A/N: an update! Yay!
Please check out the Scrapbook entry after you finished reading this chapter 😃
Thank you guys so much for the awesome reviews, reads, favs and follows!
Btw… DID YOU GUYS SEE THE D3 GAMEPLAY?! I was crying tears of joy when I saw it! So beautiful! TTwTT
c-guest: yay! Roxas! And you're right, so many emotions…
AngelofMemories: thank you so much!
Guest: it is a possibility… haha
Guest: Yeah! I think I'm gonna predict that KH will come out around March 2018. Haha! I should make a small comic about that one! It'll be hilarious. That would've been bad if Saix finds out… haha definitely!
Gry21: thanks! Oh! Happy belated birthday! Hope you have a wonderful birthday this year 😃
Lulu9814: Yeah haha.
Mysterygirl145: yeah, she can't actually remember him. Ohh! That sound interesting!
theIrishWriter: thank you so much! Haha I guess he still go that protective brother instinct in him! lol! Hmm, the HB people think the committee as the people who helps a lot and in return, they care for the committee since they helped around a lot. Haha probably, Xion is a magic user. Oooo that'll be interesting to see. (and yup! I was referring to that post lol)
KH © SE, Tetsuya Nomura
Chapter 13
deal
"Is something bothering you?"
Hikari raised her chin up, a surprised look across her face. "Huh? What do you mean?" she asked the wizard dressed in blue. She straightened her posture and lowered her keyblade as the purple glow around her keyblade slowly disappeared. She was in mid casting the 'teleport' spell when Merlin decided to question her. "What makes you think that something is bothering me?" she said defensively.
She didn't mean to come out rude, but the past few days had been rough for her.
"Well, it is really obvious! Your face shows it." Merlin pointed out with a smile.
The brunette raised her left hand to touch her face. She didn't know that she was showing it. She knew that she wasn't the best at acting, but she thought that her acting skills improved. The girl blinked when the wizard snapped his fingers, making a table with two chairs, complete with tea and snacks appearing right in the center of the room. He waved his hand, motioning for the keyblade wielder to come and join him for tea.
Merlin sat on the chair, a cup of tea in his hand. "How about we take a break and have some tea?" he offered, waving his finger to make a cup filled with tea come to Hikari.
The brunette smiled a little, summoning away her keyblade. She took the cup of tea before sitting down opposite of Merlin. She was used to Merlin's little tea party. It was often, be it with her while training or with the others while they're on break from patrolling. A day without tea and snacks with Merlin was something that has to be questioned. It became a habit for everyone, including Cloud. Everyone would sit down, relax and talk about their day.
"Would you mind if I ask what is bothering you?" Merlin asked, placing the teacup down on the saucer.
Hikari let out a sigh, staring down at her reflection on the tea's surface. "It's just that… well… you know about Mickey, right?" she asked, raising her chin up to look at Merlin.
The wizard blinked. "Is this about him not teaching you his ways of the keyblade?" he concluded, a hand on his chin. It was understandable that the young girl was upset because her original master hadn't come and taught her about the keyblade. She's Mickey's apprentice and yet she's here learning with him. He cleared his throat. "I understand. I'll tell the King when he visits—"
"No! No! No! It's not like that! I'm not complaining at all! You're a really great teacher!" Hikari quickly denied, waving her hands frantically as she stood up from her chair. Mickey did teach her a few tricks with the keyblade and she really thought that Merlin is a great teacher. He taught her everything he knew about magic and how to wield the keyblade, even if he wasn't a keyblade wielder. She took a deep breath before letting it out. "It's just that I'm a little upset they didn't tell me that they moved…" she sighed out deeply, sitting back down.
Merlin stared at the brunette. "I see… Yen Sid did say they were waiting for the right time to tell you." He said.
Hikari rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah… but… they could've at least tell me right away." she frowned. It's been a few days since she found out about Naminé and the others moving away from the Mysterious Tower to a world called Twilight Town. And still, no news from Riku or Mickey. She expected that they would come right away to her to explain, but they didn't. "I'm still waiting for them to come and visit." She slumped in her seat.
Aside from Yen Sid, Merlin also knew about Mickey and Riku. As far as he was told, the King and Riku has gone their separate ways when Riku became worried about the remnants of Ansem in his heart. He didn't have the heart to tell the young girl about them going in their own ways. It would just bring more worry and stress to find out that her friends are no longer traveling together, even if they're capable of handling themselves.
"Well, perhaps tomorrow they will come and tell you?" Merlin smiled, trying to lift the girl's spirits up.
Hikari blew a raspberry, straitening her posture. "Psssh! Yeah and maybe the day after tomorrow, or the day after that and that and that." She said sarcastically, averting her eyes to look at the ceiling. She hung her head low with her arms crossed before lifting her head up, a smile on her face. "No matter! I don't have time to worry about it! As long as those no-good Organization don't know where Naminé is, I'm fine with it!" she said cheerfully.
Merlin clapped his hands. "That's the spirit, my dear!" he was impressed on how fast the girl could move on.
Hikari grinned. Usually after talking about her problems to someone else, her chest felt lighter, almost as if something heavy is lifted up. But after talking about why everyone didn't tell her that they moved, her heart still felt heavy. Maybe it was because her mind was still wrapped around Roxas, the mysterious Organization member who looks like Ventus. Unlike her other problem, she can't actually talk about this one to Merlin or to anyone for that matter.
The only one she could talk to about her three friends is Naminé.
But she moved away.
And she never really had the chance to ask about them since Riku, Mickey, Yen Sid, DiZ and the three fairies were always around.
The wizard smiled. "Shall we continue your training before we go down for lunch?"
Hikari raised her chin up and nodded her head, a smile on her face. She stood up and with a snap of Merlin's fingers, the table and everything with it disappeared in a puff of smoke. The brunette raised her hand and closed her eyes, focusing on summoning the Starseeker to her hand.
