Hajime watched natsumi and chiaki restlessly as they remained unconscious in their hammocks. Chiaki looked rather peaceful, however natsumi held a rather frightening face. It made sense, considering natsumi learned her brother and friend had transformed into hope hungry monsters. Just remembering Natsumis expression when she realized that awful truth, sent shivers down Hajimes spine. Realizing he was shaking, Hajime clenched his fist in an attempt to still himself.
"You must continue on" a monotone voice echoed in Hajimes mind.
"Right, I can't give up after all I've been through" Hajime said,"but..."
"You can not hesitate" the monotone voice echoed," you have a mission to fulfill"
"I understand" Hajime said as he summoned his obsidian keyblade," I will fulfill my mission".
...
Dawn arrived, yet natsumi and chiaki were still fast asleep. With no other choice, Hajime prepared breakfast for himself. As he cooked alone, Hajime looked at the sun rising out over the horizon.
"Night and Day" Hajime said," it seems that no matter what happens they will always shift between each other like despair and hope".
"You are starting to sound like me" the monotone voice said.
"You are me" Hajime laughed.
"I am and I am not" the monotone voice said," I exist just like a shadow".
"Last I checked shadows couldn't talk" Hajime said.
"Would you prefer that I stop?" the voice asked.
"No, I need the company" Hajime said.
"Those that have hearts are rather emotional" the voice said.
"What about you?" Hajime asked," didn't you lo-"
"Perhaps, but I have more important things to observe than some boring emotion" the voice said.
"Maybe it would be easier not to have a heart" Hajime said," then I wouldn't have to feel these troublesome emotions".
"Pain is preferable to boredom" the voice said.
"Haji..me" Chiaki mumbled in her sleep.
"Chiaki?" Hajime asked as he turned to chiaki.
Chiaki moved a bit before rubbing her eyes and waking up.
"Oh, Chiaki you're awake" Hajime said," I'm glad"
"Is natsumi alright?" Chiaki asked.
"She's still sleeping" Hajime said," but I'm sure she'll wake up feeling refreshed"
Chiaki turned her head and stared at natsumi.
"Here, why don't you eat something" Hajime offered.
"Okay" Chiaki nodded.
Hajime fixed a bowl of rice for Chiaki even though she secretly missed natsumis fish udon. Once she finished her meal, Chiaki located the next heart fragment location.
"The world of crystals" Hajime said as he looked at the map," it's pretty far, so it might take us until nightfall to get there"
"Is that bad?" Chiaki asked.
"No" Hajime shook his head," it means we'll get to see the stars again"
"Stars?" Chiaki asked
"Yeah, those shining things in the night sky" Hajime said," those are stars"
"I see" Chiaki said.
"They're really beautiful" Hajime said," sometimes I wish I hold hold them in my hands".
Chiaki stared at Hajime who looked so passionate.
"Sorry, I got a little carried away" Hajime said," that was just a desire I had when I was little, so it's pretty silly".
"I don't think it's silly" Chiaki said.
"Why?" Hajime asked.
"Because it is your wish and no one elses" Chiaki said.
"Thank you" Hajime smiled.
...
By the time they reached the world of crystal, the sun had set and revealed the stars. Natsumi was still recovering and sleeping.
"What should we do about natsumi?" Chiaki asked
"We'all just leave her here and get that heart fragment as fast as possible" Hajime said," is that okay?"
"I guess" Chiaki said as she looked at natsumi," I want her to get better as soon as possible".
"Why?" Hajime asked.
"I liked her company" Chiaki said.
"Don't worry, natsumi is a tough girl so I'm sure she'll wake up" Hajime reassured," let's go"
"Okay" Chiaki nodded
...
Sure enough the world of crystal was full of crystals as far as the eye could see. All sorts of precious stones, varying in size and shape, decorated and made up the landscape. Even the very ground was made out of crystals.
"What do you think of this place?" Hajime asked.
"It's beautiful...I think" Chiaki said.
"Yeah, it sure is nice" Hajime said.
"What would natsumi think if she saw this place?" Chiaki said.
"I don't know" Hajime said," why don't we bring some crystals back as a souvenir for her"
"What's a souvenir?" Chiaki asked.
"It's an item you get so you can remember when you went somewhere" Hajime explained.
