Recappy from the Last Chappy: In order to strengthen her hunch and give herself more cause to look into this, she performed a supplementary seal and touched the byakugan summon gem, pouring a small amount of her chakra into it. Utilizing the power offered by the gem, she peered into the den and confirmed her suspicion: "Krystal" was not Krystal Hyuuga. She saw no chakra or a network—even if she had been simply an animated corpse, the network would have been visible. Magic was the energy within this subject.
She saw, too, a figure closely resembling Hades.
This isn't right. Definitely. Hades must've hired someone . . . maybe they're the ones posing as Krystal. The real Krystal was probably taken to Hades' Domain: the Underworld. Maybe Cloud knows how to get there. Sans a second's thought of reconsideration, she stood and left her seat, deciding to be there when Cloud woke up.
Jiminy's protests of "What? Where are you going? We'll miss everything—We can't leave now!" were ignored.
Chapter Twenty-five: The Underworld
Hinata, in a state of unconsciousness, laid curled up on her side in the center of Villain's Vale on a round table. The glow of the orb atop Maleficent's scepter cast itself upon her, scanning her person. The table itself was dimly lit, shedding only enough light for the dark fairy and Akatsuki leader to be visible.
Maleficent withdrew her scepter and gazed into its head. Gingerly she cupped the opposite side of it, allowed the tips of her scarlet nails to touch its glass surface. She grimaced. "This girl . . . is not one of whom we seek. Although it is minute, there is a small bud of darkness deep within her heart; it is inundated by the intensity of her light." In a harsher tone, she glanced at Pain and set down her staff. "That is why you failed to see it."
Speaking authoritatively, yet calmly, Pain said, "I encourage you to revise your tone. It sets a bad example for the children if Mom and Dad fight. The path toward our goals coincide . . . there should be better relations between our factions."
Her yellow eyes widened in outrage. "You dare to lecture me? I began this operation ten years prior to now, and captured half of the current maidens in our possession—all of which have the pure hearts of light sought! I have made no mistakes; I won't tolerate failure!"
Pain stared back at her with a still gaze. "You had to look a second time at this girl's heart to come to this conclusion. If you knew all the identities of the nine maidens, then you would have known at first glance she was not one."
She glared back at him and clicked her tongue. The dark fairy glanced at the shadows, or "children;" they were whispering to each other, possibly getting a kick out her being reprimanded. Her eyes narrowed. "Silence!" Insolence.
Regarding Hinata once more, she tilted her staff minutely forward. "A waste of time, but she is of no consequence to us." Her scepter glowed a little and a portal opened underneath the girl; dark tendrils curled around her arms and body, pulling her in. "Let the Heartless have her."
Cloud sat on the edge of a bed in the infirmary and held a heated elixir; he watched the shapeless steam rise while he swished the concoction. "Yeah, I know the place. The Underworld is where Hades is boss, and where I was briefed on my mission to kill Hercules. If everything is going on like you said, then that girl's probably being held there."
Hikari was seated on the next bed over, facing him. Jiminy was on her shoulder. "That's what I thought. I think Hades has hired someone again, which could mean trouble. Krystal might be able to point out other seeds and identify the target; there's a high probability it's Sora or Hercules, based on the last time.
"So, Cloud. You know how to get there, and how to navigate your way within. You'll take us to the Underworld to save Krystal and stop Hades."
The blonde looked up from his elixir and paused. "Not interested." He brought the translucent amber liquid to his lips and drank it down quickly. The only indication that he disliked the taste was wrinkling around his eyes since he, for the most part, kept his cool.
Her brow tightened. "'Not interested'? I'd think you'd have a score to settle with Hades after what he pulled last time. He dangled a bit of hope in front of you and baited you into helping. You said you were looking for someone, weren't you? Hades'd promised to help. But instead, he double-crossed you by neglecting to mention his three-headed canine. Don't you want to get back at him, have some kind of revenge?"
"Not interested in revenge."
