Recappy From the Last Chappy: When she lowered her hand, purple markings identical to Orochimaru's shadowed her eyes.
A glint in her peripherals caught her attention and drew her gaze. To her left, a Bouncywild stood on Tayuya's body, holding a vivid green gem in its paw. Hikari held her hand out toward it. "Give it here."
The Heartless did not hesitate to obey, bouncing from that branch to hers. In the palm of her hand, Hikari could see the two pink dots decorating the gem. Without a doubt, it was one for summoning; she could feel chakra in it.
"Another for the collection. Question is: who are you?" She hooked it onto the bracelet next to the other two. Then, she looked at the Heartless once more. They all regarded her, and for a moment she simply stared back, wondering what to do about them. "As for you . . . this affiliation could be very problematic. . . . I don't plan on being like you for long." She deftly produced a kunai and felled the Bouncywild nearest her whilst regarding the rest. "Away with you."
Chapter Fourteen: Trick or Treat
A trio of children dressed in Halloween costumes ran about the town square of a world dressed in perpetual Halloween night décor, including frightful knick-knacks, an abundance of jack-o-lanterns, and other fearsome components; in the center of the square, rising out of emerald goo, there was a guillotine, and the world was forever in nightfall, lighted by a moon instead of a sun.
The children came running from a black wrought iron gate leading to the Graveyard, chasing one another. In the lead, running away from the two, was a round-faced boy dressed as a skeleton. He was chased by a girl dressed as a witch and a devil-boy trailing behind. The girl carried with her a small, ice blue pumpkin.
Barrel, the skeleton, abruptly stopped in his tracks when he noticed something strange by the guillotine. Shock, the witch, collided with him and Lock, the devil, collided with her. She dropped the blue pumpkin; it exploded in a small, icy mist. "What's the big idea!"
Barrel pointed at the guillotine. A man with mussed silver hair and dressed in a brown tunic hung on the side of the well, unconscious. "Look at that guy over there . . . he's got that blue stuff in him. What was it called?"
Lock stepped away from his cohorts, approaching the man. He lifted the red mask from his face, revealing ashen grey skin and a mischievous smile formed by icy blue lips. As he looked upon the man, his eyes changed, paling a smidgen. "Katra. . . ."
"You idiot!" Shock squeaked. She lifted her mask too, revealing she had a similar complexion, examining the man. "It's 'CHAKRA!'"
Shrugging his shoulders, Barrel said, "Who cares what it's called? Whatever it is, Oogie said he wanted it, didn't he? We gonna take it to him?"
Lock, the sort-of-leader of the group, thought it over. Then, he sneered. "Might be fun. To Mr. Oogie Boogie!"
A bathtub with feet walked into the Guillotine Square, heading toward where the man—a ninja whose native residence had been the Land of Shurikon and Kunai—lied. Lock, Shock, and Barrel closed the flanks.
Hikari entered the encampment and glanced at the tent. Night had fallen, therefore it was a lantern inside the tent that illuminated and silhouetted the group within. They appeared to be sitting around one another, conversing; from the laughter she heard, she could deduce they were having a mirthful time.
She stopped near the cargo pile and remained idle, simply watching their silhouettes for a moment. It was not difficult to distinct which semblance belonged to whom since everyone varied so greatly in major characteristics. All Sora, Donald, Goofy, Kiba, Jane, and the Professor were within; Clayton and Tarzan were not.
Her eyes fell on the spiky profile of Sora. On the wrist which she had decorated with summon gems and Inferno Band, she touched the latter in deep thought. Nothing could have been done about the purple markings on her face, so they crinkled a little when her eyes narrowed. ". . . ."
A female voice spoke from behind her. "Friends."
Hikari turned and glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the voice. There stood a female, visible spirit with blonde hair and stone grey eyes. Her attire was familiar, reminding Hikari of what she wore when she was fresh genin. Even so, memory of the girl eluded her.
She stood with her arms crossed, the girl who had also presented herself to Sora earlier that day, wearing a cool expression as she regarded Sora's silhouette. "That's the word you're looking for. 'Friends,' isn't that right?"
