner and the boys.

"I just wanted you to know, Naminé," Olette began, "That even though he changed so much, Roxas isn't really such a bad guy. He might not be the same as he was when he was a kid, but I can tell that part of him is still there. I know you still don't forgive him for what he did to you, but I can assure you that he was trying his best to protect you even though he doesn't show it."

"But he hurt you, Olette. Friends don't hurt each other," Naminé pointed out.

"That was…an accident, really," Olette's hand drifted to her arm, which was covered by her cloak. Naminé wasn't that convinced.

"But you know what I've noticed?" the maid quickly recovered, "Ever since he met you, it seems like he's not as depressed as he was before."

Naminé opened her mouth to ask what she meant by that when all of a sudden a scream pierced through the air. Both girls stood up in response and looked towards the children. Rikku held one hand over her mouth while fearfully pointing to the sky. The other children looked in that direction and were soon struck with horror at whatever was approaching. Naminé turned her head and felt her heart drop to her stomach. She shivered as she felt the same fear that she experience the night she was attacked.

A bird like creature just flew over the castle walls. Its whole body was covered in black feathers, and its head was only a white skull with empty eye sockets. Its wings didn't even look like bird wings, just floppy triangles that somehow managed to levitate the creature. As it drew closer, its two white, bone-looking legs stuck out from under its black mass of a body and landed with a thud on the snow covered field, kicking up a bit of snow. It stood a few yards away and looked to be at roughly around 8 feet. Naminé squinted as she spotted something on its chest. She could make out some kind of red symbol.

She didn't get a good chance to look at it. Olette had grabbed her shoulder roughly and started to push her towards the entrance of the castle.

"Get the kids and Little Red in the castle," Hayner yelled towards Olette as he ran past them and started to charge at the creature. "Wakka, get anyone you can find in the castle NOW."

The children stood still, looking to be in shock at the size of the creature. But when Hayner's yells caught their attention, they snapped out of it and started to run towards the castle. Naminé saw the older red-headed boy nod frantically and sprinted ahead of the others.

Hayner got on all fours and started to morph. In his place was a German shepherd with golden brown fur and a big black splotch on his back. He barred his teeth and lunged at the bird, whose squawks echoed through the courtyard. Hayner tried to sink his teeth into the bird's head, but its skull was too thick to penetrate. His teeth slid from the skull, but he managed to bite down on the bird's back. It thrashed from side to side, trying to get the dog off. Its bony foot crashed down on one of the benches, sending the broken pieces flying. A big chunk missed Hayner by a hair, but he kept hanging on.

Meanwhile, Olette, Naminé, and half of the kids were still trying to reach the entrance of the courtyard. The other half were quicker and already at the entrance. They stood by the doorway, watching the battle. Some were cheering for Hayner while the others screamed for Naminé and the other kids.

Suddenly, they all heard squawking overhead. Naminé thought the bird broke free from Hayner and was trying to catch up. She looked back and saw that Hayner managed to climb onto its back. He started to claw at it before drawing back, ready to bite.

Then her heart nearly jumped out of her ribs when she saw a shadow fly over fly over their heads. Another one of the bird like creature landed with a thump a few feet from them, kicking up more snow than the other one. The children closer to it took a few steps back, startled by the sudden landing. The creature stood between them and the entrance.

Naminé was suddenly pushed backwards and landed in the snow as Olette ran past her, her brown cat ears popping out from the top of her head. At her sides, her nails grew sharper and extended a few inches. She jumped into the air and started to slash at the creature.

After she scratched a chunk off of the bird's neck, she sunk her claws on its flank. It screeched and staggered sideways and then tried to regain its balance. It crashed into the castle wall, denting it. Olette turned towards Naminé and the other half of the children.

"GO NOW!" she shouted with a wild look in her eyes. She took one of her claws out of the creature and began scaling its body, trying to get at its head.

Naminé didn't need telling twice. She quickly got the children on their feet and ushered them to safety. She ran behind them and was almost at the entrance when she noticed a small figure still standing where they were.

Naminé's heart dropped as she saw Yuna, standing still as if paralyzed by fear. Her eyes were wide, and her body started shaking. Her ears were pulled back. The creature's head glanced towards the girl before being pushed away. Olette punched it at the side of the head.

With a burst of adrenaline, Naminé sprinted towards the girl, just as the other children realized that their friend was still in danger. They yelled her name to get her attention, but she didn't budge. It seemed like she couldn't budge.