"Mm. Hn." She gave a light, amused smile. "Guess that would be kind of ironic. To search for your light and yet take vengeance, when that breeds darkness."
She glanced toward Leon and Yuffie; the former stared at a cup of elixir like a child would narrow their eyes at broccoli. Yuffie, having already spazzed after consuming hers, stood by with her hands on her hips as she waited for him to brace himself. Shortly, she was tapping her foot impatiently. Eventually, when she ran out of patience, she took the elixir from his hands, pinched his nose, and forced him to drink. "Don't be such a baby, Squall!"
Hikari watched him struggle a little. "You act like you don't care, but I think you do. Otherwise, I don't think you would've saved me from Cerberus last time. If it'll make you feel better, though, you'll be compensated. Whatever you want, within reason, we'll figure it out later. Agreed?"
". . . ." He did not appear to have appreciation for her observation. Nevertheless, he answered, "The Underworld is meant for the dead and he lords over them. Heartless bred of darkness aren't affected either. But someone living, like you or me—," Leon and Yuffie provided him with their full attention at this point, "—will soon find their strength being sapped. Unless you have the Olympus Stone."
"Olympus Stone?" inquired Yuffie, her interest piqued. She released Leon and regarded the blonde with sparkling eyes. "Is it a shiny stone? Y'know, like the valuable kind?"
"It's a stone that alleviates the curse of the Underworld. Don't get any bright ideas though. It's on Mount Olympus, the domain of the gods. Only celestial beings can pass through the golden gates." Yuffie deflated. "It won't kill us, but it will make it harder to fight the Underworld's guardian: Cerberus." He looked at Hikari. "Your body will be strained even if you don't fight, most likely."
She stared back at him. "Don't worry about me. I feel fine."
Leon's brow furrowed in thought. "'Cerberus.' . . . Isn't that the name of the three-headed dog that destroyed the Coliseum? I remember Sora, Donald, and Goofy bragging to me about how they defeated it." His leather fingertips touched his chin. "Being Guardian of the Underworld, it's possible it was immortal to begin with, or technically being dead already, it'd stay there anyway."
"Don't know. But if not Cerberus then there could be something nastier in his place." He stood and rotated his shoulders and such, feeling the elixir take effect. "Maybe there will only be Heartless."
"So we need to go about this as quickly and as covertly as possible, is what you're saying?" Hikari asked.
"I don't know about covertly. I only went to the Underworld a few times, and always through the Cave of Dead entrance in front," he answered. "But we'll go prepared, and you'll at least know a fraction about what you're up against. Take a lot of items."
The Underworld was an insipid place, and reminded one of a swamp or bog at the time of night; there was no mud, yet the scene was just as miserable. Cloud led the team onto solid, black stone ground. He and Leon scanned the area for threats whereas Hikari and Yuffie more allowed their eyes to wander.
They stepped casually, but cautiously, toward the center of the path. Lining the path was a river of souls, colored seemingly of aqua green water and swimming with the dearly departed. There was a fork before them leading toward two separate entrances.
Yuffie shivered and rubbed her arms. "Lameness!" she huffed under visible breath. "I'm cold. . . . Shouldn't it be warmer closer to the core?"
Hikari gazed at lighted white orbs sprinkled randomly throughout the area. Each glowed unnervingly with a light that seemed to be a pure white color. When her breath would touch it, they appeared to mingle. She was reminded of fireflies, except these where considerably larger, about the size of a baseball.
Raising a curious hand, she gently reached toward an orb. The pad of her finger barely brushed against the "giant firefly" when its delicate form collapsed. Smoky wisps curled around her wrist and arm and a small, crystal clear orb was absorbed through her pores. "Ah!"
Cloud stood by her, regarding others like it. "They're souls. Touch them, and they lose form, but they're already dead, so you can't destroy them completely. It will eventually regroup." He continued toward the door down the right path of the fork. The subtle motion of his cape touched some of the souls on his exit, causing them to collapse. "Let's go."