"Then, I want to bring back a souvenir for natsumi" Chiaki said.
"Okay then, if you see any stones that natsumi might want just grab them" Hajime said," last I checked, the crystals here can grow and replenish themselves like plants"
"Okay" Chiaki nodded as she started to keep an eye out for crystals.
...
Hajime and chiaki walked aimlessly through the crystal landscape until they stopped at a small waterfall. The pool of water was of course crystal clear to the point that it reflected things as clear as a mirror. Hajime couldn't help but stare at Chiaki as she looked into the water.
"You could dip your legs in the water if you want" Hajime offered.
"Okay" Chiaki nodded before taking off her shoes and stockings.
Chiaki dipped her feet in first only to shiver a bit. She continued to push her legs into the water and get use to it's temperature. After both her legs were in the water, Chiaki felt the urge to softly kick them around in the water.
"How does it feel?" Hajime asked.
"I like it" Chiaki said," why don't you try?"
"I'm okay" Hajime said.
...
Once chiaki dried off and put her stockings and shoes on, her and Hajime resumed their search for the heart fragment. Their search led them to a forest of crystal trees.
"It looks like there's a giant tree in the center of the forest" Hajime said as he looked over the trees.
"That must be where the heart fragment is...right?" Chiaki asked.
"Yeah, so let's get going" Hajime said.
...
Chiaki and Hajime walked through the crystal forest until they came into a clearing. There they heard a sound of something charging towards them. Chiaki and Hajime stood off to sides and avoided the beast that charged into the clearing. Sure enough it was another hopeless. This time it was a black dog hopeless with white spots, long fur, and a purple heart insignia on its chest. Chiaki summoned her keyblade while Hajime stayed still. The dog hopeless growled and snapped at Chiaki as it bared its fangs. Normally Chiaki could fight without hesitation, but now she felt different. She felt a force from deep inside her freeze her in place. Helpless, Chiaki stared into the red eyes of the dog hopeless.
"Chiaki you have to fight" Hajime said.
Chiaki shook her head as she realized her keyblade had vanished. She felt compelled to reach out to the dog hopeless. The dog hopeless barked and growled at the hand coming towards it, yet didn't move from where it was. Chiaki placed her hand on the side of the dog hopelesses face.
"I'm sorry this happened to you" Chiaki spoke," you didn't deserve to suffer and lose hope"
The dog hopeless stood frozen by chiakis words.
"Please let me help you" Chiaki spoke," that's what Nanami would want"
Chiaki placed her hand on the heart insignia without any resistance from the dog hopeless. Hajime watched in amazement as the dog hopeless devolved into shadow. Chiaki summoned her keyblade in time to absorb one of the freed hearts.
"We can go now" Chiaki said.
"Sure" Hajime said as he walked to chiakis side," are you okay?"
"I'm fine" Chiaki said as she and Hajime walked forward.
...
At the heart of the crystal forest was a giant crystal tree. Carved into the trunk was a shrine made of pure blue crystal. The heart fragment lied on the alter and illuminated the surrounding crystals.
"Hajime can I ask you something before I faint?" Chiaki asked.
"What is it?" Hajime asked.
"Why didn't you use your keyblade if you had one?" Chiaki asked.
"I don't deserve it" Hajime said.
"But you're so kind" Chiaki said.
"I'm sorry but I can't really talk about it" Hajime said.
"Okay" Chiaki nodded.
Chiaki reached out her hand and scooped up the heart fragment. The heart fragment shined brighter yet softer than any of the crystals Chiaki saw. She accepted the heart fragment and fainted.
...
'Lady Nanami, I'm back'
"Mikan, you know you don't have to call me lady"
'I'm sorry...please forgive me'
"I'll always forgive you. How was your trip"
'I scouted a world made of crystals'
"Really? That's so cool"
'I actually brought you some crystals from my journey'
"They're all so beautiful. Thank you Mikan"
'I'm glad I could make you smile'
"Is it okay if I share these with the others?"
'You can use them however you like'
"Thank you Mikan"
...
Hajime carried Chiaki back to the ship like he always did. Dark thoughts plagued his mind as he looked at chiakis unconscious face. When he spotted the docks he saw natsumi waiting for him on the ship.
"Nice to see ya, bastard" natsumi said.
Hajime looked up to natsumi and tried to force a smile before he entered the ship.