It appeared in a flash.
The brunette lowered herself to a fighting stance and the keyblade glowed purple when she activated the teleport spell.
"Okay! Let's start!"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Clank
"Thank you for helping me do the dishes." Aerith smiled at the young girl standing beside her.
Drip
Hikari rinsed the dirty plate with water before scrubbing the grease off of it. "Don't sweat it! As long as I'm not the one mopping or sweeping or dusting, I'm okay with it!" she turned on the water and rinsed the plate clean before giving it to Aerith.
Sweep
"Hey! We have a system you know! You have to do those one day!" Yuffie complained, pointing her finger at the chart on the green board near Cid's computer. On the board was a piece of paper with everyone's name written on it. It was a list of chores everyone has to do for the next week. Since Hikari only returned around two weeks ago, all she had to do is wash the dishes and do the laundry, which were both shared with Aerith. Her schedule wasn't decided until the next month, so she decided to help Aerith or Merlin around. "Your job is like the easiest since you share it with Aerith!" the girl huffed childishly.
Hikari peeked her head out from the kitchen, giving a smug look. "You're just jealous that you're stuck with Cloud's chores too!" she sniggered. Around a week ago, Yuffie lost a bet with Cloud. It resulted with her having to do Cloud's share of chores for two weeks. She watched the black-haired girl sulked before returning to sweep the floor. Her blue eyes wondered to the spiky-haired blond sitting comfortably on the chair while waiting for Yuffie to finish his chore. The people who were in the house were herself, Yuffie, Cloud, Cid and Aerith. Both Leon and Merlin were absent after they finished lunch since they have something to do at the castle. "Hey Yuffie! Wanna make a bet?" she called out, a grin on her lips.
"NO!" Came a loud reply.
The brunette burst out laughing, leaning against the sink for support.
Aerith shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "So, how's your magic training coming along?" she asked when Hikari's laughter died down.
"Haha, it's going along great!" Hikari's laughter turned to chuckles. She resumed what she was doing before she teased her friend. She took another plate from the sink and began to scrub it in circles. "I'm currently learning teleport or warp… it's not Merlin's-Teleport-Level, but more like… um… I guess you could say it's like me moving from the kitchen to the door." She rambled as she rinsed the plate.
"That's impressive." Aerith complimented as she took the plate. "It takes time to learn something new. You'll be as good as Merlin one day." She added, placing the dry plate with the rest.
Hikari turned off the water. "I hope so." She dried her hands on her shirt, leaving a few wet handprints on her clothes. She wished she could be as good as Merlin or Yen Sid. They both are legends among all magical users and she was sure they were legends among keyblade wielders too. She hoped that someday either of them will teach her about the keyblade's history. It was the only history lesson she was interested in. Maybe if she knew more about the history, she would know more about her three friends. "I can't wait to learn how to make everything clean itself like Merlin. It would save a lot of time." She said jokingly.
Aerith shook her head, a smile on her lips. "But remember not to rely too much on magic or else you'll be too dependent on it." She advised and earned a nod from the younger girl.
'I guess Riku was right about that…' Hikari gave a small smile, remembering the time when Riku taunted her when her magic ran out. It was hard to let go of the past, but she tried as much as she can to forget it. They both made up and forgave each other. There wasn't a single reason that she should remember the things he did to her and her friends in the past. 'When will you come and visit?' she let out a soft sigh.
The young woman took the dry plates, carrying them to put them away in the cabinets. The younger girl was about to help her, but she stopped her with a smile. "You can wait with the others while I put these away, after that we'll leave for our shift, kay?" she smiled kindly.
Hikari gave a nod, crossing her hands behind her head. She walked towards the main room, giving a loud yawn. It was almost like this for her. Almost every day she would wake up, train with Merlin, have lunch, chores, patrol, have dinner, tea time and then off to bed. On other days, she would train with Merlin twice a day. It was almost the same as her routine at Destiny Islands, besides training and fighting Heartless of course.
She wondered what her friends are doing. She knew that vacation was over.
For the first time, she actually missed going to her school in Destiny Islands.
A jab to her ribs snapped her out from her thoughts. "Aw! Hey! What was that for?!" she glared at her black-haired friend as she rubbed the spot where her friend had jabbed her with the broom.
"Other than daydreaming, how about helping me with my chores, hmm?" Yuffie gave a teasing look, wiggling her eyebrows as she tried to give the broom to Hikari.
"No way." Hikari crossed her arms, leaning away from her friend. She turned her head away to ignore her friend's sad puppy look. All the while ignoring Yuffie, her blue eyes caught the papers on the tack board beside Cid's computers. It was still pretty empty with only a few pictures and notes here and there. One of the notes were the chores' schedule for the committee. She walked closer to the board, staring at the paper. "Hmm… looks like you're still stuck with mopping duty." She sniggered.
Yuffie whined. "I blame you, Cloud!" she turned, using the broom to point at said man.
The blond man rolled his eyes. "Who was the one who made the bet?" he retorted.
The young ninja sighed, her shoulders slumped. "Me…" she said in defeat. She heard her roommate snigger in her dismay. The girl turned to read the schedule and let out a laugh. "Don't laugh now, Hikari! 'Cause you might be stuck with trash duty!" she shouted in triumph.
Hikari's eyes widened for a moment before giving Yuffie a big pout. "It still beats mopping duty, at least all I have to do is take the bag of trash out to the dump outside." She crossed her arms, a smug look across her face.
"I'll make sure to throw out a lot of trash then!" Yuffie grinned.
The brunette faked a gasp. "How could you be so un-ecofriendly?!" she placed a hand on her chest dramatically.
"Girls, girls! If you want to fight, take it outside." The man behind the computers said grumpily, jerking his thumb to the door.