The quartet approached the giant door; it was opened by Cloud and Leon. Both men gripped either door by sliding their fingers into the zig-zagging crack down the middle. They grunted with effort and slowly heaved the stone slabs apart. The Cave of Dead was beyond.
Cloud stood between them and the cave. "Once you step through these doors, you'll start to feel full brunt of the Underworld curse. Your body will feel heavier, like you're carrying extra weight. Even after a while of only walking, you'll feel like you've just fought a hundred Heartless. So we've got to get in, get Krystal, and get out as quickly as possible. She'll probably be in his chambers, which is deep inside. Brace yourself."
With that, he entered the Cave of Dead.
Yuffie came up near Leon with her arms crossed and a big grin on her face. "He's even broodier than you! Not a bad lookin' guy, either." She clapped his shoulder. "AND he's not that shabby of a leader." Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath through her nose. "I think I smell a rivalry! Huh, Squall?"
He scowled at her. ". . . ." Shrugging from her hand, he crossed his arms and turned away. ". . . Whatever." Behind Hikari, he passed through the Cave's threshold. Yuffie chuckled and followed.
Seconds after Hikari stepped over the threshold, she felt her strength and her chakra steadily being sapped from her body; the feeling had become all too familiar during her encounter in Deep Jungle with the Sound Four. The Underworld Curse seemed to bear more manners, slowly draining her chakra as if through a straw whereas Jirobou had gorged himself.
Compared to what Jirobou had done, the curse was mildly discomforting. Uzumaki had extensive reserves of chakra to begin with, and if it came to it, she could release the mark a little. But ONLY if she needed to. Since the curse took so little at a time, it was unlikely.
The saying was "fight fire with fire;" would it not stand to reason that, if the situation called for it, she should fight a curse with a curse?
The rest seemed about as affected as she. Cloud began to lead the way toward a tunnel on the opposite side of the room. There were souls aplenty—more than had been evident outside the cave—so he disturbed many in his wake. Hikari poked and absorbed the clear orbs he did not, if she did not have to go out of her way to do so.
"Are you sure you should be picking those things up?" Jiminy asked from her shoulder. He was regarding the souls with larger eyes than normal, and was half-hidden by her hair. Since he was so far in her peripheral, she could not be sure if he was trembling.
"They're harmless. If anything, they restore a little energy. Don't worry, Cricket." She turned her head a smidgen without knocking him off. "And morality-wise, they are dead, and probably should be respected, but it's close to impossible to dodge all of these. To try would take too much energy, and that, coupled with the Underworld curse, would wear us out too much before we could get Krystal out of here. Then we never confirm what's going on, and something bad happens." She poked another sphere. "Besides, I'm just picking up what's left behind."
"Yes, well, I suppose you're right . . . ," the cricket said in a small voice, obviously still shaken from the fact that they were in the world of the dead. Some people were spooked by stuff like that; her brother was one of them, had worried about monsters under his bed and in his closet up until he was eleven. Hikari was not one of them.
She continued poking the translucent orbs for no reason that was particular while they crossed into the tunnel and missed one that drifted to her forehead. She felt a little childish, like she was playing with bubbles. The ones she was picking up she would even if she were not poking; something was amusing about the motion.
A while ago, I wouldn't even have bothered. Being half-hearted, I guess I'm being a little sillier when I should be serious, the kunoichi thought as she poked one more sphere. She let her hand hover for a moment as she stared at the rose-tinted Inferno Band with her dark grey eyes once glowing yellow, the eyes with which she saw after her palm met the one which would hold the Keyblade. Her eyes. Her true eyes.
Narrowing her eyes a little, she took her other hand and covered the bracelet, withdrawing her arm a little. She did not pay mind to the few souls and orbs that broke against her and were absorbed through her pores. A little quieter than conversationally, she asked, "Jiminy . . . what do you know about love?"