The non-wraith's guard was raised, though she softened minutely in wonder. "'Friends'? No . . . it shouldn't be possible. . . ." She closed her eyes and gave one curt shake of her head, clearing the thought's processing. Pulling out a kunai, she regarded the blonde more seriously, "Are you a friendly ghost, or a vengeful spirit?"
"Hn. You have to ask me. . . ." Hands on her hips, she humorously retorted, "I know it's been three years, but of all people to forget, I wouldn't think it's me!" She shook her head. "You know me . . . you know me better than anyone else. Or you should. . . ."
"Knew," corrected the nin. "If I did know you so personally, I forgot. I don't know anyone that died, unless—though I never actually knew them—you were to count my parents, so tell me: how do I know you?"
The wraith simply stared at her for a few moments; no decipherable expression. Then, she gave a humored grunt. "Of course you'd come to that assumption. But technically, I'm more alive than you. . . ."
Narrowing her eyes whilst tightening her grip on the kunai, Hikari inquired, "Do you have some point you're trying to make? Skip the riddles then. My—allies don't need to hear us talking just because you can't tell anything to me straight."
Cracking a smile, the wraith muttered, "Riddles? I've found them pretty fun recently." She held her chin and mused a bit louder, "Not too many questions about me, what I am, or my presence . . . you don't care, or because you don't have feelings you've already thought, assumed, and rationalized." Her grin widened. "But . . . because you want to get rid of me, so Sora, Donald, and Goofy don't see, then you do care what they think. . . ."
The yellow-eyed teen frowned. "How do you know their names?" She shook her head. "I don't care what they think! But if they see me with you, it'll raise questions, and could keep us here longer than necessary. It's a nuisance, that's all."
The blonde wraith lowered her hand from her chin and regarded Hikari directly. "Is that right? Then tell me why you even care to stay with them; why you care if they live, or die. Answer me why you hesitate each time you call them your 'allies,' instead of friends." She noticed an addition to the heartless girl's countenance. "Why you sweat as I point out truths you've been denying. . . ."
As Hikari frowned and raised a hand to check the unwitting perspiration on her temple, the wraith's eyes softened, and she smiled minutely in satisfaction. "It's working. Little by little, but even if that's the truth . . . hn."
"What?"
"Nothing. Don't worry about it."
"I won't, because I can't."
"Nonsense, course ya can. You're not as Heartless as you think."
Hikari's frown deepened. "You're not making sense—!"
"Hiki?"
"—!" The sudden vocalization drew Hikari's cognizance, though she only turned her head to the side, barely sparing the owner a glance. Just exiting the tent through its flap, Sora stood before it. Donald and Goofy were coming out as well, flanking him.
She turned her gaze in front of her, where the blonde wraith had manifested, but she was no longer present. She closed her mouth and loosened her hands. "How . . . strange. . . ."
"What is?" came Sora's voice once more.
Glancing to her side, she reached up and adjusted her bangs, fixing them so the markings around her eyes would remain hidden . . . for the time being. Only a moment later did she turn to face them and lower her hand, showing how her eyes were mostly obscured, but some yellow was visible through the part above her left eye. She regarded him with indifference as she shook her head and replaced her kunai into her pouch.
Sora smiled. "We were beginning to wonder when you'd come back." He appeared to visibly relax as he took a step forward, but Hikari's indifference made him dither. Their last encounter, their disagreement in the Gummi, flashed through his mind: "We're not friends. I don't have friends."
He hesitated, crossed his arms, and averted his gaze, feeling blood rush to his face. His mouth was in a small pout. He was not the type to typically hold grudges, and it would not be right to construe he was currently; which was the reason why he seemed awkward. "Hmph. Where've you been? Did you find our rocket?"
"The correct term is 'Gummi Ship,'" she replied. "And yeah, I did. It's about an hour or two—," she thought for a moment and pointed between her right and posterior, "—that way. Surprisingly, its damage is minor enough to fly out of here. Which is good, because half our Gummi block stock is gone."
Donald's eyes widened. "Half? Of everything?"
"Mostly out of the Gummi blocks," she repeated. "Chip 'n' Dale are taking inventory of the rest. Most of our personal possessions should be alright, since they were more inside the Gummi while the blocks were stored in outer compartments. It will take too much time to find everything that's lost, though. If we go now, we can help finish taking stock quicker and leave by morning, probably."