"Sorry, gramps…" Both Yuffie and Hikari drawled out their apology with a lazy tone.
"Don't call me gramps!" the man shouted, giving a whack to the back of their head, to which they responded with a loud 'AW'. Hikari rubbed the back of her head, giving the man the stink eye. The man scoffed before sitting back down on his chair, ignoring the two girls' dirty looks. "I had enough loud noises for one morning." He grunted, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Yuffie laughed. "It's noon now!"
"Don't act smart with me, young lady." Cid gave a look at Yuffie, pointing his finger accusingly at her.
"Wha'cha working on anyway? You're almost in front of the computers twenty-four seven." Hikari crossed her hands behind her head, tilting her chin up to look at one of the green colored screen. She tried to understand the coding on the screen, but it was impossible to know what it all means. They were just a bunch of numbers, mostly zeros. "Wish my parents would let me do that though…" she sighed out.
Cid turned his head to glare at her. "You're still a kid, kiddo. Listen to you parents." He chided making Hikari shrug her shoulders. The man turned his attention back to the computer screen, staring at it intently as he tried to figure out which coding was wrong. "Don't you remember, kid? It's actually for a defense system I'm working on. You know, the more power we have the more chance we get to stop those pesky Heartless." He said, squinting his eyes before he began to type on the keyboard.
The brunette hummed in reply. Now she remembers. She heard about it once in the committee meeting, but it was never discussed again. She remembered Yuffie jokingly suggested that they should make robots to help them protect the town. Cid actually took it to heart and tried to create the defense system from scratch. It was like a challenge for him.
"It's actually rare that Yuffie comes up with a great idea." Hikari said, a hand on her chin as her eyes glanced over to the black-haired girl.
Yuffie's eye twitched. "Hey! It's more rare coming out from you!" she swung her broom, aiming to hit Hikari's head. The brunette quickly caught the broom, clapping both her hands on the hilt to stop it.
"It rare coming from the both of you." Cloud said from where he sat.
"You rarely even talk in the meeting!" Hikari retorted, taking the broom from Yuffie.
Cloud snorted in reply, looking away.
"HAH! Burn~!" Yuffie laughed, clutching her sides.
"Sssshhhhhh!" Cid shushed the three, his teeth gritted as a finger was pressed against his lips. "Zip it!" he glared.
Yuffie scoffed. "Well someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." She placed her hand on her hip.
At that moment, Aerith came out from the kitchen. "Are you ready to go?" she asked, turning her head to the brunette.
Hikari nodded, giving the broom back to Yuffie before following Aerith towards the door. "Well, see you guys later!"
"Have a save trip!" Yuffie replied cheerfully, waving her hand goodbye while the other held the broom.
The brunette smiled as she closed the door behind her.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Roxas sighed.
It had been days after he was giving the recon mission to Hollow Bastion.
He had giving the report he has written about Hollow Bastion. He left out the point that he met someone there. It wasn't that he was trying to fake his report. Everything was written as it happened. Just the part when he met Hikari was left out. There wasn't a single name mentioned in the report. He didn't know why he did it, but he just didn't want Saix to find out.
He never told Axel or Xion either.
The Nobody kept it to himself.
He silently wished that he would be given a mission to Hollow Bastion again. There was just so many questions he has for the mysterious girl. She appeared in so many parts of his memories along with the redhead and the silver-haired boy. She was the first one out of the trio that he found. And when he summoned his keyblade, she seemed to know why he could wield one.
If he had the chance to go back to Hollow Bastion, he would take it.
After missions, he would meet up with Axel and Xion at the Clock Tower. He was hesitant to tell them. They're friends, but he didn't have the guts to tell them about the Somebody he met. He trusts his friends fully and he believed that they won't hurt Hikari, but he was afraid.
But afraid of what?
The blond shook his head, shaking all of the thoughts away as he entered the Grey Area. His blue eyes trailed across the room, finding only Saix and Demyx in the room. He walked closer to the blue-haired man, his footsteps echoing in the spacious and empty room.
"Where is everybody?" Roxas asked aloud, glancing left and right. He was afraid that Xion was paired up with Xaldin, Xigbar or Luxord. He hoped that she was paired with Axel or at least have a solo-mission.
"They left for their mission." Saix curtly replied, raising his gaze up from the papers in his hands.
Roxas stared back. "Xion and Axel?" he asked, his hands balled up into fists.
"Number XIV has a solo mission. As for Axel, he's paired with Xigbar for the day." Saix answered and Roxas relaxed his hands. He was glad that Xion wasn't paired with anyone, but he was still bitter towards Saix for treating Xion differently than the other. He even still treats him better! Even after he talks back to him. "Roxas. You and Demyx will go to Hollow Bastion. There has been a number of Heartless sighted in that world." He ordered, his eyes narrowing at Roxas.
The blond blinked confusedly. O…kay?
From the sofa, he could hear Demyx groan out in dismay. "Oh, come on… Why did you have to give us a mission to that place? I heard that place is crawling with Heartless!" he whined. It was clear that he didn't like the idea of going to a world where many Heartless are lingering around. "Can't you give us an easier one? How about Twilight Town?" he tried to convince the man, a goofy grin across his face.
Saix gave Demyx a look that could actually kill.
"Okay! Okay! Geez! Fine!" Demyx shouted, giving up on trying to convince Saix to give him an easier mission. The mullet-haired man pushed himself up from the sofa and turned to face Roxas. "Well, ready when you are, partner!" he grinned, his hands on his hips.
Roxas nodded his head and Demyx walked around the sofa before raising his hand, summoning the corridor of darkness. The oldest of the two Nobodies stepped inside the portal first, leaving the youngest in the room with the second in command. He glanced over his shoulder to look at the blue-haired man who kept his piercing gold-yellow eyes at him. The blond turned his head away, looking forward as he stepped inside the portal as well. It was weird being under the watchful eyes of Saix. All this time, Saix has never stare at him like that. It was almost as if he was trying to find something.