"Love?" he questioned. He sat on her shoulder and held his chin. "Well . . . love is a funny little thing, that's also a big thing. Why, there are all kinds of love! You can love a brother, sister, father, mother, friend . . . idea, object, being. You can fall into it, head over heels or heels over head."
Sheepishly, the cricket rubbed the back of his head. "It can be as small as admiration and be as big as obsession. They say 'like' and 'admire' are the fresh buds of love, just waiting to blossom! It's helping someone through their strife—," Cloud's eyes averted, "—and being by their side, being their support. It's everyone's greatest strength. Without love . . . everyone would have a mighty tough time seeing the light."
"So people without love, do," Hikari mumbled. "That's the dark side of it, isn't that right? People who don't know love . . . love of a parent, how to love a sibling, were betrayed by someone who they thought loved them. . . . Most of them seem see darkness, lose sight of their light." And, like me, some lose their hearts.
Sadly, Jiminy nodded. "Yes, the dark side of love is when there seems to be none, and when there is none, that's hate, love's darkness. Darkness is the absence of light, but there's no such thing as light being the absence of darkness." He lifted his head and smiled. "But people want to love and be loved, not to hate and be hated. Why, even in the deepest darkness, there's a little bit of light!"
"So they say." The kunoichi had two fingers looped inside Inferno Band and rubbed the outside with her thumb. "You're probably a believer in 'love conquers all,' then, huh?"
"Love is a mighty strong force," he conceded.
"Mm. . . ." Her eyelashes hovered over her eyes, creating a shadow. "Strong enough to conquer not having a heart?"
Although she could not see anyone's expression, she could hear a few inquiring noises.
Jiminy looked at her with a crooked brow. "A Heartless? What do you mean?"
"I don't mean a Heartless, necessarily. I mean someone who is heartless, just doesn't have a heart." She paused for a moment, dithered. "Not a creature bred of darkness, but . . . for example . . . what if I lost my heart, yet my body stayed behind? Do you think that I, hypothetically, could still fall in love, like . . . like if someone made me feel like I had a heart? Could love prevail over something as impossible as that?" Her cheeks were a little red.
He had to think of his reply. His brow wrinkled over his narrowed eyes, and his gloved hand brushed his chin. "Hmm . . . well that's a tough one to answer. Logically, it doesn't make sense. The only beings without a heart are Heartless, and they've hardly any sense, let alone feelings! But my heart . . . ," he smiled, ". . . why, it says anything is possible!" He chuckled.
". . . ." She waited for him to say something more before she provided any reaction. "Mm." Anything's possible, huh? That's too broad. What about flying pigs, and hell freezing over? Those expressions came to be because they're impossible, never going to happen. That doesn't help me at all.
Hikari reached up to scratch the back of her head. A dull, minor ache had settled into her biceps and triceps, she noticed, courtesy of the Underworld curse. She did not bother now to raise her hand to poke the crystal clear spheres left behind by shattered souls.
A high-pitched, blood curdling scream echoed through the Underworld tunnel and drew everyone's attention to the back of them. Flying through the tunnel came an old woman comprised of wispy chartreuse smoke, similar to the souls surrounding them. She passed them with no regard for their presence, as if she did not notice them, and continued down the tunnel.
Cloud chased after the woman with everyone else in his wake. They followed her down the remaining part of the tunnel into the Valley of the Dead.
This part of the Underworld was much more open than previous rooms. Unlike the Cave of Dead's entrance or passage, the valley was a long, seemingly natural bridge of rock from where they stood to a room at the opposite end. Several circles, like points on a line, dotted the bridge in-between. The walls of the valley were a great distance from the bridge's perimeter.
The woman dove off of the edge into the river below, where other spirits like her swam throughout their afterlife. Cloud, Hikari, Leon, and Yuffie stood on the edge, looking over. The pool seemed to give off an eerie glow, coloring the lower half of the wall and giving a very light tint to their faces.
"Heeeyy, that's the same river-thing we saw at the entrance, isn't it?" Yuffie inquired.