Jane's voice cut in directly behind, startling the male trio. She had come through the flap somewhere in the midst of Hikari's speaking. "And leave during the night? Nonsense!" The boys jumped. "Sorry, I couldn't help overhearing; canvas is rather thin and doesn't block sound very well. . . . But we couldn't possibly let you go out now. You can stay right here in the camp. We should have extra sleeping bags. . . ."
The Professor and Kiba came out of the tent. Automatically, the Professor sided with his daughter. "She's right, you know. Kiba, you're welcome to stay as well."
"Don't mind if I do, Archie!" Kiba stretched. "You guys could use another escort, for now, since Clayton . . . you know."
The rest of the group quieted, averting their eyes in discomfort. Hikari realized then that the hunter was not present. Minutely curious, she crossed her arms and questioned, "The hunter . . . what happened to him?"
"He was actually hired as an escort," Jane corrected. Her big green eyes narrowed and she held her elbows, staring at the ground. Her voice was grave. "But I suppose you are right. . . . He didn't want to study gorillas . . . he came along to hunt them."
The Professor nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid I misjudged him. He went along with Tarzan and Sora in order to find the gorilla's nesting grounds. He nearly got a gorilla at the Tree House, but he was thankfully unsuccessful; with due credit to Donald."
Kiba stood casually with his arms back and his hands laced behind his neck. Akamaru rested on top of his head. Although he had positioned himself coolly, his expression was hardened, exhibiting his disgust. "But it didn't end there. He tried to use the Heartless, brought them here and then sent them after the gorillas. . . ."
Hikari reacted to his mentioning the assembling of Heartless. She averted her eyes, knowing that if it were not for her summoning them, they would not have been present for the hunter to utilize; as he was native to a world sans prior Heartless disturbance, from what she understood, he would not have known about them to be able to convene them himself.
A moment later, since no one was picking up where Kiba had trailed off, she continued, "So . . . the Heartless claimed his heart, huh?"
There was a pause, but everyone nodded.
"I see. . . ."
The Porters had just enough sleeping bags for everyone. They were set up outside, with naught but the starry sky as their canopy. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were lined up three in a row whereas the shinobis' were a smidgen distanced.
Of the afore-mentioned trio, solely one was later not in a deep slumber. The Keybearer lied on his back, staring up at the sky, thinking of the day's events; namely, his and Hikari's disagreement, seeing Kairi (or at least thinking he had seen her. . . .), and that blonde girl in what he could only explain as a dream. Absolutely none of it made sense to him.
He considered the possibility that Hikari was angry with him for some reason, but could not configure a reason wherefore. Kairi must have been an illusion of some sort, but when he had inquired to the Professor about jungle fever, he had laughed it off and replied that he was in perfect health. As for the girl . . . even if it was a dream, he had no recollection of falling asleep. Moreover, there had been that painful jolt again in his chest, like she had been clutching it to pull him under. . . .
Sora sighed and turned on his side. Drowsily, he closed his eyes and folded his arms for use as a pillow. This day had been, without a doubt, the longest of his life . . . thus far.
The precipitation of the shower painfully struck nerves all over Orochimaru's arms. Blood coming from cracks and breaks in the skin was picked up by the water and brought down to the drain. Orochimaru was groaning and trembling; his muscles were tightened in agony. He had managed to lift one of his arms to brace him on the wall of the rain locker.
Kabuto stood in the doorway, regarding his master's contour on the neon green shower curtain; a pattern of black widow spiders decorated it. With hard eyes, he thought, Sending the Sound Four to Deep Jungle might not have been the smartest move; they're taking too much time to find her. Sakon's body could've sufficed. . . . He's not going to last, at this rate.
Orochimaru opened his eyes in a squint and grit his teeth. "Where is she? Useless girl . . . !"
"No word has come in from the Sound Four indicating that they've even found her yet," he answered. "But you have no time. That old man, the Third Hokage—his jutsu was stronger than we thought, and it's really taken its toll now!" Behind his glasses, his eyes narrowed. "My lord, you're out of time. We can't wait for her, either."
The ailing man's snaky countenance contorted with frustration and pain. He flashed back to three years before, when his arms had been afflicted by the kinjutsu rendering them useless. It appeared like the very souls of his arms had been pulled and then cut from his body. They were virtually deceased. Curse you, Old Man! CURSE YOU!