A lie perhaps?
He let out a loud sigh.
Demyx joined him. "I know, right? Why do we have to be stuck there collecting hearts? Saix could've given this mission to Xigbar or Xaldin! They know the place more than we do!" he complained, dragging his feet all the way across the portal.
Roxas blinked. "What… do you mean?"
The mullet-haired Nobody straightened his posture, staring at Roxas confusedly. "You didn't know? Almost everybody in the Organization came from Hollow Bastion." He explained.
"Including me?" Roxas asked, pointing to himself.
"Dunno. Probably." Demyx replied, shrugging his shoulders. Before Roxas could ask further, the end of the portal was seen a few feet away from them. "Hey! We're here! C'mon!" he shouted as he quickened his pace to the end of the portal.
Roxas jogged towards the portal and stepped out, catching up with his senior. He glanced around, finding the place they appeared at was the same place he appeared days ago. It was just as he remembered. Humid and dark.
"C'mon, Rox! The faster we finish this the faster we can RTC!" The Nobody shouted from the exit of the alleyway.
The blond cringed. It wasn't that he didn't like Demyx. It was that Demyx was one of the members who ignored the rule of trying to stay low among the inhabitants of the world. He followed his senior's lead, albeit a little more cautious than him. The Nobody raised his hand to his eye level, trying to block the sunlight from getting into his eyes. Even with his hood raised up, the sunlight still managed to bother his eyes.
"Well, you've been here before, Rox! How's about you lead today's mission?" Demyx grinned.
Roxas gave him a deadpan look. "Don't dump all of the mission on me…"
The mullet-haired Nobody laughed. "Worry not, Roxas. I'm right beside you!" he reassured as he slung his arm over Roxas' shoulders.
"Yeah," Roxas laughed, pushing Demyx's arm off of him. "I guess we can go to the Bailey… there's a lot of Heartless there." He said, turning his head to the direction of said place.
"Lead the way!" Demyx said in a sing-song tone.
The blond rolled his eyes before walking to his left. The town square was basically empty like the last time he visited. There were only a few people walking around and they didn't pay any attention to the two guys in black, which was a little strange since what they wore is a bit edgy and suspicious.
Roxas stopped for a brief moment when he recognized the place he was at. He stared at the small house between two buildings. It was a small old-looking house with a large closed window made out of wood. His blue eyes stared at the door as if he was waiting for someone to come out. He remembered the house pretty well. It was the house Hikari and her partner went to after they finished their battle against the Heartless.
"What's the matter with the house?" Demyx questioned, averting his gaze to the house as well.
The blond shook his head. "Nothing, nothing." He said before continuing his way to the Bailey.
Deymx groaned at the sight of more stairs. "Ugh… this world just loves using stairs."
"Well… it's a great way to exercise." Roxas laughed nervously.
"But think of the elderly! They must have install an elevator or something…" Demyx huffed out, crossing his arms as the two Nobodies made their way up the stairs.
"Why do I get the feeling that this is for your own good and not for the world's elderly?" Roxas teased, a grin on his lips.
Deymx blinked. "Now you're getting it! So, you finally remembered some emotions?" he grinned, patting Roxas's back a few times.
"A little I guess…" Roxas answered truthfully.
Just like he said about the Heartless in the Bailey, a group of Heartless were seen around the area. The two Nobodies quickly summoned their weapons and lowered themselves to their signature fighting stance.
Demyx strummed his sitar loudly, summoning water to float around him. "Alright! Let's party hard!" he shouted before he strummed his sitar once more, commanding the water around him to attack the Heartless.
Roxas lunged forward along with Demyx's water clones. The older Nobody stood behind the lines as the younger one went for a close-range attack. He swung his keyblade at the Heartless, taking it out in one full swing. It was hard being a keyblade wielder in the Organization. He was the only one besides Xion who can 'free' the hearts from the Heartless. And since Xion lost her ability to wield the keyblade, he has to work twice as hard from before. He didn't mind covering for Xion at all. He was glad that he could help a friend out.
"Roxas! Heads up!" he heard Demyx shouted. The blond turned and saw a Heartless trapped inside of Demyx's water ball coming towards his way. He gripped his keyblade tighter and swing it against the water ball, slicing it in half along with the Heartless inside.
"Argh! Demyx!" Roxas shouted when the water dispersed, letting gravity took over. The water was dumped over the young Nobody, drenching him from head to toe.
"Ups! Sorry!" the older Nobody apologized.
Roxas gave him a frown before turning his attention back to the Heartless. He shook his head, trying to get the excess water out from his hair. He brought his keyblade to his front to shield him from the incoming attack. A small barrier was created in front of him as the large Heartless rammed into him, knocking him back. He skidded to a stop a few feet away from Demyx. More Heartless seemed to appear around them, making it more cramped than it was before.
The mullet-haired Nobody groaned, his hand covering his face. "I'm not cut out for this kind of job!" he whined out loudly.
The keyblade wielder's grip on the keyblade tighten as he glanced around. "The sooner we end this the better!" he quoted, letting out a battle cry.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Hikari moved back when a Heartless jumped at her from bellow. She turned her attention to her left and raised her rod to block the attack from another Heartless. Her rod clashed against the Heartless' claws and she pushed it away. Before the Heartless could attack her again, it was smacked away by a metallic staff. Her eyes glanced up to look at the person who knocked the Heartless away.
"Thanks!" Hikari grinned at the woman.
Aerith smiled in return, "You're welcome." She twirled the staff in her hand and swung it hard across to slash the Heartless around them.