"The River Styx," pointed out the blond. "Don't fall in. It'll be like the Underworld curse, but worse. A lot worse." He turned away from it. "It'll suck the life out of you at a much quicker rate; only a few minutes before you're dead."
"For some reason it seems strange to me that the Underworld is so deadly," Hikari commented. "Hades's chums seem to be mostly of the living, so I don't understand why he's so eager for new recruits." She regarded Cloud. "Oh . . . that's right, you were a chum."
He stoically brushed it off. "No offense taken. We're almost there. Hades's chamber is just across this bridge. We've been lucky. He must have all his Heartless fighting in the Games." Silently, he motioned for the others to follow him. It was noted by Hikari that the gesture was not tired like hers would be; like Cloud had predicted, due to her recent ailments, the curse affected her most.
Three years in Disney Castle must have softened her; or she was simply out of practice. Definitely more reckless.
Team Yuffie plus two continued toward their ultimate destination, not seeming to notice an irregularity in the rock structure at the passage exit. Its shape almost made it appear to be a special gateway fashioned for that exit; the two, very thick posts on the sides were congruent and attached to a gargantuan midsection topped with two "heads" positioned closer to the right. Also, this rock was colored more of a deep brown as opposed to the depressing blue they had encountered thus far.
The two heads suddenly had spots of color added to them, a pair of red each. They were shaped like eyes, and would fleetingly disappear as if they were blinking. At different times, on each head, another, much larger, red spot opened, and rock below dropped directly downward—very similarly to a yawn.
The Rock Titan woke from his apparent slumber and spotted the group as they walked away. Slowly one boulder-ish foot was lifted from the floor and swung to take a step forward. Since his legs were proportionally short, it was going to be a very short step, more of a shuffle.
Bringing up the rear was Leon, his Gunblade comfortably resting on his shoulder. An inexplicably eerie feeling rested on the tension between his shoulders, much like the paranoia of feeling one was being watched. He turned his head a little and glanced at his heels. Normally, this feeling hinted that Heartless were around, he thought when he lowered his Gunblade.
Indulging in his inkling, and expecting only to find perhaps a few Shadows or Darkballs, the brunette turned and was surprised to see it was no small fry behind them. His eyes widened and he clicked his tongue. "Look out!"
The shadow of the Rock Titan's foot hovered over all of them, but they looked at the source only when prompted by Leon's warning. Before the Titan could make pancakes of them, they had spread and circumvented as quickly as they could. Leon stood directly in front of it, Cloud and Yuffie were kneeling toward the end of the platform on its left after they had rolled out of the way, and Hikari was fluidly getting herself to stand after she had rolled to avoid the foot before it hit the ground.
Powerful tremors resonated throughout the stone bridge, causing a minute, yet strong, quake that brought Leon to his knees. Small pieces of rock were crumbling from interspersed spaces around and beneath the bridge. This included under the feet of Hikari, who was having a hard time staying on her feet as it was; she had not quite achieved balance after her dodge. Jiminy was a foot in front of her, on his belly and pulling his hat tight against his head. He had fallen from her shoulder.
The quake continued for a few moments, hardly seeming to let up even a smidgen when the Rock Titan was lifting his other foot. Larger-than-pebble stones began breaking away from where Hikari stood until the second step was taken. The rock beneath her feet gave way, and she fell down into the River Styx.
The sun cast its twilit rays outside the castle of Hollow Bastion and gleamed off the tip of the arrowhead positioned on the bow in a young woman's hand. She stood in a practiced stance behind the waist-high fence on a ledge with a very high drop, should she fall; upon looking over the edge, she could see that the castle, whose base fused with rock, merged with darkness.
The twang as she released the string of the bow filled the Castle Gates area, and the arrow flew over the abyss into the wall across the way on an opposite ledge that was a little lower than the one on which she stood. A rope connected it to her hand.