"First Sasuke? Then her?" he hissed. "Then who? Who is here?"
". . . I—"
A high-pitched screech rang through the manor, drawing their attention skyward. It was the doorbell, rung by Lock, Shock, and Barrel at the entrance to the Evil Playroom; a neon green door with an evil smile drawn onto it. They were in their bathtub, sitting on top of a black bag decorated with orange jack-o-lanterns, where the man they had found was stored. Lock stood and they all chorused, "Trick or treat!"
Their vocalizations carried to the men through a giant megaphone-like device in the next room. Kabuto frowned. "Those runts. . . ."
Lock's voice came. "We found one!"
"A guy with that 'Katra' stuff—!" Barrel's voice was interrupted by the sound of fist impacting flesh. "Ow!"
"Chakra!" Shock reprimanded. She sighed, "I wish my cohorts weren't so dumb."
"You're the dumb one!"
"You're no fun."
A cold smile crossed Kabuto's lips as the trio bickered. An entirely new body, one that had not been subjected to experimentation was ideal indeed, despite what the strength of the host might be. Good fortune was with them seemingly.
He turned toward the shower and said, "It appears those runts found one. Looks like you won't lose everything after all. I'll retrieve it with the Oogie body. And then, I'll see to Hikari. Leave everything to me." With that said, he turned and left the room, closing the door behind him; on the other side, he could hear Orochimaru cursing the Hokage.
The jungle night was rather quiet around the camp; most of the animals knew of a human, alien presence and gave it a wide berth. However, brave souls hunted their smaller prey with no regard for the settlement. Despite the nigh reticence, Hikari found herself wide awake after the others had been slumbering for a few hours.
It was not that she was not tired. Her body ached, and her eyelids felt leaded. She wanted nothing more than to sleep; as she had not had the luxury of dreams or the burden of nightmares, she would escape from thought and speculation, in the least.
Odd; she noted fleetingly that her views were skirting angst. Because she knew her actions versus the Sound Four would be construe as deplorable? She was unsure. Definitely she could understand her—allies would have had a few questions if they had seen. . . .
The yellow-eyed teen sat up, resting her elbows on her knees; beneath her the sleeping bag remained unopened. Quietly she glanced behind her where Sora, Donald, and Goofy were snoring. Then, she looked beside her; out of habit, there was a space just large enough for a small white dog to lay. The sleeping bag next to her was empty.
". . . ."
She rubbed her eyes and proceeded to stand, fixing her hair so it mostly covered her eyes. Walking around with her vision virtually obscured was a great inconvenience, particularly during the night, but a piece of her—the same piece that increasingly produced occurrences of memory-manifested "emotions"—made her think it necessary.
Near where the sleeping bags were set up was the cargo pile; Hikari silently walked toward it, attempting not to awaken the others. She climbed up the pile until she could see over the top; a few rows down, Kiba sat with Akamaru resting on his shoulder.
The brunette appeared to have heard her, since he turned and met her gaze. "Oh, it's you. Couldn't sleep?"
She shook her head and twisted to rest an arm on the highest box. She rubbed her eyes. "I've given up, for now. Guess I'm not that tired."
He stretched his arms out in front of him and yawned, crossing his legs. "That makes one of us."
"You volunteered for sentry duty. You shouldn't complain."
He glanced back at her narrowly. "You've changed. A lot colder than you used to be. You were maybe a little . . . detached, sometimes, but now I'm gettin' random flashbacks to Sasuke." There was no response, so he continued. "Being separated from everyone really shook ya—," he looked at her over his shoulder, "—didn't it?"
She raised a leg onto a box level with where she sat and set her hand on her knee. Her eyes glanced over the three summon gems and Inferno Band. Kiba saw her shake her head. "Not really. I didn't have many people to miss, so I don't. The only one I truly want to find is my brother, so I can. . . ." She shut her mouth.
". . . So you can what?"
". . . ."
"I knew it! You're hiding something. People change, but you've changed too much. Even the essence of your scent seems weird to me," he stated. Softer, scratching between Akamaru's ears, he said, "Akamaru won't even tell me what it is, though I know he can sense it better than me."