The brunette had her attention on her partner for the day. Aerith's as good as everyone in the committee. She could fight like everyone else and besides Merlin, her magic was better than anyone. It was rare to see Aerith fight with a staff, but she was amazing. Usually, she uses magic to defeat her opponents. And even though Aerith admitted that physical strength was not her best, she was still a pro at using the staff.
Hikari drew back her rod as far as she can before she threw it at the direction of the Heartless. "Take this!" she shouted.
Her rod spun around, taking out the Heartless in its' way before returning to her hand. She turned her head towards Aerith and quickly ran across to stood behind her, raising her rod to cast a barrier around them.
The barrier blocked the fire balls thrown at them. The fire quickly dispersed as soon as it made contact with the barrier. Aerith turned around and raised her hand after Hikari dismissed the barrier.
"Freeze!" Aerith casted Blizzard over the Heartless, freezing them in one spell.
Hikari dashed towards the frozen Heartless, swinging her rod at them, shattering them to millions of pieces before they disappear in black smoke. The brunette straightened her posture, summoning the rod away. "That's the last of 'em!" she cheerfully stated.
Aerith giggled. "Nice work."
Hikari turned around to face the young woman. "Hehe! You too! We did awesome today!" she thrust her fist up to the sky, a grin across her face. They actually covered a lot. They helped people tidy up their stores and plant flowers around town to make it more-lively, all the while taking care of the Heartless. Before Hollow Bastion, Radiant Garden was a place filled with flowers and fountains. The way how Aerith seemed passionate about planting flowers was understandable. Hikari helped as best as she can with flowers and plants, even though she wasn't a gardener. She wanted to see Hollow Bastion shine like it was before. "Maybe we should plant some more flowers around the town square… How about more dandelions?" she grinned, crossing her hands behind her head.
Aerith giggled behind her hand. "Dandelions? Why dandelions?" she asked.
The brunette shrugged. "I don't know… it's pretty and you can make a wish with it." She answered, her eyes glancing over to look at the wild dandelions that grew near the tree's roots.
"How about roses?" Aerith suggested.
Hikari gave a so-so gesture. "Errrr… I think I prefer other flowers than roses. It's thorny and stuff." She was still a bit bitter about Marluxia. Every time she sees a rose, she was reminded of the fact that one of the Organization members use roses to fight. She doesn't the hate the flower in general, just… bitter. "I like sunflowers. How about sunflowers?"
The older brunette nodded her head. "Sunflowers it is then." She agreed. "We can stop by Mog's shop on our way to Merlin's house." She said, leading the way.
A groan escaped Hikari's lips. "Him? Why him? His prices are outrageous!" she huffed out, crossing her arms over her chest. She learned the Moogle's name from Aerith around a few days ago when she was helping her do some shopping. "I can't even use the committee discount on him!"
Aerith laughed. "But you still buy things from him." she said.
"Only because he's the only Moogle around here and… some of his stuff are okay, I guess." The brunette grumbled under her breath, admitting that Mog had the best merchandise in Hollow Bastion. She sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine… I guess some of his prices are reasonable…"
The young woman smiled.
"Ms. Aerith! What will it be today, kupo?" Mog the Moogle greeted cheerful when he spotted the young woman approaching him.
"Some sunflower seeds and four each of potions and ethers will do for today, Mog." Aerith replied, placing her hands on the counter.
"Coming right up, kupo!" Mog chirped.
Hikari gave the Moogle the stink eye. It was almost he was favoriting Aerith more from all the other committee members, including her. The Moogle returned back to the front, placing the items Aerith bought in a paper bag.
"Will that be all, Ms. Aerith, kupo?" Mog asked.
Aerith nodded her head. "Yes, how much will all of this cost?" she asked politely.
"That'll be 420 munny, kupo!" Mog answered and Aerith gave the Moogle the amount of munny needed to pay the items she bought.
Hikari gave the Moogle a strange look. "How much will ten potions be for me?" she asked out of the blue.
Mog turned to face her. "For you, it'll be 460 munny, kupo!" he replied cheerfully.
The brunette almost lost her balance. "Again?! Isn't one potion like 40 munny?!" she complained.
"It's to cover for the damage you did with Yuffie, kupo!" Mog said.
Hikari pinched the bridge of her nose. "It was a harmless prank, Mog. A harmless prank." She leaned against the counter. She remembered pranking Mog with Yuffie. It was a harmless little prank consist of water guns and water balloons. "We didn't even break anything in your shop."
Mog placed his tiny fingerless hand on his chest. "But it hurt my small heart, kupo…" he faked his hurt. He raised his head up, the bright look back across his face. "To make it up to me, I'm going to bump the prices up ten percent for you and Yuffie! Be glad it's only ten, kupo~!" he said in a sing-song tone.
Hikari slouched down to the counter. "It's better than a hundred…" she mumbled.
Aerith shook her head, a smile on her face. "We'll see you later, Mog. Have a nice day." She said, saying her goodbye to the Moogle.
"Have a good day as well, Ms. Aerith, kupo! You too, Hikari!" Mog replied.
The younger brunette waved her hand goodbye.
"Well, it was kind of your fault and Yuffie's." Aerith laughed a little, recalling the memory.
"Can't really blame me… it was a hot day. Mog should be thankful we cooled him down." Hikari puckered her lips out, blowing a raspberry.
Aerith shook her head with a smile. She shifted the bag in her hands to a more comfortable position. The young woman walked up the set of stairs and opened the door to Merlin's house.
Hikari walked up the three stairs to follow Aerith, but she stopped. The brunette felt something was off and she turned her head, tilting her head up to look at the Bailey's entrance. She turned just in time to see a man wearing a black coat entering the Bailey. She knew that black coat from anywhere.
"Hikari? Is something the matter?" Aerith asked, turning her body sideways as she held the door open.