Naminé was halfway to Yuna when she heard the bird howl in anger. It spread its wings and stood to its full height, its head tilted upwards. In the corner of her eye, she saw Olette be tossed aside and heard her "Oomph!" somewhere in the distance. The bird gave another howl before its eye sockets noticed Naminé running towards Yuna.

It gave another squawk, a battle cry. Then it started charging at the two girls, its wings fully stretched out. Its beak was wide open, ready to scoop them into its mouth.

"NAMINÉ!" Olette yelled, her hand reaching out. She tried to stand up, but she staggered and fell back to the snow.

Naminé reached her hands out to Yuna and wrapped her arms around her protectively. She shut her eyes, waiting for the impending doom.

All of a sudden, a loud and booming roar echoed throughout the courtyard. Naminé heard a crack and a crash from her right.

She opened her eyes and turned around to see that the bird crash into the castle wall again. A huge lion stood before it, growling. Its dark mane and fur stood, and its tail swished about. It gave another loud roar.

The bird moved its skull-head and started to stand, its full attention on the lion. It squawked and began to peck at it. The lion jumped from side to side, dodging each attack. Frustrated, the bird's head drew back and came down quickly. This time, its beak got stuck, and its wings flapped, trying to get free.

The lion took this chance to run underneath it and chomp down on its throat. It thrashed around and tried to pry the lion off with its legs, but they were too short to reach.

The bird finally got its beak free and started to toss its head from side to side, trying to shake off its attacker. The lion held on, and Naminé gave a silent cheer. The bird gave a painful screech before slowly collapsing on its side, still struggling to stand. Its heavy body made the snow fly around them. It was hard to see, but Naminé saw the lion growl and snarl, planting its feet on the ground. The big cat twisted its head to cut off the bird's air supply. Its claws sank in the area around it, too.

The bird picked up its head once more, its struggles lessening. It gave one last squawk before dropping its head, finally dead. As soon as its head dropped, its body started to disintegrate into black specks. The wind also started to pick up, blowing the black specks into the distance. It also kicked up a pile of snow, misting the whole courtyard.

Naminé heard a loud thump from the distance behind her. She turned her head to see Hayner breathing heavily while wiping a sweat from his forehead. He rested on one knee, and Naminé saw that his jacket was torn at a sleeve. He had a slight cut above his eyebrow, but other than that he looked fine. The body of the other bird lay behind him, also beginning to disintegrate.

She turned back towards the bird that the lion killed, only to find that it already disappeared. In place of the lion was a spiky brown-haired boy in the same black cloak that Roxas wore. He turned to her, his blue eyes catching hers. Naminé's eyes widened as she locked eyes with the person who shared the portrait with Xemnas.

A brief flash of the nameplate flashed before her eyes: Current leader Xemnas and his successor, Sora.

Sora, her mind registered.

Sora's eyes left hers and scanned the whole courtyard, surveying the situation. He looked towards Yuna then Olette, who was struggling to get on her feet, then Hayner, who fell back in the snow and rested. He put his hands on his hips and sighed.

"So who's going to tell me how all this happened?" his low voice asked.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note:

So I know that this is late, and I deeply apologize. My computer decided to give me a present by crashing on the day of my birthday. It's fine now, but I lost some of my programs. I'm just glad that most of my data (including this chapter and my other fanfics) were saved in an external harddrive. Phew! I would have been very very sad if I lost them. This week has been CRAZY. I even got sick for three days, but it gave me enough time to write...But anyways, thank you so much for the birthday wishes! I had a blast yesterday, and I'm so happy to have friends and family that care so much!

So...this chapter was short. Shorter than what I usually write, and it was a little rushed. I kept making so many adjustments to it. But I hope that the content makes up for it. :) We got to see some bit of background info and some action, so it should be getting really good. I wonder what traumatic thing happened to Roxas? Take a guess! :D By the way, after I said that Sora wasn't the traitor, many people have been guessing right. You guys know who you are! Congrats for guessing correctly!

On another note, here are some people I'd like to thank for giving me reviews from the last chapter: Typewrite, Roxa-XIII, MsEvilbabe, ICouldn'tThinkofaName (right on the mark, my friend!), SilverKey, midnight-heart, akemithebazookagirl, Tsuraya-chan, TheDormantOne, lizzyytx33, Kutlessrocker, NeverGirl, gothicgirl101, The Waterbender, and Hegodart. You guys are awesome and make me smile each day. I look forward to reading each of your reviews. :)

Thank you guys so much for reading! And before I forget, Happy belated Birthday to my birthday buddy lizzyytx33! :D :D