A small smile tugged at Hikari's lip. "Is that right? Well, even if I were hiding something, don't expect me to fess up; then there would've been no point in past silence. Akamaru's probably not telling you what it is because there's nothing."
"No, I know when he's lying, and he's lying when he says he doesn't know why you're different." Annoyance was apparent in his voice. "So it's something; and since you're dodging the question it must have something to do with Naruto—and finding him. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to find out you're hiding something!"
"No, just a bag of fleas and Jungle Boy—,"Akamaru's bark and Kiba's exclamation interrupted her thought. Emotionlessly, though one could also construe sarcasm, she retorted, "Kindly, drop the subject. It would be greatly appreciated."
Kiba scoffed at the condescending remark but quieted, staring in front of him; a vein pulsed on his forehead. Sulking, he leaned his head back and looked up at the sky, staring up at all the stars. Since they were in the jungle, away from artificial light, only the stars and the moon illuminated the night. In some patches of the sky, there seemed to be more stars than blackness whereas bald spots were randomly interspersed.
Hikari turned her back toward his and also leaned her head back, looking at the sky. Given, her expression held much less emotion than his; neither of their thoughts could be read by an outside source. Akamaru was now at the boy's side instead of on his shoulder and nuzzled his arm, calming him.
Their reticence was long and solely combated by the random cricket or predatory actions far enough from the encampment that it bothered neither of them. They both simply stared at the stars, one considering whilst the other calmed.
The brunette's expression softened. When they were kids in Konoha, they had sometimes snuck out of their homes and met in the park; all him, Akamaru, Hikari, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Chouji. They would play, talk, and regard the stars.
"Even though it's the same sky, it seems so different . . . ," he murmured.
". . . ?"
"When we were kids . . . it seems like there were more stars then than now. Streetlights probably would've made less appear while you're there, but . . . there's nothin' like that here, and it seems like there's less." Beside him, Akamaru lifted his chin to regard the sky too.
"Our world was once one of those stars. Those stars are all worlds . . . the King noticed that the stars were blinking out, and deduced more worlds were disappearing into darkness at an alarming rate. Sora . . . he's supposed to be able to do something about it, but I don't see it in him yet.
"Oops. Looks like I'm meddling. Wasn't supposed to let you in on that." The yellow-eyed teen lowered her stare, gazing toward her party. "Yeah, there are a lot of black patches in the sky, but there are still many points of light . . . all worlds that Naruto or Hinata could be on."
His eyes widened and he opened his mouth in awe; the slit irises dances across the sclera, taking in the vast blanket. "There's so many . . . ." He looked down at Akamaru and scratched behind his ears. There was a half-smile baring his teeth. "I guess I was lucky you found me, huh? But I'm not givin' up on her." He glanced up once more. "With mine 'n' Akamaru's noses, and my heart, I'll find her, once I make one of those Gummi things. . . ."
Hikari closed her eyes and sunk back a little, leaning her head back on a crate; she curled up one leg comfortably.
"Still . . . a little disheartening, isn't it?"
She opened her eyes. "What is?"
"That there are so many worlds, a lotta places they can be . . . what if we never find them?"
". . . Not an option." She lifted her head and straightened, staring into space sans any emotion but a flash of resolve. In a subconscious movement, she brought her fingers up to her face, just beneath her eye and on the purple shadow. Her lips pursed for a millisecond and her eyes flinched narrower before that hand went down to where her heart would be. "Kiba . . . when you introduced me to the Professor, you said we're childhood friends, isn't that right?"
He nodded and quirked a brow. "Uh-huh. . . . What, you don't think we were?"
"Didn't say that." I didn't realize. . . . She glanced down, hiding her eyes beneath her lashes. "But friends . . . they're supposed to be able to say things to each other, in confidence, and it's supposed to be . . . 'safe,' isn't that right? Friends, they . . . tell secrets. I can trust you?"
"Yeah . . . are you saying you want to tell me what you're hiding after all?" He sneered. "I'm all ears. You can trust me."
She closed her mouth and thought it over for a moment, still in consideration. One hand went to her chest while the other reached into her shurikon holster, just in case. "The reason why I have to find my brother is not as simple as missing him, or any 'sibling bond.' . . . We weren't perfect twins.