The brunette turned her attention back to the woman. "Yeah, I just remembered I have to meet up with Mr. Scrooge again today." She said, jerking her thumb to the direction where Scrooge's shop is located. "You go on ahead, I'll come back right before dinner." She reassured.
"Be sure not to eat too much ice cream or else it will ruin your dinner." Aerith chided with a giggle.
As soon as Aerith closed the door, Hikari dashed towards the direction where she saw the black coat.
Questions went through her mind as she tried to figure out who was the one beneath the coat. An Organization member?
Was it Riku?
Or was it Roxas?
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"Fuuh~! Thank Kingdom Hearts it's over!" Demyx sighed out, taking a seat on the bench.
Roxas huffed out tiredly. He couldn't agree more. It was hours after they started their mission and truth be told, they were beyond tired. True to Demyx's words, Hollow Bastion is a world filled with Heartless. This must've been the most hearts he had collected since he came to the Organization. The amount of hearts he collected should be enough to cover both his and Xion's as well, more even.
Wave after wave of Heartless, they finally finished defeating all of the them in the Bailey. They moved to another location since the amount of time they took in the Bailey was too long. That and both of them couldn't handle the amount of Heartless that kept on coming. The town had lesser amount of Heartless loitering around. It was almost four o'clock when they finished their mission.
Roxas joined Demyx on the bench. It was located beside the clock in the town square.
"Well, I guess it's time we call it a day! Let's RTC!" Demyx pushed himself up, a grin on his face.
Roxas tilted his chin up to look at Demyx. "You go on ahead… I think I'm gonna rest a little longer." He replied with a smile.
Demyx shrugged. "Suit yourself! See you back at the castle, Rox!" he turned around on his heels, heading straight for the alleyway where they once came.
The young Nobody watched his fellow Nobody walk inside the dark alley, disappearing from his line of sight. A sigh escaped his lips as he slouched in his seat. It was a little too early for him to go to the clock tower. The clock began to strike when the long hand landed on the number twelve. He listened as the clock strike twelve times before it completely stopped.
"Four already… Should I?" Roxas mumbled, staring at the direction of the old house. He debated whether or not he should visit the old house to find Hikari.
'Wait… didn't those women say that Hikari is almost stationed near the castle?' A thought came to his mind. He remembered the gossip the women said about Hikari and Cloud patrolling near the castle almost every time. He turned his body around to face the castle. 'I have to.' he thought, standing up to his feet.
The Nobody made his way towards the castle, hoping to find the girl.
After going through the set of stairs, he finally made it to the Valley or as the committee call it 'The Check Point'. It was the end of the construction site. Beyond it was a wasteland that leads to the dark towers. He ignored all of the warning signs set around the site. It doesn't matter to him. He's a Nobody.
He stopped right at the middle, glancing left and right. He raised his hands up to his hood, pulling it down. The blond kept on looking left and right to find the girl, but there was no one in sight. He turned his head to look forward, staring at the path beyond the point.
'Maybe she and Cloud went a little further…' Roxas thought as he walked towards the path.
Before he could even walk, a hand grabbed his wrist, stopping him from taking another step forward. The blond's eyes widened in surprised, he quickly tried to take back his hand, but the person won't budge. He turned his head and he stopped when he saw who it was.
"Are you crazy?! You can't go there!" Hikari shouted. Roxas stared at the girl with his jaw dropped. He could see so many emotions from the girl's eyes, but he can't actually name all of them. It was as if she was concern and worried for him, a Nobody. "Nobody or not, it's dangerous!" she continued, her hand still holding him in place.
Roxas was still too shocked to reply to her.
The brunette stared at the Nobody with a frown before looking away. "Let's go." She dragged him by his wrist, leading him back to the restoration site. She was surprised how willing the Nobody is when she kept on dragging him from the hazardous place. He was quiet the whole time she was leading him back to the town square. She planned to lead him to the Fountain Area but stopped when Roxas stopped moving. "What?" she turned around, releasing her hold on his wrist.
Roxas held his wrist.
Hikari noticed the look across Roxas' face. "S—Sorry… I didn't mean to hurt you…" she quickly apologized.
"Huh? No, no! It's not that!" Roxas finally spoke, shaking his head. He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "It's just that… I've finally get the chance to see you again…" he laughed a little.
Hikari's eyes widened.
It's been awhile since I last saw you.
For a moment there, she remembered the words Phantom Ventus said to her.
"Um… What happened after you left me on that bench?" Roxas asked.
The brunette cringed. She gave him an apologetic look as she run her fingers through her hair. "Sorry! I just don't know where else to put you! I don't want you to fall into the fountain and the ground's not comfortable too—!"
Roxas laughed. "That's not what I meant!"
"You're… not mad?" Hikari blinked. She was sure that he would be mad at her for leaving him alone.
The Nobody shook his head, a smile on his face. "Not at all. I wanted to thank you, for watching over me and for the jacket obviously…" he scratched the back of his neck. "I… kind of forgot to bring it with me… sorry…"
"It's okay." Hikari replied.
Silence fell between the two.
Roxas cleared his throat, making the girl turn to face him. "Hi…kari," he called out. The name still felt strange to him. It stopped him for a second. He was hesitant to ask her. He finally found the girl and he couldn't even ask her anything. This was his chance to find out about his past. "There's something I want to—!"
The two turned their head when they heard a scream.
"Mr. Scrooge!" Hikari furrowed her eyebrows as she gritted her teeth. "Sorry. Can this wait?" she glanced over to Roxas before she made a dash towards Scrooge's shop is located.
Roxas reached his hand out to the girl. "W—Wait!" but she was long gone. The blond looked down for a moment before lifting his gaze up, a determined look across his face. He ran towards the direction where Hikari went, following her to 'Mr. Scrooge'.
When Hikari arrived at Scrooge's shop, she was greeted with the sight of Heartless trying to wreck the duck's business. She quickly summoned her rod as she ran closer to the shop.