She hung her bow on her arm and took the rope in both her hands. Leaning back to test it, she pulled away and the arrow, far too easily, popped out of the indentation it had made. The woman fell back onto her bum. "Oof!"
Under the shadow of her cat-eared hood, which was white and lined with red triangles, she frowned. While she stood she reeled in the arrow and prepared her stance once more. Her bow was lowered, and her arrow on the string, as a light breeze disturbed her attire and the long, midnight blue bangs hardly visible under her hood and its shadow.
She twisted her neck a little and regarded Hinata on the other ledge. "I need to get to her before the Heartless show up. They'll be all over her once she's awake . . . ," she muttered.
Once more she raised her bow and aimed at the wall. Her jacket was trimmed with red triangles around the flared hem and the band under her breasts. They also would adorn the trim of her flared cuffs, but they were tucked into black leather arm guards and black, fingerless gloves beneath. When the wind disturbed the jacket under the band, the split opened to show a red, skintight body suit that went to her thighs. Boots covering her shins were black, as was the quiver hooked to her back.
"Cheer." Small pillars of light circled her and rose around her, a visible display of her aura. As it disappeared, her grip on the bow firmed, her arms raised themselves a little, and her overall stance adjusted itself properly. This time, when she released tension, the arrow was propelled deep into the target wall; it had perceptibly embedded itself much deeper than the previous attempt. When she tested her weight against it (a safety precaution that was not wholly necessary, but was taken anyway) it did not budge. "Hn."
The other end of the rope was tied toward the top of a post at the corner of the ledge on which she stood. There was a convenient indentation that would ensure the rope did not end up sliding down and cause her to be stuck in the middle of the abyss. She tied the knot very tightly, using her weight to pull the line as taut as it could be.
Carefully she climbed onto the fence, using the post for support. Then, she raised her bow over the zipline, held either end, and breathed, "Alright, now just don't look down. This'll take no time. Easy."
Taking a deep breath, she lifted her legs from the fence and leaned forward. Her feet left the solid fixture and wind rushed passed her face as she ziplined toward the other ledge. Her hood whipped the sides of her face, unable to completely go back due to her arms being so close to the flanks of her head. The distance was short, and her destination did not have an area with a lot of room for error; so as not to miss the ledge or crash into the wall, she had to time it right.
When she let go, her right foot landed first, barely touching the edge. Waving her arms around violently, as she felt herself tip back, she leaned forward and shifted her weight. She took a few steps and removed herself from peril. Her hand was over her rapidly beating heart.
As if her heartbeat were a signal heard by all, Darkballs, Shadows, and a Wyvern spawned around her and Hinata. The young woman's silver eyes widened and she jostled toward the Hyuuga. "Uh-oh!" On her knees, with her bow on one shoulder, she raised her hand toward a Darkball coming too close for her liking. Bright white light made her hand glow and was concentrated into a ball; the ball left a trail of white light as she threw it at the Heartless. "Pearl!"
The Darkball was pushed far back and the young woman turned her attention to Hinata. She began shaking her by the shoulders. "Hey! Girl, wake up! You shouldn't be sleeping in a place like this! . . . Come on—argh!"
A Wyvern's talons dug into her shoulders and squeezed, raking her. Reaching back she used Pearl again, twice, to deter it. Other Heartless gave her a little distance. She reached under her hood, incidentally pushing it back, to feel the stinging wound. When she regarded the blood she picked up on her finger tips, it was a smaller amount than what she had anticipated, so it was actually rather shallow. That's fine then.
Knowing she would not be able to hold the Heartless back long (her style was more to hit or distract the Heartless and run) she lowered her mouth toward Hinata's ear and screamed. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Hinata opened her eyes and gasped, shooting up into a sitting position. Her lavender-white eyes gazed straight into the young woman's silver orbs. The woman's long, midnight blue bangs fell in-between her eyes and framed her face down to her neck. The rest of her hair was tucked into her jacket. "Wha—?"