"You want to know the truth, isn't that right? Well, there's a Heartless inside my brother. It's been there, sealed, for his entire life. You would know it as the Nine-tailed Fox." Kiba's stare forward turned somber. "The day our world was destroyed, the Heartless broke out of its seal and took him over. In the end, I think he's to blame for a big part of why The Land of Shurikon and Kunai fell.
"I was there when he transformed fully. . . . I've had a void in my chest, ever since. I can't be disheartened, because I don't have a heart; Naruto stole it from me three years ago. I'm looking for him so I can have it back."
The brunette's eyes widened considerably as the word "heartless" registered in his mind. His first instinct was to attack her; he had turned and his muscles were tightened as he readied to vault to the other side when Akamaru's nose touched his arm. The cold against his skin relaxed his expression from a glare to surprise as he regarded the dog, and the dog stared right back.
". . . ." Akamaru's whimper drew him to soften his gaze; they communicated without words, sans anything but a sort of telepathy even Hikari had not been able to achieve with the dog. He hunkered and slid down, turning so he could lean his back against the crate.
A brief silence passed. ". . . Guess that makes sense now, in a way. I was joking when I asked about your heart."
"I'm aware. . . ." Hikari looked back at him over her shoulder, tentatively removing her hand from her shurikon holster. "Hn. I'd expected you to attack me. . . . You're the first person I've told. Donald, Goofy, the King . . . they're more like humans, and don't really have 'animal instinct,' so they never guessed; and I never told."
". . . Thank Akamaru. He trusts you, so I figured . . . I should too. I mean, the guys you're with don't have that dark stench, so they can't be Heartless. . . . You haven't taken their hearts, yet."
"And I don't plan on it. Those guys are my fr. . . ." She closed her mouth and gazed over at them; they were sound asleep, lost to their dreams. The girl lowered her head and glanced to the side as Donald kicked at imaginary demons, and she remembered what she had said to Sora before they had crashed into Deep Jungle. ". . . Everyone needs allies; I'd rather they be of the light, not the dark. The only heart I have interest in is mine."
Kiba snorted. "'Is that right' . . . ? Better." He leaned his head back and gazed up at the sky. "You better. . . ."
The girl closed her mouth, wondering if she should have kept it so, when she looked over at Sora once more. He wore a silly smile on his face, appearing like a happy drunk as he hugged himself and murmured Kairi's name. She gave the softest of smiles, speculating as she toyed with her newest summon gem.
"Hey. . . ."
"Huh?" Hikari glanced back at Kiba.
"Didn't you say something earlier 'bout a cricket with a top hat being one of your allies? Don't remember seein' him."
". . . Oh, Jiminy. . . . Hmm." She stared forward again, mostly disinterested. "Wonder what happened to him."
"Helloooo? Hello? Sora? Hikari . . . ? Now where in the world could they be?" voiced Jiminy Cricket into the jungle with no response. Walking on a branch very high above the floor with his umbrella in hand, he searched with his heavy eyes, determined to spot his companions yet tired indeed.
He came to the edge of a branch and jumped off, opening his umbrella in order to smoothly sail down on the force of air resistance. His melancholy eyes drowsily gazed around him; since it was night and very little moonlight had made it through the breaks in the canopy, he could not see much. On the trunk of the tree on which he landed next, however, at the end of the branch he saw a small knothole where he could spend the night.
"Well," he began, "I guess I'll just have to look again in the morning. . . ."
Unknown by him, Heartless were dancing along the floor below him, searching for their forbidden fruit.
End of Chapter Fourteen
Next Time in When Darkness Turns to Light! Chapter Fifteen: Chasing Butterflies
"Yeah." Goofy approached and slung his arms around the three of them—boy, duck, and girl—with his goofy chuckle. Everyone was pulled close together and could not help but smile. "All for one, huh?"
Hikari's eyes softened in the embrace of friendly warmth, feeling a familiar, yet at the same time alien, warmth on her cheeks. If the smile were fake, or "memory-manifested," it would have been the most convincing of fabrications. "Of course."
Thanks to narcotic-lullaby, Ultima Phoenix, Yorukifon, and Akumu for reviewing :) Especially regularly. Thanks to Ace for beta-reading, and thanks to everyone for taking the time to read. God bless.