"Get away from me shop, ye no good Heartless!" Scrooge waved his walking cane around, trying to scare the Heartless away.
The brunette threw her rod at the Heartless that jumped at Scrooge. Her rod slashed through the Heartless before it returned to her grasp. Scrooge turned his head to the direction where the magic rod came and he couldn't be happier to see the teenage girl coming to help him.
"I hope you guys are planning to pay for that!" Hikari shouted as she swung the rod at the Heartless in front of the freezer. She skidded to a stop in front of Scrooge, standing protectively in front of the elderly. "Leave this to me, Mr. Scrooge! I'll handle these bug-eyed freaks!" she said, glancing over her shoulder to look at the duck.
The duck nodded his head. "Aye, I'm counting on ye, lass!" he said, running back inside his shop for shelter.
Hikari lowered herself to a fighting stance, her rod gripped tightly in her hand. She looked over to her right and saw Roxas beside her, his weapon drawn out. The boy gave her a reassuring smile before he turned his head back to look at the Heartless in front of them. She stared at him for as moment before turning her attention back to the Heartless again.
Roxas made the first move. He ran towards the Heartless, swinging his keyblade around. Hikari stayed behind to defend Scrooge's shop from any incoming Heartless. The brunette raised her rod, casting thunder. She swung her rod at the paralyzed Heartless and took them all out one swing after another. She huffed out, taking a few seconds to breathe. She glanced over to the Nobody who was doing better than she was. His stamina was amazing. He didn't get tired easily like she did.
The blond glanced over to Hikari. "Behind you!" he shouted, turning around to dash towards the girl.
Hikari quickly ducked down and barely dodged the Heartless' claws as it went over her head. She lunged forward, dodge-rolling away from being cornered by the creatures. She stopped and pointed her rod at the direction of the Heartless.
"Firaga!" she shouted and a large ball of fire was shot at the Heartless. In a few seconds, the fire burned the Heartless, taking all of them out. The brunette stood up and glanced over to Roxas, giving him a reassuring smile. Her smile soon disappeared. "Roxas! Watch out!" she shouted, running towards him.
The blond turned around, only to be hit by the Large Body. It sent him back flying. Hikari caught him, but she was thrown back as well from the force. The two landed on the ground with a loud thud with Roxas' keyblade landing beside them.
"Argh…" Roxas held his head as he supported himself with his elbow.
Hikari rubbed the back of her head as she sat up. Her eyes widened when she saw the large Heartless was in front of them. Her hand quickly shot out to the nearest weapon around.
Roxas' keyblade.
The brunette jumped up to her feet and lunged forward, thrusting the keyblade through the Heartless.
It wasn't long until the Heartless disappeared, leaving a heart behind its' trail.
Hikari stared at the heart as it floated away.
The girl glanced down at the keyblade in her hand before making her way to where Roxas' is.
"Cure!" Hikari raised the keyblade, casting cure over the injured Nobody. She kneeled down and offered her hand for the blond to take. "You okay?" she asked.
Roxas nodded his head, taking Hikari's hand. "Thanks." He said as Hikari helped him up. His eyes glanced over to his keyblade in Hikari's hand. "You can wield the keyblade too?" he asked, pointing his finger at the keyblade.
Hikari raised the keyblade and shrugged. "I guess…" she answered and handed the keyblade back to the owner. She bends down to take her rod from the floor, inspecting it from any damaged caused from before.
A laugh escaped Roxas' lips. "So that's why you were so surprised when I summoned the keyblade… it's because you're a wielder too!" he summoned the keyblade away as Hikari did the same with her rod.
The brunette scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, averting her gaze. "Maybe haha…"
"Thank ye so much, lass!"
Roxas turned to face where the voice came, but a hand stopped him. "W-Whoa!" he exclaimed in surprised when Hikari pulled his hood to cover his hair and face from the newcomer. He blinked confusedly when Hikari stood in front of him. She was shorter than him. Her height was around his eyes, making it difficult to see the person. "What are you—," he was about to ask.
"Staying low is your priority, right?" Hikari whispered, looking at him from over her shoulder.
Well… she was right about that.
"Oh! I see ye have a new friend! Thank ye for helping me out, lads!" Scrooge walked towards the two, a smile on his face.
"Umm… No problem." Roxas replied.
Hikari laughed. "He's shy."
"I'm not shy." The Nobody quickly retorted.
Scrooge laughed. "'Ey, how about I gave ye two some reward? Ice cream, my treat?" he said as he walked towards the fridge outside.
Roxas glanced over to Hikari who shrugged her shoulder and followed the duck to the fridge. The Nobody soon followed the brunette's lead, standing beside her as the duck opened the large fridge or freezer in this situation. The Nobody shivered when the cold breeze of the freezer went out. His blue eyes skimmed through the different colors of the ice cream inside. There were many flavors labeled bellow the ice creams. He never heard of peanut butter supreme.
"Another sea-salt, lass?" Scrooge took out a blue ice cream, offering it to the brunette.
Hikari gave a look. "Not… today, Mr. Scrooge. It's still a bit too salty for my taste. I'll try out your new recipe tomorrow…" she said and Scrooge gave a nod, putting the sea-salt flavored ice cream back into the freezer. The girl leaned her head closer to the Nobody, covering her mouth with her hand. "Don't take the sea-salt… it's too salty for anyone. It's still being tested." She whispered.
Roxas covered his mouth as well. He was a little bummed that sea-salt wasn't available. "Well, what do you recommend?" he whispered back.
Hikari grinned. "I'll have chocolate!" she exclaimed cheerfully.
"One chocolate coming up!" Scrooge laughed and took the chocolate flavored one out, giving it to the brunette. "And you lass?" he turned to face the hooded boy.