"No time to explain," the woman claimed as she stood. "There are Heartless all around here! We gotta get out of here quick, before more show up."
The Hyuuga's eyes darted to the creatures as she jumped to her feet. Quickly she performed the necessary seals and awakened her Byakugan, immediately using her variation of the Gentle Fist against the closest Heartless. Seeing as the woman seemed intent on running away, she simply threw a few chakra needles to hinder the creatures. Unlike the Heartless in Traverse Town, they—even the Shadows—seemed to have a higher endurance, remaining even after being stricken.
The woman raised her bow, fitted an arrow in it, and channeled Pearl through the head. The arrow left a trail of white light as it shot the Wyvern through its chest and dissolved it into darkness. She grabbed Hinata's wrist. "Hurry! Before more spawn!"
Hinata was pulled around the corner, away from the Castle Gates entrance, toward a lift. Shadows were sprouting at their feet, wiggling their antennae and bobbing their heads in response to the palpitating hearts calling them. The lift hovered over an open space at the end of the ledge and connected at the top to a beam of light that marked the path it would take. The lift itself was shaped like a circular bird cage.
The woman tapped a crystal to the side of the lift and stumbled inside with Hinata close behind. The lift's doors nearly closed on the tips of Hinata's hair and shut out any Shadows that nearly squeezed their way in; the few that had made it halfway were chopped in half and felled.
Leaning against the back, the woman was breathing rather heavily. She reached for the wound again to see if it was still bleeding. A little blood was added to what originally had been there, but not a lot; had the hand been clean, there would be less blood than before.
The blue-nette kunoichi noticed the carmine body fluid nevertheless and reached into her kunai pouch as she kneeled. "Oh. . . . Uh, are you hurt?" From it she retrieved an ointment crafted from strong medicinal herbs and offered it. "I'm sorry . . . y-you were saving me. Please, use it." The woman accepted the capsule. "Um . . . thank you. . . . My name is Hinata."
The woman smiled. "Thank you for the medicine. My name . . . hehe, well, it's actually a little long, so you can just call me 'Cala.'"
End of Chapter Twenty-five
Next Time in When Darkness Turns to Light! Chapter Twenty-six: Dynamis Lythos!
It unsettled him a little. He did not like being confused, and something fishy was almost definitely going on. What had gotten into Krystal? And Sai. . . . He remembered the passive smile he had given him at the end of his match with Team Yuffie. What was the deal with that guy?
Music began, signaling the match was about to start. Phil waddled to the center of the arena and glanced at both parties. He raised his arm. "Alright boys—and girl—let's keep this clean. Your match starts . . . NOW!" He dropped his arm and waddled out of the battleground.
The translucent boundary walls manifested. Sora's grip on the Keyblade tightened and he shifted his focus to the present. With Donald and Goofy behind him, he charged forward.
Hola! How's ya like the chapter? Some of you were inquiring about what happened to Hinata after she was kidnapped, so I thought I'd address that . . . especially since I decided to change my mind on her status XD So now, simply be satisfied that she's running around Hollow Bastion with "Cala."
Final Fantasy fans may or may not recognize Cala's attire to be based off of the White Mage robe—I simply made it into a jacket, and kind of made her overall ensemble to be kind of like an archer. I wanted to base her off a Final Fantasy job class, and . . . viola! She's a cross betwixt two :D! The Cat-Ear hood was a last minute addition thanks to too much time spent on the Final Fantasy wikia. . . . I mean simply to scope out Duodecim information, but then I end up page jumping... hehe ^^'
"Blue-nette" is not an actual term nor is it one I thought of. I saw it in one of Sayounara Yasashii Akumu's stories (sorry Akumu if I misspelled it) and it's a nice break from "the blue-haired woman" XD
The interaction between Maleficent and Pain . . . a toughie. God complex meets superiority complex? I hope I hit that alright.
Anyway . . . hope you guys are satisfied. Thanks for reading, God bless! Please, leave a review!