"O—Oh um… I guess chocolate too?" Roxas replied.
"Here ya go, lad. Enjoy!" Scrooge said, handing him the ice cream.
"Thanks, Mr. Scrooge! I'll see you tomorrow!" Hikari waved goodbye, leading Roxas away from the shop.
Scrooge waved his hand goodbye. "See ya tomorrow, lass!"
Roxas stayed quiet, ice cream in hand as Hikari leaded the way. He glanced around, remembering the twist and turns they took. There were a few spots that he remembered from the last visit. She was leading him towards the place where she first comforted him. It wasn't long until they reached the Fountain Area. He stopped to observe the place as Hikari made her way towards one of the fountain. Now that he has a better look around the area, it was actually a really nice place to hang around, despite most of the fountains were still being built.
Hikari sat on the fountain. "You're just gonna stand there?" she asked, opening the ice cream wrap.
The Nobody shook his head and followed the brunette, sitting down beside her. Silence fell between the two. He glanced over to Hikari who was silently eating her ice cream while gazing forward. He averted his gaze to look at what Hikari was staring at and his eyes widened.
It was a view of the castle with the afternoon sky in the background.
"Awesome view, right?" Hikari broke the silence.
"Yeah…"
"This place used to be so dark. I hated it." The brunette continued. "But now, ever since he saved the worlds… Everything went back to the way it was." she sighed out, a smile on her lips.
Roxas stared down at his ice cream. "I see…"
"You… reminded me of someone, Roxas."
The blond turned his attention to the girl. "I do?" finally, he was able to learn more about who he used to be. "Tell me, Hikari… do you know who I was?" he asked, placing a hand over his chest.
Hikari stopped eating her ice cream and stared down at her hands. "No… Not really… You just reminded me of someone." She stated more clearly this time.
Roxas slumped his shoulders in disappointment. "Oh…" he sighed out and the two became silent again. "I… When I first came to the Organization, I have no memories at all. I don't remember my home. I don't remember anything. Not even my name… No one can answer my questions. I do what I was told to do… to collect hearts to be whole." he admitted. He didn't know why he was talking, it just came out.
"I… see… It must be hard…"
The brunette stared at the Nobody. Now that she heard Roxas's story, she felt kind of sorry for him. It must be hard to wake up not knowing anything. The atmosphere around them was heavy and she couldn't really handle it.
It was a little hard trying to get out of the mood.
"You ice cream is gonna melt." Hikari suddenly said, pointing her finger at the ice cream in Roxas's hand, still wrapped in the clear wrapper. She wasn't trying to be ignorant, but she needed to lighten the mood. "Don't tell me you don't like chocolate?" she laughed a little.
Roxas smiled a little before opening the wrapper. "This is actually my first taste."
Hikari gave a loud and dramatic gasp. "Impossible! How could you have NOT taste the deliciousness of chocolate?!" she said dramatically. "Chocolate is like the best dessert if the history of desserts! The sweetness and bitterness is to die for!" she added.
The Nobody burst out laughing.
"Really?" Roxas sniggered.
"Try it!"
He took a bite of it.
"So, how is it?" Hikari asked, her eyes gleaming.
Roxas hummed, tasting the flavor. "I'll give it a five over ten… I like sea-salt better." He rated and Hikari gave him a look.
"Are you kidding me? I had enough saltiness in ice cream! Mr. Scrooge made me taste his sea-salt ice cream for days in a row! I don't want to complain, but it's kinda ruining my taste buds!"
"What? That's like the best job ever! How could you not be happy about being a sea-salt ice cream tester?!"
Hikari blinked.
Roxas stared.
They both laughed.
"Hahaha!" Hikari wiped the tears away from the corners of her eyes as the laughter subsided. The brunette smiled and bite the stick on her ice cream as her hands went to grab her camera. She pulled the black camera out from the case and positioned it away from her and Roxas with the lens facing them. "Roxas! Say cheese!" she said a little muffled.
"Hmm?"
Click
Roxas blinked confusedly, swallowing the ice cream he had chewed off from the stick. "What was that about?" he questioned while Hikari began to tamper with the device in her hands. His eyes widened when he saw two pieces of paper coming out from the small device. "What is that?" he asked curiously.
Hikari waved the piece of papers in the air and gave it one of it to Roxas. She set the camera and her picture in the middle of where they sat. Her hand held the ice cream stick hanging from her mouth and she quickly finished the ice cream before answering. "It's a picture. Don't you know what a picture is?"
Roxas shook his head 'no'.
"Well… a picture is a picture? I'm not good at describing things…" Hikari sighed out. She watched as Roxas stared at the picture and she smiled. "You can keep that one, that way you can always look at it to remember the day we met. A memory, I guess." She explained.
Roxas placed the picture down to his lap. "It's too bad we're on the opposite side… we might not be able to hang out like this next time."
The brunette stared at the Nobody. What Roxas said was true. They're enemies and the next time they meet might be in the battlefield. And just when she was beginning to like Roxas' company. Truth be told, she didn't want to fight Roxas or even Axel.
"Wait!" She shouted, surprising Roxas when she stood up abruptly. An idea crossed her mind when she thought about the red-haired Nobody. She turned around to face Roxas, a bright grin across her face. "How about we make a deal?" she asked, holding the ice cream on her left hand as her other hand was stretched out to Roxas.
Roxas tilted his head. "A deal?" he echoed.
Hikari nodded her head and she sat back down on the fountain. "Yeah! From today and forward, whatever happens between us, stays between us!" she said, pausing for a moment to take a breath. "I won't tell anything about you and you won't tell anyone about me. It's a secret between the two of us!" she said happily.
"That's a good idea! That way, we can hang around like this again!" Roxas quickly agreed.
The girl nodded her head once.
"Let's meet again tomorrow afternoon."
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Scrapbook Entry 17 entered.